Paperwork and files filled the desk before Quinn Riddle, many items given to her by her immediate superior to complete due to his increasing work load. As she finished signing one of the countless forms regarding the upcoming Quiditch World Cup and the infamously dangerous Triwizard Tournament, she glanced up to see that the pile had seemingly gotten bigger. Groaning as she put her head in her hands, Quinn tried to remember the last time she had felt like the Wizarding World had treated her like an average witch.
Being the daughter of the most dangerous wizard known to their world, no matter how gone he was, was one of the worst things that Quinn had ever lived through. No-one had treated her like a regular citizen of this hidden population since her years at Hogwarts when she was known for getting nothing short of perfect scores on tests. Now she was a safety hazard, a security risk. Thanks to her father's reputation that had been so horrific that it had out lived him, Quinn was constantly hitting the glass ceiling that had been put in place between her and achieving dream; to be an Auror.
Glancing at the clock that was hung on her wall above the door to her office, Quinn rolled her eyes at the fact that she seemed to be doing yet another all-nighter for Crouch. Right now, he was probably at home asleep in his comfortable bed without the fear of being thrown in Azkaban any time soon. What Quinn would have given to be in his position. Picking up another file, Quinn began to skim through it before letting out a large yawn. Deciding that if she wanted to get anything else done she had to go and get coffee, Quinn stood up, holding her head as it spun slightly, and stepped towards the door of her office.
Opening the door, Quinn's eyes fixed momentarily on her black and silver name tag upon the door. Assisting Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, it read, her name in immensely smaller letters underneath obscuring them from the immediate view of any passers-by or visitors. Over the last 3 years Quinn had gotten used to the minimal use of her name and the non-existent recognition that she had any part to play in anything that happened. She was their dirty little secret.
"Quinn?" A familiar voice called out from behind Quinn causing her to turn around with her brow furrowed. For a moment, the girl's face remained in the same expression, however as soon as her eyes fixed on the man's ginger hair and slightly tattered clothes a smile made its way onto her face.
Looking at the man with a look of pure happiness, Quinn tried to work out what it was that was ever so different about the man who stood before her. He still had the same welcoming blue eyes and crooked but warm smile, but something was different. Maybe it was just the amount of time that Quinn had spent away from the man that had made him feel different, but there was one thing that was for certain; Quinn had missed the friendly face of Arthur Weasley.
"Mr Weasley, what a pleasant surprise," the dark-haired girl spoke her blue eyes shining with life for the first time since the planning for the two immense events had started. "How is Mrs Weasley doing?"
"Don't let her catch you calling her that." The man chuckled at reference to his wife, his smile and laugh acting as a magnet for Quinn's stress and tiredness. Arthur looked over at the door of the office she had just walked out of, his eyes fixing on the name tag before looking back to the young woman who had lived with him from 15 until the trace had broken. "How long have you been in this department? You are pretty high up I see."
"Pretty high up in a pretty low-down department," Quinn stated as she remembered how Crouch had been shunned to the department after news of his son's extra-curricular activities became public. "Though, it is better than no-where I guess."
"You have to come and see us soon, Molly would love to see you." There was a pause as Arthur looked at Quinn's overly pale skin. "And feed you. Are you okay, you are awful pale?"
"I haven't slept in a while. I was just on my way to get coffee for tonight's all-nighter." Quinn spoke yawning uncontrollably as she did. "Are you heading home?"
"Yes," Arthur spoke looking at the dark-haired woman with a look of authority before adding, "So are you. You need to sleep and if Barty has something to say about it send him to Molly, I do believe that that will show him a thing or two."
"I'm good Mr Weasley." Quinn spoke smiling at him weakly. "I have a stack of paperwork the size of me in there, it is going to take an all-nighter to get through it."
"Then pull an all-nighter in the Weasley living room. Ginny will be over the moon to see you and so will Ron, they idolised you growing up, you made them unafraid of being placed in Slytherin."
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." Quinn spoke her voice quiet as she looked down at her shoes wishing that for once she wasn't scared of how her presence would affect the image of others.
"You won't be intruding you are family." Arthur smiled before pushing open her office door for her to get her paperwork. As he saw the size of the stack, Arthur realised that Quinn hadn't been overexaggerating when she said that she had to pull an all-nighter.
Eyes flickered around the room as Arthur considered why the young woman would have been put under this kind of pressure, but as his eyes fixed on the toothbrush on the desk bellow the window and the pile of blankets in the corner of the room those thoughts left his mind.
"Quinn, have you been sleeping here?" Arthur asked looking at the girl confused.
"If you could call it that," the girl scoffed as she looked at the due dates on her paperwork before placing the more urgent ones into her extended briefcase. "I nap here occasionally, my flatmate kicked me out after she discovered who my father was."
"You should have owled us, Molly and I would happily have taken you." Arthur stated, but knew the moment his eyes met the woman's eyes, that had never held a sliver of child-like innocence, just why she hadn't told him or Molly. "You don't have to be afraid of tarnishing our image, Ron has done it more than you can anyway."
"You are saying your best-behaved son, that isn't a complete spoil sport, is the one who has tarnished your image the most?" Quinn questioned a small chuckle leaving her mouth as she finished putting her files into her bag, under the close watch of Arthur. "What about those twins? Do they still cause just as much mischief as they did in their first year?"
"Oh yes, Merlin bless the day the trace leaves them." Arthur spoke smirking as he did. "Are you ready?"
"Yep," Quinn spoke looking at the man with a smile on her face as he walked out of her office her bag in his hand. Following him out, Quinn caught up with him and snatched her briefcase out of his hand much to his protest.
"You comfortable using the Floo network?" Arthur asked the raven-haired girl as they walked through the halls, many people staring at the woman who would normally have been there until the next day. "I remember what happened one of the first times you used it from ours."
"That wasn't my fault, I had a cold!" Quinn defended a little louder than she would have normally causing numerous more people to stare at her. "I'm fine using the Floo."
"Right then, you remember what you have to say?" Arthur asked quickly causing Quinn to shake her head sarcastically. Arthur let out a chuckle as he saw Quinn's action. "Good to know you haven't lost your sense of humour."
"That is one thing that will always been intact Mr Weasley." Quinn chuckled causing Arthur to look at her disapprovingly.
"I've told you before, it's Arthur you are practically family." Arthur stated as they neared the Floo system. "In fact, at one point we all thought that you were going to be a Weasley."
Looking away from the man, Quinn blushed in an awkward silence as she followed the man wishing that the Floo Exit was closer. Thinking about the time when almost everyone thought that she was going to be a Weasley hurt Quinn more than she wanted to admit. If Quinn had known what was going to happen in the years after she left Hogwarts she would have tried harder to keep her ties with her friends after they left. However, there was no going back now, they had probably already moved on with their lives.
As the duo approached the Floo Exit they looked at each other before Arthur stepped into the fireplace with a handful of the grey dust. Quinn watched as the flames engulfed the man's body and he disappeared. Following suit Quinn picked up a handful of the Floo-powder before stepping into the fireplace and being engulfed in flames.
Stepping out of the fireplace, Quinn felt an air of relief engulf her as her eyes fixated on the familiarity of the Burrow and the lack of change since she had left 4 years ago. The kitchen was still the same small and rather cramped room, filled with organised clutter that made it feel more comfortable and homely that the Malfoy Manor. There was a new scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, decorated with wild flowers and an embellished table cloth. Pulling her heels off, Quinn smiled as the tile floor chilled her aching feet. Knitted jumpers with various letters still scattered the furniture in various sizes. A dull but welcoming glow filled the kitchen from the flames that flickered in the fire.
Turning towards the wall that had always held one of Quinn's favourite item on the Weasley's possession, Quinn's eyes lit up with the with the same happiness as they had years before as they locked upon the clock with one hand and no numbers. Written around the edge were still things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Eyes fleeting around the room, Quinn took in the multiple differences along with the multitude of similarities and identical elements of the home. Books were still stacked three deep, in some cases more, on the mantelpiece, the one that stood out to her the most being Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. That book had been read to her multiple times by Charlie as they sat by the black lake, often with William.
Picking up the book, Quinn flicked through it smiling as she saw her handwriting and mixed conversations between her and Charlie from there Care for Magic Creatures lessons. As she flicked through the book and towards the back where both sets of handwriting were more neat and uniform, Quinn's mind filled with memories of her time at Hogwarts and the two Weasley boys.
Summer days at Hogwarts were filled with students lazing by the black lake. Many of the girl tanning in the sun's glorious rays while the boys tackled each other to the ground. However, Quinn and the eldest Weasleys spent their time by the lake in a different way, although Quinn didn't complain if she did catch a tan.
As the rest of the students ran around getting flustered, or lazed talking about beauty tips, the three would relish in the time they had left together in Hogwarts. Bill was in his last year at Hogwarts so was trying to take any moment he could with his younger brother and girlfriend.
"Your smiling again, what's the reason this time?" Quinn asked as she looked up at Bill from where she was lead with her head on his lap. His hands were messing with her hair as she listened to the surrounding.
"Thinking about how great this year has been." He stated as he looked down at Quinn's vibrant blue eyes that always seemed broken no matter how happy she was. It wasn't a surprise though, when you got tormented about things you can't control as much as she did you were always going to look broken.
"This year has been pretty good, hasn't it?" Quinn smiled looking up at Bill as she did. For a moment, there was no-one else in the world, it was only them. Any wars or fights or natural disasters were gone, everything was just right.
"Quinn," a voice spoke snapping their eyes apart and bringing all the evil back into their world. "Sorry to break up the moment, but I found my old Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!"
"The one with all our notes and conversation in?" Quinn spoke shooting up from where she was sat, narrowly missing Bill's head as she did. "Sorry!"
"You didn't actually hit me," Bill chuckled as he looked at Quinn who still looked guilty. Pecking his cheek in further apology Quinn continued to move closer to Charlie to see the book. However, whenever the girl would get close enough to see the youngest student would snatch it away.
"Bill, there is a lot of doodles in this book that are definitely not mine." As those words left Charlie's mouth, Quinn's cheeks burnt a bright red and she stood up trying to get the book from her best friend's hands. "Looking at the handwriting and the fact that I lost this book last year they aren't all so recent."
"Charles Weasley!" Quinn spoke as she began chasing him around to get the book. Other students began to stare at the duo but they did not care, Quinn had to get that book so that she knew exactly what he was on about.
"Bill! Catch!" Charlie yelled to his older brother who manages to catch the flying book much to his girlfriend's misery. Holding it above his head, Bill chuckled at Quinn's new rather annoyed stance. She wasn't short, but Bill was unnaturally tall so she couldn't reach the book as he held it above her head.
"I find this extremely unfair and discriminative to the only Slytherin here." Quinn spoke as she rolled eyes at Bill before sitting back on the ground in defeat.
"Charlie, why is there Dora inside a heart?" bill asked as he looked at the book with curiosity. "Well unless you are hiding something from me Q."
"William, when have I ever hidden anything from you?" Quinn spoke with complete sincerity and meaning.
"Quinn, where did you go?" Arthur spoke as he placed a hand on her shoulder pulling her from her memory. As she turned around to face him, she realised that her eyes had begun to fill with tears, the water threatening to spill out of her lower lid. Forcefully, she wiped her eyes before Arthur could see the pools that were collecting in her lower lids.
"No-where, I am tired so I stare off into space a lot," Quinn lied as she looked at the man who had given her refuge all those years ago. In his hand was a mug filled with a brown liquid that Quinn assumed was coffee. As he handed the mug to her, Quinn smiled in thanks before glancing around the room again. Almost nothing had changed since she had last been in that home, only the people that were living within the walls.
Percy had finished school the year before and had already started a job at the ministry occasionally engaging in conversation with Quinn when he saw her. Charlie had moved to Romania shortly after she had she had moved out of the Weasley household. Bill had left midway through Quinn's seventh year, with much persistence from Quinn for him to leave and take the job he was offered. Other than that, the people who called the Weasley house home were the same as when she had been there, so thankfully Quinn wasn't going to confronted by the one person she had wronged the most.
"I'm sorry for the mess, living with 3 boys takes its toll, especially when they play as many pranks as the twins." Arthur chuckled as moved, followed closely by Quinn, into the living room.
"Like I was ever any different when I lived here." Quinn smiled as she looked at the elder with a smile on her face. "I was always making some mess or another."
"But you always cleared it up." Arthur stated as he turned the lamp to the side of him on as to light the room for the woman who was planning of finishing her paperwork. "So, what is it you do as the Assistant Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation? That is a mouthful."
"That is why we call it Assistant Head of ICMF," Quinn smirked causing Arthur to nod his head at her. "I am supposed to be involved in most of the preparation of the major international events, but I mostly just deal with the paperwork."
"Well, it is the loss of the ministry not you. Did you apply for the Author training?"
"Yep, but I am a security risk remember." Quinn rolled her eyes at the Ministry's lack of faith that she is separate from her father. "Sometimes I wish that I had just stayed with the Malfoy's, at least then I would be able to see my brother without being glared at or risk being cursed."
"Well, I am going to go and catch some sleep, for tonight I would sleep down here then tomorrow we will work out somewhere for you to stay." Arthur explained as he looked at the girl who still felt like she was intruding on the family. "Don't stay up all night, Molly will probably kill both of us if you do."
"Well I will see you tomorrow Mr Weasley." Quinn smiled as she opened her briefcase and pulled out her files to finish before the next day.
"Quinn, I have told you before it is Arthur when you are in this house."
"I'll try," the girl spoke a slight smiled on her face as her eyes began to sparkle slightly.
Watching as the elder left the living room and towards the stairs up to the rooms where the rest of the family were sleeping. Taking a seat on the sofa, Quinn began to work through each of the files in front of her. Sipping on her coffee, Quinn was beginning to feel the opposite effect that it normally had. As the time ticked past her eyes became ever heavier threatening to drop shut with every document she signed. Soon she was unable to keep her eyes open for more than a few minutes at a time, a couple of hours won't hurt, she thought to herself as she curled up on the sofa a file still in her grip.