Apparating into an alleyway near Trafalgar Square was easy, Ginny
discovered. Finding a cab, now that was a challenge. However, she
eventually managed to get one to take her to the bar Percy had told her
about.
The bar was located in an unimposing brick building that might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for the large neon sign over the doorway.
"Are you sure you've got the right address luv?" the cabbie asked her as he drew up outside.
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"Well, that's a gay bar, men only, you know? And I can't help but notice that you're a girl," the driver continued.
"I'm looking for a job," she replied. "I know the owner. Sort of."
She watched the cab drive off and then turned and walked towards the club, trying to look a lot more confident than she actually felt. She tried the door and found that it wasn't locked. Opening it she entered the dark bar and looked around.
"Hello, is there anybody here?" she called.
"Whatever it is you're selling, I don't want any," came a voice from a room behind the bar.
"I'm not selling anything," Ginny said.
"Well what do you want then?" The owner of the voice appeared in the doorway. Ginny guessed that the man was in his mid-thirties. He was taller than her, but not by much and his hair was a dirty blond colour. He was wiping his hands on some kind of dishcloth as he leant against the doorframe waiting for her answer.
"I'm looking for … umm, hang on a minute," she said pulling the scrap of paper Percy had given her from her pocket. "Michael O'Brien?"
"You've found him, lass," the man said. "What was it you wanted?"
"My brother gave me your name. He said you might be able to help me His names Bill, Bill Weasley."
"You're Bill's young sister? You're older than I would have thought, but now you mention it I can see a certain family resemblance," Michael said, his face breaking into a huge grin. "Come here, sit down, let me get you a drink, tell me what I can do for you." He waved her over and indicated one of the bar stools. "Do you want a Coke or are you old enough for something a little stronger?"
"I'm 18," she said. "But Coke will be fine thanks."
Michael sat down on a stool next to her and looked at her more carefully, noting her worn clothing and tangled hair and the shadows under her eyes.
"Don't take this the wrong way, hon, but you look like you've seen better days."
"Yeah, um, this is really difficult, Mr. O'Brien. My brother gave us your name but he didn't say whether he told you anything about us or why we might need your help," Ginny said, praying that he at least knew something about the magical world or there was a good chance he was going to think she was nuts.
"My name's Mike or Michael, honey. I hear Mr. O'Brien and I start looking around for my father. I know Bill's a wizard if that's what you mean and I assume you are too. He said something about a war brewing but I don't know any details. He and I had better things to do than discuss politics, if you catch my drift," Mike said with a wink.
"Oh," Ginny said blushing. "You mean you and he were … He didn't tell us that."
"In my experience guys very rarely discuss their love lives with their kid sisters," Mike laughed. "But I thought you should know. I'm only telling you so you don't think that I'm keeping any secrets from you. You look like you could use a friend and I want you to feel you can trust me."
"Did he tell you anything about You-Know, I mean Voldemort?" she asked.
"Is he the Darth Vader type with the snake fixation?"
Ginny choked on her drink. "Well I've never heard it described like that before but yeah, I guess you could call him that. He's a very powerful Dark Wizard, who hates muggles and muggle-born wizards. We've been fighting him more or less for my whole life but a couple of months ago he destroyed the Ministry of Magic, blew up Hogwarts and took over. The good guys, that's us," she added with a small smile. "The good guys are all in hiding, trying to organise some kind of resistance. He's hunting me for reasons that are too complicated to go into right now and my brothers want me to hide in the muggle world for a while. I've got very little money, nowhere to live, no job, and you're the only person I know in muggle London."
"Well, you are in trouble, aren't you?" Mike said. "I assume you can't risk using your magic for anything if you're in hiding. What about your name, are you going to change that? Because if so you're going to need some fake identification papers."
"We don't know whether Voldemort can detect magic or not but it's probably safer to assume that he can. Yes I need to change my name, but I don't know to what, and do I really need identification papers?"
"You're going to need some kind of proof of identity if you want to find somewhere to live and you'll need a national insurance number in order to get a job," Mike said. "Look, don't worry, we'll sort something out. There's a flat over the bar you can have and once we've got your papers sorted out you can work here. I always need new bar staff and I doubt you've got the type of qualifications most employers are looking for anyway. Being able to turn someone into a frog's not generally seen as useful experience in our world."
The bar was located in an unimposing brick building that might have gone unnoticed if it hadn't been for the large neon sign over the doorway.
"Are you sure you've got the right address luv?" the cabbie asked her as he drew up outside.
"Yes, why?" she asked.
"Well, that's a gay bar, men only, you know? And I can't help but notice that you're a girl," the driver continued.
"I'm looking for a job," she replied. "I know the owner. Sort of."
She watched the cab drive off and then turned and walked towards the club, trying to look a lot more confident than she actually felt. She tried the door and found that it wasn't locked. Opening it she entered the dark bar and looked around.
"Hello, is there anybody here?" she called.
"Whatever it is you're selling, I don't want any," came a voice from a room behind the bar.
"I'm not selling anything," Ginny said.
"Well what do you want then?" The owner of the voice appeared in the doorway. Ginny guessed that the man was in his mid-thirties. He was taller than her, but not by much and his hair was a dirty blond colour. He was wiping his hands on some kind of dishcloth as he leant against the doorframe waiting for her answer.
"I'm looking for … umm, hang on a minute," she said pulling the scrap of paper Percy had given her from her pocket. "Michael O'Brien?"
"You've found him, lass," the man said. "What was it you wanted?"
"My brother gave me your name. He said you might be able to help me His names Bill, Bill Weasley."
"You're Bill's young sister? You're older than I would have thought, but now you mention it I can see a certain family resemblance," Michael said, his face breaking into a huge grin. "Come here, sit down, let me get you a drink, tell me what I can do for you." He waved her over and indicated one of the bar stools. "Do you want a Coke or are you old enough for something a little stronger?"
"I'm 18," she said. "But Coke will be fine thanks."
Michael sat down on a stool next to her and looked at her more carefully, noting her worn clothing and tangled hair and the shadows under her eyes.
"Don't take this the wrong way, hon, but you look like you've seen better days."
"Yeah, um, this is really difficult, Mr. O'Brien. My brother gave us your name but he didn't say whether he told you anything about us or why we might need your help," Ginny said, praying that he at least knew something about the magical world or there was a good chance he was going to think she was nuts.
"My name's Mike or Michael, honey. I hear Mr. O'Brien and I start looking around for my father. I know Bill's a wizard if that's what you mean and I assume you are too. He said something about a war brewing but I don't know any details. He and I had better things to do than discuss politics, if you catch my drift," Mike said with a wink.
"Oh," Ginny said blushing. "You mean you and he were … He didn't tell us that."
"In my experience guys very rarely discuss their love lives with their kid sisters," Mike laughed. "But I thought you should know. I'm only telling you so you don't think that I'm keeping any secrets from you. You look like you could use a friend and I want you to feel you can trust me."
"Did he tell you anything about You-Know, I mean Voldemort?" she asked.
"Is he the Darth Vader type with the snake fixation?"
Ginny choked on her drink. "Well I've never heard it described like that before but yeah, I guess you could call him that. He's a very powerful Dark Wizard, who hates muggles and muggle-born wizards. We've been fighting him more or less for my whole life but a couple of months ago he destroyed the Ministry of Magic, blew up Hogwarts and took over. The good guys, that's us," she added with a small smile. "The good guys are all in hiding, trying to organise some kind of resistance. He's hunting me for reasons that are too complicated to go into right now and my brothers want me to hide in the muggle world for a while. I've got very little money, nowhere to live, no job, and you're the only person I know in muggle London."
"Well, you are in trouble, aren't you?" Mike said. "I assume you can't risk using your magic for anything if you're in hiding. What about your name, are you going to change that? Because if so you're going to need some fake identification papers."
"We don't know whether Voldemort can detect magic or not but it's probably safer to assume that he can. Yes I need to change my name, but I don't know to what, and do I really need identification papers?"
"You're going to need some kind of proof of identity if you want to find somewhere to live and you'll need a national insurance number in order to get a job," Mike said. "Look, don't worry, we'll sort something out. There's a flat over the bar you can have and once we've got your papers sorted out you can work here. I always need new bar staff and I doubt you've got the type of qualifications most employers are looking for anyway. Being able to turn someone into a frog's not generally seen as useful experience in our world."