Chapter 7
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling
Once they had emerged from the broom closet Harry realized they had disappeared too early and for too long, as it seemed Kingsley was back at the podium presenting awards to the participants of the battle.
Hermione, Ron, Neville, Professor's McGongagall, Flitwick and Slughorn, the entire Weasley family and members of the order, as well as anyone who had died while fighting against Voldemort, received an Order of Merlin First Class. The other battle participants who played slightly smaller but no less valiant roles received the Order of Merlin Second Class.
To Harry Kingsley awarded the first ever Order of Dumbledore Medal, for bravery and sacrifice beyond what anyone had ever seen before. It was meant to honor both Harry and Dumbledore, the two men who had done the most to topple Tom Riddle. Harry felt honored but at the same time wondered what his friend would have said or thought about such an award being named after him, and then being presented to Harry. He had to hope Dumbledore would find it fitting.
Harry and Ginny spent the remainder of the ball socializing with their friends. They saw Neville and his Gran and Seamus and his mother, who apologized repeatedly to Harry for not always having been his most steadfast supporter. Luna and her father were there and as eccentric as ever and Harry found them highly entertaining.
It wasn't until Harry found Ginny blinking to keep her eyes open that he started to say his goodbyes.
He was nearly to the large fireplace that was open to the floo network when he was stopped by Kingsley and a man by the name of Mitchell Wallace.
Wallace was a man just over six feet in height. He looked to be in his mid to late-thirties or perhaps even early forties with dark brown hair and keen yellow-brown eyes. He bore a few scars on his arms that reminded Harry of Charlie Weasley and he had roughly calloused hands, much like Harry's own.
"Harry," Kingsley began, "I was going to wait until tomorrow but as we have you here now, and as I've already gone and told Ron, I want to let you know you have been accepted into the auror department."
Ginny grinned widely at his announcement and said a mumbled,
"Congratalashunss Hrry."
Harry chuckled at how adorable she sounded. He was feeling rather stunned and Ginny was the perfect distraction.
"Thankyou." He said to Kingsley sincerely, hauling his not so alert girlfriend closer against his side.
"Don't thank me just yet." The minister warned. "You might not be so pleased with me when you hear that Wallace here is going to be taking over the training program as head of the auror department in light of Gawain Robards having decided to retire after only a very short time as head of the department."
Harry's gaze once again turned to the hardened looking man.
"Sir." He said respectfully in acknowledgement.
"Potter," Wallace began his voice somewhat gravelly. "I read over your application. You were honest. I'm impressed. Most people lie; try to make themselves out to be perfect. Never broke a law. Never used an unforgiveable, you get the gist. But not you, you and the Weasley kid both admitted every single thing you had ever done that might warrant mention. That takes guts, and guts are something I like."
Harry smiled, if guts were what it took to be honest and to face Voldemort as many times as he did, then he had it in spades.
"Just wanted to say I'm looking forward to seeing what the two of you can do." Wallace supplied openly.
Harry nodded and opened his mouth to reply when Ginny slumped into him further seeming to have fallen asleep standing up.
He caught her and pulled her against his front.
He heard Wallace's amused comment about his fast reflexes as he scooped her up and cradled her like a child against his chest.
"Thankyou for the opportunity sir." He said politely, trying to maintain formality while at the same time holding the sleeping redhead, who seemed intent on cuddling into him.
Wallace and Kingsley looked like they were trying not to laugh.
"That's an interesting little siren you've got there Potter." Wallace remarked with approval in his voice.
"That is Ginny Weasley," Kingsley Shacklebolt replied. "Probably somewhere near Molly Weasley on the list of women I would like to make angry."
"Ahh yes the red hair. The ones with tempers are always the most fun," Wallace grinned, "and if its not too forward of me Potter, I'll have you know they make the best wives as well."
Harry feeling happy and excited about the good news of his becoming an auror replied cheekily.
"I'm counting on it sir."
He excused himself then and carrying Ginny, who felt overly light to Harry (who wondered where the heaping amounts of food she ate at every meal had gone), he flooed back to the Burrow.
"You know," Wallace commented as he watched him leave. "There's something about that kid you just can't help but like."
"Perhaps it's how attentative he is to Ms. Weasley." Kingsley suggested.
Wallace chuckled as he moved off with the minister.
"That's a part of it. It's hard to fault a man who is that dedicated to a woman. It usually hints at dedication in all areas of his life." Wallace paused. "But I'll be damned if that kid just isn't good to his core."
*****
Harry woke at the unfavorable hour of four in the morning for his and Ron's first day of training. He was feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. The food he had eaten the night before in celebration of their first day as aurors-in-training no longer seemed like the best idea. Once he was showered and dressed he grabbed an apple from the basket, feeling thankful that he and Ron had not informed Mrs. Weasley about the early hour of their departure. He didn't think he could manage to hold down one of Molly's famous breakfasts.
They apparated to the ministry and after shuffling over to the lifts they made their way to level two where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was located. They wound their way through the series of cubicles and took a left just before they reached the one that used to belong to Kingsley at the end. They then walked through a battered looking door through which they encountered a corridor that was lined with doorways. They stayed strait and were met at the end with a set of double doors that bore in faded gold lettering the words 'Training Facility'.
Upon entering Harry and Ron found they weren't the first to arrive despite their being nearly a half-hour early. Ernie MacMillan along with Terry Boot sat against the padded wall to their left. Harry looked around and noted that at the moment the facility looked much like a muggle gymnasium, shaped like a large rectangle, with a large floor and padding along the four walls.
He took a seat a few feet down from Ernie and bit into the apple he'd snagged before leaving. He wasn't really hungry but he figured he'd regret having an empty stomach later on.
He wasn't disappointed. At exactly five AM Wallace and Emil Savage, the auror Harry remembered who had patrolled Hogwarts with Dawlish, Tonks and Proudfoot during his sixth year, arrived and immediately began barking orders and them. They were up and running laps moments later.
Looking back at the end of the day Harry felt slightly irritated they hadn't done anything but work out. First it was running, then it was stretching and weightlifting and finally they started to teach them how to fight hand to hand. Their teacher's varied throughout the day, from Wallace and Savage, to the witch Harry had seen with the eye-patch whose name turned out to be Mairi MacKay, to a man named John Montfort, who packed a mean streak, and finally to Dawlish.
They hadn't worked on their spells or their stealth or anything that Harry had thought they would. But soon it all changed.
Over the course of the following weeks he and Ron left before anyone else was awake in the morning and returned home at dinnertime more weary than they had ever felt in their lives, and that was saying something. But it turned out the physical training served a significant purpose it helped Harry, Ron, Ernie and Terry build the stamina they needed to start dueling each other as well as going out in preliminary field missions. They were taught new spells and the proper way to approach a dangerous or potentially deadly situation. They learned both passive and aggressive battle tactics and it was drilled into them that they were to always stick to the plan if at all possible.
They were constantly given possible scenarios, mostly involving death eaters, and were asked to determine the best way to eliminate the threat and fix the situation with as little damage as possible. Each situation tested their brains and their quick thinking as well as their ability to be stealthy when necessary and always in control. They worked diligently for nearly two months before Harry's eighteenth birthday crept around.
It was a Friday that much he knew for sure, what time it happened to be was beyond his or Ron's comprehension. They had just spent the previous night and day huddled in a series of ditches somewhere in southern Wales waging war against the more seasoned veterans in a battle for a pretend kidnapped family, which turned out to be a couple of rather large sacks of potatoes. But the best part was…they had won.
Harry couldn't help but grin cheekily they had beaten their teachers and they'd beaten them good, completely surprising them with their use of spells, decoys and a series of Weasleys Wizard Wheezes products. Harry had to remember to thank George for his most recent care-package. The firework ants that genuinely stung had really thrown Savage over the edge.
He stumbled out of the Weasley's fireplace a moment before Ron and was bombarded by a chorus of,
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!"
He blinked rapidly a few times. It was his birthday?
"Uhhh….Hubb..," he blurted stupidly, just as Ron came shooting out of the floo toppling him over and forcing the air from his chest.
"Oy..
Ron you bloody git. Get off him."
Harry smiled from his spot
underneath Ron on the floor. That was his siren.
"Gin." He mumbled still being squashed.
"Ron move!"
Suddenly the solid weight was lifted from his chest allowing him to roll over onto his back, only for it to be replaced by the sweetest body he'd ever encountered. He didn't even mind that she'd forced the wind from his body once again.
"Mmm," he sighed. "I missed you too."
Ginny laughed happily and kissed him welcomingly.
Harry was instantly alert. Merlin the woman could do things to him that shouldn't be legal and yet they weren't even completely physical with one another yet.
They had been more affectionate as of late, what with their loss of time with one another, but none of the Weasley's, Ron included, seemed to mind. In fact it was the opposite. They were all so happy that Harry and Ginny were letting the past go and moving forward that they probably could have shagged like rabbits on the kitchen table during dinner and no one would have paid them any mind. Harry was turning into a completely different person now that he didn't have the fate of the world on his back.
Ginny pulled back and stood stretching her hand down to lift him to his feet. He accepted her offered assistance and stood to greet everyone that was gathered.
He was thankful it was just the Weasleys and Andromeda with Teddy in tow. He wasn't much for big celebrations, it was ironic really.
He looked at his watch through foggy eyes. It was only nine.
Ginny shot him a sympathetic look, which he returned with a smile. He allowed her to lead him outside into the warm summer air where the customary long wooden table was decked out with food.
Upon sitting he looped his arm around her and pulled her in close, breathing in the sweet strawberry scent of her hair and turned his attention to what Mr. Weasley was saying.
"..been taking women and using them for entertainment from the looks of it. Not to mention they've been terrorizing whatever neighborhood they are nearest to at the time."
Harry frowned. He'd heard the death eater activity was no where near gone but he hadn't realized it had been escalating so much in the past few weeks.
"What does the ministry plan to do?" George enquired curiously.
"I suppose the aurors will be the ones to deal with it. They've had their hands full enough as it is, being so short in numbers. It will be good for them to get the next few batches of trainees tested as soon as they can."
"It seems odd that they are putting us through so much training when…" Harry stopped feeling frustrated.
"What is it mate?" Ron managed through his mouthful of potatoes.
"It's just that..We've already lived it Ron. I mean we were dealing with it all when we were fighting Voldemort as Dumbledore's Army and I… Well I've had my share of fighting dark wizards. It just seems pointless that we are still training when I feel like we could be a definite help to them in the field."
"You may have a point there Harry. It is a bit strange to be requiring so much training after all you lot have been through. Perhaps you ought to take it up with Wallace." Bill suggested.
"I'm sure he has his reasons." Harry stated. "I just can't say I understand them completely yet."
An hour later, after eating his fill, blowing out the candles, and spending time spoiling Teddy, Harry stood and thanked Mrs. Weasley for the wonderful dinner. She flushed at the praise, but he didn't see it, he had eyes only for Ginny. He reached down and pulled her to her feet. She blushed prettily at the possessive look in his eyes and dropped her head to stare at her feet.
Harry placed his hands at her waist and lifted her up. Ginny instinctively wrapped her legs about his middle. He cupped her bum with one arm while the other placed itself firmly in the hollow between her shoulder blades.
"Excuse us." He said offhand and strode away carrying his flaming red girlfriend toward the woods.
He had no idea what had come over him. He was feeling possessive and confidant. Perhaps it was their win that night; perhaps it was the fact that she was looking utterly resistible, perhaps it was that he was another year older and therefore that much closer to getting what he wanted. Whatever it was he was going to show her just how kissable her soft lips were.
He claimed them before they had even disappeared from sight.
*****
"Those two are enough to make you all hot and bothered just looking at them." George muttered grumpily watching them disappear behind the trees.
"They are a bit touchy." Mrs. Weasley agreed. "You don't think.."
Mr. Weasley shook his head.
"I trust Harry completely. If he claims he will wait until she is out of school, he will."
Ron groaned.
"Could we please stop talking about whether Harry will or will not shag Ginny?"
"Ronald!" Hermione scolded. "Must you speak so crudely?"
Ron turned and looked at Hermione. The spark in her eyes got him going. Suddenly it seemed like the best idea in the world to disappear out into the night with his amazingly gorgeous, overly-tempting girlfriend.
Following his best mates lead he pulled her up from the table and quickly excusing them dragged her off in the direction of the apple orchard. Unlike Harry he had no intention of waiting until Hermione had finished school. That ship had sailed and he was going to enthusiastically take advantage of the woman. Possibly more than once…
****
Harry was doing his best to ignore Ginny's roaming right hand. It was sliding ever closer to the waistband of his jeans. But despite his best efforts his brain kept on reminding him of its location.
Collarbone. Chest. Bicep. Chest again. Ribs. Stomach.
He sucked in a breath as it found its way underneath his cotton t-shirt. The sensation of her bare hand against his skin sent shivers down his spine. She started her stroke at his navel and swept it around to his hip, brushing him lightly with her fingertips.
He had her pressed up against a large tree, his groin pressed firmly into her abdomen, but despite his advantageous position he was the one who was about to come undone.
Oh sweet Merlin. She had started back toward his belly-button again her little finger sweeping along the edge of his pants. He groaned in sweet agony and captured her lips with more fervor. She whimpered sexily as he delved into her mouth possessively.
He was stiff as a board already and wound so tight he was fighting with his own control and she wasn't helping matters.
Bloody Hell. She had tucked her first two fingers into his waistband and they were dangerously close to… him. He knew he couldn't take much more so he decided to turn the tables. He captured the hem of her white Holyhead Harpies tank-top with his thumbs and slowly moved them in a lazy stroke upward toward her ribs, bringing the fabric along and leaving her stomach bare.
She broke away.
"Harry," she panted.
He grinned liking how breathless she sounded.
"Yeah?"
There was a moment's pause where she swallowed thickly and leaned forward to breathe huskily into his ear.
"Either take the damned thing off right now or I'll let my hand have its way with you."
She emphasized her meaning by wiggling the two fingers that had tucked themselves into his jeans.
Harry growled low in his throat. He wanted both.
The temptation to see what she wore underneath her shirt won out, however and he pulled the material up and over her head slowly.
She was so damn sexy. He felt a great tug in his groin as his eyes fastened onto her chest. He admired the white lacy bra she wore but while it was utterly attractive it paled horribly in comparison to the perfect breast's it contained. His siren was definitely not lacking by anyone's standards.
He groaned throatily, dropping the fabric to the ground, and slid his arms thumbs back to her ribs tracing the line of her bra against her skin. He kissed her softly while he let her get used to his hands being extremely close to where they truly wanted to be.
He leaned back and let her tug his shirt upwards until she reached his chest, he then helped her by tugging it up over his head in one fluid motion that was so utterly male that her pulse jumped.
"Harry," She murmered.
"Gin..," he responded.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
He nodded against her neck where he was using his tongue to draw small circles against her skin while he kissed her softly.
"Looking at your bare chest makes me hot all over."
She felt him grin against her and the blazing look he gave her when he pulled back and looked into her eyes sent heat like nothing she'd ever felt before to collect in her belly. His eyes were just so damned Green.
"That's not a secret Gin. I know how hot you are for me." He whispered his voice seeping with male satisfaction. "But you know what?"
She shook her head no. She had never seen this side of Harry before. Her head was spinning and she was flushed all over he was working her up so much. He was acting rough and possessive and so uninhibited that she couldn't help but shiver appreciatively.
He leaned down and bit her earlobe aggressively, pressing himself firmly against her flat stomach, before saying seductively against her jaw.
"I'm so hard for you baby the heat might just send me over the edge."
And with that Ginny Weasley promptly fainted.
*******
