The rest of the morning went as smoothly as they could have hoped it to be. The Weasley's didn't mind going out and leaving Harry at their place with the children and Annabel. This meant that besides the snowball war, Holly and Teddy could also have a go on the new broom that the girl had got from her father. After having a hard time making up a story to explain to Teddy why Holly had got a new broom and he hasn't, the three of them had a nice time flying together.
Harry felt very emotional when he saw Holly flying on her brand new broom for the first time, as it made he remember his first time in a broom at the Hogwarts grounds. He felt that despite her young age, she would be able to handle an adult's broom, but he didn't want to risk handing his Firebolt to her, as different from the child version, she could to leave the wards with it.
Teddy and Holly took turns to flying on the girl's new broom, while the other would fly with Harry. Annabel sat in an old tree trunk while she watched Harry interacting with the children. Realizing how naturally great he was with them, she could not help but think about how their lives would have been if she had married Harry instead of Geoffrey. Just before they head off to the Ministry of Magic, Harry invited Annabel for a flight, which she politely refused claiming to have a fear of heights, when in reality all she wanted was to avoid physical contact with the Auror.
When they arrived at the Ministry, Harry took them to the cafeteria inside the Magical building so they could have some lunch before Annabel's and Holly's testimony time. Teddy was very excited since this was his first on-site visit to the place where his mother had once worked.
"Pumpkin soup, pumpkin juice, pumpkin pie... is it even possible to find a menu with more pumpkins than this?" Annabel comment once they sat together at a table hidden in a corner.
"I'm not sure whether it's a myth Pumpkin does contain some important nutrients for wizards and witches…" Harry answered while he eats his sandwich.
"Hey, Potter! Why are you hiding there in the corner? Oh, is this Dora's little boy?"
"Hi, Davis. As always, I am trying to be discreet. Have you read the lovely article Ms Skeeter wrote about me this morning? Yes, this is Teddy Lupin."
"I much prefer your blue than your mother's bright pink Teddy… I was only a couple of years ahead of Tonks. Your mother and I were put to work together as partners a couple of times…"
The boy remained in silence, but Harry could tell that he was interested in the man who had once worked with his mother.
"Davis, would you mind to do me a favour? I know we are all very busy with this case, but Annabel and Holly here need to give their testimony in half an hour and I'll lead a meeting about their security at the same time… would you mind keep an eye on Teddy for me?"
"It will be a pleasure! I can show Teddy some of Dora's old work, and perhaps I could bring him to Mr Robards office and he can meet Mad-Eye's portrait. If I'm not wrong he was your mother's mentor… I'm sure he has some fun stories about her that he can share with us."
Teddy seemed very happy with the idea as the same time Harry was relieved, as he had been worrying about where he would leave the boy as it wasn't very appropriate for him to be in any of the meetings. Harry left Annabel and Holly on the Ministry cabinet, which was the place where they would give their testimony.
"Kingsley, I'm very happy that you will be present in their testimony. As you probably know I need to be somewhere else during it, and I wouldn't be comfortable if anyone else but you were here with them."
"Don't worry Harry. I doubt that something will happen here in my cabinet, but if it does, you know that I will protect them with my own life, don't you?" The Ministry said in a low voice so only Harry could hear him.
"I know. That's the only reason why I'm going to my meeting with a peaceful mind. Now I better go otherwise I will be late to my own meeting…"
Once Harry arrived at the Auror's Meeting Room B, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean Thomas, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones and Draco Malfoy were already there waiting for him. Harry quickly sat down in the chair intended for the meeting leader.
"Well, I think that everyone except my architect is here already. If you are here is because you've been invited by me to be part of the guard of…"
"Why have you put me here, Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked him with his usual air of superiority "I'm not even an Auror! I don't even work on the Law Enforcement Department…"
"Wow, I must be very ill, because for the first time since forever I'm agreeing with Malfoy! What the hell is he doing here?" Ron Weasley asked feeling almost offended by the possibility that Harry was suggesting for them to work with their old school rival.
"Ron, chill out, please! Draco… we've never been best mates, but I can't deny that although you fought on the wrong side during the war, you have combat experience. However, what most valuable for me, is your knowledge about dark wizards. You grew up with them, lived for several years with them and in the end, was even forced to become one of them…"
"Harry! I can't believe you are going to allow this ferret to be part of your dau… ouch! I mean, your adorable witnesses…" Ron quickly tried to repair the damage after Hermione kicked him from under the table.
"Ron, I trust Draco. If I didn't, he wouldn't be here." Ron was about to protest when they were interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
"Hi! I'm sorry for being late, but I had some trouble trying to find which room was the meeting." Said a witch called Alicia Wardwell, the Auror that had tried to calm Geoffrey down on the prior night.
"Hi, Alicia. I'm sorry, I really don't mean to be rude, but I don't remember to have put your name on the list I've sent to Mr Robards this morning…." Harry said feeling a little bit uncomfortable.
"It was Mr Robards who sent me here; he thought you might find my presence here helpful, as I volunteered to be Mr Harrisson's guard last night…"
"Oh yes, sure. Please have a seat. Was he too difficult to deal with after I left?"
"I'm not going to lie; he was a little bit difficult, yes. He does not seem to like you very much…"
"Did he tell you why he doesn't like me?" Harry asked the senior Auror.
"He didn't. Why? Is it relevant to the case?"
"No. I mean, not really. Anyway, just before you arrived I was informing everybody in this room is going to be part of the guard of the underage witch Holly, her mother the muggle Annabel, and the muggle Geoffrey..." Harry sighed with frustration when he heard that somebody else was knocking on the door. "Come in."
Harry, as well most of the people inside the room seemed to be very uncomfortable when the curly red-haired woman joined their meeting room.
"Miss Edgecombe, may I ask what are you doing here?" Harry asked, feeling annoyed by her presence.
Marietta Edgecombe looked down her feet feeling very uncomfortable, as she probably recognized many faces in the room as part of the Dumbledore's Army, which one day she had snitched. Once Marietta noticed that Hermione Ganger was in the meeting, the young witch unconsciously brought her hand to some of the scars that remained visible from Granger's old jinx. Harry couldn't help but feel proud of his best friend magical abilities.
"I've got this letter calling for a specialist in harmonic concealment between magical and muggle places…"
"Please, don't tell me that you are my architect…" Harry said placing both of his hands on his head in a sign of frustration.
"Maybe the owl I've sent to your company didn't arrive in time, but I think that I specifically requested that Jane Morgan take this project." Hermione gave an inquisitive glare to the former Ravenclaw student.
"Yes, Granger, we've received your letter, but Jane is on leave at the moment and she is not going to be back until the end of next month. Her brother John is recovering from a poorly brewed potion… he is also not an option for the next couple of weeks." Marietta told them before she sat on the furthest seat from Hermione available.
Despite Marietta's attempts at trying to look confident when she talked with her former school peers, she was clearly feeling extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation. Harry, however, didn't make any effort in hiding his frustration for having to rely on the help of someone that he doesn't trust.
"Have signed the confidentiality contract?" Harry asked in an almost accusative tone. Marietta nodded in confirmation feeling very embarrassed with the whole situation.
"I guess you can imagine what will happen to you if you break any of the terms them," Hermione said looking her deeply in the eyes. Marietta's skin went pale in shock after hearing this new piece of information.
"I guess that we'll be forced to work together, then," Harry said throwing some parchments on the table with a bit of violence.
"Harry if you are ok with that, I would like to work with Marietta on this project. I think that learning a bit about harmonic concealment between magical and muggle places could be very handy, my parents being muggles and all…" Hermione said that giving him a meaningful look.
"Sure. I'm very happy to have both of you working together." Harry answered feeling a bit calmer once he knew that at least Hermione would be watching the sneak closely.
"It certainly will be a pleasure to work with you," Marietta said looking like there was nobody else that she would hate more having to work with.
"Right. Let's start with Miss Edgecombe task first, then." Harry said standing up and pointing his wand to the centre of the table, making a small 3D model from Annabel's house appear on the table. "Some of you probably remember this house from last night. Yes, that's right, it's the house that was attacked; we are going to be protecting the muggles and the underage witch who lives there. That's the reason why we need Miss Edgecombe here… what's your question, Ernie?" Harry asked the former Hufflepuff, who had raised his hand.
"Er… Harry, I don't want to contest your decision, but why don't you just move the family to a house located in an area where it would be easier to cast the protection spells?"
Harry stopped to think what would be the best way to answer this question without giving too much information away.
"Well… let's say that the underage witch mother is a little bit pissed off for having to change her family lifestyle for a while, and I have my reasons for wanting to be in her good book. If it's possible to maintain them at their house, I will do the best to get it do. So… this brings me to again to Miss Edgecombe – I need this house to have all protection that is available without disturbing the muggles who live nearby and inside that place. Can you do it?"
"Well, we can always adapt most of the muggle family equipment so it will work with magic instead of using electricity; but I must warn you that things like television, computers and radio are always a bit complicated to deal with – for example, the TV might get only one channel. Which protective spells are you planning to cast over their residence?" Marietta asked in a very professional tone.
"All the heavy stuff available. Protego Maxima, Fianto Duri and Repello Inimicum; oh yes and the Fidelius too."
"Harry, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I don't think that we are allowed to cast the Fidelius for people who are on witness protection..." Susana Bones said lifting her eyes from her own notes.
"In this particular case, I assure you that it is going to be allowed," Harry answered his old school classmate. "So Marietta; how quickly do you think that you can finish this project?"
Marietta bit her lips tense before answering his question.
"Well, those are very strong charms – and especially combined with the Fidelius, it's going to be difficult to equilibrate the energy fields against magical interference on the nearby houses. This is not an easy task…"
"Can you do it?" Harry said after cutting her sharply.
"Of course I can do it! But you know, there is a protocol that needs to be followed on this kind of situations; we'll need an assessment from the Muggle rights authority, as we might have to move some of their close neighbours for a couple of days…"
"I'm sure that Arthur can help us to speed up this process," Hermione said making a note in her personal diary. "If I can get all this paperwork done before the end of the day, how many days do you reckon it would be necessary for the muggles to move back to their house? Three? Five?"
"If you are going to help me to speed up the process, one week is probably a good guess,"
"Good! This part is sorted them. You may wait for Hermione outside now Marietta, as I need to discuss some other confidential security measures with the rest of the group…"
Marietta quickly stood up and left the room without waiting for a second invitation.
"Until their house is ready I will personally be taking care of the muggle Annabel and my… and the underage witch, Holly. Alicia, if you don't mind carrying on being in charge of Geoffrey's until that time, it would be extremely helpful..."
"That's fine with me Harry. But why don't you put all the family together? I have enough spare rooms at mine for easily accommodate them all with comfort. The poor muggle man is missing his family to bits…"
"Sorry Alicia, but this is going to be done as I said. For now, we are going to keep them separated. Ron, Hermione and Neville will be helping me, and Ernie, Susan and Dean will be helping you to form a guard-schedule whenever we need a break or have the need to attend meetings here at the Ministry…"
"Again, why do you need me here, Potter?" Malfoy asked looking slightly bored.
"Draco, firstly I would love to see you on the Auror's debriefing meeting tomorrow. Yes, I know that you are not an Auror, but I thought that you might be able to recognize a couple of faces. I know your family used to hang around the wrong kind of people, I thought you might be able to spot something that we don't."
"Harry, so what's the plan once their house is finally safely warden? Are we going to be guarding them there instead?" Alicia asked him interested.
"Yes. I was thinking in a two-to-one to the adults and a one-to-one Auror to the child; I was also thinking about regular and irregular patrolling of their neighbourhood working together with the team in the house, in an A-to-B scheme. I also thought about adding some extra security measures as recognizing questions and scanning for dark curses and spells every time there is a change in the patrol. And of course, I'm also open to suggestions that would like to an increase of their security."
"I don't want to sound prejudice, and as you know my parents were muggles, but don't you think that this is a lot of effort for protecting a single family? Especially considering the fact that they are here giving their testimony now. I mean, what makes you so sure that they are still in danger?" Dean Thomas carefully asked.
Harry felt frustrated while he looked at his friends' faces. Everybody apart from Ron and Hermione seemed to think that Dean's had a point.
"Tomorrow at the debriefing meeting it will be clear why they need to be protected. Meanwhile… you can all return to work in whatever you were doing, of course, giving priority to assisting me and Alicia into your schedule ever time it is requested…"
One by one the Aurors started to leave the room, leaving Harry alone in the end with Ron and Hermione. Ron was the one who spoke first after giving Harry a gentle tap on the shoulders.
"Mate… how are you doing? How was the talk between you and…?"
"It could have been worse," Harry said with a sigh. "We both always had so many disagreements, but in the end, it was a big misunderstanding that ended up broken us apart. Do you believe that when I saw that jerk proposing her, it was the first time he ever told her about his feelings to her? And worse than that, she refused to marry him that day just after I left."
"Oh, Harry! That's awful what happened between you two." Hermione sighed.
"Does Ginny knows?" Ron asked.
"No… you know that Ginny is abroad right now, and this is not the kind of stuff that you can just write down in a letter. But I told your parents this morning."
"Are you going to break up with her?" Ron asked as impartial as he could.
Harry took a deep breath before answering his best mate question.
"I… I don't know Ron. I'm not going to lie to you. Seeing Annabel again after all those years made me see that somehow I still have feelings towards her. But we both moved on. She is married and I'm with your sister now..." Harry said in what he hoped to be a very confident voice.
"Well... someone from the team found this yesterday while searching their house for bewitched objects..." Ron said removing one a single red rose from his magically extended pockets. Harry immediately recognised the enchanted flower that he had given to Annabel years ago.
" I... I can't believe she kept it after all this time..."
"This is... the proof of love spell, isn't Harry?" Hermione said while she examined the rose.
"Yes... I guess... I always thought that I had moved on from her, but... apparently, I haven't"
"Harry, you are my best friend and I really want you to be happy. But Ginny is my sister. Please, play a fair game with her, ok?"
"Come on Ron, I always have treated Ginny with the utterly most respect. I don't intend to start doing it any different now"
"And how did Holly take the news? Is she accepting you as her father?" Hermione asked him concerned.
"She doesn't know it yet. Annabel thought it was best for her to get to know me better before we tell her the truth."
"It's sensible… but at the same time, you don't want to risk her finding it out by other sources that are not you or her." Hermione reasoned.
"Yes, that's what I told Anna. Honestly, I think the fact that she accepts that Holly needs to know is a progress. Let's not forget that she was denying telling me the truth yesterday. But Holly is being very receptive to me; I gave her a children's broom and took her for a flight this morning – she is really good at it."
"Do you think that they finished giving their witness report? I'm very curious to see your daughter as I barely saw her yesterday…" Ron asked hopefully.
"Sure. Let's see if they've finished."
When they left the meeting room, Hermione left their company to join Marietta on their little project. While they walked through the Auror's individual cubicles, Harry wasn't surprised when he spotted the Minister playing with Holly and Teddy by his own desk. Annabel was sitting on a chair while she was been examined by a healer. Holly was the first of the kids to spot Harry, and she dashed to run in the direction of the man that she still did not know to be her biological father.
"Harry!" Said the small girl while raised her arms, silently asking to be held. Harry smiled back at her and lift her off the ground.
"Ron, this is Holly," Harry said to his best friend with a grin so big that went from ear to ear.
"Wow mate, she is so pretty! Well done!"
It didn't take long for Teddy to notice Harry's presence for the young boy run in his Godfather direction as well. He looked a bit disappointed when he found that Holly was on a place that used to be only his. However, the Minister who seemed to notice that Teddy was feeling a bit left out and quickly reached the four-year-old and held him on the same way that Harry was holding Holly.
"I hope that your meeting has been productive…" Kingsley said to Ron and Harry.
"Well, it wasn't bad, but it could have been better. How about Holly and Annabel's testimony? It finished fast!" Harry said impressed.
"Yes, Annabel allowed us to extract her and Holly memories, so it was pretty straightforward really. I'm sure that you'll be happy to know that those two here have been behaving extremely well. Two little angels, that's what they are." The Minister said with a grin.
"I will have to remember to tell this to Andromeda. Why is Anna being examined by healers? Did something happen while I was away?" Harry asked concerned while he was observing Annabel by distance.
"No, no. It's just a follow-up checkup for making sure she is still doing Ok. You know, the Cruciatus curse that she was hit with yesterday." Kingsley said casually.
Harry tried to maintain a blank expression at the same time he felt his heart sink with the Minister words. He couldn't avoid to curse himself mentally for what had happened to her last night and for the past couple of years. That's was when he noticed that Annabel was saying goodbye to the healer.
"Ron, Kingsley? Would you two mind helping me take these three home?"
"It will be a pleasure." Ron promptly answered.
"Of course! It is just a shame that I'm going be able to stay for tea. But I think that you can understand." Kingsley said smiling.
Harry was glad to have the Minister help them to get back to the safety of his very well warded flat. After all, Kingsley was still a very good duelist, and the possibility of an ambush was not to be ignored. Annabel smiled at him while she approached their group and Harry reproved himself as felt his heart beating fast with her presence. He smiled back at her, and he noticed that her cheeks turned red almost immediately.
Despite denying to those who asked if they still had some emotional involvement, Harry knew that deep inside they still nourished feelings for each other. Annabel had given clear signs that she too had not forgotten the times they had spent together. He barely could wait to be alone with her again and be able to confront her about these feelings.
"This phone connection is terrible! Did you say that you and Holly are staying with Harry? Do you mean my cousin Harry?" Annabel rolled her eyes in frustration. She was standing on the balcony of Harry's flat trying to contact Dudley Dursely, who also happened to be her business partner. Despite she been used to Dudley slowness in catch obvious things, right now this was getting on her nerves.
"Yes, your cousin Harry! How many Harry Potter's do we know? But please tell me, how is his assistant doing? Is Kreacher managing everything well?"
"Oh, my Goodness! Are you with Harry? How is he doing? Is he all right? Where does he live?" Dudley said completely ignoring her questions.
"He is fine." she replied reluctantly "He works as a sort of magic policeman and he is living in a very nice flat somewhere I have no idea where it is…"
She said while she looking puzzled to the city area below her. At the same time that she couldn't recognize where she was, the place seemed to be familiar, as if she could have walked down that pavement for an uncountable number of times. At the same time, she had a feeling that she could be anywhere in the world. She correctly assumed that there was probably something magical to do with the fact that she was completely clueless about her location.
"Anna? Bel? Did you hear what I just ask you? This line is horrible… did Harry know that Holly was his daughter?" Annabel was taken back by his words.
"How the hell did you know that? I didn't even tell Matt about it!"
"Oh, I lived with my cousin during seventeen years, haven't I? She looks just like him, it wasn't hard to figure it out."
Annabel sighed in frustration. If even Dudley had figured this out, probably many other people would suspect that too.
"He found out yesterday." She started slowly. "There was an accident with Holly in the Natural History Museum. Apparently, some dangerous dark wizards might be after us. That's why we will have to stay with Harry for a while until this Magic police catch them."
"Bloody hell, please don't tell me that You-Know-Who is back?"
"Who?" Annabel asked confused
"You-Know-Who!" Dudley said a bit louder.
"Er… no, I don't?" Annabel told him confused.
"The crazy man who murdered Harry's parents. Haven't him told you about it?"
"Oh yes, he told me about him. He is the one who has a funny name, right? I always forget what his name is..."
"Don't say it! You can't say his name anyway because there is a taboo curse on it anyway. Once Dad said it because Hestia was…" Dudley started but was abruptly cut by Annabel.
"Dudley we don't have much time, so please just tell me how are the things going there? Is Harry's assistant doing a good job with the food?"
"Being honest I wouldn't have noticed that you aren't here if you haven't called me to tell it. Whoever is making the food have locked themselves on the kitchen, so we couldn't really see them. But the food is coming up nicely as always. I found it a bit weird when you've sent the rest of your team home with a note on the door; I thought you were having a 'bad hair day', or something equally silly for not wanting to speak to us."
"'A bad hair day'? Really?" Annabel said rolling her eyes as she felt completely outraged by his comment.
"What? Should I have guessed that the reason I couldn't come in was that my freaking cousin's friend was doing some 'hocus pocus' in the kitchen?"
"Dudley! Harry is not a freak…"
"Sorry… It's just bad habits are hard to die. Does Geoffrey knows you are with Harry?"
"I'm not sure, but I think he probably knows…" She said thinking about the article she had glimpsed earlier.
"Poor fellow, he has been planning that Anniversary surprise for you on the past couple of months!"
"Oh shit! I completely forgot my Anniversary with Geoffrey! It's tomorrow isn't?" She barely could believe her memory lapse.
"Yes. He was going to take you to a surprise five-day break holiday to the Lake District. So yeah, we were prepared to be without you for the next couple of days. Do you think that you'll be longer than that until you return?"
"I don't know really. Harry doesn't seem sure of when I will be able to get back. I think that if you could find somebody else to help you would be ideal."
"I see… I will ask the fellow that is going to be covering you for the next couple of days to…" Dudley's voice was sharply cutter from the line and replaced by the unwelcome sound of an engaged landline.
"Damn it!" She cursed just before she headed back to Harry's flat. The five minutes that the young Auror had grated her were over.
Harry had explained that she could only stay five minutes on the phone, as he had to lower the wards in order for her to be able to use the muggle-mobile phone, - as he had called it. She was about to complain to him about the brusque way that the call had finished without any warning when her heart melted with the sight of Harry, Holly ans Teddy playing together at his living room. Harry was tickling Holly's tummy, which made the girl let scape a tiny winged golden ball, that Annabel didn't know was called snitch.
"Oh no, Holly! Look, you let the snitch go flying again!" Harry said while he carefully placed the young girl on the ground, and started to try to catch it without a broomstick.
"It's not fair! You tickled me!" The girl complained while she ran to the place where her small broomstick had been waiting. "UP!" She demanded and the small broom started to hover by her side. Once the girl was flying, Harry and Teddy were trying to stop the girl to get the snitch, but Annabel sensed that they couldn't be trying very hard as she got her hands on it again in less than fifteen seconds. Annabel felt her heart beating fast when Holly landed centimetres away from the edge of Harry's dining table.
"Be careful!" Annabel screamed from the opposite side of the room. Harry, however, wasn't looking very concerned, he actually seemed very pleased with Holly's natural ability in controlling so well her broomstick.
"It is my turn to fly now!" Teddy said eagerly.
"Harry, do you have any plans for super? I was looking inside your kitchen cabinets and I think that I can make some lasagne or tortelloni..."
"Lasagne! Lasagne! Lasagne!" Holly and Teddy requested in a chorus.
"I think that lasagne is the winner then," Harry smiled and quickly added. "Does this means that I am finally going to learn the special recipe of your Grandmother's prize-winning lasagne?"
"You wish, Potter. So, who is going to help me today?" Annabel said looking at the children who quickly responded.
"Me! Me! Me!"
"I wish my colleagues would have half of this enthusiasm every time I ask a favour at the office..." Harry smiled at the scene. "I would love to help out too. So, what shall I do, chef?"
"If you could start chopping off some onions, garlic and red pepper for me it would be great, Harry."
Harry simply waved his wand and the ingredients that she had requested flew to the kitchen surface and started to chop themselves.
"Done! What's next?" Harry gave her a cheeky grin.
"Show off!" Annabel rolled her eyes. "Maybe you can help Holly to measure and sieve the flour while I help Teddy to break the eggs?"
"Oh, we are making dough from the scratch? I haven't done this in ages!"
"Of course we are! Who do think I am?"
"Come on Holly, let's show these two how to do properly flour measurement"
"Cheeky!" Annabel answered with a wink.
Harry answered her by throwing some flour at her face making both children to burst into a laugh. She answered by throwing one egg straight to his face.
"Oh no! Is this a war?" Harry said while he cleaned his glasses with his wand. " You are going to regret that!"
After a few minutes laugh, accompanied by flying ingredients which made everybody getting covered in flour, eggs and cheese, Harry and Annabel decided to make peace and resumed the task of cooking themselves a meal. This time, Annabel and Teddy were taking care of the dough, while Harry and Holly were making the lasagne filling and the tomato sauce. Sometimes Annabel would stop to give him some advices and requests, and sometimes Harry would use his magic to speed up the cooking process. After they put the lasagne in the oven - as Annabel did not trust Harry's wand to do the job - Harry removed most of the dirt from his and Annabel's body with a wave of his wand, but they decided that the children should have a proper bath together before eating as they were all covered in flour and eggs, and their bed-time was approaching.
It was another fun moment when both kids played together inside the small bath with Teddy's enchanted bath toys. Both adults were there watching and playing with them.
"I'm a little fish!" Teddy said dunking his head into the water.
"I'm a little mermaid, like Ariel."
"Shall I give you some fins?" Harry asked the children.
"YES!"
"Harry, I think that the lasagne must be ready, or almost ready by now. Do you think you can manage to take both of them out the bath by yourself?"
"Of course! Hey guys, who want to help me make another bed in your room? Who is going to sleep in the new bed?"
Annabel left them confident that Harry had everything under control and went back to the kitchen to find that the lasagne was indeed, ready to be eaten. As she believed that even with magic Harry was likely to be a while to come back with the kids, she decided to use this extra-time to make some chocolate mousse, as it was one of her quickest desserts, as both a treat and a surprise for them.
The dinner went smoothly. Both children got on really well, and they did keep each other company. By the time everyone finished eating the desserts, both children already looked nacked and ready to sleep for the night. Harry and Annabel did not waste time sending both children to brush their teeth and tuck them under their respective duvet after Harry tell them the story of how he had got a golden egg from a dragon during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts.
Annabel watched this scene from the doorway of the children's room with a smile on her lips. Harry seemed to have a natural talent when it came to nurturing kids. She felt a mixture of feelings - happy that Holly was going to have such a caring father from now on, but also sad for the time they had lost together. Harry placed a kiss on the forehead of both children and walked out of the room, to find Annabel waiting for him.
"That was easy," Harry said while they walked back to the kitchen and living room area of his flat.
"Well, you certainly made that look easy," She said grabbing a cloth to wipe the kitchen surface. "Was that true? Did you really have to steal a dragon egg at your school?"
"Yes, I did have to do that. It was one of those school projects that I could never tell you about..." Harry said waving his wand to make the dishes to wash themselves in the sink.
Annabel looked at it feeling baffled.
"I'm not sure if I will ever get used to magic. Why don't you share your gift with us, the non-magical people?"
"Well... some people say that it is due to the fact that some muggles can be afraid of magic, whereas others say that wizards are the ones who are afraid of muggles. I'm not sure why this rule exists. I always hated having to keep secret from you about this... which is such a huge part of who I am"
Harry said while he topped up their glasses with the red wine he had opened during their meal. Annabel stopped cleaning and accepted her glass taking a sip before she carried on their conversation.
"You know, Duddley said hello. He told me that he wasn't surprised at all that Holly was your daughter. He said that he always knew it."
"Duddley? You mean my cousin Duddley?" Harry almost choked with his own wine.
"Yes, the one and only. He works with me know. It was him that I called earlier to ask him if Kreacher was doing everything all right at that wedding"
"Big D working on wedding buffets. This must be the end of the world!"
"Aw, come on, Duddley is a softy. You should get to know him better. He is dense, but he does have a good heart, you know? Well, Matt wouldn't have feel for him if he didn't"
"Wow! Are you serious? Is Duddley...?" Harry was really struggling to keep a serious face.
"Yeah! Duddley is totally gay. This is the 'dirty' I had on him by the way. Honestly, I can't believe you never figured it out"
"How did... how did my uncle and aunt reacted to this? Do you know any details about it?"
"Oh dear, not very well. Duddley told them just before he left home to live with Matt. Your uncle he was... well... not pleased. He blamed Petunia for being too soft with him and he left home. Petunia she... she is in total denial of the whole thing. The last time I saw it was when I had to go back to Little Whinging due to a problem with my tenants. She is living in an imaginary world where she still waits for Vernon go back to dinner and truly believes that Duddley is an investment banker living in London. Don't even try to tell her that is not the case, she won't buy it"
"Wow... I should really pay her a visit at some point"
"Yes, you should. Maybe we could go back there together. I would love to walk around there with you again"
"That would be lovely"
The conversation died off and both adults seemed focused on their own wine. Until Annabel noticed that Harry still had a little bit of chocolate on the corner of his lips and she could not resist to wipe it off with her own hands. Harry gave her an inquisitive look as he placed his own hands on top of hers.
"You have... some chocolate..." She said closing her eyes, not daring to see his green eyes getting closer and closer from her hazelnut ones.
Memories of their early moments together invaded both of their minds. Cupcakes, unwatched films, secret meetings on the moonlight, sharing a single bed on the smallest room of the number four. Desire, passion and love all bursting together on their chests. Their foreheads were touching and Harry's hand started to caress her hair in a way that they haven't for more than four years. Annabel's legs were shaking, and she couldn't avoid one single tear to escape from her closed eyes. Harry then kissed her eyes and whispered in her ear.
"Bel..."
She then turned her face to him and kissed him passionately, which he answered on the same intensity. Wine glasses were forgotten on the breakfast bar. Hands were travelling each others' body faster and needy as they never had before. They momently forgot about everything else. Ginny, Geoffrey, Holly, the criminals who were on their tail. There were only him, her and the love they felt for each other.