A/N: Posted before I forgot to write this: This chapter was nearly 3,000 words long and totally kicking my ass before Deadwoodpecker pointed out that I was taking it, and Harry, and his character, in a way that I really didn't want to. As painful as it was, I deleted a lot of what I'd written and started over. It turned out much better the second time and I'm so grateful that she didn't let me fall off the rails. It would have been ugly.

The frantic voices were back, swirling around Harry as he floated - lay? - in the blackness.

"No, keep him here. The wards will . . ."

"What the hell did he think . . ."

". . . didn't work, but keep that quiet for now."

". . . and Camilla Stalk are still here. They haven't been able to . . ."

". . . knew what's been taken from them. It would make figuring out a healing spell much . . ."

"She's barely moved. He seems a bit more restless, at least. I don't know what . . ."

Harry opened his eyes and the blackness disappeared. He was lying on his back while several strangers in healer's robes rushed around him. He felt the cool breeze of a healing spell on his chest and then another, warmer, around his eyes. An unfamiliar face peered down at him.

"He's awake," she announced to the room and suddenly more healers crowded around. Beyond them, Harry heard someone he thought was Ron say "Thank fucking Merlin,"and another voice, more muffled, answered with words he couldn't quite hear, other than something that sounded like ". . . four hours."

He struggled to sit up. "How's . . . where's Riddle?" he asked thickly. His tongue felt like cotton and a strange weak dizziness washed over him. He let his head fall back on the bed.

"Just a minute, Mr. Potter." The healer who looked to be in charge signaled for a young man in training robes to bring Harry a cup of water. He drank gratefully as another voice spoke up.

"Riddle is gone, or whatever of him that was here is gone. We aren't sure yet exactly what that was."

Camilla Stalk looked exhausted - and frustrated and angry - although her ire didn't seem to be directed at Harry. She was holding her wand tightly in one hand and kept looking to the door of the room. Harry wasn't sure what she was watching for but her posture and expression suggested that she might be guarding him from something. Or someone, he supposed. He tried to sit up again and this time the healer gave a small sigh and waived her wand to raise the head of Harry's bed, although it was clear she'd have preferred to have him still lying flat and not talking.

"I'll tell you what I know," he told Camilla. She gave him a tight smile.

"We intend to question you quite thoroughly as soon as you're able," she said. She glanced out the door again. "Ginny too . . . eventually."

"How is Ginny?" asked Harry. Ron was in the room with him, so he reasoned she couldn't be too badly off. "She kind of . . . collapsed right before the Chamber did." Harry looked at Camilla but it was the healer who answered.

"Still unconscious," she said briskly, adjusting Harry's pillow even though he'd been fairly comfortable already. "We don't know when she'll wake up, given how much longer she was inside the ritual than you were." She pursed her lips and Harry got the impression the healer blamed him for Ginny's state. "I'd like to ask you some questions about what happened to the two of you, since you seem to be feeling well enough to answer." She motioned to the rest of the healers and they slowly filed out of the room.

Harry was feeling anything but well, but he nodded tiredly, forcing himself not to give into the blackness that threatened at the edges of his vision. "Okay."

"I thought we agreed that the Aurors . . ." Camilla began.

". . . can be present for the questioning, yes," interrupted the healer. "But right now my first priority is the health of my patients. I need to ascertain what happened to them, magically and medically, so that they can be treated appropriately. Everything else can wait."

"Everything else Cannot wait," retorted Camilla. "Residual effects of the ritual could cause injury to many more people than just Harry and Ginny. We let the healers question Kane first and from what I heard in the interview, he wasn't very helpful. Considering he nearly killed two people, he seems to have a remarkably lax understanding of what he did. The Aurors need that information." Her face boded no argument.

Harry grasped onto one bit of information. "Kane's here?" he asked. His mind moved sluggishly. "Shouldn't be be in Azkeban or something?" Camilla made a convulsive movement and opened her mouth, but then closed it again when the healer answered.

She gave Harry a curious look. "Azkeban? Now why would you say that? I understand the . . . ritual as it were, didn't go according to plan, but the Aurors here don't put people in Azkeban for mistakes, no matter how improperly executed." She didn't quite pat his head but the intent was clear in her voice.

"Right," said Harry thickly. "Sorry."

"You must still be quite confused," Ron said loudly. He put a reassuring hand on Harry's arm but Harry was pretty sure the healer couldn't see that Ron also gave him a squeeze of warning. He responded with a tiny nod of understanding. He needed to talk to Ron and Hermione and Camilla before revealing too much to the healers.

"What time is it?" he asked. The curtains at the sole window in the room were tightly closed. "Actually, what day is it?" Ginny had gone into the Chamber Sunday night and Harry had joined her there Monday morning but he had no idea how long they'd been down there or how long he'd been unconscious once they were pulled out.

"It's 1 am Tuesday morning," answered the healer. "You and Miss Weasley were brought here around 9 pm." She waved her wand over Harry and he felt a cooling sensation again.

"So that's good," he said. "I woke up pretty quickly." That must mean Ginny couldn't be far behind; she'd only been in the Chamber what, maybe twelve hours longer than he had? "Ginny was there about twice as long as I was," he said, half to himself. "So she should be waking up in another 3-4 hours." That was good to know; Harry could focus on talking to Camilla and probably Robards too. He wished there was a way to confirm that Shepard Kane was at least secured and unable to escape right now. He looked around, trying to think about how to ask without giving anything away.

"We believe that Miss Weasley took the brunt of the damage," the healer said bluntly, interrupting Harry's thoughts. "According to Mr. Kane, the ritual was intended for two people to participate from the start, to create the proper balance of energy. He tried to dissuade Miss Weasley from entering the ritual by herself, warned her of the danger and all, and thought he had succeeded in convincing her." The healer shook her head. "But then she slipped inside when Mr. Kane turned around to return to his office and he was unable to stop her in time." The healer sounded as if she was repeating a story she'd been told, a story that put most of the blame for everything squarely on Ginny. Clearly Kane had been busy spinning quite a tale. Harry very carefully did not look at Ron and Hermione. They knew the truth - Kane had undoubtedly been eager to have Ginny enter the ritual herself.

"So even though she was in the Chamber about twice as long as Harry was, it might take Ginny more than twice as long to wake up?" Harry wasn't surprised that Ron ignored the healers subtle accusations, and he wished he had even a few minutes to talk to his friends in private before he had to start answering questions. He didn't know enough about what Kane had told everyone during those long twelve hours, but obviously it was convincing enough that the man was here at St. Mungo's and not locked up or being questioned under Veritaserum or something.

"We don't know exactly when Miss Weasley will wake up, no," agreed the healer. She gave Harry a soft look. "But whatever you can tell us will certainly help her get better as quickly as possible."

Harry made a quick decision. "I'd like to speak to Camilla - Ms. Stalk - and my friends first," he said carefully. He rubbed at his head as if thinking. "I . . . I'm not sure exactly what I saw, down there. I don't want to, umm, give the healers the wrong information that could . . . impede my recovery. And Ginny's too," he said after a second.

"It's true," said Camilla. She flashed Harry a knowing look. "Auror procedure is to address and contain any dangers from dark magic as quickly as possible. Now that there isn't any concern about Harry's immediate health, I must insist that I conduct a formal witness interview." She looked at Ron. "And you'll assist, as one of my trainees."

Ron nodded seriously. "Hermione should stay too," he said. "Since Harry spoke to her at length about several of his concerns before all this happened."

Harry hid a smirk; Ron obviously knew everything Hermione did and she didn't absolutely need stay.

The healer pursed her lips, obviously not liking the idea. Harry rubbed at his head again and she finally nodded. "I'll just check in on Miss Weasley then," she said.

As soon as the door closed, Harry tried to sit up further, but groaned and leaned back when the dizziness intensified. "Is Kane somewhere contained?" he asked through the pain.

Camilla put her hand on his shoulder. "You can answer questions with your eyes closed if you need to, Potter," she said. "And yes, Shepard's here at the hospital, prevented from leaving by several wards set up by Bill Weasley. He doesn't realize the depth of our suspicions about him though. Obviously you know more than just the fact of the memory charm and potion he used on you? Ron and Hermione filled me in on those facts while you were in the Chamber, but Kane doesn't know that we're aware of that information."

Harry sighed in relief that he wouldn't have to start from the beginning. He kept his words brief.

"The ritual was designed to draw on the experiences Ginny and I had with Voldemort when we were younger and he was Tom Riddle - to capture the essence of what made him evil from childhood. Kane planned to use that essence to make a new type of dark detector."

"That's what Kane said," agreed Camilla. She looked angry. "But apparently he didn't consider the physical toll that would be required to effect such a ritual to completion. The relational connections between the two of you and . . . Tom Riddleare not easy to separate. Honestly, for an Auror to even think to try that sort of thing is . . . reprehensible." She shook her head.

"And you know he didn't try to talk Ginny out of going into the ritual alone," said Harry. "He wanted her in there - wanted us both of course - but her by herself was the next best thing."

"Ron told us," Camilla said grimly. "The healers think that when Ginny began the ritual alone it took even more energy from her. Kane was remarkably blasé about that fact."

"It was rather careless of her to go there alone," remarked Harry. He looked over at Ron and Hermione. "I mean, she already knew Kane had been fucking with my memory and couldn't be trusted. Wouldn't it have been better to wait and talk to Camilla and Robards before doing something so rash?"

Harry didn't understand the silence. Finally, Hermione spoke. "Ginny's in love with you, Harry," she said gently. "I don't think she was thinking about much else when she went to Kane."

"Oh, right." Harry felt like an arse. He looked down at his hands. "It was good of her, of course. And down in the chamber, we talked a bit." He flushed, suddenly recalling their discussion of having seen each other naked and having had sex. In the horror of the revelations he'd had later, those little details had slipped from his mind. He gave a small smile. "And yeah, she must be pretty strong, to have fought Riddle alone as long as she did. I found it painful and exhausting myself."

Harry hoped Ron would forgive him for what he'd thought about Ginny, but that wasn't what was important now. He wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he needed to tell the others what he'd remembered first. He looked swiftly at Camilla. "I got some of my memories back, during the ritual. The dark detector Kane's trying to make, he wants to use it to uncover a "propensity for future evil" in young children. And then he plans to eliminate them."

The swearing from the others was immediate; even with his eyes closed, Harry recognized each response and the sudden frantic movement around his bed. He wanted to say more, but exhaustion was overtaking him like a blanket. He let himself give into the desire to sleep; the last sound he heard was Camilla Stalk saying the words to conjure her Patronus. Before he could figure out where it was going, Harry fell asleep.

HPHPHPHP

"Should we wake him up? Do you have more questions?" Ron directed his questions at Camilla, who was standing tersely at the door to Harry's hospital room.

"Let him sleep," she said. "We'll see what Gawain says." She looked seriously at Ron and Hermione. "Neither of you had any idea?"

Hermione shook her head. "None," she said. She grimaced. "But it all makes sense now, doesn't it? Why Kane was so interested in the fact that Harry had also been in the Chamber; it always seemed a bit odd that it was more important to him than the fact that Harry had been a Horcrux. He wanted their memories of Voldemort as a child."

"Shepard was always quite heavy handed in his ideas for uncovering Dark Magic at the family level," said Camilla. "The homeschooling legislation wasn't enough for him; he wanted to do more to make sure that young children weren't being raised that way." She looked sick. "But we never suspected he wanted to . . . to kill any child he thought might go evil later." She ran her hand through her hair. "What the fuck was he thinking?"

"Whatever he was thinking, it didn't work." Gawain Robards was there suddenly, looking angrier than Ron had ever seen him. Kingsley Shacklebolt with was him, the Minister looking equally grim. He looked in at Harry's sleeping form. "We can talk in here?"

Camilla nodded. "It's warded well," she said. She looked at Ron and Hermione. "Why don't you go check on Ginny?" she said. "I'll contact you if we have questions, or if Harry wakes up again."

Ron didn't know if the dismissal was to keep him and Hermione from hearing things they shouldn't know or simply Camilla's sensitivity to Ron's family, but it was clear they weren't going to be participating in the meeting. He glanced at Harry again, thinking about what else he'd revealed beyond Kane's plans.

Hermione was clearly on the same page. "It sounds like he only got his memory of Kane back during the ritual," she said as they walked down the corridor. "Not his memories of him and Ginny."

Ron nodded. He'd come to the same conclusion. The oddness of hearing Harry speak so dispassionately about Ginny again made Ron realize that he'd already gotten used to the idea of his best friend and sister as a couple. While part of him wanted to throttle Ginny for running off to the Ministry in the middle of the night to meet up with Kane by herself, he also kind of understood it. It's exactly what he suspected Harry would have done, had the roles been reversed. He sighed.

"We have to tell my family about Harry," he said to Hermione at the door to Ginny's room. "They don't know he's forgotten about Ginny." It was not a conversation he was looking forward to having, even with Ginny still unconscious. His family surprised him, though.

"We knew something must have been really wrong for Ginny to go running alone to the Ministry like that." Arthur was holding Molly's hand as they sat next to Ginny's bed. Fred, George, Angelina, Bill and Fleur were sitting on various chairs around the room. It was Angelina who nodded in agreement first.

"As an Auror, Ginny would have known that what she was doing was too risky." She shrugged. "But for someone she loved . . ."

"It must have been so 'ard for her, losing 'Arry like that so soon after they were together," said Fleur. "I am not surprised one bit that she wanted to do whatever she could to 'elp."

Fleur's pronouncement seemed to be the last word anyone needed said on the matter. After a moment, Molly stood up and stroked Ginny's hair. "You said that Harry still didn't remember anything after he woke up, but what if he actually saw her?" Her voice filled with hope. "Could that trigger something? Even before she wakes up?"

Ron felt it was his duty to answer. "I just spoke to him, mum. He and Ginny talked while they were . . . down there. If his memory of her didn't return then, I doubt just seeing her now will have any effect." He spoke gently but firmly, and after a minute, Molly nodded.

"I . . . I know she's going to wake up," she said shakily. "I'm not even worried about that anymore. But . . . they were so happy. I don't know what she's going to think when she wakes up and learns that nothing has changed." She shook her head to herself.

"She'll likely start figuring out a new way to help Harry remember," said Bill bracingly. "And won't stop until she finds one."

Ron was both impressed and a little distressed that neither Fred nor George jumped at the chance to make an inappropriate innuendo. He thought he saw a spark of a smirk cross Fred's face, but another look at Ginny, lying still as a corpse, wiped it away.

"Maybe Harry will just fall in love with 'er again," said Fleur thoughtfully. She looked around the room. "Since 'e did once, why not a second time?"

Most of the Weasleys made comments of agreement and hope at the possibility of Fleur's idea. Ron was a lot less certain, but kept his mouth shut. Hermione leaned in. "Harry'd have to get out of his own head first, to be able to let that happen, after everything," she said quietly. Ron gave a small nod.

"He's going to feel guilty at some point," he agreed. Harry hadn't shown that particular emotion during their brief talk with him earlier, but Ron had no doubt it would surface in the coming days, especially if took Ginny some time to wake up. "I just hope they can become friends again at least," he said.

Ron and Hermione didn't learn what Robards and Camilla and Kingsley had discussed that night. Harry's door was firmly shut and glowing faintly when they walked past and neither of them wanted to try to interrupt.

"What does Dam and the rest of the team know?" asked Hermione as they walked out of St. Mungo's. Despite the cold and late hour, they both felt like walking for a while. "I saw you talking to the Arrows' publicist while were all waiting."

Ron nodded. "I thought team management needed to know what was going on," he replied. The long hours of sitting in that corridor, waiting outside the broom closet door while both Harry and Ginny had been inside the ritual had been tense and uncertain, and Ron had been happy to think of at least one useful thing to do. He'd finally gone to use the Floo in Gawain Robards' office when the urge to punch Kane had become nearly overwhelming.

"The truth, mostly," said Ron. "That Harry'd gotten involved in some business with the Aurors related to some of the work he'd done for them after the War. It seemed the simplest thing to say, but I was very vague about what that 'business' might be." He took Hermione's hand. "I hope he doesn't hate me for it later."

"I hope a lot of things," said Hermione. "We'll just have to wait, I guess."

HPHPHPHP

The curtains were open and a weak wintry light was streaming through them when Harry woke again. Ron and Hermione were still there, and the healer he remembered from earlier. He licked dry lips and looked blearily at his friends. "You haven't left?" he asked.

"We went home for a while," said Ron, handing him a cup of water. "Hermione rather thought I needed a wash."

"I didn't say that," said Hermione with a laugh. "We both cleaned up and got some sleep," she told Harry. "We left while some of the Aurors were having a meeting in here with Kingsley."

Harry frowned. "In here? I don't even remember that." He looked out the window. "What time is it?"

"About 3 in the afternoon," said the healer. She waved her wand over him and gave a nod of satisfaction. "You've been cleared to go home as long as you take it easy for a day or two. No Quidditch for a week."

Harry groaned and leaned against his pillows. "Dam's going to love that," he grumbled."

"Dam and the team already know," said Ron. "We ran into him in the lobby of our building; he thinks it's going to be great publicity, that star Seeker Harry Potter is hasn't lost his touch in battling evil too."

Harry groaned again. He was grateful, he supposed, that he wasn't going to be in any trouble with the team, but the thought of having the events of the last days splashed all over the papers made him more than a little uncomfortable. These past months playing Quidditch had allowed him to put some distance between the 'Boy Who Lived' and the man he was now, and he'd thought it had been all for the better. But now memories of his time with Kane were back, and getting clearer and more detailed by the moment. He'd always known that there had been tension surrounding his leaving of the Aurors, but only now did he realize that he couldn't have exactly stated what that tension was. In his mind, the decision had been well-considered, despite its haste. He rubbed at his eyes.

"What is it, Harry? Are you still in pain?"

Harry looked up at Hermione and shook his head gingerly. "No, not pain, exactly. Just trying to . . . handle all the new memories."

The healer nodded. "The disorientation will subside," she said. "And no reason to keep you here while it does. If your friends want to escort you home, I think a private Floo connection has been established."

Harry rubbed at his eyes again, thinking. He needed to talk to Camilla and Robards, but the thought of doing that from the comfort of his own flat was more than a little appealing. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, pleased to note that the dizziness had gone. "Yeah, I want to go home," he said.

"Right then, we'll go with you," said Ron. He looked at Hermione and she nodded. "But . . . maybe we should stop in and see Ginny first? And my parents?"

Harry flushed. He should have probably asked about Ginny straight away. But even as his renewed memories of Kane were crowding his mind, thoughts of Ginny . . . weren't. Even his latent crush - which he did remember - felt distant right now. That was a good thing, he supposed. It wasn't like he could go home and wank to daydreams of her while in the shower. He'd have to figure all that out, he knew, but right now it was easier to just not think about it at all.

"Yeah," he said after a moment that was a beat too long. "Let's go see Ginny."

HPHPHPHP

Any hopes Harry had that his visit to Ginny's bedside and conversation with Molly and Arthur could be brief - he knew he'd only need to plead exhaustion to be allowed to leave - were dashed when he entered the room with Ron and Hermione. Camilla and Robards were there, talking with Ginny's parents and Kingsley Shackelbolt. Everyone looked up as the trio entered but for a moment, Harry thought he'd gone deaf. Then the reason for the buzz of the Muffliato spell became apparent; sitting in a chair against the wall, kept there by the glow of magical bindings, was Shepard Kane.

"What the . . .?" Harry began. His knees buckled.

"Here, Harry." Hermione conjured a chair just in time and Harry sat heavily in it. Kingsley waved his wand to remove the Muffliato spell and some of Harry's disorientation eased. He knew he should acknowledge Molly and Arthur and the Minister but he found himself unable to take his eyes off Shepard Kane, even though the man wasn't returning his gaze. Kingsley didn't seem perturbed at the slight.

"Mr. Potter, good to see you up and about," he said seriously, Despite the fact that Harry had known the man for years, had joked and laughed and fought along side him as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Kingsley was all business now. Harry appreciated it. He nodded in Kane's direction. "What's he doing here?"

"We're still questioning him," said Robards grimly. "Trying to figure out if there's anything else we can do to help Miss Weasley recover more quickly." He nodded at at the bed.

Harry pulled his eyes away from Kane and looked at Ginny. "She looks a little better than she did," he said. "Down in the chamber, I mean." He just managed not to say that at the end of the ritual, Ginny had looked to be nearly dead. Now there was a little color in her cheeks and her face was relaxed, all the tension and pain gone.

"That's good to hear." Molly spoke up, her voice sounding tired but with the determination Harry knew meant her focus was in the right place. She patted Harry's arm. "I've lost count now how many times you've saved one of my children," she said with a small smile. She glanced back and forth between Ginny and Harry and he got the impression she wanted to say more. It occurred to Harry suddenly that he didn't even know if the Weasleys had known about him and Ginny. If so, did they still think the two of them were together? Were they wondering why Harry wasn't sobbing over Ginny's prone figure or something? He swallowed hard, looking over at Ron and Hemione and hoping they'd clear things up. Instead, Kane spoke up from the corner. Apparently, the wards holding him didn't limit his speech.

"Well, technically, Miss Weasley chose to enter the ritual alone to save Mr. Potter first, despite my best efforts to dissuade her." Kane spoke with the calm assurance of someone who was used to not being questioned. It might have convinced the healer, but Kane seemed to be the only one in the room who didn't realize that everyone else knew better.

"That's a bloody lie and you know it." Harry struggled up out of his chair. He reached instinctively for his wand and realized he didn't have it - he was wearing unfamiliar pajamas he didn't recall putting on. It didn't matter; Kane wouldn't have his wand either. Harry stepped closer to the man's chair, lifting his feet carefully so he wouldn't stumble.

"Ginny went into the Chamber because you wanted her there," he said Harry. "You've been pestering her about it all year, just like you did with me before that." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Camilla step forward as if to stop him, until Robards put his hand on her arm, shaking his head.

But Harry was beyond caring what information the Aurors wanted to keep from Kane anymore. He ignored them and kept his eyes trained on Kane. The man was still smiling mildly, as if Harry was simply a misguided trainee who needed correcting. He gave Harry a pitying look.

"Ginny went into the ritual because she stopped thinking like an Auror and thought only like a silly young girl in love," he said, shaking his head. "It's too bad; apparently Miss Weasley isn't the talent I thought she was." He flexed his hands and looked at Kingsley. "When will I be allowed to leave? I've told you all I know. It's a pity what happened, but now that Mr. Potter is recovered and Miss Weasley certainly will be soon, I don't think you need anything else from me."

White hot anger blazed through Harry. Kane was still pretending he'd been merely an unwitting observer to everything that had happened. Acting as if he couldn't help it if his quest to do the right thing had gone wrong because of the inadequacies of others It was how he'd always conducted himself, Harry remembered now. It had been one of the things that had made him both suspicious of Kane but also uncertain that such suspicion was justified. He was so smooth at deflection it had taken Harry months to see the truth, and that was only after he'd understood the extent of Kane's depravity. And Kane had been immediately prepared, had taken Harry's memory before he even realized what was happening.

"Shep," Kingsley began. Harry held up his hand.

"If I might, Minister," he said quietly. Kingsley nodded. "Go ahead, Harry," he answered solemnly. Harry felt a brief touch of support on his shoulder. He took another few steps forward. Behind him, he heard Kingley mutter a few words and Kane jerked to his feet so that he and Harry were almost eye to eye.

"What about your dark detector, have you forgotten about that? I thought I was the only one with memory problems these days, Shep." Harry didn't even try to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He heard a murmur of distress behind him that might have been from Molly but he ignored it. "You're so quick to throw the blame for all this on me or Ginny, but you've been trying to manipulate us into entering your ritual chamber together for over a year, and when you couldn't do it, you resorted to stealing my memories, didn't you?" A water pitcher rattled on a side table and Harry took a deep breath, trying to stay in control. Kane gazed at him, still calm.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Harry," he said. "Yes, I wished for you and Miss Weasley, Ginny, to participate together in the ritual to create a better dark detector, but what's the harm in that? You two of all people should have understood how much is to be gained if we can prevent the rise of another Voldemort." He shook his head. "Think of how much death and evil could be avoided."

"By killing babies and children?" Harry couldn't keep his voice from rising. The water pitcher spilled over but he ignored it. Behind him he heard sounds of disbelief that had to be coming from Molly and Arthur, the only ones in the room who didn't know the truth yet. Kane shrugged. "If a child is born with that sort of evil inclination inside of him, better to eliminate that one risk now than see dozens or more dead later." He shook his head again. "Voldemort killed his own father when he was only 16! He wiped out entire families for no reason at all! Certainly you can see the appeal of ending such terror before it even begins?"

"Even if your ritual had somehow worked - which it didn't - I would disband the Aurors before I'd allow it to become an agent of killing such as you've described." Gawain Robards came to stand next to Harry.

Kane shrugged again. "And that's why the Aurors will have to continue expending energy and resources reacting to Dark Magic instead of pulling it up by its roots from the start," he said. Kane seemed nearly oblivious to the magical energy crackling around the room. He looked at Harry.

"If the ritual had worked, you would have been able to see that I'm right. It's so much safer to effectuate targeted eliminations before they become bigger problems." He glanced at Ginny. "I suspect the ritual was close to working, close to providing enough power and knowledge of nascent evil to be a success. Unfortunately, the imbalance of power transfer ended the ritual just a bit too soon, before the last bit of Miss Weasley's energy from Tom Riddle could be absorbed. A shame, really." Kane cocked his head and Harry could hear the underlying meaning of his words.

"You mean, if Ginny had died down there," he said flatly.

Kane shrugged. "That was not my intent, of course, but having made her choice, Miss Weasley should have been prepared to accept all of the consequences."

It didn't matter that Harry didn't have his wand; he'd grown up watching Dudley pummel other kids just for fun. His right hook was true, connecting with Kane's face and followed immediately with a left to the stomach. Kane doubled over with a groan, blood flowing freely down his face. No one in the room moved to help him. Harry turned around, pleased that he'd remembered to tuck in his thumb that that his hand didn't even hurt.

"I'll need get my wand before we leave," he said to Ron and Hermione. "And then I'd like to go home and rest."

A/N: I'll admit, that last bit was quite satisfying to write. Happy to Easter to all who celebrate!