Ginny settled into a cozy corner of Hogsmeade's newest quaint eatery, Caterwaul Cafe, aptly named after the charm that alerted the Death Eaters to Harry Potter's presence during the latter part of the war.

"So how did last night go?" she inquired, haphazardly placing her napkin onto her lap and taking a sip of gillywater.

Fidgeting with his utensils as he tried to determine the best way to answer Ginny's question, he finally replied with a sigh. "Well, it could have been worse." Mentally revisiting the part of the evening where Malfoy stormed off to the loo after a brief run-in about the meeting with Hermione, he added, "He at least seemed receptive to the idea of working on the case with her. I don't think he'll pass up an opportunity like this one to further redeem the Malfoy name. You know he's been pretty relentless in his crusade."

Taking a hearty bite of his hog roast bap, he nearly moaned as the pork gravy kissed his palate.

"Well, if that's practically settled, then how do you think Hermione will handle having him on the case? Have you talked to her since she stormed out of the Ministry yesterday?" She popped a chip into her mouth and glanced at the line beginning to form around the bistro's counter.

"Actually, I just came from her flat. She was in a right state after receiving a letter from Kingsley informing her that he was moving Malfoy from associate investigator to Case Co-Chair. I don't think she minded having him follow up on leads, but she was less than thrilled to find out she'll be spending more time with him than Crookshanks." He snickered into his pumpkin juice as he took a long swallow.

Ginny grinned absently, her eyes creased with amusement at this new development. "It looks like you're getting a little bit too much enjoyment out of this."

"It's not that. I just see how militant Hermione has become with her work and as an extension, her entire life. She could use a bloke like Malfoy to add a little excitement to her stringent routines." Seeing Ginny's eyebrow raise in skepticism, he added, "C'mon, you've noticed it too. She's descended into a tiresome existence. I mean, when's the last time you've been to her flat and not seen her in an ardent embrace with a book?"

She sighed in comical resignation. "You're not wrong."

"Look, I'm not saying Hermione deserved to be blindsided by this- I'm just trying to see the upside to all of it." He took another swallow of pumpkin juice before continuing. "We need Malfoy on this case, whether any of us like it or not. And if this is the only way to get him, then I can think of no one better to handle his undeniable unpleasantness than Hermione. They'll be good for each other, you'll see."

His clipped tone seemed to indicate this was his final thought on the matter.

"On another note, we really need to get Malfoy over to the evidence room to have him take a look at what we found at Miriam Strout's place. For the first time, Livingston doesn't even know where to begin." His shoulders slumped imperceptibly. "The object that was recovered was vibrating, Gin- it's like nothing anyone has seen before."

Ginny searched his face, finding the burden of unease settling there. Harry ordinarily didn't share the details of private DMLE matters with anyone, let alone Ginny. But given the curious nature of this case's recent developments, he appreciated the amiable contemplation she offered.

"What makes you think Malfoy will fare any better than Livingston and an entire team of curse-breakers?" she posited. "Seems odd to me that out of all the wizards in Britain, he's the most viable option you have."

Raking a hand through his high-spirited fringe, he fixated on the baleful information he had been trying so hard to ignore. Information so unsettling he could barely conceal his concern. Cautiously glancing around the now crowded cafe, he wordlessly cast a Muffliato and leaned forward replying in a hushed tone, "What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room, understood?"

She nodded with rising apprehension as he covertly continued.

"The object left behind at the scene of Miriam's murder was clearly imbued with some form of dark magic."

Ginny's eyes immediately widened with alarm.

"But that's not the half of it. Upon closer inspection, one of our curse breakers discovered some sort of family crest adorning the surface. Nothing we recognized. We cross-referenced it with the family crest archives of the Sacred Twenty-Eight in the Ministry's vault, but nothing turned up a match."

He sighed, allowing the heavy words to settle in the space between them.

"It's too soon to draw any conclusions, but we were hoping that maybe Malfoy can theorize its origin. He has more experience with that kind of thing and his knowledge of the Dark Arts may help determine what kind of sinister magic it is imbued with and to whom it might belong."

Ginny listened with rapt attention, hanging onto Harry's every word. Visions of the cursed diary her first year at Hogwarts came careening back into the forefront of her mind. If anyone realized the urgency of solving this case where Dark Magic was involved, it was her.

Her deeply troubled eyes bored into Harry's. "This isn't your typical Borgin and Burke's break-in, is it?" she asked, worry lines marring her face.

Following the fall of Voldemort, most all of his followers either perished in the war or were apprehended and tried for their crimes. So it would be accurate to say crime in London was at a historic low by comparison. There was no one more grateful for that fact than Harry. He had already had more than his fair share of fighting the forces of evil for the better part of his youth. Despite the success of eradicating the horde of Voldemort's allies, one associate remained at large and Harry refused to rest until the very last repugnant piece of the malevolent puzzle was in its rightful place. He knew apprehending MacNair wouldn't be an easy feat, as evidenced by the countless hours he and Ron devoted to tracking and surveillance. But he now felt an uneasy foreboding for what this recent development represented.

"It isn't," he replied grimly, fixing Ginny with a look of dismay. "Until we have this sorted, I suggest you ensure the wards at the Burrow are reinforced. Tell your mum I'll be by tomorrow for dinner- I can fill everyone in on what I can then."

At that, he wandlessly removed the Muffliato and added, "Shaklebolt has asked me to come by this afternoon to meet with him about the case." Ginny's shoulders slumped as she frowned in disappointment. "We can finish up here and I'll walk you to the Apparition point."

"But Harry, we've barely sat down," Ginny protested, gesturing with both hands at her half-eaten meal. "If I had half a mind, I'd break up with you on the grounds of abandonment!"

Despite being displeased by the abbreviated lunch date, she knew when Harry committed to a case, he was bound and determined to see it through. It was one of the things she loved most about him. But, maybe not when she was still plagued by hunger pangs and an insatiable desire to spend time with her beau.

"I'll owl you when I get home and you can come by for one of those sappy French films you love." He leaned over to help her with her cloak as Ginny begrudgingly rose to stand. "I'll make it up to you, I promise," he whispered as they made their way to the door.

"You better. I feel like we never see each other anymore." She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together. "Just please be safe. And make sure you keep a close eye on Ron. You know how agitated he gets when Malfoy's around. He's liable to cast an Unforgivable if he thinks Malfoy's intruding on his territory."

Harry snorted in reply, knowing that Ginny could not be more right.