After Hogwarts

Chapter Eleven:

Muggle London:

The next day started very early for Ginny as would many days that follow. Ginny was up and working long before the morning sun was in the sky. She wanted plenty of time to be ready to follow Narcissa. Over time Ginny had purchased muggle clothing using muggle money. It made it much easier for her to get ready to go undercover. This way she didn't have to stop at the paper first.

Her plan was to hide outside of Narcissa's house and follow her from the moment she left. She knew that she'd have to leave very early before Narcissa woke. The Malfoy estate was clear across town, on the out skirts of London. Ginny had looked up Narcissa Malfoy's home address using the Registry of Wizards, which was a book that listed the name and address of every wizard in the area. Ginny was hopeful that since Narcissa was spending a lot of time with the muggles; she wouldn't rely heavily on magical forms of transportation. Ginny was also certain that because Narcissa was pregnant, there were certain types of magical transportation that she couldn't use at all. In spirit of trailing Narcissa as a muggle, she made her first journey to the Malfoy estate using the same resources that a muggle would have used. Ginny took the tube to King's Cross Station and then a train to St. Albans, once she got off the train, she walked a few miles away from St. Albans, to get to the Malfoy estate. Ginny surmised that a normal muggle wouldn't have been able to see the Malfoy estate, because she was fairly certain that the Malfoys had charms hiding their home from muggle view.

As Ginny walked toward the Malfoy estate, she noticed a large cast iron gate that surrounded the perimeter of the vast estate. It gate itself was mammoth; it must have been twenty feet high! As she got closer, she was relived to see that the front of the gate was open and that there was a stone path leading to the front of the house. The house itself was enormous; it appeared to have many rooms, not to mention the many acres of beautiful grounds surrounding it. The front of the house had a porch that wrapped around the front and two stone pillars that were by the large oak front door. There were lots of trees and several gardens that started in the front of the house and continued around the sides toward the back of the house. The flowers looked like they had just begun to bloom and Ginny was certain that they would be just glorious as spring continued into summer. The whole estate was a little intimidating and it made her own home she grew up in look so small in comparison.

Outside the gate, Ginny found a large Cherry tree to hide behind that would keep her out of sight while she waited for Narcissa to leave. Narcissa finally left the house around 11:00 AM. She started walking down the stone path to the end of the gate and then continued walking down a long winding road.

Narcissa must have walked for over a mile when she stopped in front of a broken down truck, Ginny assumed that Narcissa needed to rest. Ginny found it quite amazing that Narcissa could get around as well as she did being as far along in her pregnancy as she was and especially at her age. Ginny guessed that she was anywhere from six month along or more. Although, it wasn't noticeable that she had a giant, swollen belly from behind, when Narcissa Malfoy turned around, she was quite funny to look at. Her enormous belly didn't match the rest of her; she was a very tiny, petite - almost skinny - woman. Her skin looked like it had once been ivory and smooth, but now it hung, wrinkled from her body. She wore expensive clothing and jewelry as if to disguise her flaws. Her features were pointed and sharp, although her make up was flawless and her blonde hair was cut short, in a very fashionable style. She reminded Ginny of a woman who was getting ready to retire and travel the world, not give birth in just a few months. She had to be in her fifties!

Ginny quickly ducked behind a tree so that Narcissa wouldn't see her as she rested. Ginny peaked around the side to look at the truck, which looked very old and very rusty like it had been there for years. She saw Narcissa survey her surroundings and then she watched Narcissa touch the truck and disappear. Ginny was fairly certain that the old truck must be a portkey; she just wasn't sure where it led.

Ginny thought it would be prudent to wait a few minutes before she followed. She didn't want to transport to closely to Narcissa and give herself away. After several minutes Ginny walked to the truck. She paused for a few minutes to gather her courage. She didn't like the idea of transporting to the unknown. As she was about to touch the truck, she could have sworn she heard rustling in the trees. She stopped what she was doing so she could look over to where she heard the noise, but she saw nothing. She concluded it was just her nerves. Finally she lifted her hand and she felt her body move.

A few moments later, she found herself stepping out of a doorway in the side of an abandoned building on a side street in the center of muggle London. Ginny guessed that the doorway was the portkey to get back to the Malfoy estate. Once Ginny looked around she realized that she was only a few blocks from The Leaky Cauldron. She quickly looked around for Narcissa. She hoped that she hadn't waited too long and lost her already.

Ginny saw were several shops on this street including a grocery, a bookshop and a clothing shop. After a few minutes to her relief, Ginny saw Narcissa waddling out of the bookshop carrying a very large book.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. She followed Narcissa as she went to several muggle shops, when she stopped and had lunch, and as she continued to travel around muggle London.

It was impossible for Ginny to follow Narcissa in most of the shops because they were fairly small and the chance of Narcissa noticing Ginny was to great. So Ginny took notes and watched from outside.

It was nearly 9:00 PM when Narcissa headed back to the portkey to get back to the Malfoy estate. Once again, Ginny gave her a few minutes to go first before Ginny followed.

The next few days that followed were very similar. Narcissa didn't appear to be doing anything unusual. Ginny was getting a bit frustrated following her. But she already gave one muggle an artifact, Ginny would remind herself and keep on going.

There were a several instances that struck Ginny as odd. One afternoon she was certain that she saw someone watching her when she was waiting for Narcissa to come out of a shop, but when she turned to look, nobody was there. Another evening, she was certain that she heard footsteps behind her, but again when she looked, nobody was there. There several other times that Ginny felt watched, but couldn't substantiate anything. Ginny convinced herself that she was just being paranoid and dismissed it.

One evening Narcissa returned home early. Ginny didn't mind because she was glad to get an evening off. She decided to stop by the paper and see Miranda. Ginny was a bit depressed, disappointed with herself for not getting anything concrete and was hopeful either Miranda or Percy would have some leads.

When Ginny walked around the building of the paper to get inside, she saw Percy coming out the door. He had a big grin on his face.

"Hello Percy!" Ginny smiled. Percy stopped smiling and put on his usual stuffy face.

"Hi Ginny!" he replied, quickly to point out what he saw as her not following instructions. "Shouldn't you be following Narcissa?"

"Well she went home early tonight," Ginny answered. "So, I thought I'd stop by and see Miranda."

"Have you found out anything new?" Percy asked.

"Nothing of value," Ginny's somberly answered. "Only where she shops and how she wastes time. It's hard to go in all the little shops she visits because she'd notice me."

"Yeah you're probably right, but do you keep a list of those places?" Percy sternly questioned her. Ginny rolled her eyes as she reached in her pocket revealing a notebook.

"Um yes Percy I do," she mockingly answered him. She handed him the notebook. "In here are all my notes of who she visits, the address of where she goes and the time of day it is, although I didn't include what time she uses the toilet. I hope that's okay," Ginny wasn't taking any of Percy's attitude today; she was too tired. As Percy looked through the notebook, he nodded his head and his face softened.

"Ginny this is very good," he complimented her. "Don't go in to the shops if she will see you, but keep taking notes."

"That's the plan," Ginny said.

"And I don't need to know about the toilet," Percy smiled; amazing Ginny that he caught her sarcasm. Percy usually was too involved in his own world to be observant of anyone else.

"Gee thanks," Ginny smiled back.

"Can I keep this?" Percy seriously asked. "I can use this."

"How?" she asked.

"Well, that's actually why I stopped by here. I wanted to tell Miranda something," Percy began, straightening his robe and standing very tall then quickly adding, "...and to get a message to you."

"About what?" Ginny queried. Percy looked around to make sure no one was listening. He moved closer to Ginny and his voice lowered.

"Willow is not the only rabbit that can detect the muggle artifacts," Percy divulged.

"Really?" Ginny's eyes got real big.

"Really," Percy confirmed. "I've tested other rabbits from The Commons and they all have the same reactions."

"So what are you going to do with this information?" Ginny asked.

"Well, we've been training some of our best wizarding scouts to work with the rabbits. We then are going to cast an enchantment on special leashes made for the rabbits so that muggles will see them as dogs. Each scout will be paired with one rabbit retriever and the teams will then head into muggle London to find whatever muggle artifacts that are out there." Percy said. Ginny thought about what he said. She wasn't sure how the scouts would know where to go and then it came to her.

"You can use the places in my notebook as a starting point," Ginny concluded.

"Exactly," Percy affirmed. "But if the legend is correct, there is a coven of wizards possibly handing out these artifacts, which means there could potentially be A LOT of artifacts floating around."

"Hey, if the scouts are teamed with a rabbit, then can I use Willow?" Ginny asked. Percy thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Well okay, but I'll need to get you an enchanted leash," he answered. "Can I stop by later to give you one?"

"Absolutely," Ginny grinned. She liked the idea of having company during her long days.

"Are Fred and George home?" Percy wrinkled his nose as he asked. Percy hadn't spoken to his younger twin brothers much since they sent him the Exploder. Percy's blood still boiled when he remembered the humiliation he suffered. Ginny had a pretty good idea by the expression on Percy's face as to what he was thinking about. She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

"No, they should still be at their shop and shouldn't be home for a few hours," Ginny forced herself to say with a straight face. "So you can stop by whenever you want, the front door is unlocked."

"Oh it's not that at all," Percy tried to cover that he was avoiding his brothers. "But, now is a good time," Percy looked at his watch before he continued, "Yes, I do have a few minutes."

"You'll probably find Willow curled up on my bed sitting on the covers, leave the leash by her," Ginny told her brother.

"Okay then. Talk to you later Ginny," Percy said as he walked away.

"Bye Percy," Ginny waved. After Percy left Ginny went inside The Daily Prophet and walked to Miranda's office. Miranda was looking in her crystal ball when Ginny rapped her fingers on the wall to get Miranda's attention.

"You're back so soon?" Miranda didn't look up as she answered; her voice soft and teasing. Ginny was sure that Miranda thought she was someone else.

"If you consider weeks soon, then yes I suppose I am," Ginny laughed. As soon as Miranda heard Ginny's voice, she instantly sat straight up and became very focused.

"Hey Ginny, when you'd get back?" Miranda was caught off guard. "It's good to see you. How's your investigation going?" Ginny slumped in a chair and sighed.

"It's very long and boring, but..." Ginny started. Ginny then continued to tell her friend about all the places that Narcissa frequented. She also told Miranda about how frustrated she was getting by not finding any real information of value.

"Ginny," Miranda began. "These things take time."

"But I feel so useless," Ginny complained.

"But your not," Miranda smiled and reached inside her desk and pulled out a large box of chocolate. She put the box in front of Ginny. "Eat these, they'll make you feel better." Ginny took a piece of chocolate and let it slowly melt in her mouth.

"Chocolate cures all, right Miranda?" Ginny smiled, grateful for her friend.

"Better believe it, it does!" Miranda popped a piece in her mouth. The two women sat eating the sweets for a few minutes.

"Actually, there have been a few odd things lately," Ginny began.

"Like what?" Miranda queried. Ginny then shared several instances where she felt like someone was watching her.

"I'm probably ultra sensitive because I am following someone," Ginny rationalized. Miranda shook her head, disagreeing.

"Don't doubt yourself Ginny," Miranda said. "You've got great reporter instincts. If you think that somebody may be following you, then I think so too."

"So what do I do?" Ginny asked.

"Catch them," Miranda simply said. "When Narcissa goes in a shop, double back or hide and let the person who is following you reveal them self." Ginny curiosity was peaked.

"I should have thought of that," Ginny said.

"Ginny," Miranda said. "You've been doing an awful lot lately. Give yourself a break."

"Yeah, you've got a point," Ginny agreed.

"Now go home and get some sleep," Miranda told her friend. "Tomorrow you've got to tail Narcissa and catch a snooper." Ginny smiled and got up to leave.

"Thanks Miranda, I needed that," Ginny said.

"That's what friends are for," Miranda said as Ginny left.

When Ginny got home she made herself a snack and got some fresh water for Willow and brought them to her room. She found a note from Percy on her nightstand along with a leash. The note said that the enchanted was ready for Willow and Ginny could bring her out tomorrow if she wanted to.

The next morning came very early for Ginny. Ginny quickly got dressed and ate breakfast. Ginny made sure Willow also ate something as well because today was going to be Willow's first workday. Right before Ginny was ready she called for Willow to come to her. When the little bunny hopped right over, Ginny put the leash on her. Willow squirmed at first, not liking the leash, but eventually settled down. Ginny looked at her little bunny and thought that Willow still looked like a rabbit, but all that mattered was that the muggles saw Willow as a dog

"Willow, are you ready?" Ginny asked her pet. "Today is your first day out. It is very important that you listen to me, understand?" Willow tried to hop away from Ginny, but didn't get far because of her leash.

"I mean it Willow, you need to listen to me. Understand?" Ginny took a harsher tone. Willow slowly turned around and licked Ginny's leg.

"I'm taking that as a yes," Ginny bent down a fed Willow a carrot.

"Okay then little one, lets go," Ginny said. Willow flopped her long ears back and forth.

"Okay girl, let's go." Ginny said as they walked towards the front door.

Ginny and Willow walked through The Commons and stopped in front of the phone booth.

"This is the portkey to get us to muggle London," Ginny informed Willow. Willow flopped her ears in recognition.

As Ginny and Willow walked around muggle London on their way to the Malfoy estate, Ginny was constantly pointing out important things to Willow. When Ginny and Willow finally got there they rested behind Ginny's favorite Cherry tree.

Willow started getting restless after awhile. Ginny took the leash off the rabbit so she could run around a bit. Ginny knew Willow would stay close. Willow started to hop and play. Ginny sat in the grass nibbling on a peppermint stick she found in her coat pocket.

"Today is the day we catch who ever is watching me," Ginny said to Willow as she twirled a piece of grass through her fingers. Willow looked at Ginny for a moment and then resumed hopping around.

After several hours Narcissa left the house and headed down the winding road toward the portkey.

"Let's go Willow," Ginny said. Willow immediately ran up to Ginny and Ginny put Willow's leash on so they could follow Narcissa. Narcissa went through the portkey as usual. Ginny waited several minutes and she could have sworn she heard someone walking behind her, but when she looked, she saw only a deserted road behind her.

"Lets go Willow," she said and they went through the portkey. When they got to the other side, Ginny had an idea.

"Hurry Willow, come on," Ginny pressed, tugging on Willow's leash as they ran up the side street. Willow scampered behind her trying to keep up. When they got the end of the street, they quickly hid behind the side of a building.

"Shhh..." Ginny kneeled down and whispered to Willow. "We're going to see if anyone else comes through that portkey." Ginny and Willow waited for several minutes before Ginny decided that no one else was coming through the portkey, so they began to leave. As they started to walk away, Ginny bumped right into someone turning off the little side street.

Ginny and the stranger walked into each other so hard that she fell backwards, almost toppling Willow. Ginny felt the hard concrete slam against the back of her head as she fell backwards. She was a bit disoriented when she sat up, but she knew to check her head for bumps and cuts. After carefully checking her head, she didn't think she was hurt, but she still felt dazed and wondered if perhaps she had hurt herself after all. Willow ran right over to her, jumped on her lap and licked Ginny's face.

"Are you okay?" She heard a slightly familiar man's voice say. She shook her head rapidly trying to get her bearings. Willow jumped off her as she slowly got up. She stood transfixed staring at the man who knocked her over a few moments ago. He looked vaguely familiar, yet she couldn't place it. She looked deeply in his eyes. They are so blue, they're beautiful, she thought.

"Excuse me?" this man's voice broke her trance. "Are you going to answer me or just stare at me all day?" Slowly she realized that she recognized that voice. He sounded like someone she'd spoken to recently...he sounded so familiar, just like...just like Draco Malfoy! Ginny seethed, thinking about the last time she had just seen him at the hospital. And then she shuddered in disgust as she remembered what she thought just a few minutes before about his eyes! I must have hit my head, I was just confused, Ginny assured herself.

"I am fine and I was not staring at you," Ginny barked before Draco could say another word.

"Yeah sure," Draco laughed, dismissingly.

"If you must know, I was just appalled at the creep who barreled me down," Ginny retorted, quickly getting her bearings back. "Oh wait, that creep is you."

"Aren't we as friendly as ever?" Draco smirked, causing Ginny's face to get red due to the anger that swelled inside her.

"You are the rudest person I have ever known..."Ginny began, but was surprisingly lacking words.

"Because I asked if you were okay?" Draco's eyes were purposely wide and his expression innocent, yet Ginny was fairly certain that he was still mocking her. Ginny didn't have the opportunity to answer his rhetorical question because Draco quickly added, "And look before you can bark at me for not apologizing for knocking you down because we both know how rude I am like when I didn't thank you for helping my mother..."

"You..." Ginny tried to speak.

"No, no please don't..." Draco interrupted her. "I want to make sure this is very clear, okay? I am very sorry that I knocked you down. Honestly, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Ginny was flabbergasted. Draco Malfoy was apologizing? Let alone apologizing to her? There had to be a catch, she was certain.

"Well thanks, I guess," Ginny skeptically replied. She wasn't going to let him get the better of her, besides the fact, she needed to stay focused on finding the person that following her. It then dawned on her and she felt her pulse quicken...perhaps it was Draco that was following her. And if it was Draco that was following her, that might mean that Narcissa might be on to her. She had to find out.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"Not that it's any of your business, but my mother forgot her medicine and she was heading out this way," Draco said revealing the contents in his hand. He was holding a blue glass jar that had some type of herbs in it. "She needs to take this. It's related to her pregnancy."

"Well then I guess you better get it to her," Ginny curtly answered. His reason sounded plausible, but she wasn't sure what to think.

"I suppose I should," Draco was a bit taken aback by her curt response. "Thanks for your concern. It's overwhelming."

"Yeah, whatever," Ginny wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. She was to preoccupied trying to determine if Draco was telling the truth or not about why he was there. She resolved it best to just keep her eyes open and time would tell. Either way he was now going to find his mother so that he could give her the medicine, so that meant she could follow him and he would lead her right back to Narcissa.

"You really are something else," Draco shook his head at her. He didn't remember much about Ginny from when they were at Hogwarts together. Even though he was a year ahead of her, he hadn't really had much to do with her. He spent much more time at odds with her brother Ron and his best friend Harry Potter. Draco despised Potter and often would go out of his way to cause Potter trouble. He didn't really have a problem with Ron; he just didn't care for Ron's taste in friends and because of the company Ron kept that meant that Ron was also in the line of fire. What little he did remember about Ginny was that she was somewhat of a wallflower, a real mousy little thing, and that she used to follow Potter around like a puppy dog. He didn't remember the little Weasley girl from Hogwarts being such a spitfire, he then looked her up and down, and he didn't remember her being quite so attractive.

"Yeah, I've been told that from time to time," Ginny smiled, realizing that she was getting the upper hand in this conversation. She was putting Draco Malfoy on the defensive, how sweet.

"So you really are okay then? I didn't hurt you?" Draco took a more serious tone; he seemed to be sincerely inquiring.

"I really am fine," Ginny dismissed him, tilting her nose upwards. "You can leave now."

"Oh I can, can I?" Draco laughed. "I'll be seeing you around Ginny Weasley."

"Not if I can help it," Ginny murmured to herself as Draco walked away.

Ginny waited several minutes before she started following Draco. As she predicted, he led her straight to Narcissa, who was shopping at an antique shop. What struck Ginny as really strange was that she saw Draco go in the shop, but only Narcissa came out. Why would Draco stay behind unless perhaps Draco had decided to do a bit of shopping and that seemed rather unlikely.

A few days later it was raining heavily while Ginny was waiting for Narcissa to come out of a small grocery. Ginny was kicking herself for forgetting her umbrella, after all, it was April and that was the month known for showers. Poor little Willow was absolutely drenched by the time Ginny decided that they should wait in a bookshop across the street. Ginny didn't want to lose Narcissa, but it was miserable outside. The bookshop was perfect, not only because it was dry, but also because it had a big window in the front that Ginny could see through.

"We don't let dogs in here," an employee of the bookshop scowled as Ginny and Willow entered the shop.

"Please sir, it's very wet and cold out there. My dog is very well trained and we won't be here long," Ginny fluttered her eyelashes and looked as angelic as possible when she replied. Willow promptly sat quietly by Ginny's feet. The employee looked back and forth between Ginny and Willow then rolling his eyes and shaking his head in defeat.

"Fine," he conceded, but warned. "But if your dog leaves a mess, you missy will be cleaning it up!"

"Thank you very much sir, thanks!" Ginny said, flashing him a grateful smile.

"I've always been a sucker for a pretty face," Ginny heard the employee mumble to himself as he walked away. She softly laughed as she and Willow walked over to the front window. Ginny patiently watched for Narcissa as people walked up and down the street. Ginny then noticed a man standing across the road a few shops down from the grocery shop Narcissa was in. She couldn't see his face, but she noticed that he had been there for quite awhile. It looked like he was looking for someone. After a few minutes, the man walked closer to the grocery and then stopped to look across the street. As he turned around, Ginny could finally see his face she recognized him. It was Draco! Why would he be lurking around and who was he looking for? She ducked away from the window when he walked across the street because she didn't want him to see her. After a few minutes she peeked through the window and he was gone.

Exactly one month after Ginny retrieved the first muggle artifact, Ginny hadn't collected any new information. She was beginning to feel disillusioned. She knew all about where Narcissa went and what she liked to do, but had nothing on the muggle artifacts or any leads on the serpent statue. She continued to give Percy her notes and he used them for the scouting and rabbit retrieving teams. Overall, the scout and rabbit retrieving teams had collected over thirty artifacts and that made Ginny feel better.

The muggle artifacts were becoming a serious problem. They were showing up in larger numbers all over the place. There had been several incidents involving small groups of muggles who all had artifacts.

One of the worst incident was when a group of muggles with artifacts showed up in the enchanted town called Hogsmeade. What made the situation worse was that they had brought a few muggles who did not have artifacts with them and they seemed to be working together. This town was not supposed to be visible to the muggle eye. And not only did they find their way to Hogsmeade, but once they got there, they found the wizards strange and started fighting with wizards they came across.

Needless to say, it didn't take long for the wizards to subdue the muggles. The artifacts were then retrieved and memory charms were cast. Magic will always overpower brawn in equal numbers, but the scales could easily tip the other way if one group were to become exceedingly larger. It became even more apparent to the Ministry that muggles became very aggressive when they were frightened of things they didn't comprehend.

It was the knowledge of what could happen that kept Ginny motivated when she was feeling uninspired.

"One month, it's been one month Willow!" Ginny complained to her pet as they followed Narcissa yet another afternoon. "I've got to find out something new. I just have to!"

Later that day, Narcissa went down an unfamiliar street and went into a very old looking building that had cracked windows with bars on the outside. The whole street was desolate except for this shop. As Ginny got closer she saw that it was a pawnshop. Ginny hid behind a parked car when she thought she heard something, but when she peaked around the car, nobody was there. Ginny decided to stay out of sight anyway. She waited there a very long time because Narcissa took an extraordinary long time.

Hours later Ginny saw Narcissa leaving the building and an old thin man waved goodbye to her as she left. The man looked vaguely familiar, but Ginny couldn't place him. Ginny made sure to stay out of sight as she spied on Narcissa. What was even more unusual was that as Narcissa walked away from the shop, another pregnant woman was walking toward the shop. When the two pregnant women passed each other, they stopped to chat with each other for a few minutes. Ginny wished that she were closer so she could hear their conversation.

After the women finished their conversation, Narcissa continued to walk away and the thin old man at the door greeted the other pregnant woman. Ginny waited until the coast was clear before she caught up to Narcissa.

Narcissa then walked to a little outdoor café. Ginny watched from across the street as Narcissa walked over to two women who were already seated. Nothing about this seemed out of the ordinary until the two women stood up to greet Narcissa. The two women Narcissa was meeting were also pregnant!

Four pregnant women in one day! That struck Ginny as very, very unusual and Ginny felt that it was well out of the realm of coincidence. Then there was the old man at the strange pawnshop who knew both Narcissa and the other pregnant woman. Ginny wasn't sure what to make of him or the shop. What she was sure of was that something didn't add up. Nothing unusual had happened in exactly one month and then today several really strange things happen.

Ginny knew she had to do some deeper investigation. Once she saw Narcissa join the two other pregnant ladies, she knew she had time, so she resolved to go visit the dingy looking pawnshop that Narcissa had just left. When she turned around to leave, she walked right into somebody.

"Pardon me," she apologized profusely, but when she looked up she was no longer sorry.

"Draco!" she spat his name like she had just drank sour milk. "Not you again! Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around? I might begin to think that you like me."

"I might think the same about you," Draco smirked. He enjoyed getting a rise from her. "So tell me the truth, you think I'm a babe don't you?"

"Yeah sure I do," Ginny lied causing Draco's eyes to get really big in bewilderment. "Oh yeah, did you hear, I also am the Minister of Magic?

"Aren't you funny?" Draco retorted. "So when did you become such a fan of muggle London?"

"That's none of your business," she refused to give him ant answer. What she really wanted to know why she was seeing him everywhere. Maybe he is the one following me, she thought.

"Okay, fine. Who cares anyway, but I am dying to know why you drag that poor garden rabbit around on a leash. And why are you always dressed in muggle clothes?" Draco asked causing Ginny pointed to at Draco, who was also dressed in muggle clothes.

"And I supposed your clothes are something other than muggle clothes?" she said derisively. "The only difference between us is that I look better in mine."

"Oh you think so do you?" he laughed, once again looking her up and down. He felt extremely satisfied when he saw her blush.

"As a matter of fact I do," she answered, despite the fact he embarrassed her. Ginny noticed that several times during their conversation that Draco nervously looked across the street.

"Are you looking for somebody?" Ginny asked wondering what had him on edge.

"What are you, a reporter?" he retorted.

"As a matter of fact, I am a reporter of sorts," she proudly answered.

"And who would hire you?" he snidely asked.

"The Daily Prophet," she proudly answered. "And what kind of work do you do?" Draco's face went solemn. Life for Draco had not been easy since his father had been arrested for being a Death Eater. No wizard wanted to hire the son of a Death Eater.

"Son's of Death Eaters don't work," Draco laughed trying to cover what appeared to be more painful then he wanted to reveal. "So I live off my parents money and I do whatever I want, which often consists of loafing around muggle London with the muggles. They never heard of Death Eaters and they don't know who I am." Ginny saw the sadness that he tried to hide as he answered. And even if he was a bit much to take, she felt badly for being so mean to him now. She knew what it felt like to be somewhat of an outcast; after all, she was the only girl in a family of seven children.

"Look, I didn't mean..." Ginny started, but Draco cut her off. He didn't want Ginny feeling badly for him. He didn't want her pity. He didn't want anyone's pity.

"It's fine, I'm fine," he insisted, his blue eyes blazing. "I need to go anyway and I suppose now we're even on the knocking each other over thing." Draco arrogantly walked away before she could respond.

One minute she felt badly for him and the next she wanted to give him a good slap. She found him to be quite infuriating, but she shook it off. She didn't have time to worry about if she had hurt Draco's feelings or not; she needed to get to the pawnshop.

"Come on Willow," she looked down at Willow before she started to walk away. It didn't take her long to walk back to the pawnshop. Although, once she got there, she hesitated before going in. Something about the whole day left her with an unsettling feeling. Finally, she took a deep breath and then went inside.

Once inside the pawnshop, she found that it was very dark and dreary looking. The walls were panel that had been painted over, but had since begun to chip. No one was in the shop front, so Ginny called out to see if anyone would come. When so one did, she decided to look around. She saw several cases featuring different things like watches, wallets, and different pieces of china. The rest of the room was filled with old pieces of furniture, old chests and lots of clothes. Ginny then began opening different chests so she could see what was inside. The first chest was full of old letters and paperwork that probably belonged to whoever originally owned it. The second chest was filled with old clothes. Many of the other chests were either empty or filled with useless items. Ginny then noticed a small silver chest on a shelf behind the counter. She carefully went behind the counter and grabbed the chest. When she brought the chest around to take a look inside, Willow began thumping her hind legs and grunting loudly.

"Shhhh..." Ginny said to her, trying to unlock the chest. "I need to see what is inside." When she had no luck opening it, she pulled out her wand.

"Alohomara!" she said, pointing her wand at the chest. She heard the chest unlock and then proceeded to open it, putting her wand away. She barely had the chest opened when Willow lunged at it trying to bite it.

"Down Willow," Ginny commanded her pet. Willow did as she was told, but didn't look too happy about it. Willow paced and panted the whole time while Ginny went through the chest. Ginny was horrified as she went through the contents. The chest was filled with different items that all had the golden serpent with the ruby red eyes. As Ginny began to look at each item, she heard noise coming from the back of the shop. She quickly closed the chest, put it back on the shelf behind the counter and then walked away from it.

A few moments later she heard a crackling old man's voice talking from a back room.

"You're early dear, are you finished lunch with Narcissa and Claire already?" the old man said as he walked up front. He was a very old man with stark white hair and small black eyes whose nose was long and crooked and lips were thin and cracked. His skin appeared to hang off his bones and he was covered with age spots.

"I am here to see if you have any pocket watches in your stock," Ginny nervously lied. She found this old man very creepy.

"Sorry, your not who I was expecting," he said as he bent down and pulled out a case from under the counter. "Pocket watches you say?" Ginny moved closer as he opened the case. Inside were many different pocket watches with varying sizes, designs and colors.

"Yes," Ginny continued to lie. "My father's birthday is coming up soon and I thought he might like one." The old man's eyes narrowed as she spoke. Ginny felt uneasy as the old man stared right at her. It as if he knew she was lying.

"See anything you like?" he asked her as she looked through the watches when all she really wanted to do was to leave.

"I'm not sure," she began. "I'll think about it and get back to you, but thanks for your time anyway," Ginny said, turning to leave. Willow ran towards the door even more eager to leave than Ginny.

"What an unusual pet you have," the old man commented as Ginny got to the door.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Your rabbit," when the old man pointed his bony finger at Willow, Ginny noticed he was wearing a pinky ring that appeared to be a serpent with red eyes.

Ginny reached to get her wand when the front door opened and in entered yet another pregnant woman. Ginny decided against using magic and thought it best just to leave. She'd have to deal with this later.

Once she was out of the pawnshop, she still felt very uneasy and exposed. She couldn't explain why the old man affected her so. She had begun walking away, but before she knew, she lifted Willow and she was running. She wanted to get somewhere safe. She decided she should go to either Miranda or Percy as quick as possible and inform them as to what she'd discovered.