It was tense in the French Minister of Magic's office, but less so than Harry had expected. Given the fact that the last time he was here he'd been summarily kicked out of the country, he'd expected a far more chilly reception than the one he'd received. Two senior officials of Minister Liliane Roche's government had been waiting at the entrance of the Ministry to escort him to her office, and while neither had been especially chatty, they had seemed somewhat relieved to see him.
In the time since Harry had left France, the Minister had ordered a full-scale assault on all known Death Eater hideouts. These attacks had done wonders to restore public confidence in the Ministry, but they'd been frustratingly devoid of any meaningful progress against the Death Eaters. They managed to capture a fair number of Death Eaters, but none of them had any important knowledge about the true plans in France.
However, one thing that they did know was the identity of the man currently leading the Death Eaters.
When Harry had initially sent Sebastian a message, his reply had been brief and instructed Harry to send the message directly to the Minister herself. Harry had wondered if Sebastian had merely been busy with all of the raids, but it was clear from his lack of an appearance at this meeting that something different was afoot.
"Thank you for coming in on such short notice," Minister Liliane said from behind her large desk. Her tone was clipped and her eyes showed a deep weariness that Harry recognised all too often in Kingsley's eyes.
"Where is Sebastian?" Harry asked openly. He wasn't in the mood to dance around important questions like this. If they were going to take down Emile, then he needed to have someone he could trust working with him.
"Head Auror Sebastian Delacour has been placed on indefinite temporary leave," Liliane answered.
"Because his brother is leading the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.
"Because he knew this and kept the information from us," Liliane said with an accusatory tone. Undoubtedly, she suspected that Harry had known the truth for quite some time. "Regardless, you'll be dealing with me now."
Harry could stomach that. Sebastian had been his key contact and a man he got along well with, but Harry's end goal was to ultimately deal with the Death Eater threat in France. If Sebastian was out of the game, then so be it. Although, that didn't mean that Harry intended to keep the man entirely out of the loop.
"Well then, shall we get started?" Harry asked.
"Please," Liliane said, gesturing to him to continue.
"I have the location of Emile Delacour," Harry told her bluntly. "And, presumably, the majority of the remaining Death Eaters. They don't know that I'm aware of their base of operation, but they might soon, given the fact that Cyrus Greengrass is being shipped off to Azkaban. We need to prepare a strike team fast. All of your best Aurors, Hit Witches, and Hit Wizards need to be on the case."
"If you hand over the information to us, we can take it from here," Liliane said.
Harry's face twitched at that. There was no way that he was going to simply leave this case up to anyone else. Regardless of his pride, he needed to see this through. Voldemort had been such a central part of his life that he couldn't see himself not dealing with the ultimate downfall of his followers.
"That's not how this is going to work," Harry said boldly.
"Excuse me?" Liliane raised an eyebrow.
"I will be a part of this mission alongside your team," Harry stated firmly. "Even if I'm the only British Auror operating on French soil, I insist on this. This case is more important to me than you could possibly realise, and I will do anything necessary to see the Death Eaters stopped."
He could see the anger burning in Liliane's eyes. She had a remarkable poker face that kept away any extreme signs of anger or frustration, but Harry was too good at reading people to miss the subtle fury in her. Had he been in her employ, he knew that he'd have been reprimanded severely for his defiance, but he wasn't. She needed his information and they both knew it.
"If you try to keep information from us, I'll see you before an International Confederation of Wizards tribunal over your conduct," Liliane steamed.
"I understand that you don't like me," Harry said bluntly. "But I'm going to be a part of this one way or the other. The magical governments of Great Britain and France have long maintained a positive relationship for over three-hundred years, and I know we'd both hate to see that end today. Work with me on this, and I promise you that the threat to your citizens' lives will be over by the week's end."
Liliane gave him a steely-eyed stare from across her desk. She looked like she was just as willing to reach across and slap him as she was to reluctantly agree to his plan. Ultimately though, she was a politician at heart, not a fighter. She knew a good deal when faced with one, and whatever her personal feelings might have been, she was willing to set them aside for the good of her people.
"You will have no command capacity on this mission," Liliane said coldly. "Our Aurors will take charge completely; you will merely be an adviser on this mission. You will be free to charge in and fight to your heart's content, but you will follow any orders given. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Harry answered. He wasn't necessarily going to follow her words, but he understood them. Ultimately, what mattered was the end result of the mission. If he succeeded, even if it required going against Minister Liliane's protocols, she'd be forced to support him in the public eye.
"Good," Liliane replied, her tone indicating that it was anything but. "You will report to the Auror Department and inform Temporary Head Auror Yacine Paradis of the impending mission. But first, you must tell me where the Death Eaters are located."
"They're in the catacombs just outside of Place Cachée in the muggle section of Paris," Harry answered honestly.
He could see that his answer irked her. To imagine that the Death Eaters were so close to Place Cachée was the ultimate embarrassment of the magical French government. Their enemies were right beneath their noses all this time, and none of them had seen it.
"Go then," Liliane said as she spun around in her chair, facing away from Harry. "And make sure that this mission does not fail."
"Of course," Harry nodded, despite the fact that Liliane couldn't see him.
He stood up from his seat and swiftly walked out of the Minister's office with his head held high. The Aurors who guarded the doors didn't stir an inch as Harry stepped out into the waiting area beyond. He recognised the men he antagonised only a few short days ago but chose to ignore them as he headed for the lift.
Once he was locked away in solitude, Harry let out a deep breath. Kingsley had gone to great lengths to secure this meeting after Liliane had expressed how furious she was that a British Auror brought on this mission had attacked the French Ministry of Magic. Harry sympathised with her completely on that front, but he also understood the reality that he was the only one with the information that they needed to finally end things. Maybe some of his ego was leaking into his decision making, but he'd had a strong amount of agency in his life choices since he'd started at Hogwarts, and he wasn't willing to give it up now. He needed to see this through personally.
The lift took him all the way down to the level upon which the Auror Department was found. Harry passed through the familiar corridors as he headed towards the department itself.
Since the attack on the Ministry, the reconstruction work done here had been second to none. Even the rebuilding efforts at Hogwarts paled in comparison to what had been done here. Corridors that had been badly burnt and damaged looked perfectly pristine, doors and windows that had been shattered in now looked whole and freshly polished, and the flooring was cleared of all scorch marks and debris. Everything had been sanitised without any of the smell of appearance that went along with it. There was a gentle weathering to everything that gave it a worn-in look. If Harry had been unaware of the battle that had taken place, he wouldn't have had a single clue that something like that had occurred.
Many Aurors greeted Harry warmly as he entered into the department. It surprised him to find that they weren't bitter after the attack by Elwyn, but perhaps those that were chose to lurk within the shadows instead.
Temporary Head Auror Yacine Paradis had been set up in a fresh office within the main Auror room. She had a box of framed photographs still sitting upon one of the spare chairs in the room, and her desk was devoid of any knick knacks or photographs too. All there was was a stack of scrolls and parchments waiting for her to deal with.
The tall, dark-skinned witch was someone who Harry hadn't dealt with personally. He knew her as a Senior Auror within the department, but she hadn't been especially close to Sebastian. That may be the exact reason why she was chosen as his temporary replacement, Harry figured.
"Hello," Yacine said tentatively. Clearly, she still wasn't used to dealing with unexpected guests like this.
"Hello," Harry replied in kind, knowing that Yacine knew who he was. "Minister Liliane sent me down to discuss an important matter with you."
"Ah, yes," Yacine nodded as she slipped into the comfortable chair behind her desk. "I'd just received her message that you'd be visiting."
"It's about the Death Eaters," Harry told her clearly. "I know where their base of operation is; they're in the catacombs just outside of Place Cachée. Minister Liliane and I agreed that we'd prepare a strike team to assault their base."
This was a topic that Yacine was clearly more comfortable on. "Of course," she said as she slipped into the cool professionalism one could expect from an Auror of her rank. "The catacombs of Paris are cramped and narrow. It wouldn't be wise to send many Aurors in at one time."
"We'll need to get any maps we can from the muggle French government to guide us," Harry said. "Every potential exit route will need to be covered if we're going to enact anti-apparation wards."
"But of course," Yacine scoffed, insulted at the fact that Harry needed to even suggest the idea. "Such matters will be taken care of within the day."
"Good," Harry replied. "Then we'll need to prepare a team of Aurors, Hit Witches, and Hit Wizards to take down the Death Eaters."
"That will be a simple matter," Yacine said. "I have my own notes of our Aurors, and those of Sebastian. I will prepare a team and organise with the Hit Witches and Hit Wizards to gain more men and women to take on this task."
A feeling of relief crossed over Harry. He hadn't quite known what to expect with Sebastian being replaced, but Yacine seemed competent enough.
"In the meantime, your old offices have been untouched since you left," Yacine told Harry. "You're more than welcome to them until it's time for the operation to begin."
"You'd better not leave without me," Harry joked. However, his words conveyed a stronger meaning. He didn't quite trust Liliane to not try to exclude him at the last minute. He needed to get a feel out on Yacine.
Thankfully, she laughed casually, and Harry detected no sign of deceit from within her.
"We'd never dream of it," Yacine told him. "The Vanquisher of Voldemort will always have a place with us."
Harry smiled at her, and Yacine smiled back. It was good to have an understanding with another professional.
"I'll be off then," Harry said as he stood up. "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep me up to date on your preparations and when you feel it's time to strike."
"I will," Yacine promised. She stood up and shook his hand before he turned and left.
All of the stress and anxiety left Harry's shoulders as he walked back to his old offices. It was moments like today when he really appreciated the fact that they were separated from the mass of French Aurors. He needed some downtime to relax after two stressful meetings.
But the moment he stepped into his old office, he was surprised to find that it wasn't as unoccupied as he'd expected.
Gabrielle sat atop the edge of his desk with her legs crossed. She was leaned back, emphasising her figure and staring down the bridge of her nose at him.
"You're back," she said softly.
"For now," Harry replied. "I don't expect the Death Eaters to be around for much longer."
Glancing down at herself in an unusually shy manner, Gabrielle toyed with the hem of her robes. "Once this is all over…" she began tentatively. "Why not stay in France?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a single thing, a deluge of words flooded out of Gabrielle's mouth.
"I know that maman and papa would be more than happy to let you stay with them until you've found a place for yourself. And you could come work here too. You're an incredible Auror that any Ministry would be happy to have. We could even become partners. Auror partners, that is… unless you also wanted something more."
She looked up at him with hopeful eyes, and Harry internally grimaced in frustration at what he was about to have to do.
"I'm sorry, Gabrielle," he said gently. "But I can't."
"Why not?" Gabrielle asked, deflating at his words.
"My whole life's back in Britain," he explained. "It's where I grew up and where I want to keep on living. My friends and family are all there, and so is Daphne."
Gabrielle's face twitched in displeasure at the mention of Daphne. "I can be just as good to you as she is."
"No, you can't," Harry replied. "You and Daphne are two different people. You're good to me in different ways; neither is wrong."
"Then why her?" Gabrielle asked. "Why not me? Or even Fleur?"
"Because I'm in love with Daphne," Harry told her. "I've never felt as much love for anyone else compared to the way I feel about her. I want to marry her one day and start a family."
"So, I've just been a fun thing for you to fuck on the side then? It never meant anything more?" Gabrielle asked searchingly, hoping to hear anything except for the answer she was expecting.
"You mean more to me than some random woman I hook up with," Harry said honestly. "You've become a wonderful friend and colleague. Sex was something that we both mutually wanted. Daphne knows all about it, and she doesn't mind. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she invited you into our bed if you ever happened to visit Britain. But the reality is that you and I were never going to be anything more, and I think that you knew that from the start."
"Is it so bad to think that I could've changed your mind eventually?" Gabrielle chuckled sadly.
"No," Harry answered. "But I need you to know that you never had a chance."
His words were harsh, but they needed to be said. He didn't want Gabrielle to potentially misinterpret anything and keep holding onto the hope that one day he'd go to her. She was a lovely woman, but she wasn't destined to be his.
"Ouch," Gabrielle said as she pushed herself up off of his desk. She landed smoothly on her feet and smoothed out her robes. "So, when's the raid on the Death Eaters happening?"
"Soon. Within a day, perhaps."
"Am I going on the mission?" Gabrielle asked.
Harry shrugged in reply. Technically, he didn't have much of a say on the matter anymore. Maybe he could convince Yacine to include Gabrielle, but she seemed to have her own list of candidates in mind.
"Yacine is the one in charge of deciding who goes or not," Harry informed her. "The Minister is still a little mad that I kept a secret from her."
"I know," Gabrielle nodded glumly. "Papa told us everything after supper a week or so ago after he got placed on temporary leave. I understand why he did it, but still…"
"We were hoping to have your uncle in custody by now," Harry grimaced.
"Weren't we all," Gabrielle sighed. "I guess I'm off to plead my case to Yacine. If I… would it be okay to request that I partner with you again?"
"Of course," Harry said sincerely.
"Good," Gabrielle said as she slowly started walking towards the door. Her heels clacked loudly on the floor as she went, but she paused in the middle of her stride as her hand reached out for the handle. She glanced back at him with her familiar, mischievous gleam in her eyes and a cheeky grin on her lips. "Just because you're sticking with Daphne doesn't mean that we have to be over, does it?"
"No," Harry chuckled. "As long as we both understand what this thing between us is."
"You've made it quite clear," Gabrielle rolled her eyes playfully. "You'd better be ready for our next time alone, Potter, because I'm going to fuck your brain outs."
Harry laughed as Gabrielle opened up the door and walked out, swaying her hips exaggeratedly as she went.
A/N: Hey, thanks for reading! If you are interested in reading more or supporting me, check out at p atreon .com(slash) ashox