//------------------------------//
// Chapter 45 
// Story: On the Implications of Parallel Worlds 
// by computerneek 
//------------------------------//

Dumbledore winced.
He, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey were all watching the floating image produced by his scrying spell, watching Hogsmeade Station.  He wasn’t sure why Professor Snape was so interested in watching it with him, but he at least understood the other two.
He was, after all, watching for the youngest Weasley, in an attempt to ascertain her mental state.  To determine if she was still stable enough to play her part in the Plan…  which, the more he thought about it, the more he realized at least part of it needed some reworking anyways.
And he winced…  because he’d spotted the Weasley girl stepping out of the train, practically glued to the side of that Equestrian girl.  He had to admit, she looked a lot better than Molly Weasley’s description of her- but it was clear she was only functioning because she was actively fighting the tears…  and because of that Equestrian girl’s presence.  The girl was obviously comforting her.
Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh.  It wasn’t a happy or relieved sigh, but it wasn’t far from either of the two.  “Well, at least she’s already found a friend,” she stated.  “That’ll make things a lot easier.”
“...  What could have hurt her that bad?” McGonagall asked, sounding part worried, and part angry- a very unusual combination, for her.
“No idea,” Snape declared.  “But let’s hope that’s a Gryffindor Equestrian.”
“Oh, yes, definitely,” Madam Pomfrey agreed vehemently.  “Splitting them up now could deal a fatal blow to Miss Weasley’s psyche.  Hopefully recoverable, if we get Twilight’s people to schedule them together as much as they can, but…”
“In any case,” Dumbledore mumbled.  “I’ll have to cut her out of the Plan.  Which means…”  He turned to start rifling through the ancient pages of his plan.  “Which means…”  He winced again.  There were so many elements he’d written into the Plan almost nine years ago that hinged on Ginerva.
Finally, he sighed, and pushed the entire thing aside.  So much had changed that he’d have to start over…  completely.
Which meant, he needed to come up with something to deal with this year’s problem…  which hinged on Ginerva.  So, he needed to find out if Riddle’s diary had made its way into her possession or not, as a first priority.
Then the warning signal came through the Castle Wards, making him and both Heads of House look up.
“They’re at the lake,” Snape muttered.  “We’d better get moving.”





Ginny was only barely conscious of her surroundings for quite a while.  Once the strange girl had led her into an empty compartment and closed the door, she’d started crying again, all over the girl’s shoulder.
The girl hadn’t cared.  As a matter of fact, Ginny had a vague feeling that’s what the girl wanted her to do.
The girl had held her, rocked her gently, and even sang soft lullabies to her as she cried.  So, at some point, she’d stopped simply crying and started talking.  She was still crying, but it helped.
The girl had listened.  She’d told her about way more than she probably should have, but she didn’t care.  She’d stopped caring almost a month prior.
Then they’d walked somewhere.  She hadn’t paid any attention to where.  They were surrounded by people now, so she’d stopped talking.  She had finished crying as well- something that genuinely surprised her.  She hadn’t expected to finish crying for years, only to suppress it.  And even then.
“So,” the girl finally muttered, sounding slightly uneasy.
She pulled back to look into the girl’s face.  “What’s wrong?”  They were standing in place, so they had their arms wrapped around each other.
The girl smiled.  “Nothing is.  Just…”  She sighed.  “I…”  She frowned, like she was thinking very hard.  “Um…  I’m Morning Sun.  What might…?”  She trailed off, looking curiously at her.
She blinked.  She’d told this girl- Morning Sun- just about everything about herself and her problems, but she’d forgotten to tell her her name?  She felt the heat rushing to her cheeks again, and looked down.  “S-Sorry,” she muttered.
“No, no, it’s not a problem,” Morning cooed, pulling her close again and patting the back of her head with one hand.  “It’s just…  the Sorting Ceremony is up next, and…”
“What-!?” she gasped, pulling back and looking around wildly.  They were in a large, stone room, with a couple wooden doors leading out of it.  They were standing in the midst of a sea of black robes and hats.
She squeaked.  She’d forgotten to change!
Then she looked down.
…  She was also wearing black robes.  And when she reached up to the top of her head, she found a pointed black hat.
“What…?”
“I, ah, helped you change,” Morning muttered very quietly, directly into her ear.  “While you were distracted, on the train.”
She blushed even harder, and hugged Morning once again.  “Th-Thanks,” she stammered.  Then she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.  “G-Ginny.  Ginny Weasley.”
Morning smiled.  “Nice name.  And did you know, polygamy is not only legal but normal in Equestria?”
She pulled back once again, to look into Morning’s eyes.  “What-!?”
At that very moment, a door opened.  “Follow me.”  The voice reminded Ginny immediately of the goddess that had spoken to her years before- though it wasn’t quite the same.





The Sorting Hat was having a good day.  This year, not only did everyone sing along with her song, but she even had instrumental accompaniment.  Then, she’d had wave after wave of cheerful Equestrians to work her way through.
She was just thinking that nothing of all that much note was going to happen this time around when Professor McGonagall called “Sun, Morning”.
She’d noticed the same anti-legilimency spell blanketing all the first-years again this year- and this time, it was already in effect before the first one entered the room.  As a matter of fact, when she looked around the Great Hall, it looked like it blanketed the entire student body, including the upper-year students!
Then Morning Sun stepped free of the throng of waiting students.  She was immediately reminded of Sunset Shimmer the year before- the resemblance was very strong, though not so close that they’d be mistaken for each other too easily.  She was mildly curious how that had happened, since Sunset hadn’t been aware of any siblings.
Then, there was the way Morning Sun moved.  It was distinctly hurried, and she could see the worry on the girl’s face.
Oh, and the way that Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape all stiffened slightly, flickers of worry crossing their faces, when they saw the girl.
Then, she landed on Morning Sun’s head.  She expected to see the girl’s worry at the forefront, but she didn’t.
Gryffindor, please.
She paused, briefly confused.  The girl’s mind, at a mere glance, would’ve been enough to warrant an instant sort into Ravenclaw…  but she was asking for Gryffindor.
“Are you sure?” she asked.  “You’d fit in better in Ravenclaw.”
I’m sure.  Gryffindor, please.  She needs me.
“She-?”  She dug a little bit deeper, realized that the girl wasn’t the Raeth she’d originally taken her for, and discovered who and what she was talking about.  She also saw that the girl was an even better fit for Ravenclaw than she’d first thought.  “Oh.  You will be able to reach her, even from Ravenclaw, you know.”
Gryffindor, please.
“And this is your future you’re…?”
Please?
“Alright then.  GRYFFINDOR!”





“Weasley, Ginerva.”
The Sorting Hat watched calmly as all three Professors- Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape- watched nervously, even concernedly.
Then Ginerva stepped out of the crowd.  As expected of the final Weasley child, the girl had flaming red hair, and wore an expression of nervousness.  But the girl’s very existence was cause to wonder, for the Malfoy line wasn’t the only one to carry a House Curse.
The Weasley Family also carried a House Curse.  This one didn’t attack their hair and make them infertile after the first male heir, like the Malfoy Curse did- no.  All Weasleys were forever doomed to only have male offspring.
Thus, the very fact that Ginerva wasn’t male made her very curious how that had happened.  It had happened long before Lyra’s Papa Tango had made it possible for Draco Malfoy- now Silversong- so outright ignore her House Curse.
Then, she landed on the girl’s head, fully expecting to sort her into the same house as every other Weasley in the last two hundred years or so.  The first thing she saw, however, was the blessing of the Goddess.
The next thing she saw was just how much pain the girl was under.  It stunned her for a couple seconds.
Um, Gryffindor?  Even her thoughts sounded terrified.
She dug deep enough to see her bond to Morning Sun…  and promptly agreed with Morning.  Yes, Ginny did need her.
“Sorry about that,” she began.  “And congratulations on the Goddess’ blessing, I suppose.  And don’t worry, you’re definitely a Gryffindor.  Before I announce it, though, there’s something I need to ask you.”
The relief flowing through the girl was palpable- she knew she wouldn’t be separated from Morning, her new best friend.  What is it?
“Well, I actually control the sleeping arrangements as well, soo…  You’ve got two choices:  I can put you with the other British first years, or I can put you with Morning Sun, in the Equestrian dorms.”
What-?  But I don’t want to bother-!
“Don’t worry about that.  She was planning on offering that to you herself.  And there won’t be anyone else to bother, since the Equestrian dorms are five beds to a room, and Morning was going to have an entire room to herself already.”
Then…  If-  If-
She chuckled.  “Yes, she’ll be happy to have you.  GRYFFINDOR!”