Before the Storm

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A Ministry official came the next day when Harry was just about to slip out of the inn. He wanted to explore, to see what exactly had changed, or would change in the future. The alley was new, the world felt new! He almost felt new as well. Then he was forced to face reality.

It wasn't the same man from the night before, for which Harry was quite happy...he still couldn't remember what his name was...

Instead it was a witch with bright green robes and flaming red hair who, in the most gratingly chipper voice he could imagine, said her name was Annabelle Thomas. She pulled him aside in the Cauldron's common room in late morning gloom, guided him to a table in the corner. Harry found himself nursing a cup of tea, that he didn't want, as she discussing things that, quite honestly, he didn't care about.

Rationally he knew should care. Hermione would have done more than scold him for such an attitude, even a year ago he himself would have found such apathy in his future unthinkable. Now though, as the witch before him talked of scores and fields that would be good for him to go into he realized a few things.

One, he was not nearly as bad in school as he had thought. Not that he had felt necessarily dull, just mindnumbingly average. Ms Thomas, however, seemed to think he was rather advanced for his age. Which after she assured him that she knew Harry was sixteen, was actually a very pleasant surprise.

The second thing he realized, quite extraordinarily and after she had asked after his career goals, was that he, Harry Potter, no longer wished to be an Auror.

He had been saying it for so long now that no one really even asked him anymore. Either that or they simply couldn't think of anything else The Chosen One would do after defeating the Dark Lord. Clearly he would go into a field that assured his dark wizard prowess was used to its fullest. He had known the path that needed to be taken to be an Auror, set his schedule by it, had even been able to see himself, along with Ron, living out this long held dream.

How many times had he and Ron stayed up talking out it, especially in the last year? The advent of the DA had only served to strengthen Ron's resolve to become a dark wizard hunter. At the time, Harry had thought it had done the same for him as well.

Just the icing on the cake he'd been baking for years.

An easy, knee jerk reflex he didn't need to think about anymore. Always on the tip of his tongue. In the back of his mind.

And he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Somewhere along the way Harry had stopped wanting that. When exactly the joy had faded. When knowing looks of those he told stopped filling him pride and started itching at his nerves.

It was then that he realized something else. Something wonderful.

He could be whatever the hell he wanted now!

He hadn't been able to give her a definitive answer about his future career choices, to which she had been very helpful and understanding. Assuring him that he still had two years worth of schooling left, and really he could decide and change his mind as often as he wanted. He had his whole life before him and he should find the one thing that made him truly happy and do it.

No one had ever told him that before.

Once he had a his classes planned, which was pretty much what he'd been taking before, as such classes were needed for a myriad of careers, he was allowed to go about his day as he pleased.

And so, he spent the rest of the summer doing just that.

It took only one afternoon to gather all his supplies for the school year, everything fitting in with what he expected. His charms books, history, transfiguration, potions, and quite a few more defense against the dark arts book than he was expecting, but nothing that looked too daunting. He even had one for divination, a small book on reading portents. There wasn't a book for care of magical creatures, but then he hadn't really used the one Hagrid assigned them, so it would probably be fine.