Yeah I know, I updated again... isn't that WEIRD? Haha... please give me some ideas... because I'm dying here...

A few weeks after the wedding, Ginny got home from Quidditch practice late. It was past nine, and she was very angry that she had been kept so late. It was only their second day back after the New Year holiday, and she did not think that they deserved to be worked this hard. Quidditch wasn't even in season- they tapered practices when it was their off-season, and only practiced twice a week. So why it had to be a six hour practice was beyond her.

However, she was surprised to find the house dark. No lights were turned on, no fire in the fireplace.

"Hello? Harry?" Ginny asked, wondering why on earth he wasn't home from work yet. No one answered, so she tried someone she knew would be there. "Kreacher?"

Two seconds later, the homely house elf was bowing at her feet.

"Mistress Ginny?" he asked in his growl.

"Why is it dark in here? Where's Harry?"

"When neither of you returned at the regular times, Kreacher thought it a waste to keep the food out. He put dinner away and retired to bed."

"Oh," she said. "That's fine. But Harry didn't come home?"

"No, Madame," he said.

"Well you can go back to bed now," she said kindly. "And thank you."

He retired then, leaving her confused. She sat down on the couch and looked around. He could be tied up at work- after all, he'd had a week off and there might have been a lot for him to do when he returned. But wouldn't he have sent her an owl? Worrisome, definitely worrisome. She decided she'd give it twenty minutes and then do something.

Ten minutes passed (very slowly) and she decided she'd act then instead.

She sent the owl to Harry's office, asking where he was. Then, she stuck her head in the fireplace and flood to Harry's office- but no one was there. She called out and listened carefully, but she heard no one in the entire building. That put her off more than anything else. So she went to Ron and Hermione's, who had just returned from their honeymoon.

She apparated in front of their door to be polite and to spare herself anything she didn't want to see, and knocked vigorously.

"Have you seen Harry?" she asked when the door swung open.

Ron had a confused look on his face. "No. Not since the wedding, actually. My- you two fight a lot-"

"Shut up," Ginny said. "Hermione hasn't seen him either?"

"No, we haven't left-"

"Fine," Ginny snapped, and apparated away. She went to George's, who also hadn't seen him, her parents, and anywhere else she thought he might be, but no one had seen him.

Finally, she went back home, hoping he'd be there. She had only just settled back on the couch to think when Harry stepped out of the fireplace. Ginny stood up right away and ran over to embrace him, kiss him, and then slap him on the arm.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "I had no idea where you were-"

"I know, I know, I know," he said, running a hand through his hair and looking stressed. She noticed he looked exhausted and his robes were wrinkled. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he dusted some ash from his sleeves. "Look, let's go into the kitchen, shall we? I have to tell you what happened, but I want something to eat."

They found Kreacher, who reheated their meal and supplied them with drinks. Then, they sat down to eat.

"We had a crisis at the Ministry today. At Hogwarts, actually."

"Hogwarts?" Ginny asked. "What happened?"

"It turned out to be some brat of a kid who decided it would be funny to draw the dark mark in numerous places around the school- including on the memorial for all the people who had died during the battle."

Ginny's mouth fell open, aghast. "Who would do that?"

Harry shrugged, looking beaten. "Doesn't matter. What matters is how we reacted. Someone reported it this morning, and everyone was sent to Hogwarts. We thought there might have been some kind of hushed-up breakout from Azkaban, that we'd lost control of the press again, that the Ministry was infilltrated and we weren't getting news- of course, none of that had happened. The Ministry was fine. But we panicked, remembering what had happened just a few years ago. The kids were moved out and had to stay in the Great Hall while we searched, while the teachers and some Ministry officials asked them questions. We didn't end up finding out who did it, but we decoded the magic and figured out it was just a marking charm, just vandalism. But everyone in the school now is getting punished for what this one kid did, because it's not being tolerated."

"There was a huge crisis at the Ministry, and I didn't hear about it? No one heard about it!" she said. "That's ridiculous."

"Kingsley said not to report it yet, because he didn't want people to panic. All along, he had a feeling it was just a prank. A stupid prank, but a prank all the same. He didn't want riots. There will be something about it tomorrow in the Prophet."

Ginny shook her head. "Why would this come up now?"

"I don't know. I thought it might have something to do with Ron and Hermione's wedding- some of Voldemort's most high-profile enemies getting married at Hogwarts... it might have upset some people. But really, I have no idea. I just know that the Ministry reacted as it should, but it was too much. I think we might have encouraged some more of these little 'pranks' now. Because we so heartily opposed the attack, we gave them something to work with... I don't know what's going to happen, but I hope it isn't more days like this."

Ginny took his hand, not believing her ears. She just couldn't believe some Hogwarts kid would want to cause this kind of trouble. "I bet they heard their parents talking. But it's just so sick- I knew that people supported Him, but I just didn't think that anyone still did... there's been so much peace. It brings back awful memories to have chaos again."

"That's what everyone was saying today. That they weren't used to having to fight a war, and they'd gotten so used to peaceful times... I don't think this is really something new, though. I think some people are just trying to make a point. No one was hurt, there was no damage... just something drawn on a wall."

"Well, in that case," Ginny said. "I think we should just go to bed."

And after they'd showered and gotten ready for bed, they both lay awake thinking. Life seemed so good now- could it really change this quickly? What if it really was starting again? Could they handle it?