Harry Potter belongs to JKR.
Beta by FedererEx
Chapter 16
Harry's heart pounded furiously as he forced his legs to walk casually despite wanting to break into a full-on sprint.
"Don't screw this up, or it's another three months of training, minimum," Harry thought as he deliberately faced away from the very average looking wizard across the street.
The night before, Harry sat with the other trainees as Mackenzie briefed them on their upcoming trial. They were to stake out a bin for someone picking up a parcel from it, shadow them without being detected, identify their hideout, and make an arrest, all without breaking protocol or incurring any bystander injuries or significant property damage. Their target, a middle-aged wizard wearing black robes and wizarding hat, had just picked up the parcel from the garbage bin. He strolled along Diagon Alley's main thoroughfare, every now and then glancing around at the crowds or at the display windows. It was full on Christmas shopping season and Harry was glamoured and not disillusioned; he couldn't tail the mark invisibly without an innocent passerby walking into him. On the plus side, it made blending into the crowd that much easier. Ron, also glamoured, followed the target from about thirty feet back. Somewhere above them both, a disillusioned Matt Wilson, the best flyer aside from Harry, hovered astride a Comet 260. They followed the mark for a good ten minutes until he slipped into an abandoned and ruined shophouse near the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Far fewer people walked the streets here;, most of them hurrying hurried past the entrance of the seedy district.
Apparition and portkeys made capturing wizards extremely difficult, especially as Aurors were usually required to identify themselves and give the targets the option of surrendering. The plan was for Matt to inform the other three, who were standing by, where to set up anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards around the hideout. Ron stopped at the corner before the shophouse and Harry crossed the road at the next street. He waited at the corner for a minute to give the others enough time to get into place, then started walking towards the shop entrance. Harry's steps slowed as he approached the door and he met Ron at the entrance.
"Invenies felis," Harry muttered, using his wrist to surreptitiously wave his wand from side to side. Any spells trapping the door would glow blue, but nothing showed.
"Wards are up, go," a whisper came from over Harry's shoulder. Shawn, disillusioned.
Harry looked over to Ron's glamoured face and nodded. He edged up to the door and tried the handle. Unlocked.
Slowly, he kept the handle down and nudged the wooden door open into the building. A crash of pots and pans greeted him; they'd been stacked up on the inside.
"Bollocks! There's athe bloody alarm," Harry thought, shouldering through the door and scattering cookware across the floor.
"Aurors, throw down your wand!" he shouted, Ron right on his heels.
Black marks covered an entire wall of the shop, evidence of a fire a long time ago. Candles used to sit against that wall, but now only a giant, distorted and long congealed mess of wax lay against it, colours blended together and puddled on the floor. Footsteps echoed from the back, and Harry charged ahead. A narrow wooden staircase led up to the second story, and Harry took them two at a time.
"Halt!" he shouted.
"That's the second warning," he thought.
A red bolt narrowly missed him as he ducked through the door at the top of the steps, and he returned with a stunner of his own, letting his glamour drop to give more strength to his spells. A leg locking jinx followed from the black robed wizard, and Harry dodged to one side, but with a crack of rotting wood, the floor gave way and he fell straight down, back into the shop below. He caught a glimpse of Elizabeth's surprised blue eyes as he flashed by her, crashing painfully into the ground floor, which also gave way. Her wand flashed out and he felt himself caught in mid-air before he landed in the cellar.
"Boost me up, back through the hole!" Harry said, and with a wave, the muggleborn Auror trainee launched him back up to the second story. Harry landed and took a step to steady himself, then followed the sound of Ron cursing, to the end of the hallway and into what used to be a bedroom. A sheet of roiling purple flames covered a window, and Ron, who looked like himself again, stood back from the heat, repeatedly casting finite.
"Together," Harry said, leading with his wand, "finite!"
Under the combined power of both Ron and Harry's wands, the flames sputtered and died out, revealing a conjured fire escape. First out the window onto the metal platform, Harry didn't spot their quarry anywhere.
"Appare Vestigium," Harry said with a swirl of his wand. Golden flecks spread across the rooftops and the alley, illuminating the target's footsteps sprinting ahead as shoe prints on the rain dappled paving slabs below.
Harry took a step to the side as Ron squeezed past and jumped down; the redhead used a cushioning charm to break his fall before he charged after the dark robed wizard.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry said, "tell Matt he's out the east exit and headed towards Knockturn, cut him off."
The glowing stag vanished into the sky as Tammy also stepped out onto the fire escape. She held the backpack their target had dropped.
"Contraband is still here," she said as she slung the pack over her shoulder.
As they positioned themselves to jump down after Ron, a series of red stunners shot out from the window across the alley, forcing Harry to shield to protect them. He tried to reverse a few of them back at the attacker, but they were too fast and it was all he could do to keep both himself and Tammy from being hit as hexes and jinxes pinged and ricocheted off the building and fire escape. Fortunately, they were close enough that Tammy managed to transfigure the window in front of their assailant into a brick wall, but the wizard behind simply blasted through it, sending rock shrapnel towards them. With a flick of her wand, Tammy put up a bubble in front of them that transformed the fragments into feathers as they passed through. Matt whooshed by, coming over the roof to quickly gain on Ron and the target.
"Revelio," Harry heard the wizard across the street say. The spell cancelled Matt's disillusion in a dark spray, and white light streaked towards the appearing Auror trainee from the open window.
"Fully body bind," Harry thought, "that'll cause him to crash for sure."
"Matt, evade!" he shouted even as he ducked and parried the renewed barrage of spells from the wizard across the street.
Instinctively, the big man spun into a quidditch sloth grip roll, letting the curse fly through the air where he'd been before righting himself and continuing the chase. Harry's mind raced for a way to take out their assailant without any more collateral damage.
"Stupefy!" he heard Shawn say just as Harry parried another pair of stunners. The room lit up with a red glow for an instant, illuminating both Shawn's rapidly appearing form and the attacking wizard flung into the opposite wall. Somehow, the pureblood had snuck over undetected and took down their ambusher.
"Liz and I got this one," Shawn called out of the window at Harry and Tammy, "go help Ron and Matt."
Harry and Tammy wasted no time and jumped down off the fire escape; their wands moving in unison to slow their descent. The training paid off as Harry pounded at a full sprint down the street, easily keeping pace with the athletic blonde next to him. He rounded a corner to see a furious duel in progress, as ; multicoloured sparks of spellfire flashed and ricocheted around the alley. Matt had managed to land in front of the target, and beyond Matt, Harry spied the small stone marking the edge of the anti-apparition ward. As Harry closed the distance, the fugitive wizard set off a bright flash that dazzled Ron, then spun and transfigured the ground around Matt's feet to mud, dodged a poorly aimed stunner from Ron, and flicked his wand again. Matt grunted in pain as the mud around his feet solidified back to stone, immobilizing him.
The wizard zagged for the wardstone, but Harry was faster. Instead of trying to hit the moving target, he snapped the tip of his wand upwards without breaking stride and a section of cobblestoned street lifted in front of the wizard, who slammed his knee into it and tumbled to the ground. Ron, blinking his eyes in an attempt to improve his vision, joined Harry and the two of them advanced in tandem. Ron went high while Harry went low, giving the wizard nowhere to turn to, and forcing him to shield to prevent from being hit. Now that he was closer, Harry saw their target was clean shaven, with slicked back black hair; he appeared much younger than before.
"Must have dropped the glamour to fight," Harry thought. Harry skipped to the right while Ron went left, and the duo put themselves between the wizard and the edge of the wards while Tammy rescued Matt from the transfigured ground.
Now four against one and facing two on each side, the target dropped his wand.
"I surrender," he said, as he raised his hands.
"Incarcerous, stupefy," Harry said. With the results of the trial on the line, he was taking no chances.
Matt picked up the anti-apparition wardstone and deposited it into his pocket, then retrieved his broom from where he had dropped it. The four trainees and their levitated captive returned to the rear of the abandoned shop to find Liz watching over the bound and unconscious wizard Shawn had downed earlier.
"Where's Shawn?" Harry asked.
"Disillusioned," Liz replied, "or transfigured, I'm not sure actually."
Harry nodded. Shawn was being appropriately paranoid for once and figured he would get the drop on anyone who tried to ambush them. Harry looked up from the prisoner to see the team staring back at him. It took him a second, then he started issuing commands.
"Tammy, Liz, go retrieve the other ward stones and meet back here. Ron, go with Tammy. Matt, you're with Liz. Shawn and I will stay here with the prisoners," he said, "Matt, pass me the Comet, just in case."
The trainees broke into action and hustled away, while Harry kept his head on a swivel, broom in hand. A sense of excitement washed over him as they all returned a few minutes later.
"Shawn you here?" Harry asked, "we're going to apparate back to the training grounds."
"Right behind you," Shawn whispered, and huffed a chuckle when Harry jumped. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and Harry found himself in agreement with her.
"Right, grab the prisoners," Harry said, ignoring Shawn's antics, "three…two…one.."
With a series of pops and cracks, the trainees apparated to the centre of the field at Auror Training Ground C where Mackenzie stood up immediately.
"You brought the satchel?" the tall trainer asked as he vanished the blue velvet chaise lounge he'd conjured to sit upon while waiting for their return.
Tammy held up the confiscated backpack and gave it a shake.
Mackenzie smiled and looked over the two unconscious and bound wizards, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Another pop ended the conversation as Robards appeared in the field.
"Captain," Mackenzie said, saluting. Harry and the rest of the trainees stood up straight and quickly followed suit.
"Lieutenant," Robards said, wordlessly rennervating the two unconscious Aurors and dispelling the cords binding them.
The two stood up slowly, probably stiff from being bound up.
"You have their wands?" Robards asked. Shawn produced one and Ron the other, returning them to their rightful owners.
"Jenkins, Robinson, debrief will follow, dismissed," Robards said, and the two saluted and apparated out.
"The rest of you, the results of your trial will be deliberated and you'll be called in for debrief within the week," Robards said, "anything you do between now and then can affect the panel's judgement so I suggest you lay low until the results are announced."
The large Auror captain gave Harry one last glance, then saluted and apparated out.
A moment of silence passed until Tammy broke the silencebroke it.
"Sooo," she said, "how do you think we did?"
"Are you joking?" Shawn replied, "we passed with flying colours. Two targets arrested, minimal damage, drop recovered, no casualties, couldn't have gone any better."
Conversation exploded from there as the trainees recapped the trial to each other, explanations for those who weren't present for the chase or duel in the alley and general rehashing of events while Mackenzie listened quietly.
"I tried to run him down on the broom but he ducked out of the way," Matt said.
"How did you get back up so fast after you fell through the floor?" Ron asked.
"You fell through a floor?" Matt asked.
"Two, actually," Harry said, "luckily Liz caught me. Great throw by the way, putting me back up through the hole."
"Right place, right time," Liz said, choosing humility over bravado.
"Speaking of, right place, right time, did you like how I took out Robinson when he had you two pinned down?" Shaun chimed in, "I had no idea it was him."
"That was who tried to knock me off my broom?" Matt asked.
Tammy nodded in reply.
"That was brilliant," Harry said, pointing at Shawn, "I didn't even see you sneak over."
"You know what else would be brilliant? Alcohol," Matt said.
"That sounds like a fantastic idea," Harry thought.
"Seconded, all in favour?" Harry asked.
"Aye!" came the chorus of response.
"O'Malley's is always a good time, north of Diagon," Shaun said, drawing his wand and turning to Mackenzie, "coming sir?"
The trainer appeared to internally debate for a moment before shaking his head.
"No, Davis, I don't think so. You lot enjoy yourselves, you've earned it," he replied.
"Yes sir, with pleasure," Shaun said. He made an exaggerated salute but apparated out before he completed the motion.
Ron smirked and followed suit, along with the others, until only Harry remained.
"Potter?" the trainer asked.
"Thank you sir, for everything," he said, "we wouldn't have made it without your training."
Mackenzie looked down at Harry and gave a half snort, half chuckle.
"I would say the stars have to align for anyone to make it through trials in just four months, but you and Weasley pulled it off," he replied, "most of the credit is yours. I only gave you a little push."
"Or a few stinging hexes to the backside," Harry added.
Mackenzie nodded.
"That too. Go on, your team is waiting for you," Mackenzie said, then he turned and apparated away before Harry could protest that they weren't 'his' team, that they all had their strengths and none of them could have succeeded alone.
Harry apparated to Diagon Alley, across the street from O'Malley's Irish pub. The enchanted sign out front repeatedly showed a glowing leprechaun downing a mug of beer, then drop kicking a gnome over a fence. Harry pushed his way through the door to find the bar mostly empty except for a large booth where the rest of the team were already in the process of distributing pints.
"Harry!" the cry went up from the table as he made his way over. They'd left him a seat, next to Liz and across from Shawn. Tammy sat next to Ron, Harry noted, then quickly squashed the thought before it went any further.
"Ron's my best friend, and I'm going to trust him," he thought, "at least until I actually see him do something stupid, then he'll get a well-deserved talking to, but not a second before."
The alcohol flowed freely, and Harry felt a genuine smile spread across his face as they chatted. He kept an eye on Ron and Tammy, noting that she seemed focused on Ron, but Ron, perhaps more aware of appearances after their chat outside the club, made time for everyone.
"You should have seen her Wilson, turned them into feathers, made it look as easy as a lumos," Harry said, "I only ever saw Dumbledore do something like that, when he duelled Voldemort at the Ministry."
Tammy had gone red in the face at the praise but the others all fell silent. In the back of his mind Harry realized he rarely spoke about his adventures with anyone who wasn't there, but right now, with his recent achievements at the forefront of his mind and past traumas becoming blurred, it was cathartic.
"After all, we're a team, and we're going to be hunting down and battling dark wizards together," Harry thought, "if I can't share a few things like this with them, who can I share them with?"
Harry trailed off as he recalled what else had transpired that night in the Ministry….Sirius falling backwards through the Veil…
"If I knew even half of what I know now, I could have saved him. I could have helped Dumbledore, maybe even stopped Tom right then and there," he thought, "I could have taken out Lestrange while she was pinned. Tonks would still be alive, and Dobby."
"The Death Eaters aren't going to know what hit them," Shaun said, snapping Harry out of his reverie, "we've got the best team, right here, I wouldn't be surprised if we all make lieutenant within a year."
Harry and Ron both nodded their agreement; they really did have a strong team. All of them were accomplished witches or wizards in their own right, and everyone had their specialities. Shawn was a bit of a wild card but his talent was undeniable.
"Could we just enjoy passing the trials for one night without thinking about what we're going to have to do to get promoted?" Liz asked, "honestly Davis, I would have expected that from Wilson, not you of all people."
"Hey," Matt said.
"No offense Matt, you're the best," Liz said, patting Matt's massive bicep.
A blast of cold air hit him as the front door opened, and Harry noticed everyone else staring over his shoulder. He craned his neck around to see Head Auror John Dawlish walking towards them. The group scrambled to their feet, an empty pint glass knocked over in their haste.
"At ease," Dawlish said, "I heard you recovered the package and made arrests during the trial today, congratulations, all of you."
The team murmured their thank you's.
"Potter, Minister Shacklebolt wants to see you eight-thirty tomorrow morning, he didn't say why," Dawlish said, "enjoy your evening, recruits."
They sat in silence as Dawlish exited the pub without another word.
"Told you, lieutenant, less than a year," Davis said quietly, lifting his glass and taking another swig.
"What do you think the Minister wants?" Tammy asked.
"No idea," Harry said, passing his beer across the table to Ron, "hope it's not too serious."
"Please, let it be not too serious," Harry thought.
"I'm sure it's fine," Liz said, "the Head Auror only dropped by to personally deliver the message, it's probably no big deal."
She rolled her eyes and took another long drink.
"Honestly though, good luck Harry," she added.
"Yeah," Harry said, frowning.
"Look at it this way mate, if it was really serious, he would have sent a patronus, and they would have told all of us to come right away," Ron said.
Harry nodded.
"As usual, Ron cut right through the fog and hit the bludger square," Harry thought.
"I guess that's it for me tonight then," Harry said, standing up, "got to be fresh for tomorrow."
"Alright Potter, we'll let you off easy this time, but now you owe us a night of revelry, don't think you can weasel your way out of it," Shawn said, "no offense Ron."
Ron tapped his glass against Shawn's.
Harry smiled.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, "how about after the trial debrief?"
Shawn merely raised his glass in response.
The following morning saw Harry in the waiting room outside Kingsley's office. Not knowing what he was getting into, he came prepared: invisibility cloak in one pocket, wand nestled snug in the holster at his left wrist, mokeskin pouch in another pocket. At eight thirty sharp, the receptionist, a severe looking and greying middle-aged witch with reading glasses hanging around her neck called his name, looked him over, and went back to scanning the interdepartmental memo in front of her.
"For once, someone doesn't care at all that I'm 'The Chosen One'," Harry thought.
He pushed through the heavy oak door to find Kingsley, wearing robes of various shades of blue, already seated at his desk. A hearth set in the back corner of the room blazed merrily; an emergency floo portal. Rich, heavy red and brown carpeting covered the floor, deadening sounds in the room and giving it an air of privacy. Awards and certifications adorned the wall behind the desk, lending power and gravitas to the office for the Minister of Magic. It took Harry a second or two to recognize the man seated in front of Kingsley as his back was to him. Percy Weasley, now sporting a thin moustache, stood and turned, giving Harry a single nod as they made eye contact.
"Percy," Harry said, a bit shocked as he closed the door and turned to Kingsley, "Good morning Minister, Percy. What's going on?"
Percy extended his hand as Harry approached, and Harry shook it firmly before they both sat down.
"Straight to the point then," Kingsley said, "Mr. Weasley is here in his capacity as acting Head of International Cooperation and interim central point of contact with the Goblin Liaison Office, until a suitable replacement can be found. You're here because after the trials yesterday, Head Auror Dawlish informed me it's likely you'll be accepted as a full Auror, and that creates a bit of a problem."
"Err, what sort of problem?" Harry asked.
"A goblin problem," Percy replied.
Kingsley grimaced.
"You're aware the goblins have been pressing for your punishment for the break-in at Gringotts earlier this year," Kingsley said, "they have accepted our stalling as we sorted our more important issues and focused on rebuilding, but Mr. Weasley believes, and I concur, that if the Ministry employs you and Ronald as Aurors, they will escalate."
Kingsley folded his hands on the desk in front of him.
"No offense, I was hoping you'd stuff up the trials," Percy said with a frown, "should have known better."
"But… Don't get me wrong Minister, I appreciate the Ministry stepping in and trying to work out a solution with the goblins on our behalf, but I don't understand. Voldemort would have killed them all, or enslaved them," Harry said.
"Many of the goblins don't see it that way," Kingsley said, "the peace between our races is a delicate balance. There are factions within the goblin population who have been urging a more aggressive stance for over a decade, and those factions are now demanding they strike back in retaliation both for your break-in and Voldemort's attack. On our side, you're well aware of the wizarding distaste for goblins; the vast majority of wizards only interact with goblins because they have to."
Harry thought about it for a moment, and aside from Griphook, he didn't even know any other goblins' names, much less anything about them.
"I suppose there's some truth to that," he thought, and resolved to do better going forward.
"I still don't understand; we destroyed Voldemort, shouldn't they be thanking us?" Harry asked.
Kingsley shook his head.
"The hardliners are demanding a strike against Wizarding Britain," Kingsley replied, his tone patient, "Voldemort was a wizard, so they seek restitution retribution against wizards. Goblins have a tendency to treat all wizards as cut from the same cloth. Most goblins. Some of them are seeking a declaration of independence, and reformation of the goblin nation."
"They don't have anyone else to blame, really," Percy added, "and King Ragnar can't do nothing, it would appear weak."
"Until now, King Ragnar the Fourth has pushed for punishment, but if it looks as if we're going to ignore their requests, he may have no choice but to cede to the hardliners, and would be looking at, potentially, another goblin rebellion," Kingsley said.
Harry ran his hand down over his mouth and chin in consternation.
"And employing Ron and I and giving us authority to arrest people counts as ignoring them," Harry said, absently drumming his fingers on the armrest.
"Exactly," Kingsley said, "so you see the issue. You've passed the trials, and I'm sure you know we're shorthanded when it comes to law enforcement. Add to that you've got more experience battling dark wizards than half the force, so we'd be hard pressed to turn you down. At the same time, a goblin rebellion would mean more war."
"Nobody wants that and the goblin hardliners know it; they're trying to take advantage to draw out concessions," Percy added.
Harry sighed and brought his fingers to his temples in an attempt to pre-emptively massage away a burgeoning headache.
"Alright, what do they want? And why only call me?" Harry asked, "surely they're after Ron and Hermione as well."
"They are, but you're the only one in a position to do anything about it," Kingsley said.
Two or three questions collided in Harry's head as his eyebrows drew together in confusion.
"The goblins are demanding just over one hundred million galleons in damages," Percy said.
Harry's eyes widened; he didn't think there was that much money in all of Britain.
"They cited numerous infractions and justifications for the sum," Percy continued, "among them: restitution for injured or slain goblins, repayment for the replacement and training of the stolen dragon, repair to the physical structures of the bank and the damaged enchantments, some of which can no longer be replicated, and damages for the lost and future business due to the injury to Gringotts' reputation."
"Alternatively, they would accept a tenth of the sum if it came from the Golden Trio themselves, along with a sincere and public admission of guilt and apology to the goblin nation," Percy said.
Harry slowly nodded with dawning comprehension. Neither Ron nor Hermione had that kind of money. Only Harry, with the massive stack of galleons inherited from both his father and Sirius, and which currently resided in several vaults at Gringotts, could step in and pay off the debt the goblins demanded.
"And if we decline?" Harry asked.
"The goblins will press their claim for you to be punished under wizarding law, as stipulated in the Treaty of Hogsmeade, a minimum two-year sentence in Azkaban," Kingsley replied, "if we don't, they'll take their case before the ICW court of arbitration."
"They'll most likely win," Percy saidadded, "the new Supreme Mugwump has it in for Britain."
"We have made a mess of the Statute lately, but that's neither here nor there," Kingsley said, "the law is on their side. If it goes to ICW arbitration and we lose, we'd have to abide by the results and submit to inspection that we're following our own laws, or risk the suspension of our voting rights."
"Minister," Percy said, "what if we provided Harry with a role in the Ministry and paid-"
"No, Mr. Weasley," Kingsley said, cutting him off with a stern glance, "we've discussed this already."
Percy shrank slightly in his seat at the admonishment.
"I'm sorry Harry, I spent the past six months looking for a loophole, any loophole to make you whole," Percy said.
"You wanted to try and reimburse the gold out of the Ministry budget?" Harry asked.
Percy nodded, a defeated frown on his face.
"It's not possible for several reasons," Kingsley said, counting off on his fingers, "first, there's no mechanism for payment on this scale to private citizens. Second, once word spreads that the Ministry used taxpayer money to pay off such a massive fine, it would be a public relations nightmare for everyone involved, especially with so many others in need. Last, and most important, when the goblins find out, they'll cry foul and at the very least demand the full sum, or possibly try to confiscate it themselves out of the citizens' vaults or do something else in an attempt to provoke a response, and we'll be in a worse position than we are now."
Harry nodded. He couldn't in good conscience take that much money from the government when others desperately needed it, anyway. If he'd actually been able to step foot in the bank and withdraw the money to donate, he would have.
For a brief moment, he wondered it would be better if he walked away from being an Auror and went after the Death Eaters on his own. That idea sputtered very quickly as he didn't have the first clue of how he would start going about finding someone who didn't want to be found, at least not without a whole lot of galleons, which led him right back to this particular conundrum. Harry's thoughts turned to his teammates, Shawn and Elizabeth and Tammy and Matt. No doubt the DMLE would cobble together a full team to replace him and Ron, but it wouldn't be the same as working with the team they'd trained with. Plus, he and Ron were two of the better duelists.
"What if I abandon them and some or all of them end up killed?" he thought, "I'll spend the rest of my life wondering if I could have made a difference."
He shook his head. Abandoning his Auror position wasn't possible; he'd have to make peace with the goblins.
"What would Ron and Hermione say?" Harry thought, "they'd probably swear to repay every knut, but there's no way I could let them do that; it would take years, decades, if they could even amass that much gold in a lifetime. Would they feel guilty? Do they even need to know?"
Percy had been on the job for six months. If there was any other way out of this conundrum, Harry had no doubt the studious and exacting Weasley would have found it.
"It's not like I have access to any of the money at all right now," Harry thought.
"I have a few demands," Harry said, "I'm not paying for them to keep another dragon underground like the last one. They can use the money to buy alternative protective enchantments or something. Also, anything that's not galleons stays in my possession. And I want an audience with King Ragnar."
"Also…" Harry added, taking a deep breath.
"Forgive me guys," he thought.
"Ron and Hermione are not to find out about the fine," he said.
There was a moment of shocked silence.
"Just like that?" Percy asked.
Harry turned to look at Percy dead in the eye.
"You've been at this for six months, right?" Harry asked.
Percy nodded.
"And there's no other way?" Harry asked.
Percy shook his head slowly.
"Not that I could find," he replied.
"Then that's it then," Harry said, "there's more than enough gold left to keep me comfortable for the rest of my life, and really, it wasn't mine to begin with."
Kingsley stood up, prompting both Percy and Harry to do the same.
"Mr. Weasley, relay Mr. Potter's request to the Goblin Liaison Office," Kingsley said.
Percy nodded.
"Thank you Harry, again," Percy said, "I'm confident they'll accept your terms."
"Good luck Percy," Harry said. They shook hands and Percy strode quickly out of the office.
"Harry, I don't know how many times I can keep saying this, but thank you, for everything you've done and continue to do," Kingsley said.
"It wasn't really much of a choice, Minister," Harry said, "I am interested to find out what Ragnar has to say; I didn't even know the goblins had a king."
"That's Binns for you," Kingsley said with a small grimace, "Ragnar's is not a title recognized by the Wizengamot, but it matters a great deal to the goblins. He's descended from the last goblin king, and if they were to successfully break off and form their own nation, he'd probably be its head of state."
"Alright," Harry said. His lack of knowledge or experience in geopolitical matters was going to be a problem, eventually. At some point he would be expected to do something with his fame and influence, but he had no clear idea on what that might be or how to avoid being taken advantage of.
"First things first," he thought, "Death Eaters."
"Thank you for helping us clean up this mess," Kingsley said, "we'll be in touch about the audience with Ragnar. Why not go and enjoy the rest of the break before your shifts start?"
Harry nodded, recognizing the dismissal for what it was.
"Let's get the rest of the Death Eaters behind bars, then I'll feel like I can relax a bit," Harry said.
The Minister nodded.
"Good luck, Harry," Kingsley said, shaking Harry's hand.
"Like an equal," Harry thought.
Harry twisted and shifted the wine bottle in his hands as he followed Ron up the path to the Burrow. Ginny's gift lay in his pocket, and the rest sat inside his mokeskin pouch. A light dusting of snow covered the ground, making it slick and showing where others had walked before them. Dark and dreary outside, as soon as Ron pushed the door open, warm light spilled out and a chorus of cheers greeted them.
"Ron! Harry!"
Chairs originally set around the dining table sat occupied around the living room and near the hearth; for the first time in nearly a year, the Burrow was filled to bursting. A decorated Christmas tree with enchanted candles and sparkling lights sat opposite the couch, near the fireplace. Colourfully wrapped gifts already filled the floor up to the bottom branches, much more than had been present in years past. Molly pulled Harry into a hug until Ginny practically bounded across the room, all but pushed her mother out of the way, and embraced him tightly. Harry passed the bottle to Molly behind Ginny's back, even as he became acutely aware of his girlfriend's breasts pressed into his chest.
"I love you Harry," Ginny whispered in his ear, too quiet for anyone else to hear.
Harry smiled into her hair and extracted himself before it became embarrassing, then pulled out the small box containing one of the enchanted matching mood rings he'd only just purchased.
"Happy Christmas," he said, passing it over to her.
She smiled and placed it beneath the tree, then looked around a bit, eventually picking up his gift, a flat rectangular package in bright red wrappings.
"Happy Christmas," she echoed. Harry hefted the parcel and resisted the temptation to immediately tear it open. He stowed it in his enchanted pouch then made the rounds, shaking hands with Arthur and Bill; the angry red scars on Bill's face had faded into a series of long, pale gashes. Fleur, her golden hair done up in braids and set about her head, gave him the French greeting, a light kiss on each cheek. Charlie, fresh in from Romania, shook his hand, as did Percy, whom he'd seen only a few days prior.
"Harry, this is Penelope Clearwater," Percy said, "if you might remember her from Hogwarts."
"Of course," Harry said, patting her back lightly with one hand as the blonde stepped in for a brief hug.
"Happy Christmas Harry," she said, "I heard you scored well on your Auror trials, congratulations."
"Ah, well, the official results aren't out yet so…" Harry replied.
"Even so, they're saying it's unprecedented for anyone to pass them so quickly," she said, "so, congratulations. You too, Ron."
"Thanks," Harry said, smiling.
"No pressure," he thought.
He moved on to the next redhead, only to stop short when he looked into George's gaunt, expressionless face, the surviving twin looking for all the world like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Potter," he said as Harry shook his hand.
"George," Harry replied, internally shedding a tear at the use of his surname as a greeting.
Then he was done with the hellos. A glass of wine appeared in his hand and he joined the conversation as the Weasley clan caught up with Bill and Charlie. Ginny made herself comfortable by Harry's side at first, but then drifted over to chat with Bill, while Fleur spoke with Percy and Penelope.
"It's only temporary, but I fully intend to do the best job that I can for as long as the position is mine," he heard Percy say, a semblance of a return to his old pompous self that Harry hadn't seen recently.
Ron recounted the Auror trials for Charlie and Arthur, and Harry filled in the blanks for the parts Ron wasn't present for. The conversation flowed into dinner, roast turkey with gravy, roast and mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cranberry sauce, and more stuffing than they could possibly eat. All the right words were said, but it was just a little bit off. Smiles were slightly too wide, drink flowed a bit too freely, and every now and then Harry would catch someone staring off into space before they remembered themselves and came back to the present. The first Christmas without Fred. Ginny's hand found its way into his. He didn't need to look at her to know she felt it too, but he did anyway. A faraway and wistful gaze greeted him back, cheeks rosy from wine and lips turned down ever so slightly, not quite a frown.
"How is it possible for someone to look sad and happy at the same time?" he wondered.
"Love you," she mouthed.
"Love you too," he mouthed back, and she smiled. Not sad anymore.
He glanced around the table, every mouth occupied either by semi-forced conversation or with chewing bites taken to avoid having to speak. All except George who sat quietly at one corner of the table having barely touched his food. The surviving Weasley twin stared down at his plate and tapped his fingertips on the heavy wood surface.
Molly floated dessert out of the kitchen, Rhubarb crumble with custard, chocolates, ice cream, treacle tarts, rum raisin and chocolate cake.
"She must have been cooking all day," Harry thought as a platter of dark brown chocolate rum cake set itself in front of him.
Then, without warning, the table started levitating up with a low hissing sound. Harry scooted back as the entire thing slowly rose up into the air. Ron managed to snag a slice of cake before he did the same. The source of the hissing quickly became apparent as the table rose higher; numerous colourful balloons attached to the bottom of the table grew steadily larger as they inflated, lifting it up into the air.
"Mum?" Charlie asked.
"George?" Molly asked, but when Harry looked to the corner of the table, George had vanished.
"They'll ruin the dessert!" Molly said, aiming her wand at the table and drawing it down to keep it from hitting the ceiling.
Harry stood up, as did Ron, both of them drawing their wands in one smooth motion. Harry's chair rose up behind him as he stood though, also borne up by colourful balloons, and as the others stood, he noticed their chairs also rising.
Harry sent a stinging hex at one of the balloons under the table, and it popped with an echoing flatulent noise, much louder than anything a human could possibly emit. Out fell a bit of glitter and a small pink furry creature, a Pygmy Puff, which bounced twice on the ground before it righted itself and started to wander aimlessly, making cute little cooing sounds.
"Mon dieu, it reeks," Fleur said, holding her nose just as the smell, a combination of rotten eggs and manure, hit Harry's nostrils and he instinctively recoiled.
Ron popped a balloon as well, but instead of a farting noise, a woman's voice emitted an extremely erotic moan, prompting a scandalized look from several present, including Percy and Penelope. More glitter fell out, along with an eight-inch tall naked creature resembling a gnome, with its elderly features and wrinkled skin.
"Give me sugar!" it shrieked in a high-pitched voice as it started darting around the room, dangly parts swinging with wild abandon.
The stinging hexes stopped, but the balloons kept inflating, eventually popping on their own and filling the room with echoing flatulence and whore-like moaning of varying pitch and volume. New balloons appeared and started inflating to replace the popped, and glitter swirled as Mrs. Weasley desperately tried to salvage the desserts. More and more creatures dropped from the balloons; Harry recognized Cornish pixies flying about as one picked up a pigmy puff and beaned it at Percy; it pegged him in the jaw with the soft, furry creature. The other pixies quickly caught on, and soon little fuzzballs zinged back and forth with cute little screams of terror while the pixies themselves deftly positioned themselves in front of people, making it difficult to hit them with a spell. Harry looked down to see a naked gnome latched onto his leg, alternating between humping it and trying to bite him. Also, his shoe had vanished, or at least turned invisible, as he still felt it around his foot. Kicking the little gnome away to where it started chasing Arthur around the floating table, Harry fell back on his training and tried to assess the situation. Clothing vanished faster than a snowball in July; already he could see one of Penelope's exposed breasts, though she hadn't appeared to notice yet, occupied as she was with an animated paper origami niffler crawling through her hair and attempting to make off with her necklace.
"The-" Hary started, but his voice came out at least two octaves too high and he reflexively stopped and coughed.
"The glitter makes your clothing invisible," Ron said in a comically high-pitched voice, even higher than Ginny's.
What little semblance of an organized response evaporated in an outcry of 'finite's, which had little effect except to cause the balloons to duplicate themselves.
"Ugh, it's a modified Gemino Curse," Bill said, his voice also abnormally high, "don't finite the balloons!"
Percy and his rapidly diminishing visible clothing leapt in front of Penelope to serve as a human shield and Fleur attempted to retreat into the kitchen only to find the door locked, prompting her to unleash a most colourful series of French expletives as she attempted to transfigure a shawl to cover herself, only for it to turn invisible as well.
"The desserts, the desserts!" Molly said, as she tried to keep the table from hitting the ceiling, her voice coming out like a squeak.
"Nooooo!" she said as the table gently bumped the ceiling.
"GEORGE!" Arthur bellowed. Tried to bellow. Instead it came out like an animated chipmunk character Harry'd seen when he was younger, and it was impossible to take him seriously with a small elderly looking gnome frantically grinding against his calf.
As freckled skin increasingly overtook cloth, there was no help at all for Mrs. Weasley wrestling with the levitating table as everyone who wasn't covering their privates or shielding his girlfriend or wife occupied himself with incinerating small origami beasts or banishing pixies, all set to an increasingly lewd background track as the moans climbed to a feverish pitch and intensity, clearly building towards a climax. Somehow, the flatulence now magnificently matched the moans in cadence and rhythm, forming a ludicrous duet. Harry thought he might have heard quiet wet gushing sounds as well, and a small part of his brain wondered if it was from the erotic balloons or the flatulent ones.
"Perhaps both," he thought.
His searching eyes found Ginny, who didn't seem to care one bit that her clothing had all but vanished, and who wore a wide, beaming grin as she banished a pixie against the wall, where it fell to the ground, stunned. Harry sidestepped a gnome to get to her, mentally vanquished the insistent thought of grabbing her and disappearing upstairs to shag her wild, and summoned the invisibility cloak out of his pouch with a whispered word as he ducked a pigmy puff.
"Ginny," he said, getting her attention, then he threw the cloak over her. Whatever magic caused their clothing to become invisible didn't penetrate the Hallow, and Ginny vanished except for a disconcerting disembodied head.
"Thanks Harry," she said.
Harry paused for a second, then twirled his wand around himself and nodded with satisfaction as he vanished from sight. The others soon followed suit, but that made it almost impossible to not hit one another with spells, so they found themselves at a bit of an impasse.
At last, with a joint grand finale and a long, drawn out orgasmic keen, the last balloons popped, and the table and chairs dropped to the ground. Several of the chairs crashed down, but the table managed a soft landing, just barely caught by several wands. Harry heard a few sighs of relief, but the naked gnomes, now numbering at least twenty and with such a bounty of sugar within reach, swarmed the table, clambering up onto chairs and launching themselves through the air to land amid the pudding and cakes. Within seconds they started gorging themselves, taking huge gulping mouthfuls and flinging food at each other and anyone standing nearby. Harry deflected a small handful of pudding and pondered how best to round up the gnomes without destroying the table, when, to his horror, the little creatures started having sex with each other, on the table.
"Oh Merlin," he heard someone, he thought it was Ron, squeak in disgust.
"Stop them, they're going to multiply!" Molly shrieked.
"Aguamenti," Ron and Ginny said, scouring the entire table and washing away the frantically fornicating gnomes and the remnants of the desserts and sending them crashing to the floor. From there, they were quickly made short work of with full body binds and stunners, followed shortly thereafter by the pixies as Ron and Harry organized everyone to one side of the room to avoid friendly fire. So many wands made it a simple matter to stun the pixies and vanish the water from the floor, but the glitter was another matter, until Ron came up with the idea to use two sets of wands to blow it out all the front door. With some semblance of peace restored, the Weasleys changed clothing and Molly brought blankets from an upstairs linen closet for Fleur and Penelope to use to cover up. Before long, a search had started for the missing George Weasley.
"He's not in the house," Charlie said, pointing at the clock, his voice having returned to normal. George's hand pointed to 'traveling'.
"Honestly, he's really gone too far this time," Percy said, holding Penelope about the shoulders.
Ginny hadn't bothered to change, covered in Harry's invisibility cloak as she was, and her disembodied head floated next to him, smiling as she watched the last of the cleanup.
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Harry asked.
"George hasn't pulled a single prank all year," Ginny replied.
Harry nodded. Perhaps this represented some kind of return to normality for him. Still, nobody would be settled until they knew where he was.
"I'm going to take a walk around, see if I can find him," he said quietly. Ginny nodded and Harry slipped into the kitchen to disillusion himself, then exited out the back.
"Left my coat inside," he thought, "bugger."
He quickly cast a warming charm as the late-December air cut right through his clothing.
"Appare vestigium," he whispered, and the golden flecks swirled about, illuminating George's footsteps as he left the Burrow a few minutes back. Harry followed the images and almost immediately suspected where he was headed. The trail led to a small hillock overlooking the Burrow. He put his training to good use as he silenced himself for the final approach. In a small clearing near the top of the hill, where one could sit and look over the Weasley family home, sat a small headstone, a dusting of snow across the top of it and a beater's bat leaning against the side. Fresh flowers lay at the base, and the soil hadn't quite evened out yet. George sat next to the grave on what Harry assumed was a transfigured wooden chair, as no snow lay upon it.
"I wasn't sure you know," George said, speaking more or less in the headstone's general direction, "but then they were all trying to act like everything was okay, as if you weren't gone. Honestly Fred, it was one of the best pranks we've ever pulled, you should have seen it."
George sighed heavily.
"It wasn't easy," he said, "I kept looking for you to bounce ideas off of, or distract mum… and then I remembered, I have to do it all myself now."
He looked up to the sky, breaths escaping in white puffs in the wan light of the sinking crescent moon.
"It worked though, brilliantly," George said, "well, except for the disillusionment; should have thought of that. Anyway, I guess… I guess that's it then. See you again soon."
He sat in silence for a few more seconds then stood up, vanished the chair, and started heading back towards the Burrow, only to stop a few feet from where Harry stood.
"Hello," George said.
Harry let his disillusionment fall in a dark fizzle, and George's expression grew slightly grim.
"How did you know?" Harry asked.
George pointed to the ground.
"Footprints," he said.
Harry looked down to see dark prints in the snow where he'd walked up the path, ending where he stood.
"Ah, right," he said.
"Nice one making everyone invisible, I hadn't thought of that," George said.
"I saw plenty more than I'd bargained for before I figured it out, thanks very much," Harry said.
"So… are they very cross?" George asked, thumbing the scar where he'd lost his ear.
"Cross and worried, worried and cross," Harry replied, "why'd you do it?"
George crossed his arms over his chest.
"I sort of realized I'd been a bit of a git to everyone," he replied, "and I thought a simple apology wouldn't quite make enough of a statement."
"So you did… that," Harry said.
"Hopefully everyone will be able to look back and have a good laugh," George said, "eventually."
Harry thought about it for a second. It was fairly hilarious in retrospect, though Fleur might take some convincing.
"Hopefully. It might take a bit of doing. Come on, let's head back," Harry said.
"Hang on, while I've got you alone. I'm sorry I was such a tosser to you, Harry," George said, "I realized it on Halloween, at St. Mungo's… while I was sitting around at home, they're still coming for you, and you're out there risking your life, so… sorry."
"It's alright, I, um-" Harry said.
"Damn, I was never any good at this sort of thing," Harry thought.
"I know a little bit what it's like, losing someone, not that it's the same for me and you, but…" Harry said, "well, let's just say I never took it personally; I always knew it was the grief talking."
George shook his head and puffed out a breath.
"You're a good man, Harry," he said, extending his hand.
"I do the best I can, sometimes I get lucky and it's good enough," Harry said, shaking George's hand vigorously, "That was a brilliant prank. I'm glad you're feeling a little better; everyone else is too, I'm sure. Or at least, they will be. You might want to avoid Fleur."
George nodded.
"Come on," he said.
They returned, entering through the kitchen and into the living room. All of the pixies and Sweet Tooth gnomes now lay imprisoned in separate metal cages, where they pulled and gnawed on the bars, attempting to escape.
"George, Harry!" came the chorus. Harry noted Bill and Fleur's absence.
"Hope she's not too put out," Harry thought.
Once it was ascertained George was unharmed, the tones of concern, already bordering on aggressive, turned nearly to outraged shouting, until one voice towered above them all.
"George Fabian Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley screamed as she descended from the second story to the third step, "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Erm," George said, shifting uneasily, "sorry?"
"Sorry doesn't begin to cover it," Mrs. Weasley shouted.
"I'm sorry I've been such a git for the past six months," George said, looking around the room, "I took… I took it hard."
That caused everyone to fall silent and exchange uncomfortable glances.
"I said a lot of things I shouldn't have," George continued, "and I guess this is… well this is my way of saying I'm on the road back."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Percy, of all people, Percy walked over and embraced George in a tight hug. Harry thought he overheard him say something like 'we're always here for you', but he couldn't be certain. After that, especially with Christmas just around the corner, the large family took turns welcoming George back or punching him on the arm, sometimes both, and reassuring him they would always help each other out.
Harry felt a tap on his shoulder.
"You forgot to cover your tracks," Ron whispered.
"I'd wondered where you got off to," Harry replied quietly, "did you hear the whole thing?"
Ron nodded.
"What do you think?" Ron asked.
"Hopefully he's turned a corner," Harry replied quietly.
"We'll see, but I haven't seen him this, well… alive, since May," Ron replied. Ginny slipped her hand into Harry's and the two of them shared a look and a smile.
"I have extra desserts stashed in my room, I'll go get them," George suddenly said, sprinting up the stairs two at a time. Harry smiled at the display; it seemed things were looking up for a change and it was impossible to avoid having his spirits buoyed by the festive aura of family and forgiveness that was the Christmas season at the Burrow.
The following morning, Harry awoke to an owl from Dawlish, requesting him to meet at Auror HQ as soon as was convenient. Harry dressed quickly and said goodbye to Andromeda and Teddy, then floo'd over to the Ministry. A few minutes later he knocked on the Head Auror's door and leaned against the wall outside Dawlish's office for a moment or two until it opened. Mackenzie looked out, nodded to him, then gestured for him to enter.
"Come in, Potter," he said, a troubled expression on his face.
Harry entered, closed the door, and took the seat in front of Dawlish as Mackenzie sat off to one side.
"The evaluators have given their feedback," Mackenzie said.
Harry's heart rate immediately spiked, thumping in his chest.
"They've given a passing mark to the entire team," Mackenzie continued, "congratulations."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is there any specific feedback for me?" Harry asked.
"Yes, but we need to discuss something important first," Dawlish replied, "the entire team received passing scores, but the quota is for one pureblood only."
"Both Ron and Shawn are pureblood," Harry thought as his eyes widened.
"Davis is going to be put on hold until a spot frees up," Mackenzie said.
The unfairness of the situation quickly struck Harry, as he no doubt assumed it would strike Shawn.
"But sir, we're a team, and he's the best of us," Harry said, "surely we can make an exception. We'd be better off hunting down dark wizards with Davis than without him."
Dawlish made a motion with his hand as if to say 'told you so', but Mackenzie continued.
"If we make an exception for him, we'd have to make other exceptions, and we simply can't, not when the Wizarding Equality Act is being so stringently observed by every other department," Mackenzie said.
Harry's mouth moved a few times before any sound came out as ideas popped into his head and were just as quickly discarded.
"So what's the plan then?" Harry asked.
"You'll start with a five Auror team," Dawlish replied.
"All of the training was for a six-person team, and Shawn's been at it for three years, how can… how can the Ministry do this?" Harry asked.
"You are preaching to the choir, Potter, but the law is the law," Dawlish replied, "we don't make them, we only enforce them, and we can't very well enforce the laws if we're not willing to abide by them."
Harry recalled the Wizarding Equality Act. He'd been attending an award ceremony in Paris when it was passed; his seats had been vacant. Not that he would have voted against it as he naturally very much agreed with ensuring fair treatment for muggleborns, but this…
"Yes, but-" Harry said.
"Enough," Dawlish said, "we're not here to debate the decision, it's done, unless you'd like to replace Weasley with Davis."
Harry knew he couldn't make that decision; how would he ever face Ron again? With sudden clarity and insight, he understood that was exactly the decision Mackenzie, or more likely Dawlish, had had to make, weighing the pros and cons of the new team having Ron Weasley or Shawn Davis, but not both. He quieted down with the realization the decision couldn't have been easy; Shawn was clearly more versatile and skilled than Ron in almost every measurable category except strategy, and perhaps straight up duelling… it was tough to tell since Shawn avoided fighting toe-to-toe if he could. Still, Ron must have had something else going for him.
Harry shook his head slowly.
"No sir," Harry said.
"Right," Dawlish said, "the reason you're here alone, Potter, is because I suspected you would react exactly the way you did. Your loyalty to your team is admirable, but that's not your job right now. Your job, your first order as an Auror, is to get the rest of the team on board when we make the announcement to them."
Harry's mouth dropped open.
"Backing up a decision or a law you don't personally agree with? Part and parcel of the job, welcome to the forceCorps," Dawlish said, "you might not like it, but any resentment is only going to hamper the team, and often there's no second chances when it comes to hunting dark wizards. Believe it or not Potter, the others look up to you."
Harry started to protest. They were older, more experienced, they each had their own strengths. Dawlish held up a hand.
"You might not realize it, Potter, but you're a natural leader. During the trial, it was you who took charge. When it counted, on Halloween, they all looked to you," Dawlish said, "they all broke disobeyed orders to follow you, and they'll follow your lead now."
Harry swallowed. Once again, it was up to him. He nodded. The stakes were clear, and he wasn't about to disobey his first direct order from the Head Auror.
"Alright sir, I'll do it," he said.
"Now I've just got to figure out what I'm going to say," he thought.
Later that day, Harry sat in the same office with Dawlish, Mackenzie, and the rest of the team except Shawn.
"The evaluations are in. Congratulations, you've all passed the trial, welcome to the Aurors," Mackenzie said.
Elizabeth spoke up almost immediately, interrupting the collective sigh of relief from the trainees.
"Sir, what about Davis?" she asked.
Harry zoned out as Mackenzie answered her, and the protesting started just as Dawlish predicted it would, all except for Ron who stayed relatively quiet.
"Will they really follow my lead?" he thought. The answer frightened him either way.
"This is ridiculous," Tammy said, gesturing forcefully with one hand, "Harry, what do you think?"
Harry sat quietly for a moment as if formulating his response while the others stared at him.
"I think," he said slowly, "we can't be enforcing laws if we're not willing to observe them. So… I think we need to accept the reality for now, even though the law might be flawed. I think eventually the law will be changed, or quota space will open up, or Head Auror Dawlish will secure an exemption, but until then, I think it's up to us to do the best we can without Davis, and welcome him in the near future."
Harry looked around at the others, seeing them slowly nod in agreement. The rest of the conversation went by in a blur as Harry reflected on what had just happened. He'd just persuaded a group of his peers to go along with something they didn't agree with, something he personally didn't agree with, through nothing but his words alone.
"Wow," Harry thought as newfound confidence coursed through him, "What else could I convince people to do? More importantly, how can I make sure I don't go wrong?"
"Thank you all, we'll see you here on January 4th at 0900," Dawlish said, snapping him back to the present.
Harry stood with the others and saluted, then filed out of the office, perhaps standing a little bit taller. They agreed to head for a drink with the others, but Ron slowed up a bit to speak quietly with Harry after they exited the lift, and both of them hung back from the rest of the newly ordained Aurors. Ron had a bit of a shell-shocked expression on his face.
"Not that I'm complaining, but I can't believe they picked me over Davis," Ron said quietly.
"He is really good," Harry said, "but you're more reliable, remember what Mackenzie said about Davis' consistency?"
"Yeah, but still," Ron said, "he must be gutted, hope he doesn't take it personally."
Harry shook his head. He often found it difficult to tell when Davis was being serious and when he was taking the piss, so he wasn't really sure how Shawn would react to the news.
"I want to take a look at that law as well, this can't be the best way," Harry said, "maybe I can figure out how to propose a change. In the meantime, we should meet up with Davis, you know, keep him in the loop as much as we can."
Ron nodded as they lagged behind in the Atrium. When they floo'd to Diagon, well behind the others, Harry thought he'd try out his newfound influence with words.
"Ron," Harry said, putting his hand on his best friend's shoulder, "they didn't make a mistake. They picked you because you're the best wizard for the job. We took down Voldemort together. I could go up against a dark wizard a hundred times and you're my first pick to go with me, every time."
Ron straightened up at that, and Harry thought to pour a little more on.
"Would you pick Davis over me?" Harry asked.
Ron snorted.
"Fuck no," Ron replied.
"Exactly. Now let's get a pint and see what the others think," Harry said.