[A/N: The first four sections in bold are quoted from book 5, “The Order of the Phoenix” by JK Rowling. The story starts during “The Battle at the Department of Mysteries”.]

The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eater’s shoulder and hit a glass-fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour-glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered.

…

“ Ginny?” Harry said fearfully. “What happened?”

But Ginny shook her head and slid down the wall into a sitting position, panting and holding her ankle.

“I think her ankle’s broken, I heard something crack,” whispered Luna, who was bending over her and who alone seemed to be unhurt. “Four of them chased us into a dark room full of planets; it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark.”

“Harry, we saw Uranus up close!” said Ron, still giggling feebly. “Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus, ha ha ha…”

A bubble of blood grew at the corner of Ron’s mouth and burst.

“Anyway,” continued Ron, “one of them grabbed Ginny’s foot, I used the Reductor Curse and blew up Pluto in his face, but…”

Luna gestured hopelessly at Ginny, who was breathing in a very shallow way, her eyes still closed.

…

“Har ry, it’ll suffocate him!” screamed Ginny, immobilized by her broken ankle on the floor when a jet of red light flew from one of the Death Eater’s wands and hit her squarely in the face. She keeled over sideways and lay there unconscious.

…

Bellatrix aimed a curse over her shoulder. The tank rose into the air and tipped. Harry was deluged in the foul-smelling potion within: the brains slipped and slid over him and began spinning their long colored tentacles, but he shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!” and they flew off him up into the air. Slipping and sliding, he ran on towards the door; he leapt over Luna, who was groaning on the floor, past Ginny, who said, “Harry -- what?”, past Ron, who giggled feebly, and Hermione, who was still unconscious. He wrenched open the door into the circular black hall and saw Bellatrix disappearing through a door on the other side of the room; beyond her was the corridor leading back to the lifts.

…

Ginny watched Harry run after Bellatrix Lestrange. She wanted to help, but her ankle felt like it was killing her. Luna wasn’t going to be of any help nor were Ron and Hermione, so it was up to her. To save her ankle, she started crawling.

When she entered the next room, she realized she’d made a mistake and gone the wrong way in her confusion as she was in the time room. She started to turn around when she saw several variously shaped hour-glasses on the floor next to the wall near a shattered cabinet.

She’d heard the story from Ron about what Hermione had done two years ago. She’d heard of these devices from her father. This could give her a little extra time to fix things -- to help Harry … somehow.

Ginny grabbed the biggest one she saw and looped the chain over her head and looked at the hour-glass right in front of her nose. A quick look around showed she was alone. Screwing up her courage as her heart continued to race and she could hear the pounding in her ears, she twisted the hour-glass once and then let go.

The world around her exploded in a so many colors she couldn’t comprehend it and blacked out.

Ginny felt herself swimming to consciousness and opened her eyes. It was a very plain room and smelled faintly of antiseptics. She was in a hospital; that filled her with some relief -- she hadn’t been captured by Death Eaters.

Trying to raise up, her head lifted enough she saw something across the room in the low light she couldn’t make out. More importantly, she noticed she was tied to the bed. “What--” she slurred with a gravelly voice as she dropped her head back to the pillow.

“You’re awake, what good timing that I was here,” said a female alto voice that wasn’t Pomfrey. A woman who looked to be about 40 with short brown hair and in a dark brown cloak appeared in her sight and waved a wand over her. “Yes, still weak but improving. I believe you’ll live after all.”

“Who are you and where am I?” gasped Ginny.

The woman turned away and then back with a glass of water in her hands with a straw. She held the straw to Ginny lips. “Slowly my dear and rest. Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you.” She pulled the glass and straw back. “We’ll talk in a few hours.”

Ginny started to ask her questions again when a red light flashed and she blacked out.

– – –

When Ginny awakened this time, she heard a low murmur of voices so she kept her eyes closed, hoping to gather some information.

“Please open your eyes, my dear,” the woman from before said. “I know you’re awake as I spelled you so.”

Ginny fluttered her eyes open. As she reached up to rub them, she realized her arms were no longer tied. The light was a little brighter this time and she could see that she was in a room made of ivory colored rock walls, brown cabinets with a white countertop on one side, a solid door on the other side of the room, and the woman still in her brown cloak plus an older looking man with wispy white hair in a light gray cloak. The two were sitting in comfortable looking chairs and watching her.

It wasn’t until now that she realized she was in a hospital gown. That caused her to frown. She sat up to lean against the wall behind her but was careful to keep the sheet pulled up in front of her.

“Good afternoon, Ms Weasley. This is an official welcome to the Department of Mysteries. I’m the director here, Algernon Croaker at your service. The woman with me, well, you can call her Betty. As you can guess, we’re both Unspeakables.”

Betty handed her a small tray with a little food and a glass of water. “You won’t be able to eat much even if you think you’re starving. We’ll do many small meals until your system returns to normal. Please eat while we explain a few things.”

Ginny nodded and took the tray. It did smell good. She really had no option but to trust them at the moment, though she’d stop if anything tasted off in case there were potions in it. After her first bite that made her mouth water and realize how hungry she really was, she ate quickly.

“Now,” Croaker leaned forward and put his forearms on his knees as he looked at her, “I need you to tell me how you got here and why you are here. However, before you start, you need to know that only the full truth will help you here. With the truth, we’ll be able to understand a few things and we’ll attempt to make things right for you. Lying to us and withholding the truth will make us assume you can’t be trusted and then what happens will not be so rosy. We won’t hurt you physically, your safety is assured, but we can make you forget everything if required -- probably things you’d like to remember.

“Do we have an understanding, Ms Weasley?” Croaker stared at her with a kind look on his face though his eyes were hard and bore into her.

Realizing she didn’t have a choice here, especially based on a few things she’d heard her dad say about the Unspeakables, she nodded.

“A verbal answer would be helpful,” he prompted.

“Yes, yes I understand,” she answered in a loud whisper. She also realized she’d finished the small meal and handed the tray back to the woman but kept her glass of water.

“Very good,” he said, the hardness leaving instantly before he sat up and then leaned back in his chair. The woman continued to watch her as if trying memorize her face.

“Perhaps a few facts should be shared before you answer my questions, to help you understand a little more and to help you with your story.” Croaker reached into a pocket and pulled out an hour-glass on a chain. “I believe you used this?”

“Yes,” Ginny answered meekly, knowing she was in deep trouble now.

Croaker nodded and return the hour-glass to a pocket. “It’s really very surprising you survived using it. The last person who tried died.”

Ginny’s eyes went very wide and her hands flew to her face to cover her mouth as she looked at him in horror.

“Yes, you have the proper reaction,” he agreed casually, “but you didn’t die and we’d like to know why.

“In addition, you should know that you’ve been in a coma for eight days and nearly did die. Betty,” he waved lazily in the woman’s direction, “came in early that morning and found you and has nursed you back to your present adequate health.”

“You’ll still be weak for some time,” Betty added, “probably for another week, perhaps longer.”

Ginny lowered her hands slowly as she tried to take in what had happened to her; how close she’d come to death a second time.

“As you can see, the shocker for us is that you survived at all. The shocker for you is that it is the 30th of June…” he paused, “1995.”

Again Ginny gasped and she covered her mouth with her hands. She made no sound but in her mind she was screaming, “NO!”

“Breathe, Ms Weasley,” Betty commanded; Ginny looked at her but felt frozen.

“BREATHE!” Croaker shouted.

Ginny looked at him and then gulped air out and then in. She concentrated on her breathing for several long moments as her mind did its best to come to grips with this information but it was hard. This was almost going to be like her first year in school all over again, only without Tom. She wanted to cry but managed to hold it in.

“I’m sorry for shocking you so,” Croaker said gently, “but there really was no way I could think of to ease into that. You picked up a Time Turner that goes back one year per turn, not one hour as most do. Fortunately for you, it can only be turned once, or so we believe.

“So yes, that means that at this moment there are two of you in existence. There’s the you that’s here and the you who’s a year younger who’s probably at your family home. Yet another fact is that the two of you cannot meet nor can any of your family know that you’re alive here.

“Generally speaking, when that happens the ‘unexpected you’ -- meaning this you -- ends up dead. That’s because everyone else thinks you shouldn’t exist and therefore you’re an imposter and someone gets spell-happy, usually some troglodyte Auror, and you snuff it. Eventually when the other Ginny Weasley uses the Time Turner, she disappears and Ginny Weasley is considered dead going forward because you’re never found. So let’s not go there, shall we?

“Obviously, that means you’ll be with us for the next year, at which time we’ll insert you back at the proper place at the proper time and you go on with life -- leaving out a few details as to how we get there.”

Croaker leaned forward again. “So Ms Weasley, now that you have the basic facts, I need to know how you got into the Department and why. Tell us everything up until you spun the Time Turner -- and I do mean everything connected even if it doesn’t seem important at first.”

“Can you change things? You know, fix the problems?” Ginny asked hopefully.

“No, Ms Weasley,” he answered. “Oh, we can try, but all of the important events will happen anyway. For example, if you tell us you came in through the Floo Network and we block that, you’d just come in a different way. We’ve found that the only true recourse is to let the events happen anyway but be available to pick up the pieces a little faster. This is why Time Turners are so dangerous. Now, my questions please,” he commanded.

Ginny nodded and considered where to start as she tried to put a timeline together.

“Don’t worry about time,” Croaker said, surprising her. “Pretend you’re in 1996 telling a story about your past and time is going on. I’ll worry about how it loops.”

She nodded and looked at the glass in her hands and came to a decision. “During my third year, so a year or more ago, we had the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts.” She looked up.

“I recall,” Croaker said.

“During the last task, Harry Potter was taken to a graveyard and something was done so that Tom Riddle somehow gained a new body--”

“Wait, who’s Tom Riddle?” Betty asked.

“That’s You-Know-Who’s real name.”

“How do you know that?” Croaker asked, looking a little excited.

“That’s another story with Harry,” she answered, dreading its retelling but knowing she’d probably not be able to avoid it.

“Very well,” Croaker conceded with a sigh, “so Voldemort really does have a new body?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Because of that Fudge and others didn’t want to hear about it, so they did their best to discredit him and Dumbledore, including sending a hag named Umbridge to teach Defense this last year -- though a toad could have taught it better.”

Each of the Unspeakable chuckled at that. “I’m sure, go on.”

…

“So I grabbed the Time Turning hoping to go back an hour so I could do something to help Harry. I did look around and saw that I was alone when I used it.” Ginny sighed. “That’s what happened, I swear.” She finished the water in her glass, thankful for it as she was parched after the long story.

Croaker looked at Betty who nodded, and he returned his own nod. “That helps us understand a few things and it’s very interesting. I know you haven’t been awake long, but why don’t you get some rest. I’ll return tomorrow and we’ll talk more.”

“I’ll bring another small meal in soon,” Betty said. “Eat it all as that will help you gain strength faster. There is a small curtained area over in the corner,” she pointed to an area Ginny hadn’t noticed before for some reason, “that contains a toilet and a shower. I’ll also bring clothes your size when I bring the meal. Lastly, there is a thick white line on the floor near the door. Do not try to cross it or you’ll be very, very, and I mean very unhappy.” Betty cocked her head with a questioning look.

Ginny sighed. “I understand.”

“I’m sure you don’t feel like it, but it’s for your own protection,” Betty told her. “There are a few of us who know who your father is and so could work out who you are. As Algernon told you earlier, that would be bad for you.”

“So I’m stuck here for the next year?” Ginny complained bitterly.

“If you want to be,” Croaker said as if he didn’t care while he stood, “but there are at least two other options that I can think of. Nevertheless, get used to this as I believe you’ll be here for at least two weeks and possibly three. I’ll bring some books by for you tomorrow to help you pass the time. Any requests?”

Ginny could hardly think straight by this time with so much swirly through her mind. “Whatever is easy for now.”

“I can do that,” Croaker said before he turned and left.

“I’ll be back shortly,” Betty said and then left too.

Ginny continued to sit there. All she could think of at the moment was how stupid she had been for picking up the Time Turner. This was the second time she’d picked up something she severely regretted and now she wondered if she was doomed to continue picking up innocent looking but harmful objects for the rest of her life … perhaps not as it might be a short life.

Betty returned with a tray and a small box. “The foods this time don’t need warming, so eat when you like.” She turned the box over and emptied it before vanishing it and enlarging all of the items it had contained. “Here’s two sets of clothes; leave dirty ones in a pile here on the counter and they’ll be laundered. I had one book for pleasure in my office that you can borrow.” She held it up before setting it down. “I don’t know where you are in your cycle, but I put a few feminine items in the stack too.

“You’ll noticed that the curtain in the bathroom area doesn’t go to the floor, but it will cover to your knees for privacy while still allowing us to know you’re in there should you be in there when we visit. There are towels in there. Finally, in case you were wondering, I changed you into that gown and we were alone. I promise I won’t let anyone take advantage of you physically while you’re here.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly, hoping that was a promise the woman could keep.

“Get some rest.” Betty pointed to a clock on the wall. “That does have the correct time so it really is a little after five in the evening. We’ll be back tomorrow morning around eight. Good evening.”

Ginny watched the woman leave and the door close. It was so quiet she could hear a pin drop. Walking over to the counter, she found cheese and crackers along with several fruits. Her glass was on the counter so she could refill it from the tap as needed. The book looked like something Hermione had shown her once. A glance showed it was Muggle in origin as it was made of paper; that was also true when she considered the cover was something she’d never seen in Flourish and Blotts. She had to admit that the shirtless man with long golden hair -- who was holding a woman whose dress had fallen off of her shoulders and seemed to be enjoying his embrace -- was someone who was easy on the eyes.

Grabbing a set of pyjamas that had been with the clothes, she went into the bathroom area and took a quick shower, including washing her hair which had felt very unkempt. It wasn’t her usual soaps, but they worked. Happy to be wearing something more normal she returned to sitting on the bed.

She didn’t have her wand, she had no power to do anything, she was a prisoner for the next year. That broke the dam and she started to cry. Eventually she fell asleep.

The next morning, Ginny was awakened when the door opened and the lights were raised to half. It had taken her several minutes to find a control for the lights on the counter last night in order to turn them off.

“Good morning,” Betty said briskly yet mostly friendly. She set a tray of steaming food on the counter. “I suppose we should get you an alarm clock too. Is there anything else we need to get for you?”

“The soaps I’m used to and a window,” Ginny replied. While not expecting it, she added, “My wand would be nice too.”

“Give me the name of the soaps; I’ll see if I can find a small window. As for your wand, eventually. Right now it’s important you not use magic in order for your body to recover faster,” the woman replied. “I’d suggest you get dressed first then eat. Algernon and I will return in about half an hour.” She left as quickly as she’d come a moment ago.

Not having any good reason to rebel, she turned up the lights all the way then changed quickly and put her pyjamas in a cabinet drawer. She also put her extra set of clothes away before she started on her breakfast. With no one to talk to, she easily finished eating her breakfast before they came. In fact, she ate a little of the fruit left over from last night too.

At half past eight, the door opened again for the her two… What did she want to call them? Jailers seemed to go a little too far. While they might consider themselves protectors she didn’t. Somewhere in between she decided before settling on “minders”.

“Good morning, Ms Weasley,” Croaker said cheerfully.

“Ginny will be fine since I’m going to be here for some time,” the girl said with some resignation.

“As you wish,” he agreed with a nod. “I’ll reciprocate and allow Algernon; Betty is always and only Betty.

“Now, you might not be as excited about this as we are, but it’s time to start gathering information on why you survived.”

“You mentioned talking about what would happen to me for the year,” Ginny reminded him.

“We can do that at the end if we have time, else there’s tomorrow,” Croaker told her. “I can guarantee you’ll be here for at least two weeks. Oh, I almost forgot.” He moved to the counter and pulled out a small box which he opened and dumped before an almost negligent wave of his wand enlarged all of the items.

“School books, used but serviceable, plus a Muggle spiral notebook and a few pens.” The man grinned. “Given what your father does, I’m sure you’ve seen a Muggle pen. So very fascinating and inventive. I use them personally when I don’t have to turn in official work.” Croaker picked one up and pressed the top so it clicked, then did it again for a slightly softer click before setting it down. “Brilliant.”

Ginny had seen Hermione use a pen, so she had a small clue, but she’d have to experiment when she was alone, not that she’d tell them that.

“Now, stand up very straight against the wall, please?” Croaker directed as he walked over.

When she’d moved, he ran his wand horizontally across the top of her head. She only knew what he was doing because her mum had done it once a year every year. That gave her a small pang she pushed away immediately. Moving to the side she saw him pull out a set of folded sticks and unfold them into a long one with numbers on it.

When the device was long enough, he held touched it to the floor and then measured to the mark. “Hmm, a touch over five-two; you’re a short one.” At her glare, he chuckled, “But you have an attitude to make up for that.” He put the folding ruler away and pulled out a small device he enlarged. “Step on that please and stand very still.”

She complied and let him adjust it. “Hmm, I think that weight is about right. Betty?” He shrunk the scale down and put it away.

“Yes, it’s reasonably proportional to her height,” Betty answered as she pulled out a cloth tape measure like Madam Malkins used. “Arms out straight please.”

Ginny rolled her eyes but did as she was told. Several measurements later Betty stepped back and wrote the answers on something on her clipboard. “I can’t imagine how my measurements would affect the Time Turner.”

“They probably don’t,” Betty agreed, “but we also don’t really know, do we?”

Croaker waved his wand over her. “I find nothing magical in her other than her own magic. I believe you said there were no magical marks on her skin anywhere.”

“Correct,” Betty replied while writing.

“Hey!” Ginny objected when she realized what they were discussing.

Betty fixed her with a sharp look, though Ginny didn’t lose any of her pique. “I had to examine you for injury, it was easy enough to make sure you weren’t marked for some ritual done to you when you were a baby.”

Ginny blinked and her temper cooled a little. “Seriously, people do that?”

“Yes,” Croaker answered, “and you know a person like that. Here, take this stick and do a Lighting charm and then hand it back.”

She took the stick but asked, “Who?”

“Something for you to think about later. The spell please?” he directed. “I know Betty doesn’t want you using magic, but I don’t think this one spell will hurt.”

None of her friends had any special marks, so maybe someone else from school she wondered. At his pointed look she cast, “Lumos!”

He took the stick back and examined it before writing something down. Looking over, she saw him enter “87”.

“What does 87 mean?” she asked, since he answered most questions, even if only briefly.

“It means you scored an 87 for magic. Well above average and almost exceptional but not quite so,” he replied. “No, the scale does not stop at 100,” he anticipated next her question.

“Also, the score is not completely accurate since you’re only fifteen,” Betty added. “It will be more accurate in a year and we’ll contact you for a quick test in three years if you’re still alive. For the next few minutes, please stand very still.”

Ginny sighed and watched both of them cast several spells, but had no idea what they were checking for. Instead she considered the earlier question. Who could have been marked for a ritual when a baby? That seemed like a cruel thing to do. They talked like it’d leave a permanent mark, maybe something like… “Harry!” she exclaimed with a small jump.

“Ms Weasley! Be still!” Betty admonished her.

Croaker just looked disappointed in her. “Obviously; now be still so we can finish our other measurements quickly.”

She could almost imagine Snape saying that given his tone of voice, she thought with a grin. Still, Harry had had a ritual done on him as a baby? Oh, right; it had to be why he’d survived that night. “He did survive the Kiling Curse,” Ginny said softly, “but Tom still affects him when he’s near. Harry said he gets a killer headache and it usually knocks him to his knees if they’re close enough.”

Croaker jerked his wand away from her and stared while Betty kept working. “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Very interesting, but a topic for another time.” Croaker resumed his work, though she never felt a things from either of them

About another ten minutes later, Betty stopped and then Croaker did too. They stepped back and conferred with one another for a few minutes in hushed tones as they pointed at their clipboards. Eventually they stopped and just looked at each other, much like she’d seen her father and mother do to hold a silent conversation, making her wonder.

“Are you two married?” she asked. The two Unspeakables twirled towards her so fast and in sync that it was comical, making her have to put a hand over her mouth to prevent a giggle.

“No,” was all Croaker said before he looked at the clock and then conjured his comfortable chair, with Betty doing the same.

“Betty will continue to monitor your health and do a few checks over the next week, but I shall not return until you are again at full health,” said the director.

Croaker looked at her intently. “I shall give you that time to consider what you’d like to do to hide for a year. Betty told me of your desire for a window and I’ll get a small one for you so you at least know if it’s day or night while you’re here. You have three choices, in no special order.

“First, you may stay here as you are now. Personally, I think you’re too normal to do that as it will get very lonely. Only Betty and I know you are here and it shall stay that way. Eventually, the only individual you’ll see on a daily basis is a house-elf to bring your meals, with Betty or I stopping by for a short check a few times a week.”

Ginny tried to keep a neutral face, but mentally she was cringing as that sounded horrible. “Second?”

“Second,” he continued, “we can put you in a coma with Draught of Living Death and then wake you up a couple of days before we reinsert you into the timeline, while wiping your memories of the short time you’ve been awake with us. While that may sound frightful, it’s the best option in some ways as you’ll return looking as you do now. One month awake won’t really change you enough to matter and then you don’t have to worry about the boredom. I’ll also make a magical vow to you that we will wake you.”

Ginny didn’t like the sound of this either, though she could see the advantages if she could ignore her feelings on this -- which she couldn’t at the moment. “What’s the third?” she asked in a quiet voice, almost afraid to hear what it was.

“Have you heard of an island named Hugh Town?”

Ginny shook her head.

“It’s an island in the Celtic Sea, a little beyond the western tip of Cornwall. There are a number of islands there and the Department has a small island hidden near Hugh Town for experiments when we need it. It’s sort of an oblong oval shape and a little over a square mile that’s mostly forest with some clearings and a small house. There are wards there to keep it hidden plus we can make it so only the two of us can go there and you can’t leave.

“You’d live on your own with Betty to stop by a couple of times a week. The obvious downside is that you’d be fairly lonely there too. The upside is that you wouldn’t be stuck in a room and the weather is fairly decent there in that it rarely freezes. But some would consider it cold for much of the winter, at least naturally. The wards on the island do temper that so it’s not so bad, though it’ll never be hot even in the summer.”

“That’s only slightly better, and very slightly,” Ginny commented acidly. “None of those are good options.”

“Actually, the last option could be significantly better if you let me finish,” he said a little perturbed. At her nod, he added, “While you would be living independently, it would mean you’re awake and so you could learn and revise. I can also put your name on the list of home-schooled students who want to take their OWLs in early July, usually a week after Hogwarts lets out. You would have your wand there to help you. That means that if you worked hard enough, you could skip a year at Hogwarts and join your brother and his friends in their classes if you wanted. You’d also be a full year older also.”

Ginny blinked at him and they let her think. “I can see some advantages to that,” she said eventually and slowly.

“You’d have to convince your parents to let you take the exams, but that’s up to you.” Croaker’s hard look came back. “For the first or last options, I will require an Unbreakable Vow not to divulge you used the Time Turner, where you spent your time, and a few other things. For the second option where you’re asleep, we’ll just remove your memories of your time with us and put you back in the Time Room to be found by the Aurors.”

Croaker stood. “I really don’t care which option you pick, but you have until the end of next week to give me an answer and the sooner you do the less time you’ll have to spend here, or awake, if you pick either of the last two options as I don’t expect you to want to live in this room for a year.”

“I don’t,” Ginny confirmed.

Croaker nodded and left.

Ginny looked at Betty who was tidying up but obviously getting ready to leave. “He was serious about all three options?’

Betty looked at her completely serious. “Yes. I suppose if you could come up with another option he’d consider it, but I doubt you can if we can’t.”

“I can’t now,” Ginny told her. “What’s the island really like?”

“Like he explained. It’s not bad when I’ve spent the weekend there when I wanted some quiet time to get away. It rains more than I’d like for a holiday spot, but the cottage house is pleasant enough. It will keep you busy enough that between doing your daily work and learning, you won’t be bored.” Betty paused, “Don’t underestimate the isolation though. You’re from a larger family and when you’re not with them you’re at school. It will be you and a few small animals like chickens only. I’ll stop by a couple of times a week and I’ll answer any questions you have about your schoolwork, but otherwise, it’ll only be you.”

“That sucks,” Ginny groused.

“You used the Time Turner, this is the consequences,” Betty returned with no sympathy. “If you don’t like it that much, take the Draught and Obliviation then you’ll never know this happened.

“An elf will bring lunch to you soon. If you need anything, either wait until I return next time or give a note to the elf if it’s more urgent.” Betty turned and left.

Ginny looked at the clock and noted it was only about eleven in the morning. “This really sucks!” she said sarcastically to the room.

(A/N: Now you can see how a year “gets lost”. :)