The word friend would have had him sneering, if he was not so utterly used to hiding what he felt. He was not at his best today, granted, but even so, he could hold that together.
'Thanks mate,' he said instead, sliding down from the chair, nearly surprised that he wasn't swaying at all - though the thought that Percy had taught him a thing or three about drinking did not ease the pain he was feeling. He fought back the flinch on his face and walked steadily to Miles' office, feeling a sudden urge to throw up.
Had he ever liked himself less than he did right now? Probably not.
He did not try any pretences as he walked into the room, rather just removed the offending envelope from the pocket of his robes and threw it onto the desk. He wondered if he should say something about Percy, but kept his mouth shut. It was a gamble. How much did Rodolphus know? How much would he find out? Was it better to "break the news" himself, or to let someone else do it for him?
'So where do you keep the good stuff?' he asked instead. If anything he needed to get drunk tonight. Maybe then he'd get to sleep without the nightmares he'd had last night.