They walked out of the Ministry together, going down the street to a diner a lot of wizards who were more comfortable with Muggles patronized. The staff had long since grown immune to their odd patrons, taking little notice of their brightly colored suits and pretending not to overhear what they thought was gibberish.

"Our type should really stop coming here," Harry said as they slid into a booth. Just walking in, they had already come across three tables of other wizards, and Harry had to raise an eyebrow at one man who was openly stacking Sickles into little towers around his plate of meatloaf. "We're all going to get found out with idiots like Aubrey hanging out here."

"Not with idiots like Aubrey Confunding the Muggles every day," Ginny said, pointing back over Harry's shoulder to where the man had his hand in the inner pocket of his jacket, muttering under his breath. Harry turned to look and then shook his head, trying not to smile.

"I should stop him."

"You should."

"I'm not going to."

"I know."

They ordered from a waitress who seemed quite glad to be speaking to two people who didn't jump when the telephone behind the counter rang, and while they waited for their food they talked about his birthday party, which she apologized for missing, and about Hermione, who was almost ready to give birth to her and Ron's first child, and seemed to be realizing, to her horror, that no amount of reading might prepare her completely for such an event.

"I left her with Teddy for about two hours the other day, and when I returned he was ecstatically bouncing off the walls and she was almost in tears. She told me he wouldn't stop fussing with old Crookshanks and she was terrified he would eventually pounce and tear Teddy to bits."

"Crookshanks just lays there anymore. He wouldn't have the energy to hurt anyone."

"That's what I told her while engaged in what felt like the world's longest hug."

Ginny laughed imaging the scene, with Teddy clutching at a limp Crookshanks as Hermione wept into Harry's shirt, and when she looked back to Harry, she found him gazing at her with a look she recognized; the look he gave across crowded rooms after they had broken up. She sobered up quickly as the waitress set down their plates, remembering her mission, and as she focused down on her meal, Harry cleared his throat, clearly coming back to himself as well.

"The box I brought to your office," she began, using a tone reserved for work, "was brought to me by Draco Malfoy, in hopes that I would be able to help him."

"Malfoy?" Harry asked. "He approached you for help?"

"Well, he needed to get to you, and I guess he figured this was the best way." Ginny was trying to distance herself as much as possible from the narrative. "You two aren't exactly bosom friends, are you? Even after all this time."

Harry murmured agreement, and she went on.

"You must know his mother is very sick, and apparently it was caused by a curse left on this artifact. His father never told anyone about it, instead letting everyone believe it was a mystery illness. But Draco wants answers. He wants help from the Ministry."

"So Draco isn't so fond of Father anymore, is he? Guess Lucius really doesn't have a friend left."

Ginny made a little noncommittal noise to that, desperate to turn the conversation away from Lucius's personal life.

"He wants his mother back," she said firmly. "I don't know his feelings other than that."

"Could be tricky," Harry said, staring into space and absentmindedly picking up the lettuce leaf garnish on his plate to chew on. "We'd definitely have to bring old Lucius in for more inquiries, and you know as well as I that we had promised to clear him for good the last time he was in. And curses, that's touchy stuff these days. No one wants to admit anything is cursed anymore."

"Which is stupid," Ginny interrupted.

"I know how you feel, Gin, and you know I and most of our friends agree with you. But not everyone has been so personally affected by that kind of thing."

"Funny you should mention personal effects. The artifact in question is in fact Tom Riddle's diary, cursed by Voldemort himself however many years ago."

Harry's face drained of color, and Ginny wanted to snap at him over it. Everyone was still so touchy about the whole diary incident, but none of them could address it head first. And where had this fear left her, and Narcissa?

"Merlin, Ginny. And Malfoy asked you to bring it in? What the hell is wrong with him?"

"I think he was right to," she countered, starting to fish in her wallet for money to pay. "Because I may be the only one who takes it seriously, and I want it done with. So I'll thank you to get started on the case, and maybe we can help Narcissa Malfoy live as long as she deserves. I know you're fond of her, and she's Teddy's great-aunt for God's sakes. So just do what's right."

Her speech and apparent motion to leave subdued him, and he reached out to snatch the bill away from her.

"You're right," he said hastily. "You're absolutely right. I'll do everything I can. And we'll destroy the diary as soon as we're done looking over it."

"Good," she sniffed, still haughty but making no protest over him paying. "Thank you. You should send a note to Draco, and tell him you've agreed. He'll want to tell you everything he knows about it. And whatever you do, don't touch the diary. Don't even let anyone open the box until you've been very clear with them about that."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and she softened a bit.

"Let's go back to the office, then" she said, and they walked out together, drawing stares from people who thought they would never see the pair together again.


Halfway back to the Ministry, Harry stopped dead in his tracks.

"I've forgotten Teddy," he said, a look of horror crossing his face.

"What do you mean forgotten him?" Ginny asked, starting to be aware of the time. Her lunch break would soon be over. "We never had him."

"No, at school I mean. He goes in the morning and then I pick him up at lunchtime and pawn him off on someone else until work's done."

"Well go get him then."

"Will you come?" he was pleading, eyes alight with the hope of a whole day spent together. "Andromeda's back today, and I'm taking him home. They'd both love to see you."

Ginny nearly slipped and told him that she'd just seen Andromeda a few days ago, but shut her mouth quickly as she took another step back towards the Ministry.

"I shouldn't skive off, Harry. I've missed so much the past little while."

But he wasn't going to take no for answer.

"You're such a goody two-shoes these days," he said, and to her horror he grabbed her hand. "But let me tell you a secret: you and I don't have to do anything we don't want. Not where the Ministry is concerned."

"What a bratty thing to say," she replied, even as her hand began to relax in his. She thought longingly of Teddy's sweet chatter, and how nice it was to walk around with him and see the world a different way. Harry was pulling her back down the street, away from work and her desk and all the many different things that needed filing.

"You know I wouldn't normally play the system this way," he said. "But I don't think it would kill us to have some fun."

A thought crossed her mind; she could picture herself in Andromeda's neat little kitchen, having a cold drink as she learned what had happened at the Manor once she had gone.

Lucius is lost without you, beating himself up terribly. Even Narcissa's begun to notice. He wishes he had done it all differently... she imagined Andromeda whispering as Harry played with Teddy, and that hateful little creature inside of her raised its head with hope.

It was appealing, and certainly worth the journey.

"No," she said, following him more readily. "I suppose it wouldn't kill us."


I know some people may be worried about lack of Lucius, but you can trust me of all people not to leave him alone (or away from Ginny) for too long. Promise. But if you're absolutely starved for our most fickle friend, you should definitely check out all of my other works, particularly Shifting which is a nice oneshot I posted recently, or Cosmic Love, which is my personal favorite of all!

And yes, I named the random wizard breaking the International Statute of Secrecy after Drake.