Wings of Time

Chapter 1

The Wedding

Sadness flies away on the wings of time. - Jean de La Fontaine

The Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole looked magnificent. The grass was freshly cut, and the flowers were in full bloom. In the middle of the yard was an archway with luscious green vines curling up it with pink flowers in full bloom. White wooden chairs were situated around the archway with a stone aisle going up through the middle. The house was filled with scents of newly baked sweets and cuisine.

Outside of her window, Ginny Weasley watched Fred, George, Ron, and Harry finish de-gnoming the garden. Bill and Charlie were chatting by the archway. Several people sat in the chairs. Ginny turned her gaze away from the window to look down at her mother who was undoing the hem at the bottom of the gorgeous pale gold dress robes. Next to her was Gabrielle Delacour who wore the same robes Ginny was. Gabrielle was posing in front of the mirror as though she were a model.

"Ginny, hold still," Mrs. Weasley spoke with a needle resting between her lips.

"S'not my fault that I grew after the robes were purchased," Ginny replied scornfully as she tugged on a lock of curly auburn hair that had fallen out of its bun.

Ginny's brown eyes wandered towards the window again. There stood Harry Potter with a smile planted on his slender, pale face. His hands were on his hips. He looked gorgeous in his emerald dress robes. His round, thick black-framed glasses were slipping down his nose so Harry unconsciously pushed them back up. Ginny knew she could stare at the boy for hours on end and would do so if she were allowed.

"Ginny!"

"What?" the younger witch asked as she looked down at her mother.

"I asked you to turn at least five times!" Mrs. Weasley exasperated.

With an enormous sigh, Ginny turned her back to the window. There was nothing to look at now expect Fleur and Fleur's mother, Sophie, playing around with the bride's flowing golden hair. Gabrielle had abandoned her post in front of the mirror and went over to her mother and sister. Stupid Veela beauty, Ginny thought bitterly. The redhead knew she could never achieve the Delacour's flawless beauty.

"There," Mrs. Weasley stood up and grinned at her daughter with tears shining in her eyes, "you look dazzling."

"Can I go outside now?"

"Don't you ruin that dress!"

Ginny ran out of her bedroom and practically flew down the stairs. She busted through the backdoor and into the excitement of the wedding. She sauntered over towards her brother, Hermione, and Harry. They were standing in a small circle chatting with serious looks on their faces. She crept up behind Harry and threw an arm around his shoulders.

The bespectacled boy jumped slightly at the physical touch. The trio quickly stopped talking as soon as they were aware of Ginny's presence. Harry seemed particularly at a loss as to why Ginny had come over to talk to them. It seemed as though that just because the two weren't dating anymore that they simply couldn't be around each other. That frustrated the littlest Weasley to no end.

"What are you three doing?" asked Ginny.

"Talking about things that don't involve you," Ron snapped.

"Harry, can we talk?"

Harry nodded his head almost reluctantly. The redheaded teenager grasped the boy's hand into her own and pulled him away from his best friends. Ginny could feel his fingers twitch under her grasp, but she wouldn't let go. They both needed to get pass the fact that they still loved each other despite the fact that they were no longer dating.

The two snuck around to the front of the house. Ginny led the boy of her dreams to the front porch. She whipped around with her red hair bouncing in her loose bun. Her eyes gleamed impishly as she leaned forward and locked her lips onto his. Harry's free hand found its way to the back of Ginny's head so that he could pull her towards him to deepen the kiss. She arched her back slightly and stood up on her tip toes -

"We can't," Harry murmured against her pale pink lips.

"No one has to know," a gasped reply came.

"He will know," Harry declared as he pulled back completely.

It took Ginny several seconds to register what he was saying. You-Know-Who. It was his fault that Ginny and Harry couldn't be together and be happy. He was the one hunting Harry and everyone who ever meant something to him. Ginny never hated anyone as much as she hated You-Know-Who. It was hard to think of him as You-Know-Who, the Dark Lord, or anything else but Tom Riddle, but saying Tom Riddle made Ginny's skin curl.

"Please, Harry, don't ignore this," Ginny pleaded. "Don't ignore us and what we have."

"There are things I need to do -"

"And I don't expect any less from you," the redhead finished. "I just want to know when this is all over... if... if we have a chance."

An extensive pause followed. Emerald eyes gleamed with tears. Harry's body language suddenly became one of defeat. Shoulders slumped forward with a frown etched upon his face, Harry opened his mouth to speak but found that the words wouldn't come out. The raven-haired teenager closed his mouth suddenly and searched Ginny's deep brown eyes. It was as if he were looking for answers in which only her brown orbs held the answers.

"I can't lie to you, Ginny," Harry finally spoke as his voice broke with every word, "I don't think I'm going to survive."

"NO!" Ginny cried. "Don't say that!"

"You have no idea what I have to do -"

"Let me help you -"

"NO!" Harry shouted. "I wouldn't be able to live if you died!"

Ginny faltered. Her pale hand - which was adorned with freckles of every shape and size - rose to her face to wipe a stray tear that had leaked from her eye. It was too much. It was all too much. Life would be so much simpler if You-Know-Who never existed. They could be going back to Hogwarts completely happy.

"The wedding's going to start soon," Harry whispered. "We'll talk more later."

Harry Potter turned and walked down the stairs of the porch. He turned and walked towards the backyard with his hands stuffed into his robe pockets. Ginny stood on the porch alone with a thousand thoughts filling her head. She hoped that they would all make it through the next year at Hogwarts. That's all that she really wanted.

The youngest Weasley walked through the house to the kitchen. Charlie and Bill's best friend Remington Dillingham - a broad shouldered curse breaker - were standing by the window chatting. Remington was Bill's best man while Charlie was an usher. Gabrielle, who was the maid-of-honor, stood at the other end of the kitchen while she stared in a spoon so that she could fiddle with her hair.

"Hey, Kid, you ready to go down the aisle?" Charlie asked as he held out an arm.

Ginny smiled and walked towards her older brother, linking their arms together. Molly Weasley hurried through the kitchen with Sophie Delacour behind her. They were ranting about the wedding starting in a couple minutes. They then went outside and started telling everything to take a seat.

Remington went over to Gabrielle and held out his arm for her to take. It was cute to see little Gabrielle standing on her tiptoes to reach the man's arm. The two positioned themselves in front of the backdoor so that when the music started, they would walk down the aisle. Charlie led Ginny to stand behind the maid of honor and best man. Ginny whipped her head around when she heard people speaking in fluent French. There was Fleur looking absolutely breathtaking with her arm intertwined with her father's arm.

Orchestra music started to play. The back doors magically opened. Remington and Gabrielle started walking towards the archway where Bill and a priest were waiting. Charlie gave his little sister's hand a small squeeze of reassurance. The two siblings started walking down the aisle together with all eyes on them.

Ginny tried her hardest not to look at Harry while walking towards the archway. He was sitting in-between Ron and Fred. The redhead tried so hard to keep her eyes on Bill, but found it was growing increasingly difficult. Bill's once handsome face was covered in scars. One ran from his right temple down to the left side of his chin. Several others littered his neck and face. A discolored whirly scar could be seen on his left cheek.

Charlie and Ginny had reached the archway. Charlie gave his little sister a quick kiss on the temple before going off to the right. Ginny made her way to the left to stand next to Gabrielle. Everyone in the seats stood up and turned to watch Fleur and her father come down the aisle. Fleur looked like a goddess. Her white gown was exquisite. There were several feet of a train trailing behind her. Her hair was twisted up elegantly with stray pieces of golden locks framing her face.

Through the whole ceremony, Bill had stared at Fleur as if he wasn't hearing a thing the priest had said. Ginny found it hard herself to absorb the words being said as well. She found herself catching glances at Harry, who was watching the wedding with rapid fascination. Fred and George had an evil glint in their eyes as they stole several funny looks with one another. Ron and Hermione were odd looking. Hermione had tears in her eyes and had her hand clenched in Ron's. Ginny's parents looked proud. Molly was crying as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue every couple seconds. Arthur was smiling like a fool. Tonks and Lupin were sitting next to Ginny's parents with far away looks on their faces. Other Order of the Phoenix members attended the wedding as well as Fleur's family from France. The one person who should have attended but didn't was Percy. He had declined to attend his older brother's wedding.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Ginny turned her head to watch Bill and Fleur lock lips in a passionate looking kiss. Half of the crowd cheered and clapped. Cries of joy could be heard from several in the crowd. Ginny grinned widely and let out a small cheer for her brother. The newlyweds pulled back. Bill never looked happier in his life. His blue eyes shined with love as he admired his new wife. Flashes started to blind the wedding party. Mrs. Weasley, Mrs. Delacour, and other members of the family started taking pictures to document the day.

When the cameras died down, everyone went over to a table and sat down to enjoy a feast. Ginny sat with her brothers, parents, Hermione, and Harry. Ginny took a seat in-between George and Hermione. The food was delicious. Molly Weasley had outdone herself this time. Silverware clattered loudly and the chatter never seemed to cease. The food quickly disappeared and everyone was filing to dance under the floating candles. The sun was almost entirely gone.

Ron extended a hand to Hermione. The two walked to the dance floor and started dancing awkwardly. Bill and Fleur were dancing closely in the middle of everyone. Ginny's parents as well as Fleur's were dancing also. Fred and George had decided to dance together - only they were flinging their arms wildly in the air and attempting to due tricks. Several watched the twins and laughed at their antics. Lupin and Tonks had stopped dancing to watch the twins' effort in a muggle style of dance called 'break dancing'. Ginny smiled as she watched everyone dancing when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw none other than Harry Potter standing behind her. His hand was extended and there was a sheepish smile etched upon his face. Ginny's hand grasped his, and the two walked out towards where everyone else was dancing. Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled Ginny tightly towards his body. The redhead's hand rested comfortably on the boy's frail shoulder. Their other hands were entwined. Neither spoke, but they both looked into each other's eyes hopelessly.

"I won't be here when you wake tomorrow," Harry broke the comfortable silence.

"Where are you going?" Ginny whispered as her throat clenched.

"Godric's Hollow."

"Godric's Hollow?"

"My parents' house," Harry declared softly. "Just for the rest of the summer though. Ron and Hermione are coming with me."

"I'll come with you too, and then we can all go to King's Cross together."

"I'm not going back to Hogwarts," uttered Harry remorsefully.

"What?"

"I'm going to find Voldemort's Horcruxes."

Ginny was at a loss for words. She stared into Harry's eyes as if trying to find a hint of laughter or joke residing in his emerald orbs. She was mistaken, however. His eyes were filled with truth, love, seriousness, and a tiny - very small glimmer - of fear. She wanted to scream, cry, and beg him not to go. Ginny liked to believe she was strong, but she found herself clinging oddly to the love of her life.

"Can we talk somewhere in private?"

Ginny nodded dumbly and broke away from Harry. She grasped his hand in hers, and the two walked inside the Burrow. They treaded up the stairs and into Ginny's bedroom, which was littered with boxes that had once held wedding supplies. Harry turned crimson as he walked into his ex-girlfriend's room. Ginny let out a strangled chuckle as she closed the door - the lock clicking softly.

Ginny's room was slightly girly and slightly tomboyish. Her walls were covered in a pale pink color with Quidditch posters plastered over it. Her rickety canopy bed had pink and purple sheets on it with at least five different pillows and several stuffed animals. Thin pink cloths hung off the top of the canopy. There were a couple dressers, wardrobes, and a vanity. Each piece of furniture was adorned in Quidditch stickers as well as others. Clothes also littered the floor.

"I never thought Harry Potter would be in my room," Ginny giggled softly.

"It's very... pink," Harry said as his eyes searched the room.

Ginny burst out laughing. It must have been very contagious since Harry had burst out laughing as well. Once the two seemed to calm down and remember why they were in the room in the first place, the laughter had died completely. Ginny sat down on her bed and picked at imaginary fuzz on her comforter. Harry walked over and sat down next to her.

"No one can know where Ron, Hermione, and I are going," Harry spoke softly. "You can't tell anyone."

"I won't," Ginny answered automatically.

"You can't owl me, because I don't want to compromise Ron and Hermione's lives."

"I won't."

"I'll write you as often as I can to let you know we're safe."

Ginny nodded and uttered a soft, "Okay."

"I need you to do something for me."

Ginny's head snapped up and locked her gaze in Harry's. He reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a necklace. It had a silver chain and a green locket-type thing hanging from the bottom. The necklace twirled in Harry's outstretched hand. It was beautiful.

"This was the Horcrux Dumbledore and I went to retrieve the night he - the night he..." Harry trailed off. "This isn't the real Horcrux though. This replaced the real one. It came with a note by R.A.B. Ginny, I need you to figure out whom R.A.B. is, and I need you to owl me with that information. That's the only owl you can send me."

"What's a Horcrux?" Ginny questioned with a frown etched on her elegant face.

"It's... Voldemort, he split his soul into pieces," Harry tried to explain. "It makes him immortal. You need to destroy the Horcruxes before you can kill Voldemort. Does that make sense?"

Ginny nodded and replied, "Yeah. The letters? They were R.A.B.?"

"Yes. The person's most likely dead and was most likely a Death Eater," Harry continued with a nod. "Hermione's been trying to find out whom he is, but we just can't seem to figure out for sure."

"What was Sirius's brother's name?" Ginny asked suddenly as something clicked in her brain.

Pain flashed through Harry's eyes but left as quickly as it came. It hurt him deeply to talk about Sirius, but he held his head up high and pretended as though he was okay with the death of his godfather. Harry shifted his weight slightly on the bed like he was buying time.

"Uhh... Regulus, I believe."

"Well, there's your R.B.," Ginny declared. "I wonder what his middle name was."

"He was a Death Eater," Harry admitted. "He's dead because he wanted out of Voldemort's ranks. Can you research his middle name for me when you get to Hogwarts? I'm sure there are files of students who attended there. Archives in the library most likely."

"Sure," Ginny replied, "I can do that. I'll search for others who match those initials as well."

"Thank-you."

Ginny reached out and clasped Harry's hands into hers. Their bodies leaned forward and their lips locked into a soft kiss. Ginny was about to pull away when Harry had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a bruising kiss. He leaned forward, causing Ginny to fall back on her bed. Harry was on top of the youngest Weasley in seconds. Their lips never parted, but their hands were all over each other. Ginny's found her hands in his hair, his neck, and on his chest. Harry found his running over her legs, arms, and along her sides. His hand found it's way under her dress and that was when Harry pulled back immediately looking very panicked.

They were both gasping for breath. Ginny's chest was heaving heavily up and down. Their faces were both red from a mixture of lack of air and embarrassment. Harry muttered a sorry and rolled off the bed. Ginny stayed where she was, however. A smile spread across her scarlet face for the first time since Harry and Ginny had split up. The redhead sat up and adjusted her robes so that her legs weren't showing as much as they were.

"Don't worry about it," Ginny said with a smile. "I quite enjoyed it."

"We can't do this until Voldemort is dead."

"Okay."

"I love you, Ginny, I really do," he spoke the words as though it was the hardest thing he had ever had to do.

"I love you too, Harry."

"I just can't have you dying like Sirius did," Harry choked the words out.

"I know."

"I already let the only father I've ever known die... I can't let someone I love as much as you die."

"I know."

The two were both on the verge of tears, but neither let them fall. Ginny blinked several times and turned away from Harry. A freckly arm reached up and quickly wiped her face. She turned back to Harry to see his emerald eyes still glistening with tears. No other words were exchanged. Ginny simply got up out of her bed and wrapped her arms around 'The Chosen One'. Neither knew how long they stood like that and neither of them cared. They felt at ease, comfortable in each other's arms. They were safe as long as they were together.

"Come back to me, Harry," Ginny mumbled in the folds of Harry's robes.

"What?" Harry questioned as he craned his neck to try to see her face as she looked up at him.

"Come back to me," Ginny said clearer. "Please, just come back to me."

Harry was about to say something semi-comforting when Molly Weasley's voice rang throughout the house. She was shouting their names with panic evident in her voice. They had worried her sick by disappearing. Harry quickly let go of Ginny and ran to the door to let Mrs. Weasley know that they were all right. The teenagers locked a gaze once more before making their way back down to the wedding party.

The party dragged on for hours. Cake was served and more dancing was entailed. Ginny and Harry danced a couple more times with each other. Ginny had also danced with Bill and her father. Harry had spent most of his time sitting at the table when not dancing with Ginny. The night ended with a fireworks display from Fred and George. By one o'clock the next morning, everyone had left or was snug in their beds. Ginny tried not to fall asleep no matter how tired she was. She was listening for her brother, Hermione, and Harry to leave. She never did hear them for she had dozed off around three.

The next morning there was shouting from downstairs. Ginny jumped up in her bed and saw - to her surprise - Hedwig, Pig, and Crookshanks in her room. Crookshanks was sleeping at the foot of her bed with a note tied around his neck. Ginny reached forward and took the note and it read:

My Dearest Ginny,

Ron, Hermione, and I are leaving around five o'clock this morning. It's nearly time, so Hermione thought we had better leave you with our pets. Please take care of them. I know you already have Arnold to care for, but three more pets shouldn't be that much more trouble? Ron says that you can leave Pig with your parents. I ask you to take Hedwig to Hogwarts with you, however. When you figure out who R.A.B. is, send your letter with Hedwig. I feel Hedwig is the only owl who can find me. Hermione asks that you take Crookshanks to Hogwarts with you. She says you don't need to feed him or anything, because he likes going out at night to catch mice to eat. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

I love you, Ginny, and I hope you stay safe this year at Hogwarts. Stay close to those you trust. Please visit Hagrid. I know he's been so upset ever since Dumbledore passed. Hagrid respected him above all others. I also hope that you continue Quidditch. I hope you play Seeker, because I can't bear to think of anyone else playing my position but you. Don't worry about Ron and Hermione. I'll protect them the best I can. They send their love to you. I will try my hardest to come back to you, so that we can start our relationship again. It honestly was the best I've ever been in my whole life. If I do die, however, I'm going to take down as many Death Eaters as I can as well as Voldemort if I can manage it.

Hedwig has a letter in her cage for you as well. Do not open it or give it to anyone. That letter is to go to Remus Lupin only if I die. Please, Ginny, it's not to be opened unless I die. In the letter is everything that I know about Voldemort and how to destroy him. It has all the information that Dumbledore showed me. It also contains the objects that Dumbledore thought were the Horcruxes.

Forever Yours,

Harry

Ginny felt hot tears running down her face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. She had to have faith that Harry would be okay. She had to believe in him and be strong for him. Mrs. Weasley's voice yelled again in strangled cries. Her bedroom door burst opened, and Ginny quickly hid her letter.

"You're here!" Charlie said frantically. His face was drained of all color.

"What happened?" Ginny inquired as she tried not to let on that she knew.

"Ron, Harry, and Hermione! They're gone! Vanished!"

Ginny nodded dimly, her mind wandering to the loving letter from Harry stashed under her leg. Charlie then noticed that the trio's pets were in her room. He questioned her as to why, but the younger Weasley only shrugged her shoulders and muttered, "I don't know." Ginny never saw her mother cry as much as she had that day and the rest of the summer. There were no letters from any of the three. Nobody knew where they were - nobody but Ginny of course. She wouldn't betray Harry's trust, however, so she kept her lips sealed.