Hello all! This story is dedicated to WeasleySeeker and is a response to her Goodbye Competition on the HPFC forum.
Kinda an odd pairing for me to write, but I wanted to give it a whirl. Hope you enjoy and please shoot over a review! Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the HP universe.
I'll See You Again
She watches his family mourn after his death despite the fact that it's been two years to the day. I should be standing with them she thinks, but stays hidden in the shadows while his twin lays flowers on his grave. He was her knight in shining armor covered in freckles and flicking dungbombs at first years. He made her smile. He made her laugh. Now she only smiled when accepting her morning coffee from Agatha on the corner.
The site of Ginny Weasley clinging onto Charlie Weasley sends her into a whirlwind off emotions, and she's quickly apparating back to her office where she can be alone with her depression. However alone time doesn't look promising as the office is buzzing with news of another Death Eater nest located somewhere in the Austrian forest.
"Hey Angelina," her friend and co-worker Alicia Spinnet pops her head into the office, "I thought I heard you pop back in. Mr. Holcombe wants to see you in his office."
But Angelina's too distracted by the owl that is perched patiently on the windowsill.
She knows whom the letter is from just by the way her name is scrawled along the front, but she doesn't rush to open it just yet. Instead she ducks into her superior's office and inquires about her next assignment. She can tell just by the way he is sitting that something isn't right.
"Sorry Mr. Holcombe, I was busy taking care of a few things."
He merely gestures for her to sit; when she does, she can't help but feel her stomach churn the slightest.
"You went to the cemetery again?"
She should have been shocked; in the past she probably would have been, but she's suspected they've been keeping tabs on her whereabouts for awhile now.
"Yes." She can't deny it.
"You haven't been yourself since it happened, Angelina." Her superior sighs and removes a piece of parchment from the side drawer. "And it's been two years…."
"I was in love with him." She whispers, but knows what's coming before he even hands the parchment over to her.
"I think you should take some time off. Restore yourself..." He runs his hand over his goatee and she contemplates yanking it clear off his face. "You are no good to this department when your mind isn't fully engaged."
She's furious, although she does silently agree that her recent assignments have ended up with pretty lack luster results. A few months ago she had nearly gotten Alicia killed due to her lack of focus.
"You can't do this." She states firmly, her fingers digging into the arms of the chair.
"I have no choice Angelina. You haven't worked a single case recently without causing some sort of chaos…you nearly destroyed our chances bringing down the Nott family two months ago…your getting progressively worse."
"I can get better." She says, but doesn't know if she'll ever find the strength to let go.
He simply shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Angelina."
So she rises from the seat and storms back into her office where she practically rips the letter from the owl who is still patiently waiting for her. Her thumbs flick open the seal and her eyes merely search for the time and place that they will meet. He's made it easy this time as the parchment simply states:
9:00 at Euphoria
She isn't fond of heading into the seedier parts of London but it's the only place he will meet her, and more importantly the only place she is certain no one will see her with him.
She doesn't bother saying good-bye to Alicia; she loves the girl but she wasn't much in the mood to explain what had happened. Instead she apparates to her flat and begins searching her closet for the sexiest dress she owned. He liked her in reds and purples, but nothing drove him as insane with lust as the cream color silky number she had worn the first time he had seen her in Euphoria.
That first night she had drowned her sorrows in alcohol and then her dignity between his sheets. She didn't know why she did it although later she'd convince herself it was purely a one time accident that stemmed from the loneliness in her heart. But then he had owled her a week later and despite every instinct that told her not to go she couldn't help herself. So she saw him again. She fucked him again. That time he left marks on her neck just to remind her just what they were doing.
She slips on the silky cream dress and ties her hair back into a casual messy bun. The makeup she applies is minimal but as she takes one last look in the mirror she has to admit she looks quite good for a woman who felt hollow inside.
He said to meet at nine, but she's antsy and decides that she'll just sit at the bar and wait for him to show. Besides, a drink or two or three will take the edge off. He always makes her feel edgy, but being with him has become like some sort of sick addiction that she can't shake.
She's downing her third martini when she feels his hands slide across her shoulders.
"You wore the one I like." He breathes into her ear.
"I know." She replies, and then brings her glass up to her lips.
"How many of those have you had, Angelina?" His fingers brush along her back until his hand settles on the small of her back. He doesn't like it when she drinks too much, but she doesn't care.
"Does it matter?" She places the martini back down and then turns so she can face him fully.
He looks beautiful, that much she is certain of. He always looks beautiful. She may have loved Fred, but she had never seen a more beautiful man than when she looked at Derek Montague. He wore a pair of light gray trousers and a black button up shirt that contrasted perfectly with his pale skin and dark brown hair. As his silvery blue eyes gave her the once over she felt her heart speed up. He looked like a fallen Angel although she knew he was anything but.
He's still involved with the Dark Arts; with Death Eaters. Of this she is certain.
"Is it necessary to be intoxicated every time we get together? It's not an attractive quality." And yet he doesn't remove his hand from the small of her back.
She doesn't acknowledge his statement. "You want to get out of here?"
He wraps his arm around her neck loosely, "Not wasting any time tonight. Ok then."
She allows him to pull her up from her seat and he begins guiding her out of the lounge and out into the street. The evening is cool and she wraps her arms around her frame and shivers slightly. She's surprised when Derek moves behind her and takes her frame against his. He's warm and inviting and Angelina feels herself easily fall into his touch.
"My place or yours…"
"Yours," she says casually, and closes her eyes as he apparates them back to his flat.
Once her feet hit the wooden floor in his flat she can feel him pulling away from her. She instantly misses his arms. Her eyes trail after him as he removes his tie and tosses it casually across a high back chair. She goes to shrug off one strap, but his hand stops her.
"No, not yet…" He clasps his hand over hers and guides her towards the edge of his bed.
"What are you doing?" She asks, her eyes searching the blue of his. All she wants is to just feel something.
His other hand traces the side of her face while he silently stares back at her. He's unusually quiet; he's unusually delicate.
"It doesn't always have to be just this." He whispers, sounding nothing like the brash boy she can remember from their time at Hogwarts.
"What?" She looks at him, really truly looks at him, and wonders for the first time what this whole arrangement really means to the two of them.
He grows quiet again, but doesn't remove his eyes from hers. "How long have we've been doing this Angelina?"
"I don't think of it in terms of minutes and hours, Montague. " She murmurs.
"In terms of orgasms then?" He suggests, and she can't help but smirk the ever slightest. It's been far too long since someone has actually brought her to the brink of an actual laugh.
"Something like that." She begins tugging at his belt, but he pushes her hand away.
"Angelina, I don't want this to be some casual thing anymore." His hand holds tightly on to hers and she merely blinks at his words.
She thinks of Fred immediately and feels the bile rise in the back of her throat. Yanking her hand from his she stands and moves towards the large window. "You know that isn't possible."
He follows her to the window and presses himself against her. It drives her wild with desire, but she refrains. "You know I can take care of you." His mouth finds her neck and begins trailing kisses and nibbles down towards her shoulder.
"You know I can take care of myself…" She breathes, letting a subtle moan pass through her lips.
"You know what I mean, Angelina."
And she knew, she knew exactly what he meant. She knew that with his power, money and pull in Pureblood Society she'd never have to worry about a single thing again. She'd be safe. She'd be rich. She'd have someone coming home to her every night. She'd also have Death Eaters on her doorstep.
His lips stop moving against her skin and she drops her head back so its leaning against his chest. "Why are you doing this? It was easier just the way we had it." When she didn't have to think about feelings or emotion everything seemed easier.
"I'm tired of running around…Im tired of hiding." He proclaims.
She knows he isn't just referencing what is going on between them. She knows he means his life behind the dark mark.
"I'm sorry." She mutters, and he knows she's apologizing for his choices in life and not their relationship.
"Then be with me."
Turning to him she takes his face in his face in her hands and smiles softly, "I am with you." And she kisses him, her mouth softly moving against his in a way that it never has before.
In the past their kisses had been fierce and hungry; both of them searching for that need to feel alive. This kiss was slower, and passionate, and Angelina felt her stomach knot it ways that scared the hell out of her. He guides her backwards towards the bed and gently eases her down upon the expensive blankets and pillows. Already she can feel his eagerness to be with her, but he somehow manages to keep control of himself and discover every inch of her body.
He begins peeling layers of his clothing away, all the while keeping his mouth pressed against hers.
"Do you need any help?" She jokes; a characteristic she has tucked away for far too long.
He chuckles against her mouth, "I'm quite capable, love." And he's down to a pair of boxer shorts before she's even removed one shoe.
Painstakingly slow he begins peeling one strap over her shoulder, then the other, until she's sliding out of the silk number and watching it billow down to the floor.
He looks down at her, "You're beautiful." And then he kisses down her collarbone till his mouth finds the lacey material of her bra.
As he works to disengage her from the rest of her attire she can't stop thinking about his request. What would life be like with someone like Montague watching out for her? What would her friends think? What would Fred think? She mulls this over and over until he's finished with her and she's lying next to him, arm draped over his chest while he inhales a drag from a cigarette.
"Montague," she whispers, her eyes flickering up towards his angelic face.
He chuckles, and her cheek vibrates against his chest. "Are you ever going to call me Derek?"
She avoids the question, "Have you ever been in love?"
He takes another drag from his cigarette and shifts around a bit, "Odd question, Angel." He pauses, " I don't know."
"You don't know?" She's honestly shocked, "how don't you know?"
He shrugs, "Didn't come from a family that was big on hugs and kisses, you know. Things around my house were often distant and cold…hell my own parents didn't even bother raising me. I had a nanny." He chokes out a sound that clearly shows his disgust.
"So you've never felt anything for anyone in your family? For anyone at all?" She drags her fingernails down his chest and finds the soft tufts of hair sexy.
He's quiet again, taking one last drag and then putting his cigarette out in the ashtray at his bedside. "Are you asking if I love you?" His voice didn't even waver, but Angelina felt her heartbeat quicken.
"No, I just wanted to –"
"I care about you, Angelina." He presses a kiss down on her forehead, "I don't know why but I do."
"I think love is complicated…" she presses her body even harder against his side.
He knows she's talking about Fred.
She knows she is talking about what she may feel for him.
"You don't need to be in love to know you care about someone…to want to help them and take care of them."
"Do you think that if you love someone enough you'll be with them again when you both die?"
Someone like Alicia would yell at her for talking about death. All death ever brought Angelina was pain and loneliness.
"I think if you love someone strongly enough you'll be with them again." He runs his fingers along her arm.
As she drifts to sleep she dreams of many things. She dreams of Fred and of the life she used to have. She dreams about the days where she used to play Quidditch and laugh and enjoy her life. She dreams about George and how he has tried to reach out to her so many times over the last two years, and she thinks about all the times she has pushed him away.
He dreams about a time when he didn't have to skulk in the shadows. A time when he could be a carefree boy living a life that he wanted to live. Mostly he dreams about her, and how all he seems to want is to make her happy.
When he feels something poke him in the chest he mistakes it for her fingernails and tries to will himself back to sleep. When he feels it sharpen he opens his eyes and adjusts his sight. He doesn't notice the wand straight away. First he notices the tears streaming down her face.
"Angel?"
She doesn't lower the wand, instead she jabs it even harder to suppress her hand from shaking.
"I'm sorry…" She mumbles through her tears, and fights back the voice telling her that this is all wrong.
But she has to do it. If she wants any part of her old life back then she has to do it. She could return to work. Return to her friends. She could put Fred's memory to rest knowing that she wasn't fraternizing with the people that had killed him two years prior. She can eliminate an enemy. She has to do it.
"It's ok, Angel." He understands, and oddly enough, he accepts it.
"Good-bye Derek."
The room is overwhelmed with the green flash and seems to drown out the curse instantaneously. And just as she's lowering her wand and watching his life fade before her she could swear she hears him say:
"I'll see you again my love."
Just a little one shot that I felt tempted to explore. I mean I can't imagine everyone being in this happy celebratory place after the war was over. Hope it wasn't too depressing! Anyway leave me a review and I shall do the same for a fic of yours.
Cheers!