Ginny was sitting in the kitchen enjoying her morning cup of tea and eating her breakfast. Harry had left for the office only minutes ago. Today was a strength training day so she would be going to the auror's gym about mid-morning for her work out and to have lunch with Harry. Andromeda was in the sitting room reading the Daily Prophet and Teddy was still asleep.
As Ginny put her dirty dishes in the sink, she heard a tapping on the window. She turned to see a large owl with a letter tied to its leg. She opened the window to let the owl in. It hopped to the windowsill and stuck out its leg. Once Ginny took the letter the owl flew off. Ginny unrolled the letter and read it. It said:
Abagail's back from her holiday. Tom's interviewing her at 9:30. He said we could witness it. Come to the office for 9:00.
Love,
Harry
Ginny's heart started racing as she read the letter over a second time. Several thoughts started running through Ginny's mind at once, 'She's back from holiday? Could this finally be over after today? Could we get back to our normal life?'
Ginny checked the time and saw it was just about 8:30. There was just enough time to get ready. As she left the kitchen and headed for the stairs, Ginny called, "Andie, I'm leaving early for the ministry. I have to meet Harry for 9:00."
After Ginny heard Andromeda's reply, she picked up her pace and ran up the stairs in no time. Ginny grabbed a pair of jeans and settled on a simple top before she took a quick shower. After her shower and a quick drying spell on her hair, she hastily tied it back into a ponytail. Ginny threw her gym clothes into a bag before heading back downstairs. As Ginny walked out to the back garden to the apparition point by the broom shed, her heart was pounding in her chest and she had a mixture of fear and elation. Ginny wasn't sure if she wanted to her what Abagail had to say. It truly scared her to think somebody who's been her teammate for the past two seasons would do this. At the same time there was a slight feeling of relief that all this could be over today. When she arrived at the Ministry, Harry was there waiting for her in the atrium.
Harry greeted her with a hug and a quick kiss. As he took Ginny's bag, he said, "Tom's bending some rules for us, so we need to keep this quiet." Ginny nodded in understanding.
According to Ministry protocol, Ginny and Harry couldn't be involved in any sort of way with the investigation. Robards had already turned a blind eye to the fact that Tom had let Harry read the interview transcripts and notes from the interviews with Ginny's teammates. Robards wouldn't say anything unless word got out of the department. If word got around the Ministry that Harry was involved, Robards would have no choice but to suspend him and pending a hearing, he would have to fire Harry. Tom would face the same outcome if it were found out that he passed the information to Harry. They were both confident that nobody would let word slip. People who worked for the Auror Department had a lot of respect for both Harry and Tom.
As they walked to the Auror Department Harry explained, "We're not going to be sitting in the interview room. We'll be sitting in the room next to it."
Ginny seemed a little confused. She asked, "How are we supposed to witness anything if we're not in the same room?"
Harry explained, "The room we'll be in has a magic panel. We'll be able to see and hear everything, but they won't be able to see us."
Ginny nodded in understanding and then asked, "If Tom isn't interviewing Abagail until 9:30, why did you have me show up for 9:00?"
Harry smiled, "I wanted to make sure we would get in the observation room without being noticed."
Harry led Ginny down a hall towards the interview rooms. Harry stopped at a spot in the hall, halfway between two doors. He waved his wand and a door appeared. Harry opened the door and motioned Ginny inside. Harry closed the door behind them and waved his wand again then tapped the doorknob.
Harry smiled and said, "Now, nobody can see the door from the outside and if they cast the spell to reveal it, I magically locked the door. No one can get in unless I let them."
Ginny gave Harry a weak smile. Harry asked, "You ok?"
Ginny replied, "I guess. I'm just nervous."
Harry wrapped Ginny in his arms, "I know you are. You and Abagail aren't exactly friends but the last thing you want to Tom going at her like every other witch or wizard of interest. I asked Tom to go easy on her."
Ginny looked up into Harry eyes with tears welling up in her own, "Will he? I mean, if she has nothing to do with this, I don't things to get any worse between us."
Harry smiled and replied, "Tom said he would try it my way first but if she resists, he'll try other tactics." Ginny visibly shuddered to think of what the other tactics were. Harry just hugged her tighter and said, "He knows how hard to push people. He's exceptionally good at what he does." Then with a roughish smiled Harry said, "Plus, he knows that if he crosses the line, I'll burst into the room on him."
Ginny chuckled. She now knew everything was going to fine. Ginny knew that Harry would make it right. Tom was running the investigation and his team, Harry's old team, was the best. She looked into Harry's eyes, "I know that you will make this right and I know as long as I'm with you, I'll be safe. I love you."
Harry smiled, "I love you too. It's going to be fine. We'll get to the bottom of this." Ginny smiled and just hugged Harry tight and kissed him passionately.
Harry broke the embrace when Tom and Abagail entered the interview room. The interview room was a small, plain room with a table and two chairs facing each other.
Ginny whispered, "Are you sure they can't see us?"
Harry nodded, "That can't see us or hear us. There's strong permanent silencing charms around this room too."
Tom motioned for Abigail to sit in the chair that was facing the magic panel while he sat with his back to it. Ginny could see the confusion on Abagail's face.
"For the record, you're Abagail Cook, second string chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, married to Steven Cook, correct?"
"Yes, I am. What's this all about anyway? All I was told was to come to the Auror's Office at 9:15 this morning."
"I'll get to that. I just have a to ask a couple of questions first, all for the record. Your birthdate is July 27th, 1985? You've been playing with the Holyhead Harpies for two years? You're teammates with Mrs. Ginevra Potter?"
"All that is correct."
"Do you have an auto-quill?"
"Yes, most of the team does. Sometimes we have to sign a lot of merchandise and souvenirs. You know like photos and posters and stuff. Makes that part of the job easier if you have one of them. What does all this have to do with why I'm here?"
"Like I said, I'll get to that. You and Mrs. Potter aren't exactly friends, are you? One might even say you're jealous of her. You even tried to flirt with Mr. Potter at this year's Harpies Gala."
"You're right. I wouldn't say we're friends, just teammates. As far as being jealous of her, you show me a witch who isn't jealous of Ginny Potter."
"What do you mean?"
"Do I really have to spell it out? Well, I guess I do. Just look at her. She's drop-dead gorgeous and she doesn't even try at it. I bet she rolls out of bed in the morning looking perfect. That body, the poise, that hair. She could have been a model. Now let's talk about her husband. She's married to the Harry Potter. What witch wouldn't want to be on his arm. He was the most sought-after bachelor in Britain until he married her. You work with him, need I say more about that? Back to her. She's the star chaser on the team and one of the best players in quidditch today. Most witches would kill to be in her position. Not to mention, everybody likes her. Sure, I'm jealous, my life's in the toilet right now."
"How so?"
"I caught my husband in bed with a muggle neighbor and my game has gone down the tubes. My contract is up at the end of next season and if I'm not traded this coming season, I don't really see the Harpies resigning me."
"What about the flirting with Mr. Potter?"
"Not my finest hour, I tell you. I showed up to the Gala early and hit up the open bar first. I was feeling sorry for myself. My marriage is just about over. My game is shit. My life is just one big bag of crap. And then Miss Perfect walks in looking gorgeous as always with Harry on his leash. I was well on my way to being drunk by this time. I know Harry only has eyes for Ginny. Have you ever seen the way he looks at her? He would never go for someone like me. Not when he has her. I just wanted to get under her skin a little, you know. She's so perfect, all the time. I wanted to see a bit of that 'famous' Ginny Potter temper off the pitch. In true Potter fashion though, she had a witty comeback to my little jab, and everybody laughed at me. What does any of this have to do with why I'm here?"
Tom then reached into his jacket. In his hand he held up the note that Ginny found in her locker. He slid it across the table to her. "Do you recognize this?"
Abagail opened the note and dropped on the table quickly after she read it with a look of horror all over her face. "I have nothing to do with that. I would never do that. Me and Ginny may not be friends, but I wouldn't' do something like that to her."
"You didn't write it then? You've never seen this note before?"
"No, I didn't write it and I've never seen it. You can give me veritaserum. Hell, you can even have my memories. I don't know anything about that!"
"I believe you. Do you know who might have?"
"I don't know. No, wait a second. There was this fan."
Harry glanced at Ginny. Her face went pale. All the fans loved her, or at least she thought they did. Sure, opposing teams' fans didn't cheer for her, but they didn't boo her either. Harry put his arm around Ginny's shoulders and pulled her into him. Her mind raced as she tried to remember all the fans she'd met this past season, but nobody stuck out. Nobody came across as somebody who would hurt her. Even the men who tried to flirt with her were basically harmless.
"What fan?"
"I made a public appearance just before the Championship Match at a pub in Diagon Alley. There was one guy who really didn't like Ginny and I mean he really didn't like her."
"What do you mean?"
"He kept telling me that she wasn't as good as everybody thought she was. He said that Harry bought her way onto the team and she was sleeping around on him. He said something about Harry deserving better than a ginger harlot or something like that. He called her some nasty other names. He even said that I was a better chaser."
"What did you say?"
"I was polite and ignored the comments about Ginny. I told him thank you for thinking I was a better chaser. I mean, what am I supposed to say? We're told when doing a public appearance, we're to be polite and friendly to the fans. It's a whole image thing."
Harry remembered Ginny telling him about how the players were expected to be interacting with the fans. He had accompanied her a couple of times to public appearances. Even when the rare fan was rude, Ginny held her smile and continued to be the epidemy of kindness. Mr. Smith even encouraged the girls to not were wedding bands or engagement rings. Some of them took them off, but not Ginny. She never did.
"What did he do after that?"
"After I met him and took a photo with him, I tried to ignore him so I could meet with other fans. He just kept talking about Ginny. Ginny isn't as good as you and Harry needs to divorce her. He kept calling her names like tramp and harlot. Stuff like that. He really started getting creepy. I just started talking with other fans. He even started getting handsy with me and I told him I was married. Before I knew it, he was gone."
"Did he tell you his name?"
"I think it was Sam something. Yeah, his first name was Sam. I'm sorry I didn't catch his last name."
"What did he look like? How old was he?"
"I'd say he looked to be in his 30s. He was about 6 feet tall with short light dirty blonde hair, and dark eyes. Not black but close. He looked built, like he kept in shape. He spoke with an accent too. Not American like yours but close. I've never heard it before."
"Did he have any tattoos or anything that you noticed?"
"Not that I noticed, no."
"If I get a sketch wizard in here, would you work with him?"
"I'll give it a shot. Without Ginny, the team will go to hell pretty quickly, plus like I said I may not be friends with her, but I don't want see her hurt."
"I'll be right back. Oh, Mrs. Cook, I'm going to need to see your auto-quill." Abagail nodded as Tom stood and left the room.
Harry turned to Ginny. She was standing there as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Harry put Ginny into a hug and asked, "Are you ok?"
Ginny answered, "Not really. I just can't believe it."
Harry kissed her head, "Believe what? That she didn't do it?"
Ginny replied, "No, that I believe. I can't believe that Abagail's life is where it is." Ginny was beside herself as she leaned her head on Harry's shoulder. She couldn't believe what she just heard.
Harry asked, "What do you mean?"
Ginny tightened her grip around Harry's waist, "When she first made the team, she showed a lot of promise. The training staff was always working with her to get her to the point where she could hopefully play with me. She seemed happily married with Steve. I don't think you ever met him. I knew he cheated on her, but I didn't really think about it. He seemed like a real nice guy. I feel so bad for her." Ginny's heart broke for the woman.
Harry said, "Maybe there's something that you can do to help her. I know you guys aren't friends, but as her captain, maybe you can help her at least get her career back on track."
Ginny quickly kissed Harry, "That is a great idea."
Harry smiled, "Who knows, maybe you two might even like each other."
There was a knock at the door. Both Harry and Ginny stiffened. Harry said in a rough, deep sounding voice, "Who's there."
There was a loud sigh from the other side of the door, "Harry, open up." Harry tapped the knob with his wand and the door unlocked. Tom opened door and walked in.
Tom looked at Ginny as she dried her eyes, "Ma'am, do you know anybody with the first name of Sam fitting the description that Mrs. Cook gave?" Ginny shook her head.
Tom looked to Harry. Harry said, "The name doesn't ring a bell."
Tom nodded, "I got a sketch wizard with her now to see what we can come up with. If I have to, I'll pull her memories and put them in a pensive. I'll send an auror home with her to pick up her auto-quill. In the meantime, I'm going to talk to Bunty and see if she knows anything. If I remember right, she was at Mrs. Cook's public appearance. She may have seen something. I think we're looking for a Canadian wizard. That's a dam good lead."
Harry's face lit up, "The close American accent." Tom just nodded. Harry said, "I'll check with the Immigration Department."
Tom shook his head, "No Sir. You been involved too much already. If you start poking around immigration records red flags are going to be raised and then we'll both be out of a job. I'll get Jenkins on it. In the meantime, I think it's time for you two to get going."
Harry and Ginny both nodded. As they walked out the door, Ginny stopped, "Thank you Tom. I really appreciate this."
Tom smiled and winked, "Just doing my job ma'am." Ginny smiled back.
As Harry and Ginny walked out of the Auror Department Ginny said, "I guess I might as well get my workout in. Maybe I'll accidently bump into Abagail?"
Ginny took her gym bag and gave Harry a kiss goodbye.
Harry said, "I'll see you for lunch." He watched her walk away down the hall and around the corner, out of sight.
Harry sighed deeply has he stood in the hallway. Things were beyond his control at this point. He didn't particularly like it, not when it came to Ginny. He couldn't bear losing Ginny.
Tom came out of the observation room and saw Harry. He said, "Sir, you need to get back to your office. You can't be here right now." Harry nodded as he walked away. He knew he put Tom in tough position. He would have felt bad for it if it wasn't Ginny. Harry couldn't lose Ginny.
