Chapter One
The house of a wizard is not so different from a house you or I may live in. Looking at one from the outside, you couldn't tell whether it was a magical or non-magical person that lived there. One of these houses sat directly in the middle of a street near the centre of London. If you went inside, you would find furniture like you have, and electrical appliances like you have. You may not even notice that this isn't a muggle house until you glance at the newspaper and see a man waving back at you. A man in purple robes, standing, straight-faced, in front of a large statue in a grand, ornate hall. You may glance at one of the many photographs on the mantelpiece and see a group of schoolchildren in robes, laughing with each other, surrounded by a gold frame with the letters 'D.A' engraved at the bottom. Even if you manage to not notice all of this, then the emerald flames bursting from the fire may be the sign you need. It was from these flames that a man wearing ruby-coloured robes emerged. His pupils dilated behind his round glasses as he adjusted to the room's darkness. He drew a short stick from his pocket and pointed it at the fire he had just emerged from. Two little balls of flame burst from the stick and ignited the logs that lay in the hearth. All at once, the brilliant intricacies of the house became clear. Books filled a shelf in the corner, a bright, crimson bird sat on a perch in the kitchen and, in pride of place above the mantelpiece, a large clock was hanging. However, this wasn't an ordinary clock. Instead of normal hands, this clock had faces with names engraved on them, and where there would normally be numbers, there were places; 'The Burrow', 'Work', 'Home', and other locations circled the face of the clock. The hand labelled 'Harry' clicked over to 'Home'. A large number of the hands rested at 'The Burrow', while the rest fell on 'Work'.
Harry brushed soot from his robes and stepped onto the carpet, leaving a slight trail of black as he made his way into the kitchen, dropping his cloak onto the hook by the door. The bird, called Fawkes, lifted his head for him to stroke it. Harry filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove, lighting the ring in a non-magical fashion. The water began to bubble as he disappeared upstairs, returning in muggle clothes as the kettle started to squeal on the hob. He poured himself a cup of tea and sat on an armchair, opening the newspaper that had 'The Daily Prophet' printed across the front. He had just taken his first sip of tea when, for the second time, the fire in the mantle, burst into an emerald green flame and someone stepped out. Harry jumped at the sudden flash of light and spilled hot tea down his leg. He cursed the figure and jumped up, rushing to his kitchen for a tea towel to wipe his trousers.
"For fuck sake!"
He turned back around and saw the red-headed girl that was now standing, wiping her own robes free of soot.
"Oh," he continued to wipe his jean leg., "hi Ginny."
"You've got news for me."
"Yeah well you can wait until I've cleaned myself up."
"Oh, stop sulking it's only a bit of tea."
"Yeah, boiling hot tea. On my leg."
"Well go and clean yourself up then before I just go and ask Hermione instead."
He stopped wiping his leg, deciding instead to just change.
"Turn around then while I put these in the wash."
She turned her head away and Harry bent down to slip his jeans off. When he looked back up, she was staring at him, biting her lip.
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all," she winked.
He rolled his eyes, throwing his trousers in the washing machine and turning it on.
"I'll be two seconds."
He disappeared upstairs, leaving Ginny to stroke Fawkes, softly murmuring to him. When he leapt back down the stairs a minute later, she was flicking through the Daily Prophet absent-mindedly. She looked up when his feet hit the carpet once more, her eyes filling with excitement.
"Come on then," she pulled him by the hand to the armchair, sitting on the sofa opposite, "what's the news?"
"Well. Kingsley called me into his office earlier and I didn't know why. I thought I could be in trouble because of that incident with Malfoy in the ministry the other day."
Ginny looked confused.
"Did Ron not tell you? Malfoy was in the ministry the other day with more information about his dad. I bumped into him in the lift and things got a bit heated."
"Yeah well, he probably deserved it."
"Not really," Harry contemplated for a second before continuing, "anyway, he called me in and said I've got the head Auror job if I want it."
"What about Prott?"
"Fired apparently. We all knew it was coming anyway, he was useless."
She broke into an excitable smile.
"Well done Harry!"
She jumped up and hugged him, squeezing tightly.
"Ginny," he wheezed, "can't breathe."
"Sorry," she released him.
He gave a small chuckle.
"Do you want a cup of tea or something?" he offered.
"You're coming with me," she pulled him to his feet, "mum would kill me if I didn't bring you home to tell her."
"Fine," he sighed, "I don't have much food here anyway."
"You cheeky prick," she shoved him.
"You know I'm her favourite," he winked.
She rolled her eyes and dragged him towards the fireplace, throwing a handful of floo powder into the grate.
"The Burrow!" she shouted before they both stepped forward and the room swirled around them as they were engulfed.
The flames dropped away, and Harry found himself in a completely different room. This was a kitchen. A very lopsided looking kitchen. A similar clock hung on the opposite wall but, other than that, it couldn't have looked more different. The family of redheaded wizards sitting at the table made that very clear.
"Harry!" the woman at one end of the table exclaimed as she left her seat and strode towards him.
Her lips left two wet patches on Harry's cheeks as she hugged him. He hugged back, not having seen her for a week now. The other Weasleys at the table, each with a steaming bowl of stew in front of them, only nodded or hummed a greeting to him. He couldn't blame them, Mrs Weasley's cooking was enough to distract anyone. She bustled him towards the table, summoning another chair with her wand. Before he could talk to anyone else at the table, his own bowl of stew was thrust in front of him, wiping all thoughts from his mind with its warmth.
Chatter started around the table as people started to finish their food. Harry had lost count of all the times he retold his news by the time the table was cleared and he, Ron, Ginny and George filtered into the garden.
"I can't believe you're my boss," Ron stated for the third time.
"Yes, you can," Ginny replied.
"Yeah, maybe I can."
They spent the next hour lounging on the grass, talking about work, school days and anything else they felt like. It was only as he stood to leave that the weight of his new position hit him. The wizarding world had become more and more anxious to clean up the country of death eaters that remained after Voldemort's downfall. This was, after all, the very reason his predecessor was fired, leading to his promotion.
He announced his departure to Molly and Arthur in the living room, prompting another Mrs Weasley attack of affection. When she released him, he said his goodbyes to the others and stepped into the kitchen. A brown pot stood on the mantelpiece, from which, Harry scooped up a handful of floo powder. Just before he could throw it into the flames that were jumping in the fireplace, a hand landed on his arm, spinning him around. It was Ginny, grinning up at him.
"Good luck Harry,"
He couldn't keep from smiling.
"Cheers Gin,"
He noticed her eyes flutter slightly at the old pet name. He pulled her into a hug, now noticing how much smaller she felt in his arms. They had both grown since school but, in the last year, he had grown not just taller, but stockier. The rigorous Auror training had made sure he had very little fat on him as well as very little time to relax, leading to a toned physique that he had only just recently noticed as he finished his training and spent more time with the others. It had felt good for five months to be able to see them and catch up with some other old friends too. However, that time was about to disappear again. This promotion would mean longer hours. At least he could still see Ron and Hermione at work.
As he shook his head of these thoughts, he realised he had released Ginny, leaving a confused expression on her face as she watched Harry stare into space for a second.
"You alright Harry?"
He blinked a few times, noticing how heavy his eyelids felt.
"Just need some sleep I think," he responded before turning back to the fireplace, "See you later."
And with that, he stepped into the green flames that burst forth from the powder, and he was gone.
His feet landed back on solid ground and his eyes adjusted to the dark of his living room. He didn't bother turning on the light and headed straight for the stairs and up to bed, falling asleep still thinking of his newfound responsibilities.
…
The next day, he woke early, noticing the lack of light behind his curtains. Pulling them open, he watched the square of grass outside stare back at him, equally devoid of colour. Slowly, Harry washed and got changed, struggling to keep his eyes open. They were still bleary when he arrived at work and made his way towards the Auror Office where he was greeted by a nervous looking Hermione, who pulled him into his new office and hugged him excitedly.
"I can't believe you're the new Head Auror!" she squealed.
Harry yawned in response, causing Hermione to frown.
"You're clearly excited," she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"I woke up early," he managed to say through another yawn.
Harry sat down at his desk, leaning back as he felt his eyes start to close…
A hard smack on his shoulder jolted him upright again.
"Bloody well wake up," she huffed, "Ron will be here in a minute. I can't wait to see how he reacts."
"He already knows."
The smile dropped from her face.
"How?" she demanded.
"Ginny came to mine last night,"
"Oh yeah?" Hermione's eyebrows raised once more.
Harry rolled his eyes in response.
"She was demanding I tell her my news. Don't ask me how she knew."
"Maybe her dad," Hermione said mostly to herself.
"I don't know. Anyway, after I told her, she dragged me round to the Burrow where I obviously had to retell it to all fifty people that live in that house."
Hermione smiled slightly before turning as if someone had just knocked.
"There he is," she pointed.
Ron was clumsily making his way to his desk, arms full of folders and files which he dumped down with a loud thump. Noticing Hermione in the office, he waved, before weaving his way between the desks and, after a couple of stumbles, pulled the office door open and stepped inside. He hugged Hermione, but pulled away awkwardly after a second, instead turning his attention to Harry.
"Reckon you could get me an office like this?" he grinned.
"Bring me a couple of Death Eaters and I might," Harry replied, smiling.
Ron and Hermione's expressions changed at this, bearing a look of concern.
"Have you thought about what you're going to do about that?" Hermione asked.
"I only got the job yesterday," he said, "I'm not going to walk in on my first day with Lucius Malfoy in handcuffs."
"Well not in muggle handcuffs, no," she smiled.
He rolled his eyes at her joke.
"You should be catching him soon anyway," she continued, "if you listen to Malfoy, that is."
"I can't believe your lot are trusting that slimy git," Ron huffed.
"It's not a matter of trust," she replied shortly, "he has yet to give us an unreliable lead."
"We've only found one ex-death eater in two years and he blew himself up," he said, "do you really think that's all the information he has?"
"Yes, I do!" she snapped, grabbing the door handle, "Harry could I see you in my office about 12?"
He nodded, scared not to, and she yanked the door open, crossing the room in seconds and disappearing out of sight.
"What's up with her?" Ron asked, turning back to Harry.
He shrugged, "If she trusts Malfoy's information, then I'm inclined to as well."
Ron looked slightly annoyed that he didn't agree with him.
"She isn't stupid, Ron."
"What and I am?" he sighed, dropping down in the chair across from Harry.
"You are if you forget that you're an Auror," he replied, "you passed all the tests just like me."
Ron shrugged.
"You're not stupid, you're just a stubborn git," Harry chuckled.
Ron smirked reluctantly before standing, "I better get to work. Not that we're doing much."
"Have a go at the Notts," Harry suggested, "we have the report from the search of their house that you can go over if you want?"
"Yeah alright," Ron replied, looking pleased that he actually had something to do.
"Oh, and Ron," Harry called as he was about to close the door.
"Yeah?" he poked his head back around the door.
"Get me a cup of tea," he grinned.
"Piss off!" Ron laughed, closing the door and heading to his desk.
Harry chuckled to himself before looking around at his new office. The great wooden desk sat against one wall, where he sat, he could see out to all the desks of his team. He watched as a few more Aurors filtered in, taking their seats silently. That would have to change.
…
"Hello everyone," Harry stood at the front of the room in front of his full workforce, "as you've probably realised, there has been a bit of a change in positions."
He saw Ron smirking at his newfound professionalism.
"I have now taken the position of Head Auror after Prott was removed," he continued, "unfortunately, his failure to act with any sense of urgency has led to a group of ex-Death Eaters that have hidden themselves from us. Thankfully, Miss Granger of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement put the block in place around central London. Without that, I fear we would have had no chance of catching any of those that terrorised our world almost three years ago."
A few of the Aurors held sombre looks as he mentioned the war; so many of them had lost family and friends to the people they now hunted. These days, it would be impossible to find anyone that hadn't.
"In my new position, I aim to do everything I can to catch these people and bring them to justice," a few people nodded, "I will be going over all of the old reports to find anything that my predecessor may have missed. In the meantime, I want to encourage an active department. Please talk to each other. Cooperation is how we get things done, so talk to your desk neighbour, talk to the new recruits," he gestured to a couple of young-looking witches that had recently been hired to help around the department.
"most of all," he continued, "talk to me. Prott let us down. I'm not sure I had one conversation with him in my year of working here. I implore you to talk to me about your cases, your ideas, and even your home life. We should be a tight unit, not a bunch of drones, filling in paperwork."
He finished his speech and silence fell for a second. In that second, he doubted everything he had just said, wondering if that was what they wanted to hear. Was it too much?
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when the office began to clap. He smiled as he saw every worker applauding his new plan. Thank god! He glanced over at Ron who was clapping the loudest of everyone. Harry nodded his head towards his office before stepping inside, Ron following him.
"Fucking hell mate!" Ron grabbed him into a hug, "that was brilliant!"
"Cheers," Harry smiled.
"That's what being an Auror sounded like in school," he said, releasing Harry.
"I guess that quidditch captain training came in handy," Harry laughed.
…
Hermione had secured her position as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in a staggering amount of time, joining the ministry two months after the war and getting the top spot just five months after. Harry had visited her office many times over the years, but never in a professional capacity. Many times, he had dropped in to see her, or met her there before going for a drink after work. This time though, was very different.
"How is it going?" she asked as he stepped through the door.
"Well I got a round of applause this morning," he smiled.
She rolled her eyes, "this is going to go straight to your head."
"Already has," he laughed as he sat down opposite her, "everything alright around here?"
"As good as can be expected," she sighed, "there's been a big problem in Manchester this past week. Lots of drugs being sold that we found out are magical, and not too much fun for whoever takes them."
"What happens to them?"
"Well let's just say your Aunt Marge wouldn't look out of place in Manchester right now."
Harry winced as he remembered the time he had accidentally inflated his Aunt like a balloon.
"It's been a lot of work getting full nightclubs obliviated."
Harry noticed she did look rather tired. The bags under her eyes reminded him of when they took their NEWT exams, and she had stayed up for days on end, studying.
"Have you managed to track down the source?" he asked.
"That's why I called you here actually," she replied, "we think it's Yaxley."
"The one who chased us through the ministry?" Harry asked, remembering the time he, Hermione and Ron had used Polyjuice potion to infiltrate the ministry during the war, escaping with a horcrux, but Ron suffering a splinched arm due to Yaxley grabbing them as they tried to use the floo network to escape.
Hermione nodded, "we got our hands on the drug and it's made of a rare magical plant. We found out that the ministry held every specimen of the plant when Voldemort took it over."
"So he grabbed it after the Battle of Hogwarts?"
"I assume he knew his Dark Lord wasn't going to save him anymore and he decided his best move was to steal the plant and escape, selling it as drugs to muggles. We think he's probably making a lot of money from this."
"Why are people buying it?" Harry asked.
"Apparently, it feels like the greatest drug ever."
"For the first few times?" Harry asked.
"Precisely," she answered, "he has people buying this in bulk to sell to muggle dealers."
"Bit of a fall from grace," Harry said.
"He's desperate," she nodded, "you wouldn't even be hearing about this if he wasn't an ex-Death Eater."
"Do you want us to find him?" he asked.
"No need," she opened a draw and pulled a large file from it, dropping it down on the desk.
Hermione pulled a map from the folder and pointed. Harry leaned forward and looked down at it..
"We already have."