It occurred to me the other day while just how important this period of time has been, given that this is still around a month after the events of Chapter 34. While a decent chunk of this story has been somewhat fast paced in terms of the timeline, getting to slow down and really show these characters after the Battle of the Astronomy Tower has been really fun, and the reactions I'm getting from you guys seem to be really positive! I hope you all enjoy this chapter too.
Some dialogue in this chapter is borrowed from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 6 – The Ghoul in Pyjamas and Chapter 7 – The Will of Albus Dumbledore.
The days after retrieving Harry from Little Whinging had Leo wanting to climb up the walls of Fred and George's bedroom out of sheer boredom. Sirius had brought over a number of books on Occlumency for him to practice clearing out his mind while he was unable to get out of bed, talking him through a number of practices that the elder Black had found useful, but despite the quality time with his Father, for the most part, Leo was unbelievably bored being stuck in bed all day.
There were some perks, however, Leo thought to himself as the residents of the Burrow were being thrown head first into wedding planning, the complaints that followed often echoing through the house and even filtered up to the window of the room from the garden. While Hermione managed to escape the chore wheel for a few hours every day, the rest of the occupants within the house weren't so lucky, being tasked with all manner of cleaning, tidying, mending and planning tasks to prepare for what was turning out to be if Mrs Weasley got her way, the event of the century. With so many tasks being handed around however, it was a rare moment when Harry, Ron and Hermione were able to sit in the same room for a while, the first instance of which managed to come just a couple of days before Harry's 17th birthday, as they all joined Leo in Fred and George's room, a day where Leo was finally managing to sit upright on his own with his chest healing up slowly but surely.
"Percy is doing my head in." Ron grumbled as he fell into an armchair in the middle of the room, closing his eyes for a moment as he laid his head back before continuing to complain. "He's been back, what, 5 minutes? It's all 'do this Ronald, do that Ronald, listen to mum Ronald. As if he didn't abandon us for a bloody year."
"He's trying to make up for things." Hermione explained, barely looking up from her book Magical Locations of Britain as she sat on Leo's bed.
Harry frowned from his spot at the door, leaning against it to keep it closed in case of any unwanted eavesdroppers. "Ignore Percy. Your mum will find us soon enough… and we need to start thinking about what we're going to do once we leave here… are you guys still sure you want to…"
Hermione slammed the book shut and glared over at Harry venomously. "We've been over this, Harry." She said coldly, and Leo rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe the frustration that was building up inside her.
"We've prepared mate." Ron added, before looking over at Hermione with sad eyes. "Tell him."
Hermione froze in place as Leo flinched slightly. Harry looked at all of them, realising that something had happened at their reactions. "Tell me what?" He asked impatiently.
"Don't push it Harry." Leo stated calmly, though he could feel his own annoyance rising. "We've all sacrificed things to protect you for what's coming... some more painfully than others."
Harry was confused still. "Painfully… what are you on about?"
"I changed my parents memories." Hermione explained quickly, and Leo knew that he would be a liar if he didn't admit that the look on Harry's face at the revelation was somewhat satisfying. "I thought that if I didn't show up to school in September, then the Death Eaters would be likely to pay them a visit in order to try and flush me out of hiding. So now Mum and Dad think they're called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, a married couple with no children, and the last I knew they were on their way to Heathrow Airport to fulfil their dreams of emigrating to Australia."
The silence said it all, and Leo studied Harry's face as it moved from shock, to realisation, and finally to sorrow. "I didn't know…" Harry began.
Hermione however retorted quickly, interrupting him. "Didn't know that we would know exactly what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed that we would help you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised towards him accusingly. "Well, we do. We've planned meticulously for this… I've even managed to convince Mrs Weasley to look after Crookshanks while we are away despite her constantly trying to get us to tell her our plans and stop them from happening." She looked over at Ron then. "Your turn, show Harry what you've done."
Ron's face scrunched up as if he had just smelled something more fitting for a Deathday party. "Nah, not now Hermione, we've just eaten… I don't want to smell that after I've just had…"
"Do it." Hermione said bossily, and Ron sighed dramatically.
"I'll show you later how it looks, it would honestly bring my lunch back up and nobody wants that…" Ron explained, his cheeks turning pale at the thought. "But I can't do what Hermione did and have my whole family disappear can I? They all have jobs… so once we leave, the Ghoul is going to come down and live in my room. We've transfigured it to look… somewhat… like me, and Dad, Bill and the Twins will put the word out that I've got Spattergroit. It's really contagious so one look through the door should be enough for anyone that wants to investigate."
Hermione then picked her book back up and loudly returned her place, saying as she flicked through the pages. "So we are more than equipped to join you, Harry, and now I'm trying to decide which locations would be more likely than others to mean something to Voldemort so that we have an active plan on where should start. I've already got the addresses of the old Gaunt manor from before they fell from grace, the orphanage he lived at as a child, and now I'm searching through for any locations that have links to Slytherin himself."
"Good thinking." Harry nodded enthusiastically, trying to move forwards with their planning. "Any luck on R.A.B?"
Ron and Hermione's eyes swivelled to look at Leo. "Yeah." The injured teen nodded; his voice quiet. "I found him."
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "You did? Who…"
"Regulus. Arcturus. Black." Leo stated slowly. "Dad's brother." And then he flew into the story that he had already told the others about how they had spoken to Kreacher after finding Regulus' room and realised that the locket had been inside Grimmauld Place all that time, before eventually trying to destroy it unsuccessfully until the Death Eaters attacked. "So that explosion on Grimmauld Place… that was Fiendfyre."
Harry took a moment to digest the information. "We're sure that Fiendfyre destroyed the locket?"
Hermione was the one to confirm it. "To destroy a Horcrux you must damage the object the soul fragment is housed inside beyond all magical and physical repair. Fiendfyre is dangerous, Harry, it's cursed fire. Once it starts it's impossibly difficult to stop and it burns away anything it touches."
"I didn't get a good look at the house before leaving, but as soon as I threw the locket into the fire, the entire street erupted." Leo added darkly, the memory still haunting him. "It's gone."
Harry actually smiled at hearing that. "Nice one." He praised. "So we've got the Diary, the Ring and the Locket."
"Leaving the Cup, the snake, and something we don't have a bloody clue what it is." Ron confirmed.
"Which is what I've been doing stuck up here all day, outside of meditating." Leo added, his tone sharing his boredom. "But other than this lost Diadem, which it clearly can't be, there's nothing else once owned by the Founders themselves that we know about. So I've been researching the Gaunt's a lot. If there's a family that Voldemort would have been interested in… it would be them."
He was about to list off some of the artifacts that he believed to be Gaunt owned at one point in history when a bang at the door sounded and Harry was thrown into the middle of the room, with the door swinging open properly at the second time of asking with Mrs Weasley standing in the doorway looking rageful and dishevelled. "I'm so sorry to break up this cosy little gathering." She bit out coldly. "I'm sure all of you need your rest… but there are wedding presents stacked in my room that need sorting out, and I was under the impression that you had agreed to help." She looked from Ron, to Harry, and finally to Hermione as she said that and her glare sent shivers down all 4 of their spines. Harry leapt to his feet, nodding as he stuttered out some apologies and bolted from the room, closely followed by Hermione, though she was stopped before leaving the room. "Hermione dear, if you could change Leo's bandages first, they're due replacing."
"How come she gets out of it?" Ron complained, earning a swift slap to the back of the head from his Mother.
"Because Hermione is still helping!" Mrs Weasley shouted. "Whereas you, Ronald Weasley, still have not tidied your bedroom after I asked you to do so DAYS ago!"
"I did!" Ron pouted. "It's just… messy again." Another slap followed. "Alright! Alright I'm going!"
He shot an apologetic look over at Hermione and Leo before being hounded away from the room by Molly, who shut the door for Leo's privacy with such a force it shook the entire house. "Bloody hell." Leo muttered, before both of the teenagers descended into laughter at what had just happened. They prepared to change the bandages in relative silence, with enough feeling having returned to Leo's chest without falling into excruciating pain that he could just enjoy the feeling of her hands on his skin. Once they were removed and Leo's body was exposed to the fresh air, he noticed Hermione's eyes roaming his torso. "You can see where the scars will stay now." She muttered, running her hands along part of the reddened skin.
"So long as you aren't scared off." Leo muttered softly, but Hermione simply rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips, her hand gently caressing his injuries and sending shivers down Leo's spine at the touch.
"Does that hurt?" She asked him, to which Leo, not trusting his voice at that moment, shook his head. "Good." She then continued to gently run her hands across his torso, and Leo closed his eyes just relishing the movements. That was until a cold sensation hit and he realised that Hermione had started rubbing the salve in, a cheeky grin on her face as he opened his eyes again.
Once she was done and Leo helped her to bandage himself back up, she got an idea and stood up. "Come on." She turned to him and gestured, holding her hands out. "I think you're ready." She then grabbed his hands and started to pull him to his feet. His breath shortened at the unfamiliar movement, but eventually Leo rose to his feet, holding on to Hermione's hands tightly. There was silence between them as they stared into one another's eyes, slowly moving across the room and back again. Leo quickly dropped to sit on the bed, gently massaging his ribs as he caught his breath again, but the wide grin on Hermione's face was being echoed within him. "You'll be running down those stairs in no time."
"All thanks to your nursing." He grinned back, before allowing her to help him lie back down. She then went to pass him his glass of water when the bedside unit drawer being slightly opened caught her eye. "Wait…" Leo began, but it was no use, and Hermione opened the drawer and pulled out two matching handheld mirrors, both of them silver and ornate.
"These are beautiful…" Hermione began.
"They belonged to my ancestor." Leo explained. "Ursula Flint, Phineas Nigellus' wife." Hermione placed one on the unit and examined the other, running her hands on all of the intricate detailing. "I want you to have one."
At that sentence Hermione froze, looking over at Leo. "Are these…"
"Communication mirrors, yes." Leo confirmed. "Our talk the other day made me realise… I can't go weeks or months without talking to you, so I asked Dad if he would help make a new set of mirrors… just for us. This way, wherever you are, you know you can always talk to me."
He could see a tear welling up in her eye and moved to wipe it away, letting Hermione lean into his hand, turning to kiss it gently before placing the mirror on the unit again. "I love it, what a brilliant idea." She whispered emotionally, pausing for a moment before looking deeply into Leo's dark eyes. "I love you. I realise I didn't say it before… but I do, Leo. This is so thoughtful, and needed." She leant down and kissed him firmly, showing the truth to her words as she pushed him down and brought one leg over both of his, straddling him and pressing her lips to his again. Leo simply melted into the embrace, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment until footsteps and shouting were heard from downstairs as from the sound of Mrs Weasley's screaming, Ron had dropped a handful of presents. With sad eyes Hermione managed a weak grin. "Another time." She whispered. "When you're better." She patted his chest lightly and pushed herself off of him, flashing him another grin as she opened the door and walked out, leaving Leo alone to digest what in Merlin's name had just happened.
He finally managed to tackle the stairs on the last day of July, managing the two flights down from Fred and George's room slowly and with the help of both Sirius and Bill Weasley, but it was a great sense of relief when he finally sank into the comfortable armchair in the living room of the Burrow and looked around at different walls. He'd come down late for Harry's 17th he noticed as he saw the already opened pile of presents in the corner, spotting the Sneakoscope that he knew was from Hermione, an enormous box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products from Fred and George, and a number of French chocolates that Leo presumed were from the recently arrived Delacour family.
"Here you are, dear." Mrs Weasley said fondly, placing a large plate filled with two rounds of bacon and sausage sandwiches filled to the brim with ketchup. "You need to keep up your strength."
"Blimey Mum." Fred exclaimed. "Where were our seconds?"
She flicked the twin around the head with her tea towel as she moved back into the kitchen to tidy up, allowing Leo to tuck into his breakfast as he caught up with everybody, hearing about how George was recovering from his own injury and how things were tense within Gringotts from Bill, before talk inevitably moved to the wedding the next day.
By the time he had finished his meal, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had appeared from upstairs, with Harry now sporting a worn gold watch on his left wrist, and a chain around his neck that was tucked into his t-shirt. "Welcome back mate." Ron was the one to gesture over to Leo.
"Cheers." Leo nodded. "Happy birthday Harry, here." He reached into the pocket of his baggy joggers and handed Harry a small parcel. The birthday boy quickly unwrapped it, confused at the sight of a sole Galleon. "It's your DA one." Leo explained. "I've adapted it slightly. Now that we can send messages ourselves, you'll be able to keep in the loop with what's going on at Hogwarts, and if you need to, you can send us messages back."
Harry eyed the coin up happily as he flicked it between his fingers, a slight glance towards Ginny's direction who had gone to sit with Fred, as Leo noticed a blush just starting to disappear from her cheeks as she settled into the room. "Thanks." Harry said gratefully. Leo shrugged that away as Hermione came and settled beside him, with Harry being pulled away at the arrival of Sirius for a private talk about Sirius' gift to his Godson, before he joined the party in the living room too.
Evening soon arrived and the party was moved outside so as to fit all of the arriving guests. Charlie was first, not managing to escape Mrs Weasley forcing him to cut his hair, and he was closely followed by Remus and Tonks, with Hagrid being the last to arrive, gifting Harry a small and furry drawstring pouch with a long string. "Mokeskin." The half-giant explained. "Hide anythin' in there an' no one but the owner can get it out. They're rare, them."
As Harry thanked Hagrid, Leo's mind began to whir as he thought immediately of a use for it. Turning to Hermione, he mouthed "Locket." In the hope that it was subtle enough, but Hermione's eyes widened in realisation and nodded vigorously.
As cake began to be dished out, the inability to move a lot was starting to bug Leo, and he couldn't shake the frown on his face even as Ginny sat on the arm of his chair, grinning as Harry, Hermione and Hagrid were chatting to Charlie. "I need a favour." She whispered as he took a sip of Butterbeer. "Hermione's going to stay with you tonight."
His cough and splutter brought the attention of those closest to him, and as he finally recovered from the surprise and vanished the mess he had made, he apologised. "Went down the wrong way." He explained, before lowering his voice and asking Ginny. "I'm sorry?"
Unperplexed at his splutters, Ginny replied. "Harry's in with me tonight. No nothing like that you prat, but I don't know when I'm going to see him after tomorrow and I don't really want to be down the stairs from him… so we're going to sneak him in, and Hermione will be with you. Mum's already on the wine and trying to keep up with the Delacour's, she'll be out like a light by 11."
Leo grinned at the deviousness, although his mind was more focused on spending the night with Hermione than anything else as he looked over to see Mrs Weasley was indeed throwing back the red wine as she chatted loudly with Fleur's parents. "Is that your birthday present then?" Leo asked with a wry grin.
Ginny smacked him gently on the arm. "Git." She said without malice. "No, I had Fred charm a locket for me, there's a picture of me inside in my Quidditch robes that Harry likes, and when things seem dark, it's supposed to warm up as he thinks of me. I figured… it could be helpful if there are Dementors or something nearby."
It was a really lovely gift idea, Leo thought to himself. He then nodded. "Aye, alright." He said.
Grinning, Ginny leapt off the armchair and threw him a wide smile. "As if you'd have said no." She teased, before skipping towards Harry and snaking her arm into his at the exact moment the Burrow's alarms sent a loud and repeating shrieking sound into the air. 13 wands came flying out of their pockets, as only Mrs Weasley and the newly arrived Delacour's paused in terror at the noise. Leo had a good view of the lane leading towards the Burrow from his seat and aimed his wand at the incoming figure suspiciously, only for Percy to be the one to recognise the arrival.
"Minister!" The bespectacled Weasley exclaimed, rushing towards the Minister for Magic.
"We shouldn't be here." Remus whispered loudly to Tonks as he began to rise out of his chair, who held firm and sat Remus back down with a thud.
Leo quickly then looked across the table to his Dad, who had a dark expression on his face as he unblinkingly glared at the Minister for Magic, his mane of hair recognisable the closer he got. Percy had been engaging him in quick conversation as he approached their table, and the Minister eyed the wands trained upon him with a simple raised eyebrow. "Sorry to intrude." Scrimgeour said calmly, as he limped to a halt before the table. "Especially as I can see that I am gate crashing a party." Leo watched as the Minister's eyes moved from the wands towards the giant Snitch cake. "Many happy returns, Mister Potter."
"Thanks," said Harry icily as he lowered his wand slowly.
"What do you want?" Sirius asked venomously, not moving a muscle as his wand remained in place aimed at the Minister's head.
"I require a private word with Mister Potter, Black. I'm not here for you, this time." Scrimgeour retorted, the glare in Sirius' eyes being reciprocated. "And also with Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger."
"Us?" said Ron, the surprise in his voice evident. "Why us?"
"I shall tell you that when we are somewhere more private," said Scrimgeour. "Is there such a place?"
He looked around at all of the guests, waiting for a response. Mrs Weasley looked shellshocked and remained in place, and so Bill was the one to stand up, clear his throat and gesture towards the house. "The living room. I can take you…"
"No need, I am sure that Mr Weasley here can lead the way." Scrimgeour nodded towards Ron. "Come along."
Leo glanced over at Hermione who looked worried, but moved to follow Ron and Harry inside the house, though it wasn't until the door shut behind them that anybody outside breathed a word, with Sirius moving towards the Burrow looking to break down the door if he needed to. "Sirius." Bill warned him.
"No, that bastard locked me up." Sirius said bitterly. "If you think I'm going to let him in there with Harry…"
"He's the Minister for Magic, Sirius." Remus interrupted, sounding extremely tired. "You can't just barge in there. Harry is both sensible, and now an adult. He will be fine with Ron and Hermione." He looked nervously at Tonks. "We should really depart though… we got away with that; I don't wish to risk another meeting."
Tonks nodded, rising to her feet to give Molly a quick hug before waving at the rest of the attendees. "See ya." She muttered, before she hopped over the fence with Remus and disapparated with a crack.
"We should go too." Mr Delacour said, giving his eldest daughter a long hug. "Thank you, Molly, eet 'az been a… merveilleuse soirée. We will be back 'ere tomorrow, for ze wedding." Fleur's parents each placed a kiss on both of Mrs Weasley's cheeks before grabbing Gabrielle's and Fleur's hand, barely allowing Fleur to kiss Bill goodbye and Disapparating themselves to Bill and Fleur's new home, where the bride would spend the night.
Ginny soon moved to stand with Leo again, her eyes trained on the now closed door to the Burrow. "Harry said the Minister's been trying for ages to talk to him one on one." She said in a low whisper. "Why won't he leave him alone?"
Leo didn't know the answer to that, but as he wondered what was going on behind that closed door, he knew that the Minister for Magic focusing his eyes on Harry instead of Voldemort when the world was falling apart could only lead to their doom.
They only managed around 10 minutes of awkward silence outside of the Burrow before the raised voices inside gave Sirius the excuse he needed to burst through the door with his wand drawn. Leo was the slowest, but even he rushed through to fill the ground floor of the Burrow, barely being able to see past Charlie and Percy into the Living Room. He could see the back of his Father aiming his wand directly at Scrimgeour's head however, and his breath hitched in nervous anticipation.
"I think it's time for you to leave, Rufus." Sirius said with a snarl. "We've already told you… Harry isn't going to become some Ministry poster boy you can pin up to kid the rest of the country that you've got things under control."
Rufus Scrimgeour growled in frustration, looking between Sirius and Harry with a venomous glare. "This is not a question of asking for support, Black. Though I regret you feel that your band of rogues and misfits are better equipped to deal with the coming threats than the might of the Ministry."
Sirius scoffed. "Better equipped my arse. We'd been all the way to the Prophecy Room and back before any of your lot knew we were even there a couple of years ago. Fudge, you, Bagnold, you're all the same. Useless, vying for popularity rather than doing your damn jobs..."
"That's enough, Sirius." Bill said firmly, though his eyes remained trained on the Minister for Magic.
Scrimgeour nodded gruffly and straightened himself up, standing taller as he did so. "I shall repeat to all of you what I have just explained to Mister Potter. I am not Albus Dumbledore, he who might have forgiven your disrespect and insolence. Speak to me that way again, Black, and I shall ensure your old cell is made available."
"You can't do that!" Harry exclaimed loudly.
"He can." Leo said softly, but the tension in the air meant that everyone heard him and all eyes swept towards him. "We're in a state of war; the Minister has executive powers that should be focused more on arresting the Death Eaters." He glared at Scrimgeour, not shying away from the head of Magical Britain. "Not used to threaten those trying to stop them."
Scrimgeour nodded curtly. "And we are, though as far as I am concerned, those that will not work with the Ministry, stand in our way." He turned to Harry again then. "We ought to be working together, standing strong for the rest of the world to see a beacon of hope…"
"You imprisoned a bus conductor for telling a joke." Harry retorted, curling up his fist and for a moment Leo thought he was going to punch Scrimgeour, though he ended up simply holding his fist out to show the Minister the scars that were permanently etched.. "And I've been privy to the Ministry's torture tactics. I don't like your methods, Minister, I told you that the last time we spoke after Professor Dumbledore's funeral."
The look that appeared on the Minister's face then was a stubborn sense of defeat, as he pointed his nose into the air and took a step towards the door, only for Sirius to block him. "If you'll excuse me." Scrimgeour said coolly.
Leo couldn't see Sirius' face, but by the cock of the head, he knew Sirius was arrogantly smirking at the Minister having just gestured for him to squeeze by. Scrimgeour did just that, his eyes showing an angry blaze as he passed Leo and strode out into the evening air, a loud crack sounding as he arrived at the Apparation point.
"What did he want?" Sirius was the first to say, lowering his wand finally as he rounded on Harry.
"To give us what Dumbledore left us." Harry shrugged, holding out a Snitch as Ron was flipping around a small necklace, inspecting it thoroughly. "They've only just released the contents of his will."
They were hurried back outside by a nervous Mrs Weasley and returned to their seats at the table, with Hermione sticking close to Leo, allowing him to be the first person to hold the copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard that she had received. He carefully opened it, running his hands over the ink inscriptions. "It's a first edition." He stated in awe. "15th century… this is penned by Beedle himself!" He flipped through the pages carefully, though to his frustration nothing inside was written in English and instead the pages were scribbled with two sets of Runes, one that clearly belonged to the book while the other set seemed more frantic, like note taking. "These must be Dumbledore's notes…" He trailed slowly, realising the magnitude of the book in his hands.
"I've never heard of these Tales." Hermione said, her frown showing exactly how unhappy she was at finding something that she had never heard of.
Leo flicked through the pages in the hope of any English being found, though nothing showed. "They're kids tales. Mum and Granda' used to read them to me when I was younger. The Fountain of Fortune, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump…"
Hermione let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "I'm sorry, what was that last one?" She managed to say through the laughter.
Leo grinned at her. "Babbitty Rabbitty. It's a story about a Witch getting revenge on Muggles that were persecuting witches after they tried to use her magic for their own purposes. She was a rabbit Animagus. And at the end of it she hopped away as a rabbit out of a tree stump or something, it's been a while since I've even thought about Babbitty Rabbitty."
Hermione however had latched onto that story. "So the rabbit out of the hat… this is where that originates from?" She exclaimed, though Leo had no idea what she was going on about. "A muggle magic trick. Muggle's use hidden compartments, but it originates from an Animagus…"
And then she was lost to him, taking the book back as she slowly went through the runes that she remembered off by heart, though after a surprise yawn and a quick look at his watch showed that it was nearing 10pm, Leo tried to rise out of his seat, saying goodnight, with a knowing glance over at Hermione.
Sirius helped him up the stairs, pushing the door to Fred and George's room open and gently lowering him to the bed. "I'm sorry about earlier." The elder Black said. "I shouldn't have lost my head at Scrimgeour…"
"There's no need to apologise, Dad. If I'd gone through what you did because of him…" He shivered, thinking about the horrors of Azkaban. "I actually thought you were quite restrained given the circumstances."
Snorting in amusement, Sirius grinned as he waved his wand, dimming the lamps and shutting the curtains in one movement while Leo changed into his pyjamas. "Oh, there was a letter for you that came to the house, I left it there for you." He gestured to the bedside unit. "I'll let you read it. Night mate, see you tomorrow."
"Night, Dad." Leo said as he shifted himself under the covers and rested his back on the pillows as the door closed behind Sirius. He took a sip of water before taking the envelope, spotting the familiar scratches of Fay's handwriting. Smiling fondly at the thought of his best friend, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Dear Leo,
I won't be coming back to school this year. Plans changed quickly, and it was safer for me to head somewhere quieter. Please don't worry. Everything's fine, and my family is with me.
It's strange to think just how much I'll miss the castle, but I know you'll do brilliantly without me there to distract you. Keep an eye on the first-years; you know how they wander off.
Take care of yourself, and remember what I said about keeping warm. You always hated the cold, didn't you?
All my best,
Fay
P.S. No need to write back—I'll be in touch when I can.
Frowning, Leo read and reread the letter multiple times. It was the barest of information, which made him worry despite her words.
"My family is with me…" He whispered, before the line about the cold made everything make sense, that Fay and her family had fled to Iceland to be with Baz. Sighing in relief, he folded the letter back up and placed it neatly in the drawer for now, before looking towards the curtained window, hoping that wherever she was, Fay was safe.
Leo must have dozed off, and he had no idea how much time had passed when his eyes opened at the sound of the door being gently pressed back into the frame. His eyelids were heavy as he leant up on his elbows to get a better view, turning his head towards the sound, towards her as she had her back to him.
Hermione then turned back towards him, a look of defiance and nervousness mixed together on her face, though her bushy hair was caught in the small moonlight stream that poked through the gap in the curtains and to Leo, it looked like an angelic halo. His heart did a slow somersault as she grinned at him, two books in her hands.
"I hope you don't mind." She whispered gently. "I brought Spellman's Syllabary to try and start translating… it must be important if Professor Dumbledore singled me out…"
He didn't care one bit, as she said that she slipped off her dressing gown and Leo's chest tightened, and he gulped. She was wearing a thin, white strap top and small pink shorts, showing more skin than Leo had ever seen her show off before. "No." He said, his throat dry and the noise came out as more of a croak.
The moonlight illuminated the blush that was forming on her cheeks as she folded her arms, which only caused him to gulp again as she unwillingly pushed her chest up. "Honestly, Leo." She shook her head, pulling her wand from her dressing gown pocket and silently waving it. Without making a noise, the bed Leo was lying on expanded wider, and his pillows duplicated. Grabbing her books, Leo shifted across so that Hermione had room to join him, pulling the covers up to just beneath her chest as she sat upright, the pair of books laid out on her lap. She leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before returning to her position. "Sleep well, Leo." She whispered softly. "You don't want to be tired for tomorrow."
He grinned, settling down as he settled down into the pillows, his arm moving over to gently caress her leg, but he was soon drifting back off to sleep, feeling a contentment deep within him that was almost overwhelming, like there was nothing in the world that he needed other than the woman he loved beside him. It was almost enough to forget that they only had one more full day left together.
Reviews:
SkepticPrinceArthur: I did take some inspiration from that… Neville and Leo are somewhat similar but have fundamental differences in their view on how to go about things, a very fun dynamic over the coming chapters! Well, now you know you can let me know your thoughts on what you thought the gift was!
Lightningscar: You do yourself a disservice with your reviews! I do hope you're alright though. The Polyjuice stuff was really fun to write and add some humour into what would become a really intense chapter. Leo coming face to face wasn't initially on the cards but when it came to writing the scene and realising he was with Moody and what happened in canon… it made a lot of sense and I could show the sheer difference in power between the two, showing Harry's strength in the process by showing just how outmatched Leo was. I guess it's still a cultural thing with regards to what to do with bodies of loved ones. I'm not sure about Naruto myself, but coming from Game of Thrones, yeah burning bodies does just make sense.