apples and scented candles • h.potter ✓

• thirty-eight •

Corben managed to squeeze some free time out of his busy schedule one Tuesday afternoon. He'd handed in one of his assignments a day early and Audra rewarded him with a break from the evening's history lessons. He considered visiting Theo and Blaise before he remembered they no longer lived together and that he could only afford to visit one. Cursing his luck, he settled on Blaise, knowing Theo would be more understanding.

Corben hurried through the corridors of the Ministry, his mind racing through all of the tasks he had yet to complete. By the time he reached the lifts, he had calculated that he could only be with Blaise for one hour or he would be behind his homework. As he hurried into the lift, he was joined by Ron who arched an eyebrow at him. "In a hurry?"

Corben managed a smile, out of breath. "Sort of. I'm going to visit Blaise but I also have a lot of homework. So I thought that if I run, I can be ahead of everything."

"This training keeping you on your toes, huh? Well, you have just a month left. Once it's over, you'll get enough time for a good night's sleep. Just hold tight."

Corben smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Ron."

The lift stopped and they stepped out. Despite his rush, Corben paused to look at Ron. "So you get a lot of free time as an Auror?"

"Things are a bit cool now but I imagine the department was a lot more hectic during the war. There are occasional wannabe Dark wizards who barely know one end of their wand from the other, but mostly it's just sitting at your desk and hunting for clues." Ron shook his head. "Sorry, I don't mean to discourage you or anything."

"No, it's okay." Corben laughed.

"It's a bit lonely though," Ron continued. "Without Harry. If I got bored, I used to just pop into his office and annoy him. But now I have to tolerate these people, most of whom are half-witted bigots. Anyway, I won't keep you. Have fun with your brother."

"I doubt that, but thanks."

Corben once again took off in a run.

After Harry had come to his decision to not return to the Ministry, he had waited a few days to tell everyone else. Not surprisingly, both Ron and Hermione were thrilled about his decision and had sent him brownies. Just last night, Harry had sat down to write his resignation letter. Then he and Corben had gone to the owl office to send it to the Ministry.

Blaise opened the door a second after he rang the buzzer. An eyebrow cocked as he took in Corben's dishevelled appearance. He was panting hard too. "Someone chasing you?"

Corben pushed past him and into the room. "I can't stay long. I've got so much to do."

He flopped on the sofa and buried his face in his palms. When he'd finally caught his breath, he peeked at Blaise through his fingers. "I'm hungry. Do you have anything?"

Blaise nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a platter of biscuits and scones. Corben dug in voraciously.

Blaise went into the kitchen again to make tea. "I heard Potter quit," he said.

"How do you know?"

"Theo phoned. He saw in the Prophet."

Corben paused mid-bite. It was already in the newspaper? He rolled his eyes. Of course it was. "Yes, he sent in his resignation last night."

By the time Blaise had brought the tea, Corben was finished with the biscuits. He leaned back and sighed. He no longer felt the desire to hurry and be home for his homework.

"I suppose it's going to be national news for the next month or so," Blaise said, sipping his tea.

"Mmhm. They should rename themselves to the Daily Profit. That's what they are for anyway."