Disclaimer: I'm not lucky enough to own Harry Potter & the gang—they all belong to the incomparable JK Rowling!
Mischief Managed: Ch. 4
The Hotel Marriott Marble Arch, London
11:50 PM
What happens when your boyfriend's 'spare bit of parchment' takes you and your arch-nemesis twenty years back in time? With the Marauders involved, things can get pretty interesting. ..
Ginny Weasley was angry—wait—angry was an understatement—she was bloody furious. She'd been absolutely chewed out by Remus, who she normally got on so well with. Harry was a whole other story—he was so embarrassed about the evening's events that he'd retreated to Ron's room, not even saying goodnight to her.
Meanwhile, a tall blonde boy was strutting about the hallway of the luxurious hotel—feeling absolutely degraded by the presence of so many bloody Muggles. Draco Malfoy couldn't sleep. His mind wouldn't let him sleep—he kept thinking about his father—locked up in Azkaban—and then seeing famous Harry Potter and his idiot friends—so annoying.
Worst of all, Weaselby's sister was walking right toward him—never a pleasant experience—even though he couldn't help to notice that she did look prettier than usual.
STOP IT MALFOY! He mentally cursed himself as his eyes lingered at her curvy chest.
She's Potter's bloody girlfriend, she's even wearing his jacket—and she's a Gryffindor—and a Weasley. Yes, he was better than her—he was a Malfoy—besides, it was his hour to pace in the lobby! How dare she encroach on his personal space?
She didn't know where she was going—at this point she really didn't care…The coffee lounge looked empty—and fairly safe.
She found a seat near the wall, where she took to exploring the pockets of Harry's over-large jacket (she thought it had probably been a hand-me-down from his pig of a cousin).
She reacted with surprise as she pulled out the various and sundry objects—a pocket Sneakescope, a mirror, and…a spare bit of parchment? This was odd, even for Harry. She carefully turned toward the wall and pulled out her own wand—
"Reveal your secrets—" she whispered aloud as she tapped the parchment lightly.
Nothing happened. She tapped the crumpled old parchment once more with her wand.
"Show yourself!" she said sharply.
This was creepily familiar—she'd seen this thing before—Fred and George had a parchment not unlike this—
"Mischief managed!" she said loudly—those Extendable Ears had been well worth the 10 Galleons.
At first, there was nothing—but suddenly—writing began to slowly appear on the parchment's surface.
"Not quite, but very good try there—"
She almost fell out of her chair in surprise, but eagerly traced a response. As much as she didn't like strange magical talking objects, this thing was Harry's—it couldn't be dangerous…Could it?
What the bloody hell is she doing? Malfoy edged closer to the hunched over form of the Weaselette—so close that he was almost touching her shoulder—
"Malfoy—" Ginny exclaimed as she whirled around, "—whatever possessed you to follow me—I mean how dare you—"
"Keep your shirt on Weasley," Draco said with a smirk, "I was just—what the bloody hell is that bugger doing?"
She had failed to notice that the 'spare bit of parchment' was shimmering madly and was emitting gold and red sparks. She and Draco looked at each other in disbelief.
"What's happening?" Ginny whimpered, panicking now.
"Oh stop sniveling Weasley," Draco muttered, but not bothering to pry her off of his robes, "—let's try an experiment, shall we?"
With an air of supreme confidence, Draco withdrew his wand and placed it toward the glowing area around the parchment.
Suddenly, the golden radiance surrounded them both, illuminating the entire lounge. Ginny felt herself grab Draco's hand—then falling—falling—into the light.
She felt weightless—weightless—her life flashed before her in a matter of seconds—her parents, Harry, Riddle's diary, the concert, and oddly Malfoy—and now she was falling…
Draco landed on a rock—a jagged sharp rock that felt like a hippogriff's claw to his delicate, unblemished skin. "Oh Merlin—" Draco said in a loud voice as he examined the bleeding cut at his side, "I've gone and died—Weasley's sister's gone and killed me."
"I couldn't be so lucky," Ginny said hatefully as she pried herself out of a particularly thorny bush, "—we just aren't at the hotel anymore."