Chapter 2

An Uncomfortable Position

Ginny awoke a little more than one week later to an eerily quiet Burrow. Ron was away with the Cannons, Bill and Fleur had their own house now. Fred and George were living in the flat above their shop at Diagon Alley. Percy never visited unless required by law. Arthur had taken to leaving early for the Ministry, and without a herd of children to take care of, Molly had taken up an almost endless number of hobbies. Ginny couldn't quite remember which one it was that had drawn her from the Burrow that morning, but it hadn't been urgent enough to keep her from leaving enough food for Ginny to have a good sized breakfast.

She tried to ignore the world and focus on the dry toast in front of her. She'd known for some time that she wouldn't be enjoying this day, and the knowledge that she was correct was hardly worth being happy about. Now that it had finally arrived, she found herself wondering if she had the courage to actually go through with it. There were so many people who had offered to help her.

Ginny forced some juice down her throat as she looked over the letter again. It had arrived last night while she at a quiet dinner with her parents.

Miss Weasley,

Due to unexpected scheduling concerns, we will need to move your previously scheduled appointment from tomorrow afternoon to 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please return a message with our owl to confirm the suitability of this change.

Regards,

Carmilla Candlewright

It was an extra annoyance she would have rather avoided, though it was only a small matter compared to the rest of the things she was trying not to remember. She had wanted to pick up a new set of robes for the appointment, but that would no longer be possible.

Her mother and father had played down the importance, and, for the most part, they were correct. The Aurors wouldn't really care if she arrived in robes that were a year old. Unfortunately that wasn't the thing that concerned Ginny.

Over the last week, her desire to join the Aurors had waned more than she could have guessed. She simply couldn't get the images out of her head. Their cold, mindless pursuit of the thief unnerved her. They had ignored everything else, even Death Eaters. Could she ever do that? Could she have ignored the innocent witch trapped under the rubble? Could she have ignored all the horrible things she knew the Death Eaters had done, and still would do?

The chilling answer had haunted her dreams for the last few days. Each night, she'd watch as the ceiling crumbled over some innocent wizard and the dark-cloaked thief ran away laughing. When the message came last night, calling her to the appointment early, she knew she would show up. There really wasn't any other option.

Neither of her parents knew what the letter had said. She'd told them it was just a note from Hermione about some plans they made. Knowing what the next day was, they didn't ask any more questions. No one had asked her what she'd be doing today. It wasn't really something she had been expecting, but it did make things somewhat simpler.

Ginny glanced at the clock again. She still had an hour. Could Madam Malkin's finish a set of robes in a half hour? Perhaps, but even if it was possible, there was no way she'd have enough time to show up at the Ministry of Magic in time for her appointment.

She finished off another piece of toast and paced about the kitchen for a while. She returned to her small bedroom and spent a few minutes with her wand, fixing up her robes as best she could. With all of that complete, she checked a clock again, only to find that she still had a half hour to wait.

Ginny shrugged, and shook her head. She'd best go now while she still had the nerve to do it. It would be harder to back out once she was sitting in the Ministry. She pocketed her wand and made her way down to the kitchen. After a quick drink to cure her dry throat, she opened the door and left the Burrow.

The weather was loathsome. The sun was already shining brightly, and the only clouds in the sky were small puffs of white hanging lazily on the horizon. A gentle breeze carried the sweet smell of freshly opened flowers from her mother's garden. With an annoyed huff, she started off toward the hill that marked the edge of the Anti-Apparation charm which remained around their home. As she walked, a pair of songbirds showed their poor taste by starting to sing.

"Silencio."

The singing stopped immediately and the bird took flight, soundlessly retreating. It did little to improve Ginny's mood, but that didn't really trouble her. It was not a day to be in a good mood. She'd wanted rain or fog, or even just a strong wind. Instead, she got this. She didn't want to be happy today. She wanted to get it over with. She had things she needed to do, and she'd never be able to do them if she had to spend every day at the Burrow with her mother.

She reached the top of the hill and turned around to look back at the Burrow. She could barely make out the shape of her mum standing in front of the door, no doubt watching her as she left. She'd probably hoped to talk to Ginny before she left. Ginny sighed to herself. It was probably better that she didn't. The idea of a an awkward conversation with her mum didn't sound like it would make this any easier.

In the distance, Molly Weasley raised an arm to wave goodbye. Ginny instinctively waved back. A moment later, she closed her eyes, concentrating on a place that she remembered all too well.

With a pop she Apparated into the long Entrance Hall in the Ministry of Magic. It was disturbingly similar to the dreams she'd been having the last few nights. Presently, there were many more wizards Apparating into the hall. Every so often, a wizard or two would tumble out of the fireplaces to her right. Nearly all of them were slowly making their way toward the far end of the hall where Ginny could just make out the large golden security gate. She joined them, walking slightly slower than the rest, unable to take her eyes off the gate.

"Ginny?" a voice called out from her left. Ginny turned and found Hermione staring at her and closing a large, ancient-looking book. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the low wall which ringed the fountain in the center of the hall.

"You're here a bit early, aren't you?" she asked with obvious surprise.

"Yeah, I guess," Ginny replied weakly. "I... er, I didn't feel like sitting around the Burrow so..."

"Right," Hermione said with a sympathetic nod. "Well, you've got loads of time. I've been shut out of my office, so we could pop off to Diagon Alley for a bit if you like. I'm sure it would be more interesting than this book."

"Why did they kick you out?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Hermione said quickly. "Just someone being overly paranoid. I... er... I hadn't planned on being in today, but when I heard about your appointment, I decided I should be here when they come to talk with me."

"Why were you going to be out?" Ginny asked, though she already knew the answer.

Hermione frowned, a little embarrassment showing through her suddenly gloomy expression. "Ron and I were... we were going to meet to remember or celebrate... well, you know. I guess this is just as good. At least this gets something done." Hermione smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I'm really proud of you, Ginny."

Ginny had to look away. "I know," she mumbled in response. "I hope you still are by tonight."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said with a bigger smile. "No one's better qualified than you. Now, how about some tea?" Hermione started turning Ginny away from the queue of people making their way through the gate. "Since no one expected me to be in, they put some heavy charms on my office. It will take an hour for them to remove them all. Fred and George told me about a great little shop that just opened across the street from their shop."

Ginny looked back toward the gate nervously. "I don't know... I think I would really rather just go up and wait."

"You want to wait? But your appointment isn't until this noon?"

"Maybe they'll be able to do it earlier?"

"I doubt it. They must have at least twelve people waiting already."

"Still, I think I'd rather just wait. I don't really feel like tea right now."

A frown returned to Hermione's face. "Alright. At least let me walk you there." Reluctantly, Ginny agreed. They walked to the security desk where Ginny checked in with the wizard there. It wasn't the same wizard she'd seen in the Spectrecorder, but he looked equally bored.

When he was finished cataloging her wand, he waved them off toward the gate. Ginny paused for just a moment as she walked through. Standing in the center of the smaller hall was an Auror staring directly at her. As Ginny continued forward and followed Hermione toward one of the lifts, the Auror strode toward them.

"They aren't done with your office yet, Miss Granger," he said as he stopped in front of them.

"So I assumed," Hermione replied with only a touch of annoyance.

"Even if it were, I don't think they'd let you take a guest down there with you," he continued. "Not today at least, and not her."

"I'm not her guest, and I'm not going to the Department of Mysteries," Ginny replied without trying to hide her annoyance as Hermione had.

"Oh yeah?" he returned with a laugh. "What business do you have here this early in the morning?"

"Does it matter?" Ginny shot back. "Why aren't you questioning everyone else about what they are here for? How about her?" Ginny said with a nod at a witch standing nearby. "Why haven't you asked her what her business here is?"

"She's applying for Auror Training," Hermione told him in a pacifying voice. "She's a bit stressed right now. I'm just following her up to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Hold on... She's here for Auror Training?" the Auror asked suspiciously. "She's the Weasley girl, right? Arthur's daughter, I mean." After a nod from Hermione, he continued with an even more incredulous expression. "She's a bit early, is she?"

"We know," Hermione answered. Then she leaned closer to him, and spoke in a lower voice, "This isn't really the best day for this, you know?"

"Well, it's not going to get any better, is it?" he replied with a snort. "I mean, it's one thing to show up early to make a good impression. Makes it look like you're serious and dependable, you know? But showing up this early? It looks more like you just can't figure out how to tell time."

The golden doors in front of Ginny and Hermione clattered open. "Yes, thank you," Ginny said sweetly as she stepped into the lift. "I'll be sure to remember that next time." The Auror gave her a strange look, but said nothing else. Hermione entered next and joined Ginny in the back of the lift as a number of other wizards piled into the already cramped space.

Ginny waited patiently as they stopped at each level. Finally they reached level-two and they squeezed past a pair of tall wizards and into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Come on," Hermione encouraged her. "We can at least find someplace comfortable to sit and wait." Hermione turned and started marching off.

Ginny stood where she was. "You really don't have to. I'll be fine."

Hermione stopped and gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's really no bother. You heard him. They still won't let me down into my office."

"I—I guess I would just feel better if I just did this myself," Ginny said sheepishly. "I don't really want to talk about it —or anything else. I just want to get it over with and... Well, I think it's better if I do it alone."

Hermione gave her another smile and nodded. "Alright. I understand. I'm sure you'll be brilliant. I'll see you sometime later, then?"

Ginny nodded silently. Hermione walked back over to the bank of lifts and waited quietly for the next one to open. Not knowing what else to do, Ginny waved one last time, and walked off.

Once she'd rounded the first corner, she stopped and waited. Should could just barely hear the sounds of the lift grates opening and closing. She stood and waited, listening as two more lifts arrived, dropped off passengers and then rattled on to their next destination. Surely one of them must have taken Hermione.

Ginny slowly leaned out around the corner and looked for some sign that Hermione had truly left. It was impossible to tell without stepping around the corner, so after a deep breath she walked out into the small hall as if it were completely natural for her to do so.

To her relief, Hermione had already left. She allowed herself a quiet sigh before the next lift appeared. It was still on its way up to the first level, so Ginny was forced to nervously wait for the next one. With her luck, Hermione would come back for some strange reason and she'd never be able to explain what she was currently doing. Either that, or someone from the Auror Headquarters would walk by and ask her more questions. That wouldn't do either. It was bad enough that the Auror by the lifts had seen her. She looked at the clock on the wall. There was still plenty of time. She only wished she had an Invisibility Cloak so no one could see her.

Ginny jumped as another lift opened behind her. A pair of paper airplanes zoomed over her head and stopped just inside the lift. Ginny stepped in after them and relaxed a little. No one else joined her. Now she just had a few levels and she'd be done.

When the lift stopped at Level Three, she turned and tried to hide her face. There were two Aurors standing just outside the lift, apparently waiting for a lift to Level Two. On Level Four, an old witch carrying a niffler stepped into the lift, but completely ignored her. When the doors opened on the fifth level, Ginny quickly slipped out of the lift.

The fifth level did not look terribly unlike the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There were rows of cubicles flanked by large windowed offices. Directly in front of her was a pleasant-looking, middle-aged witch behind a spacious desk. A large gold plaque on the corner read:

Carmilla Candlewright

Department of International Magical Cooperation

"Good morning, Miss Weasley," she called out in a kindly voice. "I'm glad you were able to make it. I'm terribly sorry about the schedule change. It really was out of our hands."

Ginny had still expected to wait, but as the 9 o' clock came and passed, she was still left sitting patiently in one of the soft leather chairs near Mrs. Candlewright's desk. Echoing softly from a nearby corridor was the muffled sound of an argument occurring. Normally, she might have been annoyed with the wait, but as the sound of a light crash echoed into the small lobby, she realized that her situation could be worse.

Mrs. Candlewright smiled at Ginny and calmly stood. "I'm terribly sorry to keep you waiting, dear. I'll go and see what is keeping Mr. Harrington and Mrs. Reading."

The kindly woman walked off smoothly. To Ginny's dismay, she seemed to be heading in the direction of the argument. If either of the people she was supposed to meet were part of it, then perhaps there was little mystery to reason behind the open position. Ginny reminded herself that she didn't need to stay here forever. She just needed a job until she could work out what had happened with Charlie. If the Aurors had any part of that, she couldn't let herself get involved.

When she saw the listing of Ministry jobs in the Daily Prophet last week, this one had caught her eye immediately. The scene from the Spectrecorder was fresh in her mind, and the Department of International Magical Cooperation seemed to be a suitable choice for someone looking to do a little looking into what had happened. With any luck, she'd get the chance to travel about, and it would be easy to slip off for short periods of time. She tried to ignore the quiet voice in the back of her head which reminded her of the other things she had intended to search for.

"I'm terribly sorry for the delay, Miss Weasley," Mrs. Candlewright apologized as she glided back to her desk. "I believe they are ready for you now."

Ginny nodded and stood up. She ran her hands through her hair nervously and then straighted her robes as much as possible. Craning her neck around the corner, she tried to figure out where she was supposed to go. There was a long corridor which eventually widened to include two rows of cubicles. At the far end was a large wooden door with a golden sign on it. Mrs. Candlewright was already scratching away at a large piece of parchment. Ginny cleared her throat to get her attention.

"Pardon me, but where do I go?"

"Oh dear, I quite forgot," the witch said with the hint of a laugh. "It's right down that corridor. The large office at the end." She pulled out her wand, and wiggled it in the air. With a burst of sparks, a small, plump bluish bird appeared and flew clumsily toward Ginny. "There you are. It will lead you there. Good luck."

Ginny looked at the bird curiously. It chirped and bobbed happily in front of her, slowly edging its way down the corridor. "Thank you," she said and then turned to follow her feathered guide. When she reached the door at the end of the corridor, the bird perched itself on the top of a large gold sign fixed to the door. With one last, cheerful chirp, the bird disappeared in a puff of sparks and feathers.

She reached for the door's polished, golden handle, but stopped as she heard voices coming from inside the room. They were muffled, but she could still hear a certain amount of tense discomfort in their tones.

"So?" a witch's voice asked. "I don't see what you're so uncertain about." Ginny had to guess it was Mrs. Reading.

"Don't you?" a wizard responded, almost certainly the Mr. Harrington whose name had been etched into the golden sign in front of her. "Come now. You're much more clever than that. You saw right through those French blokes and their complaint over that shipment of spellbooks. You're telling me that you read all that and you don't see anything odd?"

"Of course I do," the witch replied. "Fairly well known family. No past problems with Magical Law Enforcement. Enough N.E.W.T.s to do any number of things. I'd say it's terribly odd that she didn't stop by last month when we were looking for someone to fill Goldwain's position." The wizard mumbled something in response, but Ginny couldn't quite hear it.

"I thought she'd be here by now," the witch said in an almost curious voice. "Carmilla said she'd send her over."

Knowing how it would look if either of them opened the door to find her standing there, Ginny waited a second, then knocked lightly while the witch was still talking. The voices in the room died immediately, and a moment later, the door opened.

At the door was a tall witch with long black hair. She was younger than Ginny had expected. She seemed to be older than Tonks and yet younger than Lupin, and yet there was a shrewdness in her eye that reminded Ginny of Professor McGonagall.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," she said with a smile. "Please come in. We were expecting you. I'm terribly sorry about making you wait. Our morning has been quite interesting already."

The wizard standing behind her seemed quite a bit less cheery. He was an older wizard with short, brown hair streaked with grey. His nose and jaw were sharp and his eyes were dark and glaring at her with undisguised annoyance. Ginny tried to smile at him, but it was rather difficult. His eyes narrowed.

"Welcome to the Department of International Magical Cooperation," he said with a forced smile. "I am Ferdinand Harrington. This is Cordelia Reading. Before we decide whether we will be taking you on, there is a... procedure that needs to be followed. This office deals regularly with ministries from other countries. The position we are considering you for will require you to occasionally interact with junior members of foreign ministries. It is important that we trust you to act appropriately."

"Mrs. Reading will have a series of questions for you. While you answer them, I will be contacting the witches and wizards you submitted as references on your application. We are under some pressure to fill this position quickly. You have, of course, informed them that they are to expect a visitor. I do not have the time to try and track down half a dozen wizards spread across the globe."

"I have, sir," Ginny answered. It was true. She had told them to expect someone from the Ministry to visit them. She had not told them that it would be from the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

"Very well," he replied with a short sigh. "I leave you with Mrs. Reading. Good day."

"I'm sure he wishes you the best of luck, as well," Mrs. Reading said as Harrington began walking for the door.

"Yes, of course," he replied as he eyed Ginny warily. The door closed sharply behind him. Mrs. Reading shook her head and waved a hand at a nearby chair.

"Sit down, please," she said in a soft voice. "Harrington's job requires him to deal with many things and many people. This morning he has been unfairly forced to do both at the same time, and without any tea."

Ginny sat down and tried to find some position which would be comfortable enough to balance the amount of anxiety she was suddenly about to feel. This was supposed to be easier than joining the Aurors. Mrs. Reading was nice enough, but it seemed Mr, Harrington had disliked her from the moment he saw her. She hadn't enjoyed the thought of him questioning her, but the thought of him talking to her friends seemed even more upsetting.

The only good part of the situation was Mrs. Reading. She was good natured and immediately set to asking Ginny a series of questions. Few of them had simple answers, but none of them were terribly challenging as well. The constant questions were distracting her from the thought of Harrington speaking with Hermione.

After quite some time, Mrs. Reading became more relaxed and the questions became somewhat easier. The first questions were much more serious. What should she expect in the presence of a Veela? What should she do if someone asked her to comment on some Ministry policy? These later questions were much less formal. What hex would she use to discourage the attention of wizards who'd had too much Firewhiskey? What was her favorite sweet? When was the last Quidditch World Cup she'd attended.

The time slipped past her and she was surprised to see that it had been over an hour and a half since Mr. Harrington had left. Mrs. Reading took more and more time to think of questions to ask her. Eventually they had fallen to simply discussing Quidditch.

"So you actually got to play at Hogwarts?" Mrs. Reading asked.

"Yes, but not as much as some people did."

"What position?"

"Chaser mostly," Ginny answered lightly. "Though I did play Seeker a couple of times."

"Really? That's odd, isn't it?" the older witch asked. "I mean, you don't really see many players who do both, do you?"

"No, I only did it because our normal Seeker couldn't play."

Mrs. Reading frowned. "Couldn't play? They must have been good for you to keep them on the team if they kept missing matches."

"Well, yes... I—"

The door to the office opened suddenly and Mr. Harrington quickly stepped into the room and promptly pushed the door closed again. He walked to the table Ginny and Mrs. Reading were sitting at and gave them both a rather sour look.

"I don't want to hire her."

The smile disappeared from Ginny's face. The whole thing had been a waste of time. She pushed back her chair and stood. "Alright then. I'll be going," she said stiffly.

Mrs. Reading stood up with her and glared at Harrington. "Hold on," she told Ginny as she held out an arm to stop her from leaving. She turned back to the greying wizard. "You have a good reason, don't you? A reason the Minister will be satisfied with?"

"Not yet," Harrington said with distaste.

"Then give her a chance."

Harrington looked from Mrs. Reading to Ginny and back. With an disgruntled huff, he heaved a leather satchel onto the table. Without a word, he motioned for Ginny to sit back down. She did, though without any of the comfort she'd been in just moments ago. Mrs. Reading gave her an encouraging nod and sat back down as well.

Harrington opened the satchel, pulled out a thick folder and tossed it on the table in front of him. There was a golden tab affixed to one side of the folder which read "Weasley, Ginevra". On top of it, Harrington tossed a few pieces of parchment that Ginny recognized: the application she'd filled out. Finally, he removed a small object and placed it in the center of the table. It was a Sneakoscope.

"What is that for?" Mrs. Reading asked in an exasperated voice.

"I do not suffer liars in this office, Miss Weasley," Harrington said in response to his assistant's question. "It's one thing to misinform some foreign official. Such things are occasionally necessary. It is something altogether different to lie to me. I can't very well run this office if I am not being told the truth." He leaned over the table and looked directly at Ginny. "If you tell me even the smallest of untruths," he hissed, "I'll see that you never set foot in this office again."

Ginny focused on keeping her composure and not trying to show any reaction at all. What exactly did he dislike about her?

"Again, I've very sorry for all this, Miss Weasley," Mrs. Reading apologized. "As I said, Mr. Harrington's had a bad morning." She shot what looked to be a warning glance at her superior. "He's normally much more pleasant. Now can we just get on with this?"

"Yes, why don't we," Harrington said in a falsely happy voice. "Why don't we begin with your references. You do have quite a few. Enough even for an application for Auror Training." He paused to glance at Ginny before continuing. "Strangely enough, that was exactly what Miss—" he paused to page through the folder in front of him, "—Granger, yes— exactly what she thought I was there for." Ginny refused to react to the comment, but she noticed a strange look from Mrs. Reading.

"I had quite an odd conversation with her," Harrington continued. "It was odd enough that an applicant for a low level assistant position would have references in the Department of Mysteries, but Miss Granger seemed even more uncertain about this business than I am."

"How do you know her?" Mrs. Reading asked.

"She's my friend," Ginny answered.

A grunting laugh escaped Harrington's throat. "She's a bit more than that. She also spends quite a bit of time with your brother Ronald, who just happens to be the Keeper for the Chudley Cannons."

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" Mrs. Reading commented. "We were looking for someone with some knowledge of Quidditch."

"Yes, how fortunate that we found her," Harrington replied in a low tone. "I also spoke with Minerva McGonagall. After a short introduction, she explained in very articulate detail just how talented and clever you were, how I would be completely wasting your potential, and how cruel it would be to use the recent hardships in your life as a reason to keep you from reaching that potential." Ginny stared back with a stony face, waiting for some accusation or insult.

After an uncomfortable silence, Harrington resumed. "She did also say that you had excellent marks, good with people, decent Quidditch player, nice family and so on. All of that sound correct?"

"Yes."

"I then spoke with one Remus Lupin. He was a former professor at Hogwarts. He taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. That's not really the class we're normally most interested in, by the way," Harrington commented. "Still, you must have made quite an impression at... twelve years of age. He knew quite a bit about you." Again, Ginny kept her mouth shut despite her desire to speak out against Mr. Harrington's tone.

"Besides being a werewolf," he said as his eyes twitched toward Mrs. Reading, "he's had an interesting collection of friends. Let's see. Albus Dumbledore. Mad-Eye Moody. Mundungus Fletcher. Arthur and Molly Weasley. That was less of a surprise than it should have been, and it doesn't even compare to Nymphadora Tonks. I hear he's spending quite a bit of time with her." He shook his head and stared at the parchment in front of him. "An Auror and a werewolf. Strange company, indeed."

"I don't see what any of this has to do with me," Ginny blurted out. She'd tried to stop herself, but the words just burst forth.

Harrington simply smiled. "That is precisely what Mr. Lupin said. I did some quick checking and found that Mr. Lupin had some even more interesting friends when he was younger. It seems he was good friends with the notorious Sirius Black—"

"He was innocent!" Ginny nearly shouted.

"Of course he was," Harrington said with menacing kindness. "I'm certain Mr. Black was quite honorable and terribly well behaved."

Ginny sat back and forced herself to calm down. She could feel the anger rising in her stomach. What was the point of all of this? Why didn't he trust her? This was supposed to be an easy job, not an interrogation.

"Mr. Lupin was also friends with James and Lily Potter," Harrington continued. "Due in part to this, he was also said to be friendly with their son, Harry. Have you heard of him?"

Ginny scowled at the absurdity of the question. "Yes," she shot back, trying to say as little as possible.

"Seems he was almost inseparable from your brother and the very same Miss Granger you listed as a reference. You got to know him as well, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"You became rather close, I hear."

"Yes," she answered with a clenched jaw.

"How close, would you say?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed and she glared at Harrington. "What does it matter?"

"How close, Miss Weasley?" Harrington asked again, tapping his finger next to the Sneakoscope.

"Honestly, Ferdinand, is this really necessary?" Mrs. Reading asked.

Harrington ignored her and kept his eyes locked on Ginny. "Were you in a relationship?"

"It's none of your business," Ginny growled.

"It is now," Harrington replied smoothly. "You were, weren't you? Why were you trying to keep it a secret?"

Ginny flashed a threatening smile. "If I had been trying to keep it a secret, you wouldn't have found out, would you?"

Harrington stared back at her coldly. "In this office, there is no difference between secrets and lies."

"It wasn't a secret," Ginny reiterated.

"Then why not be open about it? Why resist? If there is nothing—"

"That's enough, Ferdinand!" Mrs. Reading barked. "She's answered your question."

He frowned at her as if she'd betrayed him. "Fine. We will move on." His voice returned to a more civil tone, though something in his eyes told Ginny that nothing had changed.

"You have a large family, yes?" he asked. Ginny nodded. "Very good. You have a pair of brothers who run a shop at Diagon Alley. Were you aware that they were summoned to this office five weeks ago for attempting to skirt the restrictions on importing six different varieties of venom?"

"No," Ginny replied honestly. It did sound like something they would do, however.

Harrington gave her an uncertain look and watched the Sneakoscope carefully. When it remained silent, he frowned at it. "Very well. If you worked in this office, would you aid them in these attempts in any way."

Ginny felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "They don't need my help. If they haven't been back here for five weeks they've already figured out how to get them in."

Harrington frowned again. "Interesting," he said as he scratched something out on a nearby piece of parchment. "You also have a brother working in the Minister's Office, yet you've... neglected to mention him," he said with a smile.

Ginny frowned. "We don't talk much."

"I see," Harrington said with a nod. "A close family. Next there's Ronald, but we've already talked about him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind having a sister in this office. Then there's Bill, who married a Veela, I hear."

"She's only part Veela."

"Right. Part Veela. And where does he work?"

"Gringott's."

"Yes, yes," Harrington said seriously. "It must be handy to have someone in the family who works the goblins. They have been quite... active in politics of late."

"I guess he's never mentioned that," Ginny said flatly.

"Right. Christmas must be a quiet affair for you lot," he said as he shook his head. "His wife, the Veela—"

"—Part Veela—"

"Yes, the part Veela. She's French, quite rich, with Veela ancestry and she married him... for his looks?" he ventured.

Ginny scowled at him. "She married him because he's brave and a good wizard."

"Certainly. That's usually why these things happen," he replied sarcastically. And finally there was... Charlie, right? You called him Charlie?" Ginny nodded silently. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I was away at the time, but I was shocked to hear of it upon my return." For a moment Ginny thought she detected a trace of actual remorse. It disappeared a moment later, and the cold look returned to his eyes. "What exactly did he do?"

"He was a dragon handler in Romania."

Harrington sat back in his chair and looked over to Mrs. Reading. "Romania, you said? Did you enjoy your visits there?"

Ginny paused to look at the two of them. There was something odd about how he'd asked that question. Why did he think she'd been to Romania? She stared back at Harrington. "I never visited him. He... came home often enough— at least, it seemed often enough at the time..."

"Got along pretty well in Romania, did he? Did he ever bring anyone to Britain with him?"

"No..." she replied with a suspicious look.

"Did he ever talk about Romanian politics or odd dealings?"

"No—"

"Course not," Harrington replied as he poked the Sneakoscope. "It's amazing you even knew each other's names."

"He mostly talked about dragons," Ginny continued. "Is there something—"

"If there is, I'm sure it's not important," Harrington said, cutting her short.

"Did you know Charlie?" she asked hesitantly.

"Not personally, no," Harrington replied quickly. "I've simply heard his name before... before the unfortunate events of the last month. My memory isn't what it once was, and I was trying to remember where I've heard of him."

Before he'd even finished speaking, the Sneakoscope started whirring and glowing. Harrington's arm shot forward and snatched it from the table. In a single fluid motion it was back in his satchel and the satchel was tossed under the table.

Mrs. Reading cleared her throat. "I assume you're finished now."

"I am," Harrington said as if the idea left a bad taste in his mouth. "The only thing left is to set up the Auror investigation."

"Investigation?" Mrs. Reading exclaimed. "Since when have we ever—"

"You don't mind, do you?" he asked Ginny. "It's not like they'd find anything, would they?"

Ginny stared at the shrewd wizard. Something made her want to be cautious around him, and yet she got the feeling that he was the one at a disadvantage. "I thought you had to hire someone quickly?"

"Counting on that, were you?" he snapped.

"No," Ginny replied evenly. "Look, I'm just responding to the article I read in the Daily Prophet. If you want to investigate me, that's just fine."

"There won't be any investigation," Mrs. Reading announced.

"Quite right," Harrington barked. "There's no need, since she won't be working anywhere near this office."

"Oh?" Mrs. Reading replied, rounding on Harrington. "What better candidate can you find in—" she looked to the clock, "—twenty minutes? Certainly not that empty-headed niece of yours. She can barely handle herself in a room of British wizards. I'd never even let her within sight of the Bulgarians or the Swiss. Who knows what she'd agree to do!"

"Well at least she's not some power-hungry, manipulative liar!" he shouted back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come now," Harrington laughed bitterly. "You remember her brother. Started in this office, working for Crouch. Next thing you know, he's getting close with Fudge, and now he's working for Scrimgeour. You don't think it's a bit strange that she shows up here, trying to get a job that is obviously beneath her talents and fitting every single requirement that we have?"

"No, I don't think it's odd that we've found someone who's talented and capable," Mrs. Reading responded. "I think it's terribly fortunate."

"Fortunate, indeed! And she shows up just in time!" Harrington shouted somewhat maniacally. "Twenty minutes to spare! We don't really have much of a choice, do we?"

"What does that matter? I'd hire her if we had a month to decide," Mrs. Reading replied. "I'd hire her if we'd already hired someone else. I say if she wants the job, it's hers. After what she's been through, I don't think I'd be all that eager to be an Auror, either."

"Course not. What would be the point?" Harrington said as he leaned back again. "She spent all that time getting close to Potter, but now she's got to find a different plan. She's certainly not going to find fame by spending three years in Auror training."

Mrs. Reading's eyebrows shot up. "You're delusional!"

"Am I?" Harrington asked as he picked up the folder and tossed it toward Mrs. Reading. "You saw her file! Links to the Minister, the goblins, French Veela, Quidditch, Romania. How much more do you want?"

"You're being paranoid," Mrs. Reading said in a calm voice. She shoved the folder back toward the center of the table. "She's not even eighteen years old. She's barely out of Hogwarts, and you think she's manipulating both of us?" She leaned forward and spoke slowly. "You're raving mad. She wants the job. If it's beneath her, then she'll be brilliant at it. It's not like we can't have her do more important things."

"Yes, I'm sure that's just what she wants."

"Oh, come off it!"

Harrington jabbed a sharp finger toward the younger witch. "Don't you forget who the head of this department is."

"Oh, I haven't," Mrs. Reading replied coolly. "An neither has the Minister. If you don't hire her, then you can expect to see me in the Minister's office explaining how I found her to be perfectly acceptable."

Harrington stood up, knocking his chair to floor. "Fine," he growled. "Take her, but if this turns out badly, I'll see that you never set foot in this office again."

A bored look crossed Mrs. Reading's face. "Yes, and if it works out splendidly you'll forget that I had anything to do with it."

There was a tense moment of silence during which Ginny wondered if either of them would turn and realize that she hadn't ever left the room. Not wanting to actually draw attention to this fact, she remained quiet like her two hosts. Finally, Mr. Harrington turned and extended a hand toward Ginny. She cautiously stood and reached out to shake it.

"Good day, Miss Weasley," he said quite formally. "If we decide to take you on, we'll send you an owl."

Ginny blinked and stared at his face. "But... didn't you just say—"

Harrington stared back stonily, and spoke as if it took all his restraint to keep from striking her.

"We'll. Send. You. An owl."

"Alright," Ginny replied quietly. "Thank you." She nodded to Mrs. Harrington who was shaking her head in frustration.

She closed the door behind her. She wanted to stop and wait to see if they would begin arguing again once she'd left, but she forced herself to walk away. It would probably be best if she didn't hear anything they were about to say. Instead, she walked back down the corridor which led to the large desk and eventually the lifts. She'd have to go back to the Burrow and wait to see just what was going on. She nodded to the receptionist as she walked past her desk and turned to walk toward the lifts.

"No use leaving, dear," a witch's voice called out from behind her. Ginny froze and spun around to see Mrs. Candlewright smiling at her. "I'm sure Mrs. Reading will be calling you back in a few minutes."

"But Mr. Harrington said I should leave," Ginny replied. In truth, she hadn't decided to leave because he'd told her to, but rather because she knew it would be an annoyance for him to ask her to return.

The smile on the witch's face widened. "Oh, I'm sure he did, but he's still a smart wizard. He knows who really runs this department. He's more of a figurehead than a department head. That's why he got the job. We looked pretty bad after that nasty business with Crouch."

"So he's always like this?" Ginny asked as she tossed a wary look down the hall to his office.

"Oh, he has his days. Don't trouble yourself about it, though. He can get a bit stormy at times, but he's all wind and no lightning. It's Mrs. Reading you need to mind."

"I'll remember that," Ginny said with a thankful nod. "So when do I get to start writing essays about cauldron bottom thickness and the dangers of importing foreign inkwells?"

Mrs. Candlewright broke out laughing. Her voice was surprisingly clear and cheerful, and the echoing tones forced Ginny to smile. "Oh, never, dear. We've got other people to do that. We need you for more specialized work than that." She paused and her face relaxed into a more serious expression. "Now, it's not likely to be at all difficult for you at first, and it may even get tedious, but on the whole it shouldn't be too bad, and it will get more challenging soon enough." Her face broke back into a smile. "It's easy to deal with cauldrons and inkwells. Handling witches and wizards can be downright impossible."

The sound a slamming door echoed down the corridor, Ginny controlled her urge to turn and see who was walking toward her. A moment later, a voice was addressing her.

"Miss Weasley?" Mrs. Reading called out. Ginny turned to face her. She quickly closed the distance between them and held out her hand. "I'd like to welcome you to the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Of course, I can't officially welcome you, as Ferdinand refuses to send the owl until noon. Perhaps you'd like to step out and grab a bite to eat while you wait. We can start training you in as soon as you return, but I'll see that you get paid starting this very minute."

Ginny felt a smile creeping across her face. It did feel nice. She had a job. Of course, it might be a pain to deal with Mr. Harrington, but that didn't seem to matter. "Thank you," she said graciously, "but I'll just stay here if it's all the same. I don't really have any place I'd want to go."

"Why not go celebrate with your friend?" Mrs. Candlewright offered. Ginny gave her a strange look.

"Who would that be?" she asked.

The other witch gave her an uncertain look. "I don't rightly know. She didn't give her name. She said she'd wait by the lifts. Said you'd be expecting her."

Ginny froze and felt the blood drain from her face. She knew immediately who it had to be. She really should have been expecting her, and she had even less desire to talk to her right now. Why couldn't she just start working now? She'd hoped she wouldn't have to do this for some time. There hadn't been any time to think of what she'd say.

"Is everything alright, Miss Weasley?" Mrs. Reading asked with a small amount of fear. "Should I call the Aurors?"

"No," Ginny replied faintly. "It won't do any good."

Without another word, Mrs. Reading strode past Ginny on a path toward the lifts. Ginny nodded and thanked Mrs. Candlewright, who looked a little worried. She then trudged off behind Mrs. Reading, knowing what she would find when she reached the lifts. Before she reached the small hall, she could hear Mrs. Reading's voice echoing back to her.

"I assume you have some business here?"

"I'm here to speak with a friend, Ginny Weasley," a familiar voice responded stiffly. "If she's got an ounce of sense left in her head, she'll be expecting me."

"Perhaps," Mrs. Reading replied in a surprisingly cold voice. "Unfortunately, she's terribly busy at the moment. You may wait in the Entrance Hall for her. She'll find you when she's done."

Ginny reached the last corner and paused for a moment. The tone of Mrs. Reading's voice had changed dramatically. She no longer sounded friendly and encouraging. Now she was stern and severe. Ginny didn't look forward to having to face her, but it wasn't fair to force Hermione to do it, either. She closed her eyes and walked around the corner.

"Hello there, Ginny," Hermione greeted her flatly. "Had a bit of trouble finding the Auror Headquarters, did you?"

"Hello, Hermione," Ginny replied hesitantly.

"Hermione?" Mrs. Reading said. "Hermione Granger?" Ginny nodded and kept herself from looking directly at her friend. Mrs. Reading pursed her lips and looked from one witch to the other. "I think I understand. Miss Weasley, can I assume that whatever danger Miss Granger poses to you is not unexpected or likely to prevent you from returning here within an hour?"

"If I wanted to attack her, I wouldn't do it over lunch," Hermione replied. "I'd poison her tonight when she stops by for dinner."

"Ah, poison. A murder between friends, then? Right then," Mrs. Reading said with a quick nod. "I see you two have some things to discuss. Will an hour be sufficient, Miss Weasley?"

"I certainly hope so," Ginny answered. She finally looked up to see Hermione giving her a disapproving glare. There was, however, no trace of real anger in it. Ginny gave her a hesitant smile, and received one in response.

A lift opened noisily at the end of the hall. Mrs. Reading nodded to Ginny before turning and walking back toward her office. Ginny silently followed Hermione to the lift.