Much to his annoyance, Harry hadn’t been able to apparate thought the second perimeter of wards, effectively stranding him just a few yards within the gates skirting Malfoy Manor. It had instead forced him to walk the length of the avenue by foot, well peeved at pace in which the evening was progressing.<br/>Everything had been so painstakingly slow, and it felt like every single step through the gravel taunted the fact that it had taken Harry, by now an Inspector in the Auror force, a full week of intensive work only to find himself somewhere as un-disguised as Draco Malfoy’s doorstep.<br/>By the time the house came into view, Harry decided that the wards were more practical than protective, allowing Malfoy to appear at the doorway perfectly on cue; by the look of Malfoy’s face, Harry wondered whether or not he was even supposed to have made it through the gates.<br/>Even at at a distance, Harry could sense that the rejection was already on Malfoy’s tongue.<br/>"I have some questions about your papers," he quickly interrupted, completely disinterested in coyly honouring Malfoy’s publishing anonymity that had been so troublesome for Harry to trace back.