Destinies Collide

Blanket of Memories

A/N: Chapter 30! Ngl I didn't think we'd make it here but somehow it's happened. To commemorate, you get some more plot development, as a treat XD

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November 24th, 1988

"Is there something the matter? You seem... distracted," Salazar's voice makes him look up from where his face had been buried in his palms for the past five minutes or so.

"It's nothing," Michael assures, rubbing his temples and returning to the letter-writing necessary to organise the reading of the Potter wills. He could have delegated it all to the bank but decided that, other than doing the reading on one of their rented rooms and making use of their standard contracts – where one acknowledges the will and is bound by it or entirely forfeits their right to any possible bequests –, he should be the one to explain in detail why this had yet to happen until now and what his role is in all of this. "Just another headache, it'll pass eventually."

"Is it a recurring issue?" He would appreciate the concern if the tone was less curious and more worried. As it is, the questions are simply distracting, mildly annoying and entirely unhelpful.

"In the past few months at least," he absently informs, blinking down at the next name on the list. Hadn't Remus Lupin been one of the suggested tutors? Huh. "Haven't been sleeping too well either, so that's probably why."

Salazar hums in understanding and he gets a few more minutes of blissful silence before it's once again interrupted, "Where's little Harry?"

"At school," he tries not to sound too annoyed, the man had spent a long time with no one to talk to after all. "As he will be every morning of the week," he adds to prevent a repeat of the question the following day.

"Shouldn't you take the time to rest then?" the founder suggests and Michael doesn't hold back a loud sigh at it.

"I don't have time to rest, there's work to be done." He impatiently informs, "I need to send out a bunch of letters for the Potter's Will reading, finish scheduling with a tutor for however many times a week both Harry and I can be home, figure out a way to get Harry a training wand with no more incidents, send the latest version of my freelance contract to my boss for approval, read through the rest of Harry's finances since they've been stagnant for eight years, figure out when we can visit his properties, finish a draft for a proposal I've been delaying for a week but need to get done before I can leave the firm, send an apology gift basket to my secretary for leaving so suddenly and buy some sleeping medicine so I'm not plagued by fantastical dreams every night that I only half-remember in the morning!" if not for his practice in delivering long speeches to a jury, he may have been out of breath at the end of the tirade.

"... have you ever heard of delegating?" Is the portrait's entirely unapologetic reply.

"Which part of that could I possibly delegate?" Michael asks in a disbelieving tone.

"The gift basket for one," Salazar tells him in an amused tone, "can't some servant get that done instead? And as for the wand... I have a suggestion, and you could send a trusted friend to the bank with the lytling to fetch it."

"..servants aren't a thing," he informs the founder, though he figures house-elves may count, not that he has any. "But I guess there are delivery services," he reluctantly agrees, because as much as he likes giving personalized gifts Sarah will probably understand how swamped he is with responsibilities at the moment. "And what suggestion would that be?"

"There's a wand in the Slytherin vault, stored in the back right corner inside a trunk with a dragon clasp on it," the older man tells him, "it's in a white wooden box, he can't miss it. I have a feeling it just might work for him."