Forever Family

Chapter 24

Publish Date: 12/04/18

"Well, who's gonna be Head Auror now?" Ginny asked. She watched as Harry's eyes scanned the last line of the page. His eyes widened as he got to the end of the letter.

"I am."

A stunned silence enveloped the group. Hermione was the first to react. She stood up and threw her arms around Harry.

"Congratulations, Harry! That's brilliant!"

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed. "That's amazing, mate!" Ginny's display of congratulations was a lot less verbal than Ron or Hermione's—she simply flung her arms around Harry's neck and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss.

"Oi!" Ron exclaimed after a moment. Harry and Ginny pulled away, their faces flushed.

"You'll make a brilliant Head Auror, love," Ginny grinned at her husband. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, guys." Harry examined the letter again, and set it on the table for Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to see.

Mr. Potter,
After asking Auror Roberts multiple questions on Veritaserum, the Ministry has come to the conclusion that Roberts is a Death Eater, along with the attacker he was working with. He had the Dark Mark, and we have no reason not to be suspicious.

Roberts' responses proved that he was, in fact, trying to steer you away from the attacker's whereabouts by giving you false information. That, combined with Roberts doing a case behind the Ministry's back, has given him a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

We've located the attacker, a man by the name of  Walden Macnair, and he was sent off to Azkaban this morning. With Roberts in Azkaban, the position of Head Auror is currently empty. It was a unanimous decision that the position was given to you.

Please come by my office tomorrow morning to discuss your new position, if you do agree to accept. We'd love to have you as Head Auror, Mr. Potter.

Yours,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of  Magic

Once everyone had finished reading the letter, Hermione spoke up. "You will accept, won't you, Harry?"

"'Course I'm going to accept, 'Mione."

"Merlin, I can see the headlines already," Ron grinned. "Harry Potter: Head Auror at 22!"

"Just as long as Skeeter's not writing it," Ginny smirked. A comfortable silence settled among the group. Because it was getting late, and they all had to work tomorrow, Ron and Hermione went home so they could all go to bed.

Despite having Ginny's arms wrapped around him, Harry found it hard to fall asleep. After all, tomorrow would be his first day as Head Auror, and he was exhilarated.

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Harry woke up early the next morning. He spent some time getting ready, as he wanted to make a good impression. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he went to join Ginny and Teddy downstairs.

"Harry!" Teddy's loud voice was the first thing Harry heard as he made his way into the kitchen. For someone who was up so early, Teddy sure had a lot of energy.

"Hi, Teddy." Harry yawned and got himself some coffee. "Morning, Gin."

"Morning, love. Excited for work today?"

Harry grinned. He had been wanting to be an Auror since he was fifteen, and the fact that he was now Head Auror seemed like a dream come true.

"Yeah."

"Hey, Harry, I've got to go to St. Mungo's to get more of my potion for nightmares. Is it okay if I drop Teddy off at Mum's before I go to practice?" Ginny asked. Harry nodded. "Thanks."

"The potion works, then?" Harry asked over a mug of coffee.

"Yeah," Ginny smiled.

Ginny and Teddy finished their breakfast quickly so that Ginny could get to practice on time. After a rushed goodbye and a quick kiss, Harry was alone in the house.

He finished his coffee and had a quick serving of eggs before Apparating to the Ministry.

The Ministry was bustling, as usual. Today, however, people seemed to make way for Harry to walk through the crowds. More than they usually did, anyway. Harry quickly made his way to Kingsley's office.

Upon reaching the Minister's office, Harry knocked on the door. He was greeted a moment later by a smiling Kingsley.

"Yes, Harry, come on in." Kingsley held the door open for him to enter. "I trust you're here because you accept the Head Auror position?"

"Yes, sir." Harry grinned. Kingsley smiled in satisfaction.

"Well, the Auror Department is lucky to have you."

Kingsley spent the next hour explaining different parts of the job to Harry. From organizing cases, to leading training sessions, to even later nights, the job sounded demanding.

"Of course, you will be getting information from me about people I want you to keep track of," Kingsley explained. Harry nodded.

"Do the other Aurors know about Roberts?" Harry inquired, his eyebrow raised. "It all happened quite quickly."

"Yes, yes, everybody's been informed. In fact, I think that's all I have for you today. Are you ready to go back to the Auror Office?"

"I guess so," Harry shrugged. He was as ready as he'll ever be. Kingsley and Harry walked back to the Auror Office, ready to introduce the others to their new Head Auror.

Inside the office, Aurors were talking, mostly about Roberts. Kingsley stepped into the room. Ron gave Harry an encouraging smile.

"May I have everyone's attention, please?" Everybody stopped talking at the sight of the Minister. "I am proud to introduce your new Head Auror—Mr. Harry Potter!"

All the Aurors clapped. Harry could have sworn he even heard a 'Thank Merlin!' or two. Once the cheering had died down, he started to speak.

"Thank you. I'm sure we all know by now what happened with Roberts." A few murmurs were heard in the crowd. "I want us to start fresh, and to put the past behind us. The Death Eaters are gone, and it's up to us to keep it that way."

The crowd cheered again. It seemed that Harry's days of teaching the DA were coming back to him, and he was more excited than ever.

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"If anyone's going to be capable of handling the job, it's Harry," Hermione said. Right after work, Harry and Ginny had invited Ron and Hermione over to talk about Harry's first day as Head Auror. Harry had just told everyone about how demanding the job was going to be.

"I agree with 'Mione on this one," Ron said. "C'mon, mate, stop being so modest for a minute and just admit you're brilliant."

Ginny laughed. "Besides, you taught the DA. This is basically the same, except now you're getting paid."

"I guess that's true."

"Hey, when are we gonna tell Mum and the others?" Ron asked. Ginny thought for a moment.

"I s'pose we could do it Sunday, at dinner." Ginny suggested. The others seemed to like this idea. The group of four talked for a while, taking advantage of their free time.

No matter what challenges I face in this job, Harry thought, at least I have them to help me through it.

A/N: Hey guys, here's Chapter 24! How'd you like it? Thanks for reading! 💛
Words: 1,115