Disclaimer: All Characters and things associated with Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. This writing is purely for entertainment only.

Summary: A tragedy unravels the Weasley Family and the Wizarding World forever, but with the use of a time turner can one Weasley save them all?

Chapter 24

Lex barely made it onto the front porch when she let out a blood curling scream, tears streaming down her face as she doubled over out of sheer frustration.

It was her fault. All of it. She should have never been born.

Lex felt like her entire world was collapsing in around her. She felt like she couldn't get a drop of air in her lungs no matter how many breaths she took.

She took a few steps off the porch and onto the beach, desperately trying to control her breathing. She couldn't think straight, the thought of her own blood being so cursed that it caused her entire family's demise being the only thing on her mind.

"Lex!" Scorpius' voice caused her to jump and whip around to see him moving toward her off the porch with her parents and Aunt and Uncle close behind him.

Run. It was all she could think. She needed to get away from everyone. She needed to deal with this on her own. She couldn't handle any of them looking at her.

And so Lex started to move away from Shell Cottage at a jog which became a full on sprint when she heard Scorpius scream her name again.

"Let her go...it's what she's good at..." Finn spoke up as Scorpius went to yell for Lex again, who was now nearly out of sight.

Scorpius turned and glared at Finn, his anger causing his cheeks to go red as he suddenly was swinging at Finn before he even realized his hands were moving.

Scorpius' fist connected with Finn's face, knocking him right onto the floor of the porch. He then followed Finn down onto the beach and went to swing again. He wanted to beat every tooth out of Finn's mouth, knowing what he had done to Lex, knowing now every moment Finn had ever touched Lex had really been a lie for her. He felt the need to protect her, as if somehow beating Finn to death would erase everything that Lex had ever done with Finn that clearly had not been her own free will.

"Stop! Just stop it right now!" Hermione screamed, somewhere between anger and shock. The sheer sound caused everyone to freeze.

"This can't be happening...this can't be real..." Hermione's chest heaved with panic as if she couldn't catch her breath. The weight and shock of all of the information she had just been overloaded with was sending her nervous system into overdrive. She felt like she couldn't breath no matter how many breaths she took.

"Hermione...calm down," Ron moved forward, holding both of Hermione's shoulder as she tried to get control of herself but she couldn't.

"I can't...Ron...I can't..." Hermione was almost more desperate now as he head spun to the child she was carrying and how the stress must be effecting her.

"She's having a panic attack. Get her inside," Ginny commanded.

Ron listened to the older version of his sister and quickly grabbed Hermione up in his arms, carrying her back into Shell Cottage.

All but Scorpius followed Ron into the house. Scorpius instead took off after Lex, hoping he could still catch up with her. He was desperate to find her.

Ron made his way into Shell Cottage where he gently put Hermione on the couch, looking confused when the older version of his sister handed Hermione a brown paper bag.

"I don't think she's going to be sick," Ron said, still concerned with how rapidly Hermione was breathing.

"It's for her breathing," Ginny explained.

By the time Ron looked back to Hermione he saw she was breathing into the bag and seemed a little calmer.

Ron gently brushed her hair out of her face, happy to see she was getting herself a bit under control. He realized he had put so much information in front of her and that had only been double down on when Harry and Ginny showed up. He couldn't imagine what she felt like.

Once Hermione had gotten herself under control she took one more deep breath and then leaned back onto the couch, the small swell of her pregnant stomach reminding everyone in the room of her somewhat fragile state.

"I'm going to ask this one time and I expect answers," Hermione said slowly, her eyes moving from Ron to the older version of Harry and Ginny. She ignored Finn completely, who stood far off in the corner of the room, nursing his bloody lip. After what she had seen in the memories Harry showed it was taking every once of her strength to not slap him silly for what he had done to Lex. She knew she had only just found out that Lex was her daughter from the future but she felt oddly protective of her now.

"Go on then..." Ron said slowly, wanting to give Hermione whatever answers she was seeking in that moment but also having so many questions for Harry and Ginny himself.

"What the hell is happening here?" Hermione asked the broadest and yet the most direct question she could.

Ron looked up at the older version of his best friend and Harry twitched his nose, sighing a bit.

"The future...all of ours really...is a mess because of this prophecy," Harry motioned to the red orb sitting on the counter that Lex had taken. "Whether it's true or not...it's cost so much...it's cost your family everything. Lex came back to try and fix things and when we sent her back we had no idea that it was really a ruse to get her back here basically to kill her."

"If she dies here, before she is conceived in this time, then she never exists at all," Finn explained.

Hermione nodded, she understood that much about time travel. She also was able to calm herself down enough to understand the memories they had been shown now by Harry.

"So Kingsley...and others believe this prophecy or curse is about Lex really..." Hermione deduced.

"Kingsley had always been on the fence...from what you saw Lucius changed that," Ginny snorted.

"He altered Kingsley's memories to think he believes it..." Hermione realized the meaning behind the last memory she had seen.

Harry nodded and the room grew quiet for a long moment.

"Once we figured that out...well, we had to come back to try and help," Finn spoke up finally.

"It doesn't feel like you're helping," Ron glared angrily up at the curly-haired blond. He didn't trust Finn at all, especially seeing what he had done to Lex for years in the memories.

"He's the only reason we know all of this." Harry slightly defended Finn. He too had been beyond livid at what Finn had done but Ginny had reminded Harry multiple times that Finn had been just a mere boy when it had all started and that he eventually had done the right thing by telling them everything.

"When I found out they wanted to kill Lex...I just couldn't be part of it. I do care about her," Finn explained, looking directly at Ron as if trying to convince the younger version of Lex's father of his true feelings for his daughter.

Ron said nothing in response and the room lapsed into silence once more.

Finally, Hermione stood, shaking her head at the mess in front of her. She was overwhelmed with knowing the fate of her future, the fate of her family, and she just wanted to be alone to process it all. Without a word, she stood and moved up the stairs.

It took Ron all but ten seconds to match Hermione's actions and follow her. He knew she was upset and he knew some of his decisions had contributed to that. While he was indeed worried about Lex, in that moment, Hermione was all that mattered.

Lex had run until she felt like her lungs were on fire, and at that point she had found herself on a cliff overlooking rocks and the ocean below.

Lex glanced over the edge of the cliff and closed her eyes for a moment. She could do it. She could jump and end it all now. If she was gone there would no longer be a threat to her parents or siblings. The problem would be solved.

"Don't do it," Scorpius' voice came up from behind Lex, startling her a bit.

Lex whipped around to see Scorpius behind her, completely out of breath.

"Just...don't jump..." Scorpius said carefully.

Lex let out a deep breath and swallowed hard, looking back over her shoulder to the ocean below before turning back to Scorpius. She said nothing, but took a step away from the edge, showing that was not a danger they needed to worry about.

"Okay...good..." Scorpius lets out a sigh of relief as he took Lex's actions as a wordless response.

"I should though...it would end the problem, wouldn't it?" Lex laughed bitterly at her own words.

"Lex..." Scorpius said cautiously.

Lex threw her hands out as Scorpius realized she was fighting back some serious tears. When she spoke, her voice was hardly above a whisper. "What am I supposed to do?"

Scorpius shook his head, not really sure what to say to her. "I don't know...i just know it's not your fault."

Lex laughed bitterly, shaking her head as she moved closer to Scorpius, her arms crossed over her chest as if she was cold. "I mean...it's pretty clear it is...I'm the problem here..."

Scorpius shook his head again. "No you aren't. It's a stupid prophecy...it's not your fault-"

"A prophecy about me that got my dad and siblings killed," Lex reminded him quickly.

"You're just a victim of circumstance...and not just because of the prophecy...all around," Scorpius said, avoiding eye contact with her as he spoke the second part and thinking about what Finn had done to her.

Lex seemed to understand what Scorpius was hinting at and she looked away, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter."

"That's not true. What he did to you absolutely matters, Lex. It was wrong and you didn't deserve it." Scorpius said quickly.

Lex just shook her head. She didn't want to discuss the implications of what Finn had done to her with the spell he had kept her under for years, in fact, she didn't even want to think about it because it meant that every feeling, every moment, every touch between she and Finn had been a lie. She also didn't want to think that the one relationship she had felr safe in, the one feeling she had thought to be love had never truly been real, and that everytime she had let Finn touch her it had actually not been of her own free will.

"Lex..." Scorpius pressed a little more.

"It's over with. Let's move along...honestly it makes sense anyway..." Lex was now holding back tears. "I've always been the difficult one...who could really love me and how could I really show love in return?"

Scorpius furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

Lex laughed bitterly as tears brimmed her blue eyes. "There's something wrong with me...whether this prophecy is real or not...something just isn't right with me."

"That's not true. Why would you say that?" Scorpius asked.

"You saw all those memories...everyone said it...I'm so angry, and your grandfather and Finn's father...they are going to exploit that anger...or whatever it is that is making me this way." Lex said.

"Nothing is making you any way...you heard the rest of those memories...power can be manipulated...you can chose to be good." Scorpius said.

Lex snorted. "Even my own mother didn't think that in the end, otherwise she wouldn't have been so worried about making a cure."

Scorpius put both hands on her shoulders. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"How do you know?"

"I've known you practically your whole life...there's nothing wrong with you. You're not evil or dangerous you're just...maybe a little broken from everything but who wouldn't be given what you've been through?"

Lex shook her head. "You're wrong. Even with a love potion there were times I couldn't even feel things for Finn...that's not how that's supposed to work."

"Maybe because it wasn't real. You're a strong witch, Lex...maybe deep down you just knew it wasn't real love." Scorpius offered an explanation.

Lex snorted and shook her head. "Or I'm just not capable of it. Being loved or loving."

"I don't believe that either."

"Maybe you should."

"If you couldn't love you wouldn't be here. You love your family, it's why you are fighting here...and you can be loved, Lex...and I know it...because...well because I love you," Scorpius' voice came out a bit shaky. It has been something he had been slowly realizing over the last few years though going back into the past and really spending time with Lex had confirmed his feelings.

"That's different. That's like loving a little sister," Lex did not really understand the weight of Scorpius' words.

"No...no I don't think that is what this is," Scorpius said, daring to take a step closer to Lex.

Lex looked up, her eyes meeting Scorpius with confusion only to be met with a look she had only seen on his face a handful of times before and they all had been reserved for Rose. "Scorpius...what are you even saying?"

Scorpius swallowed hard, his thoughts racing. "I...I don't know..."

Lex watched him carefully for a moment longer and finally he broke his stare away, shaking his head and whatever was there in the air berween them was suddenly gone.

"I'm not ready to go back to the cottage just yet. I just...still have a lot to sort through," Lex said, breaking the awkward tension as she began to march further away from the way she had come, not waiting for Scorpius to actually acknowledge her words.

Scorpius stood there for a long moment, surprised by his own actions. He had no idea what had truly come over him. The thought of losing Lex, even if only for a fleeting moment, caused something to stir deep in his chest, something he realized may have been there for years, but that he had continued to push aside, only focus on Rose. Now, however, it seemed that as it became more clear that they may very well save Rose, his concerns had shifted to Lex. Now, the thought of losing her was unbearable. He didn't know what that actually meant as confusion flooded his senses as he chose to follow Lex further up the trail.

Ron followed Hermione into one of the spare bedrooms of Shell Cottage, surprised at how quickly she could move when she wanted to.

"Hermione-" Ron started as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

Hermione whipped around to face him, wagging a finger at him, her facial expression full of anger. "Don't you dare say another word, Ronald! You kept so much from me! How could you?"

Ron's ears went red and his voice was low. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn't want to add more stress..."

Hermione sighed, folding her arms over her small baby bump and shook her head. "And how did that go?"

"Hermione...I'm so sorry," Ron tried again, gently reaching out to touch Hermione's arm.

But Hermione pulled away and sat down on the bed, glancing out the window, holding back tears that even she didn't understand. Her emotions felt all jumbled, a mix of anger, frustration, fear, and strangly loss flew through her and she wanted to blame it on her pregnancy hormones but deep down she felt like it was something more. She was still trying to process everything she had seen and been told downstairs but it all felt like too much - too much sadness, too much loss. She felt as if she had lost her future with Ron already and yet their life together had truly barely started.

"Our future, Ron..." Hermione finally managed out and turned back to him, her eyes briming with tears.

Ron instantly was at her side, kneeling in front of her while she sat on the bed. "That future we saw downstairs...it's not going to happen. It's why Lex came back...we aren't going to let that happen."

Hermione just shook her head. "It seems much more complicated then that."

"It won't happen. I won't let it," Ron told her, taking her hand in his and kissing it.

Hermione fell into a moment of silence as Ron stared intensely up at her, his own mind racing as he was also trying to absorb some of the new information they had been given.

"Three kids..." Hermione finally said softly, shaking her head a bit.

"What?" Ron was confused.

"I can't believe we have three kids," Hermione looked down at her pregnant stomach that she now knew contained her daughter, Rose.

Ron nodded. "It took me awhile to wrap my head around that too."

Again, Hermione was silent for a long moment. "It's odd...now that I know who Lex is...I just can't explain it. It's like I've known her forever..."

"Like you already love her and want to keep her safe," Ron added.

Hermione nodded in agreement. It was an odd feeling that she could hardly explain, but now that she knew Lex was her daughter she felt overwhelming protective of her, she felt guilty for being jealous of the time Ron and Lex had spent together, she felt awful for being so short with Lex. Now that she understood who Lex was and why she had come back, all Hermione wanted to do was help Lex. It was a feeling she had never really felt before, a feeling she was only now starting to feel toward the baby she was pregnant with, the baby she now knew was Rose. It was a feeling of complete, unfiltered love for Lex and it was so odd because Hermione knew she barely knew Lex at all.

"We need to help her break this curse...or figure out how to stop everything awful we saw from happening," Hermione finally said.

Ron nodded fiercely. "We will. I promise we will."

Hermione nodded and stood with a sigh. "Well, then I suppose we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Ron nodded, also standing.

"And Ron, from here on out, don't ever lie to me about anything again. Don't ever keep secrets from me about our family."

There was a warning in Hermione's words that did not go unnoticed by Ron and so he merely nodded, knowing full well he would never keep anything important from Hermione again, even if he thought he was protecting her by doing so.