Harry shook his head and looked around his flat. He looked around the living room one last time and walked to his adopted daughter's room.
He opened the door quietly and crossed the room. He smiled at Amy and kissed her forehead then walked carefully out of the room.
As he closed the door two boxes floated slowly from his room and landed in front of his fireplace.
He smirked and softly called, "Dobby."
A soft crack sounded and the house elf popped into view in front of him. "Yes master?"
"Is everything packed from the other rooms?"
"Yes master, all but your library."
Harry nodded and the house elf disappeared with the remainder of the boxes. In the morning he and Amy would use an unauthorized portkey to return… home, he thought.
No matter where he had been it had never felt like home as much as the Burrow or Hogwarts had been.
Harry looked around the flat at its bare walls. When he had first moved here Amy's mother had been his next door neighbor. She had been a good friend to Harry and had helped him with his Portuguese. When she had gotten ill she had asked Harry for a very big favor. She was a muggle born and didn't have anyone to take care of her witch daughter. She asked Harry, seven months after he had arrived and they had met, to take care of Amy if something happened to her. Five months later Andrea had passed away. Amy was only three at the time. Harry had been miserable as he tried to explain why Amy was going to live with him and why her mum wouldn't be coming back.
Now Amy was five and she had expressed interest in going to England where her mother had been born and where her new father had been born. Harry hadn't been sure but a letter from Mrs. Weasley had made his mind up. Well it was more the howler she had sent along with the letter she had sent.
Harry shook his head and grinned as he remembered how the ceiling had shook as her amplified voice yelled at him that he needed to come home so she could make sure he was eating well and three years should have been enough time to get his mind straight.
Only Dumbledore knew exactly where he was. Everyone else believed he was in Portugal and spending his time on beaches. What he was actually doing was spending his time in jungles and classrooms. He had accepted a position as an instructor for a year at the Brazilian School of Witchcraft. It was an all girl school for 12-19 year olds. He spent his time taking care of Amy, teaching and leading field trips. Now that his year was up he had declined extending his contract.
Harry yawned and walked to his room. It was strange having a house elf in a flat, he thought as he strolled down the hall. Dobby had appeared in his kitchen three days after he had moved in and refused to leave. Harry had given up after two days and hired the elf officially. Now whenever another tenant had dropped by they were always amazed at how clean his place was with him so busy. When they asked how Harry always winked and replied, "Magic."
Harry opened the door to his room and started to pull his tee off when he heard the whisper soft brush of owl wing's cutting through the air. He pulled his shirt back into place and smiled at Hedwig as she dropped to his shoulder. He pulled the letter off of her leg and she flitted towards her cage. He set it down without looking at the name and finished changing quickly. He slid the clothes he had just worn into a bag and pulled out a pair of black raw silk trousers, a gray tee and a white button down shirt. Once he had his new clothes on he picked up the bag and the letter and smiled widely when he saw it was from Hermione. When he had left she had promised to wait for him.
He reminisced about their goodbye kiss for a moment then opened the letter. He smiled as he read her neat handwriting then his eyes widened and his grin became wild and dangerous looking. He whispered to himself, "Now that will be an excellent welcome home."
He still couldn't believe that she had waited for him. Hermione was a sensible girl and waiting for him seemed like a very irrational thing to do to him. He didn't care though. All he could think about was being with her again. The letters and pictures he received from her hadn't been enough.
He made his way into the sitting room and conjured a couch. As he sat down he looked at his watch. He yawned as he saw it was a little after midnight. He pillowed his bag under his head and hoped he would be able to get six or seven hours of sleep before Amy woke up.
~o~
Amy crawled out of her bed and pulled one of Harry's shirts on over her pajamas. She grinned as she remembered how Harry had torn apart his room looking for the shirt only to remember he had given it to her when she had fallen into a creek on a field trip she had tagged along on.
She walked out of her empty room, save the magic bed, and made her way to the kitchen where she could smell cinnamon and coffee. When she walked into the sitting room she saw Harry asleep on the couch and giggled slightly as she saw his glasses half on and off his face.
She snuck up on him and began tickling him.
Harry awoke with a snort and picked Amy up and hugged her tightly.
"Morning little one."
Amy giggled madly as Harry began tickling her back.
Harry kissed her forehead as he set her down on the couch and said, "We need to eat and then we'll go to the new house."
Harry fixed his glasses and followed her into the kitchen, her giggles still echoing. Dobby set their meals in front of them and said, "Library and all other items are transferred to the new mansion master."
Harry nodded and thanked him as he sipped at his coffee and watched Amy stare furtively at the cinnamon rolls while picking at her eggs and bacon rashers.
He smiled and said, "Once you finish at least the eggs you can have a cinnamon roll."
She cheered softly and began to dig into her eggs. A few minutes later she had finished her eggs and dug into her cinnamon roll. Harry grinned as she wiped the icing off her face and licked her fingers clean before digging into the pastry again.
He picked up her plate and finished off her bacon rashers and set the plates aside for Dobby. He pulled the saucer with his cinnamon roll in front of him and began eating it slowly as he watched Amy eat hers with obvious relish.
When she finished dobby appeared next to him with a wet rag and a wide grin on his face.
Dobby handed Harry the rag and Harry said, "Come here Amy."
She nodded as she continued licking her fingers and slid out of her chair. She walked over to him and he squatted down so he could wipe her face easier. He shook his head and teased her, "You're so sticky I should use you to keep notes on."
She giggled as he finished wiping her face then finished her hands off. Harry handed dobby the rag and said, "Are you going to be able to get the remainder of the kitchen stuff to the new place?"
Dobby nodded and said, "Yes master, new elves is helping Dobby."
Harry nodded and said, "Okay. Amy you need to go get dressed and we can get going."
She nodded and scampered out of the room and down to her bedroom.
A few moments later he came running when she called for him.
He found her trying to put her robes on backwards and tried to stifle a laugh. He helped her put them on properly and attempted to braid her hair. After a few moments he gave up on that and put it up in a pony tail.
She straightened her robes nervously as she followed him out of the room. He slid his wand out of his pocket and waved it quickly around the room. All the furniture inside turned into dust and blew out the window.
They walked through the empty apartment and Harry picked up his bag. He held out a small black book and said, "Are you ready?"
She nodded nervously and twined the hem of her robe through her fingers. She reached out to the book hesitantly and a moment later, both of them felt a hook grab them behind the navel and pull them.
After a period of twisting and turning that felt like anything from a moment to an eternity, they arrived in the sitting room of Harry's new home.
Harry's vision was obscured by a flash and then a brown and scarlet blur coming towards him. As his eyes adjusted to the low light after the flash he found himself being kissed by Hermione and the Weasleys and his other friends cheering his return.
He pulled away from Hermione and smiled at her. He bent over to her ear and whispered softly, "I've missed you with all my heart."
She kissed him on the lips and he pulled away after a moment. He looked down and saw Amy holding on tightly to his robes and peeking out at everyone from behind him. He smiled and said, "Amy honey, this is Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Mr. Weasley smiled at her while Mrs. Weasley leaned down and said, "You're so beautiful." She lifted a strand of Amy's hair and said, "This is the most beautiful blonde hair I've ever seen."
Amy blushed and thanked her softly as Harry continued introducing the rest of the Weasleys, Hagrid, and then the rest. Harry pushed Amy towards the other children and watched her as she talked with the others hesitantly. After a few moments she and two others were playing with some toy dueling wands and Harry turned to Hermione.
She smiled at him and his heart flipped over. "I've missed you."
She smiled at him and said, "I've missed you too."
"Thank you for sending her those robes. She loved the colors. Although she had some trouble putting them on this morning."
"Oh?"
"She had them on backwards when she called for my help."
Hermione and Harry shared a laugh and told the rest of the adults about the incident as drinks were passed around. The adults watched their children while Harry filled them in on what he had been doing the past three years.
Ron, and his wife Sarah, showed Harry some of the new pictures that hadn't been sent to him. He smiled as he watched the youngest additions to the Weasley clan cavort in the back yard of Ron's home.
"You have the oldest child."
Harry blinked at Ron then nodded. "Yeah. It's strange. Although I expected you to have more by now you red-blooded devil."
The rest of the Weasleys laughed while Ron's blond wife turned bright red as fast as Ron did.
Harry and Hermione held hands all evening until the rest left late that night. Hermione watched Harry carry Amy up to her room and waited for him to return.
As he came down the stairs she stood up and walked straight into his arms. Harry held her tightly as she kissed his lips, sticking her tongue into his mouth and tasting the butterbeer and chocolate mixed in his mouth.
Harry pulled back after a moment to catch his breath and asked, "Are you finished at Oxford?"
She nodded and said, "For the year."
Harry smiled softly. "Good. What are you going to do now?"
"Spend time with you."
Harry smiled and kissed her again. This time his tongue invaded her mouth and tasted the sweetness of her breath from the mints and the tea she had drunk at the party.
"Can you stay tonight?"
Hermione shook her head and Harry's face fell.
"I have to go to an appointment and go by an apothecary tomorrow. Besides, I wouldn't be able to do anything."
Harry blinked as Hermione looked at him steadily then he realized what she meant and pulled a face.
She smirked at him and kissed him again, "Soon."
He nodded and ran his fingers up and down her back slowly and softly, delighting in her shivers.
As he began to kiss her again he heard a plaintive calling for "Daddy."
Hermione pulled away and grinned at him. "She calls you daddy?"
Harry nodded absentmindedly as he fixed his robes and headed upstairs to her room.
He opened the door to her room and said, "Amy? I'm here."
"Thirsty."
Harry grinned and pulled out his wand. He murmured an incantation and a tray with a glass and a carafe of water appeared on the dresser across the room. He went over to it and poured a glass for her then crossed the room back to her bed. He sat down on the edge and handed her the glass.
She finished the glass and handed it to him. She hugged him tightly and said, "Thanks daddy."
Harry grinned at her and kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep princess ankle biter."
She giggled and snuggled into her bed as Harry softly crooned a song to her. She fell asleep a few minutes later and Harry stood and tucked her in better. He turned and saw Hermione smiling at him.
He grinned back at her and walked out of the room turning off the soft lights as he did so. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly while saying, "I need to get home. I love you."
Harry held her tightly and said, "I love you too. I've missed you so much."
Hermione smiled and slipped a small package into his pocket. She pulled away from him and disapparated.
Harry looked into Amy's room then turned towards his room when he saw all was right.
~o~
As Harry sat at his desk doing some minor paper work he regarded the package. It was a bit bigger than a normal envelope and he wondered what was in it. He shook his head and finished the paperwork. He forced himself to concentrate. He told himself he would look at the package as soon as he was done.
Once he was done he stripped and slipped into a pair of boxers and a tee that Ginny and her husband had sent him for his last birthday. He grinned at the memory as he had opened the package to find three pairs of red silk boxers and a gold and red House Gryffindor tee.
He walked back over to the desk in his room and picked up the package. As he sat on his bed he broke the seal carefully. He slipped out a long letter and a few photographs. He stared at the top one for a moment and grinned stupidly. It was a picture of Hermione in a red bathing suit and a very small one at that.
After a few moments of drooling he set the pictures down and read the letter from Hermione. He smiled and tried not to drool as he read all that she had written. It was hard for him not to. She had written down all the things they had done and told him all the things she planned to do with him. After he finished the letter he sat and wished she had been able to stay the night. Once he was done, he picked up the pictures and looked through them slowly. All of them were muggle photos of her that had been taken by him in their last year or just before he had left except the last. It was a wizard photo and he didn't see Hermione in it. As he looked at the picture he saw Hermione's head poke past the border. She looked up at him and then smiled hesitantly. She edged out and Harry's eyes popped. She was nude. The image of Hermione kept her breasts and crotch covered until she was in the center of the picture. Then she lifted her hands and blew a kiss at him self consciously.
Harry was stunned and sat for a moment before wondering who took the picture. He hoped to god it was Ginny or another girl. He flipped over the photo and saw Hermione's hand writing on the back; I love you Harry. (Ginny took this for me last week.)
Harry hid all the pictures carefully and slipped under his covers smiling gleefully. As he fell asleep he wondered if Hermione would like to move in with him. If Amy didn't mind.
~o~
Ginny was watching Harry and Amy split a bowl of ice cream while she finished a cone off herself. Harry had asked for her help going clothes shopping for Amy and she had jumped to spend some time with Harry now that he was back. She giggled when Harry flicked the cherry onto Amy's nose and it stuck in place. Amy blinked and began giggling also, then plucked the cherry from her face and ate it.
Ginny noticed a red mark on Harry's arm when his sleeve hitched up that was glowing slightly.
"Harry?"
Harry looked over at Ginny and followed her eyes. His lips turned down slightly and he fixed his sleeve so it hid the mark.
"What is that?"
"Nothing."
Ginny blinked and stared at him. Harry stared back and she looked away after a moment her face reddening slightly. Even though she was married happily, Harry still made her feel weak in the knees.
Harry grinned slightly and then reached into his pocket when it started beeping. He took out a small black rectangle and flipped it open.
"Hello?
"Yes.
"I'll be there in a few."
Harry put the phone away and asked, "Ginny can you watch Amy for me for a bit?"
Ginny nodded and Harry kissed Amy goodbye. "I'll be back as soon as possible."
Amy nodded and sighed. As soon as Harry disappeared she said, "So unfair. This always happens."
"Who was that?"
Amy shook her head and said, "Whenever someone calls on that phone he always leaves and is gone for an hour or two then he has to leave for a day or three after that."
Amy pouted for a few moments as Ginny mulled that over. As Amy finished her ice cream off, Ginny sipped on the rapidly cooling coffee she had also gotten. She drank the last drop as Amy pushed the bowl forwards and said, "All done."
Ginny smiled and said, "Well should we wait here or head home?"
Amy looked down at the bags of clothing her father had bought and said, "Home."
Ginny smiled as Amy tried to pick up all the bags. "Want some help?"
Amy shook her head and Ginny cast a spell to lessen the weight surreptitiously.
Amy lifted the bags easily then and followed Ginny to the Leaky Cauldron so they could use the floo to get back to Harry's.
~o~
Harry sat at an obsidian table with a four other wizards and one witch. They passed sheets of paper from one to another and looked to Harry as he finished reading a sheet already in front of him.
He looked up at them and nodded twice. All but the wizard closest to him stood and disappeared with faint cracks. The one who remained handed Harry a folded sheet and disappeared himself. Harry unfolded the parchment and read it. He smiled slightly and then stood. Where he had been sitting the word Master was carved into the back of the chair he had been sitting on.
As he stepped away from the table and towards the door the chairs and table began sinking into the floor and tables and workbenches appeared with muggle gardening tools appeared on the walls. As soon as the table disappeared larger tools and machines appeared in the middle of the room.
Harry stepped out of the room and appeared in the middle of a small park with a shed hidden by ivy. He took out his wand and disappeared.
I'm currently in need of a new beta for a non fanfic story. Must have an excellent command of the English language and be interested in military and fantasy fiction. A minor grounding in military terms would be useful and as well as access to aim or y!im and a large quantity of time to spend on this over the next summer and possibly much longer. Aim me or email me if interested. -Cole
