Meghan checked the thing around her wrist. A watch, if she knew the correct Muggle term. It was still rather early, but she didn't think Damien would mind. After all, he had wanted to talk. The more time they had the better.

She quickly Apparated behind his house, and knocked on the window. In case there was an open window, she called, "Damien? You there? It's Meghan..."

Damien rustled around in the bed for most of the morning feeling, recovering from the activities from the night. His eyes struggled to stay open as he wiped sleep from his eyes to look around the room. As he turned over, he realized he'd not been wearing clothing and the warmth emanating from the sheets made him feel at peace again. He placed his arm around the source, spooning for some time, "morning Ash."

After a moment, he shook his head in confusion and pulled the sheet back a tiny bit to reveal Amy. It all came back to him, the night's activities and he realized it was all fun. Maybe he had worked out whatever it was that he needed to get over to be able to move on.

A knocking on the back door reminded him that he'd invited Meghan over. He fell out of bed quickly, grabbing his pajama pants, grabbed his wand from the inside of the night stand and ran downstairs to the back door, "Meghan! Good to see you here bright and early." He turned to look at the coffee pot. "Half past 11? What the hell? Come on in and thanks for coming over." He slipped the wand into his pocket as she entered.

Meghan raised an eyebrow at Damien's retire, but fought back a snicker. "Sorry if I woke you," she apologized, stepping into the house. "But you look better. Get enough sleep?"

Amy awoke, hearing voices. She recognized the voice from yesterday, and her eyes widened. She quickly got up and got dressed as quietly as possible, before making the bed. She then sat down, and debated on whether to go downstairs, or just stay. Meghan hadn't seemed to like her yesterday, what with the glares and all..."Yeah... wonderful night's sleep. Wants some coffee? Can you tell me why your here so early?"

Meghan nodded at the coffee offer. "I'd love some." She shrugged. "I don't know. Sorry if it's too early, but I just figured, the more time we had to talk, the better. I didn't know how long we would go, and I have things to do tomorrow. Plus," here she looked excited. "I got accepted as an Auror. So, they want me to be alert at all times. 'Constant Vigilance' as Ol' Mad Eye likes to say these nowadays. They're going to do random drills and such, to test my alertness. But don't worry...they won't do it here. Because of your Muggle neighbors."

"You would think that, but that's not the case..." he said with a kind of venom in his voice, "I can tell you the real reason they won't come here, but you may not believe me."

He pulled out his wand, waving over the coffee machine as he offered her a chair at the table, "any who, I took your advice yesterday. I mean seriously listened and accepted it and you know what. You're right."

Meghan eyed him. "The real reason?" she asked. "Do I want to know?" She sat, giving him a grateful nod. "And which part of my advice did you take? I'm not sure I remember..."

"Yeah I really want to know," he said looking back to the stairwell, hoping Amy wouldn't walk down right now. He kept an eye on the stairs, speaking to Meghan again, "and it was on moving on with Ashley..."

Meghan eyed the stairs, following his gaze. Her eyes narrowed. "On moving on, hmm?" she asked suspiciously. "You must have thought late into the night about it, explaining why you're up so late this morning." She crossed her arms. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Kinda. You won't hate me if I said I asked that woman from work out?"

Meghan eyed the stairs again, as realization struck her. "You didn't," she said flatly. With a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers, her eyes scrunched up. "I gave you that piece if advice for a reason," she muttered, half to herself. "Well, you seem happy enough now...so maybe she did a little more good than I thought..."

She opened her eyes, looking up at him, and now lowering her voice, "But what if it doesn't end well?" she asked. "Have you told her what you are? Does she know what kind of school the twins go to? How will she react? Can you deal with her reaction, even if it's negative? Would you be able to Obliviate her? You do realize you can't tell her anything unless you plan on marrying her. She could tell anyone. This causes a whole slew of problems, Damien..." She leaned back in her chair. "But no...I don't hate you, nor do I blame you...I can understand your reasons."

"I'm hoping that when the time comes for such discussions to arrive, it'll be easier for us to have it. What she knows is that my kids are off at a boarding school and I used to be in the military. I think that's a fair enough trade on that swap of info." He reached across the table and placed his hand gently on hers, patting it with confidence.

"In all honesty, I don't like the quiet life. It's too... droll. Needs more excitement. More… surprises, I suppose is the better way to put it. I haven't been this emotional in years. Just sadness for me, but now," he paused looking up with a devious grin, "Now, I've got something to do."

Meghan snorted, but let him continue speaking. "And how will your children feel about this?" she muttered to herself, before raising her voice so he could hear more clearly. "I agree. Just sitting around and living a quiet life was never meant for you. You have too much energy, too much life for that. Try to get back to being active, and try to do things you used to do. It helps, I promise. My life has a semblance of normalcy now." She smiled.

"Well I'm glad you found some sort of normalcy, still working on mine. As for my children, I'm not sure what they will think. Hoping it will be nothing but good things, but know Samael, he'd be angry about it. Faith will be happy that I'm happy and well, Xander is too young for such things."

Meghan nodded. "Be careful with Samael," she said softly. "He may seem angry and tough, but inside, he's just a young, scared, and hurting boy. He just needs some extra love."

"I try Meghan, but without Ashley he's very much a wiley sort. He's been pushing me away since she died."

Meghan was about to reply, when she heard the steps creak. She looked up to see the woman from yesterday peering out nervously. "Come on in," she said, in a deceptively sweet voice. Inwardly, she was eyeing the woman, trying to see if she would be a woman that the kids could like as well. She seemed nice enough...

Amy warily stepped into the kitchen, looking up at Damien then to Meghan. "Morning," she said slowly. "I'm Amy...you must be Meghan."

Meghan nodded, but didn't further acknowledge the woman. "Morning, I brewed some coffee. We were just catching up on old times. Talking of work and things. How'd you sleep?"

Amy relaxed a little, slipping cautiously over to Damien, so the table was between her and Meghan. "I slept fine...you?" she asked. "It's nice of you, Meghan, to check up on Damien. He needs someone to look out for him." Meghan nodded with a tight smile.

He placed his hand gently onto Amy's, smiling to her, "slept the best I have I years, thanks to you. What time do you work today?"

Amy smiled, lacing their fingers together. "I start work in the afternoon today," she said. "About 2:30 or so. Thank goodness for afternoon shifts." She sat beside him, as Meghan shifted positions.

"Should I go?" Meghan asks coolly. "I don't want to intrude on your morning..."

"Maybe if you could do me a favor and pick up Xander, I would greatly appreciate it. You've been to my dad's house before I believe. We have some business to discuss."

Meghan nodded shortly, her face brightening slightly at the prospect of seeing Xander again. "Alright. I'll head over there, then. I'll be back in about half an hour." She glanced at the two, before saying, "I can let myself out." She made her way to the door, planning to find an alley to Apparate safely from.

Amy watched her go. "Did she give you a hard time about me?" she asked self-consciously. "'Cause I don't think she likes me very much."

"Don't worry too much about her; she's just mad that it's not her where you're sitting right now. She's always wanted a chance to go out with me. She's just trying to find an excuse for me to go out with her, which is fine and all, but she should have been a bit more timely about it all. So, I have a serious question for you and I really want you to think about it. Do you want to be here when she comes back from picking up Xander? This is my youngest and he's quite the charmer, but I know we've only gone out on one date and I'm not sure whether or not you'll be comfortable with that.

Amy frowned. "She didn't look like she was jealous," she commented, "More like she was afraid of something. Losing the friendship she had with you, maybe? You really should confront her on whether she still has feelings for you or not." She thought for a few moments. "Yes, I would love to meet Xander, and maybe I can watch him while you talk things over with Meghan?"

"If you're sure about that then that's what we'll do."

Half hour later:

Damien made brunch for him and Amy, consisting of eggs, pancakes and bacon. He watched the clock to make sure he had time before Xander and Meghan got there. Once done with breakfast he cleaned up and came up behind Amy, rubbing her neck and kissing her cheek, "if you need to, there's a shower upstairs and some clothing in a dresser you might be able to fit into."

Amy nodded. "I'll be down in a little bit," she said with a smile. "Thanks." She kissed his cheek, before heading upstairs. There was a knock at the front door, where Meghan was waiting, holding Xander.

"You're getting too big to be carried," Meghan chuckled, poking Xander's stomach. "You're a big boy now."

Xander giggled hysterically, trying to keep Meghan from poking him. He tried to tickle her back, but the sight of his father answering the door made him squeal and jump from her arms to his.

"Daddy, daddy, look who I found! I found Aunty Megmeg!"

"I see that!"

Meghan was laughing as the door opened, and she grinned happily at Damien. "He's gotten so big!" she said admiringly. "I've missed the little guy." She again pretended she was going to tickle Xander again, eliciting another squeal from the boy.

Xander squirmed with another fit of hysteria, grabbing her hand to keep away from him, "Daddy! Help, she's trying to tickle me!"

"You're old enough to keep tickling away. Sorry, son, but you're on your own."

"Traitor!" He yelled as he continued to hold back the hand, laughing all the while Meghan chuckled once more. She poked him a few more times, before tapping his nose affectionately. "Silly. It's funny when I tickle you." She smiled, before turning to Damien. "Shall we talk, then?"

"Sure. Amy offered to play with Xander while we talk, so once she's out of the shower, she'll take him. First, though, I want to know how you found me."

Meghan shrugged. "Auror training gave me the extra edge," she said slowly. "But it was still difficult. I guess I could have always tracked down the twins, and asked them, but I figured they didn't know exactly. Somehow, I managed to find your magical signature, and traced it to a twenty mile radius, including here. After asking around, I soon managed to locate the town. Then finally, I stumbled upon that drugstore." She sighed. "You are very difficult to find...you know that? Especially when you hide amongst Muggles. You can't exactly go around asking people if they know an alchemist."

Footsteps from within signaled Amy's approach, and Meghan let her voice trail off. The woman appeared her hair damp, but not dripping. "Aww is this Xander?" she cooed. "Hey, buddy!"

Xander eyed the woman cautiously and with interest before hopping out of Meghan's arms, "daddy says never talk to strangers but if you know my daddy then it would be fair enough for me to say 'hi, I'm Alexander. Now what's your name so we aren't strangers?" He said with a matter-of- factly tone and a hand out to shake with.

Amy chuckled. "My, what wonderful manners you have," she said with delight. "My name is Amy. I'm a friend of your daddy's." She smiled sweetly at him, taking the smaller hand in hers and shaking it.

"Cool! Daddy, I like her. She's cute!" He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Damien smiled and pointed to the backyard, "Xander, Amy offered to go play with you while Aunty "Megmeg" and I had a serious conversation. Will you behave for her?"

"Yes sir!" He said, snapping a salute.

Amy laughed. "C'mon, Xander. Let's go play tag." She took the little boy's hand in hers, as Meghan watched them head off.

"Glad a least he's fond of her," Meghan said softly. "He's getting too big too fast. I remember when he was first born..." She sighed, before entering the house after Amy. "So...was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes... and it started with you finding me. I made it hard to be found because of an incident 4 years ago involving good ol' Mad Eye and the Selwyn's. I took my house off the map and stopped using magic to keep it that way... and that is how it is to be kept."

Meghan waved her hand. "The Selwyn's don't have any contact with me. So don't worry about them. And this was my own project. I doubt they know it's you I'm visiting. I won't share your whereabouts freely." She crossed her arms. "If this is because of that hubbub Selwyn raised, then I can understand why you went into hiding. The man was livid...it was hilarious, to watch him try to find you and fail."

"We had a close call once, where a Death Eater came into the store looking for me. That was a while back, though. Mad Eye and I don't quite see eye to eyes any more and last we spoke I told him if any Ministry personnel came around, I would kill them and find him to kill him."

"I was just making sure that this whole thing is going to turn out bad for both of us. Second, is regarding Xander; you do know you're his godmother right?

Meghan shuddered. "I do hope you aren't going to kill me then kill Mad-Eye," she chuckled nervously. "Honestly, I came here of my own accord. I wouldn't turn you in..." Her eyes widened. "His godmother? Since when? I never knew..."

"I wouldn't dare," he said with a chuckle.

"Since always. Samael and Faith as well, they are your godchildren. There are a few things we must go over in the event of bad things happening."

Meghan nodded swiftly. "I'm flattered that you two chose me as their godmother. You know I would raise them as my own in case of any bad event. But what did you have in mind specifically?"

He nodded towards the stairs to take her to his office, "bank account, deeds, birth certificates, my will, everything in my office, in terms of official documents is being left to you until my children are of age."

Meghan's eyes widened. "That's a lot of responsibility," she said quietly. "But I will do what is best for the children, in any situation. I won't violate your trust, Damien...I'm honored to be their godmother."

"Well I assumed you would. There is but one other really important thing I must ask you about," he said opening his office door, "I know you don't remember it, but back at Hogwarts, you, me and Ash had a bit of an incident. We had to remove the memory from you because it made you dangerous. You tried to blackmail Ashley and me into breaking up so you could have your way. Now, in my book that is something I would have held against you, but Ash never saw it like that. She knew you were simply misguided and out of your right mind. Do I suspect you still have feelings for me?"

Meghan frowned. "Back at Hogwarts? I remember liking you...but it suddenly stopped. Right around the time you and Ash started going out. I don't really know why." She turned to look at him seriously.

"Damien, I'll be honest. Back then, I was jealous of Ash for being able to get a nice guy. That's probably why I did whatever it was you erased from my mind. But over the years, I've come to terms with being single. I'm okay with not finding a guy. No, I don't have feelings for you; only feelings of friendship, and concern for my friend's welfare." She smiled softly. "I apologize for whatever I did in the past...jealousy makes girls do weird things."

"Yes, I noticed. We held nothing against you for it, just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. Last thing I wanted to talk to you about is Faith and Samael. I have a feeling they will end up just like me and if that be the case, don't stop them. I want them to experience what I have if they chose it, but if they don't just let them be. Everything you'll need is in this safe in my office. You will have to draw this on it to open."

He searched his desk for a slip of paper with a simple circle with a pattern across it, "simple enough. I've got chalk or a marker in here should the occasion arise."

Meghan nodded gratefully. "Thank you for never holding it against me," she murmured. She watched as he drew the symbol, and it seemed simple. She traced the sane patter with her finger on the palm of her hand. "Alright. I will let their lives run their course. But I will always keep their best in mind."