A Life in the Past

Draco had needed to use the toilet for quite some time now, so Ginny was waiting outside the bathroom they had found inside the Burrow.

She looked up and down the corridor. It was much like the Malfoy house, except the paintings on the walls were happy, not corrupted, and it was brighter. It wasn't nearly like the Burrow as she knew it, but it still felt quite homely. She sighed. It seemed like so long she'd been gone, would she ever make it home?

"Annabelle!" a voice called down the corridor, making Ginny jump.

It sounded almost like Harry. Ginny looked around frantically, and spotted him walking towards her. She stared in disbelief as he neared her. Could this be Harry? Why had he called her Annabelle?

"Annabelle, it has been far too long," he said, cheerily. "Where be Wilfred?"

"Wilfred?" Ginny coughed.

"Your brother," he said. "It is I, Edmund. Have thou forgotten me?"

"Edmund?" said Ginny. She looked into his brown eyes, brown, not green, and he had no glasses, and no scar. So it couldn't be Harry. But then didn't he say, 'it has been far too long?' Ginny and Draco had seen them together only hours ago.

"It is good to see you, Annabelle," Edmund said. "It has been weeks, has it not?"

"It's only been a few hours, hasn't it?" asked Ginny. "What d'you mean by weeks?"

"Since we departed from Hogwarts," Edmund said. "I have not seen you since then."

"Really?" Ginny squeaked.

"Yes," said Edmund. "Are you feeling yourself?"

"Not really," said Ginny. "In fact, I'm entirely someone else."

"Walk with me," said Edmund, taking Ginny by the hand. "We have much to discuss."

Together, they walked down the corridor, hand in hand.

***

Draco opened the bathroom door very carefully; he had been listening from inside the bathroom to Ginny talking to someone named 'Edmund.'

Draco looked around to see Edmund and Ginny walking very slowly with their backs to him. Draco followed quietly behind, making sure he was not seen. What would happen to him if he were spotted? He did look like Eliyas Malfoy after all.

He could just barely hear what Ginny and this 'Edmund,' were saying.

"I cannot believe the plans of that Malfoy," Edmund was saying.

"What's he done?" asked Ginny, anxiously.

"Do not be silly," said Edmund. "His plans to steal your family's fortune. I heard he kidnapped Wilfred, but Ebeneizer has just told me Wilfred still be here."

"Wilfred? Where is he?" Ginny asked.

"I was hoping you would tell me," said Edmund.

"Er, we could try to find him," said Ginny. "If you can see him anywhere..."

"Yes, but first, there is something I must tell you," said Edmund in an uneasy voice. "It is only... I cannot find the words..."

"Just spit it out," said Ginny, rather rudely.

"I am in love with you," said Edmund. "And I hope you feel the same way."

Ginny looked at him, completely dumbstruck. Before she could reply, Edmund pulled her toward him and kissed her.

Draco stared at the scene before him. Well, this was certainly a messed up day, at least Ginny would be happy...

But Ginny was not happy, in fact, she was furious.

"How dare you!" she screamed. "Get away from me, you dirty pervert! You don't even know me!"

"I apologize," said Edmund. "I did not think you would... Overreact."

"I'm not even Annabelle!" Ginny shouted, storming off down the corridor, leaving Edmund standing alone, with Draco watching him.

Draco did not want to walk past Edmund as he'd probably never get to see another day, and Edmund didn't seem to be in hurry to get somewhere else, so Draco was stuck standing in his hiding place, crouched behind the little statue of a young witch.

Draco sighed. It was no use, he may as well go to sleep here and wake up ten years later to find Edmund still moping in a corner. What a waste of time...

Then finally, Edmund decided to move and Draco watched as he walked slowly, shuffling his feet. Draco also started walking again. This was very boring, Edmund would not pick up his pace!

And then, after what seemed like hours, Edmund left through a door, the door Draco and Ginny had entered through only minutes ago. Or maybe it was hours, considering Draco had been following Edmund for quite a while.

***

Ginny didn't know where she was going, but she wished she hadn't left the spot she had been in. Draco was obviously finished in the bathroom, and now they were seperated, lost in this castle where a psychotic girl wanted them both imprisoned.

She looked out of a window and saw that it was dark outside, but there were people on broomsticks flying around, sillouhetted against the sky. Were they playing Quidditch?

She stood and watched them, obviously having nothing else to do. Perhaps Draco would find her? But if he didn't find her, Annabelle probably would, and that would not be good.

There was a door behind her, maybe she could hide in whatever chamber was behind this door? Anything was worth a try at a time like this. The worst possible thing that could happen would be that Annabelle was behind this door. But then again, Ron had said in his letter that he was at the Burrow, and she had not yet seen him, maybe he'd be in this room...

She turned the handle of the door, revealing a dimly lit scarlet chamber. She closed the door behind her, breathing deeply. There was nobody else in the beautifully furnished chamber.

Ginny decided to have a look around. There was a red sofa on one side, a table near the middle of the room, and a large four poster bed with scarlet hangings. But it was the red cloak that caught her eye. Where had she seen that cloak before?

She walked over to the chair on which it was hanging and picked it up. It was exactly like the green cloak she was wearing except that it was red. This was the cloak Ron had taken.

Ginny smiled to herself. Ron was here. He'd have to be here if his cloak was here. She could've kissed the floor at that moment, she was so happy. After so many terrible events, something good had finally happened. All she'd have to do now would be to wait for Ron, he'd probably return to this room.

She sat down on the sofa, the cloak still in her hands. Suddenly, she noticed that this cloak also had an interior pocket, and there was a wand inside the pocket. Ron probably hadn't noticed it.

She pulled the wand out of the pocket and examined it. It was light brown and springy. She stood up and thought she'd test the wand, when there was a knock on the door.

"Wilfred, are you in there?" said a snobby voice. It sounded like Percy, but it couldn't be.

Ginny quickly threw the cloak over herself, as if hiding. It was a completely stupid thing to do, but quite effective, because whoever was at the door opened the door, probably took a quick look inside, and then left without closing the door properly.

Who the Hell was Wilfred? Maybe she was hiding beneath Wilfred's cloak? Anything was possible...

And anything really was possible, because not long after, Ginny felt the cloak being lifted off of her, and saw Draco's smirking face.

"Were you hiding?" he said. "Because that was a stupid hiding place."

"How did you find me?" Ginny asked.

"Well, I didn't know we were playing hide and seek," said Draco. "But it seems I exel at the game. So anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I'm, er, well, I know Ron's definitely here," she said.

"You can smell him already?" asked Draco. "That's impressive."

"No, this is his cloak," said Ginny.

"Looks expensive," said Draco, examining it. "Are you sure it's his?"

"We found it in the cellar," said Ginny.

Draco chuckled. "Figures."

Ginny slapped him on the arm. "But he'll be back here later," she continued. "I know he will. And then we can all go home."

"Excellent plan," said Draco. "But full of flaws. First of all, how the Hell are we supposed to go back? I doubt your brother has a plan. And second, he'll probably mistake you for Annabelle, and then he'll probably kill me. And here's something that's really bugging me, who the Hell is Wilfred?"

"Supposedly my brother," Ginny replied. "And who says Ron's met Annabelle?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I am not answering that," he said. "And suppose this is Wilfred's cloak, then what? That would mean Wilfred comes back here later, not your brother."

"But Edmund, he's the one we saw Annabelle with before, says that Malfoy kidnapped Wilfred, so maybe that's what happened, and Ron is here," said Ginny.

"This is all too confusing," said Draco. "So Wilfred is to your brother like Annabelle is to you, your look alike, and Wilfred's been captured by Eliyas, and everyone here thinks your brother is Wilfred."

"Exactly," said Ginny.

"When did you become so clever?" asked Draco. "How did you come up with that?"

"I don't know," said Ginny. "But from what Edmund said, I'm starting to think Harry's here as well. Maybe it wasn't Edmund with Annabelle, maybe it was really Harry."

***

Harry and Ron headed to Wilfred's room after saying good night to the twins, Tobias, and Jonathon.

"That was tons of fun," said Ron. "It's nice to know we can still have fun."

"Yeah," said Harry. "And we won, it's nice to know we can still win."

Ron nodded.

"I wish we knew how to get back to the present though," said Harry.

"I wish we could find Ginny," Ron said.

"Did you leave the door open when you left?" Harry asked as they neared Wilfred's chamber.

Ron shook his head. "Maybe it was the house elf," he said. "Or I might have left it open without knowing."

Harry shrugged. "Wonder where Annabelle is," he said. "I don't think she went to see Professor Clockerton."

Ron shrugged.

As they entered the room, they could've sworn there was some sort of quick movement, the flit of a shadow or something.

"How did my cloak get over there?" Ron asked, pointing at the sofa where his cloak lay. "I left it on that chair over there."

"Probably the house elf," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron. "Look, I think I can find you a spare chamber, if you want."

"Er, do you think that's all right with everyone else?" asked Harry. "I really don't mind sleeping in here."

"No, I insist," said Ron.

"Okay," said Harry. "If you insist."

They both left the room and headed down the corridor to find a spare room, of which there were many.

***

Draco and Ginny held their breath as they lay under the large bed. It wasn't quite as large as it appeared, in fact, there wasn't much room beneath it at all, and Draco and Ginny were quite cramped under it.

The reason they were hiding under the bed was because they had heard two people nearing the room, and the two people had entered. They had talked about Annabelle, and then left again.

Ginny knew that both the voices were familiar, but she didn't want to risk their seeing her.

Once they had left, Draco had told Ginny not to move.

"They might come back," he whispered into her ear.

Ginny nodded and stayed put. "I think that was Ron," she whispered. "And the other one was Harry."

"Or they were Wilfred and Edmund," Draco whispered back.

Ginny turned her head to look at him. "What if it was Wilfred?" she said. "What if he comes back? Then we'll be trapped here."