The sun had barely been up an hour as Ginny Weasley wandered away from the family home and down towards the nearby pond. Unconcerned by the damp grass, Ginny sat down at the pond's edge and silently watched the family of ducks splashing around merrily. Ginny wished she was as carefree as the birds she was watching, but she was awash with grief as she struggled to cope with losing her brother and Harry.

When Ginny had first been called home from Hogwarts, her first thought was that the worst had happened and as a result of the recent sanctions inflicted on her father, the family were going to lose The Burrow. But her brothers had sworn that no matter what their feelings for their parents, they would make sure The Burrow stayed in the family, although how Molly and Arthur were going to live day to day was a different story. However, the truth was much worse than losing her family home and Ginny had been heartbroken to learn that the brother she was closest to and the wizard she'd idolised for years were dead.

Not that it had really helped when it became clear that the general consensus was going to be that Harry and Ron had brought their untimely deaths on themselves. Kingsley and Tonks had explained how they'd perished following their kidnapping and torturing of Draco Malfoy, and it was clear the two Aurors were of the opinion that Harry and Ron were the ones at fault. And not one of the family contradicted that opinion either, and not one of them seemed to blame Hermione and Draco.

But Ginny did. She totally blamed Hermione for what had happened to Harry and Ron, and she fully intended to get revenge for them. While the rest of the world may have been fooled by Hermione's little miss innocent act, Ginny wasn't. Even when Harry and Ron had met up with her and changed their minds about who was behind events of the year before, Ginny's opinion hadn't changed. Granted, she'd never spoken to Hermione, or heard exactly what Draco had said to Harry and Ron, but deep down she believed that Hermione had been part of what had been happening all along.

Once she'd gone back to Hogwarts, Ginny had been kept up to date by Harry and Ron, and while she knew their opinion of Hermione had changed, she'd been aware of their plan to try and bring down Draco. Or rather, she'd been aware they'd been planning something, she just hadn't been told exactly what. And if Harry and Ron had told her they'd been planning on kidnapping Draco, she would have warned them against it. Instead she would have advised to take him out without having to get personally involved. That way, even if Hermione and the Malfoys suspected their involvement, they wouldn't have been able to prove it, and if they'd then retaliated, they would have been the ones painted as villains. But instead Harry and Ron had been reckless, and even though they were the ones who'd lost their lives, they would still be classed as the villains of the piece, and yet again Hermione would be seen as the innocent victim.

"Boys," Ginny sobbed, picking up a stone and hurling it into the pond. "Why didn't you let me help you?"

Breaking down in tears, Ginny wrapped her arms around herself and allowed herself some time to mourn the loss of Harry and Ron. In her grief she remained by the pond for a couple of hours, and when she did dry her face, she vowed she wouldn't cry again until she'd had revenge for the pair. Determinedly getting to her feet, she brushed the loose grass off her clothes, before heading back to The Burrow, where she fully intended to find out just how much support she had in bringing down the monsters who had killed Harry and Ron.

Entering the kitchen, Ginny found all her brothers in the room. No doubt Molly was still curled up in bed, where she'd retreated to upon finding out about Ron's death, and Arthur was likely trying to convince her that she couldn't spend the rest of her life in bed. Although how persuasive he could be when he himself wouldn't leave the house unless he absolutely had to, Ginny didn't know.

"We thought you were still in bed," Bill said to Ginny as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"I can't sleep," Ginny replied with a shrug.

"It's not easy, is it?" Bill agreed with a long sigh. "I just can't believe we're never going to see Ron again."

"Thanks to that evil bitch," Ginny spat.

"Don't start, Ginny," Fred warned in a low voice. "Now is not the time."

"So when is the time to discuss the bitch who killed our brother?" Ginny questioned sharply, looking around at her brothers.

"Blaming Hermione isn't going to get us anywhere," Percy said wisely. "It's not like she struck Ron down with the killing curse."

"She could have for all you know, and the building collapse could have just been a ruse," Ginny argued.

"And if that is the case, the investigation will reveal that," Percy said. "You can't hide the use of the killing curse, Ginny. If Harry and Ron had been killed that way, collapsing a cottage on them wouldn't hide the fact."

"Okay, so maybe she didn't use the killing curse," Ginny conceded. "But how are we to know the cottage collapse was an accident? That might have been her way of killing Harry and Ron."

"And what, she trapped herself and Malfoy inside as well, where they could have also died?" George snorted.

"We only have their word that they were still inside the cottage when it collapsed," Ginny protested. "Why are you all so eager to believe Hermione and the Malfoys? Have you forgotten about the fact the Malfoys knew who Hermione was before graduation? Their protests of thinking her dead have been proved false. They would have known the witch Malfoy was bonded with was alive."

"How do you know?" Bill questioned. "Do you know how their bond works? Because every bond is different, and it manifests itself differently in different couples. Yes, the Malfoys might have been able to tell that Athena was alive, but then again, they might not have been. The truth is, Ginny, you have no idea what the Malfoys did and didn't know before graduation. And I can tell you this, you will never get them to admit anything more than they've already said. Even if Harry and Ron were right, and they were behind events of the last year, you won't be able to prove it."

"So you do think they could be behind it all?" Ginny questioned, latching onto the smallest bit of hope that finally someone might be going to give her some support.

"Personally, no," Bill said as he shook his head. "But that is because, I don't believe half of what Harry and Ron were accusing them of being behind was deliberate."

"Like what?" Ginny demanded.

"My accident for a start," Charlie said. "I work in a dangerous profession where accidents are common."

"As do I," Bill added. "It was just unlucky that Charlie and I were both hurt in the same year."

"Or you could say we've been riding our luck for years since neither of us have been seriously injured before last year," Charlie countered. "Some wizards I work with have been injured nearly ever year."

"And a lot of curse-breakers have been injured far more than me," Bill said. "It was just bad luck."

"You really believe that?" Ginny scoffed. "Especially on top of everything else that happened to us last year?"

"Like what?" Bill scoffed. "Dad being injured in an attack? That's a risk every one of the Order takes when they go up against the Death Eaters. Anyone could have been hurt that day."

"But that wasn't all, was it?" Ginny snapped. "You two and Dad were injured, Percy lost his job, the twins lost an investor and we nearly lost the house."

"I lost my job because of my own carelessness," Percy said, his cheeks staining at the mention of the incident that had caused him the career he'd been working so hard on achieving. "I've been told time and time again to check any document I put my name to. And while I still can't recall signing any document pertaining to Azkaban, it was my signature on the forms. Clearly I had been careless as some point."

"You're never careless Percy," Ginny argued. "I'm telling you, Lucius Malfoy set you up."

"And what would he have to gain from that?" Percy asked. "I was no-one special at the Ministry. It wasn't like getting rid of me got rid of a problem he was having. He didn't benefit from me losing my job, no-one did."

"No, but we suffered because of it," Ginny retorted. "Especially after what happened with the twins shop."

"And the only person to blame for that was Sirius," George snorted. "Our investor only pulled out because of Sirius's arrest, and the fact he was also an investor."

"Oh yes, the crime he still denies committing," Ginny remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Why can't you see, it's all connected? Harry's father was killed, and then framed over an affair he wasn't even having. And then that witch is mysteriously attacked, and Sirius is blamed. Which of course leads to your investor pulling out and nearly bankrupting the family."

"That is so convoluted," Bill said with a shake of his head. "Sometimes things are exactly as they appear, Ginny. Harry may not have wanted to believe it, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest James was indeed having an affair. And even though Sirius denies attacking the witch in question, we all know how reckless he can be, and we all know how much he loves the Potters. He would have done anything to save James's reputation and save Lily and Harry from further hurt by having James's love-child walking around the place."

"And what about James's death itself?" Ginny demanded. "We still don't know who killed him."

"True," Charlie agreed with a nod. "But you can't blame Hermione there. She was drugged along with the rest of the house. It was damn lucky that not everyone was killed that night."

"You lot are so blind," Ginny screeched as she jumped to her feet, finally losing patience with her brothers. "All the clues point to Hermione being behind all of these events. She was the only one with the knowledge of how best to hurt us. She was directing the Malfoys. She arranged for James to be killed, and Sirius to end up in Azkaban. She arranged for every single member of this family to be targeted."

"And how was Mum targeted?" George interrupted.

"Yeah, and you and Ron," Fred added. "Nothing unusual happened to any of you."

"Do you not think Mum suffered when two of her children were hurt in accidents?" Ginny countered. "Do you not think she suffered when Percy lost his job, you two nearly lost the shop and the family nearly became homeless."

"But what about you and Ron?" Bill questioned. "Fred's right. Nothing happened to either of you two."

"There was the quidditch incident with Ron and his broom," Ginny argued. "And I just bet you Hermione was planning on ditching him publically. And you all know that she slipped me a lust potion and sent the Slytherins after me."

"Results of a lust potion are short lived," Percy snorted. "The most it would have been enabled you to do is lose your inhibitions for a few hours. What happened wasn't just a brief lapse, Ginny. You dated one Slytherin for weeks, maybe even months, before starting another relationship with his friend. No potion is accountable for your lack of morals."

"How dare you," Ginny hissed, turning bright red as her brother basically implied she was a tart. "I wasn't in my right mind. I did not know what I was doing. Hermione set me up."

"Just drop it Ginny," Charlie warned. "No-one is interested in your wild theories. Just look at what happened to Harry and Ron because they couldn't move on and leave the past well alone."

"So you also think they deserved what happened to them?" Ginny demanded.

"No-one thinks they deserved to die, Ginny," Bill said gently.

"Kingsley and Tonks do," Ginny pouted.

"No, they think they brought it on themselves," Percy corrected. "And they are right. You can't disguise the fact, they kidnapped and tortured Malfoy. If they hadn't done that, there would have been no need for a rescue, and a fight wouldn't have broken out. Don't go down the same path, Ginny. You need to accept that Hermione is innocent, and the only one whose being manipulating us this entire time is Dumbledore."

"What do you mean by that?" Ginny whispered. "How can Dumbledore be manipulating us, he's dead?"

"And just look at the trouble he's caused since his death," George remarked. "Given time, Harry and Ron would have calmed down and accepted that Hermione hadn't done anything wrong. But yet Dumbledore had to stir things up with his letter claiming that You-Know-Who wasn't dead."

"But he isn't," Ginny argued. "The Order agreed that he's still alive."

"No, we decided to give Dumbledore the benefit of the doubt," Bill corrected. "We alerted the authorities, and they investigated and came up with nothing. Don't forget it was Kingsley and Tonks who searched the cottage, and they found no evidence Dumbledore had ever been holding a prisoner."

"And if he is still alive, where is he?" Fred asked. "There hasn't even been a whisper of his presence in our world."

"Clearly he's in hiding with the Malfoys," Ginny argued.

"Something they all deny," Charlie pointed out. "Tonks even asked Hermione about it, and she hasn't seen her father. He's dead, Ginny, and he has been for years."

"No, I don't believe it and neither did Harry and Ron," Ginny insisted. "He's alive because of these Horcrux things. Have you even looked into them?"

"The Order have done some research," Bill admitted. "But nothing Dumbledore said in his letter is proof of anything. Even Moody, who has the most experience of us all, doesn't think it's viable for anyone to have as many Horcruxes as Dumbledore claims You-Know-Who had. And then there's the fact that Dumbledore didn't share this information with anyone until he was dead. Even when they were planning to take Hermione as a baby, he never confided in anyone that he didn't think You-Know-Who could be killed."

"So none of you believe?" Ginny checked.

"Sorry Ginny," Bill said with a shake of his head. "And it's the feeling of most of the Order. A lot of people gave Harry a chance, but now they're going to be only too happy to walk away and get on with the rest of their lives. And that's what we need to do. We need to grieve for Ron, and then get on with our lives and make him proud of us."

"I will make him proud, just you wait and see," Ginny vowed as she turned and left the kitchen, well aware that she was well and truly on her own.

Her family couldn't be relied on to help her, so she would just have to bring Hermione down on her own. Only she was going to be smarter than Harry and Ron, and she wasn't going to give Hermione the opportunity to get to her first. Hermione would never see her coming, and by the time she did realise who was going to be her downfall, it would be too late for her to do anything about it.