Lia strode through the oak-lined hallway, her fingers trailing over the ornate gold frames, a fond smile on her face. After her parents had died, Noah, her dad's best friend since childhood had taken her in, this was where she had grieved over her parents, where she had healed, where she had found another family, where she had learnt to be happy again. She truly did enjoy the semi-regular Saturday breakfasts that Noah and Emma forced her to attend no matter how much she protested otherwise. The lingering smell of English roses bringing back honey-sweet memories of her childhood.

"Lia!" Adrian's delighted voice turns her head towards the dining room. A grin split across her face. "Adrian! I didn't know you were in the country!" She was so glad she hadn't skipped this dinner, she had missed her pseudo-brother.

"I'm just here for the night, mor was practically blackmailing me." His grey eyes rolled in fond exasperation. Lia snorted at his faux exasperation, he loved his mother equally as much as Emma loved him and came back to see her constantly.

"Please, he has been practically marking down the days until he can come back." The slightly accented voice of Vera, Adrian's wife parried, her frame leant against the door.

"Lies!" Adrian whined. "Lies and untruths! And from my kära fru!" His hand pressed against his chest, a devastated expression on his face. Impressive. He even managed to make a tear slip out of his eyes. Adrian had always enjoyed theatre, and drama. He insisted that that was the reason why his business was as successful, it was all just an act. All the world's a stage and all that.

"At least your acting skills have improved." Vera dismissed her husband's dramatisations as she began dragging Lia through to the dining room. "Come mon cheri, tell me what has been going on in your life." Laughing Lia followed her pseudo sister-in-law, chattering about their lives towards the dining table where Emma and Noah were sitting quietly chatting.

In the middle of dinner, just as Lia had been about to cut her second piece of truly delightful venison, Emma spoke up causing Lia to freeze, her eyes turning into saucers. "So, Cecelia, I hear you are going on a date tomorrow."

The quiet conversation and the clink of utensils stopped as the other three occupants of the room looked towards her with shark-like grins. "Creepy" She commented drily. Silence reigned over the room as she slowly placed her knife and fork down and dabbed her mouth using her napkin.

"Well, who is it with?" Adrian had always been an impatient little shit, and it always amused her how easily she could rile him up by just prolonging the silences.

"A person."

An impatient clearing of the throat was the response from Noah. Adrian had to have inherited his impatience from somewhere.

"What did Elsa tell you?" She sighed. Emma and Elsa were quite similar in their personalities, most people would expect them to clash, but instead, they formed quite the duo and terrified anyone they decided to gang up on, which was now her, they seemed to be under some weird illusion that she was wasting away her life because she spent her time either working or at home.

Emma grinned, her hands folded beneath her chin, an unholy twinkle in her eyes that made trepidation drip down her spine. "That you met a very handsome young man who was completely enamoured with you and who was quick to intervene when some ass tried to manhandle you-"

"Excuse me?"

"What the hell?"

Twin shouts from Noah and Adrian interrupted Emma's storytelling. A withering glare from her had them quelling from further interruptions. "As I said, he stopped him and was unable to take his eyes off of you and that he called precisely when Elsa instructed him to. Now I want more details."

That was not a request and she knew it. With Adrian having married last year, Emma was on a warpath to find Lia her perfect match. "There is not much else to tell." She tried to downplay.

"Nonsense! There has to be something, what is his name? Is he handsome? How did he sound?" Vera interjected just as invested in the story. Lia tried to phrase her words in such a way as to not give away a lot, but still satisfy the curiosity of the goblins surrounding her.

"He is very handsome I think? I was very drunk but he had the most beautiful green eyes, and his name is Harry Potter and seriously that is all there is!" There wasn't anything more to tell even if Lia wanted to.

"Wait Harry Potter?" Vera asked a surprised and suspicious look in her eyes. Lia nodded, her head tilted to the side.

"Yes, why?" Vera hesitated at that, wondering if she should speak up, Britain was very different from her home country after all. Adrian's fingers intertwined with her own, a similar questioning look in his eyes. Laws be damned, this was her family and they knew about her already, plus she wasn't even English.

"I could be wrong, but there is a possibility that he could be someone like me." Her carefully chosen words only served to confuse her family. "Why do you think that?" Lia asked.

"From the past fifty years give or take, Britain and parts of Europe have been affected with war, on the magical side. I won't go into any details, but it was gory and nearly killed the already dwindling population. It was finally brought to an end a few years back by Harry James Potter at the age of 18, one of the most powerful and important wizards in the wizarding world and his two defining characteristics are a lightening bolt-shaped scar and bright green eyes."

"If he is such an important person why is he hanging around in clubs on a Wednesday night?" Lia questioned, she didn't doubt that Vera was telling the truth, but just that the individual she was talking about was the same as the one she had met.

"I could be wrong, but I was just surprised when you stated the name. I'll get a wizarding paper or magazine and show you the picture so you can be sure."

"Is he dangerous?" Adrian asked, his white knuckles the only indication to his mounting trepidition. Vera soothed the tight grip he had on her finers, a sweet smile on her face. "Non, mon amour, everyone who has ever met him has said that he is a gentleman, slightly awkward and stubborn but not dangerous, well unless you are a dangerous person I suppose?" She tilted her head slightly in question before shaking it, banishing the thought.

"Hey V, would you mind taking me to get the paper too?" Lia had been burning with curiosity regarding the magical world which was apparently her neighbour ever since she had found out about it, but there had never been any time to see it, and with the impending apparent wizard saviour she was going on a date with tomorrow, there was no better time really.

She could see Harry was stunned, completely, his arms stiffened around her, and his guards were rapidly rising. She pushed back a bit to see him more clearly, Harry's hands slipped from her waist, panicking she rushed out her words, she could already feel the magic of the night dissipating.

"After my parents died, my dad's best friend took me in, their daughter-in-law is a wizard, a muggle-born? I think that's the term in England. She recognised your name when I told my family I was going on a date and showed me a photo asking if that was you. I didn't want you to have to keep lying to me, I know that's against the law, and after tonight I actually think this could be something special and I wanted us to be able to be ourselves comple-"

Her words cut off as Harry dragged her back into a kiss, his hands entangled in her hair, holding her close to him, Lia responded immediately, her hands clutching his jacket in surprise. He was so glad, so happy. If this was not a sign that they were meant to be then what was? He hadn't even had time to think of how or what she knew, his mind had blanked completely. The longer she spoke, the more relaxed he became. The fireworks died down behind them, the slight ringing in their ears quieting the longer the couple remained entangled in each other.

"You're not mad?" Lia asked, her eyes still closed, her hands gripping the front of his leather jacket. She didn't want to open her eyes and face any sort of judgement or hatred.

"Why would I be? This just means, I can tell you all about me, without having to hide anything." Harry said with a gentle smile. At his words, Lia opened her own eyes hesitatingly, trying to ascertain the genuineness of his words in his eyes. He was happy, genuinely happy that he didn't have to hide anything from Lia, but, but, what did she know already? Apprehension ate away at him. He didn't want her impression of him to be marred by the press. Perhaps sensing his own nervousness, Lia moved one of her hands to his cheek, her thumb gently stroking his cheekbones. Amber eyes looking into his green ones, dragging him back to the shore.

Harry's hands slipped down from her hair, coming to wrap around her waist again. "What did she tell you about me?" Comprehension dawned in Lia's eyes. Considering who he was she could understand his worry regarding rumours, a few of her friends dealt with the same thing. She smiled reassuringly at Harry, cupping his whole face in her hands. "I know that your name is Harry James Potter and that you are a war hero. I didn't want to know anything more unless you told me about it."

"Oh."

"Oh." Lia teased. The conversation trailed off as they both stood in silence, just basking in the glow of each other. Lia leaned her head against Harry's chest, just listening to his heartbeat as Harry laid his head on top of hers.

"We should probably go." Harry stated reluctantly after a few minutes. He wished he didn't have to. He wanted to remain there entangled with Lia, the sweet smell of her perfume filling his nose, his hands entangled in the ends of her hair, with her nestled within his arms. It felt right to be this way, it felt whole.

Lia buried herself for a minute into Harry's arms for a minute at his words, before sighing in acceptance and moving back a little. "It is already very late."

Holding hands, they made their way back to the bike. The night may have ended, but they were just beginning.