Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

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The following morning, Tom's dark eyes widened as he read over Harriet's response.

Dear Tom, Minister for Magic,

Congratulations! I haven't had much time to write recently but I did hear news of your election win and inauguration. That's brilliant! Of course I will gladly end my current mission under your orders. I'll be home in a fortnight as soon as I can prepare things here for my successor. I don't know what to say about the honour you've given me! I'm also not quite sure why I was chosen. There are many others under the Ministry's employ who may make a better, and certainly more experienced, Head Auror.

Thanks again, sir,

Harriet J. Potter

Tom sighed as he sank back in his chair with a pleasant smile on his handsome face.

Sir……..

As he sat at his elegant desk in his spacious office, he couldn't help but imagine the respectful title fall from Harriet's lips as she crouched in front of him and-

Knock! Knock! Knock!

He started at the unexpected rapping that fell on his door and annihilated his daydream.

His lascivious thoughts vanished as he narrowed his eyes and hissed, "Come in!"

The door opened before a very elderly man shuffled into Tom's office as he spoke, "Good morning, Minister. I was hoping we may have a brief chat."

"Good morning, Maxwell." Tom nodded, "Certianly…..Please, sit down, tell me what's on your mind. Are you ready to meet your replacement? She'll be here soon."

A wicked smirk curled his lips as he watched Maxwell Gollen, the current Head Auror, slowly hobble over and sit in the leather chair across from his desk.

"So I've heard, yes…..Minister, that is exactly what I've come to talk to you about this morning." Maxwell confessed.

"Is that so?" Tom growled suspiciously.

"It is, sir." Maxwell nodded as he raised his cloudy eyes to meet Tom's unforgiving gaze, "The young lady you've suggested to fill my role, she's little more than a child……She hasn't even spent a decade in the field yet. We have personnel actively serving who've been loyal to the Ministry for more than eighty years! I humbly wish to ask you, Minister, why do you feel so strongly about this ….young lady…..Is she really the best choice to lead our department?"

Tom silently restrained the urge to cast the Killing Curse as he gazed at Maxwell.

Instead of choosing simple violence to easily solve his problem, Tom valiantly opted to try and use cruelty instead.

"With all due respect, sir." He sniffed, "Harriet Potter is, in my opinion at least, the brightest witch of her age. She's strong and loyal, with an unwavering dedication to her duties and friends. I have no doubt she will steer our defense department into the next era, with those from the last eager to assist in her endeavors of course."

The frown of complete disapproval on Maxwell's face only made Tom chuckle.

He smirked to himself as he added, "I do, however, understand your concerns, sir." He folded his hands on his heavy desk as he smiled, "However, as Minister for Magic, I'm afraid my decision is absolute. You are loyal to the Ministry, as is Harriet Potter. Aren't those admirable qualities? I'm certain it's needless of me to remind you that anyone who wishes to publicly criticize my decisions could be charged with treason……….trailed…….and sent to Azkaban on my command."

Maxwell's jaw dropped at the boldness of Tom's arrogant threat.

"Though I realize that won't happen." Tom said with a confident sniff as he sat back in his chair and stared at Maxwell, "Loyalty is of the utmost importance amongst wizards and witches, is it not, sir?"

"Loyalty indeed!" Maxwell huffed as he stood to his feet and nodded at Tom, "Good day, Minister."

"Good day, Maxwell." Tom chuckled as he watched the Head Auror turn and stomp out of his office.

Tom prided himself on holding all the cards.

He was the head of Britain's magical government.

A public figure above all others, Tom had been the one who had given Harriet her promotion, had pulled her back from her travels, and already overturned several laws.

As much as he dreaded the next two weeks of waiting, Tom's heart lifted with each passing second.

Every minute he lived was one minute closer to when he would finally see Harriet again.

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While Harriet prepared to leave her current location and return home, Tom prepared to welcome her back.

Maxwell quietly left office, although he publicly expressed his discontent about his chosen replacement.

Once the current Head Auror had made his exit, Tom spent a large amount of time each day in the abandoned office making certain everything would be flawless for Harriet's arrival.

He had a marble name plate engraved.

He bought all new supplies for her to perform her work.

He even purchased a beautiful, ebony desk and an extraordinarily comfortable, saddle-stitched chair to welcome his beloved.

The evening before her scheduled arrival, Tom grinned as he closed the door to Harriet's posh office that had enchanted balloons and streamers obediently positioned at the top of the ceiling, ready to fall.

Later that night, he lay restless as he tossed and turned in his luxurious bed.

Adrenaline kept Tom from sleeping.

How could he close his eyes when his mind entertained him with the wildest fantasies of Harriet's joyful reaction?

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Tom was the first to arrive at the Ministry the following morning.

Before dawn broke, he took care of the duties that had already accumulated for his completion before he escorted himself to the Auror Department to wait for Harriet.

As the morning passed, he made casual conversation with each auror while he anticipated the doors swinging open as Harriet strolled back into his life.

Hours came and went, but Tom's patience faded with each passing minute.

By noon, he had returned to his own office, where he sat and ate his lunch with a dangerous scowl on his face.

He silently decided he would give Harriet only two hours longer to arrive until he sent a search party out for-

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Tom growled as he looked up from his musings and contemplated what his aides could possibly have come to bother him about.

"YES…………..?!" He roared from his desk.

His doorknob turned and a second later, his beloved finally stepped into his sight.

The years had made her more beautiful.

Tom swallowed his mouthful as his dark eyes widened while he found himself face to face with Harriet Potter's bright smile once more.

"Good afternoon, Tom! Or should I say, Minister?!" She greeted him with a chuckle.

Tom stood hypnotized by her radiance for a moment until he cleared his throat and rose from his desk while he spoke, "...Harriet! How very good to see you again! Stop all that 'Minister' nonsense!...I must say, I had begun to worry for your safety."

Harriet walked towards him as Tom came around his desk.

He reached out for a handshake, hoping to appear polite, but Harriet's gladness at seeing him again overpowered the necessity of formal greeting.

Tom sucked in a breath as she threw her arms around him in a warm embrace.

Slowly, he raised his hands and let his fingers ghost over her shoulders.

The sensation of her breasts pressed against him tightened his trousers as Harriet whispered, "It's good to see you again too, Tom. I've missed you these past years."

Tom blinked as Harriet released him.

Forcing himself not to get too caught up in his deviant daydreams, he asked curiously, "Have you?"

"Oh, of course I have!" Harriet laughed, "It's been great fun traveling for work, it has, and I'm proud of what the mission has accomplished so far, but I've been rather homesick for some time now. It's difficult, you know? Being away from familiar spots, friends……I'm not sure I could have done it for quite so long if I had any family."

The fleeting expression of melancholy on Harriet's face twisted Tom's heartstrings before he interrupted the unwelcome pause by commenting, "Well, as long as I'm Minister, Harriet, you'll never have to worry about being forced to undertake another traveling mission."

"Oh, I wasn't forced." She smiled, "I did actually volunteer. I thought a bit of travel may be fun, you know? Give me something to do, new people to meet……."

Tom grimaced.

He certainly didn't want his darling meeting…….new people.

What had she been able to do on her mission abroad that she couldn't have done in wizarding Britain, anyway?

Briefly, Tom glanced at Harriet's hands.

The slightest of smirks curled his lips when he failed to find a wedding band or engagement ring on her lovely fingers.

"Regardless," He nodded, "The Ministry is glad to welcome you home."

"Thanks, Tom." Harriet smiled, "It's good to be home."

"Would you like a tour of your new office?" He asked.

"I already have an office?" Harriet blinked.

"I can hardly imagine the Head Auror working in a cubicle out on the floor with the others, can you?" Tom quipped.

"Well, no." Harriet shrugged, "I didn't realize my new position would start this soon! Didn't Maxwell have another few months until his retirement?"

Tom plastered a charming smile on his face as he informed his darling, "Yesterday, it just so happens that he chose to step down in preparation for your arrival."

"...Oh?" Harriet frowned.

"I know his family is thrilled to have him home." Tom grinned.

Harriet hesitated for a moment while she thought, but before she could ponder the validity of Tom's claim that Maxwell's leave had been of his own volition, Tom asked as he offered his arm, "A tour, then?"

"Alright." Harriet nodded.

After she slipped her arm under Tom's he escorted her to the Auror Department.

Harriet's appearance that afternoon was met with a variety of mixed reactions.

Ron and her friendly colleagues greeted her fondly with smiles, cheers, and chats.

Other, more seasoned aurors grimaced enviously at their new, young superior.

As Tom unlocked the Head Auror's office and let Harriet see her new workplace for the first time, he cast them warning glares before he followed her inside.

The grimacing aurors quickly looked away once Minister Riddle turned his threatening eyes on them.

As much as they doubted Harriet, they realized the leader of Britain's magical world was far more powerful than they cared to admit.