Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey

Chapter Two: The Lioness

Ginevra Weasley attacked her rebellious auburn mane with her brush in a futile attempt to untangle the obstinate copper-coloured locks. She was definitely not having a good hair day, and this only seemed to add to her already dark mood. It would not be a wise idea to cross the path of this lioness today.

She was due to meet Harry at six o'clock sharp. To her dismay, it wasn't a social call; it was business. He had Floo-called her earlier that morning, waking her from a much needed sleep. She had thought to reprimand him for his lack of decorum with a growl and a few derisive comments, but the urgency in his tone at his request for a meeting had softened her more feral nature.

The grim expression on his face from the fireplace belied his boyish looks as responsibility, power, and stress had begun to take its toll on the once light-hearted boy. Not yet turned eighteen, he looked as though he had aged a decade over the course of their eight-month absence.

He had not taken a break since the final victorious battle at Hogwarts; Ginevra, however, had. She had slightly more luxury in her time than what was afforded to Harry. This, however, did not discount her more filial and sibling obligations: tending to her family in their time of mourning, comforting George, and helping her mother take care of young Teddy. Although Andromeda now claimed guardianship over her grandson, she, too, had several funerals to arrange, including her husband's and her daughter's.

Ginevra told herself that, in the end, the right side had won. Yes, they had triumphed over evil, but at what cost? Many would claim that the sacrifices made were for the greater good. She had lost a brother and many dear friends. She did not take their sacrifices lightly, so, at times, she found that she was not utterly convinced that it was worth it. It was true that more would have died if Voldemort had not been vanquished, but still there was always the possibility, the chance, that Fred would still be alive...

All she knew was that the burning fire in her soul and the aching pain in her heart demanded retribution. She did not know when Hogwarts would be reopened, but when it did, she would renew her studies with a determined vigour. She would become an Auror and hunt down the traitorous dogs who escaped. She would exact her revenge one way or another.

In the meantime, everyone was scrambling around, trying to get their lives sorted out once more. For Ginevra, life had not even begun to return to a state of normalcy. Perhaps that is why she wasn't remotely shocked or unnerved when she heard the urgency and hesitation in Harry's voice. He needed her help, and she was willing to proffer it. She had to get out of the Burrow and do something. She was a Leo, after all; she grew restless without action or stimulation of some sort.

After spending several hours trying on different outfits, she finally settled on a white, almost-transparent sundress that hugged her lithe figure, accentuating her feminine curves. She donned on a pair of matching white sandal heels and a thin, white cardigan. She had come to the realisation that her hair was not going to tame itself, so she let it flow down her back in waves. She was sporting a carefree beach-look, suitable for the month but not for the incredibly dismal and dreary weather that they had been experiencing as of late. She thought July was the rainy month, not June.

She arrived at the Ministry of Magic just before six. Normally, they would have met at Harry's home at Grimmauld Place, but the Order was still working on removing all of the pernicious wards that had been placed on it by Death Eaters. The criminals in question were not yet ready to reveal the counter curses and all the little malefic devices that they had hidden in the tiny nooks and crannies of the manor unless they were offered a lighter sentence in return (typical Death Eater scum).

She made her way to Harry's office and opened the door to find him bent over his desk, scratching at his dark, floppy fringe.

"Hey, Harry," she said, smiling as she leaned against the door frame, attempting to look both laid back and seductive.

Harry shot his head up and smiled almost nervously at her, his eyes straining to look at her in the dim light. Something was definitely up. He didn't normally look this apprehensive when he saw her.

"Hey, Ginny," he said, getting up to greet her. "I'm so glad you could come. I really appreciate it." He bent down to kiss her cheek.

Ginevra smiled thinly. They had got back together just over a month ago, and all he did was chastely kiss her on the cheek. She received more affection from Hermione's cat.

It was true that she and Harry had snogged a few times since their reunion, but he had become far too busy with the Order and trying to figure out what to do with the surviving Death Eaters. Azkaban was not yet fully operational. The walls had been rebuilt, but since they were no longer employing Dementors as jailers, they needed to construct an elaborate ward system and hire proper wizard prison guards. Ron had suggested retired Aurors, which shocked the living magic out of Hermione at the simple genius of it. Until they could finish creating the wards and hiring the appropriate staff, certain chambers in the Ministry would have to be used instead, serving as make-shift prison cells.

"What's up?" she asked, stepping past him into the room.

The vibes that she was getting from his formal tones gave her the impression that she was definitely not going to like the favour that he was going to call in. She knew that this morning had portended how her evening would end: frustrated, annoyed, and possibly tangled.

"Well," Harry began as he ushered her to the chair in front of his desk, pulling it out for her to take a seat on. "I need you to do a really big favour for me."

Ginevra sat down and waited expectantly.

"I need you to look after a prisoner for me," he said as he sat down across from her, eyeing her cautiously.

"Who?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow in the air in mild interest.

She knew that it was going to be a big favour, but she didn't expect him to put her in charge of guarding a criminal. She was intrigued and somewhat excited by the prospect of it.

"Malfoy," he answered bluntly.

Her mouth hung ajar at the audacity of such a request. She quickly shut it and narrowed her amber-coloured eyes on her boyfriend.

"You want me to be the jailer of the man who gave me Riddle's first Horcrux?" she cried indignantly, standing up. "The man who tried to kill me?"

"No," Harry said, waving his hands in front of his face in a defensive manner. "I want you to guard Draco Malfoy."

Ginevra drew her head back in shock and sat back down in her seat. She furrowed her brow in keen concentration as the gravity of the situation slowly sunk in.

"What?" she finally asked.

She had forgot that Draco had also been arrested. What she wondered, however, was why the blond-haired toss pot was being given special treatment. As though he could read her thoughts, Harry spoke up and answered her.

"He is being interned at Godric's Hollow," he explained with a wave of his hand. "He could not be housed with the other Death Eaters here at the Ministry because he was under-age until just a few days ago."

"But seventeen is of age in the wizarding world," Ginevra countered, and Harry grimaced.

"Yes, but with the Ministry being in such shambles as it is right now that we're still debating on whether or not to use Muggle-standards for criminal cases," he explained with sigh and then sat back in his seat, bringing a hand to the arm of his chair. "Kingsley and the others are still convening on whether or not he will stand trial as an adult wizard as his crimes were committed before he turned seventeen." He shook his head and brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose, squeezing off the beginnings of a headache as he shook his head. "There are just so many cases to sort through."

Ginny raised a red eyebrow. "But the Malfoy family was arrested only a week after the Hogwarts' battle," she stated, crossing her legs in annoyance. "Where has he been since then, under house arrest?"

Harry lowered his hand and shook his head. "Not exactly. He was immediately sent to Godric's Hollow where he was being watched. Professor Flitwick warded the cottage for us, which is why we had to wait another day to arrest Draco."

"So who is watching him now?" she asked.

"Flitwick," Harry replied, looking sheepish. "But we need his expertise at Azkaban. The sooner we can properly ward the prison, the sooner we can get Death Eaters out of the Ministry!" He brought his fists energetically down on the desk and then took in a deep breath and glanced up at the redhead. "Ginny, I'm in a real pinch here. I could really use your help on this."

He smiled down at her and reached his hand out to take hers, warmly squeezing it. Ginevra looked down at his hand on hers and let a shadow of a smile cross her face. She did not, however, return his affectionate squeeze.

"Can't Ron or Hermione do it?" she asked, beginning to have doubts about her assignment.

She remembered Draco in school. He was a handsome, selfish bigot. He was always teasing her. She hated the spoiled, little git. He had a way of getting underneath her skin like no other - even more so than Zacharias Smith and Fleur combined.

"Hermione is helping Flitwick," Harry explained, bringing his hand back and then swivelled around on his chair. "And Ron ..." He paused with an upward inflection. "Well, Ron would most likely kill Malfoy."

"And I wouldn't?" she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.

"Yes, but you are a bit more reasonable than Ron," Harry countered with a cheeky grin on his face.

Ginevra couldn't help but grin back.

"Alright," she sighed, giving in, shrugging her shoulders and placing her hands on her lap. She knew that she could not bring herself to let down Harry.

"Fantastic!" Harry said, beaming.

He jumped up from his chair and walked around the desk, grabbing her hand to bring her into a warm embrace.

"I knew I could count on you, Gin-bug!"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, pulling back slightly, smiling up at him. "So when do I leave?"

Harry's smile turned into a frown. "Later tonight, if possible."

Ginevra shook her head and stepped back out of his embrace. "I can't leave tonight!" she exclaimed. "I have to pack. I have to tell Mum and Dad. I can't just leave right this minute!"

"Right, right. Of course," Harry said, nodding his head in agreement. "I had Flitwick return today. I guess Malfoy can go a day without eating."

"He can go a month without eating for all I care!" Ginevra replied petulantly, wrapping her cardigan tightly around herself.

"Well, when you are ready tomorrow," he said quickly, changing the subject, "I will have Stanford, who's in charge of Transportation now, give you a Portkey to take you to the grounds outside Godric's Hollow."

Harry then raised a finger in the air, as if remembering something important, and went back around to his desk and opened one of the top drawers. He pulled out a wand.

"Here, take this," he said as he offered it to her.

"Whose is this?" she asked.

She already had her own wand. She had no idea why Harry was handing her someone else's.

"It's Malfoy's wand," he said, and her eyes widened. "It doesn't have the power of the Elder Wand," he explained, noticing the look of trepidation in her eyes. "Besides, only I can wield that one, unless disarmed."

Draco Malfoy's wand was the one that disarmed Dumbledore and, ultimately, defeated Voldemort. But it was Harry who disarmed Draco and took his wand, thus giving him full ownership.

"How did--"

"Ollivander says that it will work perfectly normal for Malfoy," Harry said, interrupting her. "The Elder Wand, itself, has been returned to its proper resting place where it will have no master, and its power will diminish once I die."

Ginevra smiled sadly and nodded her head. It had been returned to Dumbledore, lying once more beside him in his white tomb.

"You can hold onto it." Harry offered it to her once more, and this time she took it, eyeing it as though it was venomous. "If he's released of all charges, we will give it back to him, and who knows," Harry added, laughing, "maybe you can use it as leverage against him if he's being unruly."

Ginevra scowled, looking down at Malfoy's wand. She had other plans.

"Oh, and magic does not work inside the house or on the grounds - wand or nonverbal," Harry added as an afterthought as he began to usher her towards the door. "However, Flitwick has made it that whoever is the gatekeeper, or the jailer rather, can use magic. It is somewhat restrictive though." He frowned slightly. "You can only use light magic for cleaning, healing, and some light defence. The barrier only permits weak magic - no Unforgivable curses or dangerous hexes. Flitwick can arrange for the proper keeper spell to be made tomorrow."

Ginevra nodded her head and walked outside his office and turned around to face him. "You know, you owe me now," she said, winking.

Harry's smile spread widely across his face. "More chocolate than you possibly fathom!" he said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek again.

Chocolate? Yes, that's what I meant by 'owe me', she thought to herself with a frown.

"It should only be a few weeks, a month maximum!" he promised.

In the end, one has to look back and laugh to appreciate the irony in the expression 'Famous last words'.

~*~

Author notes: The first chapter was entirely from Draco's point of view, and, for his own personal reasons, he chose not to reminisce on the Hogwarts battle; therefore, this chapter is from Ginevra's perspective. As a victor, on the winning side, she is more than willing to fill us in on some of the details, thus further clarifying Draco's current predicament.

Flooing - In this case (and throughout the story) I use the term Floo for fireplace calls, where one's head is able to appear in another's fireplace and have a discussion much like a video phone.