Setting things to rights - 1

"I don't believe this," Ron shouted, unable to contain himself any further. "First you're all over Harry about being too young and not trusting you with the answers to things he absolutely can't tell you, and now you want to let Malfoy and his mother have free reign inside his head? Have you all gone mad?"

"That's enough, Ron," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "Of age or not, I won't have you using that disrespectful tone."

"You're all barking," Ron mumbled mutinously.

"It's your decision, Harry. What do you say?" Remus asked.

Harry sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I told you I'm willing to make some compromises, but this is a big one. I'll give it a try, but I'm not promising to stick with it if I think things are going badly. And I want you all to remember this the next time I have to do something that you're not too happy about."

Ginny clutched his hand beneath the table.

What had he just done?

------------------

The next few weeks at Grimmauld Place were rather tense. Although the air had been cleared amongst them, everyone still walked on edge. Mrs. Weasley kept the foursome under close watch, as if she was afraid they'd disappear under her very eyes. Harry suspected that although she had resigned herself to their continued involvement in the war, she wasn't happy about it. She appeared to be waiting with extreme apprehension for the announcement of their next departure.

Mr. Weasley had held true to his word and kept them apprised of Scrimgeour's activities. He'd also told them how the press had reported their appearance in Diagon Alley in vivid detail. Harry's instructions on how to fight the Inferi had been front-page news for a fortnight, and the Ministry had taken up the cause as if it had been their idea. There were now regular reminders and updates in each edition of the Daily Prophet.

Percy had returned to work without saying much to any of them, his upturned nose expressing his disapproval. Charlie, however, had remained behind, claiming to need a holiday. Harry suspected he was attempting to snap Bill out of his funk. Bill was the only one who apparently still held a grudge about their disappearance, although Harry still felt uneasy around Mr. Weasley, as well.

He had carefully stored Helga Hufflepuff's charred cup in his trunk along with the diary and the ring. Three down, and he knew what the fourth one was, if not where. That left only himself and one other unknown item. The task still seemed overwhelming, but he was making progress.

Harry's greatest concern at the moment, however, was Hermione. She wasn't taking the loss of her hair well, but Merlin help anyone who tried to point that out to her. She was completely irrational on the subject, and refused to listen to anyone's suggestions. Poor Ron had spent more time trying to dig out of a blunder he'd unwittingly caused than anything else. He'd been desperately trying to be sympathetic, but had only ended up getting on her nerves.

Hermione had virtually barricaded herself in the library, and was rarely seen elsewhere. She'd even skipped most meals, preferring to have a tray sent up to her. At first, this behavior didn't seem out of the ordinary, but as the days passed, the others had become concerned. While it was true that Hermione was scouring the books, Harry suspected she was hiding more than working.

She spent as much time reading medical journals as she did anything related to Voldemort. Hermione was having a lot of trouble realizing that there was no solution to her hair loss other than to wait for nature to fix it. She couldn't stand being let down by the library and apparently took it as a personal insult.