Chapter Ten

"Do you, Leopold Anthony, take this…man, Harry James…" Leopold closed his eyes, contemplating the pros and cons in saying no to the officiator and running out of the room. One con was standing next to him, tall and foreboding, looking about ready to curse Leo into oblivion. Roger gave Leo a sharp, amused jab, and Leo reluctantly opened his eyes again. With a sigh, he nodded. He heard the snap of a camera from the photographer who came with the reporter.

"And you, Harry James?" Harry glanced over at Shacklebolt, then at the reporter scribbling away to their left, then at Leo. He raised an eyebrow and gave Leo a little shrug before nodding himself.

"Then I, most confusedly, declare you bonded for life."

"Oh, brilliant!" Roger shouted, clapping exaggeratedly. He dabbed invisible tears from his eyes. "They make such a lovely couple!" Leo resisted the urge to punch Roger soundly in the mouth. He regretted letting Roger convince him to attend the rushed ceremony. He looked down at the ring on his finger and almost felt himself on the verge of real tears.

"Thank you for doing this on such short notice, Augustus," Shacklebolt told the rather bewildered officiator.

"Not a problem, Kingsley, I'm sure I owed you one." Shacklebolt and the officiator began talking amicably.

"Leopold! Harry! Care to give a word to Witch Weekly?" The reporter asked excitedly, running up to the newly married couple. Leopold glared at Shacklebolt mutinously.

"Witch Weekly? You chose Witch Weekly?" He asked through clenched teeth. Shacklebolt looked as though he were hiding an amused smirk.

"It was Davies's idea." Leopold turned his murderous glare to his best friend, who was talking animatedly to the reporter, commenting on how well he knew Leo and how much he was sure Leo would find a wizard to make him happy.

"I hate him. I hate him so much," Leo growled. Harry chuckled, slapping Leo on the back. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. His soft breath brought unwanted chills across Leo's skin. He stopped himself from moving away from Harry.

"Don't let it get you too down, mate. It's only for a little while. Maybe Ginny'll want me back now that I'm off the market." Harry held up his hand and wiggled his ring finger. The ring flashed in the light, causing Leo to look away. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of his life and no one seemed phased.

"Get back to work, Ackerley, Potter, Davies. Davies!" Shacklebolt shouted over to Roger, who was still deep in conversation with the woman who was going to make Leo's life very miserable very soon. Roger waved at Shacklebolt dismissively. "Get back to work, now." There was no mistaking the heavily authoritative note in Shacklebolt's voice. He strode out of the room followed by the officiator. Roger finished up his conversation quickly, exiting with Leo and Harry.

"So what's on the agenda for the rest of the day, gents? I can't say we can top that, now can we?" Roger draped his arms over Leo and Harry's shoulders. Harry smirked and ducked out from under Roger's arm.

"I will break your arm in five seconds, Roger," Leo hissed.

"Honestly, Leo, you're too high strung. Maybe Harry can fix that during your wedding night."

"Oh, sick, Roger, why would you say that?" Harry asked, making a disgusted face and side stepping away from them. Leo rolled his eyes and massaged his temples; he could feel the beginnings of a headache. Roger laughed and headed into the break room to make a cup of coffee. Leo hoped he burned himself a little bit.

"Have they set a trail date for the dragon man, yet?" Roger called from inside. "Let's go busy ourselves with that case for a spell."

"The trial was yesterday. He was sentenced to a week in Azkaban. Where were you when this happened?" Leo replied, staring at the message board. Leo, being a sucker for cheap advertising, wondered, distantly, if he needed a new wardrobe for his flat. For five Galleons, perhaps he'll find a use for it.

"Susan and I were on a case. A few of goblins were claiming that they had to use the Cruciatus curse on a wizard in self-defense. Turns out they were lying." Roger rejoined them with a steaming cup of coffee and they headed to the cubical. "It's noon, want to take a lunch?" Leo nodded vigorously.

"A long lunch. With lots of firewhiskey."

"That ought to make the food taste really good," Harry said sarcastically. "And it's not noon, it's ten. Who taught you to tell time?"

"Someone who was well acquainted with the concept of rounding up while at work. For our purposes, it's noon. And at around noon, it should be almost time to go. If you're going to make it as an Auror, Harry, my man, you really ought to familiarize yourself with our methods of telling time." Roger shook his head as though he were disappointed in Harry. Harry shook his head as though he couldn't believe who he was associating with. "He's your trainee, Leo, that's your responsibility."

"Oh shut up, Roger. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, yes. Are you coming, Potter?" Harry sighed as though leaving for lunch early was an enormous ethical decision for him. "Merlin. If it makes you feel better, we'll discuss…" Roger leafed through the papers on his desk. "Aha! We'll discuss this case. A witch and a wizard have been accused of slaying merpeople." Roger shoved the folder into Harry's hands.

"This happened two weeks ago," Harry argued.

"But no one has been able to find them. I'm sure you and your keen problem solving skills will give us the breakthrough we need." Leo snorted as Roger pushed a reluctant Harry out of the cubicle. "Now where is that dear Hufflepuff of mine?"

"You sent her to get your cloak fixed, don't you remember?" Leo reminded him as they stepped into the lift.

"Oh, right. Well, someone will give her something to do when she returns." The lift stopped and they stepped out into the atrium. It was far more crowded than it should have been at ten o'clock in the morning.

"Is it always this busy around now?" Harry asked, slight nervousness tingeing his voice.

"Not usually," Roger replied. "Oh no—" A woman turned and spotted them, crying out to the others. Several cameras flashed and the crowd surged forth.

"What the hell?" Leo shouted over the din. "Protego!" That ever so useful invisible wall separated the three of them from the oncoming crowd. They were reporters. They were photographer. They were Harry's vivacious and vicious vixens. They were almost bloodthirsty.

"Merlin! How did they gather so fast?" Roger asked in shock.

"I forgot how quickly news travels in the wizarding world," Harry said, staring wide eyed at the throng.

"Roger, you and Harry should go back upstairs. It's going to be this bad no matter where we go. Looks like we're going to have to each lunch in the cubicle."

"What are you going to do, then?" Roger demanded, stepping in front of Harry protectively as the crowd surged forward again.

"Try to get them out of here before everyone in the ministry kills us." Roger nodded and he and Harry backed into the lift again. Leo magically amplified his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen. While we're very excited at your sudden interest in the Ministry of Magic, we're going to have to ask you to either get a ministry related problem or kindly stop crowding our atrium."

"We want to see Harry Potter and his man!" Someone shouted. Leo tried not to show any irritation at being referred to as Potter's man.

"Mr. Potter is very busy becoming a ministry trained auror. You will be able to see him once you do something illegal."

"Do you have a comment regarding Potter's recent marriage?"

"I can't say that I do. Now move along. I am willing and able to hex you all without fear of punishment." There were a few more protests and cries of outrage from the crowd that Leo continuously shot down. Finally, they slowly filed out of the building.

"What was that about, Ackerley?" Samantha Fawcett asked, coming up to him, staring at the crowd in unadulterated shock.

"It is a long story, Samantha," Leo sighed, watching the last person walk out. "I need a drink. Several drinks." Fawcett eyed him suspiciously before making her way to the lifts. A gold glint caught his eye and he glanced down at the ring on his finger again. It suddenly weighed down his hand as though it were encased in concrete. Was this going to happen to them every day for the rest of their ridiculous marriage? Were they ever going to have a moment's peace or would they have to constantly ward off crazed mobs of Pottermania induced fans?

"No wonder I've never been married before."