Disclaimer: I still don't own any part of the magical world, not even Blast-Ended Skrewts.
Chapter 2: Crossing the Channel
One of Harry's favourite things about Bembridge was inhaling the sea smell right after Apparating in there. Since his arrival, he had come to like the village located in the eastern part of the Isle of Wight. As he and Lucas walked through the streets to the team offices in the Bombers stadium, he thought about the unlikely set of events that led him here. Upon entering the British and Irish Quidditch League three years ago, Harry had started to play as the 1st string Seeker for Ballycastle Bats over the course of his first season. In his three years there, he had experienced two championships and one finals appearance; but it wasn't all sunshine and roses. "System player," the media said, alluding to the fact that Bats had already been dominating their opponents – which admittedly let Harry have all the time in the world after Bats built up a goal difference. When his rookie contract was up months ago, Harry still enjoyed Quidditch more than any other occupation; but he knew he needed a new challenge. He also knew that even though sports media was comprised mostly of male Rita Skeeters whose sole aim was to sell more copies, it didn't change the fact that he wanted to prove himself once more.
It was under these circumstances when Harry had met Richard Middleton, who – at first glance – had eerily reminded Harry of Ludo Bagman. He had come to learn that he and Bagman didn't have much in common, other than their love for Quidditch and a large belly. Richard was a man with a vision and had enough financial support from a Bembridge businessman to start a brand-new Quidditch team in there, and he needed a push from Harry towards the league officials to confirm a new team in the league. Soon afterwards Lucas, Harry's friend from the Bats had joined them, citing "disagreements over the structure of the new contract". Harry knew money had played a part, but it was also about boredom over there. Having played American football earlier as a linebacker, Lucas had just loved knocking people down with his 6' 6'' frame. Later on, he had understood that iron balls were much more effective at that, and also healthier. Harry was glad for his career change and accuracy with the bat, but opponent Seekers didn't share that sentiment.
After first two star signings, Bombers had drafted rookie chaser Simon as a prospect, and the rest of the team had joined the Bombers squad from the other teams through the expansion draft. The media had described the team building process as a slapdash effort, but Harry was nonetheless content with their cohesion during the pre-season and the first month of the season – even though they lacked consistency. As it was still November, they had plenty of time to build on it as long as they didn't drop out of the race for playoffs.
"We are early," commented Lucas, checking his watch as they entered the offices and saw few people to meet them.
"It shouldn't be too long until the others arrive," Harry guessed. Indeed the other players also entered the premises in a matter of minutes. Finally, Richard arrived with a black guy of about Harry's size and a temple fade haircut. He seemed tired but had a curious look in his eyes. Harry thought his guess about a new Chaser was correct.
"Hello everyone, as you might have guessed, this is Michel Lavoie, our new Chaser," said Richard. "He has just arrived from France to replace Martin and will start training with us after the official announcement tomorrow. I wanted all of you to be here so that we could all meet and greet each other," he said as he gestured to Michel with a beaming smile. Players slowly shook hands to meet and welcome the new addition with some small talk. Finally, Harry and Lucas approached him.
"Welcome to England, glad to have you here," said Harry.
"I reserve my judgment until I see you fly, but nice to see you mate," Lucas said with a grin.
"I'm sure you'll find my flying more than adequate, and nice to meet you too," replied Michel with a smile.
"Your English is quite good," said Harry. "Have you been here before?"
"Not at all. It is thanks to my tutor, my dad thought I'd need it for some reason," he shrugged.
"Michel, what the hell made you move here from France?" said Lucas. "Not that I have an issue – but it's not like French players come here on a regular basis unless they have their significant other here or something."
"Ah, it's a tale of stupid regulations and stupid decisions," said Michel. "But it's best to talk about it at length when I'm not about to pass out from tiredness and have a glass of wine."
Harry laughed as he saw Lucas' expression and felt it necessary to explain it to Michel. "Stop it, Michel, you are scaring him," he said. "He hears wine, he thinks of you in a monocle and fedora."
"I assume you are a beer fan?" Michel asked, smiling himself.
"Even that cursed butterbeer is preferable to wine for me, but hey, to each his own," Lucas said as he raised his hands.
"Agreed," said Michel. "So, see you later guys." They exchanged pleasantries and Michel left.
"He seems an amiable person," commented Harry.
"Well, I wouldn't mind his being a smug son of a bitch as long as he flies well. But yeah, he seems okay." He yawned and checked his watch. "I should better get going too, Harry, I need my beauty sleep, you know."
"Don't I know," said Harry as they started to exit team offices. "It would be a tragedy for the single ladies of Bembridge if you were to meet them with bloodshot eyes."
"Exactly, and there's already competition from The Most Eligible Bachelor of Britain. I need to be on my best form."
-ooo-
"Gabby, you there?" was the voice Gabrielle heard from her room, which made her turn towards there. It was the head of Valerie talking in the fireplace, of course, and she sat in a chair to get comfortable. It had been about a week since she left, and Gabrielle was curious about how were the things going for her.
"How are you doing, Val?" she said, smiling to her friend. "Did you get used to the cold weather? How is the settling going?"
"It's much warmer than you'd expect – other than the occasional North-east wind, my dear," said Valerie. "We pretty much settled other than the occasional box lying around, so you are free to come now," she laughed.
"Oh I will," said Gabrielle. "Did you get to explore what's the village like?"
"I did, and I was surprised," answered Valerie. "You know it's seaside, so it has a head start, but it also has some taste – it's as if someone designed it by hand. Beaches with sailing spots, historic buildings, friendly people – some tourists, unfortunately. They have a few nice restaurants, some Muggle ones too… There are also some streets that are exclusively magical. Michel told me there is even a vineyard close by," she added with a knowing expression.
"You know the way to a woman's heart," Gabrielle said with a smile. "Okay – I'm sold. Is the weekend alright for you?"
"Of course," Valerie said. "Michel might be in training until noon, but we can go sightseeing until then. By the way, there's a chance you will meet your knight in the shining armour," she added with a teasing smile.
"What? Who?"
"Harry Potter, silly, how many times did someone save you?" said Valerie. "He's also a player here, Michel told me about it. He has found him to be a bit of a celebrity but he admits that he is good with a broom," she concluded.
This was news to Gabrielle. She knew he had started playing professionally, pictures of him that some of the girls in the Beauxbatons put up in 7th-year girl dormitories had told her as much. Gabrielle thought that was childish, even though she admittedly had a crush on him during his preteen years – which had later on become a friendly admiration and respect for what he did in the hard times in Britain during and after the war. Although when she thought about it, Gabrielle noticed that she knew little about Harry or what he had done in the last few years – except for hearing about him from Fleur and newspapers.
"It would always be nice to see an old friend," admitted Gabrielle. She didn't mention it would also be awkward as they hadn't seen each other since the funeral after the horrible incident 4 years ago.
"So it's a deal – I will see you on Saturday," said Valerie. "I need to get up, I have always hated talking over Floo. My knees hurt and bending over makes me feel vulnerable – something about your arse being hundreds of kilometres away."
Gabrielle rolled her eyes but she also chuckled at her friend's antics. "You are both a witch and an architect, Val. Figure a way to move the fireplace up," she suggested.
"Seems logical, although I have to check the contract first. We wouldn't want the English to accuse us of vandalism, would we? See you Gabby!"
"See you honey!" said Gabby, as Valerie's head disappeared. Gabrielle was already intrigued with Bembridge, yet she was still glad that she would see yet another familiar face there – other than Valerie and Michel, that is. She thought about starting to pack up but remembered she didn't know how long she would stay there. She didn't have much that required her to be physically present at Bordeaux nowadays, and her parents didn't mind her travelling as long as she frequently wrote to them. It seemed another shopping spree was in order – this time unfortunately without Valerie, she thought.
-ooo-
"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day," said the woman's voice. Harry was glad that the telephone boxes in the visitor entrance to the Ministry of Magic were still operational, as it meant that he was able to avoid using Floo. As he stepped out the box, he checked the silver badge in his head. It read Harry Potter – Special Advisor, which he pinned to his chest. As he moved through the Atrium, he saw that wizards and witches who wouldn't work overtime that day were queueing up in front of the fireplaces on his right. He knew that Hermione would still be in the office, and he should go visit her after he was done with his meeting – it had been a while since he saw her face-to-face. He passed by the reconstructed Fountain of Magical Brethren and the security wizard who nodded at him after checking his badge. Harry greeted him back and walked through the golden gates to wait for a lift.
Harry exit the lift at Level Two and made his way to Auror Headquarters to meet Gawain Robards. During their three years together where he worked under Gawain after the war, Harry had come to like the man. He was definitely not the most social person around, not that Harry considered it a fundamental aspect of being an Auror. Head Auror usually had a disorienting effect on fresh Hogwarts graduates, but Gawain had always asserted that it was a prerequisite to deal with himself for a prospective Auror. He also had sterling combat experience, however, Harry thought that his overall strategic approach to the Auror Department during the peacetime could still use some work.
"How are you, Harry?" said Gawain, as he gestured Harry to his office. "Tiberius should also be with us in a short while. Would you like a drink?"
"Coffee should suffice, thanks," said Harry. He watched as Gawain poured two mugs of black coffee. Tiberius Ogden, an elderly wizard who was one of Harry's favourite people in the new Ministry, was appointed as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement by Kingsley Shacklebolt. Tiberius – Mr Ogden then, remembered Harry – had initially refused the job, stating "he was too Goddamn old to sit behind a desk." It had taken the combined efforts of Professor McGonagall, Kingsley, and Harry to convince him that Magical Britain needed him as he was the perfect man for what needed to be done. Tiberius had outlined three goals for himself and DMLE, upon which they all agreed: restoring the order of law in the country, eradicating the pure-blood agenda, and training new generations of competent Ministry officials to prevent another wave of corruption. Over the years, Harry had come to understand why people deemed Tiberius as one of the greatest members of modern Wizengamot until he left; even though he acknowledged there were still things to be accomplished. Reversing decades of corruption takes more than a generation, bitterly thought Harry.
"Welcome to London, Harry! How is it going down there in the Channel?" Tiberius swiftly entered the office with a spark in his eyes. He still wasn't addled by the years, but wrinkles on her neck and hands betrayed his age. He also didn't usually partake in his semi-regular meetings with Gawain, which made Harry curious about his presence today.
"It's splendid, Tiberius," Harry shook his hand with a smile. "You two are welcome anytime, we need more fans around the country."
"Great offer, my lad, although it will have to wait until the end of hunting season," Tiberius said and gestured to Gawain. "Shall we?"
"Alright then. First of all, Harry, let me remind you for the once again that we would be delighted to have you back here," said Gawain.
"And I sadly inform you that I consider myself neither fit nor willing to be an Auror again," Harry replied.
Gawain looked at him with a resigned expression. "I perfectly understand your reasons for leaving, but you were a great Auror, Harry."
"As long as it isn't something personal, yes, I was," said Harry, in a detached tone.
"Let's not rake up the past," said Tiberius. "What we need from you, Harry, is really simple. You remember when you helped us in the design of the Auror boot camp?"
"Yes, I do."
"This is about something similar," said Gawain. "British, French, and German Auror Departments have almost completed an agreement for a joint drill this spring. It will be mainly focused on, I quote, 'Developing the relations between different departments and creating a culture of cross-learning.'"
"Nice," said Harry. "And we also want to win, I presume?"
"Definitely," said Gawain. "It is expected that media from all three countries will like this, and we thought that your previous experience as an Auror and a Triwizard Champion could be immensely helpful. What do you think?"
"I don't know," said Harry. "What is the training schedule?"
"The selected Aurors will probably train once a week but your visiting us once a month should suffice. Maybe fortnightly, when the drill is about to happen," Gawain added after a second thought.
"Okay, Gawain, I'm in - but I won't do any interviews or live appearances," said Harry. He just hoped that it wouldn't include dragons or Blast-Ended Skrewts this time.
"Excellent! Thank you, Harry, I knew we could count on you. Now if you'd excuse me, gentlemen, it appears I need to pay a visit to Kingsley," said Tiberius as he checked his watch.
"No problem, Tiberius, Gawain, nice to see you both. Now I should find my favourite Deputy Department Head," Harry said.
"Don't make my protégé drink too much! I know enough about Quidditch players," Tiberius yelled as he left the office.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Tiberius!" he said. With that, he made his way through Auror Headquarters to the cubicle next to Tiberius' office, where he knew Hermione would be. It was only 6 o'clock on a Tuesday evening, but he was confident he could bribe her to leave the office with a glass of mojito – or two.
Author's Notes: I thought this would take another week but it has been flowing, so I wanted to put it up before the new year. About the French dialogue – as long as there are only French people present, assume they talk French. If people are mixed, everyone speaks English unless I specify otherwise. I have never liked imitating accents on writing. I'm also updating the first chapter to fix the grammar mistakes. I have started to use Grammarly, so I hope we will have less of those happy little accidents. Happy New Year!