And here you say, "We'll be alright,"

I'm gonna trust you, babe,

I'm gonna look in your eyes.

-"The Light," Sara Bareilles

August 2018

"Pipe," said James, heading downstairs on Sunday morning. She sat at the breakfast table using a butter knife to hold her book open while she ate a bowl of cereal. She turned around at the sound of her name.

"We're going to have to move our ice cream appointment up a few hours. Like to ten at the latest," said James, pulling up the chair next to her.

She frowned. "Ten in the morning or at night?"

"This morning," he said.

"That's really weird," said Piper, deadpan.

"True," said James.

She paused like she was waiting for an explanation and then asked, "Why?" She went for another bite of her cereal.

"I'm going to Spain," said James.

This was clearly not the response she had been expecting. She nearly dropped her spoon. Milk sloshed off and onto the pages of her book and James whipped out his wand to dry it before it soaked through. "Why aren't we all going?!" she snapped.

"Work," he explained. "We had to apply for a traveller's apparation license a bit last minute so I didn't know if I was actually going until this morning."

"Okay," said Piper, still looking a bit peeved that James was headed to headed to sunshine and sandy shores while she stayed home. "Ten it is, I guess."

---

Not long after that, she went upstairs to get ready and James took a seat on the living room sofa. Raigan was already there, sat in her favorite chair with her legs crossed. She had a section of the daily prophet out in front of her, open to a page on recent promotions at St. Mungo's. A cup of tea was balanced on the arm of the chair.

"So you're definitely going then," she said, eyes flicking up to him.

He nodded. "Just got word a little bit ago."

"How're you feeling?" she asked. "Nervous?"

James would never understand Raigan's ability to read him. It was frightening. "Not about the work part," he said.

"Just Elise." She nodded, like she knew already.

"Yeah," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her lips together. "Don't be nervous," she said. "You don't need to be."

James sat back and thought about it a while. He really didn't know why he was nervous about Elise. After all, ever since they'd begun talking again, things had gone exceptionally well. So much better than he could have ever hoped. He hadn't told Raigan about what had happened on Monday morning, but he got the feeling she knew something had changed or solidified.

"You," he said, "are the best friend ever."

She shook her head a little. "I just know you is all."

James smiled. "So how do you feel about those decisions?" he asked, nodding to the paper in her hands. Raigan laughed. She had strong opinions about the things that went on at St. Mungo's. He put his legs up on the coffee table and prepared himself to listen. Raigan answered questions like this in the form of a verbal essay equivalent to forty or more inches of parchment.

---

Florean Fortescue's flavor of the week was called Adagio, which had scared Piper at first because she didn't trust flavor names that didn't tell you anything about the flavor. But it turned out to be a creamy strawberry ice cream topped with hardened chocolate and caramel. James decided he'd better forgo his usual plain strawberry cone in lieu of this decadent alternative. He was not disappointed.

It was a very nice day out, and the ice cream shoppe had a fair number of visitors besides themselves already, even though it was only ten in the morning. They took a seat with their ice creams at a table outside and Piper was halfway through her cone before she ever said anything. She had a deep frown on her face the whole time.

"How come you have to go to Spain for work?" she asked. "Aren't you like... not the first on the list for that stuff since you're not really..."

"Yeah," James said vaguely. "I mean I'm probably not the first choice, but I'm also-" He hesitated. He'd just remembered what Raigan had told him, that he'd better tell Piper sooner rather than later. "Well I've been working on this issue specifically so I guess that matters."

He was glad that he wouldn't have to see Raigan for a few days. He didn't want her to have time to bring it up again. He didn't want to have to tell her he'd been presented with exactly the right moment and he hadn't taken advantage of it.

"Oh," said Piper. "Well... I guess that makes sense." She peeled away a piece of the hard chocolate coating and stuck it in her mouth. "How long are you going to be gone?"

"Couple days," said James. "Maybe less. I'm not exactly sure. Whenever we've wrapped things up, I suppose."

He thought Piper was gearing up to ask what exactly he'd been doing, but she didn't. Instead, she said, "You haven't been home a lot this summer."

James felt sick to his stomach all the sudden. "I- yeah," he said. "It's just different with me working. We're used to me being off all summer."

"You always go to work on the weekend too, though, don't you?" she asked.

"Sometimes," James lied. Another opportunity wasted. He lowered his ice cream and tried to come up with a way to say it, but every time he opened his mouth he stopped himself. He didn't know why he was so nervous to tell Piper about Elise. He shouldn't have been. She had liked Elise when they'd met. Piper was, though definitely a drama queen, pretty reasonable about most things. "I'm looking forward to being back at Hogwarts, truthfully. It's a lot more consistent."

"Yeah," said Piper. "Me too."

James finished up his ice cream and put his arm around her shoulders. "I'll bring something back for you, yeah? From Spain."

She laughed it off, but he could tell she was pleased. Piper liked presents.

"And," he added. "I'm gonna miss you. I have missed you."

"Yeah," said Piper again. "Me too."

---

Later that afternoon, James found himself at a resort in Majorca with Elise. It didn't feel much like work at all. Originally, four or five of them were going to come until Regina Taylor, whom James liked less and less with every interaction, made a fuss about being made to give up the rest of her weekend and about not being able to go home in the evenings. Gillespie had come up with the grand idea to send a pair of people in disguise as a couple on holiday, a plan which he seemed to think was pretty original despite the fact that it was just a recycling of his grand idea all the way back in 2005. James and Elise had looked at each other with barely disguised smirks at this and then pretended to be surprised when Gillespie suggested the two of them go, as they were close in age.

So here they were, hopefully adequately disguised with holiday-wear and in James' case, facial hair, because he knew Anniston's daughter from the school. They sat at the edge of the pool on a couple of towels with their backs to the Anniston's who were eating an early dinner around a circular table with a big umbrella.

So far, he hadn't overheard anything too interesting, which didn't surprise him. He didn't expect them to all be conspiring together in broad daylight. They were on a family holiday. From time to time, someone would mention something about their itinerary and Elise would jot it down, just in case, but mostly the Anniston's just chatted about the nice weather and how pretty the pool area was and how many people were still out and about at this time in the evening.

He and Elise sat there and sometimes held hands and sometimes talked.

It felt nice not to feel like they were hiding from anyone, not to be secretive. Or at least, not to be secretive about their relationship. James smiled to himself at the thought. The last time they'd been undercover this way, it had been the hand holding and the coupley things that were fake, the relief had been turning off the act when they left the bed and breakfast. But this time, the coupley stuff was real and the relief was the fact that they did not have to hide it - from Piper or Elise's coworkers or anyone. He wondered whether after a taste of it, she might start to let people find out.

A breeze blew the shorter bits of Elise's hair out of her ponytail - she'd worn it lower today and the wisps at the front barely reached the elastic. James lifted a hand and brushed a lock out of her face. She turned her head and he thought about kissing her, but then Anniston said something behind them about going to visit the Banys Arabs, which his daughter sounded less than thrilled about, and the moment passed. Elise wrote "Banys Arabs" down on her list and tapped it twice with her index finger, giving James a significant look. They had a hunch that anything off the resort property had a better chance of providing them with information.

"I don't know what the first step is," Elise whispered, uncrossing her legs so she could hang her feet in the pool.

James thought it over a while, only barely listening to Mrs. Anniston describe in great detail all the things she loved on a salad. He looked down at Elise's legs, smooth and pale, a couple of dark freckles scattered across her skin at random. "Maybe," said James very quietly, leaning over on the pretense of kissing Elise. "We need to see if we can track down the person who's supposedly in possession of the-"

Elise closed the small gap between them and kissed him before he could say aloud what they thought they were looking for. Just in case. It didn't last long though.

"Ew. I hate kissing you with a beard," she said as she pulled back. James cracked a grin. He hadn't been too impressed with his appearance, either. He didn't think it suited him. He had always been clean shaven. "But yeah, good call."

He kissed her again, just to make her mad, and she pulled away wrinkling her nose.

"We should've just changed your hair color," she whispered.

---

Their hotel room was huge, nearly twice the size of the bedroom at Elise's house and all decorated in coral and aqua blue. There were starfish and shells in jars on the dresser, large gilded frames surrounding brightly colored underwater photography, and a bright white comforter on the king size bed in the middle of the room. By the window were a pair of coral chairs with backs like seashells and the curtains, half open, were printed with whimsical palm trees.

"Wow," said Elise, dropping her bag down.

"It's like deja vu, isn't it?" said James, sticking his thumbs in his pockets. He crossed to the window and said, "Ocean view and everything."

Elise laughed a little. "It's sort of a step up from that little bed and breakfast though, isn't it?" She came to stand by him and he wrapped his arm low around her waist. They looked out at the view. The sun had just started to set and the sky was transitioning from blue to pink. The water was so light and green. "It's different," she said.

James nodded. "Not much like home."

Elise made a sound that he thought was maybe a laugh, but when he looked down at her she looked both nervous and touched. He couldn't think why. He hasn't said anything particularly deep. She took a deep breath like she was gearing up to say something and then she let it out and turned away from the window. James watched her cross back to her bag, unzip it, and pull out her notebook, a quill, and some deep purple ink. She sat down cross legged on the bed, opened up to a fresh page and, looking down at the paper, not at him, she said, "You think of it as home?"

James ran a hand through his hair while he processed what she meant. "I mean," he started. Her frown confused him. He wished he knew what she wanted his answer to be. "I mean it still sometimes feels that way."

She rolled her lips together and looked down at her notebook. She tapped the end of her quill against it a few times. "That's good," she said finally, and James breathed a sigh of relief. Elise was always so difficult to read. She felt things so strongly and she fixated on them, but instead of expressing how she felt, she frowned and she grew very quiet, and she internalized it, no matter if she was happy or sad or angry or anything else. It was a blessing, really, that she said what she meant. Otherwise he would've had no chance.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, half next to her and half behind her. He thought she seemed a little embarrassed at having admitted that his flippant little comment meant something to her.

She scooted a little so she sat perpendicular to him, glanced his way for a brief moment and looked back at the blank page. "Get rid of the beard, please," she said.

James started to smile. He reached for his wand and reversed the spell he'd used that afternoon to change his appearance. "Better?" he asked.

She smiled a little, but kept her eyes down. She drew her finger along the edge of her page and pressed it down at the corner. James put his hand on her knee. "Are you thinking about work, or?"

Her smile grew. "No," she admitted.

"Okay, so..." he reached out to tuck a loose bit of hair behind her ear, fingers brushing her cheek. Finally, she lifted her eyes. James raised his eyebrows at her impatiently and she scoffed, but leaned forward to kiss him. Minutes went by, probably. James wasn't actually keeping an eye on his watch. Finally, Elise pulled back. She was frowning again, but a different frown this time.

"Do you think we can get ahold of the census?" she asked.

James rolled his eyes. "You are something else," he said.

But Elise was focused now. It happened that fast. "Or do you think they won't have information on wizards?"

"Maybe we should just focus on Anniston tonight and... getting ourselves organized. And then tomorrow we can go to the Spanish ministry and see if we can find anything out."

Elise stared at him for a long time, lips pressed together. "Yeah," she said. "Okay.

---

James found it very difficult to feel excited about getting up that next morning and heading to Madrid where the Spanish Ministry was located. As much as he loved rainy Ireland and their foggy, rock-covered beach, there was something undeniably tempting about the turquoise Spanish waters and the bright morning sun.

James watched wistfully out the window at the tourists hurrying out early to snag a coveted spot on the shoreline for their beach day, toting coolers full of food and drinks, and large, brightly colored bags bursting with towels, sunscreen, shovels, buckets, and water toys.

Elise, of course, was ready to go at near the crack of dawn, so James forced himself to shrug on his robes - far too heavy for this climate - and they disapparated together.

The Spanish Ministry of Magic was quite different from the modern, glass and black tiled architecture of their own ministry. It was a much less open space with a lot of twisting, turning corridors and a whole lot of color. The floors were tiled blue with four-petaled white flowers and green centers, and the walls were painted a terracotta orange. Every few feet, they had hung artwork in elaborate frames featuring all sorts of scenes from famous moment's in Spanish magical history to picturesque old villages and technicolor renditions of magical creatures native to Spain.

Elise's status back home allowed them to bypass much of the security put in place for the average visitor, so within minutes of their arrival, they found themselves standing in the auror's department being told by a crabby secretary that they couldn't speak to the head of department without filing a request which would be answered in three to five business days. The office was very unlike the rest of the ministry, just one big open room with two doors along the back wall leading to a conference room and the head of department's private office. Everyone else's desks were out in the middle of the space, open to each other. It seemed like a very collaborative environment.

Elise was in the middle of trying to explain why they could not wait three to five business days and that they needed to meet more urgently, today, ideally, when James noticed one of the aurors nearby stand up, eyes in their direction, and edge towards the second of the two doors in the back of the room. The plate on the woman's desk read, based on James' rough translation of the Spanish, "Secretary of International Communications." She knocked at the door, and a moment later, a very tall man appeared behind it. They spoke quietly and James saw them look in his and Elise's direction. They exchanged a few more words before the tall man headed in their direction.

"It's alright, Camila. I will speak to them," he said kindly. The secretary, Camila, seemed put off by this. James got the impression she enjoyed giving people a hard time.

"Santiago Mendoza," he said, holding his hand to Elise first, and then to James. "Head of the department." Mendoza seemed even taller up close. He passed up James by at least four inches and James was not accustomed to feeling short. He also had a very impressively groomed beard and mustache, and though the tone in which he spoke was quite friendly, James couldn't help but find him intimidating. They introduced themselves and he led them back to his office to chat in private.

"So sorry about her," said Mendoza as they settled down around his desk. "She's good at her job, but she is a bit of stickler for protocol sometimes."

"Not a problem," said Elise, although James knew perfectly well she had considered it a big problem. Without waiting for more, she jumped into their story. "So, as I said, I'm a Senior Executive Auror at the Ministry in Britain. You've probably heard about the muggle baiting incidents we've been having recently."

"Yes, we've kept updated," said Mendoza, folding his hands on the desk. He frowned. "Do you have reason to believe Spain will be affected?"

"Not directly, no," she said. He looked relieved. "However, we've been... or rather, James has been," she corrected, glancing sideways at him, "tailing one of our suspects regularly and we fear he might be electing for goblin involvement in the movement. This particular suspect happens to be on holiday this week with his family in Majorca. We don't know anything for sure of course, but we suspect he may have chosen this location in particular to track down a certain goblin-made item that's been passed down through a wizard family in the area."

"And what would he want with this item, exactly?" asked Mendoza.

"He gives them as gifts," said James. "Returns them to the goblins."

"You're aware of how goblin's view the items they sell, I'm sure," added Elise.

"Yes," said Mendoza. "As a loan, not a purchase."

"Exactly," said Elise. "Now the possibility of his wanting to locate the item is definitely a concern, and we're hoping you can connect us in some way to the family in question here. Any way we can prevent goblin-involvement is a priority for us. But I'd also like to offer that we join forces and have a little heightened security around the resort the suspect is staying at. We can provide information to your aurors if you're willing to assist. I don't anticipate any problems, while he is in your country, but as he is connected to some rather awful crimes and the resort happens to be a muggle establishment, I think it's best to play it safe."

Mendoza considered her a long while in silence. "I do not wish to involve my staff in what is largely a British problem at this time," he decided.

James saw Elise's lips tighten, but it happened so quickly he could almost have imagined it. "Of course," she said brightly. James, only because he knew her well, was able to pick out the hint of sass in her tone. "If you change your mind, certainly let us know. We're only aiming to protect your citizens and tourists. Anyway, why don't we share with you the list of names we have and see if you can't connect us to anyone so we can let you get on with your day."

And with that, she pulled a crisp piece of paper from inside her notebook and passed it over to Mendoza. On it, James could read a much neater copy of the information he had copied down himself last week from the goblin-made item registry.

Mendoza scanned the list and coming across the most recent name he said, "Ah, yes. Maria." "I'll just lead you over to her department, it's not far. And then I really must get back to work."

"What, she works here?" asked Elise in surprise.

"Department of Magical Development and Research," he said with a nod. Elise scrambled up from her chair looking at James with an expression that resembled exactly how he felt: they could not have been luckier.

---

Maria Valderas-Garza was a petite, dark-haired woman with very sweet brown eyes. James estimated she was in her mid forties. She didn't have a desk space, so she suggested they chat in the courtyard outside. As they walked, without ever asking why they wanted to speak with her, she told them all about her work. The department she worked in turned out to be a sort of laboratory where they tested spells and potions that people in the community submitted for review to be given official safety clearings and national backing. After this, they might be added to spell books and textbooks and safely recommended for daily use.

James wondered why their own ministry didn't have a similar office. They usually just let unperfected spells and potions work their way into common use by word of mouth and once it was clear that bit of magic was there to stay, it'd be added to books and no one ever really knew the way it had started, sort of like the trendy language kids used. Someday, somewhere, someone must have come up with it, but no one ever knew who had done it and no one ever asked.

"So it really keeps us busy, as you can imagine," she told them as the rounded a last corner in the winding path they'd taken. Up ahead, James could see a doorway leading to a sunny area with a stone patio, enclosed in the middle of the building but open to the sky. "Although we do go through a slow period from time to time as it's quite expensive to put your idea up for official government approval. We were getting so many barely-meditated requests at first we had to put a price on it so people would take it seriously. Otherwise we'd waste all our time on spells and things that weren't really ready to be considered. Practical jokes too, oh my. We had a number of really disastrous situations, people submitting things with incorrect information about the prospected results or just made up incantations they'd never even tried. It was really a mess."

She pushed through the door and took a deep breath, presumably to go on, but Elise, who seemed to have been waiting for this opportunity, jumped in before she could.

"Sounds like a fascinating career, though. I'm sure it's very fulfilling. Anyway, I believe you were told who we were?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Aurors from the UK," she said, and then she stopped and giggled. "But I do seem to have forgotten your names, oh dear. I am dreadful with them."

"Elise Walsh," she told Maria, with a patient smile. "And this is..."

"James Mason," James finished. Maria seemed like a smart enough woman, especially given the sort of work she did, but she struck James as a little silly. He was used to being surrounded by very strong, confident, sharp personalities. He seeked them out.

"Well, why don't we sit down over here and we'll catch you up on why we're here," said Elise, steering Maria towards a white ceramic picnic table with blue, red, and yellow designs. They took their seats around it and Elise opened up her notebook to a blank page. James got distracted by how pretty she looked just then with the sun shining on her bright hair and her eyes downcast.

"So," said Elise as she finished writing the date on the top corner of her paper. James watched her lips move. He couldn't help it. "As you know, we're aurors from the UK and we've been having quite a bit of trouble with an anonymous group of wizards who want to overthrow the International Statute of Secrecy and take power over muggles. They aren't making much headway in that direction yet, but they've caused quite a stir up over the last year or so with these muggle-baiting incidents popping up everywhere. We assume they're hoping the more times they reveal themselves to muggles, the harder it will be for us to continue covering it all up and ensuring that everyone's memory was modified properly. News travels so fast with muggle technology, you know.

"But anyway, that's less important to our visit. Just some background for you. See another priority these people have is gaining enough leverage on their side that when they do make a major move to overthrow the statute... assuming we haven't put an end to things before that point... they'll have a fighting chance. They're outnumbered by far right now. It seems to be a pretty select group. But they're trying to get goblin involvement which would be disastrous, as I'm sure you can imagine." Elise paused and took a deep breath, looking pointedly at Maria.

"That's where you come in," she said. "One of our suspects is on holiday in Majorca at the moment. You live there?"

"Yes," said Maria, brief for the first time since they'd met her. She kept blinking like doing so would help her take all this information in.

"This particular suspect works for Gringotts, which you may or may not know is run by goblins. Now we believe he may have chosen this destination specifically in order to obtain a certain goblin-made object which he hopes to return to a pair of the goblins he works with there and has been trying to win over for sometime. Bribery isn't usually the most effective tactic when it comes to goblins, but in the case of a goblin-made item that has been passed down by a wizarding family for generations... it's worth pausing for. If even one goblin were to join over to their side because of something like this, it would start to tip the scale and open the door up to more and more influence on their side. So..." Elise paused again and pulled out the information she had copied down from James' notes.

"Does this look like your family history?"

Maria scanned the list looking suddenly frightened. "Are we in danger?" she asked in lieu of answering Elise's question.

"I doubt he'd aiming to harm you or your family," said Elise reassuringly. "Still, can you tell me anything about this dagger? Is it still in your family's possession."

Maria nodded slowly.

"It is somewhere secure," James said, hoping to confirm.

"On display in my living room," she said, which James didn't find very reassuring. "It's a family heirloom."

"Is your house secure?" asked Elise.

"I don't- I mean, I'm not sure. It's a very safe community, where I live. We'd never have any trouble usually."

"Is there anyone home during the day?" asked James.

"My daughters," she said. "On their summer holiday." James could see her starting to work things up in her mind to her daughters being in danger. He didn't think it would come to that, but in any case, it was both good and bad that the dagger was in such a matter-of-fact location. James had a feeling that Anniston was expecting something a bit more complex and hopefully that would mean he'd overthink the execution of whatever plan he had in mind.

"Don't worry about them," Elise told her. "We'll make sure you and your family are safe. I'd advise you to keep that dagger in a more secure location, though. Use an Indetectable Enchantment or something."

"But what does he want it for?" asked Maria. "It's ours."

Elise sighed and brushed aside a loose bit of hair that never seemed to stay in her ponytail very long. "Goblins believe that the items they sell or give to wizards are on loan to that wizard only," she explained. "They expect the item to be returned when that wizard dies. Not passed down through a family. You've done nothing wrong, of course, it's just a difference in our species. But our suspect hopes that by returning this item to the goblins, they'll see that as a sign of respect for their culture, feel grateful and more likely to trust him, and eventually, he can wear them down into joining his cause. We, of course, want to stop this from ever being a possibility and therefore it is crucial the dagger remains safe. We cannot let there be any goblin involvement in this issue or it will spread that much more quickly."

Quite contrary to the way things had started out, Maria seemed at a loss for words. James looked from her pale, frightened face, to Elise's determined one. His stomach did a flip when Elise made eye contact with him. He had a sinking feeling she expected something from him but he didn't have a clue what it was.

"Perhaps..." said Maria nervously. Her voice didn't so girlish anymore, just scared. "Perhaps I should go home now and move it."

Elise turned her attention away from James and he couldn't help but think she looked annoyed. "Yes, that would be best. I'd also advise you put a few enchantments on your home to make it more difficult for him to find. We can help you with that if you need it."

"I think I can handle it, I'll uhm... " Maria stood abruptly. "I just want to move it and check on my girls."

"Of course," Elise stood as well. "Listen, here's my business card," she said, passing across a silver embossed card with Elise's name and how best to contact her. "I want you to tell us immediately if anything happens, if you have more information that could be helpful, or if you need anything at all, alright? We're going to try to tail our suspect as much as possible so he shouldn't ever bother you or your family."

"Yes," said Maria, taking the card. "And am I... can I know the name of- of-"

"Jim Anniston," said Elise.

Maria took a few steps back, her brown eyes wide. "Okay," she said. "Okay."

"Thank you very much for your time. Please don't hesitate to ask if anything comes up," Elise said, and then Maria was gone.

Elise watched the spot where she'd disapparated for a moment and then said, rather shortly James thought, "Let's go. We should get back on Anniston now."

"Yeah," said James, trying and failing to get rid of that sick feeling that he had done something wrong. Her demeanor had changed so suddenly.

---

The afternoon was annoyingly uneventful. James would have liked to have had something to do other than watch Anniston not doing anything suspicious. Elise's affection seemed very contrived all day, and as much as James wanted to attribute it to the fact that he was bearded again, which she didn't like, he had a feeling this was not the case. He couldn't focus on anything else.

He had been doing so well all summer, he had not messed up yet, and now, just when he thought things were going so well, something had happened. But what? Out in the middle of the crowded pool area, trying not to talk too much so they could keep an ear on the Anniston's conversation, just in case, James never got an opportunity to ask until the'd finally gone up to bed that night, tired from being in the sun all day.

Elise was exceptionally quiet as she got ready for bed. He knew this was in part because she felt frustrated by how little progress they had made, but he also knew that wasn't the only issue. She joined him in the bed but instead of cuddling up under his arm like usual, she lay on her side, facing away, not close enough to touch.

James stomach started squeezing in on itself again. He swallowed hard, but his mouth had gone very dry. He looked at her.

"E," he said.

She didn't answer. He waited too long to speak again. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," said Elise with a shrug.

"Oh," said James quietly. He waited for a response but when it didn't seem like she was going to offer anything else, he added, "It just seemed like you were preoccupied about something."

Elise glanced somewhere in his general direction but didn't roll over. "I'm fine," was all she said.

James waited and waited and waited for her to decide to tell him what was wrong, but it never came. He reached out and was just able to graze her upper back with the tips of his fingers. "I feel like you've been upset with me all day," he said.

"I'm not upset with you," she said, but he did not feel relieved.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Then why are you acting like you are?"

She inhaled and then abruptly rolled onto her back, staring straight up at the ceiling. "I just hate it when you act like you can't make any decisions or say anything when we're working."

"What?" asked James, surprised. He didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't this.

"You never say anything," she continued. "All morning you said like two things total and you just leave it all to me and it makes me feel so stupid because we show up there together and I'm the only one talking and then you want to hold my hand or something and you just keep staring at me and it just looks like I'm toting around my boyfriend for fun. We're at work, James. We're not on holiday. The fact that we aren't just coworkers doesn't matter. You don't have to act like it all the time."

"We used to," said James, his voice very quiet. Elise had never snapped at him like this. Things had been shaky at the end, but in an entirely different way. He felt nauseous and embarrassed.

"Yeah and look how that turned out," said Elise. Her voice started out sharp, but this time, it faded to something softer and more sad. James didn't know what to say.

Several minutes went by. "Sorry," said Elise finally. She didn't really sound it, but then Elise had never had the easiest time apologizing to people. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I didn't realize I hadn't said anything," said James. "To be honest, sometimes I feel like I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't think I ever made as good an auror as I thought I did."

Elise kept quiet. He could see her trying to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry for making you feel stupid," he added. "I'll try to be less of- I mean, I'll try and do better at my job in the future. I know that's what we're here for."

Another few minutes of quiet went by. Elise had turned her head away from him and he thought she was going to sleep. He felt wide awake. "You know whose idea it was for you to come back at all?" Elise said, just when he'd thought the conversation was definitely over.

"Steve's, wasn't it?"

Elise shook her head. "Nothing's ever actually his idea, is it? We needed some extra help, even for a short period of a time, but we couldn't really afford to hire another full time employee, and we didn't have the time to train someone new, anyway. I mean, we don't even have another office. You know that." She glanced at him and James nodded.

"So I said we should look into someone who'd retired or changed careers and Potter was going to ask Weasley, but I knew he'd never do it. That joke shop keeps him so busy." She stopped and took a deep breath. "You were the first person I thought of, but I didn't bring you up, because I was dreading the idea of having you around again. My mom had something earlier that week that got me thinking about you a lot for the first time in a while and it was really hard, and I didn't think I could handle you being here, but then that incident with the manifesto in the Daily Prophet happened and you were so involved, talking to Gillespie all the time and I was so mad I hadn't been in the office when you came by. I was curious you know. I hadn't even seen you in ages.

"I kept trying to get more out of him about what you'd said and what you were up to and eventually I sort of mentioned something to Gillespie offhand about how it sounded like you were trying to get back in. And he thought it was his idea to invite you back for the summer. Works out perfectly that you already have the time off,doesn't it? But it wasn't his idea."

She looked at him again and James began to relax. He didn't really understand why she was telling him all this, but he felt better somehow.

"But you wouldn't talk to me at first," he said.

"Obviously," she said, smiling a tiny bit. James whole body went limp with relief. "I'd realized at that point what an idiotic mistake I'd made thinking I wanted to see you again. But you've always been persistent."

"Only when it's worth it," said James. Elise smiled a little bigger. Together, they took a long slow breath in and out.

"I'll try not to act like a newbie tomorrow," said James. "You're right about that."

Elise shook her head. "No, it's not a big deal. I get it. I sometimes forget how long you were away."

James rolled onto his side. He couldn't wait any longer. He reached across and pulled Elise into his arms, pressed his lips to the top of her head, and said, "Sorry for staring at you so much too. I just love you is all."

"Love you too," she whispered.