Chapter 13
Ginny woke up at the time she had planned to. She had the right amount of time to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then get herself over to the office. She strolled in happily, saying hello to everyone she saw, even Cho. When Cho saw this she got suspicious, knowing that since Ginny was being nice to her there must be something up her sleeve. That, of course, was kind of odd seeing as it was more like Cho Chang to do something like that then Ginny, but who knows how the mind of Cho works anyway. Certainly not Ginny.
She made her way to her boss's office, and knocked on the door. She heard a gruff "Come in" from the inside, so she entered and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk to her left. She noticed that he was reading an article, and she supposed that it was one of Anton's.
Anton Frantinum was the 'top writer' at Warts. He had been working there five years longer then her, and he had the position that she hoped to have one day. All, or at least most, of his stories made the front page news and he was widely known throughout the wizarding community for them. Except lately, he had been going through a dry spell. He now seemed unable to come up with any breaking news type articles and it was hurting the paper.
Mr. Hillman sat there staring down at the papers on his desk with one hand on his forehead and the other holding a quill. He was tapping the end of his quill on his desk and rubbing his forehead with the hand that was on it. He was frowning, and looked as if he was trying to see if the paper would disappear if he concentrated on it long enough. Needless to say, it wasn't working.
"Is Anton still having trouble coming up with stories?"
Without looking up he grunted, "What is it you want Miss Weasley? I haven't got all day and your article isn't due for another week or so."
"I know," she replied. "but I finished it earlier then expected."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a file containing the scroll and some of the evidence. She plopped in onto his desk on top of the papers he had been looking at without a care to how he was going to react. He would change his attitude the minute he began reading it.
He finally tore his eyes from the desk and looked up at her. His face held a look of fatigue and worry as he frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It's my piece. I'm turning it in early."
"And I suppose you want me to read it now, is that it?" he asked annoyed, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was glad to have a break from the story he had been pondering over.
She nodded cheerfully with a small smile and sat there expectantly. She watched as he opened the file and then unrolled the scroll. He began to read with his eyes moved quickly across the paper. Soon he looked back up at her with a hopeful twinkle in his brown eyes.
"How did you come across this?" he asked, referring to the evidence she had used to write her article on.
"Oh, by routine investigation. So do you like it?" she answered, not that her 'investigation' as she put it was anywhere near routine. Actually, it was far from it, but right now she was focused on the story and not how she had obtained the information pertaining to the story.
"It isn't what I expected," he admitted, looking up from the paper and closing the file.
Ginny's face was about to drop. What did that mean exactly? She had gone through a lot to get that article and he better like it.
"It's better. This is one of the best pieces to come out of this newspaper in years. You, young lady, are getting that promotion you want. I have to run this off immediately before anyone else gets hold of it. Good job, Miss Weasley. This is just what our newspaper needed."
Suddenly Ginny was overcome with joy. She was proud of her hard work, and finally she would be receiving the fruit of her efforts. This called for a celebration.
Mr. Hillman got up out of his seat, holding the file in one hand, and walked over to the door. Ginny got up, picking up her bad, and they both left the room. When they were out into the main office area of the newspaper where there were several cubicles he turned to her.
"I expect you to be in on time tomorrow at eight." he said before walked off to go get the story printed for their next day's issue.
A smile spread across her face as she began to walk out the way she had come. She saw Cho standing in the direction that she was headed, but didn't care. She was refusing to let her ever get on her nerves again. She decided to be civil, after all there was no longer any competition between them. It's funny how things work out, isn't it?
"What are you so happy about?" Cho asked snottily.
"Oh, nothing," Ginny replied. "just my new promotion is all."
She wished that she had taken a picture of Cho's face at that moment. Her mouth had dropped downward, her eyes were slightly widened, her nose was scrunched up, and it looked as if someone just showed her a smelly dead gnome.
Ginny tried her best to memorize that face, and then she continued walking out of the building. She was in such a good mood that she was in her own little world ignoring all those around her. She went back to her apartment, and straight to the phone. Hermione was the only other person who would be able to fully appreciate this.
As she dialed the number, she realized that she talked to her friend on the phone way too often for a witch. Almost every day to be precise. Besides, this news was just too good to discuss over the phone, it deserved more then that.
"Hello?" a voice said as the ringing stopped.
"Hey Hermione. Are you busy today?" Ginny responded. She wanted to get together with her best friend not only to drop the news, but also because they hadn't seen each other since the day she went with her and Ron for drinks.
"Well, I have some paperwork to finish, but I guess I could fit something in. Why, what is it that you want to do?"
"Let's have lunch together. When are you free?"
"Twelve thirty."
"Ok, what do you say to Chinese?"
"Yum," her friend simply replied. Then she added, "and you must have something big to tell me."
"Indeed I do. Meet you at the place at twelve thirty then," Ginny said.
"Alright. See you then."
'The place' was their favorite Chinese restaurant. It was their tradition to go there to celebrate certain events or to discuss things over food.
Several hours later Ginny and Hermione met up at the set place on the set time, give or take a few minutes. They gave each other a short hug and then Ginny saw the ring on Hermione's finger. It wasn't until that moment that she realized her best friend was soon to be her new sister-in-law. That just added to her already high level of happiness.
They entered the restaurant and were seated by a familiar looking woman. Who was she? Ginny could have sworn that she saw her some place before. When the hostess left them alone at their table with menus in hand Ginny leaned over to Hermione who was sitting across from her.
"Doesn't she look familiar to you?" she asked in a whispered voice.
Hermione looked over at the woman and then back at Ginny. "Yes she does. I didn't even realize that until you pointed it out."
They both kept taking glances at the woman until Ginny had a clear picture of her in her mind. She was a rather big boned woman with a mean looking face and thick eyebrows. Her hair was messy and she looked unkempt. Her uniform looked like it was two sizes too small on her and her expression stayed one of discontent. She looked about the place like she was picking out someone to wrestle with, and Ginny knew that wrestling was probably something that this woman was very good at.
"I've got it!" Hermione said a little too loud, causing Ginny to turn her eyes from the woman to her friend.
"So, who is it?" she asked.
"It's Millicent Bulstrode," she replied in a hushed tone to prevent the woman from hearing her. "she was in Slytherin."
"The girl who put you in a headlock?" Ginny asked, remembering back to an incident at the Dueling Club in school that Hermione had told her about.
"Yes, that's her. I can't believe she is working here."
"It's kind of funny if you think about it," Ginny said with a laugh.
"What a small world."
At that moment the door to the restaurant opened. Ginny's eyes happened to be looking over there at the time and she saw someone walk in. Immediately she took her menu and hid herself behind it, making Hermione confused.
"What is it?" she asked, looking around and trying to see what it was, or more like who it was, that her friend was hiding from. She noticed a tall blonde man walk in with a man who had short brown hair, but neither of them looked familiar. Then she looked back at her friend.
"It's Draco!" Ginny whispered.
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A/N: I want to thank my reviewers. There weren't as many as last time, but I still am grateful to those who took time to write something.
Please review!
Ginny woke up at the time she had planned to. She had the right amount of time to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then get herself over to the office. She strolled in happily, saying hello to everyone she saw, even Cho. When Cho saw this she got suspicious, knowing that since Ginny was being nice to her there must be something up her sleeve. That, of course, was kind of odd seeing as it was more like Cho Chang to do something like that then Ginny, but who knows how the mind of Cho works anyway. Certainly not Ginny.
She made her way to her boss's office, and knocked on the door. She heard a gruff "Come in" from the inside, so she entered and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk to her left. She noticed that he was reading an article, and she supposed that it was one of Anton's.
Anton Frantinum was the 'top writer' at Warts. He had been working there five years longer then her, and he had the position that she hoped to have one day. All, or at least most, of his stories made the front page news and he was widely known throughout the wizarding community for them. Except lately, he had been going through a dry spell. He now seemed unable to come up with any breaking news type articles and it was hurting the paper.
Mr. Hillman sat there staring down at the papers on his desk with one hand on his forehead and the other holding a quill. He was tapping the end of his quill on his desk and rubbing his forehead with the hand that was on it. He was frowning, and looked as if he was trying to see if the paper would disappear if he concentrated on it long enough. Needless to say, it wasn't working.
"Is Anton still having trouble coming up with stories?"
Without looking up he grunted, "What is it you want Miss Weasley? I haven't got all day and your article isn't due for another week or so."
"I know," she replied. "but I finished it earlier then expected."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a file containing the scroll and some of the evidence. She plopped in onto his desk on top of the papers he had been looking at without a care to how he was going to react. He would change his attitude the minute he began reading it.
He finally tore his eyes from the desk and looked up at her. His face held a look of fatigue and worry as he frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"
"It's my piece. I'm turning it in early."
"And I suppose you want me to read it now, is that it?" he asked annoyed, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was glad to have a break from the story he had been pondering over.
She nodded cheerfully with a small smile and sat there expectantly. She watched as he opened the file and then unrolled the scroll. He began to read with his eyes moved quickly across the paper. Soon he looked back up at her with a hopeful twinkle in his brown eyes.
"How did you come across this?" he asked, referring to the evidence she had used to write her article on.
"Oh, by routine investigation. So do you like it?" she answered, not that her 'investigation' as she put it was anywhere near routine. Actually, it was far from it, but right now she was focused on the story and not how she had obtained the information pertaining to the story.
"It isn't what I expected," he admitted, looking up from the paper and closing the file.
Ginny's face was about to drop. What did that mean exactly? She had gone through a lot to get that article and he better like it.
"It's better. This is one of the best pieces to come out of this newspaper in years. You, young lady, are getting that promotion you want. I have to run this off immediately before anyone else gets hold of it. Good job, Miss Weasley. This is just what our newspaper needed."
Suddenly Ginny was overcome with joy. She was proud of her hard work, and finally she would be receiving the fruit of her efforts. This called for a celebration.
Mr. Hillman got up out of his seat, holding the file in one hand, and walked over to the door. Ginny got up, picking up her bad, and they both left the room. When they were out into the main office area of the newspaper where there were several cubicles he turned to her.
"I expect you to be in on time tomorrow at eight." he said before walked off to go get the story printed for their next day's issue.
A smile spread across her face as she began to walk out the way she had come. She saw Cho standing in the direction that she was headed, but didn't care. She was refusing to let her ever get on her nerves again. She decided to be civil, after all there was no longer any competition between them. It's funny how things work out, isn't it?
"What are you so happy about?" Cho asked snottily.
"Oh, nothing," Ginny replied. "just my new promotion is all."
She wished that she had taken a picture of Cho's face at that moment. Her mouth had dropped downward, her eyes were slightly widened, her nose was scrunched up, and it looked as if someone just showed her a smelly dead gnome.
Ginny tried her best to memorize that face, and then she continued walking out of the building. She was in such a good mood that she was in her own little world ignoring all those around her. She went back to her apartment, and straight to the phone. Hermione was the only other person who would be able to fully appreciate this.
As she dialed the number, she realized that she talked to her friend on the phone way too often for a witch. Almost every day to be precise. Besides, this news was just too good to discuss over the phone, it deserved more then that.
"Hello?" a voice said as the ringing stopped.
"Hey Hermione. Are you busy today?" Ginny responded. She wanted to get together with her best friend not only to drop the news, but also because they hadn't seen each other since the day she went with her and Ron for drinks.
"Well, I have some paperwork to finish, but I guess I could fit something in. Why, what is it that you want to do?"
"Let's have lunch together. When are you free?"
"Twelve thirty."
"Ok, what do you say to Chinese?"
"Yum," her friend simply replied. Then she added, "and you must have something big to tell me."
"Indeed I do. Meet you at the place at twelve thirty then," Ginny said.
"Alright. See you then."
'The place' was their favorite Chinese restaurant. It was their tradition to go there to celebrate certain events or to discuss things over food.
Several hours later Ginny and Hermione met up at the set place on the set time, give or take a few minutes. They gave each other a short hug and then Ginny saw the ring on Hermione's finger. It wasn't until that moment that she realized her best friend was soon to be her new sister-in-law. That just added to her already high level of happiness.
They entered the restaurant and were seated by a familiar looking woman. Who was she? Ginny could have sworn that she saw her some place before. When the hostess left them alone at their table with menus in hand Ginny leaned over to Hermione who was sitting across from her.
"Doesn't she look familiar to you?" she asked in a whispered voice.
Hermione looked over at the woman and then back at Ginny. "Yes she does. I didn't even realize that until you pointed it out."
They both kept taking glances at the woman until Ginny had a clear picture of her in her mind. She was a rather big boned woman with a mean looking face and thick eyebrows. Her hair was messy and she looked unkempt. Her uniform looked like it was two sizes too small on her and her expression stayed one of discontent. She looked about the place like she was picking out someone to wrestle with, and Ginny knew that wrestling was probably something that this woman was very good at.
"I've got it!" Hermione said a little too loud, causing Ginny to turn her eyes from the woman to her friend.
"So, who is it?" she asked.
"It's Millicent Bulstrode," she replied in a hushed tone to prevent the woman from hearing her. "she was in Slytherin."
"The girl who put you in a headlock?" Ginny asked, remembering back to an incident at the Dueling Club in school that Hermione had told her about.
"Yes, that's her. I can't believe she is working here."
"It's kind of funny if you think about it," Ginny said with a laugh.
"What a small world."
At that moment the door to the restaurant opened. Ginny's eyes happened to be looking over there at the time and she saw someone walk in. Immediately she took her menu and hid herself behind it, making Hermione confused.
"What is it?" she asked, looking around and trying to see what it was, or more like who it was, that her friend was hiding from. She noticed a tall blonde man walk in with a man who had short brown hair, but neither of them looked familiar. Then she looked back at her friend.
"It's Draco!" Ginny whispered.
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A/N: I want to thank my reviewers. There weren't as many as last time, but I still am grateful to those who took time to write something.
Please review!