Chapter Twenty-Five:

Harry was exhausted but he sat and wrote out short notes to all of the Weasley�s, making sure to stress the fact that Hermione was, in the end, okay. He didn�t go into the fact that the healer in charge thought she had been poisoned. He�d let Ron broach that subject. After making sure Hedwig was awake enough to deliver his notes, he sent her off on her way, watching her disappear over the top of the building. His mind was already onto other things.

Harry didn�t understand Ginny sometimes, he really didn�t. All he had done was ask about Dex and yeah, so what if it wasn�t exactly an appropriate time? He couldn�t help the fact that the idea that Ginny might return some of Dex�s feelings made him nervous, could he? If the situation had been switched, wouldn�t Ginny have done the same?

A bit unfair then to tell him off about thinking of himself, wasn�t it?

Harry rubbed his face, feeling the stubble of two days beard there. He hadn�t slept in his own bed for two days now and he definitely hadn�t had a chance to enjoy his own shower again. He�d done a quick cleansing spell at Ginny�s and went about his day, yesterday.

Yesterday. Yesterday had seemed full of promise and... well, full of Ginny, and now Harry didn�t understand what had happened in so short of time to make her angry at him. He thought they had gotten through the past, but it looked as though Ginny still had some thoughts regarding the subject.

When she had looked at him from across the room, with a sobbing Ron in her arms, he had felt the accusatory heat of her eyes on him and he couldn�t bear it. It was almost as though she had been saying, See? This is more important than your petty thoughts. Grow up, already.

Harry had turned away from her then. He couldn�t stand the thought that he had messed up, yet again. Harry had to admit it was a feeling he was getting tired of having. Not that he�d ever had much patience for the feeling to begin with.

And then Ginny had seemed so... unsteady before that. He had touched her and it was almost as though she had pulled away from it. Pulled back from him. It was almost as though his touch had hurt her in some way. Telling him to look after Ron had just been an excuse on her part to make sure he didn�t touch her anymore, he knew that. He�d seen her face. How was he supposed to comfort a person who didn�t want him touching her? How could he be there for her when she needed it, if she wouldn�t even let him?

Harry groaned and flopped down on his bed. He was tired, his head was confused, and he was frustrated. Mentally... physically... it was enough to drive any man to drink and to impiety. With a grim smile at the thought, Harry turned over on his back and stared up at the ceiling. He had waited to be with Ginny for a long time. Ever since his error in judgment with Cho and his self-imposed exile to America, he�d been a very good wizard indeed. He�d realized that he�d been too flimsy with sex in the past, that for him, it needed to be about something other than a quick fix. Still, when you felt as frustrated as he did now, sometimes it did hold its allure...

There was only one thing for it. Cursing, he got up off the bed and went into the loo. He used the Stubble Be Gone! potion and got himself looking halfway presentable. Not that it mattered. He grabbed his robe and left his flat once again, not knowing when he�d be back.

There was only one thing to do when you couldn�t get what you wanted and that was to go looking for something else to replace it.

Harry Potter went out into the world looking for a fight. And he knew exactly where he could get one.

After leaving Hermione under the watchful eyes of her parents, Ginny was looking at rings and not having a very good time of it. Ron kept pointing out the most hideous types of wedding bands. You know, my brother is extremely lucky I�m here instead of at work, yet again, she told herself. With a grim shake of her head she declined the Dragon�s Heart ring he showed her.

�Ron, this is an engagement ring. Not a hi-scare-all-your-friends-away-ring. Don�t you want to give her something romantic?�

Ron made a face. �But it has cool colors, Ginny... look it goes from green... to blue... to red...�

Ginny rolled her eyes. Were all men this hopeless or just the ones in her family?

Hadn�t Bill proposed to Fleur with a Snapdragon plant that had almost bit her finger off?

�Yes, Ron... it also bleeds all over the wearer. Read the card.�

Ginny hoped that when she finally consented to get married it was to someone who had more sense than any of her brothers did. The thought of that brought the image of Harry to her mind and she frowned. She had to admit that at least Harry understood the idea of romance, even if it was usually at the wrong time. Now Dex on the other hand... she knew he�d have picked one of the most elaborate, romantic rings of all time. Not that that is what she wanted, but still... the grand gesture did make one sort of happy, didn�t it?

Ginny looked at the different stones and shook her head. She just didn�t see anything that said Hermione to her. Hermione wouldn�t want something big and expensive, not that Ron could really afford that anyway, but she did deserve something nice. Maybe a fine stone that held meaning...

�Ron, does Hermione have any favorite stones... or runes that she likes?�

Ron looked up from the display of real Cat�s Eye rings he�d been looking at and frowned. �Er... well, not that-�

�Not that you know of, right? Really Ron, you�re hopeless.�

Ron looked so sad suddenly that Ginny stopped herself. She patted his arm in apology.

�It�s okay, Ron. I don�t think most men have a clue. It�s just your lot in life.�

�That�s not true Ginny. A lot of men know what the most important person in their life likes. Why should I be let off easy just because I�m a stupid git? I mean, look at Neville- he�s not exactly a brain and he always knows exactly what to get you. Or I should say he always knew exactly what to get you. Thanks, by the way, for telling me that you�d broken up with him.�

Ginny folded her arms. �Well, there was hardly time, Ron. From getting Hermione�s parents to the hospital, to stopping you from burning it down, my hands were rather full,� Ginny paused and looked at him. �Who told you, anyway? Hermione or Harry?�

Ron looked sideways at her. �Harry may have mentioned it when you were being standoffish to him most of the night. Yeah, I noticed, even in my misery. What gives?�

�I wasn�t being standoffish! He was the one being sullen and put out.�

Ron rolled his eyes. �Funny, he said the same thing about you, although he was a bit nicer about it,� Ron paused and gave her an appraising look. �You know, I wish you two would just shag and get it over with already. You�re both going to drive me crazy, I can tell. And I need to concentrate all my energy on Hermione now.�

Ginny stared at her brother, dumbfounded. �Ron!�

�What? Oh I reckon a brother shouldn�t talk about that with his sister, but really Ginny. You two are just... you�re both so completely nutters about each other that the littlest thing like a misunderstood look or word makes you think the world is about to end. It�s all so tragic and all that rubbish. Get on with it already. You either want to be with Harry or you don�t. It�s that simple really, when you get right down to it.�

Ginny couldn�t form words in her head. She just stared at her brother as he went back to looking at rings. Of all the stupid...

�What makes you an expert at love then, dear brother?� she finally managed to get out.

�Something like the woman I love almost dying put some new perspectives into my head, that�s all. I�ve finally realized that life�s too short Ginny. Harry loves you. Or at least he better or I�ll kick his arse... but really, after everything is said and done, so what if he hurt you by running away before? He was bloody eighteen years old, he�d just defeated a Dark Lord and you were seventeen, still in school. Besides, love isn�t about never getting hurt, you know. If you want it, you have to take chances.�

Ginny blinked at her brother in disbelief. But he was saved from her reply by the shopkeeper coming over to them.

�I�m sorry Miss... but is your last name Weasley? I�ve got an owl here who has a note for you.�

Ginny stared dumbly at the piece of parchment held out to her and dimly recognized that it was on Ministry paper.

�Yes... that�s for me, for Ginny, right?� The shopkeeper smiled and handed it to her. Ginny flipped it open and read Dex�s hurried note. Her face got so pale that Ron had to ask her what was wrong.

�There�s been a girl missing... for four days, at least. Her family�s been owling my office, apparently. Amelia Bones wants me and Dex to start looking for her immediately. I�ve got to go into work. They�ve been waiting for me and I�ve been off... well, doing sod all as usual. Yet again, I seem to have missed something important.�

Ron frowned at her but before he could argue with her Ginny was turning to leave. She spoke over her shoulder.

�Promise me you�ll buy something pretty for Hermione, Ron. She deserves that. Don�t get anything that still blinks. Or worse... bites.�

Harry was dripping with sweat. He�d been going at it for at least two good solid hours. Of course, explaining to the Auror Supply Wizard what he wanted had been a bit of hassle, but eventually they�d been able to conjure up what he wanted.

He was pounding the stuffing out of a heavy-duty punching bag and it felt good. It felt really good.

It was something he�d learned from a fellow Auror in America. Feeling stressed out? Uptight? Spend a few hours punching in somebody�s face the imaginary way and soon you�d feel as happy as a Flobberworm with a head of lettuce.

He hadn�t meant to linger so long, but he reckoned he had a lot of frustrations to get out. Not that he was imagining Ginny�s face on the bag. But he was imagining the situation. He punched harder and harder until he felt the pressure in his hand and he pulled back to take a breather.

�Whoa. Don�t let me get you angry any time soon,� a voice said from behind him and he turned.

�Tonks!�

His friend smiled and came into the training room. She looked different and Harry knew it wasn�t just because she could. Her usual traditional purple or pink short hair was now longer and a nice, honeyed brown color. The last five years had been good to her.

She smiled as she came to stand in front of him and raised an eyebrow. �Well, do I pass the test Harry?�

Harry frowned in confusion.

�Sorry,� Tonks said laughing, �but you were just giving me a very long look.�

Harry blushed slightly. �Sorry. I just... well, you look really nice Tonks. Is this the new you? I mean, the you you are most of the time?�

Tonks nodded. �For the most part. Don�t worry I still whip out the pink hair every now and then, throw my students off. Wow, Harry. Remus said you�d grown, but... wow. That�s all I can say. I�m surprised you don�t have every young, able-bodied witch in here begging to catch drops of your sweat for a love potion.�

Harry really did turn red at that and shook his head. He reached for his towel and wiped it over his face. He put his glasses back on.

�Ah-ha! That�s the Harry I know. But... those are dead sexy frames, Harry. Seriously, when did you become so...�

�Would you stop it?�

Tonks laughed. �Sorry. Couldn�t resist having a go at you. So,� Tonks said as she nodded towards the punching bag. �What on earth are you doing with that and why were you hitting it as though it were Draco Malfoy, Lord Voldemort and those nasty Muggles you lived with all rolled into one?�

�I had some pent up energy I had to... get rid of. It�s a trick I learned in America.�

Tonks nodded. �Got lonely quite a bit in America, eh? American witches not keen enough?�

�Tonks, really.�

Tonks bit back another laugh and shook her head. �Ah, Harry. I�ve missed you. Remus has missed you too. He got your owl about Hermione. How is she?�

�Good, I hope. I haven�t been back by St. Mungo�s since this morning. I probably should go home and shower.�

Tonks nodded and sniffed. �Yes, you should. But you�ll have to make do with the ones here at the Ministry.�

Harry, who�d been trying to unhook the punching back from the chain he�d conjured, looked at her.

�Why?�

�Because Amelia Bones wants to see you. Actually she wanted to see you like two hours ago, but you must have left and missed her owls. There�s a bit of a case she�d like you to work on.�

�But I�m off for the next couple of weeks... what case? What�s happened?�

�Originally, we thought it was just a case of one missing girl, but apparently there are two others who are missing. The Department that should have been handling it, hasn�t been, and Amelia�s a bit prickly about it. That�s why she wants an Auror to sort of... well, help them.�

�But why me? Why not call someone who�s on active duty? Surely there must be-�

�Sure there are. We have plenty of capable Aurors. However, Donald Fagan has been whispering in Amelia�s ear about your near heroic finding of Draco Malfoy, so... she wants her best on the job.�

Harry cursed to himself. He didn�t want to go back to work now. He�d wanted the time to spend with Ginny. Yeah, and that�s going oh so well, isn�t it? He realized then that he was being selfish again and shook his head. He grabbed his robe and they started walking towards the showers.

�Three missing girls? What Department was supposed to be handling it? Why wasn�t the Wizard Patrol out looking for them?�

�Apparently the parents of the first girl have been owling the Department directly and it didn�t go through the proper channels. It was only sometime around mid-morning that someone thought to do a crosscheck and see if anyone else had been reported as missing. They realized two other girls were also unaccounted for. And one of them is the daughter of a high up Ministry official, which again, is why Amelia just wants this handled fast.�

Harry paused at the entrance to the showers and shook his head. �Well what Department loused this up so bad? We should have had people out there looking for them.�

Tonks bit her lip and looked away for a moment. �Well, it�s a small Department, to be fair, and this is not something they usually deal with. Missing humans, that is. But it�s the D.U.O.P.I.�

Harry stared at her blankly.

Tonks shook her head. �It�s the Department of Unexplained Occurrences and Psychic Intelligence.�

Harry nodded and closed the door as he headed into the showers. He stopped for a moment and then walked back to the door. He opened it and looked out at Tonks.

�Er... sorry, but did you just say-�

Tonks nodded her head. �Yes, Harry. It�s Ginny�s Department. And Amelia wants you to go in and basically take it over until this mess is settled. Sorry.�

Harry nodded numbly and closed the door again.

Oh brilliant, Ginny�s just going to love this.