Back at the Gryffindor table, Ginny watched as Daphne left to look for Hermione, guilt settling in her like rock. She looked over at Theo, and saw the pain evident on his face. "At least it's not just you she'll be ignoring." She tried to joke, her heart only half in it.

Theo grimaced at that. "Sorry Ginny. I didn't mean to make her mad at you too."

Ginny shook her head. "It's not your fault. I should have clued her in after we went. And this whole thing was my idea anyway."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "if you two could stop with the pity party, I came over here to find out whether your dropout brother had actually managed to find anything out!"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Pansy. "Apparently your nanny elf also failed in teaching you how to not be a bitch."

Pansy smiled angelically. "She wasn't allowed to. My mother made sure I knew how to be one."

"Is there any update?" Theo asked quickly, intervening in what he could tell would be an epic argument if allowed to continue.

Ginny glared at Pansy for a moment, before turning back to Theo. "George actually sent me a letter last night. Apparently Skeeter is quite difficult to track down these days, but he did manage to figure out who her photographer is. He's setting up a meeting on the pretense of giving a pre-interview as to how our family is handling all this."

Theo nodded. "And from there?"

"From there, he's going to use the photographer to lure Rita into an interview where he will get the information." Ginny shrugged.

"That won't work," Pansy snorted. "Rita'll see right through that. She won't show up for a second meet."

"Then what would you do?" Ginny asked slightly annoyed.

Pansy tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "When is your brother meeting with Rita's photographer?"

"Tomorrow night, at Fred," Ginny's voice caught, and she paused for a moment before continuing. "At the joke shop," she finished in a wet voice.

Theo looked at her. "You alright?"

Ginny waved her hand. "I'm fine. It's just weird, not having Fred anymore. I don't think George has actually been back at the shop since before we had to go into hiding last year," she explained sadly.

Theo looked down at his hands, unsure of what to say. Pansy however, pushed forward. "What time is the meeting?" She asked abruptly.

"Why?" Ginny asked, wiping an errant tear that had started to fall.

"Because I'm going to be at that meeting. You'll need fear to get Rita to understand that we mean business."

Ginny eyed Pansy for a moment. "7 o'clock. The address is 93 Diagon Alley. You should try to get there early."

Theo looked at her incredulously. "You're actually going to let her go?"

Ginny shrugged. "I actually think she might be right. And I know that there is one person in the world who Skeeter actually avoids religiously, which is why I'm surprised she wrote the article about her."

Pansy raised an eyebrow. "Rita's scared of Granger?" she asked, a note of surprise in her voice.

Ginny stood up and started gathering her things. "Massively. If you really want to send a message, say that you have a jar with her name on it." She nodded her head. "See you later."

Theo scrambled after her. "Why would a jar scare Skeeter?" He asked Ginny, following her.

Ginny chuckled. "Not my story to tell. Ask Hermione when she feels like talking to us again."

"Fine. But are you sure that sending Pansy in with your brother is a good idea? I feel like the last time they saw each other, your parent's house came close to no longer existing." Theo asked, as they climbed up the stairs.

Ginny stopped, and turned to face Theo. "Honestly? I don't know, but I do know that I don't want George going back to that shop for the first time alone. And honestly, Pansy might be a good enough distraction."

Theo looked down at his feet. "How bad has it been?"

Ginny sighed, and ran her hand through her hair. "He barely leaves their room. The only time he eats is when Mum practically force feeds him." She turned and looked down the stairs at the entrance way. "It's almost as though when Fred died, a part of George died with him. No one's been able to get through to him. When Parkinson was arguing with him, that was the most alive I've seen him since the war."

Theo nodded, then noticed Hermione walking towards them, Daphne not far behind. "Hermione!"

Hermione and Daphne joined them on the steps. "I still want an answer about what you said in the bathroom." Daphne hissed in Hermione's ear, glancing at Ginny with a slight amount of awe and fear in her eyes.

"What are you two talking about?" Hermione asked, ignoring Daphne.

Ginny threw her arms around Hermione in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry Hermione! I wasn't trying to keep you out of the loop, I just wanted to do something nice for you."

Hermione rolled her eyes, and extracted herself from Ginny's embrace. "I know you weren't. Daphne and I talked, and she actually helped me a lot. But from now on, no more secrets. From either of you." She finished pointing at both Ginny and Theo threateningly.

Theo looked at his sister. "Does this mean we're okay?" He asked nervously.

"I'm still mad that you didn't tell me everything, but I realize that you were just trying to figure this out. I'm still trying to as well." Hermione nodded, and reached out and squeezed Theo's hand with her own. "But I really do mean it, you have to be honest with me from now on. That's the only way we can move forward."

Theo felt a weight come off him that he hadn't even fully realized was there. "Deal."

Ginny cleared her throat. "In the full spirit of transparency, George has a meeting with Skeeter's photographer tomorrow, and I'm sending Parkinson as well."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "I want to be there as well."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Theo asked tentatively, not wanting to insult Hermione. "I mean, Pansy's pretty threatening without even trying, and Twin Weasley always managed to scare the pants off of us when we were younger."

Ginny gave Theo an approving smile.

Hermione scoffed. "Please. George was always the idea man of the twins. Fred was the one who was willing to engage in some action. George is only operating at 50% now. And Parkinson, well, as scary as you may find her, Rita won't. But she'll show if I'm there," she finished with an evil grin.

"And think of it this way," Hermione continued, noticing the apprehension on Theo's face still. "This is how you can apologize for keeping me in the dark."

Ginny laughed at that. "Been missing fighting battles Mione?"

Hermione crooked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Not really. But after everything she wrote last year, I've been itching for a chance to go after Rita again.