The Past, Present, and Future

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The spell shot through Harry's wand, and made contact with the Death Eater right in the chest. Harry turned away immediately after the hooded figure fell on his back.

"RON! RON! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

He looked frantically for his best friend in the crowd of screaming figures. There were dead bodies everywhere; some wore the mask that identified them as a Death Eater, while others were limp bodies of women and children.

Damn Voldemort! DAMN YOU!

Harry kept on running down the empty street. The buildings around him were lit on fire, windows shattered, and he could hear the distant screaming of someone begging for help.

Where is it coming from? I have to go help them!

He kept on running hoping to meet a familiar face, hoping to get an explanation on what the hell was going, but he saw no one. He had reached the center of the town now, where there was an open space and a fountain.

And suddenly, he screamed and crumbled to the ground. Voldemort was standing right in front of him. His hands shot immediately to his scar, and for a moment he was blinded with pain. Voldemort spoke, the sound of his voice sent shivers down his back.

"Potter, we meet again. It's been quite a while since our last conversation." Harry looked up at him, at his pale reptilian face, his red scarlet eyes, burning with hate, and at his mouth, twisted into a disgusting smirk.

"You will die Tom, I will kill you if it's the last thing I do!" Harry stood up. He wasn't going to kneel in front of his enemy.

"Oh? Kill me? Potter, don't you think you have done enough killing?"

"What are you talking about?! I haven't killed anyone!"

"Why Harry, than who murdered all your friends?" Voldemort suddenly stepped away, and Harry saw with horror his best friend's body, laying flat on the ground.

"NOO!! NO! YOU KILLED HIM!" He screamed, and rushed to his friend.

"RON! RON!" But Harry knew he was already dead, he could tell from Ron's pale face, the dead look in his blue eyes, and the coldness of his skin.

But then, another figure appeared next to Ron. It was Hermione, then another, Ginny, Fred, George, Neville, Molly, Arthur, and they all looked at Harry through eyes that meant only death.

"No, no, no I didn't kill them, I didn't!" He scrambled away from his dead friends.

"They all died because of you Harry, you killed them, just like you killed Cedric!"

NO, NO Voldemort's lying, his lying! I didn't kill them, I didn't!

His hands were shaking, and Voldemort's cold laugh filled his head, draining away any warmth he had left. He opened his eyes to see that Ron had began to walk toward him, then Hermione, then everyone else got up and began approaching him.

"You killed us Harry, you killed us!"

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He opened his eyes, and for a moment, he had no idea where he was. Then it dawned on him. It was a dream. He wiped of the sweat that was pouring down his face, and he tried to calm down his rapid breathing.

It was just a dream, just a dream...Merlin it felt so real.

He got out of bed, knowing that he would not get anymore sleep that night. Turning on the bathroom light, he looked at himself in the mirror. His face was pale and wet from sweat. His hair was messier than ever, and his eyes had gone slightly red.

Bloody Hell...when will these dreams stop?

He turned the tap on so cold water flowed out, and he wet his face with it. Feeling slightly better, he walked down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Pointing his wand at the fireplace, he lit a warm fire, and the dark room flooded with light. Putting the pot of water on the stove he waited for it to heat up.

It's been five years since he had graduated from Hogwarts. Voldemort was still not destroyed, was still killing, but now, he was weak. His reformed army of Death Eaters were not all as loyal as the Dark Lord thought. Information began to leak out, and the Ministry, finally accepting the return of Voldemort, was able to stop many of attacks by Death Eaters. Day by day, more prisoners were thrown into Azkaban.

Ever since he got out of Hogwarts, all he had been doing was fighting. He trained for an Auror, got top marks, and was hired immediately by the ministry. By the end of his first week as an Auror, he had already killed twenty people. He worked hard, and almost always got injured, but he also knew that the downfall of Lord Voldemort was up to him. He no longer had any close friends, nor did he dare spend much time with the Weasleys. He was afraid that they might die because of him. He concentrated on nothing but his job at the ministry and working for the Order.

He had bought his own flat in London, close to the ministry so that he could respond to calls quicker. Harry's only close friends were Ron and Hermione. He refused to let anyone else get attached to him and vice versa.

But there was once, when he had met the most extraordinary girl he had ever known.

Raphaella Thayer

Beautiful, talented, magical. That was what Harry thought of Raphaella when he first saw her. But he smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Potter, you're going crazy. Raphaella's gone." Chuckling to himself, he got up from his chair and went to make his tea.

It was going to be a long night for him

.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sydney, Australia

Ginny Weasley, now twenty-two years old, stared as another airplane soared into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds. The sight of it made her sick. She turned away from the window and walked back into the waiting area.

Ginny had been training to be an Auror for three years in Australia, and had graduated from Auror academy only a month ago. Immediately, she was called to duty, and to her delight, she was to transfer back to London, a place she hadn't been for way too long.

She missed her family terribly, and even longed for their shabby house. But while attending the academy, they were not allowed any breaks unless seriously ill, and Ginny could only see her family through pictures her mom sent her with their owl.

But now, I'm finally going back...

A smile crept on her face, but was immediately extinguished by the sound of one more plane lifting off. That brought her down to reality, and she moaned with frustration. While attending school, she had made quite a few friends. But she had become extremely attached to one of the girls, named Faye Price. Faye was extremely ambitious, and also very pretty. But she also had brains, unlike most of the other girls there, and Ginny respected her for that. They became friends instantly, and by the end of their first year, they were practically inseparable.

Faye and her were to transfer to London in the beginning of August. And it was also Faye's idea for them to travel in a Muggle way. Ginny could still remember how her friend tricked her...

* 2 weeks ago *

"Okay, so let me get this straight. You want me to travel all the way to London on a metal bird."

Ginny stared at her friend as though she had just grown another head. Faye and her were drinking coffee at the Starbucks Coffee House, which was located right next to their Academy. Sitting at their favorite table in the corner, they were having one of their usual arguments.

Faye completely ignored the shocked look on Ginny's face. Instead, she just smiled and shook her head.

"No, no Ginny. You totally misunderstood me!"

Ginny let out a sigh. "Wow, you scared me Faye! But I suppose even you aren't crazy enough to do want to do that!"

"I misused my words." Faye folded her arms and leaned forward so that her and Ginny's face were only a few inches apart. "We are traveling to London the Muggle way, and that is why we are going to ride the airplane, which is not a metal bird. It only looks like one."

Ginny had said no immediately. She had seen pictures of these so-called airplanes (looked more like metal junk to her), and she didn't trust them one bit. There was just no way those things could fly from Sydney to London! She told Faye repeatedly that it was just so much faster and easier to travel magically, but her friend had argued right back. They couldn't apparate because it was just too far, and Faye just hated using the floo; and portkeys, according to her, was just not exciting enough.

So the two argued until their throats throbbed, then they cursed at each other in such terrible language that the manager at Starbucks actually kicked them out, after that they hexed each other but realized that it was no use because they kept on dodging or blocking each others spells (after all, that's what they have been trained to do), and in the end, Ginny gave up. Faye was just way too stubborn for her.

So here she was, sitting in one of the many plastic chairs that were available, and her stomach twisting horribly every time she looked at the airplanes outside.

"Ginny! Hey!"

Ginny looked up. Her friend Faye was walking toward her with two brown bags. Ginny couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.

Faye was very tall for a girl, close to six feet, at least three inches taller than Ginny. She had a very elegant figure, her face was well formed and her skin was a little tanned. Her eyes were a sparking color of deep blue, and her natural blush gave her an innocent look. But it was Faye's beach blonde hair that Ginny admired the most. It was never messy, and unlike Ginny's curly hair, Faye's was dead straight. Ginny always thought Faye looked like one of those California girls.

"Where have you been?" Faye asked, walking over to where Ginny was sitting. Ginny answered her with a glare.

"Trying not to look at those metal monsters." All Faye did was let out a hearty chuckle and sat next to Ginny.

Ginny peaked into the brown bags she was holding. "You bought more food!?" Faye's shrugged, and handed a wrapped burger to Ginny.

"Well, it's a long trip, you wanna be prepared you know?" She took a large bite out of her double cheeseburger, completely ignoring Ginny, who was rambling on and on about how unhealthy fast food was and how she could eat so much when they were probably going to die soon.

"I mean Faye, really, how can you eat something that has so much grease in it?! I think I would throw up if I see one more junk food, not to mention the fact that I already feel nauseated enough just looking outside, and and just thinking of riding that, that, THING! If we die - Faye, are you even listening to me?"

Faye looked up at her and pointed at her untouched burger. "You gonna eat that?"

Ginny let out a growl.

*~*~*~*

It was only 6:00 A.M. when Harry arrived at the Ministry. The main entrance was as always, crowded and filled with noise. Saying a few 'mornings' to other ministry workers, Harry headed for the Auror Headquarters.

He pushed open the large oak doors to find that several people were already working. He saw Billings, a buff French guy, who was talking with Lionel, a short petite woman. They both looked up when they saw the door open, and gave Harry a nod before returning back to their conversation.

Matilda, one of the new recruits, was making coffee in the corner, and a few other people were at their cubicles, documenting facts or busily answering the flying memos.

Harry walked over toward Matilda.

"That coffee ready yet?" he asked hopefully.

"No sir, I just added water. It's gonna take a while. But you're not the only one craving for it." She gave him a sad smile, took one of the glazed donuts that was lying in a cardboard box, and walked off chewing on it.

"Hey Vaughn!" Harry called back at her. "You know how old that is?!" Without even turning around, Matilda shouted back, "It's about a week old! Still taste fresh though!"

Harry smiled. There were about a hundred Aurors working in the department, but everyone knew each other. All the Aurors treated each other like family. They all joked around, they laugh at each other, and over all, most of them worked well with each other.

BEEP!

The red light on the coffee maker switched to green. Getting a plastic cup, Harry poured the black liquid all the way, while adding about five spoon-fulls of sugar and at least three packages of cream. He didn't care much for food, but caffeine was a necessity. He was just about to take a sip when something poked him in the head. It was a memo. Looking slightly irritated, he grabbed the memo, and opened it.

Potter,

We're getting two new recruits from Sydney. They are coming by a Muggle way and riding on something called air birds, I don't remember. Pick them up at where ever these so-called birds land. They should be arriving around six in the morning. By the time you get them back, I should have already arrived at the Ministry.

Head of Auror Department

Sam Warman

Harry slammed the memo on to the snack table with a loud Bang, causing his coffee to spill, and ran out of the double oak doors as quickly as he could, curse words coming out of his mouth every few minutes.

The airport! That's going to take me at least an hour to get there without magic! And it's already quarter past six! Right when rush hour starts! And why in the world is Warman recruiting more people? We already have plenty!

*~*~*~*~*~

Ginny looked out of the small rectangular window. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the stars were slowly disappearing. The airplane was now flying over a thick layer of white clouds, and Ginny had a great urge to jump out and just bounce on them.

Well...maybe airplanes aren't too bad...

She smiled despite herself.

But

... She turned her gaze on to Faye, who had fallen asleep, and was snoring lightly, her head leaned against Ginny's shoulder.

I rather eat slugs before I will admit that to her.

Covering Faye with one of the gray blankets the plane offered, Ginny begin to ponder about London.

No one knew that she was going back. None of her brothers, nor her parents. She wanted to surprise them. It was going to be great being home, and she just couldn't wait to introduce Faye to her family. But there was someone else she had been wanting to see.

Harry...

The name brought her so many mixed emotions, and she wondered for a moment whether or not he remembered the last night they had spent together in the garden four years ago. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a steward announced that they were now in London.

'Attention Passengers, we will be landing in approximately twenty-five minutes. Please buckle your seat belts and remain in your seat until landing. Thank you and we hope you enjoyed your flight.'

Ginny poked her friend. "Oy, Faye, get up, we're in London. You need to buckle your seatbelt." Faye grunted slightly, buckled up her seatbelt, than went back to sleep. Ginny shook her head, and then stared down at her own seatbelt.

Now, how had Faye put these things on? It can't be that hard to ...she did it without even opening her eyes...lets see...these straps aren't long enough! How in the world do you do this!

She had begun to pull on the straps violently, but stopped when a smiling steward appeared next to her. "Can I help you with that?" Slightly embarrassed, she nodded, and thanked the lady after she had buckled her seatbelt.

Well...at least Faye wasn't awake. If she saw that, I probably never hear the end of it.

Butterflies flew around in her stomach every time she thought of seeing her family. Boy, were they going to be surprised.

I will go and see Dad at the ministry the moment we get off the plane

. She decided. Everyone else can wait, but I just got to see my family...and eventually, I will pay Harry a visit.

She wasn't really sure how long eventually was going to be, but she also knew that sooner or later, she would seem him whether he liked it or not.

If Ginny only knew how true her last words were.

*!*!*!*!