Partners in Paris

Ginny Weasley crouched on top of a stone column, squinting in the dark. Who knew museums got this black at night? She sighed quietly, shifting slightly on her perch. She loved her job, but waking up with aching limbs every other morning could really take it out of a girl. Her hazel eyes, wary and alert, followed a shadowy figure steadily lowering itself from the ceiling, using a thick rope and making its way toward a large pedestal. Something glittered on top of the velvet, surrounded by glass. When she squinted her eyes, Ginny could just make out the surface of a dark blue crystal.

As soon as the figure was two feet above the pedestal, she sprang, swinging on a thin steel rope. She landed silently behind the small man, breathing as quietly as she could. He was still lowering himself toward the crystal. She could certainly hear his breathing, fast and loud.

"You're not possibly thinking of stealing that, are you?" Ginny asked quietly, grinning. She couldn't help but enjoy the look on the would-be-thief's face. She heard the man catch his breath as she stepped into view. Of course, she wasn't surprised when his expression of panic turned to relief when he saw her slight, rather fragile-looking figure. She wore a uniform of black, fiery red hair curling down over her shoulders, but most important was the small gun pointed at his chest.

"How the hell-," he said once he'd taken it all in. Suddenly he cocked his head. Motioning towards the gun, he said, "It's not loaded, is it. You wouldn't-". He was relieved to see such a small opponent, but wary of her gun.

Ginny smiled calmly, but inside she felt anger curling around her stomach. She was used to being under-estimated because of her size but it still was maddening. "Not loaded?" She jerked her head at the gun. "It's a Dragonwyk 180. I don't have to load it." She pointed the gun at the rope the small man was still clinging to. A fine line of fire burst from the gun, severing the thick strands of the rope in seconds. The little man dropped to the floor with a thud. Rolling over, he drew a wand from the inside of his robes and pointed it at her gun. "Accio-". Ginny hadn't expected that. She felt the gun slide to the tips of her fingers. Groping for her own wand in the dark, she yelled, "Expelliarmus!" His wand flew towards Ginny, who kicked it away. The gun relaxed in her clutching fingers. The little man got up quickly but Ginny was ready for him. She kicked him full in the chest and he was on the floor again. But he wasn't as helpless as she had thought. He drew a knife from his inside jacket pocket and flung it at her. She turned away just in time, but the knife sliced her cheek going by. She pointed her gun at the ceiling of the museum and pulled the trigger. Again, out came a line of fire. The end of it splattered against the plaster. It melted, and boiling hot, liquid plaster rained down on the robber. She watched him, wincing as he struggled in the sticky substance. Finally she took pity on him, seizing one of his arms and pulling him out of his pool. The handcuffs snapped onto his wrists with a satisfying click.

Ginny felt around in her belt and finally came up with a small contraption. There was a single green button, stark against the dark stone. Ginny pushed it with a forefinger.

There was the sound of air being pushed aside as a number of wizards replaced empty space. Flashlights came on in the museum and flooded the scene with light as another woman came forward, backed up by Ministry of Magic officials.

"Robert Ackren, you are placed under arrest for attempting to steal the secret of Rowe's crystal. Stupid of you really. Take him away," she said motioning for the officials to come forward. "Good work, Ginny. The crystal's secret is safe?"

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. This was Loretta Gildern, head of the Magical Law Enforcement Department and a good friend of the Weasley family. "Yes, he didn't touch it."

"Good," Loretta said, satisfied. She gazed at the blue gem for a moment before sighing and looking back at Ginny. "None of your cats with you this time?" she asked.

Ginny grinned. Her pet cats had a bad habit of following her everywhere, including ministry missions. "I forbid them. Hermione had to explain to them all."

Loretta grinned. "I can picture that." Then, glancing at Ginny, "You should get home. You look dead on your feet. I can take care of the paperwork."

Ginny laughed. "Thank you. Hermione will be dying to hear about this."

Loretta, who knew Hermione, grinned. "I'll bet. But you go home and sleep. Don't let her keep you awake all night."

After bidding farewell to Loretta, Ginny stepped out of the museum. The night air was crisp and fresh. Taking one last deep breath, Ginny apparated to the flat she shared with Hermione. She looked around her living room. It was a mess as usual. She shooed a cat out of a chair before collapsed into it as Hermione came in. "Ginny! Everything went well?"

Ginny nodded. "It's great to be home."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Finally," she said dryly.

Ginny laughed and threw a pillow at her best friend. "I can't help it. Anyway, I have my week off now."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. She knew Ginny was a hard-working Auror, and she was often called away, even if she was off duty. Ginny had been awarded Most Accomplished Auror by the Daily Prophet three times and her income was considerable, but Hermione knew Ginny didn't care about being famous. If anyone asked her, Ginny would only say, "It's all for Bill." Bill had died fighting Bellatrix Lestrange and her followers and Ginny had taken it very badly.

Ginny caught the disbelieving look on Hermione's face and snorted as a few cats peered around the corner and, upon seeing Ginny, bound happily into the room. "Really, this time I might not move from this chair the whole time. I'm exhausted," she said, stroking the cats absently.

"No, you get out of all that leather, and get into bed. I'll tidy up in here." This time it was Ginny's turn to raise her eyebrows. Whenever her friend said she would clean up, Hermione usually found a book she had misplaced about halfway through her tidying operation and would lose herself in it. However, she just nodded and headed toward her bedroom. Sighing, she peeled her leather ensemble away from her skin. As soon as she was in her nightgown, she collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Ginny awoke to the sound of Hermione making breakfast. Or trying to. "Damn!" Hermione's voice rang through the small flat. Ginny hurriedly moved the two cats sleeping around her and got out of bed. Grabbing her dressing gown, she trotted down the hall to the kitchen. Hermione was surrounded by at least three cats sniffing at the pans on the stove in front of Hermione-- all of the pans, except one, smoking. "Ginny! What am I doing wrong? All I can make that doesn't explode is bacon!"

"Well, what have you been eating when I wasn't here to make breakfast for you?" Ginny asked curiously, leaning against the doorway.

"Well... I've actually been eating at Ron's," Hermione said, blushing slightly.

Ginny stared at her. "You're kidding. You must be. I thought you two vowed never to speak to each other again." The last time Hermione had blown up at Ron, who lived a few blocks away now, they had sworn never to come in contact with each other again. Ginny had been sure it was the end of their friendship.

"Oh, well..." Hermione was blushing again. Ginny almost laughed. She thought she had been the only one who turned scarlet when she was embarrassed. A few more cats wandered out from under the table and jumped up at Ginny as Hermione plowed on. "When you were away so much, I didn't have anyone to talk to. Harry's abroad, you and Loretta at work, and Ron... Well, I thought maybe we could forget about that."

Ginny giggled, shooing the cats away and walking over to Hermione. "Yeah, right, and the fact that Ron inherited Mum's knack for cooking had nothing to do with it, I suppose," she said, inspecting the pans.

"Hey, you!" Hermione waved an empty pan at her. Then, more seriously, "You don't mind, do you?"

Ginny looked at Hermione as if she were she had lost her mind. "Of course I don't!" she went on, prodding at the bacon. "I think it's lovely you two are talking again--". She was interrupted by an owl landing on one of the frying pans.

"No!" Hermione said firmly to the owl. "That pan has bacon in it, which is the only edible thing here." She turned to Ginny, who was reaching for the owl. "No to you too!" she said fiercely. "You will sit there and eat some bacon before you touch that owl." She blocked one of the cats trying to bat at the owl.

"Alright, I give in!" Ginny grinned, backing into a chair. Hermione dumped the contents of the frying pan onto a plate and put it in front of Ginny. At that moment, the doorbell rang. Ginny started to get up but Hermione shot her a look that plainly said, "Stay where you are," and left the room to answer the door. Ginny took this as an opportunity and lunged at the owl.

"Ginny! Eat!" Hermione yelled. Ginny sighed, and sat back down. She heard Hermione open the door and giggle. Ginny's eyebrows shot up. Hermione never giggled.

"Hermione, who is it?" Ginny called.

"Ginny!" a new voice, much lower than Hermione's, shouted.

"Ron!" Ginny ran out of the kitchen and skidded into the living room. She was immediately enveloped in a hug. She looked up and saw her favorite brother's face.

"Ginny, how are you?" he asked, releasing her.

"I'm fine, what about you? Please sit down," she added. "It's hard to look at you."

Ron chuckled. At 6 foot 4 inches, he towered over most people, but his sister especially. As Ron sat down, followed by three cats, the owl from the kitchen flew to Ginny, apparently thinking he'd been forgotten. Hermione started to say something, but Ron beat her to it. "Oh, Ginny! You just got off!"

"I know," Ginny said exasperatedly, "but it might be important." She untied the letter and read it quickly. Hermione and Ron were talking quietly when she looked up. She studied them. They made a comical pair. Ron was at least a foot taller than Hermione. "I have to--"

"Go to the office," Hermione finished. She sighed.

"I'm sorry. But Loretta says that they've found me a good partner."

"Really?" Ron asked. Loretta had been trying to find Ginny a partner for over six months now.

"Yeah. I'll have to go abroad though. In-", she glanced at the letter, "Paris." Ginny said, waiting for the explosion. Instead, the two of them looked interested.

"Wow, that's fantastic!" Hermione said enthusiastically. Ron nodded.

"That's great! Although it is a bit far."

Ginny nodded. This was the Ron she knew. "I have to leave soon. I just have to get changed." She left the living room and returned to her bedroom. She changed into casual robes, thanking God that is was a weekend. She grabbed her bag and slipped the letter into it. When she came back into the living room, she had transformed into what Hermione usually called Virginia the Working Girl. "Alright, I have to leave, I'll see you both later."

Ron and Hermione got up and Ron hugged Ginny. "I'm going to stay around and help Hermione with breakfast."

Ginny smiled. "You do that, and clean all that cat hair off of yourself. I'll see you later Hermione. Bye!" She disappeared with a small pop.

Later

Ginny appeared in Loretta's office five minutes later, after stopping in her own office to get her mail. There had been at least half a dozen flying paper airplane memos swooping around her office. All of them congratulated her on her new partner, but none of them mentioned who her partner was. Also, as she had walked down the hall to Loretta's office, many people had smiled at her knowingly. Now she entered the office filled with curiosity. "Loretta, who--" she started, but she saw the look on Loretta's face and stopped. Loretta was grinning, sitting at her desk, her hands wrapped around a coffee cup. "Loretta, what in the world is going on? I've got 20 memos flying 'round my office, all of the senders knowing who my new partner is, and I'm the one person who doesn't know?"

Loretta grinned wider, taking a sip of her coffee. "Wait, he's stepped out to get a bite to eat. He'll be back in a minute."

"You look too happy. Who is it? What have you done? Where is it--" Loretta interrupted her.

"He. HE. Not 'it.' We had to pick him because your brother says you're the only one who can shut 'im up when he goes into one of his rages."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "So, Ron had something to do with it. He acted for all the world as if he was surprised when I told him you'd gotten me a partner!"

Loretta beamed. "He's a good man, your brother."

Ginny scowled. "To you maybe. I'll skin him alive."

Loretta smiled in an annoyingly knowing way. "No you won't." Ginny raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent. "This guy's a good guy," Loretta continued. "You'll get along well. The only problem is that you'll have to share a flat, we couldn't get you anything. But, I made sure of it-- he likes cats. Oh, here he is now." She stood up.

Suddenly, Ginny became tense. A familiar, deep voice behind her said, "Hi, Ginny."

She slowly turned and found herself looking into a pair of deep green eyes. "Harry," she said breathlessly.

Earlier

Harry scanned the headlines of the Daily Prophet, sipping his coffee slowly. Lestrange Still at Large, Goblins Hold Up the Hog's Head, no surprises there, Weasley Caught Rowe Would-Be-Stealer, yes well-- "What?" Coffee spattered over an article about the Minister of Magic's 47^th birthday party, but Harry wasn't worried about that. "'Ginny Weasley, sister of the famed Bill Weasley, caught Robert Ackren yesterday. The thief was after...'" Harry trailed off. Ron had told Harry briefly about Ginny, but never any specifics. Rowe's Crystal was one of the most important magical artifacts in their world. Ginny would have to be an incredible auror to be put on the case... Harry cursed himself for not staying up with the news while on assignment. He ran to his cluttered dining room table, searching for more papers. "Ah, here. 'Bulgaria Wins Quidditch Cup, Teachers Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks Get Married,' already know all this, 'Muggle Has Seen Werewolf'-- here! 'Weasley Wins Most Accomplished Auror Award- Again', 'Gringotts Burglar Stopped By Ms. Weasley.'" Harry stopped at a recent Witch Weekly Special Edition. It read, "Ms. Ginny Weasley-- Still #1 Eligible Bachelorette". Harry groaned, looking at the freckled, rather exasperated of his best friend's sister. With any kind of fame, this came, too.

He sighed and looked out the window. Paris was beautiful, but he missed the lopsidedness of the Burrow.

A voice yelled out his name, startling Harry out of his thoughts. He immediately recognized Loretta's voice. Turning, he saw her head floating in his fireplace. "We have a partner for you!" Loretta told him.

"What?" Harry asked, a bit too loudly.

"Ow, I said we have a partner for you."

"Well, who is it?"

"Guess."

Harry sighed. "Loretta--"

"Just guess!"

Harry racked his brains. "Uh... Dennis Creevey."

"No! Ew..."

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Loretta, tell me now!"

"Well... Ginny Weasley! What do you think?..."

"Oh, Ginny? I was just reading about her. Are you sure? Have you asked her-"

"Harry, Harry. Shut up."

"Yeah, okay. So, should I...?

"You have to come to the Department to meet her. Today. Now."

"Alright, I'll be there. Good bye."

Loretta's head disappeared. "Wow. This'll be awkward," he told the mirror in the front hall as he passed it.

"Well, you're an expert there," the mirror said sleepily.

Harry paused in his bedroom doorway. "I hate you," he called to his mirror.

"Believe me, it's mutual."

Harry slammed his door, muttering about impudent mirrors.

Later

Ginny looked hopelessly around her room, now strewn with clothing, suitcases, and Dark Detectors. "Hermione! Help me, please! I'm gonna be late for the train!" she said, collapsing onto her bed. Paris was much to far to apparate so Ginny had to use muggle transport.

Hermione appeared in the doorway, looking worried. "If you hadn't left all your packing until the morning you were leaving, you wouldn't be stressed out right now. You'll have a lot of luggage, but..." Hermione waved her wand delicately at the suitcases on Ginny's bed. They immediately began to collect her clothing, dodging cats and various piles of dirty laundry lounging around Ginny's room. "Ginny!" Hermione groaned, looking at what Ginny was wearing. Ginny glanced down at herself. She was wearing a T-shirt that read, "Under Construction" across the chest and a pair of black sweatpants. Ginny normally dressed like this, and Hermione always complained that she dressed like a teenager. "You're going to meet Harry- no, meet PARIS- in that?"

Ginny put her hands on her hips. "And why not?" she asked calmly.

Hermione sighed, knowing her best friend's stubborn streak was much longer than a mile. She threw her hands up in surrender. "But, Ginny, about the cats..." Hermione trailed off.

"No," Ginny said firmly. "I will not leave them. I'm taking every one of them. Well, except Crookshanks, of course."

Hermione scowled. "All 6 of them?" she asked desperately. Ginny nodded. "I'll bet," Hermione continued, "you don't even know all their names."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Brandy, Foxlet, Bramble, Skeltor, Kapu, Pebbles, and Crookshanks."

Hermione sighed. "It's up to you. I guess you have to go now?" she asked, motioning towards the suitcases, waiting patiently in a line behind Ginny.

"Yeah." Ginny looked at Hermione, her eyes overly bright. Hermione hugged her tightly, wiping her own eyes. Then she handed Ginny two packages wrapped in brown paper. "One is for you, the other for Harry. Open yours on the train, alright?"

Ginny nodded, not trusting her voice. Hermione seemed to understand, and helped Ginny bring her three suitcases to the door of their flat. Ginny hugged Hermione once more, then grabbed the suitcases and struggled down the stairs to the front door of their building. Looking back, she saw a line of cats following her and, standing in the doorway, Hermione holding Crookshanks. Ginny waved and Hermione waved back. Then Ginny stepped out of the building, holding the door open for her train of cats, then closing it softly. The morning air was crisp, and people were starting to come out of the houses that lined her street. Children too were up, playing in their yards and staring at Ginny and her cats as they made their way along the sidewalk. She walked through this neighborhood until she reached what appeared to be a small park. An iron gate surrounded it, decorated with small, ugly carvings of fairies, dressed in what appeared to be ball gowns. Glancing around to make sure the street was deserted, Ginny bent her head to the carving sitting on the sign, "KEEP OUT, PRIVATE PROPERTY." "Party of seven: one witch, six cats, and three suitcases. Powdered dragon's claw," she whispered hastily, not wanting to think what would happen if a Muggle caught her talking to a gate. However, the moment she uttered the password, the iron fairy nodded, a lock clicked, and the gate swung open.

As she stepped through, she felt as if she were walking through a thin sheet of water. However, when Ginny was through the gate, her clothes were dry. She took a moment to gather herself- and her cats- together and look around. She was not in a park, but a busy train station. Trains were leaving, people were shouting, and there were stands trying to sell things from extra toothbrushes to Daily Prophets to potion ingredients. Ginny took this all in, then headed toward a guard, standing still among all the chaos. She smiled as she made her way through the crowds, her cats following, dodging around peoples' feet. Here no one pointed at her and muttered about a witch with her familiars. After all, almost everyone here was a witch, and the others were wizards. She pushed her way through the last of the crowd to the guard. "Please, Platform 14?"

"That way, to the left," he said, pointing her in the right direction. Ginny saw him frown slightly at her attire, and hurried away, hearing the guard mutter about "kid's these days."

Ginny grinned, thinking of Hermione. She glanced at the numbered platforms until she saw number 14. She showed the wizened old wizard her ticket, then sat down in the waiting area. All her cats immediately tried to beat the rest to her lap, but Pebbles and Bramble won. They sat down, looking rather smug. The rest contented themselves with the two seats closest to Ginny. She smiled looking over them, silently counting to make sure they were all there. Reaching down for one of her bags, she thought, "If I'm getting off at a Muggle station, I'm going to have to carry this all myself." Ginny groaned. Her cats would draw plenty of attention to her already, and she didn't want to think about what would happen if 20 or so Muggles saw her luggage floating an inch above the floor. "At least my French is all right," she thought resignedly.

"Platform 14, to Paris, now boarding. I repeat, Platform 14, to Paris, now boarding."

Ginny sighed, getting up, her cats stretching and forming their line behind her. Summoning her luggage, she walked along the train until she found an empty compartment, perfect for herself and her cats. She waved her luggage up to the luggage racks and sat down, smiling contentedly as her cats gathered around her once again. "Imagine," she said quietly to them. "We're off to Paris. With Harry of all people..." She blinked, the impact of what was happening finally hitting her. "What am I doing? I..." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She shifted slightly and felt something poking into her ribs. "Hermione's present..." Ginny reached into her bulging purse and pulled out the small parcel. She looked at it for a minute, contemplating. Then she tore off the paper, revealing a small blue box. Opening it, her eyes widened. Inside was a strange trinket of silver, nestled in among folds of white cloth. It had a strange glow about it. Flipping it over, Ginny saw a small symbol etched into the metal. She glanced back to the box and fished out a folded piece of paper. Ginny unfolded it and found Hermione's neat handwriting.

Ginny,

This is something I made for you. Well, not all of it. I bought the pendant from some jewelry store in Muggle London. However, I infused it with a few charms, so it's bulletproof now, as far as I know. I also saturated it with a potion that, if a bullet is heading towards you, will swing over the target. Of course, I had no way of testing it, and let's hope you don't either. It wasn't that hard, so stop worrying and take it. I even made one like it for Harry.

I already miss you like you were away for ages and this is a way for you to remember us who are at home. Take good care of yourself and Harry and write me daily. You'll hear from me soon and I'll take care of Ron.

Love,

Hermione

Ginny felt the tears welling in her eyes and picked up the ornament again. Rubbing her thumb over the smooth side, she felt that it was comfortingly warm. Ginny hugged the pendant to herself and felt the tears running down her cheeks.