The Curse-breaker's Sister

The Curse-breaker's Sister

Chapter 6

Ron Weasley- Auror, boyfriend, and brother- sat back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk, thinking about what to do next. He was plucking his bottom lip, as he often did during moments of indecision, and contemplating the latest information that had ended up in his office.

The brief was short and to the point.

Attn: Ron Weasley

Re: Malfoy, Draco; Nasir, Ea; Weasley, Ginevra; Weasley, William

Agents report last contact between Nasir and Bill on March 25^th. Bill left Nasir's premises late evening. Completed job one month later. Met Malfoy on the 26^th. Bill and treasure in question missing the next day. Malfoy was traced back to England. Has since disappeared.

Ginny has visited Gringotts four times in past two months; Ripshank reports she is barred from building unless for personal banking. Has been sighted at the Athenaeum and is presently staying at Bill's residence.

Nasir is a dangerous man. Suggest ending Ginny's crusade before she gets herself hurt. Nasir is not known to tolerate fools - or the younger siblings of men who are believed to have stolen his treasure.

Ron knew Ginny had been snooping around, trying to discover what was up with Bill, but he had no idea she had been barred from Gringotts. He sighed loudly and wished he hadn't been so pre-occupied with Hermione these past couple of months. It had been quite the shock when Ron discovered Hermione was a girl, but not nearly as shocking as when he'd discovered Hermione was a woman!

Get it together mate, Ron thought to himself, you are supposed to be figuring out what to do with Ginny, not what you want to do to Hermione.

Ron pondered the situation a few minutes longer. He now had confirmation that Bill was not only missing, but also one of two suspects in the disappearance of some ancient staff of something. That's where the Ea Nasir guy came in. Why Ginny was meddling with this was beyond Ron. He obviously should have listened more closely to what she was saying the other night. He'd rectify that situation now.

He got up from behind his desk and walked over to his fireplace. There was a pot of floo powder on the hearth beside the grate. Ron threw a pinch of it into the fire and yelled, "Ginny Weasley!" before sticking his head into the green flames.

A few moments later Ron's head showed up in the fireplace inside Bill's study. Ron looked around and saw Ginny sitting in a chair nearby. She was studying a piece of paper.

"Ginny!" he called out, scaring her in the process. "Got a minute?"

"Oh, Ron. Hi," Ginny said. Ron thought he detected a trace of nervousness in her voice. "I'm a bit busy at the moment, maybe we could talk later."

"This can't wait, Gin," Ron said in what he hoped was a firm, brotherly voice. "We need to talk about this Gringotts business. I thought I told you to stay out of it."

"Well, I-"

"I'm an Auror, Ginny, I know you've been poking about, contacting Gringotts and trying to find Bill. I'm glad that you're worried about him but, Gin, you've got to back off! His client is in the big leagues and truth be told, Bill's in a little bit of trouble for not getting some treasure back."

Ginny stood in front of the fireplace, her arms crossed defensively across her chest and with a look of disgust on her face. "Been hanging around Percy lately, Ron? You sound just like him."

"Ginny, I don't mean it like that..."

Draco stood just beyond Ron's range of vision. From where he was standing, he could hear everything Ron said, yet unless Ginny mentioned something, Ron would have no clue that Draco was even in the room. He listened to the sibling bickering, picking out bits of pertinent information where he could. A wave of relief washed through him when he discovered that he wasn't the only suspect in the theft of the Staff of Lamaštu. That Ron didn't mention his name in connection to any of this was also a relief. His cover with Ginny would not be blown.

"...And what the bloody hell are you doing at Bill's house, anyway? Pack up and go home today, Ginny! And stay out of this! It's not your business." Ron's head disappeared from the flames.

"Stupid git!" Ginny exclaimed, stomping her foot in anger.

Draco couldn't help but grin at her. She looked so angry, so indignant, standing there with her hands on her hips. "That didn't go over very well, did it?"

Ginny walked over to the couch and collapsed against its comfortable cushions. "For Ron in Auror mode, it went quite well."

Draco took a seat on the coffee table, sitting down directly across from her. He was very serious when he asked, "Why didn't you tell him I was here?"

"Really, Draco. Had I told Ron that 'Draco bloody Malfoy' was with me, he would Apparate here instantly and hit you harder then Hermione did when you were third-years. I might be able to get over who you used to be, but my brother definitely would not be."

Draco thought this over for a minute and found that he agreed with her.

Ginny continued, "I'm sorry it has to be this way. But no matter how much good you did during those last few years before Voldemort fell, Ron is never going to accept that you aren't the same, slimy Slytherin he went to Hogwarts with."

"But I saved his life! I didn't have to, but I did. Twice! I almost died the second time. When will people accept that I am not my father? Not like my father!"

Ginny shook her head and patted his arm like she did when Charlie's youngest daughter was upset. She knew exactly what he meant. In a sense, it was similar to her relationship with her family. When were they going to accept that she wasn't little Ginny, to be looked after and ordered about? She was going to say something when Draco put his hand over hers. They locked eyes for a moment before Ginny pulled away from his stare.

"I'm going to get the tablet," Ginny said quietly, removing Draco's hand from her own.

It was past eight o'clock when they stopped for a break. Four hours had past since Ron had contacted Ginny. She hadn't heard from him since. Bill's coffee table was covered with paper. Draco was taking copious notes. Ginny was absorbing everything he said.

"I think it's safe to say that wherever these directions lead to is where we'll find Bill," Draco said.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, wasn't it the assumption you were working with? He mailed this to himself, probably hoping that somebody would find it and figure it out."

"So far all you've written down is some sort of chant. What directions are you talking about?"

Draco flipped the tablet over revealing an underwater scene carved into the amber.

"See those merpeople and goat-fish?"

Ginny nodded, tracing the outline of one of the merwomen with a fingertip.

"Merpeople are found throughout the world. We had a community of them at Hogwarts. We're taught that they originated in Greece but that's not true. The first merpeople lived around Atlantis."

"As in the 'Lost Island of Atlantis'? I thought that was just a Muggle fairy-tale."

"Like legends and myths, fairy-tales have some basis in reality. The ancient merpeople existed with many different types of underwater animals. The most revered of them all was the goat-fish. That's this guy right here." He pointed out one of the half-goat, half-fish creatures. "Goat-fish existed only in the waters surrounding the Island of Atlantis. When it sunk, it is said that they took over the sunken island and ruled it with the demons that had been banished there."

Ginny mulled this over for a minute. "You think that those depictions point to Atlantis?"

Draco nodded. "I'm almost certain it does. The incantation we've been translating seems to be some sort of a song or chant needed to raise Atlantis. And these symbols right here?" He pointed to several symbols grouped together and surrounded by a deeply carved circle. "I think they tell us when to start chanting, but I don't know for sure."

"What do you mean you don't know for sure?" The Weasley temper was making an appearance. "I hired you because you said you could translate this!"

"Relax, Ginny, look at what we've translated so far. Like I told you, this is an ancient form of cuneiform, one I'm not familiar with. We'll have to check with some outside sources, but for now, we are taking a break. We haven't eaten since lunchtime and it's already..." he consulted the clock on the fireplace mantle, "...past eight o'clock."

"You're right, it is late. And I am hungry." As if on cue, Ginny's stomach started growling. "No wonder I'm so edgy. I'll put together something for dinner." She paused for a moment, realizing she'd assumed that he'd stay. "That is, if you want to..."

"I'd love to stay. We can work on the translation again after dinner, assuming, that is, that I'm hired?"

Ginny grinned, feeling more hopeful than she had in months. "You're hired!" She stuck her hand out and they shook on it.

"Right, then. We'll discuss payment when I get back. I'm going to head to my place and get some books that might be helpful. I'll be back in half an hour." He still hadn't released her hand.

"Sounds like a plan."

Ginny was about to pull her hand back when Draco Apparated, leaving it poised in midair. She gathered up the papers, and the tablet, and placed them both inside a hollow brick in the fireplace. A tap of her wand insured that only she would be able to get them out. Ron's warning about Bill's nasty boss had just surfaced to her mind and she felt better having hid the tablet from view.