Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my ideas. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: HELLO READERS! I'M SO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE AN UPDATE. I promise you that I will finish this story. I've had writer's block for the longest time, but I do fully intend finishing this story. I do hope some of you are still reading! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Colour My World
By the time Saturday rolled around, Marley could barely contain herself.
The fact that James has secured a visit to St. Mungo's for them was absolutely amazing. It had helped pull her through the rest of the week. She was currently waiting in the Gryffindor Common Room with Roxanne for James to come down from his dormitory and she could hardly stop herself from buzzing around with nerves.
She didn't know what she was exactly nervous about, but the feeling was definitely there. Maybe it was because she didn't know what to do when she saw Meredith or Leo. Maybe it was because she knew that there was really nothing she could do except for be there for them.
"I don't know how he managed to pull this off." Roxanne said.
Marley looked at her, continuing to tap her foot on the ground. "Me neither, really. I mean, Mum and Harry got us permission to Floo back if something… something bad happened, but nothing has — that we know of, anyways."
"Maybe he used the children of the Golden Trio card." Roxanne said.
Marley sighed, shrugging. Neither her, nor James, nor any of their siblings like to use that card. It wasn't something Marley really thought about all that much — not anymore. She had first learned of her parents past, particularly her mother's heroic actions, back in the early years of Hogwarts. At first all of it had intrigued her, but now she just knew it was a part of her parents lives before she had been around.
"Nope, just my natural charm." James said, suddenly appearing at the bottom of the staircase.
She immediately walked over to him and placed her hands on his waist. He stared down at her for a moment, studying her face.
"Rox, could you give us a second?" James said.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll meet you down by the Headmistress' office." Roxanne said.
Within a few moments, she was out the door and it was just the two of them. Marley looked up at James with expectant eyes, finding herself smiling as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. He went to pull away, but she kept herself against him, bringing an arm around his neck.
"Did you send Roxanne away just to snog me?" Marley asked.
James smirked at her. "No. Well, a little bit. But, no."
"Then what's up?" she asked.
"I just want to make sure you're okay. I know you need to go and see Meredith but… seeing her is going to be hard because you know she's not okay." James said softly.
Marley knew that James was worried about her. He was worried about Meredith and Leo, too. Just like everyone else. But she could see his concern for her — it was written all over his face.
"I'm okay, James. You don't need to worry." Marley said, touching his cheek. "I just need to see my sister. I need to be there for her."
"I know you do. I just… I need you to be okay, too." James said.
"Come here." she whispered, pulling him into a hug.
She held him tightly in her arms, already feeling calmer than she had before. Sometimes she couldn't believe how much she knew James cared about her — and how much she cared about him.
"I love you." she said as they pulled back. "I love you so much."
His face lit up with a crooked smile before he pressed his lips down onto hers. She wrapped herself around him, kissing him back with as much passion as she could muster. After a short while, she knew she had to pull away despite how much she didn't want to. But they had to get going.
"Come on, let's not keep Roxanne waiting any longer." Marley said.
The two walked throughout the school hand in hand, making their way to the Headmistress' office. Marley couldn't stop her mind from wandering to a million different places at once. She was glad to hold James' hand. Even that small bit of comfort helped more than she could have ever imagined. Just like had always been the case with him.
. . .
Hermione was waiting anxiously by the Floo with Harry for Marley and James in St. Mungo's. She had been so surprised when James had written her, telling her of his plan to get Marley to St. Mungo's — pleasantly surprised. She absolutely adored just how much James loved her daughter. Even throughout all the recent tragedy and overwhelming revelations of the holidays, Hermione had seen true happiness in her daughter's eyes.
Soon enough, the fireplace glowed a bright green and outstepped Marley and James. Hermione pulled Marley into her arms as Harry did the same with James.
"Hi, love." Hermione said, squeezing her daughter tight. "It's so good to see you."
Marley pulled back before smiling weakly at Hermione. She could tell that she hadn't been sleeping that much. Marley might like to act tough and as if she didn't have a care in the world, but Hermione knew that she cared deeply, especially about her sister.
"It's good to see you, too." Marley said. "Is Meredith here?"
Hermione watched as James took Marley's hand, intertwining their fingers and kissing her knuckles.
"Yes. She's in Leo's room. She doesn't really ever leave." Hermione explained.
The four of them began to head towards Leo's room, Marley and James walking ahead of Hermione and Harry. She looked at Harry and found an amused expression on his face.
"What?" she asked quietly.
He shook his head. "Nothing. Just… them, you know?"
Hermione did know. She smiled, linking her arm through Harry's and watching her daughter walk hand-in-hand with James. They reached Leo's room and paused outside. She could tell that Marley was nervous to go inside and opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly beaten by James.
"Just, go in and give her a hug and be with her, okay?" James whispered. "She needs this. You both need this."
James pressed a kiss to Marley's lips and Hermione widened her eyes before looking at Harry who was wearing what she imagined to be the same expression. The two teenagers pulled away and Hermione let out a small chuckle as she saw a tinge of pink on Marley's cheeks.
"Marley."
Hermione turned around, smiling when she saw Ginny and Draco walking towards them. The two had been waiting at Hermione's for Narcissa to come by and look after the twins and Lily, allowing Harry and Hermione to head over to the hospital to greet Marley and James.
"Hi, Dad." Marley said.
Marley stepped away and hugged Draco as James did the same with Ginny.
Ginny who was wearing a tighter shirt that showed off her small bump. Hermione realized that she wasn't sure if they had told any of their children about her pregnancy — and judging by James' expression, they hadn't. Ginny was still quite slender even after having her three children, so the tiny bump was noticeable.
"Uh…" James said.
Ginny smiled, looking at her son. "Before you ask, no I'm not just getting fat."
"Mum, I wasn't going to —" James groaned. "Just… are you…?"
Ginny nodded, grinning at her son before leaning back against Harry who kissed her temple. Hermione had always noticed just how happy and close their friends were during each of Ginny's pregnancy — not that they weren't happy and close the rest of the time. It just had always especially shown during those times.
"Yes. Yes, I am." Ginny said.
James widened his eyes, nodding. "Wow. Blimey, Mum. That's insane. Congratulations."
James and Marley hugged both Ginny and Harry as Draco stepped towards her, pressing a kiss against her lips.
"Hi, angel." Draco said.
"Hi." Hermione said.
Draco pulled her into his arms, allowing her to rest her head against him as she wrapped her arms around his waist. A moment later she stepped back and looked up into his eyes.
"What is it?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just glad you're here."
. . .
Meredith stared down at Leo, who was lying in his hospital bed as still as ever. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Every passing day she felt her hope disappear more and more. And when her hope disappeared… what else did she have?
She couldn't lose Leo, she just couldn't.
Suddenly the door opened. She turned her head slowly, expecting Teddy. He hadn't been by yet today and knew that he had to be coming soon. He stopped by about everyday, either with or without Victoire. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of James and Marley walking in, their hands clasped tight together as they shut the door behind them.
"Marley?" Meredith said.
Marley smiled and Meredith stood up, hurrying over to her sister and hugging her tight. She had missed Marley, even though she hadn't been back at school for all that long yet. After a long moment she pulled back and went to hug James, stepping on her tiptoes to do so.
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Meredith asked. "Please tell me you didn't sneak out of Hogwarts."
Marley laughed, leaning into James. "No, no. James got us permission. Mum and Dad and Harry and Ginny are outside."
Meredith resumed her seat next to Leo's bed and grabbed his hand, looking back at Marley and James as they made their way to the other side, hands intertwined.
"You didn't need to do that." Meredith said.
"Yes we did." James said. "We want to be here for you, Mer. We're worried."
Marley nodded. "It's hard to… to be at school knowing how much pain you're in."
Meredith felt tears pool in her eyes and she shook her head. "You're both amazing. Thank you."
And even though she could barely feel it, she was happy to see her sister and James. It provided her with more comfort than she had expected. She felt tears escape her eyes and she quickly blinked them away, looking down at Leo. All she wanted was for him to just open his eyes, or even just move a little.
Yet still, everyday there was nothing.
"How's he doing, Mer?" Marley asked, her voice small.
Meredith shook her head. "The same. There's been no change."
"He'll wake up, Mer. I know he will." Marley whispered. "He has to."
Meredith didn't say anything. She wanted to believe in that. She wanted to believe in that more than anything. But if life had shown her anything, it was that it was cruel and unfair. The most beautiful and innocent people had their lives cut short, or had their lives thrown into absolute shit. Nothing was fair in life, and expecting anything different was just dangerous.
And of course Meredith knew that wasn't exactly the best way to view things but that's just where she was.
"James? You okay?" she asked, suddenly noticing a peculiar expression on his face.
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I just… Mum's just told me she's pregnant and I'm trying to process it."
Meredith forced out a small smile. "Yeah. She told me just the other day. Amazing, isn't it?"
"Yeah, really. It makes sense now. She was a bit… everywhere over the holidays. I thought it was just about Ron and stuff, but now it makes more sense." James said.
Meredith was truly happy for her godmother, even if it was hard to show on the outside. The other day when Ginny had come to tell her, she had seen just how nervous she was — which made perfect sense. Bringing up babies around Meredith was obviously a risky subject.
When Ginny had asked Meredith if she wanted to be the baby's godmother, Meredith had wept with bittersweet happiness and accepted joyfully.
"She's asked me to be godmother." Meredith said.
Marley beamed. "Mer, that's wonderful!"
"Blimey, another sibling. I hope it's a girl, for Lily's sake. We already outnumber her in our family." James said.
Marley laughed and Meredith watched as she pressed a kiss against his cheek. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close, filling Meredith with a warm feeling before the everlasting sadness crept up.
What if Leo never got to hold her like that again?
She looked down at him, shaking her head and pressing a kiss to his hand.
"Wake up, Leo. Please." she murmured, so quietly that she wasn't quite sure if Marley and James could hear her.
She wasn't sure how much of this she could take.
. . .
"Well, he took that well, didn't he?" Harry said.
Draco nodded at his friends, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist as she leaned back against him and faced Harry and Ginny.
"Thank God. I don't know what I would have done if he'd been unhappy." Ginny said.
"Well, now all the kids know. There's no more hiding it." Harry said.
Ginny shook her head. "We've still got to tell Mum and Dad."
"Right. Well, you know they'll be ecstatic." Harry said.
Draco smiled at that. Every time Ginny and Hermione had been pregnant — as well as Angelina, Fleur and Percy's wife who Draco rarely saw — Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been over the moon. They were very involved grandparents and Draco had always liked that about them. He knew that Hermione saw them as another set of parents.
"Wow. Everyone's here."
Draco turned to see Teddy walking towards them, his hair a surprising blue. Immediately he was concerned for him — as he knew they all were. Whenever his hair was a weird colour, it meant something was up.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked, stepping towards Teddy.
Teddy shook his head. "Nothing. Why?"
Ginny reached up and touched his hair, causing Teddy to groan scratch the back of his head in frustration.
"What colour?" he asked.
"Blue." Harry said. "What's wrong?"
He quickly morphed his hair back to it's regular colour of dark brown and shrugged at them.
"It's nothing. I was just… thinking about all of this, you know?" Teddy said. "I was speaking to Leo's Healer and she said everything looks the same as it has been since he was admitted."
He felt Hermione tense in his arms and he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Just keep breathing, love." he whispered. "He'll be alright, and so will she."
He felt Hermione nod and he kissed the top of her head, holding her close against him. He felt her relax ever-so-slightly and felt himself letting out a breath. He wasn't necessarily sure if he believed his words, but he had to keep saying them because the alternative… well, he could hardly bear to think about it.
"Are James and Marley here?" Teddy asked.
"Yeah. They're in with Meredith and Leo right now. We thought we'd give them some time." Harry explained.
At just the mention of Meredith and Leo, he watched as Teddy's hair turned a brilliant orange. He was suddenly quite concerned for his nephew — well, his cousin. But, still.
"Ted…" Ginny said, her eyes pointing upwards to his hair.
Teddy let out a large sigh, shaking his head. "Christ. You'd think I was bloody four years old again."
He wasn't wrong. Of course he'd seen Teddy's hair change like this a few times since he was a child when he was upset, but not as frequently. Usually one change and that was it.
"It was like this after everything with Ava as well." Teddy explained, his voice small. "Couldn't keep a hold on it for weeks. Even my nose changed a fair bit, which was interesting."
Draco felt his heart tighten at the mention of Ava — his granddaughter that he'd never know. He gave Hermione the most comforting squeeze he could, pressing another kiss into her hair.
"Well, it's orange right now." Ginny said softly, reaching out and touching Teddy's arm. "I'm sorry this is so hard on you, Teddy. I wish we could do something."
Teddy shook his head, changing his hair back once more. "It's okay, Mum. I'm fine."
Draco watched the typical emotion on Ginny's face when Teddy called her Mum. She pulled Teddy into a hug and Draco smiled. He felt Hermione turn around in his embrace, staring up at him.
"Yes?" he said.
She shook her head, pressing a kiss against his lips. "Nothing. I just… I love you."
He smiled softly, kissing her again. "I love you, too."
. . .
James couldn't believe that his mother was pregnant.
It had honestly been the last thing he was expecting. He had thought that Lily was the last child they were going to have, but apparently he was wrong. He was so surprised but he knew that he was happy for them. He had seen the joy in his parents' eyes and honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd seen either of them that happy.
He watched as the door opened again, revealing Teddy. He was suddenly overwhelmingly grateful to see him. He had been quite worried about his brother. He knew just how much Teddy cared about Meredith, as well as Leo, and knew that it had to be incredibly hard on him.
"Hey." Teddy said, shutting the door behind him.
He stepped next to Meredith, leaning down and kissing the top of her hair in greeting before walking over and pulling both Marley and James into a hug. When he pulled back, he noticed Teddy's hair was a bright pink.
"Fuck, what colour is it now?" Teddy sighed. "This is the third time it's changed in the last five minutes."
"Pink." James said. "Nice look on you."
"Oh, shut up." Teddy said, smirking. "Apparently I can't keep it under control today."
Teddy walked back over to join Meredith. James watched as his brother took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
"Sorry I wasn't by earlier, Mer." Teddy said.
She shook her head. "It's fine, Teddy. You don't have to come by everyday."
"Stop it. Of course I do." Teddy said. "I want to."
James looked down at Marley who was leaning into his side, her arms wrapped around his middle. She stared up at him with wide eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"Are you glad we're here?" he whispered.
She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a deep kiss to his lips. "Very glad. Thank you for doing this for me."
"Anything for you, M&M." he said. "You know that."
"You're very good to me, you know." she said softly. "I don't know what I do to deserve it."
He reached down and gently touched her cheek. "You've been my whole world since the day we were born, Marley. Of course you deserve it."
She snuggled into his side again and he kissed the top of her brown hair, feeling content as he always did when he had any sort of contact with Marley.
"Pink hair?"
James' head shot up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. It wasn't Marley, Meredith or Teddy, which meant.
Leo.
He looked, watching as Leo's eyes blinked open and closed slowly. He and Marley took a step closer to the bed, and he felt Marley shaking in his arms. Meredith let out loud intake of breath as she stood up, moving closer to the bed.
"L-Leo?" Meredith whispered.
"Mer." he mumbled, his voice barely audible.
"Oh my god." Meredith said. "Teddy, go get a Healer, quick."
Meredith sat down on the side of the bed as Teddy dashed out of the room. They watched as Leo's eyes opened wider, staring at Meredith with a small smile on his lips.
"Mer." he whispered.
Leo was awake.
Author's Note: Again, I'm SO sorry about how long it's been. I really do hope that some of you are still with me. I promise this story will be completed. There's only a few chapters left I think! PLEASE PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! xx