Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or the plot (which was borrowed from the movie, Till There Was You, if you like where this story is headed so far, you should check it out!).

Prologue

Eight fourteen.

Auburn eyes uncouthly rolled at an old wizard who seemed bent on prolonging needless small talk with the bus conductor. "Could Father Time talk any slower?" drawled the young witch as she returned to distracting herself with a book of Muggle poems. It didn't do a very good job of distracting, mind you.

Eight sixteen.

The girl began tapping her right foot impatiently. Her eyes frequently looked up for any signs of his near departure. Disappointed, she let out an exaggerated sigh as she flipped to the next page. She took another glance. Realizing that her wordless protests had no effect on the still-dawdling old man, she slammed her book shut and tapped her foot more rapidly. He was lucky she subjected her foot to just tapping. She would have loved nothing more than to kick him out.

The old wizard finally turned his attention towards the sound. He lifted a swaggering brow at the blazing sight that sat before him. "I must very well be on my way before I catch fire. Good day Stanley." He took his long gray scarf and flung it over his shoulder, nose up in the air. "Young people these days seem to have forgotten how to treat their elders. With respect," he continued, walking out of the bus and under the sun.

"Well, I thought I'd never see the day," said the girl as she raised her hands in annoyance.

"I wouldn't have expected that from you miss. That was something quite rude, I must say," commented Stan, eyeing her sideways. He leaned back against a post of the bed she was sitting on and commanded, "Take her away Ern."

"Take it away Ernie!" mimicked the hanging fig head.

The young witch glared at Stan for his remark, but didn't have time to retort for the Knight Bus had started off on its merry way… only to be stopped a few seconds later.

Eight eighteen.

"Bloody hell!" she cursed. The rigid stop caused her book to slip from her fingers as she fell, spread-eagled onto the bed.

"Language, Miss!" reprimanded Stan. "No need to take whatever personal dealings is you be dealin' with out on the bus."

"You're right. I'm getting off here." She stood up and treaded the bus floor as she made her way to the exit. She didn't even bother to retrieve her book. "I'll probably make it there before this rusty old tin can could run past a centimeter." She continued to herself in a mumble "I can't believe those two ruddy egg-heads took dad's enchanted car without even asking if I needed a ride ... I am going to be so late. And they, they are going to be so dead."

"Wait a min', wait a min'. Look, there's just one more passenger. Your stop is jus' right ahead. Have a seat, c'mon now." He moved around her, using his body language and pleasantly accented voice to send her back to the bed. Stan had a knack for being persuasive and thanks to his gangly but rugged appearance; no one ever suspected being manipulated. He turned towards the door, smiling at the new arrival. "Welcome to the Knight Bus! Emergency transport for the…"

"I bloody well know what this is and what it's for," spat the man standing in front of the steps. A baby carrier was slung on his right arm, a bag hung around his neck, and he tightly gripped a wand in his free hand. He boarded with a look of utter disgust firmly set on his pale face. At the same time, he made it loud and clear that this was a last resort and that he would never, ever again be seen taking such a mode of transportation. After he finished what seemed to be a monologue, he pocketed his wand and looked up. His grey eyes scanned the area for a decent place to sit.

Eight twenty-three.

Great, another one… thought the young witch, who had resorted to ferociously drumming the nearby window with her fingernails; her eyes followed the figures strolling along on the sidewalk. She wondered if she would ever get to her destination, she hadn't counted on moving at this sluggish rate.

"Sir, if I may…" Stan began cautiously, "there's only one bed left." He ushered the passenger to the bed across from a witch with blazing eyes and flaring nostrils. Stan gave her a disapproving look when she turned his way.

The pale man looked down at the crimson-faced girl and wrinkled his nose as he passed by. He hesitated before finally taking a seat, as far away from the witch's bed as he could possibly manage. The man looked as if he was trying to avoid the plague.

Eight twenty-three.

The still-crimson girl let free another exasperated sigh. She didn't bother to glance over at the man sitting across her. Nor did she notice what exactly he was holding until the bus suddenly pulled her from her thoughts, causing quite the mishap.

Took him long enough. Damn it all, I'm not going to make it in time to my first… she had not even finished that last thought when…

A bottle fell and rolled across the bus floor and before she could answer to an abrupt, "Drat it. Hold her," a rather heavy object was shoved into her chest.

"What the bloody he-," she stopped short of the remaining letters when she realized just what she was holding. She looked down to find two luminous blue eyes looking straight back. And after a few more seconds of staring into the smiling orbs, all of her unpleasant thoughts eased away. "Oh, you must be the most beautiful baby that I have ever laid my eyes on!" She smiled at the plump and cooing infant who returned it with a gummy one herself.

The baby, with great effort, reached out with her podgy arms in an attempt to communicate with the colorful stranger. Her tiny hands signaled that she would like to be taken out of the carriage because she much preferred a warm embrace. And as if she had read the baby's mind, the young woman instinctively reached out for her hand. But before she even had a chance to touch the infant's hand she was hindered by a deep, out-of-breath voice.

"Do not lay one filthy finger on her." The man said, a little more than insulting as he reclaimed the baby carriage. After returning to his bed he forced out an ungrateful "thank you," with his face turned away.

She swear she would've spontaneously combusted on the spot. Yet again, before she could snap back with a "why you horrible son of a-!" the young witch was sent flying into the arms of Stan.

"Whoa, are you alright there?" He looked down at the struggling lass and with a broad grin announced, "Well, here's your stop, Miss! Told you we'd get you here on time."

Eight twenty-eight.

All of her thoughts pertaining to murder were replaced. On time? I'm ten bloody minutes behind schedule! She held her tongue and instead took a deep, steady breath. It was pointless. So without a second's hesitation she jumped out of the Knight Bus.

"Take her away Ern…"

Back on the bed, the man was sanitizing the runaway bottle with his wand. In an attempt to get comfortable because the baby was getting fussy, he swung his feet under the bed. Coincidentally, his feet caught a hold of something, rectangular? He leaned over just enough to find a small book wedged in between. In one elaborate movement, he managed to pick it up without having to put anything down. He grinned at himself.

"A Book of Muggle Love Poems? How disgraceful," he scowled. For a minute he ogled the book suspiciously before curiosity got the best of him. Taking a hold of the peeping bookmark, he opened it up to the saved page. The bookmark had actually been a moving photograph of a red-headed girl, much like the one earlier--except this one was wearing a grin from ear to ear, waving enthusiastically. The complete opposite of what he had seen previously. And this one looks sane, he added as an afterthought. He observed the photograph more closely. There was a strange familiarity in the girl's face he couldn't quite grasp. His brows came together as he flipped over the picture. A name in gold outlined with red was lightly engraved at the bottom.

Ginevra Weasley.

"…Weasley?"

End Prologue

Sooo, I got the sudden urge to continue this story again. Hoorah! Now, let's hope that I actually try and finish the darn thing. Haha. Uhm, do inform me of any discrepancies, I haven't read the Harry Potter books in a long time so if you find something's off about anything at all, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll get right to it. As for the prologue itself, questions/comments/anything else, bring it =]

I know I'm not giving you much to go by, the first time I put this up lots of people were asking why I didn't mention where Ginny was headed, well, that's because you'll find out in later chapters! Can't give it all away now ;-)

Thanks a bunch!