Ernest hadn't really considered how awkward it would be for Urquart to go sit in at meetings he had once run; he was thinking only of his own distaste for those sorts of things when he'd spoken. He supposed in retrospect that he ought to have considered it, but didn't the fact that Urquart was back to work mean that he was over it? He could very well have just continued sitting at home, doing whatever he'd been doing after he ceded the Ministry seat, and yet here he was.

Although, it occurred to Ernest, if Urquart had stayed at home, it likely would have been Ernest himself rising to the position of Department Head. There were no other likely candidates. What a headache that would have been — meetings and paperwork and staffing concerns, and hardly any time at all for his own research projects any more. So, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't much of a strain if Urquart wanted to keep sending him to those awful meetings for a while. It was better than the alternative of wearing the title of Head himself.

"Mm," he mumbled agreeably enough. "Glad to have you back, old fellow."