A Life in the Past

"Okay," said Hermione. "Here's what I've concluded. These Weasleys are your ancestors, and their children will have children who will have children, and so on, and so fourth. What I think is that your dad is a descedant of this Wilfred. Are you with me so far?"

Ron nodded, giving Harry a puzzled look. Harry replied to the puzzled look with raised eyebrows.

"And so we must be here to find Wilfred, who went missing," Hermione went on, excitedly. "Because without Wilfred, there's no Arthur, and without Arthur, there's no Ron, Charlie, Bill, George, Fred, Ginny, or Percy. So now Ron is Wilfred, and Ginny isn't here because she hasn't been born yet."

"Neither have we," said Harry. "Why are we here?"

"Oh," said Hermione. "Well, forget that idea."

"So we're back at square one," said Ron. "Wilfred is somewhere around here, and we have to try and get back to the future. Ginny's lost somewhere along the line, and we should find her."

"What about the French girl?" asked Harry. "She probably knows something."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, Paquerette," said Ron. "She should be coming later on. I'll talk to her."

"You won't be alone with her, will you?" asked Hermione.

"I'd have to be," Ron replied. "I'll tell her I can't get the money. Then I'll just question her."

"And what will you ask?" Hermione inquired.

Ron shrugged.

"How are we supposed to figure anything out if you aren't prepared?" asked Hermione.

Ron shrugged again.

"Allo?" a voice called down the corridor.

"Is that her?" asked Harry.

Ron nodded in wonderment.

"That was weird," said Harry. "It's like she read our minds and just came here."

Ron nodded again in wonderment.

"Why doesn't he talk?" Hermione asked. "Why don't you talk?" She shook Ron by the shoulders in playful fashion.

Ron shrugged. He walked down the corridor absent-mindedly to where Paquerette's voice had drifted from.

"Ron!" Hermione called.

"Hold on, Hermione," said Ron, without looking back.

"Why is he acting like this?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry shrugged.

"Oh, not you as well," said Hermione.

"No, I still talk," said Harry.

***

"Paquerette, I need to talk to you," said Ron when he reached Paquerette in the corridor.

"Ah, about ze gold?" asked Paquerette.

Ron nodded. "Erm, I don't think I can get it to you," he said uneasily.

"But my sister," said Paquerette. "She really needs it."

"Er, just out of curiosity," said Ron. "What's wrong with your sister?"

"Oh, it is 'orrible!" Paquerette cried, throwing her arms around Ron's neck.

"Er... Maybe I could help you," said Ron. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, she is...er... Well, it is terrible," said Paquerette.

Ron pulled away from her, just barely. "Just tell me what's wrong with her," he said, grasping her by the shoulders, looking down at her.

Paquerette looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Fake tears. Ron knew fake tears when he saw them, Ginny always used to pretend to cry.

"Come on, Paquerette," said Ron. "Tell me what's wrong."

"She is...er... she is very ill," said Paquerette.

"Could I see her?" asked Ron.

"I would not want you to be infected," said Paquerette.

"Er, my friend's a doctor," said Ron. "She'll know what to do."

"No, I think not," said Paquerette. "Zair is only one man 'oo 'as ze cure. No woman could possibly know."

"She will, she's really clever," said Ron. "And she could do it for free."

"No, it is not necessary," said Paquerette bitterly. "Any uzzer day you would 'av given me ze gold, but you are a changed man, Master Wilfred."

"How so?" asked Ron.

"You are usually so...er... 'ow you say... vulnerable," said Paquerette. "I think the female friend of yours is an affect on you."

"Really?" said Ron. "So Wilfr- I mean, I give in easily? And that's why you asked me for the gold?"

Paquerette nodded.

"So what did you really want it for?" Ron questioned.

"I cannot say to you," said Paquerette.

"Just tell me," said Ron. "I promise I won't get angry. Just tell me, and I could try to help you."

"You would not like to 'elp," said Paquerette.

"Just tell me," Ron repeated.

"I cannot," said Paquerette.

"Tell me," said Ron through gritted teeth. The Weasley temper was slowly rising through his frustration.

"I cannot," Paquerette repeated.

"Tell me now," said Ron. "Or I go to my father."

"Fine, if I must," Paquerette said, finally giving in. "My younger sister, she is only five, but my father 'as decided 'e would like for 'er to marry a Malfoy. But a Malfoy does not come for cheap, and Eliyas Malfoy is most expensive."

"So you want to buy yourself a Malfoy?" said Ron. "That's disgusting. Why would you need one of them?"

"It is good," said Paquerette. "Our family would 'av a good reputation."

"But Malfoys are terrible," said Ron.

"No, zey are not," said Paquerette. "I am lucky enough to be marrying into ze Lestrange family, but my sister will exceed zat with a Malfoy."

"This is all too much for me," said Ron. "That's a stupid way to waste money."

"It is not!" shouted Paquerette. "I cannot believe I 'av told you zis much already."

"That's horrible to do to her, make her marry a Malfoy," said Ron. "And she's only five! How old's this Eliyas?"

"E is sixteen of course," Paquerette replied. "Same as you. Turning seventeen zis year."

"Wow, and she's only five," said Ron. "Sixteen's too young to get married, but five? That's just odd."

Paquerette looked at him as though he were very strange indeed. "Well, I must be on my way, Master Wilfred," she said, starting off down the corridor.

***

Draco and Ginny had continued forward once they had reached solid ground again. They had now been walking for hours without seeing a single person.

"We're lost," said Ginny.

Draco nodded. "Yep," he said. "It's the Weasley sense of direction."

"You know, that's a new one," said Ginny. "It's usually the Weasley red hair, the Weasley temper... Never the bad sense of direction."

"Yeah, I thought I'd be original," said Draco. "Do you like it?"

"No," said Ginny.

"Good," Draco said. "That was my aim."

As they walked on, they finally came across another person. It was an elderly man, who was obviously a wizard, as he was trying to charm his horse. Well, hopefully he was trying to charm it because he kept poking it in the side with his wand.

"Excuse me, sir," said Ginny, hurrying over to him. "Could you tell us where we are?"

"Er, ye be in York," the man said.

"York?!" said Ginny. "But that's... Oh no, we really are lost."

"So we've gone too far north," said Draco.

"Ye be travelling southward," said the man. "Be on yer way, young Muggles."

"Excuse me?" said Draco. "How dare you call a Malfoy a Muggle!"

"Ye be dirty for a Malfoy," the man grumbled.

"Dirty?" shouted Draco. "Dirty?!"

"Thankyou, kind sir," said Ginny, pulling Draco away before he could hit the old man.

"Am I dirty?" Draco asked her.

Ginny looked at him. "You could do with some cleaning," she said.

"So could you," said Draco. "But you can't really see the difference considering you're a Weasley."

"Again, I could slap you," said Ginny.

"Don't," said Draco. "You'd be violating the rules."

"Oh yeah," said Ginny. "But anyway, if we're going south now, we must be on the right track. All we have to do is... What the Hell's that?" she said suddenly, pointing up ahead.

"Eh? What's what?" said Draco.

"That!" said Ginny, pointing at the object speeding towards them.

"I think it's some sort of animal," said Draco. "We should really duck out the way or something."

"That's not an animal!" cried Ginny. "Isn't that the Knight Bus?"

"Oh... so it is," said Draco. "Wonder why it's here..."

"Because we called for it," said Ginny.

"No we didn't," said Draco.

"Yeah, we did," said Ginny.

"But in any case, we have no money," said Draco. "We can't pay."

The Knight Bus pulled up in front of Draco and Ginny. The doors opened and a young man of about sixteen stepped out.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," he said. "I am Bradford Chunpike, your conductor. The Knight Bus will get you to any destination you wish. One ride will cost three knuts, if you wish to have a pillow, five knuts, if you would like pepper water, seven knuts."

"Er, we'll pass," said Draco. "We've no..."

Ginny covered Draco's mouth with her hand. He could be so stupid sometimes.

"Well, what will it be?" Bradford asked.

"Two three knut rides," said Ginny. "We need to get to the Burrow, do you know where that is?"

Bradford nodded. "That is... er... you have three, and then three..."

"Six," said Ginny. "But could we pay you after?"

Bradford nodded. "In you get," he said.

Ginny and Draco stepped onto the night bus, Draco in complete shock.

"Isn't this great?" asked Ginny, when she and Draco were safely inside the Knight Bus. It was different inside, the beds were not quite as exquisite, and it looked rather odd, which was okay, considering they weren't supposed to have buses back in 1143.

"This seems really easy," said Draco. "I have a feeling something bad's going to happen."

"Well you always do," said Ginny. "Can't you look on the bright side?"

"No," said Draco. "These are dark times, there is no bright side."

"You are quite right," Bradford called from the front of the bus. "What with the exposure of the Chamber of Secrets and all."

"What exposure?" asked Ginny.

"Do you not go to Hogwarts?" asked Bradford. "Slytherin's secret is out, he has built a secret chamber in the school, and it hides a terrible monster."

"Oh yeah," said Ginny. "That..."

"Aye," said Bradford, turning around.

"Malfoy," said Ginny. "We've got to come up with a way to get back to our time."

"Er, yeah," said Draco, as if it were the most blatantly obvious thing ever, which it was.

"No, I mean on our way to the Burrow, then we'll find Ron, and get back," said Ginny very quickly.

"Nah, I don't think we could," said Draco. "Time travel isn't simple transfiguration."

"There's no such thing as simple transfiguration," said Ginny.

"Whatever," Draco said. "I still say we can't do it. Let's hope that dim-witted brother of yours has come up with something."

"From his letter," said Ginny. 'It sounds like he's enjoying being here."

"And he would be," said Draco. "He's not the one who had to sleep on the grass last night."