He had owled her that next morning, a scribbled note telling her to meet him outside of the entrance to Diagon Alley at six o'clock sharp Tuesday night. He had only hoped that the day wouldn't be crazy enough to intrude on their plans. With the holidays approaching and the Burning Man case still in full swing, the office was in chaos. But, luck had
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She came straight from her office, dashing out a few minutes early even. Of course, she had shared the news with her editor, Maureen. Every Monday (or in this case Tuesday) she was desperate for an inside scoop on the weekend's gossip. This was going to be big news. Maureen had stopped into her office twice as much as usual to talk to her about her outfit. Of course she had brought three, okay five, options with her to change into.
Skylar arrived at the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes late. She had taken some extra time to circle the box - mostly so that she didn't seem too eager. The cold air always helped clear her head. But then she saw him and she was all nerves all over again.
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It had only been a few minutes, really, and Harry was absolutely not nervous. Not at all. Except for the very large part of him that did. Which was stupid, truly. He knew how to be around women- learned really quickly following his break-up with Ginny. It was how he'd had the nerve to go up to Skylar that night in the bar in the first place. The red gleam of her lipstick drawing him in before he even recognized her.
Now, here she was, those same red lips.
He grinned, stepping down to meet her, pulling his hands from his pockets as he approached her.
"For a second, I thought you were going to ditch me-" he said, teasingly.
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He always seemed to tower of her - strong and protecting. Even though she wasn't concerned with The Burning Man attacked (she liked to believe she was smarter than to become a victim), it was nice to have the head auror with her.
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"Because it's going to be one hell of a night-"
But before he led her anywhere, he leaned down, pressing his lips against her cheek. He'd missed her, he realized Monday morning. The image he'd had of them waking up together was more than just a brief vision to him, it seemed. And that freaked him out.
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That was new.
Skylar was used to daydream. She was used to getting excited. She was even used to giggling. But butterflies were new.
"Lead the way then," she breathed, a little taken a back by how intimate this all was. Though, that didn't stop her from giving his hand a little squeeze, clearly excited.
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He'd hit the jackpot timing wise. The carnival only opened the day prior.
"How do you feel about heights?" he asked casually.
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"Only mildly terrified," she admitting, squeezing his hand again.
Yes, it had been true that she spent six years on the Quidditch team. But then, Skylar had been in control of the broom. The sport had distracted her from the height. Also, her competitive nature got the better of her.
"But, isn't one of us supposed to be a little reluctant? That's the way all the muggle movies play it off."
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"Oh, come on-" he said, shaking his head as they walked through Diagon Alley. "If we followed everything that happened in Muggle films, we'd have married and divorced and remarried in Las Vegas by now- or something."
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It was true that Muggle storyline were overly dramatized. Her relationship with Harry had been stagnant until Sunday afternoon - just a string of drunken nights and perfectly timed run ins. For a while there, Skylar had been sure they'd never break out of the cycle.
But rather than focusing on that, she leaned into him, a bright smile on her face. She place a hand on his chest and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
"But I wouldn't mind clinging to you up there, letting you keep me warm….a long, slow kiss up in the air."
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"That- well, that sounds really-" He turned his head toward her, that grin still there. "Good. But you know, first, I've got to win you an over-sized stuffed animal or something. And we'll have to stuff our faces with cotton candy and weird food on sticks-"
He laughed, brushing his other hand through his hair.
"You know, really make an event out of it-"
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"The weird food on sticks are always the best. You never really know what you're getting," she laughed, letting her eyes wonder towards all the bright lights and neon colors.
"How did you know I love this kind of stuff?"
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Not really. He just knew he did and that if their chemistry was any indication, there might have been a slim chance Skylar would have been interested. The chance he took certainly paid off. He squeezed her hand, a slight twinkle in his green eyes.
"I know everything," he boasted. Then, "Well, no- not really everything but a few good bits about you lead me here-"
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"Then maybe you are as good of an Auror as they say you are," Skylar teased. She liked the idea that he had taken notice to these little bits. Maybe he had been paying attention this last year after all.
Suddenly, a game caught her eyes and she was pulling Harry towards it. Hundreds of little bubbles floated around in the back of the booth and the objective was to pop as many as you could - but only a few bubbles had prizes.
"This was always one of my favorites!"
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Harry watched them for a moment, pushing up at his glasses as the kid managed to pop one with an Extendable Ear tucked inside. He laughed, knowing the twins' toys would probably be everywhere. He turned back to Skylar, a flicker of challenge crossing his face.
"Then, let's do it-" he said, moving up to the counter.
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"Want to make a challenge of it? See who can pop the most?" she asked, one eyebrow raised as she turned back towards him. Skylar didn't want to see back while he did all the work after all.
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"And what do I get if I win?" he asked, his hand snaking around her waist as he spoke.
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