Harry Potter and the Aevum of Eternity

by Thundercracker-TC

The survivors of the second wizarding war suffer the scars of Voldemort's reign as they struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives. Harry is spread thin across multiple responsibilities as he and Ron join the Aurors, where new challenges and mysteries await. Not all is as it seems though, and powerful forces lurk in the darkness, biding their time... Cover art by a.heesher

12. Chapter 12

Harry Potter belongs to JKR.

Beta by FedererEx

Chapter 12

Harry knelt down and listened.

"Hominem Revelio," he whispered, but he only saw Tammy, Elizabeth, Ron, himself, and of course Mackenzie, hovering above the obstacle course. They made up a four-person team tasked with infiltrating the obstacle course maze and apprehending Matt and Shawn. After weeks of drilling and practicing together, he and Ron had all but caught up physically with Elizabeth, Tammy, and Shawn, but this was Harry's first try leading a team.

He looked over to the others and shook his head.

"Not human, transfigured, maybe," Tammy whispered, "Shawn likes to do that."

Harry and Ron nodded.

Harry led them forward through the maze, keeping his wand out and shield up. He kept his eyes peeled for anything which looked out of place. Walls of rough grey stone, about eight feet tall, formed the barriers of the enchanted maze. It repaired itself and changed whenever they needed it to, so the maze was never the same from exercise to exercise. As the quartet moved forward, the path widened enough for them to walk two abreast, and Ron, his robes still a bit too short, moved up next to him. Just up ahead, Harry spied a corner of the wall with a slight bulge halfway up. He nudged Ron, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Harry kept walking, and when they were almost past, Ron muttered a Revelio spell, hitting the bulging section of wall. The corner broke off and twisted and contorted, resolving into the huge form of Matt Wilson. The big man immediately rolled forward and jerked his wand upwards, pulling up a section of earth to act as a barrier against the expected barrage of spells.

Tammy reacted quickly, transfiguring the earth into ice.

"Bombarda!" Ron said.

By the time Ron finished his incantation, Harry was already midway through a wordless banishing spell.

The exploding charm shattered the ice and Harry's depulso sent shards flying backwards at Matt, who shielded to protect himself. Glittering pieces of ice tinkled off the walls and to the ground. Almost as one, Ron and Harry split up, with Ron going left and Harry going right. Matt tried to retreat down the corridor to keep them in front of him, but Ron and Harry kept pace on either side of the large man. Ron unleashed a steady stream of wordless stunners, cutters, and bludgeoning hexes to keep Matt from trying anything offensive, while Harry hammered his shield with full-strength stunners, leg locking jinxes, and full body binds. In about three seconds it was clear Matt was overmatched, and he dropped his shield, shouldering straight through a bludgeoner from Ron with a grunt, trying to get close enough to use his size to his advantage. Harry wrapped him up from behind with a wordless incarcerous, then disarmed him.

"Yield," Matt said, surrendering.

Harry looked back to see the two girls lying on the ground, unconscious.

"Bollocks," he said, "Ron, did you see Shawn?"

Ron shook his head. Harry cast another detection charm but once again didn't reveal anything. Harry growled. He levitated the fallen ice shards and sent them hurtling back over the girls and down the passage, with no luck. He and Ron cautiously stepped back to where Tammy and Elizabeth's prone forms lay, shoes crunching on the bits of ice. Harry felt a bit of pressure on his shield and Ron dropped like a sack of potatoes next to him, but Harry was able to spin and block the next spell, aimed right at him from his invisible opponent. Harry saw just a hint of distortion from Shawn's disillusionment and placed his revelio perfectly, causing a dark spray to fizzle off, revealing the smirking form of Shawn Davis.

"Three down Potter, not so great," Shawn said.

Harry made a grab for Shawn's wand arm but his opponent danced away, firing off a pair of leg locking jinxes interspersed with a stunner. Harry reacted almost entirely on instinct, dodging all three spells and merely lifting a foot off the ground for the last one. For all he appreciated the cat and mouse training as necessary for infiltrating a potential Death Eater's hideout, he much preferred a straight up duel such as this. The two traded jinxes and hexes for a moment, until Shawn skipped back a step.

"Incendio," he said.

"So that's how it is," Harry thought.

He focused a wordless protego at the tip of his wand and twisted his arm to catch it at just the right angle to deflect it straight back at Shawn. Not expecting the near instant reversal, Shawn didn't have time to put up a shield and caught his own fire spell on the forearm, setting his robes ablaze.

"Whoa!" Shawn said, shielding at the same time as he shook his arm to try and douse the flames.

Harry pressed the advantage, blasting the walls on either side of Shawn to distract him with showering debris while he lined up a powerful stunner straight down the middle. With his attention and shield spread wide, Shawn's protego only blunted Harry's stupefy, and a weak red beam hit the older trainee in the chest, sending him to the ground.

"Accio," Harry said, summoning Shawn's wand.

"Aguamenti," he added, to douse what remained of the flames.

Shawn sputtered and sat up as the stream of water woke him up from the weak stunner.

"Good one Potter," Mackenzie said from above. He drifted down and revived Ron and Matt, while Harry rennervated Elizabeth and Tammy.

"Alright, what did you do wrong?" Mackenzie asked.

Harry thought back to the start of the fight.

"Shawn was able to take both Tammy and Elizabeth down without us noticing, because we were focused on Matt," Harry said.

"Sorry Harry," Tammy said.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I should have had us closer together, or identified someone to watch our back and check for disillusionment," Harry said.

Mackenzie nodded and Harry turned to Wilson.

"And… Matt did you do a bad transfiguration on purpose to draw our attention?" Harry asked.

"No, he's just not very good at it," Shawn replied loudly, "so I asked him to be bait. Heck of a blasting curse you've got there Potter, my ears are still ringing."

Harry nodded and shrugged at Shawn.

"And Shawn was able to take Ron down by pushing his wand through our shields while disillusioned," Harry said, "one of us should have been focusing on detection and revealing spells, rather than both of us shielding."

Mackenzie nodded.

"It was a shield breaker on the tip," Mackenzie said, "not bad for your first mock team lead Potter. Alright, seeing as it's a national holiday, you have the evening off, but I expect you to be ready to go again at noon tomorrow."

They saluted to Mackenzie, who flew off in the direction of the buildings. The six trainees slowly made their way out of the maze towards the barracks.

"That was some reversal Potter," Shawn said, "where'd you learn to do that?"

"Dunno. It was so fast I just kind of reacted on instinct," Harry said.

"I missed it, what'd he do?" Elizabeth asked.

"Deflected my incendio right back at me," Shawn said, "dead centre too. Definitely wasn't expecting that. You won't get me with that one next time."

Harry grinned.

"Looking forward to it," Harry said, "How did you hold a shield-breaker on your wand invisibly?"

"Practise," Shawn replied, "lots of it. Handy trick though."

Harry nodded, he could definitely see the benefit to learning something like that. The more he learned, the more he realized duelling was a test of wits, knowledge, and speed. If you knew a spell your opponent didn't, that gave you just as much of an advantage as being faster or more powerful than them, if not more. At his core, he started to better understand why Voldemort had scoured the ends of the earth for obscure magical spells and rituals. Even now, he could feel the pull within himself to go off and find the hidden secrets, but he pushed the urge down.

"My place is here, with my family," he thought.

They reached the barracks and the four older trainees discussed which party or get-together they planned to attend for the evening as they took turns showering. It was the first Halloween since Voldemort's second defeat and Harry supposed they should be happy and celebratory; it was why they'd fought, after all. Personally, he definitely didn't want to be a part of any gathering; even the mere thought of all the attention, the millions of questions, the congratulations and thank-yous was already trying for him. He sat down on his bed and rolled his wand between his fingers.

"Harry, what are you going to do?" Matt asked.

"Think I'm just going to stay here," Harry replied. The conversation around him died.

"You're not going to celebrate?" Tammy asked, momentarily forgetting about the outfits she currently held, one in each hand.

Harry pursed his lips; he hated this conversation.

"Well it's not really much of a celebration for him, is it?" Ron asked.

Harry silently thanked Ron as Shawn winced.

"Sorry Harry," Tammy said.

Harry sensed the mood darkening and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Look, you should go celebrate," Harry said, "it's an important day and honestly how often does Mackenzie give us the night off?"

"What are you doing then, Ron?" Tammy asked.

"I'm going to stay with Harry," Ron said, "plus, it's bloody Halloween."

The four other trainees looked confused for a moment and Ron took it upon himself to explain.

"More often than not, something happens on Halloween," Ron said, "First year, someone let a mountain troll into the school and we ended up fighting it."

Harry thought he saw flickers of recognition on Shawn and Matt's faces.

"Second year, someone opened the Chamber of Secrets and everyone started getting petrified," Ron continued, "third year, Sirius Black showed up at the school-"

"Turned out he was innocent all along but at the time it was pretty stressful," Harry said.

"Something almost always happens on Halloween," Ron said, "so yeah… I'm going to stay here."

Tammy and Shawn exchanged glances.

"I'm staying too," Tammy said, "just in case."

The others nodded their agreement.

"Whatever happens this year, if anything happens this year, we'll take care of it together," Matt said.

"While we're waiting," Shawn said, "Weasley, are you planning on acquiring robes that fit prior to the trials, or is this part of some master plan to distract the judges?"

Ron muttered something under his breath.

"Not my fault they keep getting the wrong size," Ron said, "I must've filled out the forms three times now."

"Stephanie was really good," Tammy said, replacing the dresses back into her trunk, "not sure why they got rid of her, this new admin is complete rubbish."

Just then, a silvery fox patronus dropped through the roof and turned to face Shawn. Harry felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck, and everyone held their breath.

"Shawn, there's been an attack in Diagon Alley, gather the other trainees at the barracks and stand by for further instructions," it said in Mackenzie's voice. The fox winked out of existence and everyone froze for a moment.

"Bloody Halloween," Ron muttered.

All notions of celebration banished, the trainees changed back into their Auror robes and holstered their wands. An uneasy quiet fell over the barracks, and Harry sat on his trunk, trying unsuccessfully to let off some nervous energy by bouncing his leg. He felt something warm against his thigh, and looked down for a moment, then sat bolt upright, pulling a silver sickle from his pocket. It nearly burned his hand as he read the inscription on the side…

HELP!

"Harry?" Ron asked.

"Andromeda's in trouble, and Teddy," Harry said.

He pulled his wand and nearly apparated on the spot but Ron grabbed his arm.

"Wait, take two with you, and I'll take two with me," Ron said, "that is, if you're all coming."

The other four trainees exchanged glances and nodded.

Harry paused. He wouldn't be able to don the invisibility cloak around the others, but having four more wands with him could make the difference between life and death.

He nodded once.

"The trail leading from the road to the cottage," Harry told Ron.

Ron nodded.

"Grab on everyone," Harry said.

Matt and Elizabeth each grabbed Harry's arm, while Tammy and Shawn grabbed Ron's.

Harry apparated with the two passengers and the journey seemed to take slightly longer, and when they landed both Matt and Elizabeth looked a bit out of sorts. An eerie green glow filtered down through the nearly bare trees, illuminating everyone's faces in a foreboding light. Ron appeared right after them and Harry looked up at the unmistakable image in the air above where the cottage stood, a glowing skull and snake. Just barely audible over the groaning of the wind, a baby's cries could be heard from within the cottage.

"Oh shit," Shawn whispered, staring up with wide eyes at the Dark Mark emblazoned across the night sky. He swallowed audibly.

"Expecto Patronum," Ron said, summoning his terrier, "Find Mackenzie, tell him the Dark Mark is above Andromeda Tonks' house, at least one survivor inside, send backup."

Ron's patronus shot up into the air, and Harry looked around to see all of the others staring back at him.

"Alright, we stay hidden, move closer, see what we can find," Harry said. Teddy was still alive, which meant that whoever was inside with them was probably still there.

The six of them disillusioned themselves and crept closer. When they neared the edge of the woods, still twenty feet from the cottage, Harry dropped his invisibility and held up a hand for the others to stop. The front door of the cottage stood wide open, but the interior was dark. Teddy continued to scream his lungs out from inside, cries of fear and distress.

"It's a trap," Ron's voice said, "Teddy's bait. Harry, don't fall for it."

Harry nodded, then heard a light muttering to his right.

"Wards are still up," Shawn whispered.

"What? How?" Harry thought, but it didn't matter. Whoever was inside had found a way past the new blood wards.

"Alright, here's the plan," Harry said, "I'm keyed to the wards, so you create a distraction out here. I'll sneak around and go through the back door."

"No way Harry-" Ron said, but just then Harry felt the tell-tale tingle of a hominem revelio spell wash over him.

"POTTER!" a male voice from inside the cottage shouted, "I know you're out there. Door's open, won't you come in? I just want to have a little chat!"

Harry felt a vice grip his chest.

"No Harry don't! it's a-" Andromeda's voice shouted, followed by a muttered spell from the Death Eater, then silence.

"I only need one hostage Potter," the Death Eater shouted, "don't make me hurt them any worse than I already have!"

Harry hesitated, then started to walk towards the cottage but Ron grabbed his arm.

"Ron let go. Try to take down the wards," Harry said.

"At least try to stall him a little bit," Ron said.

A ball of incandescent light shot up into the sky, followed by a pulse of blue magic from the door of the cottage. The forest lit up as bright as day, and the disillusionment fizzled off of everyone in a dark spray. Harry looked around at the other trainees as they gripped their wands tightly, terror written all over their faces. He looked up at the cottage, unable to see past the threshold of the open door, at a loss for what they could do.

"Time's up Potter," the voice said. A blasting curse shot out of the open door and shattered a tree next to them. The six of them returned spellfire as one but every spell merely splashed against the blood wards, causing the shields protecting the home to glow blue.

"Diffindo!" came the call from inside the cottage.

Branches and leaves fell down atop them with a cracking, snapping sound. A glowing rope appeared and dragged a particularly large bough down and directed it straight at Harry, but Ron shoved him out of the way, getting clipped in the shoulder for his effort and dropping his wand.

"Pondus incremen," the hidden Death Eater said, increasing the weight of the branch and pinning Ron, who grunted as the branch started crushing him, "Depulso maxima."

All the trainees except Harry went flying away with grunts and shouts, tossed like dolls to crash against tree trunks or the forest ground. Only Harry's shield managed to hold, barely, but the power of the banishing spell still forced him back even though his shield. Harry's feet slid through the undergrowth as he fought to keep his balance and stop his momentum, leaving Ron exposed and trapped, gasping for breath against the crush of the magically heavier branch.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A split-second passed as nothing happened, and time seemed to slow to a crawl as Harry caught a glimpse of the Death Eater, arm extended out of the open front door, lit up by the now familiar green flash of light. The emerald beam of death lanced out towards Ron's prone form and Harry whipped his wand upwards in a mirror of Matt's action earlier that same night, pulling up a bank of earth, just a split second too late, as the green bolt struck Ron in his exposed calf.

"Ron!" Harry said, desperately scrambling to his best friend, only to find Ron gone rigid, his blue eyes wide open and staring. A dull roar filled Harry's ears, and a coiling fury took hold of him. He focused on the front door and charged straight across the distance to the porch, thrusting his wand to launch a heavy tree branch ahead of him as a blocker, only for it to shatter against the wards an instant before he barrelled through.

As he crossed the threshold, the interior of the cottage became visible. The living room was a mess; clearly there had been a duel. The dining table lay in shattered pieces against the wall, the couch had been demolished and parts of it transfigured into pieces of glass and shards of metal which lay strewn about the room, and burns and pockmarks scored the walls. Andromeda herself was pinned sideways against the wall between the living room and the kitchen, her dress hanging nearly to the floor, eyes wide and her voice silenced, but otherwise apparently unharmed. Teddy floated next to the wall behind the front door inside a glowing blue ball, another ward of some kind, his cries now having fallen to soft whimpers. The Death Eater, Layton Avery, Harry recognized him immediately from the ratty grey hair combed to one side and prominent nose, knelt in the centre of the room and jammed his thumb onto the central ward stone as soon as Harry entered. Another set of wards appeared, blacking out all the windows and sound from outside. Avery grinned and started to stand, but Harry had other ideas as brought his wand to bear with a jagged twisting, flicking motion.

"Sanguis Fervea!" Harry shouted, the red and black blood-boiling curse bubbled out of his wand, coursing for Avery's grinning face, only to impact against yet another red tinted ward in the centre of the room. Fluorescent pink cracks spiderwebbed out from where Harry's curse hit it, but it held and faded from sight once more.

"Now, now, Potter," Avery said, his voice slightly distorted by the ward. He stood up and brandished his wand, "if we're going to do this, let's do it properly."

The Death Eater gestured to the floor where lines had been marked in silvery powder, the centre of a duelling circle.

"Take your place, and I'll drop the ward separating us," Avery said.

"There are spells that shields cannot stop," Harry heard a cold whisper in his head.

"Crucio!" Harry shouted, and the unforgivable sailed straight through the wards, only to shatter a chair seat Avery summoned to protect him.

"Scutum Ruptor," Harry said, and the blue light of Harry's shield-breaker smashed into the wards protecting Avery, causing more cracks and bits of the edges to fly off into ether.

Avery growled and pointed his wand at Andromeda.

"Stand on the line, boy, or the grandmother dies," Avery said.

Harry grit his teeth and made a quick evaluation whether he could break the shield before Avery cast some spell on Andromeda, then grudgingly stepped back a few paces to his starting line. Avery similarly stepped back, keeping his eyes on Harry the whole time, and dragged his thumb against another stone beneath Andromeda, causing a blue tinted magical barrier to spring up around her, protecting her. Finally, he stepped up to his side of the makeshift duelling circle, just behind the line of silvery powder. Avery bowed and assumed an archaic formal duelling pose, wand held high above his head and pointed at Harry.

"I only wanted to talk, are you sure you want to do this?" Avery asked with an almost twitching smile.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Harry replied, readying his first spell.

"Mortis virga," Avery said.

The blood ward in the centre of the room vanished, and Harry leaped forward.

"Confringo!" Harry shouted, only for Avery's wand to start moving in the exact counter curse for his spell before he'd even started casting it. The potent blasting curse fizzled away into nothing. Harry followed up with another blood boiling curse, this one silent, which met the same fate.

"Is he reading my thoughts?" Harry thought, only for Avery to grin.

Harry slammed down his occlumency shields and kept up the attack with a series of wordless cutters, leg locking jinxes, and body binds, but Avery's wand flashed and danced like a fencing foil, almost impossibly fast as he gave ground, circling about the room. Pieces of the walls, staircase, and chimney blew off and were flung around from the ferocity of their spellcasting, but the shields protecting the two hostages held firm. Compartmentalizing his thoughts helped him focus, and Harry realized he was in trouble, fighting alone against a marked Death Eater, one of Voldemort's inner circle. He paused, and Avery stared at him, holding his pose for a split second before launching into an attack of his own.

"Accio!" Harry shouted as soon as Avery's wand started moving, focusing on the shards of metal behind Avery. They zoomed at the Death Eater's exposed back, only to bounce off a shield. A sickly purple spell fired from Avery's wand, which Harry narrowly ducked, and it smashed into the mantle, scattering the timepiece there along with whatever else had been sitting above the fireplace.

"How did he shield and cast a spell at the same time?" Harry thought with alarm.

Harry went back on the offensive, now watching more carefully and realizing some of his spells weren't being countered; they were getting through only to be stopped by Avery's shield, which Harry supposed he maintained wordlessly and wandlessly with his off hand.

"If it's wordless and wandless, it can't be that strong," Harry thought, "a more powerful spell should get through."

Harry snapped off a conjunctivitis curse, which Avery predictably ducked sideways to dodge, and Harry ended the motion with a slashing flourish.

"Sectumsempra!" he thought, trying to take off Avery's head. The Dark spell impacted Avery's shield and penetrated, tearing open the fabric of his robes and slicing into his shoulder, drawing a grunt of pain and a look of disbelief. Avery raised his wand in a come-hither motion, and Harry felt what seemed like a thousand shards of wood and metal pierce his legs and back, the exact same move he'd tried to pull on Avery, only Harry wasn't maintaining a shield around behind him. Avery flicked his wand again and all the shards tore themselves out the way they came in. It felt like his entire back was flayed open and Harry arched in pain, fighting to keep focus on his enemy. He barely deflected a disarming spell and stubbornly raised his wand in front of him.

"Give up Potter," Avery said, returning to his starting stance and seemingly unfazed by the bloody wound in his shoulder, "it doesn't have to end like this."

Harry staggered and kept his feet, barely. None of the wounds were mortal, though it felt like his entire back was on fire, and warm sticky blood already dripped down his legs. He growled at the Death Eater in front of him.

"Avada-" Harry started, but a brick from the fireplace smashed into the side of his head, dropping him down to one knee as he fought double vision.

"No," Avery said, hitting him with a wordless impedimenta that Harry only partially blocked. With his movements slowed, Harry put up the strongest shield he could to try and buy just a few seconds to recover from the brick and shake the cobwebs from his mind.

Harry's arm and shield held against the first few spells Avery launched at him as Harry desperately tried to get the multiple Averys in his vision to consolidate into one.

"Scutum ruptor," Avery said, the powerful blue beam shattering Harry's shield and causing his wand arm to go numb with the recoil, "Expelliarmus."

Harry's wand leapt from his hand, and Avery caught it, pausing for a moment, arm outstretched. Then he burst into a gleeful laugh, rotting teeth exposed in a fetid rictus.

"Yes!" he said, staring at Harry's wand in his hand.

Harry's vision tunnelled; he looked down to see a small pool of blood collecting at his knees, and he panted a few times as he swayed, struggling to keep from toppling over. Harry looked to Teddy, still making little distressed whines.

"I'm sorry Teddy," he thought, and then thoughts turned to the love of his life, "I'm sorry Ginny, I got Ron killed, and then I got myself killed."

His vision blurred at the thought of the pain his girlfriend would go through at his death, and he took strength from that. Harry took a few painful breaths, grabbed a piece of wood from the destroyed table and flung it at Avery. He forced his legs to launch his body at the Death Eater behind the projectile, but Avery caught them both in mid-air and sent them flying to crash into the ward protecting Andromeda, where the boy-who-lived crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap. He must have passed out for a moment, because the next thing he knew, his vision was blurry and Avery had started pacing the room, muttering to himself and occasionally looking over at Harry.

Harry turned his head slightly to look up into Andromeda's black and silver flecked eyes just above him, wide with alarm, her long brown hair hanging down almost to his face. Her cheek was bruised, but not too badly. She urgently looked at a spot of debris on top of the pile of wood which used to be the dining table, then back to Harry, then back to the debris. With great effort, Harry turned his head again and spied a wooden box which had been set atop the mantle and blown off during the duel. The box had broken during the fight, and inside Harry saw dark blue velvet, and smooth polished wood. A wand! Every movement agony, Harry slowly rolled onto his stomach, reached over, opened the box fully, and grasped the handle of the wand, Tonks' wand. He looked up to Avery, still lost in conversation with himself.

Harry lifted his battered arm, aimed at Avery, then adjusted higher, to the damaged ceiling above the pacing Death Eater.

"Confringo," he muttered.

Avery reacted just an instant too late, spinning and pointing his wand.

"Stupefy!" he shouted.

The spells crossed each other in mid-air, and the last thing Harry saw was the leading edge of the red stunner about to impact his face as the second story started collapsing into the living room.

---

Harry cracked his eyes open and stared at the white ceiling, then took a shuddering breath. It was always disorienting, waking up in the hospital. He reached to the side table and slid his glasses on, then realized there was a weight on his chest. He blinked a few times and saw a mass of red hair draped across him, felt a sweaty hand in his. Ginny sat in a hospital chair and leaned over him, head on his chest, facing him, sleeping peacefully. He swallowed thickly as memories crashed back into his consciousness.

"Oh God, Ron," Harry thought.

He felt an actual physical ache in his chest and started stroking Ginny's hair, as if to comfort her even though she still slept. By the feel of it, his back and legs had been healed, but he was still lightheaded from blood loss and the other various injuries he'd sustained. Soon enough, Ginny stirred, eyes clenching before blinking open. She sat upright, rolled her neck, and smiled at him, but he took no solace from her.

"You're awake!" she said.

"Ginny," he said, "I'm so sorry."

She looked confused.

"Haven't they told you?" Harry asked, "Ron…"

Realization dawned on Ginny's face.

"Harry, Ron's alive," she said.

Impossible.

"But… I saw it, the killing curse," Harry said, "I saw him."

Ginny shook her head.

"He's in the next room over, petrified," Ginny said, "the Healers aren't sure what happened, but they're going to try mandrake as soon as they bring some up."

Harry stared at her for a moment, then exhaled a huge sigh of relief and leaned back against his pillow, a sense of ease pouring through him. He didn't even want to think about how he would have broken the news to Hermione, or Ron's parents. Ginny yawned and rubbed her eyes, then blinked a few times and looked at him.

"It's really good to see you," she said, "but honestly Harry, you don't have to get yourself into the hospital, it'll be easier if we meet in Hogsmeade."

She smiled at him and he grinned in return, but then her smile turned to a serious expression.

"Still, you both almost died, they said if it wasn't for Andromeda…" she said, running her fingers over his arm, "Harry, just the thought of burying you too… and Ron, I can't…. Try not to do that again, okay?"

Harry nodded.

"I'll be more careful," Harry said, and she leaned forward to plant a chaste kiss on his lips.

"How are Teddy and Andromeda?" he asked.

"They're okay," Ginny replied, "The cottage was ruined, so I brought them to Grimmauld."

Harry nodded.

"Thank you," he said. Ginny laid her head down gently on Harry's chest again, looking up at him, and he lay there for several minutes just relishing the feel of her hand in his, her hair through his fingers. He could do this forever. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before he heard footsteps and a shadow fell across the door. Ginny stood up and peeked through, then slipped into the hallway. Harry heard snippets of a whispered conversation and Ginny stuck her head back through the door.

"They're waking up Ron now," she said, "I'll only be a few minutes. That was George by the way, he's being stubborn, saying he doesn't want to see you. I told him off."

Harry tried to sit up again and a wave of dizziness came over him. Ginny was by his side in a second, easing him back down.

"You're still on bedrest, Harry," Ginny said, "I'll bring Ron by though, when he's up."

Harry nodded and lay back, letting tiredness wash over him. He heard the commotion from next door, but paid it no mind as he let his thoughts drift, running through the fight the previous night. Harry startled awake again when the door opened and Ron walked through, still wearing his scuffed Auror robes, sporting a few scratches on his face, but very much alive. Harry felt a broad smile spread across his face. Ginny followed close behind, then Molly and Arthur. Ron picked up a chair near the wall and sat down next to the bed, letting out a long breath that puffed out his cheeks.

"That was a close one mate," he said.

"Yeah," Harry said. What else could he say?

"Harry, are you feeling alright?" Molly asked, reaching out a hand to touch his leg.

"I'll be okay Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"Mrs. Tonks said you duelled Avery and won," Ginny said.

Ron looked back to Harry with a wide-eyed expression.

"One less Death Eater," Arthur said, "good on you Harry, but maybe next time don't cut it so close."

Mr. Weasley smiled, but Harry could see through it and the strain of worry he'd been under.

"Was more of a draw, really," Harry said, "and only because I got lucky."

"Wait, what happened after-" Ron said.

"I'll tell you later," Harry said. He didn't want to discuss the details in front of Ron's parents.

The door opened again, and Dawlish strode through. Ron stood up immediately.

"Sir," Harry said.

"Potter, feeling up to a trip down memory lane?" Dawlish asked.

"Harry's on bedrest, he's in no fit state-," Ginny started to reply for him, but she quieted as Harry took her hand.

Head Auror Dawlish looked down at the redhead seated by Harry, then over to Harry.

"I won't force you Potter," he said, "but we have reason to believe the attack in Diagon might have been a diversion."

Harry's eyes widened; he'd completely forgotten about the attack on Diagon Alley.

"How bad was it sir, in Diagon?" Harry asked.

"Some injuries, property damage, no deaths reported. We'll have a full debrief at some point where we'll discuss the importance of following orders, but right now, I have a press conference in ninety minutes. Andromeda Tonks refused to make a statement, and now she can't be located, which makes you the only other witness to what happened in her cottage."

Harry mentally winced. He had disobeyed a direct order from Mackenzie to help Andromeda, and dragged the other trainees with him. He could only hope the ends justified the means in this case.

"She's… hidden, sir, for the time being, until we're sure it's safe," Harry said, "I'll brief you."

Dawlish held his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

"I'll give you some time to clean up. My office, thirty minutes," he said, then turned and strode out the way he came in.

"Harry, are you sure?" Ginny asked, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, it's just a bit of blood loss, help me up," he said, mashing the button to call a nurse. He shuffled his legs over the side of the bed and Ron helped support his weight while he pivoted into a chair. His fingers felt like sausages and tying his shoes was more difficult than usual, but he managed eventually.

A brunette witch in her thirties wearing white St. Mungo's robes entered and took one look at the room before starting to move towards Harry.

"Mr. Potter, you should be resting," she said.

"Can't, need to debrief, when's my next blood replenishing potion dose?" he asked.

The nurse picked up a file stuck into a pocket at the foot of the bed and flipped through a page.

"Not for another hour, and then another one four hours after that," she said.

Harry nodded.

"Give them to me now please, I'll take them when I need to," he said. The nurse frowned then departed the room with the file.

Harry stood up and forced his limbs to move, aiming to walk in a straight line until he was out of breath and his heart pounded, which didn't take long, then sat back down. He picked up his torn and bloody robes, only to have them snatched from his hand by Mrs. Weasley.

"I'll take care of these for you," she said, waving her wand a few times to repair the holes and scourgify the blood from it.

"If you're really going to do this then someone should go with you," Ginny said while the others watched on, "Mum, Dad, you can stay with Ron and I'll go with Harry."

Harry started to shake his head but then nodded instead as he caught on to what Ginny was doing.

"Alright, but it's going to be boring," he said.

"I just want to make sure you're okay," she replied, taking his hand again.

The nurse returned with a pair of small bottles.

"I'll need you to sign here, Mr. Potter," she said, holding out a clipboard and quill. Harry quickly signed the form and pushed both small vials into the pocket of his robes. He rose shakily and walked to the door, Ginny grasping his elbow.

"You sure you're alright mate?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you later," Harry replied, "Molly, Arthur, thanks for coming."

"Harry," Mr. Weasley said, shaking his hand, "take care."

"Do stop by next weekend if you can, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, returning his robe and giving him a light hug. Harry pulled one arm through the robe and shuffled out the door.

Harry managed to walk down the hall mostly without leaning on Ginny. In the lift he propped himself against the wall for support and put his other sleeve on. He stood and forced himself to walk to the floo when they arrived at the ground floor, doing his best to ignore the whispers of the people in the waiting room. At the Ministry, he arrived in a burst of green flames, overbalanced, and all but fell into Ginny's arms.

"You'd think you'd be used to it by now," she said.

"You'd think," he muttered, standing up straight again.

He glanced past the row of floo fireplaces towards the Atrium hoping to find it deserted, but it was bustling with activity.

"Of course, the press conference," Harry thought.

They made their way through the Atrium, past the flashes of the reporters shouting questions, and to the lifts. The press knew better than to enter the lift, but that didn't stop them from taking more photos while Harry jammed the button for the DMLE. The doors slid shut, and for about fifteen seconds he had privacy and Ginny all to himself. She looked up at him, brown eyes round and wide with anticipation, and he encircled her with his arms and leaned forward. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, welcoming him in and he obliged fiercely, his tongue clashing with hers as they indulged in each other completely. It had been so damn long since he'd tasted her, he'd almost forgotten how good it felt, especially as she tugged at the front of his robes and let out a muffled 'mmf' sound into his mouth. The elevator dinged, and they split apart, hair dishevelled and breathing heavily. Harry could clearly see the pure desire on her face, the way she looked at him with her eyes half-open. He imagined he didn't look much different, and he very nearly begged off his meeting with Dawlish to take her home. Instead, he took her hand again and led her towards Auror headquarters.

The office buzzed with activity as letters flew around and Aurors filled out reports. All of the offices were occupied, and they made it about halfway past them before someone noticed they were there.

"Hey there he is, nice one Potter!" someone shouted. Spontaneous smatterings of applause broke out among the Aurors in the cube farm as Harry stopped and looked at them. Harry, unsure of exactly what they'd been told, figured smiling and waving to be the safest bet, then he pointed to Dawlish's office and kept walking. He glanced to the right as he passed Robards' office to see the large Auror seated at his desk. Robards glared at him, held up two fingers, and pointed them at Harry as if to say 'I'm watching you'.

Harry ignored him and continued his march to the Head Auror's office. As usual, it was cluttered to the point there was nowhere even to sit. The Pensieve already sat out in the open on its rails, and Dawlish himself leaned against his desk, reading through a report. Harry noted Avery's picture on the corkboard now had a large red 'X' over it.

"Good riddance," he thought. Dawlish snapped the report shut as Harry walked in.

"Good, you're here," he said, "Miss Weasley, please wait outside, and close the door."

"Good luck," Ginny whispered, kissing him on the cheek before exiting. Dawlish locked the door with a wave of his hand.

"I received the story from the other four trainees," Dawlish said, "but nobody knows what happened inside the cottage. It's a good bet this incident is related to the attack on you a few weeks ago, so I'd like to see the memory, if you're willing."

"Well, that depends, sir," Harry said slowly, licking his lips, "err… it was a very stressful situation. I thought Ron had been killed, and honestly I thought I was going to die."

Dawlish took a deep breath and grimaced.

"Potter, whatever you did, anything we discuss within these four walls stays between us, that's a promise," Dawlish said, "Thanks to one of the other trainees, I haven't figured out who yet, word leaked to the press that you engaged Avery in a duel to the death and won. While they get to write fluffy stories about how you're a hero, again, I need to figure out if Avery was acting alone, or on orders from someone else, and the best way to do that is to see for myself."

He gestured to the Pensieve.

Harry sighed. He had to admit he was curious if there were any details he'd missed, and Dawlish had decades of Auror experience to draw from when he made his observations. Harry only hoped his loss of control would be excused. He brought the memories to the front of his mind, held his wand to his temple, slowly plucked the silvery gossamer thread, and dropped it into the Pensieve. Then the trainee and the Head Auror plunged into the misty bowl together.

They appeared in the woods outside the cottage and watched as Harry and the five others made their invisible approach. Dawlish nodded when Ron asserted it was a trap, and shook his head a few times at other points, but otherwise kept quiet.

"Stop. Something's wrong with that killing curse," Dawlish said at the flash of green, "go back."

They watched the memory three more times. Whenever Harry had seen Voldemort use the killing curse, it was always fast, like a snake strike, but this time, there was a half-second delay after the incantation.

"It's too slow," Harry said, "and every time I saw the killing curse, there was a whooshing sound. This time there was almost no sound."

"That green spell was almost certainly not a killing curse," Dawlish said, "and look at Weasley. Aside from the fact he's still alive, he doesn't go limp, he freezes up. That's some kind of… wordless petrification spell, designed to look like a killing curse."

"Sure as hell fooled me," Harry muttered.

"The whole thing, the attack on Diagon, everything, is smelling more and more like a setup to get you inside the cottage," Dawlish said.

They followed memory-Harry inside the house and Dawlish shook his head again at Harry's Cruciatus curse.

"You can't just go flinging about Unforgivables, Potter," Dawlish said.

"Sorry sir," Harry said. He figured expanding on his apology wouldn't help much at all, so he kept quiet.

"This is a bloody massacre, he's just toying with you," Dawlish said as the duel progressed.

Harry nodded and winced as he watched the debris embed itself in his back. It looked even more painful than it felt the first time around. Dawlish didn't even bat an eye.

"See, as soon as you hit him with that Dark cutter, he ended it," Dawlish said.

The Head Auror shook his head again at Avery's glee at disarming Harry.

"Dementors have done a number on him; he looks like he's playing with a few cards short of a full deck," Dawlish said, "look at him, like he's found the Philosopher's Stone or something. Why's he care about your wand so much?"

As Harry looked at the Death Eater's expression though, playing in slow motion, wholly elated as he focused on the little stick of holly and phoenix feather in his hand, another suspicion crawled up from Harry's gut. It all added up, the diversion in Diagon, the trap, the duelling circle, Avery's reaction… it was all exactly what Harry would have expected of someone trying to win ownership of the Elder Wand. But why the fake killing curse? More importantly, how could he know? The only people who knew about the Elder Wand were himself, Ron, and Hermione! Not even Ginny knew! The deathstick was safely hidden away, never to be used again, how could Avery possibly have found out about it?

"What do you suspect?" Dawlish asked, curiosity written plainly on his face.

Harry looked at the Head Auror, compartmentalizing as he'd been taught, and shook his head.

"Nothing, just… Voldemort's wand and mine shared the same core, maybe that's what he was after," Harry said, quickly thinking on his feet and mixing a bit of truth to conceal his cover-up.

"The same core, interesting," Dawlish said, turning back to the memory.

Then memory-Harry was lying beneath Andromeda, and Dawlish moved up close to Avery, watching him carefully as memory-Harry recovered the fallen wand and collapsed the second story.

"Damn, can't hear what he's saying," Dawlish said, "something about needing you for something?"

Harry moved over to him and they listened to Avery's musing a few times but memory-Harry was simply too far away and too dazed to hear and recall what Avery had muttered.

"Sir, is Avery still alive?" Harry asked, all his thoughts on the Elder wand.

Dawlish shook his head.

"No, Layton Avery was confirmed deceased after they dug his body out of the wreckage you dropped on him," Dawlish replied.

A sense of relief washed over Harry.

"They're sure it was him?" he asked.

"Yes, there was a blood match with the DMLE records from his stay at Azkaban," Dawlish asked, turning to give Harry his full attention, "why?"

"One less Death Eater," he said quietly, averting his eyes and practicing occlumency, "one less person who wants to kill me."

As the memory went dark, they exited the Pensieve and returned to Dawlish's office. Harry quickly fished the memory out of the bowl and returned it to his head, while Dawlish paced for a moment, deep in thought.

"Have a seat," Dawlish said, gesturing with one hand, and Harry cleared off one of the chairs, stacking the files on the corner of the desk.

Dawlish sat in his leather chair and folded his hands in front of him.

"Potter, you made over a dozen serious errors that night, and only through idiotic luck managed to survive," he said, "Weasley should be dead. You should be dead."

He started ticking off on one hand.

"You disobeyed a direct order and ran off, and you dragged a group of trainees with you into a deadly situation where you were emotionally compromised. You let yourself be seen by the enemy, and rather than trying to stall for time for reinforcements to arrive, you allowed the enemy to attack you. Then, rather than falling back, you counter-attacked someone sitting behind blood wards, despite not having a ward breaker. You charged blindly into a building with an unknown force inside, and you used several dark spells and an Unforgivable, which not only makes it more difficult to prosecute someone, it also happens to carry a life sentence in Azkaban."

Harry hung his head. When Dawlish laid it out like that, it did sound like a monumental cockup.

"Fortunately for you, we have a dead Death Eater on our hands and no other fatalities, so nobody's going to look too carefully into it, but you'd better hope Robards never finds out what happened in there or I'll have no choice but to drop you from the program and refer you to Fawley for prosecution," Dawlish said.

Harry's eyes widened. Rebecca Fawley was the head of the DMLE under Kingsley.

"Yes, I know there's something between you and Captain Robards, and no, I'm not going to do anything about it," Dawlish said, "we're professionals, we work with people we don't like, and who don't like us. So long as you don't break the law, he can't actually do anything to you. I've known Robards a long time; he's a good Auror and he has a nose for sniffing out trouble. I wouldn't have promoted him otherwise. He's tough on you because he suspects you've broken the law, and obviously he's not wrong in that regard."

Harry swallowed.

"What's going to happen now, sir?" Harry asked.

"Now?" Dawlish said, "Now I'm going to placate the feeding frenzy in the Atrium, and you're going to take the rest of the day, then return to training tomorrow. Anything that happened in that cottage is classified; you're not to tell anyone. Anyone. Not Weasley, not your girlfriend waiting outside, not your bloody pillow, understand? I know Andromeda Tonks can keep her mouth shut, but better remind her too, just in case. Do I make myself clear?"

Harry nodded.

The Head Auror pointed a finger at Harry.

"I'm warning you Potter, keep this reckless behaviour up, and good people are going to die, like your squad mates, like your girlfriend, like your godson, like other Aurors with families, and you don't want that on your conscience, believe me," Dawlish said, "You're not one man against the Dark Lord anymore. We're a whole organization and there's a chain of command within that organization that you need to respect. We're Aurors, Potter, we don't rely on lady luck because we know she's a fickle bitch. You want to be one of us? You'd better bloody start acting like it."

"Yes sir, I will sir," Harry said, sitting up straighter.

"Good," Dawlish said, "Now, the bad news. Avery was good, but never that good. His duelling style has changed considerably in the past half-year. Clearly, he's been receiving training, and we need to figure out who he was working with, and how he got past the wards, but that's not your job, yet. You focus on getting through the trials, go spend some quality time with your girlfriend and your godson, and think about what both you and they will be losing if you keep screwing around like you did on Halloween."

Harry nodded.

"Remember Potter, there are old Aurors and there are bold Aurors, but there are no old bold Aurors," Dawlish said, "dismissed."

Harry stood up, saluted, and let himself out of Dawlish's office, forcing himself to not waver in his footsteps as a wave of light-headedness hit him. Ginny looked up from where she'd been chatting with Dawlish's receptionist and fell into step next to him.

"So?" she asked.

"I have a long way to go," Harry said with a frown, "Halloween could have been a disaster in so many different ways. I'm just glad nobody was seriously hurt."

Harry glanced into Robards' office as they passed by, but the Auror captain wasn't there. Once they reached the lift, Harry popped off the stopper from one of the blood replenishing potions and quaffed it down in a few gulps.

"I'm going to head to Grimmauld to rest up a bit and check on Andromeda and Teddy," Harry said, "how long are you off from Hogwarts?"

"I'm supposed to be on my way back now," Ginny replied, "I was only given leave to visit St. Mungo's."

Harry nodded.

"You should probably head back then," Harry said as he pushed the button.

"Oh," Ginny said, slumping her shoulders in disappointment.

Harry grinned.

"Then again, Dawlish did order me to spend some time with you, so perhaps I could convince you to stay away for a few more hours? I shouldn't be disobeying any more orders," Harry said.

Ginny smacked him on the shoulder with the back of her hand.

"Prat," she said with a smile.

Harry chuckled, then grew serious as they entered the lift.

"Ready to face the vultures?" he asked. Ginny just sighed and nodded.

The lift doors opened into the Atrium, and the press were still there, lying in wait. They surged to activity when he and Ginny emerged from the lift, snapping off photos and leaving dazzling afterimages on Harry's retinas.

"Mr. Potter! Did you challenge Avery to a duel?"

"Is it true Ronald Weasley survived a killing curse?"

"Was anyone killed?"

"No comment," Harry said, holding up a hand to the shouted questions and pushing his way through the crowd, "no comment!"

He paused at the entrance to the hallway with the floo fireplaces and turned, holding one hand up for quiet while gripping Ginny's hand with the other and pulling her close. The shouting died down and quills hovered over note pads, ready to start writing.

"I know there's a press conference in a few minutes," Harry said as quills started scratching, "there was an incident. I can confirm that Ron, myself, Mrs. Tonks, and little Teddy are safe and relatively unharmed. We thank you for your concern and ask that you respect our request for privacy at this time."

He turned and made for the floos as the questions started up again, slightly muted from before.

"Diagon first, then we'll apparate," Harry whispered to Ginny, who nodded.

Harry went first, appearing at the public floo in Diagon Alley, then immediately turning and apparating home with a loud *crack*, appearing in the living room. Ginny appeared a moment later with a soft *pop*, followed shortly afterwards by Kreacher.

"Master Harry has returned," Kreacher said.

"Kreacher, are Andromeda and Teddy here?" Harry asked.

"The… Mrs. Tonks is in the first guest room," Kreacher said, refraining from using any slurs to refer to Andromeda, per Harry's previous orders.

"Alright, you're to attend to her and Teddy's every need while they're guests in this house," Harry said, "also, prepare dinner for the three of us plus Teddy."

"Kreacher hears and obeys," the house elf said, bowing low and vanishing again, leaving them alone.

Harry sighed deeply and turned to Ginny to embrace her tightly, just enjoying the feeling of her against him for a moment. He pulled back to look down at her as she smiled, that one simple expression filling him with warmth; he could spend all day looking at her face and never grow tired of it.

"I almost ruined everything," he said, "I promised your mum and everyone else I would be careful, and I was anything but."

"Harry, what happened on Halloween?" Ginny asked.

Harry recounted the story, from the coin activating to thinking Ron was dead, to the duel in the cottage, leaving out the unforgivable he'd used.

"He had me on toast, Gin," Harry said, shaking his head, "I almost died, should have, even."

"Shh," she said, looking up at him sternly, "you're not, you're still here, and it just goes to show you were right all along. We have to take care of all of them, or they'll keep coming after us."

Harry nodded.

"I need to get better, not just with wandwork but… there's so much more to this Auror business that I hadn't realized," he said, "strategy, teamwork, procedure, politics... It's just so much."

"Well, if Dawlish's receptionist knows anything, and I'll wager she does, you're like a breath of fresh air for them," Ginny said.

Harry looked at her questioningly.

"The way she tells it, everyone's been stretched thin for months. When Voldemort took over, half the Aurors quit or were forced out by Dawlish. Then when Kinglsey came in, all the Voldemort supporters still there had to be rooted out, leaving them with even fewer experienced Aurors. On top of that, they've now got a rotating schedule for Azkaban patrol, because Kingsley's trying to phase out the dementors. Apparently, before Andromeda's home was attacked, they hadn't caught a whiff of a real Death Eater in months because they're so shorthanded."

Ginny smiled at him.

"Then here's Harry Potter, fresh off defeating the Dark Lord, not even out of training, kills one in single combat defending his godson. Someone, Davis? Goes and talks to the press, Dawlish wasn't happy about that, by the way, and word gets around," Ginny said, "she said people in the office were excited for the first time in weeks."

"You got all that while I was talking to Dawlish?" Harry asked.

Ginny smirked at him and winked.

"I have my ways," she said with a grin.

Harry nodded again. He didn't really feel proud about how everything played out on Halloween, but now the warm welcome he'd received in Auror headquarters made a bit more sense. He was worried about the Elder Wand, but with Avery dead, Harry reckoned it didn't really matter that he'd been disarmed by the deceased Death Eater. He leaned down to kiss her again on the lips, and she smiled into it.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Ginny replied, "just… please try to stay safer?"

He nodded.

"I will, I've got too much to live for," he said seriously, running his hand up and down her back.

They were interrupted by a muffled baby's cry from upstairs and Harry stifled a groan of frustration.

"Let's see how they're doing," he said, breaking away from Ginny.

He led her up the stairs to the first guest room and knocked on the door. Andromeda opened it while balancing Teddy on one hip. His cries had lessened, but he was still blubbering a bit.

"Harry," she said, "you're looking better than the last time I saw you. Oh, and Ginny as well, good to see you again."

"Hello Mrs. Tonks," Ginny said.

"You might as well call me Andromeda too," she replied, "come in, I couldn't get him to sleep earlier, so he's just woken up from a nap. He'll be fine once he's had a nappy change but it might be a bit tricky getting him to sleep tonight."

Andromeda laid Teddy down on the bed and waved her wand a few times, removing his soiled diaper, cleaning him up with a wet towel she had on standby, and then placing a clean one on.

"I really like what you've done with the place, by the way," Andromeda said as she finished wrapping Teddy up, "my aunt always kept it so dark in here, I never understood it."

"Thank you," Ginny said.

"Yeah, that was all Ginny," Harry said with a chuckle.

Andromeda smiled at her as Teddy started to coo.

"Thank you for letting us move in, I've already called someone to repair the cottage and strengthen the wards," Andromeda said.

Harry was already shaking his head.

"You can stay as long as you like. I'm barely here, and it's safer than the cottage," Harry said, "and really, it's practically your house too."

Andromeda shook her head.

"I don't want to be a burden, and well, there's too much history here," Andromeda replied, a frown crossing her features, "even if the furniture is all new, the walls have memories."

Harry nodded.

"Speaking of the wards, do you have any idea how Avery was able to get through?" Harry asked.

"I suspect he got me with the Imperius and added his blood to the wards that way," Andromeda said, "I have a few blank spots so…"

Harry nodded.

"Listen, Andromeda, about what happened in the cottage…" Harry said.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything," she said, "you saved our lives, Harry, I'm not going to put you in harm's way."

Harry nodded and scuffed the carpet with his toe.

"So… what happened before I got there?" Harry asked.

"I had just finished giving Teddy a bath, when I heard someone on the steps," Andromeda said, "when I went to look, Layton Avery was walking up. He cast something at me, not sure what it was. I tried to get Teddy and apparate, but I couldn't. So, I sealed the door and sent the message to you with the coin, and that's all I remember before waking up stuck to the wall."

Harry nodded.

"The worst part of it was watching you bleed out in front of me," Andromeda said, "the wards and sticking charms took a few minutes to wear off after you brought half the second story down. It's a good thing I keep blood replenishers in the kitchen. Then your friends came in and helped clean up and get you and Ron off to St. Mungo's."

Kreacher chose that moment to appear next to them.

"Master Harry, dinner is served," he said.

"Thank you Kreacher," Harry said.

The aged house elf bowed, then sneered at Andromeda before disapparating again.

The four of them made their way to the dining room and enjoyed the soup, roast pheasant and baked potatoes Kreacher laid out, making small talk and taking turns feeding Teddy the gruel-like blended and mashed vegetables Kreacher had prepared especially for him. Harry's eyes started closing by themselves and right around when he nodded off and startled awake for the second time, Andromeda made an excuse to leave and head upstairs with Teddy, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. The two of them left the plates and went upstairs to Harry's room. Harry fumbled with the stopper of the second blood replenishing potion before getting it open and drinking it down.

"Gin, I've been trying to figure out a way to get some alone time for us for weeks, but honestly…" he said, pulling off his shoes and dropping his Auror robes across the back of a chair.

"It's alright Harry, you need to rest," Ginny said, "should I go?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, stay for a while?" he asked.

Ginny wordlessly pulled off her shoes and outer robes to lay atop the covers with Harry. He dragged himself up to the pillow and turned to face her, their noses almost touching. She carefully pulled off his glasses, and he used a finger to brush a strand of hair away from her face, then moved forward to kiss her gently, softly. Harry's arms circled around Ginny's athletic frame, and she slowly entwined her legs with his. He kissed her slowly, savouring every second of the sensations and the comfort she brought. They broke apart several minutes later and Harry gazed at his girlfriend, trying to convey with his eyes alone the depth of his feelings for her.

"I love you Ginny, so much," he said.

"I love you too Harry," she replied, her voice soft and tender. He closed his eyes and held her closely, drifting off to sleep.

Harry woke up the next morning alone in bed. Blearily, he reached out for his glasses and stumbled to his feet. He found a note written in Ginny's looping cursive on the desk:

Harry,

It's nearly dawn and I need to get back, otherwise McGonagall's going to owl my parents. Looking forward to spending time with you again when you're feeling better. Stay safe.

Love, Ginny

He folded the letter carefully and placed it in the desk drawer, then showered and pulled on the clean robes Kreacher had laid out for him. He came downstairs to find breakfast already served. He stacked some scrambled eggs between two pieces of toast and munched on that while he searched for Andromeda and Teddy. He found them in the living room. Teddy sat on the couch, propped up by some pillows, and waved his arms at a trio of multicoloured sparkling lights as they spun and twirled about him. Andromeda sat nearby, occasionally rejuvenating the lights when they started to dim; Harry noticed she wore the same clothing as the previous night.

"Feeling better?" Andromeda asked.

Harry nodded.

"Much. Teddy slept alright?" he asked.

"Mostly," Andromeda replied, "he woke up a few times but it's a strange place so, that's normal."

Harry nodded.

"Have you ate?" he asked.

"Yes, Kreacher prepared breakfast," Andromeda said, "brings back memories."

"Good ones I hope," Harry said, "I've instructed him to take care of you, so you can ask him for anything you need. Unfortunately, I'm expected at the training grounds this morning."

"Go on Harry," Andromeda said, "we'll be fine here."

Harry nodded and sighed. He picked up Teddy, who burbled happily at seeing him, and gave him a light hug.

"See you Teddy," he said, "Thanks again Andromeda. You're sure you're okay?"

"Harry, we're fine, thanks to you," Andromeda said, "if you hadn't given me that coin, if you hadn't come so quickly… we're the ones who should be thanking you."

Harry felt a twinge of guilt. It was because of him they were attacked in the first place. Truthfully, it was all because of him. He patted Teddy on the back as he contemplated whether he should say anything, then decided nothing good could come of mentioning his thoughts to Andromeda. He placed Teddy back down in the corner of the couch and walked over to the fireplace.

"I'll see you soon," he said, scooping some powder out, "Auror Training Ground C."

After managing to keep his balance exiting the floo, Harry made his way down the trail, through the autumn mist to the barracks. He opened the door to find the others in the midst of their morning routines, including Ron.

"There he is!" Matt said in a booming voice.

"Welcome back Harry," Ron said, gripping his hand tightly and clapping him on the back.

Harry grinned at the trainees, then squinted at something pinned above his headboard.

"What did you do?" he asked.

Clippings from the Daily Prophet had been stuck to the wall.

'Dark Mark spotted near Reading – Obliviators Deployed'

'Harry Potter Injured, Defeats Layton Avery in Duel – Death Eater Brought to Justice'

He tried to tear them down, but found they'd been enchanted with unbreakable and sticking charms.

"Really?" Harry asked, "people are going to think I'm some kind of-"

"Hero?" Shawn asked.

"Narcissist," Harry said.

"Potter," Shawn said, throwing an arm over Harry's shoulder and looking at the articles, "one day, when you're a senior Auror and you've got an office of your own, you're going to want to put these up on the wall so every trainee who walks in there is going to know not to mess with you. We're just doing you a favour."

"Don't feel bad Harry, I've got one too," Ron said, pointing to the wall behind his bed.

'Ronald Weasley Survives Killing Curse?'

As if the fame they already had wasn't enough, this was just going to make it even worse.

"Then again, there are worse fates," Harry thought.

A sharp knock rapped on the door only a second or two before it flung open and Mackenzie's tall lanky frame strode into the room. All of the trainees stood straight at attention.

"Having a good time this morning are we?" he asked, "everyone on the pitch in three minutes."

Just over three minutes later, they were outside and lined up on the track, Tammy stomping to get her boot situated properly because she'd pulled it on while her foot was still not quite dry from her shower.

"Halloween," Mackenzie said.

"Knew this was coming," Elizabeth whispered to Harry.

"How do you think it went?" Mackenzie asked.

There was silence for a moment, then Shawn Davis raised a hand.

"One dead Death Eater, and no one else, so all's well that ends well," he said.

"Think so?" Mackenzie asked, "because there were about fifteen different things you bunch of supposed Auror trainees cocked up. Maybe next time we should do it exactly the same way, hope for the best. You can duel the Death Eater though Davis, alone, if you even make it that far."

Shawn grimaced.

"Maybe not," he said.

"Today we're going to go through each one of those fifteen mistakes, why they were the wrong decisions, and what you should or could have done differently, starting with not running off half-arsed when you were ordered to stand by," Mackenzie said.

"Least we're not running laps," Ron muttered.

"And it's a 1K run for every one, starting now," Mackenzie said, conjuring the floating numbers.

Ron sighed and began running, pasty white calves showing beneath his still-too-short robes, while Harry grimaced at what promised to be a long and humbling day. True to his word, before each review, Mackenzie made them run a thousand meters. Dawlish had no doubt briefed Mackenzie, because almost all of the mistakes they went through were pointed out to Harry the day before.

Fifteen kilometres and fifteen situation reviews later, Harry's legs ached and a frown sat on his face. Each of the criticisms Mackenzie levelled at them felt almost personal, though he knew Mackenzie hadn't meant them that way.

"Alright, that was a long day. We'll finish with something lighter," Mackenzie said, "go and get the Comets from the storage shed."

Harry perked up at that; flying always put him in a good mood. The trainees trudged over to the storage shed and picked out their brooms. They were all inferior to his Firebolt, of course, but Harry didn't care, flying was flying. He kicked off and flew up to the aerial course above the pitch, relishing the feel of the wind in his hair. He pushed the broom up to a sprint and felt a grin spread across his face as his spirit thrummed with the exhilaration of being up in the air again. The aerial course mirrored the track below, but there were hoops to fly through, moving obstacles to avoid, checkpoints to hit, and illusory poles to slalom through. Harry joined the others lining up vertically near the start of the obstacle course, manoeuvring and drifting slightly higher to give Matt a little more headroom beneath him. Harry'd won the previous race, but that was no reason to get overconfident.

"No teams today and no spells," Mackenzie said, "ready, steady, go!"

A loud *bang* sounded from Mackenzie's wand, and six brooms shot off to the entrance of the racing course. Harry put everything else out of his mind except cutting as close to the obstacles as he could to keep as straight a line as possible, and keeping tight to his broom to reduce drag. He banked hard into the first turn, his head only a few inches from the illusionary barrier marking the inside of the course and straightened out as the first obstacle came into view, a descending horizontal bar several feet tall. He glanced up to see the tip of Ron's broom edging ahead slightly before pulling up above the obstacle. Harry chose to go beneath it and picked up a little bit more speed as he descended, the wind roaring in his ears. He rolled and banked through the obstacles one after another, blasting out of the last one and down the first long straightaway, eyes tearing and hair whipping in the wind, just beneath and a half-length behind Ron. Harry took the opportunity in the straightaway to gain some altitude and drafted behind his best friend before going into the next set of obstacles. Once again, he twisted and rolled, almost coming up off his broom at one point he reversed direction so hard going from ascending to descending. When they came out of the last turn, Harry was still behind Ron, but a slalom faced them, the red and blue poles running the entire height of the track. Harry let the tail of his broom sweep out to fishtail neatly between the slaloms without scrubbing off too much speed as he descended beneath Ron. As Harry cleared the last pole, he straightened his broom, hugged the shaft, and pushed forward slightly in a shallow dive to barrel down the straightaway to the finish, just barely edging out Ron. Harry looked back as Matt finished right after them, followed by Tammy, Shawn, and Elizabeth. Ron drifted next to Harry and punched him not-so-lightly in the arm.

"Prat," the redhead said, grinning.

Harry just shrugged and returned the grin, then glanced across the top of the forest.

"Wish I could spend all day up here," he thought.

"Not bad you lot," Mackenzie said, drifting over to them, "alright, that's enough for the week. Despite nearly getting yourselves killed a few nights ago, you're actually nearly there, maybe a month away from trials."

The trainees sat in contemplative silence for a moment, before Shawn piped up.

"Seeing as Potter and Weasley are getting special treatment and skipping over two years of training, I've got a request as well," he said.

"Let me know when you get your Order of Merlin first class, otherwise shut it," Mackenzie fired back, "any other stupid questions? Good. Davis, you need to work on your consistency, Wilson, transfiguration, Miller, charms, Moore, broomwork, Potter and Weasley, policy and regulation."

Each of them nodded as the trainer called out their focus areas ahead of Trials.

"That's enough for the week, I'll see you back here on Monday morning, 0600 sharp," Mackenzie said, then flew off towards the floo shack.

The trainees returned to the broom shed and deposited their Comets.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Seamus dropped by my room after you left," Ron said as they walked the path between the storage shed and the barracks, "healers cleared him; said he wanted to apologize, and he couldn't remember anything extra."

Harry frowned.

"Bugger," he said, "I really was hoping he could have told us something, but at least he's alright."

As they entered the barracks, Harry was all but ambushed by the other trainees.

"What happened in the cottage?" Shawn asked, "we couldn't break through the wards until a few minutes after the second story fell in."

Harry looked around at their expectant faces, including Ron's, and nodded. He recounted the story from when he entered, the duelling circle, the wards, how Avery had completely outclassed him, and how he'd taken him down using Nymphadora Tonks' old wand, obviously leaving out the Unforgivable.

"And that's about it, just got lucky," he said.

Matt gave a low whistle.

"That's not luck, Potter," the big man said, "that's calm under pressure. And you're no slouch with a wand either, if all the Death Eaters are like that…"

He shook his head, almost in disbelief.

"Well, there was a little bit of luck," Shawn added.

"I'm glad you're alright Harry, and you too Ron," Elizabeth said, "let's just try to do better next time."

All the others nodded and the four older trainees hit the showers while Harry tapped Ron on the elbow to let him know to hang back.

"Ron, there's something else about Avery," Harry said quietly, "I'm pretty sure he knew about the… you-know-what."

Harry waved his wand back and forth a bit.

It took Ron a moment but then his eyes widened.

"How?" he asked.

"That's what I'd like to know, but it makes sense," Harry said, "we already know it was a trap. There was a duelling circle set up inside the cottage, and you should have seen his reaction when he disarmed me."

Harry paused, remembering the expression on Avery's face.

"It was like he'd won a million galleons," Harry said with a frown.

They fell quiet as one of the showers turned off.

"Where could he have heard it from?" Ron asked quietly.

"I've been wondering the same thing," Harry said, "maybe Voldemort told some of his followers, but I doubt it."

"Maybe Avery or someone else figured it out, Ollivander or Luna's father maybe?" Ron asked.

Harry turned his head slightly to one side, quizzically.

"Where are the Lovegoods these days anyway, do you know?" Harry asked.

"Ginny mentioned they were in Russia looking for some beast or other," Ron replied.

They fell quiet for a moment.

"You're sure it's hidden well," Ron asked.

Harry nodded.

Shawn and Matt emerged from the shower with white towels wrapped about their waists.

"Honestly, I thought it was a good lesson, not joking," Shawn said, "all of the points made sense, and we'd be stupid if we didn't learn from them."

"Hard to believe it's his first year as a trainer," Matt said.

"Mackenzie?" Harry asked, "it's his first year?"

"Yep," Matt said, "he used to be an obliviator, and our trainer was a bloke named Patrick Robinson, but they needed everyone they could in the field, so…"

"Wow, I had no idea," Harry said.

"Yeah, he seems like he's done this forever," Ron added.

"They probably have a training guide, Merlin knows they have guides for everything else," Shawn said, "but today's breakdown was top notch."

It was rare to hear praise for anything from Davis, and Harry debated whether to tell the others the details actually came from Dawlish, but decided to keep his mouth shut as he picked up a towel and soap from his trunk. He showered quickly and looked forward to sleeping as much as he wanted, in his own bed back at Grimmauld, only to find the four older trainees dressed in casual robes and waiting for him when he emerged.

"So, Harry," Matt said, "do you have plans tonight?"

"Does sleep count?" Harry asked, moving to his bed and putting up an opaque ward so he could get dressed.

"The ladies were thinking to celebrate, you know, all of us surviving," Shawn said from the other side of the ward, "have you ever been to a muggle club?"

Uncle Vernon had spoken with pride of being invited to a club a few times, and Harry figured it was a place where people who had too high opinions of themselves went to smoke cigars and reassure themselves of their place in society. Then again, he didn't really think it was the type of place any of the others would voluntarily go to.

"Can't say I have," Harry replied.

"Have what?" Ron asked as the bathroom door shut.

"Been clubbing in muggle London," Tammy replied, "music and dancing."

"Oh, that type of club," Harry thought.

There was a moment of silence and Harry wished Ron could see his face so he could let him know he wasn't interested.

"Sounds fun, what do you think Harry?" Ron asked, and Harry cursed to himself.

Harry sighed.

"You can't let us go without you mate, you did all the work. Plus, you wouldn't want to let Liz down, would you Potter?" Shawn asked.

"Shut it, Davis," Elizabeth said, "Harry, I was just thinking that you're always under the microscope, and never get a chance to relax, and since the… Halloween, you've been really tense. What better way to let your guard down a bit than to head out where nobody knows who you are, no reporters are going to ask you questions, and nobody will recognize you? You don't have to come if you don't want to, it was just an idea."

That was… surprisingly thoughtful. And all of the others seemed keen. He shouldn't be the one to spoil their party, and they were supposed to be a team, after all.

"Alright, I'll go," Harry said.

"Yeah, me too," Ron said.

"Yes!" Tammy said, "do you have clothes? There's still time to go shopping."

"Ron will need clothes for sure," Harry said, pulling on a pair of trousers and dropping the privacy charm, "I probably will too."

"That's no problem, Liz knows a good muggle clothing store near the entrance to the Leaky," Tammy said, "Davis, Wilson, coming?"

"Oh no, can't speak for Shawn but I've done my time with the two of you already," Matt said, "I'll see you at the exit from Diagon around ten o'clock."

"Same," Shawn said, "don't forget to eat something."

The two older guys departed, leaving Harry and Ron with Elizabeth and Tammy. Harry shoved his feet into a pair of trainers and finished tying them just as Ron dropped his privacy ward.

"Ready?" Elizabeth asked, "meet at the Leaky."

They separately apparated to Diagon Alley, near the Leaky Cauldron. Night had fallen and the air was already quite chilly; their breath steamed as they gathered near the entrance.

"Alright, just follow my lead," Elizabeth said, while Tammy grinned in anticipation.

They pushed through the hidden entrance and past the dimly lit bar into muggle London.

"You're in for a treat," Tammy said, her excitement almost palpable, "Liz took us clubbing for the first time after we all got back together in the middle of May, and… well, I won't spoil the surprise."

They walked along a few streets and Elizabeth led them through a mall and into a department store.

"Wait, I just realized I don't have any muggle money," Harry said.

"It's okay, it's on me," Elizabeth said.

"No, you can't-" Harry said.

"It's my money, and I can," Elizabeth said, stopping in the middle of the children's section and turning to face Harry, who stopped short to keep from running into her, "Harry, if it wasn't for you, and you too Ron of course, I'd be hiding out in the muggle world, looking over my shoulder for literally the rest of my life. So as a thank you gift, let us dress you up and take you out for a night, would you?"

Harry stared at her blue eyes, at a loss for words, exchanged a glance with Ron, then nodded.

"Alright," he said.

"Good," Elizabeth said as she turned and found the men's department.

What followed was a series of rapid-fire outfit changes and presentations, as they were on the clock. Tammy and Elizabeth picked up about five outfits for Harry and Ron each, and hurried them through them, discarding clothing quickly. For Harry, they settled on a brown blazer so dark as to be almost black, and light tan slacks, with a dark green shirt, making his emerald eyes practically glow. Ron ended up with a leather jacket and a deep red shirt, almost maroon, black slacks with a silver belt buckle, and black boots.

"Hang on," Elizabeth said, picking up a red baseball cap.

Harry snickered as she reached up to place it backwards on Ron's head.

"Perfect," she said.

Ron looked himself over in the mirror and immediately took the hat off and ran his fingers through his hair.

"No way," he said, "I'll do everything else, but the hat stays off."

"Let's leave it Liz," Tammy said, "the hat covers up his hair anyway."

Ron nodded at Tammy and turned to Elizabeth.

"See?" he said.

The muggleborn Auror trainee relented and they went to check out. Harry fidgeted as Elizabeth paid with a credit card, and he almost had to bite his lip to keep from protesting again.

"Are you sure this is what muggles wear?" Ron asked quietly.

"Trust us, you look great," Tammy replied.

That seemed to mollify him somewhat, and they completed the purchases. The new clothes and shoes felt heavy in the large paper bags bearing the logo of the store on the side. Once they were back in the mall proper, Elizabeth looked towards a replica of Big Ben sitting in the centre of the building.

"Okay, meet you in front of the Leaky in about an hour?" she asked.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ron asked.

"…we have to get ready Ron," Elizabeth replied.

"Oh, right," Ron said.

Elizabeth chuckled as she and Tammy walked towards the ladies' room. Harry watched them go for a moment until he was interrupted by Ron.

"So… what're we gonna do now?" he asked.

Ron glanced around uneasily, and Harry reminded himself that his friend probably wasn't used to being out and about in muggle London.

"Let's apparate to Grimmauld," Harry said, "we can drop this stuff off and get Kreacher to make dinner for us."

Ron nodded and sighed with relief.

"Good idea," he said.

They entered the stalls in the men's room and popped back to Harry's house. Kreacher greeted them in the living room, near the floo and the couch.

"Master Harry has returned," the house elf said, taking their parcels, "the… Tonks woman takes dinner in the dining room."

"Thank you Kreacher," Harry said, "please prepare two more settings for Ron and myself."

"Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black," Kreacher said, bowing low and vanishing again.

"Certainly makes life a bit easier," Ron said as they walked to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm hoping one day he'll stop with all the mudblood and blood traitor talk," Harry said, "he's still fighting it."

"Old habits die hard I s'pose," Ron said.

They entered the kitchen to find Andromeda eating alone.

"I thought I heard someone come in," she said with a warm smile, "welcome home, Harry."

"Teddy's sleeping?" Harry asked.

Andromeda nodded.

"About an hour ago," she said, "he'll be down for the night, hopefully."

Harry and Ron sat down across from Teddy's grandmother and Kreacher popped in to quickly set places for the two of them.

"Fully recovered then?" Andromeda asked.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, thanks, the both of you?" he asked.

"I'm okay. Teddy took a little while to adjust but after a week here I think he's explored every nook of this old house," she said.

Kreacher chose that moment to return with a platter filled with steaming food, chicken cutlets and garlic bread, with steamed broccoli and carrots on the side, and a gravy boat filled with the brown viscous liquid.

They tucked in and ate quickly.

"What do you think this clubbing is about?" Ron asked.

"Dancing, I'm pretty sure," Harry said, "and drinking."

Ron paused.

"Dancing," Ron muttered, "and people do this willingly?"

"Some, I guess," Harry said, "I don't really know too much about it."

"You're going to a disco tonight?" Andromeda asked.

"Don't think it's called disco anymore, but something like that," Harry replied, "the other trainees are taking us out, sort of a celebration."

Andromeda nodded.

"Try to have fun, relax a little, you've earned it," she said with a sad little smile.

They finished up dinner and excused themselves while Andromeda helped herself to a glass of red wine. Harry and Ron went upstairs to their respective rooms, and Harry found his clothing already laid out for him on his bed. He changed quickly and gave himself a once over in the mirror, trying in vain to get his hair to lay down flat before giving it up as a lost cause. He returned downstairs and waited for Ron, who followed a few minutes later, clumping heavily in his new boots and looking somewhat uncomfortable in the dark leather jacket.

"It's like a new adventure, right?" Ron said.

"I'm hoping this one doesn't turn into an epic life or death struggle," Harry replied, "had enough of those to last two lifetimes, thanks."

They pulled out their wands and with a silent nod, apparated to Diagon Alley. The chill air hit Harry like a shock, snapping him to alertness; it'd definitely grown colder since sunset. He looked around and spotted Matt and Shawn under a nearby lamppost, the former wearing a dark leather jacket complete with metal studs, making him seem all the more intimidating. Shawn, on the other hand, sported slicked back hair, a light-cream coloured blazer, and a borderline flamboyant electric pink shirt underneath. Harry and Ron made their way over to them.

"That's four, and now we wait for the ladies, as usual," Matt said.

They apparated in within a few seconds of each other and Harry had to do a double-take. Elizabeth still wore her hair in twin braids, now with colourful blue and red ribbons tying off the ends. An open white button-down shirt tied off just below her chest, leaving her the top of her dark red bra and entire stomach completely exposed, and she wore an open grey jumper to cover her arms down to her elbows. A dark pleated skirt fell to mid-thigh and dark knee-high stockings and heeled boots finished off the outfit. Tammy had braided her blonde hair and wore it coiled about the back of her head with strings of glittering silver running through it, dark red lipstick, and a short black cocktail dress, contrasting with her fair skin, leaving her arms, chest, shoulders, and most of her legs exposed to the night air. She stepped towards them in strappy heels, making a clacking sound on the stone sidewalk, each step causing light to shimmer and refract off the trio of diamond-like gems adorning the top of each shoe.

"Ready?" she asked, "let's go."

Tammy clicked her way over to the hidden entrance to the muggle world, the toned muscles on her calves standing out in the streetlights.

"Pick your jaw up off the floor, Weasley," Shawn muttered with a smirk as he passed by.

They left through the Leaky and followed Elizabeth through a few streets.

"Aren't you cold?" Ron asked, apparently having rediscovered his voice.

"Warming charms," Tammy replied with a wink.

They walked a few blocks through the London night until they came to an older looking stone building with a few steps to walk up to an arched entryway. A line of muggles had formed on the steps and part of the way down the block and at first glance, they were dressed much the same way Harry and the others were. Several large, well-built men wearing jeans and dark t-shirts stood near the entrance to the building. Even on the street, the sound of thumping bass could be heard from within.

Elizabeth ignored the line and walked straight up to the red ropes and the large bald muggle with folded arms blocking off the entrance.

"Yeah?" the bouncer asked.

"Let us in," Elizabeth said.

Shawn shifted next to Harry slightly.

"Confundus," he whispered.

Harry turned his head to stare at Shawn, who just gave him a smirk and shrugged. He grabbed Harry by the wrist and ushered him past the ropes.

"Aw come on!" came a cry from the line waiting outside in the cold, but the six trainees were on their way in. Harry received a red wristband and entered the building with the others, walking down a long dim hallway with a red carpet rolled down the centre as the music grew louder, and louder. Then they turned a corner and the hallway opened into a large high-ceilinged room, perhaps a hundred or two hundred feet across, writhing with dancers a few steps below them. A goateed man wearing sunglasses, a bright red shirt, gold chains, and large headphones stood on a stage on the far side, nodding his head to the beat. Colourful laser lights intermittently flashed in random directions, and spotlights occasionally aimed down at the crowd, illuminating a handful of partygoers for a second at a time. Several tables were set up in alcoves around the room and on the periphery of the dance floor, one of which a pair of girls were already dancing atop of. A long glowing bar with several bartenders each dominated both sides of the room, bottles behind them backlit by more fluorescent lighting. The deafening music blasted its way through Harry; he could feel the vibration of the bass in his chest, and Tammy had to shout to be heard.

"Well, what do you think?" she shouted.

Harry gave her an incredulous look and an almost helpless shrug, then looked to Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes, grabbed Ron by the wrist, and pulled him onto the dance floor. Harry similarly felt Tammy grab him and he looked back helplessly at Matt and Shawn who sniggered and made their way towards the bar. Then Harry was in and among the undulating and bouncing bodies and he stood still for a moment, unsure of how to even get started. Tammy grabbed his hands, moving and smiling with a confidence that spoke of either a passion for it or hours of practice, and Harry made a few lacklustre attempts at reciprocating, certain he was making a fool of himself. Mercifully, Shawn and Matt showed up with several drinks.

"Here's to Harry, and taking down a Death Eater before we even finished the trials!" Shawn said, holding up his glass.

Harry slammed back the amber liquid fire, and had another for good measure. After that, he felt the edge fall off somewhat and he loosened up a bit, moving about the dance floor and mingling with the muggles. The outfits the women wore were like nothing he'd seen in the wizarding world, and he was secretly thankful to Elizabeth for suggesting they come here. A blast of smoke billowed out from the stage, and strobe lights and lasers flashed through them to the cheers of the crowd. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see a wavy-haired brunette muggle girl with dark tanned skin wearing a flowing, spaghetti strap red dress.

"I like your eyes, wanna dance?" she shouted.

He nodded and danced with her for a bit, then moved around and danced with whoever he wanted. Nobody knew him here; he was just another face in the crowd. He cheered when the crowd cheered and glanced up at some girls dancing on a table, catching a glimpse of way more than he bargained for. One look at the practically drooling guys around the table had him moving on though. The pounding rhythm started to wear on him a bit after what he guessed was about an hour, and he danced and nudged his way over to the fluorescent bar, where he spotted Elizabeth sipping a blue coloured drink with a paper umbrella stuck into it. Harry practically ran into the bar next to her.

"Water," he said, thanking the bartender when he received a cup filled with ice and soothing liquid. He drained it in one go.

"Having fun?" Elizabeth asked, shouting to be heard over the music.

Harry nodded.

"This was a great idea," he replied.

Elizabeth smiled at him and nodded. Then she nudged him with her elbow and looked off into the crowd. Harry followed her gaze and had trouble at first picking out what she was staring at, then he spotted Ron's ginger hair and tall frame, dancing with Tammy. The blonde had her back to Ron and shimmied her way down and up, rubbing against him, then turned and gave Ron the kind of smile that set off warning alarms in Harry's head.

Harry left Elizabeth and was already on the move when Tammy placed her arms about Ron's neck and gazed up into his eyes, and as Harry got closer, he could clearly see she was drunk, but that didn't bloody matter.

He ducked his head and cut right under her arm and stood up between the two of them, forcing them apart, and looking up into Ron's blue eyes.

"Harry," he said, surprised.

"Hi Harry, you want to dance with us too?" Tammy said from behind him. He felt her continue to bounce to the beat and press against his back.

"Ron, could I have a word with you please," Harry said, "outside."

Harry pointed to make sure Ron got the message.

"Err, sure mate," Ron said, "eh… be right back."

"C'mon Tammy, let's get some water," Elizabeth said as Harry led Ron out the entrance and into the street again. He looked around the entrance at all the people milling about and decided to head across the road, showing the bouncer his wrist band to have the rope removed so they could leave and return if they wanted to. Out of the club, away from the music, Harry's ears filled with a high-pitched ringing, but head started to clear in the cold night air. He sat down on the kerb across from the entrance, where muggles still lined up by the dozens to get in, and Ron sat next to him.

"I know what you're going to say," Ron said, "nothing would have happened."

"Sure didn't look like nothing from where I was," Harry said, "Ron, what were you thinking?"

"Was just dancing, having a good time," Ron said, "I wasn't going to kiss her or anything."

"Oh well, that's a relief," Harry replied, dripping as much sarcasm into his voice as he could muster, "and what if she kissed you, fancy explaining that one to Hermione? Or worse, putting me in a spot where I have to decide whether to tell her or not?"

Ron picked up a pebble and tossed it into the street. A car passed by and lit up his face, drizzled with melancholy, for a brief moment for Harry to see.

"Least then we'd be talking to each other," Ron mumbled.

"Ron… what?" Harry asked.

Ron blew a long breath into the night.

"Mate, we were together for exactly two days before she flew off to Australia," Ron said, "now she's back at Hogwarts, and guess how many times she's written?"

Harry shrugged.

"Six?" he asked, which happened to be the number of times Ginny had written him.

Ron held up a single finger.

"Once," he said, "just the one time."

"Uh oh," Harry thought.

"Have you tried writing her? It's a two-way street you know," Harry asked.

"Sure, loads of times, but nothing. I get that she's busy, and she's trying to bring her parents back and all, it's just…" Ron said, "I dunno if she's just getting the letters and ignoring them or…"

Ron sighed and looked up at the black sky.

"And I was thinking about what you said, about the Cannons, and all this she'd be leaving behind if she was, you know, if we were going to get married," Ron said, absently waving his hand about at all the buildings around them.

It took Harry a moment to realize Ron was talking about the chat they'd had on the way back from Arthur Weasley's shed.

"How do you even know if someone's the one?" Ron asked as he shrugged again, "I mean, what's it feel like? Pretty sure it doesn't feel like this."

He tossed another pebble into the street, and Harry shook his head.

"That doesn't matter, you're together, and…" Harry said, "look mate, I don't mind if you play the field, but you owe it to Hermione to break things off with her first, if that's what you're going to do."

"Or if you know she's not right for you," Harry added, "you're still my best mate, no matter what."

"But I don't want to. Play the field I mean," Ron said with a huff, "bloody hell, why's this have to be so confusing? I mean, look at you and Ginny, do you know she's the one?"

"Yes," Harry replied without hesitation.

Ron made a nodding motion as if to say 'see?'

"Well? How do you know?" Ron asked.

"Well, err, we're sort of a special case," Harry said, "we both had Voldemort stuck in our heads for so long, and there's nobody else on the planet who knows what that's like, so… we're the only ones who can really understand each other. Plus, she's just… brilliant in every way, so, maybe we just fit."

"Hmm," Ron said, "well, bully for you two then."

They sat in silence outside the club for another few minutes until Harry's backside started to grow numb from sitting on the ice-cold pavement.

"C'mon, let's head home, get some rest," Harry said, "Dinner with your parents tomorrow."

Ron nodded and Harry stood up, then reached down to help his friend to his feet.

"Cheer up mate, we'll go up for Hogsmeade soon, and then it's winter hols. It'll all work out in the end," Harry said.

Ron nodded, but either couldn't or wouldn't muster up a smile.