�Right then. According to initial reports, Malfoy�s last cell fortification happened exactly 3.5 hours before he disappeared. The guard on duty, Jerome Agrippa states that Malfoy was �subdued and indolent� during the spell casting and apparently did not even look at the wizard performing the re-enforcement.�

Amelia Bones looked up from the notes she�d been reading and glanced around the room. Her eyes rested on Harry a moment before continuing.

�There are no signs as to how Malfoy got off the island once he was released from his cell. The giant guarding the particular hallway his cell was located in is still, at this point in time, unresponsive and unable to tell us anything of note. Since no one saw Malfoy leave and no boat nor Apparation is allowed within swimming distance to the prison, we do not know how Malfoy has seemingly pulled this off.�

The small group of people in Amelia�s office broke into quiet discussion and Harry looked at Remus who was standing next to him. His friend gave him a weary smile.

�Nothing like a mystery in the morning, eh, Harry?�

Harry nodded and glanced at Tonks, who was standing next to them. She met his eyes and he knew that she was as unhappy about this news as he was.

Amelia cleared her throat and the quiet murmuring ceased.

�I would like to have an Auror head out to Azkaban and see if they can find out anything more. Perhaps there is something the Wizard Patrol overlooked. Do I have any volunteers?�

Amelia�s eyes met Harry�s again and he knew she wanted him to go. He nodded his head. Remus cleared his throat next to him.

�I would like to accompany Harry, if it�s at all possible, Amelia.�

�Me as well,� Tonks said.

Amelia nodded at them. �Fine, the three of you should work quickly enough. I want the rest of the Auror�s working out possible area�s that Malfoy might hide out in. Old family haunts. Donald Fagan will be handling that end of the search-�

Harry tuned out Amelia�s voice and glanced at his old boss, who was nodding towards the other Auror�s. Harry turned to Remus and Tonks.

�You guys don�t have to go with me-�

�Nonsense, Harry. Three minds are better than two, right?� Remus said as he clapped his hand on Harry�s back.

Harry nodded. He wanted to pop back home and see Ginny before he left. He was about to tell Tonks and Remus to meet him at the boat that would take them out to Azkaban when Amelia spoke again.

�Mr. Potter, if you wouldn�t mind?� she nodded towards her outer doors and he glanced at his friends. Following her out, she nodded at him to close the door behind him.

�Mr. Potter, I know I had you working on the Eaton case, but as of now I�d really like you to make this your top priority.�

�Of course,� Harry said quietly.

�I�ll explain to Miss Weasley for you. I do think it�s in everyone�s interest if we get you out to the prison and back again as soon as possible. Any possible lead at this point would be very critical.�

�Er... well, actually-� Harry paused. He couldn�t very well tell Amelia Bones that Ginny was waiting for him curled up in his own bed, now could he?

�Don�t worry, I�m sure she will understand. Her and her partner are very good, actually. They�re bound to turn something up.�

Harry nodded. Amelia gave him a small smile and then went back to her office, letting Tonks and Remus out to join him. He turned to them.

�She wants us to leave immediately, but I�ve got to pop back home, can you guys cover for me? I won�t be long.�

Remus and Tonks shared a look. Tonks smiled at him. �Sure Harry. Meet you at the dock in say... twenty minutes? Or would thirty be more... ah... sufficient?�

�Oh well, I don�t think I�ll need that much time, really,� he paused when Tonk�s smile turned into a small laugh. She nudged Remus, who was also smiling.

�What�s going on? What�s so funny?�

�Nothing Harry, go on. We�ll see you there... you know which dock right?�

�Yeah,� Harry said, nonplussed. He turned to go and then stopped when he heard Tonks begin to laugh in earnest. He watched as Remus tried to keep a straight face.

�Don�t mind her, Harry. She�s just got a quirky sense of humor,� Lupin turned Tonks around and pushed her back into Amelia�s office. Before he followed her, he looked at Harry and smiled. �You�ll ah... kiss Ginny goodbye for me too, by the way, right?�

Harry shook his head. Honestly, as though there was time enough to do anything else...

Thinking of Ginny still in bed made him smile though. Well, thirty minutes was an awfully long time, wasn�t it? If you planned it right, at any rate.

�Harry, you have to go...�

�I have ten more minutes. Besides Tonks and Remus seemed to expect this.�

�You�re not going to be gone that long are you?�

Harry lifted his head and smiled at her. �No. I don�t think. But Amelia wants me to be pretty thorough, I imagine. I could be stuck out there all day. Or all night even.�

Ginny frowned. �What about the party? Should I tell my parents not to expect you?�

�No, I will be back for that. I don�t care if I have to swim.�

Ginny smiled. �You�d freeze to death.�

�Sirius did it. When he escaped,� Harry said suddenly, remembering.

�Yes, but he was an animagus.�

�True,� Harry said thoughtfully. Ginny rested her head on his chest and curled herself closer to him.

�Just be careful,� she said.

�It�s a prison, Ginny. I hardly think anything will happen.�

�Just the idea of Draco Malfoy out there, probably cursing your very existence is enough to worry me.�

�Hah. I can take Draco Malfoy, Ginny. I always have been able to. The git.�

The two lay in silence for awhile and then Harry reluctantly let go of her.

�Well, have a good day off while I�m out there freezing my arse off. What are you doing today, anyway?�

Ginny smiled. �Well, besides being with you all day I hadn�t really planned on anything.�

�Watch it Gin, people might think you�re not independent or something,� he said, teasing her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

�But,� she continued, ignoring him. �Since you�re going to be gone I can get a dress for the party tonight, stop by and help Ron get Hermione all settled in at home and then go and buy you some food. I can�t stand not having anything to eat here. Really, Harry, it�s quite sad.�

�Ah yes. The food issue,� Harry said as he got up off the bed and straigtened his clothes. �A Weasley and their food are never parted. How well I know that.�

Ginny threw the pillow at him and he smiled at her.

�Alright then, I�m off. Don�t want Tonks and Remus to get the wrong idea about why I came home.�

�What do you mean?� Ginny asked as she got up out of bed.

�They were being funny. Or at least they thought they were. Nothing unusal there. Hey-� Harry said as he pulled her closer to him. �You keep wearing all my clothes and I won�t have any left.�

Ginny looked down at the nightshirt she�d borrowed from him and smiled. �Well, I have loads of nightgowns of course-�

�Yes, I seem to recall one of the flannel variety-�

�Oh no, I have better ones than that. If only you�d let me get home once and awhile. I�ve got lace, silk-�

�Oh really? What were you doing with all of those?�

�I was celibate, Harry. Not dead. A girl likes pretty things sometimes.�

�Hmm... so do boys,� Harry kissed her deeply, thinking that even in flannel, Ginny was a sight to behold. He was already hating the fact that he wouldn�t get to spend all day with her. But he knew that if he kept this up, he�d never get out to Azkaban. He pulled away from her finally and smiled.

�Alright. I�ll see you tonight then? Your parents house, say 7 o�clock?�

�You�d better or I�m coming after you.�

Kissing her once more on the forehead, Harry smiled. �Can�t have that. Bye Ginny.�

�Bye Harry. Be careful.�

�Of course,� he said with a wide grin. He thought of the docks and then Disapparated.

Sarah Brocklehurst watched over her patient with an eagle eye. The girl had made some progress but so far, they�d been unable to wake her. It was the oddest thing. Even the most powerful Sleeping Draughts wore off after awhile, but this one, and Sarah was sure one had been used, this one seemed to actually make her patient slip further away. After the initial success of getting the wounds on her stomach to close, Winifred had pretty much stayed the same. Asleep and as still as the grave. It was very unsettling to Sarah, for some reason. She�d become a medi-witch to heal people, not watch them sleep away their life in bed.

Sarah changed the bandages on Winifred herself. The cuts were in odd shapes, now that they�d had a chance to heal. But they weren�t cuts at all really, more like... Sarah frowned as she traced her finger over the largest one, which was in the shape of an S. The cuts were like rope burns, but Sarah knew of no type of rope that would char it�s victim so deeply.

Sitting back down again, Sarah picked up the book she�d been reading, but after a moment closed it back up. She was restless this morning. She�d been expecting a visit from her sister yesterday and Mandy hadn�t shown up. Which was not that unusual, really, but usually her sister did send word if she couldn�t make it. But Sarah had been asked to cover for a witch that was out sick and had been stuck at St Mungo�s almost all night. She reckoned that since it was Sunday, Mandy would not be up early enough for her to stop by her place after work either. Oh well, perhaps she�d forgo climbing into bed when she got home and wait until she was sure her sister would be up and surprise her with an early lunch.

Sighing, Sarah took one more look at Winifred and got up to push the hair off her face. Such a pretty thing. She reminded Sarah a lot of Ginny Weasley, for some reason. Maybe it was the coloring, even though Winifred�s hair was lighter. Thinking of Ginny made Sarah think of Hermione Granger and she realized she�d better get over to that room and make sure Ginny�s brother Ron wasn�t caught in any compromising position by the medi-witch on duty. Agnes Franks and Ron didn�t need to have yet another row. Especially since Hermione would be going home today.

Sarah slipped from Winifred�s room, letting the door swing carelessly behind her. The noise of it closing whispered back into the room like skin slithering across the floor. Maybe it was because it was early and quiet in the hospital, but the sound echoed in the small room and for the first time since being found, Winifred heard something break through the heavy fog that she was under.

Something within her had decided it was time to wake up. Something within her had decided to fight the long way back.

�Oh, Ron, for Merlin�s sake. Let me do it.�

Ginny watched on as Hermione pulled her hand out of Ron�s grasp and tried to stand on her own. Ron kept his hands poised behind her in case she fell backwards again. Ginny knew her friend�s strength was returning but she still had her doubts as to whether or not Hermione was really okay. Watching her growl at Ron about helping her definitely pointed to Hermione feeling somewhat stronger, at any rate.

�Hermione, look, I don�t want you falling over and then having them tell me I can�t take you home. Just rest a moment, please?�

Hermione shook her head and then forced her self up. Amazingly to Ginny, she was able to stay standing this time and Hermione smiled at her triumphantly as she looked at her.

�Ah ha! I did it.�

Ginny smiled. �Brilliant Hermione.�

Ron growled at the two of them. He glanced at Ginny. �Fat help you are. You could help us both by talking her out of this independence act of hers.�

Ginny raised her eyebrow at her brother. �Far be it from me to talk Hermione out anything Ron. You should know by now that no one does that. Isn�t it better to just let her do it herself?�

Hermione leaned her hand on the wall and shook her head.

�Would you two stop it? Ron, I�m fine. Just a bit winded.�

Ron dropped his hands to his side and looked upwards, as though contemplating the heavens. He looked at Hermione again and Ginny saw that despite his protests of the contrary, he was proud of her for being so strong. All three of them turned their heads as the door opened.

�Ah good, you�re up on your own. That�s very good news,� Sarah said as she smiled at Hermione.

Ginny noticed that Ron turned pink behind the ears and looked away from Sarah. He grumbled something and Ginny shook her head. What was going on there?

�Mr. Weasley, if you wouldn�t mind, we have a few papers for Miss Granger to fill out or... I suppose you could take care of it for her? They�re at the Healer�s Desk at the end of the hall. The quicker we get them filled out, the quicker you can take her home.�

Ron�s skin flushed more and he nodded, keeping his eyes down. Sarah simply smiled and turned to leave. Ginny stopped her.

�Er, Sarah, I was wondering about Winifred?�

Sarah stopped and looked back at her. �Ah yes, she�s the same. Stable but still asleep. I�m actually about to go check on her again before I leave for the day. We had a couple of spell damage cases come in and I haven�t been back in there since I left this morning. Don�t worry, I�ll let your office know immediately if there�s any change.�

Ginny nodded and then looked back at Ron, who was watching Hermione move slowly forward.

�Ron, why don�t you follow her down to the desk and do the paperwork she mentioned, I�ll get Hermione all set to go.�

Ron blushed again and Ginny was about to ask him what was wrong when Hermione looked at him.

�Oh, go ahead Ron. It�s okay.�

He nodded and then without meeting Ginny�s eyes, left the room. She watched her brother leave and then turned to Hermione, with a question on her face.

�What�s wrong with him all of a sudden?�

Hermione smiled. �Oh well, I�m afraid Sarah walked in on something the other day that Ron probably wishes she hadn�t. He�ll get over it.�

�Oh do tell, Hermione. Anything that embarrasses my brother that badly has got to be good.�

Hermione laughed and then moved forward again. Slowly but surely, Ginny knew Hermione would get her own self dressed just fine. She had a very determined air about her.

�Well, let�s just say Ron spent the night. And he wasn�t in the chair,� Hermione said pointedly and Ginny laughed.

�Hermione! You and he were... in the hospital bed?�

�Well, no, but we�d just finished something and well, Ron was still sort of...� Hermione paused, her face flushing a bit, �he was sort of um... not fully clothed?�

�No! And Sarah caught him?�

Hermione laughed. �Yep. Red handed. Er... actually, red-bum�d, really...�

�Hermione!� Ginny exclaimed, stuck between laughing at the mental image she�d conjured and dismayed at her usually very proper friend�s choice of words.

Hermione shook her head and nodded towards the bag that Ginny had brought. She�d stopped off and bought her friend a new outfit. Ginny brought it closer to her and Hermione started unbuttoning her nightgown. She smiled at Ginny.

�Oh Ginny, I wish Colin Creevey had been around. I would give almost anything to have had that moment saved forever!�

The two women laughed and after a moment, Ginny wiped at her eyes. �You and me both Hermione, although I can�t say I really want to see my brother�s bum any time soon, but the expression on his face must have been classic.�

�Oh, indeed,� Hermione said, breathless from laughing. She pulled at her gown and Ginny helped her get it off her shoulders. She handed Hermione the dress she�d brought for her, which made Hermione frown.

�This isn�t one of my dresses, where did you-�

�I stopped by one of the shops this morning as it opened. Bought one for me that I�d been eyeing and saw this and thought of you. You deserve a new dress for getting out of the hospital, right?�

Hermione held the dress up and looked at it. Ginny was worried that she had picked out the wrong thing. It was a simple dress, really, but Ginny thought it was elegant and classy. It was earthy too. It was a soft chocolate brown color that Ginny knew would go perfectly with Hermione�s brown eyes and light brown bushy hair. Hermione shook her head and looked at her.

�Ginny, it�s beautiful. I have to wear this to the party tonight. But why did you spend so much on me? You didn�t need to.�

Ginny pursed her lips. �Nonsense. You�re my new sister, if I can�t spend money on you then what�s the point? I just wanted you to feel pretty for your engagement party. Every woman should have that, regardless of whether or not they�ve just been through a life threatening situation.� Ginny tried to busy herself by folding up Hermione�s nightgown and handing her the shoes she�d brought, but Hermione stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. She looked up at her friend.

�You shouldn�t feel guilty about what happened to me. It�s not your fault you didn�t know. Truly.�

Ginny felt a swell of emotion and looked away from Hermione. She hadn�t bought the dress out of guilt, not really. She did just want Hermione to feel beautiful for the party. But the truth of Hermione�s words did cause her to realize that perhaps she had been harboring more guilty thoughts. She shook her head.

�I�m a sorry excuse for a seer if I can�t even tell when someone is posioning my friend.�

�Ginny, no you�re not. Look at what you�ve done- for Harry, for countless other people. And just recently with the Eaton girl. You�re amazing. You even knew something was really wrong with me and you got help. Stop beating yourself up.�

Hermione slipped the dress over her head and Ginny watched as it fell over her, fitting her body perfectly. Hermione looked down at the dress and smiled.

�Oh my goodness, Ginny, this is perfect. It really fits just right doesn�t it? And the color... I never thought I�d look good in brown but...� Hermione�s voice trailed off as she placed her feet into the shoes that matched. She moved slowly towards the mirror in the loo. �Oh, Ginny. How did you do this? It matches my eyes!�

Ginny smiled and stood behind her friend, meeting her eyes in the mirror.

�I told you, I saw it and thought of you. Besides, it�s easy to buy pretty things for someone as lovely as you, Hermione.�

�Oh, please. I�m bookish really. Which is fine-� Hermione said as Ginny started to protest, �but I have to admit, that in this dress... you know, I think it�s because my skin is still so pale, why it works so well. You took that into account, didn�t you? Another color would have made me seemed washed out but this... this is perfect.�

Hermione turned to her and gave her a hug. Ginny pulled away embarrassed suddenly. �What was that for?�

�For being my friend. I�m so glad we can be this close. I never had a sister, you know that. And I never did seem to make friends with too many girls...�

�Nonsense,� Ginny said.

�No, it�s true. I always had Harry and Ron around, I reckon that scared everyone off,� Hermione smiled then. �Well, that plus I was a bit of a no-gossip type of girl. Lavender and Parvati never did take to me much. I think I would have been lonely if it hadn�t have been for you, Ginny. I really mean that.�

�I know, Hermione. I feel the same.�

A moment of understanding passed between and they both jumped when Ron cleared his throat at the door.

�Er... you two done with the girl talk or do you just want to stay in this miserable place for as long as possible?�

Hermione and Ginny both rolled their eyes and then looked at Ron.

�We want to get her home of course,� Ginny answered.

�Good,� said Ron. He paused as he got a good look at Hermione. �Hey, where�d you get that dress? It looks... it looks really good Hermione.�

Ginny shook her head. �My brother, the man of a thousand understated compliments.�

Hermione laughed and then took Ron�s outstretched hand, moving slowly to his side.

�Ah, Ginny, you have to understand something about Ron. He�s not one for big praise, which makes it all the more special when he does notice things.�

Ron turned red and looked at the two of them. �Er... look you two, if you�re going to be picking on me all day then maybe you�d best stay here.�

Hermione smiled and turned her head and said something softly to him. Ginny watched as Ron�s ears turned pink.

�Right,� he said after a moment. He looked at Ginny. �Er sis, could you grab the rest of her things as I get her downstairs?�

Ginny smiled as Hermione winked at her. �Not a problem, Ron. It�ll give me a chance to get away from how lovey-dovey you two are.�

Ron started to protest. �Oh that�s rich, coming from you, who was out there snogging Harry yesterday, by the way-� Ron stopped as Hermione squeezed his hand. �Er yeah. Right. Thanks Ginny. Take your time. We�ll ah.. just wait.�

Ginny shook her head and watched them leave the room. As she was picking up the last of Hermione�s things and putting them into the bag Ron had brought, she checked the bedside table drawer one last time. She frowned as she saw a red Ministry folder sticking out underneath the books Harry had brought. She picked up the books and placed the folder on top. She wondered if this had something to do with the inquiry she knew had been done. Hermione hadn�t mentioned to her about finding anything out. It wouldn�t really be nosy if she peeked, would it?

Losing the arguement with herself as always, Ginny opened the folder and read the initial report. When she was done she closed it calmly and stuffed it into the bag. But an icy feeling had just entered her blood. She knew that name. She knew he was a lying low-life scum of a human being too. She knew better than anyone.

Ginny felt her anger burn through the icy feeling his name had brought. Maybe she�d just go pay a visit the Fagan shop today. Maybe she�d just have a word with Louis about the little trick that he�d played. It was just his style, after all.

For Ginny had no doubt in her mind that Louis was responsible for what had happened to Hermione. And it was something that she would make sure he regretted.