Night Flying –or, What's in a Name
A HariPo fanfiction
by mew-tsubaki
Disclaimer/Note: The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me sadly. But I own this fic, so HA! This is for the 100 Prompts challenge by xXKissingSinXx. Using 3, 8, 12, 18, 22, 25, 40, 41, 46, 57, 60, and 79. Enjoy and review!
Ch.2: Outlined In the Job Description
How could things go from fantastic to horrible in a day?
I grumbled as I woke up two days later. You see, the morning after discovering there might be a "thing" between Lil and me, I'd gone into work all smiles. Y'know, happy, content smiles. Those smiles faded when my boss told me that I was now jobless.
Yeah, I'll let that settle in for a minute.
…
Done? Okay, then. So –where was I? Oh, yes-
I'M FREAKING OUT OF A JOB!!
So much for telling Harry the other day that I planned on being an Auror for a very long time. Merlin –do the powers above have something against me? Sending Victoire to me, making my love interest my godfather's daughter, ripping my work out from under my nose… BIG sigh.
…Well, I s'pose I might be being a bit overdramatic here. I'm not out of my job –yet. Instead, my boss wants me stationed in Hogsmeade to control the current of illegal Dark Magic items that come through there. It's an especially important job since the school's so close by. HOWEVER –and you had to see this coming –if I refuse this job or fail in it, then I'm off the force. Even one item gets past me –ONE slip-up –and I can start thinking of alternative career choices.
It left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd worked so hard to become an Auror –a magical cop to protect the magical world. Harry was one. Both of my parents –bless their resting souls –had been Aurors, among some of the best. And to be told that my dreams, my goal could be snatched up just like that?
I wanted to scream and hit something. With my luck, this day could only get worse.
And it did.
As soon as I set foot outside my apartment in London –close to Ministry of Magic headquarters, of course –I ran into the last person I wanted to see: Victoire.
"You can't avoid me forever, Teddy."
I gritted my teeth. "Victoire, I didn't break up with you yesterday. It was almost a month ago."
She grimaced and tossed her hair over her shoulder. She joined me by my side as I walked to the Ministry. I was meant to pick up a packet with mission details, a background, and something for expenses. Essentially, I was going undercover. If it worked and Vicky couldn't find me, then all the better.
"You didn't have a good enough reason to stop us," the redhead stated. She grabbed my arm to keep from being jostled too much by the surrounding crowds.
"Last time I checked, 'irreconcilable differences' were grounds enough for divorce," I retorted bitterly, though we'd never been married. It'd only felt that unhappy way.
I heard her huff. Merlin, I hated when she did that. She puffed out her cheeks and held her breath for a second. Ladies, that's one of the most unattractive things you can ever do in front of a guy. "We'd been together for almost ten years."
"Don't remind me," I grumbled as we went into the Ministry through the main entrance. I finally stopped and faced her. "And don't follow me either. Victoire, I'm just not in love with you."
She was shocked. "But –you used to be. How can this just change?"
I shook my head, but I knew why. It wasn't like I woke up one day last month and decided to stop loving her. It was closer to the realization that I'd never loved her like you should love your significant other –or soulmate. "Please, Vicky," I pleaded, "go home and do something with your life. You could do anything. Don't be a stay-at-home mother like your own." Uh-oh –that had been word vomit just now. I'd just stuck my foot in my mouth and I was going to get my just desserts.
And I did. In the form of a good, old-fashioned right hook to the jaw. Bloody hell, did it hurt.
There were tears in her eyes as she watched me stumble slightly backwards, but I think she hated the fact that I didn't land on my arse. She called me some awful name, but I didn't hear it because her punch had caused stars in my eyes. Stars on which I couldn't help but focus.
I know I might shoot myself in the foot when I say this, but I really didn't think that my day could get any worse.
Luckily, it didn't.
Actually, the rest of the day was rather uneventful. I attended a meeting that lasted about all day long on the details of my mission. Apparently, there were to be three of us stationed in Hogsmeade. More were going to be placed in Diagon Alley, which made perfect sense to me. With Knockturn Alley being its offshoot and Dark Wizards still having tricks up their sleeves to carry out their evil deeds, it was obvious that we'd need major fire power in what was essentially the lions' den.
Anyway, I would start working at Honeydukes as a part-timer under the monicker Dulet Dipny. Hmm. Wow. Of all the awful codenames… This was pretty bad. You can figure it out, right? Yes, "Dulet Dipny" is just an anagram for "Teddy Lupin." But I would be working under that name in Honeydukes, regardless.
My comrades were Shrad Movis and Reiya Hanami. Movis was going to work in Dervish and Banges, and Reiya was going to help out at Madame Puddifoot's. Basically, we were keeping on eye on the Hogwarts students –mainly the Slytherins –but nothing majorly bad had happened at the school in about twenty years. I should know. I was born at the end of that war to end all wars in the Wizarding community.
Our reporting officer for the mission was Ron Weasley. Yeah, I know. He's one of Victoire's uncles. But, really, you couldn't go anywhere these days without bumping into a Weasley or their relative. So many wizarding families were interrelated these days.
Basically, my mission would have me surrounded by familiar faces. I suppose an undercover mission was good for me since I could change my hair color (being a Metamorphagus) and there was something else I'd added to my repertoire a couple of years into my Auror training:
I'm one of the few registered Animagi.
It's a little bit of homage to my father and his Marauder buddies from school. Though Dad had been a werewolf and thus he had no choice in changing into an animal, I was kind of following in his footsteps. Actually, it was Dad's best friends James (Harry's da) and Sirius (Harry's godfather) who had been Animagi, along with their ex-friend Peter Pettigrew. They'd become Animagi so they could help Dad out during his monthly transformations. And now, I used that talent for my Auror job. (By the way, I'm a fisher in my Animagus form. …It's an animal related to martens, weasels, and wolverines, people. Go look it up in a library.)
So I now have to be on the lookout for Dark Magic items. Just great. I get to prove myself doing something that's going to be rather boring.
…if only.
And that was just as the school year began.
I know, I know. Shorter than chappie 1, but I think it's interesting. I really wasn't expecting him to be put in such a tough position, but it just happened. I'll figure out the story as I go along, though. Although, I do have many ideas in mind…but this won't turn into drabbles. This is honest-to-goodness storyline!
Drop a review!
-mew-tsubaki :D
P.S.-I'd like to thank all my quick reviewers and readers: Morghen (such an awesome Beta), BlueMango (told you I'd update later today), merdarkandtwisty, and physics chick. Yes, guys –Teddy/Lily rocks!!! XD
