Pomfrey finally released Ginny five days later, with the condition that Ginny would be careful and wouldn't repeat her 'Buffy' impression, as everyone was calling it. Only Dean Thomas and the rest of the Muggle-borns knew what Buffy actually represented in Muggle pop-culture, but among staff and students alike at Hogwarts, 'doing a Buffy', as Ginny had done, had come to mean being absolutely reckless and so off your head with adrenaline that you didn't feel yourself being stabbed, coupled with a whirlwind killing spree.

Amelie went to meet Ginny as she was released, and met Professor McGonagall in the hallway as she went. She felt the contrast between them sharply, McGonagall in green velvet robes and her in brown knee-high boots, a knee length flared scarlet gypsy skirt, and a ribbed chocolate brown spagetti-strap top.

"Professor! Minerva." Amelie rolled her eyes at the residual Hermione-ness.

"Amelie." Amelie paused. "Miss Evans." McGonagall smiled. "It's odd, using that name again. But it suits you. What is it?"

"Um…I have a question." She paused, her mind racing.

"Well, go on." McGonagall raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Can Ginny move into the Head Suite? Share my room? Only…I have reasons. Good reasons. And not all of them make me look selfish." She added quietly. McGonagall nodded.

"And they are?"

"Well…Ginny needs to be careful, watch that she doesn't reopen that wound which resists Poppy's healing so insistantly, right? Well, if she's staying with me, then I can keep an eye on it, and make sure she doesn't do anything strenuous." She looked at McGonagall to see if it was working. McGonagall was listening, at least.

"And?" McGonagall prompted.

"Well, Ginny's lost her brother, but she hasn't reacted yet. She said herself that she still feels numb when confronted with the subject. But sooner or later its going to sink in, and it's going to tear her apart. I don't want her to be alone when that happens."

"What about her privacy?" McGonagall asked. "If she wants to mourn in private, then she has every right to."

"Honestly, professor, I've seen what mourning in private does to a person."

"Mr Malfoy?"

"Has remained locked up in his room since the time he escorted me back to the suite. He's mourning, and not in a good way. But the last time I tried to get in his room I ended up three foot tall, covered in blue spots with green hair for the next half an hour before the curse wore off sufficiently for me to fix myself. It's not good for him, professor, but there's nothing I can do. But I want to prevent that happening to Ginny, if I can. And…a lot of Gryffindor's are scared of her, professor."

"Scared? Of Ginny?"

"She went psycho on that battlefield, from what I hear. Must have done, not to notice she'd been run through with three feet of steel. They're scared it's going to happen again."

"You said they didn't all make you look selfish, but I havent heard one that has, so far. So let's hear those."

"There's only one." Amelie paused. "I miss Hermione. I've spent the last nine months always with someone, and now I'm painfully alone. I want Ginny there so I'm not alone anymore."

"Ginny isnt Hermione." McGonagall pointed out sternly.

"I'm not looking for a replacement, nor am I expecting Ginny to be Hermione. All I want is to lie in bed and not talk to myself. To hear someone talk back. For the bedroom to not be so silent." McGonagall was quiet for a moment, her lips pressed into a line. Then she nodded.

"Alright. Ginny can stay in the Head suite, effective immediately, provided she agrees. I'll ask the house-elves to move her things."

"Thank you, professor." Amelie said with a sigh of relief. She had been scared McGonagall would refuse.

Because it was true. Amelie lay awake at night, alone in the huge queen-size bed, listening to the silence in her room and feeling the tickle of tears as gravity pulled them from the corners of her eyes across her temples to her hairline. And when she whispered into the silence there was no response. Crookshanks had disappeared with Hermione, not that Amelie had ever been particularly attached to him. But now she couldn't even talk to him at night when sleep eluded her and the rest of the castle slept.

But now…Amelie looked up to see Ginny, pale faced, but resolute, stood at the door to the infirmary.

"Ginny!" She smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Kinda shaky." Ginny shrugged. And a little sore. Pomfrey said that this hole in my stomach wouldn't heal properly, so it's going to take a while to go away." Amelie nodded with a half-smile.

"Well, at least it doesn't hurt too much."

"No. But I just want to be out of there, and…you know, able to relax."

"That's cool." Amelie paused. "Minerva said you could stay in the Head's suite, from now on, if you wanted."

"I really get to be Head Sixth Year, then? How priviledged." Ginny grinned, then coughed slightly, her hands going to her stomach and her entire body wavering slightly. "Sure, it'll be cool. I think…I think it might be best." She locked eyes with Amelie, and Amelie remembered going into the infirmary and finding a bunch of Ginny's so-called 'friends' there, around her bed while she slept, muttering about how she'd gone all psycho and scary and would she do it again and maybe they should just steer clear of her for a while. They had left, and the moment their back had been turned, Ginny's eyes had opened, and Amelie had sat by her and held her hand while tears trickled over Ginny's pale freckled cheeks.

"Good. I'll have the house-elves bring your things to the Heads Suite then." McGonagall said briskly. "You'll be sharing a room with Amelie, but I think you'll be able to manage."

"I don't snore the way the Sixth years do, I promise." Amelie said with a grin. Ginny laughed.

"Excellent. Shall we?"

"Definitely." Amelie took her arm and the two of them walked along the hall on the way to the suite.

"This isnt just about me, is it?" Ginny asked. Amelie looked over at her. "I mean, you got McGonagall to agree by spouting how I needed someone to check I didn't bleed to death, right? But it isnt just that."

"No, it's not just that." Amlie agreed softly.

"You're a lot more open than any of the Hogwarts students, you know." Ginny said thoughtfully. "And a lot more honest to yourself. You miss Hermione, and you've seen how my classmates are scared of me, so you get me to stop you being alone, and I get you so I'm not around people who are scared of me." Amelie looked over in surprise. She hadnt expected Ginny to hit the nail on the head quite so exactly. She had, however, left out the small matter of Ron, but Amelie wasn't going to mention that.

"You got it." Amelie agreed. "It's been so…empty with her gone. At least with you there I'll have someone to talk to."

"What about Draco?" Ginny asked curiously. "I've barely seen him since he brought you in."

"He's been locked up in his room ever since."

"That's not healthy." Ginny observed. Amelie let them into the Heads suite, and Ginny dropped onto the couch.

"It's not. But neither is being three foot tall, with blue spots and green hair, which is all the thanks you get if you try and go in there."

"He's hexed the door?"

"And warded it. You get to be a flying green hair blue-spotted dwarf. It's fun, until you hit the opposite wall. And the spots itch."

"Only temporary though." Ginny said optimistically.

"I think. It wore off enough for me to use metamorphmagus powers to get rid of the rest. If I didn't have that particular ability, I don't know how long it would take to go. But either way, don't try to interrupt his…mourning."

"He's allowed to mourn, Amelie." Ginny said gently. Amelie sighed.

"I know! I know. But…I wish he'd talk to me. I'm mourning too…but I don't lock myself in my room and play cruel jokes on people only trying to help."

"You mourn in a different way."

"Yes, I let my wound open to air so it'll heal while he wraps it in rounds of cloth."

"Bandages help things heal too. Go easy on him, sweetie." Amelie nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

&

That night, Amelie lay awake on her bed, again, alone in the silence. Ginny lay on the floor in a sleeping bag – Amelie hadnt been quite prepared to pose that question yet. For her, it didn't seem a big deal at all, two girls sleeping together in a big bed. But she didn't know how Ginny would take it, so she was waiting for the moment to ask her. Although, at the moment at least, just having her in the room was comfort, her steady breathing breaking the monotonous silence.

"No…wait…no…Ron!" the last word a scream, and there was the gasp of breath and Amelie knew that Ginny had joined her world of insomnia. "Ron." It was a whisper, torn into shreds with the tremour that shook the one-syllable word. Then the tears started.

Amelie lay awake and listened as Ginny cried, her sobs quiet and muffled against the pillow. She didn't call Ginny onto the bed, merely waited, aware that Ginny wouldn't want to be heard crying, and also that she needed to mourn, as much as Draco or Amelie herself.

God only knew how Harry was doing.

When the crying had finally ceased and the breathing returned to the sleep-cycle rhythm, Amelie swung her legs over the edge of the bed and pulled an oversized sweater of Hermione's…and hers, really, over the forest green silk cami and shorts and slipped her bare feet into the bright pink flats before tiptoeing out the door.

The jumper was too big, but Amelie just hadnt planned for the fucking freezing draught that was making her legs come up in goosebumps as she walked softly through the halls, headed for the Gryffindor tower. There was a soft croon of music, and the now-familiar green pheonix swooped from the shadows and landed on her outstretched arm, warmth radiating from the contact all down her body.

"Evening, dearest." She murmured to the bird, barely pausing in her trek to the Gryffindor tower. The bird crooned. "I havent seen you much, recently."

The bird launched in a complicated mixture of croons and snatches of song that Amelie took to mean, 'I've spent my time flirting with Fawkes, that ridiculously charming and handsome pheonix that lives in the Headmaster's office'. It just figured that the pheonix that attached itself to Amelie would be both female and constantly on the pull.

"Well, at least one of us is succeeding in the romantic department. There is absolutely no one here, save Blaise, maybe, that grabs my attention. And if that wasn't enough, none of my clothes fit right anymore!" the bird crooned sympathetically. It was true. With the split, Amelie had reverted back to her original tall, raw leanness, with the medium bust and all the fun stuff that came along with that. Including bras that didn't fit right and tops that were just that little bit too tight. Fortunately, there were spells intended to alter clothes, but somehow it didn't feel right altering all Hermione's wardrobe to fit someone else. Even if the wardrobe had been bought to accommodate the both of them. Consequently, Amelie kept the alterations small and as few as possible.

She let herself into the Gryffindor tower, apologising softly to Hilda, and went upstairs to the boys dormitory. It was completely silent in the dark room, apart from the soft hiss of the heater in the center of the room. All the curtains were pulled but one set, stark and empty for lack of owner. Amelie padded over and softly pulled the curtains shut, wincing as they rattled over the curtain poles.

"That wont bring him back." The soft words came from behind closed curtains, but Amelie recognised the voice instinctively.

"No, it wont." Amelie went to the next bed and pulled the curtains aside slightly, enough for her to crawl through and sit on the bed, and to let the emerald pheonix pass through the small gap before letting them fall shut again.

"Why are you here?"

"I figured you could use a hug. At very least someone to sit with you." Harry sat up in bed, the covers falling off him to his waist. He wore an old t-shirt and grey tracksuit bottoms.

"You thought of me? Why?"

"Ginny misses Ron. I know you do too. And I feel better about my loss when I'm with others."

"I heard you got McGonagall to let Ginny stay in the Head's suite. Because you needed someone with you?" Amelie nodded. "So why are you here?"

"Because, as much as I need the company, Ginny needs the solitude."

"Are you always so selfless?" Harry asked quietly.

"I'm here, arent I?"

"Because I need the company." Harry said. "Because I think too much without it. Not because of you."

"You overestimate my sense of martyrdom. I need the company as much as you do."

"And Malfoy?"

"Needs company yet hates it so much he'll hex it away."

"Here." Harry threw back the covers on her side of the bed and she kicked off her shoes before crawling under them. The pheonix hopped between them and settled down, fluffing it's green feathers. "What's he called?"

"She. He's a she who fancies Fawkes." The green pheonix nipped Amelie on the nose for her indiscretion. "Whoops. I don't think I was meant to tell you that."

"So does she have a name?" Harry asked again, stroking the soft feathers with his finger. Images of a green pheonix among black flashed into Amelie's mind, and she smiled.

"She used to live with the black pheonixes, you know. Quite the odd one out, weren't you dear?" she smiled at the bird. More images, of bursting into flame and being reborn in a small dark room with a dark cauldron in the middle, and the stinging pain of hot liquid before the feeling of being trapped, of existing yet not…in someone else's body. "And then you lived in me. We are a pair, arent we?"

"Call her…I don't know. Susie."

"Random She hasn't said anything about her name."

"It's what comes to mind. You can talk to her?" Harry defended. Amelie nodded.

"I kinda make it up..though I think I'm pretty close. So, how'd you feel about Susie, huh?" she asked the green bird. She chirped softly.

"Susie it is." Amelie smiled. "We really need hobbies."

"I have hobbies!" Harry protested. A grumble came from across the room and Amelie shushed him.

"Yes, brother dear, you have hobbies. Bravo." She muttered sarcastically.

"There's no need to take the piss."

"There's every need to take the piss." Amelie corrected.

"So couldn't you sleep?" Harry changed the subject.

'Not really. Ginny did for a little while…but she had nightmares about Ron. You?"

"Nope. Not a wink. I'm knackered."

"Try and sleep. I'll stay awhile." Harry shrugged.

"It wont work." But he lay down anyway. Amelie muttered a few words under her breath, and a few minutes later, Harry was out like a light. Amelie smiled, then climbed out of bed, the pheonix on her shoulder, swaying dangerously. She slipped her feet into the pink flats and crept out of the dorm, passing through the common room then down the hall towards the Head Suite.

She let herself in and was surprised to see in the dim light that Draco had ventured out of his bedroom, and was sitting maudlin on the couch.

"May I join you?" she asked quietly. He looked up, startled.

"I thought you were asleep." She shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Where have you been?" he asked curiously. She looked pointedly at the seat beside him. "Sit down." She did so, folding her legs beneath her and hugging a cushion to her chest.

"I went to see Harry. I was wondering how he was doing." Amelie murmured. Draco nodded understanding. "How are you doing?"

"It's hard." Draco said simply. She nodded, reaching out and taking his hand. He looked down at it, his fingers intertwined with hers. "Why did you come back and she didn't?" Amelie shrugged.

"I don't know."

"I wish it had been her." He whispered fiercely. "I wish it had been her!" his grip tightened on her hand and Amelie squeezed back for lack of anything else to do.

"I don't know what to say." Amelie said quietly.

"There isnt a lot you can say." Draco said harshly. Amelie was quiet. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"You did. But it's okay. It's nothing I havent been thinking." Amelie shrugged.

"What? No!" he turned her head to face him. "Don't you dare."

"What?" She asked incredulously. "Draco, you just said you wish I had died instead of Hermione. And now you're telling me not to think it? Bit hypocritical, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry. It's hard, sometimes. You know?"

"I know. Its-" A scream broke their quiet conversation, and both students were up and running for Hermione's room before they realised what they were doing.

Ginny sat bolt upright on the bed, tears streaming down her face and her shoulders shaking with sobs. Draco sat behind her and steadied her shoulders while Amelie knelt before her.

"Ginny…Ginny, hey. Hey, sweetie. It's okay." She soothed.

"He's…gone. He's gone away and he's not coming back!" Ginny dissolved in another wave of sobs.

"Let's get her on the bed." Draco muttered, and the two of them lifted Ginny onto the bed. Amelie lay on one side and Draco lay on the other and the two of them held Ginny until she cried herself to sleep.

&