Renata wasn't sure what it was about the cottage that James had presented to them, but just walking in (after punching Sirius in the face) she felt like she was home. There was no denying that she loved the flat where she had stayed with James and Harry before, as there were many beautiful memories shared there, along with important ones. However, just standing in the living room, there was no doubt in her mind that more wonderful memories would be made in their new home.

The land surrounding the cottage was thick with woods, the river quite wide separating them from the other side as James informed her it was to guarantee them the privacy the family needed. Unfortunately, even though it had been years since the time of Voldemort's defeat and Harry's new title as the Boy-Who-Lived, James didn't feel like they were given much privacy residing in London. Not to mention, with the investigation and media all over the Abate case and academy, he thought it would be perfect to get out of the city.

The only people who were aware of where the cottage was located were the Weasley family, Remus, Adelmo and Sirius, and of course, the Longbottoms. They were welcome to show up whenever they pleased, of course, with notice to let the family prepare for any visitation. However, James had put a lot of thought into the location and to the home, as he wanted Harry to grow up outside of the limelight surrounding a tragedy and he wanted Renata to continue healing without dealing with people that didn't understand personal space.

They could still venture into the city for anything that they needed and of course, there was Diagon Alley just an apparating trip away or by Floo Network if they had Harry with them. And he could only hope that he had made the right decision for his family as he had not consoled Renata or Harry when it came to the final choice.

However, neither Renata or Harry seemed opposed to the idea of the cottage, in fact, after the fiasco of punching Sirius in the face, the two of them ran about attempting to check out every single room. There were plenty of rooms, James made sure of that, whether they had guests stay overnight or something along the lines. The kitchen was large, what he considered perfect for Renata so that she would have all the room in the world to try out new recipes when she was home. Or if he and Harry decided to join in, there was plenty of space for everyone to be moving about.

Renata really seemed to enjoy the living room area as she had commented on the roaring fireplace that greeted her with warmth right away. She noted the plush armchairs and the oversized sofa that was overly inviting anyone in the room to come to plop down. The room itself was painted a deep shade of red with gold trimming, something she found to be relatively pleasing. And her favourite part was one of the walls had been converted into a full bookshelf, decorated with all the books that she had claimed to enjoy, along with many of Harry's favourites.

Besides the red paint and gold trim, the walls were covered in photographs that displayed plenty of memories, whether it was pictures of Fleamont and Euphemia, James' childhood, Harry's childhood, there were even pictures of Renata that she didn't expect. There were ones of her and Harry or ones of her with James. Many of them were from current times, but there was one that she spotted that made her laugh before flushing completely red in embarrassment.

"Wh-where did you get this picture?" she asked pointing to one as James walked over with a knowing grin.

"Your brother gave it to me," James told her, leaving Renata to shake her head and mutter something under the lines of  " of course he did" under her breath. "Come on, Ren, it's a beautiful picture, look how cute you are!"

James didn't understand why Renata fretted over the picture, but he believed it was just to the embarrassment of seeing childhood photos again. However, that was special as Adelmo had pointed out when he found it going through some things in his own flat. The photo had been taken at the grandmother's house when they were younger so that happiness displayed on Renata's face was genuine. They had no quarrels or issues with their grandmother and James remembered that Renata spoke fondly of her "Nonnina" when she visited Parma.

Since Renata didn't have anywhere near an ideal childhood in general, so to capture a moment where she appeared genuinely happy, James wanted to keep that and display it in their home, alongside pictures of Harry running about with a bright smile.

"You and Harry look adorable in your photos but..." she grimaced for a couple of seconds before looking back at the picture, " I remember that dress. I picked it out myself. I thought it made me look older. I had a pair of white gloves that I used to wear with it whenever I had lunch with Nonnina, thought we were so sophisticated. Thank goodness, I wasn't wearing the gloves when this was taken."

James chuckled before wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I think you look beautiful, Ren, back then and now. You're just going to have to come to terms with the fact that you're a gorgeous person. Now, don't dwell on the pictures, go explore the rest of the home with Harry. Go look at the rooms!"

When Sirius walked over, he face was still a bit red from the hit, but he didn't seem to be in a foul mood as one would expect. He realised after the hit that it probably wasn't the best idea of his to jump out at Renata. Especially after all she had been through, jump out surprises probably weren't going to be a thing for quite some time. As Renata and Harry disappeared upstairs to explore further, Sirius glanced around before looking over in James' direction.

"So, when are you going to tell her that you modelled the living room after the Gryffindor Common Room?" he asked with a chuckle. "I see that you failed to mention that."

"Well, with the hope that Harry will get into Gryffindor, I'm just waiting for his first Christmas after he comes home from school and tells his mother all about how the Gryffindor Common Room is just like home."

"You're going to wait until Harry is eleven years old to pull that off?"

"Yes."

"I admire your dedication, Prongs," Sirius said with a shake of his head, " because I would not have the patience for that."

"And that's what separates the men from the boys."

"Okay, that was low, James, that was really low."

Renata couldn't believe how much thought had gone into decorating the entire home before James introduced her and Harry to it. From selecting the bedrooms that faced the river, to placing a door by the stairs to keep Harry and Leone from making their way down without any supervision. It felt like he had done so much and in a way, while Renata knew that he would brush it off as a gift or claim that it was something he wanted to do, she felt like James was doing so much for her and she wasn't really doing anything for him in return.

As Harry explored his new room and checked out all the new toys that his father had provided for him, Renata made her way to the master bedroom. It also had its own fireplace, something she wasn't expecting and despite how warm it was in the room, she suddenly didn't feel so warm anymore. Instead, she was feeling guilty because of the number of things that James was putting forth into the relationship, she didn't seem to be matching up.

To anyone from the outside who didn't know any better, she was just going to come across as a person who was in it for the money. Or at least, that was her biggest fear at the moment, what if James started to feel the same? After all, she hadn't even gotten the restaurant up and running yet, still taking her sweet time with developing and decorations. In her mind, she just didn't want anything to go wrong, she knew that restaurants had plenty of opportunities to fail, especially for first-time owners.

And if she was being completely honest with herself, she didn't know the first thing about running a restaurant, she knew how to cook and bake but that wasn't even half the battle. What if the restaurant failed?

Suddenly filled with doubt, the smile had completely faded from Renata's face as she sat on the edge of the bed, looking out the large window that overlooked the river. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, she knew that, but at the same time, Renata couldn't help everything she was feeling. She had failed every other job she had, and if she thought about it, she didn't even last long as a nanny before it turned into something else. It was like she was destined to fail and she was waiting for the moment to rise again.

" Well, Harry seems to be settling in well, he and Sirius are going through all of his toys in his room. So, what do you think, cosy isn't it?" James' voice alerted her, bringing Renata to jump and glance over at the doorway. "I thought the small fireplace was a nice touch. You know...set the mood for occasions to come."

He winked in her direction and while she blushed, she didn't smile right away, instead, she attempted to hide her blush by looking out the window once more.

"Oh come on, Ren, are you still upset about the photograph? If you don't like it we can take it down-"

"It's not that, James," she said shaking her head, " it's just...this is all so wonderful. Really, every thought that you put into every detail, it really shows and the place is beautiful in every way."

James made his way over and sat beside her. "So, why don't you look happy?" he questioned in a soft voice.

"I...I...I don't know," Renata sighed heavily in response, " I guess I'm just waiting for the moment where I manage to ruin everything. Everything has been going so well, borderline perfect if you think about it, I'm just waiting for that moment where it's not like that anymore. My mother said that-"

"Ren, stop right there," James told her, he knew the feeling of what Renata was going through all too well. There were so many times where things were going perfect in his life and he was just waiting for something to go wrong and usually something did but it was because he had pretty much manifested it on his own.

He didn't want that for Renata, especially as he learned from Dr Mullins, that just because things were going well in life, didn't mean that life was setting them up for something bad. Bad things were always going to happen, but it wasn't caused by people being happy.

"Your mother was wrong about so many things," he said, " and you know that. Don't let those thoughts dwell. Great things are happening because you deserve it and you're not going to ruin it. Even if something bad happens down the line, it doesn't make it your fault. It's not in your destiny to fail or ruin things."

"Right, I understand what you're saying, but James, what am I contributing to all of this? You've bought the restaurant, you bought this cottage, what have I contributed?"

James was beginning to think that Renata's insecurities were also stemming from the fact that financially, she wasn't bringing anything to the table. But in his mind, he didn't see why she had to? He had enough money in Gringotts for himself, for Harry's lifetime, for Harry's children's lifetime, and possibly generations to come. There were many things to be stressed about in life, but for the Potter family, money wasn't one of them.

But maybe it made Renata feel bad that she didn't put forward any of her money into the restaurant or the home, even if she was a major part of both.

"Ren, Ren, Ren," he spoke her name until she looked over at him again. He reached his hand out and tucked her hair behind her ear, one of his favourite gestures of affections when it came to Renata. And for the moment that she looked over at him, he could see it in her eyes, the way they weren't lit up by a smile but rather drooping down by a frown.

"Ren, you really don't give yourself enough credit when it comes to the things you do, to the things you have accomplished. There is a reason that all these tabloids want an interview with you, there are multiple reasons that people want to know everything about you. Trust me, I felt that same pull when I first met you and so did Harry."

It was amazing for James to think how the tables had turned in a way from the time of their first meeting. Normally, it had been Renata comforting James as much as possible because he couldn't bring himself to offer any support to his own mind and feelings. But now, he was able to work through his problems and he was able to help Renata as she sorted through all the ones that had surfaced in recent times.

"I guess what I'm trying to tell you is, you don't need to bring money to the table to contribute to anything," James told her, "even when the restaurant in a complete success and the money rolls in, I don't expect any of it back. It doesn't work like that, and this home, I bought it because I thought we could all use some bigger space and privacy away from that world that is so wrapped up in all of our business."

"Right, but-"

"And here's the thing, I already knew from the beginning of what you were going to contribute to the restaurant and here," he continued before letting her speak. "I knew as soon as you walked through the doors that you were going to bring life and warmth to both. Because that's what you do, Ren, you bring life to everywhere you go. You know how to make people happy, you work so hard to keep people happy, and in reality, you've sacrificed your own happiness for others for a long time. I want you happy."

"I am happy, James," she answered honestly, " I guess that was what frightened me the most. Being so happy, I don't ever want to lose something like this. Every morning and I wake up, whether it's next to you or because Harry is ready for the day....all the adventures we have whether they are big or small...I don't know what I would do if I woke up one day and found out it was all gone."

"That's not going to happen," he said with a smile on his face, "I won't allow it. You're going to wake up every morning with a smile on your face and if you don't, I'll make sure that before you even think about leaving this room, that you're smiling."

"How are you going to manage something like that?" she questioned innocently. "Tickling?"

"If you want to call it that, sure."

It took a few moments for it to click inside of her mind, but eventually, Renata caught on to what he was saying, leaving her to clap her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. But before she could push him away playfully, James seemed to have the opposite plan as she found herself pushed back onto the bed with him hovering over her.

"Do you really like it here, Ren?" he asked. "I won't be offended if you say no. I know I made most of the decisions, but I left plenty of it open for you and Harry to make this place your own as well. And if there is any aspect that you don't like, we can have it removed easily and-"

He was suddenly silenced by Renata placing her hand over his mouth. "James, it's perfect, really, all of it is wonderful and beautiful. I love everything about it, from the outside to the inside, what is there to complain about? And Harry seems so happy here. I think it was the perfect idea to get away from the city in order to have privacy. So really, I do like it here, I love it."

With her hands grabbing the sides of his face gently, Renata pulled him in for a light kiss. One where her lips felt as though they were barely grazing his but the sensation was enough to drive all of James' senses wild. As he kissed her in return, his kiss came across a lot stronger than hers but was just as inviting. And while the two seemed to be caught up in the moment, they didn't hear the sound of Sirius approaching the bedroom until he walked in and clapped his hands together.

Immediately, they pulled away from each other, noting the sly grin on the other man's face.

"Can you two share that house-warming activity later?" he said, bringing both of them to become red. "Harry has spotted something outside that he wants to go explore and he keeps asking "Where's Mummy and Daddy?"

James rolled off of Renata as she quickly pushed herself up, fixing her hair before making her way out of the room to where Harry was calling for one of them. However, on her way out, she took to pushing Sirius into the doorframe for being cheeky. James attempted to throw one of the decorative pillows from the bed at him, but Sirius darted away before he was hit.

Left alone on the bed for a moment, James couldn't help the smile on his face as he heard Harry calling to Renata, telling her all about the bird he had seen outside and wanted to go explore. Looking around, everything seemed to be coming together. His idea of the family he always wanted was coming together every day.

There was just one more thing he needed to do in order to make it complete.

A/N: Thank you cendriia for the wonderful piece yet again! It really did capture what I envisioned it to look like. And for all you reading, what do you think Renata's patronus is? :) I'll dedicate the next chapter to the first person who guesses it right.