Was it all enough? - Year 7

Winky came out and said, "Good morning sir and miss. Was everything to your liking?"

Cho answered, "Oh yes Winky. I can't tell you how lucky Harry is to have you working here." She turned to Sirius and said, "Sirius, did you know what Harry is doing for fun this summer?"

Sirius looked at Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "Learning to read/write French?"

"No, working with the Unspeakables. He's probably getting himself blasted around again," she said sounding annoyed.

"Harry. What are you doing down there this time?" Now Sirius sounded annoyed.

"Can't say. Actually, I can say one thing. In less than two weeks, I should be an official Auror. But after that, I can't talk about it. I do have a question for you though. Have you heard about anything weird going on at the ministry? The people in that department say strange things are going on and they don't like it."

Sirius hesitated a minute before saying, "Actually I have. I think they're going to throw Fudge out. Now on face value this sounds like a good thing but I'm not sure. I think we may be in for some rough times ahead. Have your fun down there now Harry; just know when to get out."

Cho wanted the subject changed so she asked, "So, tell us about St. Tropez. Should we go there sometime?"

Sirius went on to tell about how much fun he had and how beautiful the women were and that they didn't wear any tops. "I may have to move there Harry." Sirius joked. Harry felt joy at hearing Sirius talk about having fun since so much of his godfather's life had been either in Azkaban or on the run.

Cho came out to go running with Harry but barely made it to the end of the lane. Harry walked back with her, hand-in-hand. Walking up the lane, he looked at the castle and said, "I wish I was out of school and you were here with me."

She squeezed his hand and said, "You've got half of that, I am here with you."

"Yeah, once a week or so. But, I'll take what I can get." They got back to the castle and Harry said he was going to run the route again since he walked all the way back.

Cho sat on the steps and waited. "Harry, I've been looking through those investments. There's a few business down Knockturn Alley that you are a partner in. There's even some in France and a couple other countries. It's going to take a while to figure out what they are worth."

"Should we ask the goblins for help? They probably have information on what the businesses are worth."

"Maybe. Let's see what I can find out first." Cho sat and read while Harry worked in the yard a bit and then went to lift his made up weights. "Why don't you get some real ones if you want to lift?" We could order some and have them delivered. I thought George had a catalog with stuff like that in it. I'll steal it from him next week."

They had taken a long walk after supper and then Cho had to leave. "It was really nice being here Harry, I could really get used to it," she hugged him tightly.

"So, get used to it. That would only make me happy." He kissed her, not really wanting her to leave.

The next morning Sirius asked about the Unspeakables. "Couldn't you find anything better to do than go there?"

"It's fun there! And besides, I may still go to work there after school." Harry replied.

"Sure, give up being a Quidditch star to work in a little unknown department for the Ministry."

Harry couldn't understand why no one realized he liked the department. "Maybe I could do both. Besides, the stuff they taught me saved Cho's life and mine. However little the department is, I like it a lot. They work with stuff most people will never know of. I think I could really enjoy working there," Harry said irritated.

Sirius sighed and said, "You're right. I do owe them a lot for teaching you to handle yourself. I just couldn't imagine giving up the celebrity of playing Quidditch for that."

"Giving up Quidditch would be hard; I don't like the celebrity part." They talked a bit more before Harry went off on his run.

On Monday, Harry arrived at Debbie Bell's office ready to learn something new. "Have you forgiven me for costing you money last week?" Harry asked as he slowly poked his head in her office.

"Of course, it was my own fault for not finding out more about your last time here. So, Katie tells me you're some famous Quidditch star now. She says you're some big celebrity especially in France. I'm not really up on stuff like that. I pretty much just work most of the time."

"You sound like one of my best friends, Hermione. She could care less about Quidditch and only wants to read and study. I play Quidditch for the French National Team last year. We got beat in the finals."

"Then I say you should be off partying in France! This isn't a glamorous place to be." Debbie got up and walked to the training area.

"I like it here! I learned a lot last time and there's always strange things going on. And, look at you. You're obviously smart, nice and really pretty. Why are you down here?"

Debbie looked surprised at Harry's comments and he again saw the similarities to Hermione. "I've just never been good around people and I can make a difference here," she said in the nicest tone she had used yet.

"Exactly like Hermione," Harry said shaking his head.

"Ok, we'll quickly review the binding spells from last week and then go on to advanced Apparation," Debbie said and then had Harry bind various parts of her body. Harry left her hands and mouth bound longer than she enjoyed. "Don't mess around with me," she said sounding kind of mad.

"I'm sorry mam," Harry responded quickly.

"Ok, I wasn't really mad but now that you've called me 'mam' I am!" she said but smiled afterwards. "Ok, what do you think happens when you Apparate?"

Harry looked confused but said, "You just end up in a new place."

"Ok, but how do you get there? How long does it take?"

"I don't really know how you get there. My friend Ron and I learned over holiday last year so we didn't learn all the theory behind it. Sorry."

"You should really learn the theory behind things. Then you may learn that the rules you are taught can be bent a little. You are gone for longer when you Apparate further distances. If the distance is relatively short, can you be in two places at once?"

"Not without a time-turner." Harry answered remembering Hermione and how they saved Sirius with one.

"Well, that's being two places at the same time, not exactly at once. Different concept. Watch," Debbie demanded and picked up a cup from the table and threw it at the opposite wall. The next thing Harry knew she was standing at the opposite wall and caught the cup.

"Wow! That was great." Harry exclaimed.

"That was easy," Debbie replied. "There are two tricky parts. One is being able to concentrate enough so that you could go back and forth many times quickly. The other is being aware of your situation during the time you are gone. I'll close my eyes and you take the cup. Throw the cup into the air across the room. Tap my shoulder after you let the cup go. Whenever you are ready." She closed her eyes. Harry threw the cup into the air, aiming for the far corner and tapped Debbie's shoulder. She vanished and appeared in the corner waiting for the cup to get to her.

"How did you know where to Apparate to?" Harry asked still amazed at what he just saw.

"That's the whole point! Concentrate on what's happening when you Apparate No one even thinks about it. They just pop from one place to another not realizing what happens around them. Try going from this corner to the other, but instead of just waiting to arrive, as soon as you Apparate, try to focus on the room."

Harry tried a few times but couldn't really tell anything. "That's because you're trying to see the room with your eyes. It won't work like that. Let me blindfold you." She took out a black piece of cloth and tied it around his eyes. Then she moved him around so he didn't know exactly where he was. "Now, Apparate to the corner." Harry did. "Now, Apparate back to where you were."

"How can I do that? I didn't know where I was." Harry said totally confused.

"When you apparated to the corner, you mind saw where you were. Try to not think about seeing where you are; think about knowing where you are. Your mind already knows this; you just need to figure out how to see what your mind knows."

Harry was getting frustrated but really tried to concentrate. Being blindfolded helped since he wanted to look around. Harry kind of felt and idea on a spot so he tried it. Then he heard. "See, it's not so hard." Debbie put him through these paces quite a few more times until he could get back to the spot each time.

"That's it for today. Next time we're going to work on deciding on your destination after you begin Apparating. That is how I caught the cup."

Harry went home still kind of confused. He didn't see much value in what he learned today but being able to change destinations sounded really neat. At least Apparation was something he could practice at home.

Harry decided to write his friends, he had only heard from them a couple times.

Ron

How are things at home? Nothing exciting is going on here. Sirius is gone more than he is here.

When is the twins' store going to open? Cho seems to think they're going to do ok.

Have you heard your dad or Percy mention anything about the Ministry? I heard things are kind of weird there.

Tell everyone hi.

Harry

He tied the note to Hedwig and sent her off. He was walking back in when a little owl fluttered in. It was Ron's owl. Now he wished he had waited on his own note. He asked the owl to stay for a response and pulled off the note. It was actually from Ginny.

Hi Harry

I haven't heard from you this summer and I did say I would take care of you so I wanted to see how you were. Ron and Hermione said you were fantastic in the Quidditch matches. Too bad you didn't win the Cup.

Hermione was really amazed that you sent her and Cho out shopping. She said that she really likes what she got. She also said you wouldn't believe what Cho bought and that you probably wouldn't let her wear it.

Well that's about it. I hope you come visit us this summer. I know everyone would like to see you.

Write back soon.

Ginny

Harry really liked Ginny. There was a time when he thought that something might develop between them, but then things got crazy and Cho was kind of just there. He often wondered how it would have been if he had asked Ginny out last year.

Hi Ginny

Thanks for writing. I've just been doing my own stuff this summer and it's my fault I haven't written. I should learn to be better. I was really upset that we lost the match but at least it was to Viktor. He's a really good seeker.

Did Hermione tell you why I sent them shopping? If not, I'll tell you the story at school. I'm glad she found something she liked. I don't know what she meant about what Cho bought. I thought it was one of the best things I've ever seen her in. Even if it wasn't, do you really think I could stop her from wearing something she wanted? I couldn't tell any of you three what to do or wear. None of you would listen to me.

I hope to get over this summer. I'm still trying to read/write French, and I just started going back to the Ministry last week. I don't know how long I'll be able to continue there.

I think that if France makes it back to the playoffs this year, you get first pick at coming with me. I wish I had more passes.

Take care

Harry

Harry quickly tied the note back on the little owl's leg, gave it a treat and it fluttered away happily. He would have to wait until Hedwig got back to write Hermione.

After his run the next day, Hedwig came back with Ron's note.

Harry

Things are normal here. Always kind of crazy. The twins are still living here until their store starts making money. They are building up some inventory right now, so they should open before long. I've never seen them work so hard. Even Mum seems proud of them.

You know, Dad's been mentioning things about the Ministry. Sounds like some shakeups may be coming. I think he's upset with Percy also. Keeps saying, "I don't think he knows what he's getting involved with."

Want to come over Sunday? Mum said it was ok. It will be a quiet house, the twins will be working and Percy has already moved out. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you'll be here Sunday.

Ron

Harry thought that it would be great to see them this weekend. Harry went on to write Hermione.

Hermione

How have you been? Are you going anywhere with your family over the break?

I think I'm going to see Ron on Sunday. I haven't been writing as much as I should. Sirius has been gone way more than he's been here.

You should really come and visit sometime. Tell your parents I promise to be a good boy so they won't worry.

Have you been officially informed that you are Head Girl yet? We know it will happen; it would just be nice to hear it officially.

Take care

Harry

He tied the note to Hedwig who gave him a look of 'I just got back.' He stroked her, gave her a treat and asked her to take the note to Hermione.

Thursday brought a note from Cho,

Harry.

I won't be able to come over this weekend. I have a lot of work to do with the store getting closer and am going to do some things with my parents on the weekend. I'm really going to miss you. I promise to make it up to you.

See you soon

Cho

Harry was sad but thought he should get used to it. Once he started school, they would go much longer without seeing each other. At least he was going to see Ron on Sunday.

Harry got to Debbie Bell's office on time. At his last lesson, he had been able to have her throw the cup and he apparated to catch it every time. She seemed happy enough with his progress, but wanted him to get better about choosing a destination after Apparating."Here's what we start on today. Just because you can Apparate between points almost instantly, does that mean you have to do it instantly? No. Since you can choose and alter your destination during the process, surely you can slow it down or even stop it for a time. Here are three cards with a location in this room. After I disappear, hold up one of the cards and I'll go to that location. Ready?" Debbie disappeared, Harry held up "Next to door" and suddenly Debbie appeared next to the door.

"That was great. How long can you stay gone?" Harry was really impressed with how much Debbie could do.

"Quite some time. You just start to feel tired after a while. So far, you've broken down the process into disappearing, then deciding where to go and appearing in one step. We're going to work on breaking the last to apart. We want three distinct steps. Disappearing, deciding where to go, and then finally appearing there." They worked on this until lunch, until Harry was actually able to stay gone for almost a minute. "After lunch we're going to try two more things and then we're done."

They went to eat in the cafeteria and Harry noticed a man sitting in the far corner talking to two other wizards, one was Percy Weasley. Harry tried to scoot around to avoid being seen but already people had started pointing and mumbling. Playing Quidditch had put him out in the public quite a lot. This was another reason he liked the Unspeakable department, they didn't treat him like a celebrity.

Debbie asked Harry why he was acting strange so he told her about Percy and the giants last year. "Well join the club. None of them like us. And, everybody in here has already seen you already. The taller man is Noel Gallah. He has been moving up quickly the last couple years. Somehow he just got promoted to the Minister of Education. We think that he really wants to control our department. There's something about him I'm not comfortable with."

"He looks familiar to me; I just can't place from where," Harry said. He and Debbie started to get up to leave but noticed the three men get up quickly and come over.

"Hello Miss Bell," the taller man said greeting Debbie. He then turned to Harry and extended his hand. "Now, what would bring France's star seeker to our Ministry today? I'm Noel Gallah, Minister of Education. I don't believe we've ever met." The tall man said staring at Harry.

Harry shook his hand and said, "I'm getting a little tour sir. I'm not sure we've met or not. You seem quite familiar to me." Harry stared back trying to place the man.

"Well, I do have one of those common faces. A tour you say?" The man said suspiciously but quickly went back to his original charming tone. "Yes, that must be interesting. I imagine they wanted to thank you for helping uncover a rogue ex-employee last year. Very thoughtful of them," Mr. Gallah added.

Percy spoke up in his same irritating tone. "You had a whole summer here just a couple years ago. Surely nothing has changed to make another tour very interesting."

Harry still hadn't forgiven him about leaking information to the press so he said, "Well they did want to ask some specific questions about the giants and I volunteered to tell them anything I knew."

Harry could tell that hit a nerve with Percy, but Mr. Gallah spoke again, "Yes, well everyone in the Ministry regrets that little incident. I'm sure there are no hard feelings here. We'll let you get back to your tour. Maybe you could tell me about it sometime. You probably know more than I do about that group."

The three men left and Debbie said, "I don't think Percy likes you."

Harry and Debbie went back to the training room. "Ok, what I want you to do now is to stand in this corner, cast a spell to the other corner and then go over and block the spell before it hits the wall." Harry was able to do it on the second try. The first time, he didn't block quick enough and was glad he only used the jelly-legs curse.

"The final thing on advance Apparation I want to see is if you can take an object out of the air. I will throw the cup without you seeing where; I want you to Apparate to it while it is in the air, get it and then Apparate back here before you fall." Debbie said sounding like this was just another obvious thing to do.

Harry looked worried but said he was ready. Debbie threw the cup and tapped Harry who had his eyes closed. When the cup started coming down, Harry appeared next to it and grabbed it but wasn't able to Apparate before he fell. Luckily Debbie had cushioned his landing and he wasn't hurt. "Damn!" Harry said loudly.

"Don't worry about it. That was very close. You got distracted by falling. You had plenty of time once you felt yourself fall to Apparate I've seen you do it faster than that. Don't worry about falling. Just concentrate on what you know you have to do. Think about it. If you ever fall off a ledge panicked, you're done for. If you keep your head, you can just Apparate away. Not many people would keep their head in a situation like that unless they had practiced and knew what to do."

They worked on this for the rest of the afternoon until finally Harry was able to do it. He even got to where he could get two cups out of the air. Debbie seemed pleased. "Well, that was all I am supposed to show you. But, since we have another day, would you like to learn some very basic medic spells? I can show you how to stop minor bleeding and to set minor bone breaks, and how to stretcher someone. Personally, I think all Aurors should know these things."

"I'd love that. Thanks. Will I need to take a test or anything like last time?" Harry said, happy to be able to learn something new.

Debbie looked confused. "No test, we just fill out the form that says you have done all the training required to be an Auror. That's it. See you next week."

Harry went home and heard voices from the kitchen. He walked in and someone was sitting with Sirius. "Hermione! What are you doing here?" Harry's already good mood just increased. Hermione was one of his two best friends and he had been feeling closer to her over the past year.

"Good to see you too Harry," Hermione said smiling as she came over to hug him, "You told me to come over sometime? Do I need to make an appointment now?" she joked as she sat back down.

"Of course not. You can come anytime you want. So, are you an official Head Girl yet?" Harry asked, knowing that she would be the obvious choice. Hermione had the top grades and she took responsibilities very seriously.

"No," she said with some disappointment. "I really hope to get it, even though it will mean even more teasing from you and Ron."

"I won't tease you. I'm going to try and be a good student and get this last year over with as quick as I can."

"That tired of spending so much time with us?" Hermione joked.

"He just wants to get out of school and marry Cho," Sirius added.

"Ha, ha... Next subject. Are you going on any trips with your parents this year?" asked Harry trying to get the subject off of him and Cho.

"I don't think so, they're really busy and I need to start studying before long. We've got N.E.W.T.s this year you know." Hermione's face turned very serious when she said this. Hermione had been planning for these tests for over a year already and wanted to get as many as possible.

Sirius talked about how much he hated those tests. Then he left Harry and Hermione alone to talk. After getting Hermione to tell him all about her summer so far, Harry really wanted to ask about something, "So, are you and Ron really ok now? I'm going over to the Burrow this Sunday."

Harry could feel her tense up a bit. "It just feels different. We don't fight or anything, but it doesn't feel like we're as close," she said. "I've owled a few times and he's only responded once. Ginny said he's been talking about Parvati a lot."

Harry thought that Ron had always talked about Parvati. "After the three of us do some things this year, it'll all be back to normal," Harry said quickly. "We should try to have some fun this year."

"I couldn't stand it last year when we were fighting. You and Ron can fight and Ron and I can fight, but never you and me," Hermione said sounding regretful.

"I didn't like it either. Let's not let it happen again," Harry said and then told her about Percy and Mr. Gallah. "That Mr. Gallah seems familiar." Harry mentioned, and then he thought of something else. "Can I try something I learned out on you? It won't hurt, I promise." Harry asked but still had a smile on his face. Hermione seemed nervous but agreed. "Ok, start telling me about the latest spell book you read." Hermione seemed confused but started talking.

"Oh it was really interesting, this was very advanced" and then she couldn't open her mouth. Harry had concentrated and thought 'Tiaree Linguis' and been able to perform the focused bind spell on her without his wand. He quickly released the spell.

"What was that? When did you learn it?" Hermione was excited, not at all upset about him doing that to her.

"I finished my Auror training today and they were teaching me some focused bind spells. I wanted to see if I could do any without my wand. So far I've only done basic banishing and summoning that way. Want to learn them?" Harry asked and Hermione wrote the spells down anxious to try them out when she got back to school.

"I can't wait to try this out," she said with a wicked look in her eye. "I really want to hear what else you learned but I need to get home."

"Come back soon, this has been great," Harry said hugging her. He felt more comfortable with Hermione than just about anyone else.

"As great as when Cho comes over?" Hermione asked jokingly.

"Well, parts of it," Harry said as she was leaving.

The next morning seemed to take forever to arrive since Harry was so excited about going to The Burrow. He was up early but couldn't leave for a while so he had his morning run and took his time getting ready. Finally once it seemed like a reasonable time he left for The Burrow.

Harry apparated outside and knocked on the door. Ginny answered and immediately hugged him tightly. It struck Harry that Ginny seemed to mature quite a bit, even over the short time since he had seen her last. "What did you knock for? You just come in. I'm so glad you're here. I hoped you'd come early."

Mrs. Weasley gave him a really big motherly hug and said, "We're sorry you didn't with the cup dear. Ron said you played great. Now all he talks about is working for a Quidditch team." Harry smiled at this because he knew the main reason Ron wanted to work for a team was to see all the pretty girls that came around. "The boys are out back doing who knows what," Mrs. Weasley added.

Mr. Weasley came over and greeted him warmly and asked about Sirius. After telling Mr. Weasley how Sirius was doing, Harry thought for a second and said, "Mr. Weasley can I ask you something about the ministry?" Mr. Weasley looked at him. "I met a man there the other day, his name was Mr. Gallah. He kind of gave me the creeps. Percy happened to be with him. What's he like?"

Harry heard Mrs. Weasley make a "frump" sound but then Mr. Weasley spoke up. "I'm really not sure Harry. He's definitely poking his nose into things a Minister of Education has no business looking into. I try to keep away from him as much as I can. Percy seems to like him though; he's kind of a role model now." Mr. Weasley now gave a questioning look to Harry and said, "You're not going back to the Unspeakables are you? I don't think it's a good time to be around the ministry."

"You're not putting yourself through all of that again are you?" Ginny asked concerned.

"I'm not doing any dueling this time. I just finished my Auror training the other day and I'm going to work on some other things for a while, like learning how to set breaks and things next week. That's useful considering my friends," he said thinking about all the minor things that had happened to Hermione, Ron and him. "I heard Mr. Fudge might be forced out," Harry said quietly.

Mr. Weasley looked up quickly. "We heard the same things. I wonder what else they know down in your department."

Just then the door flew open and he heard. "Harry! Why didn't you come out? How long have you been here?"

"Just got here." Harry replied as Ron pulled him outside. "Hey guys, how's the store coming? When are you going to open?"

"It's going great. We've got just about all our inventory ready. The opening is three weeks from yesterday. Got your invitation inside. I tell you, that girlfriend of yours has a brilliant business mind," Fred said.

"And, she laughs at most of our stuff," George added. "Couldn't be doing this without her, she's been a big help. We'll keep an eye on her while you're at school. Any funny business and we'll send an owl."

"Unless the funny business is with us of course," Fred added.

Ron's mom called him inside for a minute. Harry called the twins over. "If you guys need a real investor, let me know. I can't believe what they pay me to play Quidditch and I could spare some on a good investment."

"Thanks mate but your girlfriend beat you to it. She said she couldn't believe what you're paying her to be your manager and she just finished Kristi's contract so she wanted to invest and it came at just the right time," Fred said smiling. Harry wondered why Cho didn't say anything about finishing Kristi's contract or investing with the twins.

Spending the day at Ron's was great. Having this many people that he really liked around made the time go so much faster than at home. He spent quite a lot of the time talking to Ginny during the day. He had been feeling a lot more comfortable around her and was impressed by how composed and natural she was. It was a far cry from the girl he met the summer before his second year of school.

Later when it was about time to go home, Harry was talking to Ron alone, "So, heard anything from Hermione?"

"Yeah, we wrote once earlier. Not a whole lot to talk about anymore. I wrote Parvati a few times though. Thought about trying that again."

"That's good. I really liked having someone to date at school. You should make sure Hermione knows you still want her as a good friend." Harry thought for a moment about not having anyone at school this year. He realized it was getting late. "I need to be going." Harry said his goodbyes and Mrs. Weasley loaded him down with leftovers before he went home.

Sirius was waiting in the kitchen with a concerned look. "What's going on Sirius?"

"Death Eaters attacked the house next door to Cornelius Fudge. We think it was to send a message. Things are starting to happen more often. Dumbledore wants me to meet him at the school Friday night and said I could bring you if you're interested. He probably figures you'll find out even if you're not there."

Harry's attitude changed immediately. He had felt like a kid all day, but now suddenly felt the weight of things he thought were his responsibility back on his shoulders. "Yes I want to go. I wonder what other information he has."

"There was an owl while you were out." Sirius handed Harry the letter.

Harry

I really missed you this week. I shouldn't have gone with my parents and came to see you instead. My mom would have been upset, but my father would have understood.

I finished Kristi's contract so now all I have to work on is the business and your investments. Your invitation to the store's opening should be coming soon. I think you'll like it.

Hope you had a good weekend. Rub your charm before you go to bed and think of me. I can't wait to see you this weekend.

I love you

Cho

Well, she mentioned the contract, but why not the investment? Harry wondered. He decided to write her back tomorrow and went on to bed.