A/N: I'm so sorry to have disappeared for so long. I was on vacation and dealing with life, not necessarily in that order. This chapter is very short because I wanted to get something posted before everyone forgot completely about this story (including me). The next will be a lot longer and hopefully it won't be another couple weeks before I post.
The three of them stared at each other another long moment.
"Maybe . . . it's a joke?" asked Hermione weakly just as Ginny rounded on her. "I thought you said it wasn't getting stronger!" She shook her head. "It's not a joke; Harry wouldn't joke about something like that, not now that he knows what Kane did to him." Just saying his name felt awkward in Ginny's mouth.
Ron had his wand out and was walking in circles around the spot where Harry's Patronus had been. After a moment, he shook his head. "I don't detect any foul play with the sending," he said. It must be something . . . with Harry himself. He looked at Ginny. "How was he uhh, last night?" A blush climbed up Ron's neck but his eyes were serious. Ginny's panic overrode any embarrassment.
"He was completely normal," she said quickly. "We . . . you know. Nothing suspicious." She looked back and forth between Hermione and Ron. "So I didn't imagine that he sounded . . . different?" It was the last grasp at normalcy Ginny could think of, and she wasn't at all surprised when both of them shook their heads. She'd known something was off the second Harry's Patronus had begun to speak.
"He didn't get hit or anything during the game, did he?" Hermione was clearing trying to come up with a logical explanation too. "The announcers would have said something, right?"
Before Ron could answer, Ginny remembered something. "He was going to do a special move but he didn't," she said. "As a sort of private 'hello' to me. The . . . Filage Loop. That's what he called it." The pit in her stomach grew heavier; she'd actually assumed Harry just hadn't been able to work the move into the game. Now the omission seemed much more sinister than tactical.
Ron nodded knowingly. "Harry's one of the few Seekers in the league who's really good at it," he said. "It's tricky, but effective."
"So it's a move he'd have to make a conscious decision to do," said Ginny flatly. She knew Harry wouldn't have just forgotten about his promise, no matter how wrapped up in the game he'd been. And despite her joke to him earlier that he shouldn't put her before the chance to win the game, Ginny had known Harry would find a way to work the move in, to let her know that he was thinking about her in a way that was very private, despite being completely public. She only now realized how much she'd been looking forward to it – to hearing the announcer cry out "And Potter executes a perfect Filage Loop – what a move!" – and the warmth that would follow as she imagined Harry smiling to himself as he thought of her. She forced her thoughts back to more pressing matters.
"That meant it happened before the game, or possibly during," she said. "But most likely before." She frowned to herself. She now knew there at least a dozen ways to tamper with someone's memory that didn't require the bluntness of Obliviate. Most were more subtle and targeted, which made them harder to detect – and break. Someone could have charmed the socks he wore with his uniform or put a spell on his locker that activated when he touched it. Or there still could have been mindwork involved; Ginny remembered hearing stories about how Quirrel had tried to knock Harry off his broom during a match his first year. Ron and Hermione had thought it was Snape; nevertheless, Ginny had no doubt that a talented wizard could send a memory charm directly at a sole Quidditch player over a long distance. She wrung her hands, angry at herself. She should have said something more to Camilla; should have found some time to get the witch really alone to talk about her suspicions about Kane. Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, but it was clear to Ginny that Camilla knew more about what Kane (and maybe Robards) wanted with her and Harry. It had been stupid of her to hold back, and she said so to her brother and Hermione. But he shook his head.
"Maybe it's a good thing," Ron said. "I know you trust Camilla, and I do too, but we don't know enough about what's going on yet, and until we do, I think we should keep quiet." Next to him, Hermione was nodding.
"How?" asked Ginny. "People are going to notice that Harry's . . . off." She couldn't bring herself to describe it any more specifically.
"I don't know," said Hermione slowly. "It depends on exactly what's been done to him." She looked distressed. "And if someone says something he doesn't remember, it could get . . . messy."
Ginny jumped up. "Messy how? Let's go then. We need to get him out of there, out of the bar. Before something . . . happens." She started pacing. Getting to Harry was the only way to fix this and it suddenly felt unbearable to wait a moment longer. She tried not to glare at Ron and Hermione, urging thme on with her eyes. A thought struck her.
"Maybe it's a prank?" she said hesitantly. "Like, the twins wanting to get back at us for the poster?" It was a stretch, she knew; somehow, Ginny was certain that something darker was at work than one of Fred and George's products. Still, she couldn't help but give Hermione a hopeful look. "Something that breaks the second he sees me?"
"Maybe," said Hermione slowly. Ginny could tell Hermione didn't quite believe it either. "I think you should probably come with us to the bar, but . . ." she trailed off.
"But what?" asked Ginny. "Of course I'm coming with you to the bar! Why wouldn't I?" She stared impatiently at the couple, who both seemed oddly hesitant to answer her, and more disconcertingly, seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other."
Ginny took a deep breath. She was acting like a child, not an Auror. It was regularly drilled into them at training about how difficult it could be to separate personal feelings from work and the trainees were constantly reminded to "let someone know immediately" if they were ever given an assignment that crossed any sort of emotional line. Ginny had listened and nodded but had thought to herself that being emotionally attached to a case would be more likely to make her work harder, not distract her. But look here, ten minutes into a concern about Harry and she was already acting irrationally. "If you think I could make things worse, I'll stay back," she said quietly.
Ron gave her a sad smile. "Thanks, Ginny." He looked at his girlfriend. "What do you think?"
Hermione was quiet for a long moment. "I think it's okay," she said. "After all, Harry's message did mention Ginny and bringing her along. She'll just have to be . . . careful." She looked at Ginny. "Until we have some sort of idea what's going on," she said. "Keep quiet as much as possible. Let Harry talk to you if he wants, but don't direct the conversation yourself." She grimaced. "And if he doesn't talk to you, then . . ."
"Then I'll stay away," said Ginny, feeling the pit in her stomach grow. "What about Dam? He's the only one there who knows about Harry and m-me." She stumbled over the words.
Hermione had stood up. "And that's why we need to get to the bar," she said briskly. "Before Dam says anything that causes . . . harm." Her lips pressed together and Ginny didn't want to ask what she was thinking. She grabbed her wand and traveling cloak before heading for the door.
None of them spoke on the way to the Apparition point. Ginny's mind was swirling with a million possibilities, each worse than the last. Part of her still wanted to contact Camilla immediately; maybe this was a time sensitive matter and they were letting valuable clues slip away by not bringing in the real Aurors. But she wasn't so certain about that tactic to insist on it. Nothing – no one – felt like they could be trusted besides Ron and Hermione. Ginny didn't want to believe Camilla was dangerous, but at that moment, anything felt possible. And if there was corruption in the department that extended to the most senior Aurors, then they were going to have to get Kingsley involved too.
Ginny's musings helped her tamp down her panic. She didn't even remember taking the lift down to the lobby until the three of them were outside in the back alley. It was only after Ron reminded her of the name of the pub – the Bread and Barley – and he and Hermione disappeared with nearly identical-sounding pops that Ginny started to shake. For it had occurred to her that if what was wrong was that Harry didn't remember her – didn't remember them, then he could be doing anything right now. Anything with anyone. And Ginny might be about to witness it.
She shook her head and brushed angry tears out of her eyes. Now was the time to prove she was an Auror. The sooner she got to the pub, the sooner she and Ron and Hermione could get to Harry and put this all to right. For there was no other option, as far as Ginny was concerned.