BOTH SIDES NOW

Disclaimer: Anything you see or recognize is not mine


Part One

A couple of months before,

Ginny had just gotten back from an exhausting yet futile midnight raid in Fox Hill where they had suspected Goyle was residing. Goyle had remained in hiding ever since the War ended and his name had been added to the list of deatheaters most wanted for war crimes committed against muggles and wizarding folk.

Ginny had not been assigned to that raid but had joined it not because of any personal interest in Goyle's case but because she was hoping to interrogate him on the whereabouts of Draco Malfoy, the one Deatheater she was bent on catching before any other Auror did. Unlike Goyle who was clumsy and left a wide trail of clues leading to his hideouts, Malfoy had not been sighted even once since the demise of his Dark Lord.

Catching him was considered impossibile to all the Aurors except Ginny who loved a good challenge. Besides, she had excellent Auror skills procured from years of experience and working alongside the best like Harry and Hermione, skills that even the retired Mad Eye Moody who was consultant to the Auror department admired. He had been the one who saw her potential and suggested to her, after she had completed her Auror training, that if anyone could catch Malfoy, it was her but she would have to persevere and set her mind to it, no matter how long it took her and no matter how difficult it got. They never thought they would catch Lucius but look, now he was behind bars, locked up forever in Azakaban.

It did not matter that the Auror Department had not opened an official case on Draco Malfoy and hence had no team assigned to track him down because he had not been seen since the end of The War and was presumed to be dead. Mad Eye Moody had told her that she could just work on it during her free time, in between her cases.

So ever since then, Ginny had wanted to capture Malfoy. At first her colleagues, family and friends laughed or joked whenever she talked about it but as time passed and Ginny proved her skills in profiling Deatheaters, tracking them down and nabbing them, everyone started to take her seriously and even her supervisor, Kingsley gave her time off to gather data and free rein to go on missions or raids unrelated to her caseload to aid in locating Malfoy.

Yet, three years after completing her Auror training and becoming a full time professional Auror, she was no closer to finding Malfoy. Even paying a visit to Lucius Malfoy at Azakaban had not helped – the old man was a blabbering, incoherent mess who did not even remember who his son was. It did not help that Narcissa had killed herself during the War when it all got too much for her, what with her son on the frontlines, fighting for Voldermort and her husband rotting away in Azakaban. Even Snape, Malfoy's protector and mentor and Bellatrix Lestrange, his aunt, was dead having been killed during The War, hence removing any sort of ties Malfoy would have had to Britain. All this lead to only one logical conclusion – Malfoy had fled from England and was residing overseas. Not that this narrowed down Ginny's search in anyway; it just brought her back to square one.

However, something nagged at her sleepless-numbed brain about that night's unsuccessful raid. The entire team who had been working on tracking Goyle had been dead sure that was his latest hideout. The unsuspecting Deatheater had left a clumsy trail to Fox Hill and Aurors on the teams even had photographs of Goyle in the old deserted mansion on Fox Hill, obtained while staking him out. They had been watching him for months, knew every single detail of his routine - when he slipped out to the nearby shop to replenish his groceries, when he went to bed, when he received conjugal visits from a muggle woman whom he paid.

Ginny had read all this in the file they had complied on him, handed to her by Dave Powers, the Auror who had been assigned to head the Goyle case. So it was a mighty shock after months of collating evidence and round the clock surveillance to break into his house with his warrant of arrest only to find the entire place deserted and no trace of Goyle ever having been there at all.

Ginny suspected that the usually clumsy, oblivious and conspicuous Goyle had received outside help. But how could he have known that he was being watched by the Aurors? How could he have known that he was going to be arrested that night? Who would have been able to provide him with such inside information?

Ginny pondered those questions as she sat at her desk, leaning back in her chair, her bare feet up on her desk, her worn out dragon skin boots discarded on the floor of her cluttered, cramped cubicle, her desk and a file cabinet taking up the rest of the space. Her lack of office space did not bother her since she spent more time in the field than at her desk.

She only sat at her desk when she needed to get the necessary paperwork done or think and study the little information she had managed to gather about Malfoy.

Papered all over the wall of her cubicle that faced her desk were old photographs of Malfoy, newspaper cuttings, all the Daily Prophet articles about him during the War, his involvement in infiltrating Hogwarts, his attempt in assassinating Dumbeldore, his activities during the War, then a list Ginny had made from all the Auror files about all the wizards and muggles Malfoy had killed during the War, another official list released by the Ministry of Magic listing the crimes Malfoy was wanted for, Daily Prophet articles about his mother's suicide and Snape's death, some profiles on Malfoy done by her colleagues and senior Aurors, a reading on Malfoy Clan history that Hermione had gotten for her from a book on the History of Wizarding Britain and even a map of the world where she had crossed out Britain as the least likely place Draco would be in.

From her seat at her desk she could look at them anytime she wanted to and add any new bits of information or take down any article that piqued her interest. Her colleagues had dubbed it 'The Malfoy Wall of Fame'.

Ginny decided something was lacking on her wall – a list of all of the Deatheaters Malfoy had been particularly close to who happened to be alive.

She put down Goyle, Flint and Pansy Parkinson and could think of no one else since Zabini, Nott, and Crabbe had been killed in The Second War. Then as she studied the list she had made, she realized that all of the Deatheaters on the list had not been captured yet.

Six years since the War had ended and dozens of Deatheaters had been tracked down and captured since then, save for Malfoy and coincidentally his three friends. Ginny did not believe in coincidences.

She stood up, slipped on her boots and walked down the meandering hallway, cutting through various cubicles to get to the corner cubicle that belonged to Arthur Shlesinger or Artie as they called him. He would most likely be around. The Auror Headquarters was always relatively busy at this late hour with some Aurors filling in reports after midnight raids or assignments and other Aurors catching up with work.

She knew Artie had been recently placed in charge of a team assigned to locate Parkinson, the only living female death eater of Malfoy's generation. She had been recently spotted at Gringotts, using a Polyjuice Potion that made her look like her mother – it would have worked had it not been for the fact that her mother had been taken in for interrogation just that very day. The Goblins, unaware of this allowed her to take funds from the family account and walk away.

After releasing Mrs. Parkinson who insisted she had no clue as to her daughter's whereabouts, one of the newbie Aurors was assigned to tail her. The Auror, Eunice Kissinger, found out that Mrs. Parkinson was having a problem at Gringotts regarding missing funds but refused to let the goblins notify the Auror Headquarters, citing it as a family issue best kept private. The Aurors got their hands on Gringotts' security cameras and with their newly discovered special charms managed to identify the person behind the polyjuice potion – Pansy Parkinson.

If Ginny was not wrong, they had not spotted her since. That was what she had to check with Artie.

"Hey, Artie." Ginny said, walking into his cubicle which was slightly more spacious than hers but even more untidy with piles of documents and books everywhere.

Artie was eleven years older than her. Unlike most of the other Aurors, he had not fought in The War, not even in one single battle. He had helped out in the research, doling out vast amounts of information regarding Voldermort and every one of his Deatheaters based on books, witness accounts, Harry's accounts of Tom Riddle passed on to him by Dumbledore etc. He was the one who has given Ginny the profile he had done on Malfoy during the War, which was pinned up on her 'Malfoy Wall of Fame'.

"Ginny," He looked up from the documents he had been plowing through, removing his spectacles and rubbing his bleary eyes. "It's one in the morning. What are you still doing at the office?" He asked her, almost scolding.

Ginny grinned, "I should be asking you the same thing."

Artie rolled his eyes and put on his spectacles, smiling wrly. "I'm thirty three and married to my job."

"Same story here, mate." She shot back, smiling.

"So what is it then? You didn't come here all the way to chat did you?" Artie asked, expectantly, suddenly all business-like.

Ginny folded her arms across her chest, getting serious, "I wanted to know about Parkinson. You've seen her yet? Got any leads on her?"

Artie pursed his lips and frowned, before summoning a file with his wand and leafing through it, all the while muttering, "Not that I recall. I've been sending Craig and Henry out the past week to stake out Mrs. Parkinson's house, just in case. They gave me their report today…. let me check if there's anything of value…."

Ginny leaned against the doorway of his cubicle, waiting patiently. He closed the file shut, shaking his head, "Nothing...it seems like Pansy's Mum's clean after all…She has no clue about her daughter's whereabouts...My boys even bugged the floo system at her place...they did not come up with anything except some conversations with her legal officers to change her Gringotts password... seems like she's protecting herself from her daughter."

Ginny nodded, disappointed. "Thanks Artie. You'd better get some sleep."

"You too!" He called out as she walked off.

But Ginny did not sleep that night. She did not even go back to her apartment at Diagon Alley. She apparated to the Malfoy Manor, something she did now and then, when something was bothering her. The first time she had come here was to check the place out as part of gathering information on Malfoy. Ginny had never been able to get past the gate – apparition wards had been put up all around the estate and only a search warrant could authorize breaking through those wards. No sight of Malfoy meant no official case and hence there was no way to obtain a warrant.

The second time she had wound up there with no plan or thought to do so. Her mother had been nagging at her, during a particular visit to The Burrow, to focus more on her personal life than her career; perhaps then Harry would take her back. But Ginny did not want Harry, not anymore. All they had was history, nothing else. Harry knew it; she knew it, why could not her mother see that? Feeling more than slightly nettled, she found herself apparating to the Malfoy Manor where she spent a few hours traipsing the fields around the estate that belonged to the village nearby.

Something about the place, the looming deserted house, the still silent grounds, the rolling lawns that were now unkempt and filled with overgrown weeds, the mist that surrounded the Manor in the cold of the night, the aura of power and prestige that it still emanated despite its deteriorating condition and most of all the enigma of its history, the history of its occupants intrigued Ginny yet calmed her at the same time.

Now she was here not to ponder about her personal life – or lack of it - but rather to think about Malfoy, to put herself in his shoes, to see the world through his eyes, think with his mind and figure out what he would have done after The War, where he would have gone and where he would be right this moment.

She thought about all that she knew about him – third person accounts, all those articles her own bits and pieces of memories of him from Hogwarts, seeing him fight and kill in The War.

She stared at the house, noted how massive it was and wondered if it was possible for someone to live in there without showing any signs of life in the house. Then, just like that, she knew where Malfoy was hiding all this while. Right here, in his home.

It was incredible that she had not thought of it earlier. Malfoy Manor was massive - there were bound to be hidden rooms for him to stay in, underground tunnels that helped him to keep in touch with the outside world or any of the house elves he might have living with him to get out of the house without being seen in order to replenish supplies.

It was just a theory though. She needed evidence; floor plans of the Malfoy Manor if such things were obtainable and a map of the entire estate.

She decided to apparate back home to take a quick nap, wash up and head back to the office so that she could talk to Kingsley first thing in the morning.

As she turned around to apparate, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, as if someone was watching her. She turned back and stared at the house, her wand at the read position, her eyes roving over every single visible window, most of the glass panes broken and window shutters hanging loose, but saw nothing, no one.

When she apparated, she was filled with the distinct sensation that she was being watched and not for the first time.


"You're mad, Ginny." Kingsley told her the moment she finished telling him her theory regarding Malfoy's whereabouts and the need for evidence to back it up.

He was rummaging his file cabinets for a specific file he needed to hand Tonks who had been waiting patiently ever since Ginny barged into Kingsley's office, insisting that she had something very urgent to discuss with her supervisor.

"That's what people said when Dumbeldore announced that Voldermort had returned." Tonks pointed out.

Ginny shot her a grateful look, "I don't need much. Just a floor plan of the Malfoy Manor."

Kingsley straightened up with an exasperated sigh and turned to face the young Auror, "Ginny, that's not possible. No plan or layout of the Malfoy Estate has been filed in the public records. The only ones available, I suspect, are in the Malfoy library itself. The only sources you can rely on are those reports done by any Auror or Ministry official who has been in that house but even that you know is very limited in its scope and most likely will not help."

Ginny was about to open her mouth and suggest a search warrant when Kingsley pre-empted her and put his hand out, "Don't even think about a search warrant. You know the rules."

"No sighting means no official case which means no warrant." Ginny recited monotonously, rolling her eyes. Tonks laughed.

Kingsley shook his head, amused. Then he glanced at his desk, "Ah! Here's the file." He grabbed the folder, which had been placed on his large oak desk in a very visible spot. He handed it to a bemused Tonks who followed Ginny out of the office, down the corridor.

"Don't be disheartened, Ginny. You of all people should know that rules have loopholes." Tonks reminded her, and then with a reassuring pat on her shoulder, she walked off.

Before Ginny could spend more time mulling over ways to get into the Malfoy Manor, Anthony Goldstein or Tony as he was called, one of the Aurors on the same team as herself, rushed over and reminded her about the assigement they had that morning – staking out two twenty year old wizards who were suspected of shoplifting on various occasions in Knockturn Alley. A rudimentary, boring stakeout but it had to be done.

By the time Ginny got back it was past noon. Most of the morning had been wasted following the two suspects who turned out to be stealing dark objects to impress their muggle girlfriends. A report had to be written and sent to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for them to decide the best possible action for the lovelorn youths and it was Ginny's turn to do it this time since Tony had written a report the last time they had gone on a mission together.

Ginny sat down at her desk with weary sigh, dreading the paperwork, her mind itching to find a way to reaffirm her suspicions about Malfoy hiding from the rest of the world and living like a hermit in the Malfoy Manor ever since The War ended.

Then a small piece of paper placed right on top of the cluttered mess of folders and documents on her table caught her attention. She might not have noticed it if not for the distinctively elegant cursive scrawl on it. The handwriting was distinct and large enough for her to read the words written on the paper, without picking it up.

You're getting warmer

The writer was obviously referring to the game children often played where if they got closer to the spot a specific object was hidden, they were told that they were getting warmer.

It took a split second for Ginny to figure out who the author of the note might be. It took another half a second for it to sink in. She rose from her chair so abruptly that it fell to the floor with a thud and she backed away from her desk, from where the incriminating note lay.

There was only one person she was searching for at the moment– there was no other deatheater tracking case she was involved in at that point of time. It was in regard to that same person's possible location that she had recently had a revelation.

Draco Malfoy.

How would he have known about her theory? Only Kingsley and Tonks knew about it and they were the last two people in the world who would betray the cause. Malfoy could not have used bugging devices – the entire Auror Headquarters had anti-bugging wards placed around it ever since during The War. How had he gotten access to such insider information?

How had he been able to get into the Ministry of Magic without being spotted, and right into the Auror headquarters? How had he been able to leave that note on her desk? Even if he used an invisibility cloak or a disillusionment charm, there was still the question as to how he had obtained information about her progress on locating him? And what if he came back again the same way he had today but this time while she was at her desk and not out in the field?

Ginny attempted to calm herself down by taking a few deep breaths to slow down her racing pulse. She had seen innocent people die, she had killed a few Deatheaters, she had witnessed Muggles being tortured, and this was nothing – that was what she told herself but not what she believed. When the person you were tracking down and keeping an eye out for seemed to be keeping an even closer eye on you, it was truly unsettling, especially when he was a ruthless Deatheater like Malfoy.

Ginny pushed away those thoughts, moved back towards her desk and pointed her wand at the piece of paper, muttering the incantation for the fingerprints locating charm. There was nothing.

She was not surprised. Now that she calmed down and thought about it rationally, she did not find it shocking that this was the work of Malfoy. He had progressively come to be known as the epitome of stealth during the War. His brilliant and fully successful attempt in infiltrating Hogwarts had convinced Voldermort to make him the youngest Deatheater to ever have a say in stealth missions, a move that made The Order fear and loathe him.

She grabbed an evidence bag from her drawer, and with a flick of her wand, bagged the note. She sent it over to Danielle who was in charge of handwriting analysis at the Auror Headquarters with a note attached stating that the analysis was required urgently.

She wanted to talk to Kingsley or even Tonks and report the breach of security to them but she knew the both of them had gone for an interdepartmental meeting that would last the entire afternoon.

She sent another note, to Tony, promising to cover his shift tomorrow night if he wrote the report for their assignment instead.

After putting up wards around her cubicle – just in case –, grabbing her cloak and wand, she made her way to the lift, up to the lobby of the Ministry of Magic from where she could apparate back to The Burrow.

When one's nerves were rattled the way hers had been, Ginny knew the best place to be was back at home, curled up in her favorite armchair by the fireplace with a warm mug of her mother's homemade ginger tea, never mind the incessant maternal nagging.

TBC


A/n: Let me know what you think please…