Regrouping

"Miss…miss." Ginny slowly opened her eyes and then jerked as a hand closed on her arm. "Oh, sorry, dear, but you asked me to wake you up when we were about thirty minutes away."

Ginny stared blearily through dry eyes at the face of the older woman as her heart pounded in her chest. She'd thought for sure it was a Death Eater.

"Oh. Er. Yeah. Thanks," she replied groggily as her brain processed what was happening. The woman smiled in response and leaned back into her own seat across the aisle. Ginny rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let her head fall back against the window for a few more seconds while she waited for her brain to get going. Releasing a resigned sigh, she then stood and began making her way to the restroom at the back of the bus. She had to see if there was something she could do with her appearance before she arrived in Houston.

Once safely inside with the door locked, she allowed a reluctant glance at herself in the mirror. It was a sight worthy of cringing. Her hair was in a lopsided, tangled mess, her eyes were swollen and terribly bloodshot from lack of sleep, and her makeup was…well, let's just say that overall she'd probably found the one thing that would scare the ghoul from her family's attic.

She let the faucet run cold and then proceeded to scrub what she could of the mess from her face with soap and water. As she cleaned up, she ran her mind back over yesterday.

She was disgusted with herself for nearly being caught by Death Eaters. She should have put it together long before they got that close. The woman in Georgia had not only been British, but she had seen her tickets and flown ahead to her longest layover spot. She had foolishly felt safe by that time and let her guard down, and the lot of them had heard the name of her hotel when she was trying to get a cab.

"I might as well have just had a big bow wrapped around my neck when I stepped off the plane," she thought bitterly.

But what she really wanted to know was how they had even known to follow her in the first place? She supposed that didn't really matter at this point, though. What mattered now was getting herself out of this mess. Which could be a very huge problem considering two very irate Death Eaters (and possibly more) were probably going to be waiting for her when this bus stopped. Not to mention they already knew pretty much the only disguise she had. The one thing she could think to do was change her outfit and play around with the makeup to try to change her look again. She was hoping to be able to sneak off with a group of people and get lost in the crowd, but basically it was play it by ear. Heck, Harry lived by that plan. Ginny just knew the last thing she wanted was to have to duel with a platform full of Muggles around.

The top few layers of skin now officially scoured from her face, Ginny used her wand to perform a cleansing charm on the rest of her body and began digging through the bag she'd kept securely draped across her front for a change of clothes. It took some shuffling as things had gotten a bit jostled when she'd had to run last night, but she eventually found something she thought might look different enough in style to not draw attention.

A small, blue box caught her attention when she pulled the outfit from the bag. It was a present Hermione had given her at the airport. "I wanted you to have one last thing for your trip. I'm hoping you won't need it, but you never know," her friend had said. She was supposed to open it once she was on the plane, but with her initial panic and her surprisingly entertaining company, it had completely slipped Ginny's mind.

Curious what Hermione could have sent with her, Ginny pulled the box from the bag and lifted the lid. She'd swear her heart skipped a beat at its contents. There was a folded up piece of parchment tucked into the side, and Ginny quickly unfolded it to read, praying she was looking at what she thought she was.

Brittney,

I'm hoping you won't need this, but I know from heaps of experience that even the best laid plans can fall apart. I know you're resourceful and you're more than capable of handling a difficult situation, but it never hurts to have a little help. I know resources are limited, but I think everyone would be okay with sparing a vial of this to make sure you stay safe. There's enough for one hour. Use it wisely and only if needed.

Love,

Your sister

P.S. If you need this, you'll most likely need a new bag. I charmed and packed a second one for you. Just slip the first one inside.

Ginny's hand closed around the parchment as tears of relief stung at her bloodshot eyes. She loved Hermione. Never had she been more grateful for her friend.

Feeling more encouraged and hopeful than she even would have dared a few minutes ago, Ginny quickly mixed the Polyjuice Potion with the hair Hermione had included in the box, and a few minutes later a slender, green-eyed blonde with a long nose and high, prominent cheek bones that looked nothing like her own was staring back at her in the mirror. The girl's build was leaner than hers, but certain attributes were fuller, and the clothes hugged them nicely. Ginny just added a coat of powder and mascara, ran a brush through her hair, and she was done.

The one catch now was that she'd have to wait in the bathroom until everyone else was off the bus. It wouldn't do to walk out looking like an entirely different person. She fished out the new bag and sat on the lid of the toilet seat to wait.

She felt the bus pull to a stop a few minutes later, and when enough time seemed to have passed, she tucked her wand up the frilly, long sleeve of her shirt (since her boots had been compromised) and made her way off the bus.

The platform wasn't nearly as crowded as she'd hoped it would be, and with the exception of a few enthusiastic embraces between Muggles, the overall feel of the bus station was sluggish, which was understandable since the clock displayed outside said it was only four thirty. Still, there were enough people moving along for Ginny to try to blend in.

Staying close but not so close as to intrude, she fell in step with a group of women near her age, nodding along with their conversation as they made their way steadily towards the exit. As she listened to them chatter over their Easter trip and who got first dibs on a shower once they got home, Ginny was doing her best to keep a clandestine eye on her surroundings, praying she didn't look as jumpy as she felt.

"Breathe, Ginny. Just keep breathing and walking," she told herself as they passed a man with a build uncomfortably close to the Death Eater she'd had to fight earlier. Her hand twisted further into the strap on her bag. "Just a little further," she encouraged, eyeing a cab pulling up to the curb as her adopted group headed outside.

She followed the women out into the crosswalk and then ducked into the backseat of the cab just as the previous occupant was closing the opposite door.

A surprised driver looked up into the rearview mirror at her. Ginny smiled, trying to maintain an outward appearance opposite the angst plaguing her insides. Not knowing if she'd been spotted or not was about to drive her absolute barmy. She was keeping a discreet, yet very ready hand at her wand.

"Hi, sorry," she said as friendly as possible. "Just wanted to make sure I caught you."

"Okay…well, where are you headed?" the lady up front asked, her manner perplexed and slightly bemused.

"Er…" Ginny's brain decided to freeze. She tried to think of a quick destination, but she didn't know anything about Houston, except that Adam lived there, and she didn't have his address. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she was suddenly glad it had been nearly twelve hours since she'd last had anything to eat. "Would you know any place I can get breakfast this early? Preferably someplace not too close by?"

She received another odd look. "Sure…" the driver said as she moved the cab out of park.

She took Ginny to a restaurant called Denny's. Surprisingly, even at five AM the restaurant was busy enough for Ginny to go in and head straight for the restrooms without being spotted. As hungry as she was, she needed to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to wear off first. She could just imagine the looks on all of the customers' faces when she morphed uncomfortably into an entirely different person right in front of them.

As she waited, she changed her clothes again, just for extra measure. She really didn't think she'd been spotted back at the bus station, although Ginny had finally noticed the female Death Eater as the cab pulled away. The woman's attention had been completely fixated on the dwindling crowd. She didn't once glance in Ginny's direction.

For this reason alone, Ginny was able to enjoy her breakfast with a thin sense of calm, though she did ask to be sat at the back and insisted on the booth with a partial wall in the back corner. She doubted she'd be able to fully relax until she was sure she'd fully shaken her unwanted company. That and she needed a plan. Her old itinerary was definitely shot. She could not set foot close to Sacramento. She wondered if still finding a place near the beach was too risky. Would Voldemort and his Death Eaters think to keep looking for her that way? Ugh…she just didn't know. She needed sleep and a safe place to think before she could make any big decisions like this.

"Here you go, hun," the plump waitress that had taken her order said merrily as she approached. "One sweet tea. Your pancakes and bacon should be out in just a few minutes… Did I not get that right?" she asked at Ginny's expression which had been staring confusedly at the glass set in front of her. "It was sweet tea, wasn't it? Or did you want un?"

"No, I asked for sweet," Ginny replied slowly. "I just, uh, wasn't expecting the ice."

"Ah," the woman smiled. "Lived up north a while, have ya? Sorry, hun, you're not gonna find much hot tea around here, especially in April. I can bring you something else if you like."

Ginny took a sip from the tall glass before answering. It was different but still good. "No, it's fine. Thank you."

"Good," her waitress was obviously pleased. "Is there anything else I can get ya real quick?"

"Uh, well, would there happen to be a phone I can use here?" she asked hopefully. "I'm kind of in town unexpectedly, and I need to reach a friend."

"Sorry," the woman replied regretfully. "The manager doesn't allow customers to use the phone unless it's an emergency. The old rat's back in the kitchen right now, or I'd say go ahead."

"Oh," she said dejectedly, her face falling into a frown. "Well, so much for that idea," she thought as her waitress headed off to another table. She was going to have to find another way to get a hold of a phone if she wanted to reach Adam. Which she definitely did.

She'd pondered it over on the bus a bit before. She wasn't going to drag Death Eaters to his door, but since she had somehow found a way out of the bus station… "The Death Eaters never saw him, and he can help you stay hidden here, at least long enough to put another plan together," she thought. "It's the right move to make. Coincidences like this don't just come from nowhere…"

"Alright…pancakes, bacon," the waitress buzzed cheerily as she appeared with Ginny's food, saying each item as she set its plate down. "And…I managed to wrangle up somethin' else for ya, too," she added as she pulled an object from her apron.

Ginny reached somewhere between stunned and eagerly for the cell phone being handed to her. "Thank you," she gushed. "But I thought…?"

"It belongs to one of the waiters. I could tell how much you really needed to make that call so I asked around a bit. Just give that friend of yours a call, and I'll pick the phone up next time I come by to check on ya."

"Thank you," Ginny said again, meaning every ounce of her appreciation.

The waitress beamed right back at her. "No problem, hun. Enjoy your breakfast."

Ginny hurriedly dug out the slip of paper she'd stored in her money purse and tried punching in the number the way Adam had shown her on the plane. There were a few fumbled attempts and a grunt of frustration before she figured out she had to hit send if she wanted it to actually ring. She played with the placement of the phone the first ring or two, trying to figure out how Adam was even supposed to hear her if the bottom of it didn't even reach her mouth, when an idle glance out the window reminded her how very early it still was. The sun wasn't even up yet.

A few nerves of anxiety turned in her stomach. This call was already a bit of a stretch on their new friendship without her waking him up on top of it.

"Unnnhh," came a grunt over the phone.

"Adam?" Ginny asked, feeling rotten for obviously dragging him from sleep.

"Rrr, yeah?" the voice croaked.

"Hi, Adam, I'm terribly sorry for waking you up so early, but-"

"Who is this?" he interrupted grumpily.

"Hmmm…so Adam's not a morning person either," Ginny mused. "It's G, er Brittney," she quickly amended, "from the plane?" Several seconds of silence stretched before she got a response.

"Plane?" he murmured stupidly, as if trying to work some untapped portion of his brain to figure it out. "Brittney? Britt! Oh, hey, yeah. You sound different."

"Because of the phone?" she wondered.

"Why are you calling at…holy crap, it's not even six," he groaned miserably.

"Yeah," Ginny blanched. "Sorry. I know it's ridiculously early, but I'm in a bit of a bind, and I didn't know who else to call."

"What's going on?" he asked, starting to sound much more alert.

"Er…" she hesitated. She had no idea what to tell him. "Well, I can't really talk about it over the phone, but I'm in Houston, and I could really use a familiar face, even a newly familiar face. Do you think we could meet?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess. Where're you at?"

"I'm at Denny's."

Adam scoffed, the first hint of that snarky humor of his leaking through. She could practically hear his smirk on his face. "Britt, do you have any idea how many Denny's there are in Houston? You'll have to give me more than that."

Ginny looked outside for some kind of landmark that might help. "There's a store with a K inside a circle on the front just across the street?" she suggested.

"And…there are even more gas stations than Denny's," he chuckled, another smirk and an eye roll in his tone. "Look, why don't I just give you my address, and you can get a cab over here. That'll give me time to throw some clothes on, too."

"Sounds great," she replied, digging out a Muggle quill (a pen she thought Hermione had called it after her dad pulled some things from his shed) to write it down on a napkin.

Buzz…buzz…buzz…

Ginny rolled over, burying her face into her pillow to try and reclaim sleep before it was lost. She was having such a wonderful dream. She was spending a lovely day laughing, playing, and kissing on the beach with Harry. She remembered the feel of his hands as he pulled her close in the water, the taste of salt on his lips, the way…

Buzz…buzz…buzz…

The buzzing finally pulled her out of her dream. Ginny slid her hand under the pillow to turn the alarm off on her wand and rolled to face the light of the mid-day sun. Hmmm…her bed seemed much softer than usual today, and why did it smell so funny? It smelled…fruity. Truly perplexed, she opened her eyes to stare at the pink and green curtains covering the window. That wasn't right…her curtains were yellow. She wasn't in her room.

The events of the past two days, of plane rides and Death Eaters came rushing back to her. Ginny shot upright to stare alarmingly around the bedroom that wasn't hers. Where was she?

"Adam, I'm at Adam's house. This is his sister's room," she soon remembered, her heart returning to a normal speed as she took in her surroundings. Minus the tan carpet and the light wood of the furniture, there was pink and green everywhere. It was like being inside a giant watermelon.

Slightly intimidated by the extreme femininity of the room, Ginny folded her legs in front of her and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she tried to recall more about that morning. There wasn't much, really. After a slightly awkward hello and Adam announcing oh-so-tactfully that she looked like she was about to keel over, he'd brought her up here, explaining that since his sister was off at college and his mum had left early for work, she was free to rest in here for awhile. And did she remember him saying something about an in suite bathroom?

Another glance around showed an extra door. Ginny unfurled herself from the bed sheets to take a look. It was indeed a bathroom, with a large vanity, a tiled in shower, and a round tub so big she was pretty sure she could swim in it.

"Money, apparently, has never been an issue in this house."

The thought had been rather intimidating that morning, but right now…that tub was the best sight she'd seen since she'd collapsed into that hideously pink bed.

She spent a long time just soaking in the tub, staying in so long that her skin pruned. The hot water had done an amazing job of ridding some of the tension from her muscles. She felt so much better. And she was finally able to think without a heavy fog again. Yet as revitalizing as it was to have a bit of time to relax, there was still much to do.

"First things first," she thought as she wrapped a towel around herself, getting into her down-to-business mode, "another new look." She picked up a magazine left lying on the vanity and began searching through the strangely still pictures for some ideas. There would be no more Polyjuice to the rescue if she was found again.

She found Adam in a large sitting room filled with rich, leathery browns a bit later. He appeared enthralled and almost lost in a zombie-like state by moving pictures in a large, rectangular electnic thing that he seemed to be controlling by punching buttons on a small device. She stood and watched for a few minutes before he noticed her. She had not been expecting his reaction.

The device dropped from his hands, and he gaped openly at her. "Holy…you look…" He seemed to have a hard time finding the right words for what he was thinking. "…different," he finally decided.

It was Ginny's turn to smirk. "It's called a decent rest and a haircut. Lift your jaw back up," she made reference to the fact that his mouth was hanging so far open he'd practically have to scoop his jaw from the floor. He promptly followed the advice, and Ginny smirked further at seeing a faint blush touch his cheeks.

He shook his head, the dumbstruck expression still not fully wiped from his face. "Sorry…it's just…damn, you're killin' in that dress."

She flushed this time. Not because a sixteen-year-old was apparently gawking at her, (that would just be wrong) but because of the fact she was in this ridiculous dress in the first place. It stopped a couple inches above her knees, was royal blue, slightly flowy, with three quarter length sleeves, and she'd paired it with a dark brown belt around her waist and her boots charmed into a matching shade. Ginny Weasley would not be caught dead in this outfit. It was a good thing she was Brittney Southerby right now.

"Eyes back in your head, Adam," she snapped, chucking a throw pillow at him as she sunk into the opposite chair's cushion.

He grabbed it before it smacked him in the face. "Dang, take a compliment. You can't blame me for noticing. You look a lot better than you did this morning. You were pretty rough."

Ginny rolled her eyes. Really, the kid had all the tact of Ron. "So you've told me," she replied dryly.

"Seriously," he continued, as if he had no filter, "I barely recognized you. I mean, I've seen my sister do some drastic stuff with makeup before, but you looked totally different on the plane. This morning, too. What's with that, anyway?"

"I just like playing around a bit, is all. It's boring to look the same all the time," she quickly covered before attempting to change the topic. "Thanks for letting me use your sister's room, by the way. I feel bad for just showing up and basically passing out after bothering you so early."

Adam shrugged, falling back into his casual, aloof composure she'd known of him before. "No big. I crashed out for a couple more hours, too. Besides, you obviously needed to sleep, and Reanne's never here. I figured you'd rather use her room than mine."

Ginny thought about the disgusting mess her brothers' rooms had been back when they were in their teens. "Yeah, probably," she agreed.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Adam suddenly asked. "I ordered pizza earlier."

"Pizza?" she asked blankly.

His eyes widened in an expression of disbelief. "Don't tell me you've never had pizza."

"No."

"Oh, my God," he threw his head back dramatically against the couch. "That has to be a crime. Hold on." He hopped up and returned a few seconds later with a couple of slices on a paper plate. "Pepperoni," he announced. "It's the best. Here, I brought you a soda, too." He reclaimed his seat on the sofa with his own plate and waited expectantly for her reaction.

Ginny eyed the odd looking meal he'd presented her with and then shrugged and took a generous bite. Her eyes widened in surprise. "It's good," she nodded to Adam's satisfaction and proceeded to enjoy her late lunch with her new friend.

"Okay," Adam said once they were done, "I've been trying to be patient, and I'm not complaining cuz it gave me a reason to skip school, but I've gotta ask. Are you gonna tell me what the heck's going on?"

Ginny nearly choked on the fizzy drink he'd given her. "You're skipping school?!" To be honest, she was surprised that that was the part she'd exclaimed about.

He waved her off, "Eh, it's healthy to skip every now and then."

"Adam, if I'd known you were skipping for me-"

"Jeez, chill, Britt," he cut her off. "You're not my mom."

"No, but I bet your mum's not going to be too happy about it." Okay, seriously…this from the girl who'd snuck out of Gryffindor tower countless times with Harry Potter? Who had in her day been quite accomplished at pushing her own mother's wishes? She'd known running couldn't have been good for her sanity.

"Nah," Adam went on, seemingly unaware of Ginny's inner disquiet. "I'll just tell her the jetlag got me, and I missed my alarm. I needed a day to recoup. No big deal."

"Yeah, but you didn't," she protested. Really…someone shut her off.

"Yeah, but you would've been screwed if I'd decided to go to school instead," he tossed back. "Now quit avoiding my question. What's up, Britt? And what's with the new accent? It's been driving me crazy all freaking day."

Ginny was ready to hex herself at that last remark. Once again, she'd mucked something up. How could she forget Adam would be expecting her Scottish brogue? Now, how in Godric's name was she going to get out of this one?

"Lie," she told herself. "If you don't want to tell him, you have to lie. You knew you were going to have to at some point."

Thinking on her feet, she started, "The accent's just so I can blend in better. I'm going to be staying in America for awhile, and it just seemed better if I tried sounding the part. I don't feel so out of place if I do."

"Sounds like you've got it down pretty well since yesterday morning," Adam remarked, the skepticism in his tone matching his raised eyebrow.

Ginny shifted under his scrutiny. "Damn it, he's perceptive for such a squirrely little bugger."

Pulling an excuse out of thin air, she quickly tried to recover, "Oh, well, I practice with accents quite a bit. I was big into theater back home." Adam nodded, still eyeing her uncertainly, and she decided it best to hurry on with her story. "And as for what's going on and why I ended up here…" She paused, trying to recall the excuse she'd drawn up on her way over in the cab that morning. She hoped it was decent enough.

"To be frank, Adam, things are pretty bad at home, and I just couldn't stay there anymore. I used to be able to stay with my boyfriend, but his job transferred him over here to America a few months ago, and I finally just decided basically, what the hell? Why not join him over here? I thought it would be fun to surprise him so when my flight got in last night, I took a cab over to his place, and…" She pressed her lips together and tried to call on her natural incense for effect. "Well, let's just say that I was the one that was surprised."

"So you caught him cheating?" Adam asked for clarification.

Ginny nodded. "We got into this huge fight, and he tried to get physical so I left. I was just too worked up to think clearly, and I didn't want to stay anywhere near him so I hopped on a bus and somehow ended up in Houston. That's when I called you."

She knew before she was finished that Adam wasn't buying it. He wasn't buying one bit of it if that quirked eyebrow said anything. He crossed his arms in front of himself and pierced her with a look worthy of Bill's when he found one of his younger siblings doing something completely inappropriate, like the time he'd caught her trying to take a chocolate frog without paying for it when he'd brought her along to the store back when she was seven. It was a bit unnerving, honestly.

"Britt," Adam began in a stern, serious voice, "No offense, but you can't lie worth a damn. You've been jumpy and secretive since we left the airport in London, and you don't call someone you barely know and show up at their house looking totally exhausted and freaked out if it's not something big. I am the king of twisting information, Brittney, and while I can commend your efforts, you can't bullshit a bullshitter. Now what's really going on?"

His look was so severe she knew he wasn't going to accept anything but the truth. Expelling a great sigh, Ginny met her friend's gaze. "I can't tell you. I can be vague, but there are things I just can't tell you. You wouldn't even understand or believe most of it if I did."

"So then tell me what you can," he said simply.

"Okay...but don't say I didn't warn you…" she agreed tentatively before going into her story. She hoped she wouldn't regret it. "I didn't completely lie. Things are bad at home, but that's not why I left. I left because my family asked me to."

"Why would your family want you to leave?"

"To keep me safe. I was leaving England under the radar, or trying to at least. There's a really dangerous man after me. If he manages to get a hold of me, I have no doubt he wouldn't hesitate to kill me. He'd probably want to torture me first, but I know he'd kill me."

"Holy…" Adam interrupted, his brow lifted so high it practically disappeared into his hairline. "Jeez, are you serious?"

"Unfortunately," Ginny replied, both her voice and expression wry. "My options for hiding in Britain were pretty well exhausted so my family convinced me to disappear in another country until things got back under control. I'd rather stay and deal with things upfront, but, considering all the circumstances, it seems better if everyone knows I'm safe. They'll be able to focus on the situation better that way." Even with stating her reasoning, she was certain it was evident that she didn't really agree, nor was she happy about having left.

Adam's brow knit as he considered what she'd just revealed. "But you're not safe here. Are you?" he asked, his voice quiet and filled with concern.

"No, not completely," Ginny admitted. "I was somehow followed to Georgia, and I didn't realize it then, but they managed to get a look at my plane tickets. They were waiting for me at a layover last night. And let's just say I'm glad I grew up with so many brothers because if I hadn't known how to fight, I can't guarantee I would have made it out alive. Long story short, I got away and made it to the bus station just before it closed. The only ticket available was to Houston. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence for me to not call you."

If she had been worried about how Adam might take the information, she shouldn't have been. It was amazing the way a sixteen-year-old boy's brain could work.

"Dang, Britt," Adam gawked through his concern as embellished ideas of the fight formed in his mind. "That's like some serious CIA shit or something."

"Er…I guess," she offered, getting the gist of what he meant. "Anyway, my plans have pretty much gone up in smoke, and I'm not exactly sure where to start with making new ones. I know I was followed to Houston, which wasn't hard since it was the only ticket available. And I'm almost certain I managed to slip away back at the bus station, but it's hard to say what's the best move to make next because I have no idea how I was found in the first place. Seriously, with the way my trip was planned, I should have been able to slip out unnoticed. I don't even look remotely like my old self. Would you believe this used to be red?" she asked, sounding slightly cynical as she held up a lock of brown hair that now hung in layers just above her shoulders.

"Yeah?" Adam sat forward, clearly growing more interested by the second. "That's what all the different looks are for then, huh?"

Ginny nodded. "I have to keep trying to throw them off somehow."

"So which eye color is yours? The blue or the brown?"

She gave him an appraising look. "You're pretty observant for a guy."

He shrugged. "I've got a thing for blue eyes."

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Then you'll be disappointed. The blue was contacts. And the less makeup version you saw this morning? That's more me, too."

Adam grinned. "That, I do like better."

Ginny rolled her eyes and shook her head laughingly before saying seriously, "You do realize that you're off you're rocker if you think flirting is going to do you any good."

He shrugged again, a smile still on his face. "Can't blame me for trying. But okay, I get it. Situation serious. But I've got another question."

"What?"

"Well, you weren't totally lying before, about your home situation, I mean. So, does that mean that there's actually some douche bag boyfriend involved in all of this? He's not the guy that's after you, is he?"

Ginny lifted her gaze to the ceiling. This wasn't where she wanted this conversation to go. The less Adam knew the better. She'd probably told him heaps more than she should have already.

"Let's just say that my boyfriend is not the safest person to be around," she stated carefully. At least, that's what Harry thought. She personally thought no one would have protected her better than he would. If she needed protecting, that is.

"You're not going to tell me any real details, are you?" he asked matter of factly.

"It's for the best," she stated plainly.

"Yeah, figures… Okay, hold on," he hopped up and disappeared up the stairs for a minute. When he returned, he was carrying another electnic device Ginny had never heard of or seen before. "Had to grab my laptop," he explained as he knelt to the floor next to her chair, opened the slim rectangle, and began tapping away at some buttons. Ginny watched inquisitively as the images on the top half began to change with the clicks. "Alright, you need a plan," Adam began. "My internet isn't the greatest in here, but it'll work. So, what do you want me to look up first?" He leaned back for her answer and his down-to-business expression almost immediately shifted when he noticed her curiosity. "You've never seen a computer either, have you?"

"This kid's going to think I've been living under a rock most of my life if I don't watch it," Ginny thought in frustration. She really should have paid closer attention when Hermione was explaining stuff about the Muggle world, but she'd been too busy fuming over the fact that she was even going on this trip to take much in. It was her own fault if she looked like an idiot.

She quickly schooled her features so betraying of her ignorance to adorn a blasé attitude. "I have," she defended herself, "Just not one like this."

Adam raised an eyebrow at her, and although he turned back to his commuter, there was something so assessing about the look he'd just given her that Ginny was unsettled in a way she didn't know how to explain. It almost seemed like Adam had just decided something about her. Something he wasn't sharing.

"Alright, Britt, any ideas at all on what to do next? We could go ahead and get you set up with a new flight somewhere…or maybe the bus would be better this time around since that's how you got past this guy the last time. Or you could chill here for a few days to see if you're really in the clear," his pondering went on before she could reply. "That might be the best bet. What would be the point in leaving if you're just going to be followed again?"

"Adam, no. Sticking around is not a good idea."

"It sounds like a smart idea to me," he enthused, completely blowing off her warning. "You don't want to be followed, so find out if they're following you. Come on, Britt. If they find you, we can take them. You already beat them off on your own. Two fighting instead of one's gotta be better."

Ginny sternly shook her head, determined to get her point across. "You don't realize the kind of people we're dealing with here. You can't fight them the way I can."

"Why? …Because I'm a Muggle?"

The silence that followed that question was deafening. Ginny's brain had screeched to a halt. She could have been smacked in the back of the head by a Bludger and would have been less surprised.

Adam smirked at her reaction. "I knew it. You're a witch, aren't you?"

Ginny was aware of the opening and closing motions her mouth was making, but she couldn't seem to be able to make it form a coherent word. "Uh…er…uh…um…"

"What in the hell is going on here?" her inner dialogue finally kicked in while her mouth still fumbled over incoherent syllables. "How does he know a wizarding word like Muggle? And witch?! He called me a witch!" His smirk broadened, and Ginny felt a strong urge to smack it from his face. This was anything but funny!

"You can lift your jaw back up now," he said smugly. Ginny quickly complied, her teeth clacking together she snapped her mouth shut so fast. "I'm not dumb, Brittney. I'm top ten percent in my class, actually. Enough to get me into whatever college I choose in this state once I graduate."

"Being smart doesn't explain how you'd jump to a conclusion like that, Adam. Or how you would even know a word like Muggle," Ginny quipped rather harsher than she'd meant.

"No, but your complete lack of knowledge on anything technological was a huge tip off. Cell phones, MP3 players, computers, TVs and video games," he pointed behind him, "were completely foreign to you. You had me explaining card games and other completely Muggle activities on the plane. Then pizza? Come on, you grew up a lot closer to Italy than I did and you'd never even heard of it? I started wondering when you showed up with the different accent. No one can impersonate another accent that well and not have part of their old one bleed through sometimes, especially after one day of using it. But what sealed it was your last comment. 'You can't fight them the way I can.' A.K.A…I don't have magic and you do."

"Okay, yes, Adam, but that's still not explaining how you would know that."

He shrugged. "My sister's a witch. I listened to her jabber on enough about stuff over the years to put the clues together. Now…would you like to hear the real plan I've been thinking up?"

"Okay, look," Adam said after pulling into an abrupt stop in a parking space later that afternoon. "I think you're crazy for not doing this at my house. You were there for over nine hours and no one showed up looking for you. Hey, are you okay?"

"Just not so used to the car thing," Ginny told him sparingly as she slowly released her death grip from the door handle. Having a sixteen-year-old boy drive her around was a lot different than taking a cab, and it was an experience she was not eager to repeat. Facing Death Eaters had caused less of a turn on her stomach than his whizzing through traffic lanes. "And I'll be fine here. It was great resting at your place. I really needed it, but I'd rather not push my luck. Like I said before, you don't need to be around if they manage to find me." Plus, her gut had been telling her the last half hour they were there to get a move on.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Whatever. This way's just as good, I guess. The place Reanne said for you to wait is right over there," he pointed out her window to a section of a strip of buildings. The bright red letters across the windows labeled it as a bookstore. "There's supposed to be a coffee bar up front. She said she'd look for you up there. You remember what her picture looks like, right?"

"Yes, I've got it, Adam," Ginny replied, resisting her own eye roll.

They'd already gone over everything back at his house. He'd called and explained the situation to his sister. She hadn't sounded too thrilled about helping, not having time to get mixed up in a bunch of drama was the way she'd put it, but she'd eventually agreed to meet over here, just long enough to show Ginny how to get into the wizarding district that was nearby and where she could try going for help. Apparently, she was not the only witch around from Britain that needed a way to disappear.

She liked this idea better, too. Her family would have no idea where she was, but at least she may have a way to keep up with what was going on back home now.

"Alright, Britt. You've got my number. Keep in touch."

"I will. When I can. And thanks again. You've been so much help." Really. She wouldn't have even begun to fathom the amount of help he would be when she'd called him. The way things could connect truly amazed her at times.

She gave her new friend a hug goodbye and slipped from his car, very glad to have her feet on solid ground again as she made her way into the bookstore. Reanne was nowhere in sight so Ginny went to order a drink. She was thrilled at discovering the coffee bar's menu included the tea her nerves had been craving that morning, and with hot beverage in hand, she took a seat near the wall where she could keep a stern eye on her surroundings for her wait.

She was still reeling a bit from learning that Adam's sister was a witch, not that she was pleased to be from what Adam had explained. Reanne was a creature of order, apparently, and had resented having to leave her friends and home to attend a magic school full of things she didn't know. She preferred to be "normal" and upon finishing school, chose the Muggle route of college rather than a wizarding career.

She sounded a bit too much like Harry's horrid Muggle relatives for Ginny's taste. Who wouldn't appreciate being a witch? She hoped Reanne's sour attitude over it didn't have anything to do with her being late. Fifteen minutes had passed by, and there was still no sign of her. It wasn't fair for her to assume something like that, though. She hadn't even met the girl. Something else could be keeping her.

Ginny fidgeted a little in her seat. She really wanted to keep moving. That niggling feeling in her gut she'd had before was coming back, and while nothing appeared out of the ordinary, something just wasn't sitting right. She twirled her empty cup in her hands for something to do and began another "casual" scan of her surroundings.

"Excuse me. Hi," a man approached her after tossing his empty coffee cup into the bin. He had been sitting a couple of tables away, pouring over a large textbook since Ginny had first come in. She'd pegged him for a regular Muggle revising for an exam of some sort and hadn't paid him much attention until now. He was a decent enough looking bloke, nothing on Harry overall, but like her boyfriend, he had vivid eyes you couldn't help but look at. They were kind, clear, and blue like the sky on a sunny, summer day, but they were also sad. They watched her now with concern etched in their owners face. "I know this may sound kind of strange coming from a stranger, but are you alright?" the man asked. "You seem a little on edge."

"Oh, I'm fine," she replied easily. Drawing attention to herself was the last thing she wanted to do. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone here, and they're a bit late is all."

"Well, would you mind some company while you wait? I might go crazy if I sit in front of that book any longer. I've been staring at the same paragraph for the past ten minutes, I think."

"Oh, er, it sounds nice, but no thanks," she replied as she twirled her cup, glancing out the window as a couple of people passed by. She felt bad, but she needed to keep her focus.

"Are you sure? A little conversation might help your wait pass quicker," the man cajoled.

Ginny gave him a sympathetic look simultaneously requesting his understanding. "I'm sorry, but it's really better if I wait alone."

He nodded and knit his brow for a moment before asking, "Look, I know it's really none of my business, but are you sure you're okay? You seem really tense."

"Yes, I'm fine," she insisted, wishing he'd get the hint already. Her gut was starting to twist now with anticipation. She couldn't explain it, but some part of her was just aware of something.

A chime on the door alerted her that someone was entering the store. She glanced in that direction, ignoring whatever the man said before going to sit back at his table, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest. Her favorite pair of Death Eaters had just walked through the door. They'd done a few appearance alterations of their own, but it was them.

She snapped her gaze down before the awareness on her face could give her away. How in Godric's name had they found her this time? How was she going to get away without revealing another disguise?

She quickly ran through her options, surreptitiously watching the Death Eater couple as she pretended to drink from her cup. They didn't seem to know who she was yet. It simply appeared they were scanning the crowd as they wandered further into the store. Ginny waited until they were past the coffee bar and their backs were turned before she stood casually from her seat and began making her way to the door. If she could slip out and get past the windows before they turned around, she might be alright.

She'd almost made it. She'd swear it, but for some reason unknown to any sane portion of her mind, she'd looked back through that window…right into a suspicious, dark gaze. She watched as the woman's mouth curled up into a sick, twisted smile…with all the promise of a vicious duel behind it. The no mercy kind. And if Ginny couldn't reach a safe enough place, a lot of Muggles would end up collateral damage.

That in mind, Ginny tore off down the sidewalk in search of an alley, of something she could duck into before the Death Eaters could start throwing curses. Except there weren't any. There was nothing but a long expanse of stores and a sporadically filled car park surrounded on all sides by street.

A curse suddenly whizzed past her ear and hit the sidewalk in front of her, initiating a few startled screams from some Muggles as bits of cement flew into the air. It was way too close for comfort, and she tossed a Shield Charm behind herself, hoping to protect a few others in the process. She needed to get out of there. Maybe if she ducked between a few cars she could Apparate away. But where would she go? She wasn't taking this fight to Adam.

More curses started zipping through the air around her, and she dove behind an SUV out of direct fire of most Muggles to start firing back. She got a well placed Stunner in quickly on the man, but the woman was managing to dodge everything she sent her way and sending just as many back in return. Ginny had just managed to fire a successful Cutting Curse when a shockingly powerful Stinging Hex shot low to the ground hit her squarely on the ankle.

She winced and bit her lip to hold back a cry. Tears tried to surface but she blinked them forcefully away to peer past the vehicle, and to her relief saw the woman doubled over and clutching her side. Hating to fight dirty but knowing it was necessary, Ginny pointed her wand and bit out the Stunner through clenched teeth. Satisfaction swam through her when the woman crumpled to the ground.

"Current total: Ginny-two, Death Eaters-zero," she thought triumphantly.

Her attackers taken down, she went to assess the damage. There were shreds of metal and rubber strewn about from a car that had been hit by a nasty Blasting Curse, several scorches and marks on other surrounding cars, and countless holes blasted into the cement of the car park. It was amazing to her to not see any other casualties than the Death Eaters and such a relief. The Muggles all seemed to have taken off or ducked into stores. There really wasn't anything she could do about them. There were too many, and she didn't know who all had seen.

She wasn't leaving without altering the Death Eaters memories, however. She now knew they had to have some way of tracking her that she didn't know about, but she wasn't going to make them keeping up with her any easier than it had to be.

After wiping as much as she dared from their minds, (she wasn't Hermione, after all) she hobbled her way up the car park away from the chaos. An SUV soon pulled in from the street and slowed to a stop next to her. A man that looked painstakingly like Harry rolled down the window.

"Hey, you alright? Looks like you've got a nasty sprain or something there." He nodded at her sore ankle.

"Or something," Ginny agreed.

"Need a ride?"

"If you happen to know where I can use a phone."

He grinned and reached over to open the passenger side door. "Hop in."