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Author: parakletos Story: Yes, Minister Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-DH Status: Completed Reviews: 24 Words: 3,527 A/N: This fic was written as a Christmas present for Elsielann.
Its taken it’s time to post because of, well, a lot of reasons. Thanks
to Sherry in helping get this to fit to post, in more ways than one ;-) Life, Ginny decided, was unfair. She brushed her hair one more time but still the grey hair remained. “Brushing won’t get rid of it, dearie,” chirped the mirror with entirely too much glee. Ginny had long since decided that it had been a frustrated old spinster with a hooked nose with a wart on it in a previous life. Devoid of love and passion, it took its frustrations out on any woman that had the misfortune to use it. “I hate to agree with it, Minister,” said her Permanent Secretary, “but once they arrive they don’t have the habit of disappearing, unless you’re thinking of applying a Hair-Colouring Charm. I don’t use them myself but I can find out which ones work if you are interested.” “No, it’s all right, Verena; I think I can manage to grow old gracefully.” All the same she looked at herself carefully in the mirror, checking the lines under her eyes, and scowled. At forty-six, she knew that she couldn’t hold back the advance of time, but she still didn’t think it was fair. No one ever said that a woman with grey hair was distinguished, whereas a man… well, men seemed to grow old gracefully. Grey hair did not diminish their attractiveness and in some instances made them even more so. And in his case, well, in his case, from her point of view, he got more attractive each year. “Is anyone going to be there tonight that I might be interested in talking to?” * The Permanent Secretary hid her smile behind a yawn. No Minister, he won’t be there. “There will be the usual faces, ma’am. I think there might be a few Aurors that you might know, but it’s all fairly low level.” She watched as the Minister shook her head in disgust. “So why am I even going?” she asked her frustration coming through loud and clear. “Honestly, Verena,” she demanded, “do you have nothing better to do than fill my diary with pointless appointments?” The older woman took a deep breath and counted to ten. Years of dealing with recalcitrant Ministers had taught her how to respond to such unfair criticisms. “If you would care to cast your mind back, Minister, it was you that proposed that there should be one of these soirees every two months regardless of whether there was a specific reason to do so. You said that it would help you stay closer to the everyday witch and wizard.” A telling off for her rudeness apparently didn’t help Ginny’s bad mood, and after one last despairing attempt to hide the offending follicle, she stood up, adjusted her dress robes, and flounced out of the room. Her Permanent Secretary followed her out, chuckling to herself. ~*~ The evening was no worse than a hundred functions that she’d attended before and the aged Auror standing in front of her no more boring than any number of Ministry personnel she’d spoken to, but tonight she was particularly restless. It had been three weeks since she’d last seen him and even longer since they’d done more than talk. She wondered if he was going to turn up tonight. She knew that there was no reason why he should, other than the unspoken agreement that if life got in the way of their getting together then the regular Ministry dos would be their trysting place. She was roused from her caliginous mood by the buzz that went around the hall. There at the entrance, as far away from her as he could be and still be in the same room, was Harry Potter. Wherever he went, even at forty-seven, he still created a stir. Ginny’s mood darkened again when she realised that it would take him a while to work his way through the well-wishers and would-be intimates and reach her. As Minister, she couldn’t be seen to push her way through everyone and claim him. No, whatever her feelings, her office demanded a certain amount of decorum. As she watched him, she found it hard not to be jealous of the attention he attracted, especially from women of all ages. It hurt her to see the dazzling smiles he gave them and that he appeared to enjoy the way they pawed him. * Across the room, Verena watched as the Minister’s gaze flitted back and forth between the Auror who was talking to her and Harry. From the consternation on Ginny’s face, she knew that it was time to inform the Minister that she had an urgent Floo call waiting for her. * Harry worked his way slowly through the crowd of well-wishers with practised ease. Years of celebrity had taught him how to give just the right number of people just the right amount of time and still keep moving. He disliked the fawning he received and the way that some of the women tried to touch him. Some of the men were no better as they tried to crush his hand under the pretence of shaking it. He saw Verena out of the corner of his eye and gave her a brief nod. She smiled and returned the gesture before setting off to rescue her boss from the man that was boring her to death. ~*~ Ginny waited impatiently for Harry, thrumming her fingers on the desk as she did so. As he entered her office, she steeled herself so as not to throw herself at him. He was simply dressed in Muggle clothes; but no amount of casual dressing could disguise the charisma that radiated from him. And no amount of ministerial propriety could prevent her from thinking that he was wearing entirely too many clothes. This was a situation that she intended to remedy as soon as she had finished shouting at him for his lack of contact. * Verena waited by the public door to the Minister’s office, checking that Harry had arrived. She heard the creak of the ancient hinges belonging to the door of the private entrance and his slow measured steps across the oak floor boards. She heard their customary greeting; Ginny demanding to know why he hadn’t Flooed her and had he got a Dodo rather than an owl because only that would explain why he hadn’t bothered to send her a message. Harry then countered with similar accusations and the argument escalated until one of them had the good sense to shut up and start kissing the other. Knowing that to listen any longer would be playing gooseberry, Verena locked the door with a high-level locking charm and left the two of them to their coitus, hoping that this time they would remember to clean up after themselves. * Harry wondered why their meetings always had to start like this. Like some bizarre mating ritual, he and Ginny ranted and raved at each other until desire over came anger and they kissed. As Ginny’s lips touched his, he pulled her closer to him, his armed locked around, as if he was afraid that she would escape. He broke the kiss only long enough to whisper, “Why do we have to leave it so long before we get together? “I don’t know, Harry,” she replied breathlessly, “just shut up and kiss me.” As he did so, she ran her hands through his hair and she returned his kisses, consumed by what she felt for him. Their hands began to roam over each others body’s and claw at button, zips, hooks and eyes. Passion overcame patience and the sound of ripping clothing mingled with moans of ecstasy.... ~*~ Their desires temporarily sated by their impassioned joining, they slid off the desk. “Yours or mine?” he asked as he gathered his clothes. “Yours, they can find me if I’m at home.” They dressed and made sure there were no telltale marks on her desk before Harry did what was technically impossible; he Side-Along Apparated them out of the Ministry of Magic. ~*~ The next morning Ginny breezed into her office, her good mood belying the lack of sleep she had had the night before. After she had left Harry’s, she had had just enough time to Apparate home for a shower and change of clothes before her breakfast meeting with Verena as she planned the day. “Hello, Verena, wonderful day isn’t it?” She beamed at the civil servant as she took her place at her desk. The older woman smiled before agreeing with her superior. “It is indeed, Minister. I trust Mr Potter was well when you left him.” The reference to Harry caught Ginny unawares, but as a consummate politician she barely paused before opening her Ministry Red Box. Choosing to ignore such a probing remark, she took out the scrolls inside and began to study them. “You know you could just marry him,” Verena continued. “It would save all this aggravation and make you a much nicer person to work for.” Ginny looked up from her work, finally provoked to answer the other woman. “I didn’t know I was such an ogre; when did this start?” Her voice was sharper than intended but this was pushing the boundaries of familiarity too far, even for someone as trusted as Verena. “Most of the time you’re fine. In fact more than fine; you’re the best Minister I’ve ever worked for and I’ve worked for a few. But if I may be so bold, Minister, if you go too long without seeing Mr Potter, you become a bit of a harridan and then we all suffer.” “So you think I should marry him just so you can all have a cushy life?” Ginny signed off the first scroll that she had opened and moved onto the next one. “I would hardly call being at work at seven in the morning after being required to be at an official function until midnight a cushy job, Minister.” She took the signed scroll and, with a flick of her wand, sent it to the appropriate department. Ginny scanned the next piece of parchment, tutting at the absurdness of the suggestions it contained. She scrawled her blunt response across the scroll before picking up another. “Sorry, Verena, I was out of order.” She looked up from her work with a sigh. “But why would he want to marry me? He’s not lacking in female company, is he? I mean, he has a different girl at his side in every picture I see.” As she disposed of the second scroll, Verena peered over Ginny’s shoulder and scanned the contents of the next one. “Have you asked Tonks about it?” she asked, as if somehow the Chief Auror had the low down on Harry’s love life. Ginny looked up from the yellow parchment and turned towards the other witch. “Why would I want to talk to the head of my security about Harry’s love life?” She shook her head and returned to the parchment, making notes in the margin of the report. “Well, she’s in charge of Harry’s security and most of the time it’s her you see, rather than a whole stream of women. She is a Metamorphmagus, after all.” Ginny felt so stupid. “You mean…?” “Yes,” Verena replied nodding sagely. Ginny slammed down her quill with a shriek. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this?” “You didn’t ask?” stated Verena calmly. “Verena, you spend most of the time we’re together giving me answers to questions I haven’t even thought to ask. Why should this be any different?” “I thought you’d get around to it,” she replied as if Ginny had missed something really obvious. “I’ve been seeing Harry on and off since I was sixteen. Don’t you think I’d have got around to ‘it’ before now if I thought he was still interested?” The lull in the conversation was uncomfortable and Ginny got the impression that Verena thought that Ginny should have ‘got around to it’ a long time ago. She waited for to say so and when she didn’t, Ginny grabbed the nearest scroll, the last of her good mood finally evaporating. The rest of the day dragged interminably, with few high points until she called it a day at four o’clock. Despite her new insight into her predicament, Ginny’s pride prevented her from Flooing Harry and arranging to get together. From her point of view, she might not have known that he was single, but the whole world knew that she was and in her eyes that made him without excuse. If he wanted more to their relationship, then it was down to him to make the first move. But as the next few weeks went by without contact from him, she began to regret the stance she had taken. His absence was all the more keenly felt because the 30th anniversary of the defeat of Voldemort was approaching and the Ministry was pulling out all stops for the event. Surviving members of the Order and the DA, including Ron and Hermione and their children, along with the surviving Weasleys, would all be there. The one person who couldn’t be counted upon to attend was Harry. Apart from the low-key memorial event that was held in 1999, he hadn’t attended a single anniversary. She knew that many looked to her to persuade him to turn up, but she knew that was flogging a dead horse. Harry had been isolated from Ron and Hermione when he killed Voldemort and he had told no one of the events that had led to the Dark Lord’s demise. Many assumed that the events had scarred Harry so badly that he found it too painful to attend. Ginny found such an explanation too straightforward for a man as complex as Harry Potter, but in truth she was just as ignorant as anyone else as to the real reason. ~*~ Verena had briefed the other civil servants regarding the forthcoming celebration and had made all the staff aware of Ginny’s state of mind. The anniversary was a painful time for a lot of people, she explained. Many people only thought of the victory and not of the cost, forgetting that people like the Minister lost family and friends and, as such, it would be a bitter-sweet experience. She also briefed a few high ranking staff to be sensitive to the price paid by Ginny to allow Harry to be free to fight Voldemort. Verena watched as Ginny stood greeting the guests as they arrived for the Anniversary ball. To an outsider, she was being her normal pleasant self, but those that knew her well would recognise the nervous twitches that betrayed her inner turmoil. The loss of her twin brothers at the hands of Death Eaters was still keenly felt by the whole Weasley family, and events like this had, in the past, been the cause for mourning rather than celebration. She was pleased to see that the Minister’s family and friends had turned out in force this year and she hoped that the evening would end on a happy note and not descend into melancholy. She had called in all the favours she had owing to her and made more than a few over the top promises in an attempt to locate Harry and ensure his attendance. But no one seemed to know where he was or, if they did, they weren’t telling her. ~*~ Ginny had been pleased to see so many familiar faces attend this year. Although it had served to highlight the friends she had lost, as the evening wore on, there were plenty of people to reminisce with and remember the lives lived and not just the deaths of the fallen. When everyone had arrived, the formal dinner would begin, after which would come the speeches, the awards, and finally the dancing. She hoped that Harry might make the effort this year, but if not, she knew that she could always count on Neville, who always asked her to dance ‘for old time’s sake’. Ginny clapped politely during the speeches and kept her own as short as she thought that she could get away with. The awards ceremony was an emotional affair, with several members of the Order and the DA receiving medals posthumously and she was glad when she reached the final name on the list. “And the final award for the evening is given to … to …Minister Ginevra Weasley?” Ginny stared at the scroll, and then at the crowd of people who had begun to cheer. Where has my name had been hiding all evening? she wondered. She had checked and approved the list and knew that there had been no mention of her receiving an award at any time. And if there had been, she would have made sure that such a proposal had been quashed at the outset. “Is this a joke?” she demanded of Verena, who was standing close to her. The Permanent Secretary’s expression suggested that she was as much in the dark as the Minister. “No, Minister, it most certainly is not,” came a voice she recognised. “You don’t think I’d have come here to present an award to just anyone, do you?” The cheers increased as Harry joined her on the platform, grinning from ear to ear. She felt like a giddy school girl and all her annoyance at the award being sprung on her disappeared at the sight of his winning smile. It was only the thought of avoiding making a complete fool of herself that prevented her from bouncing over to him and jumping into his arms. As it was, she marched swiftly over to meet him, hugging him tightly. “Harry! You came! But what is it with this award? Is this your doing?” He returned her hug and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Now hush, Ginny,” he whispered to her, “and no false modesty, eh?” He turned to face the guests who had now left their tables and were gathered around the front of the platform. “It is tempting to list the achievements of the Minister, from coming up with the name of the DA at Hogwarts to bringing the Muggle and Magical worlds closer together, but we all have homes to go to and I don’t know whether the Ministry can stretch to breakfast for a couple of hundred.” The assembled witches and wizards laughed easily. With the good mood his appearance had engendered, Harry could have recited his notes from History of Magic and they would have been equally entertained. “I could also bore you with how wonderful a friend she is and how cute her bum is.” He paused to let the wolf whistles and cat-calling die down before continuing. Ginny was too embarrassed to interrupt him; she stood there wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. “But tonight, Ginny, we want to honour you not with words, but with commendations and heartfelt thanks from the two communities that make up this United Kingdom. From the Wizarding world, we give you our highest honour: The Order of Merlin First Class, and from the Muggle world I can confirm that you will be invested into The Most Noble Order of the Garter in a ceremony to take place at Windsor Castle tomorrow.” The room erupted into rapturous applause which continued for five minutes. Friends and colleagues began to climb onto the platform to hug her and congratulate her. As she shook people’s hands and was embraced by friends, she became aware that Harry was no longer with her. She began to scan the milling crowd for him, hoping that he hadn’t pulled one of his disappearing stunts. She needn’t have worried because at that moment the band struck up and everyone moved onto the dance floor to celebrate what everyone was agreeing had turned into a perfect evening. Standing in the middle of the floor she saw him, resplendent in his dress robes, his hand outstretched, waiting for her to join him. She stepped down from the platform, making her way slowly towards him. Her eyes were fixed so firmly on his that she didn’t notice that everyone in the room was looking at them. As she reached him, he kissed her gently on the lips. “I love you,” he whispered, somewhat redundantly. “I know,” she echoed, kissing him back. He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her off around the dance floor. As they danced, they talked about a lot of different things but mainly they just gazed into each other’s eyes and grinned. As the music came to an end and the other couples readied themselves for the next dance or their next partner, the Minister of Magic and The-Boy-Who-Lived drew each other close and kissed. It was a kiss that carried on through the whole of the next dance but no one seemed to mind or find it strange. |