A Future Threatened

A Future Threatened

by Winnie Matthews

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Chapter Nine

Ginny groaned as she threw up whatever she had in her stomach since lunch. The Potions teacher, Professor Slughorn, had been quite startled when Ginny had run out of the room when nausea hit her.

"Why do they call it 'morning sickness' when it lasts all day?" Ginny moaned as she climbed out of the cubicle and over to the sinks, rinsing out her mouth. Once she had gotten the taste of vomit out of her mouth, Ginny looked up at her reflection in the mirror.

At three months pregnant, she would have thought that she would just barely be showing yet, but her slightly bulging stomach looked as her mother had when she had been five or six months' pregnant.

Biting her lip, she suddenly wished that Harry were here. To take care of her and their baby. Without warning, her entire world came crashing down and Ginny sank down onto the floor, sobs being wrenched from her.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" a voice asked. Ginny looked up from her crying to see Luna Lovegood standing in the doorway, carrying Ginny's books, potion ingredients, and her bag.
"I'm fine," Ginny mumbled, pushing the tears impatiently away as she got up and Luna closed the door behind her, setting the books and stuff onto a counter. "I'm just missing Harry, that's all . . ."

"Yes, I thought it was strange that he didn't come back this year," Luna said thoughtfully. "Ron and Hermione went with him, wherever they were going, didn't they?" Ginny nodded glumly. "They were leaving to go and take down You-Know-Who, weren't they? Everybody says that's why they left Hogwarts."

"It's not for me to say," Ginny said, suddenly angry. "In fact, the only one who knew where they were going was Remus Lupin and he's not saying. Frankly, it's better if nobody knows where they were going or what they're doing."

"He doesn't know about this?" Luna asked, gesturing to Ginny's swollen stomach. "I would have thought that someone would have told him, by now at least. This isn't the sort of thing that is kept quiet for long. Maybe he's not coming back, Ginny."

"How can you even say such a thing, Luna?" Ginny demanded, horror filling through her and tears sprang back into her eyes. "Of course he's coming back! Right when it's safe, for the entire wizarding world! He'll be back, you'll see."

Luna didn't say anything, probably so she wouldn't upset Ginny any further, but this merely upset her more. Without another word, Ginny stomped off towards Gryffindor Tower, wishing for some sign, some miracle, some hope, that Harry was safe. She needed it.

Once she was in her dormitory, she dropped her books and bag on the bed and turned around, letting out a gasp as she did so. Because standing behind her was Harry, though he was transparent. "H-H-Harry?" she whispered as fear flooded through her. Merlin, don't let it be so . . .

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm not Harry," he said softly. "I'm your son from the future. Yours and Harry's." At Ginny's gasp, he held up a hand, requesting for time to say something. "And I'm afraid that in the future, I was killed by Voldemort, three months ago. You and Dad were killed the day that Susannah and I were born."

"Susannah?" Ginny said, realisation flooding through her. "Wait, you mean--? Susannah's your sister, isn't she?" At the boy's nod, she stared down at her stomach, awareness suddenly filling through her of why her stomach had been so large for only a few months' pregnant. "I'm carrying twins?"

"Yeah, but Susannah's fine," he assured her. "In fact, she came back a couple months ago so that she could change the past and stop Voldemort, here and now, and save you and Dad. Because we have a magical connection, when Susannah came back, I came with her. I've been keeping an eye on her, but Voldemort is close to finding out who she is."

"What? How?" Ginny asked in horror. Then she frowned. "And why do all Potters have the habit of calling that monster by his name?" she demanded. "And don't tell me that 'fear of a name only increasing fear of the thing itself.' That's not a good enough reason."

"Maybe not, but it's the only one," the boy said simply. "As for Voldemort finding out who Susannah is, there's another visitor from the future here whom we thought was our ally. He's actually Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's son, Jeremy. And Voldemort has him in his lair. If Voldemort finds out about Susannah, he will stop at nothing to end the Potter line. That's why you have to be careful, even more so than usual, Mum."

"Why?" Ginny asked cautiously. "I'm not a Potter, just in love with one. Why should he be concerned with me if he wants to stop the Potter line?"

"Because you are carrying Dad's kids," the boy answered, shaking dark hair out of his hazel eyes. He looked a lot like Harry's dad, Ginny realised. "If he finds that out, he'll kill you. If you die before we're born, then neither one of us will even have a future. We'll both simply vanish."

"Oh, Merlin," Ginny breathed, pushing red hair out of her face. "So, what should I do? Should I go back to Mum and Dad's? Stay here at Hogwarts? Go and find Harry?"

"Hogwarts is probably the safest place for you right now," the boy said, frowning. "There is a danger for you, but I don't think we should be concerned with it right now. I can keep watch over you for now, but Susannah should know the dangers, so I should probably alert her. I do know that she has told Aunt Hermione who she is and has promised her that when Dad finds out that you're pregnant, she's going to tell him who she is."

"Harry doesn't know that Susannah is his daughter?" Ginny asked, half-laughing. "How long has she been there? A few months and she still hasn't told him?"

The boy grinned. "Well, she can keep her mouth shut pretty good when she has a mind to. The only way to get her to spill a secret when she doesn't want to is to get her mad," he remarked. "We're complete opposite in that respect. I can't keep a secret to save my life." Then he paused. "'Course, that phrase doesn't make much sense when you're dead, does it?"

"Hey, what's your name?" Ginny wanted to know. "You never told me what your name was. And what are both you and your sister's middle names, anyway?"

"My sister's full name is Susannah Elizabeth Potter," the boy said promptly. "And mine is Sirius. Sirius James Potter, after Dad's godfather and father. Susannah means 'lily,' so she was named after our grandmother, but I don't know where you got Elizabeth from . . ."

Ginny shook her head. "I couldn't say, Sirius," she said slowly.

"Well, I need to go talk to Susannah and warn her about Voldemort. Think you'll be all right for the time being?" The minute that Ginny nodded, he disappeared, heading straight for Godric's Hollow . . . and his sister.