Not What They Were- a Drinny fanfiction

Chapter 18

A night had come and gone, no news.
A week had come and gone, no news.

Two months would be closing in soon, and still Ginny had not heard a single word from Draco.

It had infuriated her. She spent hours upon hours deconstructing and recreating that potion, her blood and sweat were baked into it, and he had promised her information then disappeared.

Serves you right for trusting a Malfoy...she could almost hear Ron's voice in her head. Even though Hermione had bridged their divide over the past months, she knew him well enough to realize he still held resentment towards her.

Nearly a month after she had last seen Draco, Ginny had enough of his games and went back down to his office, only to find it baren. None of the other Aurors in his department gave her a straight answer when she asked where he had gone, Ginny, of course, knew they were hiding something. Soaked in dread over the potion, confused about her feelings for Draco, frustrated with the ministry and outright pissed off at having no answers, Ginny did the only thing she could think of; she joined the Ministry. The Office of Potions approval had been begging Ginny to join their team for years, ever since she turned in her first potion to be vetted for sale. Dean Thomas was the first of many Ministry employees who had tried to persuade her to join Potions Approval, so it came as quite a shock to all when they learned she had not applied to their department, but instead had applied to become an Auror.

It had been one month since that day, and Ginny was still sure she made the right decision. Aurors were highly qualified, and deftly trained witches and wizards, so Ginny had expected a lengthy period of waiting but was surprised at how quickly she had been accepted. According to Tonks, her background in the Battle of Hogwarts was taken into consideration, as well as having been trained by some of the most excellent wizards within the past century first hand, and her background check was particularly easy as another Ministry department had already vetted her. Had it been any other situation she would have been extremely displeased with the nepotism that was so clearly being utilized, however, given the circumstances, she took what she could get. Although she was still technically considered to be in training, Ginny had already begun working cases alongside the other Aurors in the department. So far she had handled mainly small related mishaps, a witch trying to duplicate one of Ginny's headache tonics ended up giving a client two extra heads, potions addicts attempting to steal a supply of Pain Away from Mungos, counterfeit Skelegrow being sold in Knockturn Alley, things Ginny could handle because they played into her potions wheelhouse. So far none of her cases had given her any insight into what Draco had been doing, but that was all about to change.

Ginny had just returned to the office with her partner, Mac McLaggen, father of an old school mate of hers Cormac McLaggen. Mac was a large man, nearly 7 feet tall, and stable. He looked exactly like his son, except much more substantial and far more weathered. Mac and Ginny seemed to be the perfect pairing; she was wiry, highly intelligent and had a temper; he was brute strength, street smart, and was never shaken. She gave him the fire he needed, and he cooled her hot anger.

"A'right Weasly, Nah bad for ya firs solo take down." Mac said stretching his legs onto her desk and leaning back in his chair, "though ya coulda lef' out all the profanities, lil' ones runnin aroun' and all."

"And you can keep your feet off my desk," she said as she shoved his dragon hide boots off her paperwork causing a loud thunk as they hit the floor. Mac laughed a hearty belly laugh as she at her struggle to push his boots.

"I'm only teasin' ya lass, ya know I couln do this without ya. Best partna I eva had!" he said through deep laughs. She couldn help but join in, Mac's laughter was contagious.

"I heard you had your first takedown Gin!" Ron said as he came bounding into Ginny's office, the hurt of their fight two months earlier wholly forgotten about. Something easier to do since Draco had been MIA.

"Oh, she di'! Took down tha' banshee tha's been selling fudged up potions to tweaka's down in Knockturn. Thing tried to run from 'er, but your sista' here wasn' havin any of it! Got two feet away from 'er and jumped on the damn things back, tackled her to tha groun'!" He slapped Ginny on the back, causing her to fall forward slightly. "Course I woulda jus' stunned 'er, but her way was effective." Ron was beaming. The pride he had felt in Ginny's accomplishments had grown again, having her work alongside him at the Ministry was a surprise, but one he found he rather enjoyed.

"It was nothing," she muttered, her face turning slightly pink, "Really, if it weren't for Mac we wouldn't have even known she was there."

"Ay Gin, you di' this one on ya own, I will take no credit" Mac smacked her back again, and she could have sworn he broke a rib.

The trio eased into their usual banter, Mac picking on Ron, Ron picking on Ginny, and Ginny giving it back just as hard to both of the older men. Her routine over the last month of work, family, and friends had become her savior during her heartbreak. They distracted her from thoughts of Draco, but not the potion. No matter what she was doing, the potion was there, hanging over her like a dark cloud — taunting her. Joining the Ministry was supposed to be a means to an end, an answer to all her questions, but so far it only served to distract her, though she wasn't angry at it. Just as Mac and Ron were revving up an old argument about the various qualities of Firebolts and Cleansweeps, one of the department's office hands came through the door.

"Senior Officer meeting in conference room three, Director's orders." Mac and Ron rose to walk out the door, and Ginny turned back to her desk.

"You to Weasley," said the small woman.
"But I'm not a Senior." "The Director requested your presence, seems your expertise is needed." The small witch swiftly moved from the doorway avoiding any questions. Ginny rose from her chair slowly, a look of confusion on her face.

"Mabey they need a potions master?" Ron offered, answering her unspoken question. 

This is it! She thought I'm getting my answers.

Inside the conference room were 50 senior officers from all over, a few Ginny recognized from her time in the Headquarters, some she knew must be foreign based on their various accents, others she assumed were undercovered based on their different states of dress. One particular wizard lurking in the corner was not from the London office. He was tall, dark, and built like a brick shit house, the moment she entered the room, his eye bore into her, sending icy chills up her spine and heightening her awareness, something about him rubbed her the wrong way. Shoving aside thoughts of the dark stranger, who was still staring at her, Ginny made her way to the front of the room taking a seat next to Mac.

The conversation around her turned from whispers to loud laughs as they waited for someone to address them. Nearly a half hour had passed when Ginny permitted herself to steal a glance at the stranger again; he was still in the same spot and still staring.

"Oy, Mac' she elbowed him, "Whos the bloak in the back corner there?""The 'uge one?" she nodded, "Dunno, neva seen 'im before." Mac shrugged and continued his conversation with Ron.

After another few moments, the Director entered the room. Ginny was surprised to see Tonks with simple brunette hair. This must be serious she thought.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," she began, "but now that we are all gathered, let's begin" A loaded silence filled the room as all the Aurors gave her their full attention. "Six months ago Death Eater activity in central London spiked, increasing nearly 25%. Of course, spikes of this kind are not out of the normal, but this time it did not eb away as expected. Over the past months, the number of incidents and arrest related to or directly involving former and current Death Eaters has grown exponentially. These are not random occurrences, they are, we believe, connected to a newly organized uprising." the room erupted in whispers and questions.