DISCLAIMER: I am going to say this once for this entire story: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise because if I did, I might do things different about Harry and Hermione.
People mostly thought that after you won a civil war, everything is going to be fine. That is definitely not the case. In case you didn't know, poverty is prevalent due to high number of orphaned children, widows that were to scarred by their experiences, and families that lost everything they once had and along with poverty comes crime. Crime will reach an all time high like there would be murders right at the corner, robberies that can occur anytime of the day, someone getting beat up just because he can't pay his dues and many many more. Worst of all the government will definitely have a hard time controlling the situation and it will be a whole lot harder because the people no longer has any confidence from the government. So, do you know the source of all these things?
It's the damages.
It would be far more difficult to repair when these damages was caused by the civil war because now, the government will have to get the money from their own people to protect these people, to provide to them the services they need from their own purses. This would be through higher taxes, being under foreign debt, and extracting resources from the losing faction of the war(which won't be much); the government will just become less favorable to the people because they are further strangling them. Therefore, the government has a high chance of never recovering from the damages ever again. In this fucked-up situation that was being described, one may ask "Why is it important to say this?"
The answer is simple. The British Magical Society is suffering the same fate.
The magical society was almost lawless during the first two years after the war, the situation similar to what happened to Germany after the First World War or to Japan after the Second World War. The Ministry of Magic may be recovering now but that is not enough to solve the problem. This is why at the age of nineteen years old; Harry Potter firmly decided to enlist to the Auror Training Program. He has hopes to help the society that once welcomed him and once treated him an equal all those years ago. He believed that being an Auror is the best way he can help for Harry Potter is famously known as a war hero, this is what the majority thinks he does best. It was in this new chapter of his life, this time of discord that our story begins.
This is it.
The only sentence that rung inside Harry's head. Three years of Auror Training to better prepare himself for this job even though he had a free pass for it already. At the age of twenty-two, Harry Potter is now going to be a full-fledged Auror just as he said to Prof. McGonagall when she asked of him for his career options when he was fifteen.
"Glad to finally have you here Mr. Potter and I am Percival Richmond." Senior Auror Richmond said as he shook Harry's hand as he welcomed him to the Auror Office. This Richmond is not too thin nor too fat and beyond forty years old and has a white hair with a receding hair line. He unusually wears a grey three piece tweed suit with a pair of brown leather shoes. This is unusual since most of the people in the Ministry wears robes rather than...well, muggle fashion.
"It is a pleasure being here Sir and please, call me Harry." Harry answered
"Just to orient you about the office, let me tell you in advance that we got...well bigger than before. The Auror Office has been rebuilt after Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister and in this new structure, we created a new division and relocated the existing divisions for each specific types of crime. The first floor is the Reception Area, unauthorized personnel are only allowed here at a certain point, and it also holds Combat Practice Facility for all the Aurors that wants a little practice of their skills. Economic and Specialist Crime Division, call them ESC for short, Organized Crime, and Special Response are on the second floor." Richmond explained until Harry interrupted him
"Pop quiz, Harry: What do the ESC and Special Response specialize on?"
"The ESC is formed after the war as a safeguard against the formation of any illegal well-funded operations which was one of the main strength of the Death Eaters. They handle financial crimes, theft, money laundering and also handle smuggling and other crimes that would involve other countries. The Special Response division is more of a crisis management protocol of the office that involves violence. Whenever a situation goes out of control like a stakeout or whenever the suspects started firing spells at us, we call them for support." Harry answered.
"You are right, Harry which is why Special Response is near both the ESC and Organized Crime Division since they are the ones that mostly gets into tough situations. You will be assigned in Homicide and Serious Crimes Division, the colloquial term for our division is HSC, and that is on the third floor along with Forensics. Covert Operations, Muggle Involved Crimes and also Central Booking and Archive will be on the fourth floor. I am the Head of Homicide and Serious Crime Division so you work under me and I report directly to the Head of the Auror Office. Is that clear?" Richmond said as both he and Harry is now climbing up the stairs
"Perfectly sir."
"Good. Other Divisions like to partner rookies together to further foster good cooperation between them but not me. I want my new recruits to adapt quicker on the job so I partnered you up with someone who is working under a whole lot longer to show you the ropes. No problems with that, Harry?" asked Richmond as he stopped walking.
"Of course not, sir." Harry answered
"I am starting to like you already. Now, we both know that a lot of the people here didn't undergo the same training as we did but that does not mean they are less competent. Your partner is not excluded from this so please, for the sake of cooperation, don't act all high and mighty to her and pass along the message to your fellow graduates. We need to be unified not broken." Richmond told Harry slowly and sternly so that he understood and obey what he said.
"That was never a problem with me so there is nothing to worry about but I will still pass along the message, sir." Harry answered
"That's my boy!" Richmond said as he patted Harry's back. "Here is your badge and the rest of your standard equipment is on your desk. Let me take you there and introduce you to your partner." Richmond said as he and Harry opened the door labelled as Homicide and Serious Crime Division.
The Homicide and Serious Crime Division is like an office room that Harry saw from muggle TV shows and movies. A large portion of the division is filled with neatly organized cubicles each containing a wooden desk with a typewriter on each one, a filing cabinet and a chair. This area is currently buzzling with activity like a groups of Aurors huddled together and probably brainstorming for a case or just plainly talking to one another while there are also those that just sitting on their desk either reading, writing, or typing something. This main area of the division is surrounded by rooms that Harry thinks are conference rooms, interrogation rooms, and private offices of Senior Aurors like the one beside him use.
"This is our main investigation area since most of our employees are stationed here and this will be your second home so familiarize yourself and here is your cubicle. Hope you learned how to type since we modernized a bit with the introduction of typewriters. It is implemented under my directives and hopefully most of the people here learned how by now." Richmond said as both he and Harry arrived at a clean and unoccupied cubicle.
On this desk is the rest of his standard issue equipment. A quick-quote quill for statements and a set of rings, referred to as "Hoops" by most Aurors. The Hoops are used to chase down suspects that disapparated out of scene by throwing it to the Disapparation Spot and it expands from a ring to a hoop, effectively opening a portal from the disapparation to the apparition spot of the suspect inside this hoop. Standard Issue Hoops can only open Disapparation Spot that was created within two hours since the spot was created which made the Hoops a must-have gadget for Aurors. There are also three wooden sticks that an Auror must only break in emergency situations to call back-up which is normally answered by Special Response.
"Thank you for the orientation sir. It was very helpful." Harry said to Richmond
"It is the least I can do. Well, it seems your partner was out for the moment. She occupies the cubicle right beside yours. Just wait for her here and as for the moment, she is the lead partner. That means you listen to what she says but that does not mean you are her own personal house elf. Just talk to me if you have concerns about any misconduct on her part. If you would excuse me, I have to get back to work." Richmond said as he left Harry.
"One moment sir." Harry said as Richmond stopped and looked back towards Harry."I hate to be rude but what is my partner's speciality? I just thought that it would be prudent for me to know since according to you, she did not undergo Auror Training?" Harry asked
"Your concerns are well founded since she never accomplished any N.E.W.T.s. In fact, only finished O.W.L.s. Many of your colleagues tend to underestimate her or just plainly spite her because of her background and credentials but the reason she is here is precisely because of her credentials. She is an experienced hunter. She was part of operations that took down dangerous criminals for quite a long time before she even became an Auror. Criminals that would take a lot of our resources and manpower to arrest, she can take care with less. I am not saying she took them all down alone all the time but nevertheless she has experience and that is the requirement I really value. The rest of the skills she needs for the job, we can teach her while she is working." Richmond replied.
"She sounds like a very capable person. It would be a pleasure working with her. We will not let you down." Harry said as Richmond just smiled and walked away. A hunter. That is what Harry's partner is. A woman no less but Harry has nothing against women. Seriously, one of his best friend is the smartest and brightest student of their batch from Hogwarts and she is a woman. Gender was not Harry's concern about his partner. His concern are the two words his new boss described her: "experienced hunter". Those are the words that best describes her skill set and quite frankly, it has a certain intimidation on it. It is like she is someone to be feared.
"You're my new partner?" a woman said with a Mid-Atlantic Accent. Harry turned around and he finally saw his new partner. His partner appears to be of the same age as he is. Has an athletic build and is approximately 5 foot and 9 inches tall. She appears to have an average breast size..approximately. She has a long loosely curled dirty blonde hair and a pair of bluish steel colored eyes. She is dressed in a brown aviator jacket while also wearing a pair of denim trousers and knee high almond colored boots.
"Wh-what? You're my partner? I thought you would be older?" Harry exclaimed.
"And I never expected the Gryffindor Golden Boy to be my partner. Well, not everything goes the way we expect it. I am going to have brunch, you coming?" the woman said and that reminded Harry that he did not take his breakfast for the day.
"Sure. Lead the way." Harry said as he gestured for the stairs.
"So, what's your name?" Harry asked as he was taking a bite of his sausage, egg & cheese sandwich.
"Wow! You really don't recognize me." His partner said as she looked at him while taking a sip from her cup of tea.
"What I know is that you attended Hogwarts the same time I was there and that you were from the Slytherin House." Harry told her
"Really...May I ask how did you come up with those assumptions?" She asked him
"When you first saw me earlier; of all the titles that people call me like the Boy-Who-Lived or the Chosen One, you called me the 'Gryffindor Golden Boy'. Most people do not call me that nowadays. It was sort of an inside thing that only lasted within my duration in Hogwarts, that allowed me to discern that you were also from Hogwarts the same time I was there." Harry explained to her as he sip his own cup of tea.
She just smiled and said "Your statement only verifies that I was there during the time you were at Hogwarts but that does not explain why I would be from the Slytherin House."
"It is also because of the same title. That title was mainly used by a lot of Slytherins and what finalized that conclusion is that you did not said it sarcastically, you said it like it was a fact. Only Slytherins say it like that." Harry finished.
"Now you are jumping to conclusions too fast. All that statement did was narrow down your choices but not finalize it. There are also Ravenclaws that believed that you can be rightfully called the Gryffindor Golden Boy because of your adventures." She said as she took a bite from her apple pie.
"Maybe but I got a feeling that I made a good guess. Even though you know who am I already, I am Harry Potter and you are?" Harry said as he offered his hand towards his partner.
"Daphne Greengrass. It's a pleasure meeting you." Daphne said as she shook his hand.
"Likewise" Harry said as they both let go of each other's respective hands. Harry took another bite of his sandwich and asked her "So, why does Richmond said that you are an 'experienced hunter'? What was it that you do before you became an Auror?"
She just took another bite then also took a sip from her cup and answered "I was a freelance combatant before I became an Auror."
Harry just stared blankly at her and said "I bloody don't know what that even means."
"Well, it means I was kind of self-employed and I took jobs that required combat expertise like bounty hunting." Daphne explained
"Yeah but that is not all, isn't it?" Harry said
"Yes, that is not all. I took private security jobs and also did private investigations. I was a licensed Private Investigator and Bounty Hunter back in the US. Last time I checked, I still got both." She replied
"Quite a history but not enough for Richmond to call you an experienced hunter. What is it that you did to warrant this title?" Harry questioned
Daphne just smirked and then said "Stick with me and you will find out. Besides, you can always do your homework. It won't be proper to call you an Auror if you don't."
"Tell me one of your 'adventures' and I will tell you one of mine." Harry said back to her as he just stared to her face. Her face. Her beautiful face. He just noticed it now since he has been trying to give off a reliable and professional impression the moment he woke up this morning. A thin set of eyebrows, thin pinkish lips, petite nose, a deep-set of pale cerulean eyes...those kind of things that Harry is now beginning to notice. 'Focus. Harry. Focus' is what he said to himself.
As Harry was staring at her face, Daphne brought out her badge and looked at its back. She read the incoming news from it, took another sip from her cup and then looked at Harry. "Finish your meal Mr. Potter and get ready for a case. It seems we are going back to Hogwarts." She said as put her badge back into her pocket. Back at Hogwarts? A murder in Hogwarts?! Just who was it that came up with the idea to call Hogwarts the safest place in all of Britain? As a side-note at least Harry can think of something common between him and his partner, they are both dropouts.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey folks! I'm back...in a sort of way. If you read my other works, let me just tell you that I will still get back at them. I just got to get this out of my head and I want to share it to you guys. This new story sprout from my brother's statement about how lawless Japan was after the Second World War and my fascination to crime drama like the shows 'Castle', 'White Collar' and 'Hawaii Five-0'. It was from these I idea that I formed a scenario and the result is well, this. Anyway, let me remind you that I never spoke or written in perfect English so forgive my grammar. Also, the accent of Daphne in this story is similar to how Camilla Luddington speaks or maybe how Lara speaks in the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider though the voice actress may not be speaking in Mid-Atlantic English but I am definitely sure it is not the classical British Accent that Haytham Kenway uses in the Assassin's Creed 3. The breast size of Daphne for this chapter would be the average breast size of British Women, 34D and that is like the same size of Kate Upton's. That is all for now and I hoped that you enjoyed this chapter.