"It's finished," Snape said quietly. Draco looked up quickly.

"What do we have to do?" he asked. Snape arched an eyebrow at him as he poured the potion into a vial with experienced hands.

"Open her mouth. I'm going to pour it down her throat a little at a time. You're going to have to sit her up occasionally to make sure that she doesn't choke on it."

"And you're sure that this is going to work?" Ron asked. Snape shot him a severe look, and Ron's face flushed. He watched as Snape moved to stand in front of Draco. The blonde boy raised Ginny up and held her gently as Snape poured some of the brew into her mouth. A tiny trail of purplish liquid dribbled down the side of her mouth and over her chin.

Everyone was wise enough to stay silent while Snape worked, even though it was a painstaking effort to have to do so. He was a very patient man, however, and it was clear that he was in no hurry to administer the remedy. Draco watched Ginny's face intently for any sign of movement, or any other indication that she was waking up. After several minutes of nothing, he began to despair. He remained quiet until Snape had finished giving Ginny the entire amount of potion that had been in the vial.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" he asked.

"The potion doesn't act immediately," Snape said, his voice toneless. It was as close to sympathy as Draco would get, and he seemed to sense it. "It has to spread through her system and counteract the draft she was given earlier. As you may remember," he said dryly, "Miss Granger was a competent potions student. I expect that her draft was very potent." Draco nodded and turned his eyes back to Ginny.

"And now I guess we wait," Pansy said, leaning against Ron for support.

"And now we wait," Ron agreed, resting his head against hers. Narcissa eyed the couple thoughtfully, marveling at how at ease they seemed with each other. Then again, Pansy had always had an easygoing personality. She hadn't known Ron long enough to gauge whether his personality was similar to Pansy's, but so far they appeared to be alike enough.

"Why don't we all go have some tea and scones?" Narcissa suggested. "There's no telling when she'll wake up, and I'm sure Draco will want to be alone with her when she does." Draco shot her a grateful look, and she stood. "Come, now. We can't do her any good by just sitting here and moping."

"You're absolutely right," Lucius said, nodding. "And I believe I'd like a glass of brandy right about now. Severus, would you care to join me?" Snape stood without nodding or speaking.

"You'll call when she wakes up, right?" Ron asked Draco uncertainly. Draco nodded.

"I will."

"Then scones sound good to me," Ron said, standing. He reached for Pansy's hand and helped her to her feet.

"Me, too." She offered him a sympathetic smile, and he squeezed her hand. Narcissa smiled at them, and then left the room, heading for the dining room. One by one they all filed out, until Draco was left alone with Ginny.

He held her hand and stroked it gently with his fingertips as he stared at her face. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought her simply to be asleep. Her face was peaceful and showed no signs of anything negative. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand again before smiling weakly at her.

"You know," he said quietly. "I never thought in a million years that I could care about anyone so much. It feels strange to see you like this; I'm so used to you laughing and talking to me. I can't wait to have you do that again, even if it is just to call me a prat." He chuckled to himself, and was startled when warm fingers tried to squeeze his hand. He looked up in surprise to see her eyelids fluttering.

He let go of her hand and jumped up, moving closer. Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked them in rapid succession. After several long moments, she shifted her eyes to look at Draco. A smile spread across his face, and he gathered her up gently in his arms. "Oh, thank Circe," he murmured. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd lost you."

"I…" he pulled away as she tried to speak. Her throat felt raw and sore, and her voice had been little more than a raspy breath. He could see that she was still weak; her body hadn't had time to completely absorb the potion yet. She gave him a watery smile, and his heart began to swell.

"Don't ever leave me like that again," he whispered, stroking the side of her face gently. She managed to move her head a tiny bit – just enough that he knew that she was shaking her head no. He smiled and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Rest now. Everyone's here, and we'll still be here when you're able to talk." She closed her eyes and sighed softly. When he was sure she was asleep, he released her hand and moved to the parlor, where everyone else was waiting. Ron's head snapped up, and he stood quickly.

"Is she awake?"

"She was for a second, but she couldn't talk," Draco said, shaking his head.

"A natural reaction," Snape said. "She ingested a muscle relaxer, so her muscles are going to need to be woken up before she'll be able to do much of anything."

"How long will it take for her to be back to normal again?" Narcissa asked.

"A day, at the most, unless Granger brewed the potion incorrectly." Ron snorted.

"All right, Ginny's going to be fine, but what do we do about Potter now?" Draco asked, glancing around.

"I'll tell you everything I know," Ron offered. Snape looked slightly surprised. Pansy clutched Ron's arm, and Lucius watched silently. "And when Ginny wakes up, I'm sure she'll have plenty she can tell you, too."

"That's all well and good, but I mean now. I want justice for him and the Mudblood trying to wipe my future wife's memory clean!"

"You don't have to worry about Granger," Snape said silkily. Draco turned to look at him.

"Why not?"

"The spell apparently backfired. She's currently in Ward forty nine of St. Mungo's. The girl has no idea who she is." Ron's eyes widened, and Draco smirked.

"Serves them right," he murmured. "So she's taken care of."

"Draco, darling," Narcissa began, standing up. "Is there any way that I can convince you to hold off on your plans for revenge and concentrate on your wedding instead? I think that in light of recent events, we all need a little bit of joy in our lives."

"But we haven't even discussed dates," he protested, frowning.

"Your mother's right, Son," Lucius said, nodding. "Our Lord will want to be involved in whatever plans we have for the Boy Who Lived, so we may as well wait until the next time he calls us to discuss it. Plan your wedding, and be happy while you can."

"What do you mean, while I can?"

"War is approaching swiftly," Lucius said. "All of the signs are there. I think Potter has been weakened more than he realizes. He's lost both of his best friends, and he's lost his girlfriend. He is at an emotional low point right now."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ron said, shaking his head. "Hermione's loss is going to be what hurts him the most, but I wouldn't count on him being too bothered by me or Padma."

"How can losing his girlfriend not bother him?" Draco asked, looking disgusted.

"He didn't love her," Ron said.

"Then why did he date her? Weren't they pretty serious?" Pansy wondered aloud.

"He dated her because she didn't fawn over him like the other girls did."

"That's the most idiotic reason I've ever heard for the basis of a relationship," Pansy said, shaking her head. "Millicent told me that she'd heard that he was going to propose to her."

"Harry would never have married Padma. He'll never get married. I think that the only woman he ever would have been married to and been happy with was Hermione." Draco and Pansy both look startled.

"But you were engaged to her," Pansy said, confused. "Right?"

"That doesn't mean that I was ignorant to Harry's feelings for her," Ron said, shrugging. "I tried to be a lot of the time, but sometimes it was too much to ignore."

"That must have been very difficult for you to have had to deal with," Narcissa said sympathetically. Ron just shrugged again.

"Sometimes." He turned and hugged Pansy close, and Draco averted his eyes.

"I'll broach the subject with Ginny after she's been awake for a while," Draco said tiredly. Narcissa looked closely at her son. There were circles forming beneath his eyes and his clothes were rumpled. He looked exhausted.

"Darling," she said, moving closer to him. "Why don't you go back and sit by Ginevra? You can rest while you wait, and I'm sure she'd appreciate you being with her." He nodded and left the room without another word. When he was out of earshot, Narcissa frowned at her husband. "I don't know what's happened today, but Draco looks worse for it."

"He's been through a lot today, Cissa. I imagine it's been a very emotional day for him. He'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

"You know he won't get a good night's sleep, Lucius! He's going to stay awake all night, waiting for her to awaken."

"What are you suggesting, love?"

"Severus, can't you make a sleeping draught for him? A gentle one, so he can get some rest? He's going to need all of his strength when he decides to go after that boy, and if I know my son, he will go after him, sooner than later."

"Not without us, he won't," Ron said.

"It's nice that you want to help him," Narcissa said, smiling gently. "But I know how he is, and when he goes, he will do it alone."

"She's right," Lucius said. No one could mistake the pride in his voice for anything else as he spoke. "Draco's a determined young man. Nothing can stop him from getting what he wants."

"He won't be able to get to Harry alone," Ron protested. "He'll need to know the wards and protective spells that Harry has around him!"

"Was Potter stupid enough to share that information?" Lucius asked, surprised.

"Potter is foolish enough to do anything that he thinks he can get away with," Snape remarked coolly.

"I know more than Harry thinks I do. I know secret ways to get inside the Ministry, I know how to get inside his flat, and I know how to get inside Hermione's flat."

"Granger's flat," Pansy repeated thoughtfully. Her face brightened. "She might have had some sort of information there, right? I mean, you did say that you saw some work files once. Maybe she has some more there!"

"Surely the Ministry has eradicated anything like that from her home," Lucius said.

"I don't know," Ron said, shaking his head. "They're really overworked right now, and shorthanded, to boot. It's possible that there's still some stuff there, unless Harry's gone through and gotten it all."

"Potter hasn't gone to Granger's home," Snape said. "He's been holed up inside the Minstry since the incident this afternoon. He's been in secret meetings with the Minister almost all day."

"Figures," Ron said, frowning.

"So why don't you and I head over there?" Pansy suggested. "You can counter the wards and we can look around."

"Sounds like a plan. When will you be ready to leave?"

"Right now." Before they could move, however, Lucius grabbed his forearm in pain. Snape winced, and Pansy gasped. Ron's eyes widened slightly.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"We have to go," Pansy explained quickly. They watched as Lucius and Snape disapparated, and Narcissa knew that her son was most likely gone as well. She headed towards Ginny's room, intent on staying with her until her son returned to his post.

"Take me with you."

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do? There's no going back after it's done."

"I'm ready." Pansy could only nod as she gripped Ron's hand and disapparated.

"Granger spent too much time organizing," Pansy complained, rifling through a file cabinet in Hermione's living room. Ron gave her a wry smile.

"Be thankful that she was so organized – because she was, she made things easy for us to find. We'd better hurry though, and get what we need, before Harry thinks to come back here."

"You're a bit late for that," a voice came from the doorway. Ron's head shot up, and Pansy's eyes widened at the sight of a very angry Harry Potter in the flat with them. "Looks like we had the same idea, doesn't it?"

"No, I'd say it looks like we had totally different ideas," Ron said edgily. He moved in front of Pansy, blocking her from Harry's reach with the wand. Harry arched an eyebrow at him.

"Don't tell me that this is why you left Hermione," he said. Ron shook his head.

"She's not."

"Ron, what's really going on here?" Harry asked, lowering his wand slightly. "I know you're mad at me over your sister, but come on! Look at all the trouble she's caused! Did you know that she hurt Hermione, or do you even care anymore?"

"My sister didn't hurt Hermione," Ron said defensively. "Hermione brought it on herself! She tried to use a spell on my sister, and it backfired on her! She had to know there was a chance of that before she did it. What I can't figure out is how you convinced her to do it." Harry's cheeks turned red.

"Me? What makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

"I know Hermione, Harry, and I know you. I know Hermione would never have dreamed of attacking a friend unless you somehow talked her into it. That's how you always got us; you decided something, and then made it seem like the only logical way to get what we wanted was how you'd suggested it."

"You're twisting things," Harry said, shaking his head. "I'm not manipulative."

"You are! If anyone should have guilt over Hermione's current condition, it should be you. She was just fine when I left her. Sad and angry, yes; but at least she still knew who she was." Harry's mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Don't talk about her like that." Ron shook his head disbelievingly.

"If you really loved Hermione, you wouldn't have put her in harm's way by asking her to do what you did. You were perfectly all right with the fact that Ginny could have been reduced to a shell of her former self, but when it comes to Hermione, you blame me."

"It's your fault," Harry accused, stepping closer. Pansy instinctively grabbed onto Ron's arm, and Harry's eyes narrowed. "She's a Death Eater, Ron. How can you be with her and know that she's a Death Eater?" Without speaking, Ron held out his left arm and rolled the sleeve up. Harry's eyes fell on his freckled skin, and he gasped.

There, on the underside of Ron's left forearm, was the Dark Mark.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "No. It can't be." Ron calmly rolled his sleeve back up and leveled a calculated glare at Harry.

"You drove me to it, Harry. How does it feel, knowing that you're responsible for me and Hermione, hmm?" Harry stared at him.

"You know that this makes us enemies," Harry said quietly.

"We were enemies before this happened," Ron said coolly. "Pansy, go back. I'll be right behind you." Pansy didn't question him; she was gone in a moment.

"That was very stupid of you," Harry said, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. "Now you're alone."

"No, you're alone, Harry. No one to catch you when you fall. And make no mistake about it – you will fall."

"Carrying a family grudge a bit far, aren't you?"

"Hypocrite." Harry cocked his head slightly.

"Interesting choice of words." He pointed his wand at Ron's heart. "You know, if I used an Unforgivable Curse on a Death Eater, I wouldn't be convicted for it."

"You would for me," Ron said, his frown smoothing out into a smirk. "Because I've gotten a new sort of mark. As soon as my heart stops beating, it disappears. You'd never be able to prove I had it." Harry's confident look faltered for a moment.

"You're lying."

"Care to try it and see?" Harry didn't move. "I thought not. Well, as fun as this has been, Harry, I have to be checking on my sister. Let's do this again sometime, shall we?" With that, he disapparated. Harry threw his wand down in frustration and kicked the sofa.

Now the count of people he'd lost was up to four – Padma, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. Who would be the next to desert him?