As if overnight, London had transitioned from the bone-chilling cold and damp winter into the gentle, life-giving warmth and spectacular, vibrant bloom of spring.
The comfortable, refreshing spring breeze rippled and danced across the surface of the Thames waters that stretched like a liquid mirror beneath the cloudless blue sky.
On the opposite bank of the river, the cheerful, carefree laughter of a group of foreign tourists visiting London for the first time suddenly pierced through the peaceful afternoon air and startled Louise Williams from her deep, melancholy daze as she sat motionless on the balcony.
She watched those tourists, her eyes following their leaving figures as they strolled along the riverside path, until they gradually became blurred shadows dancing at the very edge of her vision before disappearing completely around a distant bend in the river.
The potted flowers on the balcony had already sprouted fresh, tender new shoots and unfurled their petals to the warming sun, swaying gracefully and hypnotically in the life-filled warm breeze.
But Louise just glanced at them with empty, disinterested eyes before losing interest completely and looking away with a heavy sigh. She turned her attention toward the glass door that separated the luxurious bedroom from the peaceful balcony, gazing with growing melancholy at the somewhat sorrowful face that was reflected back at her.
Without anyone needing to tell her, Louise knew that the sensational hot topic and speculation caused by that evil organization would continue to persist and dominate conversations throughout the entire wizarding world for many weeks, perhaps even months to come.
Bryan Watson's reputation would undoubtedly climb yet another significant rung on the ladder of fame and respect because of this latest incident. In a sense, the wizarding world seemed to be no different from her own world.
But for her personally, everything was now over.
Ever since returning to the familiar streets of London after their adventures across Europe, Bryan had placed her in the same Auror safe house where they had originally housed her during those first confusing days when she had known nothing about magic.
Now, after everything she had witnessed and experienced, she finally understood exactly what Aurors were.
Although her direct involvement in the investigation of Fraser's death had lasted only ten days, as a journalist, Louise knew instinctively that information was absolutely crucial to understanding any situation. During those precious ten days, her mind had managed to form a preliminary outline of the wizarding world.
Click—
The soft sound of metal against metal echoed through the quiet afternoon air as Louise turned the door handle and walked into the bedroom.
"How absolutely extravagant," she muttered under her breath, looking at the room's classical luxury furnishings.
This magnificent villa was located in one of London's most prestigious areas along the scenic Thames, where property values soared to astronomical heights and only the wealthiest could afford to live.
The cost of purchasing such a prime piece of real estate would probably represent a staggering figure that would make most people's heads spin in disbelief, but the wizards had actually bought it without apparent concern simply to serve as a temporary Auror base.
This casual display of wealth made Louise marvel once again at the seemingly limitless financial resources possessed by the wizards.
"But how do they handle all the complicated identity issues and legal paperwork?" Louise wondered aloud, but then she shook her head, driving the question from her increasingly tired mind. "Magic can solve everything anyway, can't it?"
Plop—
Louise collapsed with complete exhaustion onto the incredibly soft four-poster bed, her arm coming up to cover her eyes as if she could somehow block out not just the light but all the painful thoughts and emotions that tried to overwhelm her.
The constant traveling and emotional turmoil of the past ten days seemed to have drained and exhausted every last bit of Louise's physical and mental energy. Even though she had slept in late that morning, she still felt extremely tired and emotionally drained.
Every single cell in her body seemed to be protesting and demanding more rest, more time to recover from the incredible experiences that had pushed her far beyond her normal limits.
But no matter how desperately hard Louise tried to quiet her racing thoughts and sleep, she absolutely could not fall asleep—Bryan's voice and his final words to her kept circling in her mind.
"It makes no sense."
This was what Bryan had said to her before departure, when faced with Louise's strong demand to accompany him. Now, she finally understood why Bryan had said that to her.
"It's really so unfair," Louise's soft, trembling voice echoed in the silent room, her arm pressed tightly against her tear-filled eyes as she tried unsuccessfully to hold back the overwhelming tide of emotions.
Bang!
A sharp, crisp sound suddenly appeared in the quiet villa. Louise, who had been lying completely motionless on the bed for well over an hour, immediately sprang up upon hearing this sound.
Her recent experiences over the past few intense days had made it very clear to her exactly what this particular sound meant.
Thud, thud, thud—
Sure enough, just as she had expected, footsteps came from somewhere outside her room, echoing through the villa's corridors. The footsteps grew steadily clearer and more obvious as they approached, finally coming to a complete stop outside her bedroom door.
Then, after a moment of silence, the door was knocked.
Upon hearing knock, Louise's heartbeat began to accelerate rapidly. She clutched her sleeves tightly, and uncontrollably showed a trace of fear.
"May I come in, Louise?" came Bryan's gentle voice from outside the door.
After a long, heavy silence during which Louise struggled to find her voice and gather her courage, she finally gave her consent in a slightly hoarse voice.
Louise stood at the head of the bed, her hands clenched tightly together in front of her as she tried to control their trembling, looking toward the door. Her eyes, now reddened from suppressed tears and sleepless hours of worry showed clear resistance or rather fear of what was to come.
"Are you completely finished with all your important business?" Louise spoke first before Bryan could say anything, her voice was carefully controlled but still unable to hide the indescribable unease and tension that showed clearly in her expression.
"Oh, not quite—" Bryan replied with that usual gentle smile as he entered the room. "Actually, there are quite a few rather troublesome matters still left to resolve. Many influential people in the wizarding community are making urgent suggestions to me, hoping that I'll agree to personally preside over the upcoming trials of those captured dark wizards, but I simply don't have that much time and energy to devote to such lengthy and politically complex issue.
The latest news from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries says that my student Hermione has recovered from her injuries, but I still need to go see her personally. Also, you should remember Onesto Pastore, whom I had Kingsley send back to London for treatment?
He's currently still a patient in the hospital's long-term care ward. If it's at all possible, I'd very much like to find a way to make him completely normal again and restore his memories.
Meanwhile, Hogwarts School is currently organizing a large magical competition that has drawn participants from schools across Europe, and the date for the second competition is rapidly approaching. There are countless matters waiting for my attention and approval. And let's not forget that my regular teaching schedule has also fallen significantly behind due to all these recent events."
Bryan sighed with genuine weariness and shook his head in a gesture of helpless resignation that made him seem more human and vulnerable than Louise had ever seen him before.
Listening to Bryan's rambling complaints and the overwhelming list of responsibilities that awaited him in his normal life—a life that she would have no part in—Louise pressed her lips together tightly to prevent them from trembling.
The sharp fear that had been gripping her heart began to fade slightly as she realized this might be their last normal conversation, but she still found herself unable to say anything meaningful, the words were caught in her throat like thorns.
Seeing the way the girl had become so reserved and withdrawn, Bryan felt his own heart become somewhat heavy. He wanted to say something comforting, something that might ease the pain he could see in her eyes, but every word that came to mind seemed to stick in his throat, refusing to be spoken because they would all be lies or false hopes.
Just as he had said—it would make no sense, it was all meaningless now.
"This entire experience has been exactly like living in the most vivid and wonderful dream imaginable," Louise suddenly smiled and said softly after a long silence during which both of them seemed lost in their own thoughts and memories. "Now it's finally time to wake up and return to reality."
Louise raised her bright eyes to meet his gaze as she gathered the courage for what she knew she had to ask. "Does... does the process of memory deletion hurt very much?"
"No, not at all," Bryan smiled with gentle reassurance. "There's just a small statistical chance that it might make someone become slightly demented or confused for a short period afterward.
Ah, but of course, you know that my magical skills are quite superb—I should definitely be able to eliminate such risks completely. Even if something unfortunate and completely unexpected were to happen, it doesn't matter. I have considerable assets accumulated over the years, certainly enough to cover any necessary compensation for damages."
Seeing the girl actually giggle softly at his deliberately light-hearted jest, Bryan's expression became even more gentle than before.
When Louise grew quiet again, a new kind of courage began gleaming determinedly in her bright, beautiful eyes like stars emerging in a darkening sky, Bryan continued in the same soft voice:
"Kingsley will handle everything that comes next. He'll return Fraser's body to you and your family in a reasonable and believable way, complete with proper official excuses and documentation that will satisfy any questions. You and your family will also receive a sum of money as financial compensation for Muggles who were unfortunately harmed by the actions of wizards."
Louise nodded lightly, though her face immediately clouded over with gloom once more.
The cheerful scenery outside the large windows—the blooming flowers, the sparkling river, the laughing tourists—seemed powerless to dispel the sadness and sense of loss that was filling every corner of the room.
"Can I..." After a long moment of heavy silence during which she seemed to be gathering every ounce of her remaining courage, Louise looked up into Bryan's eyes. "Can I... not forget you?"
Noticing the trace of apology and regret that flashed quickly across Bryan's face before he could hide it, Louise quickly explained with urgency: "I mean when I first met you—at that subway station in the city center! Just that first meeting, nothing more!"
Bryan didn't answer immediately. Finally, seeing the desperate pleading in Louise's eyes and suddenly realizing that Louise had completely misunderstood the reason for his hesitation, Bryan nodded.
"That's no problem, Louise. So... is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Louise became hesitant, her composure wavering as she apparently still had some deeply personal and unresolved feelings that she was struggling to express.
"I'll do my absolute best to help you achieve whatever it is," Bryan said with sincere gentleness.
"Can you..." Bryan's promise seemed to give Louise some much-needed courage, making her feel braver. She held her breath as a shy blush slowly appeared across her pretty cheeks, but she still managed to maintain eye contact and look into Bryan's eyes. "Can you... close your eyes for just a moment?"
Even Bryan's breathing seemed to stop completely for a moment. He gazed intently at Louise, whose eyes held such careful, hopeful expectation mixed with vulnerability and fear of rejection, watching as that bright light of hope gradually began to dim as the seconds ticked by without a response.
Finally, just before the light could completely fade from her eyes, he nodded and slowly closed his eyes.
Louise's heart immediately leaped to her throat, beating so wildly and frantically that she could feel it throughout her entire body. Her racing heartbeat was so intense and overwhelming that it even made her feel slightly faint and dizzy.
She could hardly believe that Bryan had actually agreed to her request. In that instant, bright golden sunlight finally managed to stream through the curtains into the dim bedroom, illuminating everything with warm, hopeful light.
Biting her lower lip, the girl's cheeks flushed red like drops of blood. With trembling determination, she rose slowly up on her tiptoes and began moving closer to him. As their heated breaths began to mingle in the narrowing space between them, Louise also closed her eyes, surrendering herself completely to this moment.
Perhaps what finally touched in that magical instant were lips meeting lips in the gentlest of kisses, perhaps it was just the tip of a nose brushing against warm skin, or perhaps it was something even more fleeting and ethereal.
Louise opened her eyes to see two mesmerizing purple moons that seemed to bloom and expand before her vision, their hypnotic depths instantly consuming her consciousness and pulling her gently into the painless darkness of forgotten dreams...
*******************************
For More Chapters; patreon.com/FicFrenzy