Author's Note: So I FINALLY got Word installed on my laptop! Now I can actually start writing. I know that it's been a while, but I'm now in Finland, and settling in quite well for my year here. Right-o. I guess it's time to start writing now. J

Ginny woke the next morning, expecting a splitting headache, but felt remarkably refreshed. That stuff from the twins must actually work…She stretched, pulled on a pair of loose-fitting pants, and made her way down the stairs. There was a good deal of noise coming from the kitchen, and she suspected that the majority of the family was still eating breakfast.

"There's my girl!" her mother jumped up from the table as soon as Ginny shuffled in, yawning, and hurried to fetch her a plate. "I've heard all about this wonderful party, dear," she said, scooping potatoes onto her daughter's plate. Ginny looked sharply at Fred and George, who were lazily finishing their meals.

I swear I'll kill them, Ginny fingered her wand, glaring at the twins.

"Your brothers told me you've landed yourself a job! Wonderful, dear, simply wonderful. Eat up, now." A plate heaped with eggs, sausages, potatoes, and fruit was shoved under Ginny's nose. (A/N: I'm huuuungry!) "And with Velma Waffle! Couldn't ask for a nicer woman…" Her mother droned on and on, tidying up the kitchen, and chattering about Ginny's new job.

Ginny noticed her brothers pretending to nod off at the other end of the table – well, the twins, that is. Ron actually was asleep. In fact, Ginny didn't remember him even looking up when she came in. Another second and his head would plop right into his eggs… It was getting closer… any minute now…

THUMP.

Ron's head snapped up as Fred stretched his legs and dropped his feet on the table loudly. Ginny snickered as her youngest brother hastily wiped away a bit of drool, and focused on his breakfast, his face turning red.

"…and you'll make a nice steady wage, too. Velma has – FRED WEASLEY! You get your dirty feet off of my kitchen table this instant! I swear, one more incident like this, one more, and… I'm forbidding you to eat meals here anymore! You too!" She rounded on George, who was laughing heartily.

Ginny slipped a few pieces of toast in her pocket, and headed for the living room, where her father was frantically gathering his work papers together. The room was a mess – parchment everywhere, and a few chairs were knocked over.

"Morning, Dad," He whirled around looking for the source of the voice, having not heard her come in.

"Oh! Good morning, Ginny. Heard about the job – good on you!" He got down onto his hands and knees, and began pulling papers out from underneath chairs.

"Thanks. What happened here?" She nudged the carpet back into place with her toe.

"Where? Oh – right. Uh, nothing. Just the cat. Went a bit mad this morning, is all." He snatched a few more bits of paper, and stuffed them into his satchel. "Well, I'm off then, I'll be home later." He kissed the top of her head, and walked into the kitchen.

"Bye!" Ginny called after him. She stared around at the room – it was still in serious disarray. There was no way the cat did this.

After tidying up the room a bit – setting chairs upright again and all – Ginny meandered back into the kitchen, where only Ron remained. He was dozing again, and she walked behind him and coughed loudly.

"NOT THE SPIDERS!" He yelled, jerking awake. "GODS, Gin, what do you think you're doing??"

"Walking – that's still allowed, isn't it?" She snapped at him, and started sifting through the large stack of post on the table for her own mail. "What's wrong with you anyway? Have a late night or something?"

"No!" he answered defensively, and hastily cleared his place. "I'm just tired, is all."

"Right… listen – what happened in the living room?" Ron shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe the twins? I wasn't here last night, so I couldn't tell – "

"HA!" Ginny threw her mail on the floor and sprinted over to her brother, who was standing with a horrified look on his face. "I knew it! Where were you? Who were you with? What did you… uh… do?"

"Nothing! I didn't go anywhere! I wasn't doing anything!"

"You were with Hermi- "

"DON'T YOU HAVE MAIL TO READ?" He bellowed over her last sentence, and stormed out of the house.

Ginny chuckled gleefully, and gathered up her post. As she expected, there was a letter from Ms. Waffle.

Dear Ginny,

I trust you got home safely last night. I cannot express my delight at the prospect of training you – from all that I've heard, you're a brilliant young woman, and I've been in dire need of an apprentice for a good while now. As we discussed, you will begin immediately, on Monday. Please come to this address at seven thirty:

Velma's Elements – Fine Ingredients and Potion Making for Every Magical Need

Number Twenty-four Diagon Alley, London

I look forward to Monday, dear!

Ms. Velma M. Waffle, proprietress

Ginny folded the letter up and carried it to her room, where she placed it on her desk. Seven thirty? That's damn early…She sighed, and began to dress, thinking maybe she could pull one of the twins away for a one-on-one game of Quidditch. That is, if they were still in the vicinity.

Draco sulked in his room for another hour and a half, until Bitsy informed him that the Minister had gone.

"Finally! If that prick hadn't left in another ten minutes, I was getting ready to hex him from the balcony." Bitsy nodded in sympathy, and opened the door for her master. "Mother! I'm going out!" Draco called as he ran down the stairs.

"Not so fast," she replied. He leaned over the railing, and saw his mother looking up at him, waiting at the bottom step. "I want to speak with you." He internalized a groan, and slowed his pace.

"Before you say anything," he held up his hand as she started to speak. "I just want to point out that I am twenty years old, and quite grown out of this maternal lecture stuff." He took a deep breath. "It isn't that I don't appreciate your trying to take care of me, but honestly Mother – hasn't it always been someone, usually me, taking care of you? In fact, I think that it's you who are in need of a lecture. I can't believe you, letting Fudge – excuse me, the Minister – play you like this! Use some sense… he's being more than just friendly, you know." He started to take another breath, but stopped at the sharp look his usually very congenial mother was giving him.

"Are you quite finished?" she asked him. He nodded sheepishly. "I had not intended to corner you with a 'maternal lecture', but since you've presented me with the opportunity, I'll take it, and make it short and sweet. You're twenty years old? Congratulations – now act your age, and keep your nose out of other people's business." Draco felt as if he'd been slapped. After all, he'd never had anything but his mother's best interests at heart – he really did care about her – and here she was blindly refusing to acknowledge the truth. "Now, what I did want to talk to you about was last night." Draco blinked. "I don't think that you made enough of an effort to engage Miss Weasley… she's quite understandably unfamiliar with events like this, and the people that we had here last night. I want all of my guests to feel welcome, and as my son, it is also up to you to be a good host. I got the impression that the young Miss Weasley was a bit uncomfortable last night, and that upset me, because you two seemed to have had a wonderful time the last time that you were together…" she paused.

"…And?" Draco couldn't decide if the sense of foreboding he had just felt was from horror or excitement.

"And I think that it would be lovely for you to make it up to her. From what I hear, she'll be working at an apothecary in Diagon Alley – you should visit sometime, and take her to lunch or something. It might be nice for her to have good contacts, as well, if she plans on establishing herself in the business." Draco did not believe that he was hearing correctly. Was his mother actually telling him to take Virginia Weasley out? "It's just a suggestion dear," she smiled, and turned towards the drawing room. "Have a nice time out!"

As Draco shut the door behind him, he ran his fingers through his hair in bewilderment. Something told him that his mother didn't only have Virginia Weasley's best interests at heart.