Funerals Galore

The next few days were the most difficult Harry had ever suffered through but he and Ginny held each others hands through the funerals of their loved ones borrowing strength and support from each other. During the funeral Harry secretly wondered if his last words with Lupin had been too harsh but he knew he had been right in chastising his friend for leaving his family, this was exactly what Harry feared might happen if Lupin had come along with him, Ron, and Hermione but alas none of it mattered anymore he was dead and nothing could bring him back. Fred's funeral had been hard on the whole Weasley family but none were as affected as George who try as he might could not hide the unmistakable marks associated with crying for long periods of time regardless of what any of them did to try and comfort him.

After the funeral the temporary minister of magic Kingsley cornered Harry, Ron, and Hermione to give his condolences. He also requested to see Harry in his office, once inside Harry sat down in the chair that was offered to him by Shackelbolt. Harry asked about the capture of the death eaters that had scattered to the wind after Voldemort's fall, surprisingly it was not as difficult to round up some of the escapees as the interim prime minister had predicted and they had already caught several of those responsible for the attack on Hogwarts. After talking for a few more minuets about the state of things Kingsley got down to business. So Harry not only did I call you in here to give you an update on the goings on I also have the extreme pleasure of awarding you with the greatest reward the ministry has ever given to a private citizen for ridding the world of a dangerous wizard, as such we have made accommodations for your gold to be transferred to a new gringotts vault because it would not fit in the old one with the sum we are depositing…" he continued on for several more minuets with the details of the security surrounding the vault but Harry had ceased listening as he was now deep in thought, they want to give me more money he already had enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life what would he do with the rest he wondered.

At that very moment his thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt, Kingsley was asking Harry a question but since Harry had not been paying the remotest attention he was forced to ask "Sorry what was that sir?" "Oh I was just saying that if you or any of your friends should desire a position as an auror we could most definitely make arrangements for them to be enrolled in our upcoming training program next fall." Harry began frankly stating that "While he used to feel that dark wizard catching was his calling he now felt that he had done enough of it for a lifetime and wished to settle down into a safer lifestyle." Kingsley nodded approvingly saying he totally understood his decision Harry replied "However my friend Ron has been interested in that particular job for a number of years would it be alright if you offered him a spot in the training program?" "Of course we would be happy to extend a formal invitation to Mr. Weasley after all both of you have done the ministry a great service." Harry stood up to shake Kingsleys hand saying "If that is all I have business to attend at St. Mungo's so I need to get going before visiting hours are over" Kingsley nodded and guided him to the door.

Harry rejoined his friends to visit Ferenze in St. Mungos where they found him recuperating from a nasty wound that the healers said was on the mend. In their spare time Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept busy (if you know what I mean). Although Harry had been accepted to auror training as had Ron he decided he would take at least a year off of dark wizard catching to enjoy the simpler things in life, Ron on the other hand took the deal right off. Oliver Wood the former quidditch captain for Gryffindor was now in the pro league with the chuddley cannons and came to visit the burrow and had offered him a chance to replace their seeker that had left suddenly but again Harry declined he had already convinced professor McGonagall to let him come and teach at Hogwarts so he could be with Ginny. Harry kept his plans secret from everyone especially Ginny, he wanted this to be a surprise.