A Life in the Past

When Ron came to, he was no longer lying on the cellar floor at the Burrow. Actually, he was nowhere near the Burrow. In fact, he hadn't the faintest clue where he was. He was aware that he was lying on a bed of some sort, a very fancy four poster bed with fine red hangings. The chamber he was in was beautifully decorated; there was expensive looking antique furniture spread out across the room, and the colour theme seemed to be bright scarlet, not unlike the Gryffindor common room back at Hogwarts. There was a fancy red sofa on the other side of the room, and a mahogany table laden with delicious looking food not far from the sofa. The chairs around the table were also constructed of mahogany, with red cushions placed on the seats and back-rests. The scarlet curtains at the window were drawn, to reveal a beautiful bright blue sky, dotted with wispy clouds every here and there.

The heavy, oak door at the entrance of the chamber creaked open. Ron looked around at the blonde-haired girl who had just entered been admitted into the room.

"Hello," said Ron, rather awkwardly. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled, walking over to him. She sat down on the bed Ron was lying on and stroked his cheek. "Forgotten me already?" she asked.

 Ron noticed she had a French accent, much like Fleur Delacour, the part-Veela Beauxbatons pupil he had met in his fourth year. She even looked a fair amount like Fleur, as though she could be distantly related. But the clothing the girl was wearing, Ron had seen it's style before, in history books. Why was this girl dressed in such old-fashioned robes?

"Er, I don't think we've met," said Ron. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I assure you, ve 'ave met before," the girl said. "If you need reminding, my name is Paquerette Delacour, the second."

Ron's heart skipped a beat. So she must be related to Fleur! But still, why was she dressed so strange? Or did everyone in France dress that way? Was he in France? Ron couldn't remember going to France, but he did know that Hermione had been there. Perhaps he had come here with Hermione, but forgotten? But he couldn't forget that much unless he amnesia. Did he have amnesia?

Ron decided it would be clever to simply ask. "Where am I?" he asked.

Paquerette giggled. "Silly boy," she said. "Where do you sink you are?"

"Er, I give up?" said Ron.

"Ve are at your father's castle, of course," Paquerette replied.

"My father has a castle?" Ron asked, excitedly. "Hold on, who's my father?"

"Ave you lost your, ow you say, memory?" said Paquerette, looking worried.

"Yeah, I think so," Ron replied. "Care to fill me in?"

"Master Wilfred, I am so worried," cried Paquerette. "I was merely joking!"

"Wait, wait, Wilfred?" asked Ron. "Did you call me Wilfred? That's not even a human name!"

"Oh, you are worse than I think," said Paquerette. "You must eat someting, I shall be back with elp for you." And with that, she was out of the room in a flash.

"Hold on," said Ron. "I'm Ron Weasley. I haven't lost my memory." It was no use, she was gone. Ron decided to take a look around the room. There was some parchment on the table with something written on it. Ron picked up the parchment, and was about to read it, but quickly dropped it when he read the date written on it. It said 1143. 1143. That was almost a thousand years ago! What was this doing here? Something was up, and Ron didn't like it one bit...

***

Ginny's eyes fluttered open. She had a pounding headache, and the stench of rotten corpses was not helping at all. Where the Hell was this place? Maybe that was just where it was. Hell. It definitely wasn't the cellar at the Burrow. The cellar had been so much friendlier. But where was she? Lying on a cold stone floor, in a dark, dirty smelling chamber.

The last thing Ginny could remember was a blast of sudden white light, and an invisible hand shoving her back, then she had hit the floor, and after that... Well, that was about all she could remember. But how had she gotten here?

Perhaps it was just Ron playing a nasty trick on her. That was the most logical explanation. Ron was hiding somewhere, and he'd pop up when she least expected it. This thought comforted Ginny.

She tried to sit up, but her head pounding with unbearable pain. Very slowly, and extremely painfully, Ginny got to her feet. She was clutching her head, and almost couldn't stand the pounding. "Ron," she called out, her voice hoarse for some reason.

There was no answer, except for cold, hard silence. Ginny looked around the room, and spotted a nasty sight; the corpse of a bloody man with brown hair was lying just to the right of a stone staircase. Ginny was violently sick when she saw the corpse. As she wiped her mouth on the green cloak she was still wearing, she noticed an interior pocket on the cloak. Sticking her hand into it, she found a wand. It was made of very dark wood, and it felt old and used. She thought she'd try to heal her head ache, after all, this was a life or death situation, and at a time like this, the last thing she could worry about was expulsion from Hogwarts.

"Solace," she whispered, and instantly felt the pain in her head come to a halt.

Now that she could think straight, her situation seemed slightly better. All she needed to do was get out of this place, then everything would be better.

She couldn't have been more wrong. Something in the room caught her attention; a large oak door. The only problem was that the door had a heavy looking pad lock on it, so obviously, Ginny could not get through it. She decided to go up the stairs, and found a wooden door at the top, which she went through, stepping out into a crowded, noisy outside world. And what was more, it was raining heavily.

The people, she noticed, were dressed oddly, like beggars. They reminded her of the Muggle peasants she had seen in her history of magic text book. She looked around, wildly for a familiar face. But all she saw were strangers.

She began walking, and as she walked, she picked up bits of conversation, which she didn't like at all.

"There's a witch burnin' tonight," one man said.

"Aye," said another man. "Ol' Gwendolyn Longbottom, always thought she was a weird one."

Ginny tried to ignore the people, and their talk of witch burning. Wasn't witch burning stopped long ago? What was going on here?

Ginny kept on walking, growing very cold from the icy rain. She pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, and tried to blend in with the crowd, which wasn't easy, as she was dressed differently to them.

She would have done anything at that moment to see someone she knew, even Lucius Malfoy or his son, who she would never have wanted to see ordinarily, and as if answering her thoughts, a young man clad in black robes brushed past her. She looked at him quickly, and as if sensing her glance, he turned and looked back at her. Ginny was absolutely sure that Draco Malfoy, her fellow Hogwarts student was staring back at her, but his cold grey eyes showed no recognition at all, or at least Ginny didn't think they did, the truth was, at first glance, there had been some sort of flicker in his eyes. And then he turned back around, walking away.

Ginny hurried over to him. "Malfoy!" she cried.

He turned around again. There was something different about him, his hair, which was usually tidy, was wild and sticking out at all angles. "If I've told one, I've told them all," he muttered. "I have no use for you, wench."

Ginny felt the red rising in her face. That damn Weasley temper. She pulled out the wand and pointed it at him. "Don't you dare call me a wench, Draco Malfoy," she said through clenched teeth.

He arched an eyebrow. "What did you call me?" he asked.

"Draco," Ginny replied. "That's your name, isn't it?" His name was Draco, wasn't it? She couldn't be mistaken, she was sure it was Draco.

He shook his head. "I am Elias Malfoy," he sneered. "I know not of this 'Draco' you speak of."

Ginny looked at him, searching his grey eyes. Surely he was joking.

He suddenly grasped her wrist. "And put that wand away," he commanded. "In a village filled with Muggles, as though being caught is what you want."

Ginny slipped the wand back into her pocket, which was a difficult task, as he was still clutching her wrist.

"Come with me," he said. "And ask no questions." He pulled Ginny forwards, and they walked in silence, through the throng of people.

They walked for a long time, until there were no people around, and soon, they were standing alone in front of vast black gates decorated with iron serpents, and a large letter 'M.'

He, 'Elias,' pushed one of the gates open, and pulled Ginny into what looked like a park.

There was a small Christian Church at one side, and a few houses made from packed dirt, thatch, and straw. There were very few people around, and the people who were there were doing farm work, plowing fields, planting crops, milking cows, and such.

Elias and Ginny walked until they reached a massive castle that loomed over the park. It was a beautiful stone castle, with vines and roses growing over the walls, and with many towers and fortresses. Ginny stared up at the large oak doors in awe. Where was this place?

Elias knocked on the door twice, and it creaked open, admitting Ginny and Elias to the interior of the castle, which was just as beautiful and the inside, with stone floors, and dark corridors, lit by flaming torches. The main entrance of the castle was vast, and looked very exquisite. There was a huge candle chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a wide marble stair case. There were paintings on the walls of sadistic things, such as serpents eating humans, and werewolves bearing bloody teeth. The pictures were of course moving, and were rather gruesome.

Elias led Ginny down a corridor, and they stopped in front of a door. Elias knocked on the door, and a voice from inside said, "enter," so Elias opened the door, stepping inside, with Ginny behind him.

Ginny's mouth dropped open when she saw who was sitting inside. It was Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, but they looked different somehow, the same way Elias didn't look like Draco. Who were these people?

"Father," Elias spoke up. "I found this young witch not far from here."

"You do not plan to marry her, do you?" asked the man who looked like Lucius.

"Of course not," said Elias. "Something with this red hair must be Irish."

"Then why do you come here, son?" asked the man who looked like Lucius.

"I have a strong feeling she be a spy, perhaps a Muggle-lover?" said Elias. "I do not think she should be here."

"What is your name, miss?" asked the man who looked like Lucius.

"Ginny Weasley," said Ginny, without thinking first.

"Ah, she be a Weasley," said the Lucius man.

"To the prison tower?" suggested Elias.

The Lucius man nodded, waving his wand as if to say, 'go away.'

Elias, who was still holding Ginny's wrist, walked down the corridor and up a staircase. Ginny didn't dare speak, and allowed Elias to lead her up staircases, down corridors, and through secret passages, because there was no telling what he would do to her if she protested. There was something seriously wrong with these people.

They stopped walking when they reached a barred door. The door looked very heavy, and almost impossible to move.

Elias pulled a single key from his robe pocket, and slid it into the key hole on the door. He pushed the door open, with a little difficulty, and then shoved Ginny into the small prison cell, smirking at her. He stepped into the cell after her. He knelt down to where she had stumbled backwards. Ginny shivered instinctively, thinking he would do unspeakable things to her.

He grasped her by the shoulders. "Sneaking around like that, it is a terrible thing to do," he said. "There is no need to try escaping now, it's all over, little Weasley." He let go of her shoulders, shoving her slightly, and was about to stand up when he seemed to remember something. He slipped his hand into Ginny's cloak, and Ginny was just about ready to slap him, when he pulled the wand out of the pocket. He smirked at her again, then left without a backwards glance.

Ginny watched him go. A part of her had been hoping he'd stay, even if it was to abuse her, she just hated being alone, and even though she didn't know him, he had a familiar face. Ginny sighed, trying hard not to cry. She'd gotten herself into a real mess this time, and she'd lost Ron in the process.