Forever Family

Chapter 22

Publish Date: 11/25/18

Harry woke up the next day with a feeling of anticipation. Today was the day he wanted to talk to Kingsley about Auror Roberts. He rolled over to grab his glasses, and noticed that Ginny was already up.

Teddy was still sleeping, because it was still quite early. Harry made his way downstairs, and was greeted by Ginny, who looked very much awake.

"Morning, love." Ginny slid a cup of coffee over to him from across the table.

"Morning." Harry took a sip of his coffee before he started talking again. "I thought about what Hermione said—about telling Kingsley about the case. I think Ron and I are gonna do it today."

"Well, I think that's a good idea. You'll have to make sense of the situation before you can do anything." Ginny checked her watch. "Oh! Harry, I've got to get to practice. You'll be alright dropping Teddy off with Mum, right?"

"I'll be fine, Gin. See you later." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before going to the sink to wash their mugs.

"Tell me how work goes!" Ginny called from over her shoulder. Harry smiled fondly—Ginny never liked when people kept information from her. Once he had gotten Teddy up and safely at the Burrow, he Apparated to work.

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The usual busy Ministry crowds seemed even larger and busier as Harry made his way to the Auror Office. He wanted to talk to Kingsley as soon as possible, but he had to get Ron first.

"Harry!"

Harry grinned as Ron ran up to him. Ron apparently had the same idea that Harry did, because he was just as ready to inform Kingsley of the case.

"What are we waiting for?" Ron asked, his tone breathless and his face flushed. "Let's go!"

The two made their way to the Minister's office as fast as they could. Before long, Harry and Ron were at the door, knocking. Kingsley opened the door, and his face clearly showed that he was not expecting them.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. What can I do for you?" Kingsley asked, eyebrows raised.

"We need to talk to you, Minister. About Auror Roberts."

Reluctantly, Kingsley let them inside. "What is this about Auror Roberts?"

Harry and Ron told the Minister everything, from the moment the case started. They talked about all the late nights, the Head Auror's suspicious activity, and his desire to keep it quiet.

It appeared that Kingsley did not know any of this, because he looked appalled. Once he regained his composure, he began to speak.

"You mean to tell me that our Head Auror has been running a case for months without my permission? And that he has told nobody at all?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir." Kingsley sighed and put his head in his hands.

"This is bad. We don't know why Roberts felt the need to keep this from everyone, but we need to find out." Kingsley thought for a moment. "Wait a minute—did you say that none of you found out the attacker's whereabouts at all?"

"That's right. Despite how long we've been working on the case, we've found nothing." Ron said, clearly confused. This was all it took for Kingsley, though, because he reacted as if he had found the missing piece to a puzzle.

"I think I've got it!"

Harry and Ron looked up at the Minister's suddenly alert tone. "What is it? What did you find out?"

"I can't tell you much now, because it still has to be proven." Kingsley said. "But I can tell you that I think there's a possibility that Roberts might be a Death Eater."

Taking their stunned silence as confusion, Kingsley spoke up again. "Well, you said that the group working on the case found nothing, despite the amount of time spent on it. Could Roberts have been purposely leading you away from the attacker?"

"And that would only make sense if they were working together..." Ron trailed off as he realized what Kingsley was implying.

"But why would you hire a Death Eater as Head Auror?" Harry asked. Surely, the Ministry wouldn't hire a man who might even possibly be a Death Eater?

"Roberts was already Head Auror before Voldemort took control over the Ministry. We had no reason to suspect that he was a Death Eater," Kingsley explained.

The three were silent for a moment, taking in all of the information they had just gotten. Kingsley spoke up again, snapping everyone out of their thoughts.

"It's just a theory, of course. It still has to be proven," Kingsley collected the notes he had hastily scrawled from the conversation. "You two don't need to come in to work tomorrow, but expect my owl once we've figured everything out."

"So...that's it?" Harry asked. "We're just gonna sit and wait until you've proven your theory?"

"That's about all we can do for now. I'll be asking him questions on Veritaserum first thing tomorrow. Thanks for telling me, Harry and Ron."

Kingsley began to walk out of the office, but Harry stopped him. "Minister, wait! What if Auror Roberts really is a Death Eater? What will happen then?"

"Then we'll have to find a new Head Auror, won't we?" Harry could have sworn he saw the corners of Kingsley's mouth turn up in a smile before he swiftly exited the room.

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Harry and Ron both went back to Grimmauld Place, eager to tell Ginny and Hermione what they had just learned. The door opened, and Ginny and Hermione came in.

"Harry, Ron! What's the news with work?" Ginny excitedly made her way to the living room, wanting to hear how their talk with Kingsley went.

Harry began to explain all about their suspicions of Roberts being a Death Eater. The more they talked about it, the more it made sense.

"That would also explain why Roberts didn't want to tell anybody. If they really were working together, Roberts wouldn't want his partner to be found," Ginny announced, finally answering the question that had been bothering them for months.

"It all makes sense, but we still have to remember that it still hasn't been proven yet. We may just be blowing this all out of proportion," Hermione reminded them. 

Always the voice of reason, Harry thought.

"Now we just have to wait for Kingsley's letter," Ron said. "We don't have to go in to work tomorrow. We should do something fun, to take our minds off of all this."

"That's a good idea," Ginny grinned. "Merlin knows you guys deserve it. I don't have practice tomorrow, either."

"We should bring Teddy," Harry smiled, already looking forward to tomorrow.

"I'd love to join you, but I do have work tomorrow," Hermione said. "But if you guys tell me what time you'll be back, I can meet you back here for dinner."

"Sure, 'Mione, that sounds good. We should be back around 5."

Once their plans had been made and secured, Ron and Hermione packed up and went home. Harry knew that he would be anxiously awaiting the Ministry's letter the next day, but he would try to have fun regardless.

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I was visiting family and my computer died and I didn't have a charger. I'm pretty tired right now, so I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't great. I just figured that a mediocre chapter was better than no chapter. Thanks for reading! 💛
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