Desire Diviners

Desire Diviners

CHAPTER 1

It had been six months since that final battle. Six months since the war was won and her brother had been lost. They had reached the point with far more good days than bad. George seemed to have the toughest time, but that was to be expected. He spent so much time working in their shop in Diagon Alley that most of the family saw him but once a week, at Sunday dinner. Ron worked with him a few days each week, trying to lighten the load and, no doubt, the mood.

Thank God for Ron, Ginny thought to herself. That silly prat knows just how to make an ass of himself and give us all a laugh.

Ron's time in the workshop was probably the only time he wasn't connected to Hermione by the lips. Or worse, Ginny thought and giggled. Outside of the distraction for George, Ginny's favorite thing about Ron's work nights was being able to spend girl time with her future-sister-in-law.

Pig flew in through Ginny's window and broke her train of thought by pelting her in the solar plexus.

"Oof! Well, hello there dear."

She plucked him from the air and snuggled him to her cheek. The minute owl cooed and nuzzled to her neck, and then began hopping excitedly up and down her arm.

"Alright, alright, I see it. Hold on, lemme just--oh, it's from Hermione. Poor Pig, I hope you don't have to witness too much, what with those two practically sharing a flat."

At that moment, Pig stopped hopping and ruffled his feathers in a way that looked to Ginny like a shudder. She fell onto her bed in a fit of giggles.

"You poor dear! Those animals, putting you through that!"

When her giggles subsided, the flushed redhead sat up to read the note.

Dear Ginny,

Did you decide what you would like for dinner this evening? I wanted to be sure and run by the shop on my way over to your flat. You also mentioned perhaps trying out the Floo delivery service. Send Pig with your reply, just in case I need to make a stop.

Looking forward to relaxing with you!

Regards,

Hermione

Ginny, who had been waffling all day on whether to cook, jumped at the idea of delivery. She grabbed a quill and scribbled a reply.

Dear Hermione,

I'm feeling lazy. Act surprised! Let's try the delivery service on that new sandwich shop in Diagon Alley. Meet you at my flat at 6:oopm.

Prepare for silliness!

Love,

Ginny

Feeling that at least one thing was accomplished, Ginny sent the precious owl on his way with a skip in her step.

~*~

Hermione reached up to knock on the door of Ginny's flat when she heard a shriek of laughter from the other side of the door. She placed her ear to the door, not wanting to interrupt the mirth, but extremely curious. She nearly fell into the room when Ginny opened the door.

"Oof! Ahem... everything alright in here?"

Ginny smirked at Hermione as the brunette tried to play innocent. As the inventor of that look, Ginny could not be fooled.

"I swear, Ron rubs off on you more and more every day. Everything is fine, why do you ask?"

"Oh, I heard you laughing, and I assumed Harry was here. But he seems to have left in a hurry, " Hermione said with a smirk of her own, "so I wanted to be sure you were alright."

"Actually, if you must know, I was laughing at your expense."

Hermione had not expected that answer, and her surprise caused her to drop her smirk.

"Whatever for?"

Ginny told her friend about the incident with Pig's "psychological damage" due to the wizard couple's snogging habits. The two girls laughed and continued to tease one another as they waited for their supper.

Ginny's fireplace suddenly burst with green flames.

"Delivery for Ginevra Weasley. Two sandwiches, two bags of crisps, one piece of Petrificus Chocolatis."

The girls paid for their order and as they sat down to tuck in, Ginny flicked on the radio. The Weird Sisters crooned in the background as they munched.

As they moved on to their massive dessert, the subject moved to Ron's work with George.

"So is George doing better? I know he has been super-focused, but I just hope he is having fun again. He has the most fun job in the whole of England!"

"Yes, Ron tells me he has been brightening up these past few weeks", Hermione answered. "They are working on a new project that is almost certainly illegal, so he is having a grand old time."

"Yes, that does sound like him", Ginny sighed. "What is it, the new project?"

Hermione scrunched her forehead and closed her eyes. "Oh, what did Ron call them? Desire... Diviners. Desire Diviners, yes that's it. Some sort of wish-fulfillment Portkey thing."

"Portkeys?" Ginny exclaimed. "I see what you mean about 'illegal'. How on Earth can they just sell those in a joke shop? They are closely regulated--"

"--by the Ministry of Magic, yes I know. Ron says they have found subtle ways around the law, but then he always changes the subject. I imagine they are still working out the kinks."

Ginny's imagination reeled at the possibilities of easily-acquired Portkeys, most of them very fun indeed.

"Well, in what way are they divine?" Ginny asked. "Why that title?"

"Oh, it is named after an antiquated Muggle device. Settlers used divining rods to find water. Essentially, they wandered around with a stick and it would tell them where to find underground water sources."

The redhead stared slack-jawed at her best friend, unsure of which question to ask first.

"I realize that explanation didn't really... explain anything," Hermione expanded. "Just trust me."

Hermione waited for Ginny to say something. When she remained stonily quizzical, the brunette went on.

"The idea, I believe, is that these Desire Diviners find and take you to whatever you most desire at that moment. Frankly, I think it could be quite dangerous; we often want what we shouldn't have. Plus, in the wrong hands, these could lead to very serious trouble. I'm sure that is one of the hurdles they are jumping over as we speak."

When Ginny finally found her voice, all she could mumble was, "I bet Dad has one of those water wand things tucked somewhere in the garage...absolutely nutters..."

The evening progressed and the witches had great fun, but Ginny could not escape the deluge of images flooding her mind, playing out her own desires.

~*~

Though George had a flat above the shop, he still crashed at The Burrow after Sunday dinner, or whenever the flat smelled funny from the day's experiments and tests. Lately, that had been quite a bit. Molly didn't mind, of course, she loved having her children home with her.

Ron was certain that the Desire Diviners had reached the testing stage, and as both Weasleys agreed, they would be best tested on the unsuspecting.

I just hope I catch him before he catches me, Ron thought. Constant vigilance, just like Mad-Eye always said.

The gangly ginger snuck into George's empty room and planted the Diviner. He Apparated back to his own flat and eagerly awaited news of his brother's test run.

~*~

Ginny awoke to the sound of rain pelting her window. Though the sound usually lulled her further into sleep, the addition of thunder and lightening had disturbed her slumber. She had been shaken from a most exhilarating dream involving a raven haired man and a waterfall.

Well the rain explains part of that dream, anyway, Ginny mused.

Her heart racing, she decided to fetch a glass of water from the kitchen, but when she opened her door she saw a light from George's room.

Did he crash here again? No, why would his light be on? Someone must have just left it on..

Being of the curious and nosy variety, Ginny crept up and gently tapped on the door. When no one answered, she quietly opened the door and flew in.

A sad smile emerged on her face as memories flooded her. Some of Fred's things had been boxed and put into the attic, but most of it had been left as-is. Ginny noticed the bookshelf looked the same, which made her laugh.

Mum most not have gotten that far, she thought as she wandered over and grabbed "Creatures of Scotland" and opened it. She quickly shut it and blushed; Ron had told her about the twins' hidden 'stash', but she had never bothered to verify it.

Scottish women don't appear all that different from English women, all told, she thought as she replaced the tome. She turned to leave and saw a magazine half-stuck under the pillow on George's bed. It appeared to be the same category of reading material as the book.

Stupid gits, leaving this lying around where Mum can see it. I guess I will hide it for you.

She reached for the magazine. The moment her fingers wrapped around the edge, she felt a somewhat familiar tug behind her navel and was thrust into darkness.

Suddenly she landed, feeling fabric and--were those legs?

Good Lord, where am I? Merlin, I don't even have my wand? How could I be so stupid? I could be anywhere. This could be a trap. Who could have set a Portkey in--

Ginny suddenly remembered her conversation with Hermione, and as her panic was starting to wane, she felt a hand on her arm as she was flipped on to her back and pinned. The visual that met her stopped her breath.

How did I end up between Harry Potter and his bedsheets?