CHAPTER I

Harry woke with a start in the wee hours of morning, having been jolted out of his sleep by a harmless, though peculiar dream in which he had failed to make auror status. The dream itself reminded him of why he was awake so early in the first place, the reason being that he had to go up to Auror Headquarters to sign a final agreement that would give him an official auror title. It was late August, ordinarily much too early for someone recruited at the beginning of July to achieve full auror status, but Harry had already had all the skills, and had spent the last month and a half brushing up on everything and fine tuning a few aspects of his previous training to satisfy several skeptical officials. He sighed and attempted to stretch without waking up the petite red-headed figure who had currently slung herself ungracefully over him and was sleeping like a log. Despite the unflattering position, Harry decided she was definitely the most beautiful woman in the world. He sighed and kissed the top of her head, wriggling carefully out from under her meanwhile attempting not to wake her. Harry got off the bed and changed from his pajamas into the extra set of clothes he had brought with him to the Burrow. He had stayed two nights at the Weasley's house out of sheer boredom, and surprisingly, Mrs. Weasley had allowed him to sleep in Ginny's room without too much of a fuss, as long as she personally didn't catch them dressed in less than was necessary or doing anything indiscreet. Harry had been delighted at how open-minded she had been about the whole matter, although he suspected that not only was Mrs. Weasley anxious to make sure someone was around to prevent her youngest child from being kidnapped again, but also that Ginny might have had a scathing talk with her mother about how she was no longer a child. Ron had hinted at something of the like. All the same, Harry had hastened to assure her that nothing incredibly indiscreet would be taking place under her roof whether she was there to witness her or not. At this she had smiled with a touch of relief, and had thanked him profusely for being so considerate. Harry made his way down the stairs blearily, skipping the squeaky step in the middle, and continuing on down to the kitchen, to find Mrs. Weasley already up, drinking coffee and reading the Daily Prophet.

"Mrs. Weasley, no matter how hard I try to come in and start the coffee for you, you always seem to beat me to it," he said smiling.

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the paper. She smiled in a motherly way.

"Nonsense Harry, It's your big day! Of course I have to be up before you!"

She put down her paper and got up, going to the counter and summoning two peaces of bread from the already sliced loaf in the breadbasket. She popped them in the toaster (one of the more useful modified muggle inventions that Arthur had given her, although she would never admit it) and waved her hand at him.

"And it's Molly," she said, getting out the butter.

Harry shook his head.

"I can get that," he told her, as she tried to reach for the tea in the top shelf of the cupboard. He was a good eight inches taller than his surrogate mother. He handed her the tea and went over to the toaster, summoning a plate, and a butter knife.

"Is this for me?" he asked.

Molly nodded, getting out eggs, bacon, frying pan, bowl, spoon, spatula, and various other ingredients. With a wave of her wand the pancake ingredients came flying out of their respective cupboards and began mixing in the bowl, while she set the pan on the stove a put a little butter in bottom for eggs and bacon.

"I don't suppose you have enough time for a real breakfast?" she asked, bustling around.

Harry shook his head, mouth full of toast.

"Well I'll make lunch then too," Mrs. Weasley said.

Harry chuckled. Molly always felt the need to compensate for those proper meals he missed. She ignored his chuckling with an air of 'mother knows best' in good humor. When Harry had finished his toast he gulped down his tea and went into the hall to grab his coat. He came back into the kitchen, pecked Mrs. Weasley on the cheek, which pleased her to no end, and left for Headquarters.

The Commander's office was occupied only himself, his secretary, and two aurors as witnesses. When Harry arrived, the Commander ordered him to sit and motioned to his secretary Agnes Erlington.

"That's what you sign," Aegidius rumbled gesturing at the form on the clipboard handed to him by the secretary. He nodded and read it over. It stated mostly what he'd already read and signed, then asked for a confirmation signature. Harry grinned as he signed. He could officially fight without being withheld by Mrs. Weasley or Dumbledore or Remus. He handed the secretary the clipboard when he was finished. The Commader clapped his hands and got up from his seat, taking off of it a crimson velvet box. He walked over to Harry.

"Then, without further ado a bestow on you the title of Auror for the British Auror Division."

He opened the box and removed from it a gleaming gold badge of a crossed sword and wand. Set at the base of the wand was a small very high-quality pearl, and at the hilt of the sword was ruby.

"The pearl signifies endurance and emotional stability, and the ruby signifies intuition, intiative, loyalty and courage," said the Commander. "All aspects we hope to see in our aurors. Every auror receives a different combination of gems that best suits their nature when it comes to fighting. The badge is of course, ceremonial, for banquets and things," he added.

Harry took it from the Commander's hands and admired it. Jewelry was not his specialty, but it was undoubtedly high quality and quite beautiful. He was proud of what his gems signified, although he wasn't so sure about the emotionally stable part. Perhaps he was a good actor. The commander handed him the red velvet box. Harry placed the badge back in its case and tucked the box inside his coat. The Commander held out his hand.

"Congratulation's Mr. Potter, we are most certainly glad to have you with us," he said.

Harry nodded. He turned to the door, about to leave.

"Report here and ten o'clock tomorrow morning, we will see to it that you have a shower key and a locker. We have a three hour practice sessions every day to make sure you don't forget everything by the time your needed, not that you would forget," the Commander told him.

Harry nodded, smiled and gave his thanks, just as he was leaving, he turned.

"Uh, Commander Aegidius, sir?" he asked.

The Commander turned questioningly.

"Are all aurors required to attend the banquets?" Harry asked

The Commander's chuckle rumbled around the room.

"Nice try Potter," he said, "Yes all aurors are expected to attend."

Harry sighed, and nodded his head in resignation.

He left the building and stepped out into Diagon Alley for a stroll before going home. He passed a florist shop on the way and stopped. Struck with a sudden idea and good mood, he stepped inside. Half and hour later he emerged frazzled and confused, having been swept up into a ritual of picking and choosing and getting the right things for the right person, holding three bouquets, one for Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny. Smiling, he headed back to the Burrow.

When Harry arrived back at the Burrow, it was still only nine o'clock, but Ginny, Ron and Hermione were all awake and sitting at the kitchen table finishing their breakfast. Harry walked in, causing quite a stir with what he held in his arms. He handed one to Mrs. Weasley, then Hermione, and last of all Ginny. All women cooed and giggled and stuck their noses in the flowers to catch their scent. Ginny's had been comprised of different lilies, like pink flushed Asiatic lilies with their little freckled petals and crisp white calla lilies, while Hermione's had been a arrangement of white tulips, pink roses and sprinkled with baby's breath and miniature daisies. Mrs. Weasleys was a sunny arrangement of Viking poms, yellow roses and asters.

"Full points to you Harry," Ron told him sleepily over a bowl of cereal.

Harry grinned.

"Ah yes but you haven't seen what prompted me to buy the flowers," he said to Ron.

He reached into his coat and pulled out the red velvet box and handed it to Ron. His friend put down his spoon and took it curiously and opened it.
"Blimey mate…" Ron trailed off.

Hermione stopped looking at her flowers and looked over Ron's shoulder. She squealed and clapped her hands.

"Harry that's wonderful… look how beautiful it is!" she said softly, showing Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

Both murmured appreciatively.

"The pearl is for endurance, and emotional stability and the ruby is for intuition, initiative, loyalty and courage," Harry recited. "Every auror gets different gemstones."

Hermione and Ginny both hugged him and Mrs. Weasley cooed and began running around.

"Oh we must celebrate! We'll have the whole family over for dinner!"

Harry chuckled and shared a look with Ron.

The next morning at ten o'clock Harry was shown the door to the locker room by the commander. He was given a small blue key for the showers, a locker number, and a magical combination to unlock the locker. The Commander clapped him on the back.

"Some of the blokes feel the need to 'initiate' the new aurors, the 'rookies' as they call them," the Commander told him. "This often results in a few minor injuries for the new auror so if any of them try it with you, you have my permission to…convince them of your own proficiency in a manner that you feel best expresses your abilities," said the Commander. He winked, and left Harry standing outside the door to the lockers. '…convince them of your own proficiency in a manner that you feel best expresses your abilities," seemed to be code for, 'don't let them give you any shit, pop 'em one in the face.' Harry grinned. I could do that. He thought. Harry arranged his expression into what could be described as anything but a scared little rookie and pushed through the swinging door, adding a little swagger to his walk. The room was full of aurors changing, only the men, as this was the men's side, some just arriving, others just finishing changing into their uniforms. Many stared as he walked by. Harry nodded to a few that he recognized from the Order and found his locker. Sitting in front of it was his auror uniform, a small device that looked like a miniature muggle beeper, and clasped onto ones belt, fingerless combat gloves, a belt with wand and sword holster, and a pair of heavy boots in his size. Harry already owned everything besides the uniform, his gloves were tucked in a pocket of his coat, his blades at his hip, his belt around his waste and of course, his boots. Harry opened his locker by muttering the combination spell, and removed his jacket, placing it inside the locker along with the extra boots, gloves and belt. He then took the first article of clothing off the little pile that was his uniform. All the clothing was black, made of some tough but flexible material. It resembled a SWAT uniform from the muggle movies in Harry's opinion. The pants had several big cargo pockets and cinched at the ankle so that they could be tucked inside the boots. The shirt attached to the pants with buckles so that it did not come loose and zipped up the front. It had removable long sleeves with pockets on either arm and a collar that could be flipped up and zipped closed to cover the neck. He put down the uniform and removed his shirt, and put on the black undershirt provided as well. By this time, the word seemed to have spread that there was a new man in the room, and as he unbuckled his belt he felt a tap on the shoulder. He lay down his belt on the bench in front of his locker and turned to find a built and seasoned looked man already in combat clothing sizing him up and down. He was no taller than Harry, but had a build more like Charlie Weasley, much broader. Harry hoped he didn't want to make trouble, he wasn't in the mood for making enemies his first day.

"I'm Guy," he said, amiably enough, offering his hand. Harry suspected that this man was in some way a leader; he probably was the most war seasoned and confident of the bunch. Harry shook his hand firmly, a way of letting him know he was confident of himself, although in reality he wasn't but he wasn't about to let this man know that. Guy raised an eyebrow at the handshake he received.

"It's tradition to make trouble for the rookies the first few days of practice," Guy told Harry. There were conspiratorial chuckles around the room. "But the Commander seemed to think we would not want to get on your bad side. He didn't tell us who you were, only that our 'tricks' as he calls them, won't work on you"

Guy placed his hands on his hips and looked at Harry, clearly not willing to budge until he'd had an explanation. Harry tried to hide the gratified flush for the Commander that rose in his cheeks. He sighed, and continued undressing.

"I'm Harry," he told the man named Guy.

"Does Harry have a last name?" Guy asked.

Everyone else looked at him, but, out of some divine power, Harry was spared having to answer.

"Oh come now!" came a deep voice. Harry looked around, and his eyes lit upon Kingsley Shacklebolt. He grinned, glad to have found a friend.

"How many people," continued Kinsley, "Are named Harry, and have black hair and green eyes and come with a high recommendation from someone so prestigious as Commander Aegidius?" Kinsley said loudly, so everyone could hear.

Harry rolled his eyes and scratched his head, wishing the older auror didn't have such a flair for the dramatic. Kingsley walked over and put a hand on Harry's shoulder grinning down at him annoyingly. Harry mock-glared, knowing the man was doing this on purpose. Guy looked surprised, and then comprehension dawned. He laughed, Harry sighed in relief; it looked as though he might scrape through without a confrontation.
"Harry Potter, in the flesh!" said Guy loudly.

Everyone stared for a few seconds.

"Well?" Boomed Kingsley, "What are you all looking at?"

It seemed that Kingsley was a little more intimidating than Guy. Guy saluted him, and left. Harry looked up at the Order member that used to be part of his escort from the Dursley's.

"How you been Shacklebolt?" he asked grinning.

Kingsley chuckled.

"Glad to see you made it Potter, you better finish getting dressed though or you'll be late."

Harry nodded and waved to his friend before turning. He put on the pants, tucked in the shirt and connected the straps and clasps, so that it formed a sort of jump suit. He threaded his belt through the loops and arranged the blades at his hip, securing his wand in its holster. Rummaging around in the numerous pockets of his coat he found his fingerless dueling gloves that Merlin had sent him along with the trench-coat and tucked them in his belt. Lastly he put his boots back on, cinching the ankles of his pants closed and tucked them in his shoes. He locked his jacket, and the rest of the un-needed clothes in the locker, and tucked his shower key in his pocket. Picking up the strange little device, he followed everyone else out of the door, tapping an auror near him on the shoulder as he caught up with the group. The man turned as they walked.

"What is this?" Harry asked, holding up the little beeper-like device.

"It's an emergency portkey and a summoner. Tells you when your needed and where, for emergencies and the like," the man said.

Harry nodded in thanks, noting that the man wore his own at his hip. He mimicked this, clasping it to his belt and followed the group. They seemed to be going out into a multi-purpose training area. Harry soon discovered that not the entire British Auror Division of London met on the same day. Mondays were reserved for the first and second companies, Tuesdays for the third and forth and on down the line. There were ten companies all together and each was commanded by a company captain. The companies consisted of twenty-five men and women and were a careful mixture of specialists and people of different talents so that each group had a fair amount of variety and skills. Harry had been placed in the first company, under captain Connor Holten. After being introduced to everyone in his company and explaining that he would rather use his own gloves, boots, belt, and blades, he was set with a partner for a long session of training. It was a going tiring day.

"Block…thrust, good now parry again….and ATTACK!" shouted the Connor circling the sparring match like a hawk. "Come on Harry your holding back, finish him before you tire yourself out!"

Harry sighed.

"Whatever the majesty commands!" Harry shouted, raising a chuckle from the watching first company, blocking Guy's downward sweep easily.

Harry had been holding back the entire time, feeling that it would better to not beat the man by too much the first day lest he might get on the bad side of his fellow aurors. He parried another thrust by Guy, then feinted to the right. As Guy made the move to block the attack he thought was coming Harry swung his sword around in the mirror image of the move he had pretended to make. Guy brought up his sword barely in time to block, but his grip was unsteady. Harry stepped in close to him, hooked his heel behind Guy's and yanked with his foot simultaneously slithering his sword tip around his opponent's blade. The result was that Guy fell, and his sword was pried from his fingers and sent flying. He landed in the dirt with a grunt. Harry presented his sword at the fellow auror's neck, grinning. Guy held up his hands, his face an odd mixture of scowl and a smile. Harry sheathed his sword and stepped back, offering the fallen man a hand. Guy accepted it, and got up, groaning.

"My rear end'll be sore for weeks after that," he grumbled.

"Excellent!" called Connor walking into the combat ring. "Potter how on earth did you do that? I've never seen someone move so fast in my life!" he muttered in Harry's ear. There were murmurs of the same thing the captain was thinking around the ring. Harry blushed and avoided the question, turning to Guy.

"You owe me a drink, if I'm not mistaken," he said smiling.

"Here here!" shouted one of the aurors. "What about us as well?"

Guy waved his hand dismissively and grasped Harry by the shoulder, steering him towards the locker rooms.

"Alright alright," he grumbled, "But you lot can fend for yourselves!" he shouted over his shoulder.

There were good-natured grumbles as everyone made for the showers, Harry and Guy ahead of the group, discussing the pub they wanted to go to. Harry smiled as he went in, glad to have made a few friends.

"Wotcha Harry!" came a voice from behind him.

Harry turned, grinning, knowing who he would see.

It was Tonks, with platinum blonde spiked hair with magenta highlights in it, looking happy, tan and fit as ever.

"Tonks!" he exclaimed, giving her a huge embrace.

She slapped his back smiling and pulled away, walking along with the crowd.

"How have you been?" she asked, "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Harry smiled.

"I've been alright," he said, a small shadow flickering across his face. "I've made some friends here though so that's good," he said.

Tonks grinned.

"Yeah, Second Company's hearing all about the new guy that First Company got and we were all really curious to see who you were. I heard they let you skip training!" she exclaimed in amazement.

Harry nodded.

"It's because of, well I don't know if Dumbledore ever told you…" he began.

Tonks nodded.

"Most of the…our group knows," Harry knew she had been about to say Order, but had refrained.

At that moment the reached the door to the men's locker room,

"Coming for drinks?" Harry asked, "I just beat Guy, he's buying for me."

Tonks chuckled.

"Sure I'll come."

Harry grinned,

"Great, see you there."

They waved to each other and Harry disappeared through the door. When he got into the showers he was confronted by a large group of curious men.

"You know Tonks Potter?" one of them asked.

Harry nodded.

"Yeah Tonks and I go way back," he told them.

They all groaned in envy.

"She's a right beautiful piece of arse that one is," came an exclamation from someone.

Harry stared at all of them.

"Are you two…" one asked him.

"What?" Harry asked loudly. "No of course not, Tonks was part of my advance guard whenever I had to go anywhere from my relatives house!" He said. The thought of him and Tonks being involved was…well it was weird.

He started undressing, grabbing a towel and heading to an empty showerhead. He hung his towel on the wall and turned on the hot spray of water. A man next to him elbowed him.

"Think you could hook me up?" he asked with a wink and a grin.

There were shouts of "Hey!" and "No fair!" around the room.

Harry shook his head.

"You lot are on your own with that one, she's way out of your league!" he called.

"You'll pay for that Potter!" came a shout from a separate shower cubicle.

All in all, the day turned out quite well.