分卷阅读4（1 / 2）

Harry’s mouth dropped. “You think I’m connected to it?”

Valentine smiled, “Absolutely not.”

“But you just said I was too involved in it!”

“You were too involved in the events of today, yes.”

“How can I be too involved if I was just doing my job?” Valentine simply stared back at him. Harry, desperate to see out his shift and try to find any intel from the Thursday night card games, pleaded, “Can I at least finish out the shift? You have no one to replace me.”

“No, it’s an instant termination.” Valentine shook his head and started to pry the porter’s jacket off of Harry’s shoulders. “Everyone is replaceable.”

Harry shook his head incredulously. “You literally said at my performance review that I was irreplaceable.”

Valentine motioned for Harry to take off his dress pants and said, “The you from then was irreplaceable, but the you from today is completely replaceable. See to it that you get your things and don’t set foot in here again. Thank you, Archer.”

Months of working there and Valentine couldn’t even be bothered to remember his name. Maybe Ron was right, Archie Eversworn was forgettable. After he’d changed back into his street clothes and gathered his personal items, Harry felt too dejected to say goodbye to anyone and immediately left.

He couldn’t bring himself to send word to Ron yet, so he meandered his way back to his flat in a downtrodden haze. Just as he started to think there might be hope, some way to fix the situation, he tripped over something and fell to the ground. A loud hiss echoed in his ear, and he caught the blur of a red kneazle before it hurried across the street to find refuge in an alcove.

He mildly recognized it as the same kneazle from earlier, but his gaze focused on the bloody page of the Prophet on the ground before him. It must have slipped out of his pocket when he fell. Harry turned it over and examined the print for the first time.

New Players Called Up for Quidditch National Team—Barton Hunterpot has named the provisional squad for the next series of friendlies against Ireland, Croatia, and Pakistan. New names among the players featured are Heidi McTavinton, Bart Martin, and Ginevra Weasley.

He smiled. Well that was something. He shoved the paper back in his pocket and went home. At least something went right for someone today, he thought as he entered the side entrance of The Laughing Fox.

Harry took slow steps up to his flat and paused in front of the door as the dulcet tones of Alwyn and the Briarclucks drifted over from Umphrey’s flat. Something about the depressing melody of “You Cracked My Cauldron and Now We’re Done” brought Harry’s spirits crashing back down again.

How could he have let this happen? He’d had one job and messed everything up. He let Ron down, and Robards, and missed the chance to prove he was more than just the Boy Who Lived Twice. He was capable. He just needed to figure something out. Maybe there was a way to infiltrate the potions ring from the inside, if only he hadn’t lost access to the hotel. Harry kicked the door frame. He shook his head, sighed, and opened his door.

He walked into his flat and marched to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. Harry didn’t realize all the lights were on until he’d grabbed the kettle and turned to the sink. He started to glance around and then heard a bang from the other side of the studio, turning just in time to see a figure in the window ground his feet on the floor and stand straight.

Before Harry could put the kettle down to grab his wand, the blond figure had disarmed him.

“You,” Harry breathed. He took in the lithe frame of Draco Malfoy dressed in head to toe black robes.

“Hello,” Malfoy said, staring at Harry. His face revealed absolutely nothing. There was no trace of exertion or discomfort after having, apparently, climbed the building and crawled through the window. Grey eyes fell to the kettle in Harry’s hand. “Are you making tea?” Malfoy snidely commented.

Harry went for a knife, but Malfoy lunged across the room faster than he’d anticipated and whacked it out his hand. They stood close for a moment before Harry took a step back and ran into the counter. With his arms still raised in a defensive stance, he asked, “How did you get in here?”