[Notes, disclaimer and everything in chapter 1 – do read that]
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Over tea, Harry explained what happened with his Japanese post.
'Good work, Harry. Quite impressive for an apprentice,' Kingsley praised his newest Auror.
'I'll call James Nettle to ask him when I can go see him at work,' Harry said.
'You could invite him and his family to Hogwarts,' Kingsley suggested.
Harry shook his head and said, 'Our schedules clash.'
'How so?' Kingsley inquired.
'James can't tell his colleagues that he's going to visit a Wizarding school, which means that he'd have to wait for the weekend… and you said I could have my weekends,' Harry said.
Kingsley smiled and said, 'All right, then contact him and go see him.'
Harry nodded.
Kingsley grinned and asked, 'Got a date next weekend?'
'Some private tutoring,' Harry lied.
Kingsley wasn't fooled, but he didn't say a word.
During the rest of their meeting, Harry got a few more tips about being an Auror, and Kingsley shared a few trade secrets with his protégé.
When the teapot was cold and all the snacks devoured, Kingsley looked at Harry and said, 'I'm afraid that I'll have to go back to my desk, Harry.'
'You can't train me all evening; I'm already grateful for the tips, you know. Besides, I'll have to head to Hogwarts to check with my latest spy that Umbridge isn't planning something against the Snapes, and I'd like to know more about the possible next Defence teacher,' Harry said.
Kingsley nodded.
Harry got up and asked, 'Oh, by the way, do you know where I can buy an owl?'
'The Wizarding pet-shop in Diagon Alley reopened yesterday,' Kingsley said.
'Thanks, I'll go there. I'll type and print a report about the Snapes tomorrow,' Harry said.
'Perfect! Now, go adopt a new pet,' Kingsley told him.
They shook hands, and Harry left.
On his way out, the young Auror walked by the welcome desk and left the invoice for the printer that he'd bought for the Ministry at Adelaide Groops's desk. She was absolutely delighted to see him, and they wished each other a pleasant evening.
It was a bit late when Harry left the Ministry; he hoped that the pet shop would still be open, and he walked a bit faster. Now that he'd made up his mind, he very much wanted to adopt an owl today.
As he neared the shop, he noticed the number of people around who were looking strangely at the pet-shop, and then, he heard the shouts (two men and a few animals). Harry reflected that petty crimes and common problems would come back now that the war was over; like it said in his manual, "there's no such thing as an off-duty Auror".
Harry jogged to the shop, walked in and could see two wizards arguing, as a smallish owl was trying to attack one of them.
'Auror! What's going on here?' Harry said loudly.
The two wizards ignored him, but not the brown and black owl, who came to land on Harry's shoulder. He was quite surprised that the bird trusted him, and he found it strangely soothing to have the owl perched there.
'Oi!' Harry shouted at the men, who kept ignoring him.
Harry took his wand and immobilized both men.
'All right, when an Auror asks you to explain what's going on, you answer,' Harry growled.
'Auror?' one of the men snorted.
Harry showed him his badge, which he'd kept around his neck and asked, 'Is this Christmas pudding?'
'Oh! I'm very sorry! I just arrived, and I didn't know you had such young Aurors here,' the man answered.
The other snorted in his turn and said, 'That's bloody Harry Potter, you twit!'
'Auror Potter for you, thank you,' Harry said coldly.
'The war hero!' the first man exclaimed.
'Go back to your cave!' the second man told the first.
Harry felt that they'd resume their argument, even bound by his spell, if he didn't do something. 'All right, right now, Auror Potter would like to know why you're yelling like banshees, and if you make me keep referring to myself in the third person, I'll arrest you, and I'll find some old law to keep you overnight. Now, talk!' he said.
'He tried to steal a gozon,' the first man told Harry, as he nodded towards the other man.
'Not true! I hadn't left the shop when his owl attacked me!' the other protested.
'It's not my owl!' the first man pointed out.
'Let me get this straight. How did you know that he was trying to steal your… gozon?' Harry asked the shopkeeper.
'The owl flew all around him, and the gozon fell from his sleeve when he tried to protect himself. You don't put a gozon in any kind of material because it risks putting them in a coma, but it's a way to smuggle them,' the shopkeeper explained.
'So, it's dangerous,' Harry said.
The shopkeeper nodded madly.
The owl on Harry's shoulder planted his claws only in Harry's robes and flew closer to the thief, urging Harry to follow.
'Trying to tell me something?' Harry asked the owl, who hooted.
Harry freed the shopkeeper and searched the thief. He found two other gozons in the man's left sleeve.
Harry handed them to the shopkeeper and asked, 'Will they be all right?'
The shopkeeper put them in a tank, sprinkled them with lemonade and the tiny creatures (of a variety Harry had never seen before) woke up.
'They're fine,' the shopkeeper declared.
The thief snorted again and said, 'They're just beasts.'
'You start with animals, and one day you upgrade to people,' Harry said.
'Puhliz!' the thief said. 'What makes you say that?'
'Oh, I don't know, having had a demented Dark Lord trying to kill me for most of my life, and having read a few studies on the topic,' Harry said coldly.
Harry arrested the thief and told the shopkeeper that he'd come take his deposition as soon as the stealing wizard was in custody.
'I'm afraid that I'll be closed by then,' the shopkeeper apologized. 'I just moved here, and my husband would worry if I came home late,' he added.
Harry nodded, but glared at the thief. 'It's a pity, because I wanted to find an owl,' he said.
'I think you've found one,' the shopkeeper declared, pointing at the bird still sitting on Harry's shoulder.
'I can't arrest your thief and buy an owl at the same time,' Harry objected.
'She's really not one of my birds, and I think she adopted you,' the shopkeeper pointed out.
Harry looked at the bird, who hissed at the shopkeeper. The latter tilted his head and said, 'Oops, sorry.'
'What?' Harry asked, completely lost.
'The owl is a male,' he explained. He walked to the counter and took an owl treat, which he went to give to the bird.
The owl gulped it down with gusto.
'I should give you a whole bag of it,' the shopkeeper said.
'I can't accept it!' Harry protested.
'Sorry, Auror Potter, but I wasn't talking to you,' the shopkeeper said.
The owl closed his beak on a small paper bag containing a dozen owl treats, and he nodded several times, as if to thank the shopkeeper.
Harry looked at the owl and asked, 'Do you want to stay with me?'
He nodded, which made the thief snort again. Harry ignored the wizard.
'May I come back tomorrow morning for your deposition, then?' Harry asked the shopkeeper.
They made an appointment, and Harry escorted the thief to the Ministry and had him booked for attempted theft and animal cruelty.
Harry decided to visit the Ministry Owlery in order to get a few tips about the owl who had adopted him. He'd never seen one like him.
In the elevator, Harry looked at the owl and said, 'If you mean to stay with me, I could carry your treats. I've got pockets, you know.'
Harry held out his hand, and the owl deigned to drop his treat bag into the hand of his biped.
'If it turns out that you don't already belong to someone, we'll have to find you a name,' Harry said.
The owl hooted once.
The door opened, and Harry found himself nose to nose with Alex Cairo, who was on his way out.
'More post?' Alex asked.
While holding the elevator door, Harry quickly summarized what had just happened to him. Alex tried to caress the owl, but he hopped onto Harry's head, and then to Harry's other shoulder.
'He's adopted you,' Alex said.
'Can I keep him?' Harry inquired.
Alex winked and invited Harry to move back into the car. Once the door was closed, Alex cast a spell to slow the elevator down a bit.
'There's a spell that can tell you if he belongs to someone, but it's above my rank, Auror Potter,' Alex declared.
'Just Harry, please! And if you can cast it, I'd be grateful because I don't know it, and I need to know if that bird is lost or stolen,' Harry said, giving the other wizard a way out.
Alex smiled and cast the spell, which showed that the bird was free.
They arrived in the Atrium.
'What bread of owl is he?' Harry asked.
'He looks like a young Grand Ausistrean, but there's something off in his feathers. If he's a magical creature, he might be some hybrid,' Alex said.
'I'll do some research, then. Thanks for your help!' Harry said.
'You're welcome, Harry. Find him a good name, and have a nice evening!' Alex said as he hurried to Floo out.
'Bye!' Harry said as the flames enveloped the other wizard. Harry turned to his bird and asked, 'Ready to go home?'
Much to his surprise, the bird flew to his wrist, grabbed his sleeve and made Harry follow him outside.
'Something odd going on?' Harry asked.
The owl hooted.
'What are you? The Wizarding equivalent of the police dog?' Harry inquired.
The bird glared at Harry.
By then, they were at the beginning of Knockturn Alley. Harry stopped and said, 'What are you? An Animagus?'
Harry cast a spell on the bird, but he was just a bird.
The owl felt that Harry was reconsidering adopting him, and he landed on Harry's shoulder and rubbed his head against Harry's cheek.
'Why should I trust you?' Harry whispered.
Right then, the smallish and dark owl turned himself into a barn owl, and then into another one that was entirely grey and changed back. The bird was trusting Harry with his magical secret.
'Okay,' Harry said, petting the bird, 'but being with me might be dangerous.'
The owl seemed to shrug.
'Maybe Barmy would be a good name for you,' Harry said, which made the owl glare again.
The bird managed to lead Harry to a dark corner. In an awful dustbin, Harry located a very young kitten, probably just barely weaned.
'What do you want me to do?' Harry asked the owl.
A second later, Harry found himself with a kitten on his formerly free shoulder. Kitten and owl were rubbing themselves against his cheeks.
'Min's going to kill me,' Harry murmured.
He Disapparated to the gates of Hogwarts and walked to the castle. Bird and kitten stayed on his shoulders.
Harry walked straight to the Great Hall and to Minerva at the High table.
'May I keep them?' he asked her.
She smiled sadly and said, 'Of course, Harry.'
'Problem?' he asked worriedly, sitting next to her.
She waved her hand.
'Min?' he insisted.
'Curse of the DADA position,' Irma whispered.
Minerva sighed and said, 'The first one I'd hired had a family emergency and excused herself, and the candidate I met today wanted to come, but she's been offered a better job in Russia. I'm back to square one.'
'Oh, I'm very sorry,' Harry said. 'Perhaps you should ask…' his voice trailed off as he realized that he'd almost suggested re-hiring Remus.
Harry paled and felt faint.
'I'll take the kitten home; don't wait for me,' Harry said lamely as he got up.
Minerva tried to stop him, but she didn't want to bring too much attention to them.
Hermione nodded at her husband, and Severus followed Harry and caught up with him as Harry opened his quarters' door.
Severus followed Harry inside in silence.
The owl flew to the windowsill and the kitten hopped onto the sofa that was by the fireplace.
'Do you want to talk about it?' Severus asked gently.
'I'd forgotten. I'd bloody forgotten! What's wrong with me?' Harry asked.
'There's nothing wrong with you… It happens,' Severus said softly.
Harry turned to face him and said, 'It's funny because Arthur came to see me today. Now, it feels as if he knew that such a thing would happen! He also mentioned mad things, and…'
Harry couldn't go on.
Severus said a single word, 'Malfoy.'
Harry gaped and went to sit in his chair; he looked frightened.
'Don't panic. I can tell because there's still a bit of a spy in me, but no one knows… Well, except Minerva, probably because she interrupted something.'
Harry put his face in his hands.
'You both need a friend, Harry,' Severus said.
Harry looked at Severus and nodded slowly. 'Tell me, how are you and Hermione?' he inquired with concern.
Severus was rather pleased that Harry worried about them. 'We're fine,' he answered.
'Really?' Harry insisted.
'We're both turned towards the future already. I have a wife who loves me enough to bring me back to life, and she's got her dream job, and we're going to have a baby,' Severus said.
Harry nodded slowly.
'Harry… about Draco…' Severus began to say.
'He's not trying to trick me,' Harry said.
Severus looked serious and said, 'I know. What I wanted to tell you is that Draco's position among the Death Eaters… Well, there are things that his parents don't know… He'll need you as much as you'll need him. You grew up with him; he can be arrogant, but it's mostly a façade.'
Harry nodded. 'Am I blowing a fuse, Severus?' he asked after a pause.
Severus shook his head and said, 'You're looking for ways to recover.'
'And I forgot that Remus can't come back to teach Defence,' Harry whispered.
'Even Shacklebolt wouldn't have been able to allow him to come back,' Severus pointed out.
Harry sighed deeply and nodded.
'Now that your owl and kitten are here, come back to the Great Hall before Minerva and my wife hunt us down,' Severus said.
A house-elf popped in with everything for the owl and the kitten.
'See! You need dinner now,' Severus declared.
Harry got up and hugged Severus on impulse. Severus was rather surprised, but before he could do or say anything, Harry rushed to the fireplace and called the Weasley twins. Severus didn't hear what Harry told them, but the younger wizard was grinning when he turned back towards Severus.
'Just planning some surprise,' Harry said with a smile.
Severus nodded once and said, 'If you need to talk, you can come see me. Day or night. All right?'
Harry shrugged.
'Potter… I do remember how you annoyed me when you were my student, but now… you're my wife's best friend. If you need to talk, our door's open,' Severus declared.
Harry didn't say a word.
'If you're not well, Hermione will see it, she'll corner you and then… she'll lecture you,' Severus pointed out.
'Okay… thanks!' Harry said. 'May I come see you tomorrow after work?'
'I'll be in my office. I'll always be here when you want to talk about the war,' Severus said.
'It's… not that,' Harry said. He looked at Severus, took a deep breath and said, 'I've got a date next Saturday, and I could do with a few tips.'
Severus started wondering if Harry's feelings for Draco might be deeper than he'd suspected, but then Harry frowned.
'Merlin! I must be some kind of perv! I'm seeing Draco, and I'm trying to get a date with Kate, too!' Harry exclaimed.
Severus smiled and said, 'It's just your hormones catching up with you. Just… be honest with them. Don't betray them.'
'I'm lost,' Harry admitted.
Severus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and dragged him outside as he said, 'That's not the war. It's being eighteen, and it's hell.'
Harry nodded fervently.
A few minutes later, Minerva was delighted to see Harry and Severus join them again.
'Will you help me find good names for my pets?' Harry asked his friends at the High table.
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[Next part as soon as possible]