What Is Love?

What Is Love?

"Sirius," Harry began, walking up to Sirius's desk after DADA class. Sirius looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Harry," Sirius said. Harry didn't smile and his eyes looked troubled. Sirius looked at him concerned. Harry waited until all the kids were gone before turning back to Sirius.

"Something's wrong with Hermione," Harry told him. He took a seat in front of the desk.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"Well, she's barely eating. She never laughs. She never has any fun anymore. And," Harry added, "she doesn't answer questions in class. At least not willingly."

"I thought something was up today when I had to prompt her to answer," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Is she getting enough sleep? She fell asleep in class today, 5 times."

"That's another thing," Harry muttered. "I don't think she sleeps at night. She always has dark circles under her eyes and, like you said, she falls asleep in class." Harry and Sirius were both silent for a moment. "I just don't get it," Harry suddenly said. "What could possibly be wrong? I thought everything was going perfect. We have the perfect friendship. She and Ron make the perfect couple and the perfect heads. So, what is it?"

"I don't know," Sirius said. "Could be something with her home life. Could be any number of things." Harry nodded and stood up.

"Thanks Sirius," he said, heading to the door. At the door, he turned back to Sirius. "Will you do something for me, Sirius?" Sirius looked up at him. "Dumbledore wants me to go to Grimmauld Place over Christmas break. Not sure why. Anyways, could you keep an eye on Hermione? Maybe find out what's going on? Ron will be here, because the Weasley's are really busy or something and he can't go home, but he refuses to see that something's wrong with Hermione. Ginny will be here too and she's already agreed to keep an eye on Hermione, but I'd like you too also."

"Of course," Sirius said warmly.

"Harry, do you have to go?" Hermione whispered, throwing her arms around Harry. Harry was getting worried with all the begging Hermione had been doing lately, trying to keep him at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger did not beg!

"Hermione, you know I have to," Harry told her, but she just clung tighter. "I have to go now, Hermione," Harry said firmly. Hermione reluctantly let go. "Bye, Hermione."

"Bye, Harry." Harry turned to go, but the last thing he saw were Hermione's eyes, shining with tears.

Hermione slowly walked back to Gryffindor Tower and had just about reached the portrait, when she was pulled into an empty classroom.

"What did I say about hugging other guys?" a voice growled against Hermione's ear. Hermione slowly turned to face Ron. "You were hugging Harry, Hermione."

"Harry's my friend, Ron," she pointed out, "I was hugging him goodbye." Ron's eyes narrowed and he threw Hermione to the ground.

"When I say...(he kicked her)...don't hug other...(he kicked her again)...guys, I mean exactly that." He bent down and slapped her several times. "I am your boyfriend, therefore you only hug me." He stood up and pulled Hermione to her feet.

"Well, maybe I don't want you to be my boyfriend anymore," she said softly. Ron's eyes narrowed to little slits.

"What did you say?" he hissed. Hermione gulped and took a step back.

"I...I...I said m...maybe I don't want y...you to be my b...boyfriend," she repeated in a small voice. Ron's face turned red with anger and he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the classroom and dragged her to the Head Tower. Once in the common room, he dragged her to his room and silenced the room, before throwing her on the bed. He tore off all her clothes and his.

"Time to make you mine," Ron growled. He raped her as Hermione screamed. Finally, Ron rolled off her and stood up. He started getting dressed.

"Remember Hermione," he said threateningly, "you are mine and you always will be." He left, slamming the door shut. Hermione was left, in the middle of the bed, trembling. An hour later, Hermione dragged herself out of bed. She took her clothes and threw them away before going into the bathroom. She went in the shower and scrubbed and scrubbed.

"Still dirty," she muttered over and over. Finally, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She looked in the mirror and noticed how dull her eyes looked. Glancing down at her body, she noticed all the bruises. She slid to the floor in tears. Looking up, her eyes caught on a razor about three feet away. She crawled over to it and picked it up. Slowly, ever so slowly, she slid it across her wrist. It stung but it seemed to ease her emotional pain so she slid it across her wrist again and again. When her wrist was full of cuts, she switched to the other wrist. When both wrists were full of cuts, she rose to her feet and washed her new cuts. Using her wand, she cleaned up her cuts, but there were still scars. She got in her PJs, climbed into bed, and slept good for the first time in several months.

"Sirius!" Ginny cried, bursting into his office. She stopped when she noticed Remus Lupin there also. Sirius looked up.

"We were just discussing Hermione," Sirius explained. Remus stood up.

"I was just leaving," he said but Ginny grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"If you were talking about what's wrong with Hermione, you should stay. I have something about her." Remus nodded. Ginny let go and Remus sat back down. Both Remus and Sirius looked up at Ginny, concerned as they took in her flushed cheeks, tear-filled eyes, and messed up hair.

"What is it?" Sirius asked. Ginny didn't say anything at first.

"Something's wrong with Hermione," she finally told them.

"We know," Sirius pointed out. "That's what we..."

"No!" Ginny shouted, startling both men. "No," Ginny repeated in a softer voice. "It's worse then before."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, puzzled.

"She's hurting herself," Ginny whispered. "She's cutting herself." Both men stared at her, shocked.

"How do you know?" Sirius finally asked.

"I saw her wrists," Ginny said softly. "Just a little bit a go." She sunk down into a chair.

Flashback

Ginny and Hermione were sitting in the library; Hermione helping Ginny with her Potions assignment. When they finished, they just sat and chatted for a while. Ginny noticed Hermione was fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves and not really paying attention to the conversation. Suddenly, Hermione stood up and stretched.

"I gotta go," she said, packing up her books. But as she did so, her sleeves fell back, revealing her cuts. Ginny just stared. Hermione left and Ginny ran to Sirius's office.

End Flashback

"That's when I came here," Ginny finished. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"I guess all we can do is watch her," Sirius spoke up, breaking the silence. "Maybe we can pick up some clues."

At dinner, Hermione sat between Ginny and Ron. She was holding a conversation with Ginny, unaware that she was being studied. Sirius, Remus, and Ginny kept their eyes on Hermione throughout the meal and after dinner, they met in Sirius's office. They were all looking at each other, none of them wanting to voice their worries.

"Whatever is going on with Hermione, it has to do with my brother, doesn't it?" Ginny asked in a small voice. "Every time he touched her, or even looked at her, she flinched. Ron, my idol, my protector, is hurting Hermione, isn't he?" She burst into tears. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Finally, Remus sat on a couch and pulled Ginny down beside him. Sirius sat on the other side of Ginny. Without really thinking about what she was doing, Ginny climbed into Remus's lap, like a child, and buried her face in his chest. Remus, not knowing what else to do, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. He ignored the weird feeling in his stomach, telling himself it was just the fact that he wasn't used to holding a young woman in his lap.

Ginny's tears finally subsided and she climbed out of Remus's lap. Both of them ignored the empty feeling they got as they let go of each other.

"Sorry," she mumbled, turning red. "I shouldn't have lost it like that." Remus smiled gently.

"Don't apologize," he told her firmly. "He's your brother. It's a shock to realize he might be hurting your best friend. Of course you're going to have a hard time dealing with that." Ginny nodded and Remus stood. "Well, I have to get going." He walked to the door.

"Remus?" she called. He turned to look at her. She smiled slightly. "Thank you," she said softly. "For everything." Remus smiled at her and was gone. Ginny turned to Sirius and he was surprised to see the look of determination in her eyes.

"Ginny?" he asked tentatively.

"I have an idea," she explained. "Harry left his invisibility cloak here. One of us should sneak into the Head Tower and see if Ron really is hurting Hermione." Sirius stared at her.

"I like it," he said slowly. "It'll have to be tomorrow night," he added. "I promised Harry I'd go to Grimmauld Place tonight."

"I could do it," she offered.

"Absolutely not," Sirius exclaimed.

"Why not?" Ginny demanded.

"You could get hurt," Sirius said. "It's less likely he'll hurt me then it is he'll hurt you."

"But I'm his sister," she protested.

"Promise me you won't go," Sirius said. Ginny sighed.

"I promise." Sirius smiled and he too left. Ginny hurried back to Gryffindor Tower and grabbed Harry's cloak. She then hurried to the library. Sure enough, Hermione was there. Ginny sat in a corner and waited. Finally, Hermione got up and left. Ginny slipped on the cloak and hurried after Hermione, slipping into the room right before the door closed. She sat in the corner and waited. She didn't have to wait long. Ron came in a few moments later and headed straight for Hermione. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"Ron," she whimpered. "I don't feel well."

"That's what you say every night," he growled. "I have an itch and you are going to scratch it." He pulled her up the stairs and Ginny silently followed. She stopped in the doorway and watched in horror as Ron tore off Hermione's clothes. When they were both naked, Ron threw Hermione on the bed. He then began to kiss her brutally. Ginny snuck into the room more, but her robe caught on the dresser. A lamp fell off the dresser and hit the floor as she pulled her robe loose, therefore causing herself to be revealed. Ron froze before turning to spot her. He grinned.

"Ginny, nice of you to join us," Ron drawled. Ginny scowled.

"Stop hurting her, Ron," she said firmly. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Surely you're not saying that you will stop me," Ron mocked. Ginny whipped out her wand but Ron was quicker and Ginny's wand slipped from her hand and flew to Ron's. Ron threw it to the side and then aimed his wand at Ginny. He bound her in ropes and she had to watch as he brutally raped Hermione. After he was done raping Hermione, he picked her up and tied her to a chair. Then he untied Ginny, picked her up, and threw her on the bed.

"What are you doing?" she asked frantically. Ron tore open her blouse. "Please, stop Ron," she begged. He paid her no attention. "I mean it Ron. Stop. I'm your sister." But Ron did not stop. No matter what Ginny said or how much she begged, Ron didn't stop until he had what he wanted. Finally, he pulled out of her, got dressed, and left, after kissing her one last time. Ginny stood up on shaky legs and untied Hermione. Hermione also stood.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked Ginny quietly. Ginny couldn't speak. She just nodded her head, as she slowly got dressed. After she was dressed, Hermione and Ginny just stared at each other. Suddenly, without say anything, they hugged each other, both of them crying. Then Ginny grabbed Harry's cloak and ran as fast as she could back to Gryffindor Tower. Once she was in the sixth year girls' dorm room, she fell onto her bed and cried into her pillow. She suddenly felt the urge to throw something, so she did. She got up off her bed, grabbed the nearest object (her potions book) and threw it at the wall. That wasn't enough, so she began throwing everything in sight, waking up the only other Gryffindor girl who had stayed over Christmas break. The girl was Lavender Brown who, upon waking up from hearing the noise, hurried into Ginny's dorm room.

"Ginny!" she exclaimed, ducking a flying book. She hurried over to Ginny, ducking a lamp that came flying in her direction. She grabbed Ginny and held her arms to her side. "Ginny!" she yelled again. Ginny finally stopped struggling and just collapsed in Lavender's arms. Lavender lowered her to the floor and sat with her, rubbing her back. Ginny curled herself into a little ball, tears streaming down her face.

"Remus," she whispered. "I want Remus. Remus!" she screamed. Lavender looked at her, worried.

"I'll be right back," she said, running out of the room.

Sirius had just closed the door to his quarters, having just gotten back from Grimmauld Place, when a loud knock came on the door. He opened it, surprised to see Lavender Brown standing there, out of breath, like she had been running forever.

"P...Professor B...Black," she panted, trying to catch her breath. "It's G...Ginny." Sirius grew worried.

"What about her?" he asked.

"She was throwing things all around her room, going wild," Lavender explained, having finally caught her breath. "And now she's screaming for Remus Lupin." Sirius's eyes widened and he immediately tore down the hall, Lavender right behind him. He rushed into her room, after making sure the stairs wouldn't turn into a slide (only professors knew how to do this), to see she was throwing things again.

"Remus!" she kept screaming. "Remus!" She threw a book at the window, shattering the glass. Sirius rushed to her and held her, much the same way Lavender had, with Ginny struggling. Finally, she stopped moving, but when she looked up and saw Sirius, she shrieked and moved away from him. Sirius looked at her, worried and puzzled, while she curled in a ball again.

"Remus," she kept muttering, over and over again. "Remus." Sirius stared at her for a moment before turning to Lavender.

"Watch her," he instructed. "Make sure she doesn't hurt herself." Lavender nodded and Sirius tore out of the room.

Remus was just finishing his glass of iced tea before heading to bed when Sirius came barreling out of the fireplace. Remus dropped his glass of tea. He flicked his wand and cleaned up the mess before turning to Sirius.

"Sirius?" he inquired. "Weren't you just here?" Sirius didn't say anything, just grabbed his arm, pushed him into the fireplace, and threw in some floo powder.

"Hogwarts, Sirius Black's office!" Sirius shouted. He arrived a minute after Remus did. Remus spun to glare at Sirius.

"Sirius Black," he began, "what is the meaning of dragging me all the way here at..." Remus paused to check his watch and his eyebrows rose in surprise, "...at a little after midnight?" Again, Sirius said nothing. He just grabbed Remus by the arm and dragged him out of the office and through the halls, ignoring Remus's protests.

"Look," Sirius whispered. Remus looked up to see that they were in a girl's dorm room and that Sirius was pointing at a girl, with red hair, curled in a ball, crying. She was muttering something but he couldn't hear what it was. All of Remus's protests died as he looked at her. "She's been asking for you," Sirius whispered in his ear. "I had to get you because she wouldn't let me near her." Remus nodded and knelt down by Ginny's side. Sirius nodded at Lavender and she went off to bed again, casting one last, worried look at Ginny. Sirius also left, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Ginny?" Remus said softly. She didn't look at him. It was then that he noticed her shaking violently. He put a hand on her arm but she shrugged him off. "Ginny?" he said again. "It's me, Remus." Ginny slowly lifted her head and then, without warning, threw herself into his arms. Remus hugged her, rubbing her back as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It hurt so bad, Remus," she murmured against his shoulder. Remus pulled back to look in her eyes.

"What hurt, Ginny?" he asked. Ginny looked up at him.

"I hate him," she whispered.

"Who?" Ginny looked away but Remus forced her to look back at him. "What happened, Ginny?" Ginny stood up and backed away.

"It was my fault," she muttered. "I shouldn't have gone. Sirius told me not to go but I went anyways."

"Ginny," Remus said, slowly walking towards her, "what happened?" Ginny didn't respond. Remus put his hands on her shoulder and shook her slightly. "What happened?" he asked more firmly.

"He raped me!" she finally screamed, collapsing against him. He hugged her close. "My own brother raped me!" Remus's eyes blazed and his fingers clenched but he carefully hid his anger from her. After all, it wasn't her he was angry at.

"Come on," he said in her ear, "let's go talk to Sirius." Ginny shook her head.

"He'll hate me," she told him. "He'll tell me I deserved it for disobeying him." Remus pushed her away to look into her eyes.

"Sirius would never say that," he said firmly. "No matter what, it is not your fault you were raped." She slowly nodded. "Now, let's go see Sirius, ok?" She nodded uncertainly but when she tried to walk, her legs gave out on her and Remus swept her into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, the tears coming again. By the time they got to Sirius's quarters, Ginny had cried herself to sleep. Remus gently laid her on Sirius's bed before turning to Sirius, who had been sitting at the table, waiting for him. Sirius was shocked at the anger in Remus's eyes.

"She's afraid you'll hate her," Remus told him quietly, sitting down across from him. "That's why she wouldn't let you go near her." Sirius looked puzzled.

"Why would she think that?" he asked.

"Because she didn't listen to you," Remus told him. At Sirius's blank look, Remus went on, "she snuck into the Head Tower tonight." Sirius's face changed to one of horror.

"What happened?" Sirius asked with dread. Remus glanced at the sleeping girl before turning back to Sirius and, with his head, signaled that they should go into his connecting office. Sirius took the hint and stood, going into his office. Remus followed, closing the door, before silencing the room. He turned back to Sirius.

"Apparently," Remus began in a low voice, "Ronald Weasley...uh, he well...he...he raped her," Remus finished in a soft whisper.

"What?!" Sirius shouted, causing Remus to flinch. Of course, he'd known exactly how Sirius would take this. That was why he'd silenced the room, so they wouldn't wake Ginny up. Sirius began pacing. "How dare he?" Sirius raged. "How could he just take a girl's innocence without a second thought? She's his sister, for goodness sakes!" Sirius paced for another good five minutes, before flopping down in his chair, his head in his hands. Remus sat in another chair.

"She thinks she deserved it," Remus told him softly. Sirius's head whipped up, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Why would she think that?" he asked. "How could she think she would ever deserve to be hurt like that?"

"She thinks it serves her right to get raped because you specifically told her to not go and she went anyways," Remus explained. Sirius sighed and turned to look out the window.

"Its my fault," Sirius whispered, trying to hide his tears. But Remus knew he was crying. "I knew she was determined to get in there and try to protect Hermione but all I could think about was going to visit Harry tonight. Now look what happened! If I had been here, and offered to go tonight, none of this would have happened." Sirius slammed his hand through the window, ignoring the pain and blood. He couldn't even feel it with all the rage he was feeling. "Damn it!" Sirius shouted, picking up a book and throwing it across the room. He got up and began pacing. "I am going to kill him! No one rapes one of my students and gets away with it!" He stopped when he heard a small voice coming from his doorway.

"Sirius?" Sirius spun to see Ginny, standing in the doorway, still in her robes (now rumpled), looking like a scared, little girl. "I'm sorry, Sirius," she whispered, looking at the ground. Sirius knelt in front of the girl and took her hands in his own. He looked up into her eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Ginevra Weasley," Sirius told her firmly. "You did nothing wrong."

"I broke my promise to you," she protested. "I should have never gone but I did. It's my own fault. It never would have happened if I hadn't tried to stop him from raping Hermione." The tears slid down her cheeks again.

"Wait a minute," Sirius said, "you mean, he raped Hermione too?" Ginny nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"I think he's being doing it for a while," Ginny whispered. Sirius and Remus exchanged glances. Ginny pulled away from Sirius. "I hate him," she muttered, the tears falling faster. "I hate him. I HATE HIM!" she screamed suddenly, collapsing on the floor. Sirius tried to touch her, to comfort her, but she shrunk away from him. Sirius stood up and moved away, nodding at Remus. Remus knelt down next to Ginny and hugged her. She leaned into his embrace and, once again, cried herself to sleep. Remus picked her up, placed her back in Sirius's bed, and then rejoined Sirius in Sirius's office.

The next morning, Remus (who had stayed the night because every time Ginny woke up from a nightmare, she would ask for him, never letting Sirius touch her) walked Ginny to her dorm room so she could get changed. At breakfast, Ginny sat in between Sirius and Remus, barely touching her food. When Ron sat down to breakfast, he grinned at Ginny, causing her to flinch and Sirius and Remus had to restrain themselves from lunging at him.

After breakfast, Ginny went to the library. She finally felt okay enough to be alone so Sirius and Remus went back to Sirius's office. They wanted to discuss how to tell Dumbledore about everything. Ginny had begged them to not say anything but they didn't agree. The only way to make sure that Ginny and Hermione were both safe again, was to tell Dumbledore. In the library, Ginny went to sit in a dark corner. She picked up the book she had gotten and began reading but she couldn't concentrate. She kept getting the feeling that someone was watching but every time she looked up, no one was there.

She had just reread the same sentence for the fifth time when someone sat down at her table. She looked up and her face drained of all color as the book fell to the table with a clang. He looked at her with a smirk as he rested a hand on her thigh. Ginny moved her chair, so he couldn't touch her, but he just moved his chair closer and again touched her leg. She stood up and backed away from him. He got up and moved towards her, still smirking.

"Come on, Ginny, you know you wanted it," he drawled. Ginny began shaking her head, tears filling her eyes. "You know you liked it just as much as I did. Maybe even more." He kept walking towards her, until he had her pressed up against a wall. He began to roughly kiss her as she tried to push him away. Finally, using all the strength she could muster, she shoved him to the floor.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, her eyes flashing. She grabbed her bag and shoved the book inside. She turned to go. "I already told both Sirius and Remus what you did to me last night," she added. She got scared when she saw Ron's eyes darken. She wished she'd kept her mouth shut. Ron lunged for her and she shrieked and ran out of the library. He was following her so she sped up her pace. He obviously didn't know where she was headed; otherwise he would have stopped chasing her. She had just about reached Sirius's office (somehow she knew that Remus would still be there) when Ron caught up with her and shoved her into an empty classroom. He closed the door but forgot to silence the classroom.

"You should know better then to tell anyone," he hissed in her ear, throwing her to the ground. He began punching her and kicking her but she refused to cry out. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction. Then he did the unthinkable. He pointed his wand at her. "Crucio!" he shouted. Ginny felt pain like never before. It felt like her whole body was on fire and she couldn't help it. She screamed.

Remus and Sirius had just decided that they indeed would have to tell Dumbledore about what Ron was doing when they heard a scream. Both of them looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Ginny!" they cried in unison, tearing out of Sirius's office and down the hall. They followed the scream into an unused classroom and saw Ron, with his wand pointed at Ginny, and Ginny on the floor, in pain and screaming. Sirius didn't think about what he was doing, he just lunged at Ron and tackled him to the floor. Ginny fell to the ground, unconscious, as Ron's wand was knocked from his hand. Remus knelt next to Ginny as Sirius stunned Ron and took him to see Professor Dumbledore. Remus gently picked up Ginny and carried her to the hospital wing, where Madame Pompfry (sp?) fussed over her.

Dumbledore looked up in surprise when the door banged open and Sirius walked in, levitating Ron. Sirius settled Ron in a chair and then took the other one and faced Dumbledore.

"Sirius?" Dumbledore inquired. "What's going on?"

"Expel him, send him to Azkaban, do what you have to do as long as you make sure he can't go anywhere near Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger again," Sirius said angrily, glaring at Ron. Dumbledore looked at Sirius thoughtfully.

"What happened?" he asked gently. He was surprised at what Sirius was saying, as he had always liked Ron.

"He's been abusing Hermione," Sirius began, "He's also been raping her and last night, he raped Ginny. Then just a little bit ago, Remus and I caught Ron using the crutacious curse on Ginny." Dumbledore looked at Ron sadly for a moment.

"I guess I have no choice, then," Dumbledore said. "I'll have to hand him over to the Ministry, as they are the ones who deal with Rape and Abuse cases. As for what I am going to do with him..." he stood up and grabbed a pink slip from a shelf behind him and sat back down again. He wrote something on the paper and then the paper magically disappeared. "Ronald Weasley, you are officially expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He took out his wand and undid the stunning spell. He looked at him with disappointment and sadness. He then headed to the fireplace and fire-called the Ministry. A few moments later, Ron was escorted out of Dumbledore's office by two aurors.

Remus sat by Ginny in the hospital wing, watching her with sad eyes as she laid there, still unconscious. Suddenly, she began thrashing around on the bed, startling him.

"No!" she screamed. "Remus! Help me!" Remus rushed to her side and grabbed her flailing arms, pinning them down to the bed.

"Ginny," he said softly. No response, though she did stop flailing. He shook her slightly. "Ginny," he said more firmly. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at him, breathing hard. Sweat was pouring down her face and her blankets were twisted.

"Remus?" she asked in a scared voice. "Where are you? Is it dark in here? Why can't I see you?" Remus looked at her in confusion. She was looking right at him and the Hospital Wing was flooding with light. Then he noticed her eyes. They looked almost like glass, and were very dull, having lost that special light she'd always had. Remus panicked.

"I'm right here, Ginny," he told her, taking her hand. "And it isn't dark."

"Then why can't I see?" she cried out. Remus got to his feet.

"I'll be right back," he said and hurried to Madame Pomfrey's office door, knocking on it. A few moments later, she opened it. "She's awake," he told the nurse. Madame Pomfrey immediately began walking towards Ginny's bed but Remus caught her arm, stopping her. She turned to look at him, puzzled. "Something is wrong. She can't see anything." Pomfrey gasped and hurried to Ginny's side, examining her. Finally, Pomfrey forced a dreamless sleep potion down Ginny's throat and dragged Remus back to her office.

"Well?" Remus demanded as soon as the door shut. Pomfrey sat down at her desk and sighed. Remus sat in one of the other chairs and looked at her expectantly.

"She is blind," Pomfrey told him and he cursed under his breath. "One of the affects of getting hit in the face with the crutacious curse."

"She was hit in the face?" Remus asked disbelievingly. He'd never heard of anyone doing that before and he hoped no one else ever found out what could happen or it would be a weapon of the dark side for sure. Pomfrey confirmed it with a nod. "Is it permanent?" Pomfrey raised troubled eyes to him and it told him all he needed to know but she spoke anyways.

"I'm not sure," she said. "This is a rare case and there is no cure for it, yet. So...it could be temporary or she could be blind for the rest of her life." Remus stood up abruptly, throwing back his chair as he did, and cursed, slamming his hand into the wall. Pomfrey gave him a disapproving look as she fixed the hole with her wand.

"Sorry," he muttered, righting his chair, and sitting down again with his head in his hands. He suddenly looked up at her. "It's just that Ginny Weasley is one of the most vibrant young women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and it hurts to see that light in her eyes, gone. Maybe for good."

"I know," Pomfrey said softly. "But right now we need to be here for her." Remus nodded.

"I guess I should go to the headmaster," he told her and left quietly. He stopped by Ginny's bed and watched her for a moment before walking slowly out of the hospital wing. He headed in the direction of the headmaster's office. "Headmaster," he said as soon as he entered the office. He stopped and looked around. "Where is he?" he asked, turning to look at Sirius, who was still sitting there.

"The Ministry officials already came and took him," Sirius explained in a solemn voice. Remus nodded and turned back to look at Dumbledore. "Something's wrong with Ginny," he said. They just looked at him.

"Um, yeah Moony," Sirius said in an impatient voice. "That kind of is why we are here right now, remember?" Remus scowled at Sirius.

"Something else," he said slowly. He took a deep breath. "Ginny's blind," he blurted out. At first, the room was deathly silent.

"Blind?" Sirius whispered. "Ginny Weasley...is blind?" Remus nodded.

"A side effect of being hit in the face with the unforgivable. She may get her sight back and she may not." He turned and looked straight at Dumbledore. "How do we help her? I mean, she obviously can't go to classes like a normal kid right now, can she?" Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully.

"Miss Weasley will be under your care, Remus," Dumbledore finally broke the silence. Both men stared at him.

"Under my care?" Remus repeated. Dumbledore nodded.

"You don't work here," Dumbledore told him. "Therefore, you are the only one available to assist her 24/7 and she needs that right now. She also needs someone to support her and from what Sirius has told me, you are the only she trusts at the moment." Remus nodded his head.

"But where would she live? I can't live in Gryffindor Tower, for obvious reasons, and isn't it inappropriate for her to move into the teachers' wing?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"That's why you will be moving, temporarily, into the Head Tower." Remus just stared at him. "There will be no Head Boy right now. I think it is for the best. So, you and Miss Weasley shall move in with Miss Granger." Sirius and Remus both gasped in shock.

"Hermione!" Sirius said frantically. "We forgot about Hermione!" He tore out of the office, Remus right behind him. Dumbledore stared after them, a twinkle shining in his bright blue eyes.
"Well, this year is going to be interesting, Fawkes," he said softly. "Very interesting indeed."