A/N – This chapter starts from when Lily's family arrived at the Manor, and deals with what happened with Scorpius, Lily and her brothers before moving onto dinner.
Lily didn't know whether to be relieved or worried when her family didn't immediately start bombarding Scorpius with questions upon first meeting him. She was pleased that they hadn't started on her fiancé straight away, but she wasn't sure if their lack of questions meant they weren't going to come round and support her engagement. Lily was also slightly surprised by how quickly her family moved off and away from her and Scorpius. Within seconds of meeting Scorpius her grandparents were talking hesitantly with Narcissa, while her Mother and Aunt Lavender were being charmed by Blaise, who had approached offering them drinks. Meanwhile her Father and Uncle Ron were muttering between themselves and casting dark looks over at Draco.
"Let's get your brother's a drink," Scorpius said to Lily.
Knowing Scorpius's father was more than capable of handling things if Harry and Ron approached him, Lily headed off with her fiancé and brothers. Just as they reached the corner where Lyra and Alex were sitting. Lily spotted her father and uncle approaching Draco. However she was soon distracted from their antics by the awed expressions on her brother's faces when they spotted Lyra.
Lyra was wearing a black and white patterned dress, and the way she was sitting her long, tanned legs were on full display, which seemed to have caught Albus's attention in particular. Lily wasn't at all surprised that her brothers found Lyra attractive as most men did. With her brunette curls that fell to just below her shoulders, her piercing grey eyes and flawless complexion Lyra was a gorgeous girl. Of course it also helped that she was always smiling and had such a lovely, warm personality.
"James, Albus, this is my best friend and Scorpius's sister, Lyra," Lily said, introducing the pair and hoping they weren't going to embarrass her with their drooling.
"It's nice to meet the pair of you." Lyra smiled warmly at the two dark haired brothers.
"It's nice to meet you too." James smiled back at Lyra, his charm kicking in once he'd recovered from meeting such a stunning witch.
"I'm Alex Zabini," Alex told James and Albus as he slung his arm possessively around Lyra's shoulder. "I'm Lyra's boyfriend."
"Aren't you the lucky one," Albus muttered, still unable to take his eyes off Lyra's long legs.
"I am," Alex grinned. "Very lucky."
"What can I get you to drink?" Scorpius asked the two newcomers as his best friend proceeded to stake his claim on his little sister by giving her a heated kiss.
"Firewhisky please," James replied as he turned away from a kissing Lyra and Alex.
Albus also asked for a firewhisky, but he found it harder to tear his eyes away from the couple in front of him. He was completely shocked that they would indulge in such a heated kiss in front of Lyra's brother and especially when her parents and grandparents were also present in the room. He wouldn't dream of kissing any girl like that if his family were around.
A few minutes later, Albus discovered that displays of public affection were pretty common in the Malfoy household as Scorpius and Lyra's parents made a show of kissing each other. James was also rather taken aback by Draco and Hermione's actions, and he was amazed that neither Scorpius nor Lyra seemed bothered by their parent's antics. No doubt if his parents kissed like that in public he would die of embarrassment.
"Did that really not bother either of you?" James asked the Malfoys as their parents had stopped kissing and were now talking to his parents, uncle and aunt.
"The kissing?" Lyra questioned. "We're used to that. Mum and Dad have always had an affectionate relationship, we're used to seeing displays like those."
"And we've all seen a lot worse," Alex chuckled. "Seriously, you never enter Draco and Hermione's house unawares, you never know what you might catch them up to."
James and Albus's eyes bulged at the insinuation, but luckily they were saved further embarrassment by Narcissa announcing that dinner was ready. Scorpius and Lily ensured her brothers found their way to the dining room and found a seat around the long table.
"Does everyone have drinks?" Lucius asked once everyone was seated.
After sorting out the few people who had finished their drinks in the living room, or in Blaise's case had put it down somewhere and he couldn't remember where, dinner was served. As people began to eat their starter, there was an awkward silence in the air. Obviously they all knew they were there to get to know one another, but years of bad feeling between the two families made it difficult. Luckily Arthur took the lead, thanking Lucius and Narcissa for inviting them all for dinner.
"We have to get to know one another since we're going to become family," Narcissa replied with a smile.
"It's still very nice of you to play host," Arthur said.
Throughout the rest of the starter the group made small talk, but once the main meal was served the conversation switched to Lily and her immediate plans for the future. The previous day she'd briefly told her family she wasn't retuning home, but then she'd dropped the bombshell that she was engaged, so they'd never explored her admission. However, Harry now intended to find out what his daughter planned on doing with her life.
"What happens now you've finished culinary school?" Harry asked his daughter. "Will you be looking for a job in the catering industry?"
"No, I don't need to," Lily replied.
"I hope you don't intend to be a kept woman," Ginny tutted. When she left school she could have quite easily have done nothing and been content to let Harry look after her, but she'd gone out and forged a career for herself before they'd had children.
"I don't need to look for a job, because I already know what I'm going to do," Lily said, hoping her mother hadn't offended Narcissa since Scorpius's grandmother had never worked and had spent her entire life as a rich, pureblood wife. "Lyra and I are going to open a restaurant together."
"You can't just jump into something like that," Harry told his daughter. "You need more than culinary ability to run a business."
"We know that, we're not stupid," Lily said. "We've got plenty of people to help us until we know what we're doing. Scorpius, Alex and Draco will all help us as we get going."
"I'm sure both Lyra and Lily will soon have things under control though," Hermione added with a proud smile. "They're more than clever enough to run a successful business."
"Even so you still need premises, and how are you going to afford them?" Harry pressed, still not convinced about the idea.
"That's already sorted," Lyra said. "We've got the perfect place in Paris, it just needs the alterations done so it's just like we want."
"You already own a restaurant?" Ron questioned. "How the hell did you manage that?"
"With a little help from me," Lucius answered. "I bought the building the girls wanted and I signed it over to them."
"What's in that for you?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes at the former Death Eater.
"I want my granddaughter to be happy, and I will do anything I can to help her live her dream," Lucius replied.
"And what about Lily?" Ginny asked. "Why would you sign half of things over to her? She's not your family."
"She will be very shortly," Lucius answered. "As my grandson's future wife I'm more than happy to help her launch her business with my granddaughter."
"Just because they're engaged, doesn't mean the wedding will actually happen," Molly said. "Relationships break down all the time. They might never get married."
"Unless our relationship is going to break down in the next seven weeks, that's not going to happen," Lily said, deciding it was time to break the news that the wedding would be happening quickly.
"Are you telling us you've already set the date?" Ginny gasped.
"Yes," Lily nodded. "We're getting married in seven weeks' time."
"You can't. It's too soon," Ginny protested.
"You can't expect us to agree to this Lily," Harry said sternly. "We barely know Scorpius, we can't allow you to marry him so quickly."
"The decision has already been made," Lily told her family. "We're getting married in seven weeks, and I really want you all there. In fact I really want your help organising the wedding, and in that time you can get to know Scorpius a bit better. I'll understand if you can't accept it, but it's happening regardless of anything you may say."
"It doesn't look like we have much choice does it," Harry grumbled.
"Does that mean you're going to be there?" Lily asked hopefully.
"Of course we're going to be there," Harry answered moodily. "We aren't going to miss our daughter's wedding."
"And do you want to help with the planning?" Lily checked. She was hoping that involving her family in the organising would help ease the tensions between the two families and help her family accept what was happening.
"Of course we'll help with the planning," Ginny smiled at her daughter. A Malfoy wouldn't have been Ginny's choice as partner for her daughter, but it looked as though for the time being they would have to accept Lily's choice.
"Excellent." Lily sighed in relief and for the first time that evening her bright smile wasn't hiding her nerves, it was showing how happy she was. "We're viewing the hotel later in the week, you can come along and help sort things out."
"Hotel?" Harry queried. "What hotel?"
"We've hired a hotel for the weekend," Scorpius explained.
"A whole weekend? Isn't that overkill?" Lavender asked. "It doesn't take a whole weekend to get married."
"We thought it might be nice to spend the day before the wedding relaxing and spending time with family," Lily said.
"Do you have any idea how expensive it will be hire a hotel for a whole weekend?" Harry asked. The family actually had a substantial fortune in Gringotts, but Harry didn't believe in flashing the money around and in his opinion hiring a hotel for a whole weekend was excessive.
"Actually it won't cost them a thing," Blaise said. "They're using one of my hotels on the south coast and we're not charging them anything. It's our wedding present to Scorpius and Lily."
"It looks like you've got everything sorted," Ginny sniffed. Clearly the wedding had been discussed in great detail and they were only just been informed of things once everything was in place.
"Not really," Lily said. "Blaise has agreed to let us use the hotel, but that's all we've sorted. We need to think about the guest list and who'll be staying at the hotel and for how long. We've also got things like the dress and cake to sort out, not to mention the reception and food."
"Basically we've got the hotel sorted for seven weeks' time, and that's it," Scorpius added. "Everything else needs sorting."
"What's the rush to get married?" Molly asked. "Why are things moving so quickly?"
"We love each other, and don't see the point in waiting," Lily told her grandmother. "We want to get married before Lyra and I open the restaurant. That way once we return from honeymoon I can concentrate on the business."
"And are you sure you want to open a restaurant in Paris?" Ginny asked her daughter. "What's wrong with London?"
"My life is in Paris, Mum," Lily said gently. "Scorpius is in France, as is Lyra. Besides it's not as if I can't visit, and you and Dad could come and visit us sometime. You would love Paris, it's gorgeous."
"I guess we could come and visit," Ginny conceded, actually liking the idea of visiting Paris on a regular basis.
With the news of the impeding wedding having been broken and Lily's family seemingly accepting it, the evening continued with dessert. Over dessert Ginny and Harry took the opportunity to talk to Lily and Scorpius about their relationship and to get to know a bit more about Scorpius. Meanwhile Molly and Arthur had turned to Hermione and were catching up with the brunette witch. Daphne engaged Lavender in conversation about fashion, while Blaise drew Ron into a conversation about quidditch. James and Albus were more than happy to talk to Lyra and Alex, even though Alex kept making it very clear to the two Potters that Lyra was off limits.
"I love it when you get all possessive," Lyra whispered to Alex once dinner was over and people started heading back to the living room for a final drink.
"I just wanted to make sure James and Albus got the message that you're mine," Alex replied, resting his hand on his girlfriend's bum and giving it a squeeze as they walked to the living room.
"I think we all got that message," Lucius chuckled, coming up behind the couple. "Now Alex, I would appreciate it if you'd stop fondling my granddaughter right in front of me. I'm sure you can be a bit more subtle about grabbing a good grope."
Alex laughed at Lucius's advice as he removed his hand upwards so his arm was around Lyra's waist. Lucius nodded happily at the couple as they entered the front room and he took off to ensure everyone had drinks. Once everyone was settled with a drink, the conversation returned to the upcoming wedding.
"When exactly are we viewing this hotel?" Ginny questioned.
"Thursday," Lily replied. "Since we've got so much to discuss we thought we could all have lunch together before looking around the hotel in the afternoon."
"I'll give you a business card so you'll have the address," Blaise said, pulling his wallet from his pocket and pulling out a pile of business cards. Finding the right one, he handed it to Harry. "You can use the floo network, and you'll arrive in the public fires."
"What time?" Harry asked.
"About midday," Lily answered. "We'll meet in reception."
"I think it's time we were going," Daphne announced as she stood up. "Thank you for dinner Narcissa, it was lovely as always."
"You're welcome," Narcissa smiled at Daphne as she gave the younger witch a hug.
"Should we expect you home tonight, Alex?" Blaise checked with his son.
"I don't think so. I'll probably just stay here with Lyra," Alex replied, shooting his girlfriend a wicked smirk.
"Excellent. We'll have the place to ourselves," Blaise grinned at Daphne. "Let's go and have some fun."
While Blaise and Daphne were saying goodbye to Draco and Hermione, Molly was having a quiet word with Ginny about Lily and her sleeping arrangements. Molly had been rather taken aback by the casual way in which Alex had just declared he was spending the night with Lyra, and none of her family batted an eyelid.
"Will you be coming home with us, Lily?" Ginny asked once Blaise and Daphne had left.
"I'll be staying here," Lily replied.
"I hope you have your own room if you insist on staying here," Molly said.
"Of course I don't," Lily chuckled. "I share with Scorpius."
"But you're not even married," Molly tutted, unimpressed with the situation. She'd never let Harry spend the night with Ginny before they were married. "And you approve of this, do you?" She asked Draco and Hermione.
"They're adults," Hermione shrugged.
"And they're engaged, it's only natural they're going to be having sex," Draco added, smirking at the blushes that rose on the faces of the Potters and Weasleys. "It makes more sense for them to be sharing a room so they have someone private to be together, rather than they have to find some way to sneak around."
"I still don't like it," Molly muttered. "A bride should be pure on their wedding day."
"I don't think it works like that anymore," Narcissa said gently to Molly. "Times have changed."
"What do you mean anymore, it didn't work when we were younger?" Lucius hissed to his wife. "You were anything but pure on our wedding day."
"Only you know that," Narcissa smiled back at her husband.
"Actually we all know that now," Lyra called from the other side of the room. "You're not being that quiet, we can all hear."
While the Malfoys, Alex and Lily all laughed, the Potters and Weasleys were rather shocked by the tone of the conversation. They'd always assumed the Malfoys were rather stuffy and conservative, this wasn't really the sort of behaviour they expected from the family.
"I think it might be time we were leaving," Ginny announced, recognising that a lot of her family were becoming distinctly uncomfortable.
"But I'll see you on Thursday?" Lily checked as she got up to say goodbye to her family.
"We'll be there," Harry promised his daughter.
Saying goodbye and thanking the Malfoy's for their hospitality the Weasley's and Potter's exited the manor. They then returned to Harry and Ginny's house where Ginny made a pot of tea and the family settled down to talk about their evening. Their main talking point was whether or not they were going to accept Lily's decision or try and make her change her mind and leave Scorpius. Despite most of the family still having their reservations about Lily marrying a Malfoy they decided the wisest course of action would be to learn to accept things. The last thing anyone wanted was to lose Lily, and it was very clear to everyone that if she was pushed into making a choice between her fiancé and her family, Lily would pick Scorpius above them.