Tales from the Auror Office

And A Happy New Year

December 31st, 2021

"Ugh, I'm already feeling exhausted," I remarked as Charles and I sat down at a small table in a hidden corner of the party. We had only been there for an hour, but my social battery was quickly draining. "I don't know why I always think I can make it to midnight."

Charles just chuckled. "I think if there weren't as many people here, you'd have an easier time keeping your energy up." I shrugged. I'd spent several of our days since Christmas doing nothing but sleeping in and watching movies, but it didn't do anything to help my capacity for conversations with strangers. I guess we should have expected the Potters to have so many friends anyways.

"And where did Elinor end up?" I wondered aloud. We had lost her in the crowd only a few minutes after arriving.

"I think last I saw her and Torie talking about all things baby Charis."

"That sounds about right," I smiled, thinking fondly about the Lupin's little one-month-old. Elinor was always eager to see her again and kept insisting we needed to visit Teddy and Torie at least once a week.

"Charles?" A dark-haired teenage boy appeared from around the corner, interrupting my thoughts and our solitude, but clearly my boyfriend didn't mind. Charles's face immediately lit up.

"James!" he exclaimed, standing to hug the eldest Potter son. I hadn't really seen James since graduating from Hogwarts a few years ago, so I'm not surprised I didn't recognize him as quickly. Back then, he was just a naïve young first-year. Surprisingly, I found myself gaping at his height (he was nearly as tall as Charles now) and admiring the fact that he had clearly grown into his looks.

"I didn't know you were going to be here!" James commented with a wide grin.

"Well what can I say - your parents definitely know how to throw a party," Charles teased. "Oh, and I don't know if you remember but this is Alexis Powers." Charles gestured to me by way of introduction. "We're on the same team in the auror department."

I gave a little wave. "Hi, James – lovely to see you again!"

"Oh yeah, you were headgirl with Charles, weren't you? Ravenclaw, right?" he replied, and I nodded. Charles invited him to sit down with us, and we ended up chatting for quite a while about how things were going, how school was, and so on. We only avoided the topic of the events of the end of last year, knowing that no one really wanted to revisit that anyways.

"I'm actually really glad I ran into you two," James transitioned. "You see, I've been thinking a lot about what I might want to do after I graduate."

"And do you know what career you might want pursue?" I asked, remembering my internal conflict over that very topic during my last three years of school.

James chuckled. "That's the question, isn't it? I honestly have no idea. But Charles mentioned a while ago that you had taken a gap year and did a bunch of research about careers...?"

I glanced at Charles, and he shrugged. I rolled my eyes. "Of course Charles would tell you that," I replied, avoiding the real question on my mind. "I explored several different options – what do you want to know?"

James launched into asking me (and Charles, as he chimed in) question after question about dragonologists, curse-breakers, healers, potioneers, portrait painters, etc. But all throughout, I couldn't stop wondering why he didn't just ask his dad all this. He was the one who gave me most of these career contacts. But I suppose if Harry Potter were my dad, I would feel a little embarrassed about asking him such random detailed questions. Especially if I knew I didn't want to become an auror like he was.