CH 25 Promotions

FriendofMolly again caught a couple of embarrassing mistakes, and contributed to the story. As always, thanks.

The Ministry of Magic would like to announce the following promotions.

The newly created position of Vice Minister of Magic is Hermione Jean Granger Weasley. Mrs. Weasley is also appointed to the newly created position of Chief Judge, supervising two additional judges as part of a major reformation of the Magi justice system. Taking over Mrs. Weasleys former position is Nora Geissler, one of her Hermione's assistants.

Harry and Arthur Weasley had known about Hermione's promotion and the reorganization of the Ministry, as had Ron, but they could not talk about it or let anyone else know what was going on. If Harry had shared anything with Ginny, or Arthur had with Molly, that was confidential, and the spouses kept their mouths shut and their minds closed when it came to confidential ministry business. The official announcement was made Friday, the second of January, 2015 and Hermione had been working almost full time Friday, and Saturday till 5:00 PM since the announcement. Harry and Ginny took Rose and Hugo after church Saturday Evening so Hermione and Ron could celebrate, and even Jean Granger left and spent the night at Potters New Burrow, leaving the house to Ron and Hermione.

Sunday morning everybody but Ron and Hermione were over at the New Burrow by 8:30 AM, sitting down to the usual Sunday morning breakfast. Percy was talking about the changes that were taking place at the Ministry, about Hermione in particular. "Hermione has a new office next door to the Minister of Magic," said Percy. "I've been in it, of course, and it is the same size as the Ministers! Ministry jobs have always had a lot of prestige, but they have never been the most lucrative jobs, except for the Minister of Magic. The Minister has always been very well paid, and I understand Hermione is getting about eighty percent of the Minister's salary. Although she will have to be formally elected by the Wizengamot, almost everybody I know thinks Hermione will be the next Minister of Magic, when Kingsley retires.

"Hermione has made it clear that as soon as possible she wants to have the Wizengamot appoint a new chief judge and make the judicial side of the ministry really independent of the executive or legislative parts of the ministry. A Muggle married to a witch is her chief advisor in setting up a legal system more like the English Muggle system.

He is working full time for Hermione now, but of course as a Muggle he cannot become a judge. Some of the older members of the Ministry and of the Wizengamot are complaining about all the changes, but most of us realize we need to join the 21st Century.

"Maybe the most capable person in Hermione's old department is Eloise Urquhart. She kept her maiden name after getting married to a Muggle who did not know her history. She has a couple of young children. Her reputation for bedding members of the Ministry kept her from getting the top job, even though it looks like she is painfully careful not to give anyone the idea that she is still available. I think Eloise will always be in an assistant position."

Remembering the story of how Eloise had tried to entice Harry to have sex with her made Ginny feel more confident in Harry all over again, but also fed her insecurities. Having all these women after her Harry made Ginny nervous even though she knew it should not. Harry and Arthur, who knew more about the reorganization than Percy, were quite content to let Percy pontificate about the changes.

About 9:00 AM Hermione and Ron came stumbling in through the floo, silly grins on both of their faces. "More celebration?" asked Ginny.

"Absolutely!" said Hermione. "Ron can make me forget about everything but how sexy he is. Once in a while I just have to submerge myself in physical pleasure, the pleasure of my sexy husband." Ron got a lopsided grin in his face at this. Harry and Ginny both thought of how different Ron and Hermione's sexual relationship was to theirs. Ginny wanted sex every night, and sometimes when the opportunity presented itself, more than once a day, and occasionally when there was very little time a 'quickie' now and again. She really was not into all day affairs, and that was fine with Harry. Harry was just amazed that Ginny was almost always ready; he knew from talking to other men that this was unusual, although Minerva McGonagall had said that Ginny's female ancestors were a 'randy' bunch, and Harry got the impression that Molly and Arthur continued to be very sexually active. Ron and Hermione by contrast did not do it all that often, but when they did occasionally they spent a lot of time doing things a lot of different ways.

Hermione and Ron did not realize that their children were listening; they had been out of sight of Ron and Hermione when they came in, although they were in the same room and were intently watching their parents. Hugo turned to Rose and said, "Do you know what mom and dad have been doing?"

"I've read about it," said Rose. "It's not something you do until you're older."

"Like when you go to Hogwarts?" asked Hugo.

"No way!" shouted Ron, who had heard his children's conversation. "You've got to be a lot older than in Hogwarts. Most smart Magi are going to college, and you ought to be at least out of college and in your twenties and married before you even think of having sex."

"You and mom were not even twenty when you got married," said Rose, with a determined look on her face. She learned just about anything she put her mind to, but no one would answer all her questions about sex, and it frustrated her. "Aunt Ginny got married on her seventeenth birthday and before she started her last year at Hogwarts. I just don't see why everybody is so secret about sex. It's just like putting a Lego axel into a Lego wheel. What's the fuss all about?" Ron loved buying Muggle toys and letting the younger generation play with them, to give him ideas about new toys for WWW. He never in his wildest dreams thought that someone would use Lego's to describe sex! Rose's analogy brought a lot of snickers from the adults.

"It still seems unsanitary to me," Rose continued. "I just don't get it."

Albus could feel the tension in the room. Reading people's thoughts was a lot more complex than reading a book. There were emotions and things people were seeing as well as thoughts you could write down as words. He had not practiced a lot of legilimency since Christmas, and he knew that people wanted to keep their thoughts about sex somewhat private, but he was curious, and if it was maybe prying too much it was just too tempting to resist.

Albus could see the tension in Uncle Ron. Uncle Ron was at the same time frustrated at Rose's questions and proud that she was so tenacious in asking them. Albus always knew that Uncle Ron was proud of Aunt Hermione, but Al could see the amazement Uncle Ron had that he was married to someone who could wear him out in … Al was beginning to get a glimpse of what they did …OH! That was private and personal … Oh My! Al withdrew his mind to catch his breath. There WAS a lot more to sex than in the books he and Rose had read.

What was Aunt Hermione thinking? How tenacious Rose was, and I'm not going to explain …OH! No, Al could see why Aunt Hermione would not want to describe THAT either. I'd better not go into either of their minds for a while. Oh My!

Rose was stomping away disgusted, leaving all the adults to their thoughts. Al's dad was looking at his mother and thinking something like 'the most beautiful, sexy, best for me female in the world.' Dad was looking at mom's curves, and mentally undressing her, and again Al was probably seeing too much. Sex was something dad did to mom because she liked it, and he liked it, and they did it every day because mom wanted it every day. Mom was … Al was having a harder time describing it, but for mum sex was not something you did but who you were, a more internal thing.

There was a different vibration, a different 'something'; Al could feel when someone was thinking about sex. Al decided to sit next to the adults and sort of read a book and keep his mind open to sexual thoughts. He found out a lot over the next two hours. First, usually the men thought about sex a lot more than the women. Aunt Hermione had everything categorized anyway, and when she was not thinking about it she just was not thinking about it. Uncle Ron had a hard time seeing his wife and not having his mind wander off to thoughts of what they had done, and how his brilliant wife was also his sexy wife. Uncle Ron was also a little sore in places Al didn't know you could get sore, inside.

His dad was usually busy talking about the changes in the Ministry, or listen to what other people were saying. He did occasionally look at his mom, and sometimes when he did he was just very grateful for his mother. Mum's thoughts were a lot more scattered, and she was the only one of the grown up women whose thoughts would turn to sex very often; she really liked to make love to his father! What confused Al was that his mother's desire was part sensuous, something he sort of knew, and part an insecurity that Al didn't realize his mother had. Al always thought his Mother and Father were as self-confident and secure as possible.

Both Uncle George and Aunt Angelina were thinking of the store when they were not taking part in the conversation. Uncle George did occasionally look at Aunt Angelina with a spark of lust, looking at her hips and thinking of the end of the day and maybe if they were not too tired …

Uncle Percy liked to look at Aunt Audrey, and hoped he could do it more often. Aunt Audrey never thought about sex as far as Al could tell. When the other grownups were talking about sex she was embarrassed.

Grandpa Weasley was still thinking about sex! Al had never imagined that his Grandma Weasley was sexy; she was a little heavy, well maybe more than a little heavy, and beside she was his grandmother! Finally grandfather caught grandmother's attention, and they touched and grandmother seemed to be thinking that tonight would be delightful. Al had never thought that his grandparents were, well, he really did not think about sex much. Rose was frustrated because she wanted to know more, but Al was definitely getting the feeling that he was too young to really understand what the adults were thinking.

Uncle Bill was easy to read. He thought that his wife was one of the most beautiful and sexy women in the world, and objectively he was probably right. Aunt Fleur was a little harder to read. It was not that she thought about having sex with Uncle Bill all the time, but the way she moved, everything she was, was when she was with Uncle Bill sexy.

Al was not sure how he could share any of this with Rose. He knew he ought to talk to his dad about his experience with legilimency, but somehow he thought he would be in real trouble if he told his parents he was trying to read the adults thoughts about sex. 'I tell everybody including myself I want to be good,' Albus thought, 'but sometimes I think I do not want to be good so much as just not get caught.'

Meanwhile the adults were continuing to discuss the changes in the Ministry.

Albus had practiced becoming invisible, not by magic but just by sitting in a corner with his head in a book, not saying anything nor doing anything to call attention to himself. It was handy when James or Lily or both were in trouble, or when the cousins were together and something had happened that caused the adults to take notice. Albus was seldom punished not only because he was generally a good person, but also because he knew how to keep quiet and not be noticed. So for the next four Sundays Albus spent as much time as he could just listening to the adults and trying to understand the adults. The first Monday in February Harry was home a little early, and Albus asked if he could talk.

"I'm trying to understand the family," said Albus, "and there are a lot of things I don't understand."

"You're using legilimency and getting confused," said Harry. "I can see you sitting in the living room pretending to be reading, and you're listening with your ears and your mind. What people are thinking isn't always what they are saying."

"When you're a kid you think grownups are all kind of the same," said Albus, "but maybe with different jobs. They're a lot different!"

"It doesn't take legilimency to know that," said Harry.

"I'm just eight years old, dad," said Albus. "I know I'm reading books for sixteen year olds, and doing some schoolwork that we are going to get in Hogwarts. Rose and I are way ahead of where we should be in math and Muggle science and reading. But there is a lot I just don't understand."

"What do you want to know?" asked Harry.

Al said "Well, about money. Some of the grownups are worried about money and think about it a lot, and some don't, and it sounds like some are richer than others. I've never worried about money, but Uncle Ron is always a little worried about money. I didn't think he was poor. Is that why both he and Aunt Hermione work, because they are poor?"

"Uncle Ron grew up poor, and it was always harder on him than the other members of his family," said Harry. "Ron is not poor now, but he had never forgotten being poor."

"Is Uncle Bill the richest?" asked Al. "New Shell Cottage is the biggest house, the prettiest, Aunt Fleur has spent more money on it, it looks like it, plus they have the house in France."

Harry looked at Al and said with a very serious look on his face. "I want you to keep what I am going to tell you secret. All the grownups know most of what I am going to tell you, but if some of the children knew there could be problems. We really do not talk about family money to the children until they get much older. You will all know much more before you graduate from Hogwarts. Promise me, Al."

"Nobody knows about using the magic wand, except Rose and Aunt Hermione, and they only know I use it to make potions," said Al. "I can keep a secret, unlike Lily and some of the cousins."

"All right," said Harry. "Grandma and Grandpa Weasley were poor, and all their children, all the Weasley uncles and your mother grew up poor. My father was moderately rich, and when I went to Hogwarts I always had money. Then I inherited all my Godfather Sirius Black's money, and the house on Grimmauld place. Then when I killed Tom Riddle in a duel I inherited all his money, millions of Galleons that he had stolen and killed for.

"Uncle Bill went into banking after Hogwarts, I think to earn money. When I inherited all the money from Tom Riddle I needed someone to manage the money, and hired Uncle Bill to do the job. We have given over half the money I inherited to the Ministry, or to Ministries in other countries where Tom Riddle had stolen money. Most of the rest of the money was put in trusts to take care of people who were hurt in the war. And Uncle Bill has managed the money so well that we cannot properly give away money fast enough to keep from having more. It's my money, I guess, but I don't feel it's something for me to play around with. With money and power comes the duty to do good works with it, and that's how I feel about it. Uncle Bill has become partner in some of the businesses, and yes he is very well off. Aunt Fleur spends about half of her time helping Uncle Bill. She trained in finance too, and although she still tries to keep up her healing skills, and do some teaching, she is interested in and is good with money."

"Uncle Bill manages your money?" asked Al. "You're that rich? You don't act rich."

"I want all of my children, all the nieces and nephews, to be able to do what they want, within reason, but I hope none of you ever act rich," said Harry.

"Is everybody in the family rich?" asked Al.

Harry smiled and said, "Uncle Charley really does not care about anything but dragons and being outside at a job he loves. He's not poor, but he is probably the poorest of your uncles. Uncle Percy has a good job at the Ministry, and I know he saves some money from what he makes, and what Aunt Audrey has made from teaching school they have saved. He's not rich, but he's not poor either."

"He resents a little everybody else's success, but he does not want to leave the Ministry to do anything else," said Al.

"Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey live a carefully controlled life, one without much danger, but without much excitement either. Sometimes I think they would like to break free," said Harry. "Uncle George and his brother Fred were always good at making money, and the store is very profitable. Uncle George owns more of it than anybody else, although less than half. Aunt Angelina owns enough so that together they own over half. Uncle Ron and Mr. Lee Jordan also own some of the store, and I even own a small fraction, about five percent, which is worth more by far than the little money I put into the store to help get it started."

"You own some of Uncle George's store?" said Al with a very surprised look.

"Don't tell anyone!" emphasized Harry, "and never hint to Fred and Roxanne that their dad does not own the entire store. They will learn what they need to know soon enough. I am sure that Fred already knows; his dad told him that he needs to get good grades and graduate from Hogwarts if he is going to work at the store, and he will have to earn the chance to own part of the store."

"Uncle Ron owns part of the store too?" asked Al again.

"Yes, and Aunt Angelina and Uncle Ron own a separate business that sells armor and other things to Magi in law enforcement, Angelina's Angel Armor. Not a lot of people know that business exists, and you must never tell anyone, but Angelina's Angel Armor is a surprisingly large and profitable business."

"Aunt Hermione does not have to work?" asked Al.

"At this point she does not have to work so the family has money," said Harry. "Neither do I. She has to work because it's not in her nature not to work, and work hard. That is how she has risen to be second in command at the Ministry, and find the time to publish textbooks, and help develop home school curriculum, and work on new laws for England and the International Confederation of Witches and Wizards, among other things."

"And she spends some time with Rose and Hugo," said Al, "but not near as much time as mum spends with us."

"Aunt Hermione is doing the best she can," said Harry. "She is lucky she has her mother to tutor Rose, and it is working really well that Grandma Granger is tutoring you and Rose, and your mother and grandmother are trying to teach Hugo."

"Are Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley rich now?" asked Al. "I know Grandma Weasley sometimes thinks she is richer than she ever imagined she could be. Do they own all the property around the New Burrow?"

"Grandma Weasley remembers trying to raise all her children with very little money, and now they have enough money to have money in the bank, and for her to buy almost anything she could want. Her feeling rich is more being satisfied with what she has than having a lot of money," said Harry. "Again I'm going to tell you something that you must not tell anyone else. I own all the property between the River Otter and the Muggle roads that surround the New Burrow property. The Weasley cousins that live in the two houses by the road work for me. The houses that other people live on are owned by them, but I retain a partial ownership of the land, and we are setting up a trust to take care of the pond and the rest of the property. I own the New Burrow and Potters New Burrow, and take care of them, and no one else has to pay anything to live in or stay in either house. That's something I can do for the family. And if you ever hint in any way to Grandma and Grandpa Weasley that maybe they do not own all the property you are in big trouble, do you hear me, Al!"

"Yes, daddy," said Al. "You like helping other people! That's part of being good?"

"Helping other people, and not giving them too much help, is harder than you might think," said Harry. "That's why if I have anything to say about it all my children, my nieces and nephews, are going to have to work, and work hard. I'll help them work at what they want to do, within reason, but I don't want anyone to feel that they do not have to work. That is why I like having you all help with transplanting plants to earn a little money."

From then on Al would try to talk privately to his father about the family, who did what, who thought what, at least once a month.

The first of February Harry had to go back to Switzerland, and Albus asked to go with him. "I want to talk to the prophets again," Albus said. "I'm worried."

Harry knew that Albus was often worried, about why people seemed to be trying to kill him, and about why he seemed to have all these abilities.

When they were coming back Harry asked Albus, "Did you find out what you wanted to know?"

"What was it like when you found out you had to fight Tom Riddle?" Albus asked.

"Scary," Harry said.

"Were you ever afraid that Tom Riddle would kill you?" Albus asked.

"All the time," Harry said. "At the end I thought I was going to have to be killed or Tom Riddle could not get killed."

"How did you find the courage to do what you had to do?" Albus asked.

"I don't know," Harry said. "I really don't know. Good friends helped, and the example of good people like Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, my parents, and so many others."

"Sometimes I'm scared, Dad," Albus said. "I hope I have good friends helping me, just like you did."

"I hope and pray so too," Harry said.

The middle of February Harry took Al to the Ministry to have him learn more about legilimency. It was decided by Kingsley and Aunt Hermione that no one except a very few people with the need to know would be told of Al's new powers. From then on, until he went to Hogwarts, about twice a year Al would be put in the same room with someone who's mind the ministry wanted to read, and about half the time Al got at least some of the information the Ministry was after. No one ever suspected that this small boy, and Al was always small for his age, and looked younger than he was, could read minds. Al got training about once a month, as often as he could spend at the Ministry without raising suspicion.

Harry was worried. Al was too good at too many things. So far, except for the run-ins with the Department for the Regulation of Underage Magic, nothing much had come of Al's extraordinary abilities, but Harry did not think that could last. Harry did not share his worries with anyone. He just bottled up this low level of anxiety along with all the others in his life. Some, like ongoing issues with the Ministry and the International Confederation of Wizards, he shared with Ginny rather freely. Harry's concerns about Albus, and Teddy, he did not share very often, because any hint that Teddy or Albus may have adventures, and be in danger, worried Ginny a lot.

The end of January Harry finally had recruited his Domestic Affairs Unit. He was in a meeting with Hermione and Arthur Weasley, talking about the unit. "Pamela Pomfrey was the only healer specializing in what we are calling our Domestic Affair's Unit. We do not want to have a name with 'trouble' or 'problems' in it. We want Magi to feel free to call on this unit for any problem."

"Is Pamela related to Poppy?" Hermione asked.

"She is married to Poppy's grandson," Harry said. "He is also a healer. Poppy's family has a lot of healers in it.

"Gray Blackburn really does not have a full time job with the Aurors and other people in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so he is going to be in the unit, at least part time. Lavender has spent the last six years training as a healer, specializing in mind and emotional problems as well. She also has recertified as an Auror."

"Doesn't Lavender Brown Blackburn have two little children?" Hermine asked.

Harry said, "Her son Blue is almost six, and her daughter Lilac is almost three. Grandmother Brown is taking care of the children when Lavender is working."

Hermione said, "I am surprised that Gus Gudgeon is the other Auror assigned to the unit, but I don't know him."

Arthur said, "I've seen his reviews, and he has turned into an excellent, and compassionate, Auror."

Harry said, "He has dealt with trauma, his at the death of his wife, and the horrors when they were captive, and with his new wife Missy Mulciber. Missy's father and husband were killed in the horrors surrounding the Battles, and I do not gather that many of the Death Eaters had what could be called happy marriages. I think Gus will make an ideal Auror for this unit."