Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my ideas. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THIS CHAPTER FROM EARLIER! Seriously, the uploader thing changed, and now it's being weird so I'm trying another way. If it's weird, leave a review and I'll take it down again. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW AND I APOLOGIZE AGAIN! xx
Chapter Nineteen: Let's Do This
Marley awoke to the familiar sound of her fireplace.
She didn't even have to open her eyes to know it was James. She felt him crawl into bed with her and pull her onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the top of her head.
"Morning." she mumbled, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at him.
"Morning, M&M." he whispered, kissing her softly. "Sorry I couldn't come last night."
"It's alright." she whispered.
After spending another night alone, she realized just how much better she truly did sleep when James was there. She didn't know what they were supposed to do when they were back at Hogwarts.
"What happened last night anyways? When you went to go check on your parents?" Marley mumbled, snuggling herself closer to James.
She felt his arms tighten around her and she looked up, taking in his expression. She saw the worry in his eyes and propped herself up on an elbow while touching his face gently with her hand.
"James?" she said softly.
"Right, well..." James sighed, shaking his head. "They were arguing over your Mum and my Dad. And from what it sounded like... they were together while my Mum and Dad were together."
Marley blinked her eyes, trying to understand what she had just heard. "I'm sorry, what?"
"They were together when my parents were together. Twenty years ago." James continued.
Twenty years ago, twenty years ago...
Before her own mother and father had gotten back together.
"My Dad said something about your Mum being broken - and him as well. Something about the War having changed them. I don't know." James sighed.
"B-but... your parents. They were together?" Marley confirmed.
"Yeah. And I know it was ages ago - before we were even around - but..." James said.
"I can't believe my Mum would do that to yours." Marley gasped.
"I don't know how my father could do that to her."
There was a moment of silence and Marley looked back at James, finding him in deep thought. Marley didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think.
"I... it was a long time ago." Marley pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah..." James murmured, though still obviously thinking hard.
"I don't even know what to think about it, James. We aren't exactly in any position to be angry about it because we weren't even around then." Marley sighed.
But she knew that a part of James was angry anyways - because a part of her was too.
"This is fucking bullshit. It's bollocks." James sighed.
Marley just nodded. She didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say. If they added this problem to the grand scheme of things, it wasn't the heaviest thing on Marley's plate. She was too consumed with worry for her sister than to deal with anything else.
"James, hey. If we want to bring this up to them, we can. Just..." Marley started.
"What?" James sighed, sitting up straight and looking at her.
Marley just shook her head slowly, following suit and sitting up. "I think we should wait until stuff with Meredith dies down a bit. She needs everyone in her corner right now and I don't want to distract anyone, you know?"
James was quiet and Marley just stared at him. She reached forward and touched his cheek softly, grazing it with her thumb and hoping for him to calm down. She watched his eyes soften as he leaned in and kissed her softly.
"Yeah, okay." he whispered.
"Okay." she whispered back, kissing him once more.
. . .
Meredith had hardly been able to take her eyes off the picture of Ava once Leo had forced it upon her. As she spent the rest of the night in Leo's bed, letting him rest his head on her chest, she stared at it. She stared at it with fondness, regret, happiness and anger.
She had hardly slept at all. When she had fully awoken the next morning, Meredith felt as though she didn't sleep at all. Leo's head was still on her chest, but she felt him stir slowly and tighten his arms around her middle. Her breath caught in her throat as he did so, remembering all the other mornings they had spent together - back before everything had fallen apart.
"Hey." he whispered hoarsely, lifting his head off of her and sitting up, squinting his sleepy eyes at her.
Meredith smiled weakly and wiped the remnants of tears from her eyes as she clutched the photo tight in her hand.
"Sleep?" he asked.
"Hardly."
Leo was quiet. He reached forward and touched Meredith's cheek gently, causing her to stop breathing entirely.
"I'm... I'm sorry." he said.
"For what?" she asked.
"For yelling at you the other night." he sighed.
Meredith shook her head. "You meant it, Leo. Don't say you didn't."
"I know. I know I meant it, but... I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. And I'm sorry." he said.
Meredith nodded. She knew he truly was sorry. She could see it in his eyes. She just only hoped that he could see how sorry she was for the way she had handled everything.
"Leo... I just don't know how to be around you, you know?" Meredith whispered. "Do we talk about her? Do we not talk about her?"
Leo closed his eyes for a moment - most likely picturing their beautiful baby girl, Meredith thought - and then looked at her.
"We talk about her when we want to. When we need to. We can't pretend that she didn't exist, and we can't consistently talk about her, you know?" Leo said shakily.
Meredith was quiet, knowing that Leo was exactly right. He suddenly moved forward and pulled Meredith into a familiar hug, and she decided to let him.
"I should go." Meredith whispered, after a long moment.
Leo's eyes faltered for a minute and she could have sworn that he looked disappointed. A part of her didn't want to leave - not at all. But the other part of her was way too scared to stay. She could feel herself getting easily attached to Leo again - the father of her only child, the love of her life.
"Okay." he sighed.
"I'll see you later though, okay?" she decided to say.
Leo nodded, a small smile on his lips. He leaned forward and kissed Meredith's cheek, causing her to blush harder than she had in ages.
"See you." she said, standing up and Disapparating away before she had a chance to change her mind.
. . .
"Lyra, come on. Just sit still, okay?" Hermione sighed.
Hermione was exhausted after staying up so late into the night. She didn't know how she used to do it all the time back at Hogwarts - either studying or meeting up with Draco - and then still attend her classes. She already knew she was going to need a nap later.
"I am, Mummy." Lyra groaned.
Hermione continued braiding her daughter's long hair and she continued to squirm slightly. Neither one of the twins liked to sit still for long. Of course Hermione was used to that by now, but it still never stopped frustrating her.
Hermione was outrageously nervous. Ginny had come over first thing in the morning to tell her that Ron was ready to meet with them at the Burrow today. Hermione had yet to tell Meredith. She desperately wished that her daughter didn't want to see him - but she understood. She had to understand. She didn't have a choice.
She was also worried as to how Draco was going to react when he saw Ron. Sure, it was twenty years ago, but Draco had never gotten to face Ron afterwards, and Hermione had. She knew that if Draco had had the chance, Ron might not have made it out alive.
"Angel?"
Hermione turned her head to find Draco walking into the room with Scorpius in front of him. Scorpius ran into Hermione's room and jumped on the bed as Hermione finished up the braid.
"Hi, Mummy!" Scorpius cheered.
Hermione laughed. Her kids never failed to put a smile on her face. "Hi, love. Have you seen your sisters yet?"
Scorpius nodded wildly. "Yeah! Meredith's in the living room."
"And I heard Marley talking in her room." Jeremy said, suddenly entering the room from the doorway and sitting on the bed, joining the rest of the family.
Hermione nodded slowly, making eye contact with Draco. He nodded back at her. She loved that they could communicate without a sound even after all this time. She walked out of the room, pausing to kiss Draco's cheek before doing so. She made her way into the living room, finding her eldest daughter sitting upon the couch with a mug in her hands.
"Hi, Meredith." Hermione called out tentatively.
Meredith looked at her and smiled weakly. Hermione noticed she had tears in the corners of her eyes and instantly became more concerned.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to Meredith.
Meredith held something up in her hands that Hermione hadn't noticed. Hermione looked at her with confusion before taking it into her hands and realizing it was a photograph.
Her heart stopped as she took in the sight of her daughter, Leo and their daughter. Hermione looked up at Meredith quickly who only nodded at her.
"I haven't been able to look at a picture of her until last night and... and now I can't look away." Meredith whispered somewhat bitterly.
Hermione looked down at her beautiful granddaughter - granddaughter. She couldn't believe it. She still could not fathom that she had had a granddaughter without ever knowing about it.
"Sweetheart, she is beautiful." Hermione whispered, reaching out and taking Meredith's hand and squeezing it tightly.
"Yeah, I know." Meredith echoed.
After a few long moments of Hermione staring into the photo, she remembered the reason she had come down the stairs to speak with her daughter. She placed the photo back into Meredith's hands and attempted a weak smile at her.
"What, Mum?" Meredith sighed.
"How do you know there's something?" Hermione said, attempting to stall the inevitable.
"You've got that look, Mum. I know there's something." Meredith sighed.
"Fine, okay. Well..." Hermione started. "Your Aunt Ginny stopped by earlier and she said that... that we're to go to the Burrow today to meet with Ron. If we'd still like to."
Hermione attempted to survey Meredith's face, but her expression did not change in the slightest. She wanted to tell Meredith not to do it - that seeing Ron and bringing up old demons when she already had enough of her own was unnecessary.
"Okay." Meredith said.
"You don't have to do this, you know. You really don't." Hermione whispered, squeezing Meredith's hand.
"I know. It was my idea, Mum." Meredith sighed. "I just... I have to do it."
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Because... I have to be able to face something from my past. My daughter... she's gone, Mum. She's really gone and there's no way for me to face her and... well this is something I can take on face to face."
Hermione instantly pulled Meredith into her arms and held her tight, once again becoming overwhelmed with her daughter's pure strength.
. . .
James didn't know how Marley was taking the news that their parents had cheated with one another so calmly. She was just sitting there, acting as though it wasn't monumental news.
"What?" she groaned.
"I just... you're being so relaxed about this!" he said with a shrug.
"James... I just can't right now, okay? Meredith... we can't distract from her. Please, James." Marley said, leaning forward and kissing him slowly.
He nodded without even thinking about it. He couldn't say no to her, not when she kissed him like that. And he was pretty sure that Marley knew that - which was exactly why she was doing it.
"I'm sorry. I just... it's big news, Marley. I don't know how to feel about it. You should've heard my Mum. She sounded so upset." James continued.
Marley stood up from the bed and grabbed James' hands, pulling him up with her. She locked her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his, standing atop her tip toes.
"Your parents are going to be fine, okay? I know it. Despite their fights and arguments, they are one of the strongest couples I know and I know that they are going to be just fine. You and Albus and Lily have nothing to worry about." Marley said.
James just stared at her, feeling amazed by her strength and courage - not for the first time. He pressed his lips to hers slowly and then captured her in a hug, holding her as tight as he could.
"What's this for?" she whispered with a laugh.
"For being you, M&M. You always know what to say." he whispered.
. . .
"But Daddy! I wanna play with Lily!" Lyra yelled.
Draco really did not have the energy to fight with his children - not today. All of his energy was focused on not killing Ron Weasley when they saw him at the Burrow.
"Okay, okay. I know, sweetheart. But you have to stay here with Marley, okay?" Draco sighed.
"Daddy!" Scorpius yelled.
Draco tossed an antagonized look at Jeremy, who merely turned a page in his book and shook his head. His eldest son already knew when it was a losing battle.
"Alright, I'll tell you what. I'll ask Marley if she can get James to bring Lily over here, okay?" Draco sighed.
If anything, he needed someone to be happy today. And that someone could be his six year old daughter.
"Thanks, Daddy!" Lyra squealed.
Draco was already pretty sure that James was in his daughter's room, since Jeremy had said that he had heard Marley talking in her room - it had to be to James. He really needed to have a serious talk with his daughter about James spending the night.
"I'll be right back." he said to his children, only receiving a nod from Jeremy.
He made his way to Marley's room, pausing just outside the door to listen in. He really did not want to walk in on his daughter and James making out - as he had almost done the other night. He still wasn't sure exactly what they were, but he was almost certain they were together.
"Just... put it out of your mind for now, okay?" Marley whispered from the other side of the door.
Draco pressed his ear to the door, curious as to what she was speaking about.
"I'll try, M&M." James sighed.
When things got quiet, Draco knocked loudly, hoping to break apart any embracing that the two teenagers may have been doing.
"Come in." Marley said.
Draco opened the door, pleased to find Marley and James sitting a few feet away from one another on her bed - even though they were still holding hands.
"Hi, Dad." Marley sighed.
"Hi, Marley. James." Draco said. "We've got to head out for a bit. Can you watch the twins for us?"
Draco observed his daughter's expression, surprised when she narrowed her eyes immediately.
"What?" Draco sighed.
"You're not leaving me here." Marley said, standing up. "You think I'm going to let Meredith go meet that psycho by herself?"
"Marley, she's not going to be by her -"
"I don't care! I'm coming, Dad. You can't stop me."
Draco groaned. He really could not handle anymore arguments. He just simply did not have the energy today.
"I heard Aunt Gin earlier say that you were going to meet with Ron today and I want to come. We're just going to Grandma and Grandpa's, right?" Marley said.
"Yes, we are." Draco sighed.
"Then bring then twins. Hell, or get Jeremy to watch them. He's old enough. Hell, he's more mature than anyone else in this house." Marley said.
Draco knew that she was right about that one. "Marley, can you please just do this for us? We were thinking that maybe you could bring Lily over, James."
James' eyebrows suddenly raised at being addressed. Draco had a suspicion that he had been off in his own world.
"Uh... I mean, I guess I could -" James started.
"No! James, please. I have to go with Meredith." Marley said, turning around to face James.
Draco knew that Marley would get her way with James. She had mastered the art of getting him to listen to her when they were toddlers.
"Okay, let's talk to your mother and Meredith about this, okay? They're downstairs." Draco sighed.
Marley nodded satisfactorily as they began to make their way into the living room where they found Meredith sitting huddled with Hermione, her head resting on her mother's shoulder.
"Meredith, please let me come with you today." Marley said immediately, before they had even reached the bottom of the stairs.
Meredith sat up, her eyes wide. "What? No, Marley. You don't need to. I'll be fine."
Marley shook her head quickly and Draco just raised his hands in defeat at Hermione who was eyeing him quizzically. She just sighed audibly and shook her head. He knew that she was just as tired as he was.
"Please, Meredith. I need to come with you." Marley said.
"Why do you need to come so badly?" Draco decided to ask.
He was surprised to find Marley's eyes having welled up in tears. The room quieted immediately and Draco watched as James touched her cheek gently, forcing her to look at him. He kissed her temple and wrapped an arm around her shoulders while the rest of them watched on.
"Because... because I didn't get to be there for you with Ava and I can't just sit by and do nothing this time, okay? I can't do it again." Marley whispered. "And maybe that's selfish of me, but I will never forgive myself if I'm not there for you again when you need me and maybe you don't realize it, but you do need me with you, Meredith. You need all the support you can get."
Meredith was on her feet and Draco decided to take her seat next to Hermione, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He looked at her for a moment, taking in her tired expression. He noticed a photograph in her hands, but she shook her head at him and moved it away.
"Later." she whispered, kissing his cheek.
He knew not to argue. He turned his attention back to his daughters, watching Meredith hugging Marley tightly - tighter than he had seen them do in years.
"I don't want you to go through anything alone again, Mer." Marley whispered.
"I'm not. I know I've got you. I've got all of you." Meredith echoed back.
The two girls pulled away and James wrapped his arm back around Marley who immediately relaxed into him.
"Okay. Okay, you can come." Meredith sighed.
Marley nodded gratefully and Draco sighed. He wanted as little of his children to be involved with Ron Weasley as possible - actually, he wanted none of his children to be involved with Ron, but apparently that was not an option.
"I'll go tell Jeremy he's got to watch them, okay?" Marley whispered, turning around and heading up the stairs, tugging James along with her.
Meredith turned around to look at Draco and Hermione. Draco eyed her carefully, surveying the bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted - as she usually did - but there was a sense of determination in her, a sense that Draco had not seen in her in a long time. Not since she was a young girl.
"Let's do this." Meredith said.
Draco took a deep breath and looked at Hermione who was almost shaking. She nodded slowly and Draco kissed her cheek.
"Let's do this."