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Chapter Two: Moon, Stars and Shoes

Meredith had watched the interaction between Marley and James with a close eye as she had spoken with Teddy. As Marley had smiled, it had occurred to Meredith that James was the only person in the world who had ever made her sister smile like that.

It made her... jealous.

She wanted someone to make her smile like that. She wanted someone to bicker over silly things with.

"Have they made up yet?" Teddy asked, pulling her away from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, they have. Hugged and everything." Meredith said.

Teddy let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Or else it was going to be one painful day."

"Tell me about it." Meredith said with a short, forced laugh.

"How're you doing, Mer?" Teddy asked, his voice dropping an octave quieter.

She shrugged at him, hating that Teddy could read her like a book. He narrowed his eyes at her until she sighed and shrugged again.

"Have you thought about talking to your parents about -" Teddy started.

"No. And I'm not going to." Meredith said harshly.

Teddy immediately backed off and raised his hands. "Sorry, sorry. Just a suggestion."

"A bad one." Meredith muttered under her breath.

She could never tell her parents about what had happened. She would never. Just the thought of it made her want to hide.

Before either one of them could say anything else, the fireplace erupted into flames and Victoire stepped through, her blonde hair shimmering in flames. She had inherited incredibly after her mother. Teddy immediately went to her, kissing her lips before hugging her close. Following Victoire were Bill and Fleur, who moved past their daughter to greet the family.

Meredith sighed, looking around at everyone as they made happy conversation with each other.

She felt almost more alone than ever.

. . .

Marley was insanely aware of the fact that James' hand was resting on the small of her back. She was very focused on her breathing, making sure that it remained as normal as she could make it.

She could tell just by this simple action how sorry James was for yesterday.

Everyone had opened their presents, taking up the majority of the day. Now, it was just before dinner and the rest of the guests were in the midst of arriving. Christmas dinner was almost always at Marley's house, due to the sheer number of guests. But, Hermione and Draco almost never made it.

It was usually her Grandma Molly with the help of Grandma Cissa and Fleur, just as it was this year. The three of them made such an incredible cooking team. Marley always loved their Christmas dinners.

"Wanna..." James whispered in her ear.

Marley looked at him with widened eyes and a smile, knowing exactly what he meant.

"James, we can't. It's almost time for dinner." she whispered back.

"Come on. We'll be back before they notice we're gone."

Marley took a look at James and felt herself cave as she took in his green eyes. He raised his eyebrows and offered out his hand. She groaned, taking it and letting him pull her through the kitchen fast enough for Fleur and the grandmothers not to say anything.

Soon, they were outside in the snow and cold of the night.

"J-James, it's freezing." she shivered.

He just laughed, running through the snow and to the broom shed in her backyard. He appeared a moment later with one of Draco's brooms - the one she knew that James liked the most. He ran back over to her and mounted the broom.

"That's okay. Just hold on tight, okay?" he whispered.

She grinned and shook her head. "No way. My turn in front."

He moved down on the broom, making room for her to fly in front and steer. She felt his arms hold her around the waist tightly and she shivered at the soft touch.

"Guess I better hold on tight, then." he whispered.

She didn't say anything, merely taking off. It was their thing - flying when the sky was dark and the stars were shining. It was one of the things that made Marley feel safest in the world - when James was with her. Meredith absolutely hated brooms, but Marley loved them. She figured it was probably from growing up attached at the hip with James.

When they touched down later, Marley instantly wanted to keep going. She knew that they were now probably late for dinner, but she didn't care. She always wanted to keep flying with James.

"Ready?" James called out after putting the broom back in the shed.

Marley pouted, shaking her head. James just smiled as he reached her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Come on, Malfoy." he sighed, pulling her back inside the house.

As they stood inside, Marley smoothed down her dress, pausing outside the entrance to the dining room.

"Wait." she whispered.

James stopped, turning around to look at her with expectant eyes. She wasn't sure exactly why she had stopped him. Maybe it was just for a few more moments alone with him. Before she could say anything, James stepped closer.

"Wait, hold that thought. I've got your Christmas present here." James said.

She raised her eyebrows. He had already given her a present - a book that she had mentioned a couple months ago.

"You already -" she started,

"But I've got you this as well. I just didn't have anything to put it in." he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out something clenched in his fist. "Here." he whispered, placing it into her hand.

When he pulled his hand away, Marley gasped. It was a silver charm bracelet with three single charms: a broom, a star and a shoe.

"Broom and star are obvious. And the shoe... it's for the amount of times you've fucking stomped on my foot when we've been fighting." James explained with a laugh.

Marley's face flamed as she looked up from the bracelet at him. It was incredibly sweet. She could hardly believe it. James took the bracelet from her and fastened it on her wrist before she could say anything.

"Merry Christmas, Marley." he whispered, bending down and kissing her cheek.

He walked into the room before she could even say thank you.

. . .

"Relax, Hermione. You know they're just goofing off somewhere." Draco whispered to Hermione from their spots at the table.

"I know, I know." Hermione groaned.

She knew that, but it didn't stop Hermione from being worried about Marley and James. She was about to say something to Ginny when James walked in the room with Marley following close behind.

"There you two are!" Ginny chastised.

Hermione watched as her daughter blushed deeply. She caught sight of something silver shimmering on her wrist, but didn't mention it. She'd ask her daughter later

"See. I told you." Draco said.

"Yeah, yeah. Sue me for worrying." Hermione sighed.

Hermione was always uneasy when she didn't know where her children were - especially so due to what had happened with Meredith. Draco reached for her hand under her table, squeezing it tightly She felt his fingers graze against the bands of her wedding and engagement rings. She turned to him and kissed his cheek quickly before turning back to her meal.

She looked around at her family and friends, smiling at the sight. All of the Potters were still there, as well as Bill, Fleur and Victoire; Molly and Arthur, George, Angelina and their two kids Fred and Roxanne; Blaise, Pansy and Corinna; and finally, Narcissa.

Molly and Arthur hadn't been there in the morning, as they had spent it with Ron - who was exiled from all family events. They never spoke of him when they could help it, and when they did, it was never to Hermione, only Draco.

She caught sight of Meredith talking quietly with Teddy and Victoire at the other end of the table as Meredith pushed her food around. She had a sombre expression on her face - as per usual.

"Hermione." a voice called.

She looked at her other side, finding Harry staring at her with concerned eyes.

"Yeah?" she said to her friend.

"Stop worrying. She's okay." Harry muttered under his breath.

"Harry, she's not. Look at her." Hermione whispered. "She looks even worse than she did the last time and she won't talk to me about it. She never does."

"What, you think it's something more than -?" Harry started.

"Don't you?" she said before he could finish the sentence.

Harry observed his goddaughter for a minute and sighed, nodding slowly. Hermione knew that it had to be more than what had happened in her childhood. After having observed Meredith all day, she knew it was something more. She was barely eating and was often lost in her thoughts. All her smiles and laughter seemed faked.

It had been like this the last few times Meredith had checked in with them from her European trip.

. . .

"She's staying around for two weeks, okay? She'll talk before she goes. Don't worry." Draco added, having listened in on Harry's conversation with his wife.

He squeezed Hermione's hand again, having agreed with everything she had said. It had to be something more. He knew his girl, and Hermione was usually right when it came to her intuitions.

The dinner went by without incident as it usually did until it was obvious that the kids were itching to leave the table. He watched his children leave in their little groups: Lyra and Scorpius with Lily and Fred Weasley the Second; Jeremy with Albus and Corinna; Marley linking arms with Roxanne Weasley and James following behind them; and Meredith walking out with Teddy and Victoire.

Now, it was just the adults at the table. Draco got up and made his way over to his mother. She was getting older, but Draco was glad to see her still as healthy as she could be. She still was slow compared to Molly Weasley - who was her elder by five years - but she was still strong.

"Thank you for dinner, Mother." Draco said, kissing his mother on the cheek.

"You're welcome, Draco." she said with a smile. "Is Meredith alright?"

"You noticed, too?" Draco sighed, taking the vacant seat next to her.

"Of course I did. I know my granddaughter as well as the next person." Narcissa said.

Draco nodded. His mother was right. Draco loved how involved with his children Narcissa was and had been from the very beginning. She loved Meredith and the rest fiercely. When he was a teenager, he never would have guessed how loving and caring of a grandmother she would grow to be.

"Think you could try and talk to her?" Draco asked. "She always talks to you."

It was true. Draco's mother was one of the few people that Meredith tended to be completely open with. Perhaps it was because Narcissa always called everyone out on their bullshit, all the while remaining kind.

"Of course. I won't tonight, but I'll pop by in a few days. Give her some time to adjust to being home." Narcissa said.

"Thanks, Mum." Draco said, kissing his mother's cheek again before standing up and making his way back over to Hermione.

. . .

James liked Roxanne, he really did. But he just wanted her to leave him and Marley the hell alone.

Roxanne was his cousin and Marley's closest girlfriend, so of course he loved her. But he really needed to be alone with Marley. Upon giving her the bracelet, he had had a sudden burst of confidence in his behaviour towards her - and now it was fading fast.

He wanted to kiss Marley. He wanted to kiss her more than anything.

Then again, he always wanted to kiss Marley. But he figured that now could be a good time. He could kiss her and tell her about his feelings and then... see where things go. If it was a bad response, he could blame it on the spirit of Christmas and the Firewhiskey he had smuggled into his drink.

If it was a good response...

Then he would have everything he had ever wanted.

"Roxanne, could you give me and James a minute? I've got to talk to him about something." Marley said, surprising James.

Roxanne eyed them both curiously before raising her eyebrows suggestively. James watched as Marley elbowed her out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"What is it?" James asked, placing his glass down on the table in front of him.

Marley sat down next to him and smiled. He was suddenly increasingly nervous. Where the hell had his confidence gone?

"I did something last month." she said. "I've been meaning to show you, but..."

"What?" he asked, suddenly amused.

Marley took a deep breath and stood up, surprising him by lifting up her dress. Her legs were covered in tights, so there wasn't anything to see until she lifted it up past her stomach, revealing the pale cream of her skin.

James fought to keep his heartbeat and everything else regular.

On the side of her hip was a tattoo of a lily. James raised his eyebrows at her and the sight of it. Hardly anyone in the Wizarding world had tattoos, but he knew that Marley found them fascinating.

And it was a lily.

Lily was Meredith's middle name - a representation of James' grandmother. it as also Marley's favourite flower, which was why he knew Marley had gotten it.

"Wow. It's... it's nice, Marley." he said, struggling to find his voice. "It looks good."

"Really?" she said, smoothing her dress back down and grinning. "Mum and Dad'll kill me if they find out, but... I just couldn't resist."

"When did you get that?" he asked as she sat back down next to him.

"A month or so ago. Mum took me shopping one weekend with Aunt Gin, Lily and Lyra and I snuck off into Muggle London and got it done." Marley explained with a shrug.

"Bold of you." James observed.

"Yeah, guess so. I just really wanted it and I knew that Mum'd say no. Dad would probably have a heart attack if I even asked and I didn't want to wait for Meredith to get home to take me." Marley continued.

She babbled on, as she usually did when she was in a good mood and James was suddenly wondering if he would ruin everything by kissing her.

"What?" Marley said suddenly, her voice much softer.

James realized that she had stopped speaking and was staring at him intently.

"What?" he repeated.

"You're just staring at me." she said with a soft smile.

"No, I'm not."

"You are."

"No."

"James."

"Marley."

And then they were laughing at each other as they always did. It was as if yesterday's fight had never happened. It always went that way with the two of them. They would fight as though it was the end of the world, and then the next day, everything would be the same as it was.

He took a deep breath and slid closer to her, watching her eyes widen slightly as he did so.

"Marley, I..." he started.

She said nothing as he paused. He was suddenly so distracted by how close she was that he lost the use of his words. He was struck by the intensity of her icy grey eyes, the slight blush on her pale cheeks and the pinkness of her lips.

God, all he wanted was to kiss her.

He leaned forward, daring to do something he had wanted to do since he knew what feelings were.

When suddenly - everyone decided to come back into the living room.

The two sprung apart, James actually getting off of the couch as the voices of the adults came into the room. He ran his hands through his hair, trying desperately to forget what had almost happened.