Author's Note:

Hiya, my dear readers!

Another chapter. Woohoo! Another weekly update. Double Woohoo:)

Now, I must confess that this chapter should've been one of those that comes at the end of a fic for explaining the wonky things that happen in it, BUT (which is a big but), I thought better and am posting it now.

The main reason: If I directly went to where Harry and Ginny have dropped to (which I originally intended), many burning questions would've been unanswered. And even though I enjoy my cliffies (bad, Tania, BAD :D), this would've been too much, and the plot wouldn't have flowed as well. (-phew- for all the 'would've been-s') -wipes brow-

So, in this chapter, you'll find what happens after Harry & Ginny were pushed to travel to Ursula's world (don't panic, details are in the chapter). Next chapter would follow their progress in another world, in another dimension. More facts, at the end of the chapter.

AND

Calling all the 150 users, who have made me favorite and set me on alerts: This is not counting, those who don't have an ff account. So, wake up readers! The fic is almost at its end.

On to the dedication: This chapter is dedicated to thephantom114 (who guessed the 2nd mysterious person right) and missgranger (who has been following the fic for quite a while now). :)

Also, Thanks to all those who dropped by: Thee-Unknown-Factor, yorkvillebird, missgranger, R-Krulle, thephantom114, MoA, Omair, Macy, Jazna, Mahjabeen, Xyron, Lissa, and Arch. You all have my eternal gratitude!-Hugs!-

And, thanks to my beta: LadyBrannon, for keeping a hawk-eye over every chapter.

This time, the individual answers are at the end of the chapter, because of all the sensitive information given in it. -winks-


Chapter 27 – Caradoc the Drifter


Young Sirius closed the revolving Gateway, just after Ginny fell into it. The crowd stared sullenly at him along with Dumbledore, who only stared out of weariness.

"Caradoc?" Dumbledore questioned him, and he nodded his head.

'Yes, I'm back, Dumbledore. And I bring good and bad news, both,' he spoke, not with his voice but his mind.

Dumbledore nodded gravely, and as if satisfied with his words, he directed the Order members who had huddled around the stranger to lower their wands.

The Aurors could do with Bellatrix whatever they wanted, but he first needed to bring Michael out of Voldemort's Imperius Curse. He caught Emmeline's attention to take care of the boy. "Take him straight to the school infirmary and let Poppy know that he's to remain behind close doors until I talk to him."

As if Fawkes knew that he was needed, he appeared and sat down on Emmeline's shoulder. Nodding at Dumbledore, he transported Emmeline along with a still stunned Michael to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore sighed listlessly. Albus, you're becoming an old coot. You looked over Corner.

'But you haven't lost your touch, Dumbledore. Sorry for the interruption, but I couldn't help but stick my leg out. You saw all this before anybody did. Only because of you, I'll now be able to help Harry, whose powers you've harnessed quite well.'

Well, I do seem to have some spark left after all. Dumbledore turned towards Kingsley and gave him the responsibility of reviving Lupin, as well as the safe transportation of the Weasley twins to St. Mungo's.

Caradoc Dearborn shook his head at Dumbledore. He hasn't changed, this man, he thought. 'We are pressed on time, Dumbledore,' he pushed on.

That, we are. Albus Dumbledore knew that whatever had happened was bound to happen, because he had prepared for it even before the day Harry had opened his eyes to this world. Yes, the same old coot had tried his best to know everything about the boy who would someday end the Dark forces for the better. And the ace up his sleeve, Caradoc Dearborn, hasn't failed after all.

-x-

"It's awfully late." Hermione looked at her watch, which was showing half past ten.

"It's been ages!" Ron bellowed in frustration. "I know something's wrong!"

"We should've been more persuasive…"

"We should've gone with him!"

"No wonder, everyone's shut up." Hermione pouted. "Something has happened… why else have we been locked inside the school like this? Even Professor McGonagall hasn't come out of her office since lunch break."

The day had been strange for Hermione. Not only Ron had asked her out—finally!—but Harry had went missing. All the happiness that she had been feeling had simmered to an acute sense of worry. How could she enjoy herself when her friend seemed to be in trouble? She chastised herself repeatedly.

"Would you quit it, Hermione? It's not your fault!"

"We could've helped! How come we didn't follow him with invisibility cloak on? We've done this before…"

"Because we knew Dumbledore's no fool. He's off his rocker, but he's the greatest wizard—"

"I know. I'm just… worried."

"Have you seen Ginny? I haven't—"

"—since morning…" They shared dark looks.

"I don't like this one bit!" Hermione moaned.

"Maybe Luna ate her brains and she got lost, eh?" Ron cracked, while Hermione smiled feebly.

Now that he mentioned it, Hermione didn't remember seeing Ginny anywhere in Hogsmeade either. Where could she have gone?

After lunch, they had gone to Hogsmeade and Hermione had enjoyed herself thoroughly, Ron hadn't mentioned Victor once; he had been more than pleasant, making her laugh that her stomach hurt. However, they had been interrupted by the sudden appearance of Hogwarts professors, who had herded the students back to school.

News had come that Hogwarts could be attacked; therefore, the students shouldn't loiter outside, not even in the nearby village. They had been cooped up inside the common rooms from then on, with strict orders to all the Prefects that nobody should be allowed outside the houses.

Being Prefects, they got the duty to patrol outside the Gryffindor common room after the evening. They only had seen Filch about with his beloved Mrs. Norris; they looked more than happy to have the castle all to themselves. Nearly Headless Nick had also been about, asking about their studies but seeing their long faces, he too had drifted off. Furthermore, they had been so warped in worrying about Harry that they hadn't noticed Ginny's disappearance until now.

Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Today was the first day that he hadn't rowed with Hermione for a change. He had been feeling quite good until they were called back to school. Now he had to worry about his sister as well. A sinking feeling intensified in his stomach, just as faint steps were heard from down the hallway they were guarding.

They exchanged quizzical looks and looked at the entrance which soon revealed Professor Snape descending upon them, along with a smirking Malfoy in tow.

"Why is Snape coming here with Malfoy?" Ron whispered, disgusted.

Before Hermione could answer, they were addressed by Snape.

"You two, move along for Malfoy to takeover. Professor Dumbledore has called you in his office."

Looking at Malfoy's stern expression, it was evident that he didn't know why he had been brought along. Obviously, guarding the Gryffindor common room wasn't on his agenda, but then again, he couldn't argue with his own Head of House.

Ron and Hermione silently made their way with Snape to Dumbledore's office. They were wise enough not to question their Potions Master, because he already looked in a foul mood.

However, they were not ready to find most of the Order members lounging in Dumbledore's office, which unsettled them more than Snape's mood.

Hermione gasped in surprise when Mrs. Weasley clutched both of them, hugging them close. Ron squirmed under her grip but seeing her cry he relented by patting her back uneasily.

Almost everyone was present except for Mr. Weasley, twins, Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Everyone looked tired and upset; especially Lupin, who was sitting by the fire, clutching his head; Tonks was sitting beside him, patting his shoulder and looking quite concerned; Hagrid seemed to be lost in some thought, while looking outside from the east window; Vidal, Charlie and Bill were buried in some grave debate. The whole gathering looked as if someone had just died. Even Snape was looking somber and drawn.

"What's going on?" Ron asked his mother.

She could only say, "Terrible… just terrible… Fred, George… Ginny… poor Harry!"

Ron's heart sank as he looked anxiously at Hermione, who had a similar expression of distress on her face. He would have asked more questions but shut up, looking at Dumbledore rise from his center table.

Dumbledore had been busy with the curious silver instruments that littered his table; faint whistles still came off them as they whirred about. However, the other noises hushed, and everyone tuned in, including the old headmaster portraits.

Ron noted that Dumbledore looked tired. His twinkling eyes were creased with worry.

Dumbledore moved in front of his table, and started, "I would like to assure everyone that everything is fine, at least, in the current circumstances." He looked at Molly Weasley, who kept on sniffing. "The Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley wasn't successful. No casualties happened, and we even captured Bellatrix Lestrange."

That seemed to cheer Ron up, but looking at the grim faces around him, he asked the burning question, quite bravely: "Is Harry all right?"

"Yes, Ron, I believe so," Dumbledore answered, "however, he's not here right now and the more time we spend discussing it, the more he'll be losing where he is right now."

"What d'you mean?" Hermione was more than worried.

"I will make this as short as possible," said Dumbledore, and taking a deep sigh continued, "I'm afraid that I have to be the bearer of bad news: Harry and Ginny have been sent to Caeli, a world that was conjured by Ursula Weasley."

"My great-great-grandmother's world?" Ron couldn't believe his ears. "Ginny…"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "Where the Vita Scroll will be formed…."

"Did You—V—Voldemort"—He ignored the usual cringes—"did this?" Ron asked daringly.

Hermione didn't know whether to look proud or shocked.

"Voldemort wanted to rid off Harry, yes. That's why he tried his best to send him to Caeli almost twice before, because without the Ventosus Scroll, if he had tried to enter it, he would've died. But, I'm getting ahead here. To answer simply: No, Ron. Someone else did."

Most of the crowd looked confused, but before the chatter could start again, Dumbledore held up his hands, and said, "Everyone, I would like you to meet Caradoc Dearborn. Whom I thought I'd lost, but he had only been imprisoned. He's the one who had persuaded me to let go of Harry and Ginny for their own good."

Lupin's head snapped up from its stupor. Hagrid finally turned towards Dumbledore, while the rest of them gaped at the new arrival. Few gasps followed, as a form shimmered into view beside the Headmaster; it was as though he had materialized out of thin air.

The new arrival looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey on his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows; he had bright yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles.

"It can't be!" Emmeline Vance looked shocked. "I thought you were dead…"

"No. He didn't die, but became older than his years," Dumbledore provided.

"Rad, you—?" Lupin faltered, looking closely at Caradoc.

Most of the older crowd of the Order came and shook his hand; however, Hagrid didn't budge from his spot, and neither did Tonks or Lupin.

"How could you send Harry there, Rad?" Lupin's eyes threw daggers at the new fellow. "He doesn't even know the rules of that world!"

"Why don't you hear out Dumbledore first, Remus?" Caradoc said gently.

Molly Weasley seemed to agree with Lupin as she nodded at him, and looked sorely at Dumbledore as if not believing him at all.

"Caradoc's a Shapeshifter; that is, he can change into any physical form, including inanimate objects. Like Morphing, Shapeshifting is hereditary; though, it only wakes when you're an adult. Caradoc had only been experimenting with his new found powers when he had gone missing.

"When Voldemort was in power before, the research of other worlds had been at its peak, and most of the Unspeakables were assigned to find as many new worlds as they could. Along with James, Lily, and Sirius, Caradoc too was involved in this. I had been looking over their assignments—after they completed their training—on exploring new worlds and befriending other living beings, who could help us if we were to be taken over by Dark forces. This agenda is known to the Wizengamot as well, who approved of it then.

"With Caradoc's disappearance the mission faced a setback. Voldemort also started tracking James and Lily, because of which they weren't able to continue. They were the ones who researched the significance of Ventosus Scroll and the location of Caeli: Ursula's world. They found the Link of Caeli, also traveled to it, knowing too well that they had to either find the rest of the three scrolls or protect the one they had from wrong hands.

"We all know what actually happened, however. Their child, Harry Potter, miraculously defeated Voldemort, making him only a shadow of his previous self. But in the process we lost James and Lily who actually knew about this whole mystery. If it weren't for Harry's visions, I would never have made the connection and known what Voldemort had been up to.

"Before I reach the core of this discussion, let me give you some insight on Ursula Weasley."

Many heads nodded, while other simply continued listening to the Headmaster.

"She was a very powerful witch. More powerful than any Dark Wizard could've ever been. We never knew much about her because of her unexpected departure. The pain of her husband's death got to her and nobody still knows what actually happened when she performed the strange spell of hers….

"Before that, in her prime, she conjured a world of her own in another dimension. You may imagine it as a world that came off from Ursula's own mind. She had made it not only because she wanted to live there, but also to protect the only place where the Vita Scrolls could be merged.

"There are too many magical scrolls in the history but some are genuine and quite powerful. Ursula embedded the spirit of her own powers as well as the ones that her ancestors had bestowed upon her in the Vita Scroll, which she then divided into four parts, corresponding to different elements."

Dumbledore went on to tell them about the significance of each scroll, and how it had the power to control the basic four elements, water, fire, earth, and wind.

"Ursula made a heaven for herself and a temple, where the scrolls would merge to form the Vita Scroll. However, she couldn't live to enjoy them. Still, as the wizarding heritage goes, everything powerful is passed onto the next generation, and in this case to the female Weasley who would come after her."

"Ginny!" Molly Weasley gasped.

"Yes, Molly, your daughter is the heir to the Vita Scroll, because not a girl was born between Ursula and Ginny Weasley. Now, Voldemort wants that scroll, and if it falls into his hands… I myself shudder only to think of the consequences.

"This brings me back to Caradoc. The last communication that I received from him was that he had been captured by the Ulterius. These are delicate humanoids, who consider themselves the Highest Beings because of their troves of knowledge about the rest of the worlds. Their world, Taita, has such vast knowledge that I will waste away reading and would only acquire one percent of their total knowledge." Dumbledore nodded towards Caradoc to continue his own tale.

"Ulterians do look delicate but they are not in anyway weak. Their mind powers make for their frail bodies, which are so strong that their Mages can move this earth with a flick of their hand. They captured me after observing my innate powers because they foresaw that I would be of use in the future, but not then.

"They imprisoned me to prepare for what was coming. They taught me Livor—the force I used against the Killing Curse at Diagon Alley—their powerful magic. During the grueling sessions of Livor, I was told that the Mages of Uletrius, their Higher Council, had seen into the future and saw Darkness spreading throughout the worlds. It was then I was told about Ursula Weasley; she had been so powerful that she had foreseen the same future. She had also figured out the different dimensions and how they were placed apart from each other but still connected.

"This was the reason she did something to save us all; she devised the scroll to break the dark clouds, which would descend on every world if not stopped. The power, if fell into wrong hands would brew such chaos that would make the worlds tremble in horror. Ursula realized this danger, so she structured her world in the manner that one can only enter Caeli, if they have one of the Vita scrolls or is the heir to her heritage.

"Moreover, expecting the unexpected, the Mages of Ulterius taught me to transverse between worlds with the help of their magic. They made me a Drifter. They saw that the one with the pure heart and brave soul needed an ally to attain the scroll. I know all this and more from an Elder Mage of Taita, who was the one that freed me and sent me to this time. I look older because the time passes swiftly in Taita, not like the time here, which is slow. I can always shapeshift into a strapping young man but not in front of friends whom I now request to trust me, because I tell the truth and nothing but.

"I can say that the Ulterians taught me well, because I have the power to enter any world that I choose if I know its Link, Livor would save me even if I wasn't allowed in that world. I can enter Caeli and help the younglings achieve their destiny.

"But I'm not faultless… I was hoodwinked even when the Mages had forewarned me. In the process of knowing more about the Potter boy and Ursula's heir, I lost the scrolls of Fire and Earth to Voldemort."

"It was you who Harry kept seeing?" asked Hermione, who had been listening in with rapt attention. "You took Sirius's shape."

"Yes, Miss Granger, it was me… I let him see, what he wanted to see."

"You scared away the Death Eaters from Shrieking Shack? Yes?" Vidal commented.

"Yes, Tarziah, that was me as well," Caradoc replied. "I tried to be in a lot of places at the same time, and got distracted. Sometimes, very…"

"It isn't your fault that you returned to a changed wizarding world, Caradoc, all of us have changed through the years," Dumbledore provided.

"I can see that now." Caradoc's eyes swept over Vidal and rested on Snape, who challenged him with his own steady glare.

"Why didn' yeh contact Dumbledore sir, when yeh returned?" Hagrid bellowed, showing his frustration.

Lupin looked beyond himself as well. "We still trust you, Rad. Why all the tricks in the shadows?"

"Because I was doubtful, Remus," Caradoc sighed, his eyebrows creasing into a bunch. "I saw Snape in your meetings and I thought he was spying for Voldemort… I thought it wasn't safe until I realized that it was the other way around. Things didn't help that Dumbledore was out of Headquarters and Voldemort was rampaging throughout the world!

"Raid on Romanian Ministry?" He flicked the incidents on his fingers. "It was for the information on the Fire Scroll in the cave of the Mystical Dragon. Three Muggles found dead in the tomb of Ramses the Great? Scroll of Earth was hidden there! Strange weather conditions around the world? Voldemort's experimentation with the scrolls!"

A gasp ensued in the crowd.

"Are you telling us that he can still use the scrolls without even merging them with others?"

"Yes, Remus, he can. That's why I've to rush to Caeli to protect the heirs."

"Is Harry an heir too?" Hermione asked, confused.

"No. He's the protector of the Ventosus Scroll for now, just as Lily and James were. But, it's foreseen that—"—He looked carefully at Mrs. Weasley—"the power would be transferred somehow…" He glanced at Dumbledore for some clue.

"A battle was foreseen and if the Lighter Side didn't win, it will plunder for a long, long time…" Dumbledore provided, sighing.

"I was so adamant on sending Harry Potter with Ginny Weasley because who else could've done it except for the Boy-Who-Lived and the Heir? Both of them have shared something with Voldemort. Who knows more than them what to do with his mind games?" Caradoc rationalized. "Also, both possess exceptional powers of their own."

"Ginny's not coming back, right?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked in grief, gazing at Caradoc. "Those Ulterian cowards saw something horrible that you aren't telling me!"

"Nothing is decided; please believe me. You can't really see the future with all of its details, only the bigger details that the Elder saw and told me. There's still hope…"

"Why didn't your Ulterian gods save the scroll themselves? They sure look powerful enough," Molly spat furiously.

Caradoc's face fell. "They don't meddle in others' problems themselves." He sighed. "They appoint ambassadors like me."

It was quite clear that he, himself, didn't like the situation he was in, but was trying his best to improve upon it.

"Molly," Dumbledore came to his rescue. "I have my complete faith on Caradoc, as well as Harry. They wouldn't let anything happen to Ginny."

"Harry's just a boy!"

"No, Mum, he's not just an ordinary boy… or wizard even," said Ron.

"Yes, he's saved our necks so many times. He'll do it again… you'll see." Hermione glared at everybody who would dare to say otherwise.

"So, are you telling me that now we sit around and wait for them? Doing nothing?" Lupin said unbelievingly.

"No." Dumbledore—who had been staring at his watch again—looked up. "It seems that two Muggle localities of London have been surrounded by Death Eaters. Voldemort's tricking us with his side-plans."

"I'm going to Caeli; I only stayed back this long to clear the whole matter up. I'll try my best to bring them back without harm." Caradoc's form shimmered, and without even saying a parting word, he vanished out of sight.

In the frenzy of who would go to which place, and over the crisply barked orders of the senior Order members, Dumbledore was thinking only one thing:

Harry, I hope, I have prepared you well...

-x-X-x-

Now, I want to impart some extra knowledge to my readers, so that they don't become confused at any point in the fic.

As I told you before, I've based this fic on canon as much as I can and could predict. Following are the few things that you'll notice in here:

- JKR in her website imparted us with the knowledge that Ginny was the first girl to be born in the Weasley family in 300 years. So, I used that clue on Ursula and made her the heir to her heritage.

- Also, I think Ginny's quite powerful magically. It was her own resolve with which she chucked away Riddle's diary in CoS. The twins also swear by, that, '...powerful things come in small packages, look at Ginny…'

- JKR said that an important part of CoS (Book2) will be the base for HBP, I'm going to use the uncanny information that Ginny has about Tom Riddle, the base of Voldemort. I'm also working on the basis of the clue in PoA. If you read, 'the Dementor' chapter, you see that once Harry comes to after the Dementor leaves their compartment, he notices that 'Ginny lookes as bad as he felt,' and Ron comment after Harry asks that did anybody fall off from their seat, "Ginny was shaking like mad though..." So, I think that Ginny's going to have a more important role in the future books, even if she wasn't paired off with Harry.

- Cho's not going to be the lady-love for Harry. -phew- I've made sure of that. :D

- HBP will see a new Minister of Magic, and my bets are with Amelia Bones. Just as I did in this fic.

- A new DADA Professor. Vidal's just a filler though. I personally think that it can be Krum, or Emmeline Vance for that matter.

- I think the half-blood prince is going to be Caradoc Dearborn, but I can be proved wrong so don't sue me. ;)

- However I try and not think about it, I KNOW that Sirius is dead. -sniff- But, being biased to his character, I gave Harry a special diary, which will always give him the right version of how Sirius really was.

- Obviously somebody's going to die in HBP, my bets are with Dumbledore or some Weasley, subtracting Molly, Ron and twins. BUT, in my fic, nobody's going to die. Well, except for Dennis Creevey, which was a must for the plot. You'll know more about this in later chapters.

- If you've forgotten where you read about Ursula, you can give Chapter 3 a read.

I'll be keeping y'all updated on the plot details, as they come to my attention.

I hope the above info helped. Now lets move on to some answers:

Thee-Unknown-Factor, Yes indeed. It was Michael. Glad, that you're enjoying the story. Cheers.

yorkvillebird, I think you got confused on Avery turning into the young Sirius. But, I hope your confusions got solved by this chapter. If there are more, don't hesitate to badger me with them. I always welcome some badgering. -winks-

missgranger, Thank you, my dear. And I hope you enjoy your own chapter! -smiles-

R-Krulle, A very goodgood question indeed! As a writer, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of creating something of my own. Maybe, as a novice I would've been a little shy for doing it, but after spending almost two years in fandom, I'm confident enough to give my fic my own flare rather than sticking with JKR's elements alone. As explained in the A/N, the next chapter will take you to Ursula's world, and how she has made it. Meaning, totally on my desvretion and I hope that you all like it. Cheers!

thephantom114, Aha! Another clever readers. :D You guessed right, it's Caradoc Dearborn. His name just got to me, you know, when I was reading OoTP—seemed to ring the clue bells. :) So, here's for your guess-work: your own chapter. Enjoy!

MoA, Yes, you are soo right! I hope all your questions got answered by this chapter. About Corner, he and Cho, both of them should be burned on the stake! -looks around- Did I say that out loud? -grins- But, Michael was being controlled by Voldemort, and let me tell you another secret. He's doing it because as Voldemort had befuddled him with, 'Harry is responsible for the death of your sister, Adele.' The one, who died in the Nine and Three-Quarters massacre in Chapter 4.

Omair, Yeah. You already know what's going to happen, but still there are little things here and there which will be surprising you. But, still part of the final thrills will be belonging to you. Don't worry, I'll be mentioning your name in gold letters. -wink-

Macy, Thank you, my dear. I'm glad that I'm back in your favorite lists again. -wink-

Jazna, Well, even in confusion, you got it right. Yup, I was talking about the new Sirius, which turned out to be Caradoc. ;)

Mahjabeen, I'm 'maha' glad that you dropped by. I really love hearing from my readers. And as promised this chapter's here for your reading pleasure. I hope you keep on enjoying the fic.

Xyron, You've expressed my views exactly. -Lol- The thing is, I wanted to beat her and then be punished by Filch (remember the chains in his offices?). But, then I thought about Dumbledore (canonian) and then I had to back off from my plans. Also, I didn't want to be badgered by all the Cho-Lovers. So, left it like that. My heart got soft—it's her last year at Hogwarts. Let her get the demented pleasure, Gryffindor's still going to win the House Cup at any rate. And thanks for dropping by, I love it when my readers do that.

Lissa, So the plug at orkut's working. -grins- Thanks for liking the fic so much, and I hope you continue enjoying it!

Arch, Hehee. I can see that you are having fun in NZ. Yuppers! As always, glad, that you dropped by and are enjoying the fic. -smiles-


Next Chapter: (Caeli: Ursuala's Heaven) You'll know what exactly happened to Harry and Ginny in Ursula's world. -Coming Soon!-