A Life in the Past

Draco was blinded by a sudden light emerging from inside the box. He dropped the box and shielded his eyes. What the Hell was that? He kicked the box hard, letting it slam into the wall. This had been pointless, he hadn't found out what his father had been up to, all he'd gotten out of it was a stupid silver spoon.

Draco climbed back up the ladder and through the trap door, back into the drawing room. He exited the drawing room, and headed down the corridor to his father's study, looking for mischief.

He opened the door to his father's study, to find that his mother and father were both sitting inside talking.

"I thought you were out on business?" said Draco.

"What do you speak of?" his father demanded.

"Mother said you were out on business, and she was joining you for lunch," said Draco. "I had no idea this was your idea of out, it's quite inside if you ask me."

"Elias, do not bother me," said his father.

"What'd you call me?" asked Draco.

"And what have you done with your hair?" his father asked. "You look almost presentable."

"Er, I got a hair-cut last week," said Draco. "What was that you called me?"

"Is there a reason you are here?" his father said, angrily.

"All right, all right," said Draco, lifting his hands in a 'calm down' sort of way. He left the room, closing the door behind him, and started off down the corridor. He decided he'd find something to do in the library, perhaps read up on the dark arts or something interesting.

When he reached the library door, he was about to turn the handle when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What the --?" he turned around quickly, and came face to face with himself. A very scruffy version of himself.

"Who be you?" asked scruffy Draco.

"I'm Draco, I live here," said Draco, mockingly. "And who be you?"

"You do not live here," said scruffy Draco.

"Live here I do," Draco smirked. "It's you who doesn't, Draco wannabe."

"Was that 'Draco' you called me?" asked scruffy Draco.

Draco shook his head. "Draco be me," he said. "And you've charmed yourself or something to look like me, and a terrible job you've done at that. My hair is not that... scruffy. It's as though you want to be a mix of me and Harry Potter."

"Who be this Harry Potter?" asked scruffy Draco.

"You're joking," said Draco in disbelief. "What era are you living in? How could you not know who the famous Potter is?"

"The year 1143," scruffy Draco said. "And the Muggles have been running about for the past few hundred years claiming that there is a God who sent us his son. Does Potter be this son?"

Draco stared at the boy in front of him. What a clueless git. But then again, he'd said he lives in the year 1143, so he must have come out of the little black box.

"You come from the past," said Draco. "You must do."

"I know not of what you speak," said scruffy Draco.

"Do you want to do my history of magic homework?" asked Draco. "I haven't started it yet, and you should know all about it."

"You be a mad man!" scruffy Draco cried out.

He kicked Draco hard in the shin. Draco fell to his knees, and scruffy Draco pull him up by the arms, pushing him forward like some sort of criminal going to Azkaban.

"What the bloody Hell are you doing?" Draco asked, struggling to get away.

The other Draco was very strong, and seemed to know his way around very well; he was pushing Draco through secret passageways even Draco had never found.

At long last, scruffy Draco stopped pushing Draco forward. They had stopped in front of the prison cell which was located in the highest tower of the Malfoy house. This tower overlooked all of Malfoy Manor.

Scruffy Draco unlocked the barred door and threw Draco into the tiny prison cell, quickly slamming the door closed and leaving.

Draco ran forward toward the barred door. "Oy! Come back here you filthy bastard!" he yelled. "How dare you lock me up in my own house!"

"Elias?" said a voice behind him.

Draco looked around, startled. "What the Hell are you doing here?" he asked the red-headed girl who was sitting on the stone floor.

"You threw me in here!" the girl shouted.

"Wait a minute," said Draco, recognizing the girl as Ginny Weasley. "You're Ginny Weasley, aren't you?"

Ginny's eyes widened. "Draco Malfoy?" she asked. "I thought you were Elias. Or you said your name was Elias."

"Funny, my father called me Elias not long ago," said Draco.

"Then you weren't Elias?" asked Ginny.

"There's some git walking around who looks like me," said Draco. "But he comes from 1143. He's the one who threw me in here."

"He threw you in here too?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah," said Draco. "I understand why he'd throw you in here, I mean you look like a common beggar, but me? I'm a Malfoy!"

Ginny felt her temper rising again. She jumped to her feet. "Don't you call me a beggar!" she shrieked.

"But that's what you look like," said Draco.

"And your stupid look alike called a wench!" Ginny said.

"We're both just as honest as each other," said Draco. "I mean to say, just because you couldn't have Potter, you decided to have every other male pupil in Hogwarts."

"That is not true!" shouted Ginny. "I've never even touched a Slytherin, or a Hufflepuff!"

"Actually, that's a lie," said Draco. "You've slapped me twice, which classifies as touching a Slytherin."

"I'll slap you again!" said Ginny, raising a threatening hand.

Draco grabbed her wrist. "Don't," he said. "I'm only being honest. But this world is so shallow now that honesty's a crime."

Ginny sighed. "You shouldn't have said it," said Ginny.

"But Colin Creevey says your good," said Draco. "He was bragging for weeks after."

"After what?" asked Ginny. "Oh, you don't mean... Oh, urgh! I would never!"

"And you think I believe you?" asked Draco, tauntingly. "Creevey said you'd go to the astronomy tower every night, and you'd..."

"Shut up!" Ginny yelled.

"Make me!" said Draco, very childishly.

Ginny sealed her mouth over his to 'make him' shut up.

Draco pulled away, but not immediately. "See what I mean?" he said. "You're a slut! Sleep with anything remotely male, you would."

"I would not!" Ginny protested. "I never have!"

"I don't believe you," said Draco. "Weasleys are all dirty."

"That does it!" shouted Ginny. She slapped Draco with the hand he was not holding the wrist of.

Draco rubbed his reddening cheek. "You're a bitch," he said.

"With that attitude, you'll earn yourself another slap," said Ginny, warningly.

"I'm sorry," said Draco. "Just don't slap me again."

***

Ron had gotten over the shock of being in 1143, and was now enjoying his relaxation time in his 'father's' castle. His so-called 'father' was actually an exact replica of Arthur Weasley, except his name was Alfred.

Ron smiled to himself. He was lying on the red sofa in the chamber he had woken up in, and Paquerette was feeding him grapes. He had never thought that this 'being fed grapes by an overly-attractive woman' fantasy could ever be a reality.

"Master Wilfred," said Paquerette, uneasily. "Could I ask ze favour of you?"

"Oh, anything," said Ron, grinning widely.

"It is only, well, er... It is my sister," said Paquerette. "She is not well, and I was 'oping you could 'elp?"

"How could I help?" asked Ron, or 'Wilfred.'

"Erm, one sousand galleons?" Paquerette suggested. "Even ze five 'undred would be 'ow you say, 'elpful."

"A thousand?" said Ron. "I don't think I have that much."

"Do not talk of such nonsense," said Paquerette. "Your father certainly 'as ze gold."

"Yeah, but I'd have to ask him first," said Ron, regretting playing along with these people for the first time. The money didn't belong to him, it was Wilfred's, whoever Wilfred was.

"You do not 'ave to do zat," said Paquerette. "You just give me ze gold, and your father need not know, ever."

"But that would be wrong," said Ron, uneasily. "I don't think I could."

"Of course you could," Paquerette pleaded. "Please, it is to 'elp my sister. It is for a cause zat is good, no?"

"Well, I suppose," said Ron, running a hand through his hair nervously. "But I should still ask. But don't worry, I'll just ask my er father, and you'll get the gold."

"No, do not ask!" said Paquerette. "You do not need to."

"But I want to," said Ron. "It just seems right."

"No, please, I beg of you," said Paquerette, looking at him with pleading eyes. "'E will not approve. But you cannot just let my sister suffer, can you?"

"He will approve," said Ron. "Trust me, you've nothing to worry about."

"Master Wilfred, you must get me ze gold, and speak nothing of it to your father," said Paquerette. "Please."

"All right," Ron lied. "I'll try."

***

"Are you completely stupid?" asked Ginny. "You honestly think that all these people came from the past, and we're in the right time?"

"Er, yeah," said Draco. "I can't remember going back in time."

"Malfoy," said Ginny, frustrated. "We are from the future. We have somehow been thrown into the year 1143, almost a thousand years before our time."

"I don't believe you," said Draco. "I didn't go back in time. I've been right here, all day."

"Yes you have," said Ginny. "Because the boy who lives in this house in this time threw you in here."

"No," said Draco. "I mean I've been here, in this house, on this manor, all day. In the morning, I had breakfast with my mother and father. They left, and I went down into the secret chamber under the drawing room floor."

"So there really is a secret chamber!" said Ginny. "My dad was going to report that to the ministry."

"Oh, shit," said Draco. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Well, you did tell me," said Ginny. "But go on, tell me what you did in the secret chamber. Unless of course you were, well, doing something dirty I'd rather not hear about."

"Don't be stupid," said Draco. "I'm not sad enough to do a thing like that. I went down there, and I found this silver spoon," he pulled the spoon out of his robe pocket and showed it to Ginny, "and then I found this little box, and I opened it."

"What was in the box?" Ginny asked, obvious curiosity in her voice.

"Voldemort was in the box," said Draco. "And he said he wanted me to help him kill Ginny Weasley, and that's why I'm here, with you, alone." He smiled a cruel smile, and slid closer to her.

Ginny's eyes widened, and she stood up very quickly, backing away from Draco.

Draco laughed. "I was only joking," said Draco. "There was nothing in the box."

"Nothing?" asked Ginny. "I thought that the box might have been a time portal of some sort, because I opened up this trunk I found in the cellar at the Burrow, and the whole room was sort of flooded with light, and after that, well... Ron disappeared, and I was in some other place."

"Well," said Draco. "This little man appeared out of nowhere and he did this little dance, singing about his trousers being on fire. I got a little scared after that."

"What did the man look like?" asked Ginny.

"He had red hair, and freckles, and er... his robes were old, and he was rather ugly," said Draco.

"Did he say anything else?" Ginny questioned eagerly.

"Yeah, I think he did," said Draco. "I think you'd better come here, I don't want anyone to hear this."

"There's nobody around," said Ginny. "Why can't you just tell me."

"Come and sit down," said Draco. "There's all sorts of ghosts and things hanging around here, I don't want them to over-hear."

"Fine," sighed Ginny. She sat down on the stone floor beside Draco.

Draco leaned in close to Ginny. "He told me," said Draco. "He said Ginny's real bloody gullible." And with that he burst into mocking laughter.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "That isn't funny," she said. "You're a complete... You're so terrible that there are no words to describe you."

"Thank you," said Draco. "And you're, well, you're filthy, poor, and ugly."

Ginny slapped Draco on the arm.

"Joking, joking," said Draco. "Well, except for the poor part, because you're a Weasley, and Weasleys are all poor and stupid."

"Not as poor as you think," said Ginny. "I found a shitload of galleons in the cellar before... Well, before I came here."

"Yeah, probably fake gold," said Draco. "I'll bet those twins, Fred and George was it? I'll bet they made them. Probably joke money for poor people."

"Whatever," said Ginny.

"If you must know," said Draco. "There was light inside the box. But that was all. I don't know, I just dropped it because it was really bright, and I couldn't see."

"That's it," said Ginny. "It's the light, it's a time portal. There's no other explanation."