Miss Granger,

Let me be perfectly clear about how this will be tended to: you will leave my husband and my family alone, take your bastard son, and keep the little life that you and he have together. My husband may not feel it appropriate to pay you off so that you will disappear, but I am far more willing to stoop to such levels. His pride gets in the way of his mind, and I cannot afford to let you or your son ruin what I have worked so hard to achieve.

As a woman, you should be all too willing and all too aware of how hard it is to keep a family when there are so many things going against you. So, I offer you the simple offer of galleons that will keep your son comfortable for the rest of his life. As a mother, there should be nothing you want more than your son's happiness, right? This way your beloved Sebastian gets everything that he needs, and you will never have to see my husband again.

I know you are a very smart woman, Miss Granger. Take this deal, and let us be done with this, or you may find that I have my ways of getting what I want that are not so nice.

Sincerely,

A.M.

. . . . . . .

Sebastian wasn't sure what to do about it anymore. Part of him wanted his father to be part of his life, and another part of him knew that it wouldn't change a thing. All of his life he had never bothered to wonder where his father was, because he had never been left to feel like he was fatherless. Ron and Harry had been there for him since the day that he was born, and they never left him feeling like he couldn't go to them for anything that he needed.

They were all he needed.

But they were not his father, not really.

A sigh passed his lips as he continued to swing back and forth with his fingers holding the chains that held him up. The swing set at the Burrow was not magical; Harry had constructed it when Sebastian was little and far before any of his kids were born. It was a monument to the fact that Harry had always wanted children of his own and that he had always thought of Sebastian as family. Swinging brought the boy some peace of mind, and it helped soothe the ever-churning thoughts in his head with the soft creak of the chain on the hooks.

"You alright, big brother?"

The reverie shattered to pieces at the sound of that voice, and Sebastian turned his browneyes to look at the girl that was talking to him. As always, the first things he noticed about her were her eyes, because they were wide and the color of sunshine glittering through aglass of butterbeer, warm amber with flecks of gold. Then there were the freckles that littered her cheekbones and her nose adding cuteness to her already pretty face. Her red hair was wavy and it moved into her face when a slight breeze past them, but Jean didn't care she merely brushed it aside and smiled delicately at Sebastian.

He realized then that he might have to fight boys off of her soon. Be a real big brother.

"I'm just thinking, Jean."

"About your dad?" she asked.

"He's not my dad," Sebastian snapped before sighing softly and trying to soften his voice. "He's not my dad."

"Of course, he is. Saying that he's your dad isn't saying that my dad isn't your dad, too."

Jean moved to the swing next to Sebastian's and sat down, slowly propelling herself back and then releasing so she started that pendulum movement. Sebastian craned his neck slightly to watch her for a moment because he wasn't sure what to say to that. It made perfect sense and yet he wasn't sure how.

"Your mum is my mum even though she's not really. I think of her as my mum, she's always been good to me, even after mum died."

"She loves you; of course she's going to be good to you."

"She loves me, yeah, but she loves my dad. That's why I say that the thing my dad and your dad have in common is that they love your mum. At least that's what dad said. So, if he can love your mum, then he has to love you. You are part of her, after all."

Sebastian studied her for a moment, and he smiled, because he couldn't help it. There was something sweet about Jean that didn't leave a bitter after taste in his mouth. She reminded him so much of her mother, because Susan had been so understanding even when Ron ran to Hermione's side when she needed him. Susan had never treated Sebastian like he was anything other than family, and when his mum was at work she often took him out with the children so that he wouldn't feel left out. Hermione and Susan had been friends, because it was evident that Ron had loved them very differently.

Jean was the same way. She knew that her father loved her mother differently than he loved Hermione, and she didn't judge; she just understood.

"When did you get so smart?"

The golden-eyed girl scoffed at him playfully, flipping her radiant hair over her shoulder theatrically and grinned at him. She was a Weasley, and it was evident in the way that she smiled, because she looked like Ginny.

"I've always been this smart; you've just never listened to me before."

"Merlin, am I an idiot for that."

"You most definitely are."

Jean giggled gently when Sebastian interrupted her path as he swung to the side and bumped her, squealing when she was sent off course, body jerking to and fro before she slowed down enough to use her feet to slow her to a stop, and she merely smiled over to Sebastian.

"You know you're going to be okay, don't you?"

That question startled him slightly, because he had been wondering the same thing somewhere in the back of his mind.

"I don't know."

"Of course you do, silly. Life is too short for you to let this be the end of you."

Sebastian cringed lightly before looking over to Jean with a sympathetic glint in his eyes.

"How is Fabian doing?"

"Not good. The Healers say that he won't be leaving St. Mungo's any time soon, if ever again."

"I'm sorry, Jean."

"It's okay, he's happy."

But it wasn't okay. He could tell by the way she stared up at the sky looking for the answersto whatever questions went through her head in that moment. First she had lost her mother, and now she might be losing her brother before he even had a chance to live. He was going to be seven years old this year, and Merlin only knew if he would live long enough to see that birthday.

"I kind of don't want to go back to school."

"I don't think Fabian would appreciate seeing you every day, I think he was starting to like the idea of being an only child while you and Hugo go to school."

Jean chuckled softly and looked to Sebastian. "I just don't want to miss a moment with him."

"I know."

"Can you promise me something, Bastian?"

"Sure."

"Try to get to know your dad without worrying about what your mum or my dad think, okay? And your little brother, too. Don't let anything or anyone stop you."

He wanted to argue, but how could he? Sebastian took a deep breath and merely nodded his head.

"I promise."

Silence passed between them until Jean jumped from her swing and held out her hand to him. Sebastian looked up to her, and he wondered how anyone her age could deal with half the things that she had to deal with. Finding out about his father didn't seem like such a big deal when someone he cared about was dying. It wasn't a big deal, but the promise he made to a desperate little girl that was looking for something good in life was a very big deal. He would have to keep it.

"Take me to the hospital?"

"Anything for you, princess."

He grinned when she did, gripping her hand and apparating on the spot.

Author's Note:
I'm a bit disturbed by the reviews I've gotten lately.
Mostly because there is a lot of Hermione and Ron hate.
Hurts my heart, but if it riles you up then I take that as a compliment.
If you hate it so much you can't stop reading that's a win for me.

Let's take a moment to thank my amazing beta reader.
Michelle, you're awesome.

Don't get your hopes up guys, I won't be updating every day.
Thanks for reading so far!

P.S. Do people still want Astoria to cheat on Draco?

P.P.S. What else would you like to see aside from Ron's death?
Cause that shit ain't happening.