58 | ﴾ Reformation ﴿

                                    

                                          
Harry Potter left the cottage he had taken up as a permanent and discrete residence after the ending of the phenomenally brutal war. He had only had a handful of visitors to the remote setting, all of which were very trusted friends. 
                          
He arrived at the Ministry late for work as he often did by accident, hustling through the massive space and packed crowd of employees. It had been a week fraught with tension as the Ministry received Madeleine for her first five days of morning check ins, and so far she had evidently not violated any of her conditions. 
                          
Harry could tell however, that something was very off with her. She had huge, dark circles under her eyes and had been virtually silent during every brief session. He had marked it up to her experience of being locked in Azkaban, grateful at all that she was functional enough to arrive to work.
                          
Friday morning however there was a serious tussle occurring at the entrance to the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. 
                          
Madeleine stood in front of the elevator in tears, crying loudly and practically shouting at Seamus Finnigan. "'e 'as been missing all week. I-I've looked everywhere, I 'ave tried everything." 
                          
"Yee, well McGonagall is going to have to report his cotter ass if he doesn't show up for work next Monday," Seamus looked equally grim, frowning with a genuine look of sadness on his face. 
                          
Harry made his way to the pair like a bullet, picking up his pace by shuffling his feet in a speed walk, "Hang on, what's all this?" 
                          
Madeleine turned to Harry with shaking fingers tangling in his Auror's robes, and Harry's heart leapt in response to her rare physical contact. She struggled to speak, her freckled nose red from weeping. She was suddenly choking on her words and Harry pulled her into him eagerly to pat her shiny hair. Everything smelled like sweet berries in an instant. "What happened?" he turned brusquely to Seamus, who dropped his hands against his dirty work pants. 
                          
"Honestly Potter, it's beyond me. Fekker of a week - Malfoy has missed four of his shifts," he shrugged, his frown increasing. "Oi know the bloke is a bit of a melter, but this is a load of brock. He's our hardest working employee." 
                          
Madeleine whined into Harry's white dress shirt, leaving make up stains all over the fabric. Her shoulders shook in his arms and Harry tried to soothe her by trailing his fingers down her back, "Madeleine, try to get a grip. Do you have any clue why he's missing? Does he not take trips without warning?" 
                          
She coughed into his clothing, twisting her fingers around his neck, "No. Something is very wrong. De last I saw 'im was Monday night, when 'e left to fight wit' Nott." 
                          
Seamus and Harry's eyes both widened towards each other. "Theodore Nott, that git from Slytherin?" Seamus barked in surprise.
                          
"He was disguised as you, wasn't he?" Harry got right to the point, speaking with his cheek against Madeleine's glossy ivory hair.
                          
"Why the fekk would he be disguised as me?" Seamus stupidly queried before Harry waved his hand dismissively in his face.
                          
"No, you buffoon, not you," Harry gave Seamus a puzzled look through his circular spectacles.
                          
Madeleine nodded, and shortly Hermione Granger had also wandered over in her work dress with her thin arms gripping far too many texts. Her kind brown eyes landed on each of them before she leaned closer to Madeleine, "Is something the matter?" 
                          
Ginny Weasley who had initially been chatting with her that morning kept moving past the growing group with a venomous sneer at the sight of the Slytherin princess wrapped up in Harry's arms and receiving attention from multiple Gryffindors.