"You were right. He just told me to sign, so I could leave. He didn't... explain it. I didn't read it," Potter said, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees to rub his face. "I can't believe he did this to me."
"I'm sure he thought... no, he knew that... he knew that I...."
Potter lifted his head up to stare at him. "That you'd what?"
"That I would fix this... what's happening to you."
"Fix me, huh?" he spat.
"Not just that. I'll stop the Aurors from hurting you, keep you out of trouble and make you stop acting out."
Potter glared. "You're awfully full of yourself, Malfoy. You're that all incredible, huh?"
Draco knew that Potter's temper was easily stoked. "I already did the first two, didn't I?"
Potter lowered his head, his face red. "How... how did you know... about what happened?"
"I assume you mean what happened when you were in the Auror program?" Draco said.
"Yeah. I didn't tell Kingsley it. I told no one about what happened," he said, trembling. Draco knew that this was painful for Potter.
"I know because I know Weasley's a scared little bitch, and the only way Robards, the power-hungry bastard that he is, could take you out is by turning him. It wasn't hard to guess what happened after that."
Potter had tears in his eyes. "Ron was... behind me. We were supposed to be together through the exam course. He...."
But Potter stopped and buried his face in his hands, again. Draco resisted the urge to comfort him. Potter was volatile, right now, like a cauldron brewing under a roaring fire. "You didn't deserve that, or Weasley harassing you until you attacked him."
"That's what got me booted from the program, officially, not that Robards and the others didn't tell me I was as good as gone," Potter grunted and wiped his eyes.
Draco sighed. "Potter... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that he did that to you, and they have been relentlessly attacking you for two bloody years. But you had the power to hurt them back. Why...."
Potter's head whipped up, and his temper finally boiled over. "Why? Why? I'll tell you fucking why! I'm not a cheating, traitorous bastard like him! Like all of them! I won't give them the satis-fucking-faction of me begging for a fucking reprieve! You don't think that Ron has dirt on me? Fuckers loved taking pictures of me... for evidence, surely. Were they in that file, Malfoy?"
Draco's grey eyes narrowed, and he glanced at the photo-devoid file. Mutually-assured destruction. "No. They weren't. Illegal or... humiliating ones?"
Potter snorted, settling back down to a simmer. "Bit of both... more humiliating for sure, but I'm sure they have whole slideshows of my deviant sex life and drug use."
Draco nodded. "If it does come out... we'll deal with it. You're under both probation and guardianship, so I can file injunctions quickly. You're protected more than you know. Perhaps they can be reasonable and cough them up."
"I'm not trading anything with those fucking bastards, Malfoy!"
"Well, I guess it's a good thing I'm your guardian, then."
Potter glared, his shoulders and back arching as though trying to hold himself back. "Don't you fucking dare! I won't beg anything from him, and I sure as fuck will hate you forever if you do it for me."
"I won't. It doesn't mean I won't... extort them to hand it over. But this war is going to end whether you want it to or not. They are hurting you and, more importantly, they are winning! That's why Kingsley bound you to me. I looked into the DOI. It's magically binding because you bloody signed it. It doesn't matter if he tricked you or not. You signed it! I can't contest it, and it'll take a long time to file the removal. The Wizengamot won't even entertain the thought of lifting it unless you show some progress."