Chapter Title: Chapter 1: Paperwork and a Field Trip
Characters:
Genres:
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: HBP Spoiler
Summary: Harry is still hopelessly behind on his paperwork and his assistant is cracking down. But an incident in Hogsmeade requires Harry's attention; an incident that, pleasantly enough, involves meeting up with old friends and visiting one of his favorite places.
Several months later, the scene in Harry's cluttered office had changed very little. Although he didn't always wear the look of someone who didn't get enough sleep anymore, his recent drop in working hours had not made him feel much better. Today he was running a good thirty minutes late as he walked briskly into the Department of Aurors, his hair unusually straight, as it was still wet.
"Good morning Harry," said a short, blonde haired witch as she rose from her chair, simultaneously reaching for a stack of loose papers and a large mug of coffee which was steaming at the edge of her desk.
"Good morning Kate," Harry responded pleasantly as he turned into his office. "Let's make this a light day shall we."
"And how much chance is there of that?"
"We'll see. What do you have for me?"
"Here are the morning's messages," she placed the stack of papers firmly into Harry's hand as though she had learned from experience that this was the best place for them. "There are a couple of memos from the Minister, just the usual stuff, nothing to worry about. A note from Mr. Weasley came over just before you arrived."
"Kate, I appreciate the need for formality but with the Weasleys you're going to have to use their first names."
"Of course, sorry, from Arthur Weasley. A Mr. Finnegan over in the office of Accidental Magical Reversal wanted some time this afternoon, I told him I'd need to check with you first. What's so funny?" she asked, as Harry had just snorted and smiled, shaking his head.
"Oh nothing, it's just I'd forgotten Seamus got that job. You see, if you'd have known him while we were at Hogwarts together you'd understand how ironic it is for him to be working as a reverser."
"Not so graceful with the wand?"
"You could say that. Yeah, I'll meet with him."
"Very good, I'll put him down for 3 o'clock then," she said as she flicked her wand in the general direction of her desk outside. "Here's your coffee."
"Thanks," Harry sipped gratefully. "So what's first today?"
"I cleared a bit of time first thing this morning for you to catch up on some filing," Kate responded as she began shuffling through the papers on Harry's desk, much to Harry's dismay. "Mr. Malfoy down in archives is itching to finish up the cataloguing of last quarter's closed case files… ugh… by the end of the week," she continued, yanking a stack of papers from the bottom of a pile with a grunt and flipping through them. "Yeah," she said with satisfaction, "you'll want to do these first. Be a dear and try to finish them off before your 10 o'clock or I might have to bump it too."
"Who's at 10?"
"Mrs. Creevey."
"No way, we're not bumping Luna again."
"Very well, I won't take up any more of your time then," said Kate skeptically as she reached for the door handle. "Will you be needing anything else?"
"No, thanks Kate."
Harry wasn't sure what was souring his good mood more, the thick pile of case reports he had in front of him, or the image of Draco Malfoy scolding him sanctimoniously about getting his paperwork done on time. Knowing better than to dwell on either thing, he reminded himself of the previous evening, and the reason he had been feeling so good in the first place, and set to work.
He had been making excellent progress when he was jolted out of his reverie by a loud clanging over his head. High above the fireplace was a row of brass bells, each of a different pitch. Hanging above each bell was a plaque labeling it with names like Dept. of Mysteries, Dept. of G&S, and even one rather new one labeled Hogwarts. Harry knew the sound of this particular bell well enough that he wouldn't have needed to look up to see the W.W.W. (H) inscribed above the well used bronze bell clanging above his head.
"Oh no, what've they done now?" Harry said to himself, checking his watch. "Damn" He was just reaching for his cloak as his door opened to reveal a forlorn looking Kate. "Kate it's 9:45. I've got most of them done. You can send these down." He shoved a pile of parchments into her hands. "Please apologize to Luna for me and reschedule her for first thing tomorrow. No, wait. Do I have a lunch today?"
"No, not yet."
"Have her meet me at The Leaky Cauldron at 12:30."
"Done. Harry was that the Weasley's b—"
"Sorry dear I've really got to dash."
"…ell?" she finished, unheard. "Sure, light day."
The sound of hundreds of voices carried lightly down the deserted alleyway. Harry was almost completely hidden when, with a nearly inaudible pop, he apparated into a small alcove. It was barely large enough to fit into without bumping his head. Any apparation instructor would have admonished Harry severely for choosing such a risky destination. Harry had witnessed first hand that tight spaces could lead to some rather unpleasant side effects when apparating. It took him twenty visits to discover the location and another ten to summon up the courage (and even a bit of his trademark self-assuredness) to try it. By now, he had it down to a science. Peeking around a corner briefly, Harry skulked down the alley toward the crowded street, peering about suspiciously and looking twice as suspicious himself.
As he neared the corner shop he slowed and lowered his head a bit. He had reached the rear entrance of a very crowded and colorful store. Hoping to have a look around undisturbed, (at least for a moment) he cautiously glanced inside. Satisfied he hadn't been noticed, he slowly turned the doorknob only to have it ripped from his grasp. "Harry m'boy, good to see you. And how are things with you?" George Weasley had seized Harry's hand, yanking him inside where he collided head first with a magenta-clad Fred.
"Cut the crap George. What's happened this time?" Harry retorted, with a futile attempt to straighten his hair.
"Would you listen to him, 'this time.' Seriously Harry it's never been our fault and you know it," responded Fred.
"Yeah, this is the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year," George added. "We wouldn't want to disrupt sales now would we?"
"Disrupt sales?" Harry replied glaring around at the swaths of Hogwarts students milling about the Weasley's newest corner joke shop, obviously looking for the source of the explosion they had heard minutes ago. "Right," Harry said skeptically as Fred and George exchanged a mischievous grin. "So, what happened?"
"Well, this kid, must've been about a fourth or fifth-year, was rummaging around here in the free samples," Fred indicated a large red container next to an oversized granite sales counter on which was emblazoned in vivid red and gold, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Since when do you give stuff away free? Except to me of course," Harry asked, peering into the tub upon which a large sign asked: Classes got you down? Try one of these for a bit of relief. Harry wondered with amusement what Fred and George considered "relief." Nevertheless he felt a bit calmer as he examined the contents of the barrel. Most of the things in here he recognized.
"New idea this year," replied George, running his hand through the tub of goodies. "The way we see it, the 5th years have got to be going mad by now with all the O.W.L. stuff they're studying for. We figured, give them a couple of freebies this time, they'll be clambering for more come next time.
"Anyway," continued Fred, "something rather unexpected happened." He brought out a charred feather quill and what looked like a small bit of unused, petrified chewing gum, still in its blackened wrapper. "From the looks of it, one of the smart answer quills pierced the second half of a Nosebleed Nougat. I had no idea anything like that would happen. Both of those have been in production for years, with a pretty solid track record. Hardly any complaints."
"Maybe the essence of murtlap caused the quill to backfire," George speculated.
"And with the murtlap's healing and restorative properties…" Fred countered, sinking into a rhythm with his twin.
"Yeah, and with those anti-anti-cheating charms in the quills."
"That makes sense. The murtlap must have gone right after that quill like a niffler in a Gringotts vault."
Harry chuckled. "See, aside from keeping you two out of some serious trouble, I love working these cases because you always do all the work for me." Harry reached into a pocket and extracted a large brown envelope that appeared to have a glistening, waterproof coating. Tapping each wrist with his wand, Harry's hands took on a similar appearance. "I'll just take these," he carefully took the burnt feather and what remained of the fossilized Skiving Snackbox, "and I'll have the lab look them over." Harry carefully slid each item into the envelope, sealed it magically with a tap from his wand, and slipped it neatly into an inside pocket.
"You know George, this gives me an idea." Fred quickly extracted a small notepad from his pocket and began scribbling frantically. George peered over his shoulder with interest.
"Of course. It would work perfectly as—"
"Yes, but we'd have to be careful about the—"
"Right, we'll need to know exactly what ratio…" George paused. "Say Harry, I don't suppose—"
"I'll bring you the test results and the uh, specimens," Harry patted the envelope underneath his robes, "as soon as I have a chance." Harry shook his head and smiled at the twins, both of them with a gleam of subdued excitement in their not so innocent eyes. "Besides, I figure your lab is twice as sophisticated as the Ministry's."
"Thanks a million Harry," George seized Harry's hand again, this time to shake it graciously.
Fred patted Harry on the back and steered him into the back room. "While you're here, why not have a look at some of our newest items."
"Yes, yes," said George excitedly. "These here are out on a preliminary release." He gestured to a glass display within which were various bottles and boxes, all in a dark, elegant blue design with a simple silver W set deep into the surface. The whole lot looked rather out of place in a joke shop.
"Since the WonderWitch line has done so well, we decided to look into a line of products aimed more at classy gentlemen such as yourself Harry. What do you think George? How about this one?" Fred flicked his wand and the glass vanished just long enough for him to extract a squatty bottle with a neatly etched golden stripe that swirled gracefully up to a heavy silver stopper.
"Yes, this would be most appropriate I think. Excellent choice my dear Fred."
"What is it?" asked Harry, noticing also that this case had a rare absence of price tags. He knew everything in it must be horribly expensive.
"Oh, just a simple aftershave, with a special Fred and George touch of course," answered Fred, placing the bottle in a velvet lined box and slipping it into a paper bag.
"Uh, I'm not so sure about this. How new is it? I don't know if I should—"
"Nonsense Harry. I'm sure Ginny will love it." Fred failed to fully conceal the wink he sent George's way as he placed the bag in Harry's hand and began scooting him out into the hustle and bustle of the shop. The noise made arguing much more difficult.
"Guys, you know better than this. Ginny hates your meddling. Maybe not as much as Ron's but still…"
"Our lips our sealed dear Harry. Don't say a word. Just let this little gift work it's magic. Oh, and do let us know what you think." George pontificated in his best salesman's voice.
"All right, maybe, but no promises," Harry said, running his hands over the cold stone of the front counter. "I like the new company seal." He indicated the glimmering logo on the counter. "This looks like Dean's work. Is he designing for you?"
"Indeed he is. Just hired him a couple of weeks ago. He really does some amazing stuff doesn't he? That bottle you have there is his design you know."
"Well… Thanks for this." Harry held up the bag. "The student went up to the Hospital Wing I presume?"
"Yes. Hagrid happened to be passing by when it happened so he took him straight off to the school. I'm not sure if he was knocked unconscious or not," Fred smiled. "Risky business you know."
"I'll see you soon then," Harry said as he reached for the front door this time.
"Indeed," replied George.
"So long Harry," called Fred.
"Kiss Ginny for us!" they sang together as the door slammed shut. Harry glared fire at them as he turned up the road toward Hogwarts.
"Whoa!" said George looking at Fred. "Looks like he's picking up a few tricks from Ginny."
The cool mountain air and lush landscape enveloped Harry's senses as he gazed about one of his favorite places of all. The ancient majesty of Hogwarts Castle gleamed with a combination of rugged history and renewed energy. Harry pondered the perfect relationship of old and new that existed in this place. There was a magic here that went far beyond the tangible forms taught every day within its walls.
There was a peaceful sense of rebirth around Hogwarts these days. Ever since the fall of Voldemort, the entire wizarding world had been healing and Hogwarts was no exception. Harry could see a few of the older students off in the distance following the familiar form of Professor Sprout across the grounds. Harry figured they must be some of the Herbology N.E.W.T. students getting some extra lessons in on the weekend. Many of the usual classes in the greenhouses were now being held throughout the grounds as the students helped bring new life to the foliage surrounding the castle. This group appeared to be heading toward the forest.
The section of forest nearest Harry was completely different than it had been during his years at Hogwarts. The towering trees that once stood there were now replaced by thousands of young saplings. Various bushes and weeds had nearly obscured the few remaining glimpses of charred stumps and logs; the only lingering evidence of so many towering trees destroyed during the final moments of the Great War. Farther on, around the lake, the surviving sections of the once vast forest hearkened back to the sinister darkness that once beheld these woods. The Forbidden Forest wasn't forbidden at all anymore, one of the bittersweet rewards of all that terrible destruction.
Harry waved distantly to Professor Sprout as he walked toward the castle. He was just close enough for her to recognize him and nod her head in acknowledgement, but he knew to give plenty of space as he passed by. She didn't need the disruption that surely would have ensued if any of her students realized that Harry Potter had arrived.
It was one of those things that would frustrate Harry to the end of time. If he had assumed that his celebrity was a nuisance before Voldemort's fall, he surely could not have comprehended the fame he had gained since then. The boy who lived had become the man who lived, and one of the only wizards in all of history to achieve such legendary status while still alive to witness it. Harry knew of only one other such man.
As he approached the castle, he turned, not toward the giant front doors, but instead in the direction of the lake. He smiled as the giant squid enjoyed one of its last few days of warm weather before descending into the great, dark depths of its home for the winter. Harry's heart skipped a beat as his gaze wandered to the quidditch pitch. He watched for a moment as he saw yellow colored robes darting in and out of sight between the stands. Finally his gaze turned to the edge of the lake and his mood darkened.
The tomb looked as though it had been there for hundreds of years, but the brilliance of its whiteness had never faded. Like Hogwarts itself, Dumbledore's final resting place was truly timeless.
Harry did not come here to grieve. That had happened long ago, it seemed to have been ages. As hard as it was at the time, Harry had finally accepted Dumbledore's death, but his devotion to the great wizard had never wavered. As he walked around the tomb he brushed his hand along its smooth, hard surface. The stone was slightly warm in the autumn sunlight. As Harry paid his silent tribute a feeling of determination filled him. The feeling would never get old and it always invigorated him. Just then, an ever so gentle brush of a hand on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie.
"How are you Harry?" said a gentle, familiar voice.
"I'm alright," Harry responded. "How are you Luna? Oh no! What time is it? I'm so sorry, I must have lost track of the time."
"It's okay Harry, it's only 11:30. Your assistant told me where you'd gone so I decided to pay a visit myself. It is great here isn't it?"
"Yes. I should come here more often."
"Indeed. It seems strange though, to visit someone's burial site. Do you think it's wise to dwell on the past like this Harry?"
"Don't say that," Harry snapped coldly, turning away and staring at the tomb. A few silent seconds passed before Luna spoke again.
"Harry, that was very thoughtless of me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's alright. It's just that, Dumbledore and I had a kind of special understanding. I'm just doing my part to keep his legacy alive. You know it's been six years since he died. The students here hardly know who he is anymore. Only the 7th years were here while he was still headmaster, and he wasn't around very much that year anyway. I guess, the way I see it, coming here is kind of my gift to these students. As long as there are people here who are loyal to Dumbledore he will never truly be gone."
"Harry, you put too much burden on yourself. I don't think Dumbledore will soon be forgotten. Don't forget how many others have stood beside you and are now just as loyal to you as people were to Dumbledore. I think Dumbledore would agree that counts for a lot."
"I suppose you're right," Harry mused. "Anyway, we can still catch lunch if you want. I just have to visit the hospital wing first. There was a little mishap down at Fred and George's shop and I need to make sure no permanent damage was done. Would you care to join me?"
"Certainly. I haven't been in the castle in ages. Let me just call Colin, he's waiting down at The Three Broomsticks. You don't mind if he joins us as well?"
"No, by all means," Harry replied. Luna drew her wand from behind her ear and sent a tiny, silvery, twittering owl off in the direction of Hogsmeade. "Very good then. Shall we?" Harry offered Luna his arm and they set off toward the castle.
"Peeves, you come down from there this instant!" The deafening shriek and blood-curdling stare of Professor McGonagall was enough to instill fear into even the most troublesome of students, but poltergeists are generally unfazed by authority. While usually quite harmless, they have always found the most inconvenient times and unfortunate methods for practical joking. Peeves, was surely their champion.
Harry, Luna and Colin looked on in amusement as they came into the grand entrance hall only to see their old Transfiguration teacher standing helplessly atop the first floor landing, shaking a forbidding finger toward the rafters. While they couldn't see anything, they never gave old McGonagall's sanity a second thought. Peeves was up there somewhere.
It was mostly out of instinct that Harry directed his wand toward the ceiling. A silvery ghost-like form shot upward and out of sight. Professor McGonagall looked around to see where it had come from, fully prepared to scold whichever student dared use magic in the hallways. Before she even had time to register the three familiar faces she saw smiling up at her, a brilliant streak of poltergeist came shooting down from the darkened rafters, screaming at the top of his lungs "So sorry, your bloodiness! PLEEEESE..." as he shot through the entrance hall and down the stairway toward the dungeons, his screeches slowly echoing into silence. Suddenly the door to the Great Hall opened with a creak and a furl of pitch-black robes whipped into sight.
"Well, well, well. Harry Potter. Up to no good as usual I see. Can't keep that wand out of other people's business can you?"
"Don't be ridiculous Severus," Professor McGonagall cut in before Harry could respond as she stepped quickly down the grand staircase. "Or perhaps you've forgotten he's no longer your student."
"Well now Minerva, I don't think any of us here would really believe I could forget something like that," Snape replied, never taking his eyes off of Harry's.
"Indeed," Harry scowled.
Snape narrowed his eyes and nodded curtly before turning his gaze to McGonagall. "Now then, unless I am very much mistaken, I believe I heard the notorious Peeves disrupting things as usual. I thought you might be in need of some assistance."
"I believe Harry here beat you to the punch Severus, but thank you for the offer," Professor McGonagall nodded just as curtly to Snape. "Now Harry, I think I'm guessing correctly that you are here about our young Mr. Gaston. Come along now, I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has him all patched up." The four of them turned to the stairs, leaving behind them a thoroughly disgruntled potions master. "Luna, Colin, it's wonderful to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure? Surely the press hasn't heard what's happened already."
"Only just now that Harry has told us," Luna replied with dignity. "I was meeting with Harry today for an interview. The Quibbler has wanted a good profile of the Ministry's top Auror for some time now. You don't mind if I include some of this in the report do you Harry?" she continued, scribbling some notes on a small roll of parchment. "It would be great to have some bits about the man at work, do you know what I mean?"
"We'll have to see. I can't make any promises yet, but I don't think we'll have any containment issues. The whole continent must know of Fred and George's antics by now."
"That's for sure," piped up Colin as he surreptitiously snapped a photo of Harry rounding a corner. Colin Creevey darted around with the same energy and enthusiasm (although with much more tact and subtlety) that he had shown when Harry had first met him. He was a good six inches shorter than Luna, making them a very unusual looking couple, which, of course, was a perfect fit. These days they had become one of the most recognized journalist and photographer teams in all of Britain. The Daily Prophet had even started running some of their more "mainstream" reporting.
"Headmistress, what exactly was Peeves doing up there anyway?" asked Harry.
"Oh, he's been making some "adjustments" to the support beams. The other day he slid one right out of place. The whole castle shook and all of the staircases got stuck mid-change right in the middle of lunch break. Everyone was stranded. We had to cancel the rest of the day's lessons before we could sort everything out."
"Harry, was that a patronus you sent after Peeves?" asked Luna still scribbling. "I thought your patronus was a stag?"
"It is. That was a patronus charm, sort of, but I mixed in a bit of transfiguration to make it look like the Bloody Baron. I figured it would be faster than tracking down the Barron himself."
"That's very clever. You used two spells at the same time?"
"Nearly, I got the patronus started and then transfigured it before it could fully form. If you get the timing just right, the patronus is in a very pliable state and can be reshaped to a certain extent. The only side effect is that it looses any of its potency as a patronus, so it just ends up being a ghostly image."
"That's quite something. It would make a fun little special interest story for the Self Help Spells section don't you think Colin?"
"Sounds great," Colin snapped another picture as they stopped in front of the Hospital Wing.
"I think Harry and I should go in alone first, just to see how things are. I hope you don't mind waiting," said Professor McGonagall as she knocked softly on the door.
"No, not at all. We'll be right here."
"I'll ask him if you can come in and talk a bit," said Harry. "It might be a good distraction for him, getting his name in the paper."
They could hear footsteps approaching and the door opened slightly as the watchful eye of the Hogwarts nurse, Madam Pomfrey, peered out at Harry and the Headmistress. "Good morning Poppy," said Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Potter here would like to have a word with Mr. Gaston if he's up to it."
"I suppose that would be alright. He just woke up a few minutes ago. This is ministry business I presume Harry?"
"Unofficially. It's only a ministry issue if it needs to be. I'm hoping to avoid that."
"Aren't we all? Very well then, in you come. You've been in here enough, I suppose I don't have to take you through the routine do I."
"I don't think so."
"Very good. He's just down there, third bed on the left. Headmistress, may I have a word?"
Harry looked up at the ceiling, which for him was the most familiar part of the Hospital Wing. He remembered staring at it for countless hours. Probably the most vivid memory was the nearly sleepless night he had spent regrowing the bones in his right arm.
"Mr. Gaston?" Harry said softly as he approached the edge of the bed. "I'm here from the Ministry. I'd just like to ask you a couple of questions if that's alright."
"Hang on," replied a scratchy voice. A bruised hand reached over to the bedside table and retrieved a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, which had been resting on an open book Harry thought he recognized. Sitting up, the fifteen-year-old rubbed his eyes, wincing as he touched a gash along his left eyebrow. Other than a few bruises and scrapes and a small patch of singed brown hair, he didn't look much the worse for wear. Harry took a moment to look around as the boy adjusted his glasses. The first thing he noticed was the green crest on the robes hanging beside the bed. Also on the bedside table was a short hickory wand along with a few sweets and what looked like a trick quill. Well, at least he didn't leave Fred and George's with nothing, thought Harry.
"How are you feeling?" asked Harry.
"Better. Hey, you're Harry Potter."
"I know."
"But, why would you be here? You're still an Auror aren't you?"
"Yes, well, normally this would fall outside the realm of my duties but I handle most things having to do with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," said Harry as he looked over Madam Pomfrey's notes.
"Yeah, I suppose those two would need a little extra supervision. Their stuff's a lot of fun though. They're not mad at me are they?"
"I don't think so. We're pretty sure we figured out what happened and it wasn't your fault, just an accident. Your name's Carl then?"
"Yep."
"Very good. Can you tell me what happened from your point of view?"
"Well, it all happened rather fast. I was looking through the free samples. I had already taken that trick quill over there and I was digging around to see what else I could find. All of a sudden Mr. Weasley, I don't know which one, came over and yelled at me to take only one. I didn't want any trouble you know, so I just dropped what I had in my hand. Next thing I know I'm in here. It's frustrating. I hadn't been to the hospital wing yet and I was hoping I'd be able to avoid it altogether."
"Well, I may not be the best person to talk to about it, but I'd say that hope is a bit far fetched around Hogwarts. If you don't end up in here a couple of times, I figure you haven't learned anything."
"Yeah, I suppose so. Say, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm still kind of tired. Do you need anything else?"
"Well, there was one other… No. Never mind. Don't worry about it. You're a fifth-year right."
"Yeah."
"Keep up the studying. You'll never know how important your O.W.L. year is 'till it's too late."
"Okay."
"If you think of anything else, please let me know. Professor McGonagall can get a hold of me pretty easily. Thanks for your time." Harry began to walk away.
"Mr. Potter?" Carl called after him.
"Yes?"
"Can I…could I…would you mind terribly if…"
"Yes Mr. Gaston?"
"Never mind. It was good to meet you."
"You too." And before he could say anything else, Carl had drifted back to sleep.
Harry silently moved around to the bedside table. He carefully removed the boy's glasses and set them gently on the table next to the familiar book. Flipping the book closed, Harry nodded to himself as he scanned the cover, Triumph over Evil: The Fall of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters by H. J. Granger. Harry turned to a specific page near the end and reached for a quill from his pocket. Quietly he scratched his name in the margin and placed the book underneath the boy's glasses before turning silently and slipping out the door.