The whispers that met Leila when she entered the Common Room the next morning were nearly deafening. However, she had no idea what her classmates were whispering about. Once again it seemed as if she was either the last person to know either simply by accident, or something had happened that no one wanted to tell her about.

Unfortunately, Melissa didn't know what the latest gossip was either. She and Jeremy were the only Gryffindors who had stood by Leila when the news of Harry's Azkaban escapades had arrived. Jeremy, of course, would support Harry no matter what (a viewpoint that quickly made him unpopular among his classmates), and Melissa, loyal friend as she was, would believe anything Leila believed.

Leila knew the truth, but god, was it hard not to just spill everything out to her best friend. She knew the reasons for keeping Harry's secret, but the logic didn't make her situation any less difficult.

Apprehensively, she walked into the Great Hall with Melissa at her side. Perhaps she was only imagining that quite a few students' heads turned to look quickly at her before bending to whisper amongst each other.

She shifted uncomfortably. "What the hell is going on, anyway?" she muttered.

"No idea," said Melissa, and she seemed to shrink a little under the hostile looks. "Let's just grab some food and go, OK?"

But it didn't quite work that way. Jeremy, who had entered right after them, threw himself into the seat next to Neville and snatched up Seamus's copy of The Daily Prophet. He stared at it for a moment, then exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Leila and Melissa froze, as did half of the Gryffindors closest to them, and several Slytherins. Jeremy seemed not to care; instead, he turned to the two girls and waved the paper in their nose. "Take a look at this."

POTTER BREAKS INTO NOTT MANSION, STEALS VALUABLES; 19 WOUNDED, read the headline, and Leila choked. In a brief second she glanced across the room and locked eyes with Theodore; he gave her a tiny nod before turning back to an intense-looking conversation with Blaise Zabini.

"I have the coolest best friend in the entire world," announced Jeremy, grinning ear to ear. "He just broke into one of the most prestigious Death Eater homes in all of Britain and managed to take out 19 Death Eaters!"

"He didn't exactly do it alone," murmured Leila, studying the article.

Last night, at approximately eleven o'clock, Harry Potter, an 18-year-old son of Chaser James Potter wanted for the crimes of releasing murderer Ginevra Weasley from Azkaban, broke into Theodore Nott's home in Cambridge, stealing thousands of galleons worth of valuables and wounding 19 of Nott's acquaintances who showed up to help fight the burglars. Potter's accomplices were his godfather, Sirius Black, murderer Ginevra Weasley, and Regulus Black, brother of Sirius Black believed to be dead. What other secrets is Potter hiding? Nott was unavailable for comment . . .

Leila stopped there, shaking her head in disbelief. They'd done it—they'd really done it—but at a cost.

Valuables. Ha. More like human cargo.

On the other hand, four people against dozens of Death Eaters—well, her respect for Harry's fighting skills had just reached a new level.

"Look," said Melissa, pointing to a spot further down on the page. "'Potter is now number one on the wanted criminals list. If he is spotted, readers are advised to be very cautious as none of us seems to know what he's capable of.' Now they're saying your brother is even more dangerous than You-Know-Who! What a piece of rubbish."

"If they'd been paying any attention at all, they would have noticed that Harry has been attacking Death Eaters, not innocent bystanders," said Jeremy loudly with a snort. Several Gryffindors looked appalled, but he only glared at them. "What're you looking at?"

The closest ones flinched. "Yeah, I thought so," muttered Jeremy, and with one last defiant look, he turned back to Leila and Melissa. "Your brother may be guilty," he said in a low voice, his eyes dark and intense, "but he certainly hasn't turned dark like the papers are saying."

Melissa nodded.

Something clenched around Leila's throat as she surveyed the two friends who had just put their confidence in her older brother.

"Thank you," she said quietly, meaning it.

For the first time in months, Harry woke up to find the space on the bed next to him empty, and at first, it confused him.

Ever since the first time Ginny had come, complaining of nightmares, she'd slept in his room every night. They'd kept it under the radar as far as they knew—Regulus and Sirius were late risers, and Ginny never came until she was sure they were asleep at night. It'd become so normal that things just didn't feel right without her there.

He sat up quickly and threw on some clothes. The room was unfamiliar, but he remembered that he must be at Lupin's house. There were sounds of movement beneath him, and an aroma drifted from the cracked door that promised of good food. Beams of light were spilling from the windows into the hallway. Harry idly wondered how long he'd slept; it must be the middle of the day by now. Following the sounds, he descended the narrow staircase and stopped at the kitchen door.

Remus hovered over the stove, wand in hand as he gave directions to Sirius who was looking very put out at being made to set the table. Ginny was hovering over Charlie, listening to him talk with an adoring look in her eyes. Through the door leading to the living room, Harry could see Fabian Prewett sitting on the couch, sipping a hot cup of tea.

Sirius noticed him first. "Harry!" he exclaimed, dropping the handful of silverware which scattered noisily on the tile floor.

"Dammit, Sirius," Lupin began, but Sirius paid him no heed.

"Harry, mate," he said, guiding Harry over toward the other side of the kitchen, where Ginny and Charlie were. "How're you doing? Slept a while, I see." Lowering his voice a little, he continued with a furtive look at Lupin, who had gone back to tending whatever was in the giant pot on the stove. "Please, save me, he's trying to turn me into a bleeding house wife!"

Harry grinned at his godfather, then nodded to Charlie and Ginny.

"Morning," said Charlie amicably, but Ginny immediately bounded over, grabbing Harry in an enthusiastic hug.

"Where on earth is the syrup?" Lupin exclaimed in the background. "Sirius, won't you get some from the cellar?"

"I'll get it!" Ginny practically shouted before grabbing Harry's elbow and dragging him out the door and into the hallway.

"Honestly, if you wanted to talk to me, couldn't you have thought of a more subtle way to get me alone?" said Harry, rubbing his arm as he grinned crookedly at her.

Ginny ignored his comment. "Sorry about last night," she said hastily, looking worried. "I wanted to come but I didn't want to risk anything, not with everyone here and things so delicate . . ."

"Delicate?"

"Harry, my brother is alive. I don't him finding out first thing that I'm sleeping with you every night!" She turned bright red. "Well, not sleeping, just . . . you know what I mean."

And it was true—they hadn't done anything more than strictly sleeping, though somehow during the course of the night, she always ended up nestled in his arms. They'd kept the physical aspect of their relationship to moderate snogging. There hadn't been a lot of free time for . . .um, relationship advancement, not with the work they'd done preparing for their resistance against Voldemort. Somehow, taking his relationship with Ginny to the next level seemed wrong when people were dying every day from Dementor and Death Eater attacks. It didn't seem fair to Ginny to act as if he could promise her a future when he didn't even know if he was going to survive. He'd promised never to break up with her again, but he couldn't promise her anything else.

He still had a battle to win.

So when they'd kissed, he'd restrained himself, cautious not to cross carefully set lines, not only because he didn't want to move faster than she was ready for, but also because of the looming threat. If he died . . .

He didn't want to think about dying.

"So, um, did you sleep okay?" asked Harry.

"Heavens, no," said Ginny, and he felt a rush of relief. He grinned.

"Me neither. I kept waking up all night long, but I suppose I was just too exhausted to figure out why I was so restless."

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that tonight, won't we?" said Ginny, grinning slyly and reaching up to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek. "If we stay here, I'll just have to find a way to sneak by those nosy gits."

"I'll look forward to it," he promised.

"Oi, you two," said Sirius, sticking his head out in the hallway. "Are you going to get the syrup, or stand out in the hall grinning at each other like a pair of disgusting lovebirds?"

Laughing, Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and tugged him toward the door to the cellar, but not before Harry heard his godfather's muttered words, ". . . worse than James and Lily."

Breakfast turned out to be a smaller event than Harry had expected. Tonks was still sleeping off the prior night's activities, and Caradoc Dearborn, who's imprisonment had affected his health more than anyone else, was being tended to by Regulus. The rest ate their pancakes and oatmeal standing up, sitting down, or cross-legged on the floor, wherever there was room. Sirius, Charlie, Fabian, and Lupin were having an intense argument over whether Charlie and his uncle should just show up on the Weasleys' doorstep and announce their states of un-deadness, whether they should go to the Ministry, or whether they should wait a few days for the confusion surrounding the break-in at Nott's Mansion to abate.

"We definitely need to appear today," said Fabian Prewett, crossing his arms. "If we wait any longer, the Ministry will have dozens of questions about why we didn't show up sooner, who we were with, et cetera. It's now or never."

"If you're going to the Burrow, I'm coming too!" Ginny announced stubbornly. "I haven't seen Mum or Dad in nearly half a year. It's high time I pay them a visit."

"It's not safe," began Lupin, but Ginny let out a loud snort.

"And it will be safer in six months? Yeah right. We may have destroyed the Horcruxes, but we still aren't any closer to defeating Voldemort himself. No offense, Harry."

"None taken," said Harry. He really wanted to see the Weasleys, but even more so, he wanted to be able to talk to his own parents, to explain to them why he'd done what he'd done, to tell them about the other world and what had happened there, and to apologize for putting them through so much.

"The Aurors are busy cleaning up the Nott case. Surely they wouldn't be expecting us to drop in on my parents the day after," said Ginny pleadingly. "Just a little visit. Please?"

Now it was Sirius's turn to snort. "A 'little' visit? With all the stuff you've got to tell them? Maybe five hours, but no less."

"Then we could bring them here," argued Ginny.

"The Fidelius Charm . . ."

"The girl's got a point," said Fabian. "The Secret-keeper is Harry. There's no reason why we couldn't bring the Weasleys over for a while. I daresay their Floo isn't still being watched, but even so, they could always just Apparate here."

"If the Ministry discovers Remus's connection with us," began Sirius, but Lupin waved him away.

"They'll find out anyway, once they start question these two—" he gestured at Charlie and Fabian, "—about who helped them escape and where they came. I'm not afraid to be associated with you, and I doubt anyone will be taking me into custody, not with this lot to vouch for my integrity."

Ginny grinned so widely Harry wondered if her cheeks would split. "I'm going to see Mum," she breathed, more to herself than anyone else. "And Dad, and Percy, and the twins, and Bill . . ."

"They're different than the family from the other world," Harry mumbled, and her face fell.

"But they're still my family," Ginny whispered. "I won't get to see Ron, will I? He's at Hogwarts, still."

"Well, that's a blessing," muttered Harry. "Last time I saw him I almost got my nose broken."

Ginny laughed as Charlie scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"Tell you later," his sister promised.

Lupin took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose there's no better time than the present."

Only a few minutes later, Harry fell out of the fireplace into the kitchen at the Burrow. Not much had changed. The sink was filled with dirty dishes washing themselves; eight chairs stood solemnly around the large table, but it could be made to fit more, Harry remembered, thinking about all the lively dinners he'd had in this very room. On the mantle, the family clock was missing a hand—Charlie's. The rest of the hands were stayed on "Mortal Peril." Lupin was already there, greeting Molly Weasley, who was wiping her wet hands on her apron and looking extremely perplexed at the sudden arrival of visitors.

"Is Arthur here?" Lupin was saying.

"Of course," she replied. "He doesn't work on Sunday, you should know that . . . Remus, who is this you've brought with you?"

Without meaning to, Harry touched his face. He'd momentarily forgotten the simple changes he'd made to his face—brown hair, longer nose.

"You'll see in a minute, Molly, but right now it is imperative that you fetch Arthur straightaway . . . Is Bill here? You can get him too, and Percy and the twins . . ."

"But the twins are in Diagon Alley at the shop," Mrs. Weasley said, her hands fluttering. "And Bill is there too, with Kiara, I believe . . ."

"I'll get them," Harry volunteered eagerly.

"No way," Remus said instantly. "I'm not letting you put yourself in danger like that!"

Harry laughed. "With this face? Who would recognize me? I'll only be a few minutes, I promise."

"But Harry . . ."

"Harry?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, then clapped both hands over her mouth.

There was a noise at the door, and Harry looked over to see Mr. Weasley and Percy staring at them. "Molly, dear, what is all the commotion about?"

"Listen carefully," Harry said quickly. "Remus Lupin lives at number twenty-three Townsend Road in Liverpool. Remember that."

And he made for the door before Lupin could stop him; as he turned on the front step to Apparate to Diagon Alley, he could hear Mrs. Weasley's voice floating back to him. "That was Harry?"

Diagon Alley was nearly deserted; it was even worse than the visit Harry had made there the summer after his sixth year with the Weasleys. Posters warning people against Dementors and Death Eaters were posted on walls and lampposts, and most of the street vendors had disappeared. Many shops were closed, but Fred and George's was thriving with business.

Harry entered the store and looked around, marveling at the similarities to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes in his world. It was comforting to know that some things didn't change, even in an alternate universe.

"Step right up, step right up, get your free Death Eater Detector with a purchase of two Skiving Snackboxes," Fred was calling over the heads of the people packed into his store. He was wearing a rather ridiculous-looking orange polka-dot bowtie and a top hat, but he didn't seem to care about the odd combination of clothing. Harry looked for George, but didn't see him immediately. Luck was on his side though—in a corner, he saw Kiara admiring the Pygmy Puffs, Bill only a step behind her.

He headed for them first. "'Scuse me, sorry," he muttered as he pushed through the crowd, but at last he reached the couple. "Bill, can I have a word?"

The oldest Weasley turned, mistrust written all over his face; Kiara peered curiously at Harry. "Who are you?"

"Lupin sent me," said Harry. "He's at the Burrow right now with Mrs. Weasley; something important has come up and he sent me to fetch you and the twins . . ."

"Who are you? How can we trust you?" demanded Bill, hand on his pocket. Kiara was reaching for hers too, and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were only being careful. He was still under disguise, after all—they had no idea of knowing who he was.

"Listen," he said, lowering his voice. "I'll prove to you that I mean no harm, but first I've got to get Fred and George. They need to come too."

He didn't wait for their reply; instead he turned and pushed through the crowd—and ran head into George, carrying a stack of boxes which scattered all across the floor.

"Sorry mate, didn't see you coming," called George over the ruckus as he and Harry scrambled to pick up the fallen objects.

"No worries," Harry replied. "Can I see you and Fred for a moment, though?" He leaned closer. "Lupin sent me."

George's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but he only nodded and pushed his way over to Fred. After a whispered word, Fred handed the displayed joke object to a clerk and beckoned Harry to follow. He did, and a quick look behind him showed that Kiara and Bill were not far behind.

Fred led the way into a back room, and the instant Kiara had shut the door behind them, four wands were pointed directly at Harry.

He raised his hands obediently, but threw them a grin anyways. "Good Merlin, the Order's gotten a lot more jumpy since I last attended a meeting. Security is good, I suppose . . ."

"Who are you?" said Bill, waving his wand under Harry's nose threateningly. "And how do you know about the Order?"

Harry concentrated, and a second later, he looked like himself again.

Kiara gasped; Bill gaped. "Wicked!" Fred and George exclaimed together.

"Has something happened to Ginny?" Bill asked immediately, lowering his voice to an urgent whisper. "Is that why you came?"

"No, no," Harry reassured them. "Ginny's just fine, but something else has happened, something your family needs to see for themselves to believe. Lupin is at the Burrow, and I've come to get you three—well, four, if you want to tag along, Kiara—and take you to Lupin's house."

"But it's under a Fidelius," began Kiara.

"I'm the Secret-keeper," Harry said.

"Oh," she breathed.

"What sort of situation?" prodded Bill, still looking suspicious.

"Nothing bad, I swear," said Harry, resisting the urge to just blurt it out. But Charlie and Fabian had wanted to see the looks of surprise and shock on everyone's faces for himself when they discovered the truth.

Harry turned to Fred and George. "Can you two close the shop for a bit? Uh…well, actually the rest of the day would be good. This will take a while."

Fred and George disappeared back through the doors, only to reappear a second later. "It's been taken care of."

"That quickly?" Kiara said skeptically.

Fred grinned wickedly. "We just told the crowd we were about to start testing our Bermuda Bombshells and they all cleared out."

George rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him. Zeke agreed to watch the shop for a few hours."

"Right," said Harry. "Ready to go, then?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it."

Ginny paced the kitchen floor for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Actually that was probably a pretty accurate estimate—she'd been pacing every since Harry had left, nearly an hour ago.

Charlie had retreated into the living room to sit with Fabian after telling Ginny plainly that she was driving him nutters. Sirius was still there, however, leaning his chair back on two legs and reading a Daily Prophet. "Pacing isn't going to get them here any quicker," he said suddenly, setting down his paper and watching her bemusedly.

"I know what," she snapped waspishly, stopping directly in front of him. "But what if something happened? What if he was caught by Aurors?"

"Worrywart. You're worse than your mother," teased Sirius. "They're fine."

She wished she could believe him.

Ginny turned back to her pacing. An entire hour—surely a quick trip to the Burrow wouldn't have taken that long! A dozen grim scenarios raced through her mind. Harry captured. Harry in Azkaban. Harry being tortured by Voldemort for answers. Death Eaters bursting into Castaway Cabin and hauling her and Charlie and Uncle Fabian away to be locked in a dark dungeon cell, or worse, in an Azkaban tower surrounded by Dementors . . .

And then, the fireplace flared green; Ginny froze, almost as if her feet had grown roots into the floor. In slow motion she watched first Percy and the twins, then Bill and her parents, and finally Harry, Lupin, and a dark-skinned witch she didn't recognize stumble out of the fire into the kitchen. Percy's glasses teetered on the end of his nose as he paused to dust off his robes; Bill looked ten years older than the last time she'd seen him; and there were new wrinkles on Dad's face and more gray hairs on Mum's head than there had been before. Fred and George looked as if neither had shared a good laugh recently, and there was a new depth in their eyes.

Suddenly, time was speeding up. Her head was spinning wildly; she took a jerky step forward before stopping again, unsure if her legs would support her weight.

Fred and George caught sight of her first. In a split second, they barreled across the room and crushed her in a bone-breaking hug. Over George's shoulder, she saw Percy, walking toward them in a daze, an anguished expression on his face. "Ginny," he whispered, and Fred and George amazingly let go; a moment later, her stiff, unbending older brother was holding on to her as if she was his lifeline. When she felt something wet in her hair, she realized in astonishment that he was weeping.

"It's all my fault," Percy was mumbling, clutching Ginny to him and rocking back and forth as if in a trance. "It was my fault, but you're safe now . . . you're back . . . god, Ginny, you're alive . . ."

She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from escaping. Pulling herself together, she gently freed herself from Percy's embrace. "I'm fine," she said softly, smiling up at him. "See? I'm fine. It wasn't your fault—it was mine for being thick enough to write in that stupid diary . . ."

"I could have prevented it!" he cried out, and his eyes were tortured.

She hugged him again, and he clung to her. "Percy, it was Voldemort—Voldemort did this, not you or anyone else."

Immediately, she noticed that everyone in the room had winced, but that thought fled her mind when she saw her parents standing there by the fireplace, her mother crying openly, her father's eyes bright. She let go of Percy and launched herself at them. Then she was caught up in the longest, most wonderful hug ever—her mother's. The tears returned, unbidden, to her eyes.

"Ginny, baby," Mum whispered, stroking Ginny's hair. "My Ginny . . . you're alright, you're safe . . ."

Ginny realised gratefully that Harry and Lupin had conveniently disappeared; maybe they were going to get Charlie and Fabian.

Mum finally let go. "You look so healthy," she said, disbelievingly, looking up and down.

"I've gained a lot of weight since August," said Ginny truthfully, reluctant to point out right away that she'd only been in Azkaban for a few months, rather than years. But the topic was unavoidable—eventually the truth would be told. However she'd rather wait until after the bombshell awaiting them in the next room: Charlie and Fabian.

"But it's been so many years," Mum continued, as if in a daze. "And you didn't even get to see Charlie before . . . before . . ."

More tears. Her mother let go to wipe her eyes on her apron, and Ginny shifted uncomfortably. "Um, about Charlie," she began, but couldn't continue, because her beaming father had swept down to embrace her; then Bill picked her up like she was six again rather than sixteen and swung her around the room before setting her down and ruffling her hair.

"Glad you're alright, kiddo," he said lightly, but his voice cracked magnificently. "We thought we'd lost you forever, and then when Charlie . . . well, it was just too much . . ."

"There's something you need to know about Charlie," Ginny tried again, but suddenly, the expression on Bill's face changed to one of utter disbelief. Her mum gasped, and Percy took a staggered step back. Ginny turned, already knowing what they were looking at; Charlie stood in the doorway, grinning widely at all of them, and right behind him was Uncle Fabian who was leaning on a cane and smiling almost shyly.

"He's alive," she finished lamely.

What seemed like hours later, the embracing and crying had ceased—at least for the moment—and Harry and Ginny were able to tell their amazing story, first of the Aperio, and then of Harry and Sirius's journey to the depths of Azkaban. They explained in detail their midnight operation at the Nott Mansion, only leaving out the part about where exactly Harry had gotten the information. He needed to keep Theodore Nott safe, and already too many people knew of Theodore's betrayal of his father and the Death Eaters. Charlie gave a particularly entertaining description of their outdoor battle with Death Eaters, adding a detailed account of Ginny's hexes and curses. Fred and George's eyes grew larger and larger and they kept shooting looks of unveiled admiration at Ginny; Percy and Mrs. and Mrs. Weasley looked extremely confused.

"But how . . ." began Mrs. Weasley.

"I learned at Hogwarts, Mum, in the other world," Ginny reminded her patiently. She was sitting next to her father, head on his shoulder, while Fred and George hovered nearby. They hadn't left Ginny's side since the shock of Charlie and Fabian's presence had passed. Bill, on the other hand, was sitting in between his girlfriend and his brother, and kept throwing the latter disbelieving glances, as if the reality of it all hadn't sunk in yet. Mrs. Weasley had at first clung to the son she had thought to be dead, but after reassuring herself that he wasn't going to disappear into thin air, it was Fabian that she sat beside, and she would periodically reach out to touch his shoulder or arm as if to make sure he was still there. Percy remained standing, and he kept running his hands through his hair and taking off his glasses to rub his eyes disbelievingly.

The Weasleys had taken it rather hard that Ginny was not the same person they'd known and loved before she'd been sent to Azkaban. Harry could understand—Leila had been the same when he'd finally told her his secret—but he hoped that the Weasleys would understand eventually that this way was much, much better. The Ginny from this world would have been barely alive, and after four years, the Dementors would have taken away many of her memories from her childhood. This way, Ginny had sixteen years of memories; she'd only been in Azkaban for three months, after all.

Harry looked over at Remus who was sitting in an out-of-the-way corner, watching the reunion with a small smile on his face. Sirius was upstairs—probably keeping Regulus company—and Tonks was supposedly still asleep. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and Harry's stomach was starting to growl again. Fortunately, it was at that moment that Charlie loudly announced his intentions to eat everything in Lupin's kitchen, and Mrs. Weasley replied immediately that he certainly would not, that he would leave some for his poor little sister who was too thin and for "dear Fabian" who also needed some meat on his bones. And as Harry laughed, he felt a sense of relief wash over him; perhaps, just perhaps, the Weasley family had just taken their first step back to normality.

Mrs. Weasley insisted on cooking in the end, and she wouldn't even let Ginny help at all. Sirius was unfortunate enough to show his face just as she began dinner, and Harry laughed aloud at the look of horror on his godfather's face as the matronly woman ordered him to fetch some potatoes and start peeling. At last, the meal was finished, and plates were loaded with the steaming food. Remus lamented the fact that Lily Potter was not present, or the room could have been expanded to fit a table large enough for fifteen into the kitchen. Instead, they had to find seats wherever there was room, and Harry found himself cross-legged on the floor in the living room, eating his potatoes and chicken wings and listening to Fred and George grilling Ginny about life in the other world.

"You've got to show us how to do a shield, Gin," said Fred.

"Just like the one Charlie described," said George. "The one that sent that Death Eater flying over the hedge . . ."

"Charlie was exaggerating!" she insisted, her face nearly as red as her hair, but she was grinning good-naturedly.

"So, Gin," said Fred with a decisively evil look on his face. "If you don't want to talk about your amazing dueling skills, I think George and I would be interested in hearing how you were ever able to hook up with Harryikins here in the other world with four of your devoted older brothers still at Hogwarts."

Harry paled.

"I think I'll pass on that question," said Ginny hastily. "I for one want to know what Charlie has going on with Tonks."

Charlie laughed, but Harry noticed that over in the corner, Lupin had gone rigid. "What do you mean?" said Charlie innocently.

"A little bird told me you were engaged!" exclaimed Ginny, grinning. Harry wondered if she even remembered the scene in the Hospital Wing so long ago; did she recall how heartbroken Tonks had acted all year long, and how hard Lupin had tried to discourage her from her interest in him? Did Ginny know how hard he'd taken the news of Tonks's death upon their arrival into the new universe?

"Was," said Charlie. "I was."

There were gasps all around.

He shrugged. "Not much to say. Me and Tonks, we had a lot of time to talk during our captivity, and we ended up coming to the mutual conclusion that we just weren't right for each other. Friends, sure, but married? We'd drive each other crazy."

"But . . . but why?" said Mrs. Weasley, looking horrified, as if suddenly Charlie was doomed to be a bachelor forever. "You were so perfect together!"

"And that was probably the reason we carried on our relationship as long as we did, Mum," explained Charlie patiently. "Everyone thought it was a match made by Merlin himself—everyone except for us, but we ended up believing you all and not really thinking it through."

Harry watched a series of emotions flying across Lupin's face; first he looked stricken, but then a burning, desperate hope filled his eyes. Perhaps, thought Harry, it wasn't too late.

"Wotcher, everyone," said someone at the door. Harry looked up; Tonks was standing there, dressed in an old t-shirt and sweats, her bare feet peeping out of the bottoms of the baggy pants. Her hair was purple today, but it was messy and unkempt, as if she'd just woken up. Her eyes roamed the room—was Harry imagining it, or had her gaze rested for just a second longer on Lupin?—and came to stop on Charlie. Tonks arched her eyebrows.

"Hullo, Tonks," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," she said icily. "I thought we'd agreed that I would be present the first time you told people that I'd dumped you."

"Excuse me, but I do not get dumped!" Charlie exclaimed in mock dismay. "Especially by beautiful female Aurors!"

"Well, I don't get dumped by handsome dragon keepers either," snapped Tonks, but she was grinning. "We'd better get our stories straight."

"I dumped you."

"No, as I recall, I dumped you!"

"Children, children," interrupted Bill. "How about a compromise? Charlie can tell whomever he wants that he dumped you, and you, Tonks, can spread the story that you dumped him, and the rest of us will swear an Unbreakable Vow of silence."

Tonks took her time considering it. Finally, she grinned and said, "Done."

"Shake on it," commanded Bill, and reluctantly, Charlie and Tonks shook hands.

"Tonks, my dear girl," said Fabian from the couch, his eyes twinkling. "Slept long enough?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sod off, old man, you aren't the one with goddamned relatives who happen to be at Nott Manor every hour of every day. Oi, where'd you get the food?"

"Kitchen," said Ginny, pointing.

Tonks disappeared back into the kitchen, and Harry shot a questioning glance at Fabian and Charlie. "What did she mean?"

Charlie suddenly looked older. "Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to take particular pleasure in the fact that one of her blood relatives was currently locked in Nott's dungeons. She tired easily of Fabian and I, and Caradoc was of no interest to her, but she never got bored with Tonks." He lowered his voice. "Lestrange and McNair often took Tonks away, sometimes for hours, other times for days, and we never knew what was happening to her. She refused to tell us when she got back, too, though we know that whatever they did to her had quite a physical strain on her body."

Harry knew that his horror was reflected on the faces of the others, but at that moment Tonks tripped—quite literally—back into the room, and it was only his quick Seeker reflexes that saved her plate of food. "Thanks, Harry," said Tonks, regaining her balance and taking her plate back from him. "Gods, I'm hungry. Seems like it's been years since I last had a decent meal."

"That's because it was years," said Charlie, and they laughed.

All too soon, it was nearing nine o'clock, and the time had come for goodbyes.

"Can't we see you again tomorrow?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Ginny.

Ginny looked pleadingly at Sirius, but he shook his head. "Not safe," he said regretfully. "We can't be too careful. If the Ministry were to discover that any of you had been visiting your daughter, you would be in serious trouble. Lucius Malfoy will not stop until there is another Weasley in Azkaban facing charges of harbouring a fugitive."

"I'll see you again soon, Mum," said Ginny, blinking back tears. "The war won't last forever. Harry and me, we're going to fight him until he's gone. Then we can all be a family again."

"But surely you're not going to put yourself in danger like that!" cried Mrs. Weasley, looking horrified at the prospect.

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "Oh, Mum, I'm in enough danger already. A little more won't hurt. But you can count on Harry and Sirius and Regulus looking after me, I swear."

Harry watched with mixed feelings. He wanted the Weasleys to be able to stay; they needed years, not a few short hours, to catch up with their daughter; but fate had ruled that Ginny must be apart from her family again, and Harry had no idea how long it would be this time. He did know that he couldn't stay in Castaway Cabin much longer. As the Secret-keeper, he was pushing the strength of the spells by being here for nearly twenty-four hours already. Another day, and the wards would begin to crumble. The house would slowly become visible to outsiders. It would no longer be safe.

Ginny was hugging Charlie tightly, then Percy, and finally Bill. "See you soon," she said softly, and stepped back as Mr. Weasley prepared to floo back to his own house.

"Wait, doesn't Tonks want to come with us?" said Mrs. Weasley. "We have room . . ."

"Maybe in the chicken coop," muttered Fred, and Ginny giggled.

Tonks smiled. "No, I'm fine here," she assured them. "Someone's got to keep Caradoc company, and I'm sure Remus won't mind, just for a few days."

"No, no, not at all," said Lupin, looking flustered, and Harry couldn't help but smirk.

Perhaps fate had something else in mind.

That night, before Harry drifted off to sleep, Ginny leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before pillowing her head on his shoulder.

And far away at Hogwarts, Leila Potter chafed at yet another evening in which she was unable to slip away to the welcoming arms of Theodore Nott, Jeremy Javan received the silent treatment from all in his dorm but Neville Longbottom, and in the middle of the night, Luna Lovegood woke up screaming.