Hello my lovely Lovies!
As you all know I love hearing your comments and taking some of your ideas into consideration to fit into my timeline. One of the best I've received I'd been saving to make in the best possible way I know how. So please enjoy, as I know I've enjoyed receiving this idea and working it into my narrative.
Sit back, relax, enjoy a snack (I have a bowl of Froot Loops) and a nice warm drink (I have mint tea). I'll be with you in the comments!
Love and Pensive's
Val
When the truth is promised, it's not always the truth we want to hear that is revealed.
~Elodie's POV~
I cast a drying charm over my hair, and quickly tied my hair up into a ponytail before I left the bathroom and went to change into my uniform robes. My first day back at the castle, and Dumbledore requested I meet him for tea beforehand. In total, I'd missed about two weeks of classes, even though Harry and the others had returned to the castle after Christmas. The rest of us relocated the remainder of the Weasleys to mine and Freds until we were able to undo the damage caused by the fire.
Normally I'd enjoy having everyone around in such close proximity. Especially with all the additional help they were able to provide with Ruby which gave me time to focus on school work. Not that Molly gave anyone else much of a chance with her, she was quickly growing accustomed to having all of her grandparents and a few of her uncles at her disposal.
What disturbed me was the rift Christmas had caused between me and Fred. It was an understatement to say he was upset I'd ran after Bellatrix. Even more so when he saw the bruise I'd tried to hide courtesy of my dear old auntie. Not to mention the way his face turned red and the vein in his forehead began to protrude when Sirius let it slip that Grayback had been an accomplice as well.
I understood where he was coming from. I'd be a complete nutter not to. But I knew that if I'd told him Bella had tried to get me to go with her, there would be no stopping him from putting himself in danger as he did what he thought he'd need to do to keep us safe. That's not how I would let it play out. I needed to keep him safe.
"Freddie?" I asked him as I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a quick cup of coffee as I looked around for my potions journal. The clutter from Mr. Weasley bringing work home with him and meeting notes Sirius and Remus kept around was something I could live without. Though Molly tried to reign them in, it seemed like a never ending stack of journals and parchment.
"Yes dear?" He asked in a sing-song voice as he looked through the lens of a polaroid camera, charmed with never ending film. He shot another picture of Ruby in Mollys arms, wanting to document her every move. "Right here guppy, look at daddy."
"Have you seen- nope, there it is," I said, spotting the orange cover under a stack of parchment on the far counter. "I'm running just a bit behind," I informed him as I threw the journal into my bag and placed a bottle for Ruby in the icebox.
"I thought your class wasn't for a few more hours?" He said as he dropped the camera slightly and reached into his pocket to pull out his pocket watch and check the time.
I pulled a long drink from my mug when I caught George's eye. He knew just as I did that even though tensions had settled, Fred was still a bit on edge. While I'd hoped in the time that had passed he'd gradually ease up, I didn't think it would be this gradual. It was only the night before he was placing more presidents in the idea that perhaps it wasn't safe that I return to the castle. Not that he'd ever admit Draco Malfoy was right.
"Tea with Dumbledore, remember darling?" I said softly as I walked behind him and ran a hand through his hair in the hopes that it would ease him a bit. "I told you about it yesterday, I'll be back this afternoon. Would you like me to stop by the market on the way home?" I asked, directing my question on Molly who was keeping herself busy with feeding Ruby.
"That's alright, Bill and Arthur said they'd do the shopping," She informed me, before stealing a quick glance from the window where I spotted Sirius and Remus outside smoking a cigarette. "Again? I've asked them to keep it far from the house."
I leaned in closer to Fred until my lips rested at his ear as he snapped another photo. "I'll be back before you have a chance to miss me," I said and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips.
"That's just not true," he said and turned his face to look at me. "I already miss you," He said, stealing a kiss from my lips. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps he was feeling back to normal. His playful nature had stayed in tack, so perhaps I was the one overanalyzing his actions. "Go on," he said, pulling away. "Before I give you a reason to stay. Don't think the children would care to hear about how you can be easily persuaded. Especially when I-"
"Oi!" George yelled, not wanting him to continue.
"Alright! Alright! I'm going!" I said, quickly rinsing my glass out and grabbing my bag. "Merlin's Beard, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" I said and looked over to Molly who was trying to hide her laughter as she patted Ruby on the back repeatedly, trying to coax the cutest little burp.
"Do a lot more with it," He said, catching the opening I instantly regretted leaving. He had an evil grin come over his face just before I tried to swoop in. "Don't you remember just last night-"
I cut him off, quickly giving him one more kiss and running toward the chimney to enter into Dumbledore's office directly. Laughing as I did so, surely while she'd found humor in it, Molly wouldn't let him get away with it as easily.
***
"I must apologize my dear," Dumbledore said as he sat a tea cup in front of me. "I happen to be out of cream for your tea," He said, taking his seat at his desk, leaning into it, showing just how tired he was.
"Knowing you as I do, I'm sure you didn't invite me here just for tea," I said and took a sip of the drink in front of me to show him it was alright. "Did you ask me here to discuss the fire?"
"Ahh yes, your brother has informed me well about that," he said and reached over to pour himself a brandy. Opting for something stronger than tea. So, it would be one of those conversations. "I trust you're all adjusting well under one roof? Not an easy task, especially with a new baby."
I gave him a smile, knowing he was dancing around the subject. "We're adjusting," I said. I looked at him for a long moment, noticing that he wasn't holding as strong of a shield of Occlumency as he normally would. I tilted my head to the side, wondering why he was letting his veil be so obviously weak.
"It's still there Elodie. Not as thick as before, but you'll tire yourself trying to break through. I'm told you're not as well practiced as you were when you left school," he said casually, almost as if it was nothing.
"That's rather presumptuous of you," I said, reaching for one of the biscuits he'd arranged on a dish on his desk. "You and I both know, even at my weakest I'm still an inherently talented legilimens," I said confidently, putting on a smug face.
"That may be," He said, finishing his brandy. Hissing as it hit the back of his throat. "But you're not a fool. Even you have to admit you're out of sorts lately."
While I didn't care for the blunt nature the conversation had fallen into, I knew he wasn't wrong. It was one thing to be well educated in my spells, but another to be practiced in dueling. Especially in the specifics of dark magic.
"I'm well enough to know that you're weak," I said just as certain as he'd spoken. "I sensed it as soon as I walked in, not to mention the way you relax yourself when you're with me. Laying your weak links on full display. Why is that sir?"
He made work of pouring himself another brandy, shooting me a look filled with disdain, and if my read on him was correct, acceptance. He placed the crystal bottle down and sat back in his chair, placing his hands so they laid over the piece of his beard that rested atop his belly. Given by the way his hand was showing a curse that appeared to be killing him from the inside out, I'd say the time for him to tell me the truth had arrived.
"Someday, perhaps sooner than you think, you'll be as old as I am. And you'll wonder," He said, taking a break to look into my eyes. Almost as if he was trying not to look into my mind, but to hold it. Delicately, in the palm of his hand. "Was it all worth it?"
"Do you regret it, sir?" I asked softly, not noticing that I'd begun leaning forward slightly. "If you could turn back the clock, change any, if not all of it, would you?"
Tapping his decomposing finger against the ribbon that held his beard bundled together, I could practically watch the years dancing through his mind. Part of me wished I could take a peak, to see what he'd seen. To know what only he knew. But his privacy was one I still respected.
"A difficult question, for a man of my age indeed," he answered without looking up at me.
"You're dying...aren't you?" I said softly, hoping it wasn't true, but placing the idea in front of him. Like dangling a piece of candy in front of a child, hoping the urge for a sweet tooth would hit, but ultimately not wanting to deal with the aftermath. "That would explain it. Why you needed me to look after Draco for you. Why you don't use your magic around me," I said, piecing out the obvious
He held his smile as he finished watching the years pass before him. Seemingly unshaded that I'd just asked him how close to death he really was. As if it had only been a matter of time for me to figure it out. "We're all dying my dear. But yes," He answered in his typical Dumbledore manner. The one that reverberated the extent of his years of knowledge through each and every word.
"Am I the only one who knows?" I asked, hearing the way my voice was breaking at the thought of no longer seeing him as well. I let out a sigh, not realizing I'd been holding my breath. It felt like I'd been struck in the stomach with a sinking jinx, sending it through the floor. "How long?" I asked, looking down at the cuffs on my wrists. The best magical gift I'd been given.
"It's never been death you fear, has it?" he said, answering my question with a question. One I trusted held the same answer as his.
I let out a breath, looking up at the banister over his head. Choosing to focus on the parten hidden in the walls instead of the man in front of me. "You know, if you would have asked me a few months ago, I'd have said no. But now," I said, not giving the thought fuel to hit the sensitive part of my heart. The part that would ache if I gave it power.
"I promised you the truth my dear," He said as he stood from his chair and moved to the pensive where he proceeded to use his wand to pull several memories from his brain. "It's the entirety of the truth I intend to give you."
***
"You can't ask that of me," I said harshly as I stepped away from the compartment that housed the pensive. "No, there- there has to be something else. There- there has to be, some-"
"Ms. Potter," Dumbledore said gently, taking a step towards me.
"Snape, he- he can- he can just... before. There's no need to-" I said, growing hysterical. Tring to find a way to remove myself from the equation. Trying to avoid what he was asking of me.
"Ms. Potter," He said, taking another step.
"You showed me. If he's really wanted to care for us, he can do that too, if it's necessary. He can-" I said, taking a step back, pushing my hair away from my face.
"Ms. Potter," He said once more.
"That is not my name! Stop calling me that!" I said, hitting a wall. Wishing with my entire being that the castle would swallow me whole. Anything to be away from him right now. Anything to not be who I was. Anything to not have the magic he was asking for. "It's not- it's not," I sobbed, feeling the tears burn down my cheeks.
He stayed in his place, leaving me with the slightest bit of space that remained around me. "Elodie," He said gently, as a whimper escaped my lips. "You're the only one with that sort of capability."
I looked at the ground, refusing to look him in the eye. Refusing to look at a man who'd groomed me to aid in his demise. "I can't-" I said, sniffling in a labored breath. "I don't even know h-"
"You do," He said and pointed a finger into the center of my forehead. "In here, you do." It wasn't me he was asking, it was them. "The wand may choose the wizard, but it is not the wand that holds the magic. And I trust you'll need all the magic you can house." I looked up at him. The way his eyes had grown cold. He was tired. The curse in his hand was quite literally killing him from the inside out. He was asking me to supply the bullets, while Snape provided the gun.
I pushed past him, composing myself and whipping the tears from my face. I grabbed my bag and slung it onto my shoulder, determined to spend all night in the restricted section if it meant finding another way.
"You ask too much of me," I said before turning back to look at him. "Did you ever stop to think that perhaps I wouldn't want to do it? That perhaps I wouldn't want to take part in your-" I said to him, my voice growing in volume as my blood began to boil with anger. "How long have you even been planning this? Asking me to strip the magic from your soul before your assasination and convince an entire army of death eaters I'd joined their ranks? Using me like this?"
"I know how it must seem-" he said, trying to get a word in to calm me.
"It makes you no better than Voldemort! And this whole time, you've just been waiting haven't you?" I asked, frantically piecing all of his actions from all the years I'd known him.
"You needed to have a better grasp of the ancient magic within you. Giving life to those too far gone only proves you're prepared," he tried to explain.
"No, I trusted you. I trusted you with my brother, with my family. And you just continue to lie to me! You're a liar! You've only cared for us all these years to keep us loyal to you, to use us as you've needed," I said, telling him the way I saw his actions.
"I am a wise man. I knew I could only ask you once the need called for it," he said, moving back to stand behind his desk.
"Yeah, well there's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise person understands which is called for!" I said, feeling the pit in my stomach grow hollow. "You're killing me, asking me to do aid in this, you're literally killing me, you're turning me into a murder. How many people that I care about will I have to lose before it's enough? How do I look at minerva and explain to her what I've done? How do I live with myself, after I've become-"
I let the words run through my mind, not wanting to give them power. Not wanting to speak them into existence. Refusing to take part in the ramblings of an old me.
"You've heard the prophecy, same as I have. 'After the third soul breaking act, she shall harness the blackest magic of the night-'" he said, reciting the glass globe word for word.
"'With the power to destroy both worlds she belongs to'?" I said, knowing where he was leading. "I can assure you, I do not wish to be claimed, or used as a weapon. I do not wish to destroy anything other than the plan you have in place for me!."
"Which is why you must do as I've asked," He said calmly, waving his hand to align a scale that rested on his desk, one side heavier than the other. "You have more dark magic within you now than you did once before. Do as I've asked, and tilt the scale," he said, placing a few stones on the other side. "Do as I've asked, so you may end the war, and claim yourself."
I fell back into the chair, letting my bag drop to the ground, as I no longer had any words left to argue. He'd either gone completely mad, or he honestly believed as he did. That there would truely come a time when I would need the magic stolen from him. That being amongst the death eaters was the only way to unlock the dark magic needed to help Harry destroy Voldemort.
But worse of all, was that he believed that in doing so, I would be taken over by the same dark magic he was asking me to embrace. To not just lean on it when I needed a boost. To not just have it as a backup when I saw no other way. But to let myself be consumed by it, and then once it was all over, find a way to rid myself of it.
"You know, I wish I knew who to trust, who to put my faith in, who I could turn to. That way I wouldn't be left wondering if I'll ever really have a safe place to land," I whispered, watching the scale, not daring to peel my eyes off of it. "You have to promise me, that he'll be prepared. I can figure a way for myself, but if you're going to send Harry in search of Horcruxes, you need to promise me, that he'll be safe without me," I said and finally looked up to meet his eyes.
"It should go without saying, but I will say it just as well. You need to convince everyone that you truly are among them. Not just Tom and his followers. But everyone," He said darkly. "No one can know, or else it will all be for nothing. You have to remember who you are, and then let the life you have go."
He was speaking, but it was all just words. He continued planning, but it was all just noise. I looked at the man I thought I knew, a man I'd spent more time with than my own mum and dad. I looked at him and watched the way he had made peace with the fate that awaited him. And the way he was asking me to make peace with mine. The more he spoke, the more it made sense, as all terrible plans must. But not a moment of it, not a singular moment, was any of it fair.
The more he spoke, the more I came to the conclusion I'd always had, to a certain degree. Only now it was truly being confirmed. Harry would die. There was no way around the fact that he'd have to die for Voldemort to truly be defeated. And I would become a person worse than Voldemort. A person that disappoints everyone in my life, everyone I'd held closer and deeper than I'd ever thought possible.
I would become the villain written into the history of a wizarding narrative I had no control over. A cautionary tale, to make people believe that no good could ever come from dark magic. The monster parents would tell their children about.
I'd have to become the right hand of the dark lord.
***
I stopped by Professor Slughorn's office to inform him I'd instead return the following week, not feeling well enough to return today. Seeing as flu season was beginning, he was completely understanding. He gave me the notes for his lecture and sent me on my way with an assignment to complete before my next class.
As I made my way out of the dungeons, I noticed the door to Professor Snape's office had been left ajar. Inside he sat at his desk, pressing his quill into a piece of parchment. Flipping through a text volume as thick as an encyclopedia. I knocked slightly, trying my best to not be seen and risk him sending me away, I waited for him to speak.
"Come in," He said in a tone that would have informed anyone that he did not wish to be disturbed. I opened the door more to walk through, and closed it behind me. "Potter, care to explain why you've disturbed my afternoon?" He asked without looking up at me.
I slowly walked up to his desk. As slow as a slug, avoiding sudden movements, treating him like a snake. "I just..." I said, not really sure how to say what I wanted to. Only that I wanted to. "I just wanted to apologize," I said quietly. "For... everything I said to you last year."
His quill stilled, and without moving his head, his eyes shifted to look up to me. Remaining stuck on my eyes.
"Albus... he showed me everything. In the pensive," I said quietly, hoping he wouldn't be mad at me, but just as I did, he would direct his anger towards Dumbledore.
"That's Professor Dumbledore Miss Potter. You forget yourself," He said, finally lifting his head up, but keeping his eyes glued on mine. My mothers. Under normal circumstances I'd have a retort ready, or some clever line to tell him how much she detested him, but today I was no such person.
"Well when a man asks you to aid in his murder, I think it warrents a first name basis," I said quickly.
His face changed, to match the abruptness of my statement. And then I could see it in his face, that everything clicked. The reason behind my apology, the reason I'd eased and given him allowances. No longer turning away at the mention of his presence.
"There's no use in asking Albus a favor, so I hope you can help me instead," I asked, only to be met with his silence, and a relaxed shift in his face. "If I do, what's being asked of me, can you continue as you have? Can you take care of Harry, while I'm not myself?" I said slowly.
"First Dumbledore asks favors of me, and now you believe yourself the right to as well?" He said quickly, rejecting the notion. "Tell me Miss Potter, what do you believe gives you the right?" He asked.
I took in a quick sniffle, refusing to cry in front of him, but feeling the urge behind my eyes as the gears of another plan assembled themselves into place. "I think I'm a girl who knows too little, yet has survived too much. And I can't follow you to the dark lord's side unless I know that my brother, Minerva, my daughter, and my husband, will be safe."
He gave me a long look, mulling over what I'd just said. Letting it steep into his one plan. So many plans, everyone with their own plans, their own agenda. Just once, I wanted someone to be on my side. And my last hope was him.
"The dark lord has no knowledge of your family, none extending past your brother. My advice would be to keep it as such. Seeing as your husband's family is seen the way that they are, it would be for the best," He said. He got up from his chair and moved to a table to grab a book from the bottom of a pile, covered in dust. "Do your part, and I'll do mine," He said, handing me a volume written entirely in ancient runes.
He wasn't wrong. Amongst the pure bloods, the Weasley's were seen as blood traitors. And I was a halfblood, born to a muggle born and as far as they knew, a pure blood that was also a blood traitor. I took it without questioning him. If he was giving me a text, then surely he believed I'd have some use for it. But still, I wasn't sure what it would be yet, if I could truly trust it, if I could even trust him.
"Miss Potter," He said, addressing me as everyone else would have to, moving forward. "I'll take your burden, so long as you're sure you're prepared to do what is necessary. It will by no means be easy," He said.
For a moment, I saw him. The position he himself had been forced into. The person he was, similar to the person I was. He'd lost his best friend. Being torture to see her ghost everytime he looked at me. Being forced to do as others had asked him to.
"Mmm," I said, letting out a long breath, welding the gears into place. I'd already agreed. "I need to know who I can trust. Who I can put my faith in. I fear the line to tell the difference will soon become nonexistent," I confessed, looking at him seeing the same.
He lifted his quill, and proceeded to return to his work, just as he'd been beforehand. "Wherever the line may be drawn, you should know that I am always on your side," He said, giving me a slight nod, not needed to convince me it was true, for me to know that it was. "If that will be all? You should make your preparations, the months pass faster than you think."
I bobbed my head for a moment before tucking my book into my bag. I left without another word. Not wanting to think about this day, or those left to come. I walked down the corridor, ignoring everyone in the halls. Making haste towards Minverva's office to use her Floo.
"Ooof," I heard the thump as I unexpectedly bumped into someone, dropping the books and pieces of stray parchment I'd been holding in my hands. I looked up to see Draco, making his way towards the potions classroom.
"Do you ever watch where you're going?" he asked harshly before leaning down to help me collect my belongings. "Ditching class already?" he asked a bit softer than before, but still holding that rough edge to his voice.
"Just... not feeling well," I said, reaching out for the pieces of parchment he'd collectd to place them in my bag, avoiding eye contact at all cost.
"What, you're just not going to go to class?" He asked
"Not today," I said and looked down the hall, where I saw Harry and Ron stop as they turned the corner. I looked back to Draco, examining his face. He looked much more sickly than the last time I'd seen him at the christmas party. "This is for you," I said and reached into my bag where I had a small box containing a tie clip with a tiny crystal ball charm. "Christmas was ages ago, but it's also a thank you gift. For helping me," I informed him.
He looked at the box for a long moment. Almost as if he was unsure of what to do with it. He looked up at me, taking in the sight of my puffy red eyes as he tucked the box away into his book bag.
"Have you been crying?" he asked, leaning in closer so no one would hear.
Down the corridor, I suspected, Harry continued to spy with Ron. Just as everyone else, weary of my friendship with Draco. He wasn't wrong to be. Especially now. Before I did anything, I still had to keep watch over Draco. An unfair portion of the plan that couldn't go overlooked. Only now the guilt was worse than ever. I'd spent my time trying to talk him away from his family's loyalty and their way of life. Only to find out I'd soon be among them.
Never did I ever want to talk to Harry more than I did in this moment. But never was I more incapable of talking to him. I had no idea what I would even say, much less look him in the eye without the vision of Dumbledore's memories rolling through my head.
"Mmm, you should get to class. Your lesson will be starting soon," I said and proceeded quickly down the corridor. Not giving him the chance to say another word. Not leaving an opening for Harry and Ron to stop me. All I wanted to think about was my house, and the people that belong inside of it. Even then, I couldn't dwell on the thought for too long. Soon enough, they'd all be scared of me.
Soon enough, they'd all hate who I was destined to become.
***
When I arrived back at the house, I felt as though I'd lived through the longest day to exist in the history of mankind. I wanted to disappear, and return after a year long nap. Or even better, return once the history books had been written and I was just an insignificant detail, so small there was no need to index me.
Molly kept herself busy with her knitting while Ruby was asleep in her room. Seeing the bags under my eyes, she subtly suggested I take a bath to help me relax, thinking the stress of having everyone under my roof was what had stressed me. I let her believe it, though I wished she wouldn't. I truly loved having them all here, together. I let Ruby sleep as Arthur and Molly frantically left for Hogwarts after an owl arrived that Ron had ended up in the hospital wing after a love potion gone bad.
I sat in the tub, filled with warm water, essential oils and bubbles. I'd lowered my head a few times, when the voices all began speaking over each other only to pop back up when the fear of missing Ruby's cry set in. Cat would pop his head in from time to time, when he wasn't stretching himself on the sofa we kept in Ruby's room that had quickly become his favorite to lay on as he often did during the day when he thought no one noticed.
When the water would begin to turn lukewarm I'd heat it with a charm. When the bubbles would disappear beyond my liking, I'd make more. It felt like I'd been there for hours. In reality, when I'd check my watch it had only been about half an hour.
I heard a door knob turn in the bedroom and what sounded like a coat hitting the floor. It was a moment later that footsteps approached and stopped just at the threshold of the bathroom door. Then a silence. And even in that silence, I could feel him. His presence filling the atmosphere. The way he looked at me, the way he admired me, the way he was thinking to himself how lucky he was to have me. Not knowing that it was completely the other way around.
"It's not polite to stare," I said, grabbing a washcloth and running it down my leg.
I heard his footsteps grow closer, until he stopped to sit on the edge of the bathtub. I loved the way he looked at my face. The way his eyes admired me, and the corners of his mouth turned up, a slight blush on his cheeks. He was my one. The only true happiness I'd ever truly known.
"Polite isn't what I was going for. I'd much rather admire my wife," He said, reaching forward to move a stray hair behind my ear. "Have I told you today how beautiful you are?" He asked, not knowing he was digging the knife in deeper.
"No," I said lightly. No one can know, not even him. "But I'll forgive you, seeing as I haven't told you how much I love you today," I said, touching his face with my pruney fingers, giving him a smile only he could enable.
A devilicious grin took over his face as he stood to his feet and quickly kicked off his boots, only to enter the tub fully clothed, and hover over me, leaning down to place kisses all over my face.
"Freddy!" I yelped, watching the water overflow by his added weight and the way he had no cares to the splashes he caused. "You're going to flood the house!" I said in a laugh as he tickled my neck with his nose.
"Am I? I couldn't care in the slightest," He said, sinking further down, maneuvering me so that he could sit behind me, fitting me between his legs. "Gotta say, I could stand to do this more often," He said as he struggled to remove his shirt which was now sticking to his skin with the way it was soaked.
"You're ridiculous, you know that?" I laughed, leaning forward to allow him space to wiggle around while I looked at the water on the floor and sent it towards the sink with the slightest nudge of my jaw. "Guppy's sleeping in her room. Did you get good photos today?" I asked, looking at the baby monitor on the counter. I wanted to know as much about his day as I could take in to distract me from mine.
"She takes after you," He said, placing his soaked button down shirt on the edge of the tub. "She has my full, undivided attention," He said, pressing a kiss into my shoulder as he took the wash cloth from my hand to run it down my arm. After a moment, I noticed how he slowed when he passed over the scar on my arm, courtesy of Greyback. Almost as if he thought it would still cause me pain to have it touched.
"Why don't you ever take any pictures of me?" I asked, leaning into him so my head rested on his chest as his hand kept directing the wash cloth over me. Washing away the day not needing to hear about all that plagued me.
I felt his head move so his chin was resting on the top of my head. His hand bobbing under the water every so often to gather more bubbles. "Guess I prefer the real thing. One day she'll be off at school, so we won't see her everyday. But I'll still have you here with me," He said lightheartedly, moving the washcloth to my belly. Slowing guiding it up my chest until he had my breast cupped in his hand. "Besides, I could never display the photos I'd want to take of you. They'd be for my eyes only."
Even though I couldn't see his face, I could hear the grin that took over. I could practically feel it radiating off of him, along with the warm spark of his magic dancing through my skin, into my center with every touch. Merlin I loved this man with every fiber of my being, so much so even my magic knew it.
"Is that so?" I whispered, letting him hear the smile that had taken over my face. "So keep them somewhere hidden. It'll be our secret."
"Mrs. Weasley-Potter," He said in an overly dramatic astonishment. "You're playing with fire love. You know I'll do it."
I let out a little chuckle, knowing he'd enjoy the offer I was making him. "Well that's my favorite pastime," I said and leaned forward so I could turn and straddle his lap that was still covered by his trousers. I grabbed a handful of bubbles and started sticking them to his face forming a beard that resembled the one he'd given himself sixth year when he and George took an aging potion.
"Is this the part where you tell me you prefer men with beards?" He asked sarcastically, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Cause I'd consider it."
"All I'll ever want is you," I said, running a hand through his hair, slightly dampening it as I pushed it back. "Even when we're old and gray, and 116 years old. Even when your beard looks like this," I chuckled, placing my hands on the side of his face. Staring into his beautiful brown eyes, memorizing the golden flakes around his irises, as if today were to be the last day I'd ever see them. Memorizing them, so I could hold onto them, forever and ever.
"116 you say? That's not nearly enough time, my love," He said, leaning forward so his forehead was to mine, and my chest was pressed into his. He was vanilla and cinnamon, in a tin like christmas cookies I wanted all year long. I was darkness, and destruction. Tainting everything that came too close.
"No matter how long, I will always, want you," I whispered, pressing my lips to his gently. Wanting to savor even the tiniest of moments we would share. The way our lips touched, the way his skin was always warm enough. The way our bodies fit perfectly together, even now, a layer of clothing between us. Everything. Nothing. No matter how long I had left. It'd only be a matter of time.
"As you wish," He said and gripped my thighs so I was on him securely before he stood in the tub. Water began to splash all around us, landing both inside and outside of the tub, creating a bigger mess than before. He stepped out, hiked me up slightly higher, and made a trail towards the bedroom.
"Freddy! You've gone mental, what are you doing!" I laughed, looking back at the mess he was leaving behind.
"I'm taking pictures of my beautiful wife, and wasting no time in doing so," He said as he walked over to the dresser where the polaroid rested, and then towards the bed. All while keeping that smile plastered on his face.
"Freddy!" I laughed, thinking this wonderful man had gone mad. "We're soaking wet!" I yelped as I felt my back collide with the mattress only to be met a moment later by him hovering over me with a camera, lips pressed to mine, as the flash went off, capturing a kiss. Capturing a moment in which I was only his, and nothing else existed.