Well, quite a few people have had fun speculating about our killer’s identity (before he’s actually done anything!) but so far all the suggestions have been off. As I said in several reviews, it won’t be anyone obvious or that well known, and besides, I’ve yet to give you any real clues yet.
A quick word about Molly, who will enter the story in this chapter. For some reason, every story I’ve written so far has a slightly different version of Molly. In ‘The List/Oath’ she was earthy and fun-loving, while in ‘Butterfly…’ she was domineering and self-righteous. Here, she will be over-emotional and overprotective. I wasn’t desperately happy writing her in this manner as a lot of stories have her like this and it’s always seemed a bit over the top to me. Unfortunately, the plot demands she is like this, and I must obey the plot!
Massive thanks to Arnel, who is currently trying to break me of my weird ideas about capitalisation. My other weird ideas are, apparently, fine!
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Harry Potter and the Nameless Man | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure Warnings: Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 362 Summary: Newly appointed probationary Auror Ginny Weasley wanted to do something more meaningful with her life than just play Quidditch. Newly promoted Assistant Head Auror Harry Potter has problems, not least of all that his ex-girlfriend has just moved in with another man. When a pure-blood hunting serial killer suddenly appears, will the Departments latest recruit be a help or a distraction for him? Hitcount: Story Total: 80430; Chapter Total: 7231 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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After taking a third wild swipe at her ringing alarm clock, Ginny succeeded in shutting the bloody thing off. Her head fell back onto her pillow and she groaned. Why had she drunk so much the previous night? She hadn’t had a hangover this bad since, well, ever. Closing her eyes against faint light which was proving too much for her to handle, she contemplated just rolling over and going back to sleep. Unfortunately, she was expected at work and failing to turn up on only her second day would not be a good idea. With dedication that she thought should earn her a medal, she rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. One long shower later and she felt like crap, as opposed to total crap as she had been before. Pulling on her clothes, she headed downstairs in search of a large cup of the strongest coffee she could find. Entering the kitchen, she mumbled a greeting to the two family members present. Her mother just huffed at her, while her brother Ron just sniggered. She wasn’t going to get much sympathy this morning, she suspected. Moving on auto-pilot, she put the kettle on the hob to boil and found a cup. A few minutes later she was inhaling the rich aroma of her coffee with relief. She nearly spilt her drink when her mother rather aggressively slammed a plate of breakfast down in front of her. Ginny eyed the bacon and eggs warily, and felt her stomach churn. Knowing her mother would make a big fuss it she tried to leave without eating, she grabbed some toast and gingerly scooped some of the scrambled eggs onto her fork. “So, how are you feeling this morning, Gin-Gin?” Ron asked in rather too loud a voice. “I take it your first day went well, then? Or did it go so badly that you had to drink to forget it?” Ginny glared at her smirking brother. The very last thing she need to this morning was to deal with his crap. Unfortunately, his question had been the signal for her mother to start in on her. “It was disgusting the state you came home in last night, young lady,” Molly scolded. “Here I was, worried sick about you; and you turn up hours late, so drunk you could barely stand!” “Sorry, Mum,” Ginny replied. “I lost track of the time. I kind of got caught up in all the celebrations and wasn’t watching the time.” “Celebrations?” Ron scoffed. “What, the Aurors were so happy that you’d joined them that they just had to go out and celebrate, is that it?” “No, they were celebrating the success of the raid,” Ginny snapped. “Raid? What raid?” Molly demanded. Ginny blinked. The capture of the last remaining Death Eater had been such a big deal within the Department it hadn’t occurred to her that news of the triumph might not have spread. But they had smashed a major crime ring, surely that was news worthy? “Isn’t there anything in the paper about it?” she asked. “I haven’t had time to look at the Daily Prophet this morning,” Molly said with a frown. “Your father was asked to go into the Ministry early this morning. There’s some big flap on.” “He’s probably been asked to attend the trials,” Ginny reasoned. After the war her dad had been asked to take a seat on the Wizengamot as so many of the previous members had been killed or arrested. Arthur had been delighted and thought the position a great honour. “Trials?” Molly repeated. She quickly hurried over to the sideboard and retrieved that morning’s paper which had been laying there unread. Unfolding it, Molly gasped in shock as soon as she saw the headlines. Intently, she began reading the rest of the story. “What’s going on?” Ron demanded with his usual lack of grace. “We had a tip-off that a large group of Dark Wizards were gathering and we managed to obtain the location of their meeting,” Ginny explained. “The group contained a number of ex-Snatchers and the last remaining Death Eater not brought to justice. As the Aurors had been hunting that bloke for years, you can imagine how happy everyone was. We captured twenty-three dangerous criminals; that warranted a bit of a celebration, I think.” “We?” repeated Molly. “I certainly hope you had nothing to do with this dangerous raid.” “Of course, I did,” Ginny said loudly. “I’m a trained Auror; naturally I went on the raid!” “But you’ve only just joined!” Molly objected in horror. “How could they send someone so inexperienced into a situation like that?” “I’ve been through three years of training, Mum!” Ginny protested. “I was declared operationally ready. There was no reason for me not to go on the raid, and I would have been pissed off if I hadn’t been allowed to go.” “This is ridiculous!” Molly shouted. “You’re just a young girl, Ginny. You shouldn’t be mixed up in this sort of thing.” Ginny should feel her temper rising. “I’m an adult witch, Mum, and my choices are my own! You were in more dangerous situations during the war, why shouldn’t I stand up for what I believe to be right?” “I can’t believe you could be so inconsiderate,” Molly wailed. “Inconsiderate? What are you talking about?” Ginny demanded. “I lost both my brothers in the war,” Molly yelled, close to tears. “My eldest son was grievously hurt and my darling Freddy was killed. How do you think I would feel if anything happened to you?” For a second Ginny was stunned. What did she expect? That she wrapped herself in cotton wool for the rest of her life? Didn’t her mum understand? “Mum, it is because of Fred and Bill that I want to do this. I want to make the world a safer place. I don’t want any other families to go through what we have, and by becoming an Auror I can help prevent that. Just look at that raid yesterday. Twenty-three evil bastards locked safely away: result! For the first time in my life, I made a real difference,” she said proudly. “By why does it have to be you?” Molly sobbed. “Let some other family take the risk. It’s someone else’s turn; we’ve done enough!” “Up to yesterday, I’d done nothing!” Ginny protested. “I can’t hide behind the rest of my family. Do you know how frustrated I was during the war knowing all my brothers were walking into danger while I hid at Hogwarts? I need to do this, Mum.” “No, I won’t let you!” Molly cried. “You can’t stop me!” Ginny yelled back before pushing her chair back roughly and headed up to her room. Taking deep breaths, Ginny tried to calm herself as she readied herself for work. She understood her mum’s concerns, she really did. But Molly still treated her like a little girl. She was a fully qualified Auror, for Merlin’s sake! Part of an elite group. Why couldn’t her mum trust her for once? Without warning, the bedroom door flew open and Ron stomped in. “You selfish little cow!” he raged. “Do you know what you’ve done to Mum? She’s crying her eyes out down there!” “You hypocrite!” Ginny raged. “You wanted to become an Auror yourself! What are you suggesting? That it would have been alright for you to do it, but not me?” “Damn right!” Ron yelled. “You’d break Mum’s heart if anything happened to you!” “It would break Mum’s heart if anything happened to any of us!” Ginny countered. “Yeah, but you’re her only daughter. Can’t you see what you’re doing to her?” Ron shouted his face an alarming shade of red. “I can’t live my life always doing what Mum wants. Merlin, you know how overprotective she is! Besides, Bill and Charlie both do dangerous jobs and she’s got use to that over time. Give her a couple of months to get used to the idea of what I’m doing and everything will be fine,” Ginny reasoned. Ron stared at her angrily. Ginny knew full well that part of his reaction was down to his jealousy of her. He’d always dreamed of having an exciting or important job, and he’d ended up working in George’s joke shop. She had little sympathy for him, however. Ron had never been good enough to play Quidditch professionally, despite his boasting, so had felt no one else in the family should, either. And while he’d expressed a desire to be an Auror himself, he’d never put in nearly enough work to get the exam results he would have needed. Clearly unable to think of a convincing argument that didn’t make him look either sexist or hypocritical, Ron snorted and turned to walk out of the room. Ginny hadn’t quite finished with him however. “Oh, and Ron?” she called. “If you ever burst into my room without knocking again, I’ll hex you into the middle of next week!” Ron stomped off without saying another word. Ginny sighed; she really needed to find her own place. Collecting her bag, Ginny headed downstairs to take the Floo to work. As she vanished in a flash of green light, she desperately tried to ignore the sound of her mother sobbing in the other room. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP Ginny arrived at her desk to find her other team members already there. Howell took one look at her and burst out laughing. “Dear, oh, dear! Look at the state of that!” he teased. “Had a bit too much to drink last night, did we?” Ginny glared at him, but he just grinned at her cheekily. Taking pity of her, Susan reached into her desk and retrieved a vial containing a pale blue liquid which she handed to Ginny. “Hangover cure,” Susan explained. Ginny shot her a grateful look and downed the potion in one. Relief washed over her and she slumped into her seat with a contented sigh. “Don’t worry, my girl,” Howell assured her. “We’ll soon have you up to speed. Got to be able to hold your liquor if you’re an Auror. It’s a matter of pride!” “This jobs going to kill me,” Ginny moaned to the amusement of the other three. “Funny, that’s what I said when I first joined,” laughed Susan. “Right, to work! We’re going to follow up that case we were looking at yesterday before everything went to hell. If you recall…” But Susan got no further. They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the Assistant Head Auror’s office door being flung open and the man himself emerging with a face like granite. “Senior Auror Bones! My office: NOW!” Potter yelled. Susan looked up in surprise and trepidation. With only the slightest of hesitations, she leapt up and hurried over to Potter’s office. She vanished inside and the door was slammed shut. “What do you think that’s all about?” Howell asked with interest. “Maybe they had a lovers tiff last night,” Sonia speculated. “Oh, stop flogging that dead horse,” Howell said in disgust. “They haven’t been together for ages, despite all your insinuations. Besides, Susan left long before Harry last night and they were fine then.” “Oh, yes, that’s right,” Sonia said. Her gaze turned to Ginny. “I forgot that Mr Potter seemed more interested in our newest recruit here.” Ginny blinked. Her memories of the previous night were still a bit hazy, but now they mentioned it she did remember spending most of the evening talking with Harry and Susan. After Susan had left, claiming that Ernie would be getting worried, she and Harry had continued chatting. She had a vague memory of her doubling up with laughter at something the man had said. Looking up, she noticed her two fellow team members looking at her intently. “We just chatted about Quidditch,” Ginny said defensively. “Right,” Howell said grinning. “I suppose that was why you were practically sat on his lap most of the evening.” “So, what do you think he wants with Susan?” asked Ginny, desperately trying to change the subject. “Think it’s a job?” Sonia suggested. “Could be,” Howell agreed. “But it would have to be something pretty serious to knock him out of the good mood he’s been in since we caught that bloody Death Eater.” As if in answer to the question, the door to Potter’s office flew open and Susan stalked out. She marched over to the desk with a grim expression on her face. “Grab your gear,” she announced. “We’re going to Hogsmeade. There’s been a murder.” “A murder!” Howell exclaimed. “Merlin on a bike! A major raid yesterday and a murder today. It’s all bloody go, isn’t it?” The team scrambled to get their equipment together. Within half an hour they had Apparated to Hogsmeade and located the small flat that was the crime scene. A couple of DMLE staff were standing outside and waved them in. They headed up the stairs to the small flat as quickly as they could. What they found was a scene from hell. “Sweet Merlin,” Howell muttered. “What happened to the poor girl?” Ginny could only stare in disbelief at the scene of horror laid out before her. She had never actually seen a dead body before, but had known it was something she was going to encounter at some point in her new career. But this… this was more than any person should have to deal with. She felt her stomach churn and she was glad she hadn’t had much breakfast. Dimly, Ginny was aware of Susan talking to another DMLE officer. She heard them speaking, but her shocked brain couldn’t process the words. All she was aware of was the gory wreckage that used to be a human body in front of her. “Ginny? GINNY!” a voice brought her to her senses and she looked up to see Susan staring at her intently. “Start processing the crime scene with Sonia,” Susan ordered. “Howell, start knocking on doors and talking to the neighbours. The victim’s name was Mary Kelly. Time of death was sometime around midnight last night, so see if anyone heard anything. Ask about her background, if she had any frequent visitors; you know the drill.” Howell nodded and exited the room. He looked like he was relieved to leave. Ginny forced herself to start moving and she headed over to the solitary window in the room and started casting Detection Spells. At least if she was doing this she wouldn’t have to look at the body. As she worked, she could hear the conversation continuing between Susan and the DMLE officer. “Her flatmate found her around four a.m. this morning,” the man explained. “Both of them work part time as barmaids at The Three Broomsticks, but it wasn’t this girl’s night to work. She was last seen alive at around eight p.m. the previous evening. Her flatmate didn’t think Kelly had any plans to meet anyone or was expecting any visitors.” “Can we talk to the flatmate?” Susan asked. “Not right at the moment,” the man replied. “I had to send her to St Mungo’s. I think she went into shock. We were lucky to get anything out of her before her brain seized up.” “Never mind, we’ll talk with her later,” Susan agreed. “Did Kelly have any family?” “Her parents have been notified,” the DMLE officer confirmed. “I gather they were pretty much estranged from their daughter and hadn’t seen her for some years.” “Hmm, they’re not going to be a lot of use then,” Susan said in a disappointed voice. “Have any of your people done any medical scans of the victim?” “Thought we’d leave that to you lot,” the man replied, sounding a little smug. “Thanks,” Susan said sarcastically. Ginny risked a glance over her shoulder and she saw Susan kneeling next to the corpse waving her wand over it. She had to admire her Team Leader’s resilience; she doubted she would have been able to get that close to the body without puking. “The liver’s been removed,” Susan announced calmly, “and the heart. We may well be looking at some ritualistic motivation for the killing.” “No sign of forced entry through the window,” Ginny announced having completed her initial Detection Spells, “but the protection wards on this place are practically non-existent. The murderer may have been able to Apparate directly into the room.” “Not surprising, really,” Susan announced. “A part-time barmaid doesn’t exactly make a lot of money, and this place isn’t exactly a palace. I doubt they could afford much in the way of protection and I assume they wouldn’t have the skill to cast them themselves.” “No sign of a break-in at the back,” Sonia informed them, having just returned to the room. “No evidence of anyone other than the tenants having been in the bedrooms.” “I can’t see any signs of sexual assault,” Susan said, continuing her spells. “I’m no expert, but the organ removals look like a very professional job. This was no hacking frenzy; the heart and liver have been carefully removed with minimal damage to the surrounding organs.” “The poor woman’s been split right open,” Sonia noted. “It would take someone with a strong stomach to do that, or medical experience, maybe.” “Muggle medical experience, perhaps,” Susan noted. “She’s been cut open with a knife of some sort.” “But it couldn’t have been a Muggle,” Sonia objected. “We’re in Hogsmeade. A Muggle wouldn’t be able to even see the place.” “I know that,” Susan snapped. “I just said someone with Muggle medical experience, not an actual Muggle! I know some Healers at St Mungo’s do cross training at Muggle hospitals occasionally to gain experience, but I’ve never heard of any of them actually performing surgery.” “Could it have been a Muggle-born?” Ginny suggested. “Someone who had a Muggle surgeon as family?” “It’s worth checking out,” Susan agreed. “I think we’ll need to take the body to St Mungo’s and let a professional Healer look at it. This is a bit beyond my level of experience.” At that moment Howell returned with a frustrated look on his face. “No luck, boss,” he announced. “We have flats above and below, but the occupants of both were out last night. No one heard a thing. I got the impression people tend to keep themselves to themselves round here. No one knew much about the girls who lived here other than they both worked at The Three Broomsticks. Oh, by the way, the blood has started to leak through the floor into the flat below. ” All four Aurors stared at the blood-soaked carpet and were unsurprised at this news. “All right; Sonia and Ginny, you two continue your search. Bag up anything even slightly unusual,” Susan ordered. “Howell, you and me get the plumb job. We’ll be preparing the body for transport to St Mungo’s.” Ginny resumed casting spells as she had been taught, but she could find nothing unusual. A quick glance over at Sonia suggested she was having similar luck. A strange sense of unreality settled over Ginny. Yesterday she had been thrown into a deadly fight, seen Unforgivable Curses being thrown around, and ended up getting drunk in a pub with the legendary Harry Potter. Today she had seen her first dead body and been exposed to a crime so horrid she could not believe the perpetrator was human. Well, no one could ever say that being an Auror was dull. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP It was late afternoon when the team was called into Potter’s office to deliver their initial report. Ginny nervously took a seat next to Susan with Sonia on her right and Howell beyond her. She fiddled anxiously with the report resting on her lap and waited for the briefing to get underway. Potter sat opposite her behind his surprisingly small desk, reading Susan’s preliminary crime scene report. After a few minutes he put the file down and looked expectantly at Susan who began her briefing. “The victim was Mary Kelly, aged thirty-one, who worked as a part-time barmaid at The Three Broomsticks Inn. She shared a flat with another barmaid, Samantha Meikle, and she had been living there for nearly a year. Kelly moved to Hogsmeade after splitting up with her long-term boyfriend. He has a rock-solid alibi, by the way,” Susan explained. “Tell me about the victim’s injuries,” Potter ordered. “The victim’s heart and liver had been removed with a sharp knife of some description,” Susan continued. “The Healer at St Mungo’s said the removal had been done with great skill and would have avoided damage to the organs.” “It’s sounding more and more like a ritualistic killing,” Potter noted. “The Healer said that this was an extremely difficult thing to do well. The killer even seems to have removed and then replaced various other organs once he’d got what he wanted,” Susan noted. “You said ‘he’,” Potter questioned. “Any reason to assume the killer was male?” “Other than statistical probability, no,” Susan admitted. “Frankly, at the moment we have no clues either way. Hell, for all the evidence we’ve uncovered, it could have been a bloody house-elf for all we know.” “Do we have any leads at all?” Potter demanded. “Well, the organ removal was done the Muggle way and with great skill. That’s got to be our starting point. Obviously, it wasn’t a Muggle or they wouldn’t have been able to even see Hogsmeade in the first place. Auror Weasley suggested it could have been a Muggle-born with some experience of Muggle medical procedures so we’re trying to check up on that.” “Good thinking, Weasley,” Potter said, causing Ginny to blush. “You might want to think about the ritualistic uses of the removed organs, as well. I know of some Dark Rituals that require human body parts, but they are normally used to target the victim’s family. Check to see if the Kellys had any enemies or reasons to be targeted.” “Right,” Susan agreed, making a note on her sheet of parchment. “One last thing,” Potter said sternly. “This has been a particularly gruesome murder and the last thing I want is the press to start causing a panic. I want the details of this case kept completely secret, got that? I don’t want you to even discuss it with your fellow Aurors. This stays under wraps until we have some answers.” “Yes, sir,” Susan agreed. “Good. Now get cracking. This case reeks of Dark Magic and I want whoever is responsible in Azkaban, pronto! Good luck and keep me informed,” Potter said, dismissing them. The four Aurors made their way back to their desks with heavy hearts. It didn’t need anyone to point out that they had very little to go on. There was a blood-thirsty killer out there somewhere who was displaying signs of being very skilful and extremely intelligent. This was not going to be easy. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP He carefully watched the clock on the wall. The ritual had to be completed on the stroke of midnight and he was determined nothing would go wrong. The flickering torches mounted around the walls illuminated the bare room. He hadn’t believed his luck when he’d discovered this chamber all those months ago. Who could have guessed something so perfectly suited to his needs was located so close to his work place? With excitement mounting within him, he stood naked at the centre of the pentagram drawn on the floor. In front of him a brazier burned brightly, casting shadows against the stone walls of the chamber. At exactly eleven fifty-five he began chanting the incantation. The words had long since been etched into his brain and he needed no reminders. His cadence and volume perfectly matched the instructions in his spell book, the result of endless practice. Again and again he canted the incantation, each time his voice becoming slightly louder. His heart began to beat rapidly and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end. He began to chant faster and faster, his breath becoming ragged as he panted with anticipation. The hands on the clock moved forward agonisingly slowly, but he could not look away until… The clock chimed. At the first strike of the bell he threw the liver he had been holding in his left hand into the brazier and watched it sizzle and burn. A few second later he threw the heart he’d been holding in his right hand into the fire, too. With a great shout he held his arms aloft and waited for the surge of power to enter his body. He waited. And he waited. And he waited some more. He lowered his arms and stared into the dancing flames. He felt no different; the ritual had failed. Sighing deeply, he stepped from the centre of the pentagram and reached for the towel he had left on a chair in the corner. He fought down his disappointment; after all, the book had said that the ritual worked only one in five times. He was certain that he had followed the instructions in the spell book correctly. Obviously the woman he had selected had not been right for the task. He shook his head, all the information he had on her had suggested she would be perfect. Still, he couldn’t expect everything to work first time. He walked out of the chamber and headed back to his study. He would need to select his next the next young woman carefully. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP The alarm clock once again roused Ginny from her slumber. She viciously swiped at it and managed to knock it off her bedside table completely. It hit the floor with an audible crack and Ginny suspected she’d broken it. What a great start to the day. It had been quite late when she’d returned to the Burrow the previous evening. Her mother had given her the cold-shoulder, but had at least saved her some dinner. Ginny was forced to listen to her mother’s waspish comments while she ate, however. Feeling too drained to fight, Ginny had accepted Molly’s barbed words without reply and then retired to bed. Ron, who had been sitting in the living room with his girlfriend, had felt the need to add his own comments and criticisms as well. Ginny’s reply had consisted of a single raised finger. She’d hoped that Ron had gotten the message. Dragging herself out of bed, Ginny realised that she couldn’t continue to live at the Burrow much longer. It had been bad enough when she was in training when her hours were at least fairly predictable. But now, with her working hours dictated as the case required and the ever present threat of danger in the background, the arrangement was proving impractical. Her mother would continue to do everything in her power to try to convince Ginny to quit and take up a less dangerous occupation. Ron would be no better and would continue to allow his jealousy to govern his mouth. Her dad… well, who knew what he thought. He seemed to be doing his best to pretend nothing was going on. Of her remaining four brothers, most of them had clearly voiced their opposition to her becoming an Auror. She’d felt that this was particularly hypocritical of Bill and Charlie bearing in mind the dangerous jobs they did. She couldn’t give a damn what Percy thought anyway, so he didn’t matter. The only member of her family that offered her any support had been George. He’d understood her need to make a difference and desire to prevent evil raising its head ever again. George alone had told her that he was proud of her and for that she would be eternally grateful. Ginny completed her morning routine and managed to get through breakfast without too many problems. Her mother had pointedly asked her if she would be home for dinner on time before she left and she’d indicated that she didn’t know. This, predictably, had angered her mum who didn’t seem to understand that the world didn’t stop as soon as she put a plate on the table. Her bad mood continued as she arrived at work. As soon as she stepped into the office, Susan had handed her a large stack of files and instructed her to look for anyone who may have had access to Muggle medical training. Ginny sighed as she began to work her way through the files. She was beginning to regret putting forward the idea in the first place. The day passed frustratingly slowly. Sonia returned from St Mungo’s, having followed up with the Healer who had examined Mary Kelly’s body. Apart from the Healer confirmed that the organs had been removed with a small, extremely sharp knife, there was no new information. Howell had returned from a visit to the restricted section of the Ministry’s Library with an armful of books on Dark Magic rituals. Hopefully, he would find some information on what the removed organs could be used for. It was without doubt one of the most boring days Ginny had ever had. Her stack of files was thick and the information continued in them was dull, but she couldn’t afford to let her attention waiver. Her only breaks consisted of a hastily grabbed sandwich at lunchtime and various trips to the small kitchenette to refill her coffee cup. She gloomily thought that the excitement of her first two days on the job had been something of a fluke and today was a truer reflection of what Aurors really did. By half-past five the team had reached breaking point. Howell threw the book he had been reading across his desk and ran his fingers through his hair. “Oh, this is bloody useless,” he moaned. “So far I’ve identified twenty-five separate rituals that involve the use of a human heart and liver. They range from restoring youthful beauty to making an enemy contract a venereal disease! It seems to me that any time a Dark Wizard came up with a new curse he thought he’d better throw in a heart and liver to be on the safe side. Bastards.” “I vote we knock this on the head for today,” Sonia said. “Who’s for a quick one at The Lantern?” “You know, that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day,” Susan replied. Privately, Ginny agreed with her. She was starting to see why Aurors drank so much. Half an hour later, the four Aurors were sitting round a table at The Broken Lantern with a drink in their hands. As she took a healthy swig of her bottle of lager, Ginny felt herself relax for the first time that day. She was determined that if she was going to face her mother again, she was going to do so with a few drinks in her. Glancing round the pub, Ginny noticed a few familiar faces, suggesting that a number of other Aurors had felt the need for some liquid refreshment after a hard day. She didn’t blame them in the slightest. “You alright, Ginny?” Susan asked. She’d ordered a tall glass of her favourite raspberry flavoured vodka which she clutched protectively. “You haven’t seemed very happy all day.” “I’m alright,” Ginny assured her. “At least I will be once I move away from home. Know of any flats going cheap?” “You’ll be bloody lucky,” Sonia jumped in. “Have you seen the price of flats these days? I bet even that shithole our murder victim lived in cost an arm and a leg. No joke intended.” “That’s what I thought you’d say,” Ginny said gloomily. “I shared a place with another girl when I was with the Harpies, but it was owned by the club. Even that took a big chunk of my salary. I guess I need to find someone who’ll be prepared to share.” “Sorry, Ginny, I can’t help,” apologised Sonia. “I already share with two others at the moment. And these two are shacked up, so they can’t help.” “Excuse me,” Howell interrupted. “If by ‘shacked up’ you mean ‘living in marital bliss’ then you’d be correct.” “Bliss for you, maybe,” Sonia teased. “How that poor wife of yours puts up with you, I’ll never know.” “I’m irresistible!” Howell declared loudly. “Oh, you are!” Susan declared in girly voice. “Or you will be if you get the next round in!” Susan dumped her empty glass in front of the big man. A second later it was followed by Sonia and Ginny’s empty bottles. “Bugger,” Howell declared mournfully. |
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