1A/N: There was some confusion with the last chapter. I had stated earlier that Ginny did not have her apparition license, but she apparated into Harry's flat in the last chapter. Lets all just assume that Ginny got her apparition license during the week between her first date with Harry and Harry's moving day. I didn't realize the mistake until after I posted. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for all the great reviews!!!! :)

****************************************************************************************************

Chapter seven: first days

The next morning, Harry was making his way through the busy visitors entrance to the Ministry of Magic. As it was his first day, he didn't yet have clearance to apparate or floo. As he approached the security desk, he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

'Wand please', said the wizard at the security desk.

He handed his wand to the wizard and watched him place it on some sort of scale that emitted a small piece of parchment after a few seconds.

'Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches', said the security wizard, handing him back his wand along with a security badge. 'Auror office is on the second floor Mr. Potter. Just ask for Archie Valentine. He's head of the department. Have a nice day.'

'Thanks', said Harry before he made his way over to the lifts.

Once on the second floor he wove his way through the other Ministry workers until he came to the office labeled 'Archie Valentine: Head Auror'. He knocked and heard a voice from inside beckon for him to enter.

'Ah, Mr. Potter. Right on time', said Valentine. The first thing Harry noticed about the Head Auror was that he had a number of scars across his face. He was a stocky man with greying hair and Harry got the impression that this was not a man you wanted to mess with. 'I've got all your paperwork right here. This should actually take you most of the day', said Valentine, motioning to a stack of parchment on top of his desk.

'Right, Mr. Valentine', said Harry nervously. Moving forward to shake his hand he added 'nice to meet you sir.'

'Nice to meet you as well Mr. Potter. Kingsley speaks very highly of you, actually, so does the entire wizarding community', said Valentine. 'Let me show you to your desk so you can get started on these', he added, standing up from behind the desk and motioning for Harry to follow. Harry noticed that he walked with a slight limp.

Valentine led Harry through a maze of cubicle style desks before stopping at an empty one.

'Here we are', he said, gesturing to the desk. 'I know it's not much but you won't be spending much time here anyway once we get you out on the field.'

'Right', said Harry.

'Well, here you are', said Valentine setting the stack of parchment on his desk. 'When you get done with these bring them into my office so I can give you an actual tour of the department.'

'Yes sir', said Harry as he took his seat and pulled the first form in front of him. He watched Valentine limp away and let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

'He's not too intimidating once you get over the shock', said a voice from beside him. He turned to see a man not much older then himself at the desk next to him. 'The name's Peters, Samuel Peters', he said, holding out his hand. Harry shifted in his chair to reach over and shake his hand. 'No need to ask who you are. The whole departments been buzzing about it for weeks', said Peters.

Harry gave a nervous laugh.

'Just let me know if you need anything Potter. It can be a bit overwhelming your first week', said Peters.

'Thanks', said Harry turning back to the towering pile of forms he had to fill out.

He looked down at the first one he had pulled out of the pile. It was just the basics like his name and address and who the department could contact in the event of an emergency. Harry hesitated for a fraction of a second and then put down Arthur and Molly Weasley. Next he had to decide who was allowed to visit him at St. Mungo's in case he was ever admitted for anything. This time he didn't hesitate and wrote down that all the Weasley's were allowed along with Hermione Granger.

Next came his medical history. He groaned inwardly. This is going to take a while, he thought to himself. How do you explain surviving a killing curse twice and having all the bones in your arm removed and then regrown again? Not to mention all the quidditch injuries he sustained during his six years at Hogwarts.

A few hours later the voice of Arthur Weasley broke his thoughts. He had been staring at the medical history form trying to make sure he didn't leave anything out.

'I thought you could use a break from all the paperwork', said Mr. Weasley. 'Want to grab a quick lunch?', he asked.

Harry sighed in relief. His hand was starting to cramp and he could really use a break. 'Absolutely', he replied. He tucked the forms into his desk drawer and stood up and grabbed his jacket.

'How's the first day going?', asked Mr. Weasley once they reached the lifts.

'Just trying to get through all those forms', said Harry. 'I've been working on the one for my medical history for the last few hours.'

Mr. Weasley chuckled. 'Yes, you have had an unusual amount of injuries', he said. 'How's the Leaky Cauldron for lunch?'

'Sounds great. Anything to get out of here for a bit. My hand's really starting to hurt', said Harry laughing.

They decided to floo to the pub and when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, every head turned in their direction. Harry stood frozen in the fireplace for a moment before following Arthur to a table in the back. He could feel thee eyes of every patron in the pub follow him. He slid into the booth across from Arthur and put his head in his hands.

'You ok, son?', asked Mr. Weasley.

'Yeah. I just hate it when everyone stares. You would think I would be used to it by now', said Harry.

'It'll take a while, but I think it will die down', said Mr. Weasley.

'I hope you're right.'

An hour later, Harry was sitting back at his desk finishing the last form. This last one was for prior work experience. He laughed inwardly. Does defeating the darkest wizard of all time count?' he wondered. Once finished be picked up the stack of parchment and made his way back to Valentine's office, knocking before entering.

'All done Mr. Potter?', asked Valentine as Harry stepped into his office. 'Good, good. I have your first assignment for tomorrow. I'm sending you along with Peters to canvas a pub. We suspect some of Voldemort's old followers have been using it as a meeting place. Be here tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. sharp.'

'Yes sir', said Harry. He couldn't believe he was being given his first assignment so soon. He figured he would be fetching coffee and doing paperwork for a while before he got assigned to an actual case.

'I don't have time for your grand tour of the department at the moment. If you have trouble finding anything just ask Peters for help. Now go home and get some rest. I want you sharp tomorrow morning', said Valentine

Harry nodded and made his way back to his desk to get his jacket.

'I guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning Potter', said Peters when Harry reached his desk.

'I guess so', said Harry.

'Don't look so surprised. You're Harry Potter. You didn't honestly think they would have you doing desk work did you?' asked Peters.

'Actually, I did', said Harry.

'I do want to warn you though. Some of the other Aurors aren't very happy with the fact that you were able to skip the three years of required training. Some of 'em has been saying that you're using your fame to get ahead', said Peters.

'And do you feel that way?', asked Harry defensively. The last thing he wanted was for people to start thinking that he was asking for special treatment.

'Nah., you seem like an all right lad', said Peters. 'I just wanted to give you the heads up.'

'Thanks, I guess', said Harry. 'I'll see you in the morning.' He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and made his way to the lifts. Once in the Atrium, he quickly made his way to the apparition point. A moment later he was inside his flat. He had set the charms so no one but him could apparate into it directly.

'Harry!',called Ron's voice, startling him. He looked down to see Ron's head poking out of the fireplace. He knelt down to be on eye level.

'Hey Ron', said Harry. 'How's Australia?', he asked.

'Brilliant', replied Ron. 'We were able to find her parents right away and Hermione reversed the memory charm. They were a bit upset at first, but once we explained everything they understood. We should be coming home in a day or two.'

'That's great. I tried to tell her everything would be OK', said Harry.

'We all did mate, but you know how Hermione is', said Ron. 'Anyway, how was your first day?', he asked.

'Boring actually. Had to fill out loads of paperwork', said Harry. 'But I did get my first assignment for tomorrow', he added.

'Already?', asked Ron in disbelief. 'I thought they would have you doing a bunch of paperwork for a few weeks.'

'So did I', said Harry.

'Listen mate. I hear Hermione calling me. If you see mum or dad, let them know we're doing Ok and that we'll be home in a few days', said Ron.

'Sure. Tell Hermione I said hi', said Harry.

'See you in a few days', said Ron before he disappeared from the fireplace.

****************************************************************************************************A/N: Please review! :)