Chapter 27

1 Conversations with Hogwarts were, as things stood, one-on-one through the fireplace. That was a little tiresome, but better than nothing – especially since for half a decade, everyone on the outside had thought that everyone on the inside was dead. In any case, Ron, after gathering his co-conspirators, told Harry about the options being considered by Callidora's camp and McGonagall's. Harry told Ron about what his group was planning. They all decided they'd debate the three options and then hold a vote.

Hermione didn't much care to overrule McGonagall, so she tried getting everyone to agree to include her, but – as the idiom went – no cigar.

McGonagall, Ron told Harry, was set on sealing off Hogwarts and leaving everyone else to their own fate.

That didn't seem fair to Hermione, who was already annoyed at the weird way of communicating – the seal allowed nothing else – and detested having to take a back seat, especially now as the end was drawing closer.

Wow, didn't that sound ominous?

The assessment of McGonagall's plan was not entirely correct, either, as anyone with the ability to do so could still Apparate inside the seal until that gateway was closed. The problem was that most witches and wizards on the outside didn't know this. Well, that was one of the problems. Another one was that the longer they waited, the closer Perseus Selwyn got to finding a way inside. Also, most places had large-scale magic suppressors keeping witches and wizards from doing much of anything.

In any case, Ron's entire group, which consisted of him, his only living brother plus wife, Pansy Parkinson, Callidora Selwyn, and Theo Nott voted not to include McGonagall, because none of them liked her plan.

Callidora had Ron tell Harry tell Hermione that if Hermione tried to contact the Headmistress despite their veto, any deal would be off.

Hermione told Harry to tell Ron to tell Callidora to kiss it.

Harry then said, "She says she won't," and that was that.

Both groups had given each other an hour to decide. It would be a majority vote, and they would all abide by it.

"You have to admit, it's funny that I'm here stuck with the goodie-two-shoes Gryffindors, and Weasley is over there stuck with the axis of evil," Draco said, as they were yet again gathered around the fireplace, debating.

"Goodie-two-shoes?" Daphne said, furrowing her brow. Even though her wound had been mended yesterday, she still looked a little shaken.

"Got that from one of the Muggle books in Bexhill," Draco said. "Fitting, don't you think?"

Daphne only gave him a tired, yet genuine smile.

They were family, after all.

"We were both not Gryffindors," Rolf said, suppressing a yawn, and pointed at himself and Luna. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was exceedingly pale. Small wonder, really.

Draco didn't miss a beat. "Gryffindors and the coalition of sunshine, then. It's still kind of hilarious if you think about it."

At least the storm was on its way to subsiding.

Hermione, who was leaning against the marble windowsill, tried to glare at him but couldn't. Instead, she snickered. When everyone gave her astounded looks, she shrugged, tried wiping hair behind her ears that wasn't there anymore, and said, "It is funny. He's right."

"So you keep telling us," Harry said. He was standing by the fireplace, trying to wipe soot from his glasses but only smearing them worse.

Wordlessly, Ginny plucked the glasses from his hands and cleaned them on the sleeves of her jumper before handing them back.

Draco, leaning against the other side of the fireplace, arms crossed, cracked a radiant smile. It even managed to look honest. "Hey, show our resident genius and future saviour here some respect."

Harry didn't even look at him. "Shut up, Malfoy. I'm not in the mood."

Thankfully, Draco just shrugged in response before locking eyes with Hermione again. "Back on topic, then. Gotcha. Well, I have to reluctantly admit, Potter's gut is usually right, so maybe we should listen to his seat-of-the-pants school of magicking."

This time, everyone raised their eyebrows at him.

Daphne, occupying the frayed old armchair left of the sofa Luna and Rolf were sitting on, cracked a smile. "If I tell you I feel like a proud mummy, will you chuck something at my head?"

He only winked at her.

Harry, glasses readjusted, gave him a mistrustful sideways look. "Don't mess with me. Not now."

"I'm not." When he saw the expression on Harry's face, Draco laughed – honest-to-goodness laughed. "Seriously! I'm telling the truth, here. Crikey, Potter. Have some faith in your fellow wizards, will you? I saved your sorry arse once before. Wasn't that enough?"

It was obvious that Harry had to fight to bite back a nasty reply, but to his credit, he did. "Whatever." He focussed on Hermione. "I think our plan is still the best bet, especially now that we know wizards can get into the seal but not out."

"There's always a way out, though," Luna said, thoughtful, solemn.

"Right now, there isn't," Harry countered, and wiped his grimy hands on his jeans. Those had seen better days, anyway, so a little ash didn't make things any worse. "We don't know exactly what Selwyn wants, but we can guess pretty well: he wants to be able to use magic. That's why he wanted to get into the Ministry. That's why he'll take the bait when we give him the chance to get inside the seal – at least make him believe that that's the case."

"What he wants, if that's even it," Ginny said, frowning. Young as she was, there were already worry lines etched into the pale skin of her face. They did not make her any less beautiful, but they were a testament to the hardships she'd already faced. "May not ever be possible. Some of us were thinking about dealing with this issue, you know, isolating what even causes someone to be a magic user or not. But before anything tangible could come about, everything started going to hell. Selwyn may have sabotaged himself by doing what he did. If he'd been more patient, we might have come around to figuring out how to fix this problem."

"To be fair, wizarding society has been this way for God knows how long, and nobody ever gave a damn," Harry said, giving her a sideways look. "Neither did I, and I grew up with Muggles. We were all so focussed on magical children coming from Muggle families. None of us bothered to care about the opposite situation. If I were him, I'd be pissed off, too."

"That may be so," Hermione said, "but neither of us would have installed a dictatorship and committed genocide just because we got treated like dirt."

"Harry is right, though," Luna said. She was looking into the crackling fire, looking rather relaxed despite everything. "We need to acknowledge our own mistakes. Only then will we be able to connect with Selwyn, by feeling empathy…and that's how we fool him."

"I still think getting him into Hogwarts is too dangerous," Draco said, a lot less la-dee-da than he'd been just an instant ago. "Seat-of-the-pants – and thank our kind Muggle overlords for that one, too – notwithstanding, do you really not think that it's too risky?"

"It's what he wants," Harry said. "This guy is smart. He'll see us coming from ten miles away. He needs to believe that he's won."

"Won't that mean that he has?" Daphne said, exchanging a look with her brother-in-law.

"That's the risk we need to take." Harry wiped sweat from his forehead, leaving a greyish streak of ash behind. "It's the only way we can defeat him. He has to believe that he's won."

"But we don't actually get him inside the seal, do we?" Draco said, giving everyone a frown, settling on Hermione. "We only make him think that. Because it's too dangerous."

There was a small silence.

Harry broke it. "No, we don't actually get him into Hogwarts. We only make him think that. It's our risk, but he needs to take some risks, too, if he wants to win this war. If we manage to trap him, we won't reverse history or anything, but we'll at least put a stop to the horror outside. If McGonagall still wants to seal off Hogwarts and Hogsmeade completely, then let her, but if we defeat Selwyn, then that won't be necessary."

"This isn't chess, though, is it?" Rolf said, rubbing at his pallid temple as if he were in pain. "Checkmate, all the other pieces fall. The apparatus will still be there. The damage will still have been done. Theo Nott is a repulsive racist, but he's also a genius. I'd rather go with his invention."

"If we change time, we could make everything worse," Hermione heard herself saying, even though she felt as if she were watching a movie instead of controlling her own body. She was lighter than just an hour ago – almost light-headed, as a matter of fact. The pain in her back, shoulders, and neck was still there, but it didn't seem to matter much at the moment.

Ron was alive and well. His cancer was gone. He was safe inside the seal. There was no more need to fear for him…

…or to feel guilty for leaving him behind. He would be okay. He was okay.

She did her best to focus on the moment and said, "I know that this is hyperbole, but worst-case scenario? We end the world. But what we will do is keep the children who were born in the meantime from existing. That's a fact. We cannot possibly predict how we'll end up altering the future or even just our present. That's not something I want to risk. We don't even know what kind of rules this type of time travel would follow. It's too dangerous."

"What, and our half-baked plan isn't?" Daphne said, the earlier smile completely wiped from her face. She half-turned to face Hermione. "The odds of us succeeding are slim at best. It was gonna be a last resort, but we have alternatives, now. We could all just Apparate to safety…or" – She looked at Draco again – "we could stop this thing from ever starting. We could get back everyone who died."

"You don't know that." That was Luna. "We don't know whether we'll save anyone. That's the point Hermione was trying to make. There are no certainties. While I'll help if we vote to go through with Harry's suggestion, I really believe the safest course of action would be to minimise risk – maybe not the best, but definitely the safest."

Ginny, who'd been sitting to Harry's left on a kitchen chair, stood up, crossed her arms, and shook her head. "No. While I'm sceptical about the time travel plot – especially since Theo Nott isn't the most trustworthy person around" – This earned her an eyeroll from Draco – "I can't believe sealing ourselves off is any better. Someone as clever as Perseus Selwyn will eventually find a way inside. He's not a Muggle, remember? That makes anything and anyone connected to magic vulnerable. We can't risk that."

For a moment, nobody said anything.

It was Draco who broke the silence. "Why not combine two of the plans?"

"How do you mean?" Ginny leaned forward a bit in order to frown at him better.

Once again, he shrugged. "We go through with our original plan. If it works, brilliant. If it doesn't, Theo, Pansy, and the others can still go back in time and kill the sorry little bastard."

Everyone stared at him, stunned.

At length, Harry, of all people, said, "That's actually a good suggestion. We should do that."

Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder. "Harry…"

"No, I mean it. I still believe our plan is the best, but all of you are right. It might fail. If it does, we'll have a failsafe. Look" – He added this last bit quickly, anticipating protest – "we're in a world of trouble. Everything is going to hell. Whatever we do is an act of desperation, anyway, but two crazy schemes are better than one."

"All right," Hermione heard herself saying again, wondering whether she shouldn't ask for more time to think this through. There was none, though. This was it. Their prospects were either better now than they had been before Harry's talk with Ron (he was fine! He was safe!), or they were all headed toward the final cataclysm that would wipe everything out…or anything in between. The point was, there was no way of knowing, no other variables to think of, no more wiggle room. So, screw it. "I agree with both of you. Let's put it to a vote. Who thinks we should try what Draco and Harry suggested?"

Something about the way she phrased that made both Harry and Ginny give her curious looks, but neither said anything.

Everyone except Luna and Rolf raised their hands.

"Fantastic!" Draco said cheerily and clapped his hands together. "Potter, please do the honours. Oh, and pass along a hearty and well-intentioned hullo to my dear friends Pansy and Theo, will you? Though, to be honest, Theo was never really my friend at all. Too sinister." He was riding his own high, it seemed. Didn't even matter if that was a healthy thing or not. Right now, that didn't matter a single bit. At least he was energetic and not morose, sitting in a corner, paralysed by fear and grief…like they all had for far too long.

They still needed to hammer out the details, but that wouldn't be a problem. They got the proverbial ball rolling. This whole affair was about to come to an end…

…finally.

2 The funny thing was, when Potter called again – and the entire group of conspirators was gathered there: Ron and his family, Callidora, Theo – he suggested the same thing that they had already agreed on. Draco's group would go through with their crazy strategy, whilst Theo kept working on the Time Turner. Both plans were haphazard and could very well crash and burn, but at least they weren't giving up. They weren't just hiding and pretending that the rest of the world didn't concern them. No, this was them, fighting back, after they'd spent five years cowering in fear of a squib with delusions or grandeur.

Okay, maybe Pansy should not be this arrogant.

The squib in question had crushed Wizarding Britain (maybe the rest of the world, too) firmly under his bootheel and had managed to wipe out most of the witches and wizards in his path.

Their decision made and the fireplace call ended, Pansy got up to leave what she called the Weasley Loft, when Ron shot to his feet, smeared some soot across his forehead in an attempt to wipe off sweat, and said, "Going outside? I'll come along. I could use the fresh air."

That was a tad weird, but one look at him told her that he had something important to say. Better not to draw any attention to herself or him. "Yeah, I was. Tag along, then. Theo? Callidora?"

Theo shook his head, tried to uncrumple his shirt in vain, then said, "No, I need to get back to work."

"I'll go with him," Callidora said, smiling that slick, emotionless smile of hers. She still looked pale, and her eyes were still a bit reddened, but her hair was clean and her clothes impeccable. This was a woman with a façade of steel. Whatever one might think of her, one had to give credit where credit was due. "Make sure he doesn't do something reckless."

"Okay, then." Ron, who was wearing clothes a little too big for him, pulled the sleeves of his robes over his bony hands, said to his brother, "I'll be back in a moment," and then followed the others outside.

Theo and Callidora went one way, Pansy and Ron another – toward the main entrance.

Once the other two were out of earshot, and Pansy was sure nobody else was around – the kiddies were all in their Houses, the younger ones with their families – she said, "Spit it out, son, before your head explodes. Your face is almost as red as your hair."

Walking to her right, he looked at his dusty fingers and heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, I actually wanted to ask if you think Nott or Callidora might be planning to use the Time Turner to help Voldemort win or something equally terrible."

She stopped so abruptly, he walked past her two steps before he realised what had happened.

He turned to give her a sheepish look and jammed his hands in the pockets of his trousers. "I know it sounds dumb, and I know that Nott said whoever used the Time Turner would only be able to change one thing, but I don't trust him. I trust Callidora even less…didn't even before we found out the main villain is her twin brother."

To be perfectly honest, Pansy didn't know whether to be annoyed at Ron for his persistent dislike of Theo or to be flattered by his growing trust in her. She settled for starting to walk again.

Without missing a beat, Ron fell into step with her.

In a quiet tone, she said, "Theo has said and done some shady things, true, but he's really bad at lying. Callidora? Sure. I wouldn't put anything past her, either. Not Theo, though. If he says you can only change one thing, then that's it. Trust me on this. I know him."

For a moment, they kept on walking in silence, the sound of their steps on the stone floor bouncing off the thick walls.

As they reached the stairs leading to the main entrance, he cleared his throat and said, "I do. Wouldn't be here if I didn't."

Little later, they were outside. It was cool, but not really cold. The stars were out. The air was clear. All in all, not a bad haul, as Pansy's mother used to say.

Mother was dead, though, shot to pieces by Muggles – like Dad.

They stopped only a few steps away from the castle. It was dark, but one could easily discern the lake. It was mirroring starlight.

Her mouth was dry, her stomach churning. Suddenly cold, she crossed her arms. "Can I tell you something awful?" She half expected him to tell her to sod off or to – which would be worse – ask why, but he didn't.

Instead, he said, "I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"You go first," she said, staring ahead at the shimmering yet black surface of the lake.

"Okay." He cleared his throat again. "I don't want Hermione and the others to go through with their plan. I want to go back in time, kill that sorry piece of shit, and make all of this unhappen. It's awful, and I won't say anything to the others…that'd be rotten. But it's what I want. My mum. My dad. My brothers. Most of my friends. Our world. Everyone's dead. Everything's dead, and in here, we're just waiting to be killed, too. And I spent years" – He drew a shaky breath – "sick. I don't want to remember that. I don't want that to ever have happened. Am I supposed to just sit around here, hoping that we're safe, knowing nothing lasts forever? Screw that. I can't." He looked down at his feet. "I just can't."

She couldn't decide whether she should have a giggling fit or just start bawling like an infant. The sound that actually came out of her mouth was something in between. She shook her head and said, "Yeah. Something like that." A short moment later, she added, "You know, Weasley, you're not half unbearable…for a Gryffindor."

He chortled. "Finally! After all these years, my work is done."

"Hm," she made, and snickered. "Hey, do you think there's any way we could actually create a world that doesn't make people like you and people like me distrust each other from childhood?"

"I don't know," he said, and shrugged. "But know what? I think we're doing all right. Harry and Hermione have teamed up with Malfoy, and you and me…" He trailed off, scratched his neck. "Well."

"Yes," she said, smiling a little, and briefly glanced at him. "Like I said: friends with a Gryffindor. Ugh."

"The worst, right?"

"The fucking worst."

That was enough, too. Everything else was understood.

At least she felt that way.

3 Now that everything was decided, nobody wanted to lose any more time, especially seeing as Selwyn was probably already anticipating a move on their part. He, most likely, was working on whatever the endgame was. They agreed that they should leave the next morning. Daphne, Harry, and Ginny would provide the first distraction, Luna and Rolf the second.

Hermione and Draco would trap Selwyn. They'd convince him that he had caught them, that they would get him into the seal around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade without trapping him there.

The logical choice, she'd told Harry, who hadn't liked this one bit, is this: you go and do what you have to, Draco and I do our part together. It'll not be what Selwyn expects.

Honestly, I don't understand why you have to take him along and not Ginny, Harry had replied sourly.

Maybe she just doesn't want Draco with you because you'd argue all the time, Luna had opined.

He could go with you, Luna.

Wouldn't it be bad if we handed him Hermione and Weasley at the same time? Draco had thrown in. If this goes sideways and the little shit has two of our dauntless heroes – not to mention ruddy geniuses – then we're really in a fix.

That was when Ginny had intervened, saying, This debate is pointless. They've worked together before, Harry, and made a good team. If Hermione says this is the logical choice, then it's the logical choice. Now, let's all get some sleep. We're gonna need it.

End of story. One more mission to accomplish, and this story would be finished, for good or evil.

Finally, this was all going to end.

4 The next morning, they all went their separate ways. Getting to the nearest Muggle town wasn't hard. Not all of them had portable magic suppressors, but that didn't really matter – at least that was Hermione's hope. After all, Selwyn clearly wanted them to come to him, so why waste resources trying to root them out? That wouldn't make any sense. Still, they needed to be convincing, so everyone who had a magic suppressor switched it on and endured the discomfort. With what little Muggle money Hermione had left, they all bought their respective bus tickets and headed on their journeys – the last one in this adventure, no matter how this story would end.

That, at least, was a certainty.

"What we really need to do," Hermione said, as she did her best not to scratch her arms, her neck, her face – well, everything. Having the activated magic suppressor back in her pocket was more than just an inconvenience. It bordered on torture. "Is to get Selwyn into the seal – not just pretend, but actually do it. Nothing else will work."

Draco, who sat to her right, looking out the dust-streaked window onto the road with a gloomy expression on his face, creased his forehead. After briefly checking whether any of the few other passengers were listening in (none seemed to be), he shifted his weight on the creaky seat and gave her an irritated look. "Haven't we been over this at length? Callidora Selwyn said that if that's his plan, he knows how to protect himself. This is, in all likelihood, what he wants. We can't actually go that far, or everyone is dead. What if he activates a magic suppressor inside the seal? Then even the failsafe won't work anymore. No."

God, this itch! Hermione grabbed fistfuls of her overly large jumper. "Both he and his sister are entirely confident that he will win this. Our plan is too predictable, all the twists and turns notwithstanding. So, what if we do what neither of them expects?"

"Which is?"

"What they want. We give both of them exactly what they want."

His expression went from annoyed to confused. "Break it down to idiot level, please, because I don't get it. How the hell is that any different from just giving up? And in what universe do both of them want the same thing?"

She barely kept herself from chewing on her own lips out of sheer desperation. They were chapped and frayed enough already. The air was stuffy in here, too, wasn't it? Stuffy and stale. "He probably wants to get into Hogwarts to miraculously activate his magic genes or something of the sort. That's probably what he wants Ginny for, who's the only person alive who ever even thought about researching this field. His sister wants to stop him."

"Yes. In the past."

Great, now her eyeballs were itching, too. Seriously. Why was she handling herself so poorly this time around? Had to be psychosomatic. Not that that helped. An itch was an itch was an itch oh God. "What if, instead of trying to defeat him, we try to save him, instead?"

Colour drained from his face. His pupils narrowed. He tensed up, backed away. "Fuck off. He killed thousands of us. He killed Astoria. My parents."

Even though she'd expected this reaction, it was a bit like being slapped. "Hear me out, please. It's just a ruse, but a good one. Everyone needs to think we've given up and that we finally understand that we've brought this on ourselves – including Harry and the others. It won't be enough to get rid of him. We need him to dismantle his organisation. If we cooperate, none of that will be necessary anymore. As for Callidora: she doesn't want to kill her twin. She loves him. That's why she wants to turn back time so badly, herself. I don't care what anyone says, I got to know her a little over the past five years. She's not made of ice. If she can save her brother, she will."

Even though he still didn't look entirely convinced, he relaxed his posture somewhat. "And then we kill him."

She thought of their showdown in the Ministry, of the terrible sound of a gun firing, of how she had sat next to Draco at the edge of the stormy seas as he mourned his mother. She thought of Molly and Arthur Weasley, who'd given their lives to save their remaining children. Hell, she didn't even know what had become of her own parents. Curtly, she nodded. "Yes. But no-one can know until it's too late – no-one. The only chance we have is to risk literally everything. We need to bank on Selwyn's desire to be able to perform magic. He won't turn off magic inside the seal. He'll bring insurance, sure, but the bait is too tasty. That's how we get him. That's how we kill him."

Finally, his expression softened, too. "I know from experience that you are capable of many things, Hermione, but cold murder? No."

"Didn't I tell you the exact same thing not too long ago?"

He scratched his neck, readjusted his hat. "Seems like an eternity. And you were right then. But in the meantime, I caved that man's skull in, remember?"

"Because you had to. And that's exactly my point: we can…if we have to."

Arching an eyebrow, he said, in a quiet tone, "Well, isn't that a one-eighty? But I approve. Theoretically, this might work. Everything we do is a long shot, anyway. We actually go behind the others' backs. We give Selwyn access to that thing that's never gonna work and declare him supreme leader of the universe – empathise, like Luna said, and use that empathy to our advantage. This will get Callidora Selwyn away from the Time Turner. Perseus Selwyn will call off the dogs. We kill him. Easy as pie."

It was her turn to look incredulous. "An Americanism? A Muggle Americanism? Where did you get that one?"

The corners of his mouth twitched a little. „I already told you: I had a lot of time to read in Bexhill-on-Sea, and they had American Muggle literature in their arsenal." Mirth seeped from his expression. He scratched his pale forehead, leaned back, and closed his eyes for a moment. "The problem will be keeping the twat from switching off magic inside Hogwarts. You said he won't, but we can't know that. He might promise to switch it back on once he gets what he wants. I don't want to make everything worse."

"It's a risk we have to take, but honestly? I don't think he will. He can't. There's no fixing what he wants fixed without magic, as it is inherently a magical issue. Besides, I'm still counting on his arrogance and his longing for magic powers clouding his better judgment." The bus went around a roundabout. Her stomach lurched. She pressed her lips together.

"If things don't unfold quite the way you're hoping, I do believe we're quite fucked."

Despite the nausea, despite the itching, she couldn't help but snort laughter. "It's still weird hearing you cuss."

"There are so many fascinating sides to my wonderful personality."

"I'm starting to see that." Everything was horrible, their prospects were bleak, and they were all probably going to crash and burn…and yet, she was smiling a little.

After a short period of silence, he tilted his head and looked at her sideways. "Can, uh…" He trailed off, scratched his neck, the bridge of his nose, the side of his jaw. "Can I ask you a question?"

As she was barely able to keep from scratching herself bloody, she sympathised. Still, she hoped he wasn't being affected as badly as she was. "Sure. It's not like we haven't got time."

Took him a while to spit out. Almost half a minute ticked by until he said, "Why me?"

That caught her at unawares. She straightened up. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "I mean it like I'm saying it. Why me? Why am I the chosen partner of crime and not anyone of the others? I didn't want to contradict you in front of Potter, but he did have a bit of a point."

For a minute or so, she mulled it over. "Harry and Ginny haven't gone through the same things we have. As for the others…I don't think they'd understand."

"You mean, they lack cold blood."

Slowly, she shook her head. Under her beanie, her poor scalp was on fire. "No. But I do think they can't detach themselves enough to be cold-blooded. I'm hoping that we're capable of that." She waited, but he said nothing in return. "You lost more than the rest of us in this war…those outside the seal, I mean. You understand."

At length, he said, "You're right. I do."

"Good." It was her turn to lean back and close her eyes. "Good."

5 „Why do you think Hermione wanted Malfoy to go with her to London?" Harry said, as he and Ginny were headed toward London in their own raggedy bus. "They've only been working together for a few days. Can't be that close a friendship."

Ginny, sitting to his right and looking morosely out the dust-smeared window at the busy motorway – there were three armoured Malleus Jeeps passing them by on the fast lane – shrugged. "They went through some pretty intense stuff together during these few days you're talking about, including saving each other's lives, but I think it's more than that. They've both been through the proverbial wringer, Harry. You and I have been trapped in amber for this entire time. They watched our world crumble. That means something."

"So did Rolf, Luna, and Daphne. I just don't get it. He used to call her racist names. He was a complete shit to all of us, and now, they're finishing each other's sentences?"

She shifted her weight to look at him. "You sound quite jealous."

He shook his head. "No. I just think it's odd. And did you notice she calls him Draco?"

"All of the others do that." A frown creased her brow. "Wait, are you trying to imply that there's something" – She wrinkled her nose – "going on?"

"What? No! She'd never do that." He lifted his glasses so he could rub at his sore eyes. "But it is odd, and I don't like it that she insisted on taking him with her. You're the amber expert, she is the one who can turn it back into mist. Besides, if we want to trick Selwyn, shouldn't we bait him with who he was really after? You?"

"It's too late to ask these questions now…unless you think she's up to something and recruited Malfoy because of that."

"Hermione's mind is always racing. She's always thinking ahead. What Malfoy called seat-of-the-pants magicking? Not her style. The fact that she trusts him and seems to even like him is bad enough. But what if she's planning something that she didn't want to share with us? They seemed so" – He shrugged, made a face – "conspiratorial."

A good two minutes went by during which she thought this over. Then, she took his right hand into her left, intertwined her fingers with his.

Both their hands were cold.

"Have a little faith, Harry," she said, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "That's all we have left now, you know: faith in ourselves and in each other."

He closed his aching eyes and focussed on the moment. For now, he was holding Ginny's hand, was close to one of the most important people on the planet – someone he loved beyond measure. At this moment, they might as well be the only two people in the entire universe.