Reckless Abandon (Drarry)

Chapter 6

"Oh Merlin, we got that meeting in ten minutes." Ron leaned back, stretching his arms out over his head.

Harry shifted carefully in his chair, his ass still sore even after three days. At least his chest was mostly back to normal now. The first few nights, he had crashed in bed early, but found he couldn't get comfortable lying on his front or his back. He ended up sleeping on his side, which wasn't a normal position for him and woke up every time he turned over from the pain.

Despite that, he was feeling better overall though. He was still sleeping a lot more right after sessions with Draco, feeling so physically and emotionally drained by them. All the sleep had left him feeling much more alert and energetic at work.

"I'll meet you in there." Harry went to the kitchenette, getting a glass of water, and heading towards the boardroom.

Once a quarter, the department had a bigger meeting like this, with all the aurors coming in. He saw many that worked shifts opposite to his own, and some of the newer staff he didn't know that well yet. He and Ron were among the oldest aurors. Ron slid into the chair Harry had saved for him just as the meeting started.

"Thanks to everyone for coming in today..." Matilda Dankworth, the department head, started the meeting, and reviewed the progress of some larger scale investigations.

"Now, I'm sorry to say we are facing possible staff cutbacks in the new year. You have no doubt noticed we hired only two new aurors in the spring, Nathaniel and Folade, and they are doing great. We likely won't have the budget to hire more next year." Matilda ended the meeting soon after that.

Harry looked around the room, watching as the aurors chatted and shuffled out. Men and women he had worked long, hard shifts with over the years.

Ron gave him a funny look. "Are you coming? I want to go to the Toad and Turtle for some shepherd's pie."

Nodding, Harry got up. "I'm just a bit surprised about what Matilda said at the end there. We are already down about ten people from the numbers we used to have, and they aren't hiring as many new aurors. How can she be considering cutbacks?"

"Simple." Ron scoffed. "The war has been over for ages now, Harry. Most of the Death Eaters are dead, in Askaban, or have left the country."

Harry followed his friend to the pub, sinking into their favourite booth at the back. "But it's not like crime is gone entirely. I was just at Gringotts last week investigating a robbery. A big one."

"Not gone, but it's back to pre-war levels. Matilda has been commenting on the trend for ages." Ron turned to place his order with the server, leaving Harry to think for a few moments.

After placing his own order, Harry took a sip of his beer. "Why do they keep asking me to work long hours then?"

Ron tilted his head a bit to the side. "Do they? I haven't seen a manager do that with anyone for years. I just thought you worked so much to avoid going back to that old sad house of yours."

Harry gave him a light kick under the table. "It's not that bad. Clementine even brought some cleaners in last week, and now she's mentioning painters."

"Oh, she's working out OK, then?" Ron gave him a wide, happy smile, looking quite satisfied with himself.

The server came back with their meals, and they dug in hungrily. "Yeah, she is so efficient and professional. Are you sure you are related?"

Ron just chuckled at the jibe, and took a long swallow of his beer.

"Seriously, she has all my paperwork organized already, her office set up, and is handling the charity stuff great. Thanks for suggesting her." Harry was truly amazed at what the woman had done in such a short time. "I don't even have another charity event to go to until next month. I don't know what to do with all these free evenings."