Beyond the Emerald Green

Harry Potter is not owned by me, but by the corporations that do. I am not associated with any of them in any way. Original characters are owned by Orca.

Special Thanks: To my beta-readers, 007 and RavenNat.

 

Chapter Two

Training

 

"Harry! Wake up, Harry! We’ve got five minutes until our port key becomes valid!"

Harry’s eyes slowly opened, squinting immediately in the morning light streaming from the window of his rented room. Hedwig was preening herself on his dresser across from him, ruffling her feathers when another loud knock on his door threatened to unhinge the bolts.

"Harry, if we’re late because of you I’ll shrink your head! And I thought I was bad!"

Realization suddenly hit Harry and he cursed out loud, causing Hedwig to hoot reprovingly. He flew out of bed, grabbed his wand, magicked his clothes on, and tried to groom himself approvingly.

"You up yet?!" Ron yelled from behind the door.

"Yes! I’ll be right out!" Harry cried while trying to shave. He hastily finished, threw all of his unpacked things back in his trunk, and ran to the door.

"’Bout time." Ron crossed his arms.

"Ron! You’re still in your pajamas! I thought we had five minutes!" Harry cried angrily as he looked him over. Ron’s eyes went wide with embarrassment, looking for an excuse.

"Well, I er… I’ve been trying to get you up all this time!"

"Hurry up, then, you git! Where’s our acceptance letters with the instructions?" Harry tossed his belongings into the hall.

"In my room, hold on I’ll get them."

Ron went about getting himself ready as Harry read over the instructions on getting themselves to the Society headquarters.

ROYAL AURORS SOCIETY

Instructions for trainees arrival at headquarters

New trainees will find their port key attached to their acceptance letter. The designated time for departure is indicated on the port key. Before departing, place no more than one trunk containing personal items close to departure site- luggage will be transported separately to trainee’s quarters. Upon arrival, please report to the mess hall.

"Where’s the port key, Ron?" Harry asked, putting the letter aside.

"The paper clip." Ron called from the bathroom.

"Are you ready?" Harry looked dubiously at the paper clip attached to the letter.

"Yeah, let me just put my trunk next to yours." Ron pushed his trunk alongside Harry’s and set Pig’s cage atop it. Harry called to Hedwig and she flew into her cage, Harry putting it on top of his own trunk.

"We should say goodbye to Tom first, and thank him." Harry suggested.

"Right, yeah."

"Good luck, you two." Tom cried from behind them, coming up the stairs.

Harry and Ron smiled and waved.

"Thanks for everything, Tom." Harry said.

"No problem, anytime." He smiled at them.

"Dad took care of the bill, right?" Ron asked.

"He put it on your newly formed tab." Tom grinned as Ron glowered in response.

"Right, then. Good bye, Tom!" Harry said, grabbing the paper clip. Ron did so as well, and in a moment the familiar pulling at their midpoints drew them into the all too familiar swirling vortex toward the paperclip’s center.

"Be careful… and come back soon." Tom said, watching the two young men disappear, closely followed by their trunks and owls.

*

Harry wasn’t particularly fond of traveling by port key, but it was easier than the Floo Network. They couldn’t apparate there, for safety purposes no one could apparate or disapparate anywhere near the Society headquarters. It wasn’t long before the swirling of Harry’s vision cleared and he found himself standing wearily beside Ron in front of a massive collegian looking building.

"Boy, am I glad I didn’t eat breakfast before we left… otherwise I think I would have tossed my cookies by now." Ron ran a hand through his hair.

"You would think you would be used to it." Harry looked at him, only vaguely aware that his trunk and Hedwig were not beside him. He then remembered that his things would be automatically transported to his quarters and that he and Ron were to report to the mess hall.

"Well, let’s move on, shall we?" Ron straightened his robes and walked up the steps to the building. Harry followed and caught up with him, and they both opened the massive front doors to face an awesome sight.

There were wizards and witches everywhere. A huge vaulted ceiling lobby lay in front of them, where people were moving everywhere dressed in dark navy blue wizarding robes embroidered with a royal crown on the front left side. Harry and Ron stood there, awestruck, watching wizards at desks giving assignments to aurors that lined up in front- looking determined and rushed. The din of voices echoed of the marble walls and for that moment Harry was only aware of the sight in front of him.

"Excuse me, move along. New recruits to the mess hall."

A guard, dressed in black wizarding robes with the same royal symbol, was poking at Harry with his wand. When Harry turned to face him, the guard saw the flash of his scar as his bangs parted slightly and gasped.

"Mr. Potter! Oh, sir, we’ve been expecting you! Please forgive my rudeness."

Ron rolled his eyes and didn’t say anything. Harry merely nodded, used to the reaction.

"Could you point us in the direction of the mess hall, sir?" He asked politely.

"Oh, you can call me Pete. The name’s Pete Dole, Mr. Potter. I’ll be glad to show you the way." Pete smiled, pocketing his wand and walking to their right toward a large hall brimming with other wizards.

"Thank you, Pete. Just call me Harry, and this is my best friend Ron Weasley. I guess we’ll be seeing you often." Harry motioned for Ron to follow as Pete lead the way.

"Glad to meet you, Ron. Yes, I never forget the name that goes with the face. I know each and every man and woman here at the society. I’m head guard and watch the lobby. Have been for the past twenty five years." Pete said, clearing a path through the bustle of aurors in the hall, some stopping to stare as Harry went past.

Harry considered Pete for a moment. He was completely gray haired, not much taller than Harry, and had plenty of wrinkles to tell his age.

"My father was an auror," Harry said. "Did you happen to know him?"

"Yes, I had the honor of knowing your father, James. Why, I have a hard time trying to tell myself that you’re his son and not him himself! You look the spitting image." Pete turned back and smiled at him kindly.

They walked past a door that had opened abruptly and there were several wizards and witches running out as if for their lives before an explosion blew the door clear across the hall and into the wall.

"What the…?" Ron shouted, jumping as black smoke billowed out of the room. A particularly tall wizard walked out waving the smoke from his face and coughing. His face as black with ash, and his apparent students were scowling at him from a safe distance. The wizard smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, that’s the experimental curses class. You’ll be in there soon enough." Pete laughed, leading them further.

"How long are we going to be in training, Pete, before we go out to work?" Harry asked, walking closer to him.

"One year with the books and one year in the field with a senior auror. After that you’ll be partnered and given your first assignment. It all goes real quick, though… especially these days. Ah, here’s where I leave you."

Pete stopped in front of some large double doors where a large crowd of people Harry and Ron’s age were waiting inside.

"I’ll be seeing you." Pete smiled and walked off.

"Well, here goes nothing." Ron grinned, pushing Harry in.

They walked up an isle between dining tables and chairs filled with eager looking young adults much like themselves. Harry kept his face low, not wanting so much attention on the first day. But it was no use; someone noticed.

"Hey! Hey, Harry! Harry Potter! Over here, Harry!"

Gasps and comments immediately broke out, people straining their necks to see over others to catch a glimpse of him. Ron began to chuckle and Harry elbowed him a little too hard.

"Harry!"

He looked up to see someone shoving their way through the crowd. People cursed and shouted, knocked over chairs, and made threats as a very short man forced his way toward him. He had spiky red hair and millions of freckles, it seemed. Ron looked down on him like an eagle spotting a guppy in a stream.

"Harry Potter! Oh my God! I can’t believe I’ll be an auror with Harry Potter! Of course you’d be an auror! You’re going to save the world again! Oh my… oh my…" The man reached up and grabbed Harry’s reluctant hand.

"Er… do I know you?" Harry tried to pull away, but the man had a considerable strength for one so small.

"Want me to step on him?" Ron whispered in Harry’s ear.

"Not yet."

"Oh, do forgive me! No, of course you wouldn’t know me! But, I’m your biggest fan! Oh, my… I can’t believe I’ve finally got to meet you, Mr. Potter. An honor it is… a special honor…" The man was practically giddy with joy.

"Okay, now you can step on him." Harry whispered back to Ron, managing to pull his hand from the man’s grip.

"Gentlemen and ladies! If you would please direct your attention up here, we can begin the orientation." Said a booming voice from the front of the mess hall.

"Up… time to start. Sorry, bye bye." Harry grabbed Ron’s shoulder and sped off to find available two seats as far away from the man as possible.

"I’ll be seeing you, then!" the man cried, immediately getting lost in the crowd.

"Remind me to stay away from that guy." Harry muttered to Ron.

"One minute more and I really would have stepped on him; he was annoying me, too."

"Welcome to the Royal Aurors Society," a tall, burly looking wizard announced from a stage set up at the front of the mess hall. "In a few moments, you’ll be going back through those double doors and out to your quarters. Get used to them- they’ll be your homes for the next year. You’ll find your belongings already there and three sets of trainee uniforms. You are trainees, and trainee uniforms are crimson in color. Graduate from scholastic training, and you become apprenticed to a senior auror- apprentices wear forest green. Once your senior auror deems you ready to pronounce you an auror yourself- you’ll gain the traditional navy blue uniform of a full-fledged auror. The board in the trainee lobby will list your classes. Any questions?"

The hall was silent.

"The career you’ve chosen is a difficult and dangerous one. There is no room for careless mistakes. The dark lord is out there, growing stronger day by day. His minions are wrecking so much havoc that it takes our entire force of aurors to keep them at bay. In two year’s time, you’ll be out there on your own. You’re fighting for the right for peace and righteousness. You’re protecting our country- and the world as well. If we work together and do our best, perhaps we can destroy You-Know-Who before it’s too late.

"Well, classes start at seven AM sharp tomorrow morning! Dismissed!"

Everyone leapt to their feet, Harry and Ron following suit. Harry tried his best to blend in, but even though the small man was no where to be seen, he still got plenty of curious looks from the other trainees.

"Oh man! If classes start at seven, that means we have to get up at six every morning!" Ron complained as they filed out of the mess hall.

"Don’t worry, if you oversleep, I’ll hex you out of bed." Harry teased.

"Not before I magic your eyelids shut." Ron countered.

"I’d like to see you try."

"Alright then."

"Okay."

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"I have a feeling our lives are going to get turned upside down."

"And we haven’t even started yet."

*

The following morning, both Harry and Ron managed to get up on time and dress in their new RAS trainee crimson uniforms. The now familiar embroidered royal crown donned the left corner next to a white colored "T". Harry looked himself over in the mirror, his mind wandering on just how far he had come from the scrawny little boy that once lived in a cupboard under the stairs, all alone and unloved. Now, here he was, a fully-grown healthy adult back in the world he had been torn from as an infant. He was even at the start of the very role his father had, and Harry couldn’t help but feel a shadow of grief at what his father would think if he were alive.

"Are you done flirting with yourself, now? I’d like to use the mirror sometime too, you know."

Ron sleepily pushed Harry aside and straightened his uniform. Harry sighed and looked around the small room that was their quarters. Just a bunk bed and two dressers, along with the one mirror and small window. Hedwig was perched in her cage alongside Ron’s Pig. Both had their heads tucked under their wings in sleep, and Harry envied them.

"I hope that guy doesn’t show up again." He wished aloud.

"With the way he idolizes you, I doubt you’ve seen the last of him." Ron said over his shoulder. "Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go."

They joined up with the other trainees in the small lobby that was their own, a smaller building apart from the main one where they had arrived. A large board outside the cafeteria held parchment with names where everyone was fighting to see.

"Our classes." Ron said unnecessarily.

"Hey! Harry!"

"My fan." Harry muttered exasperatedly.

"Harry! Harry, guess what! We have our first class… together!" People were roughly thrown aside as the man rushed to meet up with Harry.

"Hide me. Now. Please." Harry tugged on Ron’s sleeve.

"Er…" Ron looked around, grimacing as the man drew closer. "Uh, oh hey everyone! Everyone, look! Oh my gosh, it’s… it’s…! Quick, Harry, name a celebrity!"

"Uh, Brittany Spears!"

"Hey everyone! Look! It’s Brittany Spears!" Ron bellowed, causing people to look in every direction and making the crowd swallow the small man with a yelp.

"Brittany who?"

"Bar-B-Q spears? Is that for lunch?"

Ron looked at Harry, who shrugged back.

"Brittany Spears? Who’s that?"

"A famous Muggle singer. Very attractive and very annoying." Harry searched for any sign of the man, but the crowd was in such confusion over the foreign name that anyone as small as that guy would have been trampled.

"Let’s look at the board while we can." Ron pulled Harry with him to the bulletin board.

"Harry!" Someone small jumped out of nowhere into Harry’s path.

"AHH!"

"Harry Potter! Oh, I almost missed you in the crowd! Did you hear me? We have our first class together! Isn’t that terrific?" the little man jumped on his heels. Ron fought very hard to keep a straight face. Harry was itching to hex this man away forever.

"Listen… er… what’s your name?"

The man looked shell-shocked.

"Oh my God! Can you believe it? I never… you don’t… oh, my. My name… my name… my name…" the man was so excited he couldn’t remember anything. He just stood in front of Harry, mouth gaping open and eyes glazed over.

"This is so scary, it’s sick." Ron whispered. "But it’s still funny."

Harry was about to loose it.

"What. Is. Your. Name?" he leaned down close and fixed him with his most powerful stare. But it proved to make matters worse, for the man took one look and flat-out fainted.

"This is so ridiculous. Never has anything like this happened!" Harry threw up his arms in frustration, ignoring the crumpled body.

"Ah, Mr. Potter!"

"WHAT?!" Harry whirled around, only to look up into the face of an older wizard he had never seen before. He immediately turned bright red and felt himself whither to the ground.

"Am I interrupting something?" the wizard asked flatly.

"Oh, oh, no sir." Harry squeaked, almost stepping on the fainted man. The older wizard looked down and noticed with a gasp.

"What happened?" he asked, bending down to pull the man up.

"Well, er… this man here has been following me around, and when we met up just now he fainted."

"Ah, so you’ve met Mr. Noin." The wizard nodded with a level of relief.

"Mr. Noin? So that’s his name." Harry sighed.

"Richard Noin. Yes, quite an exuberant fellow. He’ll be alright. I’m Alex Walt, by the way. I’ll be your instructor for some of your courses this year."

"Oh, nice to meet you, sir." Harry and Ron said in union.

Walt laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Looks like you two should be getting on to… ah, Basic Hex Blocking 101. Class starts in four minutes. I’ll be seeing you, then. Mr. Noin should be joining up with you shortly."

He walked off, having had put a spell on Noin so that he floated alongside him to the sick bay. Harry and Ron groaned, checking the board for the classroom location and heading off themselves.

"Which do you think is worse to be chased by? An evil, power-lusting egotistical murderer or an idolizing lifeless yuppie?" Harry asked gruffly as they walked toward the classrooms.

"Well, you’re dead with the first option… and the second would just make you want to be dead. So, either way, your life is screwed up." Ron muttered.

Harry moaned loudly.

"Look at the bright side, though!" Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "You’ve got me to suffer with you! I’m either too nice of a guy or a complete idiot."

That got Harry to laugh, and they both broke out into laughter as they walked into class.

*

Harry couldn’t believe how difficult it was. For the following six months, he and Ron spent at least twelve hours a day on the work assigned from their various classes. Basic Hex Blocking 101 evolved into Advanced Hex Blocking before long. Spell Encoding, Spell Breaking, Spell Casting, Self Defense of the Magical Kind, and Curse Defying were just a few of the tedious courses that Harry had to go through. However, he found himself exceptionally powerful in all his classes, and it was easy with hard work to pass with flying colors. Ron, however, had a more difficult time. They both studied together in a secluded space on the grounds where Richard Noin couldn’t find them.

Richard Noin. Once he had regained consciousness on the first day, he tried desperately to stick to Harry like a second shadow. Noin’s life passion was to live up to Harry’s stature as a famous wizard. He always waited for him and Ron by the bulletin board, asked to sit with them at meals even though every time they denied him flat out, followed Harry up and down hallways, and made excuses to join him on assignments that took Harry to different places around the grounds. Each time Harry turned to look down on him, Noin’s eyes would go huge and glassy like an animated character’s. Ron did his best to use his height to intimidate him, but Noin ignored him like a cow in a pasture. After the eighth month came upon them, Harry couldn’t take it anymore.

"There has got to be something I can do to get that twit off my back!" Harry pulled at his hair before Curses In Context class began one day. Noin had just run off to the storage room to refill Harry’s inkwell.

"You could ask him to get more ink when he comes back, I need some too." Ron said, peering into his empty well.

"We won’t be needing ink today, anyway." Harry muttered, crossing his arms over his desk. "Remember? We’re heading into the seriously major stuff, now. I’m… well, we’re…"

"Don’t worry about it. It’s not like… er… you’ve never seen it before." Ron whispered carefully.

"Yes, but… but now I’ll be learning them to use them if necessary. I… I don’t think I could ever…" Harry swallowed hard.

"You-Know-Who is not going to be defeated with the jelly-legs spell, Harry. We have to fight fire with fire. Besides, it’s not like we’ll be using them everyday. The average Death Eater is too stupid to do anything more than knock you down." Ron said, looking up quickly as a loud thump and clatter broke the usual mumble of the other trainees.

"Oh, dear me! I’m alright, I’m alright!" Noin had stumbled into the classroom too fast and fell flat on his face, the filled inkwell now spilled all over himself. "Er… I’ll just go back and refill this again."

"Mr. Noin, we need to get started." Mr. Phelps, the course teacher, informed him.

"I’ll just be a minute, sir. It’s for Harry Potter." He disappeared back out of the room. Harry went a bright shade of scarlet as everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"You would think I’d be used to this." Harry grumbled miserably, sinking in his seat.

"If you’re lucky, Phelps will choose him for the demonstration." Ron grinned mischievously.

"That’s horrible of you." Harry shook his head. "But not a bad idea."

The door slammed open and Noin came running in, panting and doubled over, as he gently placed the inkwell in front of Harry.

"Your… ink… Harry. Don’t… mention… it."

Harry tried very hard not to bare his teeth at him like a dog.

"Back, boy… back…" Ron grabbed his collar.

"Richard Noin, do sit down!" Mr. Phelps bellowed, tapping his wand on the table in front of him.

Scuttling like a crab, Noin plopped down in his seat across from Harry. Everyone stifled laughter while Harry and Ron scowled.

"Right then, people. You all are entering the most rigorous part of your training year. What we are about to cover is the most serious knowledge that an auror must know… for this is what the enemy is known for. If you’re lucky, you’ll never use the following curses I’m about to teach you. To use them, however, is only under the most desperate circumstances. Use them otherwise, and you will get a life sentence in Azkaban. I’m talking, as you should already know, about the three Unforgivable Curses."

The entire room was silent. Harry felt beads of sweat break out on his neck and a shiver run up his spine. He remembered very well the day he first had seen the three Unforgivable Curses demonstrated. The day he found out exactly how his parents were murdered. Then, not much longer after that, he witnessed the most deadly of the curses used on a fellow Hogwarts student- killed instantly. That was how Voldemort rose back to power. The memory still haunted Harry deeply. He was dreading this part of his auror training- and it was his only argument about not becoming an auror. But it was this guilt he felt that convinced him to go ahead with his career… for he can make it right again, even if he had to use the same curse.

"We will begin by going over the rules…"

*

Later that night, Harry spread out on his stomach over his bed, taking out a roll of parchment and a quill. Hedwig flew in from the open window and settled herself into the small of his back. He smiled at her comfort and turned his attention back down to his parchment.

"Let’s see…"

He looked over at his small dresser and at the large stack of letters he had received since arriving at the Society. A lot of them were from the Weasleys, mainly Mrs. Weasley, who was worried sick about them both. There were a couple of postcards from Fred and George, updating Harry on their success. Ron wasn’t too excited when one of his postcards came attached to another potato, while Harry had a five-cent American wizard coin attached to his.

"Worthless here, anyway." Ron had grumbled, tossing the potato out the window- that landed respectfully on Noin’s head. He and Harry had a fit of laughter that lasted nearly an hour.

Yet the smaller stack of letters, put off to the side where they were least likely to be damaged, were from Ginny. She didn’t write him very often, but when she did, they were very long and detailed. He treasured every one, and made sure to find the time to write her back just as much. It was this letter he was poised to write, that was for her.

"If I tell her about what we’re studying now, she’ll worry even more than her mum." Harry said to Hedwig. She hooted sleepily in response, then tucked her head back under her wing.

"Maybe if I use a lot of big words, it’ll fill in the gaps." He thought a moment. "Er… if I knew a lot of big words. Literature was not my best subject when I was small."

He dabbed his quill in his inkwell, hovered over the parchment to begin, when there was a loud rap at the door.

"Yes?" Harry asked tersely.

"It’s me, Ron."

"Well, come on in… it’s your room too, no need to knock." Harry laughed.

Ron opened the door and stepped inside. His expression immediately made Harry put his writing supplies aside and stand up, causing Hedwig to tumble off him. She hooted angrily and went to perch on the windowsill.

"Harry, the head of the Society wants to meet with you. Now." Ron got straight to the point.

"What? Why?" Harry grabbed his wand.

"Not sure. Phelps just came to me as I was coming in from sending Pig off with a letter in the courtyard and told me to tell you. He… well, it sounds important and urgent. You need to go right away."

"Okay. But, where is it? The head’s office." Harry walked out of the room, followed by Ron.

"Not sure. You can go to the main lobby and ask Pete. He’ll know for sure and take you there."

Harry paused and looked back at Ron, trying to read his expression. He decided he’d rather not and just get it over with, smiling uncertainly and left the building. There was no one else about as he nearly jogged to the main lobby, hoping to catch Pete. He didn’t allow himself to wonder, for if he did, Harry was sure he would be late in seeing the head of the Society.

The lobby was nearly empty when he jogged to a stop inside. However, Pete was clearly visible, standing by his post next to the large front doors.

"’Evening, Mr. Potter." Pete smiled.

"Oh, Pete… hello. I wonder, could you show me to the head’s office by any chance?" Harry came up to him.

Pete laughed heartily.

"Of course, Harry! Remember who you’re asking!"

"Right, how silly of me." Harry tried to hide his anxiety.

The wizened guard led him in the opposite direction of the trainee area, to the other side of the main building where Harry had yet to be in. It was apparent, seeing the various locked personnel doors and offices, that this wing was where all the aurors resided when not out in the field.

Harry looked around, studying his surroundings. I’ll be working here someday… someday soon.

Pete, apparently, took notice of the unusual silence and looked at Harry closely.

"You know, you’ve grown so since I first met you."

Harry laughed shakily, distracted by his worry.

"Seriously. This job throws the years on you quick, even when you haven’t even started yet. Be careful, Harry… don’t let the job destroy yourself." Pete said solemnly, and turned his attention back to the empty hall.

"Which should I be more worried about? My job or my enemy?" Harry asked him as they stopped in front of a large office door.

"That, I’ll let for you to decide. I’m only a lowly guard." And Pete smiled, patted him on the back, and left Harry standing in front of his fate.

He watched him leave, before turning back to the door and reading the nameplate:

MAXWELL MORO

Royal Aurors Society Head

Taking a deep breath, Harry knocked twice and the door swung open.

"Come in, Mr. Potter, come in."

The office he stepped into was huge, the walls lined with bookcases that reached the ceiling and stuffed with large volumes of dusty leather bound books. A large fireplace crackled in a corner with the portrait of a very esteemed looking old wizard hung proudly above the mantle. Harry recognized him as Mortimus Nookshock, the founder of the Royal Aurors Society in 800 A.D. from his history course.

"A genius of a wizard, Nookshock was." Said a tired voice. The man sitting behind a large desk completely covered in parchment was the same tall, burly wizard that had welcomed them on their first day more than eight months prior. Up close, Harry felt his eyes studying him, as if sizing him up before a fight.

"Nice to personally meet you, Mr. Potter. I am, as you know, Maxwell Moro. Your grades are exceptional, as expected." Moro’s voice was cool and collective.

"Thank you, sir." Harry colored slightly.

"I’m going to be blunt with you, Harry. I didn’t call you here to flatter you. Do sit down." He pointed to the armchair in front of his desk and Harry obliged, feeling his palms begin to sweat.

"You know very well the current situation, do you not?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, things have gotten worse. I have every able man and woman out there in the field… and we’re not doing so well. You-Know-Who has got his minions trained very well, these days. We’re having a harder time keeping them back. The Muggles have taken notice, and the Ministry is also at its wit’s end keeping them under control. There… there have even been some deaths."

The silence that followed was so profound that Harry had to clear his throat to break the uneasiness.

"You’ve been told, I assume, that your father was one of the best aurors this Society has ever seen. He was one of very few that You-Know-Who was afraid of. That’s… well, that didn’t stop him. Since you’ve been here, you’ve lived up to your father’s name. As we all knew you would. Your power is incredible, Harry. It’s apparent to me, and to others in high places, that you are his only match- as was your father. You’re coming upon your prime, and while so you are nearly unstoppable. It’s impeccable that you’re out there on our side as soon as possible. But to wait for your year of training here to be complete may take too long. We don’t have much time.

"So, as of now, I have come to the conclusion that you have passed your required courses of study in magical defense, strategy, history, and law with the highest honor. You are hereby upgraded to apprentice status, and your assigned mentor will meet with you first thing tomorrow morning. Pack your things and prepare to move afterwards." Moro looked down at some parchment on his desk and began to shuffle them. Harry merely stared at him at a loss for words.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"I’m… I’m not sure I…" Harry stuttered.

"Yes you are. You have always been. Ever since you gained that lightning bolt scar." Moro pointed at his head. He sighed and leaned back into his chair. "You’re our only hope, Harry. Just promise me that you’ll try."

Harry stared at him for a long time.

"Do I have a choice?"

*

"So, I was right."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked wearily, dropping down on his bed after returning.

"You’re going." Ron said solemnly.

"Yes."

"Already."

"I’ve been graduated."

"I’m surprised they didn’t make you skip the schooled training all together." Ron said quietly, looking out their small window.

"Things have gotten much worse, you know." Harry sighed.

"Yes. I’ve been reading Hermione’s columns. She’s doing a good job for herself." Ron looked back at him.

"That’s not surprising." Harry smiled slightly.

"It’s not surprising that you’re going now, either." Ron retorted. "Do you know who you’ll be partnered with?"

"No. Whoever it is, I meet with him tomorrow morning with my things. When they say partnered, they mean partnered. I have to stay with him all the time- I’ll be staying at his place. For an entire year… or, until they graduate me early again." Harry pulled out his trunk as Hedwig watched curiously from her perch on his dresser.

"Well, let’s look at the bright side… you won’t have to deal with Noin anymore." Ron smiled at last.

"At least until he’s become a fully approved auror… if that ever happens." Harry smiled back.

"When monkeys start to fly out of my butt."

"Careful what you say… with magic, it’s possible." Harry laughed.

"Eww, now that’s just wrong." Ron began to crack up.

They laughed together for the rest of the evening, remembering old times. Harry found it harder and harder to think about the coming day. He knew that he and Ron would be separated for a time in training to become aurors, but he didn’t expect it so soon. The thought of losing his best friend for a compete stranger and hurling himself out into the world where his life would be challenged slowly caused his cheer to ebb. Ron was obviously feeling the same way, for as they lay in their beds that night, they could hear each other’s thoughts.

"We’ll be together again, Ron." Harry whispered.

"Yeah."

"I won’t be gone forever."

Ron didn’t answer.