"That bad, eh?" Harry said, smiling slightly at how Thorpe refused to call him Big D. Harry simply wasn't big enough to pass as the true "Big D."
"Ah, it's nothing," Thorpe said, patting Harry's shoulder as if Harry was the bereaved. "Everything will be all right."
"I'm sure it will be," Harry said, putting on a look of courageousness. He made a show of checking the time and glancing at the barkeep who was trying to be obvious about cleaning the bar and beverage glasses. "I'd better get home myself."
Thorpe nodded firmly. "All right, D. I'm going to stick around for one last round. Be careful apparating. Don't want to splinch yourself."
"Of course," Harry said, wondering how it was that Thorpe was going to get home without splinching himself. Perhaps he would use a portkey or the floo. Harry stood, settled his bill with the barkeep, and then exited the pub.
Though it was quite late at night, Knockturn Alley was still awake. Rather than bustling however, the crowds, as it were, oozed about, sticking to shadows and alleyways. Harry covertly checked to make sure he was ready to draw his wand at a moment's notice before joining with the shadows and slowly making his way to a point in Diagon Alley where he could quietly apparate away. Just in case he was followed, he made several stops, one at Moody's lamppost, before arriving in the vicinity of his most recent hotel.
A quick wave of his wand removed his "Big D" disguise, and a few moments later he was walking through the halls of the hotel, fumbling in his pocket for his room key. Keeping in mind that Bellatrix was likely asleep by now, Harry inserted the key into the door quietly with the intent to avoid waking her up.
However, upon entering the room, he discovered that the lights were on and the television was blaring loudly. Closing the door behind him, Harry surveyed the room. File folders and papers were neatly organized over the top of nearly every flat surface, the floor included. Bellatrix, wearing pajama shorts and a camisole top, was perched cross-legged on Harry's bed, holding a bag a potato crisps.
Upon seeing Harry enter the room, she broke her concentration on the television and grinned at him. "I thought you'd be later than this."
Not sure what to say, Harry glanced around the hotel room again, this time taking a look into the bathroom. The counter was covered with her cosmetic and hygiene materials. She well and truly had taken over the room. He looked back to where she was sitting on his bed. "That's my bed," he said dumbly, glancing to the other bed and seeing that it was covered with documents and folders.
Bellatrix shrugged. "There's still plenty of room for you." She smiled at him invitingly.
Harry drew his wand and used it to remove the junk from the other bed, piling it crossways over the other folders on the floor and desk. "This one will be okay," he said before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door.
As soon as the door was closed, he leaned back on it and closed his eyes, thinking of her violet eyes, long black hair, and beautiful legs, not to mention her curves. She was very appealing, and Harry was very tempted. How easy it would be to start up with her. The situation practically demanded it now that they were living together. However, if things went bad, ending the relationship would not be pretty. Her young age also made Harry nervous, in addition to the fact that she was Bellatrix. Though she wasn't the insane witch who had killed Sirius and whom he had attempted to hit with the Crucio curse, it was hard to disassociate her face from the situations and feelings.
Silently, Harry vowed that he wouldn't cross the line with her until he was absolutely sure that it was the right thing to do and that he was willing to commit to that path. With that, he did his business and changed into his pajamas before returning to the room proper. When he did, he found that Bellatrix had switched off the telly and was waiting for him just outside the door.
"I scouted out a number of properties we could buy and have been sorting through them," she announced, explaining all of the paperwork that had been lying around the room. "I was thinking we could go together and pick something out tomorrow. That sound good?"
"Yeah," said Harry, beginning to feel rather sleepy.
Bellatrix seemed pleased, but she wasn't finished. "What were you out doing?"
Briefly, Harry explained his trip to the pub and his plan to track down the specific Death Eater or Death Eaters looking for him.
"I hope that isn't your main priority," Bellatrix commented. "Not that it is a bad idea. It just isn't exactly something that addresses Tom directly."
"It isn't," Harry assured her. "I've got plans for Tom."
"All right," Bellatrix said, stepping past him into the bathroom and closing the door.
.....
Harry stubbornly kept his eyes closed, despite the fact that it took Bellatrix nearly ten minutes to figure out how to shut off the Muggle alarm clock-the same clock she had apparently had no trouble setting to go off at six in the morning. He did not intend to get out of bed until nine. It was a noble, albeit difficult goal. She left the bathroom door open so that he could hear her hum various tunes in the shower, and then once she had dressed for the day, puttered around the apartment sorting through her real estate papers.
At eight, it became impossible for Harry to continue drowsing. Bellatrix sat cross-legged on the half of Harry's bed in which he was not sleeping. Holding her bag of potato crisps, she slowly munched on one crisp after another. Though Harry was keeping his eyes closed, he could feel her staring at him. He gave up and opened his eyes. As he had guessed, she was staring directly at him.
....
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