Chris sat heavily on the bed. It was almost close to sunrise, but she was still in her wedding dress. She stared at the wall for a few seconds before speaking,
"Do you think my – our decision is ok?"
"Yes," Harry said, sitting down beside her.
He looked exhausted as well, but he smiled at Chris as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
"But what if they are right? What if we really do need to go into hiding? What if –" Chris turned to Harry, looking panicked.
"We had already been through all the what-ifs, Chris," Harry interrupted her. "And what did you say?"
" . . . that they didn't matter, we are not running away anymore," Chris sighed. "I'm worried because I said that. What if I am wrong?"
Chris's voice got smaller and Harry pulled her close.
"I agreed with you, Chris not only because I took vows to always agree with you a few hours ago. Because I believe it's the right choice. Mr. Norton had just adjusted back to normal life; Teddy had gotten used to this life too, and he is growing up now. We can't just uproot their lives again."
"So you are ok with being on surveillance 24/7? There will be Aurors around us all the time," Chris rested her head on Harry's chest.
"You talk as if the Aurors would be strangers," Harry chuckled despite the situation. "It's our friends. It's just Ron –" Harry paused as some sound came from downstairs. " – Making something in the kitchen, I guess."
"Which is weird too!" Chris groaned. "That I have to live with my husband and his boyfriend now."
"Hey!" Harry laughed. "We have been over this. Ron is just my best friend, and now you are my one and only wife."
"Don't let him hear you," Chris chuckled and nuzzled closer to Harry.
Harry wrapped Chris in his arms tightly as his voice took a serious note.
"We will be fine, Chris. I promise."
"Somehow, I believe you whenever you say that," Chris sighed in relief and kissed Harry.
Harry pulled her closer, even though there was no distance between them. They fell back on the bed, but another crashing sound came from downstairs and they broke their kiss.
"He may be my best friend, but I would definitely kill him if he interrupts us again," Harry said, glaring at the door.
"Calm down," Chris giggled. "Let's make sure if he is ok."
Chris tried to get up, but Harry pulled her back, and she fell on top of him.
"Harry!" Chris laughed.
"Ron! Keep it down! Whatever you are doing!" Harry yelled towards the door.
"Sorry, Mate! All this worrying made me hungry!" Ron's muffled voice came back.
"Now we ignore him," Harry told Chris.
"You aren't worried about our Auror?" Chris asked as Harry went to kiss her again.
"My Patronus is circling the house if there is an intruder, we would know," Harry informed, but then stopped and looked at the door. "But –"
Harry pulled out his wand and waved it towards the door of their room.
"Imperturbabilis."
"Did you just –" Chris looked amazed.
"Yes, now he can't hear us," Harry said with a straight face, but then they both started laughing.
And somehow Chris knew even with this impending danger, they truly would be fine.
***
Chris started to doze off in front of her computer. Suddenly, her head dropped and hit the table.
"Ow!" Chris woke up rubbing her forehead. She was so tired she almost forgot where she was, so she looked around and remembered she was in her office, in front of her computer, watching the last coding of her new game, and Ron was sitting on a couch on the side.
"You could have stopped me before I hit the table," Chris said, slightly annoyed.
"My job is to save you from Stormy, not yourself, Chris," Ron joked, chuckling. "And we wouldn't be here if you had listened to my advice. We would have gone home hours ago."
"I need to get this today, Ron," Chris said, rolling her eyes. "The new game is supposed to be launched next month. So, I need to review this tonight."
"Yes, yes, I know. Just finish it quickly without hitting your face again," Ron said, stifling a yawn and stretching on the couch.
It had been almost six months since Chris and Harry's wedding, and Chris and Harry had fallen into a new normal. Ron lived with Chris and Harry, while Theodore lived with Mr. Norton next door, and they followed Chris and Mr. Norton like shadows. But there were also other Aurors who took shifts observing the Nortons from afar. Their only job is to protect Mr. Norton and Chris. Thus, Ron follows Chris to her office every day.
After graduating from college, Chris followed through with her plan and opened a new company. A computer game company, to be exact. It was still a new thing, but Chris knew it had potential, so even though it wasn't easy, she built her company on her own, and now her business was actually becoming successful. Sometimes, she still wondered what her life would have been if she had magic and what jobs she could have had. But then again, she knew she made a pretty good life for herself, even as a Muggle, just like her father did.
There was a knock on Chris's office door, and she looked up, startled. She thought she was the only one staying so late, and judging by the way Ron grabbed his wand in his pockets, he thought the same. But he remained seated on the couch, probably guessing it wasn't a big of threat.
And he was right.
Isla Cornor, a prim and proper blonde girl, walked in with a smile. She was Chris's assistant. Ron immediately relaxed and smiled back at her.
"Isla, why are you still here?" Chris asked, surprised.
"I was about to leave when I noticed you were still working," Isla smiled brightly, stepping inside. "So I thought I would bring you some snacks."
Isla put a packet of cookies on the table and slightly looked at Ron, whose entire face lit up seeing the cookies.
"They look delicious! Thanks, Isla," Ron grinned, already moving towards the cookies. "You are an angel."
"Um . . . it's nothing, Mr. Weasley," Isla turned red. "You mentioned you liked cookies, so I thought since you are working late . . ."
Isla trailed off, noticing the serious look on Chris's face.
"Thanks, Isla," Chris said, giving a polite smile. "But you can go home now. No need to overwork yourself."
"Oh, it's fine," Isla smiled back, but it was clear, there was some discomfort behind that smile. "Alright, I would get going then. Goodnight, Ma'am. Goodnight, Mr. Weasley."
"Good night, Isla," Ron said, smiling back at her.
Chris nodded, and Isla left quietly. Only after her footsteps faded completely did Chris relax.
"Why are you so harsh with her?" Ron dropped onto the chair in front of Chris's desk. "She had been nothing but helpful since you hired her almost a year ago. Not to mention, we already ran multiple background checks on her and on her entire family. She is clear, Chris."
"Do I really need to remind you that my father was spied on by the people in his company who were compelled by Malgino?" Chris stared at the cookies on her desk. "Or how he was controlling our very normal Muggle neighbours?"
"So what, you don't trust any of the employees?" Ron asked. "I mean, I understand being skeptical, but –"
"I trust them to do my work, nothing more," Chris explained. "And after the whole thing with Stormy, absolutely not."
"She seems nice, though," Ron stared at the cookie in his hands, like he was debating if he should eat it or not.
Chris didn't want to be that pessimistic but after what happened with her father and now that Stormy was out, she couldn't trust people easily. Especially Isla, because she seemed oddly perspective, like she knew more than she led on. Chris told her entire office that Ron was just her husband's bestfriend who was working with her about some new project and almost all of her employees believed it gradually. All except Isla. Somehow, Chris felt Isla knew it was a lie and probably even guessed that Ron was more like a bodyguard than a business associate but Isla acted normal always, which made Chris more suspicious. She even wanted to fire Isla after a while but she also wanted to see if she was really connected to Malgino or Stormy.
Chris wanted to be one step ahead of her. Of Stormy.