2002, Ministry of Magic, Auror Office, Harry Potter's Cubicle (Which Ron Weasley Insists Is Slightly Bigger Than His and Is Still Annoyed About)
Sometimes, Harry sincerely regretted becoming an Auror.
Looking across at Ron, who had barely finished reading the memo, he could tell his friend was just as annoyed, although for slightly different reasons. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had spent months planning a small holiday where their times all overlapped, but the Minister and the Magical Congress of the United States obviously didn't share the trio's concerns.
It had taken no small amount of effort and favours to organise their holiday times to overlap and plan their break. Harry had just wanted a chance to get away, but Ron had gone all out and begun practising cooking on a campfire and planned meals to make for them. It was all he'd talked about for the past few days.
They both knew Hermione was almost as desperate for a decent break as Harry, "Working to rebuild the Ministry almost single handedly will do that to you," Ron had joked a while ago.
"You'd think that four years after defeating You-Know-Who, all this would die down a bit." He'd grinned, but it fell flat.
Harry didn't need to even look at his best friend to know how gutted he was, but it wasn't like these memos were unusual. Most of the Aurors recruited in the '98-99 intake–members of the DA and the Order, along with those who were there - were treated with an awed respect by most other Ministry workers, and especially some of the less senior Aurors. Although to be fair,this mostly stopped after the first few months, and they were treated as colleagues. But this didn't hold up on the international scene.
Requests for the "expertise" of the mostly 17 and 18 year olds came from all over the world; apparently Voldermort and his Death Eaters caused enough problems in Europe (and beyond) that defeating him had elevated them from mere Aurors to experts, regardless of age or actual experience. It was funny when everyone first received their "expert memos"–Ron thought it was a joke from George, and to be fair, it was funny seeing Neville's expression to being called an, "expert Auror consultant." It didn't help that he had green skin and massively swollen nose, courtesy of a training exercise gone wrong earlier that could still make Parvati crack up with his retelling.
The memos and requests had eventually tailed off for everyone–except Harry. Three years after joining the Auror department, he would still get the annoyingly consistent memos asking for his expertise. Nine times out of ten it was to give the appearance of a serious investigation.
At first it was funny; even he'd cracked up during the first dozen or so requests, and endured the inevitable ribbing. But the letters and memos just carried on, and it didn't half remind him of his sixth year. Eventually he began burning them as soon as he saw any "international" memo come through to his cubicle. He became much more snappish on days when he received the inevitable pile of memos and letters.
Eventually Ron, who was the only other Auror that received half as many requests as Harry, stormed into Robards' office. No one knew what was said, but after a week most letters and memos had stopped, and although sometimes a few came through, plenty of the DA were willing to take up the slack for Harry there. Whatever Ron had or hadn't said, the git was incredibly tight-lipped about it. Harry'd bought him a firewhiskey the next week.
Harry looked at his best friend, then at the memo again, huffing. He knew Ron and Hermione were looking forward to their break. It was supposed to be their own week away to actually see each other properly and relax, instead of bumping into each other to trade a hello or a quick lunch that was barely long enough to grab food before getting back to their offices.
"I guess that's our camping trip then." He said. Maybe they could push it back a few months. But staring glumly at the memo, he knew their holiday plans would be delayed for much longer than a few months. He now felt more sympathy for some of the older Aurors that grumbled about short-notice and, "bastards taking my holiday away."
Most likely the camping trip wouldn't happen for a year or more now. Both Harry and Ron knew that Hermione was swamped with work, and they had only just begun making a dent in the mountain of cases Kingsley wanted the Auror Office to look into. Even Robards was being pulled into the field for some cases.
"Yeah." Ron tried to look optimistic. "And anyway, at least you'll get to see says it's mental, some of the things over there." Seamus had been called over to MACUSA as a consultant a few months ago, on... something. Honestly, no one but Seamus, Parvati, and Robards really knew anything about it, but Seamus wouldn't let go of the strangeness of things in Muggle America compared to Britain. He also mentioned, strictly out of earshot of Parvati, that American girls found his accent "cute," with a grin at Harry.
The only reason Seamus was in America was because Harry had managed to evade that particular role, but apparently that hadn't worked for long. The memo explicitly requested Harry, and no one else, as a consultant for a number of strange cases that were appearing throughout the magical USA.
To all of the Aurors in the 98-00 intakes, "strange cases" were code for "probably Death Eaters, but let's not scare people." That more than anything else–travel expenses, expensive sounding hotels, supplied food-meant that Harry wasn't going to turn it down, even if he could've.
Ron and Hermione understood, he just hoped Ginny would.
2002, Ministry of Magic, Head Auror Office (Which Seamus Knows Has Multiple Firewhiskey Stashes Hidden For Particularly Long Days)
It was a little after 1 P.M. whenHarry made his way to Robards' office for the meeting. In the three and a bit years Harry had been an Auror, he could count on one hand the number of times he had actually been into Robards' office. The Head Auror never could let go of his dislike of "the bloody desk," and so limited the time he and his Aurors spent in the office, except for certain occasions–especially those involving the Minister or other visiting dignitaries. It was something that Harry admired about the man, he knew that he, and most of the DA, would act the exact same way.
He'd barely opened the door when Robards' voice boomed,Ah, Mister Potter, punctual as usual. Come in, come in."
That meant that Kingsley was already in the room; Robards' usual greeting was more along the lines of "get your arse in here," but the Head Auror was particularly deferential to the Minister. Kinglsey had remarked during one get-together that Robards was the one of the few Aurors that he greatly respected, the feeling was obviously mutual.
The door shut soundlessly on its own after Harry entered–an impressive piece of Charms that Rufus Scrimgour had installed—and Harry made his way to The Desk, which Kinglsey and Robards were sitting behind, leaving an empty leather chair opposite them. Harry quickly sat down, getting the unnerving feeling that he should've made sure his robes weren't creased, and spoke first.
"Morning. The memo you sent mentioned a meeting and an indeterminate time as consultant for MACUSA, Head Auror, Minister."
Harry knew that Robards was particular about Auror meetings in his office—the invitee would be the first to greet everyone, and then mention the reason they were having the meeting—so that Robards, or whoever else was chairing the meeting, could then give further details.
It was good training for interrogations, too, and kept the younger Aurors from looking too gormless, according to Robards. Seamus thought it was just because Gawain secretly enjoyed the theatrics of it.
"Harry." Kingsley smiled at him. "It's good to see you keen to take this particular case on. To be honest with you both, everything we have looks like Death Eater sympathisers more than anything, but we can't rule out that one of the Six could be causing trouble."
The Six were the six Death Eaters that had escaped the Battle of Hogwarts. Every Auror had a sheet with their faces on it in their cubicle somewhere. Dolohov, Avery, Rookwood, the Snydes, and Rossart. It was one of the standing orders in the Auror Office; if any of the Six were thought to be involved in any investigation, the Head Auror and another Auror team were to be notified immediately.
"Minister, forgive me if I'm wrong, but this doesn't follow the Standing Oorders regarding the Six."
Harry knew that any Death Eater sighting meant that at least three experienced Aurors would be sent to investigate. He knew that he was good, but had enough humility to know that he was not considered "experienced" just yet, and nowhere near the level to substitute for three other Aurors. He looked between Kingsley and Robards. The Head Auror's frown lessened slightly at Harry's knowledge of the standing orders.
"You are correct, Harry, and if this were a case occurring in Britain then we would follow the relevant Standing Orders. However, MACUSA feels that they are able enough to deal with this situation with one expert consultant."
Kingsley smiled gently at that, while Robards, out of Kingsley's vision, now scowled. Everyone knew that Robards could be an arse about proper procedure—it was what made him such a good Auror—and he would only tolerate breaks in his rules under exceptional circumstances. Something he made clear that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the DA did not automatically fall under.
The investigation must have been more significant than Harry thought if protocol was being broken so easily. He scrupulously kept a blank face—anything that Robards could interpret as him being smug or expecting such a case would be used against him mercilessly in training exercises; no one could hold a grudge like Robards.
"Minister, that doesn't quite answer my question. Why me in particular? There's plenty of Aurors here who served through the First War and resisted in the second. Surely me getting Voldermort shouldn't still be such a .. thing."
Harry barely kept himself from raising his voice at the end. Everyone knew that he hated the attention from being the Boy-Who-Lived—that moniker just wouldn't go away.
Whilst Robards now turned the full force of his scowl in Harry's direction(the Head Auror's scowl was a terrifying thing in itself)Kingsley just relaxed into his chair.
"Yes, that is the crux of the matter. Harry, this isn't only due to your fame from defeating Voldemort; in Magical American history they hold a high regard for the initial twelve Aurors and their families."
Kingsley paused at this, seeing that Harry was visibly more confused than before. "MACUSA particularly wanted you, as the name of one of the original twelve was Abraham Potter."
Harry's eyes began darting back and forth.
"Wait, I have famil—"
"No, no, Harry, I'm sorry to say. Well, not particularly close family at any rate, I think you are far more closely related to the Weasleys or myself than the American Potter family. Back to the main point. Abraham Potter was unfortunately killed in the line of duty, and as both one of the twelve—and someone who died in a particularly heroic manner, according to subsequent MACUSA reports—the fact you are both an Auror and a Potter is of much greater importance to MACUSA than your more famous exploits personally."
Harry sunk back into the leather. When Kingsley had first mentioned a Potter family branch in America, he'd begun to rise out of the chair. Part of him was still desperate for any family connection outside of the Dursleys.
"Now that you know the reason behind your selection for this consultant position, Robards phrased it like there had been a choice, when realistically the three men in the room knew that it was a demand. "We can get onto the details we have about the investigation."
What followed was a typical Auror briefing—it was almost possible to forget that Kingsley was the Minister for Magic, and not another experienced Auror reading over another investigation.
There had been a number of muggles that insisted they were attacked by something none of them could remember. A few dozen all giving eerily similar reports across a number of states, but at different times that could be plotted out on a map. Whatever was causing their experiences, it was moving across the states at approximately walking pace, consistent with a grudge-holding wizard that couldn't apparate.
"Doesn't that rule out the Six, since we know they can all aparate?" Harry asked when that piece of information was revealed.
"Well, usually it would, but MACUSA are particularly strict about monitoring apparition across state boundaries, so anyone unfamiliar with American geography, but familiar enough with their Aurors wouldn't apparate anyway out of caution. This eliminates a number of American criminals."
"But it doesn't eliminate all of them, or some Canadian, or whoever might be trying to push their luck." This came from Robards. "So this might be one of the Six, or it might be some idiot sympathisers. This damage either takes one Death Eater or a number of idiots."
"Let's hope it's just the idiots, then." Harry grumbled. Yes, he'd joined up to put Death Eaters back in Azkaban, but sending one Auror, regardless of who it was, against any Death Eater was flat out stupid. For his own safety, as well as sanity, he hoped it was just a number of idiotic sympathisers stirring up trouble in the US.
"We all do, Harry."
Kingsley's voice was incredibly serious, definitely at odds with the smile he'd been wearing a minute ago. Harry continued to think as Robards listed his "itinerary" like he was going for a holiday. If it was a Death Eater, then regardless of what national team was supposedly with him, it was unlikely to end up in an arrest – no other Auror department had to deal with anything like Voldermort or his Death Eaters, they simply wouldn't have the instincts, or trust in their foreign consultant, to apprehend them.
"Potter, are you paying attention at all?" Robards fixed him with a flat look.
"Sir, with respect, I'm going over there as a consultant, and we all know that the last few investigations MACUSA called us out on were just for show. I can go through the itinerary in my own time, wouldn't our time at the moment be better used going through the actual investigation leads, in case it is one of the Six?"
Kinglsey just grinned at this, sharing a knowing look with Robards, who didn't look happy about it.
"Harry, you've come to the problem. None of the evidence we've outlined actually looks anything like the usual curses we've seen Death Eaters perform, either in the First or Second Wars. MACUSA is being cagey about some of what we have seen—"
"Wait, so what in Merlin's name do MACUSA expect us to do, then?" Harry couldn't believe this.
"I think they want what they got on the previous consultations." A face for the papers and international acknowledgement that they are moving in the right direction. So the itinerary and all that gumpf is required." Robards was never a fan of the media, or anything that got in the way of his Aurors doing their jobs.
"More than likely, you won't even need to use your wand." He directed this part at Harry, with something that could've been approximated to a commiserating look. The Head Auror was simply too battle-worn and fierce to be able to pull off commiserating.
"I don't know, Gawain, I don't think the Harpies would mind too much if he did." Kingsley said this last part with a grin at Harry. They both knew that the recent Harpies/Eagles game, part of the Harpies charity tour last year, ended with no love lost between both teams. Gwenog Jones was famous for holding grudges, as were a number of Weasleys. Harry knew that Ginny for one wouldn't mind at all if Harry ended up hexing a number of the Iowa Eagles players.
Harry sighed. He was being sent to America to be a performing Pygmy Puff, would probably be guilted into staying in some pointlessly fancy hotels, and was losing his actual planned holiday with his best friends.
Some days weren't worth the tea it took to get out of bed.
A/N:
so a few notes on the timeline since previous comments were confused about the timings of things
HP universe - everything takes place as canon (1991, Harry joins Hogwarts, 1998 Deathly Hallows Final Battle takes place)
PJO universe - since we don't know exact dates (Rick hasn't given firm dates for anything), I'm saying that The Lightning Thief took place in the summer of 2007, so
in 2002, Percy and Annabeth are both 7 years old in the summer of 2002, Luke is 14, Thalia is 12, and Harry is 21 (will turn 22 in the summer of 2002)
as of this chapter, Luke/Annabeth/Thalia have NOT reached CHB yet and have NOT met Grover
My fic PJO timeline: 2002 annabeth is 7, Thalia 12, Luke 14 - for Thalia to be 12 in 2002, she was born in 1990, luke born 1988, Annabeth/Percy born 1995)
1999
Auror Office puts away most Marked Death Eaters except the Six, trials commence
More DA join Auror Office (after staying on for '8th' year) (Neville, Parvati, Terry Boot, Dean Thomas, people from Ginny's class/year)
Luke 'runs away' from home, returning occasionally for supplies (never completely runs away until he meets Thalia)
2000
Trials continue, many of Voldermort's international followers and collaborators have been identified, Auror Office begins sending DA members (Harry, Neville, Ron, Seamus, Parvati mostly) out internationally as experts and consultants and to track down some of Voldermort's remaining Marked followers
Thalia runs away from home after Jason's 'death' (Thalia is 10, Jason is 2), survives on her own entirely until she meets Luke sometime in the fall
2001
Most of Voldemort's Marked followers and major backers have been identified, and most reside in Azkaban for varying lengths of time (except Draco Malfoy), the hunt for the Six remaining Marked Death Eaters continues, every Auror has pictures of the Six on their desks
Most of the DA outside of the core Gryffindors (Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville, Parvati) leave or move onto other Ministry Departments/gain qualifications for more stable/less demanding jobs (Auror paranoia)
(Auror Office now drops to around twelve Aurors including Robbards)
'Some Muggle war' begins, causing smuggled cuneiform curse tablets to begin to appear in Southern Italy and Madrid near the end of the year, the UK Auror Office doesn't take much notice
Harry is polyjuiced and chaos is caused in Magical Madrid, eventually stopped by efforts of combined Spanish, French and Italian Aurors with Dwalish and Harry assisting; Dwalish looses his left foot and three fingers and is assigned more desk work from that point onwards, and develops a rivalry/dislike with Harry
2002
The cuneiform tablets, among other cursed objects, have made their way to the UK, and the Auror Office now begin paying attention, the possibility that the smuggling operation is connected to one of the Six is one of the less outlandish theories that they are working with (in reality without the possible involvement of the Six, this may have taken much longer to be investigated)
Fic starts in the SPRING (April time) of 2002
