Ron stood in the center of the room, rooted to the floor. Hermione's hands were covering her face. She was shaking. Ron's face was contorted with terror; his face reminded Harry of the time that many large spiders attacked them in the Forbidden Forest.

Ginny was still breathing hard in the doorway. She had a piece of parchment crushed in her hand.

She handed the parchment to Harry, and he read the smudged words written with a very angry hand.

Ginny,
I'm coming to the school.
I know what's going on.
-Mum

Harry felt very bad for Ron. Any lingering resentment he had over the fight yesterday faded as he read the note. Ron's face was purple again and Hermione was rocking back and forth on the bed with her arms rapped around her knees, muttering something about her parents.

"Why do I have to have a mother," said Ron. "Out of all the people in the world…"

"At least you have somebody out there who's at least trying to look out for you," said Harry resentfully. "It must suck to have a mother and a father, jeez."

Ron didn't hear him.

They went down to the Great Hall for dinner. Ginny was still sort of pale, but she was nothing compared to Hermione and Ron.

Although it was by no means the normal time of day to be receiving mail, A small, young looking owl swept into the Great Hall as they were all enjoying their meals.

"Uh-oh," said Ginny, spotting it. "That's George's owl, Spartacus."

Harry saw a bright red envelope sticking out of the bird's beak and knew what could only be coming. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all staring at it with horror. Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and a number of other students were all pointing at it, unsure where it would land, but all eagerly hoping it belonged to Ron.

It fluttered above the Gryffindor table and fell, as the entire hall watched, onto Ron's plate.

"Oh, bloody hell," said Ron. Hermione was crying across the table.

"RON'S GOT A HOWLER!" Screamed a Slytherin. The students started to applaud.

"Open it, Ron!"

"C'mon, we want to hear!"

"Ron, do it, quick, before they stop talking," Neville said.

Ron opened the flap of the envelope. It sprang out of his hand.

"IS THAT REALLY ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR FOR A PREFECT?" Howled Fred's voice through what sounded like a fit of laughter.

"It's not like anybody couldn't figure it out," said George loudly.

"I mean, there was that time we saw you two making out in the shed—"

"The basement—"

"Your room—"

"The study—"

"Ginny's room—"

"EW!" Shrieked Ginny, looking positively revolted. "GROSS!"

"Not to mention all those times in the bushes," added George.

"The Potions closet—"

"Don't act like nobody knew," said George. "I guess you thought you were being clever?"

"Thanks bunches, Ginny, we owe you one."

The howler erupted in flames and the rest of the Great Hall, who had been squealing with laughter all the way through, burst into applause once more.

Hermione had her face buried in her arms, Ron was so embarrassed you could feel the heat coming from him, and Ginny was trying her best to look innocent. She seemed to be suffering from a massive internal struggle, as if she didn't know whether she should feel bad about ratting on them or vindicated after what she found out they had been doing in her room.

"GINNY!" shouted Ron. "What'd you have to tell them for!"

Her struggle seemed to be resolved.

"How could you be doing…that in my room!"

Hermione lifted her head and smiled apologetically.

"Great, are they the ones who told mum?" Asked Ron scathingly, glaring at her. "You're the twit who ratted us out, then!"

"I didn't!" She said. She looked as if she'd been slapped. "For your information, Snape was the one who told Mum and Dad."

"You don't honestly expect me to believe that, do you!" Snapped Ron.

"It's true! Right before I received that letter from Mum, I heard Snape telling Draco Malfoy that he had made sure that the 'poor, shamed parents' of you two deserved to know what was going on."

Hermione gasped.

"Not! Not…! MY PARENTS TOO?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know, Hermione! I haven't heard anything except what I got from Mum."

"You still didn't have to run off telling Fred and George, Ginny," said Ron, still very unhappy with her. "You could have—"

"What, do you think it's better that Mum tells them?"

Ron sank back in his chair, defeated.

Harry got up from the table and decided to take some time off from the rest of the Gryffindors. All the commotion was giving him an awful, throbbing headache. He headed out of the Great Hall and down towards the courtyard where he could get a breath of fresh air.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THE RULES ARE, I WANT TO TALK TO THEM NOW!"

Harry recognized the voice of Mrs. Weasley instantly. She had arrived at the school earlier than he had expected; he wasn't expecting her to show up until tomorrow at least.

"DON'T SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY, I'M NOT A CHILD!"

Harry came around the corner and saw Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall standing outside the entrance to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley had her fists clenched at her sides. She looked very pale, thin, and her hair was all disheveled. She was glaring at McGonagall, something no normal person would ever attempt.

"Mrs. Weasley, you cannot simply barge in here to yell at young Mr. Weasley in front of his classmates," said McGonagall sternly. "When you are calm, I will send for him."

"HARRY!" Said Mrs. Weasley, spotting him. "Harry, tell that worthless excuse for a Weasley to come out here this instant! You'd better get Hermione, too."

"Mr. Potter, don't move," said McGonagall.

Harry thought this was a very mean thing for both of them to do. Either betray McGonagall or betray Mrs. Weasley, and he wasn't fond of being on either side of their tempers.

Mrs. Weasley glared at McGonagall, but soon Harry didn't have to decide either way.

"Hey Harry, where are you—"

Ron came around the corner, spotted his mother, and froze. Ginny appeared shortly, followed by Hermione and Seamus.

He turned to run.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Screamed Mrs. Weasley. She had been angry before, but seeing her son inspired something completely different in her. "GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Seeing the look on Mrs. Weasley's face stopped McGonagall. She decided to step aside and not to interfere; unless, of course, Mrs. Weasley decided she wanted to kill him or something.

Hermione followed Ron down into the courtyard unwillingly. Neither of them said anything, and for once, Hermione didn't try defending either of them.

"OUT OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS YOUR BROTHERS HAVE DONE NOTHING, AND I MEAN NOTHING, IS AS BAD AS THIS! WHAT ON EARTH COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THINKING! Of course, nobody blames you Hermione. OUT OF ALL THE TIMES FRED AND GEORGE HAVE ALMOST GOTTEN THEMSELVES EXPELLED AND YOU GO AND TOP ALL OF THAT! I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF ANYONE IN MY WHOLE LIFE! DID IT EVER OCCUR TO EITHER OF YOU THAT THIS IS NOT THE THING WE NEED TO BE DEALING WITH RIGHT NOW! First Dumbledore dies and...and..."

Mrs Weasley took this opportunity to crumble into loud, obnoxious wails. Through her crying, Harry could hear a lot about the Dark Lord, Dumbledore, Percy, Ron, a baby, and Mr. Weasley. Harry wasn't entirely sure why she was crying about Mr. Weasley, who had been the new Minister of Magic since Scrimgeour's death at Voldemort's hands earlier in the summer.

By this time, a number of students had started to crowd around in the doorway. They were all pressing their ears up to the glass, although they probably could have heard her anyway.

Harry stood awkwardly in the courtyard. He looked around and spotted Romilda Vane who winked at him and smiled evilly.

Harry turned away sharply and spotted Ginny, who was red in the face and suppressing many violent giggles. She saw Harry and stopped suddenly, embarrassed, and looked away (though she did still look severely amused).

Professor McGonagall lead Ron, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley (who she had gripped firmly by the arm) into the school building. Mrs. Weasley was still having small fits of anger, sadness, and remorse as they walked through the noisy and closely watching hall packed with students.

Harry walked down the steps and didn't go inside. He had wanted to have a little time on his own, away from the noise and the talk of the great hall. He walked toward Hagrid's hut, though he had no real intention of going there.

It was a moment before he noticed that someone was trailing after him, doing his or her best not to make any noise. He whipped around, expecting a blond-haired, pointy-faced person named Draco, but was pleasantly surprised to see red-haired Ginny. She stopped when he turned, and smiled faintly.

"Sorry," said she. "I didn't mean to pry..."

She stumbled the last few steps toward him in the cold; her small nose was red and her cheeks were icy, but she looked beautiful in spite of it.

"No," said Harry. "It's fine. I was just...going to take a walk. Too much noise, you know..."

"Ah," she said, suppressing what was undoubtedly another smile. "Yeah."

"What are you smirking about?" Asked Harry scathingly, glaring slightly (however unintentionally).

She glared back.

"Well," said she. "I was feeling guilty about telling Fred and George until I found out what had happened between those two rabbits in my room."

Harry scowled.

"So what do you think, that they deserve to be yelled at in front of the entire school?" Harry snapped.

"NO," said Ginny, now sincerely regretting taking a walk with him. "But I do think they deserve to get pregnant, or at least get yelled at by mum. Serves them right."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Harry and Ginny tramped through the wet grass in angry silence. He didn't look in her direction and she stared straight into the closely falling darkness.

"I don't think they deserved it," said Harry.

"Oh please," said Ginny. "I don't know what their problem is. I've been with Dean for ages and we've never...well, we don't..." she trailed off, flustered. "Well, I'd never do anything like that!"

"Fun for Dean," said Harry bitterly.

"You know what I mean!" She shouted at him. "Anyone with half a brain knows when to back off!"

"Well," said Harry, who was torn between agreeing and standing up for his friends. "Maybe you don't know what it's like to really be attached to someone! Ron and Hermione love each other, no matter what people say! Maybe you've never really been in love!"

She stopped in her tracks, glaring at him. Her wand hand twitched somewhere close to her back pocket.

"Is that so," she said.

"Oh, come on, Ginny," Harry said. He said out loud a little more than he had meant to. "You know what Hermione and Ron have been like—I mean, ever since they met they've been constantly bickering with each other for stupid reasons, and then Krum came along and Ron was furious..."

She was still glaring at him, but she followed as he continued to walk, burying his chin in his scarf and his hands in his pockets. She stuffed her hands in her own angrily. They walked in silence again for several more moments.

"Oi!"

Harry and Ginny both stopped, turning. Dean was standing on the base of the hill, blocking the light streaming from several of the castle windows. It had grown dark very quickly and they both squinted, trying to make out Dean's face through the light.

"Ginny!" He called, giving Harry a dirty look. "You're missing dinner. Where've you been?"

She glanced at Harry.

"I was just taking a walk," she said. Her voice was teeming with annoyance. "I'm coming."

Harry watched her walk up the hill and continued towards the light of Hagrid's windows. He wasn't quite sure where he was going, but he walked anyway, even more annoyed now that Ginny was gone than he was when she had been arguing with him.

After walking alone for several minutes, he stopped, looked toward the glittering lights in the great hall, and ran towards the building.