A small pop indicated his arrival and Harry smiled as the Burrow stretched out in front of him. He could hear the noise from within and took a deep breath as he made his way towards the house. He'd always loved coming here, his surrogate family home, and it had been a lifeline at some of the most important moments in his life. Idly he noticed that the house was extended and wondered if Bill or Charlie were in town.

As he stepped through the threshold the noise amplified and he was immediately immersed in the chaos that was the weekly Weasley family gathering. He could hear everyone at the table, but it was Molly who greeted him. He smiled. She was always waiting for him to arrive, never content to join the family until all of her children were present and accounted for.

"There you are," she said softly, wiping her hands on a towel before moving over to wrap him in a bone-crushing hug. He returned the hug enthusiastically.

"Hey Mrs. Weasley," he said with a smile as she broke away, swatting him playfully along the way.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Molly, young man? None of this formal stuff."

He laughed.

"I'm not sure my mum would agree with you there."

"Lily would agree with me and you know it," she chided as she waved her hand dismissively..

Molly handed him a plate and began pushing him towards the adjourning room. As the family had grown, so too had the house, the table simply no longer having a place in the kitchen.

"Now go, the food is already out," Molly said. "Your mother feeds you but today it's my responsibility, and I'll not have you telling her I shirk my duties."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he replied with a smirk.

A loud hello echoed in the room as he was swarmed by mops of red hair, half hugs and handshakes all around. Before he could sit down, however, something collided with his legs, nearly knocking him over. He looked down and smiled at his goddaughter. He scooped her up and peppered her face with kisses, eliciting a squeal.

"Stop uncle Harry!" Rose said in his arms.

"Never!" Harry shot back as he launched another round, finally stopping when he dropped her back into her seat.

Rose stuck her tongue out at him causing him to laugh. Childishly, he did the same to her, earning an eye roll from the child. He looked next to her and ruffled Hugo's hair as he leaned over and kissed Hermione on the cheek.

"How's it going, squirt?" he asked Hugo.

"Uncle George says I'm gonna be a chaser when I grow up!" the young boy replied with a mouth full of food.

"Hugo, don't talk with your mouth full," chided Hermione, narrowing her eyes at her son.

Harry took a seat next to Hermione and sighed. He loved the Weasley's, but there was no denying these meals were an endurance run, not a sprint. They were easy when he was still in school, but as spouses and kids got added it started to become quite the draining event.

"How are you Hermione?" he asked as she passed him the mashed potatoes.

"Good," she said, taking the potatoes back and passing him the next dish. "Ron's taking the kids to their first quidditch match next week, so it's all they want to talk about."

He smiled as both kids spoke at the same time, talking at him about the upcoming event. He vaguely heard a voice from the floo and caught Molly leaving the room briefly before returning. As she stepped back in she wasn't alone. With her was Fleur Delacour.

She wore unassuming clothes, just some jeans and a normal shirt with her hair up in a messy bun, yet somehow she seemed even more beautiful than she did at the party. She smiled sheepishly to the room as Molly began introducing her to everyone.

"This is Fleur," Molly said as Arthur stood to greet her. "Bill was supposed to be here but he had to go back to Egypt early. He asked if we could help Fleur get her bearings for a few days since she's new to the area."

"You were Bill's partner in Egypt, right?" asked Percy as he shook her hand just as she reached the open seat next to Harry.

Fleur nodded.

"Yes, though sadly not anymore," she replied with a frown.

She turned towards Harry and he saw something unfamiliar flash through her eyes for a split second, though it was gone almost before he noticed it. Brushing it off, he stood and smiled as he offered his hand.

"Harry Potter, nice to meet you."

She shook his hand and returned a warm smile of her own.

"Nice to meet you, Harry." She took a quick glance around the room. "Are you married to someone…?"

He laughed and shook his head as they both took their seats.

"Nope. They picked me up years ago and have been unsuccessful in getting rid of me since."

"Mum's best efforts to make you an official part of the family haven't helped," Fred quipped. Angelina elbowed him in the ribs and sent Harry a wink as Fred doubled over. Fleur's confused look made Harry smile again.

"I met Ron on the train to Hogwarts our first year," he explained. "My mum let me spend time here every summer while we were in school, and I've kind of been adopted by Molly, though my parents would tell you this is my hideaway family. As such, I'm invited to the weekly get together."

"What brings you to England, Ms. Delacour?" asked Arthur as plates began to truly get shuffled and passed around.

"Opportunity," she replied as she took another dish that had been handed to her. "I wanted to transfer out of field work and the French branch had no openings. Bill mentioned the branch here is always looking for people so here I am."

Harry could see she was struggling with the rhythm of how a Weasley meal worked, and he couldn't blame her. It would seem Bill had kind of thrown her into the fray without any preparation, and she was currently downing. Smoothly he leaned over and lowered his voice so only she could hear him.

"Just take a small bit of everything," he instructed. "Take more of anything you actually want to eat. Everything else? Just a small bit. Molly will make you try it regardless."

She looked over at him and nodded. She wasn't laughing, but the look in her eyes said enough.

"Sounds like you're an expert," she pointed out.

Harry shrugged.

"More like I've been through this enough to know how to make it an entire meal without Molly trying to give me second and third helping. The first time I came over I was too polite to decline. Ended up being sick the next two days. My dad thought it was hilarious."

As the meal progressed, Fleur endured round after round of questions from the adults, and Harry had to admit that she was taking everything in stride. She was, at the very least, faring far better than he had in his first Weasley gathering. As they talked about the differences between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, Harry looked over at Ron.

"How are things at the shop?" he asked.

"Pretty great, actually," replied Ron. "The locals were really excited for the grand opening. Hogsmeade is bigger than people give it credit for, so we think it'll be profitable year round."

"How'd you handle the first Hogsmeade weekend full of students?"

Ron shrugged.

"Well enough, though there was a group of Gryffindor students who kept causing trouble," he chuckled. "Had to give a live demonstration of some of the products to drive them away."

Hermione scowled. "You turned their hair green and silver!"

"Looking like snakes might make them think twice about causing problems next time," he shot back with a shrug.

Eventually, after Ron finished his animated accounting of new and upcoming products, Harry excused himself and went through the kitchen and out the back door to the yard. He'd started this particular part of his visits before he'd left Hogwarts. Once everyone got properly settled and bellies started to fill the controlled chaos would reach a fever pitch, at which point Harry would excuse himself to catch his breath.

He sat down on the bench out back and closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall of the house. He took several deep breaths before he heard a noise from his right.

"Oh, sorry Harry, I didn't realize anyone was out here."

He opened his eyes to see Fleur standing there with an apologetic look on her face.

"No worries." He raised an eyebrow. "Making a run for it?"

She blushed and looked away before shaking her head in embarrassment.

"No, it's not that," she replied, "I just wanted to get some air. It's…"

"Exhausting?" he offered. "Suffocating? Ten pints of ale in a five pint barrel?"

She laughed lightly and he felt something run through his stomach at the noise.

"Yeah, you could say that."

He stood up and jerked his head towards the back of the property.

"Come on, I'll show you the best spot to clear your head."

They began walking away and Harry couldn't help but take a look at her. She truly was beautiful, though he got the sense that she tried very hard to downplay that aspect of herself. The way she looked at the party meant she knew what she was doing, however, so he knew she didn't lack confidence. He'd not interacted with many Veela, but the magic surrounding her was warm, almost kind.

"So, Bill really just dropped you out here like a naked baby in the woods, huh?" he asked as they continued to walk along the fence.

She giggled.

"He didn't mean to, really. He was going to be here but they called him back to Egypt early," she defended before looking at Harry with a smile. "Thanks for the tip about the food. I caught Molly sneaking glances at my plate."

He shrugged.

"Only right that I help the newbie out. Have they given you anything good to help you get oriented to our little slice of the world?"

She nodded.

"Molly gave me the name of several places off the normal beaten paths that are good for shopping. Fred and George gave me the names of their favorite food places, including a bakery." Harry raised an eyebrow and she shrugged as they ducked under a branch. "I like pain au chocolat."

"Percy gave me a rather…detailed explanation of the Ministry. He's…very thorough."

"That's one way to put it," Harry said with a smirk as they finally got to the far end of the property. A small tree sat alone overlooking the countryside. "And here we are, the best place on the property."

"The view is gorgeous, I can see why you like it so much."

She shot him a smile that caused him to smile back. They sat down with their backs against the tree and stared out at the wide expanse before them, both content to let the moment pass in silence.

"Hermione and Ron's children kept talking about their aunt Ginny's match next week," Fleur said, breaking the silence. She looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. "I can assume someone is missing today?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah, Ginny, she's the youngest. She plays professional quidditch for the Harpies and Ron is taking them to one of her games next week. She's actually playing now, so she wasn't able to make it today."

"I take it you two share a history?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?"

Fleur shrugged.

"Fred made a comment about Molly trying to set you up?"

Harry laughed but nodded.

"Yeah, Ginny and I dated for several years," he confirmed. "Got together towards the end of our time at Hogwarts and made a go of it for a few years after leaving."

"In all honesty, I think Molly is scheming to get Bill and I together," she admitted. "She made some comments that were not as subtle as she thought they were."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeeeeah, Molly can get like that. She was more upset about our breakup than Ginny and I were."

"Oh?" Fleur said, eyebrows going up.

He nodded.

"Yeah, Ginny and I realized we weren't a fit for each other so we ended things. Molly spent a few weeks trying to convince us to get back together. She got over it eventually." He saw that she was watching him closely and his cheeks flushed the lightest shade of pink. "So yeah, it doesn't shock me at all."

"Really?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah. Eldest son, who isn't married, brings a beautiful woman home to meet the family but they're not dating? She's most certainly going to meddle in that."

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

"So you think I'm beautiful, Mr. Potter?"

Harry sent a smirk of his own back at her and shrugged.

"Beautiful enough for Bill Weasley."

She swatted his arm lightly and they both laughed at the joke. There was a natural comfort that he felt talking to her, as if they were two old friends catching up. He didn't know what made it easy to talk to her, but he got the sense that she felt it too. The presence of her magic lingered in the air, and he figured it was her allure, but it didn't seem to be affecting his thoughts or feelings. Either his occlumency was doing its job or she had very tight control.

"What is it you do, Mr. Potter?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

He looked back out to the countryside before standing up and looking down at her, offering his hand to help her up. If they waited any longer to go back there would be a search party, Harry reckoned, so they might as well go back now. Surprisingly enough, he realized he was disappointed with that fact. He wanted to sit and talk with her for longer, get to know her.

Maybe even ask her to lunch.

"Nothing quite so exciting as curse breaker, I'm afraid," he answered. "I'm an Auror, have been since I left school. Not sure how good I am, but they haven't kicked me out yet, so I must be doing something right."

She nodded as the house came into view.

"Was there anything specific that made you want to be an Auror?"

He nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, it was back when I was a kid…"

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The fire roared to life and Harry stepped through, cleaning himself off and making his way to the kitchen quickly. His parents were already seated when he barreled in, an apologetic look on his face as he leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he sat down, flicking his wand to cancel the warming charm on his plate. "Things ran long at the Burrow and I stopped by Nev's place to check in."

He had dinner with his parents once a week, without fail. They'd started it after he'd graduated and moved out, at his mum's urging. No matter what they were doing they were never too busy to eat a meal together, had been her reasoning. He'd known she didn't want to lose the close relationship they had, so he hadn't argued, though he wouldn't have complained regardless. He loved his parents.

"It's alright honey," Lily said, but Harry shook his head.

"No, it's not. I know you only get one night at home during the school year."

She waved her hand dismissively.

"It's fine Harry, I promise," she said as she took another spoonful of soup. "How is Neville?"

"Good. Little Terrance is apparently much better than Samantha was, though Hannah is having some problems sleeping. The healers said it's natural though."

Lily nodded.

"Yeah, I had the same thing after you were born. I'll send her my recipe for a potion I made to help with it."

Harry looked over at James.

"Just a heads up, I'm not sure Neville is going to come back."

James raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Why's that?"

Harry pointed in Lily's direction.

"Sprout is retiring soon and they're looking for a replacement. She sent him an apprenticeship offer and said Dumbledore would let him take her place if he accepts."

James groaned.

"Ugh, Sirius is going to be so smug."

Harry laughed and Lily patted James on the hand mockingly. There had been an unofficial bet between the two men on if Neville would come back. James was convinced Neville would be itching to get back to it the day after the baby was born. Sirius took the opposite stance, claiming his instincts were never wrong on these sorts of matters.

He told both Potter men to shove it after they got to the third example of when his instincts lead him astray.

"You could always just partner me up with Sirius," Harry suggested, causing James to shake his head violently.

"Never. I'd go gray early. Remember that time you two responded to a report of a break in at Fortescue's place? It took them four hours to completely clean up the ice cream. Four hours. With magic."

Harry shrugged.

"In our defense, the machine was just about a single strong breeze away from popping. Someone could have farted next to it and achieved the same result, and Sirius didn't mean to kick it."

James laughed and shook his head.

"You two were completely covered in ice cream from head to toe. It was funny, I'll give you that," admitted James.

As Lily was cutting the pie on the table and passing out slices, Harry furrowed his brow as a question popped into his head.

"Something on your mind son?" James asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry nodded and looked up at Lily as she placed the plate in front of him.

"Mum, why didn't you and dad have any more kids?"

Lily shrugged as she took a bite from her fork, savoring it before answering him.

"Never really felt the need for more. You and Neville grew up like brothers, so it always felt like we had two kids anyway. I'm sure Frank and Alice felt the same. By the time we talked about it I was already working on my mastery and your father had gotten promoted at work. Never really had a place to fit more kids in." She sent him a soft look and he could tell she was thinking back to memories of when he was a kid. "Before we knew it you were off to Hogwarts and we were old farts."

"Plus," James cut in, "you were such a terror as a child we couldn't stomach the thought of another you running around."

"James!" Lily protested, flicking a bit of pie at him, hitting him in the chest. He grabbed his chest dramatically and pretended to be hurt. Harry smiled at the exchange. His parents had always been that way, always having fun and showing their love in little, and sometimes childish, ways.

Lily looked back at Harry.

"What's got you thinking about that?"

He shrugged as he finished off his pie.

"Nothing, really. Just seeing Neville and Hannah's handful made me wonder, that's all." She looked unconvinced. "I promise, mum, that's all. Just idly curiosity. Not angling for a baby brother or sister."

"We could totally make that happen though," James pointed out.

Harry gagged.

"Ew, gross dad."

"What?" His dad's voice was filled with humor. "I'm just saying if you want a sibling we would gladly make that sacrifice for you. Could start trying tonight."

Harry gagged again.

"Merlin, please shut up. I don't want to think about my parents having sex."

James and Lily laughed at his obvious discomfort. He sent them the nastiest look he could muster. The clock on the wall chimed and Lily looked up, scowling.

"I need to get back to the castle."

They stood and she came over to Harry, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I love you, my only child," she said teasingly.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Love you too, mum." He briefly opened his eyes wider as he remembered something. "I just remembered, you might be getting an owl from a Gringotts curse breaker."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Someone I know?"

Harry shook his head.

"No, she just transferred here. Her name is Fleur Delacour-"

"That leggy blonde from the party…I should not have said that," James chimed in. Lily narrowed her eyes at him before a laugh escaped her lips.

"Yeah, one and the same," Harry confirmed. "She was at the Burrow today and we got to talking about her job. I mentioned you taught charms at Hogwarts and knew more about it than just about anyone I know."

"And don't you forget it," Lily said proudly. Harry shook his head.

"Anyway, she said she might owl you some stuff to bounce some theory off of you."

Lily nodded and hugged James, placing a kiss on his cheek. She turned back towards Harry.

"Wonderful. I look forward to it. See you next week."

With a toss of floo powder and a roar of the fire she was gone, leaving Harry and James alone. James nodded towards the liquor cabinet.

"Want a drink before you head back?"

Harry nodded.

"That sounds wonderful."

Harry plopped down into one of the cushy seats near the fire as James waved a bottle at him.

"Firewhiskey okay?" he asked.

"Sure, though I still don't see why you and Sirius like it so much. Scotch is much better."

James handed Harry a glass and took the other seat near the fire, taking a small sip as he stared into the fire.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. Your godfather and I grew up on this stuff, so it's kind of just a habit at this point." James held the glass up and looked at it before shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe it doesn't taste as good as other drinks, but it's got sentimental value, you know?"

"To being a sentimental old man," Harry said mockingly, tapping his glass against his father's before downing the entire contents, hissing as it went down.

"Oh, you're so funny," replied James with a roll of his eyes. "I may be old but I can still kick your arse."

"Whatever you say, old man."

"Anyway," continued James, ignoring Harry's comment, "Fleur Delacour, huh?"

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes. Of course his dad would bring her up, he should have known he wouldn't escape the night without some sort of interrogation. Whatever telepathic link his parents had, that he knew was completely real, he was sure his mum had given orders to get more information out of their son. They were almost as bad as Sirius, and at least his godfather had the excuse of not having a subtle bone in his body.

"Really? We're doing this now?"

James shrugged.

"You know how it goes. I'm going to get a floo call from your mother tomorrow asking for details so you'll have to give me something. Besides," a tentative look entered James face, and Harry knew his father was uncomfortable with what he was about to say, "you haven't really taken an interest in anyone since Ginny."

"How's mum doing now that she's at the castle full time? It's been over a year since she got the Gryffindor head of house appointment, right?" He'd try changing the subject, though this was something he'd been lax on and should have asked long ago.

James shrugged.

"Dumbledore knew nobody else would want the job when McGonagall decided someone else should take over, so he agreed to Lily's conditions without question. She spends one night a week here, plus our weekly dinner." James sent him an unamused look. "I think you being very moved out helped, but you're also trying to change the subject."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

"I wish everyone would stop acting like Ginny and I were some match made in heaven. We dated for a few years and then parted amicably. We're still friends."

James nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but you haven't really dated since," he pointed out. "I get not being hung up on your ex, but what made Fleur Delacour so special?"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. This is what he gets for being nice to someone.

"It's not like that. Bill just kind of dumped her off at the Weasley's and I didn't want her to drown in the sea that is the Burrow. You know how it gets over there."

"That I do," James said with a laugh. "They must all get it from Molly because Arthur is so mild mannered." He smirked. "So, you took the woman to meet the kinda-sorta-but-not-really in-laws for your first date. Unconventional, but I like your boldness."

Harry punched James lightly on the shoulder in annoyance.

"It's not like that! I gave her some tips on how to keep Molly off her back about eating and then we went for a walk around the property. She needed a break and so did I. She's…very easy to talk to and it was fun being around her. Maybe it was all in my head, but I felt like there was a connection there, something I hadn't gotten in a while."

Harry dropped his head at his words and instantly knew he shouldn't have revealed that bit of information. When he looked back up James was beaming at him. He sighed again.

"My son, a regular heart breaker," James said with pride. "A walk in the countryside, while it has the potential to be very creepy, is also incredibly smooth in the right setting. Sounds like a first date to me."

James stood and returned the bottle of firewhiskey to the cabinet before turning around and looking at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"So, are you going to see her again? Seems you two hit it off."

Harry floated his glass towards James before standing up and moving towards the fire. He shrugged, noncommittal.

"There was an open invitation. She knows where I work, I know where she works. We'll see what happens."

James nodded.

"Perfect," he said with a nod of his head. "Just the right amount of interest without seeming too desperate. Way to go, son. You learned from the best."

Harry rolled his eyes as he reached for the floo powder.

"Mum hated your guts until your 6th year at school, so I don't think there was anywhere to go but up from that lesson."

As he tossed the powder into the fire, spoke his flat name, and stepped into the fire he couldn't help but wonder if Fleur would want to see him again. He hadn't been lying when he said he'd felt like there was something there, an almost odd familiarity between the two. He wondered if that feeling would lead them anywhere.

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AN: Thanks for reading!