Harry Potter – Hunter

By : Andor Swiftblade

Disclaimer : Harry Potter belongs to the beautiful blonde lady famously known as J K Rowling. No monetary gain is being made from this story. Any non-Canon characters belong to me. Certain creative terms which have been used probably belong to some of my brilliant fellow fan fiction authors. (I don't really know to whom, so please forgive me.)

Summary : After the DoM Mayhem, Harry decides that he is tired of the Dursleys and figures that he wants to take a unique summer job. Follow him as in his bid for freedom, he has the adventure of a lifetime. Post OotP. Probably AU. Might include crossovers.

You are free to choose, but the choices that you make today will determine your tomorrow.

* * * * * Chapter 1 * * * * *

*|* Hunter *|*

On a particularly hot and sunny day in the summer holidays, everyone who could avoid being outside in the sweltering heat were taking refuge in their houses and had their air conditioning units switched on at full power to keep themselves relatively cool. Those who did not have such provisions had to make do with their ceiling fans and table fans. One such individual was lying on his bed reading his book in the particularly boring neighborhood of Privet Drive.

Inside the smallest bedroom of Number Four Privet Drive, a nearly-sixteen year old Harry Potter was lying down on his old bed with a book that he was currently reading, which he had 'borrowed' from the Hogwarts Library for 'a bit of light reading during the holidays', as Hermione would say. Said book was on a topic that interested him, and he wanted to be thinking about something positive for once in his life. The book was titled "A Future In The Wizarding World" and was written by a man called William Patstick, who was a special consultant in a private firm for job application. Every possible job opportunity was mentioned inside the book in alphabetical order and the book also provided contact information for every job listed.

Harry was reading the book and was trying to find a good job that particularly suited him and gave him some amount of freedom and anonymity. After his last year at Hogwarts and the treatment he was given there, especially from the Minister and his pet toad, Harry had decided that he no longer wanted to be an Auror for the Ministry and continue to put his life at risk for the idiots of the Wizarding World. Professional Quidditch was an option that he had considered to be very tempting; that was until he read in the book that according to the standard contract drawn for every player, a Professional was obliged to sign autographs and that he had to do some showmanship before and after a match, on the pitch as well as outside the pitch. After reading that, any thought of playing Professional Quidditch flew out of his mind faster than a Firebolt.

After reading about most of the respectable jobs mentioned in the book, Harry realized that even if he decided to work as a Clerk in Shoe Shop, he would still be recognized and swarmed with idiots. So, after finally coming to the conclusion that none of these jobs suited him, Harry decided to pursue the section about the less reputable jobs.

When Harry read about one particular job mentioned in the book, he was a bit shocked. He didn't know that there were Hunters in the Wizarding World. He just thought that those existed only in the Muggle world and in movies and books. His interest was piqued as he wondered as to what magical Hunters did and he decided to read the section about Hunters.

The Hunters

Many of you young readers will be surprised to know, but it is true that Hunters exist. Who else do you think procures all the potentially dangerous potions ingredients from creatures that have been classified by the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation & Control of Magical Creatures as "Very dangerous"?

Gathering potentially dangerous ingredients is not the only job for Hunters. Anyone can hire a Hunter with a magically binding contract that can be obtained from the Hunters' Guild.

¤ Basic Hunters' Guild Laws :-

» Anyone using the title of "Hunter" without a Hunter's License can be considered guilty of falsely using the name of an organization and the judgment of the individual's fate will be deferred to the Hunters' Guild. Even the Ministry cannot interfere with this particular law.

» A Hunter is free from Ministry prosecution as the Hunters' Guild is an independent organization not answerable to any nation; even the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) cannot arrest an official member of the Hunters' Guild without proper reason and a Guild-approved arresy warrent.

» A Hunter's true identity is secret even form the Guild, and every hunter has their own personal codename that they work by.

¤ How to become a Hunter :-

» The only information available for the qualification for a rank in the Hunters' Guild is that one has to write a letter to the Guild but not sign it with the name. Nothing else is known about how the Guild selects new Hunters from the applying candidates.

¤ Note :- The Hunter profession is only for people with proper skill. As a dangerous and (many times) life-threatening job, the amount of money earned will also be much higher than any normal profession.

¤ Warning :- The Hunter profession is not suited for everyone. The mortality rate for poorly trained Hunters is very high. This means that the senior members of the Hunters Guild are very good at what they do as they have persevered so long in such life-threatening conditions.

As Harry read the information provided in the book, there were myriad expressions on his face. First there was wariness, then happiness, again wariness and slowly the expression turned into a calculating one. He had always wanted to be free from the discrimination of the incompetent Ministry and its bigoted ways. This was an opportunity to be free of the Ministry for once and for all. But if he did so, he would have to risk his life.

'What to do? What to do . . . ?' Harry thought as he put the book on the nearly-broken table in his room. He continued to quietly pace around the room as he thought about what he would do. 'The job may be dangerous, but when is my life not so? I have to be on the lookout for when Voldemort or his sycophants attack anyway, so maybe this job will be safer than my life. It can also be considered as training for finally killing Voldemort. Dumbledore and the Order are just happy to lock me here and play their foolish games. How does that old coot think that I will kill Voldemort without any training? By hugging him to death?' Harry snorted quietly. 'At least the training will help me to dispose off the Moronic Munchers of ole Tommy Boy and at least weaken the Dork Lord so that someone can finally kill the idiot.'

'Then there is the matter of money. Though Mum and Dad left quite a bit in the Trust Vault, who known how much more I'd need in the future? I don't want to work for the Ministry so I'll probably have to find some other job free from Ministry control. Maybe I'll use business as a cover job while I do the Hunter work. Hermione said that the Potters were an old family so I might have some investments. Maybe I should ask the Goblins to show me if I've got some other Vaults in the bank. But I think this job is probably the best, as it gets me freedom and money as well.'

'I need to make plans. I can't rush half-cocked into things now. I have to carefully think things through before carrying through them. I'll follow the Sorting Hat's advice and use my Slytherin side for once in my life. I may save my life someday and it might also save others.'

As his train of thoughts shifted towards Sirius, Harry realized that he did not feel all that sad about his Godfather's death. He knew that Sirius was somewhat damaged from his imprisonment in Azkaban, even if he would not admit it out loud to anyone. The exposure to the horrible Dementors – the guards of the Azkaban prison – over the course of nearly twelve years had left its mark on Sirius. And then the entire last year, he was cooped up in that shabby old house with nothing to do and his only companion being the foul-mouthed portrait of his long deceased mother, a wretched old House Elf that had served the Black Family and went by the name of Kreacher, and some members of the Order that visited the Headquarters to submit their reports. From what he knew in general about Sirius and the Marauders was that they were extremely free-willed and fun loving, and he know that being ordered to stay indoors against their wishes would not sit well with them. And then there was the fact that his Godfather was now in a better place. (Right now he was probably in Heaven playing pranks on everybody along with his best friend James Potter while being scolded by the short-tempered Lily Potter.)

As his thoughts once again turned to the answer his mind derived as a solution for quite a lot of problems he would probably face some time in the near future, a phrase suddenly floated to the front of Harry's mind : Fortune sides with those who dare.

And that was when Harry remembered that he was a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors were brave and courageous. He would tackle all the difficulties that lay in path with his Slytherin mind and Gryffindor heart. He decided that he would come out at the top one way or the other. He might have to maim or kill a few Death Munchers, but if that was all that was required to keep them from harming others, then he would gladly pay the cost, even if it damaged his soul.

He, Harry James Potter, would become a Hunter.

AN : There is a poll for possible pairings on my profile page! Please vote!

If you enjoyed my story, then please review. Thank you.

May your sword stay sharp!