Harry
TW exercise, food, antisemitism m,
A few days had passed, and it was now Monday, April 10th. Harry had woken up at 5:30AM to go to the gym at 6 like he did every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The auror trainees usually spent Mondays doing written work and having class time. The lack of movement bored Harry, so he decided that he'd needed a regular gym routine. Coffee in hand, Harry strolled to the gym. He ran and lifted weights until it was time to shower and go to work.
It was fifteen 'til nine when Harry arrived at the Ministry. He sulked around the front entrance of the Auror Training Area for a few more minutes. He could not stress how much he hated Mondays. It was always class for three hours, lunch, class, a small break, and some sort of "practical" activity or exercise. The class line-up was almost always the same: ninety minutes of Dark Charm and Spell Disarmament and another ninety minutes of Stealth and Tracking. They would have lunch, and at 12:45, they would have forty-five minutes of an intense theory class. Usually it was Poison and Potions, but sometimes it was something more boring like Ancient Runes and Other Old Wizard Languages or Anti-Deadly Disease Wards. Harry disliked theory, but he considered it to be worth the end-of-day activity. He absolutely hated sitting still at a desk learning about the differences between the Polio Hex and the Spattergroit Spell. He needed to experience what he was learning to retain any information.
Ron's arrival shook Harry out of his thoughts.
"Hey, mate," Ron said. "Dazed out again?" The ginger looked exhausted with small black bags under his eyes.
"Yeah. You alright?" Harry replied.
"I'm fine," Ron responded. "I was talking with Hermione a lot last night. She called me pretty late after she got out of lab."
"Why does she keep calling you? Can't she just take the floo here?"
"Yeah, but she wants to stay in her residence or whatever. She says she wants the 'university experience' and that using magic to go back to the wizarding world when she should be at a Muggle uni isn't very 'uni-like.'"
"'Uni-like'? Is that even a real term?"
"I think she's trying to get back into muggle slang or whatever. I have no clue. You know how Hermione is at times," Ron admitted.
Harry smirked. He really missed Hermione. Ron and Harry started walking towards their classroom.
Ron spoke up, "I just don't want to wait until those stupid breaks to see Hermione again. That university thing is so bloody dumb. Why go to a muggle university when you have all this experience and ability in the wizarding world?"
"Personal interests? Other opportunities? Soul searching?" Harry snorted after that last addition. They took their respective seats next to one-another. They pulled out their ministry-issued Dark Charms and Spell Disarmament textbooks and turned their eyes to the professor, an ex-entrepreneur who was obsessed with ancient Greek gods. Despite her apparent grace and maturity, she was hideously ugly; she was covered with warts and scars—her face marred by dark spots and saggy, unsavory skin. Harry rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock.
"Oi, mate. Are you gonna eat that?" Ron asked, pointing to Harry's broccoli chicken casserole.
"Do you know how long it took me to make this?" Harry said.
"Longer than it'll take me to eat it," Ron replied. Harry rolled his eyes and scooted the bowl over to Ron. He watched as Ron took his first bite. He smirked as Ron immediately spat the bite out. "What the—? Spinach, mate? Who the bloody hell makes something with spinach and broccoli in it? Isn't that, like, breaking thirty cooking rules?"
"Not if it means I actually get to eat the food that I make. Besides, I don't mind spinach and broccoli."
"Wha—? Harry! That's just cruel. How am I supposed to have a partner that doesn't even look after my well-being?"
"Aw, well, I'm sorry. Maybe you should ask Kinglsey for a new one. Someone like…" Harry paused to look around the room. He grinned as he found someone. "Aronowitz. I bet he'd be a perfect partner for you."
"Really?" Ron said, slamming his fork down. "Aronowitz? You know he doesn't allow any pork around him! It's not halal or gluten free or whatever. I can't work with someone who doesn't like bacon!"
"Kosher, mate," Harry responded. "The Jewish term is kosher, and making fun of it makes you a bit anti-Semitic. And really, with a Muslim friend, you should really know what 'halal' means."
"How am I supposed to know? Religion is different in the wizarding world. 'Sides, you're not even Muslim. Your family was just Muslim."
"I may not practice a certain religion, but having a 'pure-blooded' relative from Kenya is supposed to be really important. I only wish I knew more about my heritage," Harry said, swallowing some broccoli.
"Right, right. I'm sorry. That stuff is sensitive to Muggles, isn't it?"
"Yep." Harry flicked his eyebrows up and back down to their resting position. He continued, "What do you think our class is going to be on after this?"
"Anything but bloody Alchemy. I didn't care for the subject at Hogwarts! Why would I care for it now?" Ron stabbed his fork into his kidney pie.
"I just can't wait for this year to be over with so we can finally learn something relatively interesting. I mean, I guess our "practical" lessons are fun, but I want something with more action."
"Really, mate?" Ron's jaw dropped slightly. He whispered, "I hear that it only gets worse from here on out. I was told that the second year is always dedicated to learning how to properly fill out paperwork and reports and that the third year's internships aren't nearly as interesting as they sound. We're supposed to work from 8 to 6 on some bloody, boring internship. Every. Single. Day." He banged his head against the table.
"At least we want to do this," Harry pointed out. "Some of the older wizards here only do this for the money or the 'fame.' Why would someone want to be famous from an auror career?"
"I dunno. I just don't want to do Alchemy today."
Harry and Ron finished their lunches just in time for their next lesson. Once everyone arrived in the classroom, Professor Thompson wrote their subject on the board in utter silence. All the trainees groaned loudly once they saw "Advanced Charm Theory" written in thick, white chalk.
"Bloody hell!" Ron yelled loudly. He had been scrubbing at his face for over thirty minutes, and he still could not take off the greenish-brown paint from his face. Their activity for the day was Concealment and Disguise. While many others decided to make themselves invisible through charms or potions, Harry and Ron stuck to a more natural approach.
"Ron," Harry interrupted, grabbing the ginger's arms. "It's almost four in the evening. I think you should just forget about it."
Ron scowled. He replied, "How come I let you convince me to paint this on my face, anyways? Why couldn't you just charm it on? And why didn't you put any paint on your face, huh?!"
"Because I'm already brown, mate." Harry giggled a bit at the sight of Ron's face. "Wait, I think you're getting some of the red back in it!"
Ron threw the towel at Harry's face.
"Forget it!" he screamed. "I wish Hermione were at least here to help. She wouldn't be laughing at me."
"Ron, you know she'd be laughing her arse off."
"Yeah, but not in front of me." Ron pouted.
"C'mon, mate. Let's get you home."
Harry walked Ron to the floo chimney and waited a few minutes to travel to his own home.
