Disclaimer: I hope you all realize that I don't own the rights to Harry Potter, and that I'm only doing this for my fellow fanfic junkie, not for any profits whatsoever.
A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot! It was a plot bunny that wouldn't go away. I know it probably has some plot holes, things that don't make sense, and maybe even grammatical and spelling errors, you're probably even going to have some unanswered questions at the end, but isn't that what a story is supposed to be like? Isn't it supposed to be imperfect? Life certainly isn't perfect, so why should books be? Life is full of plot holes, but we learn to deal with them and we even flourish in their existence. So deal with these and if you don't think I did it right, you go ahead and make it better by writing it your way. It's the only way to be pleased with the results. :)
Harry rolled out of his bed, fumbling with his glasses, and shuffled to the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of yesterday's coffee. He ran one hand through his untidy, black hair while he flipped his newspaper open with the other. He avoided front page news, a habit from the war, along with obituaries, marriages, and the section on self-help, so he basically had sports and research to read.
While most often he stayed in the sports section, as he still enjoyed reading the stats of his favorite quidditch team, he had started avoiding that section since his very public break up with Ginny. They had stayed friends since then, but there was still an awkwardness that kept them from hanging out too often. So really he only had one section of the paper to read, and that was research. Most often they had advances in healing or potions, and occasionally a new spell would be invented and make wizarding kind more lazy than they already were.
Harry skimmed the small section, only pausing when he came across a spell he actually knew. Harry's eyes narrowed as he continued reading, wondering if the research in the article was valid or if the Daily Prophet was still getting over it's bout of nonsense spouting. As he read the next line, the lukewarm coffee he had just took a drink of came spraying out of his mouth involuntarily.
'Accio Repurposed!
Earlier this year an esteemed member of the poorly staffed Research Committee, a small, understaffed branch of the Ministry of Magic, discovered an unusual use for the most commonly used summoning charm. They discovered that the term 'accio' had several Latin meanings, one of them being invite. "If someone were to use this spell on, say, an object that is living, they would have a sudden urge to approach you. Eventually they wouldn't be able to deny the urge as they would become overwhelmed by the myriad of emotions that would be compelling them to the summoner." The researcher explained in the interview. "I tested it on my wife and children, and they always came within a few minutes of the spell being cast." When asked if he had discovered anything else, like if the being's name had to be used or if a general idea of what you were summoning would work, the interview was cut short as his eyes widened and he fled from the room. It looks as though we've got quite an enthusiastic researcher on our hands.
More on Ministry of Magic on page 2
More on Research Committee on page 7
More on Harry Potter on page 1'
Harry ignored the comment on himself even though he had nothing to do with the article, but continued reading the sentence on general ideas working for summoning. He thought back to his forth year when he spent most of his free time practicing the summoning charm, and he imagined how much easier that year would've been if he'd had this information then. He wouldn't have had to actually summon his firebolt specifically, he could've just summoned it using the idea of a fast broom, or he could've summoned Ron whenever he was losing in chess by just summoning the best chess player in the room instead of calling him over and humiliating himself.
Harry's thoughts wandered as he continued thinking of ways his life could've been easier if he'd known this information. He could've summoned Voldemort and killed him right away, instead of the war being drawn out and all his friends either dying or abandoning him. He even could've summoned Ginny when he'd had his suspicions of where- Harry stopped that thought before it could complete itself. He and Ginny had their issues, but they'd worked through most of that and had gotten their relationship semi back to the way they had been before they had gotten together.
Harry laid the paper down and glanced at his watch. He sighed as he got up from his chair and summoned his cloak, grinning as he used the same spell in the paper. Harry left for work, his mind still on the article he'd read.
Harry's body went through the motions of defending himself against his opponent while his mind wandered to different ways he could use the newly discovered perks of the summoning charm.
"Ouch!" Harry's voice rang out in shock at the very painful stinging hex hit him on his left side.
Neville smirked as he caught his distracted friend off guard. "What's your problem today, Harry? I haven't seen you this distracted since Charlie came in dressed as my Gran."
Harry chuckled at the memory of the very serious witch dressing as Neville's Gran for Halloween. She had pulled it off well, until the very object of her costume came to the work party and hilarity had ensued. "You have to admit, that was pretty distracting."
"Indeed, but that doesn't answer my question, what's distracting you now?" Neville enquired.
"I read an article in the Daily Prophet that got me thinking, and I want to try an idea that I thought of, but I'm not sure that it will work. I'm thinking through all the possibilities of things that could go wrong." Harry answered partially, not wanting to give his reasons for trying his idea.
"Well just remember to leave most of your thinking at home. Criminals don't care if you're distracted, and they'll use a touch worse than a stinging hex." Neville chastened his friend, positioning himself across the room from his sparring partner. "Let's go one more, and then I need a break."
Harry nodded and shook his thoughts from his mind, readying himself for battle. With his focus now on training, he was near impossible to hit, and Neville was out of the fight in mere minutes.
"Well done," Neville gasped for breath, "looks like I need to work on my stamina."
"Maybe I should inform Luna about that request?" Harry teased lightly.
Neville cuffed Harry on the back of his head and swiftly dodged the following attempt at revenge. "Maybe I don't need more stamina after all, if I can still out-dodge your pathetic attempts of attack."
The two friends left the training arena laughing, a far cry from the past war that the two had been in together.
"So how are things with Ginny?" Neville questioned curiously.
Harry sighed, "Pretty good, we've mutually decided that we're better off as friends, without the pressures of dating."
"Oh man, I'm sorry Harry." Neville comforted, knowing how he would feel if Luna had broke it off with him when things had gotten rough. "Maybe someday you'll find your Luna."
Harry snickered at the romantic Gryffindor's ideals. "I'm happy as I am, I don't need a woman to complete my life." Even as Harry spoke the words, his heart was denying them.
"Alright then, but you'll see that I'm right in the end." Neville forewarned.
"You've been listening to Luna's crazy prophecies again?" Harry teased.
"Hey! She's right ninety percent of the time, especially when it comes to you." Neville countered easily.
Harry chuckled at the naivety of his friend. Prophecies were nine times out of ten self-fulfilling, but he'd had his run ins with prophecies before, and he didn't believe that they had the power to order fate and control the future.
"You'll see, Harry, Luna was right about you and Ginny's break up." Neville reminded softly.
"That was an obvious one, even I could see where our relationship was heading, I just refused to believe that we couldn't work it out until too late."
Neville kept silent, not wanting to get into an argument with one of his best friends. He thought back to when Luna had first told him about the fate of Harry and Ginny's relationship, and they hadn't even gotten together yet. By the time Luna had told Harry what she'd seen, their relationship had been in constant turmoil from the war.
"I'll see you later, Neville, I have some paperwork I've got to fill out." Harry made a hasty retreat to his small office.
Neville knew that his friend had had trouble with coming to terms that he'd defeated Voldemort, and with the deaths of so many friends on top, it was a miracle that Harry could still function. He also knew that Harry had trouble taking Luna's gift of Sight at face value, but Neville knew when his wife was teasing, and when she was Seeing, and he knew that Harry had a surprise coming his way.
Harry sighed as he glanced once more at his watch, specially charmed to withstand levels of magic much higher than Hogwarts, so it had no trouble keeping time in the small amounts of magic that surrounded his work. He still had three hours to get through, but at least one of them was designated for lunch, which he could spend anywhere.
Harry tugged his watch off and tossed it into the drawer in his desk, vowing not to check it for the rest of the work day. Harry lost himself in his paperwork, having let it pile up instead of doing it right away like he should have. That was the one drawback of being an auror, never ending paperwork.
Neville glanced at the time once more, never tiring of the reliable spell that had saved him from many a late date. It was now ten after quitting time and Harry still hadn't come out of his office since their sparring session. He hadn't even taken a break for lunch like he usually did.
Neville tried to calm his nerves as most of the Death Eaters had been incarcerated, and those not locked up had been registered as traitors of England and had been banned from the country. Anyone barring any resemblance to the exiled were denied entry, and that included a check on magical signature.
At fifteen minutes after, Neville could no longer deny the need to check on his friend. He knocked politely, and not hearing an answer, opened the door a crack with his wand at the ready. Not seeing a discernable threat, or any sign of Harry, Neville advanced carefully, softly closing the door behind him.
He felt more than saw an object approaching him from behind at a swift pace, and instinctively ducked and prepared to defend himself against... nothing. There was no one behind him. Neville thought for a second, and then quickly followed after the object that had nearly beheaded him.
The object, which Neville could now plainly see was a small certificate praising Harry for his advancement in the auror program, was lying on top of a small pile of a myriad of other things that had previously been placed about Harry's office. Neville heard a whispered spell, and ducked as he once more felt an object hurtling towards him.
"Harry?" Neville called, and to his surprise a resounding thud echoed through the now almost bare room.
"Ouch!" Harry appeared out from under his desk, looking sheepish, like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Whatcha need, Neville, I'm a bit preoccupied." Harry griped as he massaged his now tender scalp.
"I came looking for you, after you didn't show up at lunch and then didn't come out of your office at the end of the day, I thought..." Neville paused, unsure if he should continue.
"You thought what?" Harry asked, wincing at the large lump that was now forming beneath his hair.
"I thought... that... perhaps... something had happened to you." Neville finished quietly, his voice laced with concern for Harry.
Neville's revelation caught Harry off guard and he stared open-mouthed at his friend. "Neville, I-"
"I know, you can take care of yourself," Neville cut him off, "but I still worry about you."
Harry blushed, not used to this level of concern from his friends, or from anyone for that matter, but he was grateful for it. Especially from Neville, as he knew more about his past than most, aside from Ginny and Hermione. It had seemed that no one else had bothered to care enough to ask why Harry had nightmares every night, and even if they did, they'd kept their curiosity to themselves.
"Thanks, Nev, you're a great friend." Harry smiled and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder.
"Any time, Harry. So what's all this for?" Neville asked, gesturing to the pile in front of Harry's desk.
"Oh, this? I was just experimenting, guess I kinda got carried away." Harry sheepishly banished all the objects back to where they'd been before he'd summoned them.
Neville chuckled at his friend's ability to become completely absorbed in his work. "Come on, Harry, I'm sure you have something more important than sit around and experiment at work."
"Alright." Harry answered amicably. The two men walked to the extensive floo system that the Ministry had, a fireplace keyed to nearly every employee's house. Only a select few had opted out of the easy way home, and Harry was one of them. He valued his time with his friend, however, and so was more than willing to walk Neville to his fireplace before leaving the building for his car.
Harry relaxed in the leather arm chair that he had salvaged from the Hogwarts wreckage, his mind still on that blasted article. If they had hoped to put a stop to spell research, like the Ministry most often wanted to do, they'd done the wrong thing in allowing Harry a copy of the paper. His curiosity was now piqued, and he could deny the call of researching something until it's completion. Harry knew he could ask Hermione for help, as she'd often been a good source of advice on where to start, but, not only was she in Australia looking for her parents, she would also work his reasons for experimenting out of him in one swift glance. He had always had trouble lying to Hermione, she had been so understanding when he'd broken down in the library after Sirius's death, and had even gone so far as to promise to listen if he had ever needed to talk. Somehow her words had broken the dam that contained his whole past and found himself confiding in the bushy haired know-it-all.
Since then, he'd always gone to her for advice with everything, including what to do about Ginny. Her words of wisdom had worked until Harry had caught Ginny with- Harry once again stopped that train of thought, not allowing himself to think of the terrible mishap that had led to his heart being wrenched from his chest.
Harry longed for someone to talk to, someone who would share his life, someone to spend time with, someone who would understand what he'd been through and why he'd never told anyone save his closest friends, someone... someone who loved him, for being Harry, not the boy-who-lived, not the man-who-conquered, not Auror Potter, but just Harry. What he needed was a wife!
Harry's skin tingled at the thought of a wife, someone to make the lonely life he led as an island, into a beautiful paradise for two. He quickly set about taking down as many qualities about his wife that he hoped she possessed, but then made haste to burn it, a new idea cementing itself in his head.
"Why go looking for my future wife, when I can summon her?" Harry thought, his hand inching towards his wand. Like a madman he made a mad dash for the slender piece of wood that had saved his life many times, and preformed the motions that had implanted themselves onto his brain.
Whispering, as though someone would hear, Harry spoke the first words that came to mind. "Accio Harry's future wife."
Harry had waited for nearly an hour before he sat down at his table with a cup of fresh coffee. He typically didn't make a fresh pot until it was empty, but making the coffee had been a short distraction from his impatient waiting. He drummed his fingers on the table, his nerves jittery with excitement. As the minutes ticked by, Harry grew discouraged, and as the minutes turned into hours he fell into a troubled sleep, dreaming that the spell had worked but that his future wife was a banshee from the Forbidden Forest. She carried a cane and was quickly approaching her soon to be husband. He tried to run, but the banshee's long fingers clung to his defense robes and rapped him sharply on his head.
Harry woke with a start, the pounding still echoing in his ears. He shook his head to rid himself of the dream, but the sound still reverberated through his house. He soon realized that someone was knocking on his door, and he slowly made his way for the door, wary after what he'd dreamed about. Knowing him it was entirely possible for it to come true.
Harry swung open the door and was ready to tell off whoever had dared to knock at this hour of night, but froze when he saw the woman standing before him. Her brilliant brown eyes shimmering in the dim light of the lantern on his porch. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant red at the sight that Harry was in, but he was too busy staring at the beautiful witch before him.
Her blazer and dark blue skirt screamed that this person deserved respect. The bun that had previously been tight was threatening to come loose, however, and cast a playful look on the strict looking woman. Her mouth curved into a slight smile, revealing perfectly straight teeth.
"Harry, are you going to invite me in or not?" The witch's soft voice teased gently.
"Oh... of-of course, I'm sorry." Harry babbled, opening the door wider and standing to the side to allow the woman entry. Her no nonsense flats made little sound on the oak wood floors of Harry's house.
"No need to apologize, although I should probably explain why I'm here, though I'm not so sure myself." The woman smiled sheepishly at the dark haired wizard. "I guess, I had a... a feeling, that you needed me. I wasn't sure why, but I just had this sudden urge to come and find you. So I came back to England, and I happened to run into Neville. I asked if he'd seen you recently, and if he knew where you lived.
He said he knew, and that he knew why I was back, and he told me he'd tell me where you were if I spent a few hours with Luna, and as I'd missed her terribly, and the feeling of needing to find you had lessened since running into Neville, I took him up on his offer. However the feeling intensified after a few hours, and Luna told me that it was time to find you, and to finish the destiny I had started. I, of course, knew she was teasing me, her and her 'Seer' gift." The witch chuckled easily.
"So Neville told me where to find you, and I practically ran the whole way, forgetting I'd left my car at Neville and Luna's until I was about half way here, and by then it was too late to go back, so I just kept running... Harry what are you doing?" The witch abruptly asked as the wizard in question was slowly making his way toward her.
Harry remained silent, his eyes on the beautiful witch before him.
"Are you ok?" The witch's voice was overwhelmed with concern, but Harry kept on, his walk slow and hesitant.
When the tall wizard was almost a foot away, the wary witch took a step back in caution. Harry paused at the slight movement, but continued forward and grasped the young witch's hand in his right, and tilted her head with his left. He briefly touched the witch's soft lips with his and whispered, "Welcome home, Hermione."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed a little fluff this holiday season, and I hope you all have a great Christmas :)