Disclaimer I don't own Harry Potter. All rights to the characters and universe the story belongs in belong to JK Rowling

Chapter 7 - Throwing Down the Gauntlet

'Morning Andy, how are you?'

'Morning Harry, I'm fine thanks are you? Looking forward to your day?'

'Yeah I'm fine thanks. Yeah I am, there's only Me, Ginny, Charlie and Molly at the Burrow today so it'll be nice and peaceful.'

Andy laughed 'I don't think the Burrow would be quiet with only one person in it never mind four. Have you heard off Ron and Hermione?'

The two of them had been gone for over two weeks now.

'Yeah they wrote to me last week. They say they've found her parents I don't think they had approached them yet though.'

'I bet Hermione's nervous.'

'Yeah she's worried about the reaction. They'll be OK though, I'm sure they'll come round.'

'Yeah they will, trust me as a parent they will be relieved she's Ok before getting angry about what happened.' Said Andy knowingly.

Harry assumed some of Tonk's time at the Aurors must of caused some worry, never mind the battle she never came back from. They had just walked into the sitting room when Teddy noticed Harry. He started to laugh whilst waving his arms around.

'Hi Teddy, how are you?'

The baby just gurgled at him and then laughed breathlessly as Harry tickled him softly on his stomach.

'Here you go Harry.' Said Andy as she dropped a rucksack over his shoulder. 'Everything you need is in there. He's just had breakfast so he shouldn't need feeding for a while.'

'Thanks Andy. I'll get going so you can carry on.'

'Ok no problem, I reckon I'll be back around five.'

'OK I'll bring him home after dinner at the Burrow. So about six-ish.'

'That's fine, if anything changes I'll let you know.'

Harry scooped up Teddy and took hold of his arm gently waving it 'Wave goodbye to nanny.'

Teddy grinned goofily as Andy stepped forward and kissed them both on the cheek.

'Be good for Uncle Harry and have a nice day.'

'See you Andy.'

'Bye Harry.'

Within seconds of him walking through the door of the Burrow Molly was cooing over Teddy 'Why hello Mr Lupin How are you?' she said in a soft baby voice. 'You're growing quickly aren't you.'

They moved into the living room where Mrs Weasley bounced him on his lap, just as Ginny came down the stairs. 'Morning dear would you like some breakfast?' Asked Mrs Weasley.

'Morning, don't worry I'll make it.' She said, then instantly turned to a baby voice of her own 'How are you Teddy?' she asked offering her small finger to the boy who grasped it happily.

'Morning All' said a groggy voice from the doorway.

Harry smirked at him. 'Morning Charlie, rough night?'

'Yeah remind me never to go drinking with George and Hagrid. It gets messy quickly.' He grumbled

Ginny snorted 'Can't keep up with the big boys eh Charlie?'

'Something like that yeah, although I'm not sure what you two are laughing at, you wouldn't keep up either.'

'Yeah but got the good sense not to try. I'm just making breakfast do you want some?'

Charlie turned slightly green 'No, I don't think I'll keep down anything solid yet. Have we got any hangover potion Mum?'

Molly looked sympathetically at him 'No sorry dear we're all out, I don't think I've even got the ingredients to make one.'

'It's Ok I'll go and get some. Do you need anything while I'm gone?'

'No, we're all set thanks dear.'

Charlie nodded and floo travelled away.

'I feel sorry for the fireplace he's about to throw up in.' said Ginny wryly. Harry and Molly laughed.

'What's your plan for today?'

'Me and Ginny are taking a picnic with Teddy for lunch and then I said that I would drop him home after dinner later.'

'Ah so the three of you are going on a play date, that will be nice dears.' She said airily. 'Where are you going?'

'A muggle park in the midlands. I figured it would be best to try and stay away from the media when we're out. I don't really want him in the limelight.'

A few hours later Harry, Ginny and Teddy are sitting down to their picnic. The sun was out, bathing the nice scenic park in a warm light. The park was surrounded by a curtain of trees which hid the metal fencing. Near the entrance stood a small play area which had a number of kids playing on it.

'This is nice we should get out more often. You still need to take me on a proper date.' said Ginny.

'Doesn't this count?' Harry asked teasingly.

'I was thinking something that didn't involve Teddy. As much as I love him, I would rather get you on your own.'

He blushed slightly 'I'd like that, we'll have to tell everyone about us.'

'I know and I want to. I'm tired of hiding.'

'Me too' he whispered and kissed her. Teddy broke them apart with giggle.

Teddy had turned his hair and eye colour to match theirs. Ginny smiled down at him and tickled his stomach gently. It was something both her and Harry had found he enjoyed.

'We'll tell them when Ron and Hermione come back. Might as well tell them all at once.' Ginny said looking back up at Harry.

He smiled and nodded 'Sounds great.'

Ginny looked worried 'Do you think Ron will be OK? Or will I have to hex him?'

Harry gently stroked a stray strand of hair from face, tucking it behind her ear 'He'll be fine. Before he left both him and Hermione were almost egging me on to ask you out again. They even mentioned if I didn't you might move on to find someone else.'

'Yeah like that's going to happen. I've been after you for far too long to give up now, even if we hadn't got back together so soon. No one else can compare to you.' She said softly.

'Funny I was thinking that when Ron mentioned about other woman I could be with. None of them would be you.'

They stared into each other's eyes in silence until Teddy squirmed whilst a foul smell invaded the air. 'What a way to ruin the moment Teddy' sighed Harry.

'What's that Harry?' Ginny asked looking up from her breakfast a couple of days later.

'A letter from Gawain Robards, head of the Auror office. He wants to meet tomorrow afternoon.'

'Bit short notice isn't?'

'Suppose that's the life he leads. He might have been on or going on a mission and doesn't know when he'll be available again.'

Ginny frowned 'You're really doing this aren't you? Promise me you'll be safe and write whenever you can while I'm at Hogwarts. I want to know you're OK.'

'I will, I'll make sure someone lets you know even if I can't.'

She just nodded her head and looked at her plate. He walked round so he could put his arm around her. 'I'll be careful Gin, I'm sorry I can't come back to Hogwarts with you.'

'It's OK, I hoped you might but I know your reasons. I'll be Ok it won't be like last year.'

'No it won't. I'll visit when I can for Hogsmeade visits and Quidditch games. Just let me know when they are, and I'll try to be there.'

She leaned into him 'I'll look forward to them.'

'When you get your Hogwarts letter why don't we go broom shopping? I need one to replace my Firebolt and you need a decent one if you are going to impress the Harpies.'

She smiled brilliantly 'I'd like that.' He was the only one she had told about trying to become a pro Quidditch player.

The next day found Harry knocking nervously on the Head of the Auror departments door. A deep growling voice answered 'Enter'

Harry walked in and was met by a tall well-set man. His persona wasn't threatening yet neither was it overly welcoming. There were scars on his arms, he had dark brown eyes and well pruned stubble.

'Ah Mr Potter, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.' The man said reaching over to shake Harry's hand.

'It's a pleasure to meet you too sir.' Robards gestured to the seat opposite his desk which Harry sat down in.

'So how long have you wanted to be an Auror?'

'Weirdly since I met a Death Eater at Hogwarts.' Robards quirked his eyebrow 'At the time he was in disguise as Mad Eye Moody and teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. He was one hell of an actor.'

'I've heard he even convinced Dumbledore.' Harry nodded. 'So, what about him made you think about this career?'

'Well despite him being a Death Eater he was still a good Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Almost as good as my previous one. The difference really was that my other teacher taught us how to defend ourselves. The Moody imposter showed us how we can help others.'

Robards stared at him intently 'Seeing the injuries Moody had would put most people off.'

Harry shrugged 'I've had my fair share of injuries. I'm lucky to be in one piece myself.'

'Kingsley told me and some of the other Aurors about how you beat Voldemort – even the part about the horcruxes. I must say I'm impressed you figured it all out.'

'Well I had a lot of help.' Mumbled Harry.

'Yes you did, however, you pushed them in the right direction.' Harry smiled sheepishly at him.

'What would you say is your greatest achievement?'

That struck Harry as odd, he would have thought that most people would just assume defeating Voldemort was his greatest achievement. There was obviously more to this man than met the eye. He's good.

'Being able to produce a Patronus charm was probably my best in terms of for myself. The other one would be when we saved my friends life when she was possessed by a horcrux.'

'I'm guessing there is more to those stories, but I won't ask you to tell. I get the feeling we'll be here all day to hear all your tales.' he said wryly.

Harry shrugged in a non-committal sort of way.

Robards furrowed his brow 'Now then you give me a problem Potter. You should obviously go into the training academy. From there with your special circumstances you would usually complete your NEWTS, that isn't a problem, any home-schooled trainees normally work that way.'

Harry ran his hand through his hair 'So what's the problem then?' he asked warily.

'Well frankly we need you in the field. It would be a waste of our time to chuck you into the academy. We need all the Aurors we can get and to be honest you are one of the most experienced people here despite your age.

'This gives me two problems, one that I have to get this passed through Wizengamot and two we're trying to avoid favouritism.'

'I don't want any special treatment' said Harry quickly.

'I know I can see that' said Robards holding his hands up. 'As I said though the fact is we need you. If we set up a mock test at the end of next week would you be prepared to sit it without any practise or warning of what you will come up against?'

Harry thought for a moment 'Ok what happens if I pass or fail?'

'If you pass you go straight into the Aurors and we would ask you to start the following week, which I know is earlier than you thought. You will continue to be trained while here at the ministry however you will also participate in fieldwork and have your own assignments with your partners. You will work in a team of three so they can keep up the work and training.

'If you fail, we'll put you into the training academy in September, where you'll go through a fast-track course to get you up to speed as quickly as possible.'

Harry nodded slowly contemplating the answer. Well at least he's giving me a chance to prove myself first. 'Ok I accept.'

Robards smiled 'I'm glad you have. Is there any area's you think you are weak?'

'Potions, definitely potions.'

Robards laughed 'Yeah I heard you and Snape didn't get along.'

'That is an understatement.' Muttered Harry.

They continued talking for a while before Robards dismissed Harry telling him to arrive at nine O'clock the next Friday for his test. There would be two parts, an office based section in the morning and a field one in the afternoon. Harry left with a sense of growing excitement, it was how he felt before the third task of the tri-wizard tournament – nervous but confident he was ready.