Harry sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He was trying so hard to concentrate, but his mind kept jumping back to the breakup.

"You said you have to go back to work in two days, right?" Kingsley asked.

Harry nodded.

Because the original plan was that he'd have nine days to relax in D.C., those nine days had now converted into days off from work, sitting at home and trying to figure out how to put together the shambles of his life. Obviously, matters with Dudley and the bank had gotten out of control, and it didn't take Harry long to realize that he needed professional help if he wanted a chance to salvage his bank. That's what pushed him to hire Kingsley Shacklebolt, a skilled and trusted lawyer he'd met at Stanford when the man was there teaching classes. They hadn't talked much since then, but Harry had tried to keep tabs with the lawyer and had sent a congratulations card when Kingsley opened his own law firm.

Now everything was completely different. For the past week, Harry spent at least four hours a day meeting with Kingsley to go over Dudley's fraudulent contracts word by word. It had been tedious but necessary. Moreover, it was something for Harry's brain to focus on. When he was reading contracts, he didn't have time to imagine what he and Severus would have been doing at the Capitol. He didn't have time to wonder if he'd left his blue blazer at Severus's place. And he certainly didn't have time to scroll through his contact list until he hit the "S" category. He couldn't. He had work to do.

Except they'd just gone through the last contract that very morning, meaning his mind had more spare time to wander than he'd like.

"May I ask again why you waited this long to seek me out?" the dark-skinned lawyer asked with a frown.

(What was Severus doing now?)

Harry ran his tongue over his top teeth. "Because I thought I could handle the situation on my own," he mumbled.

Kingsley arched his eyebrow in a fashion that roughly translated into "Did you fail to tell me you went to law school" and "Do you see what happens when you decide to go off and do everything on your own?"

The banker, silently chastised, sighed again. "I know. I know. I was just didn't want other people to figure out what was going on. I thought I could fix the problem and make everything – I don't know – disappear without anyone else finding out about it and freaking out," he explained. Oh, how naïve and clueless he had been.

(Was Severus hurting?)

"Trust me. I've learned my lesson."

(Or was Harry the only one in pain?)

"Good because I have a solution." Harry's eyes widened. "It's actually quite simple, really. I'm afraid you won't like the answer…"

Harry's hopes fell, and he couldn't help drooping down in his chair. Here goes. "Just tell me," he mumbled.

Kingsley joined his hands together and placed them on his desk, giving Harry his undivided attention. "The fact of the matter is that, in almost all of Mr. Dursley's contracts, no illegal activities were committed."

The banker shook his head. That was not what he wanted to hear. "He stole their money and their closest belongings," Harry argued. "How is that legal?"

The lawyer kept his calm. "You know this as well as I do, Harry. These people all signed contracts for at the twenty-three percent interest rate. Yes, they probably were expecting a lower rate, the rate Mr. Dursley undoubtedly promised them. But the fact of the matter is that whatever Mr. Dursley verbally told them does not matter. By signing their names on the contract, they were agreeing to pay the higher rate and risk giving up their collateral. Believe it or not, but we can't sue or arrest Mr. Dursley for lying to your clients. The law would never recognize that lower rate. I know it seems like there are some blurred lines here, but they're really not. In fact, it's all fairly straightforward. The contracts clearly say that the interest rate is twenty-three percent, and the signatures are all clearly there. Anybody, especially a judge, could see that. If you pressed charges, you'd only be laughed out of the courtroom."

Harry closed his eyes. This is what he had feared. "But what about all of the people who have already lost their collateral to Dudley? Can we sue for that?" he asked weakly, already knowing the answer.

"I'm afraid not."

He groaned. "So you're telling me that we can't do a single damn thing?"

"Not quite. If you recall, there was one case that stood out." Yeah, the one contract Harry didn't want to discuss right now. "For whatever reasons, Mr. Dursley chose to do something different with Severus Snape." Harry tensed at the name. "This was the only occurrence where there were two contracts. The peculiar thing is that the two contracts have two completely different interest rates, even different from the other contracts. One is for fifteen percent, and the other is for five percent. Oddly enough, both appear to have his signature on them."

"So…"

"Do you know why Mr. Dudley would deviate from his M.O. for this one contract?"

Harry shrugged, trying to hide how uncomfortable he was. "I hate to give Dudley and his friends any credit, but I'd imagine that they could tell that Severus is not like our everyday customer and knew they had to be careful with his contract."

This seemed to have caught Kingsley's attention. "How so? Can you elaborate?"

"If you were ever to meet Severus, you would be able to tell almost immediately that he's a smart and careful guy. A guy who reads things before signing his name. A guy who knows how to use his brains and sheer stubbornness to get his way. Dudley probably saw this and decided to switch things up to adjust for the…aberration. They probably negotiated the interest rate down to five percent, and Dudley then typed up a contract with the right rate. Severus read, approved, and signed it. Then Dudley went back and did stuff on his computer to change it to fifteen percent, a rise high enough for him to make Severus default but similar enough to the original five percent that Severus might not notice the difference. Five and fifteen are only one digit away from each other, after all."

"I see…So you think they somehow manipulated the document to change the promised interest rate and still have Mr. Snape's signature on them?"

Harry nodded. "Yep. I think they used Photoshop or something."

"If you can prove that the second contract has a forged signature, then you can have Dudley and whoever else was involved in the forgery arrested."

The image of Dudley, Andy, Eddie, and Jordan behind bars was so sweet that he smiled for the first time in five days. Still, he didn't like the idea of having Godric's employees arrested because he knew it would wind up hurting the bank once the media found out about the scandal.

"But what will happen if their arrest goes public?"

"I know. We've discussed the idea before, and I agree with what you said. Most likely, you'll loose most of your customers to a bigger bank that has a name they think they can trust. And, yes, they probably shouldn't trust that bank."

Harry smirked. He'd gone off on enough rants about big banks since Monday that his complaints were probably drilled into the lawyer's mind. "So what are my other options?"

"You can use this as leverage. Tell Dudley, Andy, Eddie, and Jordan that they're fired. You'll do it under the guise of an early retirement and even throw in severance pay to keep their mouths shut about the contracts. This way the public never hears about what happened, and business goes on as normal."

"They said before that I could go to jail for being an accessory. What if they threaten to tell the police anyway just to spite me?"

"Then they'd be bluffing," Kingsley replied bluntly. "They wouldn't risk spending a day in jail just to see you suffer, trust me. I've met Dudley before. He wouldn't survive a day off of prison food, and he knows it."

Harry laughed. "Fine. I admit that I don't like giving them severance pay, but I see its advantages. But what can I do about all the people they screwed over? I can't do anything to help them?"

Kingsley swayed his head back and forth. "I read over your company's policy about the responsibilities and powers each member of the board have. If Dudley and the rest leave Godric's, then you have the authority to forgive everyone's loans. Essentially, they wouldn't have to pay back any more money to the bank and can save their money for better uses. However, I strongly suggest you don't do that. If you do, your bank would lose money… a lot of money. Moreover, the people you'd be helping are people who legally agreed to the interest rate they're paying. Like it or not, they are responsible for paying the rate they signed for. If that's not enough to steer you away from the idea, you should also consider the fact that 'suddenly' forgiving their loans would undoubtedly raise suspicion. These people would want to know why they aren't expected to make monthly payments anymore. And what would you tell them?"

Harry made a face. "So I should just let them continue paying the higher rate? That just seems wrong and dirty. I wanted to make the bank clean again, remember?"

"If you wanted to keep your bank clean, you should have come to me about the fraud as soon as you found out instead of waiting months later."

The banker closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. Sometimes, talking to Kingsley was like talking to a parent. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if the lawyer grounded him for his poor decisions.

"I've really boxed myself in a corner, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have."

Harry opened one eye. "Do you always have to be so brutally honest? Can't you lie to make me feel better?"

"That's not what you're paying me for."

And wasn't that the truth. "So tell me again what you think I should do?"

"You should go to work on Monday, ask for a private meeting with Dudley and the rest, tell them you have proof that they forged Severus's signature on a contract, and offer to let them leave the bank respectfully and with a little bonus. Then send a letter to Mr. Severus saying that you'll honor the contract with the lower interest rate and will give him back the extra money he sent to the bank. After that, you need to put up an ad for experienced bankers to fill four open positions. While you're waiting for the replacements, you can either manage the bank alone – something your parents have allowed you to do for no more than eight months – or temporarily promote some of your current employees. It's entirely up to you. Once that's done, you're all set to run an honest bank again."

Harry just stared at the man. He knew Kingsley was smart but damn. "You know, I think you should start your own show. It can be like Dr. Phil, but it will cover financial problems instead of life problems."

"Suze Orman already has a show like that. Plus, I'm not business trained. As you know, this project required a lot of research on both of our parts."

"Damn. You're right. Then you can start a new wave of reality tv shows based on lawyers and how they counsel their clients. We can call it Before Judge Judy or something like that."

Kingsley rolled his eyes and started packing up, signaling the end of the meeting and the end of that chain of thinking.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Kingsley asked professionally.

Harry frowned. "No, I guess not. Thanks for all of your help."

Kingsley gave a small bow. "My pleasure."

"How much do I owe you?"

"My hourly rate has gone up to $1,350, so you're total would come to $27,000."

Doing the math quickly in his head, Harry realized Kingsley was actually giving him a discount. He smiled at the man's generosity. "Sure thing, Kingsley. Luna will get the money to you by Monday morning."

The dark-skinned man nodded. "For what it's worth, I am sorry that you've been put in this situation, regardless of how much of this is your own doing. I know how much this bank means to you. All I can do is wish you good luck, Harry."

"Thanks, Kingsley! I don't know what I would have done without you," Harry said with a smile.

"The way you were going before you called me? You probably would have been thrown in jail," the lawyer joked.

"Ha ha. I got it. Always call your lawyer."

They shared a quick hug before exiting the conference room.

(Did Severus wish they were in D.C., too?)

"I'm proud of you, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry didn't bother saying thanks. He still wasn't happy about the fact that dozens of people would still be stuck with their crappy contracts, but he couldn't think of a way out of it. So instead of saying anything, he just took another bite of his cheeseburger. Molly always made the best burgers.

"So now that you've got the bank issues covered, what are you going to do about Severus?"

Ah. Another sore topic. Harry moved his attention to his chocolate milkshake and avoided looking at the girl sitting in the chair across from him.

"Honestly, Harry. Are you really going to ignore me?"

Fine. He could talk. "I'm not ignoring you. And you should eat your tomato soup before it gets cold." Hermione had ordered grilled cheese and soup, a classic and delicious combo. It would be a shame if she let it go to waste.

"If it's making you uncomfortable, we don't have to talk about him directly. We can talk about how you're feeling," she compromised.

"I'm fine."

(The last time he'd been to Molly's Kitchen was with Severus, wasn't it?)

"Are you really?"

Harry violently dunked a fry in ketchup. "Yes, I'm fine."

(Did that count as their first official date?)

Hermione did not look convinced. "Luna said you were a mess last week."

"Girls," he mumbled under his breath. It wasn't that surprising that the two had talked after Luna left his apartment. Apparently, the only reason Hermione hadn't been there at the apartment was because she had been too busy trying to get bloggers to remove their articles (with zero success). Most likely, there had been some rendezvous between the two Saturday night or Sunday morning to talk about what had happened, which would explain why Hermione had shown up at his doorstep Sunday afternoon.

"She said that was the first time she'd ever seen you cry," Hermione helpfully added.

He drowned another fry in the red sauce. "I was upset, okay? I'd just been dumped by the man I lo…cared deeply about the day we were supposed to fly off and go on a romantic trip together. But I've had time to get over it, and I'm fine now."

The psychologist released a breath. "Okay, Harry. I'm glad you're dealing with everything."

Harry was already working on painting his next fry red. "I mean, it sucks. I'm not going to lie. But I'm done crying about it. It's just that I'm confused." He tossed away the third fry and started twisted a fourth into his napkin, absently watching it bend and bulge. "I can understand why he'd get mad if I had cheated. That would be understandable. Cheating is bad. But if he'd taken a second to think rationally, he would have known that all those articles were complete bullshit. You knew it. Luna knew it. Neville even knew it, and we haven't been dating for the past three months. I thought he knew me better than that. I thought he trusted me. So why didn't he?"

Hermione reached out to still Harry's busy hand thus saving the fifth fry from a bloody end. "Why don't you ask him that question?"

Oh, that's rich. "I don't think he wants to talk to me right now." (And even if he did, Harry wasn't quite sure if he was ready to have that conversation.)

"That's fine. You can give him some more time. I know you skipped last week, but why don't you come to the next STA meeting? I'll even make sure that you guys are paired up. That will give you the perfect opportunity to talk about things."

"Thanks, but I don't think that's going to work. And speaking of work, I actually have to start working on some termination contracts for four of my favorite coworkers." He gave a bitter smile and started to get up.

Hermione gave him a pitying look before pulling her hand back. "Okay, but I want to say one last thing before you leave. Before you make any final decisions about how you want to handle things with Severus, I want you to think about what you really want. At the end of the day, what do you want? You can keep avoiding Severus for the rest of your life, but will that really make you happy?"

(Was Severus happy now?)

(Was Harry happy now?)

(Would he want to date somebody else?)

(Would he be able to handle seeing Severus date somebody else?)

(Yes? No? Maybe?)

"Fucking psychologists," he growled on his way out.