Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.
A.N.: Once again, a big thank you to Shygui, my editor extraordinaire, for all the time and work you're putting into my story. You are amazing.
45
Ginny looked around in the foyer of the elegant hotel in the magical part of New York. Two hundred members of the international magical high society, and they made a ruckus like lions at the feed. She curled the corners of her mouth and twirled the stem of her cocktail glass in her hand.
From the corner of her eyes she checked her appearance in one of the many mirrors that adorned the spacious room. She looked as beautiful as never before in her life. Her dark green robes of finest Acrumantula silk and the emeralds in her ears set off her creamy complexion and her fiery red hair. She'd placed herself under one of the crystal chandeliers that adorned the room. The crystals swayed slightly in a soft draught, their melodious tingling accompanied the many voices in the room, and their reflexions strew bright lights into her hair. She was hard to overlook, and many eyes turned towards her, the male ones with undisguised admiration and desire, the female ones with hardly suppressed distrust for a predator of their species.
They were well advised to be wary of her. She'd come alone tonight, and she'd come to hunt.
Her union with Elias had proved to be just about as profitable as she had hoped: he had showered her with presents. The emeralds in her ears had been his reaction to the rocks Harry had given Greengrass at that first Christmas after their wedding - Merlin, that had been almost five years ago - and he'd made a habit of giving her more jewelry whenever he felt especially affectionate.
He'd been a very affectionate husband, and he'd been devastated when she divorced him, "irreconcilable differences", her lawyer had called it. Elias' affection for her had cooled down considerably after he had signed their divorce agreement and he had to pay the compensation their lawyers had agreed on.
Her lips curved in a soft smile. Dear, old Elias! He'd been more than satisfying in other areas, it was too bad that he couldn't see past the other stuff and just enjoy the physical; she really missed him.
The compensation she'd got from him had been the foundation of her wealth, together with her climbing earnings as one of the superstars in the American Quidditch League, and her now significant income as a much sought after magical model.
Her second husband, Zach Zaccheaus, had proved to be not quite as profitable, yet still profitable enough. She'd received the divorce papers a month ago. And so now it was time to look for a new husband.
A small comotion near the entrance caught her attention, and an excited murmur went through the elegant foyer. It seemed as if another VIP had just arrived. Of course it was beneath her to crane her neck like many of the women in the room did. She was Ginny Weasley, an A-list celebrity in her own right. People turned their heads after her, not the other way round.
She took a sip of her exotic cocktail and watched the scene at the entrance from under her eyelashes.
She didn't have to wait long. The wall of curious guests in front of her parted, and she got a good look at the new arrival.
The Ambassador of Magical Britain led a young man to the bar. His broad shoulders filled out simple, yet elegant black robes of Acrumantula silk that made every other man in the room look slightly underdressed, and made his vibrant emerald green eyes under an unruly mop of hair as black as his robes stand out in his handsome face.
Her breath caught, and an electric jolt went through her body. Harry! What was he doing in New York?
He took a glass of sparkling water from the bartender and turned his back to the bar to resume his chat with the ambassador. He looked poised and at ease, nothing in his demeanour reminded of the socially awkward youth she remembered from their Hogwarts days. He'd tilted his head and listened to the much older man by his side with a polite smile on his face.
Her abdomen tightened almost painful, and she discreetly moistened her lips. Like when she'd seen him the first time after his treatment on that Christmas Day so long ago, his changed appearance had caught her by surprise. On the average scale from zero to ten he was at least a twelve.
She squared her shoulders and put her glass on a bar table next to her. Then she ambled across the room, towards the bar. As expected, all heads near her turned around to her. She was a model, she knew how to walk through a room and draw attention to herself.
The attention of the other guests did not go by unnoticed by Harry, and he looked into her direction. He froze, and the polite smile vanished from his face for a split second. The next moment however, he was in control of himself. The polite smile re-appeared, though his eyes became guarded.
She halted her step, as if she'd just seen him, and her face lit up in a delighted smile.
'Harry!'
She rushed towards him, grabbed him by his upper arms, and gave him a small kiss in the air beside each of his cheeks, the socially acceptable greeting of good friends. The whiff of an expensive light cologne reached her nostrils. She took in his appearance in one swift glance. Up close he looked even better than she remembered from that Christmas Day.
He hadn't leaned into her half-hug when she greeted him. A wise move on his part; there was no need to give away their relationship in a crowded room, though no doubt the rumour mills would be running wild soon enough about the familiar greeting between Britain's Chosen One and one of America's top female Quidditch stars.
'Ginny; what an unexpected surprise.' He gave her a polite kiss on the knuckles, but didn't kiss her cheek. His voice sounded calm and didn't let on any of the delight she knew he felt because of their surprise encounter.
'You know each other?' The ambassador looked from Harry to Ginny, his eyebrows raised.
'We were in the same house at Hogwarts, though Ms Weasley was a year below me,' Harry said, and made the necessary introductions.
They made some small talk. Morgana must have heard her silent plea, it didn't take long until the ambassador excused himself and left them to talk to other guests at the cocktail reception. Harry's eyes followed him, an unfathomable expression on his face.
'Finally alone,' she said, and gave him an impish flutter of her eyelids.
The smile she got from him in response was rather thin-lipped, and he didn't answer. Oh, well, he was probably thinking about the way he'd left her standing in the orchard when they'd seen each other the last time and felt guilty about it.
She linked arms with Harry and drew him to one of the unoccupied bar tables in the middle of the room, aware that many eyes were turned to them. 'I still can't believe you are in New York. What brings you here?'
'Business,' he said, and took a sip of his water, a slight line between his eyebrows. 'I'm on an introductory tour of the overseas dependances of Crystal Fairy Beauty Products. I have finished my studies in May, and Cyrus thought it a good idea for me to take over his regular visits to Tokyo and New York.'
'How exciting! Is Daphne with you?' She held her breath and crossed her fingers.
Harry shook his head. 'She's got to hold fort in London, since Cyrus is visiting Paris and Rome.'
Perfect; his meddling mousey wife was the last thing she needed right now. Though she wasn't that mousey anymore; she'd almost suffered a heart attack when she'd seen her on that Christmas Day five years ago. It was amazing how much a decent haircut, makeup and stylish clothes had changed the plain girl. She was nowhere close to being as beautiful as herself, but her looks complimented Harry's, she made the perfect background for him, and together they were a striking couple. She'd seen more cutesy photos of these two than she'd ever cared for; Hermione had taken it upon herself to keep her up to date with current events regarding her friends in England. It seemed to be impossible to get a photo of Harry without Greengrass cuddled close to him.
Well, the blonde mouse should cuddle with Harry for as long as she could, in the long run she wouldn't stand a chance against her. Merlin, what a wet washcloth that girl was. She'd all but shrunk into herself when she had threatened her not to become too cosy with Harry. For a Slytherin, she was ridiculously easy to manipulate. Although she hadn't counted on her threat making Greengrass loosen her bowels, so Harry had to take her home. Pity, she had already made plans to persuade Harry to an impromptu Quidditch match on Boxing Day, and make the next attempt on him. Oh well, it never came to that, and unfortunately she hadn't been able to return to England for the next couple of years. But now he was here, and even better: he was alone.
She smiled up at him. 'What a pity. I would have loved to get to know her better.'
A faint smile played around his lips. 'She'll be as disappointed to have missed this opportunity as you are.'
Her eyes narrowed. Was he taunting her? No, that was impossible, Harry didn't have it in him to be like that.
She tilted her head to the side and let her long mane flow over one shoulder. 'How long will you stay in New York?'
'My plane is scheduled to leave tomorrow at seven p.m.'
'Your plane? You travel like a Muggle?' She raised her eyebrows. What sort of an idiotic idea was that?
Harry gave her a close-lipped smile. 'You forget that Crystal Fairy Beauty Products is a mostly Muggle company. I have to keep a Muggle cover when I'm dealing with the directors of the Muggle parts, thus the Muggle travel.'
'Well, if it suits you to waste your time,' she said, and shrugged her shoulders. Should she put a hand on his arm and tell him they should make the best of their limited time together? No, better not. Harry had turned down her offer to become his mistress twice, out of his damned honourability, there was no way that she was going to give him the opportunity to go three for three. This time, he had to make the first step.
The cocktail party had come to a close while they talked, and the guests filed out of the room to attend to their other appointments for this evening. She cast him a surreptitious look from under her eyelashes.
His eyes scanned the room; he was holding to his glass of water and made no effort to continue their conversation.
A small smile appeared on her lips. This was so typical Harry, probably he was racking his brain for a way to ask her out for dinner without sounding too eager. Maybe she should give him a little encouragement.
She put a hand on Harry's forearm. It felt supple and strong through the thin layers of silk and his suit jacket, and she almost let out a purr. He was just as she liked her men. 'Do you have another appointment today? What about having dinner together and catching up? We haven't seen each other in years.'
He looked down at her, his bland face didn't let on what he thought.
Damn, when had he learned to become that inscrutable? Harry Potter had always been one of the most easily to read boys at Hogwarts; his vivid eyes that mirrored each of his emotions had been a dead give away.
He came to a decision. 'Well, I have to have dinner, haven't I?'
'Brilliant,' she said, and gave him a broad smile, though the muscles of her neck stiffened. That had been a less than enthusiastic response to her suggestion. Who did he think he was? It was a privilege to be seen in her company; many men would give an arm and a leg for that.
However, she still had plans with him, and it wouldn't do to let him see her annoyance. Again, she linked arms with him and pulled him with her into the direction of the main restaurant of the hotel.
'Come on, I have a room booked here; I'm sure they'll give us a table on short notice. Where are you staying, by the way?'
He knitted his brow in a slight frown. 'The company has booked a suite for me at a Muggle hotel.'
Her eyebrows quirked up. 'A whole suite? I'm impressed. But why a Muggle hotel?'
Harry shrugged. 'It's practical, I guess, with all the meetings I had these last couple of days. Sometimes, I needed a private place to talk, so an additional living room was a necessity. Most of the company's holdings are Muggle, so it's easier for me to stay in the Muggle world.'
They got a table in a secluded corner of the elegant restaurant and made their orders. While they waited for their drinks to be served, Ginny excused herself that she needed to go to the restroom.
She locked herself into the small cubicle, pulled her wand out of her purse and cast her Patronus. 'Go to Madlyn Mitchell and tell her I'm having dinner with Harry Potter at the restaurant of the Palace Hotel; I need her to come over and take some photos, but he must not notice her.'
The silvery boa constrictor nodded, flicked her tongue and slithered away.
Ginny returned to the restaurant and sat down opposite of Harry once again. The waiter had meanwhile served their drinks, and she took a sip of her chilled white wine. Harry still stuck to water.
'What have you been doing all these years? I always meant to go home for Christmas, but nothing ever came of my plans,' she said.
He quirked an eyebrow at her over the rim of his glass. 'How's that?'
She put on a wistful expression. 'Mum and Dad visited us the year after I married Elias. We planned on another visit to England the following year, but separated before that. I married again the summer after that, and Zach insisted on celebrating our first Christmas with his family here. We seperated after a little more over a year since we got married. Mum was furious at me that my second marriage failed, so you can understand that I wasn't keen to visit The Burrow.'
Harry took a sip of his water. Was he touched by her pity story? She couldn't tell, his face didn't let on.
'Very understandable. Although I had the impression she was not so much furious at you, but concerned that yet another of your relationships failed after a short time,' he said.
She lowered her head. 'Yes, I've made some bad decisions over the last couple of years.' She bit her lips, as if to fight back tears, and cast him a look from under her eyelashes. Did he fall for it?
Harry shifted in his seat and averted his eyes. 'I'm sorry to hear that.'
Was there a slight trace of pain in his voice? She bit on the inside of her cheeks to suppress a triumphant smile. Five years ago, she'd have used this as an opening to throw herself at him once more and try to become his mistress. From there, she'd have worked to undermine his marriage until Greengrass was so fed up with him that she'd agree to divorce him.
However, she'd become older and more experienced. His stubborn refusal to take her as his mistress, even though he felt nothing for Greengrass, had shown her that the direct approach didn't work. Well, after five years in a marriage that had been forced on him he should be more than ready for a little adventure. She only had to give him the right opening.
She looked at him with a trembling smile. 'There's no use crying over spilt milk, Harry. I've made my choices and have to live with them.'
There, that was just the right amount of sorrow mixed with stiff upper lip not to make him uncomfortable. As a bonus, the waiter used that moment to serve the first course, which should give him time to get over a moment he'd find awkward.
She picked up her spoon. 'Enough about me. Tell me, what have you done during all these years since the last time we saw each other?' That was always a good beginning, men loved to talk about themselves.
He followed her example and dipped his spoon into his soup. 'Well, you know that Cyrus wants me to become his successor. Because of that, I enrolled at Canterbury Magical University in September after the Battle of Hogwarts to study Magical Economics. I had my last exams this May and started working for Crystal Fairy Beauty Products immediately after.'
'I remember how put out you were when he first demanded of you to change your plans. It can't have been easy for you to go through five years of studies of an object you detested, when everything you ever wanted was becoming an Auror.' She almost patted herself on the shoulder; her voice had just the right mixture of sympathy and understanding.
Harry wiped his mouth and took a sip of water. The glass still in his hand, he said, 'I would never have thought of choosing this path, but as soon as I realised what the estate of Grandfather Fleamont entailed, I had to admit it was the only sensible course of action. After all, I can't rely on Cyrus forever to manage my estate for me.' He put the glass back onto the table and picked up his spoon again.
'Still, it had had to be hard on you.'
'Well, it wasn't a bed of roses, but I did alright.' He turned his attention to his meal.
Damn, did she have to pry everything out of him? 'A little bird told me you've been rewarded with a hereditary seat on the Wizengamot two years ago? Congratulations; that's a rare honour.'
He had finished his first course and wiped his mouth. 'Yeah, so I've been told.'
She gritted her teeth. She had forgot how hard it was to make Harry talk about himself; he was different than other men in that regard. So far, he'd told her nothing she hadn't read about him in Witch Weekly.
A movement at the table next to her caught her attention. A young woman sat down at a table for two. From her place she had a good view at Harry and her, and she gave Ginny a surreptitious wink.
Ginny replied with an imperceptible bow of her head.
The young woman pulled a compact out of her purse and opened it.
That was her cue. She edged forward on her seat, bent towards Harry and put her hand on his that laid outstretched on the tablecloth. 'Tell me more about your duties on the Wizengamot. Though I can't imagine how you of all people get along with those stuffed shirts. You must be bored out of your mind during each meeting.'
His eyebrows furrowed, his gaze flicked to her hand on his, and then he pulled his hand away.
Damn him! Had Madlyn been fast enough?
'Well, I manage. Of course, there are a lot of dull things, long speeches, taxes and such stuff. I'm sure you'd be bored to tears within five minutes and fast asleep after another five if I told you about my role in that.' He gave her his trademark lopsided grin, the first time today she saw the real Harry Potter and not the well-trained Greengrass puppet.
She laughed. 'I'm not surprised. I never imagined that you of all people would like to hobnob with the stiff farts on the Wizengamot.'
'No, why should you?' he replied and took another sip of his water.
Silence settled between them, and she racked her brain what else to talk about. Quidditch would be fail-safe, but that would lead the conversation back to her, and she wanted to hear about him.
The waiter came to her rescue and served the second course. Another five minutes were spent with smalltalk about the delicious food - as if she were a distant acquaintance and not the love of his life. That topic was exhausted much too soon, and again she was at a loss what to talk about with him.
Harry ate his dinner; he seemed to be far away with his thoughts.
'You are not very talkative,' she said.
His eyes focussed back on her, and she gave him a mock-pout.
'Sorry, but I had a hard week. A couple of days ago I was in Tokyo, and from there I flew to New York. The jet lag is killing me. On top of that it's the first time I had to lead the quarterly meetings, and of course everyone was waiting for me to make mistakes,' he said.
She suppressed a triumphant smile. It was about time he was beginning to share something personal. Instead, she put on a sympathetic expression. 'It's hard to believe that people will look critically at The-Man-Who-Conquered.'
He replied to that with a small snort. 'You forget I had to deal with Muggles, Ginny. They don't know a thing about me. To them, I'm the heir of Fleamont Potter, the venerated founder of the company. In their eyes I'm nothing but a spoilt brat, fresh from university, and still wet behind the ears. I yet have to earn my place and their acceptance. Daphne said -.' He broke off, bit his lips, and turned his attention back on his meal.
Ah, now they were coming to the interesting part. Obviously it made him uncomfortable to talk about his wife.
'How are things between you and Daphne, Harry?'
He didn't look up. 'Fine.'
That was brilliant. As if she didn't knew his life was crap whenever he said he was fine. He'd fall into her lap like a ripe apple before the evening was much older.
As soon as he had finished the meal, Harry signalled the waiter and asked for the bill. She suppressed a triumphant smile. This was like in old times, he couldn't wait to be alone with her.
She leaned over the table and gave him a seductive smile. 'Shall we go to the bar to enjoy a private conversation?'
'Sorry, but no, Ginny.'
She blinked. What?
He gave her a small smile. 'I'm sorry, Ginny. I'd love to talk to you, but I'm completely knackered. I have to be up early to make a call to headquarters in London, and after that I have another important appointment before I'll have to catch my plane tomorrow. Another time, maybe.'
He got up, took her hand and gave her a formal kiss on the knuckles. 'Excuse me, Ginny, but I really have to go. It was nice talking to you.'
With that he turned around and left the restaurant.
She stared after him. How did he dare? Oh well, he'd been tired and stressed. Soon he'd be used to the demands of his new job, and then he'd be more relaxed. He'd talked about quarterly meetings he had to attend, so all she had to do was find out when he'd be in New York the next time and arrange to run into him by accident. She had become quite apt in this kind of information gathering over the last five years.
Also, he hadn't talked about his wife, just the contrary, he had avoided that topic like Dragon Pox. If that wasn't a sure sign that his marriage was catastrophic, she'd eat her new Nimbus 3001 from a silver plate without sauce. Harry had always avoided to talk about the bad things in his life. Oh yes, he was more than ready to break out of his unhappy marriage, but she knew Harry, it would be a damn hard piece of work to make him realise that.
She got up from the table and went to her room.
'Good evening, Ginny. How was the reception?'
She startled. She hadn't expected him to be in her room tonight. A genuine smile appeared on her face, and she rushed over to him to kiss him.
'No success yet,' she said, and sat down in his lap. 'I got distracted, but in a good way.'
His brows rose up. 'Explain, love.'
She didn't look at him, and her hand played with the lapel of his robes. 'I met Harry at the cocktail party. We had dinner together.'
He stiffened and didn't answer at once.
'I think he's miserable, and probably more than ready to leave Greengrass, though it will take some work to get him there. He'll be in New York regularly from now on. I think that's a chance I shouldn't pass.'
He still didn't answer.
'Don't you agree?' She raised her eyes at him.
He had his lips pressed in a hard, thin line.
She suppressed a sigh. She should have known that; Harry had always been a sensitive topic between them.
He put his arms around her and pulled her close. 'I've been thinking, love. You've made a lot of gold during the last five years, and so have I. We are both at the top of our professions, and most likely we can make a huge fortune before another five years are out. Don't you think it's time to quit our plan, get married and start the family we dreamt of? We have more than enough gold to last us a lifetime.' He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck.
The muscles in her neck tensed. How could he think of suggesting this right now, when she had the first chance in years to get back at Harry? He knew what the Golden Git had done to her, and he had been there when she swore revenge. Harry owed her, and he knew it. He couldn't expect her to step back and become his meek Pureblood wife, just because he thought the time was right.
His ministrations became more pronounced. His hands wandered across her body in a way that never failed to make her weak in the knees.
She grinded her teeth. That was low, she wouldn't allow him to seduce her to get his way with her. She shrugged him off and slid from his lap. 'Sorry, love, but I have a headache.'
He also got up. A strange expression flickered across his face. Was it anger? Impossible, he had too much self-control for that.
She stepped towards him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. 'See you tomorrow, love.'
He didn't look at her. 'Yeah, see you then.'
t.b.c.
