All is well - A Hinny fanfiction

Chapter 18

Wordcount: 4274

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Harry woke up early the next morning even before his alarm went off. His excitement seemed to keep him from standing still as he moved from the bathroom to the closet and then downstairs for an early breakfast. Unsurprisingly, Kreacher was waiting for him with a full breakfast made. Harry made a mental note to ask Kreacher about elf magic.

"Thank you, Kreacher," he said as he sat down and dug into his eggs and bacon. Following Ginny's advice from earlier that week, Harry took an apple and made short work of it. He had to keep his strength through fruits and vegetables, she had said.

Twenty minutes later, his fiancée slumped her way through the door and sat down opposite him. Harry gave her a beaming smile and a kiss.

"Good morning, Gin," he said. Ginny groaned and made a show of stretching.

"Aren't you a little too energetic? What time is it?" she asked him incredulously. She clearly wasn't a morning person.

"Just after seven o'clock," he answered. He heard her groan again before she started on her breakfast too. "Sorry, I'm just too excited for today. Kingsley told me my performance today determines the level of missions and cases I will be allowed to partake in the future," he explained.

"Don't worry, you'll do great," she assured him. Harry nodded and went back to his breakfast. Twenty minutes later, he stood up and kissed Ginny deeply, walking to the front door. Once outside, he turned on the spot and Apparated to the Atrium in the Ministry. He made a beeline for the golden lifts, thankfully without many people noticing him, and entered the least crowded one.

Once the female voice said "Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Harry stepped out and headed for Auror Robards office. When he got to the desk area, a short, stocky Auror motioned for him to go into a conference room, where their briefing would start before the actual test. He thanked the man and entered the room.

It was relatively large, with a blackboard at the front and a number of chairs set up to look at the podium in front of it. He was relieved to notice that he wasn't the first to arrive. There were two hopefuls sitting nervously near the front of the row of chairs. He noticed Robards was already at the front, looking through some papers as he waited for the room to fill.

When Harry took a seat next to the hopefuls, Robards looked up and offered a nod and smile for the black haired wizard. Harry nodded back and sat straighter as they waited for the rest of the new recruits to show up. Over the next thirty minutes, a total of eight more witches and wizards had trickled into the room and taken a seat. As Robards studied their faces, he nodded and started.

"Welcome, recruits, to the first day of Auror training. Today marks the first day of a long journey which will capacitate you for what's to come with the job. Being an Auror isn't just charging at the bad guys and firing spells," he warned, "The research and paperwork tied to every investigation are just as important as those activities, if not more. Because of this, your training this first year will consist of two parts."

"The first of these will be theoretical lessons with experienced researchers every week. This will consist of two-hour seminars to hone your investigative skills and compliment your practical ones. The second part will take care of the latter. You will also be pairing with an experienced Auror to get a grip of the way things work around investigations and cases," he explained. At that moment, a shy hand went up. When he acknowledged it, a man spoke.

"Excuse me, sir, but how do you decide who we pair up with?"

"Excellent question, McKinnon," exclaimed Robards, "That's what today is all about. Today you will be put through a series of tests and challenges, so that we may measure your skill level. After this meeting is over, you will be subject to an obstacle course, which will change itself according to your respective skills," he told the room. The hopefuls all looked at each other, eager to begin with their training.