A/N: Hey readers! I know I promised an update and that I broke my promise to you guys. I'm terribly sorry, but I was just out of ideas. However, I think it has been worth the wait, as I am fairly happy with the new chapter. Enjoy and review!

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Hermione was about to assume that Ginny had some internal problem. Maybe even something horrible, like cancer. She was just about to ask if she'd seen a doctor recently when she realized what was going on.

"Ginny," she asked quietly. "When was the last time you had

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"Ginny," she asked quietly. "When was the last time you had something to eat?"

Ginny shook her head, as if she was trying to convey her message with as few words as possible. She then mumbled something that Hermione was unable to hear.

"Ginny, I asked you when was the last time you had something to eat. Answer me!" She shook her friend slightly for emphasis.

"I…I don't know. I think three days ago." She answered while looking down at her pillow and picking at an invisible piece of lint.

"GINERVA WEASLEY!" Ginny winced at the sound of her name being yelled so loudly, and so close.

"What is the matter with you!" Hermione asked slightly quieter. "Don't you know that you're destroying your body?"

Ginny was now crying, Hermione noticed, and she immediately felt bad for yelling.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Hermione whispered as she hugged her friend.

"No…don't be. I deserved it. I've been being a total bitch. I'm the one who should be saying sorry." She said with a slight smile. "I just don't see how you can stand to be this close to me after what I did…"

"Just because you made me mad doesn't mean I hate you. I could never hate you. I might get mad sometimes, but I'll always be here if you need me." Hermione smiled and stood up.

"I think that you need to go downstairs and tell Harry he didn't do anything to hurt you. He was scared to death when you went upstairs; he was afraid he caused this."

"But I don't want him to know."

"I never said he had to know Ginny, you just need to tell him he didn't do it. Tell him you're sick; tell him any lie you want. I won't make you tell him, I promise."

And with that Ginny got off the bed, walking somewhat shakily before regaining her composure.

"And while we're down there," Hermione said, "you're going to eat something."

"But I can't Hermione!" Ginny cried. "How do you expect me to stay skinny?"

"Ginny. Take a good look in the mirror. You weigh half as much as me, and if you don't start eating, you're going to end up in St. Mungo's. That and people are going to figure it out. I'm not telling you to eat a lot; maybe just an egg and some orange juice."

When Hermione appeared in the kitchen door, Harry jumped up and ran over to her and starting pelting her with questions.

"Is she okay? What happened? Is she going to be okay? Is she sick? Wha-"

"Harry, she's right behind me, and she can tell you for herself." Hermione interrupted his annoying stream of questions.

Ginny stepped forward and avoiding looking Harry in the eye, she told him a lie.

"Harry, I'm sorry I scared you. I just haven't been getting much sleep lately and I'm tired. Oh, and I'm sorry for earlier, I was being really stupid."

Hermione was now standing behind Harry, and Ginny looked at her as if seeking permission. Hermione nodded and Ginny gave a Harry a small hug. Nothing sexy, nothing suggestive, just a friendly hug, which Harry gladly returned.

Hermione disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear quickly with a plate containing an egg, and a glass of orange juice. Ginny looked ready to protest, but remembered that Harry was still in the room. She sat down and started eating small, tentative bites of her egg.

"Thanks Hermione, I guess I was a little hungry since I didn't eat breakfast this morning." She stood up and took her empty dishes to the sink. She then walked upstairs before slamming the door to what sounded like the bathroom.

Harry was half-way out the door before he turned around. "I have to meet Ron and the twins. We're going to fly for a while"

Hermione went over and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you later." She waved and then shut the door behind him.

As soon as she was sure he wasn't coming back she ran up the stairs quietly and stood by the bathroom door. She waited for a minute before her suspicions were confirmed as she heard Ginny retch. She raised her hand to knock, but decided to let her think she had gotten away unnoticed for the time being.

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Hermione was starving by the time lunch came. She wasn't sure what they were having, but it smelled like it might be chicken soup.

As she was putting away her homework, she heard Ron and Harry come in and sit down at the table. Assuming it was time to eat, she went down to the kitchen. Sure enough, Mrs. Weasley was just putting the food on the table.

"Hey Mione!" Ron yelled, obviously forgetting the fight from the day before. "Where's Ginny? Didn't you tell her food was ready?"

"No, I thought maybe she was down here. I'll go back up and get her Ron."

Hermione crept quietly up the stairs to Ginny's room, to see if she could tell what she had been doing so quietly the whole morning.

When she couldn't hear anything, she opened her door and saw Ginny sleeping on the bed. She figured this was the only way Ginny had been keeping up any strength at all.

"Ginny," she said as she softly shook her. "You need to get up and eat lunch."

Ginny batted her hand away and rolled back under the covers.

"Ginny if you don't get up, I will make your mother come up here, and you can explain to her why you won't get out of bed."

With that Ginny was once again out of the bed in a flash, and well on her way down the stairs before Hermione could catch up with her.

Lunch was much more pleasant than breakfast had been, and just when everyone was almost done, and enjoying a conversation about the many secret passages in Hogwarts, Sirius burst into his home, followed by an angry looking Tonks. Remus followed Tonks in, looking unsure of whether or not the door would bite him.

Tonks stomped by Sirius and disappeared upstairs, but not before she mumbled an audible, 'asshole' directed towards Sirius.

Sirius then looked back to Remus and then to everyone else and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. We had a bit of a…disagreement on the way home"

"Well obviously," said George, only to be hit in the head with a potato sent flying his way by Mrs. Weasley. "I was just saying…" He ducked to avoid another object from flying into his head.

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Everyone was almost done when Ginny excused herself to go to the bathroom.

"Ginny wait!" Hermione called out to her. "I really have to go to the bathroom! Can't I go first?"

"I suppose." Ginny said. "I don't see why not. Just make it quick."

Hermione quickly walked up the stairs, hoping that Ginny followed her. When she looked back though, Ginny was no where to be seen. She made a quick stop in the bathroom, then heading back down stairs to let Ginny know the bathroom was free. Ginny thanked her and headed up to the bathroom.

As soon as Hermione sat down, the boys excused themselves to go fly their brooms again. They all ran upstairs to get their gear before running out the backdoor. This all happened so quickly that Hermione barely had time to register anything happening. She laughed as she saw them running like little children to the secluded spot where they could fly.

She stopped however when she remembered Tonks. Maybe she could find out what was up with Tonks and then ask her for some advice on Ginny.

Opening the door of Tonks' room, she noticed the witch sitting on her bed looking out her window. Her hair that was usually colored so vividly was now waist-length and brown, her natural hair color.

"Tonks?" Hermione asked softly before entering the room. "Do you mind. . .?" She gestured to the room.

"Come in Hermione." Tonks answered even quieter than Hermione's voice had been and turned around. Hermione noticed that her eyes were dark green, and that she had tears running down her face.

Hermione gasped softly and went over and sat by Tonks, having the decency to close the door before she made her way towards the bed.

"What happened? Is this about Sirius or Remus?"

Tonks nodded but didn't say anything.

"You're going to have to talk if you want any help. I don't know who did what you know…" Hermione gently put her arm around Tonks, realizing for the first time that she was extremely small, only two inches or so taller than Hermione, and certainly the same weight.

"It was Sirius…" Tonks said after a moment. "He…" she trailed off. As though choosing her words carefully, she spoke again. "He doesn't approve of it. He got mad and started firing hexes toward anything that got in his way. Including me."

Tonks saw the horrified look on Hermione's face. "No, don't get the wrong idea. He didn't hurt me. He only wanted to disarm me. No matter how mad he gets, he could never hurt anyone he didn't truly hate."

Hermione let out an audible breath, obviously glad that Sirius hadn't hurt her in any physical way. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said mentally.

"So then what happened to your hair and eyes? They're your natural color. At least I think anyway…"

"Well…" started Tonks. "You can't tell anyone yet, understand?"

Hermione nodded and Tonks continued with her tale. "When I feel a very strong emotion, I sometimes lose control over my powers. Sometimes I can't change my hair to make it even a shade lighter. This of course, only applies to negative emotions."

As she spoke, Tonks' hair went from brown to blonde, and then to bright red while staying the same length. Hermione gave her a questioning look before Tonks changed her hair back to brown and continued.

"I've been able to change my hair for quite some time, I just chose not to. You see, everything went natural when I had a huge fight with a man at work, and I didn't bother to change it when I went home that night. Of course, it was shorter then; my hair still grows the same as yours."

Tonks looked out the window for a moment before speaking again. "As you probably know, Remus and I were lonely, so we decided to live together for a while. Different rooms of course. Well, I walked in the door and he was sitting on the couch staring into the fire. I noticed how tired he really was after full moons even though he'd never let me think he was worn out." Tonks blushed when she realized what she was saying.

"Anyway," she continued, "he heard me come into the room and turned around. I could see him staring in a way that was so much more than friendly. He invited me to sit down in the chair across from the couch, but instead I sat down next to him. Before I know what was happening we were kissing on the couch." She giggled like a little girl. "He told me how beautiful I was that night. He says I'm beautiful however I wear my hair, but I keep going back to this. I think maybe because it's what got me the world's best boyfriend. However," she said, the bright look gone from her face now, "Sirius doesn't exactly approve."

"Sirius was at the door most of this time, and is ashamed of what he said earlier."

Tonks and Hermione looked up to see Sirius walk into the room. Tonks started to get up but she was stopped.

"No, let me finish." Tonks sat down at looked up at Sirius. "I should never have said those things. Just because you found someone you love and I haven't, I shouldn't stop you from this. It's just hard to lose my only best friend to a girl."

"And Remus shouldn't have said some of the things that he said."

Remus was now walking into the room. Hermione almost giggled when she realized how much like a little party this was becoming.

"He would like to apologize to Sirius for lying about his relationship and he hopes that he will be forgiven." Remus sat down by Tonks allowed her to take his hand and scoot closer. "Look, I was an asshole today. I didn't mean any of it, but I was just so upset that you were hurting her." He looked at Tonks and then back at Sirius. "And I promise that you're not losing me to a girl. I can handle both of you. Just maybe not at the same time."

"Hey!" both Sirius and Tonks protested.

Sirius continued.

"I'll admit that I was stupid for yelling at you, and I accept your statement as an asshole, and I do forgive you."

Remus smiled, "I think that's the closest thing to an apology that I have ever heard from Sirius."

No one else was saying anything so Remus leaned over and kissed Tonks. She happily wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him back. They seemed to have forgotten that anyone was in the room until Sirius cleared his throat very loudly.

Tonks pulled away and laughed at the look on his face.

"Now Sirius," she said, "I've caught you in a closet with more girls than even you could remember. Don't forget, you were quite the ladies man in school." She reminded him. "I also seem to remember that night after the Yule Ball that you were awfully drunk."

Sirius grimaced as he realized she was going to tell the story no matter how much he protested.

"That's right." She said smugly, "When I caught you with what's-her-name in the common room. As I remember things, neither of you had much clothing on, and there was a certain spot in your boxers that seemed to be a little excited."

"Her name was Madeline." Sirius mumbled.

"And what did you do with Miss Madeline, Sirius?" Tonks asked innocently.

"You know full well what happened," he said stiffly. "I don't wish to repeat the story."

"Find I'll finish the story." Tonks said before turning to face everyone else. "He continued to remove her bra before looking up to see me. Instead of doing the decent thing and attempting to get dressed, he invited me to join their little play group."

Remus looked shocked, seeing as he had never heard this version of the story before.

"And when I politely decline, he came over and kissed me. Quite well for being drunk actually…And tried to get my dress off. Madeline was, of course, too drunk to do anything, so she just sat there watching him practically rape me."

Sirius looked at his feet while Remus just laughed as he was picturing this.

"I must say," he said to Sirius, "That is much better than the story that I heard from you."

"You would think so," said an extremely embarrassed Sirius.

"I don't think I've ever seem him blush before." Remus commented.

"No, neither do I," replied Tonks, "but I bet I know a way that I can make him blush." As she said this she leaned over and proceeded to kiss Remus quite thoroughly. Taking the hint, Remus reached under her shirt and moaned as she deepened the kiss.

Sirius, now redder than ever announced loudly, "I'm leaving before they make a porn movie right in front of us."

Everyone left the room giving them some privacy as they had no intentions of stopping until they were good and ready.

Hermione was happy that Tonks was feeling much happier now, but she was still puzzling over Ginny. She hadn't gotten to ask Tonks about it, and had no ideas left. She was so worried for her friend that she had almost forgotten that tomorrow they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express and heading off to a new term at Hogwarts.

She walked to her room and noticed that her stuff was all lying on her bed in neat piles. She found a note on top with Molly's handwriting. While slightly annoyed that she had gone through her belongings, she was secretly glad that she hadn't had to do it, as her room had been a mess. Besides, she reasoned, she probably used magic.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope that it was long enough for you. Just about 9 pages on Word. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Oh, and do you think Hermione is a little more in character now?