Alright, here it is, finally. As I've already mentioned, I've decided to have a little contest, the details of which will be listed at the end of this chapter. One other thing, a spanner as translated into American parlance is a wrench. Thought you might want to know this.
The First Two Weeks
They spent the rest of that night just talking. They discussed Harry's meeting with Mr. Weasley and the ensuing job offer and what kind of training he would have to go through. Hermione thought that it would be very intensive considering that it was being cut down form the normal three years. After a while their conversation shifted more onto memories, and for the first time they had a real heart to heart talk about Ron and Ginny. They told each other what they would both miss the most about not having them around and preferring to remember the happier times they'd had. There was Ron's bottomless pit for a stomach, Ginny's deft use of the Bat Bogey Hex, and a rather lengthy discussion as to who would have one in a duel between the two siblings (made long because they were having fun speculating about the different ways in which Ginny would probably have embarrassed her older brother).
Their conversation had grown so pleasant that it was well after two in the morning before either of them realized how late it had become. Rather than send Hermione back to her parents' house at such a late hour, Harry offered to let her stay the night. She ended up staying for the entire two weeks until her parents returned home.
He thought long and hard about it before finally deciding to ask her to stay. The whole point of her plan was that they spend loads of time together and to get comfortable being friends again. Having her remain with him seemed like the best way to accomplish this. There were risks, to be sure; certain temptations that Harry was sure they would both feel, but the simple fact was that those feelings were going to be there whether she slept at her parents' house or across the hall from him. He had to believe that the more time they spent together, the more time they faced this particular problem, the easier things would become. If it happened that the temptation did get the better of them, well then they just wouldn't have so far to go to give into it.
That was the argument he put forth during breakfast late the next morning. Hermione made a half-hearted attempt to suggest that staying with him might not be a good idea, although he could tell that she wasn't against it either. As a matter of fact, she looked relieved when he asked her, almost as though she was glad not to be the one to bring up the subject. If anything, she was testing his resolve with the suggestion, making sure that he was not doing this out of courtesy but because he really wanted her to stay.
For the first week, they largely kept themselves sequestered in the house, working on finishing the re-decorating job that Harry had already started. They hoped that staying busy with something would allow them to get comfortable being around each other and keep distract them from other matters. The daytimes were spent working on the house, and on those odd evenings when the work was finished early, they usually spent much of the time answering their fan mail. Although not as large as Harry's, Hermione had received a rather substantial stack of letters of her own. Everyone had heard how she stood up to Lord Voldemort, even being so bold as to call him by his real name, and enduring his wrath for such a misdeed. Like Harry's these letters were thanking her for everything she had done, but unlike most of Harry's mail, almost all of Hermione's letters were curious about the kiss to his forehead, wondering if she had really brought Harry Potter back to life.
Harry had had very little desire to answer his fan mail. He could not help but recall that evening he had once spent helping Professor Lockhart answer all of his. Harry had no desire to turn into someone like the ego driven Lockhart and feared that answering this fan mail would only encourage that. It was only after enduring daily admonishments from Hermione, who repeatedly that "all of these people took the time to write" him and that it was "simply good manners" for him to respond did Harry finally relent.
That Monday evening, an owl arrived, carrying a copy of that evening's edition of the Daily Prophet, and a note from Mr. Weasley saying that Harry "…might find this interesting." Just as Mr. Weasley had predicted, the Prophet had indeed made mention of Kingsley's announcement at his press conference that morning that Harry was to be joining the Auror Department. In fact, it was printed in two inch emboldened headlines that read "Potter to Join the Aurors."
Potter to Join the Aurors
At a press conference this morning, Temporary Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt announced that Harry Potter would be joining the Auror Department. "I am pleased and honored that Mr. Potter will continue serving the public in his new position, and I am confident that he will prove to be a great asset in our continuing struggle against the use of dark magic." Mr. Shacklebolt said.
Mr. Potter will assume his new position sometime next month, when new auror training procedures will be finalized and put in place. He will be entering an Auror Department that is a shell of its former self, a result of the recent war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, which left the corps of elite dark wizard catchers ultimately gutted and currently manned mostly by former aurors temporarily called out of retirement.
Mr. Shacklebolt minced no words when asked if he hoped that Mr. Potter's appointment will encourage others to join up with the Department, "Of course we hope that other qualified individuals will be encouraged to follow in Mr. Potter's example, but make no mistake, this was not the reason we offered this position to him. Harry Potter is one of the most courageous, selfless, and honorable men I know. He is the kind or person we need to help set a firm foundation for the Auror Department's future."
Mr. Shacklebolt refused to elaborate on what the new Auror Training Program will involve, as procedures are still under development. He only stated that the training will be abbreviated in order to ensure the Department is rebuilt as fast as possible while still maintaining the same high standards that made the Aurors the cream of the crop of Magical Law Enforcement. (article continued on page 4)
The remainder of the article was largely as Harry had expected it to be. A cursory glance of what the possible political implications of Harry's appointment to the Auror Department followed next. Most thought that it was a very astute political move on Kingsley's part. Even Cornelius Fudge was quoted as saying as much. The real in depth look at the political implications would come in the following day's edition of the Prophet, when all of the would-be political pundits had time to digest and analyze the news before putting their thoughts in. For the most part, the remainder of the article was was dedicated to a short and very glowing overview of Harry's list of accomplishments. "As if anyone really needs to be reminded of all that," Harry grumbled after reading them.
The only real negative part of the article had to do with how some of the higher ranking officials at Gringott's expressed their disapproval of Harry's appointment to the Auror Department. They were apparently somewhat disgruntled by the idea that someone who had successfully broken into one of the vaults of their bank and escaped was not only going unpunished for his misdeeds, but was also to be taking a job in law enforcement. To make matters worse, the Ministry had intervened when the goblins attempted to freeze Harry's own account at their bank, something they were less than pleased about. Harry needed to smooth things over with the goblins eventually.
They ventured out only twice that week, once to Hermione's house so that she could pack some clothes and other necessities and where Harry helped her finish unpacking her parents' belongings (a job which took less than an hour because, as usual, Hermione had been exaggerating when she said her parents' house was a mess). Their second trip came the following day when they went to the local home improvement store. It was one of those massive warehouse stores, a veritable labyrinth of aisles and shelves filled with everything a muggle could use to meet any and all of their DIY needs. They mainly went so that Hermione could get her hands on one of those large sample books that contained several dozen swatches of different cloths in all sorts of colors and patterns. Using those swatches, she was able to conjure up all the cloth she would need to make throw pillows, curtains, and bed spreads.
Throughout the week, progress on the house was steady but extremely slow. When he had been doing the work by himself, Harry simply chose a color that he liked and put it on the walls. Hermione, however, took her time matching fabrics and paint colors, putting together several options to choose from for each room. Things were going slow enough that by Sunday Hermione finally broke down and suggested acquiring more magical means to speed things up. So, they started their second week with a trip to Blocke and Kwayall's Store for Magical Home Improvements (est. 1732) in Diagon Alley. Despite its small outward appearance, the store itself was much larger than expected on the inside, undoubtedly expanded through the use of enlargement charms.
Harry found himself once again amazed at the things magic could do. Apart from the expected items, like self-painting brushes and rollers, there was also Bickerton's All-Purpose Every Color Paint which could be changed to whatever color a person might want it to be, even after it was painted on the walls. His attention, however, was mostly drawn by the Vista View Wallpaper, which gave lifelike panoramic views of all sorts of places. He especially liked the Caribbean Beach wallpaper which had white sands, deep blue skies, and clear blue waters with waves that lapped gently back and forth against the shoreline and a palm tree that swayed back and forth in a soft breeze.
Hermione's interest, on the other hand, was grabbed by a series of paints called Weatherall's Works of Art. When put on a wall, this paint would form into a historic masterpiece. There were the usual wizard artists like Liebgott, Winters, and Guarnere, but there was also a wide selection from muggle artists, with the usual magical touches added of course. The Mona Lisa, for example, occasionally winked and even giggled. Whistler's Mother, on the other hand, seemed content only to cough or blow her nose every now and then.
Their trip to Blocke and Kwayall's was done early that Monday morning, just after the store had opened for business. Harry felt rather certain, and would probably have been correct, that if a lot of people saw him, then he would be swarmed by whole crowds of them. He just wasn't quite ready to face that yet, just as he had not been ready to face it at Hogwarts so many weeks before. He could not escape it then, but by going early in the morning, the hope was that he and Hermione could avoid any of the larger crowds of people that would be doing their shopping later in the morning, and thus, minimize whatever might come.
Surprisingly, the few people that did notice him that morning were far too stunned that Harry Potter was there and in their presence that they never even approached them. They only whispered quietly to one another "That's Harry Potter," and although neither Harry nor Hermione were aware of it at the time, those people were also quietly wondering who the girl was that was never too far from his side.
This was where the rumors began. They spread slowly at first; only by word of mouth. Seeing Harry Potter shopping at a home improvement store with a girl and both of them obviously discussing decorating a house together led those quiet onlookers to only one inevitable conclusion: Harry had a very serious girlfriend. Perhaps they were even engaged. What other possible reason could a man and a woman possibly have for decorating a house together? By then, most of the wizarding populace knew who Hermione Granger was, but really only by reputation. Outside of her friends and teachers at school, there were not too many people who could actually put her name together with her face.
As it was far too juicy to die away, this rumor gradually picked up speed and quickly became distorted into something it was not, as most often happens with such things as these. By the time it reached the gossip section of the Daily Prophet, there were so many different versions of the story that the reporters could not make figure out which was the correct one. One of the more tame accounts had Harry and his, as yet, unknown female companion doing nothing more than holding hands the entire time of their visit to the store. Another claimed that the mystery woman was the drummer from the Weird Sisters (which was quite impossible considering that they were touring in Scandinavia at the time). The raciest of the reports had the couple leaving Blocke and Kwayall's and proceeding to the Leaky Cauldron where they immediately rented a room and stayed there for the remainder of the day and night.
The gossip reporters were fairly certain that Hermione was Harry Potter's unknown female companion. She was known to be one of his closest friends. So, it was reasonable conclusion to reach, but the reporters had no confirmation because not even the Prophet had a photograph of her. With so many different versions of the story floating around and no definite certainty that Hermione Granger was Harry's companion, the Prophet's Editor-in-Chief made the final decision that nothing would be published.
The editor was brand new, having taken the job only a month before. His greatest concern was the newspaper winning back the trust of the wizarding populace. Starting under Cornelius Fudge, the Ministry had begun putting increasingly greater amounts of pressure on the Prophet to publish their versions of events. This manipulation had reached its height when the Death Eaters had been in control of the Ministry and everything else. The new Temporary Minister for Magic had vowed to put a stop to Ministry interference in the running of the Daily Prophet altogether, and thus far, he had kept to his word.
The readers, on the other hand, needed to be convinced that things were changing. The Daily Prophet had to prove to them that they could be trusted to report the news honestly, objectively, and that it was no longer the propaganda puppet of the Ministry. The readers had slowly begun to believe that things were different with the Daily Prophet. Any small amount of trust that had been built would have been ruined if the gossip columns reported that Harry Potter, one of the most beloved members of their society, was having some overnight tryst in the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione Granger, or any other woman for that matter, especially if it could be proven that nothing of the sort was going on at all.
Nevertheless, the story was no where close to being dead. No. The fact that Harry Potter made some sort of public appearance after living in seclusion for nearly a month was big news indeed, and in particular coming so close after the announcement he would be joining the Auror Department. The fact that he was seen with a girl was just an added bonus. Something had to be reported and would be, even if the article had to be one that suggested, without explicitly stating, that Harry Potter might be having some kind of romantic relationship with his friend Hermione Granger. What happened the next day would make the gossip columnists' articles a lot easier to be believed.
Harry and Hermione ended up purchasing several cans of Bickerton's All-Purpose Every-Color Paint, along with a few self-painting self-cleaning brushes and rollers from Blocke and Kwayall's. It was more than enough supplies to finish painting the house. It was also far too much for Hermione to be able to apparate the both of them together, along with every thing they had purchased, all in the same trip. Making a second trip had been the final straw for her. She'd had enough of Harry not being able to apparate on his own, legally. Harry was going to take his apparitions exam the next day and pass it, no matter what.
So, again they left the house the following morning, this time bound for the Ministry of Magic and the Apparitions Test Center contained within. Hermione had come along she would need to apparate them both, and for what she called "moral support", although Harry had a sneaking suspicion that she just wanted to make sure that he really took his exam. Harry really didn't need her with him either for support or to make sure he went through with it. He wasn't worried about this test in the least. He had apparated on his own a countless number of times without as much as a single hair out of place. This would be no different. Even still, it was nice having her along with him.
They chose to go early in the morning again, this time with the hope of finding the crowds they had avoided the day before. The thought was that the throng of Ministry employees would be more concerned about getting to their desks and offices on time and would hardly take notice of them. In an effort to help himself blend in a little further, Harry tried dressing in some of Sirius's old robes. They were kind of robes teenagers wore for more special but not entirely formal occasions that would have required dress robes. They were, therefore, much closer to the business robes that most Ministry workers would be wearing. Certainly, they would be far less conspicuous than a t-shirt, jeans, and trainers.
Unfortunately, the robes turned out to be far more prominent than Harry would have hoped. Apart from being at least twenty years out of style, their bright canary yellow color was hardly subtle. It also did not help that they were a bit too large for him. Kreacher had done his best to make alterations for a better fit, but there was no getting around the fact that these robes were obviously not in Harry's size, making him look rather odd, especially when combined with the brown bowler hat they found in one of the closets. It was only with a serious amount of effort that kept Hermione's smirk from turning into full blown hysterics.
Harry chose not to wear the funny looking suit, surmising that it would make him stand out just as much as, if not more so than his preferred choice of clothing would have. He had come to realize that there really was no point in trying to disguise himself. This wasn't exactly the same thing as their trip to the hardware store, where they were able to get in and out, somewhat quickly, before too many people had a chance to notice. This time they were going to the Ministry. There would be hundreds of people, some of whom they were going to have to interact with. He would have to face the public sooner or later. There was no point in trying to escape it. The only thing Harry could hope for was that too many people wouldn't notice.
They entered through the Ministry's phone booth visitor's entrance, each of them wearing the usual identification badge with their names and reason for being there. As they had hoped, the Ministry was bustling with activity, and everyone was in far too much of a hurry to pay attention to who else was there. Harry and Hermione slipped right into the crowd of people moving through the Atrium. He held her hand tightly in his to keep from being separated. Only the wizard at the Ministry's Security Desk seemed to really pay any attention to the famous visitors, but he said nothing only pausing while looking at the names on their badges and the scar on Harry's forehead.
Once their wands were processed, Harry and Hermione took the stairs one floor down to level six and found the Department for Magical Transportation, which contained the Apparitions Test Center. The Test Center wasn't exactly as Harry had expected it to be. He had pictured a place like one of the muggle Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's offices, where dozens of people would be standing in a stark government office, waiting in a seemingly never-ending line for their turn to speak with one of several clerks. Instead, the Test Center was much closer to what Harry would have called the waiting room of a doctor's office. It was quiet, well-lit, and to help the test takers relax before their exam, the room was colored in a soothing shade of green.
Sitting in two of the comfortable looking chairs that lined three of the Test Center's walls were a mother and her young daughter. The mother was filling out some kind of paperwork attached to a clipboard while the daughter was quietly perusing a clearly outdated copy of one of the different wizarding magazines had been placed on little tables set between every two or three chairs. Also sitting on each of the tables were small wooden racks which held different brochures. Some read "Tips on Apparating" and others said "Careers in the Ministry of Magic."
The most prominent feature of the waiting room was a rather tall, wood paneled reception desk that was flanked on either side by two doors, one marked "Staff Only" and the other "Testing Rooms". A middle-aged receptionist stood behind the desk. She was slightly plump woman, with graying hair, and half-moon glasses perched on the end of her nose. Mrs. Slocum, as the name plate on her desk read, had a genial smile that was sort of gave her the appearance of a grandmother.
"Good morning," Mrs. Slocum said politely as they approached. "How may I help you?"
"He needs to take his Apparitions Exam," Hermione said gesturing towards Harry and in a slightly chiding tone.
Mrs. Slocum looked over at him. Her eyes immediately locked onto his forehead for a brief second before she looked down at the name badge pinned to his chest, and then quickly back to his face. With eyes bulging, Mrs. Slocum looked back towards Hermione, as if to ask "Is that really him?" but she was stopped, caught off guard when she read the name on Hermione's badge. Mrs. Slocum's gaze shifted between the two of them, realizing that she not only had one famous wizard in her midst, but also a rather famous witch as well. From the look on her face, it seemed as though Mrs. Slocum's eyes were about to pop straight out of her head before she regained her composure. "Er…yes, of course. If you could fill this out, sir." she said handing Harry a clipboard and quill. "Just bring this back to me when you are finished."
Harry took the clipboard and quill and headed towards one of the seats. Hermione sat down beside him and immediately grabbed a brochure from one of the racks and began thumbing through it. He scanned over the form attached to the clipboard. It seemed relatively straight forward; asking for his name, date of birth, whether he had had any kind of apparitions training, and whether he had ever apparated before, and so forth. The next part of the form was actually a very long list of conditions, most having to do with where and when he was and was not allowed to apparate, and so forth. Harry filled out the paper and signed his name at the line on the bottom of the page, and returned everything to a still flush-faced Mrs. Slocum, who was sending off an interdepartmental memo as he approached her desk.
She took the parchment from the clipboard, rolled it up, and sealed it in a sort of capsule similar to but smaller than the kind used a muggle might use at the drive-up window of a bank. Mrs. Slocum grabbed a handle on the side of her desk and pulled it out. The entire cabinet slid out revealing a small cylinder that sat vertically on the inside of the cabinet with an opening at its top that was just about the same size as the capsule held in her hands. She popped capsule into the cylinder, closed the cabinet, and Harry could hear a faint swooshing sound. Presumably, the capsule holding his paperwork was being sent back to the staff office. "There we go. I expect it will be a few minutes before they are ready, sir," Mrs. Slocum said. "If you'd like to have a seat, I'm sure it won't be too long."
Harry nodded and turned to head back towards his seat. It was then that he noticed the little girl staring at him. She was holding her magazine in front of her face hiding most of it. Only her eyes were visible, peering at him from just over the top of the pages. Harry smiled at her and winked. She froze, her face turning white with terror, and her eyes nearly popping out of her head before she quickly hid herself completely behind the magazine.
Harry chuckled silently and sat down next to Hermione, whose attention was focused on one of the thick "Careers in the Ministry of Magic" brochures.
"I think I've got an admirer," Harry said.
"Yes, I know. She's been staring at you since we walked into the Test Center."
"Really? For that long?"
"It wasn't that hard to spot, Harry. Some auror you're going to make if you can't even notice one girl staring at you," Hermione said clearly teasing him.
"Oh come on. That's not fair. People have been staring at me since I was eleven. I hardly notice it anymore."
"Yes, well it's nice to know you've still got the touch though," she said with a giggle.
"Right," he replied, rolling his eyes, wondering if that sort of touch was a good thing or not. "Thinking about going to work for the Ministry, then?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.
"I don't know. Possibly. I suppose I should start thinking about finding a job of some sort. The problem is I have no idea what I'd be good at. I mean what sort of qualifications do I have?" This caused Harry to snort. "What?" she asked.
"Well, let's see: you were the best student in our year at school, you've faced Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters more than once and survived saving my neck a time or two in the process; not to mention the fact that you are about the cleverest witch I've ever known. I'd say you're qualified to do just about whatever you want to."
"Thank you, Harry, that's very sweet of you to say."
"It's true. You are all of those things, Hermione. Now, if I know you, you've already found something you like. So, let's hear all about it."
"Well, I was sort of thinking about something in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. With all my work with S.P.E.W. and seeing first hand how other magical creatures are treated, I think I could do some real good there."
"So, go for it. I'll bet Mr. Weasley would be happy to help. Remember what he told me: that Kingsley needs people he can trust. You're definitely one of those people. Why could go pay a visit right after my test?"
"No, that's not necessary."
"Why not? He could help you get your foot in the door, put in a good word for you. I'm sure having the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic as a reference would seal the deal."
"Actually, Harry, Mr. Weasley's already offered me a job at the Ministry; an administrative position in a department of my choosing."
"What? When did this happen?"
"Sunday before last, at the Burrow, before you arrived."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"To be honest, I just forgot about it. At the time, I was quite more concerned about seeing you than Mr. Weasley's offer for employment. Then after I'd found you were going to join the Auror Department, I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not."
"Why shouldn't you have told me Hermione?"
"Well, I haven't accepted the job yet. Mr. Weasley told me there was no rush and that I should take some time and think about it, and at the time, I didn't know what was going to happen between us. I decided that if things weren't going to work out, then it might not be a good idea if we both went to work at the Ministry. So, I really didn't think there was that much to tell you."
"That's…just…stupid Hermione," Harry said, laughing slightly. Then he took her hand, a friendly and reassuring gesture. "Things between us are going well. I think we're going to be okay, and even if we weren't, that shouldn't stop you from taking a job here. It wouldn't be fair to you to miss out on a good opportunity because of me. Do you really want the job?"
"Well, yes. I do."
"Then you're going to tell Mr. Weasley that you'll take it. Alright?"
"Alright. And thank you Harry."
"For what?"
"For being so sweet."
Harry was about to say something that he thought was witty and funny, when the "Staff Only" door opened and squat, grey-haired man walked out. He was wearing a yellowish overcoat with "No. 4" embroidered in red letters. The man was also carrying a clipboard and strangely enough, a spanner. If Harry had not known any better, he would have thought this man was an auto mechanic, or perhaps a removals man, anything but a wizard. "Mrs. Brahms?" he said to the mother. "How nice to see you again. Ready to give your Apparitions Test another shot I see."
"Yes, Mr. Arkwright," Mrs. Brahms said as she stood up. "You know what they say, 'fifth time's a charm.' Still, it might be a good idea to have the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad on standby."
"Oh, now Mrs. Brahms, with that sort of thinking, you're never going to pass your exam. You very nearly made it last time; only missed it by a finger…and a toe. I'm certain you'll get it this time. Now, shall we?"
"Yes, yes, alright." Mrs. Brahms then turned to her daughter and said, "Now, Shirley,you wait here quietly and Mummy will be back soon, alright?"
The little girl, who was actually about ten or eleven years old, rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Mum," sounding more than a little annoyed with her mother for talking at her as though she were a child.
Mrs. Brahms followed the portly test administrator through the testing room doors.
"I wonder why that man was holding a spanner?" Harry asked, thinking aloud.
"I imagine it was really a portkey," Hermione replied, obviously more concerned about what she was reading in her brochure.
"A portkey? Why would they need a portkey?"
"Harry, isn't it obvious? The Ministry is like Hogwarts. No one can apparate into and out of here. I thought you would have figured that out. Are you sure you're right for the auror thing, Harry?"
"Oh shush you," Harry said as Hermione laughed.
At that moment later, two witches entered the office. One of them was roughly the same age as Mrs. Slocum, the other was younger, and both headed straight for the reception desk. It was quite clear after a second or two that all three of these women seemed to be good friends. Each of them periodically glanced in Harry's direction and talked to each other in very low whispers. He tried to look as though he were interested in Hermione's pamphlet while listening in to their conversation, but the three women were speaking in such soft whispers, Harry was only able to make out a few words of their conversation. "…so cute!" he heard the younger woman say. "…wonder…girlfriend?"
"You've got some more admirers, Harry," Hermione said, softly.
"Yeah, I get the feeling they think we're dating."
"Yes, well you have been holding my hand for almost two minutes, so why shouldn't they?" Harry looked at her rather stunned.
"What? Oh sorry," Harry said, realizing that her hand was indeed still clasped within his.
"It's alright. I know it doesn't mean anything like that. Let them think what they will. They're wrong. You and I know it, and that's all that matters."
"If you say so."
Finally, the staff door opened again. Another man walked out. He was not dressed as a removals man as Mr. Arkwright had been, but his clothing was definitely muggle also, albeit somewhat dated. This man wore a dark sports jacket with white piping and dark blue turtleneck, with a "No. 6" stitched in white on the right side of the jacket. He was a youngish looking middle-aged man, but definitely dashing in his appearance, almost like a spy character Harry had once seen on an old muggle television program. Harry finally guessed that since there was a chance they would be apparating in or near muggles it would probably be a good idea to look like a muggle.
The man walked towards Harry purposefully, ignoring the three ladies at the reception desk. "Mr. Potter, I presume," the man said, as he arrived in front of them and seeming entirely unimpressed that he was now standing in front of Harry Potter.
"Yes, that's me," Harry said as he stood in front of the Test Administrator.
"I am Test Administrator Number Six, Mr. Drake. I will be conducting your exam. Now then, if you will follow me."
"Good luck, Harry. I'm sure you'll do fine," Hermione said sounding almost as nervous as Mrs. Brahms had been. "Just remember the 'Three D's. Destination. Deliberation. Determination.'"
"Yes, dear," Harry replied, trying to be humorous in order to quell Hermione's unnecessary anxiety. He really had no idea what she was so nervous about. After all, she had passed her test more than a year before. She had nothing to worry about. It was then that Harry could not help but feel a certain sort of apprehension, mostly brought on by the emotionless face of his Test Administrator. Refreshing as it was to finally meet someone who did not gush with gratitude or fawn all over him, it was a bit unsettling to get no feel of emotion from Mr. Drake whatsoever.
Harry followed Mr. Drake through "Examination Rooms" door and into a long hallway, with several more doors on either side. They went into the door marked "Examination Room 6". The room was small, almost like a closet, except it had no racks for hanging coats or clothes. It was just four walls, a door, and nothing else. After he closed the door, Mr. Drake's expression quickly changed from a solid stone face to something seemed a little friendlier. "Before we begin, Mr. Potter, I just wanted to say that it is an honor to meet you and to be the one conducting your Appartitions Test. You, and Ms. Granger, have done our society a great service. I could not say this out there in the waiting room because, as a Test Administrator, I am required to be impartial at all times. You understand."
"Yes, of course."
"Just between you and me, Mrs. Slocum and her little friends are three of the biggest gossips at the Ministry. They are so efficient, that I would not be at all surprised if they half the Ministry didn't already know that you and Ms. Granger are here. So, if you would not mind keeping what I've said between us, I would appreciate it."
Harry nodded in agreement, and then it was time to begin the test.
They took the portkey, which turned out to be a fountain pen that Mr. Drake had stored in his inside jacket pocket, to a wooded area just outside of a small village on the Welsh coast. From there, the test was relatively straight forward. Mr. Drake gave Harry a target destination, which was a spot just outside the entrance to an abandoned tin mine in Cornwall. Mr. Drake then disapparated away to the target spot first, so as to monitor Harry's arrival. A few moments later, Harry followed, arriving directly on the spot Mr. Drake had told him to. After recalling what happened to Ron during his exam, Harry immediately ran his fingers over his eyebrows, just to make sure they were still intact, and after seeing that no other parts of his body were missing or out of place, Mr. Drake gave Harry a passing grade.
Using the portkey once more they returned to the Test Center, where Hermione, Mrs. Slocum and her two friends, were all waiting with baited breath to hear whether Harry had passed his exam or not. When he told her the news, Hermione nearly leapt on him, which was to be expected. Of course, with Mrs. Slocum saw all of this, and adding in the "Yes dear," comment along with the meaningless hand holding, well that was enough juicy gossip to last the Ministry a few days. Naturally, all of this got back to the Prophet, as well as to every other wizarding publication in the country. What was more, the visitor's name badge confirmed that Hermione Granger was Harry Potter's companion. From there, the news hit the stands that evening, although, neither Harry nor Hermione were aware of this. It was a few days before they would discover what was being reported about them from, of all people, Fred and George, who took a great deal pleasure in teasing the two of them over the ensuing few weeks.
The next couple of days were spent finishing the decorating on Harry's house, which, with their new painting equipment, was done very quickly. Harry had the painting done in a day, and Hermione's added touches took another day or so to finish. When all was said and done, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, looked nothing like its former self.
Only Sirius's old bedroom was left alone to remain as it was. Everything that was in this room was all that Harry had left of godfather. It was his attempt at some sort of memorial, and besides that, Harry was sure that Sirius would have enjoyed the irony that of all the rooms in this house, his bedroom would be the only one in the house to remain as it once was; a final act of rebellion against the Black family.
With the house completed, there was little else to do. So, Hermione suggested that they should spend one day doing a little shopping, pointing out that a t-shirt and jeans were not the appropriate clothing for an auror, which Harry begrudgingly had to agree. Madame Malkin was kind enough to close her shop for over two hours while she fitted Harry with a new wardrobe. Hermione's keen eye for style, it seemed, also extended into apparel, as she worked with Madame Malkin to pick out some very sharp looking suits. Shopping for new clothes was actually more fun than Harry thought it would be. Apart from his dress and school robes, this was the first time that Harry actually had brand new clothes that were all his own and not his cousin's old hand-me-downs.
Paying for his new wardrobe had also meant having to make a preceding visit to Gringott's, during which, both of them decided that they should take the opportunity to reassure the goblins who ran the wizards' bank that breaking into the Lestranges' vault was for a noble purpose. It took a rather lengthy meeting to explain their actions and having to swear an oath in blood that neither of them would never attempt to gain unauthorized access to someone else's vault ever again to set the goblins' minds at ease, but it was worth it.
Their trip also included a stop at Ollivander's recently re-opened shop so that Hermione could obtain a new wand. She had always had a distinct distaste for the wand taken from Bellatrix Lestrange, feeling that it was decidedly unfriendly. Most of that was because she herself had not won the wand's loyalty because of which it had never worked as well as her old wand had. They spent almost an hour in the shop, Ollivander asking Harry various questions about possessing the famed Death Stick Wand all the while pulling out different wands for Hermione to try. It was fourteen inch willow wand with a dragon heartstring core that finally chose Hermione, which Mr. Ollivander gave to her as a token of his appreciation for rescuing him from Malfoy Manor.
A few days later, the first two weeks of Hermione's plan was brought to an end. Her parents returned from Australia, and she returned to their home to spend time with them. The pair still spent a lot of time together, to be sure. Hermione came over to Harry's house several times, mostly to help him work out several new defensive spells that he should have learned during his seventh year and working on perfecting Harry's nonverbal spell casting, which had always been lackluster at best. They even tried to practice dueling once, but after several deflected spells destroyed various objects around the room, they quickly aborted the dueling.
Those two weeks together had done a lot to ensure that their friendship would survive. Most people would probably have said that, in the end, Hermione's plan of spending time together was a complete failure because of where their relationship would ultimately end up, but as he would look back those weeks in the years to come, Harry preferred to think that the quite the opposite was true. Her plan had been a great success. Had it not been, their friendship would have ended, he would never have fallen in love with her, and he would not have begun to notice certain things about the young Ms. Hermione Granger.
It was during those first two weeks, Harry could not help but observe the pleasing way her waist curved so beautifully into her hips; the way her breasts pressed against her shirt when she was straining to reach for something above her head; and the pleasingly round shape of her posterior, particularly whenever she bent over to pick an object up off the floor. In short, for the first time Harry was noticing that Hermione was a woman.
He had always known that she was a female, of course, but to him she had always just been his friend. Her gender had never really come into before. Even that night when they had sex he had been far more engrossed in the pleasure of it all to pay attention to the beauty of her more physical attributes. Now, however, sleeping with her had changed the way he saw her. It was painfully clear to him that Hermione was, indeed, a fully grown and not unattractive woman, with all of those lovely curves and mounds that attractive women tended to have.
As they were working on his house, Harry would catch himself looking at her, locking his eyes would to all those parts of her body that he found pleasing to look at. He especially liked it when she wore jeans because of the way they accentuated her figure. Then his thoughts would turn to fantasy, where he hoped that by some miracle Hermione would decide that it was simply far too hot to be working in all of her clothes and decide to discard them right then and there in favor of laboring in nothing but her underwear, or perhaps even less than that.
When reality inevitably set in, Harry would quickly push those thoughts out of his mind. It made him angry to even be considering such things. Over the coming days, he managed to gain better control over himself, managing to keep himself from looking at Hermione in that way or letting his thoughts stray on fantasies that could not and should not ever be. Every now and again, however, Harry would forget himself and let his eyes stray and his mind wander towards Hermione's naughty bits and what it would be like to see them again. This was a problem that would forever persist, occasionally popping up every so often. Most of the time, he was able to quickly regain his composure and push all of that away and go about his business as though nothing had happened…that is until one day, those thoughts simply would not go away and his fantasy became reality.
Okay, now it's time for the contest. It's really quite simple: I have added five new, minor characters into this chapter. They are: Mrs. Slocum, Mrs. Brahms, her daughter Shirley, Mr. Drake, and Mr. Arkwright. The names for each of these characters were borrowed from characters that appeared on four old British television programs. All you have to do is figure out which characters were from which shows, then send them (Character Name and Television Show) to me in a PRIVATE MESSAGE. DO NOT put your answers in a review to this chapter as I will not accept them in this form. The first three people who reply with the correct answers will be given a sneak peak of my next chapter a couple of days before I publish it.
Of course, to point you in the right direction, I'm going to give you a few hints:
Mr. Arkwright, well this one's pretty straightforward. So, sorry, no hints here.
Mrs. Slocum, Mrs. Brahms, and her daughter Shirley are all derived from characters from the same show. In fact, Mrs. Brahms and Shirley both come from the same character (her first and last name).
Mr. Drake - well this one's a bit difficult. Depending on who you ask, Mr. Drake was the same character on two different shows. They were certainly played by the same actor, and both were very similar in other respects. The problem is, in one show, Drake was this character's last name, and in the other show, he didn't exactly have a name. However, I have included what his character was called in the text, as well as some other clues. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out. - For this one, you will need to include both of the characters and both of the shows in your answer.
Any questions, just ask.
CD Bailes