Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Seriously.
A/N: It has been ages since I last did anything to this series. I recently had the series re-betaed. I am currently working on a Chapter 10 (honest!) and I swear that this time I will deliver on my promise. In the meantime, please review if you like the series – it gives me more incentive to work faster on finishing it.
A/N2: Thanks to Katy (who was my beta when I started out with this series) and thanks to Uval Braman (it_will_cook) for looking the series over once more. She did an amazing job!
"Ginny, dear, you know I'm happy that you've finally made a choice but, what will you do now?" James asked quietly.
She had been expecting the question ever since she gave into Pansy. It was not really that much of a surprise that James would be the one to pose it. Leaning a shoulder against the windows of Pansy's penthouse, Ginny made sure to keep Pansy in view as she answered in a gentle voice, "I'll have to have that talk with Kate."
Pansy looked down from her workstation at that point, smiling in an openly affectionate manner and Ginny smiled back. "I can't – I don't know how to stop loving her, James," she whispered finally, "it sounds real corny when you read about these situations in romance novels but tell me if you know the answer – how do you suppress these feelings when it feels like they're so close to bursting out of your chest?"
She put her hand over her heart and turned slightly to James. "When I weigh the options, the scale tips heavily in Pansy's favour. The question you really need to ask now is," she said so softly that James had to strain his ears to catch her next words, "how do I tell Kate?"
James blanched a little but he really did not have an answer to that.
Ginny told her she would be back tonight. That was if they were on schedule. Being Aurors, punctuality was only emphasized for certain aspects of their vocation – returning home was not one of them. Kate locked the door behind her and let her eyes sweep the dark, empty apartment for a moment before moving forward in her wheelchair. She missed Ginny, there was no doubt about that. These past three days alone had, however, given her a chance to do some thinking – a lot of thinking in fact.
Between the two of them, Ginny was the emotional one – Kate herself tended to be more practical, a little heavy on the logic so to speak. Running her mind through the list of Ginny's former love interests, Kate could easily draw the distinguishing features Ginny looked for in lovers: brainy brunettes to put it simply. Ginny was by nature an attentive lover. When she was involved with someone, she gave her whole being into the relationship. Thus, it had taken Kate some hard thinking to conclude that the … sparks had been missing from their relationship despite the consistency of their physical and emotional intimacy. Hypothetically speaking, Kate would not mind if one of them broke it off but realistically speaking, she would be fine if they stayed a couple. She chuckled a little to herself. Is this how married life feels? Kate thought to herself, wheeling herself to their bedroom.
It did not escape her attention, however, that recently, Ginny had been ... lost in her own thoughts more and more. It was not like her to be thinking about anything else, even work, when she was around Kate. She probably did not have all her priorities in order but she was, above all else, very considerate. It was perhaps intuition or maybe just pure logic working, but Kate felt the urgent need to prepare herself for a major change in their relationship. She just was not sure what that would be.
Pansy looked up from her work and glanced down to the living room. James had fallen asleep on the couch, but Ginny remained vigilant by the windows just as Pansy had seen her a few hours ago. "Aren't you tired?" Pansy called out as she pushed herself back from the workstation. Standing up slowly, Pansy took off her glasses and set them down. Having Ginny close by and their feelings sorted out had really helped her get her focus back. She had lost track of the hours she spent catching up on the work she had put off.
"It's only two in the morning," Ginny offered flatly in reply, eyes remained fixed on a distant spot.
Pansy pushed her hair up into a messy ponytail as she descended the stairs. Ginny was, no exaggeration, a magnificent sight to behold. James and she had changed into something more comfortable after their return, but Ginny had stayed in the same clothes she had worn from the start of the day. Even though she was dressed in only a pair of skinny jeans and a close-fitting, button-down shirt, Pansy thought – exactly like the impression she got when she first saw Ginny earlier that morning – that Ginny looked just as divine as she would if she had taken the trouble to dress up. "You're quite the picture," Pansy noted, appreciating how the moonlight filtered through Ginny's flaming-red hair.
"Pardon?" Ginny asked, turning around to look at Pansy.
"You're gorgeous, I mean," Pansy said, coming to stand beside Ginny.
"Now you're just flattering me," Ginny replied, a small smile teasing the sides of her lips.
"It's the truth," Pansy bantered back, leaning against Ginny and threading her fingers through Ginny's.
"So you say," Ginny said gently, her voice a muted noise in the background as Pansy focused on the feeling of Ginny tightening her hold on her. She told herself that she would win Ginny over and by some degree she had, yet overall she still felt insecure. Ginny accepting her touches was such a welcoming reassurance that she could not but help exhale quietly in relief.
"You know I'm right," Pansy breathed finally.
"I do," Ginny whispered back, the intensity with which she answered made both Pansy and herself wonder whether they were speaking about something else. "I -" she started brokenly before she tried again, "I'd have to talk to Kate."
"You would," Pansy affirmed, her posture stiffening at the mention of Ginny's current lover's name.
There was so much else Ginny would love to say but they all stopped at the tip of her tongue. Unable to give voice to her thoughts, Ginny fell quiet and looked down – thankful that Pansy had not pursued the conversation – at least for now.
"She just fell asleep," Ginny told Hermione as she stepped out of Pansy's bedroom.
"Are you sharing her bed?" Hermione snapped, unable to stem the jealousy that she suddenly felt.
"What's it to you?" Ginny replied defensively, crossing her arms over her chest instinctively.
"She's Pansy, Gin," Hermione continued.
"You can do better than that, Hermione," Ginny replied, passing by Hermione to rekindle the dying fire.
"The same goes to you."
A short silence. "What are you really doing here, Hermione? Don't you have work to do?"
"Well, my work just isn't as fun as yours, is it?"
"What do you want?!"
"Is she just a fling? Another pretty brunette? What about Kate?" What about me?
"I'm going to have a talk with Kate and don't you dare call Pansy a fling. It's not like you, Hermione."
"What am I like then, Gin?"
"You're a friend."
"That's not exactly what I want to hear."
"Would you prefer me lie then?"
"I'm not very sure," Hermione finally replied, giving her what Ginny now recognised as Hermione's heartbroken smile. "I'm not quite sure why I came either," Hermione continued, looking around Pansy's apartment like a lost child. It was not exactly what she would expect from Pansy: sharp, sleek cuts but somehow the apartment felt homely. Her thoughts came back to her own apartment: the exact contrary to Pansy's. "I shouldn't have come." Mimicking Hermione's mood, her Disapparition was accompanied with a small pop.
There were three dozens of white roses on her desk when Kate returned to her office after school had finished. Closing the door behind her, she looked to her right and found Ginny standing awkwardly in the corner – the shuffling of her feet and her unwillingness to look at Kate giving her the air of a guilty child. That combined with the roses gave Kate a faint idea of why Ginny had chosen to approach her here and not at home. Neutral grounds, she thought suddenly – the premonition of yesterday suddenly sprang up once more in her mind and she steeled herself for whatever Ginny might have in store for her.
"Why are you apologizing?" Kate asked, careful to keep her tone neutral as she wheeled herself to her desk. The roses were all perfectly in bloom. It must have taken her hours to find all of them.
"I – I have a confession to make," Ginny started slowly. There was no point in putting it off any longer. Kate would see through all her bluffs anyway.
"Go on," Kate said, clenching her teeth and still refusing to turn around to look Ginny in the eye.
"I met someone," Ginny admitted in such a small voice it bordered on squeaky to Kate's ears.
Kate somehow registered the admission. For a few seconds, she could see nothing but red. She told herself something might happen between the two of them. She had even walked herself through various simulations, a few of which had dealt with the possibility of them breaking up. She was one of the strategists for the War for Merlin's sake – but nothing, nothing could have prepared her for the sudden reality of the situation. Her tears came unbidden to her eyes, the pain stinging the backs of her eyes and she had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from making any noise. "Oh," she said, her voice sounding oddly high-pitched even to her own ears.
"I'm so, so, so very sorry -" Ginny continued, her voice breaking slowly.
She wanted to be mature for this. She told herself to hold in the tears, to rein in her emotions and to let Ginny go with a smile on her face. Her heart, however, had other things in mind. It was pulsing out of control in her chest, thumping painfully against her ribcage, tearing and breaking itself up into a million shreds. Her tears flowed even harder and she found her hands shaking on the armrests. She wanted to say something, needed to say something. A small part of her brain was telling her that Ginny was still speaking but the majority of her just wanted Ginny to leave, wanted some time to herself. She needed to get herself together. "Go, Ginny, please just go -" she whispered. When she heard the click of the door closing behind Ginny's hesitant steps, she hid her tears no longer and began sobbing loudly.
Her head thrummed with an unpleasant vigour against her brain – or was it the other way around? Her tongue felt heavy and numb, as if swollen from a bee-sting. Without checking, she knew her lips were dry and her eyes gaunt, combined with the splitting headache – they were the symptoms of a typical hangover. The stiffness in her joints and the inability to move her hands and feet were somewhat unexpected. Hermione forced her eyes to open, immediately closing them once more when light suddenly assaulted her eyes. A sudden chill down her spine told her that she needed to get her senses in gear – and quickly.
"Hermione Jean Granger, born September 19th, 1979 to two Muggle parents, thus rendering one of the most brilliant minds to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, no, perhaps in the world, to sadly be a Muggle-born. Former titles include Prefect of Hogwarts, leader of S.P.E.W., co-founder of D.A. Current positions include Head of Magical Law Enforcement Squad, youngest member ever of Wizengamot, Head of Auror Communications and now substituting as Head of the Auror Office. Additional note indicates that Ms. Granger still has feelings for Ginevra Molly Weasley, an ex-lover during her Hogwarts years, who is currently involved with American-born witch named Katherine Ford. I can go on and on, you know. We have a complete file on you, Ms. Granger – the most confidential information is no exceptions."
That's right, Hermione thought – half-listening to the strange voice, I was in a pub just yesterday. I think I had one too many drinks but I couldn't stop. Then – then, something happened ... A girl? Yeah, a girl came over. But a girl is always coming over. I always have them come over before the end of the night. What was so strange about last night? I can't remember what happened after she came over ... I can't even recall what she looks like – damn, was I more drunk than I thought ... Merlin, you shouldn't have let your heart rule your actions, Hermione, that's how everything goes downhill. Is someone speaking? I can't open my eyes, though, too bright and my ears don't seem to be functioning -
"Are you listening, Ms. Granger? I can always arrange another modification to that beautiful face of yours," the voice that was neither male nor female broke into Hermione's thoughts. "Now, listen well while I tell you one clue why we're holding you here. Maybe then you can figure out a way to escape and maybe, just maybe, figure out a way to stop the third attack from happening." The voice paused and Hermione's ears perked. "You were the lead strategist for Potter's army. Now that the Dark Lord has been defeated, your position has not yet changed. Your brilliant mind," here a finger was poked at the side of Hermione's head, "is the one ensuring that the Dark Lord, or at least his legacy if you would, is not resurrected from the death.
"You and I are quite similar, Ms. Granger. We both know that brain wins the game. Brawn obviously has a hand in the forward charge but brain controls the flow of the game. Like chess, Ms. Granger, wouldn't you agree? The clue you've been waiting for, Ms. Granger, is this:
'An apprentice pawn against the lonely king.
The silent bishop tramples over a helpless pawn.
The queen is just now coaxed out of her slumber,
will the pieces of the white finally assemble
to meet head-on or drag out of the shadows
the black pieces sneering from across the board?'
It's not too hard, is it, Ms. Granger? Don't disappoint me. The clock is ticking and every single one of my black pieces is ready to move."