Rating:
PG-13
House:
Schnoogle
Characters:
Ginny Weasley
Genres:
General
Era:
Multiple Eras
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Quidditch Through the Ages Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 08/05/2003
Updated: 09/12/2004
Words: 181,356
Chapters: 34
Hits: 75,719

Broken Fate

Qwi_Xux

Story Summary:
In a future world ruled by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the next generation travels back in time in an attempt to change fate. SPOILER WARNING: Takes place after Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 27

Chapter Summary:
The future: where Voldemort and his Death Eaters rule. In a desperate act, the children of the Trio, Ginny, and Neville travel back in time in an attempt to stop their future from becoming a reality. (H/G, R/Hr)
Posted:
06/10/2004
Hits:
2,053
Author's Note:
The basis of the events concerning Ginny in this chapter have been a loooong time in coming-it was supposed to happen numerous chapters ago, (and several months earlier) but the plot took a different curve.


Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ Divide and Conquer

Will and Tonks returned from Grimmauld Place on Saturday, and Will explained the situation with Molly to the others. He said that he and Tonks had gone over the Reciprocated Mirror several times, and neither of them had noticed anything out of the ordinary on it. Almost as soon as Tonks and Will appeared at Grimmauld Place, Molly stopped coloring. Will was convinced she had only been doing it to get their attention, for some reason that was still unknown. Mrs. Weasley continued to send letters assuring them that Molly again seemed fine, and was only drawing occasional pictures, as was usual for her.

It took Neville two weeks to recover from his wound; his friends took turns taking notes in his classes and bringing him homework so he wouldn't fall behind. Dumbledore gave both Neville and Shay a very stern lecture on the dangers of going into the Forbidden Forest; Professor Snape sentenced Shay with a detention and twenty points taken from Slytherin, and Professor McGonagall took thirty points from Gryffindor, but didn't give Neville a detention-she said being stung by a Blast-Ended Skrewt was punishment enough.

Shay and Jamie's relationship continued to develop. Publicly, they were supposedly building a friendship. It wasn't hard to do-they had three classes together, plus Hogwarts Coalition meetings, and many Gryffindors and Slytherins had become friends. However, by the first week of February, word had spread through the school that famous Jamie Potter and foreign exchange student Shay Long were dating.

Shay had also begun a very tentative friendship with Neville. Jamie was right-Neville was a bit like Will, at least as far as his attitude and his patience. It was easy to see how the two of them had become friends. It wasn't an easy thing for Shay, but he worked at it. Over the course of the two weeks Neville was in the infirmary, he slowly came to realize that he forgave his father. He finally, truly forgave him, and it was as if a burden had been released. It was amazing, and Shay finally felt like he was able to find some sort of peace in his life. He even thanked Neville for saving his life in the forest, and Neville smiled at him. "You saved mine, too," he pointed out.

Shay's thoughts, meanwhile, became occupied with other things. Draco had failed to meet with the Death Eaters since the conversation in which they had talked about a package. Shay was convinced Draco had either received the package, or would soon be receiving it. There had obviously been some correspondence canceling or postponing further fireplace meetings. Shay even snuck up to the sixth year dormitory while Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were out, but couldn't find anything suspicious. Of course, if Draco was smart, he wouldn't do anything openly in his dormitory, since Snape had put Reciprocated Mirrors in it.

It looked more and more like they were going to have to rely on the Veritaserum to get any answers. Hermione and Jamie assured everyone that the Veritaserum was coming along nicely; they had managed to add the virish root that Neville had collected in time, and they were now missing only one hard-to-find ingredient. They finally owled Fred and George Weasley about it, and were told the twins would try to get their hands on it. Given that the last ingredient came in, Hermione and Jamie estimated that the potion would be ready around Valentine's Day.

The next Hogsmeade weekend came just before Valentine's Day, and Jamie wasn't allowed to go-Dumbledore said it was for her safety. Ginny had come down quite suddenly with a nasty cold, and so she was the one who stayed behind with Jamie. "Don't worry; I'll be better in time for Valentine's Day," she told Harry miserably. Well, it sounded more like, "Dob'd worry; I'll be bedder for Balendine's Day," and she sneezed into a handkerchief several times after this proclamation, but Harry didn't contradict her. He simply smiled and grabbed a blanket from the back of one of the couches in the common room. "Just get better," he said, tucking it around her. He looked at Jamie. "Will you two be all right here?"

"We'll be fine," Jamie said.

"Jusd bring back lods of chocolade," Ginny said.

Harry grinned. "I will."

"And dob'd forge-"

"Don't forget to get Molly a birthday present," Harry finished.

Ginny nodded.

"I won't." Molly's fourth birthday had been on February tenth, but this was the first day any of them had to get her anything. Harry met up with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, and the four of them headed down to Hogsmeade. Will had decided to go with Shay, and Harry had no idea where the two of them were.

"So what are you and Ginny doing for Valentine's Day?" Hermione asked him as they made their way out of the Hogwarts gates.

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. We haven't really decided..." The truth was, he hadn't a clue what to do. His first Valentine's Day with a girl-Cho Chang-had been disastrous, and he didn't want to ruin his first Valentine's Day with Ginny.

"Harry! You have to do something for Ginny! It's your first Valentine's together!" Hermione admonished. "

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, but was wise enough not to say anything.

"I'm working on it, Hermione," Harry said dryly. "Besides-what are you doing?"

Ron made a face at him, which Harry pointedly ignored. Hermione sighed and looked at him as if he hadn't a clue. "Harry, you know I can't talk about it with Ron standing right here."

Harry glanced over at Neville, who shrugged. Harry shook his head and turned his eyes back on the road. They were just entering Hogsmeade, which looked as quaint as ever with its snow-covered buildings. They were soon lost in visiting all of their favorite shops. As promised, Harry bought Ginny a huge bag of chocolate at Honeyduke's. When they reached Zonko's Joke Shop, Harry was startled to see Angelina Johnson-no, Angelina Weasley-standing just outside.

Ron sounded equally surprised. "Angelina!"

Angelina turned and grinned at them. "Hello! I was wondering if I would see you today."

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, giving Angelina a hug. "And how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better-no more morning sickness, thank goodness, and I'm not nearly as tired anymore," Angelina said.

Harry frowned. "You still don't look...well, pregnant." It still seemed so weird that Angelina was actually going to have a baby. With Fred. They had just been in school with him last year...

Angelina laughed. "Well, no. I'm only three months, Harry; I won't start really showing for another month or two."

"Oh." That showed how much he knew about pregnancy.

"As far as what I'm doing here," Angelina continued, "Well...that's a story. You see-"

"Ron!" Fred's loud voice interrupted Angelina, and he stepped through a pack of fourth years to stand beside his wife. "Harry, Hermione, Neville-good to see you! Where's Ginny? I heard she can hardly be separated from you these days, Harry..."

"She's sick," Harry replied, wondering who Fred had heard this from, since he and Ginny spent plenty of time separated...

Fred narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Better not be the same kind of sickness that Angelina's got."

Harry flushed crimson. "I-no-of course not-we-" He saw the twinkle in Fred's eye and glared mutinously. "She just has a cold."

"And you're here, instead of bringing her tea and toast?" Fred teased.

Harry held up the bag of chocolate, and Fred grinned. "Ah," he said, with a nod of understanding. "But of course. My darling sister's insatiable need for chocolate strikes again."

"What are you doing here?" Ron repeated Hermione's earlier question.

"We," Fred said proudly, "were completing a sale."

"A sale? With Zonko's?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.

"In a matter of speaking," Fred said. "Except it's not Zonko's anymore."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Well, it's sure to be in the papers tomorrow..." Fred said lazily.

Angelina rolled her eyes upward. "Honestly, Fred, you are such a prat." She looked at Harry and his friends. "Mr. Zonko is retiring," she explained. "And he doesn't have anyone to pass his joke shop to. His son lives in Spain-which is where Mr. Zonko is moving-but he has no interest in running a joke shop. So we've bought it. The shop in Diagon Alley has been doing so well we can afford to open another one, and this is the perfect location."

"Angelina and I'll be moving out here, and George will be running the shop in Diagon Alley," Fred said. "Lee's going to be helping him with that quite a bit." He dropped his voice and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "It's also part of the work we're doing for the Order-so is the shop in Diagon Alley. I'll tell you more about when we're somewhere a little less crowded."

"That's great!" Hermione said. "When will you be moving?"

"In a month or so," Angelina replied.

"So we're sure to see a lot more of you," Fred said. He wrapped an arm around Angelina. "Right now, though, we need to get going. Tell Ginny hello for us-and that niece and nephew of ours, too. Oh, and Hermione-here." Fred pulled a small parcel out of his pocket and handed it to her. "It's the...stuff you asked me for," he said with a grin.

It had to be the last ingredient for the Veritaserum. "Oh! Thank you!" Hermione carefully tucked the parcel into her robe pocket. "What do I owe you?"

"Nothing...I had my ways of getting it," Fred said. Nodding at them, Fred and Angelina headed down the busy street.

"Well, good for them!" Hermione said, giving a satisfied nod. "It's great that their business is going so well."

"Yeah." Ron stared at their retreating backs for a minute, and then turned his gaze on Hermione, Harry, and Neville. "I'm hungry. Anyone up for lunch?"

~*~

Ginny blew her nose for the hundredth time, sighing miserably. Jamie was being incredibly nice about sitting with her and working on her homework, but Ginny knew she was poor company-she barely had the energy to get off the couch. And she probably looked as horrid as she felt-earlier, when she had looked at herself in the mirror, her face had been pale-all for her nose, which was completely red, and her freckles. She hated colds. Why had she had to come down with one right now? She had so much to do-the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff was in a week, loads of homework...she had tried to get some done earlier, but had failed miserably. Her head felt so stuffy, and her brain wasn't working properly.

"I could really use some dea righd aboud dow," Ginny said stuffily. Her mum had always made hot tea and toast for all of the Weasley children when they were ill, and it was something Ginny had continued even at Hogwarts.

"I'd get you some, but...I'm not allowed around the school by myself," Jamie said, making a face. "I could ask one of the younger students to fetch a cup."

Ginny shook her head. "Id's all righd. I'll jusd-"

"Ginny?" a timid-looking second year approached her. Ginny was pretty sure her name was Isabelle.

"Yes?"

"An owl just pecked on one of the windows-it had a package for you." Isabelle held out a small, flat, rectangular package.

Frowning curiously, Ginny took it from her. "Thank you."

"Welcome." Isabelle scuttled away, and Ginny flipped the package over. There was no writing on it except for Ginny Weasley, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Normally, her family-the only people who really wrote her at school-put a return address on anything they sent. She hesitated, holding the package at arm's length. She had received enough curses from people who wished her to break up with Harry, but it had been several weeks since one of those had come.

Sighing-she wouldn't know one way or another unless she opened it-she carefully peeled back the edges of the package. When nothing came oozing out of it, she opened it further and grabbed hold of the item within. A physical shock seemed to course through her fingers, startling her, and she quickly pulled her hand away. More cautiously, she reached out and touched it again. Nothing happened this time, so she pulled it completely out of the wrapping. When she saw what she held in her hand, she frowned in puzzlement. "Id's a blank piece of parchment."

Jamie sat down beside her. "It's part of a blank piece of parchment. Why would someone send you a piece of parchment?" She plucked the paper out of Ginny's hand, turning it over and shaking her head. "I don't know what it is."

"You didb't feel anything when you douched id?"

"Feel anything? Like what?" Jamie asked.

"I thoughd I feld a shock in my fingers when I douched id, bud baybe I imagined id."

Jamie shook her head and put the parchment down. "I'd tell Dumbledore if anything else happens."

Ginny nodded pensively. "I will."

~*~

"You all right, Gin?" Harry asked, frowning at her. She had barely moved from her spot on the couch all day.

Ginny nodded. "I'b jusd very dired." She promptly sneezed into the crook of her elbow, which made her already aching head pound, and she groaned miserably.

Harry frowned at her in concern. "C'mon, Ginny. You need to go to bed, and forget about Quidditch practice in the morning. You need sleep."

"Bud I can..."

"We'll practice without you. It won't do any good if you're sick for the game next week," Harry told her firmly, standing up and pulling her to her feet. For a moment, she was sure she was going to collapse; her legs weren't cooperating. She regained her footing, and Harry walked her over to the staircase to the girls' dormitories and gave her a light kiss on the lips. "Go on."

Ginny smiled tiredly at him, and turned her head just in time to avoid sneezing all over his face. Ugh. Wasn't she just so romantic. "G'nighd, Harry." She trudged tiredly up to her dorm. Elspeth, her messy dormmate, was awake and applying make-up in front of her mirror. Ginny didn't bother to wonder what Elspeth was doing putting on make-up at nine o'clock on a Saturday night; stuff like this was a normal occurrence. She simply stumbled over to her bed and collapsed onto it, barely managing to pull her curtains closed.

Ginny had a very hard time getting comfortable; her head really hurt and her nose was so plugged it was difficult to breathe. She tossed and turned, finally settling in a sitting position against several pillows. She fell asleep to the sound of Elspeth humming to herself.

Darkness. Thick, stifling blackness surrounded her. It was a familiar darkness; this wasn't the first time she had experienced it in her dreams. Ever since Tom Riddle's possession of her, nightmares had frequented her sleep. And they always started with the darkness.

This was one was different. Ginny realized it almost immediately. First, it was unusual because she knew it was a dream. Most of the time, her unconscious mind wasn't actually aware that she was asleep. Second, instead of the vague sequence of images that usually accompanied the suffocating gloom-the part that made it a nightmare-wasn't there. Ginny waited for it; expected it, but it didn't come. It was as if her mind had been suspended in this inky night.

Then, a pinprick of light began in the center of the blackness. It wasn't bright white light, but a dull gray that was almost as bad as the dark. It grew and grew until Ginny could see a shadowy form silhouetted against the glow. She could tell it was a person, but she couldn't make out any facial features. A cold, hard knot of dread formed in her stomach, and even before the figure spoke, she realized whom she was seeing in her dreams.

"Hello, Ginevra," a high, cold voice rang through her mind, causing the dread in her stomach to change to terror that flooded through her body. Ginevra was her full first name-not a well-known fact-but Tom Riddle had called her Ginevra when addressing her personally. This wasn't sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, though; this was Lord Voldemort, and how would Voldemort have known her real name?

He's not real, he's not real...I'm only dreaming, Ginny thought frantically, but at the same time, something in the back of her mind told her otherwise.

"In case you're wondering how I know your name-I know much about you, Ginny Weasley. Harry Potter may have destroyed my diary, but did you not think I would be able to access its information? Did you not realize I would have some safeguards on it so I could retrieve what knowledge it carried?"

Ginny tried to speak, and found that she was able to talk. "The diary is worthless; it was destroyed. You can't use it against me."

Voldemort continued to speak, and she realized by his words that he either couldn't hear her or he was choosing to ignore her. "Did you really believe you could touch magic so strong, so powerful, without consequences? You and I share a bond, Ginny Weasley, whether you know it or not. Did you enjoy the package I sent?"

"The...paper? You sent that?" A horrible suspicion dawned on Ginny, and she said, "It was a piece of a page from the diary! But...how? I don't have a bond with you anymore! I broke it!" Ginny exclaimed vehemently, just as angry as she was terrified. "Harry broke it when he destroyed the diary!"

Voldemort's voice went on, and Ginny began to realize that this wasn't Voldemort-that is, it was, but not in person. She was listening to some sort of...recording. "Who would have thought that when famous Harry Potter fell in love, it would be with you, of all people...you, who were my own for so very long? How terribly unfortunate for you. Do you see the irony of it? No, of course you don't, but that is of no consequence. I'm afraid that you, my dear, are a liability, in far too many ways. You stand in the way of one I must destroy, you see, and I will not make the same mistake twice."

Ginny had no idea what he meant by not making the same mistake twice, but she filed it away to examine later.

"As for your daughter-she is from the future; I'm sure she has valuable information that could turn the tide of this war. It is simply a matter of...retrieving it. She is but the means to an end. It is not she that I want, nor you, Miss Weasley. Harry's fate is bound to mine. You must know that. You should have known better than to get involved any further with Harry Potter, but it seems that you were just as foolish as some who came before you. And thus I have devised a spell, especially for you." A cold smile crossed Voldemort's face. "Sleep well, Ginevra."

~*~

Harry got up early with his Quidditch team-minus Ginny-on Sunday morning, and got a good two hours of training in. Afterward, he showered, dressed, ate, and spent the morning catching up on homework. Ron and Hermione were off doing...something, and Will and Jamie were engaged in a game of Exploding Snap, while Neville watched and worked on homework of his own. By mid-morning, there was still no sign of Ginny, but Harry assumed she was just sick and exhausted, and if anyone needed sleep, it was Ginny.

However, when noon rolled around, Harry was beginning to get a little concerned. Ginny had gone to bed fifteen hours earlier. What if she was feeling worse? Maybe she needed to see Madam Pomfrey.

At one o'clock, he finally snagged Jamie and asked her if she would go check on Ginny. Jamie nodded. "Of course." She hurried up the staircase to the girls' dormitories. Several minutes later, she rushed back down the stairs, a worried look on her face. "Harry, go get Professor McGonagall."

Panic immediately flared up inside of Harry. "What's wrong?"

"Ginny's lying on her bed and she's not moving at all. She's still breathing, but I tried calling her name and shaking her...I even tried to 'Ennervate.' Nothing worked. I can't wake her up, Harry."

~*~

The next day was the longest of Harry's life. After bringing Professor McGonagall to look at Ginny, she had taken Ginny to the infirmary and brought Dumbledore to see her. Madam Pomfrey had been unable to do anything to wake Ginny, but was able to determine she had been cursed. Finally, around dinnertime, they gathered Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jamie, Will, and Neville together and asked if any of them knew of anything suspicious that had happened to Ginny recently.

"She had a cold," Harry said despairingly. "That's all."

Jamie frowned. "She...got a package in the mail yesterday-while everyone else was at Hogsmeade." She told them about the blank piece of paper, and Professor McGonagall hurried up to Gryffindor Tower to find it. When she returned to the infirmary, she looked grim.

"We'll need to run some tests on it, but I think I might know what happened," she informed Dumbledore curtly.

At that point, Harry and the others were asked to leave the infirmary. They all refused, but Dumbledore said, "We will inform you of what we learn soon. Right now, it would be most helpful to us-and to Ginny-if you wait outside."

Harry and Ron looked mutinous, but in the end, they acquiesced. It was several hours before Dumbledore opened the door, looking very tired. He waved them all inside. "I believe I can explain what happened."

Harry crossed his arms and waited.

"This piece of parchment that Ginny received in the mail is part of Tom Riddle's diary-the one that you destroyed almost four years ago, Harry," Dumbledore began. "And it contained within it a spell, administered by Voldemort, if not created by him. When Ginny touched it, the spell was activated. It would have only worked on Ginny-if anyone else touched it, they would not have been harmed."

"What sort of spell?" Hermione asked immediately.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "As far as what kind of spell it is--we haven't had much chance to study it, but as far as we can tell, it was a curse designed to be built into an inanimate object-the page from the diary-and was such that it affected Ginny's mind as soon as she fell asleep. There was a powerful sleeping spell built into the paper, but it is like nothing we've ever seen before." He eyed the students carefully for a moment, then said, "We believe it was administered by Voldemort, if not created by him."

"Wait. You're saying You-Know-Who put a curse on Ginny?" Ron asked, stricken. "You can break it, though, right?"

"In time, perhaps," Dumbledore said somberly. "However, we have only traces of the curse to study, so the task is a bit more difficult."

"Why use a piece of the diary, though?" Hermione asked.

"It was the only physical element Voldemort had that represented Ginny's bond to him. He could have done the spell without it, but using it made the curse more powerful," Dumbledore explained. "She is, quite effectively, in a coma."

"Can't we just destroy the diary page?" Harry asked.

"I'm afraid that wouldn't do anything," Dumbledore replied. "It was only the means to an end; it's useless now. Until we find a way to remove the curse, she will not wake up."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Harry snapped.

"Rest assured that we are going to be doing everything we can to find a way to wake Ginny," Dumbledore said. "It may be that she will be moved to St. Mungo's. I need to contact your parents, Ronald. You may go see Ginny now." Dumbledore strode off down the hall.

Harry angrily turned and strode into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey pinned him with a stern look, but didn't say anything. Harry barely noticed his friends following him. He stopped beside Ginny's bed and looked down at her. Her face was as pale as it had been last night, and her long red hair was splayed on her pillow. He felt muddled guilt, fear, and anger. He took Ginny's hand. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he whispered. If he hadn't given the diary back to Lucius Malfoy, the curse on her might not be as strong...

"We're going to get her out of this, Harry," Hermione said from just behind him. "If it's the last thing we do, we'll get her out of this."

~*~

Harry spent the entire day in the hospital wing with Ginny, except when he had to go eat meals. Madam Pomfrey tried to chase him away at curfew, but he refused to go. "You have been here all day, Mr. Potter. She's not going anywhere," Madam Pomfrey told him. "You need to return to your dormitory."

"It's all right, Harry. We'll stay with her," Hermione's voice came from behind Harry. He turned to see Jamie and Hermione standing in the doorway of the infirmary. "Professor Dumbledore gave us permission," Jamie told Madam Pomfrey.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Fine. Mr. Potter-bed." She withdrew to her office.

Harry stood up as Jamie and Hermione approached Ginny's bed. "Professor Dumbledore talked to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said quietly, standing at the end of the bed as Jamie sat down on a chair. "They're going to move her to St. Mungo's in a week if no one can do anything for her here. There are professional curse-breakers at St. Mungo's who deal with this sort of thing for a living. Not that I don't have every confidence in Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore," she added hurriedly. "But Dumbledore has a school to run, and...well, it's just a back-up plan in case nothing can be figured out here." She smiled encouragingly at Harry, but even Harry could see the smile looked a bit forced.

Harry drew a deep breath and let it out. "St. Mungo's isn't safe. Remember Bode?" He looked at Jamie and explained, "He was a man that Voldemort wanted dead. He was given a potted Devil's Snare for Christmas last year, and the staff at St. Mungo's didn't even notice. He was strangled to death."

Jamie's eyes widened, and she looked at Ginny. She finally shook her head. "I'm sure there will be a lot of family and friends watching out for Ginny-and...well, Hogwarts doesn't seem to be that safe for her, either." She studied Ginny for a moment, and then glanced at Harry and Hermione. "You know, there was something that Aunt Hermione told us once-she said it was very important that we remember it, no matter what. 'Diligo victum totus.'"

"I saw that somewhere," Hermione said, frowning. "Oh! It was in my journal-that is, Hermione Weasley's journal-Will gave it to me to read so I could look for anything that might help us. I thought I might find something that had been missed, since I'm probably the best person to sort through it. The last page in the journal had diligo victum totus written on it. It's Latin for 'love conquers all,'" Hermione said.

Harry shook his head. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to help Ginny right now."

Jamie shrugged. "Maybe not, but the point that I was making is this: you love Ginny. So do I, and so do a lot of other people. That counts for something, and...well, love can do amazing things."

That was something Harry knew very well. His mother's love for him had saved him from the Killing Curse. Still--this wasn't a Muggle fairy tale. He couldn't just kiss Ginny and wake her up. He sighed and pushed his glasses up so he could rub his eyes. "Let me know if anything changes."

"We will," Hermione promised, settling down on the bed beside Ginny's. "Try to get some rest, Harry."