A/N: this has been a long time coming. This was a very slow chapter to write, although the cliffie from the previous chap. Its sort of cleared up here. I had to get this out now… I'm going away for the week and I will not be using computers… the darling Meg Erskine Frere Albatou happens to be the Princess of a beautifully remote island in Northern Ontario, which happens to be lacking a computer, and I probably wouldn't use it even if there was one. It's my holiday. Please be kind… a patient reader is a… well, who am I kidding, I'm not a patient reader, why should you be? Anyway, my point is my fellow fic-goddesses (that is, Meg and Mereschino ) and I shall be traveling, swimming, sunning, etc and thus I shall not be present to write more in the next week. After that though… hoo boy, you'd better get ready for some action! But in the mean time, here's a snack to tide you over.

This chapter will make sense later. Don't expect too much to happen… there's some skin, though… but no action. Yet.

DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. SPOILERS!!!!!!

I have decided, mostly because I'd already written it, that a certain someone is still alive in this fic. Yes, I'm in denial. Well, he IS my favorite character! So yeah, just pretend it never happened, like I've been trying to do ever since I read the book. Or keep believing that he's coming back, like I, sad to say, don't believe will happen. But it could. You just keep believing… whatever helps you get by.

And lastly, thank-yous:

Spiritual Law (Aww… thank you! I'm always worried about becoming part of the ever-consuming crap-fic. Thanks for the reassurance!)

PERSON! (I can, I did, I'll do it again. My GOD, I'm evil!)

Meg Erskine Frere Albatou (I'm sorry hun… I had to do it! But to make up for it, I put a cute little kitty in this chapter just for you. And yes… I also want a snake.)

Sweetspontaneous (Wel, you're going to have to wait… but trust me, it's good…)

TheExecutioner (Well, now you can find out! Read on…)

Becca asry (Harry's just really overprotective… iut'll get slightly worse before it gets better. But it will get better.)

Kdalemama (I apologize profusely for the cliffie… it was necessary. Just like this one.)

Red-rose (Aw, thank you!)

Alyssa (I'm not actually formed out of pure darkness… but I wish I was. It would make my life a whole hell of a lot more interesting.)

Egami rorrim (I am also glad that you stumbled on it. I'd expect it to stay a WIP for a while, though…)

Chevy Jane (I'm sorry… allow me to rectify that fact riiiiight… now!)

Sylph Paean (JD wins the sixty-four thousand dollar question, it IS 'PoO'! Good on you. I'm glad my story reduced such a brilliant linguist to incoherent babbling.)

The Reanimated Raynor (Well, I'm honored you wish you wrote like me, but trust me, you do Not want to dance like me. It's bad… people get hurt. And… question marks?)

Talhos (Your English does NOT suck… not as much as my Spanish does, anyway!)

Willowissoraar (right now… but then I'll confuse you again…)

Thanks again, all! Enjoy, and I'll be back soon to post more. Gahd, I'm enjoying writing this fic…

Chapter 4

"Coming!" Remus Lupin started towards the front door of his house, frowning slightly at the insistent knocking. He rarely had people come to visit him, and those that came often usually didn't bother knocking at all. He opened the door. "Can I hel—" He stopped mid-sentence.

Hermione gave him an amused look. "Hello to you too," she said sardonically. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you go back to South Africa?" Hermione shrugged.

"Sort of. It's good to know you're glad to see me and all, but I really must insist that you stop making such a fuss." Remus stepped aside to let her in.

"Well, I'm glad you're here, of course. You'll have to forgive me for being a bit surprised." Hermione smiled at him.

"I'm just kidding, no worries." Remus closed the door behind her and started towards the stairs.

"Siri!" He called loudly. "Hermione's here!" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Sirius lives with you?" she asked, somewhat amused. Remus shrugged helplessly.

"He moved in before his name was cleared and just… never left." Hermione tried to stop herself from giggling.

"Whatever works for you." Suddenly Sirius appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Well well," Remus said, crossing his arms. "Look who's finally out of bed."

Sirius shot him a dirty look before turning to Hermione. "It took the world's most beautiful woman to get me here," He said, embracing her and kissing her on the cheek. Remus snorted, and Sirius stuck his tongue out at him before turning back to Hermione. "How goes it, love?" Hermione grinned. She and Sirius had always gotten along famously, despite their many, many differences.

"Ever the gentleman. I'm alright, I suppose."

"I'll make us some tea," Remus said, rolling his eyes at Sirius' antics. "You two behave. Especially you." He pointed at Sirius.

"Yes, your highness."

"Good boy."

Sirius and Hermione walked into the living room, and Hermione sat in her favorite armchair. Over the last few years of their schooling at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had often spent their free time at Remus' house. It was the only place that Harry could safely see his Godfather, who at the time was still drifting from place to place in his animagus form. The students had formed fast friendships with their adult companions, and Hermione felt almost as safe here as she did with Ginny and Harry. Sirius sat across from her on the couch.

"So, what's really going on?" He asked her, his joking exterior fading away. Hermione sighed.

"I'm not really looking forward to this," she said hesitantly, frowning. Remus had entered the room with the tea and three cups, which he set down on the table. "Maybe you should sit," Hermione said to him. Remus took a seat right beside Sirius on the couch, and then quickly slid over to the opposite side. Hermione took a deep breath.

"I think someone's trying to kill me."

There was a moment's silence. Remus was the first to speak.

"You're joking." Hermione shook her head.

"I'm afraid not."

Sirius looked pale. "Why would you think that?" He asked her disbelievingly. Hermione settled into her chair to tell the story.

"When I got to Towenaar, I was about to go into my rooms when Nuada started giving me these warnings…"

"Nuada?" Sirius asked. Remus sniffed lightly, and then looked at the sleeve of Hermione's robes.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked, not without some excitement. "Wow."

Hermione pulled up her sleeve to reveal the serpent sliding over her wrist. "He likes it there. I barely even notice him anymore." Sirius was mesmerized. Both men knew exactly what Nuada was.

"How did you get him?" Sirius asked, sounding slightly envious.

"Ginny," Hermione said, needing no further explanation. "Anyway, so Nuada starts sending me these warnings, so I cast an invisibility spell on the door, and…" she paused, catching her breath. "Sorry… it was really horrible…" Sirius reached across the coffee table and laid a hand on her arm, comfortingly. "Anyway, everything in the room was dead."

"Dead?" Remus asked. Both men looked confused.

"Yes," Hermione said quietly. "All our plants, the fish, Zuri's owl Puck. And there was a… a house-elf. In the middle of the floor."

"Oh my god." Sirius looked horrified, and Remus' brow was creased with worry. Hermione nodded sadly.

"Plus two rats, eight spiders and a gypsy moth." She shook her head. "I just passed out. Headmaster Botha told me afterwards that they'd checked the room and it had been poisoned. The entire room… the walls were coated, anyone who set foot inside that room would die almost instantly. And then I learned that Zuri had apparently told everyone—but me, that is—that she was going on a short trip to see her mother and wouldn't be back for a week or so. Which means the only person who could have possibly been entering those rooms would be me." Hermione furrowed her brow. "I'm getting worried."

"Do you have any idea who might want to do that to you?" Remus looked more than a little concerned.

"No. None."

Sirius, on the other hand, looked angry. "When I find out who—"

"Siri…" Remus said warningly. "Calm." He turned back to Hermione. "Have you told Harry, Ron or Ginny yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, and I don't intend to. Harry will think he has to go risk his life over this whole stupid thing, Ron will go nuts, and Ginny will make herself sick with worry. They can't know. That's why I came to you guys." She looked at them imploringly. "Just promise me that you'll help me dig around and find out about what's going on with this. I've got to think of a good alibi for why I'm not in South Africa so that Ginny and Harry don't start to worry when I show up on their doorstep again." Sirius and Remus both nodded.

"We'll help out in whatever way we can," Remus said.

Sirius glared. "This guy's messing with the wrong people this time." Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, guys. It means a lot to me."

"Any time, 'Mione." Sirius had gotten up and was now standing behind her chair, gripping her shoulders tightly. Remus nodded in agreement, and Hermione thought to herself that it was hard to feel threatened at all around these people. She was more comfortable with an Ex-convict and a werewolf than she was in the place she now called home. Life was definitely not as black and white as she'd once thought.

*****

It was a very surprised Harry Potter who greeted Hermione upon her return to his and Ginny's apartment.

"You're back," He said, surprised and yet not sounding all that shocked. "What's wrong?" Hermione sighed. He was already suspicious.

"Nothing's wrong," she said lightly. "I got home and Zuri'd gone away to visit her mother for a while, so I decided to come back here and visit some more with you guys. That is, if you don't mind having me."

"No. Of course we don't mind." Harry was eying her carefully. "Come on in. Ginny's at work, so it's just us for now." Hermione dragged her feet past Harry and into the living room, where she promptly sat down on the couch. "Tired?" He asked her, somewhat amused. Hermione nodded. "I'd imagine, what with all that traveling. You're internal clock must be going nuts."

Hermione shrugged. "After having used a time turner all through third year, time changes hardly seem that bad. It's more the actually travel… it's exhausting."

"So why not stay overnight in South Africa and then come back? Didn't you want to rest up?"

Hermione frowned. This was proving to be more difficult than she'd planned. "I don't know… I just decided to come right back. I wanted to get as much time in with my friends as possible." Harry shook his head.

"You're lying. I can tell. Something's up and I want to know what it is." Hermione bit her lip.

"Harry, just let it go, Okay?"

"No." He leaned forward until he was right in her face. "You're going to tell me what's going on. I know you well enough to figure out that it's pretty serious."

"Damned Aurors," Hermione muttered. "Alright. I'll tell you."

And so she told Harry the whole story, sparing none of the details. He was shocked and more than a little angry, but Hermione made him promise to hold off on trying anything until they knew more about the situation. "Please, don't do anything rash," she begged him. "And don't tell Ginny… it'll only worry her, and I don't want that."

Harry looked at her pensively. "Fine, I won't take action until we've investigated. But don't you think you owe Ginny the truth? She's a smart girl, she'll figure out that something's wrong."

Hermione frowned. "A little too smart, if you ask me. It's like she's inside my head sometimes." Harry frowned. "No. we can't tell her, not just yet. I don't want her to make a fuss about it. Some things are better left kept secret."

"I'd agree with that," Harry said quietly. "Hermione, I need to talk to you about something. It's very serious and very important."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Really. Well, go on."

"It's about Ginny. She…" Harry sighed. How to go about this without revealing too much? "She's very attached to you. I wouldn't want her getting some sort of wrong impression from all this recent attention you've been giving her."

Hermione's other eyebrow joined the first. "You're kidding, right? You can't possibly be saying what I think you're saying."

Harry sighed. "Hermione, I'm being serious. Ginny is very fragile, and she's prone to searching for love wherever she can. Don't let her believe there's any sort of chance that you two will ever be involved. I know I'm being blunt, but someone has to say it before it's too late and someone gets hurt."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, this is absolutely insane. I'm not leading Ginny on… I have a girlfriend. And even if I didn't, Ginny's straight. She's not attracted to me, she never will be. You're acting like a paranoid father, Harry. Don't be insane."

It was a while before Harry responded. "Hermione, You've been gone for over two and a half years. A lot can happen in that amount of time, and a lot has. I don't mean to undermine your friendship with Ginny, but she's changed a lot, and I've been there for those changes. You haven't. So don't act like I have no idea what I'm talking about, because I know more about it than you do."

Hermione stared wide-eyed at Harry, feeling as if the world was turning upside down. This was Harry, one of her best friends since first year. They had always been on each other's side since they faced Voldemort for the first time together, and now here he was, acting as if he was somehow against her. Hermione felt tears begin to prickle at the backs of her eyes, but she forced them back. "Fine, Harry. You've only known me for eleven years. We've only been through everything together. I can understand how you might think that I'd do something like cheating on my girlfriend with my best friend who happens to be straight. I mean, it's not like it would be out of character." Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses.

"Hermione…" he sighed. "I didn't want to offend you. I was just… trying to make sure you knew why I'm so concerned. I certainly didn't want to sound like you're some sort of villain in all of this."

"Well you did." Hermione crossed her arms. "Harry, why are you so skeptical about me recently? Yes, I've been gone a while, but that doesn't mean I've changed."

"But you have!" Harry said, suddenly sounding very agitated. He calmed himself down a bit, and said in a softer voice, "You have, Hermione. We've all changed. Ginny too."

Hermione frowned slightly contemplating this. "I guess you're right…" She looked up at him. "Harry, why is everything so different now? Why can't we just be the same?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "I don't know, Hermione. I guess all things eventually have to end."

"No!" Hermione looked him straight in the eye. "Just because something's different doesn't mean it's over. And nothing has to come to an end! Everything…" She paused. "I want everything to stay… well, not the same, but…"

"I know." Harry gave her a small half-smile. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you, and if you say there's not even a thought in your head about Ginny, then of course I believe you. I was just—"

"Worried. I know." Hermione smiled back at him and placed a hand on his arm. "You're a good friend to her, Harry… better than I've been. And that means a lot… to her AND to me." Harry shrugged.

"What can I say, I'm just a really great guy I guess." Hermione slapped him lightly on the arm.

"I wouldn't go that far."

*****

Ginny gently petted Baby, a tiny saber-toothed tiger kitten belonging to Hagrid, who, as it turned out, had ended up being on of her best customers. The tiger had just been cured of a slight gum infection, and she purred enthusiastically beneath Ginny's hand. Ginny continued to pet him as she readied a needle for a vaccination "Relax, Sweetheart… this won't hurt a bit…" the Kneazle stopped purring momentarily as Ginny administered the needle. "There you go… when that sets in you'll be good as new!" She handed the Kneazle over to Hagrid. "Alright, Hagrid… he should be fine in a couple hours."

"Alrigh' Ginny… thanks for helpin' out poor Baby here… she's been moaning somethin' awful the past few." Ginny smiled uneasily and looked up at her former professor and old friend.

"Now, you won't forget to register her with the ministry, will you Hagrid?" The half-giant shook his head and raise his right hand, holding the baby tiger in his left.

"I solemnly swear it," He said earnestly. Ginny grinned broadly.

"Excellent. That's all then?"

"Yeah, it's back ta Hogwarts for Baby an' me," Hagrid said merrily. Ginny chuckled.

"Alright then, give my regards to all!"

"Will do!"

When the half-giant was gone, Ginny sank down on her stool and sighed heavily. It had been another exhausting day, and she was ready to go home. Just twenty minutes… I could close early… She shook her head. She would stay open, as promised, until five pm, and then apparate back to the apartment and fall straight into bed. For now, there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

As she sat there alone in the quiet, Ginny let her thoughts stray to the events of the previous days. Specifically, of the previous night. First she and Hermione fought, then Hermione said her girlfriend accused Hermione of wanting to cheat on her, and then Hermione revealed that she used to like Ginny in that way. And then there was that weird biographical paragraph in Hermione's book… Ginny stood up suddenly. Only ten minutes left. She rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. She waved her wand and the rooms of her office were dark, another wave and the door was locked and the sign read 'Closed'. Ginny then apparated out of the clinic, reappearing several kilometers away outside a large brick building with a sign that read 'Diagon Alley Public Library'. Ginny stepped through the large oak doors and up to one of the librarians' desks.

"Hi," She said quickly. "I was wondering where I could find books on wizarding history in South Africa."

*****

It was well past Dark when Ginny finally stepped into her room. For a moment she contemplated simply falling into bed, but then she decided she better do things right and crossed over to the closet in the darkness. She stripped off robes and began to dress in her nightclothes, but she soon found that without the light on she couldn't find the right pajama top to match the bottoms she'd put on. She waved her wand and the lights came up. It was at that moment that Ginny heard a rustling sound in her bed. Covering herself, she turned around and screamed. There was someone in her bed!

When the someone yelped and sat up quickly, Ginny almost screamed again. "Hermione! What are you doing here?" Hermione was still slightly sleep-dazed, and she stared wide-eyed at her friend. Her eyes slid momentarily from Ginny's eyes to her naked torso, which Ginny was covering with her arms. Ginny's eyes went wide and she turned around.

"Oh God, sorry… I'm practically naked!" Hermione's eyes lingered for a moment on Ginny's pale, freckled back before she blinked several times, mentally slapped herself on the wrist and looked away. You pervert. This is just what Harry was talking about. You ought to be locked up, Hermione Granger! For shame!

"I…" Hermione began, before remembering that she'd already fed Harry a lie about why she was here. What had she said? Ah, yes… "Zuri was off visiting her mother for a few weeks when I got in, and I was kind of lonely, so I decided to come back and hang with you guys until she's back." Ginny now had her shirt on and was turned around, her face a very familiar shade of pink. "I'm sorry… I meant to be up when you got back… I was only supposed to sleep for a couple hours and then get up, but I guess all that apparating in one day really tired me out." Ginny seemed to accept this explanation, although she still seemed a little unsettled.

"Well, that's quite fine, you know you're always welcome here." She paused. "Actually, Hermione, I'm glad you're here," She said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a book. "I've found something I think you should see."