A/N: So, a huge apology for how long this has taken to get written. I know I warned you, but even I was surprised at how little time I've actually had, between a new job, a high school graduation and all-night lock-in, dance recital, birthdays, the end of the school year, preparing kids for overnight camp, and I could go on, but I won't. I'm posting this without much beta input, and for that I apologize, to her and to anyone reading. I just needed to get it finished. All mistakes, mischaracterizations, poorly thought out conversations, etc., are my own.
By the way, if you like Jasper Fforde, I do too. I hope it's at least a little apparent in this chapter.
Their lecturer that morning was new. He was stocky and muscular, with bright blue eyes that looked as if they should sparkle. There was nothing jovial about his expression though, in fact, Ginny thought he looked rather dour. Everyone seemed attuned to the serious atmosphere, stopping conversations and sitting down more quickly than usual.
"Shepherd Kane," he said by way of introduction. "I'm going to prepare you for your first mission." Excited murmurs broke out around the room. Predictably, Copernicus raised his hand.
"Excuse me, but I thought Auror protocol required five months of classroom time before trainees are allowed out in the field. We've only had three."
"Shut up, Cop, we want to get outside," muttered Ernie, while Lee flicked a paper Snitch at Copernicus' back. Their lecturer ignored them, waiting until the room quieted again.
"Former protocol did require five months of in-class time first, but the policy has changed." Ginny wasn't sure she imagined that their instructor's eyes flicked in her direction or not, but she sat up straighter in her seat. He continued in the same measured tone. "Several important endeavors have gone unattended, in major part due to the unfortunate departure of Mr. Potter last Spring, as you are all undoubtedly aware."
This time, Ginny knew she wasn't imagining that Kane's gaze lingered on her for a long beat. Next to her, Ron shuffled in his seat; he'd noticed too. A second later, he raised his hand.
"So you're saying you need twelve of us to replace Harry?" Ginny could hear the skepticism in Ron's voice. "I worked with him a lot last year. . ."
"And the six years before that," interrupted Ginny. Ron nodded in agreement. "That's true, as you are undoubtedly aware." Ron threw the instructor's words back at him. The man nodded but didn't say anything. Ron shrugged. "I know Harry was off on his own for a while too, but I can't imagine the Aurors would have entrusted anything so vital to a single bloke who was barely eighteen that they need an entire training class to replace him."
Kane was quiet for a long beat. When he finally spoke, Ginny had the distinct impression the Auror had set them up. "Ahhh, but you also know better than almost anyone, Mr. Weasley, that Mr. Potter is not just an ordinary eighteen year old." The man's voice was quiet, but the class was quieter, listening. "His talents and his . . . qualities stretch well beyond the ordinary, and yes, losing him created a vacuum of power that will take some work to replace."
Coming from someone else, the words may have been complimentary, but Ginny felt uncomfortable. She wasn't familiar with Shepherd Kane, but he reminded her of Robards, and the way he'd spoken to her about Harry. She hadn't liked the head Auror's insinuations then, and she didn't like hearing the sentiment now.
"He's nineteen." It was an incongruous statement; Ginny knew it didn't really matter to the Aurors that Harry had had a birthday. But she didn't know as much as Ron did to be able to point out the exaggerations in Kane's words.
"Miss Weasley," the Auror turned towards her. "Yes, nineteen. And I would assume that you, like your brother, understand why Mr. Potter's departure put us in such a bind?" He raised his eyebrows. "You've taken it upon yourself to ensure Harry's not bothered at his new position, haven't you?"
Ginny ignored Kane's innuendo about the press conference. "Ron didn't say that," she said hotly. "Quite the opposite, actually. He said there's no way that one person could be that important."
"I'm not sure Mr. Weasley believes that," said Kane mildly. "Nor do you." His eyes bored into Ginny and she knew with certainty the man was using Legilimency on her. It was a calculated move; if she broke eye contact, she'd look weak, but if not, he'd be able to sense her thoughts. Her Occlumency was rudimentary at most.
Ginny kept her gaze on the Kane, thankful for the first time that Harry hadn't told her much of anything about his time with the Aurors yet. After a minute, he looked away. "Perhaps not," she heard him mutter. He gave Ginny what she assumed was supposed to be a smile; it did not reach his eyes. "You've talked to Gawain, have you not? About your own . . . qualities, and how they may help now?" The man raised his hands to silence Ginny's interruption. "I understand your hesitance, but let me assure you . . . let me assure all of you," Kane's eyes swept the room, "that the Aurors have taken to heart certain . . . concerns Mr. Potter shared with us. Your work in pursuit of fighting Dark Magic carries with it no reason to hesitate. You have my word." His eyes landed on Ginny again.
"Let me tell you again, Miss Weasley, how very . . . grateful the Aurors are to have you working for us in particular. I think you will find that your own unique qualities will give you insight into our fight against evil beyond that of most of the other trainees." Kane inclined his head at the rest of the room. "Not that I'm not entirely confident in the rest of your abilities, of course. And I think you will find your own work to be more . . . productive, as a result."
"Of course," Ron said quickly. "But Ginny's special, right?" He'd crossed his arms, and Ginny recognized that he was moving into "protective older brother" mode. She absolutely did not need Ron to stick up for her, and he knew it, but for some reason, it didn't bother her. He gave her a quick glance and then looked away. We'll talk later, it said. He seemed about to say something else with Parvati interrupted.
"It's because of the Chamber, isn't it? Why Ginny's different?" Most of the others were nodding in agreement, and Ginny was again struck by how savvy Kane was. He'd set Ginny up as something apart from the others, but intimated that having her on their team could advance all of them. She couldn't leave without letting the other trainees down, and they'd be likely to support her efforts, less likely towards jealousy.
"I don't think . . ." she began, but Copernicus stopped her.
"But you don't know for sure, right, Ginny?" He peered at her, a dozen or more questions likely running through his head. She might be there all day, answering them and consequently giving up more information than she wanted to, if she didn't handle this right. She shrugged and nodded.
"You're right. I don't know." Ginny broadened her glance to include the others. "I don't know much more than anyone else here, despite my past . . . experience. So I guess we'll all learn together." There. I'm just a green trainee myself, Kane. Remember that.
The Auror smiled again, and Ginny knew he wasn't fooled. He didn't say more about it, though Ginny knew the matter would come up again. Hopefully she could talk to Ron first so she'd be better prepared. And she really needed to talk to Harry, too. She hadn't seen him after their talk the previous weekend; the Arrows had left that evening for a road trip. But she'd sent him an owl thanking him again for the potion, and had added a casual I enjoyed our talk postscript to the end. There was more to it than just that, but she hadn't quite known how to put into words the odd sense of relief she felt after she and Harry had cleared some of the misunderstanding between them. Or, maybe relief wasn't the right word. It was more that a small weight of irritation had been lifted, one Ginny hadn't exactly been aware of carrying. They'd apologized to each other before, for any number of little annoyances or thoughtless words, but for the first time, Ginny had some confidence it was permanent.
Not to mention that she hadn't wanted to say more in case Dam or anyone else had intercepted the note; she'd meant it when she'd promised Harry she wouldn't tell anyone what he'd admitted about the captain. And, when she admitted it to herself, she wasn't quite ready to share anything else she and Harry had talked about, even with Ron or Hermione. She suspected he'd been holding back – beyond the story of his sexual past – and she hoped that the next time they talked, he'd be more forthcoming. At the very least, Ginny planned to ask him more about the Aurors.
Harry's return owl had arrived soon after. His me too, but let's both try to be sober next time we talk, had made her smile.
The darkening of the room interrupted Ginny's thoughts. Kane had lowered the lights, and a glowing map of Southern England appeared on the wall in front of them. Certain spots gleamed brighter than others. At first, Ginny thought they related to villages and towns, but when she looked closer, they seemed to be more randomly arrayed; she stopped counting after two dozen.
"Sites of suspected dark activity," said Shepherd. "Mostly individual homes. Not any of the more serious ones, of course. You aren't quite ready to take down a fully-grown dark wizard or former Death Eater on your own. That will be next month." His mouth quirked with the attempted joke and belated chuckles broke out among the trainees.
"Yes, well, these sites are of interest to the Aurors anyway," Kane continued, as if his humor hadn't fallen flat. "They need to be investigated, and you will be paired up to conduct interviews with . . . persons who might have information we need." He gestured to the map. "Dark activity can arise anywhere," he said. "But rooting out potential threats before they've caused damage can be difficult. That's where all of you come in."
HPHPHPHP
Ginny's thoughts were swirling when she separated from Ron at the end of training that day. They had spoken more in pointed looks and subtle kicks under desks than words as Shepherd Kane had described the protocol for the interviews they'd soon be conducting. She knew the two of them had to talk for real – and soon – but tonight wasn't the time. Ron was rushing home to meet Hermione for a last private dinner in his flat before Harry returned, and there were too many people around the exit from the Ministry for him to say any more than a muttered "talk soon" as he whirled off.
Ginny watched her brother leave with amused exasperation. For some reason, he and Hermione preferred to spend their "alone time" in the flat Ron shared with Harry over Hermione's private, but admittedly shabbier, one. At first, Ginny had thought it was because Ron enjoyed the latent attention he got from the fan-witches, being roommates with Harry Potter and all. Now, she strongly suspected that he used the front entrance so often as a way to keep an extra eye on things. If Ginny had to admit it, her opinion of her brother had changed for the better too.
Ginny, on the other hand, had embraced being finally allowed to use the private back alley to come and go, and hadn't seen any of the fan-witches up close in several weeks. But her mind was still on work as she left her favorite shop with a bag of takeaway for her supper, and muscle memory had carried her almost to her building's front walk before she realized where she was.
Briefly, she considered turning around and walking somewhere out of sight before Apparating to the back, but she'd already been spotted, and she refused to give any of the curious eyes the satisfaction of thinking they'd been able to scare her off.
Doing her best to ignore the muttering, Ginny marched up the front walk. Still, she couldn't completely drown out some of the louder comments.
. . .heard she shagged Dam Clarke, now she's done almost the whole team . . .
. . . bats everywhere, better watch yourself . . .
. . .Harry hates her, I've heard. Even though he's best mates with her brother. . .
That last remark, spoken in a disdaining voice, finally made Ginny whip around. She was unsurprised to see that the speaker was wearing a 'Potter fan club' t-shirt and a smirking expression. Equally unsurprising was the fact that the fan-witch's companion was Katerina Bellows, lately of Harry's hazing night and photo in the Daily Prophet. She gave Ginny a lazy grin. "Even living in the same building hasn't helped, has it, Weasley? That you need to resort to hexing anyone who talks to Potter, just to get attention?" She nudged her friend. "They've opened an inquiry at the Ministry; might kick her out of the Aurors. Using a dangerous hex like that."
Ginny squeezed her wand so tightly, her knuckles went white. Hexing a reporter who was harassing Harry was one thing; she doubted Gawain and Kingsley would be as understanding a second time. Unfortunately, she couldn't quite control her mouth as well as she did her wand.
"You're slipping with the gossip, Katerina," Ginny said, as sweetly as she could. "Harry thought my Bat Bogey Hex was brilliant. He told me himself." It was not the smartest thing to say; Ginny knew she was bragging, and she gave a mental apology to Harry for dragging him into this.
Katerina's eyes went wide, but a second later, her features were bland again. "Interesting," she said in a bored tone. She gave her companion a significant look. "Maybe we'll see you at the Shaky Legs then; you must know the Arrows get home tonight."
Ginny had known that; Harry's last owl had mentioned it. She feigned nonchalance. "Mmm, really?" she said. "I don't keep up with the team's schedule that carefully. I don't really have to, since we all live on the same hallway, you know?" She gave a cheery wave. "But it's good of you to follow them, so you know when to start your next camp out, right?"
Turning on her heel, Ginny walked to the door and yanked it open.
A young man in a delivery uniform was standing in the vestibule, holding a large white bag and staring at the parade of tenant faces rushing by on a patch of white wall next to the door.
"Mr. Ron Weasley," the man said firmly. By the slight desperation in his voice, Ginny suspected it was not his first attempt to contact her brother. Ron's face shot into view, hovered briefly on the wall, and then disappeared again. The delivery man swore.
"Can I help you?" asked Ginny.
The man turned. "I certainly hope so," he said. "I've been trying to deliver this sandwich to a Mr. Ron Weasley for almost ten minutes. My boss is going to kill me if I can't get it done soon." He gave Ginny a serious look. "It's a beef and cheddar special, with homemade chips. The warming charm only lasts so long, you know."
Ginny nodded. "So I've heard," she said. "That's Ron's favorite sandwich."
The man nodded again. "That's what they said. He orders it quite a bit, he does. But I've never delivered it before and I can't figure out how to call him. We promise door-to-door delivery in less than ten minutes. Tried using the Floo, you know, but the food didn't travel well with all the spinning. And owls . . ." the man shook his head. "You don't want to know." He looked hopefully at Ginny. "Can you help me get in? I've only got . . ." he looked at his watch. "another two minutes."
Ginny held out her hand. "Why don't I take it up for you? I live right down the hall. Ron's my brother," she added when the man frowned.
"I'm sorry, I can't let anyone else deliver the sandwich," he said. "Door-to-door delivery, that's what we promise." He lowered his voice. "Besides, he hasn't tipped yet."
"Ahh," said Ginny. "I see." She thought quickly. "In that case, I'd better open the door for us, don't you think?"
"Oh, thank you," said the man. He sounded rather eager. "Open the door. Yes, please."
Ginny stood between the man and the door and held out her wand, carefully thinking the unlocking spell in her head. As soon as the door began to open, she was unsurprised – and prepared – to feel the man try to rush past her into the lobby. He didn't get very far.
Ginny's containment spell would have been effective on its own, but when added to the building's wards, the delivery man was frozen so completely that even his eyebrows didn't move. Although, Ginny noted with amusement, he was actually a she. The transfiguration job had been decent, she had to admit, but the wards were better, and soon she was standing in front of a disgruntled looking woman in an Harry Potter Fan t-shirt. She was still trying to hold onto the white paper bag, but with a flick of Ginny's wand, it flew across the lobby and hovered in mid-air inside the safety spell she cast.
Ginny's actions didn't go unnoticed. Before she could even figure out who needed to get her Patronus, several pops announced the arrival of two Aurors, one of whom she recognized as having taught some of her practical classes. And a moment later, the entire Arrows team, fresh off their win in Wimbourne, burst into the lobby from the rear entrance.
"What the hell?" Dam was the first one into the lobby, but as soon as he caught sight of the Aurors and Ginny, her wand still out, he stuttered to a stop, looking panicked.
Ginny ignored him, as two spells she'd never seen before, flew past her from different directions. Dam dropped to the ground, and behind him, Adam Ramsey and Kipling Cross followed suit. Harry pushed past them, wand out, and Ginny realized that one of the spells had come from him.
"What about her?" he called, nodding at the still frozen fan-witch.
One of the Aurors shook her head. "She's secure." She looked at Ginny. "Excellent containment spell, Miss Weasley. The wards cancelled her transfiguration job and wouldn't have let her leave, but your spell froze her even more quickly." She raised her eyebrows. "Gawain was right. You're going to go far."
Ginny ignored the compliment. She pointed at the white bag, which was barely visible now behind a wall of white smoke. "What about that?"
The other Auror – Ginny thought he was called Bramley Rhodes – chuckled. "That's what we call overreaction," he said. "Whatever's in that bag has been contained . . . three times?" he said, counting quickly.
"It wasn't obviously neutralized," said the first Auror, with a touch of annoyance. "And there were a large number of innocents to be protected."
"Which was accomplished more than adequately by Harry's level three shield," said Rhodes. For the first time, Ginny realized that all of the Arrows except Harry were behind a glowing wall of protective light, much bigger and more solid than the ones they'd learned in the DA or even so far in training. She gave a low whistle.
"Am I going to learn how to do that?" she asked. "I've never seen such a solid shield before."
"Next week, actually," said the female Auror. She gave Ginny a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll be teaching you."
"Including how to shield a home so the inhabitants can't leave until they answer your questions?" Harry spoke casually, but there was no mistaking the accusation in his words. He came to stand beside Ginny, and he gave her arm a quick squeeze before turning back to the Auror. "Or will you have the trainees visit schoolyards first?"
Ginny couldn't quite follow what Harry meant, but another small piece of understanding fell into place, to be examined later. She kept her mouth shut, waiting to learn more.
"Now Harry, don't give away all our secrets," said the Auror. Ginny could see the warning in the woman's eyes, although when she caught Ginny looking at her, she gave a forced-sounding chuckle. "Especially ones that aren't true." She turned to Ginny. "Harry's joking with me about a particular case we had together where things . . . didn't go quite as planned. But that's to be expected in the Aurors, working against dangerous dark magic like we do." Next to her, Ginny felt Harry shift, but before he could speak, the Auror held up her hand. "As I'm sure Miss Weasley will tell you, we have adjusted our procedures to account for your concern." She looked at Ginny. "Isn't that what you've been told?"
Ginny knew there was more going on beneath the surface of the discussion, although she didn't know what the correct answer was right now. But next to her, Harry muttered "say yes," under his breath, so quietly Ginny wasn't sure she'd heard right. She gave a jerky nod. "That's right, that's what they told us," she said.
The Auror looked pleased. "That's what I thought."
"Well, I'm glad to hear the Aurors finally listened to me, Camilla," said Harry. Ginny suspected Harry didn't quite believe the Auror – who Ginny now knew was Camilla Stalk. She was supposedly a good friend of Gawain Robards, and had implemented some of the Aurors' most successful processes for capturing Dark wizards. Gossip among the trainees was that she and Robards may even be more than friends, although none of them had seen the two together, and Ginny didn't even know where the rumor had started. Camilla was looking at her with a shrewd expression, as if she knew what Ginny was thinking, and this time, Ginny broke eye contact quickly, lest her thoughts be laid bare. She really needed to learn Occlumency.
As a distraction, she pointed at the still-frozen witch. "Don't you need to, I don't know, ask her some questions?" For it had occurred to Ginny that it was rather odd to have two senior Aurors attend to a matter that was, on the surface at least, no more than a matter involving an overly enthusiastic Arrows' fan. And now that they were here, they didn't seem particularly interested in her.
Bramley nodded. "Good call, Miss Weasley." He lifted his wand and then lowered it again. "Actually, why don't you do the questioning? It will be good experience for you."
Ginny was caught off guard by the request; they had only just begun learning interrogation techniques, and she knew almost nothing about how to question a suspect properly. It was almost certainly against Auror protocol to allow her anywhere near a suspect, even one as innocuous as this one. Bramley and Camilla were buttering her up for something, and it was for that precise reason that she immediately wanted to agree, even if it was - as she suspected - a trap. Ginny wished she could ask Harry what to do; she had to force herself not to look at him for advice. He understood a lot more than she did, though.
"Do it," he breathed out, and so Ginny squared her shoulders and walked over to the witch. She'd be damned if she'd let her hesitance show.
"Please remove the wards around her," she said in as firm a voice as she could muster.
"You need to cancel your containment spell yourself," reminded Camilla. Ginny flushed. "Right," she said. She hurriedly extinguished her spell and watched as the witch sagged a bit in place.
When all the wards, save a mild binding spell, were gone and Bramley had relieved the fan-witch of her wand, Ginny nodded to herself, this time unable to resist looking at Harry. He gave her an encouraging smile and it was his confidence, coupled with the sight of Dam cowering behind the shield, that gave Ginny courage.
"What's your name?" she asked. She knew to ask that much, at least.
"Nadia Bellows," said the witch. She seemed rather resigned to having been caught. The name stirred Ginny's memory.
"Are you related to Katerina Bellows?" she asked. Next to her, she felt Harry start. "Shit," he muttered. "She's got a sister?"
"My sister, yes," said Nadia. She puffed out her chest so all the words on her t-shirt were visible. "Founder and President of the Harry Potter Official Arrows Fan Club. I'm Vice President."
Ginny ignored the grandstanding; she was trying to figure out what to ask next. Why? or How?
She decided to ask the easier question first. "What were you doing, trying to get into the building? You must know it's heavily warded."
Nadia shrugged. "Just a dare," she said with exaggerated casualness. Ginny didn't believe her for a second; nevertheless, she nodded. "A dare to what?"
"Why, get to see Harry Potter, of course. And it looks like I won, didn't I? Even if I didn't make it all the way in. Almost though." Nadia was almost flippant in her answers. She didn't seem at all concerned at having been caught, by the Aurors, no less. She even seemed to be sidling closer to where Harry stood while she answered questions, a suggestive smile on her face.
Ginny quite determinedly moved herself to stand between Harry and the witch. Behind her, she thought she heard him chuckle softly, but she ignored it. "And how did you actually plan to get inside? Who helped you?"
Nadia pointed to the white bag. "We did our research," she said. "That really is a beef and cheddar sandwich. Another minute, and you'd have called your brother down to get it, and I would have gotten in." She cocked her head at Ginny. "How'd you know I wasn't really a delivery boy?"
"You may have figured out Ron's favorite order, but you failed to realize he's not alone," said Ginny. "You should have been delivering two sandwiches, although that would have been suspicious too. I very much doubt my brother and his girlfriend are thinking at all about eating dinner right now."
This time, Ginny was sure she heard Harry groan, and she stifled a grin. She almost turned around to invite him to come to her own flat instead of going home, when Camilla cleared her throat.
"An admirable job, Miss Weasley. I think we'll take it from here though. And we want to get the wards checked. The guest system seemed to do a good job of preventing Miss Bellows from contacting Ron, but it should have ejected her from the vestibule after three failed attempts. I'm not sure how many times she tried to enter, or if Miss Weasley's arrival stopped the ward from triggering." She turned to Bramley. "Get Bill Weasley here tomorrow, will you? We can't risk someone getting in."
Again, Ginny wondered at the seriousness with with the Aurors were taking a near-miss with a fan-witch, but then her attention was turned towards the shield that still stretched across the lobby. Dam's face was still visible behind it. He and the other Arrows had gotten up from the floor, but none of them looked particularly comfortable. She looked at Harry. "Can you let them out?"
Harry nodded. "Probably going to earn me another hazing night in retaliation for trapping them all," he said. He took off the spell, but to Ginny's surprise, no one seemed relieved to be free. Indeed, Dam took another step backward when Camilla walked by him to bind Nadia in a silvery rope. He looked at Ginny, and she thought his expression was something between awe and fear. She gave him a teasing smirk. "Pub tonight, Dam? Looks like you need it."
"Hell yeah, I do," said Dam. How did you . . . I mean, I couldn't have . . . I mean, I wouldn't have wanted to . . . you know, capture someone." He gave a nervous laugh. I guess that's why you're the Auror and I play Quidditch, right?" He looked at Harry. "And you're both, aren't you?"
Ginny watched as Harry's expression closed. "Just an Arrow, just like you," he said. "I just remembered a thing or two from before."
"It was more than that and you know it, Harry." Camilla's voice had a hard edge, quite different from when she had spoken to Ginny. "You miss it, don't you?"
Ginny felt Harry stiffen beside her. "Not at all, Camilla," he said formally. "I've found that I'm much more suited to professional Quidditch than the Auror corps."
"Well, seeing as you were one of Miss Weasley's first instructors on fighting Dark magic, I should think you are at least a bit proud at her work here tonight, aren't you?"
Harry nodded. "Ginny was brilliant, I wouldn't have expected anything less," he said, and Ginny felt an odd surge of pride. Which was stupid, of course. The entire conversation between Harry and the Aurors was stilted and falsely polite; Ginny doubted there had been a single honest word between them. Still, it was good to think that her talk with Harry hadn't been a fluke, or that he'd been friendlier to her because of her hangover. At one point, she might have even wondered if Harry had just wanted to find out what happened between her and Dam so that he could file away the information for teasing later. She glanced over to the edge of the lobby where Dam was still watching cautiously. Ginny was pretty sure Harry didn't care at all that she'd kissed him (and a little more, but no one needed to know that; it hadn't been that much). He also didn't seem to have told Ron or any of her other brothers, for which Ginny was extremely grateful. If Harry at least would refrain from taking the mickey about her and his quidditch captain, she had no doubt that her brothers would want to do so at every opportunity, if they knew.
But any residual attraction Ginny had felt towards Dam after Harry had confirmed her suspicions had evaporated today. She could admire his quidditch skills and even his abs, and joke and tease and be his neighbor, but she could never be any more interested than that. It wasn't the showing fear; Ginny understood better than most that anyone who denied being scared sometimes was a liar. And she would never belittle someone - even someone like Dam - for letting that fear keep them frozen and out of the fight. He'd be one to run every time, Ginny was sure. And that was fine, but it meant that the kiss she and Dam had shared would be their last.
She gave a small sigh. It wasn't that she'd thought anything might have developed between them, but damn, it wasn't like the blokes were beating down her door or anything. Before starting training, she'd wondered idly if there would be anyone interesting at work, a curiosity that had been quite completely extinguished as soon as she'd met her class. And "fraternization between trainee and Auror" was completely forbidden, not that Ginny had her eye on anyone older either. So it would be many nights alone, just as it usually was these days. That was fine. She needed to focus on work anyway. For there was no doubt in Ginny's mind that something more was going on than mere training of a new class of Aurors. And she was equally sure that whatever that more might be involved Harry. It probably also involved . . .
"Miss Weasley?" by the slightly annoyed tone of Bramley Rhodes' voice, she suspected she might have missed his first attempts to get her attention. She pulled herself back to the situation at hand. "Yes?" she asked.
"I asked if you could come in an hour early on Monday for a debriefing on this matter. There's no reason for you to lose your entire weekend over it."
Ginny frowned. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm happy to come speak to you tomorrow, while it's still fresh in my mind. Tonight even." She didn't know a lot, but she knew that normal Auror procedure was to capture impressions and memories of a capture as soon as possible.
She saw Bramley and Camilla exchange a glance. "You're right, of course, Ginny," said Camilla after a moment. Ginny wondered at the sudden use of her first name. "But in this case for so minor an event, the formal debriefing can wait. Do you have access to a Pensieve? You can pull out your memories and observe them there if you want, and then bring in the vial on Monday."
"I have one," said Harry quickly, and Ginny remembered seeing the dull metal bowl in Harry's room when she'd been spying. "I'll help her use it." He turned to her. "I mean, if you want me to. I'm sure you know how to remove memories yourself, don't you? So you wouldn't need me."
Ginny nodded, and then a second later shook her head. "I do know how, I think," she said. "But I've never used a Pensieve on myself. I wouldn't mind if you wanted to help me."
Harry grinned. "Well, if you're sure you don't mind, then I guess I have no choice." He sounded a lot more relaxed than when he'd been talking to the Aurors. In fact, he barely looked back at them to say goodbye as Camilla and Bramley finished securing the area and preparing to Apparate away with Nadia. Ginny wondered for a moment if they meant to keep the witch somewhere over the weekend, and then found she really didn't care. With a final promise to come into work early on Monday, Ginny watched her superiors turn on the spot in a single fluid motion with their prisoner between them, and then let out a relieved breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Well, that wasn't how I expected tonight to go." Ginny turned, expecting to see Harry still next to her, and was surprised to find him across the lobby, talking to Dam and the rest of the team. She hadn't even heard him move away. Dam was shaking his head and twice Ginny saw him glance at her. The second time, he saw her catch him and gave her a big smile.
"Remind me to have you around whenever the team runs into Dark magic," he said. "That was seriously awesome."
Ginny shrugged. "It wasn't really . . ." she began, then bit back her words. Dam didn't seem at all upset about his behavior, but it would still be rather tactless for Ginny to point out that the fan-witch hadn't actually been practicing anything dark. "Thanks," she said instead. She looked at Harry. "Weren't you all planning to go out and celebrate your win? I can imagine that everyone needs a drink more than ever now."
"Hell yeah, we do," said Kipling. "Wimbourne was a beast, even before we had to contend with crazy fans." He looked at Ginny. "Why don't you come with us?"
"Actually, I think Ginny and I will meet you there," broke in Harry. "She needs to capture her memories as soon as possible, while they're still fresh in her mind." He gave her a pointed look.
Ginny understood immediately. "That's right, I should," she said. "Actually, it's Auror procedure." She gave Dam a friendly smile. "Save us a flaming whiskey shot or two, will you?"
"I make no promises," said Dam. He seemed to have recovered his sense of humor, at least. He held out his arms. "Meet back here in ten minutes, everyone. First one to go home has to clean our uniforms by hand next week. No magic."
Everyone laughed good naturally and moved to the lifts. Ginny started to follow them until she realized Harry was waiting behind. Only after the rest of his team was gone did Harry speak again.
"I can help you retrieve your memories and put them in a vial without actually having to get the Pensieve," he said. He smirked. "Unless you want to be the one to check and see if your brother forgot the silencing charms again."
"My flat it is, then," said Ginny quickly. She smirked back. "And who gets to be the one to tell him he missed out on his favorite sandwich?"
"Hopefully the sex is enough of a distraction," laughed Harry.
"Hah," said Ginny back. "With my brother, I'm not so sure." They walked companionably to the open lift. Only when the doors were closed did Ginny ask Harry what she'd been waiting to. "Was it just me, or is there something else going on here?"
Harry didn't answer, just gave a small shake of his head. Not yet.
Ginny nodded back. "So what pub do you think the team is going to tonight?" she asked. "I think I can do without those rainbow drinks again."
"I think the Rose and Ashes," it's much more of a dive," said Harry. "But the drinks are cheap and strong."
They arrived at Ginny's flat, and she was completely unsurprised when Harry began adding extra wards as soon as the door closed behind them. He said two spells and nodded in satisfaction when nothing happened.
"No one's listening in," he said. "And yes, I'm going to teach you everything I just did. Just don't tell them at training about it."
"Why?" asked Ginny. "Aren't we going to learn them anyway?"
"Not exactly the ones I just did, and you aren't learning anything from me anyway, okay? Nothing related to the Aurors at least." Harry gave her a pointed look.
"Are you going to tell me why at least? Because I'm getting the feeling you aren't telling me everything." Ginny plopped down on her couch and summoned two butter beers from her icebox. After a second, Harry sat down next to her. He sighed and ruffled his hand through his hair.
"I'm not," Harry admitted.
Ginny looked at him in surprise. "I would have expected you to deny it."
Harry shrugged. "Now that would be really unfair," he said. "Yes, I'm keeping things from you - I haven't told Ron all of it either, by the way - but the least I can do is tell you why."
Ginny shifted on the sofa and curled her feet under her. "Okay, so why?"
Harry took a sip of his butterbeer. "I think the Aurors need you. And Ron and the others," he said. "I don't want what happened with me to influence you or how you do your work there. It's over and done with, you heard what Camilla Stalk said; they've changed."
"I heard her say what she wanted you and me to hear, yes," said Ginny. "Did you believe her?"
"I trust Kingsley," said Harry, rather incongruously. "And I trust you."
"I trust you too," said Ginny. It was true, too. She really didn't need to know more right now. Actually, given the Aurors' apparent proclivity towards Legilimency, it was probably better that she not know too much. She poked Harry's leg with her toe. "But if there's something I need to know, you'll tell me, right?"
Harry nodded immediately. "Of course. And if something happens that you don't think is . . . proper Auror procedure," you'll let me know."
"I will," agreed Ginny. She frowned. "Like the fact that the Aurors sent two of their senior people to a simple crazed fan situation? Do you know why?"
Harry grimaced. "Probably to remind me they want me back," he said. "You heard Camilla."
Ginny nodded; it made sense. "They should know better by now" she said.
Harry shook his head. "I don't think they'll give up that easily." He gave her a careful look. "And don't be surprised if they use tonight to try to influence you."
"Yeah, I figured that much out," said Ginny. "They're not going to give up, are they? Trying to use me to get to you?"
"Probably not," said Harry. "But you obviously can take care of yourself on that front. You were seriously amazing tonight too. Especially figuring out the single sandwich. Thats the kind of clue I miss."
Ginny snorted. "What I didn't tell them is that Ron would usually order two sandwiches even if Hermione wasn't there. I was certain something was up immediately." She sighed. "Talk about not giving up though. Those fan-witches aren't going to stop trying to get to you, are they?"
Harry shook his head. "I keep hoping that once the newness of me being on the team wears off, they'll ease up. I even considered trying to be extra friendly to them, you know? Take away the mystery. Unfortunately, I decided to try on my hazing night. And you saw how that turned out." He flopped back against the sofa. "I can't believe she has a sister." He looked at Ginny. "You'll let me know if you hear anything won't you? At the Aurors?"
Harry sounded unaccountably vulnerable, and Ginny suspected that tonight's events had shaken him more than he cared to admit. She nodded. "Of course. Or if I hear anything directly from them. They tend to like to brag to me for some reason."
"They're jealous," said Harry. "That you and I are . . . well, whatever we are. Now."
Ginny grinned. "Yeah, I wonder what they would have thought if they'd known that until a couple of weeks ago, you mostly irritated the hell out of me. Maybe they'd have asked me to join their club." She pretended to think. "I would have liked a t-shirt at least."
Harry kicked her. "Prat," he said. "And I don't think I always irritated you, did I? I thought we established that it was a lot of misunderstanding."
"It was, that's right," nodded Ginny. "And now it's done."
Harry nodded. "Good," he said.
"Although . . . " said Ginny. "I think we still have one more misunderstanding to clear up." She kept her voice deliberately light.
Harry sat up anyway and gave her a wary look. "And what misunderstanding is that?"
"Well, maybe misunderstanding is the wrong word," Ginny allowed. "More like . . . unfinished business." She gave Harry a pointed look. "You still owe me an answer to my question from last time."
Harry didn't even try to play dumb that he didn't remember. "I knew you wouldn't let that drop."
Ginny shrugged. "Fair's fair," she said. "You know about me." And although she'd never admit it, she was more than a little curious. She'd learned a lot about Harry in the past months, and she had the feeling she'd just begun to scratch the surface. This was just one little thing, and probably one of the easier things to get him to admit, actually. His real secrets would be much more difficult. "If we're going to be proper friends, I think you owe it to me," she said lightly.
"Friends, huh? Is that what we are?" Harry's voice had a touch of something in it - curiosity maybe. Ginny nodded firmly.
"Well yes, of course we are," she said. "I think we actually were before too, you know? Before we talked? We just didn't realize it then."
"And now we realize it. Right," said Harry. He sighed. "Okay."
"Okay? Okay what?" Ginny could tell that it was actually harder for Harry to talk about than she'd suspected, and she considered backing off. Despite the fact that she'd never hesitated to ask any of her brothers the same question, her fledgling friendship with Harry was different. "It's okay, you don't need to tell me," she said quickly. "Really, it's not my business."
"I don't mind," said Harry quietly. "It's just not something I've told many people. Your brother's one of the only ones. And Hermione, but only because he told her." He shrugged. "I haven't yet, which probably makes me the only virgin in the entire English Quidditch League. Possibly Ireland too." He looked at her. "So there you go."
By the look on his face, Ginny knew Harry half expected her to tease him. That was the furthest thing from her mind though, and she spoke almost without thinking. "Good," she said.
Harry gave her a quizzical look. "It's good that I've never had sex?"
Ginny shrugged. "I've never had sex either. It's not something to do just casually, you know? At least, not for me."
"Not for me either," Harry agreed. "Otherwise my status would have changed on my hazing night."
"And the poster in your flat would have changed too, said Ginny with a grin.
Harry groaned. "You saw that? I can't take it down until Dam lets me. Which in my case I think is going to be a while." He sighed. "He's taken it as a personal challenge to find me a witch."
"He doesn't see the difference between sex and love," said Ginny.
Harry nodded. "I know. And he'd 'love' for me to find someone to have sex with. Sees it as his duty as my captain. He thinks a healthy sex life makes us all play better."
"You already play better," said Ginny. "I can't imagine you have much room to improve."
For some reason, Harry flushed. "Thanks," he said. "But there's always room to get better."
"Maybe," said Ginny. "But you don't need to be having sex to do it."
Harry sighed. "I guess not." He sat up. "Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since before our match."
Ginny realized she hadn't eaten since lunch; she was starving, and she had no idea what had happened to the supper she'd bought. "I'd like to get something to eat," she said.
Harry stood up. "Shall we go out? Unless you have some of your mum's leftovers here?" He sounded so hopefully Ginny had to laugh.
"I'm rather low right now," she said. I think we need to get some take-away or something." She grinned. "Just not sandwiches, okay?" She took Harry's proffered hand and let him pull her off the sofa.
"Deal," he said.