"Looks like that's the only way down, right?" asked Brooke, peering nervously over the edge of the cliff. They were in a simulation, a test to challenge their emotions and reactions. They were up high, and there was the ground, far, far below. There was no way they could make it to the bottom- the simulation wasn't that large- but getting half-way down would guarantee them good marks. The two of them had been in the sequence for hours- fighting the odd wolves, running from them, and trying to control their fear. It was rather intimidating, even without the grey sky and red sun.
"If we scale it properly, we might make it down," nodded Harry, his fingers tapping quickly on his side, "But it's a bit of a risk." Brooke rolled her dark eyes and smiled.
"Didn't we sign up for risks like this? If we make it down, without being attacked by whatever the hell those things are, we'll be in a higher rank. If we fall down, we'll probably break something, get if fixed, and go home early. Either way it's a win." she grimaced, meeting Harry's eyes. "But that fall is going to hurt, even if the height and pain is just an illusion."
There was a snarl, and suddenly one of the monsters was feet away. It looked like a large wolf, but instead of teeth it had what seemed like hundreds of blood-red fangs, protruding from it's mouth and cutting into it's chin. The saliva was poisonous- Dylan was bit by one last week and had been saying that he was sure the simulation was real all day- and would cause them both to be pulled from the simulation and lower down in training than the rest. If they scaled the cliff down, or at least tried, that would have to count for something.
"Unless you two wanna have a cuppa, we should get moving." cried Brooke, her voice unusually high. Harry nodded and turned on the beast, quickly moving to the tip of the cliff and falling for a moment until he hit a small dent, hardly big enough for his feet. His troubles were not over, though; Brooke was some twenty feet below him screaming and holding onto a piece of rock that wasn't going to hold much longer. Harry lowered himself so he was hanging by his fingertips, and started to climb down, his fingers finding the tiniest of spaces, his eyes looking hard for anyway to get down to her.
"I can't get to you!" shouted Harry, "Just fall!" Brooke shook her head wildly and Harry sighed. His roommate and partner had to have an extreme fear of heights and falling. "Alright, it's okay, I'm coming." he assured her. She was only five feet away, and as much as he hated to force her down, he would. He looked over to Brooke, who was drenched in sweat and looking at Harry pleadingly.
"I'm going to have to bring you down with me," he said softly. "Close your eyes." Brooke swallowed heavily and looked upset, but did as Harry said. Harry then took a deep breath, slipped from his ledge, and grabbed Brooke with him. He felt Brooke in his arms, her hair in his face, and heard her screams as they fell down... down... down...
"Ha! I told you they wouldn't make it down!" Dylan's voice cried. Harry opened his eyes with a groan. Brooke rolled off of him and let out a soft moan- her arm was twisted oddly. Harry quickly tested his limbs and smiled- he hadn't broken anything. Admittedly, he was sore, but was lucky to have gotten away with no broken bones after the fall.
"At least we made it to the cliff," groaned Harry, sitting up and rubbing his shoulder. They were in the Simulation Room- it was the size of a football field, and Harry couldn't see the ceiling... he wondered how high they fell from, but the height didn't matter- they landed on blue mats, and a force field slowed them down slightly before hitting the ground. "You were eaten forty minutes in." he watched as a healer came over to Brooke and fixed her arm- the two weren't together- they both had pretty bad tempers, not to mention that Brooke wasn't into relationships. Her last relationship hadn't ended so well, and she assured Harry that she wouldn't be looking for another soon.
Although she was rather good-looking- dark, choppy hair, brown eyes, tall and slender, and an olive complexion- Harry wasn't into relationships either. He couldn't shake the thought of his last girlfriend, and her family, which he had left after the war was over. He still saw his old friend every so often. After all, they were both training to be Aurors, but Harry doubted whether they would be friends again. After the war, they wanted to take care of him- it was a horrible time for their family, and Harry couldn't help but feel he caused the death of their family member, Fred. So he drifted off, and fought against anyone who wanted to remain in his life. This lasted for a few months, until a few weeks ago when they finally decided to let him go- probably around early November.
Harry struggled to a stand, and offered a hand to Brooke, who was testing her newly healed arm. She looked angry with him, but took it all the same.
"You didn't need to do that, you know," she sighed once they were out of the simulation room and heading towards the showers. Harry struggled not to smile.
"Right. It looks like you were handling the situation fine." Brooke huffed and blew the bangs out of her face, but smiled.
"Thanks for helping." she said, elbowing him softly in the ribs. "I'm sorry about the whole freaking out thing." Harry waved a hand airily and they stopped walking.
"You would've done the same for me. We can leave after this- are you going to stay after, or go back to the flat?"
"We have to stay here, remember?" said Brooke, her hand on the door to the girls showers, "Talk about Christmas vacation." Harry nodded, and went into the boys showers. They looked like the locker rooms at Hogwarts- lockers for each Trainee, and about two dozen stalls to rinse off the dirt, blood, grime, dragon vomit, or whatever the hell else you came across while you were training. Harry tore off his shirt, which was sticking to him from the sweat, and opened his locker, throwing it in with a grimace. He took out his phone, checking for any messages from Andromeda- she usually called to see if Harry was going to see Teddy that particular day- and instead had nine missed calls from Ron. Harry felt ice run through his veins. What could have happened, that after all the silence, he was so eager to speak to Harry.
He quickly dialed Ron's number, praying for someone to pick up. Just as Harry was about to hang up and try again, a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?" it was Hermione, sounding as though she had been crying.
"Hermione, what's happened?" He had a soft spot for her, still- he could still look at her without feeling an overwhelming guilt.
"Harry... it's horrible, I..." she swallowed heavily. "It's George."
A/N: So that was the prologue. This chapter was to show how much time had passed since the battle, where Harry's relationships and career stood, and to start of the beginning of the story. No, George won't be playing a huge part, but he'll be the reason that Harry returns to the Weasley's. Thanks for reading, and remember that nothing says you want another chapter more than a review!