apples and scented candles • h.potter ✓

• twenty six •

Harry sat in his office looking through some of the past investigations when there was a small knock on the door and entered Corben.

Usually Corben's little visits to his office pleased him, but now he felt nothing of the sort. He gave a little smile and gestured to the chair opposite him. Corben frowned a little and sat down. "Hi," he said timidly.

"Do you need something?" he asked, turning back to the files on his tabletop. He opened the drawer unnecessarily, looked for something he didn't need and closed it again. Unable to find something to do, he picked up a pen and began to tap on the table.

"Well," said Corben hesitantly, "I just came to say hi. Is something wrong, Harry?"

"No," he answered shortly. "I'm busy, Corben. You can't come in here whenever you please."

Colour rushed to his face. Harry looked away, ridden with guilt as Corben stood up. "Sorry for bothering you then," he muttered. "I'll see you later."

Harry sighed and stood up as well. He blocked Corben's path just as he was about to leave. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh, I've been having a bad day and - well, I don't want to make excuses. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Harry," said Corben listlessly. "I understand. You're a renowned Auror, you have lots of work to do. You don't have time for people like me."

Harry bit back a retort. He knew he deserved it, so instead he gently pushed Corben back into his office and looked at him. His hands were placed on his shoulders in a mild, reassuring manner. "Listen," he began cautiously, not wanting to mess up again. He had been thinking about talking to Corben since last night, had decided what exactly to tell him, but messed up as soon as Corben had entered the room. "We need to talk. This is important."

Corben looked scared. "About what?"

"This is going to sound bad, but I say it for your own sake. We cannot keep meeting like this."

He felt Corben stiffen under his hands. "May I ask why?"

"You're a trainee Auror, Corben," he began slowly. "And I'm an Auror who is quite well known among the general public. You must have seen all the articles they write about me. I don't want you to be mixed up in this whole mess."

Corben raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't want people to know about us?"

Harry remained silent for a few seconds, choosing his words carefully. "I don't want our relationship to be public."

He stared into his boyfriend's eyes anxiously, hoping to see some understanding in them. But Corben's face was quite expressionless and he was suddenly reminded of his brother, Blaise. "You mean you're not ready to come out to the public yet? If that's the case, then I understand. I won't tell anyone. I did tell Theo though -"

"No, you don't understand, Corben," said Harry, beginning to lose patience. He stepped back and leaned against the wall. "It's not about that. I need to keep this secret. If you become an Auror, people are going to say that you only got in because you're dating me, that you got special favours or something …"

"I don't care what they say. I can take it."

"No, you can't," Harry snapped. "You don't get it. The public is cruel. They're going to tear you down. Do you know what happened to Hermione when Rita Skeeter began to feed people stories about how she was cheating on me with Viktor Krum? They sent her hate mail. Someone sent her a load of Bubotuber pus and she was covered in boils all over. She was fifteen, Corben! I don't like this anymore than you do, but I don't want you suffering because of me."