Author's Notes: I do apologize most humbly for the wait! Real life got in the way and may again for November, but I'm going to attempt to keep it from stopping the next update.

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Also many thanks to my beta, Arnel!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 57

"The waiting is killing me," Harry promised Ginny as a cold December wind blew hard against Teddy and Victoire's house while he changed Olivia's nappy and Ginny rocked a fussy Amelia back and forth.

Ginny, thanks to too many years married to him, understood exactly what he meant. Her eyes darted to Emma where she played on the floor and he took his queue to shut his trap.

Their granddaughter was nearly three and she was really starting to pick up on things he didn't want her to pick up on.

"Here, Teeny" Emma said from the floor, holding out a block to her friend as Harry picked up the squirming baby and settled down in a seat near Emma, propping Olivia in one arm before taking the bottle Ginny held out. She took up her post at the changing table to change Amelia's nappy.

Victoire had told them to wake her when they needed feeding again, but Harry and Ginny had both decided the parents needed some sleep. Teddy had tried to come back to work and he'd fallen asleep in his first meeting, toppling out of his chair. Harry had sent him home again for at least another few weeks.

They were shorthanded, not desperate. Teddy was worse than useless in this state.

Teeny used her magic to raise the blocks into a tower for a giggling Emma, and then they both burst into hysterical laughter as they smashed the tower to pieces.

It was bliss. This was everything Harry had ever wanted. It was uncomplicated family and his children were happy and safe.

And a messy nappy. Harry glanced down at the pretty baby, sucking away on her bottle while simultaneously filling that clean nappy back up again. "I just put on a fresh one for this reason?"

Ginny chuckled as she picked up Amelia to cuddle before settling next to Harry to feed the baby. "Don't change her again until she's done eating. I bet she'll do more."

"I remember how this works," he chided mildly, but only a little. Truth was, he'd forgotten a lot of what it was like to have a baby before Emma was born. Now his baby was fourteen and had a boyfriend.

Speaking of, he had to discuss Draco with Ginny. He was getting out of St. Mungo's the next day and as far as he knew, he was heading back to Malfoy Manor. He'd been a model patient so he was being released before Christmas. It was not the homecoming Harry wanted for Scorpius. He glanced around the beautifully, but comfortably, decorated living room and sighed as he thought about picking up the children the next day.

It was Al's last year at Hogwarts. How had the time flown? Just a moment before he'd been changing Al's nappies and wondering if he'd ever sleep again. He'd have to tell Scorpius his father was out. He didn't expect the young man to head home anyway, but on the off chance he'd thought about it, Harry had to warn him not to.

He glanced down to see the baby had fallen asleep so he carefully stood with her to change her nappy. Again.

They arrived home just before dinner, leaving Teeny to play since she could pop back whenever she wanted, to find the house smelling wonderfully of treacle tarts and other savory smells, Molly in the kitchen baking with Polly, and Charlie and Arthur both asleep in chairs in the living room.

"Mum," Ginny said as she kissed her mother's cheek. "Did we know you were coming?"

"Did we know Charlie was coming?" Harry asked as he kicked his brother-in-law's oversized shoe. Charlie let out a grunt but kept on snoring, his arms folded over his broad chest and his mouth hanging open slightly.

"You knew neither," Molly told her, beaming. "I decided I needed a head start for tomorrow's family dinner so I came over to work with Polly on making the desserts.

"Can I have this now?" Harry asked as he wandered over, eyeing his favorite dessert.

"Yes, this one is full of sugar," Molly told him as she waved her hand at it. "I made it for you as your Christmas gift.

Harry went straight to grab a fork and picked up the warm pie tin with the potholder Molly held out for him.

"You're going to get fat," Ginny said as she eyed him grimly.

"It'll be worf it," he told her around a mouthful of the sweet goodness.

"Anyway, darling," Molly went on as she turned back to her bowl. "I decided the whole meal would be only thing Nat can eat so she doesn't feel excluded. Oh, I know she doesn't," she assured Ginny quickly when Ginny opened her mouth to protest. "But let's face it, all of us could do with fewer sweets in our life."

"Not me," Harry assured her.

Ginny's brow rose his remark. "Weren't you telling me, just last week, that you were enjoying how much more energy you have now that we're eating healthy?"

Harry pointed down at the tin with his fork. "That was before this."

Laughing, she leaned over to kiss his cheek before pinching it hard. "One dessert and then back to it we go. I want to live a long, healthy life with you."

The problem was one dessert was almost never enough, Harry knew, even as he dug into the gooey concoction. He'd be craving sweets for weeks after this and having to resist when the other Aurors brought in treats to share from home.

Truth was, he'd put all the Aurors on notice about fitness. Some could and did remain fit while eating anything they liked but Harry, much to his own chagrin, had discovered he was not one of them and neither was Ginny.

It was time to pay the piper and be serious about his health.

Harry heard a noise and turned his head to see his son call out from the fireplace a moment before he stepped through, followed quickly by Caroline. "Hullo!" he called out as James made a beeline for him.

Harry, however, watched Caroline as she skirted around Arthur and Charlie, both of whom hadn't moved a muscle. She didn't flee and she stood her own ground. It was very solid progress his daughter-in-law was making. "Are they dead?" she asked as she came to take a stool next to him. Too late, he realized she'd distracted him long enough for James to swipe a finger through his tart.

"Oy," Harry slid his pie tin closer to Caroline and glared at his son. "I am not sharing with the likes of you."

"Harsh," James laughed as he moved over to the other side of Caroline to take the last stool in the row.

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Caroline asked him cautiously. "Aren't you going to be sick?"

"I just might," Harry agreed happily. "But it'll be worth it."

Ginny rolled her eyes as she sat on the stool to Harry's right. "Ignore him," she told James and Caroline. "How was your day?"

"I got a job!" Caroline told them, causing everyone to freeze. Her last job had gone horribly wrong.

"Come again?" Harry asked around a mouthful of food.

James laughed and draped an arm around her shoulder, kissing her temple. "Don't leave them in suspense. Tell them."

"I'm going to be training dogs just like Rufus," she explained happily as she took a carrot from Ginny's plate. "They're in high demand all over the world, but the training is very difficult and time consuming. Well, technically Rufus will be doing a lot of the training, but I will have to take the puppy out into public to help it learn all about the world."

"That sounds wonderful, darling," Molly cooed as she passed Caroline a biscuit. Harry didn't exactly pity her, but it was close. It was a sugar-free biscuit, after all. "How many dogs do you train at a time?"

"Just one," she said as she nibbled around the biscuit. "I get the puppy as soon as it is weened and then I have it for the first year, give or take. If it goes well, then I can keep going with more puppies at a time. Really, the only reason I can do this is because the magic of Rufus will work to train the puppy. It doesn't pay much, but it's work I can do from home and… and it's flexible."

Harry read the subtext of what she didn't say loud and clear, as did Ginny. They were all concerned a baby would be dropped on their doorsteps in the next few months. Molly didn't know anything about it. They didn't have the heart to tell her, but Harry had warned Audrey since she already knew some of it. They might need a Healer.

"Well, I am so happy for you," Molly told her as she handed James a stack of biscuits. "You're looking too thin."

"Thanks, Gran," James laughed as he took his stack and began to inhale them.

"I'd tell you to lay off as you'll ruin your training, but they're almond flour and fake sugar," Ginny told him dryly.

"I can tell a bit," James said between mouthfuls, "but I'm used to Nat's food at this point. Are they dating yet?"

"No," Ginny sighed unhappily. "I may go fully gray before your brother gets off his arse. I had a letter from Lily and Nat a few days ago."

"They'll be home tomorrow," James pointed out. "Why write?"

Caroline shot her husband a bemused look and shook her head. "Same reason I suggested we come over to check in before the crush tomorrow. It'll be too crazy to catch up."

James flashed her a wicked grin. "Remember your first visit here during a family dinner?"

"Oh, God, don't remind me," Caroline covered her face and laughed softly. "I had a full panic attack."

"Yes, but you do fine now," Molly reminded her with a loving smile. "I can't believe all my grandbabies are getting married. Fred next summer."

"Speaking of," Ginny said to her. "Lily says Rose and Andrew are back together."

"Really?" Molly exclaimed, pausing with her wand up in the air. "Oh, I do hope it works out! He's such a nice, young man, so well mannered."

This was news to Harry, actually. "When was that?"

"Not too long ago, actually," Ginny told him. "Hopefully she's told Ron this time so he won't have a fit over it."

Ron happened to like Andrew, although his appreciation for Andrew had grown after they'd broken up.

"Then we have Lily and Scorpius," Molly sighed as she handed a bowl to Polly. "Thank you, Polly. I really like him, you know. It's a shame his family is… well, who they are."

Molly had been hesitant about Lily and Scorpius at first. She'd point out, rightfully so, that Draco could make Lily's life very unpleasant if he so chose. But after Harry had explained Scorpius' plan to become completely independent from his family, she'd relented. "I always liked him. Such a sweet boy."

"Draco gets out of St. Mungo's tomorrow," Harry said as the treacle tart in front of him almost lost its appeal. Or it could be the fact that he only had three bites left. Come to that, it really might make him sick.

"Yeah, but Scorpius doesn't have to see him," James pointed out as he polished off his biscuits and went for the carrots. "Do we have a dinner plan?"

"What's this 'we' business," Caroline said as she elbowed him. "We came here to mooch. Anything we get is a gift."

"Garlic and pesto chicken," Polly called out as she pointed to the pan in front of her. "Nearly done."

James groaned happily. "Good, I'm starving."

Harry, after an entire dessert, was not. It was a pity, too. Polly made excellent pesto.

It wasn't until hours later that he was able to flop into his bed, still too full from too many sweets to even think about moving.

"I could make you vomit if you like," Ginny pointed out sweetly as she sat on the bed and then jostled him just to hear him groan in misery. "Serves you right," she said as she bent to kiss the tip of his nose. "You aren't seventeen anymore and you can't eat crap like that."

"But it was your mother's treacle tart!" Harry replied miserably. "It's not crap. It's absolutely the best."

"You're too old for this nonsense."

She was right, of course. "Gin?"

"Hm?"

He felt her shift off the bed and he cracked an eye open to watch her undress for bed. He still couldn't get enough of it, even after all these years. Things sagged, she had stretch marks, and toned took a lot of work on her part, but he didn't care at all. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him and he knew she always would be.

"Are you going to tell me what you wanted or keep leering at me?"

He grinned and was forced to close his eyes again as his stomach rolled. "I expect I'll be leering at you for decades yet to come. Get used to it."

"That's what you wanted to tell me?"

"No," his mood sobered. "Nothing on Crabbe. We have no trace from her and I've exhausted every lead I can in Brazil without tipping anyone off."

"Well," she said after a moment. "We'll have to wait and see what she does next."

She hid her anger well, but Harry knew she was furious about Crabbe's continued dodging of all law enforcement. He was, as well. They would have to wait and see.

By the time he had everyone back home the next afternoon, Victoire was already there with the girls and the happy noises Lily let out left Harry grinning, but only for a moment. He took Scorpius aside and explained about his father. The young man only nodded grimly.

"Doesn't matter," he said as he glanced back to Lily. "You've always told me I have a home here. It's good for now. Al and I will get our own place, maybe rent a flat, once we're done with school."

This didn't surprise Harry in the least. He went back to join the others in the living room.

~*~

"Emma," Nat said as she sat on the floor next to the nearly three-year-old. Everyone was paying attention to the babies. Nat wanted to pay attention to the babies, but not at the child's expense.

"Hey," Al sat down on her other side and plucked her up to sit in his lap. Emma laid her head back against Al's chest and stuck her thumb in her mouth, something she hadn't done in nearly a year.

Nat glanced to Victoire. "That's new."

"Or old," Victoire sighed as she gazed at her daughter. "It's been hard because she doesn't get as much attention."

"Well, I will give you all my attention," Al told her as he hoisted her up to blow a noisy raspberry into her belly. "Babies just sit there and don't do anything. You will play with me."

Lily joined them to sit on the floor, holding one of the twins. "Aw, Emma, I didn't mean to ignore you. Come here." She held out her free arm and Emma scooted over to hug Lily.

"I wanna play hideseek," Emma told Lily.

"Hide and seek, huh?" Al grinned as he turned to Nat. "I think we can arrange that."

"You can play in the house for now," Victoire said, putting a stop to whatever Al had in mind. "It's pouring rain outside."

"Alright," Lily agreed as she stood handed one of the babies to Uncle Charlie.

"Uh," Charlie began, but a moment later he had both babies, one in each arm. They looked ridiculously tiny in his massive arms, and he looked mightily panicked. "What if I want to play?"

"Uncle Charlie is base," Lily went on, ignoring his question. "But we have to sneak up to him so we don't wake the babies. Alright?"

"Right!" Emma yelled in excitement.

"Close enough," Nat mused as Teeny hopped over to get into the game.

It was amazing how many hiding spots they could find in the house. It was only Teeny and Emma hiding and everyone else trying to find them. They inevitably gave themselves away, too, by giggling when anyone came close. By the time the rest of the family had arrived, they'd worn both Emma and Teeny out and they were sacked out together on a blanket in the corner of the living room.

"Here," Nat said as she took one of the babies from Victoire after she'd fed them. "Nappy?"

"It should be clean… I think," Victoire sighed as she sat back. "This is one of the long days when Teddy is gone. My brain is a little like portage right now."

"I'll check," Nat told her as she took the baby to the changing table.

"You're going to be a great mother someday," Molly told her as she came over to stand next to Nat, kissing her cheek.

Nat smiled tightly and tried not to think about it. Maybe she'd have someone someday. It seemed like a lot of girls did eventually end up with someone. It might not be the someone she wanted to end up with, but she was still only seventeen. She had time.

That's what she told herself. Intellectually, she knew it was true. She knew she was still young but seeing how happy Lily and Scorpius were… how happy James and Caroline were… it felt like time was passing her by.

"Such a long face," Al said as he came over with the other baby.

"Does she need a nappy change as well?" Nat asked as Molly wandered back to the kitchen.

"Yeah, but I have it," he said as he waited for her to finish. "They're identical."

"They are," Nat agreed but she pointed to the twin he was holding. "But that one is Amelia. This one is Olivia."

"How can you tell?" he wondered.

She grinned as she picked up Olivia. "Their magic looks different. They won't have the same magical strengths."

"That's amazing," Al whistled as he set the baby down to clean her up.

It didn't feel amazing, exactly. It felt normal to her now. It was effortless, like breathing.

"How is your practice going?" Harry asked her as she settled down on one of the sofas.

"It's fine," she assured him. "I have complete control of it. Once I realized what I was doing it was as easy as choosing not to pick something up or put it down. We haven't tried it on anything big or complicated, but if you want me to work on it, I will."

Harry shook his head and Nat saw his hair was going ever greyer. "No, if you have control then there is no need. Has anything else cropped up?"

"I rather think that's plenty," Al said as he sat down with Amelia.

"Quite," Harry agreed. "But still, we don't know what the limits of her powers will be."

"I know my limits," Nat told wryly. "I can see all the things, do some of the things, and protect none of the things."

"Well," Al said as he gently nudged her with his shoulder. "That's why you have us."

~*~

Rose was more than thankful her father like Andrew or else he wouldn't have let her go to his house for the day, even though Rose was an adult and she could do whatever she wanted. Still, it took her a good hour to convince him she'd be fine before she could actually use to the Floo to get to Andrew's house. It wasn't like Rose didn't go to Andrew's house regularly, because she did. However, most of that had been after they'd broken up.

"Hullo?" she called out as she stepped out of the flames. He'd been expecting her, but admittedly he'd been expecting her an hour before.

"Hey!" Andrew called out from somewhere in the huge, echoing house.

"Rosie!" little Claire shrieked as she ran into the room, her chestnut curls bouncing as she ran. Her blue eyes, just exactly like Andrew's, sparkled with joy as she threw herself at Rose.

"Hi," Rose said as she bent to hug the six-year-old with a tight hug. "I'm so glad to see you! I've missed you. It's been forever since the summer."

Andrew strode him and grinned down at them. "Did your dad give you trouble?"

"A bit," Rose agreed as she stood and tipped her face up to his for a kiss.

"Gross," Claire giggled as she tugged on Rose's hand. "I got a new game I want to show you."

"Alright, let's go see it," Rose agreed as she followed Claire out into the hall and up the stairs to her room with Andrew right behind her.

They played a Muggle game called Pop N Go for almost an hour before Claire decided they'd had enough. "Can we go outside?"

"Sure," Andrew said as he stood and held out a hand to pull Rose up. "The rain from yesterday is all cleared out."

They meandered through the halls until they made their way out into the back garden. It was a traditional English garden, all flowers and hedges, but off to one side was a large swing set which had been put up when Andrew's oldest brother was a baby, and then replaced when Claire was small. She ran for the swings and Andrew and Rose walked hand in hand to sit on the benches.

"Aunt Emma is really glad you and I are back together," Andrew told her as they settled in and he slipped an arm around her shoulder. He bent until his mouth was brushing her cheek. "It's so odd, but I actually missed you. It's only been a day."

Rose felt a small shiver travel up her spine as she turned to smile at him. "I felt the same. I'm taking it as a good sign for things to come."

"Me, too," he agreed as he gently kissed her. "I should have taken you up on your offer to come to dinner at Al's place last night, but when I arrived home, I could see Claire needed a lot of my time."

"It's fine," she assured him. "There will be plenty of other family dinners in the future."

"Hopefully."

Rose shook her head and leaned further into him. "Together or not, Andrew, you're always welcome at a family dinner. Aunt Ginny has made that perfectly clear to everyone and everyone really likes you. It will be the same with Claire."

He leaned his cheek against her hair and sighed. "You really have the best family."

"Apart from there being about a million of them," she said and then instantly regretted it. He'd lost his brothers and parents. He'd had a large family and now it was just the three of them left. "I'm so sorry!"

"No, don't be," he told her as he wrapped his other arm around her. "I don't want you to tiptoe around me like that."

Still, she felt a small prickling of tears which she forced down as she turned to him, burying her face in his chest and holding onto him.

They had dinner with his Aunt Emma up in her suite of rooms and Rose knew the woman was not long for the world. She didn't even know if she'd last until they finished at Hogwarts.

"Don't look at me like that," Emma told Rose with a small smile. "I know I look dreadful, but your clever aunt has been to see me and she's keeping me moving along alright. I am wasting away and I'll let go at some point, but I'll be alright for now."

Surprised, Rose studied her thin, lined face under a cap of white hair. "You've seen Aunt Audrey?"

"She's been coming out once a month to check on me," Emma told her. "She can't cure me, but she's giving me these awful concoctions to drink which help me feel better."

Rose hesitated and then asked, "Do you know what's wrong?"

"I have Type One Diabetes," Emma explained gently. "I've had it since I was a small child. It's not something wizards develop so there is no wizarding cure, but she's made a potion which helps my body stop deteriorating. I've been keeping my blood sugar in check, too."

"Oh, it's like that thing Nat has," Rose told her. "I think."

"Something like that, yeah," Andrew confirmed. "Aunt Emma has to have an insulin pump and monitors for her blood sugar, though. It's more serious than with Nat."

"Well," Emma put down her napkin and studied them. "I think there is a little girl in need of her bed and you two can spend some time together."

Claire wheedled three stories out of Rose but Rose didn't mind in the least. She adored reading and could have gone all night if it wasn't bed time.

"When will I see you again?" Claire wanted to know as Rose leaned over in the bed to give her a big hug.

"This summer," Rose promised. "I'll be around so much you'll be sick of me."

"No," Claire grinned happily. "I won't get sick of you."

"Night, Bug," Andrew said as he bent over to place a kiss of her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Drew," Claire yawned.

They turned out her light and closed the door before walking hand in hand to Andrew's rooms. He had his bedroom and a sitting room off of it with several comfortable seats and a couch. "Want to watch some TV?" Andrew asked as he pulled her into the room where a roaring fire was already lit in the hearth.

"I want to talk," Rose said as she went to sit on the couch and waited for him to join her.

He sat down right next to her and wound an arm around her shoulder. "What's up?"

"If you want to marry sooner, that's okay," Rose blurted out without really meaning to.

He was silent for a second before he nodded. "Because of Aunt Emma."

"I hate leaving you to raise her alone," Rose admitted miserably. "I didn't… I mean… you said she was sick, really sick, but seeing her. Andrew, I feel so badly for her, for all of you. If you feel like you need me, we can make it work."

Andrew pressed a kiss to her temple and guided her face up to meet his, blue eyes meeting brown. "Let's wait to see what happens. I like our plan and I think our timeline will be alright, but I love you for offering and I'll tell you if I need the help or if I think Claire needs you every day."

"That's all I want to hear," she said as her heart swelled with her feelings for him.

Then his lips were on hers, soft and tender as he kissed her. When she thought he'd stop, as he had so many times before when they'd been dating, he didn't. He kept kissing her, changing angles, and seeming to play with the way they were kissing. She wasn't quite sure how it happened, but soon enough she was straddling him, her hands were in his hair and his on her lower back and they were both breathless and buzzing when Rose pulled away. She stared at him and he stared back and all she wanted to do was lean back in for another kiss.

"Uh…" Andrew cleared his throat. "Maybe we should watch TV now."

Rose slowly climbed off his lap and went to get the remote from a side table. She sat next to him and curled into his side as he turned on the TV and began to scroll through the movies on one of the streaming services.

Her mind wouldn't focus as she agreed to the first thing he suggested. Her heart was tied up in all kinds of knots as the lights flickered around the room and noise filled the space, while Andrew's hand made slow circles with one of the locks of her curly hair, weaving it between his fingers.

She hadn't totally thought it through and now she felt stupid for it.

If she married Andrew, she'd be sleeping with Andrew. She'd be… doing everything with him.

She wasn't ready to do everything with him and yet she'd told him she'd marry him. Part of a soul bond meant the couple had to cement the bond within a day of the marriage. They could marry in a Muggle ceremony, of course, and then they wouldn't have to do anything. It's what James and Caroline had done, after all.

Then her mind wandered back to that kiss and heat crept up her neck as she felt herself shifting in closer to press her face more fully into Andrew's neck.

He let out a small strangled sound. "Rosie… you're killing me."

Surprised, she glanced up at him. "What?"

"You know what."

"I…" she began, but cut off her words as her face flushed even more. She did know exactly what he was saying to her and she was equal parts flattered, awed, surprised, and scared. "I didn't… exactly… think… anyone would… oh dear." She glanced up to see Andrew's grin was wry. "What?"

"Rose," he sighed as pressed a kiss to her temple. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"I'm not," she shook her head. "I have part-Veelas in my family, you know. They're beautiful. Or Lily! Lily is stunning."

"Well, I think you're beautiful and I prefer you to any of the rest of them, Lily included."

She buried her face in his shoulder, the smile on her face so broad it was almost painful. She heard nothing but truth in his words and as she'd always hoped, she felt it straight to her toes. "Thank you."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and they fell silent as they watched the show.

Two days later it was Andrew's turn to come to Rose's house and Rose nearly sent him a message not to bother.

Her parents were in some kind of argument. They were often in a snit with each other, but today was worse than other days.

"Can you please stop?" Rose groused at her father as he scrubbed at a pot without magic.

Her father shot her a look and went back to washing the pot, so she let it go.

"Do you know what happened?" Rose asked Hugo a few minutes later as her brother kept his face pressed into a book.

Hugo rolled his eyes but didn't bother to comment.

The dinner was so awkward and silent Rose practically shoveled the food in before telling her parents they were going to see Al and Lily.

"Me, too!" Hugo shouted as Rose dragged Andrew towards the fireplace.

She didn't even bother to ask her aunt and uncle if she could come over. It didn't matter if they could or not. They needed out.

As soon as she was in the living room of Ivy Run, Rose sprinted for her aunt, who had risen from her seat at the kitchen table. "Rosie?"

"Thank you for being normal!" Rose said as she threw herself at Ginny for a firm hug.

"Oh," Ginny sighed as she held on while Andrew and Hugo came through the fireplace. "They're at it again?"

"Always," Hugo grumbled.

"Sorry to burst in on you, Mrs. Potter," Andrew said with an awkward wave.

"You're always welcome," Ginny assured him as Rose broke away. "The kids are upstairs playing a game in Al's room. Go on up."

Rose took Andrew's hand as they walked up the stairs. "Whatever we do," she told him in a quiet voice, "let's not be like my parents."

Andrew squeezed her hand and bent to press a fast kiss to her cheek. "Agreed."

~*~

"What are we doing?" Scorpius asked Lily as she dragged him through an empty restaurant as her Uncle Charlie followed behind, giving them space.

"I told you," Lily said again, "it's a date."

"Uh huh," Scorpius said evenly. He didn't buy it for a moment. She was up to something. Lily couldn't keep a secret to save her life. He grinned to himself as he let her lead him through the restaurant. She was too adorable as she tried to trick him. He heard Charlie snort behind them and Scorpius grinned back at him.

The first day of the hols had been… interesting. Scorpius had already known that Uncle Charlie was, without a doubt, the one least likely to approve of Lily dating anyone. Ever.

That first day he and Charlie had spent a good ten minutes sitting in an awkward, uncomfortable silence while everyone else seemed to disappear into the recesses of the house. With so many people in the home, Scorpius was amazed at how easily everyone could leave them in peace.

Charlie had eventually sat back and crossed him arms. His big, barreled chest rose and fell as he glared at Scorpius. "I dunno about this."

Scorpius hadn't known what, exactly, he'd meant by that so he'd waited silently for Charlie to continue.

"Lily is still a baby," Charlie informed him gruffly.

He thought, briefly, about arguing the point but decided that way only lead to something bad, like Charlie cursing him.

The older man had shifted uncomfortably. "I dunno about this," he said yet again.

It was Lily who changed everything. She came in and plopped down next to her uncle, pushing her way under his arm so she could hug his side. "Scorpius is even more protective than you are, Uncle Charlie."

"That is not possible."

But she'd gone on to explain he was and how well he took care of her.

Scorpius hadn't even thought about what he was doing as taking care of her. It was just being with Lily. By the end of Lily's song of praise for him, Scorpius had found himself blushing and staring at the floor. But it had done the trick with Charlie.

He still watched them, but whatever he was seeing seemed to please him.

Scorpius forced his attention back to the present and nearly tripped as he saw who was rising from a table in the back of the restaurant. "Aunt Daphne!" he laughed and he met her halfway, swinging her up and around.

She looked better than he'd seen her in a long time, although she'd looked okay the last time. But this version of his aunt seemed… whole.

"Oh, I've missed you," she crooned as he set her back down. She cupped his cheeks and studied his face. "Your lovely Lily insisted I come see you and I'm so glad she did."

Scorpius shot Lily an appreciative grin as the four of them sat at a table and a server came over to take their order.

"It's good to see you again," Daphne said to Charlie.

"And you," Charlie said as he watched the waitress walk away.

"Do we have the whole restaurant to ourselves?" Scorpius asked.

"Daddy set it up for us," Lily beamed from her seat next to him. "Happy Christmas."

"It's an excellent present," Scorpius told her as he bent to kiss her cheek. "Thank you."

"So," Daphne began as she leaned forward. "Tell me all about your relationship! Lily was scant on details in her owl to me. How long have you been together?"

"Since the summer," he told his aunt as he threaded his fingers with Lily's under the table. "It's been the best six months I've ever had."