The sights and sounds (and even the smells) of Diagon Alley swarmed Annie's senses as soon as her stomach returned to its rightful place. Colorful shops crowded the street, all filled to the brim with magical objects Annie had never even dreamed of. She could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops accompanied by the sounds of laughter and music coming from a joke shop just down the road. The air smelled like petrichor, butterbeer, ice cream, and even a hint of magic—like someone's spell had gone wrong and the distinct burnt smell had lingered in the air for a while afterward, finally dimming with the rain.
A frog croaked at her through the window from a nearby pet store. The Magical Menagerie! The gilded sign above it read. Annie peeked into the window only to giggle as a cat pawed where her face was. "He looks like Perkins!"
Elio, who seemed content to just watch her explore, smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Yeah, he does, doesn't he? How is Perkins?"
Annie grinned and leaned into her boyfriend's embrace. "Old. Lazy."
"So normal?" The two of them shared a laugh before Elio pulled her away and down the road.
He was right. The rain had deterred most—but not all—of the crowds. James had always told Annie how utterly filled Diagon Alley was. "There must be some sort of charm on the place to make the people inside double. I've never seen so many witches or wizards in my life. And the riff-raff they let in there is worse than in the muggle world," James had muttered under his breath sullenly after he'd come back from back-to-school shopping with their mother. Tom spent the day with Annie back at the Manor, listening to her play and telling her all sorts of stories from he and her mother's days at Hogwarts. Annie didn't get a lot of one-on-one time with him—with his busy schedule as Dark Lord and James's training taking up quite a bit of his time—so the moments they did have were treasured more than anything. Her father did the best he could and Annie appreciated it. So she never minded not getting to visit Diagon Alley or anywhere else, for that matter. Because it meant extra time with him.
But now Annie felt older. She felt surer of herself, surer of the world. She knew that bad things still lingered but she'd begun to realize that there would always be bad things. They shouldn't stop her from seeing the good.
Plus, she had an entire army of protectors. Tom, Evelyn, James, and her other family members like Uncle Sirius and Uncle Mattheo. And now she had Elio, who she knew would move heaven and earth to keep her safe. He'd already done it once when he saved her life from James's accidental curse. Annie knew he'd do it again and again.
She looked up at her protector. The strong jaw that had women fawning over him, the ocean blue eyes full of mischief and love, the full lips that she had kissed only moments ago. Elio must have sensed her gaze because he looked down and smiled before kissing the top of her head. His kiss shifted the hood of her cloak so Annie quickly fixed it before it fell down.
"Where to next?" she asked.
"How do you feel about ice cream?"
At first, Annie wasn't sure about ice cream. Not because she didn't like it—Annie wasn't sure there was a dessert she didn't like—but because the early June rain was rather cold and a cold treat didn't sound very delightful. So she was pleasantly surprised when Elio pulled her into Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour only to find that the interior was enchanted to stay warm.
Annie sighed in delight as the heat hit her along with the smells of fresh waffle cones and sugary goodness. Elio grinned at her. "This is the best ice cream I've ever had."
She stepped up to the glass only to find over two dozen varieties staring back at her. A sign on the display read, "Want a flavour you don't see? Ask us for a custom cone. Any flavour possible!"
"They mean every flavour, too," Elio added. "It's like Bertie Bott's. Albus didn't believe me when I told him so he ordered 'Bogey and Bananas.' Watching him eat it with a straight face was probably the funniest thing I've ever seen."
"So you come here a lot?"
"Ah, Elio!" an older man with a kind smile and even kinder eyes stood in front of them. He wore an orange shirt with a brown vest and spotted bow tie. The wizard reminded Annie of the way some witches and wizards dressed when they were trying to blend in with muggles. She'd seen many like that whenever she took the Hogwarts Express.
"Hello, Florean!" Elio beamed.
"Lovely to see you again. The usual?"
"Please." So he does come here a lot, Annie mused internally.
"And who is your young friend?"
"This is Annie. My... um..." A pink blush spread across Elio's cheeks. "My girlfriend."
Annie smiled from behind her cloak. The hood was still up but Mr. Fortescue could still see her while she was looking at him. "It's nice to meet you, sir."
"A girlfriend, eh? It's about time, Elio! I was wondering when you'd bring a miss to the shop. I've been telling your mother that you need to settle down for quite some time."
Elio turned to Annie and whispered, "We've known Florean for ages. He's practically a family friend with how often my family sees him."
That explains the blush. It's like telling a grandfather that you have a girlfriend. Annie couldn't imagine telling her grandparents she had a boyfriend, though that was mainly because they were all dead. She wondered since Elio's grandparents were all either dead or estranged, if this Florean man had been like the grandfather he'd never had.
"And for you, my dear?"
Annie gazed at all of the flavors in front of her before finally settling on, "Dark Chocolate and Cherry, please, sir."
Elio snorted. Annie turned to him with a quizzical look before he said, "Sorry. That's what I remembered your mother getting when I went with her. Well, technically you were there, too, I guess, but I remember it because I thought that it sounded so gross at the time." Annie's eyebrow raised even further. "I hated cherries for the longest time. Creeped me out. Thought they looked like gnomes."
Annie laughed. "Gnomes?"
"I didn't say I was correct! I was a toddler!"
She giggled before thanking Mr. Fortescue for her ice cream and following Elio to a seat by the table once he'd paid.
They ate in content silence, watching each other with nothing less than pure adoration in their eyes. Well, maybe a little desire. Annie might have swirled her tongue a little too much on her ice cream to provoke her boyfriend. Can you blame her? He always looked too delicious for his own good.
"If you don't want to go back to my bedroom, then I suggest you stop that," Elio murmured with dark blue eyes. Suddenly, the Ice Cream cone seemed like the least important thing on her boyfriend's mind.
Annie smiled slyly before shrugging innocently. "Who said anything about your bedroom?"
"What?"
"There are fitting rooms at the dress shop, are there not? Restrooms in the stores?"
"Oh, bloody hell..." Elio hissed, already beginning to stand before Annie giggled and placed her hand on his arm.
"Sit down, darling, and finish your treat. There will be plenty of time for more later."
Elio frowned but did as she asked anyway, taking a long lick of the ice cream before scowling. "There better be. You got me all excited."
"And you think I'm not watching you lick your ice cream like you lick..." Me, she finished mentally. Her cheeks burned hotter than dragon fire. Annie couldn't bring herself to finish out loud.
Elio grinned before taking another long lick and winking at her. Bloody hell is right, she thought to herself. Annie was suddenly glad that the ice cream was frozen—it seemed like the only thing that could cool her down right now. Elio smirked as he watched her clench her legs together before mussing his hair with his hands.
After leaving Florean Fortescue's, Annie dragged Elio to all sorts of places within Diagon Alley. The Magical Menagerie was first since it was just across the street from Florean Fortescue's. Annie delighted at the owls and cats and even the cute puffskeins that hummed whenever she got near.
Then, they ventured to Ollivander's only so Annie could say hello to Mr. Ollivander. She'd been to Diagon Alley once and only visited the wand shop to receive her wand before eleven-year-old Annie promptly screamed as soon as an unknown witch touched her. After that, James and Evelyn were sent for all supply runs—something her family was more than happy to do.
Next was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where Annie marveled at all the pretty dresses. She'd ordered from the dressmaker before but only via owl so it was nice to finally meet the woman who'd made so many of her gowns—including the one Annie met Elio in. "I now know how beautiful my subject is so I must make my gowns even better!" Madam Malkin said as she pinched Annie's cheeks.
"Or you could not make them at all," Elio muttered under his breath, earning him a playful slap from his girlfriend.
"You want me to walk around wearing nothing? Alright then. I'll tell her to cancel all my or—"
"No, no, no," Elio stammered while both Madam Malkin and Annie smirked. "Plenty of dresses. Long ones with long sleeves that cover every inch of your skin." Then, he turned to the dressmaker. "Except for the nightgowns. As short as possible for those."
Annie scoffed as Elio pulled her back out onto the street.
The two of them ducked into shop after shop as the rain pelted all around them. Annie didn't care—Elio had cast a charm that prevented them from getting wet. It seemed like advanced magic so Annie was rather impressed when he did it.
They visited Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where Elio impressed Annie with the variety of jokes he'd pulled during his time at Hogwarts. It seemed that he, Albus, and Scorpius got along well with Peeves for their tomfoolery. Elio brought Annie to a sweet shop but she was much too full from the ice cream to eat anything else. Flourish and Blotts was next. Annie smiled at all of the books lining the shelves and grinned even wider when Elio kindly purchased a new book of piano music for her.
"For my musical muse," he whispered as they walked out of the store hand-in-hand, Elio carrying the bag. He kissed her on her forehead again. Whether it was the wind or his lips, she didn't know but something shifted the hood of the cloak.
Annie quickly attempted to fix it before her face was spotted. But as she was struggling with the garment, she ran straight into a hard body. "Ah!" she screamed loudly before a hand covered her mouth while another set of hands pulled on her waist.
"Merlin, Anna-banana, you're going to shatter the eardrums of everyone in a thirty-mile radius with pipes like that."
Annie stopped struggling. She recognized that voice.
She pulled back into Elio's arms just as he, too, relaxed. "Uncle Mattheo?" they both asked as they looked at the curly-haired wizard, who was grinning broadly, in front of them.
"Wait, he's your uncle too?" Annie asked, turning to Elio.
"Not really. He and my dad are best mates. I kind of forgot he was your actual uncle."
"Of course I'm her uncle. That's where she gets her good looks from," Mattheo teased. "Now, take off this cloak. It's been ages since I've seen my favorite niece's face."
"I'm your only niece."
"Well, it's a good thing you're not second-favorite, then. That'd just be sad now, wouldn't it?" Her uncle reached forward and pulled down the black hood of the cloak. Annie stiffened for a second before remembering that she was with not only Elio but Mattheo, who was her father's second-in-command. Mattheo had had a lifetime of defending the family from dark wizards. There was no way she wasn't safe with him.
Mattheo smiled. "That's better. My, you get prettier every day. I remember when you were just a wee thing in Evie's arms. Cute but in a scraggly sort of way. Like a baby thestral."
She frowned, though she did notice that even without the cloak hood up, she didn't get wet. Elio's charm must have been well-done. "That's not exactly what one wants to be compared to. Aren't they known for being ugly?"
Her uncle pinched her cheeks affectionately. "Yup. So you can rest easy knowing you would be voted 'most improved.'"
Elio chuckled and squeezed her waist. It was then that Mattheo seemed to remember Elio was there at all. His eyes slid over to her boyfriend. A mischievous smirk spread across Mattheo's face. "Elio Nott, as I live and breathe."
"Hi, Uncle Mattheo."
He clicked his tongue while his eyes darted between the two of them. "So you two are together, huh? This must be why your dad called me over to help him revise his will."
Elio rolled his eyes. "I've never seen a man further from Gryffindor than my dad."
"Draco Malfoy," Mattheo retorted before grinning again. "So does your dad know you two are together, my darling niece?"
"No," she whispered, squeezing Elio tighter. What if her uncle ratted them out to her father before she was sure Elio was ready to meet him? He could still use more occlumency practice and getting rid of her father's enemy wouldn't hurt his chances, either. Her plan was for her father to finally vanquish his foe and be so happy that it was all over that he had to accept Elio. It wasn't her best plan but it was the only one she had so far. "Don't tell Daddy, please."
"Relax, princess. I see no reason to interfere in young love." His chocolate eyes glinted even in the murkiness of the thick rain. "Plus, I like having a secret or two to hang over my dear brother's head."
"So... you're okay with it?"
He scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be? I like you and I like him. I always thought you two would make a good match—you know, if you ever got over your little shyness, that is."
"Really?" Elio asked with surprise. Annie assumed that he, like her, always thought they worked well because opposites attract. To hear that Mattheo thought they'd be a good match was shocking.
Mattheo nodded. "Oh yeah. Annie is a soft, sweet girl and you've always been soft—"
"Hey!"
Mattheo fixed him with a look. "You crochet and your favorite show is Bake Off. You can act like the big tough Quidditch captain to anyone but me."
"You watched the show with me!" Elio exclaimed.
Mattheo grinned. "Duh. I like bread week too much to give that up." Annie giggled at the two of them. "But seriously. Annie never gets out of her shell and you never stay in yours. You have similar temperaments—which is astounding considering you're a Riddle and you're Aria's child—"
"What are you saying about my mum?"
"That she's a damn saint compared to you." Elio grumbled under his breath but didn't argue with the older man. "Just take the damn compliment, Nott, Merlin. I'm telling you that you and your girlfriend are meant to be and you're giving me an attitude."
"Because you called me girly and started talking about my mum!"
"I can talk about your mother all I want because I've walked in on—"
"I'M NOT LISTENING!" Elio shrieked, drawing the attention of the nearby crowd. He shirked back in embarrassment with pink cheeks, his voice much softer when he spoke again. "Alright, fine. You're right. Are you happy?"
"Very." Mattheo winked. "Now you two run along and enjoy the rest of your day. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Uncle Mattheo!" Annie called back chipperly while Elio scowled and said, "Bye, Mattheo."
Elio grabbed onto her hand and began pulling her back down the shops and far away from him. They lingered on the border between Knockturn Alley—where, ironically, Annie felt much more comfortable amongst other dark wizards who respected where she came from—and Diagon Alley. "Stupid Mattheo with his stupid, blabbering mouth—"
Annie cut him off with a kiss, pulling back with a smile. Even with his frustration, Elio couldn't help but smile too. "What was that for?"
"To show you that I love you even if you like to crochet."
"And the Bake Off?"
"Well, I've never seen it so maybe we can watch it together?"
"Okay!" he beamed happily. "Let's grab some sweets and we can watch it back at the estate, yeah?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea."
The two of them walked hand in hand, smiles on their now-uncloaked faces as Elio explained all of the different rules of the muggle show to her. He told her about the various hosts, the differing weeks, and even some of the scandals he had witnessed. Annie had to admit: it did sound like a very entertaining show.
Perhaps if they would have been paying better attention, they might have noticed more. Perhaps if Elio's eyes weren't glued on Annie's beautiful face, he might have noticed the shadow that had been following them since they'd seen Mattheo. Perhaps if Annie had inherited her father's uncanny ability to predict the future, she would have known that Elio's shout would have drawn attention to her uncloaked face. Perhaps if Elio hadn't been so distracted by the prospect of watching Bake Off, he might have realized that while she wasn't recognizable, he was well-known for traversing to various wizarding parties and that his high-profile personality would have been much easier to track than the relatively unknown princess. Perhaps if Annie had not been so sheltered, she might have realized how powerful she was—powerful enough to bring down the Dark Lord. And that was power worth killing for.
But for now, the two of them walked hand in hand, unaware of the darkness that was yet to come.
Ooooh, we're slowly moving away from the fluff! Had to happen at some point lol. Have a good week 333