The Phoenix Key
Chapter 1: Of Meetings and Proposals
((-))
"Fucking hell." Ginny groaned as she bumped into the door jam, trying to slip into their dark apartment. She hurt, all over, and the fact that she was getting blood all over their expensive carpet wasn't helping matters, either. Blaise swore softly as he tried to keep a grip on his wand, before casting some flames into the fireplace and lighting up the apartment in the warm golden glow.
Ginny threw her mask down onto the entry table before managing to somehow bump into every bit of furniture they owned as she made her way over to the sofa. Frankly, she didn't give a damn if she got blood all over it, she needed to lie down, and fast. As she threw herself onto the couch, Blaise managed to stumble over to their liquor cabinet.
"Drink?" he asked gruffly, his voice worn from spell casting. Of course the spell that had been cast to inhibit his speaking abilities wasn't doing him any favors, and neither had the counter curse Ginny had used to fix it.
"Bourbon…rocks…" he heard his partner mumble from her sprawled position on the sofa. He rested his head against the cabinet above him as he poured two glasses of straight bourbon for the both of them. He made his way over to the ice box and groped for the ice in the tray.
"Bloody little fuckers…" he swore as the ice kept skidding away from his searching fingers. He finally managed to grab a handful and dumped it in Ginny's glass before going back for more to put in his own glass. His task accomplished, he picked up the two glasses and went over to the sofa.
"Up," he muttered hoarsely. Ginny forced herself into a sitting position and Blaise slid in behind her. She laid herself back against his chest and he handed her a drink. "How bad off are you?" he asked. She was bleeding quite a bit, and the fact that it hadn't stopped concerned him a bit more than usual.
Ginny took a large sip of the bourbon and swallowed, feeling the burning smoothness as it traveled down. It helped her think a little better. "Nasty gash on my arm; that's what's bleeding so bad. Minor scratches on my stomach, busted lip, nothing else too serious to be noted." She took another large swallow and coughed a little as it flowed downward in a fiery cascade. "What about you?"
"Nothing that serious. A broken finger or two; I think my nose might be broken. Other than that, there's nothing but soreness." Blaise answered as he finished off his bourbon. "Accio bourbon," he whispered. The glass bottle zoomed towards him and he caught it deftly with his uninjured hand. He set his glass on the table and somehow managed to pour himself another glass with one hand. "C'mon, sit up. Let's get us fixed before we get too sloshed."
Ginny groaned her agreement as she set her glass on the table and used her hands to sit up. Blaise followed suit, replacing his glass with his wand. "Shirt off." he ordered softly.
Ginny managed a weak smirk. "You just want to see me naked." She commented while she divested herself of said object, flinging it across the room with barely-mustered aplomb.
Blaise mustered a watered-down version of his own trademark grin. "I can see that anytime I want, Phoenix." He whispered. He looked at her stomach making sure there was nothing more severe than shallow abrasions before positioning his wand and muttering, "Episkey."
Ginny felt the tell-tale heat spread over the skin of her stomach, healing the wounds there, and afterward turning icy cold, letting her know the job was done. Blaise used the same spell to heal her busted lip. Before he healed her arm she grabbed her wand and made quick work of his broken nose and fingers, using the same spell he had to heal her own wounds.
"Alright, you, quit stalling and let me heal that arm." Blaise ordered.
Ginny stuck her freshly-healed bottom lip out at him. "I'm not stalling." She argued.
"Right, and you're not pouting either." Blaise stated as he grabbed her arm, his gentle touch belying his derisive words.
Ginny could practically taste the sarcasm in his voice and rolled her eyes. She let Blaise adjust her injured arm to the degree of his liking while she braced the other against the back of the sofa. This was going to hurt worse than getting the actual damn thing, but, it wouldn't do to let it heal on its own and leave her incapacitated for work. No, that wouldn't do at all.
"I'm sorry," Blaise whispered before shoving his wand tip into the gash in his partner's arm.
Ginny screamed as magic and pain alike flooded her body and senses. She could feel each and every centimeter of torn muscle and bruised tissue knitting itself back together, causing her nerve endings to explode in agony as her muscles returned to their original state. She would have prayed to all the deities she could think of, if she had thought that it would have done any good, but instead she just wished it would all be over soon.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Blaise began running his wand tip over the skin of her arm. She chanced a glance down and found a shiny pink scar running nearly from her shoulder to her elbow. ThatSectumsempra spell had more than done its job.
"Sorry I couldn't get rid of the scar." Blaise stated as he laid his wand back on the table. Ginny massaged her arm with her other hand, kneading away the jumping pains the rapidly healed muscle caused.
"No worries. You know I've got worse." She replied digging her fingers in. She forgot, sometimes, just how much that method of healing hurt.
"Come here, let me work that out for you." Blaise ordered and pulled her completely into his arms. She went willingly and rested her head on his shoulder while his adept fingers massaged away the pain.
Ginny fully let herself relax. She'd found that only in Blaise's presence could she well and truly do so. Even then, it had taken her a little over a year to be able to do it. And before that she'd only trusted him enough to watch her back in a fight. Though that was the only circumstance she'd trusted him in. Hell, she'd practically been forced into trusting him more. And it had all started that fated day, some five years ago, with a letter and a meeting…
((-))
Ginny was on her way to the Ministry for some kind of meeting; what type of meeting she didn't rightly know. There was nothing she could have done wrong considering she hadn't seen much of anyone except her family for the past few years. Once the war was over, it had just been so much easier to just sink into the comfort of familiar faces and avoid the nosy and inquisitive ones that seemed all-too-eager to get her perspective on the war. And with Harry, Ron, and Hermione practically living for the attention, it was just easier to let them have their moment, even if that moment happened to be a few years long. It was also much easier to avoid other people that she knew would want some answers, people like Zabini...
But, for now, she could just pretend that she was perfectly okay. Donning the fake smile that she usually wore around strangers, she practiced it in the short time it took for her to reach an Apparation point and make it to the Ministry.
She did wonder, as she made her way through the crowded ministry entry level, why she'd gotten the letter she had. It was extremely vague and said nothing more than a date, a floor, a room number, and a time. She wouldn't have even known where to go had she not recognized the Ministry seal on the envelope. Curious, she thought, very curious
The entry level, as per usual, was a crowded catastrophe. Twice she nearly ran over a goblin on its way back from a financial meeting with the heads of the Finance department. Three times she'd been stopped by "Seers" who had proclaimed the end of the world. She'd bumped into countless people, and by the time she reached the lift she was ready to hex someone into oblivion. She didn't rightly care who at this point, but she was sure she could find a suitable target upon which to satisfy her wrath.
"What floor, miss?" The liftman queried.
"Twelve," Ginny replied bluntly, not noticing or caring who was on the lift with her, as she managed to squeeze into a free space. Well, at least not until she felt someone lean over her.
"Fancy meeting you here."
For a moment Ginny's heart stopped completely. What the bloody hell washe doing here? She somehow managed to gather her wits enough to voice her own thoughts.
"What are you doing here?" Alright, so it wasn't her best snappy comeback, but he'd startled her! Didn't that cut her some sort of a break?
Ginny could all but feel him smirk. "I should ask you the same thing, Ginevra, but considering you did ask first I suppose I can supply an answer." He stepped beside her and moved his mouth until it was dangerously close to her neck, before speaking.
"I happened to get a letter last night with nothing but a date, floor, room number, and a time. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?"
Ginny brought her eyes up to meet his. She thought, at first, that Blaise Zabini hadn't changed at all. And indeed, she thought he hadn't, until she noticed how his face had gotten more angular, giving it a stern, unyielding appeal. His hair was longer than ever, and she almost missed that little fact, considering how it blended in with his long black cloak. His obsidian eyes had that same electricity-kissed sheen that always seemed to bore into her soul. And his lips, oh, his lips…The bottom one was fuller than she remembered, yet they still looked like they were bruised as if he'd just come out of a thoroughly satisfying snogging session. Oh, he'd changed alright. And for the better, if her opinion mattered.
"Now, Blaise, why would I know anything about a letter you received?" She asked, lifting a scornful eyebrow.
Blaise leaned in even closer, his lips nearly brushing her neck. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you're headed to the twelfth floor, and everyone knows, you don't go there unless by invitation. And, it just so happens to be where I'm going as well. Now, can you honestly tell me you know nothing about it?"
Ginny stepped as far away from him as she could and glared at him. She resisted the urge to burn holes into him. But it was at that time that the liftman announced their stop.
"Twelfth floor."
Ginny tore her gaze away from Blaise's and made her way off the lift. Blaise followed closely behind her.
The hallway was long and eerily quiet as the lift made its hasty departure, leaving them alone. At first glance she thought that there was only a single door at the end of the hall. However, upon further inspection she noticed that the paintings hung along the wall were all hung at regular intervals, signifying their use as doorways. So, this floor really was used for something. Interesting.
"Now really, I know this all must seem so posh to you, but could you please get a move on? I'm afraid we don't have all day." Blaise requested dryly.
"Oh, shut up, Zabini. It's always useful to take in your surroundings." Ginny replied.
"This isn't a battlefield, Weasley, it's the Ministry." Blaise retorted before shoving past her to make his way down to the door at the end of the hall. Ginny didn't bother saying that to her, there wasn't really much of a difference. It was easy to see that it was the door they needed, considering there was a rather large plaque engraved with the number "13" on it.
They stopped at the door, each waiting for the other to make a move.
"Ladies first," Blaise stated, motioning his hand towards the door.
"Yeah right, Zabini. I don't think so." Ginny snapped, crossing her arms over her substantial chest.
Blaise glared at her, but decided not to argue further and reached for the door handle.
Right before Blaise's hand reached the handle, Ginny sensed the tingle of magic that rippled across her senses. "Stop!" She grabbed Blaise's hand and pulled it back before he could fully touch it.
"What? Change your mind about going first, Weasley? How very noble." Blaise replied sardonically, pulling his arm away.
Ginny glared at him and punched him hard in the arm she had recently grabbed. "No, you daft idiot. Can't you feel the magic? It's all over the door." She reached out a hand and skimmed a finger slightly above the surface of the door. Tiny lightning bolts skittered onto her finger, but she negated them quickly before they could cause any damage. If Blaise had grabbed the door handle, themetal door handle, there was a very big possibility he would have been electrocuted.
"Well I'll be damned." Blaise muttered. He hated to even say that much. Truth be told, he hadn't felt even the tiniest spark of magic. Normally he would have felt something so small, especially since it was lightning. It was, after all, a part of his element. Then why didn't he feel it? There had never been an instant in which he hadn't been able to feel lightning; anything electric, it always sent shivers down his spine and made his magic flare. Why not now? What was different?
"How did you do that? Lightning is part of my element; I should have been able to feel it." Blaise stated.
Ginny thought for a second, putting all the pieces in order. "They know your element, and they know my element. But," she smirked to herself, "they don't know my element. If they had, they would have known that I have the rare ability to control lightning. It's not a normal attribute to someone with control over fire."
"No, it most certainly is not." Blaise replied, a minute raising of his eyebrows signifying his understanding. "That's how you negated it when you touched the door."
Ginny nodded. "Yes, it is. It's extremely rare for someone whose element is fire to be able to control lightning, but somehow I managed to be the one to get it." She sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder just what kind of meeting this is going to be."
"As am I." Blaise agreed, foreboding creeping over him. He did not like the fact that whoever had done the spell on the door had known his element so intimately, and had specifically shielded it against his senses. If Ginevra hadn't have had her rare ability and sensed it before he touched the door handle, things could have gotten messy. "We'd better go ahead and get this over with." He held out his hand, this time adding his own magic to the mix, and grabbed the door handle.
Ginny inadvertently let out a relieved sigh when Blaise grabbed the handle and nothing happened. She noticed he had his wand in his other hand and she followed suit, not knowing what would come next. Better to be safe than sorry.
Blaise pushed the door open and stepped inside, feeling Ginevra follow behind him. Both of them tightened their grips on their wands when the door slammed shut behind them and they were left in unrelieved darkness.
"Well, isn't this dandy…" Ginny muttered about the same time Blaise whispered, "Lumos."
Together they took a step forward, before instantly going back to back, wands at the ready, as they had during the war. It was the only time they'd ever really trusted each other, and those instincts kicked in automatically when something alerted both of them to the fact that they weren't alone in the room.
Ginny went utterly still, senses searching for any sign of movement or magic. There it was.
"Left." She hissed sharply.
Blaise nodded in an equally quick movement and extended his left arm. "Sectumsempra!"
The room exploded in a blast of lights and magic coming from all different directions, as if whoever was there had been waiting for them to make the first move.
"Protego!" Ginny yelled, shielding them both from the onslaught.
"Confringo!" Blaise bellowed. Something off to the right exploded in a wash of blue and red light.
Ginny could barely get a curse in. She was too busy shielding Blaise and herself from the oncoming curses. Blaise, though was flinging enough curses to take care of them both. But, she was determined. She wouldnot stand there and let him have all the fun.
"Watch it, Zabini, I'm duplicating!" She yelled. Blaise moved so that she was completely hidden from view. Ginny turned her magic inward, delving down into the center of body and pulling from the fire that burned there. She spread her arms wide and a dome of flames encased them, shielding them from view and harm.
She held the dome steady with her thoughts and turned, blindly groping for Blaise's hand. Without hesitation he gave her his hands and she poured magic into his body. Beside them two smoke like forms began to take shape. Ginny released one of Blaise's hands and held her own out towards the two shadows.
"Duplicate." She demanded. Flames shot from her fingertips into the shadow forms. The flames built where the smoke was, soon forming two Flame Clones, one of her and one of Blaise.
She let go of Blaise's other hand and pointed her wand at the Clones. Thread-like material shot out of the tip of her wand and began wrapping around the Flame Clones. Within seconds the two Flame Clones were exact replicas of her and Blaise. The only difference being the eyes. Instead of her gold-flecked brown and his electric-kissed obsidian, there was nothing but flame.
Blaise turned his gaze back to her. "There's a door at the end of this room. That's where we head. If we stick to the walls we shouldn't have any problems."
"I'll take the left, you take the right. Mind giving us some cloud cover?" Ginny questioned, slightly amazed at how easy it had been to fall back into the routine they'd used during the war.
Blaise nodded and closed his eyes. He turned his thoughts inward to the storm that raged inside his core. He pulled magic from his element, drawing on the night dark clouds that swirled angrily around the storm. He opened his eyes and waved a hand over Ginevra. Dark clouds formed a veil over her, effectively hiding her from view. In the darkness outside the dome it would serve its purpose well. He did the same to himself, making sure he kept a tight hold on the magic.
"Are we ready?" Ginny asked. Holding a dome for this long was tiring work, especially when she had to keep control over the Flame Clones at the same time.
"Yes," Blaise replied.
Ginny used her magic to animate their two clones. "When I drop the shield, we run." She turned to the two clones and examined her handy work. They were good clones, probably the best she'd made yet. She just had to hope she could keep control until she reached the door. "On three."
"One. Two. Three."
Ginny dropped the shield and ran like hell. She kept a tight grip on her wand, while she outstretched her other arm, skimming her fingertips along the wall. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and found her Clones apparently doing their job. All the curses and hexes were still being thrown at them. The room turned out to be rather small- of course in the darkness one couldn't really tell that sort of thing- and Ginny came centimeters away from busting her nose against the back wall.
Good job, Gin, She thought sardonically to herself.You manage to outrun all these bloody curses, but nearly wind up running into a damn wall! She could practically feel the irony something like that would have caused.
She found the door easily enough and reached it at the exact same time Blaise did. Blaise dropped the clouds from around them at the same time Ginny deactivated the Clones.
Blaise threw the door open and shoved Ginny through, barely managing to make it through himself. He came a breath away from missing a curse that had hastily been thrown their way, and slammed the door shut, leaning against it as if it would help to keep it shut.
The room was brightly lit, and very empty of any sort of threat. It was all grey tile floors and white marble walls. There were no chairs, no tables, no nothing; only a staircase descending from the middle of the far wall.
At first glance, there was no one there, but when Ginny looked again there was a lone figure descending the stairs. Said figure began to clap slowly.
Blaise moved to stand beside Ginny, both of them held their wands at the ready, anticipating an attack that never came.
"Oh, well done. Well done." The figure stated happily, at least Ginny thought it was happily. It, or rather, he, was using some sort of spell to distort his voice, making it impossible to place to any one person.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Blaise demanded shortly as the man drew nearer to their spot.
The man stopped some ten feet away from them, and they were finally able to get a good look at him. He was tall, a few inches over six feet. The grey business suit he wore kept any outstanding bodily features well hidden; the only thing they could tell was that he obviously worked out and made a great deal of money. His hands were loose at his sides, but even those were covered with black leather gloves. The white and red swirl facemask completely concealed his facial features, leaving his identity in utter secrecy. The only distinguishable trait on him was the "L" positioned in the middle of the mask.
"Who am I? I am the head of this organization known as O.M.E.G. The Outstanding Magical Extermination Garrison. You may call me L. As for what I want…well, I want the two of you."
((-))
Ginny didn't realize she'd fallen asleep until Blaise shifted beneath her.
"Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to wake you." He kissed her forehead and sat up, shifting her in his lap. "C'mon, let's get to bed."
Ginny wrapped her arms around Blaise's neck and held tight as he picked her up. She normally didn't let him do things like this. It made her feel weak and at a disadvantage, but she was still very sore from the healing and the myriad of cuts and bruises that still littered her skin didn't help any with her discomfort. So, for once, she allowed Blaise to carry her to their bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and without further comment proceeded to strip her of her remaining clothes. There was nothing sexual about it, he simply knew she was too tired, and didn't want to bother with doing it herself. He also knew that if he didn't do it, she'd sleep in her clothes.
"I'll be right back." Blaise stated quietly before bending down to brush his lips lightly across hers. He left the room to turn out the lights and collect their wands.
Ginny pulled the covers up and tucked them under her chin as she waited for Blaise to return. Unless she was unconscious or beyond exhausted, she'd come to find that she couldn't sleep without Blaise beside her. Which was odd, considering it had never bothered her before. They'd been living together for nearly four years, and been sleeping together for three. It had started out simply for work purposes. They'd been partners for a year, enough time to form a formidable friendship, but there had been one time in particular when Ginny had worried over Blaise's health after a mission that had made the decision of their moving in together.
((-))
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Ginny asked for the umpteenth time. Blaise was leaning against the wall, mask still firmly in place, and looking completely at ease. Well, at least he did to anyone who might have been passing by. To Ginny, though, he was anything but at ease. She could see the way his shoulders were held rigidly straight, the fact that he had his hands tucked also indicated that he was trying his damndest to keep them from shaking.
"Raven, answer me." She whispered furiously, calling him by his code name. They were still inside the ministry, and though it was after midnight, there were still people coming and going. They couldn't risk being seen.
"I'm fine, Phoenix, really." Blaise answered quietly, he almost managed to hide the slight tremor in his voice. But he couldn't hide it from his partner. He could see the look she was giving him from underneath her mask. She didn't believe a word he said.
Ginny poked a finger in his chest, but he didn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him wince. "Listen up, pal. You're my partner, and after a year of being partners, you're practically my best mate. You will tell me if you're really badly hurt."
Blaise reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. He was particularly proud of the fact that he managed to keep his movements steady. "I'm fine. I'm going straight home and to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
Damn it all! Why did he have to be so convincing? Just moments ago he'd had her worried beyond belief, and now…it was like he'd pulled his old self out of nowhere.
She sighed and resigned her argument. "Alright, alright. I'll see you in the morning." She could almost see Blaise's triumphant smirk at having won their spat.
Blaise nodded and headed for a floo port. That in and of itself told Ginny just how bad he was feeling. Blaise always Apparated home. If he was taking the easy way around, he must be bad off. But, if the bastard wanted to be stubborn, then so be it. Ginny spun on her heel, huffing as she did so. Her boot heels clicked angrily as she stormed to the street entrance of the ministry.
Stupid fucking prat! She thought furiously. If he wants to go and let himself die because he's too damn proud to admit defeat then so be it! I won't be the one to clean up afterwards! Of course, that was a lie. If Blaise needed her, whenever or wherever Blaise needed her, she would be there for him. He was her partner. He'd saved her ass countless times, and she'd done the same for him. It was odd to think how much things had changed since school; they'd been distant friends of sorts. During the war, they'd fought at each others backs, and now, here they were, partners. It was a wonder how things changed.
Her musings took her all the way to her small apartment, unease growing within her with every step. What did she have to worry about? Blaise said he'd be alright. And he would. Wouldn't he? She tossed her keys and mask onto the entry table before heading to her icebox to grab a beer. She popped the top and took a long pull, hoping that the knot of unease growing in her stomach would loosen up with the alcohol.
It didn't.
If anything, it grew. Blaise had been in bad shape, and she'd let him go home alone. She should have taken him to the hospital, or at the very least gone home with him to make sure he would be alright. But she hadn't. She'd taken him on his word, and she was regretting it now.
"Bloody hell," she muttered. She set the partially drunken beer in the sink, went to the fireplace, and flooed to Blaise's apartment.
"Blaise?" she called out. Unease grew to panic when there was no answer. He's probably already gone to bed, she thought, trying to console herself. It didn't work. Her stomach was in knots. "Blaise? Answer me!"
Again, nothing.
She threaded her way through the expensive furniture to the hallway where his bedroom, study, and bathroom were located. His bedroom door was open and the light was on, but he wasn't in his bed, or anywhere in the room for that matter. "Fuck," she whispered fervently. "Blaise! Answer me, damn it!"
Nothing. She checked his study, and found it empty as well. That left the bathroom. Sure enough, the light was on; that much she could tell from beneath the door. She didn't hear the shower running, therefore there was no excuse for him not to have heard her.
The door was locked, so she pulled out her wand, "Alohamora." The door clicked open and she pushed it all the way.
"Damn it, Blaise!"
Blaise was slumped against the shower stall, his heavy breathing indicative of his poor state. "I'm sorry, Gin." He whispered heavily as she crouched down next to him.
Ginny immediately went to work on his plethora of wounds. "Idiot fuck! Next time don't act all big and bad, and just let me help you." Men, when would they learn that women are always right?
((-))
"And just what are you thinking so hard about?" Blaise remarked as he crawled into bed next to her. Ginny turned and wrapped herself around him, putting her face even with his and entwining her legs with his, enjoying the coolness his silk sleep pants offered.
"Nothing much, just how dumb you can be sometimes." She replied with a tired smirk. He pulled her closer against him.
"Here now, you've had your fair share of dumb moments." He stated jokingly. She gave him a cheeky grin before kissing him softly. It wasn't entirely sexual, though there was always an undercurrent of sex between them, but it was mainly for the fact that he was there with her, and they were safe and healed, for the most part.
Blaise kissed her back just as softly. There were no teeth and barely any tongue involved, it was just his lips against hers, both moving gently against the other. It was comfort; it was safety; it was healing for them both.
Ginny pulled away with a yawn. Blaise chuckled and gave her a final quick kiss before whispering, "Good night."
"'Night," Ginny whispered back, snuggling herself as close as she could against Blaise.
It didn't take long at all before they were both sound asleep.
((-))
The knocking at the door pulled Blaise out of his coma-like sleep. He looked next to him and found Ginny still out cold, her red hair splayed in utter disarray around them both. The knocking at the door continued. It wasn't impatient, but it was relentless. He actually managed to get out of bed without waking Ginny.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." he muttered as he made his way to the door. He checked the peephole before undoing the different latches and pulled the door open.
"Good morning, Raven."
"Morning, Moon. I take it you're not here for pleasure?" Blaise inquired as he leaned against the doorway.
Moon stood in the deserted hallway looking as she always did; her blue and white swirl mask concealing her facial features, blonde hair pulled back into a bouncy ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a pair of skintight dark denim jeans, a blue silk halter top, and the ever present white knee length overcoat that had her signature blue flames skirting the bottom. And of course there were the boots. The heels to her boots were just as deadly as any weapon, and Moon knew how to use them. But, as nice as it was to see her, her mask was on, and that meant business.
"Unfortunately. L wants to see you and Phoenix in his office in an hour. He has a new assignment for you." Moon replied, her somber tone at odds with her normal dreamy way of speech. She hadn't distorted her voice, so it wasn't too pertinent, but it was best not to keep L waiting.
Blaise nodded his acknowledgement of their orders and Moon nodded back before disappearing. When he shut the door and turned to head back to the bedroom he found Ginny already in the kitchen making tea.
"So, L's office in an hour?" she asked, looking up from her tea making.
Blaise rubbed his face and nodded. Ginny sighed and went back to her tea making. "Couldn't he at least have given us another day? I mean, hell, we just got done with an assignment last night." She mumbled as she pulled two mugs from the cabinet.
"When, in the last five years, has L ever taken into consideration when we got done with a previous assignment?" Blaise questioned sarcastically.
"Good point." Ginny grudgingly admitted, handing Blaise a mug of his preferred Black Chai Tea while she sipped her own regular Chai Tea. They stood in silence while they enjoyed their first cup of tea, both completely comfortable in their morning routine.
Ginny, as always, finished her tea first and went for a shower. Blaise enjoyed a second cup of tea while Ginny showered, and once she was done, he went for his. Ginny poured herself a second cup, indulging, this time around, in a bit of honey to go with it, and headed back to their bedroom. It wasn't as if she didn't know what she was going to wear. It was at least nice to know that much. Going into L's office for an assignment could mean any number of things, from a month long mission to some far off land, to a simple recon mission. You never knew what you were going to get.
She was pulling her clothes out of the closet when Blaise came into the room, a towel slung low on his hips and using another to dry his hair. It took a good bit of self control not to go over to him and take advantage of the way he was flaunting himself, but somehow she managed and began the process of getting ready.
The black leather pants came first. They weren't difficult to get into, but they did take a while to break in so that now she could move without feeling like the seams were going to bust. It wasn't that she wasn't skinny, it was just that she had just enough curve to make a breaking in process necessary. She put her bra on so that she wouldn't be completely exposing her top half, and went about doing her hair. It took a while, considering how much hair she had. She dried it with a quick spell, then proceeded to section out the pieces she would be changing.
Wand in hand, she began with the bottom portions. Every section of hair she ran her wand tip down turned a solid, deep gold that matched brilliantly with her red hair. She'd gotten lucky with her hair; it hadn't stayed the burnt orange color most redheads had, but it had darkened to an unnatural shade of red. Or she'd thought it was unnatural until she'd seen a picture of her mother back when she was Ginny's age. Her hair had been the exact same color.
With barely twenty minutes left until their hour was up, Ginny finished her hair. Some days she left it down, but others she'd put it up. Today was a day for the latter. She'd put it up at the nape of her neck, using an ungodly amount of bobby pins to compile the mass of red and gold curls making it both messy and elegant at the same time. She'd skipped make-up entirely, her mask made it unnecessary and a nuisance, so, why bother? The black leather vest that matched her pants practically screamed sex appeal. It accentuated her chest, showing a good deal more cleavage than her brothers would have approved of, and showed an inch of skin between the top of her pants and the bottom of the vest. Her brothers would most certainly not have allowed her to walk out of the house with what she was wearing, but what did she care? They didn't know 'Phoenix' anyways.
Her black knee high stiletto boots finished off the main part of the ensemble. Now all that was left were the small things. She grabbed her belt from the drawer she kept it neatly stowed in, and slid it through the loops, adjusting the Phoenix emblem so that it sat securely over the button of her pants. She slid a plain silver ring over the index finger of her left hand at the same time Blaise reached around her to grab his own silver band. He kissed her cheek in passing and slid the ring onto the same finger she had.
"Ready?" He asked, as he adjusted the silver tie of his suit. She nodded and followed him out to the living room. As always, he looked like the perfect assassin. He'd taken a leaf out of L's book and decided that his "uniform" would be a suit. That was were the similarity ended. Blaise's suit was black on black. The only color in the outfit being the silver tie he wore. As always, his dragon hide boots were polished to a high sheen and made a light clomping noise on the hardwood floor. He'd French braided his hair into three different sections, tying it off at the nape of his neck so that the rest of it hung loose down to the small of his back. And of course, you couldn't forget the black leather trench coat to top it all off. It hung around his six foot plus frame with ease, clinging where it needed to, but still being loose enough to allow flexibility when needed.
Ginny grabbed her mask off of the entry table and handed Blaise his. She secured her red mask with its golden tribal whorls, and turned to Blaise. Their masks were nearly identical, except where hers was red and gold, his was black and blue. He nodded once and she nodded back. There would be no more speaking until they reached L's office.
Blaise Apparated first. Ginny followed a moment later to give the illusion they had arrived separately. They arrived on the twelfth floor in the deserted hallway that had started it all. This time, though, they went to the first portrait on their immediate left. Both of them waved the hand that bore their rings over a small black pad and the portrait opened silently, swinging out to allow them entry. Beyond the door was bustling with activity. Secretaries and O.M.E.G. members alike were scurrying about their everyday business. Blaise and Ginny walked passed them all without so much as an acknowledgement.
They reached L's office without incident and didn't even bother knocking. When they entered the room, L was sitting behind his desk, fingers clasped, and mask off. He stood momentarily when they came in before resuming his seat when the door closed. Ginny and Blaise both took off their masks as they sat in the arm chairs opposite L's desk.
"Glad you could make it." L stated with a small grin. "I wasn't quite sure if you'd take the mission or not considering you just got off one last night."
Blaise leaned forward. "Moon made it sound like we didn't have much of a choice."
L's grin became a full blown smirk. "You don't."
Ginny glared at her boss and long time friend. "You're an ass, you know this, don't you?"
L turned his attention to her. "You're right, I am. And I was taught by the best."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "The best; yeah…right." she replied sarcastically. She knew just who "the best" were in this case.
"Now," L changed the subject rather abruptly, "I'll get straight to the point." He pulled two copies of a file out of a drawer and handed one to each of them.
"Draco Malfoy has been captured. I want you to bring him back."
((-))
You probably know us better as Sinful Rapture and Harlequin-Girl, the authors of "Mesmerize" as well as "Seven Deadly Sins" and "I Am", "Blink", and "Swallow My Pride".
The concept for this story came to me as I was heading home from Disney World, I was listening to a group called Within Temptation, and all the sudden my mind started whirring with new ideas. And they all focused on this one story line. So, once I got home, I e-mailed Roma straight away and told her the idea and asked if she wanted to co-write it with me. Well, she agreed and thus "The Phoenix Key" was born.
We have the plot worked out to a pretty far point, not finished, but it's getting there.
We understand that we've posted this as a Ginny/Draco fic, but as you can see from the above, it starts as a Ginny/Blaise. It will get to the point where it is a Ginny/Blaise/Draco. And we can just about guarantee you'll love it!!!
Now, we LOVE you all!! And we will LOVE you even more if you give us all those nice, wonderful, beautiful reviews. SO, don't forget to REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!
Arigato
Ja'ne & Poka- Ami & Roma!