Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related names and places are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! I had hoped to have this up earlier, but work and life seemed to have different plans... Thanks to all of you who will review, and I know you will!
"Harry?" Ginny sat on the floor, not really believing it. If it had not been for those unforgettable eyes that generally gave him away, she would have been sure it was a mistake.
A crooked smile graced his face as he held out a hand to her. "Are you going to stay down there all night?"
Taking his hand, Ginny got to her feet. She took a minute to appraise him. He was taller than when he had left, but Ginny was sure that it had something to do with the heavy burden that had been lifted from his shoulders. He had apparently succumbed to the fact that his hair would do whatever it wanted and decided to leave it be. It gave him a carefree look that Ginny had never seen before, and she quickly realized she liked it. When he lifted a questioning eyebrow at her, Ginny knew she had been staring for far too long.
"Sorry, I suppose I'm just shocked to see you. When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"
"Well, I got back about an hour ago. And I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise." He stepped back and lifted his arms into the air. "Surprise!"
Ginny could not help but giggle. "Well, I'm definitely surprised." Her happiness faded as she heard Tom's voice call from the bar.
"Ginny, where are you? Table four is waiting and Constance is backed up already!"
Cringing, she smiled dolefully at Harry. "I'm really sorry, Harry, but this is a bad time for catching up. I need to get back to work."
"Oh, sure! What time do you get off?"
"At least not until midnight," she said. "Why?"
"Well, I have a few things to do. Why don't I come back around eleven thirty and take you home."
"How chivalrous of you!" Suddenly a horrible thought came to her mind. What if Dad is completely out of it again? I cannot let Harry see him like that! "Um...tell you what; why don't we just go somewhere quiet so we can talk for awhile? I wouldn't want to wake Dad up." Meaning, I don't want to explain when he shows up completely plastered.
"All right, I saw a small coffee shop just down the street. How about we go there?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you in a few hours."
Harry nodded, but continued to stare at her. Taking a few steps forward, he gathered her in his arms. Ginny closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. It was just as she remembered; he'd always smelled of the outdoors. Just like a bright, beautiful summer day.
"I've really missed you, Ginny."
"I've really missed you, too."
With that, they broke apart and walked back to the front of the pub. Ginny watched as Harry opened the front door and lifted a hand in goodbye. Several people stared wide-eyed after him as though not believing what they had seen. Just as the door closed behind him, fervent whispers broke out all over the room. Sighing, Ginny retied the apron around her waist and set back to work.
For the next hour, Ginny kept glancing at the clock. She desperately wanted the night to end. Earlier she had simply wanted to get home and crawl into bed, but now the prospect of talking to Harry kept her going. Just as the clock reached eleven fifteen, Tom called to her from the back.
"Ginny, can I see you back in the kitchen for a moment."
Immediately, she felt as though she had been drenched in ice water. This seemed far too familiar, her boss asking to speak to her in private.
Please, not again! I can't lose this job, too!
She found Tom leaning against the sink, arms crossed, looking down at the floor. His expression was unreadable as he looked up at her.
"Ginny, I need to talk to you about something."
Ginny swallowed hard. Part of her wanted to begin arguing against this automatically, but she couldn't find her voice.
"Actually I need a favor from you. You can say no and that will be fine, but I'm in a very tight spot right now."
It didn't seem as though she was being fired, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up. Instead, she stayed silent and looked at Tom.
"Lisa quit this morning. Apparently, she's been accepted to the Auror training academy. I can't blame her for leaving, but it does leave me without a server during the week. And weekdays around here are nearly as bad as Friday and Saturday nights." Running a hand through what little hair he had left, he smiled at Ginny. "Truth be known, you're the best girl I've got. The customers love you and you know what you're doing. Ginny, would you consider switching to days? I've got one other person lined up, but she really wants to work at night. And, I know you've wanted to be at home at night for..." He stopped and smiled sadly at her. "Well, I just know that things would be easier for you. Moreover, I can pay extra. Do you think you would mind?"
Ginny didn't know what to do. This was the greatest thing that could have happened today. "Tom, I'd love to!" Without even paying attention, she'd launched herself at the old man and hugged him around the middle.
"Now, dear, it's not worth all of that. I still might need you at night sometimes when we're terribly busy."
"Thank you so much. You've no idea how much this means to me!" She pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Just then, Constance's head poked through the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but, Ginny, there's...er... someone here for you."
Ginny covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, what time is it? I've completely forgotten that Harry was coming!"
Tom smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. Pushing her to the door, he laughed. "Go on; go and visit with him. Be here first thing in the morning."
Ginny smiled and hugged Tom again. "Thanks for everything!"
Harry stood close to the bar, obviously trying to ignore the dozen sets of staring eyes. He smiled as Ginny walked up to him.
"Give me five minutes and I'll be ready to go," Ginny whispered to him. He nodded and she set off for the backroom.
The little room had once been where Tom lived when he'd first bought the pub. It was bare now except for a table and some chairs with a small bathroom to the right. Ginny grabbed her bag from one of the chairs and pulled out her extra clothes. She had learned a valuable lesson during her first week of work. It had been a hectic night and Ginny's nerves were on edge. She still had several hours to go, when a woman had asked her to hold her baby while she found enough money to pay for her meal. As soon as Ginny had taken the baby, it threw up all over her. Just as she tried to run to the bathroom, her pants snagged on something and tore up the side. It took nearly a half an hour to repair and clean her clothes. From that day on Ginny swore to always bring extras.
Looking in the mirror after changing, she wasn't impressed. She'd only had an extra work uniform, so she stood in a pair of black pants and collared white shirt. Her black shoes were scuffed and worn. She went into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She pulled a lipstick out of her pocket and tried to bring some color back to her pale face.
Ginny had never really been interested in how she looked. People had always told her she was a very pretty girl and for a long time she'd believed it. Lately, however, it seemed to be getting harder to see that she held any beauty. Long hours of work and worry had taken their toll on her. She had always been rather small for her age, but now it was worse. She'd lost a lot of weight in the past few months and it was showing. Her skin was pale; even her freckles didn't seem as vivid as they once were. Her once bright eyes now seemed dull and dark. Suddenly, she wondered why her appearance bothered her now after all this time.
Sighing distractedly, she reached up and pulled the wand out of her hair. Red hair tumbled over her shoulders, bouncing into soft waves. She pulled a brush through it and stuck her wand into her bag. Not looking at her reflection again, she walked out of the room.
Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting across a small table from Harry. The shop was empty except for one lone worker, who looked ready to go home.
"So who else knows you're back?" Ginny took a sip from her cup, watching him smile at her.
"Well, for now only you. However, by the looks of things everybody will know in the morning. I guarantee all those people back there were falling over themselves to get to the reporters first!"
"What about Ron and Hermione? Do they know you're here?"
"No. I stopped by Romania before I came here, but I didn't tell them."
Ginny leaned back in her chair and smile impishly at him. "Well, how long is this detour? Where shall I expect my next letter to be from?"
Harry remained silent for a second, sipping his coffee. Setting the cup down, he looked at her intently. "What would you say if I said I was staying; permanently?"
Shocked, she could only sit and stare. Did he meant it or was just joking? As she always did when she wanted to know the truth, she searched his eyes. His eyes were always so readable; he had never been able to lie to her. She found the answer, immediately; he was serious.
"I'd have to say I wonder what's changed your mind about seeing the world." Ginny sat down her own cup and folded her hands on the table.
"Well, I think I've seen enough of the world. Besides, traveling alone is very boring," Harry said, matter of factly.
"What are you going to do? I mean, do you have a job lined up?"
Harry laughed loudly; a hearty laugh that caused the hairs on the back of Ginny's neck to prickle in a pleasant sort of way. "You sound like Hermione. Yes, I do have something lined up. I've finally accepted that invitation for Auror training. I start in January."
"Harry, that's wonderful! You'll make a great Auror."
Suddenly, Harry began to fidget nervously. He looked around and then stood up, grabbing his jacket from the chair. "Do you think we could take a walk?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I just need to tell you something and I just don't think I can do it here."
Ginny stood and pulled on her jacket. "Sure." She swung her bag over her shoulder and they both slipped out the door.
Walking along the street, neither spoke. Ginny began to feel nervous in the silence. Harry didn't seem to be in any hurry to say anything. They simply walked in companionable silence. When they stopped at a crossing, Harry finally turned to her.
"I've been trying to get the courage up to tell you this. Some Gryffindor I turned out to be, eh?" He laughed nervously, but reached out and pulled her back into the shadows. "Ginny, the truth is I didn't come back for Auror training. At least that wasn't the only reason."
Panic rose inside or her for the third time today. "I knew it! What's going on? Is it...him? Has something happened?"
"What? No! It's nothing like that!" Reaching out, he placed a hand on each side of her face. "Ginny, that's all over. You were there; he's gone. He can't hurt us anymore."
Ginny tried to calm herself, but she felt the tears coming. "I'm sorry, Harry. It's just...I still have nightmares. I dream that he comes back and takes everything down that we've worked so hard to rebuild. I have nightmares that he comes back to finish us off."
"Ginny, that won't happen. He's gone, forever." Harry wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb. "Well, I suppose what I have to say won't seem so bad now."
Ginny couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Well, why don't you tell me and let me be the judge?"
Suddenly Harry seemed nervous again. He kept his hands on her face, but Ginny could feel them trembling slightly. "Ginny, all that traveling gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about everything that's happened in my life, all the people I've met, all the people I've lost..." He pulled away and began to pace slightly. "During all that I realized that I was missing something. Something that I've come to realize is too important to just ignore any longer. For a long time, I wandered around the world thinking about it. I've never been good at this sort of thing; you saw me at Hogwarts." Harry laughed nervously, then turned back to look at Ginny. "One night, while I was in Egypt, I just sat watching Bill and Fleur. I finally realized what it was that I was missing. I realized that I want what they have. I want what Ron and Hermione have, because even in their own dysfunctional way they love each other. I want to find that person who understands me better than anyone does. I want the one person who makes me feel like I can do anything, who stands by me even when the world is crumbling. Then I realized that I already had that person."
Ginny watched him struggling to find the words. She'd never been more fascinated by one person. She'd spent her first few years at Hogwarts watching this boy. She'd always wanted to solve the mystery of him. She'd been enthralled by the secrets that were locked behind his eyes. Before she'd realized what was happening, she'd fallen for him. After years of acting silly and girlish over him, she'd realized that they had nothing. She pushed the feelings she held for him to a place deep down inside and refused to let them surface. She'd settled for a friendship that turned out to be the greatest gift of her life. Now, though, as she stood in front of him, her stomach seemed to have trapped butterflies in it. Her heart seemed to be trying to escape its confines and her lungs weren't working properly. It was the same feeling she had had that night in the common room when they had kissed. Those feelings that she had kept so carefully hidden were now rising, nearly suffocating her. She swallowed and waited anxiously for him to finish.
Harry looked directly into her eyes. "It's you, Ginny, it always has been. I've loved you for so long that I can't even remember when it started. I hated every guy you ever dated at school. I was so happy when you broke up with them, but I felt horrible about it. I never wanted to see you hurt, but it killed me to watch you kiss someone else. That night in the common room wasn't just because of drinking. I'd been dying to kiss you forever. I was afraid that you wouldn't want me, so I just pretended that it was an accident." He stopped his ramblings and put his hand on the side of her face. "I love you, Ginny, and I came back to tell you that. I wanted to see if I had a chance."
Ginny stood in shock. Did I really just hear that? Did he just admit that he loved me? She could only stare at him. Say something, stupid, he's waiting for an answer! Her mouth wasn't working, but she desperately tried to speak.
The hopefulness in Harry's expression dropped. A deep blush was spreading across his cheeks and he dropped his hand from her face. Ginny hated the loss of contact, but still struggled to talk. He thinks you're going to say no! Say something before you lose him again! Since her mouth was betraying her, she did the only thing she could think of. Just as he made to turn away from her, she grabbed his hand. When he turned back, she smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him give a sigh and pull her close to him.
"I take this to mean yes," he whispered into her ear. Still not able to speak, she simply nodded.
The next morning, Ginny couldn't stop smiling. The world seemed a brighter, more beautiful place. When she got home that night, she was surprised to find her father already asleep in bed. She woke around six, dressed, and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. Just as she set the plate of toast on the table, her father came downstairs.
"What are you doing up so early, Ginny?"
Smiling, she kissed her father and pulled out a chair for him. "Well, I've accepted Tom's offer to work day shift now, so I'll have to be at work at seven. Here have a seat; I'll have breakfast finished in a second."
Just as she turned back to the stove, a large barn owl tapped at the window. Ginny, humming lightly, opened it and let him in. "Here's the paper, Dad." She continued to fry eggs, oblivious to her surroundings, until her father spoke.
"Well, this certainly explains your mood this morning," Arthur said, with slight amusement in his voice.
Ginny turned to place the final plate on the table. "What are you talking about?"
Arthur smoothed the paper out on the table. "Britain's wizard hero, Harry Potter returned to London last night. His first stop was the Leaky Cauldron where his long time friend Ginny Weasley works as a server. Patrons of the pub said that the two had a brief meeting and then Potter left. About an hour and a half later, Potter returned and he and Miss Weasley left together. Whether their relationship has gone beyond friendship remains to be seen."
Ginny felt her happiness slip. She had forgotten about what Harry had said about the reporters. Why hadn't she thought about what people would say?
"So, why didn't you tell me Harry was coming home?"
"I didn't even know until he showed up last night. This is terrible! People will be getting all sorts of horrible ideas!"
Arthur smiled mischievously at his daughter. "So, the two of you are just friends? Well, it doesn't seem like you have anything to be ashamed of."
Ginny tried to stop the blush that she felt coming on. "Well, things are different now."
"Different? Different how?"
"Well...I...he...we..." Ginny stopped. She was floundering around for words, which was as good as admitting she was about to lie. She sat heavily into an empty chair. "All right, Harry and I are...trying to figure things out. Dad, you know we've never had a simple relationship. Things have always been different for us."
Arthur patted Ginny on the knee. "Sweetheart, I know." He stood and was about to leave the room when he turned back. "Let me just say this. If I could choose anybody for you to figure things out with, it would always be Harry."
Ginny smiled and stood to follow her father. She found him by the fireplace, pulling on a cloak. "Where are you headed so early?"
"I have a few things to do; don't be so persnickety. I'll be home when you get back from work."
She watched as her father Flooed away, wondering where he was going. She hoped it wasn't to go drinking. Every other point of her life seemed to be getting better; she hoped this would, too.
All during work that day, people kept coming up to her and asking questions. She politely refused them all, but couldn't stop smiling. The only thing that she could think of was the fact that Harry admitted to loving her.
As afternoon came, she suddenly remembered the Gringotts' papers she was supposed to fill out. Thinking about it ruined her mood. Did she really want to do this to her father? Could she deceive him like this? She decided she need more time to think about it and pushed it from her mind.
Six o'clock came at last. She called goodbye to Tom and avoided Constance's questions in the backroom. A few seconds later, she appeared back in her house. Dropping her bag onto the kitchen table, she was surprised to hear voices coming from the other room. She pushed the door open and was horrified to find Harry sitting with her father, both of them laughing about something.
"There she is! We were wondering when you'd get here." Harry smiled at her.
Ginny immediately looked at her father. He seemed to be perfectly sober and perfectly happy. He was smiling in a way that she hadn't seen him do since her mother died. A bit of the building panic inside of her seemed to subside.
"Harry stopped by for a visit, isn't that wonderful?"
"Oh well, that's just the reason I gave him. See, I really came to kidnap you." Harry stood and crossed the room to where she was standing. "What do you say to a night out? It's not as though we need to keep this a secret; half the world already knows." He gestured towards the paper lying on the sofa.
"I don't know, Harry." Ginny looked around to her father.
"Go on, Ginny. You deserve to have a good time. Maybe it will help you figure things out." Arthur and Harry shared a conspirator's smile.
"Are you sure, Dad? Are you sure I don't need to stay here?"
Arthur's face fell slightly. "Ginny, I'll be fine. Go!"
Still not sure, but not wanting to tell Harry no, she agreed. "Just give me a few minutes to change."
Sitting in front of her vanity, she smiled at her reflection. Was this real? Was she really going on a date with Harry Potter? It was like experiencing a brilliant day after months of grey stormy skies. Her world seemed to have gone right side up again, but it still felt odd. A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts. She looked around to see her father smiling at her.
"You're beautiful no matter what you do."
"You have to say that; you're my dad."
"Well, you've got a point. That still doesn't change the fact that you're beautiful, though." Arthur crossed and sat down on her bed. "Ginny, I want you to know that I thought a lot about what you said last night."
"Dad, I didn't mean any of that. I was just tired..."
He held a hand up to her. "You did mean it, Ginny, and I'm glad you said it. It made me start to do some serious thinking. You were right. None of this is your responsibility. I'm your father; I should be taking care of you. From now on I promise to act like the responsible adult that I'm supposed to be." He laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I went to the ministry today; I start my job back on Monday. They actually want me to take over the whole Muggle division once I get back into the hang of things."
"Dad, that's wonderful!" Ginny hugged her father. Suddenly life seemed twenty times better than it had earlier. As she and Harry left the house later, Ginny couldn't have stopped smiling if she'd wanted to.
Over the next few weeks, Ginny felt as if nothing could ruin her life again. She'd found love at last, her father was doing better, and the world just seemed a wonderful place.
Every morning she left for work after her father had already gone. Each evening she spent time with Harry. She found herself falling more in love with him everyday. The papers were having a field day writing about them. By their second week of dating, it was reported that they had moved in together and were planning a summer wedding. Both doubled over with laughter when they'd read that story.
On the first day of December, Ginny had received a letter from Hogwarts reminding her that term would start on January 3. She now sat across the table from Harry at his small flat.
Harry put the letter down and smiled half-heartedly across at her.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just... we've only had a little bit of time together and now you'll have to go away until July."
Ginny smiled and crossed around to kneel in front of him. "Harry, it's not that bad. Time will pass so fast that you won't even realize I'm gone. You'll be in training and far too busy to miss me. Plus, we've always got Hogsmeade weekends."
Harry smiled wider and bent down to kiss her. A feeling came over Ginny that she couldn't shake. It was a feeling that had got stronger over the past few weeks. She felt it every time they kissed, or touched, or even looked at one another. The feeling seemed to be urging her to do more, go farther. She'd tried to ignore it but the more she did, the stronger it became. Suddenly, she was overcome by it and knew what it meant. It wasn't something that they had talked about, yet. It wouldn't be her first time and she knew it wasn't his, either, but somehow this meant more than any of the others. Pulling away, she looked into his eyes. She could see that he was thinking the same thing.
"Harry, it's time." Her voice was soft and low.
"Are you sure? Are you sure you're ready?" His tone matched hers.
"I've never been surer of anything in my life."
Early morning light streamed through the high windows, and Ginny grumbled sleepily. She'd just had the most delicious dream and really wasn't ready to face reality. Really, she should be ashamed for dreaming such a thing, but she wasn't. To be touched like that, if only in a dream...
"Good morning," a deep voice called from beside her.
Ginny's eyes popped open immediately. Looking nervously to the left, she saw someone. Someone with messy hair and brilliant eyes. Lying back on her pillow, Ginny closed her eyes and pulled the covers up under her nose. "It wasn't a dream," she said, with a smile curving her mouth.
"Nope, not a dream." Harry laughed slightly and then leaned over, capturing her mouth in a kiss.
"What time is it?" She didn't really care, but the thoughts of her daily life began to push into her mind.
"Just before six."
Groaning again, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. "Bloody hell, I've got to get ready for work. I hope Dad got the note I left him last night." She tried to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, but Harry wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down.
"Wasn't he there when you left?"
Snuggling down against him, she sighed. "Yes, but he was asleep already. Getting back to work must be taking a toll on him. He's usually asleep by the time I make it home from work and he's gone by the time I get up."
Harry buried his face into the back of her hair. "I'm sure there's a lot to do. The Ministry is trying to have every single department back in perfect condition by the first of the year." At this, they both groaned. The first of the year meant a six-month separation for them. Pushing her hair to the side, Harry kissed the curve of Ginny's shoulder. "Don't go. Just send an owl and say you're sick. Stay with me all day."
The feeling of his lips on her skin was making the decision quite easy to make, but Ginny knew she couldn't. "I can't. There isn't anyone else to take my place. Besides I need the money." Ginny grimaced; she hadn't caught the slip in time.
Harry paused in his distraction and Ginny knew it was coming. "Why? Are you all right? Is something wrong?"
After some quick thinking, she turned to him and smiled. "Of course not. I just don't fancy living off Dad after I finish school. I'll have to get my own place." When Harry opened his mouth, she placed two fingers against it. "And I don't intend on living off of you, either. I don't think I could manage having the papers call me a kept woman." Giggling slightly, she gave him a quick kiss and bolted out of bed before he could pull her back.
She began to gather up her discarded clothes, chiding herself for being so careless. Harry still didn't know about the family's deep debts. Things seemed to be easier with her father working now, though. She was making more money with Tom and the owls had stopped bringing threatening letters. Ginny hadn't checked the bank vault in the past few weeks, but the last time she had been there, she'd been surprised to find enough money to cover the expenses for at least that week. She'd torn up the transfer papers; there really didn't seem to be a need for them. Things were getting better so there was no reason to tell Harry about the bad patch Ginny and her father had experienced. Arthur seemed to be doing much better. She had been telling the truth about her father's behavior. He was up and gone before Ginny rose each morning and generally in bed asleep when she came home in the evenings. Life with him seemed to be a constant slew of written notes. She told him each evening when she went out with Harry. Last night she had left the note, not knowing she wouldn't be home. Before things had got too far, she'd sent Hedwig with a note saying she had felt ill and didn't want to risk Apparating, so she was going to stay the night. Ginny had a feeling that her father would know why she really stayed, though.
"Well, if you aren't going to stay with me, at least promise you'll be back tonight."
Ginny turned to find Harry standing behind her. Crossing to him, she kissed him soundly and then took his chin in her hand. "Of course I'll be back. I won't get to though if I'm late for work, because Tom will kill me." She pulled on her clothes quickly and found her bag. Pulling out her wand, she gave Harry one last kiss goodbye and Disapparated.
The lunch rush had just ended and Ginny was humming to herself, wiping down tables.
"Ginny, you've got an owl," Tom called from the back room.
Flicking her wand, she sent the towel to a different table and dried her hands on her apron. Probably Harry making sure I'm coming back tonight. However, the owl perched on the back of a chair wasn't Hedwig. A stately looking barn owl peered at her through amber eyes, holding its leg out impatiently. Taking the letter, Ginny saw the seal of the Ministry on the front of the envelope.
"What on earth do they want with me?" Ginny slit open the letter and pulled out a single piece of parchment. Involuntarily, her hand went to her mouth as she read the first lines.
Miss Weasley,
As all attempts to contact Arthur Weasley have failed, we at the Ministry Employment Department have no other choice but to send this letter to you. We regret to inform you that Arthur Weasley's employment with the British Ministry of Magic is hereby terminated as of December 1. Mr. Weasley has, on several occasions, broken the terms of his conditional re-employment. As his nearest next-of-kin, we hope that you will be able to relay this notice to him. We sincerely regret putting you in this position, but find we have no choice. We will expect Mr. Weasley to appear in our offices within the next week to turn in his identification. If you have any questions please feel free to stop in our offices during regular business hours.
Our sincerest apologies,
Matilda F. Garner,
Head of the Ministry Employment Department
Nicholae M. Hargrove
Deputy Head of the Ministry Employment Department
Ginny had fallen into a chair, her hand still covering her mouth. Silent tears trailed down the apples of her cheeks. This couldn't be happening. There must be some mistake. She nodded slowly; yes, it was all a mistake. Folding the letter and wiping her tears, she sought out Tom.
"Tom, I need to step out for about an hour. There's something I need to take care of at the ministry." Without waiting for an answer, she went to the small room and gathered her bag.
Five minutes later, she was seated just outside Matilda Garner's office. Reading and re-reading the letter, Ginny was growing more and more confused. What had her father done to be fired? Moreover, what did they mean by "conditional re-employment"?
"Come on in, Ginny." Matilda Garner stood on the doorway to her office, smiling nervously at Ginny.
Ginny was glad that she would be meeting with Matlida rather than the other man. She'd known Matilda all her life. Matilda and Molly had been best friends since their first day at Hogwarts, so all the Weasley children were completely spoiled by their "Aunt Mattie".
"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Madame Garner."
Matilda shut the door behind her and smiled a bit brighter. "None of that, I've been Mattie since you started speaking. No need to be formal."
Ginny forced a small smile, but didn't say anything until Matilda was seated behind her desk. She pulled the letter from her pocket and placed it on the desk.
"I'd like to know what this is about."
Matilda sighed and slumped back in her chair. "Nicholae had to write that; I couldn't even bring myself to do it. Ginny, you have to understand, I fought this as hard as I could. I tried to convince the board to give him a chance, but they wouldn't listen. I wasn't even allowed to vote because of Molly."
Ginny didn't lift her eyes, but spoke forcefully. "Don't bring Mum into this. I just want to know why."
"We all know that things haven't been easy for Arthur since...well, since the end of the war. We kept waiting patiently for him to get sorted out and return to work. I know that seems insensitive, but we had an entire world to rebuild. We couldn't just sit around and wait forever. We hired someone new to take your father's position temporarily, but as the months passed, we realized that he might not come back. Minister Bones wanted Arthur to head up the new Muggle Division, but he never responded to our inquiries. We heard rumors that he was..." Matilda seemed to be searching for the right words. "Well, that he was worse than we ever thought. Several of our department heads saw him out with Mundungus Fletcher; who, I'm sure you know, is not one of the most respectable members of society."
Ginny's knuckles were white as she gripped the edges of her chair. "Mundungus is one of the bravest men I know. You seem to forget whose side he was on in this war, Madam Garner. I consider him to be one of my family's greatest friends."
Matilda smiled nervously. "Of course, I did not mean to insult you by saying that. It's just that it was reported that they were engaging in activities that all Ministry representatives are discouraged from."
"If you're talking about drinking, just say it. In addition, I can assure you that my father isn't the first Ministry employee to do it."
"Well, certainly not. However, during the process of reforming our government, our employees need to be at their best. This is why all representatives are subject to conditional employment, or in your father's case, re-employment. Employees are expected to follow certain rules if they wish to remain with us. We understand that people have had hardships throughout these past few years, and we are willing to work with them because of this. Arthur, at first, seemed to be himself again. As the weeks progressed, however, it was obvious that he was not well. Sometimes there would be days that he would simply leave with no notice. Other days, he simply failed to show up at all. Close to the end, on the days he managed to stumble in, he was visibly drunk."
Ginny's mouth fell open. How could her father do something like that? "There has to be a mistake. Dad would never do that! He loves his job; you know that! How many opportunities has he turned down to stay in that filthy little Muggle Artifacts office?" Ginny was now standing, clasping the edge of the desk, and looking down at Madame Garner.
"Ginny, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen myself! There is absolutely nothing you or I can do about this. Shouting at me is not going to fix anything!" Matilda stopped and seemed to compose herself slightly.
Ginny swiftly crammed the letter back into her pocket and swung her bag over her shoulder. "Fine, but let me tell you this. My family...my entire family...fought in that war. Going into that my father had a wife and seven children. Now, he has no wife and four children. If you think a man can just pretend that something like that didn't affect him, then you're all dumber than I thought." She slammed the door behind her after her final words. Taking a deep breath, she headed for Gringotts.
"What do you mean it's all gone?" The three goblins around her made swift shushing sounds. "Don't shush me, you little demons! I thought I put a hold on my account! You let him come in here and wipe it all out!" Ginny's voice bounced off the walls of the small room.
"Miss Weasley. You put a hold on the account stopping any outsiders from withdrawing money. As Mr. Arthur Weasley is the primary account holder, he is free to withdraw money at any time."
Ginny wanted to scream and throw a tantrum just as she did when she was a child. How could things go so wrong after everything had been perfect? She regarded the room full of goblins severely. "Now listen to me! Thanks to you and your stupid rules, I have no money! You will open an account in my name and no one...I repeat, no one else is to touch it! Is that understood?"
Her blood was boiling by the time she left the bank. An account was ready and waiting for her first deposit and Ginny was quite sure the goblins were now actually frightened of her.
It wasn't until she had gone back to work that she realized the severity of the situation. The account was completely dry, her father had been lying to her about work, and she had no idea how to fix any of this. Looking in the mirror of the employee bathroom, she stiffened her spine and blinked away the tears.
"There's no time to cry over this. You'll simply go on as you've always done. You can ask Tom to put you on double shifts."
Even as she said the words to herself, another nagging thought crept into her mind. What would she do after the first of the year? She was set to go back to Hogwarts in January. What would they do for money then? How could she let the boys know that she had let the situation get out of control? Ginny could already hear their accusing voices.
"I knew we shouldn't have left you to deal with this!"
"You're just a little girl, Ginny! How could you think you could handle this?"
"Just go away, Ginny. We'll fix everything, as usual."
"No! They did it to me before. I can fix this; I just need a bit more time." Nodding to herself in the mirror, she turned and went to find Tom.
A/N: Okay, quite a few apologies to make here! I am so incredibly sorry that it took so long to get this up. Things weren't going well. About half way through writing this chapter, I began to wonder if I really wanted to go through with it. Never fear though! I am back on track and ready to go!
Secondly, I know I swore it would only be two chapters long. After I got back to writing, however, my mind began to work wonders! Things just started flowing and I couldn't make them quit. I had the entire chapter written, but it was so incredibly huge I had to cut and paste the last part of it. Therefore, I will post this chapter now and hopefully have the final one up soon. (It still needs some tweaking!) Thanks again to everyone for the encouraging reviews! If it weren't for you, I would have given up completely!