Hi again! So for the 4th time in 6 days, I'm updating! I'm seriously concerned with how well this story has been flowing for me recently, but I'm trying to take advantage of it while I can. I haven't avoided packing completely. I did pack 10 boxes and all of our books up today, so I did take care of my responsibilities first, I promise! :)
In case it wasn't obvious, just under a year has passed since the last chapter.
Hope you all enjoy! :)
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"My world could fall apart. This life could get too hard. There's so much that I can lose, but it don't matter long as I got you." ~I Got U, Blake Lewis
Audrey quickly adjusted the shirt Scorpius was wearing before gently sitting her son on the floor next to her. It was a pretty big day, and she was hoping that he managed to stay relatively clean so she wouldn't have to change him before guests arrived. Scorpius had just turned one year old a few weekends ago now, and they were finally throwing him a small party to celebrate. So many things had changed in the past year, and most of all, Audrey couldn't believe how much her son had grown since the day he was born. He was already crawling and standing, although a bit wobbly. He knew a few words, and was constantly trying to communicate with his mother and Artemis both. Audrey wouldn't be surprised if he started walking soon. Just the thought was enough to make her tear up, so she blinked a few times to clear her eyes.
Before she could start getting too emotional, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She didn't even need to turn to know it was Artemis. "Yes, love?" she asked.
"The guests should be arriving here soon," he responded. "We should probably head downstairs to greet them."
Audrey nodded. "I'm only sitting for a moment. I know today is going to be crazy, so I thought sitting for a moment wouldn't hurt. This is the first time we've seen our friends in almost two months," she replied. "I mean, we haven't seen Ron and Nicole since their wedding in March, and I guess we haven't seen Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Molly, and Arthur in just as long."
"Has it already been two months?" Artemis asked. "How time has flown..."
Audrey glanced down at Scorpius, who had crawled himself over to the window and was content with watching whatever was going on outside. "You're telling me," she agreed. "It's really hard to believe he's one now. I swear we brought him home from the hospital yesterday."
"And he looks more like his father every day," Artemis added, and even though today was supposed to be a happy day, Audrey was reminded that things were not the way she had ever pictured them. Draco had been dead for well over a year now, and his absence was still plaguing her everyday life.
In this first year alone, there had been so many milestones, so many things that a mother would want to share with the father of her children. And yet, to no fault of his own, Draco wasn't able to be there for any of it. In Draco's absence, she had been able to share every milestone with Artemis. Despite him taking on a job at the Ministry in the Department of Mysteries, he had been somehow present to see every major milestone in Scorpius' life- everything from rolling over, his first tooth, crawling, standing, his first words. Having someone to share these special moments had definitely helped ease Audrey's mind about Draco.
Artemis had been more helpful than Audrey could've ever imagined. He had literally become the father figure in Scorpius' life, just like Ron had predicted. He had filled in for Draco's role perfectly. He stayed up late with Scorpius, he fed him, changed him, rocked him to sleep, played with him... everything a father would've done. It was so much more than Audrey had planned on him taking on, and she was so grateful for what he had done for her to this point. It made her heart so happy that he was so good to her and her son.
"That he does," she eventually answered him.
Artemis smiled, and Audrey couldn't resist smiling back at him. "Shall we?" he asked, offering her his hand.
Audrey took it, and Artemis pulled her up from the couch, and pulled her into a tight embrace. This had become the norm the past few months. Artemis was suddenly much more affectionate than Audrey had remembered him being previously. Not that she was complaining. It was nice to have someone who could comfort her at the end of a long day of chasing Scorpius, or just in general. Honestly, she missed sleeping next to someone, but she had never admitted that. The girl hugged him back tightly, feeling content for just a moment before he pulled away to pick Scorpius up off the floor.
Before Audrey could say anything, she heard the manor's main door open downstairs, and she knew at least some of the guests had arrived. On that note, the two of them plus Scorpius made their way down to the foyer where they saw the Weasley family standing, or at least a majority of them. There had been a lot of changes in the Weasley family since Scorpius was born, and those who were there reflected that pretty well.
After greeting all of them, the group of them made their way to the ballroom where the party had been set up. Unlike a lot of parties, since it was for such a small child the adults all just segmented into different social groups. Molly and Arthur had joined Artemis' parents, Narcissa, and Fianna. Artemis, Ron, Harry, Fred, and George had taken over another table. Artemis' younger brothers, Myles and Beckett, who were now close to seven years old, enjoyed a rare nice day in Ireland by playing outside. Audrey was content to be with Nicole, Ginny, and Hermione like the old times, although this time she had Scorpius sitting by her feet, happily playing with some blocks. It didn't take long for the girls to bring Audrey up to speed on what was new.
"Fred's finally back to his old self, I see," she brought up, noticing the twin laughing on the other side of the room with the guys.
"Oh yeah," Ginny assured. "He's been a lot better without that harpy he was with. Glad she's gone. Really, I think all of us are. She was absolutely terrible."
As it turned out, Krystie had been seeing another man behind Fred's back the entire time, and the child she gave birth to wasn't Fred's either. Nasty shock when he found out, and after the divorce was over, she fled the country to the United States to be with the other man. Fred had been torn up about it for a while, but he was seemingly on the up and up now, and had apologized profusely for how he had behaved during the funerals. Audrey accepted his apology, and things on that front had been going much better since then.
"She really was," Audrey agreed. She hadn't spoken to her estranged friend since before Draco had died, and now she was positive she would never speak to her again. There was no room for negativity in her life, and everyone knew how much negativity that woman brought.
"He's finally back to running the joke shop with George, so you know that has made their relationship immensely better," Hermione added.
"But enough about Fred," Nicole changed the topic. She glanced over to the boys to make sure they weren't paying attention to her, and even on confirmation that they weren't, she still spoke in almost a whisper. "So... what is the deal with you and Artemis?"
Audrey was afraid of that question being brought up. Honestly, she didn't have a good answer for it. Technically speaking, they were just close friends. But, they were more affectionate than most close friends would ever admit to being, and they were together constantly. Not to mention they were raising a kid together, and that was going incredibly well.
"I guess I'm not sure what you mean," she finally answered.
"You can be honest, you know," Ginny added. "We won't tell him."
Audrey was sure her face was red by this point, as Hermione spoke up in her defense. "You two are embarrassing her! It's probably a sensitive subject, given all the circumstances."
Hermione was right, and Audrey hated to admit it, so she played coy. "I'm just not sure what you guys mean. We're friends. That's it."
"Don't you give me that phony answer," Nicole pestered. "I've seen the way you two act around each other, especially as of recent. I mean, two months ago, you two slow danced for essentially our entire reception. Just friends don't do that. What is going on?"
Audrey sighed. "Honestly, I don't know," she admitted, staring at her son as he knocked over the tower of blocks he had made. "It's... complicated."
She had been feeling as if there was some sort of underlying emotions between the two of them for a while now. She couldn't describe it. Artemis was a lot of things. He was her best friend. He was her partner in raising Scorpius. He was incredibly smart, and devilishly handsome. Audrey didn't want to admit it, not even to herself, but she knew she would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him. But it hurt all at the same time. She did still love Draco, and even with him having been dead for over a year, Audrey was sure she always would to at least some extent. It hurt still, but at the same time, she knew Draco wouldn't want to see her sad forever. But that didn't stop her for feeling incredibly guilty that she may have developed feelings for her late husband's cousin.
"Well, explain it to us," Nicole pleaded. "We just want to help."
Audrey closed her eyes, trying to think of the best way to word her thoughts on the whole situation. There were so many things she could say, and yet, she didn't know if they were the right things to say. "Sometimes I think about what it would be like if we were actually together. I can't say I don't wonder what it would be like to love someone again like I loved Draco. He... Artemis has been so incredible this past year, and I don't think I'd be here without him. He keeps me sane, and helps me so much with Scorpius it's unreal," she rambled, trying to hide how truly exposed she felt for revealing all of this. "He watched my world fall apart... and he stuck around and helped me rebuild it." She looked away from Scorpius, and gazed across the room at Artemis. "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't feel anything for him..."
Her voice trailed off, and it was Hermione who picked up where Audrey was going with that.
"But you feel like you're betraying Draco because Artemis is family," she said quietly.
Audrey barely nodded.
"Oh love, I don't think Draco would be upset," Nicole replied, sympathetically. "He told Artemis to look after you, didn't he? I think that means he trusts him with you."
"I just don't know if he meant it like that," Audrey countered, focusing her eyes back on Scorpius who was standing, holding onto the edge of the couch.
"Regardless of if he meant it like that or not, Draco wouldn't want you to be miserable for the rest of your life, Audrey," Ginny pointed out. "He'd want you to be happy. And I think if it meant being with Artemis, he would be okay with it. I mean... the worst that could happen is that you guys try it out, and it doesn't work."
That's what Audrey was afraid of. What if they didn't work out and it ruined their friendship? She wasn't sure if she could handle losing him too.
But before she could get too lost in the what ifs, she saw Scorpius turn his head towards where the guys were. He released his grasp on the couch, and started walking, or rather toddling, towards the table. Audrey was too stunned by her son taking his first steps to do anything but watch him. Luckily, Artemis had also noticed the infant's movement, and had gotten up from his chair to try to intercept him in case he fell. Sure enough, a few feet in front of Artemis, Scorpius finally lost his balance and went tumbling to the floor. Audrey's eyes went wide for a moment as her son started crying, and she leapt from her seat to go comfort him. By the time she got there, Artemis had already scooped him up and was hugging him close, trying to calm him down.
"Is he okay?" she asked.
Artemis pulled the child away from him for a moment, carefully looking him over before hugging him once again. "I think so. I think he was more startled than anything," he answered. "My younger brothers stumbled all the time when they were learning to walk."
He handed Scorpius over to his mother once he had calmed down some more, and Audrey continued to comfort him afterwards. She was just happy he wasn't actually hurt from falling. She ran her hand through the little blond curls on her son's head, rocking him gently while she and Artemis sat together on the floor. She looked to her friend, and she noticed he had a smile on his face, but his eyes seemed tear glazed.
"You okay?" she asked.
Artemis nodded. "It's just that... he just walked. Our little Scorpius took his first steps," he said back, his voice a bit shaky.
"Yeah, he did," Audrey confirmed, starting to smile a bit herself.
Only it wasn't just because Scorpius started walking.
A year ago, Audrey wouldn't have believed that this is where she would be. She would have never guessed she would have this little family, and especially not with Artemis as such a willing participant. A year ago, she would've never believed she would be happy again. She still missed Draco, she still loved him too, but she knew that it was going to be okay to move on if she wanted to. And more than anything else, she prayed that it would be with the man she was sitting on the floor with.