Chapter 43: Once Bitten…
“What do you mean, cancelled?” Ginny demanded shrilly, as she walked briskly down the hall of the Ministry building, Clarice following behind her, carrying Ginny’s scheduling book with her as she struggled to keep up with the irate diplomat.
“We received three owls this morning; all of your appointments for this morning have been cancelled,” Clarice explained. The younger woman stopped abruptly, swinging around to look at her assistant. Clarice, startled by the sudden stop, took a second to observe the unusual changes in her boss.
She had appeared, six days ago, and had furiously gone to work. The message she had sent Fudge from Bulgaria had been retrieved and shredded, and all of the consuls from the 8 countries that they’d secured support from had been contacted to ensure their signature. As soon as that had been done, she’d gone to work on the remaining 7 countries still to agree. And now, with 24 hours left before the deadline, only three remained – Bulgaria, France and Russia.
Throughout the whole time, Clarice had noted that this was a different Ginny than the one she’d been working with for years. Instead of the rushing about, arriving late to the office, completely uncollected and unprepared, she’d been early and immaculately dressed, ready for the day. All business, all diplomat, all the time. Now, as the news that her hard work might be for nothing, she could see a desperation in her eyes that worried Clarice – a politician should never show emotion when facing a severe deadline.
“But the consuls from France and Russia were supposed to meet with me! This was my last chance to get their agreement! Did they reschedule?” Ginny asked, her eyes wide with anger.
“France sent their regrets that they would unable to reschedule until after the New Year. Russia felt the same way; didn’t want to conduct any business on New Year’s Eve,” Clarice stated.
“It’s not that important of a holiday!” Ginny cried, before she began stalking off again.
“You would say that, considering that you didn’t even see your family over Christmas,” Clarice mumbled, half-hoping that she wouldn’t hear her.
“Why would they spontaneously refuse to meet me? There has to be some reason, I HAD them, I know I did! All that was left was their actual signatures!” Ginny cried, aggravated and desperately worried. She had to get this done today. Ginny took off down the hall again; storming rather impressively given the black heels she was wearing, before she stopped dead. She turned around to face her assistant again, and there was a look of cold fury in her eyes.
“Malfoy…” she pronounced icily.
* * * *
Draco observed his guests with a grim satisfaction. Any triumph he felt – at having been able to thwart Ginny’s meetings and arrange his own – was put at bay, the knowledge that she’d soon be there. She was too quick to not be able to figure out why her appointments had cancelled, and she had enough of a contact base to find out where the meetings. It was only a matter of time before she appeared, outraged yet completely unwilling to show it.
“But I have spoken with Judge Strum, who met this young lady at your own house, Mr. Malfoy, and he seemed to think that she was the right person to negotiate with,” Jean Black, the French consul, said, deep in thought. Draco watched his very-distant cousin for a moment, sensing that the man was wavering slightly on his decision to meet with him over Virginia Weasley, and knew he had to react quickly.
“The reason he said that was because the little vixen had the poor man wrapped around her little finger. He would have happily pranced around, dressed as a House Elf, if she’d asked. She’s a charming little devil,” Draco said, a specific glint in his eyes that had the other two men roaring with laughter.
“Devil or no, she is still the witch responsible for the creation of this Act, and I believe she even authored it herself? Fairly ambitious for one so young,” the Russian consul said, Draco straining to understand through the man’s thick accent.
“Very ambitious. Gentlemen, I’ve already expressed Bulgaria’s position on the matter – as this law is written, it is not in the best interest of my country. The English Ministry hasn’t taken into consideration certain differences between our cultures when they drafted this Cooperation Act. I think that, if you look closely enough, it will be the same for your own countries. Jean, I understand that the French wizarding community benefits greatly from the sale of certain cosmetic potions – specifically ones that contain the Attractiveness Enhancing Charm. Under this proposed Act, that charm would be filed under Dark Magic, and any further sale of those potions would be violation.”
“Yes, that’s been made very clear, Mr. Malfoy. However, it is also not in the best interest of our Ministry to refuse to cooperate with the rest of the international wizarding community. If we upset our neighbors by refusing to cooperate, won’t that also cause us damage?” Black asked, with a very valid point.
“That would be if the rest of the international community were to follow along with Miss Weasley’s Act.”
“Thirteen of fifteen countries have agreed to sign!” the Russian consul stated.
“They’ve agreed to sign, but as they have not done so yet, there is still time to convince them otherwise. Seriously, Britain has made decisions for the rest of the wizarding community, and this is not acceptable. Special considerations need to be made for each country, as every country is different, and the current agreement doesn’t allow for that. I would be doing you a disservice to allow your countries to enter into an agreement that isn’t in their best interests,” Draco said, sincerely. There was a nod of agreement from Black, but he felt that perhaps he had gone to far with the Russian consul – there was a glimmer of distrust in his eyes as he stared back at Draco from across the table.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’d heard that you would be meeting here this afternoon – considering you weren’t able to make our meeting this morning, I hope you don’t mind my dropping by,” the cool redhead said, with a charming smile as she entered the room. Sitting back lazily in his chair, Draco gazed at her with cold and searching eyes. The mask was carefully frozen into place, layered with several protective layers of ice. Her face was completely unreadable, and to the entire world that didn’t know any better, she was just a pleasant politician stopping by for a chat with her colleagues.
“Not at all, Virginia. Please, do sit down,” Draco said, standing and gesturing to an open chair across from him. She smiled coolly, and sat down, placing the stack of files in her hand gently on the table. “We were just discussing that Cooperation Act of yours in some greater detail.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Malfoy, seeing as the last date to officially enter into the agreement is tomorrow. Now, Mr. Black, I received an owl this morning from your Minister, and I must say how very pleased I am that he wholeheartedly agreed to sign the document at the press conference tomorrow. I was wondering, what would be a fitting ‘thank-you’ gift for a high-ranking politician in France?” she said, with a smile, pulling out a quill as if to take note of Black’s response. Jean Black froze, a twisted look of horror on his face. This was news he had not heard before now.
“If France’s Minister has given our agreement, Malfoy, then it is too late for any further discussion,” Jean muttered to Draco, in French, with a fleeting glance at Ginny’s patiently smiling face.
“She’s bluffing, Black. He hasn’t sent any owl,” Draco responded back in the same language.
“I assure you he did, Mr. Malfoy,” Ginny said, her voice silencing the room. Draco stared at her, slightly surprised that she’d understood what had been said. After a moment’s paused, she continued, this time speaking in French, and directing her comments to Jean Black. “You may see the letter for yourself, Mr. Black, if you doubt my sincerity.”
“No, no, mademoiselle, that will not be necessary,” he answered back, his cheeks turning a slight shade of red, embarrassed to be caught. Draco met her eyes, they were sparkling with triumphant, and her look obviously stated: Weasley, 1, Malfoy, 0.
“Well, as you all may be aware, with France’s recent agreement, that leaves only Bulgaria and Russia who so far have not stated their position on this document,” Ginny began, when the rush of fluttering wings interrupted her. A large owl flew importantly into the room, dropped an envelope on the table in front of Ginny, before leaving. Ginny picked up the letter, and felt her heart stop suddenly. The return address from the Ministry of Magic in Germany.
“Russia will cooperate with the international wizarding community in this matter,” the Russian consul spoke up, suddenly. Ginny felt a wave of relief wash over her. Fourteen of fifteen; she’d won.
“Don’t mind us, Virginia, by all means, see to your message. It may be important,” Draco’s voice cut through her elation, bringing her back down to reality. With a slight frown, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the piece of parchment.
* * * *
It was terrible to watch her face fall as she read the letter, as he knew very well what it contained. The shimmer of joy that was emanating from her eyes seemed to have been snuffed rather abruptly as her brown eyes swept over the page, and a flush of red filled her pallid cheeks. Her hand shaking slightly, she set the letter down quickly, tucking it into one of her file folders – trying to seem calm and collected, and not look like the terrified doe she was, caught in the headlights and desperate to run for cover.
“Sorry about that. Now that Russia has agreed, all that needs to be discussed is the actual signing ceremony, which will take place tomorrow morning at our press conference – oh goodness, another one?” she said, trying to return to the business at hand, until another owl interrupted her. Another letter was dropped onto the table in front of her, and as that owl fluttered out of the room, another swept in, and another letter was added to the pile. He watched, detached, as her eyes became bright, and her face terribly pale. As she was opening the two new letters, six more arrived in a flurry of wings and feathers.
The two consuls were watching, perplexed, as she opened the letters, slowly at first, and then became more frantic. As the last one was opened, she looked up at Draco Malfoy, her eyes full of shock and contempt.
“Miss Weasley, I believe that the Russian Ministry has just consented to cooperate with the rest of the international wizarding community. Assuming that the majority of the countries involved with this Act have agreed to sign, that means that Russia will as well. That is, assuming, that the majority of the countries are all still in agreement about your proposed Act?” Draco asked smoothly, an eyebrow raised, knowing very well what was to come.
“No,” she said softly, her eyes downcast. The two consuls started, surprised.
“What do you mean, has any of the countries backed away from the agreement?” he asked. She looked up at him, a burning anger behind her eyes.
“Yes, in fact. Nine countries, to be exact, have suddenly decided that they would like special adjustments made in their favor before they will agree to sign it. Italy, Spain, Portugal, India, the United States, Germany, Guatemala, Brazil and China,” she listed, her voice shaking as she struggled to contain her emotions.
“That’s rather unfortunate, Miss Weasley. Without your major base of support, I can see most of the other countries backing away as well. Seeing as this matter has just taken care of itself, you must excuse me gentlemen, Miss Weasley, I have some other business to take care of,” Draco said, making his way towards the exit with a polite nod to the other men, and a lingering look in Ginny’s direction. She was sitting in that chair and was looking small and lost, as she stared blankly down at the pile of letters in front of her. With an inward sigh, he left the room, closing the door behind him with a click.
* * * *
She cursed the sound her heels made on the hallways, alerting him to her presence. The sound of the door closing shut behind him had snapped her out of her fog, and she had bolted out of the room, probably to absolute surprise of the two politicians still there. He had stopped when he heard her coming, but he hadn’t turned around, and she assumed he was plotting what to say.
“How did you do it, Malfoy?” she asked coldly, once she was within a few feet away from him.
“Do what, Weasley?” he asked, his tone neutral. She could kick him! How could he infuriate her so much, and yet still make her pulse beat wildly when she was near him, all the while that insipid neutral look on his face? For the first time since she’d stormed out of the Manor in Bulgaria, she’d felt that crackle of energy in the room as soon as she’d crossed the threshold. She’d gone six agonizing days without it, and it had thrown her how much relief it had brought her, upon seeing him again.
And she couldn’t get a single emotion from him! He was completely blank and neutral, layering it with passable politeness, without a single betraying facial movement. She couldn’t tell if he had felt the crackle in the air, the surge of energy, upon her entering the room – she’d nearly dropped to the floor in the flood of relief that the energy was still there – that she could still feel it – and he was blank and neutral!
“How did you manage to convince nine of my countries to back out at the last minute? Some of these countries have extremely faithful relationships with Britain, they wouldn’t consider going back on their word without some kind of major cause. What have you done to make them change their minds? What kind of bribery did you use? For how much were they bought?” she spat out, allowing her tongue to get carried away as her temper swept forth.
“I didn’t have to bribe any of them, Weasley. It wasn’t necessary,” he said coldly, as he turned to face her.
“Then how did you do it? Congratulations, Malfoy, you’ve beaten the best. Now tell me how you did it,” she demanded, her eyes blazing.
“The amendments you had planned on making, that you sent to Fudge before…before Longbottom attacked. You left some papers behind, and I merely showed them to the other countries involved in the Act – they had a right to know what special considerations you were offering one country, but not others,” he answered heavily. She stood, frozen in shock, glaring back at him.
“You used my own papers against me? You damn well knew that I was scrapping those changes, so you sent them false information!” she yelled.
“You left them behind, what was I supposed to think?”
“You scheming, conniving and manipulative bastard! I can’t believe you would steal my papers and use them against me, manipulating the truth just so you could win!” she yelled in shocked outraged.
“Slytherin!” he cried, gesturing towards himself with a half-shrug as if it explained and excused everything.
“It’s only as false as it appears, Weasley, and a half-truth is the best lie. It was in your own writing, in the same type of language you so brilliantly worded the rest of the Act in,” he said, avoiding her eyes. She made a move forward, as if to strike at him, before she stepped back.
“Well, I guess you’ve won. Bulgaria is as safe as ever, with its rampant use of Dark Magic, because the Act is going to fail tomorrow. And you’ve single-handedly destroyed my credibility, so there’s no threat I could ever drum up enough support to start this all over again. I hope you got everything you wanted out of this,” she said softly.
“You can’t always get what you want. I thought that was something you’d learned long ago with Potter and how you were always the invisible tag-along little sister,” he said, with a smirk. Ginny felt something in her snap, and a blast of energy later, Malfoy was sprawled on the floor, disheveled and looking dazed.
She stared down at him in wonder – since leaving Bulgaria, she’d been unable to conjure any kind of magic without her wand. Her wonder dissolved as he jumped to his feet and straightened his appearance huffily.
“Always the hypocrite – using something you’d like to see outlawed, Virginia.” She stared back at him, and the sense of defeat she’d felt from the moment those letters had started arriving vanished in a blaze of rage.
“This is NOT over, Malfoy! I don’t care what I have to do, you’re not going to win!” she yelled, before turning on her heel and storming away.
* * * *
He walked into the darkened office, smiling ruefully to see the stream of light coming from her office. He had heard, through the Ministry gossip grapevine, what had happened earlier that afternoon. Unable to find her at her flat, he assumed that this would be the next logical place to find her. Knowing his little sister, she wouldn’t give up – she’d fight to the last second to get the signatures she needed.
He knocked on the door, and peered in, to see her slumped over her desk, head in hands, as she stared dejectedly at what looked like an old pile of post. She looked up, startled at the sound of his knock, but then looked back down at the desk.
“Hey Gin. We were all wondering where you were – we stopped by your flat, but it was pretty empty, so I figured you’d be here,” he said softly, trying to be gentle. Hermione had coached him, when they’d arrived to find her flat empty, how he should act and what he should say when he did manage to find her. Don’t take this the wrong way Ron, because I know your heart is in the right place, but you have the emotional sensitivity of a Bludger, and if you’re not careful, you’re just going to upset her even more, Hermione had warned. He’d listened carefully, taking in each piece of advice, determined not to fail either of the women in his life.
“I had some paper work to finish up,” she said, her tone flat and dull. Ron walked over, and sat down at the chair in front of her desk, and stared at her, unblinking, as she shuffled half-heartedly through her papers, as if to keep up the charade that she was actually working and not wallowing in self-pity.
“I heard what happened this afternoon,” he said, and she stopped.
“Well, I guess it’s better that you all find out now, instead of at the humiliation that’s going to be the press conference tomorrow. It’s too bad, really, I was really starting to enjoy this office,” she said dully.
“Fudge wouldn’t dare sack you, Ginny! You’re too good for him to loose!” Ron protested, jumping to his feet in outrage.
“He won’t sack me, Ron. Fudge has the intelligence of a pumpkin pasty, but he’s smart enough to keep those around him who keep him afloat, and I just happen to be one of them. But no, I’m going to resign. It’s all over,” she explained.
“All over? What on Earth are you talking about, Gin?”
“Didn’t you hear the whole story Ron? He took my papers, the amendments I was going to make to the Act, and showed them around to all the Ministries. They all think that I’ve been lying to them, while secretly making special arrangements for Bulgaria. All nine of the Ministers refused to see me this afternoon, every single one. Normally, they’re the ones trying to see me, and now I can’t even get five minutes! He destroyed my credibility, Ron. My career is over. He beat me,” she said, falling forward with a groan, and a giant thwack as her head banged against the desk.
“That lousy bastard! He won’t get away with this! We can explain it all, Gin, he’s not going to win this! Once they find out the truth, you’ll be back and able to do your job,” Ron said, ready to do battle for her. She looked up, a pathetic red bump forming on her forehead, and shook her head, before settling her head back on the desk.
“You know, I thought you’d be happy about this, Ron,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Why would you think that?” he demanded.
“Because now there’s no chance I’ll ever speak nicely to him ever again, let alone touch him. You were so angry when you saw us together that one morning, I figured that these recent events, which eliminate any possibility of that ever happening again, would at least make you less angry with me,” she explained. Ron sighed, and sat back down in the chair.
“Oh Ginny, I’m such a bloody idiot,” he groaned. She sat up, and stared at him, perplexed. “You thought I was angry at you? No, I wasn’t mad at you. Malfoy – I wanted to tear his face off, but that’s because he’s a slimy git who seemed to think it was okay to have his grimy paws all over my little sister.”
“Ron!” she started to protest, before he stopped her.
“No, Ginny, I wasn’t mad about you kissing my mortal enemy. Little perturbed, come to think about it, but not mad. I was really angry, because…well, it was the first time in a long, long time I can remember seeing you really happy. I didn’t even know that you were unhappy, all this time, but when I saw you with him, even looking out from a window, I could see how happy you were. I can’t remember the last time you looked like that. I’m mad because it took an arse like Malfoy to make me see what I’ve been missing,” he explained, his voice soft, other than the mentions of Malfoy, which naturally added an aggressive sound to the name.
“Oh Ron…” Ginny said, unable to think of words to express how deeply that affected her.
“I’m sorry, Gin,” he said, awkwardly. She nodded, biting her lip, and looking away. A long silence filled the room, before Ginny decided to break it again.
“He stole my papers. I can’t believe it, still, even now. He warned me that he would come after me with everything he had, but I didn’t quite believe it. I didn’t think he would be able to do that to me. But then again, he lied about one of the most important things he ever could, so why should I be surprised?” she asked, bitterly.
“He’s an idiot, and sooner or later he’ll realize it.”
“I’m the idiot. I’ve been killing myself the past week, trying to get this Act signed, when I don’t believe in it anymore. My eyes have been open, Ron, I know that the changes I was going to make are the right thing to do. But he made me angry, so very angry, that I had to get back at him somehow,” she said softly, as realization struck for the first time.
“I had a feeling your heart wasn’t in it this time. Before you went away, you lit up when you talked about this project, but after you came back, it was like a giant burden.”
“Well, it’s a burden no longer, Ron, because it’s going down in flames, along with my career!” Ginny said, laughing slightly. She had to laugh; otherwise she’d start to cry. “What am I going to do, Ron?”
“Poison his pumpkin juice?” he asked hopefully. She glared at him. “Alright, well then, you can go out there tomorrow and accept failure and humiliation, or open someone else’s eyes the way yours have been opened.”
Ginny sat up, stunned. “Ronald Weasley, since when did you develop that kind of insight?”
“Hermione’s influence,” he answered, blushing slightly. Ginny jumped up, and started furiously gathering her files together, before she made a mad dash for the door.
“You’re the greatest brother a diplomat could ever have!” she cried, before she ran off, leaving her “greatest brother” sitting alone in her office.
******************************************************************
YAY! I've finally caught up on my posts to this site! (I've been posting on two other sites for about a year, and once I found out about this site and saw how fantastic it is, I just had to bring my story here...it's taken awhile to re-post 42 chapters *this one is the newest, having been posted for the first time early this morning*)
One more chapter left, coming in about a week or so, and then it’s all over (excuse me while I go and cry in a corner).
I have the horrible feeling that this is just starting to drag on and on, and that it might be frustrating my readers. If that’s the case, I’m sorry, but there was still story to tell! I dread the thought that this had gone on too long.
ANYWAY, I’ve also started another story, called the Pilgrim’s Badge (you can find it on my author’s page), if you’re interested. It’s only going to be about 7 chapters long, and a teeny, tiny bit AU, but I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think! (first chapter’s posted!)
“What do you mean, cancelled?” Ginny demanded shrilly, as she walked briskly down the hall of the Ministry building, Clarice following behind her, carrying Ginny’s scheduling book with her as she struggled to keep up with the irate diplomat.
“We received three owls this morning; all of your appointments for this morning have been cancelled,” Clarice explained. The younger woman stopped abruptly, swinging around to look at her assistant. Clarice, startled by the sudden stop, took a second to observe the unusual changes in her boss.
She had appeared, six days ago, and had furiously gone to work. The message she had sent Fudge from Bulgaria had been retrieved and shredded, and all of the consuls from the 8 countries that they’d secured support from had been contacted to ensure their signature. As soon as that had been done, she’d gone to work on the remaining 7 countries still to agree. And now, with 24 hours left before the deadline, only three remained – Bulgaria, France and Russia.
Throughout the whole time, Clarice had noted that this was a different Ginny than the one she’d been working with for years. Instead of the rushing about, arriving late to the office, completely uncollected and unprepared, she’d been early and immaculately dressed, ready for the day. All business, all diplomat, all the time. Now, as the news that her hard work might be for nothing, she could see a desperation in her eyes that worried Clarice – a politician should never show emotion when facing a severe deadline.
“But the consuls from France and Russia were supposed to meet with me! This was my last chance to get their agreement! Did they reschedule?” Ginny asked, her eyes wide with anger.
“France sent their regrets that they would unable to reschedule until after the New Year. Russia felt the same way; didn’t want to conduct any business on New Year’s Eve,” Clarice stated.
“It’s not that important of a holiday!” Ginny cried, before she began stalking off again.
“You would say that, considering that you didn’t even see your family over Christmas,” Clarice mumbled, half-hoping that she wouldn’t hear her.
“Why would they spontaneously refuse to meet me? There has to be some reason, I HAD them, I know I did! All that was left was their actual signatures!” Ginny cried, aggravated and desperately worried. She had to get this done today. Ginny took off down the hall again; storming rather impressively given the black heels she was wearing, before she stopped dead. She turned around to face her assistant again, and there was a look of cold fury in her eyes.
“Malfoy…” she pronounced icily.
* * * *
Draco observed his guests with a grim satisfaction. Any triumph he felt – at having been able to thwart Ginny’s meetings and arrange his own – was put at bay, the knowledge that she’d soon be there. She was too quick to not be able to figure out why her appointments had cancelled, and she had enough of a contact base to find out where the meetings. It was only a matter of time before she appeared, outraged yet completely unwilling to show it.
“But I have spoken with Judge Strum, who met this young lady at your own house, Mr. Malfoy, and he seemed to think that she was the right person to negotiate with,” Jean Black, the French consul, said, deep in thought. Draco watched his very-distant cousin for a moment, sensing that the man was wavering slightly on his decision to meet with him over Virginia Weasley, and knew he had to react quickly.
“The reason he said that was because the little vixen had the poor man wrapped around her little finger. He would have happily pranced around, dressed as a House Elf, if she’d asked. She’s a charming little devil,” Draco said, a specific glint in his eyes that had the other two men roaring with laughter.
“Devil or no, she is still the witch responsible for the creation of this Act, and I believe she even authored it herself? Fairly ambitious for one so young,” the Russian consul said, Draco straining to understand through the man’s thick accent.
“Very ambitious. Gentlemen, I’ve already expressed Bulgaria’s position on the matter – as this law is written, it is not in the best interest of my country. The English Ministry hasn’t taken into consideration certain differences between our cultures when they drafted this Cooperation Act. I think that, if you look closely enough, it will be the same for your own countries. Jean, I understand that the French wizarding community benefits greatly from the sale of certain cosmetic potions – specifically ones that contain the Attractiveness Enhancing Charm. Under this proposed Act, that charm would be filed under Dark Magic, and any further sale of those potions would be violation.”
“Yes, that’s been made very clear, Mr. Malfoy. However, it is also not in the best interest of our Ministry to refuse to cooperate with the rest of the international wizarding community. If we upset our neighbors by refusing to cooperate, won’t that also cause us damage?” Black asked, with a very valid point.
“That would be if the rest of the international community were to follow along with Miss Weasley’s Act.”
“Thirteen of fifteen countries have agreed to sign!” the Russian consul stated.
“They’ve agreed to sign, but as they have not done so yet, there is still time to convince them otherwise. Seriously, Britain has made decisions for the rest of the wizarding community, and this is not acceptable. Special considerations need to be made for each country, as every country is different, and the current agreement doesn’t allow for that. I would be doing you a disservice to allow your countries to enter into an agreement that isn’t in their best interests,” Draco said, sincerely. There was a nod of agreement from Black, but he felt that perhaps he had gone to far with the Russian consul – there was a glimmer of distrust in his eyes as he stared back at Draco from across the table.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’d heard that you would be meeting here this afternoon – considering you weren’t able to make our meeting this morning, I hope you don’t mind my dropping by,” the cool redhead said, with a charming smile as she entered the room. Sitting back lazily in his chair, Draco gazed at her with cold and searching eyes. The mask was carefully frozen into place, layered with several protective layers of ice. Her face was completely unreadable, and to the entire world that didn’t know any better, she was just a pleasant politician stopping by for a chat with her colleagues.
“Not at all, Virginia. Please, do sit down,” Draco said, standing and gesturing to an open chair across from him. She smiled coolly, and sat down, placing the stack of files in her hand gently on the table. “We were just discussing that Cooperation Act of yours in some greater detail.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Malfoy, seeing as the last date to officially enter into the agreement is tomorrow. Now, Mr. Black, I received an owl this morning from your Minister, and I must say how very pleased I am that he wholeheartedly agreed to sign the document at the press conference tomorrow. I was wondering, what would be a fitting ‘thank-you’ gift for a high-ranking politician in France?” she said, with a smile, pulling out a quill as if to take note of Black’s response. Jean Black froze, a twisted look of horror on his face. This was news he had not heard before now.
“If France’s Minister has given our agreement, Malfoy, then it is too late for any further discussion,” Jean muttered to Draco, in French, with a fleeting glance at Ginny’s patiently smiling face.
“She’s bluffing, Black. He hasn’t sent any owl,” Draco responded back in the same language.
“I assure you he did, Mr. Malfoy,” Ginny said, her voice silencing the room. Draco stared at her, slightly surprised that she’d understood what had been said. After a moment’s paused, she continued, this time speaking in French, and directing her comments to Jean Black. “You may see the letter for yourself, Mr. Black, if you doubt my sincerity.”
“No, no, mademoiselle, that will not be necessary,” he answered back, his cheeks turning a slight shade of red, embarrassed to be caught. Draco met her eyes, they were sparkling with triumphant, and her look obviously stated: Weasley, 1, Malfoy, 0.
“Well, as you all may be aware, with France’s recent agreement, that leaves only Bulgaria and Russia who so far have not stated their position on this document,” Ginny began, when the rush of fluttering wings interrupted her. A large owl flew importantly into the room, dropped an envelope on the table in front of Ginny, before leaving. Ginny picked up the letter, and felt her heart stop suddenly. The return address from the Ministry of Magic in Germany.
“Russia will cooperate with the international wizarding community in this matter,” the Russian consul spoke up, suddenly. Ginny felt a wave of relief wash over her. Fourteen of fifteen; she’d won.
“Don’t mind us, Virginia, by all means, see to your message. It may be important,” Draco’s voice cut through her elation, bringing her back down to reality. With a slight frown, she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the piece of parchment.
* * * *
It was terrible to watch her face fall as she read the letter, as he knew very well what it contained. The shimmer of joy that was emanating from her eyes seemed to have been snuffed rather abruptly as her brown eyes swept over the page, and a flush of red filled her pallid cheeks. Her hand shaking slightly, she set the letter down quickly, tucking it into one of her file folders – trying to seem calm and collected, and not look like the terrified doe she was, caught in the headlights and desperate to run for cover.
“Sorry about that. Now that Russia has agreed, all that needs to be discussed is the actual signing ceremony, which will take place tomorrow morning at our press conference – oh goodness, another one?” she said, trying to return to the business at hand, until another owl interrupted her. Another letter was dropped onto the table in front of her, and as that owl fluttered out of the room, another swept in, and another letter was added to the pile. He watched, detached, as her eyes became bright, and her face terribly pale. As she was opening the two new letters, six more arrived in a flurry of wings and feathers.
The two consuls were watching, perplexed, as she opened the letters, slowly at first, and then became more frantic. As the last one was opened, she looked up at Draco Malfoy, her eyes full of shock and contempt.
“Miss Weasley, I believe that the Russian Ministry has just consented to cooperate with the rest of the international wizarding community. Assuming that the majority of the countries involved with this Act have agreed to sign, that means that Russia will as well. That is, assuming, that the majority of the countries are all still in agreement about your proposed Act?” Draco asked smoothly, an eyebrow raised, knowing very well what was to come.
“No,” she said softly, her eyes downcast. The two consuls started, surprised.
“What do you mean, has any of the countries backed away from the agreement?” he asked. She looked up at him, a burning anger behind her eyes.
“Yes, in fact. Nine countries, to be exact, have suddenly decided that they would like special adjustments made in their favor before they will agree to sign it. Italy, Spain, Portugal, India, the United States, Germany, Guatemala, Brazil and China,” she listed, her voice shaking as she struggled to contain her emotions.
“That’s rather unfortunate, Miss Weasley. Without your major base of support, I can see most of the other countries backing away as well. Seeing as this matter has just taken care of itself, you must excuse me gentlemen, Miss Weasley, I have some other business to take care of,” Draco said, making his way towards the exit with a polite nod to the other men, and a lingering look in Ginny’s direction. She was sitting in that chair and was looking small and lost, as she stared blankly down at the pile of letters in front of her. With an inward sigh, he left the room, closing the door behind him with a click.
* * * *
She cursed the sound her heels made on the hallways, alerting him to her presence. The sound of the door closing shut behind him had snapped her out of her fog, and she had bolted out of the room, probably to absolute surprise of the two politicians still there. He had stopped when he heard her coming, but he hadn’t turned around, and she assumed he was plotting what to say.
“How did you do it, Malfoy?” she asked coldly, once she was within a few feet away from him.
“Do what, Weasley?” he asked, his tone neutral. She could kick him! How could he infuriate her so much, and yet still make her pulse beat wildly when she was near him, all the while that insipid neutral look on his face? For the first time since she’d stormed out of the Manor in Bulgaria, she’d felt that crackle of energy in the room as soon as she’d crossed the threshold. She’d gone six agonizing days without it, and it had thrown her how much relief it had brought her, upon seeing him again.
And she couldn’t get a single emotion from him! He was completely blank and neutral, layering it with passable politeness, without a single betraying facial movement. She couldn’t tell if he had felt the crackle in the air, the surge of energy, upon her entering the room – she’d nearly dropped to the floor in the flood of relief that the energy was still there – that she could still feel it – and he was blank and neutral!
“How did you manage to convince nine of my countries to back out at the last minute? Some of these countries have extremely faithful relationships with Britain, they wouldn’t consider going back on their word without some kind of major cause. What have you done to make them change their minds? What kind of bribery did you use? For how much were they bought?” she spat out, allowing her tongue to get carried away as her temper swept forth.
“I didn’t have to bribe any of them, Weasley. It wasn’t necessary,” he said coldly, as he turned to face her.
“Then how did you do it? Congratulations, Malfoy, you’ve beaten the best. Now tell me how you did it,” she demanded, her eyes blazing.
“The amendments you had planned on making, that you sent to Fudge before…before Longbottom attacked. You left some papers behind, and I merely showed them to the other countries involved in the Act – they had a right to know what special considerations you were offering one country, but not others,” he answered heavily. She stood, frozen in shock, glaring back at him.
“You used my own papers against me? You damn well knew that I was scrapping those changes, so you sent them false information!” she yelled.
“You left them behind, what was I supposed to think?”
“You scheming, conniving and manipulative bastard! I can’t believe you would steal my papers and use them against me, manipulating the truth just so you could win!” she yelled in shocked outraged.
“Slytherin!” he cried, gesturing towards himself with a half-shrug as if it explained and excused everything.
“It’s only as false as it appears, Weasley, and a half-truth is the best lie. It was in your own writing, in the same type of language you so brilliantly worded the rest of the Act in,” he said, avoiding her eyes. She made a move forward, as if to strike at him, before she stepped back.
“Well, I guess you’ve won. Bulgaria is as safe as ever, with its rampant use of Dark Magic, because the Act is going to fail tomorrow. And you’ve single-handedly destroyed my credibility, so there’s no threat I could ever drum up enough support to start this all over again. I hope you got everything you wanted out of this,” she said softly.
“You can’t always get what you want. I thought that was something you’d learned long ago with Potter and how you were always the invisible tag-along little sister,” he said, with a smirk. Ginny felt something in her snap, and a blast of energy later, Malfoy was sprawled on the floor, disheveled and looking dazed.
She stared down at him in wonder – since leaving Bulgaria, she’d been unable to conjure any kind of magic without her wand. Her wonder dissolved as he jumped to his feet and straightened his appearance huffily.
“Always the hypocrite – using something you’d like to see outlawed, Virginia.” She stared back at him, and the sense of defeat she’d felt from the moment those letters had started arriving vanished in a blaze of rage.
“This is NOT over, Malfoy! I don’t care what I have to do, you’re not going to win!” she yelled, before turning on her heel and storming away.
* * * *
He walked into the darkened office, smiling ruefully to see the stream of light coming from her office. He had heard, through the Ministry gossip grapevine, what had happened earlier that afternoon. Unable to find her at her flat, he assumed that this would be the next logical place to find her. Knowing his little sister, she wouldn’t give up – she’d fight to the last second to get the signatures she needed.
He knocked on the door, and peered in, to see her slumped over her desk, head in hands, as she stared dejectedly at what looked like an old pile of post. She looked up, startled at the sound of his knock, but then looked back down at the desk.
“Hey Gin. We were all wondering where you were – we stopped by your flat, but it was pretty empty, so I figured you’d be here,” he said softly, trying to be gentle. Hermione had coached him, when they’d arrived to find her flat empty, how he should act and what he should say when he did manage to find her. Don’t take this the wrong way Ron, because I know your heart is in the right place, but you have the emotional sensitivity of a Bludger, and if you’re not careful, you’re just going to upset her even more, Hermione had warned. He’d listened carefully, taking in each piece of advice, determined not to fail either of the women in his life.
“I had some paper work to finish up,” she said, her tone flat and dull. Ron walked over, and sat down at the chair in front of her desk, and stared at her, unblinking, as she shuffled half-heartedly through her papers, as if to keep up the charade that she was actually working and not wallowing in self-pity.
“I heard what happened this afternoon,” he said, and she stopped.
“Well, I guess it’s better that you all find out now, instead of at the humiliation that’s going to be the press conference tomorrow. It’s too bad, really, I was really starting to enjoy this office,” she said dully.
“Fudge wouldn’t dare sack you, Ginny! You’re too good for him to loose!” Ron protested, jumping to his feet in outrage.
“He won’t sack me, Ron. Fudge has the intelligence of a pumpkin pasty, but he’s smart enough to keep those around him who keep him afloat, and I just happen to be one of them. But no, I’m going to resign. It’s all over,” she explained.
“All over? What on Earth are you talking about, Gin?”
“Didn’t you hear the whole story Ron? He took my papers, the amendments I was going to make to the Act, and showed them around to all the Ministries. They all think that I’ve been lying to them, while secretly making special arrangements for Bulgaria. All nine of the Ministers refused to see me this afternoon, every single one. Normally, they’re the ones trying to see me, and now I can’t even get five minutes! He destroyed my credibility, Ron. My career is over. He beat me,” she said, falling forward with a groan, and a giant thwack as her head banged against the desk.
“That lousy bastard! He won’t get away with this! We can explain it all, Gin, he’s not going to win this! Once they find out the truth, you’ll be back and able to do your job,” Ron said, ready to do battle for her. She looked up, a pathetic red bump forming on her forehead, and shook her head, before settling her head back on the desk.
“You know, I thought you’d be happy about this, Ron,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Why would you think that?” he demanded.
“Because now there’s no chance I’ll ever speak nicely to him ever again, let alone touch him. You were so angry when you saw us together that one morning, I figured that these recent events, which eliminate any possibility of that ever happening again, would at least make you less angry with me,” she explained. Ron sighed, and sat back down in the chair.
“Oh Ginny, I’m such a bloody idiot,” he groaned. She sat up, and stared at him, perplexed. “You thought I was angry at you? No, I wasn’t mad at you. Malfoy – I wanted to tear his face off, but that’s because he’s a slimy git who seemed to think it was okay to have his grimy paws all over my little sister.”
“Ron!” she started to protest, before he stopped her.
“No, Ginny, I wasn’t mad about you kissing my mortal enemy. Little perturbed, come to think about it, but not mad. I was really angry, because…well, it was the first time in a long, long time I can remember seeing you really happy. I didn’t even know that you were unhappy, all this time, but when I saw you with him, even looking out from a window, I could see how happy you were. I can’t remember the last time you looked like that. I’m mad because it took an arse like Malfoy to make me see what I’ve been missing,” he explained, his voice soft, other than the mentions of Malfoy, which naturally added an aggressive sound to the name.
“Oh Ron…” Ginny said, unable to think of words to express how deeply that affected her.
“I’m sorry, Gin,” he said, awkwardly. She nodded, biting her lip, and looking away. A long silence filled the room, before Ginny decided to break it again.
“He stole my papers. I can’t believe it, still, even now. He warned me that he would come after me with everything he had, but I didn’t quite believe it. I didn’t think he would be able to do that to me. But then again, he lied about one of the most important things he ever could, so why should I be surprised?” she asked, bitterly.
“He’s an idiot, and sooner or later he’ll realize it.”
“I’m the idiot. I’ve been killing myself the past week, trying to get this Act signed, when I don’t believe in it anymore. My eyes have been open, Ron, I know that the changes I was going to make are the right thing to do. But he made me angry, so very angry, that I had to get back at him somehow,” she said softly, as realization struck for the first time.
“I had a feeling your heart wasn’t in it this time. Before you went away, you lit up when you talked about this project, but after you came back, it was like a giant burden.”
“Well, it’s a burden no longer, Ron, because it’s going down in flames, along with my career!” Ginny said, laughing slightly. She had to laugh; otherwise she’d start to cry. “What am I going to do, Ron?”
“Poison his pumpkin juice?” he asked hopefully. She glared at him. “Alright, well then, you can go out there tomorrow and accept failure and humiliation, or open someone else’s eyes the way yours have been opened.”
Ginny sat up, stunned. “Ronald Weasley, since when did you develop that kind of insight?”
“Hermione’s influence,” he answered, blushing slightly. Ginny jumped up, and started furiously gathering her files together, before she made a mad dash for the door.
“You’re the greatest brother a diplomat could ever have!” she cried, before she ran off, leaving her “greatest brother” sitting alone in her office.
******************************************************************
YAY! I've finally caught up on my posts to this site! (I've been posting on two other sites for about a year, and once I found out about this site and saw how fantastic it is, I just had to bring my story here...it's taken awhile to re-post 42 chapters *this one is the newest, having been posted for the first time early this morning*)
One more chapter left, coming in about a week or so, and then it’s all over (excuse me while I go and cry in a corner).
I have the horrible feeling that this is just starting to drag on and on, and that it might be frustrating my readers. If that’s the case, I’m sorry, but there was still story to tell! I dread the thought that this had gone on too long.
ANYWAY, I’ve also started another story, called the Pilgrim’s Badge (you can find it on my author’s page), if you’re interested. It’s only going to be about 7 chapters long, and a teeny, tiny bit AU, but I hope you’ll check it out and let me know what you think! (first chapter’s posted!)
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