September 1.
It was time for the start of another school year at Hogwarts.
King's Cross Station was as lively as ever, with Young Wizards and their parents saying all manner of goodbyes.
This year, however, things were a little different. More wizards in purple uniforms were moving through the crowds.
The Ministry of Magic's restructuring had produced immediate results.
In just two days, quite apart from anything else, the former Auror forces had been broken up and reorganized, and the title of Auror had officially been abolished.
They had temporarily been incorporated into the Pentagram's Wizard Army, where Chief Instructor Carrow-er was putting them through a second round of "real" competency training.
As a result, all peacekeeping and criminal apprehension duties had been taken over by a contingent drawn from the former Patrol Team.
They had officially been renamed the Wizarding Police and placed under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, giving them a proper legal mandate.
Dennis, the newly appointed Commissioner of the Wizarding Police, was leading the team in person that day.
The Wizarding Police officers were disciplined and unfailingly polite, earning praise from the ordinary witches and wizards passing through.
Inside the express train's prefects' carriage.
To avoid another mortifying public embarrassment, Shawn had arrived well in advance.
Dressed in white formal robes with purple patterns, he sat by the window, peacefully watching the bustle of everyday life outside.
Before long, several of his trusted subordinates arrived. A few faces were missing, however, leaving the carriage somewhat quieter.
Alice, Penelope, and Percy were now seventh-years and had officially joined the Ministry of Magic as interns, each overseeing a substantial workload.
Theodore, who had been brought back to England, remained dazed, his soul still undergoing some kind of transformation.
Shawn could only settle him in the Black