Title: Retrograde
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: Nothing Specific, general for first few books.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: Harry's trial before fifth year goes differently because someone knows more than they should about Harry. Time Travel Fic.
"Congratulations, the pair of you." Professor Hunter said. "You two are my greatest success. It seems fitting that you will be in the last class I teach."
It was the Graduation Ceremony for Harry and Amelia's class from Hogwarts. Between the tragedy of the murder of Edward and Ellen, and Harry putting a lot of things aside to help Amelia through her grief, both of them had dropped down in the standings around the Christmas and New Year period. With Amelia's newfound determination to enter Law Enforcement, a grimmer determination than the more carefree pursuit of grades she had once enjoyed, both Amelia and Harry had pulled their grades back up to be second and fourth in their year respectively.
"You're retiring?" Harry asked.
"It's time. I think sixty years is long enough." Hunter replied. "But I do have these for you."
Professor Hunter handed over a folded and sealed peace of parchment to each of them.
"Miss Bones, that is a recommendation and fast track entry into the Auror Academy." The Professor said. "I have spoken with the Commandant of the Academy, he's an old student of mine. All you have to do is apply."
"Thank you, Professor." Amelia replied a bit stiffly.
"Mister Tenor, you mentioned that you wanted to get your Mastery in Defence and study Muggle Military History." The Professor continued. "That is a confirmation from Professor Terrance Miller to take you on as his student slash apprentice. He not only has his Defence Mastery, he fought in in the Muggle Army in both World War I and World War II and had just taken a sabbatical from his position as a Professor of Military History at Cambridge."
"Thank you, Professor Hunter." Harry replied.
The ceremony now over, the couple returned to their apartment in the Hufflepuff dorms for the last time. As soon as the door closed behind Harry, Amelia dropped the strong façade that she had been maintaining. She did not break down, as she had when she first heard the news of her parent's murder, but she became much more introverted and solemn.
"I don't think I can do it, Harry." Amelia said in a small voice
"Do what, Lia?" Harry asked. "You'll do fine at the Academy."
"Not that." She replied. "I don't think I can go back to the Manor. All I see there is their faces. It eats me up that they should be there but they aren't."
"Then move in with me." Harry declared, gently folding Amelia into a hug from behind. "That place I've been renting, seems like I'm the only one interested in it. The owners bought it as an investment, but there's been no interest besides me. They offered me a long-term lease with the option to buy after a few years."
Harry sat on the floor of their apartment with his back against the wall, Amelia sitting between his outstretched legs with her back against his chest as he slowly massaged her shoulders. The fireplace provided the only illumination in the room, bathing them in a soft, flickering red glow and the dishes from the home cooked meal Harry had prepared resting in the sink in the Kitchen
The few weeks between Hogwarts Graduation and the start of Amelia's Auror training had flown by, a wash of giddy memories of her moving in and lively discussions over furniture placement and decorating of the apartment. Though still not the feisty girl Harry had first met, his Lia had been less depressed and moody since coming to the apartment, partly thanks to not having to face going back to the Manor without her parents there.
Two days after she had started her Training, Harry had his first meeting with Professor Miller. The older Muggleborn was quite a character, mixing the Magical Defence Against the Dark Arts with Muggle Military History, Strategy and Tactics. Their sessions would meander through a half dozen, seemingly unrelated, topics and would end with Professor Miller explaining, usually in a few words, how they were all interconnected. Transfiguration and the Battle of Thermopile; The Trojan Horse and Werewolves; The Patronus Charm and German Blitzkrieg tactics of the 1930's.
"I kind of wish we had a bit more time together." Amelia said. "When do you have to leave?"
"Tomorrow morning, six am." Harry replied. "That's why I wanted tonight to be special."
For the last week and a half, Amelia had been going through Physical Conditioning at the Auror Academy. It was an early stage of Auror Training designed to give the trainees the level of fitness needed for the job, weeding out those physically not capable before they began the more technical and procedural training. For at least thirty years it had a nickname. PKM Week. 'Please Kill Me' Week, because those three words were the most often repeated by Cadets during Conditioning. 'You Fucking Bastard' was a close second, but YFB Week did not have the same ring to it.
In the morning, Professor Miller was going to take Harry out for six days of what the Professor called 'condensed Boot'. Harry was well aware what Boot Camp was in relation to Muggle Militaries, and was actually slightly looking forward to seeing how he performed, after having faced Trolls, a Basilisk, a hundred odd Dementors and a Dragon. Hell, it might even be fun.
Snuggling into his chest, Amelia turned her head to look up at him. He could see she was tired, exhausted almost, and that only her gritty determination, not only to find out what had really happened to her parents but also to try and prevent anyone else felling the same gutting loss as her, had kept her going through PKM Week.
"Harry…." she began, nervously chewing her lower lip. "I love you."
"I know, Lia." Harry replied, gently running his hand through her hair. "I know."
That was the first time Amelia had said those words, and he knew she felt vulnerable in this moment. Harry himself had said the words a few times to her before. He had never pressured her to say them, secretly grateful that this amazing woman even deigned to tell him the time, let alone dream that would actually want to spend the rest of her life with him.
That night, already romantic from the dinner and the firelit room, became on of the most tender and sweet of their lives so far. Three days later, Amelia became the first of the Auror recruits to cast a full, caporal Patronus using the memory of that night.
Harry was covered in mud and sweat, taking giant gulping breaths to expel carbon dioxide as much as to take in oxygen and desperately trying not to collapse. Hell facing the Dragon was easier than this but the Dragon had been twenty minutes max. Harry was running on adrenaline and nervous energy at the end of twenty-three hours of constant exercise and no sleep at the very end of the six days of 'Boot'.
While Professor Hunter had told Harry that Professor Miller had been in the Army in World War II, what he failed to mention is that Miller had been attached to the New Zealand LRDG (Long Range Desert Group) in North Africa and then been part of the British successor group to the LRDG. That group was the SAS (Special Air Service), the toughest and most elite Special Forces Unit in the World. Miller had also brought along a fellow former soldier and Muggleborn called Skinner to help with Harry's Training. Miller was of the opinion you had to have a taste of Combat, even if it was simulated, in order to understand and analyse Military History.
"Right, this next exercise is to reinforce the importance of cover." Miller said. "Spell or bullet, it can't hurt you if it can't reach you. To that end, your job is to get to the objective building. Skinner will be hunting you with a rifle, where about one in twenty rounds will be live with the rest blank. Of course, that is based on numbers and the rounds were jumbled up and loaded blindfolded. I will be hunting you with my wand, mostly I will cast stinging jinxes, but occasionally it will be something more… drastic."
Harry looked at the map on the ground showing the objective building, which was seven miles away, unconsciously gripping his left hand into a fist to stop it shaking as a surge of adrenaline was pumped through his veins. Knowing the surge would soon pass, and take the fake energy high with it, Harry tried to plan his route. A direct path was obviously out of the question. Too much open ground. There were some woods to the left but they thinned out and stopped well before the target building. There was a boulder field near the building to the right, but no direct path to get there without exposing himself.
A winding route then. Only option, which Miller and Skinner of course knew, so they would be hunting him in the woods and the boulder field. Well, time to get going. Both Miller and Skinner had disappeared, of course. Right now, Harry was kind of wishing he was back with the Dragon.
TBC…