Ford shook his head with a resigned smile, but in fact he wasn't particularly looking forward to that aspect of the season. He remembered how tired he'd been the Friday after he'd gone to Londonderry with Lestrange, or last week when he'd come in after dealing with the dementor all night and not having slept. If that was going to become a regular thing — more regular than once every few months with Lestrange, anyway — he was in for a long summer. Maybe he could ask for a slightly lighter case load? Not that he held out much hope for that, since he wasn't one of the senior members of the division. Maybe they'd end up with a Hogwarts intern who could handle some of the little stuff for a few months, though sometimes interns were almost more trouble than they saved, depending on how quickly they figured out what they were supposed to be doing.

"Yeah, I'm really in for it," he agreed. "Maybe they'll both get engaged next month and I can go back to sleeping at night by midsummer." (Not very likely).

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"Thanks, George," Ford said with a genuine smile. Obviously he wasn't going to think of anything, but it was a nice offer all the same, and Ford knew George Robins well enough to know that he was sincere in it even if there was never an opportunity to prove it. That said, though, he really ought to get back to his own work, particularly if he was going to spend part of his day dealing with someone else's case load. "I'll see you in a bit, yeah?"

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