This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
CHAPTER 10
Three Messages
Harry slowly emerged from sleep to find the morning sun creeping through the gap in the drapes which covered the only window in the room. The hazy shape of a young woman was leaning over him and saying something that his mind wasn't ready to hear yet. Instead of listening, he just smiled.
"You know, waking up isn't so bad when I know you're here," he mumbled.
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione replied dryly. "Why don't we just keep that a secret between the two of us. I'm afraid Ginny might get jealous."
Harry jerked upright on the couch and fumbled for his glasses. After slipping them on, he was able to clearly see the crooked grin on Hermione's face. "Sorry," he quickly apologized, "I thought you were Ginny."
"That's good to hear. The only other possibilities were her or Ron, and to be honest, I feel a little better knowing that you and Ron aren't as close as that."
Harry ran his hands through his hair, trying to tame it. His clothes were wrinkled and twisted. At first he thought that Hermione had brought fresh clothes to him, but as he took a closer look, he recognized the bundle in her hands. "Where are you going with my Invisibility Cloak?" he asked. "Where is Ginny?"
"Ginny is in the kitchen talking to Tonks," Hermione answered. "I'm not going anywhere and Ron is guarding the door, so neither are you." She tossed the Cloak to him and frowned. "I know we could trust Tonks, but Josef probably saved my life. If he thinks it's best that you stay hidden, then I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen."
"Why is Tonks here?" Harry asked as he unrolled the Cloak.
"McGonagall sent her," she replied. "She said she has messages for us."
"What kind of messages?"
"I wouldn't really know, would I?" said Hermione. "I had to make up an excuse to come back in here and wake you up."
Harry stood up and pulled the Cloak around him, leaving only his head visible. "Come on, then," he said quietly. "I'll follow you. Just make sure you give me time to get through the door."
Hermione stared at him. "No, Harry," she replied firmly. "You're staying here. This is serious. You're going to stay hidden and keep quiet. We'll tell you whatever we find out."
Then without another word, Hermione spun on her heels and walked away quickly. Before Harry even had a chance to follow her, she had opened the door just enough to walk through, then let it shut, leaving Harry standing alone in the dim parlor.
The sound of the opening door startled Ginny. She wasn't sure if she felt worried or relieved when Hermione closed it without giving Harry any chance to follow.
"I found it," Hermione announced, holding up her wand for everyone to see. "It must have slipped out of my pocket when I fell asleep."
Tonks paid no attention to her. She had been telling Ginny about what had happened to Miraphora and Marius. As Madam Pomfrey had intended, Marius Lipton had been moved to a secure room deep below St. Mungo's. A number of Healers had already spent the morning examining him.
"Have there been any... incidents?" Ginny asked.
"Not at the hospital," Tonks answered. "The Healers did send a messenger to ask about one thing, however." Ginny sat silently, trying to think of which of the many mysterious things they might have picked out. "They wanted to know if any of the other boys in his room had been injured. One of them said he found signs that Marius had been in a fight."
"What kind of signs?" asked Ron.
"They said that both bones in Marius's right wrist had been snapped. Madam Pomfrey said she didn't notice it when he arrived in the Hospital Wing, but she also said that she left for St. Mungo's before she had a chance to properly examine him." Tonks tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Minerva said the three of you visited him. Did you see anything?"
"Nothing interesting."
Tonks raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "Nothing interesting?" she repeated. "Four lamps had exploded. The fires left scorch marks on the ceiling. That Romanian bloke carried Miraphora from the room. There must have been something interesting to cause all that."
Ron looked offended. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other for a moment. "He attacked me," Hermione blurted out. Ginny stiffened in her chair and glared at her, but Hermione continued in a steady voice. "We were looking to see if he had a curse scar like Miraphora. We found one, but when I tried to leave, he grabbed onto me."
"He's barely alive," remarked Tonks. "He couldn't even pick his own arm up off the bed."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Yes. He can. I've never felt strength like that. Josef was only trying to free me. He tried as hard as he could. If he hadn't broken Marius's arm, I don't think I would have gotten free."
"And after that?" prompted Tonks. "Did he come after you? Why did you take Miraphora?"
Hermione glanced over at Ginny. Ginny frowned slightly and shook her head almost imperceptibly. She still didn't understand just what had happened, but both Harry and Josef were staying quiet about it. It seemed wise to follow their lead.
"She was looking so much better, we just couldn't leave her there with him," Hermione said without taking her eyes off Ginny. "It didn't feel right. We were worried about her."
"They didn't put her with him at St. Mungo's did they?" Ginny asked.
"No," Tonks replied with a suspicious glance. "They decided it was best to keep her at Hogwarts. And you were right: She is getting much better. She's still unconscious, but she isn't whispering anymore and Poppy said she isn't feeling anything odd from her like she did before."
This was quite a relief to Ginny. After seeing her for the first time, Ginny had not returned to visit Miraphora as Hermione had. The memories of seeing her lying lifeless on the bed were haunting enough without any additional reminders.
Hermione, Ron and even Josef had immediately thought of Harry when they heard of the first attack. Ginny had to admit that even she had jumped to the easy conclusion that the attack had been designed to draw Harry out of hiding. However, the moment she had seen Miraphora Franklin, it became very hard to ignore the similarities she saw.
The young girl was, perhaps, slightly skinnier than she had been at that age, and her hair was not as long or as brightly colored as Ginny's, but she did have Ginny's brown eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She had not been attacked at random. It had been a message to Ginny as much as it had been to Harry. Whoever —or whatever— she'd seen in the corridor outside her bedroom had only reinforced that message. It was as clear as it had been the moment she'd first seen the letters on the wall where Miraphora had been attacked: She was in danger.
Seeing Miraphora again that morning made her realize that she had forgotten one very important thing: the girl in the bed was more than some abstract warning. She was a young girl, just like Ginny had been, and both of them had been used by dark wizards. Ginny had wanted to escape the old potion room just as much as Ron and Harry, but as she looked at Miraphora laying in her bed and saw herself, she couldn't leave her there. It felt too much like killing the girl.
"She looks better, then?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Yeah, I think so," Tonks replied with a vigorous nod. "She looks almost normal, I'd say. McGonagall and Pomfrey said her eyes were looking a bit funny for a bit, but they're getting their color back now, I guess. They think she might even wake up sometime soon. No telling when, of course, but if she's at Hogwarts, she'll have friends to visit her when she does."
"That's good to hear. I'm glad she won't have to wake up in the same room as Marius."
"Yes, well, it seemed like a poor idea considering what they learned about him." Everyone perked up immediately. "While Remus and... the new librarian looked about for ghosts, the Aurors used some more conventional methods. They searched Marius's room. There were a number of notes from Miraphora. In one of them —the last one, obviously— she agreed to come to the Astronomy Tower. It was dated September nineteen. Miraphora was attacked only hours later."
"That doesn't make sense," Ginny found herself replying before she had a chance to think.
"You're right," agreed Ron. "Why would a sixth year be sneaking off to the Astronomy Tower with a first year? No offense, Ginny. It's not that she's hideous, it just... she's a bit young for a bloke like him."
Tonks glared at him. "No one said they were trying to snog each other silly. I'd much rather believe he was a dark wizard."
"He's not," Ginny said weakly. "He couldn't have done this. He's just a sixth year. Even the Ministry wasn't able to figure out how to control it."
"No, and it seems he didn't have much luck either, did he?" replied Tonks. "The librarian said the same thing, but it's a bit pointless now, isn't it? His father had been in trouble. He must have known it. His friends said he'd been acting strange for some time."
"But the Diary," argued Ginny. "How could he have known?"
"His father worked for the department of Mysteries," interrupted Tonks. "I assure you, they know about the Diary. They know about much more than you'd like them to know."
"But why?" she persisted. "Why attack Miraphora? Why make it look like the Basilisk?" Something wasn't making sense in Ginny's mind, but she couldn't quite find the right question to address it.
"We may never know," Tonks said heavily. "However, having it stop and not knowing why it happened is still better than not knowing why it's still happening."
Ginny sat back and stared at the table. She didn't know how to convince Tonks of it —or if she really should— but it simply didn't make sense after everything that had happened the night before. Only hours earlier, they had been certain that the attacker was getting stronger and now they wanted to think that the attacker was lying in a coma under St. Mungo's.
"It hasn't stopped."
"Watch yourself, Ginny," Tonks warned her. "The Ministry says it has, and they've got more support than you do. Even if you're right, you'd do better to let them be embarrassed than risk getting sacked —or worse."
"Unless I'm the next victim," Ginny mumbled. The moment she said it, she wished she hadn't.
"Ginny?" Tonks said slowly as she tried to look at her. "Is there something you haven't told me? Why would you be the next victim? Did Remus say something that made you think that?"
"Er, no," Ginny answered quickly. "I was speaking in a more general sense. I just meant that it would be difficult to explain to someone's parents that it was better for my career that I didn't protect their child."
Tonks stared at her for some time. "It's not your job to protect anyone. That's my job. Let this be over, Ginny. I won't say you're not in any danger, but you don't have to be." She reached into her robes and pulled out a sealed roll of parchment. "This is a letter from the Ministry. You're being called to report to the Minister's office this afternoon." She slowly slid the parchment across the table. "Be careful, Ginny."
Ginny took the roll and examined the small golden seal cementing it closed. It was the Minister's personal seal. Why was she being called? She didn't know any more than Hermione, and she obviously didn't have more information than the Aurors. She turned to look at Hermione and found both her and Ron looking at the parchment suspiciously.
There wasn't much more to say. Tonks nodded politely toward the others and made her way to the door. Ginny's eyes were drawn back down to the parchment. It was already late in the morning. There was little time to try and figure out just what was going on.
"I suppose I need to go get dressed," she announced flatly.
Ginny Apparated into the Ministry an hour later. The large hall was more crowded than usual. She was rarely there at lunch time, but it still seemed overly busy for a Monday.
As she weaved her way through the clumps of wizards, she spotted a familiar shape standing near the center fountain like yet another statue. The shape was wearing a long grey cloak and turned away from her. It looked to be a wizard by its height and the broadness of its shoulders. Ginny slowed down and began circling around him to try and figure out who it was.
It wasn't Josef, that was certain. The wizard's hair was light brown and hung down past his shoulders. As his face came into view, she found that he was already watching her. She paused and simply stared back. He made no motion to acknowledge her other than returning her gaze. After almost a minute, Ginny surveyed the hall, and finding no one who seemed to be paying any attention to her or the cloaked wizard, she casually approached him. As she neared him, he turned away and stopped looking at her.
"What is it now?" she asked quietly as she stared into the fountain. The wizard didn't respond. "Why are you here?" she tried again, but there was still no answer. "Listen, you're here for a reason. Tell me what it is or I'll call the Aurors."
"You are not the reason I have come," the wizard answered stiffly.
Ginny didn't back down. "That's not what I asked."
She saw him frown from the corner of her eye. "I am here to find Josef."
"I haven't seen him."
"Of course you haven't," the wizard growled, "You rarely notice him even when he is following you."
"If I see him, what should I tell him?"
"Nothing," he replied. "If you see him, then I have already delivered my message."
"Why not deliver it to me?" suggested Ginny. "I am certain I will be able to find him before tonight."
"We are in need of greater speed than that," he whispered, "and you are being watched. We have already said too much. You should go. Scrimgeour and Reynard will be waiting for you."
"Why do you need to talk to Josef?" Ginny hissed, but the wizard had already turned and started walking away. A pair of passing witches stifled laughs as they passed by. Ginny ignored them and watched as the Brotherhood wizard Disapparated with a faint snap.
She let out a deep sigh. Something wasn't quite right. The Ministry had apparently stopped investigating the attacks at Hogwarts. She had been summoned to discuss it, though she knew less than everyone else, and now the Brotherhood had come to the Ministry to find Josef. Two months of dealing with the Brotherhood had taught her to recognize when she was being drawn into a situation for a purpose. The only question was who was doing it and why.
The guard by the gate gave her a stiff nod as she passed by. She tried not to think of what it might mean. He was probably just acknowledging her bizarre arrival. She had recently become worthy of interest to all of the guards. They were always watching her now, and not without good reason. A number of powerful wizards routinely asked them about when they last saw her.
Harrington had explained this to her earlier that week. It really wasn't much of a surprise to Ginny. Harry, Josef, and Hermione had all agreed that Reynard was almost certainly having her followed. Josef had refused to tell her whether he knew of any wizards who followed her when she left the Ministry, but they were all certain that she would be watched constantly while inside the Ministry.
Because of this, she was not at all surprised when an Auror stepped onto the lift at the very first level after the Atrium. They stood in uncomfortable silence the rest of the journey. When Ginny reached her destination, she stepped out of the lift but her unwelcome companion did not. He simply stared back at her as the gates closed.
Before she had a chance to ask herself why he hadn't followed her, a stern looking witch stepped out of a nearby corner to call for another lift. Ginny stopped to take a closer look at her. Her robes were black and rather boring and her hair was tied back in a tight pony tail. She was pretending to not even notice Ginny though they were the only people in the small lobby. A lift arrived a moment later and within seconds, the witch had stepped into it. It had gone down, not up. Towards the Department of Mysteries, Ginny told herself.
She turned around and tried to push the incident from her mind. Of all the things that had happened that day, it was the easiest to understand. It was pointless to concern herself with it at the moment. She needed to focus on other things.
"Psst!"
Ginny froze just past the corner leading away from the lifts. She spun around and saw the dark outline of a man standing in a shallow alcove in the corridor on the other side of the lobby she had just left. The man leaned farther out into the corridor and Ginny suddenly recognized him as Ferdinand Harrington. He looked about nervously, then motioned for her to join him quickly. After taking a moment to search the corridor for herself, she did. He put a firm hand on her back and pushed her into a small dark room.
"What's going on?" she asked after he'd closed the door.
"More than I have time to explain," he replied. "We only have a minute or two until he learns that you've arrived. He was trying to keep us from speaking before the meeting."
"And who is he?"
"Reynard, of course," Harrington hissed with a paranoid glance at the door. "He's the one who called the meeting. He's found a way to convince the Minister to give him even more power."
"He called the meeting?" Ginny asked. "Why summon me, then?"
"He didn't! I did," snapped the older wizard. "Forget about that now. Have you seen your friend lately?" he asked, whispering the last few words.
"Josef? No, I haven't. Why is everyone—"
"Not him," he replied, shaking his head in frustration. "Your other friend. The shy one?"
"Oh!" exclaimed Ginny. He meant Harry. "Yes. I saw him just a few minutes ago."
"Did you see him last night?"
Ginny paused and tried to think of what Harrington was trying to get at. "Yes, I did see him last night," she answered in a serious tone.
Harrington leaned closer to her and stared into her eyes. "Can you prove it? Can anyone else confirm it?"
"Yes," she answered hesitantly. "There are others..."
"How many? Who saw him?"
"Er, let me see," she began as she tried to count them in her head. "Four others," she answered after a moment. "Why is it important?"
Harrington ignored her. "Four? Granger and your brother, correct? I would guess one of the others was Mr. Kantos, then? Who was the fourth?"
"Valencia," she answered, "—Madam Desmoda, I mean. She's the Hogwarts librarian."
"The librarian..." he whispered to himself. "Do you trust her?"
Ginny nodded.
Harrington frowned and paced back and forth in front of her. "There's nothing to do about it now. We'll just have to think of something before he finds out about her. You're certain there is no one else? No one who might have guessed or—"
"Wait," she interrupted him. "There is someone else. I mean, there might be. I don't really know if she would remember or if she would even believe it..."
"Who is it?" he asked impatiently
"Miraphora Franklin."
Harrington continued pacing about the room while mumbling to himself. After less than a minute, he let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "There's no more time. They'll be calling us to the meeting soon."
"But— it's not supposed to start for another hour!" she argued.
"Reynard is going to try to start it early," he replied, "and we've got to be there when he does." He led her back to the door and carefully opened it just enough to allow him to check the corridor. Apparently it met his approval, and he began speaking very quickly.
"Go back to your office, but don't stay there very long," he whispered. "Let yourself be seen, but do not let anyone keep you there for more than a minute or two. Then, I want you to come directly to the Minister's office. Once you leave, do not stop until you are at the Minister's door. Do you understand me?"
Ginny nodded, though she wasn't sure if she truly did understand him. What was going on? Why wasn't there any time? Why was Harrington so worried?
He gave her a weak smile. "I hope to see you soon," he whispered, then slipped out of the door. By the time Ginny followed him, he was already walking toward the lifts. She tried to catch up to him, but stopped abruptly when she reached the small lobby. Other wizards were standing there, now, and two of them seemed to be doing absolutely nothing. She ducked behind the corner before anyone had a chance to see her.
Ginny didn't want to find out what problem Harrington was trying to help her avoid, so she turned around and walked away from the lifts quickly. There was another way back to her office. It took longer, but she had suddenly developed a fear of being seen.
A minute later she arrived at Carmilla's desk, though this time she was approaching it from behind. The old witch jumped slightly as Ginny greeted her, and then started asking if there was anything Ginny needed. What she needed was a lot of answers and few interruptions, but this sounded a little rude inside her head, so she simply apologized and strode off toward her office.
As she reached the last corner, she spotted something different. Evelyn Sibley's office door was ajar. She took a brief moment to peer inside, but didn't see anything.
"Snooping about, Ginevra?"
Ginny whirled about to find Evelyn glowering at her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. "I don't have time for you right now, Evelyn. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to listen to your bitterness tomorrow, but I really must be off."
"You seemed to have plenty of time when you were trying to sneak into my office," she sneered. "Now that I'm here, you're suddenly in a hurry to get away."
"Get that a lot, do you?" Ginny heard herself reply. She winced at the remark and quickly slipped past Evelyn on her way to her office.
"So you're not even going to play at being polite, then?" Evelyn called out. Ginny tapped the handle to the door with her wand and it swung open gently. She stepped into the room and quickly surveyed it for anything that seemed out of place or worthy of note. Finding nothing, she grabbed some blank parchment and a quill and headed back toward the door.
"You're not even interested in where I've been or what I've been doing?" Evelyn asked from just outside the door.
"I can only assume you've been continuing your miserable existence," Ginny answered as she tried to close and lock her office door. "To be honest, I thought it was a brilliant idea to send you out of the office. I found it rather refreshing. I wish it had been my idea." She didn't have any time to deal with Evelyn. She had lost enough time already. She needed to get to the Minister's office.
As she walked away from her office, she heard Evelyn speaking just loud enough for her to hear: "Be careful, Weasley. The world is getting to be a dangerous place."
Ginny walked quickly, barely restraining her urge to break into a run. She passed by Carmilla's desk, ignoring the witch's questions about where she was going. When she reached the lifts, however, she was brought to a halt. A wizard in smudged robes was placing signs over all of the grates:
OUT OF ORDER.
"Out of Order!" Ginny cried. "You can't shut down all the lifts!"
"You're absolutely right, I can't," the man replied in weary voice. "I just follow orders. Some bloody wizard declared them unsafe and I get my supervisor shouting at me to shut them all down," he said, imitating a deep, gruff voice. "And as if that's not bad enough, I get people like you wailing about it as if this is part of my personal vendetta against magical transportation."
As he was talking, one of the last remaining lifts, clattered open, releasing a pair of witches who looked more than a little disturbed at the fact that they had been riding on the one of the only good lifts.
"What about that one?" Ginny asked.
"All of them," the wizard sighed. "There's nothing to be done. If you really need to get somewhere, there are stairs... somewhere. It'd probably be faster to just wait for these to be fixed, of course, but wizards these days like being proactive."
"How about I just take this one and risk it?" Ginny said as she strode toward the closing grates. She caught them just before they locked together, and pulled herself through. As the shiny gold metalwork closed again, she heard the wizard calling out to her.
"I'm sure your impatience will serve you well after you have both your legs lopped off!"
Ginny's fear of amputation was still overshadowed by her concern over whatever it was that was about to happen in Scrimgeour's office. She stood impatiently as the lift clattered to its destination. She felt the lift lurch to a halt, and for an instant, she closed her eyes and hoped that the gates would open.
A moment later metallic screeching announced her arrival. She straightened her robes and stepped out of the lift into a large rich-looking lobby. Before she had a chance to take more than a few steps toward the corridor leading to the Minister's office, a pair of robed wizards stepped into the room and approached her.
"Those lifts are out of order," a tall man with a narrow face told her.
"Mine worked fine," Ginny replied as she continued toward the corridor at the end of the room.
"Hold on," said the other one, a stocky blonde-haired man. "This area's closed for the day!"
"The Minister's office is closed?" Ginny asked as she continued walking directly toward them. "I find that hard to believe."
The stockier wizard frowned. "Doesn't matter what you believe," he growled. "No one enters that corridor. We've got orders from the Minister."
"So do I," said Ginny. She held up the roll of parchment and simply walked around the pair of them. Of course, if they would stop her and read the parchment, they'd find Harrington's signature, not the Minister's, but she doubted he was being honest about the source of their orders either.
"Don't you walk away from us, girl!" he shouted.
Ginny felt a tingle of fear in her stomach. As she turned the corner, she allowed her eyes to dart back toward the pair of wizards. They were pulling out their wands.
Ginny stuffed the roll of parchment back into her robes. Whatever protection it might have given her was no longer enough. She would need to be ready to draw her own wand if they were as serious as they looked. She began walking faster, cursing her choice of shoes as the corridor was filled with the sound of her quickened pace. Cautiously, she pulled her wand from her pocket and pressed it against her wrist so it could not be seen.
A few seconds later, a new set of sounds filled the corridor: the firm, muffled concussion of heavy boots following her. She refused to turn and look at them. She was supposed to be here. She had been ordered to be here. Why were they trying to stop her?
"Ginny, wait!" the taller one called out. "Perhaps we have made a mistake. Stop a moment, and let us escort you to the Minister's office. These corridors can be rather confusing. It is easy to get lost."
"I prefer to my own way, if it's all the same," she shouted back. "It was a thoughtful offer, but I don't need guides."
"We insist," he replied.
Ginny heard the rhythm of their footsteps increase. A number of things became quite apparent to her. First, she was certain that the two wizards were not Aurors, nor were they the normal security wizards. The corridors and offices were deserted, some of them looking as though the occupants had left rather quickly. Whatever was happening in the Minister's office was more important than she'd even guessed. However, even more important to her at that moment was the certainty that if the two wizards behind her caught up to her, she would never make it to that meeting.
Without warning, she broke into a desperate run. As she reached a corner, she ducked down and veered sharply toward the path to the Minister's office. The wizards behind her were shouting at her, but there were no hexes or curses. She ran down the next length of corridor with both of them slowly gaining ground on her. She slid around one more corner and stared down the last corridor between her and the Minister's office.
Some distance away, the corridor widened dramatically into a large hall with a vaulted ceiling. At the other end of that hall was the door to the Minister's office. She could almost see it. Halfway to the hall, she heard the wizards shouting orders from behind her. They had stopped, and she didn't want to figure out why.
Suddenly, a large wizard and dark-haired witch ran into view at the end of the corridor. Ginny skidded to a halt less than thirty feet from them. Behind her, the other wizards had started walking toward her again.
"Ginevra Weasley!" the stocky wizard shouted from behind her. "You are being detained for the breaking of magical law!"
"I didn't break any law," she replied. "I was called here. I am to meet with the Minister of Magic."
"You are trespassing!" he shouted. "You have disobeyed authority, lied, vandalized Ministry property—"
"Vandalized what? The lifts?" she asked incredulously. "They aren't even damaged!"
"—and drawn your wand on Ministry employees," the wizard finished. Ginny looked down at her hand and saw that her wand was in her hand and ready for use.
"I'm a Ministry employee, too," she argued. "You drew your wands before I did."
"That is not how I remember it," the taller wizard said with a crooked smile.
Why is this happening? she asked herself. Had Harrington lured her into a trap? He couldn't have. It made no sense. Why would he warn her of his own trap? It couldn't be the Minister. He could have simply sent the Aurors for her the moment she walked into the Ministry.
"You work for Reynard, don't you?" she asked them, though she already knew the answer. "You know that all of those things you accused me of are false. If you throw me in a room and try to interrogate me, you'll anger the Romanian Minister even more than our own."
"I'm aware of that," the dark-haired witch announced with a silky voice. "We don't have to interrogate you to get what we want. I doubt there is anything you know that is even worth such a thing. Of course, your Romanian friend will be outraged nonetheless, but it will be too late for him to fix."
Ginny suddenly remembered what Harrington had told her: She wasn't supposed to let anyone stop her. Was that the key? Could she just ignore them? An even more interesting question materialized in her mind: Why hadn't they simply stunned her earlier? It was simple and it would have saved them quite a bit of time and effort.
They can't use their wands, she realized with a smile. Of course there would be wards around the Minister's office to sound alarms if any wizard attacked another. She simply had to keep moving and there wasn't anything they could do to stop her.
To test her new theory, she took a step forward. The wizard in front of her immediately raised their wands. Ginny stared right into the witch's eyes and took another step. The corners of her mouth started to twitch into a frown, but she kept her wand pointed directly at Ginny's chest. Pleased with the result, Ginny took two more steps forward. None of them flinched, but they didn't cast any curses, either. Ginny kept walking until she was only a few feet from the witch and wizard in front of her.
The witch scowled at her. "If you think I won't do it—"
"I know you won't," Ginny interrupted. "If you could, you would have done it long ago."
Ginny gave the tall wizard a gentle shove so she could slip between him and the witch, but before she could squeeze through, a large hand clamped down on her shoulder.
She'd been expecting something like it and her wand was instantly pointed at the ceiling. "I expect the wards don't really care what sort of spell is cast. If you don't let go, we'll all find out." The wizard released her shoulder with a snarl. Ginny pushed past him and walked into the large hall with her pulse pounding in her ears. She could hear the footsteps following her. One set, higher pitched and quicker than the rest, were approaching quickly.
"You think you're safe, do you?" the witch purred in her ear. "You think your friends can protect you, or that you're important enough that you don't have to worry?"
Ginny didn't respond. She just kept walking toward the door to the Minister's office. His secretary was gone. The hall which was normally busy with all sorts of wizards was totally empty. The only sign of inhabitation came from the light leaking out from under the Minister's door.
"If you walk through that door, there's no going back," the witch hissed. "This is your last chance, Ginny. You know what happened to Lipton. You know what happened to his son. That is only a taste of how bad it can be."
"I'll take my chances," Ginny said.
"Stupid girl!" the witch spat. "You don't even know what you're doing. You're just bumbling about, doing what everyone else tells you. Think for yourself! Stop! Go home! Walk away. If you're here for the gold, we can arrange for you to be taken care of. You don't want Reynard as an enemy."
Ginny finally turned to glare at the witch. It had been a subtle threat, but a threat nonetheless. With a few more steps, she stopped in front of the door and reached up to knock on the polished wood.
The witch's arm shot out and grabbed her wrist. "If we wanted to hurt you, we would have. We're not the ones you should be afraid of. If you value your life, turn around and walk away."
Ginny wrenched her arm away from the witch and knocked firmly on the door. The witch let out a deep sigh. "Remember," she whispered, "you had your chance. This was your choice."
Seconds later, the door opened dramatically to reveal a large man with a straw-colored mane of hair. "Ah, Miss Weasley," Scrimgeour said with a frown. "Mr. Reynard said that you would be unable to make it."
Ginny looked past the Minister to see Auguste Reynard sitting in a large chair against the far wall. His hands were clenched together and his lip was curling back in disgust.
"I nearly didn't," Ginny replied with a false smile. "Thankfully, a few of Mr. Reynard's employees were nice enough to help me out."
"Oh? Well... that's, er— that's uncommonly kind of them, I suppose—" sputtered Rufus Scrimgeour. "Very unexpected. Good to hear." He looked a bit confused, but it didn't stop him from ushering Ginny into his office and dismissing the four wizards behind her with a polite nod.
The room was not new to her. She had been there just over three weeks ago. Scrimgeour had been even less welcoming then, and it seemed that three weeks had simply dulled his annoyance rather than erasing it. Ginny stood for a moment and looked about the room. Reynard was still glaring at her from his chair. His white hair was shorter than it had been the last time she'd seen him, and his eyes were so pale they almost appeared to be yellow.
Sitting in another chair nearby was Mr. Harrington. He was trying to hide a pleased expression behind one of his hands. Along the other wall was a pair of wizards. One of them she recognized as Gawain Robards, the head of the Aurors. The other she had met. He was one of the governors of Hogwarts, but she had never really been told his name.
"Go on, then, we left a chair for you," Scrimgeour said firmly. "Do make yourself comfortable, but remember that we have real business to attend to and you are here at Ferdinand's request, not mine. Try not to interrupt us unless absolutely necessary."
"Let her interrupt all she wants," growled Reynard. "It no longer matters to me. We cannot discuss the information I came here to reveal to all of you. Perhaps we can start a debate about who will be in next year's Quidditch World Cup. Myself, I think Bulgarians are a foregone conclusion. Perhaps Italy will join them. What do you think, Gawain?"
"Enough, Reynard," announced Scrimgeour as he sauntered back to his desk. "You were the one who wanted to speak to all of us. Speak. I've had enough with this Hogwarts business. If you have answers I want to hear them now."
Reynard narrowed his eyes at the Minister. "Do you think I asked you to empty the entire wing because I like causing trouble?"
"Well, the thought did cross my mind, but I—"
"I requested that in an attempt to keep the information I have a secret. What point is there in discussing this if she is here?" Reynard asked with a nod toward Ginny.
"I assure you that Ginny can keep secrets as well as any of us," commented Harrington.
Reynard turned to glare at him with shocked fury. "Yes," he said through clenched teeth, "I am well aware of that."
"Then there is no problem at all," Harrington announced lightly.
"She is a Liaison to a foreign country!"
"She is the Liaison to Romania," Harrington argued, "and the Minister himself has declared that all information we have should be shared with them. Of course, if this... information you have is sensitive, I'm sure Ginny will show discretion in telling only the highest ranking officials. Let's not forget how helpful they were in locating the body of Marcus Lipton."
Reynard did not immediately respond. Instead he sat and stared at Harrington as though he was hoping to find some answers in the other wizard's expression. "You already know, don't you?" he finally asked. "You know why I don't want her here."
"I'm afraid I do not," Harrington replied with feigned ignorance. "Ginny was assigned to deal with this matter. If you remember, at the time both you and the Minster agreed that it would be acceptable. Do you have some reason to believe she is no longer suitable for this assignment?"
"Yes, I do," Reynard snarled. "Please trust me, Minister," he pleaded. "If Miss Weasley hears what I have to say, more lives will be put in danger. We cannot trust her with this information."
"That is quite the accusation!" shouted Harrington. "You seem to be suggesting that she is the one responsible for the attacks."
"No. Not her."
"Someone she knows, then?" suggested Harrington. Ginny felt a pinch of panic as realized what Reynard was planning on suggesting. She didn't know what to do about it. She would simply have to trust Harrington. For the moment, he seemed to know what he was doing.
"You realize that this accusation is only slightly less serious than the previous one," commented Harrington. "She is a Ministry employee. If she was using her status to hide the crimes of a friend, she could be subjected to the same punishment as the person who truly committed the crime."
"That's not what I said—"
"It is," insisted Harrington. "You are sitting in the office of the Minster of Magic and you are saying that you refuse to trust a Ministry representative —one that you yourself suggested for this assignment— because you think she cannot be trusted with the answers we told her to find. That is a strong indictment. Perhaps you are correct. We should end this meeting now and take Miss Weasley to the Wizengamot. If they cannot hear her case today, I will simply put her on permanent leave. I'm certain that Minister Debreczeni will be upset, but there's little—"
"Enough!" barked Reynard. "There is no need for legal action. She has committed no crime, as yet. I simply feel that in the name of secrecy we should limit this information to only those required to know. I don't see—"
"This is a discussion about the cause of the attacks at Hogwarts, Auguste," Scrimgeour interrupted him, "and Miss Weasley has been assigned to represent Britain in this matter. It is her responsibility to know as much about these attacks as we do. Now, unless you are ready to lock her up in Azkaban, I would like to get on with business."
The Minister turned away from the brooding Reynard and began asking questions of Gawain Robards. He quickly related much of the information Tonks had told them that morning. As Robards spoke, Harrington kept a close eye on her. His eyebrows were raised slightly to create a warning expression. The message was clear: Say nothing.
Ginny forced herself to not react when Robards started talking about Marius Lipton's current state. He mentioned the advanced state of his illness and the bizarre effects he seemed to have on the immediate area. He attributed the broken lamps to the heat which seemed to surround Marius, but could not explain the boy's broken arm.
"There are a number of signs that Marius was involved in some sort of struggle," commented Reynard. "The boys who share a room with him reported nothing, yet the Healers at St. Mungo's said it was quite obvious. I think it is apparent that Mr. Lipton had a visitor sometime between the time when he was found, and when the Healers arrived. Perhaps this visitor returned to finish his work on Mr. Lipton and found the boy to be a little livelier than he expected."
Ginny immediately saw what Reynard was trying to suggest. The truth would come out sooner or later, and it would look a lot better if she simply told the truth from the start.
"Marius did have visitors, but they were not trying to kill him," Ginny announced. "I was one of them."
"Were you? How interesting," remarked Reynard with a smile. "I would very much like to hear why you were so eager to see the boy at that hour."
"I had no reason to see him," Ginny replied. "I merely accompanied Hermione Granger. We received a strange report and she felt it was important to inspect him immediately."
"A report?" Reynard snarled. "What sort of report? From whom?"
"I'm afraid I cannot say," she answered with a thin smile. "You may ask the Romanian minister, if you like."
Reynard glared at her. "So you and Granger examined the boy, and during the course of this examination, you decided to viciously shatter both bones in his wrist."
"While we were there, there was... an incident," Ginny replied hesitantly. "His hand grabbed onto Hermione's arm. It was just a reflex, I'm sure, and probably another symptom of his illness. Sadly, there was no other way to force his hand to release her."
"Curious," Reynard commented. "Even more curious is the fact that the Healers say no magic was used to do it. I find it hard to believe that either of you are able to break a young man's bones like that. Who actually did it?"
"Josef Kantos," Ginny said confidently. She told them that he had been the one to alert them, but tried to make her explanation as short as possible. Reynard returned a sour expression, but asked no more questions.
"Enough of that," Scrimgeour announced gruffly. "I don't see why I should care about broken bones or mysterious Romanians. I care about putting the wizard behind this in a cell in Azkaban. Now, Auguste, you claimed you had some sort of information about the cause of this."
"Yes, but I must renew my objection to allowing Miss Weasley—"
"Nonsense!" shouted Scrimgeour. "Ferdinand was right in this respect. Either we can trust her and tell her everything we know, or she has committed a serious crime and we need to consider a hearing in front of the Wizen—"
"That will not be necessary," interrupted Reynard.
Scrimgeour leaned back in his chair. "Then let us move forward. Now, Gawain, these notes you found seem to suggest that young Mr. Lipton is the wizard who attacked Miss Franklin. If that is the case, then who attacked him?"
The Auror shook his head slowly. "That attack is even more mysterious than the first. It seems that no one was capable of doing it. Perhaps it was simply the result of a mis-cast curse? Perhaps he was attempting to attack one of the other boys in the room, and he simply failed. His professors have said that he possessed no extraordinary magical talent for charms or curses."
"And yet we're to believe that this completely ordinary boy has mastered magic that is both unidentifiable and totally irreversible by the Healers at St. Mungo's," remarked Scrimgeour. "It's too much to believe. Did the boy kill his father as well? No, I'm sorry. It's all well and good for you to downplay the danger. I don't want to think about the panic this would cause at that school, and the last thing I want to deal with are unreasonable parents. Still, the question remains: Who is responsible for this? Is this another Death Eater attack? Do they even exist anymore?"
"They do exist," answered Gawain Robards. "However, they have been very disorganized lately. I think they've fired more curses at each other than anyone else."
"What about this other group, then?" continued Scrimgeour. "I had been told they had been disbanded, but recent events have made me question that report."
"I said they were disabled, not disbanded," Reynard interjected.
"And how does one only disable a cult of wizards?" the Minister asked sharply. "Did you just take away their wands?"
Reynard rolled his eyes. "I'll admit it is possible that they are involved, but not directly."
"If you are so certain, then who is responsible?" Scrimgeour asked sourly. Reynard sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment, then turned to stare directly into Ginny's eyes.
"Harry Potter," he announced clearly.
The room became completely silent. The only occupants who didn't appear completely shocked were Reynard and Harrington. Ginny felt as though she'd been slapped. Gawain Robards looked completely confused. The Hogwarts governor had stepped back to watch them all with deep suspicion. Rufus Scrimgeour, however, did not look confused or suspicious. He was angry.
"This is what you needed to tell me?" he growled. "You want me to send the Aurors out after one of the most famous martyrs of our time. Why Potter? Why not Albus Dumbledore? Did you pick him because of his history of refusing my requests? They'll think I'm mental if I announce that. Perhaps that's exactly what you want."
"No, I don't want you to tell anyone," Reynard replied. "Not yet. Give me time and more Aurors and—"
"I've already given you half the Aurors. How many more would you need?"
"Not many," answered Reynard with a smile. "Robards and two others to help me find him, and another three to keep an eye on Miss Weasley," he said, quickly adding: "—for her protection, of course."
"I don't need protection," Ginny said.
"You will," Reynard replied. "You have no idea how much he's changed. You can't trust him. No one can."
"You're sure he's alive?" Scrimgeour asked, seemingly taking the suggestion a little more serious. "You have proof of it?" Reynard nodded slowly. "And the attacks? You're confident he's behind them."
Reynard's yellow eyes stared at Ginny. "Yes," he said coldly, "he is, and he's probably getting help."
Scrimgeour frowned and rubbed his neck. "You have three days," he said quietly. "You can have your six Aurors, but I want proof in three days."
"I need a week," Reynard argued. "It will take two days just to train the Aurors."
"Alright, you have a week," the Minister said, "but if I hear anyone talking about this, you're the one I'll be sending to Azkaban. And you, Miss Weasley," he said in a louder voice, "would do well to keep quiet about this. Don't think I've forgotten about you and your friend's past relationship with Potter. If you've seen him, you need to tell us or face Azkaban yourself. Have you seen him?"
Ginny swallowed and tried to remain calm. "Seen him?" she replied with a sardonic smile. "We sleep together every night."
The scowl on Ginny's face had not left by the time she and Harrington stepped off of the lifts and began walking toward their offices. "You know, anger only makes you look guilty," commented Harrington.
"Which emotion should I be pretending to feel, then?" Ginny asked.
"Confusion or concern might be good places to start," he answered.
Ginny took a deep breath and tried to relax. "I don't have time to try and act innocent," she whispered. "I have to figure out what I'm supposed to do about three Aurors following me everywhere I go."
"You have some time," Harrington whispered back. "It will take Reynard a few days to teach the others what they'll need to know to try and track down Harry. For the three following you, you probably have only a day or so, but if you're smart, you can extend that a little bit. The Ministry still officially believes you live with your parents. I assume that is not actually true."
"No, but I think Reynard already knows that. He must. There was a battle just outside—"
"No! Don't tell me!" Harrington interrupted. "I don't want to know. If you cannot hide there, then you have two options: make it safe or go someplace else. If there is anything you need, just ask."
They had come to a stop just before reaching the small lobby where Carmilla's desk was. Ginny didn't know what to do. It had been easy for Harry to hide from the world over the last two weeks. No one was looking for him. No one would even know where to start, but Reynard would. He would show them how to find wizards under Invisibility Cloaks and tell them all the places that Harry might go. It would be like running from the Brotherhood again.
Ginny felt her throat tighten. She didn't want that. That would mean that Harry would have to leave. She'd lost him before and she had vowed that she'd never let that happen again. There had to be some other way. Somehow, Reynard had gotten the advantage. Maybe there was a way she could take that away. The situation was not the same as it was with the Brotherhood. Harry wasn't alone anymore. He'd done nothing wrong, and he could prove it. There had to be a way to stop this.
"I need to speak with Josef," she announced, "as soon as possible."
"I'll see what I can do," Harrington told her, "but I suspect he'll find you faster than I could possibly find him."
"You're probably right," she agreed. "Hopefully he'll know where to find me. I think it's best if I was out of my office for the day."
"I agree," the older wizard replied. "There's nothing for you to do here. Come on."
The two of them rounded the last corner and found Carmilla sitting at her desk scratching away furiously at a piece of parchment. She didn't even lift her head to greet them.
"Carmilla?" Harrington called out as he passed by. "Ginny's going to be out of the office for the rest of today, and probably tomorrow as well." He paused for a moment, then added: "You probably shouldn't schedule any appointments for Wednesday, either."
"Very well," she replied in a clear voice.
"Oh, and we urgently need to find Josef Kantos. If you could find him, please send him—"
"He's waiting in Miss Weasley's office," Carmilla interrupted, still feverishly writing.
Harrington blinked in surprise, then shook his head and shrugged. "Of course he is. I should have expected that." He and Ginny continued walking. He gave her a stiff nod as they reached his office. "Good luck," he whispered, then disappeared behind the polished door. Ginny continued on past the rows of cubicles to the narrow corridor which let to her office.
The door to Evelyn's office was open again, but this time it was easy to see that it was vacant. She wondered for a moment where she had gotten off to, since Harrington hadn't been around for her to bother. Her questions were answered as she heard voices coming from farther down the corridor. She quietly walked around the corner and saw Evelyn standing in the doorway to her office. She was speaking to someone.
"You can't tell me there is nothing more to it," Evelyn said sharply. "Why would a Russian orphan be raised by an influential Romanian wizard? There were at least twenty orphans in his own country. Why did he pick you?"
"Even I cannot answer that." It was Josef's voice, just as Carmilla had told her. Ginny crept forward to hear more clearly.
"You've never asked? You weren't at all curious?" Evelyn asked in an accusatory tone. "You never wondered why you lived, when the families of every other witch and wizard who supported your parents had been killed on sight?"
"I have warned you before: Do not go searching for answers which do not want to be found," he told her. "I do not mean this as a threat, but I must ask you to stop pursuing this information. Even if you found your answers, you would not live to report them."
"What about Ginevra?" countered Evelyn. "How much does she know? That's why Tarus revived that antiquated Liaison nonsense, wasn't it? She found out too much didn't she? Why wasn't she killed?"
"She is no ordinary witch," he replied. Ginny could hear the intensity in his voice.
"Oh, yes," purred Evelyn, "I'm sure Ginevra has many impressive talents. You're intimately familiar with them, aren't you? Was that all it took to buy her life? Her pale, smooth skin. Her soft lips. Her breath on your neck as she—"
"Enough," Josef barked. "We're done. You should leave now."
"Ah, a sensitive subject," sneered Evelyn. "Isn't that curious? You had no problem speaking about the death of the man who raised you from childhood. Where was Ginny when his supposed 'accidental' death occurred?" Josef began to speak, but Ginny interrupted him.
"He asked you to leave, Evelyn," she announced. "Mr. Kantos and I have business to attend to."
"Ah, yes, business," she sneered. "Well, this is a step up from the Astronomy Tower, isn't it?" With a scowl, she turned and walked past Ginny and back toward her own office.
Ginny shook her head, slipped into her office and quickly closed the door. Josef had his back turned to her as he stared into the small fire burning in the fireplace. He looked as uncomfortable as Ginny had ever seen him.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that," he said as she collapsed into the chair at her desk. "It was... unfortunate."
"I'm sorry I work with such a spiteful person," Ginny replied. "It's something I've come to accept, but you don't have to. You could have just closed the door."
"No..." he replied with a sigh, still refusing to look at her. "No, I needed to know how much she has learned. It was necessary but, as I said, unfortunate."
"I'm sure. We have bigger problems than Evelyn Sibley, though. I just met with the Minister. Reynard was there and he said—"
"Not now," interrupted Josef. "We can speak tonight."
"This is serious!" Ginny said in an annoyed tone. "We don't have time to lose. We need to talk now. If I wait even six hours—"
Josef interrupted her again. "If you wait six hours, we can find a place to speak where we can be certain Auguste Reynard will not hear us."
"But there are wards—"
"—which no one has checked for weeks," Josef finished for her. "Wards are not permanent, and I doubt a wizard with his resources would be held back by something as trivial as Silencing Charm."
"Why not find someplace now, then?"
"Because I must return to Romania," he answered. Ginny remembered the cloaked wizard in the Atrium and frowned.
"He found you then? Is everything alright?"
"I hope so," Josef replied, "but it will take time to be certain. I suspect we'll both be followed, so it will take longer to return to Romania. I have arranged a meeting place for tonight." He pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her. "Don't open that until you leave, and burn it once you've read it. Apparate, don't use the Floo System, and don't show up any earlier than the time on that piece of parchment."
"What should I do if you're not there?"
"Run." The look in his eyes disturbed Ginny. She nodded silently and stared down at the envelope. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go. She was supposed to get her job back and everything was supposed to return to normal. She and Harry were going to live their lives, together. They shouldn't have to keep fighting like this.
Ginny slipped the envelope into her pocket. Josef was trying to help. She'd trusted him before. Even Harry had trusted him after everything he'd gone though over the last year. He gave her a weak smile and politely excused himself. She watched silently as he opened her door and walked out of her office.
A minute later, she did the same. She closed and locked the door, quietly placing an extra charm to tell her if anyone attempted to further tamper with any of the existing wards. No one bothered her on her way out of the Ministry, and the guard at the gate didn't even notice her pass by. The only wizard who seemed to mark her arrival was a tall figure standing at the far end of the hall. He was wearing a grey cloak which mostly obscured his face. After looking at him for a few seconds, he simply vanished. Ginny Disapparated a few seconds later.
Once back in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, she immediately pulled the envelope from her pocket. Harry was leaping down the stairs, obviously eager to hear what had happened at the Ministry. Ginny gave him a brief hug and a casual kiss on the cheek before turning her attention back to the envelope.
"What is that?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Josef gave it to me," she answered. "Something bad is happening. He's going to find some secret place where I can talk to him about it. He didn't want anyone to know about it." She quickly ripped open the envelope, unfolded the parchment and stared at the words written on it.
"That's his idea of a secret location?" she remarked.
"It's a common tactic for the Brotherhood," answered Harry. "It's much easier to hide in a crowd than an empty room."
Perhaps he was right. Still, considering the last few months, it was one of the last places she would have considered for any sort of secret discussion. Ginny stared down at the parchment, reading the words again and hoping they would change into something more encouraging:
THE LEAKY CAULDRON: MIDNIGHT
When she Apparated into Diagon Alley, she had thought —or hoped— that it would be quieter than it was when she normally visited. The truth did nothing to comfort her about Josef's choice for a meeting place. She could hear a number of raucous voices through the doorway to the pub, and all thoughts she had of privacy disappeared.
The scene inside the Leaky Cauldron was just as the noises outside had suggested. While it was not nearly as full as she had ever seen it, the current patrons were far less sedate than those who frequented the pub earlier in the evening. Tom nodded to her as she walked past the bar.
"Good to see you, Ginny," he called out. "I'm afraid I've already tossed out the day's Daily Prophet. One of these lot might still have one though. If you'd like I can ask about."
"Don't worry about it, Tom," Ginny replied as her eyes began searching the tables. "I'm here to meet a friend."
"Ah, of course," Tom replied with a smile. "I believe that's him over there." He pointed a stubby finger toward a table near the door. A wizard wearing a worn, sandy-brown cloak sat with his back to her. Across from him was an empty seat.
Ginny thanked Tom and dodged her way through tables covered in empty mugs and unsteady patrons toward the table at the other side of the large room. On her journey, she got more than a few solicitous looks, had to turn down a few slurred offers of drinks or places to sleep and was forced to slap the arm of one drunken wizard who had grabbed her thigh as she passed. With her lips curled in disgust, she finally made it to the table and threw herself down in the empty chair.
"Sorry about all that," the wizard said. "They can be an unruly lot at times. They don't see pretty girls like you all that often around here." Ginny's eyes widened, then narrowed suddenly at the wizard sitting across from her. "Not that I can blame them, of course. If I could take back forty years and knock back another six beers, I might have tried my luck as well. Can't hurt, can it?"
"What are you doing here, Albert?" Ginny asked with slight annoyance.
"The same thing I'm always doing," he replied with a light chuckle. He nodded at a small glass in front of him and held up a half-empty bottle in his left hand. "The question that's going though everyone else's heads —chased by a frightening amount of alcohol, I might add— is what you are doing here."
"I'm here to meet a friend," Ginny whispered.
"Ah, are you?" laughed Albert. "Well, no offense, but I'd say any friend who's likely to be meeting you here is a friend you might not want."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm here to meet Josef," she whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" he whispered in response. When Ginny frowned, he leaned back in his chair and let out an echoing laugh. "What's the point?" he added loudly. "No one cares. They're all so drunk they'll barely remember they were here, much less you." Then without warning, Albert stood up, and addressed the pub in a loud voice:
"I am an agent of a secret organization who has been protecting wizards from evil for thousands of years!"
A chorus of laughs erupted across the room. From one of the large tables, an old wizard shouted over the laughter: "Bah!" he cried. "Who cares about evil? Just tell us how you got the girl!" A second wave of laughter rolled through the room and gradually died as Albert took his seat again.
He pulled out an extra glass and began filling it with the bottle he always carried with him. "Come on, then. Drink up and tell me about this Joseph bloke. Is he selling you something? Smuggled in some asp venom, perhaps?"
"No. Bad things are happening. Josef and I needed someplace private to meet."
Albert sighed and shook his head. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny," he said disapprovingly. "Attractive Ministry employees like you should not be meeting young wizards in a place like this. You're young, pretty, and suitably athletic. You should be having wizards take you to places like Venice or Rio de Janeiro or even Paris."
"I'm not here for a date," Ginny hissed. "I have business with Josef."
"Business? Oh, I thought you knew better than that. You shouldn't mix enjoyment with employment, Ginny," he said while wagging his finger at her. "You've got a lot of potential. Any wizard you find at the Ministry is either using you or will end up envious of your success."
"You know what I meant."
"Do I?" asked Albert. For a moment he looked truly uncertain. "I know lots of things. For instance, I know what goes through wizards' minds when pretty girls like you agree to meet them at a pub."
Ginny took a deep breath and stared at him. A slight twinkle in his eye told her that he was having fun. He already knew why she was there, but he wasn't cooperating for some reason.
"No games. Not tonight, Albert."
"Why not?" he asked dramatically. "I admit I feel some responsibility. If it weren't for me, you would not have met him."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be alive," Ginny grumbled.
"That's a trade that isn't as obvious as it first appears," replied Albert. He emptied his glass, then dropped it back on the table. "I've been told many times that people would rather I was dead than meet them again." He paused, and stared at his bottle. "Of course, that's not really the same thing, is it? I wager it's close enough." He began filling another glass. "I suppose it doesn't matter. It is my fault —I've been told that many times as well— so I feel some obligation to warn you."
"Warn me about what?" she asked impatiently.
"The world," he proclaimed with a wild gesture. "It's a dangerous place. It's too bad you missed the Prophet today. Some really unsettling things have been happening. You would have found them terribly interesting."
"I think I've already heard about it, thanks," said Ginny. "Josef said he would meet me here. Have you seen him?"
"Are you sure you don't want to just sit here and enjoy some excellent spirits with a good friend? I'm sure I am much more entertaining than he is. Of course I am also older, but that means I have much more money, as well. I could buy you a whole barrel of your favorite cider, if you want."
"No, I don't," she said with restrained annoyance. "I just want Josef."
Albert let out grunting laugh. "Really? I'm sure he would be flattered to hear that. However, it's not like you to be so aggressive. Are you certain you haven't been slipped a love potion?"
"I'm positive."
"Love potions are dangerous things, you know," he told her after draining another glass. "Once, I was on a ship transporting a load of potions from Greece to the Black Sea. We ran into a horrible squall and I was dumped overboard with three crates, including a number of love potions. I was fine —I was holding my breath, of course— but it seems that the storm had coaxed a giant squid to the surface, and well... the wizard who made the love potions was as surprised as I was to learn they actually worked on squid."
"Yes, that's quite entertaining but—"
"I can only assume they would work on octopuses as well," continued Albert. "They're both rather intelligent creatures. The squid saved me life, you know. But then, I suppose it had to. I imagine it couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to me."
"Albert, I don't have the time—"
"It was quite gentle, to tell the truth. Not at all the monster that the old books make it out to be. And yet, it was rather… amorous. The tentacles... they—"
"That's really quite revolting," interrupted Ginny. "I don't even want to know. If you're not going to help me—"
Albert recoiled in shock. "What are you on about? A pretty girl like you? I'd love to help you, but I can't say I approve of you going up to some bloke's room in a place like this."
"Oi! Watch your tongue!" shouted Tom as he delivered a platter of mugs to a nearby table. Albert twisted around in his chair and smiled.
"No offense, Tom," he shouted, "but you know there are some pretty unsavory types hanging out here."
Tom smiled and let out a low laugh. "Aye, I do know that."
"Precisely, and I don't think young Ginny here should be spending time around that sort."
Tom gave an indifferent shrug.
Ginny leaned forward and spoke in a quieter voice: "I'll spend time around whoever I wish. You said he was in a room. Just tell me which one and let me worry about my own life."
"Now Albert," Tom said as he walked over to their table, "Ginny's a fine young woman and more than strong enough to take care of herself."
"Thank you, Tom," said Ginny.
Albert slowly put down his glass and put on a hurt expression. "Well you used to have a little more sense," he grumbled. Slowly he looked up until their eyes met. His eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Say, didn't you know that Potter boy?" he asked
"I met him a number of times," Tom said. "Why, I remember the very first time he set foot in this place. According to Hagrid, it was the first magical place he'd ever visited. Then, of course, he stayed here a bit when Sirius Black was running loose. A nice boy. Very polite."
"I wonder whatever became of him?" Albert asked flatly.
Ginny had to restrain herself from jumping out of her chair and shouting at him. What was he thinking? The last thing she needed was a pub full of people talking about Harry. She glared at Albert and tried to control the anger that was boiling in her stomach.
"He... he left to deal with Voldemort," she finally answered.
"No one's heard from him since," Tom added. "Of course, no one's heard from... the other one either, so it wasn't a total loss. That Potter boy was a brave lad. His parents died young, too. Too bad, he would have made a fine wizard."
"Tragic," commented Albert. "I bet you two would have gotten on famously." Ginny scowled at him and clenched her fists.
"I'm sure they would have," Tom said. He winked at Ginny as if he knew some secret that Albert did not.
"I'm serious, Albert," Ginny hissed, no longer caring what Tom overheard. "Don't toy with me tonight. Where is Josef?"
Tom looked suddenly nervous. Ginny worried that she might have made a horrible mistake, but instead of saying anything else, Tom simply turned around and shuffled off back to the bar, leaving her alone with Albert.
He leaned back in his chair and held up a glass of liquor to inspect it. "I'd love to help you, but I'm afraid I don't know any Josef," he lied. "Maybe he disappeared like that Potter chap. You might want to tell your Ministry mates. They don't like it when wizards disappear. They're a suspicious lot these days. You could learn a lesson from them in that department."
"Could I?" she snapped. "Maybe you're the one I should be suspicious of."
"It wouldn't be a bad place to start," he said before tipping back the glass of liquor.
Tom reappeared suddenly, speaking in hushed tones: "I'm terribly sorry, Ginny. He came in a while ago saying someone would come looking for him. I— I never thought it would be you." He pulled a single brass key from his pocket and slid it across the table. "Up the stairs. It's the third door on your right."
Ginny took the key and thanked Tom with a polite voice. She stood up as Albert began pouring himself another glass. Before he had a chance to say or do anything else, she walked away across the crowded floor.
She made her way to the stairs and slipped past an old wizard and a somewhat younger witch who had fewer teeth than she was missing. She felt slightly guilty about being angry with Josef. He must not have realized how urgent the situation was. When she reached the top of the stairs, she turned to look down and wave at him. Unfortunately, the table they had been sitting at had totally vanished. She searched the room for any sign of Albert, but it appeared that he had gone. After rubbing her eyes to keep herself awake, she turned and began walking toward the room Tom had told her about.
She found it without any trouble, and as she raised her hand to knock on it, it swung open quickly. Josef was waiting on the other side, and he motioned for her to enter immediately.
"You're late," he said sharply.
"I was delayed by Albert," she said.
"Who is that?" Josef asked. "Does he know why you're here?"
"He's, er... Aleksey," she replied. "And he knew I was here to see you but he was taking his time in telling me where you were."
Josef frowned. "Yes, he's being less than helpful tonight."
Ginny took a moment to look about the room. As far as she could tell, it was completely bare. There was not a single piece of furniture or decoration left, though large discolored patches could be seen on the floor and walls. He must have removed everything in his attempt to be certain that no one was going to be listening to them.
"I'd ask you to sit down, but I'm afraid the floor is far from comfortable," he explained. "Instead, I will try to be as brief as possible. Is Harry in still in London?"
"Yes," replied Ginny, "but we're ready to leave as soon as I return."
"That won't be necessary. However, a good night's sleep will be."
"Why?" Ginny asked, fearing the worst. "Are we going to have to do a lot of traveling?"
"Very little."
Ginny found herself feeling more and more uncomfortable. "Josef, we have to do something. If we just stay on Grimmauld Place, they'll find us. It won't take long. We need to leave. We need to go someplace they won't find us."
"No," he replied with a slight smile. "If you run, they will follow you. You cannot live like that. Sooner or later, they will find you, and if they find Harry, they will attack him. Once that happens, it won't matter what the outcome is. They will lock him up just for attacking Aurors. You cannot let Reynard find Harry."
"That's why we have to leave!"
"No," Josef repeated, "that is why you must not leave. I know Harry. Somehow, he has managed to live his life being both cautious and impatient. Reynard knows this as well, and that is why he has made this move. Right now, you need to help Harry be patient and yet bold."
"Why are you smiling?"
"I have an idea," Josef answered.
"What sort of idea?"
"First things first," he said in a calming voice. "You have friends you can trust, yes? People who care about Harry? There was a group of wizards who he cared about—"
"—The Order of the Phoenix—" offered Ginny.
"—yes," Josef replied with a nod. "We need to contact them—"
"You tried to kill them," Ginny interrupted as anger flared inside her. "You tried to kill my family." She suddenly remembered the sight of the Burrow smoldering and stepped away from Josef.
"There is no time for the full story, but I promise you I did not," Josef said with a heavy voice. "I did all that I could. I begged Grigore to let Dragomir and I do it, but he was already suspicious of me. I made sure that everyone escaped, but I could not stop the attack. I hope that someday I might find a way to repay the damage I have done. For now, that must suffice. Please, now is not the time for you to lose faith in me."
Ginny stared at him and saw the shame behind his eyes. She shook her head. It was late. Albert's ramblings had gotten to her. Josef had already proven that he could be trusted. If he thought he had a way to fix things, the least she could do was listen to him.
"Alright," she said weakly. "What needs to be done."
Josef pulled three rolls of parchment from his pocket along with a small quill. "I need you to write three letters. They will trust your handwriting. Pick the three most trustworthy members of this Order and tell them to organize a meeting. We will also need someplace safe to hold this meeting. I'm afraid the Leaky Cauldron will not be suitable this time."
"They can meet at Hogwarts," Ginny said as she grabbed the first roll of parchment and unrolled it against the wall.
"That should work so long as the Aurors are not told," warned Josef.
"When is the meeting?" Ginny asked as she began writing the message to her parents.
"Tomorrow night," Josef answered.
Ginny continued writing the note, filling in information from Josef as needed. It was going to be impossible to avoid the Aurors, but if they timed their arrival while Tonks and her partner were guarding the gate, they would be able to sneak past the others. Tonks had repeatedly assured the others that Simon Weller could be trusted.
When she was finished she started a new message to Professor McGonagall. She tried to include as much information as she could to allow the Headmistress to make whatever preparations would be necessary. The third note she addressed to Mad-Eye Moody, hoping that he would have the time and ability to find anyone McGonagall and her parents could not.
"I can have these sent out tomorrow morning," she told him. "Pigwidgeon should be able to deliver them all by noon."
"No, I'll take them," Josef said quickly. "Your owl needs to stay home. I'll send these from a few small taverns in France. They will arrive faster than if a single owl carried them."
Ginny handed him the rolls of parchment and almost immediately began feeling useless without them. "There's nothing else for me to do?" she asked.
Josef smiled again. "Oh, I've left the most difficult part for you."
"What would that be?" she asked warily.
"You have to convince Harry to show up."
Author's Note:
Good news. Chapter 11 is almost ready to go. I just have to finish the final draft edits. It should be ready Monday or Tuesday.