Life had an effect on Hermione Granger. Day after day working at the office, attending meetings and writing memos; convincing that werewolves were not subhuman and wary simplifying befuddled rules were just a small bit of her daily activities. She worked until late, stood up early the next day and simultaneously was able to fit a social life (and a lover) in the spare time in between. But in the last few months her social life had considerably toned down to levels even she found utterly unsatisfying. Where in her younger years her social life had been a vast, wild and often dangerous tidal wave, nowadays it resembled more of a creek, flowing beside piles of paperwork and empty quills.

Therefore she was happy, sincerely happy, that she was finally meeting up with Ginny again. Ginny Weasley, the red-haired superstar, chaser at the Holyhead Harpies and countless' teenage boys' and girls' dream. Her poster had sold particularly well just before the start of the new Quidditch season, Ron told her, and he constantly beamed when he saw Ginny's poster hanging around wherever they went. They had hung up a poster in their apartment as well, and although Hermione wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch – she rarely found time to attend Ginny's matches – her support for Ginny was staunch.

Life with Ron wasn't exceptionally interesting as well, but Hermione was more than happy that it was this way; her past adventures had led her to believe that she wanted a quiet life, a happy life, although her fame had stretched out so far that the former would be difficult to achieve. While traveling for work to Madagascar – of all places – she found herself signing autographs to bypassing witches, wizards, and even house elves. Clearly, her fame had stretched beyond borders, but so did her dignity; everywhere she came she was treated with an unusual amount of respect. Although she wasn't fond of (over)attention (unlike Ron), she had used her position for the good and passed several important international treaties for house elves and previously "subhuman creatures", such as werewolves and vampires, with remarkable ease.

Naturally, Hermione had acclimatized to her celebrity status, and so had Ginny. If they were to enter any wizarding restaurant or pub in Great Britain, they could be sure they were noted in the Daily Prophet next morning. More, if one of them left earlier, they could discover themselves in articles by Rita Skeeter. The Leaky Cauldron, which Ginny suggested, was thus an absolute no-go. Ginny had then proposed that Hermione chose a place for their catch-up session and she accepted her request. A quick search on her Muggle phone and contacting her childhood friend Samantha had led her to use TripAdvisor to find the best place. Samantha obviously had done this many times before (a habit instilled by her various meet and break-up dinners) and suggested many places herself.

'Boa Comida in Camden's a really good place, Hermy,' she had said. 'If you're more into Asian food I can recommend the Ugly Duck on Portobello Road; the place's mostly packed, though.'

Hermione had nodded over the phone, unable for Samantha to see. She wondered whether Ginny had tasted something else than English food – apart from the usual European food such as pizza and kebab. While the thought ran through her head, Samantha appeared to have a realization.

'Oh! Hermy, I know one! Muy Caro in Kingston Upon Thames is definitely the place to be for Venezuelan food! You know how good that is? It's-'

'Eh, Sam, my friend and I are more looking for a traditional European restaurant,' Hermione interrupted.

'Oh,' it sounded from the other side of the phone. She sounded slightly offended, but coughed and said with a normal voice, 'I think you should go to Trattoria San Paolo then, it's in Knightsbridge. My parents think the food is almost saint-like..'

Hermione smiled. 'Thanks, Sam,' she said as the closed the call with the usual formalities.

She had found her place to eat and meet-up and Ginny and she was tremendously looking forward to it. It was in a few days already, but for the reservation, it wouldn't really matter. Hermione was curious how Ginny would take it; a Muggle restaurant. Her lips curled in her smile when Harry told her how Ginny was on the brink of Confunding muggle officials when they were forced to take a Muggle flight a few months back.

The last few days for the meet-up went by like a Muggle metro. Ginny had agreed to eat at San Paolo after Hermione had assured her that she could take her wand with her. Hermione arranged it through TripAdvisor. She herself would see to it that Ginny didn't do anything bold – after all, Ginny's trademark hex had become known to the general public. Hermione guaranteed herself, then, that it wasn't necessarily at all to keep an eye on Ginny. They were bosom friends and part of a family – although not yet official.

Hermione took the Tube to the Italian trattoria; living in the wizarding world, she found it easing to hear monotone 'Mind the gap' voice audio after entering the Tube. The commute didn't last too long, and it was beneficial that the restaurant was near Sloane Square station as Ginny had lots of opportunities to safely Apparate into one of the many alleys in the surrounding streets. Hermione was early; they had agreed to be there at half past eight, but Hermione was in the Tube at seven o'clock. She went straight from the Ministry to the Tube. Secretary Brookes was a bit startled when Hermione announced to leave around a quarter to seven. It was true, it was early for her, but the time gap between her arriving at Sloane Square and the agreed time at San Paolo gave her an opportunity to stroll around in Knightsbridge, one of her favourite parts of London, and clear up her mind.

Just before half past eight she entered San Paolo. The restaurant was cosily located at an intersection near Sloane Square. Inside the restaurant the tables were neatly arranged and big, old pictures decorated the walls, which Hermione recognised as saints from the Catholic Church. Their table was near the window, with a table in front of them and a table behind them; if they looked left they could watch people passing by at Sloane Square and to the right were several other tables, out of earshot to them.

She had chosen their table with care. The Muffliato charm was easy to cast in two directions; it was difficult to do that in a 360-degree fashion in a packed restaurant, let alone that it was too suspicious if you would be waving around a wand in front of a dozen muggles. Hermione smiled at the thought of her waving around. While her level of bravery was above average, her level foolishness had luckily not yet matched that level.

A few minutes went by until Ginny Weasley arrived at the restaurant. She was fancily dressed. Her entrance attracted several glances from the visitors in the restaurant; after Hermione's entrance, a vast number of people had entered San Paolo. It made the place quite packed. Ginny's entrance had given Hermione the opportunity to cast the necessary charms to not let them be overheard. Although, it wasn't that necessary; it was just more convenient and ensured that their conversation wasn't confined to general things, but they could go more in-depth – gossip, among other things.

'Ginny,' said Hermione as she stood up. She smiled and they gave each other the proper greetings.

'Fancy neighbourhood, this is.'

'I know, right?' Hermione replied. 'Not my own idea, though.'

'Aah, good enough.' Ginny leaned over the table, having not even taken off her coat. 'You cast the enchantments?' she whispered.

Hermione nodded. 'Taken care of Gin, don't worry.'

A young, blonde waitress approached their table, carrying to menus in her right hand. She stopped and looked at both women. 'Something to drink?' she said, her words drenched in a thick London accent.

Ginny glanced at Hermione. She understood that she had to order first.

'Prosecco, please.'

'Same for me,' Ginny added.

The waitress nodded, gave them their menus and left. Ginny laughed. 'I've no idea what prosecco is.' Hermione joined in.

'You usually eat it with fish or salad.'

'Right,' said Ginny. 'Did you know..' she continued, and they began a lengthy discussion of the latest news of their families and friends, followed by some rumours and humorous occasions Ginny had with her fans. Her database of stories knew no end; their starters were delivered as four young men joined a table behind Ginny. Hermione gave them a glance but brought her attention back to Ginny, who was telling how Oliver Wood had been outstanding this season - except when he faced the Holyhead Harpies.

As they began to eat their starters – Hermione had chosen carpaccio, Ginny a variant of Italian salad – she informed Ginny about the four young guys behind her.

'They're not that old,' said Ginny, giving them a quick glance over her shoulder. She put some lettuce in her mouth. 'What's the matter with them, anyway?'

'They just seem.. odd... As if they want to discuss something very urgent.'

'Well, we'll see,' shrugged Ginny.

'.. Hear,' she corrected herself.

They finished eating their starters. Hermione was happily chatting about a case at work when Ginny gestured to talk a little bit softer.

'.. and then she showed me this paper with like, moving pictures, lads.'

'Seriously, Dan, lad, you go' to stop inventing this bullshit,' said another voice.

Ginny stared at Hermione. 'You hear that?'

Hermione nodded. 'Can't be much.'

The conversation of the group of guys behind Ginny continued.

'No, but Frankie, I swear on me mum's grave, it's true. After that – this is gonna sound really weird – but then she took a long wooden stick and pointed it at me, after that I was sick and in bed for a couple of days n' stuff-' The table roared with laughter. Frankie took the word.

'Sure Dan, sure.. so wha' was she after, then? Long time since you've been able to have physical contact with a bird.' The rest laughed again. Dan was quiet.

'Dunno. I bought a ball of fur the other day for me little sis', I can vaguely remember her saying that she wanted that back. Can't be much, can it?'

Frankie chuckled. 'No, Dan, I think it's al'ight. Now, lads, let's get us some pints,' he said while a waiter approached.

Ginny and Hermione stared at each other. Hermione looked into her eyes and saw a look that she knew; Ginny had solved this case on her own, in a matter of seconds.

'I'm telling you, Hermione, someone's tried to get a pygmy puff from him! Which he purchased. How's that possible in the first place?'

'I don't know, really,' replied Hermione. She was still a bit too awestruck at the oddity of the situation. Hadn't she implicitly chosen a Muggle restaurant to be away from the power that witches and wizards called magic? She sighed.

'I'm not sure whether anyone would threaten a Muggle with a wand for a pygmy puff,' Hermione said. She put her fork and knife on her plate as a sign that she had finished her starters. Ginny followed her example.

'Well, if Harry would do harm to my Arnold, back in the day, you know, I'd hex him.'

Hermione smiled gleefully at her friend. 'You know Harry would never do that.'

'But still!' insisted Ginny. 'I just meant to say that a pygmy puff is definitely more than a ball of fur.'

'Of course, of course, Ginny – but let's focus on this situation. The guy has been threatened with a wand, saw moving pictures on a page, most likely the Daily Prophet, and got a pygmy puff out of nowhere.' Hermione shuffled in her chair.

'The pygmy puff's gotta go back, though,' she continued. 'I'll write a memo to the Obliviator Office and they'll get that sorted right away. But, most importantly, he seems to have doubts about this all himself.'

'So?' said Ginny. 'Didn't you hear what he said? "Sick in bed for a few days?" after he had been threatened with a wand. The poor lad's been hexed.'

'Has he..?' Hermione hesitated. The case was more serious than she expected. She was silently weighing her options. The Ministry was closed now, after eight, except for unusual cases – there were always some Aurors on duty, but they had more pressing cases at their hands. For two weeks in a row, random Muggles found themselves a hundred miles from where they went to bed. The Auror Office was stunned and the Auror's night shifts were mostly initiated to immediately respond to that sort of call. She cursed at herself. They were bound to solve this situation on their own.

Ginny recognised her looks. 'Don't worry too much. Unless he suddenly grabs the pygmy puff out of his jacket, we'll just Obliviate him while he's going to the toilet.'

Hermione looked grim. 'And how do we get him there?'

'Using a Suggestion Spell, of course.'

Ginny happily ordered her main dish when the waitress came stopping by at her table a few moments after this. Hermione ordered something as well, but her mind wasn't fully focusing on the food as she was trying to figure out how to handle this situation. She was inclined to accept Ginny's proposal, but too much could go wrong in a crowded restaurant like San Paolo. If there was a thing Hermione wasn't very much fond of in present day, it was taking risks.

Hermione shot Ginny a look, who was still gleefully drinking her prosecco.

'Or,' began Ginny. It was obvious that she found the matter entertaining. 'I could persuade that Dan boy to give some more details,' she winked.

'Stop it, Gin,' smiled Hermione.

'I could crawl up to him, seduce him with my wit and charm before I've even finished my spaghetti ... whatever' Ginny's eyes were wide. Hermione was laughing.

While cracking jokes about pygmy puffs and the gentlemen behind Ginny, Hermione thought she caught something fluffy in her eyesight. Directly on the table behind Ginny, keys were spread out, as if its owner made itself ready to leave.

'Lads, I got to get something out of the car,' a familiar voice spoke.

'Dan,' mumbled Hermione.

She was obsessively looking towards the keys. Something attached to the cord seemed fluffy and Hermione was convinced that it was indeed – or, no … it couldn't be true. She tried to catch Ginny's attention, who was happily chatting about how good the food was at San Paolo's compared to her strict Quidditch diet, while at the same time trying to see if the ball of fluff moved. Ginny noticed, but as a consequence of the former, she raised her eyebrows as a reply to Hermione's quick glances.

'What are you doing, H'mione?'

Ginny's mouth was full of spaghetti. If it wasn't for this moment Hermione would've laughed, either at the fact that the self-proclaimed "connoisseur of good food" was eating plain spaghetti-something or the fact that she reminded her of Ron Weasley in his less than flattering consumption of anything edible. Family traits show.

Hermione was also eating her plate of Italian-style mussels and used one to gesture at the key cord behind Ginny, who in reaction quickly glanced behind her back.

'There's nothing there?'

Hermione immediately glanced too but, indeed, the ball of fluff wasn't there.

'You got to learn to relax,' Ginny gestured with her fork. 'Try yoga or something similar, it's really mesmerizing.'

'No, none of that all,' dismissed Hermione. 'I thought I just saw a pygmy puff.'

'What did you see?'

'The pygmy puff.'

'I'm not sure,' Ginny countered. 'Besides, if you're not sure, we best do nothing. In any case, if I would meet a person who'd attach a pygmy puff to a bundle of keys like that, I'd hex 'em all the way to the bloody moon.'

'Glad I have someone with me who cares about animal rights.'

Ginny chuckled. 'Ah, well. I care about a lot of things.'

Hermione was distracted by the door. It opened and Dan was entering. The key cord was in his left hand, but the ball of fluff seemed to have been missing.

'Everything alright, Dan?' asked one of the men behind Ginny.

'I guess, yeah,' he replied.

'What do ye mean "I guess?" I hope ye got yer phone so we can look at that bird,' said a voice with an accent like Hagrid.

'Oh yeah, I got the phone,' said Dan. Hermione glanced at him. His phone was in his right hand, but his knuckles seemed.. sort of bruised. It was purple, and Hermione didn't remember the knuckles of his right hand to be purple.

'Oi, what did ye do?' said the same voice, also spotting Dan's bruises.

Dan looked at his left knuckles, put the phone in his left hand alongside his bundle of keys and hastily made up an excuse.

'Nothing.'

He sat down at the table and began drinking his beer. His friends seemed to be distracted by an amusing story told by Frankie.

Now it was Ginny's turn to glance at Hermione. Interest was furiously sparkling in her eyes. She wasn't doubting anymore.

'It's indeed a pygmy puff! It's so brave, fighting its way out of the hands of a Muggle.'

'Very brave, indeed,' said Hermione. She glanced at Ginny and then to Dan, who was unaware of the two women talking about him.

'He's got to be Obliviated, though.'

'Alright, alright, lady,' Ginny spoke, raising her hands. 'First, we'll eat this dinner. Second, I'd like to try some of that gelato. Third, we find the pygmy puff. I might keep her.'

'You're not going to keep her.'

'Oh.' Ginny's disappointment wasn't played.

The two witches finished their main plate in silence. This wasn't because of them pondering over the case itself, which they shove to the back of their minds for a moment, but because of the appetizing dishes. When they were finished, their plates got taken away almost immediately. Hermione glanced at Ginny while choosing the dessert. Their second glass of prosecco arrived.

'A different one than we had first,' Ginny noticed.

'That's because the one we had was especially for starters and dishes. This one's for the dessert and after.'

'Interesting,' Ginny replied. She swung her glass in circles while momentarily glimpsing backward.

'Dan looks a bit ill.'

'If you say so,' Hermione answered, glancing at Dan. He, indeed, showed signs of paleness. But whether that meant that he was sick or that he just downed a beer in less time than humanly possible was not clear for her.

Dessert was ready and Hermione had not expected Ginny's choice; a mere three scoops on a fancy plate, decorated with berry syrup. Ginny had called it 'very tasty' but Hermione couldn't help to wonder that she was accustomed to this back at the Burrow. Molly's preparations for dinner were unmatched. However, they were mostly monotone; Hermione had expected that Ginny took the opportunity to try something different this time. It didn't appear to be so.

In any case, it was irrelevant to her. Here they were, two good friends, eating together in a Muggle restaurant. A pygmy puff just got lost, and Ginny seemed so relaxed. As if it was the most normal thing in the world for her. Hermione wondered if she'd come home to Harry, and he would then say that there were, again, a dozen or so Dark wizards and witches planning to hunt him – would Ginny shrug her shoulders the same way and subsequently star in next day's Quidditch match?

Hermione was quick enough to realize the strangeness of her thoughts. Of course not, Ginny purely wanted to spend time with her; she wanted to push everything magic to back of her head. However, Ginny's mind wasn't at all cleared from the situation.

'Hmm,' murmured Ginny, scooping the last of bits of her ice cream. 'I leave immediately when you pay, and you give me a signal when they leave.'

'What do you mean, "when they leave"?'

'I'll cast a Suggestion spell on them, I told you,' Ginny replied. 'It's really easy. When they're outside we'll take Dan apart and have a little chat together.'

Hermione nodded. Ginny would know if it was a good plan, she thought. Brainlessly complying wasn't what she was fond of, and, she corrected herself, it wasn't so that she didn't rationalize this situation at all, but she'd rather finish this whole situation quickly then explaining tomorrow morning at the Office why she worried about 'something'.

They finished their desserts chit-chattering about nothing important. Hermione patiently waited until the waitress came and paid the bill. All the while both Ginny and Hermione kept a close watch on the table behind them. There was Frankie, still telling stories amusingly about his work as a labourer at an apparent nearby firm; the rest was obviously entertained by his stories, as Hermione reckoned their laughter as evidence for fulfillment. The only one who was silently hearing Frankie's tales was Dan, who was eating his main dish and taking a sip from his beer every now and then. It seemed to go unnoticed to the rest. However, not for Ginny and Hermione.

'Dan's sort of cagey,' she noticed. 'As if he's wary of something.'

'Think of what happened to him – a ball of fluff from his set of keys disappeared outside and left some scratches on him. I'd go mad too if I were a Muggle.'

'Easily erased, those wounds,' noticed Hermione. 'He seems to take it well, though.'

'Yes,' said Ginny. 'And I've formed a plan for taking him out.'

Hermione frowned. 'Taking him out? Is this the plan you were talking about?'

'Eh, no.'

'Well, whatever you've come up with; we're not giving him a concussion and leave him in a shady nearby alley.'

'What do you propose then? Walk up to him and say 'Hey, Dan, you lost a pygmy puff, oh, and by the way you're breaking every wizarding law in existence. Now tell us where the puff is.' Ginny's impersonation activated Hermione's desire to laugh, but she could luckily retain her lips straight.

Hermione bent over the table and glanced at Ginny. 'Dan's by car, isn't he? That's why he went outside.'

Ginny nodded.

'What if I let his car alarm go off and he needs to go outside?'

Ginny glanced outside, looking for Dan's car. 'How'd you know which one is his?'

Hermione smiled. She grabbed beside her chair, held her wand under the table and pointed it into the direction of the streets. She shot a look at a car right next to her and flicked it. All the parking spaces were taken – the row of cars stretched out as far as she could see.

Suddenly, a car directly opposite from them began to shriek; its alarm had gone off.

The noise immediately caught the attention from the guests in the restaurant. Not only Ginny looked at the car, but also the group of friends including Frankie, and most importantly, Dan.

An elderly looking man, some tables away from Hermione and Ginny, stood up and walked cursingly towards the exit.

'Ah, it's his car,' said Frankie behind Ginny. 'Thought it was yours, Dan.'

'Hmm?' Dan seemingly did not hear the honking of the car, even though almost everyone but him did a quick glance to the window.

'Oh,' he continued, recuperating and processing Frankie's question. 'No, mine's a bit more to the left; the green Skoda.'

Ginny shot a meaningful look at Hermione. The latter understood what had to be done and pressed her face as elegantly as possible at the window. Several vehicles were neatly lined up. They were mostly upper-class cars; a Lexus, several Mercedes-Benz cars, and a BMW shone in the night. They were all in a darker colour, as if they wanted to express elegance and, of course, prosperity. Hermione caught the emerald green Skoda in her vision. She had held her wand in her hand for the entire time and again silently cast a charm under her table. Ginny acted as if she didn't understand what happened.

For the second time, a car alarm went off. Dan was active this time, as he recognized the sound as being his.

'Bloody hell, some clown is setting off alarms. I'll be right back.'

Hermione nodded to Ginny and they stood up, just after Dan left the table and made their way to the door. Hermione clenched her wand in her jacket. Ginny had hers ready in her jacket, too as they exited the restaurant. Further away Dan was walking too his car. He had just crossed the road.

Ginny stood beside Hermione and cursed. 'His car's not that far from the restaurant. He'll be walking back quickly.'

'True. It's also parked right next to a park, so there's no secret alleyway we could sneak him in too and question him.'

Ginny sighed. She now too realised the situation; the parking was spots were majestic, as in so far you could call a parking spot majestic; London's characteristic buildings were on the background of the park, which was mostly dark, although dimly lit by various lantern poles on the side of several gravel paths.

'Why don't we just take him to a dark spot in the park?' Ginny said.

'I'm not a fan of that idea,' Hermione grumbled.

'Now, don't be picky,' Ginny said as she paced to Dan. He was standing near his car and was peeking inside. Hermione was following Ginny, crossing the road, She noticed that he was making himself ready to leave.

Ginny increased her pace into a small sprint. Dan was watching her approach. He was taken aback by her oncoming appearance. Hermione knew that Ginny would be at ease in a situation like this; although Dan was no brother of her, she had plenty of experience handling men who often didn't want and expect her questions. She knew how to play this game.

'Can you help me?'

'Sorry,' Dan stumbled. 'With what?'

'My car's alarm also went off. I think I saw the bellends, they ran off in the direction of the park,' said Ginny as she gestured towards the ink black surroundings of Eaton Square Gardens. Hermione, who was standing still behind a car at a reasonable distance, couldn't help but let out a wry smile at Ginny's plan. Of course, Dan would concede and help Ginny search the persons who possibly had damaged his car or were about to. She remembered how protective Harry was of his motorbike and car, as Ginny had told her several times, and Dan couldn't be any different. She glanced at the sky. Oh, boys.

'We … could take a look,' Dan replied. He was unaware of the nearing evil – or, as Hermione corrected her thoughts, it wasn't evil, it was more of a good deed for both sides. Dan sheepishly stepped into the dark, and Ginny followed slowly. Before disappearing in the dark paths of the Gardens, she glanced at Hermione. The look in her eyes told Hermione enough: "Follow me."

Hermione swiftly made her way to the spot where Ginny just vanished in the dark. Her heart was racing with excitement, this was fun, this was different than those endless piles of parchment at the Ministry – although she didn't find it that bad either. She continued the pace and stepped on the soft grass of the Gardens. Her view was pit-black, but as she stood still she could make out a voice, speaking softly like leafs flowing in the wind. She followed the sound as a kid follows the smell of a freshly baked pie. Hermione didn't need to follow the voice that instinctively; after a few seconds someone had noticed that she had entered the dark surroundings of the park, too.

'Come here, Hermione!' said a hissed voice.

It was abundantly clear that it was Ginny. Hermione walked into the direction of the voice. The figure was imminent.

'Is it safe here?'

'Yes,' the voice replied.

'Lumos.'

Hermione squealed as she saw the sight in front of her. Dan was holding her wand against her throat and was making unintelligible sounds. Ginny's eyes spoke relaxation, although Hermione wasn't sure at all if that was applicable according to the situation. Her own wand was pressed at her Adam's apple. Dan held the wand still as if he exactly knew what he was doing, but the opposite appeared to be true; he was holding the wand backward. Dan didn't appear to be surprised by Hermione's light. He was just grumbling and looking angry, very angry, at Ginny. The skin just below his left eye was bleeding. For an instant, Hermione was confused, but she acted immediately following the situation in front of her.

'Nox.'

Instantly a brawl between Ginny and Dan broke out in front of her. The only problem was that she couldn't see it; Hermione backed down, stumbled over the roots of a tree and crawled back. She was observing the sound of the bickering intensively in an attempt to gather information what was going on. A male voice could be shouted 'Ugh' followed by what appeared to be a choking sound. In contrast, a female voice was hissing 'You little prick'. Suddenly the noise stopped. Hermione stepped one foot forward to check what was going on but was backed off by several bats appearing out of nowhere. She understood what was going on and hurriedly made her way to the fight while saying 'Lumos'.

A light appeared and shone on Ginny's face, who was wiping her nose. She was alright at first sight; no harm done to her face and, thought Hermione as she lowered her wand to inspect the rest of Ginny's body, she had obtained no further harm.

'By Merlin, what did you do, Ginny?'

'See for yourself,' Ginny replied while looking at Dan.

Hermione moved her source of light from Ginny to Dan. At first instance she couldn't find Dan – he wasn't at eyesight, nor at a crouching level, but her confusion got erased when she saw him laying down on the ground, frozen.

'Wait, but I saw bats,' Hermione added confused.

'Yes, I fired some in a rapid pace.' Ginny let out a small smile. 'He's probably frozen because of Full Body-Bind Curse and the bats were, you know-'

'The Bat-Bogey Hex,' Hermione filled in. 'Poor Dan,' she said, looking at the man at the ground. She turned her head towards Ginny.

'I'm glad you're unhurt, but we can't question him now.'

Ginny stepped on the crisping grass and was checking the surroundings. Being caught right now wasn't something to particularly look forward to.

She stepped back and chewed on her words for a bit.

'I already did, though.'

'Really?' Hermione frowns were visible to Ginny, even though Hermione's was covered by her thick bush of hair.

'Yes.' Ginny walked around Dan, inspecting his condition.

As she was about to start her round-up of what happened, noises were heard from the street side. Ginny stepped in its direction and quickly peaked through the bushes. 'Dan's friends,' she said.

Hermione acted quickly. She cast the Disillusionment Charm on herself and Dan, and gestured Ginny urgingly to do the same. The latter joined Hermione and the still-petrified Dan at the spot where the curse had struck and waited silently. The noises seemed to come closer and the two ladies could make something of the figures who were peeking through the bushes and past the trees.

'He isn't here.'

'You're right.'

Ginny was hidden behind a tree, but used her wand and pointed it in the direction of the friends.

'We should go,' another voice promptly stated.

'Yeah,' said a voice the women recognised as Frankie. The men turned around and headed for the restaurant.

The Disillusionment Charm had worked. Ginny, still invisible, checked the park if Dan's friends were gone, but they seemed to be inside.

'Seems like your Charm has worked,' said Hermione.

'Thanks,' Ginny happily said. Her voice suddenly became serious. 'We need to alter their memories when we're done.'

'True,' sighed Hermione.

The situation was getting more problematic by the minute.