Harry and Hermione stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at the sleeping figure that was Ron buried beneath the covers from last night's activities. The poor boy was exhausted. He wasn't used to having to travel all the way from Hogsmeade to London by broom. He wasn't even the best flier in the world to begin with.
The three of them had left Hogwarts after their last exam and headed off to the apartment they shared in London for the summer. It had been a long year at Hogwarts and they were looking forward to their first summer without parents or guardians. Harry was especially looking forward to not having to put up with his Aunt and Uncle this summer.
Hermione laughed and lifted the covers from Ron's foot and tickled him until he woke up. He started kicking and grunting in his sleep until he finally gave way and opened his eyes. "Hey! What was that for."
Harry and Hermione laughed in unison, "Good morning, sleepy head. It's almost noon. Wake up."
Ron groaned and rolled over, not wanting to crawl out from under the covers. "Why? We have no obligations today. It's summer vacation."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Ron, we have to meet with the Minister of Magic this afternoon. You're going to have to get up and get a bath."
Hermione turned on her heel and left the room quickly, leaving the boys to their own devices. Ron finally dragged himself from the bed, stretching and rubbing his eyes. They hadn't even bothered waiting for the end of term feast, much less the train, so no one really knew that they were gone unless they were noticed.
"Come on Ron, get ready, we'll have to leave soon. Getting into the ministry from the street isn't easy and we can't apparate in either. They're protected against it, just like Hogwarts is." Harry turned and walked out of the room and went to join Hermione in the kitchen.
They sat there sipping pumpkin juice when Ron joined them a short while later. He was all showered and dressed and looked like he fit in with society. His hair was a bit shaggy, but that was alright, it was the trend now it seemed. Last time Harry had been home, Dudley's hair had been just as shaggy and unkempt.
Once Ron had grabbed himself some breakfast, the three of them headed out across the city for the phone booth that marked the entrance to the Ministry. It wasn't hard to find, it was the only phone booth left on the street. Nothing else was on this street any more. Or so the Muggles thought. There was one big old building left. On the outside it looked like an abandoned department store, but to the magical world, it was the Ministry of Magic.
They squeezed into the phone booth and picked up the phone. Harry spoke clearly when it was answered by the ticket master on the other end. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley to see the Minister of Magic."
Three passes spewed out of what should have been the coin slot if it was a normal phone and they started to sink into the ground. No one on the outside would know what happened. They would think that they were still in the booth. Magic was a wonderful thing.
Once they got to the main level of the Ministry, they stepped out of the booth and into the grand foyer. They were greeted by a guard who inspected their passes then let them pass easily. None of them would be checked for anything, they were three of the very few who were allowed to do whatever they felt necessary by whatever means necessary.
They went to the bank of elevators and pushed the button for the Minister's office. They stopped at several floors and were joined by several witches and wizards, all of them heading their own separate ways to carry on about their business. Ron shifted some, a bit nervous about entering the Ministry building this time. It was the first time that he had been there since Sirius had been killed there.
Once they were at their floor, the trio stepped out into the bright corridor and headed to the Minister's office. Ron knocked nervously on the door and were greeted by a cheerful, "Come in!"
He pushed the door in and the three stepped in, smiling at Ron's father, the newest Minister of Magic. "Hi Dad!"
Ron relaxed once he was inside the office, no longer remembering what had happened that dreaded night. "Hi kids. Welcome to my new office."
"Hi Mr. Weasley!" Hermione and Harry chimed up at the same time. Each of them took seats in front of the large desk.
"Well, I called you here so that you could see my new office, but more importantly, we have assignments for you." The three of them looked at each other. They hadn't expected assignments yet.
"Assignments?" Hermione was the first to compose herself and ask the obvious. "What kind of assignments? Are we being split up?"
"No, Hermione, you and Ronald will be working here together in my office. Harry will be working at Hogwarts this summer with Professor McGonagall. She needs some help settling into her new position as Headmistress."
"Headmistress? She is staying on permanently then?" Harry asked quietly, knowing that she had agreed to take on the position for one year, but never expecting that she was going to take it on permanently.
"Yes, she did. She decided and announced it at the end of term feast. If you three hadn't left early, you would have known that." The trio looked at each other and blushed profusely.
"Sorry, Sir, we were antsy to get to London. We wanted to get settled in because we knew that we had the meeting with you this afternoon." Mr. Weasley laughed and nodded.
"That's alright, I don't blame you. It's been another rough year at Hogwarts. Last year it was Dumbledore, this year it was Snape. I know you weren't his biggest fans, but he was still an excellent professor and no one deserves to die the way he did."
"That's very true, Mr. Weasley, but what are Ron and I going to be doing here at the Ministry? I'm not sure what we're qualified for, since our N.E.W.T.S. don't come for another week." Hermione spoke the question that was weighing on Ron's mind. He was far too scared to ask it though.
"Oh, you'll mostly be doing odd jobs for the different departments most of the time. It's a way to get acquainted with the Ministry before you are settled into departments that suit you. Everyone does it. You'll be our new grunts along with a couple of your other classmates."
"Grunts?" Ron finally spoke up. "That title doesn't sound that great. Can we change it to something friendlier?"
Mr. Weasley, Harry and Hermione laughed at this, finding it quite amusing. "Well we can talk about it later, but the job is the same. You'll be working in the Ministry for whomever needs assistance. Hermione, you will likely be helping in my former department. Department of Muggle Artifacts needs someone with Muggle blood to help them out quite badly."
Hermione nodded, "That's what I was hoping for, Sir."
"Ronald, you will be floating most of the time until we can figure out where you excel the most, since your grades didn't show us much of what you're best at."
Ron nodded, knowing that he didn't do well in school. Most of the time, he copied from Hermione or Harry just to get through with his work. He wasn't really proud, but he did have some skills. He would just have to prove himself to his father and to everyone else.
Once they were finished with that part of the appointment, Mr. Weasley sent them to find their way around the Ministry with one of the other interns. They weren't unfamiliar with it, but they had never seen it when people were there. Harry had, when he had his day in court. Instead of touring with the others, he went back to Hogwarts via the port key that was set up in the Minister's office.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, welcome back." Professor McGonagall smiled. "You should have stuck around yesterday and you would have already been here."
"Sorry professor. I didn't know we would get assigned so quickly." Harry looked around at the now empty castle. He wasn't used to the silence.
"Come along and I'll get you settled into an office and a suite. We have suites that we give to the professors and guests." Harry blinked, he hadn't been expecting such treatment.
"Okay, Professor." Harry followed along behind her, unsure of where his office was going to be. He hadn't even expected an office for that matter.
He was led into the office that had always been empty as far as he could remember. "This is your office, feel free to decorate it as you see fit."
"Thank you, Professor." Harry looked around for a moment before he was ushered back into the hall and down towards the suites.
"This is your suite. Again, decorate however you wish." Harry nodded and looked around at the spacious suite.
"Harry, once you get settled in, come to my office. You still know the password. I have some things that I need to discuss with you."
Harry nodded and within a second, Professor McGonagall was gone.