AN: written for the Houses Competition round 2. EWE. After the war, Harry is feeling lonely and lost. He will join the Aurors and hope for the best. The best sometimes comes in the most unexpected way.
Player: Slythadri
House: Slytherin
Year: 2
Category: Standard
Word count: 1983
Prompt: [Speech] "Who cares? I am not getting in that contraption!"
Harry woke up after another restless night and growled. The months after the final battle had been confusing and almost as exhausting as the war itself. His relationship with Ginny turned sour and they ended it before things got ugly. Hermione was in Australia trying to get her parents back. Ron was in Romania with Charlie. He felt lonely and lost. But today was the day he would officially join the Aurors. Maybe in this new place, he would find some solace. Maybe he would meet some new people, though that was unlikely. After a long shower and a whole pot of coffee, he hoped for the best and apparated himself to the Ministry.
"Harry! Just the person I was looking for," greeted the new head Auror, Hestia Jones. "I have a favor to ask."
"Of course, ma'am, what can I do for you?"
"One of our new recruits is an… unexpected addition to the class. She has excellent scores, and I interviewed her personally to make sure she was serious about joining us. You see, she was in Slytherin house at Hogwarts, and though she had no real role during the war her presence here may be uncomfortable for the new class, especially for you. But I think she can be a real asset. She is an impressive occlumens and is training herself in legilimency. I would really appreciate it if you can find it in yourself to have a positive attitude towards her. That would set the tone for the rest of the class."
Harry had his guard up immediately, however his curiosity always got the better of him. Before he could ask who the person was auror Jones called someone behind him.
"Miss Parkinson. Over here, please."
Harry froze. He didn't know if he would have it in him to deal with Parkinson's nasty attitude. But before he could react the young woman in question was shaking Jones' hand.
"Head auror Jones, thank you for having me," the Slytherin said in a very polite but firm voice. Then without missing a beat, she turned to Harry.
"Good morning, Potter. Could I please have a word?"
Hestia Jones took that as her cue to leave.
"I am going to give a short introduction to the new class. You two know everything I will tell them as I had private meetings with both of you. You can change into training gear and join up with the rest of the group in 30 minutes at the gym."
The two recruits nodded and after the head auror walked away Harry gestured towards a waiting room so they could sit. Pansy spoke softly but with conviction.
"Potter, I am deeply sorry for what I said the night of the battle. I regret it every single day. It was for sure the most shameful moment of my life, and I have no way to undo it. And I am also sorry for all the years of bad blood. I was a nasty classmate. I know I don't deserve it but could you find it your heart to forgive me for everything, to allow me to work with you. That is all I ask for. A chance to prove myself."
Harry tilted his head like a confused dog and blurted.
"Why did you decided to join the Aurors of all things?"
She took a deep breath.
"That night, the night if the battle, I was terrified. I have never felt weaker, so vulnerable and scared. I threw you to the wolves because I felt utterly defenseless and I believed the word of a madman if it meant I could go home and hide. The next few weeks I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, just wandered the hallways of my house feeling useless and ashamed. And then I made a decision. I chose to never feel like that again. I would learn to fight, I would learn to stand for myself instead of hiding, and I would pay for my mistakes by doing my best to protect others," then she seemed to run out of breath and simply shrugged, "so here I am."
Harry looked at her for a long moment. She had grown into her features, and her expression was now soft, so the big eyes, turned-up nose, and plump lips looked quite cute. She was dressed impeccably in a silk blouse and a knee-length pencil skirt that slid up when she sat, uncovering part of her thighs. His gaze trailed down all the way to her stilettos and up again. When his eyes met hers again she had lifted a perfect eyebrow and he realized he had just shamelessly checked out Pansy Parkinson. He blushed and only managed to say.
"Can you run in those?"
She chuckled and lifted her foot, rolling her ankle seductively.
"They are charmed, Potter. I can race you right now if you want to try me."
Harry felt suddenly very hot.
The new class of junior Aurors was highly competitive. Most of them had been members of the DA, so they made progress very fast. At the top of the class was, of course, the Chosen One. But his strongest competition was none other than the Slytherin princess. Parkinson worked harder and longer than anyone else, and quickly caught up and surpassed most of her classmates.
Harry noticed her dedication and helped her with the most advanced spells, including the Patronus charm. Pansy was very frustrated because it was uncorporeal, but Harry explained that it was related to the person's feelings and it may yet take an animal form. She, on the other hand, offered to help him with his occlumency. It was not his favorite thing to try, as he hated the idea of someone invading his head again, but it was necessary for him to perfect it.
"I'll tell you what," said Pansy. Let me read your mind once or twice, just so you get used to the idea that I am not going to hurt you. Then you can try to cast me out."
"Fine," he said, resigned.
Having Pansy in his head was a completely different experience. She was not aggressively searching for weaknesses or things to use against him. Instead, it was as if she was walking through the garden of his memories, carefully and with the utmost respect. He could feel her reactions to them: admiration, compassion, fear, hope. When she found her younger self in his memories he could feel her shame. That experience bonded them in a way no one expected and created a lot of trust between them. After that, they would partner up for most assignments and their performance was the envy of the class. One day, after getting perfect scores in a team task once again, the head auror called them to her office.
"We received a very special request. The Muggle prime minister suspects a rogue wizard may be behind some high profile heists that were reported to MI5. The crimes are being performed by young aristocratic muggles that behave oddly. We suspect the imperious curse. You will need to pass as a rich muggle couple, and try to join this crowd to find out who is behind it. Mr. Potter, do you know how to drive a muggle car?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Good. Here," she said handing him a key, "it's parked outside the Leaky Cauldron. You and Miss Parkinson can take a week to prepare yourselves. You will show her the muggle ways and she will teach you how to behave like a lord. Dismissed."
When they got to the street Harry clicked the unlock button and the lights of a silver car blinked.
"Oh, yes, yes! Come on, Parkinson, we are going for a ride."
"Absolutely not!"
"What are you talking about? This is an Aston Martin!"
"Who cares? I am not getting in that contraption!"
Harry realized that she was not being stubborn. She was afraid. This was all new for her. He extended his hand.
"Do you trust me?"
They drove through London, Pansy slowly getting over the need to squeal and cover her eyes every time they hit a red light. Harry couldn't help but laugh, though he felt bad for her. Eventually, they made it to a highway and he said.
"Ready to see what this baby can do?"
She squared her shoulders and nodded. He changed gears and hit the gas. They sped down the road for a while, Harry took an exit to a country road on a hillside, so he could play with the gears some more. Pansy watched him closely. There was something...sexy about operating this muggle contraption. After a couple of hours, they stopped for a bite and she asked.
"Would you teach me how to drive?"
The next few days Harry and Pansy worked hard on their wandless magic, on Harry's manners and on giving Pansy a crash course of muggle culture and behavior. By the end of the week, they were the embodiment of young muggle aristocracy.
The mission turned out to be low-risk and quite a bit of fun. The crimes were mostly high priced pieces of jewelry mysteriously disappearing from renowned family vaults, including some members of the royal family. A couple of surveillance videos had shown the owners of the jewels simply leaving them unattended in a suspiciously careless way. The Muggle authorities suspected they were drugged. The Aurors were quite sure it was an imperious curse. Looking through the muggle surveillance videos revealed no known British wizards, so the perpetrator might be foreign. All they needed to do was infiltrate the circle and expose the possible mastermind. They would have to keep their occlumens walls up and Pansy would scan the minds around for clues.
Harry and Pansy pass themselves as rich brats educated abroad and spent two weeks going to yacht parties, polo matches, and cricket games. They would accept glasses of champagne and wandlessly turn them non-alcoholic. They laughed, danced, flirted, Harry keeping an eye on their surroundings while Pansy explored the minds in the crowd. One night at a nightclub, Pansy seemed to be getting quite cozy with a handsome American guy. She giggled, batted her eyelashes, and stood way too close to the man for Harry's comfort. He kept them in sight, ready to hex him when suddenly she walked the guy towards a back exit and gestured for Harry to follow. When they walked out to an alley she said.
"This is our guy. Aren't you sweetheart?"
The man gave a silly smile, an obvious confundus charm on him.
"Why don't you tell Harry what you told me."
The guy smiled again and said.
"I said Imperio. And it didn't work," then he giggled like an idiot.
Harry shook his head and pulled out a set of muggle handcuffs that were charmed to serve as portkey to the Ministry's detention center. The man popped away.
Harry rounded on Pansy, pent up emotions finally breaking the surface.
"You scared me! I thought you were letting your guard down with that guy! Couldn't you tell me what you were doing?"
"No, I couldn't. I read his mind and needed to act fast. And you sound like you were jealous. Now if you excuse me we need to send a Patronus with the suspect."
Pansy spoke the message to the silver mist she conjured. As the mist grew, it took animal form before running away.
"Did you see that? My Patronus is corporeal now! It's a doe! It's a doe!" she squealed happily.
She turned towards Harry, who was looking at her with wide eyes. Before she could react he pulled her close and kissed her right on the mouth.
"I was jealous. I'm sorry."
She chuckled and slid her hand in his pocket, pulling out the car key.
"In that case you are grounded. And I get to drive."