When her mother announced dinner was ready, she let Nicholas deal with her half finished hot chocolate and sighed when Harry reached for him to carry him to the table instead of her. She followed close behind the two, sitting down next to Nicholas who sat opposite her mother. Harry was at the end of the table in his high chair. The spaghetti looked amazing and she ate it in earnest, only just realizing she hadn't had much to eat at all considering the events of the day.

She recounted the events of the morning to her mother, acutely aware of Nicholas's shocked expression. As she got to the end of her nightmare of a Gringotts trip he cleared his throat.

"Elise…did you say Harry had a horcrux inside his scar?" He asked timidly.

"Yes, have you heard of them?" She paused, briefly wondering if she should have told him any of this.

"Of course. I'm a doctor who specializes in curses. My research touched on horcruxes briefly a few years ago, I was younger then and obsessed with knowing everything there is to know about, well, everything."

"How old are you?" Her mother asked, a sly grin appearing on her face.

Elise swallowed hard, she knew where this was going. She turned her attention to her spaghetti.

"I'm twenty-four." Nicholas answered politely.

"Ahh, only a few years older than my Elise. Did you also attend Hogwarts?" Her smirk was ever present.

"I did…though it's entirely possible we never ran into each other, I chose to hole myself up in the library or the common rooms." Nicholas laughed awkwardly, his school days flooding back to him.

Elise fought the urge to laugh. That seemed just like him, the loner type. He looked studious, Elise wondered if they had ever run into each other by coincidence before. She thought back to her days at Hogwarts. She had met a boy like that in her third year, but she couldn't remember his name, and his hair was definitely dark brown. She shook her head, banishing thoughts of a young Nicholas donning his school uniform and diligently studying in the library.

"-Elise…?" Her mother's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Yes, mum-?" She whipped up to face her.

"I have to go, your father and I are hosting a guest tonight, will you be alright? You seem out of it." Her mother's concern was true, and Elise could only sigh.

"I'll be fine, I'm just a little rattled." She sank into herself slightly, fearing they might think her incompetent for not being able to handle the events of the day.

"Of course you are!" Nicholas exclaimed. "What just happened was no doubt terrifying, I'm impressed you're still standing- well, sitting…"

He offered her a shy smile. Elise was surprised. Had she been paying attention she would have noticed her mother slip out of the house, a knowing smile plastered on her face. Instead, she gave Nicholas a smile of her own, lost in his gaze once more.

"Thank you…I was afraid you'd think me weak." She laughed.

"I think you're anything but. Your mother says you adopted Harry?" He nodded toward the boy.

"I did. I…knew his mother." She spoke softly.

"I see. This wouldn't happen to be Harry Potter, would it?" His raised eyebrow told her he already knew.

"Yes, it is." She sighed.

She expected fanfare or ogling, after all, the baby who defeated the dark lord was present. Instead she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"That's wonderful. I'm glad he has a loving family to look after him." His smile was genuine. "You make a great mother Elise, and it's okay to feel shaken by big things like this. I'm sure this boy will give you a run for your money, knowing his father."

Elise felt tears pooling in her eyes. She hid them with a laugh, he was right, if Harry was anything like his father…she really was in for it. His brown eyes flicked between her and Harry, but hers remained on him, not breaking her trance even once.

"I should be heading back to my Mother's now…" he sighed. "I moved in today."

"Oh?" Elise tried not to sound too excited.

"Yea…she's lonely I think. It's just me and her left. Thought I'd spend all the time she has left with her." His expression grew sad for a moment. "It was nice to meet you, even if I had to save your life first." He chuckled.

Elise felt her breath hitch; he was adorable. No! He was dangerous. She needed him to leave so she could work on making herself sane again. And yet…she knew she wanted him to stay. Something about him just begged for her attention. She wanted to know everything about him, his struggles, his worries, his dreams. A soft cry from Harry jolted her from her thoughts.

"Are you sleepy, little man?" She asked, helping him out of his chair.

His head fell onto her shoulder, giving her the approval she sought. She turned to Nicholas, an apologetic look on her face.

"Thank you for today." She smiled shyly.

"Anytime. I live next door now, and I left my number on your phone." He resisted the urge to wink. "Let me know if you need anything."

With that, he stood and gathered his things, heading home. Elise watched him go, feeling a little silly for being sad. She hurried up the stairs before she ended up doing something stupid. A quick change of his clothes and Harry was tucked in for the night. So was she after a long shower and several bowls of ice cream. She dozed off with thoughts of Harry and Nicholas commandeering her mind.

—

Four days later, Elise had set out to decorate the house for Christmas. She bundled Harry up in his sweater and boots and headed out to the car, deciding she was going to do it the muggle way today. She balanced a backpack and a bowl of snacks in one hand and Harry in the other. As she closed the front door, she heard a loud yelp. She knew it was icy outside, and planned accordingly by charming her boots, someone had not been so lucky. She looked over to check on the poor victim, only to laugh out loud.

"Nicholas?" She called through laughs.

"Elise-?!" His voice came out strangled as he stumbled to regain his balance.

His valiant effort was still not enough, and his feet got out from under him again. He face planted into the ground. Elise dropped her bag and rushed over, her amusement replaced with worry. Harry yelped as she dropped to the ground next to Nicholas, he reached for the man, worried for him too.

"Are you alright?" She asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

A muffled sound of agreement came from the ground. Elise poked the side of his face, prompting him to roll over. She gasped.

"Oh…Nicholas-" She grimaced. "Your nose is broken…"

Blood trickled out of his crooked nose, and she could tell he was in pain. His eyes were screwed tight, she noticed his grit teeth and clenched fists as well. Before she could do anything he held a hand out and sat up. A quick "episkey" and his nose set itself back in place. Elise grabbed one of the baby wipes out of Harry's bag and brought it over, cleaning off the blood that had dripped to his chin.

"Thank goodness for magic…" She tried, giving him a smile.

He returned one of his own, trying to calm his heart. "Too right. Sorry you had to watch that." He sighed and took the wipe from her, a grateful smile on his face.

Nicholas was mortified. How could he have done such a foolish thing in front of her? He shook his head as she stood up, propping Harry on her hip and extending her hand to help him up.

"I charmed your boots for you just a second ago, try standing." She smirked as he reached for her hand.

"Oh…right, thank you. I forgot I could do that." He laughed and stood up, still balancing himself carefully, just in case.

"Of course, happens to the best of us." She nodded, looking up at him now that he was standing.

Nicholas nodded and looked at her discarded backpack and snacks. "Are you going somewhere?"

She smiled enthusiastically. "I'm gonna try to take the little one Christmas shopping, we'll see how it goes, might give up halfway through."

"Ahh, why's that?" He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't take you for a quitter.."

"I'm not! But…trying to wrestle a Christmas tree and a baby sounds awful." She admitted, sighing.

"That it does, that it does." He smiled, looking at his house and then back to her. "Um…if you can wait five minutes, I can go with you…we can take my truck too, so it will be easier to get everything you want back home." He offered shyly.

Elise blinked. Of course, what he suggested was entirely reasonable and did guarantee their shopping success, but could she handle it? The whole two interactions she had had with him weren't the best she thought, both of them getting injured somehow, but he was very kind, and thoughtful it seemed. She figured there couldn't be any harm in agreeing, so she made up her mind.

"That would be wonderful Nicholas." Her smile made his heart race as he quickly ran back inside to change into more suitable clothes.

He was back in three minutes, and Elise had gathered up her things once more. She waited by the door of his truck with Harry's car seat next to her. He quickly installed it and set the bags on the floorboard. Then he took Harry and buckled him in as the raised truck put the boy much higher up then what Elise was used to. She watched to ensure it was done properly and gave him a thumbs up for a job well done. Nicholas then helped her into her own seat, closing the door behind her and hurrying around to the driver's side.

To say he was excited was quite an understatement. This was the perfect opportunity to learn more about her and get the kind of closeness to ensure more opportunities for meeting

Elise was excited in her own way. Though she was a little apprehensive about pursuing another relationship so soon, she couldn't seem to stop herself from falling for the boy next door, how cliché...

The car ride there was filled with happy chatter from the two young adults, with the occasional inputs from the toddler in the back, who was very excited to be in a car. Nicholas found that Harry quite liked going fast, so with any opportunity he kicked the car into full gear, racing down back roads and side streets. Harry cackled in delight from the back each time, waving his little arms around with pure joy. Elise was less excited, and found herself gripping her surroundings for support, begging Nicholas to slow down.

On one such speed up, Nicholas took a sharp turn, drawing cackles from Harry and a yelp from Elise. She felt her body jerk and reached out to support herself. A few seconds later she would come to realize she had wrapped her arm around Nicholas's and quickly jumped back. He only chuckled in response, giving her a less than sincere apology.

"Prat." She muttered, eyeing him from the side.

He turned to her, flashing a brilliant smile. "I really am sorry, do let me know if you need to hold onto me again, I'll give you my hand instead, should be more comfortable."

Elise flushed red and stared out her window, successfully silenced. She sulked for a moment. Harry laughed in the back seat.

"Ma! Ma!" He called.

"Yes little man, what is it?" She sighed, turning from her sulk to answer the boy.

"Wee!" He cried, throwing his arms up again.

"Yes…wee…" she relented, deciding to grab the door handle for support this time as Nicholas stepped on the gas once more.

Finally, they arrived at their first stop. A department store with all kinds of decorations. Elise walked around and pointed things out, Nicholas grabbed them and put them in the cart, following her around and adding his input in whenever prompted.

"What do you think, Nick, lights or no lights?" Elise asked, looking between two strands of garland.

"Where are you putting it?" He asked, coming up to stand next to her.

"Staircase, banister, fireplace. Places like that."

"Lights for sure, at least for the stairs and banister, I think it looks nice that way."

"Ooh, you're right. In the cart!" She pointed with a smile.

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted.

They continued on for about an hour, then Elise paid for everything at the front. They got everything packed in bags and Nicholas loaded it into the back seat next to Harry. They were off once more to another store.

They shopped just like that for several hours, eventually ending up at a Christmas tree lot. Nicholas was carrying a sleeping Harry in one arm while Elise inspected each tree. By now it was snowing and both were glad for their hats and scarves. The warming charms in their coats helped too, but only so much.

Elise crouched to look at the bottom layer of one of the trees, and Nicholas stood behind her. A man came around the corner holding a catalog.

"Hello sir! I see you and your wife are looking into our trees, splendid selection this year indeed! Here is a list of our options-" the man continued to blabber on about trees, and Nicholas didn't have the chance to correct him.

As the man talked, Elise came out of her thoughts and realized they had company, she went to stand and bumped into Nicholas. She felt her foot trip over his own and flailed back trying to balance herself. Nicholas reached out and yanked her against him by the waist. She stood frozen for a minute before the man talking let out a laugh.

"My, what an adorable couple you two make, and with your son as well! How precious!" He cooed, handing Elise the catalog. "Well, I'll leave you to it then, I hope you enjoy our selection!" With that he pranced off to another customer.

The two young adults looked at eachother shyly, amused grins forming. They couldn't help but laugh at the silliness of the situation. Elise patted the hand still around her back and on her waist.

"Thanks Nick, you saved me again." She eye rolled.

"It's kind of like my thing now I think." He shrugged. "Might have to get a t-shirt. 'Elise's Hero', what do you think?" He smirked.

"Mm, I don't know, I think you should just go full superhero costume." She put a finger to her chin. "Batman would look good on you I think."

"Oh for sure, the tight spandex and aggressive cape? Not to mention the mask, it's exactly my style!" He nodded. "Wait, you just wanna see me in spandex, huh?" He poked her in the side playfully.

She laughed, putting her hand in between her skin and his hand to stop him from tickling her. "Whaaaaaat? You're crazy." She stepped back from him. "I never said that, you're putting words in my mouth." She shook her head.

"It was implied, just admit it!" He laughed, taking a step toward her.

"No it was not!" She huffed, turning on her heels. "I won't admit anything." With that, she ran.

"Get back here!" Nicholas called, grabbing Harry tight and running after her.

Thank goodness for the charmed boots, or their running through the snow and ice could have been a very dangerous endeavor. Instead, it was one full of laughter as he chased her around the lot, dodging trees and other customers. She ran until she was out of breath and hid behind two large trees.

"I think I lost him.." she muttered with a smirk.

"Lost who?" He whispered in her ear, right behind her.

"AH!" She yelled.

Her surprise woke Harry with a start and he promptly began to cry. Nicholas rocked him back and forth between laughs, proud of his successful silencing charm. His sneak attack was utter perfection.

"Prat!" She hissed, reaching for the baby.

He handed him over and shook his head as Harry calmed immediately, drifting off once more. Elise glared up at him.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry!" He held his hands up in defense.

"Uhuh." She rolled her eyes. "Let's go pick a tree."

He trailed behind her, feeling a little guilty. She almost seemed upset.

Elise was, in fact, not upset, but she was glad he stayed behind her. The feeling of his breath against her neck was stuck in her mind. She willed the heat in her face to calm down, and the beat of her heart to do the same. It was only the concentration of getting Harry back to sleep that saw her not a stumbling fool.

"I really didn't mean to scare you that badly." Came the soft words of Nicholas behind her.

She stopped confused. She glanced back and noticed his worried expression.

"Oh, Nick. I'm not upset." She smiled, patting his arm. "It's just cold. Let's pick a tree and go home. You can have dinner with us again if you'd like."

"That would be nice, but I should probably check on my mother." He smiled, happy she wasn't upset with him.

"Of course, she's welcome as well." She offered just in case.

She wouldn't admit it, but she really wanted him to stay as long as possible. Nicholas wouldn't admit anything either, but the quick decision to convince his mother to leave the house for a few hours was made as soon as she offered.

They found their tree relatively quickly after that. Nicholas insisted on paying for it, telling Elise to get Harry situated in the car. She relented and made her way there, waiting by the bed of the truck for him to arrive. He did so a few minutes later, dragging the tree behind him.

"Nick, did you get that all the way over here by yourself?" She exclaimed, hurrying over to him.

"Yea? It's no big deal, I promise. Will you hold this while I load into the truck though?" He dropped the ropes and shed his jacket and scarf, handing them to her.

With just the cotton long sleeve underneath, Nicholas grabbed the middle of the tree and hoisted it up onto his shoulder. A quick toss saw it halfway in the bed of the truck.

Elise tried hard not to stare. She wasn't sure what had possessed her, but watching him climb over into the bed of the truck and manhandle the tree was doing something strange to her. She had to snap her mouth shut as he turned back around.

"All set!" He called, patting the tree and hopping back over onto the ground.

He landed with a thud and brushed his hand off. Elise stood rooted to the ground, processing the past minute or so over in her head once more. She clutched his jacket and scarf close, missing when he called out to her to hand them back.

"Uh, Elise?" He stepped closer.

"Huh? Uh-what? Yes?" She tried several times, shaking her head to clear her mind.

"Can I have my jacket?"

"Sorry, yes.." She said softly, handing it to him.

He put his outer layers back on and she scurried into the truck, buckling her seatbelt and staring out the window in embarrassed silence.

"Time to head home." He sighed once he got in. "Today was fun." He looked over to her.

"It was!" Her voice came out more strained than she had intended.

With that, they were off. The ride back home was quick and quieter than before. Nicholas turned on songs to keep Harry asleep and they rode in comfortable silence. Comfortable for him at least, Elise was trying extremely hard not to think about his arms stretching the fabric of his shirt when he moved. Or how agile he was when he jumped on and off the truck. Her thoughts were more than a little lewd as time went on, and almost regretted inviting him over for dinner.

By the time they had gotten everything into the house and organized it into piles, Elise went upstairs to check on Harry and Nicholas ran home to get his mother. She brought Harry downstairs and started on dinner. She used magic to whip up a quick chicken dish and set the table right as her doorbell rang. Harry was promptly set in the high chair and she let the guests in.

"Elise! I'm back." Nicholas smiled. "This is my mother."

"It's lovely to meet you Mrs. Woods." Elise extended a hand.

"Oh I'll have none of that, call me Charlie." The older woman gave her a firm handshake.

Elise was a bit surprised. She wasn't sure what exactly she'd been expecting, but it wasn't this. Nicholas's mother looked like she could be a part of a biker gang. She wore black jeans and a red button up. Her gold jewelry glimmered in the light. Elise noticed the tattoos up her arms as well.

Charlie, as she insisted she be called, was the exact opposite of her son it seemed. While Nicholas had the nerdy awkward charm to him, his mother exuded powerful confidence and cool energy. Elise's surprise was not missed.

"Not what you were expecting, huh? My boy takes after his father, but I promise I'm nice." She flashed a cheeky grin much like her son's.

Elise could only smile and nod as she let them in, showing them to the kitchen.

"I hope grilled chicken and veggies is alright with you two, it's all I could think to make." She said as they sat down.

"It's wonderful dearie, don't worry about it. I'd take anything over this guy's cooking anyway." She pointed at her son from behind her hand as if it were a secret, Nicholas just rolled his eyes.

Elise laughed and dished out the food onto plates, helping Harry first before eating any of her own.

"So, you have a son? He's gonna be quite the charmer with those eyes, I can tell." Charlie looked over at Harry. "What's your name, kiddo?"

"That's Harry mum, remember I told you about him and Elise yesterday?" Nicholas said.

"Ahh so this is the mystery fainting girl, how interesting!" Charlie looked back over to her.

"Yes…that's me." Elise sighed. "Thank goodness Nicholas was out there, who knows what would have happened if nobody had seen me."

"Look at that Nicky, you are good for something!" Charlie patted her son on the back playfully. "You know, my son is a doctor, so saving people is kind of his thing. Not everyday he gets to save a pretty girl though." Charlie smirked at her son, making him stare down at his plate in embarrassment.

Elise blinked. "Oh?" Was all she managed.

"Yep, he came home and told me all about the beauty who collapsed in her front lawn. How convenient that he was able to rescue you just in time, and make two new friends out of it, so he says. He's quite fond of the little one as well." She smiled at Harry.

Elise looked at Nicholas, he was chewing a piece of chicken with painful deliberation. His face was practically scarlet by now. She gave him a smirk of her own.

"Well, he must have left that part out when he told me about what happened, but I'm flattered he thinks so."

Nicholas seemed to shrink in on himself. The conversation at dinner continued on just like that for the rest of the time. They talked about different things and used any opportunity to tease Nicholas. By the end of dinner he had excused himself to go play with Harry in the living room, saying he would "spend time with company who wasn't mean to him". Elise and Charlie laughed and let them go off, talking about whatever came to kind for quite awhile.

The night ended with Harry asleep and Elise bidding them farewell at the door, promising to have dinner again next week. With that, she headed off to bed herself, exhausted from the long day of shopping.