The Boy Who Lived

Therapy

Harry didn't miss that Pansy flinched the moment Madame Gide walked into his office. He also he definitely saw her face deaden.

'I said I didn't want disturbing; this is a confidential meeting...' he said.

A long-limbed, dark-haired woman with too many pinstripes and overly high-heels pushed past Raquel and into Harry's office.

He stood up, immediately defensive. She was intimidatingly tall and he didn't like the way she towered over them.

'My Lord Duke,' Madame Gide inclined her head patronisingly in greeting.

Harry only knew Gide from Kingsley's Inter-Departmental meetings and he didn't like her. As she swanned into his office that feeling was amplified tenfold.

The woman swept her contemptuous gaze around his office, her focus stopping on Pansy and her eyes narrowing slightly. 'There you are,' she said slowly. 'I've been looking for you, I requested that report on my desk for this morning.'

'I put it on your desk last night,' Pansy said, her voice distinctly monotone.

Harry's eyes narrowed; Pansy shouldn't have been in the office 'last night', especially as 'last night' was a Sunday.

'Well, there isn't time for you to be sneaking off for cups of tea,' Gide said, taking in the Costa cup on Harry's desk. 'And certainly not with important and busy people like Lord Potter. Apologies your Grace, I certainly don't permit my underlings to pester the higher echelons of the Ministry...'

'Actually...' he said, pulling himself up to his full 5'8". Okay, so he wasn't exactly tall, but he knew he had presence when he commanded it. 'I asked Pansy to come up and explain her findings.'

'Well, I can do that, your Grace,' the horrible woman even gave a little bow. 'Scuttle off, Parkinson, and don't forget I requested your services over lunch,' she leered as she said her final point.

Pansy paled. Hercules growled. And Harry felt his anger rise. The room darkening with his latent magic which leaked out uncontrollably.

'I think not,' he said coldly.

'No, Harry, it's fine,' said Pansy hurriedly.

'Obviously not,' he said, channelling Snape's way of speaking directly at Gide. 'I requested Pansy to explain her findings, not you, Madame Gide. That is that. Pansy will return to the office when I have fully understood everything. And as this is new to me, it may take all day,' he said with certainty that suggested absolute finality on matters.

'Of course, your Grace,' the woman bowed again, looking slightly intimidated as she backed out of the door.

Harry flicked a hand impatiently at the door, slamming it shut on her nose and immediately dropped strong locking and silencing charms.

He felt, rather than heard, Pansy sigh in relief and the she muttered, 'actually, I think it was me who requested this meeting.'

'Semantics...' he dismissed. 'I don't suppose we can bury this about me.'

Pansy shook her head but refused to look at Harry as he walked around his desk. Hercules was nuzzling her hand which he noticed was shaking but Pansy withdrew it and clamped both hands between her thighs as if to hide the tremors. Hercules grizzled quietly once and took himself off to curl up against the door, guarding it from further intrusion.

'Pansy...' Harry said softly as he leant against the desk in front of her. 'First of all, we obviously need to find you a new job.'

'I'm fine,' she said slightly defensively despite the words being hollow and blatantly untrue.