Author's Note:
Sorry about the delay. I really meant to post this chapter but I JUST got around to typing it. Here's Chapter One. It's set five years after the first posting. Ron's about 25 and Ginny's around 24. All my love goes out to my fantastic reviewers!
Chapter One ----- Unexpected Assignments and a New Partner?
Ron Weasley groaned at the stack of paperwork on his desk. Normally his partner Agent Amelia Connors would deal with documenting their missions, but Agent Connors is now "beyond the veil" after their last mission.
He pulled up the first page of the complicated Lestrange File and began filling everything out about the case and Agent Connors's death. It was a horrible boring mess, and he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander to who his new partner might be. His head of department, Harry Potter (yes, the Harry Potter- The boy who lived, Auror Extraordinaire, Ron's best friend and etc.) had yet to contact him about it. Though he did hint that Ron might be getting a huge overseas case.
Ron shook his head and started back on the Lestrange File.
2 Hours of Paperwork Later
He had just finished writing about Agent Connors death by beheading when his office door flew open. He looked up to see his little sister Ginny Weasley bound through the door and plunk down behind Agent Connors's desk.
"Hello Ronnie Dear!" She chirped putting her feet up on the desk.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, slightly annoyed by her smirk and for calling him Ronnie.
"Ron! I see you've met your new partner!" Harry's voice came from the doorway. "Agent Weasley, meet Agent Weasley."
Ginny beamed at Harry and Ron gaped like a fish out of water.
"A pleasure Agent Weasley." She said in mock seriousness. "I look forward to working with you."
She burst out laughing. Ron glared.
"Calm yourself Gin." He said icily, still glaring at the giggling woman before him. She stopped immediately.
"Alright." Said Harry smiling at Ginny. "In this folder, you will find your newest case. Agent Weasley…"
Ginny interrupted him. "Look Harry, drop the Agent Weasley stuff okay?"
"We have received word of a lose ex-death eater. We aren't completely positive of his identity as of right now, this death eater is breaking into muggle childcare facilities and murdering the children by the dozens." Harry paused, solemnly as Ginny's audible gasp echoed throughout the office. "Our intelligence services claim that he's searching for a certain child. We have reason to believe that the child's mother is a witch and we must find them before we can stop this maniac!"
Ron leaned back in his chair calmly taking notes as Harry continued.
"We have been able to target where we believe the next target is. The child, following the pattern would be around five or six years old. We will place some of our best aurors around the local schools. You will be stationed at St. Catherine's Primary School."
"Where's that?" Ron cut in quietly.
"Sacramento, California, in the United States." Harry responded.
"How will we get access to the school to find the child?" Ginny asked.
"I've already taken care of that." Harry answered. "Virginia, you will become Ms. White, the new Kindergarten teacher at Saint Catherine's. Ron, you'll be acting as her researcher and protection, in case…"
Harry looked down embarrassed. Ron just groaned inwardly. Thinking of all of the new paperwork he'd have to do in America.
"Everything else is here in the file." Harry smiled faintly then turned to Ginny, winking. "Don't worry, I'll be checking up on you, a lot."
"When do we leave?" Ron asked trying to ignore his sister's blush.
"Tomorrow morning." Harry answered lightly. "I've given you both the rest of the day off to prepare."
He turned to leave but stopped halfway to the door. "Oh! And Ginny, I've made the reservations for seven tonight at the Foxworth Inn. It's black tie."
And with that he left, shutting the door behind him.
"What was that about?" Ron asked, trying not to sound interested.
"You heard him." Ginny raised her chin in defiance. "He's taking me out for dinner tonight. He also would like you to come." She smiled uncertainly. "He met up with a pretty girl from Hogwarts and she's interested in a reunion with a certain tall, handsome red-headed auror."
"No." Ron said firmly. "I am NOT going."
He picked up the new file and crammed it into his bag.
"Please Ron." Ginny begged. "It'd be good for you to get out again."
He crammed the Lestrange files into the bag, ignoring her.
"Ron! It's not healthy to totally avoid human interaction this long." She snapped. "Mum said…"
"So now you're talking about me, huh?" Ron roared, flinging his bag onto the desk, unsettling the picture frame propped on the edge. It fell with a crash, the glass shattering. Before Ron had the chance to move, Ginny had snatched it up with her seeker's reflexes.
She looked closely at the photograph of a young woman with frizzy brown hair and warm cinnamon eyes. She was dressed in a graduation robe, holding her Hogwarts diploma. Ginny looked up at her brother, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.
"Oh, Ron!" She sighed.
"Don't." Ron ordered voice low and dangerous. "Just give it back."
She handed the picture over to him, and he shoved it into his bag.
"We're just so worried about you." Ginny started again. Ron continued shoving papers into the sack, and began humming an old Weird Sister's tune. "Oh My God Ron!" She snapped forcing him to look down at her. "It's been nearly six years! Stop doing this to yourself and come to dinner!"
He looked down to the floor.
"I'll floo over at six to make sure that you are ready." She continued, looking remarkably like her mother.
And with that, Ginny Weasley picked up her briefcase and skipped out into the corridor. Ron scowled at the door and growling, hurled a large carriage clock from his desk against the wall and watched it shatter. Then he stormed from the office, muttering, "REPAIRO!" over his shoulder. Once he was out of the building, Ron Weasley disapperated with a POP.
Ron woke up on his couch several hours later with his sister repeatedly poking him, screeching, "If you don't get your lazy ass off this couch we'll be late for dinner!"
He sat up, took a good long look at her outfit and hairstyle before saying, "with hair like that, you could pass for Snape in a dress." Ginny slapped him before ordering him off to take a shower.
By the time he had finished showering and was dressed, Ginny had let her hair down and removed the gel from it. She was fixing up her makeup when she caught sight of her brother in the doorway.
"Ron." She whined, exasperated. "Ron. You can't wear that!"
Ron stopped, offended. Granted his dress robes were second hand (the one's Fred and George had given him when he was fifteen) at least they weren't maroon and lacy.
"Ron…You can't wear those." Ginny groaned in frustration.
"Why Not?" Ron asked, personally, he liked the color.
"Because the Foxworth Inn is a MUGGLE place!" Ginny started. "You have to wear a suit and tie, MUGGLE clothes!"
Ginny grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him into his bedroom, throw open the closet and begin pulling things out like a madwoman.
"Why do I have to go?" Ron asked her, a whine lacing his voice. "Why?"
"Because I told Harry, whom told Eloise that you'd be there." Ginny rambled. "AHA! Here it is!"
"Eloise Midgen?" Ron choked out. "You're trying to set me up with a Hufflepuff?"
"She's quite nice. And what's wrong with Hufflepuff?" Ginny said, holding out the suit Ron had worn to Charlie and Mary's wedding. "Put that on."
He looked at her pointedly and she glared back. "Ronald Weasley! If you don't put that suit on this instant…"
"I will", Ron said, fighting back the urge to laugh. "When you leave me to change."
"Oh!" Ginny blushed. "Sorry Ron."
As soon as she left, Ron frowned down at the suit. It was boring ad black. The shirt his sister had picked out was plain white. He pulled out his wand and quietly muttered a spell over the clothes. When he was satisfied, he pulled on the suit.
He heard a loud POP from the kitchen that indicated Harry's arrival. Taking a last look in the mirror (who whistled approvingly at him) he strode out into the kitchen.
The sight of his sister and boss/best friend in a fervent lip lock did nothing to improve his attitude about tonight's outing. He cleared his throat loudly.
"Ron!" Ginny chirped. "Eloise will meet us at the Inn."
Harry smiled as Ginny wiped the bright red lipstick off his face (spit wash of course). "Gets more like your mum everyday." He chuckled.
She stuck her tongue out at Harry and punched him playfully.
"We should get going." She said, checking the clock above the stove, that was seconds away from pointing to, YOU'RE LATE.
With three loud POP's they disapperated.
They arrived outside a large brick building with a sign that read: Foxworth Inn- Elegant Dining/ Catering/ Cocktails.
"Ready?" Harry asked, lacing Ginny's arm through his.
"NO!" Ron answered doing a quick one-eighty and attempting to walk away. He didn't get very far before he collided with something quite solid and knocked it backwards.
"Watch it!" The something, who was actually a someone, snapped irritably.
"Sorry," Ron muttered extending a hand to the person on the ground.
"Well! I should say so…" the person, who happened to be a woman, said indignantly then, she looked up at him. "Ron! Ron Weasley?" She shrieked before pulling him into an enthusiastic hug.
Ron just stared at this odd woman. She was shorter than him by a head. (Not like his Mione whose hair tickled his chin when he held her). She had straight, shoulder length blonde hair (Not like Hermione's whose was long, curly and a few shades lighter than the milk chocolate frogs she'd "scold him" for eating because they'd rot your teeth.) When she pulled back, he saw her eyes, nearly the same shade as Hermione's (but they didn't hold the Hermione Granger Twinkle). Overall, she was a beautiful woman and the red gown she wore perfectly accented her curves. (But personally he preferred brunettes that looked like, acted like and were Hermione Granger).
"Elle!" Ginny squealed, running to hug the blonde. "You look so great!"
Ginny glared at Ron who was gaping like a fish.
"I see you've met the git." Ginny stated.
"Git? I don't see a git? Just a charming man."
"Hey guys, we should get going now." Harry said from behind them.
Ginny again laced her arm through Harry's and Eloise looked pointedly at Ron who sighed to himself before leading her into the restaurant.
They were led to a grand dining room full of happy, chattering people dressed in ridiculously rich clothes.
Their table was luckily away from the chatter of the middle but far off in a corner. Ginny and Harry were immediately engaged in conversation, leaving Ron and Eloise to their own.
"So." Eloise started with a grin. "Is that how you always meet women? Knocking them off their feet?"
"I don't really get out that often." Ron muttered disinterestedly.
"Well then…what exactly do you do in the auror wing?" She tried again. "Harry mentioned something about the Lestrange case."
"Business."Ron thought, "I can handle this."
"I go undercover to investigate certain individuals. Take the Lestrange case, now that you brought it up, I went under as a home interior decorator to get Anthony Lestrange locked up like his mother. He became quite smitten with Amelia, however and…" He broke off at her yawn. "Well, what do you do?"
"Oh Sorry!" she apologized. "I model for Witch Weekly's fashion column. Recently I did a number for Calendar Girl. Do you get that? No, you don't appear the type. But its okay." This time it was he that stifled the yawn.
After a few more stabs at conversation, Ron was once again beginning to wonder why he had let Ginny talk him into this. The food was way overrated, as well as the company, with Hermione he could just listen to her talk for hours. With Eloise, it was like sitting through another one of Binns's classes at Hogwarts. Ginny and Harry were engaged in songfest 2000 and Eloise was conversing with an elderly woman (who, Ron noted looked suspiciously like Mundungus Fletcher).
"You know," he said aloud. "I think I need some air."
As he stood to leave, Eloise said, "You know, I think I'll come too."
Ron shrugged, threw some muggle money down on the table and walked out the door and into the cool night air. Eloise behind him. They walked in silence, she a step behind until they reached the Foxworth Rose Gardens.
Ron stopped, staring blankly at the roses. Eloise sighed.
"They're quite lovely, aren't they?" She asked.
"Yeah," He said in complete reference to the flowers. "They're nice."
"Ginny told me." She said softly, putting a slim hand on his arm. "She told me all about Hermione."
"My sister should learn to keep her mouth shut." Ron growled, shrugging her comforting hand away.
"That's what I said about Dennis." She said with a small smile. "He roped me into coming tonight."
"Dennis?" Ron asked curiously.
"Dennis Creevey." She said weakly. "Collin was my fiancé. He was the photographer for Witch Weekly, up until about a year ago."
There was silence, broken only by the chirping of crickets. Ron just stared off at the sky as Eloise wiped away her tears.
"What happened?" Ron whispered gently, looking at her for the first time since they entered the garden.
"He was killed." She said quietly. "A muggle motorbike accident."
They sat in silence a while longer.
"They were her favorite." Ron whispered, gazing into a bush of beautiful violet roses. "I miss her so much."
"I miss Colin all the time." She sniffled.
"Its eleven o'clock. We should be going." Ron said softly.
"Yes." She nodded. "It was nice to see you again Ron."
"Yeah, you too." He said turning to leave.
Eloise suddenly spoke, "I don't think I'm ready for this whole meet new people thing. It's just…"
"Too soon." Ron finished for her. "I understand. It's the same for me."
"Well, bye." And with a final stunning smile, she disapperated.
Ron stared blankly at the purple roses again. Then, nodded as though he had finally decided something, and with a gentle tug, he plucked a flower from the bush and disapperated, rose in hand.
Author's note:
Hey! I'm back at last. Summertime means fiction time. I cross my heart that I will update soon! Read and Review please!
Now for a note to my reviewers:
Thank you soo much and I hope you come back for more!
Martino, Ms. Sawyer, GinnyROxMysox, Britania, LadyMcbeth, FreakyFaerie, Ginger Twist, Twist, strayct, Ely-baby, ER, SlapMeSilly, Topaz Waters, desiqueen, Melissa Adams (special thanks to you!) and Andromeda Black (thanks for getting me back on track with this story). Thanks so much.
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Love,
Vanilla Twist