The Gryffindor common room had grown quiet again. The rumour of the attack had spread like wildfire, and although Hermione was fine, it was the talk of the school. Hermione had suffered a mild concussion, but was, otherwise, unharmed. Ginny had tried to get Hermione to rest more, but Hermione was worried she’d missed valuable study time. Ginny had, at the very least, convinced her to study in her room.

On one such afternoon, they found themselves cloistered in her room, Crookshanks, curled up at Ginny’s feet. She didn’t know what the issue was with the cat, but he would not leave her alone. Hermione had given up apologising for his actions. She sat on her bed, with a couple books spread out before her trying to write an essay. Ginny had been keeping an eye on her and, Hermione was showing signs of tiredness.

‘Why don’t you just lie down?’ she asked, knowing the answer before the words came out.

‘I can’t! I was there for…well, too long…and we need to catch up.’ Hermione sounded frantic.

‘We didn’t miss anything, Hermione,’ Ginny said quietly. ‘I feel like you’re trying to keep yourself busy to avoid talking about what happened.’

‘I let my guard down and got hurt, that’s it,’ she replied evenly.

It was going to be another argument, Ginny could tell. But she didn’t want Hermione to feel like she couldn’t trust her. ‘No one saw him bring you to the hospital wing and I haven’t told anyone, not even Harry.’

Hermione was glaring at Ginny. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

Ginny rolled her eyes. ‘There isn’t anything to talk about! He helped you; if anything, I think you, we, should both be more thankful!’

Hermione turned back to her books and said absently, ‘I sent him a letter thanking him, that’s the end of it.’

She said the last part with finality and Ginny nodded. ‘I do wonder why he was here. You didn’t get a good look at him, I imagine, but his robes were filthy. He said he was here to see Slughorn, but his office isn’t anywhere near Flitwick’s.’

As if the mystery were more alluring, Hermione nodded. ‘It doesn’t make sense why he was there, or why the door was rigged with an alarm, of sorts.’

‘McGonagall is back, and she and Flitwick aren’t saying a thing about it. And neither did Madame Pomfrey. It was almost like they expected to see someone, just not you.’ Ginny was staring thoughtfully at her parchment.

Hermione stretched awkwardly. ‘You know, it isn’t just my head…my back has been aching for days too…’

Ginny laughed. ‘I’m not giving you a massage, so you’d best owl Ron for that.’

Hermione rolled her eyes. ‘Thank you, that isn’t a bad idea.’

‘Think he’d come?’ Ginny asked.

‘To get out of the house, possibly,’ she replied.

They studied for a little while longer in silence, before Ginny stood up. ‘I enjoy revisions as much as the next student, but it’s getting late.’

Hermione glanced at the clock. ‘We have a lot to do tomorrow. And I think McGonagall might give me some more information, I’ll let you know when I know.’

They bid one another good night and Ginny headed up the stairs to her room, her bag heavy with books. She still hadn’t heard back from Harry, which surprised her, considering he had really opened up to her in his previous letter.

The following day started with the patter of rain against the windows. It rained far too frequently and Ginny wasn’t a big fan of running about in the rain. She had scheduled the pitch for later that day and hoped the storm would clear up by then.

On her way to breakfast, she spotted Hermione hurrying towards her. ‘You’re up early,’ she commented.

Hermione nodded, grabbing Ginny’s arm and leading her towards the Great Hall at a rapid pace. ‘McGonagall gave me some more information. She doesn’t want me to tell anyone, but said she could trust us.’

‘Us?’ Ginny asked. ‘I wasn’t in the meeting last I checked.’

‘Hush!’ Hermione whispered. ‘They’re going to put a student under cover here, to keep an eye on things. Something is going on. They don’t know who, or why, really, but McGonagall was called to London to talk with Kingsley. He told her that Gaunt told him that something was afoot at the school, but they didn’t know more. That’s why they had the alarm on Flitwick’s office.’

‘Wait, that doesn’t make any sense!’ Ginny exclaimed. ‘What does one thing have to do with the other?’

Hermione shook her head. ‘I’m getting ahead of myself…McGonagall left Flitwick in charge, a sort of ruse, to see if they could discover who might be…well, they’re not sure what they’re after…but I told her about that conversation we overheard.’

‘What did she say to that?’ Ginny asked. A lot of this wasn’t making any sense, but at Hogwarts, that wasn’t wholly unusual.

‘She wasn’t sure what to make of it. I mean, it was just two people arguing over doing something, but again, we don’t know what.’ She seemed to grow anxious as they got closer to the Gryffindor table.

Ginny sat down some distance away from the rest of the students to afford some privacy and said, ‘Well, it was about something that they shouldn’t be doing.’

Hermione nodded, grabbing a bowl of cereal. ‘All I know is we should be on the look-out for an old friend to come by and try to discover what’s going on.’

Ginny looked thoughtfully at her breakfast, but her mind was reeling. She wondered, hoped, that it would be Harry. Not hearing from him for a few days had been disappointing. Hermione broke her out of her daydreaming to usher her off to one of their many classes.

As the day wore on, Ginny had less and less time to think, or even process, the information Hermione had given her. She wondered if someone would really attack the school or someone in it. And why would they want to? There was nothing that could bring Voldemort back and there was nothing at the school to be taken.

Ginny and Hermione were heading to the library in the afternoon when they both noticed a group of students milling around. Ginny looked curiously at Hermione, but the latter, just a bit taller than her, grinned and walked quickly forward.

‘Neville!’ Hermione cried. ‘It’s so wonderful to see you!’

Ginny watched as the students parted in front of Hermione. Neville was looking more cheerful than usual, whatever training he’d gone through, it was, seemingly, not as bracing as what Harry had gone through. Neville was dressed in Hogwarts robes, but Muggle clothes could be seen peaking out underneath. Hermione embraced him and Ginny came up behind her, relief, but also disappointment washing over her features. It was Neville, and not Harry, who had been assigned to Hogwarts. She didn’t need to be as brilliant as Hermione to figure that out. He grinned and hugged her back.

‘I’ve missed you two. How are things here?’ His question was much more leading than intended, but most of the students around them didn’t notice anything.

Hermione didn’t wait for Ginny to say anything, ‘Things have been a little tense since the memorial, but school’s gone back to normal, a little.’

Neville nodded and pulled close to them. ‘I’ve heard otherwise.’

Hermione rubbed her neck gingerly. ‘That was nothing, Neville.’

Neville shook his head. ‘I know you’ve been through a lot with Harry and Ron, but this sounds serious, Hermione.’

Ginny nodded approvingly and piped in, ‘Neville’s right, Hermione.’ She stepped forward and embraced Neville. ‘How are things at the Ministry?’

He gave her a grim smile. ‘Difficult. Both Harry and I are really being pushed to the limits.’

Ginny tried not to bristle openly with the mention of Harry, but didn’t mask it well. Neville stepped closer to her. ‘How are you doing, Ginny? You looked pretty upset after the memorial.’

Ginny shrugged it off and looked away, but Neville put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Ginny, this is me you’re talking to.’

She furrowed her brow. All the times she, Luna and Neville had spent together the previous year came crashing back. The hiding and stalking they did around the school to avoid detection. The many nights they spent together, healing one another after their various ‘sessions’ with the Carrows or Crabbe and Goyle. She took a steadying breath and said quietly, ‘Better…I’m better. Thanks for asking, Neville.’

He started to say something, but stopped. ‘I’d better touch base with Professor McGonagall. I’ll see you both around. But please don’t say anything leading if you…know anything.’

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a quizzical look, but Neville just smiled. Without another word he walked away. The two girls left for their next class, saying nothing about their encounter with Neville until they were able to study in Hermione’s room later that day.

Ginny watched as Hermione’s discomfort continued. Hermione continued to shift until Ginny finally couldn’t take any more. ‘Hermione! Go to the hospital wing! You’re not doing much better than you were a day ago!’

Hermione shook her head. ‘I’m fine.’

Ginny stood up suddenly. ‘You would never let me get away with this.’ She crossed the room and put a hand under Hermione’s arm. ‘Come on, we’re going, now.’

Hermione pulled her arm out of Ginny’s grasp and crossed her arms. ‘No.’

‘Excuse me?’ Ginny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘You are refusing to get help? What is the matter with you? You’re no more indestructible than any of us!’

‘I’m fine,’ Hermione stated. Though her voice was hollow and did not hold the resolve that Ginny knew well. ‘I’m sure it’ll go away with some more rest. But if I’m bothering you, you’re free to go.’

Ginny sighed. ‘I’m not bothered by you; I’m bothered by your refusing to let me help you, again…’

Hermione lowered her eyes back to her books. ‘I’m fine, Ginny. Just a tad sore. You would be too after slamming into a wall. Stop worrying so much.’

Ginny didn’t like to give in, but said, ‘If you’re not better in a couple days, we’re going to visit Madame Pomfrey and you’re not arguing with me, okay?’

Hermione rolled her eyes. ‘Yeah, sure, whatever.’

Ginny didn’t care for the response, but let it sit. She wasn’t about to start yet another long drawn-out argument with Hermione. They studied late into the night, Ginny finally called it quits. She could see that Hermione was going to continue studying, but knew there was nothing she could do about it. She went to bed without repeating her ultimatum.

As they went to class the next morning, Hermione looked no better, but Ginny did not say a word. Both she and the rest of the Gryffindor table were enthralled by Neville’s appearance. According to Neville, he had decided to forsake his job with Ministry for the rest of the year and come back to Hogwarts. He had made great strides as a young Auror, but needed more study. His success with his NEWTs was never brought up and Ginny said nothing about it.

She tried to get Neville’s attention, but noticed he’d been whisked away from the table by Professor Sprout. Neville seemed thrilled to be back at Hogwarts and looked to be an outstanding addition to their circle of friends. Hermione was falling asleep in her breakfast and Ginny had to divert her attention from Neville’s popularity to keep Hermione from drowning.

She gave Hermione a disapproving look, but the later gave her a stern look. She said curtly, ‘I’m fine.’

Ginny started to argue, but thought better of it. She had been distracted by Hermione’s health and Harry’s lack of response to her letter. She wanted a few minutes alone with Neville, but didn’t see an opportunity at her disposal. They headed to class and Ginny was surprised to note that Neville was not there.

The day wore on and fall was coming on at Hogwarts. The weather had been getting steadily cooler and Ginny was rushing around the castle without Hermione. She had finally found her way to the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey had pronounced her fit to fly. She thought to look for Neville, but realised she wouldn’t be able to see him if he was staying in the boys’ side of the Gryffindor tower. Neither gender were allowed to ascend the stairs of the opposing gender, as per a new rule instated for the students’ security that year. One of many precautions that had been set up at the school that Ginny had always taken for granted. She shouldered her bag more closely and headed up the spiralling stairs to Hermione’s room. She hadn’t seen her in hours and hoped that she’d finally be resting.

She knocked on the door, but got no response. She knocked again and still got no response. She remembered that Hermione never locked her door, or at least she always seemed to be able to enter.

She pushed the door open and was shocked to see what was going on inside. She froze at the door, uncertain whether she should enter or run away. Her eyes and expression were frozen and she couldn’t find her voice.

There was a collective sigh and Ron said, ‘Didn’t mum teach you better than to barge in?’

Ginny shook her head and countered, ‘I knocked, twice.’

‘And the silence wasn’t a hint?’ Ron glared at her.

Ron and Hermione were sitting on Hermione’s bed, Ron just behind Hermione so he could massage her back and shoulders. Ginny was thankful that both of them were fully dressed.

Hermione sighed and pulled her cardigan over her tank top. Ron had been massaging her shoulders and she clearly thought the moment had gone. Ron gave Ginny another glare before pulling Hermione closer to him. He said quietly, ‘Ignore her, you need this. Neville was right, you’re in bad shape. Why aren’t you in the hospital wing?’

She made no response as he continued his ministrations and Ginny stepped into the room, shutting the door. ‘I told her the same thing, but she refused to go, I don’t know why.’

Ron rolled his eyes and laughed. ‘You’ll rarely see this, but I have to agree with Ginny. Hermione, why would you refuse to go?’

She blinked slightly and said absently, ‘I’m fine.’

Ron kissed her softly on her exposed shoulder. ‘You are, I won’t argue with that; but I can’t leave you here knowing you’re not going to get back to me in one piece.’

She turned her face towards him and said, ‘You could have come back to take care of me.’

‘You need taking care of?’ Ron asked, kissing her on her cheek.

Ginny felt her lunch coming back up, the room was getting dangerously saccharine. She turned towards the table. ‘I hope that Harry and I aren’t like this.’

Without breaking her gaze from Ron, Hermione stated, ‘Much, much worse.’

Ginny rolled her eyes and started to sit at the table. Ron called out, ‘Oi! Get out of here. This is my only time with my gorgeous girlfriend.’

Ginny stood up. ‘What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be with George?’

Ron continued holding Hermione close and said, ‘He’s with Percy and he’s much better than when you saw him last.’

‘Really?’ Ginny was surprised at this. ‘He didn’t seem that grounded.’

Ron sighed, resting his forehead on Hermione’s shoulder. ‘Yeah, he’s better. I think he is getting better, at least. He’s clear of that curse.’

Ginny sighed and sat down, pulling her bag into her lap. Was it finally over? She didn’t dare hope for that. She looked at Ron, he was blissfully happy with Hermione. And Hermione was practically glowing. She said quietly, ‘Why hasn’t anyone felt the need to tell me?’

Hermione looked up, and upon seeing Ginny’s expression, tapped Ron’s leg. She was practically sitting in his lap on her bed. Ginny tried not to notice. He looked up slowly. ‘You looked like you were pretty over-loaded at the memorial. Mum and dad said they’d wait until George told them to tell you.’

‘He didn’t want me to know?’ Ginny asked.

Ron shook his head. ‘Don’t be an arse. You know he wants you to know, but he hurt you the most, by hurting Harry. And he knows it. He wants to…triumph for you, you know, prove that he’s better. He doesn’t want to lose you.’

Ginny ran a hand across her face. ‘Lose me?’

Hermione got up, and Ginny could hear Ron’s irritated sigh. ‘Ginny,’ she said quietly, ‘I’m sure it isn’t because he doesn’t love you.’

Ginny got up suddenly. ‘I’m so tired of people who say they ‘love me’ hiding things from me!’

Without waiting for a response, she stormed to the door, but Hermione was too quick. She locked the door with a wave of her wand and Ginny turned, her eyes blazing. ‘You unlock this door right now, Granger!’

Ron got up quickly standing in front of Hermione as if Ginny would really attack his girlfriend. ‘What is the matter with you? See, this is exactly why we’re afraid to say too much, you’re so prone to fly off the handle.’

‘Just because you’re as ambivalent as ever doesn’t mean I should be!’ she shot back.

Hermione put her hand to her forehead and tried to push past Ron. ‘Ginny, Ron, both of you…’ She looked between the two of them, uncertain what issue to tackle first. ‘Ginny, you do have a tendency to let your temper control your actions, and that’s been a positive and negative. And Ron isn’t ambivalent; he’s been immersed in this for longer than you have.’

Ginny glared at both of them. ‘My temper is the only thing that gets anyone’s attention.’

Ron shook his head. ‘That is a bloody lie. Just now Hermione noticed your being…upset or something.’

He looked helplessly at Hermione and the latter smiled sweetly at him, putting her hand in his. Ginny rolled her eyes. ‘How long are you going to be here, Ron?’

He didn’t pull his eyes from Hermione. ‘I have to Floo home tonight, but I’ll be back tomorrow.’

Ginny glared and said curtly, ‘If you don’t open this door I’ll destroy it.’

Hermione glowered at Ginny and waved her wand at it. Ginny continued, ‘And I hope you have a reason for how you got here and how my ‘boyfriend’ couldn’t stop in.’

Ron started to argue, but shook his head. ‘Later, Ginny.’

Ginny slammed the door shut and didn’t bother to apologise for it. She stormed up the stairs and flew past her room mates. She didn’t want to have any long drawn-out discussions. It had become more and more painful as the days passed with both Neville and Ron returning to Hogwarts, but there was still no word from Harry. She wondered what could possibly stop him from responding and wondered what she had said wrong to have him ignore her so thoroughly. The anger continued to mount until she found herself staring angrily at the top of her bed waiting for sleep to take her.