Harry opened the door, surprised and yet somehow not to see Ron leaning casually against the doorframe looking slightly disheveled in his old dragonhide jacket. "Care to tell my why my mum sent me a Howler at the crack of dawn to tell me that my sister's clock hand was at 'Mortal Peril'?" he asked, sounding like he was asking what the soup of the day was.

Not fooled in the slightest, Harry stepped aside and invited him in past the Blood Seal. "How did you find us?" he asked, closing the door firmly.

Ron only snorted in response, looking around the condo, still full of the detritus of moving house. "Where is she?"

"She's resting. Come on." Leading the way, he showed Ron into the bedroom where Ginny lay asleep, looking extremely small in the king-sized bed. Stuart the cat was curled up next to her, keeping up a steady, rumbling purr. He'd been there ever since Harry had put her in bed in the wee hours of the morning. Gently settling himself next to her, Ron took one of her hands in his and brushed away a stray bit of hair from her forehead.

Ginny shifted at his touch, eyes fluttering open. "Ron," she whispered, "what are you doing here?"

"Mum sent me," he said gently and Harry saw some of the tension go out of his body at seeing his sister recognize him and able to speak.

"Oh, that's nice," she mumbled, closing her eyes. A moment later she was sound asleep again. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and let go of her hand.

Standing up, he turned to Harry and pointed to the door, all traces of the gentle brother gone. In his place was the protective brother bear and Harry braced himself for the coming attack. Falling back on English politeness, he put the kettle on while Ron seated himself in one of their new barstools at the breakfast bar, fingers drumming on the granite. They were silent while the kettle boiled and Harry dropped teabags into two mugs. Handing one to Ron, he apologized for the lack of milk. "Haven't had time to do a shop."

Ron shrugged and took a sip, setting the mug aside. He stared at Harry, blue eyes narrowed and fingers templed under his chin. Harry was starting to think that he was going to sit like that all day when he finally spoke. "You will tell me exactly what happened. Leave nothing out. I'll know if you do."

Taking a deep breath, Harry did, feeling like he was unburdening his soul. He began at the beginning, some of which Ron already knew from when he and Hermione had visited just a few short months ago. What Ron didn't know was how they'd been driven from their flat above the Chinese when Ignatius had shown up at their doorstep and how they'd learned about what was so special about that coin.

"Wait, hold on," Ron said, holding up his hand. "Ginny touched this coin and what happened?"

"D'you remember when Snape died? And he gave me those memories?" Ron nodded and Harry went on, arms crossed as he leaned against the cabinets he and Ginny had put their new dishes away in just yesterday. "Cornelius had done something similar, only it wasn't just memories. More like an active consciousness."

"So like a Horcrux, then? No wonder those Dementors went after him." Harry shrugged, knowing he was thinking of the locket and the diary. "So what happened when Ginny touched it?"

"It talked to her. She said it got into her head and talked to her. Said it would use her. Scared the shit out of her." Harry picked up his mug to take a drink, frowning at its lack of tea. "I couldn't let us stay there anymore, so we left that night. Stayed in hotels until we found this place. Just moved in yesterday, in fact."

Ron grunted, eyes darting around the cluttered condo. "So then what happened?"

"Well, things were quiet for a while until her Muggle friend Ben was attacked. That Ignatius bloke had been whipping up anti-Muggle rhetoric and I guess someone didn't like Ginny and Ben being friends. They were walking on campus and a wizard shot a spell at him. Ginny Apparated her and Ben to our suite," he said, smiling as Ron's eyes went wide.

"You're saying that my sister violated the Statute?" Harry nodded, turning the burner back on under the kettle.

"Yup. They decided that she'd done it in defense of herself and Ben, so she didn't get anything for it."

"They Obliviate … Ben, was it?"

"No. He knows all about us."

"Harry … that's risky."

He shrugged again. "They said he was safer with the knowledge in case someone went after him again. We'll see if they let him keep it. Anyway, so that happened and then we had to move again. And I figured out how to do a wandless Switching spell so we could get that coin away from him." The kettle sounded and he turned off the fire, dropping a fresh bag in each of their mugs, filling them both to the brim with hot water. "Did you know that I'm descended from the Peverells on both sides?"

Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head as he dunked his teabag. "I'm assuming you got the coin. What did you do next?"

"Um, well … we dropped it into the Pensieve. And then I had a bit of a sword fight with a sort of ghost."

"Jesus Christ, Harry."

"I know. And then last night Archimedes put out the portrait as bait for Ignatius at that gala and he took it." Harry fell silent as the events of the last twenty-four hours played through his mind. Unpacking, making love with Ginny in the afternoon, convincing her to go with him to the gala. God, I should have listened to her. I should have told Archimedes to shove off.

"So exactly what happened last night? Why was Ginny in mortal peril?" Ron asked slowly, eyes fixed on Harry.

Closing his eyes, Harry rubbed the back of his neck, trying to massage away some of the soreness that had resulted from his fall down the basement stairs and staying up all night to keep watch over Ginny. "Well, we were at the gala and Ignatius shows up. We had a bit of a chat and then Gin and I left. We'd just gotten outside when there were some explosions. Ignatius had stolen the Horcrux and blew the shit out of the place with Reducto as a distraction."

"Kill anyone?"

"No. Cuts and bruises mostly. Made an unholy mess for the Obliviators and Fixers." Ron groaned; neither one of them had fond memories of their occasional stints on the magical Fixit Squad. "So Archimedes had put a bit of blood on the portrait and we tracked it to Ignatius's house, pretty much as we expected."

"Why didn't you send Ginny home?"

"Ron, I tried!" Harry said in a near shout, running his hands through his air in agitated frustration. "I told her to go home, to be safe, but she wouldn't! She flat out refused to go." He looked at his best friend, dismayed to see him sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face. "Don't give me that look. You know how she is!"

"You could have done something."

"If I wanted to get a divorce, sure," Harry snorted.

"You're not married," Ron said, eyes narrowed.

"We're engaged."

"Congratulations."

"Anyway, we went to his house. He was doing some sort of ritual in the basement. Had a Bounding Circle, Latin, the whole nine yards. He'd used Jacob's blood to release the soul in the Horcrux and was holding it in the circle."

"To what end? Was he trying to resurrect the bloke?" Ron asked, sitting up straight.

"He seemed to think he could … absorb the soul fragment into himself and add its magic to his own?" Harry shook his head. "You know how these arseholes can talk. I've never heard of anything like that in my life. Have you?" Ron shook his head, lips pursed thoughtfully. "He hinted that he found it in a book somewhere. I'll have to see if I can get a look at his library. No idea if he left any heirs."

"You're getting as bad as Hermione. So then what happened?"

"So there's this black cloud thing in the circle, yeah? And I'm thinking 'Holy shit, how are we going to destroy that?' when the bastard steps into the fucking circle with it. Now I'm sure we're going to have to let him do whatever he's going to do and then take him out, right?" Ron nodded, caught up in Harry's description. "The fucking sword has shown up, by the way. So Ignatius is in the circle, trying to command it and then it just kind of … swarmed him and it killed him."

Ron sat back in his seat, a frown creasing his forehead. "How?"

"Dunno. One second he was yelling at it and then he was dead."

Harry watched Ron mentally set aside the fact that a sentient cloud had killed a man in front of him last night, choosing to focus on his sister. "So what does this all have to do with Ginny being in the shape she's in now?"

Harry sighed, reliving the moment when Ignatius's dead body fell to the floor, his arm falling over the metal of the Bounding Circle and destroying the integrity of it. "He fell and his arm covered part of the circle."

"Fuck me," Ron breathed. "So it was on the loose, then?"

"Yeah."

"And it went straight for Ginny."

"Yeah." Harry could see it plain on his best friend's face. His sister, who had already been possessed by the soul fragment in Tom Riddle's diary and lived in fear of it ever happening again.

"What did you do?" Ron asked after a long moment of silence.

"What could I do? I'm there with a fucking sword of all things against a smoke cloud. Useless."

"The venom?"

"No. I took a swipe at it and it did fuck all. Neither did the spells Archimedes and Sutton were firing at it."

"So it went into Ginny and then what?"

"I don't know what she experienced—she hasn't been able to tell me yet—but I saw …" he took a deep breath, looking down at the floor of the kitchen. "I saw the smoke go into her, into her back. I'd told Gin to run, to get away when that cloud got loose and she was running up the stairs when it got her. She froze and started to fall backwards and I ran up to catch her before she fell down the stairs." He shook his head. "She wasn't breathing right away and then she took this huge breath and breathed out smoke."

"Was it … the soul fragment?"

"I think so? But it was like it was dead or something. It was gray instead of black and just dissipated like regular smoke, you know? Gin had done something to kill it when it was inside of her." Harry stared at the floor, conscious of Ron across from him.

"And why is she laid up? Why isn't my sister in here with us now, talking to us about whatever the fuck happened inside of her?"

"When she came out of it, she was cold, like she'd been frozen inside. Matthew—"

"Hudson?" Ron asked sharply.

"Yeah, I took her to his place. Didn't want to take her to a busy damn hospital and try and explain what happened. I knew Matthew would do whatever he could for her." The feeling of complete and utter helplessness came back to him and he shuddered. Uncharacteristically, Matthew had been the first person he'd thought of. Someone he knew who had magical medical expertise and would take care of Ginny in a private setting. Ginny would say that I wouldn't have had trouble wasting him if he'd fucked up. She might not be wrong.

"What did he do?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Possession is pretty rare, but does happen on occasion, according to him. He said fighting off a possession is very draining and her magic resources were nearly exhausted. Him and that witch Amanda got her warm again, but now she just has to rest. Build up her reserves again."

"Can she still do magic?" Ron asked, sounding almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah. Matthew made sure of that before he let me bring her home."

They were silent for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts before Ron heaved a loud sigh, resting his head in his hands. "Are you sure it's her?" he asked, looking down at the granite countertop.

Harry squelched a flash of irritation at Ron's question. It was a perfectly legitimate question given the circumstances, but Ron asking it only served to remind Harry just how badly he'd failed to keep Ginny safe. "I'm sure."

"How?" Ron raised his eyes from the counter to look at him and Harry locked eyes with him, probing into his mind with Legilimancy, catching a sense of mingled worry and relief for Ginny and a hot blast of anger for Harry before Ron pushed him out with Occlumency. "All right then."

"Satisfied?" Harry asked, rankled from the anger he'd felt from him. Ron just looked at him and he felt his ire rise. "Dammit, Ron. I did the best I could, all right?"

"My sister could have died."

Just like Fred. "I know," Harry said quietly.

"I told you to leave it alone at Christmas, yeah? Let someone else deal with it. It wasn't your problem, mate," Ron said, voice tightly controlled.

"I know."

"And you had to get Ginny involved?"

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong. She involved herself. She makes her own choices, yeah?"

"But if you had let it alone like I told you to!"

Harry took off his glasses and closed his eyes, pressing on them hard with his fingers. "I couldn't. Ron, they've never dealt with anything like this out here. As far as we're concerned it's been fucking sunshine and daisies!" He settled his glasses back on his nose and looked at his best friend. "Listen, if I'd had my way about it, I would have destroyed it months ago and none of this would have happened."

"Why didn't you?"

"Archimedes wanted to catch Weatherbee with it to ruin his chances of being on the Council. We're pretty sure he was indirectly behind the attack on Gin's friend Ben. Oh, and he was starting to experiment with Binding Muggle-borns."

Ron's eyebrows shot up to his hairline and he let out a low whistle. "Shit," he said softly. "And this Weatherbee bloke is the one that's dead?"

"Yeah. At least last I saw he was."

"What about Archimedes? He was there, right?"

Harry shrugged, turning his empty mug around in his hands. "Dunno. He's fine, I guess."

"You guess? You two seemed pretty tight last I was here."

"He lied to me. Said he was retired when we first met. Turns out he's the head out here," Harry said after a deep breath. He still felt the deep sense of betrayal and replayed the moment when he finally figured it out. He told you he was retired? echoed in his mind, Auror Sutton's amazed voice seeming to mock his cluelessness. He carefully set the mug down on the counter, afraid he'd hurl it across the room. He didn't want to wake Ginny.

"What a fucking mess," Ron sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "What are you going to do?"

"About?"

"Archimedes, I guess? That's a pretty big lie to tell someone."

"I haven't decided. I really want to hit something, though," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Yeah? You wanna go three rounds?" Ron asked, eyes lighting up.

"Nah, I don't want to ruin your pretty face." Harry smiled, memories of sparring with Ron during their Auror days together coming to the surface. "For some reason, Hermione likes it."

"As if you could even land a hit on me," Ron snorted.

"Yeah? You're looking pretty soft these days, mate. Too much time on your arse."

"What about you? You think running and that bullshit yoga stuff are good enough?"

"Good enough to—" Harry's retort was cut short by Ginny's voice from the bedroom.

"Harry? Harry, where are you?" she called, voice rising in panic.

"I'm here!" he called, moving quickly to the bedroom, Ron following closely behind. He was surprised to see her sitting up and he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Is that Ron?" Ginny asked incredulously, catching sight of him in the doorway.

"Yeah. He got here a little while ago. You don't remember?"

"No," Ginny said, shaking her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Mum asked me to come," he said, sitting on the other side of the bed and taking her hand.

"What for? Where's Hermione?"

"Shh," Ron murmured, gathering her into a tight hug, rocking from side to side for several moments. "Listen, Mum's clock had you at 'Mortal Peril' and she sent me to check on you."

"I'm fine! Everything's fine!" Ginny said brightly, holding her brother's hands in hers.

"I told him," Harry said, watching as she suddenly looked like a child that had been caught with her hand in the biscuit tin.

"Oh." Ginny looked down at the comforter, avoiding her brother's gaze. "Am I in trouble?" she asked in a small voice.

"No, you're not in trouble." He put his finger under her chin, causing her to look back up at him. "Mum saw your hand go to Mortal Peril and just about came unglued. Sent me a Howler up to Hogwarts and everything, telling me I had to come and make sure you were all right."

"How long can you stay?"

"As long as you want me to," he said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What about Hermione?" Ginny asked, cutting her eyes to Harry over her brother's shoulder.

"She's busy with NEWTs and OWLs, so she's not able to get away."

"Oh!" Ginny gasped. "My study group! What time is it?"

"It's almost noon, love. You've missed it already," Harry said gently, amazed that she could even be thinking of a study group right now.

"Ben must be so worried! Harry, can you …?"

"I'll take care of it, Gin. I need to do a shop anyway," Harry said, chagrined that he hadn't already thought of Ben; he was sure that if they'd had a phone it would be ringing off the hook.

Ginny nodded in relief and closed her eyes briefly. "Why am I so tired?"

"How are you feeling? Are you warm enough?" Harry asked, pressing his hand against her forehead and then on her chest, relieved to feel her warmth.

"I'm warm, but I'm so tired," she said, sounding like an out of sorts child.

"Remember, Matthew said it'd take a while to get your energy back. You do remember, right?" Harry asked, brows drawn down in concern.

"Yes, I remember," she said reassuringly. "I just thought that I'd have a nap and then be back to normal. I have so much to do."

"Well you're not doing any of it today, yeah?" Ron said, pushing her gently on one shoulder. "Let us take care of you."

"Ugh, you're a terrible nurse, Ron. Remember when I was five and Mum needed you to watch me for ten minutes while she hung up the wash?"

"Listen, I turned my back for one minute. It's not my fault you decided to crawl into the fireplace and make a mess." He turned to Harry with an aggrieved look. "Honestly, who expects a six-year-old to watch a five-year-old?"

"Your mum, apparently." Harry squeezed Ginny's hand. "D'you want anything? I can get you a cup of tea before I go out."

"Tea would be lovely, but I really need the loo right now." Harry watched anxiously as she got out of bed and tottered to the master bath, standing outside the closed door until she opened it. "Should I have invited you in?" she asked when she saw him there.

"Wouldn't be the first time we've been together in a loo," he said with a grin as she whacked him on the shoulder. He took her arm and helped her into the lounge, settling her on the sofa with a blanket over her.

"Honestly, I'm not an invalid!" she protested as he tucked one of their new throw pillows behind her. Stuart jumped up into her lap, nosing the blanket before settling down, flexing his paws as he kneaded Ginny's leg.

"Okay, so we need everything. Any special requests?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny and Ron. Ron was laying back in the new recliner, hands behind his head.

"Beer," he said succinctly. "Steak. Chips."

Ginny shook her head at him. "Don't feel like you have to get a ton, all right?" she said to Harry. "Just be sure to let Ben know I'm all right?"

"That's my first stop," he said, leaning down to kiss her.

"Ugh, get a room," Ron said from the recliner, eyes closed.

"We have a whole bloody apartment, but someone has invited himself over," Harry said, nudging Ron's foot.

"Sounds like a wanker."

"You have no idea."

Kissing Ginny once more, Harry Apparated out of the condo, appearing in an alleyway close to Ben's apartment. I hope he's home and not out looking for Gin or something, he thought as he walked quickly to Ben's building and ran lightly up the stairs. "Ben? Are you home?" he called as he knocked on the door.

He heard the sound of the door being unlocked and it opened a crack, Ben's bright blue eye peering out cautiously. "Harry? Where's Ginny? She wasn't at the study group this morning. Is she all right? Does she need anything?" he asked in rapid-fire fashion as he pulled Harry into the apartment.

"She's all right, just feeling a bit under the weather. I knew she wasn't feeling well and I let her sleep in. I completely forgot about your study group," Harry said apologetically.

"Oh, good. Well, I mean not good that she's not feeling well, but … I thought maybe something had happened," Ben said, hand over his heart.

Harry shook his head and plastered a smile on his face. If you only knew. "No, I think she's been working too hard and with the move yesterday, she just wore herself out. She should be in class tomorrow."

"That's right! You moved yesterday! It must be great to finally be in your own place."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice so far. Hey, uh, I don't think you need to worry so much about being attacked anymore, all right?"

"What? What happened?" Ben asked, looking surprised.

"We got word this morning that that Ignatius fellow that was making all of the trouble died last night."

"Oh my goodness. How?"

"Dunno," Harry shrugged, not really feeling like he was telling a lie; he truly didn't know how the black cloud had killed Ignatius. "Where's Gutierrez?"

"She had some things to do after the study group. I had to promise I'd stay put."

"Well, she should be out of your hair soon," Harry said, wondering if Archimedes had called her in to brief her on the situation and let her know that she wouldn't be needed to keep an eye on Ben anymore.

"She wasn't so bad. It will be nice to have sleepovers again, though," he said with a devilish wink at Harry. "Oh, I just thought of something. Since there's not any danger, are they going to Oblivi-whatever me?"

Harry frowned. Gin would be heartbroken. "I'll make sure they don't."

Ben smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I find the whole thing fascinating and I would be sad if I had to forget all about it. But … would I be sad? I wouldn't know what I'm missing …" He waved his hands in the air. "Never mind about all that. When are you having a housewarming party?"

"That you'll have to ask Gin about. She's the party planner, not me! Listen, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that it looks like the danger of being attacked is over. Archimedes might keep Gutierrez with you a few more days to make sure, but things should be back to normal."

"Thank you. Are you getting a phone at your new place? You need something so I can get a hold of Ginny. Can wizards use a phone?"

"We can use phones," Harry said with a smile, remembering the time Ron had called him at the Dursleys'. "I've been thinking of getting us both cell phones. That new one is supposed to be out soon."

"Yes! It looks so cool, doesn't it?" Ben said, launching into a discussion of their shared passion for gadgets.

Harry glanced at his watch, realizing he'd been at Ben's for half an hour. "I'm sorry, but I need to get going. I'm meant to be at the grocery store buying out the whole place!"

"I should let you go then. I know how cranky Ginny can get when she hasn't eaten for a while!"

Harry left Ben's apartment, feeling better for having chatted with him, reassured that after the extraordinary events of the previous night that some things were still the same. He spent his time at the grocery store trying to concentrate on filling two shopping carts with everything they needed rather than on those events, being only moderately successful.

Archimedes … what am I going to do with you? he thought as he stared at neatly-wrapped packages of meat. He selected a package of steaks that looked like they might satisfy Ron and put it in the nearly overloaded cart. He still felt the keen sting of the older man's betrayal and was still trying to decide if he'd give him the opportunity to explain himself. As he brooded on the situation, he knew that if Archimedes had introduced himself as the head of the SF Regional Auror department on that Thanksgiving trip he would have run very quickly in the opposite direction.

And then where would we be? Gin wouldn't have had to suffer whatever happened to her, I wouldn't have been lied to and cut up by a damn ghost, we wouldn't have been chased out of our little flat, Ben would still be ignorant of the Wizarding World, she wouldn't have that damn tattoo … Harry sighed and tossed a bag of potatoes and several bags of salad mix into one of his two carts.

But then Ignatius could be cruising to a win on the Council where he could spread his poison, more Muggle attacks, Jacob could be dead or taken over or Ignatius might have succeeded with his crazy plan …

He thought about the time he and Ginny had spent with Sarah and Archimedes, how readily they'd been welcomed into their home. He knew that Ginny valued Sarah's friendship and entry point into the world of San Francisco witches and that she was very excited about her first midwifery client. We wouldn't even have the damn cat if it weren't for them. Sarah had been confident that Stuart would return to his home on the Filbert Steps, but so far he seemed content to stay with the two of them which was a good thing because Ginny was utterly attached to him.

In the checkout line, Harry admitted to himself that he enjoyed Archimedes's friendship. It was nice to not have to be so guarded in the way he felt he had to be around Juanita and the other teachers at school. There was so much about his life growing up and his former profession that they just didn't understand that Harry felt like he was constantly having to edit himself, but with Archimedes, he could just relax and be himself, knowing that the fellow Auror would instantly relate to his thoughts and feelings.

Someone to trade war stories with, he thought as he wheeled his two fully-loaded shopping carts out into the parking lot as if he were going out to a car. Taking a quick look around, he went around the corner of the building, neatly shrinking all of the bags down to a manageable size and Apparating back home.

"Finally!" Ron said, "I was starting to think about eating that cat!"

"No! You couldn't eat poor little Stuart!" Ginny said, cuddling the cat close. Harry was glad to see that she looked a little more awake. "He's much too cute to eat!"

"Little? That thing's a monster! I think his feet are bigger than mine!" Ron shoved off from the recliner as Harry set the bags down on the kitchen counters and restored them to their normal size. "Beer?" Harry tossed him a Newcastle and Ron grinned, casting a quick Cooling Charm and taking a long drink. "Cheers."

"How has she been?" Harry asked quietly as he started putting things away.

"All right. She took another nap not too long after you left, but just a short one. Where does this go?" he asked, holding up a bag of flour.

Harry nodded to the cabinet they'd decided to use as a pantry. "Good. I saw Ben and told him you were all right," he called to Ginny as he sliced a bagel in half and dropped it into the toaster.

"Oh good. Was he worried?" Harry watched as she carefully got up from the sofa and came over to the breakfast bar, settling in a barstool.

"A bit. I told him that you were tired out from schoolwork and moving. Do something with those," he said, passing the package of steaks to Ron.

"Excellent. Weasley marinade coming up," he said, rooting through the bags for the things he would need.

"I did let him know that Ignatius was dead and that he shouldn't need to worry about attacks."

"Was Auror Gutierrez there?" Ginny asked, eyeing the toaster.

"No. Ben said she'd had to step out and told him to stay put." The bagel popped up and Harry put it on a plate, setting it in front of Ginny with a freshly-opened package of strawberry cream cheese and a knife. "My guess is Archimedes had called her in to brief her on what happened last night."

"Who's Gutierrez?" Ron asked as he cut open the package of steaks.

"An Auror Archimedes had shadowing Ben in case anyone got any bright ideas. He did ask if he was going to be Obliviated."

Ginny looked up at Harry with a stricken expression. "Oh no! It's so much easier now that he knows! Can you …?"

"I'll try. I'd prefer him to know, too." Even if that means I have to talk to Archimedes sooner than I'd like. He continued putting groceries away while Ron put the steaks in a plastic bag with all of the air magically removed to marinate in his dad's special recipe. Harry had a mind to try out the grill he'd seen up on the terrace.

He had just opened a perfectly-cooled beer for himself when the doorbell rang. Ginny looked at him questioningly and he frowned, taking his wand out. "Expecting anyone?" Ron asked quietly.

"No, we're not." Harry cautiously approached the door and peered through the peephole. There was a man he didn't recognize standing outside with a very large cellophane-wrapped basket and a paper bag. As he glanced at Ron standing easily behind him and to the right, the man rang the doorbell again. "Delivery of some sort," he said. "I'm going to open the door."

Ron nodded, wand laying casually against the side of his leg and Harry opened the door. "Yes?"

"Harry Potter? Delivery for you," the man said, handing him the large basket. It was heavier than Harry had expected and the man seemed glad to be rid of it. "This too."

"Um, do I need to sign anything?"

"Nope. Have a good day!" The man turned and headed off back down the hallway, whistling tunelessly.

"What's that?" Ginny asked when Harry set the basket down on the breakfast bar in front of her. "Oh, there's all sorts of things inside!" She detached the elaborate bow at the top and folded down the cellophane. "Oooh, wine! Crackers, cheese, some little sausages, chocolates, fruit … this is really nice! Who's it from?"

"Dunno, the bloke didn't say," Harry said, peering inside of the bag. He pulled out his jacket and tie from the disastrous gala. "I'd forgotten all about these. Left them on that bench." He sighed and set them aside. "Well, I guess we know who it's from."

"Well who, then?" Ron asked, looking confused.

"Archimedes and Sarah. I left my jacket and tie on a stone bench outside of the museum last night before we went to confront Ignatius and I forgot all about them."

Ginny looked at Harry apprehensively. "Does that mean we don't get to keep the goodies?"

"Oh, we're definitely keeping all of that. We'll have that wine when we eat," Harry said, peering at the label. It was from a winery he vaguely remembered he and Ginny had gone tasting at when they'd gone up to Calistoga for the Thanksgiving holiday. I wonder if he intended to remind me of our first meeting? he wondered.

Setting those thoughts aside, Harry went up to the shared rooftop terrace to take a look at the grill. He'd only had the briefest glimpse of the area when he and Ginny had first looked at the place and he was pleased by what he saw now. There was a nice seating area with low tables as well as a more traditional dining table. There were fairy lights strung up and a couple of freestanding gas heaters, something he knew would be welcome during chilly San Francisco evenings.

Satisfied with the condition of the grill, Harry stood by the railing, looking out toward the bay. The Golden Gate Bridge shone in the bright sunny day, making the notion that something as horrible as the events that had occurred last night could even happen seem utterly ridiculous. But they did happen, and Gin nearly paid the ultimate price. As he stood staring out and brooding, he became aware of a cat butting its head against his shoulder.

"Hello," he said, scratching it under the chin. "Aren't you handsome?" The cat was black and white and looked like he had a little mustache. "I apologize in advance, but we might have brought you some competition." The cat purred and arched his back, his tail wiggling back and forth and Harry felt some of his gloom abate. Giving the cat a final pat, he headed back down, smiling at Ron and Ginny's laughter when he came back into the apartment.

Later that night, he lay in bed with Ginny cuddled close. He was exhausted, but so far sleep had refused to come and he was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. After dinner, he'd looked through the newspapers he'd bought while out shopping, scanning for any mention of the events at the Legion of Honor, but it looked like the Obliviator and Fixit squads had done their jobs well. He'd also managed to pick up a copy of the Uncanny Examiner and while there was no mention of the Legion of Honor, there was a notice that Muggle-borns could once again move about freely.

"But no notice of Ignatius's death," Ginny noted when he passed the paper over to her.

"No. Probably won't be for a few days yet. Need to concoct a story, don't they?" Harry said, taking a sip of the wine Archimedes had sent. He might be a deceptive old goat, but the man does know his wine.

"What d'you think they're going to say?" asked Ron, putting his feet up on the low coffee table. The cat Ginny had christened Mustache Kitty jumped up in his lap and he gave it a distracted pat.

"Dunno. I imagine some variation on 'natural causes'. The usual."

"Good old 'natural causes'. It encompasses so much." Ron grinned and finished the rest of his wine, leaning his head back against the chair and looking up at the night sky. "This is a great place. I might move in."

"I think Hermione might have something to say about that," Ginny said.

"She could move in, too. I'm sure she could manage Gryffindor from here."

Harry smiled, thinking back to their embryonic plans to move in together in London before Hermione's parents had been killed and she left England. The plan had been to fix up Grimmauld Place and make it a real home, but he and Ron hadn't had the energy for it without her and ended up at the flat instead. "Heaven save us from newlyweds," he said, throwing his balled-up napkin at Ron's head.

Ron caught it and threw it back at him, making Harry dodge. "As if you two aren't as bad. I'm going to need an extra-strength Silencing Charm, no doubt!"

"At least you haven't caught Harry and me in the shed with my top off!" Ginny stuck her tongue out at him as he grumbled about how some people just didn't know how to knock.

He felt Ginny shift next to him as she came awake. "Are you still awake?" she asked, voice rough with sleep.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"What are you apologizing for? Sometimes you're so very British."

"Sorry," he said again, smiling as she swatted his arm. "How are you feeling?"

"All right," she said after a moment. "I should be able to go to class tomorrow and clinic the day after."

"Don't run yourself too hard. If you need another day, take it."

"I'll be fine. What about you? When was the last time you slept?"

"Dunno. Thursday?" Harry shrugged as Ginny swept her thumb across his cheek.

"Harry, you need to sleep. Do you want a potion?"

"No, I'll be fine." I hope. God, tomorrow is going to suck.

"If you're sure," she said, sounding dubious. They lay quietly for several moments before she spoke again. "What are you going to do about Archimedes?"

"I don't know," Harry said after a long sigh. "I've been thinking about it all damn day."

"He's someone you can talk to about … things," Ginny said, sounding like she was choosing her words carefully.

"Yeah, I know." Harry knew full well that as much as she loved him, there were some aspects of his life as an Auror that she would never be able to understand or be comfortable talking about. "But he lied to me. To the both of us."

"He was less than truthful, yes. Are you going to give him a chance to explain himself?" Harry shrugged, feeling frustrated as his thoughts chased themselves around in circles.

"If he hadn't lied, then we wouldn't have been dragged into—"

"Oh, no. You can stop right there," Ginny said, raising herself up on one elbow to look at him. "You know full well that you would not have let that Horcrux business go, even if you'd never gotten the Americans involved."

"But then you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"You don't know that. Who knows what would have happened if you'd gone charging in alone? Instead of me, it could have been you. Besides, he's not the only one who might have told a lie or two lately," she said, giving him a stern look.

Harry shifted uncomfortably, remembering the rainy night Archimedes had made a gamble and Summoned him, forcing him to reveal to Ginny that he'd reactivated his Auror tattoo. "Fair enough," he murmured.

Satisfied, she settled down, putting her head back on his shoulder. "I'm not going to stop being friends with Sarah."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

"Good. You don't tell me what to do."

"You've made that abundantly clear, love," he said with a soft snort. "Wish you'd tell Ron that. He nearly took my head off when you were still sleeping."

"He knows, he just likes to blame people when he's upset. It can't have been pleasant to get a Howler from Mum in the dark of the morning."

"He did tell Molly you're all right?"

"Yeah, he sent his Patronus when you were out shopping."

Harry sighed and hugged her closer. "Well, hopefully a Howler won't show up here tomorrow morning."

"Can you even send Howlers internationally?" Ginny said, her breath soft against his neck.

"Dunno. Not too interested in finding out," he said, gratified at her quiet chuckle. Harry closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her finger tracing slow circles around his bellybutton as he thought back to their after dinner conversation out on the terrace. "Thanks for telling me and Ron about what happened, yeah? I know it wasn't easy." Ron had coaxed her into describing what exactly had occurred when the smoke went into her and he'd been stunned to hear her relate the sequence of events.

"The sword really showed up?" Ron had asked, eyes round with amazement.

"It looked the same. I suppose I could have imagined it, but it worked. Ran him through like a kebab," Ginny had said with an impressive calm, making Ron shake his head.

Ginny sighed and squeezed Harry around the middle. "It wasn't easy, but I had to."

"I had no idea what it was like with … Tom."

"No, I never told anyone."

"I should have asked."

"Why?" Ginny snorted. "You had plenty to be going on with yourself and I wouldn't have told you anyway. What were you going to do, come up to me in the common room? 'Oh, hey, Ginny, so tell me what it was like when you were being possessed by the spirit of Tom Riddle. Do you sit and have nice long chats in the forest?'," she said, doing a passable imitation of his twelve-year-old voice.

Harry flushed, thinking that was probably exactly what he would have asked. "I was a git."

"Was?" Ginny asked, poking him in the middle of his chest and making him laugh. "You're my git, all right?"

"And you're my brave, wonderful girl," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Don't you forget it." She kissed him, her lips wonderfully soft on his and rested her head back down on his shoulder. "I saw your stag."

"Yeah? Where?"

"In the clearing. We'd had a little battle, Cornelius and me, and I when I won it, this stag came bounding through. Gave me a bit of a start."

"Interesting. Maybe I will get that tattoo."

"I know just where you should put it," Ginny whispered, sliding her hand down to rest on his hip.