"ID…jacket…files..phone-" just as she was searching for her phone, it rang, Harry's name flashing across the screen. Her eyes lit up in happiness as she placed her files and jacket on a side table before picking up the phone.

"This is a surprise, aren't you supposed to wait a few days or something to not seem so eager?" She pushed her hair behind her hair, her eyes going over the strewn bags and papers around her room.

"What can I say I'm a rebel?" Harry's voice chuckled over the phone. "I was wondering if you were free tonight? I know this beautiful restaurant on my side of the town."

"Oh." Lia intoned in a disappointed tone, damn it, why did she have an emergency now? She would much rather have dinner with Harry. Her hair slipped from behind her ear again, annoyed she tried to find a rubber band to tie it back.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, that was too forward wasn't it?" His voice took on a nervous and panicked tone.

"No! Oh God no, no, no. It's just that, well actually I have to go out of the country for a bit, for work. And then next week, it's Elsa's wedding so.." Lia finished awkwardly as she dropped into her armchair, chewing on her nails nervously.

"Hey no problem, we'll meet when you are back. Where are you going by the way? I thought you were keeping everything work related on hold until Elsa's wedding was over?" Harry enquired.

"Don't even get me started on that! I was supposed to be free, but one of my suppliers in Rome screwed up completely and are now refusing to replace it, and I can't even wait to finish it after Elsa's wedding because it's literally two days after that and it's all just a mess. Better than having my assistants ferry calls, it's easier if I just take a quick trip myself." She huffed out completely fed up with the situation.

"That sounds stressful, are you taking anyone with you?"

"I wish, but it's too last minute and they all have other responsibilities which will be doubled because I won't be here. You know, I usually love Italy but this is the first time that I am not excited to go." She complained.

Harry's affectionate chuckle trickled through the phone, making her feel all gooey and warm on the inside. Good Lord, since when was she such a sap? Get a grip of yours Cecelia. She mentally gave herself a pep talk. Cecelia Campbell did not turn into mush around guys, no matter how sweet, how handsome, how gentle…

And there she went again. She shook her head, straightening in her seat. Nope, she will not be turned into mush.

"Want me to make it more exciting?" Her heart stuttered as red stained her cheeks as his suddenly lowered and suggestive tone. "Wh-what?" She stuttered out. What on Earth was he implying!

"I'm not doing anything, and I've never visited Rome before. If it's not too much of a hindrance I could join you." His smug voice made her blush more even as annoyance surged in her. He did that on purpose to rile her up.

"That is not possible." She dismissed his statement even as it pushed her hope and excitement up. He was just flirting and joking.

"When is your flight?" He asked in lieu of an answer. Before she could answer a knock sounded on her door.

"Miss, the car is waiting." The polite voice of one of the maids stated from the door. "Thank you Emma, I shall be right there." She replied. Emma nodded as she pulled her luggage outside to load into the car.

"Ah am I making you late?"

"No it's fine you actually called me just as I was about to start, guess you can't make the flight considering it's in two hours." Lia got up to move, picking up her things as she began walking outside.

"Yes, too bad." Harry sounded contemplative. Lia just hummed as she wondered what was going through his mind.

"Hey I've got to go now, but I will call you as soon as I can?" She questioned slightly. "Of course, be safe."

"I will." She smiled slightly at the sweetness of his statement. "And Lia?" His voice sounded mischievous, putting her on high alert immediately.

"See you soon." The call cut abruptly just as she opened her mouth to respond. A puzzling look took on her face as she stared at her phone. Was he? Was he planning to be on the same flight? Could magic even do that? Her heart raced in anticipation as the car moved towards the airport. She had been tempted to ask the driver to drive faster but she held herself down. No. He must have just been joking, or he meant when she got back. Doesn't mean he would be there, at the gate. Even with magic it would have to be impossible to be able to get on a flight with ah hour of notice.

Right?

Even as she tried to squash down her hope, she couldn't help but look around as she exited the car, as she checked in the luggage, and even as she walked to her gate, she couldn't help but hope she could catch a sight of messy black hair, of emerald eyes, and a soft smile.

She tried to distract herself with a book, but was unable to, her eyes kept drifting away from the words, unable to understand their meaning, all she could think of was if she would see him. But with every second that passed by, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"Stop being so irrational." She scolded herself. "There's no way he could be here, it wasn't even a plan, it was just a throwaway comment." She shook her head, unable to help but feel disappointed and then be mad at herself for being disappointed.

Even as she heard her flight be called, and she boarded and sat down, she couldn't help but hope deep down that he would somehow show up. It wasn't until the flight actually started, that she finally let go of the stupid hope which had been perpetuated by a silly comment. It was stupid, she shouldn't feel so sad over nothing. This was just the rush of meeting someone new, dating, the happiness and anxiety. Nothing more.

"Nothing more, nothing less." She whispered to herself and settled down to sleep or enjoy or somehow distract herself for the rest of the flight

No matter how much she tried to reassure herself that it was okay, it didn't make her feel better. Drowning in the same despondent thoughts, she exited the airport. Her eyes downcast as she shuffled through her handbag trying to find the piece of paper with the name of her driver and hotel, her steps a bit slow as she tried to adjust her heels clad feet to the smooth slippery marble.

All of a sudden her axis tilted as she crashed into someone, her footing slipped as she stumbled backwards, her eyes closed as she braced herself for impact, she should have known stilettos were the wrong choice for a day such as this. Before she could fall, someone caught her arm and pulled her to them, warmth seeping through her body and face as a familiar voice whispered, "Falling for me already?" Her eyes popped open as a grin spread across her face. She let go of her luggage as she threw her arms around the face she had been hoping to see for the past few hours but was sure she wouldn't see.

"You're here! How are you here?" Harry's hands closed around her more securely, pulling her closer to him and slightly off the ground.

"Magic." He replied as he laughed along with her, happiness spreading through him. In truth, it was usually very hard to get on an international portkey at the last minute, especially to a popular destination such as Italy, but hey what's the use of his fame if he didn't abuse it sometimes? The harder part had been extracting himself from the politicians who were excited that the 'Chosen One' had graced their country and were extremely curious to know why he was here.

"You didn't have to come, you know? I would have been fine." She stated as he placed her back on the ground, one of his hands came to smooth out her hair which was falling onto her face again.

"I know. I wanted to." He discreetly pulled a lily out of thin air, literally and presented it to her. "For you." He said with a beaming smile. Lia could feel herself melt under the sweetness of the gesture as she took the flower.

"Thank you, but I mean it, I probably won't have enough time to even spend it properly with you." She apologised feeling guilty. Here he was, having travelled hundreds of miles for her and she couldn't even spend it with him.

Harry shook his head gently, rejecting her apology. "I knew why I came here that you might not have time for me. And" He picked up her luggage with one hand, and intertwined their fingers in his other hand as he led her towards the waiting cabs.

"You sounded extremely stressed over the phone, if I could elevate that for even a second I'd be happy." She began searching for the right taxi number as she tried to suppress her smile.

"How many girls have you wooed this way?" She teased trying to ignore the way her heart sped up again.

"None, you're the first." Harry didn't even hesitate in his response. He took the slip of paper from her hand, before trying to locate the car. He didn't even notice the surprised look on her face. Finally he noticed the black car with a lean man with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Er hello?" Harry tried awkwardly. Unsure of what the word for hello was in Italia. Scornful eyes traced him up and down before the driver's nose wrinkled. "You are not ."

"No, I am. Buon pomeriggio." Lia popped up from behind Harry as she began conversing with the driver in Italian. Although she was quite polite, the driver's acerbic manner didn't change at all.

"What a kind person." Harry murmured sarcastically to Lia as they slid into the backseat. She just shot him a warning look, to make sure he didn't say anything else, she had noticed his mood sour as her smile became strained.

"So seriously, you've never done this with anyone else before?" She shifted the topic back, turning slightly to look at him.

"Nope." Harry turned to look at her too, watching as she dug out a rubber band and tied her hair back into a bun. "I've never had much time or interest in dating, the two times I tried it, it was a disaster. It was never like that." His green eyes bored into hers, sincerity shining through them. He wasn't saying this to butter her up, he wasn't using the words in a twisted way to make sure she stayed, or fell for him or anything like that. He said it because that was the only way he knew how to say it. He said it, because he couldn't not say it. He wore his heart on his sleeve, shining through his emerald green eyes and always ready for her to know exactly how he was feeling.

"Oh." Lia's eyes misted over at her realisation. She blinked back the tears and smiled brightly.

"You know one thing that you should absolutely do in Rome?" She asked excitedly, deciding to dissect her welling emotions another time.

"What?" Harry grinned back at her.

"Gelato."