A/N: Although this story can stand alone, it's the sequel to Wrath of Merlin. For those of you who have read Wrath of Merlin, welcome to Act II.

There are political elements to this story - I've never read anything that really takes on the political intricacies of the Ministry, and I have a background in political science, so I thought I'd give it a shot. You'll find allusions to Parliament and Congress, amongst other political institutions. As the story unfolds, I'll make a point of explaining the various roles and elements.

Narrative is mostly third-person - however, on occasion, I'll write from first-person if I specifically want to tell the story from their point-of-view.

AUROR COMMANDER

a Harry & Ginny story

—

I. Yours to Command

"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his."

– General George Patton

Harry Potter woke to the sound of a phone ringing.

"Good morning sir, this is your five o'clock wake up call."

He put the phone back down, and reached for his glasses. Blinking, he peered at the drab surroundings of the Muggle hotel he was staying in, and slowly got out of bed.

One scalding hot shower later, he changed and packed his possessions into a trunk that had seen decidedly better days.

Resolving to find more permanent accommodation in the next few days, Harry checked out of the hotel, and made his way to a small cafe for breakfast.

Through mouthfuls of bacon and a slice of toast, Harry considered the decision he'd been forced to make by Kingsley.

It'd taken him all weekend and a sleepless Saturday night to decide, but now he was ready. Leaving a few pounds on the table, Harry, careful to not place too much pressure on his injured leg, made his way onto the street. Allowing a quick stop to purchase a hot drink from a street vendor, Harry headed towards the Ministry of Magic.

As he reached the Atrium, Harry donned his cloak, pulling the hood over his head. He wanted to avoid being seen by too many people. Stepping out of a fireplace in a flash of green flames, he headed towards the registration desk.

"Good morning sir," a witch greeted, not bothering to look up from her copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Morning," he replied, his face obscured partially by the hood.

"Your wand?"

He rested his wand on the counter as she flipped the paper back to the front page. Harry smirked as he saw an image of himself occupying the main article.

"Name and purpose of visit?" she asked.

"Potter, to see the Minister for Magic."

The witch froze, and looked up, her face a mix of shock and disbelief.

"Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

To her credit, she quickly regained her composure. Pressing a small red button, she spoke into a receiver on her desk.

"Please inform the Minister that Harry Potter has just arrived."

The witch directed him towards a silver doored lift that Harry knew would take him directly to the Minister's offices. He got in, and grabbed for a handhold as the lift shot upwards.

Kingsley was waiting outside the lift when the doors reopened on Level One.

"Harry, it's very good to see you," he grinned.

"Careful Kingsley, you can't be doing your job right if you're happy about something," Harry replied wryly, shaking the Minister's proffered hand.

The Auror-turned-politician let out a hearty laugh as they made their way down the hall.

"Please Harry, I just want to see the look on the faces of the Press Corps when I make the announcement. I'm expecting something along the lines of collective apoplexy."

"What about the Wizengamot?"

"This will do them good. If I'm in luck, half of them will die of shock."

"You don't think they'll try to overrule you on my appointment?"

"If they do, they won't succeed. You still have high public support."

"High public support?"

"We ran a poll on the public's perception of you over the weekend."

"You ran a poll?"

"This is politics."

Kingsley opened the door to his office, and Harry walked in, taking a seat in a chair opposite the Minister's desk.

"I just need you to sign these papers, and then we'll head down to the Auror Office. They're the same as the ones I sent by owl on Saturday."

Harry took a quill and scrawled his signature on the parchment. It gave a golden glow as he finished his name.

"Welcome to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," said Kingsley, a slight tone of satisfaction in his voice.

"Don't be too excited, Kingsley. I might be absolute rubbish at this."

"You were Captain of your Quidditch Team, right?"

"Yes, but how does Quid-"

"Then you've got nothing to worry about. Let's head down."

"Run!"

Nearly there.

"Come on, ladies, this isn't a dance floor! This is professional Quidditch!"

Ginny ran, trying to ignore the pounding ache in her chest.

"Stop!"

Gwenog Jones glared at the group of women, twenty-three in all, as they caught their breath.

"We run ten miles three times a week. The fitter you are, the better you play. And what happens to those who play the best?"

"They win!" we chorused.

"This weekend, we take on the Wasps at Exmoor. I intend to start two rookie Chasers and one rookie Beater. But only if they prove themselves in training. Sure, it's a preseason game. It won't effect the outcome of the season, right?"

"WRONG!" she bellowed.

"The difference between winners and losers in this league is simple. Ask a winner if they think every game matters, and I guarantee you the answer will be yes. Winners, not losers, appreciate the value of every second of game time. Weasley! Why is that?"

Ginny swallowed, and answered.

"Because a second can make all the difference."

Gwenog narrowed her eyes, but then nodded approvingly to Ginny's relief.

"Not bad, Weasley. You're right! A second can change the outcome of a game. A game can change the outcome of a season. A season can change the outcome of a career. Your legacy is at stake, ladies, every time you fly onto that pitch!"

Several of the senior Aurors had gathered in one of the briefing rooms they used for missions. The room was bare aside from a row of stout wooden chairs and a couple of tables.

Other Ministry Departments trended towards the ostentatious, but simple and spartan suited this group just fine.

"Shacklebolt intends to name a new Commander," remarked Albion Stark, a stout man with a greying beard and a twisting scar that ran the length of his right forearm.

"It should be you, Albion. Or Tiberius. You both ranked just as high as Kingsley did when Scrimgeour was the Commander," Marcus Savage replied.

"Agreed," added John Proudfoot.

"It is a fine honour, but it is not our decision to make," replied Tiberius. "It lies, as always, with the Minister. Only way around it is if the Wizengamot overrules the appointment."

"We should submit both of you as candidates for the position," suggested Siobhan O'Reilly. "Then Kingsley can choose between you."

A sharp knock on the door interrupted the conversation and the voice of an Auror Trainee came through.

"Minister Shacklebolt is here. He wants a word with everyone."

The Aurors gathered in the main office, a large open space divided into cubicles. The group of Trainees, not having cubicles of their own, stood together in a corner.

Kingsley stood before them, but most of their attention was directed at the person who accompanied the Minister: Harry Potter.

Looking out at the assembled faces of the Aurors, Harry noticed with disappointment that a considerable number had looks of scepticism and distrust, if not outright dislike.

"For a couple of weeks now, I have put off naming a new Auror Commander. Now, that time has come," announced Kingsley. "I have chosen Harry Potter to succeed Gawain Robards as the Auror Commander."

"WHAT?" shouted one of the Aurors, shocked disbelief written plain as day across his face.

Others too, were voicing similar objections.

"He's not one of us!"

"We can't trust him!"

Harry raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I know I-"

"He knows fuck all about the Auror Office!"

"And you didn't know how to beat Tom Riddle, but I did!" Harry shouted back, frustrated. "I DID!"

They were silent now, some refusing to look at him. Harry cleared his throat and continued.

"How many of you were there when I killed Voldemort? I'm not sure I recognise many faces."

"Have any of you ever seen a Basilisk?"

"A Basilisk?" Tiberius asked.

"Have you?" Harry pressed.

"No," answered the Auror.

"I have. When I was twelve. I killed it with the sword of Godric Gryffindor," the young man replied.

"A year later, when I was thirteen, Remus Lupin taught me how to cast a Patronus Charm. I used it to repel a swarm of Dementors in assisting the escape of Sirius Black, who was coincidentally both your number one target and my Godfather."

"I was thirteen, and the entire MLE couldn't catch him. You couldn't catch him."

"He died when I was fifteen, protecting me against Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries. He was doing your job, right under your fucking noses!"

The room was so quiet you could scarcely hear the occupants breathing.

Harry looked around, as if daring someone to make eye contact, and then continued.

"This last year, I was a part of a clandestine special operation formed to hunt down and kill Death Eaters."

He paused.

"You may have read about it in the papers."

This earned a light chuckle from the room.

"Some of you, I know. You came to my aid, trusted in me when I was betrayed by V. We fought alongside each other. You believed in me then. I'm asking you to believe in me now. I may do things differently. I know little of how you've run things in the past, but I'm a quick learner."

"I am your Commander."

The room was still.

No one made a move, or spoke.

Then Siobhan O'Reilly stood, looking him in the eye and lifted two fingers to her forehead in the Auror salute.

"We are yours to Command," she replied with conviction.

Other Aurors stood around her, repeating her words and her actions.

"We are yours to Command."

"We are yours to Command."

"Done then," replied Harry, returning the salute.

But not every Auror had stood. Around a third of the room had remained seated in protest to his appointment, and the thunderous faces of Albion Stark and Tiberius Hawke were among them.

Harry gave a quiet sigh.

Nothing was ever easy.

"What the fuck are you playing at, Siobhan?" Stark exclaimed.

The witch glared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You siding with Potter! 'We are yours to Command' - what happened to supporting me and Tiberius?"

The Irish witch slammed her stack of paper down on the desk.

"I've got every bloody right to my own opinion, Albion. Potter was right. In comparison to him, we were next to useless in the war. We should be thanking him for accepting the Command!"

"I don't fucking believe this! He changed your mind in under a minute? He's just a boy!"

"You were there, Albion. He's as much a boy as you are! You felt his magic, saw how he fights! He left childhood a long time ago. And for the record, just because I think you or Tiberius would make good Commanders, it doesn't exclude me from thinking the same of Potter!"

"It still doesn't make him an Auror! He doesn't know us, Merlin knows what kind of training he's done…he's an outsider!"

"You don't think he belongs?"

"I've made it pretty bloody clear that I don't."

"Put him on the floor. Training Room One. Let's see him last the Gauntlet," Siobhan suggested.

"What will that prove?"

"If he beats it, then he's as good as any other Auror and deserves to be here."

"And when he fails?"

"Then we'll know for certain he's just human."

Albion made a sound of disgust.

"Fine. For the time being, he's your problem, Siobhan - whilst he lasts. Best show him where his office is, hmm?"

The brunette witch ignored the sardonic remark of her colleague and watched him stalk off. Her better judgement ruled against this. To her head, the very idea of Harry Potter becoming the Auror Commander was surely ludicrous. But her gut felt differently. Her gut instinct was to trust him.

And in a business where gut instinct meant the difference between life and death, Siobhan O'Reilly knew better than to go against her gut.

Harry followed Kingsley into a large office.

"This is yours."

Harry gave a low whistle.

A large oaken desk was flanked by a chair on either side, and a larger leather seat behind it. Bookshelves lined the walls, but sat mostly empty.

"You'll be able to select a range of materials from the Aurors' Library, and bring any magical instruments you may own as well."

But Harry had barely heard what Kingsley was saying. His attention was focused on the shining broadsword mounted on the wall behind his desk.

"That sword…I don't believe it."

"It is as the inscription states. The original Excalibur. It's a magical blade, Harry, of great power. This office is the safest - and most fitting place for it."

"It's Excalibur. Muggles still talk about this blade. To them, it's a myth," Harry said.

"To us, it is very, very real," Kingsley replied, then check his watch.

"I have another appointment. I'm sure I'll see you later today."

Kingsley exited as a new figure arrived: Siobhan O'Reilly. The brunette witch had tied her hair in a messy bun, and wore a proud expression on her features.

"O'Reilly, right?" he greeted her.

"Call me Siobhan," she replied in her Irish lilt.

Harry nodded.

"Alright Potter, let's get you set up proper. Firstly, you have two assistants, both third-year Trainees. In addition, you also have two secretaries. The Trainees will give you all the basics you need to know about us, the secretaries will organise your schedule, your meetings, and keep you on time. I suggest visiting them in MLE reception later today. They will decide who gets to see you."

"Why can't I?"

"Because then you'd waste time deciding who to see, and we can't afford that."

"So I have four people looking after me?" Harry asked.

Siobhan blinked.

"You're the Auror Commander, not one of the bloody imbeciles who works in Accidents and Catastrophes. Yes, you have four people."

"Next: you give a daily security briefing to the Minister. This is prepared for you to review. It's the first thing on your desk each morning. A written report is also given to the Department Heads - but does not contain classified information. You have regular appointments with the Department Heads, and a daily meeting with the Head of the MLE."

"Question: when do I actually do some work?" Harry interjected.

"You're too important to waste on the basic stuff, so I doubt you'll do much in the way of protection detail or regular investigative work with the MLE. That's the job of the rank and file."

"I joined the Auror Office to hunt down Dark Wizards."

"And you will do that, Harry. But this position is so much more than what you did in Wrath of Merlin. You lead this Office. The lives of everyone who is part of it are your responsibility. I want you to understand that," Siobhan said.

Harry nodded, suddenly feeling ashamed.

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't know what quite to expect."

"I understand. Hell of a thing Kingsley wants you to do. He's right, in many ways. The Office is broken. We need to become more efficient. We need to become stronger. You saw earlier how few Aurors we actually have. About a third of our Trainees would be accepted into the Auror ranks under ordinary circumstances, but the graduation rate may reach half."

"What happens to the rest?"

"They get good references for other positions. Most of those will actually reach the requirements needed to pass training, but won't choose to become Aurors. It's seen as a waste of three years by some, but the opportunity for further advancement is highly valued."

"I assume that everyone has specific assignments?"

"Yes. Proudfoot and Jacobs are currently running the protection details. Savage is looking after most of the Trainee work, but we all spend time with them. I teach guerrilla warfare and counter-assault. Stark and Hawke are after a group who've brought a bunch of cauldrons into the country."

"I assume that they're filled with something?"

"We reckon it's Living Death."

"Lovely. What do you do?" Harry asked.

"Well for now, Commander, it looks like I'm looking after you."

Ginny flung the Quaffle with all her might at the left hoop.

"Too slow, Red!"

Gwenog flew over, motioning for her to land.

"Weasley, do you want to start this weekend?" she questioned.

"Of course!" Ginny replied.

"Prove it! Where's the Chaser that broke a scoring record in her last Hogwarts game?" her captain asked, launching back into the air as a Bludger approached.

There's a vast bloody difference between Hogwarts and the League, Gwenog.

Ginny bit back her retort and kicked back into the air.

Harry made his way into Kingsley's office, a scowl darkening his features.

"It's my first bloody day and they're already trying to get rid of me!"

"So I hear," Kingsley replied entirely too calmly for Harry's liking.

"I just heard Eveline O'Donnell ranting to a Prophet reporter. The Wizengamot are trying to overrule your appointment. They're ordering a special vote! I thought you said I had their support!"

There was a knock on the door, and a secretary poked his head in.

"The Wizengamot has been brought to session."

"Thank you. Is the Press Corps present?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. That's all."

Kingsley turned back to Harry.

"Harry, this is the one I've been waiting for. We'll get the votes. I will make those bastards affirm you if it's the last thing I do. Shaw, Magellan, Hopkirk, bloody Eveline O'Donnell - they can complain all they like, but you're keeping this office."

"Easy for you to say. You're not in any danger of going down in the history books as the shortest-serving Auror Commander ever."

"Please Harry, when they put your name in the history books, I think they'll have more important things to write about you," Kingsley replied.

Another secretary entered.

"Sir, Councillor O'Donnell is making a statement."

With a flick of his wand, Kingsley tuned the radio.

"...I urge my fellow members of the Wizengamot to join me in rejecting this pretender to the Auror Office! Minister Kingsley shows both great nepotism and irresponsibility in appointing Harry Potter, who I might add is pending investigation for illegal activities in the covert Operation Wrath of Merlin, to the position of Auror Commander. This Wizengamot will not stand for it! I, personally believe that…"

Kingsley, making a sound of disgust, cut off the wireless.

"I'm going to go down and pummel some sense into them. Wanna watch?"

"Sure."

Kingsley led the way down to the Wizengamot Chamber.

"Now, I will speak in your defence - they're attacking my appointment of you, rather than you directly, so I have to convince them that the right choice was made."

"Was it?" Harry asked.

Kingsley stopped, and looked at the young wizard, his eyes betraying nothing of his thoughts.

"Yes."

They continued, and then paused at the entrance to the Chamber.

"Magellan is presiding today. Follow me in, and take a seat on the left. Follow my lead," instructed Kingsley.

"Follow your lead?" Harry questioned, but Kingsley had already begun to enter.

"Councillors of the Wizengamot, please rise for the Minister for Magic!"

The members of the Wizengamot stood in unison as Kingsley, robes flowing, strode into the Chamber. Harry followed, and took a seat that an undersecretary guided him towards.

No sooner had Harry sat down when Magellan began speaking.

"Minister, Council has been summoned to affirm your appointment of Harry James Potter as the Auror Commander. As is my right as Presiding Warlock, I have decided that the matter is to be considered under urgency. We will now hear representative statements from each side, and then vote. I therefore invite Senior Warlock Shaw to the floor to deliver the dissent."

Shaw stood and tapped his wand to his throat.

"Thank you, Warlock. Today, assembled councillors, I represent significant opposition to the Ministerial appointment of Harry James Potter as the Auror Commander. A mere boy cannot run the Auror Office. A mere boy cannot keep us safe. A mere boy cannot possibly think that he will be supported in such a deluded endeavour."

"You have heard Councillor O'Donnell speak on the blatant favouritism the Minister has shown a close friend and ally - someone who supports the agenda of the Minister, someone who lacks an objective opinion in the role of Commander. There is no denying that Harry Potter is very much one of the Minister's men!"

"Operation Wrath of Merlin was a grave misdemeanour, an unprecedented abuse of Ministerial power. Are we to reward such behaviour by handing over more power, without question? Nay, I say! I vote nay!"

"I request Council to overrule this appointment immediately."

"Minister Shacklebolt, the floor is yours," Magellan said as Shaw sat down.

"Let me ask you, Warlock Shaw, who would you have run the Auror Office? Is the man who defeated Tom Riddle not good enough for you? Is the man who spent a year covertly fighting a war to bring remaining Death Eaters to justice not good enough for you? I wonder, in fact, whether Merlin himself would be of an acceptable standard, so high your requirements seem to be!"

A round of laughter passed through the Chamber, and he smirked.

"Harry Potter is no mere boy. He is one of the finest wizards of our time. And he is the right choice."

"Now, I believe a simple majority is all that is required to determine affirmation or rejection of my appointment. Warlock Magellan asks the matter to be considered under urgency, and I agree. The position of Auror Commander has gone too long unfilled. Let the votes be cast!"

"Objection!"

A murmur of confusion ran around the Chamber.

The wizard who had stood was none other than Magnus O'Brien.

"Warlock, what is the meaning of this?" Magellan asked.

O'Brien spread his hands, and looked around the Chamber.

"I merely have a small objection," he replied placatingly.

A round of laughter went through the Chamber. O'Brien's objections were rarely small.

"Go on."

"The vote cannot be taken by this Chamber in good conscience until we formally welcome our brother to our number. I am talking about, of course, Mr Potter."

O'Brien turned to look directly at Harry.

"House Potter has sat on the Wizengamot for over three hundred years. His is a Noble House, and thus holds a permanent seat."

"The Potter vote hasn't been exercised in twenty years!" said Shaw.

"Well, I daresay the fact that James Potter was murdered close to twenty years ago might have something to do with that, Warlock," O'Brien replied.

"Warlock O'Brien is correct," Magellan replied, his face an unreadable mask. "An issue of conscience supersedes the current proceeding." It was impossible for Harry to tell whether or not the Presiding Warlock approved.

"Harry Potter, please rise."

Harry did.

"Stand forth."

Harry walked into the middle of the Chamber.

"Your oath is magically binding. Please repeat after me: I, Harry Potter, do swear that I will well and truly serve this Council, and I will do so rightfully, in a manner just and in accordance with the magical law as laid down by the First Wizards."

Harry recited Magellan's words.

"And do you swear to serve the magical peoples of Wizarding Britain, to lead and guide them, and from dissension, corruption, and darkness guard them so long as you draw breath?"

"I swear."

"Then in the name of Merlin, rise to the Wizengamot, Councillor Harry Potter."

Ginny

The scalding water cascaded over me and I let out a long sigh. My body was already sore from training just one day. How would I feel after a week?

I wrapped a towel around myself and headed to the dressing room. I arrived to find a few of my teammates gathered around a wireless.

"Listen to this, Ginny. They're talking about your boyfriend," said one of my teammates with a teasing grin.

"He's not my boyfriend," I replied, before taking a seat and listening in.

"…in what is being described as masterful political manoeuvring, Minister Shacklebolt today enjoyed a double success in affirming Harry Potter as the new Auror Commander, and landing a blow on Senior Warlock Shaw's credibility. Tonight we have Ministry Press Corps reporter Jessica Whitley, on the latest from inside the Chamber.

To our listeners out there, let me describe how the Minister went about guaranteeing Harry Potter's appointment. He had Harry Potter sworn in to the Wizengamot. Here it is here:

"Then in the name of Merlin, rise to the Wizengamot, Councillor Harry Potter."

At home, you may be wondering how Harry becoming a Wizengamot member would help his appointment to the Auror Office. Let me explain. One of the unspoken rules, if you like, of the Wizengamot is that they never refuse the appointments of fellow Councillors. In fact, the last time a Wizengamot Councillor was overruled to a Ministerial appointment was 1688. And with Harry Potter becoming one of their own, what was initially significant opposition to his appointment quickly disappeared, with only eleven Councillors voting against…"

"Your boyfriend's the Auror Commander and a Wizengamot Councillor. Impressive."

I scowled at her, but her grin only grew wider.

It was much later. The Auror Office was mostly empty now, as most had departed for the night.

"What do we have on Julius Creedy?" Harry asked Siobhan as he took a seat at her cubicle.

"Erm, just the MLE file. I daresay you know everything we know already," she replied.

"I'd like to see it anyway."

"Are you going to go after him?

"He's a loose end. We need to bring him in."

She nodded.

"I'll have someone bring it to you."

"Thanks."

Harry stood and made his way to his new office, where he turned the wireless on and began to idly flick through the channels.

"…they could do with some improvement to their defence. I just don't see how the Wasps can…"

"…the great Muggle Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who…"

"…that was Warbeck's manager, announcing her new tour…"

"…you're on WWN Two with myself, Rick Summers, and we've got our wand on the pulse of everything going on in the Wizarding World!"

"Look, how was your Monday? Not too bad? Back into work? Not too different from mine, then, I suppose. But you know who had a GREAT Monday?"

"Harry Potter!"

Harry paused in the motion of changing channel and sat down at his desk.

"My sources tell me that by ten o'clock this morning, Harry had been named as the new Auror Commander. Incredible! The youngest ever Commander, who ever lived or will ever live. Sensational stuff!"

"But barely hours into his job, Harry is besieged by his ultimate foe. No, I'm not talking about You-Know-Who, I'm referring to, of course, the Wizengamot."

The studio audience gave a roar of laughter as a clip of Shaw's dissent played through the wireless.

"Well, there's an unhappy wizard. So what is Harry to do? Well, he and the Minister march into the Wizengamot Chamber, and demands to be sworn in to the Wizengamot itself! He's fighting the good fight from within, folks! Such daring! Such…"

Knock knock.

Harry cut the wireless off.

"Come in!"

A nervous looking MLE secretary entered.

"Sir, from Miss O'Reilly, the file you requested on Julius Creedy."

"Thanks," Harry replied, taking it.

The secretary stammered a 'You're welcome' and hurriedly left.

As the blade Excalibur glinted in the magical light behind him, Harry opened the file and began to read.

A/N: A lot of exposition to get the ball rolling, but if you've read Wrath of Merlin then you'll know that the action will be coming fast and furious. Let me know what you think so far.