Notes:
Harry did something really terrible - but as we know, once Hermione gets hurt, she doesn't forgive quickly and can be cruel. Normally, that was reserved for Ron, but what Harry did was a lot worse
There's loads of easter eggs in this chapter!
"Stop lyin' to me about where you've been
'Cause you're tickin' me off
I can tell you're lying
'Cause when you're replying
You stutter"
"Stutter," Joe, Mystikal, Allen Gordon
Wednesday
October 10th, 2007
Number 12 Grimmauld Place
Islington, London
When Harry made his way into the kitchen the next morning, he was greeted by the sight of a tuft of unruly ginger hair hiding behind Return of the King. He ruffled the tuft of hair, and a reproachful "Dad!" emerged.
Teddy put his book down and grinned at Harry, who had started cracking eggs for breakfast. "How was hanging out with Uncle George last night?" Harry asked.
"We went to Grandma Molly and then he took me to Waterstone's and the cinema," Teddy said, his face glowing. Afternoons where George collected Teddy from school because Harry had to work late always turned into George spoiling Teddy rotten, and Harry was grateful for George's seemingly boundless energy.
"Grandma Molly and the cinema and the bookstore?" Harry said, faking surprise. "What was it? Your birthday? What did you see?"
"Spiderman," Teddy grinned even broader. "And then we went to get ice cream."
"And until what time did you stay up reading?" Harry asked, whisking the eggs vigorously.
"I don't know," Teddy said, looking sheepish. "But Uncle George opened the door a couple of times to check that I was sleeping and I pretended I was, so it's not his fault."
"Mate, if you think your Uncle George didn't realise you were pretending, you have another thing coming for you," Harry laughed.
Teddy picked up his book again, and Harry shook his head ruefully as he busied himself with making breakfast. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting Teddy to be, but he hadn't expected a sensitive bookworm with a mischievous streak. Teddy was the first to befriend the loner kids in his class and refused to let Harry hurt bugs that made their way into the house, insisting that Harry take them to the back garden. He was studious and loved reading - yet was always game to join on one of his Uncle George's pranks.
"Didn't you start that book two days ago?" Harry nodded to the book, which was over halfway read. Teddy had become absolutely mad about Lord of the Rings , regaling a very confused Harry with exploits of characters with names like Galadriel and Gimli. From what Harry understood, the main character goes on an epic journey with his friends to destroy an evil ring. It didn't seem too far off from his own adventures as a teenager. Except, of course, this was a story, and he was horrifyingly real.
I wonder if Frodo found happiness after.
I wonder if his friends still spoke to him.
Sunday
November 22nd, 1998
Hyde Park
Westminster, London
It was an unseasonably warm morning for late November, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to take advantage of it to take a walk in the nearby Hyde Park. A year ago, outings like this were impossible, Harry mused, as he pushed Teddy's pram whilst Hermione and Ron walked hand-in-hand. Ron regaled them with a story about Charlie trying to keep a dragon concealed in the house - how he thought he could pull one over on the woman who raised Fred and George was truly beyond Harry's comprehension. The whole experience was euphoric in its blessed mundanity.
Ron and Hermione seemed to be doing better - he randomly pressed a kiss to her cheek, and Hermione flushed as he did it.
"We have Disguises and Concealment all week," Ron told Harry as they rounded the Serpentine. Harry let out a low groan, and Hermione raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"It's just bloody difficult," Harry complained. "I'd rather just use my cloak."
"But Harry, you can't-" Hermione began, but Ron cut her off with a roll of his eyes.
"Yes, we get it. We have to learn the theory because this might save our lives. Let the man complain," Ron said impatiently.
Hermione bit her lip, clearly upset and Harry was surprised by Ron's words. He's always been a bit of a prat to Hermione, but now that they're dating, you'd think he'd let up a little.
But Ron hadn't let up. His little dags and jabs at Hermione hadn't let up. What had changed was that Hermione wasn't answering back, just biting her lip or staring dead ahead when Ron would insult her.
"Why do you let him do that?" Harry asked Hermione later, when they were alone in the flat. Teddy was upstairs, napping in his cot after their excursion, and Harry and Hermione chose to use the rare quiet time to revise.
"What?" Hermione asked, looking up from her textbook.
"Ron. He insults you and you just - you don't say anything. Why? You always used to defend yourself."
"He's hurting. He misses Fred," Hermione said sadly.
"He can be sad without taking it out on you," Harry said. "I know I didn't stand up for you in the past-"
"Leave it alone, Harry. He'll grow out of it," she said, returning her attention back to her textbook.
He's had seven years to grow out of it. Would he be alright if I spoke to Ginny like that?
Harry wished he could speak to George about the issue, but George was in a world of his pain and he was best left alone about these kinds of things.
Maybe Bill? Yeah, I'll talk to Bill. Bill will know.
Wednesday
October 10th, 2007
Auror Office, The Ministry of Magic
Whitehall, London
"I need you to give me the authorisation to open the personnel files for everyone involved in the operation, and I need to know who was the target," Harry said as he sat down in a chair across from Hastings.
"Do you have anyone specific you want to look into?" Hastings asked.
Harry shook his head. "There aren't any major inconsistencies in anyone's stories, and no one seems like they're hiding anything. I want to dig around a little bit and see if anything jumps out - family backgrounds, financials."
"We vetted everyone extensively before they joined the office, Potter. You're not going to find anyone who has a parent that was a Death Eater or something like that. Well, Selwyn's cousins were, but you know, you can't pick your family," Hastings said, his voice full of false brightness.
"Is there anyone that you think could have been capable of something like this?" Harry asked.
Hastings shook his head. "Son, I'm in charge of over 500 of you - I really only know a handful of the people in this office, and even then, it's more of the higher-ups."
"You know me, and I'm just an inspector," Harry countered, and as soon as the words exited his mouth, he felt stupid.
Of course he knows who you are, you giant prat.
"Potter," Hastings said kindly, "When you got injured and had to ride the desk for a bit, there was a discussion about you going back into the field. You were a damn good Auror, don't get me wrong, but there was a school of thought that maybe since you're a little higher-profile, it made you more of a target in the field for tactical work. You're an excellent investigator, and you know, with a little nurturing — you could have my job one day."
Hastings shuffled some papers on his desk. "I'll get you the clearance so you can access those personnel files -"
"And the target?" Harry asked, for seemingly the millionth time.
"Son, I can't tell you that."
"Why?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Some things need to stay secret until they need to come out. This is one of those things."
Other things are about to stop being secret, and they'll bury you.
Later that morning, a box was delivered to Harry's desk with the personnel files. Harry browsed the folders, and it all seemed so routine, so absolutely, perfectly boring. Yusuf lived in Liverpool with his wife and two daughters. Biggeloe had been Quidditch Captain and led Ravenclaw to two back-to-back victories. Ali had a Herbology mastery and lived right outside of London, in Woking.
Harry opened Welch-Boone's folder and found himself tensing up.
Are he and Hermione dating =?
Harry shook away the thought as quickly as it came. There was no evidence that the pair were romantically involved, else than Hermione smiling at Welch-Boone and placing her hand on his shoulder.
She said she doesn't want to hear about your private life, and she doesn't want to involve you in hers.
It wasn't against regulations for Hermione and Welch-Boone to date - they were both of the same rank, and there was nothing against Aurors dating each other, following that they had disclosed it on paperwork properly. But it could be problematic if two people in a relationship were involved in the same operation - but of course, Harry had no evidence that Welch-Boone and Hermione were even friends, let alone in a relationship.
There's four AIs in Special Forces, of course they're friends. Special Forces is a tight-knit group.
Harry had applied to Special Forces back in 2003 when an AC position had opened up. Unbeknownst to him, Hermione had also applied - and she had gotten it. By the time a position had opened up, several months later, he had already been promoted to Auror Sergeant, and it meant either dropping in rank to apply to the position, without the guarantee of being accepted, or staying where he was.
It's better for Teddy if his only parent has a more stable career, Harry told himself reassuringly. And then, in 2005, in pursuit of a suspect, he had been hit by a wall of curses, which landed him in St Mungo's, severely injured and barely able to walk. At first, it was desk duty, and then Hastings decided to take a particular interest in his career, encouraging him to take the Inspector's exam. Hermione was promoted to Auror Inspector six months before Harry was, and he hated that it made him feel so bitter. By the time his promotion board rolled around in July of 2007, his friends were less excited, a fact they tried to conceal (yet did badly). They had celebrated Hermione's promotion already. It was a painful reminder that what had happened between him and Hermione had far-reaching ramifications, and their friends sometimes felt like they were caught in the aftermath of a querulous divorce. But Teddy, sweet Teddy, threw a surprise party for Harry with Mrs Weasley's help, and it reminded Harry all over of how much he loved his precious child.
Teddy gave everything meaning. He was why Harry worked so hard at his job, and what Harry looked forward to when he came home. What's going to happen when he's off to Hogwarts?
Harry attempted to shove the intrusive thought out of his brain by turning his attention back to Welch-Boone's folder.
Julian Welch-Boone, 30.
Birthplace: Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Parents: Richard Welch-Boone and Dorada Welch-Boone (nee Smith)
Education: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Ravenclaw House. British Academy of Magical Policing, Auror Academy.
There was nothing notable, Harry mused, as he stared at Welch-Boone's photo. He had an oddly shaped nose and a perfect combover that Harry found irritating. Even the personal statement was bland - Welch-Boone joined the Auror Corps when Harry was in his fifth year. Harry wondered what he did during the war, given his probationary year was when the Death Eaters had taken over the Ministry.
He wasn't going to accomplish anything this way and decided to do a little old-fashioned investigating. He walked over to the portion of the office where Special Forces sat, and grinned nonchalantly at them.
"Hiya," he said in greeting. A couple of Aurors looked up at him curiously.
"I'm looking for AC Ali, just got a couple of questions to finish up with the paperwork from yesterday," he said, trying to seem casual.
"She's at lunch," a blonde-haired man said, before returning to his work. Harry stood awkwardly before clearing his throat. The blonde man looked up again.
"Mind showing me where her desk is?"
The man pointed in the direction of the window and Harry walked over to it, looking for a placard or other evidence that would signify that it belonged to AC Ali.
AI Hermione J. Granger .
He stopped for a second to survey Hermione's desk. It was completely clear, save for some jars of ink, a couple of quills, a calendar, and two framed photographs: in one, she was with her parents on holiday in what looked like the south of France, and in the other, she was with Ginny and Luna, all laughing and grinning. A chocolate bar from what Harry knew to be an expensive chocolatier sat on the desk, with a note attached to it. The writing was almost too perfect, he thought, as he read the glittering green ink.
H -
P is a sanctimonious toff, and everyone knows it.
Forget him, you're a field of foxglove.
I love you,
Monty
Harry felt the blood rush to his head. Why was she talking to someone about her meeting with him? Did people really think he was acting too posh lately? The switch to waistcoats and suits was so that he could seem like any other parent who was dropping their child off at school before heading to work, and he rather liked the way he looked on him. And who, pray tell, was Monty?
She doesn't want you involved in her life, he had to remind himself, as he went in search of AC Ali's desk.
You were the one who walked away.
You need to stay out.
"AI Potter?" a voice interrupted Harry's thoughts.
ACI Sutherland-Reese's impossibly handsome face was smiling at him.
This tosser. Of course.
Why are all the higher-ups in Special Forces absolute wankers?
"Sir," Harry said, straightening up in attention.
"Oh please," Sutherland-Reese waved him off breezily. "We're not in a debrief. Everyone just calls me Reese. Anyway, what can I do you for?"
Harry smiled uncomfortably. "I'm looking for AC Ali. I have a couple of questions after yesterday's debriefing and I was hoping she could fill in some blanks."
"She's at lunch right now," Sutherland-Reese said, "But I could tell her you're looking for her when she gets back?"
"Err-right," Harry hated how awkward he sounded. "Right, that would be brilliant. Thanks."
As Harry walked out of Special Forces, he collided head-first with a moving object.
Hermione, who looked none too pleased to see him.
It had to be Hermione, because I'm clearly intent on making a bloody fool out of myself today.
"AI Potter," she said disdainfully, "Have all those hours at your desk maybe you incapable of noticing your surroundings?"
"S-s-sorry," he stammered.
He wished this was a game. He wished she was putting on a front and they were really friends outside of the office, or that maybe working together would have softened her up a bit, make a bit of room for possibly forgiving him. But the woman who used to be his best friend was standing there, looking up at him with a disgusted look on her face, and his heart broke all over again.
Only once he was seated back in his office, eating lunch at his desk, that he remembered the words in green. P is a sanctimonious toff, and everyone knows it.
Anger flooded him again as he stabbed miserably at his chicken.
Alright, Granger.
You think I'm just a desk-jockey? I'll show you.
Notes:
So... who snitched?
Harry says to Hermione, "Why do you let him do that?"
It is NOT Hermione's fault that Ron does this, but remember Harry has a history of defending Ron when Ron does shitty things and is embarking on a journey of learning not to protect Ron.
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