Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to HP. It all belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros., and any other entities involved.
Draco and Ginny walked back to the Manor, when they reached the Entrance Hall, Ron and Hermione approached them. Ron exclaimed, "Here you are, we've been searching the Manor for you. Time to go to that brook you told us about, Draco!"
Draco smirked at the redhead's enthusiasm, and countered, "Sure, Ron. We'll get there soon." Ginny smiled, but when she turned to Hermione, her smile disappeared and was replaced by a fierce scowl. She noticed the twins were coming up to them and the scowl intensified. When the twins reached them, she took out her wand and hexed them with a swift "Stupefy." Before Hermione or Ron could say anything, Ginny explained, "They're under an Imperio curse cast by Moody. They were going to betray us and kidnap Draco!"
Ginny cast an Immobilicorpus and floated the twins up to her. Draco, to distract the members of the Golden Trio, asked them what they were doing and how the research on Dementors was coming up. Hermione launched into a detailed explanation about magical creatures while Ron wryly rolled his eyes.
Ginny took that opportunity to slip the potion to the twins. Then Draco and Ron took the twins to their room, and left them until the spell wore off. Draco cast a locking charm so they would not be able to leave the room without him knowing, and ordered a house elf to bring them their meal when they woke up.
While they were gone, Ginny and Hermione remained in the Entrance hall. Ginny spelled Hermione's hair to look like Medusa's hair. A short while later Harry walked up to them, confusion written all over his face.
He wearily exclaimed, "What happened? First it was the end, and then darkness, and then… Hermione, what's happened to your hair?"
Hermione looked confused at Harry, and then she conjured a mirror. Looking at her reflection she shrieked and ran to her room.
Ginny chuckled and then said, "What's the matter? What do you mean Harry?"
"We were betrayed, Ginny. I went to Dumbledore, tried to make him accept Draco's idea but he refused. Then we went to Hogsmeade to meet some Muggle government officials. They tricked us, trapped us in a circle that prevented the use of our magic. Then a fat Muggle ordered the soldiers to shoot us, and they did."
"I saw the bullets almost reach us, but then everything stopped, the bullets went back. There was darkness and I woke up in my room here, and everything is as it was before the attack."
Ginny replied soothingly, "It is all fixed, Harry. Draco fixed it. He will tell you all about it. We turned back time, and apparently you remember the previous timeline." Remembering the potion, she gave it to Harry, saying it was to soothe his nerves.
Harry took a sip and then he got dizzy, his knees buckled and he would have fallen to the floor if not for Ginny supporting him.
Just then, Draco and Ron came back. They were alarmed because of Harry's momentary weakness. Ginny whispered to Draco, "He remembers all, Draco. I gave him the Juicio potion and he got weak all of a sudden."
Draco whispered back, "I don't know how is it that he remembers, he was supposed not to. I think the potion countered the effects of Granger's potion and that is why he got weak. I wasn't under any compulsion so I was not affected that strongly."
Draco said, "Why don't you and Ron play some chess while I get Harry to his rooms?"
He supported Harry as they walked to his room. He put Harry on the bed, and tenderly touched his forehead, saying, "Sweet dreams, Harry. Sleep well and I will tell you all when you wake up."
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
After Narcissa had reached her quarters in Hogwarts, she instructed her house-elf to put away her things. She went to her white trunk, emblazoned with the coat of arms of the House of Black. She stooped and retrieved a mirror. She knew that its counterpart was safe in the hands of Andromeda; she could talk with her discreetly through this Black heirloom.
She urgently said, "Andie, come on, Andie!"
Before Andromeda could reply, there was someone loudly knocking at the door. Narcissa, irritated, stood up and went to open it. Standing there was a frowning Minerva McGonagall, who grumpily said, "Can I come in, aunt?"
Narcissa was confused. Why would that shrew come to her room at such an hour and why did she call her aunt? Then her eyes widened as she realized just who it was at her door.
She motioned for McGonagall to enter, loudly saying, "Please come in, Minerva."
She smirked as she closed the door, and then she added, "Pray tell me why you are here, Nymphadora."
McGonagall's features flowed and they shaped themselves into Tonks' face. She gruffly replied, "Please call me Tonks, aunt Narcissa, or do as Draco does and call me Nym. Having been McGonagall, I can say I understand now why she is so mean all the time."
Narcissa fought back a smile and instead smirked, "Then call me Cissy or Aunt Cissy, Nym."
"You haven't told me why you are here."
Tonks answered, "Draco sent me to watch over you. He wants you to go back to the Manor. He says he won't risk you in the plan to fool the Headmaster. So won't you please pack your belongings so we can leave?"
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
While Harry was sleeping, the helicopter approached the Manor, before abruptly veering off to return the way it had come.
Later Ginny and Draco, who had gone to the gardens in lieu of going to the brook, noticed a small disturbance as the wyverns were caught in the wards and sent to Hogwarts. Thus Voldemort's brilliant plan ended fizzling, but only because they had defied Time to do so.
They smiled secretively, secure in the knowledge that their world was safe at least for a while. They went back to snogging and were caught up in that when a shriek interrupted them.
They saw Ron and Hermione approach them, apparently completely flabbergasted by their new relationship. Granger had a scarf over her still unruly hair. Ron floundered, his face very red as he prepared to explode. Ginny cut back his tirade saying, "Ron, I know you won't approve, but this is my life, and I will lead it as I want. I am not a baby, and I will not accept any efforts at coddling me. I can make decisions as a woman."
"I know you wanted me with Harry, but I could simply not accept that Harry saw it as his duty to be with me. I want real passion from my partner, not a sense of duty compelling them to be with me."
"My partner will be with me because they want to, not because someone expects them to," here she shot a dark glare towards Hermione.
At that moment Harry, having woken up and found the Manor empty, approached them. Draco and Ginny quickly said goodbye to the redhead and Hermione and took Harry by the arms, leading him towards a sitting room in the Manor. They told Harry to sit down and explained what had happened, how they'd gone to Voldemort and done that spell to bring them back in time.
At first Harry was angry and appalled that they had consorted with Voldemort, until he remembered his own experiences. In his mind's eye he could still see the fat Muggle as he sneered at them and ordered their deaths. He could see Percy's traitorous face and almost see the bullets suspended in the air.
Draco went to his study to retrieve a Pensieve. He returned to watch Harry whispering secretively to Ginny. He carefully retrieved with his wand a silvery wisp of memory and put it in the Pensieve. He gestured for Harry to enter the memory.
Harry returned from the Pensieve deep in thought. He had an insight when he recognized that Draco had manipulated Bellatrix like Dumbledore manipulated him. He felt used, and vowed that he would watch the Headmaster carefully from now on.
He also felt quietly exhilarated. He felt his thought processes moving more smoothly, more freely than before, and wondered why this was so. It could be a side effect of the shift in time.
Strangely enough, he was not as angry as before about Draco and Ginny. As a matter of fact, he felt completely liberated by this turn of events.
Draco would no longer pressure him to form a relationship, and Ginny was apparently happy with Draco. He no longer felt any compulsion to be with her.
Without feeling the pressure to be with either of them, he could bask in their warm friendship and discern his true feelings. Oddly, now he felt completely up to the task, when before he had been plagued by doubts, indecision and shame.
Draco deciding to pursue a relationship with Ginny had liberated Harry's feelings to an extent he would not have believed possible.
He said to Draco, "I want you to know that I'm OK with your relationship with Ginny. I wish the best for you two."
Harry approached Ginny and hugged her, seeing that, Draco could not resist the temptation and he embraced both of them in a warm group hug.
A cultured voice interrupted them, crooning, "What a nice scene to come home to!"
They turned and saw Narcissa with Tonks at the door. Draco looked at her incredulously, and launched himself at her. He hugged her so fiercely that he almost broke one of her ribs.
As he kissed her cheeks, Narcissa realized that Draco was crying, and she was floored. Draco hadn't cried in ages. It must have been something momentous to cause him to cry.
Draco said, "I thought I'd never see you again Mom, I'm so glad you're here!!"
Then a snide, sarcastic voice added, "Draco, when are you going to learn to control your outbursts?" Draco looked up to see his godfather standing at the door.
"When I saw Narcissa about to shamefully abscond from the castle with Tonks, I just had to go with them in case my bratty godson was in trouble."
Draco was elated, now all the people he loved were with him in that room. He felt so strengthened by their presence, as if nothing could go wrong if they were all together. His godfather's scathing remarks he recognized as the cutting sarcasm Severus wielded as agilely as his billowing robes.
THE END