A week after their arrival in London, Harry woke up to find that the bed beside him was empty and the fire alarm was ringing. Cursing, he jumped out of bed, not bothering to put on anything more than the boxers he was wearing and ran down the stairs to where he could see some smoke coming out of the kitchen.

"Ginny!" he called as he entered, wafting his arm through the light cloud of smoke to find her cursing up a storm and holding a tray of bacon and sausages with oven gloves on. When Harry saw her clearly and met her eyes, he saw embarrassment and disappointment there, before she turned away and threw the whole tray in the empty sink.

"I can't cook," she said, anger at herself in her tone. Harry had to smile at her but he only received a scowl in response. "I can clean and I can do the washing but I can't cook! How in hell's name do you do it?"

Harry shook his head and strode over to her, wiping a bit of egg from the side of her face. In the pan were some scrambled eggs which actually looked quite healthy. "These are good!" he encouraged.

Ginny's scowl did not alleviate. "Don't lie."

"I'm not!" He found a bowl in their cupboard and pulled it out, scraping the scrambled eggs into it. "Just put some toast on," he said, nodding at the bread bin, where a loaf of bread was poking out. Ginny nodded and hurried to do just that, while Harry attempted to save the eggs with some salt and pepper.

When they sat down a few moments later, with buttered toast and scrambled eggs, Harry noticed that Ginny looked rather disgruntled. "You can't be good at everything, Gin," he told her as he poured some orange juice into her glass.

She picked it up and sipped at it, before placing it back down onto the coasters that they had picked up at the Tower of London a few days earlier. "It's not that I want to be good at everything," she said, "I'm not Hermione." Harry snorted. "It's just that I don't want to go back to my mum and have to tell her that I let you cook for me. She'll think I'm a failure."

Harry shrugged, ignoring Ginny's affronted glare. "So what if she thinks you're a failure? You don't need to cook. I can cook for both of us. We're not living in the fifties, Ginny. I don't want to come home every day to my dinner on the table every night."

Ginny sighed. "I can just imagine the arguments I'll have with my mum."

Harry grinned, reaching over to take her hand. "Well, I'll be there to back you up and tell her that I'll be your house husband while you go out and earn the money." Ginny snickered.

"Husband, hey, Potter?" she teased and Harry felt his face redden slightly. Ginny grinned and squeezed his hand before taking it away so that she could eat her food. Harry watched her with admiration. Perhaps Mrs Weasley would say that they were doing things wrong, but Harry couldn't imagine why.

XXX

Harry and Ginny arrived at Hampton Court Palace by ten o' clock and were inside, with tickets and a guide, far quicker than they had expected. Each of them was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap, ostensibly because of the glorious June weather, but more accurately because they hid their features. Though their faces hardly appeared on the muggle news very often anymore, the last thing they needed was somebody recognising them, even though their hair and eye colours were different. It was better to be safe than sorry, as they had learned by going to Edinburgh.

Harry literally had to drag Ginny in the other direction when she started eyeing up the bookshop, attached to the giftshop. From almost a week of doing touristy things in London, he knew that Ginny was a fiend with a gift shop. He truly did not mind her spending his money - and he was not exactly being frugal himself - but they had made the mistake of buying things early on in a visit before and had had to lug a big bag of books around all day. Harry mentally assigned an hour for the shops at the end of their visit.

"Come on, Gin, let's go and check out the maze," Harry encouraged. Ginny grinned.

They wandered around the palace grounds, getting lost in the maze, and enjoying their picnic in the garden. Harry pulled out the camera they'd purchased to take some pictures of her, looking pretty in the gardens. At first, she was a bit reluctant but then she started to pose around the garden, so that they were laughing raucously by the time they finally arrived into the palace.

It had been Ginny's idea to visit Hampton Court, after reading a book they'd bought at a history book shop in Edinburgh, about Henry the Eighth, who had preferred this palace above all. The rooms were grand and the paintings were exquisite. It was a rich place. They read the guide and enjoyed their day. One room was full of costumes that they could try on, something they took full advantage of, having the assistant take photos of them.

Finally, they reached the kitchens, on the bottom floor. The kitchens were always the last spot on historical tours, because they always handily let you out in the courtyard, where there was usually an ice cream shop and a gift store, where tourists could spend their money.

They wandered through the kitchens, Harry teasing Ginny about how much she would have struggled to cook in this time, never mind now, resulting in Ginny giving Harry a little shove, while he laughed. He lost his balance slightly and spun away, his feet catching themselves finally as he reached the end of the kitchen, where there was an arch leading to the pantry.

Harry narrowed his eyes when he saw a glimmer of light. "What is it?" Ginny asked, her head popping up next to his. Harry nodded at the glimmer. The only thing Harry could compare it too was the light that peeked out on Castle Street in Edinburgh, where magical people could discover the magical street.

Harry approached. The glimmer of light grew, until, next to the open pantry, another room grew, a large wooden door appearing as if by magic - definitely by magic - similar to the door that had been outside of Snape's potion storeroom. "Ginny," Harry said in awe, reaching to open the door.

Ginny looked a bit reluctant to enter but she did follow Harry eventually. "We should be quick," Ginny whispered. "There might be some warning system if someone enters this room so that they can check they're not muggles."

Harry nodded quickly and, looking over his shoulder, he turned on his camera, quickly snapping some shots of the room, before backing away and closing the door. They left the kitchens, and the palace structure itself, quickly.

When, a few minutes later, they were sitting on the outdoor furniture, each with an ice cream, Harry got the camera out again and opened up the pictures that he had taken of the store room. "They are potion ingredients," he said quietly between licks of the fudge ice cream. Ginny's eyebrows shot up. Her ice cream was bright green, mint choc chip and she had got some of it above her lip, giving her an ice cream moustache.

"Gin," he said, trying to hold in his laughter as he reached across to wipe her top lip and then suck his finger into his mouth. He winced. "Mint ice cream should be outlawed." Ginny rolled her eyes, licking her ice cream defiantly.

"There is chocolate in this too," she said defensively. "You don't think that Henry the Eighth was magical, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure. I don't suppose that he would have to have been, to have potions ingredients. Anybody can practise potions. The spell on the storeroom may have been added more recently."

Ginny sighed. "But, if it was a common practice, we would know about it. Henry the Eighth accused Anne Boleyn of being a witch. If everybody practised potions, surely he wouldn't have got away with that." Harry nodded consideringly. Ginny took the camera off him and flicked through the photos. "But it is possible that some of his men were magical."

"What would they have used the potions for?"

Ginny didn't look up. "What we use them for, I suppose, and for love potions." Harry furrowed his brow. Ginny turned the camera around to him, zooming in on a shelf of ingredients. "Look at these, Harry. They are the most basic ingredients for a love potion. My mum taught me how to make one."

"Your mum taught you how to make a love potion?" Harry asked incredulously. Ginny tutted and zoomed in again.

"Think, Harry, if Henry's men were using love potions, maybe that would explain how he got his wives to marry him. It might even explain why he was so infatuated with Anne of Cleves and then suddenly wasn't. His men may have stopped using the potions or Anne may have figured it out or-"

Harry nodded. "Interesting, very interesting. I wonder how much of history is magical that we just don't know about."

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe we should find out."

Harry raised his eyebrows in question. "What do you mean?"

"We have so much time, now. Once we're out of the country, maybe we should just visit historical sites and see if any magic lies in them."

Harry grinned. "And love of history has nothing to do with it?"

Ginny's smile was sheepish. "Maybe just a little bit."

XXX

The beach close to the farmhouse was one of Sirius' favourite places in the world. When he had declared that, Zoe had nearly mentioned the beautiful things she had seen while she lived in Peru or the trips she had made across South America with Lu. But Sirius' face was so earnest, so loving, that she didn't say anything at all. He had not had the opportunity to travel like she had and, anyway, this beach was pretty fantastic. It was quiet, because it was very difficult to access, unless you had magic, and the waves were good enough to surf in. The sand was soft and there was no litter due to a lack of tourists. It was as though they had their own private beach and they all loved it.

They had arrived two hours ago. Zoe had been in the ocean with Sirius earlier but now was lying on the beach, with a towel beneath her and a book in her hands. Remus lay next to her, though he was no longer reading his book, watching Tonks, Sirius and Luisa have fun in the ocean.

Together, Zoe and Remus watched as Sirius picked Luisa up and threw her, hearing her shrieks of laughter from their position, even from quite a way away. "He's good with her," Remus commented. Zoe smiled. He was. She was very grateful that Sirius didn't see Luisa as a nuisance, but as a benefit of his relationship with Zoe.

Their relationship that was actually not a relationship. They slept in the same bed but had yet to kiss, never mind anything else. They didn't speak of relationships, though they spoke of many other things. It was very frustrating but Zoe didn't want to break it up, in case Sirius had a reason for not saying anything. Maybe he was nervous. Merlin knew that Zoe was.

"Have you spoken to him yet?" Remus asked. Zoe held in an irritated sigh.

"You're getting boring, Remus," she said. Remus gave her a knowing look.

"And you're getting old."

Zoe glared at him but she understood his meaning. She was wasting time. Shaking her head, she said, "Fine. You and Tonks can take Lu out this evening and I'll do something about it."

Remus waggling his eyebrows earned him a slap over the head that had him laughing and picking up his book again.

XXX

Remus and Tonks had left as soon as they were all finished in the showers, washing the sea water and sand from their bodies. Lu had even put a nice outfit on for the occasion. Remus and Tonks had teased Zoe while she faffed around trying to cook a nice dinner until she had shooed them away. She had showered first so that she could start cooking and Sirius went in last, thanks to some machinations by Remus and Tonks, so that Zoe could surprise him with an empty house and dinner.

The Weasley brothers were out at the Burrow anyway, along with Fleur, meaning that Zoe and Sirius truly were alone, making Zoe more and more nervous, until she told herself to stop being so stupid and forced her hands to still. The food had started to smell good. It smelled like her kitchen in Peru. She smiled. She was giving Sirius a little part of the life that she and Zoe had had before. The life that could have been his, if Zoe had only told him about her assault. Swallowing, she shoved the thought of Lucius Malfoy out of her mind. He didn't matter anymore. Sirius mattered. This mattered.

She heard the bathroom door open and then close. Inhaling deeply, she looked down at what she was wearing again. A yellow top and tight jeans, with her boots. It would do. She didn't feel self-conscious in it. She felt comfortable and pretty and that was all she had wanted. She exhaled.

Sirius came downstairs a few moments later, fully dressed, all in black. "What smells so good?" he called from the bottom of the stairs. Zoe smiled as she mixed the cake batter that was going to be their dessert. He entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Zo, where is everybody?" he asked. Zoe turned around and met his eyes.

"I sent them out," she said quietly. Sirius furrowed his brow. "I wanted to speak with you. Will you sit down?"

He sat down at one side of the table. Zoe sat at the end, next to him, after she had plated up their meals. "This looks amazing, Zoe. What's going on?"

He was so cute in his confusion. "I love you, Sirius," she said honestly.

"I love you too," he replied immediately, making Zoe grin.

"We're too old to fool around."

Sirius scoffed. "We're not so old."

"I don't ever want to be with anybody except you," Zoe continued, ignoring his comment. Sirius smiled, a twinge between his eyes suggesting to Zoe that he still didn't know where this was going.

"Of course I don't ever want to be with anybody except you, Zoe. You know that."

Zoe sighed, taking a sip of her wine. "I don't, Sirius. We've never said it." She watched his throat bob. "I just - I want to know that you're my partner. I want to know that I can kiss you whenever I like. I want to be a family."

Sirius took her hand across the table. "I'm sorry, Zoe. You deserve better than me. I didn't know how to say any of that, but you've just said it all perfectly." Zoe ducked her head. "I wanted to live together so that we can be a family, so that we can be together, but I was too - I don't know. I screwed things up with Harry a few times and I was scared of screwing them up with you, I guess."

Zoe shook her head, squeezing his hand. "You never have to worry about screwing up with me."

Sirius' eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled. "Good, because I probably will, a lot."

Zoe chuckled. "I know."

Sirius took his hand from hers and placed it on her cheek, leaning across their food and stopping just before he kissed her, his eyes locked on hers. Zoe smiled, genuine happiness flooding through her veins. Sirius smiled too and then kissed her, finally, wonderfully.

XXX

They arrived at the cinema with ten minutes until it started. They had eaten at a pizzeria and bought Lu a huge ice cream sundae, which she had adored. Remus and Lu went to buy tickets while Tonks purchased them some sweets to share. "I'm just going to run to the toilet," Lu said once Remus had the tickets in his hands. Remus nodded and pointed to where Tonks was, to tell her where to meet them. She nodded quickly and dashed off.

Remus meandered over to where Tonks was choosing a few packets of sweets. "Tough choices?" he asked from behind her. She looked up from her intense study of the options. Tonks laughed. She was blonde tonight and her eyes were bright blue, but her nose and her lips and the way she held herself were all Tonks.

"I got you some chocolate already, don't you worry," she teased. Remus grinned and impulsively pressed a peck to her lips. Tonks smiled even brighter when she pulled away.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

A burst of laughter came from Tonks' lips. "Remus, love, what did you think I was?" she asked incredulously. Remus blushed slightly.

"I just felt guilty that I had never asked," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You're cute," Tonks said, laughing, and Remus scowled. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. "Yes, I will be your girlfriend."

When Luisa came back to join them, Remus was beaming.

XXX

Tonks sneaked down the stairs in the farmhouse, cursing every time she stood on a squeaky step. Everytime she came down these steps, she thought about fixing them, or at least drawing a line on the ones that squeaked so that she would skip them but she never got around to it. And the last thing that she wanted to do was wake the house.

It was eight o'clock and the house was silent. Remus, Tonks and Lu had got in past eleven last night and the house had been empty. The Weasleys weren't home yet and Sirius and Zoe were nowhere to be seen. They put Luisa in Sirius' old room, so that they didn't walk in on Sirius and Zoe in the middle of - anything.

So quiet was the house that, when walking into the kitchen and finding someone else awake, Tonks dropped the two mugs that had held the tea she and Remus had enjoyed last night before tea and let out a squawk. Fleur turned from the sink at the sound, her big eyes blinking.

Cursing, Tonks pulled her wand out of her holster and flicked it, fixing the mugs and sending them to join the pile of washing up that Fleur was completing. "Bonjour," the quarter-veela said, her eyes dancing with amusement. Tonks grinned sheepishly.

"Good morning, Fleur," she said. "I didn't think anyone else was up."

Fleur chuckled, shaking her head. "You can 'elp me make breakfast." Tonks agreed, though did add a disclaimer that she was rather clumsy in the kitchen. "You can wash up then."

Half an hour later, when the first residents of the house started to float in, Tonks and Fleur - mostly Fleur - had cooked up an entire English breakfast, laid out on the table with warming charms. Tonks was already digging in, while Fleur finished making the coffee. "Morning," Remus said, kissing Tonks, despite the bacon and eggs in her mouth. He gave her an amused look that made Tonks grin.

Charlie and Percy followed Remus and then Bill and Luisa, who looked half asleep still. "Fleur sent a patronus to the other house to invite them for breakfast," Tonks informed Luisa, who was looking around the kitchen in search of something. Luisa nodded a little hesitantly.

Ten minutes later, when Sirius and Zoe arrived, looking glowy and happy, they took the last empty seats at the table, ignoring the catcalls and teasing. "We're going to have to buy a bigger table," Charlie said with amusement. Tonks smiled at the thought.

Sirius' smile was almost sad as he said, "We'll have to make sure there's room for Harry and Ginny." There were nods around the table. "When they're back, our big family will be complete." Sirius turned to Zoe, who looked up at him with big mushy eyes. Tonks narrowed her eyes. She hoped she and Remus never looked that mushy in front of other people. When Sirius bent to kiss Zoe, Tonks reached for a piece of toast and threw it at him, hitting the back of his head. He turned to laugh, while Fleur shouted at Tonks in French for throwing her carefully prepared breakfast.

Tonks grinned, winking over at Luisa, who was looking around the table with barely-concealed glee.