A/N-Well. . .I have hit a sluggish spot, and for some reason it got too serious too fast. Hopefully, I can get it the train back on the funny track soon.

Thanks so much for the reviews everyone! They never cease to amazeme, amuse me, and warm my wee heart!

S.M. Rahl-I myself counted fourteen typos. Hopefully they are all corrected now.

dubtheeunforgiven-I would love to see Snape explainig that to a proper jury! And, think what fun they would have if they used a Pensieve to check the facts!

: SeverusSnape'sLove- Thanks for the faithful reviews. The best complient is to think of someone reading this in the middle of night and trying not to laugh out loud!

-Hermione finds and answer-

Ginny had politely refused any offering of comfort food, and chose instead to go straight to the bath, and then to bed. Only after she was curled up safely in her old bed, fingering the well-washed lavender sheets absently, could she get her thoughts together successfully. The best way to sort through this was to back-track through her mind, organizing the events of the day.

She skipped briefley through her morning, noting that it was approximately eleven in the morning when they had departed for their picnic. She skipped through the details of the outing, not wanting to dine on regurgitated sex fantatsies while lying in the bed she had been a child in. It seemed oddly wrong.

" What time was it when you returned?' she asked herself.

Think about it. The clock, on the kitchen shelf. . .what did it say? She mentally walked her self through the steps. She had been pulled by the Portkey into her kitchen, which had been rather dim. After four o'clock? It had to be! She had set the lizard on the floor, and the basket on the table, flipping the top open to see if any of the food was inside that would spoil and ruin the wicker. Inside had been his white straw hat, and the sunglasses. She had taken out the hat, and fingered the brim in an amused fashion before returning it to the basket.

Then she had gone back to her bedroom and collapsed.

She couldn't believe she had been stupid enough to not look at a clock as she passed through the house. She couldn't even recall how far down the sun had been, and she felt hot tears threaten to leak out at her own foolishness. Irritated, she punched her pillow soundly, and tried to fall asleep, hoping that tomorrow might bring about answers. .. or better yet, Severus himself.

Eventually she managed to doze off into a fitful slumber, where she fought and argued with Dumbeldore about Severus. It was a loop dream, and no matter what she did, she kept getting caught in the same nightmarish episode over and over. . .until she finally fought herself awake.

Her head was rattling with choppy images of clocks, Severus, the grey lake behind them as they reached for each other but could never touch hands because a Deatheater came in between them. She had ran around the Deatheater, and there was Ron and Dumbledore, holding clocks, and reciting the litany;

" Did you see the time, did you see the time?"

" I didn't see the time becuase he was with me!" She had argued, and when she sat up in bed, sweaty and confused, she realized she had been muttering that aloud.

Shaking her head proved to be unwise. . .it only made her very dizzy, and it didn't help the pictures to go away. She thought about going back to sleep, but the clock on the nightstand read that it was nearly nine o'clock. Maybe someone had heard some news!

She jumped out of bed, showered as quickly as she could manage, and went down the stairs at the dangerous speed that had given her father many nightmares over the years. He had told her many times that when she died, it would be from falling down the stairs, headfirst. As dizzy as she was, it was nothing short of a miracle that she did not fulfil his paternal prophecy.

She hit the ground floor in one piece and running, skidding around the doorway of the kitchen, fully prepared to see Severus sitting stiffly at the well scrubbed table.Or Tonks, or Remus,. . . come to deliver the good news. Or even the bad news. . .she would settle for any news.

But no one was in the kitchen except for her mother, and she was solemnley cleaning the kitchen; the remains of breakfast waiting coldy on the table, barely touched.

" Oh, Ginny, good morning, dear." she said, wiping her hands on her pink apron.

" There hasn't been any news, has there?"

" No. . .not from Severus, anyhow."

" Well, has there been any news at all?" Ginny sat at the table, and helping herself to cold tea, and a roll.

" Yes. . . they found the grandmother. You know, the one that was missing? She was alive, and hiding in the fireplace of a neighboring house. She was well enough to give a description of what occurred. . ."

" And?"

'' And, it doesn't look too good. She reported that a single man came into the house. He was robed in black with a white mask. A Deatheater of course, but she had never seen one. They asked her over and over if he was alone, and she said yes. He was alone, and he took them by surprise, so Gold was unarmed. The Deatheater rounded the entire family into the corner. . ., no the grandmother of course, she was hiding in the cupboard. . ., but Gold, his wife and children. She said he questioned Gold, over and over again, then when he wasn't satisified with the answers he. . ."

" He what?"

" He, well. . .he tortured the woman and the children. Apparently, he forced Gold to watch."

Ginny closed her eyes against the images that flooded in, a lone figure in a billowing black robe pointing a wand towards the cringing family. The children were probably crying. . .Gold would have been pleading.

Severus could not do that, Ginny told herself. Not after they had made love so sweetly by the lake, not after he had so patiently indulged her in her trifling feminine wishes. It was inconceivable. and if something is impossible, then that means that something else is possible. . .and she had to find out what wa spossible.

It was possible, if not probable, that Severus had been set up, but she did not know enough about the inner politcal machinations of Voldemorte's following to be able to decide a motive. He could have been found out as a double agent, but she doubted they would have taken aside the time to set him up for murder when it would have been much more sadistically gratifying to torture him to death. After all, it wasn't like he had an astounding reputation to save. . .

The murder of Gold, confusingly, was both too much and too little. Too much for a little revenge plot, and too sloppy to be a good Deatheater job. That meant that whomever had done the job was either crazy, or an idiot, and Ginny's bet was that it was probably a little of both, with a leaning tendency toward idiot. What kind of a villain forgot to search the house for other witnesses?

She splashed her tea into her lap when a man Apparated into the room suddenly, knocking against the table.

" Oh. .. so sorry Ginny, I must have twinged a bit leftwards." Remus said with a gentle smile.

" What is all over your clothes?"

" Hmm? Oh, that's. . .mud. I think. Did Hermione arrive yet?"

" No. . ."

" She has to come through the Floo now. . .doctors orders. " Remus grinned briefly.

Ginny gave a smile back. She couldn't help it, good things came and went, but Remus was always the same.

" Goodness! Remus, you gave me a start!" Molly exclaimed as she stepped back in from the garden, fresh cut flowers in hr hand.

" Mother. . .the flowers!" Ginny warned, covering her nose.

" Sorry dear." Molly casually put a bubble spell around the flowers to keep their pollen contained.

A loud swoosh from the living room fireplace announced Hermione's arrival, and Ginny leaned back in her chair so that she could watch as Hermione brushed the ashes from her outfit.

" I don't know why he won't let me Apparate! I know I am not going to splinch myself, but travelling through the fireplace is dirty! And hard, I landed hard!" she grumbled.

Remus was at her side in a split second, asking if she were all right, and if she needed anything. Hermione shot him a look of good natured irritation, and was about to say something to the effect of;

''You know that you are parnoid, right?" when he covered her mouth in a kiss, to shut her up.

Ginny shook her head, and finished mopping the tea out of her lap, expecting the display of emotion to be over when she looked back. It wasn't. Now they were practically wrapped around each other!

"Hermione!" she barked.

" What?" her friend asked, whirling pulling away from Remus with a strong suction sound. " What is it?"

" It is much too early to watch you eat him for breakfast."

" Ginny Weasley, watch your mouth! " Molly flapped a dishtowel against Ginny's head in a way that, if it was supposed to convince her of her mother's sincerity, rather failed. It was hard to believe she was appalled when she was blushing and grinning so.

Hermione straightened her dress, and with a toss to her hair and an elbow to Remus' ribs, she marched into the kitchen in her old bossy fashion.

" Morning Ginny."

" Hermione."

" All right?"

" I guess so." Ginny answered honestly. Then she grinned slyly." And how about the two of you? Still no regrets?"

" None at all."

" And they said that it would never last this long."

Hermione laughed, then broke it off so that she could sniff the air.

" What is that I smell? "

" Breakfast?"

" No. . .it smells kind of stale, like a river." she frowned, and wrinkled her nose.

" Can you smell that Remus?"

He sniffed the air too.

" Yes. It's something like a snake. . ."

" A snake? Oh. . .no, not a snake. Don't panic, I know what it is." Ginny set down her cup and ducked under the table. She returned with Bernie.

" Ugh! What is that?" Hermione covered her nose.

" It's an Iguana! Severus gave him to me for my birthday."

" Ha! That figures. What is with the hair?"

" What, you don't like that? It's all the rage in lizard fashion these days." Ginny tilted Bernie back so that she could look into his beady eyes." She's a critic, eh, Bernie? She doesn't see just how cute you are."

" Cute! Eeesh he smells bad! "

" I can't smell him." Ginny stood up and opened the back door. " There. . .go play in the garden."

" Aren't you afraid he will run away?'' Remus asked.

" No. I put a binding spell on him. He'll come back. " I only wish I had thought to put one on Severus, she thought to herself.

" I have to be going." Remus announced upon, checking the time on a pocket watch. Ginny caught look of worry flicker through Hermione's eyes, and the realization struck her that Remus was depositing her here so that she wouldn't be home, alone and worrying.

Also, if the Deatheaters were out, he wanted her tucked into a safe haven while he was away. An unnecessary measure, but one that showed how enamored he was with her almost as much as the soulful lovesick expression in his eyes.

Ginny felt a twinge of loneliness in her chest at seeing them together. It was like a cold sweep of air into her lungs, and it hurt. . .she had never felt soemthing like that before. It lingered long after Remus had promised that they were going to do everything in their power to find and secure Severus before any ministry officials did. It lingered all afternoon as she and Hermione alternated between keeping each other company and getting on each other's nerves.

Hermione however, wasn't one to let someone sit about and mope, not even for a good reason. She pestered Ginny until she agreed to allow her to help with the lesson plans for school, and before dinner Hermione had drawn up enough work for the entire school year, plus enough extraneous homework assignments to ensure that Ginny would never be a popualar teacher again.

Then the two of them sat in the garden, where Ginny watched with morbid fascination as Hermione ate slices of raw onion and lemon off of a plate.

" Is that good?" she finally asked.

" No. .. but I can't stop eating it. Ugh, I can smell the garden gnomes."

" Surely you can't smell the garden gnomes!" Ginny laughed. " What do they smell like?"

" Dirt."

" Dirt. Speaking of dirt, why was Remus covered in mud?"

" I don't know. He came home like that. I'm worried about him."

" Because of the mud?"

" No. . .because he hasn't slept, and he hasn't eaten, and he only barely remembered the wolfsbane potion. I am afraid that he is going to collapse somewhere while on a mission and get himself killed."

" Hermione! Don't even say such things!"

They sat in silence a moment, each knowing they should say those little words to comfort each other.. .but somehow, they didn't really need them. Ginny didn't want to hear words of comfort, the possibility of breaking down was ingering too close.

She had made love, the man had vanished not five minutes afterwards, and didn't return, ( which was very hard on a woman's vanity) and this morning she had discovered a visit from the least welcome sight of all. . .the curse. Hormones were against her today, and she was sure that one sentimental phrase would send her bubbling over the edge in an uncharacteristic weeping tantrum.

So they sat, and Hermine ate onions, and sucked the lemons, and Ginny tried to remember what time the clock had said when she had returned home the night before.

" I know it said something!" she blurted aloud.

" Hearing things?" Hermione asked.

" I am trying to recall what time it was when I got home. They said that the murder was at four o'clock, and I know that we were. . .together then. "

Hermione's interest perked up.

" If you could prove you were together until five o'clock it would prove him innocent."

" How can I prove something like that? There was only the two of us on the picnic. No one else was there."

" A picnic? " Hermione asked in disbelief.

Ginny ignored her, and proceeded to relate all of the minor details, such as when they had left her house.

" I just don't have proof of any of it."

Hermione was an amazing creature, Ginny thought. She could practically hear the other woman's brain humming like a great piece of machinery as it geared into action. Ginny awaited eagerly the result, and almost half expected her to produce a paper receipt like some of the more interesting Muggle machines. She didn't have long to wait.

" I know!" Hermione exclaimed triumphantly. " We can test the wand to prove that a killing curse was not used. What was the last spell you remember seeing him use?" Hermione's eyes were glittering with excitement.

Ginny went back into her memories. . .and fished out the answer.

" A Portkey spell! That was the last thing he did!" she pictured the scene in her mind, him in his rumpled clothes, changing the basket.

But wait. . .there had been something after that. He had looked down at his wand, and seen that he had hers. When he had stood, and she had followed suit, they had hastily traded wands before she had kissed him goodbye and asked him to come back alive.

" No. . .he used my wand to do the Portkey spell. . .I had his wand."

" Well, what was the last spell that was used with it?"

Ginny blushed deep crimson.

" Well?'' Hermione demanded impatiently.

" I used it to undress him."