Smashed Sunshine's Note: This is my first chapter. So I am proud to present a love triangle, lesbianism and forbidden love – Enjoy!
Dictionary
'Life noun (plural lives) – capacity for growth, functional activity, and continual change until death'
Chapter One
'Where's the sodding stapler!?'
Blaise Zabini looked up from where he was sat. His legs were up on the desk top, crossed at the ankle, and he was leaning back in his favourite chair with the Daily Prophet propped up on his knees. An eyebrow arched slightly as he watched his younger co-worker punch her desk angrily.
'All I want to do is staple the god damn report together, and what happens? Someone goes and hides the sodding stapler! Can no one just leave things where they were for once?' she continued to chunter. 'Why is it always me? Me, me, me, me, me!'
'Modest aren't we?' Blaise teased in mock seriousness. 'Where was it last time you saw it?'
'Here,' she gestured to her desk.
His eyes dropped to the object in question. Virginia Weasley's desk was exactly like her hair was presently. A complete and utter mess with things sticking out of it at all angels. There were mounds of paper, including unopened bills and unclosed cases. Everything from papers to rogue charms could be found somewhere on Ginny's desk. The problem was finding them. A stapler could easily go missing for months before being found – usually by a reluctant Draco who would be so fed up of all the crap, he would simply sweep it all into a bin liner.
'This is your desk we're talking about Weasley,' he said with a smile and looked back down to his paper. 'Maybe it was found by the troll living under mound of crap number three.'
Ginny glared at him from where she was stood. Her fists balled up and planted themselves on her hips, and then she proceeded to take typical female stance. 'I hope you are not suggesting that my desk is a mess?'
Turning a page of his newspaper, Blaise nodded firmly.
'I'll have you know that I know where everything is on my desk! You name something and I can find it at the drop of a hat. So I know someone has taken the stapler and not that it has simply been misplaced,' she said indignantly.
'Weasley, you work for the Department of Investigation. Work it out. If you haven't got it, then it has to be either myself or Malfoy. Do you see a stapler on my desk?' he gestured to the organised desk that was rarely used – a fine layer of dust covered the surface. 'No. So it must be Malfoy.'
Her eyes moved across his desk quickly, taking in the lack of objects. 'You know something Zabini? We might as well get rid of the desk and get you a footrest for all the good its doing.'
'You just want more space to decorate with your…' he shuddered, 'posters.'
'There is nothing wrong with Dwayne Oarlocks and the Mews,' Ginny pouted, looking up at the picture of the band in question beaming down at her. 'I think they add a sparkle to the room.'
'Only in your mind Weasley. For everyone else their screaming banshees with bad hair.' He turned another page and looked at the housing prices. 'Then again I'm sure that's an insult to banshees.'
She rolled her eyes. 'You're just bitter. Anyway, Malfoy said we could do what we liked with our section of the office.'
'Yeah well he would.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' her eyes narrowed slightly.
'Nothing. I thought you were going to look on Draco's desk for the stapler?'
From where he sat he could feel her hesitation. Everyone knew that Malfoy's desk was out of bounds because that's the way he liked it. Blaise didn't particularly care about this unspoken law, but Ginny didn't seem able to bring herself to break it. For all their arguing and rivalry, neither wanted to really upset the other any further then their usual snide remarks.
'Chicken,' Blaise smirked.
'Don't be so immature Zabini!' she berated, her eyes meeting his.
'I dare you to go over there and find the stapler.'
'I refuse to stoop down to your level!'
'I double dare you,' he continued enthusiastically. 'You can't refuse a double dare Weasley.'
Her eyes darted from the desk to him again. Blaise knew she would break – no Weasley could refuse a dare and she was no exception. Something about the danger gave her a thrill. She never said so, but he could tell by the look in her eye. It was sort of wild and unpredictable. That's what he thought had made her join the Ministry.
Personally he wanted the reputation and the money for an easy life. This way he could have power and be on the good side. There had been a time when he had considered taking the leap out to evil, but it had held no future for him. No, he had decided, he would join the Ministry simply because it had a good pension and dental plan. There was always a future for a bright young Hogwarts student looking for work.
'Okay, but if I get caught or trigger any traps he's set up, then you are taking the blame for it,' she warned with a stealthy smile. 'All the blame.'
Blaise simply nodded and folded the newspaper in half. This was going to be something to watch. His eyes scanned over her body slowly. There was something about the way she moved that enticed him towards her. It was a shame every time he began to enjoy the view she would open her mouth and speak.
Slowly she moved towards the desk, until she was stood right in front of it. Her nimble fingers reached down and brushed against the mahogany lightly. Slowly she bent forward and allowed her eyes to over look the desk. He could have told her that the stapler wouldn't be on his desk, but it was too much fun winding her up and then letting her go.
Reaching down she pulled open a drawer. She leaned further forward, allowing him a glimpse down her top. A smile curled his lips as he eyed her cleavage appreciatively. There may be some bad qualities about her, but the good ones certainly outweighed them. Virginia Weasley was a very attractive woman by all standards, and Blaise could easily have watched her all day.
'What are you doing Weasley?' came the cold drawl from the door.
Ginny straightened herself up quickly, but kept her head down.
'You're back early Malfoy,' Blaise commented, letting his eyes leave Ginny and settle on his blond haired boss. 'How was court?'
'It went in favour of the defendant, as expected,' Draco remarked coolly without taking his eyes off the youngest Weasley. 'So Weasley?'
Blaise smirked and glanced back at Ginny. Her head was now held high and her bid brown eyes directed straight at Draco. Her long, wavy red hair was in disarray giving her a predatory look. Knowing Malfoy as well as he did, he didn't think that there would be much of a fight. All she had to do was batter her eyelashes and she seemed to win him over. The funny thing about it was that neither of them seemed to have noticed this pattern yet.
He often wondered what it would be like if there were two women in the office and he were the only man. Would they both fight for his attentions, or would it be a cold and loveless work place. Draco would defiantly have made a striking woman, with his blonde hair and sharp blue grey eyes. This thought was quickly shaken off though. It was far too surreal for a Monday morning in the office.
'I was looking for my mouse,' she said firmly.
'Your mouse?'
Ginny frowned slightly as if she was wondering what he was talking about. Suddenly her cheeks went pink as she realised what she'd actually said. 'I mean stapler.'
'And why are you looking for your stapler at my desk?' he continued, arching his eyebrows.
'Because it's not on mine,' she offered lamely.
'It's my fault Malfoy. I asked her, politely, to go over there and find it so I could staple my report together,' Blaise cut in. 'See I'd just finished it and Ginny was showing me the gossip in the Prophet before she settled down to write hers.'
Ginny scowled at him while he received an approving look from Draco. 'Done on time? Miracles never seem to cease in this office.'
'Indeed,' he said looking back down at the paper.
'He double dared me,' Ginny said suddenly, pointing a finger accusingly at Blaise. 'I finished the entire report single handily while he sat there drooling over some page three model! All I wanted was the stapler and he doubled dared me to come over here and find it!'
Draco laughed dryly. 'Or maybe they do.'
'So it was his fault!'
'Okay.'
'I couldn't… What did you say?'
'I said its okay,' Draco said looking at her with a touch of amusement.
'You mean you're not going to jump off the deep end and hex me or anything?' she said with a frown. 'Nothing?'
'If you keep asking banal questions I might,' he said placing his briefcase down on his desk. 'See Ginny, we're in an office. And sometimes in these offices work needs to be done. Which means you can go back to your desk and send off your report to Daddy dearest, before sending out a memo to Miss Chang in the Muggle Artefacts Department. I need information on…toasters.'
Ginny nodded a couple of times before moving back over to her own desk and sitting down. Blaise watched her silently. She was always the most attractive when she was silent, he considered. He wished that he had the same affect on her Malfoy did though. At least then he would be able to stun her into silence whenever he felt like it.
Pulling out his wand, he whispered, 'Accio stapler.'
From the middle of Ginny's desk flew the stapler, straight into his waiting palm. A smile curled the corner of his mouth.
'I really don't see what all the fuss was about.'
xXx
Cho snatched the memo from the air and read through it a couple of times. Firstly she noted the scruffy, illegible handwriting. Secondly she wondered what on earth a "Tostr" was.
'Do you understand this?' she asked her companion.
'Erm…maybe they miss spelt it.'
Her eyes scanned over it another couple of times and she rolled the word about her mouth. It sounded strangely familiar, but she couldn't for the life of her place it. That was the main problem faced by the Department of Artefacts – magical folk had no idea how to spell out Muggle items. She considered that her job would be so much easier if they sent howlers to her instead. At least that way she could hear what they meant.
'Typical Malfoy this is,' she complained in a honey sweet voice. 'You'd think that the DOI would be capable of researching for themselves.'
'Oh but he's very busy,' Lavender jumped to his defence. 'You should have seen him in court this morning…'
Rolling her eyes, Cho regarded her younger assistant. It was true that she had only hired Lavender Brown because she was pretty to look at, but somehow she had expected her to have at least a bit more taste. Her hair was long and silky, with flecks of golden brown edging the blonde splendour. She had eyes as blue as crystals and lips that made Cho wish she could just reach out and brush a thumb over them. Her body was to die for – sleek and curvy at the same time. Oh how she would kill to see her with no clothes on.
'…he was so masterful. And then they asked him all these questions about his statement and he just, like, glared at them,' she continued to praise. 'It was so incredibly sexy and you could tell that the judge thought he was a sex god.'
When Cho Chang had left Hogwarts, she had become bored of the simplicity of men. They were easy and self centred – easy targets for her seduction. Soon she began to seek out something more complex then flat plains and hard sticks. She wanted to feel curves beneath her curves and the tickling of long hair brushing against her. One day when sat outside Dino's Den, the local café, she had watched a woman walk by. Instead of the usual surge of jealousy, she had found herself appreciating the woman in a completely new light. Since then she had never considered men again.
'…he ran his hands through his hair and smiled at her cockily. I wonder if he uses conditioner… Oh god, I would love to see him in the shower washing his hair!' Lavender squealed, bringing Cho out of her thoughts.
'As much as I enjoy the sound of your voice darling,' Cho purred quietly. 'I would prefer you shut up and got to work on finding out what a "Tostr" is. I feel that if I hear one more word about how amazing Draco Malfoy is, I might gouge my eyes out with a spoon. Understood?'
Lavender nodded and pretended to zip her lips together. Cho smiled appreciatively at the gesture. 'Thank you.'
She watched as her assistant moved away from her and over to the Muggle computer located at the corner of the office. Sometimes it was easier to research Muggles using their own methods. It had taken her a while to make Lavender understand how to use it, but now she seemed to enjoy using the contraption far more then Cho ever did. Personally she preferred books.
Her eyes darted to the mirror hanging behind the door. A woman with long black hair, slanted eyes, a button nose, elegant cheekbones and pouty red lips stared back at her. Smiling slightly, she dragged a hand through her hair. Even if Lavender didn't want to be seduced by a woman, she would at least appreciate the effort Cho put in to the way she looked. It made life a lot easier to be an attractive, dominating, powerful woman in a role ridiculed by most of the Ministry.
'I'm going out for lunch someone from the Prophet. Weasley's brother…I think you dated him at some point during our time at Hogs. What was his name again…' she pondered aloud. Obviously she knew the name that was on her mind, but it never lost her any points to seem slightly dense in Lavenders eyes. 'Henry… No…'
'Ron?' Lavender offered with a beaming smile that lit up the room. 'He has red hair and freckles. Tall. Bit Lanky.'
'What would I do without you?' Cho asked with a small smile.
A shrug and goodbye later, and she soon found herself strolling down the corridors of the Ministry of Magic. To an outsider it may seem a bit clinical, but for her it was home away from home. She could easily have spent all her time prowling the corridors, watching for prey. Today was a busy day though, and the floors were teaming with people, owls and memo's flying about searching for their targets. It didn't serve to waste time in a place like this.
Having graduated, Cho had found herself at a crossroad, unsure of which way to turn. Should she join her father's company and make him happy, or take her own path and see where it went. She decided on the latter and soon found herself working for museum of Muggle clothing. Her expertise got her noticed by the Ministry, who were looking for someone to fill the shoes of Arthur Weasley – who at the time had been promoted onto the Council at the command of Dumbledore. She had snapped up the offer, finding herself with a comfortable career.
Now though she was going to have to go and discuss the finer points of charmed rugby balls with Ronald Weasley. Apparently one had made its way onto the pitch when the Chudley Cannons were playing and had wrecked havoc on the game. Ron wanted to write an article on it for the Prophet and hoped that some official Ministry information might help him make it more interesting.
Cho doubted this very much.
As she walked, she saw a familiar back which made her lips curl into a smile. Her mind raced to find out what her best friend could possibly be doing here at the Ministry. Maybe she was looking for her? Lurching forward, she pushed her elbows into a couple of people. 'Marietta!' she called out.
The petite strawberry blonde turned slightly, a frown creased her forehead as she searched for the disembodied voice. When Cho managed to gain eye contact, a large grin spread right across her face making her seem much younger then she was. 'Chang!'
The two girls embraced in the middle of the hallway, causing a lot of male eyes to turn upon them. It was well known that Cho wasn't keen on the opposite sex, and they could but hope that she had a girlfriend. Preferably a girlfriend who swung both ways and didn't mind threesomes – they could dream at least.
'What are you doing here? I thought your mum had retired from Department of Magical Transportation?' Cho gushed in one breath. It had been about three months since she'd last saw Marietta Edgecombe and this had been the last place she'd expected to find her. 'Were you looking for me?'
Marietta smiled a patient smile and stepped away from her friends embrace. 'I got sacked from the Wizarding supplies warehouse,' she said in a tired voice. 'They didn't appreciate my contributions.'
'Oh darling,' Cho sympathised. 'You didn't enjoy working there anyway.'
'I know but it's been so hard since mum retired. I can't exactly ask for an allowance anymore and the bills won't pay themselves… So I thought I would come and apply for any jobs going here. I mean you don't seem to mind this…' her nose turned up slightly, '…environment.'
A laugh escaped her lips as she watched her friends' obvious distaste to her working place. Marietta had always been snobbish at school, refusing to hang around with what she considered unsavoury characters. When you looked further though she really was a nice person but someone who could easily get on your nerves. There had been times when a good slap wouldn't have done her any harm – especially when it came to her obsession with money. She couldn't abide those who didn't live up to her economic expectations.
'You'll love it here once you find your niche in life,' she confided with a sickly sweet tone. 'Believe me when I say there are advantages to working in such a close community of people.'
Marietta smiled slyly. 'I've heard the men around here aren't too bad.'
'It wasn't the men I was thinking of…'
'Whatever floats your boat Chang. I'll stick to the manly variety, thank you very much.'
'You really don't know what you're missing,' she said suggestively.
They both laughed and it felt as if no time had passes at all – not the eight years they hadn't been school girls discussing crushes and giggling over nothing in particular. It was a drastic change from the cool and collected woman Cho had turned out to be. Time though was nagging at her. There was only so much lateness that could be classed as style, and Ron Weasley didn't seem the type to appreciate that.
'Look Etta, I have to go to a meeting with someone from the prophet. If you finish your interview early though there are plenty of people around that used to go to school when we were there.'
'Like who?' Marietta asked sceptically as she pushed a short curly strand of reddish blonde hair behind her ear.
'Well there's Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley and Blaise Zabini in the DOI…Lavender Brown is my assistant and you can find her just up the corridor and to your left. I think Justin Finch-Fletchley is working in Communications. Oh and Harry Potter is in the Defence section, but I doubt you'll want to see him.'
'He was a horrid boy,' Marietta complained. 'I don't know what you ever saw in him.'
'Maybe it was his feminine ways…' Cho suggested lightly.
Laughter filled the halls once more as two friends were reunited.
xXx
Hard, fast and very hot. Some people thought Oliver Wood was obsessed. He liked to think it was more of an extreme hobby. Some people liked to do it in their spare time, but Oliver liked to do it all the time. At home, at work, in the garden, at the park – anywhere there was enough space. He loved the feeling he got when he mounted equally as much as the rise. Oh and was he good at it – not modesty, but honesty to himself.
Yes, Oliver Wood could honestly say that he got a kick out of Quidditch.
He could spend all day, easily spread out in front of his Muggle TV, watching the illegal wizarding sports channel. Flicking from one glorious game to another, he would marvel at its speed and beauty. Then there were the times between when he himself would fly up high. Up on his broom he was invincible, at least that's the way it felt at the time. It didn't matter if he lost, or fell from the broom because he had the memory of that feeling deep within him.
Maybe that's what had attracted him to her so much.
It wasn't easy to find someone you connected to and who had all the same ambitions as you. The fact that she was irresistible helped too. Every time he saw her flying round the pitch he got a thrill – the sort that travelled to every part of his body. Some times it would be too much, and he would have to pull his eyes away before he had an accident. He hated and loved that feeling that you couldn't stop yourself.
Her hair would fly out from behind her, whipping the sky with its golden glory. Slowly she would dip and dive, her eyes forever watching for that flash of wings. Then when the time was right, her body would double over the broom, knuckles white from holding the smooth wood, and she would plummet towards the ground, never allowing her eyes to close against the sting of the wind. He could almost imagine the tingles running through her body as she snatched the snitch from the air, all around her screams of pleasure and pain.
Late at night, this was often the image Oliver would put on slow motion through his head. Of course in his mind she was naked, there were no other team mates and the stands were empty. It was just a show for him. The broom was her prop and she was the main attraction.
A sigh escaped his lips just thinking of the possibilities.
The problem was though that, as much as a turn on as it was, she played for another team. In fact it was the only real rival Puddlemere United had. If this relationship were ever found out by the fans, or the teams themselves, ruin would certainly follow. She had remarked that it was a bit like Romeo and Juliet. He had replied that they both dies at the end, so he'd rather it was not.
What made their affair even more of a hassle was that damn Colin Creevey and his camera. They'd just been catching a post-game snog, when out of the toilets had come Colin – camera in hand. Snap, snap, and the shot was done and in the newspapers. Granted the guy had given them a break and not revealed the woman's identity to anyone, but now he was being stalked by the press.
Everywhere he went there was an irritating click and flash of light. His image graced the front page of every newspaper as they tried to figure out who on earth Oliver was dating. It was a wonder they hadn't been caught yet after all the risks they had taken. It was the only way they could be together though, and this strange attraction had turned into more then just a want, but a need too. He could no longer go a week without touching her, and she him. But to come out would ruin both of them and only Quidditch rivalled the way they felt about each other.
Together the decision had been made that they shouldn't see each other again.
Oliver smiled to himself as he watched the TV screen in front of him. Well, almost not see each other.
