Harry's Future, Part 20
Harry sat at the faculty table in the Great Hall at Hogwarts awaiting the arrival of the new batch of first years. Only a few weeks prior he was sitting in nearly the same spot as a newlywed groom looking out over the hundreds of family and friends and other guests who had shared what he considered to be the most magical day in his young life. Today he was here as a representative of the Ministry of Magic to announce the new intern program that would offer this year's sixth year students a chance to gain experience and exposure at the Ministry and get paid for it.
As he looked out over the second through seventh years he recognized the now fourth years that he had taught during his last year including his legal ward, Abagail Westwood, who sat half way up the Ravenclaw table. Her lack of stature was becoming more pronounced as the others in her year were growing taller. But that smallish body housed an enormous talent, the depths of which Harry wondered if they would ever fully understand. But she seemed happy. Her summer was spent largely at the Burrow under the watchful and loving eye of Mrs. Weasley with a lot of help from Fleur.
She must have sensed Harry looking at her because she leaned back a bit and looked up at him, giving him a shy smile and a wave. He replied in kind. He had already shared greetings with the staff and faculty and he was anxious to see the introduction of the new crop of witches and wizards in training.
Professor McGonagall rose from her seat and walked to the podium at the front of the dais. She rapped the gavel lightly to get everyone's attention.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," she began. "I trust everyone has had a happy and healthy summer break and you return to us ready for another challenging year of learning. In a moment we will invite our first year students to join us and be selected for their houses but first I would like to acknowledge the presence of one of Hogwarts favorite graduates who is here today to announce an exciting new program at the Ministry of Magic that he will discuss with us after we conclude the feast. I am speaking of course of Mr. Harry Potter."
The applause was thunderous. He acknowledged this with a broad smile and wave. His wife Ginny and his 'big sister' Fleur both tried to impress upon him how important it was to politely acknowledge whatever demonstrations of appreciation or recognition that were offered. His natural tendency to try and downplay such things or show embarrassment only served to hurt peoples' feelings, they insisted. Harry was beginning to understand that the despised and unwanted child that lived all those years in the Dursleys' home had evolved into a beloved public figure and justifiably so.
"Yes, yes, if you would settle down please, it is time to welcome our new class of students. Professor Sprout, if you would, please."
The stout Herbology professor and assistant Headmistress led a line of amazed, bemused and in some cases, most likely muggle born, frightened eleven year old boys and girls down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw table to stand before the dais and confront that standard of Hogwarts life, the Sorting Hat. The battered old wizard's hat sat on its stool waiting to be placed atop the head of each new student to determine to which of the four houses the child would spend his or her next seven years. Harry recalled his encounter with the aged and much repaired hat and how important his first real act as a wizard and Hogwarts student really was.
As tradition dictated before the sorting began the Hat sang a song that it spent the preceding year composing while sitting on a shelf in the Head's office. It encouraged all the students to work hard so they would be prepared to be part of the ongoing work to make the wizarding world a better place then it had been and to remember that humans were not the only magic users. Harry was surprised at this. Apparently it must have heard about Hermione's and his efforts. Then it went silent awaiting the first child.
He watched with great interest as each child sat on the stool and Professor Sprout placed the hat on his or her head. Sometimes the hat shouted out a house almost immediately, others took a moment or two. Either way, it was soon over and the new students were seated at their places at the near end of their respective house tables accompanied by much applause.
"Welcome, first years, well done you. Everyone enjoy your dinner," Professor McGonagall said.
Harry watched as the food appeared on the tables and the students began to serve themselves. From the looks of the first years he could tell who the muggle borns were. He couldn't help but smile. He spent the meal chatting with the professors on either side of him as well as looking out over the students as they ate. The time passed quickly and soon Professor McGonagall was back at the podium to get everyone's attention.
"Once again, a wonderful welcome back feast. Now, everyone, if you would please join me and show our special guest how much we appreciate his taking time to visit with us this evening," she said as she turned and gestured to Harry. "Mr. Harry Potter, if you please."
Harry rose to the sound of tremendous applause and he smiled and gave a wave as he approached the podium. He was, as usual for an appearance at Hogwarts, dressed in his best formal robe and he looked every inch a proper wizard. He shook hands with the Professor as they met at the podium and then she left him to his audience.
"Thank you very much, Professor. Also my thanks to the faculty and students and staff. It is always a pleasure to be here at Hogwarts. It is very much a coming home for me each time I return. I want to offer a special welcome to our new first years. It wasn't all that long ago that I was sitting at the near end of the Gryffindor table, moderately stunned. For those of you who come from nonmagical families I know that this must all be very strange but I want to assure you that you have come to a very special and wonderful place and very much my second home," Harry said, smiling down at the young faces that were looking up at him.
"However, it is to the more senior students that I've come to speak to tonight. As a representative of the Ministry of Magic I would like to make the following announcement. As a result of an initiative suggested by the Director of Magical Law Enforcement and embraced by the Minister we are offering the opportunity for sixth year students to become paid interns for a period of twelve months between the end of their sixth year and the start of their seventh. This internship will provide the opportunity for capable witches or wizards to gain experience and help them determine if the Ministry is a place they'd like to pursue a career. Opportunities will be open in all departments to include my own. Of course, such an intern would not be permitted to engage in Patroller or Auror activities but would be able to help on the investigative side, administration and so on. A list of the areas of interest and requirements will be posted in the common room of each house. In general, each position will require certain OWLs as well as the candidate having successfully passed your sixth year exams. You will need two letters of recommendation from faculty members here at the school as well as an endorsement from the Headmistress."
Harry paused and could see a number of muted conversations going on in the sixth year areas of all the tables as well as some not too happy looks from the seventh years. He was prepared for this.
"Now, to the seventh years this may seem a bit unfair and it would be understandable if you were thinking 'hey, how come we didn't get a chance like this'. My answer is to apologize but the idea didn't surface until last fall and my unfortunate run in with a slightly overlarge lizard made a mess of things," he said with a lopsided grin. "However, you should know that the Ministry is still looking for capable and qualified witches and wizards to fill positions that still remain open after the supporters of Tom Riddle were flushed out and those who couldn't get on board with the Minister's reform initiatives left. I will be staying here at Hogwarts overnight and I will be available here in the Great Hall after dinner to discuss these opportunities with any seventh year that wishes to do so. I'll be here at the near end of the Gryffindor table. I'll also be available after breakfast for a little while as well."
Harry looked around at all the students and couldn't help but smile.
"We, all of us, have an opportunity to take advantage of what Tom Riddle inadvertently did for us. He showed us just how corrupt and worthless many of the old notions that he championed really were. After all of the pain and misery he caused, his fall and that of his followers has given us the chance to rebuild a community that will be far better for all of us. That is my hope and that is what I work for everyday. I hope you will consider joining me in that effort. Thank you and I look forward to talking to you while I'm here."
As Harry stepped away from the podium, the students once more broke into raucous applause. His brother-in-law, Bill, gave him a wink and Hagrid, a thumbs up. Professor McGonagall gaveled for quiet and then dismissed the students. Harry waited until the crush of students exited the Hall and then he set up shop at the end of the Gryffindor table. A number of seventh years had remained behind and Harry was busy for the next several hours discussing opportunities, requirements and working conditions. It appeared that there wouldn't be a lack of applicants come spring.
**************
As the tail end of summer faded into the beginning of autumn Harry's life took on a routine that he was thoroughly enjoying. Ginny had abandoned her boarding house room in Holyhead and had taken up permanent residence in the Black house with Harry. He was taking twice weekly trips to St. Mungo's for physical therapy and his knee was making significant improvement. A third visit was made every other week where he had an ongoing conversation with Dr. Parsons. While he never imagined he would ever be free of the concerns that the healer believed were at the root of his 'anger issues' he did have some hope that he would be able to deal with them in a more controlled manner. He was also starting to come to the realization that his fears of being alone again had very shallow roots. He need only look at the photograph that Ginny provided to confirm this.
Two important events took place in October that demonstrated the inevitabilities of life. The first was when during one of the Weasley Saturday gatherings Bill and Fleur announced they were expecting their first child at the end of April or beginning of May of the following year. Mrs. Weasley's reaction was very similar to the one she had when Harry and Ginny told her they were engaged. There were loud shouts of joy and tears and hugging and general joyous chaos. No one had suspected since Fleur had been wearing slightly looser clothes to hide the barely perceptible changes to her slender frame
It was later that month when the other end of the progression of nature intruded heavily on their family. Harry and Ginny were sitting in his study after dinner talking about nothing much in particular when Kreacher knocked on the door. He had a parchment roll in his hand.
"Master Harry, this message has just arrived from Hogwarts," the little elf said.
"Thank you, Kreacher," Harry replied.
He took the message and unrolled it and began to read. As he did so, his expression became increasingly somber.
"What is it, Harry?" Ginny asked.
"Abagail's grandmother passed away last night," he replied.
"Oh, no. That poor child," Ginny said.
Harry took a deep breath.
"Well, it's not unexpected. We knew she was getting weaker all the time. It says that all the funeral arrangements have already been made. It will be this Saturday at the church she belonged to. I need to go up to Hogwarts for a bit, love. I'll be back in a while."
"Do you want me to go along?" Ginny asked.
"You need to leave early tomorrow and I don't want you tired from all the traveling. I can handle this, it's what I signed up for after all," he said with a grim little smile.
Ginny just nodded.
It was close to midnight when Harry returned. Ginny was asleep and Harry carefully eased into bed beside her. It took some time for him to fall asleep. He woke up when he felt Ginny getting up to start her trip back to Holyhead.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean to wake you. How did it go last night?"
"It wasn't good, but it could have been a lot worse. Abagail knew it was coming. She's been 'watching' her grandmother for a while and she knew she didn't have long. She feels like a tie has been cut. Her grandfather is still alive but since he doesn't recognize anyone anymore it doesn't help much. She's hurting but it's amazing how much support she's getting from her mates up there. The Ravenclaws are really rallying around her."
"Well, Harry, I'm sure they look at her much the way Gryffindors look at you," Ginny said as she was dressing.
"What do you mean, love?"
Ginny turned to look at her husband, minus his glasses, his messy hair in total disarray. She was giving him one of 'those' looks.
"Harry, Gryffindors past and present take a lot of pride in the fact that you are one of ours. Considering what Abagail has done and will likely do in the future, she gives the Ravenclaws the same kind of pride. Not to mention that fact that she's so loveable. So are plans set for Saturday?"
"Yes, I'll go up Friday afternoon and we'll take the floo network back to the Burrow. We'll go to the funeral from there. The message from Mrs. William's minister indicated it would be a graveside service in the church's cemetery. The message indicated they aren't expecting much of turn out," Harry said grimly.
"How sad. Well, we'll be there," Ginny said.
Harry just nodded.
The Saturday of the funeral for Mrs. Williams was typical for mid autumn. A chill breeze was blowing and the sky was overcast with high thin clouds that allowed little warming from the sun. The small churchyard cemetery was neat but bleak. The weathered grave stones and bare trees gave it an appropriately somber air. The casket for Mrs. Williams rested above the grave adorned with only a single wreath of flowers. A few chairs were arranged along one side and most were occupied by elderly members of the congregation. The minister stood to one side awaiting the arrival of Abagail and her guardians. A low murmur of voices and footsteps attracted the clerics attention and she looked up, surprise clear on her face. She did indeed see Abagail, looking somber in black, her long dark hair pulled back away from her pale face. She was flanked by a man and woman, he of medium height with unruly black hair and round glasses, she shorter with a mane of crimson hair. What surprised the minister was the number of people following behind. Directly behind Abagail was an older couple walking arm in arm. Following along was a tall man with red hair with a number of scars on his face walking besides a stunning blonde.
The closer the party approached the more redheads came into view, four in fact, of varying heights but clearly related, each with a woman on his arm. Behind them came a very stern faced older woman walking besides what had to be the smallest man the cleric had ever seen. Trailing behind these two was a somewhat disordered group of younger people, all wearing identical school colors. The minister knew that the granddaughter attended a boarding school to the north and these must be some of her school mates. The minister allowed herself a small smile.
The minister indicated that Abagail should take a seat. Harry and Ginny sat beside her with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley taking the chairs to Ginny's side. Fleur and Bill came to stand directly behind the small girl. Fleur rested a hand on Abagail's shoulder who in turned reached up to place her hand on top. Her other hand was held firmly by Ginny. The others fanned out behind the chairs. The minister took them all in with a slow glance and then said,
"I would like to welcome you all here today as we bid farewell to our dear sister, Cassandra Williams."
At the sound of Abagail's grandmother's first name, a number of heads came up. Harry was aware since he had seen the family tree that Milligan had prepared but he had not shared that information widely.
"Mrs. Williams had her share of struggles, as have we all, but she always faced them with determination and fortitude. The last years were difficult ones but she was always so proud of her only granddaughter and as her health failed her these last years she often shared with me her worries about her granddaughter. But then Abagail found a guardian angel. In fact, it would appear that she found an entire family of angels and with that knowledge, Cassandra spent her last days at peace. So now, if you'll join me we will offer our final farewells."
With that the minister began the formal funeral service. Throughout, Abagail maintained her grip on both Fleur and Ginny. The service concluded and the minister invited Abagail to approach the casket, with Harry escorting, and place a single flower next to the wreath. Harry shook hands with the minister, thanking her for her efforts and then stood with Abagail as the few elderly congregation members came up to bid their friend a last good bye and then took their leave of Abagail. After the small group and the minister walked away out of hearing range Harry turned to face the rest.
"On behalf of Abagail I wanted to thank you for coming here to show your support. As you can imagine it's been a tough time for her this last year and a half or so but with all of you being there for her, I think it's safe to say she'll come through in fine shape. I'd also like to say that in a real way we are saying good bye to one of our own. For those of you who weren't aware, Mrs. Williams was the great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney. So while she may not have possessed any magical abilities of her own she was in a way a conduit for talents that are one of the reasons that Abagail is as special as she is," he said, looking down at his ward, who was looking back up at him with a sad smile.
"I'd ask that you all come up and take a moment to wish our sister farewell and perhaps leave some token of our respect."
Harry turned and with a few murmured words, a large bouquet of lilies appeared on top of the casket. Ginny was next and with a brief motion of her wand that she kept close to her added a dozen roses, so dark red as to be almost black. The Weasley family approached in line and with each more wreaths, bouquets or small blankets of flowers and greenery were added. By the time the last students passed by, the casket was nearly blocked from view. Harry added a parchment envelope addressed to the minister and then led Abagail out of the cemetery.
The congregation was abuzz for weeks after the funeral. No one had expected that so many people would attend and it was generally concluded that Abagail was extremely fortunate to have found such folks to take care of her. The mass and diversity of flowers that were left was also something that everyone found amazing, as those that had attended from the church couldn't recall having seen anyone carrying them when they arrived. They thought the message from Abagail's guardian, Mr. Potter, to have been very warm and generous as he invited the minister to feel free to distribute the flowers amongst the other graves sites. Much to everyone's surprise the flowers retained their color for weeks afterwards. Lastly, the very generous donation that had been left in the envelope suggested that little Abagail would want for nothing in her life from this time onward.
Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, along with the contingent of Ravenclaws returned to Hogwarts after taking their leave of Abagail. She, with all the other members of the Weasley clan, returned to the Burrow. They did what they could to comfort her with most of the task falling, willingly, on Fleur who spent the majority of the afternoon on one of the couches with Abagail wrapped in the circle of her arms. At various times she was flanked by Ginny or Angelina and on one occasion by Eleanor who whispered a few words to Abagail that got a smile in return. Harry pondered how easily Eleanor and Audrey and Abagail herself had melded into the Weasley family, much as he had done some years earlier. Perhaps this was a magic in and of itself, every bit as profound, if not more, as any conjuration or potion.
Abagail was returned to Hogwarts Sunday evening and although she was somber at the loss of her grandmother she was buoyed by the knowledge that pretty much everywhere she turned there was someone that she could talk to or lean on. Harry left her in the company of a number of Ravenclaws and he felt confident that there would be no repeat of last year's turmoil.
*************
Harry continued his efforts at the Ministry dividing his time between day to day enforcement issues, Patroller training and the cooperative agreement with the French Ministry of Magic. In conjunction with this last effort was the work of getting to the bottom of the criminal conspiracy that was behind the contraband smuggling operation. A number of leads were panning out but they so far had not been able to indentify who the leader was and what was the ultimate aim of the group. Hermione had taken up most of the effort with the other magical races, now that proposals had been received from the Centaurs and as well as the Goblins. The prevailing wisdom was that as far as the house elves were concerned, the Ministry would have to move forward with their best interests in mind but with no real input from that segment of the magical community. Harry was confident that they would be well served by Hermione.
By now it was late November and Harry was sitting at his desk looking over some documents that Hermione had dropped off asking for his comments. Sounds in the hallway outside attracted his attention and he stood up and went to the door to see what all the noise was about. He saw Maxwell hurrying towards him.
"What's going on?" Harry asked.
"We have a situation, sir. Muntab took her team to raid a house that's on that farm where the smugglers' warehouse is located. They had information one of our suspects was holed up there. It was a set up. The house is full of wizards and our people are pinned down."
"Pinned down? Why don't they Disapparate out of there?"
"We have two wizards down and they are in the open. We can't get to them without exposing someone. They are keeping them covered but it's a mess. I'm sending every available man," the deputy chief said.
"Fine, lets go," Harry said moving towards the lobby.
"Sir, um…" Maxwell began.
"Forget about that. We have people in trouble. All bets are off. Let's move," Harry said as he continued to the lobby. He saw the rest of the Aurors gathered in the lobby.
"Alright, settle down. We have people in trouble but I don't want to add to that. We will Disapparate to the front of the old warehouse where we took down the smugglers and then proceed to the house in question. Who came back to make the report?" Harry asked.
"I did, sir."
"Ok, Dolby, you'll lead us in once we get there. Let's move," Harry said and then he Disapparated.
The Aurors began popping into view and once they were all assembled, Dolby took the lead with Harry close behind. They could hear shouts and the sound of spells being thrown. The group of reinforcements ran at a crouch through low brush until they came to the edge of the overgrowth. About fifty yards away was a substantial stone house of two stories that had been abandoned for some years but was certainly occupied now. At all the window openings were wizards firing curses at Aurors who were crouched behind trees, a broken down rock wall and whatever else they could find for cover. The rock wall had taken some recent heavy damage. Out on the bare open lawn were two huddled masses of robes that were obviously the downed Aurors.
It was obvious that some sort of enchantment had been put on the house because spells were striking but not doing any damage. It looked as if the house had been magically armor plated.
"Alright, spread out on either side of me but keep down. I'm going to given them a count of five to surrender. If I say six we fire 'Confringo' at them all at once. Give it everything you've got."
Harry took out his wand and touched his throat and said 'Sonorous'.
"You in the house, this is Chief Potter of the Office of Magical Law Enforcement," Harry's voice boomed out over the yard, the spell making it impossible to determine the location of the speaker. "You have until the count of five to throw out your wands and stand in clear view with your hands on top of your heads. You won't get a second chance," Harry said then paused a moment before he began the countdown. "One, two, three, four, five," he paused before saying six but since there was no sign of surrender he shouted "six." As one Harry and the other Aurors pointed their wands at the house and shouted "Confringo".
The combined spells, dramatically boosted by Harry's battering ram, struck the front of the reinforced stone structure like a run-away freight train. The house remained intact at the moment of impact but all could see that it shuddered as it slid backwards about a foot. The shift ripped the house off its foundation and without support the interior walls and floors began to fail while the magicked exterior remained intact.
Two renegade wizards dove out one of the lower floor windows and were immediately stupefied but no one else emerged as the interior of the building collapsed into the basement. The roof sagged and the middle section fell in as the ridge beam snapped. Dust blew out of the windows as the rumble of destruction rolled away to be replaced by a deathly quiet. Harry took a deep breath and looked at Maxwell and said,
"Get someone to St. Mungo's and get the medics out here. The rest of you come with me and let's see what we have here."
As one Auror popped out of view, Harry and the rest emerged from the overgrowth and began walking towards the ruined building. Members of the original strike team began to emerge from various places of cover and several hurried over to their fallen comrades. Harry was shocked and dismayed when he noticed one of those emerging from cover was a lanky red head supporting one arm with the other hand. He moved toward the two downed Aurors and their leader, Evelyn Muntab, who was standing between them. She looked at Harry as he approached.
"Whitby is gone, Anderson is alive but in bad shape," she said.
"Help is one the way. What happened here?" Harry asked, his voice even.
"We got a tip that one of the suspects we were looking for was holed up here. The house had been checked when we were first here with the smugglers but there was nothing to keep anyone from moving in after we were done. It was a setup. We had all the exits covered and we started towards the front door when we got hit from everywhere."
"What's he doing here?" Harry asked, very quietly, gesturing to Ron who was standing nearby.
"I thought this was going to be routine and I wanted to get some of the recruits I was considering for movement into the Tactical squad some field experience. He knocked me out of the way of a curse I didn't see coming. He must have hurt himself when we hit the ground," she said while trying not to back away from Harry's glare.
"Get this mess cleaned up and I'll talk to you in my office tomorrow morning at nine."
"Yes, sir."
Harry walked over to Ron.
"You alright?" Harry asked
"If you call a broken arm alright, yeah, I guess so," Ron said obviously in pain.
"Hang in there. It looks like the folks from St. Mungo's are here. You did a good job. Just like the old days," Harry said with a crooked smile.
"Yes, sir," Ron said, smiling a bit in reply.
Several healers hurried across the sparse lawn to the sides of the downed Aurors and then one came over to see to Ron. The healer moved her wand over Ron's forearm. He could feel a tingling.
"A simple break, young fellow. I've knitted the bone together but it may be sore for a day or so. On the outside chance it continues to bother you, come see us. Good day to you."
"Thank you, ma'am," Ron said as he flexed his hand and moved his arm around.
Harry gave Ron a companionly swat on the other shoulder and then moved to examine the destroyed house. The hollow stone shell sat unevenly on the foundation leaving a gap through which he could see the wood and stone debris from the ruined interior walls and floors. He could also see the lower half of a wizard sticking out from the pile. Some of them may have Disapparated out but he wondered if they had spelled the house against Disapparation to prevent a direct attack from inside. He sighed and turned around looking for Maxwell. He saw him talking to Muntab although they were both looking in his direction. He pointed at his deputy and waved him over. When Maxwell walked up Harry said,
"I don't know who you get to do it but we have to clear this debris and get the bodies out, then find a way to drop the rest of the house so it looks like it just collapsed from age. I'm going to have a talk with Muntab in the morning. I'm leaving you in charge here until it's cleaned up but I want you there in the morning for the meeting. You can come back up when we are done. Any questions?" Harry said.
"No, sir, I understand," Maxwell replied.
"Good."
Harry walked back toward where Ron was standing. He quietly said,
"You better let Mum know you're alright. It won't be long before word gets up to Dad and then you know what's going to happen. Stop by and see me tomorrow in the afternoon."
"Ok, Chief," Ron said with small smile.
Harry moved away and when he was clear of all that was happening he Disapparated back to the lobby and before anyone could ask any questions he made his way to the Director's office. The secretary looked up as he approached.
"There you are, Mr. Potter. The Director and Minister were both looking for you. You should go right up to the Minister's office."
"Thank you."
Harry turned and made his way up to the Minister's office. The secretary waved him in.
"Harry. What in the world happened?" the Minister asked.
"The Tactical Squad was set up and ambushed. We lost one and another is in pretty bad shape. I'm not sure but I think we got all of them," Harry said and then proceeded to give his two bosses the full details.
When he was done the other two wizards looked grim. The implications were serious. It appeared that whatever organization was behind the smuggling operation was more dangerous then they first thought and was ready to take drastic action. It also appeared that Harry had some issues within his department to deal with. The three spent the rest of the day discussing the issues.
At nine o'clock the following morning four people were wedged into Harry's office. He was in his usual seat behind his desk. Maxwell, Milligan and Muntab were wedged in side by side across from him. Harry was regarding them intently. He leaned forward to rest his arms on his desk.
"We really screwed up yesterday and as a result we lost one, possibly two, experienced wizards. We also lost a number of leads and instead have a bunch of dead bodies that may or may not tell us anything."
"I'm sorry, sir. I take full responsibility for what happened yesterday," Muntab said.
"I appreciate that, Evelyn, but the fact is we all have to share the blame on this one, me most of all. When I was assigned to this job one of the big things I was supposed to do was centralize all the law enforcement activities so that we all knew what was going on and shared information and so forth. But apparently I didn't pay attention to what was going on internally with the Aurors. So, from now on this is how it goes. No one goes off on any independent missions. All tactical operations have to be reviewed and approved by Maxwell as Deputy Chief. Any tips, rumors or whatever have to be vetted through Milligan and his MIU group. And anything to do with this smuggling gang has to be brought to my attention. We've learned a lesson the hard way here, let's not forget it."
"Yes, sir," they all responded.
"Now to the second issue. What were inexperienced people doing up there?"
"I misjudged the situation, sir. As I told you yesterday I thought it was a routine mission to capture a single individual. I thought I'd use a couple of the more promising patrollers to cover possible exit routes. I got it wrong," Muntab said.
"Well, you certainly jumped the gun to say the least. Fortunately we only had the one injury and that's been taken care of. I still want to pursue this idea but it has to be handled properly. Give me the names of the ones you're interested in and I'll talk to them one on one. Then we'll establish a training plan. I don't think this is something we want to do on the job. And absolutely no tagging along on missions, no matter how simple they might seem. Clear?"
"Yes, sir," Muntab replied.
"Ok. Now, how are we doing at the farm house?" Harry asked.
"We were able to undo the enchantment on the building's exterior," Maxwell started. "With a little persuasion we were able to get the remaining walls to fall outward and now we're working our way down through the debris pile. I'm going back up after we're done here and I'll send word back on what we've found so far."
"Good." Harry replied and then looked to Milligan. "You have your people up there yet?"
"Yes, sir. Four of mine are there to sift through whatever comes out of the debris."
"Ok. Let's get back to work then," Harry said.
He watched as the three left the office. He hoped that future lessons would not be so costly to learn. He also needed to get a message to Minister LeClerq and inquire if anything they've discovered might shed light on this latest episode. It was around one o'clock when he heard a knock on the doorframe and he looked up to see Ron standing in the doorway.
"Come on in, Ron. Close the door," Harry said.
Ron did so and sat looking across at his best mate.
"So, how's the arm?" Harry asked.
"It was sore last night, but when I woke up this morning it was fine. Mum was all over me about it but I was finally able to convince her. She was none too happy last night, I can tell you that," Ron said with a grin.
"I can imagine. The first reason I wanted to see you this afternoon was to repeat what I said yesterday. You did a good job up there. We've both had a lot of practice getting in and out of tough spots. I'm glad to see your time as a business tycoon in the making didn't dull your reflexes," Harry said.
"No way, mate. Being around George and all those dangerous gags kept me on my toes day and night. This job has been a lot more relaxing, yesterday excluded of course," Ron said with a laugh.
"I'm glad to hear that. I don't know what Muntab told you but the reason you were there is you've been identified as a Patroller with serious potential to move up to Auror ranks. In fact, she wants you to be part of the Tactical Squad eventually. She's got her eye on just about all the former DA members. I'm going to talk with each individually but after yesterday I figured I'd start with you first. Are you interested?"
"To right I'm interested. That's one of the reasons I joined the Patrollers. I hoped it would be a way into the Aurors without having to get all my NEWTs," Ron said excitedly.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're so excited but don't think it'll be that much easier. We have to put together a training plan to get you and any others from Patroller to Auror and anyone that doesn't have NEWTs will have to be able to demonstrate equivalent ability. It'll be tough going, I can guarantee that," Harry said seriously. "Probably even tougher since you were all associated with me in one way or another."
"No worries, Harry. You trained us really well. I think we'll do just fine," Ron said.
"Thanks. Well, that's all I had for you right now. After I talk to the others you'll all be hearing about what we have in mind. I guess if not beforehand, I'll see you Saturday at the Burrow, right?"
"Sure thing, boss," Ron said as he stood up and made for the door.
Harry smiled a little as he watched Ron move away from the door. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and began writing a message to M. LeClerq. He wondered where this would all lead and what sort of spider lay at the center of the web they were trying to unravel. He laughed to himself when he thought he better not use that analogy if he mentioned this to Ron.