Hi, sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I've been pretty sick and then busy at work but I'm back now. I hope you like this chapter. It's extra long to make up for my time away.

Also, I have never been to England. I live in Australia and I'm sorry about and mistakes I make regarding locations and such. I also have nothing against the French but I just picked a random place.

Sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC.

Mysteries and Magic

Chapter One – A brief meeting the government aka Mycroft Holmes

Three days later Harry was sitting at his desk just outside the minister's office having a quick bite to eat when the mail was delivered. He smiled at the young man that was pushing the mail cart in front of him. It was only last year that the Minister got sick of dealing with owls all over the office and had a mail room set up. All mail coming in and out of the ministry was to go through there. It made things a lot simpler. No more owl droppings and feathers getting everywhere. It also made it much easier to scan all the mail for hexes and curses. The mail man handed Harry a bundle of letters and asked if he had any outgoing mail. Harry passed over the few letters that needed to send out and waved the mail man off. He put the mail aside to check once he had finished his meal. Harry greeted the Minister as he returned to his office passing him a couple of memos.

Finishing off his lunch Harry turned to the mail, three letters from the French Minister, seven letters of report from different departments and one letter from the muggle world. Opening the letters from the French Minister Harry groaned. The French were always going on about the way the English were apparently ignoring them. It was like they wished they were the only country that mattered and demanded all of Minister Shacklebolts time. They were not going to get it. Harry put those letters in the pile for unimportant mail. The reports were added to the steadily growing pile of them and then he opened the letter from the muggle Prime Minister. It was an invitation on the ambassador's ball in about a month. The letter was placed in the urgent pile and would have to be passed on the Minister as soon as possible.

There weren't many muggles that knew about magic, just The Queen, the Prime Minister and a man named Mycroft Holmes. Harry had only ever met the Prime Minister as he was the person Shacklebolt dealt with the most. Shacklebolt only ever spoke to the Queen directly if there was an extreme emergency and that rarely every happened. The last time had been after the war with Voldemort. Harry had no idea who Mycroft Holmes was but the Minister would sometimes have meetings in the muggle world with him. About what he had no idea. Harry wasn't that interested in the details for politics after all.

The rest of the month to the ball passed quickly in a flurry of meetings, paperwork and appointments. The ambassador's ball was fast approaching and the Minister hadn't confirmed his plus one yet. Harry kept reminding the man that he was required to bring someone and the man just waved him off saying he already had one. The minister wouldn't tell him who it was and they needed to be briefed about the ball. They needed to know the important guests and appropriate clothing needed to be arranged.

It was the day of the ball and Harry had still not found out just who the Minister planned to take. Harry sat at his desk that morning watching the Minister come and go preparing for the ball. First he had gone out for new a new suit, then out again for a new tie, a new handkerchief and now he was going out again. Just what was the Minister playing at? He was ignoring all his work and rushing around doing something odd. Harry had gotten the Minister a new suit for the ball so why was he going out to buy new one. Did he not like the one he had picked out for him? Why hadn't the Minster said anything? He sighing once more as the Minster dashed back into his office with a few bags and tuned back to his filing.

The Minister's last appointment for the day arrived ten minutes early and Harry directed the gentleman to sit while he waited. The man was very well dressed and was carrying a medium leather bag. Harry informed the Minister that his appointment has arrived and when back to his desk as he smiled at the man, informing him that the Minister will be ready in a moment. Harry didn't even look up when the Minster opened the door to welcome the man into his office and was startled when Minister asked him in as well.

Inside the Minister's office the man was already going though the bags of clothing that were covering almost the entire large wooden desk. After closing the door behind him the Minister turned to Harry and smirked. Harry had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

'I know you have been asking about whom I will be taking to the ball tonight and as we are running out of time I'm just going to be blunt. You're going to be my plus one. Before you say anything, I waited to tell you at the last moment because I know that you would have done almost anything to get out of coming with me even though it's part of your job.'

Harry wasn't too happy about this. He hated going to large events. He didn't like the crowds, the constant fake smiles and the endless small talk. Last time he had to go to a large event he had received three offers to marry old ladies daughters and seven offers of so called better jobs, working with some rich snob.

Smirking the Minister spoke again, 'We haven't got much time left so I brought in Mr. Smith here to help you. He is brilliant personal stylist and will have you ready in no time.'

'Minister...'

'Now no complaints Harry, I know that you have no plans for tonight. So don't even try to think of something. I need you by my side tonight. We are meeting some very important people and I need you there to take notes and observations for me. I need as much information about these people as possible. There have been far too many incidents involving muggles and magic lately. We need to make sure that none of these people have started to figure anything out. It will be very bad if they found out that the English were behind many of the incidents.'

Harry looked at the Minister and then at Mr. Smith and back to the Minister again. They both were watching him waiting for him to try and reject them. Harry sighed again for an unknown amount of times that day and nodded.

'Oh all right. Since I clearly have no other options, I will go but if someone tries to marry me off or give me a new job, I'm not going to be sorry for whatever I do after.'

'Excellent! Now Mr. Smith if you could please get Harry ready we are running behind time. I have to get changed myself and will be waiting for you, Harry, in the auditorium. A car has been arrange to drop us off us well as bring us back here later tonight.'

With that said the Minister opened the portrait behind his desk and disappeared. Mr. Smith didn't wait a second longer to pounce on Harry. With a wave of his wand Harry's cloths vanished and he was left standing in his underwear, socks and shoes. Mr. Smith pulled out a black pinstripe three piece suit from one of the bags as well as a crisp white shirt. With another wave of his wand the cloths appeared on Harry's body. They were a little too big for him, so with another wave the cloths shrank to a perfect fit. Then from another bag he pulled out an emerald green tie and matching handkerchief. After expertly trying the tie for him and folding the handkerchief and placing it in his breast pocket, Mr. Smith shined his black leather shoes with twist of his wand. Stepping back to take a look at his work, Mr. Smith adjusted his waistcoat and tie before opening his leather bag.

'Mr. Potter if you could please sit I will style your hair and you will be ready to go.'

Mr. Smith first sprayed a little water on his hair before running his fingers though it to get a feel of the texture and its natural style.

'With such unruly hair such as yours we are going to have to either cut it very short or gown it out. I don't think shorter hair would suit you. It would be too harsh with your strong features. ... Hmmm... Longer hair would soften your harsh cheekbones and jaw line. We don't need you to be too imitating tonight...'

Pulling at a few strands of his hair Mr. Smith nodded his head and waved his wand before harry could protest. Pulling out a comb and a pair of scissors from his bag Mr. Smith started to style his now waist long hair. Every now and then he would make a happy noise and cut a few more strands of his hair. Once he was finished cutting, he rummaged though his bag again for something but Harry could not see what it was. His hair was then brushed back leaving only a few bangs to frame his face. Mr. Smith braided his hair. Once his hair was done Harry was allowed to look into the mirror that was hanging on the wall between the fake windows.

Harry raised an eyebrow at his appearance. It was certainly different. Turning slightly he had a look at his hair. It was braided down to his waist and had a green ribbon weaved through it. The same ribbon was also used to tie the ends of the braid together. He wasn't too sure if he liked it and it was too late to change it now. He did like the suit though. It made him look very sophisticated. He hoped that he could keep it after tonight. Standing next to him Mr. Smith looked proud of himself.

Somewhere in the room a clocked chimed four pm and Harry quickly thanked Mr. Smith as he run out of the room. He paused at his desk to pocket his wallet and his blackberry then ran to the elevators. Ten minutes later he made it to the auditorium and the Minister was holding the elevator to the muggle world while waiting for him. While in the elevator the Minister had a good look at his appearance.

'It suits you Harry. What do you feel about it?'

'Not too sure sir. Can I keep the suit, though? I really go like it.'

'Of course you can. I brought it for you.'

Stepping out onto the pavement, Harry saw a sleek black limousine waiting for them. The driver held open the door for them as they slipped into the back. The drive was smooth and they were able to make up for lost time with a little magic to help avoid the worst of the traffic.

They arrived at the grand hall where the ball was being held on time. There was a red carpet and lots of lighting artistically placed around the front of the building. An attendant opened the car door for them and then directed them into the building. Inside was decorated simply and tastefully but it was obvious that everything here was very expensive. The colour scheme was gold and red. The tables had red cloths and gold cutlery. There were gold candles as centrepieces and waiters carrying around gold trays with crystal glassed full of wine and hors d'oeuvres. Many of the guests had already arrived and were mingling while they looked for their seats. Harry and the Minister were seated at table five with the ambassadors from America, Canada and New Zealand. They took their seats after greeting their table mates and then Harry tried to fade into the background as possible. It wasn't too hard. At the table he had been introduced as Shacklebolt's personal assistant. He was not important.

The last guests arrived just in time and soon dinner was being served. The waiters placed the food they had ordered on confirmation of their attendance on the table. He minister had ordered plates of roast chicken and vegetables for them both. Harry spent all of dinner discreetly taking notes on his blackberry. The conversations were kept polite and to safe topics like the weather and other unimportant things. The ambassadors wives were chatting about fashion and events that they had recently been to. Everything was noted down just in case it become important or the Minister needed a conversation starter.

After dinner, desert of chocolate mousse and a refill of their glasses the Prime Minister called everyone to attention. The Prime Minister stood and addressed them. He welcomed everyone and said a few words before the musicians started playing. Some of the guests got up to dance while others moved around the room to talk to other people. Harry followed the Minister around the room as he spoke to different people, taking notes the whole time. Every time he was introduced as a personal assistant he was almost forgotten. As most of the ambassadors were rich they didn't think someone like him was important or worth looking at a second time.

The night progressed slowly. He took notes, smiled and made small talk with the ladies and made sure the Minister didn't say anything that he shouldn't. The night was well underway when they got a chance to talk to the Prime Minister. He wasn't alone though. He was also talking at a very well dressed man. The man had short brown hair and steal grey eyes and a calm but stern expression on his face. Harry was introduced to the Prime Minister first. He shook his hand and smiled politely and answered the questions about his health and how he was enjoying the ball. The Prime Minister then introduced him to the well dressed man. The well dressed man turned out to be the mysterious Mycroft Holmes that the Minister often met with. Mr. Holmes did not offer his hand to shake but nodded his head in greeting.

Mr. Holmes only spoke when he felt it important. He didn't waste words or actions. He observed everything and everyone. Harry noted that this would be a very dangerous man to anger. Mr. Holmes may not have spoken to him but he did notice him. Harry kept typing away on his blackberry for the rest of the night and he didn't notice that Mr. Holmes had kept an eye on him. He hadn't realised that he had caught the eye of the very exclusive Mr. Holmes and most considered that to be a bad thing.

The night ended on a sour note for Harry. He had hoped that he would have been able to escape without a marriage offer but it wasn't to be. As they were doing the rounds to say goodbye an elderly lady pulled him aside and shown him a picture of her daughter and asked if he would be interested in meeting her. It wasn't a straight up marriage offer but it was strongly hinted at. Harry's left eye twitched and he glanced around the room. A few people were looking in their direction so he was unable to say what he really wanted to. So he had to settle with polity turning her down. The lady was a little put out but left it at that. Her daughter had been a real beauty after all but he just wasn't interested at getting married anytime soon.

Tiredly Harry slid into the limo after his boss and sighed in relief. It was nice to be able to relax again after a night of dealing with the rich and powerful.

TBC

Do you think I should keep Harry's hair long? Cut it really short? Return it back to normal?

Pairing ideas are welcome to, as I don't really have any ideas yet. They will not be very important though but I still want to hear what you think.

Please let me know if I made any mistakes and your thoughts on this chapter.

Katsy17