Michael and Susan arrived with a soft pop outside the door to his flat. The day had started so well. He'd been informed last night that Pansy had been found and was safe at home, and Susan had agreed to meet his parents. It had started well, and then progressed quickly into a steaming pile of dragon dung.

He pulled out his wand and took down the wards, glancing at Susan. She still looked like someone had kicked her crup. Their lunch with his parents had not gone exactly as planned, and although Michael knew that Susan hadn't meant to upset his mother and father, he hadn't known exactly how to diffuse the situation, either. Family, especially his family, was tricky.

He blamed his mother. Had she not pushed so hard to meet his new girlfriend, none of this would've happened, and they could have had lovely take-away and spent a rather happier evening than he imagined would take place now.

After opening the door for her and sighing at the downtrodden air about her, he closed the door behind them and put the wards back up.

"Susan?"

She looked up at Michael with watery eyes, still wondering how she'd managed to muck up her first meeting with Michael's parents so thoroughly. "Hmm?"

"None of that was your fault."

"Except for that bit where I brought up your sister and made the air turn cold in the blink of an eye." She knew he was trying to make her feel better, and she really didn't want to spend the little bit of time they got to see each other wallowing in self-pity, but this was new territory for her. She was Susan Bones, that nice Hufflepuff girl. It was very strange to be in a situation where she'd made someone angry with her on their first meeting. Or ever, really. Confrontational was not a word one would use to describe her generally.

Michael pulled her into a hug, tucking her head under his chin. "Listen, that was my fault. I should have- I don't know, prepped you or something." He rubbed soothing circles on her back as they stood in the middle of the flat. "Merry- I thought you knew about her, being at school with her and all. I thought everyone knew." He tipped Susan's chin up and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "And Mum and Dad don't do well with the memories. She didn't part with us on the best terms."

Shaking her head, Susan tried to remember Michael's sister. Since Merry was older, and in a different House, she hadn't really interacted with the girl at school. Family resemblence and a common surname were the only reasons Susan knew Michael had a sister at all. She couldn't recall ever having seen them together. And she certainly hadn't realized Merry had passed away. As close as she felt to Michael, there was still an awful lot they didn't know about each other. "Do you think your parents hate me?"

"No, they don't hate you. They can't. I wouldn't allow it. And I thought I was going to have to have a chat with Dad about appropriate lengths of time to hug your son's girlfriend, when we first got there. Mum whispered that you were beautiful, as well." He led her to the couch and sat them down. "Of course, I already knew that." He leaned over and kissed her again, trying to offer a little reassurrance. "They'll get over it, Susan. The whole thing was inadvertent. A misunderstanding. It will all blow over in time."

Susan gave him a weak smile, Michael was always so sweet to her. "I hope so." Because I don't intend to go anywhere, and I'd hate to make things awkward for you. Certain he'd indulge her, she moved to sit in his lap. Being close to him was comforting. Sighing in contentment as he pulled her snug against his chest, she looked at him. "Michael?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to Merry?" She felt him tense, and wondered if she was being too nosy, pressing for information on something that was obviously a sore spot for his family. Tucking her head into the crook of his neck, she said, "Nevermind. I don't mean to pry."

He exhaled heavily, knowing that question was going to come from the moment all this had started. He closed his eyes and braced himself. This is Susan. She's not going to get up and flounce out just because she hears a little family unpleasantness.

He opened his eyes and craned his neck around to look at her. "It's okay. Sure you're up for it? It's not a pretty story."

Cupping a hand against his cheek, Susan smiled at him with affection. "Despite appearances, you aren't the only one who doesn't scare easily." She kissed him lightly before snuggling against him, her head on his shoulder as her fingers wound through his hair. "I can take it."

"Merry and I were best friends growing up. She was only a few years older than me, and I idolized her. I thought that she knew it all. When she left for Hogwarts I was heartbroken, truly." He sighed. "You knew she was in Slytherin?"

Susan nodded, and he continued. "Once she got to Hogwarts, she changed. It was like she didn't need us anymore, she had a new family. Her Slytherin family." He looked at her curiously. "Do you know any of them well? They're eerily loyal to each other, when it suits them, I suppose, and she was more loyal to them than she ever was to me, at school. It stung a bit."

"I wouldn't say I know him well, but I've had a taste of that sort of thing since I've been living at the shop. Professor Snape is very protective of anyone he considers under his charge, though I can't say whether it's due to affection or if it just brasses him off when his things are mucked with." Susan took Michael's hand and squeezed it, thinking how abandoned he must have felt when he started at school.

"Yeah. So she ignored me, at school. Or taunted me, which was worse. She started going on and on about blood purity. She was obsessed with it. Our family had never cared one way or the other; I mean, Mum and Dad didn't have any Muggle friends, but weren't anti-Muggle, we just didn't-" He shrugged.

"And then if all that weren't bad enough, she joined the Death Eaters. Got branded with that Mark, and after a spectacularly bad Sunday afternoon, she renounced us as her family. She left to follow him and I never saw her alive again."

Susan was shocked. For a long moment she simply stared at their interwoven hands. Death Eaters, or Voldemort himself, had killed her aunt. They'd killed her uncle's entire family - even the children - in the first war. Michael's sister had been a part of that sort of thing. Of course, Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy had been Death Eaters, too. They'd come around and realized they'd made a mistake. Maybe Merry had, too? In any case, it wasn't Michael's fault that she'd been convinced to join that faction. As shocking as it was to her, it was his sister. Someone he loved, who betrayed his family and never reconciled with them before she died. No wonder his parents had been so upset when she brought Merry up.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Michael. That must have been awful for you."

He smiled softly. "It's alright. It's been a bit better lately. Pansy's helped a lot; she was close to Merry at school, and has helped me understand some things I didn't before. It's interesting to see things from the other side. It's not always as black and white as it seems, I guess." He sighed. "And I haven't shared any of my revelations with Mum and Dad yet because, well, you saw how they react when she's mentioned." He pushed her away so that he could look at her directly. "So all of that nonsense? My fault. I should have prepared you, or them, or me.. and I just didn't. I'm not very good with people, sometimes. I'm sorry."

Susan waved his apology away. "Don't be silly. You said yourself that you thought it was common knowledge. Even if you hadn't thought that, you couldn't have known it would come up. I blurt things out. It takes some getting used to." She touched his cheek lightly. "And it's perfectly understandable that you wouldn't have told me about Merry before. This," she said, motioning to the two of them, "is still pretty new. I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to talk to me now, but I would have understood if we weren't there yet."

"We're there," he said with a half smile on his face. In one fluid motion, he lifted her off of his lap and laid her back gently on the couch, bracing himself with his arms on either side of her head. "Now," he said, placing a trail of kisses down the column of her throat, "you know one of my deep, dark secrets. And I only give out one a day, so you've used your allotment." He raised his head and smiled at her, a lock of hair falling down over his forehead. "Do you have a secret, Susan? Anything you want to share?"

Remembering her plans with Justin, she smiled a bit sheepishly. "There is, now that you mention it. Do you have any high maintenance delegates coming in this week?"

"This week looks better than last, actually. Quieter. Why?" he asked, brushing a kiss across her lips.

"I was hoping we could get together with Justin for dinner one night. And whatever lady I pick as his date." She kissed his jaw and looked at him hopefully. "Do you think you can fit that into your schedule?"

"For you? Anything."

Brushing his hair back, she grinned up at him. "Perfect. I'll owl you once I know which night it will be. So, now that the secrets and serious conversations are out of the way, what would you like to do? We could play wizard chess."

"Mmm, okay," he replied, continuing his attention to her neck, especially the little sensitive spot under her ear that always got the most delightful sighs. "One to e 4."

A soft coo escaped her throat, and Susan's eyes fluttered shut. Oh, that's very nice. Her fingers slipped under his jumper, sliding up the smooth skin of Michael's back. "You know, I don't actually care for chess."

"Really?" he asked, grinning. "Me neither."

{Summary: Michael and Susan come back from having Sunday dinner with his parents. Are you not supposed to bring up dead, Death Eater children in polite dinner conversation?}