When she woke up, the rain had slowed to a slow drizzle that she could hear bouncing off the roof. Her stomach was starting to turn again, but there was nothing in it.
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking into the dark. She could see the shadow cast by the street lights outside along the wall. It felt really late, but it was too dark to see what time the clock said. She shifted to try and get comfortable again.
"You awake?" Harry whispered, placing his hand gingerly on her shoulder. "Liv?"
"Yes," she said, turning over to face him. He put his hand to her forehead, checking her for a fever.
"Lumos," he said, reaching for his wand. She briefly saw the small glass bottles lined up on his side of the bed as he fumbled to redose her.
"What time is it?" She asked, after swallowing the medicine.
"Five thirty," he said.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. She really didn't feel well, she thought, as she wiped at the sweat collecting on her forehead. Work was going to be tough today.
"I wrote Rutherford last night and let him know you won't be in," Harry said.
She sighed angrily, unhappy that he had done that without her signing off on it. "I need to be at work. We have to debrief on the Dodger case, plus it's Monday and I have loads to do. If I don't go to work, the entire Research department's productivity is going to be behind for the week."
"You're quite ill, Liv," he said, gently. "You need your rest, or you're going to be down for the count all week."
She knew he was right. "Are you going to go to work? I need to know what happens at the debriefing so I can allocate my resources for the rest of the week."
"I'm going to work from home so I can keep an eye on you," he said. "But I'll go in this afternoon for the debriefing, and give you a full report when I get home. Okay?"
She nodded, as whatever potions he had given her began to kick in. She found herself getting comfortable before drifting off once more.
The morning came, bringing light and a dense, humid heat with it. Her fever surged higher, though her eyes were never open for more than a few minutes. Her skin felt like there were bugs crawling on it, as she fitfully, feverishly maneuvered in and out of consciousness.
Harry spent his morning working from the bedroom, redosing her whenever possible. Her fever was high, but he knew they had to ride it out. Once it broke, she would feel much better. She tossed and turned, throwing the quilt off herself only to burrow under it once more a few minutes later.
An owl tapped at the window next to the bed, and he lunged for it, not wanting it to disturb Liv's sleep. He wasn't expecting mail, but immediately recognized Hermione's stationary. Curious, he sat back down and unfurled the letter.
Dearest Harry-
I hope your latest mission went well. It feels like it's been ages since we've seen you and I hope all is well at home, truly.
We were lucky enough to run into Liv and Teddy in Diagon Alley over the weekend. She's just as you described, charming and thoughtful and kind. I see why you are so drawn to her, and her relationship with Teddy was darling to experience. I think seeing how much that boy adores her has begun the process of endearing Liv to my stubborn husband.
We were in Diagon Alley getting Ron a suit for Charlie's upcoming wedding… I'd been hoping to talk to you in person about this, but you seem to be dodging us and it's now only a few weeks away. Can you believe it? I know you'll be there, but I'm wondering (and hoping) you'll bring Liv. I know Ginny will be amiable, and the general consensus of the family is that they're happy you're happy. Really. I think seeing her interactions with Teddy may particularly endear her to them, if that's something you'll admit to caring about.
Can we please make plans? For dinners, drinks, … anything? I really want to get to know this woman, who makes you so very happy, and I'm going to start bypassing you if I can't get you to cooperate.
All my love,
Hermione
He sighed, knowing he had been avoiding them. He placed the letter to the side, making a mental note to respond to it when he got back from his meeting.
A few feet away, Liv whimpered and twitched, signs of tense dreams. Normally she was quiet and still next to him, but not today. Whatever illness had hit Teddy then Liv didn't seem to be kidding around. It hit them hard.
He packed all this work things up and got dressed. He knew he had to be at the debriefing- he had led the Aurors in the field, it was his responsibility. But it was hard to leave her for the second time in a few days.
Before he left, he topped her up on Quik-No-Sick, opening her mouth and pouring a dropper's worth in. Her cheeks were flushed, the small hairs along her hairline damp with sweat.
Her eyes opened briefly, and focused on his face. "Thank you for taking care of me, Harry."
"You're welcome," he said, pressing a kiss into the top of her head.
She woke up, not covered in sweat for the first time in what felt like days. The humidity had broken as a thunderstorm rolled in.
She rolled over to check the clock and saw it was nearly five in the afternoon. She felt like she'd slept forever. She stretched, before setting her feet on the ground. Her body was still achey, but her stomach felt settled and her fever seemed broken. Maybe she had turned a corner.
She wondered where Harry was, and guessed he had been detained at work, so she hopped in the shower while she waited for him to return.
He came through the Floo, hours after he had planned. He'd gone into work for the debriefing and somehow been pulled in different directions for a few hours before feeling confident enough to leave.
He'd sat through the meeting, had to meet with Rutherford, meet with his own direct reports, and even swung by Liv's office to bring her the files awaiting her review. He knew that would please her. When he'd met with Evanson, briefly, she'd seemed very sheepish and apologetic. It felt good. He could only hope that she would offer Liv the apology she deserved.
He shed his boots, then his jacket. He untucked his dress shirt and began unbuttoning it as he walked up the stairs. He could hear the shower running in his bathroom upstairs, and walked a little faster. He had expected Liv to still be asleep. He would have rushed home faster if he knew she was awake.
As he opened the door to his bedroom, she was exiting the bathroom, wrapped in only a towel. Her dark hair was tied back in a braid, her damp fringe sticking out at odd angles over her forehead. There was a certain clarity in her eyes that had been missing for the last day or so.
Her face lit up when she saw him. "Welcome home. How did it go?"
"I'm sorry it took me so long," he said, tossing his work clothing in the hamper. "I have all your reports and files downstairs. How are you feeling?"
"I think my fever has broken," she said. She stepped towards him, offering her forehead for his judgement. He smoothed her fringe out of her face before placing the back of his hand against her forehead. It was slightly warm, but far cooler than the scorching fevers she had endured over the last day.
"I'd say so," he murmured, a small smile lighting up his face.
"I think I could probably eat something."
"Of course," he exclaimed. "Why don't I go get something together for dinner and we can go over what happened in the office?"
She nodded. "I'll be right down."
When she made it downstairs about ten minutes later, there were two bowls of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches waiting. Harry had brought her everything that was on her desk for her to go through and had a complete transcript of the debriefing for her to read.
He had really gone above and beyond to make it easy for her to rest and get better while still being able to do as much work as possible. As she ate, she looked at him and her chest swelled with gratitude. She was lucky to have him. Their relationship was still new, tentative— but it felt like something Liv didn't know she was missing.
They were both quiet as they poured over their work. Liv sorted through her incoming cases, figuring out who to assign where. Luckily, Monday had a light load of intakes, leaving the department in decent shape despite her absence.
"What do you think," she asked, between bites. "Can I go back to work tomorrow?"
"You feel up to it?" he asked, blowing the steam off a spoonful of hot soup.
She considered it for a moment, before nodding. "I think so. I'd really like to get the ball rolling on this new case with Spencer."
"Interesting, right?" he asked, picking up his own copy of the file. "This is one of the weirdest cases I've read in awhile."
"Rutherford's asked me to take a look at it before handing it off," she mentioned.
"I'm sure you'll find sense in it, where the rest of us only see chaos."
She blushed, feeling proud that he thought so highly of her. She felt good. As the physical symptoms of her illness faded, she was gaining a whole new sense of clarity. However, one thing remained to bother her: Ginny's visit. While she wanted to shove it aside, it felt impossible. It was a heavy weight resting on her sense of peace.
"So…" Liv began, chasing the last bite of soup with her spoon.
"Hm?" Harry asked, looking up at her over his glasses.
"If you don't want me to go to that wedding with you, I really won't be upset." She tried to keep her voice level, like she was completely confident in what she was saying.
He sighed, and slipped his glasses off his nose before rubbing his forehead. "That's really not what I meant for you to take away from that encounter."
"It's okay," she said, though her voice wavered. "Look, I know that it's got to be awkward, bringing a new …friend around your ex-wife's family—"
"You're not just my friend, Liv—"
"And I want to be sensitive about—"
"Liv, please," he asked, cutting her off before she vocalized her insecurities any further. "I am upset with Ginny for a few reasons, but I wasn't upset that she invited you."
"Oh?" She asked, idly scratching her dry quill against paper.
"The first reason being that she showed up without notice, and I'm sure it was a bit of a shock to you to come home and have my ex here in the space we share. I want this place to feel safe to you, and I hope it still does—"
"Of course," she breathed. "I mean, who else can get through your wards?"
"Ron and Hermione," he said. "Andromeda has some privileges. I'll teach them to Teddy when he's older."
"None of those people would make me feel unsafe here," Liv said, quietly. "But your concern... means a lot to me."
"And I'm upset because I wanted the opportunity to talk about the wedding with you," he explained. "We've been so busy with work lately, and I've rather enjoyed keeping you to myself... and I wanted to start sharing you when you were ready. I don't want to force you into anything."
"You're not," she assured him.
"And I kind of figured we would spend time with Ron and Hermione before I introduced you to everyone."
"Well, maybe you can write them and see if they're free next weekend."
"I know you probably think it's a bit odd," he said. "To still be close to my ex wife's family-"
"Family isn't always blood," she reminded him. "I understand."
She reached out for his hand, grasping it. He squeezed back.
"You want to go?" he asked, somewhat skeptically.
She nodded. "If you'd like to take me, I'd be delighted to go with you."
A genuine smile turned the corners of his lips up. "Sounds like a date then."
Her Tuesday morning had been absolutely nuts. What she had missed Monday was added onto her normal daily tasks, and she spent the first hours of the day trying to squeeze multiple days work out of a single day's time.
She'd just dismissed the interns from a meeting when there was a knock at her door. She took off her reading glasses and called for them to come in.
"Got a sec?" Harry asked, looking rather eager. He carried a brown bag in his hands.
"Come in," she said. "Shut the door behind you."
He quietly closed the door, before taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite her desk.
"I've only got a few," she explained, finishing the cup of lukewarm coffee in front of her.
He ripped open the paper bag, which she recognized as coming from the cafeteria, to hand her a yogurt parfait and a piece of banana bread. "Here, I had to go upstairs to interview someone and grabbed you some food while I was up there. I'm sure your day's been barmy."
"Oh, you're the best," she said quickly, grabbing for the yogurt. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until the food had been set before her. "Have I mentioned how lovely you are, lately?"
He smiled. "I spoke with Ron this morning, too."
"Are they free this weekend?" she asked, after swallowing one of the strawberries that was lodged among the parfait. She'd had a few cups of coffee— two, maybe three, she'd lost track. She was so caffeinated she was practically reverberating.
"Yeah, on Saturday," he said. "Ron wants to go flying, so I'll probably do that in the afternoon with him, then we'll all get together to have dinner. Is that okay?"
"Oh, yeah," she said. "Yeah, absolutely. I know you haven't flown in… weeks…"
"You're welcome to come with-"
She couldn't help but laugh, and he chuckled as well, the corners of his eyes crinkling in happiness.
"Yeah, I didn't think so," he admitted. "But you're welcome to, if you change your mind."
"Thanks," she said. "Is Teddy coming over this weekend?"
"Yeah, he's sleeping over Friday," he explained. "But Andromeda is taking him… somewhere, I can't remember, so she'll pick him up early Saturday."
"Sounds like a nice weekend," she said. She felt a small flare of anxiety about spending more than five minutes with Ron and Hermione, but it was only out of desire to have them like her.
There was a knock on the door, and Liv caught Harry's eye. He knew she had to get back to doing her job; that was, after all, why he'd gone out of his way to bring her lunch. Whoever it was knocked again. "Come in!"
The door opened, and Holly was standing there expectantly. Harry glanced back at Liv quickly, to see a sort of panicked look cross her face. "I'll follow up with you about that later, Wellwood."
"Thanks, Potter," she said, to make it seem as if their meeting had been on official business.
As Harry left, Holly shut the door herself. "You two don't need to keep up pretenses around me."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Liv swallowed, unsure precisely what Holly wanted from her, but having a slight stomach ache over her presence. "How can I help you, Holly? I've got a lot on my plate today and don't have much time."
"I don't want to not talk anymore," Holly said, the words falling out of her mouth quickly as she took a seat.
"Okay, I definitely don't have time for this today—"
"For fuck's sake, Liv, I know I did wrong by you but could you give me five minutes of your time?"
"Not today," she said. "Please, I've got work to do, I have a meeting in twenty minutes—"
"Fine," Holly said, standing up. "Y'know what, I was an absolute arse. I was. I was a horrible friend to you. But not giving me the time of day to apologize is a little cruel on your part, don't you think? Especially when you clearly had time for your boyfriend—"
"Shut up," Liv hissed, her anxiety being replaced with anger. "Don't say that here. And I'm not saying we can't discuss this, I'm just saying not right now, because I've got a huge stack of files to work through and three important meetings this afternoon and I don't have time for this right now."
"Well, tell me when you'll have time, then."
"I don't know, maybe later this week," Liv said, feeling her voice get louder in frustration.
"Then I'll try again on Thursday," Holly said, getting up and leaving her office.
Liv picked up her wand, flicking it towards the open door.
Author's Note: Thanks to all who have reviewed the last few chapters! Your encouragement means the world to me, and I'm also super grateful for those wishing me safe travels. I hope you're all having a lovely week, and will return on Friday for the next installment in Liv's story. Evergreen thanks to my beta, potter-reading-coastie for all his assistance with this story.