A/N: I'm really happy with the response I've gotten since my last update. I would really like to have some feedback though. I promise I will get back to the 'present' in the story soon. I think maybe four more chapters before that. And after I get to the present almost immediately after there will be more of the actual Harry Potter stuff. But AU of course. Not that I even want to acknowledge that HBP ever happened or anything. But thanks a bunch for reading please review!

Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter or associated characters/story lines. I do however own Melanie, her friends, family and the plot of this fic. Yay me!

Chapter Twelve:

Ready Or Not, Here I Come

My parents have always been ones to take surprises in stride. I blame it on their apt ability to spring similar surprises on everyone around them. They're quite great at both, I must admit from past experience of seeing both. With this knowledge, I hoped they would be able to take my popping in on them well. Our hotel, scratch that hotels, have always been popular around wintertime, with Christmas and all. However odd it may sound, our Christmas crowd begins coming in around October. With that crowd comes the autumn-and-winter regulars, not to be confused with the spring-and-summer regulars. Granted there are quite a few more of the AAWs than the SASs. In the last few months of the year—right around the middle of my school year—my parents get frantic. Certain preparations haven't been made for our special guests—our regulars, the ones that are almost like family. The Christmas schedules haven't been made up, let alone handed out. Plans for the annual Christmas Bash are way behind schedule and are going nowhere in the right direction. All the usual problems and worries. Getting them together in one room, alone, at our house was posing a problem. Hence my three a.m. wake up call. I would apologize for that later.

I almost felt guilty for waking them up so early when they had been working so hard, for so long the last couple of months. Then I realized if I didn't do it this way, who knows how long it would be before I got another opportunity—not involving waking up before four in the morning. So I did it. I just went for it.

That taking it in stride thing, yeah, it doesn't apply to a half-asleep mother at three in the morning.

"Melanie? What happened? Are you all right? Is your sister okay? Where is she? It's Dani isn't it? Oh my God! Did you just get in? Did you go out? Because it's a school night young lady!" My mom called frantically.

"Nothing. Yes. Yes. In her room, sleeping, I would guess. No. No. No. And it's Saturday, not a school night. Saturday morning that is." I answered each question individually.

"Melanie, it's three in the morning." My dad replied.

"It's important." I stated.

"This important?" My mom questioned, raising her eyebrows.

"If you'd rather I make an appointment for a better time..." I scowled.

"Melanie," My dad shook his head, "That's not funny."

"Well that's how it feels like lately." I replied, "So are you going to listen?"

"You've been the same way since July, Melanie." My dad added.

"I'm trying to change that, can't you see?" I corrected. "Now, are you going to listen?"

"Of course, honey." My mom nodded, scowling at her husband.

"Here it goes. I'm sorry for everything since July. I really am. It's just finding out that you lied—don't tell me you didn't, omission is just as much of a betrayal as calling something else the truth is—to me for seven years hurt a lot. Unimaginably. I couldn't find it in me to forgive you then, or in the last few months. But I can now. And I want things back to normal between us. I just hope you'll stop this let's-avoid-Melanie-she's-a-ticking-time-bomb thing because I'm through with that. I'm not angry anymore. I'm just frustrated that I couldn't get the two of you alone at home for so long." I rambled quickly and after taking a long deep breath I finished, "God Hayden was right, I do talk fast."

"Do you mean that?" My mom asked.

"Of course I do. I don't lie." I responded sharply and I watched my mom flinch. That must have stung. I hadn't even meant for it to.

"Well, that could be debated." My mom replied, "I am your mother and no matter how angry you get at me, you will speak to me with respect."

"Look, I just want this to stop, and I want to know why you did it." I said.

"We don't have to explain ourselves to you Melanie." My mom stated harshly.

"Honey," My dad interrupted, "I think you do."

I had been right. My mother had made the decision, it wasn't a combined effort. My dad had said as much. He just played along with the lie. I wasn't surprised, it was often like that. My dad made rash decisions, running completely on instinct and intuition. My mom made quick decisions while still considering all outcomes, consequences, and ways to go about it. She usually overruled him, especially when it came to Dani and me. I knew it. He knew it. She knew it. Everyone knew it.

"I just want to know why you did it." I said again.

"I made a judgment call, and that's it." My mom replied, "Period. End of story."

"Bull." I called, "I want a real answer, a decent answer."

"You were eight-years-old Melanie, what did you want me to do?" My mom responded.

"To tell me the truth! I thought we were always honest with each other. We didn't hide things like this from each other. God! Is it that hard to just tell me the truth?"

"You were too young." My mom snapped, "A child."

"Yeah, and Sam isn't? The girl got hers earlier than anyone in the history of our family! Julie and Joey aren't keeping it from her. She's barely five years old. They're using it to teach her how to read, and before that they read it to her every night. How is it any different?" I questioned.

"Sam doesn't understand, she's too young to." My mom explained. "And Julie and I are two different people. We are going to make different choices in how we raise our children."

"I could've understood. I would have, but you didn't even trust me to." I said simply, "I want the truth."

"Melanie, you weren't ready for it. I made a choice. I risked the consequences, and I moved on." My mom replied, "That's the truth."

"But you knew. You knew I wanted it so bad." I added.

"I didn't want to limit your life to guys who fit the profile. I wanted you to live normally, date normally for a few years." My mom explained. "My whole social life was dominated by mine, clouded, it was confining. I hated it. I didn't want you to go through that experience."

"I should have had a choice." I replied, "I had a right to it."

"My decision was final. Sometimes mother's have to do that to protect their daughters." My mom corrected, "That's just how it is. I'm sorry you didn't like it."

"Fine. Just some advice, don't do the same thing to Dani. Unless you already are...and I just don't know about it. But whatever, I forgive you. You forgive me. Good enough. Now I can sort things out with Hayden." I replied turning to leave.

"So that's what this is about, a boy?" My mom exclaimed.

"No." I said. "He's a friend, I want to help him, but you see, my life was so screwed up he figured I needed to fix my problems before attempting his."

"Smart boy." My dad piped up.

"Yeah he is." Then with an obvious look to my mom, "With green eyes."