-Chapter 23-

Hermione paced the kitchen floor the next morning waiting for Ginny and Molly. Everyone who had been at Malfoy Manor was also in the kitchen, awaiting the arrival of the Ministry employees who had told Ron they would be there at nine o'clock to take everyone's story.

"Where are they? Ginny said she wanted to get out as soon as she could…"

"They'll be here, Hermione. Don't worry," Bill said.

There was a knock on the kitchen door just as Hermione's watch chimed the alarm she set for nine. She took a deep breath as Arthur answered the door. Everyone at the kitchen table stood as three Aurors, Harry and Ron's boss included, greeted Arthur and came into the kitchen.

"Mr. Robards," Harry and Ron said in unison as they nodded their heads at him.

"Potter, Weasley. You know Savage and Proudfoot, of course," he said, nodding to the other two Aurors. Harry and Ron nodded. "To bring all of you up to speed on what's happened since last night, we've apprehended four of the suspects. The fifth is deceased." At the sound of the last statement the corners of Hermione's mouth twitched. "Three of them," Robards continued, "the Lestrange and two Carrows, are looking at life in Azkaban as it is since we thought them all dead after the war. We're still trying to figure out how they are still alive. Narcissa is of course facing charges on harboring them."

"Then what do you need from us if they're all going to Azkaban anyways?" Bill asked.

"Mr. Weasley, your cause may have been just but the manner in which you went about saving your sister did break a few laws, albeit minor ones compared to those broken by the ones you captured. And the one fatality, that does need to be cleared up."

"I can clear that up right now," Hermione said. "I did it."

"We'll talk about it in a moment, Miss Granger. To be perfectly honest with all of you, off the record of course, I doubt any of you will be facing punishment because of the fact that you did indeed lead to the capture of three high-profile criminals and their protector."

"Good," George said.

Bill elbowed him and hissed in his hear, "Now is not the time to get cocky, bro. Just go with what they say."

Green flames appeared in the fireplace. Ginny stepped out followed by Molly. Hermione moved to go to Ginny but the redhead held on to her mother and looked at the floor. Hermione's eyes welled with tears.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," Robards turned to her. "If it's all right, we'd like to talk to you."

"Only if Hermione can come with me," Ginny said weakly.

"Normally we'd…not allow it," Savage said. "But I think…considering the circumstances…I think it will be all right. What do you say Robards?"

"Yes, definitely acceptable. Will you take them to a room please, Eva?"

The woman nodded. Ginny broke her grip from Molly and headed to the sitting room followed by Hermione and then the Auror.

"Can you give us a minute?" Ginny asked the Auror before the three of them sat down. The woman had an undecided look on her face. "Please…just a moment."

The Auror nodded and left the two women alone.

"H-how are you, Gin?" Hermione asked, keeping her distance.

"Been better. I just…I need to tell you that before you hear all of this…don't dwell on it. Just let it all go, okay? I'd rather you hear this from me now rather than having to go through it again sometime but I need you to promise me you won't worry about any of it."

"Ginny, in the infamous words of you: how about I decide what I need to worry about."

"Hermione please just let this be my burden. If you can't handle that then I don't want you to know about any of it."

"Ginevra Weasley, listen to me." Hermione stepped forward. "No burden you have to bear will ever be just your own. Just accept that and your life will be quite a bit easier because I won't be nagging at you about it."

"Dammit, Hermione!" Ginny yelled. Hermione backed away. "Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Wh-what?" Hermione's lower jaw quivered.

"Why are you…why can't you just hear all of this and let it go?! I know you'll want to dwell on it but please...please just don't. Just let it all go and I'll deal with it on my own, please! I am only asking you to do that one thing for me."

"What you're asking is the impossible! It doesn't matter whether or not I hear the details about what happened, Ginny…I already know enough. I am already bearing this burden with you. Nothing is going to change that."

Ginny sighed. She couldn't figure out if feeling angry was better than feeling nothing. She looked at Hermione. "Nothing," she thought. "How can I look at her and not feel anything? She's standing here…she'll do anything for me…how can I not feel anything?"

"Tell me you love me, Hermione. Don't…don't just say it like I told you to. Say it…say it like you mean it."

Hermione looked at Ginny, slightly confused. She didn't push it though. She stepped forward again and took Ginny's hands into her own. She looked deep into her eyes.

"I love you, Ginevra."

Ginny closed her eyes to let the words sink in. Before she had a chance to ponder anything Eva came back into the sitting room

"Ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt but we really need to talk about this," Eva said. Ginny nodded and sat on the couch with Hermione, Eva sat in one of the armchairs and took out a Quick Quotes Quill.

"You may start when you're ready, Miss Weasley."

Ginny took a deep breath. Her fingers searched for Hermione's hand and found it. Both held on tight and Ginny stared at the floor and started talking.

"Friday night four cloaked figures attacked me a couple of fields over from the Burrow," Ginny said and pointed in the direction of the field. "I woke up Saturday morning in a dark room. I tried to open the door but the handle was jinxed to shock whoever touched it. Narcissa Malfoy came in…she told me if I didn't cooperate that she would kill me and 'use' Luna instead. I didn't know what she meant but I caved in. I begged her to leave all of my friends and family alone. That man…Rabastan Lestrange…he was…every time I turned on the shower tap he would come in with food or lamp oil or anything. I-It got to be kind of a game, you know? I would turn on the water and he'd come running then get angry when I'd be sitting on the desk when he came barging in."

"Did anyone else ever come in aside from Narcissa and Rabastan?" Eva asked.

"No, I had no idea anyone else was even in the house until Sunday."

"How did you find out?"

"Sunday morning Narcissa woke me up and told me she was going to the Ministry. I tore up a bed sheet and hid it under the duvet on my bed. I waited until I knew Narcissa would be gone then turned the tap on and as expected, Rabastan came running in. I hid behind the bedroom door until he came in, first I kicked him in the groin and then hit him over the head with the tray he brought up then I tied him up with the strips of bed sheet."

"You used no magic on him at all?"

"None. He didn't have his wand."

"Okay, you may continue."

"I am guessing Rodolphus heard the crash. He came up the stairs a few minutes later and I took him out, too."

"You got Rodolphus down without a wand? It took all of us a couple tries to get him down!" Hermione looked at Ginny in shock.

"Miss Granger, I'll ask that you remain quiet for right now," Eva said.

"Of course, sorry."

"It wasn't that hard, really," Ginny said. "I jumped on his back and kept my arms wrapped around his neck until he passed out. Then I used his wand to body bind him. I took a run for it and…and I heard Alecto and Amycus talking." Ginny paused and took a deep breath. "I wasn't just there to be traded for Draco…they talked about the fact that I'm a pure-blood…and that that after Draco go out of Azkaban…the Malfoys wanted a pure-blood heir."

"They insinuated you were to be used to conceive a child?"

"From what I gathered, yeah."

"Okay, continue."

"I didn't know if I could apparate and I didn't want to waste time trying so I just kept running. After that I made it to the door before Alecto caught me and used the Cruciatus curse. She didn't know I had Rodolphus' wand. I surprised her and we dueled for a bit and I got her with Levicorpus then ran outside."

"Levicorpus?"

"Yeah…hangs the person up by their ankles. I learned it a long time ago, one of those spells that you learn in the corridors at school, you know?"

"Yes, all right. What happened next?"

"I almost made it to the gate but Amycus caught me with a stunner and took me back up to the room. They tied my hands to the bed then Rabastan…Rabastan and Rodolphus argued for a bit." Ginny stopped and took a few deep breaths.

"Take your time, Miss Weasley."

"I don't understand why I have to talk about this. Rabastan is dead, isn't he?"

"I don't need any vivid details. We just need to know for records."

"Rodolphus left and…I didn't fight Rabastan. He told Rodolphus that's what he liked so I didn't. That…that just made him angrier. He tried to provoke me. He thought if he beat the hell out of me I'd fight back I guess. After…after it was all over he told me that if I said anything to Narcissa he'd kill me."

"Was this altercation purely the provocation?"

"No. After I refused to fight back he went ahead and…he did it anyways. H-he..." Ginny clenched her jaw shut and looked up at the ceiling. "He raped me."

Hermione held on to Ginny's hand even tighter. She swallowed the lump that was growing in her throat.

"Was that the only time?" Eva asked.

"N-no. After he was finished and told me not to say anything he untied me and I dressed. Narcissa saw me at lunch but he was with her so I didn't say anything. She told me she had been to the Ministry and to not expect much out of them. She said they didn't suspect anything and I'd be staying for a while then she gave me some clothes."

"Narcissa always treated you well?"

Ginny scowled. "Apart from having me kidnapped, locking me in a dark room for two days, and plotting to have her son knock me up, yes."

"All right. Continue."

"Rabastan brought me up a dinner tray. He used incarcerous on my wrists and...I didn't fight it again. He tried to provoke me again, the same as the time before. I still didn't fight it. After he finished and left…I heard the door burst open again. I thought he'd come back…I didn't care anymore, I was going to fight him. I yelled and backed against the wall. That was when Hermione found me. I don't remember much, everything moved so quickly. Hermione and Aislin took me to the hallway and I saw his body on the ground…the next thing I remember is being at Grimmauld Place…then at St. Mungo's."

"So Rodolphus knew what was happening and didn't stop it?"

"He knew, yes."

"Did the Carrows know what Rabastan was doing?"

"I don't know."

"Did they use any other Unforgivable curses?"

"No, the Cruciatus from Alecto was the only one."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Weasley. I have all I need for now. I'll…I'll leave you two for a minute while I talk to the other Aurors."

Eva left the room and Ginny continued staring at the floor. Hermione ran her fingers through Ginny's hair.

"You're so brave, Gin. I'm so proud of you."

Ginny shook her head. "I'm a bloody coward, Hermione. I didn't even try to fight him off…"

"Ginny, no! You are not a coward!" Hermione put a hand on Ginny's cheek. "Love, you did what you had to. You are no coward, you are far from it."

"If I hadn't made him angry though…if I hadn't…"

"No! Ginevra, no. This is not your fault. Don't you dare even think that this is your fault. That sicko…no. This was not your fault at all."

Ginny settled her head on Hermione's shoulder and sighed. Eva came back in the room and asked to speak to Hermione alone. The brunette followed the Auror out of the room. After they left Ginny was joined by her Quidditch teammates. They sat on either side of her and Ginny rested her head on Aislin's shoulder while Willow rubbed her back.

"You feelin' all right Gin?" Willow asked.

"I don't know what to feel right now."

"Well," Aislin said with a smile, "maybe hearing that we kicked some French arse at the match on Saturday might cheer you up."

"We missed you though," Willow added.

"That's great to hear, guys. Tell me about it?"

"Okay so they put Davis in your place because the coaches insisted Willow get another shot at Seeker because you said she would, right?"

"Why would they do that? He's a horrible Chaser! He can see the Snitch all right but when it comes to the Quaffle…"

"Yeah, tell me about it," Willow said, "I was close to switching him places! He dropped the damn Quaffle four times!"

"Luckily Trance was on his game though, it took them an hour to score and the only reason they did is because he was dodging a Bludger right as the Quaffle came up."

"He was brilliant though! One of the Quaffles he kicked out of the goal went halfway down the pitch right into Shaw's arms and he had enough of a head start that he got to France's goal all by himself!"

"Willow was brilliant, too!"

"Oh hush it, Aislin! I just did what I had to do, you know?"

"Rubbish! That Snitch was right out in the open and that idiot from France didn't even see it until you had it in your hand! Even I saw it and I was avoiding a Bludger and tossing the Quaffle up to Shaw! I thought the French captain was going to beat their Seeker to a bloody pulp!"

"It wasn't that exciting, really…" Willow blushed and smiled.

"Whatever, you totally rocked it. Coach wants you in next week, too so you know you did something right."

"What was the score?" Ginny asked.

"Two hundred to thirty," Aislin said. "But our score probably would have been doubled if you had been up there with us."

Ginny shrugged her shoulders.

"Are…are you going to come back, Gin?" Willow asked then held her breath.

"I don't want to do much of anything right now."

Willow and Aislin nodded in understanding. Ginny snuggled down with her head on Aislin's lap and her legs on Willow's and dosed off.

Hermione came back to the sitting room an hour later after being interrogated. She smiled at Ginny who was sleeping peacefully.

"How'd it go?" Aislin whispered to Hermione.

"Fine. They're leaving now, we're not allowed to leave the country and all of that. Harry, Ron, and I are on paid leave until further notice."

"Are you going to lose your job?" Willow gasped.

"Doubtful, this is just until everything gets cleared up. Like Robards said, anything we did will be overshadowed by the fact that we caught all of them. The Daily Prophet is going to eat this up and we'll all be made out as heroes."

Ginny roused a bit and moaned. She looked around the room but Hermione was out of her eye line.

"'Mione…where's 'Mione?" Ginny groaned.

"I'm right here, love," Hermione said as she knelt by the couch.

"You said something about your job…did you get sacked?"

"No, Gin. Just on paid leave for a while until this all gets sorted out. Harry and Ron, too."

"Okay." Ginny held out her hand and Hermione took it.

"Do you want anything to eat, love?"

"Not really. I want to go up to my room and lay down I think."

Hermione pulled Ginny up off the couch and went up to the bedroom with her. Much to Hermione's protest Ginny wanted to be alone so the brunette came back downstairs to join the rest of the family. Anyone who hadn't been interrogated was outside with all of the children and Hermione joined the large crowd of adults watching Victoire, Dominique, Lennox, James, and Albus playing together.

"Hey Hermione, we've got to get back to the stadium," Willow said as she hugged Hermione.

"Tell Gin we said goodbye?"

"I will, Aislin. Thank you guys for everything. If I don't see you before then good luck on Saturday." Hermione smiled and hugged Aislin while Willow said goodbye to Ron.

"I think Willow might be around as long as Ron is." Aislin giggled and nodded to the pair. Ron had lifted Willow off the ground and they were at eye level, lips locked. Hermione laughed and shook her head.