As the door closed behind Albus I fought the urge to scream in frustration. Clearly something Dominique said had bothered him. Finally – FINALLY – Al and I had kissed. To say that it was glorious was an understatement. It fit into all of the clichés I'd ever read about. Oh, I had kissed boys before, but it had never felt like the descriptions in books. The knee-shaking, earth-shattering, all-consuming fire-shooting-through-my-veins snog. Kissing Al had been like that. Like sunshine in my soul, warming me from the inside.

Then we had been interrupted. I honestly couldn't think of a reason for Dominique to be upset that we were kissing, but I was sure that was what she had wanted to talk with Al about when I stepped out of the mudroom. Before the kiss Al had been acting slightly differently toward me, more in way that made me feel like he liked me, too. That had all changed after the conversation with his cousin.

Irritated as I was, I couldn't get my mind off of it. I went to my bedroom and stripped without closing the door, knowing Al wasn't coming out of his room anytime soon. Everything I did was with anger. I pulled off my boots roughly and flung them across the room. With a grunt I threw myself back onto the bed and wrestled myself out of my clothes and into my pajamas. My feet stomped on the floor down the hall and into the bathroom. I scrubbed my teeth vigorously and stomped back to my bedroom. In a spectacular show of emotion I even slammed my bedroom door.

Still – I wondered why Dom might possibly object to Al and me kissing. Did she not like me? Did she not think we were a good fit? Or what if she was trying to protect me? What if she knew Al's feelings weren't deep and she warned him not to lead me on? Or what if Al was actually a player and she didn't want him to play me? I hadn't noticed him bringing home any women since I'd been living here, but what did I know? He could be shagging women at work every day or maybe they can Apparate directly into his bedroom. The idea made me sick to think about but it was a possibility.

One thing I did know was that I couldn't ask him. We hadn't talked about our kiss or what it had meant to either of us and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the first one to bring it up. If Al wanted to go along and pretend nothing had happened then I could do that. Determined not to show him how frustrated I truly was, I punched my pillow a few times before rolling over and trying to fall asleep.

…

One week later we were still engaged in a mostly awkward silence while we were around each other. A few times we shared friendlier moments but it wasn't as comfortable as it had been before the kiss and part of me was beginning to regret it.

Not one to give up easily, Albus arrived home from work one evening to find me dressed in jeans, a warm wool winter coat, the hat he had let me wear on my birthday that must be one of his own, boots that were more for warmth than fashion, a knit scarf, and the fingerless gloves I'd grown exceptionally fond of.

"Where are you going?" he asked and for a moment I saw fear flash through his eyes. Did he think I was bailing on him? Returning home? Telling him I didn't want to live with him anymore? That idea was absurd.

"We are going out," I told him firmly. "To the muggle world," I wriggled my fingers at him. "So go put on some normal clothes."

"These are my normal clothes," he argued as motioned to the long robes he was wearing beneath his heavy green cloak.

"Muggle normal," I corrected, "You know, slacks or jeans, a sweater, and a jacket…" I trailed off. I knew he didn't need a detailed list of what to wear. He could dress like a muggle very well when the situation required it, but otherwise he seemed more comfortable in his wizard wear.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he stepped around me and headed for his bedroom.

Frankly, I was just relieved he hadn't argued with me about going out tonight. "Christmas market. It's the first of December so they should all be up and running by now."

"I thought they were only open on Saturdays? That's how it is in our world."

"Depends on the market," I bit my lip to keep from moaning as he stepped out of his room looking like he could have just stepped out of a magazine. His dark slim jeans rode low on his hips and he lifted his arms to put his jacket on, causing his sweater to ride up and I got a good glimpse of his toned stomach. As badly as I wanted to stare, I averted my gaze and pretended to look at the clock on the wall. "Let's head out before it gets too busy."

The market we ended up going to was right alongside the Thames, near the Eye of London. I hadn't been on the giant ferris wheel in a few years and Al embarrassingly admitted he had never been on so we went.

Even though we rarely went out or did anything, I was starting to run low on my money supply that I had brought with me from home. There were occasions I'd run to the store while Al was at work and pick up food I wanted to cook or snacks that I liked. Not to mention the feminine products that were necessary each month and the other little odds and ends. Albus paid for our tickets to ride the Eye but I had bought some hot chocolate for us.

There was a family with us in our pod as we climbed on board so we couldn't talk too freely, but so far the evening had been perfect. It had felt almost like a date and Albus was acting more like himself than he had since our kiss. We had laughed and teased each other and once he had even put an arm around my waist to pull me closer as another couple had squeezed by us.

The family, whose members were running around the pod taking pictures rapidly from every vantage point, appeared to be American but I couldn't be certain, with that accent they might have been Canadian. Quietly, I asked Albus, "What do you think?"

"This is great," he told me honestly as he moved to look out the window at Big Ben, which was all lit up and reflecting off the Thames. "I can't believe I've never done this before now," he grinned at me and I smiled back.

"When I was young we would come to London about once a year just for a fun family day or a shopping trip, and I would always beg my dad to take us here. Most of the time he would. The only times he told me no was when we were in a hurry to get home."

Talking about my family made my voice thick. Albus could tell I was getting emotional and he put an arm around my shoulders in a comforting way. "You miss them," he stated flatly.

"I do," I said. "This Saturday my best friend, Willow, is coming to London. We are planning to meet up for lunch. She'll help me figure out what to do. Her advice has never steered me wrong before."

"What do you need advice on?" If I didn't know better I would think Al sounded offended that I hadn't asked for his advice instead. He knew that I used the cell phone given to me to call and talk with my best friend most days and that she had been trying to talk her mom into letting her come to London for a while, without giving away that the reason was to see me.

"How to go about reconnecting with my family. Maybe I should start with my sisters first? I really don't know. But Willow knows my family and she has been keeping close to them ever since I left so she'll be able to tell me what I should do."

"Do you…do you want to move back home?" he asked slowly.

I turned to look at him in surprise, "Merlin, no," I teased him by using one of his favorite exclamations and he smirked at me in response. "Honestly, Al, I would like to be your roommate for as long as you'll have me."

"I already told you, I enjoy having you around and I think our situation is working out quite well," ah, so there it was. Perhaps the reason Al had never mentioned our kiss, had never tried to kiss me again, was because he didn't want to ruin our friendship or, rather, roommate-ship. That made sense. I didn't want to ruin that either, but to me, the potential for something more than just roommates was worth the risk.

"I'm glad," was all I said in return.

Al rubbed my shoulder roughly with his hand before releasing me and he moved along to the opposite window as the foreign family scooted closer to us, probably wanting the view we had, since it was beautiful.

The ride in the pod around the Eye of London took half an hour and most of it we spent in silence just enjoying the winter night. When we were back on solid ground we wandered around until we found a restaurant that had a table available, since most of them were packed with people.

Something as ordinary as a pub felt comforting to me as I had been so immersed in the wizarding world for so long now. I eagerly ordered my potato and leek pie while Al asked for the fish and chips. When our food arrived he tried a bite of my pie and I took a few of his chips. It was so easy to be with Al. Everything felt so natural and even though I'd only known him for a short time – had I really only been attacked seven weeks ago? – he felt like home.

…

It was late when we got home and Albus had work early in the morning so we each headed for our separate rooms. Despite how tired I was from our fun evening, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from shoulders and I knew that things would, hopefully, go back to normal between us now.

…..

Dominique and Rose showed up on Friday morning to spend some time with me. I thought that was surprisingly nice of them and they seemed to just want to do ordinary girlfriend things. Rose painted my toenails the muggle way – although she did clean up the bottle of nail polish she spilled with a wave of her wand – and Dominique used magic to put some auburn streaks in my plebian brown hair.

On an even brighter note, Rose had brought me the papers I needed to begin working in the muggle world. "It would have been much easier to forge you witches papers," she told me with pursed lips, "but I don't think they hire muggles in any wizard-owned place that I know of."

I did a double-take when I saw she had the name Leona Potter put on the documents. "Sorry," said Dominique, who was digging through my closet and trying on my muggle dresses, "we just figured that would be the safer route in case anyone recognizes your surname around here. You're still technically a missing person to your authorities."

"How are things going with my mom?" Rose asked as she tilted her head toward the potion bottle on my dresser.

"Pretty good," I told her sincerely, "Al and I went out the other night and I didn't take the potion. I didn't have any issues."

"That's great!"

"Yes, Hermione is wonderful. She's an excellent therapist," I told her honestly. "Not that I have anyone else to compare her to, but she has been helping me a lot and not only with getting over my irrational fear of men but also my separation from my family and dealing with my parents and how their actions have made me feel and react…" I trailed off. They didn't need to hear about that.

Both of them gave me looks of sympathy and I self-consciously fiddled with the quartz stone at my throat. "Oh, that's right!" Rose seemed eager to clutch at this change of topic, "I told you I would look into ways that muggles do magic with special stones and gems."

I had not forgotten but hadn't wanted to badger her about it as she had offered to look into it out of the kindness of her heart and had no obligation to me to do so. "Did you?"

"I read a few books on the subject," she shrugged one shoulder, "But according to my sources a muggle can't do any real magic with gems and stones. Sometimes, if a wizard or witch is weak magically, like a Squib, the stones can help channel magic, like our wands help us channel magic, but the stones need to be pre-enchanted-"

Dominique cut her off, "Slow down there, Rosie, you're talking too fast again, just cut to the chase. And give me some background on what you're talking about."

"Quartz is used in various magics," Rose informed us, "I noticed Leona's necklace when we met and thought I'd look into it. Turned out to be a dead end."

Dominique nodded, satisfied that Rose had not continued down a rabbit hole with the explanation. "That's a bummer," I grumbled. What I hadn't told anyone, or had even let myself dwell on, was that I had been hoping so badly that Rose would be able to find a way for me to be able to interact more fully with their world. If not through stones and gems, perhaps there was an alternative. One thing I knew was that I didn't want to go back to a normal life and the normal world. I wanted so badly to remain a part of this universe full of magic and to continue being friends with these people.

Privately, I compared it to moving to another country; the way one might feel if they moved to a foreign land. But instead of feeling alien or uncomfortable, the place felt like home. That's how this world felt to me. As if I belonged here and I couldn't let it just kick me back out into the dark.

"When's Scorp coming back anyway?" Dominique asked as she eyed the picture of Rose on the bedside table. I hadn't moved it because it hadn't felt right to touch Scorpius's things.

"Next week hopefully," Rose shrugged.

"Don't you miss him?" I asked, surprise by her cavalier response.

She grinned, "I'm a witch, remember? I take a port key to wherever he is every weekend."

"What does he do? Al said he was traveling for work?"

Rose straightened her shoulders in a gesture that let me know she was proud of her boyfriend. "Scorpius works for Gringotts bank. All wizards, no matter what part of the world they reside in, all use the same monetary system. Scorpius was the only wizard chosen to go on a tour of world banks. The purpose is so they can learn how other places protect the vaults and handle certain transactions. He's been to the vaults in Venice, Mexico City, New York, Toulouse, Berlin, and Montreal."

"That sounds…supremely boring," I told her honestly. "I mean, even considering the fact that they're all magical banks, banks are still a pretty dull line of work."

Dom snorted and Rose looked startled. "Not at all! Did you know that there are dragons in Gringotts? They guard the oldest, deepest vaults. The vaults in Cairo are protected by real mummies! Don't get me started on-"

"We won't," Dom clapped a hand over her cousin's mouth. A small part of me was tempted to ask Dominique what she and Al had talked about the night of my birthday, but I wasn't about to bring it up in front of Rose. Not to mention I wasn't sure if Dominique would be honest with me or not. We didn't know each other very well. "So what are you going to do when Scorp returns?" she asked me.

"They'll get a bigger flat," Rose said, "Scor told me."

I nodded in confirmation, "Al said he's already started looking and if they are still available he's got a couple he wants to take Scorpius and I to look at when Scorpius gets back in town. I really want it to be in a muggle complex so I can watch the telly, but Albus thinks it would be too difficult for him and Scorpius to live surrounded by muggles. They are so accustomed to using magic for everything and coming and going wearing cloaks and robes."

Dominique laughed, causing Rose and I to both look at her with questioning gazes. "Sorry," she giggled, "I am just imagining what wild theories muggles would come up with about you three – maybe that Scor and Al are actors in a play, or that the three of you are into some really kinky role play together."

I blushed deeply, not at the fact that Dominique could discuss sex so casually, but because I would be more than happy to engage in some role play with Albus, as long as Scorpius wasn't involved.

…..

The squeal of delight escaped me before I could hold it back as I caught sight of Willow through the crowd of people. Her head whipped around at the sound of my scream and we were running toward each other. Or, trying to at least, as people buffeted both of us.

We hugged tightly as soon as we were able to get ahold of each other properly. "I missed you," I grumbled, my voice muffled by the thick fur around the hood of her jacket.

"I've missed you more," she pulled back to look at me at smiled. "You look great, Le, really! Whatever you've been up to lately has done you some good, that's for sure."

We linked arms and crossed the street to the café where we planned on having lunch. I had wanted so badly to just invite her to our flat, but I had reluctantly accepted that was an impossibility. Not only were all the occupants wizards or witches, but there were enough magical objects in our flat alone to cause Willow to ask questions.

I looked at the menu with a small frown. Al had offered to pay for our lunch, since he considered it his fault that I couldn't bring Willow to our place instead. But I had refused. Living in this area of London was expensive, I knew, but some of these prices were ridiculous.

Willow reached across the table and tapped my menu with her perfectly manicured index finger, "My treat," she said firmly. I didn't argue.

I sipped big spoonfuls of the broccoli cheddar soup as Willow told me all about how I was the talk of our neighborhood and our school for the first month but by now it was old news. Wild theories varying from me being kidnapped, to me running off with a gang, to me being pregnant and my parents sending me to live with an estranged relative for 9 months. I groaned out loud at that one but wasn't too surprised by it.

"My family," I finally cut in as I paused to spread some butter on my baguette, "how are they doing? What do they think?"

"They're not doing well," I could tell she was reluctant to discuss this which implied they were doing very badly. "Gwen is the most well adjusted. She told me that she knows leaving was your decision and that you must have had a good reason. Ella seems almost…almost jealous. She's two years older than you and still lives with your parents. You left home before you even finished school. You're a little mysterious and exotic, I have to admit."

"My parents?" She hadn't excluded them on accident.

Willow, who had just taken a bite of her chicken salad, swallowed hard before answering. "They ask me every day if I've heard from you."

"Have you-"

"No. I haven't told them anything. I always say I don't know any more than they do. Except…"

"Except?"

"I told them that you told me you were running away because you overheard them discussing having you committed to rehab facility. I just wanted them to know that you hadn't been taken against your will."

"What did they say to that?" The vindictive part of me hoped they were really sorry. When she didn't answer I asked again, "How did they react?"

"They cried," she told me softly. "They looked like they really regretted that entire discussion you overheard them having."

"Probably just regretted the fact that I overheard it," I grumbled.

"I told them that you weren't on any kind of drugs and they were crazy for even thinking that. I told them that you must have been telling the truth, no matter how crazy it sounds." She looked at me steadily, as if wanting me to confirm her words.

"I'm telling the truth about what happened to me," I assured her. "The authorities here in London believe me and they're helping me."

"That's right," she sat up a little straighter, "how are things going with Al?"

"They're not," I grumbled gloomily. I had told Willow all about my surprise birthday party. "Ever since the kiss he was keeping me at arm's length. But then we had such a nice evening recently and now we are back to…well, I guess we are back to acting like good friends."

"You're in love with him."

"I am."

"You haven't known him long."

"I know that."

"He might not feel the same way."

"I know that, too."

"Where does that leave you? Living forever as roommates with a man who doesn't return your feelings?"

"I'll have to talk with him about my feelings at some point. If he doesn't return them then I'll move on."

Willow laughed as she leaned back in her chair. "Move on? Leona, I've never seen you in love with a guy before. You dated Charlie Yates for eight months and never said the 'L word'. I don't think you will be able to just move on. You're the type of person who falls in love for life."

"Maybe I should have phrased that differently. I will lie to Al and tell him that it's no big deal, just a crush, if he doesn't return my feelings. I will pretend like I got over it. Hell, he has a gorgeous cousin who seemed interested in me at my birthday party, maybe I'd try dating him if Al doesn't feel anything toward me other than friendship."

"I'm sure he feels something for you other than friendship, but I'd likely call it lust. You're beautiful, Leona, and that can be dangerous. This guy might take advantage of you or date you because you're pretty but not really have very deep feelings for the person you are."

I was shaking my head before she finished her sentence. "Al isn't like that."

She smiled, "I hope not. I don't think they would go easy on me for assaulting a police officer, even if he does hurt my best friend." She winked and we moved on to lighter topics.

…

When I went to bed that night I was smiling. Willow had given me much to think about, especially concerning my family, and in a good way. I thought about calling Ella in the morning and asking her to let mum and dad know I was alright and willing to speak with them if they weren't going to treat me like I was either mentally unstable, a liar, or a drug addict.

Albus and I had had a nice evening together as well. Since electricity didn't work in the building we had played chess and I taught him one of my favorite muggle board games – Scrabble, which he was very good at to my consternation.

I yawned as I snuggled deeper into my blankets. The flat was always cozy despite the cold temperatures outside and, as usual, I was sleeping in an oversized t-shirt and a modest pair of pink cotton panties. My mind was drifting and almost found sleep when I heard the bedroom door squeak open. What was Albus coming into my room for? Was he going to confess his feelings for me? Had he been lying awake in his room thinking of me?

I rolled over to face the door, seeing his tall lank outline in shadow as he closed my bedroom door behind him. Why was he being quiet and not saying anything? Was he planning to just quietly slide into bed with me? That was a little presumptuous.

In darkness I watched his wand come up, heard a muttered spell, and the torches in the room lit up to full brightness. Reflexively my eyes closed and I blinked a few times as they adjusted to the sudden light and standing in my room beside me was not Albus Potter, however it was a man I recognized.

A scream rent the otherwise silent apartment as some subconscious part of my mind recognized this man before I managed to think the words to myself.

The man standing in my bedroom, with his wand raised, looking directly at me, was one of my attackers.