Chapter Two
Late August 1688

Minnie tried to get sleep. She rested on the bed but found herself tossing and turning. Marrying a man she didn’t even know? What about Gilbert?

What about Gilbert?

She sat up and ran her hands through her hair. No, she could not marry this stranger. She and Gilbert were meant to be together. She got out of bed, put her outer dress on top of her sleeping slip and put a pair of shoes on. She felt practically naked!

She snuck out the house and ran as fast as she could, for what felt like an hour! Until finally she arrived. She doubled over to catch her breath before searching for some rocks. She threw them at the window, each one making a soft ping before falling back towards her. She eventually saw a lamp shimmering and the window was open.

A sleepy faced Gilbert appeared.

“Minnie?” he hissed down at her.
“Gilly we need to leave. Now! I’m… my…. Oh, Gilly I can’t,” she found herself starting to panic.
“Wait there,” he hissed again, before disappearing, the lamp also being extinguished.

Moments later he was there, wrapping her in his arms. He stroked her hair, whispered things into her ear, clung to her. “What’s the matter Minnie?”
She eventually found the breath and the words. “My parents have arranged my marriage. When I return from school next summer. I am to marry a man who is…” her lip trembled. “Who is 36!” The hot tears dripped down from the rim of her eyes. “I don’t want to marry him, Gilly, I want you.”
Gilly had lost his voice too, it seemed. He swallowed, and put an angry hand through his hair. He looked around the area. It was the very early hours of the morning, of course nobody was up yet. “Then… then we just go. We go to… to England. We start up fresh there.”
“Gilly I don’t want to go to England!”
“Then Ireland! We can go to Ireland! My father has relatives there. Perhaps they can put us up. They no nothing of you, nor of your parents.”
She found herself nodding. Of course! Ireland! It was the perfect place to go.

Chapter Three
Late August 1688

Gilbert had prepared a bag to take with them. He put in a rug, and some food, and then wrote his parents a quick letter. And they left. “It’s going to be a long journey.” He took her hand and began walking towards the dirt path to head into town.
Minnie tried not to look too discouraged, though she felt it.
“Let’s take a horse. Don’t worry, I’ll just take mine. Besides, once my parents wake to find me gone, with the horse, they will know I’m safe.” He glanced at Minnie. “Well, safer than if I were alone.”
“A horse? That would make it quicker, to be sure.”
Gilbert walked softly to the barn where the horses were housed. The horse belonging to him was black and large. Minnie followed him, wanting everything to be ready quickly. Her anxiety was at a peak, and even though she knew her mother would never have met Gilbert, she felt as if she were about to be caught. Rather than letting herself idle, she went about helping Gilbert. He was giving the horse a brush, and Minnie reached on the hooks to retrieve the saddling equipment. She passed him the saddle blanket, followed by the saddle, which he fitted without trouble.
“Okay, come on,” he said, leading the horse out of the barn. Once they were away from the house, down one of the dirt paths leading from the property, he helped Minnie up then climbed behind her.

They rode from their town towards the centre of Inverness. Gilbert had a compass and knew approximately how to get to Ireland, although it was going to take a few days, and a few stops.
“I think it best we stick off the paths, okay? It might get a bit rough though, but you won’t have to look over your shoulder as much.”
“I’m not-” Minnie started.
“Minnie I can feel you move to look.”
“I’m just worried. I don’t know how long it will take them to come looking.”
“Do you ever leave the house before they wake up?”
“No, of course not.”
“Oh, well then I suppose we should keep riding to get some miles behind us.”
The plan was for them to ride until they got to Fort William, rest, and try to get on a ship to Belfast where they hoped to spend the rest of their lives together.

On and on they rode, until Minnie starting to fall asleep. Fearing that she would fall off the horse, she said, “Would we be able to stop soon? Only for a little rest.”
She felt him shifting. “Blimey, it’s four o’clock. All right, we’ll just go up here a bit. There are some stones over there. Can you see them? We might feel a bit more hidden there.”
Minnie thought it was good thinking. She could see the stones. They were tall, and some were quite wide.
“Where are we Gilly?” she asked, as he helped her down from the horse. She had to wiggle her hips side to side to get some blood flowing back to her legs. Her backside was both numb and sore, a feeling she didn’t enjoy.
Gilbert got the blanket from his bag and spread it on the ground, then got a chunk of bread out. He split it in half and gave Minnie a piece.
“It’s Craigh na Dun, I think.” He went to tie the horse up, hopefully out of view, then sat down next to Minnie on the blanket.
“Just a little rest?” She asked him.
“Just a little rest,” Gilbert replied.

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.