Hey Guys, Sorry the update took so long, I had a lot of school work, but schools out now so I should be able to update more often. Thank you guys so much for the support, and the co-author is in the process of writing the next chapter, so it should be up soon. I love you guys, any ideas of critiques would be wonderful! Please review and enjoy.
-FlipFlop37
Chapter 2
Once Harry and Ron had escaped the muggle invested train station, they apparated to the ministry of magic staff entrance (which they remembered from spying on Umbridge). Both of the boys were quiet, which was unlike them. Harry was still depressed about saying good-bye to Ginny, and he was extremely nervous about the auror training. Just because he had defeated Voldemort in June, didn't mean that he was an expert on fighting the dark arts. He honestly didn't know what he was doing half the time. And he had never excelled in the in the classroom, sure he had decent marks, but that's exactly what they were, decent. The trainers would probably expect him to excel at everything. Harry took a deep breath and he and Ron walked through the ministry doors.
~o0o~
Harry was sitting at an oak wood desk in the middle of a long room, with 30 other witches and wizards. There were about 20 witches and 10 wizards, Harry probably knew some of them from Hogwarts, but was too distracted to really focus on any faces. There was a misting of nervous tension over the room. They were taking a written exam for entry into auror training. The exam tested basic defense skills and knowledge that were necessary to complete and succeed in auror training. The fact that he and Ron had skipped their seventh year of Hogwarts was going to work against them. Sure they had been working against dark magic, but they missed a lot of magical theory.
However Harry felt pretty confident taking the exam. Hermione had taught him a lot of the necessary magic on the journey for the horcruxes. The unforgivable curses, confundment, muggle repelling, and memory charms were all tested. Harry smirked to himself, when he came to a question that Hermione had performed, 'honestly don't you to read'. The written was really short only about seventy-five questions, because practical magic was far more important in this field. This made Harry take a relaxing breath, he was much better at putting magic to work in practical situations.
The examiners were aurors, which had either been injured or were old to be out in the field, but not ready to retire. There were 5 rooms for the practical exam, and they took the applicants, one at a time. When Harry's name was called he stood shakily and walked to the door. As Harry stepped over the threshold and the room before him took him completely by surprise.
The room was a graveyard; it looked exactly like the graveyard in Godrick's Hollow, and Harry had to resist the urge to go and look for his parent's grave. But he stayed where he was, he knew that some challenge was coming and the room was designed specifically to be a distraction. A silhouette of a man appeared, Harry waited for the man to make a strike, but he didn't. After about a minute, harry decided to take the offensive and fired a leg-locker curse. The auror easily deflected it, but Harry had immediately fired a stunning spell, and the examiner went down. Harry felt very proud of himself, and he moved further through the obstacle course.
~o0o~
Harry had made it through most of the challenges with ease, but now he was approaching the final challenge, and harry knew from experience that the last trial was always the most difficult. He approached the darkness that covered the last part of the course, and his skin turned to ice; dementors. Harry raised his wand and prepared to cast his patronus, thinking of his first kiss with Ginny, the memory filled him to brim with happiness, as the ghostly silver stag appeared. Just as he was about to congratulate himself, another figure appeared. Harry kept his wand at the ready, as he crept closer to the new test and what he saw caused his heart to stop.
Ginny Weasley lay dead before him.
"No" Harry managed to croak out. The patronus faded away, leaving behind the cold and hopelessness. He dropped to his knees, and held her limp body in his arms, the love of his life cold and empty. This was his worst nightmare, his greatest fear. Greatest fear. Suddenly the truth fit itself into Harry's mind. This wasn't Ginny; it was simply a boggart pretending to be Ginny. He instantly rose to his feet and cried
"Ridikkulus" and the boggart became a white ferret, exactly, like the one Malfoy became in his fourth year. Harry felt a smile slowly trace his face at the memory, allowing the memory of the laughter fill his thoughts and he cast another Patronus. This time nothing got in his way, and he continued to the end of the corridor. He exited the area, and the auror at the exit looked shocked, Harry wasn't completely sure why, until he glanced at the clock and noticed he had only enter the course fifteen minutes ago. Harry shrugged and walked over to where he had left his things, ignoring the stares of the fellow applicants. Harry had become used to people constantly staring at the lightning scar, and he knew it would only get worse after the war. He just became used to his fame, but didn't enjoy it. The only thing that truly mattered to him was that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny still treated him like Harry, not 'the boy who lived' or 'the chosen one'; just Harry.
~o0o~
Harry apparated to the front step of number twelve Grimmauld Place, and opened the door. The Order had removed the extra defenses at the house so he was able to just walk in. He hung his cloak above the old gorilla leg stand and descended into the basement kitchen. Kreacher just finished cooking dinner. It made Harry a little uncomfortable to constantly have someone waiting on him, but when he brought up freeing him, the house elf immediately began punishing himself. So Harry just learned to adjust. Kreacher placed the plate in front of him. Ron had offered Harry dinner at his house, but Harry didn't want to go over the Burrow without Ginny. He wasn't in the mood to explain exactly how his interview went.
Once Harry had finished his dinner he climbed the stairs up to Sirius's room. Harry had now claimed it as his own. The room was still exactly the same as when Harry had first visited it. The same Griffyndor hangings coving the silver walls and the pictures that made Harry smile. He had pinned the picture of him and his father next to the photo of the marauders. He climbed into the red and gold bedand slipped into Ginny Weasley filled dreams.