After Hogwarts

Chapter Four:

The Daily Prophet:

The sky was still very dark when the talking alarm woke Ginny on Monday morning.

"Wake up Ginny! Wake up!" the round little clock yelled. The clock was not an ordinary alarm. When the alarm clock told time, it really told the time. It had the round shape of an alarm, but the face of the clock was a true face. It had round bulbous eyes, a small button nose and a big mouth; boy did it have a big mouth.

"C'MON MADAM!" it yelled. "It's five-forty five and you need TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes Clock," Ginny rolled over as she pulled the covers over her head.

"NOW!" the little clock loudly screeched. "If I had a brand new Swiss part for every time I heard that line..." the clock muttered. A few more minutes went by before the clock once again yelled, "GET UP! GET UP! GET UP MADAM! GET UP!"

"Okay, okay," Ginny was resigned to the fact that her restful slumber was over. She sat up rubbing her eyes and reached over to her nightstand so that she could light one of her favorite candles that she had on it. She felt groggy and for a brief moment, she wasn't sure where she was. It took a few minutes until she became coherent enough to realize that she was in her new bedroom in her new apartment and what day it was. Oh my! Today is Monday! I start work today! She quickly remembered, jumping out of bed in a state of panic.

"Clock!" she frantically said. "Why didn't you get me up sooner. What time it is?"

"Madam, I already told you that it's five-forty five." the clock corrected her. "You have plenty of time."

"Oh, sorry." she said. "I'm still half asleep. But, I'm up now Clock, you are done for today."

"Thank you Madam," the clock replied.

"Thank you." She was careful not to wake her brothers, as she passed their rooms, not that it was very probable judging by loud snoring and snorting she heard on her way to the kitchen.

When she got the kitchen and she brewed a cup of tea. She took her hot mug back to her bedroom. She took a sip as she looked at her closet trying to decide what to wear. She finally decided on a dressy amber robe that had pleats in the front that had a matching cloak. After she was dressed she sat down on a little stool she had in front of her newly bought vanity and looked into the mirror.

She ran her fingers through her long hair, unsure of what to do with it. It just sort of hung there. If she pulled it back in a bun, it would look too much like Miranda's and if she left it down, it looked unkempt. Pigtails, a ponytail and braids were all out of the question as well. Ginny felt everything she tried to do with it made her look like a little girl and she was tired of looking like a little girl.

A new job, a new life, and a new me, Ginny thought as she pulled out a pair of scissors from the vanity's drawer. Clip, clip, and clip she heard, as cut her hair into a blunt cut that was two inches shy of her shoulders.

Ginny was surprised to notice her reflection did look different. The shorter hair bought out her cheekbones and her big brown eyes were much easier to see because mounds of hair didn't cover them. She smiled at her reflection. I'm ready, she reassured herself.

"Clock, sorry to bother you again, but what time is it?" Ginny didn't want to be late her first day of work.

"No bother Madam, it's six-thirty. You're right on schedule," the clock merrily answered. "I like it much better when you are awake!"

"Thanks Clock!" Ginny smiled. "I now have time to make myself a bit to eat before I start my first day."

"What does that have to do with time?" the clock queried. Other then keeping track of time and schedules, Clock had limited conversation skills.

"Don't worry about it Clock. You really are done for now," she answered before she blew out the candle on her nightstand and then headed back to the kitchen.

Ginny got to work ten minutes early. To her surprise, The Daily Prophet was just as hectic as it was when she got the jobs a few days ago. She wondered if it was even calm.

She quickly made her way to Miranda's cubicle and all she saw was a giant black bun facing her. Miranda was hovered over her desk staring in her crystal ball and once again, Miranda's hair was tightly bound in a big bun on the top of her head. Ginny cleared her throat and Miranda looked up.

"Give me just a minute Ginny," Miranda said as she still gazed in her crystal ball. Ginny sat down. After a few minutes Miranda looked up. "Hey, you look different, it's your hair isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ginny answered. "I did it myself."

"Backbone, I knew you had backbone!" Miranda chuckled. Miranda then focused back on her crystal ball. "I see strange things Ginny," Miranda hovered closer to her crystal ball as she spoke.

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"It's not very clear..." Miranda paused as she scratched her head. "I see that something today is surrounded by laughter. A very serious situation will be surrounded by laughter." Ginny didn't reply because she didn't know what to say. She was still skeptical of Miranda's talent, but she promised to remain open. Miranda continued, "And I keep seeing pregnant women."

"Pregnant women?" Ginny questioned.

"Yeah. There are quite a few of them, standing in a circle. It is very gray and dark around them, almost as if they are standing outside in a storm."

"Are you...?" Ginny wasn't sure how to ask Miranda if maybe she was pregnant.

"Heavens no!" Miranda's head popped right up. "I'm not even seeing anyone! I'm way to focused on my career."

"Sorry..." Ginny meekly apologized.

"Don't be, good reporters and reporter's assistants ask the hard questions," Miranda smiled.

"Well, I don't have any idea what your vision could mean," Ginny earnestly said.

"Me either," Miranda shrugged and pushed her crystal ball to the side of her desk. Changing the subject she asked. "So are you ready for your first day?"

"Absolutely!"

"Great. Before we start go to the pow-wow later this morning, I figured you'd like to check things out around here. Ready for a tour?" Ginny excitedly nodded and they were off.

The Daily Prophet had three floors. All reporters and their assistants filled the first floor with cubicles that were used. The cubicles all looked just like the one Miranda had. Miranda told Ginny that her cubicle would be adjacent to hers.

The only other things on the first floor were a few vending machines that would produce whatever beverage or snacks they were told to make.

The second floor had two smaller rooms and one large room. The large room had dark mahogany walls with filing cabinets and bookcases that completely filled the room. It was the research library. Miranda introduced Ginny to the woman who ran the research library, Madam Chesney. She was a tiny little woman with a round pudgy face with mismatched features. She had a very wide nose, small beady eyes, and crooked smile with a missing front tooth. Her hair was stark white and was cropped so short that it stood up on the top of her head. She weighed at least three hundred pounds and waddled when she walked.

"Don't let her appearance intimidate you," Miranda whispered to Ginny as they left the research area. "She really is a sweetheart and knows her stuff."

"Really?" Ginny was unsure. Madame Chesney looked like she ate young children for breakfast in Ginny's opinion.

"Truly. And if you bring her any kind of sweet, especially chocolate frogs, you'll have a friend for life!" Miranda reassured Ginny as they walked across the second floor.

One of the smaller rooms on the second floor was where The Daily Prophet owls and rats slept. Ginny met a tall, lanky bald man named Theo who tended to the needs of the animals.

Miranda explained to Ginny that the owls were used to send posts and receive posts concerning stories. The rats were used for research and fact-finding. Before a reporter could send a rat to work, she had to strap on one a special recording device that was enchanted so that only the owner of the device could replay the contents on the tape and so that muggles could not see the recording devices.

"It's a matter of using the information we collect with integrity that separates the amateurs from the professionals," Miranda proudly explained. According to Miranda, some of the best leads came from muggles. Another resource that was invaluable was the muggle tabloids. Muggles never took any of the stories seriously, even though some of them were genuine.

The other smaller room on the second floor was filled with muggle clothing and an oak table with a large book that was used to sign clothing in and out. Racks were filled with shirts, trousers, blouses, and skirts. There were over one hundred pairs of shoes and a large assortment of hats, belts, and accessories.

Miranda informed Ginny that she would have to become very familiar with how to dress as like a muggle because she would be spending time in muggle London doing research. Miranda warned Ginny that was very important to properly acquisition whatever clothing she needed by using the log. A gentleman named Mr. Knurl inventoried the room every night. If anything was missing, the individual who signed for it had their pay docked for the missing items.

Ginny looked at the clothing and wondered what it would be like dressing and acting like a muggle. After a few minutes of riffling through the clothes, they made a move to the third floor.

The third floor was filled with cubicles and darkrooms that were used by the papers the photographers, many of who were already busy working.

Ginny inquired as to where the paper was put together. She was told that the basement was where the editing and production was done by house elves that were specifically hired for the paper's production. Reporters were never to go down there. When a story was ready, the reporter should bring their copy to one of the owls on the second floor and send it via owl post. The house elves were very busy and had no time for human interruption. They handled all editing, layouts and delivery issues.

The tour of The Daily Prophet took at little less than one hour. When they got back to Miranda's office, Miranda told Ginny to sit and then popped out of the cubicle for a moment. When she returned, she had two steaming cups of hot chocolate with her. She handed one to Ginny.

"Thought you might be ready for a pick me up," Miranda smiled.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled. She liked Miranda. She was feeling very positive about the future of her new job. Miranda took a silver pocket watch out her pocket to look at the time. After she put it back, she reached for a file on her desk and handed it to Ginny.

"This is the list of almost all the positions and who will be filling them at the Ministry," Miranda explained.

"I thought that's confidential," Ginny said as she starting looking through the file.

"Of course it is, but every good reporter has her sources," she wickedly grinned.

"I see," Ginny tilted her head and raised one of her eyebrows as replied. Quickly, she started looking over the positions, but then realized that she should perhaps ask if she could look at the list, "Do you mind if I take a closer look?"

"Good instincts!" Miranda beamed. "And yes, feel free to look." Ginny looked through files while Miranda continued on. Ginny was curious to see what position her father and Percy were going to get. It didn't take long to find her father. It was plainly written,

Misuses of Magic, Department Head

Arthur Weasley

Ginny smiled. She knew her mother would be so excited. Years of hard work and dedication were finally going to pay off for her father, although she knew he would miss dealing with muggle artifacts. However, this was an important promotion.

She had to dig a lot deeper in the file until she found Percy's name. When she found it she gasped and covered her mouth before she made a sound with her hand as she read,

Misuses of Muggle Artifacts Office, Associate

Percy Weasley

Ginny knew Percy was not going to be happy! Percy was confident that his friend, Albus, was putting him in an important position. Percy thought Misuses of Muggle Artifacts was a bit of a laugh. Ginny smirked thinking that a little of ego deflation might not be bad for her brother. He needed a little humility - besides, she was looking forward to when Fred and George found out. It was going to be so entertaining to watch them tease him!

As Ginny continued going through the file one thing she noticed is that the Minister of Magic wasn't listed.

"Today at the big pow-wow, there are going to be two interesting things to look out for." Ginny popped her head up for a moment.

"Yeah, The Minister of Magic isn't named," Ginny cut her off. Miranda looked pleasantly surprised.

"Very good Ginny," she said. "I may have found myself one heck of a journalist here." She then added, "The other interesting tidbit to watch out for is what is going to be done with Azkaban." Azkaban was an old fortress that was used a jail for wizards who practiced the dark arts and broke the laws of wizardry.

Whoosh! A small brown owl flew into Mirnada'a office and started dancing around in front of her.

"Ginny, could you pass me a few Knuts from the top of filing cabinet closest to my desk?" Miranda asked. Ginny put the file down and did what was requested. Miranda had the note from the owl by the time Ginny handed the Knuts to the owl. Once the owl had the Knuts, he hooted three times and then flew away as quickly as it arrived.

"Marvelous," Miranda smiled. "The password of the day for The Ministry is Quaffle. We'll grab Colin first and then go. You ready?" Ginny nodded as Miranda continued, "Let's go!"