A/N:
This first chapter sets up the story by filling in the blanks. The subsequent
chapters will be from Harry Junior's point of view.
Harry Potter, Junior and the
Secret of the Ministry (Year 1)
Prologue
It was his wife's voice. "Harry,
wake up."
Harry Potter opened his eyes slowly
and adjusted to the dim lighting in the room. He tilted his head to his
left to see Cho Chang Potter standing on the carpet, obviously determined
to be patient with him. Her arms were crossed in front of her and her gaze
was fixed on him. Her dark blue robes were wrapped around her loosely and
her short hair was already set. She looked much younger than her age of
thirty-one years. Harry smiled. "Morning."
Cho grinned. "Good morning to you,
too. It's 8 o'clock."
"Cho, I can get ready in half an
hour." The birds could already be heard chirping outside and light was
passing through the deep blue curtains.
"If you say so, honey." She looked
at him as if trying to will him to get up with her stare.
Harry sighed, reached for his glasses,
and put them on. He pushed off the silk blankets, sat up, and then said,
"I'm really sore from last night." He kept his eyes fixed on her.
"So am I," said Cho with
half-hearted plaintitiveness. He could tell she was fighting back a smile.
"They won't accept that excuse."
Harry grinned. "You were magnificent
as always."
Cho blushed. "So were you," she
said quietly. She suddenly glanced at her watch. "Honey, this isn't the
time. I have to go drop the kids off at the Blacks'. Your breakfast is
on the table." With that, she turned around, opened the white bedroom door,
stepped into the hallway, and closed the door after her, her long robes
swinging quietly behind her.
Harry stared at her until she left,
and then went out that same door to go take a quick shower.
***
Harry showered, dressed, and descended
the padded stairs. He downed the scrambled eggs and muffins while reading
today's Daily Prophet. It was such a respected newspaper these days, unlike
the way it was when he was a student. So many things had changed since
then. Harry began reading the cover story, knowing beforehand exactly what
it would say:
First Global Wizard-Muggle
Conference Today
Minister Ronald Weasley
continues the work that his father, former Minister Arthur Weasley, began.
Today's conference in London marks a historic time in Muggle-wizard relations
and will include represenatives from fifty Muggle national governments,
various wizarding institutions including the Ministry of Magic and all
major wizarding academies, numerous religious organizations, and several
non-human societies.
"We hope to continue
the dramatic improvements in wizard-Muggle relations that we have seen
in the last eighteen years," said Hogwarts Headmaster Severus Snape.
The main goal of this
first conference is to promote understanding between the parties involved.
In future conferences, the aim will be to solve mutual problems like the
possible legislation of differing laws for wizards and Muggles.
Weasley has consistently
stuck to his beliefs despite public opinion. Last month, Weasley accomplished
one of his early, unpopular promises--the dissolution of the prison of
Azkaban. On a related note--
"Harry?"
Harry looked up from the paper to
see his wife entering the front door. Her short hair looked as if it had
been blown in the wind a little.
"Time to go," she continued with
a smile.
Harry was already on his feet, paper
still in hand. "Okay," he said.
She nodded, and they both disapparated.
***
They appeared in the Ministry office.
The office was spacious, with both cedar and leather furniture, and the
walls that encircled the room had light green wallpaper. Hermione Granger
Weasley greeted them. "Right on time," she said.
Harry and Cho exchanged pleasantries
with their friend. Hermione was with child, and was eating some candy while
speaking. She was still very pretty, despite the weight gain.
Hermione looked at the paper in
Harry's hand. "I'm glad that the Daily Prophet is encouraging these talks,"
Hermione said. "They're not taking the popular side, either."
When Hermione and Cho moved to the
topic of the pregnancy, Harry's mind wandered somewhat. He could hear the
sounds of workers frantically talking on Muggle telephones and computers,
people writing letters furiously with top-of-the-line quills, and the screeching
of dozens of disobedient owls. "It's already so busy," said Harry during
a pause in the womens' conversation.
"We like it this way," Hermione
said cheerfully. She glanced at her watch, and then she looked up. "So
how are things at Hogwarts?"
"Great," said Harry and Cho at nearly
the same time.
"Your eldest will be going there
soon, right?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. Harry Jr.," said Cho. She
smiled at her husband. Little Harry had literally jumped for joy when he
received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Junior had green, almond-shaped
eyes, but did not need glasses like his father. He was very obedient to
his parents, and felt responsible for his younger siblings. He had his
father's patience but his mother's kindness. He wasn't nearly as skinny
as his father was at that age, and he was quite social. His hair was black
and orderly, he was a bit short, and would likely become a great Quidditch
player. It appeared that he had inherited his mother's intelligence, but
his parents couldn't be quite sure. They had never really pushed him much
yet, knowing that he would do plenty of growing up at Hogwarts under their
watchful eyes. Whether he had inherited Harry's instincts was not clear
either, but his parents wished that those instincts would never be necessary.
"Marvelous," said Hermione. "I imagine
it'll be a bit strange at first?" asked Hermione tentatively.
"We think so," said Harry. "With
Cho and me working at the school."
"At least he already has a friend
in my Jenny." Jenny Weasley had Hermione's wit, a unique sense of humor
not unlike her father's, and the bad temper of both her parents. She was
tall and had brown, curly hair. "Well, Ron should be ready to see you now.
I have some business to attend to, but I'm sure you know where his office
is. It's nice to see you again!"
Harry and Cho said goodbye to her,
and she rushed off.
As Harry and Cho were walking down
the hallway toward Ron's office, Harry said to Cho, "Shouldn't she be taking
it a little easier these days?"
"Not yet, Harry," said Cho. "It's
only been a month." She suddenly giggled.
"What is it?" said Harry defensively.
"Honestly," she said lightly, "you
still don't know anything about pregnancy. And your own wife's been through
eight of them."
Harry chuckled. "Well, I'm a guy,"
he said. He later regretted not thinking of anything better to say.
"Really?" said Cho with mock curiosity
as she raised an eyebrow.
Harry chuckled again. "What I meant
to say is that I don't pay attention to those kinds of things," he said,
trying to save some dignity.
"Well, you should," chided Cho gently.
They stopped walking.
Harry finally took his eyes away
from her and knocked on a wooden door with a gold-plated name on the front.
"Come in," boomed an enthusiastic
Ronald Weasley.
***
"Ron, how are you?" said Harry merrily
as he and Cho entered. He heard Cho say, "Hi Ron," next to him.
"Harry! Cho!" boomed Ron with equal
mirth as he jumped out of his leather chair and bounded across the room
to meet them. He gave Harry a manly hug. "It's good to see you, friend."
He then shaked Cho's hand vigorously, saying, "Cho, you look lovely as
usual." Her face colored slightly. He was beaming the whole time. "It's
a great day, today. My father's dream, really. I'm glad he'll be able to
see it realized."
"He's really proud of you," said
Harry. "He always has been."
"Thanks Harry," said Ron. "Anyway,
how are the kids?"
"They're great," said Cho, the color
returning to her face. "They know they'll miss each other when Junior goes
to school, so they're enjoying these last few weeks together."
Harry took in the office. This was
his third visit, but it always amazed him how, well, fun it was.
He could see posters on the wall, mostly movie posters featuring Ginny
Weasley Malfoy and her husband Draco Malfoy in romantic roles. The remaining
posters showed the Chudley Canons. On the expansive oak desk were various
Quidditch trinkets, including a figurine of retired Quidditch legend Viktor
Krum. Harry already knew that one of the gold-framed pictures showed the
entire Weasley family, one showed a picture of Ron and Hermione's family,
one showed Hermione alone, and the last one showed Ron with all of his
best friends. Everything in the room was bright from the wallpaper to the
carpeting, and the large full-length windows allowed Ron a great view of
the city from his office on the tenth floor.
"How are the girls?" Cho asked.
"Well, Jenny's going to be in your
little Harry's class, Mary's constantly got her nose in a book, and Lizzie,
well, she never feels like working," said Ron with resignation.
"Neither do you," teased Harry.
"True," said Ron, "and I never will.
Speaking of work, I don't want you to be shy about contributing your two
knuts in the conference. You two have great experiences and a different
point of view; that's why I asked you to come. We want to keep lines of
communication as open as possible. The more honest everyone is, the better."
"You can count on us," said Cho.
Harry gave Ron a thumbs-up.
"Great," said Ron. "The conference,
as you know, starts at 10:00 downstairs. Have you had anything to eat yet?"
Harry and Cho said yes.
"Good," said Ron. A poster on the
wall captured his attention. "Frankly, I think Ginny and Draco are just
looking for an excuse to kiss and flirt with each other for a living. Oh,
they've got movie star looks, alright, but this is getting ridiculous."
***
The large, newly constructed Ministry
Conference Room buzzed with energy ten minutes before the conference started.
Harry and Cho found some seats next to some other Hogwarts professors.
"Good morning, Severus," said Harry
formally to Severus Snape.
Snape looked at him sternly and
nodded. He was obviously preoccupied with a scroll in front of him. "Do
sit down," he said civilly to Harry without looking.
"Morning, headmaster," said Cho
lightly.
Snape looked up, startled. "I'm
sorry," he said. "Cho, so nice to see you. Please sit down as well." He
then returned to reading the scroll in front of him, crossing out words
and writing new ones in.
"It's probably his speech," whispered
Harry to Cho.
"Maybe," whispered Cho back. She
was staring at something.
Harry looked down from their place
high in the multi-tiered, circular conference room towards the stage and
podium. Ron was already surveying the room, talking animatedly with several
people at once.
The lights came on, the large clock
in the front said 10:00, and Ron Weasley ascended the stairs on the stage
and walked to the podium, the room filling with applause as he did so.
Ron quickly put his palms up when he reached the podium to tell them to
stop, but they continued vibrantly. He deserves it, thought Harry
proudly. A hand touched his shoulder, and he turned around.
"Neville!" exclaimed Harry when
he saw who it was.
Cho turned around as well. "Hi Neville,
how are you?"
"I'm a bit late," Neville whispered
as he sat down on Cho's left. The applause died down and everyone's attention
turned to Ron Weasley.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen,"
boomed Ron's magically augmented voice, "to the first Global Wizard-Muggle
Conference."
There was more applause, which Ron
had obviously anticipated. Harry took in Ron's expensive black dress robes.
They reminded him of his Hogwarts days.
"Let me just say," continued Ron's
booming voice, " that all opinions are valued and that we will be civil.
Grievances are for later. Now, several representatives have prepared speeches
to begin this conference. But before we do that, I would ask all those
who wish to participate in the invocation to please stand. Reverend Smith?"
A black, white-bearded man solemnly
rose from his seat behind one of the tables on the stage and approached
the podium, and several dozen people in the seats rose as well, including
Harry, Cho, and Neville. Reverend Smith turned on the microphone and those
standing all bowed their heads in prayer. "Lord," he began, "we are all
your children, regardless of the gifts with which you have endowed us.
As such, we are all responsible for bringing about peace, fairness, and
justice. Please help us to cooperate together in these efforts. Amen."
"Amen," said a sea of voices from
around the room. With that, the conference began.
***
A few hours later, Madame Maxime's
voice was heard from across the hall. "At Beauxbatons Academee, students
master all ze major wizarding deesciplines and all standard spells, with
ze exception of ze spells pertaining to ze Dark Arts." Harry, Cho, and
Neville were startled when they heard the voice. They turned their heads
to find, in the sea of unfamiliar faces, the large forms of Maxime and
her husband, their beloved Rubeus Hagrid. He had obviously tried to look
as presentable as possible, but he was still quite a sight. "Defense against
Dark Arts, however," she continued, "ees an important subject at
ze school. All students are required to pass a comprehensive practical
exam before graduation."
"I'm glad they didn't have one of
those at Hogwarts," whispered Neville to Harry and Cho.
***
The conference was a great success,
with Harry and Snape all contributing their knowledge and patiently answering
the questions of curious and frightened Muggle diplomats.
When Cho was answering one of these
questions regarding the limits of wizarding medicine, a barrage of cameras
suddenly flashed. Cho paused momentarily to readjust her vision, and then
continued.
"Your wife's going to be on the
front page of quite a few Muggle papers," whispered Neville to Harry while
Cho answered questions.
"Pardon?" they heard Cho say to
a particularly badly-phrased question.
The man repeated it much more clearly.
"I was wondering about the nature of house-elf employment in wizard households
and institutions?"
"May I field that question, Cho?"
came the loud yet tentative voice of Hermione Weasley from across the room.
Cho looked relieved. "Yes, Hermione,
please do. Hermione Weasley is an expert on this matter." She smiled across
the room at her friend.
Hermione smiled back. Among other
things, she was a wizarding anthropologist. She knew more about house-elf,
vampire, and werewolf culture than half the academics combined. She cleared
her throat, thanked Cho, and then went on to give the clearest and most
thorough answer of the day.
***
A/N: A slow start, I know. Meet
Harry J. in the next chapter!