Harry was freezing his extremities off and then some. He�d only been out to the prison once before in his life and it was not an experience he thought he�d ever have to have again. He�d forgotten how absolutely miserable the trip over was. The Ministry took a no frills view about trips to Azkaban to deter anyone from visiting too often. Unfortunately, that also meant that if you had to go you had to suffer the same consequences of no heat and very little comforts.

Still, it could have been worse he reckoned. Tonks had managed to keep a fire on the boat and he still had feeling in his toes, at least. Landing on the uninhabitable rock of the island had been smooth for the most part. He was now standing on what was considered the �front� lawn of Azkaban and it was the dreariest sight Harry could ever remember seeing. Tonks and Remus were conferring with the head guard and looking at a map. Harry had wandered off to get a sense of the place again.

In a way, he reckoned he was like Ginny in that regard. She did it to get a sense of things and so did he. He�d learned to trust his instincts about things like this and not to approach things in an ordered fashion. Sometimes you could miss something if you followed everything by the book. Harry grinned to himself as he briefly thought of Hermione scoffing at his techniques. As Harry let his eyes wander over the rocky terrain his smile turned into a frown. Draco had managed to not only escape, but escape unnoticed. No boats had come to the island, no Apparation was allowed. So how had he done it?

Harry kicked at the pebbles that lay at his feet. If you got around the fact that Draco had got off the island, you were then faced with the original concept of Draco even getting out of his cell to begin with. This was the part that bothered Harry the most. The giant had been knocked unconscious and they weren�t sure how. If it had been a spell then Harry knew it must have been a strong one. He wondered how Draco Malfoy, holed up in a cell for four years had managed to have enough strength for that one. And without a wand. It was true dementors no longer watched over the prison, so Draco was probably conscious all of the time. A consciousness which had given him the ability to come up with many plans and schemes, of that Harry had no doubt. Harry also had no doubt that Draco would probably be after him. He�d vowed as much when Harry had caught him in America. Of course Draco had also vowed to rule the world, so Harry felt comfortable in the fact that the man�s delusions of grandeur were as always, slightly off-kilter.

�Harry?�

Harry turned and saw Remus approaching with the map. Harry pulled his cloak closer to his body. It was bloody freezing. What he wouldn�t do to be curled up with Ginny in bed all day. Actually just the thought of it made Harry feel slightly warmer. He smiled at his friend.

�What�s the guard say?�

�Oh, much of the same... basically, what we already know. They�ve gone over the cell repeatedly and can find nothing out of place or odd. It�s almost as though someone had the key to his cell. Which of course is impossible.�

Harry nodded and looked at the map his friend had folded back up.

�Those the master plans for the island?�

�Yes, they don�t offer much help either. Here,� Remus handed them to him and Harry was about to open it when Tonks joined them.

�Er, can we look at that again inside? I�m frozen. The head guard says we can look at the cell first, have a nip of tea and then if we need to, he�ll show us around the back of the prison.�

�Tonks,� Remus said with a smile, �that�s a brilliant idea. Harry?�

Harry nodded and they turned to where the guard was waiting. Harry looked at the prison one more time and tried to shake the feeling that he was missing something obvious about this whole thing. He wished he had Ginny�s gift of foresight sometimes, he really did.

Hermione was resting comfortably on her living room sofa. Ginny smiled as Ron kept asking her if she needed anything. Honestly, you�d think Hermione was still in danger, the way he carried on. Ginny had agreed to stay for lunch with them, but the news she�d found out from the Ministry folder was burning a desire to leave into her. She decided to ask her friend about it.

�Hermione?�

Hermione�s eyes flickered open and she smiled at her.

�Sorry, were you trying to sleep in-between the five minute checks of the mother hen in there?�

Hermione chuckled. �No, just resting my eyes. Thank you for staying, by the way. I�m sure Ron would transfigure the wall so that he could watch me as he cooked, if you weren�t here.�

�I have something to ask you and I have to admit I did a bit of snooping,� Ginny said as she sat down across from Hermione. �Snooping into your business, for which I apologize, but well, it couldn�t be helped.�

Hermione raised her eyebrow at her and Ginny knew she was probably blushing. She continued on.

�I saw the folder. The one having to do with the inquiry into your... illness. I saw his name.�

Hermione frowned and then swung her feet so that she was sitting up more and facing Ginny. �Oh, Ginny, I should have told you about it, but... you were so happy with Harry and... I didn�t want to bring up any bad memories. I didn�t think you�d want to know.�

Ginny frowned. �You didn�t think I�d want to know he�s responsible for what happened to you?�

�Well, we don�t know that for sure-�

�He�s the only one who would have done it.�

�It could have been a mistake-�

�Yeah, right. Why are you defending him? I mean, I know you don�t know him like I do, but really, Hermione... he�s a lying, miserable, filthy git-�

�You�re not talking about me are you?�

Ginny and Hermione turned as Ron came into the room carrying a plate full of freshly baked muffins. For some reason the smell of them made Ginny�s stomach turn and she shook her head as Ron offered her one.

�No, Ron, we were talking about Fagan-�

Ron set the plate down and frowned at Ginny. �Oh yeah, I have a bone to pick with you about him. How come you never told me about what happened your 7th year?�

Ginny�s eyes widened and she looked at Hermione who turned a bit pink in the cheeks. Hermione grabbed a muffin and decided to be fascinated by it while Ginny glared at her.

�Wait, you�ve talked about this with Ron and not me?�

Hermione sighed and then met her eyes. �Ron was there when your father brought the file by-�

�You mean Dad knows too-�

�No. He brought it by because... well, Ron and I have actually been working on a hearing involving Fagan and-�

�I still think that�s why he did it. He wanted you out of the way,� Ron interrupted her.

Ginny shook her head at them. �What do you mean?�

Hermione looked at Ron to make sure he�d stay quiet. She turned towards Ginny. �Let me try to explain... when I showed up at your flat the other day, after seeing Neville, I had originally wanted to ask you to appear at a hearing the Wizengamot was holding about Louis Fagan. His father was petitioning to have his son�s magical ban lifted.�

Ginny nodded. �You mean from when he hurt those girls. I thought it was for seven years? As part of the agreement that he wouldn�t go to Azkaban.�

Hermione nodded. �I wasn�t sure if you knew about that or not.�

Ginny smiled grimly. �Oh yes, I remember reading about it. You can say I�ve always had an interested ear whenever Louis�s name got bandied about with something bad.�

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione put her hand on his arm.

�Right, well, I was against him getting his use of magic back. I don�t think it�s quite fair that just because Donald Fagan has moved up in the Ministry that we should suddenly forgive and forget that his son did some pretty nasty tricks. So we were working on the case when-�

�The git got her out of the way,� Ron said angrily. Ginny nodded at her brother.

�That�s just like him too.�

Hermione took a deep breath. �Now look you two, just because we believe something to be true doesn�t mean it is. We have to prove, if Louis did do it to get me out of the way, that he meant the Silphium for me specifically. As it is, we don�t know if he even knew the herb was for me and not...� Hermione paused as she looked at Ginny.

Ginny got her meaning suddenly and shook her head. �You think he thought Neville had to get it for me?�

�Well, you and Neville were dating-�

�Yes, but Neville and I never... well, that is to say....� Ginny paused, glancing at Ron. �I�m not allergic to Pennyroyal.�

�Louis doesn�t know that though. He could have assumed Neville was getting it for you. It is a very difficult herb to get. You have to really go through a lot of trouble for it. Why else would he think Neville got it?�

Ginny frowned and sat back in her chair. Had Louis meant the Silphium for her or for Hermione?

�I don�t know, Hermione. It seems awfully odd that he�d just decide to poison me while you were working on his case. Did he know you were against the ban being lifted?�

�Well, that�s the other point. I�m not sure he did. I mean, I did talk to few members on the Wizengamot about it, but I wasn�t that vocal about my disapproval- �

Ron snorted. �Hermione, I�m sure your disapproval was very noticeable. You�re not subtle, my love.�

�Neither are you,� Hermione said crossly. She looked back at Ginny. �We had a problem with the Obliviators who had worked on the case before and none of the eyewitness testimony seems to have survived. So even had I been there at the meeting I doubt anything I said would have been heard.�

Ginny felt confused. She wouldn�t put anything past Louis, but what Hermione was saying made did make sense. She shook her head.

�I don�t like it, that�s all.�

�You and me both, sis,� Ron said, his voice frustrated. �If it were up to me-�

Hermione interrupted him again, �If it were up to you, Louis would be bandaged up in St. Mungo�s right now, yes we know. We�ve already discussed this Ron.�

Hermione�s voice was final on the matter and Ginny had to wonder exactly how she�d managed to keep her brother from doing something stupid. As if reading her mind, Ron turned his attention to her instead.

�As I was saying earlier, how come you never thought to talk to me about anything? It�s bad enough I find out you... you... well, you know, with him and then he went around talking about you afterwards? Ginny, I thought you had better sense about people than that.�

�It was a mistake, Ron. I�m sure you�ve made your fair share of those.�

�Not like that-�

Ginny�s frustration turned into anger. �Yeah, right Ron. A perfect saint, you are. I made a bad decision that at the time seemed... well...� Ginny suddenly deflated, her anger leaving her. �Well, it was bad at the time as well. But I didn�t want my family having to worry about me. I was so embarrassed afterwards, I don�t know. Maybe I thought I deserved it.�

Ron shook his head. �What does Harry say about it?�

�Why would Harry have anything to say?�

�You didn�t tell him that you slept with-�

�He knows it was someone at Hogwarts, that�s about it. It�s not really something I�m proud of Ron, so as you noticed, I don�t go around talking about it.�

Ginny folded her arms and looked at her brother, daring him to continue yelling at her. Ron merely looked at her and then sighed.

�Fine. Fine. It�s over. It�s the past. But for the love of Merlin, Ginny, next time something happens feel free to clue some of us in. We might actually care about you and want to help you.�

Ginny sighed and then nodded. It was a testament to how much Ron had matured that he wasn�t raving at her more than he had. It could only be Hermione�s influence. Either that or Ron had learned from watching Bill and Charlie handle things.

�Promise me you won�t tell anyone else?� she asked him.

Ron frowned. �You should tell Harry about it. He should know-�

�What? That I�m an idiot who grabbed the first boy she saw after she found out he�d slept with Cho? Yeah, I�ll be right quick to tell him that embarrassing story.�

Ron frowned. �What do you mean?�

�I read that letter you wrote to Hermione and then I was so upset that�s when I ran into Louis and let him...� Ginny paused, her skin feeling hot. �It was consensual but I don�t think I was really with Louis at that time. I just wanted to get the idea of Harry and Cho out of my mind.�

Hermione looked at her in understanding. �Oh, Ginny. You never told me why...�

�Because I�m embarrassed about it. Even now, years later I still feel... I feel ashamed.�

Ron shook his head. �If anyone should feel ashamed it should be Fagan. He took advantage of you! You were probably upset and-�

�I let him do it Ron, there�s no other way around that.�

�Did you ever say no or change your mind?�

Ginny frowned. She couldn�t remember a lot about it, she had to admit. She remembered going back to her room with Louis and letting him kiss her... she remembered feeling as though she needed to burn the image she�d had of Harry and Cho out of her mind. She remembered Louis making her take off her robe... a flash of embarrassment made her skin heat. She remembered telling him she had felt uncomfortable then but he had talked to her, softly, telling her how beautiful she was and then... there was touching and she had a memory of her choking back her own tears. But then her mind was blank. Whether by choice or by design Ginny couldn�t recall anything else that had occurred.

�I don�t know, Ron,� Ginny said truthfully. �Does it matter?�

�It matters if you said no and he still took advantage of you!�

Ginny felt her head begin to ache and she placed her palm against her forehead.

She didn�t want to go through the past now. She didn�t want to think about Louis Fagan. She�d made a mistake. Why did it have to come back to haunt her? It was just like the mistake she�d made with the diary. How long had she lived with the embarrassment of that? How long had the voice of Tom Riddle haunted her dreams?

�Ron,� Hermione said quietly, �Go get your sister a wet washcloth and some of those little blue pills I use in case I have a headache. Please?�

Ron looked as though he wanted to yell at her some more but he kept quiet and got up off the couch. Ginny closed her eyes. She heard Hermione shift on the couch and then felt her friend reach out and touch her.

�This is exactly why I didn�t mention him to you. Not until we had some proof. I never understood all of it until right now. You found out about Harry and Cho and you reacted. Everyone has done that sometime in their life. Don�t beat yourself up over it, Ginny. There are worse things you could have done or worse things that could have happened.�

Ginny nodded her head, numb. �I reckon so. Still, it doesn�t make me look too strong does it?�

Hermione smiled at her. �You�re a human being and the one thing that human beings need is affection. Harry wasn�t giving you any, so you sought some out. There�s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes I think the only way to remember we�re alive sometimes is to have a quick shag to remind us.�

Ginny stared at Hermione in disbelief. �Hermione!�

�Remind me to tell you the story of how Ron and I finally realized our feelings for each other and the consequences that had.�

Before Ginny could ask her what she meant, Ron came back into the room and handed her a washcloth. He also gave her two little pills.

�Do you need water?�

Ginny nodded and he went to get her a glass. She frowned at the pills.

�What are these?�

�Oh, a Muggle remedy for headaches. Not as efficient as a Cheering Charm, but you�ll feel less silly afterwards.�

Ginny nodded and sat back in the chair, her head still aching, but her pride not quite as much. She was glad she hadn�t rushed out to accuse Louis. She�d hate to think of how she�d react if she ever actually saw him again.