They came in low over the trees, silent and dressed all in black against the night sky. The lights from the village in the distance did nothing to pierce the gloom that squat within that particular patch of forest, but then that gloom had nothing to do with a lack of light.
They descended through the trees and landed on the thick mat of slowly decaying pine needles that blanketed everything.
"Can you feel that?" She whispered.
"Generations of hatred and violence?" He held his hand out, but stopped extending his arm just as she was about to tell him to stop. "Just feeling that explains a lot. His mother grew up inside that, beaten and abused for not being what others wanted."
She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Just like me." She said softly, "What might I have become if not for you?"
He kissed the side of her head. "You'd have been you. You're too strong for anything else. You might not have been as thoroughly snogged, but you'd still have been you." He rubbed her back reassuringly.
She smiled softly and kissed him. "Thanks all the same."
"My ongoing pleasure." He smiled back at her.
"Once he's gone for good I want to come back here and erase this. It's too wrong to let stand. Just like the cave." She pulled her wand out and cast the spell to reveal the Wards they could feel but not see.
"Agreed." He said grimly. "But we should document why. We should record how terrible this is so that others understand it's gone for a good reason."
"And that the family destroyed itself because of it." She agreed. "Multiple layers. The dissuasion is just the first. I'd wager the others are serious if not lethal."
He sighed. "It would be so much easier if we didn't need to be sneaky. Are there any more closer to the door or inside?"
She shook her head. "No, the only wards are around the perimeter. Between the wards and the shack there are some traps. Probably more inside."
"Thanks. Curious, isn't it? How there are dead tree branches on the outside of the Wards but not the inside?"
"The Wards feed on the forest in general to stay in place. Gross, but effective." She wrinkled her nose.
"Seems to be a family trait. Probably where he got the idea in the first place." He looked around, and his shifted eyes saw the faint, whip-like tendrils that radiated underground away from the Wards to entangle nearby tree roots. "Can you see the roots coming off the Wards underground?"
"Yes... Oh! If we move some, we'll alter the shape of the Wards without triggering them!" She whispered excitedly.
"That's where I was going with that, yeah." He paused to grin at her.
"You were, but I got there first." She stuck her tongue out at him.
He rolled his eyes at her. "It's not a competition."
"No, of course not." She frowned at him, then grinned impishly. "If it were, I'd win."
He chuckled quietly. "No-one I'd rather lose to. Remind me to thank Luna again for that Ward book."
He took a deep breath and let it out, and as he exhaled, he extended a tendril of his own power down through the ground toward the roots of the Wards. The siphoning tentacles of the base of the Wards shuddered as his tendril of power approached them, and detached from the tree roots they partially strangled. He teased the questing tendrils and led them far to the right side of the shack, to a tree that was free of predation by the Wards.
"It's working." She said, "There's a wedge open in the front."
He carefully wrapped the over-extended tendrils around the roots of that tree and withdrew his own as they began to drain the tree slowly.
He opened his eyes and saw she was already at work. A tree branch the thickness of his arm floated silently through the opening in the Wards and changed into a squirrel monkey that scampered toward the front door of the shack.
It leaped into the air to get to the handle of the door, and was met by a pair of piercing fangs as the snake's corpse that was nailed to the front of the door struck it. It squawked as it landed on the ground again and went stiff.
"Well, now we know where he got his penchant for using snakes." She said with a disgusted look. She dropped her wand to her side, and the poor little monkey turned back into a tree branch that went limp and rotted into mush in seconds.
He flicked his wand, and a smaller tree branch floated toward the shack, but this one became a tiny green dragon before it reached the door, and fluttered through the air to land on the windowsill, out of reach of the guardian snake. The little green hissed at the snake, and butted its head against the glass pane. Once, twice, three times it banged its little head against the window, and the fourth time they were rewarded with the faint tinkle of broken glass.
"There's nothing inside." He said. His eyes were closed, and she knew he saw through the tiny dragon's eyes. "Some piles of mould that used to be furniture... Shards of broken and mouldy wood that used to be cabinets and roof... There's a bit of floor that looks cleaner than the rest."
She heard a tiny wail come from inside the shack, and then he swayed on his feet. She stepped into him quickly and held him up as his eyes opened. "Auchk." He spat. "Entrail expelling curse on the floor. Sick bastard. I'd wager that's the spot."
"Are you alright?" She asked, "You want me to - ?"
"No, I'm good, thanks. I turned it back into a stick when I saw. I'll just Draconofors it again."
"Glad we decided not to go in." She said as she kissed his cheek and backed up a step.
"Me too, you'd have had to save my arse three times already." He winked at her.
"It's a decent arse. I think I'll keep it." She winked back.
He smiled and settled himself again, and extended his magic into the shack.
"Looks like it was a one-time use." He said after a few moments. "Little guy has the floorboard up... There's a small chest under there, not much bigger than he is. Damn."
"What is it?" She put her hand on his shoulder, in case he swayed again, but he didn't.
"There's a ring inside the chest. Compulsion on the chest to put the ring on, then some kind of withering curse on the ring. Little guy shrivelled into dust."
"Is the chest open?" She asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, didn't have time to close it. Ring just fell back into it."
"Okay good. My turn." She flicked her wand at a twig on the ground nearby, and it sailed to her hand and became a small hook. She flicked it again, and another nearby dead branch became a crow. The crow hopped into her hand, picked up the hook, flew toward the shack, and squeezed in through the broken window.
"Alright, have the ring..." She said after a minute, "Chest closed again... Floorboard back in place... Clean up a bit..."
The crow squeezed back out again through the broken window and flew back to them to perch on the ground in front of her, where it changed back into a stick.
"Nice." He complimented her, and kissed her temple.
She opened her eyes and flashed him a grin before she flicked her wand at the stick-that-had-briefly-been-a-crow, and it changed into a small, lidded box. "In case it's a permanent curse." She said.
He stooped and used the box to scoop up the ring and the wooden hook it was on, then sealed it shut and slipped it into his pocket.
"You're brilliant." He grinned at her.
"Not so bad yourself." She grinned back. She flicked her wand at the shack again, and the window repaired itself.
"One last thing to do." He said, and sunk a tendril of his power into the ground beneath them again. He distantly felt her wrap an arm around his waist, but his concentration was elsewhere. It took a few minutes, but he managed to lure the Wards back to their original positions. He had to touch the dying tree with his own power in order to get the Wards to attach, and for an instant he felt the Wards fill with his power. He felt the traps inside the shack reset as he withdrew, and he shuddered to feel their potential renewed. Still, it was better that they be active in case Tom came looking. At least the poor dying tree the Wards had re-attached to was spared their drain for a few days.
"Are we forgetting anything?" He asked her.
He could see her go through the itemized checklist in her head. "No, that's everything." She said, and took his hand.
They lifted off the ground and rose to become black patches against the twinkling sky. After a few moments of slowly receding into the distance they simply vanished and left the night sky to twinkle on uninterrupted.
It began with a dream.
She sat at the fireplace in the great room at the manor, Harry at her side, their children on the next sofa, Mother and the MacFustys scattered in chairs. They shared photos of their little cabin in the forest, their hut at the beach.
She looked up from her favorite picture of Harry, naked and reaching for the camera, to find everyone else had gone and left her alone with Harry. He had his head in her lap and purred happily. She stroked his hair, then his purring took a deeper tone, and began to vibrate her sensitive bits.
"Mmmmm." She moaned. She loved his mouth on her. She adjusted her position on the sand as Harry hooked her legs over his shoulders. The warm sun and his kissing mouth and writhing tongue made her stomach melt and pushed her higher and higher toward her peak. He spoke "I love you, Hermione." Inside her, and that pushed her over the edge into the white nothingness of pure pleasure.
She opened her eyes to see Harry grin at her from between her legs, beneath the covers.
"Good morning." He said.
She smiled back at him as she swam in waves of warm, tingly afterglow. "Wake me up like that more often."
He laughed and kissed the insides of her thighs before he slipped out the bottom of the bed and stood up. He was naked and fully erect as he crossed to their 'kitchen' and began to fuss with things. The sight of him hard like that made her purr in all the right places.
He spent a few moments cooking, and she was disappointed to see his erection deflate, but she supposed it was better than him being aroused over cooking. On the other hand, the sight of him preparing food naked was something of a surprise turn-on. She tucked the discovery away for later study.
He finished what he was doing, brought a tray over to the bed, and put it in her lap after he smoothed the covers down.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Hermione. " He kissed her, and she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck to keep him there until she was satisfied.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Harry." She smiled at him with all the love and appreciation she felt. "You're so wonderful, Harry. You make me feel so good. So loved."
Harry laughed. "Well that is sort of the point you know, I love you." He grinned and kissed the side of her head before he settled into the bed next to her and took a bite of his own breakfast.
She had another of those moments when she looked at where she was and what she was doing from outside herself, and just as every time before, she boggled at what she might've done to deserve the life she had. It wasn't just morning orgasms or breakfast in bed or every one of the million little things he did that showed her he loved her. It was that he wanted to in the first place. He thought she was worth it.
"Sorry love, no time for woolgathering. Eat up while it's hot, we still have to shower and get to the ministry."
That brought her out of her musing. "Ministry? Why are we going to the ministry?"
He just smiled at her and ate breakfast. Augh!
"Fine, smug git. You're infuriatingly good at keeping a secret when you want to be." She stuck her tongue out at him and smiled while she ate her eggs.
He chuckled. "Don't ruin the surprise, hon. You'd only be cheating yourself." He kissed the side of her head again and finished his own breakfast.
"Thank you for breakfast, sexy naked chef."
"My pleasure." He grinned at her and put his arm around her while she ate. When she finished, he kissed her and stole the tray from her and cleaned everything, then escorted her to the shower and washed her body while she washed her hair - then used her to wash his own body by rubbing against her while she giggled and tried to finish her hair.
They left their apartment under disillusionment, and made it to the front gates of the school by nine am. Once there, Harry offered his arm to her, and they appeared in Whitehall, next to a red phone box. She recognized it as being the entrance they'd used when they got their Apparation licenses.
Harry held the door for her to exit on level six, and again when they entered the International Portkey Office. She tried to wait and see, she really did, but there were several places they could be going abroad for a date, and everything that came to mind made her giddy with excitement. She'd never been outside Britain, let alone to any romantic getaways.
When the queue showed them to the counter, Harry simply said "Portkey package for MacFusty, please."
The witch behind the counter checked her list, found the name, and waved them through to the back room with a monotone "Room eleven."
The "rooms" turned out to be ten by ten cupboards with nothing but a small round table in the center, barely large enough to hold a dinner plate. The table in their 'room' held a bent, rusty can opener, and a rolled-up, empty tube of toothpaste.
Harry picked up the empty toothpaste tube and slipped it into his pocket. "One thing to do before we actually go..." He took out his wand and cast Notice-Me-Not on both of them. "We'll be landing in a populated area." He explained.
She bounced in place. "Let'sgolet'sgolet'sgo!"
Harry laughed as he held the can opener out to her. She grabbed hold of it immediately, and he whispered "Je T'aime."
Hermione had only travelled by Portkey once before, to Potter Glen. Other than that she'd never travelled anywhere really, except Aunt Edna's house once when she was little, but that was by car. She gasped at the sensation of being hooked around the waist and jerked backward, but the spinning as they flew reminded her of the carousel at the local park she used to love as a child. For some reason the portkey office at the Ministry made far inferior portkeys compared to the one she wore on her finger.
They landed somewhat heavily - enough so that she had to flex her knees and hold onto Harry for support. He was clearly in the same boat she was, as he was just as unprepared for the landing and grabbed both her shoulders for support as well.
"Alright?" He asked when they were stable.
She nodded back with a smile. "Fine. Where are we?" She looked to her right, and saw a rooftop cafe. They stood inside the dining area, just off to the side. A sign above the doors to the interior of the building read 'Cafe Creatures'. She looked back at Harry, and he flicked his eyes to her left. She turned to look, and saw a field of rooftops that stretched about a mile into the distance, right up to the feet of the Eiffel Tower.
Paris.
She squealed and crashed into Harry and squeezed him for all she was worth.
"I always wanted to come here!" She released him and looked back at the Eiffel Tower. She needed to burn the moment into her memory.
"Glad I could be here for it then." He smiled. "Come on, I thought we'd start with some shopping. We'll get to the Eiffel Tower, but not until later in the day."
She looked from the tower back to him. "Promise?"
He grinned back at her. "We have reservations."
"I love you." She squeezed his hand excitedly.
"Well, that's handy." He said, and swung their arms between them as he led her inside the building.
The doors opened into a large hallway that stretched left and right in a huge circle. The roof was a beautiful piece of iron and glass art in the shape of a dome that covered the entirety of the open space in the center of the cylindrical building. There were four floors in the cylindrical building, and each one housed dozens of shops. The whole thing looked like a kind of multi-floored shopping Colosseum.
She stepped to the railing to look over, and saw a wonderland of gold and colour and bustling activity.
"This is beautiful!" She smiled at Harry. "Where are we?"
"Galeries Lafeyette." Harry said. "One of Fleur's million and one things you simply must do in Paris."
She knew there was nothing between Harry and Fleur. She knew that. Fleur was as much her friend as she was Harry's. It still made her growl inside though. "I knew you were sneaking off to rendezvous with another girl!" She accused jokingly.
Harry rolled his eyes. "You caught me. I've been snogging my way through the female population of Hogwarts." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "You know I'm not interested in any other girl, Hermione. You're it for me. Forever and ever. I'd rather gargle potion cauldron leftovers than kiss another girl. I'd rather stand in the boys loo and breathe deeply after Finnegan and Weasly have been in there. I'd rather -"
"Okay, okay. I get it. Yes, I know there's nothing going on, it just..."
He tilted her chin upward and kissed her lips softly. "It's okay. I love your jealousy too." He smiled into her eyes with his own.
She nodded and buried her face in his chest for a moment.
"Come on, we have two other shopping places to go before lunch." He disengaged and held her hand again.
"Why so much shopping?"
"Because you'll need a dress for dinner. And shoes. And whatever else catches your fancy."
"I see... What about you?"
"I'm part of 'whatever else catches your fancy'. If you see something you want to see me in for dinner, maybe something that complements your dress..."
"Come on, we're wasting time!" She grinned at him and dragged him toward the nearest store.
They didn't go into every store - there wasn't time, but she felt satisfied as they left the Galeries that she had seen the majority of it. She found a couple of dresses she liked so much that Harry wouldn't let her leave without them. She didn't really like spending money like that, but Harry just gave her that look, and she gave in with a sigh. She took to shopping for him as well after that. She found a brilliant shirt for him, it was a dark emerald green to match his eyes, and the fabric glittered subtly when it caught the light. She wanted to find him a nice suit to match later, something that put butterflies in her stomach. Harry took their purchases and stowed them in his ever-present trunk.
Harry re-applied their concealment before they Apparated. When they appeared, they were in a street filled with the cutest little boutiques. The smell of something hot and sweet carried faintly on the breeze.
"Where is this?" She asked him.
"Boulevard St-Germain." He answered. "I thought it looked really nice and I wanted to walk around with you."
She wrapped her arm around his waist and put her fingers in his back pocket as they walked. "It is really nice. These shops, the street, the whole thing is just adorable. Thank you for this."
"I'm just glad you're having fun, Hermione. I know shopping isn't really your thing."
"I just hate spending yo -our money. I know we could spend it constantly and never run out, but I'm used to having to scrimp and save to get myself a new quill."
"Well you can relax then, we won't spend a single knut all summer."
She hugged him one-armed. "I know, I can't wait! Just you and me and a forest full of dragons. We'll have to find a spot that isn't within someone's Territory, of course."
"Of course."
"Just a few trinkets to find, a few pinkskins to purge, and then months of bliss before we start school at the Accademia di Magia di Napoli." She smiled at him, and his return smile told her how much he loved her excitement.
"And start working on our Masteries." He agreed.
"And studying for the Wizengmot." She sighed.
"Maybe." The bright vision of their future darkened as his smile fell.
She stopped and turned him to face her. "Maybe?"
He tightened his lips. "The bit of reading I've done so far on it is making me want to burn the whole thing to the ground, not join it. It's like every privileged family has worked for centuries to assert and preserve their own privilege while tearing down others at the same time. It seems like all the normal wizarding folk are just pawns and tax revenue for the Wizengamot."
"We knew it was going to be bad." She said, "People like Riddle wouldn't get a foothold otherwise."
He sighed. "No, you're right. Of course you are. I'll try to look at it from different angles and not get angry. There's a lot of time between now and then. Maybe it will be different for Harry Potter than it is for Duncan MacFusty."
"Not looking forward to having reporters chasing us all the time." She frowned.
"I'm certain once enough of them make you angry they'll stop making that mistake." He chuckled.
They approached a crowd of people standing next to a cart as they talked, and the smell of hot and sweet intensified as they neared.
"What's that?" She asked.
"If I had to guess, I'd say probably a crepe vendor. Fancy a crepe?"
"I do, actually." She grinned at him. To be in Paris, walking Boulevard St-Germain with her husband, snacking on crepes. She needed to start a journal just to keep track of all the amazing days she had. She also needed to think of where to go next year. Somewhere he'd really like. No way was he getting away with monopolizing Valentines' Day.
They stood in line with the rest of the crowd, and she was able to pick out what she wanted from what everyone else was eating all around them. She raised on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek as she said "Stawberries and cream please." When it was their turn to order.
They continued to walk and shop as they ate. Harry bought one with marshmallows and crumbled digestives, all drizzled with chocolate. She liked that one too, but the strawberries and cream were light and refreshing and the cream had just a hint of lemon to it.
Best of all, there were a number of men's clothing stores on the boulevard, so she got to sit and eat her crepe while she watched him parade in front of her in different suits. She bought him a dark charcoal grey suit at a shop called Ralph something or other. It fit him so perfectly it made her heart race.
"That's the one." She told him when he came out of the changeroom. "You look smashing, Harry. I want you to wear that at school just to make every other girl insanely jealous."
"And you'd be fine with the resulting attempts?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not! I'd gut every last girl that touched you." She grinned at him.
He laughed and said "We'll see."
They Apparated to Le Bon Marche after Harry had stowed his new suit safely away in his trunk. The sheer artistic style of the displays in some of the stores beggared anything she had experienced before.
"It's like walking into an art museum where they use the art to sell you things." She noted absently as she craned her neck, trying to take it all in.
Harry chuckled. "We're doing the art museum after lunch, I didn't think we'd be doing it before lunch as well."
"We what?" She asked pointedly.
"As if I could bring you to Paris and not take you to the Louvre. You'd kill me."
"Louvre after lunch." She repeated, a giddy bubbly feeling rose in her chest.
"We have tickets." He winked at her.
"Can we do lunch now then? I'm suddenly all shopped out." She grinned at him.
"Only if you're fine with wearing one of the dresses we bought this morning. Will one of those go with my suit?"
"The burgundy one will. That and the black shoes."
"Okay good. I'm glad you know these things. I'd still rather be naked." He stepped into her and hugged her warmly as he surreptitiously cast their concealment. "Lunch it is."
They appeared in front of a restaurant called Au Vieux Paris d'Arcole. The building was beige with turquoise trim around the windows, and a beautifully quaint painted wood shingle over the door proclaimed the age of the place. Wisteria vines grew up the outside of the building and her fingers covered her mouth as she took it in - even the bright purple patio tables and chairs. She blinked as her eyes filled with water just as her heart filled with the character of the place and she finally realized that she was in Paris.
"Wow, that's... colourful." Harry said. "Arielle said the place was a must, but she didn't mention... all that."
"I need to thank them both tomorrow." She said as she claimed the perfect seat at one of the patio tables. Harry just smiled at her and went inside.
Several of the other shops up and down the street had other vines growing up them, and she could just imagine what it looked like in spring when the leaves grew in and the Wisteria bloomed.
Harry brought her a menu when he rejoined her, and crouched behind her chair to read it with her.
"You're getting really good at this date stuff, you know." She said softly. "I want to snog you silly right now." The perfect romantic cafe, the perfect man, the perfect day. She could feel her own desire rising as he looked at her with those green eyes under his dark and wavy locks.
"Well, that is sort of what today is all about, you-Mmf." She grabbed the back of his neck and sealed his blathering lips with her own. It was a romantic kiss, a loving kiss, with an undercurrent of promised ferocity. When she let him up for air she had her fingers buried in his hair, and people passing by on the street watched them with a smile.
The food was fantastic when it arrived, but when she looked up at him as they ate, she was struck with the strangest feeling of being home, in a place they'd never been. Her chest squeezed with the overload of emotion she tried to feel all at once - wonder, excitement, gratitude, happiness, and if she were honest with herself, the delicate unfurling of a newborn confidence. His expression whenever he looked at her was intense - a reflection of her own swell of emotion, she realized. All of it - the new experiences, the whirlwind of emotions, her burgeoning understanding of his genuine care for her - it was more than she could process at once. It was all bigger than anything she could have imagined and utterly beyond her control. It left her feeling helpless to resist, like she was falling. She was falling. She had already fallen, and still she fell.
That was the look in his eyes, she realized. He just didn't fight it. He enjoyed it.
The food at Au Vieux was too good to last long, and when it was gone Harry Apparated them both to the Louvre.
They walked through the Louvre with arms wrapped around each other and her hand in his back pocket. Feeling his taut behind flexing under her fingers both stoked her want and kept her just satisfied enough to be able to focus on seeing the art all around her.
After the Louvre they stopped at Angelina for art made of pastry, then they took a stroll along the Seine.
"I could spend a month here." She told him with a wistful sigh.
"Done. Soon as we have time." He replied. "It would be like dating you every single day. I can't think of a better way to spend my life."
"Me either. About dating you, of course."
"I guess we'll just have to get married and date each other forever." He grinned at her and swept her into his arms and began to waltz with her along the river.
"I like that plan." She grinned back at him.
Harry cast concealment on them again, and Apparated them. They appeared this time in front of a large, stylish apartment building that had a pink facade with dark lettering on it that proclaimed it 'La Maison Rose'. It was clearly a restaurant, with patio tables that filled the narrow sidewalk all the way to the cobblestone road.
An older gentleman was seated in the road on the far side with an easel and canvas in front of him, unperturbed by cars as they drove around him.
"Ey! Ey toi!" The man called out to them. "Portrait?"
Harry looked at her with a big, soppy grin. "Well, I had thought to come for a drink since I thought you might be thirsty, but I'd much rather have a portrait of you for the wall. What do you say?"
"I say no deal. I'd much rather have a portrait of you for the wall."
"Both of us then?" He asked hopefully.
"Both of us." She agreed with a grin.
"Vendu!" Harry called out to the man.
They nicked a couple of chairs from the patio of La Maison Rose and seated themselves at the edge of the sidewalk. The french gentleman had already started swiping at his canvas with a pencil before they even sat down. Once they were seated, he looked up and frowned.
"Non non non! Plus Rapproches! La tete, oui? Toucher les tetes! Tu es amoureux! Montre le!"
Harry scooched his chair closer to hers and put his arm around her while she wrapped hers around him and leaned her head against his.
"Oui! Oui! C'est parfait! Ne bouge pas!" The painter gave them a thumbs-up and went back to the canvas, his arm swept and twitched like it had a seizure independent from the rest of his body.
"I'm in Paris." She told Harry. "My husband brought me to Paris to visit the Louvre and Boulevard St-Germain, and now we're having our portrait painted in front of the most romantic restaurant I've ever seen. My wildest dreams were never this good, Harry. I love you so much."
Harry kissed the side of her head and then resumed pose. "I know exactly what you mean. My wife accepts me and loves me for who I am, warts and all. I love you so much I feel like I'm going to explode."
"That's it exactly. Plus I feel a little... I don't know. You're doing all this wonderful romantic stuff for me for Valentines Day, but what am I doing for you?" She was careful not to let her feelings disturb her smile for the artist.
"I... honestly don't have an answer for that. Isn't it for the guy to do the chasing and the wooing? Do you not want to be chased and wooed?"
"You do that for me all the time though. You're the only one who has ever made me feel wanted, Harry."
"I'm so sorry for that. I do want you, you know. It's not just a feeling." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"But I want you too! Do you feel wanted? Do you feel like I want to spend the rest of my life with you?" She couldn't help it, she could feel her face being pulled toward upset.
"You tell me all the time, Hermione." His voice was soft and rumbly, and she could feel him as he spoke. "Every time you get angry at having to deal with the Hogwarts situation. Every time you promise to slowly dismember Death Eaters for interrupting our lives. Every time you stop yourself from getting territorial at Luna. Every time you visibly relax when I walk into the room. Every time you look over my homework. Every time you put your hand in my back pocket and squeeze my cheek. Every time we make love. I don't just feel it, Hermione. I see it. I know it."
"And then you make me love you even more." She broke pose to taste his lips, just for a moment, just to show him how much she wanted him. "I've decided." She stated when she returned to her pose. "Next year it's my turn for Valentine's Day, and I'm taking you somewhere romantic for a date day."
"That's fair. We'll take turns for Valentines Day. We can chase and woo each other in an endless circle. I like it." He paused to pinch her behind and send excited tingles up her spine. "Speaking of which, when do you actually want to get married?"
"As soon as possible." She said impatiently.
"Okay, yeah, of course, but I meant what time of year? When you see yourself at your wedding, where is it? Is it spring or summer or fall?"
"Oh. Hmm... Realistically we'll have to wait until the Riddle is solved. Then you can announce who you really are-"
"And the first thing I will do after that is publically ask you if you'll marry me." He interrupted.
She snorted. "As if anyone will even notice at that point. People will be screaming to know where you've been and what's happened to you."
"I'll make them listen. Nothing else is as important to me." He said determinedly.
"I'd be willing to wait a week or so until the furor has dwindled some." She smiled at him.
"Well... I'd really rather make absolutely certain everyone knows right away I'm going to marry you, but you might have a point. On the up side, we could spend all that time snuggling and talking about where you want to get married. Tropical beach wedding? Grand cathedral wedding? Do you fancy spring or summer or fall?"
"I honestly hadn't thought about it, Harry. Whenever we happen to finish doing what we need to do is fine with me. When I was little, before I realized I'd always be alone, I saw it as spring or summer, but now I'm just so thrilled to have it happen at all that I just want it now, you know?"
"I do." He kissed the side of her head. "I know exactly what you mean. This will be the only one either of us gets though, so maybe waiting a little bit to make it perfect wouldn't be terrible."
She brushed her fingers down the far side of his jaw and turned him to face her as she kissed him tenderly again. "I love you so much, Harry. I swear I don't deserve you. You bring up a good point, I suppose waiting a little bit won't hurt."
"We should start talking about where and when then. Start thinking about what would make it perfect for you."
"Ideally I'd love to have it somewhere Mother can come. We should make a lovely little clearing in the forest behind our summer home. Bright green trees, cozy little cottage, and a few perches for Mother and the neighbours." Hermione smiled as she relaxed into him.
"That sounds wonderful." He sighed, "Are you sure that's what you want?"
"You're just jealous you didn't think of it." She grinned at him.
"I am, actually. Have I mentioned I love how bloody brilliant you are?" He kissed her temple again.
"Yes, but I'm not tired of hearing it yet." She squeezed his behind.
"Et c'est ca!" The artist proclaimed as he gestured them forward to look. Hermione felt a thrill and shot Harry a trepidatious smile as they crossed the street. She squeezed his hand as they both turned to look.
It had the energy of a Renoir, with the lighting and detail of a Rembrandt. They knew because they'd seen them both that very afternoon.
"That's beautiful!" She gasped. "C'est magnifique!" Did she really look like that?
"I call it 'Love in Bloom'." The artist said in French. "I hope you don't mind if I ask fifty francs for it? I need to buy more paints."
Harry took out his wallet and handed the man a thousand pounds. "What's your name, sir?" He asked.
"Hey, I can't take all this!" He protested, "People will think I robbed you!"
"I would pay more than that. I want to hire you to do our wedding portrait, if you're alright with that?" Harry said in French. "Call the rest a retainer."
"A wedding portrait? I can do that. When?"
"We're not sure when, but I will come find you when the time is right." Harry reassured.
"Oh, alright then I suppose you have a deal. Thank you very much!"
"I'm Duncan, this is Hermione. Who should I say does the best portraits in France?"
The artist laughed. "Certainly not me, my new friend! I'm Durand, Jean-Marc Durand. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"Mister Durand, it is a pleasure to meet you as well. If you can make another like this later, you can consider your retirement paid for. I am impressed."
Jean-Marc nodded and laughed at that, and swept his arm toward the easel and the restaurant. "This is my retirement!"
"I love your retirement, Mister Durand. Thank you so much for this!" Hermione gushed, still awed by the lifelike woman in the painting who so very clearly radiated love and contentment. She picked up the painting, careful not to touch any of the wet paint. "This is going to be perfect in the Great Room next to your grandparents."
Harry shook Jean-Marc's hand. "Thank you again, Mister Durand. We will be seeing each other again as soon as the obstacles to our wedding are cleared."
"I look forward to it, Duncan. Good luck." Jean-Marc smiled back and began to pack up his paints as they strolled away.
They found a quiet spot in the doorway of an apartment building with no-one else around, and Harry put the painting in his trunk in its own compartment to dry properly, and retrieved some cash to replace what he'd paid to Mister Durand. He stuck the portrait to the bottom of the trunk with a quick charm to prevent it sliding around.
When he'd finished and tucked his trunk back in his pocket, she dragged him against her in the doorway, wrapped her arms around his neck, and snogged the daylights out of him.
"Happy Valentines' Day to you too." He grinned down at her when she was satisfied enough to continue.
"Are you sure we can't just go home right now...?" She asked silkily as she slowly undid the top button of his shirt.
"I love your enthusiasm. One more stop before the tower. Wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"
She debated it. In the end, the fact that she could get him naked after they visited the tower won, but it was a close thing. "Alright, I suppose I can have a bit of patience. I wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work and planning, after all."
Harry cast Notice-Me-Not on both of them again, and Apparated them.
They appeared next to a blue wall with every inch of it covered in carved writing. It was just just part of a building that faced a small park-like square, but couples crowded the square to look at it. She slowly realized as her eyes slid over the blue wall that every single piece of writing across the whole forty square meter space said "I love you" in a different language.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind as they looked at all the writing. "Je T'aime." He said softly next to her ear. "Boku ga anata o aishiteimasu. Te amo. Ich liebe dich. Jeg Elsker dig. Te queiro. I love you."
She turned in his arms and crushed him to her as her heart overflowed and filled her cheeks with wetness.
"I didn't have time to learn any of the difficult ones like Greek or Russian, sorry." He kissed the top of her head.
"Oh Harry." She let him go and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve.
"Hey, hey! I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to make you cry." He held her chin gently and wiped away the rest of her tears.
"Not all crying is because you're sad, Harry. My heart couldn't hold it all in, that's all." She pulled his face down to hers . "Te amo. Je T'aime. I love you, you wonderful boy." She kissed him after every 'I love you'.
"I... didn't know that. Promise you're not upset?"
"Promise. It would take a lot to make me upset after the day you're giving me." She smiled at him and kissed him again for good measure.
"Good. Don't go anywhere." His eyes sparkled and he got the roguish grin he always got before he did something dodgy.
"What are you-?" He vanished. She could feel him Resonate, so she knew he hadn't left her, he had just vanished from sight. She sighed and went to sit on the lip of a concrete planter that housed a tree. He'd planned the whole day, so he was up to something.
He appeared ten minutes later, perched next to her like he'd been there the whole time. His face was calm and mischievous, but she could see sweat made his shirt cling to his chest, and he had some kind of dust on him.
"What did you do?" She whispered at him.
He gave her the smuggest, most self-satisfied grin she had ever seen. "Looks like nothing, doesn't it?"
"Right now, yes. I don't have thermal goggles though... or magical ones."
The Grin got even bigger. "I came across a neat little array by accident when I was working on my new project. Look at it..." He looked around to make sure no-one was watching, "Like Mother would."
She looked around then too, and began to Resonate as she pushed magic into her eyes.
"Oh Harry!" She whispered in alarm and grabbed his arm as she saw what he'd done. Above the blue portion of the wall, in the white plaster of the building itself, he'd carved "HARRY LOVES HERMIONE" - in letters five feet tall!
"It's surrounded by that repeating array, so not even other magicals can see it, only you and me. Other dragons too, probably. The harmonic effect of that particular array is Unbreakable - which is what I was experimenting with when I discovered it - so even if that building is torn down, that piece of concrete it's written on will stay as it is until I remove it or magic ceases to exist. Harry Loves Hermione will float through space after the earth is dust, on and on forever."
"Oh Harry." She breathed. The thought of it spanning the universe endlessly made her insides melt.
He turned to look into her eyes. "I can't stand the thought that we'll only have a thousand or so years together, Hermione. It seems like the blink of an eye and I want more. I can't stand the thought of not being with you."
"I feel the same Harry, but I'm sure you'll get tired of my nagging, or bossiness or-"
"No. I won't." He interrupted, "I love those things, Hermione. You don't nag, you remind me of things I've forgotten because you care about me. You aren't bossy either, you just don't feel the need to waste time pleading over things that shouldn't be questions in the first place. You are always looking out for me, especially when I don't know I need you to. That's love, not bossiness. Care, not nagging. I love you, Hermione. All your doubts and insecurities and anger too. You're simply beautiful, inside and out, and I want you forever." His intensely green eyes locked onto hers and looked through her. She had never felt more open, more vulnerable - or more loved. Her eyes mirrored her heart and overflowed again.
"I guess we'll have to make eternal youth a family project then." She leaned in and kissed him with all the depths of her heart. "Because you are never getting away from me, Harry. I will rip Death to pieces if I have to."
His eyes grew watery, and he broke into a smile. "I see what you mean." He said as he wiped them on his sleeve. "I love your ferocity. You are so beautiful." He took her face in his hands gently and kissed her long and lovingly. There was passion in his kiss, but rather than a consuming fire, eager and hurried, it was deep and pervading. Every nuance of his lips carried love she could feel in her magic.
She didn't care how long they kissed. She didn't care there were people wandering around or that some took pictures of them. All she wanted was him. It came as something of a shock, consequently, when Harry's wand vibrated and he broke the kiss reluctantly.
"Time to get changed and get to the tower. Wouldn't want to miss our reservations." He said as he kissed her again once.
"No..." She admitted, "But at the same time..."
"Plenty of time after dinner, love. Come on, hard work and planning, remember?"
She sighed. "Fiiiine. You're getting extra later though to make up."
"That sounds vaguely ominous." He grinned.
She laughed and kissed him again before she let herself be pulled to her feet.
They used the bathrooms of a nearby cafe to change, and Harry re-applied their concealment and Apparated them from directly outside in the bathroom hallway.
She was struck immediately with the size and grandeur of the tower when they arrived. The dark metal curved up and away from them and she craned her neck backward to take it all in.
"I so want to fly up there." She whispered to Harry.
They stood in the forecourt, surrounded by those who walked around and those who lined up to ride the elevator up into the tower proper. The Seine flowed lazily by on one side, and to the other she could see the flood of traffic down the Champs-de-Mars. There were large green grassy areas as well, all filled with people walking and talking and playing and enjoying picnics.
Harry looked at the time and relaxed some. "We have a bit of time if you want to look around."
She shook her head. "I do want to, but we'll be back here again later. I'm content to go along with your plans. Just promise me we can go fly around the top next time." She grinned.
"Promise. We might get in a little trouble for that, but I think the crime is worth the time."
"You're such a rebel." She winked at him.
He laughed. "On the contrary, I'm a civilized and conscientious lawbreaker."
She laughed and kissed him. "My very own Gentleman Outlaw."
He guided her by the hand, to the bored-looking woman in french auror robes who stood silently beside a doorway in one of the pilings. Everyone in the crowd of people around them stayed five meters away from the door at all times, without even realizing they were. When Harry and Hermione breached the bubble of space around the door, she came to attention instantly, her wand out and ready.
"Good evening, madame Auror." Harry said in french as he bowed slightly, "We have reservations for this evening, MacFusty, party of two."
"Wait a moment." She replied, and picked up a clipboard that was hanging on a peg near the door.
She scanned it for a moment, then tapped it. "Here you are." She tapped the clipboard with the tip of her wand, and the door next to her opened silently to reveal a small room with several chairs and no windows. "Enjoy your evening." She said, and motioned them through.
"Thank you, madame." Harry smiled.
Hermione followed him into the little room, and the door closed silently behind them. Before she could take a seat, the entire room began to rise. There was no frame of reference without windows, but they could feel the upward motion. It continued for a long moment before it jerked to a halt, and the door opened again.
The space before them was a dining room, filled with tables and chairs in a roughly circular group, and they all perched - perfectly stably - on nothing but thin air. There were several people seated at tables already who chatted amongst themselves like nothing was wrong, and waiters and waitresses came and went from the right side of the room; they vanished into nothingness and reappeared from it with perfect aplomb.
Classical music reached them from everywhere and nowhere, soft enough to be comfortable, loud enough to dance to. A witch in uniform stood behind a podium to their right, and she smiled at them when she saw the look on Hermione's face.
"Welcome to Le Sommet des Oiseaux." She said in French. "First time?"
Harry squeezed her hand reassuringly as he exited the little room - little elevator, she realized. He stepped out onto the nothingness like it was perfectly normal to speak to the welcome witch, so she joined him. It wasn't like she could actually fall anymore in any case. One more thing she loved him for.
"Yes, it is. Does it show that badly?" He asked her in french, with a smile.
The witch chuckled. "Some need to take a moment, some need to hold onto something solid, some need to go back down, and some simply enjoy it. You? You're fine."
Harry chuckled in return. "You're too kind, thank you. MacFusty, party of two please."
"Aha!" She tapped her podium, presumably at her guest ledger. "I wondered! I didn't expect you to be so young!"
"Uhh... thanks?" Harry raised his eyebrows as he looked back at Hermione.
The welcome witch laughed again, and gestured to one of the waitresses. She came over to them immediately.
"This is Maribelle, she will look after you this evening. Please enjoy your stay." She smiled again, and Maribelle led them to the dining floor. Maribelle was possibly mid-twenties, wavy blonde hair, grey eyes, and a curvy figure. To make matters worse, the uniform included a kind of cloth corset that cinched between her hips and armpits, and made her breasts seem enormous. Hermione's lips pressed tighter together.
Maribelle made sure they were seated - Harry held Hermione's chair for her like a gentleman, while Maribelle brought them menus.
"Good evening," Maribelle said as she handed them each a menu, "Would you like to start with something to drink? We have a lovely dry white from Loire."
She looked from Maribelle over to Harry. She'd never had wine before. She'd never even read a book on it.
Harry smiled at Maribelle. "I think we'll start with just water, and have some wine with dinner. Could we have the crostini Hors D'Oeuvres as well please?"
Maribelle bobbed her head at him. "I'll return shortly." She smiled and strode off toward the nothingness that the other waiters and waitresses disappeared into.
Hermione looked from the menu to the throng of tiny people far below her feet and grinned at him. "This is fantastic, Harry."
His face shone with barely-contained excitement. "Brilliant." He said, "The french ladies all absolutely agreed we had to come here, every last one of them, and they wouldn't tell me why. They were even specific about the time we had to be here. I had no clue."
That put her hackles up. "All of them?"
He blew her a kiss. "Yes, all of them. I had to chase down Fleur and Arielle after dinner and they were in their carriage - which is a huge chateau inside, by the way. They went and got all the other girls and they had a big discussion about where I should take you. That's how I know where we're going and what to expect. At least until now. They didn't tell me anything about this place except the name. They even took care of the reservations for us."
"How were they dressed? Were they dressed?" The thought of him surrounded by french tarts in nothing but breezy nightgowns made her blood boil.
"I would have exited immediately if they'd been anything less than fully dressed. It wouldn't be proper." He replied with a frown.
Just like that, she cooled. He wasn't some slobbering Weasley, chasing anything in a skirt. He was Harry fucking Potter. Her husband. He loved her. He wouldn't cheat. He wouldn't even look. He loved her. She didn't have to worry. Harry Loves Hermione, on and on forever. She took a couple of deep breaths and calmed down.
"I'm sorry, Harry." She whispered. "I didn't mean to imply you would-"
"No apology necessary." He cut her off, "I love you Hermione, and that includes the way you get jealous or territorial or whatever it is. It's evidence. It's proof that you're afraid of losing me, and that makes me know that you want me. I won't ever be attracted to another witch Hermione, but I like that you're afraid of it. I love that you're as afraid of losing me as I am of losing you. And that you're ferocious about that too." He grinned at her.
Maribelle appeared with their crostini and two glasses of water then. "Have you decided on your plats?" She asked.
"I would love the Filet Mignon please." Hermione replied. She'd read somewhere that it was supposed to be the best steak you could get.
"Make that two, medium rare please." Harry smiled charmingly at Maribelle, and she could see the waitress's eyes light up.
"And your preference for wine?" She asked, her focus entirely on Harry.
"I don't know anything about wine, so we'll trust your choice?" He asked as he looked to Hermione with raised eyebrows. She nodded back at him with an affirmative smile.
"Wonderful, I won't let you down!" Maribelle smiled radiantly as she took their menus and bustled off to wherever it was they went beyond the invisibility barrier - presumably the kitchens.
Hermione sighed internally. Harry might be fine with her urge to maim women making eyes at him, but it was still annoying to put up with. Even when she knew for a fact they had no chance.
Harry reached out and interlaced their fingers on the table while they nibbled the crostini with brie. Harry's eyes were only on her, their infinite green depths shone as they talked about the day. When Maribelle showed up with their steaks a few minutes later, she was all polite professionalism after a glance at Hermione's face.
She realized she would have to get over the jealousy at some point. Harry belonged to her, just as much as she belonged to him. He'd shown her that he loved her that day, from even before she'd woken up - hell, he'd shown her that he loved her every day for months. Just as she knew she would have to get over the jealousy, she likewise knew that was an endeavour that would take years. She tucked that resolution into the back of her brain on her ongoing task list, and devoured the most delicious steak she had ever tasted.
Harry had enjoyed the food as much as she did, as he had been silent since Maribelle delivered it, but as she was putting the last bite of it in her mouth, Harry's voice carried to her ears.
"Ohhhh. I get it!" He said under his breath.
She looked up at him, and his plate was empty. His eyes looked over her shoulder beyond her. She turned to see what he was looking at, and saw all of Paris laid out before them as the sun slid inexorably behind the western horizon.
"Hermione, would you dance through the Parisian sunset with me?" He asked. His eyes shone, and his expression was hopeful, open, vulnerable. How was she supposed to refuse? How could she even hear those words and see his gorgeous face and remain solid?
"I would love to." She smiled back at him.
He stood and offered his hand, then swept her into a waltz the instant she was free of her chair. She laughed at his impatience as they spun away from the group of tables, out over nothingness toward the sunset.
"I never thought I would ever hear words like those strung together, Harry. Thank you for that. Thank you for today, but most of all thank you for being you."
"I only hope this goes a little way toward showing you how you make me feel. You make me so happy Hermione, I can barely contain myself. I love your mind, I love your strength, I love your focus, your seriousness, and your laugh. I love the way you melt when I rub your feet. I love the way you flush from your chest to your hair when you... you know. I love the way you wrinkle your nose when you're being mischievous. I love the way that no matter how much I learn about you, there's always more to learn." Harry flicked his eyes toward the sunset, now peach and purple as twilight settled on Paris. "I love how with all of twilit Paris right there, it's pale and paltry compared to you."
Warmth bloomed in her chest as he talked and spread outward even into her fingers. He was so adorable she'd have fallen for him right then and there even if he wasn't talking about her.
"I love the way you gush when you're excited." She replied. "I love how you're secretly such a romantic. I love how much you enjoy learning. I love your sense of right and wrong. You make me feel okay, Harry. You make me feel like I'm not a freak. You make me feel like I'm not only normal, but worthwhile. Desirable. Like I'm worth putting up with my huge and glaring flaws."
"You were never anything but beautiful to me, Hermione. You know that."
"I do." She smiled at him. "You were as well, but..."
"But?"
"Buuuut... When I saw you on that train the first time... You were some rich girl's Christmas Morning. I was just peeking in the window at it, it wasn't meant for me. That's why I couldn't talk to you no matter how much I tried to. If I had it would have just been getting my hopes up for nothing. But... you weren't some untouchable dream. You were my Christmas Morning. I know that you love me, Harry. I know it. I still struggle to believe it's really happening sometimes, but I know it. All of twilit Paris is right there, and it's you who's given it to me. This is the best day of my entire life, Harry."
She closed the distance between them then, and pressed her body against his while she lay her head on his shoulder. They danced like that, just holding each other close until the sun slid below the horizon and its last failing rays were swallowed by night.
They paused for a few moments after they stopped dancing, and looked out over Paris lit from within by millions of lights. It was another sight she would not forget.
Harry paid the bill and left a generous tip for Maribelle - too generous in her opinion - then held her hand as they rode the elevator to the ground. He cast concealment on them both before the doors opened, and she raised her eyebrow at him.
"It's against statute to Portkey in public without it." He replied to her unspoken question.
"So we're going home then?" She asked.
"Unless you'd rather not?"
"No, it's the perfect time to leave Paris. I would've been fine with going home earlier, but you were right. Le Sommet des Oiseaux was just perfect." She waited for him to pull out the toothpaste tube, but he took her hand instead.
"I'm glad you think so, but it's time we Portkey Home Now."
The magic of their rings spun them immediately home, and they landed gently in the Garden.
"Thank you for the best date -" She started, but stopped when she saw him shake his head.
"Oh it's not over yet." He said softly.
"It isn't?"
He shook his head again. "I just had to take you to the one place I can properly show you how I feel about you. How you make me feel."
She frowned and wondered what else he had up his sleeve. She hoped he hadn't gone to any more trouble. "Where's that?" She asked.
He just smiled at her and brushed a curl back from her chin. He kissed her softly and then bent to pick her up in his arms.
"Bed." He said.