When Harry was having breakfast, Neville joined him with some news from Gawain Robards.
"Hi Harry, did you have supper at the Great Hall yesterday? I was looking for you but couldn't find you," Neville asked.
"No, I went to the kitchen for a quick snack and then went straight to bed. Why were you looking for me?" Harry replied.
"Auror Robarts wants everyone who wants to help Aurors to meet him at 10 A.M in the Ministry, so I wanted to let you know," Neville informed him.
"No problem, I don't have any plans for today." Harry checked his watch and saw that it was only 8:20. He had enough time to visit Tonks and speak to Hermione. He thanked Neville and went to look for Hermione, and he soon found her deep in conversation with the Headmistress.
"Hi Harry," greeted his bushy-haired friend. "Has Neville found you yet?"
"Good morning, yes he has. He wanted to let me know that all auror volunteers are supposed to meet at the Ministry today."
"Okay. I also have a message from the Weasleys for you. They went back to the Burrow to spend some time together, but they said that we are both welcome to join them at any time."
"Thanks for letting me know. Though I will stay here as it will be more comfortable, I will visit them when I have some free time. What about you? Will you go there?" he asked.
"No, I'm staying here as well. I'm helping with planning the funerals. I want to help as much as I can before I leave for Australia."
"Okay, then I won't stop you anymore. See you in the evening." Both ladies said goodbye to him, and he left for the Hospital Wing. But when he arrived there, Dora was still sleeping. He didn't want to wake her, so he left quietly and decided to go to the Ministry early. He used the Floo Network to get to The Leaky Cauldron and then walked to the Ministry's visitor entry. When he arrived, most of the volunteers were already there. Not seeing Robards yet, he looked around for Neville and soon found him speaking with Seamus. After greeting each other, they spoke about their work expectations. Seamus was thinking about joining the Aurors full-time, while Neville was considering doing Mastery in Herbology. After a while, they heard a group of Aurors come in, led by Robards.
"Good morning everyone. As we have a lot to do, I'm not going to bother with a long and unnecessary speech but will go straight to the point. First of all, are there any of you that can start today?"
Everyone raised their hands, and the Head of DMLE nodded with a little smile.
"Glad to see that, as we need help here. So to the point: You will be split into a few groups. Group number one will contain all of you who want to become full-time Aurors. You will all report to Auror Connie Hammer, who will assign you specific tasks and be responsible for your timetable. You will be working with Aurors to see first-hand what the job looks like. Today, you will be helping with the interrogation of the Death Eaters who are already in our custody."
"Group number two will contain only two of you specifically Potter and Longbottom. We decided that you two, along with a few members of the Order of the Phoenix, will be patrolling Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade for the next few days. We don't expect any problems, but we want to be seen there as this would encourage people to come out of hiding. We chose two of you as your part of the battle is known to everyone thanks to the Daily Prophet, so your presence will give people more reassurance that Diagon and Hogsmeade are safe. Your boss will be Auror Proudfoot."
"The last group will stay here at the Ministry, and you will be responsible for the transportation of Death Eaters into interrogation rooms and standing guard in our holding cells. Auror Savage will be your supervisor. For those of you staying in the Ministry: if any Auror asks for your help, and you do not have a specific task, you are to help this Auror. All of you will receive badges as provisional Aurors, so you will have basic authority. But be careful, if you abuse your privileges, you will end up in very big trouble. If you have any questions, go ahead and speak to your supervisor. Now, let's not waste any time and start to work." Robards ended his monologue and left for work.
Aurors Hammer and Savage left the bullpen to assign tasks to their groups. Proudfoot stayed behind to speak to Neville and Harry.
"Okay guys, here's the plan. Harry, you will go to Diagon Alley. Bill Weasley will be waiting for you in front of Gringotts. Your shift will end around 4 P.M. Neville, you will go to the Three Broomsticks and meet Hestia Jones there. Your cover will also be there at 5. If you have any problems, send me a Patronus message. Do you have any questions?"
After ensuring they understood everything, he gave them badges symbolizing that they were provisional Aurors and bid them farewell. The boys left and headed to their respective destinations.
Upon arriving in Diagon Alley, Harry saw a lot of people there, most of whom were shop owners checking if there was anything left in their shops. Harry made sure to stay out of sight until he met with Bill. He knew that once people found out he was patrolling the alley, many would start to look for him, so he wanted someone to cover his back. When he arrived at Gringotts, he was relieved to find Bill already waiting for him.
"Hi Bill, glad to see you. I hope you weren't waiting for too long."
"Hi Harry, good to see you too. I came here only a few minutes ago, as I was in a meeting with my boss at the bank."
"Happy to hear that. Here you have, those are our auror badges." Harry handed him a badge.
Both of them pinned their badges in a visible spot, and they began patrolling the alley.
"So Harry, how was the briefing with Robards?" Bill asked.
"Short, but informative. He divided people into groups, assigned duties for the day, and let everyone know who their supervisor was," Harry replied. "Who is coordinating the work of the Order?"
"Dedalus Diggle. Out of those members who agreed to help and are not working in the ministry, he is the one who is most organized and would do the best job in taking care of the Order until we decide what to do next," Bill explained.
While it had taken a few minutes, the news that Harry Potter was patrolling Diagon Alley had reached many people. No one had approached them yet, but they knew that would soon change. A few minutes later, when they were at the doors of Leaky Cauldron, a large group of people had gathered around them.
"Good morning, Lord Potter. My name is Adam Flourish, and with me are my fellow owners of various companies here in Diagon Alley. We gathered here because we wanted to personally express our gratitude for defeating that monster. Thanks to you, we can go back to our normal lives and look into the future with hope. Our whole country owes you a debt that cannot be fully repaid. But we can at least try, so our businesses are open to help you at any hour."
"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Flourish. It means a lot to me. Also, I would like to thank your colleagues for showing up here, but please, you do not have to repay me for getting rid of him. The best way for you to express your gratitude is to focus on returning to normalcy. Diagon Alley is one of the most important places for our society, and the faster you rebuild the alley, the faster our society will rise from its knees. Diagon Alley returning to its normal business will send a message to citizens that their life is coming back to normal."
During their talk, many passersby had stopped to listen attentively, getting their morale boosted by his words.
"Nonetheless, Lord Potter, should you need any help, we are here to lend a hand."
"There is one little thing all of you can do for me. You see, together with my good friend Bill Weasley, we are here as we are working with Aurors. We are both here to patrol the alley, to ensure that you are all safe. These patrols will continue for the foreseeable future. So if you could spread the word that there are aurors present in the Alley and let everyone know to approach me during those patrols only if they need help or if something is going on, that would be greatly appreciated. I understand that many people would like to speak to me personally, but I am here with my friends to ensure security, and we need to focus on that," Harry replied.
"We will spread the news, Lord Potter. Thank you once again for everything you have done. We will not stop you from your task anymore. Have a good day." With that the the crowd dispersed leaving Harry and Bill to their patrol.
"Jeez Harry, you continue to impress me. You sounded like a seasoned politician, not a 17-year-old kid," Bill told him.
"I know it sounded a bit official and stuffy, but I think it was exactly what they needed to hear."
"I'm glad you understand that, Harry. I know you don't like being in the spotlight, but your presence here and your words will help them all."
"Thanks, Bill. By the way, I thought you and the rest of the Weasleys were supposed to stay together in the Burrow for a few days. What changed?"
"There's too much to do, Harry. As much as we would like to stay at home and rest for a bit, we're needed out here. Dad and Percy are at the ministry working with Kingsley, and Fleur left for France to speak to her dad. We hope he can help us establish contact with the ICW," the older man explained.
"How are you all holding up there? I know your whole family tried to look strong in the meeting, but I know you too well to fall for that," Harry asked.
"It's very hard. Mom was almost non-stop crying, and she didn't want to let us out of the house. Percy is still blaming himself, and Ginny is sitting silently in her old treehouse. But George is by far in the worst shape. He broke all the mirrors in the house, and when he found Fred's spoon that fell out of the clock, he had a mental breakdown so hard we almost ended up in St Mungo's. To be honest, Ron and Charlie wanted to come and help as well, but they had to stay to keep an eye out," Bill said, crying softly.
Harry didn't say anything but took him into a hug and held him for a minute. He knew that nothing he said could make it better, so he decided that this was the best way to show his support. It took a minute, but Bill had composed himself, and they came back to patrolling.
The rest of their shift went peacefully. Mr Flourish had spread the word, as the alley was full of people simply wandering and enjoying being out in the open. At 4 PM, the next shift came by, freeing them to leave the alley. They said their goodbyes and left for the day. Harry had left for Hogwarts and went straight to the Hospital Wing. When he arrived, he was greeted by Madam Pomfrey, who was glad to see him.
"Good morning, Mr Potter. It's good that you came now, as Dora could use some support right now," she welcomed him.
"Is everything okay with Tonks? Have any new symptoms shown?" he asked worriedly.
"No, it's not that. This morning, we told her about Remus' death, and she's not taking it well. So your emotional support could help her."
He nodded at her and left for her bedside. When he arrived, he found a sobbing Dora being held gently by Andromeda. Teddy was lying in a crib, fussing a bit.
"Hi, Dora," he greeted her gently. Seeing him, Tonks started to cry even harder and raised her hands in a silent gesture, wanting him to hug her. He immediately went to her bed and hugged her tightly, allowing Andi to check on Teddy. She lay there taking comfort from his presence. No words were spoken as they weren't necessary. They spent some time lying that way until Pomfrey came with potions and a meal for her. When she was fed, they returned to their embrace, but this time speaking quietly.
"How are you doing that, Harry? You've lost so many people close to you, and you still have the strength to go forward."
"I have learned how to live with that. I still miss them every day, and I frequently think about how my life would look if they were still here. But I also know that they would not want me to be depressed all the time. I realized some time ago that the best way to honor them would be to live a long and happy life. I know that right now, you can't imagine ever being happy again, but I promise it gets better with time," he explained.
Tonks kept crying into his arm for quite some time until she fell asleep. Madam Pomfrey, who came to check up on her, smiled sadly at him.
"Good job, Harry. She needs to sleep, and I didn't want to give her any more potions, as she's already taking a lot of them. Natural sleep is the best thing for her now."
Harry nodded and very slowly rose, as he didn't want to wake her. He took Teddy into his arms and spoke briefly with Andromeda. After a while, he decided to go to the Great Hall, as dinner was to be served shortly. He said goodbye to the older woman and left. A few minutes later, he was in the hall and joined Neville for a meal. They talked briefly about their day and then decided to relax together in their common room.