Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter
An: Thanks for the reviews. I am curious if any other authors have noticed a correlation between the day you update and the number of reviews you receive? Message me if you wish to share you thoughts on this.
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Chapter 7
Danny was meeting Hermione that day for lunch at the Bella Serra and he was really wondering how she planned on helping him with Mary. Last night on the roof had been very awkward. At one point, he thought Mary was jealous but then it seemed to disappear. After Hermione left, Mary was very silent and it was difficult for Danny to strike up a conversation with his best friend, whom he had known since he was two years old. Mary broke the silence first by commenting that Hermione seemed to be a nice girl. Danny was a bit puzzled as to why the first topic Mary would mention was Hermione and like a complete idiot Danny just shook his head in agreement with her and the silence prevailed again. Mary eventually ended his misery by indicating that she needed sleep and she left him alone on the roof. As the door closed behind Mary, Danny realised that he had just missed one of his best opportunities to talk to Mary. He angrily punched at the air and stormed through the door. He didn't sleep very well because his mind kept going through the scene on the roof.
Danny was now yawning while he sat in front of one of the security monitors watching Mary and Hermione talk. They had been like that for the past twenty minutes and he had no idea what they were talking about. It was really beginning to bother him and Mary had conveniently positioned herself and Hermione so that Danny couldn't read their lips. He couldn't help but feel like they were talking about him.
"I thought I told you to keep an eye on the slot machines." A stern voice said to Danny.
"Oh uh Ed. Hey," Danny said as he quickly tried to change the screens to the slot machines.
Ed walked up next to him and changed the screen back to the two women talking.
"So, what is that about?" Ed asked Danny indicating to the two women talking on the screen.
"Oh, ah, nothing, how am I supposed to know?" Danny asked slightly agitated.
"You're my head of security; you're supposed to know everything." Ed responded in a serious tone.
Danny shifted in his seat under Ed's scrutiny.
"They must be talking about the reunion. You know how Mary likes to make sure she is doing a good job." Danny responded quickly.
Ed looked him over for a few seconds before turning around and leaving him alone. Danny let out a sigh of relief. Obviously, Ed didn't believe him but he was willing to let it slide. But Danny knew he would hear about it again.
Mike approached Danny with the video tape of the private table that Draco and Ron had been gambling at.
"Danny, this is the tape from last night. I've analysed it thoroughly and I still can't figure out how Mr. Weasley was cheating." Mike said as he grabbed a seat next to Danny.
"Play it for me." Danny said indicating to the screens in front of him.
Mike slid the tape in and a short time later, Ron's poker table was up. Danny watched as hand after hand Ron won. He specifically zoomed in on Draco's and Ginny's conversation in the corner but it was difficult to gather what they were saying since the lighting in that part of the room was a bit dark.
"What are you up to now?" Ed said as he reappeared behind them.
"Mike suspects that Mr. Weasley is cheating." Danny explained.
"He's didn't lose a single hand," Mike said.
Ed scanned the scene in front of him for a few seconds. "Give me the tape. I'll handle this myself."
"Ed, I'm sure we can handle it." Danny said. He hated handing things over to Ed.
Ed gave him a piercing look before Danny gave the tape to Ed.
"I'll be in my office. Can someone please send Mr. Weasley up to me?" Ed asked.
"Sure, I'll go get him." Danny said seizing the opportunity to get down to the reunion.
-*-
Harry was pretending to be listening to Seamus and Dean discuss Quidditch vs. football but he was really watching Hermione and Mary. He was curious as to why they were talking for so long. He knew Hermione quite well and he couldn't see anything Hermione would have in common with Mary. There was no reason for them to be talking so long. Hermione was never a girly girl and even now she preferred to hang out with `her boys' as she liked to call him and Ron, over anybody else.
Harry took another look at his watch. Half an hour, Hermione had been talking to Mary for half an hour. Hermione had barely talked to any of their classmates for more than five minutes but she was still speaking to Mary. Harry's Auror senses were tingling and every bone in his body told him something was going on. He carefully examined Hermione's facial expression and posture and he knew she was trying to subtly get information out of Mary. Harry couldn't fathom what on earth Hermione wanted from Mary and the Auror in him told him to walk over and get some answers and he decided to do just that.
He excused himself from Dean and Seamus and tried to casually make his way over to Hermione. On the way there he noticed Danny talking with Ron. Ron didn't appear to look to happy and his face actually reminded him of the many times that they had been called up to Dumbledore's office. Harry made a quick decision and decided to head over to make sure everything was ok with Ron.
"Danny right?" Harry asked as he stepped in between the two men.
"Yes. Mr. Potter." Danny replied politely.
"Please call me Harry. I'm not too fond of Mr. Potter." Harry joked.
Danny gave him a polite smile.
"So what's going on Ron?" Harry asked casually.
"The head of this hotel wants to see me." Ron said in a very confused tone.
"Really, did you win something?" Harry asked trying to put Ron at ease.
"Not that I'm aware of." Ron replied.
"Danny, what does he want with Ron?" Harry asked in a calm tone.
"I'm afraid I don't know." Danny said giving Harry the usual line.
"But I thought you were the head of security, isn't it your job to know?" Harry queried
Danny gritted his teeth. Harry was beginning to annoy him and he hated it when people told him how to do his job. "The President of Operations doesn't have to share every little detail with me."
"Look mate, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing big." Ron said bravely as he patted Harry on his back.
Harry nodded and Danny started giving Ron the instructions to Ed's office. Ron left and Harry and Danny were left with each other. Each man had nothing to say to the other so they both decided to head in their own direction, which unfortunately for them was the same place. As they each took their first step towards Hermione and Mary, they both stopped and looked at each other. A silent battle waged between them. Harry realised that Danny was going to talk to Hermione and Danny thought Harry was going to talk to Mary. Neither man was willing to allow that. Harry was determined to get to Hermione before Danny. He was the first to break eye contact and the first to continue on his path through the crowd towards Hermione. Danny was right behind him.
As soon as they both reached close enough, Hermione noticed their approach and she called out to them.
"Well speak of the devil!" Hermione said with a wide smile on her face as both Harry and Danny came to a halt in front of them.
Each man thought that Hermione was referring to him and they noticed that the two girls had a mischievous glint in their eyes that made them feel like deer caught in headlights! Danny tugged at his collar nervously and Harry ran his hand threw his messy hair.
"Hi" They both timidly replied
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Draco woke up to find Ginny gone and reluctantly dragged himself off the cold bed and had a quick shower. He carefully groomed himself as usual before taking a quick breakfast and headed to the ballroom for the reunion. On the way in he passed Ron, who indicated that he had a meeting with the head of the hotel. A sinking feeling hit Draco and he knew this wasn't a good sign. This whole trip wasn't going as planned.
As he walked through the ballroom doors, he searched for flaming red hair which would probably be up in a fancy twist. Ginny liked to style her hair for events like this. The room was fairly crowded and Draco knew that all of these people didn't go to Hogwarts with them. Like him, the rest of his class mates had opted to come with a wife/girlfriend. Draco continued to scan the room for his girlfriend.
"Looking for me?" A sultry voice said from behind him.
Draco froze. This was not good. He could feel the witch getting closer to him. He felt her hands on his back and her body as she moved in front of him.
"Hello Pansy," Draco said tersely.
"Come now Draco. There's no need to greet me so coldly." Pansy said in a seductive tone.
Pansy Parkinson had lost a significant amount of weight since Hogwarts and she had recently set her sights on becoming the next Mrs. Malfoy. Draco had tried everything to deter the witch but she was unshakable.
"Pansy, I really don't have the time." Draco stated politely. Even though Draco would love to hex her into the next century, the Parkinson family still had quite an influence over wizarding politics and it was best to stay on her good side. Even Ginny kept her temper under control when Pansy was around. Pansy's uncle had been made Editor of Witch Weekly and Ginny didn't want to compromise her position with the magazine.
"Nonsense Draco, you have plenty of time." Pansy replied as she tried to link her hand into his.
Draco pulled his hand away and tried to increase the distance between them. "Pansy, I really don't have the time right now." Draco said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Seamus and Dean avidly discussing something in the corner and he decided to join them. "I have to talk to Finnigan about a business deal. Excuse me." Draco said as he pushed past her and headed towards Seamus. He let out a huge breathe when he realised that she was not following him.
"Finnigan, Thomas," Draco said as he greeted them.
"Malfoy," they both replied curtly.
"Have you seen Ginny?" He asked them.
Dean scowled at Draco before Seamus told him to check the appetizer table. Draco thanked them and proceeded to make his way through the crowd towards the table where he hoped he would find Ginny.
-*-
Ron knocked at the door to the security office and a slim Indian girl opened the door. He indicated that he was there to see Mr. Ed Deline and she escorted him up to Ed's office. The Indian girl knocked at the door and indicated that Mr. Weasley was there to see him. He heard a gruff voice on the other side of the door indicating to let him in. Ron walked through the door and saw an old man seated behind a desk and a slim blonde woman dressed provocatively, seated at a chair in front of Ed's desk. Ron assumed she was a muggle prostitute.
Ed stood and introduced himself. Ron shook his hand and took the seat Ed offered him next to the woman. Ron turned to the woman as it was her turn to introduce herself.
"I'm Lt. Fairweather from the LV Wizard and Witch patrol. I'm here to ask you questions about the incident last night." She stated firmly.
"Incident?" Ron asked confused.
"More specifically, the use of magic to cheat at a casino game. I have reviewed the security tape provided to us by the Montecito and determined that magic was involved in your game last night. Furthermore, a fellow wizard, Mr. Malfoy, accused you of cheating." Lt Fairweather said stating the facts.
"Cheat, I never cheated. Look Draco was just joking around when he said that?" Ron said in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Draco called in the American magical authority for him.
"So Mr. Malfoy was wrong in his accusation?" Lt. Fairweather asked.
"I didn't cheat at anything." Ron said through gritted teeth.
"Can I have your wand please?" Lt. Fairweather asked.
"What do you want my wand for?" Ron asked outrage.
"To determine the last spells used." She said in an obvious tone slightly reminiscent of Hermione.
"I left it in my room" Ron said as his face slowly turned bright red.
"Mr. Weasley, when you arrived at the portkey station, were the rules regarding magical use in Las Vegas explained to you?" Lt. Fairweather asked in an irritated voice.
"Yes" Ron replied gruffly.
"Wasn't one of the main precautions that you keep your wand on you at all times and not leave it in your hotel room." Lt. Fairweather continued.
"Uh yeah." Ron said as his anger deflated a bit. She was right about that.
"So why is it in your hotel Room?" Lt. Fairweather asked.
Ron couldn't answer the question. He had forgotten what the witch at the immigration counter had said to him and he left his wand in his room.
"I would have you know Mr. Weasley that many wizards have had their wands snapped by housekeeping staff not aware that the piece of stick that they found in the room is more than a piece of stick."Lt. Fairweather informed him.
"Oh" Mr. Weasley said suddenly terrified of losing yet another wand. Ron had been through quite a few since his parents gave him his first wand to attend Hogwarts.
"Mr. Weasley, if you are trying to disrupt my investigation into this matter there will be severe consequences!" The witch threatened.
"I assure you, I'm not a cheater. I can get my wand for you right now and prove it." Ron said angrily.
"I suggest you wait here Mr. Weasley. I`ll go retrieve the wand myself and return. I wouldn't want you tampering with the evidence. I understand that some of your friends are extremely talented with magic." Lt. Fairweather said making reference to Hermione and Harry.
The witch promptly stood and disapparated.
"I suppose you're a wizard." Ron said to Ed.
"No" Ed replied
"You're not" Ron said in total shock.
"I'm a very well informed person." Ed responded. "I like to know exactly what goes on in my casino."
"Oh" Ron responded.
A small pop later and Lt. Fairweather had returned with a bright smile.
"I have retrieved your wand and I will take it back to headquarters to examine it." She stated.
"You're taking my wand." Ron asked horrified.
"Yes. Once you're cleared of all charges, it will be returned." She said unsympathetic to Ron.
"Charges what charges?" Ron asked
"The use of magic in a Muggle Casino; It is against Wizarding law here." She reminded him.
"I'll be in touch with the results." She added before she disappeared.
Ron couldn't believe it. A few minutes ago he was happily attending the reunion, now his wand had been taken and he was facing legal prosecution. How on earth was he going to explain all this to Luna?
"If you're innocent you have nothing to worry about." Ed said calmly.
Ron realised that Ed was right. He was innocent. He had nothing to worry about or at least he hoped he had nothing to worry about.
"It's been a pleasure Mr. Weasley." Ed said and Ron took his cue to leave.
As Ron exited the room he realised that he needed to talk to a certain little Ferret and the sooner he did the better.
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