A/N: I apologize for the lack of update these past few weeks. I was unsure of how I wanted to approach this chapter, but I finally decided that some action was needed... I hope that the "action scene" is okay. I'm not very good at them. Thanks to the Harry Potter Wiki for all of the spells, charms, curses and/or jinxes used in this chapter, as well as information relating to St. Mungo's.

"I'm telling you, it's not possible."

Harry rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to bang his forehead on the table. Hermione and Malfoy had fallen into a stunned silence after hearing Tom Riddle's name, and he and Ginny had only just managed to guide them back to a table in the far corner of Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Then he'd cast a couple of silencing charms so that no one would be able to overhear and patiently waited. Except... waiting for about five minutes only to hear plain denial was nothing short of frustrating.

"It is possible," Ginny said, firmly but kindly. "It has to be."

"But he seems so... so nice," Hermione said, sounding a bit dazed. A frown twitched at her lips, and when Harry glanced at her, she had that look on her face. The patented Hermione 'something-is-happening-and-I-need-to-know-what-it-is' look. "I mean... are you sure?"

"Very sure. Look, Hermione, I know it sounds strange. But it's the truth. In our world, Riddle began terrorizing the world as Voldemort close to forty years ago. He killed a lot of people and his Death Eaters, the people who worked for him, tortured thousands more. My parents died because of him." Harry clenched his fists uncomfortably in his lap and made himself go on. "In 1981, he was killed and was left wandering as a spirit for several years before he fully regained a body in my fourth year with the help of... of some of his servants. Since that time, he's been plotting and planning to conquer the wizarding world. I thought that war was where we were headed again, but..."

"This happened." Hermione was clearly thinking hard, trying to bring everything together. Her fingers drummed on the table. "If this is true, and I'm not saying it is," she said with a glance at her boyfriend, who pouted, "Then I don't think that this... Voldemort... just flat out changed reality. Magic can do a lot of things, but it can't do that. I think he must have found some way to go back in time and change things."

"I thought you said that couldn't be done?"

"It can't," she said flatly. "Not really. Time travel is extremely hard on the body and mind and soul. The longest recorded time travel into the past was a month, and it took that wizard nearly a year to recuperate. If the timeline you just gave me was correct, then that means this Voldemort would have had to travel back about forty years, give or two a year or two, considering that no one has ever heard of him. That's just..." She shook her head slowly. "There's just no way. If he even got that far into the past, his body would've broken down within minutes. Seconds, even. It's physically impossible for anyone to have survived that."

Harry sat back and mulled this over. "Well... The Riddle in this world isn't exactly like the one that we know," he said, thinking out loud. "He's older, but still, the timing doesn't really fit. Dumbledore told me he was born in the 1920s. He'd be... Merlin... seventy years old."

"That's not very old for a wizard," Ginny pointed out. "But the Riddle we saw certainly wasn't any older than mid-forties, I'd guess."

"His son, maybe?" Malfoy suggested.

"No. I know it's him," Harry said, frustrated. "There's something we're missing."

"I've have to concur." Ginny spoke softly. "I met Tom Riddle's sixteen-year-old self, once. Even if, Godric forbid, he had a child..." She tilted her head and a shiver worked its way through her body. "It's the same person. I could feel it in the way that he looked at me."

"But Professor Riddle has always been a good teacher. He's very kind and professional, and I've never seen even a hint of cruelty or madness in him," Hermione said, leaning forward intently. "Are you absolutely certain? Perhaps he's a good person in this world. Maybe whatever happened in your world to change things didn't work out the way that this Voldemort wanted." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "How did you do that? I can't believe I'm actually taking you seriously."

"It's a part of my charm," Harry assured her, smiling a little. "I don't know what other proof to offer you, Mione. I know it's hard to accept... I know we're telling you that someone who has never been anything but good to you is evil. But it's the truth. Riddle can't be trusted. I'm willing to concede that he might not be Voldemort, but he's still a dangerous son-of-a-bitch, and he's planning something."

"Why exactly are you telling us this?" Malfoy asked suddenly. Harry turned to glance at him, shivering when the full force of that penetrating silvery gaze struck him. "What do you expect us to do?"

"I need your help," he said honestly. "I've never been very good at research. But I need to know whatever I can about Riddle, and about how he might have been able to change things. I just... I know that's what happened. You and Hermione grew up in this world and you've had Riddle as a professor for years. Ginny and I didn't, and you can't even being to imagine how vastly different our world was. That kind of information could be invaluable to us."

"Have you considered going to your parents about this, Harry?" Hermione asked before her boyfriend could respond. "Or Professor Dumbledore, maybe..."

"No." Harry shook his head. "Voldemort is my responsibility... I don't want anyone else to be caught up in it if possible..."

"Harry." Ginny reached out and placed her hand over his. "You're not alone in this. You never have been."

"I know." He offered her a brief smile. "But it's the truth. Dumbledore told me as much himself. I'm the one who has to beat him." Ginny would understand if he explained it to her. Harry knew that. If he told her about the prophecy, about those cruel words that had trapped him into this destiny... But he couldn't bring himself to say that. Instead he settled for resting his free hand on top of hers, so that her petite fingers were trapped between his.

"We need to talk for a moment," said Hermione, glancing at Malfoy. She pushed back her chair and stood. Malfoy copied her gracefully, gently placing one hand on the small of her back as the two of them stepped away from the table. Immediately, Hermione ducked her head and began murmuring quietly, until she'd stepped far enough away that the spells ensured she couldn't be heard.

"This was a bad idea," Harry muttered, dissipating the silencing spell with a wave of his fingers. "I've seen that look before. It's the 'Harry Potter is crazy' look."

"Enough!" Ginny said sharply, causing him to look at her in surprise. "You can't really blame them. This world is so..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around at Diagon Alley. Every single store was bustling with happy, busy shoppers and cheerful clerks. Children were walking around unattended and parents were relaxing in the shade without a care in the world. "If I had grown up in this place, I probably wouldn't be anxious to believe you, either. Not only are we asking them to believe that a trusted Hogwarts professor is a psychotic madman, we're unleashing the knowledge of a deadly threat against the world. I'm surprised Malfoy hasn't stunned us and spirited Hermione away."

Harry's lips quirked into a grin and he shifted his chair closer to the redhead. Somehow, for the first time since he'd found her, he was glad that it was Ginny who still remembered. "Malfoy as a knight in shining armour," he mused. "Somehow, I don't see it."

An idle smirk was his answer as Ginny leaned against him, her head almost but not quite resting against his shoulder. Harry felt warm and comfortable sitting there with her beneath the shade of a bright purple umbrella, while the rest of a completely peaceful Diagon Alley passed by just an arm's reach away. He turned his head slightly, cheek brushing against her hair, and inhaled deeply. The scent of vanilla and apples washed over him, and her skin was soft and supple where it slid against his. He could have sat there forever, and not thought about anything except for the fact that he was actually starting to really like Ginny Weasley.

The faint pop! of someone apparating into the Alley was so common that at first, Harry didn't really register it. It was only once the first curse, one to make the blood boil, was uttered and a witch screamed in pain that he tensed, body reacting automatically. Ginny sprang into action as well, her wand appearing in her hand as she jumped to her feet and turned. Harry was with her, his left hand taking an instinctive protective stance in front of Ginny as he spun to survey what was going on. That was when the real screaming began, and the chaos started, as the black-robed figures descended in a wave.

"Death Eaters." The words were cold on his lips as he stepped back, drawing Ginny with him. He took a quick look around, searching for Malfoy or Hermione, but he couldn't see either one of them in the midst of the pandemonium. People were flooding into the ice cream shop in search of safety. Harry sent up a quick prayer that the two of them had already left.

"They're not wearing those bloody masks," Ginny pointed out calmly. Her expression was grim and she held her wand at the ready. "But I would guess that this answers our question about whether or not Riddle is still the same."

"Finite Incantatem!" Harry shouted in response, pointing his wand at a woman that had been petrified. She leapt up with a fearful cry and spun, disapparating on the spot. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you'll stay here and hide?" Even as he spoke, he grabbed Ginny's hand, intertwining their fingers. He didn't want to lose her in the mob.

For an answer, Ginny directed her wand towards the nearest black-robed person and yelled, "Expelliarmus!" The man was blasted off of his feet and into the building a few feet away. His wand went flying past Ginny and Harry, into the back of the shop, as Ginny cast again. "Rictusempra!"

The two of them strode forward, casting spells, charms, and jinxes at every black-robed figure that had the unfortunate luck to come into contact with them. Harry tried to stick to stunning and disarming, though once or twice he had to get more creative when challenged, and doing his best to free those who had been stunned or petrified. He kept a hold of Ginny the whole time he was duelling, even though he was confident that she could hold her own. His new wand fairly hummed between his fingers, sending pulses of power up his arm.

"Where the fuck are the Aurors?" Ginny hissed, snapping off a stunner.

"Maybe no one thought to alert them," said Harry, though he found that difficult to believe. He cast another Disarming Charm and took a moment to study the battlefield. Between their combined efforts and that of a few merchants and shoppers who found the courage to join in, most of the figures appeared to be either down for the count or had fled when they encountered opposition.

"Once a pest, always a pest, just like your damned uncle," Harry heard a cold voice behind them say. He turned his head and was met with a pair of cold, dark eyes, shadowed by the hood of a cloak. "Crucio!"

Harry ducked immediately, yanking Ginny down with him, and cringed when the spell flew over their heads and struck someone else. The wizard screamed in pain and writhed on the ground for several seconds before the curse was finally lifted. The woman – for he was pretty sure it was a woman, even though he couldn't make out any identifying characteristics – hissed under her breath and brought her wand up.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted immediately, gritting his teeth when she cast a shield charm. Who was it? He didn't recognize the voice. "Incarcerous!"

"Protego!" Ginny added at the same time, waving her wand to form a shield that glowed with light.

"Rumpo! Diffindo!" Wild laughter rang out over the street as Harry yelped with pain. The first spell had shattered Ginny's shield, allowing the curse to catch him in the right shoulder and leaving a deep cut that allowed blood to seep steadily down his arm. His fingers felt loose and heavy around his wand and his hand trembled when he tried to bring his wand up in order to cast another shield charm. "Crucio!" the figure yelled, cackling as the red bolt of light leapt free from the end of the wand.

"No!" Ginny knocked into him, shoving him out of the way, and cried out when the curse struck her instead.

"Ginny!" Harry grabbed at her shaking body as his legs gave out, sending them both to the ground. She arched against him, a painful squeal caught in her throat. He groped for his wand as anger roared through him and pointed it, not at the gloating woman, but at the ground. If he could only buy them some time... "Glacius!" Instantly, the road beneath their feet became as slick as ice. The figure stumbled and nearly slipped, but still managed to keep the wand pointed squarely in the direction. Harry's fingers tightened, mind racing through the spells that he knew.

Pops sounded around them and the familiar red robes of Ministry Aurors came into focus. Ginny's shuddering stopped as several Aurors raced towards the figure, who gave up torturing Ginny and turned to battle with them instead. Harry dropped his wand on the ground beside him and cradled her semi-conscious form in his arms, heedless of the battle raging around them or of the fact that he was getting blood on both of them. He just sat and stared down at her, not even reacting when the last of the black-robed figures finally retreated.

"Harry!" A voice reached his ears. "Harry!"

Harry looked up blankly, gazing at a woman he only sort of recognized. He gazed at her dully for a few moments, until she turned and murmured something to one of the men standing beside her. There was another pop! and then gentle arms seized his shoulders. Ginny was taken from him and someone was guiding him to his feet and pulling him along. The next thing he knew, he was sitting shirtless on an examination table inside of St. Mungos, and Arabella, dressed in the familiar white outfit of a Healer, was standing over him, pulling an empty vial away from his lips and casting diagnostic spells at the wound on his arm.

"Alright there, Harry?" she asked kindly, noticing that he was with her. "You've had a bit of a shock."

"Yeah." He blinked, looking around, and realized that his mouth tasted sour. "What happened?"

"Orion found you and Ginny," she said. "She was at the shop today when... when it began. Apparently, she was helping the Aurors round up the wounded when she came across the two of you sitting in the middle of it. I think you gave her quite a fright, Harry. She said you wouldn't respond to anything she said or did."

"I don't really remember," Harry said, wincing as Arabella cast a spell that caused the torn flesh of his shoulder to knit neatly back together. The area remained bruised, swollen and tender in spite of her care, and the muscles throbbed when he attempted to move. "The last thing I remember is Ginny pushing me out of the way and taking the Cruciatus curse that was meant for me."

Arabella tensed slightly, her lips folding into a worried frown. "That bloody curse," she muttered, removing most of the blood from his shoulder with a wave of her wand. She reached for a small jar of salve and pried it open, then carefully smoothed some of the contents onto his shoulder. Instantly, the pain stopped, and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "I'll give this to you, Harry. You'll have to keep putting it on twice a day for the next few days, until the bruises and swelling are completely gone and it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Thanks." He took the jar from her and slipped it into his pocket. As he did, the door to the room flew open and James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus all rushed into the room. Sirius got to him first, sweeping Harry into a bear hug that made his arm ache all over again. It was more than worth it, though, and he clung to his godfather with equal strength.

"What were you thinking?" Lily demanded as Sirius finally released him. "Harry, why in Merlin's name did you go into that battle? Why didn't you run for help?"

Harry blinked at his mother in astonishment over Remus's shoulder. "Run? Mum, they were hurting people."

"Definitely a Gryffindor," Sirius muttered.

"Harry, that's not your job," she said, enfolding him in yet another embrace. Her hands were shaking. "I was so frightened when Orion came to the house and told us what had happened. Why would you get in the middle of it? The Aurors came as soon as they were alerted. That's what they're there for. You could have been killed!"

It was the weirdest feeling in the world, to sit there and be scolded by his mother for participating in a fight against what were most assuredly Death Eaters, when in the other world, it would have been expected of him to jump in. And he would have been in trouble if he'd merely sat by and done nothing. Confused, Harry broke free of her hug and bit his lip, crossing his arms in front of him defensively. The prophecy that Dumbledore had told him about had flashed through his mind again. Of course it was his job. It was always going to be his job, no matter what world they were in.

"Lily." James reached out and placed a restraining hand on his wife's shoulder. He was watching Harry closely. "It's alright. He's fine."

"With no lasting scars," Arabella agreed, smiling. "You're free to go, Harry. I hope I won't ever hear that you've run into another fight like that again," she added gently.

Harry just gave her a weak smile and accepted the shirt that Remus was pushing at him. He slipped it over his head, thanked Arabella, and rose to follow his family out of the room. "Where's Ginny?" he asked as they walked down the hall. "I want to see her, to make sure she's alright."

Lily and James exchanged a look. Lily nodded reluctantly and turned to him. "Arabella told me where she is," she said. "Come on. You can visit for a minute, but then we're going straight home so that you can get some rest."

The five of them took the elevator to the fourth floor, where patients were treated for spell damage. Lily paused and spoke briefly to the Healers who were seated at the desk. One of them nodded and stood up, leading them down the long hallway. Harry winced a little as they passed the Janus Thickey ward, recalling the time that he'd seen Neville Longbottom there visiting his parents, and sped up, not wanting to think about that time. He was relieved when the Healer stopped and pointed to a room a few feet away. It was easily identifiable as Ginny's, being that there was a cluster of redheads around the door. James approached and spoke to them for a minute, then beckoned Harry.

Ginny was lying on a hospital bed with her eyes closed. Every once in a while, part of her body would go into spasms. Several empty potion vials littered one of the trays beside her bed. Arthur Weasley stood with his arm around Molly, his face gray and subdued. Ron, George, Fred, and Percy were all standing around the bed, examining their little sister in silence. Harry also saw several members of the Weasley family that he didn't recognize. Most of them glared at him, something which caused Sirius to shift uneasily and glare right back. Remus placed a calming hand on Sirius's shoulder as Harry went to the bed. He wanted to ask for time alone with her, but somehow, he didn't think that would go over well.

"Gin?" he whispered, leaning over her.

"Harry." Her eyes opened immediately and a smile touched her lips. "Are you alright? How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine." Harry forced his gaze to meet hers. "Why did you – "

"You know why." Ignoring Molly's protests at the movement, Ginny struggled into a sitting position and reached out, pressing her fingers to his cheek. Harry's hand came up and covered hers. "I told you, you're not alone in this," she said, her eyes shining with tears. "You never have been, and you never will be."

Harry sank down onto the edge of her bed, throat tight. Ginny leaned forward and rested her head against his shoulder with a sigh. "That was stupid," he said into her hair, closing his eyes. He didn't care about the fact that they had an audience. All he could think about was how good it felt to hold onto her. "You might've been killed, Gin, and for – " He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. "You can't do that again. Not ever."

"You don't get to dictate my actions, Harry Potter," she mumbled. Somehow, he knew she was smiling, and his own lips curved up a bit in response.

"You're alright?"

"I've had worse." Her head rose and she winked. Harry stared into her golden brown eyes and felt a rush of affection for the fiery redhead. If it weren't for the fact that they were surrounded by both of their families, he might have... A light blush spread across his cheeks as she said, "But if you want to do something for me, you can find Hermione and Draco and ask them to start looking."

Harry nodded, embarrassed. Where had that thought come from? "I will," he promised, glancing into her eyes once more, well aware of the fact that she had yet to take her hand from his cheek. She nodded at him, and looked at him intently, and he thought he understood.

"Time to go, Harry," said James. "Healer Lancelot is here to give Miss Weasley a sedative potion."

"Fantastic," Ginny mumbled, her hand sliding away from his cheek. He held onto it for a moment longer as she lay back down, hating the thought of leaving her behind. If she had to be here, he wanted to stay at her side for every minute. As though sending his thoughts, Ginny squeezed his hand and shot him another meaningful look that gave him the courage to release her hand, stand, and take a couple of steps back as the Healer came over. "Can't I go home?" she asked him, clearly disgusted. "I'm perfectly fine, you know."

"Miss Weasley, you will be here until we are absolutely certain that the curse didn't do you any lasting damage," said the Healer, looking a bit tired.

"She wishes that it would have done so," Ginny muttered. Her face, for just a moment, flashed with a rage that Harry felt all the way down to his bones. Ginny knew who that woman was. Now more than ever, he wanted to get her alone to find out what she knew.

"If you know who it was, you should tell the Ministry," said Arthur.

Ginny laughed. It wasn't a good sound. "Right," she said unpleasantly, taking the sedative with a hand that shook. Arthur and Molly exchanged worried looks. James took hold of Harry's arm and gently guided him from the room. It was probably well that he had, because Harry didn't think he would have been able to move. He had never been more captivated by Ginny Weasley than he was at that instant, when he could honestly see that her pure determination to keep this world a safe one was matched only by his own.

Please review! It honestly does help me crank out the chapters faster.