63. Turning

The night was growing late as Harry found himself atop the Weasley's household. He was fully enraptured by his magical book. Even after all this time, it seemed like the pages were endless. Sometimes he wondered if he would every go through every page.

Lumos orbs circled around him, illuminating the words on the pages. Every now and then he would grow annoyed with his speed of comprehension and the orbs would radiate a touch brighter.

Said orbs also shined against some of the ornaments, artifacts, and trinkets attached to his headdress. The items sparkled not unlike the stars above him.

His concentration from the book was broken when he noticed a shadow that wasn't there a moment earlier.

A pair of cool arms wrapped around his upper body. Nuzzling against his cheek, a voice whispered owlishly, "Staying up late again?"

Harry shut his book and didn't fight the warm smile on his face. "Hello Teleute. It's great to see you. I'm just squeezing some reading in. All the magic in this book is just fantastic."

Teleute sat beside him, dangling her feet over the roof. She rested her signature umbrella to the side. One of the Lumos orbs fell into her outstretched hand. She began fiddling with it. When she noticed the wry expression on his face, she chuckled lightly.

Harry grabbed one of the orbs and lightly tossed it her way. It collided with the one in her hand and multiplied. The newly formed ones flew by her and tussled her hair.

Her eyes narrowed in playful challenge as she too began flinging some of the orbs his direction. Their orbs collided into each other and shot all around them, laughter breaking between them.

Silly as it may have been, Harry's behavior delighted Teleute to no end. It was a relief to her that Harry was accepting her presence so readily now.

Harry blinked at her confused, "You're mistaken, I always accepted your presence. I'd be a fool not to."

Harry never saw Teleute's face make a smile so wide, "The same is true for me, you know. It's silly to raise your partner to such a pedestal don't you think?" Her eyes were knowing, but nevertheless gentle.

She felt that this was all he needed to hear to understand. Teleute had no intention of being merely a fixture in his life, such as the Boy-Who-Lived was for the witches and wizards.

Harry looked on in self disappointment, words unspoken filtered through his ears. Her lips had closed, but her words continued. Releasing a sigh, he looked at her intensely, "I get it. That name has been nothing but trouble ever since I heard it. I didn't even realize that I was treating you the same. You shouldn't even had to have said as much as you did in the first place. I never wanted to make you feel like that. I guess I still have a lot to learn about... us. I'm sorry."

Teleute scooted closer to him and pulled him into a half hug, "All is forgiven. There isn't a simple guide for us or anyone, but that's half the fun." She rose from her comfortable perch and settled on her knees just behind him.

"How beautiful. You've been busy." She complimented as she ran her fingers through the contents of his headdress. Her eyes lingered in appreciation on every unique item.

Harry nearly preened underneath her attention. Each item had found a peculiar place in his heart. "Thanks. I can't wait to see all that magic has to offer. Being a wizard is one of the best things to happen to me. What are you doing back there?" He questioned as he felt and heard his headdress clanging rhythmically.

She kept her hands busy as she answered, "Just a little tidying up." Each of the objects were molded into decorative crystal beads. The crystals were engraved with the image of their previous forms.

Harry marveled at the process. Teleute wasn't quite using transfiguration. There was just a splash of magic, but there was a lot of something else that constituted the majority of the transformation. If he was to describe it, Teleute ended the existence of the artifact and then seemingly rebirth them into the crystals. Every second of it was fascinating.

Idly, he noted how cute her excitement over the rebirthing process made her. She seemed quite at home with the ending of the forms, but marveled at the creation of the crystals.

"Like it?" Following the question, she swung a chain of the crystal beads over his shoulder.

Under the light of the Lumos orbs circling around, the beads sparkled spectacularly. Their sparkle emphasized the beauty of Teleute's features to him. Answering the only way he could, he said, "I love it."

Harry turned towards Teleute and tenderly drew close to her. Their shadows, casted upon the ground, united. A kiss was softly shared between the two. Hidden within this kiss was Harry's secret hope that their paths would stay entwined.

Teleute shared that hope.