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sesheta66Title: Second Chance – Chapter Ten
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66
Prompts used:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
slythindor100’s early bird prompt J—Snow-covered Shops at Night (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 22: Gift wrapping
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 2.5K (this part)
Rating: R (eventually; this part PG)
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for theslythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge.
On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
OR on AO3
Second Chance – Chapter 10
Somehow Draco made it through Ministry headquarters to Potter's office without incident – no altercations with anyone, no weasel sightings, no vomiting in the lift as he recalled the last time he'd entered the building. All in all, not bad.
Before he'd had a chance to announce himself to Potter's assistant, the man himself came out to greet him. "Draco! Good to see you. Come on in." Potter motioned for him to enter, a smile that looked genuine on his face. He turned to his assistant. "No interruptions, please."
Potter closed the door as Draco sat in the guest chair, which was surprisingly comfortable. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting – something stiff and unpleasant to put visitors on edge, perhaps? – but this was not unlike his own sitting room chairs at home. And the office was befitting a head of department: mahogany desk, dark wood floors and panelling with high-end carpet and drapes. A casual seating area with sofa, table and chairs sat at the far end of the room, and displayed above a fireplace opposite were numerous awards. Conspicuous in their absence were any pictures of Potter with important people, something of a mainstay for people in high positions. On his desk were pictures of his children, and in a cabinet behind him were odds and ends – some dark magic detectors, more pictures of family and friends, and for some reason a snitch. In a word, it was inviting.
"Thanks for coming," Potter said. And Draco was immediately reminded why he was here. His comfort at entering the inner sanctum vanished, replaced by all his negative thoughts.
"Did I have a choice?" The words came out so sharply, Potter blinked and pulled back slightly, his warm smile disappearing. Draco hadn't meant to be rude, but … well, old habits he supposed.
Potter recovered quickly, though wore a perplexed expression. "Of course you had a choice. I didn't have you arrested and dragged down here kicking and screaming."
Draco thought Weasley might have enjoyed that, and pictured himself struggling with the man. He scowled. "Weasley isn't behind this, is he? Because I know he'd love nothing more than to see me in Azkaban for the rest of my life."
Potter frowned. "Ron has nothing to do with this. In fact, if I'm being honest, he's not particularly thrilled that I'm meeting with you."
"So why do it then?"
"I thought I'd explained in my letter."
"Yes, but why me? There are any number of potions masters you could have called on."
"You were recommended, as I mentioned."
"Right. And then how could I say no to a request for a 'personal favour' from the head of the MLE? Someone to whom I owe a life debt."
Potter's eyes narrowed and Draco could tell he was getting under the man's skin. Well, good. He didn't want to be here, in this building. Too many bad memories. "I didn't ask for a favour as the head of MLE. I asked for a personal favour. I don't play political or power games, Draco. You should know that. Or at least I thought you would. And as for this supposed life debt, I told your mother years ago that there is no debt. We are even. We all did what we felt we had to do during the war, and it worked out that we ended up helping each other. No one owes anyone anything. If you don't want to help with this case, you can say no. No one is forcing you to be here."
Before he could stop the words escaping his mouth, Draco blurted out, "So why haven't you responded to Scorpius' invitation to Albus?"
Potter shook his head, brows furrowed, utterly perplexed. "What?!"
"Scorpius asked if Albus could stay for a few days over the break, and I said yes, provided he had his parents' permission. I have yet to hear back. I can only presume that is because the answer is no."
Potter stood up and began to pace. When he stopped, he took a deep breath as if to will himself to remain calm, then sat down, placing his arms on his desk and leaning forward. He looked calmer and, if Draco wasn't mistaken, amused. "Let me get this straight. First of all, you thought this was all some sort of ruse to lure you here, set you up, and throw you into prison. Masterminded by Ron, with me as his accomplice?" He tapped his finger on his chin and continued before Draco could respond. "You do realise that I have the entire department at my disposal, have for years. And Ron is Head Auror. If anything nefarious would have been in the offing, I'd think we'd have acted long before now. Patience has never been my thing, if you recall."
Run in without thinking and figure it out later had been more his style, that was true. When Potter put it that way, it did sound rather ridiculous.
"And as for Albus, are you suggesting that I am withholding permission for my son to visit with his friend, in order to coerce you into working with me?" He stared into Draco's eyes intensely as he spoke. "Need I remind you that I grew up without friends? You did know that about me, yeah? Of course you knew; everybody bloody knew. Cousin bullied anyone that so much as spoke to me. The last thing I would do to my children is use them for my own ends, and certainly not deny them time with their friends. I would have thought you knew me at least a little better than that."
"I –" Well, fuck. Yes, he did, in fact, know Potter better than that.
"For your information, Al hasn't asked me to visit with Scorpius. This is the first I've heard." He considered the new information before continuing. "I presume he's going to ask me in person, since I'll be seeing him in Hogsmeade on Saturday." At Draco's quizzical look, he waved his hand in the air and explained, "My kids are going away with Gin and her new husband at the beginning of the break, so we won't have our usual shopping day. Not wanting to go at the last minute, Al asked if we could meet up to pick up a few things."
Draco thought about his own shopping trips with Scorpius. They always enjoyed staying in town well into the evening, having dinner and then taking a stroll, enjoying the light displays on all the snow-covered shops. And later on, wrapping the gifts together, listening to Christmas carols. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be divorced, having to divide all your children's time – hard enough to come by, particularly as they got older – between both parents. Having to share that precious time with someone you no longer loved, but to whom you were bound forever. He didn't envy Potter that.
"I suspect, if he had any doubts as to my answer, he was hoping to appeal to me face-to-face." He looked Draco straight in the eyes and smirked. "He is in Slytherin, you know. Very sneaky, that lot."
Tension now broken, Draco laughed at that last remark. "They are a handful, I hear."
Potter smiled and pushed back in his chair. "Right. Let's start this again. And this time, do shut up."
Draco had a retort at the ready, but then shut his mouth, nodded and sat back.
"Good. Let's refresh. We have a case that is going nowhere fast. Our in-house potions expert retired earlier this year, and in their infinite wisdom, the Ministry have chosen not to revisit the pay scale to hire a proper replacement. So here we are. We have great staff in the lab, but their expertise only goes so far. Mungo's has been treating the overdose cases, so they are familiar with the drug and have been working on treatments. They're doing their best, but they have no antidote and have also gone as far as they can for now, with their current workload."
"What does the drug do?"
"Nasty stuff. It's a hallucinogen, appealing to kids, particularly popular at raves. Claims to be an upgrade to gillyweed. That's bad enough, but the real problem is that for some the high lasts twelve hours or more, with hallucinations driving some of them mad. We'll provide you with all the details later, if you decide to work with us. In a nutshell, we have two directions we need to go in. Mungo's needs to figure out a cure and we need to catch the bastard that's creating it. My priority is obviously the latter, to ensure we get the drug off the streets and the culprit into prison. Ideally a cure is found, but what I need from you is to help determine who the hell is doing this. I'm not sure what, if anything, you can do to assist in that regard, but when our investigator spoke with Mungo's, they said you were the best there was at analysing and adapting potions.
"That is why I contacted you. Our past – all of it – is irrelevant to this case. Kids are stupid and reckless, Draco. You and I know that better than most. I don't want to see any more get hurt. So if you are the best, and I've been told you are, I want you working this case. But in no way are you obligated to.
"As for the personal favour, I meant exactly that. Very much voluntary. I want to catch this bastard. We'll pay you a fair rate. I have my own budget constraints, but I've got the numbers from the most recent contracts we've had, and I'm offering you 25% above the top rate, in recognition of your expertise, and the urgent nature of the request."
Draco sat dumbfounded. His brain needed a minute to catch up. "For how long?" was all he could ask.
"We'd like you to start straight away, and continue until the case is solved, or we reach a stage where our own lab can finish off the work. You'd have access to our lab, and St Mungo's has said they'd work with you as needed." He reached into his desk and pulled out a file. "I've had a contract drafted for you to look at." He handed Draco the contract and got up. "I'll leave you to review it in private and will return in a few minutes. If you need more time to consider the offer, that's fine, but I'll need an answer today. If you don't want to work with the Ministry, or me, I understand. But if that's the case, I'll need to reach out to someone else sooner rather than later."
Draco nodded and Potter left.
He reviewed the contract. Standard boilerplate. Nothing of concern. The compensation was reasonable, though he thought he could push for a bit more, all things considered. They were under pressure, after all. Standard non-disclosure. Security clearance required. Draco's heart raced at that. Was he being too trusting? Was this a ploy? He knew it was standard practice, certainly since the war, to insist on such things for any contractor, but it would provide an opportunity for Weasley to pry.
When he returned, Potter asked, "Did you have enough time to review it? Do you have any questions?"
"I did, thanks. The contract is in order, standard conditions. Regarding the security clearance –"
"Oh, that's already done. You're cleared to work here."
"What?" He hadn't agreed to that. "You did that already?"
"I'm the head of MLE, Draco. Of course I did, as I would do with anyone I'm considering offering a contract to. I created that requirement for the Ministry myself, as part of weeding out the rampant corruption. I can't be seen as breaking the very rule I created, can I now? Anything else?"
Draco suppressed his irritation at being investigated without his knowledge. If he were in Potter's position, he knew he'd have done the same. No point wasting time talking to someone that you can't hire in the end. "The compensation is adequate, but I believe an additional 5% is appropriate, plus expenses."
Potter pulled the contract towards him, scribbled the required changes and initialled it. "Done. Anything else?"
Well, that was easy. Perhaps he should have gone for more. Ah, well, too late now. "If I'm to work with the Ministry, to whom would I report?" That was the sticky part. Weasley was the head of the Auror Department. There weren't enough Galleons in the world for Draco to work with him.
Potter contemplated for a moment. "You mean, do you report to Ron?" Before Draco could express just what he thought of that, Potter added, "Fuck, no. You'll be working independently, but in collaboration with the lab on the most part. You can report your findings, ask any questions, and consult on the progress of the case with our lead investigator, Drummond. Final reports go through him, but ultimately if a decision is required, or if there are any questions or concerns that he can't answer or address, that comes to me. And he may ask you to provide updates jointly with him to me or at our regular team meetings, if he isn't comfortable enough to speak to specifics. And, of course, you can come to me with anything, as needed."
That all sounded reasonable. Which begged the question, why did he feel a sense of disappointment that Potter hadn't planned to work more directly with him? He chose not to explore that. Focus on the positive instead. "So no Weasley?"
Potter smirked at that. "No Weasley."
Draco wondered whose decision that had been. Well, no, it had obviously been Potter's, but how had the weasel taken it?
"Oh, and Draco?" Potter asked, interrupting his train of thought.
"Hmm?"
"Of course Albus can stay with Scorpius over the hols. No matter if you sign on with us or not. We can work out specifics closer to the time, once we figure out our shared schedule."
Draco smiled. Scorpius would be very happy to hear that. Then his brain registered the shared schedule. Of course. "And what about Ginevra? What will she have to say?"
Potter shrugged. "She's taking the kids to Majorca. If she has a problem with it, she can take it up with me later. But in the meantime, don't say anything to Scorpius."
"Why not?"
"I want to see what Al is cooking up, if anything." Draco laughed. Potter wasn't nearly as stupid as he'd thought back in school. Probably even earned his current position. "I'll let you know after I talk to him this weekend."
With that, the last of Draco's concerns had been eliminated. He picked up the quill on Potter's desk and dipped in into the ink. Fucking hell, he was really going to do this. "When do you want me to start?"
Potter smiled, his green eyes drawing Draco in. Those same green eyes that had drawn him in twenty years before. As his heart began to race, he had to look away. He initialled the changes Potter made and signed the document. Bloody hell, it was a good thing that he wouldn't have to work with the man every day. He doubted he could focus if he did.
Author:
sesheta_66 || AO3: sesheta_66Prompts used:
slythindor100’s early bird prompt J—Snow-covered Shops at Night (picture under the cut) and dracoharry100’s prompt 22: Gift wrappingPairing: Harry/Draco
Word Count: 2.5K (this part)
Rating: R (eventually; this part PG)
Warning: none
Summary: This is the second Christmas for Draco without Astoria and Harry's first since Ginny remarried. Will best friends Scorpius and Albus be just what they need to rekindle something they'd thought fleeting and lost forever?
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Written for the
slythindor100 Early Bird 25 Days of Draco and Harry and the dracoharry100 Christmas Challenge. On LJ: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
OR on AO3
Somehow Draco made it through Ministry headquarters to Potter's office without incident – no altercations with anyone, no weasel sightings, no vomiting in the lift as he recalled the last time he'd entered the building. All in all, not bad.
Before he'd had a chance to announce himself to Potter's assistant, the man himself came out to greet him. "Draco! Good to see you. Come on in." Potter motioned for him to enter, a smile that looked genuine on his face. He turned to his assistant. "No interruptions, please."
Potter closed the door as Draco sat in the guest chair, which was surprisingly comfortable. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting – something stiff and unpleasant to put visitors on edge, perhaps? – but this was not unlike his own sitting room chairs at home. And the office was befitting a head of department: mahogany desk, dark wood floors and panelling with high-end carpet and drapes. A casual seating area with sofa, table and chairs sat at the far end of the room, and displayed above a fireplace opposite were numerous awards. Conspicuous in their absence were any pictures of Potter with important people, something of a mainstay for people in high positions. On his desk were pictures of his children, and in a cabinet behind him were odds and ends – some dark magic detectors, more pictures of family and friends, and for some reason a snitch. In a word, it was inviting.
"Thanks for coming," Potter said. And Draco was immediately reminded why he was here. His comfort at entering the inner sanctum vanished, replaced by all his negative thoughts.
"Did I have a choice?" The words came out so sharply, Potter blinked and pulled back slightly, his warm smile disappearing. Draco hadn't meant to be rude, but … well, old habits he supposed.
Potter recovered quickly, though wore a perplexed expression. "Of course you had a choice. I didn't have you arrested and dragged down here kicking and screaming."
Draco thought Weasley might have enjoyed that, and pictured himself struggling with the man. He scowled. "Weasley isn't behind this, is he? Because I know he'd love nothing more than to see me in Azkaban for the rest of my life."
Potter frowned. "Ron has nothing to do with this. In fact, if I'm being honest, he's not particularly thrilled that I'm meeting with you."
"So why do it then?"
"I thought I'd explained in my letter."
"Yes, but why me? There are any number of potions masters you could have called on."
"You were recommended, as I mentioned."
"Right. And then how could I say no to a request for a 'personal favour' from the head of the MLE? Someone to whom I owe a life debt."
Potter's eyes narrowed and Draco could tell he was getting under the man's skin. Well, good. He didn't want to be here, in this building. Too many bad memories. "I didn't ask for a favour as the head of MLE. I asked for a personal favour. I don't play political or power games, Draco. You should know that. Or at least I thought you would. And as for this supposed life debt, I told your mother years ago that there is no debt. We are even. We all did what we felt we had to do during the war, and it worked out that we ended up helping each other. No one owes anyone anything. If you don't want to help with this case, you can say no. No one is forcing you to be here."
Before he could stop the words escaping his mouth, Draco blurted out, "So why haven't you responded to Scorpius' invitation to Albus?"
Potter shook his head, brows furrowed, utterly perplexed. "What?!"
"Scorpius asked if Albus could stay for a few days over the break, and I said yes, provided he had his parents' permission. I have yet to hear back. I can only presume that is because the answer is no."
Potter stood up and began to pace. When he stopped, he took a deep breath as if to will himself to remain calm, then sat down, placing his arms on his desk and leaning forward. He looked calmer and, if Draco wasn't mistaken, amused. "Let me get this straight. First of all, you thought this was all some sort of ruse to lure you here, set you up, and throw you into prison. Masterminded by Ron, with me as his accomplice?" He tapped his finger on his chin and continued before Draco could respond. "You do realise that I have the entire department at my disposal, have for years. And Ron is Head Auror. If anything nefarious would have been in the offing, I'd think we'd have acted long before now. Patience has never been my thing, if you recall."
Run in without thinking and figure it out later had been more his style, that was true. When Potter put it that way, it did sound rather ridiculous.
"And as for Albus, are you suggesting that I am withholding permission for my son to visit with his friend, in order to coerce you into working with me?" He stared into Draco's eyes intensely as he spoke. "Need I remind you that I grew up without friends? You did know that about me, yeah? Of course you knew; everybody bloody knew. Cousin bullied anyone that so much as spoke to me. The last thing I would do to my children is use them for my own ends, and certainly not deny them time with their friends. I would have thought you knew me at least a little better than that."
"I –" Well, fuck. Yes, he did, in fact, know Potter better than that.
"For your information, Al hasn't asked me to visit with Scorpius. This is the first I've heard." He considered the new information before continuing. "I presume he's going to ask me in person, since I'll be seeing him in Hogsmeade on Saturday." At Draco's quizzical look, he waved his hand in the air and explained, "My kids are going away with Gin and her new husband at the beginning of the break, so we won't have our usual shopping day. Not wanting to go at the last minute, Al asked if we could meet up to pick up a few things."
Draco thought about his own shopping trips with Scorpius. They always enjoyed staying in town well into the evening, having dinner and then taking a stroll, enjoying the light displays on all the snow-covered shops. And later on, wrapping the gifts together, listening to Christmas carols. He wondered briefly what it would be like to be divorced, having to divide all your children's time – hard enough to come by, particularly as they got older – between both parents. Having to share that precious time with someone you no longer loved, but to whom you were bound forever. He didn't envy Potter that.
"I suspect, if he had any doubts as to my answer, he was hoping to appeal to me face-to-face." He looked Draco straight in the eyes and smirked. "He is in Slytherin, you know. Very sneaky, that lot."
Tension now broken, Draco laughed at that last remark. "They are a handful, I hear."
Potter smiled and pushed back in his chair. "Right. Let's start this again. And this time, do shut up."
Draco had a retort at the ready, but then shut his mouth, nodded and sat back.
"Good. Let's refresh. We have a case that is going nowhere fast. Our in-house potions expert retired earlier this year, and in their infinite wisdom, the Ministry have chosen not to revisit the pay scale to hire a proper replacement. So here we are. We have great staff in the lab, but their expertise only goes so far. Mungo's has been treating the overdose cases, so they are familiar with the drug and have been working on treatments. They're doing their best, but they have no antidote and have also gone as far as they can for now, with their current workload."
"What does the drug do?"
"Nasty stuff. It's a hallucinogen, appealing to kids, particularly popular at raves. Claims to be an upgrade to gillyweed. That's bad enough, but the real problem is that for some the high lasts twelve hours or more, with hallucinations driving some of them mad. We'll provide you with all the details later, if you decide to work with us. In a nutshell, we have two directions we need to go in. Mungo's needs to figure out a cure and we need to catch the bastard that's creating it. My priority is obviously the latter, to ensure we get the drug off the streets and the culprit into prison. Ideally a cure is found, but what I need from you is to help determine who the hell is doing this. I'm not sure what, if anything, you can do to assist in that regard, but when our investigator spoke with Mungo's, they said you were the best there was at analysing and adapting potions.
"That is why I contacted you. Our past – all of it – is irrelevant to this case. Kids are stupid and reckless, Draco. You and I know that better than most. I don't want to see any more get hurt. So if you are the best, and I've been told you are, I want you working this case. But in no way are you obligated to.
"As for the personal favour, I meant exactly that. Very much voluntary. I want to catch this bastard. We'll pay you a fair rate. I have my own budget constraints, but I've got the numbers from the most recent contracts we've had, and I'm offering you 25% above the top rate, in recognition of your expertise, and the urgent nature of the request."
Draco sat dumbfounded. His brain needed a minute to catch up. "For how long?" was all he could ask.
"We'd like you to start straight away, and continue until the case is solved, or we reach a stage where our own lab can finish off the work. You'd have access to our lab, and St Mungo's has said they'd work with you as needed." He reached into his desk and pulled out a file. "I've had a contract drafted for you to look at." He handed Draco the contract and got up. "I'll leave you to review it in private and will return in a few minutes. If you need more time to consider the offer, that's fine, but I'll need an answer today. If you don't want to work with the Ministry, or me, I understand. But if that's the case, I'll need to reach out to someone else sooner rather than later."
Draco nodded and Potter left.
He reviewed the contract. Standard boilerplate. Nothing of concern. The compensation was reasonable, though he thought he could push for a bit more, all things considered. They were under pressure, after all. Standard non-disclosure. Security clearance required. Draco's heart raced at that. Was he being too trusting? Was this a ploy? He knew it was standard practice, certainly since the war, to insist on such things for any contractor, but it would provide an opportunity for Weasley to pry.
When he returned, Potter asked, "Did you have enough time to review it? Do you have any questions?"
"I did, thanks. The contract is in order, standard conditions. Regarding the security clearance –"
"Oh, that's already done. You're cleared to work here."
"What?" He hadn't agreed to that. "You did that already?"
"I'm the head of MLE, Draco. Of course I did, as I would do with anyone I'm considering offering a contract to. I created that requirement for the Ministry myself, as part of weeding out the rampant corruption. I can't be seen as breaking the very rule I created, can I now? Anything else?"
Draco suppressed his irritation at being investigated without his knowledge. If he were in Potter's position, he knew he'd have done the same. No point wasting time talking to someone that you can't hire in the end. "The compensation is adequate, but I believe an additional 5% is appropriate, plus expenses."
Potter pulled the contract towards him, scribbled the required changes and initialled it. "Done. Anything else?"
Well, that was easy. Perhaps he should have gone for more. Ah, well, too late now. "If I'm to work with the Ministry, to whom would I report?" That was the sticky part. Weasley was the head of the Auror Department. There weren't enough Galleons in the world for Draco to work with him.
Potter contemplated for a moment. "You mean, do you report to Ron?" Before Draco could express just what he thought of that, Potter added, "Fuck, no. You'll be working independently, but in collaboration with the lab on the most part. You can report your findings, ask any questions, and consult on the progress of the case with our lead investigator, Drummond. Final reports go through him, but ultimately if a decision is required, or if there are any questions or concerns that he can't answer or address, that comes to me. And he may ask you to provide updates jointly with him to me or at our regular team meetings, if he isn't comfortable enough to speak to specifics. And, of course, you can come to me with anything, as needed."
That all sounded reasonable. Which begged the question, why did he feel a sense of disappointment that Potter hadn't planned to work more directly with him? He chose not to explore that. Focus on the positive instead. "So no Weasley?"
Potter smirked at that. "No Weasley."
Draco wondered whose decision that had been. Well, no, it had obviously been Potter's, but how had the weasel taken it?
"Oh, and Draco?" Potter asked, interrupting his train of thought.
"Hmm?"
"Of course Albus can stay with Scorpius over the hols. No matter if you sign on with us or not. We can work out specifics closer to the time, once we figure out our shared schedule."
Draco smiled. Scorpius would be very happy to hear that. Then his brain registered the shared schedule. Of course. "And what about Ginevra? What will she have to say?"
Potter shrugged. "She's taking the kids to Majorca. If she has a problem with it, she can take it up with me later. But in the meantime, don't say anything to Scorpius."
"Why not?"
"I want to see what Al is cooking up, if anything." Draco laughed. Potter wasn't nearly as stupid as he'd thought back in school. Probably even earned his current position. "I'll let you know after I talk to him this weekend."
With that, the last of Draco's concerns had been eliminated. He picked up the quill on Potter's desk and dipped in into the ink. Fucking hell, he was really going to do this. "When do you want me to start?"
Potter smiled, his green eyes drawing Draco in. Those same green eyes that had drawn him in twenty years before. As his heart began to race, he had to look away. He initialled the changes Potter made and signed the document. Bloody hell, it was a good thing that he wouldn't have to work with the man every day. He doubted he could focus if he did.