As Ginny scanned the well dressed crowd around her, she noted that the crème de la crème of Wizarding London society was in attendance. In the box to her left sat Mr. and Mrs. Muttencott, of Muttencott Enterprises. One box further was the Floo Powder heiress, Amelia Stanton who was flanked by the daughters of the great cauldron baron, Hugo Von Ebner. The sight of the Nott's and Malfoy's didn't escape her and as she watched Lucius Malfoy's pale face she wondered if the other, younger Malfoy was there.
She flipped open her opera glasses, a Christmas gift from Henry last year, and took a better look around. She placed a gloved hand on the railing as a glint of pale hair came into focus. Ginny watched as Draco Malfoy helped an elegant young lady into her seat. The woman appeared at ease with her surroundings as though she was sure that she matched the opulence of the room. What did that kind of sureness feel like? Ginny wondered. Her gaze moved from the woman's silk robes to her chestnut hair piled intricately at the top of her head. She shifted her glasses to watch as Draco lifted the tails of his dress robes and sat down. She had heard of his frequent liaisons with women. As one of the most eligible bachelors in the Wizarding world, his movements were frequently monitored and it was rare to see a weekend pass without news of some new consort who had been seen with the Malfoy heir at the opening of this restaurant or that.
She sat back in her seat as the opera began. The soprano's voice soared as she sang of discarded love. Ginny sighed to herself and wondered what it said about her that she was so enraptured with stories of tortured and tormented love. Henry's snores gently interrupted the daydreams floating in Ginny's head. He had never been one for opera but he knew she loved it and so he indulged her once in a while with some tickets. She nudged him gently at intermission.
"Lovely sound that. Very powerful," he exclaimed as he woke from his nap.
"It's intermission, love." Ginny smiled. "I'm feeling a bit thirsty and I'd rather fancy a drink. Would you care for me to bring you one"
"No, I'm alright then," he replied.
Ginny picked put down her glasses and reached for her purse. She made her way through the elegantly dressed crowd to the refreshment bar. "Seltzer please," she said, placing a gloved hand on the bar.
"Vodka and tonic please." Draco Malfoy walked up and tossed a twenty pound note towards the attendant. Ginny waited for him to acknowledge her but after some moments she realized she would have to be the one to initiate.
"Hello Malfoy"
Draco nodded without taking his attention away from his drink.
"We seem to be getting into the habit of standing in silence around one another," Ginny observed.
"It suits me fine, Weasley" Draco replied taking a sip of his drink.
Ginny persisted. "If I was the sort to be superstitious I would say there was some cosmic significance to this"
He turned to face her with a sigh. "Yes, either I've done something terrible in a past life and I'm being punished or it's the Gods' way of telling you that I don't like you"
Not knowing what to say, Ginny took a big gulp of her drink.
"Don't drink too heavily Weasley. The last thing the Ministry needs is a drunken auror bumbling around the German Ministry. Bad enough that they're sending a Weasley," he finished under his breath as his eyes flicked over her.
Ginny looked up from her drink. "I'm drinking seltzer and how did iyou/i know that I was going to Germany…" She trailed off as a very svelte young brunette wrapped a delicate hand on Draco's upper arm.
"Draco, are you ready to go back to your seats? I believe the next half is soon to begin," she said, ignoring Ginny.
"Ginevra Weasley, may I present Ms. Carissa Enright," Draco offered.
"Charmed I'm sure," replied Carissa giving Ginny a brief once over before refocusing her attention on Draco.
Giving Ginny yet another nod in her direction, Draco led Carissa back to their seats. Ginny tried to shake off the irritation she felt at being dismissed. What made people like Carissa so completely insufferable, she wondered. It seemed as though the rich always felt entitled to acting as they chose without a thought as to how it would be felt by others. Determined not to let this ruin the rest of her evening, Ginny put Carissa out of her mind, downed the rest of her drink and hurried back as the first notes of the aria wafted back to her.
The next day, she made her final preparations before leaving. Ginny spent the morning running errands but decided to stop for lunch at her parents' home instead of grabbing a quick bite at the pub near her office as she had planned. She knew this trip would take some time and the last thing she needed was a howler from her mother while she worked in a foreign ministry. They didn't know who the Weasleys were in Germany and Ginny wanted to keep it that way.
She apparated with a ipop/i and landed in her old bedroom. She quickly made sure her hair was tidy in the mirror above her bureau and went to the kitchen.
"Oh Ginny, what a wonderful surprise!" exclaimed her mother. She had been perusing through the latest issue of Cauldron Wife hoping to find some tips on how to get some stains out of George and Fred's clothing. "Come, come, I was just about to put the kettle on."
"Hello mum," Ginny said as she hugged her mother. The two women found some biscuits to have with tea and settled in the family room where her father was dozing by the fire.
"Arthur, wake up, Ginny's come." Molly swatted his feet off the coffee table as she set the kettle she was carrying.
"My Ginny's home?" Arthur asked excitedly. Finding his daughter standing just next to him, he took her hand and kissed. "So tell me then love, how are you?"
"I'm fine dad," she replied. "I'll be going off on assignment soon so I wanted to pop in to say good-bye."
"Ah yes," Arthur nodded. "There have been rumors leaking through the Ministry of a very important case being worked on abroad." He looked at his wife. "But who'd have thought it would be our Ginny going? She's making a name for us Weasleys' Molly. You mark my words. She'll do more good for that Ministry than her old, addle brained father ever did, eh?" He looked on at Ginny proudly. "I think you'll be up for Ministry of Magic someday. I hope I'll be alive to see a Weasley take on one of the highest offices in the land."
"You're getting ahead of me dad," Ginny laughed. "I'm merely an auror. A big nobody in the department. There are some long time veterans who will be thought of well before they even glance at me."
"Your father's right Ginny, you'll do that Ministry a lot of good. It's turned into rubbish nowadays, what with all the corruption and aurors being bought out by supporters of You Know Who. There was a day when being part of the Ministry meant you were above reproach, but those days are well behind us now."
Hoping to change the subject, Ginny looked at her father. "Have you heard any update on Ron and Hermione's pregnancy?"
"Oh yes, they've been over several times. It seems they're trying to decide between a birth at the hospital or one of those natural births. You know the ones with the birthing in the bathtubs or something."
"Yes," her mother added, "Hermione says she wants her child to be born with no interference from modern birthing techniques. Thinks it will mess with the organic ness of birth and motherhood, something or the other. You know I would never suggest such a thing. One thing I do know is that after seven children is that it wouldn't hurt to have a little something to ease the pain."
Ginny laughed as she imagined what Ron's face would look like, regardless of the type of birth, when it was time to get the baby out. "Does Ron have any opinion on the matter?" she asked.
Her mother answered, "Oh you know your brother, whatever Hermione wishes, it will be done. He's far too tied to her apron strings to make a decision on his own. Seems he didn't take example from his father, I warrant."
Arthur and Ginny exchanged amused smirk. Arthur was so tied to his wife's apron strings that you could barely separate them. Thirty-three years of marriage and they were as close as they had been when they were students at Hogwarts. It was the kind of intimacy that came when two people were truly meant for one another alone. It was a kind of closeness Ginny yearned for and as she watched her parents this afternoon, she realized that if there was such a thing as true love then there could be no greater example than the one her parents had set for her.
"Alright mum," Ginny said as she rose. "I have a few more errands to run and still all the packing to do before I'm ready for this trip."
"Oh, you can't stay longer Ginny?" Molly looked at her daughter disappointedly as Ginny gave her a good-bye kiss.
"Sorry mum, I'll have a long holiday when I return and I'll be sure to spend more time with you and dad. I love you both," Ginny said, promptly apparating back to her apartment.
At the Ministry of Magic the following day, five aurors stood in a circle. Augustus pointed to a map of Germany in the middle of the group.
"This is your designated portkey for this investigation. Should there be any trouble you can use this portkey to return. Please keep your transmitters on at all times. On my command, you may touch the portkey and begin your assignment. Aurors ready…" He nodded, causing all five aurors to place their hands on the portkey. What lay ahead in Germany, none would be prepared for.