"Right on time," Parvati giggled as she opened the door to her flat. "Oh, Harry. You shouldn't have," she gushed upon seeing what he had in his hands.
Harry gave a toothy-smile as he passed over the half dozen red carnations to Parvati. Having been over to her flat a couple times before and spoken to her at various get-togethers over the years since their time at Hogwarts, he knew that Parvati was an absolute sucker for red flowers. Luckily for him, Molly Weasley had taken up growing flowers in the fields around the Burrow after the war, so Harry always had a ready supply waiting to go.
Parvati took the carnations into her hands and brought them up to her nose. She took a deep sniff of the mildly spicy fragrance and let out a happy sigh. "These are lovely," she beamed up at Harry. "Let me just put these in a bit of water and then we can go. Come on in." Parvati waved him forward as she danced off towards her kitchen.
Harry stepped into the small flat and closed the door behind him. Parvati used to have a larger apartment that she shared with her sister, Padma, but Padma moved into her boyfriend's flat nearly a year ago, so Parvati downsized. It was a nice enough place, located in a small magical district in Southend-on-Sea. The flat had an open concept and big windows that overlooked the English Channel. Parvati had decorated the place with countless pieces of colourful artwork, tasteful furniture, and magical photographs of her family and friends. Most of the pictures sat on a floor-to-ceiling shelving unit that sat against the far wall across from the couch. Most of the photos were small, but there was one massive one at the very center: a picture of everyone who participated in the Battle of Hogwarts. Parvati and Padma were off to the right side, and they both had their arms around Lavender, who had just the faintest bit of scaring on her cheek from a close call with Fenrir Greyback. Naturally, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were front and center in the photo.
"Reminiscing?" Parvati asked as she came up behind Harry. She looked stunning dressed in her violet dress robes. Her long black hair was done up in a fancy plait that pulled to the side, resting behind her left shoulder. And, as always, she was wearing her silver necklace that had the letter 'P' hanging from it. Padma had a matching one and the two witches could never be seen without them.
Harry grimaced. "A little bit. Sometimes I wish I didn't have to be the center of attention, you know?"
"Who else would then?" Parvati gave a teasing smile. "Face facts, Harry, you're perfect being the center of attention. You've gotten a lot better at it since Hogwarts."
That he had. It was a unfortunate necessity given the political climate. He didn't hate that he had to do, but being in the public's eye for most of your life was a tiring thing. At least he'd be able to make some positive changes to the wizarding world if things continued to go according to plan.
"You've got me there," Harry chuckled. "I just hope some good can come of it."
"So much already has," Parvati said, leaning in closer to him and putting her hand on his arm. "You've been incredible in the Auror Department, and your public speaking has helped get some well-needed legislation pushed through the Wizengamot. Sometimes you just need to take a step back to see it all. Speaking of which, should we get going to Le Bistrognome?"
"Yeah, we should," Harry smiled. "Eloise made me promise that we'd be there on time. Apparently she has something special prepared for us."
"That sounds wonderful," Parvati sighed. She stepped forward to be right beside Harry and intertwined her arms with his. "After the week I've had, I'd love a bit of pampering."
"Then let's not leave you waiting," Harry said as he gave the slightest twist of his heel.
Suddenly, the world went black for a moment as Harry and Parvati twisted away. It only took a second of uncomfortable pressure before the two safely apparated into Diagon Alley.
Being a Friday night, Diagon Alley was abuzz with life. Dozens of men and women were visiting the shops all up and down the alley, while several more were heading out for a bite to eat. From the Apparation Point, Harry could see that the various entrances to the adjoining alleys seemed quite busy too.
Harry led Parvati through the crowds, making mindless chatter about a couple new shops that had just opened as they went. As they made their way up the alley, Harry kept his eyes peeled. He had already spotted three Aurors who were in uniform, but he recognized a couple more that appeared to be undercover. All of them pointedly stayed out of Harry's path.
About halfway to the restaurant, Harry picked up on the subtle buzz that was passing through the crowd. It was the same thing every year around the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts; anytime he was in public, people would point and stare and gossip.
He wasn't the only one to notice it though. "You'd think that they just come up and talk to you," Parvati commented as her eyes swept across a family who was practically gawping in awe at Harry. "It's not like you're some secretive person who's been hidden away for years."
"I think they might be a bit intimidated by the beauty of the witch on my arm," Harry whispered conspiratorially, making Parvati giggle.
"Oh please," Parvati bumped her hip against Harry's. "As beautiful as I may be, you're the most handsome bachelor in all of Britain. You're the one they're intimidated by."
"Let's agree to disagree," Harry laughed as he guided Parvati along through a crowd of middle-aged witches.
Together, they crossed through most of Diagon Alley until they reached Le Bistrognome. The small restaurant was located close to Gringotts, just across from Mr Mulpeppers Apothecary. It had a small patio space out front like Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour did, but it had a few more tables with large, white umbrellas to provide some shade. The patio was packed with nicely-dressed diners enjoying an evening meal, but the inside of the restaurant itself didn't look too busy.
Parvati practically jumped forward in excitement as she clutched Harry's arm. "I've been dreaming of eating here for months ever since I read the incredible review that was in Witch Weekly."
"Hopefully it lives up to your expectations," Harry said as he slowed his steps so that Parvati could take the lead as they walked in between the tables on the patio and up to the open door to the restaurant.
They had barely made it to the door before there was a sudden exclamation of "Harry!" from inside.
Standing just inside of the restaurant dressed in her white chef robes was Eloise. The tall, dark-skinned woman rushed forward with her arms outstretched. "'arry Potter," she exclaimed with a strong French accent as she wrapped Harry up in a giant hug.
"Hello Eloise," Harry chuckled at her exuberant greeting. "Thank you so much for fitting us in on such short notice."
"It was no problem at all," Eloise pulled out of the hug and turned to face Parvati. "And this is your lovely lady for the evening, Parvati Patil, non?"
"Yes," Parvati smiled. Harry couldn't help but stare at her as Eloise leaned in to give her a hug too. Parvati truly was stunning; he had been a fool not to recognize that back in his fourth year. She practically glowed until the warm light of the candles that floated above their heads, and she made her dress look stunning on her. It hugged her every curve just right.
As Eloise released Parvati, Parvati's eyes flickered over to Harry and she caught him staring at her. But Harry didn't look away.
"We 'ave a special table set up for you two right over here," Eloise gestured with a grand sweep of her arms.
Le Bistrognome was set up in a lovely, circular layout despite the square shape to the building; magical expansion charms had definitely helped give the interior of the restaurant more space. Still, there were only fifteen tables set up inside with two to six chairs at each one. Most of the tables ran around the outer wall of the bistro, leaving the center of the dining room open for the two six-person tables and for guests and servers to walk around comfortably. Each table was covered with clean white linens with crisp, black napkins. The walls were all finely decorated with intricate carvings and frosted glass windows. At the far back wall, there was an open doorway into the kitchen area where Harry could see various staff members going about their jobs of preparing and serving food.
Eloise led Harry and Parvati directly to the center of the room where a small, circular table had been set up in between the two larger, rectangular tables. There was a direct pathway from the kitchen right to their table. As Harry pulled out Parvati's seat for her and she daintily sat down, Eloise was already uncorking several bottles of wine for them.
"Would you care for any of these to start wit'?" Eloise asked as she displayed half a dozen bottles.
Before Harry could respond, Parvati leaned forward eagerly. "I'd love to try some of your gnome-pressed Chardonnay to start," she said, eyeing up a particular green bottle.
"Excellent," Eloise replied as she poured a generous glass for Parvati before doing the same for Harry. "Please do not 'esitate to call me if you need anything. I'll be back soon with some entrées for you to start with."
"This place is incredible," Parvati gushed to Harry as Eloise swept away back to the kitchen. She picked up her glass of white wine and took a sip before letting out an incredibly satisfied sigh of delight. "You know, I never did hear exactly how you helped Eloise on a case."
"Ah, right." Harry took a sip of his glass of wine, savouring the flavour for a moment. "It was about a year and a half ago now, just a couple weeks after Christmas. A man named Rhys Orpington went out for a bit of muggle hunting and happened upon Eloise's brother, Mathis. Orpington took Mathis and a few other muggles back to his manor. I met Eloise while working on the case and ended up tracking down her brother with a little bit of help from her. Luckily, we managed to find Mathis and the others before any permanent damage had been done."
"That's awful," Parvati muttered as she absentmindedly swirled her glass of wine. She shot a look back over her shoulder towards the kitchen where she could Eloise just through the doorway stacking several small dishes onto a tray. "What happened after? To Mathis and the other muggles I mean."
"I brought them over to the Royal London Hospital where they got their injuries treated. Mathis is back home in France. He's a chef too, just like Eloise. The four other muggles were obliviated and returned back to their families. Our followup check on them all showed that they were all perfectly fine and happy," Harry answered.
"Well, at least there's that," Parvati sighed. "Is Orpington in Azkaban then."
A flare of anger shot through Harry's chest. "No, not anymore. A fine and two months is all he got since he technically didn't kill anyone."
"That's outrageous!" Parvati exclaimed before slapping her hand over her mouth and shooting apologetic looks towards the other tables of diners. "That seems like barely any punishment at all. Honestly, he probably would've killed them eventually."
"The new Ministry Sentencing Guidelines," Harry scoffed. "Trust me, there are quite a few of us who aren't happy with them either. But, the Minister overrode Director Bones' recommendations and put his decision in place. One he made with alongside the Wizengamot."
Parvati grimaced. "So much has changed under Kingsley's leadership, and yet . . ."
"Some things haven't at all?" Harry finished.
"Exactly," Parvati nodded.
Before anything else could be said, Eloise came out of the kitchen gracefully balancing an oversized silver platter in her left hand. "A sample platter of my favourite entrées." Her wand appeared in her other hand and she gave it a deft wave, causing the dishes of food on the platter to fly over onto the table in a nice arrangement. "Grilled octopus with heirloom tomatoes, sesame, and ginger; a curried vegetable terrine; fresh duck foie gras; smoked herring and potatoes; and roasted langoustines with lemon butter," Eloise said, naming off the ingredients as they landed on the table in turn.
"Wow," Parvati stared at the delicious, steaming dishes. She took a deep breath, leaning forward and making her necklace jingle. "It all looks and smells delicious."
"It really does," Harry nodded in agreement.
"Good," Eloise nodded sharply. "Please, enjoy it all, and take your time. I'll be back in a little while to check up on you."
As Eloise walked back to the kitchen, Parvati looked up at Harry. "Shall we get started?"
"After you," Harry gestured her forward. "After all, you're the one that's been dying to come here."
With a greedy smile, Parvati dug in.
PAGE BREAK
An hour and a half later, Harry and Parvati were both lounging back in their seats with similar looks of satisfaction as Eloise cleared away the last of their dishes.
"That was an incredible meal, Eloise," Parvati sighed happily as she licked the last drop of cherry mousse off of her finger. "Really, really good."
"It was," Harry added. "I regret not taking you up on your offer to come by sooner."
"Well, there'll be time for plenty more visits in the future, non?" Eloise smiled as the plates stacked neatly in the air beside her head. "You'll have to visit again when Mathis is in town; I know that he's been dying to repay you for all your help as well."
Harry grimaced; he didn't work as an Auror with the expectation of repayment for his work like this. "There's no need to-"
"There very much is," Eloise cut in sharply, leaving no room for argument. "If it wasn't for you . . . I don't want to imagine what life would be like. You deserve all this, and more. So just try to keep your mouth closed unless you're busy eating our food."
Harry chuckled at the firmness of her statement. Knowing Eloise, she meant every bit of it. "Oui, madame."
"Good," Eloise nodded before turning to Parvati. "It was lovely meeting you. Harry deserves to have a nice woman in his life."
"Ah," Parvati quickly tried to correct her. "We're not together quite like that, we're-"
"That's what they all say," Eloise waved Parvati off. "Tell me that again in a couple months time and maybe I'll believe you. In any case, I 'ope both of you enjoy the rest of your evening. I need to get back to the kitchen to 'elp clear down with the rest of my team."
"Of course," Harry said, getting to his feet and giving Eloise a quick hug. "Thank you so much again."
"Yes, thank you," Parvati repeated as she hugged Eloise as well.
Eloise beamed at them. "Anytime," she said before retreating back into the kitchen.
Harry glanced down at the empty table. It had been quite a wonderful meal; a far better one that he ever had at any Ministry event. But, as much as he'd love to spend the rest of the night relaxing, there was more work to be done. "I hope you're not too full that you can't go dancing now," he said to Parvati.
"Who, me?" Parvati winked at him. "Honestly, Harry, I'd never miss a chance like this to go dancing with you." Her hand shot out and grabbed his. "Come on, lets get going!"
Parvati pulled Harry out of the restaurant, giggling when he stumbled trying to catch up with her. "The Briar's Thorn is the best club in town. Have you been there yet?"
Harry shook his head. "I haven't had the chance."
"Pity," Parvati pulled Harry closer to her side. "At least you'll get to pop your cherry with me."
Harry snorted at that and Parvati let out another burst of giggles. He could tell that the wine was affecting her a bit, just like it was him, but he wasn't the same blushing boy he used to be. "I'm so glad to have such an experienced woman guiding me through my first time."
"I promise to be gentle," Parvati cocked her head to the side as her mischievous eyes scanned his face. "Mostly."
It was a short trip down Diagon Alley towards the steps that led down into Knockturn Alley. The Briar's Thorn was built just within the entrance to the shady alley. It was close enough that most people who stuck to the safer alleys would be willing to venture in to visit while still being far enough away to keep out of view of most Auror patrol routes. In spite of Harry's many requests, Dawlish had refused to put more men patrolling Knockturn Alley to keep it safe. Sure, they were short-staffed due to the war, but Harry saw cleaning up Knockturn Alley as one of the most important jobs the government could be doing at the moment. Maybe tonight would help to make a difference in his case with Dawlish.
Together, Harry and Parvati walked down the gentle staircase into Knockturn Alley. Dozens of cloaked and hooded figures roamed the Alley, and Harry could practically feel the gazes of most of them on him. He was a recognizable figure to be sure, and most of the people that frequented this alley wouldn't be friends of his. He'd probably arrested some of them before too. However, as long as none of them interfered in his plans tonight, he'd leave them be.
"This way," Parvati pulled Harry's hand, guiding them around a bend in the alley into a small offshoot alleyway. It was a dead-end road with only a single building on either side of it. To the right was an apothecary—one that Harry knew carried numerous illegal ingredients that they hid in the floorboards beneath the shelving units along the walls. To the left was their target: The Briar's Thorn.
The outside of the Briar's Thorn was very nondescript. It looked like a normal building, albeit one without any visible windows, with just a simple sign out front of a prickly briar patch with a single large thorn coming off of a branch that ran along the top of the sign. There were two wizards, both dressed in relatively fine robes, standing out front of the door with their wands in their hands.
"Good, there's no line tonight," Parvati grinned and let go of Harry's hand.
As they approached the club, Harry spotted the second that the two bouncers recognized him. Their stances shifted, their knees bent a bit and their grip on their wands tightened just the slightest bit. Although they tried to make it look like they were just scanning the newcomers, Harry could tell from experience that they were looking for his hands to see if he had his wand in them.
"Evening," one of the bouncers nodded his head cautiously, not taking his eyes off of Harry.
"Good evening," Parvati smiled. There was a moment where no one moved. Both men had their eyes on Harry and he was staring right back at them. It was Parvati that brought them back into motion. "Err, can we go inside?"
"Just need to run a security check first," the taller of the two bouncers said. He stepped over in front of Parvati and waved his wand up and down in front of her body. There was a faint white glow at the tip of his wand as he did the scan, and it turned a bright amber when he finished.
Unlike the simple job when they handled Parvati, the taller man nodded to the younger one who circled behind Harry. Both of them had their wands drawn and pointed directly at Harry's torso. Harry simply stared back into the taller man's eyes as he started his scan.
They were right to be cautious of him, Harry supposed, but the question was: were they suspicious of him because of his status as the vanquisher of Voldemort and a Senior Auror or was it because they had something to hide inside of the club?
Naturally, the scan came up clean as well. The taller man looked like he had sucked on a sour lemon as he took a step back from Harry. "Enjoy your time at the Briar's Thorn," he muttered as he waved them in.
"Thank you," Harry said, noting the slight jump in the younger man's body when he spoke for the first time. For a split second, Harry thought the young man was about to curse him, but the taller man sharply grabbed the younger man's wrist.
"Harry?" Parvati asked, looking back at him from her spot by the front door.
Harry paused, looking at the taller man's face. However, he refused to meet Harry's gaze. After waiting for a moment, Harry relented and looked back up to Parvati. "I'm coming."
Slowly, Harry started towards the front door, his entire focus directed towards the two men behind him. He focused in on his magic, trying to sense for any spells forming behind him, but nothing came to him. Instead, he simply met up with Parvati at the door into the club.
"What was that?" She asked in a hushed tone as she opened the front door.
"Nothing," Harry answered quickly. "Probably nothing."
As they stepped inside to a narrow hallway, Parvati closed the door quickly behind her. She looked up at Harry with a terribly serious expression on her face. "Is something going on, Harry? Do I need to be ready to fight?"
It lifted Harry's spirits to see that Parvati wasn't put off by the idea of fighting. It had been five long years since the Battle of Hogwarts, and most of the veterans of that fight were incredibly grateful that they didn't have to fight anymore. Quite a few people who had hoped to join the Auror department decided against it after the war because of what they experienced. Harry didn't blame them—hell, there were some days where he thought about giving it all up too—but he was glad to see that when push came to shove, his old friends would still be on his side.
As much as he wished he could simply lie to Parvati and tell her that she didn't have to worry about anything, he knew he couldn't do that to his friend. He had omitted telling her about the operation tonight, but he shouldn't let her go in to the club without the knowledge of what could happen.
"Probably not," Harry whispered to her. He subtly cast a couple spells to search for any listening charms or hidden people nearby, but found none. "Look, we've had our eye on this place for a while, but we don't have anything concrete yet. However, there was a rumor that Corban Yaxley was spotted here recently."
"Yaxley," Parvati muttered, looking down at her shoes. "He was the former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, right?"
"He was," Harry nodded. "Look, there are undercover Aurors in the club around the clock keeping an eye out for him. We don't have to worry about a thing. We can dance and drink the night away and the others will handle things if Yaxley shows his face. I'm not expecting a fight tonight, but you can never let your guard down completely."
Parvati huffed before giving Harry a rueful smile. "And here I thought this was a proper date and not a work date."
"It is," Harry corrected her, "if you want it to be. You know as well as I do that danger follows me everywhere I go; I can't separate my personal and work lives like most people can."
"No, you can't," Parvati said quietly. A pensive look came across her face as she shifted her weight onto her back foot.
"If you want out, all you have to do is say so," Harry told her. "But, truthfully, I'd rather take you into the club and go dancing."
"Do you promise to protect me if things go wrong?" Parvati gave Harry a teasing look.
"Of course," Harry chuckled. "Though, from what I saw back at the Battle of Hogwarts, you don't need my protection in a fight."
"That doesn't mean a girl wouldn't like to have her knight in shining armor show his care from time to time." Making her decision, Parvati grabbed Harry's hand and tugged him forward. "Come on; we'll go see if you've gotten any better at dancing since Hogwarts."
Feeling relieved that Parvati was willing to go along with this knowing the risks, Harry followed her closely down the corridor towards the set of double oak doors. As they approached, the doors swung open, and their eardrums were assaulted by the heavy bass of music blasting through magical speakers. Bright, multicoloured lights swirled wildly around the floor in front of them before their focus returned to the dance floor.
The Briar's Thorn was essentially a renovated factory. The lower levels had been cleared of all machinery, leaving a wide open space on the concrete where nearly two hundred witches and wizards were busy dancing. Bars lined the edge of the room, serving drinks and offering places for people to sit and catch their breaths. There were two sets of staircases on opposite ends of the floor that led up to a large catwalk that ran the length of the walls, overlooking the floor below. There were a couple dozen people up there looking down on the dancing horde of people. There were a few doorways up there, two of which had clear signage for a set of washrooms.
But the real spectacular point of interest in the Briar's Thorn was the floating mass of vines, branches, and shrubbery that sat just a few feet higher than the catwalks did. The natural mass of debris created a platform upon which the DJ played music and various small fairies floated about, pointing multicoloured lights down on the floor and spinning them around in a hypnotic pattern.
"I love Spellbound," Parvati laughed as she spun forward in time with the music, making the skirt of her violet dress flare out beautifully. "Lets go dance!"
Harry and Parvati moved forward into the club. It was warm in here with all of the people dancing, and the music was so loud that Harry could feel the vibrations of the bass rattling his bones. Parvati led Harry into the crowd, slipping in between tightly packed bodies towards the middle of the floor. As soon as they found a little space to work with, Parvati spun around in Harry's arms with a brilliant smile on her lips. "Come on!" She shouted over the thrum of the music.
Whatever song was playing by Spellsound set a fast beat that Harry quickly adapted to. He was never much of a dancer, but his years as an Auror had taught him excellent footwork skills and his Quidditch skills helped his timing. Of course, he'd learned how to dance properly, both for casual and formal settings, since graduating Hogwarts, but he knew he'd never be the greatest dancer in the world.
Parvati, on the other hand, danced so perfectly that it was like the music was following her rhythm and not the other way around. On the tightly packed dance floor, her body spent most of its time pressed up close against Harry's, but every now and then she'd spin a few steps away and show off her moves. Harry was entranced watching as she did just that, throwing her arms up above her head as she went. The faint sheen of sweat on her brow made her look like she was glowing beneath the roaming lights above, and the smile on her face as she swayed to the music was unlike any other Harry had seen on her before. She truly belonged in a place like this, and Harry couldn't believe that he had never seen it before.
For just a few minutes, Harry forgot about the mission that had been on his mind all day. He knew that there were undercover Aurors around the venue, and they had things under control. He was determined to, if only for a short while, be the party-boy that Dawlish said he should act like. He danced with Parvati, easily the most beautiful woman in this club tonight, and reveled in the feeling of elation that filled his chest.
Harry had never been interested in Parvati, not really anyway. Sure, he knew she was beautiful, but he had chosen her tonight out of convenience, not romantic interest. But seeing her like this was making him reconsider his previous beliefs.
Just as Parvati came in close to him again, Harry's hands shot out and he grabbed her hips. Parvati's eyes widened in surprise, but she leaned into his touch, pressing her body up against his. She turned around in front him, making Harry release her for a moment before he was able to grab her hips again, and pressed her ass back against his crotch. She grinded against him to the beat of the music, and twisted her neck to look up at him with a sultry expression.
Harry couldn't help himself. Seeing her looking at him like that with her body pressed up against him was just too much. He dipped his head down and captured her lips in a kiss.
Parvati kissed him back eagerly, still grinding to music against him. They moved back and forth, their lips smashed up against each other's, until the need for air overrode their lust. When they pulled away, Harry was pleased to see the flush across Parvati's cheeks as she fought to catch her breath. Her eyes were scanning his, searching his face for something. She must have liked whatever she saw because she leaned in right after, closing her eyes as she kissed Harry again.
The night wore on with more dancing, punctuated with brief visits to the bar to get a drink and relax for a few minutes before returning to the dance floor. After that first kiss, Parvati's hand never left his. A few random people would come up to talk to Harry and thank him for stopping Voldemort as was common at this time of year, and Parvati stayed by his side acting as the perfect partner in greeting these people.
After a few drinks, Harry briefly excused himself to go to the washroom. Parvati waited by the bottom of the steps that led up to the catwalk as Harry climbed up. He wasn't especially drunk, but he could feel the alcohol making him a bit sluggish as he walked across the catwalk to the bathroom.
The bathroom was quite large with a dozen stalls lining the wall opposite the sinks. All but one stall was vacant, so Harry slipped in to the first unoccupied one and drained his bladder before stepping back out to go wash his hands. As he finished drying off his hands with a towel, the door to the occupied stall opened behind him and a tall, black-haired man stepped out, dressed in fine black robes.
In spite of his inebriated state, Harry didn't miss the look of surprise, concern, and then fury that washed over the man's face in a second. Dawlish's words passed through Harry's mind: "Apparently, this person spotted Yaxley drinking a Polyjuice Potion. He transformed into a taller, black-haired man and went into the Briar's Thorn."
A/N: Hey, thanks for reading! I will be steadily reuploading all of my content from AO3 until both sites have the same content on it. If you are interested in reading more or supporting me, check out at p atreon .com(slash) ashox