Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Lucifer. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Chapter Seven - Spirit Of Giving

"Glass of scotch for your thoughts?"

Hermione looked up and saw the blonde woman from before, Linda, dressed in Harry's robe and holding an expensive looking bottle along with two glasses.

"Should a therapist really be offering alcohol to someone that's trying to work on personal stuff?" She answered.

Linda walked to the deck chair beside her and dropped down, puring a healthy helping of the amber liquid into each glass before giving the younger woman one. "I've found that it can actually be quite helpful for working on stuff. It certainly loosens Harry up when he's being difficult in our sessions."

That got the bookworm to narrow her eyes. "Yes, he's your patient, yet you have this whole relationship with him. Isn't that a huge breach of your ethics as a medical professional?"

"Probably." Linda admitted freely. "But Lucifer and Harry tend to have a way of making that not seem to matter much. But I'm not here to talk about them. I want to hear from you."

"Me?"

"Yes. You are Harry's oldest and closest friend. That fact has become easily apparent from many of our sessions. Unlike pretty much everyone else he talks about from England, he seems to universally cherish his memories of you. Yet you have found him again and are spending your time on this balcony instead of catching back up with him."

The brunette was silent for a moment, then she said, "I was so happy to have finally found him again, and that was all I felt in the moment. But then I realized how happy he was to see me too and I just started to wonder… Why didn't he take me with him?"

"You know why."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do, Hermione. You expect me to believe that in all the years Harry was away from you you didn't think up the reasons that went through his mind?"

Hermione hung her head. "Yes, I have. I had a life in England even without the wizarding world. Parents who loved me, family I could still see and rely on, dreams of university, safety and freedom. All of those things would have been abandoned if he'd asked me to go with him. And he didn't ask because he knew I'd say yes without a second thought."

"Exactly." The therapist placed her hand on top of the other woman's. "He was already uprooting his own life and he didn't need to mess up yours too, yet even understanding this you hold on to the pain. I can see how much you love him and as a therapist it speaks to issues on a deeper level that should probably be addressed."

"L-L-Love him?" Hermione sputtered.

"Please, dear, I may look like I'm twenty but I've been around a bit, and Maze is several millennia old. It's clear as day to us both how much you love our Harry."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it? Sharing is pretty normal in hell, and both Maze and I were with Lucifer before we were with Harry. He didn't care about that at all. We have no problems if you want to join us."

"Yeah, join you." Hermione groaned and took a long sip of her glass. "I know it isn't logical, but I've had this idea of my future since I was twelve years old. Me and Harry were standing before the altar hand in hand, the entire world faded away, and I could tell that I was the center of his world as he has always been for mine. I guess I'm starting to realize that can't be, and that if I truly want him now I need to be okay with sharing him, and telling him how I feel in the first place."

"Don't worry too much about that, Hermione." Linda took a sip of her own drink. "Harry is pretty accepting of most things, and trust me, he loves you dearly. All he needs is the push you could give him and he'd be shagging you rotten in a moment."

"Linda!"

"Oh hush, are you telling me you've never fantasized about it?"

"I can't tell you about that…"

"I'm a therapist, dear, anything you tell me will be held in the strictest of confidences."

"Well, I always had this fantasy that he'd-"

A Few Hours Later

Harry made his way down from the penthouse where the priest and his would-be attackers were in the capable hands of Maze with the understanding that Detective Decker was on the way to pick them all up.

He got back to his apartment to find Linda and Hermione doing a drunken cancan dance in his living room and smirked at the sight, feeling a hell of a lot better than he had mere moments before. Sometimes life truly was beautiful. Who knew Hermione had such muscular thighs?

Later That Week

"Harry, do you want to talk about what happened while you were watching over Father Frank?" Linda sat across from her boyfriend with legs crossed and a notepad over her knee. Behind them both her clock continued to tick the seconds of their session in her office.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she adjusted her glasses, "what you said about him not wanting to know what was in your head. From what Maze tells me you were quite stressed the entire time he was in the building."

"You know I don't like priests, Linda."

"I do, and the fact that he's become a rather regular fixture at Lux has me worried about your mental state. He seems to have brought up some painful childhood memories and they have certainly negatively impacted you. Lucifer says you've been avoiding the club like the plague as a result."

Harry stared at the floor. "When I'm there Frank keeps trying to talk to me, to ask me questions. Why can't he just leave me be? I've made it clear I don't like him enough times to be firm about where I stand."

A tender note in her voice, Linda said, "I don't think it's in his nature to not try to help someone who is hurting. He isn't the priest who harmed you all those years ago, Harry. You have to understand that."

"They're all the same."

"If they were then I'm sure he would have screwed up by now, but so far no one, and Lucifer himself is included in that generalization, has seen him act in any way but priestly. Holding onto your anger for Frank is only hurting you and others. Do you think Maze is happy without you sitting at her bar every night?"

"No."

"Do you think I'm happy seeing you in so much pain?"

"No."

"Do you think Hermione is happy she isn't dancing with you at Lux right now?"

Harry blinked at that statement. "Hermione wants to dance with me?"

"Was her walking into your bedroom and hugging your naked body not hint enough?"

"That was an accident."

"Was it?" Linda's voice trailed off suggestively. "Harry it's obvious as the dawn that that girl is into you. If you weren't so distracted by your issues with the good padre you'd have picked up on it. She's been coming to the club and asking after you almost every night."

"Ugh." The hellhound wiped his hands down his face. "What do I do, Linda?"

"You talk to me, spend time with Maze, reconnect with Hermione, and stop letting yourself become a slave to your negative thoughts. I'd recommend exposure therapy. Go to the club, spend some actual quality time with Frank, and let him show you in his own way how different he truly is."

Harry finally looked up and gave his girlfriend a smile. "Thanks for being patient with me, Linda."

"What's a good girlfriend for? Now take your clothes off and get on the couch, momma needs some loving."

Some Time Later

"Okay, girl, spill it." Ella bounced up to Hermione's side of their evidence table and bumped shoulders with her. "Give me all the juicy details."

"Huh?" Hermione's goggled head rose at her friend's exuberant questioning and she quickly pulled the optics off before pushing her current evidence tray aside. "What details?"

"Oh please, you failed to tell me that the man you were looking for was Lucifer's right hand, an excellent name for a movie, and you've been to Lux nearly every night since you finally reconnected. Spill!"

"W-We should really keep looking over this evidence, Ella."

"There's plenty of time for a few words of gossip, girl."

"You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Not at all."

"Alright then." Hermione pushed her tray away and spun her stool around so that she and Ella were facing each other with their knees touching. The latina was not known for personal space. She had no urge to speak loud enough for anyone but her to hear any details about her personal life so that actually worked in her favor for once. "Look, Harry and I did reconnect, and we've committed to staying in each other's lives from here on out."

"That's great, but why do you look like you swallowed a grape without chewing?"

The Englishwoman internally groaned at how intuitive her American friend was. A good part of her wanted to lie and say she was imagining things, but there was just something so open and trustworthy about Ella. Hermione found herself desiring to bare her soul in a way she had rarely experienced. So that is just what she did. "I love Harry, Ella. I have since I was twelve and he was eleven and he saved me from being killed by a…" she stopped herself before saying troll, "a very bad man."

Ella was awed. "I knew Harry was a badass, but that's something else. So you're in each other's lives again, and you clearly are still holding that torch for him, what's next? Are you gonna ask him out? Try to get that old English quill of his in your hands?"

"Ella!"

"What? I'm just asking."

Hermione beat down her blush, and forced herself not to think of the 'quill' she'd seen several nights back after Harry's transformation, then muttered, "It isn't that simple."

"How is it not? You like him, so go shoot your shot. Trust me, you don't wanna sit there wondering about what might have been."

"He already has a girlfriend. Two of them actually."

"I don't see the problem."

"Huh?"

"Hermione if he's already down to share with two girls then I don't imagine he'd worry too much about adding a third."

"Ella, you're… you're Christian." She gestured to the girl's golden cross necklace. "Isn't polygamy frowned upon for you guys?"

The latina shrugged, "For some sure, if they're the stingy sort. But God is love, Hermione, so how could he hate love just because it's not traditional? You do you, and as long as you aren't hurting anybody then there shouldn't be any problems."

"Ella, you know you're… you're just the best." Hermione smiled warmly at her friend and took her hands in her own. "I've never had any female friends I could just talk to like this."

"Hey, I don't exactly have a bunch of girlfriends down here either, you know. I'm pretty glad I found you too, Hermione." She squeezed her hands over her friend's. "So, BFF, how are you really feeling about this potential foursome of yours?"

"I'm considering it. Linda explained it pretty well and it sounds like I would be with people that genuinely cared about Harry too, so there's that. I just never really considered sharing him before, and I'm kinda bringing myself around to the idea.

"Are you attracted to his current women too?"

"A little, I guess. I've thought about… experimenting before, so yeah that's okay I suppose." The bookworm failed to beat back her blush that time and Ella grinned like a cheshire at the sight.

Seeking to avoid any teasing, Hermione added, "Then there's his relationship to the devil."

"Oh Lucifer? Yeah he's a riot isn't he. Really committed to his method acting that one."

The witch had to remind herself that her closest friend in LA knew nothing about magic or the supernatural actually existing. "I'm not sure what to think about his influence on Harry."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Ella waved off the concern. "The two of them are practically like brothers. You should see the way they roast Detective Decker whenever they work a case together with her. Things seem great with them, and they always smile when they're talking."

"Yeah, I guess there is that. Say, would you like to come to the club with me tonight? I think I should just stop stalling and let him know how I feel, and I'd be a lot more confident if you were there with me. I played it cool when I found him again, but I've waited years to love him like I want to. Is it bad that I'm this impatient now?"

"Oh Hermione, of course I'll come!" Ella was practically bouncing on her stool, "And I have just the dress to wear too."

Linda's Office

"So let me get this straight, you think Chloe makes you vulnerable?" Linda was having a bit of difficulty processing this. The idea of the devil himself bleeding just made no sense.

Sitting across from her, Lucifer clapped his hands delightedly. "That's right! She's the only variable that's changed in my life."

"And you're basing all of this off of a papercut?" Her client had just finished informing her of an incident at the precinct the other day where the detective had yanked a file out of his hands and scored his finger with the edge, drawing a line of blood as a result.

"Of course I am. Either Chloe can affect me on a deep metaphysical level or that particular file was divinely blessed by god. Which one seems more plausible?"

"Well, I've heard of blessed toenail clippings before so…"

The devil waved that off. "I started most of those rumors for a laugh. I hardly thought mortals would take them seriously yet here we are. Ah, stupid mortals, always good for a laugh. But what do I do about the Chloe situation?"

"What do you want to do?"

Lucifer thought about it for a moment. "I kind of want to see where it goes. I've not actually bled from something so normal in several millennia and it could be interesting to see what oddities develop in this new scenario."

"Then there you go. Though I do hope you'll at least try to be careful. You have many friends who would be saddened to see you die simply to assuage your curiosity." The therapist shuffled some notes and then said, "Alright, Lucifer, when last we spoke we were discussing your narcissism, and how you've begun to find yourself thinking of others first for once." Linda tapped her pen on her notepad in a rapid staccato, "How has that been going for you recently?"

"Not as good as it has been for you, eh? Rumpled clothing? Sex hair? How was my little assistant?"

"Don't deflect, Lucifer. This is your hour, not Harry's."

The devil gave her a wry grin before getting serious. "It's the strangest thing. Ever since Harry came back from Hell I've had this unavoidable desire to make sure he is thriving up here. I even went out of my way to help make sure that British bird of his found him. Now I want to make him even more happy. What is this?"

The blonde gave a shrug. "It sounds like love to me, Lucifer. You love Harry."

"Sorry, doc, he's attractive enough, but we both know your favorite guy doesn't swing that way."

"Lucifer, you know what I meant. You love Harry platonically. He's the little brother you always wanted, and unlike the angelic host he's never betrayed you. It's only natural that you want to see him happy."

"But it's not just that, doc. I want to make him 'happier'. Whenever I make him laugh or smile I immediately think to myself, 'I can do better'."

"Hm, it's possible that you are trying to make up for several millennia of regret. It might be healthy to set some boundaries here. You don't wanna go off the rails and buy him a ferrari."

"Why not? I could have one here in an hour."

"You know Harry prefers the freedom of the bike. And while he would appreciate the gesture, he'd never use a ferrari. It would only gather dust in the garage."

"I think I know exactly what you mean."

Later

"You bought me a fucking bazooka?!" Harry exclaimed gleefully as he yanked the massive contraption out of its foam lined case.

"You're dad-damned right I did!" The devil exclaimed before gesturing to the fully loaded pallet behind him. "I got you a whole damned armory too!"

"Woo hoo!" The hellhound dove into his new gift with gusto, leaving Maze behind to deal with her boss.

"I'm pretty sure this wasn't what Linda meant, Lucifer."

"Creative interpretation, Maze. Creative interpretation. Is Harry not happy?"

"He is."

"Then what's the problem? It's not like this even put a dent in my finances."

"I'm not human, so I can only guess, but I think it has something to do with not needing to go so far."

"Ah, who cares? I wonder if this feeling of giving would be so good for others too?"

The demon raised a brow, "But you never do things for nothing?"

"Well maybe it's time I start? As of now, call me the devil of charity!"

Later That Afternoon

Chloe was having a relatively normal day filling out some paperwork when she took note of a shadow hovering over her desk. She had to catch herself upon looking up as she beheld a fully nude Lucifer smiling down at her.

"Jesus Christ, Lucifer!" She jerked back in her chair and covered her eyes before blindly tossing one of her old sweatshirts over at him. "Cover yourself up!"

"Well I hardly think you should bring my brother into this, but fine." There was a slight rustling sound and then he said, "You can open your eyes now."

Chloe did so and was aggrieved to find the man sitting on her desk facing her, the back of the shirt folded over the front of his lap. She was going to have to ask the janitor for some bleach later, no way was she letting a sweaty impression of her partner's ass remain where she set her coffee and food.

"Lucifer, why are you naked in my station?"

"Oh, I was brought in for public indecency. Don't worry, the Captain was happy enough to drop the charges once I explained my situation to her. Who knew wandering around the streets of Los Angeles in the buff was considered a crime these days?"

"Everyone, Lucifer. Everyone knows that. I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but why were you wandering the streets naked?"

The devil smiled wide, "I gave all of my clothes to those who needed them more than me. I'm a charitable devil now, don't you know."

"Of course you are." Chloe groaned. "Is this a new exercise from therapy?"

"After a fashion."

"Well you'll need to go home and change then. We've got a new case and you can't show up for it like this."

"Well, damn. What's the address?"

A short time later they were standing over a body. "Who is this unlucky fellow?"

"Tim Dunlear," Chloe read off her notepad, "Former NBA star, now a raging philanthropist."

"Oh, so a fellow fan of giving, then? Who knew I'd meet a kindred spirit on the road to the afterlife?"

"Right." The blonde rolled her eyes at her partner. "Your delusions aside, we still need to catch this killer, so buckle up, we have work to do."

Lux - That Night

Harry was sipping on three fingers of eighteen year Dalmore that Maze had poured for him when he heard the stool next to him swiveling with a new occupant. "This portion of the bar only serves alcohol, padre." He said after his latest sip.

Beside him, Frank shrugged. "I wasn't feeling particularly thirsty. I just saw you sitting alone and thought you might want a friend to talk to."

Behind the bar, Maze gave her man a level look, knowing exactly what Linda had told him. He in turn sighed and turned to face the older looking man. "Confessional rules in effect?"

"Anything we talk about stays between us."

"Alright then." He finished his glass in a long gulp and slid it over for a refill. "I'm dealing with two issues here. First, I've been advised through therapy that I'm likely transplanting my old memories of a horrible priest over new ones with you, and that I need to work to fix it. Second, an old friend has recently come back into my life. I've loved her since I was twelve years old and finally learned that girls weren't ickie. However, I'm not sure how to broach that with her. She was my best friend for so long, and then we were apart for years. Many more than she actually knows about."

"Ah, the hell-time-dilation." Frank nodded. "Lucifer told me about it."

"Yeah. Well, I already have two girlfriends that I love, and while they tell me adding another is fine with them, I don't know how to tell if Hermione feels the same. Now that she's with me again, I can't lose her, and trying to start a real relationship could do that. So yeah, that's why I'm sitting here all moody-like, padre."

"Hm." Frank thought about that for a minute. "Those are some pretty deep issues, kid." At Harry's look he hastily added, "Sorry, sorry, you just look young to me. Look, no matter your experiences with the clergy in your youth, I'm not them, can you learn to accept that?"

The hellhound nodded jerkily. "I'm…. working on it."

"I know, and I'll do everything I can to show you that I'm different, and that we aren't all bad. Honestly being the personal confessor of a certified hellhound and the devil himself gives me more credentials than pretty much anyone else in the Catholic church. Now onto the second issue. Let me ask you, will you be happy burying your feelings for this girl?"

"Probably not."

"Could you care for her as you do your other girlfriends?"

"Definitely."

"Do you love this girl?"

"She's the first girl I ever loved, and I never stopped."

"And would you make her feel like a queen amongst women?"

"Of course I would."

"Okay, last question, does she have bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and an adorable embarrassed smile?"

"Yeah…. Wait, what?" Harry spun around in his stool and found a furiously blushing Hermione Granger in a sinfully tight black dress standing behind him with her hands folded in front of her. "H-How long had she been standing there?"

"Since the Priest started getting you to talk about your problems." Maze laughed before sliding over his refilled drink.

Frank patted him on the shoulder and stood up. "I'll let you take it from here. I feel the Lord desires me to stop the devil from butchering Cross Road Blues on that piano of his." So saying, the priest took his leave, and Hermione shakily took his seat. Harry noted idly that Ella, that crime scene tech that Lucifer liked, was standing right behind her silently jumping up and down and covering her mouth to keep from squeeing with delight. It was nice to see Hermione had a friend. Especially one as beautiful as that one appeared to be.

"H-Harry, D-Did you mean all that?" The bookworm circled a finger on the bar, not even able to look at him for how hard her face was blazing.

"Every word." Another sip. "Is it truly so surprising, Hermione? Growing up you were the only one to ever truly see me. The only one to truly care. Those feelings don't just go away with time. I love you, I've always loved you, and I've been trying to figure out how to say it for a while now. Damn that priest is annoying, but he was also eerily effective at tricking me into saying all that out loud." Slowly, oh so slowly, he reached across the expanse and grasped her hand in his own. "You don't need to say anything now, but I'm happy you finally know."

For a moment Hermione seemed to be gathering herself before she snatched his drink out of his other hand, drank the entire thing in one long gulp, and pulled him by his hand out onto the dance floor. "Then I won't say anything, Harry. I'll show you. I'll show you exactly what your words mean to me and how they make me feel."

And so saying, she pulled him into a clear space in the center of the crowd, and as Father Frank replaced Lucifer on the piano and began a smooth jazzy number, she pulled him close, wrapped one arm around his neck, placed the other on his back, and began slow, sensuous dance that involved a lot of slinky grinding, and teasing leg raises across his hips. The movements were meant to tease, titillate, and left no doubt as to the intent behind them.

"W-What is this?"

"A mix of swing dancing and modern hip hop. I… took a class in college for fitness. The freshman fifteen disappeared right away with how demanding the instructor was."

"Remind me to track down and murder every man you ever danced with this way. By the devil, Hermione, this is amazing."

Surprising herself at the action, the girl actually laughed at that declaration. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yes." Harry groaned into her neck as she turned in his arms and gently ran her pert behind against the growing bulge in his pants. "This is too sexy. I don't want anyone else experiencing this from you but me." By the end he was nearly growling.

"Linda did say you were possessive. Is it weird that I find that hot?"

"I wouldn't think so. The others like it well enough. Hell, Maze took on a little boy toy while I was in Hell just so she could watch me hunt him down. It was foreplay for her." He was silent for a moment and pulled her closer, toning down her antics until the two were simply swaying back and forth with her back flush to his chest. "You need to know that I'm not kidding, Hermione. I butchered that man, and I will kill the others you danced with if I ever find them. I'm not… I'm not human anymore, and I don't always think or react like one. This dance of yours makes it clear to me that you're open to joining my relationship, but can you accept that part of me?"

"Harry, I've spent literal years apart from you and nothing is going to make me do that again. Will it be an adjustment, sure. But Linda has already agreed to help me understand what has happened to you emotionally and work with me to best come to terms with what you are now. I'm ready to put in the work. I'm ready to join the others. I'm ready to accept what you are as long as you accept me in kind."

Smiling into the bushy hair he'd spent years dreaming of, Harry whispered, "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too."

So involved were the two dancers with each other that neither noticed the pink haired woman watching them from a private booth with a vodka martini in her hand. Following Hermione had finally paid off. Finding Enochian sigils to block the sight of heaven and hell had been a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Now she just needed to decide what to do next.