" Yeah I'd rather be alone
I don't even want to know ya
don't want to be known "
--CHAPTER TWO--
1977
"OWWW...."
Was the first thing that Arabella said when she woke up.
When she finally opened her eyes, she thought she was still dreaming. She looked out the window and found that it was daytime.
Weird, last time I checked, it was almost midnight. Arabella looked around the room, and she grew even more confused. She was in the Hospital Wing. But last time she checked, the hospital wing was in ruins.
And then it all came back to her. The memories of the battle kept replaying in her brain like a broken record.
Flashed of Harry, Ron, and Hermione came to her first. Then she remembered all the deaths that she saw. Enough to leave someone in insanity.
"Oh good, you're awake!" came a cheery voice from beside her. She turned around and recognized her as Madam Pomfrey. Or PomPom for short.
"Madam? Where is everyone? Why am I here? Why are you here? Did we win? What happened to me?" Arabella said to her in a rushed voice. She was starting to panic. She needed to know if she was too late.
"whoa sweety, calm down. I don't have answers to your questions, but if could you tell me your name?" Madam Pomfrey answered.
Arabella gaped at her. How could she not remember who she was? Arabella was practically in here every other week with a quidditch injury or just wanted to help her out.
"You don't know who I am?"
"No, sorry, sweets. You kind of came here unexpectedly."
Arabella couldn't believe her ears. She kept a calm face, but in reality, she wanted to scream.
"My name is Arabella Goldstein. I am eighteen years old."
Madam Pomfrey started writing all the information Arabella gave her.
"Okay, where are you from?"
"London."
"Okay, that's enough information for now. Do you currently feel any pain?" she asked.
Do I feel pain? Arabella thought to herself. Her back hurt a little but nothing major. The only thing that was bothering her was her stomach. It had felt as if someone took a knife to it. With that in thought, she looked down to see three long identical scars running down her stomach.
She grimaced and said, "Just my stomach and my head."
Madam nodded.
"What happened to me?"
"where do I start, um well, you had three broken ribs, a concussion, cuts, and bruised that were caused by some sort of dark magic. You also had excessive bleeding on your abdomen, hence the scars. A curse or a hex most likely causes those cuts. I am afraid that I couldn't heal the scars on the rest of your body since they were a product of dark magic."
Arabella turned to look at the scars on her thighs and forearm. Her mind immediately went to the person that caused this. Bellatrix.
"That's alright. Madam, thank you. But one thing if I may, ask is how long was I out for?"
"A week, Miss Goldstein."
With that, Arabella's face went pale. Well paler than it already was.
A week.
Seven days.
Something didn't feel right to her. It couldn't have been seven days. Someone would have found her by then. Hermione, Ron, someone would have helped her sooner.
Then she remembered who she saw when she woke up for the first time.
Albus Dumbledore.
But that can't be possible. Dumbledore died during her sixth year. She remembers seeing his lifeless body on the ground. Arabella went to his funeral, for heaven's sakes!
And as if the universe was reading her mind, none other than Albus Dumbledore walks into the hospital wing.
At this point, Arabella's mouth is fully open in shock. She even went as far as pinching herself because she was sure this was all a dream. Or maybe she died, and that's why she was seeing him.
"Ah, Miss, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" Dumbledore said with a small smile.
Arabella seems to come out of her shock, and the only thing she can utter is, "Am I dead? Did I die, right? This cant be real? How the fuck did I die?"
"Well, I can assure you, Miss, that you are very much alive. Unless this is the afterlife and I don't know I'm dead yet." He said with a chuckle, but Arabella couldn't bring herself to laugh.
"Now, Miss, what is your name, and why did you fall from the ceiling of my office?"
What the fuck is he on about? He doesn't know my name. I've known him for seven bloody years! Arabella thought to herself.
"I am Arabella Goldstein, and I don't know how I fell from your ceiling. I do apologize for the intrusion," she answered politely.
"Oh, no intrusion at all, miss Goldstein. It was quite entertaining, you see. I was sitting there just petting Fawkes when I heard screaming. I was very confused, you see, since it's July and school is not in session yet. And the next thing I know, you are lying on the ground drenched in blood." He finished.
Out of that whole thing, Arabella heard one thing.
JULY?
"Sir what do you mean, July? Its may. May 2. I am sure of it since, well, you know."
"I am afraid I don't know, miss Goldstein. I am almost positive that it's July. July 20, 1977."
Arabella's blood ran cold.
1977.
There is no possible way that it was 1977. Now she was sure she had died. Time travel doesn't exist. Time turners don't work that way. They bring you a maximum of two hours into the past, not twenty bloody years.
"1977? Sir, I don't think that's right. It May 2, 1998."
When Arabella said this, she saw that Dumbledore was surprised by her revelation. He probably thought she was crazy.
Wordlessly he summoned a copy of the Daily Prophet and pointed to the date.
July 20, 1977, It read in big black print.
Arabella started to feel dizzy again. There is no possible way in hell that this she traveled twenty years into the past. She wants even born yet. Arabella didn't exist yet.
"Sir, how is that even possible?" Arabella whispered.
"I am not sure how you got here, miss Goldstein, and I don't know if you are able to go back. Now tell me what was happening during May 2, 1998."
She didn't know where to begin. On May 2, 1998, Arabella was fighting a war trying to defeat the dark lord with her best friends.
And that's exactly what she told Dumbledore.
When she was done explaining her story, Dumbledore was deep in thought. Then he looked up at Arabella with unwavering focus. She knew what he was trying to do, and she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her was how fast she was able to block him out of her mind.
By the look on Dumbledore's face, he was surprised too.
"Now, miss Goldstein, why should I believe you? You could easily be working for the dark lord with occlumency skills that powerful." He said with narrow eyes, very unlike himself. But then again, one can never be too careful, and she didn't blame him for the asking.
"Sir, you can see my memories if you like. Just not through legilimency. It takes a lot of energy to try and block you out, and as you can see, I don't have a lot of it. May I suggest we use the Pensieve in your office? And you can even use veritaserum on me. Just to be sure."
How did she know I had a Pensieve in my office? He thought to himself.
"Yes, alright, but for now, please rest up. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but you look terrible."
Arabella managed a small chuckle.
Dumbledore then got out of his chair and turned to Arabella one last time and said, "I'll see you tomorrow at noon. Good day, Miss Goldstein." And he walked out of the wing.
"Right, miss Goldstein, I need you to take this pain potion and this sleeping potion; Merlin knows you need it." Said Madam Pomfrey as she handed Arabella two small vials.
Without so much of a second thought, she downs them both and drifts off into dreamless sleep.
A/N- hello cuties! I am sorry if you see some grammar errors! English is not my first language AND these are unedited. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not too sure if I liked it myself but I wanted to post it. ALSO, I don't know how to write Dumbledore. he is very hard to write tbh. he speaks in riddles in the books and other fics that I've read but I didn't want to do that. So I will write him to be very blunt. still very nice but blunt.
Anyways, don't forget to vote and comment!:)
till next time,
Mira
loner by kali uchis