~ 3 ~
Harry stopped in front of Kingsley Shacklebot's door, hesitating. It was not the first time he entered this office. Even if he had to travel often, he was always welcomed back by the Minister for Magic to give him a full report, before being able to enjoy a good night's sleep. The relation between the two man was friendly since Kingsley had greatly participated in the struggle against the dark wizards, but had never gone beyond mutual appreciation and admiration. This was probably due to the pile of work they both had to handle, which had streamlined their interaction for efficiency rather than bonding. There were not many picnics…
Remembering what he promised himself this morning on Diagon Alley, Harry gathered all of his courage – more than your common wizard to be fair – and knocked on the heavy black door. He did not have a meeting and hoped the minister would be present and free.
The door opened without a sound and the office appeared to the young wizard. He had never entered the offices of the previous Ministers for Magic, but he did not doubt that Kingsley would win the price of the most sober one. This simple man did not lose time to curve the hard lines of the room, which gave an overall hard and spartan feel to this space. A big ebony desk was towering in the center of the room, next to it was the minister's impressive chair and several armchairs for visitors. Posted on the wall were several WANTED posters for criminals, some mission reports and several post-Its. Since Kingsley had encountered this Muggle object, he took pleasure in using them as much as possible. Some spells could imprint writing on a wall – or even air – but the new minister preferred the tangible look of this little piece of paper.
On the desk, you could find piles of papers, reports, information summary, files… Despite the impressive number of documents, there was no feeling of mess or disorder, rather a nebulous order that only the man using this desk on a daily basis could understand. An old lamp was lighting the room in a yellow light, since the constant rain dimmed the light coming from the window. Warmer than the rest of the room, a nice fire was burning in the fireplace embedded in the left wall.
On his chair was standing the leader of the British wizarding world. His little but welcoming smile was contrasting a bit with the atmosphere of the office, a good way to realize that he was indeed quite fond of Harry and his work. He invited the visitor to take a seat with a gesture:
Come in Harry, come in, he welcomed him. I did not expect to see you so soon, but if you are ready to sacrifice your day off to handle this issue, I sure am glad!
What? Said Harry, a bit baffled by this phrasing.
Well my letter was asking you to come in tomorrow, but I suppose you are right: the sooner the better!
It took Harry a few seconds to remember the letter he had left unopened on the night stand of his room at the Leaky Cauldron. He had not forgotten what he came here to do, but Kingsley's words were intriguing and a bit worrying. What could be so important? One of the last Death Eaters maybe? He chose not to go against the flow without a better understanding of the issue, but he promised mentally he would excuse himself if the problem was not of primary importance.
As I detailed in my letter, the Hogwarts reconstruction process is nearing its end, meaning the school should be able to open its door once again, sometimes soon.
Harry's eyes shone at these words, he was happy that the place he had experienced the best days of his life was still standing, even after the war's destruction.
How will the students react to a new school year when most of them studied under the dark wizards, who did not really abide to a formal education plan? asked Harry, that was always very pragmatic with his boss.
This is exactly why I needed to see you! After a long discussion with the Secretary of State for Education, we came up with a rather innovative solution that could satisfy almost everybody. I would like to talk to you before any public announcement, to check if we missed something important from the point of view of a student.
Harry nodded his head. This was not a critical issue, but he felt like he could help his fellow students by giving honest feedback, quite an easy task compared to his previous jobs for the ministry. Kingsley continued:
As you know, the students that should enter their… fifth year for example, only possess the outline of the knowledge imparted in the fourth year. For us, it's impossible to ignore this gap. And if we add the time it took to get the school back on its feet, the school year is simply a mess. We decided to lose a year, meaning all the students will get "held back" and redo the year lost to the Death Eaters' teachings.
Harry thought for a bit before accepting that this was the best idea. The number of students was not that great, so holding all of them back was not that much of an issue. This could also be a good way to take the time to analyze more precisely if they had been influenced by the extreme ideas of the Death Eaters.
Remained the question of the seventh-year students like you and your friends. Some of them were at Hogwarts and had a somewhat normal school year – except the bad lesson plan – but most of you had either escaped or were fighting the dark wizards' curriculum. Whatever the case, none of you had their N.E.W.T. exam: the confirmation they could start to work. However, some of them, like you, started a job while the school was being rebuilt, sometimes continuing a gig they found while running from the dark wizards, or starting a new life thinking they would never go back to school after the battle of Hogwarts.
Harry nodded again, understanding how difficult it was to consider all the different scenarios that occurred. While the younger students would simply have to sacrifice a year, the seventh-year students chose different paths that were hard to reconcile. Forcing back to school people that found a job would be the definition of counterproductive. And even though the N.E.W.T should indeed be necessary to work in the wizarding world, the situation was extreme and leniency was probably the least disruptive solution. What did Kingsley thought up to tie all those loose ends?
We are going to invite all of them to go back to Hogwarts in order to receive a seventh-year education, but with some tweaks. They will be able to follow the courses they choose, whether it be one of them or all of them. This would allow this generation of students to learn more about subjects that could be related to their current work. And some N.E.W.T. exams could still be held; I know this seems irrelevant but going back to well-known systems is also a way to stabilize the wizarding world.
Well, that seems like a good idea, but some students that found jobs could be reluctant to give up on a good situation to go back to school, even if they could learn useful stuff, Harry thought aloud.
Harry was NOT one of the students that would feel this way. He would have loved to go back to his studies and go through his seventh year with his friends. But he was not naïve and knew it was impossible. He was not there, in the most important office of the country, because of its teaching methods. His case would certainly be different and Kingsley was going to say that he had to continue working at the Ministry, despite this "invite" back to school.
Indeed, responded the Minister, but we already thought about this. As this tweaked seventh year will include less courses than normal, students should have more time. This is why we would like to design a dual system, where students can follow classes and work at the same time. It's a Muggle technique. This would allow interested students to validate some N.E.W.T. while keeping their job.
Harry wondered how much Kingsley had been impacted by its role as the British Prime Minister's "secretary". This solution was indeed a great way to let the "students" back to school without forcing them out from active life.
It seems you already put a lot of thoughts into this, and except agreeing with you I don't really know what to say. Telling me this before the public announcement means there is something you would like to say to me, right?
Harry had become sharper after spending almost a year working as an adult and dealing on a daily basis with very intelligent wizards, like Kingsley Shacklebot. For once, he was standing there a bit uneasy in front of the direct question he faced:
Well, I don't know how to say that…
Here it is, as expected, thought Harry. I don't have a say in this, do I? I need to remain here and work for the Ministry…
In fact, said Kingsley with a bit more conviction, you don't really have a choice.
Harry clenched his fist on the cold wooden arm of the chair. He was prepared to enter an argument and tried to remain calm to explain his point of view as effectively as possible. But before he could start, the Minister for Magic interrupted him:
More precisely, this is the most logical path for you now. Your work and dedication are greatly appreciated and hailed at the Ministry; this is not the issue. Tthe crisis that allowed us to employ someone without its N.E.W.T. has passed. We must temporarily part ways in order for you to finish your seventh year. Of course, you are Harry Potter. You could find work elsewhere without going through this additional school year, but the Ministry would be more than happy to welcome you back, for real this time, as soon as you finished Hogwarts. The choice is yours of course. However, you should know that as the Ministry's main figure and as an individual, I would prefer you by my sides rather than somewhere else…
Harry exited the office trembling. This weird discussion went surprisingly well. Harry was effectively fired from the Ministry of Magic until he could finish his studies. He could then come back if he wanted to. After an additional year of hard work, the load would have diminished quite a lot and he would live a more normal life. This was a good option to consider.
He was so thrilled he almost ripped apart the letter he just got from the Minister: his last mission for the Ministry, and at the same time a good way to mend some of his mistakes.
This is one of my old projects I am translating as practice. A somewhat grimmer take on the aftermath of the war, but hope is just around the corner. Literally for Harry.
As of now, I need to write the chapters and not only translate them. I lost the following chapters, but I have some notes. I hope you like where this is going!
You can follow me on Twitter ( SolonWill) to message me, show support or simply look at my takes on the weird issues discussed on there.