We arrived outside the Furneaux Tavern in Lady Barron, Australia as the sun lowered in the wintery western sky.

     Granger's chocolate gaze wandered over the panoramic view of the boats docked at the Warf, a smattering of buildings and the distant hills with eucalyptus trees as well as other plants growing here and there.

     She shivered before burying her red nose into the matching scarf, "I know it's silly of me, but I always imagined Australia as hot, covered in rich clay dirt with a few kangaroos and koala bears about." She shrugged further into her dark coat, "Seeing it like this makes me wonder why anyone would want to visit during winter."

     I gave her a look that let her know she'd voiced the thoughts I'd had the first time I'd arrived here a few weeks ago. My opinion of the place hadn't improved, in fact, the icy cold wind blowing through my robes and attempting to freeze me to the core reflected my feelings of disenchantment quite aptly.

     "Come along." 

     We made our way into the cozy little tavern that was filling up with hungry patrons.

     "Yum," Hermione said after taking a deep breath of the savory aromas from all the food being consumed. "That smells like my next meal."

     "I was thinking the same thing, but isn't four in the morning a little early for Beef Stroganoff?"

     "We're on Australian time now, and I didn't eat much yesterday," Her brown eyes were stuck on a patrons dinner plate as she took her hat off, shaking out her long butterscotch hair before continuing to unbundle from her coat.

     The lovely redheaded barkeep with cocoa-skin was smiling warmly at our arrival, "Hello Sev."

     "Zofia, it's always good to see you." I took her offered hand and kissed the top in greeting.

     She blushed brightly, "Oh, you! I'm pleased you came so quickly." Her eyes snapped excitedly to Hermione, "With a companion."

     I waved to the beautiful little witch, "This is..."

     "I know who Hermione Granger is," Zofia exclaimed suddenly as she held her hand out in greeting to the Gryffindor. "I'm Zofia Harlow. I was hoping I'd get to meet you, but I wish it were under different circumstances."

     "Lovely to make your acquaintance," Hermione said politely as they shook hands. There was a calculating look in her eyes, and I wondered what she was thinking.

     We sat on a couple of barstools as Zofia spoke, "You're more stunning in person than you are on the pages of the papers. I see why you like her so much, Sev."

     "We're here on business," I gave her a look that said I wasn't amused and to please not embarrass me.

     A glint twinkled in Hermione's chocolate-brown eyes before asking, "You wouldn't happen to be the Zofia that had been romantically involved with Severus, would you?"

     I choked on air, a surprising new sensation, wondering how in Merlin's grey beard Hermione knew about Zofia? Minerva McGonagall's smirking face popped to mind and I'd make sure to give her an extra special Christmas gift this year. Perhaps, a turd shaped puzzle with an accompanying aroma that keeps giving until she opens it. I quietly did my best to calm my high strung nerves over the situation as I listened to the two women talk - all while planning Minerva's 'gift.'

     "You've heard of me then!?" Zofia shimmied happily.

     "Not as much as I'd like to," Hermione smiled mischievously. "You must be very impressive to have won his heart."

     "Well, of course, I am!" Both women began laughing together as if they were longtime friends. "Once you get past the fact that Sev comes off as a total asshole unless he's putting in some effort, you'll see that he's thoughtful and loving. I'm sure you've figured that out by now."

     Hermione touched her necklace and glanced my way, "Yes."

     "Speaking of thoughtful and loving men, I see you're not wearing your fancy engagement ring that I'd seen in the special edition of the Daily Prophet. Did Skeeter manipulate some photos and fabricate your engagement?"

     NO! Please, no!

     "You're engaged!?" I thought I was having a heart attack as my chest squeezed painfully, and I hope I didn't sound nearly as upset as I was.

     "Oh! Um..." she looked around uncomfortably. "No." 

     "Did Ron Weasley not propose?" The exotic looking barkeep asked innocently.

     My stomach was rolling uncontrollably, and I thought I was going to be sick all over the top of Zofias pristine bar.

     Hermione studied my face, "He did, but we were interrupted by Skeeter." 

     Breathe in, one - two - Oh, fuck it! If she's getting married, why would I care about breathing? 

     "I hate that blonde bimbo with a burning passion! The Prophet should have fired her ages ago," Zofia complained.

     "You don't let go of a cash cow," Hermione huffed. "Not good for business."

     "She's certainly a cow!" They laughed again, and once they'd calmed down, Zofia looked Hermione in the eye's, "So the ring?"

     Hermione smiled, "I think it would be best if I told Ronald my official answer before I let anyone else know. He deserves that much."

     I was struggling to keep it together, and now I wanted to perform ligilimency on them because Zofia set her hand on Hermione's and nodded as if knowing more than what was being said. To make matters worse, she whispered into her ear, making me momentarily feel like I was back at Hogwarts as a despised student. However, I trusted Zofia, so I did my best not to be too offended. 

     The beautiful young witches velvet brown eyes locked on mine and rose bloomed in her cheeks again as the redhead pulled away from her. "I'll keep that in mind, Zofia. Thanks."

     I don't know why, but I had the feeling that she wasn't going to marry Weasley, not that I knew that for sure but the look in her eyes said she wanted to tell me something important. I cleared the lump from my throat as my heart rate started to steady.

     "I'm sure you've figured out by now, Sev is very important to me and my family. I could thank you over and over for keeping him with us, but that's worthless, so all the food and drinks you want are on the house for as long as I own the place."

     "Thank you. Severus is important to me, too, and I was happy to do what I could to keep him with us." She smiled before asking, "Do you happen to have warm butterbeer? I'm freezing." The Gryffindor rubbed her arms to emphasize her state of being.

     "Sure love," The redhead snapped her fingers, and a mug flew under a tap, filled with butterbeer before being topped with cream and landing gently in front of Hermione.

     "Butterbeer, at this time of the morning?" I chided.

     She smiled mischievously, "Australian time remember? And, if you're in a tavern, it's always a good time to drink butterbeer."

     "Okay professor," Zofia laughed while shaking her head at me. She twitched her finger, a cup with a saucer landed in front of me, and a green teapot came floating from the kitchen.

     "You know me well," I smiled at Zofia while I waited for my favored peppermint and clove beverage to cool.

     Hermione had drunk some butterbeer and wrapped her small hands around the warm stein.

     I stared at her perfectly shaped mouth, fighting the jolts my body was giving me to lick the white smudge of cream on her lip. Instead, like an idiot, I ran my thumb over the petal soft mouth, and we both froze, staring at each other.

     I pulled away and showed her my hand, "You had some-." I felt like a teenage moron, what was she doing to me?

     Rose flushed her cheeks, "Oh!" She shook her head sadly, "I should really stop drinking butterbeer with cream since it seems to always get on my face."

     My eyes darted back to the barkeep in hopes that she'd not read too much into that or make a big scene as she's been known to do. Unfortunately, the glint in Zofias discerning hazel eyes said that she noticed and I'd be hearing her thoughts on this development very soon - if not immediately.

     "Do I have to pay?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

     She quirked a red eyebrow at me and laughed, "The day you broke up with me for moving here was the last day you got any of my cooking for free."

     "It was a mutual decision, Zofia." I gave her an irritated look. And, just to remind her of the successful outcome that's occurred in her life since our breakup, I pleasantly asked, "How are Richard and the boys doing?"

     She puffed up like a proud peacock, "Rich is in the kitchen, teaching the boys to bake bread the muggle way. You can go in and say hello if you'd like."

     "I'll do that as well as ask if he'll give the two of us some stroganoff." I looked at Hermione, who was nodding in agreement with my plan.

     Zofia laughed, "I bet the boys would love to see Uncle Severus. But, now that I think about it Rich would give you all the stroganoff you two wanted, and we have a business to run, so I've changed my mind about you going back there."

     Hermione chuckled. "How did the two of you meet?"

     "We don't have time-" Zofia cut me off.

     "We met in a cooking class, and he was the most obnoxious person there," She stated matter of fact, a smile pulling at her cocoa lips.

     I scowled, hating the turn of events.

     "What did Severus do?" Hermione asked before taking another drink of butterbeer.

     "He cheated!"

     "Did not," I grumped.

     "We knew what we'd be cooking in the next session, but somehow Sev would show up before everyone and steal the best ingredients before class started."

     "I never stole anything." I looked at Hermione, "I would just place it out of other peoples reach."

     "The room had a tall ceiling, and somehow he'd put his basket of food up in the rafters. I have no idea how he could get it up there, so I know he was cheating somehow." Zofia winked playfully at me.

     "Height has its advantages."

     "Cheating!"

     "Couldn't you use a stool or ladder to get at the stash?"

     "Didn't help; I still couldn't reach them. The whole class was trying to figure it out, except the instructor." Zofia wrinkled her nose.

     I shrugged.

     "You couldn't summon them?" Hermione asked, innocently.

     I couldn't help but smile as I explained, "This class was a part of a Muggle studies course. The point was to do it without the aide of magic. Using any within the boundaries of the room would be an automatic fail on the assignment for the day, regardless if it was during class time or not."

     "Then, how did you get them down?"

     I eyed her and Zofia before shrugging.

     Hermione cocked an eyebrow at me and asked the other Witch, "Did you ever see him get it down?"

     The redhead nodded, "Every time. Sev would stand in a different spot of the room each class, snap his pretty fingers high in the air and the basket of food he'd squirreled away would fall from its spot."

     Hermione gave me a calculating look before I finally said, "It wasn't near as exciting as the 'got your nose' trick that you showed me, but Houdini was a master illusionist."

     Her musical laughter filled my ears, "It was never up there, was it?"

     "Never," I smiled at the smart little witch, wishing I could reward all her correct answers with a kiss.

     "What's 'got your nose'?" Zofia asked with a puzzled look that induced more laughter.

     Hermione and I quieted down, and I was sucked into her velvet-brown eye's for a minute before I noticed Zofia loudly clearing her throat.

     "Alright, you two have yet to hear the reason I owled." She looked around before waving us to a booth situated in a darkened corner.

     I sat next to the butterscotch-haired beauty across from Zofia. We leaned in close as the barkeep spoke in a hushed voice, "Henery Townsend, a known exaggerator came in here this morning screaming about werewolves fighting along the beach, just up Petrification Bay. It's near the same area they've been spotted twice before over the last few weeks. Townsend also mentioned two very sickly humans," Her hazel eyes moved to Hermione. "They fit the description of your folks."

     "Where's Townsend now?" Hermione asked.

     "He was so frazzled by what he'd seen that we couldn't calm him down and ended up giving him a sleeping draught. He's been snoring in the back room since noon."

     "Let him sleep." I looked into Hermione's eyes, "If he sticks to his schedule, we'll have approximately forty-eight hours before he goes elsewhere. We'll be heading down to check the beachfront after Abdelaziz and Markus arrive. Is there anything else we need to know about?" I looked at the cocoa-skinned barkeep positive that she wasn't finished just yet.

     "I overheard some muggles talking about a very odd thunderstorm up where you're headed."

     "When?" I asked.

     "Couple hours after Townsend came in," The red-head stated calmly.

     "What makes a thunderstorm around the coast of an island odd?" Hermione scrunched her face in confusion.

     "The so-called lightning was flashing green intermixed with red."

     My eye's snapped to the clever witch as she asked a heartbeat before I did, "Was there an investigation done to see if there were any traces of magic used in the area?"

     "I did, and there was a fight or struggle of some kind - blood. I'm sure the seas washed that away by now, though. There were two singed spots from magic as well, but I don't have Sev's tracking skills." She smiled at me.

     "Is the Australian ministry so bogged down they don't take note of dangerous werewolves or possible magic duels on public beaches?"

     "I don't believe the Aussie Ministry cares much for possible..." Zofia made air quotation mark's with her fingers and rolled her eyes in obvious irritation. "...happening's out here when they have all the chaos on the mainland that needs looking after. You've heard about the latest attack in Sydney, haven't you?"

     I noted the worried look in the hazel eyes and the dark circles under them, "Last I'd heard from Australia was that a bridge was destroyed, but no one was killed. Is your sister still living in the city?"

     "Olivia's still there and is safe, but her best friend was injured."

     "What happened?" Concern etched Hermione's porcelain face.

     "Apparently, a Knight Bus driver had been spooked by a creepy passenger and tried to pull over to let him off, but was killed for the attempt. The Death Eater took control of the bus and drove it through a huge glass wall into a muggle shopping center. There were ten injured and three dead."

     "That's awful!"

     Zofia nodded sadly, "Some Death Eater Matthews person happily claimed he did this because muggles needed to be made aware of their inferiority to wizardkind."

     "How in the world does that make any sense? Muggles can't see Knight Busses."

     Zofia nodded, "It only proved that he's an idiot who shouldn't be driving."

     "It's painful to be considered part of the same species as some people," I griped while pinching the bridge of my nose, feeling a minor headache coming on from the stupidity of the so-called Death Eaters actions.

     "I take it he's locked up at the Australian Ministry?" The younger witch's voice clipped irritatedly.

     "Yes. He'll be there for a long time for this bit of nonsense."

     "Excuse me! I need some service," An impatient patron hollered at Zofia from the bar.

     "Good. Thank you so much for your help, Zofia," Hermione said with a warm smile.

     I gave the barkeep a silent thank you.

     "I'd wait about an hour before heading out if I were you two," she gave me a look that said, 'your welcome for me giving you a valid reason to spend more time alone with Hermione' before she continued. "It'll be completely dark by then, giving you better coverage. There's also a quidditch game starting soon that might help keep people distracted," Zofia advised.

     I glanced out a nearby window at the darkening sky, "We're still waiting for Markus and Abdelaziz to arrive before we make our way down there. Zofia, would you mind?" I made a circle in front of me and held up two fingers.

     "It will be out in just a few minutes," She headed off to attend to the grumpy man.

     "Did you order the stroganoff?"

     "Yes. I hate to admit Zofias cooking is better than mine, but it is."

     She smiled brilliantly and nodded, "It smells heavenly and happens to be one of my favorite dishes." Our eyes locked, and I could feel my desire for her becoming very evident as we silently flirted.

     She broke the magical moment by saying, "I've scoured libraries, bookstores everywhere and even resorted to searching the internet."

     I cocked my eyebrow in question, and she shook her head, "Nothing about muggle enhancement. What about you?"

     "No, luck. However, I did locate four viable geneticists in the wizarding community. Unfortunately, I've been unsuccessful at getting into contact with any of them."

     "Figures," she huffed. "Severus, not that I should admit this..." I was instantly intrigued as I watched her scrunch her face in guilt and twist her fingers together. "...But you have to admit that it's fascinating that this could happen. And," She swallowed hard looking like she was attempting to stay calm, "I'd like to see them use magic, not on me of course but it would be quite a thing for me to witness first hand, don't you think?"

     I rubbed my chest where I'd been hit by Wendell, "Don't get too excited; they are dangerous."

     "I know Severus. We already went over this in my bedroom."

     At the old Black house, her room looked like a mecca, and I had to remind myself that I was there on business, not pleasure. Even though I'd wanted to walk her back to her bed, tear off our clothes and make her forget about everything but me.

     "I believe getting your parents back and restoring their memory is a good place to start. Once that's done, we can see about their magical aptitudes." I looked her over before asking, "If we can't reverse the changes and they stay magical, would that be a bad thing?"

     "I've wondered that myself and don't have an answer," She took another sip of her half consumed butterbeer. "Greyback's a wanted man and my parents have helped keep him free for too long." She pulled a couple of potions out of her small purple bag and handed them to me. "Take these. I have several, and I don't want to fight against my parent's or see them get injured, so I made sure they'd be very loving and non-aggressive after they've metabolized some."

     I held one of the clear bottles up to inspect the purple-blue liquid inside, "What is it?"

     She scrunched her face slightly, "Err. It might be better if you didn't know."

     I was getting ready to pull the cork to sniff it, and she jerked her arm up to stop me, "Please don't judge me to harshly or tell anyone," She glanced around nervously. "It's liquid, methylenedioxymethamphetamine."

     I jolted in surprise and quickly tucked the bottles into my pocket so I wouldn't be arrested, "That would make an elephant walk through fire if you suggested that it felt good. How did you acquire it?"

     "I made it with some help from your godson," she smirked.

     "Draco! I should have known, but... never mind." I didn't need to know how they'd made it or if they'd consumed MDMA before.

     "Don't be mad at Draco, he was helping me come up with different scenarios, and this one was a great idea."

     "I'll let it go - for now. Liquid means faster absorption, but it will take a bit of time."

     "I tweaked it a little, and if they struggle against swallowing, which they most likely will, the liquid can be quickly absorbed under the tongue even faster than swallowing. It should be effective within a minute, two at the most. Regardless of that, don't get it on your skin, you'll absorb some and will be rolling within ten minutes or less."

     I eyed her bag with a smile pulling at my mouth, wondering what else she just so happened to carry around, "Good plan, for the most part. Anything else I need to know about before I'm hauled off to prison for possession?"

     She patted the little purple handbag resting against her far hip, "Not that I can think of. I did warn you that it's best if you didn't know about my 'potion.'" She laughed.

     "Too late, I'm all in." I stared at the silky smooth face that was begging me to touch it, thinking how far in I really was.

     "Your food," Zofia smiled warmly as she set our heaping plates of pasta down in front of us along with silverware, and more refreshments.

     "Thank you," Hermione smiled at the redhead.

     "Enjoy you, two!" She winked at us and walked off.

     Hermione was taking a deep breath of the creamy noodles and tender beef delight at the same time I did. We smiled at each other while eating and making moaning noises of pleasure from the wonderful taste. I didn't worry about my table manners or the fact that we both had sauce on our faces - even though I wouldn't mind licking hers off her - I just enjoyed sharing this moment in time together.

     After a while, I asked, "How much longer until the repairs on the Black house are finished?"

     "Almost done, and it looks nice."

     "Just nice?" I thought it looked more than nice, brand new in fact.

     "It looks great."

     I cocked an eyebrow waiting for a better explanation.

     "It's silly, but everywhere I look, I see Draco and Harry having these heartfelt moments as they repair things together. Surprisingly, they're excellent together and balance each other out."

     "Really?" Must be my godfather instinct kicking in but I felt very skeptical about Draco in a long-term committed relationship of any kind since it never happened before.

     "It surprised me too. Last week, we'd been painting the kitchen, and Harry managed to fall from a ladder. The ever-attentive Draco kept him from hitting the floor with a spell and then continued to chastise him for being clumsy while checking every inch of him for injuries."

     I couldn't help but laugh at her perplexed facial expression as she continued in a bewildered tone of voice, "Later, when Harry started looking hungry, Draco had already slipped away to cook a delicious meal and made all of us sit down for dinner together. Then when it grew late in the evening, Draco insisted on getting Harry in bed since he had to work early the next day."

     I couldn't keep my eyes from her mouth as she took another bite of her meal. "You'll find that Draco takes good care with all the things he has a strong affection towards. He'd probably jump into a fight at your side now that you've become friends."

     "I believe he would too, as long as he doesn't mess up his hair." She smiled warmly. "These last few years have fundamentally changed a lot of people, and Draco is no exception. He's really a very affectionate and decent person when you get past all his arrogance."

     "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

     "Narcissa is very kind. I haven't seen Lucius since graduation and have no plans to visit Malfoy Manor, ever again."

     A flash of her being tortured by Bellatrix made my blood boil instantly, and I wanted to kill the crazy witch instead of Molly getting all the fun.

     "Severus," She was giving me a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

     I looked deep in her eyes, "I don't blame you for feeling that way since I don't enjoy visiting the Manor either. The memory's that haunt me when I'm, there are things I'd like to forget."

     "Yeah. Do you see Lucius often?"

     "Part of his release from Azkaban was that he be under house arrest and can only leave the Manor when he's escorted by Auror's. So, I don't see him as often as I probably should, but he understands the reasons for my absence. And, Narcissa is over to see me every few days or less, keeping me up to date on everything." Clearing my throat, "It sounds like Draco and Harry are very lucky to have fallen in love."

     "I'm a little jealous that Draco is so attentive, Ronald's never been like that towards me." She looked down at her empty finger, and a few strange expressions crossed her face.

     My chest tightened painfully, and I couldn't stop from asking, "Why Weasley?"

     She shook her head and huffed, "I know you've never liked Ronald, but there's no real reason for it; or is there something he did to you personally that has caused you to dislike him so much?"

     Currently, my blood boiled at the idea of her being touched by anyone except me - especially a dunderhead like Weasley.

     "He's easy to frazzle, and I was good at being a scary professor." I gave a slight snort at the thought of Weasley's wide, deer-in-headlights look in his blue eyes whenever I came into his line of sight.

     "You could have been a little nicer."

     I lifted my brow at her, "Why?"

     She huffed a little to hide the fact that she was trying not to smile, "He was terrified of you!"

     I chuckled, "As an educator, you must find fun where you can. Giving him and a few others, a hard time was my entertainment at Hogwarts. Also, picking on you and Weasley, specifically, kept Harry at a distance."

     "Yes, I know that." She finished the last of her meal before speaking again, "Ronald was more than worried about my safety when I informed him I was going to be working with you."

     "Why?"

     "He said that it was too dangerous that I should leave this to the professionals."

     She glared at me as I chuckled in disbelief, "I see he's still as brilliant as ever. I'm surprised you didn't put him in his place."

     "I thought about it," She shrugged.

     "I can't understand why you'd want to marry someone who doesn't see the strong, beautiful, and capable woman you are. I know it's not my place to say such things, but I care for you and..."

     Velvet brown eyes locked on mine as she bit her bottom lip. The movement drew my eye, and I found myself distracted by the strawberries I suddenly craved.

     "And?"

     I wanted to say dump Weasley and be mine! Instead, I went with, "I shouldn't have said anything - sorry."

     She frowned while studying me.

     The bell above the door to the Tavern chimed as it opened, allowing Abdelaziz and Markus entrance. I waved to get there attention, and as they made their way over, I realized how us sitting cozied up together might look. 

     Oh well, I'd already decided I wanted Hermione, and if she felt the same for me, she just had to make the first real move so that I knew I wasn't crossing a line. The news of her possible engagement should be a deterrent, but it wasn't. I figure that I have until she says 'I do' to someone else that I can flirt and let her know I was interested.

     "Here they are." I looked at the newcomers, "This is Yasmine Abdelaziz."

     "Nice to meet you and good idea using the muggle tracker," Hermione smiled.

     "You heard about that?" Abdelaziz flushed in embarrassment but looked pleased with the acknowledgment.

     Hermione nodded, "It was how you knew the pack was here, to begin with correct?"

     "Yes, it was," Yasmine said as she shook the butterscotch haired beauties hand. "Well, it's good to finally meet you, Miss Granger."

     "You as well." 

     "And this-"

     "Ellison Markus, little lady," The polar bear-sized man tipped his non-existent cowboy hat at Hermione.

     She chuckled warmly before saying, "I was sorry to hear about the loss of your eye. Was there nothing the healers could do for you?"

     "It was the choice of Steins Gate. I never question these things; I just roll with the punches."

     I could sense her confusion as she opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about. I slid my hand onto her thigh and squeezed lightly to keep her from doing so. "No, unfortunately, his eye had been shredded beyond repair."

     "The eye-patch looks good, though, right? Kind of scary?" Markus was pointing to his face and smiling manically.

     Yasmine rolled her eyes and slid into the booth, "Sydney's a mess. There wasn't much left of the dismembered body to identify." Her face scrunched up as she looked at our dinner plates, "Sorry."

     Markus sat next to Abdelaziz, "It was pretty bad but nothing new. I'm more interested in what Harlow had to say anyway."

     "Greyback was sighted here as Abdelaziz predicted. We're headed west down Petrification Bay in a few minutes and need to do a walk around to verify Harlows information."

     Markus rubbed his hands together in glee, "Finally, I can pay that canine beast back for making me look like this."

     "I thought you like it?" Abdelaziz asked, sounding slightly confused.

     "Well, yeah, but it really hurt."

     A toned muscle moved under my hand, and I realized it was still resting comfortably on her leg. When I went to move it, her fingers slowly traced over mine. My pulse skyrocketed, and my eyes snapped to hers.

     "What do you think's down there, Severus?" There was a primal look in her velvet-brown eyes.

     I glanced at her lap while swallowing hard, "I have a feeling we'll find one of the many hideouts or vacation homes the pure-bloods retain."

     Her smile grew bigger as she played with my fingers some more.

     "Have you ever been to one of these locations, Snape?" Abdelaziz asked.

     "A few, with the Malfoy's. My least favorite was in Romania, in the woods near the dragon sanctuary." My heart raced excitedly as I lifted my fingers a little to toy with her small silky ones.

     "Did it have any security or enchantments?" Markus asked.

     "Yes, there were a few temperamental adolescent dragons running around the grounds. The guards inside the house were ghosts. Walls don't stop ectoplasm, so you never have any privacy to use the restroom alone. It was my least favorite vacation."

     "Dragons," The blonde was nodding with a huge smile on his face.

     "We're in Australia Markus, there won't be dragons," Abdelaziz stated matter of fact.

     "True, there most likely won't be dragons," Hermione said while I gently twisted the little ring surrounding her pinky finger. "But there could be Tasmanian devils."

     Markus chuckled excitedly.

     "There is a good likelihood that we'll be outnumbered once again, but that should work in our favor since we wouldn't bring too much attention to ourselves. I don't recommend we apparate in the boundaries of the property, and using any kind of dueling magic will most likely set off an alarm."

     "What about basic enchantments like, opening locked door's and windows?"

     "That should be fine. However, it would be best if we can find a way in that doesn't require any magic."

     "It would be ideal to go in, grab them, and quickly escape." Hermione chuckled lightly, "But my plans with Harry never went the way we wanted them to, so I doubt this will go the way we hope either."

     "There's no need to worry until we have an idea of what to expect." I soothed while lacing my fingers with hers and gave them a light squeeze of reassurance.

     She studied me for a few moments before I heard Abdelaziz announce, "I think it's time for us to head over there."

     "Let's do this." Markus enthused.

     She squeezed my hand and let go to wipe her face with the napkin.

     I shook my head to clear it from its wandering thoughts while my hand still tingled warmly from her touch. We stood and made our way to the door.

     "That was delicious Zofia, my compliments to the chef and thank you for the help," Hermione said.

     "Thank you, Zofia."

     "Sev!" Zofia hollered at me.

     I chuckled when hearing her huff at me after I magicked my coins to the register to pay without a backward glance.