A Future Threatened

A Future Threatened

by Winnie Matthews

* * *

Chapter Three

Ginny stared at the healer in uttermost astonishment, not able to believe her ears with what he had just said. "I'm sorry?" she said, trying to stay calm. "What did you just say?"

"You're pregnant, Miss Weasley," the healer replied without looking up from the papers that he had conjured up to help him discover her condition. "I would say about two or three weeks into your pregnancy. There are some spells that could help you find out the identity of the father, if you like."

What, you think I'm some kind of girl to sleep around? Ginny thought indignantly, but instead of saying that she merely replied, "That's all right; I know who the father is. Thank you."

Leaving the hospital, Ginny hailed down the Knight Bus and paid her fare to the Burrow. The entire ride home, all she could think about was this child, her unborn baby, hers and Harry's. When they had spent that night together, she hadn't expected them to conceive a child. Lose her virginity to him, yes, but to make a child, no.

And what was her mother going to say whenever she found out that Ginny, the youngest of the Weasley children, would be the first to have a child? Sure, she and her father loved Harry, but that didn't mean that they wanted Ginny to get pregnant at the age of sixteen! They'd want her to finish her schooling, naturally, but with Hogwarts closed, that might not even be an option.

I've got to tell Harry, Ginny thought despairingly, but she wondered if she even dared it. If he knew that she was carrying his child, what would happen? Most likely run off, to stop You-Know-Who again. Because they both knew that with the world as it was, it was no place to raise the next generation of Potters.

It's his destiny to stop You-Know-Who and I can't interfere with that, Ginny decided. When he comes back to me, then I'll tell him, but not a moment sooner. Only when You-Know-Who is defeated will he come back and when he does, I'll tell him that he's going to be or is a father, depending on when that time may be. It doesn't matter to me; I'll wait forever if I have to.

Her decision held firm as Ginny departed the bus and went to her house. The Burrow held strong and true as she walked into the door and found her mother cooking supper.

"Oh, it's you, Ginny, dear," her mother said, smiling broadly at her. Ginny could barely find the strength to smile back, the smell of her mother's cooking was making her sick to her stomach, as it had for the past few weeks. "Do me a favour and set the table, will you? I have my hands full here."

"Mum, there's something that I have to tell you," Ginny said, looking towards her feet, unable to meet her mother's eye. "You know how I've been getting sick the past couple of weeks?" At her mother's nod, Ginny struggled to find the courage to continue. "Well, I went to the healer's today to find out what was wrong. And I . . . well . . ." Ginny took a deep breath and said before she could change her mind, "I'm pregnant."

* * *

Susannah felt horror as the monster she had grown up hating, the wizard that had killed her grandparents and her parents, turned towards her, his red eyes filled with menace.

"You'll never be able to escape me, child," he hissed. "Your own father couldn't and you certainly won't. He died once, didn't he? Who's to say he won't die again?"

"Dad!" Susannah screamed, fighting against the Death Eaters that held her captive. "Dad, please!"

Her father's green eyes focused upon her for a minute before shaking his head. Behind him, she could see the bright red hair of her mother. "I'm sorry, Susannah," he said quietly. "But I'm sick of trying to battle an endless fight. You'll have to fight on your own. I want to be with Ginny, with Sirius, with Mum and Dad."

Without another word, her father disappeared into thin air, abandoning her in the face of danger. Voldemort grinned and Susannah braced herself as green light burst from his wand, blinding her--

"Susannah, wake up!" Someone was shaking her and Susannah was ripped from her nightmare and she stared up, her chest heaving, at Harry, who was looking down at her in anxiety. His green eyes were looking concerned at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes, feeling a mixture of tears and sweat on her face. She ducked her head, trying to wipe them away. Only when she was certain that her face was relatively clean did she raise her head. "You seemed to be having a nightmare; you kept screaming for your dad and begging him not to go, to leave you."

Feeling heat rise to her face, Susannah turned away from Harry. "Sorry if I woke you up," she said, hugging her knees tightly. "I've been living on my own so long that I forgot that I yell out in my sleep sometimes. Particularly if I'm having nightmares."

Harry nodded, looking at her strangely. "You live on your own?" he said abruptly, changing the subject. He seemed surprised upon learning this information. "But, Susannah, you can't be any older than seventeen, right? How can you?"

"Actually, I'm sixteen," Susannah admitted, reluctantly looking at her father. "But my parents died when I was a baby and then I was sent to a foster home. Eventually I was adopted, but they died when I was ten and I was sent back to the children's home until I got accepted into Hogwarts. After that, I stayed with my long lost aunt and uncle for a while and then my grandfather's best friend. Finally I decided to live on my own to see where that took me. My grandfather's best friend still comes to check on me every once in a while, but mostly it's just me. He's got more important stuff to do, anyway."

"Your parents died?" Harry asked, his eyebrows narrowing slightly. "Did Voldemort--I mean, were they . . ."

Susannah nodded, dropping her gaze to her hands. "Yeah," she said in a voice that lacked emotion. "Yeah, they were killed by Voldemort. I was barely even a couple of hours old when it happened." She raised her head to look at him defiantly. "You were the lucky one, Harry," she told him. "You had an entire year with your parents, two with Sirius that you remember. My mum was captured by Voldemort right after giving birth to me and my dad died trying to save her. He didn't even know about my existence."
Harry nodded slowly, staring at her. "I think I get what you mean, Susannah," he said gently. "There's a girl that I love, Ron's sister, actually, who's waiting for me. And a day doesn't go by that I don't wish that I had discovered how I felt sooner. Guess I'll be forever haunted by the memory of what could have happened between us."

"Ginny," Susannah supplied and Harry grinned slightly and nodded. "I know. People say that you would have married her, if you guys had lived." Particularly since you two already had a daughter that you didn't know about. A daughter . . .

Suddenly, Susannah realised that things had already started to take place. For she had already been conceived. She had to have been, otherwise she would have vanished. And Harry didn't even know and Susannah was guessing that Ginny wasn't going to tell him. That's what had happened before.

"Susannah, I have to ask you something," Harry said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "In your future, did you and I ever meet? 'Cause I'm getting the feeling that I know you from somewhere."

Suppressing a sigh, Susannah shook her head. "In my future," she reminded him. "You and Ginny had died, remember? What you're feeling, I think it's not of what happens in the future, but what could have happened. What should have happened," she added in an undertone.

"Or what will happen," Harry pointed out. "In the changed future that you're trying to create. You're a good kid, Susannah. But I've got to say, don't lie to me anymore."

Susannah looked at him, confusion in her eyes. "Oh, I think that you were lying about why you came back. At least, partly. There was more to that reason of why you did come back through time," Harry said with a smile.

Nodding once, Susannah thought to herself that she should have known better than to fool her own father. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, Harry," she said. "But I'm just not sure whether it's safer for you to know or not to know."

Harry reached out and touched her shoulder. Susannah looked up at him and suddenly did something that she had never done her entire life. She wrapped her arms around her father and hugged him for the first time.