Gigi wasn't sure what to expect Monday morning. As she got ready for work, she pondered the situation she had gotten herself into. As she shaved her legs, running the tip of her wand up and down the length of her legs, she remembered Saturday night.

She and Harry had docked the boat. He had placed a hand on the small of her back as they exited the boat, which sent her stomach fluttering. They had walked back out into the London streets, and ate at a small café near the gardens. Harry had offered to walk her home after they ate, and when she shivered from the night air, he had offered her his jacket. When they reached her house, Harry lightly kissed her goodbye. Gigi had smiled, turned around and went inside. She watched from her living room window as Harry apparated into the night.

But today was different. Today, Harry and Gigi would be in the workplace. Gigi wondered how she should act, what she should say, what she should do? Pretend nothing was different? Should she even talk to Harry? Whenever Gigi was in Harry's presence, she found herself becoming looser, unwound, and even unstable, in Gigi's mind.

As Harry got ready that morning, the same topic was on his mind. Saturday had gone well enough, in Harry's opinion. When he kissed Gigi goodnight, Gigi had smiled as their lips touched. When he drew away, her eyes fluttered open and she had bit her lip happily. Harry loved to see her reaction, see her happy. And so, just as Gigi decided not to make a deal out of anything, Harry decided to chase her emotions.

When Harry got to the Ministry that morning, Gigi was already in her office. He walked up to Effy's desk, so he could receive his messages. He glanced through the glass windows of Gigi's office to see her working hard. She happened to look up at the same time he looked in her direction. Harry smiled, and Gigi turned a deep red color, then looked back to her work.

Harry furrowed his brow, perplexed. He walked into his office, shut the door, and sat down at his desk. For a few moments, he attempted to catch Gigi's glanced, but she was determined to work on something without ever glancing up from the paper.

Harry felt a small seed of nerves take root in his stomach. Why was Gigi ignoring him? She hadn't even offered him a fraction, even a shadow of a smile. This made Harry's stomach flip uncomfortably. What had he done?

At lunch, Gigi watched as people began to slowly trickle out of their workspaces. Every Monday, there was a deal at one of the Wizarding Cafés near the Ministry, where one could buy a full meal for just four sickles, a huge bargain. When everyone had gone, Gigi picked up Harry's planner, which she had just filled out, and opened the door to her office. She smiled at some of the last co-workers to leave, and then crossed the hallway. She rapped her knuckles lightly on Harry's door.

Harry was sitting at his desk, reading over reports that had come in on Dark Wizarding sightings. In most cases, it was elderly witches and wizards who had seen a dog in a bush and panicked, thinking it was a hunched over Death Eater. Harry shook his head and placed another report aside when someone knocked on his door. Harry rolled up his sleeves, stood from his chair, and opened the door. Gigi was standing outside, holding out his planner. She looked beautiful, as always. Her hair was up today, so that her bangs looked slightly longer on the sides, framing her pale face. Gigi's small waist was accentuated in a tight blazer, and her skirt just brushed the top of her knees, so that her shapely calves were visible. Harry, however, focused in on her eyes. When she saw him, her eyes widened, and then softened. The pupils grew enormously, like someone had blown up a balloon.

"Hi," Gigi said somewhat quietly. She held out the planner, moving it closer to Harry's chest. "I just finished putting in your appointments for the week."

"Why don't you come in?" Harry asked. Gigi hesitated, looking back to her office. The rest of the office was empty.

"I…I can't," Gigi replied. "I have some stuff to work on."

"Like what?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "Come on, come in."

Gigi still stood outside Harry's office, still clutching the planner.

"Come in to my office," Harry said in a pointed tone, and Gigi snapped her head up. She respected authority, Harry knew. So when he used an authoritarian voice, Gigi moved into action.

"What is it?" Gigi asked, as Harry closed the door behind them. She carefully placed the planner down on his desk and anxiously ran a hand through her bangs, mussing them up the slightest bit. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and Gigi turned around to see Harry standing behind her, his face just inches from hers. Instead of answering, Harry grabbed Gigi's shoulders and pulled her mouth to his.

At once, Gigi's knees crumpled out from under her, and to steady herself, she grabbed onto his elbows. She couldn't believe what was happening. Here she was, at work, kissing her boss. It was worse than she had imagined, not the kiss, mind you, but Gigi's nonchalance concerning the situation. She didn't even mind kissing Harry in the workplace, an offense, she would have punished herself for just two months ago.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, breaking away from him. Harry moved his hand up into her hair, rubbing the strands in between his fingertips.

"Kissing you," he retorted, pressing his lips to hers, and then drawing back. "That is, unless you don't want me to."

Gigi considered his words. She should say no. It would be rational to, really. But then again, Gigi did want him to kiss her. And Gigi wasn't about to lie. That was worse than kissing in the workplace, Gigi thought with a blush.

"I want you to," she said. Gigi wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and lifted her chin towards his. Harry eagerly kissed her again, his breath washing over her mouth. Gigi closed her eyes and opened her mouth the slightest bit, anxiously pressing her tongue against Harry's. "Wait," she suddenly pulled away from Harry, letting her fingers fly to her mouth. She stood up straight and straightened Harry's collar. "What are we doing?"

"Well, I thought it was obvious," Harry replied with a grin.

"No, I mean…" Gigi sighed. "What are we doing? What if people see us together? What should we say?"

"Listen to yourself," Harry said, with a scoffing laugh. "See us together? You make it sound like we're undercover." When Gigi didn't reply, Harry's slight smirk faded. He walked brusquely around his desk and took a seat, smoothing his tie. "You want to keep this a secret."

"Yes," Gigi said eagerly. "Whatever this is. Because I mean, we work together. This could make for an awkward situation if people knew. I don't want to damage my reputation."

"Nor mine," Harry said quietly. Both of them swallowed and looked in opposite directions. "I am your boss."

Gigi felt her face turn red, and she felt as if she had been slapped.

"That's all you're going to say?" She asked, somewhat sadly.

"What do you want me to say?" Harry replied. "Fine, I'll tell you what I had planned to say. I was going to say that I don't care if people know we're dating, or hooking up. Because I like you Gigi. And while we've both worked hard to get to where we are today, I would risk it just to spend time with you. I like you that much."

Gigi mentally kicked herself. Harry sat before her, earnest, handsome, and putting himself out there, while she, Gigi, drew away into herself.

"I can't," Gigi said. "You don't understand what I've sacrificed to be here. I can't lose it. I would lose everything."

"Not me," Harry said firmly, standing up from his chair. He placed both his palms and leaned on them, so he was leaning towards Gigi. "I'd be next to you, lost too."

"You don't get it!" Gigi suddenly exploded. "You know why everyone thinks I'm a cold-hearted bitch?"

"They don't…" Harry began.

"Oh yes they do," Gigi cut in, nodding. "You think I don't hear them? Listen to me. I moved here fresh out of school. And when I did that, I was engaged to be married. I was just nineteen, it was so hard to cope with everything…but I successfully got a job here, I began to work my way up through the ranks. I moved into a house and became consumed by my job." Gigi drew a breath. "One night, my fiancée, Ryan, his name is Ryan, came to see me. He showed up on my doorstep one night. He asked me to leave everything behind, to run off and get married that night."

Harry took a sharp breath that nearly caused him to choke.

"I refused. I told him not to be mad, that I had work in the morning. So Ryan said that I had to choose. If I chose my job, I would never see him again." Gigi paused and gave Harry a small smile. "So I chose my job. And I regretted it, I regretted it a lot of the time, up until I met you."

Harry remained quiet. He folded his hands together and looked at Gigi expectantly. Gigi struggled to find words to express herself. She twisted her hands together.

"I like you Harry. Obviously." Gigi blushed. "But you need to understand that my job is the only constant thing in my life, it's what keeps me grounded. It gives me a sense of control that I need." Gigi picked a piece of lint off her sleeve and sighed. "I lost everything because of my job, except just that, my job. I cling to it because it's what I'll always have."

"You lost everything?" Harry asks quietly. At once, he feels his pulse rise, and his face heat up. He couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt angrier than usual. "You lost everything? I lost my parents, my godfather, my other relatives, and my great friends. Why don't you go cope with your loss then? Because your one loss seems to be much greater than mine."

At once, Gigi stepped back from Harry's desk, as if he had slapped her. Harry knew he had gone too far, and put out a hand, as if to reconcile. He began to speak, apologize, but Gigi talked over him.

"Fuck you," she said angrily. "I never suggested I lost more than you. I know better than to do that Harry. You're being immature and selfish when I was trying to express my feelings, something I don't do often." She turned around and left his office in a huff, slamming the door so often that she cracked the glass in the window. Harry immediately put his head in his hands, feeling the weight of his words settle on his shoulders. Gigi left the office soon after, not returning after the lunch break.

That night, Gigi had just finished talking to Gabriel on the phone when the doorbell rang.

"'Bye Gabe. Love you." Gigi hung up the phone and cautiously approached the door. She checked her watch. It was nearly ten, who would come calling at this time of night? Gigi swung the door open to see Harry standing on the front step.

His hands were in his pockets, in a sad, apologetic manner. He was slumped over slightly and his hair was messier than usual. His eyes expressed his guilt.

"What?" Gigi asked, crossing her arms. She narrowed her eyes at Harry, though she could feel her knees quivering at the sight of him.

"I'm sorry," Harry said. "Really, I am. I don't know why I exploded like that. Gigi, I would never say something to intentionally hurt you. I hope you know that."

"You did hurt me," Gigi told him, still frosty. "You were the rudest I've ever heard. Just because my loss can't measure up to the amount that your losses were, it doesn't mean that it didn't hurt just as much."

"I realized that," Harry replied. "After you left. Too late. I just get so angry over those feelings I have." Harry ran a hand over his hair and straightened his glasses. "They were all lives cut too short, and sometimes…well, I don't know how to describe it. But when you lost that guy-"

"Ryan," Gigi supplied.

"Ryan," Harry said. "When you lost him, you never saw him again. It was like he was dead to you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Gigi said quietly, avoiding Harry's direct gaze.

"Well, you know how I feel then…but it's been badly pent up and layered on for years and years. Please forgive me, Gigi. If you can."

Gigi, possibly the most rational, uptight person her age, lost all her resistance with that one utterance.

"Of course I can," Gigi said. "And I will." She opened the door more widely, and Harry jumped up the last two stairs, folding her in his arms. She raised her hands so she could tangle her fingers in his hair. Harry pulled away only to reel her back in and kiss her.

"Hey, wait," Gigi said as Harry pulled away, stroking her jaw. "Why don't you come inside for a bit?"

Harry ached to, but he forced himself to shake his head.

"I want to. But we have work tomorrow, remember?" He smiled at Gigi and winked. Gigi leaned against her door and smiled at Harry as he began to descend her steps. When he reached the sidewalk, he turned around to face her, a smile still on his face. "You're more gracious than you pretend to be," he said. And then Harry apparated.

Gigi shook her head, still smiling to herself, closed her front door and locked it. She quietly went through her house, putting out the lights and turning off the wireless. She didn't flinch as the autumn wind howled outside, or when the tree branches scraped at the windows. As Gigi got ready for bed, she didn't mind as the rain began to pound against her roof, soaking the sidewalk below. As Gigi began to fall asleep, she didn't notice the dark figure that shimmied up the tree that looked in her window. As she tossed and turned, lost in her dreams, she didn't awake as the figure managed to crawl onto her balcony.

"Gigi Meyers," the figure whispered. "Let's see how much you really mean to Mr. Potter."