A/N: Another Earth based chapter this time, featuring Ginny. Be warned there be swearing ahead.
Ginny Weasley stalked through the halls of Hogwarts castle. People stared and whispered as she passed. Stories passed around about the girl who had, albeit with assistance, survived duelling Bellatrix Lestrange, and shown herself to be a very skilled fighter indeed, as talented as she was beautiful. Others spoke of the well-known closeness between her and Harry, some sympathetically and others… not so much.
Harry. Even after 4 years she still loved him and missed him, even if she hated the fact he had left her behind. People urged her to move on, find someone else, to leave him behind. He was probably dead, they said, though not to her face after ex Minister Fudge, trying to be helpful and failing monumentally had told her that although he was a hero, he was probably dead and would never be found, and been the recipient of a particularly vicious bat bogey hex at a Ministry function soon after Harry's disappearance to celebrate the end of the war. Since Fudge's lack of tact was famed far and wide, there were no permanent injuries to anything but Fudge's dignity and it was assumed she was saddened by Harry's disappearance and thus not premeditated no charges were brought.
And then Rita Skeeter had come out that odious piece of crap she called an article, accusing her, Hermione and Ron, claiming a crime of passion due to Harry supposedly jilting her and getting together with Hermione. Hermione upon reading the article had hunted down and found Skeeter like a curly haired avenging angel, and threatened her with something. Ginny didn't know what, but whatever it was scared her enough to print a very public retraction. She noticed that Ron looked noticeably smug for a while afterwards, and beamed with pride whenever Hermione entered the room, but decided not pry assuming it was one of the secrets that the so called 'Golden Trio', an appellation attached by the Prophet, had accrued during their time at Hogwarts.
As time went on, interest faded, though it was resuscitated annually when celebrations were held on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and whenever anyone close to Harry turned up doing something relatively interesting, such as when Ron had joined the Auror office and Hermione had done a Doctorate at Oxford University, a sort of muggle qualification that was apparently very impressive, especially since she had attended Hogwarts. The last major spike had been when they got married, which warranted a double page spread in the Society pages, despite the fact it was a strictly private, family and friends only. Ginny didn't get it at all, especially since it was written by Rita Skeeter, who was subsequently outed by Hermione as an illegal animagus and she was put on trial for journalistic malpractice as well as being an illegal animagus. The day when she had gone in to give evidence had been very satisfying, to see the bitch who had ruined so many lives being unanimously condemned and sent to Azkaban.
And now, after 4 years she was going to the Headmistresses office. She wanted a chat with Dumbledore's portrait. A long chat. The portrait was widely accepted as being the last person to see Harry alive, as the trail stopped dead at the office, and neither Dumbledore or any of the other portraits, who had either been asleep or out, or in the case of Phineas Nigellus, pretending to be asleep but not admitting to anything.
She caught sight of Professor Slughorn, who was clearly proceeding towards the Great Hall for lunch early, wanting to get ahead of the rush.
"Professor Slughorn?" She called.
"Yes? Ah, Miss Weasely! How delightful to see you!" said the ever avuncular Potions Master, then his voice took on a sadder tone, and he said what she had known he was going to say, "I was so sorry to hear about Harry, he was such a good student, and so brave, just like his parents…"
Ginny fixed an understanding smile on her face and overruled the powerful urge to hex the man into next week.
"Actually Professor, I was going to ask for the password to the Headmistresses office. I wish to speak to her, but I don't have an appointment." She said, smiling apologetically.
"No problem m'dear-" Slughorn said then paused and asked suspiciously, "You want to talk to Dumbledore don't you? You're not going to set his portrait on fire or something like that?"
"I do want to speak to him, but no Professor, I won't." She said, mentally adding, if he gives me a straight answer.
"Well…" He looked doubtful, then darted a glance at the classrooms nearby, where there was evidence of movement as classes were finishing. "It's 'Who Dares Wins'. Now if you'll excuse m'dear, this old man needs his lunch." And with that he bustled off purposefully in the direction of the Great Hall.
Ginny walked up the stairs, running her hands along the bannisters and looking around. Patches of slightly newer stone stood out in places that had been blasted away by curses and scarred by spells. If she closed her eyes she could hear the screams and see the light of spell fire. She remembered it like it was yesterday. I probably always will, she thought sadly. Too many good people had died in that battle. In the main hall there was a plaque commemorating the fallen. Flowers were laid there. She remembered when it had been unveiled, paid for and unveiled by Draco Malfoy no less, who looked genuinely sad and had even more surprisingly passed on his commiserations about Harry to the Weasley's and Hermione. He had moved away before they had had time to respond. That had been a sad day.
By the time she was done reminiscing, she was standing in front of the gargoyles that guarded the Headmistresses study, muscle memory taking her to her destination along long trodden staircases and corridors.
"Who Dares Wins." She enunciated clearly and the gargoyles moved aside. She climbed the stairs and knocked on the office door.
"Come in." Came a familiar voice. When she entered she got a sudden feeling of Déjà vu, when she had tried to steal the sword of Gryffindor.
"Ah, Miss Weasely. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Said Professor McGonagall, a tinge of surprise in her voice. The office was much the same as in Dumbledore or Snape's time, the difference being it was short of the many whistling and tinkling devices that Dumbledore had owned and the many books that had declared what the Wizarding World now knew to be a façade of an interest in the Dark Arts in Snape's time. Now there were books on Transfiguration, history and photo's personal to their owner.
"Hello Professor McGonagall. I want to talk the portrait of Professor Dumbledore." She said, looking at the portrait in question, whose occupants eyes twinkled as merrily as they had in life.
"Oh. This is about the night Harry Potter disappeared isn't it?" McGonagall said tiredly. "You are very welcome to try, but he has been extremely cryptic with his answers. I've tried asking, the Minister has tried asking, all the teachers have tried asking, even Mr Malfoy came and asked, the same day he unveiled the plaque in the Great Hall. If he doesn't answer cryptically, he disappears to one of his other portraits. I'm positive there's at least one we don't know about, as the Minister tried to corner him once, putting people on every known painting. That didn't work. He got all of them in here. That still didn't work. And again, he isn't telling anyone about it."
Ginny nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "I would just like to try Professor. Do you mind if I do this alone? I think he might talk more if I'm alone. And I cannot guarantee whether what I am going to say will be entirely wholesome if he is unhelpful." Professor McGonagal paused, then nodded.
"I was just going to lunch anyway. And I must say I would not blame you if you used foul language. Albus always had a knack for frustrating people." She got up and walked out.
Ginny sat down and looked at Dumbledore for a moment. He looked back, eyes twinkling, and revealing nothing, until after a few long moments he said, "I hope you are going to say something, otherwise this will be a very boring conversation indeed."
"I want you to tell me everything that you know about Harry's disappearance. Where he went and why he went. Even when he went if he used a time turner or something. I don't want whatever you told the Ministry, I want the truth about the man I love and what happened to him." Ginny said quietly and firmly.
"The truth. It is a beautiful and dangerous thing and must be kept with care, Miss Weasley. Even hidden by misdirection and lies if necessary, something you were no doubt going to challenge me on. I shall go and confer with two other acquaintances. Minerva was quite right when she said that I had at least one other portrait, though in fact I have two. I shall only be about 20 minutes. Please make yourself comfortable." Dumbledore replied slowly, then disappeared.
She sat down and watched the clock, fidgeting slightly. Sure enough, 20 minutes later he returned, smiling. "My acquaintances and I have agreed the time is right to tell you and select others the truth. Mr Ronald Weasley and his wife Mrs Hermione Granger, so lovely that she kept her name after marriage, will be here shortly, as I asked the Minister from my portrait in his office to send them over, and I shall tell Minerva when they arrive - which if I know Minerva well enough and estimate the time it takes to get from the Ministry to Hogwarts correctly – will be at roughly the same time.
And indeed, Minerva McGonagall arrived, and noted the fact that Ginny was not in fact swearing loudly at Dumbledore, but regarding the portrait thoughtfully.
"Has he said anything Miss Weasley?" she asked quietly.
"He said he's about to tell us the truth because according to some acquaintances near the two portraits you don't know about, the time is right. He's just asked Ron and Hermione to join us. He wants them to hear as well apparently." Ginny said calmly.
Professor McGonagall looked at her sharply, but could not discern a joke at anyone's expense, just honesty and a deeply hidden pain that touched the Professor. She too knew what it was like to love someone and lose them, in this case to a bomb during World War II.
"You had better not be joking Albus." She said, turning and glaring at the portrait.
"Of course not Minerva, even if the truth will be a little difficult to believe." Dumbledore replied serenely.
She frowned suspiciously at the portrait, then heard the sound of feet coming up the stairs. Mr Weasley and Mrs Granger, she thought. And indeed it was them, both looking rather puzzled.
"You wanted to see us Professor McGonagall?" Ron asked.
"No, Professor Dumbledore did. Your sister seems to have managed, God alone knows how, to get him to reveal how Harry Potter disappeared, where he went and why he went."
Ron started as he realised that his sister was in the room with them, and she gave him a small smile and a little wave.
"I wanted to know." She said, shrugging apologetically. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat meaningfully.
"Approximately 2 months after Lord Voldemort's death, Harry came to me, wanting to talk about his troubles. When I suggested he talk to his friends, he pointed out there were some things he wasn't ready to talk about yet, and since I was technically a painting, he was therefore pretty much talking to a wall." Ron and Hermione shared a grin. That sounded very like Harry. "There are two things you need to accept to understand this. Mrs Granger, are you familiar with the concept of the Multiverse?"
Hermione looked very surprised, then nodded hesitantly, and said, "I am Professor, and I would prefer it if you called me Hermione."
"Very well Hermione. Would you like to explain the concept of the multiverse to your husband and sister in law who both appear to be a little confused? The short version I think." Dumbledore replied courteously.
"Okay. Each choice we make has consequences, yes?" Hermione said. Ron and Ginny nodded. "When anyone makes a choice, there is another they could have made, creating an alternate timeline. Every possibility has its own universe, some barely different, some massively so. Before now it was only a likely but intriguing theory, but if I get Professor Dumbledore's meaning correctly, it does exist and Harry has gone to another universe, which is supposed to be impossible."
"Correct Hermione, very well summarised and deduced. Professor Lupin was right when he called you the cleverest witch of your generation." Dumbledore said with a smile, causing Hermione to blush.
"This particular world is known as Middle Earth, or Arda Marred after the damage wrought by their first Dark Lord. I originally sent Harry for a few months, to meet people who knew nothing about him and so wouldn't judge him, to get away from the his own legend for a while. Magic is uncommon, with only 3 known wizards none of whom are strictly human, and a few other sorcerers of various types and others with innate powers of a different form entirely, such as the Elves. It is also rather mediaeval world, with swords and arrows being the chief weapons. But that is another matter. Just before he was due to return, the local powers interceded, beings known as the Valar. The most accurate analogy would be Archangels, and they spoke to me and told me that since most powerful wizard had turned to evil in support of a fearsomely dangerous Dark Lord, and the weakest sought only to protect the flora and fauna of the world, they needed a counterbalance. Harry. I protested, and said that surely he had been through enough."
Dumbledore here looked sad and regretful, then his face darkened. "After I protested, they showed me the future of the world without Harry… and it was more terrible than anything Voldemort could have devised. Far more terrible. Entire races enslaved, tortured, murdered, because Harry was not there to protect the one who would destroy the heart of the Dark Lord Sauron's power, a golden ring, much like an infinitely more dangerous version of Voldemort's horcruxes, which were as you know well, dangerous enough."
Here he fixed Hermione and Ron with a penetrating stare. "In all conscience I could not allow that to happen. However I made a deal. In return for Harry saving their world, I would be allowed to send him assistance and confer with the great Elven Lords, Elves being much like humans, but with the dubious gift of immortality -save for grief and death in battle- eternal youth, and with far greater strength, resilience and agility than any man and have an unusual magic of their own. They were by no means more intelligent, or less prone to mistakes than humanity, but with age comes wisdom. The elves mostly keep themselves to themselves, as their time in that world is ending, but are still a force to be reckoned with. The Valar created portraits that I could travel to and counsel the greatest Lords and Ladies of their kind, the Lord Elrond, who is himself part human, and the Lady Galadriel."
"So that's where you went when the Minister tried to corral you." McGonagall said dryly.
"Exactly so Minerva," Dumbledore said, his smile returned. "And the assistance is you 3." He said, his eyes sweeping over Hermione, Ron and Ginny, "because you three will work with Harry, rather than return him with his task undone, as the Ministry might, and you will also provide him with a degree of moral support and understanding that a team of anonymous aurors would not.
Ron looked at his sister and his wife and saw nothing but agreement in their eyes. "When do we leave?" He asked.
"Oh, and before we talk tactics and logistics Miss Weasley, according to my own reckoning and the observations of Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel, or more accurately the Lord Elrond's daughter Arwen and Lady Galadriel, Harry only has eyes for you." Dumbledore said kindly.
Ginny gasped. She had hoped it were true, but even if he had been alive she had worried he would have moved on. She felt her brother's reassuring grip on her shoulder. She nodded and said, "Thank you Professor. Thank you very much."
And so preparations were made, and the side of Good played their first pieces. As Gandalf had said, the board was set, and the pieces were moving.
Fulsome congratulations to Sharnorasian Empire, who guessed partially my plans. Now, click the little button down there…