Notes: Healer Ben Weasley is the son of Ron and Hermione. Harry's staff include Margaret Brown, secretary. Bill, manager, Jimmy, who looks after the horses, John, general worker, Chris and Peter Barnes.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling.

Chapter 14:

Zack, Eli, Jebedee, three very competent and experienced aurors, and Anthony to keep him amused. Mark had put a lot of thought into the choice of aurors. There was still that doubt about Harry's health, and possibly his stability, if not sanity. Kingsley and Mark very much wished that Therese was going, rather than Healer Granger. Healer Granger regarded Harry's health as private, and didn't report to the Ministry.

Harry met Hermione in the atrium, and walked with her to the room where the aurors had gathered. Mark was with the aurors, too, and as Harry regarded the selection of aurors, he raised an eyebrow at Mark, "Expecting trouble?"

Mark just said casually that he knew he liked his friends with him, and asked about his health. Harry said just as casually that he was fine.

Sweden, and they were greeted by a wizard who thought that he should make a speech to Harry Potter, and there was a polysyllabic phrase after that, that Harry missed.

"What's that?" he murmured to the translator next to him.

But the translator was rather shocked. "That's the award you were given. It's a very high honour!"

Harry said a lame, "Oh." and went back to quietly fretting in his impatience. At last he was finished, and Harry said, "Thank you, you're very kind," and casually turned away, so that his bodyguards had to follow. And two witches and a wizard found that there was no audience left for their own speeches.

Jebedee was laughing, but rebuked him as they found their rooms. One had to put up with these things. But Harry said that his health was uncertain, as they very well knew, and that speeches were bad for him!

Hermione who didn't like standing for too long any more, was actually quite pleased with him for cutting short the quite unnecessary verbiage. And Harry was unique - it was not as if he ran any risk of being fired!

Harry went off to his room for a while after that, there was an hour free before lunch. Hermione, in her own room, opened the book monitor, and was able to check him without him even knowing. She really liked this system, but wondered how long he'd put up with it once he stopped being frightened of fits.

After lunch, the work proceeded in its old routine. Mark had rostered Jebedee to stay in the room with Harry, but Jebedee was in charge here, and loathed the feeling of strong magic in the air that Harry generated sometimes, so made a change. He was on guard outside, Zack too, Eli was with Harry, and Anthony was at the hotel, resting. Anthony would be doing the evening and night shift.

Eli was watching Hermione curiously. She sat at her desk, seldom doing anything at all, every now and then glancing at an open book in front of her. The Swedish Coordinator ushered in one spellbound person after another, and briefly told Harry what was wrong, and how long ago the spell had been put on. Usually it was perfectly obvious what was wrong, and Harry only listened out of courtesy, before waving his wand, and fixing the person. After the first few, Eli decided the Swede wasn't firm enough removing grateful clients afterward, they were being slowed down, so he took over that job himself.

A few times, a tingle in the air was felt, as Harry had to put in a little more effort than normal, and he wondered why he'd been inflicted with that problem caused by a high LV. He didn't seem to have any more power than he'd had before, and no-one could ever tell him exactly what it was supposed to measure in any case.

It was soon noticed that Harry always went out around 4.30pm. Hermione, knowing his illness very well, suspected that she knew what he was doing at these times, and was wondering how to tactfully offer him a certain potion instead. He was out of range of the monitor, of course - the brothel was in Paris.

Wednesday, Eli noticed the red book unattended, and immediately crossed to it, opened it, and did his best to memorise the readings. But Harry had seen him leave the small gathering outside, and followed him. The book abruptly slammed shut. Eli whipped around, wand in hand. He had the quick reactions of an auror.

Harry regarded him coldly. "That's private."

Eli apologised, but he was not repentant. He was doing his job. Eli was a trained auror, and remembered most of the figures. A report went to Therese, but there had been no explanatory labels on the readings, and Therese could not make any sense of it.

Eli apologised again later, as Harry stared away into space, but Harry only shrugged and said, "I know aurors like to spy." That afternoon, he was not willing to listen when Anthony suggested the sort of activity that he normally relished. Instead, he said he was going out, and didn't want to be followed. Jebedee rebuked Eli - not for prying, but for being caught.

Harry was back for dinner, and afterward, had a word with Hermione, and they went to her room for a little while. The next time Eli saw the monitor unattended, it showed only a portion of Genesis, copied from a Gideon's bible.

Thursday, Hermione had murmured to him at morning tea time, and he had looked with her at the monitor readings. Without any explanation, he had gone to his room for an hour, and held everybody up. Hermione was in her room, too.

When he emerged, he knocked at Hermione's door, and raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded, and they resumed work. The aurors were intensely curious, discussed it endlessly among themselves, but came to no conclusion, and were soundly rebuffed when they questioned Hermione.

The spikings in the readings showed again later, and again Harry was able to control the condition. It came back, stronger again in the afternoon, but there were only a few patients to go, and Harry proceeded. A difficult patient came up, and was put back to last. Hermione and Harry were involved in intense but quiet discussion, and Eli was wondering if they planned to postpone that last one.

But then they took up positions again, and the last patient was led into the room. Hermione carefully explained, and the Coordinator translated. A frightening feeling in the air. The wizard must be brave and not run. That no-one must interrupt the great wizard as he worked.

The power rose in the air, and Eli watched Harry. Surely he had been trembling there for a moment. Whatever the matter with him was, his power seemed unaffected. He had his wand raised, an expression of calm concentration on his face, and the wizard in front of him looked terrified. He didn't run, and abruptly his problems vanished. Harry sat down for a few minutes, and then crossed to Hermione to check the readings. The pronounced spiking had vanished, and they smiled widely at each other.

That evening, Harry was in high spirits - he thought that when he struck problems, he had only to generate a bit of strong magic, and he'd be all right again, and he went walking with Anthony, laughing and joking. Zack followed at a distance.

They sat at a bar, later that evening, Anthony and Harry, deep in conversation. Harry had mentioned that he'd gone to school with an Anthony Goldstein, and Anthony had said that that would be his Uncle, who'd died before he was born.

Harry's eyes were roving. There were two women over there, looking around. He asked Anthony if he was on duty at the moment, or could do what he wanted. Anthony, seeing where Harry was looking, said regretfully that they were always on duty on these trips, and offered to wait at a distance if he wanted. But Harry said No, they might go back to the hotel.

Five minutes after they followed him back to his room, however, he was back in the bar, alone, and smiling at the women. He spent the night at their flat, having a wonderful time, and when he was missed in the morning, Hermione could tell Jebedee that he was close, and was fine.

He turned up in good time for work after another romp. But there was no time for the morning meditation he usually practised. He seemed stable, and the last dozen patients were completed easily by lunch.

On the plane back, he was aware that he needed some quiet time to keep his condition under control, and he tried to meditate while they travelled. But there were constant interruptions, and he looked at Hermione, who checked her monitor, looking back at him with worry on her face. He stood for a moment, restlessly. He was tempted to apparate, but no-one had ever attempted that from an aeroplane in flight that he knew of, and he decided not to be so rash. They were travelling first class, on an ordinary commercial flight. His legs were screaming for activity, and he prowled up and down the aisle a few times until the stewardess politely asked him to sit.

Hermione was now watching the monitor constantly, and Jebedee and Eli were watching them both. Harry had started to tremble.

He leaned his seat back, put a magazine over his face, and pretended to sleep, and Hermione saw with relief, that he was managing to bring it back under control. The threat of a fit receded.

He wasted no time returning home, and went for the fast, hard walk his body craved. He was still having trouble, and decided to try that new weapon. So he stood in his bedroom, and generated a field of very strong magic. He built it up and up. The feeling of the strong magic he could generate never hurt himself, although it could hurt others, and this time it was very intense. Maybe because there was no focus, when he allowed it to die down, instead of resumed calm in his body, he fell in a violent fit, the first time for months.

Chris and Peter no longer lived in, and he was no longer watched over as closely. There was no-one else in the private area of the home. When he came around, he only managed to stand, and start toward the door, and was straight back into it, as violent as before. He struggled into the lounge room, then and made it to just outside Margaret's office, and Margaret and Chrissy found him there, jerking uncontrollably for the third time.

Hermione was called then, and a stunner finally gave him relief.

All his staff knew that he had fits now, although only those involved in looking after him had seen them. Margaret and Chrissy were shocked. It made Chrissy feel very insecure, too. She was very much enjoying her new job in the office. She remembered, though, Harry's words, that even if he became sick and died, her position would be secure, and Margaret said, too, that she was sure that the household would be maintained - that there was Beth, and there were other children.

This was the worst attack that Harry had had, but each time, he knew a bit more, and could better avoid or overcome them. He knew now that being confined in an aeroplane was dangerous for him, that making strong magic with no purpose didn't help, and that it was still essential to have his hour of meditation in the morning, and more if he needed.

He took several days to recover from this attack, and he missed an appointment in Paris, and cancelled a couple more, satisfying himself with a local girlfriend who had been around for months. But Ben came across him on Tuesday, talking on the phone, finishing with the words, "Clarice?" and, "Bon!"

He put down the phone looking happy, and Ben remembered the job that his mother had delegated. Rather awkwardly he tried, "There's a good potion, you know, if you find you have an excessive need for sex these days,"

But Harry looked at him, eyes gleaming, and said, "Now, Ben, what would you prefer, some foul tasting potion - or Clarice?"

He had to modify the spell on the monitor again then, so that Ben as well as Hermione and himself could see the figures rather than a portion of the bible. Ben also had his assortment of other monitors and devices, too, and told him again he was too thin. Harry thought that he'd heard that all his life, they always said he was too thin!

He was still not quite himself on Wednesday, but completed his list without incident. The only surprise was that Eli was rostered on to be with him, and Zack outside, instead of the junior aurors they usually assigned to this simple job. Mark and Kingsley were worried. They wanted more information. Harry, too, had been concerned the previous Friday. If he found himself fitting, with no-one who knew what to do, he thought he could go on fitting until death or irreversible brain damage. And he so hated to fit!

When Eli said that Kingsley was asking him to go to see him, he agreed without problem.

Kingsley was blunt. "Just what's wrong with you, Harry? We need to know." But he was surprised when Harry was apparently prepared to answer, although Harry didn't tell him everything. He just said that he had nervous attacks, that if he wasn't able to cut them short, he started fitting, and sometimes the fits just seemed to go on and on. That rather than have that happen, it was better for his healer to stun him.

Kingsley sat regarding his friend. This sounded very serious. And at least some of the aurors should know the problem. What if they found him in that state, and neither Ben nor Hermione was available?

Kingsley touched a button on his desk. Kingsley knew Harry very well, and when Harry leaned against the wall, and put on an expressionless face, it usually meant that he was thoroughly uncomfortable. He decided to do what Amelia, a Minister for Magic years before, always did with Harry - get around him with good food. The young woman who responded to his signal was asked for an afternoon tea for half a dozen people. And then Kingsley started carefully telling Harry that his bodyguards had to know. Harry didn't want them all told. It was embarrassing, and anyway, it might never happen again, he was better at controlling it all the time. He would agree for those in charge to be told, and asked if it were possible to have one of those familiar ones on the team each time - Zack, Eli, Jebedee. Mark and Therese? Harry nodded. Bedwin? Harry hesitated and nodded again.

The people named were sent for, and Harry checked his watch. Kingsley thought that it was an indication of a desire to escape. But Harry was resigned to this, and was just thinking of a 4.30 appointment.

The afternoon tea and most of the named people arrived at the same time. There were a couple of stragglers, and Mark, Zack, Eli and Jebedee were already drinking coffee, eating, and silently speculating on the reason for this unexpected treat, by the time Therese, Jodie, and Bedwin turned up. Jodie hadn't actually been invited, but it was known that Harry was there, and Therese had brought her. Harry made no objection.

Once they were all there, Kingsley didn't ask Harry to explain again, but repeated what Harry had told him. Harry just stared into the distance feeling thoroughly uncomfortable, the afternoon tea not having helped much. Therese wanted to ask questions, but he just shrugged and said that his own healers looked after him very well. His colour was heightened again, and he said please not to tell everyone, that he had only agreed in case he was in trouble, and there was no-one around to help.

Kingsley, with a glance at him, repeated that no-one else should be told, and Harry was relieved. There had been worse embarrassments, but still...

Jebedee put the question that was running through all their minds. If he was in that state, were they to stun him?

Harry nodded, only half looking at him.

Bedwin said then, "How on earth are we to do that? You're the best fighter ever?"

Harry grinned, even through his embarrassment. "You warn me. If you try and get me in the back, it might be you that gets stunned!"

They laughed. Harry's fighting abilities were legendary.

Harry added, reddening, "I don't become irrational, you know, just terribly nervy, and needing to move."

"Like that day when you were fighting a whole street gang?" asked Zack.

"Sort of, but that was an attempt to control it. A fight worked well for a while - but I don't get into fights any more," said Harry.

"Why not?"

"Hermione told me it was barbaric," said Harry, lying. And then he added, "Look, it'll probably never happen again. I'm much better at controlling it these days."

Therese asked, "Will you let us have a look at you?"

Harry said baldly and without apology, "No." He checked his watch again, and said that he had an appointment. "Anything else, Kingsley?"

Kingsley said no, but also stood, and went with him to the door, and, for a second, touched him on the shoulder, "It could have been worse."

Harry grinned, more naturally this time, "Yeah, I know, you thought I might be mad."

Kingsley was rather pleased with his departure. It meant that they could discuss any potential problems without Harry present. Kingsley thought that Harry's ears must be burning, but Clarice was soon taking all of his attention. That night, after the embarrassing admissions he'd had to make, he decided that he needed some extra care and attention, and arranged to stay the night, being able to cuddle Clarice as long as he wanted.

Clarice was always pleased when he did this, she liked Harry very much, and it meant that she didn't have to worry about any other customers.

Middle-aged Marie, in charge, just noted it down, and the bland and uninformative monthly account arrived in the mail in due course for Margaret to pay along with the other bills.

Harry rang home - he didn't want to worry those people who tried so hard to watch out for him.

The next week, Mark allotted Zack, Anthony and a couple of young aurors to Harry. He was less concerned now that he had a good idea what the problem was. Harry noted the change, and guessed immediately at the reason - he hadn't realised they were so worried. But Harry Potter, insane, was a fearsome thought, and one that several of the aurors had contemplated in the last months.

There were no problems for that week. He was alert for early indications of spikings in the readings, and took action immediately when the warning signs appeared.

As the months went by, Harry became better and better at controlling the symptoms, and maybe his body, too, was adjusting to the change in its physiology. He sometimes thought that those embarrassing admissions he'd made, had been unnecessary. The problem wasn't gone, but it was like the old handicap, the problem with his balance. He learned to accommodate to it, and after a while, it was only in special circumstances that it became a problem.

In July, Kingsley resigned, and Harry had his vote for the next Minister for Magic. His choice was not elected. Instead, a woman called Beatrice Rutherford was elected. Mark also retired, and was replaced by Trevor Jackson.

Stan McMillan, head of Department of International Cooperation was still in his position, but Sandra Darke, the Coordinator for his overseas trips, was promoted, and replaced by a young woman called Sarah Creevey. Sarah adored Harry, even with that faint air of 'Bad boy' that still hung about him.

Harry took a break during the school summer holidays, enjoying the company of Beth. And Beth enjoyed his company. At school, she often went weeks and scarcely spoke to anyone at all. She was still mostly ignored, but she thought that better than being attacked, and was not actively unhappy. She had friends among the female centaurs, who had a lot more sense than their males. And when she entered the Forbidden Forest, as she frequently did, she was surrounded by the creatures of the forest, and could call birds from the sky, as her father did once.

She didn't know how long she would stay at Hogwarts. Surely she could find a better life for herself somewhere.

She practised some advanced magic with her father while she was home, especially apparation. Harry had taught her to apparate long ago, although it was not supposed to be allowed until a witch or wizard was of age. But it was such a powerful defence if a person was attacked, and Beth sometimes aroused hatred. She learned to apparate silently, too, to Harry's pleasure. He was almost the only one that he knew could do that - although he remembered that Draco Malfoy could do it, too.

When Beth went back for her third year, Harry went back to his work spell-breaking. Even with the raise that Margaret head negotiated for him, the money he earned didn't cover his increased expenses, but Margaret left him alone, and organised some new markets for some of his old inventions, and the shortfall was overcome. He still had a great deal of money, but Margaret thought his reserves untouchable, and liked him to live within his income.

Countries competed for the honour of their visits, now, and sometimes they found there were really not all that many patients. There were often witches and wizards, though, wanting to meet the world-famous wizard.

Sometimes Stan would go with them, and there would be functions arranged where he would meet the great intellectuals of their world, and the aurors would listen, baffled, to deep conversations which they scarcely understood. But then he'd romp and play in the surf as if he was a kid again. He was a contradiction, and even the young men forty years his junior were fond of him, and felt protective of him. They tried hard to look after him, more than just the desire to do their job.

By the following Christmas, Hermione no longer wanted to travel with him, Ben was fully occupied with the practice, and the new management of the Ministry thought it quite unnecessary to provide a healer in any case. Harry didn't mind in the slightest. He still kept his monitor with him, which he checked occasionally, if he thought there might be a potential problem, but was managing quite adequately without that prop.

***chapter end***