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"I want to send Grandma and Grandpa a postcard when we get to Cindy!" Katie was excited as Nick was arranging for a portkey to transfer all of them to Australia.
"That's Sydney," Ashley corrected her. "Not Cindy."
"That's what I said," Katie said quickly. "Sydney."
"You said Cindy," Ashley tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Girls," Greta said. "That's enough all right?"
"She's always correcting me," Katie said glaring at her sister. "She thinks she's so much smarter than me."
"I am smarter than you," Ashley said. "I'm eight and you're only six."
"Girls," Julie said kneeling down before them. "I thought we agreed we were going to try and get along with each other while we were on holiday. This is a very important tour for your father and for Greta. They're going back to Australia for the first time in years. You don't want to bicker the whole time do you?"
"I guess not Mummy," Ashley said.
"Good," Julie said smiling up at them. "Now are you both sure that you have everything you want to take with you? No books or toys you've forgotten?"
Both girls shook their heads. "I'm going to colour a picture for Daddy," Katie said.
"I'm going to draw him one," Ashley pulled her little sketchbook out of her bag and sat down.
Julie was grateful for the momentary peace and quiet and she walked over to her husband. "Any luck?"
"Getting there," Nick smiled at her. "I would have thought my manager would have arranged a bloody portkey but I guess since we're leaving a bit earlier than scheduled it's not going to be so easy."
"At least we don't have to endure a long plane ride with Ashley and Katie arguing the entire way," Julie commented.
"Thank goodness we're not Muggles," Nick said under his breath.
"Do you have any family in Cin---I mean Sydney," Katie asked Greta. "You never talk about anyone over there."
"Your father is my family my sweetheart," Greta answered. "I was there since he was born."
"But what about your own mummy and daddy?" Katie asked. "Or brothers and sisters? You don't have anybody?"
Ashley rolled her eyes. "Katie. She has us and you asking so many questions like this is just plain rude."
"Shh," Greta put a hand on Ashley's arm. "I never had any brothers or sisters, and my parents died when I was much younger."
"That's so sad," Katie said.
"I'm sorry Greta," Ashley said softly. "We didn't know."
"Quite all right my darlings," Greta put her arms around them. "I have your father, your aunt Saffron, your mum, and of course, my two girls."
"And Uncle Ethan too," Katie reminded her. "Don't forget him."
"I have plenty of people to love, and who love me," Greta answered. "So I'm not very sad."
"Will we be spend Christmas in Sydney?" Ashley asked.
"No we'll be back before then," Julie rejoined her daughters and Greta. "Then we'll go to Grandma and Grandpa's for the holiday."
"Good," Ashley said. "I didn't want to spend Christmas away from them especially since Grandpa Granger's been so sick."
"He's doing much better now," Julie smoothed back Ashley's hair.
"I'm glad for that," Ashley said before getting back to her drawing.
Nick announced that he'd managed to set up a portkey that would activate in two minutes. "I know it's short notice, but it's the only one I could find."
"Good thing we're still all packed up," Julie deadpanned.
"Come on girls," Greta said helping Katie and Ashley pack away their art supplies and sketchbooks.
"Don't fold it!" Katie said in a panic as Ashley grabbed her colouring book and stuffed it into the bag they were sharing.
"It's just a colouring book, Katherine Rose," Ashley said.
"Ashley Beth," Katie shot back.
Julie rolled her eyes. "Come here Katherine Rose and you too Ashley Beth. We're leaving any second now."
Ashley shot her sister a superior look as they joined their parents and Greta.
Nick produced an old tattered book from behind his back. "Everyone ready?"
"Ready Daddy!" Katie said excitedly. "Cindy here we come!"
Ashley decided for once to let this one go and for that everyone was extremely grateful.
"Cindy here we come," Nick grinned at his youngest.
A few moments later, the Malfoy family found themselves in a posh penthouse suite at one of Sydney's most elegant hotels. Nick's manager had managed to get them checked in beforehand. Ashley and Katie ran excitedly around the suite checking everything out.
"Mum! There's four bedrooms!" Ashley called out. "That means I won't have to share with Katie!"
"That's right love," Julie said, her eyes gleaming at Nick as they both took in the master suite.
"I specifically asked for that," Nick whispered to his wife.
"Mmm..." Julie said, running her hands over the satiny duvet cover. "I can't wait to try this place out Nicholas..."
Nick winked at her. "Tonight soon enough for you?"
"You might need to give me something to pass the time with," Julie shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
Nick's eyes darkened as he closed the distance between them. "Something like this perhaps?" he asked before kissing her.
Julie made a sound of approval in her throat as they kissed deeply. "Something like that," she said breathlessly several minutes later.
Katie pounded her little first on the door. "Mummy! Daddy! Come here! You have to see this!"
"We'll be out in a minute sweetheart," Julie called back. She rested her forehead against her husband's. "I just want you to know how proud I am of you Nick. So much has changed since you were last here."
"I know," Nick said softly. "And although this place has some bad memories for me, I hope to make some new ones with you and the girls."
"I hope so too," Julie gave him one more kiss. "Come on, let's go see what has Katie so excited."
Nick followed his wife out of the bedroom and saw their youngest daughter looking out of the window.
"What's got you so excited, Katie?" Julie asked.
"That!" Katie said pointing her finger. "What is that thing?"
Nick chuckled. "The Sydney Opera House."
"Can we go see it?" Ashley asked, coming up on Katie's other side.
"I don't see why not," Julie replied. "I'd love to see it too."
"How about we head over there tomorrow?" Nick asked. "I have to go in for a meeting tonight, and then I have the morning and afternoon free until my concert tomorrow evening."
Ashley picked up a brochure on the coffee table. "I bet I can find some more places we could see in here!"
"There's more for us to see here than we can fit in a few days," Nick said. "But you and Katie each pick three places to go see and we'll make sure we go there all right?"
"I want to go shopping!" Katie exclaimed plopping down beside Ashley on the sofa.
"We can do that too," Julie promised.
"I want to go to some museums," Ashley said turning the pages of the brochure. "And some art galleries too. Greta said they have some great ones here."
"I used to take you to those Nicholas," Greta came out of the room she'd be sleeping in.
"You used to DRAG me to those," Nick corrected.
"You enjoyed them," Greta replied.
"Sort of," Nick said dryly.
"Daddy likes art," Ashley said. "He told me he likes my pictures I draw."
"I do," Nick said. "You are my favourite artist hands down, Ash."
Ashley beamed with pride as she continued to look through the brochure.
"Maybe someday you'll have one of your paintings or sculptures in a gallery here," Greta said.
"That would be so cool!" Ashley said excitedly.
"And I'll tell everyone I'm Ashley Malfoy's father," Nick teased. "And no one will believe me."
"Don't be silly Daddy," Katie said, pulling the brochure away from her sister.
"Katie!" Ashley protested. "I was looking at that!"
"We can look together," Katie said. "You can't hog it Ashley."
"I wasn't hogging it," Ashley said glaring at her. "You didn't need to snatch it out of my hands."
"Girls," Julie said sharply.
"Look at this," Greta said pulling another brochure off of the table. "There's two of them. One for each of you."
"I'll take the new one," Ashley reached for it. "Katie's germs are all over that one now."
Julie sighed. "Girls please."
The two Malfoy girls glared at each other as Nick shook his head. "All right, I should get to my meeting. I'll be back later so if you all get hungry go ahead and have dinner without me."
Julie laughed. "Making a quick getaway, Mr. Malfoy?"
"As always when they start fighting," Nick teased.
"Good luck Daddy!" Katie called out.
"Thank you baby," Nick said. "How about a hug before I leave?"
Ashley and Katie stood up and ran over to their father engulfing him in a big hug.
"Ahh there we go," Nick said, holding them close for a moment. "Have fun and behave for your mum all right?"
"We will," Ashley promised.
"That's my girls," Nick ruffled his daughters' hair before smiling at his wife and Greta and Apparating out.
*** *** ***
The following Friday morning, Frankie was busily writing press releases. She'd had to come in early, but in doing so would be able to leave early so she could meet Will's parents. After trying every excuse she could think of and going on a big guilt trip from Will, she'd finally caved in and agreed to have dinner with them tonight.
It wasn't something she was looking forward to. In fact, she was downright terrified at the prospect of meeting Will's parents. It just made everything seem so much more official. But, Allison had told her that she was probably making this much worse than it need be. Allison had pointed out that meeting your boyfriend's parents shouldn't be made into such a trauma.
Frankie had retorted that Allison didn't know what she was talking about because she'd known Jon's parents since the day she was born.
"Knock, knock." Will said from her doorway. "Can I come in?"
Frankie looked up in surprise. "Will? What on earth are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to stop by," he replied. "I'm really glad you managed to work it out so you can come tonight Frankie."
"Of course," Frankie said giving him a weak smile. "I know how much it means to you. And we don't want your parents to think I'm imaginary, do we?"
Will smiled at her as he closed the door. "I'm really excited," he said. "This really means a lot to me Frankie."
"It's just meeting your parents," Frankie said with a laugh. "For all we know, they'll hate me and forbid you to see me ever again."
"They won't hate you," Will hugged her. "They'll love you like I do."
Frankie hugged him back, trying not to wince at his choice of words. Ever since he'd said it the other night at Jon and Allie's, he'd said it every single time he'd seen her.
"So, I'm meeting you and your parents at The Ivy at around 7 tonight right?" Frankie asked.
"Right," Will tipped her face back and kissed her. "And I'll give you the proper thank you later tonight," he murmured.
"Which if I remember correctly is how you got me to agree to go with you in the first place," Frankie said huskily. "You can be quite persuasive when you want to be Mr. Barron."
"Well when I have such a gorgeous creature in front of me I find it hard to not do this," Will pressed his lips to her neck.
Frankie bit her bottom lip. He knew exactly where to get her. "As much fun...Oooh...as this is, I really do need to...um...to get back to....work."
"What work?" Will teased, running his fingers down her side then back up under her robes and shirt.
"Will," Frankie said trying to push him away. "The team manager is scheduled to come in any minute."
"So is that an invitation to pick this back up later?" Will asked, pulling his hand away reluctantly.
"I sure hope so," Frankie said giving him one last kiss. "I'll see you at seven, okay?"
"We might get there a little before, so if we're not waiting in the lobby we'll be in the bar." Will stroked a lock of her hair back as he kissed her again.
"Okay," Frankie said softly. "I-I can't wait."
He smiled at her. "This will be great. My parents will love you." Will gave her one last kiss. "See you in a few hours."
At seven that evening, Will and his parents were sitting at the bar in The Ivy waiting for Frankie.
"What is it that she does again?" Will's mother Abigail asked.
"She works in PR for the Quidditch team," Will replied.
"Lovely," Abigail said nodding. "We cannot wait to meet her, William."
"You mean find out that she's a real person," Will's father Theodore said with a laugh. "We've never seen the girl, Abigail. And our son's been dating her for how long now son?"
"We've been on and off," Will said defensively, glancing at the clock.
"She comes from a good family," Abigail said. "I've heard good things about the Longbottoms."
"I've only met her parents a few times," Will replied as he took a sip of his scotch on the rocks. "And I just finally met her sister, brother in law and nieces last weekend."
Theodore and Abigail exchanged a look that thankfully Will didn't notice. The maitre d asked if he could seat them, but Will shook his head.
"We need a few more minutes," Will said politely. "We're still waiting on the rest of our party."
Little did they know it would be another forty five minutes before Frankie rushed in the door, out of breath and looking windblown.
"Frankie!" Will called out trying to remain calm. "We're over here!"
Frankie tried to make sure she looked somewhat presentable as she made her way over to Will and the two people standing beside him. "I am so sorry," she apologised. "I didn't mean to be late- our team owner came unexpectedly and wouldn't let us leave- I couldn't even owl you or get to my mobile to ring you."
"That's quite alright dear," Abigail said extending her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Abigail Barron and this is my husband Theodore. We've heard good things about you from Will."
"Hello," Frankie shook their hands, hoping they wouldn't feel how sweaty her palm was. "It's lovely to finally meet you both as well."
An awkward silence fell over the group.
"Mum, Dad?" Will finally asked. "Perhaps we should get our table now?"
"Of course," Abigail said. "Why don't you stay and get Frankie a drink and we'll see you over there in a moment?"
"Okay," Will said watching as his parents walked away. He took Frankie's hand. "Is everything okay? I was worried that you were going to bail on me, Frankie."
"It's fine," Frankie rolled her eyes. "I swear, I was ready to kill that arse for making us stay so late." her eyes softened. "I'm sorry Will. I know this is important to you and I hated it that I was late."
Will smiled reassuringly at her. "It doesn't matter now. You're here."
Frankie leaned forward and kissed him. "So do you think I made an okay first impression?"
"Other than arriving late," Will teased. "I think they love you."
She nodded, but she was still nervous. "How about that drink?" she asked. "I'm pretty thirsty."
"You want your usual?" he asked.
"White wine sounds perfect," Frankie nodded.
A few minutes later, he and Frankie took their drinks to the table. Frankie apologised once more for being tardy, but Will's parents told her that they understood and she had no reason to apologise.
"Will was telling us that your mother was a dancer," Theodore said warmly.
"Yes she still teaches," Frankie replied, toying with her linen napkin. "My sister Chiaki teaches with her now. She used to be in a company but she retired."
"And her sister is expecting now," Will chimed in.
"Oh how nice," Abigail said. "Your mother and father must really be looking forward to more grandchildren."
"They already have my two nieces," Frankie said, hoping that they weren't insinuation that she should have children as well.
"Oh you can never have enough grandchildren," Abigail said smiling at her.
Frankie simply nodded and smiled, then looked over at Will.
"Frankie's dad is an Auror," Will spoke up.
"An Auror?" Theodore's eyebrows rose. "My, my that's very impressive."
"He's one of the best," Frankie said loyally. She was about to elaborate on this point even more when her mobile phone started to ring. "I'm so sorry..."
Will opened his mouth to protest as she answered and began talking in hushed tones to the person on the other end. "Please excuse me a moment," she said apologetically as she got up and left the table.
She didn't return to the table until 20 minutes later.
"I really am sorry," Frankie said blushing as she sat back down. "There were some printing errors in our media guide. I promise that will be the last interruption."
Will didn't answer, he didn't even look up from his menu. "We need to order soon," he muttered.
"Yes of course," Frankie said sheepishly picking up her menu.
"Theo and I haven't been back here in ages," Abigail said conversationally. "Did you know we had our wedding reception here over 30 years ago?"
"Really?" Frankie asked. "I didn't know they did wedding receptions here."
"It was rather small," Abigail explained. "We only had around 20 guests."
"How come it wasn't bigger?" Frankie asked curiously.
"We wanted a small wedding," Abigail replied. "Only a few close friends and family."
"That and we couldn't afford much more," Theodore commented dryly.
"Oh," Frankie said, looking back at her menu. "My sister Chiaki's wedding was huge and my other sister Allie eloped."
"I wanted to elope," Theodore said with a laugh. "But Abbie here wouldn't hear of it."
"Never," Abigail smiled. "And Will's brother and sister both had large weddings as well, and when he gets married he can expect quite a celebration too."
Frankie gripped her menu tightly. "So does anyone know what they're going to order?"
Will had noticed her grip and his expression darkened. "Not really," he said.
"I'm absolutely famished," Frankie said. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and that was a half a glass of juice and a stale muffin."
"Will tells us you're a busy woman," Abigail could tell Frankie was nervous and wanted to put her at ease. "Does this mean skipping lunch is an everyday thing?" she smiled.
"Not usually," Frankie said. "Things have just really been hectic lately. It always is right before the season starts, you know?"
"I'm afraid neither of us knows a lot about Quidditch," Abigail said. "As- what's the term Will?"
"Muggles," Will said, closing his menu.
"Right," Abigail smiled as Theodore chuckled at the name. "As Muggles we only know about this sport through what Will tells us."
"Perhaps I could get you some tickets to the opening day match," Frankie offered.
Will glanced at her in surprise. "You'd do that?"
"Of course," Frankie said with a shrug. "I get extra tickets all the time, you know that."
"Well I know," Will said but then let it go as the waiter came to take their order.
Frankie decided to splurge by ordering Shepherd's Pie since she'd not eaten much all day. Will's parents weren't all that bad, she thought as she watched them order. Perhaps this wouldn't be that bad after all.
Will could see his girlfriend (he still thought of her that way even if she didn't want to label what they had) relax and for that he was glad. He had definitely been worried that she wouldn't show up at all and chastised himself now for those thoughts.
"Will said he helped you baby sit this past weekend," Theodore said after the waiter had gone. "I'm sure you had your hands full."
Frankie smiled. "He sure helped me out of a rather tough situation," she told them about the jasmine episode.
"That's priceless!" Abigail chuckled.
"Sounds like you two make a good team," Theodore said winking at Frankie.
Frankie's smile slipped just a bit. "I suppose we do, sure." she laughed weakly.
"Perhaps you should invite Frankie to Christmas dinner with us," Abigail suggested.
Frankie paled. "That's really nice of you to ask, Mrs. Barron. But I can't. Holidays are very important to my family. I wouldn't want to miss it. And it is my niece Emma's first Christmas."
"Some other time then dear," Abigail wasn't fazed. "We'd love you to meet Will's brother and sister."
"You could come for Christmas Eve," Will suggested.
"I'll um... have to see how it goes all right?" Frankie forced a smile onto her face.
The waiter brought some starters out and they all were about to tuck in when Frankie's mobile rang again.
"I promise this is the last time," Frankie said apologetically clicking on her phone. "Yes? Oh no...you can't...."
Will watched in horror as Frankie got up and walked toward the bar.
"You weren't joking when you said she was busy," Theodore said, helping himself to the food that had been placed in front of all of them.
Will gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry Mum and Dad."
"It's all right dear," Abigail said.
Will looked over toward the bar where Frankie was still talking on the phone. Would it have killed her to turn the bloody thing off? It was like one step forward and two steps back with her.
"No, I already told him that we wouldn't be able to make it that weekend. We have a huge game against the Magpies," Frankie turned and saw Will glaring across the restaurant. Couldn't he understand that this was her job? "Listen, I'll talk to you tomorrow all right? I'm at dinner right now and it's important."
"Yes but he really wants your answer on this Frankie," her assistant Magda chirped into the phone. "I can't just tell him no. You know how he gets."
"Tell him I said I'd call tomorrow," Frankie said firmly, not wanting to make Will any angrier than she was sure he already was. "This is a business dinner I'm at and I'm sure I'm already considered rude for him holding us all up forty five minutes later than he should have." she clicked off her phone and this time turned it off completely.
"I convinced the boys to save you some of the starters," Abigail said as Frankie sat back down.
"Thank you," Frankie said. "This time I promise my mobile is off," she tucked it deep inside her bag to prove the point.
The rest of the evening went by uneventfully. Will was cool toward her, but his parents couldn't have been more polite.
"It was really lovely to meet you both," Frankie said after they'd finished dessert and an after dinner drink. She was surprised to realise she'd actually enjoyed this.
"It was a pleasure Frankie," Abigail said giving her a hug. "And I do hope you'll work out something for Christmas. We'd love to have you."
"I'll really try," Frankie replied, looking over at Will.
"I'll ring you guys tomorrow morning," Will promised pecking his mother on the cheek and giving his father a hug. "Thanks for tonight."
"You're welcome darling," Abigail said as she and her husband headed down the pavement.
"Mind if I come back to your place?" Frankie asked once they were alone.
Will shrugged. "If you want..."
Frankie rolled his eyes as he turned and walked ahead of her in the direction of his flat. She had noticed that Will hadn't really talked to her since the second phone call she had received and even when they were back at his flat, he was in his kitchen looking over some owl post while she used the loo.
"I'd say it went pretty well," Frankie replied. "Your parents are really nice."
"Yeah," Will said absently.
Frankie crossed her arms. "Will are you still angry with me about the calls? I told you that I reamed them out and then I didn't answer my mobile the rest of the evening."
"I know," Will replied a bit sullenly. "But still Frankie- couldn't you have just turned it off when you got there? It made me look like an arse every time you jumped up and ran off for a call."
She stepped forward and wound her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry," she leaned up and gently kissed his lower lip, sucking it between hers. "I didn't mean to make you look bad."
Will tried to stay annoyed but what Frankie was doing felt so good he felt his resolve weakening almost immediately. "You're doing this on purpose," he mumbled.
"I know," she pulled back and smiled at him. "And you said we could pick back up where we left off in my office today."
"I did say that didn't I?" Will traced over her smooth cheek.
"Mmmhmm…" Frankie leaned in and they kissed again. She felt like crowing in triumph as his arms surrounded her. She wanted him to forget about how she'd been tied to work and she just wanted to get to what they were doing now- what she liked best about being with Will.
Will set her up on the counter as he pulled their bodies close, running his hands through her hair as their lips fused. She tasted like the chocolate mousse she'd had for dessert as he opened her mouth with his.
"Will…" Frankie's voice was nothing more than a whisper as he picked her up easily and carried her down the hall into his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind them.
He set her down on the bed and they both began peeling their clothes off, the robes, shirts, trousers and her skirt in a jumbled pile on the floor in just seconds. The moonlight shone in the window and on her hair, making it gleam a blue black in colour. "My God you are so gorgeous," Will whispered.
"Will," Frankie reached for him. "Kiss me…"
He did exactly as he was told, pressing his mouth back to hers with an urgency that surprised him. Their lovemaking was never needy- it was often slow, almost lazy, and always enjoyable. But that night Will found himself kissing her deeply, pushing himself into her and wanting to show her in every way he could how much he loved her.
They were both lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling while trying to catch their breath. "That was amazing," he finally said.
"It always is Will," Frankie said, her eyes closed as she turned on her side and curled up next to him.
"I love you," he stroked a strand of hair off her sweaty forehead. "I really do Frankie."
"I know," she said, her eyes still closed. She could feel her face flush and she hoped Will wouldn't be able to tell it apart from her already rosy complexion due to their rigorous activities. "I do too…"
Will was silent for a few moments. "Tell me," he said quietly. "I need to hear it from you sometimes."
Frankie finally opened her eyes. "You know how I feel Will," she said softly.
"I know," Will stroked her cheek.
Frankie stared at him a few long moments. "I love you Will." She finally whispered. He leaned in and they kissed again.
Will lay awake as Frankie closed her eyes again and fell asleep. He wrapped his arms around her and decided on something that he'd been thinking about doing for a long time now.
He would ask Frankie Longbottom to become his wife.