Who: George Weasley and Rabastan Lestrange (a brief cameo by Ginny) What: Meeting. Where: Lestrange Manor When: Wednesday, August 23, evening. Warnings: TBD
George had been planning what to take with him since they’d set up their meeting. He’d been able to duck into the storage facility where he and Fred had been keeping their remaining supply of Wizarding Wheezes, and carefully, he tucked a few projects into his bag, along with a handful of Darkness Powder--something that George always found exceptionally useful. He knew he had to plan this in secret, though he felt bad about it, he’d never kept a secret from Fred and well, he wasn’t about to make this a habit with Penny, but he understood the reason that Ginny and Rabastan might be skeptical about broadcasting it, and he certainly knew that Fred would try and talk him out of it, or at least do something a bit reckless.
George couldn’t even fully explain why he was doing this. He just wanted to prove to his baby sister that she was, in fact, very loved by her family, despite the choices she’d made for herself. It didn’t mean that George necessarily trusted the Minister, but he was damned if he wouldn’t at least try to make peace. Rabastan Lestrange was still very much the enemy in George’s eye, he was the king of an obnoxious, vile Ministry after all. But, now he was also his sister's fiancee and while George knew he would never come to regard the man as old as his father as brother, he had to try.
George sat at Penny’s kitchen table for a moment, while she was in the shower. He had to leave before she came out, that part of his plan depended on it. He wrote both Penny and Fred a quick note, explaining what he’d gotten himself into, and who he was meeting on the chance that he wouldn’t come back. He knew the two of them would be upset and try to stop him, and so he’d put the ward on a bit of a timer, only revealing itself ten minutes after he wrote it, which should give him plenty of time to get to the Ministers before they’d even see it.
George picked up his backpack from where he’d tucked it into the hallway closet and made a dash for the Floo. From there he used the floo to go to a few stores and locations around the wizarding world before tumbling through the Minister’s fireplace (he didn’t want them to somehow trace him back to Penny’s place).
It took George a moment to adjust to what he was seeing. It was … certainly fancy. So fancy, in fact, that he’d almost missed the sight of his sister standing there… his sister who hardly looked like his sister at all, despite the fact he’d only recently seen her. He didn’t recall her wearing a dress this nice then, and her hair seemed shinier in this light too. Despite her fancy, almost doll like look, it didn’t stop her from swooping her into a tight hug in greeting, and teasing her about the state of her attire. There was something about seeing his sister that almost instantly put him at ease, and though the moment was fleeting he made sure to tell her just how much he loved her. Even if she were as brainwashed as people said, and this was just some elaborate set up, that statement wouldn’t change.
When Ginny left, and George was alone, he gave into his curiosity and began to roam the small room, waiting for the Minister to step in, his backpack still square on his shoulders, and his hand resting comfortably near where he’d tucked his wand.