They had no idea how much time passed before Hermione and Severus entered the room. They immediately stunned the two remaining guests. While Severus studied the scene, Hermione summoned her Patronus to alert Poppy. The mediwitch tended to the shocked members of the Order, and Severus and Hermione went to work. Kneeling besides one of the financial contacts the Order was supposed to partner with, they touched both sides of his head. They kept murmuring to each other, their eyes closed, until the frozen man between them gasped. Nodding to each other, they repeated the process with the second guest. Both men were silent when they left via the Floo.
"What did you do to them?" growled Remus, his voice a warning that the wolf was ready to attack. Severus raised his left hand open, showing the werewolf he had no intention to attack him or his mate. He explained, "They'll wake up in two days, and will remember that the three of them left here with a deal in place. They'll have a strong distaste that should prevent them from reaching out to their missing partner for a few extra days. If we play it well, we might be able to make them believe death eaters killed him. They could stop funding the dark lord..."
Kingsley offered, his baritone voice accusatory,"'Killing two birds with one stone' type of deal…
Where is she? Where is Ginny Weasley"
Hermione shook her head. "None of us know. That's probably better that way." She looked down at the group, and her eyes grazed the broken marble on the floor, still shining with pearly dust. "But if you know what I think you know, I'm sure you don't want to find her right now, Kings."
Tonks huffed, one unsteady hand scratching her neck. "Maybe to lend her a hand... I need a shower. And a fire. Maybe something to kill. Let's go, Remus. I can't be with people right now." Both left, soon followed by most of the Order. Poppy left each of them with reassuring words, a couple of potions, and a promise to follow-up.
Ginny was an hour long gone when Draco and Harry finally joined the scene, stuck in a herbology class. Hermione told them everything they needed to know in one simple sentence. "Ginny met one of the men who hurt her."
She didn't need to say more. Harry kneeled near Arthur, who sat on the floor like a ragdoll. Draco remained straight, losing himself in his own mind for a bit. Like Hermione or Severus, he had seen enough of the dark Lord to know what Ginny experienced. But the rest of the Order, even Harry, was so light. They hadn't known before. And now that they had, he feared his red love would be rejected by her friends and family. He took a look at Arthur and Bill, searching for signs of disgust. When he couldn't identify any sneer like the ones his father would give him, he started listening to their whispers. The anger that arose in them. If he knew anything about the Weasley temper, the second rapist would be found and killed before year end. In all the murder scheme and the plotting, Draco couldn't help but smile. Draco and Harry were Ginny's family. But the Weasleys were too. He made a note to send some flowers to Molly Weasley to show the respect the matriarch deserved.
Once everyone left but the Furies, Harry turned to Hermione. "I can see you're concerned Hermione, spill it. You can't tell me you're against Gin's decision to get that fucker out of there."
The brunette shook her head, appalled. "Of course not! But she used the memory dust on her family. I'm concerned she'll be too ashamed to come back."
"Are you concerned about the plan? I'm sure we can handle the rest without her," offered Draco, cleaning imaginary dirt from his nails. "Or are you concerned about your friend?"
"Don't you ever lecture me on how I feel, Malfoy! I'm concerned about Ginny of course! And I'll have you know that we both made sure that everyone is replaceable in the plan. Including her and myself. Including Harry. Don't question my loyalty to her OR to the plan."
Severus put his hand on Hermione's shoulder, hoping to soothe her. "We're all worried right now, but lashing at each other won't help much. She'll definitely laugh at you two for getting angry at each other. Because she'll be back...She has enough here worth coming back."
With Ginny's golem impersonating her, her absence would remain unknown at school. The best thing they could do was to wait for her to show up. They left for their respective houses soon after.
-o0o-
Four days later, Ginny knocked at Severus' door. She found both Severus and Hermione having tea after dinner. They ushered her in their chambers, Hermione taking her hand to guide her to the bathroom and get rid of the caked blood all over her body.
After a long shower and a light meal, Ginny eventually opened. "Thank you, for giving me the opportunity to turn this page." She paused. "I went too far. I enjoyed it too much." Raising her eyes to meet Hermione's, she nodded. "It's time we try the potion. We've tested it as much as we can. I can't live like that, it's pulling me down."
Hermione looked at her attentively. She saw the dark circles under her friend's eyes. She understood. "Let's prepare."
When they asked who she wanted there, she only asked for Draco and Harry. Both men entered the room and immediately surrounded her with their warmth. Hermione and Severus slipped from their chambers to the potion lab, giving the triad some privacy.
"How are you doing, Red?" Draco asked."Gave this asshole a good ride?" She smiled, and he kissed her hair. "I'm glad to have you back. The Chosen One was starting to behave horridly..."
"Hey!" Harry defended himself. "Wait until I tell Gin about the fight you had with Hermione."
Their attempt at banter was cut by the redhead. "The darkness, it's eating me slowly, I need it to stop... I'm going to take the potion."
Harry asked, "Are you sure it's safe?"
"As sure as we can be," Ginny's breath shuddered. "I used the dust because I didn't want to waste time explaining or fighting. I didn't want to take a chance. And the first two days I spent with him, it didn't matter. But then I realized what I did. To my parents. To Remus and Tonks. And I also realized I'm not the same person anymore. I don't want to die. Not now that I know what could be. You two, Hermione & Severus. My family. Even the rest of the Order. But it must be done".
Harry slowly put his arms around her, "You better make it, Gin. I can't wait until the three of us can be free."
Draco squeezed her hand, kissing his favorite spot in the middle of her wrist. "Accept our promise, for when you come back."
Soon, the comforting embrace became heated. Ginny found herself with her back pressed in Draco's chest, his hands roaming towards her breasts. He pinched her right nipple and left a trail of kisses down her neck. "Let's remind Red why she should come back, Harry." She moaned and lost herself to both men.
It took them hours to get satiated on each other's bodies. She watched her boys taking each other first, and came on her own fingers. Soon, they joined her, and Harry proved he could make miracles with his tongue, whether on Draco's cock or on Gin's clit. Later that night, they both took her at the same time, making her delirious with the most intense orgasm of her life.
Now, both Draco and Harry were asleep. Ginny, eyes wide open, left the bed. Harry sighed before snuggling to Draco, and the view made Ginny smile. She approached the desk. Gathering a stack of paper, she started writing her goodbyes.
.
She was back in the men's arms when Hermione woke them up. She gave Harry the stack of letters and followed Hermione to the infirmary. There, Severus was waiting in a warded room, a glass of potion in his hand. Ginny nodded to Poppy in the corner of the room, ready to intervene if necessary. She felt stronger with her first ally in the room, and accepted the potion.
"We'll be there when you wake up,"said Harry.
Ginny drank, anxious. She closed her eyes, ready for the potion to take effect like it had done countless times with the test subjects... After a minute, she opened her eyes.
"Shit, it's not working. Maybe if we swapped-"
She never ended her sentence, already on the floor. She screamed at the sudden pain in her head. She only saw Hermione and Severus rushing to her side when everything went black.
