Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 51: Young Love

Greengrass' home was extravagant. There was no other way to put it. When we walked through the gates, it felt like we had walked back in time. Back to summer.

There were no traces of yellow or red on the leaves. Everything was green and blossoming. The grass was cut perfectly, not a single blemish or patch of yellow anywhere.

Was this how every pureblood 'manor' looked?

Dumbledore knocked on the door three times. It swung open to reveal a couple.

Isabella Greengrass hadn't changed much; her hair looked identical to the photograph. A couple of wrinkles in the previously smooth face was the only sign of ageing. She was scowling now though, quite the contrast to the picture.

Her husband towered over the two of us. His hair was brown but a couple of silvery strands were beginning to slip through. His eyes were grey and hard.

He held out his hand. "Good evening, headmaster," Greengrass' father said, his voice even and strict.

Dumbledore shook his hand and turned to Isabella. "A pleasure to see the two of you again, how many years has it been since you left Hogwarts?"

The husband smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, it barely reached his mouth. "19 next summer, I think."

Dumbledore nodded. "Is it that long? It felt like I saw you put on the hat yesterday."

Isabella smiled. "Time flies."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said. "Allow me to introduce my companion, Harry Potter."

Isabella extended her hand. "I'm Isabella Greengrass, Daphne's mother." Her smile was warm as summer, but her eyes were colder than hell.

I began to realise that Daphne shared more similarities to her mother than the appearance.

"Nice to meet you."

The husband shook my hand too. "Jonathan Greengrass, owner of 'Greengrass' Guard, perhaps you've heard of it?."

I shook his hand firmly. "Pleasure, I've seen your sign in the alley."

He nodded. "Yes. I don't visit it often, but that is our office."

Jonathan gestured for us to come in and led us inside a parlour. We were led to sit in an armchair each. They sat next to each other on the couch.

Jonathan cleared his throat. He turned to me. "I think I already know what this meeting will be about, but go on, ask the question?"

Dumbledore exchanged a glance with me. "Really?" he said. "Well, we have some questions about an old friend of yours."

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Huh, really? Which friend are we talking about here?" There was a sharp undertone to his voice.

I got the impression that many of Jonathan's old friends weren't exactly aligned with me and Dumbledore.

Exactly how sympathetic was this family to Voldemort?

Dumbledore turned to Isabella, who was looking at me with suspicion, as if I was going to steal something the second she blinked. "We want to talk about Regulus Black, we believe the two of you knew each other in your youth?"

Isabella blinked in surprise, her cold glare was shattered for a moment.

"Regulus?" Isabella said. "He's been dead for years."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, we know; but we want to ask a couple of questions pertaining his demise."

Isabella glared at me, a picture I almost found familiar. She sneered at Dumbledore. "You know how he died." Isabella scoffed. "You and your followers incinerated him and his friends like they were fucking matchsticks." She shook her head in disgust. "We couldn't even tell him apart from his dead friends, that whole house and everyone in it was turned to ashes."

"What are you doing, coming into my house and asking questions about friends who you killed?" Jonathan said evenly, his hands clenched into fists.

Dumbledore held his hands up. "I apologise for what happened in Hogsmeade, it is a great regret of mine. I believed he perished there until very recently too. However, we have found some new evidence which points that he died somewhere completely different."

"Where is he then?" Jonathan spat out. His eyes were throwing daggers at Dumbledore; but every so often, he would throw a nervous glance at his wife.

Jonathan was scared Regulus could be alive, I realised. Huh, perhaps their marriage wasn't as perfect as Isabella's and Regulus' relationship was.

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "He is nowhere," I said. "He's dead and has been for years. Where did he die? And how? We can tell you that. . . if you can tell us a few things too." I gestured to Isabella. "We found a letter you wrote to him, just before he disappeared. You mentioned that he was on a mission, we want to know what he did on that mission, and anything else which might be useful."

Jonathan sneered at me and muttered something I didn't catch. Isabella looked at me with satisfaction, like I had proven her right about something. "Why would you have a letter I sent to Regulus?"

I smiled, mocking her silently. "It's simple. I own his former house. The letter was found in his room. It was a very interesting read, I must say."

Isabella's eyes were hard as steel. "Can you show me the letter?"

I glanced at Jonathan. "I could, of course. But do you want me to?" I asked, looking at her pointedly.

Jonathan was looking at me with narrowed eyes.

I could see the moment Isabella realised what the letter was, and what it held. Her shoulders tensed and a spark of fear snuck into her eyes. "Perhaps that won't be necessary." She pondered the question. "You will tell me what happened to him if I tell you about the mission?"

"That's our deal."

She swallowed. "Okay. Let's see." Isabella sighed and concentrated. "Regulus never actually went on a mission himself, I think. The Dark Lord needed the assistance of a house elf, so Regulus offered it the job." She paused for a moment. "I think it was named Kreacher, Regulus and it was close, I think, he always treated it nicely."

Kreacher? How hadn't we thought about that earlier?

"Do you know what Voldemort needed him for?"

Jonathan and Isabella winced. "Don't say his name," Jonathan whispered with a glare.

Isabella shook her head. "No, I don't think the Dark Lord ever told Regulus why he needed him."

Her eyes snapped to mine. "Now, tell me, how did he die?"

She essentially told us nothing, but I could tell she knew next to nothing.

"He drowned," I said. "Drowned by inferi."

Isabella nodded, I thought I could see a thin layer of water over her eyes. "Where? How? Why?" she said, her voice emotionless. Never did she remind me more of her daughter.

I shrugged. "It's in a cave, next to some inferi, as I said. As for the why, we really don't know either. We thought the mission could be related somehow."

Isabella shook her head. "Regulus never mentioned a cave or inferi."

"What did Regulus think about the dark lord?" Dumbledore asked, saying something for the first time in a while.

"I think you already know." Isabella pinched her nose. "If this is some kind of trick to get us to admit to being in league with the Dark Lord, you won't succeed. Everyone had friends on both sides back in the day."

I rolled my eyes. "We're just wondering if Regulus ever showed signs of doubting Voldemort."

Both winced again and glared at me; I remained unphased and looked at them, waiting for an answer.

"Regulus was a good loyal man." Her eyes vibrated with pure hatred. It was something I hadn't seen in months, those eyes with that emotion; it took me back to last year.

"I think that tells us everything we need to know," I said.

But it didn't. Isabella spoke about their relationship, not about his fealty to Voldemort.

Dumbledore stood up. "Thank you for your help, we should be on our way."

"Hold up for one second, we have a couple of questions for you." He gestured to me. "We've wanted to meet you for quite some time."

I met his eyes without flinching, daring him to go on. "Really?"

He sneered at me. "You and my daughter. . . how is it going?" he spat out, like the words were bitter and sour.

I got the impression that he tried to appear polite, but failed dramatically.

"She loves me," I said. "I'm sure there'll be a baby on the way soon."

Dumbledore's face was even, I could practically see the calculations in his head.

Oh well, the cat was out of the bag.

Isabella chuckled at my remark. "Daphne was right then, you are a bastard."

I raised my eyebrows. "Thank you, but I would refrain from calling me such things, I might, accidentally, give that letter, and everything that came with it, to someone you wouldn't want me to." I smiled at her. "I wonder what you daughter would think about you, seeing such things. . ."

Isabella sneered at me. "Goodbye, Mr. Potter. I'll be looking forward to seeing you again."

Jonathan looked at me, his demeanour cold. "Goodbye."

-()-

We returned outside the gates of Hogwarts. On the walk from the gates to the castle, Dumbledore said, "I find myself curious about what Mr. Greengrass was referring to between you and his daughter. I must admit that I wasn't aware that you and Ms. Greengrass are dating."

"We're not dating, far from it. There is a contract. A marriage contract between us."

Dumbledore stopped for a moment. I looked back at him and stopped too. "Between you and who? Daphne or Astoria?"

"Daphne," I said.

Dumbledore started walking again slowly, I joined him. "When did you find out? When did it become active?"

Should I tell him the truth?

I sighed. "Right at the end of my fourth year."

"After you returned from the graveyard?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore frowned. "How did it become activated?"

I shrugged. "I claimed something inside my family vault that activated the contract."

The headmaster sighed. "I assume you've contacted a professional solicitor to see if it can be deactivated."

"The very best. And unfortunately, short of either of us dying, there is no way out."

Dumbledore nodded to himself as we walked back to the castle.

"Harry, I know that I haven't been the mentor you have needed, but please, know that you can share things like this with me."

I opened my mouth but he cut me off.

"I don't deserve your trust, but I fear that it will be required if we shall get to the bottom of this mystery."

I nodded. "I'll think about it."

We arrived at the entrance hall. "Can you come to my office tomorrow at 6? Then we can have a little chat with your elf."

"I'll be there. Goodbye professor."

He smiled at me, his eyes forlorn. "Goodbye Harry."

-()-

Throughout the entirety of the next day, I could feel Greengrass' eyes fastened to me like a rope. Yet every time I looked her way, she was engaged in some conversation or the other.

For the third evening in a row, I was meeting Dumbledore at 6. Part of me felt flattered that he put as much faith in me as he did. Another part wondered why he had suddenly started this new trend. Did he do it in an attempt to get me away from other activities?

Either way, I needed that horcrux destroyed as much as he did. After that one, there was only Nagini left. And Voldemort, of course. Neither would be easy to get to.

Before the imminent meeting with the headmaster, I had a meeting with someone else.

I knocked on the door to Greengrass' room resolutely. A couple of seconds later it was opened to reveal a girl with an annoyed expression.

"Finally, you're here."

She gestured for me to come inside. The bodies I had conjured the day before were still lined up, all of them showed many signs of having been flayed repeatedly.

"Preparations going well?"

Greengrass nodded. "Yes, I'm as ready for tomorrow as I'll ever be."

"That's good." I leaned on a chair and observed the bodies. "Anyway, I came here to talk about–"

"The meeting with my parents, yes," Greengrass interrupted. "Now, tell me everything."

"As I said yesterday, I can't tell you everything, classified information and all."

Greengrass glared at me. "We had a deal–"

"However, I can tell you the gist of it," I interrupted.

I sat down in an armchair and waited for her to do the same. Greengrass did so and folded her legs. She scrutinised me with searching eyes. "You've stalled enough. Now, tell me all about this Regulus Black and why he has got anything to do with my mother."

I frowned. Should I reveal to her that her mother had been in love with someone who wasn't her father?

She had said she wanted to know. . . but she didn't know what she wanted to know.

"It would be easier to show you. . . " I said. "But don't tell your mother I did, okay?"

Daphne looked at me, her gaze odd. "Sure."

"We found this…letter from your mother. A letter sent to Regulus Black." I paused for a moment. "Said letter was sent by your mother shortly before Regulus died."

Greengrass was observing me with a neutral expression, processing the information. "Okay, go on."

"Me and the headmaster found Regulus' body somewhere unexpected and we wondered how he got there and, well, died. We thought your mother might know something about that."

Greengrass raised an eyebrow. "Did she?"

I shrugged. "Not exactly, but she gave us a lead." I steeled myself and met her analysing blue eyes. "That's all I can tell you. I would say 'I'm sorry', but I'm not."

Greengrass folded her hands in her lap neatly. She reminded me a lot of another witch I knew well within the castle -except Greengrass' eyes were blue.

Greengrass flicked her hair and sighed in frustration. "Right. I'm not trustworthy and all, right?"

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at the sudden irritation. "I didn't say that. We haven't told anyone else about any of this, you should feel honoured that I'm even telling you this."

Greengrass snorted. "Honoured? Ahh, yes, I feel so incredibly honoured by you telling me that my mother knew some guy who is now dead."

I shrugged. "You wanted to know. I told you."

"Sure." She ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes.

They snapped open. "The letter." She looked at me, her eyes sharp. "You mentioned a letter, do you still have it?"

I smiled sheepishly. "I do, but I'm not sure you want to see it."

Greengrass smiled. "Oh really? Why is that?"

I chuckled nervously. "Let's just say that your mother used…uhh…expressive language."

Greengrass looked into my eyes for a moment. "Now I really want to see this letter. One question: what was my mother's relationship status with this Regulus Black?"

I sighed, but smiled. "They were a couple. Not married, but a couple."

The girl lit up like a candle. "Oh?" Her mouth fell open. "You said she used 'expressive language'. Are you trying to tell me that you found a love letter?" Greengrass was looking at me like I gifted her a billion galleons.

I couldn't contain my smile. "Yes." I said, conceding defeat, and ran a hand through my hair. "Although calling it a 'love letter' is an understatement."

Greengrass extended her hand. "Show it to me." It wasn't a question, and I feared that she would not relent until I gave it to her.

I observed her extended hand for a moment.

"How did you know I have it with me?"

"You just confirmed it. Now, give it to me," she ordered.

I sighed and took the parchment out of my pocket. I did not hand over the picture, perhaps that wasn't a…well, a picture she wanted of her mother.

Greengrass gripped the letter tightly and started to scan the paper.

"Thank you for the gift, as you can see in the picture, they fit me very well," Greengrass muttered. She lifted her eyes to me, questioning, then she continued to read, "since you gave them to me, I think it is only right that you will be the one to take them off the next time we meet."

Greengrass mouth fell open like a gaping fish. Her blue eyes popped of disbelief, it was as if someone had told her that Hogwarts was in India.

She laughed, like a melody. "What. . . do you have the picture too?" Greengrass asked. Her voice was weak, disbelieving.

I nodded. "Yes, though I warn you–"

"Show it to me," Greengrass ordered. A mischievous smile was on her lips.

I cursed myself and handed her the picture.

Greengrass looked at it with open eyes. "Wow." Greengrass shook her head and laughed. It was the first time I had seen her do that. "The hypocrisy!"

She smiled at me broadly, her eyes sparkled and her hair shone. "Thank you, Potter. This is pure gold. No, actually, it's better than pure gold!"

I tried not to blush. "I wasn't sure that you would like to read this, I mean, it is your own mother."

Greengrass smiled. "Exactly, this isn't even prime blackmailing material, it's something more."

"You'll blackmail your own mother?" I asked, incredulous.

She nodded, as if that was completely normal. "She better give me one hell of a christmas gift. . . Perhaps she will even allow me to wear what I want." Daphne smiled at me, revealing her brilliant teeth; I felt my cheeks grow warm. "Thank you, Harry, because of you, there will be some changes in our household."

I snorted, looking at my feet. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." I chuckled and dared to look up into her eyes. "Although, if you think the beginning of that letter was bad. You don't want to read the rest."

Greengrass grinned at me. "Oh yeah?" she breathed out. Her eyes were wide in excitement.

I had never seen her like this before.

She was so pretty.

She raised her eyebrows. "This Gabriella, I think she works at our company, she is a secretary or something."

Greengrass continued to read. "I long to have you in my arms again." Greengrass pretended to gag. "She sounds like a lovesick teenager," she said.

I laughed. "That's an understatement, and if that only was all of it."

The girl went further down the page and her eyebrows rose up and into her hairline. "My mother and this Regulus fucked while they were Hogwarts?" Greengrass laughed, I almost thought she was going crazy.

"My mother is such a hypocrite," Greengrass said. "I don't even know how many times she has told me and my sister to never get involved with a boy before we quit school. Ha!" Greengrass frowned. "And yet there she was, banging her boyfriend like a horny teenager."

At that point, I don't think that Greengrass even remembered I was in the room.

"You are the sun to my moon."

"Only your fire can warm my icy heart."

"Every night, I yearn for your fiery touch."

"Only when your burning skin is against mine, do I feel free."

"The second I return home again, on you, I will feed."

"I love you Regulus, you are the one I need," Greengrass read aloud.

She looked at me and clutched her heart. "I think I'll cry." She wiped fake tears from her eyes. "How emotional, how touching."

I chuckled at her antics. "You should recite the thing to her, see how she reacts."

Greengrass smiled, I could see a plan forming in her head. "Brilliant idea. I think she'll faint."

She continued to read the letter with a wide, relaxed smile on her face.

My eyes were drawn to her gleaming, flowing hair and the shining, white teeth. I swallowed, and stared outside the window. All of a sudden, I couldn't get the image of her smiling at her out of my mind, nor could I stop thinking about her perfume floating through the roam.

The smile slid off her face like someone had cast a bucket of ice on her suddenly.

"I think Jonathan is fucking Gabriella," she whispered. She swallowed and looked at me.

It all clicked into place; the letter, the meeting, Greengrass' desperate look. The Jonathan in her letter was her father.

Greengrass sighed and put the letter down. She stared off into the distance, all trace of her previous excitement gone. "So back then, he was fucking the girl who is now working as a secretary at his company."

I opened my mouth and closed it again. What on earth was I supposed to say?

She sighed. "Oh well, you did warn me."

"You alright?"

She shrugged. "I always felt that my parents' relationship lacked depth. I shouldn't say that this confirms it, but if I've interpreted the situation correctly… Well, let's just say that my parents didn't marry for love."

I remained silent.

Greengrass picked the letter back up and finished it. "Oh well, that was illuminating, if nothing else."

"I guess, are you sure you're alright?"

She smiled at me, rolling her eyes. "Yes, and thank you Potter, you've partly disproved my claims that you are an idiot."

"Only partly?"

"Perhaps not." She smirked at me. "You've marginally disproved them."

I shook my head with a smile. "Thank you for the kind words."

I stood up to leave. "I need to get going, I've got somewhere to be."

Greengrass nodded curtly, her face back to being neutral. "I see." She frowned. "Just one thing Potter, before you leave."

I stopped in the doorframe. "What?"

"This thing we've got going here." She paused for a moment and I turned around. "You've grown comfortable coming here to see me here, but you will not do so in public."

I nodded. "Of course, I won't. I'd be stupid to put you in danger like that."

"I don't care about that, no one will harm me." She shook her head and looked outside the window. "Everyone will stare at us," she said, her voice breaking. Her eyes landed on her own feet. "I don't want them to do that. Not at me, okay?."

"I get that Greengrass. Don't worry, we'll keep this a secret for as long as you want."

-()-

"Kreacher!"

Me and Dumbledore were seated in his office, having summoned the elf to shed some light upon what might have happened to Regulus.

The house elf I had inherited from Sirius appeared in the middle of the circular office.

The short elf glared at us with his large, globular, eyes. The clothes he wore were mere rags, like every house elf I had met.

"Kreacher has come to the unworthy master when called upon."

"Call me master, nothing else," I bit back.

Dumbledore frowned beside me.

The elf glowered at me but bowed. "What does Master want from Kreacher?"

"Do you know how Regulus Black died?"

The entire elf winced, as if hit by an electrical current. "Yes. Kreacher knows what happened to good master Regulus."

"Go on then, tell us."

Kreacher folded his arms. "Kreacher can't. Regulus told Kreacher to never tell anyone."

I sighed. "But Regulus isn't your master now, I am. So you will listen to my orders now."

Kreacher glared at me but I remained unphased. "Kreacher will tell the master."

The elf plumped down on the floor. "The Dark Lord asked regulus if he could borrow Regulus' house elf." The elf beamed. "Regulus said yes and Kreacher got to help good master Regulus."

The smile fell off Kreacher's face immediately, it was replaced by an absent look. Haunted. Kreacher gulped.

"The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a cave with a lake in it."

Me and Dumbledore exchanged a look. Bingo.

"The Dark Lord had Kreacher drink a potion." Kreacher started to shake violently. "It was horrible."

Kreacher's large, shining eyes stared into mine. I was taken aback by the pain and anguish present in them. "Kreacher has never seen anything else like it, he had to drink a potion and it messed with Kreacher's head. Kreacher couldn't sleep for months."

"It's alright Kreacher, what happened next? What happened to Regulus?"

Dumbledore had mentioned a potion as a defence, it seemed that Kreacher had been the poor test subject for the defences.

"Good master Regulus was mad when Kreacher came home sick. Some days went by, then good master Regulus came home after a meeting with his friends."

"Which friends?" I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.

"The cloaked ones."

I nodded. "I see."

"Good master Regulus was very upset, Mr. Malfoy had said something about the beautiful Isabella."

Kreacher smiled fondly. "Good master Regulus had a very beautiful girl. Kreacher thought they would have had very beautiful children."

"Do you know what Mr. Malfoy said about Isabella?" I interrupted. "Why was Regulus upset?"

Tears welled up in Kreacher's eyes. "Kreacher doesn't know exactly. Kreacher only caught some things." He gulped loudly. "Evil Mr. Malfoy said that Regulus' friends should be allowed to have fun with the beautiful Isabella when she came home."

Realisation dawned on me. "What happened then? How is Voldemort involved?"

"Good master Regulus was upset. He went to the Dark Lord and complained." Regulus had tears streaming down his face. "Good master Regulus came home trembling. He collapsed on his bed, shaking. Kreacher cared for good master Regulus through the pain. Good master fell asleep clutching his picture of the beautiful Isabella."

I nodded. "What then?"

"Good master Regulus asked about where Kreacher had taken the Dark Lord. Kreacher then took him there."

I leaned forwards in anticipation.

"I led good master Regulus to the cave and showed him to get to the lake."

Kreacher burst into sobs, tears were streaming down his face.

I grimaced. "It's alright Kreacher. Just tell us what happened then, it might help Regulus."

He wiped his tears. "Kreacher wanted to drink the potion again, so good master Regulus didn't have to do it." Kreacher shook his head. "Good master Regulus was too good, he sacrificed himself for worthless Kreacher."

The house elf punched himself in self hatred.

"Don't do that, Kreacher," I said. "Just finished the story, what did you find?"

"There was a locket submerged in the potion. Good master Regulus told Kreacher to take it and replace it with a fake he had brought with him."

Kreacher sniffed and stared into nothingness. "Then good master Regulus tried to take something to drink…" The elf gulped. "Dead bodies came out of the water. Before he was dragged into the water he ordered Kreacher to escape and destroy the locket."

Kreacher collapsed and became a heap of flesh and bone. "Kreacher failed good master Regulus' last wish. Kreacher couldn't destroy the locket."

"The locket, do you still have it?"

I wasn't religious but I was figuratively on my knees praying for the answer to be 'yes'.

The house elf shook his head and my heart fell like a stone in open air. "No. The thief took it."

Kreacher glowered. "The thief horrible master Sirius allowed into the home stole what good master Regulus had given his life to get."

"Who was the thief?"

"Mundungus Fletcher," Dumbledore said.

I had forgotten he was still in the room. "He is in your order, can you get him to give it to you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, assuming he still has it."

I sighed. "I bloody well hope so, we've been on this goose chase for too long already."

Dumbledore sighed. "I will contact him immediately." He bent down to be on level with Kreacher. "I also have a question, Kreacher. What did the locket look like?"

The house elf folded his arms. "Kreacher won't tell the esteemed headmaster anything."

"Answer his question," I ordered.

"It was green and silver, and had a large S on it," he said sourly. "It couldn't be opened, no matter what Kreacher did to it. Nothing could make the slightest dent."

Dumbledore stood up. "Thank you, Kreacher."

"You can go now," I said.

The elf disappeared with a crack.

Dumbledore started to pace the room. "We still don't quite know what happened in the cave."

"Voldemort could have visited after the robbery in the bank, and found the fake locket, then fished Regulus out of the water," I said. "But that doesn't explain why there was so much ash."

Dumbledore hummed. "Voldemort wouldn't have needed to defend himself from his own inferi, which points towards the fact that someone else did it."

"Could it have been Regulus, before he died?" I shook my head. "No," I answered my own question. "It still smelled like smoke inside. Sure, the cave has bad circulation, but it should have disappeared in over ten years."

"You're right."

"So there was someone else in there," I said. "It must be. The one-armed man," I whispered. "He must have gone there, then had to fight the inferi off on the way back, which is where all the ash came from. Voldemort came after the Gringotts break in, found that the place was empty, fished Regulus up and realised the horcrux was gone."

Dumbledore smiled. "Something like that is likely to have occurred. The broken boat could be due to an outburst of anger from Tom."

I smiled. "Would certainly be his style." I grimaced. "Finally, we know what happened. The question is how much the other two know. Is it possible they have traced the locket as we have done?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "It is possible, although unlikely; we have Kreacher, they do not. We have an advantage for now. We need to take care of it."

I leaned back in my chair. "I feel like a detective, this is pretty fun."

Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Indeed, I think we can also confirm that it is after all the locket which once belonged to Salazar Slytherin we are looking for."

"Green and silver and a 'S' on it, it is most likely the case." I already knew this, courtesy of my master.

"Indeed. Well, I shan't keep you any longer, good night Harry."

I smiled tiredly. "So we won't meet tomorrow at six?"

"Unless you desperately want to?"

I shook my head. "No offence, professor, but I'd rather spend the time with someone else."

The headmaster smiled thinly. "Ahh, yes. You and your betrothed." His blue eyes were bright and clear. "The wonders of young love."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! This week, I posted another story on this site. It's much shorter and won't have more parts, but if you want to read something else, please check it out.

I wanted to try something different than what I am doing here, and I must say, it was very hard to switch from 1st person to 3rd person, my brain seems to have become taught to instinctively use the word "I". Anyways, there'll be another chapter next week, cheers!