Yay! Thanks for all the reviews! Due to a request, I'ma gonna see if I can make this at least 5 chapters long :)

Chapter 3

"Potter, 'ey? Think you can lurk around school 'ey?"

Harry wished he wouldn't say 'ey' so much as he stood rooted to the spot, staring at Filch in the gloomy light, his cat purring around his feet. Ew.

"Well you can't. That's my job." Filch pointed a filthy finger at his own chest.

Harry shook his head vigorously at Ginny, who was standing behind Filch and looking as if she might scream with laughter.

Filch frowned and looked behind him, where Ginny was dutifully forcing a straight face.

"We'll see about this. The High Inquisitor ought to 'ear about this."

"What about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

Filch let out a low cackle.

"He'll be gone in no time."

Harry sighed - any other time he'd argue - but right now the tiredness had kicked in, and he just wanted to go to bed.

"Listen, I was just down here looking for G-"

"No, you listen," Filch said. "We're going to see Umbridge whether you like it or not..."

Harry was watching Ginny wearily, who was looking extremely drowsy all of a sudden.

"Ginny?"

She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

oOo

"Merlin, Ginny..." Ron muttered as he came into the hospital wing the next morning. Harry jolted awake from the next bed.

"Ron!" he gasped, shaking himself awake.

"Harry," Ron frowned. "I was wondering where you were..."

Harry sat up and off of bed.

"Yeah, I kind of fell asleep here," he admitted.

"I gathered about that much," Ron said, sitting next to his unconscious sister. "Why?"

"Oh, I found her."

"They said that Flich found her."

"He did. Well, he found us, but-"

"What?" Ron asked, utter confusion on his face.

"Harry, Ron!" someone said, rushing towards them. Hermione let out a sigh as she looked at Ginny. "What happened?"

"Yeah, Harry, what happened?" Ron demanded.

"Why Harry?"

"He was with her."

Hermione gasped, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"It's not what it sounds like," he sighed – though that wasn't entirely true. "I couldn't sleep, so just decided to go for a midnight stroll, and I found her – a bit out of it, really."

There were two groans from behind them.

Madam Pomfrey emerged, livid, counted them and went back into her office muttering to herself.

"That would be our fault," Fred said, coming into his twin.

"We didn't think that she'd take it!" George said. "We just put it down..."

"And she picked it up," Fred said.

Hermione slapped him on the arm.

"That's extremely dangerous! And on your own sister!"

Fred shrugged. "We didn't know that the side effects would be so... negative." Hermione still looked livid. But for Harry, negative didn't seem like the right word – disastrous might be more to the point.

"What was it supposed to do actually?" he asked, confused yet curious.

"It was supposed to be like alcohol without the alcohol," George explained.

"That's ridiculous!" Hermione said, indignant.

"You're ridiculous," Ginny groaned. Everybody shut up and looked at her as she rubbed her head. "W-what am I doing here?"

Fred smirked but Hermione hit him again.

"Filch and Harry found you out cold last night," Ron said, and Ginny massaged her head again.

Ginny looked at Harry, who looked away before looking back and coughing.

"Um yeah, that's what happened."

"Miss Pomfrey!" Hermione called out. Ron heaved out an annoyed sigh and sat back. "She can't remember a thing of what happened last night," she said worriedly yet dutifully as the matron arrived.

"Yes, well, I suppose that will were off. Or not-"

"Or not?" Hermione said at once.

"Hermione, it's OK. As long as I didn't do anything, I don't really mind."

Hermione looked at Ginny with a confused expression, but everyone else seemed at ease with the plan. Harry himself felt the most at ease with all this.

"Now, if you don't mind, I think Miss Weasley needs some more rest."

"I don't," Ginny assured her.

"Yes, you do. Argus Filch was extremely enthusiastic about your and Mr Potter's detention this afternoon."

Ginny let out a groan. "Detention?"

"You were out of bed after hours," Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Ginny glared at her.

"Plus, if you don't attend detention, you'll probably just be expelled," George pointed out.

"Thanks, George," Ginny said spitefully. "Thanks so much for standing up for your little sister."

"Right," George said, laughing, but backing away with his brother, Ginny glaring at them all the way.

"Madam Pomfrey's right," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's arm and picking him up.

Harry nodded. "See you in detention," he said to Ginny, and she gave him a weak smile.

As he, Ron and Hermione left the hospital wing, he wondered... could she really not remember anything?

Did he want her to remember?

"Really weird that you found her though, isn't it?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged, shaking the strange thoughts away.

"Yeah. Really weird," he agreed.

"But was she out cold when you found her?" Hermione asked. Hermione... how can someone with such a wide dislike of gossip be so nosy?

"Er..."

"So what was wrong with her?"

"Erm..."

"What did she do?"

"I really..."

"I bet she looked terrible-"

"Yeah, sure-"

"It's so good that you found her though-"

"I guess so..."

"I mean, I bet Filch wouldn't have found her otherwise – how did he find you?"

"Well I..."

"You can't have been making much noise if it was after hours, your not an idiot-"

"No, I'm not-"

"So what happened then?"

Harry stared at her, wondering if there were more coming. But she raised her eyebrows in emphasis. Harry looked at Ron, who was looking at him too.

"Alright, this is what happened-"

"Did you have your cloak?"

"OH MY GOD HERMIONE, SHUT UP!"

Hermione immediately quieted.

"I'm going to sleep," Harry said, shaking his head and backing away from Ron's scary outburst. "I'm exhausted. We'll talk later, alright?"

Hermione let out a mere nod as Ron said, "Okay mate."

Harry waved to them, but as soon as he was out of their sight he started to walk as fast as he could. He didn't even really notice Cho Chang as he said, "Hi Cho, bye Cho," and hurried past her.

As soon as he was in the clear of his dormitory he started hitting himself in the head.

"Stop having weird thoughts, Harry... weird thoughts are not good, Harry..."

"Erm, are you alright, Harry?"

Harry paused. That hadn't been his voice...

"Oh, hi Neville. I um..." he felt his insides squirm. "I thought I was alone."

"I gathered that," Neville said. "Alright. See you later."

Great, Harry. Well done. Now even Neville thinks you're a freak.