aurorharryjpotter:
Home. It’s what’s been on Harry’s mind all morning. Not necessarily the centuries old stones and the storied planks of wood that made up the cottage he kept outside of Plymouth, but rather the people who called it home with him. Although the formidable amount of papers that were rapidly piling on his desk kept him occupied, he was looking forward to spending a bit of time with Ginny at home before continuing about his work day into the afternoon. With his dark jacket wrapped around his shoulders, his shoes click against the white marble in the Auror Office as he opens the door. That’s when he’s stopped by Lisa Turpin. He can almost see his plans flying out of the window. Brilliant.
“Lisa,” he greets. He knows enough about her to call his old classmate by her first name: former Ravenclaw, now prominent prosector. With a drive like hers, she’s a force to be reckoned with and he isn’t going to be the dumb individual who steps in her way. He notices the nervous tilt to her voice, but it’s not urgent enough for him to tell whether or not there’s another fire for him to put out, though, knowing the Ministry these days, it’s completely possible. Then, she mentions it: Emma Burgess’ trial. Harry was the lead investigator and he’s been watching his Aurors collect and sort evidence and facts throughout the past few weeks. While it’s not a huge case by any means, it is connected to the Syndicate, making it a heightened priority of sorts, even if it’s just temporarily.
“Right, then. Come on in,” he says, turning around and reopening the door to his office. His secretary, Mrs. Kirke, gives him a sympathetic look as he waits for Lisa to enter and follows her inside. The office, for the most part, is bare, save for several photos of his family and close friends. It’s the same setup he’s had for years, keeping it minimal since he spent so much time in the field. If not for those pictures, one wouldn’t be able to tell. He takes a seat at his desk– his leather chair is hasn’t even cracked. Motioning for her to sit across from him, he says, “What’s going on?”
.
It’s not even relief that she feels as acknowledges her and proceeds to let her in his office. Instead, it’s the same feeling one might get from marking a task as complete; resigned accomplishment, though lacking all the excitement that’s usually associated with it. Indeed, Harry agreeing to a quick chat is simply be one more thing she would get done today, with a hundred more just waiting for her in her own office. She stifles a sigh.
“I won’t take up much of your time,” she assures as she goes to take a seat. “I just wanted to touch base before the trial, make sure you know what’s going to happen, what sort of questions you can expect, both from me and from the defence, et cetera. Standard stuff, really, but I want to make sure we’re all as prepared as possible. You know how elusive the Syndicate has been.”
She pulls out a folder from her bag, quickly opening it to the relevant page; it’s not the case file, of course, but instead a list of her own notes and observations. “Okay. First of all, I know you’ve done this before so we don’t need to go over how to act on the stand, do we? And considering that you’re you, I guarantee you that you can also expect all kinds of criticisms from the defence. You won’t have to answer most of it, probably, just keep your cool as they bring it up.”
Some paragraphs she skips because it’s semantics and she doesn’t think she has to explain all of that to Harry Potter of all people. Besides, she did promise this would be quick. “Next, the actual questions. Obviously, I’ll ask you about the investigation, the discoveries you’ve made over the course of it, the conclusions you’ve drawn, this sort of thing. Any questions so far?”