The world had changed.
It had been ten years since the defeat of Voldemort. Ten years since the golden trio had graduated. Ten years since the Great Battle of Hogwarts.
The world had changed.
Harry Potter had never been a normal. He was a wizard, which for some made him strange enough, but even by wizarding standards, Harry Potter was not normal. He had been attacked when he was only a year old by the darkest of all the dark wizards to threaten the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord, as he was known by his followers, had attacked Harry and left him with a lightning blot shaped scar on his forehead. This scar was both a mark of power, and a connection, binding him to Voldemort as long as the both of them lived.
When Harry Potter was 11 years old, he entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He met his two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the three of them forged a bond of friendship that could not be broken, despite their many arguments. Harry faced off against Voldemort in the guise of his Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Quirrell. The Dark Lord had possessed the man in an attempt to gain the Sorcerer's Stone, a stone that allows its possessor to have immortal life. Harry, along with the help of his two friends, thwarted his plot, and in the process he angered Voldemort.
The Boy Who Lived then turned 12 years old, and entered his second year. He came back that year with a warning that terrible things would happen when he went back to school. After a number of strange occurrences and people becoming petrified, Harry learned that Voldemort was once again behind this plot. In his prior form of Tom Marvolo Riddle, he possessed Ron's little sister, Ginny, and was trying to use her to bring himself back from a memory. Once again, he was stopped.
In his third year, Harry learned that an escaped murderer was coming to kill him. After learning that this man, Sirius Black, was the one who betrayed his parents and caused their deaths, Harry became hell bent on killing him. However, he soon learned that a once thought dead Peter Pettigrew was actually the real culprit. After quite a bit of struggling that almost cost Sirius his life, Peter escaped and Lord Voldemort got his most loyal servant back.
Fourth year brought about the Triwizard tournament. It was a contest that took place between the three largest European magical schools. Someone had entered Harry's name under the guise of a fourth school. He was forced to compete in the tournament, and had a chance to win when an act of nobility caused him to tie with Cedric Diggory. The two of them were transported to a graveyard where Cedric was killed, and Harry was forced to take part in Voldemort's resurrection.
In his fifth year, Harry's world changed once more. The Ministry of Magic decided to snoop around at Hogwarts. To spy on the school, they sent in Dolores Jane Umbridge, to become the Hogwarts High Inquisitor. This woman began to deprive Harry of all the things he held near to him, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Hagrid, and Quidditch. Harry then decided to start a group called Dumbledore's Army. They were going to learn spells in case of any emergency, now that Voldemort had returned. Because of the name of the group, Dumbledore had to abandon the school. After taking his O.W.Ls, Harry had a vision that Sirius was being held in the Department of Mysteries. He and some of his friends journeyed there only to find that he had been tricked. A battle ensued between them and the Death Eaters, and in the end, Sirius was dead. Harry then learned the reason that Voldemort wanted to kill him as a baby was because of a prophecy that stated that either one of them would have to kill the other.
By sixth year, the world had changed. The wizarding world was now very aware that Voldemort had returned. Harry became the lone voice of reason, trying to convince all those around him that a plot was brewing between Draco Malfoy and Snape. He also learned that the key to defeating Voldemort lied in destroying his Horcruxes, magical items used to conceal a part of a persons soul. In the end, Harry wished that everyone had listened to him. Malfoy was supposed to kill Dumbledore so that he could redeem his father. Snape ended up doing the job and Harry vowed to seek revenge for his mentor and friend.
Seventh year came. Rather, it should have came. Harry decided not to return for this year, and in the end he knew that this was all a part of Albus Dumbledore's grand plan. He went off in search of the Horcruxes and forced himself to be unhappy so that he could stay determined. Despite Hermione and Ron announcing that they had finally gotten together. Harry found the Horcruxes and destroyed them, and in the end, he returned to Hogwarts to finish it. Voldemort and Harry faced off and in the biggest battle of all time. Around them, everyone else battled relentlessly. When Harry believed himself to be defeated, fate intervened and sent Peter Pettigrew in to return his debt to Harry. He caught a killing curse for the boy. Harry received another shock. Severus Snape, Dumbledore's murderer, was aiding his former allies in The Order of The Phoenix. The battle continued on and in the end, Harry won. He blocked the killing curse by conjuring a shield that represented the love of his friends and family.
It had been ten years since this had happened.
"Harry, you have to get up," yelled Ginny. She shook the large man vigorously. He stirred in the bed. "Harry James Potter, you have to get up. You know how dangerous my bat-bogey hex can be."
At hearing these words, the emerald-eyed man began to sit up in the bed. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked around the room.
"Ginny, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Mum asked me to come over and check on you. Ron said you hadn't been to work at all this week and she was getting worried," Ginny explained, handing Harry a cup of coffee.
"How'd you get in? You don't have a key," he wondered.
"Mum gave me hers for the day. She didn't know whether you were here, and of course, you've got this place magically sealed from everything as if it were Hogwarts," she joked. "So?"
"So what?" he looked at her.
"So, why haven't you been to work this week? Its Friday Harry and I know that you may be one of the top aurors, but that still doesn't give you the right to just skive off of work."
"It is my life, I do have a right to do what I want."
"Look here Potter," she began dangerously, "I did not come here for my own personal vendettas. My mother asked me to come and check on you, and that's what I did. So, I've checked on you and I can see that you are fine, despite you being a pompous jackass. I have done my good deed for the day, so I'll see you later."
Ginny turned on her heels and exited the room. Harry heard her slam the front door and soon after, he heard a loud crack signaling that she had apparated.
He had not realized that it had been that long since he had been to work. He had not felt like going in to the office this week at all. It seemed strange to him, that the job that he had most wanted when he was in school now did not seem that rewarding to him.
The room was dark and covered in a thick mist. A singular light shown dimly on a large chair in which a man was perched. He was wearing a black robe that hung loosely over his body. Kneeling in front of him was a man with a large scar going across the length of his face extending from his forehead, over his right eye to his chin.
"I want it done," the man in the chair began, "I want it done now."
"Yes, sir," the kneeling man replied.
"Make sure that they know that it was us. One day, Potter and his lot will pay for killing our former master. I personally will take Potter out of this life, but for now, we have to set the chain of events in motion. I have faith in you, Draco, do not fail me," the man in the chair sat back as the kneeling Draco nodded.
Draco put on his cloak and with a small pop, he vanished. The man in the chair looked around him, staring off into the darkness.
"So, it begins again," he said and smiled a dangerously maniacal smile.
Harry entered the office and sat down at his desk. The desk was very messy. Papers were all about the desk. Small tidbits of things could be seen all over. No sooner had he gotten comfortable, a memo dropped itself on his desk. He sighed heavily before opening it.
To: Harry Potter, Head Aurror, Level TwoFrom: The Desk of Arthur Weasley, Minister of Magic
Mr. Potter,
The Minister of Magic is having a press conference tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock in the Atrium of the building. Your presence is requested as a guard and speaker on behalf of the Minister. Please respond to confirm that you will be there.
Harry quickly scribbled a note saying that he would be there and sent it back to Arthur. Mr. Weasley had raised quickly after the defeat of Voldemort. It seemed that since the Order had become exposed, they had all become somewhat of celebrities. Although some deemed Arthur to be a bit to "eccentric" for the position, he seemed to be exactly what the world needed after having two bad Minister's one after another.
"Harry," came the voice of Ron, snapping Harry from his thoughts.
"Hey Ron," Harry responded.
"Where the hell have you been this week? It's been hectic around here. Strange disappearances and whatnot."
"Ron, I've been feeling a bit under the weather," Harry lied quickly. He then decided to change the subject. "So, what's been going on with these people disappearing?"
"You know," Ron began, "if you'd ever clean up the damn desk, you'd be able to find something every now and then."
"What the hell do I need to clean for when I have you to tell me what's going on?" Harry mused.
Ron gave a half-hearted laugh. "Funny man. Anyway, there's been six people. Three of them in London. Two in Ottery St. Catchpole. The last one vanished right from St. Mungo's. It all happened last weekend between Saturday and Sunday. They don't seem to be related, but we think that there's some sort of connection that we haven't seen yet."
Harry placed his hands on his chin and thought for a moment. "What are their names?" he asked.
"In London, there was Diana Spike, Louis Lockhead, and James Elgid. From Ottery St. Catchpole, there was Daniel Hughes and Samuel Lovegood. From St. Mungo's, the blokes name was Jim Riley."
"Did you say Lovegood?" Harry asked, turning to face Ron.
"Yeah, it was Luna's father. We've already talked to her, but she's not much help. She seemed to believe that the Crumple Horned Snorkack's took him away for a while because he had written another expose on them. I tell you that girl is never going to change."
"So, are there any leads yet?"
"No, nothing. As a matter of fact, we'd kill for nothing. We have less than that," Ron looked at him seriously. "Harry, the strangest thing about it is the fact that they all vanished without a trace. Its like, one minute they were there and the next, they weren't. Luna was in the house with her father and was in the next room. She didn't hear anything. He was using his quill and when we got there, it looked like he had vanished mid-sentence."
"Okay, put someone on it. We have to try and figure out how to get at this one. If there is a link between them all, someone has to find it.
"Okay, I'll put someone on it right away," Ron turned to leave. "Oh yeah, before I forget, Hermione's cooking tonight and she's inviting you over for dinner. It's a six, so make sure you're there on time."
Harry opened his mouth to object, only to be met with Ron's hand.
"She said she's not taking no for an answer. See you then mate."
The rest of the day went by quickly. Harry finally organized his desk and signed off on a few minor things. The hunt for Death Eaters continued even now. Even though Voldemort had been defeated over a decade ago, his followers still caused a bit of havoc and mayhem every now an then.
At five o'clock, Harry exited his office. Instead of just apparating home as he had done every other day, he headed downstairs. He stood in front of the door that led to the Department of Mysteries and stared at it. He so wanted to go back to the veil where Sirius had vanished so many years ago. It had hurt him terribly when he was killed, and he remembered it as though it were yesterday when Bellatrix Lestrange was captured. It was the day of the Battle of Hogwarts, and it had been Neville who had finally bested the woman.
Harry sighed and with a pop he vanished and returned home.
The next afternoon came. It was an hour before the press conference was due to start. Harry was gathered along with Arthur, Molly, and Ron Weasley in Arthur's office.
"Mr. Weasley, what exactly is the press conference for?" Harry asked.
Mr. Weasley sipped from his goblet. "Its just another one of my basic updates. I actually enjoy giving them to the public. Consider it the State of the Magical Community Address."
"Oh. I thought it was something serious. Well, we might as well get a move on, its getting closer and closer to one," Harry stated.
The foursome made their way to the atrium where a large crowd had gathered. Cameras and Quick Quotes Quills were seen everywhere. The cameras started flashing as soon as the elevator door opened. They made their way to the podium and Mr. Weasley began to address the gathered crowd.
Harry began to zone off. He was paying no attention to Mr. Weasley. He had not meant to do it, but nowadays, it seemed as though he could not focus much on anything. Something was missing from his life, but he could not pinpoint exactly what it was. He was snapped from his confusion by a murmuring from the back of the crowd.
"It's not right!" someone had yelled. The crowd parted and revealed a man in his 50's with a black and white beard. "You people let some god damned muggle lover become out Minister of Magic. I'd rather die than continue seeing him on top,"
"Sir, settle down or you'll be asked to leave," Ron warned, drawing his wand.
"To hell with you," the man yelled. In an instant, he drew his wand and pointed it at Mr. Weasley. He yelled a spell and a green jet of light whooshed towards him. Harry grabbed Arthur and threw him to the floor. The spell hit the podium which promptly burst into flames.
After Harry stood back up and looked around, he saw that Ron had already stunned the man and had him tied up. Mr. Weasley stood and looked around.
"Well, I didn't expect that. Some people are never going to get over this. You would have thought with me being Minister of Magic for all these years that-" Mr. Weasley paused. He looked to Harry with a grateful look in his eye. He then turned to his wife and smiled weakly. He grabbed at his throat as though some unseen force was choking him. He then collapsed into Harry's arms.
"ARTHUR?" Molly had screamed. Harry lay him down on the floor and felt for a pulse. There was none. Tears welled up in Molly's eyes as she cried over him. Harry stood and picked up Arthur's goblet. He smelled it and smelled more than just the normal Butterbeer.
"Ron!" Hey yelled. "Get someone from St. Mungo's here quick. Its your dad, he needs help. Someone, come and analyze this, I think the Minister has been poisoned."
Harry's heart dropped. Although the Healers were there now, he knew it was too late. He stared into Mr. Weasley's eyes and saw something that he had seen far too many times in other people's eyes; death.