Chapter 6

Stupid Ginny

Ginny was drunk. She knew it, and everyone around her did too. They didn't care, since she was in the Hog's Head, but still….she was getting kind of loud.

"I…think I might need to stop!" She yelled to a man sitting right next to her.

"Do you feel better?" He asked quietly.

Ginny swayed a bit and stared at him suspiciously.

"Whhy…would I f-feel better?" she asked.

"Obviously you're drinking to forget something, or else you wouldn't be drinking so much." The man said quietly.

Ginny laughed a bit.

"You're smart," she said stupidly, "I don't feel better though, so I don't think I should stop!"

"What are you trying to forget, Ginevra?" the man asked.

Ginny downed a shot of Firewhiskey before speaking.

"Him."

"Who?" the man asked, sounding eager.

"I'm trying to forget his stupid…self…he left me, ya know that? For that sssslut."

"What's his name?" the man asked, handing Ginny another drink.

"Harry Potter…the fantastic Boy Who Lived. I l-loved him and he left me!" She said, her face darkening.

"Do you resent him?" the man asked quickly, turning to face her, "Do you want to make them regret what they did?"

Ginny paused a minute and the smiled slightly.

"I know you." She slurred stupidly, "You're---"

"Shhh…" The man said, covering her mouth. "I know who I am. I want you to help me…will you help me?"

Ginny looked at him confusedly and shook her head to clear it.

"I don't think I'm supposed to like you…." She said slowly.

The man tipped a drink down her throat.

"Will you help me?" He asked urgently.

Ginny nodded her eyes glassy.

"Good…now be a good girl, Ginevra, and come with me."

She followed him.

He took her to a dark alley and Apparated the two of them to a dark space.

"Where are we?" she asked, stumbling down stone steps.

"You don't need to know that."

"I want to go back to Hogwarts," she said, looking scared, "I'll be missed. I have classes in the morning."

The man took her by the arm and led her through a passageway to a dark room.

"You'll be back by morning….don't worry." He said softly, and guided her to a chair.

She sat down and he lit his wand illuminating their faces.

"Now, then, tell me, why do you hate Potter so much?"

"I told you," Ginny said, "He left me for Hermione, and because of them my family is ruined."

"Does that make you truly, really hate him, Ginevra?"

Ginny smiled a bit, feeling woozy.

"Ginevra, listen to me, do you want to get revenge? To make them hurt?"

"I want to make them see what they d-did." Ginny said slowly.

The man smiled.

"Will you let me help you do this? Will you help me, as well?"

"What am I helping you with?" Ginny asked innocently.

"I want Potter to hurt as well."

"Oh." Ginny said, "Well, I suppose I can help you."

"Good. Now, I'm going to do a little magic, to help us, see? Don't worry, it won't hurt."

Ginny eyed his wand warily for a minute then nodded.

"Good, Ginevra, good….now close your eyes, please."

Ginny did as he said, all the while feeling like she was doing something she would regret.

The man raised his wand.

"Imperio!" He whispered harshly.

o----------------------------------------------------o

Harry gasped as if someone had doused cold water on him. He was wide awake, clutching his scar.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, but opened his eyes again when he felt someone move next to him.

It was Hermione.

"Harry? Harry, are you okay?" She asked anxiously, sitting up in bed.

Harry nodded, still breathing as though he'd run a race.

"Yeah…yeah….I just…bad dream is all." He gasped.

"You're clutching your scar, Harry." Hermione said quietly.

Harry jumped a bit, and let go of his head.

"I…It hurt…that's all."

"It's probably just stress," Hermione said, "You're probably stressing about Ron, am I right?"

Harry nodded slowly, looking at Hermione with wide eyes as he remembered what he had done.

"I---Hermione…can I ask you something….weird?" He asked.

"Sure." Hermione said, looking at him worriedly.

"D'you…what did we do yesterday?"

"We went to Diagon Alley, Harry," Hermione said slowly, "And…and we…I can't remember too well….did we…we ate ice cream I think….Harry….Harry I can't remember anything else! Did we get drunk or something?"

Harry closed his eyes.

"No," He said, "No, we didn't get drunk 'Mione. You had a bit of a…a headache, so you went to sleep…we did everything you said we did."

"Oh," Hermione looked unsettled, "Alright then. Erm…its six 'o clock. I'm going to get up now, okay?"

"Yeah," Harry said, looking over at her, "Yeah, that's fine…I'll go and…I'll just start some breakfast then…you can have the shower first."

"That's so considerate of you," Hermione said sarcastically and kissed him before leaving the room.

Harry stayed in bed for a moment until he heard water running before getting up.

He walked slowly into the kitchen.

Andrea was already awake and staring at the coffee pot.

"D'you want some coffee?" Harry asked, since the pot was empty.

Andrea turned to look at him.

"That'd be great," She said, and took the cup Harry conjured up for her, "I saw Hermione, by the way."

Harry jumped slightly.

"Yeah….she woke up a bit ago. I…it worked, Andy…she doesn't remember how horrible they were. She…all she remembers is going to Diagon Alley and she thinks we ate ice cream. She knows something's up though, Andy, she's suspicious, I think. I—I told her she had a headache and…but…"

"Harry, listen, you're rambling." Andy said, and sat down her coffee cup. "Hermione trusts you, but she's really smart, so you've got to…we've all got to be careful what we say around her. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded, surprised at how forceful Andy was being.

"I don't regret what I did, you know." Harry said.

Andrea smiled a small smile.

"No, I didn't think you would….not if it's for the best."

"It is for the best." Harry said.

"What's for the best?" Hermione asked, coming into the kitchen, dressed in her lime green work robes.

"That Harry doesn't make breakfast." Andy said, smiling, "He's not quite the world's best cook."

"I make pretty good pancakes," Hermione said smiling at Harry, "I'll cook."

"No cereal?" Harry joked.

Hermione kissed him before starting breakfast.

"No cereal." She said softly.

"Right well, this is awkward." Andy said, and Harry turned to look at her, but she was grinning.

"I'm not going to be around much today," Hermione said, turning back to her pancakes, "I got a call a few minutes ago, and it's my emergency day."

"Emergency day?" Andy repeated.

"Yeah, that's what St. Mungo's likes to call their 'hey, you aren't working today and you should be' days."

Harry laughed.

"Well, I'm sorry you've got to work, love, but you won't be missing much. I'm going into the office today and I'm taking Andy with me to see about….something."

"Oh? Why so secretive, Mr. Potter? Got an extra girl on the side?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows as she served out the pancakes.

"Because it's a secret, my dear," Harry said, grinning, "You'll find out all about it if everything goes well, I promise. Oh, and ."

"Okay, then, well, I'm sorry to run off like this, but I'll have my head put on a platter if I don't get to St. Mungo's right now."

"Bye, love, have a good day," Harry said as Hermione Apparated.

"God, I'd hate to see her this morning after what happened yesterday." Andrea said, looking at the spot where Hermione had vanished wistfully.

"Me too." Harry said softly, "Well, come on then Andrea, let's go and see if we can't have you magicked up, shall we?"

"I refuse to believe that is a word." Andy sighed, taking Harry's arm.

"It probably isn't," Harry conceded, "But it sure sounds cool."

Andy sighed.

"Okay, okay, let's get this Apparition thing over with."

Harry obliged, and they disappeared with a pop.

o--------------------------------------------------------o

"Wow." Andrea said as they appeared in the middle of the Ministry.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Harry asked as he led her to the elevator.

"It's amazing."

Andy continued to admire her surroundings as they arrived at the interview area.

Harry stopped her outside a door.

"Go on in there. I'll be in the Auror office when you get out, alright? Just ask someone where it is, and tell them who you want to see, and they'll bring you up."

Harry turned to leave.

"Wait…you're leaving?" Andy said, looking terrified.

Harry smiled.

"You'll be fine, Andy…just make sure you mention that I'm your recommendation, alright?"

Andy nodded and pushed the door open timidly as Harry walked away.

"Come in." A sharp voice called out, and Andy entered hurriedly.

A tall elderly looking woman with sharp features was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by people.

"Name?" She asked.

"Erm...Andrea Hale."

"Ms. Hale, how did you come to learn of this experiment?" The woman asked, scribbling furiously on her clipboard.

"Erm…well…my friend told me about it." Andrea said nervously.

"Who is your friend?" the woman asked sharply.

"H-Harry P-Potter." Andrea stammered.

There was an immediate intake of breath within the room, and the woman looked shocked.

"Mr. Potter informed you of this?" She asked.

"Y-yes."

"How are you acquainted with Mr. Potter?" the woman asked.

"I…he's my friend…like I said."

"How did you meet him?"

"He was my roommate."

The woman narrowed her eyes.

"Indeed…." She wrote something down, "Well…that…I believe is everything. You are all dismissed. We will be in contact. Wait a moment, Ms. Hale. I'd like to speak with you."

Andy stayed back as everyone else left, nervously.

The woman came up to her once they were alone.

"Who brought you here?" she asked.

"Harry." Andrea said.

The woman sighed.

"Ms. Hale, you may not be aware but my name is Minerva McGonagall, and I taught Mr. Potter. His…history after school….has also been very carefully tracked, and I don't seem to recall reading about you anywhere in those records."

Andrea felt sick.

"But…no…I promise…I'm not lying…he was my roommate…and he brought me here…he said for me to come up to the Auror office…to find someone that could take me to him when I was finished." Andrea said hurriedly.

McGonagall surveyed her over her glasses.

"I, Ms. Hale," she said as she opened the door and ushered her outside, "am that someone."

Andrea followed Minerva McGonagall all the way up to the Auror offices feeling desperate.

McGonagall stopped at a cubicle and Andrea hung back slightly.

"Mr. Potter." She said, and Harry came out, looking worried.

"Yes?" He asked, looking surprised to see her.

"This woman claims that you are her recommendation and that she was your roommate." McGonagall said, pointing at Andrea.

Harry looked at McGonagall as if she were crazy.

"That's right." He said slowly.

"Impossible." McGonagall scoffed.

Harry looked confused.

"No offense, or anything, Professor, because I know you're much smarter than I am, but I think I would know who used to be my roommate."

"Mr. Potter…you may not be aware, but your life is constantly recorded, and there is absolutely no record of you living with this woman."

Harry looked shifty and smiled nervously.

"Erm…yeah…I was kind of aware of that…I know that you must know that I went to America after graduation…and erm…well since I went for personal reasons…and kind of didn't want anyone to know…I managed to erm…give the spell that was connected to the record book a bit…of a break from recording my life…"

Andrea was pleased to see that McGonagall looked shocked.

"But…the….the book says that you spent your time in America studying…alone…might I add…"

Harry was looking very nervous.

"Yeess…well…that's sort of what I wanted it to say…"

McGonagall looked like she was trying to control her anger.

"You mean to tell me that you hoodwinked the record book into believing that you were living alone….for an entire year?"

Harry nodded.

"It…wasn't that hard…" He said, "It….I'm sorry, but I didn't want anyone to know where I was."

McGonagall sighed.

"I swear, Potter, I doubt I've ever met another student that broke as many rules as you did." She said ruefully, but was laughing.

Harry smiled a bit.

"Yeah, well, they'd have quite a bit to live up to, wouldn't they?" he said.

McGonagall smiled wryly.

"They would indeed." McGonagall turned to Andrea, "Ms. Hale, let me offer you my apologies…I found it incredibly hard to believe your story when our records told us otherwise, but I suppose I should have known better."

Andy smiled.

"That's alright. From what Harry tells me, lots of people would have a hard time believing my story."

Minerva nodded and turned to walk away, but paused.

"Also, Ms. Hale, let me offer you my congratulations on making it into the test program. An owl will be sent to your residence informing you of a later date of meeting. Oh, and Mr. Potter…" McGonagall turned to Harry, "my condolences on the unfortunate incident of Mr. Weasley disappearing. I hope he's found soon."

Harry smiled tightly.

"Thank you, Professor." He said.

She nodded to him and walked away.

Andrea sighed in relief as she left.

"My God," she said, "I really don't like that woman!"

And Harry, to Andy's surprise, burst out laughing.

Review, please!

A/N: Thanks to you all who reviewed! Keep it up!

I would take the time to reply to you all this time, but I figure you want the story more than you want me talking. I'll do it next time, I promise!!