The next morning was a bright one. There was a wisp of romantic mischief in the air, although Harry doubted it was because of his current mood.

Lying beside him, with a peaceful smile as if she were dreaming of something calming, was the girl he proclaimed as the love of his life: Ginny Weasley. So nice.

He did not wish to wake her, unfortunately he had to. "Gin? Wake up. Please?" he whispered in her ear. She hummed in annoyance, before her eyes fluttered open. "Morning."

"G-good morning." She yawned, sitting up and straightening her hair. Harry's eyes followed the action, mesmerized. "Are we going to get late to work today as well, Mr Punctual?" She teased, grabbing his collar playfully. He grinned in response, just letting the silence speak to her. I love this. This is nice.

"I wish I didn't have to go, y'know."

"But you have to if you don't wish to be sent on another mission far from your lucky charm."

"Yes ma'am."

The ministry was bustling with activity. Young witches were busy chatting near the apparition ports with the wizards trying to maneuver around the groups. Some of the women were trying to get an order by sending crimson sparks into the air. Harry assumed them to be the group of people aspiring to be recruited in Law Enforcement.

He had heard that the process of Ministerial staffing, when it came to the executive departments, was similar to the Muggle process: staring from preliminary screening to a medical examination. The Boy-Who-Lived was rather anxious about having to go through the medical examination after his Auror training and placement came to an end.

"Hullo, Harry!" the lift attendant, a kind lady in her late sixties, chortled. Harry smiled at her addresal. It had taken a lot of time on Harry's part to convince her to call him by his first name.

"Good morning, Mrs Hawke."

"How have you been m'boy? I heard from Asa that you met with an accident?" She turned to him, slamming the lift shut with just another bloke - a peon - with them. Harry found no sort of negative aura from the peon, so he confessed.

"Yeah. I'd been sent to catch Snatchers. Guess they caught me, instead. If it weren't for Miss Camberley, Arren and a certain rabbit foot, I've no idea where I'd be."

The lady nodded, seemingly absorbing the audacity of a rabbit foot helping him out. Guess she thinks anything and everything would help Harry Potter.

The bell chimed, as if to confirm Harry's internal monologue. "The landing is here. Hope you feel better soon, Harry."

"Thank you, ma'am."

I could only hope. The board reading 'Head Auror' in black bold made him swallow a frightened gulp. With clammy hands, he rapped his knuckles on the oak door.

It was answered by Robards' assistant, Asa Sheldon, who opened the door wide upon seeing him. Harry gave the young man a nervous smile before entering the office. His eyes sought for the mirror which had been broken last time; it was in one piece now.

"Ahem."

The black-haired boy felt a wave of déjà vu rush through him at the sound of Robards clearing his throat. "Good morning, sir!" Harry's voice came out rather hoarse, causing him to grimace. Get your damned nerves under control, Harry Potter!

"Morning, Potter." The reply was nonchalant, but Robards' penetrating stare seemed rather serious. "How are you feeling right now?"

"I'm fine, sir."

Robards nodded, his lips thinned to form a frown. When he spoke the next time, Harry was surprised to hear words that were not reprimanding or berating him. "I heard from Mr Ross and Miss Camberley that you single-handedly caught five Snatchers and dealt a great deal of damage to another. That is, of course, not something to be hyped about seeing that came from two Rookie class Aurors.

"However, your deeds cannot go to the drain. To appreciate that, here's a certificate." A parchment was thrust into his hands and Harry unfolded it. His eyes widened at the wordings on the aging page. Written in clear, black bold ink were the words, 'Auror Training: Passed'.

With disbelief about skipping an entire process of selection, Harry looked up at a smiling Robards. "Ah, don't grow a big head, Potter, but the Minister saw it fit to do that. Not me. Either way, congratulations. You'll be taken to the orientation programme tomorrow by my assistant. Before you leave, Potter, bear in mind the lesson of punctuality, will you?"

"I'll never forget it, sir!"

"You're not wearing it?" Harry looked up from the ladybug charm he was fiddling with to meet eyes with Ginny. She sat beside him, her sleeves brushing his arms.

After being dismissed from the Ministry, Harry had owled her to meet him at a local park near the Burrow. He wanted to break the news first to her.

"No, really. They just remind me of all the wrong decisions I took last week," he replied, scratching his neck. Her opinion and forgiveness mattered the most to him.

In response, Ginny snatched the charm from his hand, and gently tying it around his wrist, spoke, "Just think of them as a nightmare and forget it. Holding onto such memories will do you no good. Learn the lesson and move on, Harry. You have so many people who care about you. And unless you're gonna perform as the stupid, noble Harry Potter, you won't lose one person who adores you." Harry felt an odd sense of urge to chuckle.

"I s'pose." Silence reigned. The type of silence in which there was negligible need for communication to understand what words could never convey. Deep brown pierced his soul like a lingering touch of ice, reigniting the essence of passion that had been dormant for quite a while.

Then, as if it had all been orchestrated by Cupid himself, the pair spoke in unison. "I love you." Harry felt the monster in his chest purr in bliss when Ginny fell into his arms in a loving embrace. Butterflies fluttered, not in his stomach but around them, in a dance signifying the meaning of rebirth of a love that could never be broken ever again. Not even by misfortune.

~Fin~

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