Chapter 3 - Home Visit

                                        

                                              
Published: 4/7/25
Draco rubbed his eyes, annoyed. It was 11:30. Potter probably was testing him already, but Draco had no patience for his crap. He had better things to do than play mind games with Harry-freaking-Potter. He scribbled down a pick-up request that floated up, zipped out of his office's message slot and went up to the Auror department. Technically, a pick-up for a probation meeting should have only needed an Auror trainee to execute, but Draco knew they had Potter earmarked for special treatment. 
Though it wasn't right that they did that, this was all Potter's choice. It was his game with the Aurors, not Draco's. And he certainly wasn't going to feel guilty about it. He needed to bring the twenty-one-year-old grown child to heel, as quickly as possible. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy. Nothing with Potter was ever easy. He glanced at the file that he still hadn't finished, despite taking it home to read through and make notes. He set aside several incidents for further investigation. 
Luckily, some control freak... not him... organized Potter's file in reverse chronological order, so he was only now getting to the first few months of the start of his spiral. It was so less about Potter and more about the Aurors hounding him. Most assuredly, they were responsible for this situation. If breaking up his clandestine hook-ups wasn't enough of a misuse of power, entering his home without a warrant or complaint was. He just read a report about how Dawlish and Smith entered a muggle home to arrest him for "resisting arrest".
Merlin... Draco thought, shaking his head. Potter could easily have all their asses fired for as many breaches as they have done, if he tried. Draco scrutinized the thick binder. Of course, it was mutually-assured destruction at this point. Sure, Potter could get them fired. He also could spend the next ten years in prison after they properly add up all the crimes he has done as well. The Aurors must have got their butts reamed at one point to stop the blatantly illegal stuff and stick to subterfuge. 
This case was a mess. He really needed to stop the Aurors from messing with Potter, but that wouldn't happen unless Potter started cooperating. Draco was not going to fish an irritable, armed Potter out of his, most likely, drunken stupor to come to his probation meeting. Draco glanced at his secure drawer where his appointment orders and Potter's DOI was. He had other means of controlling him. Highly invasive and controlling means. He was resolved to approach this problem with incremental punishment. 
Potter had, most likely, gotten drunk and missed their appointment time. That meant a stricter curfew and perhaps an accompaniment home. He probably should do that anyway. The Aurors and other probation officers always noted horrible living conditions whenever they arrested him. As Potter's guardian, it was on him to essentially take care of Potter. Draco grimaced as, taken literally, he could be held responsible to make sure Potter washed and dressed himself. Draco also could condemn his home, if it came to it, and commit him to St. Mungo's.
Draco sighed and tried to hope that there wasn't sufficient evidence to do that. If Potter were at risk of self-harm, he'd be legally obligated to commit him to the Janus Thickey Ward. Freakin' Kingsley for putting him, of all people, in this position. He resigned to waiting, sure that the Aurors were probably beating and hexing Potter to high heaven. He still felt guilty regardless, but as long as Potter was armed, he was not going to his home. He trembled at the thought. Kingsley and Penelope knew how bad his PTSD was.
He turned back to his paperwork and wrote a few requests for memories from the Obliviator Headquarters, sending them off. Then he wrote a few letters to his other charges, as a form of a check-up, as Potter would most likely be taking up all his time. He sighed and decided there and then, that he would have to pawn a few of his cases off, which he hated doing. There were only a few officers that he would hand his cases over to, anyway. He decided to send four to Susan as they were on track and were just juvenile mistakes. Two would go to Penelope to review for ending their probation period early. The others... he was determined to keep.