Chapter One: Now What?
Harry sat quietly at the table in the Burrow, still scowling at the headlines still proclaiming him the savior of the wizarding world. Nearly two weeks later, and the people still hadn't let him off the front page. There were celebrations all over the place, and no one seemed to be remembering what had happened over the past few years.
"Harry?" a quiet voice called. Harry raised his head and looked at the girl calling his name. "Planning on eating breakfast? Do you want some sausage? Toast? Bagels? Bacon? Eggs? Anything? Mum is still complaining that you're far too thin," Ginny said, smiling softly.
"I'm not hungry," he said, turning away from her. He heard her sigh in exasperation before seating herself next to him.
"Wallowing in it isn't going to make it any better, Potter," she said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry lied. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, before shrugging and getting up to prepare breakfast for the rest of the group living at the Burrow. The Burrow, which had always been noisy and filled had cleared out after Harry's fifth year, when the twins moved into London. With the war shortly over, however, Bill, Charlie, and Percy had all moved back in. Most of the Weasleys, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, were livid that Percy decided to come back, but he did offer an apology to the family and Harry during Harry's sixth year.
"So, what's really wrong, Potter?" Ginny asked, knocking him out of his thoughts. "I can guess part of it is the Daily Prophet, right?" she queried. Harry nodded mutely, running his hands through his hair.
"You know, Ginny, all I'm hearing is that we're finally safe and free, but people seem to forget all of the dead! Your family was lucky, Ginny, no one died. Most families weren't that lucky, though. They're supposed to be mourning their brothers and sisters and parents and children, but instead they're celebrating that the bloody Boy-Who-Lived prevailed once more! I'm sick of it!"
"Harry, they're celebrating having something to celebrate. The past two years have been horrid. Life finally looks bright and happy again," Ginny said softly. He looked at her incredulously.
"We didn't get all of the Death Eaters. I know that Draco Malfoy got off because he hadn't yet received the Mark. No matter that he was in the final battle fighting in Death Eater robes. Lucius is trying to claim the Imperious Curse story again. It's just going to go over and over again if we can't catch them!" Harry said, clearly frustrated.
"That's why you're going to be an Auror," she said, turning to smile at him.
"I've been thinking about that… I'm not so sure that I want to be an Auror anymore. I mean, what if some other Dark Lord rises up and wants to kill off Muggles and Muggle-borns and all of that stuff, and the Ministry says that we can't fight him. I'm required to do that, and I don't think that I want to do that. I want to be able to make my own decisions. I'm not really quite sure what I want to do at the moment," Harry said quietly.
"You'll find something, Harry," Ginny said. "Are you sure that you don't want something for breakfast?"
"I'll eat something," Harry said, looking up at Ginny. She giggled, before turning around to finish breakfast. Ginny was almost finished when the Weasleys started trickling down. The first was Percy, who still looked quite uptight. He sat at in a seat and reached for the Daily Prophet, drinking coffee that Ginny had just put on the table, before moving the other foods over. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley descended next, Mrs. Weasley thanking Ginny for getting breakfast on the table. Charlie and Bill came down next, both still yawning and mumbling to each other. Ron was the final addition, and he still looked half-asleep.
"Harry, what time did you get up this morning?" Ron asked curiously. Harry mumbled something, looking at the table and scratching the back of his neck. "What was that?"
"I didn't exactly sleep," Harry muttered. The Weasleys all looked at him.
"Why not?" Mrs. Weasley asked sharply.
"I still can't. I have nightmares—just the usual ones. Voldemort's rebirth, Sirius's and Remus's deaths, the final battle. It's getting harder and harder to sleep, even though he's gone. Besides, Ron, you snore so loud that I couldn't sleep regardless," Harry attempted to joke. He saw the Weasleys looking at him with pity about his nightmares, and Harry started to load his plate up.
There was a slightly uncomfortable silence, but it was broken by the arrival of several owls. Three went to Harry, two to Ron, and one to Mr. Weasley.
"What are these?" Harry wondered aloud.
"N.E.W.T. results," Ron gulped. "And a letter from Hermoine—bet she's already got hers and wants to tell us all how well she did." Harry grinned at his friend, knowing that Ron was only pretending to feel put out about Hermione's excellent grades on her grades. He was quite proud of his girlfriend.
Shaking his head, Harry looked at his letters. Two contained the official Ministry of Magic seal, while the last bore the Hogwarts Crest. He wondered why Hogwarts would be writing him, but ignored it for the moment, opening one of the Ministry's letters first. He chose the one with his N.E.W.T. results and found that he did surprisingly well. He had nine N.E.W.T.s.
"Not bad, mate. I got nine. What about you?" Harry asked as he scanned the letter.
"Seven," Ron said with a grin. He then eagerly tore into the letter from Hermione as Harry opened his other letter from the Ministry.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Congratulations on defeating You-Know-Who! This is a joyous occasion, and as such, we at the Ministry of Magic, feel that you should be commended for your success in this endeavor. On Saturday, 27 June, there will be a ceremony to award you with the Order of Merlin, First Class. The ceremony will begin promptly at 7:00 pm. You are permitted to bring a date.
Sincerely Yours,
Amos Diggory
Minister of MagicHarry groaned, sitting the letter down on the table and dropped his head into his hands. "The Order of Merlin?" he asked aloud. "I'm getting the bloody Order of Merlin, First Class? I have to go to a ceremony in two weeks to get the Order of Merlin? This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed.
"Harry, you defeated Voldemort. Of course you get the Order of Merlin. Dumbledore received his for defeating Grindewald," Ginny pointed out. "Stop whining."
"Yes, well, we'll all be there. We are, of course, permitted to bring dates," Mr. Weasley said. Ron's face lit up as he hurriedly began to scribble a reply to Hermione.
"Is that letter from Hogwarts?" Ginny asked curiously, reaching for Harry's last bit of mail. Harry nodded tiredly. "Why are they writing you?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Harry murmured. "Why don't you go ahead and read it?" he questioned. Ginny frowned slightly, handing it back to him. He shrugged and opened the letter.
Dear Mr. Potter,
You may be wondering why I'm writing you. Unfortunately, quite a few of the staff were killed during the final battle with You-Know-Who. Professor Snape and I are trying to rebuild the staff, and we have both agreed that you would be the best choice for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I hope you consider this option. Please let us know no later than 1 July.
Sincerely Yours,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
P.S. Harry, do let us know if you can think of a suitable replacement for Professor Flitwick.
Harry felt a smile flutter across his face as he read through the letter. A full-fledged grin was on his face by the time he was finished reading it, and he glanced slyly over at Ginny.
"It was a really interesting letter," he told her with a smirk. She pretended not to be interested, but Harry knew that she was really anxious to know what the letter contained. "I'm sure you don't want to know all of the details though," he continued. She shook her head faintly. Harry noticed that all of the Weasleys seemed to find this quite amusing. "I'm glad. It's probably classified information." Ginny bit her lip softly, before shrugging.
"It doesn't bother me at all," she said.
"You're lying," Harry smirked. "So… Do you want to know?"
"You know I do. Tell me, Potter," she said.
"McGonagall wants me to teach Defense," Harry said. Ginny's jaw dropped open slightly.
"You have to Harry. Please, please, please. I'll be all alone except for Collin and all of the girly girls in my year! And I think Collin may be one of the girly girls. He does follow you quite a bit," Ginny said with a smirk.
"I'm not going to teach if I have to put up with your abuse," Harry told her. She smiled at him.
"You love my abuse. Otherwise you'd get a big head," she said. He raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Harry, you'd be brilliant. Look at the D.A.," she pointed out.
"Yeah, Harry, you were good at that," Ron said.
"I'm going to do it. I didn't really know what to do with myself anyway," Harry said with a grin.
"Not an Auror anymore?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously. Harry shook his head slowly, before giving the reasons that he no longer wished to pursue that career choice. Arthur nodded quietly. Harry then looked over at Bill.
"Hey, Bill, are you going to go back out to Egypt?" he asked him. Bill shrugged. "Professor Flitwick died, and McGonagall is looking for a new Charms teacher," Harry offered. Bill nodded slowly.
"I'll think about it," Bill said, contemplation apparent in his voice. Harry nodded, before thinking of the list of the dead from the final battle: Professor Deeling, the Defense professor; Professor Vector, the Arithmancy professor; Professor Flitwick; Seamus Finnigan; Neville Longbottom; Michael Corner; Terry Boot; Hannah Abbot; Susan Bones; Ernie Macmillan; Blaise Zabini, one of the good Slytherins.
"I'm going to go write McGonagall and tell her that I'll do it. I'll be down later," Harry said, running up the stairs quickly to the room he was sharing with Ron. He wrote Professor McGonagall, and then sat at the desk thinking. He sat there while Ron got ready and left for the day to go to the Ministry and see about what jobs he was eligible for. He sat there as he heard all of the wizards leave the house, Bill and Charlie only going to a pub. He could have sat there all day if Ginny hadn't poked her head in the room.
"Hey Harry," she said softly. He started and looked up at her. She entered the room, shutting the door behind her.
"What's up?" he asked softly. She shook her head slightly, coming to stand in front of him.
"When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?" Ginny asked him, studying him carefully. "You're pale, twitchy, and have bags under your eyes," she pointed out.
"Before Dumbledore died," Harry admitted quietly. He heard Ginny sigh softly before pulling him out of his chair. She pushed him down on his bed, and sat softly next to him.
"You need sleep," she told him quietly. Harry shrugged up at her. "I'll stay here, and protect you from the bad dreams," she teased, running her hand through his hair. He shook his head softly. "Come on, Potter, you need some sleep."
"Lay with me?" Harry asked quietly. Ginny's eyes widened, but she nodded quietly, laying beside him on the bed. Harry's arms snaked around her waist, pulling her to him. Harry finally felt comfortable, and he rested his head right above hers, before falling into a deep sleep. Not too much longer, Ginny also fell asleep.
Neither noticed when the door creaked open, and Molly Weasley glanced into the room. A smile lit her entire face when she saw the two teenagers, and she slowly backed out of the room.
"Hey, Mate, you look better tonight than you did this morning," Ron said with a smirk. Harry grinned at him.
"Thanks. I got some sleep today," Harry said with a grin. Ron questioned him no more, but did get a suspicious look on his face. The look only intensified when Harry shot a glance over at Ginny.
"I'm bored," Charlie proclaimed. "Anyone up for a game of exploding snap?" Bill and Ron joined Charlie in the game and Ginny and Harry sat near them.
"Feeling better?" Ginny asked him quietly. He shrugged, before looking up at her.
"I'm still angry that everyone is celebrating the defeat of Voldemort. I really don't want this ceremony in a few weeks either. I just want to go on with my life, and I want everyone to forget about this Boy-Who-Lived stuff," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair. Charlie snorted at that.
"That's never going to happen, Harry," he told him grinning. "You're the savior of the world as we know it. People will be asking for your autograph and hoping to catch a glimpse of you for the rest of your life. Deal with it," Charlie finished.
"Look at it this way," Bill said with a grin, "you'll never have to worry about finding a girl for a date." Harry groaned at the thought, causing everyone to start laughing.
"Yeah, Professor. Let's see how long it is before some student asks you to meet them at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer," Ginny said with a smirk. Harry glared at her. "My roommates always have fancied you. Collin too," she added.
"They just took after you in your first and second years, hmm?" Harry asked her. Her mouth dropped open and she punched him on the shoulder.
"That's exactly why I got over you, Potter," she said with a giggle. He smirked back at her, but soon dropped it.
"So, the bad thing is that I'm going to have girls only wanting to date me because I killed Voldemort," Harry said.
"Looks like. You could take any girl you want to the ceremony for your Order of Merlin, though," Ron said with a grin.
"They're actually probably expecting you to bring a date, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, entering the room from the kitchen. "They do tend to expect whomever the ceremony is for to have a date. Besides, you'll need someone to keep you company; they'll be seating you with the Minister and other high ranking officials." Harry groaned again.
"Ginny, I know you get to go, but go as my date anyway?" he asked her. Her eyebrows raised up. "Well, if it has to be a date, I'd rather have someone I like and trust. The only girls that really includes are you and Hermione. Ron might kill me if I invite Hermione," Harry explained.
"Sure, Harry," Ginny said. "I'll make sure you don't fall asleep and pay adequate attention," she continued, smiling sweetly.
"I'm sure you will," he replied. The ceremony at the Ministry might not be so bad after all.
A/N: Thanks to my one reviewer (I got it a half hour after I posted the first chapter!). I'm really into this story, so the updates should come fast!
