At Riddle Manor on a sunny July morning, two conversations happened simultaneously. The first was between two boys who partially hated each other but mostly liked each other.
"If you touch her at all—"
"Like I'm not going to touch her! She's my bloody girlfriend, not a nun."
"Fine. But if you don't stay in your separate rooms—"
"Separate rooms? What are you talking about? I stayed in her room here last night!"
The older boy continued as if the younger hadn't spoken. "And if she's in her swimsuit, you must maintain at least fifteen feet in between her."
"And if she's struggling to swim, you want me to let her drown?"
"Of course not! Don't be stupid, Nott."
The younger boy smirked. "Well, then I suppose I have to be within fifteen feet of her for her own good."
James Riddle scowled. "I fucking hate you."
"Oh quit your yapping. You love me. I'm like the brother you never had." Elio Nott grinned and threw his arm around his friend. Up close and personal, it was still impossible to tell who was taller.
"The brother I never wanted," James muttered under his breath before the corner of his lip turned up slightly.
On the other side of the room, a very different conversation was happening. Three women—each extremely beautiful in very different ways—stood closely together. The tall, black-haired woman with beauty reminiscent of a raven clasped a small girl with an expression like a fawn. "Do you have all of your clothes?"
"Yes, Mummy."
"Your swimsuit? Your books?"
"Yes, Mummy."
"What about all your toiletries? Your makeup?"
"Ev, it's Italy, not the Middle Ages. Anything she forgot can be purchased from the Muggle Village. Or I'm happy to apparate and pick up things from home," said the other older woman with eyes like the ocean. Eyes that matched the smirking boy across the room.
"Yeah, Mummy. You've helped me pack for days. I'm sure you've gotten everything."
"What about your grandfather's journal? He brought it by yesterday, right?"
"Yes, Mummy. It's in my bag and yours is in the library." The journal once belonged to the now-perished Lord Voldemort. It was a method of communicating over long distances without the need for patronuses. Annie simply had to write in one journal and her words would appear in the other—a much-needed item for her first international trip.
Evelyn Riddle cupped her daughter's cheeks and smiled. Her pale eyes glistened with unshed tears. "My baby girl's first big trip. You're growing up."
"Mummy, it's just Italy."
"Now, it's just Italy. In a few years, it's a honeymoon." Annie's mother's lip quivered as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug.
"Evelyn, Theodore and I are more than happy to host you and James while Tom is away—" Just the mention of her husband's absence brought on another sob. Annie knew that her father was so focused on finding the vagrant that he didn't always consider how hard his work was on all of them. Tom had been home for only a day before going away again for two weeks. Annie would be spending ten of those fourteen days away in Italy with the Nott family at their Italian villa.
"No, no," Evelyn said, stepping back and composing herself. Her ability to place a thick mask over her emotions seemed like a new kind of magic given how well she was able to do it. Annie wished that she could do it but her heart had always been worn on her sleeve as much as she tried not to.
Her mother smiled and cupped her daughter's cheek one last time. "This is Annie's thing. She can do it on her own."
Annie smiled. Her mother was right. She could do this on her own.
After some warm goodbyes to her mother and brother—and reminders to feed Perkins—Annie grabbed onto Elio and Aria's arms before she felt her stomach pulled to the ground as the apparition began. Theodore Nott was already at the estate "getting things ready"—which Annie just figured was an excuse to avoid anything to do with Tom Riddle at all costs. Theo treated Annie like his own daughter and he was more than friendly whenever her mother or brother came to visit but he still seemed wary of Riddle Manor.
Salt was the first thing Annie smelled as she appeared on a gravel road, tightly clutching Elio's arms. A warm sea breeze blew over her face, no doubt from the nearby Mediterranean. Elio had told her that the villa's grounds bordered a picturesque beach. It was one of the many reasons he'd begged and pleaded with her brother to allow her to come with his family for a summer trip.
Arms wrapped around her waist. Annie found herself lifted into the air. She squealed as Elio turned her around in quick circles. "Italia, cara mia!"
She giggled. "Elio! You're going to make me sick!"
He set her down and turned her to face him. A wide grin was on his face. Annie wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him this happy—except maybe when she said she loved him for the first time. "I'm excited, topolina. You're home."
And even though the warm Italian coast was very different than the moody manor she'd known, Annie couldn't help but feel like she was home, too.
⋆ ⭒ ˚ . ⋆ ⭒ ˚ . ⋆
Bliss. That was the only way Elio could describe his time in Italy with Annie. Pure and utter bliss.
They'd spent their first day exploring the grounds (minus the beach). Elio showed Annie the olive groves and the house elves making authentic, Italian oil—which was one of the many businesses Theodore Nott managed. For the past few months, Elio had been assisting, too, learning from his father the family secrets in preparation to take over whenever Theo retired. A calm family dinner—-where Elio seriously wondered if he'd have to fight his father for his girlfriend's attention on this trip—-preceded a very not calm evening of making love.
The rest of the days followed the same patterns.
He woke in the morning only to roll over and lazily make love to her while the sun filtered in through the sheer curtains, bringing with it the scent of saltwater and olives. They bathed together—where Elio's fingers made her scream in pleasure—and enjoyed a late morning breakfast while his mother taught Annie new embroidery methods. During lunch, Annie would take her food to her room and write in the journal. On some days, she spoke with James. On others, with Evelyn.
Afternoons were spent exploring the local villages, lounging by the pool behind the villa, or taking a walk on the cliffs that overlooked the beach. Elio thoroughly enjoyed the swimsuits Annie had packed, especially the little strings holding it together that were all too easy for him to undo.
Evenings were spent with all of the Notts, where, again, Elio had to make it clear to his father that his girlfriend wouldn't be exploring the olive groves and riding the horses with Theo. It's like he likes her more than me, he scowled in his head before carrying her off to bed, where they either talked or fucked for hours—usually both.
Today, they were finally going to go to the beach. Elio had wanted to go earlier—who wouldn't want to see Annie in that tiny black swimsuit?—but it had been too windy for it to be enjoyable. After breakfast, Annie hurried up to their room—yes, he said their room because despite what James Riddle might have thought, he wasn't scary enough to keep Elio away from her side—and began to get dressed.
Her swimsuit was a tiny triangle bikini that held her perky breasts up with a halter top. He adored the strings on the back of her neck and couldn't wait to undo them as soon as they were in the privacy of the cove. The bottoms of the bikini were, like the top, revealing and accentuated her curves perfectly. The swimsuit not only brought out the darkness of her eyes but highlighted her waist and curves wonderfully. It was safe to say that Elio was that swimsuit's biggest fan.
She slipped on a thin, white long-sleeve shirt, leaving it unbuttoned and instead tying the bottom together. Elio grabbed the beach bag his mum packed, which was full of sunscreen, snacks, towels, and everything anyone would probably ever need.
The two of them made their way down to the beach. Annie smiled as a brightly colored butterfly flew in front of her. "It's a sign! We're meant to be here."
He grabbed onto her hand and squeezed tightly. "Yes, we are."
The trail to the beach was rather rocky and slippery at times but, luckily, they had magic. He went in front of Annie, helping her with the particularly difficult bits. Elio was secretly glad that the trail was rough—it meant that only very adventurous muggles who didn't care about trespassing would be there and those were far and few between.
They set their stuff down in the sand. Elio stripped off his t-shirt and flicked off his sandals. Annie undressed too until she was just in a bikini before lathering herself in sunscreen, a sight that had him standing rock-hard in his swim trunks. Just seeing her long waves falling down her back as she rubbed the lotion on her ass…
"Oh no! My shirt!" Annie cried out as a gust of wind picked up the white top and blew it away.
"I'll get it, topolina. Just stay here." Elio kissed her cheek and began to chase after it. He reached for his wand in his shorts only to frown when he remembered that he'd left it in the bag. The white fabric fluttered in the wind, dipping behind some rocks. Elio maneuvered around them only to smile when he saw the familiar cove—the same place he wanted to take Annie for some privacy. The waters were much calmer in there and the rocks had a rope ladder hanging, meaning that they would not only be protected from wind and rough currents but also from the prying eyes that might see what he planned on doing several times with her.
Elio spotted the white button-down and grabbed it, slowly jogging back over to where he'd left Annie on the beach. But when she finally came back into view, his blood ran cold.
"Ciao, bella," a young muggle man said with a cocky grin as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Forget running cold, Elio's blood boiled as his slow jog turned into a quicker run. "Cosa stai facendo da solo?"
(A/N: I DON'T SPEAK ITALIAN SO SORRY IF THIS SUCKS. Google translated it all)
"S-sorry, what?" Annie tried to yank her hand back but the boy held on tightly. He was surrounded by a group of muggles who all wore matching grins as they blatantly stared at his girlfriend's tits. Tits that, of course, looked amazing in her skimpy bikini.
"What are you doing alone, beautiful?" The muggle's accent was thicker than his eyebrows, eyebrows that probably wouldn't remain on his head for much longer once Elio was done torturing them off of him. He was already imagining the way the muggle's voice would break as he begged for mercy.
"I-I'm… I'm n-" Annie tried to look around—Elio guessed it was for him—but with the muggle still tightly gripping her hand, she could only crane her neck so far.
Elio wasn't sure he'd ever gone so fast, not even on his broom. Within milliseconds, he'd grabbed onto Annie's waist and pulled her back to his chest. "She's not alone. Back off or die," he growled.
"Relax, fratè," the muggle said chuckling. His eyes raked Annie up and down. Elio's grip around her tightened as he forced himself to stay still—not only so he could remain out of Azkaban but so he could remain touching her, too. "We're just having a chat."
"With my fucking girlfriend." Elio was sure that his jaw was seconds from breaking with how hard he was clenching it.
"Girlfriend? She doesn't look like a girlfriend." The man laughed and turned back to his mates. "Sembra una troia."
"Tieni quella maledetta bocca chiusa o non ne avrai mai più una." He was talking so quickly and clenching so tightly that he wondered if the killing curse would just spontaneously happen to that boy without Elio needing to use his wand. Calling his damn girlfriend a slut was the final fucking straw. Annie was the furthest thing from a slut—she was bloody incredible and anyone who didn't think so was fucking blind.
The muggle's eyes widened as he realized Elio not only knew Italian but was a native speaker. "What did he say?" Annie asked softly.
The tension in Elio's body only partially left at the sound of her voice. "Nothing important, topolina. Just let me take care of them."
"No! You'll get in trouble. You know the laws."
"Fuck the laws. I don't care about them." Annie's eyes widened as she realized that he was telling the truth. He didn't give a damn if he became a murderer. As long as he was defending her honor, he couldn't care less.
"Well I care about them! I wanted a nice beach day with you. Just let them go so it can be you and me again." Elio scowled and wasn't planning on listening to her until she squeezed his arm. He looked down at her to find her pleading with her eyes. "Please, baby. I just want you. I don't even care about them."
He sighed and cupped her cheek. "But they said horrible things about you."
She smiled and leaned into his hand. "I don't care. You'll say nastier things in a second."
It seemed that Annie had apparently learned the only thing stronger than anger: desire. Because just like that, he was hard and ready for her again, his cock standing at full length while the fury left him. "Fine. But you're going to have to pay for it."
Annie grinned. "Looking forward to it."
With a sigh, Elio let go of her and stalked over to the muggle boys, who looked as if they couldn't decide whether they were cocky or afraid. He towered over their puny bodies. Elio knew that if he had to take them in a fight, he could easily beat them, even without magic. It seemed that they were realizing the same thing.
"Se mai ti rivedrò, ti mostrerò l'oscurità che non puoi comprendere. Andare. Ora," he growled. The muggles' eyes widened. They quickly scampered back to the cliffside and climbed up and out of sight.
When he was sure they were gone, Elio turned back to Annie. "Now, I believe I was promised payment?"
It wasn't long until that tiny bikini sat lying in the sand while the sound of moans were covered up by the waves against the shore.
⋆ ⭒ ˚ . ⋆ ⭒ ˚ . ⋆
The rest of the trip looked the same—minus the perverted muggles. Annie and Elio enjoyed a nice routine of sex in the mornings, breakfast, time with Aria, lunch and journaling to her family, afternoon exploration, time with Theo before family dinner, and sex again at night.
Annie woke up every morning with a smile on her face—and that wasn't just because she knew she was about to be pleasured beyond relief, which anyone would smile at if it was coming from Elio. No, her smile was caused by knowing her days would be filled with the man she loved.
Life was easy with him. After almost seven months together, she feared he would tire of her. But if anything, Elio couldn't seem to get enough of her. And Annie knew she wouldn't get enough of him.
The rest of the summer passed by in a blur that was just as wonderful as the seasons preceding it. Though life with Elio had always been what she envisioned, now Annie couldn't help but look forward to that life. She felt like she was grasping it in the palm of her hands, just waiting ofr it to happen. Marriage had once felt so far away but as the months passed and their love grew, Annie realized she wanted it nearer.
When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to begin as soon as possible.
The next time she and Elio visited the Italian villa, it felt more like home. The beaches, the olive groves, the muggle village. It all felt like sitting in front of the fire, smiling as the flames basked across her face.
This time, she and Elio ventured further than their isolated little estate. Seeing an entire country in a few days was rather easy when you could appear anywhere instantly. They sampled gelato in Florence. They tasted muggle wines in Tuscany. They ate a pizza in Naples. They sat on the steps at the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. They shopped at the Galleria Vittorio in Milan. They rode a gondola in Venice.
Annie was finally seeing the world.
But that meant that the world was finally seeing her.
Shadows of fall cascaded over their early September promenades across Italy. And hidden amongst the shadows of the seasons was another, far more dangerous shadow. It stood there waiting, biding its time, knowing that sometime—possibly soon—it would strike.
I've been looking forward to this chapter for a while! And it was so perfect bc I'm going to Spain in, like, three days so I was excited to write about the beaches and groves and all that. Hope you liked it bc it may or may not be the last little bit of happiness for a while
Again, apologies to anyone who speaks Italian. Feel free to correct anything that doesn't look right haha.