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Chapter Text

The Internship- Chapter One

Harry sat with his friends Ron and Hermione at breakfast as they approached the end of their Third Year at Hogwarts. He was upset that Professor Lupin had resigned because Snape had leaked that he was a Werewolf to the Slytherins. He would be returning to his relatives now although Lupin had promised to keep in contact so he would have another bright spark to add to what would likely be a pretty awful summer.

He heard the distinctive sound of the morning postal owls arrive and looked up to see if Hedwig was there, but he didn't see her. What he did see were three Barn owls flying towards him, Ron and Hermione.

"Dear Mr Potter,

It is my great pleasure to inform you that having looked at your years Defence Against the Dark Arts grades we have determined that you are particularly talented in this field. It is for this reason that we hereby extend the offer of a summer internship with the Auror Office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We make this offer as we believe that you may have potential.

If you wish to accept this offer simply write a letter of confirmation of acceptance and we will inform you of any further details. The internship runs from July 1st to August 31st and will cover the basic skills of an Auror. We hope that you will accept this offer and look forward to seeing you at seven thirty am on July 1st.

Also, in this envelope you will find a list of all the equipment that you will need to either purchase or acquire for the duration of your Internship.

Regards,
Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office"

Harry looked at the letter with a look of shock before turning to Ron and Hermione and seeing equal looks of shock on their faces. Ron went to speak but both Harry and Hermione gave him a look that said, "not here". As if they read each other’s minds they stood and made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Minerva Mcgonagall was looking forward to a well-deserved rest over the summer. She was deeply upset at the forced resignation of one of her favourite ever students but Professor Snape had told his Slytherin's about Remus' lycanthropy so Remus had resigned to prevent a scandal. She had always had a soft spot for the troublemakers in Gryffindor House the Marauders were a pleasure to teach as were the Weasley twins, you just never knew what they would come out with next. She thought about her current favourite students. Potter, Granger and Weasley were a joy to teach. They were always up to something and although she worried about them, they always rose to the occasion. She turned to look at her favourite trio, who some staff had started to call the Golden Trio.

She saw a Barn owl land in front of each of them. She curiously continued looking at them as they took the letters and opened them. She became concerned as she saw the look of shock on the three young lions faces before they looked at each other and in silent agreement; the likes of which she'd only seen the Marauders and Weasley twins; and made their way quickly but calmly out of the hall.

She wouldn't lie to herself and say that she wasn't worried about the trio, anything that brought a look of shock to all three of their faces must be pretty big. She looked at Albus to see if he had noticed but she saw that he was heavily involved in a conversation with Filius. She contemplated going after the trio but decided not to, if they needed her help then they would most likely ask for it or knowing the three as well as she did, they'd probably figure it out by themselves. Having decided to leave the trio be for the moment she turned back to her breakfast and once she had finished that she made her way to her office and started grading the end of year assignment and then she looked over her reports for the rest of the year.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room in silence. As they climbed through the Portrait Hole, they were glad to see that it was empty apart from them as they made their way to their favourite seats in front of the fire. They sat Harry in an armchair and Ron and Hermione on a sofa before looking at each other for a moment before Harry spoke.

"So, what were your letter about?"

"You first Harry" said Ron

"Well, my letter was from someone named Rufus Scrimgeour and he was offering me a summer internship with the Auror Office" finished Harry as he looked at both Ron and Hermione.

"That's what mine said as well" blurted out Hermione.

"Mine too" Ron added.

Harry thought about the offer for a second before realising that he didn't even no what an Auror was.

"Err guys, what's an Auror?" he stuttered.

" You don't know what an Auror is" cried Ron incredulously before Hermione interrupted

"Ron, Harry and I weren't raised in the magical world as you know" she said with a slightly exasperated tone.

"Oh yeah, I forget that sometimes" he sheepishly " sorry mate" he said before clearing his throat.

"It's fine, Ron" Ron nodded before speaking.

"Well, anyway. Aurors work for the Ministry of Magic. They’re about the most elite law enforcement operatives that the Ministry employs. According to what my dad told me the Aurors main role is as a Dark Wizard Catcher. During You-Know-Who's time the Aurors were the ones who did most of the fighting and after you got your scar it was the Aurors who tracked down and caught most of his Death Eater's at least the ones who are now in Azkaban" he paused for breath. "The greatest Auror of all time is Mad-Eye Moody. Half the cells in Azkaban are filled thanks to him" he finished.

"So Aurors fight Dark Wizards" Harry asked.

"Yeah mate" Ron replied.

"So are we going to accept the offer" Harry asked as he looked at his friends.

"Yeah we should" said Ron "Aurors are the best of the best if they asked us it's because they think that we can do it" he finished.

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking "We should speak to Professor Mcgonagall about it first before we accept" she advised. Ron looked slightly annoyed that they would be talking to Mcgonagall but Harry agreed with Hermione. If they were going to do an internship, then they should probably get some advice from Professor Mcgonagall.

"I agree with Hermione" he said. Hermione was beaming whilst Ron looked stunned.

"Come on mate. Me and Hermione know almost nothing about how the Ministry works and if we’re going to be interns there then we should probably know more about it, right" he finished.

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing "Okay then, let's go talk to Mcgonagall. If we’re lucky she'll be in her office.

They stood up and made their way to Mcgonagall's office.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Minerva had just finished writing up her end of year report on Gryffindor House when she heard a knock at the door. She wondered who it could be but then she remembered the Golden Trio's reactions at breakfast and she wondered whether she was going to find out what that had been about.

"Enter" she called out from her desk and low and behold the Trio entered.

"Ah Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger what can I do for you" she asked genuinely curious about why they were here. She saw them pause for a moment before wordlessly they seemed to decide that Hermione would be the one to speak, she was the Trio's spokesperson apparently

"Well, Professor this morning at breakfast we each received an owl from the Ministry of Magic" she paused leaving Mcgonagall to wonder what the Ministry would want with three of her students.

"Go on" she encouraged.

"The letters were offering each of us a summer internship at the Auror Office and we were looking for some advice on it, Professor" Miss Granger finished.

Minerva was shocked and it was only through decades of practice that she was able to keep the shock off of her face.

"The Auror Office you say"

"Yes, Professor" this time Harry spoke

She sat back in her chair and contemplated what she had just heard. Of all the things that could shock the students before her she had not predicted this. The Ministry usually had a number of internships open to Hogwarts students over the summer and the students were encouraged to do one but the Auror Office was different, unlike the rest of the Ministry it didn't offer internships to the public. What it did do was offer them privately and they usually just wrote to the intended person to ask, usually it was a formality as it was nearly always accepted.

"May I have a look at the letter please" she asked, and Harry handed over his copy of the letter, as she read it through she was surprised to see that the letter was from Rufus Scrimgeour himself. If the Head of the Auror Office was writing to them personally then it must be a serious request. She started to think of the benefits that the internship could bring to the three students sat in front of her desk. The three young lions before her had a penchant for getting into trouble, a trait that the Auror Office would value plus they had an inane ability for working things out and investigating plus they seemed to be the school experts at improvisation and she knew from the reports that Remus had given her that they were top three at DADA in their year with Harry especially allegedly being the best in the whole school. Add in the fact that these always seemed to have a Dark Wizard or Dark Creature after them and she knew from what she usually discusses with her fifth years what the requirements an Auror needed and they were all capable of them. She had made her choice.

"Personally, I believe that you should do the internship" she said.

"Why do say that, Professor" asked Harry.

"You three have a habit of finding yourselves in dangerous situations and you are equally capable at finding a way out of them" she said whilst trying to give a serious look but the upsides of her mouth were slightly turning upwards as she fought a smile. As a Hogwarts Professor and Deputy Headmistress she should disapprove but as Head of Gryffindor House she did approve. Godric Gryffindor had liked people in his House to have a troublesome streak and she wholeheartedly agreed with his line of thinking. To her being the Head of Gryffindor House was probably the most enjoyable job at Hogwarts whilst Filius could praise his Ravenclaws on their results but that got dull after a while, Pamona could praise her Hufflepuffs on their hard-work but that became nothing more than a normal bit of praise after a while and Severus could praise his House for staying out of his way. She on the other hand had many things that she could be proud of her Gryffindors for. A highly successful and complicated prank was to be praised, an act of extreme bravery was to be praised, a Quidditch victory was to be praised and a new adventure was to be encouraged as long as no one was hurt.

The trio blushed at the praise and looked at each other with a grin "so you think that we should do it then, Professor"

"Yes, I think you should" she said with a smile.

"What about the equipment that we will need?" said Ron.

"Let's have a look shall we" said Professor Mcgonagall with a smile as she opened the equipment list and read it out:

"If you opt to accept the offer of an internship then you will need the following pieces of equipment:

A wand holster for either hand
A Potion's belt
A good, concealable cloak
A second wand
A Beginner's Guide to Magical Combat by Oliver Moody
A Basic History of the Dark Arts by Theseus Scamander
A Beginners Guide to Investigation by Venusia Crickerly
How to use Transfiguration in Combat by Albus Dumbledore
Combative Potions and the use of Poisons and Antidotes by Vindictus Viridian
Curses and Counter-Curses by Professor Vindictus Viridian
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
How to use Charms in Combat by Filius Flitwick
Curse-Breaking: A Beginners Guide by Professor Patricia Rakepick
The Book of Charms and Spells by Samuel Journeux

Any further equipment or books will be provided for you. Also, if you have a parent or guardian who works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement then please include their name and the Office that they work for and we will send you a code for a discount as a DMLE sponsor.

Signed,
Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office

"That's a lot of books" said Harry as he noticed Ron pale at the mention of books and Hermione eyes held a look of joy at the thought of more books.

"Why do we need a second wand though" asked Harry curiously.

"Well, Mr Potter most Aurors have at least two wands and for a few reasons. One is so that if they are disarmed, they have a spare, another is that they usually use one at home and another at work. They also have multiple because some Aurors are capable of using two wands at once and being able to cast and shield at the same time is a very valuable skill, it's also likely why you need two wand holsters" she finished.

"How am I going to pay for all of this" moaned Ron. Although he did raise a good point as his family were not exactly rich and he knew that it had cost the family to get Ron a new wand last summer. It was then that he decided that he would help both of them if they needed it.

"I'll help you with the money you need, Ron" he said then when he saw Ron was about to argue he continued "Ron, I don't have a home, the closest thing that I've got to one is Hogwarts and then after that the Burrow. Your family have always treated me properly more so than my own has ever done" he finished. He then looked at Ron who was mouth agape whilst Hermione looked concerned. Inside she felt a wave of worry but quickly focused back on the conversation.

Ron looked like he was trying to find the words to speak before just muttering "thanks, mate".

"When are we going to go and buy those things then because we won't have time to do it between the year ending and the internship starting" said Hermione trying to bring the conversation back to a more easy-going topic.

"I could take you on Saturday if that is acceptable to you three" she said with a smile. Technically, students couldn't go off the schoolground unless it was a Hogsmeade weekend but if they were accompanied by a teacher then they could.

"It is, Professor" said Harry after a look at Ron and Hermione.

"Professor" Harry started but nervously pauses almost as if he was unsure about what he wanted to say. She looked at him and she could see a nervousness in his green eyes that from the looks Ron and Hermione had on their faces was known only to him.

"Yes Harry" she encouraged tenderly making sure not to be too harsh as it was clear that he wanted to tell her something important and if he needed support then she would give him it as she knew that he must be taking Professor Lupin's departure hard.

Harry sat there for moment before speaking " Professor if it's possible can you not inform Professor Dumbledore that I've got an internship" he finished before adding a heartfelt "please", from the reactions of Weasley and Granger it was clear that they were surprised at his request as she was.

Minerva considered her options as the Headmaster of the school Dumbledore should technically know that she was taking three students of the grounds but then as Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor House she could approve it without telling Albus but she first needed to know why Harry didn't want Albus knowing.

"Before I can agree Harry, I need to know why you don't want Professor Dumbledore to know"

Harry was silent for a moment before sighing "every year he makes me return to my relatives and I know that if he finds out about the internship he'll just say it's too dangerous and then force me to spend the rest of the summer basically locked in my room by my relatives." he finished "at least until the Weasley's come and get me" he added quickly.

She was disturbed by what she had heard, and she decided to investigate it over the summer but after considering Harry's request she decided that she would go along with it.

"Okay, Potter, I will not inform Professor Dumbledore of your internship" she said with a smile.

"Can you do the same for Ron and I as well professor" said Hermione whom after she gave her a questioning look elaborated "if Professor Dumbledore finds out that both Ron and I have internships then he'll become suspicious of Harry as well. So, it's better all-round if Professor Dumbledore doesn't know about our internships at all. Please Professor" she added at the end in an almost desperate voice.

After a momentary pause in which she saw the logic behind what Miss Granger was saying she said "Okay I will not inform him about your internships. Will Saturday at 10 am be a good time to go and buy the things that you need?" she asked trying to keep a positive feel to the meeting and she was pleases to see three nods in return.

"Okay meet me here in my office and we'll floo to the Leaky Cauldron together. Now go and enjoy the rest of the day" she with a smile as they stood up and thanked her for being understanding before leaving her office and closing the door on their way out. She sat down and wondered why they had decided for such discretion from her with regards to Professor Dumbledore. She had guesses that Harry's homelife wasn't exactly great, but she never would have guesses that he was basically locked in his room for most of the summer, almost like a prisoner. She had been so against leaving Harry with those muggles, but Albas had overruled her. If what Harry had said was any indication, then she should have fought Albus harder about placing Harry with his relatives but that was water under the bridge now but at least she could help him and his friends with this opportunity. She remembered when she'd seen Harry's name on the list of first years to be sorted. She had been so excited that the son of her two favourite students was coming to Hogwarts. She just hoped that living with those muggles hadn't adversely affected Harry and from what she had seen of him over the last three years he was an almost perfect mix of his parents. Outwardly he was James with Lily's eyes whilst inwardly he was Lily with a little bit of James' troublesome streak in him exemplified with his adventures and his willingness to help out his best mate. She had been so pleased when he had been sorted into Gryffindor and had worried about him throughout his time at Hogwarts. She knew a little about his adventures and what she had heard worried her.

Anyway, now was not the time to think over past decisions she could help him now and she would. Smiling she turned back to the parchments that needed to be filled out for the end of year report and went back to her parchments. There was still work to be done!

Chapter Text

The Internship- Chapter Two

Harry awoke Saturday morning with a feeling of elation. He and his friends had sent their replies accepting the internship three day ago and today they were going to buy the equipment that they needed. He had been really happy when he realised that he wasn't going to be trapped with his relatives all summer add in the bonus that he was going to be spending most of the summer with his best friends doing an important job and it was almost good enough to replace the loss of Sirius' freedom but it hadn't completely. He planned to write to Lupin this summer to try and find out more about his parents, so he also had that to look forward to.

He looked at the clock on his bedside table and saw that it read 08:00 he looked to Ron who was still snoring whilst the rest of their dormmates were still fast asleep. He quietly walked towards Ron and gently shook his shoulder. Ron mumbled something along the lines of "five more minutes" causing Harry to hiss in turn "Ron, wake up" causing Ron to actually wake up far quicker than normal.

"What time is it" he asked groggily as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Eight" Harry said as he moved back towards his own bed to gather the things that he'd need for a shower. Once he had what he needed he looked at Ron who had started to gather what he needed.

"I'm going for a shower" said Harry.

"Sure" he heard Ron say before he entered the shower room. Fifteen minutes later he emerged having just enjoyed one of the simplest pleasures that he could at Hogwarts, a long, hot shower.
He dried of and changed in to casual clothes for the day before he and a now fully awake Ron headed down to the Common Room to meet Hermione who they found waiting for them in a chair by the fire in the empty Common Room. She looked up as she saw them and smiled before standing up and walking towards them.

"Ready to go down to breakfast" she asked with a smile. Harry nodded and replied "yeah, I'm starving" causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

They made small talk as they made their way to the Great Hall and were unsurprised to find it empty of all but Professor's Snape, Flitwick and Mcgonagall. They sat and had breakfast whilst talking quietly amongst themselves. Harry noticed Snape glance at them before turning back to his breakfast and leaving shortly afterwards. Flitwick was discussing something with Mcgonagall. They finished their breakfast and went back to Gryffindor Tower where they grabbed their money bags and waited. At ten to ten they made their way down to Mcgonagall's office where they found her waiting for them. She greeted them with a smile "ready to go" she asked and they all nodded in return.

"We'll floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then make our way to Gringotts" she said as she stepped towards the fireplace before gesturing for them to go first. Harry really hated floo travel but it was the best way to get to Diagon Alley so he would use it. He stepped into the fireplace after Ron and after grabbing a handful of floo powder dropped it into the fire and called out "The Leaky Cauldron" before he was suddenly zooming past dozens of other fireplaces in a dizzying fashion. He mad sure to keep his elbows tucked in and after what felt like hours but in reality was only a few minutes he arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and landed in the heap that he usually did when he used floo travel. He felt a hand on his arm as he saw a grinning Ron help him too his feet.

"Still don't like floo travel, eh mate"

"I think I'll stick with flying" he said with a smile as Hermione came flying out of fireplace followed by an much calmer Professor Mcgonagall who looked as though she was at least a little amused.

"I hate floo travel" panted Hermione causing Ron and Harry to grin.

"I don't really like it either" said Harry.

"Shall we head to Gringotts then" said Mcgonagall as she began to move towards the door that led to Diagon Alley and after tapping the appropriate bricks they made their way down the alley to the great white building that was Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Harry walked up to one of the tellers and stated in his best formal voice "I wish to make a withdrawal from my vault". The bored Goblin looked up and asked name "Harry Potter". This caused the Goblin's head to shoot up and after glancing briefly at his scar he asked "Vault Number?".

"687" Harry stated.

"May I see your key please sir" the Goblin asked with a much more pleasant demeaner now.

"Of course" said Harry handing over his key. The Goblin examined it for a moment before deciding that it was real and handing it back. "Everything seems to be in order. I'll have someone escort you down to your vault" finished the Goblin with what must have been the Goblin version of a smile.

A few minutes later a elderly Goblin who introduced himself as Bogrod led to them to the railcar that would take them down to Harry's vault. After a sickening journey down at least for Hermione and Mcgonagall. They arrived outside Vault 687 and Harry approached before filling his money bag with a combination of Knuts, Sickles and Galleons and fortunately managed to keep the others from seeing inside the vault. After he'd gathered enough money they headed up back the surface and back out into the bright sunshine of Diagon Alley.

"Madam Malkins is just this way and then Flourish & Blott's is only a little further down as she led them back in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. After a very short walk they made their way into Madam Malkins where each was fitted with a set of robes that they would wear for the internship. Ron was fitted with a Dark Blue robe that suited him well whilst Hermione was fitted with a Dark Grey robe that looked good on her. Harry on the other hand was fitted with a set of Ruby Red robes that according to the others really suited him. They also had to find themselves a cloak. Ron chose a lime green cloak whilst Hermione chose an electric blue cloak. Harry chose a fine Dark Grey cloak with a heavy hood. After paying for their purchases they made their way further down Diagon Alley to Flourish & Blott's.

Upon entering the bookshop they were approached by the same man that had met them last summer. When he saw the list of books that the three required he looked slightly surprised but he didn't question it. "I'll be right back" he said as he left to go and gather the needed books. He returned a lot quicker than Harry would have guessed levitating three bundles of books. Harry paid for them and once they left the shop Professor Mcgonagall shrunk the packages down so that they could put them in their pockets. They then headed to the Apothecary where they purchased their the potions belts that they would need. They also each chose to buy a bag with an undetectable extension charm so they could carry all of their things without anyone knowing. Harry chose a plain, non-descript brown leather bag that looked reliable to him whilst Ron chose a grey leather bag and Hermione chose a black leather bag. They stopped for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. It was actually quite nice as Professor Mcgonagall questioned them about what they expected the internship to be like. After lunch they made their way to Ollivanders to purchase their second wands.

As they approached the shabby old shop Harry took a good look at it. It had faded gold lettering above the shop front that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine wands since 382 B.C. and in the window display was a single wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. As they entered Harry heard a bell ring as he saw the narrow and shabby area where he had purchased his first wand nearly three years ago. He saw that the single, spindly chair remained the only furniture in the shop. He looked around and saw thousands of dusty, old boxes that he knew contained wands, he wondered if any of them would be the one that chose him.

He turned as he heard someone enter from the back room and saw the silver-eyed and white-skinned form of Garrick Ollivander. He approached Professor Mcgonagall to inquire for their reason for being there. When Professor Mcgonagall revealed that they were there for three of her students to buy a back up wand. He asked why they needed a back up wand and he heard say that it was required for a summer internship. Ollivander immediately summoned his magical tape measure and asked who was going first. Harry and Ron looked at each other before gesturing for Hermione to go first. The tape measured her and then they set about finding a second match for her.

Ollivander explained that "when a witch or wizard requires a second wand it is normally a bit tricky especially if they still have their first wand. Although usually the two wands would have either the same kind of core or the same kind of wood", so for Hermione that meant that her wand would likely be either vine wood or dragon heartstring. Hermione went through dozens of wands some did nothing at all, others looked promising but she said they didn't fell right and some had dramatic effects such as when she set fire to the chair in the room though Professor Mcgonagall was able to quickly put it out and repair the chair. After over an hour Hermione finally found a match. She was chosen by a wand that was Beech and Dragon Heartstring, twelve inches and pliant. She paid seven galleons for it with a smile on her face. "If I recall correctly the core of this wand came from a particularly majestic Hebridean Black" Ollivander stated with a twinkle in his silver eyes before asking who was up next and Harry pointed to Ron.

After he was measured they started trying out various wands unlike Hermione Ron found his second match relatively quickly and after fifteen minutes Ron was chosen by a wand of Willow and Unicorn, thirteen inches and flexible. Ron looked proudly at his second wand before stating "it's almost exactly like my current one apart from being longer" he finished with a smile. "I remember that Unicorn well. She was terribly hard to get a hair off". Then Mr Ollivander turned to Harry.

Harry stepped forward and allowed the tape measure to measure him. They then began to try out what must have been over a hundred wands. He tried wands of Birch and Dogwood, Aspen and Cherry and cores of Unicorn Hair and Dragon Heartstring none of which seemed to work. He nearly blew up the shop with four of them and Ron was lucky not to end up in the Hospital Wing when something shot out the end of one wand and nearly took his head off. A few wands did nothing at all and some he couldn't even pick up without causing him searing pain. After over two hours of trying Ollivander then pulled off a wand that he called "an unusual and rare combination". Harry took the wand and a great burst of red and gold sparks shot out the end of it before the he felt the warmth from the wand touch his hand and run through his entire body. It felt so good though he couldn't have said why. He just felt like every spell he could cast would be much more fluid and strong. He sensed that his wand chose him due to his defence potential.

"It appears Mr Potter that you have a penchant for unusual combinations. The wand you purchased three years ago was Holly and Phoenix Feather, eleven inches and nice and supple whereas this wand that has chose you now is Ebony and Phoenix Feather, thirteen inches and reasonably pliant. Wands of Ebony are particularly well suited to all forms of combative magic and to transfiguration. The Phoenix feather inside your wand came from a particularly magnificent Phoenix that I encountered in India." Ollivander finished with a pleased smile.

Harry personally thought that it was fitting that he had a wand that was so well-suited to combative magic as he certainly seemed to find himself in some pretty dangerous situations it would also explain why it made him feel the way it did. He thought about how the wand would help with his transfiguration as well as he looked at Professor Mcgonagall and saw a pleased look on her face.

"Any else I can do for you?" asked Mr Ollivander.

"Yes, can we each have a wand holster for each arm please" asked Harry.

"Certainly" said Ollivander as he gestured for them to come to the back room where he pulled out a selection of wand holsters.

"I have a variety of wand holsters on offer some are charmed some aren't take a look and try them out and see what works for you" he said as returned to main room to speak with Professor Mcgonagall.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Minerva smiled as she saw her young lions looking at the wand holsters, they looked so curious about the simple pieces of equipment that it was sort of sweet to see them act as young as they were. She knew that the Trio were all far more mature in a lot of ways than the rest of Gryffindor House and heck even more than the rest of the school. She knew that Potter was the most mature of the Trio with Granger next followed by Weasley. She couldn't think of a better group of troublemakers and she wished them every success with what they did. She was moved out of her thoughts by Mr Ollivander's approach.

"So, how did they get the Auror internship" he asked curiously as he settled himself in the lone chair in the room.

"According to the letter's they each received it was based off of their DADA results" he responded with a questioning look "they were the top three in their year in DADA this year and according to Professor Lupin they were among the best in the whole school." He looked thoughtful for a moment.

"When did they receive the letter's?" he asked.

"Three days ago. They were very enthusiastic about it" she said with a smile.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Mr Potter when he bought his first wand" he paused and Minerva gave him a look that said 'go on'.

"Expect great things from him and from Miss Granger and Mr Weasley as well" he said this with a very foreboding tone. Minerva thought for a moment before realising that she hadn't asked for Ollivanders discretion.

"There is one more thing" she said cautiously.

"Yes?" he encouraged.

"The students have requested discretion be shown about their internships and that includes keeping it from Albus" she stated plainly figuring that with this man it was better to just be honest.

"For what purpose?" he asked now generally curious. It was not often that the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts kept something from the Headmaster deliberately.

"Mr Potter fears that Albus will not let him do the internship if he finds out and will force him to spend the whole summer at his relatives house".

Ollivander looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking "Albus won't hear anything from me. You have my word on that" he said seriously. "I'm willing to swear a Wizard's Oath if that's what you require" he said and she internally paled. One did not simply agree to swear a Wizard's Oath for nothing.

"Are you sure that that's necessary?" she asked still shocked that he was considering this.

"Yes, I think it is. Most likely several people saw you today and at least one will report back to Dumbledore who will likely ask me what you were doing, so yes I think a Wizard's Oath is necessary" he finished.

"Very well" she said "swear the oath".

Mr Ollivander raised his wand and spoke "I, Garrick Ollivander do hereby swear on my magic that I will not reveal the information trusted to me this day on the price of magic, so mote it be" he finished and lowered his wand as there was a small flash of magic to signify that the oath had been recognised by Ollivanders magic.

"Thank you, Mr Ollivander" she said formally as she turned to see that her charges had finished with their choices of wand holsters and had turned to Mr Ollivander to buy them.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked through the two dozen or so different types of wand holster that were on the display. He picked up a scaly green one and fitted it to his right forearm. The piece of parchment next to the display stand said it was from a Common Welsh Green. He tried it but decided to try the others before making a decision. He tried on a variety of other ones. Made from all sorts of materials ranging from Dragonhide to normal leather to everything in between. He saw Ron trying on a treated Giant's skin one before saying that he didn't want to insult Hagrid. Hermione was looking at a holster made of Chameleon skin that changed colour based on her surroundings.

After much searching Harry decided that he would use an enchanted pair of holsters made from the hide of a Chinese Fireball. The holsters were enchanted with a concealment charm making them hard to see and an invisibility charm that made the invisible to all but the one who owned them. Hermione approved saying that they would go with his robes. Hermione herself chose a pair of holster made from Hebridean Black hide with the same enchantments as Harry's. Ron also went for a dragon hide set but his were from a Common Welsh Green with the same enchantments as Harry and Hermione's.

After collecting a holster for each arm he turned to pay and thought he saw a flash of light coming from Mr Ollivander who quickly approached him and collected his payment after casting a permanent sizing charm on each of the holster's and encouraging them to put them on which they did. He showed them how to fit their wands into the storage compartment. Harry chose to keep his original wand in his right holster whilst his new wand would go in his left holster. He wanted to keep his new wand a secret and his right hand was his wand hand so his usual wand would be located there.

After they'd paid they made their way back towards the Leaky Cauldron stopping only so Hermione could buy herself an owl. She now owned a beautiful barn owl which she named Icarus after the Greek wizard who flew to close to the sun. They'd floo'ed back to Mcgonagall's office and she wished them a good rest of the day. Looking at his watch Harry saw that it was five o'clock. Dinner would start being served in an hour leaving them with some time to return their things to their dorms and to discuss how the day had gone.

After placing their bags back in their dorms they met Hermione in the Common Room and sat at a table out of the way of the rest of Gryffindor House. As they sat Hermione began to speak "well that went well"

"Yeah it did" said Ron who surprisingly had not complained once during the whole trip.

"I can't wait to start reading those books" said Hermione excitedly causing Ron and Harry to roll their eyes which caused Hermione to let out a small huff of annoyance though they could all tell that her heart wasn't in the huff.

"What do think of your new wands then?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh mine felt so right in my hand" gushed Hermione before she continued "I didn't even know that you could have two wands at once". Come to think of it he hadn't known that before today either but then he'd never really read anything about wandlore before as it wasn't something he needed for school. He turned to Ron as he began to speak.

"Mine felt great in my hand" said Ron as he proudly looked down at his left forearm before turning to Harry expectedly. Harry thought for a moment about the best way to describe what he had felt when his new wand chose him.

"It felt like a calming fire flowing through my whole body" he paused to order his thoughts "I could just tell that every spell that I cast with it will be fluid and stronger" he finished as he looked at holster where his new wand sat in it's holster. He thought that the dark brown almost black wand looked very impressive to him and he hoped that he would be able to learn some new magic with it over the summer.

After discussing what each of them thought of their robes Hermione complimented them both on their choices whilst Harry and Ron complimented her and each other. When the clock hit six they joined the steady stream of Gryffindors going to dinner whilst acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Minerva arrived at the Great Hall for dinner relieved that the day had gone so well. Although she maintained her outwardly stoic look as well as her usual stiff posture on the inside she was bubbling with joy at how happy her three charges had seemed today, it was nice to see them act like children for once just curious about the world around them.

She took her seat next to Albus and looked at her House' table where she saw the Trio sitting down to dinner. She looked at them and saw that no one looked suspicious as to where they'd been all day. She saw Longbottom engage the trio in conversation just like a normal day. She turned back to her dinner which she ate until Albus turned to her.

"How was your day Minerva" he asked merrily.

"It was quiet Albus" she said with a practised smile though inside she was smiling slightly.

"When you missed lunch, I was beginning to get concerned" he said with a smile tht didn't quite reach his eyes.

She knew that he was slightly suspicious of her but she had a cover story "something came up today that required me to leave the school for a few hours. It's sorted now and can get back to preparing for the end of the school year meetings" she said as she took another mouthful of her dinner.

"Anything important" he asked.

"No not really" she said.

"Well anyway" began Albus "now we just have to finish up the end of year parchment work and have the end of year feast. You will be happy to know that Gryffindor have won the House Cup as well as the Quidditch Cup" he finished with a smile even though he was Headmaster she knew that he still held a great fondness for his old house and secretly loved it when they triumphed.

She smiled then she was so proud of her lions and of her House's Quidditch team. They'd had a good year and she hoped that they would continue it next year. The rest of dinner was spent in silence before she left the Great Hall to return to her living quarters looking forward to a relaxing evening in front of the fire, content that she'd helped out her three young lions today.

Chapter Text

Harry sat in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Hermione as they approached Kings Cross Station. They spent the trip back discussing what had happened over the year and Harry even received a letter from Sirius with which came with a tiny owl who he gave to Ron to make up for the loss of Scabbers. Ginny had named the owl Pigwidgeon when she saw it on her way to the trolley lady, much to Ron's annoyance.

Harry was actually looking forward to this summer as he actually had a way to get away from his aunt and uncle. They had discussed what they hoped they would learn and do during the internship. Ron hoped that they would be catching Dark Wizards until Hermione berated him saying that the Ministry wouldn't allow three teenagers to go hunting Dark Wizards. She believed that their job would be more investigative than practical. Personally, he was hoping for a mix of the two. Investigating the Dark Arts sounded fun, but he hoped he would be able to use at least a little of what they learned. He hoped that they'd be learning duelling magic as did Ron. Hermione just wanted to learn some advanced magic.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross, they grabbed their trunks, animal cages and their new bags and disembarked the train into the crushing embrace of Mrs Weasley. They had agreed beforehand that the only person they were going to tell about their internships was Mr Weasley and only because they needed his help getting to the Ministry.

When Mrs Weasley turned to greet Ginny, Percy and the Twins they were greeted by Mr Weasley.

"Hello son" he said as he hugged Ron before greeting both Harry and Hermione just as warmly.

"Good year" he asked.

"Mostly good" said Harry to which Ron and Hermione both nodded.

"We were wondering if we could have a word with you, Mr Weasley" he asked before adding "in private". Mr Weasley looked curious and gestured them over to the other side of the platform where he paused and turned to face them.

"So, what is this about" he asked.

"Well you see Mr Weasley" started Hermione, they had agreed before hand that Hermione would speak for them. "we've each been offered a summer internship at the Auror Office and Harry and I need your help to get to the Ministry to actually do it" asked Hermione. Mr Weasley looked momentarily shocked before speaking in a quiet but excited voice " The Auror Office internship" he said beaming "Their really rare how did you get them" he asked with a proud smile on his face. "Well according to the letter that we each got it was because of our Defence Against the Dark Arts grades." she said with a pleases smile at how well they had all done. Mr Weasley looked startled for a moment before asking "your grades? How good were they" he asked?

"All Outstanding" said Hermione before elaborating "Ron got ninety percent, I got ninety-five percent and Harry got one hundred percent" she finished proudly. Mr Weasley was flabbergasted, and it took him a moment to recover his voice after which he spoke.

"Amazing. Well done to all of you" he beamed at them like a proud father. "Oh and of course I'll help you get to the Ministry" he added before thinking for a moment. "In fact, it would probably be best if we got each of a reusable Portkey especially if you'll be going to the Ministry everyday." he said.

Harry had no idea what a Portkey even was and decide to voice his curiosity "what's a Portkey" he asked.

"A Portkey is an object that's been charmed to take you from one place to another instantaneously. They are usually designed to look like rubbish to a muggle say things like a deflated football or an old kettle or something along those lines" he paused for breath " they can be charmed to go off when touched, at a certain time or they can be activated by a certain word. I think it will be much easier if we get you one each as I'd have to apparate to both you and Hemione's houses to get you." he finished.

Harry thought for a moment. Having to choose between having a wizard show up at his anti-magic aunt and uncle's house everyday of the summer or get a magical device that could get him to the Ministry without his aunt and uncle even knowing he'd gone. It was a no brainer really.

"Yes, Mr Weasley I think that a Portkey is a good idea" his response was affirmed by both Ron and Hermione.

"Excellent" said Mr Weasley with a smile. "When do you start" he enquired.

"We start at seven thirty in the morning on the first" said Harry.

"May I read one of the letters please" asked Mr Weasley.

"Sure" he said and handed his letter to the older man who read it quickly. "hhhmmm" said Mr Weasley "They really must want you if Scrimgeour himself wrote to you" he said before explaining that Scrimgeour was an important Ministry official and that internships were usually handled by the Deputy Head of a Department.

"Let's see what equipment you'll need" he said as he opened the supply list and quickly read it to himself. Before sighing and looking at Ron "I'm sorry son but I'm not sure we'll be able to afford all of this even second hand" he looked at his youngest son sadly as he said this.

"Don't worry Mr Weasley we've already been shopping to get what we need" said Hermione quickly. Mr Weasley looked thoughtful before asking "when?"

"On Saturday, Professor Mcgonagall took us" Hermione added. Mr Weasley nodded before looking at Ron "How did you pay for all this son?" he said. Ron looked uncomfortable so Harry spoke up.

"I paid for them, Mr Weasley" he said.

"How much" asked Mr Weasley and Harry knew he already trying to work out a way to pay him back.

"Not enough to be a real problem" said Harry.

The red headed man went to speak again but Harry cut him off " seriously Mr Weasley I don't mind paying for Ron's stuff, I paid for Hermione's as well" he said with an almost pleading look. "Harry it's not just about the money but we can't have you just buying stuff for Ron without getting anything back from it" said Mr Weasley.

"But I am getting something back" he said forcefully. Mr Weasley looked confused so Harry expanded "I am getting to do a brilliant internship and spend the whole summer with my two best friends instead of effectively imprisoned at my relatives for two months" he said and he knew Mr Weasley could tell that it came from the heart. Harry saw a war of emotions appear on Mr Weasley's face. Shock at Harry's outburst, confusion as to what he meant then gratefulness at what he'd done for Ron and finally sorrow when he worked out what Harry meant by 'imprisoned'.

"Alright" he sighed "Thank you very much for helping Ron out, Harry" he said with a proud, fatherly smile. "Out of curiosity what wands chose you" he asked good naturedly. Ron spoke first "I got another Willow and Unicorn Hair wand dad" he said proudly as Mr Weasley smiled and turned to Hermione expectantly.

"I was chosen by a Beech and Dragon Heartstring wand" she said. Mr Weasley then turned to Harry.

"I got an Ebony and Phoenix Feather wand" he said still looking forward to what he could do with it.

"Very good, very good" he said with a smile before turning to where they'd left Mrs Weasley and the others and saw that they were ready to leave.

"I will pick you both up on at seven on the first" he said to Harry and Hermione with a smile as they began walking over to where the rest of the Weasley's awaited. They quickly made their way back through the barrier to Kings Cross and after receiving another bone-crushing hug from Mrs Weasley and a softer hug from Hermione. He bade them farewell even if only for a matter of days and walked towards his awaiting uncle.

"Hello Uncle Vernon" he greeted politely. His uncle's only response was to grunt before turning around and heading back towards his car. He also didn't help Harry with his trunk or Hedwig's cage but that was normal. He sat in the back as his uncle drove them out of London before he spoke "Good year with your freaks boy?" he grunted.

Harry fought down a scathing reply before deciding that it wasn't worth earning his uncles reply and simply said "Yes it was, Uncle Vernon".

His uncle turned to him and said "pity we couldn't dump you with them for the summer" he barked.

"Actually, I'm doing an internship at the Ministry of Magic over the summer, so you won't see much of me" he said smiling as his Uncle's face cycled from white to green to red and finally to puce.

"Yeah of course you are" he said sarcastically "like your kind would have a Ministry" he ranted.

Harry simply replies that they did and that they wouldn't have to see him for most of the summer which at least seemed to improve Uncle Vernon's mood. As they travelled down the M25 his uncle spoke "Assuming that you’re not just lying to me" he said with a sneer "what would you be doing for your internship".

Harry knew that his uncle hope that it would be a dangerous job and Harry did not disappoint "My internship is with the Auror Office" said Harry.

"What in the ruddy hell is an Aurora" grunted his uncle.

"Auror's" he stressed the words pronunciation "are Dark Wizard catchers employed by the Ministry of Magic" Harry explained before his uncle replied "law enforcement them assuming you freaks even have laws" he looked thoughtful for a second "what do they want with a miscreant like you then" he asked with a sneer.

Harry thought on how best to answer before answering despite knowing his uncle didn't really care "I was offered the internship because I got full marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts" he finished proudly.

His uncle snorted "you got good grades" he lauged "who'd you cheat off of then, one of those freaky redheads or that bushy haired bitch" he mocked.

Harry felt a surge of anger rising at his uncle but fought it down. "I didn't cheat of off anyone actually I'm really good at DADA. My teacher even said that I was one of the best in the whole school" he finished.

"You, the best, whatever nonsense your studying must be really easy if you’re the best" his uncle said with an unpleasant smile. Harry decided to just leave it at that and sat in silence for the rest of the journey.

After a two-hour long drive home they arrived back at number four, Privet Drive about an hour before tea time. His uncle sent him up to his room immediately and said that he would be the one to make dinner that evening before he was sent back to his room. He just agreed as there was no reason to antagonise his relatives.

He made them a lovely meal of roast beef with roast potatoes and vegetables which he had on the table by seven o'clock before he headed back up to his room without dinner. Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to stash some food that he'd bought on the train and so his dinner consisted of a cold pumpkin pasty and some water that he'd gotten from the tap earlier. After eating he lay down on his bed and thought. Dudley would be finishing his school year at Smeltings in a couple of days and then the day after that he would be starting his internship.

A summer free of Dudley would be a welcome change from what he normally got. This summer could be one of the best ever, letters from Sirius and Lupin and a great internship with Ron and Hermione, with a happy smile on his face he fell asleep to dreams of him and his friends catching Pettigrew and Sirius being cleared.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Arthur Weasley sighed as he and his wife returned home from Kings Cross after picking their children up. He watched as the usual Weasley carnage ensued when they arrived home. The twins and Ginny quickly running to the house whether to play quidditch or in the case plan their next prank he really didn't know. Percy was talking to Molly about something or other, but his eyes sought out Ron who was quietly walking back towards the house.

As they reached the Burrow, he heard Molly call out that dinner would be at seven and for the children to bring down any dirty washing. He saw Ron say he would before be making his way upstairs. Arthur thought for a second about what he could do and decided that he would talk to Ron, he'd been unusually quiet on the way home.

Having decided he made his way up to just below the attic where's Ron's room was located and knocked on the door adding a "Ron it's Dad" after Ron queried who was at his door before, he bade him enter. He opened the door to his youngest son's room and saw the familiar colour furnace that the inhabitant of the topmost bedroom at the Burrow seemed to like. Everyhere you looked there was something in violent shade of orange the walls, the bedspread and even the ceiling were all orange with poster's of his son's favourite Quidditch team the Chudley Cannons that contained pictures of seven witches and wizards smiling and waving at you.

He always wondered where his son's fascination with the Cannons had come from, none of his other children followed them especially Ginny who he knew idolised the Holyhead Harpies, personally he'd always been more of a Caerphilly Catapults fan, but his children didn't need to know that. Speaking of his children, his youngest son turned to him with a curios look and said "yes dad".

Arthur cleared his throat as he thought about how to say what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

"Ron, I noticed on the trip home that you were being very quiet. Is everything alright?" he asked.

Ron sighed before speaking "I'm just tired is all, dad" he said though Arthur wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure, son" he asked gently not wanting to prod too much.

"I'm just worried, dad" he said honestly.

Arthur thought for a second about what could be worrying Ron before realising that it had to be the internship. He understood and, in some ways, had expected that Ron would be anxious about his internship, he could remember well how anxious he had been during the internship's he had done in his youth.

"About the internship" he asked kindly.

Ron didn't reply and just nodded his head. Arthur gently guided Ron towards his bed where they both sat.

"What are worried about, son" he asked.

"I'm not sure that I'm up to being an Auror intern" he said as placed his elbows on his knees and leant his head on his closed fists.

"Why is that, son?" he gently probed.

"I'm a let-down, the weak link, I'm not a great wizard like Harry or really smart like Hermione. I'm just the third wheel" he paused.

Arthur let out a breath. He knew that Ron had some sort of inferiority complex, but it seemed he hadn't truly realised how seriously it affected Ron.

"I'm never going to make you and mum proud am I" he sniffed, and Arthur was surprised to see that his eyes were glistening.

After thinking for a moment he spoke "Ron, listen to me very carefully, no matter what you do in life your mother and I will always be proud of you, I mean just look at your DADA grades, they were good enough that the best fighters in the magical world want you as an intern, that's something to be proud of son" he finished and was pleased to see that Ron looked at least a little happier.

"Why do you think these things, son" he asked though he had an idea that he wanted confirmed.

"I'm the least important of your children" he sniffed "I have so much to live up to. Bill twelve OWL's, Prefect and Head Boy, Charlie Prefect and Quidditch Captain, Percy same as Bill, the twins are two of the most popular guys in school and Ginny is your only daughter. I'm the lowest priority in the family, there's nothing for me to do anymore to make you proud, the only noteworthy thing I've ever done is be Harry's best mate" Ron had tears streaming down his face as said this. Arthur did the only thing he could think of and pulled the boy into a strong hug, whilst his hugs were not a hard as Molly's they were still firm and safe.

Ron returned the embrace and they sat there for a few moments as he cried himself dry. "Thanks dad" he mumbled, and Arthur just smiled reassuringly before asking "is that all that's wrong son" Ron's reaction to his question told him there was more.

"What is Ron" he asked gently.

Ron looked deep in thought for a moment before speaking "I'm worried about Harry" he said "some of the things he's said recently have concerned me" he said and Arthur knew what he meant, he'd been deeply worried when he'd heard Harry describe spending the summer with his relatives as being "imprisoned". He remembered back a couple years to the summer after Ron's first year when Ron and the Twins had nicked his car and gone to get Harry from Surrey. He remembered Molly telling him about the Twins and Ron claiming that there had been bars on Harry's window. Molly had put it down to them trying to justify their actions but perhaps there was more to it, he'd need to speak to the twins it seemed.

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment before explaining about what had happened at the end of the year with Snape, Lupin, Sirius and Pettigrew much to Arthur's shock. Ron paused and gave his father a curious look wondering if he'd said to much efore his father spoke.

"Harry has the internship to keep him away from his relatives this summer. Beyond that I'll see what I can do but no promises" he said.

"Thanks dad" he muttered and hugged him once more.

"Your welcome, son" he said with a smile "now your mother wants your dirty washing downstairs so you better get it down there before she goes of at you" he said with a smile as he stood up and stretched, he was starting to fell his age now. He smiled as his son as he walked out of the room and heard Ron say, "yeah I'd better get down there". Arthur could only smile before he turned to think about what Ron had told him.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Harry had had a fitful night's sleep only this time it was for a good reason. He knew that he was radiating nervous energy, but he didn't care. Today he would be starting his internship and hopefully a good summer with his friends 'A good summer" he thought sounded completely foreign to him, true the two summer's between his Hogwarts years hadn't been bad but only because Ron and the Twins had rescued him after his first year and that he'd spent most of the summer after second year at the Leaky Cauldron so this really was his first summer that could actually be enjoyable.

He looked at the clock and saw that it read 6:00 am and sighed. Mr Weasley wasn't due to pick him up for well over an hour, but he was too restless to try and sleep. He decided to get up and have a quick and silent shower so as not to wake his relatives before creeping downstairs to have a quick and to him a good breakfast considering where he was of two pieces of toast with raspberry jam and some fruit washed down with some orange juice. After he'd finished and washed up he snuck back upstairs and brushed his teeth and then waited. He looked at the clock and saw that it read 6:30 am. He still had an hour which he decided to spend trying to read.

He picked up his copy of The Basic History of the Dark Arts by Theseus Scamander, he'd really found it interesting to see what a former Head of the Auror Office thought about the Dark Arts and its history. He was had just finished the section on Merwyn the Malicious and the numerous unpleasant jinxes and hexes that he had created and turned to look at the clock on the bedside table that now read 7:15 am. He decided that he better get ready now and quickly changed into a set of rougher clothes before fastening on his potions belt and putting on a set of his ruby red robes. He made sure that his enchanted bag was packed with everything he needed including his invisibility cloak and was just fastening on his wand holster's when he saw Mr Weasley walking towards the house from his bedroom window. He quickly put on his dark grey cloak and hoisted his brown leather bag onto his shoulder before quietly making his way downstairs again so as not to wake his relatives, even though it was a Friday his relatives weren't up yet as his uncle was taking a day off today to celebrate Dudley's return.

He quickly reached the front door and opened it, thankful that his uncle had left his keys in the kitchen and saw the red-headed form of Mr Weasley approaching.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Arthur Weasley had woken up earlier than he usually did this morning. He mumbled his good mornings to his wife who went down to the kitchen to begin breakfast as he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower before heading up to his son's room and waking him up quietly.

"Five more minutes" his son mumbled groggily causing him to smile.

"Come on Ron up you, your mother has breakfast on" he said and was pleased to see that Ron was actually getting out of bed and was gathering his shower kit. "I'll see you downstairs" he said as Ron replied that he would.

He made his way down to the Burrow's kitchen where he saw his wife frying sausages and making toast. He grabbed himself a piece of toast and a cup of tea and sat at the table after kissing his wife on the cheek and read the Morning Prophet for about ten minutes until his son arrived and he was pleased to him dressed as he grabbed a plate and filled it with sausages and toast before fixing himself a glass of pumpkin juice and joining his father at the table.

"What time are we leaving, Dad" asked Ron before taking a mouthful of sausage and looking curiously at the clock on the clock on the wall which read 6:55 am before looking quickly at Arthur.

"We'll leave at about twenty past seven I'll apparate you to the Ministry and leave you by the Fountain of Magical Brethren while I go and get Harry and Hermione, it'll only take me a few minutes to get them both and then I'll take you three to the Auror Office. When your done for the day I'll take the three of you down to the Portkey Office to have your repeat Portkeys made" he finished with a smile as Ron took another mouthful of sausage.

They made small talk for the next twenty minutes whilst they finished their breakfasts. When they had finished them Ron, made his way upstairs to brush his teeth and put on a set of his robes as Arthur put on his cloak and waited. After a few minutes Ron came back down in a set of dark blue robes covered by a lime green cloak and carrying his grey leather bag. Arthur felt pride at how grown up his son looked.

"Ready to go son" he asked standing up and placing the newspaper in a robe pocket as his son nodded. "Let's go" he said before kissing Molly on the cheek and watching her hug Ron before telling him how proud she was of him. He was glad that Molly was okay with Ron's internship although they hadn't told her who it was with just that it was with the DMLE and she thankfully hadn't pressed. They made their way to the Burrow's apparition point where Ron firmly gripped his forearm as he apparated them to the Ministry Atrium with a pop. Ron looked slightly green when they popped back into existence but to his credit he didn't vomit. Arthur guided him over to the fountain in the centre of the Atrium before telling him to wait while he went to pick up Hermione.

He apparated to an alley near Hermione's house on the outskirts of London and made his way up to the House that Hermione had said was hers. He knocked and the door was answered by a very excited bushy haired witch dressed in a dark grey robe and an electric blue cloak with a black leather bag sitting on a chair in the living room.

"Hello, Mr Weasley, I'm ready to go" she said excitedly whilst a tired looking muggle couple who he recognised as Hermione's parents sat on the sofa looking amused at their daughter's antics. Everything in the room seemed to be competing for his attention and on any other day he would have probably indulged it but not today, today he had places to be.

After greeting the Grangers he asked Hermione if she was ready to leave even though he could clearly tell that she was. After receiving her affirmation of her readiness to leave she said goodbye to her parents with a hug from her father and a kiss from her mother. She then grabbed her bag and they walked out the door to the alley where they would apparate from.

He asked Hermione what she knew of apparition and she replied that she knew the theory behind it but not much more. He told her to take his arm and to not fight the squeezing feeling that occurred a moment later when they disappeared with a pop. They reappeared in the Ministry Atrium with the usual pop as Hermione fell to the ground but to her credit she didn't vomit and after a few deep breaths she got up and he lead her to where Ron was still waiting before telling them both that he was going for Harry.

He apparated to a park near where Harry lived and made his way towards Number Four, Privet Drive. As he approached the door to knock the door opened and he saw Harry smile at him. He was already dressed in his robes and cloak and was carrying his brown leather bag. Arthur could tell that he was ready to go so he decided to speed up their progress.

"Ready to go Harry" he asked cheerfully although he already knew the answer.

"Yes, Mr Weasley" he said as he locked the front door and slipped the keys back through the letter box before turning to the red headed man with a smile of anticipation.

"Let's go then" said Mr Weasley trying not to smile at the enthusiasm in the teenager next to him. He led them back to the park where he gave Harry the same talk that he'd given Hermione to which Harry only responded with a nod before taking his forearm firmly as for the sixth time that morning he popped out of existence before appearing again with a pop well over a hundred miles away. He quickly looked at Harry to see how he had taken the apparition and was surprised to see that he was only a little short of breath, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Have you ever apparated before, Harry" he asked and was surprised when Harry shook his head. He couldn't think of any reason that Harry would have had to have apparated before so he was a little surprised at how well he was taking it.

"Well, you took it very well for a first timer" he said with a smile. He then began to lead him out into the Ministry Atrium and towards the fountain where Ron and Hermione were still waiting patiently whilst discussing something. They looked up from their conversation when they hear him and Harry approaching and rose with a smile upon seeing their friend who they each greeted with a hug before they turned to him as he started to speak.

"We'll have to clear you through the security desk before we head up" he said as he led them up to the security desk on the left side of the desk which was manned by Eric Munch, who as usual was poorly shaven and wearing peacock blue robes. Munch looked so bored that he didn't even look at them as he registered Ron, Hermione and Harry's wands and gave them a badge which read "Intern" with the department that they were working for underneath. Fortunately, no one noticed Harry's scar and Arthur could see the relief on Harry's face.

"All right let's go" he said as he led them over to the bank of lifts at the back of the Atrium and pressed the button to take them up to level two, where the offices of the Department of Magical law enforcement were located. Unfortunately, the lift was packed and they had to stop twice to let workers from the Department of Magical Transportation and the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes disembark. They arrived on level two of the Ministry with a ding and stepped out into a long corridor with doors on both sides. He led them around a corner and up to a large set of double doors made of oak that led to Auror Headquarters. He flashed his Ministry ID at the Hit Wizards on guard duty who let them through. Only the Minister and the other DMLE department heads were allowed access to the Auror Office.

The doors opened with a wave of the Hit Wizard on the right's wand and they quickly made their way into the: at least to him; familiar open space of the Auror Office which was divided into dozens of cubicles, one for each Auror. He ignored the curious looks he got from the Auror's present as he led them towards the office of the Head Auror but before they could reach it they were intercepted by a man with greying brown hair and cool grey eyes that looked like they belonged in the man who looked tough despite his age of over fifty years.

"Auror Gawain Robards" he said in a clear voice "Deputy Head of the Auror Office" he added at his charges questioning look. Arthur nodded before gesturing to said charges.

"I'm escorting your new interns down here for the first time" he said plainly to which Robards nodded and said "Thank you, Arthur." he smiled "I'll take them from here" he said and Arthur just nodded and turned to his charges and after saying goodbye and wishing them luck he walked out of Auror Headquarters and made his way to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts where he greeted Perkins before sitting down at his desk in the glorified broom cupboard that his office was based in and turned to the stack of parchments that lay on his desk and sighed as he took the first of the pile and began to read it.

Chapter Text

"I'll take them from here" said the man who had introduced himself as Gawain Robards causing Mr Weasley to nod before saying goodbye and wishing them good luck and leaving the Office. Harry suddenly felt very lost but not alone at least he had Ron and Hermione with him as Auror Robards turned to them.

"What are your names" he asked in a polite voice, but Harry could tell that he was used to being obeyed.

"Ron Weasley" said Ron nervously.

"Hermione Granger" Hermione said in a polite voice. Auror Robards nodded before turning to Harry "and you lad"

"Harry Potter, sir" he said as he saw Auror Robards briefly glance at his scar before gesturing for them to follow him. They followed him past row upon row of small cubicles that contained Aurors busily at work until they reached an office at the far end which the sign on the door told him was the office of Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office. Robards nodded before being bade to enter and they followed him. When he got his first look at Rufus Scrimgeour, he thought that he looked remarkably like an old lion. His tawny hair was streaked with grey and like Harry he wore glasses, only his were wire-rimmed over a set of keen yellow eyes. He stood up as they entered and approached them with a certain loping grace that even with the slight limp that he had told you that this was one tough wizard.

"I bring you our interns, Auror Prime" stated Robards with a formal voice.

"Thank you, Auror Robards" replied Scrimgeour in a gruff voice with just a hint of a Welsh accent before continuing "If you could gather their mentors and bring them here, I would appreciate it" he said.

"Of course, sir" intoned Robards before leaving to find their "mentors" apparently.

Scrimgeour looked at them for a second before introducing himself and shaking their hands.

"Welcome to the Auror Office, interns. I am Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office but you will refer to me as either Auror Prime, Auror Scrimgeour or sir, understood" he asked giving them a piercing stare.

"Yes, Auror Prime" they replied in unison to which Scrimgeour seemed amused. "Good to see that the three of you can already work in perfect harmony" he said with amusement as he made his way back to his desk and sat down whilst they stood in a ragged line in front of his desk.

"First things first, is that I want you to know that you are receiving a great honour by being interns here" he paused "the last time we offered anyone your age an internship was decades ago and he turned out to be one of the best Aurors to have graced the Office" he gave them a moment to digest what he had just told them before he added "your all here because we think that you have potential after looking through this year’s Hogwarts DADA grades we concluded that you were suitable to work with us. You will each be assigned to one of my best; who you shall meet momentarily; and you will help them in any way that you can, that means everything from helping them arrest a suspect to making them tea" he finished humorously.

"In exchange you will receive advanced training, at least for your age in various branches of magic as well as the basic skills of an Auror, if you do well you will be invited to return next year" he said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Auror Prime" Hermione said for the three of them. Scrimgeour looked amused either believing that Hermione was the leader of the trio or the spokesperson for them at least.

"I can only give you the opportunity. It's up to you what you do with them" he said, and they didn't reply to this all just thinking about what this internship meant. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Enter" barked Scrimgeour and Auror Robards entered along with a tall black man with broad shoulders and a bald head. He had a single gold-hoop in one ear and was dressed in a set of royal blue robes and had a neutral expression on his face, he was followed by a young witch with a kind heart shaped face and shocking bubble-gum pink hair that was short and spikey who was wearing robes of a dark purple and behind them came the scariest man that Harry had ever seen and considering that he had seen Voldemort's face that was saying something.

He was taller than the women but not as tall as the first man that he had seen. He wore dark green robes over a khaki green greatcoat with a black cloak covering his robes. He had a long mane of dark grey grizzled hair that framed a face that looked to be carved from wood and was covered with scars and to Harry's horror he saw that a chunk of the man's nose was missing and when he looked at his eyes he saw that the left one was dark and small whilst the right one was a shocking electric blue almost the same colour as Hermione's cloak. What made the eye truly shocking was how much bigger it was than a normal eye in the remains of the eye socket and the fact that it seemed to be moving around independent of what the other eye was doing and seemed to be checking everywhere around them. The man noticed his look and gave a scary smile with a mouth that was little more than a slit in his face and Harry saw several missing teeth as well before he spoke.

"Not very pleasant to look at am I lad" he growled.

Harry could only nod before turning back to Scrimgeour who spoke "thank you Auror Robards, you may return to your duties" he said firmly to which Robards nodded before making his way out of the office closing the door on his way out.

After the door closed the trio of Aurors stared at the trio of interns for a few moments before Scrimgeour spoke "I believe introductions are in order" he said as he turned to his three Aurors and gestured to the one with the gold-hoop in his ear "this is Detective Master Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt" he said to which Kingsley Shacklebolt, as they now knew him as, gave them a wink before turning back to Scrimgeour who introduced the woman next "Auror Nymphadora Tonks" who smiled at them in response and finally he turned to the man with the strange eye "Detective Master Auror Alastor Moody" he introduced and he heard Ron gasp as the man just nodded at them.

After the introductions Scrimgeour continued "Aurors these are your interns for the summer" he stated and the Aurors started to look at the trio with much more interest now. "introduce yourselves then" ordered Scrimgeour.

"Ron Weasley" said Ron.

"Any relation to Arthur Weasley" asked Shacklebolt curiously in a deep, reassuring voice.

"Yes sir, he's my dad" replied Ron to which Shacklebolt smiled before turning to him and Hermione.

"Hermione Granger" said Hermione to which the Aurors nodded before turning to Harry expectantly.

"Harry Potter" he said causing Shacklebolt and Tonks to immediately look at his forehead to which he dropped his head though he noticed that Moody hadn't looked at his forehead for which he was grateful.

"Granger you will be partnered with Shacklebolt, Weasley you’re with Tonks and Potter you will be partnered with Moody" said Scrimgeour causing the Aurors to nod. Harry felt a small prick of fear in his heart as he realised that he would be working with one of the greatest and probably the scariest Auror of all time.

"You are dismissed" said Scrimgeour as he started to shuffle the parchments on his desk as. The Aurors replied again with nods before turning toward the door and gesturing for them to follow them out of the office. They led them out of the office to a group of cubicles in the corner where Moody walked up to one and with a wave of his wand it grew to about four times it's normal size. Moody gestured for them to enter and whilst they were Harry noticed that one of Moody's legs was wooden. Inside the cubicle were three chairs so Shacklebolt waved his wand and conjured three more chairs. The trio sat in the real chairs whilst the Shacklebolt and Tonks sat in a conjured chair each whilst Mad-Eye remained standing and was waving his wand at the door to the cubicle before appearing satisfied and turning to them though he remained standing with his hands resting on his staff

"Privacy wards" he explained in a gruff voice that still had a very Scottish tinge to it when he saw their questioning looks. Shacklebolt and Tonks didn't question it so neither did Harry and Ron and Hermione seemed to agree.

"Now then" began Shacklebolt "before we really get you started on your internships; we'd like to know a little bit more about you" he said "You may also refer to me as Kingsley" he said with a smile.

"And please call me Tonks" said Tonks with a look that suggested calling her anything else would be a grave mistake.

"Either call me Moody or Mad-Eye" growled Mad-Eye causing all three of them to nod nervously.

"Soooo" said Kingsley in an attempt to break the tension "first of all, which Houses are you all in?" he asked.

"Gryffindor" stated Hermione a statement that both he and Ron echoed causing Kingsley to smile "so we have three brave interns" he said. "Going by how the three of you seem too act would I be right in saying that your all friends".

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron for a few seconds and saw them both give him a nod before he spoke "best friends actually" he said proudly causing Tonks to smile. "It's good that you can trust each other" she said.

"Now" said Mad-Eye "were going to discuss what kind of training you’re going to receive". He turned to them and said "you will receive two, two-hour training sessions per day from us during the week and three four-hour training sessions each day of the weekend. We will teach you the basic skills required of an Auror as well as training in most of your core subjects apart from Astronomy and Herbology. We will teach you various forms of duelling, healing, warding and if you show any aptitude for it Occlumency and Legilimency" he finished in his usual gruff tone.

Harry absorbed all the information with a smile. "Now were going to take you down to the quartermaster to get your additional kit and then we'll have a one-on-one between mentor and intern before you have a lunch break and then after that we'll put you through your paces to see where your all at and then work from here" said Kingsley as he stood up and led them down a corridor then down a flight of stairs to a large room that had a well-lit front counter with a set of doors leading off it and a darkened supply area behind the counter that contained all manner of equipment that an Auror could need.

Kingsley approached the desk and saw an older wizard with a big grey beard that looked reminiscent of Dumbledore's come out from the darkened area behind the counter.

"Ah Kingsley, what can I do for you?" he asked with a smile as he glanced at the trio.

"Morning Rob" Kingsley replied before introducing the man as Robert Ogden, the Quartermaster for the Auror Office.

"Just here to equip mine, Tonks' and Mad-Eye's interns" he said as Rob looked at them properly for the first time.

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem just bring them through the door on the far right" he said gesturing to the door in question "and I'll have them sorted out in no time" he said as he moved from behind the counter to where he assumed the he would meet them.

"Come on" Kingsley said and they followed him through the door into a room very reminiscent of the changing rooms in any shop magical or muggle that sold clothes. There were five curtained off areas that he assumed were changing rooms and then a rack that would apparently hold any items that might be tried on. He noticed a door to his right and wondered where it might lead before Robert Ogden walked through said door answering the question before he could ask it.

"Well now, who do we have here?" he asked Kingsley pleasantly. When Kingsley told him his eyes immediately turned to Harry's forehead before quickly looking away and instructing them to each choose a changing area, Harry felt a little agitated at how people kept gaping at his scar, but he suppressed it.

"Okay, so first of all I'm going to get you fitted with a set of dragonhide armour. All Aurors whether they be full Aurors or trainees have a set of this armour. We currently only have black armour pieces in stock, all from Hebridean Blacks so that's what you will be equipped with. Now who's first" he asked as a magical measuring tape just like the one in Ollivander's came to life from a shelf near the door. Harry and Ron looked at each other before indicating for Hermione to go first.

She stepped up to the centre of the room where the tape measured just about everything before he Ogden started having Hermione try on various bits of armour until they had a complete set that fit, repeating the process for twice more for both Ron and Harry until all three were wearing a set of sleek, black dragonhide armour. The armour included a chest piece, a neck guard, arm and shoulder pads, knee pads, boots and a helmet. "this armour will make you impervious to most low-level jinxes and hexes although it is still advisable to not get hit in the first place" he finished with a cheeky grin. "Now let's get you fitted for your greatcoats" he said.

They repeated a similar process as they had with the armour. Hermione first, Ron second and Harry third. Also, unlike the armour they actually had a choice regarding the colour of their greatcoats. Hermione chose a dark grey coat whilst Ron chose a dark blue one with Harry choosing a dark red coat that was darker than his robes. After they'd finished, they thanked Ogden before being shown their lockers by their mentors where they placed their armour before moving back up to the main level for their individual chat with their mentors. Moody motioned for him to follow him as he limped towards his cubicle. Okay thought Harry here we go as he followed the grizzled old veteran.

-X-X-X-X-X-

So far Hermione Granger was having a great day. She'd finally been able to see the Ministry of Magic that she had read about in so many books and then add to the fact that she was able to see it with her two best friends and it was in her opinion amazing. So far today in general had been amazing. She loved the Auror Office so far and she was pleased to be partnered with such an experienced Auror as Kingsley. She'd love getting fitted for her armour and greatcoat and she'd liked it even more when Ron and Harry let her go first. She had always worried that she would end up third wheeling it for Harry and Ron and then she'd probably be alone again. She'd lied when she'd said her Boggart was Professor Mcgonagall telling her that she had failed everything in actuality her Boggart had been Harry and Ron telling her that they didn't need her anymore, she feared that more than anything.

She hoped that they proved able to function together outside of school, but she wasn't really worried about it. What she was worried about was how she was going to do in the internship. Out of her, Ron and Harry she had the least experience in near death scenarios as she'd been petrified when they went down to the Chamber. She just hoped that she wouldn't freeze when the time came. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even realise that they had arrived at Kingsley's cubicle until he beckoned her to enter, she quickly cleared her head as they entered, and he invited her to sit.

"So, Hermione, may I call you Hermione?" he asked politely, and she just nodded.

"Hermione then, as you know my name is Detective Master Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. I have been an Auror for nearly sixteen years now. I attended Hogwarts from 1968-75 and was sorted into Ravenclaw House and was both Prefect and Head Boy" he finished before continuing "now that you know something about me, tell me something about you Hermione as we'll be working closely for at least this summer and maybe beyond.

Hermione thought for a second before speaking. "My full name is Hermione Jean Granger and I'm a Muggleborn student currently attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm will start my fourth year in September and was sorted into Gryffindor House" she finished with a smile.

"What of your friends?" he asked and for some reason she couldn't explain she knew that he wasn't referring to Harry and Ron. She thought for a moment before deciding that Ron's typical blunt honesty was the best way to go.

"Apart from Ron and Harry I don't really have any friends" she said trying not to sound a little sad about it but she from the look on Kingsley's face it seemed at least a hint of sadness had sneaked through. She truly wished at times that she had more friends and whilst she was friendly with her dorm mates and on good terms with a few other girls in her year, but they weren't really friends more just study buddies if she was honest with herself.

She was interrupted from her musing by Kingsley's voice "Well, sometimes, especially in this job it's better to have a few really good friends that have your back than a score of friends who you can't really depend on. At least in my experience" he told her gently. She thought for a second before seeing the logic in his statement, she nodded in thanks.

"Okay, Hermione" he said before clearing his throat "what subjects are you best at?".

Hermione thought for a moment before speaking "well I get good marks in every subject, but my best subjects are Transfiguration, Charms, Potions Care of Magical Creatures and DADA" she finished proudly to which Kingsley smiled before stating "A bookworm then" he said with grin.

"Yes, I suppose" she replied with an uncertain look. Kingsley appearing to sense her uncertainty "I was a bookworm to and I'm just trying to get an idea of what your like especially since were going to be working for the next couple of months" he finished with a reassuring tone before asking her more about herself for the next few hours. He asked her about her interests, her aspirations and her time at Hogwarts. The latter of which she had had to come up with some quick covers as the three of them had agreed to not reveal anything of their time at school especially about Sirius, at least until they knew they could trust them and do a little research, though she felt that Kingsley was going to be trustworthy but with what happened with Sirius and Professor Lupin at the end of last year she felt she was right to be less trusting of authority figures than she usually was. An opinion that both Ron and Harry had agreed to when she had mentioned it to them before they'd arrived at Kings Cross before heading home.

Kingsley then spoke to her about where she felt she needed to improve before dismissing her for a lunch break with a smile.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Tonks led Ron to her cubicle which was decorated with a picture of Tonks with a woman with light brown hair and soft, kind eyes and a fair-haired man with a big belly who she assumed were her parents standing in front of a fireplace looking proud.

"Yes, my parents" she said when he noticed her looking and with a smile, she gestured for him to sit, which he did.

"Wotcher Ron" she said with a grin as she sat down "My name is Auror Nymphadora Tonks, but you will call me Tonks" she said with a serious look that left Ron wondering what would happen to him if he called her Nymphadora.

"Hello, Tonks" he replied nervously causing Tonks to smile "I'm not trying to scare you, Ron" she said with a laugh at the look on his face.

"So, as you already know I'm Tonks and I'm an Auror. I'm actually the newest Auror in the office" she said with a wink. "I attended Hogwarts from 1984-1991 and I was a Hufflepuff. In fact, I was in the same year as your brother Charlie" she finished before asking him all about himself.

He told her that his favourite subjects were DADA, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures to which she replied that his DADA grades looked really good before asking him about his other grades which he stated were good enough leading Tonks to promise that they would try and improve them.

She asked him some questions about himself and what he was looking forward to doing during the internship. He replied that he was hoping to learn some duelling spells and to improve on his other magical skills. Tonks asked him where he felt he needed improvement and he stated that Transfiguration and Potions were the two subjects in which he really needed to improve.

"Well, I'm a Metamorpmagus so I should be able to help you with Transfiguration whilst regarding Potions I know that Snape is an awful teacher so Mad-Eye will have to help you with that but don't worry we'll sort you out" she said with a wink before adding.

"Then I can tell Charlie that I helped his little brother out and he'll never live it down" she said with a cheeky smirk causing Ron to blush.

"You know my brother?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, we were in the same year and were always getting into trouble" she said with a smile.

"We seem to have a similar problem" said Ron.

"What do you mean?" she asked curious and Ron went on to explain some of their less life threatening and worrying adventures as they had agreed beforehand. He got the feeling that he would like working with Tonks this summer.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"Sit down" growled Moody as they entered his almost completely undecorated cubicle whose only attempt at decoration were some cut outs from the Daily Prophet and some pictures of whom he could only assume were either suspects or confirmed Dark Wizards the Moody was hunting. "Dark Wizards that I'm after lad" he heard Moody say as he sat down whilst he was waving his wand and assumingly putting up another set of privacy wards. He studied the older man in front of him in greater detail and saw that underneath his greatcoat he wore a black blazer with black trouser and waistcoat over a black button-down shirt and a white cravat style tie at his neck. He wore a solid leather boot on his one remaining foot whilst his wooden leg ended in a clawed foot. Overall, Harry concluded he was sure that he sat facing a very dangerous, very experienced man who sort of reminded him of the spies that he'd seen on the telly when he'd been able to avoid Dudley while he watched one of the James Bond films.

"As you know I'm Detective Master Auror Alastor Moody, I'm semi-retired and I'm not going to be gentle with you" he growled, and Harry felt a sliver of fear roll through him.

"Your DADA grades say that you got full marks but not what you were learning" he looked at Harry with his real eye whilst the magical eye kept a constant look around. After a moment of silence Harry realised that Moody was waiting for him to speak.

"We learned about Boggarts, Grindylows, Werewolves, Hinkypunks, Kappas, Red Caps, Vampires and some more nocturnal beasts, we also revised Imps and Pixies" he finished "and what spells were you taught?" harry thought. For a moment "the Boggart-Banishing Spell, the Seize and Pull Charm and the Freezing Spell" he replied Moody growled in obvious displeasure at what he heard "who taught you last year" he asked and Harry replied "Professor Lupin" to which Moody enquired whether he meant Remus Lupin to which Harry said that he did.

"A good man that Lupin was" said Moody "I trained and fought with him in during the war, his friends too" he stated at Harry's questioning gaze and Harry nodded his head in acknowledgment before realising what Moody's statement might mean.

"Wait, you trained and fought with Lupin and his friends but that must mean that you knew my Dad" cried Harry to which Moody growled "Aye" and Harry suddenly wasn't afraid of Moody anymore, here was another link to his dad.

"What was he like?" he asked quickly causing Moody to give him a puzzled look "you sound as though you know nothing about him?" he queried.

"Apart from what Professor Lupin and a few others have told me I know almost nothing about either of my parents" he started with a note of desperation in his voice.

Moody was silent for almost a minute before speaking "you really don't know anything about your parents, lad" he asked seemingly without feeling but inside he was furious, just what in the name of Merlin had Dumbledore done with the lad.

"No nothing, I didn't even know their names until Hagrid told me" he said, and Moody was immediately concerned. No war orphan, especially one as prominent as Potter, shouldn't know nothing about his parents until he was just starting Hogwarts. Who the hell had Albus left the lad before him with?

"Who raised you" he asked not failing to notice the look of discomfort with a good dose of panic on Potter's face.

"My aunt and uncle" he replied in a small voice that he could never have imagined James Potters son using. He took a good look at the boy and noticed that he was at least six inches shorter than he should be and he looked a little light and skinny as well. He looked him in the eyes and what he saw worried him. Potters looked like they had no place being on a thirteen-year-old boy, it was a look that he'd seen many times but only on the faces of veteran Aurors. He wondered what the hell had happened to Potter for him to have eyes like that, hell he wanted to know how Potter was raised as his behaviour hinted at something worrying but he decided that he would work with Potter. He would tell him about his parents and in exchange he'd have Potter give him his all. His decision made he turned to Potter with a neutral look.

"Okay, lad. I'll tell you about your parents but in exchange you’re going to have to give me your all" he offered.

Harry thought for a moment, this man was willing to tell him about his parents as long as he gave his all. Just by looking at Moody he knew that his all would likely not be enough, but he was determined to try.

"Done" he said simply causing Moody to smile or at least the best version of a smile that he could manage.

"All right lad now tell me everything that you know about duelling".

"Not a lot, I mean, I know a few duelling spells but until this year I haven't really had a good Defence teacher" he said and Moody nodded. He'd heard rumours of what had happened to Professor Quirrell, hell no matter how much Albus wanted to cover things up he received rumours of You-Know-Who being up at the school and being forced to flee. He'd heard rumours of students being petrified and a monster on the loose before the attacks mysteriously stopped.

"Professor Lupin focused more on Dark Creatures than duelling last year" he said and Moody nodded, he remembered that Lupin had been very knowledgeable about Dark Creatures back during the war.

"What duelling spells do you know lad" he asked.

Harry thought before he began "the Disarming Charm, the Tickling Charm, the Full-Body Bind Curse, Dancing Leg Curse, Immobilisation Charm, Slug-Vomiting Curse, Leg-Paralysis Curse, Tongue-Tying Curse, the Exploding Charm and the Bat-Bogey Hex" he finished realising that it wasn't a lot in reality.

"What do you know of curses" Moody growled and seemed almost angry at how little he knew though considering what Moody had spent his life doing it might just have been him.

"Apart from those I just mentioned not a lot" he said.

"All right then, I guess I know what we’re working on first then" he growled.

They continued talking for another hour and a half where Moody kept asking Harry questions about himself and his other magical abilities. Harry was pleased when he reaffirmed what he knew about his dad's flying abilities and was grateful that Moody was willing to help him with his other subjects. Moody was also aware of the poor reputation of Potions at Hogwarts since Snape had taught it, the lack of Auror applicants was getting so low that Scrimgeour and Bones were considering forcing Dumbledore to either make Snape teach properly or to find a new Potion's Master.

After they had gone through just about everything that Harry could think of Moody called an end to their meeting.

"Okay, that's enough for now" he said before informing Harry that he would be need to back in an hour and a half for their first training session. He got up to leave before he remembered one thing. "Moody" he asked hesitantly.

"What?" was his response.

"Can you not mention that me and my friends are doing this internship to Professor Dumbledore, Moody" he asked, and Moody considered what he was saying until he added "Please".

"Why?" asked Moody wondering if the reasoning was as he suspected unfortunately it was.

"Because he'll make me stop doing it and leave me at my relatives all summer!" the end of which he was nearly yelling and if it hadn't been for the privacy wards the entire office would have heard him. "plus if he discovers that Ron and Hermione are doing it then he'll easily work out that I'm doing it too so it's better if he doesn't know in the first place" he said and Moody was impressed that a thirteen year old would be that forward thinking.

Moody kept a neutral look on his face but inside he was shocked at the ferocity of Potter's statement. What in fucking Merlin's name had Albus done in putting him with his relatives thought Moody before turning back to Potter and simply growling " All right Potter, I won't tell Albus about your internship but I suggest that you keep your head down as well then" causing Potter to nod in thanks before leaving.

Moody stared after his intern with concern as he met up with his friends and left the office for lunch, he would need to speak with Kingsley and Tonks about him knowing this he got up and dropped the privacy wards and made his way to the room in which the interns were based to find Kingsley and Tonks already waiting for him.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"So, what do you think about our interns" said Kingsley good naturedly as Moody stomped his way into the room before sitting down and pulling out his plain silver hip flask and taking a long drag.

"I think they'll be a fun bunch if nothing else" said Tonks from her position on the old sofa in the corner.

"I think they have potential" said Kingsley before turning to Moody "what do you think?".

Moody thought deeply for a moment before gruffly stating "I think they'll be a good group" he said before wondering how best to broach the subject of Potters relatives to them.

"What are we going to start them with then" asked Tonks and Kingsley looked at Moody who responded "Duelling. From what Potter tells me they have little to no duelling experience, so we'll need to start them on that soon" he replied and both Kingsley and Tonks looked surprised at this.

"They've completed three years at Hogwarts and have no duelling experience" said Tonks looking shocked when Moody nodded.

"Potter tells me that apart from a short-lived duelling club in their second year that was run by that fool Lockhart they haven't really had any competent instruction in Defence at all" he said before adding "apart from their third year but the teacher focused mostly on creatures" he finished.

Kingsley looked concerned but carried on anyway "So we start with duelling then" he asked before they began discussing what spells they should be taught.

"First we'll need to get an idea of where they’re at and how comfortable they look duelling before we teach them anything, though I was thinking about teaching them stunners and a basic shield charm first" he admitted to nods from both Kingsley and Tonks.

"Dumbledore must be so pleased that he's got three interns with us and at such a young age as well" said Tonks causing Kingsley to smile though Moody did not causing the two other Aurors to look at him in concern.

"What is it Mad-Eye?" asked Tonks and Moody sighed and waved his wand and setting up another set of privacy wards before he turned to both of his colleagues.

"What I'm about to say cannot leave this room" he said seriously causing both Tonks and Kingsley to stiffen up.

"Go on" said Kingsley after a look at Tonks to see that she was curious.

"Potter asked me not to mention that he and his friends are doing the internship to Albus, said that he would just stop him from doing it and force him to return to his relatives for the summer" he said and Tonks let out a shocked gasp whilst Kingsley looked worried.

"Why do you think he'd request that" asked Tonks.

Moody growled in response "After speaking to him I'm almost sure that he's unhappy there and since he asked, I'm guessing that his friends are aware as well".

"What makes you say that?" asked Kingsley.

"He didn't just ask me not to tell Albus about it, he also asked me not to tell him about his friends doing it either" he explained causing both Kingsley and Tonks to turn to each other before looking back to him.

"Go on" said Tonks.

"If he's asking me and by extension you two not to tell Albus then his friends must know as well" he said as he saw them both figure it out.

"If he's asked for that then they must have prearranged it" said Tonks whilst Kingsley looked thoughtful before adding.

"If what Hermione has told me is true, and I have no reason to believe that she's lying, they do practically everything together. If Harry is worried about Dumbledore finding out, then Hermione and Ron must both know as well".

"The question is, who does know that their here" said Tonks causing Kingsley to appear deep in thought.

"I'm not sure" he said "though Professor Mcgonagall must know as their Head of House" he finished before turning to Moody.

"I'll have a word with Minerva after we've got them up to speed on their training" he said causing Kingsley to nod before he stood up and said "Anyways, let's go get some lunch I'm starving" he said causing Tonks to rise and follow him, both knew that Moody would not join them as it was well-known that he only ate food that he prepared and only drank from his hip flask. As they left, he pulled out his lunch from his pocket and began to eat, his magical eye still searching for threats as he ate, after all he had to maintain constant vigilance.

Chapter Text

Well Moody is certainly a tough one thought Harry as he joined Ron and Hermione on the way to get some lunch.

"Leaky Cauldron?" asked Hermione to which Harry and Ron nodded as they made their way towards the Ministry floo where they both grabbed a handful of floo powder before throwing it into the fire and calling out "The Leaky Cauldron" which after a few minutes of dizzying travel they arrived at with a shoot of flame.

"Right" said Hermione with a groan as she dusted herself off "let's go find a table" as they made their way into dining area and took a seat at a table in the corner whilst Ron signalled for a waitress.

"So how was your meeting, Harry" asked Hermione while Ron was looking at the menu.

"It was…. interesting at least" said Harry trying to form his opinion on the gruff, old Auror. He was certainly experienced, and he obviously knew his stuff plus he'd known his parents and Harry would do just about anything to learn more about them. Moody could tell him that and about their magical abilities, all he knew of their abilities was that his mother was good at Charms and his father was good at Transfiguration. He was now determined to improve in both of those subjects, and he hoped that he would.

"Interesting?" questioned Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

Harry thought for a moment before speaking "He told me that he wouldn't be gentle with my training" causing Hermione to look at him with concern “, But I was able to make a deal with him" he quickly added.

"A deal Harry" said Hermione.

"Yeah turns out he trained Lupin and my dad and snuffles back during You-Know-Who's time" he stated whilst using the agreed name for Sirius "He said that in exchange for me giving my all in his sessions, he'd tell me more about my parents" he finished and Hermine gushed.

"Oh, Harry that's great news" she beamed as Ron finally looked away from the menu long enough to say "Yeah mate that's wonderful, mate" causing Hermione to roll her eyes but was stopped from speaking by a waitress who asked for their orders. Harry ordered steak and kidney pie, as did Ron whilst Hermione ordered the soup of the day, each ordered Butterbeer to accompany it. The waitress smiled before telling them that she'd be back in a little while with their meals.

"So, what did you talk about with Kingsley and Tonks" he asked.

Hermione replied first "We mostly talked about what I felt I needed to improve on and then what he could help me with. "Oh, and he asked about you two" she finished with a smile.

"What he'd want to know" asked Harry.

"Just about what we do together really" she said to which he nodded before turning to Ron.

"And you mate"

Ron coughed before answering "Tonks mostly talked about where I needed to improve" he said and before Harry or Hermine could reply the waitress returned levitating three plates of food, one bowl of soup and three mugs of butterbeer. They ate in silence through what was really a good meal until Hermione looked at her watch and said "come on we've only got fifteen minutes left till we have to get back to the Ministry" causing them to pay and then make their way back to the Ministry.

As they were making, they’re from the lifts to the Auror Office Harry felt someone bump into him and as he turned, he saw them land with a thump. He gestured for Ron and Hermione to continue on as he moved to help the person up. He noticed that she: as he had discovered: had long red hair that framed a kind and somewhat familiar face and was wearing a set of yellow robes.

"I'm so sorry" said Harry as helped haul the woman to her feet still try to work out who it was.

"That's okay" she replied, "I wasn't watching where I was going" and Harry suddenly knew why he recognised her.

"Susan" he asked causing the her to look at him quickly and she made a startling realisation.

"Oh, hi Harry" she said "sorry about that" she added, he just smiled in reply

"It's fine" he said.

"What are doing here?" she asked, curious as to why the Boy-Who-Lived was at the Ministry.

Harry thought for a moment before deciding that the sweet, Hufflepuff deserved the truth.

"I'm doing an internship" he said, and her eyes widened, according to her Auntie it was rare for interns to be so young.

"Where are you doing your internship?" she queried.

"With the Auror Office" he stated before adding "though I'd appreciate it if you kept that quiet" and Susan gasped. She knew that Harry was the best at DADA in their year, but she didn't know that he was good enough to get the Aurors interested. She thought about his request that she keep things quiet and decided that she would honour it being the Boy-Who-Lived must be stressful enough without her adding to it by letting everyone at the Ministry know about it.

"Don't worry I'll keep your secret" she said with a smile before he asked.

"So, what are you doing here" he asked.

"Oh, I'm doing an internship for my Auntie here at the Ministry" she said.

"Who's your Aunt" he asked.

"Amelia Bones, she's Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" she explained causing Harry to gulp, here he was having knocked over the niece of the Department Head. Susan seemed to sense his worry because she added "Seriously, Harry don't worry it was my fault" she giggled at the relieved look on his face before gasping when she caught sight of the clock on the wall "Oh Merlin, I've gotta go Harry, hopefully I'll see you later" she said as she started to hurry off.

"Yeah see you around" said Harry as he realised that he only had a couple of minutes to get back. He hurried towards the office and managed to make it with a few seconds to spare.

"Where were you?" whispered Hermione as he took a seat next to her before he mouthed "later" back to her causing her to attempt to say something before their mentors arrived and Kingsley began to speak "Now that your recharged were going to take you down to the training room and asses where your duelling abilities are at " he said before gesturing for them to follow him as Tonks and Moody brought up the rear.

Kingsley led them down multiple sets of stairs to a large set of stone doors that opened when Kingsley tapped the door three times with his wand. "warns anyone inside that the door is opening" explained Tonks at their questioning gazes "let's them no to either stop duelling or to ensure that no curses come near the door" she finished, and they all nodded their heads. As they entered the room Harry looked around and saw that the walls, floor and ceiling were all made of solid stone with periodic burns along the former two. The room was about thrice the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

"Okay" growled Moody "now were going to break into three pairs and test what you know, do not hold anything back" he ordered and the three of them just nodded before Kingsley and Tonks led Ron and Hermione down to the far end of the room before Moody waved his wand at the door causing it to close again. He turned to Harry before telling him to draw his wand which Harry did before Moody stopped him "Don't you know how to draw it from its holster" he asked in his surly manner and growled when Harry shook his head. After muttering to himself for a few moments Moody showed him the proper technique for quickly drawing his wand. He found that it was rather easy, and he picked up after a few tries.

"Alright, now that you've got that move a little distance away from me" instructed Moody and Harry did as he was instructed. He just stood there for a moment wondering what he was supposed to do before Moody snapped a curse at him suddenly which he was barely able to dodge in time.

"Never let your guard down" ordered Moody as he sent another curse at harry that again he barely dodged, he noticed that both Ron and Hermione were duelling with Tonks and Kingsley but he tuned them out and focused on Moody who sent a stream of hexes and jinxes this time.

"Defend yourself" bellowed Moody as Harry dodged another curse. All right thought Harry time to hit back and he did. He sent a disarming charm at Moody to test the waters before upping his offence, he didn't know any protective spells so he'd have to dodge, here's hoping my Quidditch skill come in handy he thought as he sent an Full-Body Bind at Moody that was easily blocked before following it up with an exploding charm that forced Moody to dodge allowing Harry to catch him with a dancing feet curse which Moody easily removed with just a flick of his wand. They continued like this for a while with Harry throwing everything that he knew at Moody who was seeing more and more pleased as the duel went on. Harry's downfall came when he attempted a slug-Vomiting Curse and overextended himself allowing Moody to disarm him before banishing him back about ten feet. Where he hit the ground with a thump, that sent a jarring motion through his body.

After taking a few breaths he opened his eyes and sat up to see Kingsley and Tonks looking at him with surprised looks on their faces whilst Ron and Hermione were looking at him with look of awe. They were interrupted by a loud cackle from Moody who continued laughing like a madman for a few moments before he spoke "for someone who only has a wee bit experience at duelling you certainly seemed to know what you’re doing, lad" he said.

"That was really good, Harry" said Kingsley as Tonks nodded in agreement and Harry blushed.

"But all I did was dodge his spells until he defeated me" protested Harry.

"Yes, Harry but you lasted longer than your friends did and against a harder opponent" said Tonks before she told Ron and Hermione that they both had done well.

"Excuse us for a minute" said Kingsley as the three Aurors walked to towards a stone basin in the corner where they each pulled out a thin silvery strand from their heads before one at a time placing it in the basin before they dunked their heads in and remained still for a few minutes whilst doing something with first Tonks' "strand" for lack of better word and then Kingsley's with Moody's coming last and this lasted for about ten minutes before they all stood and turned towards the trio.

"We were watching our memories of our duels with you" explained Kingsley as they walked back over to them. Harry had no idea that it was even possible to watch back memories but apparently it was.

"Now we'll go through where you need to strengthen individually" as he said this, he gestured Harry over to a bench that was attached to the wall. Harry sat as Moody thumped down and placed his staff between his legs.

"You did well Potter" he said calmly and with the grace of what could be called a smile on his face.

"Thank you" said Harry and Moody looked thoughtful.

"No need to thank me I was only stating a fact" he growled, and Harry was silent.

"May I take a look at your wand" asked Moody causing Harry to draw his wand and hand it to Moody who looked it over.

"What's the wood?" he asked.

"Holly" said Harry.

"The core"

"Phoenix Feather" asked Harry whilst Moody looked over the wand for a moment more before handing it back.

"Did you purchase a second wand like the letter said to" asked Moody curiously. Harry nodded in reply.

"May I see it?" asked Moody and Harry drew his wand and was pleased to see that he was able to draw it properly with no trouble before handing it over to Moody for inspection.

"Wood?" he asked.

"Ebony" replied Harry to which Moody's face lit up.

"Ebony you say" he asked just to make sure and when he saw Potter smile, he grinned. "Ebony wands are the crown jewel of an Aurors equipment" he explained. "It's the wood best tuned to what we do as Ebony is very well suited to all manner of combative magic plus there highly effective at Transfiguration" he said smiling. "I think when we teach you duelling and Transfiguration, we'll teach you with this wand" he finished.

"What's the core" he added almost as an afterthought, so Harry again replied, "Phoenix Feather" to which Moody continued to smile "You Potters and your Phoenix feathers" he said to which Harry looked confused.

"Your fathers wand had a core of Phoenix Feather" he explained.

Harry was shocked, he had been under the impression that Phoenix feather wands were extremely rare but from the way Moody was talking it appeared that they were common in his family. He knew that wands with his cores allowed you to master a greater range of magic and he knew that his father was good at Transfiguration so maybe he had been a master at other forms of magic he would need to earn it though before Moody would tell him so he was even more motivated to do well now, with that decided he turned back to Moody.

"So, what are we going to do next" he asked eager to learn more.

Moody internally smiled, he was just like his father when he'd started training him all those years ago, the typical Gryffindor bravery that usually came with some hint of recklessness that needed to be tamed. He remembered James and his friends had been full of both when he'd started to train them after they'd joined the Order a few years before You-Know-Who had been defeated.

"Well first I'm going to work with you on your stance, it was all wrong earlier. You were clumsy and flat-footed; a good duellist should be swift and light on their feet" he started as he began showing Harry the correct stance for a beginning duellist. "As you duel more and more your stance will adapt to your style" he explained as Harry took the position of right foot forward whilst facing sideways to try and present the smallest target as was possible to any opponent.

After around fifteen minutes of practise Moody began having him cast spells whilst remaining in the correct stance. Moody then threw in a few spells of his own before instructing him to use his Ebony wand, he drew it from its holster before realising that he'd never actually used it before.

He went to tell Moody this, but Moody was already sending hexes at him all he could was dodge and attempt a disarm which Moody blocked before deciding to go for a heavy shot early. Harry cast the exploding charm with a cry of "Bombarda" before an almighty explosion hit Moody's shield and sent him flying back ten feet landing in a heap as the practise duels between the others just stopped.

Harry was terrified that he'd just hurt his mentor on his first day and approached him cautiously until he paused as a cackling sound came from Moody's direction. It took him a moment to realise that Moody was laughing and to Harry's shock was starting to stand up whilst still roaring his head off. After another minute or so of laughing he straightened up and turned to Harry.

"That's more like it" he roared as he approached Harry "We'll stick with the Ebony wand when we practise duelling from now on I think" he said with a gruff smile as he looked at Tonks and Kingsley "Alright get on with it" he growled causing the two younger Aurors to quickly turn back towards Ron and Hermione and begin duelling with them.

"Okay lad its clear now that you duel much better and much more powerfully with your new wand" he said and Harry realised that it was true, his duelling spells had felt more powerful when he had used his newer wand and he was looking forward to seeing what else he could do with it.

"Now I know that you've only started today but I think that you'll be capable of couple of hexes that I know" he said, and Harry perked up. "Go and get your copy of Curses and Counter-Curses" ordered Moody as Harry hurried to where they had left their bags by the door and quickly pulled out his copy of the indicated book, he still remembered wanting to buy it so that he could curse Dudley when Hagrid had first taken him to Diagon Alley for the first time.

"Turn to page thirty-seven" Harry did and saw that the title of the page read "The Leg-Locker Curse- How to Unbalance your Enemies". Harry looked at the diagram of the curse and saw that it locked the victim’s legs together which often led to them falling over and allowed a duelling opponent to defeat them due to a lack of mobility.

"Right lad, I know the curse sounds a little basic, but I really need to see how fast you pick up new ones before I start teaching you anything more deadly" he explained and harry nodded. "This curse is one of the most simple curses that can aid you in combat, you remember what I taught you earlier about being light on your feet" Harry nodded "well this curse makes it effectively impossible for your opponent to be light on their feet when their legs are locked together isn't it" said Moody with a smirk as Harry imagined seeing Malfoy or Snape hoping around school and he smiled.

"What's the smile for" queried Moody although he could guess.

"Just imagining a couple of people that I don't like hoping around Hogwarts" he said causing Moody to give an amused snort or at least what harry assumed was a snort as it sounded a bit off Must be because of the chunk of his nose that he's missing thought Harry.

"It is tempting to use on people that you don't like Potter but I must stress that you should only use what I'm teaching you when your life is on the line' growled Moody seriously and Harry realised that Moody wanted to keep anything he learned a secret which he had to admit made sense.

"Okay" said Harry causing Moody to nod.

"The incantation for this curse is Locomotor Mortis. Now" he said as he conjured a practise dummy.

"I'm going to levitate the dummy whilst you get a feel for casting the curse on it okay" explained Moody and Harry just nodded.

Gathering his magic, he called out "Locomotor Mortis" and the dummy's legs snapped together and remained locked.

"Bloody Hell, Potter" growled Moody.

Harry was confused for a second before realising that Moody had expected him to take longer to be able to use that curse. To Harry the magic had just flowed through his wand like water through a pipe. It had just felt right when he'd cast it. He was starting to feel that his first wand would be better suited to less combative forms of magic. When he had duelled Moody earlier his Ebony wand had felt right in a way that his Holly wand just didn't when engaged in a duel.

"Well, now let’s try a few more spells before we finish training for the day" said Moody.

Moody took him through another curse and a few jinxes and hexes before he called an end to the session before telling them to go to the intern room and get ready for a lecture.

Harry quickly met Ron and Hermione at the doors before they started to make their way up to the intern room.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"So, after seeing Potters skill I think that we can conclude that he's one to watch" said Tonks as she sat on the bench where earlier he had spoken with Potter.

"I agree" said Kingsley "Hermione seemed almost as skilled if possessing less of an instinct" he explained causing Moody to nod. He'd noticed that Potter seemed to have inherited the duelling instinct that he knew both his father and grandfather had possessed.

"What about Weasley?" he asked curious about how Arthur's son had done.

Tonks looked contemplative for a moment before she spoke "He has potential, but I think he needs more training and instruction" causing him to nod.

"What are we going to do with them next" asked Tonks.

"Well I was planning on giving them a lecture on the history of the Aurors. If they’re going to be working with us, then they should know our history" he said.

"Right so what are we planning to start with then" she queried.

"I was thinking that we could start with how dark wizards were caught before the Ministry existed, you know back in the days of the old Wizards Council' he said.

"Sounds good" said Kingsley "I'll take them through the foundation of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and then through the decision of Minister Diggory to found the Office".

"And I'll take them through the activities of the Aurors between our founding and the Global Wizarding War" said Tonks before Moody added.

"I'll take them through Grindelwald and the Wizarding War" said Moody although he knew that both of his younger colleagues knew that he would teach about the two wars of this century having fought in both of them.

He thought back to times long ago when he had been a young lad, a fresh faced former Slytherin who applied to be an Auror. He had been so full of enthusiasm to follow in his parents’ footsteps and become an Auror like so many of his ancestors had been. He had wanted to ensure that Dark Wizards could never threaten the innocent again. His parents’ stories of their time fighting Grindelwald had had an enormous effect on the young Slytherin and he was determined to do them proud. Unlike the rest of his dormmates he had no interest in the Dark Arts unlike Avery, Lestrange and Rosier. Then there had been Tom Riddle. He'd never found out what had happened to Tom, but he'd heard rumours. His senses towards the Dark Arts had been strong even back then and he could sense that Riddle was a dark one. He was still suspicious about a number of things that had happened at the school during his time there.

He'd never believed the tosh that Professor Dippet had sprouted about Rubeus Hagrid opening the Chamber of Secrets. Yes, the third year Gryffindor was a half-giant: which he honestly didn't care about; and yes, he had a penchant for loving and befriending dangerous magical beasts but in no way in hell had he been capable of killing someone. Plus, how the fuck did an Acromantula kill someone without leaving a single mark on them. He wasn't convinced then and he still wasn't convinced now. It was partly why he'd had so much trouble at Hogwarts.

He'd never really gotten on with his dormmates who along with a few older students had formed a gang. A gang that had despised him due to his family's long tradition of becoming Aurors. He remembered when his dormmates plus Mulciber and Nott from the years above had ambushed him for defending a group of first year Gryffindors from them. He'd been foolish that day and let his guard down on his way back to the Common Room when he'd heard a curse coming from behind him and had ducked barely in time. Drawing his wand: a Blackthorn, ten inches with a Dragon Heartstring core; he had quickly realised that he was hemmed in. Lestrange and Rosier were in front of him and Avery, Mulciber and Nott behind him.

After a second’s consideration he'd decided that the best way to go was to fight his way forward as although everyone regarded Riddle as the best in the school which admittedly, he was. There were two subjects in which he'd always came out second best at and one of them was Defence Against the Dark Arts the other was Transfiguration. He quickly assessed his options before dodging a curse from Mulciber and sending a stunner back his way.

He turned towards Lestrange and quickly disarmed him before sending a Shattering Hex at Avery who wasn't quick enough on the dodge and ended up with a shattered arm. He stunned Lestrange before engaging Rosier and quickly hitting him with a Leg-Locker Curse and then banishing him across the hallway where he landed with a thump. He then dodged a curse from Nott before hitting him with a Reductor Curse and then stunning Mulciber after first disarming him. He stood there in silence for a moment before he heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs leading up to the rest of the school.

He shot round wand at the ready to see Professors Dumbledore, Slughorn, Dippet and Merrythought running towards him wands drawn.

"What in the blazes happened here, Moody" demanded Professor Dippet after pausing to examine the carnage.

"This lot ambushed me on my way back to the Common Room, Professor" he said, and he saw a look of shock emerge on the face of the ancient man through his bushy white beard.

"Are you sure, Moody" questioned Slughorn cautiously as he looked at five members of his house lying on the ground in various states of damage.

"Pitts" called Dippet and with a crack the House-Elf appeared "Yes master" it intoned with a bow.

"Take this lot to the Hospital Wing" he said, and the elf quickly complied.

"Come with me, Moody" said Dumbledore as he led him up to the Transfiguration classroom where he again explained what had happened.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a while before speaking "I know that you do not trust or even like Mr Riddle and you are right not to but please do not let occurrences like these become common".

"I wasn't intending to injure anyone when I entered that corridor, Professor. I was simply trying to get back to the Common Room" he answered honestly.

"I know that you weren't" said Dumbledore calmly "but the situation remains that you injured a number of students and if this becomes a common occurrence then parents will call for your expulsion" he said seriously, and he just nodded.

"Although on a more positive note congratulations on fighting your way out successfully while outnumbered five-to-one. I'm sure that it will look good on your Auror application.

It had. In the end each of his dormmates had received apart from Riddle had received three months detention whilst Mulciber and Nott had both received six months detention. He'd gotten them back later in life though. After helping to hunt down Grindelwald's remaining followers he had slowly built up his skills, not just with the Auror Office but also whilst serving as an Enforcer for the International Confederation of Wizards. Until in 1970: when most magical historians agreed that the Wizarding War had begun; when he had begun to face off against old schoolmates who had become Death Eaters and their children.

He had hunted down many of them and had put Avery's son in Azkaban. He had put Mulciber's son in Azkaban. He had put Lestrange's two sons and daughter in law in Azkaban. And finally, he had killed Rosier's son Evan after he had resisted arrest. It had cost him though, both Avery Junior and Mulciber Junior had both managed to inflict injuries when he had caught them, and he had the scars to remind him of it. The Lestranges had been hell to track down and he'd only managed it because he'd been going to visit Frank and Alice. He'd caught the four of them outside the Longbottom's home savouring in the glee of their evil deeds. He remembered their faces as clearly now as he had all those years ago.

Bellatrix with her sadistic grin on her face, Rodolphus with his serious look that hid an ocean of cruelty, Rebastan with a cruel yet nervous smile and finally Bartemius Crouch Junior. When he had recognised the only son of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as being among Death Eaters he had initially believed him to be under the Imperious Curse until he had heard him say that they would find Lord Voldemort regardless of who they had to go through to do it. The youngster had said it such ferocity and with such a fanatical gleam in his eyes that Moody was left in no doubt as to his seriousness and competence of his statement.

He had observed them for about fifteen minutes whilst the discussed what to do and waited for them to split up before he began his attack. He quickly dropped Rabastan with a stunner to the head before moving to engage Barty Crouch Junior who despite being much tougher than he had anticipated he was able to knock down with a well-placed Reductor Curse before Bellatrix and her husband arrived. He manged to duel them both for about twenty minutes before he had caught Rodolphus clean in the chest with a Blasting Curse that threw him back and took him out if the fight. Bellatrix screamed in rage and began throwing Killing Curse after Killing Curse at him. He managed to dodge them until Bellatrix had hit his left knee with a Slashing Curse that took his leg clean off and left him sprawled on the ground. The pain had been unreal, and he had genuinely thought that he was going to die until Bellatrix couldn't resist the temptation of mocking him.

"Ahhh has the Great Alastor Moody finally met his match" she mocked as she approached him nonchalantly whilst he noticed that she didn't have a shield up and as she began to raise her wand he cast the most powerfull stunner that he had ever cast and it hit her directly in the face but not before she manged to get another Slashing Curse off that hit him directly in the face and cost him his right eye and most of its socket. He'd blacked out for a few moments until he remembered Neville. He quickly cast a Cauterising Charm on his leg stump which to his surprise actually worked before he dragged himself into the Longbottom's house and to the floo where he'd called for reinforcements before dragging himself to the nursery: past the shattered forms of two of his closest friends: and taking his wee Godson in his arms and held him close on the good side of his face whilst the wee lad cried himself dry on his shoulder. "Shush lad everything's going to be alright " he repeated to Neville over and over again unsure whether he was trying to convince Neville or himself.

It was still one of his darkest memories. His injuries had been life changing. His leg could never be regrown due to the Dark Magic that had been used to inflict it, the same went for his nose there was no way to regrow it. He'd thought that was it for him until Dumbledore had given him his prosthetic eye which he claimed he took from Grindelwald after their duel. He hadn't really questioned it at the time he was just happy to be back on the job. He'd fashioned himself a replacement wooden leg and had bought himself a staff and then carried on.

And finally, there was Evan Rosier. He'd got Rosier back in the cruellest way possible. His son Evan had been a Death Eater like his father and was rated as among You-Know-Who's top duellists. After nine months of trying he finally tracked him down to a cottage in Devon where they had fought for over an hour until Rosier had snuck a curse through his defences which had blown away part of his nose and in a moment of maddened rage he had used the Killing Curse followed by the Disintegration Curse. Both had struck true with the Killing Curse ending Rosier's life and the Disintegration Curse destroying his body leaving no remains. It was the only time that he had ever intentionally killed someone, and he still felt shame about it to this day.

His career as an Auror had taken him all over the world and he had caught over a thousand Dark Wizards in his time. Maybe it was time to try and train an apprentice. He'd trained Tonks of course but maybe he should train someone from an earlier age to get up to his level. He thought of the potential that he'd seen in Potter and decided that he warranted further watching, his friends too. If they proved up to it then he would teach them everything that he knew. He'd decided that he liked the young, troublesome trio, in some ways they reminded him of James Potter and his friends. He smiled as he thought of his old friend. He had been taken much too soon. Like so many of his friends and comrades over the years.

He thought quietly about his fallen comrades: Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Dorcas Meadowes, Edgar Bones, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Frank and Alice Longbottom, James and Lily Potter, Marlene Mckinnon, Peter Pettigrew plus the countless Aurors and Hit Wizards that had been killed during his long career. It was a lot for one man to take but he had, and he was determined to ensure that the next generations were given the very best protection that they could possibly have.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"That was bloody brilliant, mate" said Ron as they and Hermione made their way back to the intern room to prepare for the lecture that they would receive. They sat there talking animatedly about what they had learned.

"Seriously, though Harry with your new wand you seem to be a lot more powerful and the way you picked up what Moody was teaching you" she breathed "you really seem to good at duelling" she said slightly envious that her friend seemed so naturally gifted.

Harry picked up the slight envy in Hermione's voice and so said "Don't worry Hermione even if I do turn out to be good at duelling, you'll still be the best in our year at basically everything" he said and gave her a reassuring smile that she returned.

"Yeah I guess" she replied "It's just me being silly that’s all" she said as Ron said

"Hermione no one in our year is probably ever going to catch you up" causing Hermione to blush.

"So, what do think the lecture will be on" asked Harry.

"I don't know mate but knowing the Aurors something interesting at least" said Ron and Hermione nodded her agreement.

"The Aurors have been involved in countless important events and some have even gone on to become Minister of Magic. It's a highly respectable position so it wouldn't surprise me if they give us an overview of the Aurors" she said as they heard the now familiar clack clack clack of Moody's wooden leg as the gruff old Auror accompanied by Kingsley and Tonks walked into the room.

"Okay have a seat and take out your copies of A Basic History of the Dark Arts by Theseus Scamander" said Moody and the three complied.

"Now, I'm going to explain to you how Dark Wizards were caught before the creation of the Ministry of Magic".

"Before the inception of the Ministry of Magic magical Britain was ruled over by two governing bodies. The Wizengamot and the Wizards' Council.

"Now, back in those days the Wizengamot was solely a judicial body whilst all of the legislative and governing authority was held by the Wizards' Council, I'll cover more about the Wizengamot in a later lecture". He paused for breath. "In those days the Wizards' Council consisted of reputable wizards and witches elected every seven years by the magical population of Great Britain and Ireland. The Councils overarching responsibility was to govern and protect the magical population as well as protect the Muggle world from those who would use magic to harm those who couldn't fight back".

"When a Dark Wizard or Witch arose that was a clear and evident threat to the Magical World the Council would meet and decide on the best course of action which in most cases was to remove said witch or wizard from the equation. To do this the Council relied on the Hunters. The Hunters were a group of Dark Wizard Hunters kept on standby in case they were needed. They were not paid a salary and were only compensated with the bounty that catching or killing their target brought" he paused and saw Hermione's hand go up an almost ever-present occurrence during lectures at Hogwarts.

"Yes Granger" growled Moody.

"You said that the Hunters were compensated when they had captured or killed their target. So how did they do it" she asked.

"If a Hunter felt that they needed to use lethal force to end the threat of a Dark Wizard then they were allowed to use whatever magic that they deemed necessary. Remember this is before the Unforgivable Curses were declared Unforgivable" he said, and Harry was confused so he raised his hand.

"Yes Potter"

"What are the Unforgivable Curses?" he asked.

"You've never heard of the Unforgivable Curses" asked Moody, internally astounded.

Harry simply nodded in reply. Moody cursed Albus in his head for leaving the lad in front of him with muggles. The lad didn't even know what curse had given him his scar in the first place was.

"Well then, there are three Unforgivable Curses and they are so named because the use of any one of them on another human being is declared an unforgivable act and carries a lifetime sentence in Azkaban." he paused for breath. The three curses are as follows: The Imperius Curse, The Cruciatus Curse and The Killing Curse".

Their effects are as follows" the Imperius Curse gives the caster complete control over the victim. The victim will do about anything that the caster tells them too even things that they can't do naturally. Using the Imperius Curse has been a favourite of many Dark Wizards throughout history, in the last war Mulciber Junior was an extremely skilled caster of this curse, he's now rotting away in Azkaban" finished Moody.

"Why is this curse considered Unforgivable" Moody asked them.

"Because it strips you of your free will and makes you basically less of a person and more of thrall to your attacker plus if done incorrectly it can destroy your mind" he said. "The incantation is Imperio so if you ever hear anyone say that incantation whilst pointing a wand at someone then stop them. Symptoms that someone is under the influence of the Imperius Curse include glazed over eyes and the entering of a trance like state that washes any feelings of anxiety or responsibility. Also, if they have done things that they can't normally do at random then they may be under this curse. Many of the currently free Death Eaters used the excuse that they were under the Imperius Curse to avoid Azkaban, scum like Lucius Malfoy and Corban Yaxley along with Malfoy's lackeys all lied their way out of Azkaban through claiming to be under this curse" he paused for breath. "It is possible to resist the imperious Curse, but you need to be either a very skilled Occlumens or possess an extremely strong and high amount of willpower and strength of character though be advised that resisting the curse can cause damage, sometimes irreparable damage to your mind. So, all in all it's better to not get hit with it in the first place" he finished.

"Now moving onto the second Unforgivable Curse. It is called the Cruciatus Curse or the Torture Curse. It causes extreme discomfort and agonising pain to the victim from my personal experience it felt like white hot knives were being pushed into my skin from everywhere at once. It is so painful that if done with enough force and malice it can shatter your mind and leave you permanently incapacitated" he paused. "The incantation is Crucio and this is in my opinion the most horrifying of the Unforgivables as it requires real intent and absolute malice in order to be effective. If you are righteously angry at someone then the curse will not be effective. Symptoms of this curse depend on how long exposure was but are known to include various degrees of shaking, dizziness, memory loss, disorientation and bleeding from the mouth, eyes, nose and ears"

"What do you mean permanently incapacitated?" asked Hermione nervously.

Moody thought for a moment before speaking "What do you know of Frank and Alice Longbottom" and wasn't surprised when Potter and Granger shook their heads but Weasley nodded. What had happened to Frank and Alice wasn’t exactly a topic for polite conversation, and he wasn't surprised that only Weasley knew about it.

"Well, Frank and Alice Longbottom were two extremely skilled Aurors who after You-Know-Who's downfall were captured by a group of four Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange and Bartemius Crouch Junior" he explained. "For some reason they believed that You-Know-Who was still around and were searching for him. They believed that the Ministry knew where he was and so they went after the Aurors. Fortunately, I caught them before the scum got their hands on too many Aurors but when I found the Longbottom's they were already a lost cause" he said "they're now permanent residents at St Mungo's on the Janus Thickery Ward for Irreversible Spell Damage".

He saw the three of them take it in what he had just said before Granger asked a question "When you say it was the Longbottom's, did they have a son?" she said and both Potter and Weasley had looks of horrified realisation on their faces causing Moody to reply "Yes they did".

"Was his name Neville?" croaked Harry and Moody replied.

"Yes, my godson's name is Neville" he replied and wondered at the looks he was receiving from the teens in front of him.

"Neville is our dormmate" said Potter as he gestured towards himself and Weasley and Moody quickly did the math. Yes, they were the same age as his godson and yes, they were in Gryffindor just like Neville, so they must be dormmates.

"He's never mentioned this then I take it?" asked Moody gently causing the three young Gryffindors to shake their heads.

"I would ask that you don't mention to Neville that I told you this and that you keep an eye in him and support him this year" asked Moody with a gentleness that surprised them. He grinned at their looks and said.

"Let me guess you didn't expect Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody to have a gentle side" he said with a smirk causing the three teens to shake their heads vigorously whilst Tonks and Kingsley laughed at his statement.

The trio nodded their agreement at his statement without even looking at each other.

"Okay and now the last Unforgivable Curse" he said "This curse is well named for what it does, the Killing Curse, causes instant death once you are hit with it. There is no known counter curse. The incantation is Avada Kedavra and the tell-tale signs that it has been cast at you is a blinding flash of green light. It is the hardest of the Unforgivables to use and only once has somebody been known to have survived it and he's sitting right in front of me" said Moody before looking at Harry.

Harry registered Moody's words and froze. After all the publicity that he got at school over his scar he'd never considered what spell had been used to cause it. Both Ron and Hermione looked at him quickly and Ron put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze whilst Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder as a sign of support. Tonks and Kingsley both looked concerned whilst Moody just looked at him curiously.

"You didn't know how you got your scar did you lad" growled Moody unhappily.

"No, I didn't" said Harry whilst fighting back tears.

"Did…did he use the same curse on my parents”, and Moody just nodded.

Harry couldn't fight them any longer and the tears began too leak through until he was crying openly on Hermione's shoulder. He felt Ron join the hug and thy remained like this until Moody said

"I think we'll call it a day" he said gesturing for his fellows Aurors to follow him out so as to leave the trio to comfort their leader however they needed.

It was like this an hour later that Arthur Weasley found them.

Chapter Text

Arthur Weasley was a simple man in many ways. He was an enigma within the Ministry due to his pro-muggle views and he lacked ambition of many of his co-workers. He simply came to work and did his job and when his shift was over, he went home to his wife and children. This did not mean that he wasn't well respected by many in the Ministry for his work ethic especially by those who also sought to do their jobs well, people like Amelia Bones were aware that he was one of the Ministry's best workers but right now he wasn't approaching the Auror Office because of work. He was approaching it to pick up his son and his friends although both he and his wife considered both Harry and Hermione to be another son and daughter.

As he entered the headquarters of one of the most feared fighting forces in the magical world, after being waved through by the Hit Wizards on guard duty. He made his way towards the nearest Auror intending to ask where they were, until he heard a rough voice with a Scottish accent growl out: "Arthur, a minute of your time?" he turned and saw Detective Master Auror Alastor Moody approach him.

"Yes, Alastor?" he said curiously, as he was led towards a room at the far end of the office.

"Now," said Alastor without waiting, "I was giving them a lecture on how Dark Wizards were caught in the days of the old Wizards' Council when the topic of the Unforgivable Curses came up and well," he paused, "see for yourself," he said gesturing to a window that gave him a view into a room marked "Interns" and what he saw both warmed and broke his heart.

He saw Harry sat with his head on Hermione's shoulder as Ron had his head on Harry's other shoulder in a group hug. He could see that Hermione appeared to be asleep as did Harry whilst Ron just held them both in a somewhat awkward yet caring fashion. He could see that Harry had been crying and that Ron and Hermione appeared to have been comforting him. He looked at them for a moment before turning back to Moody and asking, "what happened?"

"Potter was unaware that the Killing Curse had given him his scar. In fact, he wasn't aware of what the Unforgivable Curses even were," said Moody and Arthur was shocked. He knew that the Unforgivables were not covered until Fourth Year and were not demonstrated until Sixth Year but he thought that Dumbledore would have at least told Harry about what had given him his scar.

"How bad?" he asked, worried that Harry was going to be suffering from the shock of finding this out.

"He broke down when he found out but he has his friends to comfort him, so I'm hopeful that he'll be fine once he's let it out," said Moody and Arthur just nodded.

"On a happier note, he seems to have his father’s duelling ability," said Moody and Arthur smiled relieved that Harry had at least had some fun today.

"Really?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," said Moody, "with his new wand he left me flat on my back," he said with an amused growl. Arthur was stunned. Alastor Moody was one of the most skilled and ferocious duellists of all time able to defeat just about anyone, and one of only four people who Voldemort couldn't defeat. Moody was saying that Harry had beaten him on his first day as an Auror intern.

"He hit me with the most powerful Exploding Charm that I've ever seen. He left me flat on my back," finished Moody.

"I know that he got full marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts this year," he said.

"Aye, I was aware. It's why I asked for him when they told me who we had as interns. Well that and the fact that I owe James Potter enough that I'll train his son as well as I can," and Arthur was surprised to hear Moody speak like this.

"You’re his mentor then, are you?" said Arthur pleased and Moody nodded.

"Good. At least you'll be able to teach him some useful magic," said Arthur, "and you’re trustworthy," he added causing Moody to nod.

"Go to them Arthur. I think they've had enough for one day," said Moody with a gentleness that Arthur had not expected from the gruff, usually surly old Auror.

Arthur nodded and made his way towards the room where the three youngsters were as he entered, he saw a truly heart-warming sight. He saw Ron notice him first and quietly say "Hi dad".

"Hey son," he replied with a smile.

"I'm here to take you down to the Portkey Office," he said.

"Okay," said Ron as he reluctantly shook Harry back awake and woke Hermione who had fallen asleep on Harry's shoulder.

"Sorry guys," said Ron as Hermione sent him a glare causing Ron to say in his defence "my dad’s here," which led Hermione to mumble "Sorry Ron".

"Come on, let’s get this over with," said Arthur with a smile.

"Alright, Mr Weasley," said Hermione and Harry just nodded much to his concern.

They got up and gathered their books back together and put on their cloaks before heading out of the Office after saying goodbye to their mentors. Arthur led them over to the bank of lifts and pressed the button to lead them down to Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation. He led them to the Portkey Office which consisted of a waiting room with an old, wooden counter behind which was a bored looking wizard. There were also hundreds of drawers behind the counter that he assumed he knew held portkeys.

"Arthur, what can I do for you?" asked the wizard behind the counter. He had greying blonde hair and kind, blue eyes.

"Hi Barny, I just here to get my son and his friends a reusable portkey for their internships," he explained and the wizard, Barny nodded and said "if you'll follow me please," as he led them back behind the counter into a room that contained some weird looking basin with runes on it and a wooden table.

"Now," said Barny, "where are these portkeys supposed to go to?" he asked.

"One needs to go to the Burrow, another to the outskirts of London and the final one needs to go to Surrey," he said.

"I'll have three reusables ready in a second. I'll do the one to the Burrow first as I know where it is whilst for the other two, I will need to withdraw a memory from you so I can visualise it when I cast the charm," he explained. Harry and Hermione both looked surprised before he remembered that they wouldn't know that memories could be extracted.

"Once the first portkey is done you simply need to think about what your house looks like and I'll extract the memory and place it in the pensieve over there," he said as he gestured to the strange stone basin covered with runes that he'd seen earlier. "Then I'll look at it and once I recognise your house I'll enchant the location into the portkey and set it to be activated with a set password," he finished his explanation as he fished out three necklaces from one of the draws and carefully placing each on a table.

"Now I'm going to enchant these," he said as he pointed his wand at the first necklace which, Harry saw consisted of a yellow eagle head attached to a black and red string "Portus" Barny said causing the necklace to glow a bright blue before returning to normal.

"What activation word would you like?" he asked Ron before adding "It's better if it’s something that won't be said at home very often," causing Ron to think for over a minute before deciding that his activation word would be "Fluffy" causing both Harry and Hermione to smirk whilst Arthur just stood there confused.

Next up was Hermione who after thinking about her house hard had the memory withdrawn by Barny. The memory appeared as a thin silvery strand that he then proceeded to place in the penseive before to Harry and Hermione's evident shock he disappeared into it before emerging again after another couple of minutes. He then carried out the same action that he had on the first necklace the only exception being that Hermione chose "Troll" as her activation word. Hermione beamed as she was given her portkey which consisted of a blue owl’s head on a string of bronze and yellow string. Then came Harry's turn. He did the same thing as Hermione but was careful to pick a memory where nothing happened. After a couple of minutes of waiting Barny re-emerged from the pensieve and charmed Harry's necklace. He chose "Prongs" as his activation word. He placed the portkey which like the others was a necklace around his neck: the only difference being that his was a red and gold lions head on a silver and green string.

"All right that's you three done I just need you to sign for them," he said as he drew several pieces of parchment out from behind the desk. He wrote down the portkeys number and destination before handing them each a piece of parchment before telling them to sign it, which they did. He then gave them a receipt and wished them a good day after telling them that they'd have to return them at the end of the summer.

"Let's head to the Portkey point then, shall we?" said Arthur as he led them back into the lift and down to the Atrium. Where he led through a side door to a series of pads that had "Portkey Pad" followed by a number written on a sign above them.

"Now just walk out onto the pad and say your activation word. I'll see you tomorrow!" said Arthur with a smile as each of them made their way out onto a pad and with a single word they were gone. He smiled and made his way back to the Apparition Point where he promptly apparated home, intending to speak with Ron about what had happened with Harry that day.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Harry felt a pull behind his navel followed by a dizzying spinning feeling before he was suddenly back in his room at Number Four, Privet Drive. He was still for a moment with his hands on his knees trying not to vomit whilst taking some deep breaths to steady his stomach. Harry really didn't like Portkeys but they were better than having Mr Weasley apparate him every day so he'd live with it.

He looked at the clock and saw that it read 6:30. His aunt and uncle would expect him to prepare dinner in a little while so he changed into a set of muggle clothes and sat down for a breather before heading downstairs. As he arrived in the hallway, he encountered Aunt Petunia "Good you’re back," she barked "Now you can make us dinner" she sneered as she pointed towards the kitchen. He nodded and made his way into the kitchen.

He looked at the kitchen work surface and saw three large pork steaks on a plate that he assumed were going to be the Dursley's dinner. He looked at them for a moment before his aunt ordered "Well get cooking then".

He quickly got out a frying pan and a couple of saucepans and placed them on the hob. He boiled the kettle and poured the water from it into the saucepans before lighting the gas stove. Once the water was boiling, he added some baby potatoes to one saucepan whilst adding some mixed veg to the other. He then turned his attention to the frying pan which after adding some oil to the pan he lit the gas he started to fry the pork whilst seasoning it with salt and pepper as he went. After a few minutes the meal was ready and he plated it up before placing it on the table and quickly putting a glass of wine at his aunt and uncles places and a large glass of Coca-Cola at Dudley's before he took the plate of bread, nearly gone off ham and hard cheese along with a jug of water and a glass and retreated upstairs.

He ate his rather measly dinner in silence though at least he didn't have to share it with Hedwig as he was able to let her out to hunt. He finished his dinner quickly whilst still being able to hear the clatter and scrape of cutlery downstairs as the Dursley devoured the scrumptious dinner that he had made them. He knew that she should feel some anger at it but honestly, he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. He had more important things to worry about. He's received a flood of information today and he needed time to process it all.

On the one hand, he'd learned that his parents and his father especially had been capable duellists and he was going to be learning from the man who had trained them. So, he really had a lot to be happy about. Hell, with his new wand he'd even managed to put Moody flat on his back after only a little instruction on his first day. He'd finally felt like he was getting somewhere in the magical world. He hadn't admitted it to anyone but he was extremely proud of his DADA grades this year. It was the first time at Hogwarts that he had truly done well in a subject especially as prior to Hogwarts he had to deliberately fail every test that he had taken so as not to outdo Dudley.

At Hogwarts it was different. His relatives didn't even care what grades he got so he had no real pressure on him. His grades had been decent which in his first year he had thought that they were good because of how little knowledge he had of the magical world and in his second year he had been distracted by everyone accusing him of being the Heir of Slytherin and then all exams had been cancelled so he hadn't actually got any grades that year. He felt that he'd massively improved in his third year as he had only had the occasional Dementor and the now laughable threat of Sirius Black trying to kill him. He really hoped that he could improve further in Fourth Year.

Part of the reason that he wanted to improve was because of Sirius. Now, he had someone who would actually be proud of him if he did well and to his surprise this gave him an immense sense of satisfaction. He now knew that someone cared about his life and actually wanted him to have a future. Thinking of Sirius led him to thinking about trying to become an Animagus. He still needed to discuss it with Ron and Hermione. He wondered if Professor McGonagall would be willing to help them. She had supported them with the internship so maybe she'd support them in that as well.

Another thing that was really on his mind after today was the internship. He'd never expected to have found out about his parents and how they had died on his first day. He briefly wondered why Dumbledore had never told him about how his parents had died before deciding that it was probably his age but then why hadn't he told him as he got older. He knew that he was ignorant of a lot of the ways of the magical world and thought that it might be better if he tried to learn some more of the ways of the magical world. He still didn't know how the legal system worked or really anything about jobs or politics or other countries. He concluded that a lot had been kept from him and that if he wanted to know then he'd have to find out himself.

He knew that he was in many ways he was lucky and not just in the fact that he was still alive. He was lucky because he was being mentored by Alastor Moody, the greatest Auror of all time. He could learn things from Moody that he couldn't from anyone else. He also thought that it would be a good idea to order some extra books though he would ask Moody which books he felt that he should get. He thought though that a few on magical society, history and culture would probably be a good idea. Plus, he wanted a few more academic books to help with his studies.

From what he knew his father had been a wiz at Transfiguration whilst his mother was great at Charms. He was really motivated to improve in them both as well as his duelling. I should probably also try and improve in Potions as well he thought with a grimace. It wasn't that he disliked Potions as a subject, it was just that Snape has always seemed to be determined to make his lessons in the subject hellish but the list of books said that Potions was needed so he would try and improve.

He took out his Ebony wand and looked at it carefully. According to Moody he was a natural at duelling and with this wand his spells had felt so natural and fluid, almost like it knew what he wanted to do before he knew himself. He felt that he would enjoy casting with this wand. He somehow knew that this summer was going to see him change a lot.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Hermione arrived back in her bedroom in her family's home and clattered to the floor. I really dislike portkeys she thought as she pulled herself up from the floor and took a moment to collect herself. She was home early and needed awhile to collect herself after today. It had been a great day that had ended badly. She'd known that Harry didn't know much about his parents but she'd never imagined how little he had really known.

She sat there contemplating her friend, how long she sat there she had no idea when her mum came in.

"Are you alright, darling?" Emma Granger asked her daughter with concern.

Hermione went to speak but couldn't as a few tears started to leak down her face. As the tears began to flow, she felt her mother’s arms embrace her as she tucked her head into the crook of her neck. She cried for a few moments whilst Emma rubbed circles on her back and whispered soothing words to her.

After giving Hermione a few moments to gather herself she gently asked "Can you tell me what's wrong, sweetheart?".

Hermione sniffed before speaking "We found out which curse killed Harry's parents" and Emma swallowed.

"And what happened then" she gently probed as she needed Hermione to explain further for her to understand.

"Harry started to cry when he joined the dots" she said.

"Can you tell me the whole story?" she asked and Hermione explained.

"We were having such a good day. We'd been fitted with our equipment and had been tested to see where our magical abilities laid" she paused for breath "Harry was a natural at duelling and I was decent enough as was Ron" she said with a slight hint of envy at the start. Emma smiled; it was so like her daughter to want to be the best at everything.

"And then what happened?" she asked.

"Well, then we had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron which was great" she said "and then we were having a lecture on how Dark Wizards were caught before the Ministry of Magic existed when the Auror Moody mentioned the Unforgivable Curses".

"Unforgivable Curses!" exclaimed Emma.

"Three curses that are illegal to use on another human being under pain of a life sentence in Azkaban" Hermione hurriedly explained.

"Oh" was all Emma could say but she guessed that some types of magic would be banned. She quickly cleared her head.

"What happened then?"

"Well, you know that Harry has his scar, right?" she asked and Emma nodded. She'd always wondered why he had it.

"Well it turns out that he got it from one of the Unforgivable Curses" she said and Emma nodded her head in understanding "and then we discovered that his parents were killed by the same curse" she said as more tears escaped causing Emma to gasp and hold her daughter tightly as she cried herself out.

"What did Harry do when he found out?" she asked kindly.

"He…. He cried his eyes out" she said as Emma stroked her hair like she'd done when she was a little girl.

"What has you so upset then, dear?"

"We were having such a good day and then Harry finds this out, add in some of the comments that I've heard him make about his home life and I'm just worried about him" she finished and Emma was immediately concerned.

"What comments has he made?" she asked although her medically trained mind could guess at what he might have said.

"He said that he's basically imprisoned at his relatives house and that he doesn't have a home" her voice broke as she said the last part and Emma held her even tighter as concern flooded through her.

"What do you think he meant by that?" she asked.

"I know that his relatives don't really like him. I mean, his clothes are about ten sizes too big for him and all seem fairly shabby" she said.

"And I remember hearing Ron and the Twins mention that they had to pull metal bars off of his window during the summer before second year" she said. "Then before Third Year his uncle basically threw him out after he accidentally inflated his aunt. He also mentioned how he didn't know anything about the magical world until Hagrid told him" she finished with a breath.

Emma thought for a moment before Hermione continued "I also know that Harry's family are well-respected and wealthy but he doesn't seem to know this" she said and Emma quickly figured out what the problem was.

"Do you think Harry is mistreated by his relatives?" she asked gently.

Hermione just nodded before adding "I'm almost sure of it".

"Do you know why Harry hasn't told anyone about this?"

"He told us that Professor Dumbledore said that he was safe at Privet Drive. According to Harry he didn't even listen when Harry asked to not go back there". Emma thought for a moment before deciding that there was nothing that she could do at the moment but when next summer came round, she would try and help him.

"Well we can't help him now but when next summer comes around, I promise you that we'll do everything that we can to help him" she smiled before adding "even if that means he has to stay with us" causing Hermione to look at her.

"Really?" she asked.

"If it’s necessary then yes, dear" she said with a smile before hearing a rumble coming from Hermione's stomach.

Emma giggled at her daughters embarrassed expression before asking "Are you hungry, dear?" to which Hermione nodded.

"Well then let’s go downstairs and have dinner then. Your father should have it ready by now" she said with a smile as she pulled her daughter up and led her downstairs.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Arthur arrived home after taking his son and his friends to the Portkey Office. He usually came home tired but happy but today he was not. Seeing how Harry, Ron and Hermione had been when he went to collect them had him worried, add in what Mad-Eye had told him and he was very concerned.

When Ron and the Twins had brought Harry to the Burrow a couple of years ago, he had been surprised when, what Ron had written in his letters, was true. Harry really did know almost nothing about the magical world and his heritage. He wondered what Harry actually knew about the magical world. He would need to check with Ron when he spoke to him.

He approached the Burrow and opened the front door to see his wife was busily cooking the family dinner.

"Hey dear" he said as she turned to him with a smile. He gave her a kiss on the cheek which she returned.

"Good day at work, love?" she asked as turned back to the stove.

"Yes. Is Ron in yet?" he asked.

"He came in a few minutes ago" she said and Arthur nodded.

"How long until dinner?" he asked.

"About half an hour" she said as he nodded and made his way upstairs. He entered his bedroom and changed out of his work clothes and then after a quick trip to the bathroom, he made his way up to Ron's room and after a knock he entered the bright orange room of his youngest son.

"Hey dad" said Ron as he looked up from the Quidditch magazine that he was reading.

"Hey son" he replied.

"May I?" he asked as he gestured to Ron's bed. Ron nodded. He sat down and looked at Ron.

"What happened today, son?" he asked. He knew what Mad-Eye had told him but he wanted to hear Ron's reasoning.

Ron sighed and put the magazine down before turning to his father.

"Mad-Eye was giving us a lecture on the Hunters when he mentioned the Unforgivable Curses and Harry asked what they were" he paused. "Mad-Eye explained what the Imperious and Cruciatus Curses were but when he came to the Killing Curse, he mentioned that it was the curse that gave Harry his scar and Harry jus froze. He then asked if it was the curse that was used on his parents and Mad-Eye just nodded" he took a deep breath before continuing.

"Harry just sort of started crying," he said " Me and Hermione tried to comfort him until you arrived" he finished.

Arthur nodded and thought for a second before saying "And then what happened?" he asked gently.

"We just sat there for, I don't know how long until you arrived but both Harry and Hermione fell asleep" he said "I was surprised that I didn't fall asleep too to be honest" he said with a smile causing Arthur to chuckle.

"Yes, I suppose you are one who likes to sleep aren't you, son" he said and Ron grinned.

"How much do you think Harry knows about his parents?" he asked "or about anything to do with our world?" he added figuring that it was better to just ask now whilst Ron was able to tell him.

After a moment’s thought Ron replied "Almost nothing, dad. I've had to explain loads of things to him that he should have known. I mean, I know he lives with his muggle relatives and was raised in there world but it seems like he's been deliberately kept in the dark" this caused Arthur to think for a moment before asking Ron "what makes you say that?".

"I mean that Harry is sent back to the muggle world every summer against his will and he never seems to be aware of the things that he should be" Arthur nodded for him to continue "And because he was raised in the muggle world with no knowledge of the magical world, why wasn't he treated like a muggleborn student. When Harry got his Hogwarts letter, he said his uncle ripped it up and then when he received even more his uncle burned them and then he took them away from home when he was sent more. Hagrid had to track them down and give Harry his letter personally" he paused for breath.

"Hermione said that Professor McGonagall gave her and the other muggleborn students their Hogwarts letters so why didn't she or Professor Flitwick give him his. Plus, I remember vaguely Hermione mentioning that she was left a few extra books that explained how our world worked so why wasn't Harry left any extra books" he finished with a huff and Arthur could quite clearly see his point. It was strange that Harry hadn't received any of the additional support that a student coming from the muggle world should get.

After a moment’s thought he decided on his course of action "I tell you what Ron. You mentioned that Professor McGonagall is aware that you three are doing the internship, right" Ron nodded "I'll have a word with her sometime in the next few days and see what I can find out" he said with a smile.

Ron smiled back and said "Cheers dad" and Arthur smiled before looking at his watch and turning to his son smiling "It's dinner time now so let’s go and eat" he said and Ron looked a looked a bit disturbed.

"What is it son?" he asked with concern.

Ron mumbled something causing Arthur to lean closer "Pardon, son" he said.

"I'm not feeling hungry at the moment" he said and Arthur gave a concerned smile.

"Alright, son I'll tell your mother to save some for you later" he said as he smiled at his son before making his way downstairs and having dinner with his family.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Susan and her Aunt Amelia arrived back at Bones Manor after a long day at the Ministry. She exited the floo after her aunt and heard her call out "Cobby" and after a crack there was the diminutive little House elf standing before them wearing a pillowcase emblazoned with the Bones crest.

"Yes Mistress" she asked.

"Can you have dinner on the table in half an hour please" she asked kindly and the sweet House elf nodded before disappearing with a crack.

She turned to Susan with a smile and said "I'll be in my study until dinner, okay" and Susan nodded.

"You did well today, Susie" she praised with a smile.

Susan returned the smile and thought about what she had done that day. Her internship with her auntie’s secretary was both interesting and incredibly boring. Whenever some paperwork relating to the Improper Use of Magic Office came up, she had to fight the urge to fall asleep as usually Mrs Hopkirk was moaning over some rubbish and being a killjoy. Most of her time was spent dealing with reports from the various sub-departments that made up the DMLE but the real treat was when she got to deal with reports from the Auror Office. She loved reading the reports of Aurors catching Dark Wizards especially as she was a bit lonely at the Ministry as Hannah wasn't doing an internship.

Thinking of the Auror Office got her thinking about her year mate that she had run into earlier that day. Harry Potter was the last person that she was expecting to run into at the Ministry but she had. If she was honest with herself, she really wanted to become friends with him but her House never really had lessons with them apart from Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She knew that from what her Aunt had told her that her Uncle Edgar had been friends with his parents. So she hoped that she would be able to become friends with him.

She secretly thought that he was cute and hoped that he would notice her at some point. She admitted to herself that she had a crush on him but then so did just about every other girl at Hogwarts. Nearly every girl at Hogwarts was jealous of Hermione Granger. O f how she was the only girl who Harry really talked to on a regular basis. There were bets in the Hufflepuff Common Room about when they were going to get together as there were in the other House common rooms but so far nothing. They seemed to have no intention on getting together.

She hoped that she saw more of Harry and that she saw more of Hermione and Ron as well. Her summers were usually pretty lonely with only Hannah to talk to and she hoped that she could make some more friends. And the Golden Trio were at the top of just about every friends list at Hogwarts. There were rumours that circulated throughout the school as to some of their adventures, some of which she had a hard time believing to be true.

She truly hoped that she'd be able to become friends with them and the raven haired, green eyed boy who she'd bumped into. She sat there thinking until Cobby informed her that dinner was on the table and she quickly made her way down.

Her aunt smiled as she took her seat and asked "How did you find today, dear".

"It was really interesting for the most part" she said before taking a mouthful and chewing considerately on it for a moment before swallowing to answer her aunts questioning gaze.

"The reports from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol and from the Hit Wizards were really interesting to read but my favourites were from the Aurors" she said before adding "The reports from Mrs Hopkirk were my least favourite" causing her aunt to laugh.

"Yes, Mrs Hopkirk is not the most pleasant individual to deal with and her reports are incredibly tedious to read".

"It must be terrible having to work for her " said Susan with a laugh.

"Not just working for her, dear. I'm her boss and I swear the number of times she nearly driven me around the bend with some pointless rubbish about someone using a shrinking charm or a muggleborn using a mending charm" her aunt huffed causing her to laugh before her aunt glared at her before joining in with the laughter.

"Well at least you had a good day" she said with a smile which Susan returned as she continued to eat her dinner after finishing a lovely dessert that consisted of a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. After her aunt informed her that she was going to be working in her study for a while so Susan went back to her room to try and find something to do. After an hour of idly flipping through a copy of Teen Witch Weekly to try and pass the time she started thinking about her day again and in particular her surprise meeting with Harry Potter.

She'd debated whether to talk to her auntie about him but she'd promised that she wouldn't talk about him doing the internship but then did auntie know that he was doing an internship in the first place. She was Head of the DMLE after all. She thought about how she could broach the topic to her aunt before realising that it would be simple. She could just ask if she knew of any other interns that the DMLE had.

Having decided what to do she made her way up to her aunt’s study to ask her if she knew. As she arrived at the door to her aunt’s study she knocked and entered when she heard a "come in" from her aunt.

"Hello Susan, what do you need sweetheart?" she asked with a smile as she looked up at her niece from the parchments on her desk.

Susan smiled at her aunt as she formed the words that she wanted to say. Her aunt gave her an expectant look.

"Well, do you know of any other DMLE interns, auntie?" she asked figuring that it was better to just get what she wanted to say out.

Her aunt had a thoughtful look on her before speaking "I don't know of the top of my head, dear, but I will check tomorrow for you" she said with a smile before asking "what's brought this up?".

"I was just thinking that if there were other interns then maybe I could hang out with them during my breaks" she said and her aunt nodded tiredly.

"I will try to find out for you, dear" she said with a smile as she turned back to her parchments. Susan returned to her room and went back to reading her magazine until she went to bed hoping that she would see more of the Trio and especially they're leader the next day.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up the next morning at his usual 6:00 and put on his glasses after a glance at the clock. As was his habit after years with the Dursleys he took a shower and dressed quickly. He made his way down to get some breakfast before brushing his teeth and putting on his greatcoat, robes, cloak and bag before putting on his portkey necklace and whispering "Prongs" before feeling the sickening pull behind his navel as he was portkeyed all the way to London.

He landed on his feet on Portkey pad four and walked off of the pad and into the Atrium proper. He took a moment to look around the Atrium and saw that there were a few people coming and going but it was largely deserted. He looked at his watch and saw that it read 6:50. He was nearly forty minutes early!

He wasn't quite sure what to do so he decided to make his way to the Office and wait in the Intern Room. His decision made he quickly headed to the bank of lifts and pressed the button to take him to the second floor. He was lucky that the lift was empty as he didn't feel like being recognised. When he arrived on the floor that housed the offices of the DMLE he turned the corner that Mr Weasley had led them around yesterday and approached the double doors that led to the Auror Office. He showed his intern badge to the tired-looking Hit Wizards on guard duty who waved him through.

He entered the darkened hall that still had the night shift working away as he made his way down to the far end and sat down on one of the sofas in the Intern Room. He opened his bag and pulled out his copy of A Beginner's Guide to Magical Combat written by Auror Oliver Moody. He wondered whether the author was related to his mentor and decided that he probably was.

He opened the book and began to read about how to cast Shield Charms whilst moving. He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he failed to notice the clack clack clack sound that started up after until he was interrupted by a voice growling "If I was a Dark Wizard Potter you would be dead now" causing Harry to shoot up, dropping the book in the process, and see that Moody was standing in the doorway pointing his wand at him.

"Don't try and draw your wand, lad" he continued as he stomped into the room and sat down on the sofa opposite him and picked up Harry's book before looking at the title and smiling.

"Ah A Beginner's Guide to Magical Combat by my grandfather" he said "A good book". Harry just nodded as Moody handed him his book back.

"Why are you here so early, laddie?" he asked as he put his wand way and drew out his hip flask and took a short drag.

"I woke up at six and was ready so I decided to just come here early" he said and Moody had an inkling as to why he was here so early and decided to probe a little.

"Do your aunt and uncle know that you left early?" he asked.

"They don't really care what time I leave at" he said and Moody filed that information away for the discussion that he knew he'd need to have with Minerva in a few days.

"So what part of were you reading" he asked changing the subject. Long years of intelligence gathering had told him not to push too hard when a person was starting to open up. He knew that if he could get Potter to tell him a few more details then he could help the lad. There were few crimes more heinous in the magical world than those committed against a child.

"I was reading the section about the Shield Charm, in particular the section about how to cast it whilst moving" he said and Moody nodded.

"Well lad, first things first you have visualise the shield in front of you and imagine that it can block anything that's sent at you….." Moody continued explaining the Shield Charm to Harry who was listening with rapt attention. Moody continued explaining until Kingsley arrived and called Moody away to help plan out the days sessions but before he left the room he turned to Harry and said "Oh and one more thing Potter. To avoid a repeat of how I caught you out earlier, I teach you this basic lesson that's kept me alive for decades. This lesson must be practiced unceasingly and that is that you must maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!"

-X-X-X-X-X-

About ten minutes later Ron and Hermione arrived and Tonks gave them a three hour lecture on Healing spells. She taught them how to cast the Episkey Charm and somewhat fortunately for the Trio Tonks was extremely clumsy and broke four of her toes when she tripped over a chair leg. Both Harry and Ron were able to heal a toe each whilst Hermione was able to heal two of her toes. Tonks stated that Hermione was a natural at healing magic much to her delight.

They had a forty-five-minute break to recharge before Tonks and Mad-Eye gave them a lesson on the basics of how to use Transfiguration in combat. It was interesting to see what Professor Dumbledore had written on the subject. It was rather fascinating to read the words of someone who was quite clearly a master at the subject. Moody gave the lecture whilst Tonks demonstrated the various wand movements and incantations. They were given an hour and a half lunch break where they went to the Ministry canteen and sat in the far corner in order to avoid attention.

Ron and Hermione finished before Harry who told them to head back to the Office whilst he put his dished in the washing up area where a House-Elf would collect them and take them away for washing. He was just putting his dishes on the table when he turned and saw a familiar looking redhead heading towards the same table. She hadn't noticed him, so he decided to say hello.

"Hi Susan" he said pleasantly causing the redhead to nearly jump out of her skin with fright.

"Hiya Harry" she said breathlessly and blushing furiously as she quickly placed her dishes on the table before turning back to Harry.

"So, how are you?" he asked her.

"I.. I’m fine" she said as she twirled a lock of hair between her fingers "How are you?" she asked him.

"I'm good" he said before asking "where are you off to now?".

"I've got to go back to my aunties office now" she said.

"Would you like me to escort you?" he asked.

Susan could only nod as he led her towards the door and to the bank of lifts. They made small talk as they went and arrived back on Level Two a few minutes later having a pleasant discussion on what they hoped the next year at Hogwarts would be like. When they arrived, he allowed Susan to lead them left as he didn't actually know where the Head of the DMLE's office actually was. After walking for a couple of minutes he saw an office door that read "Amelia Bones- Department Head". Susan turned to him and said "Thanks for escorting me Harry" she said with a smile.

"It was my pleasure" he said as she smiled and turned to enter the office before, she looked back at him and said, "Maybe I'll see you around?". He nodded in reply with a smile as she turned and entered her aunt’s office. He meanwhile quickly made his way back to the Auror Office and arrived with about quarter of an hour to spare. He managed to brush off Ron and Hermione's questions as they discussed their sessions that day.

Their next session was on Charms and was taught by Kingsley and Moody. They were covering Shield Charms and the basics of warding. Harry was the most proficient at casting the duelling variant whereas Ron surprisingly was the best at waring an area. With a big smile Ron decided that he would focus on warding.

They finished that day with smiles on their faces as they made their way down towards the Portkey pads. After saying goodbye, they each portkeyed home where Harry again made dinner for his relatives and got only a measly dinner again. He went to bed that night happy with how the day had turned out.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Amelia Bones was a busy woman. When your Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement you are usually very busy, but she was never too busy for her niece. She was curious about her niece’s request. Her background as an Auror made her naturally able to pick out a hidden meaning but she also believed that Susan was genuine about her loneliness so she would check the Interns list.

"Abby" she called, and her young blonde-haired secretary ran in.

"Yes, Madam Bones?" she asked curiously.

"Can you get me a copy of the Interns list please?" she asked politely as Abby nodded.

"I'll be right back, Madam" and she quickly turned and left.

Amelia went back to the parchments on her desk for a few minutes before she heard Abby knock.

"Enter" she called, and Abby entered holding a file.

"I have the Intern list for you, Madam" she said as she placed the requested parchments on the desk.

"Thank you, Abby" she said as her secretary nodded and left her office closing the door as she went.

Looking at the file on her desk for a moment she picked it up and saw that it read "Department of Magical Law Enforcement- Internships, 1990-1999. She'd always found it amusing how the file already went up to the end of the decade but the DMLE kept the Internship forms in decade-long files for ease of filing. Magical bureaucracy was even more tedious than muggle bureaucracy in many ways.

She opened the file and saw the page read "Internships- 1990." She flipped over a few parchments till she found the one that read "Internships- 1994". The file was not in alphabetical order and as she read down, she saw a few names that were vaguely familiar.

"Clearwater, Penelope, Improper Use of Magic Office"

"McLaggen, Cormac, Wizengamot Administrative Services"

She read through the other departments but found no one of a similar age until she finished what she thought was the last page of this year’s interns. She was just reordering the parchments when she saw another piece of parchment under the last sheet that she had read. She picked it up and saw that it read "Auror Office- Internships, 1994". She looked down at the list of names and began to read.

"Granger, Hermione"

"Potter, Harry"

"Weasley, Ronald"

She nodded before the second name on the list registered and she snapped her head back to the parchment. Just to be sure she read it again and low and behold the name "Potter, Harry" was still there. Amelia thought that after decades in law enforcement she was immune to shock but clearly, she was not. She thought for a moment before smiling. Rufus had been sneaky it appeared. She had to admit that she was curious about how the Boy-Who-Lived had got an internship. She needed to speak with Rufus about this just to check that he'd gotten it for the right reasons and not because of his name.

Her decision made she stood up and made her way to towards the Auror Office. As she entered the familiar space, she made her way towards Rufus' office which had been hers before Fudge had become Minister. She nodded at a few Aurors that she recognised from her time with the Office and knocked on the door.

"Come in" barked the familiar voice of Rufus Scrimgeour. She opened the door and entered,

"Ah Madam Bones" he said as began to stand until she raised her hand and spoke.

"Don't get up Rufus" she said knowing that his injured legs still caused a quite substantial measure of pain.

He gave her a look before gesturing to the seats in front of his desk "Please, take a seat" he said with just a hint of curiosity that to anyone other than an Auror would have been undetectable. She sat and placed the folder on the table waited for him to speak.

"So, Madam Bones what can I do for you?" he asked pleasantly.

After a moment pause, she spoke "My niece Susan asked me to see if there were any other interns her age in the Department this summer as she is a tad lonely" and Rufus nodded for her to continue.

"So I checked the intern list for this year and to my surprise I found that Harry Potter is one of your interns along with another boy that I can only assume is Arthur's son and some Granger girl who I vaguely recall Susan mentioning in some of her letters".

"So why did you get the Boy-Who-Lived as an Intern this early?" she asked curiously.

Scrimgeour thought for a moment before he spoke

"Now, Amelia. First things first is that I want you to know that I haven't taken him on because of his name. There are no political intentions or motivations to his internship at all. He is solely here based off of his Defence Against the Dark Arts grades" Rufus finished.

Amelia thought for a moment and asked, "Why did you take him on then?".

Rufus waved his wand and summoned a file from one of the filing cabinets that lined the walls of the office. He opened the file and handed it to Amelia. She recognised the file as the Intern file and knew that it was rarely used from her own time as Head of the Auror Office. She looked at the indicated page and read:

Granger, Hermione. Starts Fourth Year at Hogwarts in September. Gryffindor. Scored ninety-five percent in her Third Year Defence Against the Dark Arts exam.

Potter, Harry. Starts Fourth Year at Hogwarts in September. Gryffindor. Scored one hundred percent in his Third Year Defence Against the Dark Arts exam.

Weasley, Ronald. Starts Fourth Year at Hogwarts in September. Gryffindor. Scored ninety percent in his Third Year Defence Against the Dark Arts exam.

Amelia set the folder down with a feeling of shock on her face. She thought that Susan had done well with her sixty eight percent but the scores she was seeing for these three were through the roof. She couldn't actually think of any other instance of someone getting one hundred percent in DADA. It was almost unheard of for it to happen especially beyond second year but somehow Potter had done it and the other two weren't far behind.

"How are they doing?" she asked causing Scrimgeour to sit back in his chair and unexpectantly smile.

"According to their mentors there doing extremely well. Even better than some of our trainees apparently" he paused as she turned to their progress reports.

"Potter seems to be a natural at magical combat whilst Granger has proven to be a skilled Healer. The Weasley boy has thrived at warding so far" he added.

"Who are their mentors?" she inquired.

"Mad-Eye is Potters whilst Shack is Grangers and Tonks is Weasley's" he explained, and she was surprised at the combo.

"Shack seems fine but isn't Tonks a little inexperienced for this?" she asked.

"According to Mad-Eye and Shack it was a good opportunity for her to learn how to handle an intern whilst having two very experienced Aurors there to help her if she has a problem. After some thought I decided to allow it".

Amelia nodded before asking "Mad-Eye is Potters mentor. Are you sure that's a good idea because if the press find out they'll be a frenzy about the Boy-Who-Lived being partnered with him" she said "they'll accuse him of trying to indoctrinate him against the Pureblood agenda" she said.

"Actually Mad-Eye asked for him said something about the boy’s father saving his life back during the war.". "I also wouldn't worry about Mad-Eye indoctrinating him against the Purebloods" he said with a grin.

"How so?" she questioned curious as to his insights into Potter.

"His best friend is muggleborn as was his mother and his best mate is a blood traitor just like his father was" he said "it's hard to how they could ever get him to support them since I know he doesn't get on with the Malfoy boy" he said with a grin which didn't surprise her as she knew of Rufus' intense dislike for the Malfoys.

"From what Susan has written home about him he seemed to be a nice boy" she said in understanding. "I take it then that you’re sure that he won't be turned to the pureblood cause then?

Rufus actually laughed "Oh definitely not. In fact, he seems to be about as anti-pureblood supremacist as its possible to get" he finished with a smile clearly glad that at least one potentially influential figure in magical society wasn't a blood purity zealot enamoured with the Dark Arts.

"How far has he and by extension your other interns advanced?" she asked.

In response he pulled out three sheets of parchment and analysed them for a second before speaking.

"They each improved a lot in the first week alone. As I mentioned earlier Potter is a natural duellist, but he has also shown great aptitude in Charms, Transfiguration, Warding, Arithmatical calculations, Healing and Potions. The latter of which provides us with further proof that Snape is unfit to teach as Potter's skill at Potion making is not reflected in his grades.

"Granger as I said earlier is a natural healer and has done very well in just about everything although she needs to improve on her duelling as she has a habit of panicking during duels".

"Weasley has proven to have a talent for warding and duelling but has done pretty well so far".

Amelia nodded before asking "How do you think they function together?"

Rufus had an amused expression on his face as he considered the question.

"As a team they work together extremely well which given how they seem to always be together doesn't really surprise me" he said.

Amelia nodded "Yes, Susan mentioned in some of her letters home that Mr Potter is close friends with Arthur's youngest son and a muggleborn named Hermione Granger. She said that apart from a few occasions they're nearly always together and that there are lots of rumours around the school about what they get up to".

"Such as?" asked Rufus.

"Well in their first year there was a rumour that Potter had come face to face with You-Know-Who and then in their second year a number of students were petrified and apparently Potter killed a Basilisk and saved Arthur's daughter. For their third year there was apparently an incident with a teacher being a werewolf and apparently Professor Snape and Black were involved but I'm not sure how much credence there are to any of these rumours though" and Rufus nodded.

"I'm not sure if we'll be able to get them to open up about any of these rumours even if they were willing to talk" said Rufus.

"How so?" asked Amelia.

"It appears that out of the three of them only Potter was present for each of them and according to Mad-Eye he's as stubborn as they come" replied Rufus with a rueful laugh which caused Amelia to smile. Throughout all of her years in Magical Law Enforcement she had never come across a more stubborn pair than Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour. So, if Rufus was calling someone stubborn then he must be so.

"If you’re calling him stubborn then he must be" she said with a smile causing Rufus to laugh before turning serious.

"Do you want to see them in action?" he asked.

Amelia thought for a second. Technically she shouldn't but she had to admit that she was intrigued by this trio and so nodded.

"Follow me" said Rufus as he stood grasping his walking stick and limped his way towards the door at the far end of the Auror Office that led to the viewing platform for the raining rooms. As they passed through the door Rufus turned right and led her along the corridor to a series of enchanted windows that looked into a training room. At one end she saw Kingsley, Tonks and Mad-Eye with wands drawn in the correct position for imminent combat whilst at the other end she saw three teenagers who also had they're wands drawn although they're stances were a little shakier which showcased their inexperience.

One of the teenagers had red hair and was tall with freckles, Arthur's son she thought. She then saw a girl with long bushy brunette hair, Granger she thought and next to her was a shorter, scrawny raven-haired boy with what looked like a scar on his forehead. That must be Potter she thought as she looked at him and saw that out of the three teenagers, he had the best stance.

She quickly realised that they were to begin a standard three-on-three training drill which surprised her as most interns were only taught one-on-one duelling but then she remembered what Rufus had told her earlier and what Susan had put in her letters. If these three were always together then they may be able to work together a lot better than most. Shaking her head out of her thoughts she turned back to the training room.

She heard a gong sound and Kingsley and Tonks immediately sent a pair of stunners at the interns and Potter quickly cast a shield charm to block them, a shield charm that covered all three of them. Merlin, she thought as Granger sent volley of jinxes at Tonks who dodged before rolling out of the way of a hex from Potter. She looked to see what Weasley was doing and turned to see that he was performing some very complicated wand movements and muttering to himself before there was a flash of silver light as he raised some kind of ward between the teenagers and the Aurors.

She nodded impressed and looked back at Granger and Potter who were duelling the three Aurors. Granger was duelling Tonks whilst Potter was duelling Kingsley and Mad-Eye and was holding his own so far. They were mostly using jinxes and hexes with a few low-level curses thrown in until she heard a shout of "Expelliarmus" and Tonks' wand flew out of her hand as Granger stunned her and placed her in a Body Bind before they both turned to duel Kingsley.

She looked at what Potter and Mad-Eye were doing and saw that they were engaged in an intense duel. She recognised that the spells being exchanged were not just normal spells for Potters age. She was sure that the orange fireball that she saw impact Mad-Eye's shield with a colossal bang was a Blasting Curse that pushed Mad-Eye back several feet. Mad-Eye then responded with what looked like a Reductor Curse that Potter dodged by rolling to the side before sending a series of powerful hexes back at him which Mad-Eye deflected before sending a series of jinxes at Potter all of which he dodged.

She heard a thump and saw Kingsley hit the ground stunned from what she thought was a stunner from Weasley who quickly placed him in a Body Bind before they both made their way towards Mad-Eye to help out Potter. Mad-Eye saw them and started casting at both of them, but the two young interns made a very smart decision. When Mad-Eye turned to face them Weasley stood his ground whilst Granger circled to Mad-Eye's left as Potter began casting on Mad-Eye's right. Mad-Eye was now facing attack from three different directions. Remembering what Rufus had told her earlier about this three’s abilities. Potter was the best duellist whilst Granger was the worst of the three due to her propensity to panic.

Logically, Mad-Eye would turn to his left and deal with Granger first but to do that he would have to turn his back on Potter which would be the end of him plus Weasley would be able to take him out as well. But if he attempted to take out Potter first then he may be able to deal with Granger and Weasley, unfortunately for Mad-Eye he didn't choose this option.

He quickly spun around and sent a flurry of curses, hexes and jinxes at Granger who with a look of panic on her face tried to block them and almost succeeded but multiple ones breached her shield and hit her. She saw her ears start twitching before shrivelling up and her legs lock together before the leg reversed at the knee. In a true panic now Mad-Eye disarmed and stunned her before turning to Weasley before Mad-Eyes wand went flying out of his hand and a stunner hit him straight in the face from Potter and he hit the ground hard before Weasley placed him in a full Body Bind.

After a moment of shock Weasley ran to Granger and cast the counter spells to the enchantments that had been used on her. He woke her up and helped her up before she drew another wand from her other hand and then a gong sounded again signifying that the drill was over. She heard Rufus clap and she joined in. Three teenagers took on and beat three Aurors, two of which were Master Aurors. Yes, Mad-Eye, Shack and Tonks weren't going at it full pelt but it was still an impressive display of skill and teamwork from them. She was also now convinced that Rufus had taken them on for the right reasons.

"Good aren't they" said Rufus looking happy. No doubt he was pleased that the Auror Office could get people up to this level so quickly especially interns so young. She was sure that each of them would be near the top of their classes next year and she felt glad that some youngsters had learned something from them. She hoped that Susan could become friendly with them over the summer.

"Shall we go and tell them how they did?" asked Rufus "and wake up our Aurors" he added almost as an afterthought as he led her back the way they'd come and through a door and down several flights of stairs to the training room where she saw the three teenagers sitting on a bench on the far wall. Weasley was taking a drink of water whilst Granger was catching her breath. Potter on the other hand looked deep in thought, almost as if he was reviewing the whole exercise.

She saw Rufus limp up to Mad-Eye and awaken him whilst she hurried over to Shack and reawakened him before she made her way towards Tonks and awoke her. Each of the Aurors groaned as they were awoken before making to, they're feet.

"Okay Aurors" he said looking at his still recovering Aurors "and Interns" he said looking at his Interns. "This is Madam Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement" she introduced, and Madam Bones smiled.

"Let's review how this training session went and how you could all improve" he said with a hint of the gruff undertone that Amelia knew he used when training people. After a couple of minutes of waiting all three Aurors and all three interns were sitting on benches facing them. With a wave of his wand Rufus conjured a black board and chalk.

"Right, now were going to review the exercise and see where we could have improved" he said with the voice of a veteran.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Hermione sat on the bench lost in her thoughts about the now finished exercise. She was pleased that they had won but was worried that Harry and Ron had managed to beat Mad-Eye without her. She knew that her duelling needed work, but she didn't think that she was that far behind them. It wasn't that she didn't know the spells it was just that she didn't know which spell to use. Every time she had a chance to attack about ten different spells shot through her mind and she couldn't always decide which one she wanted to use.

She also hadn't failed to notice that duelling was something that Harry and Ron didn't need her help with. She wasn't used to this, usually Harry and Ron needed her help but now she needed they're help and she didn't know how to ask for it. Asking for help was not something that she usually did and definitely not from Harry and Ron. She wasn't even sure how to ask for their help and she feared that if she did then Ron would tease her about it. She knew that he meant it as a joke, but she still had a problem with being teased. She had ever since she was in muggle primary school. It was because she was a bookworm and bookworms tended to get bullied in muggle primary school.

It wasn't because she was anti-social, it was just that she liked to read and unlike most primary school aged she wasn't really interested in sports or playing games, and this had helped to isolate her from the other children. She had retreated into her books and the characters in them had become her friends. She'd put her head down in class and had quickly risen to be top of the class and this had been enough for her at the time.

When she had come to Hogwarts, she knew from what Professor Mcgonagall had told her that she would be behind many of her classmates in magical knowledge so she had read every magical book that she could get her hands on to try and catch up. She had memorised all of her Hogwarts text books and had constantly had as many books out of the Library as she was allowed. She'd focused on her studies and hadn't really connected with any of the girls in her dorm. She was reasonably friendly with Fay Dunbar and Alice Tolipan, but they mainly just studied together.

She had had no friends until Harry and Ron had saved her from the Troll at Halloween and after that she had only really hung out with them. When they'd been fighting over the Crookshanks' interest with Scabbers she'd been totally alone again, and she had hated it. She was determined to ensure that it didn't happen again. She was interrupted from her musing by a gruff Welsh voice calling out "Granger pay attention".

She snapped out of her musing to see Head Auror Scrimgeour looking at her with a look of displeasure she stuttered her apologies before straitening up and paying full attention to the review.

"Now" said Scrimgeour "all six of you engaged in a standard three on three open combat drill. The purpose of this drill was to see how our three interns coped with the stress of a three on three scenario and to see how well they could work together under simulated combat conditions".

"The exercise lasted nine minutes and seven seconds and was won by the interns although the mentors were limited to intern-appropriate level spells" he said the last part with a look at Mad-Eye that said that he didn't think he had used age appropriate spells.

"Now, Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt started by firing off a series of jinxes at the three of you. Out of the three of you it was Potter who cast the charm that protected all of you. So, Granger, Weasley why didn't you react to them?" asked Scrimgeour with a hint of curiosity.

Ron looked at with a look that asked whether he should answer, and she shook her head deciding that she would answer for both of them. "Auror Prime we decided beforehand that since Harry is the best at the Shield Charm, he would cast a shield powerful enough to protect all three of us whilst I waited in reserve in case he needed help. As to what Ron was doing, he was putting up a ward that we felt could help us during the exercise" she finished and Scrimgeour nodded.

"What ward did you put up?" he asked Ron.

"The Spell Delay Ward" asked Ron and Scrimgeour replied "Why did you choose to cast that ward in particular?"

"Before the exercise began Harry pointed out that all of our opponents could cast quicker and more powerfully then we could as well as casting in greater numbers" he paused "So Harry suggested that we use that ward as it would slow the incoming spells down enough for us to block them all or in the event that we couldn't block them all give us time to dodge them at least" he finished.

"Good" Scrimgeour said with a pleased look "that was a good strategy and as we saw it worked too"

"Now Potter, Granger. Why did you choose to double team Tonks?"

"We chose to do this as Tonks is the least experienced of the three and keeping her occupied allowed Ron to finish setting the wards up" said Harry. "Plus, it separated Tonks from Kingsley and Moody allowing Hermione and Ron to deal with her" he said.

"And why then Potter were you left to deal with both Shack and Mad-Eye on your own?" asked Scrimgeour.

"We decided that on that I would duel both Kingsley and Mad-Eye as I could probably hold them long enough for Ron and Hermione to deal with Tonks and then it would be two on three" said Harry matter-of-factly and Hermione noticed that he'd started to call Auror Moody Mad-Eye instead of Moody. She was happy to see that he now felt more comfortable around his mentor.

"Did you really think that you could take on both of them at once?" asked Scrimgeour sounding incredulous.

Hermione decided to speak up "If any of us could it would have been Harry" she said, and Ron nodded.

After a look from Bones, Scrimgeour turned to his Aurors "That true?" he asked. Tonks and Kingsley nodded whilst Mad-Eye spoke "Potters a natural duellist" he said with what sounded like pride in his voice causing Scrimgeour to nod and Bones to smile.

So after Tonks was taken out you planned to three on two them" he asked and Harry nodded before elaborating "That was the plan but Kingsley's movement to engage Ron and Hermione meant that I had to duel Mad-Eye alone" he said and Kingsley smiled "it was a good idea that the three of you had and against any normal Dark Wizard it would have worked".

"True" said Scrimgeour "Now, Potter, Mad-Eye your duel looked particularly heated. Why was that?" he asked.

"I knew that out of the three of them that Mad-Eye was the most dangerous plus I feared that he could use his walking stick to aid Kingsley so I had to keep his attention focused on me" said Harry and Mad-Eye looked at Harry quickly and asked him "How the hell do you know about my walking stick?" Kingsley, Tonks, Scrimgeour and Madam Bones all looked curious as well.

Harry laughed much to the bewilderment of the adults in the room before speaking "I didn't know for sure but you just confirmed it" said Harry and the adults gasped "Plus it sounded like the kind of thing that you would have" said Harry and Mad-Eye laughed loudly whilst the others smiled.

"That's a good deduction, Potter" said Scrimgeour.

"Indeed" said Madam Bones with a smile.

"Granger, Weasley you were able to take out Kingsley via a stunner. That was a good use of the Stunning Spell" he said.

"And finally, what you three did to take out Mad-Eye was a great tactical manoeuvre that likely would have worked in a real engagement" said Scrimgeour with a smirk that Kingsley, Tonks and Madam Bones matched whilst Mad-Eye grumbled something that she couldn't understand.

"Go take an early lunch interns whilst me and Madam Bones talk with your mentors" said Scrimgeour and the three of them rose and started making their way towards the door before Harry suddenly turned around and walked over to Madam Bones with whom he conversed with for a moment before he headed back towards them with a smile on both of their faces.

"What was that about?" asked Ron as they made, they're way back up to the main level.

Harry only smiled as they exited the Auror Office. Harry then made his way towards what they discovered was the Head of the DMLE's Office before walking in for a couple of minutes and coming out again with someone who neither of them had expected to see.

Chapter Text

Hermione looked at the door to the Department Heads office as it opened and out walked Harry accompanied by a very nervous looking Susan Bones. Of course, she realised Susan must be related to Madam Bones though she wondered how Harry had known about it. She smiled at they're year mate who she shared her Arithmancy class with.

"Hi Susan" she said pleasantly, and Ron surprisingly did the same.

"Hi Hermione, Ron" the redhead replied nervously before the three of them turned to look at Harry.

"I asked Susan if she wanted to have lunch with us" he said, and Ron looked surprised.

"That’s lovely" she said as they began to walk towards the lifts again. Ron moved forward to talk to Harry whilst Hermione walked next to Susan. Even without all of the tips that Kingsley and Mad-Eye had given them about how to read a person she could tell that the girl next to her was nervous.

"How has your summer been so far, Susan?" she asked.

"It's been good so far" she said "I'm doing an Internship with my aunties secretary" Hermione smiled when Susan mentioned that she was doing an internship.

"How's your internship going" she asked.

"So far it's been going well. My favourite part is when I get to read the reports that come up from the Auror Office" she beamed "speaking of the Auror Office according to Harry you three are doing an internship with them" she asked, and Hermione nodded "how's that going" she asked.

Hermione beamed and since Harry had already told Susan about, they're internship she didn't hold back. "It's amazing" she said "All three of us are really learning a lot though I seem to be good at healing. I've also learned some new spells and we're only a week in." she beamed, and Susan laughed.

"So, you’re enjoying it then" she said with a cheeky smirk and Hermione smiled.

"Yes, definitely. We've done so much in just the first week and soon were going to start actual Auror training drills" she said giddily, and Susan chuckled.

"So anyway, how did Harry know that you were here?" she asked curiously, and she saw Susan blush.

"We bumped into each other about a week ago and then again in the Ministry canteen" she said, and Hermione nodded. She remembered that Harry had been late back from lunch on their first day so that must have been when they "bumped into each other" she thought with a smile.

"Well, you're very welcome to hang out with us if you want to" she said with a reassuring smile that caused the redhead to blush which told Hermione her reasons for wanting to hang out with them. Kingsley, Tonks and Mad-Eye had taught them how to read someone and Susan was as easy to read as a book. The sweet redhead had a crush on Harry. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised. Honestly at times it felt like she was the only girl in the whole school who didn't have a crush on Harry. As much as she loved him, she viewed him solely as the brother that she had never had, and she was pretty sure that he viewed her as an older sister as well.

If Hermione was honest with herself her romantic interests were more towards Ron and she was really hoping that the thick-headed, yet cute redhead would finally ask her out. Maybe if Harry and Susan started going out then maybe Ron would ask her to Hogsmeade this year, now that Harry could legitimately go. She was going to try and avoid a repeat of last year and actually try and enjoy being at school with friends. She had also thought that the whole point of school was solely to learn but it wasn't until Kingsley had told her that the real reason that Hogwarts was a boarding school was so that students could develop the strong and everlasting friendships that everyone whether they be magical, or muggle needed.

She also thought about what Harry new friendship with Susan could mean. She knew that the three of them should probably try and expand their friendship group and she also knew that it would probably be a good idea if Harry dated someone so that when they were in the higher years, he would at least know what to do when the real Hogwarts dating pool opened up or when they had graduated. She had begun to suspect that Harry's relatives had never talked to him about what relationships between people meant and that he was most likely lonely like she was before they had gone to Hogwarts and over the numerous exciting and quite frankly dangerous events that they had survived become friends.

Maybe the three of them should try and add to their friendship group. It had always surprised her that with such a small year group there could be so many divisions. Yes, the house system would naturally cause some divisions but even within houses there were divisions. She knew that in Slytherin there was Malfoy's gang, but she knew that Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis weren't part of it and then in Ravenclaw she'd noticed that Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin usually tended to hang out whilst the other Ravenclaw girls kept to themselves and in Hufflepuff she'd noticed that Ernie, Justin and Wayne tended to hang out and then there was Gryffindor.

For the life of her she hadn't been able to work out how the heck her years Gryffindor's were so divided. In Harry and Ron's dorm you had Harry and Ron who usually hung out together and then there was Seamus and Dean who were always together leaving poor Neville alone. Then on her side of the house there was Parvati and Lavender who spent most of their time heads together, annoyingly giggling and then there was Fay and Alice. If she was totally honest with herself, she'd never really spoken to them apart from to study together but that was mainly because she had always had Harry and Ron.

The two of them had never annoyed her in the way that most of the gigglier girls had and had always been polite to her when they had studied together. It was just that she barely saw them that had led to her not seeing them very much. Yes, she decided I should try and get to know them better.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Ron Weasley was slightly confused as he and Harry made their way to the Ministry Atrium. Harry had gone and collected their classmate Susan Bones so that she could have lunch with them. He had absolutely no idea how or why Harry had even known that she was at the Ministry.

"Hey mate" he said as they approached the lifts.

"Yeah" said Harry with a look.

"How did you…er, know that Susan was here?"

Harry smiled "You remember when on our first day I was almost late back after lunch".

"Yeah" said Ron.

"Well, it was because of that" he said, and Ron nodded.

"Are you sure that we can trust her though?" he asked.

Harry gave him an unhappy look "what's that supposed to mean?" he asked coldly surprising Ron.

"Nothing like that mate" he said hastily. "I just thought that we were keeping our internships quiet is all" he said truthfully, and Harry immediately felt bad. He had told Ron and Hermione too keep the internship a secret and he also had forgotten to tell them that he'd told Susan.

"Sorry Ron" he said guiltily "I forgot to tell you guys about Susan cause of what happened in that lecture that we had and since then I've been enjoying myself too much that it never crossed my mind that you didn't already know" he said with an apologetic look.

"It's fine mate" he said "seriously" he said when he saw Harry's look.

"So…" said Ron with a mischievous look that was usually found on the faces of one of the twins. "Why are you inviting Susan to lunch then?"

Harry gave him a look before speaking

"Because she already knows about our internships so I figured we might as well try and make friends with her" he said, and Ron just smiled until Harry added "and food is the best way to get on with you" he said with a laugh causing Ron to remark

"Oi"

"What it's true" he said causing Ron to scowl although the edges of his mouth were tugging upwards causing Harry to laugh.

"So how do you think that drill just went?" changing the subject to a more serious one.

"I think it went fairly well although we really need to stop getting hexed" he said good naturedly.

"Why do you think Auror Prime and Madam Bones were watching us?" he asked seriously.

"I'm not really sure but I suppose he would want to see how his interns are doing and Madam Bones must be curious as well" he said, and Ron nodded "though I will talk to Susan about it" he added as they reached the floo and flooed to the Leaky Cauldron where they took a table at the back.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Susan sighed as she sat down next to Harry in the booth that they had at the Leaky Cauldron. Ron and Hermione were sat across from them and both were looking at their menus. After a few minutes of reading the waitress came over and took their orders. Hermione and Susan had ordered the Pea Soup whilst Harry and Ron ordered the Steak & Kidney Pie, each ordered a butterbeer to accompany it.

Susan was bursting with questions about what they had done for their internship that as soon as the waitress was gone, she asked her first question.

"What have you been doing for your internship" she asked quickly causing Ron, Hermione and Harry to smile.

"Well," said Hermione "we've done quite a few things" she said and laughed at the impatient look on Susan's face. "We've study lots of new spells and potions" she said before taking a mouthful of butterbeer. "I've really enjoyed the healing spells that we've done so far" she beamed before continuing "we've also covered a variety of charms, transfigurations and potions as well" she said.

"I've actually enjoyed potions so far" said Harry and Susan gasped. Never had she heard a Hogwarts student who wasn't in Slytherin say that they enjoyed Potions. Most students viewed Potions as mandatory torture that they had to go through several times a week and eventually take an OWL in. Unfortunately, Potions was a useful subject so doing well at it, or trying too anyways was a good idea although admittedly it wasn't really the subject that people really disliked it was more the teacher that most people hated. Professor Snape was by far the most unpopular teacher in the school as well as being the head of the most unpopular house at Hogwarts.

Her aunt had actually told her that Snape's teaching and the poor results that his students were achieving were hurting the British magical community badly. Many of the most skilled professions that played a crucial role in the functionality of magical society required good potion-making skills. Aurors, Healers, Mediwizards, Alchemists, Curse-Breakers, Potion-brewers and numerous other professions all required good Potions grades and under Snape many failed to get the grades that they needed. The lack of Aurors and Healers was especially worrying as the nation was especially vulnerable to Dark Wizards.

"How so?" she asked with a sense of minor shock at his words, after all everyone knew that Snape hated Harry more than anyone else.

"Since Mad-Eye's been teaching me I've found Potions to be quite enjoyable actually. I'm putting my dislike down to Snape's teaching" he said with a grin. "Seriously though according to Mad-Eye I'm actually good at Potions, well I was able to brew an Everlasting Elixir almost perfectly yesterday" he said with a hint of pride in his voice. He really was proud that his struggles in Potions appeared to mostly be down to Snape's teaching and Malfoy's distractions.

"That's a fifth- or sixth-year potion isn't it" she asked surprised that such an advanced Potion would be taught to them at their age.

"Yeah, but Mad-Eye likes to test us and admittedly we are learning a lot" said Hermione who sounded a little excited at the possibility of tests.

"Wait, you're being trained by Mad-Eye Moody?" said Susan with a hint of awe in his voice. She knew all of the stories of his exploits during the Wizarding War and beyond. She knew that he was on of the four people that You-Know-Who feared to face in a duel along with Professor Dumbledore, Frank Longbottom and James Potter himself. She knew the story of how he'd captured the Lestranges completely unaided, of how he'd duelled and defeated dozens of Death Eaters and the countless injuries he'd suffered. That was on top of his already legendary exploits from before the war.

"Yeah, he's my mentor" said Harry with a smile and Susan nodded. It made sense actually that Harry would be mentored by such a skilled Auror as he was the best at DADA in, they're year plus she recalled that he'd been good friends with her parents along with Harry's parents as well back before they were murdered. She knew that if she were in Moody's position and it was Hannah's or Ernie's or Megan or Justin's children then she would have had absolutely no issue in training or mentoring them. Exactly the same way that her aunt had taken her in and raised her when she was a baby after her parents had been killed by Death Eaters shortly before Harry's parents had been killed.

"You’re so lucky" said Susan causing Harry to smirk cheekily.

"You're being trained by the best Auror of all time" she said with a somewhat envious smile. "Do you know how much people would pay for that honour" she said excitedly.

"No not really" he confessed blushing and Susan continued on excitably.

"Well, no one really knows for sure. Mostly because he's never actually hired himself out as a trainer, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was in the thousands" she said, and Harry's jaw dropped.

"Really" he said, and she nodded "oh yeah" she said "according to my auntie Moody knows more about fighting the Dark Arts than any other wizard alive"

"Really"

"Yeah, she told me about some of his exploits from before the war. He was already a legend before You-Know-Who was around".

"What did he do?" asked Hermione with her usual enthusiasm.

"Well, he apparently joined the Aurors just before Professor Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald and helped track down his remaining followers. I've also heard that he's broken up everything from human trafficker gangs to illegal potion brewers to Dark Artefacts smugglers and illegal creature breeders. I've even heard tell that he bodyguarded the Queen at her Coronation."

"Really?" said Hermione.

"Oh yeah the Queen and the Muggle Prime Minister both have an Auror bodyguard for special occasions although they always have at least one Hit Wizard guarding them at all times".

"Why?" Ron asked.

"It's mainly to prevent Dark Wizards from gaining access to the muggle governments resources as during the Global Wizarding War some followers of Grindelwald began placing high ranking muggles under the Imperious Curse".

"Wow" said Hermione gobsmacked.

"According to a book I read they tried placing the Imperious Curse on Winston Churchill but an Auror stopped them before they could succeed" and she giggled at the looks on their faces.

"Yes, the magical world is far more involved with the muggle world than either side realises" she said, and she smiled at the looks that she was receiving. It always came as a shock to muggle raised students about how integrated the muggle and magical worlds really were. Most of the magical-muggle economic activity was carried out by just a few families. The Longbottoms, Weasley's, Macmillan's and her own family were the only purebloods who bothered to invest in the muggle economy, and it had been a wise decision. A lot more of the magical-muggle economy was held by half-blood families such as the Potters and Abbotts as well as a few others.

When her aunt had taught about how to manage the Bones fortune when she had started Hogwarts, she had said that due to the muggles experiencing something called the 'Industrial Revolution' that the more pro-muggle families had started investing in the muggle economy. It had been a wise move and the families that had been poor when compared the supremacist families like the Malfoy's, Black's and Lestranges had been able to reach a level of wealth that allowed them to keep the darker families in check.

At least until Grindelwald had been defeated. The Global Wizarding War had sown the seeds of the rot of the corruption that now dominated the Ministry and the Wizengamot. It had come to the forefront during the war. You-Know-Who had used his supporters influence to place many prominent Ministry workers under the Imperious Curse and ha even had a number of spies who had sold out the Ministry as well as leaked the identities of numerous Ministry personnel especially Aurors and Unspeakables. She was pulled out of her musing by Hermione's voice.

"How integrated?" asked the brunette with the enthusiasm that she had seen from her in class.

"Well, there are a few major families that hold investments in the muggle world but the majority of said integration is from either wealthy half-bloods and muggleborns who run a few cross-boundary firms. There are also a few lawyer offices and technology crossovers, but the majority is solely shares and investments as its easier to avoid breaching the Statute of Secrecy" she said and she guessed that Hermione was going to go away and read about it.

"So who are your mentors?" she asked Ron and Hermione.

"My mentor is Auror Shacklebolt" said Hermione and Susan thought of the large black man who had worked for her aunt as she was growing up.

"Mine is Auror Tonks" said Ron and she smiled at the mention of the newest Auror at the Ministry. She had never met her, but her auntie had said that she was good, so she would take her word for it.

"How are they?" she asked "I know Auror Shacklebolt, but I've never met Auror Tonks".

"I like being mentored by Auror Shacklebolt" said Hermione "He's taught me a lot so far and he's really patient" she said with a smile.

"My aunty has had him around for tea a few times" she said "I remember him saying that he got twelve OWL's and that he supports the Wigtown Wanderers but that's it" she said with a smile.

"As for Auror Tonks I know that she's a metamorphmagus and that she was in Hufflepuff but that’s it" she said, and Ron nodded although she suspected that they both had known these things.

"So, Susan, why was your aunt watching today?" asked Harry and she immediately became nervous. She hoped that Harry wouldn't be angry that she had technically broken her promise to not mention his internship.

"Having bumped into you Harry I asked my aunt if there were any other interns our age so that I had someone to hang out with and you three were the only ones our age available" she finished with a nervous look before relaxing as the trio smiled.

"That's fine" he said noticing her nervousness "I just thought that it was unusual that the Head of Department was watching, that's all" he said with a smile, hoping to ease her nervousness.

"It is a bit unusual for the Head of Department to observe a sub-departments interns this far away from the end of the summer but it’s not unheard of and to be honest the Auror Office has a reputation for doing things its own way and my aunt used to be head of it so it’s not that out of the ordinary" she said "plus my auntie is always curious about Auror interns especially as the number of Auror applicants has gone down in recent years" she said and the trio nodded.

"I noticed that" said Hermione and both Harry and Ron nodded "Most of the Aurors that I've seen were older, I mean as in late twenties at least. There don't seem to be that many younger Aurors around" she finished.

"That's partly due to the war and because of certain teachers" she said, and the trio again nodded.

"Snape?" questioned Ron and she nodded.

"So has anything interesting happened in your internship recently?" asked Harry and she smiled.

"It’s been fairly quiet recently although a few interesting reports have come in mainly from the Hit Wizards" she said and they made small talk for the rest of lunch until they had to return to the Ministry.

-X-X-X-X-X-

He appeared with a pop in the woods near a small, Scottish village wand drawn in case of trouble. After scanning the surroundings and finding nothing threatening, he placed his wand back in its holster and began stumping his way towards the house at the edge of the quiet little village.

He continued to scan around as he approached a relatively large, quaint house with a nice well-ordered garden out front quite like the houses occupant he mused. He approached the door and knocked three times as he waited for the occupant to answer the door. After a few minutes of waiting the door was opened by the stern looking witch who lived there.

"Alastor" she said with a hint of surprise as she looked at who had knocked.

"Minerva" he said pleasantly as the stern Hogwarts Professor looked at him curiously.

"How may I help you, Alastor?" she asked.

"I was wondering if I could have a word regarding one of your students?" he asked politely.

"Of course, come in" said Minerva whilst giving him a curious look. Her mind raced as she thought about what he had said. Why would an Auror want to talk to her about one of her students? Had one of them been hurt or worse? It had to be a Gryffindor, or he would have gone either Filius, Pomona or Severus. She quickly thought through who could be in danger and no one immediately came to mind. She decided to just see what he needed especially if it involved one of her students.

"I was just about to have a spot of lunch; would you like to join me?" she asked and saw a cautious look appear on his face causing her to exclaim "For Merlin's sake Alastor. I'm not going to poison you" causing him to give her a look before saying

"All right Minerva I'll join you" he said.

She nodded and called out "Lonny" and then a young-looking House Elf popped into existence and with a bow said, "Yes Mistress". Alastor noticed that he was wearing a clean pillowcase.

"Could you please make lunch for two?" she asked, and the little creature nodded and disappeared with a pop.

"Please have a seat" she said as she gestured to a chair and a fine, oak dining room table. After a cursory inspection he sat. Once he had rested his staff against the table he said "thank you, Minerva" to which she gave a polite nod.

After a couple of minutes Lonny was serving, they're lunch of chicken and ham sandwiches with tea when there was a knock on the door and Lonny popped away for a moment before returning with Arthur Weasley in tow. The bespectacled redhead looked surprised to see him there before Minerva spoke

"Good day Arthur" she said pleasantly causing the redhead to reply

"Hello Minerva" he said "Alastor" he added with a smile.

"Arthur" he nodded.

"We were just sitting down for a spot of lunch" said Minerva "would you care to join us?" she asked.

"If you’re offering then" he said with a tired smile as he sat himself in the chair that Minerva had gestured too.

"Lonny" called Minerva and the diminutive, little elf popped back into existence with a plate of sandwiches for Arthur. They made small talk as they ate, manners demanding that serious topics wait until after they'd finished eating. Soon enough the sandwiches, which he had to admit had been quite excellent, were gone and they were making their way to Minerva's living room to begin the discussion.

"Arthur" he said as the middle-aged man made to follow Minerva causing him to turn back to the rough scot with a curious look.

"Yes Alastor" he questioned.

"Based off of our last conversation am I right in assuming that you're here for the same reason that I am" he asked.

Arthur looked at him for a moment before he spoke

"If you’re here about Harry then you would be right" he said.

"Aye I am" he said as they started to move towards the living room to drop what would most likely be the bombshell of the century on the Professor. The news that the Boy-Who-Lived was being mistreated would likely anger Minerva greatly and he was one of only a few who had seen what happened when Minerva Mcgonagall got angry.

"Let's go then" he said, and Arthur nodded though he had a look of discomfort on his face. He quickly followed him into the comfortable looking living room. The room had a large fireplace and was decorated with cream coloured wallpaper. The room possessed a single emerald green settee and a pair of armchairs. The room was extremely neat and organised, quite appropriate considering the occupant.

Minerva had settled herself into one of the armchairs by the fire as they entered, she gestured for one of them to take the armchair opposite her which Arthur did whilst Alastor positioned himself behind and to the right of Arthur. His hands settled on the top of his walking stick as he focused his natural eye on the other two occupants whilst his magical eye scanned the house one last time before also focusing on the others.

"Now then, which of my students do you wish to speak about?" asked Minerva. Arthur gave him a quick look of uncertainty before speaking.

"Well, Professor we have some concerns about…. well, Harry" he finally managed to say, and he saw Arthur cringe as he said that last part. He looked at Minerva and saw that her eyes had turned hard and that her lips were pursed although he was able to spot the surprise in her eyes just before they hardened.

"What concerns do you have about Potter?" she asked with a serious look. He could tell immediately that she suspected that something was wrong and was wondering if someone else had noticed.

"Well Harry, Ron and Hermione are all doing an Internship at the Auror Office, as you know" he said, and she nodded. "Well, some of the things that we have both noticed have concerned us regarding Harry and in particular his homelife" he finished, and Minerva stiffened before she looked at him.

"What have you noticed?" she asked

"Well," said Arthur "He has mentioned that if he were not at the Ministry this summer then he would have been effectively locked up and imprisoned at his aunt and uncles house" he said and Minerva blanched at that statement. "This is also not the first time that things about Harry's home life have been brought up. We didn't give them any credence before but the summer before Harry and Ron's second year they said that they had to pull bars off of Harry's window and that he was being starved" he said. "His clothes are also in poor condition and have to be at least four sizes too big".

"That backs up what I've observed about him as well" said Mad-Eye "He's much shorter and thinner than a lad his age should be".

"Okay" said Mcgonagall looking concerned. "I never really wanted to place him there in the first place but Albus insisted. Something about needing to live with family" she said, and Moody's mind immediately began working. If Potter needed to live with relatives especially blood relatives then there were only a couple of potential reasons that made sense. Either Albus wanted him raised away from the spotlight which was actually a good idea or there was possibly sometime of defensive ward involved. A Blood Ward possibly he thought but knew that it would require some research to confirm. Blood Wards were tricky and complex pieces of magic that few truly understood.

"Well as far as I can tell Potter is at best unhappy at his relatives" said Mad-Eye causing them both to look at him.

"And at worst?" asked Minerva.

"Abuse and neglect" he said simply and there the bombshell had been dropped.

"WHAT!!" yelled Minerva as Arthur just looked sorrowful. "What makes you think that Alastor?" she asked quickly with a look that told him that she wished he was wrong.

"As I said he is much shorter, half a foot or so, than a lad his age should be as well as being extremely skinny. I also have reason to believe that any potential mistreatment extends to his emotional and mental state" he finished.

"Emotional and mental?" questioned Minerva.

"He knows almost nothing about his parents. During a lecture the Unforgivables came up and he didn't know what they were or what they cost him. Hell, he told me he didn't even know his parents’ names until Hagrid told him" he said and Arthur chose that moment to speak up.

"That's another point actually" he said "Ron informed me than when Harry got his Hogwarts letter his Uncle ripped it up and burnt it before moving to try and escape the letters. Harry only got one because Hagrid followed them and took him to Diagon Alley" he paused for breath "Also Minerva since Harry was raised in the Muggle world by Muggles why didn't you or Filius deliver his letter personally as is the procedure for either a muggleborn or muggle raised student?"

"Albus informed me that Mr and Mrs Dursley were aware of the magical world and would have been able to take him to Diagon Alley".

"Well, they didn't" said Arthur. "Hagrid took him and gave him his letter. I'm also guessing that's why Harry wasn't given the books that a muggle raised student is given" causing Minerva to nod. "That could also be why Harry doesn't want Albus knowing about his Internship" she said.

"Ron has also mentioned that he quite often has to explain to Harry almost everything about our world and I mean everything. If leaving our world and having his magical possessions removed from him is causing the problem, then they need to deal with it" said Arthur.

"Back to the potential abuse that I'm almost positive that the lad's suffered. One thing that has me really concerned is his eyes" said Mad-Eye causing them both to look at him questioningly.

"What do mean his eyes, Alastor" asked Minerva.

"They have a look to them that a thirteen-year-old shouldn't have. Now I know the rumours that have emerged from Hogwarts over the last three years and that many of them pertain to Potter. You-Know-Who in his first year, the petrifications and Basilisk in his second year and the incident with Black earlier this year. I know that he may have seen more action than the average teenager, but his eyes were older than that as though they were haunted by something, something that's been buried deeply by Potter. I've seen it before in some Auror trainees. We tend to get quite a few who come from less-than-ideal circumstances" he paused for breath before continuing.

"It could also explain why he never asks adults for help" at their questioning looks he elaborated. "If the Dursleys haven't done a good job raising him or more likely never tried in the bloody first place, then he may just not expect adults to help him especially those that are supposed too" he finished, and Arthur looked crestfallen while Minerva looked close to tears.

"If I'm right then it explains why he seems to enjoy being at the Office so much" he said causing Minerva to give a weak smile.

"How is he doing anyway?" she asked curiously and Mad-Eye to her shock almost beamed or at least as much as a person with as many facial scars as him could.

"He's doing brilliantly. He'd been paired up with me whilst Kingsley's got Granger and Tonks has Weasley' he said with a nod to Arthur before continuing "magically he's impressed me. He has the potential and instinct to be an incredible duellist with the proper training and instruction in the future. He might even want to think about doing a M. A. S. A. M after Hogwarts. He has also shown to be highly competent at both Charms and Transfiguration as well as his other subjects".

"Good" said Mcgonagall before pausing for a moment and then asking, "You mentioned that Harry has a good duelling ability, correct?" and Moody nodded.

"Do you think that he would benefit from lessons with Filius?" she asked, and Moody looked thoughtful for a moment. It was well known that Filius Flitwick was an exceptional duellist with a very good knowledge of how to fight the Dark Arts. Potter and his friends could learn the more technical aspects of duelling from him that most Aurors lacked. Plus, it would allow them to legitimately keep practicing without anyone questioning them and it was well known that Filius Flitwick was probably the world’s leading expert on Charms. It would be good for the lad to learn some of the more subtle and surprising ways that a duel could be won, and Flitwick would keep the lad humble, so it was a good idea.

"I think that he and his friends would, Minerva" he said, and she smiled.

"That should please Filius" she said and added when she saw their looks "Lily was one of Filius' favourite students and he's really been hoping that Harry will eventually follow in her footsteps" she said with a sad smile at the thought of one of her favourite students.

"Well at least Harry and by extension Ron and Hermione will be able to keep practicing" said Arthur and McGonagall smiled before adding "should I tell Filius about their internship?" and Moody thought for a second before saying

"Yeah, that should be fine. I'll let him know that someone else knows and that their trustworthy" he said, and she nodded.

"What electives is he taking by the way?"

"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination" she said with a somewhat sour look.

"Is he a seer?"

"No"

"Then I'll see how he does with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes tomorrow and if he shows any talent I'll advise him to switch" he said and both adults nodded approvingly. They now realised that Potter probably hadn't had a clue what to take when he chose his electives plus if he was neglected or abused then he probably wasn't used to getting any praise so the drive to do well might have been lacking.

"Can you do the same for Ron, please Alastor?" said Arthur and he nodded.

"What's he taking?"

"The same as Harry"

"Well, that could explain it" he said.

"Explain what" asked Arthur.

"If Potter didn't know anything about our world when he took his electives then he may have just picked the same as his friends" he said, and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, I've also recently discovered that Ron has had some issues as well" said Arthur and Minerva gave him a concerned look.

"Issues, Arthur?" she queried.

"He seems that his for lack of a better term inferiority complex was worse than we feared. Once we got home at the end of last term he broke down. When I asked him to explain what was wrong, he said that he thought he would never be able to make Molly and I proud and that he was lesser than Harry and Hermione. I don't really think that Ron chose his electives in the best frame of mind and that this, with what you've told us Alastor seems to have rubbed off on Harry. Personally, I'm hoping that this internship boosts his confidence and his academic performance. I'd rather he does either Muggle Studies or Runes than Divination. So, if he shows any talent at either please tell me and we'll support his switch, the same with Harry" he said.

"Good" said Mcgonagall before Moody added "You know Minerva it might be a good idea if a careers advice meeting is held in second year to help guide students into more practical choices as well as testing students to see if they are Seer's and if they’re not then preventing them from taking Divination so they can at least study something useful. Merlin knows the number of students that take Divination solely because it doesn't require that much actual work" said Moody.

Minerva looked thoughtful "It’s true that I don't hold Divination in high regard and that maybe it is time to implement some kind of test to see if a student is actually a seer. I'll also speak to Albus about hosting meetings for second years" she said as Moody nodded before speaking

"You also really need to do something about Snape" causing Minerva to sigh.

"What's he done now?" she asked wearily.

"The way that Potter, Granger and Weasley speak about Potions and in particular Snape's teaching is worrisome. Granger seems to do fine at but both lads have stated that it's not the subject that they dislike or struggle at its that Snape's teaching or lack of it is the problem. They said that he is extremely biased towards Slytherins and that he effectively bullies Gryffindors for no apparent reason. This also lines up with what recent trainees have stated about Potions. It's become a class that students dread and that no one but a Slytherin is trying to enjoy. Potions is as you well know an important subject for many jobs such as Aurors or Healers" he paused.

"If that man doesn't start teaching properly and fairly then Amelia and Rufus will force Albus to fire him on grounds of damaging our society. Which in reality he is at the moment" he finished gravely.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked.

"yes, we haven't had any new trainees since our current interns were at Hogwarts. The last trainee taken on was Tonks" he said, and Minerva sighed.

"You are not the first to complain about Severus. It appears that he still hasn't got over his dislike of Gryffindors or his dislike for James Potter" she said this with a look of sadness as she thought of her best Transfiguration student.

"I will speak to Albus about this" she said as Arthur and Alastor nodded.

"Is there anything else?" she asked, and Arthur shook his head, but Moody had one last thing that he wanted to ask.

"So, do either of you know what Potter's plans are for the rest of the summer?"

"Well, I'm trying to get tickets for the World Cup and Ludo has said that he'll do what he can. So, if I get the tickets then I'll be taking him there and he'll probably stay for the rest of the summer before we take him along with Hermione and the children to Platform 9 and 3/4" he said, and Moody nodded.

"I'll do my best to make sure the lad and his friends have a good summer but be warned there's a major case that might be flaring up so it may mean that the internship is cut short. If it is then may I suggest that you take him shopping to get some decent clothes and Minerva you may want to ask Poppy about giving him a check over to see if he is, as I suspect malnourished then he'll need nutrient and growth potions to help him as well as plenty of food. If I recall correctly, plentiful food is not normally an issue at the Burrow is it" he said with a smirk causing Arthur to blush.

"Yes, it is true that Molly would love to feed the entire world, magical and muggle if she was able so food will not be a concern for Harry whilst he's with us" he said with a smile causing the other two to laugh. Yes, thought Mad-Eye I may need to be careful about poison but Molly Weasley's cooking is worth the risk as he thought back to previous visits, he'd made to the Burrow back during the war.

"So, overall, Minerva you need to have a few chats with Albus and one with Filius whilst I'll ensure that Potter and his friends are safe and happy for the rest of the summer. Arthur you just need to provide a place for him to stay for as soon as he can get out of there cause I have a few theories about why he needs to be there but I need to some research before I'm certain about it and what can be done to get the lad away from them" he said and received two nods in reply.

"Hopefully, with the events planned to take place this coming school year Harry will at least be able to have a quiet year without the risk of getting killed or hurt and should hopefully buy us time to find a solution to find a way to help him".

"Yes" they both answered.

"We should probably meet again at the end of the summer" and he received two nods in return.

"Okay well good day to all" he said politely as he headed towards the door followed by Arthur.

"Alastor" he heard Minerva call causing them both to look back at her curiously.

"Thank you for helping one of my lions" she said with a sincerity and passion that only the Lioness of Hogwarts could muster.

"It's my pleasure" he said "He's a good lad who's been let down and needs help. Help that were now giving him" and Minerva smiled at this causing both hm and Arthur to smile as well as they walked out of the front door and after checking that it was clear they both disapparated with a pop.

Chapter Text

Harry walked into the Auror Office at 7:00 am. He was as usual early, but he wasn't that worried. The Aurors were used to him arriving early by now, so he put his bag down in the Intern Room and headed towards the Casting Range. He had found that some time on the Casting Range was a good way to fully wake up. He'd started doing this on his third morning as it was also a good way to pass the time until Ron and Hermione arrived.

As he stepped through the tough wooden door that led into the range, he thought about the pretty red head that he had been talking with yesterday about the links between the magical and muggle worlds. No, not pretty- she was beautiful he thought as he made his way up to a booth. He wasn't really sure what to do with this line of thinking. He'd never even thought about girls in that way but then realistically the only girl that he really talked to was Hermione and she was more like a sister to him than anything else. He wasn't really sure what to do about Susan, but he swore that he would think on it later. He drew his wand and called up the first target.

He immediately snapped a curse at the first target that had a dark cloaked individual on it and was pleased to see that he hit the chest. Their mentors had taught them that the skill level of an opponent was the indicator of where you should aim. If a target was very unskilled then you should either aim for the head or for the centre of the chest as they were the best ways to disable an opponent without inflicting serious injuries, as long as you didn't use a spell or curse that had too much power behind it.

If your opponent was of either equivalent or superior skill, then it was a good idea to aim for the legs as this would lower their mobility and make them an easier target. Mad-Eye had given them the examples of himself and Head Auror Scrimgeour. He had explained that when he caught the Lestranges, and Crouch Junior Bellatrix had aimed at his leg and had actually cursed it off therefore limiting his mobility and he further explained that it was her arrogance that had cost her.

He'd explained that for many Dark Wizards and Witches, their greatest weakness was their arrogance and their cruelty. Many of them couldn't resist an opportunity to gloat or to showcase their own power and cruelty. He had stated that the Lestranges were a perfect example of this as if they had been smart then they would have left as soon as they had "finished" with the Longbottoms. Mad-Eye had said this last part with a look of loathing and disgust on his face that was quite frightening, even too Harry.

In Scrimgeour's case he had explained that a Death Eater named Wilkes had hit Scrimgeour in the back of the legs when he was fighting Antonin Dolohov. The curse had caused severe damage and he had only been saved by the intervention of Frank Longbottom who drove Dolohov off. Scrimgeour had recovered and had hunted Wilkes down and killed him with a curse that was so powerful that Mad-Eye had stated they "just hosed what was left of him down the nearest drain" causing the three of them to gulp nervously. It had been a real shock to see how devastating the spells of a light wizard could be when used with sufficient force. Mad-Eye had further elaborated that this was why they told them to be so disciplined with what they learned. Any spell no matter how harmless can be potentially fatal if cast with strong negative emotions or with a desire to cause harm.

One reason that Auror interns were not usually taken on until at least their OWL year was because they already had the required maturity to know when to use and when not to use dangerous spells. This was why, he said, that Hogwarts students were only taught defensive magic rather than offensive magic. He also added, when Hermione had asked why Auror Scrimgeour now had a limp, that some dark curses had degenerative properties that over time would either further injury or weaken the injured part of the body further, as had happened in Scrimgeour's case. It was why cursing someone was such a serious thing even when the curse used was effectively harmless.

He snapped another curse at the next target and carried on in this way for about twenty minutes until he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around wand drawn and found Kingsley Shacklebolt looking at him with an amused expression.

"Morning Harry, Alastor would be proud" he said gesturing to the drawn wand and smile causing Harry to drop his wand and holster it.

"Morning Kingsley" he said, and the black man smiled at him before looking at the targeting hit scoreboard and whistling.

"89 out of 100 perfect hits is very good, Harry" he said with a smile and Harry blushed at the praise. Growing up with the Dursley's and years of never ceasing criticism had left him a little uncomfortable with praise but he was getting there since he started at Hogwarts.

"I wasn't really keeping track" he said, and it was true he hadn't been keeping an eye on his score he had simply been casting at the targets that appeared. It had been good to get a rhythm going and it helped to pass the time. It was also helpful in working on his accuracy. Mad-Eye, Kingsley and Tonks had taught them the Aurors three basic tenets of spellcasting. Speed. Power, Accuracy.

Without one the other two were at best less effective and at worse a danger to your own side. Casting spells quickly was fine, but you needed to get enough power behind them to make them effective then you had to make sure that you were accurate as Dark Wizards had a nasty habit of using civilians as human shields. This meant that accuracy was especially important as hitting civilians was unacceptable. They had been told never to cast an offensive spell unless they were sure that it is going to hit what they were aiming for. He was interrupted from his thoughts by Kingsley.

"Well, it's a very good score" he said "I'm glad to see that the training we've given you is starting to pay off" and Harry smiled. He was truly proud of what he had accomplished and what he had learned so far. He wasn't just pleased about his ability to cast spells; he was also proud that he understood magic a lot better. Concepts and theory from Charms and Transfiguration that had left him either clueless or seeking Hermione's help before now seemed to make so much more sense. He was hoping that he would be able to actually advance in his subjects next year rather than just keep up like he usually did.

"Thank you" he said.

"You’re welcome" Kingsley said "now come on were starting you on something new and a bit different today" he said as he they headed back to the Intern Room where both Ron and Hermione had now arrived.

"Morning" he said and received good mornings from both of them. He went to speak to them, but they were interrupted by Mad-Eye.

"Now, you three today were going to be covering something a bit different but nonetheless useful to an Auror" and the three of them looked at him with interest.

"Now, what do the three of you know about Runes and Arithmancy?" Harry and Ron just looked at Hermione who began speaking.

"Traditional runes are a letter or character in the written languages of several ancient Germanic peoples such as the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons. Magically, runes are used in nearly everything. Once transcribed onto an object they can then be imbued with power and are used to power and run most magical devices. I also know that they can be used for defensive and offensive purposes but I'm not really sure how they do that" she finished.

"That was spot on, Granger" grunted Mad-Eye and Hermione blushed.

"And Arithmancy?" he asked.

"Arithmancy focuses on the magical property of numbers and how magic itself works. Its rather complicated whilst at the same time being quite simple, if that makes sense" she said with a nervous look at the end.

"Correct again,” said Moody.

"Now both runes and Arithmancy are extremely useful to an Auror for a variety of reasons. Runes are exceptionally useful as quite often we need to take down defensive wards as well as the simple fact that many dark spells are written in runes, meaning that Aurors need to be able to read runes to understand what curse or enchantments that a dark witch or wizard has used. Runes can also be used to set up protective enchantments that and to research ancient dark magic that a suspect may be using" he paused to take a sip from his flask.

"Arithmancy, as Granger stated is the study of the magical properties of numbers and of how magic itself works. This, in my experience and career, has saved my ass many times through aiding in spell creation. When a suspect is especially dangerous or ingenious it can require you to create either a full-blown spell of your own or to modify an existing spell to suit your purposes. Always remember that magic is nebulous and has no set way in which it must be used. It can be modified if you are skilled enough although we are not expecting you to be able to create or modify spells at all" he said.

"Today we are going to have you translate runic magic and calculate the arithmetical formula of a few common spells and jinxes. Now, Potter, Weasley we don't expect you two to get it perfect the first time" he said with a encouraging look as he waved his wand and a couple of books flew towards each of them along with a few roles of parchment.

They each got up and moved to sit at one of the two person tables that were at the back of the room. As he sat, he was joined by Mad-Eye who pointed towards the Arithmancy book first. Harry wordlessly opened the book and began looking through the various equations that were on the page.

"Now lad, first things first we have to decide what spell that you’re going to do" he said before adding "Lets start with the Wand-Lighting Charm" and Harry nodded. He looked down at the book entitled 'A Beginners Guide to European Arithmancy and Numerology' and read the theory sections.

"In the field of Arithmancy and most especially the field of Numerology the meaning and power of numbers has long been debated and discussed by Arithmancers. There is no simple way of classifying Numerology in a magical sense as there are differences based on alphabet and the various parts of the magical community scattered across the world. The simplest too learn for a European is the Latin alphabet and the numerical values of the letters present in most European languages. As nearly all spells taught in the Northern Hemisphere are taught in English with Latin incantations it is essential that a European student first learn and become familiar with the properties and values of Latin letters. The Pythagorean Numerology or Western Numerology as it is also known is the first step to becoming an Arithmancer for a European."

He reread the theory a few times before he looked at the list of numbers and the letters that were assigned to each number.

"1= a,j,s,
2= b,k,t
3= c,l,u,
4= d,m,v,
5= e,n,w,
6= f,o,x,
7= g,p,y,
8= h,q,z,
9= i,r,

Newcomers should remember that the numerical value will spell out the incantation exactly. It should also be noted that simpler spells have a lower overarching value whilst more complex spells have a higher value although there are exemptions to this rule.

Okay he thought if the incantation is spelt out by the number properties, then the arithmatical formula for this spell is just Lumos's letters and their numbers. So, L=3 as does u. M=4, O=6 and S=1 so Lumos's arithmatical theory is:

3,3,4,6,1 so it overarching value is 17.

He marked it down on the parchment before moving onto the next spell. After a couple of hours he had managed to calculate the formulas of over two dozen spells including a few jinxes. When their mentors called for a halt, he handed over his rolls of parchment to Mad-Eye and went to sit with Ron and Hermione.

"How did you find that?" asked Hermione excitedly, they both knew that Arithmancy was her favourite subject.

"I actually found that to be pretty good" he said, and Hermione smiled before turning to Ron.

"It was alright I guess but I did get confused a few times" he said, and his face turned red as he spoke.

"Its fine Ron" said Hermione "Arithmancy is not easy, and it is hard to get to grips with" she said as she gave him a smile.

"Okay" said Kingsley as the three mentors returned from where they were reviewing their work. The three of them sat forward eagerly.

"We've gone through your Arithmancy equations and overall, you've all done very well especially Harry and Hermione" he said "Now Ron don't worry we'll help you improve" he said with a reassuring smile as Ron just shook his head.

"It’s fine maths was never my strong point" he said with a look of acceptance causing Kingsley to smile and give him a nod.

"Now" said Kingsley in his deep, baritone voice "we are going to go through the use of runes and runic magic in an Aurors duties". Hermione immediately perked up at this and both Ron and Harry smiled.

"Now then, can any of you tell me what runes are?" he asked politely, and Hermione answered.

"Runes are symbols with a variety of values. Some are letters, others are numbers, and some are words. They can also be used for defensive purposes, and I recall Professor Babbling mentioning that most ancient magics were written in runes" she said, and Kingsley smiled.

"Very good, Hermione" he said "now runes are still used every day by wizards" he said "the prisoners at Azkaban have their placards in runes and many advanced magical devices such as broomsticks require runes to function" he finished.

"Today, we simply want to see whether you can translate runes for us" he said.

Kingsley waved his wand and again a book and a few rolls of parchment shot off the table and landed on the smaller tables at the back. Like before they each made their way towards one of the desks and sat down. Harry heard Mad-Eye thump his way towards him before sitting down in the seat across from him.

Harry opened the book which turned out to be entitled the Rune Dictionary that he vaguely remembered Hermione using last year. He looked at the page of runes and saw that they wanted the numbers and a variety of runes from something called the Elder Futhark. He opened the book and found that all of the numbers were on a single page. He quickly copied them down before turning to the Elder Futhark section. After about ten minutes of reading, it became clear that the runes that he needed to translate were letters. He quickly completed the translations and about thirty minutes after they had started Kingsley called a halt.

"Okay" he said as he summoned their books and parchments "now we'll go through your runes work" he said as he, Tonks and Moody sat at a table on the other side of the room. Harry made his way over to Ron and Hermione who again asked how they'd found it. She beamed as they both told her that it was really quite simple and that they had actually enjoyed it. After about ten minutes their mentors came back to them.

"Well done to all of you" said Kingsley "you all did really well".

"Now" said Mad-Eye "aside from the reasons that Kingsley mentioned can any of you think of a reason why and how runes are part of our work?". There was silence for a moment until surprisingly Ron spoke

"Many curses especially really old ones are cast using runes and according to my brother Bill they are often used in mixtures of multiple runes to make them harder to break. The same goes for charms and protective enchantments" he finished, and Moody looked pleased.

"Correct" he said "I've run into a few nasty situations where exactly that method was used especially by some of my more dangerous targets".

"Now then. The training that we provide you isn't just to teach you what an Auror does. The vast majority of interns see an improvement in their academic performance as well. So, Potter, Weasley I would advise that you both consider switching your electives" he said causing him to say

"I didn't even know that you could"

"You can provided that you show at least some competency in whichever subject you wish to switch too"

"What subject do you think that I should switch too?" he asked.

"I would actually suggest that you take both Arithmancy and Runes lad whilst you Weasley I believe that you should switch to Runes and Muggle Studies" he said and Ron gaped at him as if the thought of taking three electives was mad.

"Why" he stuttered.

"Well, Weasley you have shown to be very good with runes especially when we have used them in awarding and as for Muggle Studies you have two muggle raised best friends that can help you" he said and both Harry and Hermione nodded.

"As for you Potter you have shown to also be skilled with runes especially when it comes to curses and as for Arithmancy you have shown that you understand numerology well in addition to understanding magical formula" he said and added "plus both subjects are more highly valued than Divination, which lets face it you both had made clear that you think it is a waste of time as well as the fact that you will both benefit from studying these branches of magic or in your case the Muggle world Weasley. I would also suggest that you keep Care of Magical Creatures at it is also very highly valued as magical creatures are a lot more common than people think they are".

"Okay but how do we actually change our electives?" he asked, and it was Hermione who answered.

"You just have to write to Professor McGonagall, and she will check with the other teachers if that is doable although you may have to sit some kind of test to prove that you are competent and not too far behind".

"Well then" he said before a thought struck him "I think that I'll write to Lupin and ask his opinion" he said with a look that he hoped both Ron and Hermione noticed that indicated he was going to ask Sirius as well.

"And I'll ask my dad" he said before adding "he'll be pleased that I'm dropping Divination at least" he said with a look that said he was glad that he was dropping it.

"Good" said Kingsley with a smile causing Moody to nod gruffly before speaking "We'll have a break now whilst we prepare for the next session" as he, Kingsley and Tonks exited the room to arrange whatever they were doing next.

Harry waited a couple of minutes before casting a handy little privacy charm that Mad-Eye had taught them and turning to Ron and Hermione.

"Are you going to write to Sirius, Harry?" asked Hermione quietly with a look around them before she spoke.

"Yeah, although I am actually going to write to Lupin" he said and Hermione smiled.

"Lupin will probably know what to do" she said before looking at Ron.

"I'll help you both get up to speed don't worry" she said with a reassuring look that caused Ron to give a relieves sigh.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"What should we try them with next?" said Tonks as they reached Mad-Eye's cubicle. Although she was a fully qualified Auror she was still unblooded and the baby of the Office in the eyes of many. She had been hoping to get a good case to prove that she was worthy of the title of Auror, but it had been a quiet summer so far and with the Quidditch World Cup coming up there wasn't much chance that the Junior Auror would get given a case.

It was because of this that she had been assigned as an Auror mentor for the summer. She wasn't really expected to mentor Ron into an Auror but to watch and learn whilst Mad-Eye and Kingsley mentored the three of them as she learned from two of the best in the business how to teach and instruct. She was fortunate that she was good at Transfiguration and healing magic although with her metamorphic abilities and her general clumsiness both were essential.

Another thing that held her back in her own opinion was her metamorphic abilities. However useful they were her abilities were still viewed as abnormal by some. The Ministers Senior Undersecretary, Madam Umbitch, Umbridge she mentally corrected hastily, had called her a freak who was unfit to work for the Ministry though fortunately Madam Bones had overruled her and allowed her to enter BART which she had passed with flying colours apart from the stealth portions that she knew were going to be a disaster.

Her family connections had also been a problem but unsurprisingly being the niece of the Lestranges and the Malfoy's hadn’t exactly endeared her to her fellow Aurors especially those who were veterans of the war and friends of the Longbottoms. She's had some issues at Hogwarts as well but fortunately most of her fellow students hadn't blamed her for her relatives’ crimes.

She had been lucky that the three interns hadn't had a problem with her but then again, they seemed like an unusual group themselves. A muggleborn, a blood traitor and the Boy-Who-Lived would have had plenty of reason to hate her but they actually seemed to like her, and she was pleased by this. They seemed like a good group and according to Kingsley it was rare to get groups of interns there was usually only about one every few years who was up to the job. Heck the majority of serving Aurors were never interns and neither was she. It was an honour, and they were coping with it brilliantly so far.

She didn't know much about Hermione, but she did know that Ron's family had a habit for being magically extremely talented, up in the top five in terms of raw power whilst they lacked wealth his skill was not surprising all things considered. Harry's family on the other hand was one of only five families with both money and high amounts of magical power. The Potter's along with the Longbottoms, Bones', Malfoy's and Blacks were all noted as being rich and powerful at least when compared to other families with the potter rated number one in terms of raw magical power.

She had been shocked when a Fourth Year had left Mad-Eye flat on his back and then proceed to defeat all three of them along with his friends in battle drills. It was unheard of for interns to work this well together so soon and for them to be as fluid in action. Heck, they were more in tune than most of the Hit Wizard Teams that she had seen. If she hadn't been there in person, she would never have believed that a trio of fourth years could defeat three Aurors even under limited conditions.

The fact that they had done so admirably was a testament to them and she hoped that they continued on in this thread for the rest of the summer. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Kingsley speaking.

"I was thinking that maybe we should give them some actual assignments to do around the Office" he said "Because so far all we've done with them is training and I think that they could do with a little break" he finished, and Moody nodded.

"Aye that’s a good idea plus we've all got damn paperwork to catch up on" he said with a grimace that not even half a century of service had stamped out. Paperwork was and always would be the bane of the Auror Office.

"What do you think Tonks?" asked Kingsley and she thought for a moment before speaking.

"I think it'll be good for them" she said "It'll show them that an Aurors life isn't all spellfire and chasing suspects".

"All right then what shall we start them with?" asked Kingsley causing Tonks to shrug.

"How about sending them to the Archives to retrieve some case files? That’s an equally boring and time-consuming endeavour that should give them a break from training."

Kingsley smiled whilst Moody nodded.

"Alright then I guess we’re all going to be stuck at our desks for the remainder of the day then" he said with a grimace that she and Kingsley both matched.

"Just great"

-X-X-X-X-X-

They were idly chattering away when their mentors re-entered the room causing them to cease talking at once.

"All right you three for the rest of today and possibly a little while after we're going to have you carry out several assignments around the Ministry for us to familiarise yourselves with the way that the Ministry is run and how each department functions" said Mad-Eye and Harry felt a bit shocked that they were supposed to walk around the Ministry so quickly. He didn't know the way or who the various department heads were.

"Now, don't worry were not going to have you running errands for long or taking paperwork up to the idiot that we call Minister" said causing Harry and Ron to start snickering whilst Hermione burst into giggles. He was surprised to see that Tonks was struggling not to laugh and that even Kingsley was cracking an amused smile.

Mad-Eye waited for the laughing to subside before he continued "To start you off were sending you to the archives to gather a few case files for us" he said causing the each to perk up. Finding files in an archive didn't sound so bad compared to talking to Department Heads.

"Granger you'll be gathering some case files on a witch named Branka Fyodorov" Hermione nodded.

"Weasley you'll be gathering files on a scoundrel by the name of Allan Martins" Ron also nodded.

"And finally Potter you'll be gathering files on Sirius Black" said Moody and Harry exchanged glances with both Hermione and Ron before nodding at Mad-Eye. Inside his head was spinning somewhat. He had a chance to see what the Ministry files said about Sirius! Maybe he could help him by finding something that could exonerate him then he wouldn't be stuck with the Dursley's anymore!

"Potter pay attention" growled Moody pulling him out of his musing abruptly as Moody gave him a curious look before going back to Ron and Hermione.

"Now the archives are located off of the Atrium on Level Eight." said Mad-Eye and they all nodded.

"Well off you go then" he said with a wave of hid hand towards the door causing them to shoot up and hurry from the room. If Mad-Eye gave you an order it was best to follow it quickly.

-X-X-X-X-X-

"Well now that their off its back to our desks then" said Tonks with a sigh causing Kingsley to just shake his head although he could tell that he was amused. Both of them looked at Moody to see that he wasn't amused but had a very serious look on his face as he looked at them.

"Are you alright, Alastor?" asked Kingsley with a look.

"Did you notice their reaction when I told Potter to get me the files on Black?"

"No not really I wasn't really paying attention to their faces" admitted Kingsley whilst Tonks just shook her head.

"The look that they gave each other when I mentioned Black was unusual" he said with a hint of uncertainty.

"Unusual in what way?" questioned Kingsley.

"It was almost as if…they knew something or they were sharing an unspoken thought" he said with a look of uncertainty. Usually, only people who understood each other completely would be able to pass thoughts wordlessly but from what he had observed Potter, Granger and Weasley fit the bill for being able to do that.

Kingsley and Tonks shared a look before Tonks spoke "Well I did hear off Charlie that there was an incident with Black earlier this year in which those three were involved although he was unable to provide me with any details as apparently Ron was tight-lipped about it. All he was able to tell me was that at least one teacher, a Professor Lupin, who I vaguely recall as being a close friend of the Potters, being involved".

"If something happened with Black and they had a look as if they knew each other then maybe…" Kingsley gave a small gasp before looking at them both who looked at him with worry. The usually stoic man gave them what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he spoke "what if what we think we know about Black and his crimes is even not everything that happened or is simply not true".

Tonks' jaw dropping caused a loud thud to echo around the room before she recalled it to her face whilst Moody gave him a contemplative look before his magical eye started spinning at an alarming rate, one of the few habits that Moody had was that his eye spun rapidly when he was thinking intently.

"It would make sense" growled Mad-Eye "I think we can all say that no one is really sure what happened that night and considering how quickly Black was sent to Azkaban I doubt that any interrogation was that extensive especially considering how short staffed we were at the time" causing Kingsley to nod. The year after the fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had been one of the most hectic since the fall of Grindelwald with everyone in not just the Auror Office but the Ministry in general working overtime for almost a full year.

"Should we talk to them about it when they get back?" asked Tonks nervously and he didn't blame her for being nervous. This was big even for him and he'd been an Auror since before Tonks mother was born and Tonks had been two when Kingsley joined the Office. He looked at Kingsley and saw that he had a look of uncertainty that didn't suit him on his face. This was a huge thing for not just the investigation into Black’s whereabouts but to the Wizarding World as a whole.

Black was very wealthy and had possessed connections that had been useful back during the war although if he was innocent, it would cause a shitstorm in the Ministry's upper ranks especially if he hadn't had a trial or he had been sent to Azkaban without proper procedure then heads were going to roll as well as Fudge looking like more of an idiot than he already was. Add in that he had escaped from Azkaban and there was going to be hell over it.

"I don't think that we should talk to them yet" he said addressing Tonks' original question. "At least until we know more and I seriously doubt that those three will share it with us" he said and Kingsley nodded.

"Plus, I seriously doubt the stories of three teenagers even if their interns and even with Potters influence will persuade anyone that their telling the truth".

"I actually recall hearing the Minister saying to his staff that Black had apparently confunded the three of them at the end of the last Hogwarts year" said Kingsley whilst rubbing his chin with his hand.

"Anyway" he sighed "We better get on with that parchmentwork or it’s never going to get done" he sighed and was pleased to see that his two colleagues were giving him weak smiles, so at least he had brought their morale up.

"Isn't that the truth" sighed Tonks as she stood up and stretched before making her way towards the door quickly followed by Kingsley who still looked in deep thought, but he'd be alright. Dreading the next few hours of tedious boredom, he stood up grasped his staff in his hand and walked to his cubicle.

Chapter Text

"How big do think the archives are?" asked Ron as they made their way out of the Auror Office and towards the lifts.

"Well," said Hermione "Since the Ministry has been active for nearly three hundred years and that it’s got dozens of departments and committees carrying out thousands of different tasks so probably quite large" said Hermione with a look of excitement that both he and Ron knew meant that they would probably have to pull her out of the archives, or she'd never leave.

"I guess were going to be here a while then" sighed Ron causing Hermione to give him a censoring look to which Harry just smiled as they reached the lifts. He pressed the button and they waited for around a minute before the lift arrived with a "ping" and a group of witches and wizards from various departments walked out in various stages of boredom, tiredness and in one case apparent bewilderment that got Harry thinking but his thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's cry of "Harry" as she held the doors open with a look that clearly said, "Hurry up".

He complied and to an amused Ron scrambled through the closing doors whilst Hermione tapped the number eight before turning to him and raising her eyebrow.

"Sorry Mione, was wondering why that guy looked bewildered, that's all" he said causing her to nod as the lift started going down, stopping on floors three and six which conversation impossible as they were crammed in at the back by the hordes of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and Magical Transportation workers that he assumed were going to their morning break.

They reached the Atrium a bit more squashed than they would have liked and looked around for a few minutes until they saw a sign that said, "ARCHIVES OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC" and hurried towards the door where they saw a bored looking receptionist sitting behind a large desk covered in parchment. She glanced up at them as they approached, and Harry saw her look at their Intern badges before Hermione spoke

"Hello, we're here to collect some files for our mentors"

"Name and department, please" asked the receptionist with a look that told him that this was the most interesting thing that had happened all day.

"Hermione Granger, Auror Office"

"Ron Weasley, Auror Office"

"Harry Potter, Auror Office" he said with a dry throat and hoped that she wouldn't draw attention to him. He felt a surge of annoyance as the receptionist’s gaze swept over his forehead and he saw her eyes widen slightly before she cleared her throat before she spoke.

"I just need to verify your badges before I let you in" she said as she picked up her wand and pointed it at Hermione's badge before rotating it anti-clockwise as Hermione's badge glowed green.

"That's you cleared" she said to Hermione before she repeated the process on Ron who's badge also flashed green before turning to Harry. She performed the motions as she looked him over before his badge flashed green causing her to sigh.

"Your cleared, have a nice day" she said as she turned back to the desk with a look of boredom as he quickly made his way towards the entrance. As he opened the heavy oak doors that were inlaid with the Ministry emblem he was struck by the smell of ink and old parchment with hints of mould and dust in the air as they looked around at the archives.

They had all been expecting something akin to the library at Hogwarts and they were not disappointed. What they were not expecting was that the inside of the archive was similar in size to Wembley Stadium than the school library. Thousands of draws on thousands of shelves spread over what had to be hundreds of levels and dozens of sections all covered in all manner of official books, parchments, and papers.

"Bloody hell" he heard Ron mutter and he could only agree with the sentiment. The archive seemed too big to actually exist before he heard Hermione say "this place must have a really powerful extension charm in place" as she just looked around in excited wonder.

"What?" asked Harry curiously.

"The archive. To have a room this big inside the Ministry it must have an extremely powerful Extension Charm placed upon it. There really hard to perform so it must be done carefully and by someone who knows what they're doing".

"How did you know that?" asked Ron.

"I…." she began

"Read it in a book" said Ron and Harry in such perfect synch even Fred and George would be proud of them. Hermione just mock glared at them although they could see the sides of her mouth stretching upwards.

"So where to now?" asked Harry as he looked around. It was all well and good then being in the archive but finding the files that they needed might be a problem.

"Er" said Hermione with a nervous look until Ron pointed to their left and said, "I bet that's where we find stuff" and Harry followed his finger to see what looked like a large book on an equally large lectern sitting against a set of bookshelves. Hermione just gave Ron a look that Harry couldn't read as they made their way over.

"So now what?" asked Harry as they reached the book that was about the same size as a map sign at the zoo and was purplish in colour.

"There's probably an index page" said Hermione as she opened the book with a surprisingly effortless pull and a list of options was shown. She placed her finger on the top of the list and started to work her way down muttering as she went

"Overview, no, History, no, staff no, Ministers of Magic, definitely not, ah Departments" she said as she pressed her finger of the word and immediately another list dropped down below the title 'Departments'. Pressing on the second option of 'Department of Magical Law Enforcement and then the 'Main Divisions' option and then the Auror Office they found themselves on a list of topics that the archive associated with the Auror Office.

Sweeping down the list Hermione pressed the heading 'Case Files' before the heading flashed red and a loud sound similar to a game show buzzer echoed from the book until a square formed on the page with the words 'YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS RESTRICTED INFORMATION PLEASE SCAN YOUR BADGE FOR ACCESS' followed by another square forming beneath it that read 'PLEASE SCAN BADGE/S HERE'.

"Okay then" said Hermione as she unpinned her badge and pressed it to the page firmly, there was a blip like a supermarket checkout before it flashed green and the words 'APPROVED, HAVE A PLEASANT DAY, INTERN GRANGER' causing Hermione to smile as she moved aside to allow Ron and Harry to scan their badges before they checked the list again and saw that the case files were separated into ten year slots.

A machine on the desk made a noise and a piece of paper emerged similar to a fax machine with directions to the area that they needed. Unfortunately, it appeared that they were in for quite a long walk.

"So, Level 100, Sections 29 and 30" said Hermione as they all looked up at the sheer height of the archive and internally gulped at the prospect of walking up so many staircases.

"Well, we better get going I guess" said Harry as they headed towards the stairs as for some reason there wasn't a lift. After 20 minutes of walking past archives containing all manner of things from financial reports on the value of sweets to the cost of maintaining the Ministry itself and the uses of various charms to improve workplace productivity until, panting like they were in the desert, they reach level one hundred.

"They…really…. need a…. lift" panted Ron with his hands on his knees as he panted before straightening up and wiping the sweat off his forehead before he suddenly dropped to the ground as a file zipped over his head and down a shoot that they hadn't seen.

"I wish we could do that" panted Harry as he caught his breath, due to Quidditch and having to flee from Dudley for so long he was noticeably fitter than either Ron or Hermione "It’s probably a Summoning Charm" said Hermione breathlessly "we learn them in Fourth Year" she spluttered as her breathing finally started to return to normal. After another couple of minutes, they were more or less fine and dreading the trip back down they made their way down the corridor that was marked 'Section 20-30'.

They carried on pass rank upon rank of magically expanded filing cabinets until they reached the end of the corridor and came upon the two sections that they needed. Harry needed to go right to the end of Section 29 whilst Ron and Hermione needed to go just shy of halfway down Section 30.

"I'll see you in a bit then" he said as he made his way down towards to the end of the very long corridor. He counted down as he walked down "1989, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81" he said as he reached the area with the years of what the world thought were Sirius' crimes. He looked at the draw and saw the alphabet on the front. Following what they had done earlier he pushed the letter 'B' and a rumbling sound was emitted by the draw before a chime was heard and the draw became still again.

Tentatively he opened it and saw that all the files started with the letter 'B' making his job much easier. Thank Merlin he thought as he started flicking through the files and quickly realised that they were ordered by the first name meaning that Sirius would be near the back. He pulled the draw out more and kept flicking unconsciously aware that the draw was extending out far more than a normal draw would.

After a few minutes of flicking through countless files and enough parchments to leave him dreading doing schoolwork ever again he came upon the section where the first names started with S. He flicked a little further and found a file that read 'BLACK, SIRIUS'. This is it he thought as he eagerly pulled out a file that seemed to be a bit thin.

Thin was an understatement the file seemed almost empty to Harry as he pulled it out and placed it on the top of the now very extended draw that now served as a convenient table. He opened the plain bluey-purplish file and saw that it only contained six pieces of parchment. He quickly looked at the titles of each Sirius Black Dossier…. Arrest Order…. Crime Report…. Order sending him to Azkaban… a Confirmation of Arrival form and an Escape Report. Harry was no legal expert and even less so on Wizarding Law, but this file seemed to be missing quite a lot as most of the files around where he had found it were at least three times the width of Sirius'.

He grabbed the first page and started reading:

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Dossier
of
Sirius Orion Black

Name: Sirius Orion Black
Date of Birth: 3rd November 1959
Birthplace: Islington Place, London, England, Great Britain
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Grey
Skin Complexion: White
Height: 5 foot, 9 1/2 Inches
Weight: 154 lbs
Father: Orion Black
Mother: Walburga Black
House: Black
Wand: Truciolo, 10 1/2 inches, Phoenix Feather, Springy
Blood Status: Pureblood
Marital Status: Single
Nationality: English
Uncommon Magical Abilities:
Hogwarts House: Gryffindor
Crime(s): One count of Mass Murder, Thirteen counts of Murder, Two counts of Accomplice Murder, One count of Death Eater Activity, One count of Espionage, One count of using magic in the presence of Muggles and One count of Irresponsible Use of Magic.
Additionally added after his escape on the 31st of July 1993: One count of escaping Azkaban, One count of breaking and entering, One count of Assault and One count of Illegal Enchantment of Minors.
Sentence: Life Imprisonment (later upgraded to the Dementor's Kiss by MoM Cornelius Fudge after his escape from Azkaban)
Status: Alive (Escaped and on the loose, Considered extremely Dangerous)

Harry read through the rest of the document before he moved on to the next entitled "Arrest Report that stated that:

"The suspect was apprehended in London without resistance on suspicion of Mass Murder as well as sleuth of lesser crimes including destroying a street leaving a large crater. The Suspect was remanded in custody in Azkaban Prison on the Orders of the Head of the DMLE until a trial date was set."

Harry read with a scowl as he worked his way through the report of his Godfather being imprisoned for Pettigrew's crimes and felt a sudden desire to ask Mad-Eye about painful curses before he snapped himself out of his anger and picked up the third piece of parchment.

Department of Magical Law Enforcement Crime Report- N11-2-23-41

"Perpetrator and Death Eater spy Sirius Orion Black henceforth referred to as Black did on the 2nd November 1981 track down his long-time friend Peter Pettigrew and kill him and thirteen innocent Muggles on a street in London at approximately 23:41pm via a Blasting Curse that left a large crater at the scene and required the deployment of Dragon Squadron, Magical Law Enforcement Squad who arrested Black as well as members of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes who were first on the scene under the command of Junior Minister Cornelius Fudge, and members of the Department of International Magical Cooperation to create a preliminary report on the incident for the International Confederation of Wizards.

Prior to arrest numerous muggle civilians stated that Black was laughing like a madman after the street just exploded. This was confirmed by members of MA&C before the Obliviator's removed the memories of the muggles. Nothing was found of Pettigrew apart from a finger although body parts of several muggles were found and turned over to the muggle police for identification. Suspect was sent to Azkaban to await trial due to risk of escape and suspected Death Eater infiltration of the Ministry"

Harry felt his anger return as he read the report and for the first time, he truly realised that not only had Pettigrew ruined both his and Sirius' lived but he had also ended the lives of thirteen muggles, thirteen innocent people all dead because of one man's cowardice. Pushing his anger down something that he had become quite good at this summer he read the Crime Report which was basically a rehash of the Arrest Report plus a few things that he already knew before he read the next page which only had one sentence of any real value:

"By order of Bartemius Crouch Senior, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Mr Black is remanded in Azkaban until a trial can be arranged"

He read the Confirmation of Arrival Form which basically confirmed that he had arrived at Azkaban and was placed in a Maximum-Security Cell under full Dementor Guard at the top of the tower. The Escape Report basically said that Sirius had escaped and that they hadn't got a clue how he had managed it much to Harry's amusement.

Something was rubbing Harry the wrong way about the file in front of him, he wasn't a legal expert, but the file just seemed to lack substance and well contents, half a dozen pieces of parchment didn't seem like a lot for a life sentence in Azkaban. He mused that it was possible, no probable considering who was leading the Ministry that someone hadn't bothered to do their job properly and he and Sirius had paid the price for it.

Glancing at his watch he realised that he had been in this section for nearly half an hour and decided that he should get back. He picked up the file that he wasn't entirely sure that he was supposed to have read and pushed the draw closed with surprising ease before he made his way back the way that he had come. After a few minutes he heard Ron and Hermione chatting away as they waited for him. As he turned the corner, he heard Hermione speak

"Harry, what took you so long?"

"Sorry guys the file I was after was hidden right at the back" he said causing them both to nod before Ron smirked

"We thought you'd be lost forever in this maze" he said causing Harry to laugh

"Unlike Hermione I wouldn't like that" causing Hermione to whack him on the arm as she tried to control her laughter and failed miserably. After taking a moment to compose themselves they made their way back to the stairs and looked over the railing to the bottom a hundred flights below.

"Don't suppose you know a spell that can get us to the bottom, Hermione?" asked Ron as he looked at the number of stairs that they had to walk down.

"Well, a Slowing Charm could but we don't learn how to slow heavy objects until Fifth Year and I'm in no rush to experiment at the moment" she said, and Ron sighed.

"Pity, guess we'd better get going" he said as they began to descend and fortunately, they were quicker this time and were back in the Atrium in around fifteen minutes and thankfully they didn't attract the attention of the receptionist and quickly made their way back to the lifts.

"I'm really glad that we don't have to use anymore stairs" said Ron as they pressed the button to take them back to the DMLE. They arrived on Level 2 and headed back to the Office, past the on duty Hit Wizards and back into the Office proper. Here they separated and headed back to each of their respective mentor's cubicles. As Harry approached Mad-Eye's cubicle he flicked his wrist and slipped his wand into his hand before knocking on the door and waiting for Mad-Eye to open it.

The door swung open, and he raised his wand to see Mad-Eye sitting in his chair looking towards the door with his wand drawn, an expression of gruff contemplation on his face.

"Good job on remembering Potter" he said as he holstered his wand and Harry did the same as he walked into the cubicle.

"Here's the file that you needed" he said as he placed the file down on the desk and took a step back.

"Thank you, Potter" said Moody gruffly "How did you find the archive?"

Harry thought about replying with 'big' but he didn't think that that was what Moody was looking for, so he went with one of Ron's observations that he wholeheartedly agreed with.

"They really need a lift" he said, and he looked at Moody anxiously before he saw Moody chuckling.

"That's what every intern says including me half of magical history ago" he said with a laugh as he looked at Harry's sweaty face.

"Take the rest of the day off, Potter. I think you and your friends have earned it"

"Thank you" said Harry as he walked out of the cubicle after receiving a nod from Moody.

-X-X-X-X-X-

Harry sighed as he made his way out of Moody's cubicle and back towards the entrance as he saw Ron already waiting with a smile on his face.

"Tonks just gave me the rest of the day off" he said causing Harry to reply "yeah Mad-Eye gave me the same" he said with a smile as Hermione approached them from the direction of Kingsley's cubicle.

"Kingsley said that we're free for the rest of the day" she beamed as she reached them and turned towards the doors to leave causing them to follow her.

"So, what are we doing for the afternoon?" asked Harry as they walked.

"Lunch" said Ron hopefully causing Hermione to roll her eyes before agreeing much to Ron's surprise.

"What I'm hungry" she said with a huff as they reached the exit.

"Leaky Cauldron" asked Harry to which they both nodded and started to walk before Hermione looked at Harry.

"Hey Harry, Ron and I will get us a table whilst you should go and get Susan" she said with a look that Harry couldn't decipher.

"All right" he said as he felt a sliver of nervousness creep up his spine as he turned and began walking past various offices on the way to the Department Heads office. As he approached the outer office, he pulled open the door and saw that a young lady with long blonde hair was sitting at a large desk of polished pinewood situated in front of a door that read

'Office of the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bones'

The young lady looked up and smiled as he entered and greeted her with a smile.

"Hello what can I do for you?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Susan Bones" he said causing the young lady to tap a notebook on her desk before tapping it again.

"They'll be with you in a moment" she said as she pointed to a set of chairs by the wall.

"Feel free to take a seat"

"Thank you" he said with a smile as he took a seat and debated whether to pull out a book before deciding that it probably wasn't worth it. That was another thing that he had noticed this summer he was starting to enjoy reading more than he usually did before, he was never completely opposed to reading like Ron, but he wasn't obsessed with it like Hermione was. He was interrupted from his thoughts by the door opening and Susan walking out followed by her aunt.

"Hi Harry" she said with a faint blush as she stopped a foot from him as he got up and smiled at her.

"Hi Susan" he said before he turned to look at Madam Bones who was looking at him expectantly.

"Well Mister Potter what do you want my niece for?" she asked sternly although secretly she was amused.

Harry immediately felt nervous for some reason but managed to keep his voice steady as he spoke "I was wondering if Susan would like to join my friends and I for lunch" causing Madam Bones to regard him for a moment that felt like hours before she turned to her niece.

"Well Susan, do you want to go to lunch with your friends?" causing Susan to nod before speaking "Yes, Auntie".

"Then off you go" said Madam Bones before Harry spoke again "We're actually free for the rest of the day so we were wondering if Susan could join us for that as well?"

Madam Bones looked thoughtful before speaking "Susan has performed well so far this summer and therefore I think that you deserve a treat, dear" causing Susan and Harry to smile.

"Off you go then" said Madam Bones before she turned and headed back to her office secretly smiling to herself.

"Shall we go then?" asked Harry.

"Yeah okay" said Susan before she stopped "er where are we going exactly" she said causing Harry to smile.

"Well first we're going to the Leaky Cauldron and after that we hadn't decided yet" he said and she nodded as she pulled on her cloak and grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as they exited the office.

"How did you get the day off?" she asked as they made their way down the corridor.

"We had to go to the Archives" he said with a sour look that caused her to giggle for which he gave her a stern look that only increased her giggling.

"Let me guess you had to walk all the way to the top?" she managed to get out through her giggles causing him to send her a half-hearted glare that sent her into full out laughter.

"Some Hufflepuff you are" he grumbled.

"Sorry, it’s just that my auntie did the exact same thing to me earlier in the summer. She said that if you haven't had to walk to the top of the Archives then you aren't a real intern".

"Well at least we weren't the only ones" he said as they reached the lifts.

"Yeah, I think it’s something that only Magical Law Enforcement Interns have to do" she said, and Harry nodded as he pressed the button to summon the lift.

"How has your day been, apart from going to the Archives" asked Susan as they waited.

"It’s been pretty good so far. Ron and I are probably going to drop Divination" he said.

"You can drop subjects?" asked Susan with a frown.

"Yeah, apparently but I'm guessing that you still have to do at least two electives" he said causing Susan to nod.

"What are you going to replace Divination with?"

"Mad-Eye suggested that I take both Runes and Arithmancy so probably those" he said with a smile at the thought of no more Trelawney.

Harry saw a flash of nervousness cross Susan's face before she spoke "I took Arithmancy and Runes so if you want any help"

"Yes please" he said instantly causing them both to blush "I still need to write to Professor McGonagall to ask to change but I'd love to study with you"

"Thanks" she said

"Ron won't thank you when he realises that he's studying with Hermione alone" he said with a smirk causing her to laugh as the lift arrived and was surprisingly empty as they pressed the button for the Atrium and waited a couple of minutes as they made their way to the Atrium.

"You know I think that might be the first time that I've ever had an uninterrupted trip in these things" she said as they got out and began making, they’re towards the floo.

"Really"

"Really"

"Why don't they have any at Hogwarts?" he asked, and Susan looked stumped.

"I've honestly never thought of that" she said with s look of deep thought.

"Maybe so we all get some exercise" he offered as they reached the fireplaces.

"Maybe" she said as they both waited for the elderly witch ahead of them to use the floo before they could go.

In a moment she was gone, and Harry approached the pot of floo powder and put his hand in before he felt something that felt like a hand under his and turned to see a blushing Susan looking down and he realised that the hand that he had felt was Susan's.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and she nodded before saying "I just wasn't expecting it that's all" she said as he smiled and held out his hand which she nervously took and stepped into the fire with him.

"The Leaky Cauldron" he said as he threw down the powder and with a whoosh they disappeared.