A Drift in Time

"What do you know about Voldemort's mark, Ginny?" Harry asked, casting a privacy ward around them.

Ginny stared up at Harry in surprise, her eyes wide.

"Anything?" He probed, gently reaching out and pushing his hands through the nightgown she was wearing. The redhead's breath hitched as his bare skin came into contact with hers, and she felt him gently trace the mark on her skin as he gazed at it with a small smile on his face.

She had heard of the mark Harry was talking about, but only in passing. No one liked to talk about those times, especially her parents. It was only by chance that she had stumbled upon this information.

Voldemort used to mark his followers to distinguish them. It looked like a skull with a snake slithering through it. She had never seen it or even heard what else it did apart from making them part of an organization, but from that description alone, she could imagine how hideous it must have looked.

Harry's fingers came to a stop right at the end of the mark, an inch above her clit, and Ginny shivered when he caressed her lower belly before gently tying her robe up, patting softly. He took her hand and made her sit on a chair, taking his seat on his bed. They sat mere inches apart, and Harry leaned forward. This close, Ginny could smell the scent of him that she now knew as intimately as any other person ever could, and it pleased her immensely.

"Not much," she replied softly, telling him all she knew about the mark, and Harry nodded.

"It's not surprising that you don't know much, if anything about it. Not many people do," he replied, scratching his chin. "Even I wouldn't… if I didn't have this."

Ginny gazed at the faint bolt of lightning visible on Harry's forehead.

"I would tell you everything soon, but a lot changed in the last few months," he continued, making her shift her gaze back to him. "I know a lot of things I bet no one else but Voldemort himself does… and that includes Dumbledore as well."

Ginny's eyes widened as he nodded firmly. She could not detect any hint of a lie from Harry and she reached out gingerly, taking his hand. Harry gazed down and smiled.

"One thing I discovered is that Voldemort will return to power soon, maybe even in a year," Harry revealed, and Ginny's wide eyes bugged out further in fear. Harry grasped her hands firmly. "And when he does, he will have his followers back with him. I don't need to tell you what kind of abhorrent assholes they all are."

He most certainly did not.

"And when it happens, he will come for me and all the people I am close with," Harry continued. "I am the living, breathing proof of his failure. Ever since I arrived at Hogwarts, he has showed up in one way or another. Last year was different, but it was all connected. And when he comes for me and people I care for, I want all of us to be prepared."

"What are you saying, Harry?" Ginny asked cautiously, her hands shaking in his grasp.

"I want allies, Ginny," he replied. "People who I can trust beyond any doubt. I don't want a repeat of Pettigrew and my parents. And this is my way of ensuring I have those allies. This mark… I developed it. It ensures the people who bear my mark will never betray me and will always remain loyal to me. We will share everything, from happiness to sorrow to all the pleasures of life."

Ginny gazed at his hand that pulled away from her grasp and landed on her thigh, stroking gently. His mere touch sent pleasure thrumming through every fiber of her being and she let out a small sigh, her toes clenched. Harry gazed at her with a small smile.

"Can you truly fault me for ensuring this given what we're about to face, Ginny?"

The redhead shook her head mutely, biting her lower lip. She fully understood where Harry was coming from. He had suffered so much, and always for others. He needed all the help he could get. Furthermore, his reasons were perfectly understandable. His parents were dead because someone they considered a friend betrayed them. Obviously, he would want to ensure something like that never happened to him.

"I knew I could count on you," Harry said, smiling as he lifted her hands and planted a soft kiss on her knuckles, making her blush. He chuckled at her reaction.

"Come on, Gin. After what we shared last night, you're still blushing around me like this?" He teased.

The memory made her flush once again, and Harry let out a small laugh.

"Don't laugh at me like that, you dolt!" Ginny groaned, trying to pull her hands off his grasp, only to fail. He was too strong for her.

"Sorry, it's just that you're too cute when you're like this," Harry chuckled, and Ginny couldn't help but smile cutely at that. She allowed him to lean forward and kiss her again, beyond elated that she could be like this with the man of her dreams.

Their lips caressed each other softly for a few seconds before he pulled back, gently tugging on her bottom lip for a moment.

"There is something I want to make it clear, though," he said seriously, and Ginny sobered quickly. She gave him a nod, indicating that she was listening attentively. Harry continued, "You won't be the only person bearing this mark. That should be obvious."

Ginny nodded. Harry needed capable allies, and she alone would never amount to much, if any.

"And the only way for me to mark someone is if the person submits to me willingly and when they are fully open and receptive to the very essence of my magic."

Ginny was not an idiot. She knew perfectly well what he was talking about, and her breath hitched. She had this feeling that it would be like this. She did not know why or how, but the thought had struck her a while ago. There was no way she could have him all to herself. She understood it perfectly well. Harry was a powerful wizard, and even though he could limit himself, there was no way one woman would ever be enough for him. It was the classic case of Merlin and his harem – something that was a part of wizarding folklore that had been told to witches for generations as a story.

"This is how I believe Voldemort marked his followers as well," Harry said offhandedly, fully bullshitting. In truth, he had no idea if it was the truth or not, and frankly, he could not be arsed to care enough. It fit the story he was weaving here, and that was all that mattered to him.

Ginny did not need to hear it and she had accepted it already. She gave him a nod of understanding, and Harry smiled.

"Thank you, Gin. I knew I could count on you."

"You can count on me for anything, Harry," she replied, smiling. However, the next second, her smile transformed into a smirk as she leaned forward and whispered huskily, "Or do I call you My Lord or Master from now on, like his followers must call him?"

Harry's manhood throbbed at the remark, and the memories of his time with Pansy in his previous timeline resurfaced in his mind. She used to call him 'Master', and it pleased him to no end.

Gazing at Ginny, he gave her a smirk and whispered throatily, "I didn't think you had this side to you as well, Gin."

"Only for you, Master," she whispered back, and Harry breathed deeply. Her expression and her voice were too alluring right now and he didn't think he would be able to control himself if he let this continue at this rate. It was daytime and everyone was awake. Anyone could come in at any time and he didn't want this to be revealed anytime soon.

Gazing at Ginny, he reached out and gently grabbed her throat, making her breath hitch as he pulled her toward himself.

"Only when we're together or in the company of our other allies that I'd be gathering," he told her, making her grin.

"And does that list include a certain brunette who arrived today?" She asked coyly. "I didn't miss how you greeted her, Master."

It must be the magic of his mark – their bond at work, Harry rationalized in his mind. She had accepted this as eagerly as she had accepted him the previous night, and it gave him full confidence in her. She was fully loyal to him, and soon, when the magic of the bond secured its place within her, her mark would reflect it as well.

"She is a brilliant witch, my closest friend, and has grown into a fine young woman, Gin," Harry replied huskily, gently nipping her lips. "It'd be foolish to not form a bond with her."

"I'd love to help you out with her then," she said eagerly. "What would you have me do?"

Harry chuckled. "Calm down a bit. There's no need to be so eager," he said. "It will all happen in due time. Hermione is not like you or other witches, Gin. She will try to analyze this to the end of the world if she can, and as much as I appreciate this trait of hers, it can be a pain in the arse sometimes."

"Too true," Ginny agreed with a throaty moan, nodding as she felt his hand working her up.

"Yeah, which is why we need to push her logical side back and bring her emotional side forward for this," he said, his hand caressing her inner thigh under the nightgown, stimulating her. "Then, she will be more agreeable to this arrangement. Things need to be balanced out with her a bit. Only then will she be of the most use."

"Makes perfect sense," Ginny nodded. "Oh Harry… I need you in me again."

"Already? Oh, you greedy girl," he teased, probing her lower lips gently as he gazed at her. She looked like a mess, all right. He had half a mind to just give her what she wanted but he refrained. Teasing her was more fun. "I always knew you had this side to you."

"Only for you," she moaned. "Oh yesss… right there…"

Harry chuckled and ignoring her protests, he slowly withdrew his fingers from her.

"Clean them off," he ordered, watching in elation as she eagerly took his fingers, slick with her juices, in her mouth and sucked them clean. Her gaze was locked with his, desperately wanting and full of adoration, and Harry breathed raggedly.

This! This was exactly what he craved. This look of sheer devotion toward him in their eyes. It felt better than anything else in the world, even more than killing those assholes!

"You should go back to your room and relieve yourself now," Harry suggested. "I'll take care of you soon, I promise."

"I'll hold you on to that," Ginny replied. With a parting kiss, she stood up and gingerly walked away. Harry smirked as he gazed at how she was walking. She must be feeling it down there today, and yet, she wanted more. Truly a wanton woman, that one, exactly how he had known she would be. She was still a bit reserved, but she would be out of her shell very soon.

Shaking his head in amusement, Harry got up and walked out of the room. Perhaps he would kill some time talking to the Weasley boys now. It wasn't as if he had anything worthwhile to do with his time right now.

XXXXX​

It did not take long for Hermione Granger to notice that something was oddly weird about her best friend now. He seemed much more outgoing, having seamlessly blended in with the older Weasley brothers. Previously, he would've remained slightly reserved with them, opting to stay by Ron or the twins since he'd known them previously, but now, he seemed at perfect ease as he talked and joked with them.

It seemed as if a weight had lifted off him, and Hermione found herself getting curious as to what might have happened.

She had not missed the change in behavior of a certain redhead toward her best friend either. It was an open secret that Ginny had been quite taken with Harry ever since his first visit to the Burrow. The girl used to blush around Harry, unable to meet his eyes, but her inhibitions seemed to have evaporated entirely now. A part of her wanted to attribute it to her growing up but Hermione had a feeling something else was afoot.

She had noticed them exchanging looks a few times throughout the day – looks she couldn't really decipher, and she resolved to broach the subject with Ginny at the right time.

Another thing she had not missed was how Harry did not stick close to Ron as he always did. In fact, she had not seen them interact much at all. It was almost as if he was branching out… exploring other connections, and she was unsure how to feel about it.

They had played Quidditch while on different teams, and she was sure she was not the only one shocked at the skill on display, both by Harry and Ginny. There were no keepers, with her, Ron, Bill, and Charlie on one team, and Harry, Ginny, and the twins on the other. To say it was a close contest was a white lie, for Harry and Ginny had smoked their team. He had also beaten Charlie, who Ron had proclaimed to be even better than Harry, in multiple snitch chases, even pulling off a move that Ron called the Wronski Feint, to everyone's shock. Thankfully, it happened over the pond and Charlie was not injured in any form.

The older man had taken his defeat graciously and everyone now saw Harry in a new light, with Bill even theorizing how he could go pro if he wanted.

Harry was not the recipient of all the attention though, with all her brothers praising Ginny for her link-up play as a chaser and her agility on a broom. The girl had soaked their praises with pride, even taunting Ron who grumbled at being bested by his little sister.

It was an amusing evening for all but Hermione, who'd been having this feeling that things were not what they seemed. As they helped set up the dining area, Hermione kept sneaking glances at Harry, her eyes filled with curiosity and indecision. Something was off, but she could not put her fingers on what it was.

The crowd was big, and the Weasleys had decided to have dinner outdoors. Arthur and Bill sat on opposite ends of the table, with Percy sitting to his father's right, followed by Harry and the twins. On Arthur's left sat Charlie, followed by Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Molly.

Percy and his father were talking about Bertha Jorkins and her disappearance – something Harry expertly ignored. He was perfectly aware of her fate and she was not coming back.

He had thought about taking care of matters that he knew would soon require his attention, but he could not be bothered. He didn't really care as much, and he had his own plans that would benefit greatly from Voldemort's return to power. The snake-faced bastard could play his little game if he wanted, for he held all the pawns in his hands.

Harry rolled his eyes when Percy cleared his throat meaningfully and alluded to the Triwizard Tournament – something that made Ginny, Hermione, and Ron curious when the man gazed meaningfully at them. The man was too full of himself, and if he was being honest, he deserved everything the twins did or were planning on doing to him.

On the other end of the table, Molly Weasley was fussing over her eldest who expertly waved off her complaints about his long hair, his piercings, or that fang necklace.

It didn't take long for their discussion to shift toward the Quidditch World Cup. England had been humiliated by Transylvania, Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was thrashed by Luxembourg. Ireland remained, and they were supposed to play against Bulgaria the next day in the final.

Ron was, as Harry already knew, a massive Viktor Krum stan, and he did not hesitate from proclaiming for all to hear that Bulgaria would thrash Ireland, much to his brother Charlie's amusement who rightly pointed out how Krum was only one man and he had his money on Ireland.

Suddenly, Harry recalled the trap the twins had fallen into in the other world and he interjected, "Are you into betting, Charlie?"

"No child of mine would be a gambler!" Molly interjected swiftly, eyeing all her children across the table warningly.

Charlie quickly shook his head as he stuttered out a negative answer.

"I know Mum would kill me if I did that," he laughed nervously, eyeing his mother who nodded curtly before she returned to fussing over Bill who, Harry could see, was barely tolerating her disapproving remarks over his hair and earrings.

"I've heard a lot of people, especially in high places, use these events to target gullible people into betting a lot of money and refuse to give them their fair winnings afterwards," Harry intoned, gazing at Hermione who nodded.

"That is why muggle sports and such have proper authorization for betting," the brunette replied. "You need to obtain a valid license and only then can you accept any bets. They deal with tax authorities as well. It's a proper system."

"The muggles surely have fascinating ways of doing things," Arthur remarked in wonder. "We do not have such a simplified procedure. It makes sense to keep things so streamlined, doesn't it, Percy?"

"True," the man conceded with a nod. "I would love to know more about this. With Bagman happily enjoying his privileges instead of running his department properly, someone's got to take care of things."

Harry rolled his eyes once again at the theatrically self-important tone as he gazed at the twins meaningfully. Those two were known to indulge in a lot of betting activities at Hogwarts Quidditch matches. He had done them a favor here by trying to bring their attention to the risk and if they still did not learn and went ahead with the foolishness from his previous world, then they only had themselves to blame.

Dinner was over soon, and as the others got to clean up, Harry walked over to a nearby tree with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron following right behind him. They watched the gnomes running about, laughing madly as they were being chased by Crookshanks, and his lips quirked slightly at the silly display.

"I've been meaning to ask you this Harry… have you heard from… you know…" Hermione trailed off, her eyes shifting to Ginny who was staring at Harry. He gazed at the brunette and chuckled.

"I think we can trust Ginny, Hermione," he said. The redhead grinned brightly at him while the other two gazed at him in surprise before they exchanged a glance.

"You sure, mate?"

"Are you saying you don't trust me with whatever this is, Ron?" Ginny asked hotly, and her brother quickly put his hands up in surrender.

Meanwhile, Hermione gazed at Harry's back curiously. He had still not turned around, staring in the distance, and her questions grew. He was different, but why and how?

She decided to put it out of her mind for now and asked, "From Sirius. Have you heard from him?"

Ginny's eyes widened slightly as she eyed Hermione who gazed at her with a small frown.

"Sirius Black, Ginny. He is innocent of his crimes. Peter Pettigrew was behind everything and he framed Sirius for it. He'd been living in your family as the rat Scabbers and he managed to escape a few months ago," Harry summarized for the redhead who nodded dumbly. Ron and Hermione exchanged another glance.

Harry had truly forgotten about Sirius. He found that he did have care for the man in his heart and now that she had mentioned it, he wondered if he could do something to help him out.

Resolving to think about it later, he continued, "I did hear from him, yes. He's doing fine. That reminds me though… I should write to him again. It's been some time. I planned on doing it last night but… something more important came up."

Ginny blushed faintly at that while Hermione nodded in understanding. She opened her mouth to ask something once again when Harry beat her to it.

"There's something I want to tell you two," Harry said, turning around to stare at Ron and Hermione with an intense look in his eyes that took them by surprise. They gazed back at him with their eyes widened slightly. "But not now. We'll talk on the train."

"Is it about Sirius?"

"It's about Voldemort," he said candidly, making them jerk in shock.

"Harry!?" Hermione whispered, aghast, as she stared at him.

"What?" He chuckled as he watched Ron gaping at him.

"You can't just drop his name like that!"

"Oh, come off it, Hermione," he scoffed. "I don't care. And you two should stop being so afraid of his silly made-up name."

"It's not about being afraid," Hermione replied. "You just took us by surprise."

Harry shook his head, scoffing. "Come on, Mrs. Weasley's calling us all."

He led the way, with the rest following suit, and Hermione's questions only grew. She had to know what was up with Harry, and how he had changed so drastically in only a few months.

XXXXX​

They were roused quite early the next morning and as everyone came downstairs, it was not surprising to see them all looking drowsy, yawning, and trying to find something to lean against. They were told to dress the muggle way, or at least as closely as they could. Arthur had a baggy golfing sweater and a pair of jeans on and the man looked very proud of his choice of attire as he asked Harry eagerly if he looked good. Amused, Harry merely nodded.

He would've preferred to apparate to the venue, just like Bill and Charlie were going to do later, but appearances had to be kept up. They left the Burrow in the early hours of the morning, but it was not without any hassles.

The twins were smuggling a ton of Ton-Tongue Toffees and they were unfortunately caught by their mother – something that resulted in another session of tongue-lashing from the older woman. Harry promptly cast a muffling charm around himself, having no interest in getting a headache on top of an early wake-up.

They had to take a walk when they left, during which Arthur told them about wizarding travel, how much of a hassle it had been for the ministry to arrange this final, and what a headache reaching there was for both the spectators and the organizers. Harry could not help but wonder just why the wizards catered so much to the muggles. Surely, they could come up with better ways to ensure they remained undetected while they all gathered in the same place?

Their destination was an open ground that had a large boot in the middle which he knew was the portkey, and he saw them before he heard Mr. Weasley's shout.

They hung back as the two older men exchanged a cordial hug before the introductions were made. Harry forced himself not to roll his eyes when the man gasped as Mr. Weasley introduced him, his eyes widening. The man displayed his lack of tact once again when he brought up the incident from the previous year's Quidditch match in which his son had managed to win because the dementors had invaded the pitch, much to the same son's embarrassment. The older boy gave him an apologetic look which Harry merely nodded at.

"It's a shame the match had to end like that though," he remarked with a small smile. "If only I'd learned the Patronus Charm by then… better late than never, I guess."

That proved to be enough to shut the man up who gave him a surprised look, along with Mr. Weasley, and Cedric.

"You can cast a Patronus, Harry? Truly?" the patriarch of the Weasley family asked in wonder, earning a shrug from him. "Remarkable! Not many adult witches and wizards can cast that spell in its full form."

Harry merely smiled, hiding a smirk at the sour look on Amos Diggory's face. He wanted to do more than quip at him but, as always, appearances had to be kept. He might do something though… who knew? He couldn't just let him go scot-free after he came after him like that, and unprovoked at that. Any other person might have let it be, but he was neither a rational guy nor was he a good person at heart. He took offense to the slight, and he believed the man deserved a parting gift.

They arrived by the portkey soon after and huddled around it. At Mr. Weasley's prompting, they all reached out and grabbed hold of it. Barely two seconds after they touched the thing, their world shifted around them and they found themselves being flung through space, whirling about violently. Harry gazed around in amusement as everyone kept their eyes shut, their teeth gritted. Wizarding modes of travel were indeed some of the worst.

As they reached their destination, they felt a violent tug at their navel as they were pushed further ahead. Mr. Weasley and the two Diggory males quickly righted themselves while the others were tumbling over. However, Harry righted himself quickly mid-flight, not wanting to give away his comfort with the mode of travel to bring any unnecessary attention on himself, and quickly grabbed hold of Hermione who had been to his right as she threatened to spiral further away than most. The girl must have read about portkeys and had tried to do the same thing he did, only to fail. It was not surprising though, given her first try at it.

Luckily for her, he was there to prevent her fall, like the good friend he was. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against himself. The girl instinctively clutched onto him, letting out a small grunt as they collided with the ground.

They came to an abrupt stop and Harry found his face covered with her brown curls. He breathed in her scent and his arms tightened around her as he felt her rest entirely on top of him.

Slowly, he felt her pull her head back and stare at him with wide eyes, and all he did was grin at her cheekily.

"Enjoying yourself, miss?" He teased, giving her waist a firm squeeze as he held her right on top of his crotch. She must've felt something as she jerked slightly, her eyes wide in surprise as she kept gazing at him. Her brown hair fanned out, forming a curtain around their faces to keep them hidden. "You look so cute I could kiss you right now," he added with the same teasing grin, making her eyes bug out. "Don't think you're in the mood right now though."

With a smirk, he grabbed her by the waist, his fingers sinking into her curves as he lifted himself into a sitting position, shaking his head to get her hair away from his face. Hermione still stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'd be happy to continue this but we gotta go, Hermione," he reminded her in amusement, and the brunette blinked before gazing around to see everyone groaning as they tried to get up. Meanwhile, the three oldest of the group slowly descended, seemingly walking in the air.

Hermione quickly pushed herself off him and Harry let her go, staring at her flushed face in amusement. She was a bookworm but she was a woman, alright. She was bound to react to such advances, and given how close they were, he did feel confident in cracking her barriers with relative ease. He knew how to play this game, after all.

Glancing around, he helped everyone up one by one, taking his time with Ginny whose top had climbed up, exposing her bare navel and the upper portion of the mark that had turned a mix of black and gold, signifying that the bond that he had initiated with her was on the verge of completion. He was truly looking forward to it if he was being honest. It would mean she was his – mind, body, and soul. He would have her heart, even more than he already had, and that would be his complete victory over her.

The redhead had to stifle a moan when Harry brushed his magically charged fingers against her navel as he helped her up. It sent a thrum of pleasure straight through her core and her eyes widened slightly when he leaned closer.

"When Voldemort touches the mark on his followers' arms, they feel indescribable pain. I could never subject my loved ones to such a depravity. How do you like it?"

"I love it," she grinned at him. He gave her a smirk and pulled back as she smoothed her top and brushed her hair with her hand, walking together with him to join everyone in the middle of the clearing they found themselves in.

"Did pretty well for your first portkey travel there, Harry," Mr. Weasley praised, eyeing his sons who looked a bit worse for wear. "You two as well, Ginny, Hermione."

While Ginny grinned brightly at her father who gave her a loving smile, Hermione could only muster a weak smile, her mind still occupied with what had transpired between her and Harry mere minutes ago. His touch was daring and confident, and his voice seemed to have been stimulating her in a weird manner. She could not fully make sense of his behavior at all.

She had never expected him to be so forward, and with her, no less. It left her confused and she could not help but wonder what was going on with him.

All of it further added to the questions that had been festering within her mind since the previous morning when she arrived at the Burrow.

Just what had happened to Harry that he had changed so much since their third year ended!?

To be continued...

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