I know that you can't hear me, but baby I need you to save me tonight

It wasn't lost on Keiran that - because of her words and actions and relaxed frame - he could have gotten away with murder in that moment. He could have just shucked the lot and torn away hers and just gone ahead, and would have gotten away with it. But that same moment - when he lifted to redirect his gaze back to hers and couldn't quite believe the emotion and need he found there - it convinced him that slow and steady would not only win the race, but sufficiently traumatize their children when he dropped Millie off and it was all too obvious.

Any other version of this man would have immediately wondered after what he could get away with now that he had been given the fictional go-ahead. But this specific Keiran was distracted, obviously, so any words he would have considered had been whipped away - probably in the direction of their clothes. In place of them, groans were essentially all he could pull from within himself, her two Yeses causing a particularly grateful one before his hands reached for what was left of her ensemble. Once that had been whisked from her, Keiran wasted some of her patience on actually observing and truly appreciating both the situation and what lay in front of him - or, who, in this case.

While he had immediately felt pressed to stand and do away with any other bits of fabric that would impede them, Keiran had a bit of roaming to do. Almost assuredly, his fingertips and lips caused some form of impatience within her, because he took his sweet time. Finally, though, when he received a sign of utter frustration, Keiran dropped all pretense and stood briefly to get rid of what was left. It was as he found himself back on the couch that Keiran drew his hands up to her hair and finally returned to run his tongue over her bottom lip, demanding entrance.

The rest of his actions were not at all demanding - a stark contrast to the battle he had initiated through their kisses - and if it was rushed towards the end, that was most definitely her fault. He had tried quite hard to keep his silent agreement with himself that it wouldn't be just want or need that either could just as easily throw off on strangers. Keiran had only wanted to love her, and hoped beyond all hope that she took the actions for what they were. Because although he had no problem just stating what he felt, Keiran knew as well as anyone that actions spoke louder than words. He and Millie knew that tenfold through the books. Never had he been more proud of writing them than when he relaxed over her and pressed his palms against the cushions so he could hover and drop kisses to the curve of one shoulder.

How many times could he say he loved her before it stopped sounding honest or lost the ability to shake her with giddiness? Because Keiran was pretty sure that, in the span of that interaction, he had said it more than a handful of times. He determined that he would have to either find new ways to say it, or just keep it for special occasions as normal couples were likely to do. He clearly was allowed to show her. And he intended to do so -- often. But that step had been completed and they were late anyway, by the twins' standard, so the man hardly cared if he took a few more minutes. "You'll be the death of me, darling, I'm sure of it."

Lifting his head, Keiran caught her gaze and held, wanting for a moment to just be. But he couldn't stand it for long, saying, "I might sound a bit crazy, I'm afraid, but Millie, you're everything. Just as you always were, but somehow all the more now that I have you." A contented smile rose, and Keiran took a minute to revel in everything before breaking their connected gaze to instead press another round of kisses to her jawline. "You're everything," he repeated, cards on the table right then because he wasn't likely to change his mind, and much preferred the idea of her knowing and telling him to cool it than not understanding and wishing she did.

The most wonderful part had always been after. Spent, breathless and warming through with all of the pleasant feelings that came with the peak. With one arm left aimlessly to tumble over the side of the sofa, her fingers resting against the carpet and the other behind her head she gathered her breathing in her own time. She smiled, swallowing deeply as he spoke to her, she tipped her head and pressed a fond kiss to his head, lifting her trailing arm up to settle over his shoulder, splaying her fingers down his back. She knew that their chance of being back on time, as it were, was long gone but she couldn’t find it within herself to care. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so wholesome, so loved.

“I hope not,” she replied softly, her voice a little strained from the stress of scolding him for taking too long. “I’m not losing you again. So get that out of your head right this second.”

Hearing him, savouring every word, reliving every utterance that devoted him to her as he pressed his lips to her jaw, Millie closed her eyes. She curled her legs absently around him again and turned her head to take his lips with hers. She took her arm out from behind her head and kissed him with all of the slow ease which had categorised this coupling. Her fingers wound through the hair at the nape of his neck and only when her lungs began to demand a steadier, strong breath of air did she slip her lips from his, parting them to take in the oxygen she’d wanted. She combed her fingers through the front of his hair and smiled again, unable to keep it away from her face.

“I love you,” she told him in response, the words coming without preamble. She drew her knuckles across his cheek and leaned up, kissing him gently once more before dropping herself back down against the pillows. “I will always love you. I always have. If I’m your everything, then you’re mine.” She turned into him, pressing forward for another kiss. “You’re my everything.”

As content as she was to stay, they both knew that there were two teenagers at home waiting and while one had probably long since gone to bed with a cup of tea and a film to watch, their mother still needed to be there. They were her first responsibilities, her only loves for fifteen long years and she wasn’t going to forget them, even if it was only to their father whom she’d returned.

“I should get back to my other little everythings,” she murmured. She gave a little wiggle, indicating for him to shift over a bit, and she sat up a little more fully but didn’t elect to move just yet. Content still to be in his arms she lingered a little longer, pressing kisses here, there and everywhere. She smoothed back a few stray splinters of hair behind his ears and smiled again, kissing the end of his nose.

“What are we going to do next week?” She asked, leaning over to retrieve her underwear. She could spot one stocking but the other, she noticed, was nowhere to be seen. She put her arms absent-mindedly through her bra straps and caught the clasps together behind her. She looped her knickers up to her with her foot and wriggled them on, getting up to slide them up over her bum. She turned then and slid her hands around Keiran’s cheeks, leaning down to kiss him again. She couldn’t help herself. The still adored the ability to do so, still adored the feel of his lips on hers.

“I could cook,” she offered. “And I could seduce you with my abilities in the kitchen,” she wiggled her eyebrows playfully. “And it could be a family sort of thing if you like or …” she looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t know. Whatever you like. But maybe it’d be nice just before you all go back to Hogwarts. Oh, wait!” She blinked. “The gala,” Millie snorted. “The week after next, then. That’ll be the last week, won’t it?”

Millie shook her head. The eagerness was endearing, if nothing else.

Part of Keiran felt very young - rather like a teenager, in fact - when he settled between Millie and the back of the couch. Shame or self-consciousness was long thrown out the window, and all he could think was that he wished there were more ways to explain exactly what she was. But 'everything' really did sum it up quite well. Nothing else came to mind besides saying it over and over, losing the novelty of that phrase just as quickly as the other would. So he just tipped his head forward to rest on her shoulder, breathing her in. Knowing he was the only one allowed to made it just that much more endearing when she combed through his hair with her fingers.

"Damn shame the kids gave us a time limit," Keiran mused. "So much for overnights."

The words came out on a groan of dissatisfaction - quite different from the ones heard earlier, to be sure - and he splayed his fingers over the skin at her waist even as she moved to get dressed. He would just as soon have sent her home in some things of his, and at least then Keiran would've had a reason to visit during the week. Regretting his failure to realize that earlier, he sat up, ignoring his own lack of clothing.

"So, how badly do you want to frighten the kids?" He asked, a smirk threatening to run free across his features. "Because it might be quite a lot of fun to take you back in something of mine instead."

Yes, okay. Keiran was acting like he was a teenager, as previously noted, but his Slytherin mentality was not lost even in this instance. No, if he sent her off to grab whatever she liked while he put on his own garments, he could well hide away something of hers to 'find' when the week grew dull and felt too long. He wasn't sure he would actually bring himself to do it, though, even if she agreed to the frankly ridiculous idea. Keiran hadn't even been like this when they first met, due to all of his concerns for her and then for the school and all the rest. But now he was just so massively pleased with everything that he wasn't able to help it. He really wasn't.

A low chuckle left Keiran as she spoke, clearly not hearing the implication that he found in her words. So his fingers darted about, amused little touches finding her stomach, forearms, inner thighs and back in random intervals and with no real pattern or purpose. "Love, d'you realize what you've just suggested? If you do attempt to seduce me mid-meal, do try not to succeed if the children are there, too." But though Keiran wanted to pass it all off as being nonchalant and good-natured and the like, she came to the conclusion that they had two weeks left and made him realize the same thing very suddenly. He wasn't at all prepared, so his arms enclosed her more securely, nose reaching to brush at the column of her neck.

"Yes," he conceded, "two weeks." The words were almost sad in their escape, but just as much straightforward as they were frustrated. "But, I mean, you can floo over and um, we can pull the kids out for Saturday breakfast - because Sunday is never about actually eating food." Keiran pressed a kiss to her neck, asking, "You'd want to, right? I mean, we could try something else or, or rotate through ideas... I've obviously got my own rooms again so if you ever feel like staying that works, too."

Unfortunately, the lack of confidence returned as he went through all that, unsure more of whether or not she would want to see so much of him when she was the one doing the traveling or because he would push for it to be quite often if he could get away with it. Keiran didn't lack faith in her conviction or anything like that, but he wasn't completely convinced that she would keep enjoying her time with him if it happened too frequently.

He, on the one hand, obviously just wanted her all the time, and was fully aware of how selfish that made him. It was because of that nagging in the back of his mind that Keiran released her, moving from behind her so he could retrieve his things. Then, searching for a way to push away that reminder, he glanced around and ended up with a sheepish expression instead of a guilty one. "Next time you're over, maybe I'll just set up dinner at a table, hmm? No uncomfortable floor sitting necessary."

Natural Gryffindor recklessness had been put on the backburner for years. Whilst it was expected for chances to be taken and many had arisen just begging to be exploited with a little bit of cleverness and backed with the courage of a boisterous spirit, over the years Millie had let them flitter away because the recklessness that the world was asking from her always came back to money. It was a ridiculous commodity, she’d come to realise, but one that was very necessary. Years of not having it, mingled with a period of comfort and then being smacked right back into place again had made her acutely aware of what she had and, crucially, what she didn’t have. The fear of losing it and, in turn, losing her home and her children had mollified many of the traits that would have been a given thing to see in her. So even though it had nothing to do with the usual commands such indulgencies asked after, Millie did take a moment to think twice about Keiran’s words and then decided she was being stupid.

“Can I?” She asked, her eyes lighting up at the possibility.

Teenagers like theirs would never enjoy public displays of affection unless they were the ones going out of their way to be embarrassing. Even if it wasn’t made obvious they were attentive enough to find implications in places where their mother wouldn’t have assumed them to have been. Turning up in Keiran’s clothes most certainly did answer any questions her extended absence would have raised but Millie was half certain something would have been noticed anyway. There were few secrets between herself and those children. Early on the boundaries had been set down to ensure good behaviour was observed and thereafter she’d been their friend in all things. It had made them, in many ways, more attune to her temperament just as she was naturally attune to theirs. However, for good reasons or bad, they could see right through her, too.

There had always been a good reason for why Liam had elected to be her wingman. Whilst Kelly had never really had the taste for the social things that Millie was thrust into, Liam had understood without missing a beat that he needed to be there to back his mother up. He knew the catalogue of looks and he was aware of every miniscule twitch of body language. Millie was half-sure he knew her alarm bells for distress before she even realised she was unhappy because on more than a few occasions he had been the one to decide they weren’t going to linger on somewhere – most often during Christmas when they were all dragged home to the Browns for dinner. For selfish reasons or otherwise, he’d made good calls they were all grateful for. They had never really been children for long. They’d had an interesting, loving upbringing but the moment they’d decided they didn’t want to play ball with that ideal anymore, she’d let them and now with an ease she wished desperately she could have exuded herself they were becoming adults perfectly naturally and under their own steam.

But they weren’t entirely just yet. Which meant that she did still have a few years in which she could imprint some scars that needed a bit of therapy to dislodge.

Millie kissed him and hopped away, hurrying into what she assumed was the bedroom. All flats generally followed the same palette after all and she wasn’t surprised too much when she struck gold. She knew exactly what she was looking for, too. If she was a creature of intense habit then she was sure Keiran hadn’t altered too much either than that was why she immediately put her hands to a hooded jumper. They were still huge on her, simply due to the fact that she was, in comparison to Keiran, like a miniature stick insect. When she plopped it on, though, the material was soft and comforting, wrapping around her almost familiarly as his scent engulfed her senses. She grinned, pulling up the hood briefly before flopping it back down to straighten it out and she bounced back into the front room as though it was Christmas and she’d gotten precisely what she’d wanted.

And she had, too – albeit it wasn’t the season to be jolly just yet. She was jolly anyway, though.

“Not seduce-seduce!” Millie protested with a pout as she wound her jumper-clad arms around his neck again. “Like, yumminess seduce. Wait, no,” she blinked, a smirk alighting across her mouth, “that doesn’t sound a whole lot better, does it?” Millie blew a lock of hair out of her face half-frustrated. “I am going to cook,” she declared resolutely, trundling her fingers across the back of Keiran’s neck. “And you are going to love it. You are going to love it so much you’re going to want to come back every night. That’ll be food seduction. Mmhmm. No funny business. Just noms.”

Millie arched an eyebrow at Keiran as she rolled over his suggestion in her mind. She supposed that now things would have to change a little bit. She became Miss Workaholic during the school term. She’d suddenly be cropping up everywhere not just on the radio but filling in for people, conducting interviews for the sake of reporters who were elsewhere or perhaps there weren’t enough to begin with and a newspaper or one of the broadcasting companies needed a hand. She’d do anything and everything, become horrendously social in fact, in order to avoid going home to an empty house. As used to it all as she was she still hated being without them with the fire of a thousand suns and now she knew she’d hate being without Keiran, either. Millie bit her lip as a flash of sorrow came over her and she squeezed herself to him, trying to remember the way it felt. But it wasn’t to be such a loss. He wanted her there. She didn’t have to be on her own for ten months.

“I’d love to,” she whispered earnestly. “I’d really love to. Just, whatever you have in mind… I’d love to. It’s really crap without everyone around. I suddenly find I have to talk to my mother again just for something to do and you understand how truly dreadful that is, don’t you? Did Kelly tell you about her boy toys? The latest one, excluding my dad, makes husband number four. Her dad won’t pay for any more weddings but I mean… she looks like a cross between burnt caramel and a hairless cat and they’re all big, glowing Italian body builders. Literally, she’s terrifying and they’re horrendous.” She shuddered, leaning in to press a kiss to Keiran’s shoulder. “And all of them are with her to score younger arse. If it wasn’t so pathetic it’d be quite funny.”

“Wherever,” she murmured. “I just want to spend a little time with you. A lot of time, actually. Wherever. Even if it is on the floor.” She laughed, her eyes twinkling with affection for him. “I do tend to work a bit more … well, all the time. Uhm.” She shook her head. “It be nice to not. If it wouldn’t be a bit crazy I’d hang around a lot. I don’t know if the kids would know what to do with themselves if we were both there all the time, though.” She smirked at the thought. “But you know… responsibilities and I don’t want to distract you, either. But it really would be great if I could… you know, I guess… pop in and out, I dunno.” A shy look took her for a moment. “Just, um, yeah. Sorry, blah. No, I’d love it. If you’d like me to be there. That’d be wonderful.”

Liam and Kelly were not amused. Particularly with Millie's attire. But he shot the twins a very serious eyebrow raise in place of a verbal threat, and reminded them that they had better not stress their mother out before the gala, then kissed both of them on the head (despite Liam's protestations).

It wasn't until the middle of the week that Keiran realized Millie had not said anything about his new book. Perhaps she hadn't read it yet. He didn't think he would have wanted to know if she'd started it. There were a few reasons he could think up for why she might not be too pleased with him, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if she would have noticed. It wasn't a stark change from his previous storytelling, to be quite plain, but this time he had used more names and places, but left her out for fear of having to deal with the struggles all over again, even if it was just internally. He didn't want that pain logged down for the world to see.

Still, his attempts to avoid thinking about it didn't go too brilliantly at first. But once the gala started looking overhead, he took to finding a tie that would match the dress she had chosen, and studiously avoided the Ivanovs, who seemed intent on inviting him although he already had a ticket. He appreciated it somewhat, but it also made his plan more difficult. Keiran had become a bit more dramatic over the years, if his indoor picnic was any indication (which, of course, it was), due to Headmaster speeches, overseeing Quidditch matches and Yule Balls among other things. So the idea of the pair of them ambling in with their children was actually rather glorious, if you asked him.

That night, he arrived outside of the Ministry's ballroom, reserved for events such as this, his eyes searching the entryway for his girlfriend and his children. It was a weird combination, that was for sure. And he felt far too old to be calling someone his girlfriend at all. But he supposed that people still older likely did the same, and decided that he was so struck by the novelty of being allowed to do so that it didn't even bother him. His main worry, really, was that he would say the wrong word when someone asked, or when he was meant to introduce her. Not that he expected people to be oblivious to who she was, of course. But if the time came, he wasn't confident in his ability to say a word starting with G instead of with W, or even F.

Although Keiran glanced over his shoulder, he saw people he knew and heard the general chatter, he couldn't bring himself to catch anybody's attention. So he unconsciously took up his natural stature, his hands finding his pockets as he waited.

It was in a busy London café, brimming with all of the energy of the lunchtime rush, that Melissa Finnigan found herself, sharing a hulking great slice of cake and sipping coffee with, arguably, her best friend in the entire world: Alice Connolly. The younger witch was reclined lazily in her chair, her feet resting on the rungs of the table, and was flicking at a sachet of sugar which Alice had poured into her coffee, albeit it was an empty sachet now. She’d also remembered to take a picture of the design that the barista had done for her, not forgetting to tag her husband in it in between chattering to Millie.

“So, does it still count as dating if you’re basically telling the world you took our dear Headmaster off of the market again?” Alice asked between sips of her latte.

Millie smirked and sat up a little bit straighter. “How d’you mean?” She inquired, abandoning the sugar to pick up her own mug of black coffee. This particular coffee house knew to put it in the biggest cups they had for this customer.

“Well, I mean, it feels quite serious, doesn’t it?” Alice rationalised, setting down her mug. “It’s not a fling or anything, then?”

“Can you really have a fling with your father of your children?” Millie retorted, her mouth arching into a bemused smile. “Isn’t it inherently serious?”

Alice coloured that timeless tomato red. “Well,” she considered, “aren’t you going to have sexy weekends?”

“Whoa!” Millie held up her hands, sitting back again, her back bouncing against the chair. “I didn’t need to know about your sex life! Oh gross, come on!” Millie pouted, though her laugh-lines creased all the same.

Alice couldn’t help herself. As Millie congratulated her on her and Ollie’s rampant sex life, the elder blonde split into uncontrollable giggles that drew looks from other tables. It took Millie’s cheeks tinging red for her to sober up and she took a long drink from her cup before leaning forward, intrigued to gather all the details she could.

“Never mind about me. This. This thing with Keiran. It’s serious-serious?”

“Yeah,” Millie breathed, her lips twitching upwards again. “I think so. I mean, I hope so.” Her mind flashed her back to the sofa and to his roving hands which, all of a sudden, she could feel all over her body. It made her still but Alice didn’t notice.

“Well, I’m excited for you,” the elder blonde decided. “You deserve it. I never thought you’d have ended up with Keiran again, though. Genuinely … and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s just … it’s mental how things work out, isn’t it?”

“I think … I think it’s the only way it could’ve worked out,” Millie decided finally. “We just never ever fell out of love with each other and … I guess it just took remembering that.”

“Are you going to the gala together?” Alice asked, wriggling her brows, her expression widening to elated surprise when Millie gave a nod. “Right, then! We’re going to get you dolled up. Sod work. I have flex-time I never use. Let’s go!”

---

Never ever would Millie get used to the verve and enthusiasm with which her friend shopped. She also had never in her life tried on as many sets of underwear as she had done that day and she hadn’t known quite what it was all in aid of. Millie felt like pointing out to Alice that they were old lovers and thus knew the ins and outs of each other rather more intimately than most did in fledgling relationships – thus she didn’t need to be tarted up. Alice wouldn’t have appreciated that, though, so Millie kept her mouth shut and humoured the witch as she conveyed her from shop to shop before finally ending up in a salon.

Once bits of the witches had been plucked, bossed, waxed and heaven only knows what else, they were released into the wild once more, ready for the gala. Millie returned home, not entirely sure she ever wanted to do that again no matter how much Alice begged. She found the children were already ready and reluctantly got a move on, fiddling with her hair which she had been taken to a salon for. It did look beautiful – art with greying locks – so Millie was willing to put out of her mind, if only for that reason, just how mad her friend was. But then, given how invaluable Alice had been to the younger witch over the years, perhaps she’d indulge a few more fantasies of Alice’s yet.

Dressed, Millie couldn’t put off any of the events to come for a moment longer. She floo’d to the Ministry with her children and had thought she wasn’t nervous. When she arrived however, she clung onto Liam’s arm for dear life and in a way that was infuriatingly like his father, he chuckled before drawing a comforting arm around her, murmuring that it would be alright. She’d never been recognised, though, she wanted to despair at him. Moreover, she quite liked flying under the radar. All she’d ever wanted was enough money to raise her children – none of the fluff or attention that came with certain professions.

“Oh Merlin,” she whispered feverishly to her son, “why am I here again?”

“To dance and to eat free food and to finally get a bit of credit for once,” Liam returned, hugging her to him. “I can see dad, by the way!”

Millie straightened up and immediately began to check herself over. This was serious. She was actually beginning to appreciate what Alice was saying now. It wasn’t a fling, was it? It was a statement that, yes indeed, he still and would always belong to her just as she’d always belong to him. That was what this was all about. It wasn’t so much about the award. It was about surprising their friends – who didn’t know – and family and be together again in public where they’d be appraised by the wizarding public who would want to know details about the man who, amongst others, was really keeping the country afloat and the lady who he’d accompanied who was receiving the reward.

Liam gave Millie a bit of a push and she paused to glare at him before striding over, trying her best not to trip and fall. She shortened her gait as she neared Keiran and, extending her arm, she reached up and tapped him on the shoulder, bringing her hands back down to hold at either end of her bag as shyness bristled across her cheeks. When he turned, she felt sure that she’d fallen in love with him again and any shyness was abandoned when she broke the distance and leaned up to kiss him.

“Hi,” she murmured, pulling away. “I missed you.”

The memories Keiran had of Millie during the start of their relationship were sustenance, if he wanted to get a bit poetic about it, during his time away from her. 'Food for later years,' as the actual poet phrased it. And now, he discovered, he didn't have to rely on those memories. Because she was still happy to see him - happy to publicly embarrass their children - and seemingly happy to have him be the one on her arm. Even more than that, he realized that their family unit was actually somewhat complete all of the sudden, because Kelly and Liam came up behind her and it was the four of them. Not three out of the four in whichever combination fitted the time of year or the day of the week. It was an insane sort of love story, to add to the romantic nature of his earlier mental ramblings. And no part of Keiran wanted it to end.

Keiran's hand wrapped itself around her waist when she pulled away and greeted him properly. "Hello, darling. Beautiful as ever," he uttered into her ear before looking up at the twins. "Hey, midgets," he joked, smirking at them over Millie's shoulder.

Taking a moment to look between the three of them, Keiran drew in a breath before turning towards the entrance to the ballroom. He felt both thrilled as well as terrified, so he pulled Millie a little closer before stepping through the doorway. At first, no one really seemed to catch the change. But confusion soon swept across the room, and Keiran couldn't say he was surprised when heads turned.

Eyes traveled from the children, to Keiran's hand at her waist, to the tie that matched the older blonde's dress. Across the room, Avery's mouth fell open and her fingers reached for Zachary's sleeve. The youngest of the Ivanovs, he knew his mother's tendencies well enough to realize it wasn't a disaster but more of something incredibly fascinating. Thus, Ravenclaw that he was, Zach had no choice but to look up as well, and he immediately understood her shock. Keiran caught their expressions and nearly laughed. However, while some seemed pleased for him - Avery included, of course - others looked almost upset with him. 

Would Baldric? he wondered, gaze darting around the hall. Surely the Piersons were around somewhere. The headmaster knew, though, that not everyone thought him in the right when they divorced. He had not ended things on a brilliant note, and although she had not either, Keiran had readily taken what blame he could manage.

He knew that he couldn't expect, like Orpheus, to change the nature of rocks or trees or beasts. Some people would not accept her decision, nor his previous actions. Not everyone thought well of him, after all. That would never be true of anyone, and it wasn't within his rights to expect anything like that. Half the time he was considering his new chance with Millie, he was stuck wondering what her family must think. Bridget wasn't surprised, though she rarely was. The woman always seemed to see things coming, he mused a bit sarcastically. But now, it was about seeing how everyone else felt about the pair of them.

Walking into that ballroom was simultaneously the most terrifying and most elating thing that Millie had ever done. She had murmured her reply in kind to her boyfriend – she had marvelled at how juvenile it sounded – and had smoothed her hands across his lapels, fondly experiencing déjà vu. She was allowed a few private thoughts to herself as he guided them through into the crowd of people and before they turned to look in their direction, seemingly like a wave of flickering eyes. What stunned her was the sudden clarity of her feelings. Well, a singular feeling, really. It was happiness. It was utterly sublime, unadulterated happiness. She’d not felt it in years.

It was quite funny really, how the Hayes’ moved in closer to each other. The odd-Finnigan-out fit, though. It was as though the clocks had been turned back and the comfort with which they moved together showed them to be as in synch with each other as they had been when they had been happily married. With their grow-up children, though, the clocks hadn’t been turned back so it was unclear quite what was happening. That was probably why it was so hard to look away. It was such a familiar sight, romanticised by those who knew of them as well as those who knew them intimately and the two people themselves. Actually seeing it though was breath-taking.

In truth, Millie felt completely intimidated. She had no idea how she was going to go up and collect anything – or even get up onto the stage that had been erected, period. She wanted to turn around and run out and go home and curl up with the new book and a mug of hot chocolate. She liked radio. She liked television occasionally. It was all not very personal, not very real. No one was looking straight at you, waiting for some sort of confirmation or indication or whatever it was they wanted. She liked it like that. Suddenly being one of the centre points of attention was horrendous.

“Keiran,” she whispered, her eyes darting about. “They’re all staring at us. Why are they staring at us? Have I got something on my face or … it’s not you … you look wonderful. I just …” Millie sorely wanted to curl into him and hide her face in the crook of his arm but she held her ground, mostly because his arm around her waist kept her there, and she could do very little about the rising colour in her cheeks. She swallowed the lump rising in her throat and she glanced about again, grateful for the break in the crowd and the familiar head of blonde hair followed by another one and soon enough Emelia and Ollice were there to break up the tension.

“They are all so nosy aren’t they?” Alice asked just a decibel too loud, allowing many to take a hint and turn back to their conversations. The witch laughed and stepped forward to embrace the children, kissing them both fondly before cuddling their mother into her arms. Then, finishing off the line she hugged Keiran tightly, lingering a moment to mutter in his ear in as blunt a set of terms as possible that if he didn’t look after Millie this time, the Frenchwoman would be back for him. Then she released him, passed him a smile, before drifting back to her husband’s side, reaching down to lace her fingers with his.

The children slunk off, no doubt to go in search of some of the more interesting adults – which basically solely comprised of Theo who would indulge any whim that passed their fancy because, well, as Minister he could. He was also in a mood for giving this evening so the children were in for one hell of a treat if they caught him a few Guinness’ past sense – which wouldn’t be long. Alice rolled her eyes and drew her arm around Ollie, leaning into him as her fingers slid underneath his jacket. She let her gaze flick over the Hayes’ and considered that it was the right sort of image – one that had been missing when they’d both cut lonely figures over the years. This looked right. This was them.

“Bae and Ben are about,” Alice offered, adding, “and Elliot and Grace just got here. We’ve got a table, too, next to the kids’. It’s all sorted.”

“You’re on the ball, lady,” Millie appraised. “We’ll be over in a bit, probably,” she glanced up at Keiran to check. “I don’t know. Is there anyone you’ve spotted you want to natter to?”

Keiran wanted to assure Millie that it wasn't the headmaster they were looking at, but the situation didn't lend itself to such claims. Although she really and truly did look spectacular - there was no denying that - he was just as much the object of everyone's attention. It wasn't exactly what he had wanted, but he knew better than to expect otherwise. The Ministry was a strangely gossip-filled place for a political building.

Then again, he had to remind himself that most undoubtedly were.

His arm around her waist stayed gentle but solid, and he instinctively pressed a kiss into her hair. Belatedly, Keiran realized that it might not have been the best idea, because it just raised the somewhat hushed noises of surprise to a shocked round of muttering and questions. He frowned against her temple but lifted his chin when the Connollys and their daughter approached. He was tempted to ask after their boys, but part of him knew that they were probably up to no good.

He sent a nod in Oliver's direction, endlessly pleased to see that they still got on brilliantly after their particularly rough start. Keiran wanted to imagine that, if Oliver and Alice could make it, he and Millie were bound to. But their lot was a bit more bizarre, so that wasn't a fair comparison. Still, he was grateful for Alice's fairly subtle chiding, and had to cover a grin for the sake of pretending he didn't want to offend anyone who had been embarrassed by her comment.

Keiran had to agree with Millie; Alice was definitely ahead of the game. It wasn't until his Missie looked up at him that Keiran realized he probably should have warned a few people. He hadn't really mentioned it yet. That was partly for the sake of surprise, but it also had to do with the fact that he had not been spending very much time with his friends lately. There had been too much to do regarding the start of school, and he only hoped that Millie wouldn't be too upset with him about it. After all, she knew how tough it could be at the beginning of the year.

"Well," he began, glancing around the room. "What do you think, love? Should we shock Theo first? I haven't seen him recently enough for him to know. Have you mentioned it to Bae yet?"

Looping her fingers together loosely in front of her, the blonde witch lowered her eyes and tried to focus on her feet. She was not yet quite brave enough to raise her head and meet the curious gazes of those in the room. In truth, she’d never be quite ready for it. Her private life was entirely what the phrase encompassed. Moreover, it was entirely her own and not for others to be privy to if she held no love for them. She shared nuggets to those who listened to her radio show but it would never have been enough to construct a picture that you could apply to the woman beside the Headmaster. She liked dashing underneath the radar. Keiran was the most good looking neon sign saying ‘look at me’ that she’d ever stood next to ever. In that moment, she couldn’t decide what she wanted to do more: run away or curl into him and hide her face in his shoulder.

Even Alice’s brash tone did little to shake the stares they were getting and Millie wigged in closer to Keiran, glancing up at him with a slightly pained expression that was a cross between ‘kill me’ and ‘oh my god will they stop?’ Hiding was definitely the better option. Alice laughed a little when she caught sight of Millie’s face. She murmured that everything was going to be fine and Millie pouted at her, sincerely doubting it. She’d probably trip up and fall on her face and because it was clear that the Headmaster’s date couldn’t even walk properly, no one would be under any illusion about why he divorced her. Yes, rather than a series of bad choices and immaturity and just plain giving up it was merely the personal defects of the woman herself which were the issue at hand.

“Theo is definitely the lesser of the two evils,” Millie agreed softly. “I’ve not told Bae, no.”

Suffice to say, they’d not gotten along in a long time. He’d always been helpful. Indeed, Baldric Pierson had never been more than a phone call away if Millie needed him. He’d been there, of course. He’d taken the twins when she needed him to. He’d been at her graduation. He’d just been there. But that was all. That was where it ended. If there was one thing Baldric abhorred then it was a poor quality of conviction and as far as he was concerned, coerced by the Ministry or not, she’d said those vows and in breaking them she’d done something unforgivable. He’d not been able to twist his head round that and fifteen years later, now the twins were grown and didn’t need his input apart from at Hogwarts when he was teaching them, he had no reason to talk to her at all.

“We’re not particularly close anymore,” she mentioned, suddenly feeling awkward admitting it. It felt strange admitting it wasn’t just the marriage that failed but the friendships that followed from it. People picked sides. It didn’t matter how neutral they wanted to be, they just did. She didn’t mind, of course, but she missed Bae. She still missed him now even though she’d learned to take solace in others. The same was easily said of Keiran, of course. She’d filled her time but she’d never stopped missing him.

“Theo’s over there,” Millie pointed through the crowd at the Minister who was stood with his daughter, the pair having extricated themselves from the people wanting to talk to him for a quiet moment to laugh about how insatiable the conversationalists were. It made Millie’s breath catch every time she set eyes on Esme Rookwood. She could remember when she’d first picked up the little girl and introduced herself. Now she was all but a woman and that terrified everyone who knew her, not least because it meant that whoever wanted to date her was in for the shock of their lives. The Minister did have Azkaban as a threat mechanism, after all.

“Do we want to stop by the drinks table first for some Dutch courage?” She suggested with a meek smile. Her heart had dropped into her stomach and fear … fear was the principle feeling.