Authors Note: Lemons ahead. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

~oOo~

"I have some conditions." Harry said matter-of-factly. Hermione sat back in her office chair and eyed him speculatively.

She said almost challengingly, "Well, let's hear them."

"First of all," Harry started. "I will not be one of your official spies. I do not want to be a part of the ministry. If at all possible, I don't want to come here at all. I will give my information to Victor and go home."

Hermione nodded her head, deep in thought before Harry continued. "Second, I will not unnecessarily throw myself in danger. If I am forced to go to this 'sanctuary' place because of Oberland or another attack, I will go. But you cannot expect me to go whenever you want me to.

Third, Gabrielle will know everything. I will not lie to her about my whereabouts or what it is I'm doing."

Hermione pursed her lips in distaste at his last request. She had diligently written down each of his requests as he spoke, and she was now scrutinizing each one in turn.

Finally, she looked up and faced him squarely. "Mr. Meier, you know the nature of our work is not easy and not always safe?"

"Of course, I do. It's why I laid down these requests."

"Then you do know that the more people who know, the more danger they themselves will be put in?"

Harry remained silent and narrowed his eyes at her. Hermione took in a deep breath and stood up. "Jake, I know you're aware of who I am and my role in the war as we have mutual family friends and acquaintances."

Immediately apprehensive, Harry scrunched his brows together as she began her explanation. "Then you will know that, in order to defeat Voldemort, we were in hiding for months, and we were the only ones capable of destroying him. We kept it that way, because if anyone else knew what we were doing, they would have become an immediate target for information. It was to protect our family.

If Gabrielle knows what it is that you're doing and have found out, you not only put her in danger, but myself and my other spies as well."

"Gabrielle can take care of herself." Harry said, feeling his anger rise. "I laid down the conditions and you can either accept them for what they are, or I leave."

Harry was standing as well and they eyed each other with contempt. Standing his ground, he looked directly into her eyes and refused to budge. He only began to shift when he saw her eyes rove over his features as though she were studying every facet about him.

He didn't want her to accidently recognize him. He knew Hermione was a quick study and could see things that most others wouldn't. However, he was determined not to back down on his request, so he held his stance.

Hermione's eyes narrowed slightly when they finally settled back on his eyes and she sighed. "Very well." She crossed over to sit at her desk. "But if she lets out any information to endanger my spies, both of you will suffer the consequences."

"I assure you, she is probably better trusted than me."

Hermione huffed a breath of sarcastic amusement. "We will just have to see about that. I accept your other conditions as well. As for the future, I want to talk about how we will communicate in the event of an emergency."

~oOo~

A few days had passed by since Harry's meeting with Hermione. So far, she had stayed true to his conditions and had not contacted him.

Harry now found himself at the Apothecary, taking care of customers and busier than he ever thought possible.

He was still actively studying potions for the shop, but on top of that he had added alchemy, dueling, and occlumency. Nick was, of course, an excellent teacher so he learned quickly. And Harry was pleased to see that any areas that he lacked in he picked up quickly. Specifically dueling and to his surprise, he began to take an affinity to occlumency.

Thinking back to his confrontation with Voldemort and his years at Hogwarts, he was only now realizing how incomplete his schooling was in Defense.

His other subjects were decent because he had the stability of the same teacher throughout the years. However, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, every new professor brought in new teaching styles and changes. Particularly when Umbridge held the position.

With every lesson Nick gave him, he learned that his schooling in both Hogwarts and the Ministry was extremely lacking.

The Ministry had only really taught them offensive dueling in the event that they had to be sent out into the fray. Nick delved even deeper, teaching Harry how to use people's minds against them in a rancid display of psychological warfare, as well as Defensive protection.

Nick's key point was: if you can make your enemy doubt themselves, you'll have the advantage.

One part of Harry's training that made him decidedly uncomfortable was that Nick now forced him to delve into his books on Dark Magic.

While he was repulsed at first, Nick had explained that not all dark spells can be fought with light spells. He had to start thinking of Dark Magic as just another branch of magic, like Transfiguration or Charms.

The whole ordeal made Harry feel slightly better when he realized the minute similarities between Dark Magic and Alchemy, truly solidifying in Harry's mind that Alchemy was neither light nor dark.

However, with each new discovery, one thought proved to be most disturbing: he took to Dark Magic extremely well.

After heeding all of Nick's warnings about Dark Magic and how addictive they could be, not to mention how difficult they could be to control, Harry took to the spells easily.

Surprisingly, most of the spells were invented to help and heal in the medical field, but were transformed and used with malicious intent.

Then there were the spells that were meant to leave a residue on the victim or curse them indefinitely.

The fact that Harry studied these spells and cast them carefully on the practice dummies left Harry feeling at odds with himself. Primarily because he felt nothing.

He expected to feel some sort of power with the dark spells that he cast, but nothing changed. Nick had stressed not to get lost in the feel of the darkness but when the time came…nothing.

The only explanation Harry and Nick could come up with was the fact that Harry had lived with darkness his whole life in the shape of Voldemort's Horcrux residing in his scar. The dark residue had already taken over his body and mind, therefore, there was nothing left to corrupt.

The thought was disturbing to say the least, but oddly comforting knowing he had a slim chance of being affected by Dark Magic. A never-ending paradox.

Upon Gabrielle's suggestion, he began to experiment with Alchemy outside of elixirs. Her idea of battle alchemy had intrigued him, especially with all his extra work in dueling with Nick.

His experimentations were where he and Gabrielle found themselves; trying to come up with a practical way to bring Gabrielle's idea to fruition.

The concept was easy enough for both of them to understand. They drew whichever elemental rune they needed, with the goal to convert what they had into something else or project it across the room.

"Our bodies are made up of water and blood." Gabrielle stated, pacing back and forth in front of Harry. Harry smirked as she worried the idea before him. "Which means if what Nick says is true, then everything must remain in balance. So theoretically, you could turn someone into stone using the iron in their blood against them."

"That may be so, but you can't change one element into something else. That goes against the laws of Alchemy."

Gabrielle stopped mid-pace and gasped. Harry sat a bit straighter as she quickly turned to him. "He said nothing about combining the elements!" Gabrielle exclaimed excitedly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously, back ramrod straight as she bounced in excitement.

"Harry, think about it!" She said, grabbing at her hair enthusiastically. "What would you get if you combined water and iron? Or water and fire without changing their properties?"

Unsure of where Gabrielle was going with her rant, Harry answered the second part of her hysteric. "Well, the water would simply evaporate—"

"Exactly!" Gabrielle cut him off, flapping her hands. "Steam! Steam could theoretically be controlled similarly to water and air. And the secret ingredient was fire! Who's to say if you combined fire and earth?"

Understanding dawning on his features, Harry stood and matched her intensity, his own excitement beginning as a roaring flutter in his belly. "I would assume if the metals and earth are the correct properties it could turn into lava."

"Precisely! Or what if you alchemically combined Earth and Air? I would assume nothing would happen but if you throw earth into the wind, you could create a dust storm powerful enough to blind and suffocate everyone."

"Gabrielle, you're a genius." Harry barked, lifting her up by the waist and twirling her around in the air. She shrieked when he lifted her and giggled at his carefree nature. He kissed her soundly and she gently pushed at his chest.

"Now there's no saying I'm right, it's just a theory."

Gently pushing her hair behind her ear, Harry leaned in and whispered, "I have a very good feeling about this theory of yours."

She sighed as the breath from his whispering raised the hairs on her arms and back. Harry could feel the goosebumps raise and smiled to himself for causing such a reaction in her. When he stepped back, she looked nearly dazed and he said, "And now we must try out this hypothesis of yours. Would you care to do it with me?"

Gabrielle let out a haughty laugh. "Harry I'm no good at this sort of thing. I just come up with the ideas. I'd rather just watch."

"Suite yourself." Harry said with a wink. "You can pick up my mistakes then. What do you think we should start with?"

"I'm not exactly sure." Gabrielle said, tilting her head to the side. "My first instinct is to combine water and fire to create steam, but we could end up boiling ourselves in this very room."

Harry paused and looked toward the bookshelf in thought. "Maybeeee…"

"What have you got now?" Gabrielle asked, following his gaze when his pause lasted longer than she wanted.

Harry moved from where he was standing to walk over to the bookshelf and grabbed a quill, the book of alchemical runes, and a paper. "What if we didn't draw each alchemical rune that we needed, but instead combined them? It's about knowing your elements and their properties, right? So, we take the properties of each element and combine them to get the desired effect."

Gabrielle looked impressed. "It's worth a try."

The couple studied each rune in turn and drew up their crude versions of what the rune could be before finally settling on Gabrielle's combined rune. It was a near perfect combination of both elements, inscribed into one. Harry memorized its patters and sweeping lines, committing it fully to memory before withdrawing his wand. "Here goes nothing."

Standing to the side, Gabrielle watched closely as Harry drew the rune at his feet. He was nearly finished when a huge blast shot out of his wand, propelling him backward into Gabrielle.

They landed in a heap on the floor, coughing and spluttering from the impact of each other and the explosion.

Harry grunted as he rolled over off of Gabrielle. "Shit, are you alright?" He asked. She squeaked in discomfort as he rolled off her and let out a huff of relief when he landed on the ground.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay." Her voice was strained from the impact. They both lay on the floor in shock, slowly looked over at each other, and started laughing. Gabrielle's hair was in a million different places and Harry was covered in black soot that streaked over his face.

Slowly, they sat up, Gabrielle clutching her side and pointing at Harry's disheveled features and Harry trying to wipe the mess off with no success.

Finally gathering her bearings, Gabrielle muttered a quick Scourgify on Harry and helped each other up. "What in the bloody hell went wrong?" Harry could see the scorch marks on the ground, though the amusement never left his voice.

Walking slowly as if the spot was still dangerous, Gabrielle examined the rune. "I think…" She said, pausing, chuckling again. "I think it's because you drew it on the ground. Steam rises into the air and the earth may have set it off."

Harry contemplated her idea for a second. "You're probably right." He moved into position and raised his wand. "Let's try this again."

Unsure if his rune would stay in the air, Gabrielle gave him an encouraging nod, and he began to draw. To his surprise, the rune did stay, floating in the air like fire crackling. He completed the rune circle and finished the drawing, preparing himself for another explosion, his face scrunched up in a premature flinch.

Nothing happened. Instead, when his wand connected the last bit of the circle, Harry felt an immense pressure expel from his wand. Afraid for another impact, Harry closed his eyes tight and braced himself, digging his feet into the ground.

Gabrielle gasped. "Harry!"

Opening his eyes, he saw jets of steam shooting out of his wand and rising up into the air. The stream didn't waver at all, and Gabrielle jumped up in celebration. "You did it!" Gabrielle shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

Harry laughed into the air in triumph. "I'm guessing this will keep going until I drop it?"

"Try it." Gabrielle peered around as Harry lowered his wand and canceled the rune. The steam ceased immediately and the rune disappeared.

"Huh," Gabrielle huffed, crossing her arms in speculation. "Well, that seemed to work."

"Yeah," Said Harry. "Though a bit…"

"Anticlimactic?"

"Yeah."

The couple stared at the open space. Harry glanced over to Gabrielle and saw that her face was scrunched up in thought.

Unable to help himself, Harry chuckled and took her hand. She looked over to him a bit startled, but lowered her arms from their crossed position. "I'm not sure I like that worried look on your face." Harry murmured, bringing her body close to his. Even busy as they were, he was always distracted by the look and feel of her.

"I'm not worried." She reassured. "I'm just trying to figure out why it would even be worth doing battle alchemy in the first place when you can conjure steam with normal magic."

"Hmmm," Harry looked up, contemplating her question and giving her a light squeeze so he could feel her breasts against his chest. "You do raise a fair point."

After a moment of battling his distracting thoughts and actually pondering over her question, he grinned mischievously. "Perhaps we'll get a different reaction when we combine it with magic?"

Gabrielle matched his conspiratorial grin and replied, "I guess we won't know till we try."

After another light squeeze, Harry let her go and they backed away from each other into their stances. Harry held up his wand and said, "Just cast a Protego and we'll see what it does."

Gabrielle tensed. "Be prepared for another explosion, you mean?"

Harry chuckled at her comment and nodded. Turning away from her again, he began to redraw the rune in the air. They both held their breaths and to their relief, they produced the same effects as before.

"Okay, whenever you're ready, love. Just hold your shield steady and I'll move the stream into its path."

Nodding ferociously, Gabrielle lifted her wand and cast the Protego. Her shield covered only her, and Harry carefully moved himself around so he was facing her, but to the side to avoid hurting her.

"Ready?" Harry asked, holding his wand steady.

"Ready."

Bracing himself for the inevitable reaction to the spell and the alchemical conjuration, both Harry and Gabrielle recoiled and closed their eyes tightly in anticipation. When nothing happened, Harry carefully peaked through his lashes and saw the steam from his wand going full force.

But that wasn't what had startled him. And it seemed Gabrielle saw the same thing he did.

The steam that he created was going straight through the shield.

"Try doing something else to it, dear." Harry said, eyeing her shield.

Gabrielle dropped her Protego and cast an offensive spell; Flipendo by the looks of it. The spell went straight through the steam and hit the wall behind Harry.

"Cast another shield spell." Harry said.

Raising her wand, Gabrielle cast the Impervius charm.

With bated breath they watched—and the steam went straight through.

Harry released the rune and turned to Gabrielle, jaw slack from shock. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That Alchemy is not affected by normal magic and spells?"

Harry nodded his agreement and saw Gabrielle's eyes twinkle in excitement as she bounded back over to him. "Do you know what that could mean?"

"That there would be no way for an attacker to defend themselves against us if we attack them with Alchemy?"

"Yes!" Gabrielle exclaimed. She grabbed his hands and began to spin. After the second twirl, she threw her hands up and jumped, suddenly full of energy and adrenaline from their discovery. "I can't believe this!"

Unable to help himself from watching the natural bounce of her breasts and from being teased by her after what felt like the entire day, Harry cupped her face and kissed her thoroughly. He parted her mouth with his tongue and generously drank her in, pulling her back into him as close as he could. The kiss was rough and unexpected, and as they warred with each other, Harry felt her leg raise and wrap around him as she garnered to get a bit more friction between her legs in their standing position, gently grinding her hips against his erection.

He managed to waddle them toward the nearest wall and he pressed her up against it, lowering down to kiss her neck. She moaned out her approval at his mouth's exploration and tilted her head back.

Harry roughly kissed her lower and lower until he came in contact with her breasts. He mouthed her through her clothes, right where he knew her nipple rested and she let out a whimper that was so delectable to Harry's ears, he felt his cock twitch and he thrust himself against her. She bent back over to reach his level and kissed him passionately, grabbing onto his hair.

When they finally parted Harry was breathless. "We'll have to experiment a bit more before we absolutely know."

Gabrielle bit the bottom of her lip suggestively. "Oh, I think I'd like to experiment some more tonight."

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as she lightly slid her hand down the length of his spine. This simple act alone made his toes curl at her feather light touch. "Fuck, woman." He groaned out when she started kissing his neck. "Why don't we take our activities elsewhere?"

Without a word, she kissed him quickly on the mouth, pulled away with his hand in hers, and led him out of the room to apparate back to their flat.

~oOo~

He knew they were being loud, but he didn't care at the moment. Plus, they had managed to throw up a hasty muffliato to it was no big deal, really.

Harry was standing over Gabrielle, whose back was into the bed, her legs resting on his shoulders as he pounded into her, his feet sliding occasionally on the wooden floors.

Crying out with every thrust, Gabrielle had an almost painful hold of his hips, pulling him in closer and harder each time he sheathed himself.

Harry could feel Gabrielle's body turn rigid beneath him and he knew she was close, feeling her relax again after a moment.

He threw her legs off his shoulders and bent over her, coming down closer and swirling his tongue around her pert nipple, sliding over and giving her other breast the same treatment and continuing his errant thrusts.

She arched her breast into his mouth and propped her feet up on the end of the bed to help deepen and match each of Harry's thrusts, digging her nails into his sides.

Grunting in pleasure and from the strain in his legs, Harry slammed himself into her as deep as he could and took the momentary pause to kiss her, sliding his tongue smoothly into her mouth and threading his fingers through her hair.

He urged her to scoot back on the bed, still completely inside her and trying not to break their kiss or their bodies and moving as one, bringing his legs up to rest his knees on the comforter.

In their process of moving, Harry felt himself slide out of her momentarily and once he was settled over her again, he slid back into her with a grunt, eliciting a moan from Gabrielle as well.

His movements were slower in this position and it wasn't his favorite, but he was able to more fully watch Gabrielle's reactions displayed across her face as he filled her.

Her facial features were fascinating. The way her mouth opened, lips poised and ready for a kiss, gasping for air each time he entered her. Her eyes were heavily lidded with dilated pupils, brows going between furrowed, upturned, and relaxed as her waves of pleasure grew.

Her body was tensing again, and he withdrew his forehead from hers slightly to have a better look at her as her body went taut. Just in time too, because Harry had been hovering over the edge for a while.

"Ah—harder—" Gabrielle gasped between Harry's thrusts. "Please, I want—I need to feel you pulsing inside me—ah!"

Her words nearly did him in, and he took them to heart, grunting out his own pleasure. Harry lowered himself again and placed his face into the crook of her neck as he felt himself go in and out of her, slick with her juices. She had ended up wrapping her legs around him, which made his movements a little more difficult to muster, but she was able to help with his deeper thrusts this way.

Suddenly, Harry felt Gabrielle's entire body go rigid as he continued to piston in and out of her. "Oh! Harry stay there and don't stop—I'm about to come." She whispered breathlessly and frantically into his ear.

"Me too," Was the only response Harry was able to rasp out.

Harry was so close to the edge it physically hurt. He felt the familiar flutter of her walls around him, signaling that she was hovering on the edge, just like he was.

Gabrielle's cries grew louder and frantic as he pounded into her till she went nearly still. Knowing this was it, Harry pounded his throbbing cock into her a few more times before her entire body arched into him. She began to shake violently with her orgasm, arching into him and panting out loud gasps and breaths as her body shook. Harry felt her muscles clamp down on him rhythmically, and he chose then to let go.

Harry's own orgasm violently tore through his own body. He had been holding off for a while now, and when he finally felt his release, it was almost soul shattering.

He could feel her walls milking him with every pulse and flutter, pulling him deeper inside her as he moaned and grunted out his climax into her neck.

Harry could feel her breasts as she heaved in breaths from her intense orgasm, knowing that Harry was probably crushing her. Gabrielle held onto him from underneath, and finally managed to relax her legs from around him as the last waves finally ebbed away. Hers were always much longer than Harry's were.

After a few minutes, Harry pushed himself up from his elbow and peered into her face. He looked into her eyes and physically craved to be looked at the way she was doing in that moment every day from that point forward.

Never in his life did he think he would be looked at with such blatant adoration and acceptance. He could actually see in her eyes that she loved him, and it warmed his heart considerably as he bent down to kiss her soundly after their throes of passion. "I love you." Harry said, moving a chunk of her hair away from her face.

"I love you too." Gabrielle said, repeating the gesture. Harry bent down and kissed her again as he felt himself slip out of her, his softening cock still completely soaked.

Gabrielle whimpered at the loss of him inside her but shifted over to the side to allow for better cuddling in their post coital bliss.

Harry wrapped his arms around her naked body and buried his face in her hair again. He breathed in her scent and couldn't believe how happy he was.

Unable to stop himself after a few minutes, his mind wandered to thoughts that had been plaguing his mind for the past couple of weeks. It must have been apparent because Gabrielle wriggled to turn and face him.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him, entwining their legs together as she rested her hand on his side.

Harry smirked. "How did you know I was thinking of anything other than the amazing sex we just had?"

"Because you got really still and really quiet. That usually means something is bothering you. Plus, you always try to distract yourself by fucking me into a frenzy, and I'm pretty sure not all of that was from our discovery today."

A witty remark was just barely on his lips when he paused. She was right after all.

Sighing, he draped his arm over her body and brought her near. He didn't want her to look at him when he voiced his concerns.

"Honestly…" Harry started. "I know we've already discussed this, but I can't get this whole spying thing out of my mind."

Gabrielle went stone still and her breathing quieted as she listened. Harry continued. "I'm done fighting and chasing down bad guys. I'm done dealing with people who are only doing things for personal gain. And I don't think I could forgive myself if anything were to happen to you."

Disengaging herself from his grip, Gabrielle looked up at him. "Why would you be worried about that?"

Harry sighed heavily. "Because I would essentially be putting myself in danger, and by extension, you. If this Oberland guy is as dangerous as Hermione and Victor say, he could use you to get to me if I refuse to comply, or hurt you to hurt me and I don't think I could live with that. What if something absolutely terrible happens that I have no means of stopping? What if I have to watch you be tortured? What if—"

"Stop." Gabrielle shushed him and placed her fingers over his lips. "You're working yourself up."

Harry lowered his voice to a whisper. "What if you disappear like those others and I can't find you? What if I have no way of knowing if you're dead or alive?"

A look of pain brushed over Gabrielle's features as she witnessed all of his worries being put on display. He could feel himself begin to shake, but Gabrielle shushed him again and took hold of his jaw.

"Harry, look at me." Gabrielle commanded of him. "You must learn to forgive yourself."

Startled, his jaw opened in an 'o' of surprise, Harry furrowed his brows questioningly. Gabrielle simply continued, cupping his face in her hands. "I know that you personally blame yourself for every death and unhappy misfortune that occurred during the war. I know people have told you before that it wasn't your fault, and I know you don't believe them. I have the unfortunate feeling that you will be blaming yourself for the rest of your life. But I want you to hear this Harry: it was not. Your. Fault."

Unconsciously, Harry had raised his hand and grasped onto one of her wrists that was holding his gaze steady. "Harry, you have been damaged, whether you want to admit it or view it as such. What you and your friends experienced is not something to be taken lightly and it forever left a mark on you. I can see that you feel personally responsible, but please know that it had nothing to do with you. You did the best you could. You are only a man. And a young one at that.

Give yourself a break. My guess is you left your old life to start new because, not only were your friends abandoning you, but you were constantly reminded of the ones you couldn't save. It was not. Your. Fault."

Harry didn't realize he was holding his breath until Gabrielle released his face. Normally, if anyone else had come to him saying such things, he would be thoroughly angry with them for having the audacity to speak to him like they knew what he went through. Now however, he felt an uncomfortable sort of relief settle in his chest. Uncomfortable because, while he knew she was right, he still felt that he could have done more. It wasn't as though he was never told that before, but coming from Gabrielle meant something a little more meaningful.

Still feeling uneasy about the whole situation, Harry was about to speak when Gabrielle cut him off.

"If anything were to happen in this spy business, you have my word that I won't go down without a fight. Plus, I've seen your wandwork. The more we practice dueling, the deadlier you have become. And since I'm getting the practice as well and am able to keep up with you, me by extension. We won't be easy targets, I assure you."

Harry smiled and stifled a sigh. Of course, she knew what he was feeling. He often found it so difficult to put into words that he would act out rashly on his first instinct; a trait that made him a true Gryffindor.

But that Gryffindor trait of acting out brashly had been dampened by the aftereffects of the war and everything they lost.

Though he still preferred to act first, think second, he had become timid and unable to accurately communicate what was going through his head. Yet here was Gabrielle, knowing exactly what to say.

Harry gently pulled a clump of Gabrielle's hair behind her ear. "How is it you knew exactly what I needed to hear?"

Gabrielle chuckled. "Intuition I suppose? It also helps that I love you and want to know every part of you, good and bad."

"Trust me, you don't want the bad."

"Harry," Gabrielle began. "you wouldn't be you without the bad. While I wish it never happened, I am still thankful that it did. If it didn't, I may not have you beside me in this bed to make you cum and repeatedly moan my name for all and asunder to hear."

Unable to help himself, Harry chuckled and tilted his head over to the side, looking back over to her. "And the small fact that Voldemort might still be alive?"

"That too." Gabrielle laughed. He squeezed her bum appreciatively, feeling the wetness of her between their entwined legs, the damp juices still clinging to them.

A thought struck her and she chuckled. "What?" Harry asked, withdrawing a bit to look at her.

Gabrielle shook her head. "How is it we always seem to do this after sex?"

Harry squeezed her bum again and replied, "We do tend to do this don't we?"

"Yeah. I mean it was just the other day we talked about this too."

"I think I may have a clearer head after sex." Harry said, looking down at her smugly.

Gabrielle laughed and hit him softly on his bare chest, snuggling back into his arms.

He hesitated only a second longer before he said, "Thank you." Because deep down, he knew she was right. And the quicker he got over himself and stopped holding himself back, the safer she would be. He would protect her always, and this only served as a heavy reminder of the little box that sat in his traveling cloak pocket.

~Gabrielle~

When Gabrielle woke in her bed with Harry, she almost couldn't believe that almost a week had passed since their discovery in the alchemy lab. They hadn't even told Nick yet, and she was honestly quite worried for the day the older man did find out.

Nick was always going on about how dangerous alchemy was. How any slip or miscalculation could end in their imminent deaths. She supposed they were lucky only a minor explosion occurred. Only now did she realize how dire the situation could have been. He could have used up all the oxygen in the room and they suffocate instantly, or the ground beneath their feet could have turned to quick sand and they'd be stuck there forever without a trace.

Gabrielle mentioned a few times to Harry that they should tell Nick in passing what they accomplished, but they both seemed to be in agreement that some things should just be found naturally…which could completely backfire in their case with how paranoid Nick constantly was.

Even so, they threw their ideas off each other with each passing day. But for some reason, Gabrielle had started to notice that every time Harry and she talked, he seemed to appear nervous. Like he couldn't quite look her in the eye, or he would quickly glance around the room, usually landing near the door.

The behavior was odd for Harry, and left her feeling a little more concerned than usual. He was still just as affectionate as before, if not more, but she hoped that she hadn't said anything the previous Friday to set him off.

He was also corresponding quite a bit through owl post, to which he shrugged it off, saying he was owling her parents and Bill and Fleur. It had been the truth because he had shown her the letters after their family owl took off with her father's best regards and well wishes. Not knowing quite what to make of it, she just shrugged it off.

Saturday rolled around and Harry sat up as soon as the first rays of sunshine peeked in through the window. She could feel his restless energy roll off him in waves and she was sure he hadn't slept a wink last night.

"You've got ants in your pants or something?" Gabrielle teased tiredly. "Merlin's beard, Harry." She groaned the sleep out of her body as she stretched and felt his hand move the hair out of her face as he so often did.

She smiled up at him sweetly and he reciprocated, though he seemed a bit detached; nervous like before.

"I've actually got something planned for today." Harry told her, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and throwing a shirt on.

"Okay?" Gabrielle said questioningly as he dressed. He walked back over to the bed, where Gabrielle was managing to prop herself up on the pillows underneath her.

Harry extended his hand and asked, "will you join me for breakfast?"

Tentatively, Gabrielle took his hand and felt her silvery smooth hair fall on her back as she stood. Harry ran his fingers through it appreciatively and thanked Merlin that her hair was rarely ever tangled, even if it looked it. Another perk to being part Veela.

As they walked to the kitchen, she paid close attention to Harry's movements, not uttering a sound as he began to prepare breakfast.

His wand rested in the pocket of his sweats and he started the food the muggle way: bacon, coffee, toast, and eggs. Alright, Harry. What's going through that head of yours?

He was definitely nervous. He always cooked the muggle way when he was nervous, thought he was in trouble, or wanted to suck up. Discerning which one was the difficult part.

She narrowed her eyes slightly as he fixed her plate, but managed a smile at the gesture. Gabrielle knew better than to bring up what was bothering him until he had ample time to work it out for himself first. One of the main reasons why they usually addressed things in the evening before bed or after sex as they so often did.

Trying to ease her mind, she dug into the delicious food that was set before her. The anxiety roiling in her belly calmed slightly when Harry was finally done, stood in the center of the kitchen for a bit as though lost, and finally tucked into his own breakfast.

The silence was a bit awkward, which rarely ever happened, so she opened up the conversation. "Has Nick suspected anything yet?"

Finishing his sip of coffee, Harry replied as he normally would. "Honestly? I don't think so. But then again, he seems to know everything before I even know it myself. The man's a menace."

They chuckled good naturedly and continued eating. After another bout of silence, it seemed it was even too much for Harry.

"There's actually a reason I woke us up so early." He said, fiddling with his napkin.

There it is. "Oh?" Gabrielle questioned. "Do go on."

Harry smirked at her cheekiness and steepled his fingers together. "Your sister and I have the day planned for you. Just a special treat."

Whatever she expected that he was about to say, it wasn't that. "—oh. Okay!" Gabrielle said, warming up to the idea, yet still surprised.

Looking slightly relieved, Harry took a deeper breath. "You'll spend the day with her in Wizarding Paris. You have hair and nail appointments at one of the wizarding salons there. From which point I'll take you for the rest of the evening."

This piqued her interest. "Oh, really?" She pondered playfully. "And what exactly do you have planned for me?"

Harry leaned in over the table as well, to match her playfulness. "You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you?"

She smirked and finished her breakfast without complaint, though she was dead curious. She didn't have long to wait before Harry practically threw her into the shower. It also didn't take long before Fleur was knocking on their door, much to her surprise. Her hair was still wet.

"Fleur!" Gabrielle thrust the door open and hugged her sister, minding her rounded belly. "It feels like forever!"

"It's only been a few weeks!" Fleur said, squeezing her sister enthusiastically. Gabrielle saw Harry watching the exchange happily from the corner of their flat. He had avoided the door opening like usual when he didn't have his glamour charms in place.

Once the door closed, he stepped forward and hugged Fleur in greeting as well.

The trio chatted happily before Fleur clapped her hands once in the air to emphasize that conversing was over. "We need to go or we'll be late!"

And that was how Gabrielle found herself sitting in a salon chair, nails done in a soft pastel pink, toes shining in the same color, and getting pampered further by a witch that insisted her hair would look exquisite with curls.

"You really should listen to her." Fleur said happily. "You really would look quite nice with curly hair."

"I understand that, but you and I both know I would look terribly out of place."

Fleur scoffed. "No, you wouldn't, you would look perfectly fine and our Jake would fall over flat for you." One of the two hairdressers went around to Fleur's other side and continued her work.

"Speaking of Jake," Gabrielle started, eyeing her sister. "Does he seem a bit off to you?"

"What do you mean? You would know more than I would. You're the one that lives with him."

"Well, you two have been corresponding." Gabrielle stated, narrowing her eyes and cocking her eyebrow.

Fleur mimicked Gabrielle's expression. "You were always too observant for your own good. Or did he tell you?"

A self-satisfied smirk spread across her features and Gabrielle said, "he was acting strange and he showed me one of father's letters, is all. No detective work here. I just assumed you're in on whatever he has planned since you're here."

"Touché." Fleur said, closing her eyes as the hairdresser began curling her strands into an intricate braid. After a companionable silence, Fleur opened her mouth, then closed it as though she had something to say but was unsure of how to say it. Eventually she simply threw an envelope into her lap.

"Here," Fleur said. "You're supposed to read that. And no more questions, I don't even know what's in the envelope."

"Hah!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"Just read it." Fleur pushed.

Gabrielle slid her finger through the seal and recognized Harry's scrawl. The envelope was heavy, and she noticed at least fifty galleons resting at the bottom.

Gabrielle,

If Fleur kept true to her word, then this letter will be given to you when you are almost finished with your spa day.

Please take the money and go have a nice lunch. You can use whatever is left on anything else you want to buy. I'll see you later for dinner.

Love,

Harry

Gabrielle held the paper close to her chest and looked around cautiously, in case anyone saw the name scribbled on the paper, but Fleur cut in. "What does it say?"

She cast a small disillusionment charm on Harry's name and passed it over to Fleur, who read it quickly. A sly smile played at the corner of her lips. "Looks like we'll have some fun today, yet."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and took the parchment back and folded it up neatly to fit back into her bag. "I haven't the faintest idea where we are going to eat with upwards of fifty galleons. That's way too much."

"Let me see?" Fleur asked.

Gabrielle handed the envelope back to Fleur, who examined its contents. She smirked and shook her head, amused.

"What in Merlin's Name is so funny?" Gabrielle asked, impatient with the secrets.

Fleur let out a giggle. "We can each get lunch, sure. But I say we use the rest of this to buy you a new set of dress robes."

Taking the money back, Gabrielle stared at her sister with wide eyes. "I don't know—"

"Look, a man in this world, who absolutely adores you, gave you way too much money on an outing with your sister and asked you to spend it. What's wrong with wanting to spend that money to make yourself, not only happier, but more pleasing to him? I do it for Bill all the time. He won't mind, I promise."

"It just seems a little vain is all…"

"Think of it as a gift for him." Fleur said with a wink.

Unable to help herself, Gabrielle returned the conspiratorial smirk.

~oOo~

Fleur had insisted that Gabrielle wear her brand-new dress robes and lingerie to compliment her done up hair and nails. In all honesty, the entire day spent with Fleur was very much needed. She hadn't realized how tense her body was until she actually felt herself relax. Fleur had commented more than once throughout the day that she needed to take more time for herself instead of working so hard.

"Honestly Gabrielle, you've been like this your whole life. You have so many hobbies and things that you want to do that you leave no time for yourself to just live in the moment."

Gabrielle simply laughed. "Well, it's worked for me so far. Why change anything now?"

"Because you'll be old and grumpy like Uncle Bernie one day if you don't."

She cringed internally at the mention of Bernie. For some reason, it hadn't taken long for her to adjust to calling him Nick to his face. He looked much more like a Nicholas than a Bernie to her, especially now. And how no one else was able to pick up on any of his clues—how she wasn't able to figure it out before—baffled her, because it was so blaringly obvious now.

Regardless, she liked to keep herself busy. It gave her a sense of purpose. She slowed down her walk and looked to the ground. Fleur noticed she had lagged behind and turned around to face her, ignoring the stares of the other patrons around them. "Fleur," Gabrielle started. "Do you ever get the feeling that we don't really have a purpose anymore?"

Fleur stared back at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, our purpose before was to finish our schooling at Beauxbatons and winning the war. Now? I'm not so sure. I feel like I need to be doing something worthwhile, and I'm failing because I work at the Gardens."

"Well, this is awfully pessimistic of you." Fleur took hold of her hand and spun around to face her, effectively stopping them both. She sighed and said, "The war took a lot out of everyone. I think a lot of people feel just as lost as you do. They only wanted normal for so long that they forgot what normal felt like, and now we have people wandering the streets, wondering what to do with themselves and attacking each other in the street."

The girls started their slow walk again, Gabrielle listening intently. Fleur bent down close to Gabrielle's ear, whispering, "and I'm sure Harry of all people knows exactly how you feel."

Despite the conversation, Gabrielle's lips quirked upward in a small, sad smile. "Yes, he does. We've talked about this before. But no one else seems to feel the same."

"I'm sure plenty of people feel the same way, they're just hiding it. Plus, he was directly involved the entire time. Things like that change people, and leave you feeling empty."

There was a pause before Fleur continued. "Gabbi, I take solace in Bill. I love him, and he loves me. It's something that has only grown stronger through the years. Find your solace in Jake, because I'm sure he could use your help too.

If you feel the need to do something with your life, go and explore the world together. Find your purpose again. And then tell me all about it when you come back."

Gabrielle scoffed into the air and pushed back at her sister playfully. "I never said anything about feeling lost."

"Well, that's how you feel isn't it? I mean come on, you've changed your career how many times now? I don't think you know what you want." They paused in front of a small shop lined with cupcakes and pastries, Fleur pressing her hand right up against the glass. A man passing by whistled at the pair, but was ignored.

"You might be right." Gabrielle slumped her shoulders. "But I do know one thing that I want."

"What's that?" Fleur inquired.

"I know that if I could have Jake by my side, I wouldn't say no."

At this admission, Fleur turned around with a smug look on her face, preening over Gabrielle and holding onto her shoulders after she smoothed her robes down a few times. She bent low and whispered into her ear again, staring past her ear. "Well, then I suggest you start planning this trip of yours."

When Gabrielle was about to ask, Fleur gripped her shoulders and spun her around. Harry, disguised as Jake was walking toward them with a brilliant bouquet of flowers. They were toward the outskirts of the shopping district, by the primary entrance, yet the only thing Gabrielle could think was how stunning Harry looked in his own set of dress robes.

Narrowing her eyes, Gabrielle turned to Fleur. "You two planned this."

Fleur raised her hands in a showing of surrender. "I am an innocent in this situation." She turned around and began sauntering away. "Have fun you two!"

Turning back around, Gabrielle saw the last couple of steps Harry took to get to her, and the very breath Gabrielle had in her lungs was caught at the sight of him.

Though his hair was a light brown and long in his signature "Jake" style with brown eyes instead of bright green, his body was the same. His dress robes weren't so fancy that they would draw attention to themselves out on the street, but they were definitely nice enough for a special occasion.

"Okay, I'm dead curious now." Gabrielle began, taking the flowers from him. "What have you got planned?"

Harry shuffled his feet like a small child who had been caught with his hand in the sweets cupboard and was trying to look cute and play to his charm in order to get out of punishment. He closed the distance and leaned very close to her ear and whispered, "You'll just have to find out."

His breath softly grazed her neck and sent goosebumps down her arm and over her scalp. Whatever happened tonight, she hoped it ended up much in the same way as a few of their nights had as of recent.

He must have seen her reaction, because he straightened himself up with a self-satisfied smirk on his face, looking for all the world to see that he had just done something brilliant. Brilliant to her senses indeed.

Gathering herself, Gabrielle straightened and asked, "So where are we going? Surely these ravish outfits and flowers will not go to waste?"

She could see a mischievous and nervous twinkle in Harry's eyes. How he managed to convey both emotions at once she didn't know, but the sight of him so completely flummoxed by her question was enough to douse her flame of curiosity with a healthy dosing of butterfly induced gasoline.

"We'll be having supper at that new restaurant that opened down the street here." Harry said, motioning in the direction of the newly opened establishment. "After that, you'll just have to wait."

Nodding enthusiastically, she slipped her arm through his as he escorted her down the cobblestone street of wizarding Paris, but continued to question. "Eating this early? It's barely supper time."

"Yes, but we need to eat early for the second half of the evening. Plus, it's less crowded during this time."

When they came upon the restaurant, Gabrielle noticed it was very quaint, with a very unique charm to it. The place nearly reminded her of a muggle establishment, minus the need for waiters and waitresses. The food magically appeared before them at their utterance, no doubt the work of house elves in the kitchens. There was an empty vase at their table, to which she placed the flowers into, and they fell into their own world once again, chatting amongst each other and ordering their food.

Gabrielle dined on the roast duck, while Harry had a savory lamb, both finishing off with a shared dessert of assorted fruits to offset the heavy entrees as they filled the space with easy conversation.

The entire time they spent at the restaurant, Gabrielle couldn't help the random stray thoughts that would flit through her mind that she wished she were looking at Harry instead of his disguised doppelganger. Knowing there was nothing she could really do about that point, she resigned to waiting to see his true features until they got home, once again confined to their suffocating sanctuary of a flat; the only place they could truly be themselves.

Despite these thoughts, she didn't allow them to ruin the evening. Plus, her curiosity over whatever else he had planned still ate away at her.

When they had their fill and dined to their hearts content, Harry walked around and helped her from her chair, and Gabrielle noticed he appeared to be nervous, if the shaking of his hands meant anything. She eyed him carefully, but he ignored her pointed look and offered to help her with her traveling cloak instead.

Once they were in the middle of the street, they stopped a few times to watch the street performers of the evening begin to set up their areas and to browse a few night time vendors that were setting up their wares before Harry nervously cleared his throat.

"Are you ready for the second half?" He couldn't quite look her in the eye.

His nervous behavior was beginning to make her feel nervous, and she didn't want her voice to betray her, so she nodded again and gripped his arm, wondering what in Merlin's name was responsible for the warring emotions in her boyfriend.

They found a side alley to apparate, dodging an early evening shopper here and there as they wove through the many different festivities.

Gabrielle held onto Harry tight, he turned abruptly, and the couple was gone.

Gabrielle gasped in delight as she recognized her surroundings. It was the very same Nordic mountain that they had one of their very first dates on. Exactly how she remembered it, there was a few soft blankets set out on the ground with canisters of what looked like hot chocolate and tea. A small picnic basket held the blankets down and a small bluebell flame in a jar held another corner down. Though it was still very bright outside, she was glad for the knowledge of the small flame.

Turning to Harry, she smiled brilliantly and kissed him on the cheek, now aware of what the surprise was. A near perfect recreation of their first date.

"I was wondering if I would ever get to see this mountainside again." Gabrielle exclaimed, breathing in a deep refreshing breath, as if the clear mountain air would clear her entire body of all the toxins and impurities of the world.

Harry smiled, and Gabrielle noticed that while the smile reached his eyes, he still appeared nervous and nearly withdrawn. His behavior was starting to make her worry. "Are you alright?"

Shaking his head slightly, Harry's brows shot to his hairline, as though he was afraid to be scolded and said, "Yes, yes I'm sorry. I'm just a little distracted."

Knowing not to push him, she nodded and turned around to explore the landscape again, wondering if it still was how she remembered.

When she turned around, she was happy to see that he had taken off his glamour charms and was walking over to her. He ushered her to sit on the blankets and began pouring themselves two glasses of champagne.

An easy silence filled the air, but it quickly felt tense as Gabrielle felt a physical change in Harry's body. She waited patiently, not wanting to ruin this moment and hoping he was coming to terms with what he wanted to say or do.

Finally, she heard him clear his throat. "Actually Gabrielle, there was something I wanted to show you."

She set down her champagne flute and turned to face him fully, hoping to finally get some sort of explanation.

Instead, he turned around to the picnic basket and brought out a medium sized tome. The binding was thick and crackled when he moved it. He handed it to her and looked at her uncertainly.

Taking his cue, she opened the book and found that it wasn't a book at all. "Is this you?" Gabrielle asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah," Harry admitted sheepishly. "It's the only photo album I have of my family."

"Wow," Gabrielle said. "I didn't know you had any pictures of your family."

Harry ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Yeah, I've never really shown this to anyone else. It's been in my original Gringotts vault this whole time. I had to get in contact with some of the goblins in charge of my vault to have them send it to me. I honestly don't think I would have been able to retrieve it without Bill's help. They only like to deal with money, not anything sentimental such as this…"

As Harry fell quiet, Gabrielle ran her hand over the cover after closing it, the binding crackling underneath her hand. The front was covered in dark leather and sported an intricate indented pattern that almost resembled a shield, and looked to have been opened many times before. The front and back was also very thick, which made up most of the thickness of the album itself, and the golden coat of arms décor on the cover was shiny, without any obvious damage. Absently, she wondered if there was a permanent sticking charm to the gold foil on the cover.

Glancing back up to Harry's face, some of his nervousness seemed to dissipate slightly, though it was still there. She graced him with a gentle smile, in an air of asking permission to begin her perusal of the album.

Only then, after looking into his eyes, did she realize how truly personal these photos were to him, and realization dawned on her that he truly had not shown anyone else these pictures. This must be what he's so nervous about.

Realizing the implications of what he wanted to show her, she felt a warmth spread through her chest as her love for him settled firmly in place.

She kissed his cheek affectionately and snuggled up next to him, neither speaking a word as she opened to the first page.

Right away, there was a picture of a small baby, being held by a woman with flaming red hair and bright green eyes. A man stood off to the side of the bed that showed the woman with the baby swaddled, a look of swelling pride on his face. Upon first glance, when Gabrielle had asked her initial question, she thought this man was Harry, but upon closer inspection…

"That's my mum and dad." Harry pointed out. "This was taken by Sirius Black a couple days after I was born. They were already in hiding from Voldemort at this point." The couple watched as Lily and James shared what appeared to be a very intimate exchange between themselves and staring down to Harry, repeating the loop over and over in the photo.

They turned the page to what appeared to be a wedding photo of his parents. Gabrielle could now see the striking similarities between Harry and them, and as she gazed at the young faces in the photographs, she couldn't help but be thankful that those two people came together to create the man that she so loved. The most disconcerting part of the whole experience, was that Harry now appeared to look older than his father in many ways.

As they perused, Harry began to gain a little more confidence in what he was showing her. He pointed out everyone in the photos as if he had spent many sleepless nights gazing upon their faces. Pictures of Harry with his parents, family, friends, his godfather, the order, everyone. It was also amusing to see him in his Hogwarts days with Hermione and Ron. He never really made mention of Ginny as he went through each of the Weasley's younger days, though she could figure out who everyone was. The action of going through the memories seemed to be slightly therapeutic for him.

Despite feeling him ease into the conversations and showing her his life, she began to wonder what else was going to happen, since they seemed to be nearing the end of his documented life.

The last photo he had was a news clipping of him and his friends after the downfall of Voldemort with the headline The Boy Who Lived: Defeats You-Know-Who, yet the album wasn't even a third finished.

He finished explaining the origins of the picture, though it needed no explanation, and gave her an uneasy look.

She eyed him curiously as he flipped the page. The next photo was something she recognized instantly.

"That's me!" She said, peering down to the small infant cooing in the photo. Shock engulfed her as she looked back up to Harry. "How did you get this?"

Harry looked positively bashful. "I had a lot of help from your parents and Fleur. We've been corresponding for a few weeks now." He cleared his throat and continued. "I was hoping we could look at some of yours as well?"

He ended the remark as a question and looked at her uncertainly. The same warmth spread through her heart at the implication that he wanted to know about her as well. Not only that, but also the love she saw reflected in his eyes were reflected in the actions of putting her own pictures documenting her life with his. The sentiment of the simple combination of pictures in his prized album was overwhelming. She pressed her lips together to help restrain her building emotions and kissed him soundly on the lips, letting him know that the implications of his actions were not lost on her.

They began their perusal of her life together, though she was a little miffed that she had way more photos than he did. Now only realizing that there were only a few pictures of Harry between the ages of two and ten, no doubt because of his aunt and uncle. The one photo she could recall was what he called a mandatory primary school photo…whatever that was.

She hoped that having more pleasant memories to share didn't bother him, but he seemed just as engaged as before, running his eyes and drinking in every event and memory like a plant devoid of water on a hot day. He seemed utterly fascinated to hear her talk about each picture.

She was grateful for his attentiveness and his constant stream of questions and comments helped her feel at ease, talking about herself and her family, even if he already knew most of everything she had to say.

Ending on the final photo that she knew Fleur took the year she met Harry as "Jake" at the Ministry event the attended together, Gabrielle noticed there were still a few pages at the end of the album.

Harry's body suddenly grew extremely tense as they reached the final page of Gabrielle's photos, and she silently wondered if there was anything more. There were still a few pages left in the album.

She turned to him slowly, as he seemed to be barely breathing. The darkening sky still allowed her to see his features perfectly, but the dimming light cast a glow around his features that was beautifully enhanced by the bluebell flame sitting next to them and the purple hues of the sunset.

Working on instinct, she reached over to grasp his hand in hers, sensing his tension. She gave him a small smile, asking his permission to move on, as she figured there was something else he wanted to show her.

Harry took a deep breath, returned her small smile, and nodded. The moment was so intense that Gabrielle had a hard time looking away from him, turning the page as she stared into his eyes.

His gaze never left hers either, and his hand slowly came up to rest on top of the album, searching blindly for her hand that she used to flip the page.

An unspoken rule settled between them that she should not look quite yet, as his hand gently grasped hers and guided it to where the next picture would be.

Instead of feeling another photo, she felt something hard and circular. Once he was sure that she had a grip on the object, he cast a silent Finite and the object came lose, previously held there by a sticking charm.

Desperation fill his eyes and Gabrielle slowly looked down to what she was holding.

A beautiful ring sat between her thumb and forefinger, gently sliding against the paper in her movements. After a second, she gasped and looked up to see Harry kneeling down before her still on her level.

"Gabrielle," Harry uttered, moving the album away and grasping her hands firmly into his, careful not to drop the ring. His hands were shaking. "I came to France, trying to get away from a world that only saw me as the savior of the Wizarding World."

He swallowed hard and continued and Gabrielle felt her hands begin to shake as well. "I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would find someone as extraordinary as you. You are the most incredibly smart, talented, generous, and beautiful witch I know, and I have been my happiest since the moment I laid eyes on you at the Apothecary."

Gabrielle felt the tears begin to prick at her eyes as she propped herself up onto her knees, as she was sitting before.

"I was lost before, unsure of where my place was in this world, searching for a home. I only realized when I was with you that you've been my home all along, and I wouldn't change that for anything in this universe. I love you and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then too."

Gabrielle reached up to cover her mouth as a joyous sob escaped her as he leaned in close. He spoke softly. "Gabrielle, will you marry me?"

Nodding happily, she could barely contain her happiness. "Yes, of course I'll marry you!"

She practically attacked him, throwing her hands around his neck and knocking him to the ground in a heap of limbs. Relief flooded his features and he slipped the ring on, letting out an excited exclamation as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in as close as he could.

Gabrielle couldn't believe it. Here she was, experiencing the most euphoric night of her life with Harry, her love, and now fiancé. Everything made sense as to his nervous behavior from before and she couldn't care less. She kissed him soundly, covering every surface she could, ranging from his lips, to his cheeks and nose, neck and even nibbling on his ears. Harry returned the favor and even stood to spin her round in their excitement.

They spent the rest of the evening watching the sun set the rest of the way across the Nordic mountain range, snuggling into each other's arms as they talked excitedly and listened to the natural sounds around them. They stayed until the stars twinkled back at them barely moving, yet covering the entire expanse of the sky and opening up the universe to them.

Not wanting to move from their spot, they reluctantly packed up their supplies, reapplied Harry's glamours, and apparated back to their flat since the hour was late.

They barely made it past the threshold before their clothes flew off.

~Gerard Oberland~

Gerard slowly lowered the omnoculars from his face as he observed the couple entering the pitiful excuse of a place they called a home. He huffed a frustrated breath as the door closed and obstructed his view.

No matter what he did, he could not shake the idea that Jake was the man from his vision. He seemed to be well liked, which made him uneasy, however he didn't have the power that he did. Though if he played his cards right, perhaps his plan would work.

Regardless, he needed to do some more investigating into the life of Jake Meier. He only needed to create an excuse to bring him back into sanctuary to further observe him…and his wand.

Gerard slowly slunk back into the shrubbery, his Disillusionment Charm shimmering slightly in the darkness as though he had never been there.

~oOo~

Authors Note: Hello again everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was a bit longer than anticipated but I'm glad I finally got it out. Writing has taken a back seat for a while but I promise that this fic is not abandoned.

I added another lemon (after saying I wasn't going to do a full on one again), out of a request from a previous review. I hope you all enjoyed.

As far as a posting schedule, I don't have one. However, the next time I post I will be posting two chapters at a time. Neither are started so it may take me a while to get there. You'll understand why I want to do two chapters when I post them.

Thank you thank you for those who continue to read this fic! You guys and your kind reviews give my liiiiiiife. Not gonna lie, my love language is Words of Affirmation, so your reviews keep me motivated. Please review and I hope you all stay safe and have a wonderful weekend.