Ok, new story. I'm the middle of another one at the moment, but I wanted to test-drive this plot line. Tell me what you think, I can use all the help I can get. It'll eventually be Harry/Ginny, though I don't want to give anything drastic away.
You know the deal - I don't own anything except the plot. Enjoy (please)!
Redemption
Chapter One
Giovillies Tea Shop was run by Madam Madora, a slim, dark-haired woman with a huge smile, big dark eyes, and a pink apron. She had owned the shop since just after the fall of You-Know-Who, and it had been flourishing ever since. This morning, as usual, the airy little shop opened and a trickle of early-morning witches and wizards on their way to work stumbled in through the glass door and took up tired seats at the counter. The smell of coffee beans and stewing tea twisted up into the sunny air.
"Morning Madora," came a tired yawn, and Madora glanced up to see Ginny Weasley slumping onto a stool. "Usual please, and a bacon roll is there's one going."
"There always is for my best customer. Late one, was it?" she added, amused, as she splashed tea into a mug and added three heaped spoons of sugar and a lot of milk. Ginny was always tired this early in the morning.
"Yeah," she groaned. "We've got a peice running on the Aurors at the Ministry next month, and it's all double-check-this and triple-confirm-that. You know what they're like with security." Ginny Weasley worked in publishing, something for a big magazine. Madora didn't know a lot about what she did but, from what she could gather, she was pretty high up for someone so young.
"I'd have thought it'd be easier on you though, doesn't your brother and father work at the Ministry?"
Ginny beamed - she always did when her family came up in conversation. "Yeah, but that doesn't make a difference to the Auror department. Oh, did I tell you? Seems like I've told everyone else - Dad's up for the top-job. He might get Minister for Magic."
"That's great," Madora said. "I told you he was good for it."
"Should've listened, shouldn't I?" Ginny smiled, taking a huge bite out of her bacon roll. She held her red hair out of her eyes. "Thanks, Madora," she said, swallowing heavily. "I needed this. Can't wake up properly without a cup of tea in me."
"I'd noticed. That and one bacon roll a week."
"Rest of the time it's fruit, I'll have you know!" she laughed. "Only bacon on Mondays. Helps kick me into weekday-mode." She polished off the roll in another two quick bites, and sat back on her stool. "We've got an article on The-100-Greatest-Quidditch-Players-of-all-Time coming up soon. Any ideas?"
"Well, that's a tough one. You know I'm not one to follow the national teams. Only the internationals."
"So you're an England fan?" Ginny laughed. "Fair enough."
"What about your brother, think he'd be in there?"
"No. But that's nothing to do with him - it's because he's the one we've got doing the countdown."
"Ah, I see," Madora nodded. "So how is Ron? Coping well? This last one's his third isn't it."
She nodded over her mug. "Yep. He and the Missus are coming with me to a Ministry function end of this week. They're getting Mum to babysit the twins and Little Gin. Hermione'll be pleased - she hasn't got out a lot recently, what with the kids."
"I can understand that. If she's anything like my sister-in-law, you really don't want to let her get too near the Champagne if you can avoid it. After four tee-total years she'll be under the table after the third glass."
"Noted," Ginny said brusquely, draining her mug, and peering into the glass mirror behind the counter. She shook her head so that her fringe fell into one of her eyes and plyed her fingers through the strands to muse them up. "OK, I've got to go. See you tommorow Maddy."
She'd known it was going to be a busy day from the second she entered the building. Her magazine, the Adder, was housed in a five-story building just past Gringotts. It was national paper, coming out weekly, with over fifty journalists and associates - not including the people in Publishing, who made up half the company - working for the Editor-in-Chief, Adrien Long. Adrien was an interesting person, and she was on particularly good terms with him. She worked a couple of departments below him, flitting between Research and Imaging.
The entrance hall was crammed full of Investors this morning, loads of people of varying degrees of robe - it went from a harsh-looking pin-stripped suit to a huge crimson flowery robe, with the head of a very eccentric-looking wizard poking out the top. Ginny wore jeans and a jacket - she had no need to wear robes or a uniform.
A harrassed security guard was trying get the group to file into the lift in an orderly fashion, and was meeting with limited success.
"Morning Mr Holme," Ginny yelled, waving. Holme gave her a tired sort of shrug and went back to the rabble. Ginny sunk her hands into her pockets and took the stairs, two-at-a-time.
She passed the Administration department on the way to her office and picked up her schedule for her free-lance assignments, and her messages, scrawled on to a piece of parchment that re-wrote them neatly and ordered them to priorities: "Cripplingly Un-important Rubbish"; "Vaguely Interesting"; "Ordinary but Necessary"; "Really Rather Urgent", and "If You Don't Attend To This Right Now This Very Second Something Very Very Very Bad Is Going To Happen Very Soon". She had a rather long list of "Really Rather Urgent"s, and "Vaguely Interesting".
She dumped her jacket onto the back of her chair and re-read her list, then she stood up again, picked up a folder on the corner of her desk, summoned a large pot of tea, and pinned the list next to a mirror behind her desk. After she'd helped herself of tea and settled herself on her desk looking into mirror, she tapped it with her wand.
"Ministry of Magic; Department of International Games and Sports; Ronald Weasley."
The surface of the mirror rippled like water caught in a sudden breeze. After several seconds, the face of a man with bright red hair much more vibrant than her own swum into view, pouring over a desk with a piece of toast in his hand.
"What can I do for you, Gin, I'm a little swamped here," he said, irritably. "I've got a Norweigian Minister trying to change the Internation Laws for broomstick handling inside the Penalty zone, and a Whizzbee Championship in Pansylvania to organize before May."
"Good luck with that," she said briskly, smirking. Her brother might act up-tight, but he loved his job. "I just wanted to confirm the first conference on the countdown article. Is next Wednesday at four still good for you?"
Ron grinned. "Should be fine," he said, waving his wand at his desk. Half the paper few into the air, and then sailed into the fire behind him. "I really should try to get organised," he mused. "I just don't have the bloody time."
Ginny laughed. "I better leave you to it then, I've got to be getting on myself."
Ron nodded and tapped his mirror with his wand. "Bye, sis."
Ginny looked to the next "Really Rather Urgent." Contact Auror Office. Arrange first meeting, and introductions at Friday's Ministry Function.
Easier said than done. She couldn't just tap a mirror for the Auror Department - if only it was that easy. She'd have to go in person. She glanced at her list, noted three other things she could get done while she was at the Ministry, and grabbed her coat.
The Ministry had always intimidated her - ever since her father had taken her into work with him a couple of times when she was younger. But she never allowed herself to show discomfort with - anything, actually. So she walked firmly up to the front desk and asked for Reggie Fellmort.
She found him in his office, filing.
"Mr Fellmort," she said, shaking his hand. "Good to see you. I take it my clearance passed?" She remembered the extensive list of security proceedures she'd had to endure.
"Oh, yes, yes," he said kindly, smiling. He had a youthful face, dark hair, and piecing grey eyes, plus a scar across his left eye. Ginny grinned back, plainly attracted to him. "Yes, everything went through fine. Take a seat."
She sunk into a chair and leaned back. "I'm basically just here to confirm that you'll be coming down to the Adder's offices in couple of weeks. You, and whoever else you'd care to bring, that is," she added.
"I expect I'll find somebody who'd like to get out of the office," he smiled, "you'd be surprised how much paperwork there is involved in saving people from dark wizards, you know." He lifted his eyebrow coyly, and she cocked her head. He wasn't like any Auror she'd met before. Though, considering Tonks...
"That's great. So I'll contact you during the week," she rose, and he followed suit, walking her up through the building.
"That was a fast visit," he said, as they reached the telephone box in the Lobby. She grinned.
"It was - I'd allowed enough time to be searched at least three times before I was let into the Department."
"I'm sure a search could be arranged," he said smoothly. "We are experts after all..."
"As much as the sound of having expert Auror hands searching all over me is tempting," she said, "I think I'd better be going. I've got a lot to do before the end of the day."
Reggie Fellmort winked. "Another time, perhaps. Are you attending the Ministry Benefit on Friday?"
She nodded. "Absolutely."
"Good. I'll see you there."
"You certainly will," she grinned.
Ok, so I'm going to need some reviews, and also some Beta-ers - you've probably already found about ninety spelling and grammar mistakes in this first chapter alone! So any volenteers? Don't all rush at once... Also tell me whether you like where this is going.