Fury ran through her veins as she stalked into the house, a copy of the Quibbler under her arm. She couldn't believe Skeeter had the nerve to go so far...Well, actually she could. But involving HER son in one of her twisted love scenes for all of the Wizarding World to see? She was going to have to go and have a word with that Skeeter woman.

"Harry? Harry, are you home?" She called through the house as she walked into the sitting room. She threw the paper onto the coffee table and sat down on the couch. She placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Mixed emotions filled her. Was she to believe what Skeeter said? She'd been known to print some things that were true, but most of it was fabricated. What was a mother to believe?

Harry barely heard the muffled voice of his wife, as he was down in the basement kitchen, fixing himself a cup of coffee. She no doubt had just read The Quibbler article, as she often heard wind of The Prophet's competitor's stories, and usually before anyone else had the chance to. Harry thought about dropping by her office before heading over to Hogwarts to talk to James, but part of him wanted to talk to his son alone before discussing things with Ginny. He imagined James might be all the more embarrassed if his mother had been present for their discussion. With a quiet sigh, he added a splash of cream to his coffee, then started up the stairs, calling out her name once he reached the hall above.

"Gin? Yeah, I'm home...where are you?"

Hearing Harry's voice from the hall behind her she called out to him. Not trusting herself to stand and walk over to get him. "I'm in the sitting room, Dear," she said with a bit too much of a forced calm that it sounded strained.

She didn't look up as he walked into the room, afraid she'd burst out yelling and taking it out upon Harry, who hadn't done anything. She took a moment before saying anything. "Rita Skeeter has done a lot of cruel things in her life. Lies and hateful words for everyone to see. I suppose you've read it? What she's said about James? She's gone too far. I'm planning on writing to the editor of the Quibbler tonight." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"What has she done to our son?"

"It isn't Rita who's done it," Harry said quietly, shaking his head with a sombre expression. He set his coffee down on a side table, then lowered himself to the sofa, hunching over slightly towards his knees.

"Rarity though it is, Skeeter's article was true. She only made the damage for James much, much worse." He swallowed hard, and looked up at Ginny. His eyes, though swimming with tears, also flashed dangerously as he went on.

"I went to see James today. He said the article was true. That girl--McKnight---she did this to him. Gave him the love potion, then...." He suddenly looked disgusted, and seemingly was unable to finish his thought.

Ginny's face turned from anger, to sadness, to anger once again. As Harry finished there were a mix of emotions trying to find their way onto her face and she forced herself to make it blank. She stared out the opposite window for a long time, without saying anything. When she turned to look at Harry, again tears streamed down her face in silent tracks.

"Why would someone do that? Why would they-" A sob chocked her and constricted her throat so she couldn't say anything more. She looked down at her lap again in anguish.

"Of all the times that Rita has to print something true, why did it have to be now?"

"Because she's a cruel, horrible cow of a woman, that's why, I suppose," Harry said miserably, swallowing hard as he made his way over to comfort his wife.

"I made an appointment to get James checked out---he's having a horrible time with all this, as you can imagine," he said, gingerly stroking her hair and leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"I felt so bad for him...and as I figured the time was right...I gave him my Invisibility Cloak."

Ginny laid her head into Harry's chest when he came over to her. She nodded as he said he made an appointment for him. "When's the appointment? I'll cancel what ever I have going on that do." As Harry continued she looked up at him, "Should I go to him now? He must be feeling horrible. Or maybe we should send for him to come home for a while. So he doesn't have to face the whole school..."

"Did you? I was wondering when you would. He's probably happy that you've given it to him, Harry." She put her hand on his and squeezed it. "What can we do to help him, Harry? This is going to be a turning point in his life. He might not act like the same James anymore..."

"I don't think bringing him home would be a good idea," Harry said, shaking his head, though something in his expression suggested he had considered the same thing.

"This'll be hard for him, but he's got to learn to manage. That's part of why I gave him the Cloak, though. He can disappear whenever he wants."

Harry gave a heavy sigh, and let his eyes fall to a photo of James on a bookshelf against the wall. The boy was around ten in the photo, smiling and waving, laughing and playing with Harry's Quidditch supplies.

"The appointment is Saturday---I think it'd be good for both of us to be there. Other than that, there's not much else we can do for the boy. I do want to speak to Bill, though, about this girl---Taranci. She used a love potion on James, and in a manner of speaking, forced him to do something against his will. She ought to be expelled."

He gave another sigh, and swallowed hard. "I don't know what to tell Al and Lil."

Following his gaze, Ginny let her eyes wander over the pictures of James and the family. She was drawn back the the picture Harry look at and sighed, remembering the days when James had gotten into Harry's Quidditch supplies and sent the snitch flying around the house.

"Yes, I think we should be too. If that's the most we can do, besides being supportive in every way, then there would be no reason for us not to go." Harry went on about talking to Bill. "She was very wrong, and if I'm not mistaken, this girl has turned up in those papers before. If this one story is true, who knows how many of the others might be," she said agreeing with him.

At the subject of Lilly and Albus she thought for a moment. "Sometimes, it could be best not for everyone to know. But it'd be better for them to find out from us than the school, which Al is likely to do, and then go off to badger James about it. I think we just need to tell them that James is going through a hard time right now, and that we all need to be there for him."