Liv guided Holly to one of the booths in the back of the restaurant, where there were only about two other people sitting. She watched the older folks, as they finished up their dinner. Liv decided it was as good a place as any to sit down.

"What other perks come with dating him?" Holly asked, and only minimally tried to hide her displeasure with the interaction she had just witnessed.

"That is the first, and hopefully, only time that has ever happened," Liv said, slowly. "Very few people know, and that's how I would like to keep it."

"I didn't tell anyone," Holly said, then put her drink down mid-sip. "Well. I told Cian. But that's it."

There was a brief flash of the Holly that Liv had been friends with for so long, that was fun loving and loyal and present. It was, after all, the reason that she had met with her. Liv hoped, that somehow, they could regain some version of friendship. It probably wouldn't look like it did before. But maybe… maybe they could meet somewhere in the middle.

"You've changed so much," Holly said. "Witnessing that interaction with… whatever his name was, I feel like I don't even know who you are. You're dating this… practical celebrity and living with him? And Marina said she saw you hanging out with a kid down here? Like, what? Who? The Liv I thought I knew so well was heads over heels for Ames and turned her nose up at the thought of children and never would've schmoozed with some random bar keeper."

"He's a friend of Harry's from their Hogwarts days," she explained. "And… slowly, his friends are becoming my friends. Sort of. We're… working on it."

Holly spent a long time considering what Liv said, while she traced at the wood grain on the table with her fingernail.

"And yeah, I know a lot has changed since the last time we really talked… but I'm a hell of a lot happier now. Things with Ames… they were so awful at the end, Holly. I don't even have words. I was so miserable, I'm still processing it all. He'd always been a heavy drinker, you knew that about him, and for most of the time we were together, he had a pretty good grip on that. But the last few months… it was so out of control. He got drunk and he got mean. I was sick of having to learn spells to heal bruises and swelling."

Across from her, the girl she once thought of as a sister, couldn't look up to meet her eyes. So Liv decided, it was now or never, that she needed to give Holly all of the context.

"We had blown up… for the second time, after Seamus Finnegan's wedding. I had to leave after he'd "accidentally" socked me in the face after he got so shit faced he threw up. In public. I told him I was done," she said. "And he promised, he promised he would get help. That he didn't want to compromise us. That I meant something to him and he wanted to fight for us."

She felt her chest tighten, and tears begged at her eyes. She swallowed, trying to resist the tightness as best as she could. After a deep breath, she continued.

"Things got better… for a moment. I thought I finally had my boyfriend back. Until he started drinking again, and tried to force himself on me, and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Oh my god," Holly said, finally looking at Liv, fresh tears in her eyes. That almost undid all of Liv's restraint, but somehow she managed to keep herself together.

"I managed to get out of there, with nothing but the clothing on my back. The only person I thought I could go to was Harry."

"You could've come to my house," Holly said, the tears finally spilling over. "I don't care that we hadn't talked in ages, I would've helped you, I'm so sorry I ever made you feel like you couldn't come to me."

"I didn't feel like that was an option at the time," she said. "I showed up at his doorstep, in the midst of him entertaining friends, and he sent them home to take care of me. He made sure I was okay, and helped me get my belongings, and got me back up on my feet."

Liv took a deep breath, holding back the sob that was waiting in the back of her throat. "I don't know what you've been through, and I'm sure you had a lot on your plate… with the baby, and stuff… and I know I probably didn't do right by you, with not being willing to talk to you for so long… but damn. That was the hardest few months of my life. So if I was a little closed off, well…"

Holly stood up, and Liv knew what she wanted, so she stood up and gave her the hug she wanted. Holly, a good five inches shorter than her, hugged her like she was afraid she would float away.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"I'm sorry too."

Holly's face was red and blotchy, and by some miracle, Liv was barely holding it together. Barely, but that single thread of composure made all the difference. Liv pulled napkins out of the dispenser and handed them to her.

"C'mon, Hol. Pull yourself together," she said. "It's okay. We're going to y'know… figure out how to be friends again. Okay?"

Holly nodded, though she wiped the condensation off her glass with the napkin before dabbing the cloth to her face. Liv would've been a touch more embarrassed if there was anyone around, but somehow they had been left completely alone. A minor miracle.

Liv reached out and rubbed Holly's shoulder as she worked herself down from her tears.

"Before I had Xavi," Holly said, "I thought I would be different than all the other moms I've seen who've given up everything to tend to their baby. I didn't do a very good job."

"It's okay," Liv said. "It's in the past, okay?"

Although she still felt anger towards Holly… deep down, she just wanted her friend back. They had simultaneously been through the hardest periods of their lives, and let their friendship fall by the wayside.

She nodded.

"How is... Xavier?"

That seemed to help Holly settle down, and she almost started to smile. "He's wonderful, Liv. I can't even put into words what a great experience it is... especially now that he's mostly sleeping through the night."

"I'm so glad to hear that."

"We don't have to talk about him, though," she said. "I know that kids... and you..."

"I always wanted to be with Ames more than I wanted to even consider having kids," Liv said. "I'm... considering it. Not now, of course. But maybe someday... so if you want to talk about him..."

Holly smiled, and continued to babble away about how he was sitting up and rolling over and cooing and breaking teeth. Truthfully? She didn't care all that much. But she cared that Holly was happy. And it was good practice.

"Tell me about the boy Marina saw you with. Who is he? Does Harry really have all those kids like your tabloids say?"

She snorted into her wine. "Of course not."

She shrugged. "He's an enigma."

Liv couldn't help but laugh. "That's the absolute last word I would use to describe him."

"So tell me about him."

"He's very plain," she said. "He drinks a lot of coffee and not a lot of alcohol. He's a pretty good cook. We go hiking nearly every weekend. His friends are very dear to him… and he's so incredibly kind to me. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"He walks around the department with a stick up his arse."

"He's very particular," she explained. "And he's been taken advantage of a lot by people wanting to be close to him because of who he is. He's protective of himself."

"And of you," she said.

Liv shrugged. "But that's his godson, Teddy. He's... just the sweetest kid. He's off to school next month and I'm already dreading saying goodbye."

"Why were you buying books with him?" She asked. "New books? Lord, do you know what those cost?"

"Actually, I do. And good god, Marina needs a hobby other than gossiping," Liv said. "That was the weekend you were all in the forest tracking whatever the hell that was, so I kept Teddy at the house and we ate pizza and played chess and took care of some school errands."

"I think I might like who this bloke is shaping you to be," Holly said, earnestly assessing her friend's newer qualities.

Liv nodded, knowing that was as much approval as she was likely to get. For now, at least.

The finished their drinks, as the night was winding down. Liv was getting tired, and Holly did need to go home to the baby.

"What do you think a good tip is?" Liv asked, opening her wallet.

"All of it," she said, laughing.

She took the three galleons in her wallet and stacked them on the table. "Shall we call it a night?"

"Only if we can do this again soon," Holly said. "But maybe at your house because I want to see where you live."

"You're just being nosy," Liv teased.

She shrugged as she collected her belongings and they walked together towards the exit.

"He inherited the house from his godfather... it's nothing special. But sure, if you really want to see it… next time."

Liv picked up her bag and decided it was time to head out. After two glasses of wine, she was ever so slightly buzzed, and wanted to go home.

"Good night, Neville," Liv called.

"If there's any money on that table, I'm going to be very annoyed."

"Nope, no money," Holly called. "Promise."

They made the exit back onto the London streets laughing to themselves.

Holly crushed her in another hug, one Liv wasn't entirely sure she'd ever get out of. But eventually she eased up, and Liv removed herself.

"You're okay to walk home?" Holly asked.

"Absolutely," she said. "It's... maybe ten minutes. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you again, Liv."

Liv nodded eagerly, before turning and heading in the direction of home.

"Hello," she called, when she came home and saw there was no sign of life on the first floor. She quickly grabbed the pint of Rocky Road ice cream out of the freezer, then kicked off her boots before climbing the stairs.

"I'm in the office," he yelled, and she could tell he was on the third floor- the same floor they slept on. She knew there was an office, but in all the time she'd lived here had never been in it. They normally worked together on the couch downstairs.

"Hey," she said, opening the partially shut door. The office was very dark, the emerald green wallpaper absorbed all the candlelight.

He sat at a wood desk, which hugged the corner of the room. There was an old, worn looking leather couch next to it, where she took a seat.

"I've never seen you working in here before," she commented, stretching out her legs.

"I used to... before you moved in. I forgot why I'd been enjoying the couch more, but my eyes are reminding me," he said, flicking on the gas lamp. It hissed before allowing slightly more light in the room. "How'd it go? You're in one piece."

"You were right," she said. "It was good... really, really good. We got a lot of talking done and I think we're in a better place."

He smiled, before taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I'm very glad to hear that, Liv," he said.

She nodded, diving into the ice cream, one large spoonful at a time. "Neville's such a sweetheart. Wouldn't let me pay for anything... I mean, I put a big tip on the table before we left, but that's so..."

"He used to do the same thing to me," he said, not looking up from his work. "I'll show you how to get around it the next time we go."

"Thanks," she said.

"Hey, I've been meaning to show you this," he said, handing her a stack of mail. Well, it seemed it was just one piece of mail originally, with a million pieces.

"What is it?" She asked, examining it.

"Every year, the Prophet throws this fundraiser... party, thing," he said.

"Thirty under Thirty?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am perennially nominated, despite having sunk into complete normalcy for the past twelve years," he said. "The cause is good, and I owe a lifetime of favors to one of the people who organizes it."

"I'm certain there's a story there," she said, looking up at him.

He shrugged. "Ever notice how the Prophet never publishes anything too malicious about me?"

"Well, it's not exactly where I go when I want to know what woman you're having a baby with this week."

He chuckled. "Precisely. About four years ago, I fell into good favor with this woman— Pia, that works at the Prophet, she makes sure I stay out of the papers, I make sure to attend an event or two a year… it all works out."

She looked suspiciously at him for a moment, wondering if "fell into good favor" meant "fell into bed with", but decided not to press it at the moment.

"This is one of the better events," he said. "It raises money for children orphaned in the War. Like Teddy."

"I see that," she said, reading the brochure.

"Anyways, it's the last year I can be nominated," he said, scratching on the parchment in front of him with his quill.

"Can we even go to an event like this?" she questioned "Together, I mean?"

"They don't take photos past the entrance," he said. "So as long as we walk in separately, it shouldn't be an issue."

She considered it, for a moment. She wanted— needed, truly— to keep this relationship out of the papers. At least until Kensington returned to work. She would never be taken seriously enough for her liking if it leaked before then. And all of the sneaking around… all of the nonsense, it needed to be worth something.

"If you don't want to go, that's fine."

"I didn't say that," Liv said, after a moment of careful consideration.

"I can see it on your face."

She looked up at him, trying to convey how drained she was from a long day of work and an emotional conversation with Holly. She was sure, in the morning, that going out to some fancy gala that she got to attend with her boyfriend would not be the daunting task it felt like right now. "I'm just tired, I'm sorry."

He took his glasses off, rubbing at his eyes. She was sure he was weary and the darkness of the room wasn't helping. After he placed them back on his nose, he got up and moved next to her on the couch.

"It's not my first choice, either, Liv," he said. "I'd love to walk in there with you on my arm, but our reality isn't there quite yet. I promise the next event we go to will be one where we can be seen together unconditionally, but this one snuck up on me and the timing isn't right."

"I know," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Believe me, I know."

"I still think we can turn it into quite the nice night," he said. "They always give me seven extra tickets so i can fill my table with people I'll enjoy the night with."

"Who have you invited?"

"Well, I'd love to bring you. And in the past, Ron and Hermione—"

"Of course."

"The last few years, Hannah and Neville have come, provided they can find someone to cover the bar."

"Sure."

"I have two extra tickets this year," he said. "If Holly and her husband would like to join us."

"I'm sure they can't join us," she said. "The baby, and all."

He nodded. "That's fine. I don't think there's anyone else I'd like to invite, so if they can make it, great, if not… well, that's fine too."

"I will… ask her tomorrow, I guess."

"Great," he said. "I think it's going to be a good night."

She looked up at him, trying to read his face. She convinced herself the smile was genuine, and leaned in to rest her head against him. "Alright."

Author's Note: I am so, sincerely sorry for the delay in getting chapters up on schedule. Not to fear—they are all written! I've just been a little under the weather as I deal with some really challenging depression. I'm very touched by the folks that have reached out and encouraged me, so thank you very much. Your kindness means the whole world to me and has truly kept me going. Regular updates will resume tomorrow with the usual Monday—though there will be an extra special message in the author's note that I hope you will all read. Thanks as always to my wonderful beta reader, potter-reading-coastie.