Not What They Were- a Drinny fanfiction

Chapter 9

For hours Ginny dove head first into work, it was how she cleared her mind. The delicate routine of potion making and the detail, woven into her various directions kept her mind focused and emptied of anything but her brew. The fight with her family, the embarrassment over Harry and her hurt from Draco were pushed from her mind as she threw herself into her potion. Hours later and Ginny had finished an elaborate Time Regulated Draught of Living Death. St. Mungo's had been pushing her to complete a more stringent version of the potion for weeks, they needed to regulate sleeping patterns of several patients to conduct certain complex spells or perform charms without the patient moving or affecting their outcome. With small tweaks to the ingredient list, and stirring the liquid counter clockwise the same number of minutes you needed the patient to remain asleep, Ginny created what she thought to be an exceptional potion. Exhausted and elated, Ginny siphoned a small portion out of the pot and into a vial before placing the wards on her lab and making her way down to the fireplaces on the main level. Before St. Mungo's would be allowed to test her concoction, it would need to be vetted by the Ministry. Just as Ginny reached for the floo powder on the mantle, her mind wandered to the one thing she managed to forget about for nearly an entire day, Draco Malfoy.

Visiting the Ministry meant she was risking the possibility of running into Draco, and running into Draco meant facing her actions and her feelings. How could Draco be so cold to her? She was sure she felt a connection between them that night, but his dismissive attitude and steely glare made her second guess her intuition. Not even 48 hours had passed between her break up with Harry and her rejection from Draco, Mabey she was a target for misery? The thought of Obliviating herself and forgetting all her pain, passed feebly through her mind as she stared at the floo powder slowly slipping between her fingers. Facing Draco would be incredibly embarrassing, mortifying and humiliating, but it was her only option. She couldn't avoid the Ministry forever; it was part of her business.

Praying Draco didn't keep her hours, she stepped into the fireplace.

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"Ah, Ginny!" A tall, thin black man with the kindest eyes greeted her as she stepped through the doors of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, "What are you doing here? I didn't think you would be in for a while; you said you might be taking time off from your potions?"

The last time she had dropped off a sample, she had told Dean she would be taking personal time. Thinking her and Harry would soon be planning a wedding she thought she would be too busy to be completing any potions, and wanted to let him know not to expect her. Ginny knew from the way he tilted his head that Dean had heard Harry dumped her, she also knew he was too sweet to ask her directly.

"Uh, no," Ginny shrugged, not wanting to go into depth about her relationship with Harry, although Dean was a close friend, and he loved the latest gossip she had to offer, she didn't much feel like chatting about herself, "I uh, change of plans. I finished one early and wanted to get it vetted before the start of the holidays."

Dean only smiled and waved her on down the hall behind him to the Office of Potion's Approval . "You're lucky you caught me, I was just heading home. Seamus has been looking up new recipes all week; tonight is Brazillian night!"

"You're letting Seamus cook?" Ginny couldn't help but let a little laugh out.

"Yes I am," Dean shot her a look of mock annoyance "he's gotten much better! Hasn't blown anything up in over two weeks!"

Together the pair broke into fits of laughter, Seamus was notorious all through Hogwarts for his, as Professor McGonagall once put it, proclivity for pyrotechnics. The idea of Seamus cooking a meal that didn't catch fire was especially hilarious.