Harry eventually calms down and decides that it's a good idea to try compulsion again. Katerina's a little reluctant at first, but she eventually decides that he won't make her do anything terrible if it does end up working.

She's trying her best not to laugh as he stares at her intently, his pupil's dilating tremendously as he speaks.

"We didn't have sex."

Katerina rolls her lips in and tries her best not to smile. Of all of the things that he could've said, he chose that and it's amusing.

Harry sighs and rolls his eyes. It's abundantly clear that she still can't be compelled and it's a little frustrating. He knows that she understands the dangers, but it still feels like she doesn't when she fucking smiles like that while he's trying to compel her.

"This isn't working."

She nods and fiddles with her hands in her lap, an idea lighting up her brain but not sure if it should share it's light with her voice.

Harry notices the change in her eyes and looks at her with a slight smile, "What is it?"

Katerina returns his smile, "How did you know it was something?"

He playfully rolls his eyes, "Have you stopped paying attention, or are you just joking?"

Katerina laughs, "I'm still paying attention, just curious as to how you knew is all. Does that happen when you have my blood in your system?"

Harry shakes his head, "No, it's a little different. I'm still connected to your dreams when I have your blood in my system, but I can't read your mind or anything."

The spark of interest behind her eyes almost has him smiling a little more. It's a different kind of interest than people usually have when they realize that he's not exactly human and he likes how curious she is.

"You can still see my dreams? Isn't that super weird for you?"

He shrugs and lays back on the mattress, "Not anymore. It was at first, when I started to recognize what I was and what I could do, but now it's kind of normal. It's really only a little awkward when you have sex dreams that I don't manipulate."

Katerina mirrors his action and turns on her side with slightly widened eyes, "You were making me have those dreams?"

She's really more surprised than she is mortified. They certainly weren't bad dreams; she's just surprised that he made her see those things while not really doing anything himself.

He licks his lips and tries not to smile, "Yes, that was me. Except the first one, you made that one up on your own."

Much to his surprise, she laughs loudly. "You must've been a horrible Puritan."

Harry chuckles and turns on his side to face her as well. There were worse, but he definitely wasn't a very good practitioner of Puritanism. "That's about right, yeah."

She starts to trace patterns in his skin after a moment or two as she debates suggesting another method that might allow her to be compelled. He knows she's thinking about something, but this time he lets her figure it out before he lets her know that he's waiting for whatever it is that she has to say.

"Do you think that it would work if I have some of your blood in my system?"

"I'm not sure. It's not something that I've ever tried before."

Katerina's not really keen on learning what his blood tastes like, but she thinks that it's worth it to try. Worst comes to worst nothing happens and the bite mark and hickeys on her neck disappear.

"We should try."

Harry shakes his head, the idea not appealing to him in the slightest. "No, you won't like it and if you happen to die...well, we'll all be in trouble."

"Doesn't matter if I like it if it has the possibility to save my life."

"It does because I'll be responsible if something happens to you and I can't handle that."

Katerina's silent for a moment and her hands stop their movement. "Can we at least try? It doesn't have to be a lot and I don't mind if you feel the need to watch over me until it's effect wears off."

He thinks about it for a moment before ceding to her request. It will make her feel a little better and she's right, he can shadow her for as long as he needs to in order to protect her.

"Alright."

Harry sits up and Katerina follows, slight hesitation evident on her face.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt."

She nods and waits patiently with her hands twisted in her lap. Katerina's not really sure how this works and she's trying not to let her apprehension show because she isn't particularly looking forward to discovering what his blood tastes like.

Harry looks at her for a moment before adding, "You might not want to look though."

He's not certain on how she is with the sight of blood and he doesn't want her to faint or anything.

Katerina laughs and rolls her eyes, "I may be a goodie-two-shoes, but I don't faint at the sight of blood."

He gives her a slightly doubtful look before taking her word for it and sinking his teeth into part of his wrist. It's painful, but pain is something that he's grown accustomed to over the centuries.

She wasn't kidding when she said that she'd be fine, she hardly even winces when he tears his flesh and offers her his arm. However, she does hesitate slightly before she pulls his arm to her lips.

Harry can tell that it's not a fun experience for her, but she does it anyway even if she's slightly grimacing as she pulls away and wipes the blood from her lips.

"Well, that was nothing short of awful. Is there a certain amount of time we have to wait, or does it work right away?"

He nods for her to look down as the hickeys start to fade. Katerina smiles, amazed at how quickly the effects start to set in.

Harry smiles in return, "Pretty amazing, huh?"

Katerina nods, "Incredibly amazing. Do you think it will work?"

"I'm not sure, I've never tried it before and I don't think it's ever been tried before."

"Oh."

"Don't be nervous, I won't make you do anything terrible. Maybe just another blowjob."

Katerina laughs and shoves his shoulder, "Who said that was terrible? All you have to do is ask."

He laughs with her as he raises an eyebrow, "Oh? What happened to Miss Conservative?"

She shrugs in response, "Life's much more fun this way."

"I like this side of you."

Katerina smiles, "I like it too. So compel me, pretty boy."

Harry rolls his eyes, and keeps his commentary to himself. She watches his jade pupils dilate and reach into her own.

"Tonight you were with your friends at the bar. You had too much to drink and can't remember how you got home."

There's a split moment where she feels this pull to believe him, sees images of the bar and her friends in her mind. But it's gone as soon as it comes and she remembers that he's trying to compel her.

His pupils return to their normal size and he looks at her expectantly as he asks, "Where were you tonight?"

He watches as her lips part and close as she struggles with her answer.

"I...was here with you."

She frowns and he sighs, "So much for that."

Katerina drops her eyes and twists her fingers, "It worked at first, but it wasn't enough to trick my conscious into listening. Maybe it would work with more?"

Harry shakes his head, "No, if you get too much in your system your body rejects it and then you turn."

She stares at her hands a moment longer before meeting his eyes again, "Could I just fake it? I almost tried to, but I knew that it wouldn't help you figure out if it worked or not."

"No, if you fake it they'll know. Faking it will make it that much more dangerous because they'll purposely compel you to do dangerous things that might even get you killed. I wish it was that simple, but it isn't."

They sit there in silence for a while before Harry clears his throat a little awkwardly, "I should get you home."

Katerina nods and gets out of bed, searching for her clothes that have somehow managed to scatter across the room as if they were hit by a tornado. Harry follows suit and it's not long before he's walking beside her, their hands brushing every now and again because he's afraid to put too much space between them in case something happens and she's ripped away from him.

He's positive that he's being watched because Alistair pretty much told him that he was when they held council a few weeks ago. Not to mention how Hunter and Felix always seemed to know where he was and when to come out of the shadows.

He's not sure that Katerina knows though because she doesn't seem to be very frightened. Eventually he's going to have to make sure that she's aware of the danger that she's in, but it's alright for right now because his presence isn't requested elsewhere.

She's been pretty quiet since they left his house and he isn't entirely sure what to say because he isn't sure about how she's feeling. Considering that she took some of his blood, he can feel sparks of her emotion every now and again, but it's nothing overtly explanatory and he doesn't want to push her to say anything.

Eventually she breaks the silence and asks a question that he's been thinking about since he picked her up earlier in the day.

"Will they leave me alone now that they know?"

Harry runs his hand through his hair, "It's possible, but I don't think so."

Since they're currently linked by blood, he adds in her mind, "They won't because they were listening and they're still watching."

It takes her a good moment to figure out how to respond without actually using her voice, but once she does she responds, "You can't always protect me, how am I supposed to function like everything is as it should be when I know that I'm being stalked and you could easily not be there when something happens?"

"Like you said earlier, fake it. They know that you still can't be compelled, but they don't have to know that you know you're being watched."

"Can they hear us now?"

Harry resists the urge to shake his head, "No, that's why I've been speaking to you this way."

Behind them, someone trips over a loose brick and curses as silently as the drop of a pin. But Harry hears it and warns Katerina.

"Don't turn around to help, it's Felix. We have to get inside somewhere that's crowded and throw him off."

Katerina decides that they've been too quiet for it to be normal and uses her voice this time. There's a movie theater up ahead and she thinks that it might work.

"Why don't we see a movie? It's still early and I don't want to go home."

Harry smiles and nods his approval, "A movie sounds nice. I heard that the new movie Helena Bonham Carter's in is really good. Have you seen the trailer for it yet?"

"Great idea, make sure to bump into people accidently as much as you can without overdoing it and drawing attention to yourself. You smell like me because of the sex and we need to dilute it as much as possible. I'll do the same. Also, ask me if we can get popcorn because that will help a lot more."

"I think so, that's the one based off of the book...um...Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, right?"

Harry laughs softly, "Of course you've read the book."

Katerina smiles and bumps his shoulder, "Don't laugh, reading is good for the soul. You should try it some time."

"No thanks, I'll stick to movies. A lot easier on the eyes."

Fortunately, there are a lot of people out and they manage to squeeze into the line while putting a significant amount of distance between themselves and Felix. It gets a little worrisome after a few moments though because a lot of people have come in groups and the line moves a lot quicker than they want it to.

Katerina rocks on her heels and accidentally trips and bumps into the couple in front of them, apologizing meekly for her clumsiness and hoping that it's working. When they get to the front, Harry buys them two tickets to the movie they discussed, but he's going to pull her into a dark theatre that's already halfway through a movie.

Katerina drops her phone while someone starts to walk by and they bump into her as she's picking it up. Harry accidentally steps back while someone is walking to the register next to theirs and apologizes for his absentmindedness.

"Will that be all?"

Katerina looks at Harry with slightly pouty lips, "Could we get some popcorn? I know you hate it but I haven't eaten much and what good is a movie without popcorn?"

He gives her a slightly annoyed look for a moment before he sighs and gets the biggest size they have. She kisses his cheek to act like they're an actual couple because she knows that people tend to get bothered by public displays of affection.

They bump into a few more people on their way over to the concessions stand.

"Is it working?"

Harry tells the woman behind the counter to add extra butter, "Yes, but try to hit at least another person before we make it inside one of the viewing rooms."

Katerina does as he suggests and he practically rushes her into a movie that's already started. He lets her walk ahead of him but asks her to find a seat somewhere in the middle where it's more populated, preferably between as many people as possible.

She scans the theater for a moment before finding two seats directly in the center of the crowd and pulling him along. Purposely, she bumps into people's knees and some of them get popcorn on her as they walk past. Harry tries not to smile because she's really good at 'accidentally' bumping into people.

Once they sit down, Katerina adds to the popcorn smell by picking up too much and dropping some on her shirt and in his lap. Felix is still in the lobby, Harry can faintly hear him mumbling to himself about which door to enter, but it won't take him long to find them.

A few tension filled minutes pass before he finally chooses the right theatre and Harry sits closer to Katerina.

"Kiss me."

She's confused and takes a split moment to reply, "Really? In a time like this you're-"

"Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable and they almost always look away. Kiss me like you mean it or he'll find us."

The moment he says it she wants to smack herself for being so naïve, but she doesn't have the time for that and she does as he asks because she'd like to not have to worry about staying alive tonight.

He draws her in with his hands on her cheeks and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it. Felix hasn't seen them yet and he's skeptically scanning the theater because he's lost their scent.

Harry steps it up a notch and adds tongue and Katerina practically melts in her seat. She's definitely enjoying it, and he is too, but he's more focused on the danger that Felix poses and he's trying his hardest not to break and possibly give them away.

Felix looks over to where they are and his face immediately contorts in disgust that matches that of those seated around them. He looks away almost as soon as he sees them and heads out as quickly as he can to search another theater.

Harry pulls away and Katerina tries her best not to gasp for air because she'd forgotten how to breathe for a few moments there. She's still trying to catch her wits as she asks, "Did it work?"

He nods, but continues to keep their conversation in their heads. "Yes, but he's still in the actual building and he'll be listening. It will be faint, but if we speak and he picks it up he'll come right back and wait until everyone leaves to get to us. Sorry about your breathing, I forgot that you needed to do that for a moment."

"I forgot I needed to breathe too."

Harry keeps a tight hold on the laugh that he wants to set free. "That good?"

Katerina punches his arm, "Don't get cocky, it's very unflattering."

"Not into badasses, huh?"

She's trying her hardest not to laugh, "Not particularly, no. You're a bit of an exception though, my vampire friend."

Harry smiles to himself and lets his eyes drift to the screen. Might as well watch the movie while they wait because it's going to be a while. Katerina does the same and they don't share much more conversation for the remaining hour and a half of the movie. Harry enjoyed the film more than she did and she made her disinterest clear when he asked what she thought about it.

Felix was gone by the time that it ended-he never really had much patience to begin with, even when he was alive-but they slipped into another theater anyway just to be safe.

Katerina fell asleep halfway through the movie and Harry slips up and lets himself get lost in his thoughts. She's really beautiful and he's starting to notice that more and more as he spends more time in her company. He shouldn't let his feelings for her get any deeper, but he can't really seem to help it now that she's let him have her. And he knew that would happen from the beginning, but what other choice did he really have now? Everyone wants to kill her and he's trapped.

He lets her sleep without interruption until the credits start to roll and he decides that he can safely take her home. She's incredibly tired and doesn't talk much on the walk back to her house, but he doesn't mind the silence at all.

Katerina's one of those people that draws people into the silence and makes it comfortable where most would make it feel awkward. And he likes that about her, but he hates it too because it makes it easier to be around her and he shouldn't feel the way that he does.

By the time that they make it to her house, she's practically a zombie even though her mind is very awake.

Harry's just gotten her into the bed when she speaks softly, "You don't have to stay, 'm fine, really."

He appreciates that she doesn't want to make him stay and watch over her, but he knows that it isn't a good idea and he can't force himself to risk it. As soon as she falls asleep, he returns to her bedroom and sits in the window seat to make sure that his presence is known.

That doesn't stop Alistair though. Around three in the morning he appears in the doorway to the bedroom and Harry doesn't blink. He's afraid of what Alastair can do, but he's not going to show him that because he hates coming across as weak and the Edict prevents him from really doing any harm to either of them at the moment.

Alistair stares at him for a long moment before asking the question that's been on his mind since the last council meeting. "What are you doing, Harry?"

Harry won't look at him and keeps his eyes on Katerina, "Protecting her from death because the rest of the coven doesn't respect the Edict or the fact that she's a human being that doesn't have a choice."

A long silence follows as he dips into Katerina's dreams. "You've not interfered with her dreams tonight. Why?"

Katerina's having a nightmare about Felix and Hunter and she's been having it for a little while now, but he's always changed it to protect her mind but he didn't tonight because she needs to face reality.

"She needs to understand the danger that she's in and tampering with her nightmares doesn't help her mentality."

Alistair nods thoughtfully, but he still doesn't agree with his choice to watch over her like a guardian angel.

"You've gone soft, Styles."

Harry acknowledges the truth in his statement even though it's not entirely true and responds with a curt nod, "I know, but I'm not letting another woman die because of me."