Harry walked to work whenever the weather permitted. Well, whenever he wasn't currently trying to track down a dark wizard. Rules regulated that Aurors use the Floo network when they were tracking wizards incase they themselves became the hunted on the way to work. Luckily on this cool, cloudy day there hadn't been anyone to track for over a month. He and the other Aurors just sat at their desks and looked through papers of sketchy wizards who they would need to question. Times were good when it came to criminal justice.
Harry's cloak was rudely stuffed into his briefcase. He wore a worn pair of black slacks and a light blue button up. He'd fit in perfectly with the dozens of Muggles scurrying off to work if he'd just find a way for his hair to not go in every which way like he just rolled out of bed. A homeless woman held out a cup, asking for spare change as people passed. Harry heard the money clink in his pockets, but knew the Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons would do her no good. He cursed himself for not grabbing a handful of Muggle currency out of his change jar before he left for work.
He came to an intersection where he had to wait for the signal to change. The roads were busy and the sidewalks were crowded with people making their way to work or school. There were roughly fifteen people waiting to cross. About half where in business attire like Harry, a mother and son stood holding hands, a couple teenagers giggling amongst themselves, and a homeless looking teenage boy stood distanced from the rest. As he approached, he noticed the group of teenagers had their cell phones out, recording the mother as she raised her voice in the direction of the homeless teen.
"I will call the police!" She pointed her finger threateningly in his direction. "That is illegal, you know!"
The teenage boy rolled his head back monotonously and took a drag of what appeared to be a spliff. His unkept hair nearly covered all of his face as he did so. "Merlin, I don't see what the fuckin' deal is." He spat in a voice that seemed much too old and too hoarse for his age.
Merlin? This caught Harry's attention. What is this kid doing? Can't he be a bit more discrete? He pushed forward through the crowd of people. He hadn't met a witch or wizard that didn't look at him and didn't know his face instantly.
"Excuse me." Harry directed towards the woman who began advancing towards the teenager in a threatening manner. "What's going on?"
The woman staggered, but pointed to the boy. "Do you see this? I have a child! I don't want him exposed to this!" The boy laughed dryly as the group of teens erupted in laughter. He turned his head back to look at Harry. He wiped his hair away from his face just as he was bringing the spliff back up to his lips. Harry began walking towards him sternly. Just as their eyes met, the boy let the spliff drop to the floor.
The boy's eyes became wide in shock and his heart began to pump wildly. Harry and the boy stood in silence, eyes locked for what felt like eternity, but for what realistically was only a few seconds. His hand twitched in his pocket as he gripped his wand. As soon as he did, the boy began looking around him frantically, looking for a way to escape.
"Al?" Harry gasped, just loud enough.
Albus began to panic. He was surrounded; by muggles none-the-less. Harry took a step forward and Al took a step back. The mother and her son, along with the rest of the muggles watched in confusion. The delinquent teenager and the business man who leant a helping hand knew each other? When Al saw there was no escape, he looked at his father quickly- almost apologetically, before he reached into his jacket and disapparated in full view of an audience of muggles.
The Muggles screamed and shouted in fear. The group of teenagers immediately began checking their phones, trying to find proof that what they just witnessed did in fact happen. Harry had to act fast. Beneath his jacket, Harry performed a memory modification charm. In their confusion, Harry managed to convince them to let him borrow their phones so he could delete any videos they managed to take. Harry stood fixated for a minute as the confused group of muggles began going back to their morning routines. He allowed himself a minute to finally breathe before he ran to the Ministry of Magic. He ran towards the gentlemen's bathroom at full speed. A woman gave him a pitying stare as she watched him call the door offensive names when it jammed and kicked it until it opened. He inserted the coin and flushed himself into the toilet. As soon as he was sure he was solid on his feet, he sprinted again towards the lift.
When he entered the Auror's Office, Teddy was leaning back casually, feet propped up, laughing cooly as a young secretary from reception sat flirtatiously on his desk. His hair was shaggy and turquoise- what it always was when he was trying to impress a lady. But the air changed as soon as Harry entered the room. The secretary pulled her shirt up and quickly left the room. Teddy's hair shot into his head. He was back to business. Short and sandy brown. Even his face seemed less smooth and more angled.
"What happened, Harry?" He automatically pulled a chair over to let his godfather sit. Harry ignored the offer and began pacing. He asked where everyone was. "Well, I'm not sure if Williamson is coming in this week. And-"
"You know what? I don't care." Harry snapped rudely. He looked out the charmed window and tapped his foot anxiously. Teddy's hair blazed scarlet for a moment. "Teddy. I need you to do me a favor."
"Why the hell should I do you a favor after that?" He cracked. "You asked me a question and when I try to ans-"
"Teddy, this isn't a request." He ordered. Teddy seemed flabbergasted as he looked down at the papers on his desk. "Ted, I found Al."