Carefully clinging to Ana he apparated them both to her home. Though two nights previous he had only been able to bring her to her door and kiss her hand good night. He figured tonight would be a little different. Opening her door, he led Ana into her own house. Walking through the foyer his eyes scanned the photographs covering the walls. One in particular of two boys being chased by a little girl made him chuckle lightly to himself.

"Sit, please... I will be right back..." Leaving her in the living room, Lukas walked through the enormous home and smiled at the little creative touches. The piano peeked his interest, but he thought quietly to himself. First things first. She was distressed and Lukas wanted to bring her down from whatever it was that was causing her to have such frazzled nerves.

Finding her kitchen didn't take too long. Within a few minutes he had freshly brewed tea and a biscuit for her. Walking back to the living room carefully holding a tray with the saucer and biscuit. Placing it on the nearby mahogany side table. "Here, this will cure what ales yah" Lukas winked and turned back towards the piano.

Walking to the bench his fingers grazed over the closed keyboard. The piano was rich and beautiful much like the one he used to play at home with his nanny. The piano however was secondary to his  violin skills. Cracking his knuckles he lifted the lid and looked over at Ana as his fingers danced over the keys familiarizing himself with the notes once more. Then softly he played a sad song from his childhood, one he knew by heart from the days where his father played the field and ruined both his chances at happiness and his half sister Beverly's. The notes carried on the air and flowed around the room. Lukas closed his eyes as he played, "So do you want to tell me what's troubling you?"

If she had no interest in telling him, he would be expected to accept it. However Lukas was not the type to just let things like that lie. He wouldn't allow here to be fretting over something when he could help in some way.

Analiza should have been pleased that he remembered where she lived, because she sure as hell didn't remember much from that night. Just the feel of his lips on hers and then the feel of her pillows as her head hit them. But she couldn't think of anything but Felix's insipid smile and the way he embraced Aileen like she was something special. It made her angry and sad, resulting in a stony silence as Lukas lead her to her front door. Without a word, she unlocked it and let him lead her inside and into the living area.

"Sit, please... I will be right back..."

Ana just nodded mutely as he helped her to the couch and wandered off towards the kitchen. Sighing, she tried to make herself comfortable on the thin cushions of the old fashioned loveseat, but failed. Her jewelry felt clunky and heavy suddenly. Pulling off her shoes, bracelets, necklace and rings, Analiza placed them carefully on her sweater. Just in her shirt and jeans, Analiza felt much more relaxed. Well, as relaxed as she could be considering the situation. When he walked back into the room, tray of steaming mugs in hand, Analiza tried not to look so preoccupied, offering him the best smile she could conjure up at the moment. Her normal mask was so dented and cracked by this time that she only managed a weak smirk.

"Here, this will cure what ales yah"

"I wish..." She murmured, adding mentally I doubt it unless it is cursed tea that melts cheating ex-husbands faces off.... Accepting the mug despite her cynicism about it's face melting powers, Analiza gave Lukas another weak smile before taking a sip. As the burning liquid slid down her throat, she found her smile expanding slightly despite herself "It's good... That is probably the first time that kitchen was used in years..." She chuckled as she watched him head over to the piano.

As he took a seat, she sat up a little straighter. Did he seriously play piano? If he did, then Ana would have to pinch herself. Handsome, sweet and talented? She was never this lucky. "It's a little out of tune, I don't know if you want..." she started, but trailed off as a soft melodic tune drifted out from the dark wood encasing it, reverberating through the room. The music was hauntingly sad and Analiza couldn't help but fall silent, lulled by it's beauty.

"So do you want to tell me what's troubling you?"

"No..." She said softly "... Not really..." She didn't want to talk about Kayleigh or her father or the war. She just wanted to sit there and drink her tea, listening to him play song after song. It was so peaceful, for once, and Ana knew she wanted to die like this. Lulled into eternal sleep by beautiful music in the comfort of her own home. How romantic.

As the music filled the silence between them, Ana's thoughts went from her own death to her friends. The sadness in the song, though relaxing, also reminded her of her dear friend. With Remembering Day so close, everything seemed to remind Ana of her dead friends, family and loved ones. She had lost more the Kayleigh. She had lost her father and her sister-in-law. Her mother had been imprisoned and she had been forced to become a single mother to two boys over night. As a wave of melancholy washed over her, Analiza finally broke the silence.

"Lukas...Did you lose... anyone... in the war?..." She said, her tone so soft and sincere that one couldn't imagine it coming from her lips.

The music continued to play softly. His fingers tickled the keys practically ghosting over them in a bid to keep Ana in a calm state. His half sister loved this tune. She played it a lot when their father remarried their step-mother casting her mother and Lukas's only real female confidant. That was why when his father moved to Egypt and left him the estate, Lukas kept a small part of it for her. There she could live out the remaining years in quiet dignity.

That's all he wished for, to give her something. Comforts of home he never really had. Sure he had luxuries of a wealthy life, but affections were something lost on him. His mother was quoted to be a 'nutter' his father was distant and philandering. Never held out much hope for himself in that regard. Several failed relationships later that very prophecy seemed self fulfilled.

"It's good... That is probably the first time that kitchen was used in years..."

Lukas paused thoughtfully for a moment, "For not being used that often it is in pristine condition. You must have some decent help around here," he wondered how many house elves it took to maintain an estate of this size. They would have to work round the clock he was sure. 

Tea, Whiskey, and beer. Three ingredients that were proven to be a cure for what ailed him for lack of a better excuse. When the song finally finished, the last note still hanging in the aire, Lukas stood from the piano bench and trodded lightly towards her. Ana sat there in what looked deep in thought. If he could read minds he might have peeked into her thoughts a little, curious to what may lay just under the surface.

"Lukas...Did you lose... anyone... in the war?..." 

Settling near her he took in the question. Lukas took up his cup and looked into the cooling pool disguising the mask of pain that covered his face. The war was a touchy subject for all of his fellow hit wizards. A time when they were called forth to battle those who were once considered brothers in arms. Many of his friends were lost, but one or two stuck out as being the most heart breaking to lose. "Aye lass, I had lost quite a few in the war. None directly blood related but close enough to leave a choice scar or two." Watching her he could see the distance in her eyes as it was over taking her. "Care to talk about it," though he didn't wish to discuss the war he knew that whatever it was on her mind was linked to it in some way.

"For not being used that often it is in pristine condition. You must have some decent help around here,"

"I have Gob, but he is a free elf and generally spends his time at Hogwarts during the school year..." She said with a small smile as she stared into her mug. She had never really been a fan of keeping elves (though not to the extent that she would have ever joined SPEW) and after her father and Grace died, she had given Gob a sweater and a choice. He chose to remain on when the children were home, as a butler, maid and nanny in one, but chose to go to school with them when they left. Ana really didn't mind. The house was rarely used when the kids weren't there anyways "... You would be amazed how much cleaner this place is when the kids are at school..."

"Aye lass, I had lost quite a few in the war. None directly blood related but close enough to leave a choice scar or two. Care to talk about it,"

"... I lost so many..." She said softly, her eyes staring over his shoulder and into nothingness. Though she was sitting perfectly still, the ripples dancing across the amber mirror of her tea revealed her hands were trembling. "... It's funny isn't it...You spend your whole life trying to make one or two proud of you... and then when you are off bettering yourself, they are killed... or they become something you not longer care about... It's just a big cosmic joke." She took a long drink of the now warm tea before adding bitterly "It's nice to know your life is just punchline fodder for some two bit comedian up there..."

Her hands trembled violently enough to splash some tea on her hand. With a sigh, she put the cup down on the coffee table and licked the drops of tea from the back of her hand. Lacing her fingers together, to control them, she wrapped them around her knee and looked over at him "... Did you know Kayleigh Dagon? And any of the Snarks for that matter?"

"A free elf you don't say? To think, freedom and they still lurk about." Lukas looked up at her, "Children you don't say. How many do you have?" He wondered if he should mention his son Jasper who detested him with every fiber of his being. They weren't always like that though. For much of his younger years Jasper wanted nothing more than to be with his father. It was his constant need to be away, to work that killed his son's respect for him piece by piece. When Jasper's mum moved out on him, Lukas found himself in the flat they shared alone and without much of anything to tie him there.

Combine that with the tragic loss of his friends in the Battle of Hogwarts and his drinking problems emerged. Lukas fought those demons for a while and came out on top. He did however lose his relationship with both Kayla and Jasper in the process. The spoils of war, he figured. Nothing he wanted to damage further anyway. Kayla wouldn't look at him and only sent him letters to remind him of payments for their growing son.

"We spend much of our lives trying to please people who don't deserve us, or who we lose too soon. I don't think it's a joke mind you, I just feel like the punchline isn't that comical for those who find themselves living it." It was funny to someone, but not him.

The questions were some he hadn't pondered in some time. Lukas leaned back into the sofa and felt himself dip back into memory lane. It felt like he was being submerged into icy water. The waves crashing about his ears as Lukas drifted through the murky memories. Pushing them away anymore wouldn't solve his past. Closing his eyes, he placed the cup back on the saucer and took a deep breathe.

Snark. Of course why hadn't he thought of it before. "Yes I knew a Snark or two. Beatrix and Gustav... fine examples of valor." His eyes felt a mist come towards them as he tried to fight it off. They had been friends of his from the ministry. Losing the two of them along with many others had kept Lukas much to himself since then. Why make strong ties if you would only lose them? His security had been shaken right to the core when the Battle of Hogwarts went down. There was that icy drowning feeling again. The cold blast of the past was submerging his lungs in the darkness of the topic at hand. Opening his eyes he shifted a little closer to her.

"A free elf you don't say? To think, freedom and they still lurk about. Children you don't say. How many do you have?"

"Mm..." She murmured as she took another drink, raising a finger to indicate that she had a single child. Technically that is. Gavin was as much a son to her as Alex, despite being her brother. And then there was Ari, who Ana found herself doting on like she was her daughter. None of this was probably of any interest to Lukas however, so she didn't elaborate. Instead, she drank her tea in silence as he continued on.

"We spend much of our lives trying to please people who don't deserve us, or who we lose too soon. I don't think it's a joke mind you, I just feel like the punchline isn't that comical for those who find themselves living it."

"The joke is always funnier when it isn't on you..." She said lightly, stirring her tea as he settled down next to her. As much as she was enjoying his closeness, she was feeling so vulnerable and naked that she instinctively pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them as though they would shield her from harm.

 "Yes I knew a Snark or two. Beatrix and Gustav... fine examples of valor."

Ignoring the cookie, Analiza brought the mug to her lips and breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet mist that rose up appreciatively before taking a long drink. "Gustav was my father you know..." She said softly, looking into the mirror of her tea once more, marveling at the distortion of her pale features in the amber glass "... Everyone is always telling me how wonderful he was... but I never realized it...Until he was gone..." She sighed and rested her head against Lukas' shoulder, closing her eyes on the tears that arose. "Why couldn't I save them?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

A small smile crossed his lips, "Same... only one." That he knew for sure. Small rumblings in his family where that he had another son. An older son that he may have fathered with his first love Morgana.  Edward Lynch, the boy looked a lot like him. Same dark hair and eyes. If he had let himself think about it, the truth would be staring him right in the face. Lukas however pushed it back, ignored the possibility that he was his child. Besides Morgana never said otherwise. "My son's name is Jasper... still in Hogwarts lives with his mum when he's out of school." It sounded dark, but it was a dark situation.

The foyer had been littered with pictures of smiling children. A little girl dumping two others in leaf piles. Two boys acting foolish before the camera. It was a warm childhood he never dreamed of. Never hoped to have for himself. How could he? Lukas never had much of a childhood, all he had was practice, tutoring and the occasional outing that was meant for the purebloods his father associated with.

"Sounds like it's less of a joke and more of a cruel reality. I have a feeling a real joke should have a better punch line. One that is more favorable and less stress inducing don't you agree," he looked at her like she was a fragile being. Though the girl she had shown him the night previous had been strong and independent, this other girl was intriguing as well. He was pulled in all the same curious to her future actions.

Lukas blinked, "I should have figured. Snark. A damn good wizard. Skilled, and brilliant." Almost in aw of the woman he now had before him, he remembered his former respected elder in the Ministry. A man that had always been a go to sort if you needed advice. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty love. We can't change what we did while we grew up." Her head rested on his shoulder and he casually wrapped it around her. "None of us could. It's not your fault. Their sacrifice is part of why we are free today." Lukas spent a week in St. Mungo's because of that Battle. It was not something he might soon forget. Not every thirty year old stares down death.

"My son's name is Jasper... still in Hogwarts lives with his mum when he's out of school."

Ana's mouth was currently munching on the cookie when he said this, so she didn't manage to reply before he went on, but she made a mental note later to ask him how old his son was and in what house. With him being in Hogwarts, there was a chance he knew Alex, Gavin and Arielle. She would avoid asking him about the divorce. As the child of one, she had no desire to bring up that past.

"I should have figured. Snark. A damn good wizard. Skilled, and brilliant. Hindsight is twenty-twenty love. We can't change what we did while we grew up."

When he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, Analiza found herself unconsciously placing one of her hands over his, her slender and cool fingers enjoying the warmth radiating by his much larger hand. Although she wasn't accustomed to such shows of affection, she couldn't help but feel her walls of ice melt a little by his comfort. Slowly, she relaxed and straightened out her legs as she leaned into him.

"None of us could. It's not your fault. Their sacrifice is part of why we are free today."

Analiza's eyes, which had fallen shut thanks to his soothing warmth, snapped open and she pulled herself away slightly, frowning. "That's not... even it... I mean, I understand that they went into the battle knowing what they were about to do... I understand that they died to set us free..." She stood suddenly, separating herself from him completely.

Starting to pace, she ranted on "... But none of that takes away from the fact that I failed to be there, fighting alongside them. I was so desperate to get away from the responsibilities that awaited me at home that I ignored the letters and the newspaper clippings warning that Voldemort was back... that Grace was killed... That my father, my best friend and my sister-in-law all fought and died together while I was somewhere in South America probably sunning on a beach..."

This was probably over exaggerated, since Ana had been deep in the jungle at the time, but she had long convinced herself that she had not been doing anything of merit during the battle. She was, after all, her own worse critic. She stopped pacing and paused, pinching the bridge of her nose with a sigh "... Every time this year comes around I ask myself why I had to run away like that... Why couldn't I take responsibility and be there when I was needed?... Every day I try to make amends by taking care of the boys... by being the best department head that I can... but none of it is enough... It's never ever enough..." 

A divorce might have been less embarrassing then what really happened. The shock of the way Kayla had walked out on him packing all of her things and taking Jasper without his knowledge hurt. It cut him deep. At least with a divorce there would have had a warning the split was coming. He could have fought for custody of his son in some matter. No this way they were never married and Kayla came off looking like a rose while no one on her side of the family would spit to put Lukas out if he was on fire.

Enjoying the closeness of Ana, even while the mood shifted pushed much of his sadder thoughts out of the way. Out of his mind and away from ruining his current feelings the best he could.

Placing his hand on the couch next to him he looked up at her. "Tell me then if you were to have fought in the battle as well would we have lost another valuable witch in the process?" The heat from where she was seated was still coming off the cushions. He could feel the space, now empty, missing the former resident.

"What good is it beating yourself up now Ana? What good will it do you or your loved ones. Those of us who were there couldn't save them, why would you hope to be there where we might have lost you as well." Lukas stood his long legs stretching out. His tea once more on the saucer and out of his mind.

Taking a few strides to her, Lukas placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are making it right by being here now. You say you are taking care of the boys that says great things about you." He felt the anger in him over his own failure to act. Lukas ignored it knowing he had tried desperately to fight them off. He had been at odds with several witches and wizards that night and lost colleagues and friends alike.  He always felt like he could have done more but it seemed like he never quite got there. Never saved all those he could. The depression afterwards had been a deep one. One it took a long time to get out of.

"You are making it right by being here now. You say you are taking care of the boys that says great things about you."

"I think... You are... the only one... who thinks that..." Ana said softly, her voice breaking hesitantly. Reaching up, she placed her hand against the one he rested on her shoulder. Stroking the warm calloused fingers with her thumb gently, she sighed and closed her eyes. Falling silent, she let the quiet rest between them for a moment as she tamed the sense of sadness that had welled up in her chest.

Once she managed to bite back the tears, Ana opened her eyes and turned to him. Reaching up, she rested a hand on the back of his neck, pulling his head down a little so she could press a gently but lingering kiss on his lips. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled up at him, saying softly "Lukas, I have a favor to ask of you... Can you... sleep with me tonight?"

When it came out of her mouth, it dawned on Ana what it sounded like she was asking and she suddenly blushed in a way that she hadn't blushed since her days in Hogwarts. Even though she was anything but virginal, the fact that she had just implied they 'sleep together' embarrassed her greatly. She didn't want him to think she was just acting all depressed and weak for him to seduce her. At least, she wasn't doing it this time. "I... I didn't mean it .. like that... I just need someone to hold me... tonight..." She added quickly, fading off as she went, the blush taking over her face.

Her hand met his and the warmth melted his exterior. Already at a comfortable level with her, he could hardly catch her as she was falling. Figuratively maybe, but how was he going to hold her up? They were still just getting to know one another and he wasn't known for being the best with being a shoulder to cry on. However he couldn't seem to stop the pull he felt to comfort her. "Ana, though I hardly know you I feel as if you are being too hard on yourself.

Their lips met and he felt a spark a fire was starting to burn that he wasn't expecting. There was intensity within her eyes that burned so brightly the night before and now even more as they were wrapped int he quiet of concentration he felt it stronger. This woman, who was a wreck before him was going to be a handful and he was growing more sure of it.

His eyes grew huge, "Say what?"  It was when she finished the sentence he felt a little more comfortable. "Ana I can do that..." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a safe embrace. Nuzzling her smooth cheek softly with his scruffy face Lukas let his eyes meet hers again. He was falling into her golden orbs and had no intention of catching himself. It was his attempt at comforting her the way he felt she deserved. "You look exhausted, lets get you tucked in." He kissed her forehead lightly before guiding her off  out of the living room.

"Ana I can do that..."

"Thanks..." She said softly, her voice muffled against his shoulder as he pulled her into a gentle embrace. Analiza felt her icvy walls of resolve melt further as she was enveloped by his warmth. She hadn't been held like that for a long time: A simple hug with no sexual connotation or invitation. Not that she hadn't considered that with Lukas, but right now it wasn't what she needed. This...this moment right here... was what she really needed.

"You look exhausted, lets get you tucked in."

"Alright..." She said complacently, allowing him to guide her from the living room towards the stairs. Her head was pounding now, from releasing all those pent up emotions, and she felt weak. Sagging against him, she slowly took one step at a time, enjoying the warmth he offered to its fullest extent. Did she deserve to be this happy? After all, her father and best friend didn't get to be this happy anymore. Why was she able to enjoy life when theirs was cute tragically short? Inwardly she sighed, feeling even more exhausted. Maybe a good nights sleep would help.

FIN