Prologue

A/N: This story will be Harry/Fleur eventually. There is a lot that has to happen to get to that point but this story is a romance at its core. It will also have a few cliche elements like time travel and veela mating but I hope I can do them in a fresh, tasteful way that does not too closely resemble any other story out there.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything in, around or related to the Harry Potter Universe, nor do I plan on making a profit from my writing herein.

Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry - Headmaster's Office

July 31st, 2064

He stared at the shiny instrument resting on his desk, the bright gold and platinum hourglass gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the wavy glass panes of the large picture window behind him. It was his masterwork, a piece so complex he doubted anyone would be able to recreate it, even with the detailed notes he had made over the years. He spared a fleeting glance for the box full of cheap muggle notebooks on the floor beside his desk and smiled. He had developed his own version of shorthand early in his research, ever paranoid that someone would realize just what he was up to and try to stop him.

Time Travel had been outlawed by the ministry more than thirty years ago after a healer trainee at St. Mungo's using a time turner had suffered a psychotic break resulting in three deaths and three new residents of the Janus Thickey ward. The Department of Mysteries had been ordered to place the Time Room and all the research it contained under the Fidelus Charm with the Head Unspeakable as secret keeper. Two years later, the Head Unspeakable had left his position to become the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He had never regretted that decision though he sometimes felt a little guilty for not giving up the secrets of the Time Room to his sucessor.

With a trembling hand, he reached out to touch the six inch tall hourglass. It was warm to the touch and it vibrated from the power contained in the pile of tiny rune covered gemstones inside. After seventy years of trying to make the Wizarding world a better place, he was content with the legacy he would be leaving behind. It was a shame he planned on unravelling every good thing he had ever done to rewrite history. He was not foolish enough to believe going back could guarantee a better result but he knew without a shadow of doubt that he would succeed in the most important task of all. He would save his soulmate.

HJPHJPHJPHJPHJPHJP

French Ministry of Magic

May 5th 1999

"Fuck this, Fleur. Don't you die on me," Harry shouted, cradling the love of his life in his arms. He moaned and rocked her, knowing it was too late to use the emergency portkey to the hospital wing. It had been too late when Pettigrew cursed her from behind a split second before Harry rammed Gryffindor's sword through Tom Riddle's heart. Her blood spread across his knees from the gaping wound in her back that he knew no spell could close. It had become a favorite of the Deatheaters in the last few months, a bastardized version of Snape's Septumsempra curse. Ron had lost his leg when the same curse had hit him just below the knee during a pitched battle at Beauxbatons last month and he was still recovering.

"This...my own fault. No blame for you, beloved," she wheezed softly as she spoke, a sure sign that her lungs were damaged. A cough speckled her lips and his face with blood as he leaned close enough to hear her whispered words. His heart constricted and he bit back a scream of anguish. What good was saving the world when he lost his soul in the process?

"If only I had..." his words trailed off when she placed a finger on his lips.

"Non. If there is blame, it is equal. You and me, always together," she said, trying to smile through her pain.

"Always together, you and me. It took us too long to see the truth and now...oh god, Fleur. I cannot live without you, ma coeur," he said through tears. She grabbed at his shirt with surprisingly strong fingers and tried to growl at him, though it came out as more of a gurgle.

"You must. They need you," she managed to convey. He shook his head.

"My entire life has been about what THEY needed. What about what I need? I need you, dammit. Don't make me stay here without you, please," he begged, pressing his forehead to hers. Her mournful cry was like a shard of glass through his heart.

"I am...sorry, love. For Teddy, for Gaby. Just a little while, I promise, then you come...I will...be...waiting..." she trailed off and coughed again, more blood bubbling through her lips. Her hands fell from his shirt and she tensed in his arms, struggling for air. There were so many things he needed to tell her, but he did not want her to die worrying about the fate of their family.

"I will stay long enough to make things safe for our family. Then I will come for you, my love."