Chapter I

Albus Dumbledore stared evenly at the two ginger heads (although one of them was balding) of his former students sitting in his office. "Molly, Arthur, Welcome. What brings you here tonight?"

"Professor, you know exactly what," Mr. Weasley began with a voice shaking from what Albus could not tell yet was fear or anger or confusion, "Ginny. Why was she…. Why was she sorted into such a house? And… and if she was sorted so…. Why isn't she in it?"

Albus let his eyes glaze over for a few seconds as he recounted the ceremony the previous night….

----flashback

The young Weasley girl, Ginny, took her seat confidently in the stool – she knew what would happen. The hat would immediately shout the house that her descendants had all taken as their own, Gryffindor. She would smile and walk – no – swagger, to her new house table.

She donned the shabby hat, and slowly her blush from excitement melted back to her natural pale skin and she began pinching herself slightly, as if trying to wake from a dream.

After over ten minutes, the old headmaster had stood from his chair, patted her on the back, and softly told her that she would belong in Gryffindor. A quick second before she took the hat off, it began to shout the most peculiar thing.

It shouted the single word 'Slytherin'.

The buzzing came to a stop.

This girl with the wild red mane of hair… she was well, a Weasley. It was just common knowledge that a Weasley would always be a Gryffindor, no matter what.

However, the professor, with an odd look in his eyes, steered the paper white girl to Gryffindor table never the less, and slowly Professor McGonagall returned to her long sheet of parchment, although she shot a look at her boss telling him that he would be having a visit from her later.

Albus turned slowly to the two confused and concerned parents, his eyes pitying.

"Ginny is not your child."

Molly smiled nervously and wrung her hands.

"Dumbledore, Sir, what do you mean? I… I never have cheated on Arthur, and we were both there when she was born. In fact, so were you. What of this, then?

Albus began to pace around his room, as if trying to rid himself of a heavy burden.

"You are right. Ginny is not of another man, but she is not… well not exactly the child who came from you."

Dumbledore remembered the scene perfectly. The euphoria. It had been too much when the newborn had died.

Albus had known the Weasleys had been prominent in the light side of the war. He had known that a few Death Eaters had been out after them. He had not known that a former death eater had been working in the hospital. The man had run to Dumbledore, and placed a necklace on the baby, who was growing cold.

And suddenly, she was no longer cold. She was hot. Burning hot as the sun, for that mere second, but the sensation in his arms had only lasted a second, maybe less. Dumbledore had never been sure if it had even truly happened.

The parents, they knew not of the necklace. It was believed to be a gift, and when they were told she must never take it off, no matter what, they had only shrugged and agreed.

Dumbledore thought no more of it, but during the ten minutes of suspense the previous night, he pieced the information he had slowly together, making sure everything fit well.

It had.

And so, ever so slowly, Dumbledore told them the story, and to his dismay, they still were not able, or maybe not willing, to understand.

And Dumbledore did what he knew he must do.

He leaned in closely, and in a soft voice, he asked them a question.

"What do you know of the spell tempus letum spiritus inflecto … or as it is known to many, the cruel curse?"

"I… it… well, ehh it has something to do with keeping alive for the sake of annihilation? Or…. time… change? I can't quite remember. But what has this got to do with Ginny?"

Dumbledore stared out into the inky black sky, and quietly said "Do you remember that necklace that the young girl was given? It saved her life, but at the same time, destroyed it. Without the necklace, she will die. With it, she is slowly changing, changing, on her way to destroying herself and her world."

Albus was met with a dead silence.

"What has this got to do with her not being our child, and your decision to place her in the house she should be in, but wasn't put in?"

'They still do not wish to understand' Albus thought to himself.

"Since her eleventh birthday, she is slowly changing from the baby you raised to something else. Something evil."

"Ginny isn't evil."

"Ginny isn't, this girl, she is. And she was placed in Slytherin because the hat sensed the sleeping snake within her, that has begun to rise and conquer. I was thinking…. Am hoping… that perhaps we can stop it. I don't know how, but this is the best I've got."

The Weasleys nodded and without a word, Arthur rose to escort a shaky Molly out the door.

Authors note

Well, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?

I am going to work really hard on this, and I hope y'all stay with me while I do it! I feel like this'll be a good one, so feel free to review with any thoughts you have.

I'm ecstatic to be back on track!

Duckies