Chapter Twenty-One

A/N: A little bit of heart-to-heart between Leo and Thalia! Father-daughter fluff! :D Yeah, I know, it's utterly disgusting how Thalia kissed her cousin, but A) she didn't know, B) she didn't enjoy it, and C) they were under the mistletoe!

Thalia's POV

I woke up, slightly drowsy, my eyes still hazy from sleep.

I looked beside me and smiled at the sight. Albus had put my head on his shoulder and placed his arm around my waist. He was sleeping so peacefully, a gentle smile gracing his face.

I got up carefully so that I didn't wake him up. Patting his arm, I made my way over to my mum, who looked the opposite of peaceful. Her skin was pale and looked slightly clammy, and her cheeks lacked the usual flush. I took her hand. It was cold and I felt a tear drop down my face, landing on my mum's hand. I sank down slowly, wishing with all my heart that it was all a nightmare and that she would wake up right now, hold me in her arms and tell me that everything was fine.

But she didn't. We were still in St. Mungo's, my mother laying possibly on her death bed, and the father I had never knew down at the tearoom.

My dad. The words hit me, the impact bringing me to my senses. I had a father, I thought, I had someone who would comfort me while mum's at work or elsewhere, someone who would kiss me goodnight, someone I would learn to love dearly.

But whenever I had needed him in my sixteen years, he was never there. He was in America the whole time, leaving me and my mum in England to fend for ourselves. I had a father. I felt caught between wanting to scream with glee, yell in frustration, and punch something.

"Dad." The word even felt foreign on my tongue. Even just thinking about that man who was supposedly my father, the man with pale gold hair, silvery eyes, and sharp features; just seeing my mental picture of him, he seemed like a stranger.

I sighed. Merlin, why did my life become so messed up and complicated?

"I feel the same way, too." I looked up, surprised, and saw my father standing in the doorway. I realized that I had spoken out loud, and I turned red.

"Um..."

"Yeah..."

We both seemed equally awkward toward each other, meeting each other's eyes and then looking away. I looked at my mum. Suddenly, a deeply buried question surfaced.

"Why did you two divorce, Dad?" I blurted out, unable to stop the words from escaping.

To my surprise, he looked rather resigned. Walking over to the edge of my mum's hospital bed, he conjured up a chair and sat on it, looking at me from across my mum. "Alright, I guess you need to know.

"It all started when I met your mother at Yale. I had decided to spend one year at Yale after leaving Salem, the wizard boarding school in America, before signing up for Auror training. I wanted experience with Muggles, you know, for future experience.

"So, we met at the university, and the sparks flew, and we immediately started dating. When the year was over, and I had to go to Auror training, I made up a cover story and said that I had to study somewhere else private, but we would maintain a long distance relationship.

"We met up every weekend, and when my training was done, I finally proposed to her. She said yes, and six months later we got married. I finally thought that things were going right, since I had been raised in a wizard orphanage and I wasn't rather well liked at school, that I would finally have the perfect life with the girl of my dreams. I had completely forgotten about telling her that I was a wizard, and that was a stupid move. Three months later, I paid the price and faced the consequences.

"She found my wand in my pants pocket and demanded to know why I had it. It seemed as if she knew what it was, but was livid all the same. I tried to explain myself, and I finally told her I was a wizard. She then paled, and then turned red in a matter of moments. She left, packing her bags, muttering things like 'I tried to run away', 'why me?' and 'totally dishonest'. I tried to get her to say, but she said that she had tried to run away from this her whole life, and that she was sick and tired of everything. I had no idea why. Two weeks later, we were officially divorced."

He heaved a sigh and put his head in his hands. I felt sorry for him. Reaching out to him, I placed my hand on his shoulder. Wearing an expression of surprise, he looked up. I smiled sympathetically.

"I know why she said she was running away from it all," I said, everything coming together all of a sudden, "Her parents, my Gran and Grampa, are both wizards. They said that she was always uncomfortable and hostile toward them when she finally figured out what they both were. She had fallen into a state of rage, ranting and raving all night. I felt sorry for both of them. She had turned rebellious, and was always resentful whenever she overheard them talking about magic, or even caught them using the slightest sign. I don't blame you."

He smiled. "Thanks, but now that we've been brought back together with fate, I don't know what to say. I love her with all my heart, and I haven't even dated a girl ever since we'd divorced. She's all that I've ever thought about. I don't know what to say!" He put his head in his hands, looking resigned yet again.

"You should just talk to her." If she wakes up, but I pushed that thought away.

He sighed. "I-I don't know. I'll think about him."

There was a long silence that stretched on for minutes. I broke it, by saying, "Dad?" I was starting to get used to the word.

He looked up. "Yes?"

"Have you thought of what you're going to do when this is all over?" I asked.

He smiled at me. "I haven't decided yet."

"I hope you'll stay." I said quietly but hopefully.

"I hope so, too, Thalia." I smiled when he said my name.

"Me, too." I went over to hug him. At first he was reluctant, but he relaxed when I embraced him tighter.

It felt different hugging him; mainly because I had never been hugged by a male parent before. I felt a warm feeling expand through me as I buried my head into his shoulder. After a while we broke apart, and I found that he was grinning, too.

"Did you ever think that you were going to have a daughter?" I asked.

He smiled and shook his head. "No, I certainly didn't. But I'm glad I do now."

And he pulled me toward him for another hug.

I'm glad I have you, too. I thought.

. . .

After talking for a few more minutes, I learned everything about him and he learned everything about him. When Al started to stir, he said that he was going to head down to the tearoom to meet up with my uncle (I have a whole new family added to my old one! How cool is that?) and the rest of the Aurors.

"Al?" I asked, gently shaking him awake.

"Huh? Whoozat?" He said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes free of his sleepy haze.

"Al, it's me!" I said, and giggled softly when his green eyes were still blearily looking around. "This should wake you up."

I pulled him up and pulled his lips to mine. He immediately woke up, and was somewhat surprised, but he reacted, pulling me closer to him, and deepening the kiss. I grinned against his soft lips, and when we broke apart, I smirked at him.

"Awake now?"

He grinned. "Hell, yeah."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to go see how Rose is doing?"

He nodded. I led him down the hall, and we entered a ward similar to my mum's. When we entered, I saw Scorpius holding Rose's hand. She was quite pale, but she still seemed to be breathing.

"Hey, Scorpius. How's Rose?" Albus asked.

He looked up, and he looked quite pale himself. He seemed to have gotten thinner in the past few hours. "She's getting worse. I've been monitoring her heart beat; her pulse is slowing down by the hour. If we don't get the cure, she'll die in about 8 hours."

I gaped at him in shock. "8 hours?"

He sighed. "Yes. Apparently, anyone else with a similar case to this had died."

Albus and I looked at each other. Was this really the end of our friendship?

"Do you think we should say a few words, you know, just in case she-she doesn't make it?" Albus asked.

Scorpius nodded, staring at Rose's face.

"Do you want to go first, Thalia?" Albus asked.

I nodded. Going to sit down at the edge of her hospital bed, I looked at the pale face of my best friend of 6 ½ years. "Um, Rose, I just want you to know, that you're the best friend a girl like me could ever have. You're smart, funny, and probably brighter than I'll ever be. You're always there to support me, and I'm sorry about what happened at the Yule Ball. I really hope you wake up, not just for me, but for everyone who cares about you. Please don't go." I said pleadingly.

I got up so that Al could say his own words to his cousin. He sat down, looking more devastated than I had ever seen him. "Rosie, I, uh, I just want to say that you've been the best friend and cousin I could ever ask for. You're my favourite cousin, because, well, you're super bright for one thing, and also because you understand me better than them. Please wake up, Rose. Things would never be the same if you're gone."

He got up and joined me, his hand intertwining into mine. Scorpius took a deep breath. "Rose, y-you're the most special girl I've ever met. No one could compare to how bright, talented, and beautiful you are. I love every moment I spend with you, and every night I treasure them, replaying how you laugh, smile, even frown." He seemed to forget that there was anyone else in the room except for him and Rose. "Don't go, I need you here. Please." He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against hers. It was as if something broke; there was a sweeping sensation across the room similar to a heat wave, but only it was cooler.

We sat there in silence.

. . .

I went back over to my mum's ward, just to check on her.

I expected to see her still lying still and pale, eyes closed.

What I didn't expect was to see her upright, reading a Muggle magazine, awake.

Well, that was what I saw.

"Mum?" I asked, still shocked. She looked up from the magazine, her blue eyes weary, but sparkling with life. Her hair was slightly dishevelled and her face was still quite pale and thin. She beamed at me, smile lines appearing near her eyes.

"Thalia!"

"You're awake?" And alive? I felt a surge of happiness wash through me.

She nodded, and I ran over to her, embracing her as tightly as I dared – given her current recovering state, as I felt tears in my eyes.

"Oh, mum, I really thought you were going to die!" I sobbed.

My mum patted my back, and I could tell she too was on the verge of tears. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry! I was a total snob to you back there. Why on earth did I think that work was more important than you? I'll be staying for Christmas, heck, maybe even longer!"

I looked her in the eye. "Do you resent that I'm a witch?"

She looked slightly guilty. "I-I used to, because I was jealous, honey."

I was perplexed. "Why were you jealous?"

She sighed. "When my mum told me all about magic when I was younger, I was ecstatic. I could hardly wait until I got my very own wand, my own owl, and learn how to cast spells! I could hardly contain my excitement when my 11th birthday came rolling around. I even kept the window wide open so that it could make a clean entrance. When it didn't come, well, you could imagine my disappointment. It turned into bitter resentment after a while and I gave my parents a hard time when they signed me up for a boarding school, and a Muggle one at that. I extremely regret being rude to them, and when you performed your first sign of magic in front of me, I felt jealousy boil in my stomach. I decided that I would ignore the fact. But when you got your Hogwarts letter, I pulled away from you and my parents, thinking it was the only option. I'm sorry." She finished.

I was shocked. My mother, jealous? I hugged her tightly. "It's okay, mum. And I'm sorry for those things I said to you on the phone. I was just angry."

She hugged me back. "That's quite alright, dear."

"Can you and dad talk?" I asked.

She stiffened. I looked at her pleadingly, begging her to patch things up. "Oh, alright, I will."

"Yes! Thank you, mum! You're the best!" I hugged her again.

She chuckled. "You're quite welcome."

Things were definitely looking up.

A/N: Please Review!

TFI