A/N: Three in a row; this continues right off the previous chapter. The return of a woman who constantly bugs people—lame pun, but I could not resist!

"Are you sure about switching from Grimmauld place to here?" Ron asked as they wanted in the kitchen for others to arrive.

"You've asked me that constantly since I decided to do it here." She laid her head on his shoulder. "I appreciate it, I do, and I'm fine."

She meant it. Ron's concern ticked her heart. She'd decided over the weekend that it was unwise to let anyone into Number 12, let alone someone as thirsty for secrets as Rita Skeeter.

He squeezed her hand, his response tender. "If you insist, I wanted to be sure, and well, this isn't why I thought I'd be here."

"I did think we'd be here after I pestered you into meeting Mum and Dad—officially as my boyfriend, that is."

Ron gave Hermione a reassuring squeeze shaking his head. "I'd come willingly just like I will once things calm down, and we restore their memories and bring them home."

In truth, Hermione still thought it was kinder to leave her parents to their new lives in Australia, no matter what she told Ron about going in a year. Hermione had no extended blood family, her grandparents died when she was six, and both sides only had one child for three (including herself) generations. That meant there were no relatives to think about.

She sighed heavily. "I'm not sure I want to find them, though; I took their lives from them, and I don't think it's fair I upend them again." Hermione looked stricken with fear and sadness. "Besides, I told you this morning I don't think they ever wanted kids. What if they hate me after what I've done? They would have every right."

"And like I told you, you don't know how they will react, but you'll have me no matter what!"

"You are so wonderful, Ronald." She said appreciatively.

It wasn't long before Harry and Ginny joined them inside the garage. "I can't believe I got it just off what you told me, Hermione." Harry greeted as they apparition into the garage with Ginny on his arm.

"And showed you the picture with the address." Added Ginny turning to Hermione. "Are you sure about doing it here, Hermione?"

"Yes, the House of Black is the last place Rita Skeeter should be allowed. Best we do this where there is nothing important..." Nobody missed the pain in Hermione's voice. "Let's get inside and wait in the kitchen." She said firmly. They all followed her without a word.

The kitchen of Hermione's childhood home was large and fancy. All stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops as well as marble cabinets. The kitchen table was circular; they all seated themselves around it.

"Kitchen looks alright; I'd have thought that they would have broken in at some point; it was Muggle persecution after all, and I was Undesirable No.3…" Hermione said absently.

"I'm sure The Order put your house under magical protection, but we can check afterward if you want," Ron told her reassuringly.

"Thank you, Ron," Hermione said, kissing him in appreciation.

"When is Rita meeting us then?" Harry asked to prepare himself mentally.

"Midday, which is in about 10 minutes," Hermione said enthusiastically, opening the window.

"Right, we're doing this together?" Harry sympathetically asked, as if giving them a chance to leave.

"Of course, we are." They all said together. Harry smiled appreciatively.

Ten minutes later, a beetle found its way inside the kitchen through the open kitchen window.

Ginny was the first to notice. "Hermione, a beetle got in the kitchen!" She said in exasperation.

"She's here," Hermione said dully, getting up and gathering the beetle in her hand and setting it on a nearby chair. "Hello Rita," Hermione said politely.

The infamous journalist transformed into her human self, Ginny's mouth fell open in angry shock. "You're an Animagus!"

"She didn't tell you. That's not like Granger." Rita looked at Hermione darkly. "If you thought changing the location last minute would rattle me, your wrong."

Hermione retorted unapologetically. "Unlike you, I don't gossip or expose people's personal life, and I didn't want you skulking around a former Order headquarters, no secrets for you to uncover here. My parents moved to Australia."

Rita smirked defiantly. "I didn't come here for anything other than the truth. The new Minister of Magic doesn't want the Prophet reporting without source consent; I'm the voice of the magical community now."

"You are that full of yourself," Ginny said with annoyance.

Rita laughed. "For once, it's not about me. The public wants answers and seeing as you all were in the thick of things, I would accept that press is a part of fame." She pulled out her parchment and quill suddenly brisk. "Now, separate? Together? I think we can all agree we're not here for small talk."

"All of us together, and you quote us verbatim, no quick-quotes-quill. A regular one only." Harry said adamantly.

"Yes, I'm aware… Now, let's start with where The Golden Trio was for the last year? Many believed you were on the run from the harsh war climate. Loyalists believed that you were off on a secret mission started by Dumbledore that he tasked you to carry on after his death."

"I don't know where people get the idea that we were on a bloody vacation," Ron said irritably.

"Then you three were carrying on Dumbledore's secret mission?" Rita pressed on bluntly.

"Yes." All four of them replied evenly.

"You knew of this mission and kept it secret the whole year? Rita asked Ginny hoping to catch her off guard.

"I guessed, and even I didn't know the details until dawn after Voldemort's demise," Ginny answered bluntly.

"So everything goes back to You-Know-Who," Rita said as if it wasn't obvious.

"Well, he was trying to rule the magical world and exterminate muggle-borns and kill Harry Potter, so we didn't think ignoring Dumbledore, and the mission he died for was a good idea," Ron said with blunt annoyance.

"And what were the specifics of this mission you took up on behalf of Dumbledore?" Asked Rita expectantly.

"Voldemort pushed the boundaries of dark magic. He went beyond usual evil. He made himself immortal," Harry said bluntly.

Everyone was pleased to see Rita quite flustered by this information. "Come again?"

"He made himself immortal; we had to remove his immortality." Repeated Harry.

"So, the three of you were trying to make sure that he became mortal and would die once Harry killed him." She asked in clarification.

"Yes, but I didn't kill him; he killed himself because Voldemort thought he knew everything, but he was wrong. Dumbledore was the one that knew everything." Harry said bluntly.

"Go off the record for a moment," Hermione said seriously.

"What is it?" Asked Rita curiously.

"We are not saying how he achieved immortality; it is extremely dark and foul magic that could inspire copycats if it ever went public," Hermione said warningly.

"Can you tell me anything? I'm not sure public curiosity will be satisfied with such vague information." Rita was unnaturally subdued.

Harry elaborated; he sounded rehearsed. "Dumbledore discovered Voldemort's past and passed the knowledge of how to destroy his immortality to us in my sixth year, and we carried on after he died."

"So chasing immortality wasn't a recent goal of You-Know-Who then?" Rita was determined to follow their thread of information as far as they would allow.

Harry clarified, surprised at how easy it was to speak so precisely. "No, it was something he'd been doing since he was in his last year or two at Hogwarts. As recently as the summer of 1994 was Dumbledore's guess. There was no way to know precisely, but his guesses are usually right."

Rita smiled flatteringly. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named spent 50 years making himself immortal, and in one year, the Golden Trio turns the darkest wizard in history mortal, quite a feat."

Ron shrugged. "Dumbledore did the leg work. We just finished what he started."

"Care to explain what this leg work involved?" Asked Rita probing for details.

"No," They all said bluntly. Hermione looked unflinching now. "We're calling shots here. We have given enough information on this particular subject.

"Can this part be on the record at least?" She asked impatiently.

They sighed. "Fine,"

Now she changed tactics. "Does your mission last year have anything to do with breaking into Gringotts and escaping on a dragon?" Rita asked hopefully.

"Yes, Voldemort's immortality was linked to seven different objects; we had to find and destroy them all before he was mortal again," Harry said bluntly.

"So that's what Dumbledore's mission was finding these objects, and one of them was in Gringotts?"

Harry quickly anticipated further questioning. "Yes, and before you ask why we didn't just ask the Goblins for what we needed, they don't exactly concern themselves with the problems of wizards and witches. Besides, we needed Voldemort to remain ignorant of what we were doing for as long as possible."

"And you still won't say how he made himself immortal seven times over?" Rita asked innocently.

"Not specifics, no, but it's far beyond usual evil, not anything that the public needs to know," Hermione said flatly.

"Move on," Harry said sharply. "Knowing how Voldemort achieved immortality would just terrify the public."

"Don't you think they should be able to judge for themselves?" Rita pressed insistently.

"When I was eleven, I was held hostage by the same dark magic tied to Voldemort's immortality, and believe me, unless you want the entire magical community to be scared out of their damn wits from potential copycats, move on. To another topic!" Ginny said quite angrily.

"Alright, I know a brick wall when I see one," Rita said reluctantly. "Let's move to the Hogwarts rebellion then." She turned expectantly to Ginny. "You were a key member of the rebellion, Ginerva; what was it like?"

"It was pureblood indoctrination, sadistic discipline, and persecution of muggle-borns. It wasn't Hogwarts anymore." Ginny said, feeling subdued.

Rita mulled in sympathetic praise, "I've heard from other students how terrible the Death Eaters regime was, bold of you to stir rebellion."

Ginny responded bluntly. "Loyalty matters; besides, the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good to do nothing."

"My, such profound sentiment." Rita chirped vapidly, clearly unmoved. "Who were you showing loyalty to exactly? Dumbledore? Your school?"

"Both, and Harry too," Ginny told her bluntly.

Rita was very theatrical now. "Of course, The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, the symbolism is delicious. The perfect thing to spark your rebellion against the worst wizard we have ever known."

"Harry's fame isn't why I support him, and it sure as hell doesn't have a damn thing to do with why I love him, so don't make me out to be some crazed fangirl!" Ginny hotly retorted.

"Wouldn't dream of it? I'm sure you have an intense, meaningful relationship withstanding torture from Death Eaters requires a tremendous commitment to Harry Potter." Rita simpered slowly.

"How do you know about that?" Asked Ginny incredulously.

"My Animagus form comes in very useful; I overheard them bragging about it in Hogsmeade one day," Rita said hastily. "Dark times for Hogwarts. You, along with Lovegood and Longbottom, were thorns in their sides. But the torture took its toll on all three of you and many others. It makes it curious why you would steal from Snape's office."

Ginny crossed her arms, looking impatient. "Dumbledore left it to Harry in his will, so we were trying to get it for him after the Ministry refused to let him have it."

Rita sounded judgmental but rhetorical. "Oh, yes, I remember hearing about that, quite unprecedented for a deceased head of the school to name students in their will."

"It was necessary. Everything Dumbledore did was necessary." Harry said adamantly.

Rita clicked her tongue. "It would seem that way. Including, as I've heard from students who were present during your final confrontation with You-Know-Who, Severus Snape." Rita said rather bluntly.

"Snape was a triple agent, always loyal to Dumbledore to the point of killing him, so he didn't have to die a slow, painful death." Harry continued severe and matter of fact.

"Dumbledore was already dying?" She looked surprised for the first time, which gave the other's satisfaction.

Harry was only just now realizing how difficult it was to reveal information and withhold the essentials. He smiled solemnly. "Trying to break Voldemort's ties to immortality led him to fall victim a powerful curse making his death imminent. Snape put Dumbledore out of his misery at his request."

"Why was Snape loyal to Dumbledore?" Asked Rita expectantly.

Harry sighed impatiently. "He deeply regretted his allegiance to Voldemort because it led to my mother's death. They were childhood friends. She was the love of his life."

"How do you feel about that, Harry." She asked dramatically.

"I understand Snape now, and that's all I wanted, to understand him… Why he hated me, why he hated my father. Why he was bitter and unpleasant." His tone was indifferent.

"You say he loved your mother. What proof do you have?" Rita asked skeptically.

"Snape, after Voldemort fatally wounded him, gave me his memories, and I watched them," Harry said in finality.

"And you aren't going to tell me specifics," Rita said in a snidely rhetorical tone.

"At least you catch on fast." Harry retorted in amusement.

"You aren't giving me much, any of you," Rita said irritably.

"That's not true. We're just distinguishing between what you want to know and what you need to know. That is a very key difference." Hermione said bluntly.

'Ron added quickly. "Same goes for the public safety, can't have the darker details getting out, and this stuff would make people's skin crawl."

"Alright, I think I'm done then," Rita said abruptly. "Just remember I can get information from anyone."

"Yeah, like Bathilda Bagshot," Harry said crossly.

"You read my book," Rita said pridefully.

"You enjoy tearing people down, and I've got to admit one little chapter had me judging Dumbledore for his past and forgetting about the whole of his life, but we all should remember Albus Dumbledore for what he became and not what he was," Harry said boldly.

Hermione added warningly. "You won't be able to take advantage of us as easily, and if you publish anything, we never said I would make sure that the Ministry finds out you are an unregistered Animagus."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm already on strict orders from Kingsley anyway," Rita said dully. Look for this to be published later this week, combined with things from other people in and out of Hogwarts."

Without another word, Rita transformed once again into a beetle and left through the open window, leaving the others to ponder the coming article.

"Do you think the article will be alright?" Asked Ron as if seeking reassurance.

"Kingsley seems to have reigned Rita in a bit," Harry said with a shrug.

"Time will tell," Hermione said bluntly.

"Let's go home then, shall we," Harry said with a yawn as he stood.

"You go ahead, boys. I need to talk to Ginny alone. We'll be home in a little while." Hermione said evenly.

Ginny raised her eyebrows as the boys shared a look but left the girls alone in the house.

Ginny was starting to become unnerved by Hermione's intense eye stare. "Um, did I do something wrong during the interview? I didn't think I screwed up at all."

"Oh, you screwed up alright, just not with the interview," Hermione said bluntly.

"Hermione what— "

"The next time you get in a row with Ron, I would appreciate it if you don't throw me under the bus in the process, and even worse, do it with a lie!" Hermione said over her through clenched teeth.

"Hermione, I didn't mean to, I was angry at Ron— "

And you thought the best solution was not only to bulldoze his self-esteem but fuel his jealousy to the point where he played tongue twister with Lavender for months!" Hermione said, tipping over her chair in anger as she stood.

"You're not seriously blaming me for that mess in your sixth year!" Ginny said incredulously, now standing too.

"You have no idea what you did. All this time, it turns out you are the one who caused one of the worst points in my life!"

"Don't blame me for that game of petty chicken between you and Ron!" Ginny said harshly.

"You think this is just about Ron!" Hermione shouted angrily. "You knew that I never snogged Krum! How could you lie? You don't realize what it set in motion! For those few months, my heart was shattered in a billion pieces!"

"Maybe you should ask Ron why he became such a git instead of yelling at me," Ginny said hotly.

She sounded incredulous now. "I know full well why your brother acts the way he does now. I see it in his head, hear it in his thoughts! Besides, I already told Ron how much he hurt me. That's how I found out you lied. He told me why he acted like that!"

"Then why are you going on about it with me like I'm the one who hurt you for months!" Ginny said through clenched teeth.

"That's because you did hurt me, after the fact! You don't understand how much I hated myself, watching Ron suck face with my complete opposite. I couldn't understand why he was suddenly acting like McLaggen, and it turns out you caused it." Hermione said emotionally.

"I'm not responsible for you two being stupid, and I still don't understand how that has anything to do with why your so mad at me, Hermione!" Ginny retorted.

"I know you aren't, and I'm not trying to excuse our actions, but now that I know you lied, it colors that whole situation differently. I was heartbroken, Ginny. Boys don't notice me for my looks. They never have, not one of them." Hermione said, sitting back down with a downcast expression on her face.

"Come off it, Hermione, you are beautiful," Ginny said dismissively.

"I'm not ugly," Hermione corrected her with derisive laughter. "There's a big difference there, Ginny."

"I can't help that guys are always staring at me; believe me, I wish I could," Ginny told her honestly, also sitting down again.

"I know that. You still don't get it. Ron is the first guy who enjoys my company, and he is the only guy who has ever been attracted to me for more than just my brain."

"Come on, Hermione, You are best friends with Harry Potter; you took Victor Krum to the Yule Ball!" Ginny said as if these things settled the matter.

Hermione sighed with a subdued look on her face. "Harry does not enjoy just my company. When Ron and Harry were on the outs in our fourth year, he went out of his way to avoid me." She gave a resigned shrug. "Not that I blame him for that. Boys have avoided me my whole life. My father hardly spent time with me." She continued with a sort of resigned acceptance. "Harry is not attracted to me even a little bit either; he didn't even blink when I dressed up for the Yule Ball and passed me thinking I was someone else." She smiled ironically. "I'm his annoying, overprotective big sister, and I'm happy with that, but you're kidding yourself if you don't think I would have liked to have been fancied by Harry Potter when we first became friends." She laughed at the juvenile admission. "He was avoiding me without Ron even back then, so I think that also prevented any real feelings on my end, which I'm happy about. I always wanted a brother and sister, and I couldn't be happier that mine ended up together."

Ginny smiled appreciatively. "Krum fancied you; you can't deny that."

"Yes, but I wasn't a drooling fangirl and could teach him about the foreign country he was visiting. It didn't have anything to do with my looks." She was emotional again. "Ron was different… From the moment he knocked out that troll seven years ago, Ron has always liked me for being me. He enjoys my company, makes me laugh, and is constantly defending me. He faced an army of giant spiders, his greatest fear at 12 years old. He notices when I've overworked myself and offers to help; he noticed me during the ball, and as frustrating as the jealously is, it also shows me that he loves me. The idea that I could inspire that such passion in Ron is so flattering and liberating; I've never inspired that in another guy. Ron makes me feel beautiful even though I'm not."

"Hermione," Ginny said sympathetically.

"Now, do you see why your lie hurts me so much, Ginny? Hermione said imploringly. "I thought your brother—who had shown me in all these small ways that I was special to him, that he loved me—turned into every other guy who either didn't want me at all or wanted me for selfish reasons. If I knew that he was angry with me mostly because he thought I had a long-distance romance with Krum, I would have set him straight. If you had taken a moment to consider how little self-esteem Ron has, then I don't think that Lavender happens, or at the very least, I would have known that he was not with Lavender to hurt me, and I could have avoided stooping to that same level McLaggen."

"Hermione, I didn't realize; I'm sorry!" Ginny said hoarsely.

"I know, but I had to get this off my chest," Hermione said stoically. That's just what your lie did to me. It convinced Ron that I had feelings for a boy who is, in his mind, everything he isn't, and he was heartbroken, so he made sure I was heartbroken too." She said sadly, tears escaping her now.

"You hold it together through all that and cry for my brother, you two were a bloody mess, but you are finally on the same page, thank Merlin," Ginny said, getting up to hug her, clearly trying to lighten the emotional mood.

She sighed. "I understand him now, and he understands me. There is so much self-disgust in his head from constantly being overshadowed by the rest of us; it's suffocating for Ron. He needs someone to pay attention to him as much as Harry does, and no matter how frustrating Ron is, I love him because I knew underneath all of it he loved me too, but those few months we weren't even friends." Hermione said quietly.

"You both choose that, Hermione," Ginny said shortly.

"Yes, but you sparked the whole thing by bulldozing his self-esteem, and he stayed with Lavender because he not only thought I didn't believe in him but that I had a long-distance romance with a guy that Ron could never equal."

"Are you both that fragile to yourself?" Ginny asked in annoyance.

Hermione sighed with a pained face. "Yes, your lie meant Ron had no goodwill left for me when I did not believe in him when I thought he was on luck potion during the match. You and Harry both nearly destroyed, not just our feelings, our friendship too. I know that you did not mean to, but what you did started that whole nightmare." She looked exhausted now.

"Then Harry should have stayed behind to hear this too," Ginny said shortly.

Hermione shook her head. "Harry already feels guilty enough about being the reason I got tortured. I'm not going to pile on to him."

"But you've no problem piling on me." Ginny points out bluntly.

"Well, Ron told me his side of things that year, and you were what started his spiral and, by extension, mine, so I had to clear the air," Hermione said bluntly.

"So we can go home then?" Asked Ginny hopefully.

"Yes, but for heaven's sake, try to remember that Ron doesn't need any more blows to his self-esteem, especially ones where I wind up caught in the crossfire," Hermione told her in exasperation.

"Says the girl who attacked him with a flock of magical birds," Ginny said stiffly.

I felt like complete dung while he was dating Lavender." Hermione acknowledged remorsefully.

"Well, I'm sorry for the part I played in that, but whenever you get married, don't let near death be the peacemaker between you two, okay." She said imploringly.

"No, we have matured since then. We're getting married eventually; Ron said he's going to propose sooner than later," Hermione told her casually.

"That's not a surprise, but hopefully, it is sooner than seven years." Ginny teased.

Hermione did not doubt that it would be much, much sooner than that…

A/N: Another shorter chapter but hopefully entertaining. I always believed that Ron's fight with Ginny was the cause of Ron and Hermione's six-year drama. While I do think she kissed Krum, it's important to remember that snogging is, at least from what I've read as a definition, defined as passionate kissing, which I don't think happened. I find it much more plausible Ginny would exaggerate out of spite, which Hermione would not take kindly for several reasons that I hopefully worked through. It's not meant to place blame but shows Ginny how Hermione felt at the time and reinforces how one thing can make a situation much worse than it could have been.

Well, another burst of simultaneous updates comes to a stop. But I am still writing this story at a pretty consistent pace, so more will come before too long!