"Families Meeting"

-IT TOOK ANOTHER TWO WEEKS FOR THE COUPLE TO SETTLE INTO THEIR NEW MANOR. But every second was worth it. Everything they went through to get to this moment was, in their words, worth it.

Adhara opened her eyes, the sunlight shining on her face. The windows were open and a cold breeze was coming through, which should've made her hug her blanket tighter, but it made her realize her surroundings and jerk up at the emptiness of her bed.

For the first time in two weeks, Adhara woke up without Hermione in her arms. She must be making breakfast then, thought Adhara as she walked into their bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair, then got changed.

Work was only an hour away, and Adhara had a mission with Harry again for the fifth time that week. The Wizarding world was almost never safe, but that was what her job was; to make it safe.

She walked down the spiral staircase, sniffing the smell of bacon and eggs, and also coffee as she stepped into the kitchen.

Hermione was there, right by the stove, making breakfast the muggle way. And to Adhara, it was the most meaningful way.

Adhara stopped in the doorway and leaned onto it, crossed her arms, and stared at the woman making breakfast. Her face broke into a soft smile, watching the scene unfold.

Oh, how lucky she was to wake up and have this.

Have Hermione.

"You're finally awake," pointed out Hermione with a smile, taking the pan off the stove and putting it on the dining table. "Breakfast is ready, love."

"We could get house elves, Mia." Adhara said as she walked over to her and kissed her head.

"No." frowned Hermione immediately. "You promised not to. I don't want house elves. We can get everything done ourselves."

"Whatever you say, my love." Adhara only kissed her head again, hugging her with one arm and saying, "Good morning, dear."

"Morning, Addie." Hermione's smile returned.

They pulled away and sat down across from each other. Hermione piled scrambled eggs onto Adhara's plate and two pieces of bacon, while Adhara poured her a cup of coffee.

As they both dug in and ate, Adhara asked, "Have your parents decided to come?"

They both agreed the night before that it was time for their parents to meet each other's parents. It would show how serious they were about the relationship.

They were slowly taking big steps.

Hermione nodded, sipping on her black coffee before she put her fork of scrambled eggs into her mouth. "Yes. They'll be here right after we finish work. What about your parents?"

"The Malfoys can't make it. They've got stuff to do," replied Adhara, not really taking it to heart. Lucius and Draco were extremely busy for the past few months, and so was even Narcissa. Adhara had planned to visit them that weekend, though. "But Sirius is going to come."

"That's good."

   Jean Granger, Hermione's mother, was very kind and loving. Adhara could sense the positivity radiating from the woman almost immediately. She politely hugged back when the woman hugged her, and gave her a welcoming smile. "Welcome, Mrs. Granger," said Adhara, then turned to Hermione's dad and gave him a handshake. "Welcome, Mr. Granger. It's so lovely to have you both here and finally meet you both."

   "Hermione told us all about you," replied Mrs. Granger with a warm smile, sitting down on the couch with her husband. "For years, she's been talking about you."

   "Has she, now?" Adhara raised an eyebrow with her lips quirking upwards, holding an embarrassed Hermione's hand.

   "Oh, yes." Mrs. Granger said, elbowing her husband who was looking at the living room in awe.

   Mr. Granger snapped out of it and looked at Adhara. "It's nice to meet you- Adhara, was it?"

   "Yes." Adhara nodded. "It's lovely to meet you, Mr. Granger."

   "Oh, dear, call us Jean and Will." Hermione's mother immediately said, turning to look at her daughter with a bright smile. "How is being a minister treating you, dear?"

   "Very well, mum." Hermione replied, smiling back at her. She turned to her girlfriend and said, "My parents are dentists. They tend to people's teeth."

   "You mentioned that once," mused Adhara as she turned to the couple. "It sounds fascinating."

   Will, Hermione's father, was about to reply and talk about how fascinating it was, but was interrupted when the fireplace roared. He stood up and shielded his wife immediately.

   "Addie! You did not tell me that I was- oh, hello there." Sirius straightened up, grinning at Hermione's parents. "You both must be Will and Jean. I'm Sirius, Adhara's father."

   Hermione's parents were too busy looking at him in shock. In fact, they looked like they had just seen a ghost.

Adhara buried her face in her hands, flushing in embarrassment, ignoring her girlfriend's laugh.

   "You," stammered Will Granger, pointing to the fireplace he had just walked out of. "How?"

   "Oh, right. You're muggles. Well, this is called the floo system. We throw a handful of floo powder onto the ground in a fireplace and are immediately teleported to the fireplace of the place we want to go to." Sirius explained immediately, his hand outstretched. "It's lovely to meet you."

   Will snapped out of it and shook his hand with a weary smile. "Lovely to meet you, too." He said, then sat back down with his wife next to him.

Sirius sat down on one of the armchairs, grinning at his embarassed daughter. "Hello, Addie." He said, then looked at Hermione. "Hello, Hermione. How's the move? Do you two like the manor?"

"It's absolutely gorgeous," Hermione was the first to answer, squeezing her girlfriend's hand reassuringly. Adhara smiled at her. She stood up and said, "I'll go get us all tea."

While Hermione was in the kitchen making tea, Jean turned to Sirius and asked, "How was Adhara as a child?" with a smile, wanting to know more about her daughter's girlfriend.

Sirius tensed, making eye contact with his daughter. He then looked at Jean and eventually replied, "Er- I didn't actually raise her. She was raised by her godparents."

Jean's mouth parted at the unexpected answer. Curiosity was shown in her eyes, but she closed her mouth and didn't ask anything else, not wanting to pry.

But Adhara noticed the look in her eyes. "My mother died in childbirth, while Sirius didn't know she was pregnant and had already remarried. After I was born, my mother gave me to the Malfoys, whom she trusted more than anyone. Sirius didn't know about my existence until I was thirteen."

"But isn't he a professor at Hogwarts?" Jean asked with a confused look on her face, knowing the man was a professor by the stories she heard from her daughter.

"Yes, but I didn't attend Hogwarts until my third year. I was actually studying in France." Adhara explained.

"Oh," replied Jean, understanding dawning on her.

"Who would like some tea?" Hermione walked in with a tray of teacups, each filled with tea.