Chapter 2
When the light had seemingly vanished Ginny tentatively opened her eyes and stood up, apparently too quickly as she felt a wave of nausea. Swaying slightly she peered around. Everything looked the same.
"Where the ruddy hell did that light come from?" Ginny wanted to chalk it up to some silly student's spell misfiring, but something told her it wasn't that.
Feeling that she'd had enough of sitting around doing nothing she began to leave the courtyard and walk back to the Black Lake, but something was different. She wasn't sure what but it was just miniscule things, different portraits in different place. She could have sworn that there were pillars down this corridor…
A feeling of dread washed over her, something was wrong. What kind of spell had been cast? Ginny began to quicken her step, rushing to get to the grounds and see that everything was the same as it had been and that this feeling was just a continuation of her worry for Harry.
She opened the doors to get to the grounds but when she looked out there was no one in sight.
"No no no no." She began to hurry down to where just an hour ago there had been rows and rows of chairs for the funeral. None of it was there.
Panic began to set in now. Scanning the grounds she noticed the Whomping Willow was no longer there.
What is going on? She saw movement in her peripherals and turned towards it. Hagrid's Hut was sitting where it always had, but hadn't Hagrid's house been set on fire just a while ago? There was no way it had looked that new before.
All of a sudden the door opened and out came a large man with shaggy long black hair, but wait a minute, that certainly wasn't a man and it certainly wasn't Hagrid. He couldn't have been older than herself, tall enough definitely. The giant teen began tending to the large vegetable patch to the right of the hut. There was a familiarity to him that Ginny could not place. She began to walk closer to the hut when suddenly the shaggy-haired teen noticed her presence and looked up.
"Lookin' fer someone?" He called.
The blood drained from her face all at once. Without even consciously thinking about it Ginny began to take a few steps back. That was Hagrid, without a doubt. She took a deep breath span around and sprinted back to the castle. She could hear a young Hagrid calling after her but her mind was in too much of a panic.
"Merlin, what have I done now?"
What am I supposed to do? Where am I? Merlin, When am I? She was on the verge of hysterical and she knew it. Suddenly she had an idea. Judging by teen Hagrid she must be in the past or under a very strong enchantment. How far she could not be sure, but Dumbledore would have to be around here somewhere if Hagrid was. He would help her.
Ginny changed her direction and began to head for the second floor near the Headmaster's tower, praying that Dumbledore was the current Headmaster. She daren't think she could be back any further in time. The stone pillars flew by as she ran through the empty castle. She wondered where all the students were but also thanking her lucky stars no one was around for she must look quite the sight at this moment, sprinting down the corridors like a madman.
She could see the gargoyle entrance to the Headmaster's office at the end of the corridor and felt relief which turned to dread instantly. What was the password? She thought back to a previous conversation she had had with Harry about the password always being a type of sweet.
Racking her brain, Ginny began listing any that came to her currently frazzled mind. "Uuh, Jelly Slugs. Ice Mice. Fudge Flies….. Cockroach Clusters?"
The Gargoyle remained still.
Letting out a groan, Ginny rested against the castle wall and attempted to think of more sweets. Inspiration struck.
"Sherbet Lemon?"
"Oh my favourite!"
Ginny turned so fast that her hair whipped right into her face causing her to splutter. She reached up to clear her vision and saw two elderly wizards, one looking amused and one befuddled.
Dumbledore Ginny recognised instantly. His half-moon spectacles sitting atop his crooked nose, beard with the colour of auburn running through, shorter than last she saw and he was wearing robes of deep purple. Just being near him she could feel an aura of power and serenity. It almost brought tears to her eyes seeing this powerful wizard standing before her, who just recently, in her time period at least, had been murdered by a man he had trusted. She could not tell how far back she had gone judging by his appearance, but if she had to guess it was well over a decade.
"Who are you? And how did you get into the castle?" Ginny felt light headed, still in quite a shock over her apparent travel back in time. The elderly wizard questioning her was not recognisable to Ginny; he was no professor in her time. He was older than Dumbledore with a grey long beard, though nowhere near Dumbledore's length, and had quite a taut, sharp face. His tone in questioning gave her the impression he was quite the disciplinary.
"Well," There was a long pause and redness crept up to Ginny's cheeks. Her mind was drawing a complete blank. She trusted Dumbledore not this stranger, what was she supposed to say. "You see, my uncle… I'm here because of him."
Internally slapping herself Ginny cursed her lack of quick thinking. The wizard's eyebrows began to furrow and the look on his face was of confusion and distrust. This was mortifying.
"Ah yes," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked right into hers. "I've been expecting you Miss…?"
One thing that was certain was that there was always a Weasley in every decade at Hogwarts and right now, it definitely wasn't her. "Fawcett! Ginevra Fawcett." Idiot, Idiot, Idiot! Why did I use that name?
"Yes Miss Fawcett, please follow me we have much to discuss." He turned towards the other wizard with an apologetic glance. "We can finish our discussion later Armando, this was the young witch I was speaking to you about previously."
His eyes widened, all sense of distrust vanished. "Oh! Of course Albus, of course." He turned towards Ginny with a small smile, "Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Fawcett. We'll speak soon." With that said he muttered a password to the gargoyle and made his way to the office.
Ginny didn't think things could get any more confusing. Shouldn't they be going up to Dumbledore's office? How could they be expecting her? Armando? Suddenly the memory of sitting with Ron out in their garden lining up all of his famous witch and wizard cards collected from chocolate frogs came to mind. Armando Dippet, previous Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ron had three of him.
She followed a step behind Dumbledore as they walked through the halls and climbed up the winding staircase to, she was guessing, his office. Not a word was spoken and Ginny was not sure she even wanted to voice her predicament openly in the corridors. This felt like a behind closed doors situation.
They neared a portrait of a moustached gentleman who appeared to be sitting at a desk writing on a large scroll of parchment.
"Acid Pops."
The portrait swung forward revealing the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He lifted his arm, gesturing for her to walk through first. Clambering through Ginny found herself standing in predominantly a smaller and more cramped version of Dumbledore's office during his years as headmaster. Though she had only been in there once previously, no one could ever forget the trinkets set up in the room or the whirring sound of magical artefacts at work.
Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk with Ginny taking a seat in front. With a flourish of his wand he conjured two teacups upon his desk amongst a clutter of what looked to be ancient, yellowing scrolls.
"I find tea can be rather calming in situations such as these. Can I offer you a cup?"
"Yes please," She brought the cup closer to her but could not bring herself to take a sip, still quite keyed up on what had happened but not wanting to seem rude. "To be frank, I'm not certain where to start this conversation sir."
"How about I begin it then," He lent forward in his chair. "You've travelled through time to get here, at this very moment. Correct?"
Ginny's mouth fell open on its own accord. Truly he is brilliant. "Well yes, that's exactly what has happened. How did you know?"
His lips twitched into a small smile of mirth. "You could say an acquaintance of mine has kept me informed of your impending arrival. Though I'm sure you can understand that I must tell you that no one else can know the true nature of your arrival here at Hogwarts."
"Of course, but I-"Ginny paused, her head still in a whirl from all of this new information. "Is there not a way for me to go back to my own time?"
"Oh of course."
Ginny let out a sigh of relief. This would just be a strange blip that she could soon forget.
"Though I am not too certain how long it will take before I can find a safe method to send you back." His gaze was apologetic as it was quite obvious that she was eager to return home.
"How long?"
The elderly wizard clasped his hands together, he appeared in deep thought. "I could not give you an exact date. Only one person could answer that question for you but unfortunately they are unreachable at this moment in time."
"But… What am I to do?"
He gave a small smile and looked down at the untouched tea sitting in front of her. "Truly it will do the world of good." He said. She gingerly picked up the cup and took a small sip. "I've informed Headmaster Dippet that an old friend of mine has been asked to participate in an expedition through Australia searching for a particular dragon breed thought to be extinct, leaving behind his pupil." At this he gave Ginny a knowing look.
Ginny stared at him incredulously. "You want me to go to classes and be a student here in…" She trailed off, not even sure what year she was in.
"It's the 1st of September 1944, Miss Fawcett."
No amount of self-control Ginny had could assist in keeping her mouth closed. It had been 1997 just moments ago and now here she was, back in time over 50 years ago. It was near impossible to comprehend that all Ginny could do was sit in silence for a few moments.
Dumbledore watched over the young witch with a sympathetic eye. "Quite a shock I can imagine, but don't fret. As I said we shall soon return you to your own time and you will be quite busy here as a student at Hogwarts."
"Won't I be meddling in time by staying here and being seen?" Even the most basic tomes on time magic that Ginny had glanced at had indicated that this was just a catastrophe waiting to happen.
The professor glanced down at his own teacup sitting on the desk, his face hardening just in the slightest. "As I'm sure you are aware, meddling with time can have rather adverse effects." He nudged his spectacles further up the crook of his nose and peered at Ginny almost curiously. "That is why we will be precautious in all of our actions outside of this chamber, yes?"
Thinking it over Ginny was not confident in her abilities to keep such a secret and continue on with her school work, hadn't she just finished a full year of study?
"Please sir, is there no where I can hide out until the time comes for me to return back to my family?" Even just mentioning them caused Ginny's heart to clench. How long would she be apart from them?
"Miss Fawcett, I can understand your wish for solitude in such distressing times and yet I know from personal experience that loneliness can be crippling."
Ginny flushed and looked down at her feet. She could see that Dumbledore was not going to budge on this particular issue and it had taken quite a lot of nerve just to request hiding out, but staying here, being out of place. It just didn't make sense to her.
Sensing her trepidation Dumbledore spoke softly, "There's a fine line between solitude and isolation Miss Fawcett. I would hate to see this get the better of you."
Knowing she would follow Dumbledore's instructions she gave a slight nod, mostly to herself.
I can do this.
Dumbledore took this as a sign of her willingness to stay as a student and gave a slight smile to the witch. "Excellent, just excellent." He rose to his feet and made his way around the desk. "Well, let's be on our way to Headmaster Dippet and get you sorted." Pulling out what looked to be an old pocket watch from his robes he glanced down at the golden instrument. "The students should be arriving any minute now."
Ginny rose from her chair. She hadn't even realised but it became evident now that the tea had produced a calming effect on her. She only noticed it now because that feeling drained from her completely at this moment.
"Sir!" She yelped, following him out of the office. "There's still so much I need to know." Though there certainly were many questions to be asked, it seemed Ginny's mind could hardly keep up. "I mean, my backstory…. Who is this friend of yours? My teacher, or uncle I should say?"
He continued to walk through the halls back the way they came with Ginny at his heel. "Haven't the foggiest, I do need to pay better attention to these things." He seemed to chuckle to himself. Looking down at Ginny his mouth twitched into a slight crooked smile. "I'm sure you can think of some of the more finer details yourself Miss Fawcett."
She could only gape up at the wisest wizard she knew Just perfect.
They were nearing the stone gargoyle to the headmaster's office when Ginny halted her steps.
"How did you know I was going to be here, at this time I mean?" He turned towards her but did not meet her eye, instead choosing to look at a small piece of lint on the left sleeve of his robe.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you at this time, even if I wanted to."
Ginny could feel the bubbles of that famous Weasley temper rising within her. Knowing she would spit out something irrational she bit down on her tongue, hard.
"Miss Fawcett, you misunderstand." He began to gesture for her to follow him down the corridor. She walked by his side for a few moments waiting for him to continue. "I cannot tell you because I do not know who it was. I knew the information to be correct regardless of the source though."
Ginny was not sure what to think of this mysterious source of information. She still had many questions at the tip of her tongue, like how she got here in the first place, but it seemed that her companion was in a hurry for her to be sorted.
Throughout these musing Dumbledore had given the password and guided her up the stairs and to the Headmaster's office.
For what seemed the millionth time that day Ginny's stomach did a great leap. It had been many years since she had last worn the Sorting Hat and she wasn't too sure what to expect of it.
Dumbledore opened the door which let out an ancient creak as the hinges strained. It seemed that Headmaster Dippet had been expecting them sooner than they had appeared as he was hovering near the entrance.
"Cutting it close aren't you old friend? The students are down at the platform now and beginning to make their way over!" He shook his head good naturedly and turned towards the nervous Ginny. "Now, Miss Fawcett was it?" Before Ginny could reply or even give a nod of acknowledgement, the elderly wizard had already spun around towards the shelf. "I would love to hear about your uncle's expedition in greater detail but I'm afraid we don't have the time just now."
He plucked the Sorting hat from the shelf and turned back to her with a triumphant smile. "Come forward Miss Fawcett and let's get you sorted."
Ginny stepped forward hesitantly. It was all moving a bit too fast for her liking. I don't think I've ever heard of a student starting Hogwarts that wasn't a first year. It seemed she would have to work extremely hard to keep her head down and attempt to be unnoticed.
She shot one last glance of concern over to Dumbledore before the hat was unceremoniously plopped onto her head by Headmaster Dippet.
"What a journey you've been on!" The hat's scratchy voice muttered in her ear. "This is an easy sorting indeed, as I'm sure you're aware!"
"Please!" Ginny thought frantically. "Don't put me in Gryffindor!"
Gryffindor would always be Ginny's house yet the thought of being there without her family, without her friends, she knew without a doubt that it just wouldn't feel right.
"Ah, but you're a strong witch, plenty of spirit and bravery in you of that I have no doubt." The hat hummed in thought as Ginny wiped her sweaty palms down the front of her skirt. "You would be well suited to stay, are you sure you want a change?"
Ginny thought back over her fond memories within the Gryffindor tower. Late night's studying on the cushy arm chairs in front of the warm fire, Hermione never failing to come down and lend a hand when she could. Christmases spent at Hogwarts, gathering together with her brothers to exchange gifts. Lazy days spent with Harry. No, she just knew it would be too upsetting, no matter how long she had to stay.
"I think I need a change."
The sorting hat hummed again in thought. "Where exactly would please you?"
"Isn't that your job, to tell me where to go?"
The hat's booming laugh reverberated through her head. "Oh indeed, I can see certain qualities within you that have been dormant these past years but will definitely assist in your time spent here. I think you shall do well in RAVENCLAW!"
Ginny felt the old hat being pulled from her head and she could once again see the two occupants of the room giving her a small round of applause.
"Congratulations Miss Fawcett." Professor Dumbledore gave her a gentle nod. "Ravenclaw have gained a marvellous asset."
Ginny gave a small smile only thinking of how thankful she was not to have to join the ranks of Slytherin. Only now did she realise that there was a great chance the hat could have chosen such a house for her. Ravenclaw was of course the house of her great friend Luna Lovegood, it couldn't be that bad. Though what the hat meant about her 'dormant qualities' Ginny would have to ponder later.
"Now if you'll follow me I'll lead you down to the Great Hall." Both of the elderly wizards began to make their way through the doorway while Ginny dutifully followed behind them. She could faintly here the echoes of chatter throughout the corridor. Dippet was right; they were cutting it kind of close.
She was a few paces behind them and could not make out the words of their whispered conversation, though judging by the glances coming her way from Headmaster Dippet she had a pretty good guess on what it was regarding.
They neared the corridor adjacent to the Great Hall when both wizards turned to face her.
"Now then I'm not sure what the arrangements are with your uncle Miss Fawcett, I didn't see you with any luggage…"
Dumbledore interrupted swiftly. "You'll find them near your bunk Miss Fawcett along with all the required textbooks. If you'll permit?" He gestured towards her funeral garbs with his wand.
"Oh" Ginny replied dumbly, obviously she couldn't barge into the hall as a student dressed like this. "Yes of course.
With a twist of his wand her robes transformed into the Hogwarts uniform. With a glance down Ginny saw what was once a lion was now an eagle emblazoned with bronze and blue. It brought a slight frown to her lips but there wasn't much she could do now about it.
"I'll have to inform your Head of House Professor Fancourt of her new addition." Dippet nodded to himself. "Your classmates I'm sure will assist in acclimatizing you to Hogwarts. Any questions you have be sure to ask any of your professors here." He began to walk towards an old tapestry on the right hand side. "Welcome To Hogwarts Miss Fawcett." He called over his shoulder.
Once he was out of sight she turned to Dumbledore letting her attempt at a composed mask fall. "Sir! How am I supposed to act? What am I supposed to say-"
He held up his hand and gave her a gentle smile. "Everything will work out as it should. Come and see me whenever you need to. If you choose to study Transfiguration I will see you in class."
Ginny continued to stand still. Does he honestly think that's going to placate me?
"Ravenclaw's table is on the far left. Good luck Ginevra." She could have sworn he had winked at her when suddenly he had turned and pulled back the same tapestry Dippet had and walked through.
She walked towards the large open archway to the Great Hall. The noise was thunderous, the students had obviously just taken their seats. She peered inside and saw the rows of her soon to be classmates all chattering away.
Ginny took a deep breath and inched her way forward.
It's alright. You can do this.