"So? How is she? Didn't hex you or anything?"

Ron stared round at the anxious faces.

"No hexes. She's… ok. I think." He frowned and dug his hands into his pockets, "Said she's going to have a think about the past seven years and see what she can piece together, so that we can work out where the gaps are. It's pretty weird- doesn't remember Voldemort, but knows all about horcruxes; can't remember memory charms, but thinks Olivander is a sweet old man." And kind of… hit on me? Ron decided to keep that part to himself. He caught sight of Harry's worried face. "Sorry mate, she doesn't want to see anyone else today,"

Harry looked like he'd taken a bludger to the guts.

"I never saw this coming," he said, "Why her?"

"Why anyone," said George flatly. "We don't get to choose what crap hits us. At least she's not a vegetable. Easily done with bungled memory charms."

Thanks George. State the obvious. Remind everyone of Fred too, while you're at it. Make us all feel sick and miserable. Good one, mate.

Shit I'm such a bastard.

Ron stuffed his muddled feelings back down and tried to remember whose turn it was to stay at Mungo's. It was always two of them, on a roster, just in case anything should go wrong. He felt horrible for hoping he wasn't rostered on with George any time soon.

But George made him think of Fred.

And Fred made his brain turn all stringy and tangled.

"It's me and mum now," said Ginny, "You lot should go grab a coffee or something. Have some lunch, you know, try to stop looking neurotic,"

George snorted but didn't say anything.

"Oh, also," said Ron, pleased by how casual it sounded, "I've left her with my wand- but just so you know, she wasn't bluffing about the wandless magic,"

Everyone absorbed this. Ron thoroughly enjoyed how impressed they looked. She's so freakin' brilliant. He felt smug about it by association.

"If she can do it wandless, why did you leave her yours?" Ginny was frowning at him.

Why? Because… it's all I had to give her?

"Word's going to get out that she's woken up. How would you feel about attacking Hermione if you knew she had a wand?"

Charlie grinned.

"True, but if I was trying to take out the Hermione Granger, thing of legend, no way I'd get close enough for her hex me. I'd blow the bloody building up. Heck, if I really wanted her gone, I'd take out the whole suburb."

Silence.

"Yeah, we really need a safe house, don't we."

"Preferably in another country."

"Right."

Harry opened his mouth as though he were about to deliver orders.

"I'll look into it," said Mr Weasley quickly, "But I think you're right Ginevra, the next thing has to be lunch."

HERMIONE'S ROOM AT MUNGO'S

Hermione lay in the boring institutional hospital bed and tried to quiet the flurry of panic swirling through her chest. Emotions flashed against each other, rapidfire and contradictory, and she just wasn't sure where to start.

There's something wrong with my brain.

The panic swung further into control, whipping all the other emotions up into a frenzied turmoil.

She couldn't breathe.

There's something wrong with my- shut up, shut up, shut up!

Think about something else.

Think about Ron.

It was like oil on water.

It soothed her. The tumult of emotions was still there, but underneath the thoughts of him. She tried to focus on the intangible, the thing she would never be able to articulate, that unidentifiable feeling she'd had when he was in the room. The certainty she'd felt the minute he'd stepped forward, that she was, after all, safe among strangers because he was one of them.

She ran her fingers over his wand, feeling the warm tingle of magic in the wood, feeling the reassurance of a wand in her hand, and the comfort of a connection to him.

The panic came to rest at the bottom of the pile of feelings, still very much alive but temporarily dormant.

Right, she thought, Ron is a good place to start.

What do I remember?

Do I remember anything?

What is a memory anyway?

She sighed to herself.

There's something wrong with my brain.

AT GRIMMAULD PLACE

Harry wasn't sure what to make of it. He didn't know what he could possibly have done in the few minutes he'd seen Hermione that could've pissed her off so royally, but she just wasn't having a bar of him.

Ron said he was working on it, but Harry darkly suspected Ron was enjoying having Hermione all to himself.

And Harry didn't at all trust Ron to talk her through the past seven years in an objective sort of way.

"You still all jealous and cross?" Ginny flumped down on the sofa next to him and swinging one leg over his in a show of lazy affection.

"I'm not jealous," said Harry crossly, "I just don't know what I did wrong, and Ron's being a smug arse about it."

"When I was born," said Ginny as though about to impart great wisdom, "According to mum, Fred had a right tantrum because I got passed around all the older brothers and he didn't get a turn. It's not that he didn't want them to hold me, it's just that he wanted a go too. Like as the new baby in the family everyone was supposed to have equal shares, and when he didn't get his he got mad."

Harry didn't say anything. Ginny could be bloody annoying sometimes. He hadn't realised how annoying until recently. Grimmauld place seemed a lot smaller than he'd remembered.

"What I mean is, it's ok to be a bit jealous; she's your friend too."

"Yeah well," said Harry. "Doesn't count for much does it,"

Ginny tipped her head to one side.

"You don't know what she's thinking. She doesn't remember you."

"She remembers Ron."

"No she doesn't," Ginny insisted, "She's taken a shine to him, but she doesn't remember him. Told me so this morning when I asked."

Harry found his face felt less tense suddenly.

"Did you ask about me?"

Ginny mock winced.

"Yeeaah… she really doesn't like you. I mean, she doesn't know you," said Ginny hastily, "I mean, she's taken exception to you for no particularly good reason- although…"

Harry felt his face tense up again.

"What? I'm too earnest, apparently, whatever that means,"

"Well, you are a bit of a stress head,"

Very annoying, Harry decided.

"And you do kind of think everyone should just do as you say,"

Harry got up to leave.

"That's really helped a lot, thanks Ginny, thanks so much,"

Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled an exasperated face at him.

"Gah, that's not the point- look, you're used to being in charge and in battle and whathaveyou but you're not our flipping General any more- and besides, we were all in that fight and some of us were leading more people than you for a lot longer. You don't seem to realise that other people can make decisions and that you're not always right… Harry, please don't storm off, I'm just trying to help you see-"

"You have no idea, Ginny, no idea-"

"Yeah, well, you have no idea Harry, you have no bleeding clue what it was like for the rest of us, or what we did, or what we're capable of and you don't want to know, you think you're the only-"

"What? The only one who could defeat Voldemort? Well, forgive me for being big headed but that is pretty much what happened-"

Ginny let out an incredulous snort.

"Right, right, go on, take all the credit-"

"I died, Ginny-"

"Yeah, and you weren't the only one."

Harry glared at her.

"Don't even-"

"Ooh what? Don't even mention my dead brother? Don't even mention Tonks and Lupin and all the people who died and didn't come back? Why not Harry? Does it bother you that they died fighting Voldemort? Or do you think they died for you? Is that what it is? Are you so puffed up in your own importance that you think their deaths are your fault? Because that sounds a lot like you, Harry, and you can ignore everything I'm saying, but ask yourself this: prophecies aside, do you really think you are the reason Voldemort's dead?"

Like a slap in the face.

Harry found himself surprisingly calm. His chest was burning, but his voice came out low and steady.

"Yeah, I do. No-one else was even looking for horcruxes. Dumbledore-"

"Dumbledore chose you, Voldemort chose you, you're sooo special, Harry, but what would have happened if you weren't around? Think maybe they would've chosen someone else? Or do you think the whole wizarding world would have thrown up their hands and just given in- well, Harry Potter isn't here to save the day, so I guess we should just roll over and submit. You take way too much credit, Harry, way too much, and you underestimate the rest of us as a result. Hermione woke up one day, took one look at that massive ego, and decided she didn't want to waste her time, and I don't blame her."

This is my girlfriend talking. What the hell is going on here?

Harry stared.

"So what, you thought now was a good time to break up with me?"

Ginny looked baffled.

"What?"

"Well you don't seem to think very much of me, so-"

"Merlin's saggy- of course I don't want to break up with you. I'm just trying to help you see how you come across sometimes. I get it, I get why you are the way you are, I've been around for that- but Hermione hasn't. So I'm just trying to help you see why someone as brilliant as her might not want to play second fiddle to your hero-ing."

Harry stared again. His eyes felt weird. Hot, but not in a crying way. Like maybe fire might shoot out of them and set the living room ablaze.

"Don't think I want to be in a relationship with someone who sees me like that."

Ginny gave an incredulous snort.

"Seriously? You're going with righteous indignation? Please don't add incapable of receiving criticism to the list. I love you, but you can't expect me to lie to you."

"I don't," said Harry, "Say whatever you like. But whatever this is, it's over."