A Life in the Past

"What the Hell are you doing here?" said an angry voice behind Draco.

Draco whipped around and came face to face with Harry Potter. "Don't even try to hurt me, Potter," said Draco.

"And why wouldn't I?" said Harry, furiously.

"Because Ginny would be unhappy," said Draco. "And I know what you did last night."

"Ginny's here?" asked Harry.

Draco nodded.

"Why the Hell would she care about you?" asked Harry. "I doubt she'd care if I hurt you. I think she'd be rather thankful."

"Don't be so sure," said Draco.

"Where is she?" asked Harry.

Draco opened the door he was leaning against.

Harry looked inside the chamber. Ron was sitting up in the bed, Hermione and a red headed girl were standing by the bed.

"That's Annabelle," Harry said to Draco. "And who are you?"

"I'm Malfoy," said Draco. "Draco Malfoy."

"What's going on here?" said Harry, loudly, so that Hermione, Ron, and Ginny looked at him.

"Harry!" Ginny cried.

"Ginny?" asked Harry.

Ginny nodded, a huge grin on her face.

Harry entered the room and hugged Ginny. Draco stood at the door and watched the happy scene of Ginny being reunited with her friends. He was about to leave when Ginny called him over.

"Draco," she said. "Come here."

"No, I probably shouldn't," Draco said.

"Yes you should," said Ginny. "Ron won't hurt you."

Draco walked slowly into the room. He smiled pleasantly at Ron, who scowled at him. Draco looked down. When was the last time he had felt this out of place? He couldn't remember ever feeling so left out.

"Ron, Harry, please," said Ginny. "Draco's helped me get here, the least we can do is help him get back to the present."

"How did he get here anyway?" asked Ron, still scowling.

***

It took about an hour for everybody to tell their side of the story. Draco told Harry, Ron, and Hermione how he had met up with Ginny, and Ginny explained how she and Draco had gotten to the Burrow, then Draco told them how Annabelle had been so hostile. The entire time, Harry and Ron were trying with all their might to not throw him a punch or two, and Hermione was also glaring at Draco, although she wasn't aware of it.Â

Ron told Ginny where he had ended up after he'd been blasted away from the cellar, and he explained how Harry and Hermione had found him.

After that hour, Ron was a little more at ease with the idea of Draco being around. He understood that Draco was on their side in this situation, but he still hated Draco, and had a hard time not letting his fists get the best of him. He also had the pleasure of saying, 'I told you so,' when Draco told them all how untrustworthy Annabelle was, and for a moment, looked at Draco differently, but it wasn't a permanent change, because after those few seconds, he went right back to hating the Malfoy name.

Harry was a little disappointed about the whole Annabelle thing, truthfully, he had grown a liking to her. He was also rather disappointed to see how close Draco and Ginny seemed to be; they didn't even hate each other anymore! He was much more contained than Ron, so he didn't have nearly as much trouble accepting Draco, although he wasn't ready yet to simply forget the past seven years just like that; Draco was still the arrogant little brat from Madam Malkin's that summer seven years past from Harry's present.

***

Mickey the house elf appeared in Wilfred's chamber, making Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Draco jump.

"Food?" Mickey asked. "Does Master Wilfred's friends be hungry?"

Everyone nodded and the house elf snapped his fingers, and the table was magically set with food. Then Mickey disappeared again.Â

"I haven't eaten in days," said Ginny, stuffing toast in her mouth.

"You can tell," said Ron. "You look horrible. I can't believe I've been so irresponsible."

"It wasn't your fault," said Ginny. "It was my idea to explore the cellar in the first place, if it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Yeah, you're right," said Ron. "It was your fault."

"No need to put the blame on one another," said Draco. "It happened for a reason."

"Who asked you to speak?" Ron snapped.

"Shut up, Ron," said Ginny.

Ron's face turned red with fury, but he shut up, nonetheless.

***

"So all we need to do now is plot a way back to the present," said Harry, once they were all fed, and Draco and Ginny had cleaned themselves up.

"No, it isn't that simple," said a voice at the door.

Everybody turned to see Annabelle standing at the door, a cruel smile on her face.

"You are doing an excellent job, Elias," she continued. "I applaud you."

Draco arched an eyebrow at her.

"It is quite all right," Annabelle said. "No need to keep pretending."

"What the Hell are you on about?" said Draco angrily.

"We shall dispose of this lot early," said Annabelle. "Then the Weasley fortune be all yours for the taking."

Ron's face turned beet red. He lunged at Draco. "You'll pay for this, Malfoy!" he shouted.

Ginny tugged at Ron's robes. "No, Ron, stop it," she said.

"He's a traitor!" Ron hollered. "I can't believe you trust him!"

"No I'm not," said Draco. "Stop punching me, you filthy git. Get off me! I'm not Elias."

Hermione and Harry helped Ginny pull Ron off of Draco.

"I hate you Ron!" said Ginny. "I wish I wasn't here!"

"You don't mean that," said Draco. "She doesn't mean that. She doesn't hate you."

"I do mean it," Ginny sobbed. "Oh, this isn't fair!"

Harry looked at Ginny, startled.

Ginny buried her head in Draco's chest, putting her arms around his waist. "I hate this," she sobbed.

"What's gotten into her?" said Ron.

Hermione shook her head and shrugged, but held Ron back when he tried to make his way toward Ginny.

"She's an emotional mess," said Hermione. "It'd be best if we just let her cool off for a bit."

"She is trying to steal my attention!" Annabelle shrieked. "Remember me? I am the one who is going to kill you all! Elias! Stop it, Elias! Do not try to comfort her!"

"This is all too weird for me," said Harry.

"I can't believe you're just expecting me to let this happen," Ron said to Hermione. "She's my sister! I can't let her hug a Malfoy. She shouldn't even talk to him!"

"Ron, calm down," said Hermione. "Please."

Annabelle stomped into the room. "Annabelle is plotting to kill you all!" she shouted. "Elias! Will you listen to me?! What is wrong with you people?!"

"Annabelle!" shouted Jonathon, who was walking by and heard his sister shouting about killing people. "What is going on in here?"

He looked at the very strange scene before him; his brother's friends Harry and Hermione were holding his brother by the wrists, two people were hugging each other, and his sister was in the middle of it all, looking furious.

Ginny and Draco parted.

"I want to go home," Ginny sobbed.

"Annabelle?" Jonathon asked.

"What?!" Annabelle shouted.

"Who is that?" Jonathon asked, pointing at Ginny. "And what is Malfoy doing here?"

"You'd better sit down," said Hermione.

Jonathon sat down, and Hermione plunged into the story of what was going on; how Ron wasn't really Wilfred, how Draco wasn't Elias Malfoy, how Annabelle was psychotic, and how Harry and herself were here to take Ron and Ginny back to the present but didn't know how.

After hearing what was going on, Jonathon's mouth fell open. He had so many questions, but where to start?

"Where's the real Wilfred?" he finally asked.

Everyone looked at Annabelle. "I shall never tell," she said.

"Yes you shall," said Jonathon. "And you shall explain to the entire family. Come with me." He pulled Annabelle up by the arm and literally dragged her out of the room.

"People are so understanding," said Draco, once they had left. "If someone came to me from the future, I'd dissect them."

"Yeah, but you're a Malfoy," said Ron. "You're all freaks."

"In a normal situation, Weasley, if you had said something like that to me, I would rip you to pieces," said Draco. "But seeing as we're on the same team, I think I'll spare you."

"Yeah, and because you'd have to," said Ron. "I've let you live this long, it's only fair to repay me, although you could never repay my in one lifetime."

Draco smirked. "You're too kind," he drawled.

***

Annabelle had been forced (with the help of some Veritaserum) to tell her family, Ron, Draco, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione all her plans. Evidently, she had been working with Elias Malfoy for a few months, and together, they had plotted the kidnapping of Wilfred Weasley, and the stealing of most of the Weasley family's gold.

When her father had asked her why she did it, Annabelle had simply replied, 'power.' And then she had later said that she planned to marry Elias, even though his father had arranged that he marry a French girl, who was the sister of Paquerette, the Weasley family's nurse.

"Where is Wilfred?" asked Alfred.

"He is hidden under ground," said Annabelle. "Near the Malfoy Manor."

Ginny gasped. "I think I know where he is," she said.

"Is that the place you told us of?" Tobias asked. "The chamber in which you had awoken?"

Ginny nodded.

"Let us go there," said Alfred.

***

Later that day, everybody went in search for the place in which Wilfred was hidden. They got there by a horse and carriage, owned by Alfred. Ginny recognized the village as soon as they entered it, and not long after, she spotted the door she had come out of.

"It's just there," she said, pointing.

They walked towards the door, and Alfred opened it, walking in with Tobias and Jonathon directly behind him. Nicholas and Nigel entered behind them, Ebenezer, Martha, and Annabelle, behind the twins. After them, Ron, Harry, and Hermione stepped into the door and down the stairs. Draco and Ginny stood outside the door for a moment.

"You first," said Draco.

"No," said Ginny. "I don't want to go in there."

"Go on," said Draco.

"You go first," said Ginny.

"Ladies first," said Draco. "You have to go first."

"I'll go behind you," said Ginny.

"But you have to go first," said Draco.

"Let's go together," said Ginny, taking Draco's hand.

He studied her for a moment. "You're really confusing," he said. "Why the change of heart?"

"We slept in the same bed last night," said Ginny. "I think that's quite self-explanatory."

"Yeah, but nothing happened," said Draco. "And we also slept on the same stone floor before that, and the same grass field, but you never acted so weird after that."

"Call it mood swings," said Ginny. "Now are you coming?"

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Yeah," he said finally.

Draco and Ginny walked down the stairs very slowly.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ginny once again saw the corpse she had seen only days ago. It was now extremely rotten, and completely unrecognizable. Crowded around the corpse was the Weasley family of 1143, Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

When Ron saw his sister descending the stairs holding Draco's hand, he almost nearly prepared himself to kill Draco with his bare hands, but considering the circumstances, he held it all in, simply clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

"Be that him?" Martha wept. "Be that my baby?"

"I don't think so," said Ginny. "This man had brown hair."

"We did not kill him," said Annabelle. "He be in the hidden chamber."

"Show us the hidden chamber," Alfred demanded.

Annabelle shook her head. "Shan't," she said.

"You shall," said Ebenezer, sternly. "You be in deep trouble already."

"Shan't," Annabelle repeated.

"That's the door," said Ginny, pointing at the padlocked door she had seen before.

"Tis locked," said Nicholas. "What be the way in?"