Written as a one-shot for hire for Kuran (It Reeks of Fangirls), who asked for a fic in which "Draco and Ginny fight about Harry but there's a twist and Draco doesn't know about it."
Special thanks to VickyVicarious for her super speedy, super great beta work.
I disclaim.
"Hey, Gin, I'd really like to see the paperwork from the Bumbert case on Monday."
Ginny sighed, then flashed Harry a winning smile. "Sure thing, Harry."
"Oh, and before lunch if you can, Gin. I've got a meeting with a few wizards from Law, and they'd like to see what we have on him before they take the case to the Wizengamot."
Ginny continued to grin brightly until the door to her cramped office clicked shut, whereupon she slumped over her desk. Harry wasn't a terrible boss, but the way he had her shunting paperwork was enough to kill even the most skillful Auror. As it was, she had been on the street for barely six months before Harry's mad command had required, well, all of the required paperwork. And there was a lot of it. As a result, Ginny spent a vast amount of her 'on the job' time hunched over a desk with a quill and a bad case of writer's cramp.
She slid her hand over the lengthy scroll entitled "Official Form for Initial Prosecution: A" and began to fill tiny answers into even tinier boxes.
Three cups of coffee, four lines of smudged mascara, and one very tiny drool spot later, Ginny completed "Official Form for Initial Prosecution: H," signing it with a flourish and a sigh. She still had six more to go, plus the records of the investigation and evidence. The memories she'd had to extract were going to prove particularly difficult.
It was going to be a long weekend.
The clock struck midnight, shocking Ginny out of the early stages of self-pity. The Auror office was deserted, and Ginny decided that sleep would probably be the best next step in her endeavor to make Harry look good in front of the Prosecution for the Wizengamot.
With yet another sigh, she gathered her cloak and stuffed a few more scrolls in her attaché case; she could go over them during breakfast. She groggily made her way out of the building with barely a nod to the evening maintenance elves, and headed out to the nearest Apparition point.
Ginny had to fuss with her flat key for a long moment before she remembered that she needed to take the wards off, then unlock the door with the key. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had recently expanded to include security systems. The Muggle-style key was an important part of the charm, and Ginny still forgot how to manage it quite frequently.
She opened the door to the darkened flat quietly, throwing the key on the console table and dropping her cloak in a heap next to it. Yawning, she flicked on the light-switch.
Standing in the middle of the lounge, arms folded, was her rather angry looking husband.
Damn.
"Do you have any idea what time it is, Ginevra?" Draco drawled, carrying out her given name a little too sweetly.
"It's a bit after midnight," she replied with light nonchalance.
"Try half midnight," he said, quirking an eyebrow, "and on a Friday, too."
Ginny sighed and started to head for the bedroom, but he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Where have you been?" he asked softly.
Ginny yanked her wrist out of his hand. "I've been at work."
"You were at work until half past midnight?" he queried, smoothly wrapping his fingers back around her wrist.
"What, are you suddenly jealous, Draco?" she hissed, but this time when she moved to shake his hand from her arm, he was ready, complete with a derisive eyebrow. "Let go of me!" she complained. "I just want to go to bed."
"You may go to bed after you explain yourself," Draco said authoritatively.
"Oh, I may, may I?" Ginny spat back. She was really far too tired for this, and the way he wouldn't let go of her arm was becoming rather infuriating.
"Yes, you may," he answered quietly, increasing his hold on her by sliding his other arm around her to rest just above her hip. His silvery eyes met hers expectantly.
Ginny bit her lip. She had really not wanted to discuss this with him…but…
"I was catching up on some paperwork. I finished the Bumbert case yesterday and I need to have the paperwork done by lunch, Monday."
Draco pushed her out to arms length and stared at her, aghast. "Have you finally lost it? That case was huge—that's a ridiculous amount to try to get done before Monday."
Ginny gave him her fiercest pout. "I know. But I can do it. There's a meeting on Monday, and it needs to be—"
Draco's jaw twitched, and Ginny could feel the tension in his voice increase. "You have a meeting on Monday?"
"Well, no," Ginny began, but Draco cut her off, slowly backing her up and into the countertop.
"You mean that Potter has a meetingy, and you are telling me that you are going to work your arse off all weekend to make Harry look good on Monday. Is that it?" he finished, pressing her into the island that divided the lounge from the kitchen.
"Well, I-" she tried again. He waited expectantly for a moment.
"Go on, sweetheart. I really want to hear how you're going to defend this," he said, lazily folding his arms.
"Why? So that I can entertain you? I think not. You haven't let me finish a sentence!" she said petulantly.
Draco gave her a look of mock concern. "Go on then, love. Tell me all about it."
Ginny huffed. "This is a large case, and it's important that we begin prosecution soon, before those bastards in defense get their claws on my evidence."
She slid sideways along the counter away from him, attempting to slip toward the bedroom. She made it as far as the corner of the island before Draco's arm blocked her progress.
"Draco, I really don't care to be interrogated at this time of night. You know where I was and why, and I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so let me go to bed!" she demanded, folding her arms.
He grinned. "Adorable. But surely you must realize that I'm not about to let you work all weekend so that Potter can look good on Monday," he murmured, pulling her closer and running his fingertips along her cheek.
"I'll do as I please, Draco," she said cattily.
"As will I. And it pleases me to have you for the weekend, and not feel like I'm flatting with some workaholic," he said, just as cattily.
Ginny scoffed and poked him in the chest, unfazed when he caught her hand in mid air. "Me, a workaholic? You're the one who never quits."
Draco chuckled quietly. "Be that as it may, love, but I'm the one who gets all the glory for my hard work."
"Oh?" Ginny asked archly, raising an eyebrow. "So you and Harry are cut of the same cloth then, hm?"
Draco's eyes darkened instantly. "Hardly," he sneered.
"Really?" said Ginny, rising to her fullest height. "You both get a lot of other people to do a lot of work for you and then you take all the credit. I don't see such a huge difference."
Draco glared for a moment, and then his expression changed. He stepped back from her and grinned.
"You just admitted that you know Potter is taking advantage of you," he gloated. "After all these months."
Ginny opened her mouth, then shut it. "Well, I don't really care."
"Right, love. Sure you don't," he said patronizingly, relaxing his grip on her hand and kissing it gently. "But no one takes advantage of my wife." He grinned wickedly. "Now, come to bed, and don't you dare touch those papers until Monday. Potter won't be needing them."
He started to lead her to the bedroom, but she stopped him suddenly, yanking on his arm. "Draco," she asked when he turned, "You're not going to fire him, are you?"
Draco smirked mischievously. "I ought to. But no, I think I'll just remind our friendly Auror Division Head that he probably shouldn't have the wife of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement doing his overtime dirty work," he said, his eyes glinting at the idea. "Then we'll see who's boss."
The End
A/N: I might have cheated on the 'Draco doesn't know about it' part…but if you squint and look slightly to the left, you can make it work.
An explanation about one-shots for hire: In my quest to overcome months long writer's block on my chaptered fic, Red Ember, I decided that I needed to just start writing. Since deadlines help me, I decided that the first person to issue me a D/G prompt and a deadline would receive a fic. And look! I wrote something—and well in advance of my deadline, too.
If you'd like a personal one-shot, PM me and I'll let you know how to make that happen.
Reviews are welcome! I feed them to my stubborn little muse like so many lollies and they help convince her to cooperate with me. Lately, it takes a lot of convincing.