A/N: I do not own Harry Potter

This is for the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges forum

The start and stop challenge.

37 is "survival".

"Everyone listen up, this is Auror Survival Training, AST for short. Does anyone feel they are in the wrong place? If so, leave now before you get hurt." Harry and Ron glanced at each other and grinned. They both know becoming Aurors wouldn't be easy.

"Good, now when I call your name, you will run the obstacle course. Does anyone have any questions?" Harry looked at the course before him, it reminded him of the giant maze he'd faced as the last Tri-wizard challenge. He could tell there were magical creatures and spells in the maze.

"First up, Abson, Pierce!" Harry watched a wizard older than him come forward.

"Reporting sir!"

"Go!" Harry watched Abson. Shapes popped out of the shadows of the course, some friendly, some not. It was part of the job to make a split second decision if a witch or wizard was an enemy, a friend, or an innocent bystander. Abson did decently.

"Pass. Cogsworth, Klaus!"

"Reporting, sir!" Ron and Harry knew they would be called near the end, just because of where their surnames fell in the alphabet. Cogsworth did horribly, tripping over his own feet at least once. Harry couldn't help but be reminded of Tonks.

"He might still make it," he whispered to Ron who nodded.

"Fail! Forester, Jane!"

"Reporting, sir!" Harry couldn't help but notice Forester was a quite attractive witch. Ron noticed the same thing.

"You have Hermione," Harry hissed. Ron blushed brightly and looked at the floor.

"Pass! Leima, Norira!"

"Reporting, sir!" Harry tried to watch Leima's tryout, but his mind wondered to Ginny. Would she be proud if he made it? Would she be happy that he'd gotten his dream job? Was this really his dream job?

"Fail! Potter, Harry!" Harry jerked out of his thoughts.

"Reporting sir!" The obstacle course seemed almost easy to Harry. He knew he'd made one mistake. There had been a girl, he should have been able to tell she was being controlled. The end of the course was a boggart. Harry didn't even blink at it before defeating it.

"Pass! Ryans, Miranda!" Harry stepped into the group of aurors who had passed. They were talking about how difficult they'd found the course, and how they couldn't wait to learn to do it all for real. Harry realized something. He'd done it all already. The whole war...it had been the same, life and death decisions on a split second. Saving people he cared about, saving people he didn't even know. It was the same thing, death would still follow him, even here. He watched Ron run the course and barely pass.

"Good job, mate," he cheered. Ron smiled. He couldn't wait to brag to Hermione he'd passed.

"I can't wait for our first real day!"

"I can," Harry commented. "Ron, I know you wanted to do this together, but I realized something. I don't want this."
"This job? It's all you ever wanted since fifth year!"

"That was before the war. Ron, I survived the war, survived it all, to what? Do it all again, and again. Professor McGongall owled me last week."

"About?"

"Teaching defense. I'm going to see if the position is still open. At least I'll hopefully be able to prepare the next generation to survive, Merlin forbid there's ever another war. Suvival, Ron, we survived because of me, I owe it to them, I owe it to everyone."