Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my ideas. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: My sister is driving me crazy begging me to post more. She's threatened to break into my computer. So, here we go. Please enjoy and thanks for reading! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! xx

Chapter Eight: Together Again

Meredith awoke with an instant headache.

She groaned, turning over in her bed as the night's events washed over her.

Leo.

Leo had been the one to bring her home. She groaned even louder at that. She grabbed her wand from her bedside table and summoned a Hangover Cure potion from her dresser and downed it in one go.

Suddenly, before the potion even had time to take full effect, there came a knock at her door followed by the slow opening. She sat up, finding Lyra standing in pajamas and holding a stuffed lion.

"Meredith?" Lyra whispered.

"Hey, Ly. What are you doing?" Meredith said, holding out her arms for her sister to join her on the bed.

Lyra quickly scampered into the room, hoisting herself up onto the bed. Meredith pulled her youngest sister closest to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Mummy and Daddy haven't gotten out of their room yet. Scorp went downstairs with Jeremy, but I didn't want to." Lyra explained.

Meredith narrowed her eyes in confusion. Her parents were almost always up before the kids. She knew how much her Mum liked to make them breakfast. And it wasn't Christmas anymore - they should be awake. She was almost certain that her father had to work today, whereas Hermione was off until after the New Year.

"How about I get up with you and go downstairs, okay?" Meredith sighed.

Lyra nodded, though her expression stayed sad. Meredith felt her heart break a little at the sight of the little girl - just as it always did.

"I'll let you put extra sugar on your cereal, okay?" Meredith said.

Lyra's expression instantly brightened and Meredith couldn't help but grin at her. The two girls made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen where Scorpius and Jeremy were already sitting. Lyra sat down between her brothers and Meredith poured her a bowl of cereal before handing her the sugar.

"Don't tell Mum and Dad, yeah?" she said, watching as the twins passed the sugar back and forth.

Meredith knew very well that they would probably become extra hyper for a good few hours after that. She sat down at the table, casting herself over a mug of coffee and taking a long sip instantly. She heard her siblings chattering away, but she couldn't listen. All she could think about was Leo and how she had promised to speak with him.

Damn drunken promises.

She had promised to speak to him soon - but how soon was soon?

"Meredith?" Jeremy called, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, Jer?" she sighed.

"What's wrong with Mum? I walked past her room last night to get myself a drink and I heard her crying."

Meredith's eyes widened. She hated just the thought of her Mother being upset. She stood up, cradling her coffee cup in her hands.

"I don't know, Jer. But, I'll go see, okay?" Meredith said, reaching forward and touching her brother's hair.

Jeremy nodded, turning his attention back to his cereal. Meredith quickly headed out of the kitchen to her parent's room. She paused just outside the door, wishing that she had some Extendable Ears to listen in with. She knew that it had to be something serious if they weren't even up yet.

"Do we tell her?" her father whispered.

Meredith froze, hearing them. She stood closer to the door, pressing her ear against it.

"I... I don't know. Let's just wait and see what Molly says first." Hermione said.

Meredith stared at the door, wondering who they were speaking about. She heard them start to move and she quickly walked away from the door, heading to the stairs.

What the hell was going on?

. . .

Marley woke up first - something that never happened when James stayed over. She lifted her head off of his chest and looked at him. He looked peaceful and vulnerable, just as he always did when he was asleep. She held in a sigh and debated whether or not to lie back down on his chest.

His arms suddenly tightened around her waist and her eyes widened. She laid back down, wrapping an arm across him. She had been pleased when James had immediately pulled her to him again last night - she definitely liked this new way of sleeping.

He moved underneath her and she sat up slightly again, looking at him. She watched as his eyes slowly blinked open, taking in his surroundings before finally coming to rest on her.

"Morning." he mumbled.

"Morning." she whispered, being very aware that his arms made no movements to let go of her.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

For a silent moment, they just stared at one another. Marley felt her heart rate increase just by the way that James was looking at her.

"I should probably..." he started slowly.

"Yeah." she whispered.

After another minute, he let go of her and sat up. Marley sighed, crossing her arms tight over her chest as he got out of bed, making his way to the fireplace.

"You don't have to go home, if you want." Marley said suddenly, realizing that all she wanted to do was make him stay.

James smiled at her. "I know, but Mum's probably having a fit that I'm not home. Again."

Marley nodded, already knowing his answer before he had even said it. He turned towards the Floo and Marley stood up, getting ready to head downstairs for some coffee.

"Marley?" James said.

She turned to look at him, finding James staring at her with a sudden intensity.

"What?" she asked.

"I..." he started.

Marley nodded, encouraging him. Suddenly, James was crossing the room to her. He took his face in her hands and she gasped slightly, staring up at him with widened eyes.

And then, he kissed her.

Marley's heart felt like it was exploding in her chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. She was finally kissing James. She had thought of this for so long - and it was so much better than she imagined. He dropped a hand from her cheek, letting it land on her waist and gently pull her as close as he could get.

After a long moment, they both pulled away, gasping for breath. Marley stared at him, completely and utterly speechless.

"God, I've been wanting to do that forever." he whispered.

All she could do was nod.

. . .

Hermione splashed her face with cold water and sighed.

She knew that all of her kids - possibly with the exception of Marley - had to be up already. Hermione herself had been awake for hours, but she hadn't been able to force herself to get out of bed.

Draco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in her hair.

"We should go downstairs. The children are probably up already." Hermione whispered.

"I know." he murmured.

Hermione turned around in his arms and kissed him softly. She had to get over to Harry and Ginny's. She couldn't stand not knowing what Molly was saying about Ron - if she had said anything yet.

Draco grabbed her hand and guided her downstairs to the kitchen. Just as Hermione thought, all of her kids were present - except for Marley. Meredith was sitting next to Jeremy, hugging her knees and cradling a mug of coffee in her hands. Hermione instantly noticed a worried expression on her face.

"Sorry we overslept, you guys." Hermione murmured, kissing Lyra, Scorpius and Jeremy on the forehead.

"It's okay, Mum." Jeremy said.

Hermione looked at Meredith who was avoiding all eye contact with her. Hermione cleared her throat and Meredith finally looked up, her eyes widened.

"You okay, Mum?" Meredith asked.

Hermione nodded slowly, feeling as if she were a robot. She instantly knew that both Meredith and Jeremy didn't believe her.

"Meredith, could you watch the kids for us this morning?" Draco asked suddenly. "We've got to head over to the Potter's for a bit."

"No, Daddy!" Lyra suddenly yelled.

Hermione looked at her youngest daughter, surprised when she found tears in her eyes. Hermione immediately walked to her and bent down next to the chair.

"What's wrong, Ly?" Hermione asked.

"I want to come." Lyra whimpered.

"Sweetheart, we need to talk about grownup things, okay?" Hermione said.

"No, Mummy! Bring me please." Lyra begged.

Hermione felt bad. First she hadn't been up with her kids in the morning - one of her favourite parts of the day, and now she was leaving.

She did suppose that she could bring her two youngest. Jeremy was old enough to take care of himself. She could let Lyra and Scorpius play with Lily while they spoke with Molly Weasley.

"Okay. You and Scorp can come." Hermione sighed.

Lyra's eyes instantly cleared up and she threw her arms around Hermione. Hermione lifted her off of her chair, knowing full well that Lyra was almost too old for that. She had to take these moments when she could.

"Jer, do you want to come?" Hermione asked.

"No thanks, Mum." Jeremy said.

"Are you sure? You could hang out with Albus, I'm sure."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe later."

Hermione bent down to her son and kissed his forehead again. "There's a book in my room sitting on my bed that I think you'd like. Why don't you check it out today, okay?"

Jeremy beamed at her, getting up from his seat immediately. "Thanks, Mum!"

. . .

James just stared at Marley as he held her close. Her eyes were shining brightly with happiness, as he was sure his own were.

He had finally kissed her.

He had been about to leave when he realized there never would be a perfect moment. He just simply had to go for it. And he was really glad that he had.

"Come with me." James whispered.

"Where?" she asked.

"My house. Spend the day with me, Marley."

She nodded immediately and James knew she hadn't taken a second thought. He pulled her back to him, pressing his lips softly against hers. He heard her sigh with delight and he couldn't help but smile into the kiss. With all the girls he had kissed, he knew that none of them compared to this.

Marley.

She was everything to him.

"I've got to get dressed first." she mumbled, pulling away.

"No. Let's just go. Spend the day in pajamas and watch films, okay?" he whispered.

He knew how much Marley liked films. He was glad that her Mother and his Father had shown them some Muggle customs. They weren't all that bad.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the fireplace. A few moments later and they both stepped out inside his home. He felt his face pale dramatically at the sight of his entirely filled living room.

Almost everyone possible was there.

Ginny, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Grandma Molly and Granddad Arthur, Teddy, Lyra, Scorpius, Albus and Lily. The only people missing were Jeremy and Meredith.

"Shit." James groaned.

"James, language please." his Mother groaned.

He looked at Marley who's face was completely red. She crossed her arms over her tank top clad chest and just blushed even deeper.

"Where have you been?" Ginny demanded.

"Mum, I... after last night I went to Marley's and just stayed there, okay?" James sighed.

"You mean you were in my house all night?" Draco demanded.

"Dad, please don't go into overprotective mode right now, okay?" Marley groaned.

"Marley, just -" Draco started.

"No. Stop." Marley said abruptly, grabbing James's hand and pulling him in the direction of the staircase.

James smirked at the girl in front of him. He decided to follow her lead and ignore the shouting voices of his Mother and her Father.

. . .

"I don't believe this." Ginny sighed.

"Gin, just... let them have their fun, okay? We can deal with it later." Harry said.

"No! I mean -" Ginny started, stopping abruptly.

Draco was just as enraged as Ginny was, but he still realized that the kids were in the room - just as he was sure she had. Ginny dismissed them all, telling them to go play in their rooms - minus Teddy. Once they were clear, Draco decided to start in.

"He can't just spend the night with Marley without us knowing!" Draco shouted.

"Draco, please. They were just sleeping." Hermione sighed.

"What? You knew about this?" Draco asked.

"No, I didn't. But I do know my daughter, and I know she's not like that." Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at them.

"They're not kids anymore, Hermione." Ginny added.

"I know that, Ginny. But that doesn't mean that they're -"

"Hermione, think about me and you at their age, okay?"

Draco's mind was thrown back to his first time with Hermione in the Room of Requirement. He hated thinking that Marley was old enough for that now. He wanted to keep her as young as possible for as long as possible.

"Draco, would you please relax?" Hermione sighed. "We can worry about that later. We're here for a reason, remember?"

And then Draco did remember. Marley and James were really not at the top of his list of worries at the moment. He looked at Molly and Arthur. Neither had spoken since arriving and Molly had had tears in her eyes the entire time.

"Mum... what's going on?" Ginny said, her tone much softer than before.

Draco reached to Hermione and grabbed her hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He took a sideways glance at her, finding her expression entirely blank. He knew that she was trying to remain emotionless, if only to prepare herself for whatever Molly was about to say.

"He showed up last night and begged me to let him in. I... I didn't know how to say no. I hadn't seen him in so long - and I haven't forgotten what he's done. I'll never forget that." Molly started.

Draco looked at Hermione again who was gripping his hand tightly. He slid closer to her, wrapping his other arm around her body.

"But what does he want?" Draco asked.

"He... he has kids. Two of them. And the mother of them - well, she just died and he doesn't know how to raise them on his own. He said he needs help." Molly continued.

That had been about the last thing Draco was expecting.