A/N: As I wrote, I wasn't sure I was pleased with the start of this chapter – it's got a lot of dialogue and that tends to be more "tell" than "show", but I think it works to move the plot along in a way it needs. And I'm quite happy with the end.

Also, I wanted to comment on a review I got, that noted the idea of Quidditch teams in England needing to take "road trips" and stay in hotels was kind of unrealistic, given the size of the country and the ease of magical transport. I'll admit it's something I've thought about too, and as far as I'm concerned, it's a plot device I need to make the story work. Although, I suppose it makes sense to keep the team all together and near the stadium where they'll be playing the following day, instead of trusting individual members to Apparate or Portkey or whatever back and forth all the time. Enjoy!

Harry stared at Ginny a beat too long for her to have believed any denial and he didn't try to give one. He shook his head. "I . . . I don't really remember working with Kane," he admitted. "I know he was there, at the Aurors, and that he and Robards talked a lot, but I didn't have any interaction with him."

"That you remember," said Ginny gently. She pursed her lips. "I don't know a lot about memory charms yet; we've just started learning the basics. I know I need to ask you questions to uncover the exact scope and breadth about what you don't remember, to try to isolate it. She tried to keep her voice even but she was certain the disappointment shone through. They would not be making love at the hotel tonight.

Harry's face reflected the same realization. "You've asked me about this before; has something changed?" Ginny heard a hopeful note in his voice that this was something that could possibly be postpone for a little while; at least until sometime post-orgasm. She paused.

The truth was, Ginny wasn't entirely sure. She'd noticed that Harry had few specific recollections about working for Kane, but until recently, she'd put down his reticence to the fact that he didn't feel comfortable sharing with her. He hadn't said much of anything to her about his time with Aurors at all when they were barely friends. It was only recently, after she and Harry were together – and Ginny had seen Kane's fascination with thought tampering first-hand – that she'd tried to pay more attention to what Harry knew. Ginny just wasn't sure if he remembered less now or if she was simply more attune to it. For a long moment she considered telling Harry that no, nothing had changed, and whatever they needed to discuss could wait. She could still feel the tingling between her legs that reminded her low long it had been since Harry had touched her, and the urge to take his hand and lead him to the private room upstairs was strong. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and she shivered. With reluctance, she nodded.

"At the least, I'm more aware of what Kane might have done now," she said. "And I'm not sure, but it's possible that your recollection has become . . . less?" She squeezed his hand. "I want to talk to Hermione, for a start. It might be nothing, but she knows a lot about memory charms. She can help me ask you the right questions and keep track of patterns in your answers." Ginny looked at Harry's face and saw only the barest hint of disappointment cross it before his features resolved into acquiescence. A moment later, he actually smiled. "You're right, of course," he said. "Proper Auror procedure would never allow for a shag when there was something that needed to be investigated." His expression grew slightly naughty. "And I have to admit, it's damn sexy to hear you talk like an Auror." He shuffled his chair closer and pushed his leg against her hers. "When this is all done, I hope you'll find the need to investigate me in private."

An image flew into Ginny's mind of her wearing nothing but her Auror's robes, straddling Harry while she asked him questions about where he'd like her to put her mouth next. She made a low sound of desire in her throat. "Yes please," she said thickly.

Harry nodded and motioned to their server. "Then I guess we'd better go back to my flat to see Ron and Hermione," he said.

"I hope we don't interrupt anything," she said dryly after Harry paid their bill and walked her out to the Apparition point.

HPHPHPHP

Harry wisely sent ahead a Patronus and Ron and Hermione were sitting together – looking somewhat disheveled but fully clothed – on the sofa when Harry and Ginny arrived. Harry had disillusioned himself to enter the lobby and take the lift, lest any of the buildings other residents see him and wonder why he was not with the rest of his team. He removed the charm and took Ginny's hand before speaking, walking them both over to sit on the loveseat.

"What happened?" burst out Hermione. "I can't imagine the team would let you leave if it wasn't important." She had a parchment and quill in front of her, Ginny saw, and she felt a rush of gratitude that Hermione and Ron had jumped right in to help, no questions asked. It shouldn't have surprised her, she realized. The two of them had been supporting Harry for a lot longer than she had, after all.

They don't know," admitted Harry. He looked sheepish for a moment. "And my original plan for sneaking off . . . well, it wouldn't have involved you two, just Ginny." He sat forward. "But yeah, something happened."

"Do I want to know what you were doing at the time?" asked Ron with a slight grimace.

"Eating dinner at a Muggle restaurant," Ginny assured her brother. This was not the time to tease. She looked at Harry. He gave her a small nod; this was her story to tell.

"I've suspected for a while now, particularly since Harry and I got together, that Kane fiddled with his memory somehow, to keep him from remembering what he did for the Aurors." Ginny spoke very fast; it sounded a little ridiculous when she said it out loud like that. Kane was one of the most senior Aurors in the Ministry, equal to Camilla Stalk and only just below Robards. There had never been a hint of suspicion about him before the War, or during or after. But neither Ron nor Hermione looked completely surprised. Indeed, the exchanged a look before Ron leaned forward.

"Do you not remember what you did at all? Or just for Kane?" he asked slowly. He looked at Hermione then. She gave him a small nod.

"It's time to tell him," she said quietly. "If Ginny's noticed too."

Harry had also leaned forward. "Yes, tell me please." He looked back and forth between the other three. "Is there something you've been holding back from me? Something wrong?" He didn't sound angry, and Ginny knew that he trusted them that much, trusted them not to keep anything from him without a good reason. He ran his hand down her back and she leaned into him while Ron gathered his thoughts.

"I don't if anything's wrong," said Ron. "But back when you kept disappearing while we were rebuilding Hogwarts, you often came back in a rather foul mood, do you remember that?"

Harry relaxed against Ginny. "Yeah, that I remember," he said. "I didn't like what I was doing for . . ." his voice trailed off and he looked confused. "I was going to say Robards, that I didn't like what Robards had me do for him, that it seemed unfair or not . . . right." He ran his hand through his hair. "But now I'm not so sure." He looked up. "What did you notice?"

"Robards and Kane and Camilla Stalk all came to Hogwarts early on in the rebuilding," said Hermione. She was speaking slowly, her eyes carefully trained on Harry, and Ginny knew she was watching him for any signs of distress. Harry nodded; this was apparently something he remembered. Hermione continued. "You told us they had some work for you to do, mopping up pockets of Dark activity," she said. "Things they thought you were particularly well-suited for."

Harry rubbed at his eyes. "It had something to do with my connection to Voldemort," he said. "And my familiarity with Muggles, having lived with them for so long." He looked up. "That was Camilla's focus, I think. "She wanted to make sure that the Death Eaters hadn't infiltrated Muggle families, whether they had wizarding children or not, and hidden magic there, to be retrieved later."

"That sounds legitimate," said Ginny.

"Harry nodded. "It is," he said. "You'd be surprised about how many Death Eaters tried to conceal their acts by hiding magical signatures, objects, and other things with Muggles. It can be incredibly dangerous for the Dark Magic to be among non-magical people. We had a hell of time identifying and then clearing out targeted houses." Harry's voice was relaxed while he described what he'd done with Camilla, and after a second, Hermione nodded.

"Nothing concerning there," she said. "Harry, if you can, tell us what you did for Robards and Kane. But if you start to get confused or dizzy, stop and think about . . . the latest move you've been practicing in Quidditch."

Harry nodded to show he understood. "If you asked me . . . I mean, you have asked me before, right?" He started over. "When you asked me about what I did for the Aurors, I usually lumped Robards and Kane together, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, or else you . . ."

"Or else I didn't mention Kane much at all," finished Harry. He straightened in his seat and glanced at Ginny before continuing. "I've been thinking about since dinner, since Ginny told me she didn't think I remembered working with Kane. I've been straining to figure out if that's true." When Hermione opened her mouth to speak, Harry held up his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not breaking my mind or anything," he said. "But of course, once I started focusing on what I remembered, the little bit I did started slipping away more. He turned to Ginny. "What did I say about Kane before?"

Ginny shrugged. "Just that you worked more for Robards and didn't really interact with Kane, even though they were involved in the same general things," she said. "If Kane hadn't mentioned to me more than once that you'd done some tasks for him, and suggested that he wanted me to recruit you back to the Aurors so that you and I could . . . I don't know . . . complete whatever you'd started, I might not have noticed that you didn't seem to remember working for him." Ginny watched Harry carefully for any sign that the discussion was upsetting him, but if anything, he seemed almost fascinated. "This is interesting to you, isn't it?"

Harry gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well . . . some of it, some of the investigating, I mean. I like it. I like fighting Dark Magic. I just didn't like . . ." he shook his head. "I didn't like something," he said finally. "I guess finding out what that something is is why we're here, right?" He squeezed Ginny's hand.

"We noticed that you were more vague than usual, when you came back from the Aurors." Hermione took up the story again. "Sometimes you told us specific details, like what you were doing for Camilla, or even that you were investigating homeschooled young wizards. But other times you were very closed off."

"It took us a long time to think that maybe it was something having to do with whom you were working for, that you talked plenty about Camilla, and sometimes about Robards, but almost never about Kane."

"Sometimes you seemed more suspicious of Robards than others," inserted Ginny. She frowned. "I wondered sometimes why you were okay with Ron and I joining the Aurors, if it was so bad that you'd quit. But then you'd seem to relax, and I'd think you just didn't like the attention, since you weren't part of a training class and you were, you know, you." She snuggled more closely into him. "I didn't know you well then."

Harry was shaking his head. "I wouldn't have let either you or Ron join the Aurors if I thought there was something really wrong there," he said. "Or Angelina or Lee or anyone else I knew." He looked up at Hermione. "Do you think Kane pulled something really big out of my memory? Could he do that without me noticing?"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't think it was anything too big," she said. "Just very specific. You'd be in physical pain or a lot more confused if he'd taken anything significant. You've been about the same all year; you clearly aren't forgetting more." Ginny didn't miss the look of relief on Harry's face. She kissed him softly on the cheek. "We'll figure it out; I'll ask Camilla. I think she knows more than she's letting on."

"I bet it has to do with Ginny," Ron said suddenly. "Kane's been on her back since the start about getting them together. Maybe he didn't want Harry to remember what he was doing for Kane because it would, I don't know, taint whatever he was to do with Ginny."

"That's not a bad guess," said Harry.

"Except for the fact that I've so far completely refused to include Harry in anything Kane's suggested," said Ginny. "I don't even know what it is Kane wants, other than some vague relation to the Chamber." She frowned. "Is it odd that he hasn't even told me what he wants with me and Harry?"

"It's part of those investigation techniques we've learned," said Ron knowingly. "Remember? When you want something from someone, or information, don't tell them too much. If they are curious, they're likely to tell you what you want to know."

"Well, I'm just as happy not being curious," said Ginny flatly. "Not if it involves the reason that Kane took one of Harry's memories." A thought struck her. "He couldn't have used a Pensieve, could he? Those memories are usually just copies; we keep the originals in our brains."

"That's right," said Hermione. "There are ways to remove enough of a memory that it can be difficult to recall, but it's a personal charm you have to perform on yourself." She grinned. "Witch Weekly had an entire article about how to 'truly forget the one who broke your heart' a couple of months ago."

Ginny grinned back. "Since when do you read Witch Weekly?" she teased.

"It was purely work related," said Hermione indignantly. "Although, that particular volume had a sex quiz that Ron and I . . . "

"Don't tell me!" cried Harry. He put his hands over his ears. "We really don't want to know."

It broke the tension and they all chuckled. "And we really didn't want to know about that poster, and yet, here we are," said Ron.

Harry threw a pillow at him. "I swear, neither you nor Hermione ever need to see that poster again," he said solemnly." He put his hand lightly on Ginny's leg and she felt the unspoken spoken promise that the poster might yet make another appearance in her own life. She shivered and Harry's hand moved up a little bit.

But then he sighed. "Since I'm not –" he glanced at Ginny. "I mean, what do we do now? Tell someone?"

"And what would we say?" asked Ginny. "Other than Kane mentioning to me that Harry did some work with him, I don't know who else knows anything. How would we explain that we just happened to decide that Kane tampered with Harry's memories about what he did for the Aurors almost a year ago?"

"We don't have enough to go on," said Ron decisively. "We need to further our investigation before going higher up with our suspicions."

He sounded so much like he was quoting their training manual that Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Glad to see you're paying attention, Ron." She took Harry's hand again. "I don't want to say anything to Robards, but I'll see what I can learn from Camilla." She looked around. "And what about Kingsley?"

"If we have to, yes," said Harry. "But he's been so busy trying to fix the rest of the Ministry he ceded more control over the Auror Department than I think he wanted to. I'd rather not bother him unless it's really needed."

Ginny nodded. "Okay then. We all keep mostly quiet. Harry goes back to finish his road trip, Ron and I go back to work and I try to talk to Camilla and Hermione . . .?"

"I do some research on targeted memory charms," she said with a nod.

"My guess is that it ends up being much less of a big deal than we think," said Ginny with a bit more confidence than she felt. "Kane's overly curious and likes to be in control, but I think his commitment to fighting Dark Magic is legitimate. He seems to like to use minor memory charms and Legilimency and things like that to try to stay on top of what's going on without having to take the time to get to know people. Easier to pluck thoughts out of their heads and then hide anything he doesn't want them asking too many questions about."

"That actually sounds like what I've heard about him," said Hermione thoughtfully. "I've heard him described as impatient before – willing to take shortcuts to get things done – even if they aren't completely on the up and up. But nothing really unlawful."

Ginny nodded, feeling better. "That sounds like him," she said. "I'll try to lay low this week at work; hopefully he won't be around much."

Harry kissed her rather thoroughly goodbye after that, and when he was done, Ginny was tingling all over. She briefly considered inviting him back to her flat after all, but it was now very late and she knew he had an early training in the morning before a game against Tutshill later that night.

"I'll be listening on the wireless," she said between kisses. Harry pressed himself up against her and stood silently for a minute, his breathing ragged. For a moment, Ginny thought he was going to say something, but then he just sighed quietly and moved away. "I like knowing you're listening," he said.

Ron gave an enormous yawn. "I'll need to make a double batch of coffee to get through tomorrow," he said. He nudged his girlfriend. "Did I remember to buy more?"

"There's a bag at my flat," said Hermione. "But not here."

"Bugger," said Ron. "I'll have to remember to buy more."

Hermione kissed him. "Let's sleep at my place until then," she said.

HPHPHPHP

Going back to work was more complicated than Ginny expected. She tried to lay low, particularly because Shepherd Kane was back from whatever field investigation that had taken his time the week before, and the man was, unfortunately, in charge of their instruction that week. They were a continuation of the unit on investigation techniques, and Ginny wondered curiously if Kane was going to teach them some of the mind-related charms he knew. At first, that didn't seem to be the case. Kane's lectures were informative, but rather bland. Ginny kept her head down taking notes as much as possible but couldn't get over the feeling that the man was watching her more than everyone else.

"Don't underestimate the power of small talk," he said on the third day. "Especially with Muggles or those who are . . . less educated or aware of their magical power." Kane began walking up and down the aisles of the classroom. "Or if you suspect that your interview subject may be hiding something." He stopped right next to Ginny and she forced herself not to look up. "Creating an atmosphere of comfort and ease can be nearly as effective as . . . other means of gleaning information."

Ginny kept writing notes, very aware of Ron in the desk next to her. Kane continued talking.

"And of course, you need to be sensitive to your subject's mood and behavior," he said. "It's too easy, especially for new Aurors, for an interview to go pear-shaped from just one misplaced or thoughtless question." Kane paused for a long moment. "If that happens, there are things that can be done to fix the situation, but only with the oversight of a more senior Auror."

Ginny held her breath, wondering if Kane would say more, or suggest what such things might be.

"We don't expect you to need to know those methods any time soon, if ever," he continued genially. "But it's good to have certain charms in your arsenal of knowledge as you go forward into the fight against Dark Magic."

And just like that, with Kane's mentioning Arsenal, Ginny's mind leapt away to the stadium where she knew Harry was just then. He was finally coming home tonight, and he'd probably be in his practice uniform when Ginny saw him. The uniform that said Arsenal across the front and Potter on the back. The one that was a little more worn and snug than his official uniform, that Ginny could pull over his head without much work, tossing on the floor of her flat so that she could run her hands up Harry's chest. He'd pull her in for a kiss – sweat and dirt be damned – and she'd melt into him . . ."

". . . here with us, Miss Weasley?" Kane was suddenly very close.

Ginny shook her head, the image of Harry disappearing quickly. She looked up at her boss. "I'm sorry," she said. "I umm . . . I got dizzy for a moment."

Kane gave her a quick, calculating look. "Do you need the infirmary?" he asked. Ginny shook her head.

"No sir, it's passed," she said. "I umm, missed my coffee this morning."

"Ahh yes, your coffee," said Kane with a chuckle. "Mr. Weasley's talent has become rather legendary around the office, I must say." He looked at Ron. "Running late this morning?"

Ron shook his head. "No sir. Ran out of beans. I've been making it for more people at the office lately."

"Including my assistant," said Kane dryly. "She's much more efficient after her coffee." He waved his wand and mumbled an Accio and a package wrapped in familiar brown paper from Diagon Alley Coffee Roasters floated into the room. "You use the wizard-grown Costa Rican beans, right?" He tossed the package to Ron, who caught it neatly.

"Umm, yes sir, thank you," said Ron. He looked up. "I'll be sure to make enough for everyone on Monday."

"We all appreciate it," said Kane. He looked at his watch. "I suppose we can get an early start on the weekend; I daresay some of you might have important plans." He smiled. "I'll see you all on Monday, and with no excuses to be late, since Mr. Weasley will be bringing us all coffee."

HPHPHPH

Ginny didn't have to wonder for long when she was going to get to see Harry; she'd barely opened to door to her flat when a hand reached out and pulled her inside. She was in Harry's arms before she fully realized what was happening, melting into him a moment later.

"It's a good thing only three people are cleared to get into my flat," she mumbled against his neck. He'd showered after his practice, and the worn jersey she'd envisioned at work had been replaced by a fitted t-shirt instead. "And neither my mum nor Ron would have been so forward with me."

Harry chuckled. "I'd hope not," he said. The hands at her waist got more insistent. "I seem to remember you promising me some private investigating and I expect you to follow through with a thorough examination. I mean it," he continued in a stern voice. "I expect to be put through the wringer."

"So that's what they're calling it now, the wringer?" joked Ginny. Just having Harry here, finally, helped dim the stress and uncertainty of the past week. She was relieved that he too seemed to want only the physical right now. She'd been thinking and analyzing Kane's behavior whenever she was away from the Ministry, and that, combined with interacting with the real thing at work, had become exhausting. Truly, Ginny didn't want to think about anything tonight except having the kind of sex with Harry that would seriously test the strength of their silencing charms – and the construction of her bed.

"I want you to fuck me, hard," she said bluntly, and watched with satisfaction as Harry's eyes grew first wide with surprise and then smoky and intense. Ginny felt his body react in agreement, and before she knew what was happening, Harry had scooped her into his arms and carried her over to her bed. He laid her down without a word and then, still not speaking, pulled off his clothes and dropped them unceremoniously on the floor. He looked at her, an expectant look in his eyes, until Ginny quickly stripped too.

HPHPHP

Harry hadn't touched himself, waiting for Ginny to get back to her flat, but her demand for sex was enough to arouse him as if he'd been wanking for a while already. He could see the tension in the way she held herself, and knew this week had been more worrisome than she'd let on. But in her flat at that moment, their unspoken agreement to put everything else aside took over. He wasn't rough, but assertive as he climbed on top of Ginny and nudged her legs open with his knee. "How quickly can I get you wet, d'you think?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he moved lower, teasing Ginny open with both fingers and tongue. She bent her knees and bucked her hips against Harry's mouth with a groan, and he looked up at her in satisfaction.

"Pretty damn fast, I guess," he said.

"Harry, I'll let you have all the foreplay you want later," panted Ginny. "I'll give you a dozen blowjobs, let you help me touch myself, shower with you, whatever you want." She put her hands on his bum and pulled him up so their faces met. "But right now I want. You. Inside. Me." Ginny punctuated her words with small thrusts, finally grabbing Harry by the hips and guiding him where she wanted.

Harry didn't protest, letting himself sink as deeply into Ginny as he could. It didn't take long to find their rhythm together; even though they had not made love many times yet, they already knew each other's bodies and needs. Harry slipped his hands under Ginny's back and lifted her to him, recognizing the particular sound of pleasure she made as he rubbed against a sensitive spot. She wrapped her arms around his neck and for a long minute they pulsed together almost as one. Harry wasn't aware of anything other than the feel of Ginny's skin, connecting to him in dozens of places and the look in her eyes when he opened his and found her watching him. That was all it took, and Harry came a second later, hearing Ginny swear an oath as she followed him. When they'd both caught their breath she smiled at him.

"I'll let you take things more slowly once we're ready to go again," she said. "But this is exactly what I needed right now."

Harry nuzzled his head into Ginny's neck. "Me too," he said. "I just didn't realize it at first." He chuckled. "I'm planning to be rather useless to Dam at our early practice tomorrow," he said. "Before the Wimbourne game in the evening. We haven't played at our home stadium in 10 days; it will be nice to be back."

Ginny looked at him. "I don't want you to be too tired to play," she said. "We don't have to . . . I mean, I can wait until later, if you want to sleep now." She looked earnestly at him and Harry knew that she'd absolutely curl up and go to sleep if that was what he asked for. He shook his head. "You promised me foreplay and a dozen blowjobs, if I remember correctly," he said. "And I intend to collect." He sighed. "But, do you mind if we finish this in my flat? I actually do need to make sure my kit is sent ahead to the stadium for cleaning. I might have . . . been a little too eager to get here to make sure it was done properly before."

Ginny laughed. "Let's just hope Ron and Hermione set a silencing charm."

HPHPHPHP

Ginny was vaguely aware of Harry waking up to the soft trilling of his alarm before the sun had even come up. "Sorry I kept you up so late," she mumbled tiredly, rolling over under the warm blankets. It was nice to be the one able to have a lie-in for once.

"No you aren't, and neither am I" said Harry with a grin. "I enjoyed last night much more than if I had been sleeping the entire time. Besides, I ran into Ron in the kitchen after . . . I think it was after our second time? He had the same idea for biscuits that we did. Said he'd get up and make me coffee before I had to face Dam and the rest of the team; I guess he and Hermione are going off for a day's holiday and want to get an early start." He reached down and straightened the blankets around Ginny before leaning in for a kiss. "I'll make sure to leave you some too."

Ginny kissed Harry back with an intensity that belied the fact she was planning to curl up and go back to sleep once Harry was gone. He let her pull him halfway onto the bed, and one of his hands had slipped under the covers to find her waist before the alarm rang again. Reluctantly, Harry pulled back. "I'll be back tonight and we can continue this," he promised. His eyes gleamed. "When you listen to the game tonight, wait to hear the announcement that I'm doing the Filage Loop seeking maneuver. That will be my sign that I'm thinking about you."

Ginny pulled Harry in for a final kiss. "That's the spinning one, right? Just make sure the move fits into your game strategy."

Harry laughed. "That's one of the things I love about you; thinking about the good of the team over romance." He kissed her back. "I'll make it work, I promise."

And then Harry was gone and Ginny did sleep, but not for as long as she wanted. Somehow, her body knew Harry wasn't there in his bed next to her and she had trouble with feeling restless. It was much earlier than she would have liked when she finally got up and pulled a sweatshirt of Harry's on over her pajamas on her way to the kitchen for the promised coffee before going back to her own flat. Maybe she'd have better luck falling back asleep there, she thought.

The warming charm on the pot was still active, but only a few drops of coffee waited for Ginny when she went to pour some in her mug. She frowned to herself. Ron usually made enough for at least four of them to drink but he must have assumed Ginny wouldn't need any since she wasn't getting up early. Well, at least it wouldn't keep her awake and prevent her next nap. Deciding that Harry's sweatshirt was long enough to cover all her most important bits, she lowered the lights in the flat and left, walking down the hallway to her own before curling up on her sofa with a book. It was a cloudy day and the room was dim, and before too long, Ginny had fallen back asleep. Her dreams, not surprisingly, turned towards Harry.

He was between her legs, having let himself back into her flat. He made no mention of needing to be at the stadium. "Cozy sweatshirt?" he asked with a smirk. "You should keep it on; everything I need right now is below your waist."

Ginny didn't remember much more of the dream when she woke up later, just that it had been very, very nice. With no one around she took some time to catch up on reading for work and did several loads of laundry. She still couldn't bring herself to get terribly invested in the deep clean her mum kept hinting at though. After restocking her cupboards and icebox at the market, she knocked on Ron and Harry's door late in the afternoon. Hermione answered, looking windswept and happy.

"Nice day, then?" asked Ginny, accepting a butterbeer from Ron before sitting down near the wireless.

"Oh, it was lovely," she said. "We took a Portkey south and set up a picnic near some ruins I've been wanting to see – the ancient wizards had quite a different organizational structure for their legal buildings, and I thought it was fascinating." She spoke very quickly, her eyes sparkling.

Ginny grinned. "And how did my brother like it?"

Hermione waved her hand airily. "I brought a lot of food," she confessed. "He was perfectly happy."

"I liked the ruins too," said Ron defensively. "The jail cells were located in subterranean rooms right below the main courtrooms. When a prisoner was found guilty they were just dropped right though the floor, never to see daylight again. Sometimes they didn't even get a trial first."

"Sounds lovely," said Ginny dryly. She thought of what Harry had told her of his experience in Courtroom Ten. "I'm glad to hear we've become slightly more refined since then."

Hermione opened her mouth, probably to explain exactly how much more work there was to do to reform the wizarding legal system when Ron hissed at them to be quiet. "It's starting!" he said, turning the dials on the wireless.

Ginny tried to ignore the fact that both Ron and Hermione gave her knowing smiles as soon as Harry's name was announced, but after a moment, she had to grin too. "It's even more fun to listen to now," she admitted. She didn't tell them about Harry's promise to send her a secret message; Ron at least would not be able to keep that kind of thing quiet to her family.

It was a close game, with the score moving back and forth and the announcers saying Harry's name often enough that Ginny found herself in a sort of constant state of minor arousal. It was only when one of them yelled in excitement that Harry'd caught the Snitch, winning the game for the Arrows, that she realized he'd not been able to work the Filage Loop into his playing after all.

At least he hadn't broken his neck or anything, trying to send me a message. It would have been cute, but Ginny was glad to see Harry still put his responsibility to the team ahead of her. She stood up and stretched, wondering how long it would be until Harry made it back from the stadium and whether he'd come to his flat or hers. A moment later, she had her answer, as Harry's Patronus cantered in through the wall. From the noise in the background, it sounded like the team was in full celebratory mood.

"Ron, you gotta get over here – they're pulling out those new brands of Firewhiskey I was telling you about – you've got to come sample some!" The noise got louder for a moment and then the stag spoke again. "We're going to be at the Bread and Barley; give them your name and they'll let you in the VIP section. Bring Hermione if you want, even though I know she doesn't like whiskey that much. Oh, and Ginny too, if she cares to come hang out with smelly Quidditch players. Just get your arse here soon!" The stag faded away and Ron and Hermione turned to look at Ginny, confusion in their eyes.

"I . . . I don't know," she said.