Harry did not care for people's opinion of him, but he knew the benefits it came with. He ensured they were shown a positive image of him every step of the way. He portrayed this image of an honest young man who did not want to use his fame or past acclaim to gain an undue advantage and instead wanted to earn it all, and everything worked in his favor. People worshipped him whenever he stepped out in public, and he took it all with utmost graciousness. The teenager who shied away from the attention of the public was no longer anywhere to be seen.
He also set up numerous charities for the old, the orphaned, the underprivileged class, and the previously scorned creatures like werewolves. He never advertised that he was the one making the donations, but everyone knew who was behind those organizations that had pooped up overnight. Gold was not an issue, and he used it to build his image. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was revered more than Dumbledore had ever been.
However, unlike the old wizard, Harry's intentions were not all noble. The welfare of the people was a consequence of what he was doing. His objective was to make himself immune from any sort of criticism. He wanted to build his support base so large that he never had to fight those who would try to tarnish his image. The people would do that for him instead. That was true power.
He was done living for others, and now his life was his to do with as he pleased.
He had become the youngest head of the DMLE at the age of twenty-two and was the British representative to the ICW as well. It was no exaggeration to say that he had the most power in Wizarding Britain. He was the figurehead behind the post of minister, and the intelligent ones knew who commanded all the power. It could be seen in the way Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic, was always deferential to him – someone who was supposed to be in employment with the ministry.
Yet, they had full faith in him. They trusted that he would never abuse this power and that he would never use it to overthrow the government or anything. Harry was all too happy to let them think that. He had no interest in becoming the one in charge anyway. He was happy to work in the shadows.
One word from him and the public would be crying out for the Minister's head. He had this power and he liked it.
Voldemort had been a fool to go about things the way he did, and so was Dumbledore for not taking what was right in front of him after he defeated Grindelwald.
He had power, he had prestige, he had riches, he had acclaim, and he had witches throwing themselves all over him. He had no qualms about indulging in the perks he was offered, and indulge he did.
Thus, it was no surprise when his ex-girlfriend finally approached him.
Ginny still looked lovely. Her flaming red hair was let down in waves over her back, a few strands cupping her beautiful face and he smirked to himself when he saw the obvious effort she had put into looking as ravishing as she did. She came into his office clad in an overcoat that covered her body entirely, but once they were alone, she discarded it, revealing the black dress she had on underneath.
The black cocktail dress was held up on her shoulders by thin, spaghetti straps, and it was easy for him to conclude that she was wearing no bra. It was entirely possible that she was wearing nothing underneath at all. The dress reached the middle of her thighs, and Harry could easily see the bare skin of her thick thighs and long legs through the transparent glass desk.
However, the sight of her did nothing but fill him with disdain. If she thought dressing like this would make him crawl back to her, she was sorely mistaken.
It was he who had broken up with her the moment he laid eyes on her back in the Room of Requirement. He had done it in front of everyone, taking them all by surprise. However, the war took precedence and no one paid too much attention to it back then.
She had been surprised, and more than a little shocked. When he told her why he was breaking up with her, the look on her face was enough to tell him.
She had no intention of ever telling him what she had been up to with that asshole in the Hogwarts corridors, the prefect's bathroom, the abandoned classrooms, the broom closets, the Gryffindor dormitories that remained vacant after every student fled to the Room of Requirement, and even the grounds. He remembered the humiliation he had felt when he had seen her on the Marauders' Map, fucking that cunt in his bed in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory.
He didn't care for Ginny, and to him, she meant nothing.
"Hey Harry," she said with a small smile. For his part, Harry simply stared at her, fingers drumming on the desk as he sat back comfortably. He saw her eyeing the clothing on his person and the various decorations around his office. Everything was super expensive, and he chuckled to himself as he saw her glancing around. She was too easy.
"Hello, Ginny. What brings you here after all this time?"
Ginny looked at him and leaned forward, trying to attract his eyes to her exposed cleavage. She had indeed gone without a bra, and her tits were hanging in that dress. The angle did little to conceal the roundness of her mounds.
"What? I need a reason to visit you now?" She asked with a coy smile that Harry easily recognized as forced. He simply stared at her. Ginny's smile vanished slowly and she looked down, biting her lip.
"It's just… I miss you," she whispered. "I miss what we had. I've thought about what happened, and I realize what an idiot I was to throw away everything."
Harry stared at her, expertly hiding his amusement. She was a fool if she thought this would work on him.
"Is that so?" he asked instead, leaning back on his chair and fixing her with an intense stare.
Ginny looked at him and nodded.
"You must understand, Harry… the war was hard for all of us. And it was especially tough for those of us in the school. The things we had to do… I didn't want to do it, but things just happened. You don't know how much I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from doing all that."
Harry didn't say anything. He simply kept staring at her.
"You didn't deserve it, Harry. Not from me, and not when you were doing everything in your power to save us all," she whispered. Harry wanted to scoff at the words that were coming out of this bitch's mouth, but he held back.
"I see," he replied instead. "Why the sudden change in heart?"
Ginny looked up at him, and he had to commend her. Those tears truly looked genuine, and the older Harry would've been on his knees by now, wiping them off and apologizing profusely for making her cry. Not him though.
"I've been thinking about it for so long now," she said, sniffing. "And I regret how it all ended for us. This is not some sudden change in heart, Harry."
He looked at her and let out a dramatic sigh.
"What do you want from me, Ginny?" He asked finally.