Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.
A/N: This story takes place shortly after the final battle. I'm trying to follow very closely to the character pairings and canons that J.K. Rowling said happened according to her press releases I found on Wikipedia. Though I will be deviating slightly because, after all, this is fan fiction, what's the point if you don't take your own whack at how it should turn out? I hope you enjoy this and please review!
Also, I'd like to say that even though this is rated Mature, it's not going to have an awful lot of graphic sexual content in it, but there will be cursing, drinking, and some sexual scenes. That's the only reason it has the rating that it does.
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'Harry!' called a voice from right next to Harry Potter's ear.
He jerked awake. From the tone of Ron Weasley's voice, he'd been trying to get Harry to wake up for quite some time, as demonstrated by the bucket of water levitated over his head. Harry yelped and rolled off the bed just in time to miss getting soaked.
'Oy! What the bloody hell was that for?!' he yelled at his best mate.
Ron grinned at him, grabbing the bucket out of the air and putting it down in its usual place next to the bedside table.
'Sorry mate, had to get you up. Mum's been calling you for fifteen minutes. Apparently, you got an owl this morning saying that you had to go in early today, the tests are getting closer and the office wants you to come in and do a practical trial thing or some such rubbish. She's got breakfast ready and refilled the Floo Powder this morning so you don't have to Apparate today. You only have a few minutes, so get off your arse and get dressed!'
Harry groaned and sat up, patting the table for his glasses. He found them eventually and put them on, the room finally coming in clearly. He took in Ron, his Weasley red hair was actually combed into a respectable fashion, his magenta robes were pressed and looked prim and proper, and he looked more awake than he ever had this early in the morning. The joke shop must be having another press conference today, Harry thought.
'What bloody time is it anyway?' Harry asked, getting up and going to his closet to get his robes for the day out. He decided on his go-to black with a white shirt. Nothing really fancy today.
'It's about half-past seven, lazy bones,' Ron replied, grinning at Harry again.
'Would you mind waiting downstairs? I need a shower in the worst way. I had one of those damned dreams again,' Harry said, shuddering at the memory. Ron, of course, knew what he meant and left the twins' old room without another word.
The dreams Harry spoke of were always the same or at least similar. Harry would be fighting Voldemort in the Great Hall as he had a year previously, but this time, he hadn't won. Voldemort had gotten lucky and killed him. He killed all of Harry's friends while Harry lingered as a ghost and watched as each of them fell to the Death Eaters' curses. When Ginny died, he always woke up in a pool of cold sweat.
He crossed the hall, still in his sleeping gear (these days just boxers), and nearly ran into Ginny. He yelped and, once again, fell on his arse, his robes sent into the air. Ginny, too, had a miraculous tumble with her ending up on top of him.
'Though I don't doubt the enthusiasm, I thought we were going to save this for this weekend when Mum and Dad are at that Ministry meeting,' she said with a wicked grin and an equally wicked glint in her eyes. She kissed him on the lips before getting off of Harry and offering him a hand up.
Immediately, they both realized it would look very bad if Ron, Mr Weasley, or Mrs Weasley happened to walk up the stairs at that moment, considering the large tent Ginny had left Harry with. He quickly got to his feet and grinned back at Ginny, trying to hide the obvious sign of his arousal. Actually, he was very happy this had happened, considering it banished all thoughts of his dreams prior to Ron's rude awakening.
'Gin, you are going to be the death of me!' Harry whispered and stole a quick kiss. 'I have to hurry, apparently I'm wanted at the Ministry for something or other to do with my Auror exams.'
'Those shouldn't be for another two years should they? Auror training takes three years, not just the one,' Ginny asked, helping Harry to gather his things so he could shower and dress.
'They are, but since I've been under the direct tutelage of Kingsley and he thinks I'm ready for the tests now, I'm taking them sooner rather than later. If I don't pass, it isn't that big of a deal, I'll just retake them in a few months. There aren't enough Aurors left right now, so I'll stay with Kingsley for a bit longer so he can teach me all he thinks I need to know. Sorry, Gin, but I really have to go and shower.' He kissed her again and took his robes from her before hurrying into the bathroom.
Harry showered very quickly, not even waiting for the water to fully heat up before getting in, which was perhaps a good thing considering it helped him get rid of his arousal. He got out and dried off, not bothering to comb his hair or shave as he threw his robes on. He dashed downstairs and nearly did a face-plant entering the kitchen. Ron choked on his orange juice and Ginny, still in her dressing gown (Harry hadn't noticed what she was wearing when they bumped into each other in the hall), giggled at both the expression on Harry's face and the fact her mother had to pound Ron on the back so he could breathe.
'Are you okay, Harry dear?' Mrs Weasley asked in a very concerned and motherly tone. She bustled over to him and pulled out her wand, trying to get the creases out of his robes and also vainly trying to get his hair to lie flat. Harry let her do it as he grabbed a piece of toast off of the table and started eating it quickly.
'I'm fine, just in a bit of a rush. How long ago did that owl arrive?' Harry asked as he grabbed a second piece of toast. He wolfed that down as well and started making his way to the fireplace.
'Not very long ago, dear. About twenty minutes I would guess. I wish you would eat something more substantial for breakfast, Harry,' she said, hovering just behind him.
'I don't have the time, Mrs Weasley, I'm sorry,' he said, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder. 'I'll see you all later. Oh, and can someone owl Andromeda and tell her I might be a bit late picking up Teddy tonight? I have to go by Hogsmeade after the Ministry.'
'I don't mind going before practice,' Ginny said before rushing forward and swiftly kissed him on the cheek. 'Good luck today, Harry,' she said with a grin and a wink before going back to eat her breakfast. Harry shook his head and grinned stupidly before throwing the Floo Powder down.
'Ministry of Magic!' he shouted and was immediately engulfed in green flames. Harry hated travelling by Floo, but it was a lot nicer than Apparition. After a few seconds of bumping into walls and catching glimpses of other wizarding establishments and homes, Harry felt himself slow down and come to a stop, the Atrium of the Ministry coming into view. He stepped out of the fireplace and shook out his ever-untidy black hair of the soot it had accumulated on his trip via the Floo Network before continuing on through the early-risers of the Ministry workers. He nodded to those he knew and made his way through the golden gates, past the newly erected Fountain of Magical Equality (which now featured a healer witch, a wizard, a centaur, a goblin, and a house elf either seated or standing and all beaming out at the onlookers. There was also a moving statue of a mermaid that swam serenely around the bowl of the fountain, occasionally flipping her tail in the air). Harry dropped a Knut into it, the proceeds still going to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He continued on his way to the lifts, finding one waiting for a passenger and hopping into it along with a rather sleepy looking Auror John Dawlish.
'M-m-m-morning, Potter,' Dawlish said through a particularly huge yawn. The lift doors closed and they started moving up.
'Morning, Dawlish,' Harry replied. He did not like Dawlish very much, though he knew him to be a good Auror and a friend of the Minister. 'Early day for you as well?'
'Level seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British…' the voice that announced practically everything in the Ministry said. The gates opened, but no people boarded with them, though a few interdepartmental memos did zoom in and hover above Harry and Dawlish's heads.
'Yeah, the Minister wanted a meeting with all of the Aurors assigned to him for protective detail this cycle,' he replied, stifling another yawn.
Harry nodded. Since the end of the war, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic, had taken a new tact in his personal security. Every six months, the Aurors assigned to guard him when he was making public appearances would be changed out. In the beginning, this had been hard to do and only two Aurors could guard him at a time since there were so many things to do after the war ended. But now, it was a lot easier, with four Aurors guarding him at all times and another four taking over after their six month period of duty.
'Well, I hope that goes well. You know, after what happened in Diagon Alley, I thought he would add at least one more Auror to his guard,' Harry said, generally curious as to Kingsley's reasons.
A few months previously, a fanatic ex-Death Eater by the name of Jugson had accosted Kingsley in the middle of Diagon Alley. He almost succeeded in cursing the Minister, but Dawlish had stepped in the way and wound up in St. Mungo's for a few weeks. No one had been allowed to report what was wrong with him, but Harry had heard that Dawlish needed to have several growths removed before returning to active duty.
'No, he said that it was mostly a one-time thing, though nobody believes it. I'm just surprised that there are any Death Eaters left. It's been over a year now,' Dawlish shook his head as the lift finally arrived at their floor.
Harry left the lift and waved vaguely in Dawlish's direction before continuing down the Level 2 corridor towards the Auror office. There was light under the double doors, so he knew he wasn't the first to arrive today. He pushed open one side and started walking towards the office at the end where he usually reported in the morning.
'Oy, Potter!' a voice called and Harry stopped and turned around. One of the Aurors hadn't had much contact with was walking towards him. 'The head isn't in today, so you'll be working with me until Emelina gets in.'
Emelina Banks was the second-in-command of the Auror office under Gawain Robards. Gawain had been put back in charge after Yaxley was removed. Harry shrugged and followed the Auror to her desk, which had a plaque reading 'Karina Smith-Chance.' Harry nodded and sat down in the chair that was situated in front of the desk.
'You're running field assignments today. If you can handle everything without having to fall back for assistance too many times, you can consider yourself a full Auror,' she said, grabbing a few papers and thrusting them at him. 'They're pretty basic, I know you've run them with Kingsley, Gawain, and Emelina before so they shouldn't be any trouble. I'll be going with you on the first one, but you'll be able to choose a partner for any others that come in.'
Harry was shocked, but he nodded. Kingsley had told him this might come up soon. He looked down at the first file that he needed to sort out. Apparently there was a wizard just outside of Sheffield who had received notice before that charming Muggle objects was against Ministry law, but he hadn't listened to the bloke who had come out the second time from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and had sent him to St. Mungo's with one hell of a jelly-legs jinx on him. The worker had to take a week off for sick leave to heal his broken foot and collar bone from colliding repeatedly with a staircase.
'Ready to go Karina?' Harry asked, studying the Apparition coordinates so he wouldn't look like a git trying to find his way there.
'Yeah, just give me a minute to find my wand. I always misplace the damn thing…Ah! Here it is, let's go Potter, we're wasting daylight!' she exclaimed and started off down the row to the double doors, Harry right behind her.
They quickly got on a clattering lift and went through the employee's exit in the Atrium to the usual alley that Ministry employees could Disapparate from. Harry nodded to his colleague and, holding his wand tightly, turned on the spot and disappeared to a dusty lane not too far from the home of the wizard in question. A few moments later, Karina appeared next to him with a soft popping sound.
Harry looked around and nodded; there weren't any muggles nearby that he needed to worry about. He tucked his wand into his robes and started walking, Karina right beside him.
'How do you want to do this one, Harry?' she asked, stowing her own wand in the sheath on her opposite wrist. Harry looked at her and reminded himself to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies to pick one of those up. (The sheaths were actually meant for Quidditch players, but more and more Aurors were buying them so they could quickly and inconspicuously get to their wands.)
'I'll go in the front, try to talk to him. You circle around to the back in case he isn't cooperative,' Harry replied. He had read that the wizard they were after, a Mr Harold Kenworthy, lived by himself and had no close neighbors, so they were reasonably assured that no one else would be in his home to help him fight or escape.
Karina nodded and said nothing more. They walked about half a Kilometer, then his house came into view. It was nothing spectacular, just a quaint country home. It didn't even have that nice of a garden. The problems, as Harry saw them, were the lawn mower, power auger, gas powered shears, and other gardening instruments that were strewn about the front lawn. Karina looked at him and Harry nodded once to indicate they should stick with the plan they had in place. She left to go round the back of the house while Harry went in the front.
As soon as Harry crossed the property line, one of the spades gave a twitch. Harry took another few steps, but none of the tools came to life to start beating him. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and continued to the front door. Harry knocked politely three times and waited, but there was no answer.
'Mr Kenworthy? This is Harry Potter from the Auror Office, please open the door so I won't have to use force,' Harry called, banging on the door a bit harder. He heard a noise behind him and spun.
The tools that Harry had been wary of upon entering the garden now gave him good reason to be on his guard. The lawnmower was starting itself; the auger was hovering and emitting a strange green smoke as its bit twisted and ran in and out; likewise the gas powered shears were chopping away at the air while emitting the same green smoke. The rest of the tools that had been randomly lying in the grass were all hovering of their own accord.
'Oh bugger,' Harry said to himself and drew his wand. The auger shot towards him and Harry turned away at the last moment, letting the charmed tool embed itself in the door. He flourished his wand and cried, 'Impedimenta!' at the approaching shears. They shot backwards into the lawnmower, which was now also letting off green smoke, and both started attacking each other. Harry blasted a few more tools, but they were all coming back, the auger working its way out of the door and starting towards him again. He jumped back and thrust his wand forward as he shouted, 'Immobulus!' All of the tools froze in midair and Harry sighed.
He turned around and trudged back to the now demolished front door. He faced the tools and one by one, cast 'Finite incantatem,' on all of the tools. After the counter-spell took effect, all the tools fell out of the air or simply stopped running. When Harry was satisfied there were no more objects lying in wait to attack him, outside, he proceeded into the house. The door proved to be unmovable in its current state, so he simply blasted it aside. Inside the house, he found a slightly harried looking Karina Smith-Chance. Her robes were cut in a few places and her hair had fallen out of its pony tail, but besides that she looked okay.
'I can't find him anywhere, Potter,' she said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. 'It looks like he just left, though. If we hurry, we can probably catch up to him, if he's on a broom of course. If he Apparated, we're fucked.'
Harry looked around; something wasn't feeling quite right to him. He held a finger to his lips to tell Karina to remain quiet. Harry kept his wand at the ready and walked around the living room, then the kitchen, bedroom, lavatory, and finally to the basement door. He opened in, casting a Silencing Charm in case the hinges squeaked and descended the dark stairs with Karina covering his rear. He reached the bottom, and carefully looked around what appeared to be the suspect's private potions lab. There were still fires burning under some of them and a few were warm besides. The lighting was dim, the only source being a few torches and the small, dingy window at the top of the west-facing wall, so Harry had some trouble finding what he was looking for, but he did eventually.
'Accio cloak!' Harry intoned, and held a hand out to catch a cloak that had flown towards him from the corner of the room he was facing. Harry grinned at the startled look on his target's face. 'You should have gotten a new cloak, mate, it looks like the charms are fading from this one.'
Harold Kenworthy goggled at Harry for a moment before his expression darkened, his upper lip upwardly curling to bear his grimy teeth. The man went for his wand, but Harry was faster.
'Expelliarmus!' Harry shouted. Kenworthy's wand flew from his pocket into Harry's outstretched hand. 'Now are you going to come quietly, or do I have to take you to Azkaban tied up?'
Kenworthy seemed to deflate slightly as Harry said this and groaned. He sank to the floor, his dirty hands covering his eyes. Harry rolled his eyes and stowed the man's wand before walking over and pulling him up by the scruff of his robes.
'You aren't going to cause any more trouble are you?' Harry asked. Kenworthy shook his head and Harry grinned. 'Do you want to come with me or shall I meet you back at the office?' he asked an astounded looking Karina.
'Uh…I'll meet you at the office. Good job Pot- I mean Harry,' she said and shook her head before turning on the spot and Disapparating.
Harry grinned again and, making sure he had a firm hold on his charge, Apparated to Azkaban prison.
During the long work day, Harry hadn't had much chance to hang out with Neville Longbottom. Neville had joined the Auror Office at the same time as Harry when Kingsley had made an open invitation that anyone who fought against Voldemort in the war to join the Auror Office. Harry had wondered periodically throughout the day if his schoolmate was being offered the same opportunity that he was. Harry was so swamped that he missed their standing Friday lunch arrangement at the Leaky Cauldron.
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It was with mounting trepidation that Harry entered Gawain Robards' office at the end of the workday. Harry had dealt with fifteen cases that day, two of which he flew solo on. There were now ten more occupied cells in Azkaban and five old ones refilled (these were not escapees, but former offenders being rearrested) thanks to Harry. Still, he did not know if Robards would give him the position after only one day as a lead field Auror. Harry knocked on the door and waited. It felt as if every Auror in the department was watching and waiting to hear the news just as he was.
'Come in,' came Robard's voice from the other side. Harry swallowed and opened the door, walking in quickly and closing it behind him. 'Have a seat, Potter.' Harry did so. 'It looks like you did very well today, not one of the cases you were after went unsolved today, good work.'
'Thank you, sir,' Harry said, still on tenterhooks as to whether he would get the job or not.
'Now looking at your record from the past year and obviously all you did before that, I'm not sure why I didn't do this before now,' Gawain said, looking at a stack of papers in front of him. 'Let me be the first to properly welcome you to the Auror Office as a full-fledged Auror, congratulations Harry!'
Harry's eyes went wide in shock. Though he'd been warned when he got in that morning, it hadn't prepared him for this announcement. He smiled and shook Robards' proffered hand before rising.
'Thank you, sir. You don't know how much this means to me!' Harry nearly jumped for joy, he was so happy.
Gawain flushed, clearly not used to openly showing emotion or dealing with it from an employee. 'Yes, well…again, congratulations. See you Monday morning, Potter. You'll see the raise on your next paycheck. Now go home before we get another call, go!'
Harry shook his boss's hand again and left his office. He opened the door and nearly jumped out of his skin.
'SURPRISE!' the staff from the Auror Office shouted. They had all, all except for those on assignment, anyway, assembled in front of Robards' office and were lying in wait for Harry to come out. A great banner was hovering above their heads that read. 'CONGRATULATIONS HARRY POTTER – NEWEST ADDITION TO THE AUROR OFFICE!' There was also a cake with his face on it and everyone in attendance was wearing a party hat.
Harry blushed a shade of scarlet Ron would have been proud of and looked behind him to see Gawain Robards laughing while he looked over the paperwork on his desk. Harry tried to scowl at the man, but couldn't and just grinned.
'You didn't have to do all this you know, I've been working here for a year already,' he said to the crowd.
'We know that, Harry, but we wanted to,' Emelina Banks said. 'This is a big occasion, you becoming a full Auror and all. So relax, let your hair down, have some fun!'
Harry smiled at her and gave her a hug as the others started up a rather loud chorus of 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.' Harry found Neville in the mess of people eating cake and toasting Harry's health and well-being after about twenty minutes.
'Congratulations, Harry!' he said with a grin. 'Knew you'd make it.'
'Thanks mate. Did you get the same chance as me, Neville? I mean, we were hired on at the same time and all,' Harry asked in return. He was worried Neville might be angry about Harry being promoted before him.
'Actually, I asked Emelina about that earlier, round when I heard about your trial run today,' Neville replied, taking a hasty pull from his glass of punch. Emelina was his personal mentor in the Auror Office. 'She told me I'd get my chance some time next week, though she didn't specify as to the day. She probably wants to keep me on my toes.'
'Ah, I guess that works then. I was just worried about being shown favoritism, you know,' Harry said uneasily.
Neville laughed. 'Don't fret about it, Harry. I don't care if they show you favoritism; you're the one who vanquished Voldemort!'
'Yeah, but I had help. I couldn't have done it without you taking out Nagini.'
Neville nodded soberly and fingered the very faint scar just under his hairline. The healers at St. Mungo's had said it was permanent, just like Harry's lightning scar. Harry sometimes looked upon this with black humour, seeing as Voldemort eventually marked them both, although Dumbledore had told him at the end of his fifth year that the Dark Lord had chosen Harry over Neville.
'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Neville replied. 'I'd better go; I have some paperwork to do before I go home. See ya later, Harry!' Neville disappeared into the crowd as Harry went the opposite direction, heading for the cake.
Harry enjoyed himself for about an hour, and then decided it was time to go home for the day. He left, though everyone kept trying to pull him back or something. It was very reminiscent of the end of his first week at the office a year previously when a similar situation had occurred, though then everyone had wanted autographed headshots of 'The Man Who Won.' He eventually got out of the office and down to the Atrium where there was a long line to get to the fireplaces. It just so happened, he got behind a very familiar head of bushy brown hair.
'Hello Hermione!' Harry said happily. Hermione Granger turned and smiled at him.
'Hey Harry. I hear congratulations are in order?' she asked with a cheeky grin.
'You were in on it too? That just isn't fair. I ought to back up there and hex the lot of them,' Harry said in mock anger, though he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.
Hermione grinned back and slapped his arm. 'You'll do no such thing!' She laughed and moved up another space as someone else used the fire to return to their home. 'Just so you know, I owled Mrs Weasley and there's to be a party tonight in your honor.'
Harry groaned. 'Why'd you do that Hermione? I would have told them about all this. There's no reason for a party.'
'Oh, bull, yes there is! You're a real Auror now, not just a trainee. Come on! Kingsley, McGonagall, and all the Weasleys are going to be there, it'll be fun,' Hermione said. She was now second to next in line.
'Kingsley! That's just stepping a bit too far!' Harry said. He was certain tonight would not go well.
'It'll be fine, Harry. See you at the Burrow soon, I just have to drop a few things off at home and change out of my work robes, bye!' Hermione smiled again and Flooed back to her house. She was living with her parents again for the time being. They'd taken some time to get over their anger at having their daughter erase her from their memories, but they eventually forgave her and she was living with them again.
Harry groaned again and stepped into the fire. 'This is going to be a very long night,' he thought dryly.