The mid-afternoon sun burned relentlessly, bathing the surrounding countryside in its almost blinding white light. Harry stopped for some water and to wipe his brow before carrying on; he knew that he was close; he could feel the magic of the site reach out to him; it felt almost sentient. His years of searching were almost at an end; soon, everything would be put back to rights.

He set off to crest the hill about half a mile from his target; as he slowly made his way, he grew anxious. What if all this was for nothing? What if the legends were wrong? His breath caught in his throat for a moment before he gathered up his resolve and slowly trudged towards the ancient Minoan Palace complex of Phaistos.

It took Harry over fifteen minutes to walk the distance to the complex; the combination of his advancing years and the blazing sun took a heavy toll. Eventually, He reached the mouth of the cave that had long passed from memory and myth. He could sense the ancient magic emanating from the depths within; this was magic that he had never experienced before; it was powerful and unforgiving. It was unyielding and demanded obedient reverence. After eighty-five years of searching, he had finally found it, and now he could save his dead friend.

He took a deep, calming breath before setting off into the cave. From the outside, it looked like he was walking into an abyss; once he got about twenty feet inside the cave, he saw torches on the walls. This appeared to be an ancient temple; it was clear that the magical cultures of prehistory were far more in tune with the background magic than modern society.

After a few more tentative steps, the torches closest to him burst into flame; this caused the ambient magic to change. He could sense a definite rhythm, a thrumming sensation that pulsed in three-second beats. Harry followed the flaming torches, and the thrumming grew more prominent.

He followed the torch-lit passage for about thirty feet before it opened into a large antechamber; around the chamber, more torched blazed to life before a central fire pit roared into life. Harry stood in awe at the spectacle before him.

'Why have you come here, Chosen One?' The voice echoed around the chamber; it sounded like two slabs of lead slamming together.

'I have searched for many years to find this place; I have come to seek an audience with Cronus.' Harry called out.

'Many ages of men have passed since an audience was last granted; tell me, Chosen One, why should Cronus grant you this boon?' demanded the voice.

'I have come because I have no other choice; he is my last hope.' Whispered Harry

'Then your last hope was in vain, Chosen One, go back from whence you came.' the boomed.

'Why do you call me the Chosen One? It has been over a hundred years since I fulfilled my destiny.' Harry spat bitterly

'No, Chosen One, you did not'

Harry stood in silence; his destiny was to defeat Tom Riddle. That was the belief before he was born; what had he not done?

'What boon will Cronus grant me?' Harry asked the chamber

'Ask what you will, and if you are found to be worthy, then it shall be granted, Chosen One.' The voice echoed around the chamber. Harry didn't miss a beat.

'I would ask that Cronus make it so that my existence never happened.' Harry's voice echoed; his request sounded strange to his ears.

'This, Cronus cannot do, Chosen one.' The voice replied.

'Why? Cronus is the God of Time; surely this should be of no consequence to him.'

'You have the mark of the Fates upon you, Chosen One; not even the Creator would defy them. Tell me, Harry Potter, why would you ask this of me?' The voice did not echo but came from directly behind Harry. He turned and saw an older man dressed in a toga walking toward him.

'Are you Cronus?' Harry asked

'That is a name I have not been called for a very long time, Harry, but yes, I am Cronus.'

'Why all the theatrics? I'm an old man; I could do without the excitement.' said Harry

'You are merely a pup, Chosen One; you look no older than you did the day you vanquished your enemy.' Cronus waved his hand, and the years fell from Harry.

Harry felt his aches and pains vanish; his hands went from being gnarled and bony to smooth and strong.

'How did you do that?' Gasped Harry. He conjured a mirror to look at his seventeen-year-old face.

'Erm, God of time here! If time is involved, I can change it.' Cronus smiled at Harry.

'You mean apart from removing me from existence?' said harry with more than a bit of sarcasm.

'I said I couldn't remove you, Chosen One. You are bound to existence; you defeated Riddle, but your destiny did not stop there. There were other things you needed to complete; unfortunately, many things prevented you from fulfilling all your tasks.'

'How many tasks were there?' demanded Harry

'I know not, Chosen One, suffice to say that the mark of the Fates is still upon you, which means that you have not completed your destiny.'

'Tell me, why do you want to be removed from existence?' Asked Cronus

'I let her down; she died in my arms because I let her down, and I've spent the last eighty-five years looking for a way to fix it. If you make it, so I'm never born, she'll never be in danger and won't die by his hand.' Harry poured everything out. He had kept his feeling bottled up for as long as he could remember; it felt good to let go of them finally.

Cronus considered the man before him and said, 'Millennia, before you were born, you were chosen to be the breakwater against the darkness, and as I said, not even the Creator will defy the Fates. Removing you from existence would not remove her or any of your friends from danger; it would have the opposite effect. Riddle would have gained power, and your country would have been overwhelmed. Your friends would have never survived; they would have been killed as soon as they performed their first bout of accidental magic.'

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his face, 'What can I do then? She deserved better than what she got. They all do.'

Cronus didn't speak; he slowly paced the chamber with his hands clasped behind his back. Harry conjured a couple of chairs and sat down to wait.

For half an hour, Cronus paced; the waiting caused Harry to doze off.

'Right, I've got it.' cried out Cronus, causing Harry to wake with a start.

'Ok, I may have a solution. A great injustice happened to your friend that you were part of. One friend was looking out for your best interests, and the other was selfish and jealous. You must repair this damage that was caused, or the fate that befell her will happen again.'

Harry listened attentively before asking, 'To what time will you send me back?'

'This you will have to choose. You will retain all of your memories and abilities; however, you will not be able to divulge any information about the future you have lived. Now I need you to think of a suitable time to return.'

When he walked into this cave, he hoped that he could somehow bring her back and prevent her from dying in the first place. Now he was getting the chance to put right more than a few wrongs. He was beginning to get nervous; what would he say to her? How would he be able to change things for the better? He couldn't think straight.

'If you want to do this, Harry, I need you to tell me when you want to return to.' said Cronus.

'Ok, send me back to the train journey to Hogwarts on the first of September nineteen ninety-four; I can start to enact changes from then. If your scenario is the one I think, I can fix that and make sure that she and I get away from him as soon as possible.' Harry started to feel the old feeling of determination that always seemed to be in his chest when he was younger.

The ancient God said, 'Remember, all the knowledge you have in your head will be going back with you. Also, that soul shard will be there; it can be removed without you dying.'

Harry nodded, 'Ok, Cronus, send me back.'

Cronus waved his hand, and Harry disappeared. Athena stepped into the chamber, embraced Cronus and said, 'The fate of all rests on his shoulders now; I hope they are broad enough to carry the weight.'

##

Harry woke with a start; all colour had drained from his face. His eyes locked on her; he practically bounced off his seat and made a beeline for her. The urgency in his movement panicked her; he held her arms around her as though the act of having her in his arms was the only thing keeping her real.

In a low whisper, he muttered over and over, 'I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry, I thought I'd lost you.'

Hermione held him through his moment of panic and made soothing sounds to calm him down; every eye in the carriage was fixed on this scene. Before long, Harry pulled back, realising that he was standing up in a moving train holding his best friend like his life depended on it.

'Are you alright, Harry?' Neville asked.

Harry closed his eyes and nodded, 'Yeah, Nev, I'm good. That was one hell of a dream; I couldn't tell you what it was about, though. It just felt so vivid. Listen, I need some air; I'll be back shortly.' He looked at Hermione; she could see right through his lie; the look in her eye said, "we will talk about this"

Harry opened the carriage door and started to walk away when Hermione grabbed his hand and said, 'I'll come with you.'

Ron stood up and said, 'me too' Harry looked at his redheaded friend and said, 'no, Ron, could you stay?' He put his hand in his pocket, took out a small money bag, and threw it to Ron, 'Get everyone something from the trolley but save me a couple of frogs.' Ron looked at the bag in his hand and smiled, 'Yeah, sure thing, mate.'

Harry and Hermione walked silently to the back of the last carriage, opened the door, and stood at the rail. As the train sped past trees and hedgerows, the colour slowly started to return to Harry's face; Hermione cleared her throat and said, 'Are you going to tell me what that was about back there?'

Harry stared out at the countryside passing by, formulating the words in his head before explaining himself.

'Hermione, I have a couple of things I need to say to you, and I'm afraid they might affect how you see me when I do. I don't want any awkwardness or ill-feeling, so please hear me out before you say anything, ok?'

Hermione nodded and said, 'Ok, Harry, I trust you.' then she reached out and took his hand.

'The dream I had was so real, Hermione, everything about it felt real, and it scared me shitless.' Harry closed his eyes and gently squeezed her hand.

'You were in St Mungo's, and you were in a really bad way. The monitoring charms barely registered your vitals; the healers ensured you were comfortable.'

Hermione reached over and pulled Harry into a comforting embrace; she could see that he was still visibly upset. Harry took a moment before continuing.

'I received word that your husband had beaten you severely because we secretly maintained contact for over ten years after he forbade you from speaking to me. I sat with you for a while, just gently holding your hand; the last thing you said before... before the end was, "I'm sorry, Harry"'

Harry clung to Hermione as though his life depended on it; she was shocked that her best friend would be so affected by what he saw in a dream that he would have such an overwhelming reaction. They slowly sat down; Harry began to openly weep both for how his vision made him feel and for the kindness Hermione showed him.

They sat like this for some time before Harry spoke again.

'I'm so ashamed of how I behaved towards you last year, Hermione. I let Ron's selfish jealousy cloud my judgment, and at the time, I didn't consider how hard it was for you to go to McGonagall. I'm so sorry for letting you down, Hermione'

Hermione quietly wiped a stray tear from her cheek, 'I should have spoken with you first, Harry; I was so scared that the broom was sent by someone wishing you harm. I didn't know what else to do.'

Harry sat up from her embrace and took her hands in his, lifting them both to his lips. 'Don't ever feel bad for looking out for me; I probably wouldn't be here without you.'

Hermione gave him a megawatt smile as he told her this, and almost instantly, she began to worry her lip. 'Harry?' she asked, 'who was my husband, you know, in your dream?'

'Moments after you passed, he came into the room and sneered at me, he said "good, it's about bloody time"'

'Who, Harry?'

'I lost it with him and started punching him and kicking him; I got him by the throat and screamed in his face, "why her?" and he just laughed.'

'Tell me who it was, Harry, please.'

'He said, "I took her so you couldn't have her, for once I got the one thing that Harry fucking Potter wanted but couldn't have".'

She pulled her hands from his and put them to her mouth in shock; the hairs on her neck stood up as she realised what he was saying.

Harry couldn't look her in the eye when he said, 'Ron, you were married to Ron'

##

'I've never seen Harry so scared before; whatever it was he was dreaming about really shook him up.' said Neville; Ginny nodded with obvious concern.

Ron scoffed at the notion, 'No, mate, Harry doesn't get scared. He probably had another dream about You-know-who, which freaked him out. He's fine.'

The compartment door opens, and the sneering figure of Malfoy and his friends block the passageway.

'Great, it's the goon squad.' said Neville. 'You know what, Malfoy? Piss off' Neville pushed the arrogant blond back out of the compartment before he could get a chance to speak and closed the door behind him.

Malfoy stood looking at the back of Neville's head before saying, 'They can wait; scar head, the mud blood and the squib are mine C'mon' they left without further incident.

'When did you get so brave, Nev?' asked Ginny as she turned to Ron, 'And when did you become such a wimp? Can you only act tough when Harry stands in front of you?'

##

Hermione was stunned; she had guessed that Harry was talking about Ron but to hear it being acknowledged was utterly different. Why would she marry Ron, of all people, when they barely get on at the best of times? Why would she be apologising to Harry on her deathbed? These revelations were puzzling to her; although they were nothing more than a dream, she couldn't deny that there was a feeling of authenticity to the things that Harry mentioned.

'I can only imagine what you must have thought when you woke, Harry. You looked as though the devil himself was after you,' said Hermione

Harry slowly shook his head 'it was real to me, Hermione; it felt worse than when you were petrified. I...I...I couldn't live without you.' he turned his head to look at the passing countryside, a faint smile played on his lips, 'this is the first time that I have sat here with anyone; usually, I spend a few minutes just getting some air and watching the world go by; it was like my little secret. I'm glad to share it with you, Hermione.'

'I'm pleased you felt you could share it with me; it is an enjoyable way to travel.' Hermione commented, her eyes never moving from Harry.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to face his friend; there was a steely determination in his eyes that even she had not seen.

'I have one more thing to tell you.' he said

'You can always tell me anything, Harry; you know that. I'll never judge you,' she replied

Harry thought, "you say that now."

'I am and have been deeply in love with you, Hermione Granger, for as long as I can remember. I don't mean platonic love because you are my best friend, and I love you in that sense, but I mean the type of love that wars are fought over. The type of love that causes stars to explode and causes mass asphyxiation because it takes everyone's breath away. I have lived my life without my parents and friends, but since you came into my life, I have been unable to function properly without having you on my mind.' Finally, Harry stopped rambling on; this gave Hermione a chance to try and process what he had said.

'Harry, I...' she started, and for once, words failed her. Ms Know it all had finally run out of brainpower to process the information she had been given.

Harry gave her a soft smile, 'I love you, and I always will, Hermione Jean Granger; I just wanted you to know.'

'I don't know how to respond to that, Harry; first, you tell me that you dreamt that I was beaten to death by my husband, who happened to be Ron, and then you tell me that you love me. It's a lot to take in.' she stood up to leave; Harry stood and lightly took her hand, and she turned to glare at him.

When she saw his emerald eyes burning with childlike vulnerability, any doubt that she had of his sincerity vanished, 'Listen, you are my best friend, Harry, and nothing will change that; I owe my life to you. Give me some time to process everything, and then we'll talk, ok?' she asked.

Harry smiled at her and said, 'I can do that.'