Getting back...home, had been, well, it had been something. For one thing, they woke up after only a few hours of sleep - or it would have been a few hours of sleep, if he had actually been able to fall asleep, he thought annoyedly. He didn't understand it; he had distinctly remembered having decent sleep the night after the World Quidditch Cup... maybe it was his 'future' knowledge that had kept him up, then. But then, he and Younger-Ron had tried switching back-and-forth, and it hadn't helped a bit in sleeping.

Or maybe it was just always more challenging to fall asleep when there were two minds in one body. Who knows. Ron couldn't bring himself to care.

He had offered his younger self control for when they would see Mum again, but Younger-Ron turned him down. And so, Ron had to hide a wince when their Mum hugged Fred and George, and started talking about how afraid she had been that Voldemort - sorry, "You-Know-Who", had... "gotten them"...

He would have thought that it would be hard to see Fred again, but it turned out to be the opposite: Fred just fit so naturally in his surroundings, it was like Ron could forget he had ever been gone in the first place...until anyone brought up anything close to that topic. Then it all came back.

He tried to focus on what was happening, like the newspaper article, and Harry's news about the scar... but he found himself slipping. He decided to ask Younger-Ron if he wanted to take the reins, and he said yes. Vaguely, Ron remembered that he should tell Harry at least some hints about the scar dreams... another time, perhaps. They had time, right now, and anyways Ron needed to figure out how to tell him without sounding like Trelawney - Harry might still listen, but Hermione wouldn't, and based on what he remembered with the many fights in fourth year, the last thing they needed was another thing to disagree on.

Being in the mental backseat while Younger-Ron was playing Quidditch was, interesting, at least. It was more like floating in the clouds in a dream, or something. It was hard to describe. Pleasant enough, but he decided that he preferred actually playing Quidditch.

It was when they finished their game, that things, again, started to...change. Specifically, he caught sight of a letter. A letter addressed to him: "R. Weasley." It was by...Malfoy. An eagle owl was waiting, almost impatiently.

Weasley ⸺

I won't waste any time. The night after the Quidditch Cup — we both know, we've traveled into the past, I don't know how, trapped in our younger bodies. My younger self is rattling inside my head, too. We need to talk, urgently. Reply immediately.

D.L. Malfoy

He couldn't say he was surprised, honestly. He had known Malfoy would try to do something, upon realizing that another person was sent back in time. He was just glad that he was lucky enough that no one else had read the letter yet, or was there to see Ron getting it, either.

Quickly, he scrawled out:

Malfoy -

First: next time, send me a warning. I got lucky this time, but I don't want to have to explain to my family, or Harry or Hermione, why I'm getting mail from Malfoy. I think neither of us want that.

Second: I don't know how this happened either. My younger self and I take turns. Finally: It's actually R.B. Weasley.

Ron

He quickly attached it to the owl, who seemed pleased to finally take off.

WHY are you sending a letter to Malfoy?! Well. Ron had been wondering why his younger self didn't say something about any of this.

Ron sent, Can't we talk about this tomorrow morning? It was a dim hope, but still...

NO! I mean - it's Malfoy! How can you just- I demand an explanation!

Fine. Short answer: he's the only other person who is in the same situation as us. And I'm sure he wants to get back, too. It'll probably be easier for all of us if we just work together, and we can all leave faster.

I still don't think we should trust him.

Ron did not know how to answer this, not without bringing up more questions, so he just sent, Do you have any other people you know who time-traveled back into their younger body and have to share it with their younger self? You don't have to like it, but we don't have many options.

Silence. Then, what felt like a grudging mental sigh. FINE. But don't blame ME when it all goes into a bloody nightmare, and Malfoy finds a way to use this to ruin our lives.

It was probably as good as he was going to get.

And the plot thickens...

Again: Chapter 4 will be coming soon, but, after that, it will take longer to update, and may not update regularly. I am working on Chapter 5 currently, but I can't say when it will come out for certain.

Please review if you can, and let me know what you think.