"For the last time, I don't know!" Hermione snapped. The harshness of her voice was there one moment and gone the next. She had to take a deep breath to calm herself as the combined forces of Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Harry made it there jobs to find out every detail of her trip to the healers.

"Hermione, there has to be some explanation, people don't just change overnight," Harry said. His tone was persuasive as he reached out to place a hand on Hermione's arm, and the now-black-haired witch could only release a weary sigh.

"I know, but I . . . I just can't think of what it could be," Hermione said. "I didn't have time to search any spell books before I came here."

"What did the Healer say?" Mrs. Weasley asked, a worried expression pulling wrinkles to her forehead. Hermione was like a second daughter to her, and seeing her so panicked was not something she was used to.

Hermione hesitated. Should she tell them that Draco Malfoy had been her Healer? It wasn't exactly lying if she didn't, just . . . omitting part of the truth. It wasn't really all that important a detail anyway.

Finding her logic in this manner, she cleared her throat and answered Mrs. Weasley's question. "He said he couldn't find anything that matched the conditions of whatever has made me look like this." As another sigh pushed past her lips, she lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "He didn't say if he would continue looking or not."

"Well he better! You were barely there for an hour, and you said you were arguing with a desk witch for at least half that time. There's no way that Healer looked into every possibility," Ginny huffed, her arms crossed over her chest. "I say you shouldn't give him a moment of peace until he finds out what's going on."

Ginny may have had an inkling of a point–maybe–but Hermione could only shake her head. "I honestly don't think it would do much good, Ginny."

"Well," Mrs. Weasley interjected, "it isn't going to do any good simply worrying about it."

"Mum is right," Ginny said, taking a calming breath as she stood up straighter. "We can discuss things later. For now, let's at least try to enjoy the party with everyone else."

A halfhearted smile forced it's way onto Hermione's expression as she nodded. She may not feel like going through with this party, but Mrs. Weasley had been planning it for weeks now–despite it being a relatively small affair–and she would love nothing more than a reprieve from the stress of the day.

With a silent agreement made, the four silently moved into the adjacent room. Fred and George had been keeping the other Weasley's entertained while Hermione was being interrogated by the Inquisitorial Squad of the house. Whether they knew what was going on or not or had simply started joking around just because they could was anyone's guess.

"Hey, there's the birthday girl!" George said, the grin on his face making Hermione's smile just a bit less forced.

"Now even to muggles you're legal. You must be so proud," Fred jested. As Hermione let put a laugh in response, the twins shared an unseen smirk. Their work was done.

The twins continued to provide jokes and pranks for the evening to keep the mood light, even though a single question hung unasked over everyone;

What happened to Hermione?

Everyone wanted to know, but nobody dared to ask. There was no telling how their bookworm of a friend would react to the question, but they were willing to bet it wouldn't be anything positive.

So they didn't ask. Everyone put their focus into making it a special day for Hermione, and telling her happy birthday at least twenty times each. Everyone was so wrapped up in their mission, that it wasn't until a heavy knock sounded from the front door that they were shaken from their focus.

"Who could that be?" Ron asked, looking towards the front door of the burrow without moving.

"Who knows," Ginny answered, a shrug lifting her shoulders as she stood up. Walking over to the door, the young witch wasn't really expecting anything in particular. However, what she was met with was something she wouldn't have guessed if it was spelled out in large, green glitter letters.

"Malfoy?"

Authors Note:

Alright, alright! You can have a dang RL update.

Seriously guys, thanks so much for the support, and I'm so sorry it took so long to get such a short chapter out. I'll give you a nice long one . . . sometime later to make up for it xD

I'd like too give a shout out to Luna de Papel. She's been here since the–very recent, to be honest-–beginning and has commented on every chapter of this story. Thanks for the constant support, it really helps keep me motivated for this fic :)