The morning dawned too soon for Ginny, but the flimsy cloth that covered her east-facing window did little to dim the rare early spring sun. Tossing and turning for half an hour did little to improve her mood, so she wrenched herself from her warm blankets and shuffled to the shower to prepare for the day.
Warm clothes and a hot cup of tea in her hand helped her mood lighten slightly. She sat in the kitchen with Maude – the cook – chatting lightly. Hermione appeared in the doorway within minutes of her own arrival, though the brunette looked as though she had had far fewer hours' sleep. She was soon buried in a cup of coffee, refusing to make eye contact with anyone for fifteen minutes. Slowly, she woke up, relaxing her shoulders until she was looking everyone in the eye and participating in the conversation. Maude offered them porridge, but Ginny couldn't face it. Her stomach was tight with knots of worry about what Snape would say – and worse, what the man Malfoy had hired would discover if – when – she let him onto the premises again.
Their small female gathering was interrupted half an hour later by the disgruntled arrival of Snape. "Coffee," he barked at Maude, and continued with, "now!" when she lagged at his rude tone. Sniffing, she bustled about with an affronted air; Snape ignored her until he had finished his first cup, then shoved the cup in her direction once more for a refill. Maude gave the other two women a longsuffering look, then shooed them all from her kitchen. Ginny led the other two to a small private room behind the kitchen.
"What mess have you got yourself into now?" Snape grated, dropping himself into the comfortable chair in the corner – the only chair in the room. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but a warning look from Ginny made her close it. Snape gave the brunette a glare. "And why is she here?"
"She is here because I want her to be. I told you that something recognised my presence on the Malfoy grounds; now Malfoy has hired someone to discover who trespassed on his property."
Surprisingly, Snape merely ground his teeth together before replying, "fine. Who has he hired?"
"Seeker Services."
Snape hissed, stood abruptly and began to pace. "Who at Seeker Services?"
"He said to address my findings to Seeker at Seeker Services."
The unattractive man growled, and his pacing became more furious. As swiftly as he had started, he stopped, rounding on her. "He did tracking spells?"
"Yes; the results are here." Ginny waved for Hermione to hand over the pieces of parchment which the brunette did with little grace. Snape sat down again, read over the numbers and symbols that meant little to Ginny.
"His spells are top-notch," Hermione said to Ginny quietly. "And his results are quite accurate. Let him in here and he will know exactly what spells were used, where they were used and when. And he will know exactly who. They are amazing spells, actually; though I wish for your sake that he was not quite so clever."
Snape thrust the parchment back at Hermione. "Well, Miss Granger; what cleverness do you propose to do to misdirect him?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes, but Ginny's hand on her arm reminded her to be civil. "I was thinking false spells, with an aging spell over the top. But after reading his report…" She fell silent.
Snape stood again, resumed his pacing, occasionally casting an angry glance at the women, muttering under his breath. Hermione looked as though she might explode at any moment, but Ginny felt a strange sort of peace. Snape would think of something – this affected him as much as her.
In mid-stride, Snape swirled to face the two women. "This is what we will do. In a room – this room will do – we will remove all traces of magic. Every residue, gone. Your story will be that someone stole in here at night, must have performed their deed, then cleansed the room. It is a stupid thing to do, because the traces still lead here, and a room devoid of magic draws as much attention as a gaping hole in pavement. A few cleaning charms – aged – will look like it has been a while since it was cleansed. Compile a list of patrons who were in the establishment on the night – as complete as possible – but add the name of… some annoying female. Pansy Parkinson, or some such. Someone who would want a hold over Malfoy. If that," he waved a hand at Ginny's brassy-looking ring, "attracted his attention, we will see to it that he thinks someone took it for the purpose it was intended." His glare was pointed.
"Well?" Ginny retaliated, "get to casting then!" Snape bared his teeth, grimaced at himself, turned away and Ginny thought she heard him mutter, "…bring out the worst in me." Ginny got to the doorway with Hermione in her wake when Snape spoke again.
"Miss Granger; where do you think you're going?" Both women turned to look at him. Hermione gave Ginny a panicked look. Ginny turned to Snape, waiting for him to expand on his demand. Wand bared, he indicated at Hermione. "Get your wand out, girl. I'm not doing this all by myself."
"G… Ginny, too?" Hermione stammered, shooting a desperate glance at her friend. Ginny wondered where her friend's backbone had gone. Once, the brunette would have stood before Voldemort himself with defiance.
"That girl has brought me enough trouble. She should be off looking after her business anyway." Snape glared at her with black eyes. She just shrugged.
"Don't let him bully you, Hermione. I do have to get back to the bar. I'll bring you lunch in a few hours." Hermione's expression was tragic, but Ginny ignored it. Snape was nasty but reasonably fair. He would goad her more than actually injure her. And her spell-work was outstanding.
The bar was quiet that morning, but by lunchtime more patrons arrived for the well-priced food and a glass of beer. When the waitress arrived, Ginny excused herself to take food to Snape and Hermione.
Silence greeted her as she walked in with food. Hermione was glaring at Snape; Snape was wearing an amused expression. Ginny cleared her throat. Hermione jumped, then rushed over to take her plate. Snape seemed unruffled, seated himself in the chair and waited for Ginny to bring his food over. A questioning look to Hermione was answered with a small shake of her head. She didn't want to talk about it. Ginny shrugged.
"How is it going?" she asked generally.
"Well enough," Snape replied. Hermione glared at him, before adding, "some strong magic has been performed in here. It's taking a while to get out. And we have to be careful not to disturb the secrecy enchantments that are built into the building materials. I'm nearly finished, though."
Ginny nodded. "I'll leave you to it, then." She retreated quickly. The tension was high enough without her adding to it. Closing the door behind her, Ginny went back to help with lunch at the bar.
Three hours later, Snape found her in the kitchen again, peeling potatoes for Maude. "How did it go?" she asked conversationally.
"It is done. You should send word to…" he looked at Maude, who ignored him. "Miss Granger should be along soon. I will deduct the cost of today from the dividends of your delivery." There was a malicious sparkle in his eye that said he wanted her to get upset about this. However unfair she thought it, Ginny refused to give him the reaction he wanted.
"Thankyou, I am pleased that this has been dealt with so quickly. Have a good evening," she said, then turned back to her potatoes. She could almost hear Snape's grinding teeth from where she was sitting. He refrained from commenting further, however, and Ginny grinned as she heard his every heavy step to the bar. Maude chuckled at her. "You are teaching him manners that his mother ought have," the older woman told her. Ginny returned her grin. "Don't tell him; he'll fight harder if he knows what I'm doing." Maude grinned along with her.
Hermione stumbled into the kitchen, dirt on her jeans and face, her hair a mess. "Snape's already gone?" she gasped. She wiped sweat off her forehead. Ginny nodded. "I'm going to kill that man the next time I see him. Once I'd finished with the cleansing – that he barely helped with, mind – he dumped a tonne of dirt on me! Grinned at me, told me to clean it up. I am going to kill him!"
Maude bustled over with a wet cloth. "You did use your wand, didn't you?"
Hermione smiled a wry smile. "After a few minutes." She raised her hands hopelessly. "Muggleborn," she added. Maude clucked her tongue, wiped Hermione's face clean.
"Did you finish?" Ginny asked carefully. Hermione looked at her strangely until she caught what Ginny was actually asking.
"Yes," she replied, now wiping her jeans clean with the damp cloth Maude had finally handed over, "nobody would guess that the place was filled with dust just ten minutes ago. It looks like it's been clean for weeks."
Ginny nodded in appreciation. Hermione fell onto the muffin and tea that Maude brought to her as though she hadn't eaten for weeks. "I hope I never see him again," Hermione managed to say around her food. Maude nodded in agreement. Ginny nodded also, but thought that there were worse people who could turn up.
"I had better get onto some correspondence," Ginny said, finishing the potato she had been peeling and putting the knife down.
"Thankyou for the help," Maude smiled. Hermione, finished her food and sipping her tea, added, "I'll take over once I've finished this," she lifted her mug.
"Don't be silly," Maude began, but Hermione put on a stubborn face and Maude gave up before she began. Ginny left them to it.