[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry as Auror, WAS: Rowling tells all

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 173246

From: Ken Hutchinson <klhutch at sbcglobal.net>
>If Harry really meant to end its power by dying a natural death, 
>undefeated by another wizard, then he simply cannot become
>an auror. The risk of losing his wand in a confrontation is just too
>great. It is one of the high points in the conclusion of this series 
>when Harry demonstrates the depth of his understanding of wandlore
>and the depth of his moral sense by making this decision. If Rowling
>goes on to write an encyclopedia in which Harry becomes an Auror
>she will be marring her own work. The Harry I see at the end of DH
>has moved beyond being an auror.
>
>I agree that Harry needs a meaningful job in the WW, but he must not
>take that kind of job.

Bart:
In my line of work (actually, a couple of them), I frequently run into situations that, on the face, cannot be true, yet they are. I therefore have to take a step back and say, "OK, assuming that I am seeing what I am seeing, how can this happen?" I agree with your assessment. And, sometimes, a situation in canon is, in fact, impossible (such as the order of appearance of the victims out of Morty's wand in GOF). However, here, I think it's possible to create a scenario where both we and JKR are right. 

Now, I am not saying that this is exactly what JKR had in mind; in fact, I'd be quite surprised if I was right on. However, this is ONE way that it could have taken place; I assume that there are others.

First of all, let's see where Harry is at the end of the main event. Hogwarts has been badly damaged, but by no means destroyed. There has just been a civil war in Wizarding England (hmmm....nobody will understand WE, and WWE sounds too much like professional wrestling, and WGB sounds too much like a radio station. How about WW!GB?). So, the following problems are left over (not interesting enough for a sequel, but good for fanfic):

1) The Ministry is in a shambles. It's not known who were collaborators, who were imp'd, who were innocent dupes stuck in a bad place (hi, Percy!), and who were trying to fix things from within (hi, Arty!). It's been established that there is no sure way to determine if someone has been imp'd, except if they were acting WAY out of character. 

2) The WW!GB economy is in a shambles. We will have to leave that aside for the moment, because we know too little about the economy.

3) Hogwarts needs major repairs, and a few new staff members. 

So, first of all, I see some international cooperation coming in, and not all of it altruistic. However, I do see a massive effort to rebuild Hogwarts in time for the fall. Most of the teachers survived. However, things will be chaotic at first. Harry, certainly Hermione, and almost certainly Ron, will want to complete their educations. However, Harry is in an interesting place. His symbolic value to the Ministry, if anything, is much higher (because of situation #1 and #2), and, with OOP people in charge, it is a good bet that his position would be real as well as symbolic, especially since Harry will probably STILL make that a condition. 

As I have mentioned before, Harry is currently one of the wealthier members of WW!GB society, having combined the small Potter fortune with the large Black fortune. I'm not saying he's richer than the Malfoy's, but he's certainly on the same order. Meaning that he can live on investments for the rest of his life (George, if he wants to stay in business, will probably end up with Harry as a trusted and completely silent partner). So, he doesn't need to have any kind of salaried position. Therefore, I definitely see him working for the Ministry on a consulting basis (which means that the Dolly the Pink is heading for Azkaban). I could even see Harry helping out with DDA classes, but by no means full time. His experiences with Prof. Snape have, one hopes, taught him that there is still a LOT he can learn. In any case, this could lead to Harry being involved with the Aurors, first on an  advisory basis, and later on an administrative basis, without ever having to actually interact with the perps. Ron would probably make a good Archie Goodwin (with a little memory training), for the fanfic minded. And, based on past history, Ron will probably actually feel sorry that Harry doesn't get to get in on the action, which will help avoid "second fiddle" syndrome.

In any case, as I said, this is just ONE scenario that fits the known facts. There are certainly many more. (As far as Hermione goes, she was always more of a researcher than a theorist or an engineer; I think that law is an excellent use of her talents, in spite of her protestations. 

Bart