A/N: Oh wow, this chapter took me forever and I'm very sorry about that. I feel terrible but I'm very excited to take this fic up again. Hope you enjoy it!

The many hours leading up to the dinner with her parents were long, long and painful. Lily hated the waiting. Not that she knew there was going to be a confrontation, she needed it over with. The uncertainty was killing her, along with the lingering feeling that she had lost Ginny. That they both had. There was a silence filling the London apartment that day. A long, etching silence.

Every once in a while, Teddy would enter the living room just to check on her. While Lily was most comfortable in silence, there was a particular kind of silence she knew he was on the lookout for. The kind she could drown in. This wasn't like that though. It was an uncomfortable silence for sure, but it was uncomfortable with anticipation, not with hidden horrors. She sat in that silence all day, considering all possible outcomes; the ones where she lost her entire family but still had Teddy, the ones where Teddy left her in another stupid attempt to 'do the right thing', and the stupid, hopeful ones where they were all a family again. She hadn't fantasised about bright, utopian futures since she was a young girl. Since before she had learned what a dark place this life was. And she felt stupid for doing it now, yet, it was the only way to get through the day. What if? What if, one day, she could go to a Weasley family get together holding hands with Teddy in the sofa? What if, one day, she could marry Teddy, without any drama? Naturally, these weren't the most realistic outcomes, but they were the ones she needed. And she was damn well going to fight for them.

"Are you ready for this?" Teddy asked, as he entered the living room once again to check on her. It was time. Lily had been waiting restlessly all day for the confrontation, and yet now, upon facing it, the nerves were starting to bubble up in her stomach.

"I guess," she mumbled in response, standing up from the sofa to wrap her arms around him, and breathe in his scent as though it were the last time. In a way, it felt like it was, and that sensation raised more anxiety than any of the thoughts she had entertained during the day.

"Are you?" she asked, leaning her head to his chest, breathing along with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

"I think so. Are you okay to apparate?"

"Yeah, let's go."

"Just remember that she's very fragile." Harry's words rung through the room as the pair appeared at Grimmauld Place seconds later.

"Oh brilliant, now I'm fragile. What's next? Unstable, perhaps? Now there's one you haven't used in a while," Lily snapped, as she pushed past her parents to take her seat by the dinner table. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

As Harry passed out the food, the others took their seats, and Lily poured herself a much needed glass of wine. Teddy took her hand under the table, and squeezed it reassuringly, although at this point, the girl was filled with irritation rather than concern, and was certain it was more likely he was the one who needed the reassurance.

"Ehrm, I think we're both wondering how this happened." It was Harry who broke the silence. Ginny was sitting stiffly in her chair, much like her daughter, not touching the food.

"I cast a patronus in defense class," Lily stated bluntly, rolling her eyes at her father and taking a sip of her wine before continuing. "It was a wolf."

A surprised "oh" left Harry's lips, followed yet another silence. The man looked positively heartbroken, while his wife was looking between the younger pair with an expression that could only be described as suspicious.

"Any other questions?" Lily asked, again taking the glass to her lips and having a sip of wine. There was only one emotion in her radius at this point, and it was anger. There they had been, talking about how fragile she was, and now they were interrogating her about her relationship in a way they most definitely never had their sons. She was tired of it; them controlling every part of her life. She was done with it.

"Is that why you quit your job?" Ginny asked, arms crossed over her chest and brown eyes unapologetically glaring at her godson, who's hair had taken on a dull grey colour.

"Um, yes. Once I… became aware of my feelings for her, it didn't seem appropriate to stay on."

"And then you figured it was appropriate to propose to her just because you quit your job?" Ginny raged, nearly getting out of her seat but being forced back down by Harry's hand on her shoulder.

"No.. I mean, we tried the absence thing-"

"You did."

"I tried keeping my distance, but I wasn't protecting her by breaking her heart."

"Look," Lily chirped in again. "I realize you don't find this perfect. But Teddy is perfect for me, and I'm going to spend my life with him. You might not understand this whole patronus thing, and perhaps I don't either, but I know that I'm never gonna stop loving him. So you can't make me. And if you push him away, I will push you away."

"Lily-"

"No, Teddy. I mean it. This is our relationship and they have nothing to do with it."

"Fine," Ginny retorted, crossing her arms over her chest and staring the both of them down. "But I won't have you lying to the family. Not for Christmas, not ever."

"Fine," replied the younger redhead, raising her eyebrows challengingly, unaware of how much she looked like her mother just then. "I'll wear the ring and it'll be a wonderful Christmas for everyone."