Story of a Paper Pusher

Andrew was what people would call a 'Paper Pusher'

Well, the title said Senior Executive Clerk in the Takeon Telephone Communication but regardless of how fancy the title sounded, the only thing he did all day was keep records, accounts and undertake other routine administrative duties.

All the while making sure that the army of Paper Pushers working under him don't fuck it up some how.

And he was tired of this life.

Hell, the only reason he had got this job was because his lovely wife had asked her brother, who was the manager of this branch of their company, to land him a job.

And Andrew was grateful for that.

And he was grateful for his lovely wife and his two beautiful daughters.

But no matter how much gratefullness he wanted to be toward his job, at the end of the day when he left the office and went home, he always felt empty.

And there was a good reason why he felt so.

Because there was no magic in his office.

Yes, Andrew was a wizard. A rather talented and powerful one at that. And when he had graduated from Hogwarts, he had done so with great marks and a shine in his eyes and he was sure that he would do something great in his life.

All of those plans came crashing down when he began to date on of his classmates whose grandfather was Pureblood Bigot and had some pull in the ministry.

That Pureblood Bigot especially didn't like the fact that his precious granddaughter was frolicking around with a Mudblood boy.

And by the end of month, he had lost his job that he had worked for his whole life.

Not only that, but all of his other prospects of getting a job were cut off as well and by the end of this whole situation, he realized that if this keeps going on, then he would probably have to find a job as a waiter in the Leaky Cauldron.

Before the end of the second month, because of the pressure put on her by her family, his girlfriend broke up with him.

That heartbreak was the last straw that broke the break of the camel and he decided that he would rather live in the muggle world where he would at least be treated like a fellow human being instead of a 2nd or 3rd class citizen.

The problem was that once he came back to the muggle world, he realized that he had no muggle education and was wholly unsuited for any sophisticated job in this new world.

So he worked as a salesman for a few months before he became an assistant in a library.

The pay was decent and he lived a good enough life with that pay until one day, he met the woman who would be his wife.

But as his family increased, so did the expenses. And after her first delivery, they realized that his simple job as an Assistant in a library just won't cut it for them.

So now here he was.

A Paper Pusher who had practically been doing the same thing every day for the past few years.

And he felt empty.

Empty because he knew that he was capable of so much more than this.

That if he could only return to the magical world. If he could only show those people what he could do, then maybe someone would hire him.

And maybe he would finally be able to do something meaningful with his life.

That was the reason why he was so surprised and excited when he received the letter from Selvin claiming that there was someone in the magical world who was not only interested in giving them a job but also brave enough to deal with the backlash that would come with hiring people like him, who were rejects of the magical world.

Which was why the shock and disappointment was even worse when he realized that he went to give and interview and realized that the one who was taking his interview was an 11 year old child.

If Andrew had been a reckless man then he would have probably lost his temper right then and their but years of hardships had made him humble and taught him patience.

So despite the deep disappointment he was feeling in his heart, he did not let it show in his face and gave the interview in as professional manner as he could.

And was actually surprised when the boy looked at his numerous works and pointed out the various mistakes in it.

By the time the boy… no, the young man was done going through his whole portfolio, he was feeling like a dumb child in the presence of a great prophet.

Harry Potter might have been a young but his knowledge of Ancient Runes ran far deeper than even his own.

In fact, by this point Andrew was feeling deeply ashamed of even sitting in the same room as this young man.

And then the other aspects of the interview started.

Questions about his job. His family. His hobbies, etc, etc. All questions that were there to make sure that he was a responsible man and someone who would arrive late in his work and waste the time of everyone else.

And then the Young man brought out his invention that he called Magical Phone and Andrew was floored.

The device was a work of art.

And simply knowing what it could do instantly made him realize that he would be buying a pair of these phones for his wife and himself once it was released into the market.

The interview went on for two more hours after that at which point the interview became less like an interview and more like a test in which he did his best to show every last bit of his talent to his future employer.

He couldn't tell if Harry was satisfied by his work or not and that fact struck a little fear in his heart.

Had his skills degenerated a lot because of the lack of practice.

Was Harry dissatisfied by his work?

Would he miss this chance of joining the magical world once again?

And would he have to spend the rest of his life in the muggle world as a paper pusher.

The incessant questions ate at his heart as the worry and insecurity threatened to overwhelm him but years of patience won in the end and when Harry asked to him to leave send in the next one, he complied.

But when he reached the door and was about to open it, he heard the young man's voice once again.

"You've gotten a bit rusty over the years Mister Andrew. I expect you to polish your skills over the next few months so that when you eventually join my company, you would be able to give it all you've got."

At those simple words tears poured down his cheeks and Andrew realized that he had not been so happy in many many years.

That night, he made love with his wife with such passion that he had not been able to muster in years.

Because after all these years, he was finally feeling alive inside.

—————

* Harry goes to the headmaster and said he wanted to meet with one of the best friends of his parents. Remus Lupin. After some bullshit, Albus finally agreed to find Remus for him.

"Harry my boy. What brings you to my office today?" the headmaster asked gently as he entered through the door.

"A few questions headmaster. Nothing more." He replied calmly as he took in the surroundings. Wondering if some of these instruments were once used to track his whereabouts.

He had no doubt that the old man must have already realized that the devices he used to keep track over me had stopped working.

But magical artifacts that keep track of others based on their blood were highly illegal and frowned upon in the first place so it was not like the old man could do anything about it.

Well, the old man could try to find some other way to keep track of him. Maybe secretly take the blood of Hermione since she always stays near him or he may try some other method that he'd never heard of before but Harry was confident that he would be able to deal with anything that the old man throws at him.

He felt a bit presumptuous at thinking such a thing but he was also very confident in his abilities.

"Questions?" Albus asked with a raised eyebrow "What questions might those be my boy."

Albus still seemed perfectly at ease but Harry could almost hear the wariness in his voice.

"I recently came to know that my parents had other friends. Some of whom survived the war." He said as he removed some of the devices from one of the table and sat upon it "I want to know why none of those friends came to check up on me throughout these years. I want to know what kind of friends they were if they couldn't even look after the only remaining child of their best friend."

Dumbledore seemed a bit saddened at his words but just as he was about to open his mouth and say something about the blood wards and the necessity of him staying with his relatives and whatnot, he raised his hand and interrupted the old man.

"I know what you're going to say." He said "You'll probably make some excuse about how it was all for my own good and how it was necessary that they stay away from me or something along those lines. I do not want to hear it."

The old man closed his mouth and looked at him sadly and Harry wondered if the old man was actually sad for him.

He probably was. Harry didn't believe that Dumbledore was a blackhearted old man who was totally incapable of feeling remorse. But you could never tell with Dumbledore considering how good an actor he was.

"I want the names of the people who used to be my parent's closest friend. I want to know how to contact them. And I want to look at them in the eyes and ask them if your words were really all they needed to condemn me to a life of abuse."

"Harry I…"

"I want their names Dumbledore. And I want to meet them. And I will do that whether you help me or not. So you might as well tell me their names while I still hold some respect for you."

Albus looked remorseful for a long moment, looking like a defeated old man who had nothing left to live for before he gave a small nod.

"You don't need to search for them yourself Harry. I'll send them a letter and ask them to come here so that you could meet them. Is that good enough?" he asked and Harry nodded his head

"Yes. That should be good enough.Now. If there is not anything else Headmaster." He said and turned to leave but was stopped in his tracks as Dumbledore called for him.

"Harry. The end of the term exams are near. Despite your lack of attendance, the staff members willing to give you a chance to sit in the exam. I hope you'll give your best in those exams and pass your 1st year with flying colors."

"We'll see about that." He said with a shrug and asked "If there was nothing else Headmaster?"

The old man gave and nod and Harry left the room with a smile on his face.

Now he only had to wait a week or so before he would get his middle man for the werewolves.

Remus was fiercely loyal to Dumbledore but he was also someone who was very easily manipulated because of the guilt he felt for everything that happened to the original Harry.

And once he was able to manipulate Remus, he would get the key to the vast amount of potential that existed in the form of the Werewolf community.