Hello, it has been a while since I came up with a new story. It took me a great deal of energy and time to write this story. I will try my very best to update this story on every Friday. Hope you enjoy. :)
"Are you sure you want to do this?" The man eyed the girl in front of him rather worriedly. His strongly built hands held the letters—six letters, to be exact—that he would be sending soon. However, he wanted to make sure that she really knew what she was doing. His warm, light brown eyes were surprisingly penetrating as if he were trying to find the truth behind her cool façade.
Not surprisingly, she did not even flinch at the glare of Head of the Auror Office, Acton Salmander. Acton secretly made a smile. LeRouge was only eighteen, and yet, she was able to fight off the intimidating aura that the former Auror could produce. This girl is really something, he wearily thought. He tightly held onto the letters and stood up, still watching her carefully. He was waiting for her to change her mind. She just raised her eyebrow in surprise.
"I don't see what the problem is with the situation. It's true that we're running low on people, since they are leaving after the Reform that Shacklebolt is instigating." She ran her hand through her bright platinum blond hair. Her strong, clear eyes met Acton's, not even losing to him when it came to confidence. "I have been an Auror for five years and Senior Auror for three years. I can clearly reckon that I'm more than qualified to be a Mentor."
Acton instinctively flinched when she mentioned the Reform. He already knew about her direct and candid manner of speaking, but what she just spat out was a delicate and complicated situation. Acton sighed in resignation. "LeRouge, it's not the matter of what's on your resume. You have never been a Mentor and I honestly do not see you fit as a Mentor. You are a field agent, not a Mentor."
What he said was true and LeRouge could tell that he truly believed it. She knew that Acton was afraid of losing a few Senior Aurors that he had. Too many had left already in opposition to the Reform, and she understood that situation as well. Her slender finger ran along the desk, her eyes concentrated. She knew that the Auror Office could not afford to lose the recruits just because of the lack of the Mentors. However, she also fully aware that losing a Senior Auror could be a fatal blow to the strength of the Auror Office. Sighing rather loudly, she stared at the tall man.
"You should really think about getting more Senior Aurors. Jaden and Nate are very competent."
Acton scratched his auburn hair in contemplation. Judging by his face and athletic body and the manner that LeRouge was talking to him, it was very hard to believe that he was in the middle of his fifties, and well above her authority. Acton treated everyone equally despite their age or their heritage. All he cared about was their competency and their hearts. Therefore, he encouraged others to treat him as an equal, not superior, although he did require some kind of proper respect.
He was not surprised that LeRouge had mentioned Jaden and Nate. They were indeed very strong Aurors and had almost enough experience to become Senior Aurors. But it was too early to consider it now. He would not have to decide that until next August—to be more precise, in a year.
He stepped out of the room, waving the letters. "The recruits are going to be here in September. There is going to be a brief orientation introducing the Office and everyone. I know you're not a social butterfly, but I will expect you to be there if you are really taking the duty as a Mentor."
"Yes, sir." She answered curtly. Then, she added, "Don't worry about the missions. I will take at least one Senior Rank mission a month. That should take care of the demand a little bit."
Actong nodded in agreement and appreciation. Glancing at the acceptance letters, he was hoping that this year's new recruits might solve a problem that Auror Office was facing. He hurriedly left the room.
E.N. LeRouge stared at her boss for a while until she moved her gaze to carefully look at the office. The mahogany table that she was leaning against was in the middle of the spacious, but windowless room. There were many bookshelves containing various books and clips from Daily Prophet. On the other wall, she saw the old Aurors.
Then she mused for her sudden change of heart. Acton was right. She was not right for Mentor. She was usually reserved and did not trust others easily. Well, it was a miracle that she came to the Auror Office for a job five years ago. She had couple partners for the job, but all of them turned her down after their first job. It was not that she was rude or hard to work with. They were all surprised by the fact that she never let her guard down for people to enter. However, whether she wanted or not, she was definitely changing. She made a nonchalant laugh. She was afraid that she might change too much that she would lose her former-self. She twiddled her fingers around something that hung on her waist, deeply hidden by her cloak. No, she could not allow that to happen. Not yet, and possibly, not ever.
As Acton was heading to owlery to send out the letters, Harry Potter slowly opened his green eyes in the sunlight. He lazily searched for his glasses, wore them, and checked the clock. The clock indicated him that it was well over ten. Harry sat up, holding his head in splitting headache. However, it wasn't the kind of headache that had been bothering him as long as he could remember. No, as difficult as it was to believe, he did not have to worry about Voldemort anymore. No, this headache was probably from…
"Had too much drink last night, heh?" George came in, giving him friendly pat on the shoulder. Then he cheerfully added,"But I have to say seeing you drunk was probably one of my favorite moments of the party."
Harry groaned in response. Last night, Weasleys had a little party for Hermione since she finally managed to finish her 7th year in Hogwarts, and pass the exam to be in The Ministry of Magic. After the battle with Voldemort, she was the only one who decided to go back to Hogwarts to finish her last year. For Harry and Ron, all they wanted was piece and quiet, preferably away from people. Ginny had finished Hogwarts this year as well, so the Weasleys decided to put a party to celebrate both of them.
For a year, Harry had been doing his study independently in Burrow with help from Hermione when she came back for holidays. He also took a Seeker position for Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team under a different name. The last thing he wanted or needed was an unnecessary attention from people due to his accomplishments. As much as he appreciated them, he wanted to be just like a normal person. Because he didn't have a lot of time to come up with his alias, he decided to take his father's name and his mother's maiden name: James Evans. He had to develop his disguise charm skill a bit better so that people would not recognize him. Hermione spent the entire summer trying to teach him how to alternate his facial structure ever so slightly so that it looked different but natural at the same time. He ended up having flowing dirty blond hair with blue eyes with wider chin, and of course, his lightening bolt scar was gone.
Harry still could not believe that it had been almost a year since he had defeated Voldemort. He could not say everything was back to how it was before, but everything was more or less normal. Surprisingly, the temporary post of Minister that Kingsley took recently became permanent, which forced him to hand Head of Auror Office to his colleague, Acton Salmander. However, Kingsley made it clear that he would continue the Reform in the Auror system, and Salmander had expressed his support for it as well.
Harry had been reading Daily Prophet with concern as he read the affairs in the Auror Office. Kingsley deemed it necessary that Aurors participate in reconstruction and declared that they will accept missions, or jobs, that were, in his words, domestic. Kingsley made a clear distinction between Aurors and Senior Aurors more clearly, distributing the jobs differently. He believed that Aurors could offer their help in clearing the debris or chasing off the annoying creatures or help the construction. Therefore, he left the tracking for the remaining Death Eaters to strictly Senior Aurors.
Many Aurors were infuriated by the Reform. They had pride in themselves as the guardian of Wizarding world. Some of them could not accept that they had to do menial works. There were many revolts, which were squashed by Kingsley's supporters, and in results, many of them left. The Co-Head of the Auror Office, Salmander was the major supporter who helped Kingsley ever since he took the temporary job of the Minister. The Auror Office was slowly changing, and the Aurors helping the people definitely expedited the process of reconstruction after the war, but the Auror Office had such a small number of Aurors that it was dwindling to near extinction.
Harry bit his lips in anticipation. He was hoping to become an Auror and had already turned in the application. The year long training session for recruits began in September, so the results should be coming any time soon. But he was worried that they might not even take recruits when the Auror Office had such short hands for everything.
But he did not have to worry about that right now. The only thing he had to focus was to go downstairs without stumbling. With more difficulty that he wanted, Harry finally managed to get to the kitchen where the breakfast was already ready.
"Good morning, Harry," said Hermione, still flushed with excitement. She just graduated from Hogwarts yesterday. The excitement for a new chapter in her life has not disappeared yet. Harry, unable to talk, just waved his hand and grabbed a glass to pour the water. He gulped it down in an instant, but the headache did not vanish. Harry frowned in frustration. Ron finally realized what was going on with Harry and roared with laughter, leaving Hermione confused.
"Harry, you just have to blame your low alcoholic tolerance." Hermione finally understood and began to laugh along. Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
"I've never seen you like that, Harry. I wish you could have seen yourself." Hermione giggled. Harry just glared at them wearily, but he could not say anything. He did bring it upon himself. Ginny, holding a tray full of food, defended Harry. "Come on, he wasn't that bad. And honestly, I think you guys were more interesting than Harry."
Hermione's face reddened while Ron cleared his throat. While they were avoiding Ginny's eyes, Harry turned toward her and smiled at her in gratitude. Ginny just winked and put down the tray.
The breakfast was just like always: peaceful, yet exciting. Ron glanced at the clock and mumbled that he had to go to George's store to help him out after the breakfast. Hermione decided to accompany him, saying that she wanted to stop by the Ministry of Magic.
"You're not trying to work in my dad's department, are you?" Ron asked worriedly.
"No, silly." Hermione rolled her eyes. She could not believe that he thought she would work for Muggles just because she was a Muggleborn. She did not dislike the idea of it, but there was something else that she wanted to do. "I want to work in Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."
Everyone stopped their eating, staring blankly at her. Hermione huffed and kindly explained. "I'm going to try to improve the house elves' lives in private houses and public facilities."
They all nodded when they heard the explanation. Harry and Ron already realized that her devotion to the life of house elves exceeded far above a mere interest. Ron suddenly clapped his hands in surprise and blurted, "The letters!"
"The letters? What letters?" Ginny asked, not understanding her brother's comment, but Harry did. His eyes flashed with excitement as well. "The letters arrived?"
"An owl came by and left them by the window. I think Mum checked the letters, but she was on her way out to visit her friend, so I bet she forgot to tell us."
"Do you think our letters might be there?" Their eyes met, both sparked with anticipation. Without any more words, they both rushed to the window where a stack full of newspapers and letters sat. They hurriedly looked through the stack and finally found two envelopes addressed to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. As they expected, they were from the Auror Office.
They exchanged a nervous glance. If they didn't get into the training program this year, they had no choice but to wait until the next year. Harry didn't mind being in the Quidditch team, but he would much rather be training to be an Auror. Ron did not enjoy working in George's shop. He liked brother and he appreciated George's passion, but Ron knew that a joke shop wasn't his ambition. Carefully, they opened their envelope with trembling fingers. When Harry opened the letter, he could read the first word but everything else became a blur.
Congratulation
I'm very pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Training Session for Auror in the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. The training session will start on August 28th. If you wish to participate, you have to be present at the Auror Office on August 26th with your luggage. You will be staying in the residential facility for the year and complete your training. The details for training, facility, and the directions are included in other pages.
I'm looking forward to seeing you and having a wonderful year. Congratulation, you are one step closer to becoming an Auror for the Ministry of Magic!
Acton Salmander
Harry stared at the letter in disbelief. As the letter instructed, there were more pages concerning directions, overview of training, and the rules in residential facility. He turned his gaze at Ron who had the same surprise in his eyes. Realizing that they both made it, they roared in cheer.
"We did it! We made into the training!" Ron waved the letter at Hermione. "Look, we both made it. After this, we will both become Aurors!"
Hermione squealed in joy and ran to hug Ron. Ginny followed suit and gave Harry a tight hug. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Harry. Auror! I can't believe you actually made it. I mean, I had no doubt that you will… Oh, Harry, but it's just really amazing."
Harry stared at the letter again in excitement and astonishment. He actually had made it. Not only him, but so did Ron! A smile was forming in his face without his aware. This year was going to be better than he thought.