Black Roses

Hidden Firewhisky

One year later...

I frowned down at my shiny new suitcase, lying on the floor between my feet. I was perched on the edge of a narrow bed in the tiny guest bedroom of Harry and Ginny's London flat.

The walls were grey and sad, much like the rest of the flat. The general lack of colour drove Ginny insane, but I knew she never had time to organise a new paint job, so she just had to grin and bear it.

It wasn't the colour of the walls that bothered me though. It was the suitcase.

Innocently, it lay there, its shiny black coat reminding me of a beetle. The smooth leather handle smelled new and fresh out of the shop - which, of course, it was.

Yesterday, I had fully qualified as an auror, and that meant a celebration was in order.

Not that the suitcase was the celebration, oh no - Harry and Ginny and I had gone out for the night to have a few pints and a chat, and I had bought the suitcase in a slightly drunken haze on the way back, suddenly declaring that my current suitcase wasn't good enough.

Now, though, I just had a buzzing headache and a sense of confusion. What on earth was I supposed to do with the suitcase? It was too big to be transported properly, and too nice to be filled with my scuzzy jeans and t-shirts.

Yet, for some strange reason, I didn't want to get rid of it.

It was as if the suitcase tied me to that mad, carefree person I always turn into when I've had one too many, and I love that person. She reminds me of a happier time when I would sneak out into the school grounds, a bottle of firewhisky hidden underneath my robes, to share with him.

I shook my head angrily. No. It had been over a year. I had to forget about petty school fallouts. I had to stay focussed.

Leaving the suitcase behind, I headed downstairs. Harry was just about to leave, and was kissing Ginny goodbye. He was dressed in his slightly worn auror robes, an older version of the shiny new ones I was wearing. After the war, he had been made an honorary auror, and hadn't had to go through the training process like I did. I envied him for that.

Noticing me, Harry smiled and pulled away from Ginny. I gave her a quick hug and headed out of the door with Harry. We were both headed for the same place: the Ministry.

We walked briskly down the pavement, silent except for our steady breathing. The old entrances into the Ministry had all been shut down, and workers were now required to go to very specific places near their homes. Harry's was a disused PorterLoo - not very glamorous, but certainly well-hidden.

Once inside the PorterLoo (which was not the most pleasant of spaces), Harry noticed my obvious trepidation.

"You okay, Em?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Bit nervous, I guess. But I'll be fine."

He smiled at me. "Yeah you will. Because believe me, I've seen enough of your curses in DADA lessons to know that no one's messing around with this auror."

I let out laugh. The butterflies in my stomach settled a little, but I was still nervous. Anxious, I began to switch from leg to leg, bobbing up and down as I did so.

"When will it leave?" I asked impatiently.

"You can't speed up Portkeys. You know that."

Almost the moment the words left his lips, the PorterLoo spiralled away into a swirling vortex, pulling us with it. In the flashing light, I could see Harry's face. He looked... worried? I couldn't be sure.

His eyes flicked to look into mine and he instantly adopted  a deadpan, emotionless expression. He was hiding something. He had to be.

I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong.

But then we landed with a bump and the swirling stopped. The door swung open, revealing a close room full of wizards and witches emerging from Portkeys of their own. Telephone booths, dustbins, even a fire hydrant, appeared and disappeared in a flash of blue light

Before I even had a chance to take it all in, Harry began hurrying towards a little wooden door at one end of the room. Purposefully, he pushed it open.

I was momentarily blinded by the bright white light, a stark contrast to the dim room we had just exited. But, as my eyes adjusted to the glare, I saw the beautiful sight of the Ministry's atrium.