Chapter 5 - Breaking Through

                                        

                                              
Published: 5/25/2025
Draco sat back down at his desk, realizing he had a delivery while he had been telling off Weasley. Seven memory vials were in his inbox. Hopefully, that was seven nails in the Auror department's coffin, and he put them into his locked drawer. Draco paused and then made multiple copies of the reports and sent some to his home as well. He was a former Death Eater, so he had powerful security charms. Those idiot Aurors wouldn't get in unnoticed. 
After an hour, Potter set down the teacup on Draco's desk. "Thank you," Potter mouthed. Draco wasn't sure if it was for the tea or everything else.
"I told you that I wanted to help you, Harry. That includes fighting your enemies for you, too."
Potter seemed to contemplate that and lowered his head, again. Draco glanced at the time and then pulled his sandwich out of the icebox. He duplicated it again, leaving three on the end of the table.
Potter took one with a silent "Thanks" as he munched on the sandwich. Draco ate two and conjuring more as Potter grabbed another, too. Potter seemed very hungry and Draco wondered how much he really ate. Before he could ask, the door burst open, and Draco was half-expecting the Aurors, but no, it was one of his charges. A kid named Samir, who still had two more years of probation.
"Mr. Draco! Mr. Draco!" Samir exclaimed, happily, as he nearly ran into him as Draco stood to greet him.
"Samir! You cannot just burst into my office without warning!" he huffed.
The kid didn't care if he reprimanded him. He just hugged him anyway. He was a small kid, too, very small for his age, but the potion abuse stifled his growth considerably. The healers said that he would suddenly start growing, again, which he had over the last few months. He was one of the cases that Draco refused to give up. He had worked hard with the kid to get him back on track. Samir had hated everything and everyone, including himself, when he was sentenced to probation.
Samir leaned back to face him, tears in his eyes. "It went just like you said! They... they let me use a wand for the exams. It felt so good to use my magic, again! Mr. Draco... they said... they said I passed all of them! I got an Acceptable on everything! Thank you!" Then he hugged him, again. 
Draco patted his back as he gripped him. "I'm so proud of you, Samir."
But then Draco saw Harry watching him confused and intrigued by this comparable child that just ran into the office and hugged him. Draco silently lifted the Silencing Charm and cleaned Potter's robes while he was at it. Samir would definitely recognize him, once he realized that there was someone else in the office, and Potter was owed his privacy. By his flinch, Potter had noticed the spells, and he rubbed his throat.
"I knew you could do it," Draco said, and let go. "You're a smart lad."
"Do... do you think Professor McGonagall will let me come back?" he asked into his chest.
"I'll write to her today, but remember what I told you," Draco said, pulling Samir off him to look him in the eye.
"It's not on people to forgive me for what I did. It's on me to show them that I am different and hope they will forgive me," he said, quietly. They had had this talk before.
"Very good. Now... I've told you a few times, Samir, you can't just rush into my office."
"But Max was at lunch!" he whined.
"Samir," he said, with the disappointed look he had down pat.
Samir looked at the floor and scuffed his feet on the carpet. "I'm sorry."
"I was just having lunch with a friend of mine. So, it'll be alright. I'll try to stop by tomorrow, okay?" he said and sat back down at his desk.
Samir nodded and made to leave, when he looked directly at Potter. He stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh Merlin... it's... you're... Harry Potter!"