Shadow & Love

28* Emerging from the Shadows

Leonor finished the party preparations and dried her hands on the apron. The morning changed quickly into early afternoon. An odd tension hung in the air. Today was unusually silent despite the excitement when Eileen unwrapped a small pile of birthday gifts. Not even the discovery of the attic created much of a conversation. Severus sat on the sofa reading the newspaper. Leonor watched him a while and missed the rustling of turning pages. He ate almost nothing for lunch and became more and more taciturn after removing the Fidelius Charm. All he said the whole morning was that muggle and wizard repelling charms were still active securing the area; those who knew the location were able to arrive by Apparition at the kissing gate or could use the Floo network instead. The house and the beach were visible to wizards and witches once they crossed the boundaries. The cottage 'Above the Cliffs' changed from a highly secured area to a regular wizarding home. Normality returned slowly.

Eileen and Marcus took their after-lunch nap, both exhausted from examining birthday presents. Eileen squealed in delight finding a neighing silvery pink unicorn inside a cardboard box. She was even more fascinated when it walked round, kicked the hooves, tilted his head, and swished its gleaming tail back and forth. Marcus got attracted by a mysterious crackle issued from the shimmery wrapping paper. He squeezed it, tasted the paper, tore it in pieces but the tiny exploding noise remained a secret. It was fun to see how magic attracted the young. Marcus investigated new things with fierce concentration whereas Eileen reacted mostly with sheer pleasure. She smiled brightly and on Marcus' forehead appeared cute little frown lines seeing a curiosity.

"Anything interesting in the Daily Prophet?" asked Leonor in a conversational tone.

Severus just grunted, turning a page with too much force.

Leonor bit her lip, knowing immediately that his mind was somewhere else; the reason for the edginess easy to guess. Leonor hoped for a light-hearted celebration but when the morning progressed the doubts grew heavier. What if the guests asked nosy questions Severus' didn't want to answer? Leonor and Severus expected visitors for the first time in their relationship and that alone was enough explosive material for many couples; the history of the war and all the necessary hiding made it even more difficult, normality still quite fresh.

Leonor knew the guests well, but Severus didn't. He heard of them without being part of the conversations or afternoon teas. Leonor felt as if she pushed him down a cliff into open water. Severus was too proud to admit it.

"Do you think the wicker furniture was destined for the patio? It looks unused. The cushions are new," said Leonor reflectively.

"Perhaps. The stone paving is unfinished; looks as if your grandparents planned it bigger than it is now." Severus put the Daily Prophet down and added, "Still tracing your grandmother's history?"

"A bit. I wonder why they left such a great place and exchanged it to a much smaller and older house in Argentina," mused Leonor.

Severus didn't answer and folded the newspaper.

"I miss a door to carry the tray straight from the kitchen to the table outside. What do you think?"

He shrugged and studied the large window front of the kitchen. There was enough space for another door.

Leonor fed the birds with some biscuits and sat next to Severus snuggling against his shoulder. "Sorry, to let you go through all the strain this afternoon. It's been an offhanded decision. I didn't think about it."

She squeezed his fingers and began to draw small circles on the back of Severus' hand.

"What do you mean?" He feigned ignorance.