Chapter 1
The New Ministry
Two Weeks Earlier
"Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let me bring out the Head of our Auror Office. Harry Potter!" Kingsley Shacklebolt's deep voice was immediately drowned out by wild cheers from the crowd. Harry Potter walked out onto the stage that had been erected in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. He gave the crowd a smile and a wave before shaking hands with Kingsley. Some people had posters emblazoned with lightning bolts that mirrored their hero's famous scar. Harry took the podium and waited a full minute for the crowd's cheering to subside.
"Always nice to get a warm welcome", Harry said with smile and the crowd broke out into laughter. "But on to serious business." The laughter died but some of the cheers persisted. "The Minister has asked me to give a public update on the criminal known as the Hogsmeade Huntsman." The crowd fell silent at once.
"As you all know, this individual has been credited with a number of heinous crimes, including" Harry pulled out a scroll of parchment and read from it, "Four counts of pre-meditated murder, two counts of using the Imperius Curse on another human being, five counts of torture using the Cruciatus Curse, and one count of kidnapping – any one of which is enough to earn a lifetime sentence in Azkaban." Harry put down the scroll and looked out solemnly over the crowd. "Perhaps even more troubling than the crimes themselves is where they took place: Hogsmeade, the only all-wizarding village in Britain and just down the road from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A Hogwarts student was kidnapped. The center of British magical culture, and the place where we expect our children to be kept safe - plagued by a monster."
He paused here and the crowd was completely silent. Harry gave a deep sigh, "The update here is not one you were expecting. As Head of the Auror Office, I am pulling all of our aurors off the Hogsmeade Huntsman case." This was met with gasps from the crowd. Harry remained silent and the gasps turned to cries of outrage. Harry glanced offstage to his right and nodded.
"I've pulled my aurors off the Huntsman case", he yelled over the crowd, "Because they are no longer needed. We caught her this morning. Podmore, Nigellus! Bring her out!"
John Podmore and Abraxas Nigellus walked out onto the stage with a slim figure between them. She was gagged, her arms manacled behind her back. John had his wand pointed at her heart, the much taller Abraxas aimed at her head. They walked her out to center stage and turned her to face the crowd. Her pretty face wore a blank expression, almost bored. She wore dress robes of a deep emerald with silver trim around the neck, a ring and necklace whose gemstones perfectly matched her robe, and her light brown hair was braided elegantly. She looked far more like a guest at a ball than the Ministry's most wanted, but Harry's time as an auror had taught him that dangerous things often came in beautiful packages. After all, Tom Riddle had used his handsome face to hide the evil within.
"Belvina Greengrass is the Hogsmeade Huntsman and, as you can see, she is in custody!" The crowd erupted in cheers again, far louder than before. Bright flashes of light and puffs of smoke emerged from the sides of the stage where reporters for the Daily Prophet were taking pictures. "Our aurors caught her this morning trying to infiltrate the Hogwarts grounds. Phoebe Fawcett has been found and returned safely to her parents. We cannot return those she killed to life, but we can make sure she never hurts anyone else again. Miss Greengrass is on her way to a cell to await trial – Podmore, Nigellus, taker her away!" The crowd jeered and called insults as the aurors lead their charge off the stage.
Harry organized parchment on the podium then regained the attention of the crowd. "So long as there is Dark magic in the world, the Ministry will be here to protect you. So long as…" he hesitated staring at the parchment in front of him. He shook his head, cleared his throat and looked back up at the crowd. "So long as there is Dark magic in the world I will be there to defeat it." The crowd erupted into the loudest cheer yet. Harry grabbed his parchment off the podium to chants of "POTTER, POTTER, POTTER!"
Harry walked off the stage with a wave and a big smile – which slid off his face the second he was out of sight. The crowd loved him. All the magical community loved him. Famous Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One who vanquished Voldemort. And now their hero, their shield against the Darkness. He felt sick. He hadn't caught the Hogsmeade Huntsman – his aurors had. Harry just sat behind a desk while the real heroes saved the day.
Two of them approached him now. "Harry we were hoping to get a word." John Podmore and Abraxas Nigellus. They were the ones who caught the Hogsmeade Huntsman. Investigated the crime scenes, tracked her movements, planned the ambush, and ultimately secured her capture. Real heroes. They wouldn't be personally transporting her to a cell – another part of theatre for the crowd – but they were the ones who had saved Hogsmeade, kept the magical community safe. They were the ones who deserved the cheers from the crowd, not Harry the Fraud. He couldn't bring himself to look at them.
"Not now, sorry. On my way to an important meeting – unavoidable. Make an appointment with my assistant." Harry turned away in a clear dismissal and walked briskly towards the lifts, leaving two of his best behind. Unfortunately, Harry's security detail wasn't allowed to be left behind and four wizards in identical steel grey robes followed him into the Ministry proper.
The Ministry of Magic had changed quite a bit in the ten years since Voldemort was overthrown but the Ministry building itself was largely the same, with one significant change. The vast Atrium still had dozens of fireplaces on either side, allowing witches and wizards to commute via Floo Powder. It still had the lifts at the far end, with their golden grilles ready to transport a witch or wizard to the floor they needed. It was only the center of the Atrium that had changed. Harry had seen it when Cornelius Fudge was Minister for Magic. Then the center of the Atrium was home to the Fountain of Magical Brethren – a golden fountain depicting a witch, wizard, goblin, centaur, and house-elf that cast golden spots of light all over the floor and walls. That had been destroyed at the end of Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. Voldemort dueled Albus Dumbledore in the heart of the Ministry of Magic and the result of the greatest wizard duel Harry had ever seen was the destruction of that fountain. Harry had returned to the Atrium two years later when Voldemort controlled the Ministry – this time as an outlaw disguised by Polyjuice Potion and hunting horcruxes. That time the Atrium was dominated by a massive statue of a witch and wizard emblazoned with the phrase "Magic is Might" and heaps of muggles beneath them in subjugation.
Now, the center of the Atrium was a stage. The Ministry had a history of corruption and feeding propaganda to the very citizens it was supposed to serve. Upon taking the office of Minister of Magic following Voldemort's defeat, Kingsley Shacklebolt wanted to end the lies and run a Ministry transparent to the public. So he had built the stage, complete with spotlight and everything. The front of the Atrium was modified to accommodate large crowds and the Theatre of Truth, as it was called (Harry thought the name was a bit much) was freely accessible to the public and press alike. All major government bills and policy decisions were read from the stage, and quite a few minor ones as well. Mandatory stage announcements included updates from the heads of departments. The majority of department updates had no audience at all and the poor department heads went out on stage and read prepared statements to no one. Harry knew for a fact that the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation felt extremely awkward reading out loud to no one, so he always invited his wife and kids to come watch.
That wasn't the case when the Auror's Office had an update to give. Oh no, the Theatre of Truth looked more like a quidditch stadium than a place of government when Harry Potter took the stage. Half of his updates were incredibly mundane. Over a thousand people listened to Harry explain the changes to how aurors would file their expense reports.
He'd been happy to do it at first. Harry respected Kingsley Shacklebolt as much as anyone and fully supported his vision of an accountable Ministry. But lately Harry felt more like a mascot than anything else. Everyone knew Harry got huge crowds, so his speeches were written for him. Again, Harry liked that at first – he was no fan of public speaking and outsourcing his speechwriting gave him one less thing to do. But now, with his speeches calling for theatricality and bold promises, he felt the Ministry propaganda machine may have been moving again and that this time he was its mouthpiece.
But most of all, he hated the cheers. The crowd chanting his name. As Head of the Auror's Office, Harry spent most of his time behind a desk. Overseeing auror training, managing his department's budget and, of course, making appearances to the public. He hadn't done anything heroic in quite some time. The only thing worse than not being on the hunt for Dark wizards was getting all the credit for it anyway.
Harry stepped into the lift and jammed the button for level two. His four security wizards got onto the lift before the grilles closed. The security wizards were new too. Again, Harry couldn't fault Kingsley's logic. Back in the war against Voldemort, Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister himself at the time, had been assassinated. Pius Thicknesse, a high-ranking Ministry official who ultimately succeeded to the position of Minister of Magic had the Imperius Curse placed upon him and ruled the Ministry as Voldemort's puppet. It was important to keep high ranking Ministry officials safe, even if it was incredibly annoying having a bunch of grim security wizards follow you everywhere you go. Kingsley had a group of six security wizards with him at all times, so maybe it could have been worse.
They got off on the second floor and walked towards Harry's office. "Don't come in. If anyone else approaches my office contact me and don't let them in until I give the OK."
"Yes, sir." They always did whatever Harry wanted. Except when he asked them to take the night off.
The second floor had never seemed so big, it took all his self-control not to run to his office. Away from prying eyes, adoration, and these four shadows charged with protecting his own precious self – he could sit down and just be Harry, instead of HARRY POTTER. Each step felt like an eternity, but he finally pushed through a set of large oak doors and emerged into a large open area divided into cubicles. A large sign reading AUROR HEADQUARTERS hung from the nearest cubicle. The place was usually buzzing with movement and conversation but right now it was silent. All the aurors would have been at the Theatre of Truth for the announcement, the ones who weren't out on missions anyway. Harry's office was at the far end of the space, just a short walk away…
"Potter! Is that you?"
You've got to be kidding me, Harry thought.
A man strode out from a row of cubicles and walked towards Harry. He looked more like a pirate than an auror. He wore black boots, dark blue pants belted with an ornate golden buckle, a black vest over a white button-down shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up and the front open just enough for chest hair to poke out. His long hair was streaked with grey and currently pulled back in a bun. He had a couple rings on each hand and a gold chain around his neck. He had a scar that started above his right eye and went down to his right cheek – but it enhanced his appearance if anything. He smiled at Harry, revealing a gold tooth.
"It is you. Is it true what they're saying? Did they catch the Huntsman? I thought – hey, hey!"
Harry's security had moved forward, blocking Harry from this man's sight. All four of them had their wands pointed at his face.
"Relax, let him through. He's not a threat", Harry said with a sigh.
"But if I was, you four blokes certainly couldn't stop me. I'd have my wand out in an instant and you'd wake up in St. Mungo's a week later." He flicked his right hand and a wand suddenly appeared there – Harry couldn't tell if it was sleight of hand or actual magic. Harry's security team stiffened and raised their wands again.
"Enough!" Harry said, pushing his security aside. "Allec, what do you want?"
Allec not so subtly rammed a shoulder into the nearest security wizard as he turned back to Harry. "The Hogsmeade Huntsman? Has he been caught? I was out on that damn raid in Belfast, complete waste of time. I got back a few minutes ago. Everyone was gone and well…" he pointed to the highest cubicle wall in the space, which had a large display board on it. The top read HOGSMEADE HUNTSMAN, and the rest of the board was covered in colorful pins, which were currently pinning frayed string and small, charred pieces of parchment to the board.
"The Most Wanted Board has been burned clean, that has to mean an arrest." Harry nodded and Allec clapped his hands together. "Who is he?"
"He is a she. Belvina Greengrass."
Allec's mouth actually dropped open. "No way. I've known the family for years! My nephews went to Hogwarts at the same time as some of her relatives. A pureblood family as old as any, what a shame. God knows what it would do to my family if any Flints turned as Dark as this. So, what happened, how did you catch her?"
"Look, Allec, I really don't have time for this now. I've got an important meeting I've got to prepare for. Talk to John and Abraxas, they're the ones who brought her in." Harry moved to walk past but Allec cut him off.
"Potter, the real reason I wanted to talk to you was about my last few assignments. You've got me going on these piddly raids, chasing down distress calls from housewives who mistook their neighbor's curtains for a dementor. I made my bones in homicide, I- ", Allec paused and forcefully cleared his throat. "All due respect, Mr. Potter, but I've been investigating magical murders since before you were born. It's what I'm best at and it's the way I can best serve the Ministry. I know you have to follow a rotation and make sure everyone in the Department is experienced in certain situations. But I think I've done my time on these low priority assignments and I'm overdue for a high-profile case. With the Huntsman case", he paused again searching for words, "I can't argue with the results, Podmore and Nigellus got the job done, but I still feel that should've been mine. I- "
Harry raised a hand and cut him off. He'd explained his reasoning months ago on why he had Podmore and Nigellus take the Hogsmeade Huntsman case. He was in no mood to listen to Allec complain about it again. "Fine. Next high-profile case is yours. Tidy up the paperwork for this last raid and stay ready for the next thing that comes in."
"Excellent!" He said clapping his hands. "I'll have the kid handle the paperwork. I think it'll be good for Tim to get some experience on a high-profile case as well." And with that, Allec Flint turned and left the Auror Headquarters with a distinct bounce in his step. Harry agreed that a meaningful case was the next step in Tim's training, but he wasn't sure Allec was the best mentor. He made a mental note to have a different Senior Auror for Tim's next case.
Harry sighed and walked the rest of the way to his office. "Griselda, if I have any messages, don't give them to me. I-." Harry paused when he noticed the desk outside his office was empty. Griselda should have been there…except she had retired at the end of last week. Right. Harry had gone to the retirement party. He was supposed to be getting a new assistant today. Well, Podmore and Nigellus may have a difficult time leaving a message with his assistant after all. Whatever, a problem for another time. Right now all Harry wanted was some peace and quiet.
Harry entered his office and closed the door behind him. He moved toward his chair, but someone was already sitting in it.
Amanda Boot stood in the crowded Atrium staring up at Harry Potter. Everyone around her cheered for Harry as he spoke about the arrest of the Hogsmeade Huntsman, waived the signs and posters they brought depicting their hero, and jeered at the Huntsman herself when she was brought on stage. Amanda just stared. She'd never seen Harry before, but he looked exactly like he was always described: dark hair, bright green eyes, glasses and, of course, the scar shaped like a bolt of lightning. He looked so real. Everyone had grown up hearing stories about Harry Potter – but they were so fantastic that Harry was more of a mythical figure than a real human being. Amanda was eight years younger than Harry, so they never attended Hogwarts at the same time, but several of the older students during her time had. A few had even been present at the Battle of Hogwarts. But even if you ignored the defeat of Voldemort and the rescue of all magical Britain ( could you really ignore that?), even the stories of Harry in school were incredible. At age 11 he was both the youngest quidditch player in a century and saved the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort; he followed that up by finding the Chamber of Secrets, killing a basilisk and saving the school; his third year he fought off over a hundred dementors (Amanda sometimes struggled to produce a true patronus in a controlled environment, let alone against real dementors); in his fourth year he…
She was snapped out of her reverie by a nudge in her side. She glanced over at the thin, bespectacled man next to her. He nodded his red head at the podium and she looked up to see Harry Potter walking off stage to thunderous applause. Her heart started pounding in her chest. This morning she'd been more excited than ever in her life. Today was her first day as Harry Potter's personal assistant. She'd achieved top marks every year at Hogwarts, aced her N.E.W.T.s and had impeccable references. She was more than qualified for the position…at least that's how she felt this morning. Now she thought whoever chose her had made a terrible mistake. What could she possibly have to offer the great Harry Potter? He'd achieved more by age 12 than she had in her entire life!
The red headed man next to her gently grabbed her arm so they wouldn't be separated by the now dispersing crowd and gestured toward a doorway at the far end of the Atrium. That would lead them through the Theatre of Truth and into the Ministry proper.
"Mr. Potter likes a little quiet time after he's required to make these public announcements so we can take the scenic route to his office", said the red-haired man. He would know what Harry liked - this was Percy Weasley, Harry's brother-in-law. He was also the Head of the Ministry's Department of Internal Affairs and was somehow involved in hiring. The majority of Amanda's correspondence about the assistant position had gone through a recruiter but once she was one of the finalists for Executive Assistant to the Head of the Auror's Office, all further communication went through Percy. Taking the scenic route would give her an opportunity to ask Percy everything she could about the Ministry, her job, and Harry himself.
"So what exactly do you do here, Mr. Weasley? And how long have you worked for the Ministry?"
"I've been a ministry employee for fourteen years and I've been in Internal Affairs for almost ten. I switched departments just after the war and the dawn of Minister Shacklebolt's administration. The Ministry…" Percy shook his head and sighed. "The Ministry had a lot of issues when I first joined under Minister Fudge. And a lot of those issues began with the First War against You-Know-Who. The Ministry had a number of members who were traitors, they sold state secrets to You-Know-Who. Other Ministry employees were under the Imperius Curse or were blackmailed into corruption. My first job was as an assistant to a man I greatly respected but, it turned out that he used his position to violate Ministry laws (laws he helped write!) to free his son, a Death Eater in Azkaban. His actions directly benefitted the return of You-Know-Who. And I…made some mistakes as well. I trusted the wrong people and I chose the wrong side.
"I requested the transfer to Internal Affairs because I believe, more than anything else, members of the Ministry need to be able to trust one another. They have to be certain that their colleagues are working towards a better magical Britain just as much as they are themselves. The corrupt and the power hungry have no place in government and a government without the trust of its people has no place at all. I'm here to verify the people that we hire and keep an eye on current employees. I don't often get personally involved with potential job candidates but", he said with a smile, "you'll find the rules are always a bit different when it comes to Mr. Potter."
Amanda hadn't expected such a candid answer. He was so passionate about his work and it seemed so important. She felt another wave of insecurity coming on but tried to fight it off by asking another question. "What else has changed in the Ministry since the defeat of You-Know-Who? Has Mr. Potter been involved in any changes?"
Percy was leading Amanda down a long, dimly lit hallway. She could hear the rushing water over the sound of their footsteps but couldn't tell where it was coming from. "Oh Mr. Potter has spearheaded several sweeping changes that have had a profoundly positive impact on the Ministry. In fact, you're going to see one right now."
Percy led her around a corner, and she saw the source of the rushing water. She was staring at a large doorway with no door at all, but a waterfall blocked the entire entrance. Despite the constant deluge the floor remained magically dry. "What is this?
"The Thief's Downfall!" Percy roared over the waterfall. "Goblin magic, it's one of the defenses they use to protect high security vaults at Gringotts. It washes away all enchantments and magical concealments, including the Imperius Curse. Anyone entering the Ministry must walk through the Thief's Downfall to ensure they are not bewitched or otherwise concealing magical weapons. Don't worry, they have wizards just on the other side ready to dry you off. Let's go!" Percy turned on his heel and walked confidently through the doorway.
Amanda hesitated. She wasn't using any enchantments or magical concealments, so that aspect of the Thief's Downfall didn't bother her. She trusted Percy when he said they had wizards on the other side to dry them off – but could they fix her hair and makeup? She'd spent all morning making sure she looked as professional as possible on her first day. What would Mr. Potter think if she introduced herself looking like she just rolled out of bed? Well it couldn't be worse than what he'd think if she was late on her first day because she was afraid to get her hair wet. She took a deep breath and marched through the waterfall.
She emerged into the Atrium proper, soaking wet and coughing. A security wizard in steel grey robes approached her immediately. "Eyes open please." He pointed his wand directly at her left eye, a soft orange glow lighting the tip. He repeated this motion with her right eye. Amanda had no idea what he was looking for, but he seemed satisfied. The security wizard waived his wand and Amanda was dry immediately.
"Do you know where you are?"
"The Ministry of Magic."
"Do you know why you're here?"
"I am Mr. Potter's new assistant."
"Name?"
"Amanda Boot."
"You're clear, please move along and clear the doorway."
Amanda was left slightly dazed by the bizarre experience and strange interrogation. Percy was waving her over but she had to check herself first. She pulled out a hand mirror from her bag and, expecting the worst, looked at her reflection. Her makeup was pristine and not a hair out of place, these security wizards may have the personality of a rock but they sure knew what they were doing.
As Amanda walked over to Percy she looked over her shoulder at the doorway and saw two goblins with clipboards looking at the waterfall and taking notes. She turned to Percy and asked, "Mr. Potter arranged for the Thief's Downfall to protect the Ministry?"
"Yes, at every entrance. The goblins were not happy that wizards were appropriating their magic, but we came to an agreement. The Ministry returned some goblin-made artifacts and the goblins happily agreed to install the Thief's Downfall and perform routine maintenance – those are maintenance goblins inspecting it right now, as a matter of fact. As far as I know, no one besides Mr. Potter, Hermione Granger and my brother Ron have seen the Thief's Downfall in Gringotts and lived to tell the tale!" He said, chest swelling with pride.
"What other changes has Mr. Potter made at the Ministry?"
"Mr. Potter's arrival was itself something the Ministry had never seen before. As you know the Auror's Office only accepts candidates who have completed Hogwarts with extraordinary results on their N.E.W.T.s and then passed additional aptitude tests. Even then, those who are accepted are not true Aurors yet, just candidates. There is another three years of training followed by the Auror Trials – grueling tests that require aurors to complete tasks in life-or-death situations. It's rare to see a candidate complete the Trials and become a full-fledged auror before the age of 25. Mr. Potter did not complete his Hogwarts education or even sit for his N.E.W.T.s but the Ministry accepted him as a candidate because, you know, he had just defeated the most powerful Dark wizard of all time and saved the country." Percy chuckled in a satisfied way, almost if he was the one who had done all these things. "Just being accepted as a candidate is an accomplishment in and of itself, but our Mr. Potter did not stop there. He is the youngest person ever to complete the Auror Trials and later, at age 24, he was officially named Head of the Auror's Office. Alastor Moody, possibly the most famous Auror ever, made headlines when he passed the Trials at only age 24, but not even he can hold a candle to Mr. Potter!" Percy positively beamed as finished describing Harry's rise to the top of the Auror world, but Amanda felt her anxiety creeping back in.
"Once Mr. Potter had the top seat, he overhauled the Auror training program to include identifying, tracking and destroying horcuxes." Amanda's anxiety was briefly replaced by fascination. She was about to ask for more details but Percy continued talking. He seemed to like to hear himself talk, that must be a necessary trait for giving new hires a tour of the Ministry. "Most people were shocked when we announced this program for all First-Class level Aurors, but after Mr. Potter's showdown with You-Know-Who at the Battle of Hogwarts we really had no choice but to make certain information available to our Aurors."
"What happened at the Battle of Hogwarts?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Were you there?"
"I was. That night was…horrible." The look of know-it-all superiority on his face turned to a genuine frown. "A lot of people died that day. We were fighting giants, acromantulas, and dementors but the Dark wizards were the worst. There were a lot of casualties on our side…" Percy grew silent for a split second but then shook his head and spoke in a tone that made it clear the next part was memorized by heart. "But we prevailed! The Death Eaters lied about killing Harry and we had the entire magical community rally to our side: centaurs and house-elves, not to mention half the village of Hogsmeade united against the forces of Darkness. We were crushing them under sheer weight of numbers, but You-Know-Who couldn't be defeated so easily. He was dueling our best three at a time, including Minister Shacklebolt himself! But then," he stopped walking and his voice dropped to a whisper, "Harry emerged and challenged You-Know-Who man to man. It was like a gladiator match, the entire great hall watched in silence as they circled each other. Harry was so calm, so unafraid, so certain that he would win. Harry explained to You-Know-Who the mistakes he had made and why he, Harry, would inevitably emerge victorious. And Harry did exactly that – Harry blocked You-Know-Who's Killing Curse, which rebounded and killed its caster. I've never seen anything like it."
"Anyway," Percy said in his normal tone, causing Amanda to jump. "After that the potion was out of the bottle. During his speech to You-Know-Who Harry mentioned horcruxes – plural – in front of hundreds of people. They now knew how You-Know-Who had been able to return and why his features were so inhuman." Amanda must have looked slightly confused because Percy glanced at her and then asked. "Have you ever seen a picture of you You-Know-Who?" In response to the shake of her head Percy continued, "Well for your own sake, I hope you never do. You-Know-Who had snake-like features: flat nostrils, red eyes with vertical pupils. As he made each horcrux he looked less human. That's what removing a part of your soul does to a person. A person making one horcrux won't have a physical transformation as dramatic as You-Know-Who's (who had made several), but there are identifiable signs, nonetheless. That is part of Mr. Potter's horcrux training, being able to identify physical features that are the result of creating a horcrux. I'm afraid I don't know much more beyond that", Percy said with a chuckle, "And if I did, I certainly couldn't tell you! That information is reserved for Aurors who have achieved a First-Class ranking!"
"I – Miss Boot?" Percy had just noticed that Amanda was no longer walking beside him. She'd stopped in her tracks a few paces back. Any trace of excitement she'd had from that morning was gone. She couldn't do this. Harry fought off the most dangerous Dark wizard in history when he was only 17. He followed that up by becoming the youngest Auror and Department Head in Ministry history and making sweeping changes to an institution that had been around for hundreds of years. What on earth had she done? Get good grades and pass some tests? And somehow that made her capable of assisting the greatest wizard in the world? She felt like an imposter.
"Percy, I can't do this. I don't know anything! I can't do anything! I'm starting to think I was hired as a joke."
"Now, now. Don't say that." Percy walked over and offered her a handkerchief. She hadn't even noticed she had started to cry. "Just first day jitters, happens all the time."
"I'm serious, Percy," she said as she dabbed her eyes. "What can I possibly do that Harry can't do himself? I'm sure I'll just get in the way or hold him back and then I'll get fired."
"Do you know how many people applied to be the Executive Assistant to the Head of the Auror's Office? Over three thousand. The Ministry as a whole might not get three thousand applicants in a year for all its open positions combined! As you know, we required applicants to submit more than just a resume, we required personality assessments, references, and more. Part of that was to reduce the number of people who applied (which we knew would be enormous) but most of that had to do with making sure we got the best person for such an important position. I reviewed the applications myself and narrowed them down to the top 5%, which was still in the hundreds. Mr. Potter then reviewed the applications and made the final decision himself. He picked you. As for what tasks he'll give you and how you can help - I don't know, that will be up to Mr. Potter. But I do know that Mr. Potter could've had anyone in the world as his assistant and he specifically chose you."
"Did he really?"
"Yes. So, my advice for your first day? Just be yourself. That's what got Mr. Potter to select you in the first place and I'm sure that's what he wants you to bring to this job – just you. There's certainly work to be done ahead and working for someone as important as Mr. Potter won't be easy, but you should have all the confidence in the world."
Amanda found herself smiling broadly. Hand-selected by Harry Potter himself. Maybe this would be a great day after all. "Mr. Weasley, I'd like to go meet Mr. Potter."