Airalynn: thnx for your reviews! enjoy..
snHP892: i will...i love this story too much to let it go...but i will stop if there's a test or something...but only for a while.. )
Harry stared at himself in front of the mirror, debating to go with the green turtleneck or the black one. The digital alarm clock on his bedside table read 8.00 am. Like it matters. I'm just going to work. Like any other day.
"No, it's not any other day", he said out loud as he put on the green turtleneck. I'm meeting someone today. Hermione.
He tried to imagine her, how would she look like since the last time he saw her? Has she changed? Harry sighed as he pocketed his wand and put his glasses on. After having a quick breakfast, he put his cloak on, and apparated himself to work.
He reached the Ministry a moment later. It was full of wizards and witches, all looking anxious to get somewhere. Harry entered the Defence department not a moment too soon.
"Harry? Oi! Anybody seen him, yet?", shouted someone from behind a cubicle.
"I'm here", Harry said, rounding the cluttered table.
Behind it, sat Seamus Finnigan, Harry's school mate from Hogwarts. He was wearing a blue shirt, with stains of probably last night's dinner. Harry thought he could make out the red stain of something else too. Very near the collar of the shirt.
"Oh, there you are Harry." 'Diane owled me and asked me to tell you she can't come today. Something about not feeling well', he continued. ' Mmm…and Kellerman said he wanted to speak to you about something. Said to tell you to come to his desk as soon as you got here", he finished, looking at him curiously. "Is it another case of those Death Eaters in Ghorlsgole again? God, if it's them again..", Seamus said, putting a hand to his forehead.
"No, no. At least, not that I'm aware of. The last time I heard of them, we already threw the whole lot of them in Azkaban. I think it's just nothing. You know Kellerman", Harry said, looking at someone above Seamus's cubicle. "Speaking of him, there he is. Look, thanks for telling me. Catch you later", Harry smiled at Seamus.
Seamus nodded and returned to his paper work.
Harry followed Kellerman into his office.
"You wanted to see me, sir?", he asked as he entered the room. "Ah, yes. Sit down, sit down, boy. Oh, close the door first, would you?", he motioned at the door. Harry closed the door behind him and sat in the chair.
"Alright, you remembered me telling you about the new addition to our department?'. He'd forgotten about it. Completely.
"Anyway, it turns out it's a she, not a he, like I told you. It's not a problem for you, is it?", he looked at Harry closely.
"No, not at all sir"
"Good. Because you're the only one I trust with this. Anyone else has bad judgment. I need you to keep a close eye on this one. I don't want it to turn into another Jasper case. That cost us a lot, that one", Kellerman sighed. Kellerman was an old man, around 50. His hair was white, and he wore it in a navy cut. His manner and office could give you a rough idea of who he is. Harry found that ever since he worked here, he liked the old man. His manner was crisp, always straight to the point. He could also be kind, at times, as Harry had found out.
"So, I trust you can show her the ropes? She's qualified. Very qualified from what I've been told. Of course, that doesn't always mean we should trust her. So remember, boy. Keep an eye on her", Kellerman continued, seriously. "You should probably expect her sometime today. I'll tell her to go to you after she's reported to me. Remember, boy constant vigilance", Kellerman reminded him.
Harry nodded and excused himself out. When he shut the door behind him, he chuckled. Constant Vigilance. Where had he heard that before? Right. Moody.
Harry walked to his office, just next door to Kellerman's. The plaque on the door said: 'Head Auror'. He entered it and closed the door behind him. He sighed and sunk into the sofa in his office. This is too much. I hope she turns up before 3.00pm. Then I'll at least have a chance to be on time for the meeting with Hermione. Harry sighed. He got up, and flung the folder containing the new auror's details on his table. Kellerman had given it to him before he got out. He didn't even bother to read the folder.
Harry sat at his chair and started at his paperwork. He had a lot of it left to do. Especially since lately he's been busy with the Death Eaters' cases. The number of them just keeps on existing. To be precise, since 3 years ago. Most of them probably thought Voldemort was coming back. Bored, probably after 5 years of lying low. And now that Diane, his personal assistant isn't here, he didn't even know about today's schedule. Oh well, go with the flow, I guess. He'll take his chances. He reached for the nearest paperwork. Best get started, I suppose.
---
Hermione's cab stopped right in front of Leaky Cauldron. She paid the driver, got her luggage and walked towards bar. The muggles just walked past the place, without even looking at it. Oblivious to the existence of it.
She walked into it, and requested for a room for the night's stay.
"Sure. Nice one just up the stairs", replied Tom the innkeeper. He offered to take her luggage and she relented. She followed him up the stairs, then waited while he fished a key from his pocket. He unlocked the door and placed her luggage on the floor with a slight thud. The room had a very comfortable bed in it and a wooden wardrobe situated next to a fireplace. It looked very welcoming.
"Thank you", she said, smiling at the old man.
"You're welcome. Enjoy your stay", Tom replied with a crooked smile.
Hermione made herself comfortable. She opened the windows to let the sunshine in. Then, she changed from her traveling clothes into something a little more appropriate. A plain, black dress and a string of pearls to go with it. Extremely smart and serious. Perfect for an overall first impression of someone to be reckoned with. Just what she needed for reporting for the new job. But she needed a new cloak. Her old one just doesn't seem nice enough.
She put her cloak on and headed downstairs. From there she went straight to the backdoor. The bartender didn't seem to mind, simply used to it. She tapped the bricks with her wand, and watched as the bricks rearranged themselves to reveal Diagon Alley. She smiled, knowing how she used to walk these streets with Ron and Harry to complete her school shopping list. She headed straight for Madame Malkin's. She needed a new cloak. A nicer one.
When she opened the door, an odd-sound rang. Probably the bell.She walked around the shop, looking for a suitable cloak. After finding what she wanted, she went over to the counter to pay for it. The person sitting behind it was busy arranging the books on the shelf. Hermione noticed some of the titles were Measuring: An Art and also Wizard Fashion: What's Hot and What's Not.
Then, the young woman who was arranging the books turned and Hermione gasped. It was Lavender. Lavender looked her same pretty self, with her hair artistically put up in a complicated style. She was looking very stylish, although Hermione could see signs of weariness in her eyes.
"Hermione?" Lavender said, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Lavender…hi", Hermione said, holding out her hand. Lavender gaped at her for a moment, then shook her hand.
"Sorry…I mean, it's been such a long time, you know", Lavender said half-apologetically. "And.. look at you. I mean, you've changed. You look great", Lavender said approvingly as she looked Hermione up and down. "Oh, sorry. Let me ring that up for you", she continued as she took the cloak from Hermione's hand. Lavender wrapped it up and handed the parcel to her.
Hermione paid her. After an awkward silence, she thought it best if she said something.
"So…what have you been doing?" Hermione asked her with a polite smile. She never was that close to Lavender.
"Oh, you know, nothing much. I'm just managing this,' she said, gesturing to the store, ' by myself until Aunt Mal is feeling better. She's taken a bad case of the cold", Lavender replied.
"So, this is just part-time?"
"No, actually. Aunt Mal was thinking of letting me manage the business. Said it was time she handed the business to someone",
"Oh, well, congratulations then', Hermione said.
"Thank you", replied Lavender.
Just as Lavender was about to say something else, the door opened and a customer entered. While the customer was looking at a few robes, Lavender dropped her voice and said to Hermione, " Listen, there's so much I want to talk to you about. I know we were never close, but I really want to talk to you about something. And I think it's important. Sort of, anyway. Can you come for lunch with me tomorrow?"
Hermione wasn't so sure. "I…umm..sure", she answered. What was she supposed to say, anyway? Oh, I don't know, Lavender. I have to go report for a new job and if they don't hire me, I'll probably be gone tomorrow just like what I did 8 years ago. A success that would be.
"Great! See you tomorrow, then", Lavender said as she squeezed Hermione's hand gratefully. With that, she smiled and went over to the customer.
Hermione smiled back, opened the door and stepped outside. She sighed as she made her way towards the Leaky Cauldron. She made her way through the crowd, thoughts wondering to what Lavender said. '… I really want to talk to you about something. And I think it's important'. What could be so important? Hermione brushed off her thoughts as she reached the pub. She probably just wants to know about her love life or something like that. Lavender was always nosy. Especially about someone else's love life.
I guess some things don't change, after all. Hermione unlocked her door and stepped inside. She rummaged through her luggage and found what she was looking for. A brown briefcase. She opened it, checked a few papers and with that, apparated herself to the Ministry of Magic.
---
Harry put his quill down. That was the last of it. All of it. He sighed contentedly and leaned into his comfortable armchair. He closed his eyes for a few seconds then opened them again. The new auror's details. He hadn't taken a single look of it yet. He had to at least know who he was. Oh, right. She.
Harry was just about to reach for the folder containing the new auror's details when someone knocked on his door. He got up to get the door, but it opened before he got to it. Standing there was Kellerman, and he had a pretty amused expression on his face.
"Potter, I'd like you to meet our newest addition to the department. She'll be learning a few things from you during her first few months here". With that, he stood aside to let someone in.
Harry drew a sharp intake of breath when he saw who the figure was.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it. Don't forget to review for this chapter, too! Thanks a gazillion!
Ellie.
