Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year to those who celebrate it!

September 1, 1998

Shortly after parting ways with Hermione and Ginny at Kings Cross, the other two thirds of the Golden Trio found themselves in the midst of one of the largest and most significant places in the wizarding world. Two sets of timid eyes took in the sight before them.

The Ministry of Magic was infamous for having the highest traffic of wizards at any given time or day and today was no exception. Harry and Ron were only minuscule dots among the hoards of wizards, witches, half-goblins and other magical creatures as they bustled along their own respective routes. Most heads were kept straightforward or on the floor, making it apparent most everyone had memorized their paths to the point where they didn't feel the need to look up. Sure, both wizards had been here previously by other reasons or means. But this was an entirely different scenario. They weren't underage wizards anymore where if they did something wrong, detention or extra homework were the forms of punishment.

Despite the fact that they had fought a dark wizard and his entire slew of followers, Harry found nothing was more terrifying than being vulnerable to the unpredictable forces of the real world. Before, he could at least anticipate Voldemort's next move and knew of his intentions. Now, without the direct support of his professors and guardians, anything was possible. Anything was fair game.

Harry's nerves got the best of him and his voice wavered as a result. "Ron?"

"Yes?" Ron sounded equally tense.

"Is it wrong of me to say this place is terrifying even when we're not on the wanted list?"

"No..." His response was delayed as the reality of it all sank in. "—no, I think we're in agreement there, mate."

Harry took deep breaths to calm himself. The last time he remembered being this anxious for something was the day he received his letter from Hogwarts. The day that changed his life forever. "We should get going."

Ron nodded hesitantly as he did his best to follow suit. They could have easily lost each other in the midst of the crowd if they hadn't walked the same route before. The pair found themselves standing at the entrance to the current available elevator which was mostly filled with witches and wizards most of a generation older. Inconsistent expressions involving half-lidded eyes and elevated chins watched the two as they contemplated their next move. Harry gave a stiff head nod as they proceeded to shuffle in, placing themselves directly in the middle of the crowd. Once they were settled, an older half-goblin standing next to Ron tugged on his trouser leg.

"What floor, sir?" Wrinkly eyes looked up to the redhead expectantly.

Ron's eyes widened. "Uhhh I'm not sure actually." he looked over to Harry for assistance.

Harry in turn panicked and referred to the middle aged woman standing to his other side. "Excuse me, what floor is the Auror's office located?"

The lady gave him a once over before responding. "Level 2." The goblin nodded and allowed the gate to slide shut while the witch kept him and the adjacent red head under her scrutiny. "Are you in a sort of trouble?"

"No, ma'am. We're here for auror training." he explained.

He gulped when her glare tightened. "You seem a little young to be an auror, don't you think? A bit bright-eyed as well, if I might add."

He was caught off guard at her abruptness and disguised it with a shrug. "I'm just happy to be here." he desperately wanted to end this conversation.

"And you think you have what it takes?" Harry felt pricks along his spine when she spoke in an accusatory tone. It felt as if she were interrogating him for committing a crime and he did not appreciate the tone.

"I do, actually. I'm Harry Potter, by the way. Perhaps you've heard of me." he quipped.

From the very beginning, it had been a blessing as much as it had been a curse. Since his exposure to the wizarding world, his name was known throughout by all, by witches and wizards of all ages. They knew him to be the 'chosen one' and lay claim to him to be 'destined for greatness'.

The elevator lurched into motion, along with his gut. He desperately tried to shove away the growing discomfort when no one batted an eye at his admission. He was partially grateful at the overall disinterest among the audience. As if this were an every day occurrence. Nevertheless, he knew he was walking on egg shells with this random woman who hadn't provided her identity yet. For all he knew, she was a highly ranked official. Yet, she was being unnecessarily rude and for that reason, he stood his ground. Thankfully, they didn't have to stay long since he was meant to step off the next time the elevator stopped.

She simply raised a brow. "I am well aware of who you are, Mister Potter. Given that you're new here, I shall be courteous and do you the favor of informing you your reputation alone will not get you anywhere in this office. Every member of the Ministry has worked diligently to get to where they are and you will work through the ranks like anyone else." her tone was substantial and although Harry had a good half head above her, he felt only slightly smaller when she stared him down.

"I didn't expect anything less." he held her gaze as the door dinged open, neither flinching as it did so.

She only broke her icy stare to step off the elevator and onto the same floor he was getting off, much to Harry's dismay.

"This is the Auror's Office–" the goblin gestured him with a kind, wrinkly smile. "—if you lads are here for training, you'll need to head straight down the hall past the double doors until the last door on the right. Good luck to the both of you."

"Thank you, sir." Harry said graciously before he and Ron walked off the elevator and alongside one another down the long hallway.

The former winced as he recollected the events that had just conspired. "I hope that woman isn't someone I have to see too often."

"I think she likes you. Wouldn't sweat on it too much." Ron shrugged nonchalantly.

Harry forced out a laugh, "You're joking."

"Of course I'm joking. Obviously she thinks you're a menace and doesn't want you here."

"Thanks, Ron."

"Anytime, mate."

They walked through the double doors to the last door on the right. Ron turned the rusty doorknob which gave way to a small classroom. Furniture consisted of five rickety desks for students and a larger wooden on at the front of the room. The walls were bleak and coated with a hideous color that couldn't decide if it wanted to be green, yellow or brown. The decor lining the walls consisted of cobwebs and a few old portraits with cracked frames. The chalkboard remained blank and seemed to have gotten a fair amount of use since it was put up centuries ago. Bright colors were sparse and was only provided by the small stack of fairly new books on the wooden desk, standing out from the entirety of the space around them.

"Blimey. When was the last time someone cleaned this place?" Ron wondered as he lightly touched a portrait covered in dust, recoiling back when the frame made a resounding crack and fell off the wall.

"Ron—" Harry began.

"I know, I know. I'm on it." he crinkled his eyes as he reached for his wand in his pocket. "Reparo."

The broken frame repaired itself and righted its position on the wall.

The pair heard heels clicking down the hall and ran to seat themselves at the provided desks, hoping they had enough structural integrity to maintain their weight. Seconds later, the same woman from the elevator appeared. With a slight edge in her motions, she slammed the door shut behind her and walked to the front of the classroom with a stack of parchment and books in hand. Their eyes followed her as she set down the items and briefly organized the mess on top of the desk. Once she set apart two packets of parchment, she turned her attention back to the other occupants of the room while placing her hands on her hips.

The stiffness of her voice did not change from when she spoke to Harry earlier. "Good morning. I am Auror Gladys Sparrow and I will be administering your placement exam. This will determine how far along you are and where you will start with training–" A knock on the door from the other side caught her attention.

"What now?" she muttered under her breath. "You two—" she pointed her fingers between the alerted wizards. "—don't move." she pursed her lips before proceeding to the entryway.

"Another exam?" He whispered over to Harry when Auror Sparrow closed the door behind her. "—we may as well have gone back to school with Hermione."

"Come on, how hard could it be? We've passed the entrance exams, didn't we?" Harry responded with a hint of doubt in his voice.

He saw Ron nod hesitantly before he glanced back at the small stack of parchment on the large desk in front of him. Their heads jerked back to the door when the auror walked back in. She appeared more tense than when she first walked in if that were even possible. Standing behind the desk, she wanded the door shut and distributed an individual bundle of parchment to each trainee.

Once the parchment was placed on their desks, she leaned against the large one at the front, crossing her arms across her chest. "You are expected to answer each question to the best of your ability and are given one hour. You may begin."

Harry avoided her glare and hesitantly looked back down at the parchment in front of him. With shaky fingers, he flipped to the first page.

Q1) Describe the process of conducting a patronus charm.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and grinned. Easy.

Q2) List the ingredients for polyjuice potion

Also easy.

Then he got to the later portion of the exam where the questions covered a series of topics they never covered at Hogwarts.

Q11) Explain why a Fairy Elixir can be used to restart a heart.

He recalled being told Fairy Elixirs were illicit and thus there was no need to learn of them.

Q12) What is the significance of Sana Vulnere?

Sana what?

Harry blinked as his mind blanked.

How in blazes was he supposed to answer these?

Harry glanced up at the clock and hurriedly scribbled answers as his heart race with the beat of the second hand. The female auror's presence and glare through his head did not do him any favors. Once he wrote down the last few words, the parchment magically slammed shut.

"The hour is up. Quills down."

She collected the parchment from their desks and held them in a firm grasp. "Your exams will be graded in just a moment. Remain here while I find the Head Auror. He will want a word with you two." With that, she turned on her heel and stepped out of the room for a third time.

"Did you have any trouble with the exam?" Ron inquired in the same hushed tone from earlier.

Harry thought before he responded. "No, not at all. You?"

"Easiest exam I've taken yet."

Moments passed before laughter expressing their mutual struggles broke through the silence of the room. The grins faded when they heard a loud discussion coming from the other side of the door. Cautiously, they walked up to the door and pressed their ears against the wood. It was Auror Sparrow. And an unfamiliar man.

"—why do I even bother? No one is listening to me. We cannot continue to treat him as if he's better than everyone else."

"He has been through much, Gladys. Unfortunately for you, that fact alone means he isn't like everyone else. Even you have to accept that."

"We do not have exceptions here. We have a protocol. Certain rules that must be followed. A structure that I have maintained for the past thirty years."

"And you have done so brilliantly. However, things are different now. We have to take advantage of the situation while it is in our favor. He held a significant part in the war, as did his companion. We could use them."

"I don't like this, Gawain. "

Ron gasped and whispered, "That's the Head Auror. Gawain Robards."

They could hear the exhaustion in his tone."Neither do I but my hands are tied, Gladys. The war may be over but the consequences of it are still in effect. And while we're still picking up the pieces, there are members of our staff out there who are still recuperating. We need all the help we can get. I know you want answers and they could be the key to getting them."

They could practically feel her defeated sigh as if she were in the room, "Very well. I suppose you could do worse. He did fairly well on my exam."

Harry and Ron glanced at each other in shock.

"That's fantastic. And what of Weasley?"

"He demonstrates...enthusiasm. Let's just say he still could use some work but does show promise."

Harry stifled a laugh when Ron scrunched his face.

"Enthusiasm?" the red head mouthed.

"I can work with that. Do you require any assistance before I take over?"

"No, no. You have done more than enough, truly. I think it best you attend to them now. I'm sure they are curious after eavesdropping on our conversation—"

Harry felt his stomach drop to the floor.

They could hear her thick heels fade before he bellowed, "It's alright, boys. You may open the door." With guilty expressions on their faces, they obeyed.

Once the doorway was cleared, they were relieved to see it was the man by himself. His most distinctive feature was his well rounded belly. His worn, tired eyes depicted how much he had seen in his years on the job. He had a stern face with a kind smile, a welcomed contrast to their day so far.

"Mister Potter, Mister Weasley," he addressed, "I'm Gawain Robards, head of the Auror Office. I'm sure you have several questions and concerns regarding my conversation with our lovely Auror Sparrow. But first I wish to speak with the two of you in my office. There are matters we must discuss in private. You'll be permitted to familiarize yourselves with the office afterwards so I'll not waste anymore time dillydallying. Shall we?"

The wizards could not have followed suit any quicker. As soon as the Head Auror motioned for them to follow him, they jumped from their spots and walked out of the old, decrepit classroom. They paced down the hall behind him and were lead to a larger room which held several cubicles and isolated offices. This part of the headquarters seemed more updated and newer compared to the room they were in previously. An unsettling detail they were quick to pick up on was the lack of occupied spaces. The office seemed almost entirely deserted save for three or four people at their desks with stacks of parchment piled meters high.

They walked past a series of interrogation rooms until they reached the Head Auror Office. He gestured for the door to open. His office was cozy, a small intimate space of warm colors and light decor. There were moving pictures depicting him and a woman and children, others with what appeared to be past aurors.

As they took in their surroundings, Robards shut the door behind them. Harry and Ron placed themselves in seats across his desk while the elder took his place in the main chair. They waited patiently as he settled in, pleasantly surprised when he started to laugh.

"I must say Mister Potter, I am quite impressed to hear of your encounter with Sparrow on the elevator today. Not many can stand up to her and live to tell the tale." his kind smile faded with a serious expression. "—however, I must also warn you, too much backlash at a highly ranked auror may easily be interpreted as insubordination, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir. It's just that she—I don't mean to be disrespectful but she was being so—"

"Abrasive?"

Harry nodded in agreement.

Robards hummed. "She's always been that way, I'm afraid. It's also what made her an excellent auror. Though, I will say that she has become more aggressive over the past few months. As you may have gathered from our conversation and passing through the overall office, we are indeed quite short staffed given the amount of decrements the war has left us in. She suffers like the rest of us. Our numbers are spread thin with ongoing investigations and we are in need of all hands on deck. Unfortunately, what that also means is there is not anyone available to devote themselves entirely to your training. Therefore, I have managed to compromise with Auror Sparrow an alternative training protocol."

Two sets of hopeful eyes widened, "You mean—" Ron attempted to ask, taking in the information.

"Indeed. Training does typically involve fieldwork, although it is usually in the final year. However, if you are able to prove yourselves capable of following protocol within the office, you will be able to start participating with investigations and interrogations within the next few months. Keep in mind, you will have to work closely with our other aurors and perform under their supervision during the entire duration of your training period. It is also crucial that at the end of the day, you report back to me."

Harry nodded, attempting to hide his internal happiness threatening to overwhelm him. "Understood, sir."

"Very good. Now, I know the others are not a fan of your fame or title, Mister Potter but I am thankful you and Mister Weasley are here. With your entrance exams and credits from Hogwarts, you've already proven your willingness to learn and adjust. I can also say for certain you will be able to assist in ways that will be outlandishly beneficial to us."

The bespectacled wizard couldn't hide his eagerness anymore. "What can we do to help?"

His expression grew grim, "What I need you both to understand is the details of the case I am about to disclose to you must remain confidential. I don't want you telling friends or family. There are too many wizards and witches counting on us to find answers and we need to provide them as soon as possible without any information leaking to the press."

The younger wizards looked to each other as they shared a moment of understanding. Ron nodded to him, showing he was mentally prepared to accept the burden that was about to passed along to them.

Harry looked back to the elder wizard and responded with a firm voice. "Then let's get started."

For the first time in weeks, Robards felt hopeful.

Shortly after the work day ended, the pair of wizards flooed to 12 Grimmauld Place where they resided together for the time being. After they toured the office, they were introduced to the few aurors present in the department. Having to be acquainted to new faces and become familiar with new rules was when they realized how draining the day truly was. Once they arrived, they fell into their own separate routines. Ron had headed straight for the showers and Harry went to a nearby restaurant to order takeout food.

While Ron was finishing up in the bathroom, Harry was writing up a letter detailing his suppressed excitement of today's events. He started on the last paragraph as Ron walked in the living room, plopping himself on the couch next to him.

"Well that was quite the day." Ron said as he helped himself to the food set on the coffee table.

Harry snickered. "No kidding. How lucky are we? To get to work on real cases I bet you more than anything Sparrow wouldn't have even let me in the program if it weren't for Robards."

"Maybe that's not a bad thing. Can you imagine? Three years of this." his words were muffled due to his mouth having had food just shoveled into it.

"I knew what I was signing up for." he said. "Can you not talk while chewing? You're getting it everywhere." he swept the parchment clean to get rid of the crumbs for emphasis.

Ron swallowed, "Sorry. What are you writing?"

"I'm sending a letter to Ginny. She wanted to know how my first day went."

"Blimey, we just saw her off today."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "She wanted me to tell her how my day went. And I miss her. I'm sure Hermione wouldn't mind receiving a letter from you as well." he tried.

Ron nodded hesitantly and resumed to stuff his face, though less eager than before. The shift in posture did not go unnoticed by Harry who had his own growing suspicions of the couple. He had been trying to find a good time to inquire when they were alone on the status of their relationship. Now that Hermione was absent, he figured now was a good time as any.

"Ron—" Harry glanced away as he prepared to bite the bullet. "—did something happen between you and Hermione?"

He choked.

Short, ugly gasps were expelled as the redhead accidentally inhaled his food from the shock. Harry patted his back as he heaved, his face contorted with regret in regards to his poor timing.

"Why—ahem—why do you ask?" His voice was hoarse.

"I just found it interesting both of you have been rather...distant to each other lately. Like now, you don't even seem to want to write her."

"We had a long day of work and I'm exhausted." he had cleared his voice some more, sounding a bit more like himself.

"And I suppose you're going to use that excuse every day until we retire?" Harry accused.

"There's not much to tell. There's nothing to discuss so it's not very excitin—OW!" he rubbed the back of his head where Harry smacked him with an empty roll of parchment.

"Oi! Out with it mate, I thought you were happy."

Ron sighed dejectedly, "We were for a while, but—I think we want different things."

"A while? You've been together four months!"

He set his food down, suddenly having lost his appetite. "Trust me, Harry. I don't think it's meant to be."

A moment of silence carried them over as Harry contemplated his response. "Are you going to break it off with her?"

"I think I already have." Ron admitted.

The surprise was clear in Harry's voice. "When did this happen?"

"When we dropped her off this morning. I told her I hoped she found what she was looking for at school–" Not noticing the wide-eyed expression watching him through spectacles, he grunted in frustration as he ran his hands down his face. "—I dunno, mate. I wanted to give it a chance. It's Hermione we're talking about here. She's manic, sure. But she's also kind, clever, not to mention has fantastic skin—"

"Sure." Harry nodded in agreement. "—what's not to like?"

"Exactly. But something didn't—I dunno—didn't feel right."

Harry tilted his head. "In what aspect?"

Ron paled.

"Oh...there are details I'm not going to want to hear, isn't there?"

"That's a safe way of putting it."

Harry took a breath and spoke with forced confidence. "You know what? Girls talk about this stuff all the time. We should be able to as well."

Ron looked extremely uncomfortable. "You sure you want to do this, mate?"

"Absolutely not. But we're going to have to get on without Hermione somehow, yeah?"

"You have a point."

"Alright." They watched each other in an uncomfortable silence.

"So how should we start?" Harry asked.

"I think you have to start by asking me what happened."

"Right. What happened?"

"Well, one night a few months ago, Hermione and I tried to...er...have...you know…"

"Sex?" Harry offered.

"Yes...that."

"And it didn't go well I take it?"

"She wasn't really...into it."he grimaced at his discomfort.

"Did she not—" he cleared his throat. "—did she not like what you were doing?"

"I doubt it!" he exclaimed as he jumped from his seat. "I didn't have a clue what I was doing! I was so nervous and I was worried about hurting her o-or making her uncomfortable the whole time. It's a lot of work, you know? It's a lot of pressure to put on a bloke." His voice cracked by the last word, absolutely horrified as he recollected the events in further detail. "—my God Harry, I think I traumatized her!" He didn't mean to shout...or stand to pace about the room...or wave his arms around in extreme gestures as he spoke looking like a lunatic. He supposed it was a consequence of holding back his insecurities ever since that night.

It had been a while since that night.

Harry held his palms up to help Ron settle down as he continued to show signs of panicking. "Calm down, Ron. It happens. You just had some first time jitters, that's all."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "First time what?"

Harry shook his head as he smiled in amusement. "Sorry, it's a muggle expression. You were nervous for your first time..."

"Well yeah, I was. But it's more than that. I...I don't think I'm in love with her...or her with me."

"How do you mean? You've been chasing after each other for years."

"I know. Believe me Harry, I know. I don't know how else to explain it."

Harry rolled his eyes at him. He was going to have to do better than that. "Try me."

Ron pouted. "You're relentless, you are."

"You need to talk or you're never going to figure it out."

"Fine." Ron walked back over to his seat and sat down. "Look...I don't want any details on what you and Ginny have done—" he disregarded the arising blush on Harry's cheeks. "—but I'm assuming you've done it with her. And clearly you're still smitten with her."

Harry nodded with a slight smile. "She makes me happy."

"Right. Which is fantastic and I'm happy for you, mate. I really am." Harry gave a relieved smile. "That's something I didn't have with Herm—what are you on about? What is that smile?" His smile had grown to a full blown grin of mirth.

Harry let out a laugh, "Sorry, I just can't believe we're having this conversation right now."

"I know." Ron sighed, "I feel like she'd be proud of us."

"Or would mock us for making a big deal out of it."

"She does find enjoyment in our suffering."

"She sure does. It's why she puts up with us." The dark haired wizard chuckled before his expression turned serious once more. "So you're certain it's not because your first time was...less than satisfactory?"

He nodded, "Pretty sure it's more than that. We just kind of...jumped into it during the war and never really talked about it. Right when the war ended, you lot spent weeks testifying in the trials and when we finally had a moment to ourselves, it sort of...happened. She felt like she was ready. I was nervous but excited at the same time. Though, when it finally happened, nothing really...clicked."

"So you don't feel that way about her anymore?"

He shook his head. "I still love her, Harry. But I want to go back to the way it was before, when we were friends. When everything was less complicated. Thing about Hermione is, I admire her intelligence but I can't appreciate half of the things she says. I'm not intimidated that she will succeed more than me, not one bit. Maybe that's why we thought we would work well together..."

"You're worried she'll put her career before you."

Ron nodded. "I do."

"You honestly think she would do that to you?"

"I don't just think, Harry. If there's anything I know about Hermione, anyone who gets in the way of her ambition is bad news. You know she told me she could put off going to school so we could talk it out? So I could have what I wanted?"

"And you told her no."

"Neither of us would have been happy if she stayed. She would have resented me."

"You've done a lot of thinking about this."

"Course I have. She was more than my girlfriend, Harry. She was my best friend—has been for years. She deserves to be happy and I won't be the one to hold her back."

Harry was taken aback at the courage his friend had at the moment. "That's big of you, Ron."

He smiled sadly. "Thanks."

"Cheer up, mate." A comforting hand patted his shoulder. "You'll find someone, I'm sure of it."

Ron shook his head. "This sounds a lot like fourth-year-me, but it's not me I'm worried about."

"What? You're worried about her?"

"Well yeah. I'm wondering if she'll take my words to heart. When I told her to find what she was looking for."

"Another bloke, you mean?"

The redhead nodded.

Harry snorted. "She's a war hero. I don't think she'll be short of attracting attention."

"Yeah, but it's Hermione we're talking about. Can imagine there are that many blokes who would be enough to keep up with her?" Ron grinned.

Harry squinted as he quickly ran through a list of fellow classmates in his head and came up empty. "I suppose that's true."

"Not only that, it's not like she's shown much interest in others. Who else has she been daft about besides Krum and I?"

"No one that I know of." he responded.

"Well, maybe Hermione can finally have a school year to focus on her studies for once. Without having to worry about Voldemort, keeping you out of trouble, or getting worked up over a bloke, yeah?" Ron asked apprehensively.

"Let's hope so." Harry patted his shoulder once more before he stood and walked away with the sealed up letter, preparing it to be delivered via his new owl. He heard the noises of Ron happily eating away before he exited the living room and headed for his bedroom.

Since Hedwig had passed, he had received an owl as a gift from an anonymous source a few weeks ago. He suspected it was from Hagrid or one of the faculty members, though McGonagall had told him no one admitted to being responsible for the courteous gesture. Easily spotting her perched by his bedroom window, walked over and petted her. A light smile grew as she nuzzled his palm, feeling a faint sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this before. Suddenly, glimpses of a particular blond petting the same breed of owl flashed across his vision.

Then he remembered.

That same blond had this breed of owl bring him sweets all throughout their first year. He also recalled seeing the rear of a platinum blond head keeping his distance at the Kings Cross earlier that morning, as if he were purposefully avoiding them.

Harry's smile faded.

A/N: This chapter was actually really difficult for me for some reason. I know this is really Harry/Ron heavy but they won't be making much of an appearance until the middle-to-the-end of the story.

Something I think worth mentioning, there isn't much Ron bashing if any. In my opinion, he's always been a reasonable person as a character but was never quite the right fit for Hermione. Also, get excited because in the next chapter, we're kicking it into gear and finally getting to the good stuff! I know I'm excited :D