�Oh my dear, it�s just... lovely. We�re so happy to have you in the family!�

Mrs. Weasley was giving her a hug and Hermione had to break away from her to then get one from Fred and George. She felt as though she had been smiling forever. She felt as though she never wanted to stop.

Her parents had just left, after wishing her and Ron a wonderful engagement and getting promises of a dinner as soon as she was out of St. Mongo�s. Hermione felt herself beaming inside. Never... in a million years, did she think that Ron would ever propose. She�d never even thought that she�d wanted him to, actually. But as soon as she saw that ring, she knew it like Hogwarts, A History. It was the right thing and it was what she... what they needed.

She watched Ron as his brothers teased him and smiled. She looked up at Mrs. Weasley and shook her head.

�They�re not going easy on him, are they?�

Molly smiled. �No. You can�t expect them to, can you? I�ve already sent owls to Charlie and Bill. They�re going to come in as soon as they can get away so that we can have a proper celebration at the house!�

�Oh, you don�t have to go to all that trouble-�

�My dear! It is not trouble if you�re family and you�ve been a part of this one for long enough. You know how it works.�

Hermione laughed and nodded her head. The only thing that was missing right now was Harry and Ginny. She was about to ask Mrs. Weasley about them, when the door opened. Mr. Weasley came in looking frazzled, worn out and very tired.

�Arthur! Where have you been?�

�Dad! Take a load off,� George said as he pushed a chair towards his father. Mr. Weasley took it gratefully and smiled around at everyone.

�Sorry I�m late, all. Long day. Amelia Bones all in a fit. Missing girls. Harry taking over Ginny�s department. Ah. Thank you my dear,� Arthur smiled as Molly used her wand to make an iced pitcher of lemonade appear.

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other, sharing the same thought. Harry taking over Ginny�s department?

�Ah, that�s the stuff. Very refreshing, Molly. Whew. So... how�s our invalid? Feeling a bit better now since you have the Weasley clan rallying all around you? You must really-�

Ron interrupted his father. �I�m sorry Dad, but did you say Harry took over Ginny�s department?�

Arthur glanced at Ron. �Yes. Yes, he did. On Amelia�s orders of course. Your sister wasn�t too happy about it, they seemed to have had a nasty bit of a fight. At least that�s what Dex told us. They seemed okay afterwards...� Arthur stopped as though considering it. �Actually, they seemed more than okay. Molly, when is the last time you spoke with our daughter?�

Molly frowned. �Last week sometime, why? We usually have Sunday brunch, but she passed this time due to some work she had. She said she�d be by with Neville this weekend to make up for it.�

Ron and Hermione exchanged another look. Ginny hadn�t told the Weasley�s about breaking up with Neville, obviously.

�Nothing, I reckon. Just a feeling. Anyway, that�s not important now. How is our young couple? How did he do it, Hermione? I hope he asked you properly.�

Hermione smiled and looked up at Ron. �He did it just fine, Mr. Weasley. You would have been proud.�

Arthur beamed up at his son, who had just turned a decidedly pink shade. Fred and George laughed behind his back. They peered around Ron and gawked at her.

�You mean he didn�t stick his foot in it Hermione?�

�He told us he was going to sing to you, luckily we talked him out of that...�

�Would have roused the whole place awake with your screaming, really...�

�Enough!� Molly said, but there was smile on her face.

Ron made a face at his brothers and then went to the chair next to Hermione�s bed. He smiled as he took her hand.

�Wait until we plan the bachelor party, Ronnie-�

�Yeah!� George said, his eyes taking on a mischievous glint. �We�ll send him to Zimbabwe! In a box, I think-�

�And make it so he won�t know how to get home-�

The twins continued on as Molly started pushing them out the door.

�Come on you two. Let�s give your father some time alone with Ron and Hermione. And George Weasley, you are not sending your brother to Zimbabwe...�

Arthur shook his head as the door closed. �Oh chin up, Ron. You know I�d never let them do it. As Minister of Magic, they�d have to go through me to send anything to Zimbabwe.�

Ron shook his head, and Hermione could tell that didn�t make him feel any better.

�About that Fagan hearing, Hermione. �Fraid to say it, but they decided in favor of lifting the ban on his use of magic. Donald Fagan gave a very moving speech about his son�s sickly childhood. How his past mistakes were a cry for attention and all that rubbish. Not sure if I believed him myself, but the Wizengamot outvoted me.�

Hermione frowned. �I knew that would happen! We tried to find the past files on the case but-�

Ron interrupted her. �They�ve all seemed to have gone missing, Dad. It�s very odd.�

Mr. Weasley nodded. �Yes, well, we�ll have to look into that. Can�t change what�s already been done, at any rate. What I really came in here to talk to you two about was this business with the Pennyroyal oil. A file�s been started by your healer, Hermione... Esme Dobbs is it?� Arthur reached into his robe and pulled out some parchments. �Ah yes... Dobbs. Anyway, she wants us to start an investigation into it and normally I�d give this to Amelia to sort out, but she�s got her hands full at the moment,� Mr. Weasley paused, scratching his chin.

Hermione frowned. �Well, I suppose it would be nice to know who did this to me. I�m not sure if we�ll be able to find out though. I always go through Neville and Mr. Weasley, you know that Neville can be trusted.�

Arthur nodded his head. �I know, dear. I just saw him earlier today with Amelia�s niece, Susan. I would have stopped to chat but I was in a hurry... blast this business with the missing girls. I�ve been putting out fires out all day. Got the Daily Prophet to tone down their article some too, which is a load off my mind, I can tell you that.�

Hermione frowned. �I feel as though I�ve been out two weeks, not two days. What IS going on at the Ministry? What is this business with Ginny?�

�Yeah, Dad,� Ron said. �We�re out of the loop. What did Ginny do that made Amelia replace her with Harry? He�s not a seer. Why would it even matter about her Department?�

Arthur sighed. �Well, apparently your sister hasn�t been into work this week... something I had planned on asking her about. But meanwhile, we seem to have three missing girls on our hands. One of them is the daughter of Benjamin Eaton. Department Head of Magical Transport. Anyway, they�ve been owling Ginny and Dex, hoping for some assistance and Ginny never read the letters. I don�t know why Ben didn�t just stop in at Auror Headquarters and mention something. But then we found out two more families had been in, saying that their daughters were gone and well, the cat was out of the Mooncalf after that!�

�Well, Ginny�s had some personal things this week-� Ron began and his father shook his head.

�That�s fine, but if she�s going to skive off a week she should make the proper arrangements to have her mail sent to her. Dex was just letting it pile up.�

�But, and I�m sorry if I�m wrong, but... Ginny�s Department isn�t really set up to handle missing persons is it?� Hermione asked Arthur.

He nodded his head. �No it�s not. It never has been. I mean, it�s only her and Dex, they�d never be able to handle all the... well, all the owls for one thing, but Ginny�s always had a harder time with people than with objects. She has to be really connected to the person for a true vision. It�s one of the reasons that she was able to...� Mr. Weasley�s voice trailed off for a moment and he looked at them.

�I didn�t want to say this while Molly was about but... well... and this may be pure folly on my part but... since Harry�s come back, I was wondering if you two knew of Ginny�s feelings on the matter? Or more specifically, for him?�

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks and then looked anywhere but back at Mr. Weasley. He chuckled at them.

�Is it as serious as all that?�

Hermione cleared her throat. �Well, I don�t want to speak out of turn about Ginny�s personal affairs-�

�Yeah, Dad, she�d kill us for even thinking about telling you something before she could-�

�She�s broken up with Neville and become involved with Harry, hasn�t she?�

Hermione blinked at her future father-in-law. �But... well, how did you know?�

�A father knows these things. Well, actually, after Dex told us Harry and Ginny were having a... what did he say? �Disagreement about the working arrangements�, I knew something was up. It was later confirmed when after a little while your sister came out of her office looking as though she hadn�t been fighting at all. I�ve seen that look on your mother�s face once or twice, Ron. And I dare say, Hermione, I�ve seen it on yours. It�s a look that says a woman has been properly kissed and kissed a lot.�

Ron and Hermione stared at Mr. Weasley in shock.

He shook his head at them. �I knew Harry coming back would prove interesting. He�s grown into a fine, young man. And bless his heart, but I�ve never thought Neville would ever be my son in law. I�ve never seen him put that look on your sister�s face.�

Mr. Weasley titled his head as though hearing something and then stood up. �Well, your mother�s coming back. Now don�t you two say anything. She worries about Ginny enough as it is, she doesn�t need to be thinking about what else your sister is getting up to with Harry.�

Mr. Weasley turned to go but then stopped and walked over to the bed. He bent over and kissed Hermione on the forehead. �And welcome to the family, Hermione. You�ve already been a part of it for a long time, but now I�m glad my son�s made it official so that I can finally say I have two daughters to worry about.�

Hermione felt her skin grow warm and smiled up at him. She reached out and squeezed his hand.

�You�ve sort of been a second father to me, too, Mr. Weasley.�

�None of that now, it�s either Arthur or Dad.�

Hermione glanced at Ron. She smiled. �Okay... Dad...�

�Good show! Well, now I must be off. Perhaps I�ll take your mother out to eat, give you two some alone time, eh?� he winked up at his son. �I seem to recall what it felt like to be engaged... once upon a time. Take care of her, Ron.�

�Yeah Dad, of course.�

They watched him leave and heard him greeting Molly outside the door. Ron sat down in the chair next to Hermione and shook his head.

�Well, what do you think about that. My father knows more about Harry and my sister�s feelings for him than she does.�

�What do you mean?� Hermione asked, curious. The last she knew, Harry had been giving Ginny daisies in copper cauldrons and all had seemed fine.

�They had some sort of fight or misunderstanding while we were all waiting to hear about you. I�m not sure about what. I was thinking about more important things,� Ron took her hand and smiled. �I actually told Ginny that her and Harry just needed to shag and-�

�Ron! You didn�t,� Hermione shook her head at him, but then curiosity got the better of her. �What was her reaction to that?�

Ron smiled. �She didn�t like it but I think she didn�t mind hearing it, if you know what I mean. I don�t have time to worry about her, anyway. I need to make sure you get well and get out of this place so I can romance you the proper way.�

�The proper way?� Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. �What does that mean?�

Ron�s ears turned pink. �Er... well, it means I cook you a really nice meal-�

�Oh yes, I do so love it when you cook.�

�And,� Ron continued, turning a bit more pink, but ignoring her, �that I... well...we... have a serious talk about our future,� he nodded his head as though he were proud of himself.

Hermione smirked. �Oh very romantic indeed, Ron. Maybe I�ll ask Esme to let me stay in here a few-�

�Oh, alright. I cook you a great meal, we spend all day in bed, and then we have a serious talk?�

Hermione laughed. �Well, I like the cooked meal and the all day in bed part, actually. But Ron, why this sudden urge for a serious talk? I reckoned you proposing was as serious as I was going to get you for a long time.�

Her tone was playful, but Ron still frowned at her. �It�s not funny, Hermione. You could have died because I didn�t know anything about what... you have to do. I want to know these things. I should know these things,� Ron paused. �Don�t you think?�

Hermione looked at his face, half-scared and half-earnest. She felt her heart soften a little bit. She decided to take pity on him.

�Okay, Ron, when I get out of here I will let you romance me the proper way, complete with a delicious meal and all day in bed, followed by everything and anything you always wanted to know about me and our future. From when I want us to get married to when I want us to have kids to-�

Instead of looking relieved, Ron looked anxious. �Er... everything? Kids too?�

Hermione shook her head, laughing. �Well, isn�t that what you�ve just been bugging me about?�

�Yeah,� Ron paused and then shook his head. �I reckon I just didn�t expect you to actually go along with it so quick. Er... when do you ah... want to have kids?�

Hermione laughed at the note of panic in his voice and pulled him into her arms.

�Oh, Ron. I wouldn�t trade you for anything in the world.�

�Hmm... I�m not sure that makes me lucky or not.�

She pulled back from him and then smiled when she saw the smirk on his face.

�Watch it Mr. Weasley, it�s almost official. I can be just like your mum now if you step out of line and send you to bed without any dinner!�

�Well, Mrs. Future-Weasley,� Ron said as he distanced himself from her, �If it�s a dinner you cooked, then I reckon that might be the best thing to do. Remember that horrible casserthingie of your Aunt�s you tried to make? You burned the

whole...�

Ron got a pillow in the head. He pulled it away from his face and smiled cheekily back at her. �Truth hurt, love? Face it, the Granger women have nothing on the Weasley line of fine cooking.�

�It�s called a casserole and I want to remind you that I received top N.E.W.T�s on my Potions exam, Ron. If I can do that then I can cook some lousy old dinner. You�ve just insulted a long line of Granger women-�

Hermione wasn�t able to finish because suddenly Ron was kissing her and she forgot about avenging her long line of aunts and grandmothers.

Hermione reckoned those women had it all wrong anyway. If you could find a bloke that could cook and kiss like Ron, well... then... you practically had it made.

After meeting up in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, Harry, Ginny and the medi-witch from the night before, Sarah Brocklehurst, had all made their way to the Docklands of East London. Now mostly a very posh Muggle shopping area, there were one or two more secret places along the waterfront still friendly to wizarding kind. They were standing in front of one such place right now.

Harry stared up at the tall bronze statue, which depicted a tweedy looking man holding a small duckling in one hand and an umbrella in the other, and read the inscription:

�Duke Elfred of Avondale proved most heroic to our friends of the fowl kind. So enamored of ducks, was he, that he rushed in during a city bombing to rescue a small family of ducklings that had decided to nest in the protective cover of a maple tree. Unbeknownst to Sir Elfred however, the duckling�s mother was keeping a close eye on her brood and when he came in to shoo them off, she dove in to save her babies. After receiving twenty-five stitches near one eye, the Duke was heard to have muttered, �Aye ye friends of fowl places, keep watch for the mother hen!� He spent his remaining days playing bridge, reading tealeaves and hunting.�

Harry looked at Ginny. �Is this for real?�

Ginny shrugged. �I�m not sure, it�s been here forever. Since after the Muggle war, anyway, this is a Memorial Garden. It serves our purposes though.�

Harry watched as she looked up at Duke Elfred and squinted. In a voice no louder than a whisper, she spoke to it.

�A guy walks into a pub with a Mallard on his head...�

Harry watched as Elfred transformed into an entryway. As soon as they were through, the statue faded away and was replaced by a brick wall. He looked at Ginny skeptically.

�A guy walks into a pub with a Mallard on his head?�

�Yeah, you have to start a duck joke to get it to open. George and Fred know tons of them. They have to come down here all the time to pick up stuff for the shop. That was one of the nicer ones they�ve told me through the years. Usually they have something to do with people having a duck�s arse.�

Harry shook his head as they walked down a narrow stone passageway. When Ron and Hermione had picked him up from his boat, they�d left the Muggle way. This was a new experience.

The came out onto a small stone courtyard. Shops, most of them closed at night, lined the right wall. It was like a miniature maritime Diagon Alley. Most of the shops had to do with imported wizard wares from other countries. At the other end of the courtyard there looked to be another passageway and it was this way that Ginny led them.

�Are you getting any feelings around here?� he asked her quietly.

�No. But then I didn�t expect to. He placed her near Muggles. I think if we follow this alleyway long enough, it�ll take us through to the other side. There are a small batch of wizard owned shops along the river that also cater to Muggles. I�m hoping to get something near there.�

�Wouldn�t it have been easier to just take the Ministry car to the other side, then? If that�s where you think she is?�

Ginny glanced at him. �What? And miss Duke Elfred? No, actually. I wasn�t sure about any of this until we got here. And anyway, the other direction is really congested at night with lots of Muggles out and about. I didn�t want to be bothered with them.�

The continued on in silence for awhile. The passageway was narrow and hard to maneuver. It was wide enough for two people at a time, but you had to look down at your feet to make sure you didn�t fall into any water. Harry wanted to take Ginny�s hand in his own, but didn�t want to disturb her. Actually, he reckoned touching her too much might disturb him. His mind flashed back on the scene in her office. He felt warm despite the cool of the evening. What a day this had been! He shook his head, remembering. He glanced back at Sarah and saw that she was farther behind. He stopped to wait for her.

�So how�s Hermione? We haven�t had a chance to get back to see her today. Is Ron behaving himself?�

Sarah nodded. �She�s doing fine. Actually, better than fine. Her healer is impressed by how fast she seems to be responding. She should be going home in a day or two. I think there�s a celebration already in the works.�

Harry laughed and fell instep beside her. �Yeah, the Weasley�s do like an excuse for a family get together.�

�Well, it�s a happy occasion when a couple gets engaged, after all,� Sarah said diplomatically.

Harry shook his head, it really had been a long day. He�d forgotten all about Ron proposing to Hermione. �So she said yes, I take it?�

Sarah nodded. �Yes. From what I gathered at any rate. I heard his brothers teasing him something fierce. But I expect George and Fred Weasley were more than a little put out that their little brother had taken the plunge first.�

Harry looked at her in surprise. �You know Fred and George?�

�I was in their year, I should know them. My sister was in yours.�

Harry frowned. �Your sister? Was she...�

�Mandy. She was a Ravenclaw. I was a Hufflepuff. Quidditch time was always fun. Especially against Gryffindor,� she said slyly.

Harry had a small recollection of Mandy Brocklehurst but nothing more. He couldn�t place her face with the one of the woman next to him, at any rate. He wondered if Ginny had known her.

�My sister went out with Miss Weasley�s partner, actually... Dexter? Brief fling, of course. My sister always seemed to think his heart wasn�t in it.�

Harry frowned. He looked up to see if Ginny had been listening and realized that she was no longer in front of them. He stopped.

�Er... where did she go?�

Sarah also looked up, surprised. �I could have sworn she was just there a minute ago. We didn�t fall that far behind, did we?�

Harry swore and moved ahead of Sarah, walking quickly. His feet slipped and he pulled a muddy leg out of ice cold water.

�Ginny?� he called out.

The silence of the passageway greeted him. He glanced back at Sarah who was trying to keep up.

�Go ahead without me, I�ll be fine, I�m sure.�

Harry was pulled in two directions. On one hand, he didn�t know why Ginny had pulled ahead of them so far and so quickly, and on the other, he knew he couldn�t leave Sarah by herself. Knowing that medi-witches weren�t exactly that defensive in their spells usually, he forced himself to wait for her. He knew Ginny could take care of herself, for the most part.

�No, we�ll walk together. I�m sure she�s on the other side waiting. Probably got tired of me talking,� he said with a sheepish grin. �She likes to work things alone sometimes.�

Sarah nodded as she reached him. �And how long have you been together?�

Harry looked at her in surprise. �Well...�

�Oh sorry, none of my business. It�s just the two of you seemed so close. I reckoned

it had been awhile.�

Harry couldn�t hide a smile. �Well, we�ve known each other a long time, really. But recent developments have-�

Harry never got to finish. His sentence was drowned out by the sound of a woman screaming.

Ginny felt the first tingling of something as she moved through the alleyway towards the park area that was shared by Muggles and wizards alike. Of course, most of the Muggles didn�t know the strange shops that were there were wizard shops. They just thought it was an arty, bohemia place decorated with strange people. Since the fall of Voldemort and most of the anti-Muggle sentiments, the Ministry of Magic had approved certain stores to do business in the area. As long as you didn�t sell your Muggle customer something magical, you were okay. It had been one of her father�s first Decree's, to foster in a new era of Muggle and wizard relations.

She still heard Harry and Sarah behind her, talking softly to each other. She cleared her head and tried to reach out to the missing girl. There was something at the edge of her perception, something she couldn�t quite get to. It was almost as though a dark curtain had been dropped. She speeded up her step and didn�t notice that she had let the other two drop behind.

The exit of the alleyway came out behind a row of trees in front of a water closet, so if any passing Muggles happened to notice you there, it would just look as though you�d been to the public loo. A couple of the shops were still open at the end of the walk but most were dark. Ginny frowned and scanned the area.

Something wasn�t right here. Since the London weather had decided to go cool, instead of hot this June, activities had been cut short. But still, the area was much too deserted for her taste. The only sign of life she saw was a couple kissing underneath one of the streetlamps, half a block away. She let her eyes wander over the darkened buildings and she shivered despite the jumper she had grabbed from her office at work.

She tried to spot something that would remind her of what she had seen when she had touched the painting. She moved forward and her eyes fell on a narrow strip between the two buildings to her right. She shook her head and turned back the other way, towards the light of the nearest shop. She was probably going to be walking around out here all night, blind as a bat. Thinking that she should probably wait for Sarah and Harry to catch up, Ginny sat down on a stone bench and rested her head in her hands. After a moment her attention was again drawn to the darkened narrow space between the last two buildings. It wouldn�t hurt to just look, would it?

As she got closer to it, Ginny felt colder and shivered again. Risking her wand to light her way for her at this point would be okay, wouldn�t it? There was no one about, after all.

She pulled out her wand and lit it, the tiny flare of light making her feel more secure for some reason. Maybe it was just the reassurance that should anything hop out at her from that darkened corner, she�d be well prepared.

The minute Ginny touched the Barrier spell that had been put up, it wavered and she felt the magic of it fall on her, instead. For a panicked second she thought that she had fallen into something, but it was only because her wand had gone out. Frowning, she said �Lumos� and it flared into light again. What she saw made her gasp.

Winifred Eaton was laying on the cold, stone ground, naked as Ginny had seen her in her vision. Her body was in a weird juxtaposition, considering that the ground beneath her was flat. Winifred seemed to be half-sitting and half-laying. It looked painful to Ginny and then she noticed the strange cuts on the girl�s body. Ginny moved forward and reached out a hand to touch her. Winifred was ice cold and as still as death itself. Ginny heard a noise behind her and whirled around, half expecting it to be Harry and Sarah. Instead it was the Muggle couple from before, kissing and not noticing where they were going. They parted and turned towards the light of Ginny�s wand, surprised. The man frowned at her but the woman�s eyes dropped downward and saw Winifred. Before Ginny could react, she was screaming.

Ginny did the first spell that popped into her head. �Silencio!� she aimed her wand at the woman who suddenly stopped screaming and grabbed at her throat. The man stared at his companion in disbelief and then looked at Ginny, with both alarm and outrage.

�Hey, what�s the big idea-� he grabbed his throat in much the same way his girlfriend had. Ginny hit them with the gentlest stunner she could and watched as they dropped to the ground. Ginny heard running feet and saw Harry stumbling out from the behind the trees, followed by Sarah. She called them over.

Harry came running up to her. �Ginny! We heard a scream, we thought-� he looked down at the Muggle couple. �What happened?�

�They stumbled upon me finding Winifred,� she indicated with a shake of her head and turned her wand so that he could see behind her. Harry�s eyes glanced over her shoulder and then froze. He looked back at Ginny.

�Is she...?�

�I don�t know, she as cold as the grave, though, Sarah?� Ginny greeted the medi-witch as she came panting up to them. Ginny moved out of the way so that she could see as well. The medi-witch gasped and then pulled out her own wand. She ran over to the prone body of Winifred Eaton. Harry shook his head as though trying to block the image from resting in his memory.

�We�ll have to get an Obliviator out here for these two,� he said after a moment.

Ginny nodded. �It couldn�t be helped. Although at this point I might sign up to have my memory altered along with them,� she said as she rubbed her head.

Harry looked at Winifred again and nodded at her in understanding. He reached out and Ginny went into his arms.

�I need to get her to St. Mungo's immediately,� Sarah was saying. �She�s alive, but barely. She seems to be under some sort of Sleeping Draught and a powerful one at that. I can�t tell what made the marks on her body, they�re refusing to close. Harry, help me get her up?�

Harry let go of Ginny and she watched as he went over to Sarah. He took off his robe and wrapped the girl up in it. Ginny felt dizzy suddenly and fell against the wall of the alleyway. Ginny looked out into the darkness of the night and felt an odd feeling overcome her.

She remembered suddenly, the odd warning Matlida Bowering had told her only a few days ago. With everything that had been going on, she�d barely given the old witch a thought. But now her words came back with sudden clarity...

He won�t be stopped, not by the usual ways. He�s slippery this one and no one knows what he�s capable of, not by a long shot. He�s thirsty and he�s hungry. He wants everyone to hurt like he hurts and he covets that which he cannot have. Until he finds her, until he possesses her, he won�t stop and he won�t care who he hurts.�

Ginny turned around and looked back at the scene in front of her and knew that this was the cold feeling of change she had been feeling ever since yesterday. That feeling that everything was going to go wrong... this was it. And this was only the beginning.