Ginny rolled over. It was Saturday, which meant she had the whole day off. The sun was streaming through her grimy window, and her bed was getting warm enough to rouse her from comfortable rest.
Her head hurt and her eyes were gummy. Pushing her covers aside, Ginny forced herself to sit up. The floor was cold on her feet, and her body ached. Wiping away the grainy feeling from her eyes, Ginny pulled the covers of her bed into some semblance of order and headed for the shower.
Under the hot water, Ginny's muscles relaxed a little, and her mind unfogged. She'd been exercising yesterday, getting ready for the burglary. Her eyes were grainy from studying until two in the morning, reading up on the paradise pearls that Snape wanted her to steal.
It was a necklace of pearls – black pearls found in the waters off Tahiti, imbued with some sort of mer-creature enchantments that brought good fortune to the wearer. Ginny leaned her forehead against the cold tiled wall, wishing that Snape had found someone else to do his robbery. The money in her Gringott's account was dwindling, however, and she needed the income. And she was visiting her parents for dinner tonight – her one night off in the week. Sighing, Ginny rinsed her hair out and got out of the shower.
Malfoy had hardly changed his defences in the past three months. Ginny had used precious money to bribe information out of wizards who worked on the estate to ensure her knowledge was accurate. Taking no chances, however, she had charmed the men to keep quiet. They would never speak of it.
It was going to be difficult, but Ginny knew she could do it. She'd done it before. She had worked out where the necklace was being kept – speaking with Malfoy's maid had given her that information – and the charms that were guarding it. Next week she would be going in.
But today she was going shopping with Hermione, and then having dinner with her parents. A heavy sensation grew in her chest as she thought about her parents. Everything should have been right for them once Voldemort had been defeated. But Scrimgeour's defection – with about half of the Ministry of Magic – had crippled the political world. Her father was still desperately working toward reinstating the Ministry, but people were distrustful. The whole situation in Wizarding Britain was awkward and painful, with nobody ruling and societal laws disappearing by the day. Ginny had watched her parents dig themselves a huge vegetable garden, and now her mum spent most days in the dirt since her dad wasn't being paid any more. They had invested so heavily, Ginny sighed to herself as she pulled on a pair of old jeans and a worn jumper, in a system that had failed them that they could not move on.
No, Ginny mused to herself, the real power today was wherever there was money. Gringotts had kept its prominent position on Diagon Alley primarily because it held almost every knut, sickle and galleon in Britain. And wealthy people – like Malfoy – could do whatever they wanted, because there was nobody to persecute them. Ginny looked down at her hand, and the ring which was still lodged on her finger. Sighing, she disillusioned it and left her room. She waved to Tom on the way through, and he answered her with a grin as she left through the front door.
Catching Muggle transport was still awkward, even after months of using it. The bus was full of people, and she had to stand in the isle and hang on for dear life as the machine sped up, slowed down, turned corners and let people on and off. Eventually, however, she made it to the area where she was meeting Hermione.
Hermione and Ron had moved into the Muggle world when Voldemort had been defeated and Wizarding society collapsed. Hermione had a full time job at the local university as a research assistant. Her head in books all day, Ginny was sure she loved it. Ron was doing some casual work as a labourer, shifting bricks for a couple of builders. It payed well, but he was always exhausted when he got home, and Hermione often despaired that he never talked to her. Ginny hoped that Hermione wouldn't moan about it for too long today. Her own unpredictable life placed enough stress on her that she might snap, and she really didn't want to argue with Hermione today.
It was a lovely café that they ate at, near the university where Hermione worked. Ginny felt a bit bad that Hermione paid the bill, but the older woman assured her that she would feel worse if she made Ginny pay.
The man behind the counter smiled familiarly as Ginny worked her way through the small café to the two-person table at the back of the room next to the back window. The view looked out onto the University grounds, and Ginny wondered what it would have been like to come to Muggle University and study. A cloud of students meandered into the courtyard, laughing and chatting. Ginny sighed.
Turning away from the window, Ginny saw Hermione enter the shop. Her bushy-haired friend said a few words to the man behind the counter, who smiled and said something back. Then Hermione spotted Ginny, waved and made her way over.
"Hello Ginny! How are you going?" Hermione settled herself into her chair, a bookbag falling to the floor next to her.
"Oh, you know, the same as always," Ginny waved the question off.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Nothing much has changed in the past week in the Wizarding world?"
"Not a single thing. Let's eat, I'm starving," Ginny could feel her stomach working, despite its empty state. She was starting to feel nauseous.
"I already ordered, Luke will bring it over in a moment," Hermione replied. Ginny smiled thankfully. "By the way," Hermione began, "I wanted to ask you about this…"
Leaning down to her bookbag, all Ginny could see of her for a few moments was her bushy hair. It certainly gave her character, Ginny smiled, and it looked healthy, opposed to her own dry hair.
"Oh, here it is," Hermione said, emerging from under the table. She pulled up a heavy tome, opened it to a bookmarked page. Turning the book around, Hermione pointed to a picture. "Do you have any idea what that could be? I've been completely unsuccessful researching it Muggle-wise, and I think it might be a Magical symbol."
Ginny peered at it. "You know, Hermione, that you were the Arithmancy girl…" Hermione just nodded. "It might be… You know, it just might be…"
Hermione frowned as Ginny pulled a little book out of a pocket. "It might be what?" She asked impatiently.
"It might be a symbol for good fortune. Luck. Blessings. 'All good things to you,' that sort of thing."
"And you just know that?"
"You were the one asking! I've been doing some reading lately, just to keep my mind awake."
"On paradise pearls?" Hermione said disbelievingly, reading Ginny's notebook upside down.
"Yes; I can look at pretty things, even if I can't afford them, you know."
With a frown, Hermione let it drop. "I'll look into that theory. Oh, here comes our lunch," Hermione lightened up at the sight of her Caesar salad, and Ginny was thankful that the brunette had ordered something more substantial for her.
After some more chit-chat – and a lovely lunch – Hermione excused herself. Ginny was always surprised how quickly an hour disappeared when she had someone to talk with. Hugging Hermione goodbye, Ginny began to wander slowly back towards the bus stop.
It was at moments like this – after having spent an hour chatting with someone who cared about her and for whom she cared – that Ginny realised just how lonely it was, this life she was living. The regulars at the Leaky Cauldron sometimes said a few words to her, but that was rare these days; every person was dealing with their own struggles, and few wanted to talk sober. Some got weepy when drunk, but usually those were too far gone to be comprehensible.
The bus arrived, and it was thankfully less crowded, allowing her to find a seat. Looking out the window, Ginny wondered how she had managed to become so isolated. It was society, she acknowledged, but her parents still had friends who they entertained regularly. Sighing, Ginny looked down at her hands, clutched in her lap.
The burglary, that was the reason. Ever since the notion had planted itself in her brain, she had withdrawn herself from most people, knowing they would ask where the money was coming from… In fact, Snape was the first person to know about it. Ginny snorted in laughter at this realisation. Snape was the person who knew her most, who knew her little secret. Ginny sighed as her dark humour ebbed, recognising the despondency that lay beneath it. Maybe she should go straight to her parents' place when she reached the apparition point behind the Leaky Cauldron. It was moods like this that made her do strange and stupid things.