The hearing gnawed at Megan's mind all afternoon, despite her efforts to ignore it. Fortunately, what they were doing required concentration, as most of the things in the cabinet didn't seem keen to come out, resulting in Sirius getting a nasty bite from one of the silver boxes which had tried to get Harry.

"It's okay," he said, when Megan looked concernedly at the nasty colour it had taken. "It's just Wartcap powder."

He pulled out his wand and restored his hand to normal, then went back to work. They also found a strange instrument that looked like tweezers with legs that scurried up Megan's arm and almost punctured her neck before Sirius yanked it off and crushed it under a heavy book. They also had to deal with Kreacher trying to nick things from the sacks they were bunging the objects in. Sirius caught him by the scruff of the neck and chucked him out before closing the door. And so it went on for the next few days. It was like a raging war, because the house was infested with all kinds of mess.

Sometimes, some of the members stayed to lend a hand. Tonks, for instance, shared with them a memorable afternoon with a ghoul lurking in a toilet, while Lupin, who was often out despite staying with Sirius, helped them fix a rather unpleasant clock that threw bolts at them. Even Mundungus helped, and redeemed himself just a little in Molly's eyes by saving Ron from a set of purple robes that tried to strangle him.

Megan still slept badly, but she still managed to enjoy herself for the first time in a while. When she wasn't busy, however, the weight of the Ministry came back down on her and she lay awake at night, thinking about it. She couldn't even think about being expelled. The thought was too terrible. And she kept thinking of her friends who she sometimes caught whispering together. One thing was sure, however. She wouldn't return to the Dursleys. They didn't want her anyway. She would come back to Grimmauld Place with Sirius.

"Megan? Megan! Are you listening?"

Megan jumped. She, Hermione and Ginny were getting ready for bed that evening.

"Uh, yeah, that's great."

Hermione eyed her.

"You're not listening at all, are you?"

Megan heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry... my brain's a mess right now..."

"I know," Hermione said gently. "But spacing out about it won't help. If something's on your mind, talk to us, okay?"

"What was it?"

"I was just asking if you were getting any sleep lately, you look exhausted."

"My nights are a bit broken up, but I'll be fine."

Hermione looked about to argue but Megan gave her a "please just leave it at that" look, and she instead changed the subject:

"Uh... Ginny? You know your brothers well, I expect?"

"I suppose, yeah," Ginny replied, her eyebrow rising. "Why?"

"... Well... how can you... oh, never mind."

She looked away, her face redder than Ginny's hair.

"What?" Megan asked.

"Nothing, forget I said anything..."

"Too late for that," Ginny said, moving to sit beside her on the bed. "What's up?"

Hermione stared at her feet, still flushed, then looked up.

"Promise you won't laugh or tell them?"

"Of course," Megan said.

Ginny nodded.

"Is this about Ron? I thought there'd been some drama over the Yule Ball..."

"Oh, there was... but I care about Ron, of course, but... no, it's not him."

She took a deep breath and said:

"I... What d'you think Fred thinks of me?"

The others exchanged a surprised glance.

"I didn't know you even liked Fred," Megan put in cautiously, moving to sit on Hermione's other side.

"I don't! I-I didn't. But..." She gulped. "Lately, Fred and I have been... getting along really well. He wrote me over the summer, and... I wrote back. He's cheeky, sure, but... He's smart, funny... I... he's shown me sides of him I'd never imagined."

"Well, he's not with anyone as far as I know, so what's the problem?"

"I... what if he doesn't feel the same?"

Ginny hesitated.

"Well... I know my brothers, but I can't say I'm an expert when it comes to his love life..." she said. "But one thing he's not, is a liar."

"Yes, but... I'm everything he dislikes. Bossy, top of the class..."

"No one could hate you, Hermione," Megan said, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "But you'll never really know what he feels if you don't tell him how you do."

Hermione exhaled wearily, and Megan could tell she knew this as well.

When the following Wednesday, Mrs Weasley handed her a rich dark blue office ensemble, Megan gulped. She didn't need to ask what it was for.

"Tonks is lending you these for tomorrow, you're about the same build..." she said gently. "A good first impression can't hurt..."

Megan nodded, very aware of them all looking at him.

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley."

She took the outfit. It was elegant, and a deep blue that would go well with her red hair, and silver buttons. Megan forced a smile. She was appreciative of the gesture, but the meaning behind it made her gulp.

"I know you're nervous. But I'm sure it'll be all right," Mrs Weasley said.

Megan nodded quietly. Cedric squeezed her shoulder.

"How... how am I going?" Megan asked, trying not to let her voice tremble.

"Arthur's taking you to work." Mrs Weasley said.

Mr Weasley smiled encouragingly at her.

"I'd go with you," Sirius said. "but Dumbledore doesn't think it's a good idea."

He rolled his eyes.

"He's right... it's too dangerous," Megan said, as much as she would have liked to have him near. "I wouldn't have wanted you to risk it either."

Then, something in what he'd said made her ask:

"When was Dumbledore here?"

"Last night." He said, stabbing a potato moodily.

Megan said nothing as she took this in. So Dumbledore had been here on the eve of her hearing. He had been right there, and had not even asked to see her... if it were possible, Megan felt worse.

Megan woke abruptly the next morning. She'd been doing that every few hours all night long. There was no sounds aside from Hermione and Ginny's breathing. She glanced at her watch. It was only six. She wasn't meant to be awake for another hour. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep so she got up and dressed, then went out quietly. She crept down the stairs, the heels Tonks had lent her in her hand, when she saw Cedric at the foot of the stairs.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked, smiling gently.

She came down and they hugged tightly.

"You didn't have to get up..." she said.

"Now, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I abandoned you in your time of need?" he smiled.

She tried to smile back but it didn't light up her eyes like it usually did.

"It'll be okay." He said, squeezing her shoulder. "You were defending yourself and your cousin. It'll surely be taken into account."

"Yeah..."

They went to the kitchen, where Mr and Mrs Weasley, Tonks, Lupin and Sirius were already seated. Mrs Weasley rushed off to get breakfast.

"Morning, Megan," Tonks smiled, with a yawn. "Sleep all right?"

"Yeah," she said, though they probably could all tell it was a lie, from her tone if not from her face. "Thanks for the suit," she added.

"No big, it looks great on you."

"Everything does." Cedric added, his arm around her waist. "But hey, I'm just saying."

Megan managed a tiny laugh as they sat down. Mrs Weasley came back with warm chocolate muffins.

"Lily's favourite," Sirius winked as she took one. "James preferred scones and crumpets."

Funnily enough, muffins were Megan's favourite too.

"What were you saying about Scrimgeour, Tonks?" Arthur was asking.

"That we need to be more careful, he's been asking Arthur and me questions. I'll have to..." she yawned again. "tell Dumbledore I can't do night duty, I'm too tired..."

"I'll cover for you, I've got a report anyway." Mr Weasley said.

He turned to Megan.

"Feeling all right?" he asked.

She nodded mechanically.

"It'll be over soon," he said. "Just a few hours and you'll be cleared."

Megan wanted to say "what if I'm not?" but couldn't. She couldn't imagine not going back to Hogwarts.

"You'll be fine," Cedirc promised, as though hearing her unasked question.

"Just be polite and stick to the facts." Sirius added beside them.

New mechanical nod.

"The law's on your side, so you needn't be scared." Lupin reminded her. "Underage wizardry is allowed in life threatening situations."

She nodded again.

"Now, don't be alarmed," Lupin went on carefully, "But Fudge will be presiding. However," he added quickly when he caught her expression, "A lot of the wizards in that department are fair, and they'll hear you out."

"We'd better go, it's still early, but we'll be able to be on hand if needed," Arthur said, getting up.

Cedric and Megan got up and he kissed her gently.

"I love you," she said.

"I'll still be here when you get back," he smiled.

"I know." She said. "But I still love you."

"I'll answer that when you get back," he winked.

"You'll be okay, Megan," smiled Tonks, patting her shoulder.

"We've all got our fingers crossed." Mrs Weasley said, hugging her.

"Good luck," Lupin said. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"And if not, I'll see to Fudge for you." Sirius growled.

Megan smiled weakly as he hugged her too. They followed them out to the entrance and she and Mr Weasleys stepped out into the street.

They reached the Ministry after going in the Muggle Underground which had fascinated Mr Weasley.

"Ah, here we are, the visitor's entrance," he said. "I've never used it before. Should be fun."

He indicated a large red telephone booth. It looked pretty ordinary.

"What...?"

Mr Weasley stepped in behind her and pressed a few buttons. The door closed and the phone box slid slowly downwards until they were in a long corridor bursting with witches and wizards coming in through Floo Powder, or Apparating. As they walked along, Megan saw a huge, magnificent fountain with the statues of a pretty young witch, an equally handsome wizard, a centaur, and a goblin and an elf, with the words Magical Brethren were carved in gold.

At the foot of the elf was a collecting tin for St Mungos in which Megan promised to put ten Galleons in if she didn't get expelled. Above it was a large banner with Fudge on it was hanging. Looking around, she was disgusted to see at least half a dozen more.

"See what we meant, about him liking his seat?" Mr Weasley whispered.

Megan glared coldly at the banners. If she'd been Minister, she'd have been more busy solving the problems of the magical community than plastering her face all over the place.

"This way." Mr Weasley whispered, leading her by the arm.

They turned and found themselves heading into a large elevator going down. A floor down from where they began, Kingsley came in. He whispered something to Arthur who swore.

"Merlin's beard... Thank you, Kingsley."

"What's wrong?" Megan asked, her hands balling into fists before she could stop them.

Arthur looked at her, clearly working to keep his expression smooth.

"They've changed the time of your hearing," he told her. "It's ten minutes from now. Thank Heavens we're here so early... why would they want to do it down there..."

A few moments later, they stopped at "Level Eight, Department of Mysteries."

"Come on, we've not got much time," he said.

They marched into a black corridor, and Megan saw a black door at the far end. Mr Weasley hauled her down a staircase to the right and along a black and white corridor with gleaming black tiled walls. As they went, they passed Fudge and Malfoy in deep discussion. Megan stared a few seconds, then Mr Weasley led her onwards.

"Here we are... now keep your calm. You've done nothing wrong. I'm not allowed in, I'm afraid. Good luck."

She nodded and stepped inside.