Here is my New Story. As you can see it is a little more thought out than my other story. This one has what I think is a good Plot. I hope you like where it is going. I really love the idea of Ron and Daphne as a couple, I don't know why. I will continue to write my other story too, but this one is already written mostly. That is why the delay for the other story happened.
I hope you like it!
J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter
Chapter 01: Dog Days
The streets of London early in the mornings were a sight to be seen for centuries. On foggy days, where one couldn't see ten feet in front of them the streets gave an air of mystery, something only described in novels as dreadful. On rainy days, the city felt alive, almost as if the city with all its movement was a living organism. On sunny days, which happened every once in a while, the atmosphere cleared and the vast quantity of vegetation and buildings were seen. The water surrounding the great city—where once one of the greatest empires in history sat—was glistening with the Sun's eminent approach. The mornings in London were truly an experience on themselves.
The streets were busy as always, the people of London not really taking the beauty of the city, seeing as they were accustomed to that. Cars, double-decker busses, bicycles, and pedestrians bustled throughout the streets in a hurry to get to their destination. Buses taking children to their schools, businessmen walking towards their respective jobs, storefront managers opening the cafes for the morning rush.
Thomas Wright, a baker by trade, whistled a happy tune whilst unpackaging flour from a shipment had received the day before, coming and going from the storeroom to the baking area in the back. His patisserie Clarisse—named after his daughter—was a little pastry shop in the heart of London, famous for its swiftness and prompt delivery of delicious baked goods. The morning rush was about to start, a few customers already in front of the shop. His assistants were already getting ready to start the day, counting the starting money for the day and restocking the pastries in order to serve the morning customers.
Thomas was an honest man, working many jobs through university to get his business degree, with dreams of opening a shop that sold his true passion: pastries. He graduated and with the money he had saved up, Thomas opened a little shop in the outskirts of London. As the years went by, his shop became a success, letting him open many shops throughout the city. Thomas liked to work in his shop in Central London because the demand was higher there, so he baked all day until closing.
Thomas was a family man through and through, taking his little children into the bakery just as it had opened, and as they grew, they helped him bring his business up. The eldest daughter deciding to help him by going to college and studying business, the other two in school still, working the afternoons at the bakery. Thomas' wife had a flower shop nearby, both of them working together sometimes when the rare order of pastries and flower came up.
As Thomas finished to bring in the flour towards the storeroom, he thought about going out to the alley for a smoke. He had the occasional morning smoke before baking, his only little secret that only few people knew. He had about fifteen minutes before closing time, just enough for two smokes and maybe a third.
When Thomas opened the door, he did not expect the door to be stuck, only leaving a crack opened between the door and the alley. The smell of ash and something burning Something was obstructing the door.
"Dammit. Some twigs maybe from last night's storm. London's fuckin' weather," Thomas said under his breath. He tried pushing more and more, and finally on the hardest push, the door opened.
Thomas could not expect what was behind the door. He was a family man, an honest man, a man that knew of no greater evil other than the corporate banks. To say he yelled would be erroneous, because he could not find his voice once he saw the obstruction behind the door.
A body lay mangled, almost like a thrown away puppet, on the floor. The position of the body, thrown away from the door, made the face of the victim visible. Well, where the face would be. In the head, only the eye sockets remained, the body burnt almost to a crisp. The smell of burnt flesh became more apparent. What also struck Thomas, was the nakedness of the body. A feminine body was seen, by what remained of the body one could assess easily.
"Hey boss you ok?" A clerk from inside came towards Thomas, seeing him standing outside through the backdoor's window.
The clerk stopped and gasped at what he was now seeing alongside his boss' stunned body. He tripped as he went to the backroom, looking for a phone to call the authorities.
Thomas stayed there until the police arrived, still in shock from seeing this monstrosity. Who would do that to a young lady? His answer would never be answered, but the question would remain with him until the day he died.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, Auror for the Area of Strategy in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" The head auror said as he received the young man into the stage in order to give him his official diploma of completion of Auror Training.
Ron Weasley, best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, the One-Who-Conquered, and part of the Golden Trio himself, was finishing Auror Training after helping his brother's shop resurface after the Second Wizarding War.
The deafening applause and cheers from just his family and friends was enough to make him blush like a tomato in front of his fellow aurors. He stood up, smiled and shook Chief Dickens' hand, whilst receiving his diploma.
"Glad to have you with us Weasley, sure you don't want to be a field Auror?" Dickens' whispered as he gave him the obligatory pat in the back. Photographs were snapped since this was a celebrity's graduation. Being a war hero meant being recognized anywhere he went.
"I've had enough adventures for a lifetime Chief. I prefer working from a desk thank you very much. Besides you have Harry, couldn't ask for better help." Ron said to him quickly, making the Chief chuckle and nod his head.
The ceremony went on and Ron returned to the place where his family and friends where gathered. His parents alongside his many brothers and sisters were clapping and cheering as he approached.
Harry had asked for a day off to attend the ceremony and the afterparty for his best friend. Without him, Harry would have not defeated the Dark Lord years ago, but also to Harry the Weasleys were his family. Hermione was there as well, cheering and clapping alongside everyone.
Hermione and he had tried dating for a year before deciding that they worked much better as friends than as a couple. The fights they had as a couple were almost worse than when they were not, so before it imploded into them not talking ever again, they decided to remain friends. They actually argued less, and he had even set up Hermione with a friend from the Academy. They were now a year into being together, and he was actually happy for her.
"Ronnikins is now a big bad Auror like Harry" George said whining, his eyes laughing. George had lost his twin brother in the war, scarring him for life. It took time, but eventually he learned to cope with his loss and return to being the goofball he once was.
"I know, I won't get away with murder now" Bill said to George, patting Charlie in the back as Ron approached.
"I can arrest them right now, right mum?" Ron said as he approached his mother's extended embrace.
"If you don't somebody will, so it hurts less if it is family" Ginny, the only female Weasley said, punching Bill playfully whilst embracing Ron. Ginny was taking a break from playing professional Quidditch to come and celebrate with her family. Ginny and Harry were into their third year of dating, and they could not be happier.
This went on for a while whilst Ron was embraced by many of his friends from Hogwarts and some from the Academy.
"Now, now, kids…" Mrs. Weasley said to everyone "…let's go to the Burrow and celebrate." She finished with a smile and went towards the Apparition point.
The hours passed, the celebration continued well into the night. One by one people left until the Burrow was quiet, only the family and close friends together under the tent that they had put for the special occasion.
"You start tomorrow already mate?" Neville asked Ron as he took a swig from his last butterbeer of the night, settling down next to Hannah Abbot, his girlfriend.
"Yep…" Ron said as he too drank his last swig from a butterbeer, "…tomorrow early in the morning I report to Dickens and from there we'll see how it goes." Ron said and stood up alongside Harry to go to Grimmauld Place, where they both lived.
"Thank you, guys! You have no idea how much it means to me that you were here." Ron finished and waved to everyone as he walked towards the fireplace in order to Floo home.
The rest of the group stayed there for a while until they decided to get to their respective places. The new era for the group of friends would just begin.
Ron woke up early in order to catch a quick run before going to work. While in the Academy, the Aurors in Training had to run daily in order to keep in form and keep their shape. Ron enjoyed these runs now, but back at the beginning they were the absolute worst for him. Now he was in the best shape he had ever been, running five miles every day and doing some basic workout at Grimmauld Place.
As he came back, he noticed that Harry had just awoken and was having breakfast. Harry worked out at night, saying that working out before sleeping tired him out and kept the nightmares at bay. Today, he looked as if he did not sleep well, the war taking a toll on his mind.
"Hey mate, ready for your first day?" Harry asked whilst eating some porridge, excited for his friend in spite of not sleeping well.
"Ready as I'll ever be I guess" Ron said, suddenly nervous. Harry had told him how it was working at the DMLE, and he was nervous. His best friend had worked there a year before him, having started training right after the war ended.
"Oh, cheer up, it's not as bad as I told you. I said that to scare you a bit, and besides…you'll be in the Strategy Department, no field work for you" Harry said as he passed Ron some orange juice to hydrate his friend.
"I know that. I just don't want to fuck it up" Ron said as he took a swig of the juice straight from the carton. Harry gave him a disgusted look but said nothing, having grown accustomed to Ron's eating habits.
"You won't. You were the best in your class in the Academy. Hell, in no time you will beat the Chief and will take his job. That fucker needs to retire I'm telling you, and I don't want his job because it is more suited for you" Harry explained as he lifted his wand and conjured his plate towards the sink in order to wash it. The plate and sink worked together magically in order to clean the plate.
"Thanks mate, I'll go shower and then we can go to the office" Ron said as he buttered a biscuit and ate it whilst going towards his room.
"Hurry, you don't want to be late. Dickens hates that!" Harry yelled as he too went towards his room in order to start the day.
"…and this is your desk!", said Colette animatedly to Ron. Colette was the secretary for the Department, seating in the front of the room. Standing to a mere five feet tall she had to look up in order to look at Ron directly in the eye. Colette had graduated Hogwarts the year before, and was beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cheerful personality. Currently, she was seeing Ron as a lot of ladies looked at him, with admiration and an air of flirtation.
Ron was a famous war hero and according to Witch Weekly: One of Wizarding Britain's Most Eligible Bachelors. He stood six feet four inches tall, the tallest out of all the Weasley brothers. He was one of the most handsome brothers, according to many women that knew the family. He did not like the title the magazine gave him. Ron was not looking for nothing right now, he just wanted to work and make the world a better place by fighting evil.
"Thank you, Colette. I look forward to working here." Ron said smiling politely, sitting down and testing the comfort of the chair he would probably spend most of his time in. Ron decided quickly that he would transfigure it into one more comfortable than this one.
"Me too…" Colette said dreamily and gasped turning red quickly realizing her misstep "…I mean…I…Th…The chief wants you in his office as soon as you settle." Colette stuttered, her face impossibly red.
"Thank you again, Colette. I will do just that." Ron smiled politely still seating down, knowing she was embarrassed. Colette then left quickly leaving Ron chuckling a bit. With that Ron turned around and quickly looked through a file that was already there, briefing him of a case another auror was currently working on and would probably need help.
"This chair is shit" Ron heard a voice next to him say. The voice sounded hoarse but young, and with a hint of familiarity.
Ron turned around to find a friend that had graduated from the Academy alongside him.
"Louis! I didn't know you were assigned here!" Ron exclaimed, startling the young wizard. Louis turned around and smiled at Ron, waving lamely at him.
Louis was a dark-skinned graduate from Hogwarts, a year ahead of Ron. Young, funny, and a little awkward but an expert in fieldwork, he proved himself to be a fine recruit for the Academy. Louis Davies was in Slytherin; therefore, Ron did not know of him during his education at Hogwarts.
Ron had to get over his hate of Slytherin during the Academy, working together alongside some of the snakes, he realized that they were just like him: normal recruits that wanted to go through Auror Training in order to better the Wizarding World. Houses did not matter in the real world, what mattered was if a person wanted to do good on the world or not.
"Yeah just got here too. Dickens is a hard-ass asking us to work just the day after graduation. Was looking forward to taking the lady out of the country for a while, but I guess that will have to wait." Louis said as he too read the file that Ron had previously read.
"Damn, this one looks like a bitch. No wonder they asked us to work today. Come on Ron, let's go to the briefing with Dickens" Louis finished and stood up, signaling for Ron to do the same.
"…Aurora Greengrass. Thirteen years old, found dead and burnt alive in an alley behind a bakery in Central London. The muggles there found her and called the local police. The state of the crime alerted the aurors and we are on the case as of right now. This takes priority here because of the crime. Apparently Fiendfyre was used to burn the body, but here is the catch: no trace of dark magic. Normally in a case like this the trace lingers for days or even weeks, but here, it was not found at all. We need a group of aurors to go to the area and a group of aurors to go with the family and talk to them in order to get any leads leading to the case. Was it revenge? Was it a lesson towards the family? I don't fuckin' know, that is why you are going" Dickens said to all the aurors present in the briefing room.
Harry and Ron stood together, looking at the photographs in their files, looking for any clues. The poor girl was found naked, probably raped, burnt alive, and tossed in an alley like garbage. Ron felt the bile form on his stomach but had to push it down. He took a glance to Harry who was looking intently at the girl, knowing how Harry felt he gave him a reassuring pat on the back.
"Potter, McKinley, and Davies…you'll go to the scene and look for any leads. The muggles there are informed that you are detectives, so do not use magic in front of them. This is Central London and it will be crowded. The muggles were Obliviated and taken care of, only knowing a dead body was found there, not the state of it…" Dickens informed the group, nodding for them to start heading out towards the scene.
"Clarke, Peterson, and Travis…you'll stay here and formulate a plan in order to secure the family from future attacks, you will serve as guards to the family and will have to report directly to me…" Dickens nodded towards another set of aurors, which stood up and hurried along towards the Planning Room in the department.
This left only Ron to stay behind while his co-workers headed towards either the field or the Planning Room. Ron felt singled out, annoyed that he had no task, feeling that he was not good enough for either field.
"Weasley come here. I need to talk to you." Dickens beckoned Ron to come to Dicken's office. As he followed Ron felt naturally curious, wondering why he was being singled out. Dickens sat at his big chair in his private office and magically closed the door behind them.
"Weasley, I know you wanted to be there too but I need you for an important task. Your instructors noted that you have a different set of skills than any other auror. You have what it takes to work in the field, but you have a panache for analytics and investigation. You qualify for both the field and for the Planning Room, so here is my offer. You will act as a Consultant in most cases. Working from this office but going to the field when necessary to investigate. I hope that is fine with you?" Dickens asked him, curious as to how Ron would react.
Ron could not deny that he was surprised. He had really wanted to stay behind a desk, planning raids, seeing as he was a master strategist. But something inside him told him that this was a great opportunity for him. He felt a surge of confidence and nodded with a smile, curious as to what his important assignment would be.
"Great…I need you to go to Greengrass Manor and interview the family, then proceed to make a profile for all of them. After that, go to any affiliates of them, close friends, relatives, business partners, any-fucking-thing close to them I don't care if it is the fucking house elves. Then come back and piece together a motif for the murder of this young girl. This will be the base of the investigation. As you get more clues, come back and report them and add them to your case. You will not take the lead but will be a close second to me." Dickens said, grabbing suddenly a pipe from seemingly out of nowhere and lighting it up. He puffed away whilst waiting for Ron to analyze what he just said.
"Sir…with all due respect. Why me? Surely Harry is more qualified for this…" Ron started to complain, not noticing the smile in the other man's face.
"…you are the man for the job Weasley. Potter is qualified for the field and only the field. He is no strategist or analyst, he just goes along with his gut. You, on the other hand, you use your fuckin' head. We need more of you here. Also, you're a goddamned war hero, we don't have many of those here." Dickens said, blowing smoke as he lifted a hand opening the door for Ron to go through. Nothing had to be said so Ron went through the door towards his desk, lightly dazed because of the weight of his new responsibility.
Hearing the door close behind him Ron woke up from his daze and knowing what he had to do so he hurried along towards his desk. Already with a plan in his head, he started doing a board with what he knew was happening in the case. He wrote the names of the relatives of the victim, known friends, and business partners. When he finished and was sure he had nothing left to write, he grabbed his coat and headed towards the exit.
"Good luck Mr. Weasley!" Colette said as Ron passed her desk at the front of the reception.
"Call me Ron please Colette…and thank you!" Ron said in a hurry, leaving towards the Apparition point in the Ministry.
"Greengrass Manor" Ron whispered carefully before Apparating, not knowing that this meeting would change his life forever.
My newest project. I think it has a good plot and a good start. Let me know what you think in the comments! Thank you! Please follow and review!