The canonical characters from the "Harry Potter" books and movies belong to Joanne K. Rowling, as does the Wizarding World and all associated concepts. Ms. Rowling is utterly unaware that I or my stories exist, and is probably happier for it. This story is written to serve as nothing more than an outlet for one of my hobbies. I'm doing it because I felt like it and am not planning to realize any sort of monetary award for it.
The plot for "Harry Potter & The Search For Peace" is mine.
Arthur Weasley entered the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic and walked towards his office. He was greeted by many of his colleagues. Most people at the Ministry had known him as a muggle loving man, with too many children. But now he was the father of two war heroes and family to two others. All his children had fought in the war but the youngest two had led from the front – Ginny leading the rebellion at Hogwarts and Ron leading from the very front, destroying pieces of Voldemort's soul.
Arthur was proud of his children, all of them, but it had hurt him a lot to see them grieving and in pain. They all had tried to hide it behind their smiles but it was still visible in the small acts. Harry, Ron and Hermione never wanted to be away from each other in the early days after the war. The three of them spent their nights in the sitting room of the Burrow and were often joined by George and Ginny.
Their fear had first made its appearance on the day of Fred's funeral. Andromeda Tonks had gone to wake Hermione up and the latter had screamed herself hoarse. Harry and Ron had been on her sides almost immediately, their wands out to attack. Harry had lowered his as quickly as he had drawn it out – he too had been tricked by Andromeda's looks earlier. Hermione had apologised to Andromeda who had just patted her back.
Arthur settled on the chair in his office. He had regained his previous job with some more added responsibility. He was now responsible for keeping the Muggle Prime Minister informed with the happenings of the Wizarding World – just the important ones. Kingsley did not want the Prime Minister to live in fear and confusion regarding the Wizarding World.
Arthur felt that Harry was the most affected of the lot. His nightmares were filled with You-Know-Who trying to kill his friends. He often dreamt of the night his parents were murdered. Arthur had also noticed how Ron and Hermione were beside him whenever he woke up from a nightmare. They would rub his hands, speak soothing words to him, remind him that not everyone he loves is gone. Harry was calmer in their presence and Ginny often teased them, calling Harry their adopted son.
Then there were Charlie and Percy, both of them lived with guilt. Percy felt that it should have been him, he was the one who had left the family. Charlie wondered if he had arrived earlier with the reinforcements, Fred and many others would have been alive. Arthur and Molly had talked to both of them and so had George. They had told Percy that they would not trade him for Fred. It should have been no one. They had a similar talk with Charlie. War was horrible and if one was stuck on what ifs, the world would never learn to smile again.
The loss of Fred had affected George the most. They had been like one person, no one thought they could ever be separated. Even in Molly's boggart which represented her dead family, Fred and George were together. And now one was gone forever. George often left his sentences incomplete, as if waiting for Fred to complete them. He looked lost most of the time. And while he had reopened the shop along with Percy, Arthur was sure George wasn't enjoying it as much as he would normally. Percy had been a bright student but he was not a mischief-maker.
Australia had been good for them. They had enjoyed their time, exploring the Wizarding and the Muggle worlds alike, behaving like young teenagers that they were. It had been Bill's idea to let all of them go and enjoy. Arthur had appreciated the plan. He had also thanked Fleur for taking care of the Golden Trio while they were on the run. She had dismissed it saying that they were family.
The one person whose presence had helped everyone recover was Teddy Lupin. That few months old child had the capability to bring smile to everyone's face. George would often sit with him and tell him about the Joke Shop, "He is the son of a marauder, he ought to know a thing or two about mischief making." The others would play with him for hours. Teddy's hairs often changed to match the person who was holding him. But whenever he was with Harry, he started looking like a younger version of Harry himself. It often made Hermione emotional. More than once he had heard her mutter to Ron, "How could someone not love this child?" Arthur was sure she wasn't talking about Teddy.
What had surprised Arthur the most was how comfortable Harry was with Teddy. He would sit with his Godson for hours listening to gibberish. He would hold the child and pace around until he fell asleep. Andromeda would sometimes floo call in the night for Harry, saying that Teddy had been crying. Harry would floo over to her place and next morning they would all hear how easily the boy calmed down in the presence of his Godfather.
Arthur had mentioned his surprise to Harry who had given him a sad smile and said, "I do what no one did for me." And that had made Arthur think. It was not a hidden fact that Harry and his relatives were not very fond of each other but to think that no one had helped the child and offered him love was a very upsetting thought. He had brought on the topic with Ron. He had also asked Ron why did he not want a cupboard under the stairs in the house at Godric's Hollow (Arthur had heard the conversation between Ron and Fleur). Ron had given him a smile that was perhaps sadder than Harry's but he said nothing. Arthur understood that Ron would not mention anything that Harry was not comfortable sharing. Arthur felt proud of the man his son had become.
When Harry and Ron reached the Auror Department, they were surprised to see so many of their friends. He could see Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil from Gryffindor House. He also saw his old girlfriend, Cho Chang and her present boyfriend, Michael Corner, along with Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones were also present. There were two others whom Harry couldn't recognize.
"Good morning everyone," Gawain Robards, the Head Auror greeted everyone. Beside him stood a few more senior aurors. "Most of you have fought in the war and are very much aware of what is at risk when you go after the Dark Wizards," Robards spoke, "For anyone who has no idea, it's your life that is at risk. There will be time when you will see death standing right in front of you, or see someone else die and if you are really unfortunate, you might have to kill someone. If these thoughts revolt you, leave."
No one moved. Robards observed them and nodded grimly. He asked them to introduce themselves, "I am not interested in your House or your blood status." Harry zoned out as his friends introduced themselves until he heard a snigger. He looked around and saw the two boys he hadn't recognized laughing at Lavender. His blood boiled.
"Is there a problem?" Robards asked them. They fell silent immediately but Robards was not about to let the matter go. "Do you find her scars funny, boys?" the Head Auror asked. One of them boys answered in negative and Harry immediately knew who he was – Cormac McLaggen. "How do you think she got the scars?" Another auror asked. No one muttered a word. But Harry found himself unable to remain silent. "She got them when she fought against the Death Eaters, when she rebelled at Hogwarts," he said in a strong voice. Robards nodded at him and gave McLaggen and the other boy a stare.