AN: Hi there. I've got a couple of things to say, so please read the whole Author's Note.
To start things off, here's the full summary:
The war is finally over, and peace has returned to the wizarding world. Well, not quite. The Ministry of Magic is still scrambling to put itself back together, even with the guidance of new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. On top of that, there are still Death Eaters on the loose, and bringing them in is no easy feat for the struggling Department of Magical Law Enforcement, especially the Auror department. Minister Shacklebolt, as part of his attempt to rebuild the Aurors, invited former Hogwarts students who participated in the Battle of Hogwarts to apply for the Auror department, foregoing the rigorous N.E.W.T. requirements. Two such applicants are Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Four months later, Harry and Neville are fully fledged Aurors. Death Eaters look out!
Pretty cool, huh? So, this story will be told in an episodic structure, and actually I will be writing each one at a time. Because of this, I don't actually know how often I'll be updating. I've got a couple other projects I'm working on too at the moment (including one that I've not updated on schedule recently), so this one may have sporadic updates. Sorry about that.
Second notice: I will be hiding Easter Eggs in each chapter. If you think you've found them, leave a review, and you'll get an imaginary cookie. And no cheating. Imaginary cookies only go to those who find the Easter Eggs without peeking at the comments. I will give you clues at the beginning of each chapter as to what sorts of things are hiding within the chapter. So, in this chapter, I have a reference to an American crime TV show, and two references to A Very Potter Musical. Find them, leave a review if you do, and you'll get those magical cookies. I will be revealing what I hid at the beginning of the next episode, whenever I get to that.
Next, if you have any questions, leave them in comments, and I will try to address them at the beginning of the next episode.
Finally, as the title indicates, this is a Season One, which means that there will hopefully be a Season Two.
Okay, I think that's it. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, as it belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do, however, have an account on Pottermore, so there's that I suppose.
Episode 1: Return to Little Whinging
"Out of the way!" Harry yelled to the crowd as he roughly pushed his way through. Trafalgar Square was packed with muggle tourists, and they were getting in the way. He shoved his way past a group of school kids on a field trip and looked around, desparately trying to spot the man he'd been chasing after. And then he saw him, dashing up the steps of the National Gallery. Harry cursed, knowing he would be chasing the man from one tourist infested area into another, but nonetheless, hurried over. He dashed up the steps and into the museum's entry way, which was grand and beautiful. He dashed up the stairs and took a right, looking around wildly. He'd lost his target.
"Damn it!" Harry muttered. He quickly looked himself over. His muggle clothes were ripped in a couple of places, and he could already see bruises forming in a couple places, but at least his glasses were intact, and he didn't look in bad enough shape for anyone to single him out as needing help. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced over.
Neville had caught up with him, having been held back while he sorted out issues at the small pub where their chase had started. He looked in better shape than Harry did, his t-shirt was still in good condition, and his jeans were spotless, but he did have a massive black eye. "Lose him?" he asked.
"Yeah," Harry muttered back. "I don't think he's left yet, though. It wouldn't make sense. He'd want to wait in here until he was sure we were gone before making a break for it."
"Alright," Neville said. "Well let's split up. If either of us finds him, we can use the coins to let the other know."
"Agreed," Harry said. He and Neville had modified versions of the coins that the DA had used back in their Hogwarts days. "Don't pursue until we're both in the same place." Neville nodded in agreement, and off they went, searching for their target. Harry wandered around, gazing at the motionless paintings, going over the events of the past few days.
It was his and Neville's first assignment as Aurors. Their job was to track down a man named Joseph Porter, who had worked as a Snatcher under the Ministry of Voldemort. He seemed a relatively small threat, but he had made himself notorious over the past few months through a series of "unexplained" murders in the muggle community. The muggle police couldn't figure out how his victims had been killed. There were no fingerprints, no obvious injuries; they had all seemed perfectly healthy. The magical community had known exactly what was going on, and so they had assigned new Aurors, Neville Longbottom and the famous Harry Potter, the task of hunting him down and bringing him in.
The problem was, because he was a muggle-killer, he spent time in the muggle world, which meant that things had to be played very close to the chest; Neville and Harry didn't want to expose the wizarding world on their very first assignment. They had found him pretty quickly. He was a small man, with loads of curly red hair, and pointed features. He tended to frequent a muggle pub, where he would skulk and choose his next victim. He'd figured out too quickly that Neville and Harry weren't muggles, and had pulled out his wand, attacking them. Neville had stayed behind to Obliviate the muggles and fix up the pub, while Harry chased after the man, which brought him up to the present.
Gazing around at the paintings, Harry felt a sense of wonder, remembering that he used to believe that all paintings stayed still. His eight years of knowing he was a wizard had made him accustomed to moving paintings and photographs. He only realized how significant it was when faced with muggle art, like this.
Suddenly, Harry felt something in his pocket heat up. Neville had found him. He hurried off, the coin burning hottest in the direction that the other coin was located, kind of like a compass. Eventually, Harry found Neville, who was sitting on a bench in one of the largest rooms, trying to act casual. Harry spotted their target across the room, sitting on another bench and glancing around occasionally. Harry quickly sat next to Neville, hoping that the man hadn't noticed him. "You found him," Harry observed. "Nice job."
"Thanks," Neville said. "What next?"
"For now just keep an eye on him," Harry said. "Remember what Claire said: 'Patience is key.'"
Neville nodded. Claire was their boss, the latest head of the Aurors. She had been specifically appointed by Kingsley Shacklebolt after he had taken over as Minister of Magic. Claire was a firm believer in acting at the most opportune moment, which quite often meant waiting, something that neither Harry nor Neville were particularly good at. In fact, in their Auror examination, they had both done very poorly on the portions of the exam that involved the most patience. But they had both passed, and were made Aurors. Initially, this meant that they served directly under a more experienced Auror, and they had been paired up with Claire Tomalin, who, at the beginning of September, right after Harry had kissed Ginny goodbye before she went off to her final year at Hogwarts, had decided to give Harry and Neville their own mission.
And here they were, a week later, only a few feet away from the man they had been assigned to track down. And it was killing Harry. "So, Neville," he said, trying to occupy himself in order to avoid doing something rash, "I heard you purchased a flat with Hannah Abbott."
His face lit up red. "Uh, yeah. We did. We became really close last year during… everything. And um… yeah."
"Well, hey, that's great," Harry said. "I'm happy for you guys. What does she do for a living?"
"Oh, she works at the Leaky Cauldron," he said. "Tom's been interested in training someone to take over for him; he's said he's ready to retire. So he's training Hannah up to do that."
"That's awesome," Harry said, still focused on their target. "She'll make a great Landlady. Where is your flat?"
"Not too far from here, actually," Neville said, also still focused on their target. "Only a couple stops by the muggle Underground."
"Nice," Harry said. "I've been looking at getting my own place, but I've not had a whole lot of luck finding somewhere that really struck me. None of the muggle flats I've looked at have really caught my eye, and I don't particularly want to live above one of the shops in Diagon Alley."
"You'll find someplace," Neville assured him.
Harry was about to say something else, when Jonathan Porter stood up and began to walk briskly away. "He's probably going towards the entrance," Harry noted. "I'll follow him, you go towards the main entrance. Hopefully we can trap him between the two of us." Neville grunted an affirmative, and started off towards the entrance. Harry followed Jonathan at a safe distance, making sure that he could see him, but that there were always enough people between them to prevent Jonathan from noticing him.
Harry's prediction had been right, it seemed. Jonathan was making his way towards the entry hall. He emerged into the entry hall, shortly before Harry, who pushed through the door and gazed up at the massive mosaic. He glanced down the steps, where Jonathan seemed to have spotted Neville. He was backing up quickly, and soon, he turned around and started moving quickly back towards Harry, who hurried down the steps to intercept him. Jonathan spotted him. Neville came running up the steps behind him. Jonathan cursed, and drew his wand. Several passersby glanced over curiously, but, for the most part ignored them.
"No need for violence," Harry said calmly, who nevertheless put his hand in his pocket and gripped the handle of his own wand. "Put away your wand. No one else needs to get hurt."
"Ha!" Jonathan laughed. His voice was much too deep for his small build, making him sound almost comical. "That's a good one Potter. If you take me in, I know where I'm going. Azkaban. I will not be left at the mercy of the Dementors."
"The Dementors have been driven out of Azkaban," Neville said. "You don't need to worry about the Dementors."
"Lies! Lies crafted by the ministry and the Daily Prophet!"
People were starting to look at them apprehensively now. A couple of security guards were starting to pay attention, too.
"I can personally assure you that they're gone," Harry said. "Neville and I were both part of the task force that got rid of them. Voldemort has been dead for four months. It's time you stopped hanging onto the past. Just come with us."
"Excuse me, gentlemen?" a security guard who had come over said to them. "Is there a problem here?"
"I'll show you problem, you filthy muggle!" Jonathan snapped. "Avada Kadavra!"
"Stupefy!"
Jonathanand Harry had cast their spells at the same time. Harry had stunned Jonathan, who had fired a killing curse at the muggle. Neville had grabbed the Muggle and forced him to the ground, saving his life. Unfortunately, they had caused quite a scene, and several people were talking excitedly, even screaming. The security guard just stood their speechless.
Neville and Harry grabbed Jonathan and Disapparated as quickly as they could. They knew that the Obliviators would be on the scene in moments to clean up the mess they'd left. Harry and Neville appeared in the entry hall of the ministry, where they were greeted by a couple of officers from the standard Magical Law Enforcement unit. Claire stood a few paces behind the two officers. She was rather tall, with short cropped black hair. She wore plain grey robes, which matched her eye colour perfectly. She wasn't very old, only a decade or so older than Neville and Harry, but she was a great Auror. "Well done, you two," she said. "You caught him. Granted, you left a bit of a mess in that pub and in the National Gallery, but all together, not too bad for your first mission. Come along, boys. We've got to do your official debriefing."
They followed her to the lift, where they managed to cram themselves in with a bunch of other witches and wizards. Eventually they arrived at their floor. They passed by the cubicles where solo Aurors worked, and through more open areas where teams worked. They even passed by the team of an Auror named Gibbs as they were briefed on their next assignment. Neville and Harry were a team of their own now; in fact, they even passed by their double sized cubicle where the two of them worked. Eventually, they arrived at the office of the Head Auror, that being Claire Tomalin. Her office was its own room. She opened the door, letting them into the room where they had been several times before. Her entire back wall was one of the fake windows dotted throughout the ministry. The room was painted a dark blue shade, and her impressive mahogany desk stood near the back of the room. She sat in the chair behind it. Neville and Harry took the seats opposite her, waiting for the official debriefing to start.
"Alright, you two, as I said before, well done. I have a couple of notes for you though. Firstly, you should've left the pub as it was. The Obliviators could have taken care of it, there was no need for Neville to stay behind and sort things out. Next, it really would have been best if you waited to confront him until you were in a less crowded area. The way things played out, I realize you had little choice, but instead of trying to confront him in the gallery, you should have let him leave, and taken him down elsewhere. Other than that, good job. From now on, your debriefing will be done in the form of paper work. You two are free to return to your office. I'll let you know when your next assignment comes up."
"Thank you ma'am," Harry and Neville said, then left her office, making their way towards their own office.
"Not too bad," Neville said as they sat down in their double sized cubicle. They had just gotten it, and it was still pretty bare. They'd tacked up a couple of Gryffindor banners, Neville had hung the sword of Gryffindor on the wall behind his small desk, and they had both put a couple of pictures on their respective desks, but for the most part, their office was empty.
"Yeah, good job out there," Harry said. "You saved that muggle man."
Neville shrugged. "You brought down Jonathan. It's funny, because I knew exactly what you were going to do."
"And I knew what you were going to do," Harry said. "Seems like we've really learned to anticipate each other's moves. We're a real team now."
The rest of their day passed by without anything special happening, until, eventually, it was time for them to head home.
They walked together to the lift, and once in the entry hall, they said their good byes. "See you later, Harry," Neville said.
"See you tomorrow, partner," Harry said.
With that, they both Disapparated away. After the brief moments of darkness and no air, Harry appeared outside the Burrow. He gazed up at the house fondly. He pushed open the back door and came into the kitchen, where Mr. Weasley was reading the Daily Prophet while he ate a bowl of soup. Ron sat at the table too, scarfing down a plate stacked high with food. Harry sat down across from him, and Ron managed, " 'Arry, or 'ome."
"Hey, Ron," he said, chuckling. "Want to try swallowing before you talk?"
Ron swallowed. "God, you're as bad as Mum," he joked.
"Harry," Mr. Weasley said. "I heard that you and Neville did well today."
"Yeah. Claire told us we did a good job, anyway," Harry said.
"I imagine it will be in tomorrow's Prophet," Ron said. "I can see the headline now, 'Boy Who Lives and Partner Take Down Death Eater.'"
Harry chuckled. "Well he wasn't really a Death Eater, just a Snatcher."
"Oh, whatever," Ron said.
Mrs. Weasley came into the kitchen at that point. "Hello, Harry, dear," she said. "What would you like for dinner?"
"I'm all set, thanks," Harry said.
"You sure, dear?" she asked. "From what Arthur tells me, you had quite the busy day."
Harry shrugged. "I'm not real hungry."
The rest of the evening was spent chatting around the small kitchen table, until Harry and Ron excused themselves and made their way up to their room. Harry had been offered Percy's old room, but he had opted to stay in Ron's room with him. Harry loved the Burrow, but it felt empty without everyone bustling about. Percy had his own place, Bill and Fleur were living at their own house, George was living in the rooms above the joke shop, Charlie had gone back to Romania, and Ginny and Hermione were both at Hogwarts. Kingsley had offered Harry, Ron, and Hermione positions as Aurors after the war, along with the others who had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts (such as Neville). Harry had taken the offer eagerly, but Ron had decided that he needed to help George run the joke shop, at least until George had recovered a little bit. Hermione, on the other hand, had decided to take Professor McGonagall's offer of letting them come back to Hogwarts and go through the seventh year that none of them had gotten to have.
And so, it was just Harry, Ron, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley left in the Burrow. Harry and Ron walked into Ron's room, taking seats on their respective beds. The walls were still plastered with posters of the Chudley Cannons, but now there was also a large photograph of the three of them just after the Battle of Hogwarts, half laughing, half crying while they ate.
"Any luck?" Harry asked as they started changing into their pyjamas. He was referring to their hunt for a flat. Harry and Ron had decided, for the time being, to be flatmates when they actually found a place. They'd both been looking for potential places, and so far neither of them had had luck. They'd ruled out Grimmauld Place pretty quickly. Neither of them felt like moving back into it. Harry wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do with it when he did get a place, but he had no intentions of living there.
"Looked at a place in Barnes," Ron said with a shrug. "It was alright, but it's in a heavily muggle populated area. How about you?"
"Didn't get the chance to look anywhere. Neville and I have been too busy with our case the past few days."
Ron nodded slowly. "The joke shop has been keeping me pretty busy recently, too. The only reason I got to look anywhere today was because Angelina came by to try and talk to George. I don't usually hang around when she comes by. Feels like I'm invading on something private when I do."
"How is George?" Harry asked. George had really been having a terrible time since Fred had died. Some days he would be acting like his old self, but then he'd turn, expecting Fred to finish his joke, only to be confronted, yet again, with the fact that he was dead. George was getting better, but it was slow. Angelina Johnson had been helping out a lot in trying to get him on the right track. Back at Hogwarts, she'd always had a vaguely flirtatious relationship with both the Weasley twins, but it had always just been a joke. Lately though, it seemed like she and George might move past the joke flirting. That was if George ever managed to start feeling better.
"Today was a better day for him," Ron said. "He actually started work on a new product today. Angelina came by about an hour before we were going to close up, so I closed up the shop early and let them alone."
Harry nodded, thinking about all the people that had died in the war. Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Sirius, his parents… so many people had died. But it was finally over. Kind of. Voldemort was gone, but there were still Death Eaters and former Snatchers that were evading capture, not to mention the fact that the Ministry was still in disarray. The Aurors were in especially bad shape, having been reduced to a quarter of the size they had been before Voldemort had taken over.
"Well good night, Harry," Ron said.
"Night," Harry said. Ron clicked the put-outer, and the lights went out.
"Longbottom, Potter," Claire said as she entered their office the next day. The two of them were sipping from mugs of tea, having just gotten into the office and still a little bleary eyed. "I've got your next assignment. We've received a tip from a reliable source that a former Death Eater is planning to attack at a muggle company dinner. There are going to be some important muggles there, apparently. We're sending you two in, undercover, to find this man and bring him in."
"Where is this muggle company dinner?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Little Whinging," Claire said, consulting a folder she held in one arm. "It's for a company named Grunnings that has apparently cemented a government contract."
Harry groaned. "Great. Uncle Vernon's company."
"You're familiar with Grunnings?" Claire asked, confused.
Harry sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. It's the company that my uncle is in charge of."
"Then it seems that you and Longbottom have the perfect cover," Claire noted. "You two are there to support your uncle. Now listen, the dinner is tonight, so both of you are going to need to obtain muggle formal wear." Harry and Neville both nodded. Claire set the folder down on Neville's desk, wished them luck, then hurried off to her next duty.
Neville started consulting the paperwork in the folder. "Seems like we don't actually know who the Death Eater in question is," he muttered. "Wish our source could have been a bit more specific about that. Still, it's convenient that it's your uncle's company. Claire was right, it's the perfect cover."
"It's not convenient at all," Harry said. "Uncle Vernon is… indescribable. He and Aunt Petunia detest anything that isn't in line with their version of normalcy. They almost ruined my cousin Dudley, too, but after I saved his life he's turned out to be a bit better." Harry sighed. "Well we're not doing any good just sitting around. Let's go get pick up some tuxedos and head over to my old home."
Three hours before the dinner, Harry and Neville stood outside the door of a place Harry had said he'd never return to. Neville had suggested that they wear muggle clothes, but Harry was having none of it. He was eighteen, an adult by even muggle standards, and he was going to make Uncle Vernon squirm. And so, he and Neville were decked out in red and gold robes with a massive Gryffindor lion plastered on their backs. "Now, Neville," Harry said, "remember what I was saying about my Aunt and Uncle. They're really wizard phobic. I know that I was the one who suggested we dress like this to scare them, but you should probably let me do most of the talking, at least until we get him to agree. After that, I would encourage you to engage me in a conversation about Quidditch, just to freak them out."
Neville laughed. "I don't know Harry, surely there's something more sinister that we could talk about. Maybe I should ask you if you've had any luck getting a hold of the bat spleens we need for our ritual."
"Naw," Harry said. "Don't want to scare Dudley. I actually like him now."
Harry reached forward and rapped his knuckles on the door of number 4 Privet Drive. He heard movement beyond the door, the sound of a lock being undone, and the door was thrown open. Standing beyond was Uncle Vernon, who, upon seeing Harry, froze with a look of pure terror on his face. "Hey, Uncle Vernon," Harry said. Vernon Dursley slammed the door. Harry heard the sound of the door being locked. He rolled his eyes, withdrew his wand, and pointed it at the handle. The door swung open, and he and Neville crossed the threshold into the entry hall. Uncle Vernon was scrambling backwards.
"G-g-get out of my house!" he managed.
"Oy! Manners, Uncle Vernon," Harry said. "I'm your nephew. Go into the sitting room, my associate and I need to talk to you."
"GET OUT OF MY HOU-" but Uncle Vernon went silent when Harry pointed his wand in his face. He knew he shouldn't be having fun with this, but Uncle Vernon had made Harry's life a living hell for every day of the first ten years of his life. A little payback was overdue.
"Go into the sitting room," Harry said again, calmly.
Uncle Vernon, afraid of being jinxed, listened this time, and he practically sprinted down the hall. "Dad?" a voice called from upstairs. "What's going on?" Dudley came down the stairs. Halfway down, he spotted Harry. There was an awkward silence, before Dudley said. "Hey, Harry."
"Hey, Big D," Harry said back. "What are you doing here?"
"Missed my last year at Smeltings when we were in hiding. So I'm living here while I take my last year at Stonewall High."
Neville cleared his throat a bit. "Oh, right," Harry said. "Dudley, this is Neville. He's a friend of mine."
"Pleased to meet you," Neville said.
"Hi," Dudley said nervously. He may have finally accepted Harry, but wizards still made him nervous. It was written all over his face. "What are you doing here?"
"Work stuff," Harry said. "Care to join us in the sitting room? We've got to talk to your father. Maybe you'll be able to help keep him calm."
Dudley nodded slowly, and came down into the hall. He led the way into the sitting room Where Uncle Vernon was sitting in a chair, gripping the armrests so hard that his knuckles were white. "Dudley, go up to your room," he said quietly.
"No, he's fine here," Harry said, as he and Neville took seats on the couch comfortably. "Where's Aunt Petunia, by the way? I thought she'd be here."
"Mum's out shopping," said Dudley, who looked too nervous to join Harry and Neville on the couch, but also didn't appear to want to go stand by Uncle Vernon.
"Well, that's okay," Harry said. "She can join us when she gets here. Neville and I will be here a while, isn't that right, Neville?"
Uncle Vernon turned even paler, if that was possible. "Why are you here? We were doing ruddy well fine without you."
"And I was doing ruddy well fine without you," Harry said. "Don't think I came here because I wanted to. In case you hadn't noticed, I wasn't particularly fond of this place. You treated me like a slave."
"We took you in when no one else would," Vernon spat.
"You treated me like a slave," Harry repeated. "I had to do all the chores, you tried to keep me from having any fun… you made me live in the damn cupboard under the stairs! You tried to squash the magic out of me, you lied constantly to me, you encouraged Dudley to pick on me… no offense, Dud. You turned out much better than I thought you would."
"No offense taken," Dudley muttered.
"But that's all water under the bridge, so to speak," Harry said. "My friend, Neville, and I are here, because we're doing our job. We're Aurors, which are basically the Wizard Cops. We have reason to believe that there will be a Death Eater at the company dinner you're going to tonight (yes we know about that). We need to get in and capture him, and the best way to do that is to have us be your guests."
"I will not have you coming to the most important event in my company's history," Uncle Vernon said. "Look at you. You can't even dress normally in a casual setting."
"We have muggle tuxedos," Harry assured him. "And you don't really have a choice in the matter. We're talking about a life or death situation here."
"I thought the entire reason my family went into hiding was to avoid these mad men," Uncle Vernon said.
"These guys are basically the leftovers of Voldemort's army," Harry explained. "They're still evil, and some of them will do what they can to stir up trouble, which includes attacking muggles and muggle gatherings."
"Why would they attack my company dinner?" Uncle Vernon said. "It's preposterous!"
"The dinner is to cement a government contract, right? There will be government officials there. This Death Eater probably wants to kill them, cause some widespread fear and havoc in the muggle world."
"Why isn't your… Ministry of Magic taking care of this?"
"We are the Ministry of Magic," Harry explained. "You're stuck with us. And trust me, I'm not happy about this either, but this is the way things are going to have to be."
"Dad," Dudley said, "I think we should listen to Harry."
"Thanks, Dudley," Harry said, knowing that Dudley's endorsement would force Uncle Vernon to agree to their plan, even if he didn't like it.
Uncle Vernon squirmed uncomfortably for a few minutes before finally saying, "Fine, fine. But I swear, boy, if you mess this up…"
"You'll what?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow. "Lock me in my cupboard until Christmas?"
Uncle Vernon was quiet for a moment, before scowling and saying, "Fine. I have to go start getting ready. You two had better be dressed properly when it's time to go."
With that Uncle Vernon stood and left the room. Dudley went over to the chair Vernon Dursley had occupied earlier, taking a seat, still looking vaguely uncomfortable.
"What a git," Neville said. "He's really your Uncle?"
"Unfortunately," Harry said. "Sorry Dud, I know he's your dad, but…"
Dudley shook his head. "No, don't be sorry. He treated you awfully. It was unfair, and I'm sorry for his behaviour. Him and Mum both. I know I wasn't the best cousin either, always bullying you and trying to make you more miserable than you already were…"
"Well you turned out alright," Harry said. "Don't worry about it, Dud."
Neville had already pulled off his robes, revealing the Tuxedo he wore underneath. With a wave of his wand, he sent his robes back off to his flat, then stowed his wand in his pocket. Harry decided to do the same, as he was starting to get hot in the many layers he wore.
"So, Dudley," Neville asked, "you said that you're doing your last year of school, right? What sorts of jobs are out there for muggles?"
"Well," Dudley said, "I was thinking about going to University, actually."
"University?" Harry said, surprised. "I never thought you cared much about actual school work."
"The last couple years I've really buckled down. I want to have a good job someday, you know?"
"I'm sorry," Neville said, "but what exactly is University?"
"Muggles go to school kind of like we do, except, after they finish, they can get more education before starting their jobs," Harry explained. "That's University. In the wizarding world, we just receive the extra education as part of our job training," Harry explained to Dudley.
Dudley nodded thoughtfully. Harry was impressed. Not only had Dudley turned out to be a much better person than Harry had thought he'd be, but he actually seemed to have ambition now, and goals in his life. Harry was proud of him. "Well, Dudley, I'm happy for you."
It was at that moment that they heard the door swing open and heard Aunt Petunia enter the house. "I'll go fill her in," Dudley said, getting up. "Then I should go get ready, too." With that he left the room.
Once he was gone, Neville said, "Well he at least seems nice. But, man, I knew you had it bad in the muggle world, but I never knew just how bad it was for you. I'm sorry."
Harry shrugged. He knew he'd never be able to forgive Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, but he'd made it through, and in the end, he was better for it. Aunt Petunia came into the room, looking surprised and alarmed at the sight of Neville and Harry. "So. You're back then?"
"Don't worry, it won't be for long," Harry said. He paused awkwardly, thinking about the things he'd learned about his Aunt from Snape's memories. "Listen, Aunt Petunia, I know we've had our differences, but… I saw the memories. Of Severus Snape. He was the boy who was always spending time with your sister when you were kids. I know that you wanted to go to Hogwarts. I know the reason you were always so bitter was because you were jealous, and I'm sorry."
Petunia stood still for a moment, not really sure how to react. "Yes, well," she said. "It's a bit late now." She paused too. Finally, she said, "I thought you had finished things off." Harry assumed she was referring to the Death Eater situation.
"There are still Death Eaters evading capture," Harry said calmly. "We're doing everything we can to bring them in. That's why Neville and I are here. After tonight, I'll be out of your hair, and you can go back to despising the memory of your sister in peace."
"I don't despise her," Aunt Petunia said softly. "You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow. I lost a sister."
It was Harry's turn to not know how to react. He was surprised by his Aunt's sincerity. Luckily, he was spared from having to say anything when she turned and excused herself to get changed.
Neville whistled. "Tonight is going to be so awkward. It's going to be even more awkward than all those times Ron was snogging Lavender in the common room sixth year and it was painfully obvious to everyone else how Hermione felt about him."
"Yep," Harry said. "That… that pretty much sums it up. It'll be even more awkward than the Yule Ball."
"Oh, good one," Neville said. "Um, alright… It'll be even more awkward than the time you kissed Ginny for winning the Quidditch Match with Ron standing right there."
"Why are you pulling all of yours from sixth year?" Harry asked.
"Come on, Harry, that was perhaps the most awkward year any of us had," Neville said.
"Fair enough. Okay, it'll be more awkward than the time Hermione cast the body bind curse on you, which ended up winning us the House Cup."
"I remember that," Neville said. "I was so upset that she'd cursed me! And then we won the House Cup because I stood up to you guys… it was overwhelming."
"And look at you now," Harry said with a smile. "To think that you used to be so nervous and afraid of messing up, and now you're an Auror."
"Definitely didn't expect it," Neville said. "I'm glad I'm making a lasting impact though."
They continued chatting for a while, and eventually, Dudley arrived in his Tuxedo to join them. At around seven, they all squeezed into the Dursley's car, and set off, Harry having flashbacks to the day when he'd gone to the zoo for the first time.
The company dinner was more of a ball. It was held in a big fancy gathering hall, the likes of which Harry hadn't even known existed in Little Whinging. There were people walking around handing out free glasses of Champagne, buffets in the corners of the room, and a live orchestra playing various waltzes. And Harry hated every minute of it. For one thing, Uncle Vernon wouldn't let him out of his sight, constantly being afraid that Harry would screw up everything, which not only made it hard for Harry to do his job, but also forced him into many awkward conversations.
For another, he was starving, but Uncle Vernon had insisted that the buffets were just there for display and that it would be exceptionally rude for him to take anything to eat, despite the fact that one of the big important government people could be seen walking around with a plate piled high with food. The result was a long, painfully awkward evening that Harry would have given anything to get out of. But he did have a job to do, and he was determined to do it. Neville managed to escape early on, so he was much more mobile and was able to keep a better eye on the situation. The problem was, really, that they didn't know exactly who they were looking for. They didn't know which Death Eater was supposedly at this gathering, and even if they knew his name, they probably wouldn't recognize him among the throngs of people.
Nevertheless, Neville came back to Harry every once in a while to fill him in on what he'd been seeing. So far, there wasn't anything stranger than a man with an exceptionally long beard, although Neville did tell him that he'd seen one of the waitresses snogging with one of the government guys.
At around half ten, Harry started to think that their source must have been wrong, or lying, because nothing had happened yet. That all changed when suddenly he saw a flash of green in the distance. Withdrawing his wand, he ran towards where the light had come from. He saw Neville come up alongside him. In the centre of the room, they found a tall man wearing one of the waiter uniforms holding out a wand and firing off Killing Curses, laughing madly. None of the spells seemed to be making their mark, but it was doing enough to cause waves of panic to roll throughout the crowd.
"Oy!" Harry said. "Freeze!"
He and Neville both brandished their wands, and the man seemed to notice them for the first time. He had a kind of deranged smile on his face, and his eyes looked fractured. "Well, if it isn't the famous Harry Potter! What a pleasure to meet you! And if it isn't Neville Schlongbottom!"
"Schlongbottom?" Neville said indignantly. "I take offense to that!"
"Look, there's two of us and only one of you," Harry said. "So just put down your wand and come quietly."
"Only one of me?" the man said. "That's where you are mistaken!" Suddenly the room was filled with a piercing cold, and the lights began to flicker out, leaving the room dark. "I believe you are familiar with Dementors? Ever since you drove them out of Azkaban, they've held a lot of hatred for the Ministry, and there just so happens to be two ministry officials here now. So you see, they'll kiss you, then move onto the muggles."
"Lumos," Harry and Neville both muttered. They needed to be able to see. If there really were dementors, they needed to be ready. Unfortunately, their circle of light wasn't very big, but Harry could hear the rattling breathes of Dementors from just outside the circle, waiting for their Death Eater friend to clear out of the way.
"So, Potter, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave," he said. "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again." With that he disappeared, and several Dementors glided into their circle of light. Pulling up the memory of his and Ginny's last day together before she left for Hogwarts, Harry yelled, "Expecto Patronum!"
A massive stag burst from the end of his wand and ploughed down the nearest Dementor. Harry saw Neville's Patronus flicker to life out of the corner of his eye, but Harry was busy commanding his. He sent it after several Dementors, but he started to realize that there were more than he initially thought. He heard several muggle screaming, no doubt being attacked by other Dementors. Harry pointed his wand off in the direction of some yells, and his patronus charged off. He dashed after it, sending it off course a couple of times to take care of a couple of different small groups of Dementors. He was really feeling on a roll. Fighting Dementors was definitely one of his fortes.
Off in one corner of the room, he sent his patronus to take out one Dementor that was particularly far away. It was at that moment that he had made a crucial mistake. Suddenly, a Dementor came into his small circle of light. Unable to react quickly enough, Harry just spun towards in in surprise before it had grasped him about the neck with one of its hands, lifting him into the air. Just the touch of the Dementor's skin filled Harry with sudden terror, and his brain shut off. He couldn't think. Everything was gone. He felt his wand fall out of his grasp. His mind replayed scenes of the final battle with Voldemort: Fred's death, Lupin and Tonk's dead bodies in the Great Hall, Snape's death… he relived each and every one of them. And then, in a flash, he was sitting in a bed that seemed to be surrounded by bars. A woman he recognized as his mother was speaking softly to him and crying. The door behind her was blasted apart, and Voldemort entered the room. He killed his mother, and lowered his wand at Harry. "Avada Kadavra!" Voldemort said. A flash of green light filled Harry's vision, he felt a searing pain on his forehead, and he heard the sounds of the room around him being blown apart as the spell backfired. Then, suddenly, he was back in the present day, struggling against the Dementor's grip, and fighting to stay conscious.
With its free hand, the Dementor reached up for its hood and lowered it, revealing its blank face and raged hole of a mouth. Harry, who was just struggling for breathe at that point, knew that he was about to lose his soul and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He wondered vaguely what losing your soul would be like. He wouldn't be dead, technically, but he wouldn't really be alive either. That was when he heard a voice say, "I can't see you, but let go of my cousin!" Suddenly, there was a massive bang as a metal tray slammed the Dementor over the head. Not immune to physical pain, it dropped Harry, who grabbed his wand from the floor and roared, "Expecto Patronum!" At such close quarters, the Dementor didn't stand a chance. It wasn't just chased off; it was completely destroyed, being ripped apart and fading from existence.
There was a massive screeching sound when that happened, and a shock wave seemed to roll through the room. The cold withdrew, the lights flickered back on, and the Dementors were gone. Harry looked around, dazed. Dudley stood there, holding out a hand to help him up. Harry gladly took it, and Dudley pulled him to his feet. "Wow," Harry said. "Dud, were you the one that hit the Dementor on the head?"
"I hit its head?" he asked vaguely. "I couldn't see it, I just saw you hovering in the air, struggling. I knew what was here, because I felt the same way I did when they attacked us a few years ago. I just… tried my best."
"Well you saved my life," Harry said. "Thanks, Big D."
Dudley smiled. "Well, now we're even." Harry looked around the room. All of the other muggles were passed out, but seemed to be okay. Neville was striding over, a confused look on his face.
"What happened?" he asked when he arrived.
"I think I actually destroyed one of them," Harry said. "I don't know how. I didn't even know it was possible to kill them. I guess it is. When I destroyed it, that shockwave went out and I guess it scared the rest of them off."
At that moment, they heard several cracking sounds as a team of Obliviators arrived to clean things up. One of them came over to Harry and Neville. He stood quite a bit taller than either of them. He had long brown hair and blue eyes that looked at both of them sternly and critically. "Well done you two, you managed to leave another big mess for us to clean up."
"Sorry," Neville said nervously.
The man's face broke into a smile. "I'm just kidding, calm down, Longbottom. The name's Mercury Jones. Pleased to finally meet the two up and coming Aurors. And who's this?"
"This is my cousin," Harry said. "He can keep his memories, but I wouldn't mind if you altered the memories of my Aunt and Uncle." He pointed to the two of them, who were passed out a few feet away.
"No problem, Potter," he said. "You two had better get going, though. No offense, but you'll just get in our way."
Neville nodded, and turned to Dudley. "Well, thank you again for your help," he said, offering his hand. Dudley took it and shook hands.
Harry turned to Dudley. "Thanks again for saving me, Big D. If you need anything, send me a letter. Don't worry about the address. If you address a letter to Mr. H Potter, it will find its way to me."
"Yeah, alright," he said. They shook hands, then unsure what else to say or do, Harry raised his hand in farewell and Disapparated.
He and Neville arrived in the Ministry entry hall. The Ministry was empty, but they trudged off to their office, nonetheless to get the things they'd left behind. While in the office, Harry mulled over the events of the evening. He hadn't had such a volatile reaction to Dementors in a long time, and he couldn't ever remember actually witnessing his mother's murder under the influence of them. It was this train of thought that made him smack his forehead. "Of course!" he said.
Neville looked at him confusedly as he fastened his cloak. "What?"
"Godric's Hollow!" Harry said. "That's where I'll live. I'll rebuild my parents' old house and move in there."
"That's a good idea," Neville said. "What made you think of it?"
"The Dementors made me relive my parents' deaths," Harry replied as he fastened his own cloak. "The house is still there, it just needs a little work. Once that's done, I'll have myself a house."
They started walking back towards the lift. "Shame we didn't find out that Death Eater's name," Neville commented. "Having it would make tracking him down a lot easier. And you know that's what Claire is going to have us doing now."
"Yeah, I know," Harry said. "But that's okay. We'll get him. He can't stand up against the combined might of Potter and Longbottom."