He knocked on the door and quickly let himself in, closing it quietly as he looked up to see her. She was standing in her usual spot at the center workbench, another artifact in front of her, though this one wasn't floating like the last few he'd seen. It was a simple wooden figure, clearly carved by hand, with sharp edges and lines etched deep into the wood.
"Another curse successfully broken?" he asked as he moved towards the bench.
She nodded.
"This one wasn't very difficult. It's been in the backlog for quite some time," she replied.
A matching wooden box floated towards her. She snatched it out of the air, picked up the figure, and placed it inside before closing the lid. She placed the box onto the workbench and tapped the top twice. A brief glow signaled that it had been sealed. With a casual flick of her wrist the box floated away and settled onto a shelf.
"It's actually going to be a museum piece, or so I'm told." She wiped her hands on her apron and sent him an odd look. Briefly, she opened her mouth before closing it, as if she wanted to say something but thought better of it. She glanced at his robes and smiled up at him. "I've finished the spell."
His eyes lit up. It had almost been a week since he'd spoken about the Shadow with her. Since she'd agreed to help him bring her down. It had been a whirlwind of activity for both of them, him assisting in the case being brought against those that were taken down in the raid on Nott manor while she had been inundated with requests at the bank.
Luckily, she'd made progress on designing the spell to counteract the voice distortion that the Shadow was using to disguise herself. He wasn't expected back in the department for a few hours, so he figured it was finally time to start making inroads into their plans. It also meant he could finally give the team back at the Ministry something new on the case.
"Fantastic," he said, "how does it work?"
She whipped out her wand and made a quick V motion in the air, ending it with a flourish that went up. The space in front of her lit for an instant before it appeared as if nothing happened.
"The Shadow likely cast the spell on themselves instead of their clothes," she explained as she turned towards him, "so as I said, it'll be almost impossible to develop a counter for it. The voice is so unique to every person. Different tones, pitches, and inflections when we speak. Even if you know the person, you don't know the details of their voice like they do."
She pointed to the space in front of him.
"Lucky for us, the base magic used to change your voice is the same. You're changing one sound into another." She looked up at him and smiled. "I could, if I wanted to, make you sound like this."
She pressed her wand to his throat and muttered a few words. He felt the tip of her wand warm before unfamiliar magic worked its way into his body. It wasn't unpleasant, he wasn't revolted by it, but it was different. He looked down at her and she gestured for him to speak.
"Make me sound like what?" he said, eyes widening as his voice came out at an incredibly high pitch.
She laughed as she placed her wand against his throat again and he felt the same magic wash over him. She then placed her wand over her own throat and he saw a brief glow wash through her.
"I can make myself sound the same," she said, the same high pitch as him coming from her.
He nodded.
"Right," he said as she repeated the canceling spell on herself, "so the basics are the same but the details are difficult. If we tried to counter the spell it could just change their voice into something else instead of nullifying it."
She smiled.
"Exactly right. So, we've got the building blocks, the core of the spell, if you will. What we do is create a space where those building blocks cannot function. In this case, we remove the ability for the charm to alter any sounds at all."
She pointed at the space in front of them.
"The only way to accomplish this, however, is to cast it on a specific area."
He raised an eyebrow.
"There's no way to attach it to a person?"
She shook her head.
"People are too…squishy, for lack of a better term," she said, furrowing her brow at his questioning look. "Magic interacts with living things differently than it does inanimate objects. It's more difficult to…anchor a spell to a person versus, say, a spot on the floor."
"Reasonable enough," Harry said as the explanation sunk in. He raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? I think you'd be brilliant."
She smiled at him.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Potter."
He winked at her before straightening up and indicating for her to continue.
"Right, so you'll need to trap them, it doesn't matter how, but as long as they're stationary you can cast the spell and it should nullify their work while they're busy trying to free themselves." She looked up at him. "It'll give you a chance to get them talking. Just a chance, but it's better than nothing. Ready to learn?"
For the next half hour they practiced, first slowly, going over the wand movement at a casual pace. She wanted to ensure he got the flourish at the end correct. Gradually she had him increase the pace until he was doing it at normal speed. Then it was just a matter of adding in the words, but by then he had mastered the more difficult part.
All the while he couldn't help but once again be impressed by Fleur. She was a natural, and he meant it when he told her she'd make a fantastic teacher. She was patient and kind, critiquing his form while giving him the confidence he needed to get it right. He hadn't been properly taught by anyone in years, and his last round of schooling had come at the end of a wand with little sympathy for mistakes.
As she called it a success he looked over at her and stopped. A strand of hair had escaped from her messy bun, falling in front of her face, and there was something about the way she looked in that moment that made his heart beat faster. She looked like she was glowing, and the smile on her face at his triumph made him feel as if he could take on the world.
She was radiant.
He reached out and brushed the strand of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek, leaning down, and kissing her. She reciprocated in kind, kissing him back with just as much tenderness. They broke apart and she smiled up at him.
"What was that for?" she asked.
"Because…" he started, but stopped. He smiled. "You're kind of brilliant. So, thank you."
She shook her head.
"You don't have to thank me."
"But I do," he countered as he released her and leaned back against the workbench. "You've helped me out a lot here. I get the feeling this is going to kickstart things with the team, and it wouldn't have happened without you."
She leaned back against the workbench next to him and rested her head on his arm as they looked out the small window in front of them. She was warm, and he could smell a faint hint of cinnamon in the air. He smiled. He could get used to this.
"I thought more about the Shadow while I was working on the spell," she said after several moments, breaking the comfortable silence. "I remembered picking up some papers while I was visiting my parents ages ago."
"What did they say?" he asked.
"If my memory isn't wrong, it seemed as if all the major papers at the time had credible information that the Shadow was connected to organized crime in France, specifically La Société pour l'amélioration de la France."
"For the Frenchly-challenged…?" he asked teasingly. "French is just words waiting to be translated into a real language."
She bumped her elbow against him.
"They call themselves 'The Society for the Improvement of France.' La Société for short. They're one of the biggest organized crime families operating in France," she explained. "I remember the papers being pretty confident in the connection."
"I've heard of them," Harry said as the English translation rang a bell in his mind. "Some of their dirty laundry spilled over here about a month ago. Just a small information exchange between us and the French Ministry. We had a junior Auror handle it."
Something clicked in Harry's brain. Organized crime could be the link to Rabastan that he'd been missing.
Fleur looked up at him.
"Perhaps the Shadow isn't here permanently? Perhaps she's just stopping by?" she mused.
Harry shrugged as he stood up, looking at the clock on the wall. He should probably get back to the office. It was time to start putting his plan into motion, though he was sure his dad wouldn't be happy he'd held onto the information about Regulus for so long.
"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "Regardless, we've got to operate under the assumption they're here to stay."
He hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"Dinner?" he asked.
She shook her head with a frown.
"Unfortunately, I've got to work late tonight." She gestured towards the opposite wall where a black and purple box rested on the workbench. "Your mother got back to me about the runes I'm having trouble with. She was very insightful, so I think I can get it done. There's a bit of a time crunch on that one so I'm going to attempt to finish it up."
He nodded and smiled, squeezing her shoulder before turning around and walking out of the room. Things were moving in the right direction and he knew that, with Fleur on one side and his team on the other, they'd figure out this case in no time. They'd find this Lord Riddle and shut down their operation, and maybe catch an international thief in the process.
.
.
It was several hours later when James opened the door to the war room, popping his head in to look at Harry.
"Everything alright in here, son?"
Harry gave him a cursory glance before turning back to the board, continuing to write upon its smooth surface.
"Yeah, just working some stuff out," he said.
"I see that," James replied, stepping fully into the room. "You want to let the rest of us in on the party? Neville said you've been here since you got back from the bank."
He pointed at the board.
"You want to tell me what all this is?"
"This," Harry said, stepping back from the board and giving it a long look, "is progress."
In the middle of the board, at the top, the word CULT? was written in big letters. From there, it spread, lines running from the word to other names and places, things they already knew and those that he suspected. The names of all those arrested at the Nott house had been separated on one section of the board, each one with details under their names containing what their family was known for in the department. Burke's name was directly next to them with the words "primary source?" written next to him.
A bidirectional arrow ran from the right of the word CULT? over to the Shadow, the words "Connection?" written below. A smaller line ran down from the Shadow ending in "Organized Crime?"
In the very center of the board was the name Lord Riddle.
Harry looked at James and smiled.
"Is the team here?"
James shook his head.
"Dawlish and Proudfoot are still with Legal wrapping up statements. Alice is down in the archives trying to verify something Sue Li claimed. Seamus went home to see his wife and I have no idea where Tonks is." He raised an eyebrow. "Need to toss some ideas around?"
"Kind of," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need to tell the team something."
James nodded and reopened the door, leaning halfway out.
"Sirius. Frank. Neville. Get in here, Harry has something."
As his three coworkers made their way into the room Harry took a deep breath. He'd done as much as he could alone, though Alice had gotten the bulk of the information displayed on the board for him. He would need to thank her profusely the next time he saw her. He'd never met anyone who could get information from other departments as fast as she could, though she was never willing to share her methods.
Sirius was standing in front of the board when he looked back up.
"Compiling everything we've gotten so far?" he asked as he looked up and down the board.
Harry nodded.
"Kind of," he said, "it's more about me trying to piece things together so that our next moves aren't without good information."
Frank grunted.
"Spell it out for us kid, some of this looks like gibberish."
"Right," Harry said with a deep breath, stepping to the middle of the board. "For lack of a better name, I'm just calling them a cult for now. The unicorn blood makes me lean that way, but it could be something else. Most of the left side of the board is dedicated to what we know. At least seven people directly involved in smuggling illegal artifacts, all potentially containing unicorn blood, through our slice of the world."
He pointed at the list of names of those who had been arrested.
"Alice did a lot of digging and was able to get hold of a substantial amount of business records for Crabb, Goyle, Nott, Parkinson, and Li. Crabb and Goyle both have dealings in Spain. Nott has dealings in Italy. Parkinson has a potions business that has locations in Germany, Belgium, and Denmark. Li's family holds a majority share of the second largest broom maker in all of Asia."
He looked back at the seated team.
"The more I dig, the more I think these families have been part of a larger operation that spans more than just what we're seeing here."
Neville nodded.
"It makes sense." He pointed at Burke's name on the board. "Utilize Burke's international black market contacts to keep anything moving between countries decentralized. Burke's the only one who knows everyone, but he's been doing it for so long that he knows how to not get caught."
"Exactly," Harry agreed, snapping his fingers.
"So how does Rookwood fit into this?" Frank asked.
"Croaker has basically shut down communication into or out of his department," James said, "but the Minister thinks that Rookwood was being used to steer us away from this group whenever we got too close for comfort. If one of our own investigations was starting to get within a certain distance of their lot then Rookwood was using his own influence here to misdirect us."
Sirius rubbed the back of his head.
"But we've been closing cases like normal for years. In fact, our closure rate has been on the rise, meaning we're getting better at our jobs. You mean to tell me he was smarter than all of us? That none of us could tell we were being manipulated?"
James shrugged.
"Minister didn't give me more." He blew out a long breath as he leaned back in his chair. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was twofold. First, he wasn't steering us away from completing our actual objectives. My guess is that he probably helped us more often than hindered our progress. Nudge us just enough away from their operation that we simply move on once we're done."
"And the other?" asked Harry.
"He probably had someone else helping him."
"Like who?" Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.
"Draco said all of this stinks of his father. Think about it. Rookwood was an Unspeakable, yeah, but not that influential. Nott's the only other one we arrested that has legitimate political power, but not enough to get very specific people to look the other way or change their story ever-so-slightly." James chuckled. "Draco also said Nott isn't brave enough to do anything without consulting Lucious first."
Harry nodded.
"I agree." Everyone turned to look at him. "What? When was the last time something shady went down here and the Malfoy name wasn't somehow, even in some small way, connected?"
"That's a fair point," conceded James.
Sirius raised his hand, causing Harry to roll his eyes and nod at him.
"What I want to know," his godfather said, "Is who the hell Lord Riddle is, and why is my brother's name written below it?"
"Yeah, that." Harry took a deep breath and looked at James. "Hear me out before you jump me, alright?"
James pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Dammit Harry, the last time you said that we had to explain to the goblins why a six foot tall Blast-Ended Skrewt was knocking on the bank door at the crack of dawn."
"In Harry's defense," Neville chimed in, "that was more Hagrid's fault."
James simply glared at him before looking back at Harry, indicating for him to continue. Harry reached into his robes and pulled out the half-burnt sheet of parchment, unrolling it carefully and handing it to Sirius.
"I found that at the manor the night of the raid."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" exclaimed James. "Please, for the love of Merlin, tell me you did not withhold evidence from the team for an entire fucking week?"
Frank sighed and rubbed his face, shaking his head lightly.
"You better have a damn good reason for this kid," he said, reading the page before passing it to James.
Harry waited until his dad had read the note and handed it to Neville. He'd been on the receiving end of an infamous James Potter rant before, mostly in his early years in the department, when mistakes were plenty and wins were far fewer. Despite their close relationship, his dad knew there were no favorites when they walked through the doors, so he never showed Harry any leniency. If anything, he was harder on him, critiqued him twice as much, made sure he knew when he screwed up.
He admired him for it and wouldn't want it to be any other way. He was a better detective because the Head Auror expected the best from everyone on his team, including his own son. Especially his own son.
"Harry, I could fire you for this," James finally said as he rubbed his face with his palm. "It was bad enough that the study caught fire, but this? This looks bad. It makes us all look bad."
"Dad, look-"
"Do you have any idea of the political tightrope we're walking here?" continued James, cutting off Harry's protest. "I've been in and out of meetings with Legal and the Minister the entire week having to justify and prove that everything we did was by the book." He grabbed the paper from the desk and held it up. "This? This puts that in jeopardy. Gives people like Nott the chance to walk free."
"James, perhaps we should let him explain?" Sirius suggested.
James gave his best friend a long look and Harry could tell one of their silent conversations was taking place. He'd seen them do this often while growing up, as if they knew what the other was thinking and could have mental arguments without voicing a single word. Finally James nodded.
Harry walked over to James and plucked the paper from his hand before walking back to the board, reading the note once more before turning around.
"I think this," he said, holding up the note, "ties it all together."
"Ties what together?" asked Nevile.
Harry pointed towards the right side of the board.
"I think it's why the Shadow is involved with this."
James raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to explain that one to me."
Harry looked at Sirius.
"Your brother and Rabastan were best friends in school, right?"
Sirius nodded.
"Yeah. They were like James and I except, you know, way less handsome," he confirmed with a smile.
"And what is the Lestrange family known for?" Harry prodded.
"Officially? They own the third largest supplier of parchment in Europe. Unofficially? Crime mostly, with some dark magic on the side. Though nobody has ever been able to prove it, they've got operations all over London, Scotland, and Ireland. Quite rich from it all."
Harry nodded.
"Right, so how do you get a bunch of influential families to do things that could possibly land them with long prison sentences if they get caught?" Harry asked.
"Threats of violence usually work, though you'd have to be coming from a place of power," Sirius reasoned. "People like Burke are easy to intimidate, but people like Nott and Parkison? It would take way more than threats to get them in line."
"So what if you had a family rumored to be into the darkest things imaginable telling you to work with them and they'll make you even wealthier, with an undertone of a threat?" Harry prodded.
Sirius blew out a deep breath.
"That's a big stretch, but it might work. People like Malfoy, Nott, and Parkinson are always looking to stretch their banks and influence, and if the Lestrange's and this Riddle character promised to do that I could see it happening. The question is why though? Why would they follow this Riddle person?"
Harry frowned and his shoulders sagged slightly.
"That's what I still don't know, but I think Regulus can fill in that gap."
"Before we unpack that family boggart," Frank said, waving his hand, "How does the Shadow fit in here?"
Harry smiled.
"I've been leaning on a source who's heard that the Shadow is tied to organized crime in France." He couldn't help but be amused at the thought of calling Fleur a source. "So, it's possible they've linked up with the Lestrange family to combine operations and make movement between here and France easier."
He ran a hand through his hair.
"Or maybe the Shadow is hunting the group, and this Lord Riddle is their leader. Maybe they stepped into the wrong territory across the pond and the Shadow is here to dig up dirt to use against them. Knowledge is power, even for criminals."
"That's a pretty big stretch," James pointed out. "Who's the source?"
Harry shook his head.
"Not yet. I'll tell you once I've gotten more, though I think they can lead me to the Shadow. Or at the very least, help me catch them."
Sirius raised his hand again.
"Let's get back to my brother." His lip curled in displeasure. "As much as the thought sickens me."
Harry pointed back at the center of the board.
"This Lord Riddle thinks your brother and Rabastan are dirty. Even if they're not, it's worth checking out, don't you think?"
"How are you supposed to get him to help?" Sirius asked. "I haven't spoken to Regulus in almost twenty years. The last time I saw him we got into a fist fight."
"Can you get Narcissa to set up a meeting?" Harry asked.
Narcissa Malfoy was an unpleasant woman who believed she was Merlin's gift to man. She was vain and haughty in a practiced way that had been ingrained in her since birth. It's a small miracle that Draco was a functional adult, given who his parents were. Still, she was the best option they had, and there was one key detail.
She owed him a favor.
Sirius scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe?" he guessed. "I don't know. She's probably going to want something in return."
"We're not letting Nott go free," James said forcefully.
Harry waved them both off, a wide grin on his face.
"We won't have to. What's the one thing purebloods hate more than muggleborns?"
Sirius' eyes grew wide.
"Narcissa Malfoy owes you a favor?"
Harry nodded, a cheeky grin still plastered on his face.
"Yep, and not just a small one. I saved Draco's life a few years ago."
"When did this happen?" Frank asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The night of Zabini's stag party. Him and his friends were out drunk and got into a fight with another group of drunks. Draco got unlucky and was hit with a nasty curse. I was coming back from meeting an informant when I saw the end of the fight."
"How have I never heard about this?" asked James.
Harry shrugged.
"Draco asked me not to tell anyone." He looked back at Sirius. "So tell Narcissa we're even if she sets this up."
Sirius scratched his chin and thought for a long moment before looking over at James.
"This…isn't the worst plan we've ever come up with."
James sighed and nodded.
"What do we do with this evidence?" Neville asked, pointing at the page.
It was evidence from the scene of the raid. Evidence that he'd hidden. It should be handed over, put in with everything else they found. That was the right thing to do, but Harry was sure that wasn't the smart thing to do. Without a word he grabbed the paper and touched the tip of his wand to it, igniting it. He watched until it disappeared into ashes.
James got up and walked out with a word. Sirius laughed and clapped Harry on the back.
"He'll calm down, don't worry. We all know that was the best thing for it." The grin fell off his face as he gave Harry a determined look. "Give me some time to set things up with Regulus. You and I will go, no one else."
Harry nodded. This would work, he knew it, and it would bring them one step closer to figuring out the puzzle that was Lord Riddle.
He silently hoped it would also lead to another encounter with the Shadow.
.
.
"Stop sulking or your face will get stuck like that."
Harry shook his head, brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Lily's voice.
"What was that?"
Lily rolled her eyes.
"I said stop sulking," she repeated, "my son looks much more handsome when he's not frowning."
He nodded and smiled at her before taking another bite of food. He was at his parents house for their regular weekly meal, though James had gotten caught up at the Ministry. He'd disappeared into his office, but not before giving Harry instructions to have dinner without him. His mum had been disappointed, but she quickly recovered, saying time with him was time well spent.
"Honestly, Harry," she said, placing her fork on her plate and giving him a hard look, "he won't be angry with you for long, you know that."
He shrugged.
"It's not the anger that I'm worried about," he admitted.
"What then?" Lily asked, though she had one of those knowing looks. The ones she used to give him growing up when she knew the answer but wanted to see if he could get it himself.
"The way he looked at me when he told me to have dinner without him wasn't anger." Harry looked up at his mother. "He's disappointed, and I think that's far worse."
She laughed lightly and covered her mouth.
"Never change my sweet boy, never change." He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You've always given it your all when it comes to making sure you never let down anyone counting on you. Going above and beyond in most cases. Yet you've still felt the need to prove yourself, drive yourself even harder, and the one time you slip up you don't know what to do."
Harry sighed.
"Am I that easy to read?" he asked.
"No, not particularly," Lily said as she flicked her wand, sending their plates into the kitchen for cleaning. "I'm your mother, it's my job to look at you and know exactly what you're thinking."
"Got any advice, oh wise one?"
"Just let him cool off," she advised. "In a few days you'll be back to giving each other a hard time and he'll be back bragging about you to everyone when you're not around."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"He does that?"
Lily nodded.
"Has since the day you learned to walk." She laughed as she got a distant look in her eyes, reliving a memory. "The day you made the Quidditch team at Hogwarts? I don't think there was an employee at the Ministry who didn't know by the end of the week."
Harry shook his head and chuckled.
"No wonder people think I have it easy."
"They wouldn't think that if they knew what Mad Eye put you through," Lily growled before shaking her head. "Enough of that though. I spoke with Fleur."
He nodded.
"Yeah, she told me you two have been writing to each other about the runes issue she's having."
"We have," confirmed Lily, giving him a sly smile, "but we had a floo call yesterday."
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He knew where this was going, it was the same conversation they had every time he was dating someone. He'd had it several times at Hogwarts and at least twice in the years he dated Ginny. Hell, she'd even somehow found out he and Astoria were having an incredibly brief fling and managed to work one in.
It was the same every time. She'd ask what they were like. She'd want to know how things were going. They'd talk for a while before eventually she'd warn him not to get hurt. Fathers weren't the only parents who could be overprotective of their children, he'd learned over the years. Far from it. His dad encouraged him to date and date often, though that might be more Sirius' influence than anything.
"Oh, she's wonderful Harry," Lily said with a wide smile.
He cocked his head to the side.
"She…is?"
"Yes you big oaf, and you should know that." She gave him a chiding look before smiling again. "She's brilliant and just the absolute sharpest. We talked for over an hour last night about charms and runes. It was simply fantastic."
Harry scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. These were…uncharted waters.
"It…was?"
"Are you broken or something?" Lily asked, causing Harry to raise his hands in defeat.
"Sorry, it's just, this is kind of new," he said defensively.
"You've dated before, Harry," she replied. "Shall I list them chronologically or alphabetically?"
"Not that, mum," he grunted, rolling his eyes. "Though it's kind of scary you can legitimately do that."
"It's a mother thing," Lily replied casually.
"I meant you approving of someone I'm dating," he clarified. "That's never happened. Ever."
She gasped.
"I have too!"
"Have not!" Harry shot back with a smile. "Remember what you told me about Ginny after we both graduated?"
Lily looked away, suddenly very interested in the paint on the walls.
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," she tried.
"I'll remind you then," he offered, clearing his throat. "You said, quote, 'Don't try to force a relationship just because you think it's what everyone else expects. Do what makes you happy.' Ringing any bells yet?"
Lily huffed.
"I never said that."
Harry rolled his eyes.
"When we broke up you said you were glad because it was like looking at a younger you each time Ginny was around."
"Well it was!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up as Harry laughed. "Neither you nor your father could see it. I nearly made him see a healer to get his eyes checked!"
"What I'm saying is it means a lot to me that you like Fleur," he said, eyes still sparkling with humor. "She's great, and I really like her."
"Oh, Harry, that's so wonderful to hear," Lily said, eyes brightening and a smile returning to her face. "I could tell you mean a lot to her."
His eyes opened wide.
"Really?"
"Yes, really," she confirmed. "We talked about you. She told me a bit about why she moved here, about her sister dying, but I got the sense there was something more."
"More?"
Lily nodded.
"Yeah, though I couldn't quite place it. Maybe it's just my mother's intuition, but there's more to Fleur Delacour than smarts and a nice figure." She looked over at Harry. "Does she make you happy?"
He nodded and smiled.
"She does, and it's different than it was with Ginny. Or anyone else." He ran a hand through his raven locks and looked down at the table. "Each time I see her she does something totally unexpected but absolutely brilliant. She'll listen to me bitch and whine about my day but she never dismisses it. She'll know exactly what to say when I'm done and instantly things are turning around."
Lily beamed at him.
"Oh honey, I'm so glad you've found someone who really fits with you. Even if she's French," she added with a wink.
They both laughed at the terribly unfunny joke, but he couldn't help but notice that a knot, one he hadn't even known was there, unwound in his chest. He hadn't spoken to his parents much about Fleur in the months they'd been dating, casual mentions in conversations aside, but he hadn't realized just how much his mum's opinion mattered to him. He'd never cared before what she thought of the people he dated, and his dad was always on his side, so it was truly an odd sensation to experience.
He wondered if perhaps it had less to do with his parents opinion and more to do with his own deepening feelings for the blonde curse breaker who he'd found a comfortable place in his life for?
.
.
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AN: Thanks for reading!