Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.
(A/N): Unfortunatly delayed, but here at last.
Chapter 41
Life Goes On
It was the perfect plan. Harry and Ginny would be heading back to Grimmauld with her parents on the pretense of helping them pack up and return to the Burrow. That would easily take most of the day. After doing away with the Weasleys they would head out for a bite to eat before coming back to the house where they could finally be alone. Harry's body danced with nervous anxiety every time he contemplated what would happen next and his mind filled with ideas that would like lead to a slow painful death at the hands of her older brothers should they ever find out. It was the perfect plan.
So…of course…there was no way in hell it was going to happen.
The first part of his plan had involved getting plenty of extra sleep so he'd have plenty of energy for the day ahead and not waking until somewhere after nine. So, he was naturally bleary eyed and only half cognizant of what was going on while he stood barely awake and hastily dressed in the Headmistress's office at half past seven, waiting on her to finish the note she was writing. When Neville had shaken him awake fifteen minutes earlier and told him McGonagall wanted to see him, he had immediately pulled on fresh clothes and nearly run through the castle, fearing the worst. What he had found was a far from flustered McGonagall, surprised he had appeared so quickly.
She had greeted him and then begged a moment to finish her letter, something he had blearily agreed to as it would give him some time to wake up. Slowly his mind began to form some sort of concrete thoughts and sort out what was going on. He had spent a good part of the last evening with Ron and Hermione offering congratulations and straightening out Ron's confusion about the ring. After a while though, he had sensed rather strongly that his absence was greatly desired and had withdrawn to his own room quickly. There it had not been Ron and Hermione's engagement that had consumed his thoughts, but his almost certain engagement to Ginny. This brought a smile whenever he thought of it. Ginny Potter…yeah…that would work.
But then he had been rudely awakened and summoned here to an unknown point and purpose. He had talked to the Headmistress a dozen times in the last few days; surely there wasn't anything else they needed to discuss. Finally able to make his eyes focus through the recently replaced glasses, which Ginny had charmed herself, he found McGonagall finishing the note and stuffing it in an envelope before setting it on top of a pile on her desk. Right next to it was a matching pile of open envelopes that had apparently arrived recently via owl. After placing the letter on the fresh pile her gaze returned to his.
"Good morning Mr. Potter."
"Uh…morning."
"I have a few matters you, with your long acquaintance with out former Headmaster, might be able to help me with."
"Okay…"
"First…" She gestured to the pile of letters. "Each of these is from the parent or guardian of one of our students requesting that their children be allowed to return now that the war is over. Many of them are from Slytherin parents who claim, and I believe them, to have gone into hiding for the last several months. This other stack is my replies that their children would be welcome to return whenever they wish. I wanted to know what you thought of the idea." Harry's mind had focused enough that he could grasp what she was asking him. A small part of him shouted that these sunshine fans should go to hell. Of course the better voice of Dumbledore rose and tramped it down easily.
"It's what Dumbledore would have done. He always wanted this school to be open for any who wished to attend. Besides, everyone deserves the chance to prove themselves." She smiled at his words and seemed a little relieved that he had agreed with her assessment. After a moment she picked a small scrap of parchment on the other side of the desk.
"Speaking of fresh chances…I received this today from one Draco Malfoy." She waved the page so Harry could just make out the other man's signature at the bottom, along with others. "It was also signed by Miss Parkinson, Miss Greengrass and Mr. Nott. It is a request that, if at all possible and under any circumstance, they would like to finish out the year with their classmates before being shipped off to Azkaban." She dropped the paper rather coldly on the desk, the usual severity back in her face. "Now…I understand you worked to aid Malfoy and Parkinson in their prison terms, but this…"
"Yes." Cut off in mid sentence, her eyes focused sharply on him, a look he remembered well from some of his grander, or perhaps more idiotic, exploits over the last several years. It combined astonishment, annoyance, disbelief and 'what the hell are you thinking' in a glance. Harry met the look firmly, something that had become increasingly easier as the year had progressed. He held firm and waited for her to object.
"What do you mean 'yes'? These are people who willingly followed Voldemort and did his bidding. To allow them back into classes would be…would be…" She searched in vain for exactly what to compare it to. Harry supplied the answer.
"It would be exactly what Dumbledore would do. Giving people another chance to him meant that the offer extended to everyone. He took in Snape despite what had he done. And who's to say what these four would have done if not for the fear put into them by their families and the threats of Voldemort. They want a shot at some sort of redemption. We have to give it to them."
"But…Death Eaters…murders loose in the school? Even with Aurors watching them, they can't baby sit them everywhere."
"Former Death Eaters have been loose in the castle before without minders. Snape? Karkaroff? Sound familiar? If they're sincere then this may be their first step back to a new life. If not…they'll be surrounded by suspicious and well trained students and staff ready to stop them." She remained silent for several moments, trying to find some sort of rebuttal for his reasons.
"It's dangerous. Very dangerous."
"Yes. It is. But if were leave them as outcasts, rejects, never given hope before going to prison, then we are just inviting them to become the next Dark Lord. I destroyed one. I don't think I can stop four. If nothing else…keeping them locked in small rooms can't be good for their minds, especially with the specter of Azkaban awaiting them." He could see her being fall a little in acquiescence, betraying the words she was about to speak.
"I still don't like it. But you're right. The possible benefits outweigh the potential problems. Just so you know, I'm going to schedule them in your classes as much as possible so you can keep an eye on them." Harry nodded, half expecting that.
"Okay. We will." He waited a minute while she scrawled a reply to the students and sealed it in an envelope to be delivered later. She stared at it harshly for several seconds as if trying to start it on fire with merely the strength of her gaze. After eventually giving up that idea he eyes traced back to Harry, a little of the severity gone, replaced by rarely seen anticipation.
"Now…onto more pleasurable topics." She shuffled through some other papers and came up with a badge Harry remembered very well from the previous year. "I know we only have a couple months left in the year and you'll already be rushed with final preparations and especially NEWTs…" Harry's eyes were locked on the badge being slowly rotated in her hands, anticipation rising in him for what she might be about to say. "But I was wondering if you thought it would be a good idea to cram a season of Quiddich into the last few weeks of your final year." Considerably less thought passed through his mind before he answered this time.
"Yes! Definitely!" His mind was already in captain mode trying to figure out who was left and who he'd have to replace on the team this year. Ginny and Ron would be back…as would most of the team save Katie…Dean could take her place after filling in admirably last year… He damn near had a team ready to go already! He was pulled out of his flight of ideas by McGonagall's cough. "Yeah?"
"Are you sure about that Harry? I would like to see some Quiddich this year as much as anyone…a good deal more than some I'll admit…but it's not without risk. We'll be no small run away from the castle and you'll have to pack all your training and game time in despite the NEWT class work and everything else you personally have to do. Are you sure you…and this school can handle it?" Harry's brain finally took into account the added work and pressure it would put not just on him but everyone on all the teams. "And Slytherin would be hard pressed to field a decent team, even with Mr. Malfoy able to play." Harry weighed the possibilities in his mind in seconds.
"He'll make it work if he has to go without sleep. I think we could all use some sport to relax around here and after all the training in Defense we'll have the fittest teams in years. We've all been under a lot of pressure this year and had tons of work to do besides. Working that hard toward Quiddich would almost be a relief…even with NEWTs coming up. Let's do it." McGonagall's mouth broke into a small grin as she nodded slowly.
"Very well. I'll make the announcement this evening at dinner. I expect the Weasleys will know before that?" Harry bit back a grin as he nodded. "As long as it's not all over the school by then." He nodded again. "Well…that takes care of that…" She pushed aside some more papers and came up with yet another envelope. Harry noticed it was addressed to him in her care. "As we expected, a request for an interview from the Prophet." She picked up a few other envelopes. "And others from most of the other wizarding publications as well. I've taken the liberty of remove some the…shall we say 'less reputable' among them." Setting the Prophet's letter on top she handed him the stack. After flipping through the dozen envelopes in various styles and colors, he stuck them in his pocket to deal with later.
"Thanks." He could put off an interview two, perhaps three days, but the sooner it happened, the better. He would also have to decide at some point which got the exclusive or if he should do it as a group. The possibility he'd have to do multiple interviews made him shudder just a little. He wondered idly how the others would respond when their interview requests came. "You left the Quibbler's in…right?" She nodded, a small grin still on her lips. He was fully awake now and looked around happily. "So…was there something else?"
"Yes actually. Someone else wishes to speak to you…and here he his." She gestured to the door and Harry turned to find Minister Fudge waiting, hat in hand. At her gesture he entered and offered a hand to Harry, which the student shook. "I'll leave you two to talk." Striding past him with a nod she passed out the door and closed it before heading for the stairway. Harry turned back to find the Minister gesturing to a pair of large armchairs sitting near each other and half turned to face the front of the Headmistress's desk. With a nod he followed the man over and they sat, Harry to the right, the Minister to the left.
"Good morning Minister."
"Good morning Mr. Potter. I'm sorry for the early hour but I plan to visit a good number of Ministry employees today and wanted to get an early start." Harry mentally filed the reason away to check it later. It wasn't that he didn't trust the man; he had just had a good deal of experience with the Ministry and despite Fudge's changed attitudes, old habits died hard.
"Not a problem. So…what do we have left to talk about this morning? Have you built a plan for restarting the Ministry?" Fudge nodded a little.
"Yes actually. But before we discuss that, I was thinking we could talk about something more personal to you." Alarm bells went of in Harry's head. Phrases similar to that had preceded some of the most annoying and potentially dangerous conversations in his life. He kept his face carefully neutral as he responded.
"And that would be?" Fudge's position shifted slightly so he was leaning a little forward on the chair's closer right arm. Harry fought the instinct to lean a little farther back, his hands held carefully over the ends of the arms.
"Your future." Harry's eyes narrowed considerably as more alarms went off. His future, most of his friends had learned, was a relatively taboo topic. Though he knew what he wanted to do, doing so under the shadow of Tom had been something he hadn't dwelt on too much. None the less, he gestured for the Minister to continue. Fudge seemed to get the message he was treading on dangerous ground as he spoke. "Right… Now, forgive me for my curiosity, but Headmistress McGonagall has mentioned that it is your desire to become an Auror once you leave Hogwarts, correct." Harry nodded slowly, wondering where this was heading.
"Yes. It's really the only career I could see myself going into…after everything I've done."
"Makes sense. Though I would bet there are a number of professional Quiddich teams that would be interested in you. You've made quite a name for yourself as a Seeker and a flyer in general after all, as the Quiddich Cup in Headmistress McGonagall's old office would testify."
"Maybe. But catching dark wizards has always seemed to be the kind of career I'd really fit."
"True enough. And it is a skill we'll need desperately in the next few months and perhaps years." His eyes drifted off and Harry could see the weight of the tasks he had ahead beginning to bear down on him. A moment later though, his focus returned to the other chair. "Which is in part what this is about. You know we've lost a lot of out Auror corps in the war and especially the last battle." Harry nodded again. "Because of that we are seeking replacements at as fast as possible. Some of these may come from the rest of Magical Law Enforcement, at least temporarily, but we are also hoping for a few from the school. So the decision has been made that, if you wish it, you'll be immediately accepted into Auror training once you finish Hogwarts. Given your level of ability, it's likely you'll be able to bypass much of the training as well."
Harry's eyes popped back open wide. Here was exactly what he'd been wanting for years being handed to him on a silver platter. After taking several moment to consider the offer his mind recovered enough from the shock to question the motives. His eyes narrowed again as he spoke. "That's very generous of the Ministry. Might I ask what prompted them to offer me a pass on the entry tests and NEWT requirements? I know I managed to defeat Voldemort, but there are reasons these things exist. It almost fells like I'm being bought off." Fudge, surprisingly, readily nodded at Harry's assessment.
"To some extent…you are." He hesitated only a moment before quickly moving to answer the raised eyebrow on Harry's face. "I won't lie to you Harry. If you were to mention, just casually mention, that you'd kind of like to be the Minister of Magic in the Prophet or whichever publication you finally grant an interview to, you'd have my job within a week. I think you know just how much power you currently wield with not only the school and Ministry, but through the Press you could achieve almost anything and sway popular opinion however you wanted right up to and including taking over the Ministry. I've read more than one editorial suggesting you might be the right wizard to lead us right now." He hesitated for a moment, his head moving back and forth as if weighing the outcomes that might lead to.
"But I don't think you want my job. You've shown great…unbelievably great really…skill in organizing the war against Voldemort and, whether you realize it or not, becoming the de facto shadow head of the wizarding community, but I don't think you want to run the Ministry, or the school for that matter. I've heard support for you becoming Headmaster as well." Harry was truly surprised that anyone could think he'd be able to take over Hogwarts. Dumbledore had left big shoes and he was nowhere near ready to try and fill them instead of McGonagall. "In fact, if I'm right…you'll be happy to find a suitable career and let yourself fade out of public life. As much as Harry Potter ever could at least." It was Harry's turn to nod at the assessment.
"Yeah. I would like that." Harry had never wanted all the attention he had gotten, but he had lived with it. Now that he had defeated Tom for good, it was unlikely he'd get a moments peace for a long time. Having the excuse of Auror training would be a help.
"And so, I offer you this. The career you want as soon as you can get it." Harry played the possibilities over in his mind multiple times. He could be an Auror. With or without the NEWTs necessary he could become what it had always been his ambition to be. But…
"But I didn't do everything by myself. Ron, Hermione…a lot of other people helped me get there. I can't take this option and leave them behind." The Minister smiled a little, apparently anticipating the point.
"Of course not. And we wouldn't ask you to. The same offer will be extended to Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley as well as a number of your fellow students. I understand…a little…how important those two are to you and if keeping you together is what it takes, we'll do it. They've each shown prodigious skills themselves and we'd be foolish not to try and recruit them." He paused for a moment, considering what else he could say. "I know we've had our differences in the past Harry, but I think you could be an excellent influence on the Ministry by coming to work for it. And with your level of skill, you might even be able to show some of the Aurors a thing or two. At least think about it?"
Harry nodded slowly to the last. He still had a couple months before he had to make a decision. "I will. When do you need to know?"
"Whenever you're ready. The offer doesn't expire. We'll let you announce it yourself if you accept and if you decline…no one will find out from us." Harry's eyebrows rose a little at that. Perhaps Fudge had changed even more than he thought. The old Fudge would never have allowed an announcement like that to slip through his fingers. Harry put consideration of that to the side though; he had plenty of other things to think about right now. After a few moments silence the Minister spoke again, this time more tentatively. "So…have you decided when you're going to do your interview? And with whom?" Harry could feel the bulge of requests in his pocket.
"Well…are you ready to announce the reopening of the Ministry? I can put it off a couple more days but after that…" Fudge nodded and seemed to be running down a mental checklist.
"We actually are. We'd like to announce it early this coming week. So feel free to give the interview whenever you're ready. We'll make the announcement the following day."
"Okay. What's in the plan so far?" In response the man reached into his robes and pulled out a small list.
"First…we'll send in teams of Aurors and maintenance people to clean and restore the offices, starting on the second floor and working down. Magical Law Enforcement, now headed as your know by Arthur Weasley, will be the first office reopened and then the lobby. From there we'll work out way down to the lobby and eventually the basements. Hopefully the whole building will be back on its feet in a month or two. Finally we'll get to the Minister's office and undo the damage there. Sound good?" Harry nodded, impressed at the plan.
"Yes. Hopefully everything will go according to plan."
"Agreed. It will take a while not only to rebuild the building itself but to rebuild the image of the Ministry in the minds of the Magical Community." Harry nodded again. Their actions under both Fudge and Scrimgeour had done far more damage than good over the last few years and they had lost much of their credibility with most of the witches and wizards Harry knew. "This is the point at which I am compelled to ask you another favor…"
"Which is…?"
"I mentioned before that your ability to sway public opinion right now is incredible, more than mine ever was, and you could literally make mountains move at your word…"
"Get to the point."
"Right, sorry. I know the Ministry has tried to get you on their side numerous times in the past…always to our detriment. But I was hoping you could be persuaded this time to offer some support of what we're trying to do. A nod of approval from you would help us a great deal right now." A small lick of anger rose in Harry at yet another attempt to use his influence for other goals.
"I'll admit…it takes a lot of nerve to ask me that after everything you've tried."
"I know. But I'm trying to rebuild an organization that was, for all intents and purposes, torn to shreds; one which your actions saved from complete destruction. So, as the chosen leader right now, I'm obligated to pursue any avenue available to me to help rebuild it. I understand if you decide to say nothing in favor of what I'm trying to do after the actions I've taken, notably Miss Umbridge, but…please consider it." Harry was struck by the similarities between the argument he was making and the one McGonagall had made when attempting to get him back to Hogwarts. He wondered for a moment if it would always be like this. Would people hang on his every word believing he had some sort of special insight? Another curse of being a hero. "It was probably foolish to ask but I-"
"Two weeks."
"Uh…sorry?"
"Two weeks. Show me what you can do between now and then and I'll make my decision then. If I agree with the direction the Ministry is going, I'll make sure it's on the front page of the Prophet." The Minister seemed temporarily stunned at the objective, but eventually nodded slowly and spoke just above a whisper.
"Thank you."
"No problem. Just so you know, I'm going to mention I believe in greater rights for werewolves in my interview. I have a very close acquaintance that suffers from that condition and would like to see him allowed more freedom. You might want to get working on that." Fudge was again momentarily shocked before nodding slowly. If Harry had as much power as Fudge seemed to think, he was going to use some of it to help his friends. There was an irony to the fact he was trying to deliver on the greater rights of werewolves that Tom had promised to get them over to his side.
They sat in silence for a minute, both with heads full of new information they would have to consider. Harry was already making a list of things he had to do and ranking them, mostly in differing degrees of 'as soon as possible'. After a minute he moved to rise and glanced to the Minister. "If there was nothing else?" Fudge rose to his feet and extended his hand which Harry took and shook firmly.
"No. Thank you for your time Mr. Potter."
"Any time Minster. Now, I believe you have some employees to speak to?" The Minister nodded firmly.
"Quite right." With a bit of flourish he set his had back atop his brow. "Until we meet again." He turned and headed for the door, disappearing through it a moment later. Harry took a moment to consider his surroundings and allow the Minister to make his way down the stairs before heading out himself. Finding the corridor past the gargoyle empty he began walking, not really paying attention to where he was going. His mind ran with thoughts of which of the Quiddich team members he would find first to let them know they were going to have to cram a season into two months.
After a few moments he realized he was near the Defense Classroom and remembered the Professor mentioning he had something of Harry's. He was surprised to find one of the double doors wide open at this early hour on Saturday morning. Double checking he had his wand, just in case, he stepped in and looked around. The classroom was perfectly organized and deathly quiet. Stepping silently past the tables he headed for the slightly open door to the professor's office. He came to a sudden halt against the wall a few feet away from the door when he heard voices coming from inside. The first was a woman's, which he recognized as Professor Montoya's. She seemed to speaking through tears, though of sadness or anger, he couldn't tell.
"Damnit Alex! Can't you act a little less like a heartless bastard for a moment!" Professor Keystone's voice on the other hand was his normal even tone.
"You know I can't. You know better than most."
"Well could you fake it! You are the reason he's dead!"
"Hey! I didn't ask him to step between me and death. Given the choice, I would rather he had lived and I had died. Matt made his own choices. Don't try to put it on me." Harry was afraid to breath too loudly as it might interrupt them. He knew he should just sneak back out but something kept him rooted to the spot. Perhaps it was the thought that the argument going on in the next room could have easily been him and Hermione…or Ron and Ginny.
"And you could at least act like it matters! You don't know how it feels to lose someone you love that much!" She seemed to cut off whatever she was about to say next in realization of her last words.
"I don't know how it feels?" Keystone's voice had gone positively icy.
"Alex…I didn't…" Harry felt something hit the desk, possible a club, possibly the professor's fist. His voice sounded again, this time filled with fire and booming in the small space.
"I DON"T KNOW HOW IT FEELS! I'm sorry, remind me, which one of us had to kill Jennifer? Which one of us had to cut down their own WIFE because she fell to the darkness!" Dead silence fell in the room at that bellowed question and Harry was afraid to even step away for fear of disturbing it. It was the first time he had ever heard the professor truly angry and the implied revelation of his past had shocked Harry dead still. The soundless void carried on for several moments before Professor Montoya spoke again.
"I…I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…"
"So am I." Harry could hear him release an audible breath. "Why don't you head up to my room? I'll be there in a little while and we can talk about this."
"Okay…"
"I just have to speak to Mr. Potter for a few moments first. Ask him to come in would you?"
"How did you…?"
"You know how. I'll be up in a bit." Harry heard her light footsteps for a moment before she appeared at the door, wiping hr eyes dry and looked around to find him waiting. With a jerk of her head back to the office she headed for the classroom's doors. Harry waited a couple moments before squaring his shoulders and stepping into the office.
He found Keystone half sitting on the edge of his desk, one leg swinging free off the side. His masked face was directed to the door and followed Harry as he entered to stand near the middle of the room. "Good Morning Professor."
"Good Morning Mr. Potter. Dressed a bit hastily this morning I see." Harry's eyes popped open wide. He could account for following his movements by the footfalls, but how did the man know how he was dressed? Seeming to understand the unspoken question, the professor pointed to the black cloth wrapped across his face. Looking closer Harry noticed the faintest image of stylized eyes picked out in shiny black in front of where the empty sockets would be. "Courtesy of Miss Granger. Brightest witch of her age indeed. It's a spell that was originally used to augment glasses…modified. I don't have perfect sight anymore…but I can see fairly well. Enough to get by anyway." Harry marveled for a moment at just how inventive Hermione was. After several moment though he remembered what had spurred his visit.
"You said…you had something of mine?" The professor nodded and reached behind himself to the desk.
"Yeah I did. Here." With one smooth motion he tossed the Sword of Gryffindor and its scabbard across the short distance to Harry's waiting hands. "Sarah found that on the battle field near a rather large serpent that appeared to have been violently dispatched. Your handiwork I assume?" Harry nodded slowly and drew the blade a few inches, staring at the engraved name of Godric Gryffindor…his ancestor. He drew it completely and let it glide through the air for a few moments, feeling the dirt, sweat and dried blood the wrap on the handle had accumulated through his fighting.
"Thank you." He returned the blade to its scabbard and shifted his gaze back to the professor. "Could you do me a favor and hang on to it? Hero or not, strutting through the halls with it isn't likely to make me any friends and I'm not sure I trust my roommates enough to leave it in the tower." Keystone extended his hand and accepted the sword.
"No problem." Folding the belt again on itself he set the weapon back on the desk. "So…hero. Finally accepted the role?" Harry nodded slowly.
"Didn't have much choice. At least now I'm being called that for something I can remember." Harry wasn't sure but he thought the professor smirked for a moment. "Speaking of the battle…Ron said you saw Snape die?" What he could see of Keystone's face became instantly sober and his head cocked off to the side, seeing something only for his eyes.
"Yeah. Yeah I did." A moment's silence fell and Harry could see the memory playing within the other man's head. "He…he lead the counter attack on the other flank when Voldemort arrived with his inner circle. Alone. He faced seven Death Eaters, powerful and highly trained, by himself despite being half exhausted. They cut him down. But it was enough. He stalled them long enough for the others to regroup and fight back. The whole flank would have been slaughtered if he hadn't sacrificed himself…" He trailed off leaving Harry in stunned silence for several moments. The professor's gaze slowly rose back to Harry's face.
"It was odd. I think…I think he wanted to die. He looked almost happy when he finally fell. Whether he felt it was penance for past sins or he had run out of reasons to live, I can't say. But he went willingly to his death." They stared at each other for several moments, neither sure what to say next. Eventually the Professor glanced to the door way. "Well…I'll take no more of your time. I need to go speak to Sarah. Until Monday." With a nod he walked past Harry and headed out the door, leaving the student alone in the office. After a lingering glance to his sword, Harry turned and followed.
(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.