June 26, 2019 *Present Day*
George's POV
The soft breeze caressed my cheeks and the light streaming in from the open window beckoned my eyes to open. Sitting up, I looked around confused at the wicker chair sat in the corner of the room and the soft cotton blue sheets pooled around at my waist. I rubbed the drowsiness from my eyes and looked down to my right, expecting the brown curls of my lovely wife to be messily splayed across her pillow but all that remained was messed up sheets and the indent on her pillow.
It wasn't until I heard the muffled chattering and footsteps did I realize I was still at 12 Grimmauld Place. Ginny having offered us all rooms to stay in so we could get to work on getting our kids back bright and early.
Finally remembering the reason for my stay, I glanced at my watch and noted it was half past ten. I quickly got up and freshened up in the bathroom across the hall before getting dressed and making my way down the creaky old stairs.
As I neared the bottom the voices began to grow in volume, leading me into the kitchen. Pushing open the door I wasn't surprised to see everyone up before me. Ever since I was a child Fred and I would usually be the last ones to wake up. Having spent the whole night inventing our products and stashing them away from Mum.
What I was surprised to see, however, was the determined and focused faces everyone adorned. The Golden Trio were talking in hushed voices over their morning tea, as Nina, Ginny and Bill continued to scour books no doubt looking for solutions.
Meanwhile Percy, Angelina, and Fleur sat worriedly chatting to one another. Walking over, I kissed Angelina on the cheek and scooped some eggs on to my plate before taking my seat next to her.
"Why didn't you wake me this morning?" I asked her, as I shoveled my food into my mouth. I had been hoping to get up early in case the children sent a letter back. It had taken three hours for Bill, Nina, Hermione and I to tweak the spell to be able to send objects into the future for the kids' reply.
"You had a long night." Angelina answered softly, wiping a crumb off my face, "I didn't want to disturb your sleep."
I took another bite of my eggs and swallowed before replying, "How'd I get so lucky to marry you?"
I leaned in to kiss her but Angelina leaned away chuckling, "Well for starters you didn't have food all over your face when you proposed."
"What are you saying?" I teased, with a mischievous glint in my eye. Angelina narrowed her eyes at me, knowing from years of friendship that the look only meant trouble. "Are you saying you wouldn't have married me if I looked like this?"
"Of course I'd marry you," she rolled her eyes, "but I'd put a bag over your head before I'd kiss that leftover egg on your face."
"Come on, you love it!"
I pulled Angelina closer to me by her waist, undeterred by her protests and landed a big smooch on her cheek.
"George!" she squealed but began chuckling as I planted kisses all over her face. "Enough already! I concede I'll kiss my husband!"
Smiling triumphantly, I wiped my face much to her relief, and gave her a proper kiss. Pulling back I smiled wider noticing that at least for a moment I had gotten the worry in her eyes to disappear.
Turning back towards the table I caught Percy rolling his eyes at me, and Fleur smiling amused. Satisfied I at least got a few people to relax I finished up my food only half listening to the whispered planning on the other end of the table.
I had just washed my food down with pumpkin juice when I overheard Ron say, "When do we go back?"
My head shot up and I realized why everyone was acting so strange this morning. They already had a solution. That's why Angelina was so worried. It even explained why the Golden Trio was huddled together, they were finalizing the plan.
"What do you mean go back? Did the kids respond?" I asked.
The Golden Trio's attention snapped to me, not having realized I had entered the room.
"Teddy and Ty wrote back while we were all sleeping." Ron explained, "They're safe with the Order."
I sighed relieved that they were all ok. If they had landed anywhere else with anyone else they could have been taken or frighteningly enough tortured or killed.
"Er- Remus told us that when we go back to get them we will have to obliviate anyone from the past." Hermione muttered, still a little emotional from getting a response from someone who had left us.
"You keep saying 'when we go back', but what do you mean?" I furrowed my brows confused, "Do we have a plan?"
Harry nodded his head, and folded his hands together running through all of what the Golden Trio had plotted moments ago.
Everyone in the kitchen seemed to quiet down, all waiting to hear the plan from Harry.
"Mione stumbled upon a passage in a book that said how all creations and ownerships of a time turner must be logged in the Ministry." Harry began, "So I visited Kingsley who allowed me make copies. As it turns out there was only one other time turner created in 1995 and it belonged to the Black family."
My eyes widened in realization. That's why Bill, Ginny, and Nina were cramming their heads in the books. They were trying to track down the owner.
"Well, that's good news right? We can just go ask Cole to check his house-"
"That's the thing." Hermione cut in, "The last recorded owner was Cygnus Black III, after that the record reports unknown. Looking at the log it appears that it was passed down to the first born son in each generation. But since Alphard was disowned, it went to Cygnus. After that it was supposed to go to Sirius or Regulus but since Sirius was disowned and Regulus passed away, we have a theory about who it was given to."
"I'm on the edge of my seat here, 'Mione." I groaned, "Who has it now?"
Hermione cleared her throat before continuing, "We believe Malfoy has it."
"What?" I gasped.
"It's true." Nina answered, "We've been looking over the logs all morning. It's the only pattern that makes sense. Since both of the Black brother's were ineligible then it would be given to the next male heir, which just so happens to be Draco."
"Of course that spoiled git get's a time turner." I rolled my eyes. "It's like the Nimbus 2001s all over again."
Ron snorted at my comment, and a small smirk crept on my face. Until Angelina smacked me upside the head chiding, "Show a little compassion he just lost his wife, George."
I mumbled an apology, truly meaning it. Astoria brought out the good in Malfoy and anyone could see she had made him truly happy. Seeing how Scorpius acts whenever he's around the family even proves what an amazing mother she turned out to be.
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
Ron dropped his head on the table before picking it back up and groaning, "We have to ask the ferret about giving us his bloody necklace."
"And that is precisely why you won't be the one going to his manor." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Hopefully, if he gives it to us we can tweak it with the incantation Nina and Bill came up with that allows us to have one trip to 1995 and back."
"Can we all go?" I asked hopefully.
Hermione looked down at the table and clasped Ron's hand, while Harry slowly shook his head no.
"Oh..."I sighed dejectedly, "When are you three going?"
"Actually," Harry said, "We were hoping you would be one of the people to go."
A smile spread across my face and happiness flowed through my veins once more. I'd get to be whole again. I'd get to see Forge.
"Do you really think I'd say no to pulling the ultimate prank by breaking the law and traveling twenty four years to the past and back?" I teased.
"No." Harry smiled, "I knew you'd say yes."
"Who else is going back?"
"Me, you and Hermione since she's the best at obliviation." Harry sighed before adding, "We asked Cole to join us but he said no."
"He just walked out of the kitchen and no one's heard from him since." Ginny murmured.
Everyone grew quiet, all knowing the reason why Cole refused to go back to 1995. It was then that I realized why Harry offered me to come along. He was giving me a chance to say goodbye. And I'll be damned if Cole gives up this opportunity.
**********
Everyone had been restless since Hermione went to the Malfoy manner. We had all agreed she was the best choice seeing how out of the Golden Trio he knew her the best and hated her the least.
With nothing else to do but wait for the time turner to arrive, I set off to find Cole. Room after room, he was no where to be found. I must've checked everywhere three times before realizing Cole wasn't in Grimmauld Place.
While everyone was cooped up in the kitchen eating lunch, I snuck off to the living room and used the floo to Cole's house.
After Sirius had fallen through the veil, Cole denied his inheritance of 12 Grimmauld Place, and let Harry live there instead, but only with the promise that he decorate it with such Gryffindor pride it would give Cole's grandmother a heart attack beyond the grave.
Whenever someone asked Cole why, he would always say that he didn't want the Black family lineage to live on in a place that only tormented his father.
Stepping out of the fireplace, I dusted the soot from my robes before calling out for Cole. My voice echoed off the walls and the only indication of him being in the house was the creak of a floorboard.
Following the direction of the noise, I stood outside a door which muffled the sniffles I heard inside.
Slowly opening the door, I peaked my head in and felt my heart drop. Cole was curled into a ball in the middle of his bed, clutching a picture of Lena up to his face. His red rimmed eyes didn't dare blink as he examined the picture. As if he was afraid that once he did the picture would leave him too.
"Cole?" I whispered, tentatively entering the room.
Cole snapped his head towards me surprised, before sitting up and wiping his face. Putting on the emotionless mask he used to wear during Hogwarts when people called him a Death Eater.
Clearing his throat he asked hoarsely, "What's up? Did they leave?"
"No," I shook my head, taking the seat next to him on the bed, "That's actually why I'm here. I think you should come with us."
Cole shook his head. My eyes watched as he clenched the picture of Lena tighter in his hand and his mask slowly began to crumble.
"I-I can't." He croaked, looking at me with guilty eyes. "I can't f-face h-her."
"That's exactly why you should go, Cole. I've watched you beat yourself up for the past sixteen years about her death. You can't blame yourself for what happened-"
"Of course I can!" he snapped, "She was the love of my life and I swore to keep her safe! How could she ever look at me again, let alone forgive me?! I-I should've protected her."
Tears sprung from Cole's eyes as he began weeping into his hands. I just sat there with my hand on his shoulder showing him he wasn't alone.
After a while his shoulders stopped shaking and his breath began to calm down. Finally he sat up again and stared at the wall in front of us. Not saying a word.
"The war had been over for five years. Everyone felt safe. No one could have known, not even you." I began softly, "We've all moved on and made peace with who we lost. But you're stuck Cole. You still blame yourself for what happened, this is your chance to get closure. To apologize, to say goodbye. To tell her you'll always love her."
Cole didn't show any sign he had heard me. Not a flick of his eye, or a small turn of the head.
Sighing I got up and headed for the door. With my hand on the doorknob I turned back and said, "You've been grieving for sixteen years. If you can't go for yourself or for your kids, then go for Lena. She at least deserves that."
With that I left and made my way back to Grimmauld Place. Lena had been one of my best friends at Hogwarts. She was always closer with Fred back then but after the war she became like a sister to me. Her death hit all of us because we realized that even if the war was over we never actually know how long we truly have with our loved ones.
Lena never got enough time with hers.
Shaking my head of the painful thoughts that plague me at night, I stepped out of the floor and into the living room. Nine pairs of eyes snapped up to me and I took a step back startled. My eyes focused in on Hermione and asked the question that's been on my mind since she left.
"Did you get it?"
She nodded her head at me and held up the time turner, "Malfoy said it's ours to keep and do what ever we want with."
"Probably because he has fifty of them." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Actually, it's because he didn't want the temptation of going back to see Astoria." Hermione chastised her husband, "It was just collecting dust in his attic."
Ron looked guiltily at the ground. Knowing that if the roles were reversed he probably wouldn't have been strong enough to resist using it. For as much as they may bicker Hermione was his world.
"So, is it ready?" I asked, taking the attention off Ron.
"Yeah, Nina and Bill finished performing the spell a moment before you came back." Harry announced.
"How much time will we have?" I questioned, hoping I'd have enough time to say goodbye to Fred.
"As much time as you need." Bill answered, "It's based on the number of travels you have. One to the past and one to come back to 2019."
"Except, try not to stay too long" Nina warned, "We cast the spell allowing you to have two spins, to the past and back, but we're not sure how long our spell lasts. It could be a couple hours, a day, a year...we aren't sure."
I gulped and looked towards Angelina who stared at me worriedly. I gave her a small smile to appease her fears and stepped towards Harry and Hermione.
"Let's not waste time then." I acquiesced.
Hermione began putting the chain around Harry when the fireplace roared and Cole stumbled out.
"Wait!" He rushed over, and dusted off his clothes, "I'm coming with you."
I smiled and clapped Cole on the back who grinned back at me. His eyes trailed over my shoulder and I turned seeing Nina standing there teary eyed. She gave him a small smile and mouthed 'go'.
I turned back around giving the two some privacy and watched as Hermione cast an enlargement charm to make the chain fit around all of us. Harry looked back at Ginny and the others with steely eyed determination. The same look he wore as The Boy Who Lived.
"We'll bring them back." Harry affirmed, "I promise."
The next thing I know we were spinning.
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Hi guys!
I just want to say thank you to everyone who's shown this book some love. Whether it was just reading all the way through, voting, commenting, or adding this to your reading list. I really appreciate every single one of you!
I've finally finished my exams and am living the summer life! FINALLY! Except, I'm in quarantine so with not much to do I'll probably be writing more now. So expect updates to this book coming soon!
But, I'm also almost finished, Time Turner Mishaps, so let me know if I should write the prequel of how Lena and Cole met or if I should write on of my other stories that isn't a fan-fiction.
Hope you're all safe during COVID-19 and that you're doing ok!
-JiCamy