Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the following characters, locations and stories which they are based on. They all belong to J.K Rowling and I don't make any profit out of this. Now that that's all cleared up, shall we get on with the story?
A/N: And now here's chapter 4… we're starting to get a bit more into the plot now. Enjoy!
Going Forward
Chapter 4 – Fed To The Lions
Ok. I'm freaking out here. What the hell happened? I wake up and I'm no longer in my dorm. I find my way back and the password has changed. Then, I discover that I can't recognise any of the students.
"Are you ok?"
A boy walked along the hallway, towards me.
"Ummm…." Should I tell him whats happened? I've never seen him before, but he must be about my age… surely I would have seen at least some of these students, especially since they're hanging around Gryffindor Tower. Actually, he does look sort of familiar.
"I'm fine. What's your name?"
"Neville Longbottom."
Ahh… that'd explain it. "Oh. I thought I recognised you! Are you related to some called Frank?"
The boy looked down at his shoes, he seemed upset. Clearly, I said something wrong. Maybe they didn't get along?
"Y-Yes. He was my father."
What!?!?!?! "Was?"
"Yeah… Sorry I've got to go." The boy darted away. Oh God. Was he crying? Did I just make him cry? Could he really be Frank Longbottom's son? They did look alike…
If he was telling the truth, then that would mean I'm somehow in the future. Oh crap! What am I going to do? What if someone recognises me? I'll have to disguise myself. My hair is a bit too obvious. Well… I've always wondered how I'd look with black hair. Eyes? Brown would be good, I suppose. While I'm at it, I guess I might as well add a few inches to my height. Getting a bit taller won't hurt.
Ok, so now I won't be recognised. What do I do next?
Someone tapped me on the shoulder at this point, damn-near frightening the life out of me. I turned, only to find myself facing someone who looked a hell of a lot like me.
Ginny turned the corner, just one more set of stairs to climb now, then she'd reach the Gryffindor tower. She passed by Neville on the stairs, who looked a little distraught. He rushed past her before she had a chance to see if he was alright, so she made a mental note to check up on him later. She reached the portrait of The Fat Lady, and found the girl in question stood there, looking worried. Finny strode up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, which caused the new girl to jump. She spun around, a look of surprise painted across her features.
"Hi. You're the new exchange student, right? The American student? Professor Dumbledore told me I'd find you here."
"He did?"
"Yeah. He asked me to show you around. Fizzing Whizzbees."
The portrait swung upon and Ginny started heading in to the common room. She turned around. "Well? Are you coming?"
"Ummm… Yeah. You are you?"
"Oh sorry! The name's Ginny Weasley. What's yours?"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Julia Greenbelt."
The two girls sat in their dorm for a while, Ginny telling 'Julia' all about the school.
'This girl sure knows a lot!' Lily thought to herself. Obviously, most of the things she already knew, but she seemed to know about lots of secret passageways throughout the castle.
"Hey Ginny? Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah sure. What is it?"
"What happened to Neville's Dad? I was talking to him earlier and I think I may have upset him somehow."
Ginny began to look uncomfortable. It was apparent that she didn't like to gossip about people, which Lily found unusual but somewhat comforting. Perhaps if she decided to confide in her, she would keep her secret. "Well… they had a run-in with deatheaters when he was just a baby. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. He doesn't like to talk about it really. Frank and Alice Longbottom have been in St. Mungo's ever since."
"Oh." A single tear rolled down her face. Frank and Alice were always such good friends to her. She couldn't believe it. No, she didn't want to believe it. To think, that friends of hers had been affected so badly that they were still in hospital, even now, over a decade later. She couldn't bear to think about it.
"Hey. Don't feel bad. You couldn't have known you would upset him. It's not your fault."
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, you must think I'm so strange, getting all upset. It's just so terrible what happened to them."
"Yeah, well lots of people lost family members in the war. And people will lose lives in this war as well."
"This war?"
"Yeah… I know what the papers are saying, but trust me, a war is coming. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back. Anyway, I think this conversation has gotten a bit too serious. Why don't we go down to breakfast, then I'll give you a tour of the castle."
"Yeah. Sounds great."
