Harry stood in the grand ballroom, nursing his drink while watching the people around him mingle with each other. Some were dancing to the slow music that resonated in the lavish room, while some were chatting animatedly (albeit in a quiet manner) simply asking about each other's wellbeing or making polite conversation.

This ball, as far as Harry knew, was held to celebrate the men and women who had done so much for the cause of the country. The crowned Knights, the war hero's like himself and his best friends, politicians, and influential businessman were all invited to the ball. The Queen herself had demanded for such a gathering to be organized annually to show her appreciation to them. It was held every year since five years ago and only during three years before that he was invited to be here. It was such an honor to be appreciated, but he never cared much for a gathering like this.

His two best friends who had come together with him were dancing with each other, enjoying each other's presence looking very much in love just like when they started dating after Voldemort had been defeated. He smiled seeing those two. They just couldn't stop being lovey-dovey with each other even after 5 years of marriage. They had married right after they finished their study at Hogwarts and he couldn't have been happier for the two of them. He, as expected, was Ron's best man.

A happy union was much welcomed after those lives that they had lost during the war. He himself tried to continue his relationship with Ginny, and they had dated for a few months before they both decided that it was not going to work out between them. Harry thought he was right in pursuing his relationship with Ginny but during their time as a couple, he noticed that Ginny didn't really understand him as a person, as an ordinary Harry Potter with his flaws and mistakes. She was so into the Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, to really notice the real him. They also happened to want different things in life. They were just too different. So they parted ways on good terms.

He was brought out of his musings when he saw Ron and Hermione walking towards him from the corner of his eyes. He grinned at them when they were closer.

"Harry, put the drink away and pick some ladies to have a dance," Hermione reprimanded him with her usual bossy tone.

"I'm fine right here on my own," Harry quickly rejected her idea.

"Seriously mate, this is our third time being invited to the ball and you always end up coming alone and not having even one dance during your time here," Ron put in his two cents, "I'm beginning to worry that you'll end up being alone for the rest of your life."

Harry snorted at his best mate.

"You don't have to worry about me Ron. I'm 23, I'll have plenty of time to find a suitable woman before I get married for real," he said with a roll of his eyes.

Just then, two gentlemen standing not too far from them began speaking in a rather angry tone, catching the attention of the trio. Harry recognized the two of them as Sir Island and Sir Penwood, the crowned Knights of the Convention of Twelve or sometimes called Knights of the Round Table, and his ears perked up to hear what they were talking about. It was interesting to know what those elite people were going to gossip about.

He smirked at his two best friends when he noticed the similar interest on their faces. Then again, there was not much that they could do at a gathering like this, waiting for the Queen herself to arrive and keep the party going before they all could go home. They might as well find something to keep themselves entertained.

"How dare Sir Hellsing be late to this event," Sir Penwood muttered angrily to the other man. "Sir Hellsing didn't even bother to show up to this ball for the past four years. Are you sure that stubborn brat is going to show up tonight? This is the fifth invitation already, and it comes from Her Majesty directly. Do you think that brat dares to pull a little stunt and make some excuses to not come here tonight and go against the Queen's wishes?" He huffed with frustration.

"I am quite sure that Sir Hellsing will be here tonight, I already asked Walter for confirmation," Sir Island said, trying to appease the fuming man next to him.

Harry could see that Sir Penwood was still looking unsatisfied with the answer. Somehow, he reminded Harry of a spoiled child throwing tantrum for not getting his way. The only difference here was it was a grown man throwing a fit.

"Then how dare that insolent child be late?" He demanded. Harry saw Sir Island sigh at his friend's antics. He then noticed that Sir Island was looking his way so he averted his eyes looking elsewhere instead. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the two walking in his direction.

"Mr. Potter," he heard Sir Island called out to him. He looked at him with a nod and a small smile on his face.

"Sir Island, Sir Penwood," he greeted offering his hand to the two of them for a handshake. "Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too. You too Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," he said noticing his best friends beside him. "So I take it you enjoy the party?" He asked making a small talk.

"So far yes," he replied politely.

They chat for a while but neither Harry nor Ron and Hermione brought up the topic of Sir Hellsing. And when Sir Island and Sir Penwood politely excused themselves to go and greet other people, the trio was left to their own device again.

"So who is this Sir Hellsing?" Harry muttered quietly. Ron just shrugged his shoulder quite in the dark about it himself, and automatically both boys turned towards Hermione.

Hermione looked at them incredulously. "Why are you looking at me? I don't know Sir Hellsing," she said.

"Well, most of the time you know everything," Ron said with a sheepish grin.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at both of them. "How should I know him? I don't exactly run in the same circle you know," she uttered pointedly although she looked a bit miffed for that.

Typical Hermione. She just hated not knowing.

"But we could do a little research on him when we get home. I'm curious about him myself after hearing that. It's not every day that we see someone dare to act like that towards the Queen," she said conspiratorially.

Harry nodded his head. "He must be young," he said.

"What? Why do say that?" Ron inquired.

"Sir Penwood called him a brat, an insolent child. So I guess he must be someone our age," he deduced.

"I think you're right," Hermione agreed with a nod of her head.

"Well, I'm interested to know what he did to get invited to this ball," Ron muttered. "Everybody here is certainly someone very important to the country," he said looking around them.

Ron's words made Harry ponder on the idea. What did Sir Hellsing do indeed, and more importantly, who was he?

Boy, they were in for a shocker when they realize who this Sir Hellsing really was.


Harry leaned his back against the balcony in boredom. He was facing the ballroom inside so he could see Ron and Hermione on the floor, dancing in each other's embrace once again. He was getting tired already. He couldn't wait for the night to end so that he could go home and crash on his comfy bed. The only comfort he took at this time was that he didn't have to go to work tomorrow because it was weekend. Being an Auror at the Ministry needed him to be alert and on guard. He didn't think he would appear fresh and sharp should he have to work tomorrow.

He sighed wishing that the night would go by quickly. He was bored. Nothing interesting had happened since his eavesdropping on Sir Island and Sir Penwood's conversation earlier.

Then his eyes caught something, or rather someone, a girl inside the ballroom. He frowned in confusion. He never met the girl before in the three times he had been here, and he made an effort to know who was who to ensure that he didn't offend anyone by not knowing them when forced into a conversation later.

Harry saw her looking around with a slight frown on her face. She was beautiful. Anyone could see that, but there was something about her that piqued his interest.

She walked towards one of the table in the room and her black dress swayed elegantly with every step she took towards her destination. She took a red wine with her before she sat at the table, looking uninterested with what was happening around her.

He wondered who the girl was. She looked harmless enough, but he could feel the mysterious aura surrounding her, dark and dangerous. It sent chills running down his spine. Harry continued his silent observation of the girl. She made no effort to socialize and seemed content being on her own. Sometimes, her eyes looked glazed over as if she was focusing on something intensely, and she would make an annoyed expression later on.

He watched as a young man neared her and spoke to her, probably asking for a dance and he saw the tiny sigh she let out before she stood up and let herself to be led towards the dance floor. He frowned in confusion, it was obvious that she didn't want to dance from the reluctant look on her face so why did she accept it anyway?

It's not like I care, Harry thought silently.

It was only a moment later that he saw her return to her seat with an even more annoyed look on her face. Harry craned his neck towards the dance floor to see that her dance partner was standing on there with a pale face, looking lost and flustered.

What the hell happened? He wondered to himself.

Harry saw her sipped her wine elegantly and chose to observe more on his current subject. This girl was intriguing.


Integra sighed in annoyance as she took a sip of her red wine. Coming here was certainly a mistake, but it was not like she could evade it anymore. Her Majesty herself had written her a letter with an invitation card, saying that she hoped to see her at the ball. Now, she couldn't say no after that could she. Not only that she had to come here, Sir Island had the nerve to reprimand her to act like a lady and not scare away any young men who came to ask her for a dance.

That was why she had accepted when the man earlier came and asked for a dance. She only got a name out of the man when he introduced himself. Mr. Fray she thought his name was for when she replied 'Integra Hellsing', the man was frozen on his feet and he suddenly went pale at the mention of her name. He stuttered with apology and that's when Integra chose to assure the poor man that it was fine and she proceeded to leave him there on his own. She hoped that he got his bearing back, with her being as far away from him as possible.

She sipped her red wine carefully and thought about the poor guy's reaction to her name. He must have known of her and her reputation if he was behaving like that. Or he knew of her pet vampire, Alucard, the no-life king. Well, what could she say, she was a scary woman. She had to be in her line of work. And Alucard was another definition of scary entirely. She mentally snorted. Scary couldn't really describe the night walker, if she was being honest.

Well, that's certainly a praise coming from you Master, came the voice of the vampire king inside her head.

Alucard, I don't want to hear from you as long as I am here tonight, she said to him through their mental link. Sometimes, their mental bond was a pain in the arse.

But then how can I protect you when you are so far away from me? He protested. You didn't even bring me along to the ball, he whined somewhat accusingly at her.

Integra mentally rolled her eyes at her pet vampire's antics. He could be so childish sometimes. I promise to call for you if I am in danger. Happy now? It's not like you can't materialize here in a matter of a second to protect me, she said to him mentally.

It takes more than a second for me to get to you Master. It depends on how far you are from me, he said stubbornly.

I will be fine! She insisted. A minute won't take much difference to get here anyway. Now don't bother me for tonight. I don't want to argue with you mentally and have these folks look at me like I'm crazy, she scolded him.

Master, it is so much fun to bother you when you are meeting those old fools. To ask me not to bother you is to ask me to resign myself to boredom, he said.

That's enough! Don't bother me when I'm at this ball tonight, that's an order! She practically yelled at him inside her head. She was relieved to hear no response from her clingy servant.

She took another sipped of her drink when she saw a man approaching her. He stopped in front of her and held out his hand like a real gentleman.

"Would you care for a dance?" He asked with a small smile on his face.

Integra looked at the young man with reservation. She didn't know who he was, though she might know of him later when he gave her a name, and it was not like she could really deny him of the dance. She saw Sir Island and Sir Penwood were watching her like a hawk from the corner of her eyes.

She saw the unknown man looked in the direction of her gaze and she quickly replied. "Sure," she said as she placed her hand in his, letting herself to be led away towards the dance floor for the second time that night.

"Did they tell you not to turn down any dance offered to you even though you don't really feel like dancing?" The man suddenly said as they swayed slowly to the music.

Integra had the grace to look at her dance partner with a slightly guilty face. There was no use in lying to the man. "Yes, they did," Integra drawled with a sigh. Looking like the kid caught with hands in the cookie jar. "Sorry," she added after some thought.

"It's okay," he said looking amused for unknown reason to her. He gave her a small smile and she replied kindly in return with her own. She took the time to observe the man dancing with her. He was handsome and he had the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. His unruly black hair only made him look more attractive in her eyes.

"I'm Harry by the way. Harry Potter," he introduced himself.

"I see," she said as the realization dawned on her. She read about this man before. He was some sort of war hero. Among several others, he was one of the main people who played major parts in fighting a dark lord that was terrorizing the wizardry community in England years back.

"You seem like you know of me," he said.

"Yes, I've read about you before. Don't get me wrong, but it is sort of my job to know about the major thing that happen in England, to assess any threat to the country and be prepared to take action when ordered to," she explained.

"So I'm a threat now, am I?" Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"No," she quickly interjected. "Not you, Mr. Potter, but the dark lord and his followers that you fought. Voldemort, not you," she said, hoping that she didn't offend him somehow. She couldn't care less about offending some people any other day because most of the time they deserved it. This Harry Potter didn't seem like he deserved it, not yet anyway.

She saw the amused smile playing on his lips. "I know, I'm just teasing," he said. "And call me Harry," he added.

"And you can call me Integra," she replied with a small upturned of her lips.


YEET YEET SSKIRT

Harry couldn't believe that he was enjoying himself right now. Integra had turned out to be a pleasant company.

After their dance, they both returned to her table and just had a chit chat. It was a conversation on nothing important in particular, but Harry still enjoyed it nonetheless. From their casual interaction and conversation, Harry learned that Integra was an intelligent woman. She had her own views on politics and even voiced out her concern on certain things that had been happening in England, both in mundane life and wizarding world.

There was something in her eyes that didn't sit well with him, however. He recognized that look for one too many times in his own green one. The eyes of someone that had seen too much. Too much tragedy, too much heartbreak, too much loss and too much of everything. How could someone so young like her have eyes that looked so old, like a child who was forced to grow up before their time.

They spent much time talking, but not even once did she talk about her own life. Harry could relate to that, because he hated talking about himself sometimes. People tended to assume they knew him through his reputation but they certainly didn't know a thing about the real him.

Harry really was curious about her. He wanted to know more about her.

"Integra," he heard a feminine voice called her name. They both whipped their heads towards the source and were surprised to see the Queen herself was walking towards them with her bodyguards in tow.

Both Harry and Integra stood up from their seat and greeted the Queen.

"I see that you're making some effort to socialize Integra," Harry heard the Queen address her. Harry was certain that the Queen sported a look of approval on her face. This only made Harry more curious about Integra. It seemed that Her Majesty was quite fond of her, even going as far as to call her using her first name.

"Good job, Mr. Potter. It seems like you somehow manage to keep her interested in a conversation for more than five minutes," she said turning to him.

Harry smiled charmingly at the Queen and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Integra with a blush dusting her cheeks. "It's nothing quite so amazing Your Majesty, I found her company to be pleasant," he said.

The Queen nodded with approval. "That's good to hear. But I'm afraid I have to steal her for now," she said.

"I understand," he replied politely.

"Come Integra," the Queen ordered. "There's something I need to talk to you about," she said as she walked away from him. Integra threw him a quick look with an apologetic smile on her face before she quickly followed the Queen, walking beside her with a confident step.

Harry sighed. He didn't even get her last name. He hoped she would come to see him to say goodbye before they went home after this ball.

"Harry," he heard Hermione calling his name. He turned to look behind him and saw the couple walking towards him.

"What's up?" He said, quite relieved to see his friends again, feeling lonely all of a sudden. But he was not sure if he liked the smirk or the knowing look on their faces as they stopped in front of him.

"So who's the beautiful girl you were talking to before?" Hermione asked excitedly. "I saw you walked up to her earlier and asked her for a dance. And imagine my surprise when you stay glued to her to start a conversation later." By now, she was looking like a kid with sugar rush and Harry groaned in annoyance. An overly excited Hermione was never good to face, especially when she was trying to prove something.

"Her name is Integra, "Harry said simply.

"Just Integra?" Ron inquired.

"Well, I didn't get her last name," he said with a shrug.

Ron chuckled with glee. "Mate, you are so whipped."

"What? I am not!" He denied looking at Ron incredulously. "We've only just met and I happen to like her company, that's all," Harry said.

"Why are you so defensive? I'm only joking mate...unless," Ron teased him with a laugh.

Harry glared daggers at the red head. If only look could kill, Ron was certainly dead now.

"Oh stop it Ron!" Hermione scolded her husband although she had an amused look on her face.

Great! Harry mentally said. These two would surely team up against him with this topic.

"Okay, okay," Ron ceased his laughter when he saw the dangerous look Harry sent towards him. "Well, if you'd like to know, we've stealthily extracted some information regarding Sir Hellsing from a few of the guests," Ron informed him.

"Oh?" Harry raised an eyebrow, interested to hear more about this. At least these two's attention were diverted from Integra. Or so he thought.

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "Apparently, Sir Hellsing is the Director of the Hellsing Organization, a military organization that deals with anything that poses a threat to the crown and country. They respond and act under the direct order of the Queen herself," Hermione whispered conspiratorially.

"You can imagine what kind of job they do," Ron said looking uncomfortable with the fact.

"The search and destroy kind," Harry said in morbid understanding, while Hermione nodded.


The three friends stood amongst all of the other attendees in the grand ballroom, paying attention as the Queen gave some speech about how important every person standing in the room was, about how they in a way or so had contributed or sacrificed for the country. It was the same old speech that Harry had heard for the last three years. He could even recite every word that was being spoken.

However this year, there was some extra content in the Queen's speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I want to introduce Sir Hellsing who finally able to attend our little gathering," the Queen spoke. "Some of you may already know Sir Hellsing, the Knights especailly, but I'm sure there are others among us who haven't yet had the chance to meet our youngest Knight."

Harry unconsciously nodded when he heard that.

"Sir Hellsing, if you would please step up," the Queen ordered.

"Finally we get to put a face to the name," Ron who stood beside him mumbled in his direction.

"Yeah," Harry drawled. He watched on in interest waiting for Sir Hellsing to stand before them.

But when the object of everyone's interest stepped forward and faced them all, Harry heard some gasp and whispers start among the crowd. His own eyes widened when he noticed who was facing them all beside the Queen.

"Integra?" He muttered in disbelief. Beside him, he could hear Hermione gasped in shock.

"Harry! Is she Sir Hellsing?" Hermione demanded.

"Wait a second," Ron said. "Sir Hellsing is a girl?" He blurted out, catching the attention of the graying man in an expensive suit in front of them.

"I can understand your feeling young man," he said with a similar shocked look on his face. "I also thought that Sir Hellsing is a man. To think that a little girl runs that prestigious Hellsing organization," he added with a shake of his head before he turned back to look forward.

"Harry?" Hermione inquired.

Harry was lost for woirds, he too was shocked by the development. "I don't know," he said quietly watching the girl he danced with earlier. Gone was the sweet smile she had when she danced with him, instead she bore a cold mask on her face, standing there with the air of icy superiority waving off from her. It made him suppress a shiver seeing her so emotionless like that.

"It's nice to finally meet everyone here in an official manner. I am Sir Integra Fairbrook Hellsing. I will do my best to keep the country safe from any threat or danger," she said briefly with a serious expression.

"That's to be expected coming from Sir Hellsing," the Queen commented with an amuse expression. "Now, let us continue our celebration."

Harry saw both of them stepped down from the podium to join the rest of them on the floor.

"You sure know how to pick them Harry," Ron stated with a teasing grin on his face.

Harry scoffed at what his best friend was insinuating. "Ronald, I don't know how many times I should tell you that there's nothing between Integra and I," he said.

"We'll see," Ron said, not giving up.

"I swear the two of you look so good together," Hermione threw in her own dice.

"Hermione," Harry warned with an annoyed expression.

"Alright, alright. I'll back off," Hermione said. "For now," she added much to his dismay.

Seriously, didn't they have something better to do than trying to hook him up with a girl? This was not the first time that they brought out this matter, and look who the girl in question was this time. The Sir Integra Hellsing. A knight nonetheless.

He looked longingly towards her direction, where she was busy conversing with Sir Island and Sir Penwood. He wished she was just an ordinary girl. It would be easier to approach her, to become her friend, if that were the case.

Harry let out a heavy sigh. "She's one of the Knights of the Round Table, Hermione," he was shocked when he heard his own voice uttering that. He didn't mean to say it out loud. And he was particularly surprised to hear the disappointment in his own voice.

Harry saw the knowing and victorious look on his two best friend's faces. Alright, she and Ron might be onto something with their assumption. He did like Integra, he greatly enjoyed her company. But that didn't mean that they loved each other. They were not even friends in the first place. And knowing who she really was kind of made him feel intimidated, despite his own infamy.

"So what?" Ron stated instead.

Harry was startled at that. He was shocked to hear the venom in Ron's voice. He looked hard at Ron and he saw his friend sported a stern and accusing look on his face.

Ron could act like an immature boy sometimes, but it was times like this, among other times, that Harry was grateful to have him as a friend. Really, Ron could knock some sense into his thick skull without even saying anything. He was blunt bordering with no tact sometimes, but he was honest in his act and opinion.

Harry let a small smile grace his lips. He understood what Ron was accusing him of right away. A coward. "I get it Ron," he said quietly. "I don't know why I'm feeling so insecure. I'll get my sense back now," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head out of pure habit when he was nervous or embarrassed.

"Well, you better be," Ron growled dangerously. "I don't want to deal with a brooding Harry ever again," he said suppressing a shiver, looking lost in his memory.

"I don't brood," Harry exclaimed, quite insulted at the accusation thrown at him.

"Yeah right," Ron sneered at him.

"Okay, stop it you two," Hermione quickly interjected stopping them both with their childish behavior. Yeah, they both could still behave like a five year old sometimes, despite their age.

He saw Hermione turn her attention to him with determination. "Harry, who cares if she is one the Knights of the Round Table. She's still a human being," she said gently. "You're also a great person, you're the savior of the wizarding world, the defeater of Voldemort."

"Yeah, you're Harry Potter," Ron added as if that point alone should have made him unafraid of anything.

"I see the way you danced with and talked to her Harry. I can see that you're happy," Hermione told him. "It's not that I want you to ask her to be your girlfriend or anything. Just be friends or something. You need someone who is able to make you smile and have a good time like she did tonight," she said pointedly.

"Hermione's right mate. I haven't seen you act so freely like you did tonight since forever," Ron uttered. "Don't you feel good yourself when you're with her?"

Harry was silent without any answer but his mind was surely busy trying to analyze what he was feeling, trying to make sense of everything.

Did he feel good when he was with her?

He felt more than good when they were together. It was only a short time, but Integra Hellsing made him feel more alive than he could ever be. Something would have to be done about that, Harry knew very well, but for now he would settle for being friends with the woman.


"You're not leaving without saying goodbye are you?"

The voice stopped Integra right on her track towards the double doors of the grand ballroom. She turned around to see the handsome young man she was dancing with earlier standing behind her, his hands stuck in his pants' pockets. He had a grin on his face and his eyes glinted dangerously with mischief.

"Harry," she breathed out his name. "I did try to find you earlier to say goodbye, but I couldn't find you in the crowd," she explained fidgeting a little on her feet. She was disappointed when she couldn't find him earlier, for she really wanted to bid him goodbye. She didn't want him to think her as a rude person for leaving just like that after what had transpired between them tonight. "I thought you had already left," she added.

Harry Potter really left an impression on her. A good impression. She enjoyed his company and she felt like she could talk to him about anything. She felt like she could act like herself with him, without feeling like she was being scrutinized.

"It must have been when I went to the balcony for a little breather then," he said closing the distance between them.

"I see," she nodded in understanding.

"Listen," he said before a pause. Integra could see that he was nervous like he was unsure of what to say and whether or not he should say it. "Do you mind if I introduce you to my friends?" He finished.

Integra was a little startled. She stared at the man standing in front of her with a calculative glance. She didn't expect that to come out of his mouth. He was fidgeting a little and looked rather uncomfortable with a light blush on his face but she could feel the sincerity coming from him. He was genuine with his intention.

"Yes, I suppose so," she answered albeit a little unsure herself. "I mean, I would love to meet your friends," she said with a small smile.

"Great," Harry said enthusiastically with a blinding smile that lit up his whole face.

Integra inwardly smile in amusement. He just reminded her of happy children knocking on doors during Halloween, going for trick or treat with their friends grinning excitedly when they were given sweets. She saw him waving towards a man and a woman their age and they walked towards them hand in hand. Integra quickly deduced them to be a couple, and she had a good guess on who these two were. They must be his best friends, the one who stood by him during the war.

"Integra, these are my friends Ronald Weasley and his wife Hermione Granger-Weasley," Harry introduced once the couple stopped short in front of them. "Ron and Hermione, this is Sir Integra Hellsing."

"Hello Sir Hellsing, nice to meet you," the woman, Hermione greeted her with a smile as she held out a hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs Weasley. And just call me Integra while we're here," she replied, shaking her hand with a genuine smile on her face.

"Then you have to call me Hermione," she said in return.

"Alright then, Hermione."

"And you can call me Ron by the way. Happy to meet you," the red haired man interjected.

"Happy to meet you too Ron," Integra said shaking his hand as well. "I trust that the three of you have had a good time at the ball?"

"Well it's not entirely boring and the food is okay," Ron said enthusiastically earning a hard slap to his arm from his wife. "Ouch, Hermione," he whined looking at his wife with a pout.

"Oh hush you big baby," Hermione said before she turned to Integra. "It's typical of Ron, he always thinks of food," she said in a matter of fact voice.

"Hey that's not true," Ron exclaimed while Integra could hear Harry let out an amused chuckle at his friend's misery.

"This ball is quite fascinating really, we meet new people and we met you today," Hermione said with a smile ignoring his sulking husband beside her.

Integra gave a small laugh. Integra could tell that Harry was surrounded by lively and interesting people. "I suppose you're right," Integra commented. "I never bothered to come to this ball before, but now I'm glad that I've come. I meet three interesting people today," she said meaningfully.

Integra saw Hermione was practically beaming when she said that. "I'm glad that you like us as much as we like you," Hermione said. "Our friend here has taken quite a liking towards you. So I hope to see more of you in the future," Hermione said eagerly.

"Ron and I are going to see someone over there for now. We'll leave you two to catch up. Bye Integra, See you soon," she said with a sugary sweet smile before she grabbed Ron's arm and steer him away from where Harry and her were standing.

Talk about a speedy exit. Integra didn't know what the hell that was about. She was a little confused with that but she kept her silence on the matter. "Sure," she replied although those two were long gone. She turned to Harry instead and saw the annoyed look on his face as his eyes trailed after his two best friends. The annoyed look however disappeared when his eyes landed on her.


Harry watched his friends retreating back until they disappeared from his sight. At least Hermione had the decency to leave Integra and him alone after she saw the murderous glare he sent her way. Trust Hermione to take a less-than-subtle approach to try and set him up with Integra. His face was red with embarrassment at what Hermione had been insinuating. He was lucky that Integra was confused and didn't catch up on the whole thing.

"Nice friends you have there," she said as soon as their eyes met.

"Yeah," Harry drawled. "They can be a handful sometimes," he added with a smile.

Integra chuckled at that. "I get what you mean," she uttered with a shrug.

Harry nodded absentmindedly and both of them were quiet for some times. Harry could see that Integra was uncomfortable with the pregnant silence between them and Harry himself was having a mental battle over how to ask her for a date in the future. There were so many things playing in his mind at the moment. What if she declined? What if she was repulsed at the idea of meeting him even if it was only for a casual date? What if she didn't like him?

There were so many what ifs he could think of. He mentally sighed. To hell with all that, he thought silently. If she rejected the idea, there was nothing he could do. It was not like it was going to be the end of his life, so he decided to man up and just ask her the question.

"Say, Integra," he started looking her confidently in the eyes.

"Yes?" She inquired.

"Do you want to meet up and go for coffee some day? As friends?" He asked in what he hoped to be in a casual way. He hoped she didn't detect the slight tremors in his voice.

Harry saw her eyes widened at the question. The silence stretch between them and Harry thought he was going to get rejected for sure but then, her eyes softened and she gave him a small smile.

"I would love to," she replied.

Harry was happy to hear that. He was sure he was grinning like an idiot right now. "Great," he said. He watched as Integra fumbled with her clutch before she produced a card from it.

"Here," she said as she handed him the card with her contact information printed on it. "Just give me a call and let me know the date."

Harry took the offered card with a smile. "Sure, I will call you soon," he replied.

Integra nodded at him. "I need to go Harry, my driver is waiting for me," she said and his mile vanished at that. He hoped he get to spend more time with her.

"I understand," he uttered with a nod. "I'll accompany you outside," he said.

"Sure," Integra said as they walked away from the room.


"Aww… They are just too adorable," Ron cooed from where he and Hermione was standing behind a pillar, spying in interest on the way Harry interacted with Integra.

"You're right," Hermione agreed. "Just look at the smile on his face," she commented feeling giddy at the new development, barely suppressing her happiness for her best friend.

"They look good together," Ron said. "I hope he asks her out."

"Of course he will. I'm sure these two will end up being together. At least I know Harry likes her and it's hard to see him taking interest in a woman like this before. I'm sure he will ask her out," Hermione stated sagely.

Ron nodded at his wife deduction. "I'm sure Integra likes him too," he commented as he watched Harry and Integra walked out of the room. A smirk lit up on his face as he thought of something. "This is going to be so much better than those dramas on TV," he said with glee.


Harry and Integra walked in complete silence towards her car. Her driver was already waiting to open the door for his mistress but Integra told him to wait inside instead.

"Thank you for today, Harry, I enjoyed your company," she said.

"I'm the one who should thank you. You're a great dancer, and pleasant company yourself," Harry complimented with a cheeky grin. Look at him now, with his confidence back, he was flirting shamelessly with the heir of Hellsing.

He saw her smile at that. "Goodbye Harry," Integra said.

"Bye for now Integra," Harry replied back as he opened the door for her. Integra thanked him and stepped inside before Harry closed the door after her.

He watched as the car drove away from there with a smile still etched onto his face.

"Things are going to get interesting," he whispered slowly.