"You can't do this!" Dora exclaimed looking around the room as if she expected our brothers to react the same way. "Why are you letting her do this?" she asked our parents before rocking the baby in her arms as he fussed.

"I have to, Dora," I said, brushing my hand through the blonde hair of her daughter. "If I don't everything will change. You wouldn't be born, Chloe and Harry wouldn't be here. What about Remus' boys? Do you think he wants them to disappear? It's not me you need to worry about."

"We're not happy about this, Dora," Dad told her, but you could hear the finality of his voice. Mum and dad had argued about this for the two days while Harry, Ron and Hermione got everything sorted. "We won't even know she's gone if everything goes to plan."

"When do you leave?" Arthur asked, resting his hand on my shoulder as he tried to fight off his tears. It wasn't a secret that Arthur was my favourite brother.

It probably had to do with the three-year gap between us and the way he looked out for me when I first got sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts. I was happy Uncle Al was the first member of the family to be sorted into Slytherin, no one really thought any different of it when it happened to me.

"In the morning," I told him, seeing the fear and sadness cross all their faces. "You won't even know I'm gone." It was true, but I might have aged before I returned. What was going to happen if I returned to this time but a year passed? Would I come back to this exact time and this exact age?

"Have you got everything you need?" Dora asked, the natural motherly instinct coming out.

"Papa's sorting things with Ron and Hermione. Pops wanted me to go and see him and Mamie before I left though." I glanced over at the clock and pursed my lips. It was getting late and while I wanted to spend more time with my siblings, I knew I didn't have a lot of time left. "I'll be back before you know it," I told them, apparating from the spot and landing down the pathway from Shell Cottage.

"Romy, sweetheart, is that you?" Mamie asked as she waited by the door. I realised she must have been waiting for me to arrive.

"It's me, Mamie. Is Pops here?" I replied, shuffling through the sand and over the cobblestones and into her waiting arms. She smelt the same as always, like the sea and of her favourite perfume. It was a comforting smell.

"He's waiting in his study." Over the many years of her living over there, her English had improved remarkably according to Pops. Dad once told me he found it hard to understand her when she was shouting because her accent washed out her words, or she started speaking French.

"Romy, darling, I've got something for you," Pops said as I entered and closed the door behind me. He waved me over and gestured for me to sit down next to him. In his hand was a necklace and hanging from the silver chain was a flat white circle with a protection rune inside. "I've been working on this for the last two days." He slipped the necklace over my head where it settled under my shirt between my breasts. "We can't be there for you when you go back, but this should help protect you while you're gone."

"I won't be gone for long, Pops, you won't even know I'm gone." I felt like the more I said it the more I believed it. Hadn't we as a family had bad luck with time travel?

"I worry about you, Romy, I always have," he admitted running his hand through my strawberry blonde hair. Normally I supported the Weasley Ginger, but I was more feeling sentimental and had the same hair colour as my siblings, a mix between the red and Mamie's perfect silver-blonde.

"Because of my gifts?" I asked knowing he had always worried about my visions. He'd always been concerned, especially when I tried to limit my use of my metamorphmagus unlike dad and his mother. I didn't like being different.

It only got worse when I got sorted into Slytherin. Only Uncle Al had been sorted into Slytherin and I was the second. It made me feel isolated from the rest of the family. Add on top that I was the only one that got dad's abilities and was also a seer, it made me feel like a walking Mary-Sue.

"I think I'll be alright, Pops."

I was regretting my decision.

***

As my parents, both sets of grandparents, Hermione, Ron, Uncle Al, Uncle James and surprisingly Draco Malfoy stood around me, I started to regret my choice in agreeing to this.

We were all hanging around in the forest in Little Hangleton not too far away from the old Gaunt house.

"Have you got everything ready?" Dad asked, glancing to Hermione as she added a few last-minute things to the small black cotton bag she was fiddling with.

"Yes, just adding the tent and a few more books," she replied, earning a laugh at the mention of books.

"Why do I need a tent?" It was a good question, one I didn't really get an answer to as Hermione came rushing towards me and threw the strap of the bag around my neck before sliding a time turner over my neck and fiddling with it.

"The time turner should be easy to figure out. Twist the dials left to go back in time and right to go forward. I set the date for the past ready for you, so all you have to do is press this button here and you'll go back," she explained, showing me the time turner.

"Just this one here?" I asked, reaching out for the button and accidentally pressing it. "Oh." As I glanced up at her I watched as she gave me a startled look before she disappeared.

It wasn't what I was expecting travelling back in time. Papa Harry said he could see everything moving around him when he travelled back and Al told me he couldn't really remember much when it happened to him.

As I travelled back, I kept getting visions of Tom Riddle, ranging from when I saw him in Diagon Alley to when he was Voldemort and fighting my family at Hogwarts. I saw him again when he was attacking the Potter's in Godric's Hollow and back when he was at Hogwarts as a student and living in the orphanage.

It was like I was travelling to the past, but living every moment of his life up until I landed ungracefully on the floor in the forest.

"Oh shit," I muttered, not prepared for this in any way.

I glanced around and looked through the forest, trying to see any of my family members before I realised that I had royally fucked up.

"Okay, Andromeda, you can do this. Just go towards the creepy looking shack Papa showed you earlier and then you can save Merope," I muttered to myself as I rearranged the clothing I'd been handed to match the era.

I stumbled out of the woods and towards the Gaunt home, my hands shaking as they rapped on the splintered door. The suspense was killing me and as time went by and I could feel the air shift around me I knocked more frantically on the door, hoping she would answer.

"Come on, Merope." Glancing around, I slid my wand from its holster and unfettered a quick spell, unlocking the door. I stepped into the shack, grimacing as the cold and dust shifted around me. "Really?" I asked as it became obvious that no one had been here in months.

Where would she be? Surely she should have been here? Why would they send me here if she wasn't even here?

Glancing around again I followed the road, hoping it would take me to town. If anyone was to know where she was, it would be someone in town, right?

It took me ten minutes to walk to town and I was thankful I finally got there when it started to spit. I was not looking forward to getting drenched in any downpour when I didn't really know the area I was in or the time I was in.

"You alright, love?" the man behind the bar asked as I stumbled in and looked around. There were a few people here, as to be expected in this sort of area. They looked like the regular sort to dwell in pubs, but I hadn't really spent much time in a pub besides The Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron.

"Umm, I was wondering if you could tell me where Merope Gaunt is? I tried the house but no one was there," I muttered coming to the bar and looking the man in the eye. Unfortunately, I wasn't very experienced with delving into the mind and couldn't get a glimpse at his thoughts.

"She married Tom Riddle. They left for London about half a year ago. Staying in somewhere called Diagonally or something like that," he replied, shrugging his shoulders as he shared a look with a woman behind the bar. "You know 'er then?"

"Umm, yes, she's my cousin," I said, not able to think of a good enough reason for why I would be looking for her unless she was family. "Thank you for the information." I gave him a quick smile and rushed out of the pub and ran into a back alley.

I could get to her if she was in Diagon Alley. She was probably staying at The Leaky Cauldron as it was the only place that rented rooms in this era. With a quick thought of Diagon Alley, I apparated, hopefully, close to The Leaky Cauldron.

When I reached my destination, the queasy feeling settling in my stomach as I was brought into a downpour worse than the one in Little Hangleton. I slipped and slid as I made my way to the pub, shivering as I entered the war pub and made my way over to the lone barman.

"Hello, do you happen to have a witch here that goes by Merope?" I asked, shivering as my wet clothes clung to me. They were also heavy. What was with witches and wizards wearing such heavy clothing in this period?

"Dark hair, dark eyes, pale little thing?" he asked, looking bored out of his mind as he glanced over at me, taking in the ginger hair. I nodded, hoping he could tell me she was here. I wasn't really in the mood to be searching all over Britain for her. "Yeah, 'er husband left 'bout twenty minutes ago after a massive argument. She's in room ten."

"Thank you," I sighed, rushing off and up the stairs, hoping I could reach her before she decided to leave after Tom. Knocking on the door quite furiously I bit my lip as I called out to her. "Merope? Merope can you open the door, please? Merope, I know you don't know me but I'm here to help you." I could hear her shuffling behind the door but had a feeling she wasn't going to open the door to me. How was I going to get her to open the door? "Merope, I'm here to help your son."

I stumbled forward as she opened the door and I hadn't realised I was leaning on her door until she opened it.

She looked tired and I could tell from the small bump that she was already pregnant. Great, so I couldn't even stop the kid from being conceived. I had hoped I was here early enough to stop his conception, even if that went against Hermione's plan.

She'd been crying and I remembered what the barman said. She'd been fighting with her husband and he'd left her.

"You took him off the love potion didn't you?" I muttered pushing my way into the room closing the door behind me.

"How-how do yo-you know?" she stuttered wrapping her arms around her stomach as she took a step back. Should I tell her the truth? I mean she was going to die anyway, there wasn't any point in lying to her.

"This is going to sound strange, but I'm from the future. I'm here because someone is trying to take your baby. They steal him away and do horrible things to him." It wasn't the complete truth and I may have exaggerated a bit but I knew how protective mother's got over their children. I'd once pranked Dora which resulted in me having a broken arm.

"Wh-what?" I had terrified her. In a sense, it was good that she was terrified. It meant she would be more willing to listen to me.

"There's this group of people from the future that want your son. They'll do anything to get to him, Merope, anything. I'm not a mother myself, but I do understand that you don't want anything to happen to him. Please let me help you."

It was a longshot but I was hoping it would work.

If she really loved her son as much as was said then she'd be willing to do anything for him. Even put her trust in a complete stranger.

"Okay," she muttered, moving around the room and picking up the meagre collection of things she had with her.

"I'm Andromeda, but you can call me Romy, everyone does," I told her, looking around the room and taking note of the subtle hints that a man had been living here too. The man's jacket and the blazer hanging by the dresser was an indication but also the bottle of aftershave in front of the hanging mirror.

"You can call me Merry," she replied, shifting nervously as she held her torn carpetbag close to her chest. "Whe-where are we going?"

"Hogwarts. It's the safest place for us and I'm looking for Albus Dumbledore." I glanced at the bag in her hand noting that she'd only gathered her stuff. She wasn't even collecting anything of Tom's and here I thought she had an undying love for him. "Are you ready?" I asked, gesturing for her to come closer to me. "We're going to have to apparate. Don't worry," I said watching the scared look on her face as she rested her hand on her stomach. "He should be fine as long as you're not over five months. You're not, are you?"

"No, I'm about three months, maybe four," she muttered, grabbing hold of my arm as I nodded my head.

"Keep still and it's probably best if you close your eyes," I told her gripping onto her arm tightly as I thought about our destination. I wouldn't be able to apparate directly into Hogwarts, but perhaps Hogsmeade if I could focus correctly on an area.

"What's that?" Merope asked, reaching out for the time turner around my neck just as I went to apparate.

"No!"