Living up to Family

The Morning After – Ch 9

Ron

It was the morning after Harry's big night with his gal and Ron and Hermione had snuck back into the house. Hermione wanted to catch Meredith and Harry coming down from their love nest but Ron secretly knew that Hermione really just wanted a new gal pal after the implosion that was Harry and Ginny's relationship. Ron had felt bad for Harry after the break up, he had been a third wheel to his and Hermione's relationship for so long, that it hurt the both of them see Harry so lonely. Eventually it led to a series of Ron and Hermione setting up Harry on wild blind dates. A few women showed promise, though most were disastrous. It just never felt like they were right for Harry, let alone fit into the group dynamic. They were the heroes wizarding Britain for sure, but it was hard to find someone who could possibly understand the trauma that Harry had experienced even before Voldemort's second rise to power. However, Meredith was different, Ron and Hermione had talked a bit last night before settling into their impromptu date night themselves. Both Ron and Hermione were somewhat new to Leglimency after finally deciding it might be something worth picking up, it came handy when interacting with muggles at least on reading surface level thoughts. They could adeptly sense emotions and beneath Meredith's bravado and sweetness was a young child with severe abandonment issues. But Ron couldn't tell much anyways, while he was an excellent MBI agent, building a full psych profile was not his forte. He usually left that to Behavioral Science Unit to work up. His train of thought was quickly broken as he smelled a full on breakfast Hermione was making. "Love? Ummm it seems like your breaking out the ultra-super-duper mega breakfast, you know…the one we typically leave for post celebrations and hangover cures?" he noticed.

"Well, it is an ultra-super-duper mega occasion Ron! Can't you feel it? Harry has met his one! Look we can get Luna flooed over eventually and confirm but Harry and Meredith just somehow mesh!" Hermione said in a quiet squeal.

"Not like I am complaining about the food 'Mione but it just feels too soon?"

"Nonsense, once you know you know. Harry doesn't just take any girl to bed. In fact, I don't think he's ever taken anyone to bed since Ginny," Hermione pointed out.

"Look, just don't get your hopes up, okay? Not everything is a romantic movie."

"Don't be silly Ronald. I know that. But we should prepare for the eventual arrival of Ginny just in case. She can smell Harry out from miles, and she's bound to show up soon."

"Don't remind me," Ron groaned. "I haven't spoken to her since she cheated on Harry with Finnigan. Bloody hell, I think even Malfoy caught her with someone else when she was engaged to Harry."

Ron and Hermione went into a bit of a quiet spell after that remark but were still playfully making the ultra-super-duper mega breakfast spread. Together they had pushed out a large spread of a full English breakfast. They had agreed that they wanted Meredith to get a taste of what a proper English food was. Though they did end up in one of their famous arguments over mushrooms. Hermione hated mushrooms with a passion and to her it didn't make sense on why they should be on the plate. Ron on the other hand, haven grown up in the countryside of England, grew to love mushrooms that his mum had included on their Sunday morning breakfast.

Harry

Harry woke up to the smells of sizzling bacon and the age old argument that would never just die. However, that thought was quickly thrown out of his mind as a beautiful flop of dirty blonde hair rustled underneath his chin. It seemed that after last night's activities, Meredith had slept on chest, a position she would later term the "sweetheart cradle". And based on her breathing pattern, she had also just woken up. "Are they always like that?" she asked.

"You should've heard them back in school," he smirked.

"No thank you, " she giggled out as she moved her head to give him a soft and tender kiss on the lips. "Good morning handsome. I hope the Earl of Gloucester was satisfied of the lowly peasant last night?" she teased.

"Last night was more than satisfying Mer. It was incredible."

"I thought so too, your grace," she teased him again.

"Stop that will you?" he laughed as he flipped her over onto her back and went in for a long and passionate kiss.

"Mhmm, keep that up and we wont be leaving this bed until lunch."

"Lunch? we could probably go straight to dinner."

"Oh yea? Well, your highness I'll have to hold you up to that. Just not today. We both have a shift in a couple of hours and that bacon smell is driving me crazy. You know I barely ate anything last night, didn't want to feel bloated for our first date."

"Well let's get down there before those two burn my kitchen down."

Harry quickly popped into the shower, but Meredith felt a bit devious as she also popped into the shower. She kept teasing him while he was trying to was his hair and couldn't see anything because of the suds. They quickly dressed and Meredith was at a loss on what to wear. Her dress was a in crumpled heap on the floor and she didn't need to make this look like a walk of shame, since she didn't feel any shame at all for their fun from last night. Harry saw her distress and made way to his walk in closet and prepped a space for her. It was a bit presumptuous but, he kept having this nagging feeling that it was the right thing to do. He quickly brought Meredith over to the closet and asked if she just wanted to hang it up here for the time being. She had a brief look of fear cross her eyes, but it softened as fast as it came. She gave Harry a peck on cheek for this thoughtfulness and noticed a what looked like a red and gold soccer jersey with a switched golden lion emblem on it. It had Harry's last name on it. She thought it would be cheeky of her to wear it and she quickly put it on with a pair of shorts of his. She popped out of the closet to surprise Harry.

"Oh wow, that looks great on you!" he stared in amazement.

"Smells like you, I think I'm taking this home with me."

"You can take whatever you want sweetheart, as long as you wear that."

With a smirk Harry grabbed Meredith's hand and led her to the kitchen. They had arrived downstairs, and he could see that both Hermione and Ron had huge grins on their faces.

"Oh shut it both of you. Like I've never caught you in worse states. Do you guys recall the unicorn?"

At the mention of the unicorn both Hermione and Ron quickly wiped the smile of their faces and went back to preparing breakfast. "You're going to be telling me that story later Dr. Potter-Black," said Meredith with a grin on her face.

"Of course."

Ron groaned at the mention of that. A few years ago Harry had caught them going at it on top of a unicorn statue that Ron had conjured up because Hermione read a book about it and wanted to see if it was true that love-making was better for the woman while on the horse. Harry had caught them near the end of their little session, and he didn't even look at them for a week.

"Sorry about that, I'm Ron Weasley, Harry best mate from our school days and I am also 'Mione's boyfriend. Pleasure to meet you, Meredith! Hermione had been talking about you all night. I hear you love Rent huh?"

Meredith quickly flushed at the mention of that little embarrassing moment. "Yep, that's me, love me my musicals. It's nice to meet you Ron," as she shook his hand.

Harry decided it was time to show her around the house. They had briefly touched on the subject of his inheritances and the expectations of him every once in a while to go back to England for his responsibilities as a lord. Meredith eventually stumbled upon one his photos from his 18th birthday she could see Ron and Hermione in the picture and a rather possessive looking girl draped all over Harry. Harry himself looked a tad uncomfortable. Unfortunately, her fear of abandonment and slight insecurity got the better of her and so she had to ask. "Who's this?"

Harry looked over and knew exactly what photo she saw. He gently took it from her and held her hands with his. "That was my ex-fiancé back when I was a completely different person. I wouldn't call us school yard lovers, but I did meet her there and at the time she was an alright person. Turns out she was far from all right. After our engagement, I started to attend Harvard and while I was away, she slept with a lot of other men. Ginny blamed me for her actions, saying that I didn't pay enough attention to her. Though honestly, I don't think she ever understood why I decided to pursue becoming a doctor here in the States. You, Meredith Grey, are the one I am with. You won't be getting rid of me that easily."

He pressed his lips on the crown of her head and looked at her eyes. There was a flow of emotions coming off her and he was picking it up bits and bits. Harry doesn't like to use the mind arts but he recognized that those who master it could pick up the subtlest of feelings from the untrained mind. It was like being constantly exposed to a high pitched whistle in a small room. You just can't block it out completely. Meredith was radiating emotions of love, acceptance and most importantly understanding. Though she wouldn't be able to process it for some time, Harry knew it was only a matter of time. The past few month of living in Seattle had ignited a fire he long thought was burned out. In Seattle he found had found his will to fight. It was a tender moment that he would have burned into his mind. Even though the anti-muggle lockdown charms were in full effect, he could have sworn he saw the photos of Sirius, his parents, and Remus wink at him.

"Sorry to ruin the moment but breakfast is ready!" Harry and Meredith turned theirs heads to see a lightly smirking Ron and Hermione standing by the archway.

They were welcome by the sight of massive plates of a full English breakfast. It also seemed like Ron and Hermione had a compromise regarding the mushrooms. Instead of plating it all individually, they had a bowl put aside for anyone who wanted some. Harry knew that they had thrown out the show stopper breakfast that was reserved for special occasions and would get them back for it later. Perhaps Hermione will wake up with the same frizzy hair she had back as a child, Ron might later find his hair color a familiar shade of Slytherin Green instead. No one messes with the son of a Marauder without him getting his own pound of flesh out of it.

"So, Harry, I take it you told Meredith here about Ginny?" said Ron.

"Yea, she saw the photo," Harry replied.

"Sorry you had to find out like that, Meredith. Could have been worse though," said Ron.

"Could have been worse? What do you mean by that?" questioned Meredith.

The trio looked at each other, silently communicating their words. After years together they pretty much knew what needed to be said without even using Leglimency. Harry eventually gave Ron the nod to explain the situation further.

"Ginny…well she's my baby sister. She's used to getting what she wants. Our 2 oldest brothers babied her quite some time and couldn't just say no to her. And as the only girl in the family full of boys, my mum gave her extra attention."

"So, are you saying that she's going to be looking for Harry? They broke up, she cheated on him!" exclaimed Meredith.

Another glance between Harry and Ron were exchanged before Harry spoke up. "Ron works with the FBI and pulled a few favors. They've been keeping an eye on her after our friends back in the British government warned us about her erratic behavior. Last we heard she found her way to Boston where Harry was living right before Philadelphia."

"So, she's a stalker then? Why is she so obsessed with Harry?"

Hermione spoke up "We don't exactly know. Harry at the time back in school, his description matched a series of famous novels of a young knight that Ginny was in love with. To make the matter worse, Harry had saved her in our 2nd year of school and I think that obsession just grew. She wasn't always like this but…"

"…we had our fair share of traumas during our late teens that could have shattered what was remaining that was holding her back," finished Ron.

"I don't know if and when she will show up but its best that you know now. We don't want you to find out suddenly and find that your world is crashing," said Harry as Ron and Hermione nodded to that statement.

"I mean it's a lot to take in right? But I trust you guys. Just keep me away from her, I may not look it, but I have a mean right hand," said Meredith protectively.

Watching Meredith be protective over him felt so good, but it wouldn't be good for her since Ginny is a witch. Harry knew that he would have to get the MACUSA approval for this, which shouldn't be too hard.

They eventually kept eating their breakfast, talking about their hobbies and what they were working on. Harry knew he would have a lighter day today, only a few appendectomies and a colonoscopy he was dinged to perform. Meredith was on Neuro today with Dr. Sheppard and Harry had George in his service. Meredith left first, knowing she had to get home to grab clothes but she had kissed Harry goodbye and talked about meeting for lunch later today. She also suggested that he and her should go to Dr. Webber and get ahead of the rumors and officially confirm their relationship. They wouldn't be labeled as boyfriend and girlfriend just yet but it was easier to make things clear to their bosses than just hide away.

Meredith decided to take a taxi back to her house, knowing full well that if Harry had taken her, he would be running late to the hospital. As soon as she left, Harry turned to Ron.

"Ron, I am going to need that form. I think we need to tell her about our magic," he said.

"Isn't it too soon?" questioned Ron.

"With Ginny coming here, we may not have a choice. At least we can get ahead of the curve and be prepared for it," said Hermione.

"Good point love," signed Ron. "Which form do you want Harry?"

Harry had a few options on how to apply for essentially this permission slip. He could get the standard form which was for the spouse and immediate children. Then there was another option where it was extended to close family of said spouse and obviously the children. The last option was all of that, but included close friends and anyone deemed necessary by the wizard/witch. However, that last form also required a binding oath that must be administered. No one could speak of the secrets of magic unless the wizard/witch allows them to. If they somehow managed to leak the information out, it would instantly transport the leaker into a holding cell for MBI agents to Obliviate. The wizard or witch tied to that leaker would be fined or imprisoned depending on the severity of the issue. It was an easier answer for Harry. The folks of his hospital were slowly becoming a second family to him and while he may not like some entirely (Dr. Sheppard coming to mind, he seems like he's running from something), they were getting there. There may be a crisis or two down the road that he or his friends could avert if they could use their skills. Hermione always said he had a "saving people" thing. Even after these years of avoiding conflict, his new found fire wasn't going to be easily snuffed out.

"I'll fill out the form for the binding oaths. I'll tell Meredith by the end of the week. If this is going where I think it's going, it needs to be done. Especially if Ginny attacks her in anyway, I need to fully let loose in protecting what's mine," Harry said determinedly. "Sorry Ron. If Ginny attacks Meredith or anyone at the hospital, I don't think I can hold back."

"She's my sister and always will be. But if she attacks muggles, I'd have to put her down as well. It's the job," he replied sadly.

"Well hopefully it won't come to that," Hermione signed as she put a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder.

Harry gave Ron a knowing nod. He didn't want to do it either. He did love Ginny at some point in his life but who she was then, was not the same girl that was hunting him down now. He wrapped up his breakfast and went to this room to change. He noticed that Meredith had left a pair of her sexy black panties on his bed. He quickly grabbed it and stuffed inside his leather messenger bag. He was going to have so much fun with this when we he saw her next!

Somewhere in Philadelphia

A young red-headed woman woke up in a dingy looking apartment. This gentleman next to her was such an easy mark. He was the former doormen of her one true loves fancy apartment building and he said that he heard whispers of a Dr. Potter-Black having found a job somewhere out in Seattle. She knew it was only a matter of time before she made her way there. MACUSA apparently had kept her on a watchlist and denied her travels at the request of her parents, so she would have to travel the muggle way there. But she was huntress, and she knew where her quarry was now. It was only a matter of time.