After Hogwarts

Chapter Three:

Rose Street:

Once Ginny made the decision to move to London after her chat with Percy, finding a place to live was not very difficult. The shop that her brothers Fred and George were opening had a nice three-bedroom apartment above. At was at least what they told her. They invited her to live with them as soon as she told them she was thinking about moving to London. This actually was a bit of a relief to Ginny. Excited, as she was to start her adult life, she was equally anxious as well. One thing she knew for sure, however comforting it would be to live with her brothers, even if it was Fred and George, she was going to check out the apartment first! Heaven only knew what Fred and George considered nice.

Ginny went to London the next day to visit Fred and George and to check out their new apartment and hopefully catch an early glimpse of Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind.

Fred and George would soon be having their grand opening for Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind anytime now as the newest addition to The Commons, which was off of Rose Street.

To look at Rose Street it didn't look like anything special. It was a little cul-de-sac with old, burnt out buildings and an abandoned junkyard.

What wasn't commonly known about the abandoned junkyard, because they couldn't get past the gate, was that what looked a pile of junk was really the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. The junkyard itself was magically protected and the only way to enter was by knowing the password, which changed daily. The gate was protected with charms so that if muggles looked to the junkyard, they would only see a pile of junk and would not be able to see any wizards who were walking around.

Once past the gate of the junkyard, there was a large pile of tires that a wizard could walk right through and find themselves right on the other side, which was the main lobby of the Ministry of Magic.

At the end of Rose Street's cul-de-sac was a huge green hedge that wrapped around the curve of the street. In the middle of the hedge, there was a phone booth that had no phone. It was enchanted so that only wizards could see it. To the muggle eye, it looked like a large, dead, tree. The phone booth was really a teleport that would transport any wizard that stood inside for ten seconds to an outside magical shopping square called The Commons.

The Commons had lots of shops on the perimeter of the square. There were several shops that specialized in specific magical items including, Musical Magic, Magical Books for Mages, Pets with Power, Magical Toys for Good Girls and Boys, 1000 Broomsticks, just to name a few. The Commons also had an owl post office with over 300 owls, not to mention several taverns and restaurants.

The middle of the square was a beautiful park with lots of friendly animals including fallow deer, rabbits - both lop and domestic short hair bunnies, chipmunks, squirrels and lots of birds. There were also lots of benches and a few tables for wizards to freely use. Many people from the Ministry would go to The Commons for lunch and eat outside often feeding tidbits to the friendly animals.

The most unusual thing about The Commons was that it never rained, not once, not ever.

Ginny met Fred and George at the corner of Rose Street. After they greeted each other she inquired about Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind. She was very curious to see how it was going and what it looked like. Fred and George were very hushed hush about the whole thing. Ginny begged her brothers to let her see their shop using her best little sister pleas. The twins remained firm and wouldn't let her see their shop, only their apartment.

"Nobody will see Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind until we unveil it," Fred said proudly with his hand across his chest as they walked down the street towards the street grate.

"Ginny, we have something very special planned for the Grand Opening," George continued. "And it's going to be big!" Both men laughed.

Once they teleported to the square, they walked to Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind, although the sign with their name on it was still covered so that the new name of the shop was still a mystery to on lookers. Ginny was hoping that she still may catch a glimpse of the shop because they might have to go through the shop to get to the apartment, but was disappointed when they walked to the side of the building that had stairs along the outside that went up to the third floor, where the apartment was.

Fred and George ran up the stairs, excited to show off their apartment to Ginny.

"This apartment better be nice after all this climbing!" Ginny muttered to herself trailing slowly behind her brothers, "Three flights of stairs, yuck! You need a broomstick for this!"

Ginny's mood was a little sour; she was still disappointed in not getting a preview of their shop. That changed as soon as she saw the apartment, which she immediately fell in love with!

The apartment had one huge main room with three bedrooms, a kitchen and one full bath, which all extended from the main room.

The main room had high cathedral ceilings that were at least sixteen feet high! The detail and moldings on it were breathtaking. Fred and George had a big cream sofa that looked like a pile of huge pillows. It was even softer to sit in. They had a cherry wood coffee table with a few magazines on it and a few beat up lamps and different shaped candles around the room. There was an old dusty rose-colored brick fireplace on one side and a big bay window to the other side of the sofa. The window was big enough to sit in. Ginny could envision herself curled up on the window seat late at night reading a book with the fire roaring.

Across the room was a wooden kitchen table that had many knicks and scratches in it that was accompanied by four mismatched wooden chairs.

When Ginny entered the kitchen, an adorable black cast iron, potbelly stove was the first thing she noticed. Ginny looked forward to cooking using that! Other than that, the kitchen was small, but clean.

The bathroom was unique due to a freestanding porcelain bathtub. That would be relaxing to use after a hard day's work, she thought to herself and smiled. Now all I have to do is find a job.

The bedrooms were a bit small, but they each had a big window. Fred and George's respective rooms looked a bit more lived in, whereas the third bedroom was still stark and empty. Ginny knew that she could fix that in a matter of minutes!

Fred's room had piles of clothing everywhere. His bed was unmade and the floor couldn't be seen with piles of junk everywhere. Several posters featuring different Quidditch players hung on his walls. Ginny didn't spend much time in Fred's room because it has this lingering smell that was a combination of dirty socks and day old pizza.

George's room was very different; it was tidy and it smelled clean. Everything seemed to have a specific place. His walls were freshly painted beige with a hunter trim and his walls were baron except for one poster of an exotic female creature called a Veela. Veela women had beautiful, long slivery blond hair and a perfect, porcelain skin and dramatic, electric blue eyes. They supposedly had magical auras and were so beautiful that they hypnotized almost all men that were in their presence. The Veela in George's poster just smiled and gracefully waved as Ginny looked at her. She didn't hold any power over Ginny, but then again Ginny wasn't a male wizard. Ginny then noticed a oversized bookcase with lots of books that he bought from Zonkos, a little joke shop from a small town called Hogsmeade that students from Hogwarts frequented.

Ginny knew that this was where she wanted to live. She was amazed that Fred and George actually told her the truth when they called it nice, with the exception of Fred's room and Ginny vowed to herself that she was never going in there again.

Her brothers were delighted when she told them that she would be their third roommate and to celebrate officially, Fred and George offered to take Ginny for a drink at The Leaky Cauldron.

When they arrived there, Fred and Ginny picked a quiet table in the corner while George went to the bar to buy them a round. As soon as they sat down, Ginny began to tell Fred about all the owl posts she had already sent out applying for different jobs. She was hopeful that something would come up. It didn't take long for George to join them with three cream ales in hand. As they were discussing her job possibilities or lack of, an old classmate of Ginny's from Hogwarts, Colin Creevey, stopped by their table. He was in a dark gray robe with a matching cloak and a camera hanging from his neck.

"Hi Ginny!" Colin smiled. "I was just stopping by to meet some friends for a drink and I saw you, so I thought I'd stop over and say hello. How are you?"

"Very well," she replied. "Do you remember my brothers Fred and George?"

"Aren't you the other member of the Harry Potter Fan Club?" Fred chuckled. Fred and George had laughed at Colin regularly when they attended Hogwarts. Colin had admired Harry Potter more than anyone else in the world when they attended Hogwarts and had spent many hours following Harry around like a puppy dog, taking his picture. Ginny blushed at the mention of Harry's name, not really aware that Fred was trying to more of a rise out of Colin than from her, so she kicked Fred under the table. "OUCH!" Fred exclaimed.

"You'll have to excuse my brother Colin," Ginny apologized, and then realized that by deciding to move in with Fred and George, she had taken the first step in taking control of her life. The second step was to no longer be the brunt of jokes from her brothers. From that moment on, she was going to equally dish out the teasing, so she then added, "It's just that he has this mental disorder. You see, he just opens his mouth and words just start flying out. It's been proven that there is actually no connection with the things he says and his brain."

"Really?" Colin seemed unsure, but realized that Ginny was teasing when he saw the flabbergasted expression on Fred's face.

"What's that Fred, you're sorry for being mean to my friend?" Ginny was enjoying turning the teasing tables on her brother. She had never done this before and he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Oh yeah, something like that," Fred muttered, then taking a sip of his cream ale. He much preferred when Ginny just accepted being the brunt of his jokes rather than teasing back.

"It's fine Ginny," Colin said, feeling a boost of confidence. "Harry is a great wizard! And if I hadn't been photographing him all the time; I may not be the photographer I am today."

"And that would be a shame," Fred sarcastically said, but Colin thought he was being earnest.

Colin smiled proudly and then pulled out a small gold cardholder and took out a crisp white card, handing it to Ginny. She carefully took the card and looked at it. The card had small black writing that read...

Colin Creevey, Photographer

The Daily Prophet

Old Stone Building

Rose Street

London

Colin was beaming with pride as Ginny read his card. Fred looked at George and they both rolled their eyes.

"Wow that's great Colin," Ginny smiled. She was happy for her friend that he was able to work doing something he loved. "Maybe those photos that you gave me when we were at school will be worth a lot of money someday!"

"You still have the unicorn and the dragon?" Colin sounded genuinely surprised.

"Of course I do," Ginny said. "They are great photos, although all horntail ever does is sleep. He is a very boring dragon."

"Of course I do..." George mimicked her using his best girly voice and moving his shoulders backwards and forwards very quickly. Ginny responded by giving George a swift kick under the table as well.

"OUCH!" George said

"So Colin," Ginny asked ignoring her brothers. "How long have you been with the paper? Do you like it?"

"I've been with the paper since we finished Hogwarts last spring. To be honest, I love it! It was a little intimidating at first. It's one thing to take photos just for fun opposed to taking them to help tell a story. Important stories," he paused to look at Fred and George. "I get to travel all over and see amazing things and meet lots of people," Colin quickly added as to prove a point. He put his cardholder away.

"Enough about me, what are you doing now Ginny?" Colin asked.

"Well..." she stammered. "I haven't really had much luck in finding a job."

"Really?" Colin sounded genuinely surprised. "You were always such a good student and you've got so much to offer."

"Doesn't she though?" Fred nodded his head, agreeing adamantly, but Ginny knew that Fred was mocking her. She took a sip of her ale and did her best to ignore Fred.

"Yeah, so much to offer," George stressed, aiding his brother's teasing.

"She's just such a woman," Fred pressed.

"And where exactly are you two working?" Colin pointedly asked Fred and George.

"Actually," Fred cleared his throat, puffing out his chest while replying. "Me and my business partner and brother, George are opening our own shop."

"Really?" Colin queried, truly surprised, yet somewhat skeptical at the same time.

"Is that so surprising?" George asked defensively.

"Well," Colin began, trying to be tactful. He never particularly cared for Fred or George, they teased him way too much when they were at school, but he genuinely liked Ginny and he didn't want to offend her. They were after all, her brothers. "You both were really funny in school with your jokes and pranks and all, but I never envisioned either of you as entrepreneurs."

"If you must know," George continued. "Fred and I will be opening our own joke shop in just a few weeks."

"It's called Weasley Wizard's Whirlwind and it's going to be smashing!" Fred added.

"Congratulations," Colin earnestly responded. "That actually is very fitting, congratulations again." He then offered his hand first to Fred to shake and then to George. After the twins shook his hand, they looked at each other and shrugged before sipping on more ale. Colin hadn't noticed, he had already turned his attention to Ginny.

"You know Ginny," Colin said. "The Daily Prophet is always looking for good people. I know for a fact that one of our reporters, Miranda Mason, is looking for a good reporter's assistant." Ginny's eyes lit up.

"Really?" She tried not to sound too excited.

"Honestly," Colin confirmed. "Take that card I gave you and tell her I sent you, if you're interested in applying," he paused again to look at Fred and George. "Miranda and I work together all the time."

"Thanks Colin," Ginny beamed. "That'd be great!"

"No problem," he shyly smiled. "When you get to the address, go around the right side of the building and the entrance is behind the green dumpster. You'll need to find it because it is hidden."

"I will," Ginny said as a few people entering The Leaky Cauldron then waved at Colin.

"It looks like my friends are here," he stated, looking a little disappointed. "I suppose I'll be going then."

"Colin," Ginny stood up and kissed him lightly on the check. "Thanks again."

"No problem!" His face perked right up! "Maybe I'll be seeing you again soon; maybe at work. Bye Ginny!" Colin bounced off to join his friends.

As soon as he was out of hearing distance, Fred and George started making kissing sounds and faces at Ginny.

"How can you tease me so! I am a grown woman," She scowled. "This is going to stop and things will be changing."

"Ginny, you could be one thousand years old and you'd still be little Ginny to us!" Fred laughed. "Although I'll give you credit, my mental disorder...that was funny! I didn't know what to say!" Ginny looked at the handsome faces of her brothers and she knew that she couldn't stay angry with them. She then remembered her mother's words, Brothers and sisters aren't supposed to declare how much they love each other. They tease each other instead. Ginny felt that she might be reminding herself that a lot once she moved in with them.

They made plans for Ginny to be moved in within the week and once they finished their ale Ginny said goodbye to her brothers.

Ginny clasped Colin's card as she started walking towards Rose Street. She was full of anticipation to meet this Miranda Mason. Ginny hoped that Miranda would like her. She picked up the pace the more she thought about the job. This was the best job lead she had and she wanted to get there before the job was taken, besides the fact it was going to be nice and close to her new apartment!

The Daily Prophet was based in the only stone building on Rose Street. The rest of the run down buildings were either brick or wood. The building was dingy gray and had wooden boards covering the windows and the doorway was blocked with a large red sign on the outside that said in bright red letters BUILDING UNSAFE. KEEP OUT!

When Ginny arrived at The Daily Prophet she paused outside the old tattered building. She ran her fingers through her long red hair and straightened out her brown robe. Her robe wasn't as dressy as she would have liked, but when she decided to go to London that afternoon she was only planning on visiting with Fred and George. Well, she thought to herself, this will have to do!

When she went around the building on the right hand side, the green dumpster was right there. She walked behind the dumpster and pulled out her wand which was ten inches and made of a single unicorn hair and sage.

"Aparecium!" She shouted, pointing her wand at the wall. She knew this spell would show hidden things. Just as she knew it would, the door the to The Daily Prophet appeared. She took a deep breath and went inside.

Once Ginny was inside she wasn't sure whom she should talk to. All the people looked very busy rushing around. Owls were flying in and out of the office. There were rats with little recording devices strapped to them scurrying along the floor. She saw lots of desks with tons of papers and files on them. And it was very, very noisy.

As she walked around hoping to find a friendly face to inquire where she needed to go, she began to wonder if she had made a mistake coming here in hopes of a job. Everyone looked so preoccupied, not one person was smiling. Lost in her thoughts she wandered trying to decide what to do.

THUMP! She walked right into someone. Files, papers and books flew everywhere. Ginny tried to catch them as they went all different directions.

"Oh, that's great!" said a young woman with black hair tied tightly in a bun on the top of her head. She didn't look very pleased as she bent down to start collecting her work.

"I'm sorry," Ginny apologized bending down to help.

"Do you look when you walk? Or walk first and look later?" The young woman stated more than asked. She looked very pensive with her nose scrunched up and her brows pressed together. Ginny wondered if this woman ever smiled. She looked so serious for someone so young.

"I..." said Ginny nervously.

"Oh, don't be afraid. I won't bite your head off this time," she frankly stated. "I probably wasn't looking where I was going either. I'm working on a really big story concerning the Ministry's reorganization."

"That sounds great," Ginny dryly responded.

"I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?" she asked.

"Ginny. Ginny Weasley," Ginny replied.

"Nice to meet you Jenny," she held out her hand dropping many papers she had already collected.

"Not Jenny, it's Ginny. Nice to meet you..." Ginny shook the young woman's hand.

"Back bone! I love it!" the young woman smiled. Her whole face relaxed and Ginny was surprised to see brilliant smile. "Too many woman in this business are too meek and mild. Glad to meet you, I'm Miranda Mason."

Ginny wanted to kick herself. She couldn't believe her bad luck. Out of all the people in this office, she had to mow down the one person she was trying to get a job from. Ginny reached in her pocket and crumpled Colin's card. She had a feeling that she wouldn't need it. Before Ginny could say anything, Miranda asked, although it was more like commanded, Ginny to help her gather all her materials that were now scattered around them and help carry them to her office. Ginny nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Miranda chatted to Ginny about being one of the few press members who was invited to the Ministry's first official meeting, which Miranda called the big pow-wow as they walked to her office.

Miranda's office wasn't really an office. It was a cubicle that looked exactly like the twenty other cubicles lined up right next to it. Her walls were covered in maps and photos. And she had tons of papers on her desk and a large leather chair behind it. There were several filing cabinets against the left wall and two smaller chairs on the opposite side of Miranda's desk.

The only unusual item Ginny noticed was a crystal ball on the middle of her desk.

"Thanks for your help Ginny," Miranda again gestured for Ginny to sit, who moved several stacks of files off one of smaller chairs and sat.

"No problem," Ginny smiled.

"So what department have I kept you from doing your work?" Miranda once again flashed that smile as she walked behind her desk and began rummaging through some papers.

"Actually," she mustered her strength and boldly said. "I don't work for the paper, yet..." she paused while getting Colin's crumbled card from her pocket and handed it to Miranda. "A common friend of ours thought I'd be the perfect reporter's assistant for you."

"Well I'll be," Miranda flopped into her beat up leather chair behind her desk. "I knew that something unexpected was going to happen today when I conferred my crystal ball, but I wasn't expecting this!"

"You actually use that?" Ginny questioned, biting her tongue to hold back the laughter. It was a well known fact Divination was one of the most dubious schoolings that a wizard could pursue; reading tea leaves, astrology, dreams, and yes, crystal balls. She couldn't believe only five minutes earlier that this woman scared her, only to find out now she thinks she can read crystal balls!

"Ginny," Miranda flatly responded. "There may not be many wizards who are truly skilled in this specific art, but there are a few of us. Just because I am not dressed in gypsy garb and standing on a corner offering to predict the future for fifteen Knuts or fifty Pence depending if I were a swami to wizards or to muggles...that doesn't mean that I don't have the gift...."

Ginny's head titled to the right, as she got lost in thought for a moment. Muggle money was strange to Ginny. It made no sense. Wizard's cash was very simple, the gold coins were Galleons, the silver ones were Sickles, and the bronzes were Knuts. Twenty-nine Knuts equals one Sickle and seventeen Sickles equal one Galleon. Now that made sense, but the muggle money...

"Excuse me?" Miranda leaned over her desk. "Am I boring you?" Ginny's head popped up. She didn't mean to appear as if she weren't paying attention.

"I'm still with you. A few of you, gypsy garb, swami to wizards or muggles, knuts or pence..." Ginny rattled off.

"Look Ginny, I like you, but if you don't want the job, just say so," the brilliant smile from earlier had vanished and was once again replaced by a serious, pensive scowl as Miranda sank into her chair. "People may find me...eccentric...because I choose to use my gifts as methods to finds good stories. I don't really care. I'm good at what I do and you won't find a more upfront person than me. I don't play games and I tell the truth. I thought from what I saw of you earlier that we were made of the same stuff, perhaps I misjudged you..."

"No Miranda," Ginny boldly said. "I think you were spot on! I may not be the biggest believer in Divination, but I am an open person. Heaven knows I've had some really odd things happen lately," Ginny paused a moment while a the memory of her parents confirming that her brother Ron truly was a ghost flashed through her head. "If the job offer still is open, I would like to apply."

"Consider it yours, " Miranda relaxed, once again smiling. "When can you start?"

"How about Monday?" Ginny beamed.

"Perfect! Be here by 7:30 AM. Like I told you, we are covering the big pow-wow Monday and I'll need to get you up to speed!" Miranda once again offered Ginny her hand. Ginny shook her hand and the deal was done. Ginny had her first job.

Ginny hurried home to The Burrow. As soon as Ginny got home she raced in the kitchen to tell her mother. Mrs. Weasley was overjoyed! She cried tears of happiness and kept hugging Ginny while murmuring, "My little girl, my little girl..."

"C'mon mum..." Ginny fussed, but really didn't mind her mothers attention. It made her feel good that her mum was proud of her.

"Oh wait until I tell your father! He'll be so excited," Mrs. Weasley beamed. Mrs. Weasley then made an unusually serious face and added, "And you know Ginny, that we'll be counting on you to keep an eye on your brothers, Fred and George, now that you'll be living with them." Ginny tilted her head, lifted one eyebrow and looked at her mother dubiously and then both women broke out in laughter. Ginny may be able to keep an eye on Fred and George, but no one really could make those two do anything they didn't want to. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley hugged each other once again before Ginny went upstairs to her room to start packing.

She walked into the middle of her room and stopped to look around for a moment. Against the far wall were two tiny single beds and when Ginny looked at them now, many different childhood memories rushed to her mind of different girlfriends that had spent the night over the years. She eyed her armoire and her overstuffed closet; she wasn't sure what or how much to bring to her new apartment.

Ginny left her room and opened a hall closet. She pulled out a heavy green chest and dragged it back to her room. As she began deciding what she would take, excitement and trepidation filled her heart.

Little by little the chest began to fill and it became easier for her to decide what to bring and what to leave behind. She paused for a moment as she looked at her two favorite pictures on the wall. She walked over to take them down. She was definitely bringing them. Colin gave them to her and if it weren't for Colin, she wouldn't have her brand new job. First came down the unicorn and she gently wrapped it in tissue paper before packing it.

Then she went to take down the sleeping dragon. Quickly her thoughts drifted to a certain black haired man with an unusual scar... Stop it, she scolded herself. Just stop it!

Suddenly a strange owl started pecking at her window. She went over to unlatch it and let the owl in. The owl pranced around, very pleased with itself, which made it very hard for Ginny to untie the letter from the owl's leg. When she finally got the letter off, she gave the owl five Knuts and then it flew away. Ginny sat on her stripped down bed and unrolled the piece of parchment.

Dear Ginny,

Sorry I haven't written sooner, but I just couldn't find any words. After your parents and I left Ron at Hogwarts, I just needed sometime to collect myself. I went back to my parents and spent a lot of time thinking.

Dumbledore said the best thing for Ron was to get our own lives in order and I suppose that's what I'm going to have to do. I am planning on taking a trip to the United States. It's a big country and if I travel all around, that will give me lots of time to get my head in order or at least put things in perspective. I still love him, I don't think I'll ever stop loving him Ginny, but I have to learn to accept his...death.

I want you to know that I know that you didn't betray my secrets. I know that Ron's ghost told Harry. I should have said so sooner, but I couldn't. It was easier to be angry with everyone else, you, Harry, and even Ron for leaving me, than it was to accept the truth. Ron's a ghost. He will get on with his death, so I have to get on with my life.

I'll post you soon.

Love,

Hermione

Ginny held the piece of parchment close to her. She was very relieved that Hermione wasn't angry with her. Time was the only thing that would mend Hermione's broken heart, Ginny was sure of this.

Ginny thought about what Hermione had written... I have to get on with my life now. It uncannily made sense. Ginny finished packing, but when she took her things downstairs, the sleeping dragon remained on her wall.