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Author: Zelthian Story: The Lover's Bond Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 6 Words: 29,415
The clock alarm woke Ginny and Harry up at 6:00. Normally Harry would have been disappointed that he had to get up this early, but not today. He and Ginny both woke quickly. Ginny put her dressing gown on, gave Harry a quick hug and kiss, and Apparated back to her room at the twins’ flat. Harry showered and shaved, then returned to his room to put on his new robe and hat. He looked at himself in the mirror, admiring the way it brought out his eyes, wondering what Ginny would say when she saw him in it. Satisfied, Harry went to his study. He made a quick check of his foe glass, then grabbed the various dark detectors that he could fit into his robe pockets. The tailor was right; the robe had too many to count. It seemed that as Harry went to put each item away, a pocket presented itself in Harry’s mind; all he had to do was move his hand to the area of the pocket, and it appeared. He now understood why the robe cost what it did. Lastly, Harry grabbed the book Moody gave him. Unsurprisingly, the robe had a pocket for that, too. Harry made sure Hedwig’s cage was clean and had fresh water and food, then left for the twins’. Harry arrived at the lift the same time as Hermione. Her voice was the same, but pretty much everything else was different. Her hair was pulled into a simple ponytail hooked with an elegant clip. She was wearing makeup, which Harry had only seen her do at the Yule ball, except this time it was understated. Her robes were a casual business style. All in all, it was very Hermione. “Wow, Hermione! I think we’ve finally found your look,” Harry said with glowing approval. Hermione blushed a little. “I feel like a penguin in this outfit. I wish I could just go in my regular robes, but this is the Ministry after all.” “You look incredible,” Harry added. Hermione continued to blush. “Look at you, where did you find those robes?” “Oh, the tailor found this for me. He said he had it made for another Auror, but he didn’t like the material.” “It brings out your eyes. Ginny’s going to love it. You look very handsome.” Now Harry was blushing. “Oh, stop. I don’t look half as good as you.” Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling. “We’d better get up there, I can’t imagine what Moody would do if we were late.” They went up the stairs and walked into the main room. Fred and George were in the kitchen, but the main room was empty. When they turned around and saw Harry and Hermione, they both spit their coffee out in unison. “Sweet Merlin,” George said. “What the devil?” Fred said. “What?” Harry and Hermione said together. “I had forgotten how well you clean up, Hermione. Right smart getup,” George offered. “Uh, thanks, I guess,” Hermione replied. “Harry, you’re in Slytherin colors,” Fred pointed out. The room got very quiet. Hermione and George joined Harry in staring Fred down. Fred looked back and forth between the three of them. “Well, they are!” he added. Harry sighed. “You’re absolutely right.” George snapped his head around to look at Harry, dumbfounded. Hermione turned her stare to him. “We’re not at Hogwarts anymore. I can wear whatever I want. Just because these are Slytherin colors doesn’t mean anything. These robes were made for another Auror who didn’t like the material. I liked it; I thought I looked decent in it; so I bought it.” “The colors bring out his eyes,” Hermione added. “All right, all right, don’t jump down my throat, I was just sayin’…” Fred capitulated. Just then, a door opened, and Ron came walking out in his new robes. As he came around the corner, he spotted Hermione, who seemed to spot him at the same time. Harry watched with much satisfaction as they gave each other the once-over. Harry nearly laughed out loud watching them try to find words. Hermione started blushing fiercely. She forced herself to take the three steps necessary to stand right in front of him. She grabbed his face and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. After a few seconds, she pulled away a bit and whispered something into Ron’s ear. Harry couldn’t hear what she said, but whatever it was, it made Ron’s entire head turn red, ears and all. “HERMIONE!” Hermione pulled back to face Ron. “Yes, my handsome prince?” Ron swallowed with an audible gulp. “Uh, well…” He looked her over again quickly. “You look really sharp.” “Why thank you,” she replied slyly. “Maybe you two should take a few moments alone in a room before you go,” George suggested. Harry gave George a glare, then a smile. “Where’s Ginny?” he asked, hoping to change the subject. “I dunno; she hasn’t come out yet,” Ron answered. “I’ll go check on her,” Harry declared. To his surprise, Hermione didn’t offer to go. She seemed too interested in Ron at the moment. She and Ron started discussing their new robes as Harry headed for Ginny’s room. He stopped outside her door and knocked. “Who is it?” Ginny’s voice asked. “Harry.” There was a pause. “Come in.” Ginny sounded like she had resigned herself to something. Harry opened the door slowly and looked in. Ginny was standing there, dressed in what had to be her hospital uniform. Harry had forgotten what they looked like. They were white, of course, loose-fitting, and very, very old-fashioned. She didn’t look bad, but the outfit wasn’t flattering at all. Harry didn’t say a word, but she perked up a little bit when she saw Harry’s robes. “Well, well. Hey there, handsome!” “Hi sexy; about ready to go?” Ginny winced. “Right. Sexy. I’m about as sexy as a bleached gnome.” Harry felt pity for Ginny. He, Ron and Hermione had some freedom as to what they could wear. Ginny, on the other hand, was bound by the dress code at St. Mungo’s. There was a specific uniform for hospital workers, and for her internship she had to wear the uniform of an entry-level hire. Harry walked over to her, firmly pushed her shoulders so that she faced him, gave her a gentle kiss and held her close. “You look fine. Just remember, everyone at St. Mungo’s wears this. Though I must say, I bet none of them look as pretty in it as you.” Harry leaned over to whisper in her ear, “Besides, I know what you look like underneath them.” Harry pulled back and watched the fruits of his labor. Ginny was blushing wildly, but giving Harry a sly look. Ginny had teased Harry enough; he couldn’t have passed up this opportunity to get even. Her face slipped into a ‘thanks for being so understanding’ expression as she leaned in to kiss him again. “Thanks, Harry.” “Anytime. It’s almost 7:30, we’d better go.” Ginny nodded, and they headed for the main room. Moody was already there when they arrived. Ron and Hermione had gone back to behaving themselves. Moody’s magic eye swung around to examine them as they approached, but stopped dead on Harry. It bounced up and down along his cloak. After a second of this, Moody turned toward him to get a better look. He actually tilted his head to look down at Harry’s feet, then up to his shoulders. Harry knew instantly that he was examining his cloak. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but Moody cut him off with a simple wink. “You four ready to go then?” he asked. They all nodded. Moody lead the four of them to the Floo fire, instructing them to go to St. Mungo’s first. Harry escorted Ginny to the reception desk. Ginny gave the receptionist her name and told her she was starting her internship. The receptionist said Ginny was expected and asked her to wait just a moment. Before long, a healer arrived to escort Ginny back into the hospital. Ginny gave Harry a goodbye hug and kiss, and then left with the healer. Moody and company then Flooed to the Ministry, where they checked in at the front desk. They made their way to the lifts and pushed the respective buttons for the floors they needed. Harry smiled as he watched Ron and Hermione ponder the interoffice messages they kept flittering around everywhere. The lift stopped at level seven first, which was Ron’s floor. He gave Hermione a hug and a kiss which she seemed a bit reluctant to break off, but she eventually relented. The lift door closed and they continued down, stopping on the fifth level. Hermione hugged Harry, and then waved as she exited. The lift continued down for a bit. “They’re awfully taken with each other,” Moody said out of nowhere. Harry was so shocked that Moody was commenting on the subject that he almost forgot to answer. He smiled and said, “You should have seen them at school; always arguing, always bickering. Everyone knew they liked each other. It took them long enough to admit it to themselves, though.” Moody smiled knowingly then went back to his usual suspicious stare. The lift finally stopped. The doors opened, and Harry was again looking down the hall on the floor of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Moody walked out of the lift, and Harry followed. Moody went in a complete circle around the cubicle area at the end of the hall before coming to a stop in the cube nearest the hall that led to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office where Mr. Weasley worked. “You’ll be holding up here with me, Harry,” Moody explained. Harry scanned around before whispering, “I thought you were just in the Order. Have you come out of retirement?” Moody chuckled. “Well, officially I’m just a trainer, but I guess you could say that. After Voldemort’s break-in, Fudge became eager to bring in those who could help defend the Ministry, especially if they had a track record, even if certain… erm, incidents had to be overlooked.” Harry hadn’t noticed, but while Moody was talking, an audience had gathered around them. “Welcome to the D.M.L.E., Harry,” said a witch with bright pink hair and a ripped Muggle T-shirt as she stepped forward to greet Harry. “Good to finally have you officially on-board.” “Tonks!” Harry said happily, shaking Tonks’ hand. Tonks’ hair was neon green and short today. “Thanks, it’s good to be here.” “Harry, you remember Kingsley?” Harry nodded, shaking Kingsley’s hand. “And this, Harry, is our department head, Amelia Bones.” Harry turned to shake Mrs. Bones’ hand. The last time Harry had seen her was at his hearing following the Dementor attack at Privet Drive. “Good to finally meet you, Harry. Especially under much better circumstances.” “It’s an honor, Mrs. Bones,” Harry said sincerely. Mrs. Bones beamed at Harry. “Okay, Harry, besides our official operating procedures, we have a few house rules here. Rule number one: We refer to each other by first name here. So please, call me Amelia.” “Yes ma’… uh, Amelia.” Calling Mrs. Bones “Amelia” felt very weird to Harry. It was starting to sink in, finally, that he was no longer a student, but now an official Ministry employee. “That’s better. Now…” She said, looking around the office, then around to those assembled at the cubicle, then back to Harry, “under normal circumstances, Auror training takes three years once the proper NEWT levels have been achieved. However,” she beamed even more, “As I understand it, you already have an impressive resume in the area of Defense Against the Dark Arts, which includes your Auror experience to date. I would like to review this record in the presence of those here assembled. Any objections?” “Yes!” said Harry. “Nope,” said Tonks. “No,” said Kingsley. “Not I,” said Moody. They all looked at Harry, almost daring him to continue his objection. Harry sighed. “Oh, okay, if you must.” Amelia beamed once more. She unrolled the parchment she was holding and, placing her finger on a spot near the top, began to read. “Hogwarts, year one. With assistance from his friends, successfully broke through the defenses of the various professors of the school and retrieved the Sorcerer’s Stone which had been expertly hidden there.” There was a pause as Amelia slid her finger down the parchment she was reading from. Harry had the impression she paused on purpose, but he said nothing. Amelia continued. “Hogwarts, year two. Discovered he had the ability to speak Parseltongue, which he used to ward off an attack of a large snake against a fellow student. Participated in a mission to penetrate the Slytherin house common room for the purposes of information gathering. Successfully determined the proper source of information as to the whereabouts of the Chamber of Secrets. Led a rescue mission to recover the kidnapped Ginny Weasley. Single-handedly killed a basilisk. Destroyed a dark magic artifact, resulting in the destruction of the reincarnated memory of Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Voldemort.” Tonks let out a low whistle. “Busy year, Harry.” “Isn’t that when Gryffindor’s sword reappeared?” Kingsley added. “Yeah, I pulled it from the Sorting Hat. Fawkes brought it to me.” The wizards murmured among themselves before Amelia continued. “Hogwarts, year three. Learned the Patronus Charm, which he used to successfully save himself from a Dementor attack. Led a successful mission to rescue a hippogriff and then-convicted-murder Sirius Black, whom it was later determined had been falsely accused of the murders which had actually been perpetrated by Peter Pettigrew.” “You learned the Patronus Charm in your third year?” Tonks asked. Harry shrugged. “Hogwarts, year four. Through various means, won the Triwizard Tournament along with Cedric Diggory. Faced down Voldemort and a certain number of Death Eaters, again single-handedly. Survived to return not only with Diggory’s body at great personal risk to himself, but also as a witness to the world that Voldemort had returned.” The room was silent after this statement. “Hogwarts, year five. Led a secret and illegal Defense Against the Dark Arts group at Hogwarts in violation of an official Ministry Educational Decree. Led a rescue mission to the Ministry of Magic to free a captured Sirius Black. Upon discovering his mistake, held off a group of Death Eaters until help could arrive with the help of some friends.” Harry wasn’t looking at anyone now. “Hogwarts, year six…” “I think we’ve heard enough, Amelia,” Alastor stated. Harry was relieved. “But his record is so impressive…” “That is not in question, Amelia. Perhaps you should move on to the point,” Moody suggested somewhat firmly. Amelia looked at Harry and cleared her throat. “Right, well, as I was saying, normally three years of training. However, after reviewing your record of experience presented by Albus Dumbledore, and your NEWT marks, we have decided to put you on a specially-paced advanced track.” Harry looked up at Amelia. “Advanced track?” “Well, yes, you see, under normal circumstance, wizards and witches join the Auror squad with absolutely no experience or history with the Ministry. This, obviously, does not apply to you. Your experience gives you much credit for the work you would have been doing anyway in your training, so the review board thought it unnecessary for you to revisit this work. Also, though you seem to have a penchant for attracting trouble, many wizards have come forth to attest to your character, loyalty, trustworthiness and, of course, your attitudes towards dark magic. As a result, we believe we need only to teach you our procedures, our tactics, and our advanced magic techniques and potions before you’ll be ready to take your qualification tests.” Harry let Amelia’s words sink into his mind. “How long do you think that will take?” Amelia smiled. “Depending on how fast you pick things up, I’d estimate you could start your trials in nine to twelve months.” Harry was in shock. “But, wouldn’t that mean…” “…Not only would you be the youngest Quidditch player in a century, you’d be the youngest Auror in wizard history,” Tonks finished for him. Harry looked at Alastor. “Took me two years, Harry,” he answered before Harry could ask. Amelia looked around again before continuing. “In light of the testimony brought forth by Albus Dumbledore regarding the prophecy related to Voldemort, Alastor has been given full control of your Auror training curriculum. It has been reviewed and approved by myself and the Minister. Also, since you have joined a certain, erm, organization with Alastor, Kingsley and Tonks here, Kingsley and Tonks have agreed to become Alastor’s assistants during your training. Any questions?” Harry looked to Kingsley, Tonks and Alastor in order. They all beamed him a big smile. Harry turned back to Amelia. “Just one: Where do we begin?” Harry spent the rest of the day touring the Ministry. Alastor had showed Harry how to modify the Silencing Charm to create a bubble of silence around the two of them so they could walk the halls and talk openly without anyone else hearing them. Alastor had obviously noticed the sly grin on Harry’s face as he thought about all the possibilities of such a spell, but Alastor reminded him that, as an Auror, he would be held to the highest standards of responsibility when it came to the use of magic. This set off a flag in Harry’s mind. “Come to that, how is it that the Ministry is able track magic use? For example, when I used the Patronus Charm on Privet Drive?” Alastor smiled broadly. “I was wondering when you would get around to asking that. Every wand sold through proper channels has a special charm on it that must be cast when the wand is made. This charm binds the wand to a receiver here in the department. The charm knows the age of the wizard and, if magic is performed with the wand, it’s reported back here. Now, places like Hogwarts and other schools, where underage magic is permitted at times, have a jamming charm placed on them so that the wands can’t report back in those places. These charms are very easy to detect, which keeps them from being abused. Only the Minister can approved the use of such a ward.” Harry thought about this. “I reckon Voldemort knows about that one.” Alastor nodded solemnly. “Yes, he figured that one out quite early.” His magic eye fixed on Harry again. “You keep this up, Harry, and we’ll have you qualified by your birthday, we will.” As they continued the tour, Harry was brought up to speed on the various enchantments and charms placed on the Ministry itself. Here and there, Alastor would stop and explain things, teach Harry a new spell or technique, then move on. By the time five o’clock rolled around, they had managed to get all around the two floors of their department. “That should be enough for today, Harry. You’re doing very well. You pick this stuff up quickly,” Alastor praised. “I must say I’m enjoying it, Alastor. It’s really nice; you know… being treated as an adult wizard instead of a student who might go mad.” Alastor surveyed Harry. “Yes… Snape was particularly nasty to you, if I heard Dumbledore right. I had it scheduled to have a chat with him, but it seems that will have to wait. No excuse for his behavior, regardless of his history with James. But I digress. Let’s get moving. The others will be waiting for us, and you don’t want to be late for dinner.” Harry followed Alastor to the lift, which they took all the way back up to the eighth floor. Ron and Hermione were waiting for them. “There you are, Harry! What kept you?” Ron asked. “Just finishing up a… uh, tour. How’d it go?” “Fantastic, mate! After all the usual mumbo-jumbo, I got right in with a meeting with the other liaisons and the scheduling committee. We all discussed the schedule. I think the Canons are going to have some top names come to their home stadium next year!” “Great! Can you get us tickets?” Ron reached into his robes and pulled out an envelope. “Four season tickets to the rest of this year’s matches.” Harry stared back at the envelope in disbelief. Season Quidditch tickets. It was better than gold. “Well done, mate. How about you, Hermione?” Harry suddenly noticed that Hermione looked very tired, and that some of her hair had become a bit disheveled. “I had a very busy day. I never dreamed there were so many procedures and protocols that had to be followed when working with diplomats. Rules, laws, etiquette, it’s enough to drive you mad.” Harry waited a second, turning to Ron as he did. Ron smiled out of one corner of his mouth, and Harry understood. Hermione was enjoying it, though she didn’t really act like it. “I’m sure you’re doing fine, Hermione. If there’s anyone who can keep on top of all that, it’s you.” Hermione smiled. “Ron said the exact same thing.” “Must be true, then,” Ron asserted. “We should be off. Don’t want to keep Ginny waiting,” Harry reminded everyone. “Right. Everyone remember what the reception area looked like?” Alastor asked. The three of them looked at each other. “You mean, we could have Apparated this morning?” Alastor smirked. “Bad idea. You need a good picture of your destination in your memory before attempting to Apparate to it for the first time. I wasn’t prepared to let you chance it this morning. But now that you have a recent memory, it’s safe to attempt it. Everyone ready?” Ron looked to Harry. Harry shrugged. “Yes,” they said in unison. “Go.” Alastor commanded. CRACK They appeared in the waiting room at St. Mungo’s. No sooner had Harry opened his eyes than Ginny was running towards him. “You’re finally here!” “I missed you too, Ginny. How’d it go?” Harry asked as he took Ginny into his arms. “Ugh, it’s tedious sometimes. Moving things here and there, changing this, arranging that, stocking this, labeling that. Drudgery work, some of it. But the healers are all very nice, and when I see the work they’re doing, I can’t help but want to be one myself.” Harry hugged her close. “I love you Ginny, you know that?” “Not to be rude, Harry, but you’ll have to save the mushy stuff for later. Dinner calls,” Alastor broke in. “Right, everyone ready for the twins apartment?” Ginny looked at Harry confused. “Apparating,” Harry explained. Ginny mouthed the word “ah” and stepped back to get ready. “Go.” CRACK “There they are!” It was Mrs. Weasley. “Hi Mum,” Ron and Ginny said together. “You all should change and wash up for dinner. It’ll be ready very soon.” Harry hugged Ginny and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Back in a flash.” Ginny nodded. CRACK Harry showered and changed quickly. He grabbed his mini sneakoscope and went into his study. He checked his foe glass, which was normal. Hedwig wasn’t in her cage, but Harry could see her flying happily around the Alley. Harry watched her for a moment before stepping away from the window. CRACK “Come along, Harry, we’re ready.” Harry sat at the table next to Ginny, noticing that Alastor had left. They filled their plates with all the best of Mrs. Weasley’s cooking. Once their plates were full, Harry and Ginny sat next to each other and ate. Harry had a slow time of it because he was holding Ginny’s hand throughout the meal.. “I had a chat with Dumbledore today, folks,” Mr. Weasley announced. “It seems that dinner shall be a regular event, now. We’ll use this time to discuss anything interesting that has happened during the day and might be of use to the Order. Now, obviously there are things in each of our positions that cannot go outside our various departments and groups, particularly Harry’s, for example, but any information which can be passed on should be volunteered during our dinner. Got it?” Everyone nodded. Hermione spoke up. “Apparently, from what I’ve been able to overhear, Karkaroff is still missing.” Mr. Weasley nodded. “He’s never come out of hiding. Snape reported at one time that Karkaroff won’t come out of hiding until Voldemort is gone for good. He apparently refused help from anyone before he left.” There was a small silence before Ginny said, “Things are pretty quiet at the hospital. Nothing unusual at all.” Everyone seemed glad to hear this. Harry cleared his throat. “They’ve quickened the pace of my training.” The room stopped. Everyone was looking up at him with concern. “By how much, Harry?” Mr. Weasley asked. Harry looked around, a bit confused. “Well, Amelia Bones thinks I might be ready to take the trials in nine to twelve months.” Fred and George looked astonished. Ron smiled. Hermione looked dumbfounded. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other, concerned. Ginny looked concerned to, but she was also beaming at Harry. “Alastor keeps saying I’m a quick study. He joked today that if I wasn’t careful, I’d be at the trials by my birthday.” He continued to eat, unwilling to acknowledge the reaction his statement would bring. “I suppose they want to get you as ready as they can before You-Know-Who makes a move,” Mr. Weasley said. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Harry agreed. They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. Afterward, Harry left for his flat. He was tired, and he had a lot to think about. He also had to continue reading his book. One chapter a night, Alastor had instructed. Harry read in his study. Hedwig flew in for some water before leaving out again. He resolved to ask Mrs. Weasley if they could visit the Burrow this weekend so he could have some time on his broomstick. He thought a few hours of flying would be just what he needed to get his mind off of things. It was midnight before Harry finally went to bed. He was starting to worry about Ginny when he heard a soft crack. “Gah. I thought they’d NEVER leave. Sorry I’m late.” “Better late than never, they say.” Ginny slid into bed with Harry. “So, whatcha do today?” “Alastor basically took me around the two floors of the department today, showing me all the defenses. I must say I never dreamed there were so many.” “Learn any new spells?” “Yeah, but I can’t really talk about them,” Harry explained. “Rats, that’s no fun,” Ginny teased. “Trust me; if I ever had need to use the stuff I’m learning outside the job, it’d be trouble anyway.” Ginny nodded. “I don’t know about you, but I’m beat.” Harry nodded back. Ginny gave him a good night kiss and snuggled up to him, her hand resting on his chest.
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