Author's Note:
Disclaimer: This story is 100% an AU from the canon series.
This multi-chapter is going to be a new adventure for me: weekly updates of up to 2.000 words, I have no idea where this story is going to end up since I get each chapter prompt at the beginning of the week, superheroes and villains, Lois Lane/Gwen Stacy/Mary Jane-esque perspective, and so much more is in store for y'all. I'm excited. Are you?
Written for the Whodunit Competition (w1: character being forced to lie to cover something up that they did not do)
3 March 2015. Word Count: 1.370
"You want me to prove magic is real?"
If This Was a Movie
i.
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"Morning, Ginny."
The redhead grunts in acknowledgment but does not pause her rapid typing. Her hazel eyes are bloodshot and glued to the computer screen as more and more words are tapped out on her keyboard. On her desk is a cup of reheated lukewarm coffee with yesterday's lipstick prints decorating the ceramic rim and a few age-yellowed newspaper clippings scattered about.
"Did you end up pulling an all-nighter at the office?"
Wordlessly, Ginny nods and proceeds to type even faster lest she lose her train of thought during the interrupter's one-sided conversation. Last night, she had found a major lead on the case she had been following for weeks, and her boss is expecting an article on his desk within the hour. She cannot afford to spoil this opportunity.
"I know you're the newest staff reporter at the Daily Prophet but sometimes I think you overwork yourself, you know? You're always putting in extra hours and racing to cover the newest story. It's not healthy to be that dedicated to your job. You should relax. Take some time for yourself. The news can wait."
Three weeks ago, when Ginny had first started her job at the Prophet, she was appalled and scandalised by Michael's blasé commentary. Now, though, she knows he means well in his oblivious and candid way. As the advertisement-and-marketing coordinator with a set schedule and adverts pre-assigned, Michael does not understand her need to be directly involved with breaking news or why she thrives on impromptu assignments.
Ginny punctuates her last sentence and then glances up at Michael. He's leaning against the doorframe to her cubicle, looking clean and sharp as usual in a sky blue button down shirt, complementary tie, and dark slacks. He smiles at her once he realises that he's finally caught her attention.
"So," Michael says casually as he stuffs his hands in his pockets. "A few of us are going out to lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, and I was wondering if perhaps you would like to join us?"
"Oh." Immediately, Ginny's mind fills with a million excuses. Her eyes drift over to the newspaper clippings – MASS MURDERER SIRIUS BLACK'S ESCAPE FROM AZKABAN, one headline screams – and then to the article she recently finished and e-mailed to her boss. "Well, that's very kind of you to offer but I'm actually quite busy –"
"Corner!"
Michael immediately straightens up at the bellow of the chief editor of the newspaper. "Yes, sir!"
Kingsley Shacklebolt walks into view, a faintly displeased look on his face. "Stop flirting with Ginevra and get to work. Astoria has had to field four calls for you from potential marketing agents in your absence from your desk. The last time I checked, she wasn't your personal secretary, Corner."
Michael's face pales. "Right, sir. Sorry. I'm on it, sir." To Ginny, he shrugs apologetically. "Some other time, then?"
"What?" she asks, completely forgetting what they had been talking about prior to the chief editor's reprimand, but it must've been a rhetorical question because Michael has already left and is already out of earshot as he makes the trek down to his department.
Kingsley knocks on Ginny's cubicle wall. "You," he says. "Meet me in my office in five. I want to talk to you about that article you just sent me." He disappears and makes his rounds through the rest of the office.
Wide-eyed, Ginny nods. She wonders what he wants. Her last job at Witch Weekly hadn't worked out because her boss there thought her subject matter was too politically controversial and progressive; is that an issue Kingsley wants to address, as well? No, she argues with herself, he specifically told Ginny when he hired her that he wanted to help her grow and unlock her potential in the field of investigative journalism.
She arrives at his office before he does. During the extra waiting time, her mind conjures up scenario after scenario of why she was summoned. Each one is wilder and more outrageous than the last. Right when Ginny is in the middle of rushing to the jeweller's where a robbery had hypothetically occurred while people were jumping out from the burning upper storeys of the building, Kingsley shows up, effectively putting an end to her absurd musings. He gestures for her to take a seat, which she accepts nervously.
"Ginevra," he begins, in his slow and deep voice. "You continuously impress me with your work. There is not a day where I regret signing you on to the Prophet's full-time staff."
"Thank you, sir."
"That being said, I am concerned by the content of your last article." He waves a sheet of parchment at her, presumably the article in question, and steeples his fingers together as he regards her from behind his desk. "Magic, Ginevra? The public will not accept such abstract speculations, so you can see why I am unable to send this article of yours off to the printer."
Ginny stares at him uncomprehendingly. "I beg your pardon?"
"It's very well-written, don't get me wrong, but entirely impossible and illogical. There's no evidence supporting your claims, and the work is all purely theoretical." Kingsley picks up the article and reads a direct quote from it: "The acts of heroism as of lately in the city of Hogsmeade is likely to be attributed to unexplainable magic."
"Sir, I didn't write an article about magic. And I certainly did not write anything about a city hero." Ginny leans forward to stare at the piece. "What I sent you was a detailed account connecting the serial killings of mass murderer Sirius Black in '04 to the questionable death of Luna Lovegood mere hours after he escaped from Azkaban a second time. You see, his trademark moves are all over her case from the knife wounds to the claw marks and the –"
"Miss Weasley. Did you or did you not write this article?" Kingsley interrupts as he points to the news story in his hands.
Ginny furrows her brow and reaches for the article. Immediately, she checks the by-line. To her shock, her name is conspicuously printed there. "I did?" she says. "I mean –"
Kingsley, however, interprets this as confirmation. "I thought so. I, for one, believe we should schedule to publish this article. But before we do, we should gather more physical evidence. I know you're used to independence, but I think in order for this to sell to the public, we're going to need photographical data to support our claims."
"You want me to prove magic is real?" she asks incredulously.
Kingsley continues as if she had not spoken. "I'm partnering you with a photographer. Colin Creevey is currently on an assignment in Thailand, so the Prophet is hosting a round of interviews for a second photographer to be available to you. The interviews are scheduled to be held on Monday and Tuesday of next week; I wish for you to be present since you will be the lead reporter on this investigation."
"Sir, I –"
"I'm interested in what you unveil, Ginevra. It may change the world as we know it." Kingsley then dismisses her from his office.
Ginny is in a daze when she returns to her cubicle. She rubs her tired eyes and tries to make sense of all the events that transpired within the last hour. Pulling an all-nighter to finish an article that her boss completely disregarded, rejecting yet another one of Michael's offers to go out to lunch, learning of a peculiar piece that she inadvertently agreed to have written though she'd never seen it before in her life, and preparing interviews for a photographer partner are all a bit much for her to handle simultaneously after a sleep-deprived night. The kicker is that at the end of this big circus affair, she is going to have to somehow prove the existence of magic.
Ginny stares longingly at the excerpts that litter her desk. Following the life of mass murderer Sirius Black was dark and a daunting task but at least it had been plausible. Kingsley, bless his heart, is making her verify the impossible.
She doesn't even know where to begin on an investigation like this one.
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