The Contract

Chapter 47

The quiet murmuring of the wizengamot talking was the first thing Corvus heard as he entered the full room. The circular table was all but full, cups and paperwork scattered amongst the members. It was an early morning meeting, and you could tell by how quiet everyone was talking amongst themselves, not yet properly awake. There were barely any glances Corvus' way as he silently entered the room, the doors were still open, and would close when the meeting was due to start.

"Corvus, over here," came Abbott's voice, making a motion towards the wizard, indicating to the seat next to him. Corvus wasn't late, per se, but he was normally much earlier than this.

Corvus gave a nod in recognition and allowing his lawyer to know he'd heard him and would proceed. Adjusting the strap on his bag, Corvus, despite his age, was very agile and swift as he made his way towards him carrying a plain brown cardboard box.

"Good morning, Lord Abbott," Corvus said smoothly, as he slid into his seat after placing the box on the table in front of him. "Here is the box you asked for." he had been unable to give it to him before this meeting, he'd literally only received the owl just before departing for the meeting. He supposed he could have apparated to the school, but hindsight and all that. Giving him his title, since it was on official capacity, not friendly terms and Antonio wasn't working for him right now. "Lady Abbott," giving Helena a short bow of respect. He couldn't help but think his wife would have adored Helena, which did dampen his mood considerably. He missed her fiercely, she had been his one true love, he'd never considered taking on a second wife after her death, not even to give his children, his sons a mother figure. He couldn't have borne trying to 'replace' her which is exactly what it would have been. He'd much rather be on his own than conceive doing such a thing. He could never love anyone the way he'd loved his wife, and it wouldn't have been fair on anyone, let alone a new wife, unable to meet the expectations of a past love.

"Thank you," Antonio murmured, accepting the box, opening the lid, he winced at the amount of folders within. "He's trying to kill me isn't he? Merlin help me!" he sighed in exasperation, perhaps he'd been too hasty in agreeing to sit for the future Lord Potter. Which is exactly what was happening, he was sitting today on the Potter seat, while his wife managed the Abbott seats.

Corvus chuckled smoothly, glancing in at the contents, "Looks like he found a few more cases," he whispered quietly, as his eyes roamed over the folder tabs.

Helena watched both of them with bright curious eyes, she naturally knew more than most, due to her close association with Corvus and as Antonio was her husband she was often around while he worked. She didn't know everything, of course, but still, she was curious about what was going on now.

"More?" Antonio whispered, "Just how many more can I expect?" throwing Corvus a rather constipated look.

"I believe he's finished," Corvus said wryly, "He wouldn't give out half finished information," hence why it had come quite late. He believed Harry had astronomy and had finished it and attended class before sending the box off with Hedwig last night. The owl had journeyed all night to reach him this morning, although he reckoned the owl had rather enjoyed the long flight. Harry didn't use his owl very often, except for the owl orders, which wasn't far.

"Well that's a relief," he said sardonically. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened one of the first files and began to read everything available to him. Eyebrows steadily getting higher and higher as he read everything, lost in his perusal he grabbed another file and began to read that one, then another, then another. "He's...meticulous I'll give him that," he admitted, awed by this had been put together by a twelve-year-old child. This was...he'd seen adults with less consideration.

Corvus smirked smugly, eyes gleaming with delight, "Indeed," he murmured, extremely proud of Harry and his dedication to whatever he set his mind to. "If he remains on course...he's going to leave Hogwarts with many job offers." Which only happened to those who were extremely intelligent. He'd say perhaps five out of the entire year were scouted when leaving Hogwarts, not all of them Ravenclaws.