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Chapter 8

On James' first day back at the office they flooed in one behind the other from his flat and made out that they had arrived at the same time; then they walked up to the auror department like any other two colleagues who might have arrived in the atrium at the same time and decided to accompany each other up to work. On the main corridor James' office appeared first and with a sly glance around he noticed that they were alone so he planted the swiftest of kisses on her lips and then patted her bottom as she continued along the hall which led down to her office. James entered his and sat down behind the mahogany desk staring at the empty space upon it; it was rarely empty even when he had been away for months at a time as there would be case files on it when he returned; but as there were no case files to deal with for Azkaban he had nothing waiting for him. Luxuriating in the emptiness of it, and subsequent lack of work load, he remembered that it would not be long before the desk would be piled high again with folders and as if reading his mind the door opened and Zelda walked in carrying a pile of files. "Mr Beerney asked me to pass these on Mr Potter," she said quietly dropping them onto his desk and leaning over so he had a perfect view straight down her cleavage; he glanced at it but only thought as far as the fact that it didn't look as soft as the one he was used to seeing now.

"Thank you Zelda," he nodded looking at her face when she stood back up; he thought he saw a glimmer of disappointment cross her face but he ignored it as he took the top folder and glanced at the label on it. The folder looked old and dusty and he knew it would not be a recent case that he had to read up on.

"Can I get anything else for you Mr Potter?" she asked blinking rapidly at him and putting a sweet smile on her face.

"No thank you," he replied without even looking up so he missed the angry look which crossed her face this time as she turned around and walked back out of the room; she pulled the door to quite hard but James barely noticed that either as he started to read the first page of the top folder. The first thing he saw inside was a picture of his father and he became immediately intrigued wanting to know what the case was going to be about.

"James," said a voice an hour later from his doorway; he had been so engrossed in the case file he was leafing through that he had not even realised the time.

"Sir," he replied glancing up and seeing his boss standing there.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you have been reading this," he went on indicating the dusty folder as he walked towards the chair on the opposite side of the desk to James. "I did speak to your father about this case first and he said it was about time you knew what happened." He looked sympathetically at his young auror who was one of the best on his team; Beerney had tried to get him out of his term at Azkaban when it had come up hating to lose such a good auror especially when he knew this case needed re-opening. However he had reluctantly let him go and suspended the case for three months but he knew it could be put off no longer. "James we have reason to believe that Lestrange might be the High Lord out in Russia who is attempting a movement against the ministry there. Some of your colleagues have been trailing him since new evidence came to light and have collected together information about his whereabouts. After this," he gestured at the folder again, "he went back into hiding and we heard nothing more about him; the case was closed, but never permanently, and the department have always feared that he might resurface. We have reason to believe that the Malfoys joined him when they disappeared a few years ago but fortunately it appears MacNair did not manage to recruit many others. Some of the more loyal, or perhaps wary, ex death eaters have passed on information that support our theories of Lestrange being the High Lord and we are hoping to get a small team together who might be able to track him.

"Of course we will need to take more precautions than last time," he went on nodding again at the parchments spread across James' desk, "and infiltrating their group is out of the question; it may have happened years ago but he will remember it and will be prepared for anything. I have asked Zabini if he will be part of the group and was hoping you would join him with a couple of other aurors?"

"Of course sir," James answered feeling proud that he had been asked to go on what was obviously a dangerous but important mission.

"I gave you these details to go through beforehand so you would know what they are capable of; obviously you will need to be very careful and your father said that your mother would not be too happy to know what you are doing but I need my best aurors on this case James and I consider you to be one of those."

"Thank you, Sir," he said modestly.

"I have given Zabini a copy of these case files too to look through and was hoping you would be able to meet today to begin your discussions. I imagine you will need time to get things together but I was hoping you would be able to go out to Russia in a week's time; I have explained this to Zabini who, as a senior auror, will be in charge of the mission and he is keen to get away as soon as possible. I know he wants to include the newly transferred auror from the Russian office, Martika, who I don't think you have met yet and I think he asked for Jordan Knight too."

"We met briefly," James said to his superior shuddering a little as he remembered the severe looking woman he had met the day he had finished his stint in Azkaban.

"Well I'm sure you will get to know her very well during the mission; she is a good auror and has so far not been out on any assignments with the British department. Anyway," Beerney smiled as he stood up to walk out of the room, "welcome back!" He chuckled as he opened the door and left James to go back to the parchments which detailed how his father had attempted to infiltrate a group of dark wizards, was kidnapped by them and had had his memory wiped while the auror department gave up on him.

He had known that his father had been on many dangerous missions and knew he had not been around for his birth or his mother's pregnancy but he had always assumed it was a mission which had detained him for so long and not an evil wizard who had never been captured. He felt as if he owed it to his mother and father to take this assignment and try to find the man who was now trying to make his mark in another country; he would remain professional throughout and treat it like any other case but would feel a sense of revenge if he finished it successfully.

By the end of the day he had met with Zabini and been introduced again to the new Russian auror who his superior had thought would be a good ally; she knew the area they were going to very well having been in the Russian ministry for a few years. Martika was older than James but was about his height;, she was quiet and had a strange quality about her as if she knew something that he didn't; it slightly unnerved him and he still did not like the way she looked him up and down as if assessing him all the time. By the end of the meeting he was feeling a bit concerned about having to go on assignment with her but he was a professional and thought by the end of it they would probably be getting on well;,after all she was new and didn't know people very well yet.

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"My Lord it is not proving to be as easy as I had first hoped," the girl said with her head held high, "Imperious is not going to work and I need to find another way to get closer to him.

"Well you should get a move on; I am tired of waiting!" he barked back fixing a deathly stare on her; one which would make most people quiver in their boots but she did not waver.

"You shall have what we desire my Lord, soon," she continued bowing her head.

"I had better," he replied folding his fingers under his chin, "I have waited a long time and I can be patient enough to wait a little longer to succeed; I suppose I will have to; but I am growing ever more eager about getting the process...started," he said in a sly voice.

"Yes, my Lord, so am I. But he has been out of work for a month which has made contacting him difficult; however I have a new plan to set out on which will hopefully get us back on track and bring you want we want as soon as possible."

"I hope so my dear, for your sake as well as mine," he drawled looking at her through dark eyes, "I have withdrawn our wizards from their posts and ordered no further action to be taken, for now. We will need to be patient; but there is only so much patience that I have." He glared menacingly at her then but she still did not cower as she nodded her head in response.

"Yes, My Lord," she whispered as she retreated from the room and apparated back to where she needed to be in order to carry out the next part of her plan.

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On Friday morning James sighed as he rolled over in bed and woke the pretty girl still sleeping in it; he was so used to waking up with her now and was loathe to leave again knowing that sharing a tent with other aurors was nothing like curling up to this beautiful girl. He sighed and started to stoke her face as she stirred fluttering her eyelids open and looking up at him, "I'm going to miss this," he murmured softly dropping soft kisses on her face.

"So am I," she sighed knowing that this time it would be that much harder when he left as she felt that they were now in a more serious relationship, one which involved love, even if they were still living it in secret.

"Do I need to ask you to wait for me again?" he asked shyly stroking hair back from her face.

"Of course not," she replied staunchly pulling herself up in the bed, "I'll be right here," she went on placing a hand on his chest and stroking it gently, "because I love you." He leaned up to kiss her then and they started the day in the same way they often did; James may have lost his old ways with women but he had not lost his old insatiable appetite for sex.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked as she reluctantly rose from the warm comfortable bed.

"The Cauldron with your lot!" she replied turning to look at him as she fastened her bra, "There are so many of you that there's always someone's birthday! I got invited along too seeing as I'm usually with your dear cousin on a Friday evening."

"I might just have to make the effort to call in and buy her a birthday drink then won't I?"

"I'm sure it will be such a chore!" she giggled pulling work robes on before dragging the covers off the bed to force him to get up too, "Come on if I'm going in then you have to too!"

"Are you coming back here later?" he asked coyly.

"Where else would I be going? I practically live here these days!" she laughed looking around the room which was beginning to fill with a few of her belongings. James had managed to clear out a couple of drawers so she could at least store a few clothes and pieces of underwear along with bits of make up and a hair brush. She was careful to make sure none of it was left in any other room so that no questions would be asked if he had callers but in the bedroom she had managed to strew her things around a little bit.

"Maybe that's something else we should consider," he said with half laugh.

"Hey, don't get too serious!" she laughed back, "Coming out of our closet would be a start!" She said it with a chuckle but saw that guilty look cross his face even at her joking words so she walked over to the bed where he was sat searching for clothes and kissed him softly. "One step at a time," she whispered secretly feeling pleased that James might be considering becoming more serious but knowing it could never happen until he was comfortable enough to bring them out into the open. "Now up for work, you have lots to do today! I'll see you in the Cauldron later."

"And here afterwards?" he repeated lightly and she nodded with a soft smile on her face, "Listen," he went on grabbing her hands as she turned to leave the room, "tomorrow."

"What about it?" she asked curiously.

"Tomorrow you are all mine," he said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Just me...and you," he concluded leaning up to kiss her again and then letting her go so she could walk out of the room. "And dress warmly," he added as she reached the door, then with a quick wave she was gone and he got himself ready for a long day of checking everything was in place for his upcoming mission.

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Flooing into the bar at eight thirty she located the Weasley clan and walked past James who was stood at the bar with the husband of one of the clan, Salamander Longbottom; she gave him the briefest of smiles as she passed by and sat in the booth next to Dominique, "Hey," her friend whispered kissing her on the cheek, "how was your week?"

"It's been better," she replied thinking back on Monday night when she had learned once again that James would have to leave her.

"Here, get a firewhiskey shot down you, her birthday treat from our dear cousin James!" she said holding a glass full of red liquid up for her as she took a separate one in her own hand. "Cheers James," Dominique called holding the glass up to her cousin, who came to sit opposite them in the booth, and she copied the gesture winking at him and once again flashing the briefest of smiles. She then enjoyed an hour of easy conversation with his family, including his sister, while James and Sal drank bottles of butterbeer back at the bar.

James watched on smiling at his family and watching her interact with them; it was so obvious that she got on well with them and had actually known most of them better than she had known him for a long time. He continued to watched as she engaged in easy conversation with his sister too which made him smile as he knew her opinion of any woman he dated would be important to him. He was still gazing intermittently at her at around quarter to ten when he noticed a familiar girl walking towards him at the bar; he grimaced slightly as he realised what she might attempt to do, "Zelda," he said when she reached him.

"Good evening James," she answered looking at him through fluttering eyelashes, "can I buy you a drink?"

"No, thank you Zelda," he replied but she looked back at him with a soft pout.

"Go on James, please, just a shot of firewhiskey," she smiled coyly at him and he heard a cough from his left as he was nudged from behind by Salamander.

"Just one," he said to her and a broad grin spread across her face as she leaned over the bar and asked for two firewhiskey shots. As Tom served them both Salamander left to go to the toilet and when he returned he sought out his wife at the table leaving James to be chatted up by the pretty, if slightly dull sounding, girl at the bar. It had been a long time since he had shagged a random girl and no matter what his protests Salamander knew that he needed a little nudge in the right direction.

From the booth she watched as Zelda threw back her head and poured the firewhiskey shot down it wincing as she swallowed and grabbing hold of James arm to steady herself; she smiled up at him coyly when she was steady but kept her hand on his arm and fluttered her eyelashes again. Across the room she continued to watch them both hiding her jealousy but flashing her gaze at him intermittently through the conversation that she was having.

"Have you seen James?" Dominique suddenly said stopping everyone's conversations abruptly, "Looks like he might be back to his old ways after all!"

"Hmmm, she's definitely his type," Rose continued.

"Yeah, the wrong type," Victoire expressed turning her head away and echoing the green eyed girl's sentiments which she kept in her head, "he's always picked the wrong girls; why can't he find someone with a bit more about them that a pair of boobs?" she tutted as she turned to look at the pair again. "I mean how desperate can the girl be? She's practically throwing herself at him; he'll shag her and do nothing more. When will he realise that he can't be like Uncle Charlie forever?"

"Knowing James, never," Lily whispered, "Annemarie really hurt him and it will take him a long time to trust someone like that again, if he ever manages it. But I do agree Victoire he's not going to make any progress in that direction unless he abandons the blonde bimbos and tries to find someone else."

"Can we not set him up with someone?" Rose suggested.

"What about any of you?" Dominique asked turning to the few non-Weasley clan girls at the table, all different friends from their school days, "Anyone have a mind to go on a date with our dear cousin? Holly? You've been there before so at least there won't be any nasty surprises!"

"No thanks!" Holly shot back, "Once is plenty!"

"Penelope then?" Dominique teased and the flustered girl began to splutter a negative response.

"You can't inflict him on them Dom," Victoire shrieked at her cousin, "imagine the nightmare; they have far too much intelligence to be placated with a sweet smile and a pat on the bottom when he turfs them out the next morning! Sorry girls," she went on turning to look them all in turn, "but I wouldn't recommend him!"

"But if we can't find him someone who isn't intelligent then it has to be a bimbo like her which is kind of defeating the object isn't it?" Dom said glaring at her sister for contradicting her idea;, they were all pretty girls and she thought James would have been lucky to date any of them; they could easily turn his head a little if they were given the chance.

"What about Jennie from the Muggle Relations department?" Rose suddenly interjected making an 'oo' sound as she thought about it, "She'd be prefect for him, blonde hair and big boobs but she has something about her;, granted she's not the most powerful wand at Ollivander's but she did at least score Acceptable in most of her owls, that must be at least two grades above his usual type! Oh yes Jennie would be great to get him started; she's not seeing anyone at the moment and it couldn't hurt to set them up, if it doesn't work what have we lost?"

"A friend when he doesn't floo her ever again!" Victoire laughed.

"Look girls can't you just leave him alone to get a decent shag before he goes off again for who knows how long? It's only been what? Ten months since he split with Annemarie? Let his wounds heal! He's only thinking as far as tonight; leave him be and let him have his way with her!" Sal barked at them all as he nodded at the girl clearly wanting to sleep with him. He wanted his friend to be left alone; this was the first time he had seen his best mate chatting to a girl in a long time, though admittedly he didn't appear to be having the best time.

Back at the bar James looked helplessly at his family; he had tried to excuse himself a few times explaining that it was his cousin's birthday but Zelda kept coming up with a new, and usually slightly less interesting, topic of conversation as she ordered another round of drinks. Obviously unused to consuming vast amounts of firewhiskey she was already swaying and he had had to hold her up a few times now even though she still had not taken her hands from his arm yet; she was desperately coming on to him and he was finding it repulsive. The kind of girl he would have already been back at the flat with two and a half years ago was now doing absolutely nothing for him and he longed to be rescued from her company.

He looked over at the booth and caught her looking back at him; he could see something in her eyes though she was hiding it well and he sincerely hoped that she knew he was not the slightest bit interested in the girl fawning all over him. He had no suitable reason to give Zelda that would make her leave him alone and at that point he wished that she could be the one to walk over and rescue him by giving him a huge kiss on the lips. The more he watched her talking and joking with his family, while listening to the inane babble coming from his current companion's mouth, the more he wanted everyone to know that she was his girl. He suddenly realised at that moment that there was no point in hiding it anymore; he loved her and if everyone knew they would surely be happy for him; he had held off this long because he was scared to trust someone again but keeping her a secret would do nothing to change that; and didn't he trust her already? She had been patient and understanding of him for going on nine months and as far as he knew she had not strayed, even when he had left her and told her to see other people. She had waited for him and returned to him showing nothing but love for him; he could see that she trusted him; why could he not give her the same trust? She wasn't Annemarie; she was a completely different person with a completely different nature and James knew their relationship was completely different to the one he had had with the girl who had broken his heart. The girl he now cared for no longer and the girl who he felt strangely grateful to because she had led him to find this wonderful person; the one watching him right now with goodness knows what going through her head.

He made the decision there and then that when he came back from this mission he would tell the world about his new relationship and introduce her as his girlfriend, the woman he loved above any other.

"Zelda, please excuse me," James said non too politely when he noticed his remarkable woman leave the booth and head to the toilets, which was the excuse he usually used to drag her into the cellar doorway. Without waiting for a response from the inebriated girl he walked away from the bar and missed the scowl that crossed Zelda's face. He caught her in their usual place where he showed her exactly how he felt about her with a deep enthusiastic kiss which she returned longingly and he managed to slip away shortly after without being trapped by the annoying girl from work again. He waited in bed for her to join him, which she did not long afterwards, and they curled up to sleep together in a cuddled position.

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"Where are we going?" she asked excitedly the next morning after spending a lazy hour in bed, talking, kissing but not making love for a change. The only clue he had given her to what they were doing was to wear warm clothes and it wasn't much of a clue at all really.

"It's a surprise! Come on," he replied wrapping his cloak around him and reaching out his hand for hers, "just trust me," he added tugging her into his embrace when their hands clasped together. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and asked in a low voice, "Do you?"

"Do I what?" she replied.

"Trust me?"

"Of course I trust you James," she replied smiling and then he leaned down to kiss her again as he simultaneously turned on the spot and side-along apparated her to the place he had picked out in his head. It was somewhere he had once been to on a mission, years ago, a secluded place where they had set up camp for a night. The squeezing sensation of apparition pushed them closer together and their lips squashed against each others' as they travelled through time and space appearing seconds later in the middle of an open space where a soft wind blew around them. They parted as they landed but James did not let her go from his arms when they did. "Wow," he breathed putting his forehead against hers, "I've never done that before."

"Side along-apparated?" she asked breathlessly.

"Not while I was kissing," he chuckled, "I don't think I've ever felt that close to anyone before in my life!"

"You are such a romantic," she whispered, "I never thought, even in my wildest dreams about you, that James Potter would be romantic as hell."

"There's a lot more of me to see yet," he breathed finally letting her go and spinning her round to look at the place he had brought her to.

"Oh...my...God," she stuttered as she gazed out at her surroundings. "It's...it's beautiful," she went on as he pulled her backwards into his embrace and started to kiss her neck.

"Just like you," he whispered softly in her ear.