All is well - A Hinny fanfiction

Chapter 24

Wordcount: 3762

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The week following Christmas Day was quite uneventful, and Mary spent most of her time hanging out with Molly. She had taken to call her Grandma and Molly had been over the moon about it. Harry came back to work on December 26th, and Robards called him into his office first thing in the morning.

When he entered the Auror office, the solemn atmosphere still hung. No one was exactly over McKinnon's death, especially his partner McGregor. They had become close friends since they were paired together, and Ewan took his death very badly. Harry couldn't really blame him when he got an intense glare from McGregor when he entered the office. He himself felt more than guilty over the trainee's death.

He made his way towards Robards' office and knocked twice. A firm "enter," issued from inside, and Harry entered to find the Head Auror sat behind his desk, face buried in his hands. The curtains were drawn and Harry could see that the gloomy atmosphere had also infected this office.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" said Harry.

Robards composed himself and fixed Harry with a blank stare, "Yes Potter. Please take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of his desk. Harry did as he was told.

"First and foremost, I wanted to ask about that little girl of yours. How's she doing?" asked Robards, not unkindly.

"She's doing great, sir. Fortunately, she recovered quite well," replied Harry, to which Robards nodded.

"I'm glad to hear that. With that out of the way, I would like to make you a proposition."

"Anything, sir."

"I need you to finish training sooner than expected, Potter," Robards informed him. Harry was taken aback but nodded nonetheless.

"How much sooner were you thinking, sir," he replied.

"Before your wedding."

"But sir, I'm getting married in August," said Harry, "Do you mean that you'd cut another year off my training? May I ask why?"

"You may. With the tragic death of McKinnon, King and I have realised that numbers are of the essence within the Auror department. Besides, you're by far our best recruit in the program," explained Robards.

Harry considered this for a moment, scratching the back of his head and looking down at his feet. After a minute, he looked back at the Head Auror, "What would this imply?"

"Well, you would still be running cases with Auror Smith. She tells me you two have become friends?"

Harry nodded. "We have, she's been a great help to me. We had to like each other to survive that four-day stakeout last month, really."

This time, Robards nodded. "Excellent," he said, "As for added responsibilities, I wanna make you another proposition. Would you like to become an Animagus?" he asked.

"Wow, I never really thought about it. But I guess it would be a great skill to posses in the field," replied Harry.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, you will start your training with Auror Evans."

Harry nodded and, after a simple briefing of his added responsibilities, he was dismissed. His first day was spent catching up with Abby and checking out another crime scene. Fortunately, there had been no murder this time; a welcome sight after the previous cases they'd had. The next day, Harry was told to stay after everyone left for home.

After Abby took her leave, Harry made his way to the conference room, where a middle-aged woman was waiting for him, standing by a cauldron. He couldn't see its contents, but a silver mist was issuing from it. Harry took a seat and greeted the woman. She was of average height, with jet black hair streaked with white strands. She had a gentle smile and her hands were clasped in front of her.