Disclaimer: Most characters belong to J.K. Rowling in the exception of a few originals. Original plot and places are mine, things that have been mentioned in the books, are Rowling's. This was not not meant to infringe on any copyrights, if I have done so, please notify me right away. Thank you.
Chapter One- A Long Talk Between Old Friends
The rain fell harder and harder, turning into quite a storm. Heaps of paperwork was spread out on my desk, making me wonder how I even managed to
work there. I could hear someone furiously knocking at the door, waiting for me out in the rain. I cleared the items off of the small chair in front of my desk, and ran to greet my client.
"Finally, never thought you'd open the door," Ginny exclaimed, grasping me in her arms.
"Ginny? What are you doing here?" I asked, returning the hug.
"Well, you see Hermione, you're my dearest friend, and I have some things to discuss," she whispered, dropping her head.
"Oh Ginny, come on out of the rain, and sit down," I shouted, opening the door wide for her to enter. My office was right on Broad Street in London. I worked in a muggle city, yes, but only wizards could see my office. For muggles it was just an abandoned office building that no one owned or worked in. I worked for the Ministry of Magic, as a detective. I was granted a private office because of my ongoing plead, but that was back when we all thought Voldemort was gone, when we didn't have to worry about what was lurking behind us.
Ginny took her seat, and I pulled my chair from the desk to sit across from her. A tray of tea lay on the desk, with a few cups, so I rounded them up and handed a full glass to her. She brushed her long red hair behind her ear and sipped from her cup. I smiled, she had always been like a little sister to me.
"Oh Hermione," she cried, putting her cup down on my desk.
"What's wrong Ginny?" I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder. She threw it off, and ran out of the room, into the cold rain, leaving me clueless as to what had just happened. I walked over to the door, to see her running away. My green coat hung on the door from where I had left it coming back from a meeting with my client, Lavender Brown, who had been attacked just a few nights before. I grabbed the warm clothing and put it on, racing out the door to find Ginny.
But after awhile, I gave up looking for her, and returned to my office, to find Jasper, my old owl, with a letter tied to his foot sitting on my desk. I gave him some feed, and sat down to read the letter.
Dear Ms. Granger,
I haven't talked to you in what seems forever. I have much to tell you, but I will make it short. Please stop by the Burrow as soon as possible, and I will explain everything. I really need you to come, for support, and help. I trust you with my life, and always will.
Your friend,
Mrs. Parvati Weasley
I held the letter tightly in my hands, and slipped it into my pocket. The night was still young, so I grabbed my keys, locked up the old office and appariated to the Burrow.
The long-standing house dimmed in the heavy rainfall, and I could see a dark figure exit to greet me. I strolled towards the door, and held Parvati in my arms. She grinned from ear to ear, obviously very happy to see me. I always enjoyed her company when we were younger, but never really appreciated her friendship until we were older, going through the hardships together. She pulled me into the Burrow and we sat down for a cup of tea or two. The ancient tea set stood beautifully on the silver tray.
"We have a lot to catch up on," she said, lifting the tea to pour it into my cup. "You see, ever since I married George I feel like he's been keeping something from me, and well... I found out what it was." I could see tears forming in her eyes. "Ginny told me she saw him the Saturday night with Ms. Brown."
I jerked back. "Lavender and George?"
"Yes, Ginny told me everything. And when I told George I knew... he just denied it.. but I could see..." she continued.
"Oh Parvati, I'm so sorry," I whispered, gently putting my hand on her knee.
"Don't be sorry Hermione. I never thought I'd have such a good relationship with any man."
"Don't say that Parvati, it's not you, it's the men," I smiled. "But may I ask you something?"
"Anything," she replied, looking up from her tea.
"You see, Ginny was just at my office, crying her eyes out. And when I asked her what was wrong, she ran away. Do you know anything about that?"
"No, Last I knew, Ginny was just fine," she answered, with a questionable look across her face. "Oh, Hermione, I forgot to tell you, Harry sent an owl the other day. He said he's just fine and he'll visit from Hogwarts over the holidays."
"Oh, thanks Par. I'm so sorry about all of this, I know it's been tough lately, and you have been handling it sensationally. Or at least compared to me."
"Don't worry, Harry'll be just fine at Hogwarts, I mean, with Dumbledore there and all, Voldemort would never think of attacking Harry with the headmaster watching him closely," she exclaimed. It was a rare occasion when I heard Parvati actually say the name "Voldemort" and I could see her squint whenever she did. I grinned at my close friend, and laughed.
"That's me, over-protective-Hermione," I said, smiling.
"If I were Harry's girlfriend, I'd be over-protective too," she chuckled. But somehow I doubted that. Parvati was the most carefree person I knew, or at least, she seemed carefree, but who really knew. The one who knew Parvati the best, was Lavender, and I didn't think they would be friends from then on, considering George cheating on her with her best friend.
"So, what are you and George going to do?" I asked, getting back on topic.
"Oh, I don't know, haven't given much thought to what I'll do, just been thinking the whole ordeal over again and again," she said, holding back the tears.
"I say divorce him! You deserve much better!" Parvati beamed at my exclamation.
"Oh Hermione, you always know how to cheer a person up." I laughed, because deep down, I thought I was the one who needed to be cheered up and all. Harry hadn't owled me in weeks, and I was becoming quite worried we were drifting. But I just giggled and let Parvati think what ever she wanted to think.
"So, how's Ron?" I asked.
"Oh, just fine, he visited us yesterday. Told us he would be spending the holidays here at the Burrow. Said his business is doing just fine. He sent George some the latest broom model, and him and Fred went out to crash test it. I swear, I loved him, but I guess love can't last if people aren't faithful to each other," she quieted down near the end.
"Oh, do yourself a favor and cheer up," I told her strictly. Seeing the look on her face, I quickly changed my words. "Please, if George really did cheat on you, he isn't good enough for you. I probably wouldn't understand, because I haven't been through these things, and cheer up in the best advice I have to give."
And at those words, Parvati did something I hadn't expected, and hugged me tightly.
"Thanks Hermione. For not going through this kind of stuff, you sure do give good advice!" She yelled, letting me go. I smiled brightly.
"Anything for you Parvati, anything for you."
After saying our good-byes, I apariated back to my office on Broad Street. The rain was coming down even harder, but it didn't seem like a gloomy day to me. In fact, I felt quite good after my long conversation with Parvati. My phone's red light beeped constantly, so I went over to check it, after putting down my coat. I pused a small button and waited for the message to start on my muggle answering machine.
"Hi, Hermione, I went to your office tonight, but no one was there. I thought tonight we were scheduled for a meeting about my case? Please, I just came out of the hospital, and I want to know who attacked me the Saturday night! Call me back as soon as you can. if you don't, I'm afraid I'm gong to get another detective to help me. Bye."
I recognized this voice as Lavender's. How could she have done this to Parvati? What people would do these days shocked me. Wait a second... didn't Parvati say that Ginny saw Lavender and George together on Saturday night? But Lavender had been attacked that same day.... or had she?