For some reason, Harry was reluctant to bring up the subject of Viktor Krum in front of Ron and Hermione. In a way, Krum had been Hermione's first boyfriend. Well, no, that wasn't really it. It had never been that serious, and Hermione never had gone to Bulgaria, but she had been friends with him, and she'd defended him earlier in the year. Harry had a feeling the news that Krum was very likely a spy would be upsetting to her, especially when Ron agreed, as he was all too likely to, with Harry's conclusion, so he didn't bring the matter up that evening. He told himself the common room was too crowded, and this wasn't a subject that ought to be discussed where something could be overheard.

The following morning at breakfast, Harry couldn't stop himself from looking up at the head table. Krum wasn't there, but Harry reckoned he either could have eaten earlier or simply hadn't turned up yet.

At lunch, Ginny nudged him and looked pointedly at the head table. "Where's Krum?" she whispered.

Harry shrugged. "He wasn't at breakfast, either. Do you suppose…" He trailed off. There were too many others about to discuss this openly.

"Looks like it," said Ginny.

"Looks like what?" asked Ron.

"We'll tell you later," said Harry. "After supper, in that storage room?"

"Sounds serious."

"It is, and it has to be kept quiet, all right?"

Hermione, who was sitting with Ron and had heard everything, nodded.

That evening, when they were all seated in broken-down sofas, Harry waded right in. "Did either of you notice that Krum wasn't at any of the meals today?"

Ron and Hermione looked blankly back. They'd obviously not paid any attention, not that they'd had any reason to.

"Well, he was missing, and I think I know why." He took a deep breath and looked apologetically at Hermione. "I think he's the spy the Death Eaters have planted at Hogwarts."

Ron raised his eyebrows at Harry. "What makes you think so?"

"Yes, what makes you think so, Harry?" Hermione said, but her tone was quite different from Ron's. She was staring at Harry, her eyes narrowed and glinting dangerously.

Harry launched into an explanation of why he and Ginny had missed supper the day before. Then Ginny described the strange feeling she'd had last September once more.

"Did you tell Dumbledore about this?" asked Hermione. "What did he say? Didn't he set you straight?"

"Yeah, we went and told him, and he didn't say a word one way or the other. But that's not all." Harry paused. "Last night I was looking in that book you had out of the library, Hermione. The one about rare talents. I think I know what he did to Ginny. He's a Soul Searcher."

Ginny gasped. This bit of information was new to her.

"It all fits," Harry went on. "He used his ability to determine that Ginny was a Jewel-wright, and he passed that on. Then they waited for their chance to grab her. I wonder…" He'd just been struck by another thought. "The attack in Hogsmeade. Maybe they wanted Ginny then, and not me."

Hermione was concentrating very hard on what Harry was saying. A line had formed between her brows. "It's possible," she said. "It all fits… but… I still can't believe it. He was always so nice to me!"

"Come on, Hermione," said Ron. "That doesn't mean he can't be a spy. He'd have to be a good actor to pull it off, wouldn't he? Just remember what school he went to."

"Yes, but that doesn't automatically make him evil," Hermione protested. "Why would Dumbledore have hired him if he were on the Death Eaters' side? If he really were a Death Eater, why would he have pursued me fourth year? I'm Muggle-born, after all."

"Like I said, he's a good actor. He could have used his ability to see if people were buying his act or not."

"I'm a good judge of character! I won't believe it of him without more proof than this!"

Ron coughed loudly, and Harry was sure he heard the word "Lockhart". Hermione glared at Ron.

"In any case," Harry interrupted before Hermione could protest further, "Dumbledore knows now. I expect he's been sacked. That's why he wasn't anywhere to be found today."

"I guess we'll find out for sure at our next Defence Against the Dark Arts class," said Ron. "This is a first, you know. All the other Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers we've had lasted into the third term."

Harry nodded, but for some reason, Ron's remark made him think of Barty Crouch, Jr, and that reminded him of a conversation he'd had with Viktor Krum back in his fourth year. "But if Krum is a Soul Searcher, he'd have known…" he mused aloud.

"He'd have known what?" asked Hermione.

Harry felt himself flush. "Erm, well, do you remember what Rita Skeeter was writing about you and me fourth year?" Hermione pursed her lips and nodded. "Krum actually asked me about that once. He asked me what was between us, and I said we were friends, of course. But if he's a Soul Searcher, why did he bother asking? Shouldn't he have known?"

"He must not have been trained yet. Something like that usually manifests itself in a person's late teens, but to use the ability properly requires training. I don't ever remember him looking at me strangely. If he had, he wouldn't have asked you about me, he'd have asked Ron." She went pink at this admission, in spite of the fact she and Ron had been going together for over a year and a half now. "I think he at least recognised that I didn't see him as a boyfriend, because when I told him I wouldn't come to Bulgaria to see him, he didn't raise a fuss. He seemed, well, resigned."

"Wait, what do you mean, he seemed resigned?" asked Ron.

"I told him to his face on the last day of term while we were waiting for the carriages."

Ron's jaw dropped, and for a moment he couldn't say a word. "But… but… You led me on that whole summer!" he burst out at last. "I don't know how many times I asked you if you were going to visit that git in Bulgaria, and you never answered…"

"Got you, didn't I?" Hermione looked rather smug. "You worked it out in the end, didn't you? By the time August was half gone, and you saw that my letters were still coming to you from England…"

Harry didn't say anything during this exchange. He was surprised. He'd always assumed she'd never gone because her parents had refused to take her. His own memories of that summer weren't very happy ones. He'd spent a good deal of time avoiding sleep because he kept having nightmares about the night Voldemort had returned. He'd had to remain at the Dursleys' until the last week in August, when Dumbledore had finally given him permission to visit the Burrow.

He could feel Ginny's eyes on him, and he wondered if she could sense the shadow that had come over him. How much had she been aware of what he'd gone through in the past? He'd never paid her very much attention then, but did that mean she'd ignored him? She used to have a crush on him, but he couldn't pinpoint a time when her feelings had changed. He simply hadn't taken notice. When had they changed? Even now he couldn't be certain of them. He'd told her he loved her, but she'd never said if those feelings were reciprocated.

"I still won't believe Krum was a spy," Hermione was saying.

"Dumbledore obviously does," said Ron. "He's sacked him."

"You don't know that for sure. You just think you do!"

Harry wished he could feel as confident as Hermione about Krum. He'd always thought Krum was a decent fellow, but the evidence all seemed to point to his being on the enemy's side.

*

"So who do you think we'll have for Defence Against the Dark Arts now?" Ron asked at breakfast the next day.

"Dunno," replied Harry, looking up at the staff table. Krum still wasn't there, but if he'd been replaced, the seventh year Gryffindors wouldn't find out who that replacement was until after lunch. Harry didn't see any new faces among the staff. Mundungus Fletcher caught him staring and scowled. Harry turned back to his porridge. He'd have a whole morning of Potions to endure, and he'd need his strength.

But when he arrived in the dungeons with Ron and Hermione, Harry discovered a knot of Slytherins all standing by door whispering about something. They shut up as soon as the Gryffindors arrived, and Harry wondered what was going on. He entered the classroom and immediately headed to his usual seat. He only looked up once he'd sat down, expecting to see the usual pickled creatures in their glass jars along with Mundungus Fletcher.

He was shocked to see a familiar head of greasy black hair. Snape's back was turned as wrote a list of ingredients on the blackboard. Harry nudged Ron and pointed.

"I never thought I'd say this," Ron said slowly, "but I'm glad to see him back."

"Yes, but…" Harry began, and then he shut his mouth. He couldn't voice his thoughts out loud here. Snape's potion had worn off, and he'd made it back safely to Hogwarts. That much was obvious. But Harry had to wonder how he'd managed to get away from the Death Eaters without his cover being blown. If Macnair had disappeared from Lucius Malfoy's entourage only to have Snape turn up at Hogwarts at the same time, what was to stop the Death Eaters from putting two and two together? It would only take Draco Malfoy informing his father that his old Potions master was back…

The bell had rung and the Slytherins were filing into class now. Harry thought they looked as relieved as Ron to see Snape back on the job. All except Draco Malfoy. His face was unreadable. Harry had to wonder again just how much he knew about his father's activities. Even if Krum had been a spy, that didn't mean Malfoy couldn't be working for his father as well. It might be something as simple as relaying messages, but that could be enough to put Snape in danger. It may have been what led to Ginny's capture. He'd have to work out a way of finding out how much Malfoy knew.

Snape turned from the blackboard and faced the class. Harry tried to catch his eye to see if the Potions master would betray anything in his expression, but Snape's glance passed on by. It was just as well, Harry realised. Snape couldn't afford to let on to anyone that he'd had anything to do with Harry over Christmas.

Snape addressed the class without smiling. "Good morning. I trust you all missed me as much as I missed you. As I'm sure you're all aware, your NEWTs are coming up at the end of the year, and that means we're going to have to work twice as hard to make up for all the ground you've no doubt lost while that idiot Fletcher was teaching you." Everyone seemed to sink into his seat a little at that thought. Snape reached for a stack of parchment on his desk. "We're going to start off with a little test to see just how much we'll have to cover in the coming terms."

He began to distribute the parchment. As he passed their table, Harry looked pointedly up at him. His face remained impassive for a moment before taking on its customary sneer. Harry knew that was the only reaction he was going to get out of Snape.

"See me after class, Weasley," Snape muttered in a barely audible voice before moving on. Ron met Harry's glance and shrugged. Then they both turned to their test papers.

Harry and Hermione hung back after class and waited for Ron, who appeared five minutes later looking unhappy. "I don't believe it! The slimy git gave me detention!"

"What!" exclaimed Harry at the same time as Hermione said, "But you didn't do anything!"

Ron looked around him to make sure the corridor was deserted before explaining. "It's to do with the incident over Christmas. You know, where I stunned him?"

"He can't give you a detention for that!" said Harry. "You weren't at school, and he wasn't acting as our teacher."

"And he asked you to do it!" added Hermione.

"Doesn't matter. He said he'd have expected Longbottom to do a better job stunning him. Said we're at war, and I'd need to do a better job defending myself if I expected to come out alive. I almost wish we still had Fletcher."

Unfortunately, Ron got his wish. When they arrived at lunch, Ginny resignedly informed them that Mundungus Fletcher had taken over for Krum in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Well, that's just great," groaned Ron. "This day can't get any worse, can it?"

As things turned out, it could and did. They arrived at Defence Against the Dark Arts to discover that, whatever Snape thought of Mundungus Fletcher's Potions abilities, he'd obviously made a comment or two about the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum.

"I've been informed," Fletcher announced to the class, "that you're woefully behind in your stunning spells."

He divided the Gryffindors into pairs, and they spent the entire class practising. Harry's head was pounding by the time the bell rang. He'd hit his head on a desk the last time he was stunned. He couldn't help but think Ron had quite a good handle on the spell after all.

*

Ron's detention was set for the following Friday evening. At fifteen minutes to eight, he was ready to head down to the dungeons, when Harry pulled him aside. "See what you can find out," he whispered.

"Like what?" asked Ron. "What do you mean?"

"Only that Snape didn't really have a good reason to give you detention."

"He didn't need one. This is Snape we're talking about here, not Professor Flitwick."

"So maybe he has another reason to give you detention. Maybe he has something important to pass on."

Ron's expression clearly said that he thought Harry had gone mental. "Harry, this is Snape. He isn't about to tell me anything. He didn't call me down there to play spy games. The only reason he gave me detention is because he can. He was looking for excuses. He went a whole term without punishing Gryffindors. He's got to make up for lost time. Anyway what would I ask him?"

Harry considered. It was probably better if they had something specific to ask. "Well, what about Malfoy?"

"What about him?"

"His dad was behind those Death Eaters making off with Ginny. Do you think Draco knows anything about that."

"Maybe, but how would Snape know about it if he does?"

"He might. He may have seen Draco at that castle in Wales, or he may have been to Malfoy Manor as Macnair."

"But from everything he told you, he didn't know who the spy at Hogwarts was. He didn't even know there was one, did he? And besides, I thought we'd worked out who the spy was already."

Harry glanced over at the table where Hermione and Ginny had their heads together over something. "Hermione's not convinced. She's usually right about things like this, you know." Harry dropped his voice even further, even though they'd already been talking in undertones. "Even if Krum was spying, it doesn't mean there couldn't be more than one spy. You have to admit Malfoy is well placed to pass things on to his father."

"Even if Snape knows something, I don't know why he'd tell me about it."

"Just try him, all right?"

Ron went off grumbling that he'd be late, and he didn't return to Gryffindor Tower until well after midnight. Harry, Ginny and Hermione were waiting for him in the nearly deserted common room. Ron collapsed in the nearest armchair.

"Urgh! I never want to see another armadillo as long as I live!"

"Why?" asked Hermione. "What did he make you do?"

"Apparently the students' supply of armadillo bile was running low. I had to replenish it."

Hermione picked up one of Ron's hands and examined it. "You didn't do a very good job cleaning up, did you?"

"You spend the evening extracting armadillo bile. They were live when I started, mind you." Ron shuddered. "Anyway, you try cleaning up properly after that."

"It's quite simple, really. There are all sorts of scouring charms…"

"I didn't take my wand. Snape told me to leave it behind, as I wouldn't be needing it."

It sounded very much as if Snape had intended Ron to put in a true detention, and Harry began to suspect he'd been wrong about the potions master having any information to pass on. He really should have known better, but he asked anyway. "Did you get anything out of Snape?"

"It was weird. I didn't get anything much out of him, but it was like he was testing me."

"What did he say?"

"I sort of asked him quietly if he thought Draco Malfoy was on the same side as his father, and Snape just looked at me for the longest time. Like he was sizing me up. And then he said he was trying to work that out for himself."

"So he suspects him."

"Yeah, it sounds like he does."

"I wonder," said Hermione speculatively.

"What?" asked Ron.

"Well, he said he took a potion to make himself look like Macnair, and he didn't know if it was going to wear off or not, but he had to have more control of it than that. Maybe he took the antidote or something."

"Maybe he came back to catch the spy!" said Ron.

"I thought we decided it was Viktor Krum," said Ginny, earning herself a glare from Hermione, "and he came back so that Mundungus Fletcher could take over in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Well it sounds as if he's keeping an eye on Malfoy," Harry said.

"Would he tell us anything if he knew it?" asked Hermione.

Harry knew he should resign himself to the inevitable. "Probably not. But I'd still like to know how much Malfoy knows about his dad."

"Colin Creevey!" Ron said suddenly.

"What?"

"Colin Creevey was spying on Malfoy for the Quidditch team last autumn."

"I dunno, Ron. How are we going to ask Colin if he heard Malfoy mention anything about his dad without giving ourselves away?"

"We wouldn't have to," said Hermione. "We could just use the same methods Colin did to find out what Malfoy knows."

*

Time began to pass more quickly as Harry fell into the routine of term once more. Almost before he knew it, January was coming to an end, and the sloping grounds were covered in a thick layer of snow. Harry watched as lazy snowflakes drifted past the window of the History of Magic classroom, adding to the white blanket on the ground.

Inside, the seventh year Gryffindors had lapsed into their usual stupor as Professor Binns droned on about the exploits of Emerill the Extremely Boring. Hermione was actually pretending to take notes, or at least Harry thought so. He could hear her quill scratching away, at any rate, although he had no idea what she found so noteworthy.

The entire class jumped as one when a sudden knock at the door interrupted Professor Binns. "Yes," he called, sounding slightly perturbed. The door opened to reveal Ralph Chapman, a broad sixth-year who would have been a Beater on the Gryffindor house team if Quidditch matches hadn't been cancelled. Harry had barely ever heard him string two words together, but now he addressed the History of Magic professor. "I've been sent for Ron Weasley. He's to come to Professor McGonagall's office right away."

Ron exchanged an alarmed look with Harry and Hermione. It sounded very much as if he was going to be in trouble for something, but Harry had no idea what that might be. They'd all had so much work lately that none of them had had a chance to sneak out at night. In any case, if the infraction had been of that nature, surely Hermione would have been called in to see their head of house too.

Ron gave them both a shrug, collected his things and left. Harry looked over at Hermione, who was now wearing a worried and confused expression. She evidently had no more an idea than Harry what this was about.

"Now, where was I?" Professor Binns was consulting his notes. "Oh, yes, in 1365, Emerill…"

Harry stopped paying attention, even as he heard Hermione's quill begin scratching again, but now he had something more substantial to think about than the snow outside. When the bell rang at the end of class, Harry and Hermione jumped up as one and went straight for the door. It looked as if Hermione was just as eager as Harry to find Ron and ask him what Professor McGonagall had wanted.

Harry saw Hermione stuffing a parchment filled with the sort of odd symbols Ginny used when she did her Ancient Runes homework into her bag as she advanced. Harry thought that was very odd; Hermione had dropped Ancient Runes at the end of third year.

That thought was chased from Harry's mind as soon as they'd entered the corridor. Professor McGonagall was waiting there, her expression very grave. Harry thought her eyes looked suspiciously bright. "Harry, I need you to come with me, please."

Harry was now thoroughly confused. First Ron and now him, and he had no idea what any of this could be about.

Hermione looked alarmed. "Please, Professor…" she began, but McGonagall held up her hand. "You should go back to Gryffindor Tower, Miss Granger. I expect you'll find Mr Weasley there." Hermione looked as if she wanted to protest, but this was their head of house. "Mr Weasley will tell you what this is all about," Professor McGonagall added, her voice softer.

This seemed to placate Hermione. She started off towards Gryffindor Tower, but not without a look back at Harry.

"Professor McGonagall, something's happened, hasn't it?"

"Yes, Harry, it has. If you'll come with me…"

Harry followed, his heart sinking. For a moment he felt as he had during second year when the vast majority of the school had believed he was responsible for attacking his fellow students. But he hadn't done anything then, and he hadn't done anything now. In fact, nothing at all had happened that he knew of.

They descended to the first floor and Professor McGonagall's office, where Harry found a familiar black dog waiting for him. Harry's heart suddenly felt much lighter. "Sirius!" he cried, rushing forward.

Professor McGonagall remained in the doorway. "I'll leave the two of you to talk."

Sirius, meanwhile, had transformed into human form. "Harry!" He was smiling, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He extended a hand, which Harry took, while Sirius clapped him on the shoulder. Then, without warning, his godfather pulled Harry into a tight embrace. When Sirius pulled back, Harry could see he looked quite bleak. He also noticed on Sirius' face several cuts and bruises in various stages of healing. He'd missed them before in his happiness to see his godfather.

Harry's heart plummeted. He remembered now this had to be more than a social call. "What's happened?"

"Sit down, Harry," Sirius said, gesturing towards a chair. He himself moved towards McGonagall's chair Harry saw he moved with a noticeable limp. Harry sat and waited for him to speak.

"There's no easy way to say this. I was involved in an attack, me and a few others."

A cold sense of foreboding came over Harry, and he shivered. He thought of the way Ron had been called out of class, but his mind refused to believe it. "But you're all right."

"I made it out alive. Not everyone did…"

"Who?" Harry demanded. He had a sickening feeling he knew now.

"Remus was seriously injured. He should make it through okay. Charlie Weasley didn't…"

Harry felt as if he'd been plunged into the icy lake. Sirius began explaining the circumstances, but Harry only listened with half an ear. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that he'd never see Charlie's jolly face again, never hear his rich laugh. He found himself suddenly bombarded with images of Charlie: discussing Quidditch over supper at the Burrow, cheering at the World Cup, stunning the Hungarian Horntail, congratulating him after the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament…

He was having trouble with the concept, and he couldn't understand why. He'd already been through this when Hagrid had been killed. He felt strangely numb.

At some point, Sirius noticed that Harry wasn't listening and stopped telling the story. "Harry, are you going to be all right?"

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's a shock, I know. When someone so young…"

Harry was suddenly struck by a horrible thought. "When, Sirius? When did it happen?"

"Two days ago. We were in Kent, and we had word of a Death Eater cell…"

Harry's mind began to whirl again. Last he'd heard Sirius had been in Europe somewhere, and he'd assumed it meant that Voldemort was on the run. Harry cut his godfather off. "You were in Kent? I thought you were on the continent!"

"We had no luck tracking down Voldemort there. He kept slipping through our fingers. Then we got some new intelligence right after Christmas that he was back in England."

The words echoed through Harry's mind. Voldemort was back in England. He'd come back around Christmas… And Harry had been wearing the talisman during that time. Perhaps he'd missed a warning.

Some small rational part of his brain reminded him that Kent was too far away. He hadn't been wearing the necklace two days ago, and he hadn't felt a thing. Yet there had been an attack… He buried his head in his hands and massaged his temples. Perhaps Voldemort hadn't been present. His servants were certainly capable of killing, and they didn't need a direct order to do so.

But the grief and guilt were welling up inside him now and they threatened to overwhelm the rational part of Harry's mind. What if he had missed a warning? What if it had been something that might have saved Charlie's life? The backs of Harry's eyes began to sting, but he bit back the sob that was struggling to come out. He took his face out of his hands and met Sirius' concerned gaze.

"I want to go back to Gryffindor Tower now," Harry said.

"Harry…" Sirius began, and Harry could tell his godfather wasn't keen on the idea yet.

"I want to see Ron. And Ginny. Are they back at Gryffindor Tower yet?"

"Yes, they ought to be, but…"

"Then I want to go back and see them."

"Yes, of course."

Harry couldn't explain it to himself. He felt as if there could have been a way for him to have prevented this tragedy, and so he shouldn't want to face Charlie's family. And yet somehow he needed to witness their pain. Maybe it would break through the numbness that had once more settled over him.

Sirius rose from McGonagall's chair. "I won't be able to go back with you."

Harry nodded. Sirius' name still hadn't been formally cleared, and to most of the wizarding world he was still considered an escaped criminal.

"Harry, there's going to be a memorial in a few days' time here at Hogwarts. I'll be here until then, but I'll have to remain hidden."

Harry knew he ought to thank his godfather for coming to him with the bad news, for offering comfort even if he couldn't give it. There were a million things he'd like to be able to tell Sirius. He wondered what his godfather knew about what he'd done over Christmas. Harry could have told him the book the book he'd got for his birthday had turned out to be more useful than expected. He could have told Sirius about Ginny. But the words wouldn't come, and most of it seemed inappropriate and frivolous. Harry blinked hard, regretting the fact that communications between them had been reduced through circumstance and the only thing that brought them together was senseless tragedy.

"I guess I'll be going then," he said.

"Harry, if you need to talk, I'll be here until the memorial. Just ask Dumbledore about seeing Snuffles, and he'll arrange it, I'm sure."

Harry nodded. Sirius stepped forward to shake Harry's hand once more, but he again pulled his godson into a hug. When Sirius let go Harry noticed he was looking eye to eye with his godfather. Sirius was watching him gravely. "Don't bottle it up, Harry."

Harry pursed his lips to keep them from quivering. Then he turned and walked back to Gryffindor Tower alone. The corridors were deserted, and it seemed like they stretched on forever. His footsteps echoed loudly off the walls.

When he climbed through the portrait hole, all eyes turned towards him. It looked as if the news had spread already. The room fell strangely quiet as he walked through it. He'd seen at first glance that Ron, Ginny and Hermione weren't there. As he stepped forward a path seemed to open before him. He could see the others' faces more clearly now, looking on him with sympathy, and he felt a hot bubble of anger rise within him. Couldn't they all tell this was his fault? Were they all blind?

Somehow he knew Ron was up in their dormitory, and he climbed the stairs to the top of the tower. There was no sound coming from the room as he opened the door. Three pairs of red-rimmed eyes rose to watch him enter. His own eyes began to sting as he looked from one tear-stained face to the next.

It seemed to him as if the old familiar dormitory room had magically expanded and kept doing so as he crossed to where Ron, Hermione and Ginny were seated on Ron's bed. Hermione had an arm around Ron, and he'd rested his head against her shoulder, while she rubbed a soothing hand up and down his arm. Ginny was simply hugging herself.

Hermione let Ron go and stood to hug Harry briefly once he'd approached. Ron raised bleak eyes to Harry, and Harry had to bite his lip to stop it from trembling. Ron stood and hugged Harry then, and Harry had to screw up his eyes against the impending tears. This was painful, but Harry welcomed it.

He turned last to Ginny, afraid to see accusation in her eyes, but he was shocked at what he read in her gaze. Looking at her expression, he realised it must closely mirror his own. His brain only had an instant to register this thought, for she launched herself into his arms then. He held her tightly, as she clung to him, hot tears wetting the front of his school robes. As Ginny sobbed against him, he burrowed his face against her hair and allowed his own tears to fall at last.

Harry had no idea how long they stood thus, but at last Ginny quieted, and he loosened his embrace and looked up. They were alone now. Ron and Hermione had left the room. Harry looked down into Ginny's eyes again, not knowing what to say but feeling he ought to say something. She let out a long, shuddering sigh, and opened her mouth before he had a chance to utter a single word.

"Oh, Harry, this is all my fault."

His stomach twisted uncomfortably at the abject desperation in her tone.