Several hours later, Marcus arrived promptly after lunch. "Come in," I smiled as he entered the flat.

Marcus looked around the unusually quiet living room. "Where is everyone?"

"Beth is out with a friend. James and Sirius aren't back from scoping out another bakery building and should be back any minute." I felt a little awkward alone with Marcus in our flat. We were alone all the time at work, but well, that was work. "Do you want to play Sock Quidditch?"

Marcus grinned at me. "Can I use bloke socks this time?"

I laughed. "I'll get you some of Sirius'". I flicked my wand and two pairs of black socks came from Sirius' room, meeting two pairs of yellow socks from my room in front of us.

Marcus took out his wand as I set up the goals and brought out the quaffle and bludgers from a small box on the side table. "I'll pay you if you hit a bludger through one of his socks," Marcus offered.

"Oh, I'll do that for free," I smirked.

I was ten points down when James and Sirius arrived back twenty minutes later. James frowned when he saw Marcus was already here but he flopped on the couch and watched us for a few minutes. After I scored a goal to tie, James shook his head at me. "Quit playing easy on him, Lil."

Marcus stared at me. "You're going easy on me? Why?"

I shrugged guiltily. "Sometimes blokes don't like it when girls beat them in games."

Marcus gave me a weighted look. "I'm not that insecure. I've been easy on you."

"What?" The tip of my wand flopped face down as I stared at him and my socks fell to the floor. "Why?"

"Last time, you said James had killed you," he smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to be nice and play at your level."

"I told you she was being modest," James told Marcus acerbically. "Lily's just as good as I am."

"Okay, gloves off," I moved my wand and brought my socks up. "Let's go."

Ten minutes of faster paced action later, I was up twenty points when the timer signaled the end of the match. The little arms on the side of the clock timer held up a sign that said "Girl Power." Marcus smiled at me. "Good game, Lily."

I flicked my wand to put away our game, making Sirius' sock sporting a brand new bludger-shaped hole strut in front of him as he looked at a Quidditch magazine. He raised a sardonic eyebrow at my grin and repaired the sock before sending it back to his room.

"We still need to check on the two viable flats in the bakery building from Thursday night," James said once I'd curled on the couch beside him. "The occupants weren't there this morning or when we went by yesterday. Sirius and I went to our next building on the list, but only had time to go to three flats. No sign of Boris in any of them."

"We know the two flats fit Boris' description," Sirius said. "We could see their kitchen windows from the café."

"What should our story be?" I asked. "Repair people aren't really believable on the weekend."

"Like they were on a weeknight," James shook his head. "I don't know how we got away with that with the Brady's."

"They were old and sweet," I protested.

"More like gullible," Sirius commented drily.

"How about I pretend to be looking for a friend who lives there and I only speak French? That will be an easy way to see if they know French." Marcus suggested. "Lily can be my girlfriend."

James bristled. "Why does Lily need to be your fake girlfriend?"

"People worry less with strangers when one of them is a girl," Marcus said.

I nodded. "That's true. They tend to think girls aren't up to something evil, like knocking them out and robbing them."

James scowled but Sirius surprised me by agreeing. "Yeah, that might work." He turned to James. "You and I will be right there watching for trouble."

"Fine," James said shortly. "Let's go."

We met outside the front of the building after apparating to a quiet corner behind a magazine stand a few seconds apart. This building was much nicer than the one by the British Museum but the outside door to the street had not been locked. "Lock was already busted when we got here," James told me. "They're probably waiting on a repairman."

Sirius motioned with his head to James. "Let's go in and set up our look-out spots first," he said. James looked a bit reluctant to leave without me but he nodded. "Give us five minutes," Sirius told Marcus and me.

Marcus grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the window of a nearby jewelry store. "I want your advice," he smiled down at me. "I'm looking for a necklace for my little sister for her birthday." James turned back just as he was about to enter the building door and he glowered when saw our joined hands. I pulled my hand hastily from Marcus' and James went in after one final frown at me. Marcus and I spent a few minutes at the window display and I pointed out a couple necklaces I liked before we went into the building.

We walked up three flights of stairs to the third floor, ignoring the lift. We assumed James and Sirius were already in their look-out positions as Marcus and I went to the first flat door. Marcus knocked and we waited, hearing sounds of someone moving inside. The door was flung open by a large thirty-something year old woman with dark blonde hair.

"Bonjour," Marcus smiled at her. "Est-Phillipe ici?"

"Was?" She frowned. "Was machen sie hier?" Shit, she was speaking German. And if my memory of the small smattering of German I had learned in grammar school was correct, she'd asked what we were doing here.

Marcus' frown matched hers. "Quoi?" He spoke rapidly a few more sentences I couldn't follow.

"Ich spreche kein Französisch," she looked confused. She spoke next in halting English. "I no speak French."

I broke in. "I'm sorry, you speak English?"

She turned to me looking slightly relieved. "A little," she said, her words heavily accented.

"My boyfriend and I are looking for a friend of his," I gestured towards Marcus. "Does Phillipe live here?"

"Nein—no," she shook her head. "I alone here."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again. "We must have the wrong flat. We didn't mean to disturb you."

She gave me a small smile and shut the door firmly. We moved down the hall and met up with James. "Pretty sure that's a no for Boris being here," Marcus reported.

Sirius joined us. "Sure she's not faking not knowing French?"

I shook my head. "She's an amazing actress if she was. There was no comprehension on her face when Marcus spoke in French to her."

"Good, another down," James nodded grimly. "Let's try the next one."

We trudged up the flight of stairs to the top floor. James and Sirius separated, each heading in a different direction. Marcus and I walked to the flat door that was on the back side of the building. "Ready?" Marcus asked quietly.

I nodded and he knocked. There was no sound from behind the flat door. Marcus knocked again and then we heard voices coming down the hall from behind us.

"It's no problem." We heard James say. Marcus took my arm and pulled me into a shallow alcove across from the flat door. A fake potted palm shielded us from casual view.

"I don't know how I thought I'd manage all these bags by myself," a female voice gushed flirtatiously. I peeked between the leaves of the plant to see a bleach blonde, twenty-something woman in high heels and a tight skirt gyrating down the hall, a purse on her arm and holding keys in her hand. Her free side was pressed up against James who walked beside her carrying three large shopping bags. She stopped at the flat door and inserted her key, kicking the door open with her foot and looking at James with a suggestive smile on her overly painted too-red lips. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail so tight it looked as if it must hurt and her eyes were heavily lined, giving her a hard, edgy look. Without even checking with James, she waltzed in as if there was no question he would want to come in also. To my annoyance, he obediently turned to follow her in. I raced around the plant and managed to pull James' invisibility cloak out of his front pocket before he'd made it past the threshold. He lifted an eyebrow at me, but silently continued into the flat.

I threw the invisibility cloak on and slipped into the flat behind James, closing the door behind me. Her flat was sleek and modern. The walls were a deep blue with glossy white trim on all the moldings. The couches and chairs were black leather with chrome legs. Magazines were perfectly arranged on the glass coffee table. The art on the wall were modern splashes of colour that were no doubt expensive, but to my untrained eyes looked like a hyperactive kindergartener had painted. There was no clutter and very few knickknacks giving the flat a cold, Spartan air. James walked into the living area and set the bags down on the couch. Blondie turned and smiled at him, sleazily in my opinion. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Just a glass of water," James replied. I knew he wanted to make sure she wasn't Boris, but really? Obviously Boris wouldn't be this slutty, trying to hit on a complete stranger.

"Nothing stronger?" She raised her eyebrows at James who smiled and shook his head.

Blondie poured James a glass of water and brought it to him. James lifted the glass to take a sip as she stepped closer to him. She put a hand on his upper arm. "You're very well endowed, aren't you?"

James choked on his water and backed up a step. He hit the couch behind him and froze, his eyes almost comically wide. "Um…I don't know." Evidently his brain wasn't well endowed, not seeing her obvious pass coming.

She smiled at him. Her hand squeezed his bicep slowly. "Don't be modest." She obviously wasn't. The bitch was wearing a low cut blouse and her black push-up bra was visible. I twitched my wand and her blouse was buttoned up three buttons higher. She didn't notice, still staring at James.

"Do you live alone?" James asked, his voice sounding cautious, his mouth twitching. Moron! There was no way she wouldn't take this as a come-on. I was living with an idiot. I had hoped we'd have smart children someday. Clearly that was not in the cards.

She smiled with a self-satisfied gleam in her eyes. "Yes," her hand trailed down his arm and then back up to grasp his shoulder. I gritted my teeth, my knuckles clenched on my wand under the invisibility cloak.

James hastily set his cup of water down. It made a clanking sound as it hit the glass end table. He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Do you speak French?" he managed to squeak. I was furious. This was the lamest start to discovering if she was Boris. Obviously the blood had left James' brain to go elsewhere.

She leaned closer to speak in his ear. "Why? Do you like to talk dirty in French?"

James put his hands on her arms to push her away. "Er…no. I mean I have a girlfriend." His eyes wildly swept the room over her shoulder looking for me. Stupid wanker, he should know the Invisibility Cloak would keep me hidden. That is, until I chose to show myself. Which I was having a harder time holding off with each passing moment.

"She doesn't have to know." Blondie purred in his ear. "I'm not looking for anything more than a few hours of fun."

Hours? Wasn't she the optimistic one. I'd show her a few hours of fun is she was up to it. Although the fun would all be on my side.

James cleared his throat awkwardly. "Have you ever lived in France?"

"No," she smiled silkily. "Do you have a thing for French girls? I have a maid's outfit you might like." Unknown to her, my wand moved and her lipstick was smeared on both of her cheeks. I grinned, knowing without seeing her face that my handiwork was excellent.

James grimaced when he saw the lipstick marks and pushed away from her harder, though still far too gently for me, and tried to step to the side. Blondie stopped him by wrapping her other arm around his waist and pressing up to him. "Where do you think you're going?" She crooned, placing her lips against his neck.

"I thought I might sit down," he said desperately. He disengaged her arm from around his waist but she just grabbed his shirt over his chest and clung to him, turning her cheek against his chest. I flicked my wand and her ponytail slapped James' face. He flinched and pushed her away.

"I have a rope. Do you ever tie your girlfriend up?" Blondie had not let go of his shirt and she pulled on it to try and bring him closer to her again. I jabbed my wand and a rope came out of her bedroom to hover behind her back. As James stared at it over her shoulder, it twisted to make a noose and James' eyes widened behind his spectacles.

James jerked away, his expression frantic. "What?"

"Didn't your girlfriend learn to share in school?" she growled as close as she could get to his ear. "We should teach her it's nice to share."

Okay, enough. I was going to do the teaching here. It was time for her lesson. I had another, quicker way than James' fumbling questions to see if she could be Boris. In normal situations we tried not to use magic in a way muggles could witness. This situation had just left the boundaries of normal or maybe just past my tolerance level. Either way, it was time to see if she was a witch. I flicked my wand from under the cloak and her hands were pushed down to her sides, hard. Her head was snapped back from James' neck and her face froze in shock.

"Did you just shove me away?" She asked her voice incredulous and at least two octaves higher than the pseudo sexy voice she had been attempting to seduce him with.

James took advantage of her forced movement away from him to step out of her reach. His face contorted. "Er…maybe? You were getting too close."

She reached for him again, only to hit an invisible wall between them. "What the fuck?" She stared at her hand bemused. She put her hand towards James, wincing when she felt the obstruction. "What is this? It feels like a glass wall is between us."

James widened his eyes. The arts world should be grateful he didn't go into acting. "There's no wall," he protested unconvincingly.

She put both of her hands against the wall, looking like a pissed-off mime. "Why can't I touch you then? What the hell is going on?"

"I should go," James walked towards the door. Blondie turned to watch him, her mouth open in stupefaction. Clearly not a witch. She should feel lucky I had been gentle with her, I thought with a touch of malice as I followed James out of the flat after flicking my wand to clean her face and obliterate the glass wall. The noose I left lying on the floor. It would be good for her to learn to not invite strangers to her flat, I reflected. She could use a bit of a scare.

James moved quickly, practically running ahead of me until we rounded the corner and went down the hall to the stairwell. Sirius was there and his eyebrows quirked when I pulled off the Invisibility Cloak to appear behind James. Marcus was right behind me and he spoke first. "Was Boris there?"

"No," I huffed. "Although this rotter—" my arm swept towards James who still had his back to me "—could not figure out how to ask the blonde bitch questions to find out."

James turned towards me then and I saw his shoulders were shaking as he held his sides, his mouth pressed tight to keep silent. He dissolved into laughter, reaching out to pull me into his arms. "Lil-Lily wa-," he gasped unable to finish. Not surprising considering the tosser could barely hold a thought in his thick skull just because some bimbo pressed her chest up to him.

"What happened to set him off?" Sirius moved his shoulder to indicate James. "Did some old bag want to talk about you two having sex again?"

"No," I frowned at James who was now resting his face in the crook of my neck still too overcome with laughter to speak. "The blonde bitch didn't know I was there under the Invisibility Cloak. She just hit on James and the prat wasn't much at fending her off."

Sirius grinned. "So you had to watch some chick going after James? No wonder he's so happy."

"Li—Lily buttoned up the woman's blouse," James chortled. "And she drew eyes watching me with the woman's lipstick on her face." This set him off into fresh gales of merriment.

I narrowed my eyes at him as Sirius and Marcus laughed. "How did you notice her blouse was no longer open past her chest? You weren't supposed to be looking down at her cleavage."

"Hell, he's whipped but not dead," Sirius told me.

"It's tough not to notice how fast those buttons were magically closed," James wheezed. He looked at Sirius and Marcus. "Then Lily smacked the woman's arms away from me and shoved her head back. She p-put a glass w-wall between us."

I scowled at him as Sirius snickered. "What did you expect? Her hands were all over you and her lips were on your neck! You weren't heading off her slutty passes fast enough."

"I was trying to ask her questions to see if she was Boris or if he lived there," James protested, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"So you asked her if she lived alone, you arsehole," I bit out. "That made her think you were interested, eejit!"

"I didn't think of how that sounded until it was too late," James admitted. His eyes were bright as he looked down at me. "It was tough heading her off while worrying about what you were going to do next, Lil."

"How did you manage to become her bag boy, anyway?" I asked eyes narrowed.

"She dropped one of her bags when she came out of the elevator," James lightly touched my cheek and I jerked away. "Her flat was the only one in that direction. I figured if I helped her, I had an in to figure out if she was Boris or if he was with her."

"If James fucked up questioning her, how do you know she's not Boris?" Marcus asked sounding annoyed.

"I used obvious magic on her," I said still testy. "She would have known what was happening if she had any knowledge of witches or wizards."

James nodded. "Lily's method was more efficient than my questions. Funnier too." He grinned at me. I glared back. James hugged me tightly to him again. "I had to bite my cheek until it bled to keep from bursting into laughter when you started messing with her, Lily."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," I said sarcastically. I held myself stiff in his embrace but James didn't seem to care, chuckling as he kissed my hair.

Sirius rolled his eyes at us. "Let's move on."

We spent the rest of the afternoon looking over another potential bakery building. By the time we'd ascertained that it fit in with Boris' comments and checked to no avail on a few flats, it was late and we decided we would have to wait until the next day to talk to more occupants. Marcus went home and Sirius went off to find Beth when we reached our flat.

I went into our bedroom, kicking off my sandals. I wasn't hungry for dinner, I felt irritated and restless. As my wand made my sandals zoom into the wardrobe, I felt James' long arms wrap around my waist from behind. He nuzzled my neck where it curved into my shoulder. "You seem…..a bit peeved about that woman who made a pass at me," he said, a trace of amusement still in his voice.

"And you think that's funny?" I asked waspishly. I tried to step away but James pulled me back against his body more closely.

"I have to admit, I like it when you get possessive about me," his lips moved down my shoulder. It was hard to hold my body tense when he caressed me like this. I wanted to melt into him.

"You seemed to enjoy her hands all over you" I said flatly.

James chuckled deep in his throat, his lips still busy on my body. "No, I didn't. I only allowed her to be so close to me because of our mission."

"Are you sure you weren't struggling to figure out what to ask her because you were so turned on you couldn't think?" I batted at James' hands which were busy unbuttoning the front of my blouse.

"Of course not," James seemed undeterred by my feeble resistance. I obviously wasn't fooling him. Or myself for that matter. "I struggled to figure out what to ask her because I was torn between trying not to laugh and worrying about what you were thinking, watching us."

"So you didn't find her attractive?" I persisted trying to hold my body stiff as he pulled my blouse all the way open and one warm hand settled on my bare stomach and began to inch upward. My irritation was fading and I sensed the perfect outlet for my restlessness was at hand.

"No," James' lips moved up to my earlobe. "There was only one person I was attracted to in that room and she was hiding under my invisibility cloak."

I relaxed slightly and tilted my head to give him better access. "I only want your hands all over me, Lily." James continued his voice husky. "Your lips," he kept talking between longer and longer kisses that inched up my neck to my jaw. "Your body," he gently tangled his other hand in my hair and turned my face so his lips could meet mine. I sighed as the kiss escalated, his mouth moving firmly over my mouth before he slightly pulled back. "Only you," James' voice was barely a whisper, his lips hovering over mine. His hands were busy finding their way to my sensitive spots and my legs were having trouble holding me up. A familiar warmth was building in me and I parted my lips allowing James to dive in as he kissed me again.

James' breathing was as rough as mine when we finally came up for air. "I love your front-clasp bra," he whispered as his deft fingers unhooked it. He supported my weight as I sagged boneless against him, lifting my right arm up and behind me to hold around his neck. I heard his breath catch. "Shit, Lily," he groaned and pressed closer. "You drive me batty with wanting you. You know that, yeah?" I turned my head to see his eyes were lit up as they followed his own large hands making their way down my body. His breathing was harsh and I closed my eyes, the heat intensifying with each touch of his talented fingers.

"Seriously James," I managed to say raggedly knowing soon I wouldn't capable of doing much thinking. "Are you ever tempted?"

He laughed throatily knowing exactly what I was asking. "Not even," James said. "You're all I ever want, Lily." And then he showed me.