Disclaimer: I own a very marginal few of the characters, the rest are all property of Ms Rowling and her imagination, long may it create the world of Harry Potter!

Chapter 18 – Loose Cannons

"You are joking, right?" Persephone asked, grinning confidently.

"No, really I'm not," the Ravenclaw exclaimed, seeming to get more befuddled by the minute. "You do it every morning, I promise."

"There is no way you're serious." The Gryffindor stared in the direction the prefect was pointing in disbelief. "You want me to do… that… all on my own?"

"Goodness gracious, no," the short dark-haired girl cried. "You have to organise the younger years."

"But what about, y'know, the house elves and stuff? Why can't they do it?"

The short girl looked at her slightly suspiciously. "We only have a couple of house elves here. Most belong to the old families," she trailed off. "Are you sure you're alright Amelia?"

"I'm fine," Perse waved. "I'll just go… organise… the younger years." She turned away to her left – anything to get away from the younger girl's troubled gaze. She opened to door directly in front of her, only to be faced by neatly stacked buckets and mops.

"That's the cupboard," the girl informed her slowly. "The common room is in the other direction." There was a pause while Perse slowly shut the door and turned back to face the younger prefect. "Are you sure you haven't hit your head or anything this morning?" the girl inquired gently.

Perse shook her head. She'd never been in a situation quite like this… whatever situation this was. More importantly, she'd never been required to organise younger years to milk cows. That was a new experience as well. Suddenly, an idea came to mind which would solve her immediate tribulations.

"Actually, you know, I think I did hit my head when I got out of bed this morning. Maybe I should go and lie back down. I'm sure someone else can organise the mass cow milking."

The younger girl whose name she had not caught watched her steadily. "Well Lucius will probably do it in your place then, but then he'll require you to organise the cow milking and the egg collection tomorrow. You know how petty he can be about head girl and boy duties."

"Egg… collection…?" Persephone noted that her voice had suddenly gone up an octave. "Wait a second… Lucius? Lucius Malfoy? He's head boy?"

"Yes, Amelia," confirmed the younger girl gently. "And you are head girl. How hard do you think you hit your head?"

"Ok," Perse said slowly. "I hit my head, I can't remember a thing. Can you walk me through organised cow-milking?"

The girl arched an eyebrow. "Alright," she agreed, "but only until you start to remember again."

Persephone sighed with relief, pushing blonde hair behind her ears. If she could claim amnesia for a bit then it would give her the time to work out how she got here, and how she was going to get back.

She noticed the girl wasn't walking anywhere. "What's the matter?" she questioned. "Shouldn't we be going? We don't want the milk to curdle or anything." She giggled slightly at her own joke, but the prefect looked somewhat unimpressed.

"Are you going to go out in your nightie?"

"It's amazing, she looks exactly identical." Blaise watched 'Persephone' curiously.

"But it's not her, it's Amelia. Whoever Amelia is," Ginny replied wearily. "Can you tell us some more about yourself, Amelia? Or anything in fact," she muttered to herself.

"I'm head girl," the dark-haired girl announced, crystalline blue eyes shining. She paused a moment. "Oh no! It's my turn to milk the cows this morning; else Useless Lucius will throw a tantrum. I must get to the common room!"

"Wait, wait," interjected Draco. "Lucius? You knew my father?"

"I don't know what it is you babble about boy," Amelia returned primly. "But Lucius is hardly able to look after himself let alone have children."

"She's kind of crazy," remarked Ginny absently to Blaise, "but I like her."

"Milking cows?" Blaise echoed in mystification.

"You," Amelia pointed at Ginny, "you look like a Weasley. Although I don't know what relation you can be to dear Arthur. Nevertheless, show me to the common room."

"There are no cows around here, dear," Draco drawled.

"Where do you get your milk from?" Amelia exclaimed. "This is a strange place; I don't suppose I like it much. I would like to go home please."

"Home to where though?" pondered the redhead. "What year are you from?"

"The year is 1909 and today is the twenty-eighth of December. Tomorrow it shall snow again." She said this with complete certainty, reeling off the date with confidence.

"That's all very good, but how do you know it'll snow tomorrow?" Blaise inquired interestedly.

"Hardly the more important point of what she just said," muttered the blonde.

"Because I foresaw it of course. Honestly, do you people here know nothing?"

"A ha!" Blaise exclaimed triumphantly. "I know where I recognise her name from; Amelia Sloane, the first Hogwarts Seer."

"After Rowena Ravenclaw of course," Amelia added smugly.

"Oh I see…" Ginny nodded her head, things beginning to make sense. "And Persephone is also futuristically gifted." She looked at Blaise and Draco. "And I shouldn't have told you that."

"We already knew," Draco shrugged. Ginny frowned, but didn't question him further.

"But why swap bodies? How did they swap bodies? And if the link between them is to see the future, then why is Persephone in the past? And why now -"

"Hello, do we look like the guys with all the answers?" Draco drawled.

"You know," Ginny replied conversationally, "you really piss me off."

"And that's what turns you on," the blonde countered, winking.

"Going to throw up," said Blaise, raising an arm.

"Feeling nauseous," Amelia announced simultaneously. They shared a smile. "Why do you ask the year? Surely you must know that even though you do not even know how to milk cows."

Ginny pursed her lips in thought. "Well, you see, the year now is 2005, and the date is the eighteenth of December. Why the date change I wonder?" she asked, mainly to herself.

"Daylight savings?" Blaise suggested in reply, not taking his eyes from Amelia. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I wonder how Persephone is faring in 1909," the redhead wondered, again, mainly rhetorically. A picture sprang to mind of Perse milking cows, she hid a smile.

"It's 2005?" Amelia sat down abruptly. "But that means – how can it be? You must already have had – but no – goodness me!" She played with the trimming of the particularly heinous tartan stool she'd planted herself on. Blue eyes stared into space as she came to terms with events that Ginny, Draco and Blaise had yet to grasp.

"What are you trying to say?" Ginny asked gently.

Amelia locked eyes with the red-haired Gryffindor. "Voldemort. He has come then?"

Ginny winced slightly at the name before nodding slowly. "Yes, he has come," she confirmed.

"But he has not gone." Amelia looked at them seriously. "This is Hogwarts then, I feel muted evil, but it lives within you all."

Ginny bristled slightly. "In some houses more than others," she replied without thinking. The weight of two gazes crashed down on her. "Sorry guys," she shrugged at the two Slytherins.

"That's what I mean," agreed Amelia. "The houses are out of balance, no longer aligned, divided. That's the true evil. Evil deeds done flesh upon flesh leave scars, but the evil done in people's hearts is even more difficult to heal."

The Gryffindor stayed silent, thinking about what she had said.

"How much have you seen of the future?" Blaise asked quietly.

"I saw the rise of Voldemort, and the fall, I saw the rise of Harry Potter, and his link to the Dark Lord. There is love and hope in the future yet, but there is also despair and sadness," she trailed off wearily, looking old beyond her years. Her attention appeared to turn inward. "Your Persephone though, she has seen a lot too."

"What do you mean?" Ginny enquired.

"She has seen much of the future, and much of the past as well. Truly a special Seer, she's more powerful than I."

"It must be nice, knowing the future," Draco pondered. "Knowing everything that could happen. Must be fearless"

Amelia's eyes darkened. "Fearless, yes," she repeated poignantly. "Every day, every hour, the future presses in on us. Could you live, knowing the exact day, the exact hour and way that you would die? Persephone knows, just as I did. We do not fear here and now, we do not even fear tomorrow, but the day after that haunts our lives, just as the living shall haunt our death."

Blaise, Draco and Ginny looked on, wordlessly. How could a declaration like that be answered?

"But I have said too much," Amelia said quickly, she did not look any of the three students in the eyes. "You still have the Divination rooms yes? I need to consult a few of the older Gods, on how this has come to pass."

"Of course," agreed Ginny. "Follow us." She exchanged looks with Draco and Blaise, before following Amelia out of the room.

"She's kind of thrown us in the deep end eh?" Draco whispered in her ear, sliding his hand into hers. Ginny sighed, she'd almost forgotten about their recent developments, but she was glad he wasn't going anywhere. How would she cope without Persephone?

"What's put you in such a good mood?" she asked instead.

He nuzzled the shell of her ear, making her shiver. "Just certain… events." He smiled, baring his softer side to her bit by bit. She smiled, thankful for his support.

"Oi, lovebirds, break it up before bigger Weasley spots you," Blaise hissed, simultaneously rolling his eyes.

Ginny led the way up the tight staircase to the Divination room, Draco following closely behind, coincidentally receiving a decent view of her behind at the same time. He smirked. Some things would just never change.

When they reached the familiarly misty Divination classroom, Amelia finally seemed to relax. "Mildred always did like her herbs," she observed to no one in particular.

"Professor Trelawney lives here now," Ginny corrected gently.

"Mildred's the resident ghost," Amelia amended. "She's very shy, but I should know. The herbs make her feel less unhappy about being dead. I will be the Divination Professor after all." She paused, frowning. "I mean, I have been the Professor…"

Ginny looked around. "So, er, where do you… consult the Gods?"

"Mildred? Relazio," Amelia called, twisting slightly to face the northern wall.

"How do you know the password? You are not a teacher"

A small girl materialized from the opposite wall, blonde hair spilt from her shoulders to cover a neat red dress, all of which were obscured by the translucence of death.

"Mildred, it is I, Amelia Sloane of Ravenclaw. I need you to unlock the Chamber of the Unknown."

Next to him, Draco felt Ginny stiffen. Almost with a will of its own his arm snaked around her. He'd never heard of the Chamber of the Unknown, but he sure hoped there wasn't a 15ft snake housed in there as well, for Ginny's sake.

"Amelia Sloane?" the young ghost – Mildred – questioned. "What brings you to this time?"

"That, is what I intend to find out sister," Amelia replied calmly.

As the three students and Amelia watched, the back wall of the Divination classroom folded outwards to reveal a whole other room, hidden behind.

"You'd never have guessed," Blaise observed absently.

Centrally placed in the chamber that was now the Divination classroom was a huge circular cauldron, a shiny liquid rolling and merging in its metallic pit.

"Double, double, toil and trouble," Draco murmured.

"I didn't know you read Shakespeare?" Ginny enquired thoughtfully.

"Didn't know you did either," the Slytherin countered.

"Show me," the dark-haired witch commanded, trailing around the cauldron, her fingers on the rim. "Enlighten me of your purpose; let me see your power." She continued to walk, but where her fingertips touched the cauldron it began to glow deep silver, the same colour as the liquid. Amelia stopped abruptly, staring at the surface.

Ginny and the two boys stepped forwards together and looked over the now-stationary Amelia's shoulder. Four words were written in a deep purple colour in the cauldron.

"Quendam ventum quia causa," Ginny read out loud. "What does that mean?"

Amelia scowled. "Everything happens for a reason."

Responses;

Elle Blessingway - thank you for your kind review, it was much appreciated. Happy New Year to also (belated though it may be). I am aware about the whole Ron-being-in-two-places thing and, until I can go back and change that chapter to accommodate the impossibility of this, I will just have to say that Ron and Harry had decided to text out a keeper for this particular match and Ron had only been on for the first half an hour, at which point they'd swapped. At some point i shall go back and put that in.

Sabine Strohem-Moss - thank you for all the reviews you have left in my stories, they are always valued! I hope this chapter is longer for you! :)

DobbyGrl - I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for all your reviews!!

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