A/N: Thank you to everyone who let me know this chapter uploaded funny. I hope I have the issue fixed, but if not, please let me know. Furthermore, this is unbeta'd because I have no self-restraint, so this chapter will eventually be replaced with a revised version. Remember that your reviews are the thing that make me want to keep writing this story!

Bees

After a night spent in the infirmary and a hearty breakfast delivered by Gertie, Ginny felt somewhat more of her usual self. She just finished combing her hair into what her mother would've called a "passable" ponytail when Dumbledore swept into the infirmary once again.

"Good morning, Miss Weasley. I hope you slept well."

"Yes, sir. Thank you. I'm feeling much better today."

"Delightful! You'll need your energy, I'm sure. I got in touch with Muriel last night and she said I should bring you to her townhouse in time for lunch today. I believe she is quite eager to get to know you."

Ginny tried not to pull a face at the thought of Auntie Muriel wanting to see her. As far as Ginny could remember, her great aunt believed that children shouldn't be seen or heard. Instead, she straightened her shoulders and nodded at the Headmaster as if she did this sort of thing every day.

"If you don't have anything pressing to do, we should get going sooner rather than later," Dumbledore consulted a pocket watch. "It's ten o'clock now, and we have a fair bit of walking to do between apparition points. You don't mind side-along, do you?"

She was pretty sure everyone minded side-along apparition, but this didn't seem like the ideal time to bring it up, so Ginny just said, "No, sir," and tried to look like she meant it.

-*o*-

On the walk down to the Hogwarts gates, Ginny finally got up the courage to ask a question that had been niggling at the corner of her mind.

"Headmaster, you said last night that Auntie Muriel was a Weasley, but she was my mum's aunt. I guess Mum never talked much about her, but how can she be my cover as a Weasley if she's actually a Prewett?"

"Ah, an excellent question, Miss Weasley. I assume you know by now that the pureblood wizarding families are all fairly complicated, and because the Weasleys have always tended toward having large families, their history is more complicated than most. However, Muriel will explain everything far better than I will. I'm sure she'll have you studying family trees before the day is out."

Ginny didn't especially want to pore over dusty old books all evening, but the idea of solving this particular mystery outweighed her distaste for extra studying.

The rest of the walk passed in mostly comfortable silence, and soon the Headmaster and Ginny reached the edge of the wards.

Dumbledore extended his elbow and asked, "Are you ready?" with a twinkle in his eye that suggested he knew she wasn't.

Mutely, Ginny reached out and gripped the offered elbow, mentally bracing herself for the sensation of apparition. Several very uncomfortable heartbeats later, she opened her eyes to find herself standing very close to what appeared to be a giant muggle trash can. Dropping Dumbledore's arm, she stepped away from it to examine the rest of her surroundings. As far as Ginny could tell, the Headmaster had brought her to a dingy, unremarkable alley in a muggle city.

"Come along, my dear, we have a bit more walking to do," Dumbledore called from the end of the alley.

Ginny saw that he had transfigured his robes into a muggle suit of the same electric blue, and glanced down at her own clothes. She was wearing her school uniform, so she just took off her outer robe and balled it up under her arm before following Dumbledore out onto the busy street.

As soon as they left the alley, Ginny recognized the city as muggle London. They were not far off from the Leaky Cauldron, but the Headmaster was not taking them to the pub. Instead, it seemed he was heading further into the non-magical part of the city. As they walked, Ginny was too busy taking in all the strange sights to question Dumbledore's navigation. She was staring at a large, loud truck that looked a bit like an elephant and seemed to be removing trash from the street when she nearly ran into Dumbledore's back.

He had stopped in front of a red brick townhouse that seemed to have more windows than walls and a black wrought iron fence protecting the saddest patch of tulips Ginny had ever seen. Dumbledore checked a piece of paper against the number on the front of the building before marching up the steps and jabbing a small button that Ginny was fairly certain her father had called a "doorbell."

A few moments later, the door was opened by a house elf in a freshly pressed pillowcase with "Bing" embroidered on the right shoulder.

"Hello, sir and miss! Mistress is expecting you in the sitting room. You is following Bing, please."

With a short nod, the house elf turned and led them into the house to a parlor that looked out on the street. Looking around the room, Ginny could hardly believe that it belonged to the same woman who was scarcely seen without her pink, feathered hat. The parlor was comfortable and airy, with high ceilings and plenty of light from the large windows. The walls were painted a color Ginny's mum had called "avocado," but the effect was tempered by light wood trim and cream upholstery. While she was still coming to terms with the idea that batty Auntie Muriel lived in a place that looked like a design spread from Witch Weekly, Ginny faced another shock as a witch who looked a lot like her great aunt, but couldn't possibly be the real Auntie Muriel walked into the room. For one thing, this witch wasn't wearing so much as one fur cuff or a single feather, and she didn't look nearly old enough to be Muriel, even twenty years in the past.

"Hello, Albus," the woman said with a smile. "You're right on time. Tippy says lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes, so we have a little time for introductions before we tuck in."

"Excellent! Muriel, this is your great niece Ginevra Weasley. She is Molly Prewett's seventh child with Arthur Weasley. Ginny, this is your great aunt Muriel Weasley. She will, I'm sure help clear the air with regards to your exact degree of relation."

There was a brief pause in which Ginny could practically hear her mum hissing at her to mind her manners before Ginny gave her alleged aunt a small smile and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"Oh, none of that!" Muriel replied immediately. "For one thing, you already know me, and for another, if you met me as extended family it most certainly was not a pleasure!"

Ginny's jaw dropped. Muriel laughed, then hunched over and squinted her eyes.

"Young lady," she said in a croak, "Your hair is an absolute horror, and you'll wrinkle that robe holding it all crunched up like that! Children today have no respect for their belongings, I tell you."

The effect wasn't perfect without the garish accessories and heavy perfume, but Ginny immediately believed that this woman really was her Auntie Muriel. While Ginny was trying to come up with any kind of intelligent response to the witch in front of her, Muriel straightened up and brushed invisible wrinkles out of her robe.

"Come with me," She said, gesturing for her guests to follow. "Lunch will be ready any moment, and I can address all of your questions as we eat, Ginevra. I'm sure you have quite a few."