Ginevra Weasley and the Disorder of the Phoenix [Time-Travel]

[Pokota]

(Yes, I'm perfectly aware that this is already on Fanfiction.net; does it count as stealing if it's already my own work?)

INDEX:

Spoiler: show

Summary
Episode 1
Episode 1.X - Ginny Says
Episode 2
Episode 2.X - Harry Says
Episode 3.1
Episode 3.2
Episode 3.3
Episode 3.4
Episode 3.X - Ron Says
Episode 4.1
Episode 4.2

This will be updated with links as the episodes and sub-episodes get posted

NOTE:

Spoiler: show

While I'm writing this story, I've got it sectioned off in my head. The larger divisions are 'Episodes', and the smaller chunks are sub-episodes. Each episode will end with a 'So-And-So Says' segment, which is generally lighthearted and not confined to the rules or even timeline of the story (example: in 1.X, Rita Skeeter's already written her Inside Azkaban article, which was made significantly less distasteful by the absence of dementors.)

SUMMARY: Ginny Weasley, fiancee of Harry Potter, finds herself waking up one morning in a place she'd never thought she'd see again, to a voice she thought she'd never hear again. Who else has been sent back? Will she be able to shape the future into a better one? And just who is the mysterious Killconey?

[Pokota]

Episode 1: The Returning
(Quotes denote separate sub-episodes)

Ginny woke up with a start. It was pitch black. She wasn't entirely sure where she was. The last thing she remembered was giving Harry a very passionate (and very firewhiskey-fueled) kiss an hour after he asked for her hand in marriage.

She reached for her wand. "Lumos," she muttered. Her wand gave a fairly loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken.

There was a knock at the door. "Ginny?" said a familiar, once-dead voice. "Ginny, it's a very good thing that Fred and George left a fake wand in your room, by the sound of it. You know you're not supposed to do underage magic. The ministry would have all our heads, and we don't want to give them an excuse to come barging in to Grimmauld Place."

Grimmauld Place. Sirius' old house. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. The place Harry, Ron, and Hermoine had been hiding during the first few months of her sixth year. But, there was something odd... the voice, the familiar voice, the voice she hadn't heard since the Battle of the Department of Mysteries...

"Sirius?" she asked softly.

The voice gave a barking laugh, but a quiet one. "Who did you think I was, Barty Crouch? Since you're up early, how about you help me clean this place up? Kreacher's been out of the way, at least, so there is that."

Ginny sighed, and pinched herself. Pain. Not a dream. Somehow, she'd been sent to the past. For a brief moment, she wondered if Harry had been sent back as well. "I- I'll help, Sirius."

She wasn't very hopeful about it, but she knew he wouldn't be interested in her just yet. Not unless she was going to get a miracle.
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Harry wasn't at Grimmauld Place yet. Ginny remembered that it had been about a week after he'd been attacked by dementors that he finally arrived at Grimmauld Place. She racked her brain, trying to remember the order of events that happened that summer. Dumbledore removed from the Wizengamot, which had happened later that day. Harry having to use underage magic in front of his muggle cousin, which had been the same week as Dumbledore's removal...

She remembered something about Mundungus Fletcher. Coming out of her thoughts, she asked Sirius "Can we get an Auror to keep watch on Harry? I've got a feeling that he may be in danger."

Sirius looked at her, and Ginny could have sworn that he was giving her a knowing look. "I'll ask Dumbledore if he can have Mad-Eye in Privet Drive instead of Dung. We can't send Kingsley, he's supposed to be looking for me."

Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Sirius." With that, they went to disinfecting the house.
------------------
Kingsley Shacklebolt came bursting through the door of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. "Dementors!" he roared. "Dementors in Little Whinging!"

Ginny closed the portrait of Sirius' Mum on her way down the stairs, who promptly stopped screaming. She had to act surprised, she had to act surprised "Dementors!" she asked incredulously.

Kingsley nodded. "It's a good thing Alastor was there; Harry and his cousin had been caught by them, the muggle boy was nearly kissed. The Ministry sent Harry an underage wizardry notice, but Alastor sent them a message by return owl saying it had been with his permission and supervision."

Ginny's heart was pounding. "So, what will happen to Harry?"

"Dumbledore wants Harry moved to Headquarters as soon as possible. They should be arriving any moment now."

Their eyes met across the room. Green gazed into brown. Ginny thought, for only the smallest of moments, that he was searching her eyes for something.

Alastor Moody quietly took his leave before the occupants of 12 Grimmauld Place could ask questions of him. So, instead, the Weasleys, Remus, Sirius, and even Snape directed their attention towards the black-haired boy in the room.

"Harry! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Thanks Hermoine."

"Good thing you're here, mate. Sirius was driving me bonkers!"

"I'm just happy to be rid of Vernon for the rest of the summer."

"I missed you so much, Harry."

"Ginny..."

"MUDBLOODS! TRAITORS! FILTH!"

"SHUT UP YOU OLD BAT! Welcome to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry."

Sirius' voice had an effect on Harry. He looked like he'd just met someone long since dead. 'Of course,' Ginny thought, 'for us he WAS long since dead. I'll bet Harry's shocked to hear Sirius again. I know I was. At least now I know he's my Harry, and not some Chang-loving Potter.'

"Sirius..." Harry choked. He quickly regained his composure. "Sirius, this is your place?"

Ginny nearly facepalmed. Yep, that's her Harry all right.

Sirius looked upset at Harry knowing this. "Did Mad-Eye tell you that? We were saving that for after you got here."

"No, actually, it was the Black Family Crest hanging over the fireplace that tipped me off."

"Oh."

Harry started to move closer to Ginny, but he stopped before taking one step. 'Of course.' She realized. 'He doesn't know I've come back as well. He sees me as the Shy-Around-Him girl that dated... damn, how many boys did I date and forget? And I can't ask him our question without everyone getting suspicious... aha!'

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny started, loud enough for Harry to hear. "I've just remembered some homework for Binns that I have, on the four Founders."

Harry looked over at Ginny, with a strange look on his face. He quickly hid it by saying "The four founders? I've done a bit of research on them. What do you need?"

"Oh, you have, Harry?" Ginny asked, with just a little too much enthusiasm in her voice. "It's just that, since Gryffindor's sword was Goblin-Made, he only left behind a hat. But there's no record of the other founder's relics. Do you know what they are?"

"A Self-Filling Goblet for Hufflepuff, a Wrackspurt-repelling Diadem for Ravenclaw, and an Unopenable Locket for Slytherin."

Hermione looked confused. "Harry, how do you know that? It's not in Hogwarts: A History..."

Ginny smiled. Sign and Countersign - This was her Harry, and now to tell him that she was his Ginny. "So, a hat that talks, a goblet that fills itself, a diadem that helps you focus, and a locket. Thanks, Pronglet."

"Anytime, Bright-eyes."

Sirius smiled mischeviously at the nicknames. "'Pronglet'? 'Bright-eyes'?" He asked Harry, a knowing twinkle in his eye. Ron and Hermione had never called him that, at least not as far as he knew. Ginny really did facepalm. 'Why don't we just tell them all now, Peverell?' she thought. She wasn't too annoyed with him, since she and he had just told each other that they were each other's.

Harry beamed. "Sure, why not? After all, Prongs was my father. Therefore, I'm Pronglet."

Before Ron and Hermione could question it, Ginny tapped them on their shoulders. "I'll explain tomorrow, just go with it." She whispered softly. Louder, she explained to Sirius "And my eyes can shine even in, say, instant darkness powder. Hey, Fred and George, there's an idea. Instant Darkness Powder. Could you do it?"

Gred and Forge were whispering to themselves at it already. They turned to Ginny. "Well, it can be done." "However, we'd have to import some from Peru in order to find out how it works." "After all, there's not much here in London for us to work with."

Molly looked at her sons threateningly. "You're not importing anything, young men!"

"Yes Mum." "Whatever you say, Mother Dear." "We'll just move to Peru after the war and study it there, instead." "It'd be for the Order's use, not for any joke shop we may or may not be planning to start after we leave school, of course." "If we could study it here, that is." "Honestly, with how you take our disinterest in the Ministry, one could really think you were on Fudge's side."

Ginny vaguely remembered not being allowed to listen to the conversation about the Order last time. Something about being too young. She couldn't remember what it was that Sirius had said to get that particular discussion going, but it had something to do with Harry asking something.

"Nearly time for bed, I think," yawned Molly.

"Not just yet, Molly," said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and turning to look at Harry. "You know, I'm surprised at you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The room got very cold and very quiet. Ginny decided to play innocent. She remembered Harry saying that he had asked Ron and Hermione last time, but this time he'd been too busy trying to befriend Kreacher the House Elf to ask. Harry set down his sandwich and said, slowly "How much would you tell me anyway? Even though I've faced Voldemort three different times since starting at Hogwarts, I'm evidently 'too young' to be in the Order of the Phoenix. Tell you what. I'll ask questions. Tell me everything that you'd be comfortable telling, say, Ginny."

"I - I think I'll go to bed." Said Ginny. She'd started blushing again at Harry's request. That definately didn't happen last time. She made to move, but Harry motioned for her to stay.

Molly glared at Harry, missing the motion. "And just why should we do that? You deserve to hear a lot more than Ginny does, beca-"

"Because why? I guarantee you that she'd find out everything and more anyway, if not from me than from Hermione."

"Hang on!" "How come Harry gets his questions answered?" "We've been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" "'You're too young, you're not in the Order,' Harry's not even Of Age!" Bellowed the twins angrily.

The argument between Sirius and Molly started again in earnest. Snape was looking from Harry to Ginny, with what Ginny swore was a look of understanding in his face. Harry facepalmed, and went over to him, motioning for Ginny to come as well. Pulling Snape into a side room, Harry lit his wand.

"Severus," began Harry. He stopped suddenly, and Ginny wondered if he didn't know what to say to his professor.

Snape, however, was kind enough to tell him just what to say. "Potter, you are to call me 'Professor Snape', or else 'sir'. Not Snape, not Severus, not Snivellus, not Sev. I am your teacher, not your friend."

"Very well then, sir," said Harry simply "but, as I'm sure you have already guessed, I am not the same Harry that watched you show the Dark Mark to Fudge back in June."

Snape made eye contact with Harry for a minute or two. In the background, Ginny could hear her mother emphasising the words "needs to know". Didn't anyone know or care that Harry and her weren't in the room any more?

Snape broke eye contact with Harry, and then turned to Ginny. "Do I have your permission, Future Mrs Potter?"

Dumbfounded, Ginny said without realizing it "Yes, sir."

Snape made eye contact with her, and she began to remember the major points of her life. Harry telling her that he came back too. Waking up to the voice of a dead man. Harry proposing to her. The rebuilding of Hogwarts. Draco apologizing for his and his family's actions. The mass funeral for those that fell in the Second Battle of Hogwarts. The funerals of Fred, Snape, and even Tom Riddle. Voldemort's last killing curse rebounding on him. Molly killing Bellatrix. Hagrid carrying Harry. The Carrows torturing her before Easter Holiday. Snape as Headmaster. The evacuation of the Burrow. The Funeral of Albus Dumbledore. The First Battle of Hogwarts. Her anger at Harry for cutting Draco open. The death of Sirius Black. The battle in the Department of Mysteries. Harry emerging from the Maze. Waking up in the Chamber of Secrets, seeing Harry standing over her. Harry at Platform Nine and Three Quarters for the first time... Harry... Harry...

The effect broke. Snape looked away, embarrased. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I did not mean to see into your heart." He turned back to Harry. "Potter, she loves you very deeply. If you ever cause her pain, I guarantee you that you won't even live to know the wrath of her family. Now, I'm assuming that the two of you will want Occlumency lessons?"

"We'll leave my instructions from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" came Sirius' voice through the door.

"Professor," said Harry "we should probably rejoin the rest of the Order."

Ginny nodded. She'd never had Legilimency used on her before. She had thought that she was only reminiscing at high speed until after Snape had apologized.

Unnoticed, Harry, Ginny, and Snape returned to the conversation.

"Not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture - from us, rather than a garbled version from... others." Lupin said, giving the impression that he knew some Extendible Ears still were in use. Which, as true as that was, was not something that Ginny found particularly comforting given her memories of the next four years. The next minute or so proceeded roughly as Ginny remembered it - Molly trying to prevent Harry from learning anything by appealing to a higher authority (in this case, the orders from Dumbledore), another argument between Sirius and Molly, and Lupin's defusing of the situation.

"I think Harry ought to be allowed a say in this," he said calmly. "He's old enough to decide for himself."

Harry looked at Molly and Arthur, and said firmly "I stand by what I said before. I want to know what's going on. If it's not something you'd be comfortable telling your daughter, then don't bother telling me."

Apparently, Molly Weasley didn't quite understand the hint, as she then proceeded to order Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George out of the kitchen - to no success. As before, Arthur intervened on behalf of the twins, and Harry pointed out that Ron and Hermione would hear everything from him anyway. This only left Ginny, who was ordered out of the room again. She stormed out, yet somehow careful not to wake the portrait of Sirius' Mother.

Harry stood up and followed her out, slamming the door behind him and leaving behind a bewildered Mrs. Weasley in his wake. Molly called to the door. "Harry, I thought you had questions for us."

Ginny smiled as she turned around. With a tease in her voice, she whispered to Harry. "All part of your grand scheme to include me more this time around, Peverell?"

Harry winced; she had used the name that she saved for when she was annoyed with him. "Sorry, Ginny, I didn't mean to annoy you. Would you prefer that I didn't mean what I said?"

Ginny thought about this for a moment. "I think we should make mum and dad keep to what they agreed to. If they can't tell me, then they can't tell you."

Harry nodded, and they both re-entered the room...

"Okay, Harry, now - Ginevra! Bed!"

...only for them both to leave it again. It went on like this for five minutes (with more and more people joining Snape, who had set up a Muffliato so that they could laugh freely) before Molly realized that Harry meant what he said about keeping it to what she'd be comfortable telling Ginny...

Which was blown completely out of the water when Harry asked his first question. "How long has Riddle been trying to break into the Department of Mysteries?"

Ginny facepalmed. From the look on his face, Snape was having to make an effort to not do likewise. All the other order members just stared at Harry. Sirius recovered quickly, asking softly "How do you know about the prophecy?"

"I never said anything about a specific prophecy, just that Riddle was trying to get into the Department of Mysteries."

"And how did you know about that?" asked Molly sharply.

"You remember that article that Rita Skeeter wrote about me last year?"

"Which one?" asked one of the Twins.

"The last one she wrote before Herm... before her Hiatus, where she was writing about my 'funny turns'." Harry took a large gulp of Butterbeer, then continued. "They happen when Riddle is feeling strong emotions. I think Snape can explain why it happens better; it has something to do with the connection that Riddle and I share." Harry said slowly. "When he is particularly... emotional, I see and hear what he can see and hear. Last time it happened, he was upset with... someone... as to how he didn't yet have any useful spies in the Department of Mysteries." He looked over to Snape, who looked back with what Ginny thought was a look of understanding.

"What Potter says is not wholly inaccurate." He began, slowly. "The Dark Lord has been frustrated at his inability to retrieve The Prophecy. It is possible that the connection between Potter and The Dark Lord can simulate Legilimency, which means that Potter would be able to see into the Dark Lord's mind when he is... beside himself. If this is the case, I will suggest to Dumbledore that we have Potter learn Occlumency as quickly as possible. However, if the Dark Lord is in dire need of new spies in the Department of Mysteries, then that is news to me." With a sigh, he continued. "He despises Rookwood, calls him useless, and the other Death Eaters occasionally pretend that he is not one of us, but Rookwood's placement makes him almost as valuable to the Dark Lord as I am." Snape, after a moment's thought, continued. "Well, his placement, as well as his command of the Imperius Curse. Bellatrix, Yaxley, and formerly Crouch, were the only Death Eaters to create a stronger leash, as it were, on their victims."

Arthur frowned. "We knew about the Imperius strength of Bellatrix and Yaxley. Rookwood's is surprising, though." He took a swig of Butterbeer. "Crouch's was as good as Moody's, from what I heard. Where does Rookwood stand in that respect?"

Snape pondered for a moment, then gave his answer deliberately slowly. Ginny looked at Harry, and mouthed 'They forgot about us.' Harry nodded in silent agreement.

"Potter was able to resist Crouch at first contact, and when given plenty of time to prepare to resist. There were maybe only three other students at Hogwarts that could have done that. Rookwood would be resisted by about a third of the fifth years, half of the N.E.W.T.-level students at Hogwarts... IF he announced it a minute before casting."

"And if he didn't?" asked Harry apprehensively.

Snape looked deadly serious. "When you are caught by a surprise Imperius, Potter, it is nearly impossible to resist, and that is under normal circumstances. Rookwood has refined his Imperius in such a way that there is no sensation of bliss. His is particularly powerful against those who have a Trained Resistance to Imperius – not unlike what Crouch did to you in repeatedly exposing you to the floating sensation – because people trained to resist Imperius will expect a floating feeling and a general loss of awareness."

Hermione suddenly had a fearful look in her eyes. So did Arthur and Molly. Sirius gulped. Ginny's mind was racing. 'An undetectable Imperius... I remember what Crouch did to us. That floating feeling... I could never have said no to that voice that promised more bliss... but that bliss became a warning...' "So," she began "Rookwood's Imperius power comes from people thinking it's their own idea."

Snape nodded. "Rookwood was only ever caught as being a Death Eater because he'd tried to command Karkaroff instead of convincing him. That's how the rest of us came to know about Rookwood's trick. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the willing followers had originally been Imperiused by Rookwood, Lucius Malfoy included."

Ginny and Harry nodded. They both thought about the Malfoy family after the war had ended in their home time. While Draco and Harry could never be called friendly, and Narcissa certainly still wanted to cling to Blood Superiority, Lucius had genuinely stopped chasing the Dark Arts.

The room was quiet for a few minutes, the silence broken only by breathing and the occasional gulp of Butterbeer. Harry smiled. "So, now we all know what Riddle's after. Now back to my original question. Why does he want the prophecy?"

Hermione looked at Harry, frowning a little. Before she could speak, however, the door opened again. Everyone looked up at the newcomer, who looked back at them. His royal purple robes covered the ground immediately around his feet, his snow-white hair (echoed in his beard) came down to his belt, and his nose looked as though it had been broken long ago and never fixed properly. Ginny wondered if Albus Dumbledore kept his nose like that out of penance for what had happened between himself and his family.

The old wizard entered the room, and an awkward silence fell upon the members of the order. Dumbledore hadn't wanted any of the students, least of all Harry, to know about the prophecy. Ginny smiled inwardly; Dumbledore could never have planned on time-travelers.

It seemed that Harry was unfazed. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore. The others were just bringing me up to speed about what Ri- what Voldemort is up to." Ginny wondered briefly as to why Harry was suddenly calling Riddle Voldemort after years of saying Riddle. "Also, I think Professor Snape has some important news for you."

Severus (who was taken by surprise at this), nodded in agreement and took Dumbledore aside. Once everyone was relatively sure that Dumbledore was out of earshot, Arthur Weasley answered Harry's question.

"Dumbledore figures that Voldemort attacked you because he only heard part of the prophecy. How Voldemort heard the prophecy to begin with, he won't say. As things stand now, the Death Eaters are so focused on getting the full contents of the prophecy that they are neglecting their other projects."

Harry looked as though he was deep in thought. "That fits with the lack of mysterious events. But that still doesn't answer why he wants it. Does he think it'll give him the means to kill me for good or something?"

Ginny really did smile at this point. That was exactly what the case had been last time. Remus picked up where Arthur left off. "Dumbledore says that Voldemort thinks that is the case."

"Wait… Dumbledore said that You-Know-Who only thinks that this is the case? As in, it really doesn't?" said Ron

Before anyone could answer, Dumbledore and Snape came out of wherever they were and stopped the conversation. "Mister Weasley, that is just a likely possibility. In any event, the longer that Voldemort is focused on getting the prophecy, the longer we have to prepare for when he moves into the open."

Harry snorted. "Well, in any case, that's really all I wanted to know for tonight. Even if I never got a satisfactory explanation for why this is going on, I know what is going on. I do have another question, though."

Dumbledore looked apprehensive, but against his better judgment he said "Ask away, Harry."

"The prophecy had to have been made to somebody, yes?"

"Yes, it was." And that was all Dumbledore would say on the subject. Not that Harry had asked further questions. "Now, I would like to meet with Harry, Mister Weasley, Miss Granger, and Miss Weasley. I would like to discuss something with them, and I would rather it were not overheard."

The four students obediently followed Dumbledore into a side room. Nobody questioned Dumbledore when it came to Harry. Nobody ever did.
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Dumbledore conjured up five chairs and a table. As each of the five took their seats, Ginny noticed that Dumbledore was avoiding looking into anyone's eyes. Dumbledore sat with his back to the door, with Hermione immediately to his left and herself to his right. Ron was next to Hermione, and this left Harry with the seat next to Ginny. She smiled at Harry, but said nothing.

Dumbledore looked in Harry's direction. "Who else?"

Ron and Hermione looked confused at this. Even more so at Harry's answer. "Not Ron or Hermione. Just Ginny, as far as I know. How did you find out?"

"Severus told me. Did we win?"

"Riddle died from a reflected Avada Kedavra."

"No priori incantatem? What happened to your wand?"

"Hermione broke it when we were escaping from a trap, but Riddle had your wand anyway."

"Tom had my wand? Interesting. Who killed me?"

"Snape did, but Draco Malfoy disarmed you before that."

Ron and Hermione were looking more confused by the minute. "Er, sir, what exactly is going on?" asked Hermione timidly.

Dumbledore stopped and chuckled. "My apologies, Miss Granger. It would seem that Harry and Miss Weasley here are from the future." Ron looked at Dumbledore like he was even more insane, while Hermione just looked like she didn't believe what she was hearing. "I assumed that, given the nature of your friendship, all four of you had come back. It would seem that I was mistaken."

Harry nodded. "If I knew why me and Ginny had been sent back, I'd be working to fix it right now. Is it possible to send people back in time against their will?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment. "If it is possible to go back in time, then I am sure that it is possible to send others back in time without their foreknowledge or consent. I take it that you did not plan on being in this time?"

Ginny spoke, annoyed. "Considering I had just accepted Harry's marriage proposal before we had been sent back, I should think neither of us were planning on this." Ron's jaw dropped, and Hermione giggled. Ginny chose not to reveal that the two of them would become a couple in the future. Apparently, Harry did as well. Ginny continued. "Sir, do you think that we could end the war before it really gets going this time? Harry lost a lot the first time around because we didn't know enough soon enough."

Dumbledore considered for a moment, then sighed. "It should be possible, if you did indeed kill Tom for good in your time. Did you?"

Ginny looked at Harry. "Yes." He said simply. For once, Dumbledore did not immediately believe Harry. Instead, the two of them locked eyes. Ginny was sure that Dumbledore was viewing Harry's memories, looking for proof of the fact.

Dumbledore looked away sharply, after only a few seconds. "Oh dear… well, at least you did survive that time. And thank you for confirming what I had suspected ever since Miss Weasley's first year at Hogwarts."

"And, er, what did you suspect? Sir?" asked Hermione.

"That Tom Riddle anchored his soul to this world using multiple horcruxes, Miss Granger. One of which, unfortunately, either was or is Harry." Dumbledore sighed, and wiped his eyes. "In any event, I do have some unfortunate news to share with the rest of the Order, and it affects you four directly." He stood up, and the four followed him out.

Harry took Ginny's hand and whispered to her. "Ginny, you wouldn't happen to know why Mad-Eye Moody was in Little Whinging the other night, would you?"

Ginny blushed and whispered back. "I didn't want you to be fighting the dementors alone this time around. I know you can do it, but we do have the Ministry to worry about this year."

"There is that, only..." A kiss, and then they both were quiet as Dumbledore made an announcement.

"It would seem," began Albus "that the Ministry is not content to ignore Voldemort's return to power. With the arrest of Alastor Moody-"

The room exploded in anger and noise.

"Mad-Eye arrested!" "What happened?" "Fudge is off his rocker!"

Dumbledore held up his hand. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand harder. "The Ministry believes that Alastor brought dementors into a muggle community in an attempt to discredit them, with evidence that the dementors are no longer under the sole control of the ministry. Yes, that is not what happened, but he did not argue the charges. I don't think I'd have been able to get him out of trouble, especially after what happened last year. In any event, he is under house arrest, and the Ministry is using this as an excuse to appoint one of their own as a Hogwarts teacher."

Harry and Ginny groaned. "Not Dolores Umbridge!" they said together. Remus flinched at the name, and Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"Indeed, Professor Dolores Umbridge has been appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher by Minister Fudge."

[Pokota]

Episode 1.X - Ginny Says

Ginny: Hey everyone, this is Ginny Weasley.

Harry enters from the side of the stage: Ginny, what are you doing? The episode's over.

Ginny: Well, Pronglet, I was watching Muggle TV the other day, and I saw this interesting cartoon out of Japan. At the end-

Harry: It wasn't Sailor Moon, was it?

Ginny: May~be. Anyway, at the end there was this weird edutainment segment-

Harry: "Edutainment"?

Ginny: Funny and Enlightening.

Harry: Like what the Twins did to the Toad when they left Hogwarts in our timeline?

Ginny: More along the lines of when Hermione finally made Rita Skeeter's abilities public.

Rita Skeeter appears from the other side of the stage: That Granger woman was right, though. The Daily Prophet did pay loads of Galleons for an insider's scoop on life in Azkaban.

Hermione apparates in, looking thoroughly disgruntled, and drags Rita out by the ear: Yes, yes they did. Now, as your boss, I insist that you go back to editing Lockheart's books so that they're either entirely honest or entirely fictional.

Harry: Did the edutainment segments go like this?

Ginny: Nope, they were more focused on giving an actual lesson.

Harry grabs Ginny's hand and starts to lead her offstage: And what lesson did you have in mind?

Ginny: Er, well… hm. Now that I think about it, I didn't really have one planned.

Harry kisses Ginny firmly, then leads her offstage: Then today's lesson is not to disappear on your significant other to do something that you don't know how to finish. Harry Potter says~!

Fade to black.

Sirius: Not me! The color black!

Fade out.

[Pokota]

Episode 2: Of Elves and Toads
(Quotes denote separate sub-episodes)

The next morning, when Ginny came downstairs from sleeping, she found Harry cleaning out a chest of drawers with Sirius, Ron, and Hermione.

"Harry," she began "you do know that the Toad won't teach us anything practical this year, right?"

Harry reached into the chest of drawers and pulled out a muggle business suit that started giggling. "What, do you think I should start a defense against the dark arts support group or something?"

Ginny laughed at the joke; he had done exactly that last time around. "If it comes to that, you probably would anyway."

Ron and Hermione shared a look between them, guessing that Harry and Ginny were talking about something that had happened to them all in another life. Sirius laughed along with Ginny. He didn't understand the joke, but found that he agreed with Ginny's assessment of his godson. As they made headway against the tide of refuse, the twins came down and joined them.

Eventually, the conversation made its way around to Gringotts. Once again, Harry proved that it was impossible for him to be tactful at Grimmauld Place by launching into the discussion without caring who could hear him.

"So, Fred… no, wait. George?"

"Sorry, Harry." "You had it right the first time." "At least, we think you did."

Harry responded by throwing a pillow at the twins. "Gred and Forge then. Done anything with those thousand galleons yet?"

Everyone paused. The twins knew that Ron and Hermione (and as far as they knew, Ginny) had no idea where the money came from, Ron and Hermione had been trying to guess who the twins had agreed to slave for in order to get the startup loan, Sirius had never known where Harry's Triwizard Winnings had gone the first time around, and Ginny facepalmed at the inability of her fiancé to be tactful. Before Ron, Hermione, or Sirius could say anything, however, the twins answered the question.

"Well, Harry…" "We went to Gringotts and applied for a new vault, a business vault." "It cost us about a hundred galleons to get one, but now our funds and recipies are secured."

Harry nodded but said nothing. Ginny smiled; she remembered Harry telling her about his break-in into the Lestrange vault.

Ron waited for a moment, half-expecting someone else to say something, then started slowly. "Wait a moment. Harry, you were serious when you said you didn't want the money?"

Sirius grinned. Harry laughed. "No, I was Harry when I said I didn't want the Triwizard winnings. I thought I told you and Hermione what I did with the money."

Hermione shook her head. "It must have been after this, last time. I would have remembered it if you had. So what are we looking for, exactly?"

Sirius had an odd look on his face. "Wait, wait just a second. What do you mean, 'after this, last time'?"

Harry looked at Ginny, who nodded. "Sirius, do you know how to cast Muffliato? I'd rather this wasn't overheard by anyone else." Sirius shook his head no. "Drat. We'll need Professor Snape then, and I'm pretty sure he left after you all told me what was going on last night."

Ginny shook her head. "I'm pretty sure we'll get away with it once; if I'm right it won't matter anyway."

Hermione and Ron looked at Sirius. All three of them looked as though they suspected something but didn't know exactly what they suspected. Harry waved his wand. "Muffliato. It shouldn't; there are too many adult wizards here, and the trace shouldn't give away the exact caster. Besides, I'm not even listed as legally being here anyway."

Before he could stop himself, Sirius said "Technically, nobody is legally here. And even if somebody from the Ministry came to arrest you for that bit of underage magic, they'd probably be so proud of themselves at capturing me that they'd assume you were trying to apprehend me." He smiled faintly, and then remembered why Harry had wanted to cast it in the first place. "What did you mean, 'after this, last time'?"

Ginny swallowed hard. It was easier to explain this to the two legilimens in the order; they could look into memories and make sure they weren't being hoodwinked. "Me and Harry have already lived the next few years." She looked at Harry, who continued.

"For me, it all began four years ago. Four years ago, Pettigrew killed Cedric, and Riddle was restored to life. Three years ago, Riddle lured me into the Department of Mysteries, under the pretext of him torturing you. You were killed by Bellatrix Lestrange while trying to make sure that my friends and I got out safely. Two years ago, Dumbledore was killed by Severus Snape, under orders from Dumbledore, in order to make sure that Snape did not die. A year ago, Riddle killed Snape with his giant snake and me with an Avada Kedavra to the chest. I came back to life and defeated him. Six months ago, I was accepted into Auror Training under Kingsley Shacklebolt. Two months ago, Ron finally proposed to Hermione. Two days ago, I was proposing to Ginny at the Burrow. Yesterday, I woke up to find that it was 1995 again, and that my cousin would have to once again be saved from Dementors. This morning, I decided to get a head start on destroying Riddle once and for all. To do that, we need Kreacher's cooperation, which means we either need you to be nice and civil to him, or else we need the Locket."

Ron and Hermione were blushing furiously at this; neither Harry nor Ginny had said anything about them last night. Ginny noticed that they were both smiling. Fred and George were still looking at Harry as though he really had lost his mind. Sirius sat there silently. Ginny decided not to mention that Fred had also been killed. "If you don't believe what Harry and I have told you, ask Dumbledore and Snape. They both probed our minds last night when we told them."

Some more silence, and then Sirius spoke. His voice was unusually high, as though he was trying to stay calm. "Did you really start a Defense Against the Dark Arts support group?"

Ginny smiled. "Dumbledore's Army. We took the name in order to freak out the ministry in case they came to call."

Harry smiled as well. "Yeah, but in Fudge's own words, it was like losing a knut and finding a galleon when we finally did get caught. And the name was Ginny's idea. Anyhow, Sirius, how did your brother die?"

Sirius did not expect this question. "How did you know I have a brother?"

The twins smiled. "'Do Not Enter without the express permission of Regulus Arcturus Black' is posted on one of the upstairs doors." "Our first night here, we heard you mention something about being the last living Black."

Sirius shrugged, and said "My brother, Regulus, was as big on Pure Blood Supremacy as my parents were. When he was sixteen, he joined the Death Eaters. He got in close, but then something happened and he wanted out. Well, you can't walk up to Voldemort and hand him your resignation, can you? It's a lifetime of service, or death."

Harry nodded grimly. "And Regulus made the ultimate resignation," he mumbled, but only Ginny heard him clearly, "given what we're looking for."

The conversation got away from Regulus as the small army of cleaners waged war on the curtains. After a doxy bite or two, Molly came in and gave them Doxycide ("Use this, that way you won't be cursing up a storm every five minutes") and went into the kitchen to start cooking lunch. Ginny smirked at the twins' fortune – last time they had to smuggle out doxies under their mum's nose, and this time Molly was well out of the way.

Harry leaned into a large green armchair, and Ginny sat herself in his lap. Ron and Hermione, probably to keep from looking at Harry and Ginny, sat next to each other on a two-seat couch. Ginny noticed that they were blushing furiously. Sirius transformed into his dog form and lay on the carpet, resting a little. It had taken them most of the morning to take out all the doxies, but now there was no risk of being bitten at a weird time. Sirius sighed when he looked at the heavy glass cabinet; he knew that there would be some seriously dark artifacts in there, and wasn't looking forward to sorting through it.

There was a knock at the door, and Sirius got up and opened it before anyone could react. In came a tall, red-haired woman, with a hooked nose like Snape's. Her vibrant green eyes scanned the room, and a smile crept across her face when she saw Ginny in Harry's lap. Her eyes lingered on Harry's face for about as long as most did when first seeing The Boy Who Lived.

"Wotcher, Padfoot." Said Tonks (for it was indeed the Metamorphmagus, Nymphadora Tonks). "Ginny, Ron, Hermione." As the door closed behind her, she strode across the room and, just as Ginny and Harry remembered, tripped over the troll-leg umbrella stand. After Sirius had helped her stand back up, she asked "Who's the new kid?"

Ginny and Harry laughed; they knew that "I want people to think I have no idea who Harry Potter is so that I can make a fool of them later" tone. Before anyone could react, Harry said "I'm Draco Malfoy."

Tonks snorted, and before she could stop herself she retorted. "No you're not, you're Harry Potter. Draco's blond, and my cousin would never be allowed here unless his Aunt Bella were here anyway."

"You still consider the Ferret to be family?" asked Harry.

"Why do you call him that?" asked Tonks. "It's not like he looks like one or anything."

Ron laughed, and Hermione looked like she was trying to not laugh. Harry sighed and explained. "It's really not that funny, in hindsight. Draco attacked me in the corridor one day, only he made the mistake of doing it in front of a teacher."

"But they haven't transfigured students as punishment since Mad-Eye's days at Hogwarts, and I know you didn't have the real Mad-Eye for a teacher."

Ron frowned. "Crouch was an excellent actor. Dumbledore didn't even suspect it until the end."

"I think we should start on that cabinet now." Said Sirius hastily, and Harry and Ginny heartily agreed.

Molly called from the kitchen. "Lunch is almost ready, you may want to eat before attacking anything else."

Ron nodded with much enthusiasm, and Sirius sighed in relief. He welcomed anything that would keep them from dwelling on what had happened last year.

It was a small lunch by Molly's standards, but then again it was only Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Tonks, and herself eating lunch there that day. The conversation stayed on welcome matters for most of lunch. It wasn't until lunch was almost over that things started to go downhill in Ginny's opinion.

"I really don't want to get into that cabinet," said Sirius somewhat glumly, "but it's important that we clean it out."

Ginny and Harry both nodded in agreement. "The sooner we find the locket, the better," said Harry, once again forgetting that not everyone knew what he meant just from that. Those also in the know stopped chewing, and looked as though they were trying to keep themselves from burying their heads in their hands. Tonks and Molly just looked at Harry (thankfully not noticing the looks on the others' faces).

"What locket?" asked Tonks.

Ginny sighed. "There's no point in not telling them, Harry; we need all the help we can get, and we know that they can be trusted."

"I've had to explain it twice now. If I'm going to explain it again, it's going to be to the whole Order."

"Explain what?" asked Molly threateningly.

Before anyone could stop him, Ron answered. "You-Know-Who made these Horcrux things, and apparently we need to destroy them before we can destroy him."

There were gasps from the three Order members. They had heard of Horcruxes before, but never of someone making more than one. Ginny looked to Harry, who nodded. "Dumbledore figured it out thanks to Harry rescuing me back in my first year. It turns out that the Diary that I had been using was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes."

Harry nodded again, and continued the story. "Dumbledore has been looking into Voldemort's history for several years now. It turns out that Riddle has been stealing artifacts and turning them into his Horcruxes. So far, we've figured out that he's made the Peverell Ring, the Locket of Slytherin, and the Goblet of Hufflepuff into Horcruxes. Sirius, would you please call Kreacher? I think it'll be faster if we explain the next part with his help."

Tonks looked at Harry warily, as did all the others. "What does Kreacher have to do with all of this?"

Everyone was silent as Harry continued the tale. "When Dumbledore discovered where the Locket was being kept, we found signs that someone other than Riddle had also been there. As it turns out, someone with the initials R. A. B. had already stolen the locket, and left behind a fake with a message saying that the Horcruxes were going to be destroyed."

Sirius gulped dryly. "And you think R.A.B. is Regulus?"

"No, I know R.A.B. is Regulus." Harry turned to Sirius. "If you would please summon Kreacher so that he can explain how Regulus was killed, that would be nice."

Everyone looked at Sirius. "I guess I have no choice. KREACHER!"

"Master called for-"

Before Kreacher could finish talking, Sirius interrupted him. "Kreacher, did Regulus give you anything before he died?"

Ginny was looking carefully at Kreacher. For the slightest fraction of a moment, she though Kreacher looked afraid. "Master Regulus left Kreacher…"

A pause. Harry spoke up. "He left you something to do?"

"Master Regulus gave Kreacher nothing." Kreacher said, avoiding Sirius' eyes.

"Not even a locket?" Sirius asked. Kreacher started to look very afraid.

"Master Regulus told Kreacher not to tell anyone about it!" With a squeal, Kreacher dove onto the floor and failed to bang his head on the floor in punishment – mostly because Harry had dived right after him and grabbed him.

"Kreacher, stop! No!" Ginny cried in vain. "Sirius, please – he won't listen to us!"

Sirius looked as though he didn't know what he wanted to do. Harry wrestled with Kreacher for a minute as the rest of the room watched in horror, some saying "Sirius, stop them!"

After Harry pinned Kreacher so that he do nothing but speak, he took a breath, and quite clearly began a rant he'd been holding back for a while. "Sirius, you died because Kreacher didn't understand that we want what Regulus wanted. Regulus never explained to Kreacher why he did what he did, and your refusal to forgive anybody for any wrongs they did to you – look at yourself! Did you ever ask yourself if Snape ever deserved what you did to him for all those years? He may be just as bitter as you are, but he knows that he needs to forgive in order to be forgiven!"

Sirius jumped up, livid. "You're comparing me to Snivellus?"

"No, because that would be an insult to Severus." Ginny didn't understand where this was coming from, or why it was coming from her mouth. All she knew was that it needed to be said. "Do you have any idea what Severus lost when you tortured him after your OWL Examinations? No, you don't, because you didn't lose James entirely to your own choices!"

Sirius turned to Ginny, a mixture of pain and fury on his face. "Don't you dare lecture me about loss like that! You don't – you haven't – you can't have -"

"****** Sirius, we have! Or did you forget what we were talking about this morning?"

"SHUT UP, JAMES!" roared Sirius.

The entire room was stunned into silence. Even Kreacher knew it was dangerous to make sound at this moment. Harry let Kreacher go, and stood up to look his godfather in the eyes. "I am not James Adrian Potter reborn. I have seen people destroyed by bitterness." The lack of shouting, the quietness of the voice, it was more threatening than any volume or force that Harry could have put into his voice. There was something more powerful in the room at that moment, something that nobody there had really felt that powerfully before. "I have watched my friends and family die because two men could not let go of their resentment toward their families. I may not have been given a choice in being sent back to this time, but I'll be damned if I don't take advantage of it!"

Harry sat heavily into a chair. "Please, you and Kreacher both need to understand what happened and why."

Sirius, defeated, turned to Kreacher. "Kreacher, I am your living master. My orders supersede Regulus' orders. You will not punish yourself for breaking his orders. You will answer my questions honestly. Did Regulus leave you a locket?"

Kreacher choked back a sob, and then squeaked out "Yes."

"Kreacher," began Harry, then changed tack. "Sirius, Kreacher won't answer any of my questions, will he?"

"No." answered Kreacher, to everyone's surprise. "Not unless Master Sirius orders it."

Sirius sighed. "Kreacher, Harry is as much your master as I am. I order you to acknowledge that. He is my heir, and will inherit this property when I die."

Kreacher looked for a moment as though he were trying to find a way out of that, then said "I understand, Master Sirius. I will serve the blood traitor that destroyed the Dark Lord."

"Kreacher, don't-" began Sirius, but Harry cut him off.

"Thank you, Sirius. Kreacher, Sirius wants to know how Regulus died. Tell him about the Potion the Dark Lord made you drink."

Kreacher's eyes grew wide at this. "How does the… How does Master Harry know about the Potion?"

"Tell us about the potion first, Kreacher, then I will explain. Sirius needs to know how and why his brother died."

Kreacher sighed. For a moment, he was silent. Then, just as Sirius was about to order him to speak, Kreacher spoke with a cracking voice of one who was on the verge of crying.

"Master Sirius broke his mother's heart. He wasn't good like Master Regulus was." Eyes closed tight, he continued. "No stronger punishment than serving the runaway and his blood traitor friends exists for me."

Sirius' eyes narrowed a little. "Punishment for what?"

Kreacher pulled at his ears as he continued. "Master Regulus told Kreacher to keep the secret of the cave from the rest of his family."

Harry sighed. "Thank you Kreacher, go get a drink and calm yourself down for a few minutes." After Kreacher left, Harry resumed. "I don't remember the full story, but Riddle wanted to test the defenses on his Locket Horcrux. The final defense seems to have been liquefied fear, from how Dumbledore reacted to taking it. What Riddle told his followers was that he required an elf, and Regulus volunteered Kreacher."

At the mention of his name, Kreacher returned to the room with a crack and a glass of what looked to be Butterbeer. "Master Harry called for Kreacher?"

"Tell us what the Dark Lord needed you for, Kreacher."

Kreacher took a gulp of the amber liquid, then began to tell his tale…
------------
"So how did you escape?" asked Tonks.

"Master Regulus ordered Kreacher to come back," replied a now intoxicated Kreacher. "so Kreacher came back to Master Regulus."

Sirius turned to Harry. "So that's why Regulus wanted out? Because Voldemort nearly killed Kreacher?"

Harry nodded. "There's probably more to it than that, but Kreacher's near-death was probably the last straw for Regulus. In any case, once Kreacher told Regulus what had happened in the cave, the order was to stay in the house and away from any other Death Eaters."

Kreacher banged his head on the table exactly once before remembering the order not to punish himself for breaking Regulus' orders. He rested his head on the table and smiled drunkenly. "Master *hic*ulus said not to *hic* of this, Master *hic*ry."

"I know, Kreacher, but Master Regulus would have wanted us to know this if he knew what we were doing." Harry said softly. "We want to finish what Regulus started. We want to destroy the Dark Lord, just like Regulus did when he ordered you to bring the locket here and leave him behind."

Everyone paled at this statement. It took a moment for this statement to sink into Kreacher's inebriated mind. "Master Regu*hic* wanted to destroy the *hic* Lord?" he asked thickly.

"Kreacher, I want you to call him Riddle when you're here, not the Dark Lord. And yes, he did."

Sirius was holding back tears. Ginny wondered if he was battling with himself again. "Kreacher, bring us the locket." He said finally, with the same strange voice he had had earlier. "We are going to help you destroy it."

Harry, Ginny, Sirius, and Kreacher all wandered back into the kitchen at Grimmauld Place ten minutes later, covered in soot and looking rather proud of themselves. Tonks had left for the Ministry while they were out, and Ron and Hermione had gone upstairs. Molly was standing next to the fireplace, which housed an emerald green fire.

"Did you destroy it?" Molly asked nervously.

Ginny nodded, and held out her hand. It was red, as though slightly burned. "Er, do you know anything for hands singed by Fiendfyre? My wand got crisped before Sirius could lock control over the fire…"

Molly's expression went from anxious to terrified, knowing that Ginny had been so close to something so devastating. She didn't notice the smirk between the four Horcrux Destroyers. "Fiendfyre! Why were you close enough to it to get your wand burnt up? How did you survive if your wand caught? How-"

Harry broke out into a laugh. "Mom, please! We didn't use Fiendfyre at all!"

Molly wasn't sure if she was upset because she'd been fooled, upset because Harry had just called her Mom, or upset because Ginny was hurt. "Then why is Ginny burnt?"

Ginny smiled. "I got a little too close to Orodruin for comfort."

"Orodruin?" asked Molly, completely nonplussed.

"It's the name of a volcano from a muggle book. Lord of the Rings, I highly recommend it." Harry said immediately. "I wonder if Hermione's read it yet, she introduced me to the books after we drove off the Toad in our time."

"That's all well and good, but I'm still wandless." Ginny said, reminding Harry of his poor aim.

"I said I was sorry, Ginny, and I promised you twice already that I'll pay for the replacement since it was my fault. What more do you want from me?"

"Well, aside from a number of things that my Mother definitely won't approve of me doing with you yet, I would like to ask you something."

Harry looked at Ginny nervously. Ginny smiled inwardly; Harry was so easy to tease sometimes. "And what would that question be?" Harry asked as nervously as he looked.

"Don't you have something you were going to ask me?"

Harry looked at her for a moment, and then a smile grew upon his face. "Actually, yes. But I'd rather ask for that tomorrow when I'm ready to ask that."

Ginny looked at her mom, and winked. "Have the Hogwarts Letters come yet?"

Molly smiled broadly. "Yes. You'll never guess-"

"That Ron and Hermione were made Junior Gryffindor Prefect?" Harry asked.

"Actually, yes. Ron and Hermione were made Junior Gryffindor Prefects this year. Oh, and there's a letter addressed to the both of you on the table."

Sure enough, when Ginny and Harry looked at the table, there was a letter there addressed to the both of them, sitting atop their separate Hogwarts Letters. Ginny handed the letter to Harry, then looked at her book list letter.

"Slinkhard's 'Defensive Magical Theory', Goshawk's 'Standard Book of Spells'… hm, there's a new edition of Spellman's Syllabary out, I'll bug Hermione for her old one…"

Harry came over to Ginny, and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "We're not alone." He said simply.

"Of course we're not alone, we have each other." Ginny said brightly, not noticing he was trying to hand her the letter.

"Ginny, you might want to read our letter."

Ginny shrugged and, tossing the book list aside, took the letter and read it.

To Harry and/or Ginny Potter

I am sorry for dragging you two into this. It was only supposed to be me alone, having a second chance at everything. I can't even change my ways immediately, and I apologize about that now.

Please read tomorrow's Evening Prophet, you'll find it enlightening. I hope.

Killconey

PS: If this letter makes no sense, just burn it.

Ginny just stared at the letter. "Killconey… why does that name sound familiar?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno, but we're not the only ones that came back. Why do I feel like I should recognize that name?" He wrote the name on his Hogwarts Letter, then took the mysterious letter from Ginny.

Molly had bustled back into the room just as Harry threw the letter into the fire. "In any case, this Killconey won't be immediately obvious to us. Mom, are you going to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

Ginny laughed; her mother never did get used to Harry calling her Mom. "Please, Harry, call me Molly; and yes, I am. I suppose I'll have to bring Ginny with me to get her replacement wand, and since you're paying for it…"

Harry smiled. "Thank you. I have something else I'll need to get tomorrow, so it would be more convenient for us all to go together."

[Pokota]

Episode 2.X - Harry Says

Harry: Hello everyone, this is the Boy Who Lived speaking.

A blonde girl wearing a large red hair bow walks past, carrying a sheaf of papers.

Harry: What's this?

Girl: Tim's draft for Ribbon and Stone's third chapter.

Harry: And why am I interested in this?

Girl: Imagine spot of a certain redhead in a bikini.

Harry: Give me that! Harry snatches the sheaf of papers from the girl, reads for a few seconds, then glares at the girl. First of all, she's still ten and I'm still eleven at that point, there's no reason I'd be fantasizing about her then. Second, I haven't even met her and I'm wanting to *beep* her?

Girl: I never said why you'd be interested in it…

Harry: That's true. I suppose I'm going to have to take the night off and beat some sense into Tim for lemoning it up.

Harry disapparates. The Girl looks at the audience.

Girl: Now that he's out of the way, go read Ribbon and Stone! Go watch Hime-chan's Ribbon! Go-

Harry apparates in, carrying another sheaf of papers.

Girl: Well?

Harry: Nice try, Himeko, but it's not your turn to do a So-And-So Says segment.

Himeko: How'd you find out it was a fake draft?

Harry: "But Harry had only eyes for the blonde babe standing next to Dumbledore; not even Ginny could get her out of his mind" was a bit of a giveaway. You're only eleven in Ribbon and Stone, you know.

Himeko: Damn, I knew that would come back to bite me. Next time, I'm gonna listen to my Possibility Sight.

Harry: But you don't have that except in SMZ and in-

Himeko hastily cuts Harry off here.

Himeko: Well, that's all the time we have for So-And-So Says! Tonight's Moral is 'Always Floss Between Meals'! Good night!

Harry: Hey! I'm not done with you, Nonohara!

Fade out as Harry chases Himeko off the stage.

[Pokota]

Episode 3: The Dog Days of Summer
(This is sub-episode 3.1)

When Ginny woke up the next morning, she was wondering why she was in Grimmauld Place instead of the Burrow. After a moment of thinking, she remembered that this was 1995 and not 1999; Fred was still alive, Percy was still a prat, and Voldemort was still evil. As she got dressed, she imagined for a moment what would have happened if Voldemort had fallen in love with a muggle sometime before taking his NEWT examinations. With a laugh, she figured that it would have been someone just as insane as he was. "I mean, really; what sane woman would Voldemort fall in love with?" she said, not realizing it was out loud.

Hermione rolled over in her sleep. Ginny finished getting dressed in silence, then crept downstairs to wait for her mother and Harry to get ready. Kreacher was puttering around the house, oddly quiet. In the quiet, Ginny kept going over who Killconey could be in her mind.

Percy was possible, he had a lot to regret from the war the first time, but why would he still be away from the family if he came back and knew they were right? Unless… he never had been to Grimmauld Place, maybe he didn't know where the family was…

Then there were the Dursleys. Unlikely, but possible, was the chance that Dudley had come back somehow. According to Harry, this had been the summer when Dudley had started changing; but Ginny had never actually met any of the Dursleys until they went to get them out of hiding. The only problem was that Dudley would have said something to Harry before the Dementor attack… would have remembered the Dementor attack…

The name Cho wandered across Ginny's mind. It was possible that Cho had come back in time, maybe to do things right this time around with Harry… no, that couldn't be it. The letter Killconey had sent had addressed both Harry and Ginny, and had acted like they were already married. If it had been Cho, maybe she wouldn't be trying to lead Harry on this time? Maybe there was a boy she had liked and didn't realize it until after Harry…

She sat in her thoughts, thinking of even more unlikely people to have come back – Draco Malfoy, Rita Skeeter, Xenophilius Lovegood… as she discounted each of them, Harry came down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good morning, Ginny." He said with a smile. "Been up long?"

"Not very long. Ready for today?"

"Yeah. I've told Molly that… wow, that still feels weird to say. I've told Mom that I'll pay for the shopping today."

"She didn't like that, I'll bet."

"No she didn't; she's insisting on treating it like a loan." At that, he made a face. "Still, she does have a point; I can't get into the full Potter vault until I'm physically seventeen and out of Hogwarts, so I can't just spend the vault I'm using now into oblivion."

"You could sell an interview of yourself."

Harry laughed a hollow laugh. "Yeah, and I'm sure there's a magazine out there that would pay for that interview. Xeno ran it for free last time, and that was mainly because he is the only one that would go against the Ministry."

"You mean other than us." Ginny smiled, and Harry didn't even bother trying to stop himself from grinning. "So, why are you up so early?"

Harry shrugged. "Had a nightmare, couldn't get back to sleep, figured I'd help with breakfast today." He picked up a random object and screwed up his eyes in concentration. Ginny watched as Harry attempted to transfigure it without words or wand. After half of a minute had passed, the object was still itself. Harry sighed, set the object back where it was, and went into the kitchen. A moment later, the smell of coffee wafted out, and Ginny couldn't keep herself from smiling. Harry might be bad at potions, but nobody had ever compared potioneering to cooking for him, and Harry was a good cook.

The next person to wake up was Molly Weasley. She was bleary-eyed, and looked to only be halfway awake. In fact, it looked like she was following the smell of coffee. Ginny was wondering just how good a cook Severus Snape was, when she heard her mother yelp in pain.

"Molly! Are you alright?" came Harry's voice.

"Ow ow… I didn't think the coffee pot would already be hot!" said Molly, moderately annoyed.

"Well, I'm sorry you got burned. Coffee?"

"Yes, thank you."

Ginny smiled, then went into the kitchen in order to have breakfast. What Harry had cooked wasn't a huge breakfast like what Molly would have cooked, but there was enough for the three of them. With a smile, they all sat down to a quiet breakfast. It was too early for anyone else to be awake, and Ginny knew that Harry and Molly both would want to be gone before anyone could bother them with asking for details. She ate happily for a few moments, then something caught her eye.

Molly looked deep in thought, and was not eating as much as Ginny remembered her eating in these times. When Harry and Ginny were close to being finished eating, Molly cleared her throat. "What was last night all about, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I had an opportunity to change things, and I took it."

Molly was not dissuaded. "Change what things? You're talking like you've come back from the future or something. Ginny is too. What's going on?"

Harry sighed. "I really don't want to have to explain this too many more times. I want to tell the whole Order at the same time. Sirius, the Twins, Ron, Hermione, Snape, and Dumbledore all know already, and I think you and Tonks have guessed it. Me and Ginny were sent back from a point in the future just after the war. We won, but there were some… losses. Sirius was among them."

Molly didn't show whether she was surprised by this or not. "Why aren't you keeping it a secret? This doesn't sound like the sort of thing you should be telling everybody."

Harry shrugged again. "I'm not telling everybody; just everybody that Dumbledore trusts. I've tried being Dumbledore, keeping secrets from everybody, and it's not fun. I'd much rather be Harry."

Molly tried one last question. "Why did you come back?"

Ginny sighed. "We didn't choose to; somehow we were forced into this. The night before we found ourselves in this time, Harry proposed to marry me."

Molly looked from Harry to Ginny, then back again. She smiled excitedly. "Did you accept? Is this what you were referring to yesterday?"

"Yes to both," Harry said happily, "which is why I need to go to Muggle London later today; need to get rings again."

[Pokota]

Episode 3: The Dog Days of Summer
(This is sub-episode 3.2)

The three of them took the floo to the Leaky Cauldron, where Tom the Barman was waiting for them.

"'Morning, Molly," He said quietly "Arthur told me you'd probably be by this morning. Hello Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny wondered briefly when exactly Tom had learned her first name, but she found herself being ushered out by an anxious Molly. Only once the three of them were 'safely' in Diagon Alley did Molly relax.

It was a short trip to Gringotts, where Harry withdrew a fair sum of Galleons from his account. He handed half to Molly, and pocketed the remainder. Once outside in the gradually more oppressive heat, they decided to make the trip shorter by splitting up. "After all," Harry had said, "the Death Eaters are still trying to operate in secret, so Diagon Alley would still be safe for the time being."

Harry ventured out into Muggle London in order to get 'new' rings for himself and Ginny, while Molly went first to Flourish and Blotts' and, when she was done there, to a new broomstick shop that had opened up, called "Dusty Sweepers". Ginny, in the meanwhile, was going to be at Ollivander's, where she would get her new wand. At least, that was the plan. Ginny should have remembered that Harry's plans never worked unless he was making it up as he went along.

The first bit of trouble they ran into was a tall, blonde Death Eater in the shape of one Lucius Malfoy. He looked somewhat worried, and was bordering on deranged. He refused to speak to anyone and twitched his wand at anything that was remotely suspicious. Ginny could have sworn once or twice that he had uttered the word "Etumosmorphos" when he did this. In fact, Lucius Malfoy seemed not to notice the three of them leaving Gringotts, or at any time during the day. Odder still was the fact that he was being followed by a small army of kneazles that he seemed to be ignoring.

Slightly unnerved, Ginny practically ran to Ollivander's, where she realized that she didn't actually have any galleons on hand. Before she could go back to Gringotts and try to track down Harry, however, a hand fell on her shoulder. She reacted instantly, whipping around and lashing out with her leg… only to find herself looking at a hopping Ollivander.

"Aaah! I'm sorry Mister Ollivander, Sir! I thought-"

"Quite alright, young lady, quite alright. I cannot say I have never had worse done to me, or for less. I assume there is a reason you are outside of my shop, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny took a moment to de-frazzle her nerves. "Well, my wand fell into a volcano yesterday, so-"

"Ah, so you need to replace your wand. Forgive me my curiosity, but may I know what you were doing so close to a volcano?" Ollivander said, moving as best he could to allow Ginny into the shop.

"I'm sorry, but it really isn't any of your business." She said, a little more harshly than she had intended. She was aware of Lucius Malfoy coming up the alley again, and she was more than hesitant to talk about Horcruxes when a Death Eater was so close by. "Shall we begin?"

After the fifth wand she tried, the second bit of trouble occurred. A small white animal that Ginny couldn't quite identify darted into the open shop door and failed spectacularly to hide itself inside of Ginny's pants pocket. Half amused at the creature's antics, and half upset that it had tried to hide inside of clothing she was currently wearing (and half glad it hadn't tried to hide inside of her shirt), Ginny gingerly extracted the excited animal from its precarious position and happily handed it to a less-than-excited Ollivander.

It was the seventh wand that Ginny tried that she liked best; a somewhat long Thestral-hair Rowan wand that felt magically similar to her old wand when she held it. Despite Ollivander's protests that this was an experimental wand that would most likely have unusual bursts of power during casting, she shrugged and made to leave when she remembered why she was going to go back to Gringotts in the first place.

"Er, Mister Ollivander, is it okay if I leave the wand here with you, and come back later to pay for it? Only I forgot to remind Mum that I would need to have some money on hand to pay for the wand."

Ollivander waved her off. "No, no, don't worry about paying for it; like I said, it's an experimental wand. I'm trying to find a wood that counteracts the occasional burst of energy. Beech, Oak, and Ash wood all do very well to help dampen it, but they all have the drawback of also reducing the overall power of the wand."

Ginny didn't know whether to smile, frown, or wince in pain at the small white animal now clawing at the hand she was using to hold him tightly with. "So, the wand is free?"

Ollivander nodded. "Yes. If it gives you any trouble, do write me and let me know. I expect great things from you, Miss Weasley."

She left the wand shop, feeling just as small and vulnerable as she had when she had gotten her first wand, a short Phoenix-tail Cherry wand. Lost in thought, she didn't notice the small white animal escape her grasp when she got out into the street. She made her way to Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, where the three of them had agreed to meet once they were done shopping.

Harry was the second to return; the sun had reached noon, and the cloudless sky ensured that the heat would be oppressive. The two of them shared milkshakes and chilled Butterbeer, when the third bit of trouble occurred. A boy was approaching, and Ginny's heart missed a beat when she recognized him. He was wearing his Hogwarts robes, complete with the Blue Eagles tie associated with Ravenclaw. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered him chiding Luna. "Yeah, but the lost diadem is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point."

Michael Corner had no idea of what was going through Ginny's mind at that moment, and he assumed her stunned silence was because she was happy to see her boyfriend. Harry excused himself from where they were sitting, and Michael instantly took the recently-vacated seat.

Great, now I'm going to feel guilty about breaking up with him, Ginny thought to herself. And just where did Harry disappear to?

Outwardly, Ginny was smiling. "Hello Michael, I haven't heard from you in ages." She said, stressing the word.

Michael shrugged guiltily. "Sorry about that, Ginny, but I've been sending owls every week. Why haven't you written back?"

Ginny blinked in surprise. She couldn't remember if they'd had this discussion last time or not. "Because I haven't been home? Michael, I'm sorry I never wrote back, it's just-"

He hugged her. She hugged back, trying not to cry. "Michael, listen, there's…"

"Ginny, I need to apologize." He said abruptly.

He sighed, and she knew that he must have really done something stupid. "For what?" she asked, as innocently as she could.

"Ginny, I love you, I really do, but when we started dating it was to help me get over my crush."

Well, now, that makes things simpler. Ginny pushed away these thoughts, trying not to be too upset with either herself or Michael. "I remember you saying something about that when we started. Do you remember what I said back?"

"Yeah, that I was just until Harry noticed you or you got annoyed with me."

Ginny brushed some hair out of Michael's face. His chocolate eyes were brimming with tears. "Don't tell me he noticed you, Ginny."

"I'm sorry Michael, but I can't lie to you." She was having problems seeing clearly now, and she felt something warm and wet on her cheek. "I do care about you, but Harry's…"

"He's something else, isn't he Gin?" Michael started to smile. "Don't lose him, Ginny."

They broke the hug and smiled at each other. "So, Mister Corner, who will you be dating now?"

He looked at her sheepishly. "I've heard rumors that Cho's going to try and win Harry, but now that I know you and him are finally together I guess I'll sweep her off her feet."

Ginny laughed. "It'll save me the trouble of snapping at her later in the year. Thanks Michael."

With a cordial wave, the two parted ways. It was only then that Ginny realized that Michael hadn't actually said what he was apologizing for. What if he's Killconey?

[Pokota]

Episode 3: The Dog Days of Summer
(This is sub-episode 3.3)

It was only after Michael left that Molly and Harry returned, laden with supplies. Instead of a Cleansweep Nine like last time, Ron was getting a broom from a line that had come out only just that year, one that was advertised for Keepers and only sold at Dusty Sweepers – the Talia Shield. It was currently advertised as the Firebolt of Keeping, and Oliver Wood had endorsed it after the war had ended as "being the right Broom for me." There were books galore, so many that even with Harry's help they were having trouble carrying them all.

After a quick hug and an even quicker visit to Mister Fortescue, the three of them were enjoying an ice cold snack. It was two in the afternoon, and Ginny at least was glad for the sundae she was eating. She'd had to grow up so quickly because of the war, and so she was going to take the time to enjoy her time here, even if she would have to put up with Umbridge again for the first bit of it.

She told Harry and Molly about what happened after they separated; about Lucius Malfoy's seemingly deranged sweeping of Diagon Alley with the True Shape spell ("Why is Malfoy looking for an animagus?"), and about the bizarre events in Ollivander's that involved a small white mammal of indeterminate species. Harry looked thoughtful, but before she could ask he shook his head and said "No, it couldn't be." She decided to save the conversation involving her ex-boyfriend Michael until after her and Harry could have some time alone.

Molly then went into detail about how Flourish and Blotts was packed with irate parents. "Slinkhard's not popular at all. He's very… he sees the world in black and white, I guess you could say. And his book was about as expensive as Magical Me. At least Lockheart was worth reading." Molly sighed somewhat wistfully; Ginny wondered if she still thought that the inept idiot was trying to demonstrate a memory charm and had forgotten he was holding a damaged wand. "And Dusty Sweepers... was very true to its name. Every broom there had been covered in dust, as though nobody was taking care of the store. They had discounts on everything, from Firebolts to huge family models imported from Utah. I can't see why they don't get more business than that."

Ginny and Molly looked at Harry, who was in the middle of taking a bite from his Bull Worm Supreme. There was an awkward pause, and after Harry swallowed he started to talk about how his trip into Muggle London went.

"First of all, we really should campaign to make Muggle Studies a core class at Hogwarts; much more useful than Astronomy at any rate. Wizards tend to stick out like a sore thumb when they try to dress like muggles, especially Dawlish."

Ginny sighed. "I'm guessing Dawlish was tailing you?" Harry nodded.

"Couldn't hex him without getting myself into more trouble than I need, but it was Dawlish. Even if he did catch me, what could he do to me?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "So you're still being followed… Anyway, what next?"

"I turned around and asked him if he knew where any jewelers were."

Jaws dropped. Ginny was starting to laugh. "You asked Dawlish, who was tailing you on Fudge's orders probably, if he knew where any muggle jewelers were?"

"What was I supposed to do, pretend he wasn't there? He stuck out like a lion at a dog show, Gin, and he's more like Percy than Crouch – he does what he's told because he expects the people in power to be trustworthy."

"But Fudge isn't-"

Harry held up a hand to quiet Molly. "I never said that, whatever you were about to say. I did some real talking with my relatives this time around, before the dementors attacked at least. Did you know that Vernon's second cousin on his father's side is an accountant whose family never talks to him?"

Ginny shook her head, but Molly gasped. "Our Squib cousin?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't think that is your squib cousin, but we shouldn't rule it out… where was I? Oh, right, Percy and Dawlish. They believe that the general public is smart enough to elect wise leaders, so they trust the elected leaders. As much as I hate to quote one of the men who made my life hell, distrusting the elected means distrusting the public."

"So you're saying that-"

"I didn't say that either, whatever it was. It's how those three – Percy and Dawlish and my Uncle – it's how they think. Where was I before that?"

"Muggle London, tailed by Dawlish."

"Ah, yes, thanks. It turns out that Dawlish's aunt is a squib that works in a jeweler's not too far from The Leaky Cauldron, so he took me there. He really wanted to nose into my business, so I told him a little of his future. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the *** later."

"What did you tell him?"

Harry laughed. "I tried to make it sound like Trelawney's prediction at the end of my third year." He coughed a little, and when he spoke again his voice was hoarse and raspy. "'When the leader of the wizards confronts his fears, when his lost knut becomes a galleon, the choice between freedom and enslavement must be made'. I really hope that doesn't end up in the Hall of Prophecy… does it count if I've already lived through it?"

Molly shrugged. "I never took Divination, so I don't know."

Ginny looked at Harry excitedly. "So, we're ready?"

Harry nodded, a great big smile on his face. "Well, mostly. We still have to wait for you to be done with Hogwarts before I can marry you, unless your parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore all give their okay."

"Why does Dumbledore have to give his okay?" Ginny asked.

Florian Fortescue had sat down next to them. "Have to give his okay to what?"

"For me and Harry to get married before I leave Hogwarts."

Florian smiled sagely. "Ahh… I really should look into getting Grandpa Cuthbert exorcised, a key part of History is Legend but he doesn't like to deal with anything that's not well documented. In this case, it's a legend involving why Salazar left Hogwarts. Everyone thinks it's because of the whole Muggleborns thing, but according to this older legend Salazar was actually cool with it as long as they didn't do the whole 'Magic Is Devil Worship' thing that was cool at the time. No, it was his and Godric's disagreements on whether young men could be trusted around young women that split up the founders."

He summoned a Lemon Sorbet from the shop and started to eat it. "If you've ever seen any boy try to get up the Ladies' Stair in Gryffindor Tower, you know what I'm talking about. Salazar trusted people to do the right thing without being told, and Helga did too. Rowena and Godric believed that the rules must be set forth before they can be followed. Salazar said that that sort of thinking was what muggles used to enslave each other, and Helga – a Muggleborn, if I remember properly – thought that was a slight against her parents, and things exploded from there."

He took another bite. "You know, this particular legend says that Slytherin's Monster was supposed to protect the school from those who would harm the students, not kill all those deemed unworthy to study magic. It was a really popular theory until about a hundred years ago, when Muggle rights became a major issue."

Ginny thought about that for a while. "Does any legend say what Slytherin's Monster was?"

Florian looked at her appraisingly. "Salazar was a known Parselmouth, and it was said in most of the legends that only his heir could command the monster. None of the legends actually say what it is. It would not surprise me if it was some kind of serpent." He turned to Harry. "If half the rumors I hear about you are true, boy, you're a Parselmouth that deluded yourself into thinking you were the Heir of Slytherin. True, or no?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not a true Parselmouth, because I have to focus to know when I'm doing it. And no, I never honestly thought I was the Heir. What else did that rumor say about me?"

"That you rescued five girls from Slytherin's Monster and killed it with the Sword of Gryffindor."

"I rescued one girl, and she's sitting right there if you want details. But yes, I killed the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor. Does that rumor say anything about why I survived?"

"The ghosts of the other three founders ripped out the teeth of the beast, and a phoenix gouged out its eyes before you jumped down its throat and slashed off its head from the inside."

"The phoenix is true, the ghosts don't exist, and I got bit on the shoulder."

Florian and Molly both gaped at him. After they recovered, they both asked "How did you survive that?"

Ginny laughed. "There was a phoenix there." A stray memory then struck her. "Mister Fortescue-"

"Please, call me Florian."

"Florian then. Did you say that Professor Binns is your grandfather?"

He nodded. "If it wasn't for the ice cream parlor, I'd probably have gone into teaching history by now."

Ginny looked at Harry, who nodded. He cleared his throat, and the same raspy voice from before came out.

"The time soon comes when history repeats itself. The eaters of death will seek to change what people can learn, but he who can teach will be preserved from their wrath for a time."

Ginny giggled; maybe Harry could fake his way into passing his Divination O.W.L. this time around? "We have to get going now, Florian. Please consider teaching; that prophecy sounds like you might be in danger."

[Pokota]

Episode 3: The Dog Days of Summer
(This is sub-episode 3.4)

That evening, Dumbledore (at Harry and Ginny’s request) had called for a full meeting of the members of the Order. Grimmauld Place was full to bursting, even with the space added by the recently-cleaned… basement, Ginny supposed was the right word. After everyone ate, Albus Dumbledore called the meeting to order.

“Everyone, before we begin tonight’s meeting, I’d like to introduce a newcomer to the Order of the Phoenix. First of all, our long-time informant from Diagon Alley, Florian Fortescue, has informed me just today that he would prefer to be at Hogwarts this year. With any luck, we’ll be able to convince Professor Binns to allow someone else to teach History of Magic. The upshot of this is that we now have a new Diagon Alley informant, Mister Frederick Blotts.”

The graying wizard in question nodded, and Dumbledore continued the introductions.

“In addition to Mister Blotts joining the Order, I have decided to allow Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and all Weasleys not yet in the Order as Honorary Members. Should Percy Weasley come to realize that Voldemort has indeed returned to power, this will be extended to him at that time.”

This announcement was met with the expected complaints of “Too Young”, “Still in school”, and so forth. Dumbledore waited a moment for the clamor to die down before continuing.

“I understand that you all have reservations as to this decision. It is my wish that Harry Potter be made an Honorary Member, and he has informed me that the others should be included as well.”

More outrage. Dumbledore waited for the din to quiet down a little before continuing. “Harry has requested that he address you himself, and I will allow him that chance.”

Once the entire Order of the Phoenix was silent, Harry stood up and began to speak.

“Thank you, Professor Dumbledore. First of all, it is an honor to be a, well, an honorary member of the Order of the Phoenix. Normally, I’m not much for speaking to large crowds of people, but I think I’ll have to get used to it eventually given people want for me to become some sort of political figurehead.

“What I am about to tell you will probably make you think I really have gone off the deep end. I have already lived the next few years. I have seen the downfall of Voldemort, and the rising of a new age in Wizarding Britain. I have seen many of you die, and many others of you live, in pursuit of a Voldemort-Free Future for your children and loved ones. I sincerely hope and pray that we can all live to see a day when Tom Marvolo Riddle is gone for good.

“To that end, there is much that I must ask of each of you. When you hear news about me, follow the ministry line in your responses: Harry Potter is insane. If people think that I am insane, then my actions will only appear to be a stunt for attention. What I will really be working towards is the ultimate downfall of Voldemort.

“There is one other matter I would like to attend to before I go back to being Harry Potter. I was not the only person to come back in time. In addition to myself, Ginny Weasley has lived the same future I have lived, as well as someone I cannot yet identify – someone going by the name of Killconey. I must ask each of you to keep what goes on in Order Meetings as secret as you can keep it.

“I am not looking to take over the Order of the Phoenix, or the Ministry of Magic, or the World. I want to complete my Hogwarts education, find ways to help defend the people, and raise a family.” At this he nodded towards Ginny, who found herself blushing. “I have been denied a normal life for twenty-some years. When – and I do mean, when – this whole mess with Riddle is cleaned up, I hope to finally have one.”

With that, Harry took his seat next to Ginny, and the two of them started to cuddle. Dumbledore started to waffle on for a bit about assignments, and when Ginny decided she couldn’t stand any more of the order meeting, she pulled Harry’s hand and led him out of the basement. To her surprise, Ron and Hermione followed them.

When they were in the drawing room, Hermione grumbled at Ginny. “Thanks to you, I’ve had a very active imagination today.”

Ginny was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, all day I’ve been wondering what sort of insane muggle could possibly fall in love with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.”

Ginny started to giggle. “You heard that? I thought you were asleep!” There was an eruption of sound from the meeting-room, and Ginny thought she heard Snape’s voice in the din.

Ron stepped between the two girls. “Shouldn’t we be trying to figure out who Killconey is?”

Hermione nodded. “That’s just it, though. The name rings a bell, but I can’t place when or where I would have heard it.”

“Well, what comes to mind when you think about the name?” Ginny asked.

“Ferrets, Stoats, Weasels, and a really vicious rat.” Hermione said. Ron frowned.

“That makes sense. Killconey was in Cluny’s army, after all.”

Harry and Hermione gaped at Ron. Ginny could understand why – it wasn’t every day that you came across wizards familiar with muggle literature. After a moment of silence, however, Ginny thought of something. The look on Harry’s face told her that he had thought of it too.

But Draco Malfoy?

[Pokota]

Episode 3.X - Ron Says

Ron: That’s it? That’s the end of the episode?

Ginny pushes a pink elephant past Ron.

Ginny: It’s called filler, Ron.

Ron: But couldn’t Tim have at least made the fourth part longer?

Elephant: The episode was already longer than the first one.

Ron: You talk?

Elephant: I’m a pink elephant, and there’s going to be a parade soon.

Ginny: Enough out of you.

Ginny and the elephant exit, stage forward.

Ron: That was weird. Harry wasn’t kidding when he said this segment could get weird.

A thousand rubber chickens fall on top of Ron, and they all transform into white ferrets. Harry falls on top of the pile, which disperses.

Harry: Wasn’t Draco supposed to do the So-And-So Says segment today?

Ron digs himself out from under the mammals, looking slightly angry.

Ron: No, that’s next episode. The moral of the story, if you would?

Harry: Don’t count your ferrets before they’ve hatched.

Ron: Whatever. I need a firewhiskey…

Everyone remaining exits.

[Pokota]

Episode 4: Dying In The Past
(This is sub-episode 4.1)

Ginny was not looking forward to re-living her fourth year at Hogwarts, but at the same time she knew that it would only last for a year. She looked out the window of their cabin on the Hogwarts Express and surveyed the mists that were gathering around. Had the Dementors already left Azkaban by this point? She couldn't remember if they had or not. Of course, it was also possible that they were riding through a simple fog.

There were three other students in the cabin she was in. Harry was sitting next to Ginny, and they were holding hands. Neville Longbottom was showing off his new Mimbulus mimbletonia to Luna Lovegood, who was holding an open Quibbler in her hands.

"…I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. So when did you two become a couple?" Neville asked, turning to Harry and Ginny.

Before he could stop himself, Harry answered truthfully. "The quidditch match before Dumbledore died."

There was silence for a moment, as what Harry said sunk in. Neville started laughing nervously, while Luna simply had a look of vague understanding. Ginny and Harry shared a look, and started laughing as though it was a private joke between the two of them. Luna turned a page in the Quibbler. She scratched behind her ear as she asked "So, how do you think Professor Umbridge will teach us? Daddy says that the Ministry's afraid that Dumbledore's raising a private army to fight against Fudge's army of Heliopaths."

Ron and Hermione chose that moment to enter the car. Ginny idly pointed her wand at the door and almost silently warded it against eavesdroppers. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry do the same to the other door. Once the room was reasonably sealed, Harry started to explain.

"The minister's got it halfway right, as usual. Yes, Dumbledore is training his own private army, but he doesn't want people who are underage or at Hogwarts to be fighting in it. Besides, his army is fighting against Voldemort, not the Ministry." Harry paused for a moment, and continued. "It's Umbridge we've got to worry about right now, though. If she had her way, she'd feed all the muggleborns in Britain to dementors."

An idea formed in Ginny's head. She turned to Neville. "Neville, what do you think about Sirius Black?"

The boy's face tightened. "He's that guy that escaped from Azkaban Prison, isn't he?" Ginny nodded. "Well, Gran says he was a good friend of my parents, before… well, he betrayed Harry's parents, didn't he? That's why Harry's gotten so good at Defensive magic, isn't it? To get revenge on Black?"

Harry laughed, but Ginny knew the laugh was hollow. "Neville, I'm just naturally good at Defense. Sirius Black has a little to do with that, yes, but not all that much. You would be too, if you didn't let your Gran push you down. You're a lot more like your parents than you think you are."

Ginny couldn't read Neville's face properly, but she elbowed Harry in the ribs and whispered under her breath. "Harry, ix-nay on the arents-pay. He doesn't know that we know about them yet, and Ron and Hermione definitely don't."

"Sorry, Ginny," Harry replied, not bothering to whisper, "but we've both seen Neville at his best. Besides, there's no guarantee that what we're doing won't interfere with what's coming. I'm not waiting for the Lestranges to break out of Azkaban just so that Neville doesn't get rushed. I want to see Neville become strong, and hopefully he'll do that before the breakout."

Neville winced, and when he spoke his voice was forced and a little higher-pitched than usual. "The L-Lestranges are going to break out of Azkaban?"

Ginny sighed. Before she could explain about the future, however, Harry started giving the line Dumbledore had been giving since… was it the night with the Graveyard? "Neville, Voldemort has returned to life. I saw him come back to life. He took some of my blood to do so, and I can show you the scar if you want. The Dementors are guarding the Death Eaters, and both groups would side with him in an instant once they're certain that he's back. There's going to be a mass breakout from Azkaban sooner or later." Harry sighed. "And Sirius is innocent, by the way."

Luna turned another page in the Quibbler. "You know," she said in her usual, semi-vacant voice. "People would be more inclined to believe you if you didn't insist that the Ministry of Magic made a mistake with Sirius Black. They trust the elected leaders to do the right thing, and they don't like to be told that their leaders are only human. If their leaders have to be responsible for their own mistakes, then the people have to be responsible for the mistakes that they make as well, and nobody seems to want to be responsible."

"What am I supposed to do, lie and say that Sirius isn't innocent?" Harry said. Ginny could feel that Harry was trying to control his temper. He was succeeding, but she could tell it was taking effort.

"He did try to feed Professor Snape to a werewolf, he did break into Gryffindor Tower repeatedly, and he did break into the Ministry of Magic." Luna continued, sounding somewhat disinterested. "Saying that he's innocent is lying."

"But he didn't blow up the street, and he didn't kill all those muggles." Harry persisted. Ginny could tell that this was going to end badly. "He's innocent of what he was sent to Azkaban for."

"He still has a history of causing potentially life-threatening trouble, Harry." Luna turned another page in her Quibbler. "I'm sure Professor Snape would be glad to verbally abuse your godfather, he could use something to reduce the stress of being a potions master, and it would be a great excuse to ask about what your parents were like."

Something that Luna said was bothering Ginny, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Harry huffed and sat back in his seat. "So, how's Malfoy behaving?" He asked the two prefects.

Hermione frowned as Ron launched into a diatribe on how Malfoy was being the usual arrogant power-hungry Malfoy. Ginny took the time to reflect on the plans that Harry and her had made with Dumbledore.

Most of the Horcruxes could be destroyed before the Easter holidays. The Diadem, according to Harry, had been hidden in the Room of Requirement, and Harry knew the right words to ask for in order to get the Chamber of Contraband. The Snake, if everything stayed relatively similar to how it went last time, would be trying to break into the Department of Mysteries just before the Christmas holidays began, and Dumbledore's Army would give Dumbledore an iron-clad excuse to track down the Gaunt Ring without interference.

No, the Horcruxes that would cause a problem were the Goblet and her boyfriend. Was Harry even a Horcrux this time around, or had the time-travel messed things up on that front? And even if Voldemort was still an Anchor for Harry, what about the Hufflepuff Goblet? It was in the Lestrange vault in Gringotts, and the only two living people with Lestrange blood were in Azkaban Prison.

Even if the Horcruxes did fall into their laps this time around, what would they do about Umbridge? Yes, Harry's plan to get the Ministry to teach them actual defense in addition to Dumbledore's Army as an underground resistance movement was a good idea, but there were so many things that could go wrong with it.

Ginny barely even noticed when the boys left the car, and was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that her robes were on inside-out. The other wildcard was Killconey. Her, Harry, Ron and Hermione all thought it was Draco Malfoy, but what if he wasn't? What if he was, but was only trying to lure them into a false sense of security?

"There's so much that can go wrong with this, it'll be a miracle if he manages to save everyone this time." She said, as she realized that she would have to re-dress.

[Pokota]

Episode 4: Dying in the Past
(This is sub-episode 4.2)

Author's Note:

Spoiler: show

I know it's unusual for me to be doing an A/N in the middle of an episode, or at the start of an update, but I do need to point out that any words that seem to have been copied out of Order of the Phoenix were copied. It bears restating that I do not own, nor do I claim ownership, of the characters or their words.

"It looks like Umbridge isn't our only new professor." Harry whispered to Ginny.

Ginny took a look at the Staff Table as she made her way to Gryffindor Table. Dumbledore was in the middle, sitting in the Head Chair, with an empty seat to his immediate left for McGonagall – Deputy Headmistress, Transfiguration Professor, and head of Gryffindor House - who was now getting the new First Years. On the other side of the empty chair was Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw House and the Charms Professor. On Dumbledore's right sat Professors Sprout and Snape, who were heads of Hufflepuff and Slytherin and were the Herbology and Potions professors, respectively. Further down on the Slytherin end of the Staff Table sat 'Professor' Umbridge, Ministry Stooge and Defense Against The Dark Arts 'Teacher.' She was conversing with Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was filling in for Hagrid until he came back from the mountains with his half-brother, Grawp.

Not that anybody else knew that.

"Is that Florian Fortescue sitting in the Abandoned Chair?" asked one of the seventh-years.

Ginny took another look and gasped. "It looks like it, yeah. What do you think he's doing here?"

Any further speculation was halted when McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat for the First Years. Ginny took a quick headcount of the first years. There were twenty-three of them. Half an hour later, there were five new Slytherins, four new Ravenclaws, six new Gryffindors, and eight new Hufflepuffs.

Dumbledore stood up. "To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands – welcome back! There is a time for speechmaking, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

And with that, the Welcoming Feast started. Everyone was hungry, not the least of all Ginny. She had barely eaten much of a breakfast that morning, and she'd been too lost in thought to think about getting snacks on the train. Her and Ron almost got into an eating competition – a competition which was only prevented by Hermione threatening to go on a diatribe about how the House Elves would have to work extra-hard to provide the food for such a contest.

This did not slow anyone down other than Harry and Ron – Harry was nearly done eating, and he'd always eaten less after his second time getting hit with an Avada Kedavra anyway; while Ron simply didn't want his new Girlfriend to be too upset with him. After a while, everyone else slowed down their eating, and Dumbledore took the rising volume of conversation to mean that enough people would pretend listen to what he was saying for his speech to be worth giving.

"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students - and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too."

Ginny saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione share a smirk, and something told her that Fred and George had similar ones on their faces.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-seventieth time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

"I have three staffing changes to announce. First of all, I am pleased to welcome back Professor Wilhemina Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures for the year while Professor Hagrid is abroad researching. Secondly, I regret to announce that Professor Binns has decided that it is time for him to retire from teaching, if not from living," he paused for the cheers that he must have expected, "and so I therefore welcome Professor Florian Fortescue, who will be joining us as the new History of Magic professor." A raucous round of applause, and Fortescue stood up and took a bow. After he sat, Dumbledore resumed his speaking. "Thirdly, we are pleased to introduce Professor Dolores Umbridge, our latest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was a scattering of polite applause, but it was clear that nobody really expected Dolores Umbridge to be as good a professor as Florian Fortescue.

Then again, that might have something to do with the fact that anyone could do a better job at teaching History of Magic than Cuthbert Binns.

Ginny counted down mentally as Dumbledore started on his note that Quidditch Tryouts would be on the whateverth of whenever. True to form, Dolores Umbridge decided that the Ministry of Magic needed to step in and say something. There were only three people in the entire Great Hall that weren't surprised by this, and two of them were sitting at Gryffindor Table, preparing to make a break for the Room of Requirement at their earliest chance.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge said, in her annoying 'I'm Dealing With A Five Year Old' voice, "for those kind words of welcome. Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Ginny laughed, as did Harry and most of the Slytherins; if that wasn't a joke, it sure came across as one.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan," Ginny heard someone say. Umbridge cleared her throat, and resumed her croaking.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them for ever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.

"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"

Ginny's attention was disrupted by the fact that Harry was poking her shoulder. She looked over at him, and he mouthed "Diadem" to her. She nodded, and the two of them made their way to the Seventh Floor, completely unnoticed by anyone whose surname wasn't Dumbledore.

The one good thing about Umbridge's speech was that it was the perfect cover for the next step in The Plan.