Chapter 25 – The Meeting

Harry apparated to the apparition spot by the broom shed in the back garden with one of the biggest smiles he ever had. He simply couldn't believe it. The team tracked down Sam Martin and picked him up for questioning a couple of hours ago. Tom, the barman from the Leaky Cauldron, spotted Sam in the pub and got word to the Auror Department. The team was there moments later and convinced him to come to the Ministry with them without incident. Tom and Jenkins questioned Sam for a couple of hours until he confessed to writing the note. The one question that Tom still had was how Sam get into the locker room. The security around the pitch, even in the off season, was pretty tight. You had to have the right credentials, a ticket to the match, or be with one of the staff just to get in the gate. There were security guards just about everywhere and roving patrols. The locker room had a special ward placed at the door that only allowed players, medical staff, and coaches to pass through it.

Wizarding Law said that Ginny had a right to face her attacker and that's why Harry was home. A small part of Harry was hoping that Ginny would forgo the opportunity to talk to this guy, but he knew she would want to.

Harry burst into the house yelling, "Ginny!"

An annoyed Ginny came running down the stairs. "Harry! Quiet! You'll wake Teddy. What are you doing home this early?"

Still smiling even after being scolded by his wife, Harry said, "They got him! It's over!"

Ginny's scowl changed to a grin. Her smile was so wide it reached from ear to ear and showed all her teeth. Her eyes sparkled as she jumped into Harry arms. She kissed Harry, "Really? They caught this Sam Marin guy?"

Harry wrapped Ginny up in his arms as he nodded, "Yup, and he confessed to everything."

Ginny escaped Harry arms and started jumping for joy. She suddenly stopped and turned to face Harry with a frown. She asked, "How did he get in? Even you have to have special permission when you show up early to a match."

Harry sighed, "Tom's still trying to figure that out." He wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist and said, "He'll get it out of him. Don't worry."

Ginny's smile returned to her face, "I'm sure he will."

Andromeda walked into room with a puzzled expression, "What's going on here? Did you just say they caught him?"

Ginny looked at her as her eyes filled up with tears of happiness, "Yes! They got him Andie!"

Andromeda place her hand on her heart and sighed, "Thank Merlin!"

Harry looked Ginny's hands, "Now, according to wizard law you have the right to see him and speak to him. Is that something you want to do?"

Ginny paused and Harry could see her mind working. After a few moments Ginny nodded. She said, "Yes. I would like to see him and talk to him."

Harry was afraid of that. Harry squeezed Ginny's hand as he said, "Ok. Here's the procedure. First, you can't have your wand with you. You're not allowed to have any weapons on you during this. Wizard, or muggle. Second, there will be at least one auror in the room with you two for safety. Third, you can ask him questions, but if he thinks he will incriminate himself he doesn't have to answer them. Fourth, if the aurors think that things are getting out of hand, they will ask you to leave and will remove you if they have to. Got it?"

Ginny nodded, "I understand."

Harry then smiled, "I'll be in the room with you. He'll also be retrained. Oh, also, they're not going to let either of us close enough to him to touch him."

Ginny hugged Harry tightly as her tears began to fall, "I understand. I just want to know why. I need to know why."

Harry returned Ginny's hug as he said to Andromeda, "We'll be back as soon as when can."

Andromeda waved him off, "Go. I'll think of something to tell Teddy when he wakes up."

Ginny broke the hug with Harry and rushed to Andromeda. She wrapped the older woman in a hug so big it rivaled her mother's. She said, "Thank you," as she dried her face.

Andromeda smiled, "You're welcome dear."

Harry and Ginny rushed out to the apparition point in the back garden and were gone.

Harry and Ginny quickly walked to Auror Department hand in hand. As they walked, people smiled and waved to them. Harry simply nodded while Ginny waved back. Ginny was starting to get nervous and starting to get second thoughts about this. She wasn't scared of this man. She was a war hero after all. It was the fact that she would be face to face with a man who threatened to hurt her. When the war broke out, she knew who wanted her hurt or even dead. It was the fact that she didn't know this man and that made her nervous. On the way, they stopped at the restroom so Ginny could calm herself down. When she came out Harry asked her, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ginny nodded, "I do. I just don't understand it. You know me, I love meeting fans. For the life of me, I can't figure out why somebody would do this to me or us. I don't ever remember a time, in my entire career, that I've ever been anything besides polite to a fan. I mean, there's been a couple of times after a tough loss that I was a bit mad, but I never took it out on a fan."

Harry nodded. Ginny was right. Anytime that Harry saw her meeting with fans, she always had a smile on her face and loved every minute of it. Even when the rare fan was rude to her, she was polite. He had also been trying to figure out why Ginny was the target of this man. He was hoping that Tom and the rest of the team could help him out with this.

Harry and Ginny were met by Tom in the lobby of the Auror Department. Tom extended his hand, "Sir. Ma'am. How are you today?"

Harry shook Tom's hand, "Not bad Tom."

Ginny smiled as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, "To be honest, a little nervous."

Tom waved off Ginny's comment, "I take it you want to see him then? Don't worry. I'll be there the whole time. Now, if I could have your wands please." She nodded as they handed Tom their wands. Tom slipped the wands into his inside jacket pocket, "I do have to search you to make sure you're not carrying any other weapons. Please turn out your pockets." Harry and Ginny did as they were asked. Tom patted Harry down from his armpits to his ankles. He looked at Ginny, "Ma'am, if you want, I could get a female auror to do the pat down." Ginny shook her head no and Tom proceeded to pat her down.

Tom nodded, satisfied with his search. He said, "Here's how things are going to go. Martin is sitting in a chair, restrained. You may only talk to him. He doesn't have to respond. Regardless of his crimes he does have rights that cannot be violated. We need to do this by the book, so he doesn't walk. He has confessed to the note, but we still don't know how it got into the locker room. I got Jenkins and Smith handling that right now. If we can't figure out how that happened, Martin will get a hefty fine and maybe a couple of months in jail for threatening a public figure and stalking."

Ginny frowned as she nodded, "I understand," then asked, "If you figure out how he got to my locker, what happens then?"

Tom said, "Ma'am, we add other charges to the threatening and stalking and the fines get larger and the jail time gets longer. Trespassing and breaking and entering will be added to start with. If we can prove he used magic, then that opens the door to the possibility of other charges."

Ginny anxiously asked, "Ok. Can we see him now?"

Tom nodded, "Follow me."

The three of them left the lobby and walked down the hallway to the interview rooms. This was the same hallway that Ginny and Harry walked down just a short time ago to witness Abagail's interview with Tom. They stopped at a closed door. Tom turned to Ginny, "Ma'am, he's actually pretty calm about all this. I'd say he's even proud of himself."

Ginny got a bit annoyed after hearing that. She took Harry's hand, "Let's get this over with."

Tom slowly opened the door and they walked in. There were two other aurors in the room with Sam Martin. Ginny recognized them as Roberts and Brown. Ginny finally saw Sam in the flesh. He was shackled to the chair he sat in with his hands cuffed to the table. The robes that Sam was wearing looked like he had been wearing them for at least a couple of days. He was unshaven and even a little dirty. He looked like he hadn't seen a shower in a few days. When Sam saw Ginny and Harry walk in, a smug smile formed on his face. Ginny tried to place him, but she didn't recognize him. Harry looked at him with contempt and was visible angry.

Tom looked over to Roberts and Brown, "I'll take things from here." They nodded to Tom and Harry then quietly left the room.

Sam's smile got wider as he spoke, "Well, if it isn't the famous Ginevra Potter, star chaser for the Holyhead Harpies and her boy toy of a husband Harry Potter! What do I owe this particular pleasure to?"

Ginny's eye narrowed has her face turned red with anger, "Why did you do it? Why me?"

Sam's smile vanished as confusion replaced it as he said, "You mean you don't know? You really have no idea?"

Ginny shook her head no, "No I don't." Harry placed his hands behind back and continued to stare at Sam.

Sam's smile returned and he started laughing, "This is perfect!"

Ginny crossed her arms in front of her chest and her eyes narrowed again, "What in Merlin's name are you talking about? Why did you do this? My whole life has been turned upside down."

Sam tried to sneak a look at Harry then back to Ginny.

Ginny saw the movement of Sam's eyes. Her eyes went wide as she pointed to Harry, "You did this because of him?"

Sam shouted, "You're not good enough for him!"

Ginny's face started to turn purple with rage. Harry saw Ginny getting infuriated as her face contorted into a fierce scowl. Harry took a step closer to her just in case Ginny's temper got the best of her. He was all set to stop her from doing something she would regret.

Ginny leaned forward and placed her hands on the table. She looked Sam dead in the eyes and said, "You're just lucky the aurors found you."

Harry reached around Ginny's waist and guided her back away from the table, "Ginny, calm down."

Ginny whipped her head around to Harry, "Calm down? This slug of a man turns our lives upside down and you want me to calm down?"

Harry placed his hands on Ginny's shoulders, "Please, for me."

Ginny took a deep breath, "Ok. I can do this. For you." Harry smiled.

Ginny turned back to Sam, "So I'm not good enough for Harry. Who is then?"

Sam smiled, "Now that's the riddle isn't it?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed again and through gritted teeth she said, "Who. Is. She?"

Sam laughed, "I'm not telling."

Harry took Ginny's hand as she said, "Let's go. He's not going to tell us."

As Harry, Ginny, and Tom turned to leave Sam said, "I'll give you a clue. It's a blast from the past and it involves somebody else, not just you two."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in confusion but continued to walk out of the room. Ginny stopped and turned back to looked at Sam and asked, "One more thing. How did you get the note to my locker?"

Sam's smile turned into an evil smirk, "I'm just going to keep that my little secret."

Harry and Ginny continued to walk out of the room. Tom quickly followed them into the hallway.

After Tom closed the door behind him, he asked, "I know it's a long shot, but does any of that ring a bell for either of you?"

Ginny was too angry to speak at this point, so Harry answered, "I'm not sure. We'll have to think about it. I'll get back to you."

Tom nodded, "In the meantime, we'll run down all of friends and contacts. There might be a common link. He has been in country for three years. If I have to, I'll take his memories and use a pensive."

Ginny finally regained her composure, "Thank you Tom."

Harry took Ginny's hand, "Let's go home and relax. Maybe we can get Andie to take Teddy out for a bit."

Ginny care Harry's hand a squeeze, "Home sounds like a good idea."

Tom smiled, "You two do that. I still have the detail outside the house so Little Sir and his grandmother will be safe. Don't worry about this. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Harry smiled and shook Tom's hand as they all said their goodbyes.