AN: I know the last chapter was pretty jumpy in terms of dates, so I wanted to clarify a few of the dates and timelines that we have going.
Dates:
Aug 11, 1981: Ginny Weasley is born
At some point right before her first year at Hogwarts, she begins writing to Tom.
Sept 1, 1992 - July 1, 1993: 1st year at Hogwarts
Oct 31, 1992: She first asks Professor Babbling about Ancient Runes
At some point during her first year she begins to 'drain' the diary
July 11, 1993: She accidentally causes an explosion in her room at The Burrow, Molly and Arthur don't know what to do. (I made a mistake with this date in the last chapter, it says jul 11 1992, it is supposed to be 1993, the summer after her first year.)
Sept 1, 1993 - July 1, 1994: 2nd year at Hogwarts
At some point during her second year she learns how to create the Fidelis.
At some point in her second year, Dumbledore approaches her about using his library to learn more about Runes, instead of breaking into the restricted section.
Sept 1, 1994 - July 1, 1995: 3rd year at Hogwarts
Sept 1, 1995 - July 1, 1996: 4th year at Hogwarts
At some point during her fourth year, Dumbledore begins private lessons with her. He teaches her about Rune Stones and she invents her spell-storing ring.
At some point during her fourth year, she learns about the hidden library while reading Saxon Traditions Influenced By The Greek Diaspora.
Sept 1, 1996 - July 1, 1997: 5th year at Hogwarts
At some point during her fifth year she gives herself her first tattoo: Zel, an array to protect her mind.
May 9, 1997: She begins learning about the fundamentals of magic from Dumbledore and runs into Harry coming in for one of his lessons.
Aug 28, 1997: She leaves Hogwarts (I made a mistake in The Pub, and said she left immediately after her 6th year, it was supposed to be immediately before her 6th year)
March 16, 1998: She finds the library and learns about the Pleiades and her ascension
June 20, 2001: She hikes the mountain in Norway and accesses the Void. (this chapter will cover what happens in the void, hopefully you've been picking up on some of the hints so far!)
June 30, 2001: She takes a pit stop in the pub contemplating her move back to England
July 7, 2001: She has been back in England for a day. Hears Tom's voice, freaks out, fakes her death and leaves England for a few years.
Feb 8, 2008: She attends a muggle military base to install wards. We learn about her tattoos.
Feb 15, 2008: Present day as of this chapter. She is in the pit with Moody and Harry. Why? We do not yet know.
Okay, so those are all the dates we've touched on so far. If it feels overwhelming or confusing, just pay attention to the year. The day and month doesn't matter too much.
The timelines that we'll be continuing with still are Present day (2008), the next chapter will cover the void and should wrap up 2001. There will be one more timeline jump at some point that takes place between 2001 and 2008 to cover her mysterious ascension. Moving forward, I will try to only jump back to an older date (most likely only diary or Hogwarts flashbacks) once per chapter.
We will continue to have diary flashbacks and Hogwarts flashbacks, but those will always be in italics, and just to flesh out bits of her past. The dates don't matter too much with the flashbacks, just know they all happened at Hogwarts.
I know this is a lot of info, but I'm sure it can get confusing especially if you read it as it gets updated and not all at once. I hope this helps! And I'm going to do my best moving forward to not jump around so much.
I will also keep the date list updated on my tumblr: upstaterstories under "Dates" in the menu.
Also this is the only update for today - my life has gotten very busy - but I will hopefully have the next chapter ready for you on Thursday!