Disclaimer: I own nothing (except for my copies of the books), and I'm certainly not making any money off of this. (^_^)
"This doesn't make any sense, Albus," The voice of Madam Pomfrey floated through the darkness of Ginny's mind.
"My dear Poppy, sometimes the greatest things in life don't make the slightest bit of sense," Dumbledore replied.
I must be in the hospital wing, thought Ginny. I wonder what happened to make Dumble-wait! Ginny's eyes suddenly popped open, and she sat straight up in the hospital bed. For a long moment she stared at the two people standing at the end of her bed.
"Professor Dumbledore?" she asked.
"Yes, my girl?" Dumbledore smiled, turning to the unknown girl.
"You're alive!" Ginny exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and hugging him.
Dumbledore laughed and hugged her back. "I would surely hope I am. Since you seem to know me, might I ask who you are?"
Ginny took a step back from him saying, "Who I am?"
"Why, yes. You've seemed to have appeared out of thin air, and everyone has been most curious about you since you were found this morning by our Head Boy."
"Sir, would you mind if I asked the date?" Ginny asked, looking around at the familiar room.
"Of course, my dear, it is September 10th, 1976," he replied, eyes twinkling.
Ginny's features turned to shock. I've traveled twenty years into the past! How is this even possible?, she thought before fainting.
Dumbledore caught her with a spell before she hit the ground and laid her on the bed. He stared sadly at the red head.
"What kind of a shock would make the girl faint?" Pomfrey questioned, running a diagnostic spell over the girl.
"A shock of finding yourself in the past would certainly do that to one," the Headmaster replied calmly.
"Are you sure, Albus?"
"The curious thing is that she's wearing school robes, but isn't affiliated with any house," he said, staring at her uniform that lacked any hint of house colors.
"When she wakes up, I'll send her to your office," Pomfrey told him.
"Yes, I must tend to certain things. Good day Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said before sweeping out of the wing.
Madam Pomfrey took one last look at her patient, sighing. "You poor thing. I hope there's a reason for you to be here, because I can already tell you've been through so much."
The common room was buzzing with noise when Hermione and Neville returned from their search.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked Lavender as she sat in one of the armchairs.
"Right after you two ran out of the Great Hall, the Carrows came in," Lavender said. "The hag said that Ginny attacked them, and then disappeared on the spot!"
"That's impossible!" Hermione exclaimed.
Lavender and Seamus grinned at each other. Hermione saw the exchange between the two.
"What?" she asked.
"That's the same thing Snape said before he left the Great Hall. He said he was going to check into it, but the Carrows never said where she was when she disappeared," Seamus said.
"He might know something? Like it might be…him?" Hermione asked, her stomach turning to lead.
"We don't know! All we know is that he left to 'look into it' when he didn't even know where the 'it' was," Parvati piped up.
"That doesn't make sense," Neville said. "Maybe she's hiding out and she'll show back up tomorrow."
Hermione's face was skeptical, but agreed and headed to her room. She lay on her bed and stared at the curtains. Already knowing that sleep would not come for her that night, she pulled out Hogwarts: A History and began to read. It was late into the night, and she was half-dazed still reading when something on the page caught her attention. A little footnote that she was sure hadn't been there before. She shot straight up in bed, grabbed a piece of parchment and jotted the information. A visit to the library tomorrow morning would certainly be in order.
Ginny's hand rose to knock on the door to the Headmaster's office when it opened on its own accord. Hesitantly, she walked in and looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed from the last time she had been in there during her fourth year. Fawkes was on his perch behind the desk and started to sing a low tune when he saw her. She took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs, fidgeting a little. The phoenix glided over and made himself comfortable on her lap.
"He seems to be quite taken with you," Dumbledore said upon entering through a door to her left.
"He always did seem to like me," Ginny replied, stroking the bird's feathers.
"Now, Miss…" Dumbledore trailed off.
"Weasley, sir. Ginny Weasley," she said.
"Weasley? Are you any relation to Arthur Weasley?"
"Yes, sir. I'm his daughter…at least, I will be," she smiled nervously.
Albus leaned back in his chair and looked at her over the top of his glasses. "How did you come to be here, Miss Weasley?"
"I'm not sure, sir. I was heading to the Gryffindor common room from the library when I was attacked. I tried to defend myself, and then ran. I was hit by a spell, and then I woke up here," she told him.
"Was it another student who attacked you?"
"No, sir. It was two of the new professors. I'm coming from a war torn country that just lost the greatest wizard it's ever known," she replied sadly.
Albus sat up and grabbed a piece of parchment and quill before addressing her. "Since you have been brought to us for unknown reasons perhaps you were sent here to change the future. After all, this has already happened in your time. Time-travel is a very confusing thing, and is not to be entered into lightly. Although, you seem to be a victim in all this," he smiled reassuringly.
"How am I supposed to change the future when I don't have a clue about what to do? I've only just turned sixteen and now I have the power to change the future," Ginny grumbled.
Dumbledore laughed, "The best thing is to be true to yourself. For now, we will need to make a new history and get you sorted since you don't seem to be affiliated with any house."
Ginny looked down at her clothes, and noticed that her tie and Gryffindor emblem were gone from her outfit. That's strange, she thought. Dumbledore levitated the sorting hat off the top of the bookcase, and on to Ginny's head. She felt like a first year all over again.
"What do we have here? A girl from the future, eh?" the hat's voice questioned within her mind. "I sorted you into Gryffindor before, but time has certainly changed you. The castle brought you here, Miss Weasley. It has great plans for you."
How is that possible? she thought.
"The castle is much more than just a building, and it has sent you here to change your future. Your loyalty and bravery have helped you out before, but here your new found traits will get you through. My decision today will prepare you for whenever you are sent to your future. Good luck, though I know you'll succeed here."
"Slytherin!" the hat shouted.
She was shocked at the hat's decision, but Dumbledore simply levitated the hat back to its place and gave Fawkes a slip of paper whom quickly disappeared and reappeared.
"I'm sure you will do fine in Slytherin. It shows how time changes ones self. I've just sent for the Head Boy to escort you to the dungeons. Please tell me a little of what has gone on in your life," Dumbledore smiled.
"Well, my parents were killed when I was ten. I went to live with Aunt Rose in America. I became sick just after starting my first year at Salem Institute, and we'd heard that Professor Slughorn might have found a cure to the disease. That's why I've moved back. I'm sure you got all of my transcripts, sir?" she replied.
"Of course. Do not be afraid of your dreams. It's a slight side effect of Professor Slughorn's potion Madam Pomfrey gave you while unconscious. They shall go away after some time. Ah! There is our Head Boy," he said, opening the door with his wand before anyone had even knocked.
In the doorway stood a tall, muscular young man with long platinum blond hair. He walked gracefully into the room and up to the desk. The red head could not keep her eyes off of him. He cast a sideways glance at her before focusing his attention on the headmaster.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" he said in a deep voice.
"Mr. Malfoy, I would like to escort your newest housemate to the Slytherin dorms," he said, his eyes twinkling.
"Of course, sir," he said, turning and heading to the door.
"Don't worry, my dear. You'll find everything you need in your rooms. Good evening," Albus said as the young woman got up to follow Lucius.
"Thank you, Headmaster," she smiled.
As the pair left his office and entered the corridor, Lucius turned to her. "It's nice to see you're awake finally," he smiled. "I'm Lucius Malfoy, Head Boy and seeker for the quidditch team."
"It's nice to meet you, Lucius, but what do you mean when you say it's nice that I'm awake finally?" she questioned.
"I was the one who found you in the dungeons two days ago," he smiled.
"You were? Thank you! You saved my life when you found me," she beamed. "I'm Rhiannon Tudor."
"Well, Rhiannon, I hope you're around long enough just in case I might need saving," Lucius purred.
With that the two headed to the dungeons with Lucius filling her in on what to expect from their housemates. Albus Dumbledore watched the exchange with interest from his office.
"Do not worry, Albus," the sorting hat said. "The castle knows what she's doing."
"I do hope you're right, but you know how opposed I am to meddling with someone's mind," Albus said before retiring to his rooms for the night.
A/N: Expect the next chapter sometime next week. RL is about to get even more stressful than normal. Thanks go out to my two reviewers: cosmogurl and xfictionfanx! You guys really made my day!
Counting Bodies should be getting another chapter around the 19th. Thanks to all who've been patiently waiting. It killed me to leave my computer when I moved, but no worries it'll be here soon! ^_^
Please review, cuz that makes my day so much better!
