A/N: Just a warning, this story is going to get darker. People are going to get hurt. So far I've been establishing relationships, setting the scene for Hogwarts and how Harry acts, and getting things settled. Next chapter is quite nice overall, but when chapter 9 hits... things start getting more dangerous, darker, and involved. Still, I hope you all like it!


Albus Dumbledore had been rather shocked when Harry Potter hadn't told him to fuck off after suggesting he go back to the Dursleys for Christmas, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Harry James Potter was an enigma. One second he could be laughing and playing pranks, and the next he could be scarily cold and ruthless – as was demonstrated one night at the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy had once again overstepped his bounds by calling Harry a mudblood and freak lover, and Dumbledore hadn't even seen the raven-haired preteen move. All he saw was Draco keeling over clutching at his groin; his eyes rolling back in his head as the pain overwhelmed his consciousness. The next second Harry had gone back to teasing Neville Longbottom, whom he had befriended in late September; his face full of mirth.

From the class reports he was just as mysterious. In charms he was devastatingly intelligent and in potions he created improved recipes without breaking a sweat, but in transfiguration Harry seemed to play around – more often than not frustrating McGonagall to the point of tearing at her hair out at the roots. Opinions likewise varied on the young man. Severus thought he was an arrogant little brat just like James Potter, which was not at all unexpected; Flitwick thought he was a prodigy and a delightful young man; McGonagall thought he was more infuriating than all the Marauders combined, but overall a good kid; Professor Bins didn't care; and Quirrel thought the young boy was average and showed no real aptitude for his subject.

This was very odd, considering how well he'd dueled on the first night.

Dumbledore put his feet up on his desk and peered down at his vibrant yellow socks with pink-speckled turtles on them as he sucked on a lemon drop. Yes, Harry James Potter was a mystery, though it still remained to be seen whether he was a good or bad one.

While Dumbledore was thinking about Harry, the young man himself was reading a Dark Arts book and mumbling the incantations under his breath. Hermione and Tonks sat opposite talking about household charms and bigotry of the wizarding world, and Neville was engrossed in a very rare tome on Herbology that Harry had lent him. Neville wasn't at all surprised that Harry was learning the Dark Arts when he'd discovered that little fact, and in fact asked Harry if he could perhaps teach him a few things. Harry had been surprised at first, but had readily agreed when he realized that another person was accepting his darker nature – though the young Longbottom had no idea just how dark Harry was.

As for the two young women opposite Harry, they were finally back on speaking terms with him. Hermione had been correct when she said it might take some weeks for them to come to terms with everything, but she'd also been right when she'd said that she was sure they wouldn't think any less of him. Tonks had kidnapped him one night and demanded he explain just why he was so dark, and that he answer all of his questions, and Harry had reluctantly agreed with a few conditions. While her, and indeed most of the people that showed up to his Occlumency lessons that Lady Hogwarts herself had helped keep secret, had good shields in the little time they had been practicing, they had only just managed to create simple domes around their minds.

For a Master Legilimens like Snape or Dumbledore it would take under five seconds to break in to most minds and pillage their thoughts and memories, and so Harry had refrained from answering some questions that would allude to his true age and how he knew so much. He'd sat down with Hermione at a later date to do the same, and had been immensely amused when she'd pulled out a piece of parchment that had nearly one hundred questions listed on its surface. He'd teased her mercilessly for the following two days, much to her embarrassment. They had agreed to stop being overly affectionate with him, and Harry appreciated that they respected his wishes – but he wouldn't deny them hugs or pecks on the cheeks.

When they arrived at King's Cross he found himself on the receiving end of two very firm hugs, and smiled as he hugged his two friends back. He promised to write them about visiting, eliciting dual looks of excitement tinged with blushes and nervousness, and then turned to say farewell to Neville. They shook hands in a very manly manner, and Neville grinned confidently as he walked back to his grandmother Augusta, who looked appropriately shocked at just how much Neville had changed. Harry turned away before she could see his smirk; he'd always begrudged the old bint because of how she put Neville down, and he'd made very sure that the young man he was proud to call friend knew he was appreciated and was worth something. Neville was no longer a young boy to be trifled with – especially as Harry had taken an aura imprint and gone… visiting down Knockturn to get his friend a wand properly attuned to him.

He retreated to a dark corner before apparating away, and he arrived with a nearly silent pop in the hallway of the Dursley household. Both Petunia and Vernon were off work because their 'precious Diddikums' had Christmas holidays, and Harry found all three sitting at the dinner table eating. He smirked when they all froze and paled, and he waved his hand airily. "Oh don't mind me, dear family, I was just dropping in to make sure that our arrangement still stands, and to inform you that I won't be hanging around for the holidays. I'll be living at my manor in London instead."

Vernon's mouth dropped open, and Petunia's lips puckered with furious envy. "Since when did you get a manor freak," the former hissed, and quickly found himself blasted into the wall with a wave of Harry's hand. Petunia shrieked at the display of magic, and Dudley's chicken drumstick had halted half-way to his mouth as he stared fearfully at his cousin.

"Since I had a few billion pounds to burn," Harry commented icily, "no thanks to you. And no, you're not getting a single cent, because you're already getting paid to 'take care of me', which in my mind translates to doing whatever the hell I say. If anybody comes to check on me then simply mutter the words 'visitor for Harry' under your breath, am I understood?" After glaring and receiving terrified nods in return he broke out into a grin. "Wonderful."

He apparated out and was sure Petunia had fainted at the sight. All thoughts of the low-life, abusive little worms that were his blood-relatives disappeared when he arrived truly home. He'd taken to paying weekly visits to the manor, and to Rose, and had fallen in love with both – though the former more slowly. Rose was a ray of sunshine in his usually-dull days; full of life and an unfulfillable sense of awe about the world around her. One Saturday he'd snuck out of the castle and taken her out on their very first date, and had acquired a portkey to Egypt for the occasion. The image of her staring at the Pyramids of Giza would forever be burned into her mind. To Muggles they were eroded and ancient-looking, but that was only due to the wards that had been placed over it. When she caught sight of the pure-gold pyramids her entire face had lit up with wonder and amazement, and a beautiful smile had broken onto her face.

He had managed to bribe one of the locals into letting them up to the top, and the couple had made love as sunrise had broken over the horizon. It had seemed too romantic to be true; something out of a corny romance novel, but it was real. It was something that had solidified their relationship into something unbreakable. Harry knew that people weren't supposed to fall in love as they had; so frantically fast and so hard and deeply, but it had happened. He was scared, but he shared that emotion with Rose, who felt much the same. Both had been starved of love in their lives, and both of their lives had been riddled with hardship. That fact coupled with the knowledge that they both truly loved each other as much as they did helped them get past that small stage of fear and break into a new phase that gave them complete, unrestricted trust to one another.

As Rose was learning the 'true' version of Occlumency, and had a Master Legilimens and Occlumens training her one-one-one, she had mental shields nearly as advanced as his own – albeit lacking the huge amounts of offensive traps that he'd amounted in the years he'd been alive. When he'd told her about who he truly was she had been disbelieving for only a moment, and had then listened quietly as he told her about his entire life; the betrayals from those he considered his best friends; the hatred he'd held; the path he had been going down; the magic he held and knew… everything. She had been appalled that he was thinking of beginning a relationship with the very woman that had tried to imprison him and interrogate him for knowledge, but Harry explained that the Hermione in this timeline was not like the Hermione in the previous one. Of course that was in no small part due to him, but he considered what he had done as saving her. He had been delighted and relieved when she had supported what he'd done to the people he'd killed and tortured.

He toed off his shoes at the door, kicked them into place beside Rose's knee-high boots, and then padded into the manor proper. He smiled when the homely smell of coffee and food reached his nostrils and then followed the scent up the stairs where he walked into the kitchen to see Rose humming happily away in the kitchen to some soft music in the background; dancing gracefully from pan to oven to island bench. He leaned in the doorway with a soft smile and watched her work, and several seconds later Rose seemed to sense him; turning around with a wide smile. "Harry!" He laughed and walked right into her hug, and squeezed her tightly. She pulled away after a moment and kissed him solidly on the lips, and he once again delighted in her familiar taste of subtle spice. "I missed you," she muttered happily as she broke the kiss, and he smiled before nuzzling her nose with his own.

"I missed you too love." She beamed at him before standing once more, and Harry moved to one of the chairs that looked into the kitchen so that he could watch her work. The difference in their height was something that annoyed him slightly, because he hated feeling so childish that she actually had to bend down or outright crouch to be on the right level to kiss or embrace him properly, but it was a small setback that would be remedied in a few years – possibly earlier if he had his way. For the first time in his life he had time. "Have you made a decision on the Christmas party?"

She turned her head over her shoulder and Harry couldn't help but follow the way her silken red hair cascaded fluidly off her shoulders and fell down her back. She smirked slightly when she saw his expression but nodded. It was no secret that he loved her hair. "Your comment about my cousin was eventually the thing that swayed me. Suzuki-sensei told me that it was 'residual childhood resentment'… I told her that it was just for shits and giggles." Harry snorted and she cringed. "As you obviously well know… she doesn't take things like that very well."

"First time I swore in the previous timeline she sparred me until I fell unconscious. What was your damage?"

Her cringe intensified. "She apparated me to the top of Everest and made me run on a treadmill for nearly an hour."

Harry stared and then gave a small, "Wow… you must've caught her in a really bad mood."

Rose just nodded, shivering and shaking her head to dispel the bad memories. "Anyways, I've invited pretty much everyone, including my aunt and uncle, as well as Tiffany." Harry smirked at how she virtually hissed that name out. She was going to get her vengeance finally, and although it wasn't very 'dark', he knew it would be immensely satisfying for her. From what he'd been told her cousin was almost like her version of Dudley, just without the physical abuse and added mental. "I was thinking Christmas Eve at first… but I want to share my Christmas with you." His expression softened and he leaned over to take her hands in his with a warm smile. She blushed, but a matching smile was on her face as well. "So I invited them over tomorrow. They should be arriving at around six."

Harry smiled and nodded, and she squeezed his hands before moving over to the oven and pulling out the garlic bread she had been baking. Harry moved around to cut it up as she dished the spaghetti and bolognaise sauce, and carried a basket of the bread over to the table. She placed the two plates next to each other and they sat side-by-side; Harry's shoulder brushing her side due to their height difference. Neither really cared; just so long as they had some form of contact. "So when are Tonks and Hermione coming over," Rose asked casually, and Harry swallowed before answering. "Well Christmas is in three days, so they'll be spending time with their families. Maybe on New Year's?"

Rose had gotten over the feeling of betrayal at Harry wanting other women in their relationship, and no longer looked irritated at the mention of either Tonks or Hermione. Harry was indescribably relieved. She nodded thoughtfully as she chewed. "I think that would be fine… but I still want my kiss at midnight."

He laughed and nodded before nudging her playfully in the side. "I wouldn't deprive you of that in a million years."

They finished their meal in a comfortable, warm silence, and cleaned up in perfect tandem; working around each other like it was second nature; a side effect of the modified Occlumency scheme and the fact that the pair loved each other. Their magic was actually in tune, and in turn Rose had become a little darker while Harry had become a little lighter. They were still on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but their magics were harmonized and accepted each other without question. The pair finally finished up and retreated to their room; leaving a trail of clothes behind them.

The next morning the pair got up early to get ready for the gathering they would be holding that night. Dobby helped decorate under the instruction of Rose, while Harry went out to the 'Forbidden Shed' which housed a fully-stocked potions lab as well as a complete gym including a running track. For the morning he brewed a complex aging potion he'd been meaning to get around to for some time, and once it was done he waited impatiently for it to cool. With a silent toast to the American that had created the potion in the future he slugged it back, disrobed, cast silencing spells, and then begun screaming in agony.

He could feel his bones forcefully lengthening; his skin growing at a rapid pace to properly keep up with the change; and his muscles developing as if the devil himself was telling them to bulk up and pick up the pace. The change took nearly ten minutes, and by the end of it Harry James Potter was lying on the ground wheezing and panting as if he'd just run a marathon. He threw off his glasses now they were unnecessary and gulped in huge draughts of air into his parched throat. "Je-sus," he grumbled to himself after a moment, "that hurt like a bitch."

He groaned as he stood up and quickly pushed a prepared overlay into his subconscious. It immediately deleted the previous 'settings' his brain had, and he found himself standing steady instead of wobbling around like a drunkard as he would have done without it. He looked at the mirror he'd set up nearby and grinned at the man looking back at him. He stood at five foot ten, and his body was not that of a boy. His body was that of a twenty three year-old male; a slightly younger version of the man he'd been before the time-travel. He was ecstatic that he was back to full-strength, and he could feel the magic bursting through his internal channels.

He turned to the pool centered in the middle of the running track and lifted his hand, and his grin widened to almost maniacal proportions when the water in the pool rose until it was hovering in a suspended cube above the concrete hole. In his eleven year-old body the strain of such wandless magic would have torn into his being and damaged the magic channels, but all he could feel now was just a smooth, perfectly controlled flow of magic. He dropped his control and the water fell back into the pool; becoming turbulent as it kicked up, and Harry called Dobby. The House-Elf immediately answered his call, and then promptly fainted. Harry chuckled as he wrapped a towel around his waist and cast a wandless enervate at the poor creature.

"Master Harry?"

Harry laughed and nodded, "Yes Dobby, it's me. This is what I really look like, okay?"

Dobby nodded furiously, his large ears slapping comically against the side of his head, and Harry stifled a grin. "Very odd Master Harry… but it suits you."

Harry bowed slightly in appreciation. "Thank you. Now would you please be able to fetch me a smart-casual set of clothes?" Dobby nodded and popped away to get them, and reappeared a moment later. The moment Harry touched the material they resized to fit; a feature Harry had paid handsomely for. Moments later he was completely dressed once more and incinerated his cheap Hogwarts robes with a flick of his hand. "Now Dobby," he asked, "how best do you think I should approach my dear Rose…"

Dobby grinned.

Ten minutes later a knock came on the front door and Rose looked across from where she was conjuring some Christmas-themed snowmen in the foyer. She frowned when she looked at the clock, as they weren't expecting anybody to the best of her knowledge, but shrugged and walked towards the front door before opening it. Immediately she was flung back after being the victim of a blasting hex, and she rolled back onto her feet before drawing her wand and beginning a highly offensive spell-chain that was meant to kill with maximum efficiency. Avada Kedavras, Crucios, and a swathe of other dark curses burst from her wand at the intruder whose hood was covering their face, and she was shocked when the green curse curved around the man.

When the intruder pulled the hood off she gaped. Harry stared back at her with twinkling emerald eyes, and a moment later 'oofed' as Rose crashed into him. "Harry! You idiot! You had me scared to death!"

He looked at where the killing curse had impacted and held back his witty retort about how she'd nearly driven him to death. "Just testing your reflexes. Very, very good by the way."

She looked up at his far-deeper voice and gaped when she looked at him in full. Her hand rose of its own accord to gently trail down his lightly-stubbled cheek, and she shook her head in amazement as her tongue darted out and licked her lips. "How?"

"A permanent aging potion," he murmured as he finally looked down at her with a smile, "this is what I looked like at twenty three. I couldn't have your family seeing you dating an eleven year-old now, could I?"

"Perma- but that means that you've-"

"Shortened my life by twelve years, yes," he agreed as he cut her off, "but I'm in the process of making a philosopher's stone so it really doesn't matter." She gaped at him, but before she could protest or make any other comment Harry was kissing her frantically and dragging her towards their bedroom. Ten minutes later Dobby entered the manor and immediately turned on his heel and walked back out to do some gardening. Judging by the screams and yells of ecstasy both Master Harry and Mistress Rose were very much enjoying the effects of the potion Harry had brewed.

They emerged from their bedroom nearly eight hours later, freshly washed and dressed, but Rose was walking very funny even though she had a dreamy, slightly vacant expression on her face. Harry had a smile worthy of Gilderoy Lockhart on his dial. Harry fetched his lover a pain-potion and healing tonic to take care of her discomfort, and she rewarded him with a tenderly soft kiss as thanks for his consideration. During the one hour remaining until their guests arrived Harry warded the 'Water Floor' so that nobody would go poking around, and activated the wards on the 'shed' outside as well. Harry was just heading into the kitchen to check on the roast chickens and pork that Dobby was taking care of when the doorbell rang, and he looked to Rose with a wink before disappearing; calling over his shoulder, "I'll make an impressive entrance, yeah?"

She laughed and shook her head as she approached the door, and opened it with a smile. She found her grandparents staring in awe, and laughed before inviting them inside and taking their coats. Harry ambled out a moment later; his emerald-silk dress-shirt rolled up at the sleeves and a warm smile on his face. "Ah, Mister and Missus Patterson, it's a pleasure to meet you," he greeted as he shook the man's hand and kissed the woman's knuckles, and he received dual smiles in return.

"Please, just call me Rodger, and this is my wife Muriel."

Harry smiled and nodded, "Well then I must insist you both call me Harry. Welcome to my home."

Rodger looked around and gave a chuckle before nodding. "And what a beautiful home." Harry nodded his thanks as he wrapped an arm loosely around Rose's waist, and she smiled up at him before snuggling slightly closer. The couple got knowing looks and approving nods from the elderly pair, but Rodger continued on in the same vein of thought without commenting on it. "Rose didn't tell us much about you, what do you do?"

Harry motioned for them to follow and led them through to the ground-floor living area. "I'm a private contractor," he explained easily, "and I take government contracts. I'm afraid most of the things I do are classified, but it's centered on tracking down threats to innocents and bringing them to justice."

Both Muriel and Rodger looked impressed, and the latter voiced his amazement. "An incredible achievement for one so young. You must be doing well for yourself," he said as he motioned around and Harry gave a chuckle and a nod.

"I can't deny that," he said as he helped Muriel into a chair before moving to sit next to Rose opposite the elderly couple, "but then again it isn't easy work either. I've had to do things I haven't liked more than once, though it was necessary."

Rodger nodded understandingly. He'd been a soldier in the Second World War and had seen the looks and movements of militaries. Near the end of his assignment he and his battalion had worked alongside a unit of what would later be known as the New Zealand SAS. The man sitting opposite him and who had his arm wrapped around his granddaughter's waist was a seasoned, professional, and ruthless killer – but Rodger also knew just from his actions so far that he needn't be worried about the safety of his son's daughter; both were clearly smitten with each other. He idly wondered just how his other son's daughter would react to Harry, but pushed it aside.

The doorbell rung once again and Rose pecked Harry on the cheek before standing up and heading to see who it was. "So do you travel a lot?"

Harry smiled and nodded, but there was a clear sadness in his eyes. "I do. Currently the Crown has me working on threats against schools, so I'm away for most of the school year. It's a seven year contract, but they're nice enough to give me time off in the weekends to fly back and see Rose."

Rodger nodded and was about to continue the conversation when more murmured voices came from the hall, and a moment later four people entered alongside Rose. She smiled at him, and he grinned back as her grandparents stood and greeted the new arrivals. Finally Rose pulled Harry over and smiled. "Harry, these are my Great Uncles and Aunties." Harry shook hands and warmly greeted Frank, Horace, Elizabeth, and Catherine, and quickly offered them seats before asking if anybody wanted a drink. Both he and Rose made the rounds, and Harry chuckled at the reaction of Rodger when he brought out a bottle of 40 year-old whiskey. "Bloody hell Harry, you must really want my approval!"

Harry liked all of Rose's family so far, and they all seemed to adore him according to Rose, who pulled him aside on one trip into the kitchen. Slowly the place started filling up, until at seven the lounge was well and truly comfortably packed. Twenty three people had arrived so far; from great aunts and uncles to the young children of other cousins. Tiffany and her mother and father, however, had yet to show. Harry asked Rose about it when they opened the doors to the back porch and she rolled her eyes.

"What you need to understand is that Eileen, Tiffany's Mum, and Mark, her dad, think that the little brat farts rainbows." Some lemonade shot out of Harry's nostrils as he laughed in the middle of a sip, and he chuckled as he pulled out a hanky to clean himself up. When Rose finished chuckling she continued as she motioned for the guests to come outside and have a look around. Gasps and murmurs of appreciation came from everybody as they filed out, and Harry smiled when he saw several of the kids shoot out and start running around on the lawn. "Eileen thinks the world of Tiffany; treats her like a princess, which is probably half the reason she's so incredibly up herself. Mark's just whipped by the both of them, so she's 'daddy's little girl'. They'll turn up late to make an entrance-"

The sound of the doorbell just reached their ears. "Somebody at the door for you Rose," called one of her cousins who was still sitting in the lounge, and Harry turned to his love with a wry smile.

"Speak of the devil, no?"

Rose looked excited and worried at the same time, and Harry wrapped her in a hug as the doorbell rang again. "I'm on your side love, and from what I can see most of your family is too. Go on and greet them and we'll proceed to make them all go green with jealousy."

She grinned and pecked him as the doorbell became more insistent, and called over her shoulder as she walked inside, "You know just what to say sweetheart!"

That got some chuckles from the men within earshot, and some approving smiles from the women. He blushed slightly and walked over to where Frank, Horace, and Rodger were all nursing whiskeys. It was the first time that the two former had seen him walk and move, and they both came to the same conclusion as their brother; the man walking towards them was one hell of a warrior. They all greeted him warmly and brought him comfortably into their conversation about the war, and although Harry couldn't speak from experience in regards the Second World War he was actively involved in talking about how civilians would never understand the horrors.

Harry peered out the corner of her eye when he saw movement from the porch, and stifled a slight wince when she saw the infamous Tiffany and her parents. Just as the men surrounding Harry could tell that he was a trained warrior, Harry could tell that Tiffany was a natural bitch. Her face held a veneer of superiority and haughtiness, though Harry could tell without even resorting to legilimency that she was already supremely irritated at the fact that her cousin was living in such a place. He looked her subtly over and had to admit that she was quite attractive; she stood at five foot seven and had tanned legs that would undoubtedly garner her attention wherever she went. Her breasts were quite large, though not quite as big as Rose's, and he stifled a smirk when he noticed with a small flicker of his magic that she was using a push-up bra. When he looked to Rose he saw that already she was starting to shrink into her shell and immediately moved to put a stop to it. He excused himself from his three compatriots, who all nodded knowingly and approvingly, and walked steadily towards his girlfriend; depositing his lemonade glass on the bottom of the banister leading up to the porch.

When Tiffany saw him coming her entire face virtually lit up with hunger, and when she saw him approaching her direction she took it to be a sign that he was coming to greet her like the important person she thought she was. She opened her mouth to begin flirting, and froze with a shocked look on her face when he breezed right past her and grabbed Rose around the waist before twirling her expertly around, eliciting a giggle of happy surprise, and then leaning down to peck her sweetly on the lips; lingering a moment longer than strictly necessary. She beamed up at him when he pulled away, and he sent a small legilimency probe at her with his feelings for her bundled up inside. Her smile only brightened when it impacted on her rock-solid shields and exploded, and she hugged herself to his side as his arm came to rest lovingly around her waist. "Uncle Mark, Auntie Eileen, this is my boyfriend Harry. Harry, my Aunt and Uncle." Harry smiled and shook both their hands, notably not kissing the woman's knuckles as she was sneering lightly at Rose.

It didn't take long for Harry to realize just how much fun the night could be. Eileen stepped forwards slightly and tugged Tiffany with her. They were just close enough for Harry to consider it an intrusion on his personal space, and he held back a small glare. "This is my daughter Tiffany," she introduced almost reverently.

Harry nodded civilly in acknowledgement, and Tiffany's face fell when he didn't move to shake her hand or even offer her a word of greeting. "Well make yourselves at home," he said after a moment's emphasizing the fact he wasn't going to greet Tiffany, "drinks are inside on the table, and feel free to explore the house. The double doors off the foyer are locked however, because that's the Master Bedroom. Feel free to explore anywhere else – though please do be careful in the weights room; I'd rather not have an incident." He got nods in return, but noticed that both Eileen and Tiffany's were quite put off. The pair quickly made haste back into the lounge under the excuse of 'refreshments' while Mark suddenly looked lost without instruction.

Harry led Rose out onto the lawn and sat down in one of the seats underneath the illuminated Great Oak. She immediately made herself at home in his lap and smiled softly as he helped her get comfortable against him. "You know Eileen and Tiff are plotting right now how to steal you away from me, right?"

He laughed and shrugged. "I don't see what good that's going to do them, but it'll make your revenge all the sweeter my love." She chuckled and kissed his exposed collarbone, and he shivered slightly. The entire garden was swathed in a warming ward, so it wasn't the cold, and Rose smirked to herself at the knowledge she could elicit such a response from her love with something so small.

She rolled her eyes when she too shivered when he ran his fingertips lightly underneath the shoulder of her shirt, and felt a small snigger from above. "You're so mature," she grumbled sarcastically, and his snigger turned into a laugh; drawing the attention of everybody for a second, all of whom smiled at the young couple so in love.

"Ah, you love me for it." She didn't deny that. After ten minutes passed Harry and Rose got up, 'coincidentally' at the same time Tiffany and Eileen returned, and Harry cleared his throat before waving to get everybody's attention. "Okay everybody, dinner's served! If you'll follow Rose and me through to the dining room you can dish up and eat wherever you want." Smiles and murmurs of understanding came from around the garden and everybody followed the couple inside. Harry smirked when Rodger, Frank, and Horace flanked both him and Rose, and chuckled along with them when they were out of the angry-Tiffany's earshot.

Gasps came from the majority when they entered the dining room and saw the feast laid out on the long table, and a line started to form as people grabbed a plate, a knife and fork, and begun dishing up whatever they wanted from the sumptuous collection of mouth-watering dishes. Harry nodded to Dobby who was looking proudly at the enthusiasm his 'customers' were showing, and the small elf grinned before disappearing. A few people asked how they'd cooked it all and laid it out because they'd been out in the garden and Harry just grinned with a wink before replying, "One of Santa's best little elves helped me out."

That got laughs, but it was Rose and Harry that were laughing the hardest. If only Rose's family knew. When people started returning to the porch they were shocked to see that tables and chairs had suddenly appeared all over the area, and Harry just grinned as he gave a mysterious wink to the questioning looks. All three of Harry's new elderly comrades along with their wives tried to fill the table before the over-eager Tiffany and co. could make their claim, but the three managed to get the chairs in a nick of time. Harry got apologetic looks from the elderly couples but waved their concerns away with a small smile. "So Harry," Tiffany smiled at him, "I've seen all my family here, where are yours?"

"Mine?" he asked after swallowing a rather hefty mouthful of 150 proof Everclear he'd managed to sneak into his glass, and he shuddered as the furious burn ripped down his throat and into his stomach. "My parents were murdered, and so were my grandparents. Same person too."

The entire table quieted in shock, and Rose rubbed the back of his hand slightly. She knew he'd gotten over their deaths and could talk about it freely, but the tone he used when he spoke about it could easily be misinterpreted as nonchalance when truly it was determination. "Oh… well that's not very nice."

Harry stated at the woman opposite with something akin to disbelief. He shook his head after a moment and slugged back the last of his glass; shuddering once more before wandlessly getting rid of the almost-overpowering smell of alcohol. He needed a lot to get tipsy after the numerous rituals he'd done in this timeline, as they were far more receptive when done as a child, but with the amount he'd consumed he knew he'd be slightly buzzed but have more than a clear enough head to think clearly. "Yeah," Harry agreed as a slight sense of light-headedness hit him, "not very nice at all."

"How long ago was that?" Frank asked carefully and Harry sighed.

"Twenty two years ago. I was one year old at the time when the bastard came into the house. Killed Dad who tried to stop him, and offered to let my mother live if he stepped out of the way to kill me. She refused, and so he shot her dead before turning the gun on me. The next door neighbor was a cop though, and when he heard the shots he ran over with his gun. My parents' murderer bolted when he realized he was about to be caught."

"And he's still out there?" Horace asked in disbelief and Harry nodded as he chewed on a potato.

"Uhuh, and he still has it in for me. He's actually on my team for work at the moment, biding his time until he makes his move. Don't reckon he knows I know who he is though."

Wide eyes came from everybody but Rose, who knew about Quirrel, and Eileen looked shocked. "He's working with you?" she nearly shrieked, "Are you insane? You should tell the police!"

Harry turned to her wryly and pulled a wallet from his pocket that he had made for any operations he undertook in the muggle world. When he opened it everybody stared at the proudly stated MI-5 and Tiffany gaped with a look of complete shock, until her expression turned hungry once more as she batted her eyelids at him.

"Must be amazing working with MI-5. All that secret agent kind of stuff."

"Yeah," he returned dryly, "it was my dream as a kid to be working with my parents' murderer Tiffany, very well thought out there."

She blushed bright red in equal parts humiliation and anger, and Harry caught the smirk on Rose's lips out the corner of his eye. That alone made him want to smile, but he wanted to make the rude little tart sweat. He returned the badge to his pocket and started eating at his chicken as he turned to his other more welcome tablemates. "Now as this is a Christmas party a Christmas dance is obviously mandatory, so I hope you're all up to a bit of dancing – now, now you three," he said as he looked to the three old men with a mock-superior expression, "I don't want you to pop a hip so make sure to take it nice and slow. Perhaps some awkward shuffling – I do have a Zimmer frame for you Frank."

Eileen and Tiffany both winced in expectation of the inevitable blow-up. One of Tiffany's ex-boyfriends had met her Great Uncles and Aunties and had tried to get chummy straight off the bat and that had led to the teen getting chewed out beyond all belief. To both of their shock all three men just laughed and Frank mock-glared at him as a grin twitched at his lips. "I'll show you dancing boy!"

Harry laughed and shrugged, "Whatever you say old man."

Horace laughed and raised his glass a moment in a silent toast. "Not many people are game enough to do that Harry."

Harry shrugged and laughed, "After what us four have been through live life to the fullest right?"

All four raised their glasses and Harry got a quiet but friendly, "Hear hear!" from the three ex-soldiers.

Tiffany looked confused, and inserted her foot quite promptly in her mouth. "What do you mean by that? You're not old enough to-"

She'd crossed the line with the 'you're not old enough' comment. If there was one thing Harry hated it was being treated like a kid, and this vain young woman was so ignorant of the world; so sheltered and pampered by her doting parents that she wouldn't know reality from movies if it slapped her in the face. Harry intended to figuratively cunt-punt it into her. "Little girl," he commented snidely, and watched as her face grew red with anger at being addressed as such; she was nineteen, and how dare this man call her a little girl! "We are referring to having nearly been killed multiple times. Your elders here, who deserve your respect and acknowledgement because without them we all might be speaking German right now, have been in near-death situations more than once. So too have I. I was nearly murdered at one year old, and I've nearly been killed many more times since then.

"And on the other side of the coin, Tiffany, we also know just how easily life can be taken away. Frank, Horace, and Rodger have all killed people with a mere squeeze of their fingers, just as I have." The black-haired girl looked terrified now that she realized that the people sitting opposite had killed, and the sudden want to be with Harry was dampened quite considerably. "So don't assume you know anything about me, or my three brothers-in-arms. Being a 'secret agent' isn't like in the movies. We kill and are killed; we are tortured and have tortured; we walk in the realm of complete, harsh reality without the veneer of peace and security. We'll never see that veneer again. When we walk down the street we're looking at body language to see if there's a threat; when we eat we quickly sniff just a little bit to see if we can smell any poison or additive we don't know; when we sleep we do so lightly so that we can snap upwards at a moment's notice; the most minute of sounds that may be dangerous.

"Ask Rose; she knows I sleep with a knife under my pillow, and my gun is just down beside my bed. I can draw both and have it aimed at a threat in one second, from asleep to wide awake and ready to kill." All three people on the opposite side of the table looked terrified, and Harry shrugged with a small chuckle as he wrapped his arm around Rose's shoulders. All three elderly couples looked respectfully at Harry; the wives of the men having seen their husbands doing precisely what Harry had described, and the men themselves knowing they did it subconsciously.

Rose went willingly into his one-armed embrace, and smiled up at him before looking back across at her terrified cousin, aunt, and uncle. "The thing is Tiffany," she said with triumph barely veiled in her voice, "Harry's more of a man than you'll ever find. You're terrified of what he's done and what he does… but it just makes him a better man. Every moment I spend with Harry is perfect because we both know that we might not see each other ever again once we part. You stared out tonight all snarky and jealous and expecting to steal my Harry away from me, just like I knew you would – just like Harry knew you would." Tiffany jerked her head to look at Harry, and blanched away when she saw the amused expression lying undenying on his face.

Eileen was furious and stood up; her chair groaning across the deck before clattering over. All conversation in the yard stopped, and the furious woman decided to at least try and leave chaos in her wake as she sniffed heartily and dragged her daughter and husband out the door. "My family does not consort with murderers such as you!"

There was a few moments' silence as people turned their attention from the retreating backs of the Fields family to Harry, and the young man shrugged. "I work for the government; apparently they expected it to be like James Bond."

Some chuckles came from his comment as people went back to their dinners, though he did catch several respectful nods aimed in his direction. The tension that had been hanging over the group quickly disappeared now that the elephant in the room was gone, and Rose came fully out of her shell much to the enjoyment of everybody she spoke to. The night ended with the 'outdoor speakers' wafting calm, serene dancing music into the garden, and everybody helped move the tables away to make room for couples to dance. Harry and Rose shared several dances together and a couple with other people – Harry with Muriel and Rose with Rodger predominantly. People started leaving at around eleven, until it was just Harry's three brothers-in-arms and their wives left. Seeing that they were all rather tipsy Harry offered them rooms for the night, and all six gratefully accepted.

As Harry settled down for the night spooning against Rose's back he had the feeling that life was going to take a rather downward spiral sometime quite soon. With all the good things that had been happening something had to give. He shook his head after a moment and buried his head in his lover's blood-crimson hair and drew in her scent; all thoughts saves about her floating away as he sunk into unconsciousness.

He'd take things as they came.