Harry walked into the Auror Office at 7:00 am. He was as usual early, but he wasn't that worried. The Aurors were used to him arriving early by now, so he put his bag down in the Intern Room and headed towards the Casting Range. He had found that some time on the Casting Range was a good way to fully wake up. He'd started doing this on his third morning as it was also a good way to pass the time until Ron and Hermione arrived.
As he stepped through the tough wooden door that led into the range, he thought about the pretty red head that he had been talking with yesterday about the links between the magical and muggle worlds. No, not pretty- she was beautiful he thought as he made his way up to a booth. He wasn't really sure what to do with this line of thinking. He'd never even thought about girls in that way but then realistically the only girl that he really talked to was Hermione and she was more like a sister to him than anything else. He wasn't really sure what to do about Susan, but he swore that he would think on it later. He drew his wand and called up the first target.
He immediately snapped a curse at the first target that had a dark cloaked individual on it and was pleased to see that he hit the chest. Their mentors had taught them that the skill level of an opponent was the indicator of where you should aim. If a target was very unskilled then you should either aim for the head or for the centre of the chest as they were the best ways to disable an opponent without inflicting serious injuries, as long as you didn't use a spell or curse that had too much power behind it.
If your opponent was of either equivalent or superior skill, then it was a good idea to aim for the legs as this would lower their mobility and make them an easier target. Mad-Eye had given them the examples of himself and Head Auror Scrimgeour. He had explained that when he caught the Lestranges, and Crouch Junior Bellatrix had aimed at his leg and had actually cursed it off therefore limiting his mobility and he further explained that it was her arrogance that had cost her.
He'd explained that for many Dark Wizards and Witches, their greatest weakness was their arrogance and their cruelty. Many of them couldn't resist an opportunity to gloat or to showcase their own power and cruelty. He had stated that the Lestranges were a perfect example of this as if they had been smart then they would have left as soon as they had "finished" with the Longbottoms. Mad-Eye had said this last part with a look of loathing and disgust on his face that was quite frightening, even too Harry.
In Scrimgeour's case he had explained that a Death Eater named Wilkes had hit Scrimgeour in the back of the legs when he was fighting Antonin Dolohov. The curse had caused severe damage and he had only been saved by the intervention of Frank Longbottom who drove Dolohov off. Scrimgeour had recovered and had hunted Wilkes down and killed him with a curse that was so powerful that Mad-Eye had stated they "just hosed what was left of him down the nearest drain" causing the three of them to gulp nervously. It had been a real shock to see how devastating the spells of a light wizard could be when used with sufficient force. Mad-Eye had further elaborated that this was why they told them to be so disciplined with what they learned. Any spell no matter how harmless can be potentially fatal if cast with strong negative emotions or with a desire to cause harm.
One reason that Auror interns were not usually taken on until at least their OWL year was because they already had the required maturity to know when to use and when not to use dangerous spells. This was why, he said, that Hogwarts students were only taught defensive magic rather than offensive magic. He also added, when Hermione had asked why Auror Scrimgeour now had a limp, that some dark curses had degenerative properties that over time would either further injury or weaken the injured part of the body further, as had happened in Scrimgeour's case. It was why cursing someone was such a serious thing even when the curse used was effectively harmless.
He snapped another curse at the next target and carried on in this way for about twenty minutes until he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around wand drawn and found Kingsley Shacklebolt looking at him with an amused expression.
"Morning Harry, Alastor would be proud" he said gesturing to the drawn wand and smile causing Harry to drop his wand and holster it.
"Morning Kingsley" he said, and the black man smiled at him before looking at the targeting hit scoreboard and whistling.
"89 out of 100 perfect hits is very good, Harry" he said with a smile and Harry blushed at the praise. Growing up with the Dursley's and years of never ceasing criticism had left him a little uncomfortable with praise but he was getting there since he started at Hogwarts.
"I wasn't really keeping track" he said, and it was true he hadn't been keeping an eye on his score he had simply been casting at the targets that appeared. It had been good to get a rhythm going and it helped to pass the time. It was also helpful in working on his accuracy. Mad-Eye, Kingsley and Tonks had taught them the Aurors three basic tenets of spellcasting. Speed. Power, Accuracy.
Without one the other two were at best less effective and at worse a danger to your own side. Casting spells quickly was fine, but you needed to get enough power behind them to make them effective then you had to make sure that you were accurate as Dark Wizards had a nasty habit of using civilians as human shields. This meant that accuracy was especially important as hitting civilians was unacceptable. They had been told never to cast an offensive spell unless they were sure that it is going to hit what they were aiming for. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Kingsley.
"Well, it's a very good score" he said "I'm glad to see that the training we've given you is starting to pay off" and Harry smiled. He was truly proud of what he had accomplished and what he had learned so far. He wasn't just pleased about his ability to cast spells; he was also proud that he understood magic a lot better. Concepts and theory from Charms and Transfiguration that had left him either clueless or seeking Hermione's help before now seemed to make so much more sense. He was hoping that he would be able to actually advance in his subjects next year rather than just keep up like he usually did.
"Thank you" he said.
"You're welcome" Kingsley said "now come on were starting you on something new and a bit different today" he said as he they headed back to the Intern Room where both Ron and Hermione had now arrived.
"Morning" he said and received good mornings from both of them. He went to speak to them, but they were interrupted by Mad-Eye.
"Now, you three today were going to be covering something a bit different but nonetheless useful to an Auror" and the three of them looked at him with interest.
"Now, what do the three of you know about Runes and Arithmancy?" Harry and Ron just looked at Hermione who began speaking.
"Traditional runes are a letter or character in the written languages of several ancient Germanic peoples such as the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons. Magically, runes are used in nearly everything. Once transcribed onto an object they can then be imbued with power and are used to power and run most magical devices. I also know that they can be used for defensive and offensive purposes but I'm not really sure how they do that" she finished.
"That was spot on, Granger" grunted Mad-Eye and Hermione blushed.
"And Arithmancy?" he asked.
"Arithmancy focuses on the magical property of numbers and how magic itself works. Its rather complicated whilst at the same time being quite simple, if that makes sense" she said with a nervous look at the end.
"Correct again," said Moody.
"Now both runes and Arithmancy are extremely useful to an Auror for a variety of reasons. Runes are exceptionally useful as quite often we need to take down defensive wards as well as the simple fact that many dark spells are written in runes, meaning that Aurors need to be able to read runes to understand what curse or enchantments that a dark witch or wizard has used. Runes can also be used to set up protective enchantments that and to research ancient dark magic that a suspect may be using" he paused to take a sip from his flask.
"Arithmancy, as Granger stated is the study of the magical properties of numbers and of how magic itself works. This, in my experience and career, has saved my ass many times through aiding in spell creation. When a suspect is especially dangerous or ingenious it can require you to create either a full-blown spell of your own or to modify an existing spell to suit your purposes. Always remember that magic is nebulous and has no set way in which it must be used. It can be modified if you are skilled enough although we are not expecting you to be able to create or modify spells at all" he said.
"Today we are going to have you translate runic magic and calculate the arithmetical formula of a few common spells and jinxes. Now, Potter, Weasley we don't expect you two to get it perfect the first time" he said with a encouraging look as he waved his wand and a couple of books flew towards each of them along with a few roles of parchment.
They each got up and moved to sit at one of the two person tables that were at the back of the room. As he sat, he was joined by Mad-Eye who pointed towards the Arithmancy book first. Harry wordlessly opened the book and began looking through the various equations that were on the page.
"Now lad, first things first we have to decide what spell that you're going to do" he said before adding "Lets start with the Wand-Lighting Charm" and Harry nodded. He looked down at the book entitled 'A Beginners Guide to European Arithmancy and Numerology' and read the theory sections.
"In the field of Arithmancy and most especially the field of Numerology the meaning and power of numbers has long been debated and discussed by Arithmancers. There is no simple way of classifying Numerology in a magical sense as there are differences based on alphabet and the various parts of the magical community scattered across the world. The simplest too learn for a European is the Latin alphabet and the numerical values of the letters present in most European languages. As nearly all spells taught in the Northern Hemisphere are taught in English with Latin incantations it is essential that a European student first learn and become familiar with the properties and values of Latin letters. The Pythagorean Numerology or Western Numerology as it is also known is the first step to becoming an Arithmancer for a European."
He reread the theory a few times before he looked at the list of numbers and the letters that were assigned to each number.
"1= a,j,s,
2= b,k,t
3= c,l,u,
4= d,m,v,
5= e,n,w,
6= f,o,x,
7= g,p,y,
8= h,q,z,
9= i,r,
Newcomers should remember that the numerical value will spell out the incantation exactly. It should also be noted that simpler spells have a lower overarching value whilst more complex spells have a higher value although there are exemptions to this rule.
Okay he thought if the incantation is spelt out by the number properties, then the arithmatical formula for this spell is just Lumos's letters and their numbers. So, L=3 as does u. M=4, O=6 and S=1 so Lumos's arithmatical theory is:
3,3,4,6,1 so it overarching value is 17.
He marked it down on the parchment before moving onto the next spell. After a couple of hours he had managed to calculate the formulas of over two dozen spells including a few jinxes. When their mentors called for a halt, he handed over his rolls of parchment to Mad-Eye and went to sit with Ron and Hermione.
"How did you find that?" asked Hermione excitedly, they both knew that Arithmancy was her favourite subject.
"I actually found that to be pretty good" he said, and Hermione smiled before turning to Ron.
"It was alright I guess but I did get confused a few times" he said, and his face turned red as he spoke.
"Its fine Ron" said Hermione "Arithmancy is not easy, and it is hard to get to grips with" she said as she gave him a smile.
"Okay" said Kingsley as the three mentors returned from where they were reviewing their work. The three of them sat forward eagerly.
"We've gone through your Arithmancy equations and overall, you've all done very well especially Harry and Hermione" he said "Now Ron don't worry we'll help you improve" he said with a reassuring smile as Ron just shook his head.
"It's fine maths was never my strong point" he said with a look of acceptance causing Kingsley to smile and give him a nod.
"Now" said Kingsley in his deep, baritone voice "we are going to go through the use of runes and runic magic in an Aurors duties". Hermione immediately perked up at this and both Ron and Harry smiled.
"Now then, can any of you tell me what runes are?" he asked politely, and Hermione answered.
"Runes are symbols with a variety of values. Some are letters, others are numbers, and some are words. They can also be used for defensive purposes, and I recall Professor Babbling mentioning that most ancient magics were written in runes" she said, and Kingsley smiled.
"Very good, Hermione" he said "now runes are still used every day by wizards" he said "the prisoners at Azkaban have their placards in runes and many advanced magical devices such as broomsticks require runes to function" he finished.
"Today, we simply want to see whether you can translate runes for us" he said.
Kingsley waved his wand and again a book and a few rolls of parchment shot off the table and landed on the smaller tables at the back. Like before they each made their way towards one of the desks and sat down. Harry heard Mad-Eye thump his way towards him before sitting down in the seat across from him.
Harry opened the book which turned out to be entitled the Rune Dictionary that he vaguely remembered Hermione using last year. He looked at the page of runes and saw that they wanted the numbers and a variety of runes from something called the Elder Futhark. He opened the book and found that all of the numbers were on a single page. He quickly copied them down before turning to the Elder Futhark section. After about ten minutes of reading, it became clear that the runes that he needed to translate were letters. He quickly completed the translations and about thirty minutes after they had started Kingsley called a halt.
"Okay" he said as he summoned their books and parchments "now we'll go through your runes work" he said as he, Tonks and Moody sat at a table on the other side of the room. Harry made his way over to Ron and Hermione who again asked how they'd found it. She beamed as they both told her that it was really quite simple and that they had actually enjoyed it. After about ten minutes their mentors came back to them.
"Well done to all of you" said Kingsley "you all did really well".
"Now" said Mad-Eye "aside from the reasons that Kingsley mentioned can any of you think of a reason why and how runes are part of our work?". There was silence for a moment until surprisingly Ron spoke
"Many curses especially really old ones are cast using runes and according to my brother Bill they are often used in mixtures of multiple runes to make them harder to break. The same goes for charms and protective enchantments" he finished, and Moody looked pleased.
"Correct" he said "I've run into a few nasty situations where exactly that method was used especially by some of my more dangerous targets".
"Now then. The training that we provide you isn't just to teach you what an Auror does. The vast majority of interns see an improvement in their academic performance as well. So, Potter, Weasley I would advise that you both consider switching your electives" he said causing him to say
"I didn't even know that you could"
"You can provided that you show at least some competency in whichever subject you wish to switch too"
"What subject do you think that I should switch too?" he asked.
"I would actually suggest that you take both Arithmancy and Runes lad whilst you Weasley I believe that you should switch to Runes and Muggle Studies" he said and Ron gaped at him as if the thought of taking three electives was mad.
"Why" he stuttered.
"Well, Weasley you have shown to be very good with runes especially when we have used them in awarding and as for Muggle Studies you have two muggle raised best friends that can help you" he said and both Harry and Hermione nodded.
"As for you Potter you have shown to also be skilled with runes especially when it comes to curses and as for Arithmancy you have shown that you understand numerology well in addition to understanding magical formula" he said and added "plus both subjects are more highly valued than Divination, which lets face it you both had made clear that you think it is a waste of time as well as the fact that you will both benefit from studying these branches of magic or in your case the Muggle world Weasley. I would also suggest that you keep Care of Magical Creatures at it is also very highly valued as magical creatures are a lot more common than people think they are".
"Okay but how do we actually change our electives?" he asked, and it was Hermione who answered.
"You just have to write to Professor McGonagall, and she will check with the other teachers if that is doable although you may have to sit some kind of test to prove that you are competent and not too far behind".
"Well then" he said before a thought struck him "I think that I'll write to Lupin and ask his opinion" he said with a look that he hoped both Ron and Hermione noticed that indicated he was going to ask Sirius as well.
"And I'll ask my dad" he said before adding "he'll be pleased that I'm dropping Divination at least" he said with a look that said he was glad that he was dropping it.
"Good" said Kingsley with a smile causing Moody to nod gruffly before speaking "We'll have a break now whilst we prepare for the next session" as he, Kingsley and Tonks exited the room to arrange whatever they were doing next.
Harry waited a couple of minutes before casting a handy little privacy charm that Mad-Eye had taught them and turning to Ron and Hermione.
"Are you going to write to Sirius, Harry?" asked Hermione quietly with a look around them before she spoke.
"Yeah, although I am actually going to write to Lupin" he said and Hermione smiled.
"Lupin will probably know what to do" she said before looking at Ron.
"I'll help you both get up to speed don't worry" she said with a reassuring look that caused Ron to give a relieves sigh.
-X-X-X-X-X-
"What should we try them with next?" said Tonks as they reached Mad-Eye's cubicle. Although she was a fully qualified Auror she was still unblooded and the baby of the Office in the eyes of many. She had been hoping to get a good case to prove that she was worthy of the title of Auror, but it had been a quiet summer so far and with the Quidditch World Cup coming up there wasn't much chance that the Junior Auror would get given a case.
It was because of this that she had been assigned as an Auror mentor for the summer. She wasn't really expected to mentor Ron into an Auror but to watch and learn whilst Mad-Eye and Kingsley mentored the three of them as she learned from two of the best in the business how to teach and instruct. She was fortunate that she was good at Transfiguration and healing magic although with her metamorphic abilities and her general clumsiness both were essential.
Another thing that held her back in her own opinion was her metamorphic abilities. However useful they were her abilities were still viewed as abnormal by some. The Ministers Senior Undersecretary, Madam Umbitch, Umbridge she mentally corrected hastily, had called her a freak who was unfit to work for the Ministry though fortunately Madam Bones had overruled her and allowed her to enter BART which she had passed with flying colours apart from the stealth portions that she knew were going to be a disaster.
Her family connections had also been a problem but unsurprisingly being the niece of the Lestranges and the Malfoy's hadn't exactly endeared her to her fellow Aurors especially those who were veterans of the war and friends of the Longbottoms. She's had some issues at Hogwarts as well but fortunately most of her fellow students hadn't blamed her for her relatives' crimes.
She had been lucky that the three interns hadn't had a problem with her but then again, they seemed like an unusual group themselves. A muggleborn, a blood traitor and the Boy-Who-Lived would have had plenty of reason to hate her but they actually seemed to like her, and she was pleased by this. They seemed like a good group and according to Kingsley it was rare to get groups of interns there was usually only about one every few years who was up to the job. Heck the majority of serving Aurors were never interns and neither was she. It was an honour, and they were coping with it brilliantly so far.
She didn't know much about Hermione, but she did know that Ron's family had a habit for being magically extremely talented, up in the top five in terms of raw power whilst they lacked wealth his skill was not surprising all things considered. Harry's family on the other hand was one of only five families with both money and high amounts of magical power. The Potter's along with the Longbottoms, Bones', Malfoy's and Blacks were all noted as being rich and powerful at least when compared to other families with the potter rated number one in terms of raw magical power.
She had been shocked when a Fourth Year had left Mad-Eye flat on his back and then proceed to defeat all three of them along with his friends in battle drills. It was unheard of for interns to work this well together so soon and for them to be as fluid in action. Heck, they were more in tune than most of the Hit Wizard Teams that she had seen. If she hadn't been there in person, she would never have believed that a trio of fourth years could defeat three Aurors even under limited conditions.
The fact that they had done so admirably was a testament to them and she hoped that they continued on in this thread for the rest of the summer. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Kingsley speaking.
"I was thinking that maybe we should give them some actual assignments to do around the Office" he said "Because so far all we've done with them is training and I think that they could do with a little break" he finished, and Moody nodded.
"Aye that's a good idea plus we've all got damn paperwork to catch up on" he said with a grimace that not even half a century of service had stamped out. Paperwork was and always would be the bane of the Auror Office.
"What do you think Tonks?" asked Kingsley and she thought for a moment before speaking.
"I think it'll be good for them" she said "It'll show them that an Aurors life isn't all spellfire and chasing suspects".
"All right then what shall we start them with?" asked Kingsley causing Tonks to shrug.
"How about sending them to the Archives to retrieve some case files? That's an equally boring and time-consuming endeavour that should give them a break from training."
Kingsley smiled whilst Moody nodded.
"Alright then I guess we're all going to be stuck at our desks for the remainder of the day then" he said with a grimace that she and Kingsley both matched.
"Just great"
-X-X-X-X-X-
They were idly chattering away when their mentors re-entered the room causing them to cease talking at once.
"All right you three for the rest of today and possibly a little while after we're going to have you carry out several assignments around the Ministry for us to familiarise yourselves with the way that the Ministry is run and how each department functions" said Mad-Eye and Harry felt a bit shocked that they were supposed to walk around the Ministry so quickly. He didn't know the way or who the various department heads were.
"Now, don't worry were not going to have you running errands for long or taking paperwork up to the idiot that we call Minister" said causing Harry and Ron to start snickering whilst Hermione burst into giggles. He was surprised to see that Tonks was struggling not to laugh and that even Kingsley was cracking an amused smile.
Mad-Eye waited for the laughing to subside before he continued "To start you off were sending you to the archives to gather a few case files for us" he said causing the each to perk up. Finding files in an archive didn't sound so bad compared to talking to Department Heads.
"Granger you'll be gathering some case files on a witch named Branka Fyodorov" Hermione nodded.
"Weasley you'll be gathering files on a scoundrel by the name of Allan Martins" Ron also nodded.
"And finally Potter you'll be gathering files on Sirius Black" said Moody and Harry exchanged glances with both Hermione and Ron before nodding at Mad-Eye. Inside his head was spinning somewhat. He had a chance to see what the Ministry files said about Sirius! Maybe he could help him by finding something that could exonerate him then he wouldn't be stuck with the Dursley's anymore!
"Potter pay attention" growled Moody pulling him out of his musing abruptly as Moody gave him a curious look before going back to Ron and Hermione.
"Now the archives are located off of the Atrium on Level Eight." said Mad-Eye and they all nodded.
"Well off you go then" he said with a wave of hid hand towards the door causing them to shoot up and hurry from the room. If Mad-Eye gave you an order it was best to follow it quickly.
-X-X-X-X-X-
"Well now that their off its back to our desks then" said Tonks with a sigh causing Kingsley to just shake his head although he could tell that he was amused. Both of them looked at Moody to see that he wasn't amused but had a very serious look on his face as he looked at them.
"Are you alright, Alastor?" asked Kingsley with a look.
"Did you notice their reaction when I told Potter to get me the files on Black?"
"No not really I wasn't really paying attention to their faces" admitted Kingsley whilst Tonks just shook her head.
"The look that they gave each other when I mentioned Black was unusual" he said with a hint of uncertainty.
"Unusual in what way?" questioned Kingsley.
"It was almost as if…they knew something or they were sharing an unspoken thought" he said with a look of uncertainty. Usually, only people who understood each other completely would be able to pass thoughts wordlessly but from what he had observed Potter, Granger and Weasley fit the bill for being able to do that.
Kingsley and Tonks shared a look before Tonks spoke "Well I did hear off Charlie that there was an incident with Black earlier this year in which those three were involved although he was unable to provide me with any details as apparently Ron was tight-lipped about it. All he was able to tell me was that at least one teacher, a Professor Lupin, who I vaguely recall as being a close friend of the Potters, being involved".
"If something happened with Black and they had a look as if they knew each other then maybe…" Kingsley gave a small gasp before looking at them both who looked at him with worry. The usually stoic man gave them what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he spoke "what if what we think we know about Black and his crimes is even not everything that happened or is simply not true".
Tonks' jaw dropping caused a loud thud to echo around the room before she recalled it to her face whilst Moody gave him a contemplative look before his magical eye started spinning at an alarming rate, one of the few habits that Moody had was that his eye spun rapidly when he was thinking intently.
"It would make sense" growled Mad-Eye "I think we can all say that no one is really sure what happened that night and considering how quickly Black was sent to Azkaban I doubt that any interrogation was that extensive especially considering how short staffed we were at the time" causing Kingsley to nod. The year after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been one of the most hectic since the fall of Grindelwald with everyone in not just the Auror Office but the Ministry in general working overtime for almost a full year.
"Should we talk to them about it when they get back?" asked Tonks nervously and he didn't blame her for being nervous. This was big even for him and he'd been an Auror since before Tonks mother was born and Tonks had been two when Kingsley joined the Office. He looked at Kingsley and saw that he had a look of uncertainty that didn't suit him on his face. This was a huge thing for not just the investigation into Black's whereabouts but to the Wizarding World as a whole.
Black was very wealthy and had possessed connections that had been useful back during the war although if he was innocent, it would cause a shitstorm in the Ministry's upper ranks especially if he hadn't had a trial or he had been sent to Azkaban without proper procedure then heads were going to roll as well as Fudge looking like more of an idiot than he already was. Add in that he had escaped from Azkaban and there was going to be hell over it.
"I don't think that we should talk to them yet" he said addressing Tonks' original question. "At least until we know more and I seriously doubt that those three will share it with us" he said and Kingsley nodded.
"Plus, I seriously doubt the stories of three teenagers even if their interns and even with Potters influence will persuade anyone that their telling the truth".
"I actually recall hearing the Minister saying to his staff that Black had apparently confunded the three of them at the end of the last Hogwarts year" said Kingsley whilst rubbing his chin with his hand.
"Anyway" he sighed "We better get on with that parchmentwork or it's never going to get done" he sighed and was pleased to see that his two colleagues were giving him weak smiles, so at least he had brought their morale up.
"Isn't that the truth" sighed Tonks as she stood up and stretched before making her way towards the door quickly followed by Kingsley who still looked in deep thought, but he'd be alright. Dreading the next few hours of tedious boredom, he stood up grasped his staff in his hand and walked to his cubicle.