Some things don't change. The earth moving around the sun for example, or that politicians would always be arses. They are facts of life and won't change and would continue to be a constant. Though this irks some, the ones who love spontaneity and the idea of improvisation, this is a comforting thought to one Harry Potter, who's life has, up to this point, been the veryincarnation of adventure and the almost fairy tale like prospect of good triumphing over evil. Though he believes there is no such thing as just good or bad people, he believes he's seen enough evil to last a life time.
Then he turned 20.
After the war was over and most of the loose ends had been tied up, Harry had decided that a year or 10 off would be excellent. He could do all the things you're supposed to do growing up and then live a nice quiet life. Get married, have a few kids, the normal stuff. So he, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna all travelled for a while. Nothing fancy just a road trip about the UK for a year, and it was the most fun Harry had ever had. Then when it was over and he realised something.
In two months, he was turning 20.
And not only was that happening, everyone else decided to be productive and get jobs! The nerve of them! Hermione, of course, decided to go study magical law, got a taste for it during the trials apparently. Luna was going to study some rare plant phenomenon in Iceland with Neville and some Scamander bloke. Then Ginny got signed by some up and coming quidditch team!
"The wars over Harry, we need to move on. Wehave to!" Hermione concluded. He remembers because it was the evening she found out she was accepted into Borderfords University of magical Law.
"I have moved on! Well, I'm trying anyway. It's not just something you 'move on' from! Harry blurted.
"We know, mate. We know what you went through was horrendous, but our lives haven't exactly been walks in the park either," Piped Neville, "All we are saying is that this is how we are moving on. We've all seen stuff we should never should of seen or been involved in things that we wanted no part in, but-"
"But you all did have a choice! You could have-"
"What? Left you to do all that on your own? Fat chance." Scoffed Ron into his pint.
Good old Ron. Ron got it. He knew why Harry was so uncomfortable about all this.
During Their year of sweet nothing, Harry had got into a routine. He would wake up at about ten, make a cup of strong coffee and some bacon sandwiches then go to the Weasleys', or go to Diagon Alley with Teddy, or fire call someone. Then after doing whatever he wanted he could go home and sleep knowing he could do the exact same thing tomorrow. A constant, if you will.
Now suddenly, thanks to society, his plans were interrupted. How rude.
But he still had Ron. Ron mentioned nothing to do with getting a 'Real Job', as Hermione liked to put it. He seemed perfectly content floating around doing nothing in particular with Harry.
Then, Harry turned 20.
"Mate," Ron questioned over drinks, "do you ever think about what we could do?"
"What do you mean?" Harry knew exactly where this was going.
"Well, we are older now. Should we not be, I don't know,doing something?"
"We are doing something. We are getting drunk on my Birthday!"
"You know what I mean."
They both took large gulps of their beer.
"I was looking in the paper, and they're accepting applicants for auror training, so I thought maybe…"
Ron had seemed to get so distracted by something in the bottom of his beer, he couldn't finish a sentence.
"Ron, I've told you, I don't want to get caught up in all that stuff again. I'm happy!"
"But for how long? Everyone is doing something! Hell, I heard evenMalfoy's an auror now! Why sit back wh-"
"Wait, what did you say there?" Harry knew precisely what Ron had said.
"Well, I heard Malfoy's an Auror. A good one too, apparently."
Ron had never been one to hold grudges for a long time. Then after they helped with his trial before the road trip, Malfoy had apologised to all of them. He seemed especially sorry to Hermione and confessed that his bullying was down to the fact she just bet him in every class, though that wasn't much of an excuse. Ron had eased up on him then.
"An auror? Really? I'm surprised they let him."
"Like we've been saying, mate," Ron said, picking up his glass, "the war's over"
The next day Harry and Ron signed up for Auror training, and by Harry's 21st , they were qualified Aurors, and were partners, thank merlin. Of course,despite their background, they weren't allowed to do any of the proper cases because they're still relatively young. However they are pretty much guaranteed the more exciting medium risk cases because of their efficiency. The only one who could sometimes rival it was Malfoy and his partner, Jenna. Jenna was great with all the paper work and the like while apparently Malfoy did the, 'leg work'. Harry wasn't surprised at this. Malfoy always had freakishly long legs, he'd be able to catch people twice as fast as little Jenna, who stands at a great height of 5'4, while Malfoy was at least 6'3.
Harry decided a few months in he enjoyed being an auror. It was good getting a little office with his best friend, solving crimes then going to the Weasley's for tea. After he and Ginny broke up, he assumed he wouldn't really be welcome, even if it was in exceptionally good terms. You see, Ginny had realised something about Harry that made her immediately not want to date him. Ginny was at least 98% sure Harry was, for lack of a better term, hella gay.
"Harry, do you love me?" she had asked him one night during the road trip.
"Of course I do" he had answered. He wasn't lying! He did love Ginny, still does, in fact.
"But do you fancy me?" she asked, now facing him. He could tell she already knew the answer.
"I'm sorry, Gin." He murmered, not looking at her, "I don't know what it is, I just…"
Her head was in her hands and she was shaking uncontrollably.
"Aw, Gin, don't cry. It's my fault, truly, you're great! It's just-"
Harry then noticed that Ginny was not in fact crying, but laughing silently, and quite violently, to be honest.
"Oh Harry,darling, I know!" she managed to get out through the laughter
"…. Know what, sorry?"
"That you'regay!" Ginny exclaimed, like it was an easy observation.
Easy to everyone but Harry.
Sure, he could tell when a man was attractive. And sure, he'd had the odd,uhm, dream of sorts. But that happens to everyone, right?
Right?
Oh god, it was Bullshit and he knew it. He's had crushes on guys and girls, though? What the fuck does that make him?
"Bisexuality, is actually quite common, Harry" Hermione had told him after he confessed about why he and Ginny broke up. "Many people identify as Bi"
"Oh yeah?" he said, feeling sorry for himself, "like who?"
"Well, in the muggle world, there's Angelina Jolie, Channing Tatum, Megan Fox, David Bowie, Lady GaGa, kesha, Marlon Brando. There's loads of others"
"Oi!" Ron pipes in, "Wasn't Professor Lupin Bisexual?"
"What? He never told me that…"
"Yeah, me neither" Hermione muttered to herself, "how did you figure that Ron?"
"Well, I heard him and Sirius having a, uhm, conversation during the summer after fourth year. They both seemed pretty sure he was Bi…" Again, the bottom of Ron's bottle seemed more interesting.
Harry got his head round it eventually, liking guys openly. Hell, even the media knew. Rita Skeeter had had a field day. What was that first headline from the prophet again?
Ah, yes, "The Boy Who Bottomed". Hmph.
So yes, Harry would say he's very happy with the way things worked out really. He believes he would have got bored eventually, plus it's better to be doing something rather than nothing. He enjoys working 9-5 hours, except Thurdays', when he and Ron work the back shifts in the auror department. Which was basically race the office chairs down the halls and have a couple shots of Firewhiskey for another 4 hours.
Yes, work was good, his friends and family were good. It was all fine!
That was until Shacklebolt called himself, Ron, Malfoy and Jenna into his office.