Author's Notes: Finished! I'll probably go back over this story in a couple of weeks, repairing plot holes and tidying up some things I'm unhappy with, but in general, I like how it turned out. It's my first longer story I've completed.

I do have two new short fics that I'd like you guys to check out, Catching On and Falling Hard.

I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter Eight

Hermione's POV:

I couldn't believe what just happened. Ginny, matching Harry look for look, had told him flat out that he needed to accept other people's help. I expected him to resist. After all, Ron and I have been making this point to him for years. He still expects us to run off at the soonest opportunity… would much rather keep us out of it….

Instead, he shrugged. Happily. And said, "We'll do it together then," like he let people past his walls every day. Really, Harry?

I couldn't deny that I was happy for him, though. Being informed of the future was an assurance that he could keep some of the people he cared about. He might not have been this relaxed since the day his parents died. Family was that important.

While I was thinking about this, I noticed Ron hovering uneasily over my shoulder. Despite how angry I was with him, it was also incredibly cute the way he watched my expression for signs how to act. It was a face that I would love to see every morning when I woke up… if his mouth wouldn't always ruin things the way it did now, "This should be a pretty easy adventure, mate. All we have to do is get a bunch of people to wish Al was home. Presto. It's done."

My brown hair blew around my face as I turned to stare at him incredulously, "Are you kidding? We have so many variables to deal with! When do we send Al back to? Oh, don't look at me like that Ronald. I know, the future, but an hour before he left? A day? Maybe a couple of minutes early so it doesn't look like he ever left?"

Conversations broke out all across the room by people who had not considered how dangerous our undertaking was. Time travel is one of the most sensitive areas of magic. We can't afford to make mistakes. Even without realizing it, I directed my thoughts at one Ms. Lavender Brown, whose claw-like fingers kept waving back and forth while she talked to Parvati.

"It can't be any time this Wyler is with them," Harry was sure.

"Even if it would be nice to give Al another chance to hex him," Ginny couldn't refrain from mentioning.

"He shouldn't just appear anywhere either. People will know that you can't apparate in or out of Hogwarts. They'll look for other explanations." I beamed at a Ravenclaw with braids.

"What if Al lands in the Room of Requirement of the future? He can navigate around from there." It was a serious suggestion and I was already working out the details, when Al raised his hand tentatively. It was the same look he'd had when he announced who his parents were, and one that I was quickly starting to associate with him, not Harry.

"It sort of burned down."

"How?" And how was the damage not repaired if it was a normal fire?

He hesitated, "I probably shouldn't tell you. It has to do with the fight against Voldemort…."

"No, you're right, you're right," I muttered, seemingly absentmindedly. In reality, I was coming to grips with what I had to do.

First, I gave myself a minute to picture my kiss with Ron. It had been so perfect, like all thoughts had floated out of my head and I was just left feeling… sparks, magic…. It hurt more than I thought it would to force that image back, but I had to make the choice to preserve the time-line. Even if it meant having Lavender Brown come between us, the future was more important.

Still, I could barely speak past the tightness in my throat, "We'll also have to wipe all the other memories of your visit, Al."

The reactions were immediate. Harry's and Ginny's expressions fell and they quickly let go of each other's hands, like a chain lock on a door had been brutally cut. It was better than meeting someone else's probing blue eyes though. Why must I always, always be the bearer of bad news?

"No! Just no!" Ginny cried, and I heard the voice of a fourteen-year-old girl surface again. "He's… my son. I can't just forget him."

"It'll be like going backwards. I'm tired of having my life stalled this way. At least while Al's been here, everything's been…" Harry sat down defeated, "Too good to be true."

Al looked sad, "It's not my time, Mum, Dad. And I don't think it's yours either. You're not… supposed to be together yet. You've got to believe what you guys have is so strong, it'll lead you to each other someday, but not until it's supposed to happen." He laughed next, but it was tired and worn, "Would you really want James born a year early?"

Harry gave an equally pained smile, "I want the future to get here as soon as possible." And then, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing, he spread his arms about a foot apart. Al blushed, but obediently stepped toward his dad and gave him a hug.

"It was nice meeting you, Al," Harry said, clapping him on the back. Ginny hugged him too. "A word of advice," she whispered. "Don't tell your story so dramatically in the future, or we might actually have heart attacks."

"Of course, of course."

"Tell Rosie and Hugo hi for me," I squealed last minute.

"Their dad too," Ron put his arm around my shoulders. The nice little family moment was broken by someone's shriek.

"I've got it!" The same Ravenclaw from before raced over to us, "Let's send Al to the Hogwarts kitchens a couple of minutes before his other-self vanishes. The House elves will love having him there, won't ask many questions, and he can run up to the Charms corridor a minute or two after Rose notices he's missing. She'll be the only one to tell something's different."

"It's a good idea," I said, struggling to focus on just the logical things right now.

"Thank you, I'll give everyone jobs." She went around telling people want to concentrate on. About a third of the group was to be focusing on the when, another third on the where, and the last third were supposed to design a fake memory to relay over our real ones of the evening, so that no-one would be suspicious afterwards.

"On 3."

"1-2-3."

A portal appeared out of no-where, blowing papers and text books around the room. It swirled with blue light, and reached out tendrils to touch each person's head and wipe them of the last few hours. Just as I was the feeling the first icy jolts, I saw Al walking towards its center, and finally disappearing.

I wondered if he was going to make it okay. I wondered if other kids in the castle could hear all the noise the time vortex was making. I wondered… why everyone had stopped practicing their shield charms. This was a D.A. lesson! Why was everyone just standing around, staring at a wall?

"Harry, Harry," I called over to him, "I think you need to restore some discipline. People are going to forget everything they learned over the holidays."

"Calm down, Hermione. I think we all just lost our train of thought." He turned to face his students, "Shield charms require you to patch up all your mental defenses…."

Epilogue:

Ginny's POV:

Cho-the-Fantastic bolted out of D.A. class pretty quickly, black hair trailing behind her like smoke. Harry looked upset by it. I think he was looking to get a "Merry Christmas" from her.

"Come on Ginny, let's get going," Michael steered me in the direction of the door. From prior experience, I knew that a bunch of his guy-friends would be outside waiting and he would be looking to show me off. The first time had gotten him a warning. The second time bogeys had attacked his face. The third time… proved he would never listen. I'd have to break up with him soon. There was just no way I could keep doing this. "Go ahead." I told him, "I think I left my bag over in the corner."

"But you don't…" he began, while I narrowed my eyes at him. He quickly covered, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

As soon as he was gone, I strolled over to the bookcases, examining the worn leather spines of Defense Against the Dark Arts volumes and broken Sneakoscopes. I thought I was the last one left, when I turned around to head back towards the Gryffindor Common Room and ran into someone.

"Gin, Ginny," I blushed over Harry's accidental use of a nickname. Gah! I'm supposed to be over this. "What are you still doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to talk to you." Now that I said it, the words couldn't seem truer, "I know this can't be your greatest year, toad and all. A lot of people are watching you."

"Well, thanks," he said sarcastically.

"I'm not finished. Some of them do because they think you're insane and others because you will forever be the Boy-Who-Lived."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, considering, "It will be kind of ironic after I'm dead, even if I'm a hundred at the time and it was natural causes."

"Boy-Who-Lived-Before-Dying would be kind of wordy," I admitted, "But my point is that there's some people who see Harry, who just see Harry. Like Ron, and Hermione, and me. It was just Harry that saved me from the Chamber. And just Harry who started up this group to help people. We wouldn't want you to be anybody else." The unspoken thought of Cho passed between us.

He spent a long time just looking at me after that, green eyes going through so many emotions it was like watching a movie.

"That means a lot to me, Gin," he said huskily, and I nodded, happy that I could give him a Christmas present he could carry with him inside.

Still, we didn't move. I heard a slow, growing sound coming from above our heads. I glanced up. Mistletoe. But I didn't make it appear….

I glanced down again. Harry was leaning towards me almost imperceptibly. I felt electric current running all along my body, pleasure building up in the pit of my stomach, and the thought, This can't be happening, going over and over in my head. His lips brushed mine.

After that, I wasn't sure if it was him kissing me or me kissing him. All I knew was that I was touching, smelling, breathing Harry, that he was the greatest thing in the world, and every time I'd told myself I didn't love him anymore had been a lie. This was right. We were right together.

He pulled away breathing heavily, but he also seemed very happy. I didn't give him time to recover, but instead, danced to the door, yelling, "Merry Christmas Harry" over my shoulder.

He shook his head slowly, like he had no clue what just happened, but from just outside in the hallway, I heard him say, "You too Ginny, you too."

Author's Notes: Thanks to harryginnypotter, lizy425, imaginationcraze, Jessica682, whispered touches, nikegirl0329, kiwifan13, Brittnodo, gleekfreak32, and sbmcneil.