Chapter Ten
Career Invitations
Finding out about Harry being around, albeit trapped in Ron's body, immediately transformed the general mood in the Burrow. The Weasleys were overjoyed at this news and they seemed to have forgotten there was ever a war. For many nights, they talked of nothing but this unusual incident and they couldn't be happier. Arthur and George were released from St. Mungo's soon after and the family returned to its old liveliness.
Harry could never remember feeling this happy. All those restless years of bearing the weight of being the savior of the wizarding world had come to an end and now he was free to live a truly good life with his best friends and the most wonderful family in the world. Harry couldn't help but feel a sense of irony in it. He had lost his life but he regained the world, though he had to share it with Ron. But even that wasn't something to feel bad about. He could never find anyone better to share this with than with his best friend. And now that the war was over, they both devoted time to thinking about the future. It began significantly on the morning of Harry's eighteenth birthday. They were just starting breakfast when more than a dozen owls came fluttering into the house.
"Our N.E.W.T scores have come in!" Hermione was the first to recognize the Hogwarts seal on one of her letters.
"Which one? What are all these?" Ron asked as he and Harry fought their way to see pass the mass of parchment and feathers that were gathering around their plate. More owls were coming in and most of them were landing on Ron. Fred, George and Ginny had all abandoned their toast and marmalade and joined in trying to clear the air of feathers, the twins with spells and Ginny with her bare hands.
"What on earth...!" Molly had just entered the dining room after bringing a breakfast tray to the still bed-ridden Arthur and was horrified at the chaos. She snatched up one letter that had fallen and looked at it. A smile broke on her face.
"They're invitation letters to apply for jobs in various Ministry Departments. This one's yours Ron."
"Along with these!" Fred exclaimed as he used a spell to pile up the letters on top of Ron's plate. "How come they got letters and George and I didn't?"
"That's because you and George never finished school," Molly replied with a hint of sarcasm. It was still a sore spot for Molly that the twins had dropped out of Hogwarts. Even when their joke shop turned into a success, Molly still wished they should have stayed until they had taken their N.E.W.T.s. "You do remember Bill, Charlie and Percy getting a few invitations themselves after they finished Hogwarts."
"But not this many," Ron said. The owls had finally cleared off leaving a rather large stack of parchment that completely buried Ron's and Harry's breakfast. Hermione looked at her own stack which was only half as many and Harry could see the envy in her eyes. "Half are probably Harry's," Ron added quickly after seeing Hermione's expression.
Ron and Harry moved the letters to sort them but as they rummaged through the pile Harry felt a twinge of sadness to find that all of them had Ron's name. Of course, nobody would send him a letter. With the exception of the Weasleys and their close friends in the Order, he was already dead to the wizarding world. But just as they moved to the bottom of the pile he saw a letter with the Hogwarts seal addressed to him.
"Hey, I think Dumbledore sent us Harry's N.E.W.T.s as well," Ron said to brighten him up. "Go on open it, mate."
Harry took over from Ron and excitedly ripped opened the envelope. Hermione paused from opening her own letter and leaned over to look at Harry's scores.
"Not bad Harry," Hermione praised.
"What does it say?" Molly asked excitedly.
He had as Hermione said, done quite well in the six subjects he retained in his N.E.W.T year. He read the summary out loud. "I got an O in Defense against the Dark Arts—not surprising—as well as Charms and Care of Magical Creatures. Transfiguration and Potions are Es, while Herbology is an A."
Molly hugged him. "Congratulations Harry dear!"
Harry smiled for Mrs. Weasley, though he was thinking back to his career consultation with Professor McGonagall in his fifth year. He wondered if his grades would have been good enough for him to be accepted as an Auror. He thought back to the night when he witnessed so many deaths and he was angry. Even though he knew he shouldn't blame himself for the deaths, he still felt responsible somehow. And the only way he could think to purge that guilt was to be there in the thick of it—fighting evil as an Auror. He felt disappointment at the fact that whether or not he did have good grades, it was no longer any use unless he got a new body soon.
"Don't think we need to know Hermione's," Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts. "I'm sure she got all Os in all her subjects."
Hermione blushed and confirmed that what Ron said was true. The rest of the Weasleys gave her praise and congratulations.
"Let's look at yours, Ron." Molly said after the excitement died down on Hermione's achievement. Harry felt Ron tense and their hands shook as Ron opened his letter. He knew Ron was worried. Bill, Charlie and Percy had good grades and they were all hard to top.
"Harry, you read it aloud," Ron said.
"Alright."
Harry cleared their throat. "O in Defense, Care of Magical Creatures and... oh, in Herbology!"
Harry could feel their ears turn pink. "You've got an E in Transfiguration just like me, and As on Charms and Potions! I think you did—"
"—just as well as me." Harry continued silently to Ron as he never finished his praise verbally. They were attacked by Mrs. Weasley's excited arms.
"Mum, geroff! Ron complained. "You're killing Harry and me!"
Molly let go but she was still ecstatic. "I'm so proud of you!
Harry and Ron blushed.
"Harry, I think there's an accompanying letter from Dumbledore on your scores," Hermione said. She was holding up his envelop.
Harry reached into his letter and sure enough there was another piece of parchment.
Dear Harry,
Let me congratulate you on doing a fine job at your N.E.W.T.s. I am sure that even with the present circumstances with Ronald, you will find that these scores are still essential to your future career. I hope you will come to agree on whatever profession you choose and perhaps you can settle on something you want in common. You might want to consider Moody's offer. He has sent you a separate letter.
Sincerely.
Albus Dumbledore
Harry appreciated the letter though he knew he would leave the career choosing to Ron. After all it was Ron's body and perhaps he could be transferred to another body anytime soon.
They found a similar letter from Dumbledore attached to Ron's scores and they quickly looked for Mad-Eye Moody's letter. They found one letter that had both their names on them with a seal from the Auror Department of the Ministry of Magic. Two pieces of parchment fell out. The official-looking one was an invitation to train as Aurors. It included details of qualifying tests set next week.
The other parchment was written in an unfamiliar but less formal scrawl.
Potter and Weasley,
By now I am sure you have read the official invitation sent to you by the Auror Department. Neither of you have the grades required for all Auror trainees but given your situation the department has decided to make an exception. I have heard of you performing two spells at the same time—practically an impossible feat—at St. Mungo's. Of course I understood when Dumbledore explained to me that this is because there are two of you residing in one body. That factor gives you quite an advantage which the Auror Department shall surely value as an asset.
Should you wish to accept this invitation, you will both be trained. However, in order to maximize this advantage we wish your situation to remain a secret, even among your fellow trainees, and later among Auror colleagues. I have told this to only two other people in the Department—the head and her deputy. Dumbledore told me that you do not wish for the public to know about your present circumstance and I believe this is prudent. I trust that your secret shall remain with the exception of your family and closest friends.
Alastor Moody
Harry could barely hide his excitement from Ron. They were invited to be Aurors! But just as quickly, his hopes died down as he glanced at the still enormous pile. There were more than a dozen letters in there and perhaps Ron wasn't too keen to go off fighting dark wizards for the rest of his life.
"What do you think Harry?"
"Well, it's nice but it's your decision."
"What do you mean my decision? We're deciding this together."
"It's not really my place Ron. I mean... I'm just the tenant here. You're the body-owner. You decide."
"Thanks mate, but really I do want your opinion. I know you said you wanted to be an Auror before..."
"Well, yeah," Harry replied uncomfortably. "But do you?"
"Well we've been fighting dark wizards for the past seven years. Reckon it's quite an exciting life. I can't think of any other career anyway."
Harry felt better but he still wanted Ron to have a choice. "Well, don't decide just yet. Maybe we should look at the other invitations first."
Ron agreed and pulled at one letter. Hermione was also opening one of hers. "Hey do you mind helping Harry and me in here. There may be two of us but we only have two hands," Ron said to Fred, George and Ginny. They agreed and began opening his letters.
"Why do you have so many anyway?" Ginny asked. "Bill, Charlie and Percy didn't have this many.
The answer came with the first letter Ron and Harry opened. It was from the Department of Magical Transport inviting Ron to consider a career monitoring illegal transportation vehicles. But what struck them the most were the glowing compliments for Ron and how delighted they would be if the-Boy-Who-Survived became part of their department. The next letter from the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had a similar message with the same compliments that mentioned Ron's new title.
"The positions aren't really that good. At least not as good as an Auror. I think they only sent me these letters because they think I'm the "Boy-Who-Survived" or whatever crappy name the Daily Prophet spread about me," Ron said.
"This is ridiculous," Ron said aloud after he read a third letter. "The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee is inviting me to be part of their diplomatic relations team for dealing with various Muggle heads of states from non-European cultures. What do I know about that? I never even took up Muggle Studies. What are these people playing at?"
"They probably just want an image builder on their staff and they want the Boy-Who-Survived to do that for them," Hermione said. She was now looking at them with pity. Getting invites just because one was famous wasn't something she could be jealous of.
"That one can't be worse than this," said a snickering George. "He dangled an orange envelop with a familiar logo.
Harry felt Ron's heart jump.
"The Cannons are inviting me to play!"
George smirked at him and pulled the letter away before Ron could snatch it. "Don't get your hopes up little brother. Yes, they are inviting the Boy-Who-Survived, but not to play. They want you to..." He stopped and was attacked by a fit of laughter. He muttered something unintelligible.
"To what?" Ron was bursting with anticipation.
George was already in tears. "They want you to..." he managed to read from the parchment. "'Revitalize the spirit of our team as our mascot.'"
Harry hollered with the rest of the Weasleys but Ron didn't find it funny at all. In fact his heart was still jumping with excitement. "But I'll still be a part of the team right! If I take the job, I'll be traveling with the team to all their games and—"
Fred managed to stop laughing. "Are you serious? I thought you were the biggest Cannon's fan. Don't you remember what the Cannons do to their mascots at the start of the game?"
Harry felt Ron's enthusiasm plunge.
"Ron, what exactly do they do to the mascots at the start of the game?"
"They launch them from a cannon," Ron replied sadly.
Harry had a split-second image of he and Ron being hurled in the air after being launched from a cannon. It was not a pretty picture.
"I think that may be a bad career move," Harry said.
"I hate to say it because it's the Cannons, but I think I have to agree Harry."
They went through all the letters, laughing at the more ridiculous positions. There were some possibly good ones though, such as a liaison officer for events at the Department of Magical Games and Sports, which could get them into all the best Quidditch games, even the World Cup. Another prospective job was a broom tester for the Broom Regulatory Control Department, which would allow them to sample the latest model brooms. The setback however, as Hermione immediately pointed out, was they might end up breaking their neck in the process of trying out unstable brooms.
"Last letter, Harry," Ron said. They opened the final envelop from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Patrol which described an idealistic life working to keep wizarding communities safe at all times.
"It's not so bad," Ron said. "But it doesn't have the same status as an Auror. I say, that one's the best offer we've got, unless of course you have something else in mind, Harry."
"Nope. I'm all for it, Ron," Harry replied with an enormous relief. They relayed their decision to the rest of the Weasleys. Molly was a bit disappointed and said something about taking a job too dangerous, but everyone else seemed to be happy for them.
"How about you, Hermione, what have you got?" Ron asked. Everyone turned to her and Harry could see she was pleased that somebody finally gave her some attention. She had only gone through half of her letters since she had no help in opening them. Harry and Ron quickly volunteered to help her open the remaining half.
All of her invites were for sensible positions. Hermione seemed to find everything interesting that she couldn't make up her mind.
"Hey you got an invite from the Aurors too!" Ron exclaimed. That wasn't a surprise. She was probably the only other one in their class to get one since she got an Outstanding on all her N.E.W.T.s. "Why don't you come with us? The three of us can be Aurors together."
Hermione looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. I mean, the other offers look promising."
"But not as promising as fighting dark wizards," Ron replied, failing to notice her reluctance. "We'll be brilliant!"
"I'm not sure..." she replied helplessly.
"Just take the tests with us then," Harry said. "There are still some character and aptitude tests. Just see if you like it, then you can decide."
Hermione looked at him gratefully. "Alright, I'll take the tests with you."
That settled, they cleared off the letters and resumed their breakfast, talking noisily about their future careers. They were on their last bite of toast when another owl appeared and made for Ron.
"Got another one?" Ginny asked.
Harry saw that it was addressed to him and he immediately knew who it was from. "It's from Professor Lupin." He let Ron open it while he explained. "I've been wondering about that property on Godric's Hollow that once belonged to my parents since Gringotts mentioned that it still exists. I asked Professor Lupin if he could take me there."
Ron had finally opened the letter and they read it briefly. "He said he's free this afternoon from chasing Death Eaters and can escort us there himself. He said we could bring at least one other person just to be safe." He turned to Hermione. "Want to come?"
Hermione nodded. "I'd love to, Harry."
They finished the rest of their breakfast and Harry, Ron and Hermione cleared up the table and picked up the small pile of presents Harry opened earlier at the table before heading upstairs. Hermione borrowed Hedwig so she could owl her parents. They parted on Ginny's floor and Harry and Ron proceeded to Ron's room.
"Try the jumper, Harry," Ron said, indicating the Weasley jumper his mother knitted for him. Ron let him put it on. It was dark green with an H in the middle. When they faced the mirror Harry understood why Mrs. Weasley always knitted maroon for Ron. Green was definitely not his color.
Ron scowled. "Guess mum forgot that your eyes are no longer green. It clashes horribly with my hair."
"At least it's still pretty warm. We could still use it." They went through the other presents. Hermione gave him a book called, So You're out of Hogwarts: Time to Choose a Career, which Harry figured he wouldn't need. Fred and George's present was a bag of multi-colored candy which Harry and Ron resolved not to touch. A note attached to the bag said it was for his cousin Dudley if Harry decided to visit his relatives. Ginny's was by far the most simple, yet the most moving, even for Ron. It was a homemade picture frame that had a photo of Harry, Hermione and all the Weasleys taken a year ago before Percy died. He and Ron decided to put it on the bedside table so they could see it first when they woke up.
"Sorry I couldn't get you a birthday present," Ron said. "It's a bit impossible to get you one since you'd know immediately. But if you do want something, we could go to Diagon Alley and we could buy it."
"Ron, I'm going to be an Auror with you. It's the best birthday gift I could have, considering I'm already dead."
Ron was pleased.
A/N: Thank you again for all your wonderful reviews. Just a few mentions. Thanks to Mars-Alfgonso for that tidbit on the Hershey's kisses. I just heard about that thing about the calories so I decided to add it here, but I'm not sure if it's true. To Dassadec, you're right, I could have fun with this, but I already know what will happen to Harry. But the idea of having Harry as a girl is nice too. But I can't use it here, though I will mention that idea in a later chapter. I've got an idea of turning Harry into a girl, but it has to be another fic, it just doesn't work here. I have other plans for him. Again thanks for nattieb who never fails to review.