Slightly Scandalous Universe at a Glance

The Weasley family is one of the wealthiest and most elite families in the wizarding world. They have money, power and extreme wizarding talent. Arthur Weasley, head of the family, is greatly respected - or feared, depending on how one looked at it. Because of their position, they have the advantage in many situations and were once in allegiance with the Potters, another wealthy and elite family. Their lifestyle proved dangerous, however. Violence, murder and death came hand in hand with their line of secret work.

Because of these dangers, the matriarch of the Weasley family - Molly Weasley - was discovered dead twenty years ago and the second son of the Potter family was kidnapped at the age of two and murdered shortly thereafter. Both families blamed each other for the mishaps, leading to a vengeful battle that has been raging on for years to no avail.

The battle led to the estranged relationship of the entire Weasley family from the youngest sibling and only girl, Ginevra Weasley. She refused to be a part of the entire 'mafia-type' lifestyle and separated herself from all dealings. But, when she is involuntarily forced back into the world by the hand of a stranger, she works hard to put an end to the battle. Unraveling mysteries and uncovering lies once hidden lead to discoveries that could change the entire course of events.

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Prologue

Ginny stood on the balcony of her hotel room, staring out into the night. It was nearly two in the morning but the night sky was as bright as ever. Stars twinkled in succession of each other and the full moon illuminated the entire heavens and lit the beach below as if it were the sun. Ginny followed the line of light, watching the sand glisten in the dimness and the dark blueness of the water shine. A few late night lovers walked hand in hand along the shore, smiling, laughing and kissing. Ginny felt a sudden rush of inspiration as she watched one couple embrace each other and share a passionate kiss; a wave slid towards them and hugged their ankles. It was a picture perfect image.

Rummaging through her camera bag, Ginny grabbed her brand new digital camera and zoomed in on the couple, capturing the moment just as another wave rushed towards them, repeating the same image that had caught her attention. She smiled as she placed the camera back in her bag, picked it up and re-entered her hotel room, locking the sliding door behind her. In her mind, she was already working out a way to manipulate the image.

She had been working as a photographer/painter for the past three years and was slowly but surely becoming a household name. She had managed to sell four of her art pieces during the last auction at the studio she worked for and more than ten photographs in total over the past three months. Her earnings had afforded her the chance to finally move out of her crazed home. Not that she didn't love her family, just that life in the Weasley household was not at all it was cracked up to be. In fact, it was the exact opposite of the luxurious, carefree lifestyle people perceived it as.

Ginny sighed at the thought of her egocentric family and made her way towards the bathroom. A nice, warm, lavender and chamomile scented bath should help calm her nerves. She turned on the tap, allowing the warm water to fill the tub and then loosened her hair from the ponytail she always kept it in. Just as she was about to undress, a knock, or better yet a bam, sounded from the door to her hotel room.

"Who is it?" she called, walking out of the bathroom. No one answered. "Hello?" She walked towards the door and peered through the peephole.

A man, about five-foot-six or seven stood on the other side of the door. His hair was a messy mass of blackness and he had a pair of really round glasses perched on his face, giving him a boyish look. Ginny unlocked the door and began to open it, when the man burst through.

"What the hell?"

"Quick, I need a place to hide!"

The man scanned the room hastily, analyzing the contents and trying to decipher where would be the best place to conceal himself. The bathroom was too wide open and the balcony would provide no room for escape if need be. Then, he spotted the king-sized bed and dashed underneath it.

"Excuse me," Ginny shouted, closing the door and walking over to the bed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Hiding," he said from under the bed. He poked his head from underneath it and stared up at Ginny. "Look, if they come in here just tell them you haven't seen me at all." He slid back underneath the bed.

Ginny opened her mouth to say something but the sound of someone crashing through her door stopped her. She spun to see two very large and very scary looking men walking towards her.

"Where is he?"

The first man walked so close to Ginny that she stumbled back. His voice was loud and booming and his stature was that of a wrestler - muscular and quite intimidating. His teeth were jagged and yellow and he had nails that were as long and as sharp as talons.

"Wh-Who?" she stuttered.

"Don't play dumb." The man grabbed hold of Ginny and flung her against the wall. "That little git came in here, didn't he?"

"I don't know who you're talking about!" Ginny shouted back at him, half truthfully.

The man pulled out a wand and aimed it at her. "Don't lie to me you little bitch! I know he came in here!"

"Greyback, stop!" The second man shouted from by the sliding door that led to the balcony. He walked over, keeping his eyes on Ginny. There was a sense of familiarity about him but Ginny could not detect why. "She's a Weasley."

Greyback's grip loosened and Ginny slid down against the wall. "I'll ask again, nicely. Where is he?"

"And I'll answer you again," she retorted. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"You're lying," he shouted, ready to pounce on her again.

The second man, however, managed to hold him back. "Thanks for your help, miss," he said as he dragged the one called Greyback towards the door. Whipping out his wand, he quickly mended the broken door and they disappeared behind it.

Ginny finally let out a breath and rubbed at her neck. She walked towards the door in time to hear them whispering as they continued down the hall.

"We can't afford to mess up! He's counting on us and if he ever finds out that we ran in to one of them, it could cause trouble."

She locked the door and pondered the words. Who the hell was 'he' and could the idea of 'running in to one of them' possibly have anything to do with the fact that she was recognized as a Weasley? She sighed, internally cursing her family's distinguishable looks. This was the exact same reason she tried her hardest to separate herself from them. It led to nothing but trouble.

"Thanks a million."

Ginny spun around to see the man who had originally burst through her door emerge from under the bed. For a minute there she had forgotten he was in the room.

"What the hell was that all about?" she asked, still rubbing at her neck.

"Oh, um," the man stammered, standing up straight.

Ginny finally took notice of how he looked. He was of average height and skinny, yet his body still had a certain tone to it that suggested he worked out a bit. His hair was messy, but on him it looked good.

"It's some gambling debt," he finally answered.

"Like hell," Ginny replied walking towards him. "They looked like they were on a blood hunt. That Greyback character is not someone you want after you."

Ginny knew all too well who Fenrir Greyback was. Everyone in the wizarding world did. He was a bloodthirsty werewolf, plain and simple.

The guy shrugged. "I don't care. I can take care of myself."

"Right, so much that you need a complete stranger to hide you?" Ginny folded her arms. "It would take more than wit and quick thinking to handle them," she continued. 'You'd need magic,' she added in her mind.

She was not sure if this guy was a wizard or not so she needed to be careful what she said. The man looked at her and walked towards her. Instinctively, Ginny backed up. He kept moving forward and she kept retreating until the wall stopped her. He, on the other hand, kept moving until he was about an inch or two away from her.

"I can scream really loud, you know."

The man laughed. "That's supposed to scare me?"

"Yes," Ginny replied, trying to remain in control. "I can call them back here."

The man removed his glasses and looked at Ginny. It was then that she took notice of his eyes, emerald green. The color captivated her, drew her in. The color was so unique and the fact that his irises were big and round gave a certain hint of sex appeal.

"Sure you want to do that?" he asked almost seductively. Ginny remained quiet, still transfixed on his eyes. He smiled when she did not answer. "I'll take that as a no." He put his glasses back on. "Whipping out your wand would be so much easier anyway."

Ginny looked shocked. "How did you -"

"Oh come on. You think I didn't hear him call you a Weasley?" The man finally backed away from her. "I'm a wizard too so I do know the significance of your family name. It's one of the best wizarding families."

"The best," she said, the arrogance of her family taking over for a bit. Even though she wasn't fond of her family's ways and behaviour, there was no denying that their talent was unmatched, even by other elite wizarding families.

The man laughed. "Right! The best," he said, mimicking her words. "Well before you decide to use any of that talent on me, I'll just go." He headed towards the door.

"So what, you just gonna leave without giving me an explanation?"

"Do you really need one?" he said, continuing towards the door without turning around.

"Well, you storm in here, tell me to hide you, I get manhandled by two very dangerous men. I think I deserve some form of an explanation."

"Nah. You'd do better to just not worry your pretty little head."

"Don't patronize me."

The man just laughed. Ginny, annoyed at his lack of attention to her question, ran towards the door and stood in his way.

"At least tell me your name," she said. At least if she knew his name she could do a background check and find out the information on her own.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't. Just curious is all."

"Right," he said, trying to open the door.

"I could hex you ya know," she said, blocking the way. "Make you talk."

Instead of giving in, he gently pushed her out of the way and opened the door. "If you really wanted to, you would have already." He walked outside and after taking a few steps, spun back around. "And it's Harry by the way."

"Harry what?"

Instead of answering, he just smiled and turned back around. Ginny watched as he reached the end of the hallway and disappeared instantaneously.

Ginny just stood there highly confused. Harry? Just Harry? He could tell her his first name but not his last name? Ginny shook her head and walked back into her hotel room. She looked around. How could a night that was so peaceful suddenly turn so...eventful? The sound of water distracted Ginny from her thoughts and she sprinted towards the bathroom, remembering that she had left the water running. She walked in and found that the tub was beginning to overflow.

"Bloody hell!"

She tiptoed towards the tub and turned off the tap. Surveying the floor, she whipped out her wand. Luckily only a few drops had ended up on the floor. Ginny said, "Tergeo," running her wand over the tiles and siphoning the water away.

Twenty minutes later, Ginny was finally submerging herself into the bath water. She laid her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes to think. Tomorrow, she had to head into work and would be able to modify the photograph she had taken earlier. She tried to picture what she could do with it when the image of the Harry's eyes came to mind - those emerald green eyes that had intrigued her for a few moments. They were gorgeous, no doubt, yet unusual for someone who had such dark hair; they worked on him, though.

For the rest of the night, Ginny could not get the image of his eyes out her head. They were perfect for a metaphorical representation of the cliché 'the window to the soul'.

Whipping out a sketchpad and pencil, Ginny began to draw, wondering if she would ever stare into those green eyes again.