Sarah Vance - intelligent young reporter - worked for The Informant. The wizarding newspaper was for the serious magical reader. It was subversive. They didn’t play to the public, and they didn’t cater to the Ministry. Sarah was good at what she did. She’d forged invaluable contacts at the Ministry and all over Great Britain. It didn’t take long for her editor to realize how much potential Sarah Vance had.
What Sarah’s editor at The Informant didn’t realize was that his rising star reporter was dangerously close to being a Squib.
Sarah Vance worked so hard that very few people in her entire life knew or even suspected that she was an almost-Squib. Sarah Vance was determined to be successful. At Hogwarts she had deliberately picked the more theoretical subjects, and she had excelled in everything that did not require wand-waving.
Things were heating up between the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding public. Things were being uncovered about the war that left people unhappy. Wizards and witches everywhere wanted answers. The Prophet reporters couldn’t get more than a few words from Rufus Scrimgeour. The bottom line was that people wanted Scrimgeour to explain himself, and if The Prophet couldn’t get the interview, then Sarah Vance would.
Sarah looked at her watch. He was never late, but she was always early. She scanned the street and finally spotted his figure among the crowd. His vibrant red hair stood out automatically, and he was taller than most of the people around him, but he also put off a tangible vibe. He was no longer the awkward, wiry teenager she’d seen around the halls of Hogwarts. Being Head Boy was nothing compared to being the Junior Minister of Magic. Sarah joined the crowd and within a minute fell into step with the young man.
“Good morning, Miss Vance,” he said in a polite tone, glancing at her for a moment, his face hinting at a smile.
“It is a good morning,” Sarah answered good-naturedly. Then she put a hand on his shoulder, making him stop and turn to face her, other witches and wizards continuing to move around them. She took a step closer to him. “You keep the Minister’s schedule, Weasley.”
“I know I do.”
“I’ve been meeting you here every week for the last two months.”
“I know you have,” he smirked, taking a step closer to her.
Sarah was tall, but even though Percy was taller, she didn’t let those few inches intimidate her. “I will have my exclusive interview with the Minister.”
“Tonight at seven,” he said with a nod.
“Oh.” She jerked her head back. “Where?”
Percy handed her a piece of parchment with the name of a restaurant and address on it. “Dress to impress, Vance.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes when she saw Percy sitting at the table the hostess was leading her to.
Percy, seeing her approach, got up from his seat and walked around the table to pull out the chair for her.
“What sort of ploy is this, Weasley?”
“You wanted an interview.”
“With the Minister of Magic, not his assistant,” she retorted.
Something flashed in Percy’s eyes for a moment, but he merely motioned for Sarah to take a seat. “I’m an opportunist.”
“You’re also paying,” she said as she sat down.
“You look beautiful tonight, Sarah.”
Sarah felt a slight rush of heat to her cheeks. “Thank you,” she replied with a small smile.
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s make our orders, and then, I believe you planned on an interview,” Percy said.
“If you think you can handle a Sarah Vance interview,” she challenged.
Percy didn’t reply verbally, but Sarah saw the self-satisfied smile he wore on his face while he read the menu. To Sarah, there was nothing more attractive than confidence. However, it was the confidence that bordered on arrogance that really intrigued her. She knew that wasn’t entirely normal, but neither was she. If anyone exuded that arrogant confidence, it was definitely Percy Weasley.
There was light, companionable chatter through the beginning of the meal, but it wasn’t long before Sarah pulled a black box out of her purse, set it on the table, and flipped the top open. “You don’t mind if I use a Collective Conversation Catcher, do you?”
“That’s fine.”
“So, Percy, why did you lead a reporter to believe that she would be conducting an interview with the Minister of Magic and then not deliver that scenario?”
“Did you ever specify that you wanted to meet with the current Minister? I will be the next Minister of Magic,” Percy said rather seriously.
Sarah scrutinized him closely. There was no denying that she was intrigued now. Percy Weasley was intelligent, he was attractive (even if he didn’t turn the head of every woman), and he was irresistibly confident. It all combined to draw her to him and warm her insides.
“You presume a lot, Mr. Weasley.”
“I presume no more than I believe I can achieve, Miss Vance. Why did you decide to work at The Informant? Was it because you wanted to wallow in mediocrity? Or was it because you wanted to turn the world on its head and blow every other reporter out of the water?”
Sarah nodded her head to concede the point and took a sip of her wine. She slowly swished the lusciously red liquid around in the glass before setting it back on the table and resuming the interview. “So you think you’re going to be the next Minister of Magic?”
“That’s the plan.”
Sarah never held back, and so she hit him immediately with a heavy question. “What do you have to say about all of the mistakes the Minister and his department, meaning you, have made?”
Percy didn’t flinch at the question. “I admit that I was wrong, and I played a part in some of the decisions that were made. However, I’ve learned from those poor choices. I don’t claim to be perfect, but I will say that I didn’t intend to be wrong, I simply tried to do what I thought was best for the wizarding community with the knowledge I had.”
“Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore told everyone about You-Know-Who’s return nearly a year before he appeared in the Ministry of Magic. The rest of your family believed him, why not you?”
They finished their dinner at about the same time that Sarah finished asking questions. She snapped the little black box closed and stowed it safely in her bag. She gathered up her cloak, but Percy interrupted her actions with his powerful voice.
“What about dessert?”
She raised a quizzical brow.
“You can’t leave this place without ordering the Chocolate Explosion. I’m sure it’s a law of some sort,” he added with a wink.
It was the wink that persuaded her, but she played along. “Well, I’d better not violate any laws over something as important as chocolate.”
“I should think not,” he agreed. Percy summoned a waiter and told him what they wanted.
“Wait, who said I would share with you?” Sarah protested when he ordered only one. “This is strictly a business interview, which means we don’t share. Besides, if it’s chocolate, then I want my own.”
Percy laughed and shook his head. “Better make it two then.”
The waiter, smiling, left to get their dessert. He came back soon with heaping piles of fudgy chocolate cake, covered in a warm chocolate syrup, pecans, drizzles of caramel, and a smattering of delicious vanilla ice cream.
The conversation turned friendlier with the arrival of the sugar. Sarah was thoroughly enjoying herself. The interview had been intellectually stimulating and spurred some furious debate between them. Now they talked about whatever happened to cross the other’s mind as if they had dinner together often.
Truthfully, after Percy had paid the bill and they were leaving the restaurant, Sarah was beginning to hope this would happen again soon. Percy was a challenge, and there hadn’t been a dull moment. The energy between them just felt electric. It wasn’t one of those swoony attractions, it was an attraction full of mysterious tension. Sarah especially liked the feel of Percy’s hand on the small of her back as he helped her navigate through the crowd in the foyer of the restaurant. His touch sent a delicious tingle up her spine.
“The Apparition point is just around the corner,” Percy directed.
“Oh, I’m not going to Apparate.”
“There’s a long line for the fireplace though,” Percy said, eyeing the queue to leave by Floo.
“I don’t have my Apparating License,” Sarah confessed. That wasn’t so strange, as there were many other witches and wizards who never bothered to take the test. “I’ll just take a cab.”
“Nonsense, you can just Side-Along with me,” Percy insisted, taking her hand and leading her to the Apparition point.
“But you don’t know where I live, you won’t be able to get there without splinching us.”
“You can perform a Destination Information Charm to show me where we’re going.”
“No, I can’t,” she said, stopping and pulling her hand back. She was grateful that they’d passed the general crowd. She hadn’t wanted Percy Weasley to push this issue. She looked intently at the floor.
“It’s not hard, I can teach you quickly if you’ve never done it before,” he said cautiously. “Unless you’d rather I not go to your flat.”
“I - no - it’s just -”
How could she just tell him she was dreadful at magic? That she was basically a Squib? She didn’t want him to think of her like that. Words failed her. She went on tiptoe for a moment to plant a kiss on the lips of Percy Weasley, and then she ran out the doors as quickly as she could, hopped into a conveniently open cab, and urged the driver to leave quickly.
Percy watched her leave, completely stunned.
Sarah didn’t get much sleep, and was now yawning a lot as she pieced together her article from the interview with Percy. She didn’t like listening to it. It was a fantastic interview, but she had really felt something completely different for him than any other attraction she’d had before. People like Percy didn’t date witches who could hardly light the tip of her wand.
The article ran the next day in The Informant. It was the same day that Rufus Scrimgeour was summoned to the Wizengamot and removed from his office as Minister of Magic.
The morning after that, Percy Weasley was nominated as a candidate for replacement.
Candidates for the office of Minister of Magic didn’t date girls like Sarah Vance. She took the rest of the week off in a vain attempt to escape the news about who the next Minister would be.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, Sarah was back to normal. She’d gone through the despair of being so terribly unmagical before, and she’d always come out ahead, determined more than ever that she’d blow people out of the water with what she could do. She had a new lead on something rumored about in the Department of Mysteries. First, however, she would have to delve into the pile of letters she’d received while she was gone.
Percy Weasley was named Minister of Magic.
Sarah’s editor praised her for being able to get that interview at the perfect time. Sarah smiled and continued working. When her editor asked if there was enough material to do a second interview, she pushed the black box containing the interview across the desk. “Kirke can pull something together from it.”
After three more weeks, Percy Weasley was as much of an afterthought in Sarah’s life as he could be. She didn’t think of him as anything other than the Minister of Magic. She couldn’t completely shut him out since she was a reporter. She almost ran into him one Friday afternoon in Diagon Alley, but she was pretty sure he didn’t see her before she went into the shop to restock her quill supply.
The next Monday, Sarah’s desk was covered, as it was every Monday morning, with all sorts of paperwork, letters and leads and notes from the research department, that she had to sift through before getting on to her new project.
After two hours of reading and replying, when she was finally ready to get some real work done, there was a knock on the wall of her wooden cubicle. Sarah spun in her chair to see who it was. Her jaw dropped when she saw the bespectacled Percy Weasley standing in front of her. He had that smile on his face, the one that made her stomach spin.
“I’ve missed you trying to ambush me each Monday morning to get an interview with the Minister.”
“I got an interview, didn’t I?” she asked coolly, returning her attention back to the papers on her desk.
“Sarah, I know. About you.” His voice was low and quiet, but she wasn’t sure of how to interpret it.
She wanted to hang her head, but didn’t.
“I guess I’m a right git for letting that mean anything to me.”
“Oh really? You think?” Sarah glared at him.
Percy’s face was completely sincere, and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. “Yes, I’m pretty sure it was a stupid thing for me to ignore you for so long, as it wasn’t your magical abilities that made me start falling for you.”
Sarah’s heart caught in her throat. Did he just say what she thought he’d said?
Percy then slipped another piece of paper into her hand and swept out of her cubicle, giving her that wink. She opened the folded piece of parchment.
My ploy seemed to work last time. Have dinner with me again tonight, same time, same place, all pleasure this time, no business. And I won’t be a git.
Dinner With A Demon by electronicquillster
Chapter Notes: Written for Enalee as a Secret SPEW Summer Story Swap!