Exile
Author: plaidphoenix
Title: Exile
Challenge: Dante's Inferno - Sixth Circle
Summary: After an unpleasant confrontation, Ginny and Harry are forced to make a drastic decision.
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama with a touch of angst and a teensy bit of fluff.
Word Count (optional): @1000
Notes/Warnings: This was supposed to be a part of a larger story that wound up being a bit too ambitious on the author's part. As such, this little ficlet was the only part that was salvagable without being horrendously late.
“No, Percy, you pompous git,” Ginny Weasley said through clenched teeth, “we most certainly will not!”
“Yes, you will, Ginny,” Percy Weasley said as he bore down on his sister, looking through his over-the-top and ostentatious looking gold trimmed glasses. “The Minister has made up his mind and the decision is final!”
“Look, Percy,” Harry said with a sigh and a headache that was so painful that it defied description, “I’m as fond of your current boss as I was the previous two. So if you think I’m going to stand by and let him manipulate me or anybody else, especially your sister, you’ve got another thing coming!”
“But…” Percy began before being cut off by Harry.
“No buts, Percy,” Harry declared. “I’m grateful you people didn’t get in our way when Ginny and I killed Voldemort, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to stand by and let your boss leech power and popularity off of me just to shore up his own inept incompetence. I’m honestly amazed he hasn’t been driven from office already.”
“Now see here, Potter,” Percy sputtered before being interrupted again, this time by Ginny.
“No, Percy,” Ginny spat, “you see here! The only thing the Ministry is good for is throwing innocent people into prison for no good reason, ruining their lives and making a general mess of things and usually in the worst possible manner. I honestly wonder if we wouldn’t all be better off without a Ministry at all.”
“Ginny!” Percy exclaimed. “Don’t say that!”
“Whatever for?” Ginny asked. “It’s the truth.”
“It’s also sedition,” Percy pontificated. “I could have you arrested on the spot and don’t think I’m not tempted to. The only reason I’m willing to overlook it is the spirit of reconciliation that’s emerged after Harry defeated You-Know-Who.”
“Say Voldemort, won’t you Perce?” Harry said as he stepped in between his girlfriend and her brother. “And it wasn’t just me that defeated Voldemort. Ginny deserves as much credit as I do, maybe a bit more if I had my way.”
“Only a bit?” Ginny teased.
“Hush, you,” Harry said with a wink, “you’ll get yours later. And as for you Percy, I can’t believe you’d threaten your own sister with arrest and imprisonment. But I can’t say that I’m surprised. You gave up on your family a long time ago, though they haven’t given up on you. And as for the Ministry, it may be sedition, but what Ginny said is the truth. I think we might just be better off without it if it means we don’t have to deal with people like Fudge, Umbridge, Scrimgeour and you interfering in people’s lives.
“That’s enough, Potter” Percy nearly screamed as his face began to turn an uncomfortable shade of purple. “I
may be here on the Minister’s instructions but I won’t overlook sedition. Not from an anarchist like you. I’ve
always said you were dangerous and not to be trusted. Now you’ve gone and dug your own grave. I only wish you hadn’t dragged Ginny or the rest of my family down with you! Mark my words, this will be the end of you!”
And with that, Percy promptly disapparated from the Muggle flat that Harry had leased for his meeting with whatever nefarious Ministry types might want to make demands on his time.
“Well, that was rude!” Ginny exhaled, the tension that had gripped her now visibly draining from her body.
“But not totally unexpected, love,” Harry said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“You do realize,” Ginny murmured as she nuzzled herself against Harry’s chest, “that he’s probably going to have us thrown into Azkaban for that little scene.
“Probably,” Harry agreed as he fought from being totally distracted by having Ginny in such close proximity. “But I doubt it’ll happen before morning. It’ll take that long for them to trump up the charges enough to get the Wizengamoot to sign off on the warrant.”
“I suppose,” Ginny agreed. “I’m just glad we convinced everyone else to leave the country before we met with the blowhard. I still can’t believe I’m related to that git!”
“It didn’t hurt that Tonks warned us about what Percy wanted to meet with us about,” Harry admitted with a trace of sadness as he knew this meant that he and Ginny would now be forced to leave England, possibly for the rest of their lives, in order to avoid being sent to prison for what Percy would call his attempt to undermine the legitimate authority of the Ministry. His only true regret was that he was forcing Ginny and the rest of her family, along with Hermione to leave the country with them. But it couldn’t be helped since the Ministry could always threaten to use them as hostages against Harry.
Looking down at Ginny, Harry smiled. “Want to grab some dinner before we leave?
“Sure,” Ginny said as she reached up on her tip-toes to give Harry a kiss. “And you can show me what you’ve got in that little black box in your pocket.”
Harry had the good manners not to blush at being found out, but that didn’t stop him from asking, “How did you know?”
“Harry,” Ginny began with an impish smile, “I’m a Weasley. Sneaky is in our nature. Now, get down on your knee and make a proper proposal like a good boy and I might just say yes.”
“You’re going to owe me for this, my dear,” Harry teased as he lowered himself down onto one knee and reached into his pocked to collect the engagement ring he had bought for Ginny.
“I know,” Ginny said with a wink. “But don’t worry, you’ll have the rest of your life to collect.”
Title: Exile
Challenge: Dante's Inferno - Sixth Circle
Summary: After an unpleasant confrontation, Ginny and Harry are forced to make a drastic decision.
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama with a touch of angst and a teensy bit of fluff.
Word Count (optional): @1000
Notes/Warnings: This was supposed to be a part of a larger story that wound up being a bit too ambitious on the author's part. As such, this little ficlet was the only part that was salvagable without being horrendously late.
“No, Percy, you pompous git,” Ginny Weasley said through clenched teeth, “we most certainly will not!”
“Yes, you will, Ginny,” Percy Weasley said as he bore down on his sister, looking through his over-the-top and ostentatious looking gold trimmed glasses. “The Minister has made up his mind and the decision is final!”
“Look, Percy,” Harry said with a sigh and a headache that was so painful that it defied description, “I’m as fond of your current boss as I was the previous two. So if you think I’m going to stand by and let him manipulate me or anybody else, especially your sister, you’ve got another thing coming!”
“But…” Percy began before being cut off by Harry.
“No buts, Percy,” Harry declared. “I’m grateful you people didn’t get in our way when Ginny and I killed Voldemort, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to stand by and let your boss leech power and popularity off of me just to shore up his own inept incompetence. I’m honestly amazed he hasn’t been driven from office already.”
“Now see here, Potter,” Percy sputtered before being interrupted again, this time by Ginny.
“No, Percy,” Ginny spat, “you see here! The only thing the Ministry is good for is throwing innocent people into prison for no good reason, ruining their lives and making a general mess of things and usually in the worst possible manner. I honestly wonder if we wouldn’t all be better off without a Ministry at all.”
“Ginny!” Percy exclaimed. “Don’t say that!”
“Whatever for?” Ginny asked. “It’s the truth.”
“It’s also sedition,” Percy pontificated. “I could have you arrested on the spot and don’t think I’m not tempted to. The only reason I’m willing to overlook it is the spirit of reconciliation that’s emerged after Harry defeated You-Know-Who.”
“Say Voldemort, won’t you Perce?” Harry said as he stepped in between his girlfriend and her brother. “And it wasn’t just me that defeated Voldemort. Ginny deserves as much credit as I do, maybe a bit more if I had my way.”
“Only a bit?” Ginny teased.
“Hush, you,” Harry said with a wink, “you’ll get yours later. And as for you Percy, I can’t believe you’d threaten your own sister with arrest and imprisonment. But I can’t say that I’m surprised. You gave up on your family a long time ago, though they haven’t given up on you. And as for the Ministry, it may be sedition, but what Ginny said is the truth. I think we might just be better off without it if it means we don’t have to deal with people like Fudge, Umbridge, Scrimgeour and you interfering in people’s lives.
“That’s enough, Potter” Percy nearly screamed as his face began to turn an uncomfortable shade of purple. “I
may be here on the Minister’s instructions but I won’t overlook sedition. Not from an anarchist like you. I’ve
always said you were dangerous and not to be trusted. Now you’ve gone and dug your own grave. I only wish you hadn’t dragged Ginny or the rest of my family down with you! Mark my words, this will be the end of you!”
And with that, Percy promptly disapparated from the Muggle flat that Harry had leased for his meeting with whatever nefarious Ministry types might want to make demands on his time.
“Well, that was rude!” Ginny exhaled, the tension that had gripped her now visibly draining from her body.
“But not totally unexpected, love,” Harry said as he wrapped his arms around her.
“You do realize,” Ginny murmured as she nuzzled herself against Harry’s chest, “that he’s probably going to have us thrown into Azkaban for that little scene.
“Probably,” Harry agreed as he fought from being totally distracted by having Ginny in such close proximity. “But I doubt it’ll happen before morning. It’ll take that long for them to trump up the charges enough to get the Wizengamoot to sign off on the warrant.”
“I suppose,” Ginny agreed. “I’m just glad we convinced everyone else to leave the country before we met with the blowhard. I still can’t believe I’m related to that git!”
“It didn’t hurt that Tonks warned us about what Percy wanted to meet with us about,” Harry admitted with a trace of sadness as he knew this meant that he and Ginny would now be forced to leave England, possibly for the rest of their lives, in order to avoid being sent to prison for what Percy would call his attempt to undermine the legitimate authority of the Ministry. His only true regret was that he was forcing Ginny and the rest of her family, along with Hermione to leave the country with them. But it couldn’t be helped since the Ministry could always threaten to use them as hostages against Harry.
Looking down at Ginny, Harry smiled. “Want to grab some dinner before we leave?
“Sure,” Ginny said as she reached up on her tip-toes to give Harry a kiss. “And you can show me what you’ve got in that little black box in your pocket.”
Harry had the good manners not to blush at being found out, but that didn’t stop him from asking, “How did you know?”
“Harry,” Ginny began with an impish smile, “I’m a Weasley. Sneaky is in our nature. Now, get down on your knee and make a proper proposal like a good boy and I might just say yes.”
“You’re going to owe me for this, my dear,” Harry teased as he lowered himself down onto one knee and reached into his pocked to collect the engagement ring he had bought for Ginny.
“I know,” Ginny said with a wink. “But don’t worry, you’ll have the rest of your life to collect.”