I pause outside of the door, my fist freezing mid-air before it connects with the wooden barrier. I could turn around, and go back to my office. Wait for them to threaten me. Like they could do anything, right? Aside from fire me, but they wouldn't do that... not when so many of us had just been killed in the war. No, I can't let my mind go there right now. They need as many aurors they can get. I take a deep breath and raise my fist back up, knocking three times on the dark wood.

"Enter," I hear a deep voice say from the other side. I turn the doorknob and enter the large office. "Ah, Ms. (Y/L/N)."

"Good afternoon, Minister," I respond, closing the door behind me.

He smiles at me, and says, "You're perfectly welcome to call me Kingsley, if you'd like. I'm only Minister when acting as Minister. For the purposes of now, I'm Head of Magical Law Enforcement."

I force a small smile in response. He sighs, and sits in the large chair behind his desk, gesturing to another across from him for me. I reluctantly walk forward, and sit in the chair, smoothing my skirt behind me.

"You know why I've asked you here, yes?" he asks. I nod, and the memories from the war come flooding back... I was still new to the auror office, only been there a year myself. And every new auror has a partner, especially ones as young as I am. My partner–my best friend–had been killed in the war. A stray "Avada Kedavra" from Bellatrix Lestrange herself, meant for someone else, had hit him square in the back. I feel my throat start to close up thinking about it, and I snap back to attention on the Minister–or.. whatever.

"I assume you have someone in mind, then?" I ask, a little too sassily, and I instantly regret it. But Kingsley smirks slightly, despite my attitude.

"I do," he says, and he passes a file across his desk. A... a rather thick file. Great. Not only were they forcing a new partner on me, it was going to be someone with one hundred times the experience. An insufferable know-it-all, constantly telling me what I'm doing wrong. I knit my eyebrows together, and reach for the file, flipping open the top cover. My jaw drops when I read the name and look at the accompanying picture. I glance back up at my boss, who's now smirking at me.

"Since when is he an auror?"

"Since this morning. Passed all of his tests with flying colors." He's grinning now, clearly proud of his new recruitment. But I don't smile back. And his grin falters. "I don't expect enthusiasm, (Y/N), but I do expect you to be welcoming."

I nod. "Why me? Why not give him to someone... more experienced?"

Kingsley chuckles emptily. "After this war, are any of us inexperienced? I believe you two will be a good fit."

"What about his friend?" I ask, remembering the red haired boy always hanging around him.

"Mr. Weasley has not completed his training quite yet." I nod again. Goodness gracious, why can't I just look him in the eye? I force myself to, and see nothing but kindness reflected in his face. I sigh, helping myself to relax a bit.

"Alright," I say, "When does he start?"

Kingsley smiles in a I-knew-I-could-count-on-you sort of way, and responds "Tomorrow."

"Well, then." I stand up out of my chair, smoothing my skirt again with one hand, and taking the file in the other, waving it slightly, I say, "I guess I better get reading up on the Boy Who Lived."

It had been almost a year since Harry had become my partner. I'd have to be lying to say he wasn't a good one, because there was no doubt about that. He was an excellent and natural auror, especially for one so young. But to say that he drove me crazy was an understatement.

I expected that once his friend got through training, he'd be reassigned and they'd be partners instead. After all, I'm 20 now, it's not like I'm some teenager who still needs a partner. But no. It turns out, Hermione Granger is also an auror now, and she and Ron were automatically assigned as partners, being engaged and all. So I was stuck with the golden boy.

"You don't get it guys, the girl is crazy," Harry whisper-yelled, leaning against the doorframe of Ron and Hermione's joint office. The two shared a look, Hermione smirking slightly, before turning back to her paperwork.

"Yeah? How's that, mate?" Ron asked, perching his chin on his fist.

Harry froze, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Well, she–she's always wearing heels. And she works constantly."

Hermione looked back up at him, tilting her head with an eyebrow raised, before turning to her fiancee. "Is that what makes a girl crazy, Ronald?"

Ron grinned at her, "Absolutely not, darling." He then turned back to his best friend. "Honestly, mate it could be worse. You could've gotten stuck with McLaggen."

Harry shuddered at the thought and turned his head at the sound of clacking heels against the tile floor, only to see (Y/N) coming down the hall carrying a small stack of files and headed toward the very doorway he was leaning against.

"Oh bloody–she's coming this way," he says, standing up straight, and re-buttoning his blazer. Hermione giggled and shook her head, looking back down at her paperwork.

(Y/N) appeared in the doorway only moments later, and turned to Harry, a slightly bemused look on her face. "Thought I'd find you here. Lucky." She turned to face the other two as well. "Looks like the four of us have an assignment together," she said, passing a file to each of the others.

Hermione, took hers and flipped it open, "Merlin's beard, an actual arrest. Haven't gotten one of those in a while."

"Why all four of us?" Harry asked, cocking an eyebrow at the girl in front of him. (Y/N) shot him a look of annoyance, and turned to face him.

"Kingsley's worried some others may be hiding out at his place," she explained. "He wants us ready in an hour."

She turned to leave, only to realize Harry wasn't following, and she turned back to look at him, an eyebrow cocked. "You coming?"

"In a bit," he replied. She nodded, and turned sharply, hair flipping behind her, and stalked off, and Harry found himself watching her as she walked away. This did not go unnoticed by his two friends, who were smiling knowingly at each other.

"Bonkers, right?" Harry said, turning back to the other two.

"Whatever you say, mate."

"Bloody hell, this is not happening," (Y/N) said, pacing the cellar. A light scoff came from the darkness to her left, and she turned to face the source. "What? Does this happen to you often? Getting trapped in cellars where apparating is impossible?"

"Honestly, I didn't know there was another cellar like this outside Malfoy Manor," Harry said, shrugging, his hands in his pockets, and leaning against the bars.

"How can you be so casual about this?!" she whisper-yelled, running a hand through her hair in agitation. He rolled his eyes, and then locked them back on her. "There's got to be another way out of here."

"Would you stop pacing, please?" he asked in an exasperated tone. She glared at him.

"You know, maybe if you'd actually be some help, we'd get out of here sooner," she snapped back. "Or maybe you just enjoy being trapped in a cellar with me?"

"I can think of worse company," he replied quietly, rolling his eyes again, and she froze, not sure she heard him correctly.

"Come again?"

He sighed and turned to her, pushing off of the bars, and not quite making eye contact. She could see him fidgeting slightly in the dark. "I know losing him was hard for you. Trust me, I know."

She felt her heart ache at the mention of her old partner, and her eyes began to sting as tears formed and blurred her vision. She crossed her arms in front of her–her way of protecting herself from the memories.

"But neither of us could have asked for a better partner. He was really lucky to have you while he was here."

A small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you, Har–"

"I'm not done quite yet," he said, cutting her off. "Just let me say this, alright?"

She froze yet again, and then nodded slowly.

"I know it was hard for you to be assigned a new partner. And I wish they'd've given you more time. But, selfishly, I'm glad they didn't." He finally looked up into her (y/e/c) eyes, and seeing them staring back at him made let out a light chuckle, and he shook his head. "This is going to sound ridiculous. But it can't sound more ridiculous than I feel right now, so what the hell, right?"

She took a forward, a sudden impulse to be closer to him washing over her. "Go on, then," she whispered.

A small smirk spread on his face as he looked back up at her. "I've been falling for you since my first day, (Y/N)," he confessed, finally locking eyes with her, and not taking them away again. She felt herself inching towards him, and noticed that he was too. They were only a couple of feet away from each other now.

"You have?" she asked, stepping even closer to him and slowly unfolding her arms.

The grin began to grow on his face. "I have," he replied. Several inches of space were all that was left.

"Well, then," she said, her eyes flickering down to his lips momentarily. She slowly reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder, and pulled him in gently to close the remaining distance.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her against him, as he leaned forward, connecting his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. His other hand found the back of her neck, and he applied a little bit of pressure, deepening the kiss ever so slightly.

"Oh, finally!" Harry and (Y/N) sprang apart, and looked through the barred door to see Hermione and Ron at the top of the stone stairs and smirking down at them. "It's about bloody time."