Life and Love After Voldemort

Crouching underneath his Invisibility Cloak, Harry followed the figure of Ludo Bagman up the mist-covered hill to the rendezvous at a rundown shack about half the size of Hagrid's hut. About forty feet from the shack, Ludo turned the ring on his left middle finger three times. Two figures who looked like Muggle herdsmen emerged from either side of the dirt path and blocked it. "Wha' d'yeh want here?" one of them asked gruffly.

"That which is mine by birthright," responded Bagman.

The two men gave way, and Ludo proceeded up the slope and into the shack. The interior was lit sparsely by candlelight, with the cramped space filled by a wooden table and a half-dozen rickety chairs. From two of those chairs rose two lumbering characters who Harry seemed to know immediately. In their oafish mugs Harry recognized Draco's old Slytherin flunkies, in this case aged by about 20 years. Like lummox, like son, mused Harry, but then quickly banished all other extraneous thoughts from his mind.

"Spill it, then," Crabbe commanded. "What did that bastard Potter show you?"

"Nothing that's going to do him any good; he thought he found a pattern that proved that the Kestrals threw two straight matches, and..." While they bantered back and forth, Harry relocated himself so that Crabbe and Goyle were between him and Bagman. He quietly cast a Muffliato charm, an Apparation Block, and other standard precautionary spells. When Harry finished with that, he lifted his head back slightly to allow the Invisibility Cloak to fall behind him while he had his wand drawn and at the ready.

Harry activated his Sonorus-enhanced Alerter, which thundered: "Auror's Office; don't move! You're under arrest!"

"What the - Confrig --"

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry, and Crabbe's wand flew from his hand.

"Stupefy! Accio wand." With the suspect's wand in hand, Harry checked on the other party as he froze and tied up Crabbe. Goyle had already been disarmed, petrified, and bound by Kingsley, who ran a hand through his thick, blond curls and discussed with Harry how they would approach the guards outside, who remained clueless as to the apprehension of their bosses thanks to Muffliato and a seamless arrest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Minister and Harry reviewed their operations and the techniques employed to bring them to successful conclusions. The Auror department was moving like lightning as they pumped Crabbe and Goyle for information and consulted with DOMLEE's legal division on the next steps to take to dismantle the organization and neutralize their mercenary forces and other recruits. "...And the first words out of Goyle's mouth under the Veritaserum was, and I quote: 'I kept telling that git we shoulda headed for Argentina!'" After recounting that gem, Kingsley then outlined how the complicated legal battles were likely to play out. "You saw firsthand that it won't always be as glamorous as an all-out wizarding battle to combat and defeat the dark forces. However, justice can be served if we do our job well, and that's what matters."

"Speaking of which, Minister, please keep an open mind if Ron Weasley applies for Auror training at some point this year. I think being under the gun again and seeing the love of his life in danger is about to lead him to us."

"If he's willing to finish the educational requirements and make a full commitment, I don't see an issue. Plus, the Ministry would be wise to make every effort to accommodate the apple of our Miss Granger's eye. She's going to be spearheading key parts of the prosecution of Skeeter and Bagman, and we need to keep her happy and motivated!" said Kingsley with a chuckle. "However, I might not be who's making the final say-so on new hires for the Auror's Office by the time your friend and monarch chooses to apply for Auror training."

Harry was taken aback. A compulsion rose in him to blurt out that the Ministry needed Kingsley and that if Kingsley was gone, so was Potter. However, Harry had learned a lot since he was first in Kingsley's office discussing the future, and one crucial thing was to think before saying anything. Harry cut short his outburst and gathered himself with less difficulty than anticipated, unconsciously laying a finger on his temple before responding. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Simply that I intend to appoint you to the head of the Auror's Office in the near future, where you will be making the ultimate decision on who is hired by the office."

Harry thought he'd welcome this offer if it ever came, but quite the opposite was true at that moment. "But I'm 18 and coming off my first case, sir."

"Harry, we both know you're mature beyond your years and have lived through more life-and-death struggles against the dark forces than many Aurors will ever experience. You now have the discipline and the Auror training in place that you lacked before, and I also trust your judgment more than any other Auror we have. As we strive to remake the Ministry of Magic, we need people like you and Miss Granger as part of a dynamic leadership structure, or we risk returning to the same caretaking institution that was full of dysfunction and ripe for the fall it endured. I pride myself on being part of the 'old guard' along with Arthur Weasley and other public servants who've seen the Ministry through its darkest time, and you will be able to call on our knowledge and experience whenever the need arises."

"Thank you, sir. I hope I'll still be able to request your presence in future field missions that demand your expertise and experience. Besides, no one plays a blond ne'er-do-well nearly as convincingly as you, Minister." Kingsley laughed so hard that his hat tumbled from his head, revealing an unexpected bonus. "Uh, I hate to tell you this, Minister, but a little bit of Bagman seems to have stuck with you."

Kingsley grimaced and twirled one of his curls from his new head of hair, which appeared to have been held over from the Bagman Polyjuice transformation but was re-colored jet black. It reminded Harry of the outdated Soul-Glo look from the Muggle world. "I wouldn't tell anyone but you, Harry, but since you had an inadvertent hand in it... Ever since I showed up wearing sideburns, I think Rosmerta gets a charge from seeing me with hair now and again... Do you think it's a good idea?"

For someone whose presence exuded indisputable authority and demanded absolute respect more than anyone Harry knew, the Minister sounded like Ron did back in school when he was pondering one gimmick after another to woo girls. Someone's been alone in the field too long, thought Healer Harry. "Trust me, Kingsley; lose the locks. You'll do fine just being yourself. Why don't we set a date for that high tea we talked about..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Predictably, the aftermath of the Bagman-Skeeter-Crabbe-Goyle scandal meant that Harry's life was as hectic as ever. In order to undercut the rumors that had cropped up about the matter, Harry sold his story to the Daily Prophet on the condition that he chose who would write the article, and directed that his asking price for the story be paid to the same charities that Ludo had paid lip-service to instead of Galleons. (Harry had pitched the idea to Xenophilius Lovegood before taking his offer to the Prophet, but the publisher of the Quibbler didn't want anything to compete with his 4-part cover story that sought to prove that Wrackspurts in the Chudley water supply were to blame for Ludo's actions.)

Ginny volunteered to write the story. "I've come a long way from my cupid-dwarf Valentine ditty, honest!" she claimed. "I'll entitle it: 'My Hero;' what do you think?"

Harry ignored the 'my hero' jab, as Ginny had used her favorite term for him incessantly since his latest triumph in ways that varied from jocular to sincere. "How about : 'I Need a Vacation,' Harry replied as he collapsed next to Ginny on one of the couches in the suite. After being freed of the Imperius Curse and learning the whole story, Nessie Chudleighton wouldn't hear of Harry and Ron leaving the suite or paying another penny for it. It was amusing to find out that the thing that shocked Nessie the most when her mind was restored to her was that the Cannons were actually the favorites to win the league title.

"I can't believe the playoffs start tomorrow," Harry said. "Did Ron say when he's coming back?"

"No, I think he's going to spend most of the evening at the flat getting moral support from Hermione."

"She better be careful, or our Keeper will be useless to us out there. I'm only just recovered from the aches your welcome home greetings caused me!" kidded Harry.

"So... you're saying you'd refuse more of the same?" Ginny asked innocently.

"Not on your life, wicked woman!" roared Harry, pulling her close to him.

Ginny sighed softly. "Ooh, my hero..."