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Chapter 9: Something Different
Clarice jumped as she turned from the filing cupboard she had been rifling through to her desk, and spotted Ginny walking into the office.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Ginny mumbled as she walked straight by her and into her office. Clarice frowned; something wasn’t right. Ginny Weasley did not amble into a room, especially not in the morning. She was always hustling in, always late, frantic and excited about whatever prospective appointments she had for the day. She was not the type of person who would sneak up on you, especially not in her own office where her diplomatic façade was usually dropped around Clarice.
Clarice was about to go after her, when Ginny came stumbling back out, headed straight for the coffee. Another oddity, Ginny did not drink coffee. Clarice frowned, and took a moment to observe her. Her eyes were downcast and framed by dark circles, and her face seemed strained somehow. There was something stiff about the way she was walking; her normally confident stride was gone.
“Ginny, what on Earth is wrong with you?” Clarice asked, unable to stand it anymore.
“Long night,” she answered curtly. Clarice was about to press for more information when the booming voice of Cornelius Fudge filled the quiet room.
“Virginia Weasley, there you are, brilliant girl! The answer was so simple, I can’t bloody believe I never saw it!” he was shouting. Ginny was staring at him, a blank look on her face.
“Well, that’s what you hired me for, sir,” she answered slowly, hoping that he would fill her in as to what had made her so brilliant.
“I just don’t know how you’ve managed to do it, there hasn’t been a diplomatic trip to Bulgaria in centuries!” Fudge declared excitedly. Ginny, who had been in the process of drinking her coffee, suddenly choked and began to sputter. After coughing for a few seconds, her face turned quite red, she turned to Fudge.
“What?” she demanded, her voice broken from the liquid lodged in her windpipe.
“I got your owl last night, Virginia. You told me that you’d made a breakthrough with Malfoy and Bulgaria, and you’ve been invited to spend some time in the country, visiting with their officials to take into account any amendments that they would like to make to the deal,” Fudge explained carefully, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“I assure you Fudge that I –”
“—wouldn’t give in when she came up with the idea until I just had to arrange it,” Draco Malfoy’s voice filled the room. Ginny felt her temper boil; if she grew any angrier, she’d be likely to start breathing fire.
“Mr. Malfoy, I wouldn’t want to forget the part you played in this,” she said sweetly, while glaring at him with a look of abject hatred.
“Of course, Virginia. But please, call me Draco. After our meeting last night, I thought that we agreed that we would work as a team on this; team members don’t refer to each other so formally,” he said with a smirk. She met his gray eyes – she could see the mischief in them and it made her furious.
“Very well, Draco. Now, if you could please explain to Mr. Fudge the itinerary for this trip you’ve proposed, I’m sure he’d like to know what his representative will be doing while in Bulgaria,” Ginny said, smiling through gritted teeth. Clarice was watching this exchange, extremely amused. Fudge was so oblivious to the tension between the two, Clarice was beginning to believe all the stories she’d heard; that he was a nutter.
“Bulgaria is rather wary of visitors, sir, so I’ve managed to convince some relations of mine to host Virginia’s visit. With their influence, I’ll be able to arrange some visits with the members of their Ministry, as well as introduce her to some aspects of their culture, so she can see what life is like there,” Draco answered smoothly.
“All right then. Virginia, I’ll leave you and Mr. Malfoy to your planning, but I shall expect daily reports from you,” he said, smiling. Ginny just nodded with a weak smile, and watched as the man carefully left the office. Draco’s smirk slowly faded with every step he took, and as soon as Ginny was sure that the Minister was out of earshot, he was going to get an earful.
“So, Virginia, I expect you to be ready to leave around 7 tonight.”
“And how long should I prepare to be in Bulgaria for, Draco?” she asked, sweetly. Draco was startled, expecting at least a smoldering display of temper, if not a full-blown explosion.
“Diplomatic missions are generally two weeks, Virginia. There will be quite a few official functions, so make sure you have appropriate attire,” he said carefully.
“Of course. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have quite a bit of business to take care of before I leave for a few weeks, so I shall meet you later tonight, just leave instructions with Clarice as to where you would like to meet,” she said, her cool official tone present in her voice once again. He was shocked; he mouth was practically hanging in surprise. She smiled once again, and then retreated into her office. Draco stood, staring at the closed door, feeling an inexplicable ball of anger forming in his stomach.
Ginny had just sat down at her desk, and buried her face in her arms when her door swung open, and a clearly enraged Draco Malfoy stormed into her office.
“So you’re just going to come, so easily?” he practically yelled.
“Yes.”
“Yes? That’s it? No fighting, no yelling, nothing?”
“What would that accomplish? You’ve already made my decision for me, and I do believe that if I protested to your carefully arranged plans, Fudge would have me sacked, and this is far too important to me to allow that to happen,” she answered, refusing to meet his eyes, pulling out a file and pretending to scan it when really she was distracting herself from meeting his cool gaze.
Draco’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. She was far too calm for his own good; from what he had learned from her in recent days, she should be livid. Something was not right, and he was going to find out what she had planned.
“If I had asked you to come without going to Fudge first, would you have agreed?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
“Then I forced you into this. Aren’t you angry with me?” he asked, bewildered.
“Very much so, Mr. Malfoy, but unlike some people in this room, I know how to control myself in certain situations. Now, if you will please excuse me, I have a lot of work to take care of,” she said, not even looking up. Draco sighed in frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
* * * * *
“Ginny Weasley, you are not for one second actually considering going to Bulgaria with that…that Malfoy are you?” her brother’s voice bellowed from the living room of her flat. Ginny, who had spent the last half hour packing, rolled her eyes at her brother’s unannounced arrival.
“Ron, it’s my job. I don’t really have a choice. And besides, how did you know?” she demanded, as he walked into her bedroom. His face was flushed, and his eyes were wild. Ginny assumed he had just found out about her trip.
“Gin, I’m a Auror, it’s my job to know,” he said distractedly, watching her as she scurried around the room, hurriedly throwing items into a small bag. “But that doesn’t explain why you are going!”
“See, Ron, in the real world of grownups, there are these things called responsibilities and obligations. I was given the responsibility of securing Bulgaria’s support for this deal, and it is my obligation to cooperate with the man who can help me do that,” she said condescendingly.
“Sod off Ginny, you’re starting to sound like Hermione,” Ron growled gruffly.
“Then go bug her, will you, and let me get ready?”
“You’re not getting off the hook that easily, Virginia. I don’t want you to go there. You know all that goes on there. It won’t be good for you,” Ron said warily.
“I realize that, Ron. In case you’ve forgotten, I was the one possessed by Tom Riddle, and I’m fully aware of the affect that Dark magic has on me because of that. Don’t you see the advantage that gives me?” Ginny snapped, her patience worn thin by her lack of sleep, the stress of the impending visit and all other annoyances in her life.
“It makes you weak and sick and distracts you! The last thing you need to be around Malfoy is weak, Ginny,” Ron snapped back. The famous Weasley temper was being unleashed two fold in this room!
“But because I’m so sensitive to it, I can tell whenever someone around me is using it, whenever it’s in close proximity. If I sense it, then I will leave without a second thought Ron, I promise! You have to understand why I need to do this!” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her cloths into her bag, expelling her anger on the innocent garments. With Ginny’s words, Ron gave a deep sigh that was tinged with sadness.
“Yeah, Ginny, I understand why. But I know that he wouldn’t want you to do anything that would put you in danger, not for him. You wouldn’t want his sacrifice to be wasted because of this vendetta you have against all Dark magic,” Ron said gently. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks, looking as though she’d just been physically hit by Ron’s words. Her lower lip was trembling slightly. Ron winced, knowing that he’d said the wrong thing.
“How dare you say that to me. How dare you! You know nothing about what happened! Should I remind you? You weren’t there, you were off trying to save a woman who will never see you the way you want her to!” Ginny hollered, her hands shaking with rage.
“Ginny!” Ron exclaimed, stricken by her words.
“Just get out of here Ron. I can’t argue with you about this, not tonight. I have too many other things to deal with,” she said, turning away from him and continued her rushed packing. Ron sighed, knowing that there would be no getting through to her tonight. She had been open and vulnerable for about a split second, but then she froze him out, the way she did anyone who got too close.
The only pleasant thought he had as he quietly slipped out of her apartment was that he would hate to be Draco Malfoy right now.
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Chapter 9: Something Different
Clarice jumped as she turned from the filing cupboard she had been rifling through to her desk, and spotted Ginny walking into the office.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Ginny mumbled as she walked straight by her and into her office. Clarice frowned; something wasn’t right. Ginny Weasley did not amble into a room, especially not in the morning. She was always hustling in, always late, frantic and excited about whatever prospective appointments she had for the day. She was not the type of person who would sneak up on you, especially not in her own office where her diplomatic façade was usually dropped around Clarice.
Clarice was about to go after her, when Ginny came stumbling back out, headed straight for the coffee. Another oddity, Ginny did not drink coffee. Clarice frowned, and took a moment to observe her. Her eyes were downcast and framed by dark circles, and her face seemed strained somehow. There was something stiff about the way she was walking; her normally confident stride was gone.
“Ginny, what on Earth is wrong with you?” Clarice asked, unable to stand it anymore.
“Long night,” she answered curtly. Clarice was about to press for more information when the booming voice of Cornelius Fudge filled the quiet room.
“Virginia Weasley, there you are, brilliant girl! The answer was so simple, I can’t bloody believe I never saw it!” he was shouting. Ginny was staring at him, a blank look on her face.
“Well, that’s what you hired me for, sir,” she answered slowly, hoping that he would fill her in as to what had made her so brilliant.
“I just don’t know how you’ve managed to do it, there hasn’t been a diplomatic trip to Bulgaria in centuries!” Fudge declared excitedly. Ginny, who had been in the process of drinking her coffee, suddenly choked and began to sputter. After coughing for a few seconds, her face turned quite red, she turned to Fudge.
“What?” she demanded, her voice broken from the liquid lodged in her windpipe.
“I got your owl last night, Virginia. You told me that you’d made a breakthrough with Malfoy and Bulgaria, and you’ve been invited to spend some time in the country, visiting with their officials to take into account any amendments that they would like to make to the deal,” Fudge explained carefully, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“I assure you Fudge that I –”
“—wouldn’t give in when she came up with the idea until I just had to arrange it,” Draco Malfoy’s voice filled the room. Ginny felt her temper boil; if she grew any angrier, she’d be likely to start breathing fire.
“Mr. Malfoy, I wouldn’t want to forget the part you played in this,” she said sweetly, while glaring at him with a look of abject hatred.
“Of course, Virginia. But please, call me Draco. After our meeting last night, I thought that we agreed that we would work as a team on this; team members don’t refer to each other so formally,” he said with a smirk. She met his gray eyes – she could see the mischief in them and it made her furious.
“Very well, Draco. Now, if you could please explain to Mr. Fudge the itinerary for this trip you’ve proposed, I’m sure he’d like to know what his representative will be doing while in Bulgaria,” Ginny said, smiling through gritted teeth. Clarice was watching this exchange, extremely amused. Fudge was so oblivious to the tension between the two, Clarice was beginning to believe all the stories she’d heard; that he was a nutter.
“Bulgaria is rather wary of visitors, sir, so I’ve managed to convince some relations of mine to host Virginia’s visit. With their influence, I’ll be able to arrange some visits with the members of their Ministry, as well as introduce her to some aspects of their culture, so she can see what life is like there,” Draco answered smoothly.
“All right then. Virginia, I’ll leave you and Mr. Malfoy to your planning, but I shall expect daily reports from you,” he said, smiling. Ginny just nodded with a weak smile, and watched as the man carefully left the office. Draco’s smirk slowly faded with every step he took, and as soon as Ginny was sure that the Minister was out of earshot, he was going to get an earful.
“So, Virginia, I expect you to be ready to leave around 7 tonight.”
“And how long should I prepare to be in Bulgaria for, Draco?” she asked, sweetly. Draco was startled, expecting at least a smoldering display of temper, if not a full-blown explosion.
“Diplomatic missions are generally two weeks, Virginia. There will be quite a few official functions, so make sure you have appropriate attire,” he said carefully.
“Of course. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have quite a bit of business to take care of before I leave for a few weeks, so I shall meet you later tonight, just leave instructions with Clarice as to where you would like to meet,” she said, her cool official tone present in her voice once again. He was shocked; he mouth was practically hanging in surprise. She smiled once again, and then retreated into her office. Draco stood, staring at the closed door, feeling an inexplicable ball of anger forming in his stomach.
Ginny had just sat down at her desk, and buried her face in her arms when her door swung open, and a clearly enraged Draco Malfoy stormed into her office.
“So you’re just going to come, so easily?” he practically yelled.
“Yes.”
“Yes? That’s it? No fighting, no yelling, nothing?”
“What would that accomplish? You’ve already made my decision for me, and I do believe that if I protested to your carefully arranged plans, Fudge would have me sacked, and this is far too important to me to allow that to happen,” she answered, refusing to meet his eyes, pulling out a file and pretending to scan it when really she was distracting herself from meeting his cool gaze.
Draco’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed her. She was far too calm for his own good; from what he had learned from her in recent days, she should be livid. Something was not right, and he was going to find out what she had planned.
“If I had asked you to come without going to Fudge first, would you have agreed?” he asked quietly.
“No.”
“Then I forced you into this. Aren’t you angry with me?” he asked, bewildered.
“Very much so, Mr. Malfoy, but unlike some people in this room, I know how to control myself in certain situations. Now, if you will please excuse me, I have a lot of work to take care of,” she said, not even looking up. Draco sighed in frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
* * * * *
“Ginny Weasley, you are not for one second actually considering going to Bulgaria with that…that Malfoy are you?” her brother’s voice bellowed from the living room of her flat. Ginny, who had spent the last half hour packing, rolled her eyes at her brother’s unannounced arrival.
“Ron, it’s my job. I don’t really have a choice. And besides, how did you know?” she demanded, as he walked into her bedroom. His face was flushed, and his eyes were wild. Ginny assumed he had just found out about her trip.
“Gin, I’m a Auror, it’s my job to know,” he said distractedly, watching her as she scurried around the room, hurriedly throwing items into a small bag. “But that doesn’t explain why you are going!”
“See, Ron, in the real world of grownups, there are these things called responsibilities and obligations. I was given the responsibility of securing Bulgaria’s support for this deal, and it is my obligation to cooperate with the man who can help me do that,” she said condescendingly.
“Sod off Ginny, you’re starting to sound like Hermione,” Ron growled gruffly.
“Then go bug her, will you, and let me get ready?”
“You’re not getting off the hook that easily, Virginia. I don’t want you to go there. You know all that goes on there. It won’t be good for you,” Ron said warily.
“I realize that, Ron. In case you’ve forgotten, I was the one possessed by Tom Riddle, and I’m fully aware of the affect that Dark magic has on me because of that. Don’t you see the advantage that gives me?” Ginny snapped, her patience worn thin by her lack of sleep, the stress of the impending visit and all other annoyances in her life.
“It makes you weak and sick and distracts you! The last thing you need to be around Malfoy is weak, Ginny,” Ron snapped back. The famous Weasley temper was being unleashed two fold in this room!
“But because I’m so sensitive to it, I can tell whenever someone around me is using it, whenever it’s in close proximity. If I sense it, then I will leave without a second thought Ron, I promise! You have to understand why I need to do this!” Ginny exclaimed, throwing her cloths into her bag, expelling her anger on the innocent garments. With Ginny’s words, Ron gave a deep sigh that was tinged with sadness.
“Yeah, Ginny, I understand why. But I know that he wouldn’t want you to do anything that would put you in danger, not for him. You wouldn’t want his sacrifice to be wasted because of this vendetta you have against all Dark magic,” Ron said gently. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks, looking as though she’d just been physically hit by Ron’s words. Her lower lip was trembling slightly. Ron winced, knowing that he’d said the wrong thing.
“How dare you say that to me. How dare you! You know nothing about what happened! Should I remind you? You weren’t there, you were off trying to save a woman who will never see you the way you want her to!” Ginny hollered, her hands shaking with rage.
“Ginny!” Ron exclaimed, stricken by her words.
“Just get out of here Ron. I can’t argue with you about this, not tonight. I have too many other things to deal with,” she said, turning away from him and continued her rushed packing. Ron sighed, knowing that there would be no getting through to her tonight. She had been open and vulnerable for about a split second, but then she froze him out, the way she did anyone who got too close.
The only pleasant thought he had as he quietly slipped out of her apartment was that he would hate to be Draco Malfoy right now.
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