Harry wakes up to and early morning puzzle and Ginny has a challenging day. Just getting to Chess Club could be a challenge for them tonight.
Song Between the Raindrops by Lifehouse and Natasha Bedingfield
Hargrave: Potter, you are needed at the station
Harry: Sir?
Hargrave: New old case, your specialty
Harry: I can be there in 30 minutes
Hargrave: Can you be here sooner?
Harry: It is 5 am, sir. I was asleep
Hargrave: Get here as soon as you can
Harry groaned as he flopped back on the pillow. "Who was that?' Ginny mumbled as she snuggled back into his shoulder. "It is too early to be awake."
"My captain," Harry groaned. "Apparently, a case just came in that needs my attention and it can't wait until I get there at my normal time."
"What time is it?" Ginny kissed his cheek.
"To borrow a phrase from your brother, the butt crack of dawn," Harry looked at the screen of his mobile. "It is 5 am and I have to be at work by 5:30. Please tell me why I do this?"
"Because you are really good at solving puzzles." Ginny rolled over and snuggled beneath the covers. "And the world will crumble if you don't solve this one for your boss."
"Your alarm goes off at 6." Harry kissed the top of her head. "You have an interview with the up and coming players at 9 and you said you still had prep to do."
"I do not want to do this." Ginny covered her head with her pillow. "That little snot is on the list of players to interview."
"Poor baby." Harry ducked the pillow she threw at his head. "Just remind him that your stats as a rookie are still better than his."
"Go, play with your detective kit," floated up from the lump on the bed.
"Love you, too." Harry tossed the pillow back on the bed as he headed for his shower.
Ginny: Can I kill him?
Harry: No, baby. You cannot kill him
GInny: He is such an arrogant ass
Harry: He is just young and full of himself. Just wait
Ginny: For what?
Harry: His first game this year is against Oliver's team
Ginny: I need to talk to him
Harry: Oliver has already built a book on him
Ginny: How do you know?
Harry: He called when you were in hospital to check on you
Ginny: He may be the only keeper I have ever know that kept books on the player he was going to face. Not just the teams, but the individual players.
Harry: Oliver has things in store for him.
Ginny: Do we have tickets to that game?
Harry: Oliver said they will be at the ticket box on game day
Ginny smiled, sipping her tea as she read over her notes for today's interviews. "I need to include questions about players they admire and fear," she mumbled as she scribbled more notes on her pad. "I am not warning the little snot about Oliver. He needs to find out why Ollie's nickname is Hadrian's Wall."
Laughing to herself, Ginny put her cup in the sink and began to pack her notes into her bag. Today's interviews could be entertaining. She just had to ignore the arrogance of young hot shots who didn't know their sports history or respect female reporters or players. The best part of the interview sessions might just be the time she was going to get to spend with the ladies on her old team. She might just suggest a ladies vs. lads scrimmage to the photographer.
Ginny: Remind me later I cannot strangle the little snot
Daphne: Who are you going to kill?
Hermione: Are those interviews today?
Luna: Is it time for football to start again?
GInny: Yes … I may have evil plans
Daphne: Do you have to interview HIM again?
Ginny: Yup
Hermione: You have not been cleared to play
Ginny: I don't plan to
Luna: You didn't plan to last time
Daphne: Please don't do that again
Ginny: I have a different plan
Hermione: Do I need to call Harry?
Ginny: I was just going to suggest a lads vs. ladies scrimmage between the players I am interviewing
Luna: Call Harry
Harry looked up when he heard a knock on his door. He had been looking over files and photos in the cold case folder since he had arrived at the station this morning.
"Find anything new, Potter," Hargrave asked as he stepped into Harry's office. "I was hoping a fresh set of eyes would find new details."
"Not yet, sir." Harry gestured to the notes and pictures covering his desk. "Right now I am just trying to get a feel for how the pieces we have fit together."
"I am trusting you to find the answers, Potter." Hargrave turned to walk out of the office. "This family has been waiting long enough."
He still did not understand why his Captain had called him in as early as he did this morning, but he was hoping to have some scraps of new information from the files before he left tonight. He was hoping to be done in time to go home and change before Chess Club. He had driven in today, so he did not have to worry about the train schedule.
Ginny would be home by 5:30 and he needed to be home by then, too. For some reason, their friends had started to give them a hard time if they got to The Bishop's Brew after 6 pm. It was not his fault that they were the only married couple in the bunch and he had a beautiful wife.
Ginny: He is still alive and my knee is fine
Harry: So the interviews went well?
Ginny: Yes
Harry: Honey, what did you do?
Ginny: Nothing
Harry: Honey?
Ginny: What?
Harry: Did you invite Oliver to the interviews?
Ginny: NO … Why would you think that?
Harry: I know you. Is the boy still alive?
Ginny: Yes
Harry: What did you do?
Ginny: Let's just say I talked the photographer into asking them to play a lads vs. ladies scrimmage and the ladies won :)
Harry: I love you … see you soon
Ginny put her notepad into her bag and turned towards the door of her office.
"How's that feature coming, Potter?" her editor asked from her door.
"Fine, boss." Ginny looked up as she moved around her desk. "Just a little bit of clean up work and picking pictures tomorrow. I think you will like what we came up with."
"It had better be good," Matt said as he leaned against the doorframe. "It is the front page feature of the Sports section in Sunday's paper. Don't disappoint me."
"It will be good." Ginny walked past her editor. "But, it is 5pm on Friday and I have a standing date with my husband in thirty minutes. I will have it to your inbox by 2 pm tomorrow. Good night, Matt."
"Night, Potter." Matt watched her walk out the front door. "I expect magic tomorrow. At least this time, you didn't end up in the hospital."
Ginny: Headed home
Hermione: And when do you plan on getting to Chess Club?
Daphne: It depends on what Harry has planned for her
Luna: Don't expect her until 7
Ginny: We will be there at 6
Hermione: Sure you will
Daphne: I will believe that
Luna: When I see it
"Honey, I'm home," Harry listened to his voice echo through the sitting room. Ginny must not be home yet. An empty housement he had a few minutes to clean up and change. He also need some quiet time to process some of the things he had seen in the cold case file. He was not sure how many more answers he could get for the family but he was going to try.
He might even have to get Ginny to help him with some research. She had access to the paper's morgue and could look for articles from the time he needed. Thinking about the case made his head and his heart hurt. Harry decided to sit on the sofa and rest for a few minutes before he got ready to go. It couldn't hurt to rest for a minute or two.
Ginny tried not to giggle as she walked into the sitting room. Harry was sprawled out on the sofa, drooling, his glasses crooked and a quiet snore escaping his lips. He looked too cute not to take a picture. It's not like he didn't have a collection of pictures of her just like the one she was about to take. He looked like today had been a rough day at work.
"Just another one to add to my collection," she whispered as she clicked the button on her mobile. "I'd better get ready for Chess Club before I wake him up."
Twenty minutes later, a very sleepy Harry woke up to naughty kisses from his wife. Chess Club could wait.