Chapter 19

Two weeks flew by, and soon Ginny found herself sitting at her desk on her last day of work before it was time for her to go help with the wedding. She was going to leave soon, but surprisingly she wasn't counting down the time. Work had actually become enjoyable since the firing of Cho. Then again, now Ginny had virtually no competition.

Although competition could go too far and make people act vicious, it still presented a challenge for each rival and inspired them to do better then they normally would. It no longer matter though, because Ginny already obtained the job she was trying to get and now all she had to do was focus on doing her job well.

There were still rumors flying around the office, as in all business places where the workers only escape from their job was discussing their co-workers and using gossip as a form of entertainment. As long as it wasn't about you then you pretty much didn't care.

Many of these rumors, about ninety percent to be precise, were about Ginny and Cho. Some were more realistic then others, and some were just flat out weird. People couldn't decide on whether Ginny or Cho was the bad one, even though Ginny was the nicest one out of the two; therefore they would think that it was both of them that did things to each other.

Ginny didn't mind these rumors though because, well, she simply just didn't care what other people thought. She knew the truth, or at least a lot more of the truth then they did, and that satisfied her enough to not flip out on them. Besides, everyone was nice to her and openly agreed that they were glad that it was Cho who got fired.

Ginny just thought that people should be spending more time on their work then in other people's business.

She, on the other hand, finished some less newsworthy articles for the paper, looking for a story that could become another hit. Now she sat, making some last minute changes on an article before she would hand it in to her boss, the editor of the paper. When she felt it was complete, she looked up from the paper in front of her while playing with the quill in her hand.

Staring into space, she felt incomplete as a person. She had achieved her goal, that was sure, but there was something missing. Life was not all about jobs, was it? Was there something more that she was missing out on?

It had been two weeks, two whole weeks, fourteen days, and not one word from you-know-who. She had often though of owling him, but decided against it. This was for the better; it was what she wanted, right?

She shook her head, her red hair loose on her shoulders, as she looked back down at her paper. Setting her quill down and closing her bottle of ink, she stood up and did a little stretch. She picked up her bag and the paper, and then proceeded to leave her office.

She said good-bye to some of her co-workers as she made her way down the hall to her boss's office, and then when she got there she knocked on the door. As usual there was his gruff reply telling her she could enter and so she opened the door, causing a slight squeal from the rusty door hinges and a slam as the door shut behind her.

He was in his normal spot at his desk, which he treated as his pedestal. She figured that he spent about one third of his life there, just sitting at that desk, and when he was dead his ghost would most likely stay there, haunting that office for eternity.

She could picture it now as she walked over to him and set the paper down on his desk. "Here is the final draft. I wanted to give it to you before I left."

"Sit down Miss Weasley," he replied, looking up from the large pile of papers scattered about his desk.

She obeyed and took a seat.

"I would like to talk to you about your performance," he said, his face being in its usual expression. "It's been satisfactory, and I see that you haven't missed one deadline. Good work Miss Weasley. I'll be looking forward to seeing you in a week."

That was a compliment coming from him and she was elated. With a smile she said, "Thank you," and proceeded to get up and walk back over to the door. Once she got there she remembered something, and knowing that he seemed like he was in a good mood, she turned around to face him.

"Oh, Mr. Hillman?" she asked, pulling his attention back to her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Why did Cho really get fired?" She wanted to know, just out of curiosity, the true reason. There were many different things that she had heard about on that matter, but she wouldn't be content until she knew the real reason.

"Miss Chang was caught stealing office supplies," he answered, not minding the fact that she asked him that question. "When I confronted her about it she became quite obnoxious, and we can't have writers like that, now can we?"

Ginny smiled again, a visual in her mind of Cho freaking out on Mr. Hillman. That was definitely something she would do and she found this reason of firing much more humorous then the others that people were discussing.

Innocently she replied, "Of course not. Have a nice weekend."

"You too Miss Weasley."

She left the room and the office, feeling better that she now knew the truth. Getting fired for stealing office supplies and talking back to your boss, now that was something. Yeah, it was something, something for Ginny to laugh about.

Cho sure could be stupid at times. Why did she need to steal office supplies anyway? Who knows, but now Ginny didn't have to have any more confrontations with the woman. She would probably find another job at some two-bit newspaper or gossip paper. That would suit her much better.

She walked across the street and entered the coffee shop, getting in line right away. There were two people in front of her, and she patiently waited as the one customer paid for their coffee and then the next person stepped up to the cashier.

As she stood there, she heard someone from the side of the room say, "Ginny? Ginny Weasley, is that you?"

She turned her head to see who was talking to her and she found herself looking at an older version of Dean Thomas. He had gotten a bit taller since the last time she saw him before he graduated, but he still looked about the same. She had dated him once a while back, but that all seemed so far away. They had a mutual break-up, but still remained friends.

"Yes," she answered. "Hi Dean. How have you been?"

"Good," he responded congenially with a smile. "How about you? What have you been up to recently?"

"Oh, not much," she replied. "I work at Warts now."

"I know, I read your article. It was brilliant. I couldn't believe that the Ministry would do that. But yeah, I was just here with my girlfriend and recognized you so I thought I'd come over and see how you were,"

When he mentioned his girlfriend he pointed over to where a girl was sitting and she waved at them. Ginny gave her a little wave back, and then returned her attention to Dean.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked.

"No," she answered as the person in front of her finished buying their coffee and moved away so she could go up to the cashier. "So, maybe I'll run into you and your girlfriend again some time."

"Maybe," he said. "I'll be looking forward to reading your next article."

"All right, bye," she said and he walked back over to his table as she stepped up to the counter. "One large coffee, black."

The cashier poured the coffee into a cup and after putting the lid on it, set it in front of Ginny. "Is that all?"

"Yes," she answered, handing him the money and taking her coffee with her before leaving. She thought about seeing Dean, and about how it seemed that wherever she went she was always running into old classmates from Hogwarts. This just goes to show that you can't escape your past.

She made it to her apartment, taking random sips of the warm and tasty liquid that she held so dear, and placed her bag on her table. The smell of the dark liquid wafted to her. Oh how she loved the smell of coffee and the warmth as she drank it and it went down her throat. Coffee was surely one of the world's greatest inventions.

She held the cup of coffee in her right hand as she entered her bedroom. Sprawled out on her bed was a rather large suitcase, and in it were piles of clothes. She had to finish packing for tomorrow she was taking her trip to Hermione's parent's house, where she was staying for the week.

There would be dress shopping, last minute preparations, a bridal shower, the rehearsal, and then finally the actual wedding that was taking place on the Thursday of that week. Friday she would be heading home again, while Hermione and Ron go off on their honeymoon.

As she closed her suitcase, she set down the now empty cup that used to contain coffee, and set the suitcase on the floor. She took a seat on her bed and then laid down facing the ceiling. Life could be so exhausting.

She soon fell asleep unintentionally, and was having the same dream that she had once before. There was the forest, the burning cabin, and the same man who grabbed her hand, only this time she had got the chance to look into his eyes. They were grey, strikingly resembling the eyes of someone she knew.

"Malfoy!" she screamed as she shot up from her bed and looked around. She was back in her room, beads of sweat on her forehead, and all she could think about was the look in those eyes...

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! It's hard to believe that this story only has a few more chapters to go, about two or three. Anyway, this time for reviewing you all get lollipops and t-shirts.

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