Disclaimer: I own the original characters and the plot.

a/n: I had alot of fun with this chapter, and I sure hope it shows. I'm going to have something special for you all at my profile, so make sure you visit it.

Chapter 11: Behind the Glass

The light opened up into a street, where Sera hit the ground in a crouching position. Astrid and Vivian landed on their backs and had the breath knocked out of their bodies. Vivian got up and rubbed her back with a horrified expression on her face. Astrid stood up and blinked a few times while trying to steady herself by holding onto Sera. Sera smirked and steadied Astrid, "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Vivian raised a brow, "Depends on what you consider bad," she looked up at the sky. "Did we fall from way up there?" Sera shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure how portkeys work. All I know, is that it takes advanced magic to create one. That's why our government provides them instead of making us create our own." Sera moved toward the pub's door and pulled it open to let the women through. The pub owner, Tom, was talking to a gentleman at the bar, when they walked in.

Sera herded Vivian and Astrid in between the tables to get to the backdoor. "Hey Sera, where've ya been?" Tom said as they passed by him. Sera smiled at him as she reached the door, "I've been on vacation. So, anything new going on?" He shook his head and set a mug on the bar, "Not much. Everyone's looking forward to Potter and Weasley's wedding," he started to use a rag to wipe the wooden surface. "Oh," he stopped and furrowed his brows, "that Malfoy boy has been looking for you. Come around here a few times, asking if I've seen ya."

Her eyes widened, "Why? Has something happened?" Tom shrugged, "Who knows? I think he's a bit of a prick myself, but hey, with a father like that, who wouldn't be?" Sera nodded and said, "Okay, well if he comes around again, tell him I'll be at the wedding. Thanks Tom, it was nice seeing you again."

She brought them outside where the brick wall was standing. "Um, have I missed something?" Vivian said and put her hand on the wall. Sera took out her wand and tapped a few bricks. Vivian pulled back her hand and watched in amazement as the bricks began shuffling around and formed an arch doorway. Sera pocketed her wand and gestured with her hand, "Go ahead." Astrid walked cautiously through the archway, Vivian right behind her.

Sera walked through and made sure the wall reconstructed itself. Astrid and Vivian's mouths were open and were turning circles, taking in their strange surroundings. "Neat, huh?" Sera said before grabbing one of their arms and pulling them with her, and into the crowd. For the first ten minutes, Sera was dragged over to different shops and sales carts to look at the strange objects. Questions like, "What's that?" and "How does that-?" were asked constantly asked. "Ladies, there will be time to explore, but right now, we need to get to the coffee shop," Sera said and watched as people gave them strange looks.

Astrid pouted but followed Vivian and Sera. When they finally made it to the coffee shop, Sera spotted her friends sitting outside on the patio, at a large table. Ginny saw her first and stood up and waved, "Over here Sera!"

She smiled brightly and jogged over to Ginny. "I'm so happy to see you," she said after giving her a hug. "Me too," Ginny said before stepping aside so Sera could greet Hermione and Fleur. "Zera, we simply must get you out of zese clothes!" Fleur gasped as she took in Sera's appearance. Hermione rolled her eyes behind Fleur, "She looks fine, well rested even." Sera glanced at Ginny, who gave her a sympathetic look. "Well Sera, aren't you going to introduce your companions?"

Sera turned to Vivian and Astrid. "This is Astrid," she gestured to the older woman. "And this is Vivian," she gestured to her friend. Ginny smiled, "Oh, nice to meet you. Sera has told us so much about you." Astrid nodded and Vivian said, "Nice to meet you too." Ginny gathered up her things from the table and asked, "Shall we go?"

Ginny had been to over five bridal shops and had not found her perfect dress. The women sat in chairs outside a dressing room waiting for her to model the latest dress. She poked her head around the curtain and walked out. Sera felt bad for Ginny, the dress was dreadful. It was like an old fashioned, Victorian gown, but it had large, puffed shoulders and layers of lace on the bodice. It came with a built-in corset, but she didn't understand why it was needed in the first place. It didn't have a much of a shape to begin with.

"Absolutely beautiful," said the elderly saleswoman who was standing off to the side. Vivian wrinkled her nose. Ginny looked at herself in the three way mirror, "A tad big though," she said and pulled at the neck of the dress. "It's so...," she tried to find the right words. "Mature?" Sera suggested.

"Yes, far too mature for me. Do you have anything more youthful?" Ginny started undoing the ties in the back. The woman tapped her nose in thought, "I think I might have something you'll like. I'll be right back." They watched her walk briskly around the corner and Hermione shook her head. "That has to be one of the ugliest dresses I have ever seen."

Sera stood up and went over to Ginny to help her untie the tight corset. Ginny sighed as the corset loosened and the red in her face lessened as the blood started to flow normally. "I know. If this next one doesn't work then we'll take a brake and let you guys shop for a while." Sera let her go back into the dressing room before turning around and putting her hands on her hips.

The woman came back with a velvet zip-up bag which, Sera guessed, held the dress. The woman went over to the dressing room and said, "Just one more, dear. Here it is." Ginny reached around the curtain and took the bag, "Thank you." Everyone waited while Ginny tried it on. "I think this one's a keeper," she said excitedly and came twirling out of the room. "Wow!" Sera said and stood back to admire her.

The dress was white and strapless and looked like it was satin. There were two long slits on the side that showed the dark red material underneath, and there was red embroidering on the top. Rubies and garnets were sewn into the bodies and a wide, white silk ribbon was tied around the waist. Ginny was beaming, "Do you really like it?"

"Zat suits you very well Ginny. Red is your favourite color, no?" Fleur asked while inspecting the dress. Ginny stuck her nose into the air and said, "Of course, I'm a Gryffindor aren't I?" Hermione laughed and said, "Yes, yes you are." Sera grinned, "And now she's about to become a Potter. All hail the reining queen of Gryffindor." Ginny blushed and giggled.

"Are you ready to check out, miss?" the woman asked after going into the room to get the bag. "Yes, I think I'm ready. You all should start trying things on while I buy this," Ginny said. "Okay," Hermione got up from her seat and stretched. Vivian and Astrid came over to Sera. "Now we get to dress you up," Astrid said and pulled her off into one of the isles of dresses.

Astrid picked out three for her to try on and made her model them for her. The first was a yellow sundress with spaghetti straps. It was a little too casual for a wedding, but still cute. The second one was a strapless, forest green dress that reached her knees and had a brown, suede leather belt around the waist. Sera thought that would draw far too much attention to herself, to which Astrid replied, "Oh don't be bashful. Try on the next one."

She loved the last one. It was a powder blue dress that had straps that tied around the back of her neck. It showed off her back, was tight around her stomach, and the skirt fanned out when she spun, before coming down to her feet when she stopped. "I love it," she said and twirled around some more. "That is definitely your color. Just look at how it moves when you walk!" Astrid clapped her hands together. "Yes, I did a good job."

"Mm-hm," Sera agreed. "Now all I need to do is get a pair of light blue heels, and I'll be good to go."

The sun was starting to set in the sky as the group of women walked down the street. "I need to pick up a few things before I go home. I'll see you all in a few days," Hermione said before disappearing into a bookstore. Ginny laughed, "Of course." Fleur took Ginny by the arm gave it a tug. "Ginny, your mozer will be waiting for us."

Ginny nodded and turned to Sera. "Thank you for coming. I really appreciate it," she said and gave her a big hug. "Oh, your welcome. I'm glad you found your perfect dress," Sera said after pulling back. "Only one more week," she winked. "Enjoy being a free woman until then."

Ginny gave a thoughtful look, "I think I will." Sera smirked, "You should get a male stripper for your bachelorette party." Fleur's hand flew to her mouth and she gasped, while Ginny gave an unladylike snort. "Oh yeah, like my mother would go for that." Sera grinned, "Well, I'll see you at your wedding, then. Bye."

"It was nice to meeting you guys," Ginny said before she and Fleur apparated away with a loud pop. Sera sighed and turned to Astrid and Vivian, "Are we ready to go home?"

Rafe was waiting for them by his truck when they got back. The portkey dropped them off on the lawn, which Sera was grateful for. Rafe strutted towards them as they stood up. "Well, it's about time. I thought you had decided to spend the night down there," he said and kissed Sera on the cheek. "Did you have fun?"

"Oh yes, we did," Astrid said while smiling. "There were so many amazing things to look at and do. I hope we get to go back soon," she said and gave Sera a hopeful look. Sera chuckled, "Sure, we can go back after the wedding." Astrid all but squealed as she came over and gave Sera a hug. "Thank you for taking us, it really meant a lot." That said, she walked over to the passenger side of the truck, and got in.

Vivian gave her arm a friendly pat, "Thanks for inviting me. See you later." Vivian too walked over to the truck and got in, leaving Rafe and Sera alone in the fading light. "So do you have something formal to wear?" she asked.

He smirked, "Why would I need something formal?"

"Because, my friends are getting married next week, and you are going to accompany me as my date."

"Am I?"

"Yes, so I suggest you wear something nice."

"As long as you wear something pretty, for me."

Sera gestured to the velvet bag draped over her arm.

"Is that it?" he asked and tried to grab the bag. She put it behind her back.

"Uh, uh, uh," she said playfully as she hid the dress from him. "Not until the wedding."

"You're no fun," he pouted and crossed his arms. He bent forward to kiss her, but she jerked her head to the side. He looked hurt when she did this. "I'm not comfortable doing this in front of your mother, or Vivian. I mean, if Gabriel saw us together he'd-" Rafe cut her off and growled out, "My father, will not control me. He can't tell me where to go, or who I'm not allowed to see." Both shades of his eyes turned dark with anger.

"And," his voice softened considerably as he raised a hand to stroke her cheek, "he will not tell me who I can court." Sera's eyes widened and she tried to back away, but Rafe caught her arm in a firm, but gentle grip. He pulled her to him and rested his forehead on hers. She shivered as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I know you're scared Sera, and I know you have doubts, but you have to trust me. I will never let anyone or anything hurt you. I'd die before letting that happen," he ran a hand down her back and kissed the side of her jaw. "I don't understand," she said while holding onto his sides. "I'm human, how could you even think of my like that?" He nuzzled her neck and said, "None of that matters now," he brought his head up to look at her.

"You wanna know something? When you left this morning, I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. I almost drove off the side of the road because I was thinking about you and not about the cars in front of me," he said and let go of her. He looked at the ground and continued, "I know it's stupid, because I knew that you would only be gone for a little while. But I began to think to myself, 'What if she never came back?'

Sera stepped closer to him and reached under to pull his head gently up to her level. Rafe's expression was sad. "When I thought of that," he took a breath, "I couldn't breathe, Sera. I had to practically convince myself that you'd come back."

He turned his head to look off into the distance. "The pack is in shambles, my mother is off in fairy land because she can't face the fact that Gabriel left her, and I am alone. I have the Five, but all they care about is going out to clubs and picking up girls. Everyone is frigid," he looked back at her. "But your not. If you left, I would have no one that understands or cares about me."

Tears gathered in Sera's eyes and she quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged his mid-section. She buried her head into his chest and cried. I wish he hadn't been hurt this badly. He doesn't deserve to be unhappy. Rafe ran a hand through her hair and held her close to him. "Sera, it's impossible for me to do anything but love you."

Sera stopped crying and raised her head to look at him. He smiled lovingly down at her. Her cheeks were tear stained and pink and her eyes were red and puffy. Even still, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. And she was crying for him. Rafe captured her lips in a sweet kiss and leaned her head back. Sera didn't fight him this time, but instead let her head fall back into his cradling hand. A tear fell from the corner of her shut eyes.

I have a major headache and feel really weak as I type this. And it isn't because I'm emotionally drained. The chapter's ending is three-fourths corny, and one-fourth emotional. I'm not that good. I think I have a cold, but I'll have to wait until morning to see. Now, off to bed I go...