A/N: Thanks for sticking with me! I really do appreciate it and reviews are always welcome.

"Lace, I'm not thrilled about this…" Ginny told her best friend honestly when they had flooed back into the noisy pub. Lacey was glad Lucius wasn't waiting for her there, and she pulled the redhead out of the fireplace and against the dark wood-paneled wall.

"I know you aren't. And I don't blame you. Look, its not like we can be together forever anyway," Lacey chewed on her bottom lift, filled with anxiety.

"Sirius and I will help you, if that's what you truly want…"

"Remus promised me that too, but it doesn't matter. I've lied. The damage is done. And I let it go on too far to be forgivable. I just need you to come to dinner at my house and show my Dad and Colin that you like Lucius…"

"But, I don't." Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, conflicted.

"Then watch us together and make up your mind on your own. I won't force you to lie. I just think that even you being there with us will prove to my family that he's not an evil man. This is going to end for me in a few days, and all I want in the world is to show the people I love what I see in him," Lacey held her friends' hands tightly in hers, blue eyes pleading.

"I wish we had more time to talk about this. I wish I had been there for you more…I would have known…"

"Gin, you were busy falling in love as well. When its all over, we'll have plenty of time to talk about this," Lacey promised and led her back out to the main pub, where Lucius was patiently waiting.

"Ginevra, how lovely to see you," Lucius said, standing up and instantly realizing what his girlfriend meant to do. Ginny nodded politely, but not overly warmly, to him and the three set off back to the Delaney household. When they entered, Aislinn nearly bowled Ginny over with a bear hug, and Colin seemed happy to have a familiar face in the house, one he instantly presumed would be on his side.

"Ginny Weasley, how'ryea?" Colin wrapped his arms around the girl he considered a third sister in the same way every Weasley boy considered Lacey their second.

"No complaints here," she smiled back brightly, aware that the general mood still had an air of awkwardness around it, no doubt from the way Lucius hesitated at the threshold of the house.

"Come on then, dinner's ready," Mr. Delaney interrupted the silence that had fallen, patting Ginny on the shoulder before returning to the kitchen to bring out the roast.

~o0o~

"So, how is she?"

Remus shook his head out of his daydream and was brought back to the reality before him-the Twins, Harry, Ron, Luna, and a pissed-off Hermione. He was sure he had been sent to Hell, if such a place really did exist.

Harry had invited Remus out for a pint, presumably to talk about Sirius, since the older man hadn't gotten up the nerve to hash things out with his godson just yet. But as soon as the invitation was made known, Ron had tagged along with his new bride naively, George for the beers, and Fred and Hermione to presumably torture themselves. They had only been at the Hog's Head a quarter of an hour, and Remus had tried his best to appear distracted by the crowd in the pub instead of focusing on his company. But now that everyone had settled back at the table with their drinks, and Harry had set a pint of butterbeer in front of Remus, he knew there was no getting out of talking.

"Sorry, how's who?" Remus answered, one eyebrow cocked up at Harry.

"Lacey?" Harry urged him on. Fred looked particularly interested, even though he was failing at hiding a jealous grimace.

"You know, your girlfriend?" Hermione sat back in her chair, crossing her arms, mirth written all over her face. Remus noted that it seemed she had given up on trying to sort the sticky situation of lies out and decided to torment him as a form of revenge. She was also rather peeved that he kept the lie up despite her trying to help.

"Oh, Lacey, she's fine, yes, she's fine," Remus mumbled out, flustered, and tried to stall with a long sip of his beer.

"Then why isn't she here? Are you two fighting already?" Luna wondered, genuinely concerned as she looked across the table at her former Professor with wide, bright eyes.

"No…no nothing like that…"

"It's so bloody bizarre to me that both of the remaining father figures in my life have started shagging women half their age," Harry mumbled bitterly and Remus bit his lip. Harry had already done two shots of Ogden's at the bar and was bound to get even more open with his opinions in the coming moments. Remus wished to Merlin that Sirius wasn't such a bloody coward sometimes.

"Mid-life crisis, eh Moony?" George ribbed the Maurader playfully, one of the few at the table meaning no harm, but the way Fred's eyes urged him for a better answer made the comment less easy to laugh off. Remus suddenly found it ironic that it was harder to lie about his fake girlfriend than his real one.

"She's gone out with Ginny," Remus finished, hoping interest in the topic would cease, but his hopes were in vain, as another round of whisky shots were ordered and brought to the table. Harry led them all in coughing the bitter liquid down.

"I bet she's a handful in bed, am I right?"

"Luna, for Merlin's sake…" Ron blushed, gaping at his wife, who just shrugged him off and said, "It's a question Ronald, I'm simply curious!"

"Not a very appropriate question…" Fred deadpanned, his face completely hardened, one of the very few times anyone had seen it so.

"It's odd, Remus, that you would go for her…I thought your tastes lately were more along the lines of blondes," Hermione interjected with a smirk. No one thought much of the flippant comment, but it made Remus tense.

"Look mate," George slapped Remus on the shoulder, "If you are happy, I'm happy, cheers to that."

No one but Luna and Ron raised their glasses, and Remus was sure he would have rather died on the spot.

~o0o~

"So, how did you two meet?" Colin asked, looking at both Lucius and Lacey who were sitting next to each other and opposite him at the dinner table. It had been relatively silent up until that moment, with the exception of them all catching up with Ginny, and she being tactfully vague about her current relationship status so as not to incite another riot.

"At the Ministry ball," Lucius answered, "She was the most beautiful girl in the room."

"That's not exactly the whole story," Lacey laughed a bit, looking up at Lucius. Ginny nearly dropped her fork-she had barely put a few bites in her mouth and it was plain as day there was love in their shared look. She could hardly believe it, and was rather impressed that her best friend tricked her into seeing it so easily. She hadn't thought Lucius Malfoy capable of feeling or giving love, but she noted the look on his face as he smiled at Lacey was not dissimilar to the way Sirius often looked at her.

"Tell us everything!" Aislinn urged them both, although Liam looked slightly uncomfortable at the thought of hearing more about his daughter's first meeting with a man twice her age.

"Well, she asked me to dance, and I refused at first, but finally acquiesced and although she stepped all over my toes, and called me rude, she left an impression on me," Lucius recounted.

"Oooh! How very Mr. Darcy of you," Aislinn's eyes were wide with interest, forgetting her meal entirely in favor of the romance placed before her.

"Mr. Who?" Lucius asked, looking around the table.

"He's a pureblood Ais, he wouldn't know…" Lacey smiled at her younger sister.

"No, its alright Lacey, I am never above educating myself. Who is this Mr. Darcy you speak of?" Lucius asked Aislinn pointedly, and the attention made the sixteen-year-old flush with pride as she was able to indulge herself for a moment. Colin looked ridiculously annoyed but Liam smiled, filled with fond memories of his wife and the realization of how much both of his daughters took after her-tough and wild on the outside, but hopeless romantics within.

"There is this muggle book, Pride & Prejudice, and Mr. Darcy is this very rich, very handsome man who meets this girl, Elizabeth, who lives in the country. They are both completely stubborn when they meet each other at a ball. He refused to dance with her…" Aislinn explained.

"Ah, you were right, there is quite the resemblance," Lucius winked at Lacey, who leaned into his shoulder. Ginny was floored, not so much at the change that had taken over her best friend-she was practically glowing with happiness and ease, but that this previously imposing and frightening Deatheater with his meticulously groomed hair and haughty attitude was laughing and discussing muggle literature, looking merely like a normal, middle-aged man, "And do Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth fall in love?" he asked.

"Of course they do," Ais finished, smiling at her sister who returned the warm gesture.

"Do you fancy yourself in love with my sister?" Colin asked suddenly, setting down his fork. It came out altogether more aggressive than he had intended, but he didn't apologize.

"I do. Truly," Lucius replied simply and Lacey squeezed his hand under the table while simultaneously glaring at her brother who decided he didn't want his balls hexed off and shut up. There was a moment of awkward silence at the comment, but dinner went on as smoothly as it could go, with Lucius asking Aislinn about school, Ginny passing on well wishes to Liam from her parents, and Colin and Lacey catching up on Quidditch and her new role with Puddlemere. After dinner, Lacey's father pulled her into the kitchen to help wash dishes the muggle way.

As his daughter soaped up a plate, Liam leaned against the counter by the sink, absently drying another plate with a threadbare dishtowel, "You think this bloke is right for you? He says he loves you, so it must be serious…"

"Dad…"

"Lacey, you aren't a little girl any more. I can rest assured that Ais still has a few dozen more guys' hearts to break before she meets the one, but you were always different. I know there have been some on-off's…and don't look at me like that, I read the papers…but you look at him like he's the only thing in the room," her father said softly, the wrinkles by his eyes crinkling up when she smiled in response.

"Maybe he is the one," she replied, non-committedly after finishing another dish. In her heart, she knew he was, but she also didn't want to get her fathers' hopes up for a white wedding when she was well aware there would never be one.

"I have to ask…" Liam fought to catch his daughter's eyes, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and clearing his throat, "Are you being…you know, safe?"

"DAD!" Lacey's eyes widened as she looked at him, knowing he meant well, and honestly should ask, considering their mother couldn't, but she was sure she was flaming red, "Yes, I am, I promise."

Lacey made sure she had done the contraceptive spell or taken the potion every single time before she saw Lucius, just in case, and the sincerity of her blushing, well-meaning Dad made her dry her hands and wrap her arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

~o0o~

"You son of a bitch!"

"You'd do well not to talk about my mother that way, Ginevra," Lucius replied, trying to keep his anger in check. The red-head was standing about ten paces from him, in the slightly overgrown grass of the Delaney backyard. Night had just fallen and she was brandishing her wand, pointing it directly at his heart. Immediately after dinner and when she knew Lacey was going to be preoccupied with her Dad, Ginny had led Lucius huffily into the backyard to say her peace to him, but things had escalated quickly.

"You've done something to her. You've stolen my best friend!" Ginny shouted at him, tears stinging her eyes. She hadn't previously realized how much all of this would affect her, but she had ignored the fact that it was real-that this was a complete mess.

"I have not and will not take away Lacey from you. Is it so far-fetched to you to think that she could be in love with me?" Lucius asked, trying not to appear hurt.

"It is. But she's told me tonight that she loves you…and I just can't…" Ginny struggled to contain her emotions, but finally broke down and cried. Lucius froze, not sure if he should try to comfort her or stay where he was, but the fact that her wand never wavered told him his best option.

"Do what you want. Hex me. You deserve a chance to. And I won't fight it. I know I can never, ever make up for the diary," Lucius nodded his resignation solemnly, and watched as the fire grew back in Ginny's eyes, even through tears. Without contemplation, Ginny through her nastiest Bat-Bogey hex at him, and he didn't fight it. It left him winded, disheveled, scratched, and on his arse on the grass.

"I've wanted to do that since forever," Ginny broke a smile through her tears, lowering her wand and walking closer to Lucius, "Look, I don't hate you. But that night still haunts me, almost every single day."

"I can imagine," Lucius said, taking her offer of a hand to help him up, "Ginevra, I promise you that I am not that man anymore. I won't hurt Lacey and I certainly will never hurt you again".

Ginny stared him down, even from her diminutive height, seeming like she was considering something. Finally she asked, "Can you do me a favor?"

~o0o~

"That was a bloody terrible night," Remus sighed, with his hands in his pockets as he walked Hermione to her apartment after leaving the pub.

A silence fell between both of them as Hermione fiddled with her bag, looking everywhere but at Remus when they came to a stop in front of her door. Just when his lips went to form a 'goodnight', she pressed hers against his, causing him to stumble back from her, breaking the short kiss.

"Hermione…"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she blushed in the darkness. She had had one too many butterbeers, but she knew her action was still well planned out. She had been thinking about kissing him for most of the night, "It's just…I thought there was still hope…"

"What are you talking about, Hermione," Remus asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

"I checked at the Ministry…I found that Narcissa still isn't divorced from Lucius. The request is still pending. I just thought…"

"That was very illegal of you, Hermione," Remus' eyes softened and he smiled.

"I thought that maybe it wasn't going to happen, you and her. And I feel so silly," she apologized, "I'm just surprised that you still want to be with a married woman."

"You know me better than most, and you are right to be surprised. Don't worry about this," Remus said, referring to the kiss, and touched her arm briefly before saying goodnight again and walking away. He felt awful for the broken heart he was responsible for, but as always, Hermione had managed to enlighten him. He knew he wasn't the type of man to be with a married woman, and he didn't know why he had let it go on so long.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Tell me all about what you think