“Enter.”
Harry closed his eyes and sighed before entering the Minister’s office. He had secretly hoped when he had knocked on the door that the Minister wouldn’t be there “ that he’d be off trying to sort out the mess of the damaged, and therefore abandoned, Ministry, instead of his make-shift office in a couple of old warehouses, long since forgotten about by the Muggles. Harry knew that this was what he wanted, and that he had to do this, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“Ah, Potter. I’m glad you came by.”
“Sir-” began Harry, but was quickly cut off.
“We’ve just had a report in, and I think you’d be perfect for this case, now that you and your family have been released from hospital-”
“Sir-”
“Now, it’s not a long case “ only a week or so “ in Brazil. It’s to raid that house that the children were kept in by Lestrange “ there may be more Death Eaters but-”
“Sir! I’m - I’m sorry for interrupting,” Harry stuttered under the Minister’s blazing glare, “but, I actually came to give you this.” Harry handed the Minister a sheet of parchment.
“A letter of resignation?” asked the Minister with his eyes wide open, dumbfounded. “But… I thought you would want to hunt down the woman who kidnapped your children.”
Harry looked at his feet. “I… I know, but… I don’t think… I’ve seen enough of war, Minister. The Third War, they’re calling it now. I mean… I heard Lestrange; right before she Apparated… you… you know what she said.”
The Minister stayed silent.
It was true, the Minister had been there “ the alarm having been raised shortly after Lillian nearly fell through the veil, causing the surviving members of the Ministry to rush in there, wands drawn…
“I…I mean… I haven’t told the kids,” Harry continued, “or Ginny, for that matter, but you heard what she yelled at me. She wants to be the new Dark Lord. ‘You haven’t won, Potter “ I’ll come back, and there’ll be the biggest massacre this country’s ever seen,’ she said. And I want no part in it.
“We… we found out recently that there was no prophecy about the seven children who were kidnapped. Lestrange only said that to get them to go through the veil “ that spell could have been for anyone, but it was dangerous, they weren’t sure it would work. Therefore, it was safer to let your enemy’s kids do it. The Lupins and my family are targets “ they only brought the other children to stop it from looking too bad for the kids. We’re targets. The Death Eaters are after my family, and Merlin knows what they’d do to them if they had the chance. We’re not getting involved in this war.”
“Okay…” said the Minister, slowly. “Take a holiday. Take your family somewhere nice and hot “ somewhere relaxing. Then, when you come back-”
“I don’t want to be an Auror anymore!”
“-You can be transferred to a different department. What about MIW? I could even get you into Weasley’s department, if you wish.”
Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I… I don’t know, Sir… I’ve seen a lot of bodies and a lot of destruction in my life… I’m not sure whether I want to see anymore.”
“Well, what will you do for a living, then?” Harry gazed out of the window, his eyes rather distant “ not really seeing the busy and polluted Muggle city on the horizon, or the rows and rows of warehouses and factories.
“Ginny and I… we thought it’d be a good idea if… we took the kid’s some place else.”
“What?”
“If we moved away. Out of England. Away from war. I-” he broke off and looked directly at the Minister. “We don’t want them to see what we saw as children.”
“They’ve already seen it.”
“Then they shouldn’t have to see anymore.”
The Minister nodded and stood. He adopted a friendly, joking grin. “So, you’re running away from the war “ not the brave seventeen-year-old you once were, eh?” Harry smiled.
“No, I’ve grown up since then. I just want what’s best for my family.” The Minister nodded again, and held out his hand. Harry shook it.
“I’ll miss you being here, Potter. You were a good Auror. Brought in some fantastic results. Where d’you think you’ll go?”
“Ginny and I wanted to go to America, but the kids were fonder of Australia. I think they were attracted by the wildlife.”
“You always spoil them “ Australia it will be then?”
Harry nodded. “Yes, probably. Ginny has some relatives over there, so we should get through immigration okay. We’re thinking Cairns. Or Townsville.” The Minister smiled some more and let go of Harry’s hand. He lay back in his chair, placing his elbows on the arms and surveying Harry over fingers that were just touching, in a curved arch.
“I guess this makes you and your family refugees.”
“I guess so.”
“Good luck.”
“Thank you.”
***
The Potters knew that it would be hard. It would be hard to leave the rest of the Weasleys and it would be hard to leave Hogwarts. But, they wouldn’t stay in a country at war. Not when they knew they’d be at the centre of it.
They had managed to fix a “leak” to the press, saying that they were going somewhere mountainous “ the only people who knew where they were really going were the Weasleys, the Lupins and the Minister for Magic.
They planned to have a month’s holiday there first, before looking for a house. From Townsville, they planned to spend a fortnight in Cairns, then travel back and spend another fortnight on Fraser Island. Then, and only then, would they try and find a house.
Bellatrix Lestranges’ house in Brazil was raided, and they found several rolls of parchment, dating back to two day’s after Voldemort’s defeat, planning every detail of the Flame-filled night. One piece of parchment even contained early drafts of the fake prophecy, some of which rhymed, but sounded rather cheesy. Evidently poetry was not Bella’s strong point.
Arthur Weasley’s funeral was a quiet, private event, although it was greatly publicised by The Daily Prophet , much to the family’s distaste. It was after that funeral the Potter’s decided to leave the country “ reports already coming in of Death Eaters murdering Muggles and razing villages and towns to the ground.
The children were sorry to leave their friends, but they knew that they were at an easy age, and they would make more quickly. Besides, they could always write, and Harry had promised that they would visit back regularly.
Now, the family could only wait in anticipation as the time came ever closer…
***
Astro, Lillian’s grey cat “ now fully grown up from a kitten, purred contentedly on her lap as she sat in the back seat of the Ministry car, waiting for her dad to load the last suitcase into the boot. Her mother spun around from the front passenger seat to look at her three, nervously excited, children.
“So, you guys ready to go down under?” she asked, her eyes twinkling. They all nodded, big grins across their faces.
“It’s just a short drive to the Muggle airport, and then we have a twenty-two hour flight, followed by six hours driving before we get to Townsville.”
“I still don’t get it “ why can’t we just Apparate?” asked Sirius. Jamie sighed loudly.
“Mum’s only told you about a million times, Siri “ it’s illegal to Apparate inter-nationally. And to Floo.”
“But it’s going to be really boring! All those hours, sitting down?!”
“There’ll be movies on the aeroplane,” said Lillian, vaguely, scratching Astro behind the ears.
“What are movies?” asked Jamie.
“They’re a Muggle invention. They’re like pictures, only with sound. They tell stories. Gran… Granddad showed me one once.” There was silence at her words, and Ginny desperately cast around for another subject.
“What kind of house do you want when we get there?” That perked them up.
“It has to have a swimming pool!” said Jamie, gleefully.
“It has to be near a beach!” shouted Lillian, her eyes alight with excitement.
“And near Ayers rock!” piped in Sirius.
“Ayers rock is in the middle of a desert, idiot,” teased Jamie, “we can’t be near the beach and Ayers rock.”
“Fine “ near one of the rainforests then “ are they near the beach?” Ginny nodded.
“Yeah, there are a few near Townsville. We can maybe get a smaller house in a rainforest.” Lillian blinked.
“No. I don’t want to go to a rainforest. Can’t we just stay at a beach? Or… or the outback? Just… just not a rainforest.”
“Alright. We have to be near a beach then “ so we can go swimming in the Great Barrier Reef everyday!”
“Oh, dream on, Siri “ there are sharks and jellyfish and crocodiles and all sorts,” said Lillian.
“Cool! We have to go there, then!”
“Yeah, mum, I want to feed Lillian to a crocodile!”
“Get lost, Jamie!”
These playful arguments and suggestions carried them all the way to the airport, where they began their journey to a new start. A new life. Away from the horrors and hardships of war, away to a new school and a new town, away to a new environment “ a peaceful, calm, unadventurous environment. Whatever. Since when have the Potters managed to stay out of adventures?
~The End. For now…
Oh. My. Salazar. That’s it. It’s done. It’s finished. My WIP is now completed.
It has been so much fun writing this, and I’d like to thank every person who has contributed to over 400 reviews, making me feel very loved. When I look back on the early chapters I feel like dying from embarrassment “ you can really see how I was a first time writer, and how inexperienced I was “ e.g. my lack of knowledge about clichés. CoughHarryandGinnyhavetwinsandcallthemLillianandJamiecough.
However, the past few chapters have really flourished, and I feel proud to say that it’s all because of my plot bunnies “ Benji and Kevin. God bless those bunnies.
A sequel is in the planning stages, and will be about Sirius’s first year at an Australian school of magic. :D
Can’t wait to see y’all then!
~Evie
The Third War by dumbledorefluertwins
Chapter Notes: Sorry for the long wait, but this is it. The last chapter. :) :( :?