Disclaimer: Since everyone writes that they own the characters for their fanfiction I hereby do the most useless thing and say that I don't own the characters. And it is useless because seriously, this is fanfiction for a reason! And if anyone ever thinks that they are original characters they are stupid!
Summary: Ginny leaves Harry convinced that he's gay and when Harry starts, partly due to it, to question a few of his choices in life he gets the chance to start something new!
Warning: Ginny is not completely right saying that Harry is Gay but she also isn't completely wrong and this certainly is slash because I hate homophobic. I know someone who's father is gay and who had a huge crisis when finding out in puberty that her father just married and had kids because his family is homophobic. It really wasn't fun. Especially since her mother really had loved the jerk and cried herself to sleep whenever he ran off and cheated on her! And all that because he felt pushed to hide by his own homophobic family! So either you love slash and enjoy reading it or you just press that back button on your browser because there is no reason to write a nasty review about slash!
New start
Harry Potter is the youngest head Auror in history and that is, if you ask him, only because he is useless anywhere else being too much of a distraction for everyone around him. All the rookies worship him the second they see him, hell, the older Aurors that hadn't been to Hogwarts or the order with him and such didn't have much to do with him, worship the ground their saviour is walking on. It is not rare that his very presence makes them so nervous that they fail to cast the simplest spells! Ginny used to be able to cheer him up when he came home complaining about it and soon he would laugh with her but that seems to be over now. Everything was different from last night.
And while his coworkers all to often got useless, the people they are trying to apprehend either get scared shitless and run the second they see Harry or all of them attack only Harry at the same time. The later extreme leaves the others free to easily disarm and apprehend them after their first curse, at least those that are still able to think and function but having ten or more curses and hexes thrown at Harry at once has sent him to Mungos more than once. Not that any managed to fatally harm him since he learned to get out of the way quickly but every now and then one of those curses did hit their target and break a bone or two or gave him a bad cut. He nearly lost an arm thanks to one of those once.
"What can I do for you?" Harry asks his friend after that friend entered while Harry was too deep in thoughts to even hear him enter. Seeing Ron slightly dirty from his last mission in the field Harry gets once again jealous that while also being a war hero, Ron at least is still able and allowed to work in the field while Harry is stuck with a pile of paperwork which is earning itself a death glare.
"Mum asked me to talk to you because Ginny moved back in and refuses to tell her why," Ron says. "I get it if you don't want to talk about it now, being at work and all, but maybe we can have a drink after work today."
"There is nothing to say apart from her going crazy." Harry sighs. "She just went shopping, spend an entire afternoon forcing me to sit through her playing model and showing me how well everything suits her by wearing it up and down in front of me and then burst into tears accusing me of cheating on her and when I swear an oath on my life and magic that I never even looked at another woman she suddenly accused me of being gay and ran off. rely don't get what has gotten into her. I was even nice enough to compliment everything and all that. I really don't know what made her lose her marbles and I know she's your sister and you love her but I swear she just lost it!"
"That does sound crazy." Ron muses fighting a grin. He had heard from Hermione that Ginny had talked to her about their relationship before and the thought of Harry possibly being gay and just not having figured it out had been raised during that. Apparently, Hermione is sure that Harry is and just loves Ginny like a sister and confused it for more. He also knows that Hermione and Ginny had a plat to find out for sure if that is the case. Not knowing what it was and how this could have helped prove that point he asks, "What did she buy anyway?"
"Girls stuff," Harry replies sounding board. "Nickers and bras and such useless stuff. I think there were some matching stockings in the mix."
Ron gapes at him and blushes before finally finding his voice and asking, "You mean to say that my baby sister walked in front of you in her underwear and please don't tell me if it was anything but white and plain with nothing erotic about it, and you were bored to death?"
"It was girls stuff!" Harry says in his defence hearing his friend's incredulous tone. "It was boring even though they were all different, I don't know if one was white or not. And I don't know what you mean about erotic about bras but most didn't have enough fabric to be anything at all. I wonder who would even pay for that little fabric I mean seriously some needed to be stuck on with magic because there wasn't enough fabric to fix them on otherwise! And anyway, what should I have done instead?"
"Fuck her!" Ron says before adding "I can't believe I just said that about my sister and I think I'm going to be sick later, but if Hermione had done that, I would have!"
"Why?" Harry asks. "And we aren't even married and you are the one to always tell me not to do anything untoward with your little sister! That is why we have different bedrooms."
"you have what? I'm her brother! I have to say that." Ron says, "You're her lover you're supposed to keep it secret that you screw her silly behind my back and to never ever tell me about it! But honestly Harry, I'm starting to think that the girls are right and you are gay and just haven't figured it out. How can you not get hot when a decent looking girl is half naked in front of you?"
"Ron, do you really want to talk about me wanting or not wanting to screw your baby sister?" Harry deadpans.
"No, I'm talking about you wanting to screw a girl in general!" Ron asks. "I heard before that Ginny was worried that she is always the one that has to initiate a kiss. When is the last time you really wanted to kiss a girl?"
"I kissed her," Harry claims. "I'm not sure when I last started the kissing but I did kiss her on occasion."
"Did you like it?" Ron asks not sure he wants to hear the answer.
"Better than Cho." Harry shrugs.
"Cho cried if I remember correctly!" Ron points out. "Don't you feel anything? I mean don't you get horny when she kisses you?"
"And again, this is your sister Ron." Harry just reminds his friend.
"Believe me, I'm sick enough from talking with you about my sister without you reminding me so please let me try to tell myself that it's about girls, in general, I'm begging you!" Ron says, "But if you don't want to talk to me about it that's fine but do me the favour and try and think about the possibility of being gay. Hermione thinks you are as well and she does have a scary tendency to be right about everything so you should at least try and be sure about what you like before you start another relationship and don't worry about Ginny. She'll get over it eventually and we all know that you did like her and never wanted to hurt her. Even if it was more like a sister or something like that, none of us will hold it against you even Ginny won't once she's over it a bit."
"Thanks, mate," Harry says. He had been worried about how the Weasley's would take the news.
"Anyway, I get back to work, got a big case and I see you've got plenty of paperwork to keep you busy." Ron grins at Harry who very maturely sticks out his tongue.
For a while, Harry tries to focus on his paperwork but it isn't easy. He keeps thinking about how much he starts to hate the job. He can't even remember why he ever thought it was a good idea. Granted he wanted to protect others and help them but really, this job was either boring or life-threatening and the first he hated while he was thoroughly fed up with the later and most of the time it wasn't really about saving someone and more about catching someone. Very often it wasn't even someone of death eater standards and more someone who had dared to turn their dog pink or rabbit green or other such things that could attract unwanted muggle attention. And now he was even stuck in this stupid office with a sore wrist and no one at home who would massage his wrist and make him laugh about the stupidity of co-workers. Instead he had to go home to a house that used to belong to is dead godfather and is full of memories of the war.
He is about to get ready to go home for the day and leave the left-over paperwork that was supposed to be done yesterday for the next day, and the one from today for the one after that, or better yet to burn it all, but it seems like he'll have to make another long day when a knock stops him from leaving his office. "Come in." He says instead of going home and just hopes that it's not someone with another pile of paper work and not someone who tends to talk for ages around the real topic either.
"Hello, Mister Potter." Minerva McGonagall says coming into the office.
"Professor," Harry says pleasantly surprised. "What a surprise to see you, please have a seat and tell me how I can help you."
"Oh, I do hope you'll help me Mister Potter, or may I call you Harry." She questions.
"Of course, Professor," Harry says.
"Minerva my dear. I think after fighting side by side during a war we should have gone to first name basis a while ago wouldn't you agree?" Minerva says smiling fondly at the young man. "I have stopped seeing you as a student before you returned to finish your NEWT year."
"Minerva than, now what brings you to me today." Harry questions.
"Desperation." She replies, "I'm here because I'm simply desperate."
"Unless you explain a little more detailed I'm afraid I don't know how to help you, Professor, I mean Minerva." Harry says smiling, "I guess I'll need some time to get used to that."
"I hope you'll get plenty of chances to get used to it." Minerva sighs. "But back to the topic. As the summer is nearly at an end I'm, as usual around this time, in desperate need of a new defence instructor and as usual, I advertised that we have a vacancy for the position at the start of summer break in the daily prophet. Unfortunately, as the last two years, no one in England wants the position. Everyone is certain that it is cursed since there are still accidents that sadly ensured that no one managed to keep the post for more than a year, well considering that they start after summer break and sadly have to quit a few days before the term comes to an end, it's never even been a whole year." She sighs again, "Since by now I feared that no one in the country would dare to apply for the post I already ensured to have a similar advertisement for the job in international papers but since I did that for a few years now it seems the belief of a curse on the position is spreading like wildfire. What happened to the previous instructors is known everywhere by now. I mean no one died since you left school but well, we both know that leaving with no memories and still not having regained any of them isn't the worst that happened. I'll just be saying Quirrell! I even had Gringotts curse breakers at the school and have in writing that there is no curse but since there also stands there never was one, everyone is certain the curse is just too well hidden to be noticed. Now I'm left with just one person who applied and that is a potions master from abroad who's more interested in my potions instructor then teaching. To make matters worse, he is hardly capable of speaking English and he also isn't able to tell me the difference between a werewolf and an Animagus even in his own language. And believe me, Harry, it gets worth. He can't even cast a simple Protego. I can't hire a man to teach defence if he can't even cast a first-year defensive charm! On top of that, if he tries to flirt with my potions Professor he's going to be poisoned within the first week which will make the talk about a curse worsen!"
Harry can't help but chuckle imagining someone as Minerva described to try and teach a NEWT class and says, "I fear the potions Professor won't get a chance to poison him, your seventh years will accidentally kill him trying their curses!"
"This is not funny Harry." Minerva chides him "I'm one step away from going to St Mungo's and begging them to return Lockhart to us. Even with no memories, he'll be better than that man who dared to come to a job interview today."
Harry can't help but laugh now but tries to calm himself quickly after getting the headmistress' stern glare and then says, "Please tell me, how do you think I can help you? Would you like me to talk to one of the Aurors to take the job?"
"No Harry, I want to talk you into taking the job." Minerva deadpans seriously.
"Me?" Harry asks surprised. "What makes you think I'd be any good at the job?"
"A number of things." Minerva says, "I know that you will have to talk it over with Ginny but I will already be grateful if you could take the job for two years and will leave you out of all the additional jobs like doing rounds so you can stay at home with her as much as possible. You see, everyone seems to think it's impossible to stay longer than a year. And everyone knows that when you do need the impossible done, you are the man to go to! Also, if I take the members of the DA you ran during the fifth year and the rest the overall scores during all end of year exams including OWL tests, your DA students did far better than the rest and that stayed for the three following years which shows that they were also better prepared for the next years than the rest were. That proves that you not only know the subject you also know how to inspire students to do their best and to make sure they remember what you taught them. Harry I've prayed every year to get your application for the job on my desk and to be honest, I'm sick of waiting especially now that I have no one else." Harry just stares at her and she at him until her eyes land on the stack of paperwork on his desk and she adds, "I think you should consider the offer unless you'd rather continue with your paperwork!"
"Hell no," Harry shouts out nearly scared. "I mean, I don't like the paperwork, we both know I'm a practical kind of guy, but wouldn't there be paperwork as a teacher too?"
"Not as much as here and you could work with young children that want to learn to protect themselves and can give them the means to stay safe by keeping themselves safe!" Minerva says hoping that Harry's saving people thing will help her to talk him into taking the job. "As I said I understand that you'll have to talk this over with Ginny but I do expect your owl with a positive answer by the end of next week."
After that, she rises and is about to leave when Harry says, "I don't have to talk to Gin, she broke up with me yesterday, seems like Skeeter is losing her touch since you don't know it yet but yeah, I don't have to talk to her."
"I have some charming and young teachers on staff at the moment." Minerva tries to talk Harry further into taking the job. "I don't know if you ever talked to Romilda Vane in your time at Hogwarts but she teaches ancient runes."
"Oh yes, I remember Romilda, she sent me sweets that were spiked with love potion once in my sixth year. Ron ate them!" Harry grins.
"I kick her out if you want." Minerva sighs, "It's definitely easier to get someone for her position than defence!"
"No need to kick anyone out." Harry laughs, "Just do me a favour and don't try to hock me up with anyone. Especially since Ginny broke up with the silly belief that I'm gay which would be new to me but apparently not to Hermione. I really don't want a girlfriend right now, all I want is some peace."
Minerva eyes him for a moment. "Dennis Creevey is teaching Muggle studies. I know he's a bit younger than you but not too much, wouldn't you agree?"
Harry laughs before saying, "Just promise me that you stop trying to play matchmaker for me and I'll take the job! Deal?"
"Deal." Minerva agrees and holds out her hand. "I'll send you an owl to with a possible appointment to sign the papers than let me know if it doesn't suit you. And please consider the Books you'd like your students to buy."
A little later Minerva returns to her office via floo and sees her potions professor sitting in front of her desk. "Can I help you?"
Said Professor just glares at her before drawling clearly upset "I just wanted to make you aware of the fact that should that moron that I passed in the hallway not to long ago. Who said and I quote 'Me tea defen, me merry yo' become the next defence teacher you will need two knew professors by the end of the starting feast because one will be poisoned and one might get sent to Azkaban for poisoning that moron!" He grins a little before adding, "I'm afraid Professor Vane won't like him and we both know that she could brew such a poison! Just to make clear that it won't be me who would ever do something like that!"
"Of course, it wouldn't be you." Minerva grins certain that he would really go through with that plan, maybe not on the first night but if that man would continue with such sentences he would find himself poisoned. Not fatally but bad enough to ensure he won't return. "But there is nothing to worry. If you hadn't been here I probably already would have written a letter to him stating that I found someone with better qualifications."
"I never knew you would lie." The younger Professor drawls. "We both know there is no other applicant for that position." They had talked about it just that afternoon.
"No there wasn't." She confirms, "But I just came back from the Ministry and talked someone there to take the job."
"I swear to god that if that person is female and wears even a stitch of pink the result will be the same!" The man nearly growls.
"Oh no." Minerva grins, "Believe me he is certainly nothing like a pink wearing undersecretary. Our new Defence Professor will be a man who not only got an Outstanding in his defence OWL and NEWT level tests he's also one of the youngest Aurors ever even though he did start his training a year later than is usual for people fresh out of Hogwarts due to his involvement in the war, he practically ran through Auror training. He's also the youngest head Auror ever."
"Potter?" The man drawls, "You talked Potter to take the job?"
"I did," Minerva replies proudly.
The other man just glowers but finally rises from his seat. "As long as you don't expect us to be civil around each other I guess he won't find his food or drink poisoned."
"At least with nothing but a love potion!" Minerva grins remembering what Harry had told her about Romilda.
"What is that supposed to mean?" The Potions Professor asks blushing.
"Oh, Professor Vane apparently tried that once in her Hogwarts years." Minerva replies surprised at the blush, "Why, what did you think I meant?"
The man just grunts and leaves while Minerva watches after him and then grins and wonders if giving some opportunities for two young men to become closer can already be considered matchmaking and decides that no, it most certainly is not.
Harry does get an owl from Minerva the next day informing him when she would like him to come in to sign the papers as well as a few information on everything that has to do with the job that he might not have been aware of as a student and invites him to ask any further questions when they met to sign the contract.
The day Harry arrives at the gates of Hogwarts he takes a look around before going further until he hears a drawled, "You're going to be late Potter."
The way his name was spat leaves no doubt as to whom said those words, "Hi Malfoy." He just calmly replies, "Do we really have to keep up all that fighting? I'm a little sick of petty schoolyard rivalries I must say."
"Rivalries?" Malfoy grumbles, "You were my number one nemesis."
"Really?" Harry asks. "I'm flattered but, don't get me wrong I'm sure you can be a great villain if you put your mind to it but, next to Voldemort who was after my blood, you had just too much of a conscience for my number one nemesis!"
"I admit that is a rather worthy opponent for the spot." Draco grins, "But I'm sure I was number two."
"Let me think." Harry replies, "No your aunt had that spot. She killed my godfather you know. That kind of beats small curses aimed at my back. And then there was Umbitch who tried to take over the school, oh and Grayback who tried to kill more than one people I knew and oh, your dad, he tried to kill me with the killing curse once which is a little worse than the worst you could come up with. And then there is Wormtail who betrayed my parents, well that moron is more like number one nuisance but still!"
"Wormtail? You think Wormtail is worse than me?" The Potions Professor questions.
"Oh definitely, stupider too and such rather a nuisance than a villain but more evil for sure!" Harry grins. "Anyway, what are you doing here Malfoy?"
"I'm the potions master, Head of Slytherin and deputy headmaster." Draco preens standing taller all of a sudden.
"So, you're the new dungeon bat?" Harry questions with a grin. "Well, I must say, you give a very poor imitation of Snape, your hair looks too good and your nose is too high! But apart from that, you've got intimidating others down well enough to have the kids shiver in their boots when they see you coming I presume."
"For someone who claims to be above petty schoolyard rivalry you sure as hell seem to enjoy making fun of me," Malfoy grumbles. "And now come, I believe there is a contract that is waiting for your signature."
"Did Minerva ask you to welcome me?" Harry asks sceptically.
"No," Malfoy growls, "She asked me to welcome you, answer all your questions show you the previously used defence classroom and ask if it is acceptable as well as the office and the private rooms that are prepared for you and most importantly to ensure that your name is at the bottom of your contract since apparently, something came up and she won't be in the castle for the rest of the day."
Harry watches Draco for a moment and sighs, "I guess the headmasters always have a bit too much free time. She is getting as bad as Dumbledore."
"What do you mean?" Malfoy asks with a slight blush praying that Minerva hadn't gotten the wrong impression from his reaction about that bloody love potion and possibly is trying to play matchmaker and already mentioned something to Potter. Which is something he'd rather avoid since he certainly doesn't want anyone to try and set him up with Potter of all people! After all, which self-respecting Slytherin would want to fuck with a Gryffindor who's hair looks like someone already shagged the living daylight out of him and who is skinny and lean and, well, he might have a nice body, but that doesn't change anything.
"Nothing let's go," Harry says and walks toward the headmaster's office. "I guess that contract is in her office so let's get that out of the way first."
'okay,' Draco thinks, seeing Harry walk ahead of him in tight-fitting muggle jeans and such getting a nice view on his rear end. 'Maybe with that ass, even a self-respecting Slytherin would fuck that particular Gryffindor but that's all, no feelings involved!'
Harry walks ahead until they reach the gargoyle and waits for Draco to say the password and then walks after the blond man and after the talk he had with Ron earlier that week wonders how he'd react to seeing that particular male in his underwear rather than Ginny and comes to the conclusion that since he never cared during Quidditch about his teammates, he probably wouldn't with Draco.
Once they are up in the office, Draco offers Harry to sit down and wordlessly hands over the contract which Harry looks over fleetingly before signing it. "Have you never heard of reading a contract before signing it?" Draco drawls seeing how quickly the other took the quill and signed it.
"Heard, yeah." Harry replies "But after some time as head Auror with mountains of paperwork that no one could do if he or she read everything thoroughly I learned to skim the important parts and skip the rest."
"I hope you're going to be more thorough with your grading." Draco just drawls earning himself a grin.
"As long as I don't get a mountain of that." Harry grins, "And since I'll be giving out that work I can make sure to avoid that."
"Lazy bum," Draco grumbles. "I take it you don't have any questions? Seeing as you're probably unable to think about them ahead of time!"
"A ton actually but how about you show me the rooms first." Harry grins.
After a roll of his eyes, Draco walks ahead to the same defence room they had been in. "Why did you have to show me if we both know that I know that room?" Harry wonders. "I even know the office, been there for detention and chats with Remus a few times actually. I'm just not sure who's detentions were worse, Umbitch or Lockhart."
"Why? What did Lockhart do?" Draco asks wondering how anyone could be on even ground when Umbridge used a blood quill.
"Made me help with his fan mail by addressing the return envelopes and forced me to listen to his heroic stories about himself." Harry grumbles, "I thought I was going to fall asleep while writing and my mind felt numb by the end of the night. Actually, the more I think about it the more I'm sure that his Detention was worse! Umbridge's hurt more but his detention was torture in the purest form!"
Draco just chuckles, "I believe that I would have preferred Lockhart's."
"Sure, you would." Harry grins, "You were just as stuck up as him at the time. But it seems, you actually got decent while growing up."
Draco blushes faintly when Harry compares him favourably even to that man but then glares once he caught himself and says, "I was never stuck up."
"Keep telling yourself that." Harry grins. "Does this castle not have a better room to practise the spells?" Harry questions.
"Not that I know of," Draco replies. "This has been the defence room for about 10 years before we started and before that, it was taught mostly outside at the outskirts of the forest and occasionally inside the forest to defend against the creatures but a student got hurt so they changed it."
"Think I could have the empty room next to this one too?" Harry questions. "Maybe I can prepare that for practical work and move over with the class whenever we do that and then I have a place without desks and stuff in the way and a place with desks and stuff for stuffy paperwork!"
"Are you kidding?" Draco questions, "McGonagall will kill for you if that's what she has to do in order for you to stay. The room is yours I'll just leave her a note on her desk once we are done, and she'll be glad you're happy with the rooms you have."
Harry just grins, "And my private rooms? How are those?"
Draco walks towards the office and through that towards a small scratch in the wall and says "It's past here. You'll need to set a password which by the way is reset whenever a new teacher sings his or her contract meaning whatever you'll say to that scratch first will be your password until either you'll order that scratch to change it or you'll leave us. It reacts to your magical signature when talking to it to set the password." Harry looks at the squiggly line that the scratch is and thinks 'looks nearly like a snake.'
He grins and says, "Open" in Parseltongue happy that he didn't lose that ability with Voldies soul piece. Probably because it was with him for so long that it stuck just like the personality traits he might have from it.
He sees Draco shiver a little and grins even more before walking into the spacious room and sees that it's impeccably clean and free of dust and presumes that the house elves cleaned it. The room is a lovely medium sized living room with a fireplace with a comfortable looking sitting area close to it there is also a bookshelf that is still empty and the colour theme of the room is a little Slytherin but elegant and with the big windows, warm orange colours aren't really needed and Harry must say that he likes it. "Green" He still says slightly surprised since he had always pictured it rather in Gryffindor colours but who knows if the previous Professors had changed it a few times since Remus had been here. It probably was pink during Umbridge's time.
"Yes," Draco says sounding smug. "Slytherin green and silver, McGonagall asked me yesterday to get the elves to clean and refurbish it in a suitable manner!"
Harry grins a little and says, "How sweet of you to make it match my eye colour I'm flattered!" Harry's grin increases seeing the slight blush rise to the blond's cheeks and the surprise on his face. Draco clearly had meant to annoy Harry with it and just to annoy him in return Harry adds, "How did you know that green and silver are my favourite colours? Everyone else always gives me everything in red and gold, it is getting really old really fast you know. I must say you have great taste Malfoy." He walks over to the couch and says right after sitting down, "And so very comfortable."
Draco blushes even more for a moment before he manages to find his composure and grumbles, "Whatever Potter. You mentioned some questions you had."
"Why don't you sit down?" Harry offers.
"Because I'm actually hoping that it won't take long." Draco drawls. "I do have better things to do with my time."
Harry just sighs and starts to ask a few questions like when they would have free time how the rounds are organised if every teacher has to do them every night and things like that and once all his questions have been answered by a board looking Draco, Harry says, "Now that second room, could you show me which empty room is closest to mine?"
"What no question about your ginger screw staying the night?" Draco drawls.
"Don't call her that." Harry grumbles, "She is not a screw and most certainly won't stay a night anyway since she broke up with me."
"She what?" Draco asks shocked.
"She broke up with me," Harry repeats.
"I always knew you couldn't keep a girl." Draco grins trying to rile him up.
Harry just shrugs and says, "Seems like Hermione would agree."
Draco's jaw just drops and he decides to stop questioning this to save his own sanity and just keep an eye on the Gryffindor golden boy to find out what on earth he's talking about. A little later they are in a dusty room full of old desks that apparently are stored there. Harry looks back to where his own room is and wonders, "Why is there so much space between them?"
"Who knows." Draco shrugs "There are a lot of places where there seems to be nothing but solid stone for no good reason."
"Maybe there is a secret room?" Harry wonders aloud.
"Then by all means go and play treasure hunt but please, do it without me. I do have better things to do with my time!" Draco drawls with a roll of his eyes. "Minerva said you may come and go as you please and rearrange your rooms to your liking again until the new term starts."
"Awesome." Harry grins, "Since my private rooms are already perfectly green, I'll see if that secret room can be of use to me and if not rearrange this one. Now excuse me Malfoy. I'll be finding yet another secret room and ensure that it's safe like I did with that chamber of secrets while you may go and play with your potions kit." After that Harry turns and leaves a grumbling Draco. A little later Harry is walking around the area with his trusted Marauders map to see if there might be anything but even the map doesn't show anything. It takes him two more days during which he's spending most of his time talking to the portraits along the walls on all sides of that area that might hold a secret room and he is close to giving up when he notices a squiggle along the wall in his classroom from the corner of his eyes. He takes a closer look and nearly believes that he imagined it when he finally finds a tiny badger scratched into stone.
"Hello, lovely." He says and since he doesn't get a reply he just ads, "Will you open a passage for me?" Nothing happens. Harry looks at the map and sees that nothing happens and presumes that it's because the Marauders didn't know about this room. With a sigh he tries to say different things. Focusing mainly on the house Hufflepuff since a badger seems to hint that it wasn't Godric's room. Considering that Defence used to be taught elsewhere he presumes that this was used as something different. Harry is close to giving up when he tries "Equality" thinking that if Godric and Salazar already fought a lot a friend who was known for loyalty and fairness would probably be on the side of equality despite trying to impartial. The wall opens up similar to the one behind the Leaky opens to Diagon and behind is a huge mostly empty room. When he walks in the torches along the walls start to burn and Harry looks around at the dusty room that only has a few bookcases and the torches inside. After considering to call the Hogwarts house elves to clean it he calls "Kreacher!" instead.
The elf that used to hate him and now seems to rather adore him is in front of him. "Hey Kreacher, how do you feel today?"
"Kreacher is in good health master. How may Kreacher serve his noble master?" The elf asks before mumbling about kind master helping with old masters locked as he does so often. Helping the elf fulfil his Master's dying wish really has warmed the old elf up to his new master and when Harry had returned to Grimmauld after the war to see how the house looked he had been shocked to see it in prime condition and perfectly clean. Even the portrait of Walburga Black had been moved and Harry offered the elf to store it in his cupboard where the elf insists to life and Harry enlarged the space enough to fit the portrait and while Walburga was less than pleased Kreacher seems truly happy about it.
"Kreacher dear, how fast do you think you can clean this room?" Harry asks and the little elf just snips his fingers and the dust seems to move out of the window and soon after the room is clean. "Could you check if the furniture and torches are still in prime condition? I'd rather not have them fall off the wall and onto me." Another snap of Kreacher's fingers and the few bookcases and shelves along the walls seem to shift and straighten. "Kreacher, you are positively the best. Whatever would I do without you?
"Thank you, Master Harry," Kreacher says with a bow, "Is there anything else Kreacher can do for Master Harry?"
"Not at the moment but I'd be happy if you could make sure that Grimmauld stays in prime condition and report to me every evening if the house is okay and if anything interesting happened during the day," Harry orders mostly to make sure that the elf wouldn't feel lonely while he was gone.
"As Master wishes." The elf says and leaves while Harry starts to explore the room and drawers. And changes it a little until he has to get ready to celebrate his own new job and Ron's promotion as head Auror with his two best friends and their family. Ginny included but according to Ron she isn't mad at him, just a little sad but will get over it.
Harry just hopes it won't be too awkward and who knows, maybe he'll eventually get back together with her when she finally comes to her senses that he isn't gay just because he doesn't screw her through the mattress before they are married. Well, he must confess that he never felt the urge to and it seems that Ron also believes that to be off the norm and Harry himself isn't sure if he'd want to screw her through the mattress even if they were married but that doesn't make him gay, does it? He never particularly dreamed about a guy either. Not that he had the time to really think about it all that often with a sadistic megalomaniac out for his blood during his teens and then the reporters and interviews and death eater trials and rebuilding of the school and wizarding world in total that took more than three years. The castle itself was still under repair when he had finished his last year and he had helped out with all the other returning students whenever they could and the reporters had been around all the time too and Minerva said sending them away wouldn't help and he should just try and answer honestly and hope that way they'd write honestly instead of gossip from other sources. She might have had a point and eventually, Harry has gotten used to all the questions and the reports were more honest when he gave detailed answers instead of avoiding them.
Then later during Auror training Harry had used most of his free time to study since so many people were expecting him to succeed everything with ease that he felt he had to live up to their expectations and worked extra hard and all that only to be promoted to head Auror within less than a year because he was no use in the field and the previous head Auror had always asked the war hero he adored beyond reason anyway. Being unused to that amount of paperwork and hating it as well made sure that Harry had always worked from early mornings till late at night. He has no idea how Ginny could ever have accused him of cheating before accusing him of being gay because when on earth should he have found the time to cheat on her? He barely had time to spend with her never mind a second woman on the side! Lucky for him the evening with his friends and Ron's family goes smoothly and while Ginny avoids being too close to him, it is a very nice evening and no one is even talking about their broken relationship.