Disclaimer: I own nothing…

A/N: Well, this is my second story… I don't know if I'm going to continue, it kind of depends on how many reviews I get… It's a bit angst-y… Give it a while, it'll get better… As far as for where Ron is, it'll all be explained later in the story… BTW check out my other stories "Unconditional Love" and "Prophecy"… Well, hope you like it…

**I have been getting a few complaints about this story. I would like to clear a couple of things up before you read it. Lexi is NOT a Mary-Sue. If you would read past the first chapter, you would realize that she is, in fact, a unique character. Another thing, Harry is this way for a reason. He's not a jerk, he really does have good intentions. He has every right to be arrogant, but you have to keep reading to find out why. This is not a characterization mistake on my part, he's no more of an ass than he is in the fifth book.**

"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived: New Love on the Horizon? See page 3," Harry read aloud off of the cover of "The Daily Prophet" one early Monday morning from his one bedroom flat in Hogsmeade while sitting in the chair at the kitchen table. It was a gray, cloudy morning and he was in no mood to read gossip about him in some stupid newspaper. He sighed and subconsciously flattened his hair to hide lightning shaped scar on his forehead. A scar that was the constant reminder of the curse that had killed his parents when he was a baby.

"Yeah, new love my ass," He muttered under his breath as he took a long sip of coffee.

At twenty-three, Harry was just starting out work for the Ministry of Magic as an auror. He had been working for a year after training for four years. In his seventh year, there had been duel between himself and Voldemort, the wizard who had cast the curse that killed his parents. Harry had always been the only person who could ever defeat the wizard. Eventually, Voldemort had returned to power and the time had come for he and Harry to end the terror that had been going on the wizarding world. Harry had won, making the wizarding world a safe place once again. He had, however, not escaped from Voldemort without any loss. After five years, Harry still woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, blinking back tears from the nightmares he had about that night. Many other people had died between the time when Voldemort came back to power and when Harry slayed him. Innocent lives, ruined by the hating soul known as Voldemort.

Harry had been single and bitter since he left Hogwarts. He did not love anyone, for to love someone was to give them power over your feelings and emotions and eventually your very life. He had gone through to many heartbreaks to fall for that. No, that was not the road for him. Eventually, he knew that he would have to learn to love someone, but now was certainly not the time to worry about it; a year was hardly enough time to settle in to a new life and career.

Harry looked around his small, cozy flat. The white walls, the red sofa, the large, black recliner, the beat up cork coffee table; they were all signs of home to him. The kitchen was small and just through the living room was a small, warm, comforting bedroom and a bathroom. Simple and comforting was one way to describe the flat.

A quick glance at his watch told Harry that he had to apparate to work in fifteen minutes. Looking down at his clothes, he realized that he was still in his sleep clothes. He threw the toast he was eating down onto a plate and ran into his room to change. After throwing open the closet doors, he pulled on pants and a shirt, put on a tie, put on socks, laced up his shoes, and finally pulled on his robes. A glance into the mirror above his dresser told him that his hair was even more messy than usual. After trying for a good five minutes or so, his hair still looked dreadful.

"Screw it," Harry muttered to himself, running into the tiny bathroom to brush his teeth. Another glance down at his watch told him that it was time to apparate to work. With a snap, he was gone.

"Today, we're getting a new batch of aurors to train. You are to interview, assess, and inform them. Most of them are just out of school. Try your best to give them an accurate account of what being an auror is all about. Each of you have been assigned a person and their brief history you will find in a manila folder on your desk," Mr. Edwards, the head of auror offices told the group of young aurors in front of him in one of the Ministry of Magic's conference rooms. It was a drab, gray place and Harry couldn't wait to get out and do what he had signed up for as an auror. Mr. Edwards was an older man who had grown too old to continue his work on the field. He was now working above a group of young aurors who were too inexperienced to work in the field.

"So, in other words, tell them that it's just a crapload of paperwork and a coffee pot that is always empty?" Harry muttered under his breath to his best friend and fellow auror, Hermione Granger who was standing on the side of him.

"It's not like we're going to be working in the office forever," Hermione said with a giggle. Hermione was a petite, slender, brown eyed, brown haired, intelligent girl. She and Harry had been best friends since their first year of Hogwarts. Boy, had she changed since then. She was more relaxed and her hair was no longer busy, but sleek and shiny, she had a deep tan and was engaged to her long time on and off boyfriend, quidditch superstar, Viktor Krum. During one of she and Victor's off times, Harry and Hermione had tried to pursue a relationship only to find that they were absolutely intolerable as a couple.

"Not forever, just until we retire," Harry remarked with a sigh, "Oh well, might as well go find out who the little brat is," Harry said, walking off towards his tiny cubicle and plopping down in the desk chair directly across from the doors. It was an average cubicle; cramped and boring.

The new trainees were always the same. They were cocky, spoiled, and never made it past the first two or three months.

A quick glance inside of the folder revealed that his trainee was an American female named Lexi Reagan.

"Well, Ms. Reagan, looks like I'll soon have the pleasure of destroying your dreams of being an auror," Harry said as he dropped the folder back on his desk, propped his feet up on the desk, and began rubbing his temples. With a sigh, he looked at his watch, "Well, well, not very punctual now, are we?" Harry said as he discovered that she was already almost two minutes late.

"Mr. Potter, I was told that I was to speak to you when I got here," A female voice said.

"You're already late," Harry growled, eyes still shut.

"Or maybe your clock is early?" She asked sweetly.

"You're Lexi Reagan, are you not?" Harry asked, finally opening his startling, green eyes.

"The one and only," Lexi answered, reaching out to shake her hand. Upon opening his eyes, Harry saw a tall, slender, blonde haired, blue eyed, presumably eighteen-year-old female. She did not look normal though, the underneath of her long blonde hair was dyed black and the blonde part of her hair had red streaks. She was wearing baggy, cargo khakis, a black tank top, and black skateboard shoes. Her hair was down and straight, halfway down her back.

"Please, sit down," Harry said, trying to conceal his surprise at her looks.

"Of course," Lexi said, taking a seat across from him in the standard issue office chair.

"So," Harry said, pulling her file closer to him and glancing down at it, "It says here that you attended a wizarding school in America?"

"Yes, the one, the only wizarding school in America," Lexi said.

"And that your parents are muggles?" Harry asked.

"Yes," She answered defensively.

"Hey, no reason to get offended, my mum was muggle born as was my best friend," Harry said offhandedly, "So, I'm supposed to interview you. How about you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Ok," She said confidently, "I went to the Salem Institute in Boston. I graduated with top grades and now I'm here at the best full auror training center in the world. I plan on living and working in Britain after I finish training." Lexi said, crossing her legs and looking bored.

"Why an auror?" Harry asked.

"Because I like a challenge," She said, cockily.

"A challenge? Yeah, spending the first ten years of your career behind a desk and then spending the rest of your life in fear of being killed by some idiot who thinks that some loser guy should have worked free is a challenge. Fighting dark wizards and fearing for your life the entire time, knowing that at any moment you could make one minor mistake that would cost you your life and the lives of dozens of other innocent people is a challenge," Harry heard himself say. He was getting quite annoyed with her attitude. Looking down, he realized that he was now sitting with his hands clenched and resting on his knees.

"Yeah, I think so," She said with a haughty smile.

"Well, take my word for it: it's not a challenge. It's a death fight. If you think this is simply a challenge, I suggest you stand up and walk out of this room and never bother me or this office again," Harry snapped. His first impression of her was that she was very attractive, but her naïve attitude made him want to strangle her. She just sat there, staring at him with one perfectly plucked, blonde eyebrow raised.

"As touching as your little speech was, I don't get scared off so easily," Lexi said sarcastically while smirking and looking very relaxed.

"Well, then, waste the next four years of your life here and then realize that you can't handle the pressure. It's really your decision," Harry said in an annoyed tone.

"Mmk, I think I'll take the latter. Can I ask a question?" Lexi asked.

"Depends," Harry said.

"Well, according to what you've said, you haven't spent any time on fieldwork yet, but you sounded so knowledgeable when you told me what it was like fighting dark wizards. Why is that?" Lexi inquired looking him dead in the eyes.

"The details are too horrendous for your ears," Harry said, flashing her a fake smile.

"Oh, no, I'm sure that they aren't," She said certainly, leaning forward in interest.

"Fine, if I tell you maybe you'll realize you aren't made for this job—" Harry began, hands still clenched in his lap.

"How do you know I'm not made for this job? You've known me for less than an hour," Lexi argued, snapping up and looking at him in annoyance.

"Well, I can more or less guess what you're really like. Daddy's little girl, perfect family in a cookie cutter house, only child, who's been guarded and sheltered her entire life," Harry said with a bored tone, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet on the desk again.

"You have no right to judge me. You don't know me. As a matter of fact, just being fueled from a need to prove you wrong is enough for me to make sure I become a damn good auror. So, answer my question or don't, but quit taunting me," Lexi said in an angry voice, putting her hands on her hips.

"Fine, sweetie," Harry said sarcastically, "Have you ever heard of a wizard by the name of Voldemort?"

"Yes, I think I've heard that name somewhere before," Lexi said in a bored tone of voice.

"Well, he was the second most powerful wizard alive for a while. He more or less made a sport of killing people and when I was seventeen I defeated him for the last time," Harry said, breezing over the more horrific parts of the story.

"Why you?" Lexi asked. Most people would be amazed by this story, but obviously not her.

"None of your business," Harry snapped, closing the subject.

"Were you planning on working through lunch?" Came the voice of Hermione. Harry looked up to see Hermione standing in the doorway of his cubicle and leaning against the doorway with a smile.

"No, just finishing a bit of work up," Harry said, glaring at Lexi.

"Well, I'm ready to eat. Come on before I have to drag you out of your chair," Hermione said still smiling.

Minutes later, Harry and Hermione were seated in a crowded pub eating lunch. So far, it had mostly been silence. Hermione seemed to be able to sense that Harry wasn't in the mood to talk.

"So, how was your student?" Hermione asked, setting down her drink.

"Absolutely insufferable. And yours?" Harry asked throwing down his half eaten sandwich.

"She's great and very enthusiastic. That's a bit odd though, when I met Lexi earlier, she seemed very kind and intelligent," Hermione said with a puzzled look as she took a sip of her drink.

"Well, don't expect me to figure out why the bloody hell she's so annoying," Harry said, looking around the scruffy pub.

"You're a cup full of sugar today, aren't you?" Hermione asked with a smile playing around the sides of her lips.

"Yeah, sugar that's gone bad," Harry semi-argreed with a half smile.

~~Well, I hope you liked it and if you did, go review cuz I won't continue if no one likes it!~~