Chapter Four
Late August 1888

Minnie felt her stiff, cold body wakening. The breeze held an uncharacteristic chill, and birds were chirping from the trees. She rolled over, reaching her hand out to snuggle against Gilly, and felt empty space. That woke her quickly, and she sat up. Gilly wasn’t there. She looked around. Gilly wasn’t the only one missing. The sounds of movements and contented neighs of the horses was absent. Minnie felt very alone, cold, and scared. An acerbic taste rose in her mouth, but she swallowed it down before it could project out. The ground beneath her was nature – dirt, fallen leaves, grass, and flowers. Had Gilly changed his mind whilst she slept and left her?

Although Minnie wasn’t confident she could find her way to Ireland by herself, she knew it would be easy to retrace her steps back home. It would take a long time, considering she was on feet, but that was okay. Perhaps Gilly had gone to get some breakfast, or to keep watch. That didn’t explain why the blanket was now missing. She headed down the hill and found the dirt road without any problem, and walked towards the city.

It was starting to get dark by the time she arrived, and although her settings had changed, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice. Until she walked down through the forest and… her house wasn’t there. From one house on the block of land her family used as a farm was now what looked like a small street. She counted seven houses. That wasn’t right, but it was definitely where her house had been. What was she to do? The sense of loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and panic bubbled back, and she felt her hands shaking. She was hungry, but something was clearly wrong.

She knocked at the door belonging to the house with lights on.
“Hello there,” an elderly woman said, opening the door.
“H-hello. I… h-how long have you lived here?” she asked.
The elderly woman was taken aback. “For seventy years now.” She let out a soft laugh. “Are you alright, dear? Would you like to come in?”
Minnie nodded and crossed the threshold. It certainly wasn’t her home. Nothing about it was hers.
“Here, I’ll make you some porridge.” The elderly woman waved her wand and a bowl of steaming oats appeared in front of her. Minnie almost cried.
“A witch! You’re a witch! Oh, oh thank Merlin,” she whimpered.
“Now, now lass, what’s gotten you into this state there?”
Minnie wiped away some tears and took a scorching spoonful of porridge. It warmed her up, from mouth to stomach. She explained to the elderly woman that she was lost, and the boy she was to marry had ran off, leaving her alone. She buried her face into her hands, letting the sobs escape. The elderly woman was very nurturing, and gathered Minnie in her arms, holding her tight against her chest.
“Well now, are you still at Hogwarts?”
Minnie nodded. “I’m about to start my final year. I don’t have anything with me, though.”
The lady soothed her hair back and spoke calmly.
“Now then, we can go down to Diagon Alley tomorrow, aye? Get you your things for Saturday.”
Minnie nodded. She should be able to access the bank to get some money out and get her things.
“But for now, you can stay on the pullout.”
“Thank you so much,” Minnie said.
“No, not to worry, dear.”

Minnie snuggled down on the pullout in the lounge room. It was very comfortable. She thought to herself that these people she was staying with must have been very wealthy to be able to afford this quality of bed. Even her parents, who were themselves wealthy, didn’t have anything quite as soft as this. The blankets weren’t itchy, and the pillows weren’t as hard as a brick. She slept exceptionally well until she was woken up by a tapping at the window. She let in an owl, who had a paper with it.
“Here ye go,” the lady said, walking down the stairs, stifling a yawn. Minnie paid the owl and took the package.
“What is it?” she asked. It looked like one of the papers Minnie’s parents got, but this was very large compared to it.
“I-it’s the Daily Prophet.”
Minnie looked up at her, feeling very self-conscious.
“Oh, right,” she said. The Daily Prophet? Minnie unfolded the paper, seeing the bold title of the paper. The pictures were moving, as the wizarding photos usually did, but this was exceptionally large. Minnie’s paper only ever told news of Scotland, and occasionally London, but this one had news from all around the world. She was enjoying watching the pictures on the front page until she saw some little writing in the top corner. What should have read Saturday, August 28, 1688 read;

Tuesday, August 28, 1888.