The Reason Why I Smile

Chapter Four

The next couple of days and Kagome was pretty much running the Ministry. With no sign of Rufus Scrimgeour in sight, she had little choice. "I need the Daily Prophet out of here! I will speak with them in a press conference once I have more information, until then-" she left the sentence open as she walked past her assistant.

The persistent feline situated on her desk barely acknowledged her as she walked in and sat down at her desk. Turning in her chair as she watched several frustrated photographers and anchors for the Daily Prophet leave the Ministry's lobby. "What am I supposed to do without a Minister?" She glanced back at the stack of Ministry Documents that normally went to the Minister for verification and approval, but with him no longer around―everything was a mess.

She moved in closer to her desk and pulled the first file, "Pureblood Compensation: Response to Consultant...heh, this couldn't have gotten very far with the Governors." She eyed the lack of signatures on the last page of the document. "Didn't think so," she read over the conclusion that the sub-committee had come to during their meeting. She would normally not be reading such delicate information, but she had to get the Ministry moving.

"If you were the Minister, what would you do?" She stared long and hard before sighing. "The generations moving forward can't be blamed for the choices made by their ancestors. Such bullocks," she signed her agreement with the committee and lifted the ink seal of the Minister's insignia before pressing it down hard. It glowed for a moment, and she wondered if the document would be denied because she wasn't the Minister. When the ink seal turned a crimson red from the plain black it had been, she sighed in relief. "Perhaps I can do this after all. The repercussions will be dealt with as they come,"

"M-Miss. Higurashi,"

Kagome looked to the door where the gold face knob was speaking, "what is it?"

"You have a g-guest."

"Let them in," she closed the document in annoyance before her eyes widened at the tall male figure standing in her doorway. "Should I be grateful or bothered by your presence?"

He smirked, "Miss. Higurashi, I see you have finally started to take action in the absence of your Minister."

"Not that I've been left with a choice in the matter." Standing, she walked to the filing cabinet in the corner of the office. Pulling open the top drawer as she fingered through a few files, "the rest of our Ministry candidates are also MIA. Scrimgeour is―blast, this is codswallop, it is! My higher-ups go missing, and I get pushed on up the ladder. The higher I get, the shorter it seems my lifespan is."

She filed the document and shut the drawer before returning to her desk. Opening another file, she eyed the topic with disdain.

"Why in a time of war would someone be sending in for Trade Policy Updates...how is this important?!" She looked at the man in front of her and sighed, "apologies, My Lord. Please, sit. How can I be of help?" She asked as he took a seat across from her and smiled. It was something quite perturbing to see lit across his face.

"I require a spy, my dear."

"...you know, I have nil talent when it comes to Occlumency, My Lord."

He raised his wand, and his red eyes captured her blue with cruelty and power, "you needn't the skills, my dear, just the idea."

A white light flashed before her eyes, and consciousness was lost to her. A whisper in the back of her mind echoed for her complete and total submission; Kagome found herself thinking about Dumbledore and the Order. The image of a red-haired lad followed. A couple of scars were scattered along the left of his face, nothing dastardly, nothing unsightly, just character. Yet, in this, she stopped listening to the voice in her head and just admired the cornflower blue eyes looking back at her in surprise.

"Go to him..."

She shook her head, "I barely know him. Why would I do that? Why..."

"Get to know him..."

"...yeah, I could do that, I want to learn more about him. He seems sad, lonely..."

"Go to him..."

Kagome frowned, blinking, she looked up from the closed file. The room was empty; the cat asleep on her desk was unlikely to move for another few hours. She stood and left her office, turning her attention to the secretary who was writing at her desk. "Has anyone come by?"

"No, Miss. Higurashi, not since the Prophet. Oh, but I sent them off, as you said. The entrance is warded for now, but concerning the Minister, what will you do?"

"That...I'll deal with later. For now, finish with your work, then head home. I'm going to go early."

"As you say, Miss. Higurashi. Have a good rest of the day."

Kagome nodded and paused, "oh, and be sure to remove that blasted cat from my office before you go." Not bothering to wait for another word from her secretary, she left the Ministry. Making her way, for one reason or another, towards Gringotts. Kagome wasn't sure why she needed or wanted to go there, but she did.

-x-x-x

Bill wasn't one to let things distract him from work, but lately, his mind had been a bit of a mess, making him so. He still had to talk to his mother about the cancellation of the wedding, which said nothing about trying to heal his broken heart.

He was not looking forward to telling his mother what had occurred between the French witch and himself. He had a feeling she would be sympathetic but would give him the 'I told you so' speech. That wasn't something he needed right now.

He tiredly got up from the desk he had been sitting at looking through papers and books before he glanced at the clock. It was a little past noon, so he could go ahead and take a lunch break.

"I guess I could go see mother and get this over with. At Least this way I can have a reason for a quick exit since I still have to work today." Bill muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his ginger hair.

He quickly made his exit to the apparition point and was in front of his childhood home. He looked at it with fond memories as he gave a sigh and made the walk to the house with a resigned expression on his face.

Entering the house, he didn't bother to knock. None of the children did so when they came home, before making his way to where he could hear humming.

Molly Weasley stood in the kitchen, in her element as she was making food. A far off look on her face as she hummed a song under her breath.

"Where is everyone. Usually, around this time, more people are running about." Bill asked, and a smile came to his lips seeing his mother jump and turn towards him with a surprised gasp, hand on her chest over her heart.

"Bill! What are you doing here!" The sound of his mother's voice carried through the kitchen as she put her hands on her hips, mixing spoon in her hand.

"Can't I come and visit my mother? Is that a crime now." His lips quirked as she gave him a look he knew all too well. She then sighed and put the wooden spoon down before moving forward to hug him in greeting.

"Oh, you!" She released him from the hug with a smile on her face as she motioned for him to sit down, wand being drawn as she summoned teacups and a teapot. "Now what brings you here during a workday? Did something happen?" Molly Weasley inquired as she sat down across from her son.

Bill took the cup of tea and took a sip, eyes growing dark as he looked at his mother. He knew this conversation was going to take a lot out of him emotionally. "I wanted to talk to you about Fleur." He spoke softly, a pang going through him as he said her name.

"What do we have to talk about? Did she say something?" The look of displeasure took over the older witch's face. She didn't like the French witch but tolerated her because of Bill.

"The wedding is canceled."