The ministry seemed different than every other time he had visited. Sure, there were clearly more witches but there was also a feeling of calmness, almost serenity. Maybe it was a spell cast on the building, maybe it was just the lack of conflict and old hatreds threatening to rear their ugly heads. Regardless Harry was enjoying the tour led by his mother.
"And this is where I work." She proclaimed, pride and a hint of worry in her voice, as if he would be disappointed that she had a cubicle and not an office.
Instead, he looked around in interest at the various objects and pictures. "It's really nice." His compliment seemed to alleviate some of her fears and after another few minutes they continued. Ten minutes later and Lily asked him to wait nearby while she had a quick conversation with one of her coworkers.
It was here, in what he understood to be a department dealing with employment, that he overheard a nearby argument.
"That is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Apologies Lady Lockhart but every position you have applied for is currently taken."
Images came to the boy's mind of how ridiculous 'Gilderoy' had been in his own second year and curiosity quickly got the better of him as he peeked around the corner. Sure enough, there was a woman arguing with a nearby employee, a woman dressed in extravagant robes with 'perfect hair'.
With Riddle teaching Defense Harry wondered if that meant he wouldn't have to deal with the fraud at all.
"There are only two positions currently open at Hogwarts. One for Groundskeeper and the other 'Professor of Magical Creatures'."
From his angle Harry could just make out the scowl on the applicant's face. Clearly neither of those were 'prestigious' enough for her. The clearly younger and unemployed of the two women threw her hands up into the air in outrage. "This is ridiculous, I will not waste my time with…"
That was, apparently, when she noticed him eavesdropping. The anger was gone from her features in a moment, replaced with that almost sickeningly fake charm he remembered oh so well.
"Well well it seems we have a guest. And you are?"
But Harry wasn't a child like their first encounter, wasn't surrounded by other people and confused as to what was going on. "On a visit with my mother."
"Is that so? She works at the Ministry then hm? But where are my manners? My name is Gordana Lockhart. Do you by chance go to Hogwarts?"
Oh no, he wasn't falling for that one, and made no move to answer one way or another. Naturally, that was when said redhead chose to finish her business. "Harry? There you are, is everything okay?"
Lockhart's eyes flickered between them for a moment, smile widening if possible. "Harry? You must be the one that all the papers were talking about then. Abandoned at birth, reintroduced to society as a prodigy, even going so far as to aid in the capture of a criminal."
Two hands went to his shoulders, giving him a slight pull back towards his mother, "Come along Harry, we are just about finished then we can leave."
It was a relief to have someone else put themselves in the middle for once, and the boy-who-lived happily obliged. It was only after they neared their destination that he heard the end of the other woman's conversation.
"On second thought, tell me more about that Professor position at Hogwarts."
Shit
****
The floo roared to life and from those green flames stepped a man that Harry knew from his own life.
"Happy birthday my young goddaughters!" Sirius Black excitedly shouted as his arrival was followed moments later by another woman, seemingly a bit older, and Marie that Harry met the previous year.
He had been ready to run forward and hug the man, when his sisters beat him to it, "Uncle Sirius!" Amy exclaimed in joy, followed closely by his 'twin'. The man laughed happily, kneeling to scoop them both up in a hug.
"Merilyn you two have gotten so big! What in the world are you feeding them?"
The two adult Potters merely smiled from nearby, waiting for their children to go through the greetings first before they would step in. Soon enough, the two moved on towards the other two visitors, "Auntie Sylvie!"
That was a name that Harry certainly didn't recognize. The woman was of average height, with a lovely face that while warm had a reserved smile on it. It reminded the boy all too much of a Slytherin expression and considering that Sirius had likely been told to marry her, didn't surprise him. Still, she hugged his sisters back and seemed kind enough.
"And there's my time traveling godson."
Immediately, James Potter's eyes went wide, "SERIOUSLY!?"
The former Black turned with a grin, "Oh come now Prongs, I'm always Sirius."
"I think what my husband is trying to say is that we gave you one rule Sirius..."
Said man blinked, before turning to look at his family nearby before giving a shrug. "They've known for a while now, what's the big deal?"
James' arms went up into the air with a mixture of annoyance and hysteria. "You weren't supposed to tell anyone!"
Again, his reaction was met with dismissal, only further drawing his ire, "Come on Prongs, you know we don't keep secrets between family."
Surprisingly, the answer calmed the man down, perhaps a bit too quickly Harry noted, "You know what Padfoot? You're right, say Sylvia, did your husband ever tell you about that one crazy time at Hogwarts? The one involving a bit of Firewhisky? It sure is a good story."
Betrayal immediately formed on Sirius' face, "W-we swore to never speak of that!"
"Oh really? Because someone told me that 'we don't keep secrets between family'!"
"Th-that's different!"
"Bullshit is it different!"
As the two men began to argue, their wives ignored them and began their own conversation. "I promise you Lily, despite my husband's lack of tact I have not spoken to anyone else about your son's situation and have pressed upon Marie the importance of doing the same."
The redhead nodded in gratitude, "Thank you, it's been a struggle, maintaining stories, dealing with the rumors, and trying to get used to all the changes."
While the adults conversed, some a bit louder than others, Harry noticed the other three girls walking over to him, the oldest in the lead. "Hello again Harry" she greeted, although the boy noticed she was clearly unsure of how to address him, not that he blamed her.
"Hello Marie, how has your summer been?"
"Relaxing yet productive. I have already started on my classwork for the next year and Mother has stated she intends to purchase me additional materials for my Runes class."
He smiled, it was the type of thing he expected to hear from Hermione, although with considerable less excitement in her voice. Still, he could see a bit of sparkle in her eyes and figured it was as close as he would get to such a reaction. "Sounds exciting, what other elective are you taking?"
"Magical theory and application."
It wasn't something he recalled from his own education, but figured that without the wars maybe they had more staff, or perhaps it was just a random change that stemmed from such a different past. Still, it sounded like something his mother would have taken. "I haven't heard of that class, but I'm sure its interesting."
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