Hello All,

So this next chapter involves France, which means French accents. I am personally not a fan of writers who try to write accents unless they are really well written. It puts me off the story if I can't tell what the writer is trying to say.

I am an American and I know that if I try to write a French accent that I will butcher their beautiful language. So all accents will be implied and if I write any French, I will strive to make sure that it is correct.

So if something bothers anyone, please don't write spiteful comments just PM me and we can work it out.

Sadly enough, I only own Jack.

Chapter Fifteen

Hermione slowly stirred from her nap, turning her head and causing her nose to make contact with Abraxas' clothed warm chest. She tried moving only to feel strong arms hold her firmly where she was. Blushing at the fact that she'd slept intertwined with Abraxas; she stilled her body in an effort to not wake him from his nap.

However, her efforts seemed to be for nothing. Abraxas felt the woman shift in his grasp and brought his right arm up to stoke her back, his hand eventually finding her brown curls.

"I didn't mean to wake you." She said softly, looking up to find gray eyes twinkling at her.

"It's quite alright, I'd have to wake up eventually. Though I can think of no better way to wake up than with you by my side." Abraxas said with sleep still evident in his voice. Seeing Hermione blush at his compliment he continued. "Not even awake more than ten minutes and I've already got you blushing."

She gave him a shy smile. "Sorry. I guess I'm a bit embarrassed."

"You're beautiful, why are you embarrassed?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he continued to play with the curls in his right hand.

Her cheeks turned a soft pink at his question. How am I going to tell him that I haven't gone past first base with anyone, let alone what we just did?

"I… I haven't really ever …" She found she couldn't say the words out loud with him looking at her.

His gaze softened as he figured out what she was trying to tell him. His hand left her hair to stroke her cheek affectionately. "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Your lack of experience is nothing to be ashamed over. It's actually a wonderful quality to have."

She smiled softly, her heart warming at his words. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me for the truth Poppet." He said with a smile of his own. He leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips.

He was about to deepen their kiss, when they both heard a knock at the front door. Abraxas groaned at the interruption as Hermione slid off of the couch and the blanket covering them fell to the floor. Damn it Jack.

She walked the distance to the door, noting that Abraxas must have spelled their clothes back on. When she opened the door, she found Jack waiting patiently on the other side.

He gave her a look over and then smiled widely. "Hello Hermione."

"Hi Jack, please come in." She said ushering him inside and closed the door behind him.

Abraxas walked over to stand in the doorway close to Hermione and watched his best friend walk through the door. He cocked his head in confusion as Jack gave him a cheeky smile and headed toward him. Jack engulfed his friend in a large hug and chuckled when he felt Abraxas slowly return his hug.

"What are you up to?" Abraxas whispered suspiciously.

Jack pulled back and gave him a smirk. "Next time you get heated with your witch, at least try to cover the evidence when you know you have company coming over." He said with amusement as Abraxas eyes widened and darted over to where Hermione was picking up the blanket off of the floor.

His cheeks reddened at the site of a large love bite on the crook of her neck that was slightly covered by the neck of her shirt. Her hair was mussed and her lips were a faint rose color. She looked thoroughly snogged and Abraxas couldn't help the curve of his lips.

"Not a word." He threatened and Jack held up his hands in mock surrender as he chuckled softly.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jack said cheekily as he threw himself down onto one of the large armchairs.

Hermione folded the large blanket absentmindedly and set it in the basket next to the couch. She turned to see Jack grinning at Abraxas, while he gave him a glare. I wonder what those two are up to.

"So Jack, how was your day?" Hermione asked while taking her seat at the corner of the couch.

Abraxas let out a wry laugh before the blonde could answer. "Poppet, you're opening a can of worms." He said, walking over to take his place next to her. He casually draped his arm over her shoulder and gave her a kiss on her temple.

"Can of worms?" She asked confused.

Jack snorted. "Abraxas thinks I'm incapable of having a good day without making some poor idiot cry."

"Are you?"

"Of course, when I don't have to deal with Slughorn or stupid children." Jack said bitterly, causing Hermione to laugh.

"You do know that was part of the deal when you signed the Apprentice contract right?" Hermione asked with a smile.

She knew that Slughorn was bad in her time and apparently he hadn't changed since Jack seemed to despise the man so much. She knew there were dumb children at Hogwarts and it she figured that Jack must end up with the children's questions that Slughorn didn't have time to deal with.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, unfortunately I read that part before I signed the bloody dotted line." He said bitterly.

"So what time are we leaving?" Abraxas asked changing the subject. The last thing he needed was for Jack to be all riled up before they left for France.

Jack checked his watch. "Ten minutes."

"Are you two going by portkey or to the Ministry?" Hermione asked trying to keep the sadness out of her voice as Abraxas squeezed her shoulders a little tighter.

"Portkey." He replied as he dug in his pocket and pulled out something wrapped in a cloth. Jack put the item on the table and pulled the sides revealing a large medallion.

"Hermione, is there a lavatory I could use before we go?" Jack asked. He knew that Abraxas wanted to say goodbye to her alone, so he would give them the chance to.

She nodded. "Upstairs first door to your right."

Once Abraxas knew they were indeed alone, he slowly pulled Hermione to her feet. Hermione took out a galleon and pressed it into his hands. "You told me yesterday that you wished there was a way for us to communicate while you are gone, since owls will take too long. This coin has a Protean Charm on it, so when you want to talk to me, just hold the coin and think of what you want to tell me. Mine will heat and I will reply. Just keep it on your person."

Abraxas nodded; dumbfounded that she had found a way for them to communicate. He put the galleon in his left pocket and pulled out something of his own. "Believe it or not, I have something for you as well." He held it out for her to see. "It's an ancient rune of protection. My mother gave it to me when I left for my first year of Hogwarts. I would like you to wear it for me."

She fingered the delicate silver pendant on the strong, silver chain and smiled. "Will you put it on me?"

Abraxas reached out and placed it around her head. When he was through, her hands were captured by his and pulled to rest against his heart.

"Remember the promise you made me." He said sternly, his eyes taking in every detail of her face as her eyes did the same.

"I will. Wouldn't want to lose my pinky, now would I?" She teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Abraxas' lips twitched and he leaned over to kiss her lips. His kiss lingered without their earlier passion, knowing that if he gave it his all, he might not ever leave.

When their lips parted, Jack took the opportunity to renter the room. He had been watching them from the doorframe, but they had been too lost in themselves to notice.

"Time to go brother." He said walking over to the pair.

Abraxas nodded and moved towards where the portkey was sitting on the table. Not taking his eyes off of the brunette witch.

Jack gave Hermione a small smile before giving her a peck on the cheek. "Stay safe, little Gryffindor."

Hermione let out a small chuckle while rolling her eyes. "Have a nice trip, snarky Slytherin."

Jack let out a snort before picking up the covered portkey off of the table. He looked to Abraxas who was staring at the medallion in his hands.

"On three." Abraxas said and Jack nodded.

"One, two, three." Jack said slowly and with a pop, they were gone.

They landed roughly on a paved road. The first thing Abraxas noticed was how cold it was compared to the warm living room he was just in and quickly wrapped his arms around himself to contain his body heat. He looked around at his surroundings and saw that they were on a road in the middle of a large forest. Trees as far as the eye could see and the sound of nature all around them.

He turned to Jack who was digging in his pockets. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for something, just give me a minute." Jack said harshly before he smiled while pulling something out of his pocket.

Abraxas watched as Jack set the small item on the ground and motioned for him to step back. He did as he was asked and saw Jack take out his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the item in front of them started expanding.

After a few seconds, they saw a white nineteen sixty, Ford Mustang parked proudly in front of them. Abraxas looked at Jack who was twirling the keys in his hand.

"Why do we need your father's car?" Abraxas asked quizzically. Surely we can just apparate wherever we need to go?

"Technically it's my car now and we need it for two reasons really. The first being we are not in France yet, so we will have to get there somehow. The second being that we are staying at a nice Muggle hotel and it will look strange if we show up without transportation." Jack said folding his hands across his chest.

Abraxas ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "What do you mean we are not in France yet? Where the hell are we? And why are we staying at a Muggle hotel if we need to be in Wizarding Paris?"

"We aren't in France yet, because I had to get the portkey from the Ministry, since I had no faith in the one I made. We are in Brussels because I don't want where I really went on file. We are staying at a Muggle hotel because that is where we will be looking for flats and I don't trust Wizarding Hotels in Paris. I don't know who owns them and what Death Eaters could possibly be linked to them." Jack said popping the trunk.

"Don't you think you're being a tad bit paranoid?" He asked while Jack enlarged both of their luggage's and placed it into the trunk. Jack closed the lid and made his way over to Abraxas.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry." He said leaning back onto the car.

Abraxas sighed. "Fine, so are we driving the whole way there? That will probably take at least three hours."

"Oh, I have a plan to lessen our time, but why not enjoy driving for a bit? When was the last time we drove together?" Jack said opening the passenger dramatically for Abraxas, adding a bow for good measure.

Abraxas shook his head in amusement at his best friend and climbed into the car. The door closed as he got comfortable and Jack came around to the other side. Jack started the car, and the engine roared to life. "The last time we drove together was when your father tried to teach me how to drive." He said with a smile as they began to descend along the isolated road.

Jack barked with laughter. "Oh man, I forgot about that. Dad was close to killing you after the second red light you ran."

"Those lights were orange and he knew it. He was just afraid of us getting pulled over and it's not like we couldn't have just obliviated the officer." Abraxas said as he remembered the incident.

Jack snickered. "Or you could have just stopped at the red light."

"True, but your father gave me such mixed signals, it was hard to know what to do. Remember, he would tell me to go then yell at me for not stopping. Then he would ask me why I was driving so slowly, and then I'd get yelled at for speeding. I just couldn't win with him." Abraxas said amusedly.

"Well at least you didn't have to drive with my mother. Now she was the real one you couldn't win with, the woman was reduced to a catatonic state when I drove with her. Wouldn't let me turn on the radio, yelled at me whenever she thought I wasn't paying attention to the road, and made me keep both hands on the wheel at all times." He said fondly.

"But wasn't she a horrible driver? I vaguely remember a story about her running into a mailbox because she thought there was a spider on her hand." He asked while looking out the window, watching the trees blur at the speed they were going.

Jack nodded while keeping his eyes on the road in front of them. "She hit a brick mailbox because she swore to Merlin she saw a spider on her hand. After the fact, she said it could have been a ball of fuzz. She wasn't really sure." He said with a smile as Abraxas laughed. "I don't think Dad ever forgave her for totaling that car. Reminded her every time he got a chance that it only lacked one more payment if she hadn't of wrecked it."

"Good times." Abraxas said looking over to Jack.

"I miss them." Jack said with a sad smile, not meeting Abraxas' eyes for fear that tears would fall.

Abraxas put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave it a good squeeze. "You're not the only one."

They continued to drive through the countryside, taking in the sight of green trees and the rolling hills. Abraxas and Jack made small talk occasionally or sat in a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They had been friends for so long that they didn't need to spend every minute of their time together talking, but when they did it was never boring.

They rushed along the lonely road, the sun setting in the distance, until Jack had his fill of driving. He looked over to Abraxas who seemed to be nodding off in his seat.

"Hey! Wake up! We're almost there." He yelled and laughed when Abraxas jumped to attention before scowling in his direction.

"What do you mean we are almost there? We haven't even hit the city of Brussels yet, let alone Paris!" He sneered while dramatically looking out the window. "I don't see French people scowling at us, do you?"

"No, but you're about to."

"What?" He asked nervously.

"Just trust me." He said as he pulled out his wand.

Abraxas nodded and clenched his fists in his lap in anticipation for whatever his friend was about to do. Jack tapped his wand to the dashboard and murmured, "Portus." The car moved a little faster and the engine seemed to rev harder than before. It wasn't long before they both felt the familiar feeling of something grabbing him from the inside as they were pulled through space.

Without warning they were suddenly zooming down another rural road. The sun had set and the moon was out, glowing proudly in the night sky. They glided down the road before they reached the large city of Paris. They maneuvered their way through the quiet suburbs and into the heart of French capital. Jack made his way into the oval drive of a hotel and parked it under the large awning.

"I'm assuming this is where we're staying?" Abraxas asked getting out of the car and looked at his surroundings with little enthusiasm. The place was grand, but he was too tired to give a shit.

"You know what they say about people who assume." Jack said sarcastically as he walked inside the building to check in. Abraxas leaned against the car, looking around at the busy area. Muggles of all shapes and sizes were walking around. His attention was called back into focus when Jack returned with a trolley.

"Were all the bellboys busy or do you not trust them either?" Abraxas asked good naturedly as he helped Jack load the trolley with their luggage.

"The latter, they said it would take about fifteen minutes for one to come down and now that you mention it I'm glad I didn't wait for one." Jack said absentmindedly as a valet appeared and Jack tossed his keys over to him.

Abraxas looked at him with a raised eyebrow as they pushed the trolley into the hotel lobby. "I'm surprised you forked over the keys so easily."

"I've put dozens of charms on that car. If he even so much as thinks about stealing it or taking it for a drive, I will know. The car alarm will go off and he will find himself literally red handed." He said with a smirk as Abraxas laughed.

They shuffled into the elevator and both silently prayed that no one would try to enter it with them. The elevator stopped at the top floor, and Jack unlocked the door. He held it open while Abraxas pushed in the heavy trolley inside.

Once he was done, he walked over to stand with Jack in the large common area. The room was immaculate complete with a dinning table, a couch, a television, and a dinning room table. The rooms were on either side of the common area, each with their own large bed and private bathroom. There were also French doors leading to a private balcony, which gave quite a view of the city.

"Looks good Jack, but don't you think is a little much for just the two of us?" He asked as he walked to the window.

"No, we both like our space and since we're on vacation we might as well enjoy it." Jack said as he walked over to the trolley to remove their luggage and then vanished the thing from sight.

"Well as long as I pay my half then we're good."

Jack chuckled softly. "Me not allowing you to pay? When has that ever not been okay with me?"

"Oh shut up." He replied trying to mask a yawn.

"Best get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow." Jack said as he waved his wand and watched both of pieces of their luggage move to their respective rooms.

"Night." He said waving at him as he followed his trunk to his room. He closed the door after himself, and began to change into his pajamas. He emptied his pockets onto the dresser table; placing his key to the room, wand, and the galleon Hermione gave him.

Abraxas stared at the golden coin while he changed. In the short time he had been gone, he already missed her. He wondered if she was still awake and what she had done in his absence. He also worried about whether she was safe or not. He trusted her implacably, but couldn't help his anxiety over her safety.

After changing, he grabbed the galleon and slowly crawled into bed. He stared mindlessly at the thing, inwardly debating on whether or not he should send her something. He wanted her to know he was thinking of her, but didn't want to come across as needy. He didn't know how long he sat there staring at the coin before he finally decided on what to send her.

He grasped it in his hand thinking of what he wanted to send her while he closed his eyes. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and saw what he thought of was now staring him back in the face.

Goodnight Poppet. Sleep well.

He closed his eyes again and willed himself not to look at the small coin every five seconds, in hope that she replied. There were a dozen reasons she wouldn't answer back immediately and Abraxas began to name them all in his head. She could already be asleep. She could be away from her coin. She could be eating dinner. She could be in the bath.

The last thought caused him to groan as his cock hardened at the mental thought of her naked and wet. But before his thoughts could become any more salacious he felt his hand warm. His eyes flew open to look at the coin and a soft smile spread across his face.

Goodnight Abraxas. Sweet dreams.

Jack woke up the next morning in total silence. He went to the common room expecting to find Abraxas, but it was empty. He looked to the other bedroom and saw the door was cracked open, so he went to peek into the room. Abraxas was burrowed in the sheets, still fast asleep. Part of him wanted nothing more than to go jump on the bed and wake him up, but he decided against it. He knew that if Abraxas didn't get his beauty sleep he would be insufferable all day.

He sauntered out of the room and found himself a seat on the balcony with the listings for Muggle flats. He sat at the table and opened the first page to look over the listings he had circled in red. He read each one again, making sure that they were the ones he wanted. He sighed after reading the last one and ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

He gazed out at the city before him and took in his surroundings. He knew it would be wonderful to live in Paris, but it was far from home. He would be homesick from time to time and was thankful that Abraxas would always be there for him.

Truth be told, he didn't want to move. He would have been happy to have continued his life in Scotland and open his own apothecary in Hogsmead. But then his parents died and Dumbledore introduced him to Nick, making his choice for him. He didn't want to die at the hands of Death Eaters and the offer Nick was giving him was too good to turn down. He just hoped that what he was doing was the right decision.

"Jack?" Abraxas' voice called from the doorway.

"Yes, brother?" He said, putting down the listings and turned to face her. He was dressed casually in jeans and a cotton t-shirt, and his hair was brushed into place.

"I'm hungry. Do you want to go grab something to eat?"

"You want to go grab something or stay here and order some breakfast?"

He checked his watch. "Too late for breakfast."

Jack cocked an eyebrow and checked it watch. It showed that it was still early in the afternoon. "So it seems. So do we stay or do we go?"

"Stay, it'll be easier." Abraxas said fiddling with the galleon in his pocket.

"Alright." He said looking for the room service menu. They chose a couple of items off of the menu, and moved to sit on two of the loungers on the balcony as they waited for their meal.

"So what are we going to do today?" Abraxas asked, watching the traffic in the distance.

"Today we are looking for flats."

Abraxas nodded. "How many have you narrowed it down to?"

"Three, I have a good idea of which one I want, but you'll be living there too sometimes so I need your opinion."

"Why don't we go to that one first, then if I like it we won't have to go to the other two?"

"Sounds good."

When there was a knock on the room door Jack excused himself from the table. He offered to bring both of their food out since he had to make a call to the relator.

After eating lunch, they had the car pulled around and drove to the place Jack spoke of earlier. To Abraxas surprise they drove far out of the city and into rural territory. Jack persistently ignored his friend's questions, telling him that he would see when he got there.

Jack decreased his speed when they started to descend on a small gravel road. There were tall trees lining the road and a cast iron gate to one side. Whatever lay ahead was too covered in greenery to see what lie in store for them. Jack stopped the car and the two men made there way up the lane.

As they got closer, Abraxas saw another figure up ahead. It appeared to be a woman with black hair in a bright pink pantsuit and wearing a fake smile. "Mr. Hawthorne, I was so pleased to receive your call this morning! I'm happy that you've brought Mr. Malfoy here as well!" She stepped forward to shake both of their hands. "I'm Serena DeLawyer, the relator for this home." She said introducing herself, her French accent falling heavily when she said her name. "Jack came here a few months ago looking for a place for you two. I just knew that this place would be one of his top contenders." The woman said, turning so she could unlock the gate with her keys. "I just hope you both can agree on the house. God knows that…" She kept on, but Abraxas looked at Jack.

"This house has everything we both need. I know I said I wanted a flat, but this house just has as feeling towards it that makes me want it. If you hate it, then we'll keep looking." Jack said not meeting his eyes.

He silently nodded as he looked with masked confusion at his brother's expression, then at the cottage they were now approaching. Oh Merlin, this woman probably thinks we're gay. Two grown men sharing a cottage, how could she not?

"Mr. Hawthorne knows all the details about this place, and said that you would prefer to look at it alone, so I'll wait here and if you should have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me." Serena said as she opened the door and stepped inside.

Abraxas followed Jack through the door into a medium sized entrance hall. There was a set of stairs that led up to a second floor, and a cozy living room was on the other side. He turned to see a door at the back that he presumed led to a kitchen or a dining room.

"Why this house?" He asked softly as he continued to look at his surroundings.

"What do you mean?"

Abraxas sighed impatiently. "What is it about this house that you like so much? There has to be a reason, since I don't see a reason why you like it so much."

"Well, to start off, it's medium sized, because we both need our space when you'll be here. There's a good backyard so I can plant any potions ingredients I need. We are also isolated this far into the country, so we won't have to worry about nosey neighbors, and won't have to worry too much about apparition or flying. For a muggle house, it is quite ideal." Jack said with a small smirk as he watched Abraxas absentmindedly nod.

"And it's a steal?" He asked.

Jack smiled. "You wouldn't believe how cheap the market is right now. If we got this house today, it would probably take only two years to pay it off fully. Versus if we got a flat that we would keep having to pay for well after two years."

He began to look around with a judgmental state of mind as Jack gave him the tour. There was nothing too wrong with the house itself, it was just in need of some sprucing up. The house had three rooms with their own bathrooms. There was room for entertaining, but not for too many people, which Abraxas approved of. The kitchen was large enough so that both of them could be in it at the same time and store all kinds of equipment. There was a fireplace that they weren't sure if they wanted to connect to the floo, if they bought it. A large study that was hidden away at the back of the house, that could easily fit two desks. Then there was a two-car garage that could easily store other things besides the cars it was designed for.

At the end of their tour, they went to the backyard to talk. Jack cast a spell so they wouldn't be overheard by the relator and looked at Abraxas expectantly.

"So what do you think?"

"Well, it is going to need some work. Especially in the paint department, whoever thought that shit brown was a good color on walls should be taken to St. Mungo's." He said sternly.

Jack smirked. "So besides the paint, is there anything else you have a problem with?"

"Not really. It's a good house Jack and I like it."

"I'm glad."

"So how much is it?"

Jack gave him a hand to indicate that he needed a minute as he disappeared into the house. He came back with a small file in his hands and handed it to him. He opened it up and scanned past the dimensions of the home, the lot, useless dates and his eyes landed on the price. He grinned crookedly as he looked back up to Jack.

"She's serious about the asking price?"

"Abso-bloody-lutely. She said that the couple that lives here now is moving to America since the husband got a promotion, and the company is paying for him to move out there. So the price is low because of that and because not many people want to live this far out into the country."

"Interesting, so I like it, you like it, what's next?" Abraxas asked as he closed the file and handed it back to Jack.

"Now we make an offer and wait to see if it's accepted."

Abraxas nodded and followed Jack out to where the overly cheery relator was waiting of them. They spent the rest of the afternoon doing paperwork in hopes that they would soon be the owners of the house they both wanted.

More France up next, with a bit of Hermione. Please Review