A Life in the Past

Ron was once again lying on the comfortable bed he had awoken in that morning. This life was perfect, but still, he missed his family, and Harry and Hermione. He was beginning to think he'd never see them again, then his thoughts drifted to Ginny.

Ginny was the last person he had been with before he had ended up here. She should have come with him, but she didn't seem to be anywhere near Ron. He hadn't seen her since she had opened that trunk and the room had been filled with amazing white light. But certainly she had gone somewhere? Unless she had just remained in the cellar at the Burrow. But in that case, she would probably wondering where he, Ron was.

Now, Ron lay back in that comfortable bed with its scarlet hangings, in that beautiful chamber, wanting to be back home, where he belonged, at the Burrow, in his own time. With Hermione, and Harry. With his rightful family. Just because this life was perfect, didn't mean Ron was happy. He would rather be poor, and with the people he loved, than rich, with these strangers.

And Annabelle. Ron didn't like her at all. She wasn't like Ginny. Ginny had always trusted Ron, and she was always so pleasant to be around. But Annabelle, she was... well she didn't seem to like Ron one bit. She was nothing like his sister, except for the fact that she looked so much like her it was uncanny. But other than that, Annabelle was an unpleasant girl. Ginny was always so happy, even when Ron knew she was hurting inside, but Annabelle was not so happy.

Ron thought about the times when Ginny would talk about Harry, as though he was the most wonderful thing in the world. And then Ron would be angry with Harry for treating Ginny like any other little girl. Harry was always nice to Ginny, but is was as though the only reason he cared at all was because she was his best friend's sister.

And then there was Hermione. Ron had been looking forward to seeing her in a week. He couldn't wait until she came. But now, it was as if he'd never see her again. Here he was, trapped in another century, and there was Hermione, in the present. With Harry. And Viktor Krum. Where anything could happen.

Ron cursed to himself, and stood up, walking to the table on the other side of the chamber. There was a quill, an ink bottle, and some parchment lying there. How convenient...

But who would he write to? Owl post couldn't deliver messages to the future. But Ginny could be here in the past. Perhaps she was not as far away as Ron had thought.

He picked up the quill and dipped it into the ink bottle.

Dear Ginny, he wrote, I don't know whether this letter will ever reach you, but I hope it does. I have the strangest thing to tell you. I'm at the Burrow, but I'm in a different time! I can't believe it, but I'm actually in the year 1143, and the Burrow isn't the Burrow we know. It's a castle! And I'm with the Weasley family of 1143, they're just like us. But they think I am Wilfred, their son and brother. Still, they're rich, and seeing as I am stuck here, I may as well try to fit in. Where are you? I really, really hope this letter finds you, and I hope you can find me. This is absolutely crazy, isn't it?

Loads of Love, your brother, Ron.

Now all he needed was an owl. Where the Hell was he supposed to find an owl? He looked around the dark chamber, which was lit only by the flame of a candle. There were certainly no owls in here.

He left the chamber quietly and walked down the corridor.

"Where do you go?" said a suspicious voice behind him. Annabelle.

"I have an owl to send," said Ron, not daring to turn around.

"You go the wrong way," said Annabelle. "Unless you'd rather take the long route."

"Yeah, well maybe I'd rather take the long route," said Ron. "Just leave me alone."

"I cannot," said Annabelle. "I miss my dear brother, so. What have you done with my brother?"

"I am your brother," said Ron, turning around. "Why won't you believe me?"

"I know Wilfred too well," said Annabelle, and with those words, she walked past Ron without a glance back.

"Ginny would do the same," said Ron. "Maybe you are just like her..."

***

"What now?" asked Ginny, edging along the platform.

Draco looked at her over his shoulder, his back to the wall. "There should be a window on the other side of this tower," he said. "We'll just have to keep going until we reach it."

Ginny said nothing, but she followed Draco along the wall.

After what seemed like hours, (and it probably was because it had started raining again, and the sky was darkening), Draco and Ginny finally reached a window. The only problem was that it was a few feet away, and the only way to get to it would be to jump.

Draco looked over his shoulder again at Ginny. "You're on your own, now," he said. "We'll go our own ways, I'm not helping you across." He took a deep breath, and jumped forwards, planning for the worst, but after a few seconds of horror, he felt the window sill under his finger tips. Draco smiled to himself and hauled his body into the window.

Ginny watched Draco jump, and thought it couldn't be so bad. After Draco lifted himself into the window, Ginny decided to follow him. She lunged forward, with her eyes closed and arms outstretched. For a moment, she thought this was the end, that she'd never reach the window, but instead, her hand hit something solid, and she grabbed hold.

She was holding on with one hand trying to steady herself, when she felt a hand grasp her wrist.

"Careful there," said Draco, looking down at her. "You aren't as strong as you think." He pulled her into the window by her arms, placing her on the floor.

"Oh, thank you," said Ginny.

"Yeah, whatever," said Draco.

Draco left through the door of the room they had just entered and Ginny followed him. They walked in silence, Draco had not yet noticed Ginny behind him. He stopped in front of the door to his own bedroom, or what would be his bedroom in about a thousand years. He put his hand on the handle, and hesitated for a second before pushing the door open.

The room that was revealed was nothing like his bedroom, in looked dingy, and cheap. Draco cringed at the thought of thinking his room had once looked this way.

"What is this room?" Ginny asked behind him, causing him to jump a little with surprise.

"You're still here?" asked Draco, looking at her. "I thought I said we'd go our own ways?"

"You said you wouldn't help me anymore," said Ginny, pointedly. "You never said I couldn't follow you."

"Fine," said Draco. "But if you must follow me, make yourself useful."

"How?" asked Ginny.

"Suppose some guard or something comes along," said Draco. "And he questions us and what not, you distract him."

"I doubt I'll need to," said Ginny. "So, where are you going, anyway?"

"You're not being very useful," said Draco, closing the door to his future bedroom. "But if you must know, I'm going to the secret chamber, I'm going back to the future. There's no point hanging around here."

 "But wait," said Ginny. "My brother's probably lost somewhere in time, we have to find him."

"No," said Draco, walking quickly down the corridor. "You have to find him. Not us, you." He pulled a hanging tapestry out of the way, and stepped into the secret passageway he knew so well.

Ginny followed Draco into the secret passage. It was actually well-lit for a hidden corridor, and for some reason, there were paintings on the walls. They emerged out of a tapestry at the other end of the passageway into a corridor. Draco crossed the corridor, with Ginny right behind him. He turned the handle of a door and pushed it open. The two of them entered the room, Draco in lead. Draco crossed to the centre of the room, lifting the rug that covered the trap door.

"So this is it," said Ginny. "We go down there, and normal life resumes."

Draco smirked and nodded, quickly lifting the trap door and climbing into the hole, making his way down the ladder. "You coming?" he called up.

Ginny hesitated for a moment before lowering herself down into the chamber under the floor. Draco helped her down, help she could have done without.

"Here's the box," said Draco, holding out the box. "Do you suppose it'll send us back to the future if we open it?"

"I don't know," said Ginny. "Open it and see."

So Draco did open the box, to find nothing. Absolute nothingness. No change, no blast of light, just nothingness.

"Well, that was pointless," said Draco. "I suppose we'll have to find another way back, eh?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied. "But how? There doesn't seem to be a way at all."

"I don't know," said Draco. He began to climb up the ladder again, disappointedly.

"Wait, Malfoy, hold on," said Ginny.

Draco stopped and turned to give her a questioning look.

"If we get split up," said Ginny, hesitantly. "Should we, well, should we try to find each other? Or just go our own way?"

"What makes you think we'll be split up?" asked Draco. "I mean, you are just following me, how hard could it be?"

"Just in case," said Ginny. "I know you said you weren't going to help me, but I think we need each other, we're... well, you're the only person I actually feel safe with here."

"Stop your worrying," said Draco. "We won't be separated." And he began climbing up the ladder again, Ginny right behind him.

When Draco and Ginny emerged through the trap door, both were paralysed by what they saw. Two very large, filthy men were standing side by side, arms crossed over their chests.

Ginny reached for Draco's hand out of instinct, and held on tight.

Draco and Ginny were even more shocked when Elias Malfoy stepped out from behind the two men, that Malfoy smirk on his face.

"The girl can go to the north wing," he said to one of the two men. "And the boy to the west," he told the other man.

Both men grunted in answer, and each took a heavy step towards Draco and Ginny. The bigger of the two men grabbed Draco by the shoulders, and lifted him up, pulling Draco out of Ginny's hold. The other man took Ginny by the waist, and together they exited the drawing room, Elias smirking after them.

***

"Hermione?" said Ron, groggily, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "Am... am I hallucinating?"

"No, Ron," said the familiar voice of Hermione Granger. "It's me."

"How did you find me?" asked Ron. "I mean, you were supposed to be in the future, in our time, not here."

"I know," said Hermione. "But you're mother wrote to Harry and I, telling us you and Ginny had gone missing. We were so worried about you, Ron."

"Oh, er, thanks," said Ron. "Harry's not here, is he?"

"Yes, he is," said Hermione. "Oh, Harry and I spent all day together looking for you and Ginny. It was his idea to go down to the cellar and look for you there. Harry really is brilliant, he figured everything out, he opened the trunk, and we came here."

"But if he opened the trunk and you both ended up here," said Ron. "Then where's Ginny?"

"You mean, she isn't with you?" said Hermione. "Oh, that's terrible! Where could she possibly be?"

"I don't know," said Ron. "I sent her an owl earlier, but I don't know if she'll get it, I don't even know where she is."

Hermione sobbed. "This is terrible," she said. "You know, today has been so hard, and I've realised how much you mean to me. Ron, I've never told you this, I know, but I love you, I really do. I care so much about you and Harry, and I could never imagine life without you."

"Harry too?" asked Ron, glumly.

"Of course," said Hermione. "You're both so important to me, I wouldn't have gotten through the first six years of Hogwarts without you both."

"Why not?" asked Ron.

"Because you've helped me become more than just a hard-working student, you've helped me learn that magic does not come from books, you especially. And Harry's taught me how important friendship is. And when you and I weren't speaking to each other back in third year, well, that was the worst few weeks of my life," said Hermione, stroking Ron's hair. "You mean so much."

"I love you too, Hermione," said Ron. "In fact, I thought I'd never see you again, that was really hard on me."

"It's okay, Ron," Hermione whispered. She kissed him on the forehead. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this."