Unlocking the door to their new flat in central London, Francesca couldn't resist smiling brighter than the sun. It may have taken them a while to save up enough money, but it was all worth it. Carrying one of the boxes marked "kitchen" inside, Francesca placed it down on the countertop, preparing to arrange the crockery when warm hands lifted her from behind.

"Hey, put me down!" she squealed between giggles, "Remus! It's not funny!"

"Oh, but it is, my love," he replied with a cheeky smirk, smothering her with kisses as he spun her around.

Francesca wrapped her arms around his waist as he put her gently back, hugging him tightly.

Looking around the small apartment, she whispered into his cardigan," This is going to work, isn't it?"

Remus took her head in his hands, kissing her forehead as if she were made of  the most delicate crystals in all the world," As long as you are here with me, we can make anything work, Francesca."

"Francesca?"

"Francesca!"

Leaping from her desk, she banged her head against an open cupboard, grimacing backwards as she held her temple. Refocusing her eyes on the darkness that creeps further as winter resurfaced, Francesca apologised profusely to Mr Blott, who had been trying to gain her attention.

"Nice dream?" he asked sarcastically, the brim of his glasses resting far down his nose.

"Sorry, Mr Blott. Must have stayed up later than I realised."

"Better have been a damn good book if you stayed up all night," handing her a casement of books, Ted pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose," Be a dear and set these up in the window.

Scanning over the front cover, Francesca furrowed her eyebrows," Who am I? by Gilderoy Lockhart- I thought he was in St Mungos?"

"Lucky us, he can't remember a thing about himself but still manages to make it a bestseller," Ted remarked, returning to the storeroom.

Francesca made light work of her task. With a quick Scourgify, the window display was sparkly clean. It took her only 15 minutes to display the order of the autobiography, leaving her mind to wander back to her dream, or could she even call it a dream?

"Something on your mind, dear?"

A soft smile appeared on her lips as Francesca glimpsed up at the portrait of Mrs Hiberna Flourish. She was Theodore's grandmother, who had opened the bookshop with her husband almost a century previous. While she was not the most accustomed to the ways of modern times, she always seemed to know what needed to be said; even if Ted complained, she scared away the customers.

"I'm afraid I might be going mad," Francesca let out, sinking into her chair.

"I hardly see why that's a problem. The best of us are mad, bonkers and slightly cuckoo," Hiberna tutted as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress.

"But what if it's more than that?" Francesca exasperatedly said," Have you ever had a dream that so lifelike- so real that it couldn't be?"

Pondering the question, Hiberna responded, "I can't say I have, but maybe it is a memory you've pushed away?"

"But it can't be!"

"I don't follow, dear," Hiberna asked her, sitting up from her chair to move closer to the foreground.

Pacing the length of her desk, Francesca failed to quiet the incoherent mess that was her thoughts, "I haven't talked to o-or seen Remus Lupin since graduation, but my mind is trying to trick me into believing we had a life together."

"Hmm," Hiberna hummed," Maybe you are mad."

"Mrs Flourish!" Francesca exclaimed as the portrait stifled a giggle, retreating to her solitude.

What was she going to do?

Before she could answer that, the bell above the door rang out, and Francesca rose from her desk to greet the customer.

"Hello, how can I help- Jack?!"

Francesca rushed over to the boy, covered in bruises and cuts. Scanning him over for any fatal injuries, she brought him into a hug, rubbing his hair.

"Oh, Jack, what happened?" she asked, worry lacing each syllable.

"My room was messy," he mumbled.

Francesca felt her shoulder dampen, her heart aching as Jack quickly sobbed in her arms. She didn't dare speak, allowing the boy to let out the emotions he had bottled up for so long. It was the least she could do to help. After a while, Jack pulled away, rubbing his eyes dry with the cuff of his leave.

Francesca used this moment to heal his wounds, grabbing two cups of tea from the staff room while she picked up an icepack for his bruised eye. This wasn't the first time he had come into work beaten and bruised. Mr Taylor was a notoriously violent and vicious man, making him one of the Ministry's best Auror's next to Alaister Moody.

Many rumours sprung up about his temper, even going as far as to accuse him of murdering his wife, Annabelle, who died after a fall down their stairs. Francesca had tried to confront Mr Taylor about his treatment of Jack, but all he did was laugh in her face, threatening her with a faith worse than death if she butted into his life ever again.

"Your safe here, Jack. Never forget that" she said softly," That bastard can't hurt you while I'm here."

"Can I stay with you tonight?" Jack asked, finishing his tea.

"Of course, dear. You can stay as long as you want."

After putting his cup back in the staffroom, Jack wandered off to start his work tidying shelves and reorganising books for the evening. Taking a deep breath, Francesca was about to start working herself when a voice from behind her frightened her.

"You still up for that chat?"

Spinning around, the witch couldn't help but smile at the sight of Remus Lupin, butterflies filling her stomach.

"Remus! What a pleasant surprise," she greeted him, exchanging hugs," So, the kids have kicked you out already?"

Remus chuckled as he replied," Not yet, it seems, but I wouldn't put it past them. I was finished early, so I thought maybe we could grab a coffee?"

Pondering the question, with a thumbs up of approval from Jack, Francesca accio'd her coat and linked arms with Remus, " I have a better idea."

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- Bit of a shorter chapter but I wanted to focus a bit more attention on Jack and Francesca's re;lationship! Let me know what you think by voting or commenting x

*The_lost_flower*