Harry's Take

The Second Day of School

The Burrow

Outside

Whoosh! I could feel the wind blow back my perpetually disheveled hair as I took a lovely swoop on my broom, feeling the familiar lifting sensation in my chest as it happened. Ah, flying. It was so wonderful. It was, in fact, an activity that had occupied me for much of my time for the past couple weeks, since Ron and Hermione had left for Hogwarts. The gits! Well, not really. I couldn't really blame them. It was most certainly extremely odd without them, though. While I had always felt lonely every summer after I came home from Hogwarts, even then, I had seen them for only a school year. Before they left for Hogwarts, I hadn't parted with Ron and Hermione for any extended time for five years. Unbelievable, slightly. But true. Through thick and thin, the two had stuck to me forever - through Horcruxes, battles, and finally, the last confrontation. It felt weird without them around, even knowing where they were. What were they doing? How were they feeling? I owled Ron yesterday with a letter asking if I could visit the two of them, Hogwarts, as well as Hagrid. It would be great to see Hogwarts again, as it had always felt somewhat like my home.

"Harry!" A familiar voice called out. It was Ginny, who I had been spending the vast majority of my time with lately. I could, if I wanted to, excuse it on Ron and Hermione's absence. Of course, that would also make me a dirty great liar.

"Gin?"

"Yeah. Mum says to come in and eat, you've been in for hours, and you're bound to catch cold," Ginny recited, obviously repeating her orders verbatim.

I laughed at Mrs. Weasley's mothering. "It's summer, how could I possibly catch cold?"

Ginny looked up in response. I did as well, and suddenly noticed that I had unwittingly been flying under a collection of storm clouds that looked an awful lot like they were going to rain directly on me.

"Oh. Well I suppose I'll come in then." Ginny nodded and grinned, and turned around to eat as well. Hearing a boom that signaled the coming of rain, and the patter of a slight drizzle, I hurtled down to the ground and fell clumsily into the house, narrowly escaping a torrent of rain.

"Do be careful, Harry! Don't want to injure yourself," said the concerned Mrs. Weasley, ushering me into a chair and placing a platter before me.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, I nearly forgot - Harry, dear, you've got a letter." I took it, slightly nervous, hoping that it was Ron or Hermione. Unfortunately, though, it had a Ministry stamp on it, no doubt it was from the Aurors office. I noticed that Ginny had tensed up and looked slightly distraught, and took a strange pleasure knowing it. Tearing it open, I feverishly scanned the paper.

Potter,

I hope your leave is going well. Don't worry, we're not calling you back until you're well and ready. If you want, you can quit for life. It's your choice.

I breathed out slowly, relieved. While I was most certainly going to come back eventually, I was in no rush to return the helter-skelter life of tracking down Dark Wizards.

However, there is a situation you're returning to when you come back. I'm old, Harry, and I only took the office as Auror Head temporarily. I'm too slow now to do this kind of thing much longer. I'm going to go back into retirement after a week or two more. The Ministry asked me to recommend a replacement. I recommended you.

I groaned. Unbelievable! Who could guess that the old codger would recommend me for Head Auror? Secretly, though, I was a little joyous as well, as I had obviously gotten his approval through the years of war.

Now, I know, you're very young - probably the youngest Auror Head ever. But you're the most skilled, the smartest, and the quickest. You know what it's like Harry, and the other Aurors will respect you. Perhaps a little too much, but that's not the point. Anyway, obviously, you don't need to take the job. You can decline it if you want. But you'll need a position on this by the time you come back - if you come back - so I thought it was only fair to warn you.

See you around, Potter,

Moody

I closed the letter, breathing in and out. It was still slightly surreal to believe that Moody would ever recommend me for Auror Captain.

"Well?" Ginny said sharply. "What does it say? Who's it from?" I realized suddenly that I had been reading and hadn't told them.

"Oh, sorry. Moody. He says I can stay on leave for as long as I want."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "And?"

"And that he's recommended me for Auror Head when I come back."

"What!" Ginny yelled.

"Well," I said, thoroughly nonplussed at her anger. "I mean, it's not that bad...I'm thinking I'll probably take it."

Ginny looked grumpy. "You are going to stay here for longer, though, right?"

"Yeah. A while, at least."

"I'm going up." Ginny stalked upstairs, still looking mildly upset.

"Congratulations, Harry!" said Mrs. Weasley, sounding proud. She had always looked on me as a son, I knew, and was just as proud of my achievements.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

Ginny's Take

I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I paced around the room. It's not like it was entirely unexpected, really. We all knew that Moody's position as Head Auror at the Ministry could only ever be a short-term kind of thing, as Mad-Eye was getting old and tired, and preferred to live in retirement by now anyway. Besides, he had too many disputes with the Ministry to ever want to stay on long. It was still slightly shocking, though, for it all to happen so soon. Harry was only twenty-two. Most Head Aurors were usually well into their thirties, at least.

It's not that I'm not happy for him. Harry's an immensely capable Auror, and will make an excellent Captain. That's never the question. But the thought of Harry going out to hunt Dark wizards for a job didn't really appeal to me. Sure, there was fear for his life, but that wasn't what annoyed me most about it. Harry was a good deal more powerful than any Dark wizard out there by now, and was as safe as anybody could be working as an Auror. Mostly, it was the thought that I just wouldn't be able to see him near as much, if he was hunting dark wizards. And Auror Captains spend at least twice as much time at work as regular Aurors, since they have to manage every mission as well as their own.

Of course, in a way, it was inevitable that Harry and I would eventually have to return to our jobs. I was on leave from St. Mungo's, but unlike Harry, did not have the option of staying indefinitely. I would have to go back in a week or two, and would be partially glad to do it - earning my own money again, living away from my parents and brothers, whom, though I loved dearly, could get aggravating. But these past few months after the war had been a blissful paradise, and none of us had ever wanted to wake up from it. Ron and Hermione already have - they've secured enjoyable and long-lasting jobs, plus they have the added bonus of being able to stay at Hogwarts and spend time with each other. Their relationship could go further, and would, I imagined, even though it would be slightly difficult with all the students around. Harry and I would have a tougher time of it, plus, we still hadn't really done anything. Well, I suppose that's not strictly true. We danced together all afternoon and night at the wedding. But since then, we hadn't done anything. We spent a ton of time together, particularly since Ron and Hermione were gone. But as friends. I wanted more, and still do. I think he wants more as well.

Of course, the reality is, Harry's always so tentative when it comes to romance. Never really wants to offend, I guess, so he barely ever makes a move. Right now, I even suspected that the primary reason Harry even got the guts to ask me to dance was due to some suggestive prodding from Ron. Without Ron and Hermione's poking and edging, our romance had become a little more vague. If you look at it one way, it had entirely stopped. Other than brief, awkward moments, there was no hint of Harry wanting to pursue romantic relations with me. In another manner, it was accelerating. Spending more time with Harry had forced me to realize that I truly, fully enjoyed his company, no matter where and when, or how he's feeling. You couldn't really say we had grown closer with entire truthfulness, as we have been very close since before the war. But it may not have been until very recently that I had fully realized the extent of my feelings for Harry. Slightly funny, if you think about it, considering these very feelings had started in my pre-teen years.

"Gin?" said Harry, his voice slightly concerned. Evidently, I had not hid my slightly upset emotions very well. "You all right?"

"Yeah," I replied, coming down the stairs. "Want to play some Quidditch?"

"Sure, I'll see if anyone else wants to play."

I sighed quietly as Harry looked for the twins. It seemed obvious, now, that if Harry and I were ever to get together, it would have to be very soon, and it would have to be me that makes the first move.