Chapter 1: The Invitation
Harry Potter stepped into his office. It was a flavorless room to most people who stopped in with blue and grey walls, a blue table and a red lounge chair. He walked over to his chair.
Of course, there were many nostalgic items in his office as well. On the wall to the right of the door there was a photo of his parents, and to the left of the door there was a painting of Hogwarts.
In a box beside the table there was his old broom, Hedwig's unopened bird food, and some of his old school books.
He heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, settling himself in his chair.
A ministry employee entered, looking exhausted. "Can someone else take my shift for Saturday? No one went with me so I was up all night," he said, summoning a sheet that was on Harry's desk that revealed completed work assignments.
Harry nodded. "Of course. I'll find someone for Saturday," Harry answered, leaning back in his lounge chair.
The employee nodded and left the room. Harry shifted through his papers. On his desk were a list of formal complaints written by various witches and wizards, and leads for dark wizard suspects.
He yawned and waved his wand over his desk. The papers floated over the desk dreamily, and he watched them in boredom.
He had worked as Head of the Auror Department for nearly ten years. His son James was going to start his second year at Hogwarts and the school seemed more magnificent than ever after the renovations that had taken place after the Battle of Hogwarts.
Harry felt he should be happy. He sometimes saw Ron and Hermoine, but this summer he had followed a lead on a guy supposedly raising dragons in a mountain 'somewhere in Scotland'. After sending 42 of his employees to go look for scorch marks, eggs, or any other evidence of dragons, they came back with nothing. The closest thing the employees found to a suspect was Hagrid, who Harry automatically dismissed.
In short, his job as Head of the Auror department had grown dull. All the enhanced magical tactics that were implemented during Voldemort's reign had grown irrelevant to an increasingly safer world.
He felt pathetic. He didn't want someone like Voldemort roaming the wizarding world again, but he couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline when he got a lead on a guy who was accused of cooking illegal potions in his house, or wizards stealing equipment from the Quidditch World Cup. What he was genuinely concerned with were the so-called "Neo Death Eaters" that were popping up all over the area. At least twenty percent of the new suspects on his desk were "Neo Death Eaters" who were said to be assembling their own organizations.
He sighed and began to shift through the pointless leads. He picked up a pile of papers close to him and frowned. One of the letters was blue rather than yellow, a sign of an invitation. He picked it up curiously. It was a letter from Ron.
"Hey Mate, want to come over tomorrow for dinner with the family? Of course your whole family is welcome as well. Hermoine wants to try a few new cooking charms on the food this time, so it should be a treat. If you're too busy, we totally understand and can reschedule. Best wishes. Ron."
Harry laughed at the "If you're too busy" part. "Hedwi-" he called before he caught himself. The bird food was still in the box. It had been there now for just over 20 years, uneaten. It was the only evidence of Hedwig's existence, since he had lost the birdcage while flying on a motorcycle during Voldemort's reign. The Ministry had owls for emergencies so he decided to call one to his office. He often sent messages from these owls, and yet would still shout "hedwig" when he was getting ready to send something.
He wrote a quick reply and tied it to the owl's neck. "Can you fly this to the Weasley House?" He said. The owl flew off instantly, thinking of course it was an emergency.