The mood at the Burrow for the next week was sombre, but to everyone's surprise, George was doing much better than anyone expected. He was the life and soul of the family and as they attended the funerals of Remus, Tonks, Colin and Snape. Many tears were shed, but there a lot of laughs as well while everyone remembered fond memories of the four. The number of people at Snape's funeral was very few, but Harry was pleased that he was at least getting buried in the same graveyard as the woman he loved.
They met Andromeda at Remus' and Tonks funeral, and Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that his godson immediately recognised him. When he was holding him, Ginny came up behind him and Teddy immediately went to grab a fistful of her long, red hair. All the girls were cooing at the scene, while all the guys were laughing without restraint. These small moments of joy made the pain of losing loved ones much easier to deal with.
There were many classmates that Harry knew at Colin's funeral, and none of them had a single bad thing to say about Colin. His unending enthusiasm for life and his bravery were just among a few things mentioned during his funeral. Dennis sobbed into Ginny's shoulder, who Colin had been in the same year with, as she muttered a few words of consolation in his ear.
After the funerals had been completed, life at the Burrow settled into a comfortable routine. Harry, Hermione and Ginny spent most of their time at home, where Ginny studied for her sixth year exams, which according to Hermione, helped her revise all her work as well. Ron and Harry spent most of their time at his store, which had been wrecked by Death Eaters. George was extremely enthusiastic and tried to keep a cheerful demeanour, but it was blatantly obvious that returning to work had been hard for him. Harry and Ron tried to help him with that, and so did Verity once she had been contacted and had agreed to continue working at the store.
There was a change in all this two weeks after they had returned from the Burrow, when Hermione, Harry and Ron decided to go to Grimmauld Place to pick up the stuff they had left while they were hiding there. Ginny had naturally decided to follow, but not after her mother had given them a long lecture about being safe. Aware of her feelings about losing children, Ginny had not said anything about being old enough, but had given her a hug before assuring that they would be back before dinner.
With that Harry side- along apparated Ginny to Grimmauld Place, with Ron and Hermione following close behind. They entered the place, expecting to be greeted by the dust cloud, but were instead pleasantly surprised to find that the curse had been removed, and the place looked extremely cleaned. As the four of them walked around, gathering all their belongings they saw that although the place was still dark and dingy, it was so clean that Mrs Weasley would be impressed. Harry had a suspicion as to who was behind this, so he immediately called "Kreacher".
With a pop, the old house elf apparated into the kitchen where Hermione and Ginny were putting their stuff into the empty bag they had brought with them.
"Master Harry called?" asked the elf with a bow, the tip of his nose almost touching the floor.
"Yes Kreacher. Did you do clean the house? It looks amazing!" exclaimed Harry.
"Yes Master Harry. Kreacher knew Master Harry owns this house and Kreacher knew Master Harry and his friends did not like it when they were living here. So Kreacher cleaned the place. Kreacher is now designing plans to make this house better" replied the house elf with another bow.
"Thank you Kreacher. With a bit of work, this place might actually be liveable. So what do you say Ron, once our girls go back to Hogwarts, you want to move in here with me? You don't intend to live at your parents place forever do you?" asked Harry, putting a brotherly arm around Ron's shoulder.
"That's brilliant Harry. Though we should take a look at what Kreacher has planned for the place first" replied Ron.
"Of course Mr Wheezy. Please wait here, Kreacher will bring the plans and tea for Master Harry and his friends" said Kreacher before disappearing with a pop.
Once the elf had returned, Harry, Ron Hermione and Ginny sat down to discuss Kreacher's plans about the house, which they had found were extremely thorough. Harry and Ron just sat and listened while Hermione and Ginny talked to Kreacher about how Ron and maybe George moving in would affect his plans. Harry was going to take Sirius' old room, while Ron and George were going to take two of the other rooms.
"Hey Kreacher, how would you like to take Regulus' old room" asked Hermione once they were done planning.
"If Maser Harry wishes, Kreacher would be most happy to take Master Regulus' old room" replied Kreacher with a bow, his voice cracking up with emotion.
"Of course Kreacher. It's better than living under that heater." Replied Harry before standing up, indicating that it was time to go.
"Goodbye Master Harry. Kreacher will have the house ready on September first. Said Kreacher as he showed the foursome out the door.
As Harry into the Burrow, he was welcomed home by somebody he had never expected to see. Fawkes was perched on his shoulder now, singing happily.
"Hey, that's Dumbledore phoenix, innit?" exclaimed Ron.
"Yes it is. Looks like I really won it's loyalty and he has become mine now that Dumbledore is gone" replied Harry, he and Ginny softly stroking his feathers.
"That's true. Fawkes just came here with a letter for you" said Mrs Weasley as she entered the sitting room, holding an envelope in her hand.
As Harry took the letter, he saw that it had the Hogwarts' seal on it, and he wondered why he was getting an official letter from Hogwarts when he knew so many of the staff so well. When Harry tore open the envelope, it read:
Dear Mr Harry Potter,
After hearing about you teaching Dumbledore's Army during your fifth year, we her at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would like to offer you an opportunity to give weekly lectures to the Defence Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T students. This will be on a trial basis for one year.
We are also offering you the chance to bring along Mr Ronald Weasley, who could assist you during the lectures, and do some of the lectures himself. We have attached the course aims on the next piece of parchment, and Mr Weasley and you may like to discuss these with Professor Bill Weasley at your own convenience.
Awaiting your quick response,
Minerva M. McGonagall
Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
P.S If you have not realised by now, Fawkes has shown his loyalty to you now, and Dumbledore always used him to send letters in place of an owl. When he realised I was sending a letter to you, he immediately volunteered for the job. If you want him, you can keep him or send him back to Hogwarts.
When he reached the end of the letter, Harry had a smile on his face, and so did Ginny, Ron and Hermione who were reading it over Harry's shoulder.
"So what do you reckon mate, you up to being a part- time professor while being an Auror?" asked Harry.
"Definitely. I'll scrub the Hogwarts toilets every week if it means seeing Hermione" he replied, putting an arm around his now blushing girlfriend, who gave him a kiss for his reply. Harry smiled at his two best friends, before going to grab a quill and some parchment and penning a reply and attaching it to Fawkes, who nipped his finger affectionately before flying off.
"Speaking of Hermione, aren't you planning to go retrieve your parents soon?" asked Ginny as the foursome headed towards the kitchen, where the food had already been set u and George was waiting for them to join him.
"Of course I do. I already asked Kingsley at Hogwarts if he could help locate my parents, and I expect he will give me an answer when he comes to give Harry and Ron their Auror manuals" replied Hermione before sitting down on the table and helping herself to dinner.
"Will you be going alone?" asked Mrs Weasley, ready to burst out angrily if the reply was affirmative.
"Don't worry Mrs Weasley. An obliviator from the Australian Ministry of Magic will be accompanying me when I go to reverse the charm, and I've been reading up on it all week. Thereafter, my parents will be with me and we'll be flying back in an airplane" replied Hermione with a smile.
"What about me? I'm coming with you!" exclaimed Ron.
"No you can't. I don't think telling my parents I have a boyfriend when I still have to tell them the other stuff is wise. Besides, I want to spend some time with them alone and you and Harry will be busy with Auror training" she replied apologetically. Ron did not argue with her, but the frown never left his face all through dinner.
Hermione's prediction about Kingsley coming to give her news about her parents came true the very next day when Mr Weasley arrived with the now permanent Minister of Magic beside him. Kingsley was carrying with him a quite a big duffel bag, which Harry suspected might contain the stuff needed for Auror training. Unlike his meetings with previous Ministers, Harry was actually looking forward to this one as Kingsley sat down at the dinner table and took out from under him, two huge piles of books. Seeing the sheer number of books, Harry and Ron gasped while Hermione squealed with delight. The rest, including Ginny, just laughed at the trio's reactions.
"So, these are all the books that the Aurors study in their first three years of training. Since the three of you are going straight onto being Aurors, you're going to cover most of during this summer. Seeing the looks on your faces, you don't seem very pleased. Why?"
Ron voiced Harry's thoughts by saying "No offence to you, and I hope you don't send me to Azkaban for saying this, but are you barking mad?"
Kingsley just laughed at him before replying "If I send a beloved war hero and according to Witch Weekly, the most desirable wizard after Harry to Azkaban, I'll be fired tomorrow. But you have no reason to worry. More than half of these books contain stuff about advanced defence, and while there is some stuff about laws and potions, I hope your brilliant girlfriend will be able to help you with that"
He handed Harry and Ron the pile of books, and Ron's pile was immediately snatched by Hermione who began to read the book at the top of the pile. Ron just smiled at this, then focused his attention on Kingsley, whose face had turned a little grim.
"I have some bad news" he said as he handed Ron and Harry their Auror robes. "The other Aurors, especially Gawain and Dawlish are unhappy that I've allowed you two to become full Aurors without NEWTs or training. We had to come to a compromise, and the two of you will be taking a test on the first day." Seeing the worried looks on the two young wizards' faces, he continued "Now, I can't tell you exactly what the test consists of, but I think the two of you can pass that test right now"
At that, Harry and Ron heaved a sigh of relief until Kingsley handed the two of them oddly shaped wallets. "These are your Auror badges. Right now, they say Junior Auror, but once you pass the test, it'll change to Auror. This also gives you permission to attack and bind someone legally, just in case you get attacked this summer."
Harry and Ron nodded their heads grimly, knowing the Death Eaters were still out there and Harry was still "Undesirable Number One" among that group, whatever Witch Weekly may say.
"Last but not least, Harry, Gringotts really needs to speak to you, so I advise you visit them as soon as possible" said Kingsley
"Alright" replied Harry, still inwardly curious about what the goblins wanted with him if not to charge him for breaking into their bank.
They are happily living in Sydney now, having established their own dental practice there. I can get the portkey set up for you anytime, all you have to do is pop in at the Ministry to sign the paperwork. And while you do that, you may want to bring your boyfriend and his best friends to take their apparition tests, since you two have been apparating all over the place illegally" said Kingsley.
Harry and Ron just nodded sheepishly at that before Hermione replied to Kingsley "How about we get the portkey set up for day after tomorrow. We'll come to the Ministry tomorrow before going to Diagon Alley with Harry. I want my parents back as soon as possible, and I really hope it doesn't take much to reverse the spell"
"Very well then. I'll see you four tomorrow" said Kingsley as he finished his dinner and stood up to leave with Mr Weasley seeing him out.
"Um, Mum, if you don't mind, Harry and I have something to ask you" stuttered Ron.
"What?"
"Well, we were thinking, after going to Grimmauld Place yesterday, that Harry and I could move in there once Ginny and Hermione left for Hogwarts."
Mrs Weasley looked shell- shocked for the moment, but after her husband had placed a hand on her shoulder she replied "Very well. I know Kreacher will be cooking for you, but I expect the two of you home at least for Sunday dinners, alright?"
"Yes Mum"
"Of course, Mrs Weasley"
The four kids then stood up to give her a hug, before they split up to have their private goodbyes.
Harry and Ginny stood outside Ginny's room as he kissed her goodnight passionately. When they broke apart, Ginny said "All set for training, Auror Potter?" asked Ginny.
"Of course"
"Well, I hope you don't forget about putting aside some you and me time" said Ginny seductively, placing a hand on Harry's chest.
Harry gulped before saying, "Ginny, whatever I do, there'll always be time for you in my life"
With a final kiss, Ginny entered her room, closing the door behind her.
While Ginny and Harry were having their private goodbyes, Ron and Hermione were outside Ron's room, where he was whining about not getting to spend enough time with her.
'It's ok Ron. I'll be here to study with Ginny, I just won't be staying here. I love you, so there's no need to worry". She then planted a huge kiss on Ron's lips, which he returned with enough vigour.
"I love you too Hermione" he said before going to his room.
Harry and Hermione shared a hug while they were on their way to their rooms, and as Harry lay there on his bed in Ron's room, he couldn't wait to start his life as an Auror.