St. Mary's Hospital - January 7, 2000
Lucius was once again standing in a muggle hospital. Looking to his wife, he once again thought she was the most beautiful thing to ever exist. She held a sleeping twin in each arm.
Athena Diana Malfoy had been born first. She was quickly followed by Ares Apollo Malfoy.
Two perfectly healthy babies. He couldn't wait to go to camp, where Lyra and Draco had gone during the labour. Draco, and Hadrian had both been hoping they would get at least one boy. The little boys had said they needed a boy to at least balance things out, they were being overwhelmed by girls. It also probably came from the fact, that as much as the boys loved their little sisters, they were also terrified of them.
Going into the room, Lucius gently took the babies from his wife so that she could get some well deserved rest. Lyra had had the silver blond hair of the Malfoy family since the day she was born, but the twins looked like they were going to get their colouring from Narcissa's side of the family.
Lucius chuckled lightly at his own joke. He had already had to memory charm a few people as the twins had clearly inherited the Black's metamorphmagus gene.
Dr. Greta North looked into the hospital room a few minutes later. She loved her job. Helping families have the child they had always dreamed of always made her feel great. But this was one part that made her happiest. She could see the love the twins would grow up with as she glanced in the room to see their father staring down at them like they were the most precious things in his world. She remembered that he had been the same way with his daughter Lyra.
During some of Narcissa's appointments they had brought the two older children with them. Greta had been happy to see how they were doing. She could tell that the Malfoy's were clearly a very good family. Their son had been well behaved and polite, and Lyra had been every bit as troublesome as a two year old should be. But even when Lyra was causing trouble, they had never snapped at her, Lucius or Narcissa would always correct the behaviour in a calm manner making sure the little girl understood what she had done wrong. No child learned properly from parents that did nothing but snap and yell at them without explaining what they had done wrong.
Going into the room, she had Lucius help her do a few quick checks to make sure everything was good with the twins before she continued on her rounds. She told them that she wanted to keep the twins in for the night, but after another check in the morning, if everything was still ok, they would be able to go home.
St. Mungo's Hospital - January 17, 2000
It was only a little over a week after the birth of the Malfoy twins that Alice went into labour unexpectedly. They had used their portkey to send Neville over to Peru, Frank and Alice were worried that Neville was still to fragile to be around for the labour, they didn't want to scare him with Alice's yelling. It had taken a while, and more than a few threats to Franks manhood, but 11 hours after they first went into the hospital the new Longbottom arrived.
Alexander Severus Longbottom.
He had gotten his first name from Alice's own father, and they had decided to name him after Severus, because without Severus's potion they would still be in the Janus Thickey unit, and Neville would still be with his abusers.
Alice and Frank couldn't wait to introduce Neville to his baby brother.
Aguas Calientes, Peru
It had been just after midnight when Neville had arrived in the dining room of the tent. He had been so tired that he had stumbled directly into Hadrian's room and crawled into bed with him.
Hadrian was used to having sleepovers with his friends, so when Neville climbed in to his bed he just opened one eye and looked at his friend.
"Mum's in l'bor." Neville slurred as he grabbed one of the pillows.
"Gratul'ions." Hadrian slurred back as he moved over a bit to make some room and pulled some of the blankets over so Neville could use them.
Hours later, James was going in to get Hadrian up for breakfast when he looked back at the other adults at the table. "When did Neville get here?"
There were a bunch of confused voices asking, "What?"
Once they got the two kids up, Neville explained his parents had sent him over because his mum was in labour. But it had still been dark out, both in Britain and at the camp, so he had just gone back to bed.
Sirius had just laughed and said he did the right thing. Sleep was important.
The day was spent having fun. The adults had just made it into the final section of the tomb they had been working on, Sirius said that was where all the good stuff was. The boys got to see all sorts of different things that were being removed, though they were forbidden from touching anything that hadn't been checked first.
When they weren't watching the adults work, they were doing their own lessons. Hadrian wasn't really good at herbology, he could get by but he didn't have any real joy in the subject, but Neville made it fun. The subject Neville always had the hardest time with was potions, but between Severus and Hadrian he had fun.
Everyone was about half way through their dinner when Lucius portkeyed into the tent. Spotting Neville he smiled.
"Do you want to come and meet your new baby brother Neville?"
Everyone cheered that Alice had had a boy. Especially Hadrian and Neville. Neville had been slightly worried about getting a sister, he saw how Lyra, Cassiopeia, Ariadne, and Kali were. He, like everyone, loved the girls, but sometimes he heard their fathers muttering that they were pretty sure the girls might be part demon based on their behaviour, and Neville had to agree. As sweet and cute as they were, they were slightly evil. But he didn't need to worry about that now, he had a brother, and boys had to be easier to deal with than girls, right?
Aguas Calientes, Peru - February 5, 2000
Hadrian was practically bouncing in his seat while he ate breakfast. Today was the day the Malfoy's and the Longbottom's would be bringing the new babies for their first visit. He couldn't wait to meet the new babies. He loved it when his family grew.
This was also one of the last days they were going to be in Peru. The tomb they had been working on was almost done. The most dangerous and valuable objects had been checked, decursed, and sent on to the bank, another team had come in last week, they would be in charge of finishing up. The only thing that they would be taking with them when they moved on was a few scrolls. The scrolls had been written in parsletounge. Hadrian was enjoying translating them for the adults.
They were planning to move on to the island of Santorini in Greece. While most people thought of the pure white buildings that had been place high up on the islands cliffs, the real treasures were down below. Just below the surface of the water there were a warren of tunnels that led deep within the roots of the island. This was where many ancient magic users had practiced their craft.
Hadrian was excited to move on. Although he had loved their time in Peru, they had been relatively cut off. Their camp had been high up on one of the mountains, and there was only a small town close by. Hadrian now had two best friends, but he wanted to try making friends again. He still wrote letters back and forth with a few of the kids he had met in Turkey, but it wasn't the same as being able to go and play with other kids, and Neville and Draco were only there once or twice a week to play with. They were going to be moving their tent into one of the more populated areas on the island so there would be others around.
His dads had already told him that the curse breakers there rented a house and put their tents up inside so none of the muggles would notice. The house they would be putting their tent in had five other teams living in it, and there were 7 kids amongst those families.
When the others arrived, Hadrian was the first on his feet. He rushed over and let his friends introduce their new siblings. Neville sounded so excited as he introduced Hadrian to his new little brother. Like Neville, Draco was thrilled when it was his turn to introduce his new younger sister and brother.
The adults all chuckled as the kids chattered on and on about all the things they had done since they had last seen each other, even though they had only been apart for less than a week. They were each happily taking turns telling the others about how they had celebrated Imbolc. Their parents all wished there were more holidays that could get their children to willingly clean their rooms and tidy up.
Granger House - February 19, 2000
Hermione Granger sat on the couch between her parents with a smug smile on her face. Sitting across from her was a stern older woman that had introduced herself as Professor Minerva McGonagall. She had told them about how Hermione was a witch, and that she would accomplish great things.
This was perfect. Hermione had always known that she was special. She was the smartest student in her school, and she made sure everyone knew it. For the past few years she had known she could do strange things when she got upset, but it hadn't even crossed her mind that she might be a witch. Her parents had always just told her that it was a gift from god.
Jean and Howard Granger, like their daughter, were pleased. They had known that their Hermione was better than all the other children in the neighbourhood. She had been their gift from god, their precious angel. Many of the students she went to school with were mean to her, but they always told her it was because they were jealous of how amazing she was. The normal people that lived in their neighbourhood just didn't understand how much better their family was. Even some of the other families at their church were clearly jealous of how perfect their family was.
Minerva was like the cat that got the cream. This girl was perfect. She was intelligent, religious, and had a complete trust in authority figures. Minerva actually thought this girl reminded her of herself at that age. If this girl was groomed and directed properly she would be of great benefit to their side.
When she had first come to this house, she hadn't expected much. One of their people in the department of underage magic had suggested that they check it out due to a large amount of underage magic. When she had stepped into the house she saw all the religious symbols around and she had immediately known just how to act. She made sure to make the sign of the cross when she saw the crucifix on the wall. When the Grangers first questioned it, she explained that her father had been a minister, after that both parents and daughter had warmed up to her considerably. They had had a long discussion about the magical world and how Hermione could help make it better. She made sure to tell the family about how they were having difficulties trying to remove the evil darkness from their world. The Granger parents had instantly started talking about how their daughter would of course help them to cleanse their world.
Then Minerva had spoken to the girl. The girl was well spoken and intelligent. She was perfect. She told Hermione the story about a man that had led the dark attacking a light family and attempting to kill their child and how the child had survived. She then went on to explain that she thought Hermione would be perfect to ensure that the boy would stay on the path of the light.
Hermione had readily agreed to help. Especially when Minerva said that not only would they be willing to pay her, they would also give her books and a wand so that she could start getting ready a year early. After all, they would need her to make sure that the boy hero learned the right lessons at the right times. Minerva was also sure to mention, that with the boys fame, if she was smart she could easily use that as a catapult to get herself high up in their ministry after graduation so she could start fixing problems within their laws.
When Minerva shut the door as she left, both she and Hermione Granger were both wearing the same smiles. Minerva, because she had found the perfect person to serve as the muggleborn friend to Harry Potter, they did after all need him to be seen as being friends with a muggleborn, but she also had a strong enough personality that she would be able to control both him and the Weasley boy that was meant to serve as his light pure blood friend. Hermione was happy because she now had proof that she was the best, she was going to use the Potter boy to show everyone just how perfect she was. She could see it now, herself as the minister of magic, doing away with all the evil witches and wizards and merging the magical world with the normal world once more, she would be the most famous witch ever known. No one would ever call her names or tease her again. She would be able to show all the stupid people that went to her school just how much better than them she was.
Hogwarts
Arriving back at Hogwarts Minerva went directly to see Albus and tell him all about Hermione Granger. She explained all about how easy the girl would be to control.
Albus was thrilled as Minerva told him about the girl, she was everything that they had needed all rolled up into one person. While Minerva might not be the best at creating her own plans, one thing she had always excelled at, was finding the perfect soldiers and keeping them in line.
He started to plan. He would use this girl to show everyone just how smart and powerful the muggleborns could be, she would serve as a way to convince the public that the dark was dangerous and they should turn away from the old pure blood traditions towards the muggle ones. If he could get her to marry Ron, then he could use her to gain even more control.
The Potter brat would die in the final battle, only after marrying and having a child with Ginny, of course. That would leave Ginny with all the money and love of the public, they would do anything she told them. Ron would be the head of the DMLE, he would be able to systematically use his forces to wipe out any dark supporters. And Hermione Granger, wife of Ronald Weasley, would serve as the first muggleborn minister of magic. With him still running the school that would give them complete control.
Gringotts
Walking into Gringotts Albus only managed to withhold his sneer of contempt because he was in public and other witches and wizards might see. He needed to maintain his facade of kind old grandfather.
He made sure to thank the people that got out of his way so that he could speak to one of the creatures immediately. Going up, he told it that he needed to speak to his account manager, he never bothered to learn the creatures name.
After a short walk through one of the halls, he was shown into a large office and went and sat down. He didn't wait for the creature to greet him before he made his demands.
"You will be opening an account in the name of Hermione Granger. Here is everything you will need to start the account." He handed over a sheet of parchment Minerva had gotten from the Granger family with all the girls information. "You will be transferring 20 galleons per month into that account."
"Of course Lord Dumbledore. Would you like us to take the money from the usual account, the one that is checked on the least by it's owner?"
"Yes. I would also like to increase the funds going to my own personal account from there to 500 galleons per month."
Once he had gotten the agreement from the creature, Albus left, not wanting to spend anymore time around it. That was the first thing he was going to do once he placed Hermione as minister, wipe out these foul creatures.
Chief Ragnock gained a dangerous goblin grin as the old fool left his office. He had originally thought that the man might learn from the contract mess with his potions master, but he hadn't. You had to be very careful about how you worded anything you said to a goblin.
By asking if he wanted the money transferred from 'the one that is checked on the least by it's owner', he made sure that the money would come from one of the old fools own accounts. The account that the fool had access to, that was the least checked, had been set up by one of his ancestors that had been selling the government of the times secrets to their enemies and made a great profit from it.
When they had first started referring to the account like that years back, the account had had over 5 million galleons in it. As the old fool never properly managed his estates he hadn't realized that the money he was paying himself and his pawns with was coming from one of his own accounts. An account, that if current spending continued at the current rate, would be empty within the next 4 years.
The only reason it had lasted as long as it had, was because he never paid his pawns as well as he paid himself. They each only ever got a maximum of 30 galleons per month.
He could not wait until the time came when he would get the pleasure of informing the old fool that he had drained his own account. It would bring him not only great joy, but great honour within the nation. No goblin liked that old fool or those that followed him, they did not know how to show respect.
The Rook - April 3, 2000
Luna Lovegood was sitting in the living room watching her mother work on one of her latest spells. Something within her was screaming that there was something wrong. That something horrible was about to happen.
It was a feeling that had been building for the last few weeks, but today, she knew was the day it would happen. She was practically shaking as she sat and watched her mother. The voices in her head were a jumbled mess, she just couldn't make out what they were saying, she knew she needed to, but she just couldn't. Whatever they were saying was to horrible for her 9 year old mind to understand.
She watched as her mother raised her wand to try the new spell again, the screaming reached a fever pitch. Then it all stopped.
There was a knock on the window. She and her mother turned to see a post owl sitting on the sill.
"Well, do come in." Pandora Lovegood said as she went over and opened the window so the bird could hop in and hold up it's leg. Pandora took the scroll and the bird flew away. She glanced at what was written and froze.
'Your daughter needs you. You must stop.'
As Pandora read the words again Luna started to smile. "They've stopped."
"Whats stopped my love?" Pandora asked as she looked to her daughter.
"The heliopaths were saying that something I loved was going to burn, but now their quiet. The burning has stopped and now there's no more screaming in my head."
Pandora was slightly confused, but she did so love to be like that. Kissing her daughter on the top of her head she went back to her work, who was she to say that Luna's creatures might not be real.
Then she saw it. She had made a mistake in her last calculation for her new spell. If she had tried the spell like that she would have been torn apart by flames. Looking from the note she had just read to her daughter she understood. Her daughters creatures had been trying to warn her, and someone else knew the danger she had been in.
Turning away from her work she went over to her daughter. "What do you say to going to play in the garden my little moon? You can tell me all about these heliopaths."
Luna smiled up at her mother and took her hand as they walked out of the room. She glanced back at the letter and smiled. The flutterbys told her that her brother remembered her and loved her, and that he hadn't wanted the heliopaths to be around her anymore.
Turning back, she skipped out to the garden to look for the plimpies with her parents.
Hogwarts, School Board Meeting Room - June 7, 2000
James and Alice had both agreed that they had all the classes they needed, they would just have to monitor the content. So this meeting, they were going to start working on the library.
It had been Alice that drew attention to the fact that the once great Hogwarts library had been almost completely destroyed. Albus had been holding himself back so it had been Molly and Ted that went on the defensive.
Most of the other governors just kept bringing it back around to the fact that the students would need research material for their new classes. They couldn't write a report on magical theory, if there were no magical theory books in the library.
When lack of funds was brought up, Kensington pointed out that it wouldn't be an issue. Since the regular scholarship money was not being used anymore they would just transfer it over into a book fund.
Then Molly had started to argue that most of the books should be placed in the restricted section, but that was quickly shot down. If the students were old enough to take the classes, then they were old enough to read about it. It was decided that they would use the space expanding charm to make the library seven floors. The first floor would hold all the first year books, the second floor the second year, and so on as it went up. They would use charms on the stairs so that you could only go one year above their current grade level.
Watching Albus's face, James knew that they were going to have to keep an eye on what books were available in the library. There was a good chance that some of the books might start to disappear. He figured he could just get Bill to write to Percy. From everything he heard about the boy, he would be the one to notice any books missing from the library.
Albus knew that he still wasn't in the position to stop anything. He had always used the adoration of the public to get what he wanted. At this moment the public was liking the changes Sebastian and Alice were making, so there was nothing he could do. He just had to wait one more year. Once the Potter brat came to the school Albus would be able to use him.
As the boy lived with muggles, Albus was his magical guardian. He could make sure that the boy adored him and did whatever he told him to do. The public would see him as the kind old man guiding their child hero. If he then went to them saying that he was worried the boy was being corrupted, they would clamour for him to fix it and he would have the public backing him again to remove all the changes that had been done to his school.
While the adults were sitting in the meeting room, Fred and George Weasley were making plans. This year they had been extremely careful not to get caught, the marauders map had really helped.
There was also Professor Sprout. They had pulled off a few major pranks, making sure that there was no evidence connecting them to it. McGonagall had tried to say that it had to be them because everyone knew that they were pranksters. Sprout had taken personal offence every time McGonagall tried to blame them. She said that unless they could prove it, she wasn't about to let them target members of her house.
McGonagall might have been a lion, but Sprout was a badger.
The reason no one had ever managed to find proof that they were the ones doing the pranking was because they had a little help. Bill had introduced Charlie and Percy to Mipsey, and they had in turn introduced the twins to her. Mipsey, and the rest of the Potter elves, were more than happy to assist them in causing a little trouble. The twins would hand over what they had, and tell the elves the plan. Once the twins were in class, or surrounded by others, the elves would set off their pranks. It helped them to establish the perfect alibi. Mipsey had even gotten them the map their first night there.
Hogwarts - June 28, 2000
Charlie was sitting on the banks of the Black Lake with his 3 younger brothers. Exams had finished up today, and they would be taking the train home the next day. Once he stepped off the train he would officially be done with Hogwarts. He was sad, but he also couldn't wait. The only hard part was leaving his brothers behind.
He had been considering a few jobs after school, but now, thanks to the advice of his brothers, he had made up his mind. He was going to be going to work as a dragon keeper at one of the larger reserves in Romania. At first he had thought about continuing on at The Bubble, and had even been offered a position, but he just couldn't do it.
If he stayed anywhere near by his mother wouldn't leave him alone. She had been sending letters telling him all about different departments in the ministry she wanted him to apply to.
He had told his brothers about wanting to work out of the country and they had all supported and encouraged him. They all knew that he would never get a moment of peace from their mother if he stayed in the country and didn't work at the ministry. He had also written to Bill, and gotten the same response. He had made his decision.
Now, he just had to tell his parents. He knew his father would, like his brothers, both support and miss him, it was their mother he was worried about. It had been almost two years since Bill had left, and she still wasn't over it.
After spending a few hours talking with his brothers Charlie was on his way in to dinner when he heard someone calling his name. Turning around he almost frowned as he watched Nymphadora Tonks stumble her way towards him.
"What's up Tonks?"
"Can you believe it Charlie. It's almost over." The girl was practically bouncing as her hair changed colour. "Soon we'll be working at the ministry together, we should try to make sure we get lunch breaks together sometimes, it'll be like we're still here…Almost."
"We'll see, I haven't sent out any applications yet. I'm still going over some of the offers I've gotten." Charlie wasn't about to tell her the truth.
The twins had warned him that Tonk's told her mother everything, and then her mother, who was friends with his mother, would tell her. Tonk's had even given the twins a hard time about not being in Gryffindor, what had made them pay attention and warn him was that she had almost directly quoted things their mother had told them.
"Oh ya? I figured you would want to get your application in before the rush. Well, I guess it does make sense, I mean, I did hear you got a few offers from quidditch teams. I really don't think you should join them. Just because their offering you a tryout doesn't mean you're gonna get on the team, not that I think you wouldn't, everyone knows you're one of the best players Hogwarts has ever had, but still."
'I know. It's been nice talking to you Tonks, but I have to get going. I still have to pack."
"Sure, bye Charlie. See you later."
Tonks watched as Charlie took off, heading for Gryffindor tower. She enjoyed watching him move. Once he was out of sight, she turned and headed towards her moms office.
Tonks knew that her mum and Charlies mum, Molly, were working on setting up a marriage contract between the two of them, and she couldn't wait. The boy was built. Sure, his obsession with quidditch and creatures was a little annoying, but it could be worse. He could be obsessed with muggle stuff like his dad.
Reaching her mums office, she went in. She and Molly had asked her to talk to Charlie to make sure that he didn't run off and join some silly quidditch team that would take him away. There was no way she wanted her future husband traveling all over with groupies hanging off him. She was not about to accept her future husband cheating on her.
Once he was out of eyesight of Tonks, Charlie changed direction and headed for the owlry. He didn't want to leave his younger brothers so soon, but he knew he couldn't stay at The Burrow until mid-August, when his contract at the dragon reserve was set to start. Bill had told him that if he needed to get away sooner, so long as he was willing to sign a confidentiality agreement he could go and stay with him, so long as he didn't mind sharing a room with him. The twins had told him he was free to use Loki if he needed to, and he needed to.
When they had all gone home for Yule, or Christmas as their mother insisted on calling it, the older boys had all seen the changes. Their father had placed an expansion charm on his office, and it now held a bed. Arthur had brushed it off, and Molly had spent almost the entire time passive aggressively attacking him. Charlie and Percy had at first been confused, until the twins had taken them aside and told them that Molly had been using love potions on him, but he had decided to stay for the younger kids. Charlie thought his dad would be better off without her, but…
Ministry of Magic, Auror Office - July 3, 2000
Nymphadora Tonks sat back as she listened to the results of her auror entry test. She knew that she was going to pass. She had been practicing every summer with her parents for the past few years after all. And the headmaster had even gotten a copy of the test for her ahead of time. The potions part of the exam had been a little hard, even though she knew what was coming. She had always struggled with potions, obviously she would have been better at it if she had had a competent teacher in the subject when she started. But, she had been stuck with that death eater, Severus Snape, and he just wasn't the kind of person she was ever going to listen to.
When she heard that she had gotten one of the top scores she was thrilled, though, she was a little annoyed that she hadn't gotten the best scores. Then she was introduced to Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, he was going to be her training instructor. She was so excited. Everyone knew that Mad-Eye was the best auror in the office, the only reason he wasn't the head of the DMLE was because he didn't want a desk job, no matter what anyone else said about Amelia Bones being better.
She couldn't wait to learn everything he could teach her.
The only major problem she was having was that Charlie Weasley was gone. The idiot had run off to go play with dragons. She had been furious when her mother had told her. He was supposed to marry her, not go running off like a foolish child. Just how was she supposed to make him fall in love with her if he wasn't around?
Alexandria, Egypt - July 16, 2000
Hadrian was walking in-between Bill and Charlie as they made their way to the main magical alley in the city. He was excited, and a little worried. This was the first time since he had first found his family again that he had left them.
Bill had shown great promise detangling complex wards. Because of this he was invited to visit one of the sites. He had jumped at the opportunity, he still remembered how much he had enjoyed writing a history essay, for Severus, on Egypt when he had been 15.
Charlie had arrived a few days before he received the offer after only tolerating a single week at home before he needed to escape Molly and her rage. He had been happy to go to Egypt with his brother.
Hadrian had asked to go too. James and Severus thought it might be a good idea. They felt that they needed to allow Hadrian to spend a night away from them, he was going to start school in just over a year after all. He needed to start getting used to the idea that his fathers weren't always going to be there, even though both men had almost been in tears when they had said goodbye to their son, reminding him repeatedly that he had a portkey that would bring him directly to them if he needed them. Even if he was only scheduled to be away for a weekend.
The first night after arriving Hadrian had spent most of the night crying. Both Bill and Charlie had ended up coming in to check on him and found him in tears. Rather than laughing at him, like Hadrian had expected, they were understanding. They both told him about how they had cried the first time they were away from their parents. Bill had even confessed that he had cried himself to sleep every night for the entire first week he had been at school.
This had stunned Hadrian. He hadn't thought anything would scare him. The Bill he had gotten to know was strong and fearless. If they can get homesick and be ok, so can he.
Bill had started treating Hadrian as a little brother ever since he had joined the team. Charlie was following his lead. They were both extremely fond of the young boy and didn't want him to feel bad. They often helped to take his mind off of his homesickness by telling him stories about their younger brothers.
When they reached the market they were headed to where the bank was, when Hadrian froze. Someone was calling out to him.
Bill and Charlie stopped when they noticed Hadrian was no longer between them. When they turned back they saw that the boys eyes had gone unfocused and his head was tilted to one side. For a moment Bill was worried that Hadrian was having another fit, like the ones he had had years earlier. But, when he turned on his mage sight momentarily, he couldn't leave it on too longe because they were in an extremely magical area, he could see his magic reaching out, and someone else's magic was reaching back.
Suddenly, Hadrian turned and started walking off down one of the side alleys. Bill and Charlie raced after him, the last thing they wanted to do was be responsible for losing the boy hero. It would be bad enough if the public found out, but if his family found out, there was no chance they would survive.
They followed Hadrian into a small shop that stood at a dead end. Going into the store the worker went to greet them, but Hadrian just kept going and went into the shops back room. Bill quickly apologized before they all followed Hadrian.
Going into the back room, Bill, Charlie, and the shop worker saw him kneeling in front of a large crate.
"So your the one I've been waiting for." The shop owner said.
"What do you mean sir?" Bill asked worriedly.
"I was sent that crate from an old friend. My friend works closely with different oracles in Delphi. He said that he was told by a few of the oracles that someone with a great destiny would come here to collect that crate. That it would help him with what is to come." The shop owner told him. "I was told to sell it only to the one that came for 25 galleons."
Hadrian reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to his trust fund account and handed it over without saying anything. All of his attention was focused on the box.
Once the shop keeper had rung through the purchase he offered to open the crate so they could see what they had just bought. Popping the top, they all looked in to see three smaller beautifully decorated boxes. One was blue and black, one was green and gold, and the third was ivory and pearl.
Hadrian immediately reached for the blue box, but there was no way to open it. There were no seams or hinges. All Hadrian knew was that whatever was inside was his.
"Hadrian?" Bill asked.
"I don't know. It's mine, but its not ready yet." Hadrian said. He wanted what was inside, he needed it.
"What about these two Hadrian?" Charlie asked as he removed the other two boxes from the crates.
Going over Hadrian ran his fingers across the green one. "It's calm, kind. Yet strong. It's Neville's." Going over he ran his finger across the ivory coloured box. "It's hot and cold. Fire and ice. A protective warrior. This one is for Draco."
Bill placed the three boxes in one of the pouches that had a space expansion on it, and they carried on. For the entire day, Hadrian wouldn't let go of the pouch. Needing it with him all the time.
As Hadrian held the pouch close they went around the city looking at all the different dig sites. They all had a lot of fun sightseeing. Hadrian found himself enjoying his time away from home with Charlie and Bill, although he was still more than a little homesick.
Santorini, Greece - July 31, 2000
Hadrian had had a great tenth birthday. As had become traditions, the Malfoy and Longbottom families had come to spend the week of his and Neville's birthdays.
Draco and Neville had spent the last week following him around. Normally they liked staying close to each other, but this was different. Hadrian knew that they were sensing whatever was in the boxes that he still had in a pouch he had been keeping with him ever since Alexandria.
He had made Bill and Charlie swear not to tell his family about the box. He loved his family, but they could just be way to overprotective sometimes, and he just couldn't stand the idea of having the box away from him. He had primarily threatened them with the twins and Kali, who still hadn't forgiven them for taking away their brother for an entire weekend, and had absolutely no problem letting them know that through pranking them and hiding their things.
Once the cake was eaten, and all his presents open he called everyones attention. He pulled out the pouch and set it on the table. Like him Draco and Neville gravitated towards it.
His plan was to hand out the boxes to the other two boys. He had spent about an hour every night trying to get his to open. He needed what was inside.
First he pulled out the green box, then the ivory, and then the blue. But this time, as soon as he touched his box, there was the sound of something clicking inside and a seam formed around the centre of the box.
"Hadrian, be careful, we don't know whats in there, remember." Bill said, moving slightly closer to the kids so that he could pull them away if it was dangerous.
Hearing what Bill said, all the adults started moving forward, but it was already too late. Hadrian couldn't stop himself from lifting the lid. But it wasn't anything dangerous.
A tiny little fox kit lay sleeping on a royal blue satin pillow. Hadrian reached out to stroke her fur, he didn't know how he knew she was a her, but he did. As soon as his fingers came into contact with the fox kit, there was a flash of brilliant golden light, and something snapped into place in Hadrian's mind. A link had formed between them.
The little fox kit yawned and stretched before opening her eyes. Everyone drew in a breath as they saw that her eyes were the same emerald green as Hadrian's.
"A true familiar." Charlie and Remus both gasped at the same time.
As soon as they saw it was safe, both Draco and Neville opened their boxes. There were two more flashes of golden light.
In Nevilles box there was a pure white bear cub, once it opened its eyes, Neville could see they were the same blue as his own. Draco was looking deep into the quick silver eyes, just like his own, of what looked like a snow leopard. Like the others, the leopard cub was pure white, but something inside Draco was saying that she would gain her spots as she grew older.
"What's a true familiar?" James asked as he moved up behind his son to get a closer look at the fox kit that had his sons full attention.
"A true familiar is a magical animal who's magic resonates with a witch or wizard. Their incredibly rare. I think there's only like, 5 born every few hundred years. If the human their meant to bond with hasn't been born yet, they go into a magical sleep where they can wait for hundreds of years. Once their bond mate comes of age they wake up, though, that'[s only if they are close enough together. Hadrian must have been close enough to them to sense them. Although, I had always heard they could fly, but none of them are birds." Remus said in fascination. It was almost unheard of to see a single true familiar, now, he was looking at three.
"Oh wow. I know what they are." Charlie said as he looked closely at the little indicators of what species each animal was.
"I think we can all see that Charlie. Their a fox, a bear, and a cat." Sirius said teasingly.
Charlie just rolled his eyes at Sirius good naturedly. "Like Remus said, magical animals. Hadrian has a kitsune, though I don't know which kind, Neville has what I think is a storm bear, and Draco has a sky leopard."
"Oh wow." Remus said.
"I thought kitsune's had seven tails, this one only has one." Severus said.
"No. Kitsune's only have one tail until their three, then they grow a new tail every 3 years until they have 7. After that they can grow even more tails, but its only a tail every three decades." Charlie informed everyone. He really did spend way too much time studying magical creatures. "As for the flying thing. From what I've read, they will start to grow wings on their backs as soon as they find their bond mate. The wings should be fully grown by the end of the first year. Although, I've also heard that the familiars will grow extremely slowly if their bond mate is young."
"So their gonna get wings." Draco squeaked in joy. "Cool."
"I blame the Potter blood." Severus said with a sigh.
"Why?" Both Bill and Charlie asked at the same time.
"Oh, right, the rest of you don't know." Sev said, looking over to the rest of the group that had no idea what they had been told about the curse. "One of the Potter ancestors pissed off the wrong person and the entire blood line was hit with the 'may you live in interesting times curse'. It's why the Potter family has always had such crazy things happen to them."
Everyone else broke down laughing. It made every strange thing that they had seen happen to James or Hadrian make so much sense.
"So, do you have any names for them?" Alice asked.
"Not yet. We don't even know them yet." Draco said, like it was the silliest question in the world.
It took a few days, but the kids eventually found names they liked for their little familiars. Hadrian named his kitsune Nemesis, after the Greek goddess of divine retribution. Neville named his bear cub Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. While Draco, named his leopard cub Tyche, after the goddess of luck.
When they had first told their family the names they had chosen Remus had started to chuckle. When the others asked what he was laughing at, he told them that the kids had clearly spent too much time around Lucius and Sirius. Only those two would be so grandiose in the naming of their familiars.
The Burrow - September 2, 2000
This year, September 1 had been on a Friday, so Arthur was home. He received the usual letter from the boys earlier in the morning. It was just after noon when Ron and Ginny finally came down for their breakfast. Arthur was still annoyed that Molly allowed them to have almost no rules.
Once they had finished eating, Arthur pulled out two of the new kids bank cards the bank had put out. The cards came with a booklet that kept track of the childs spending in an attempt to teach them responsibility.
"Ron, Ginny, these are your new bank cards. I have set it up so that your allowance will be directly deposited into the account each month. The booklets will help you to keep track of your spending. Now, Ron. I heard you saying that you wanted an owl for your first year of school." He watched as the two children quickly snagged the cards to look at them. The cards were a new product offered by the bank, they worked like muggle bank cards and would work in both worlds. But they were only available with the newer vaults, the older vaults still only worked with the keys.
"Yeah. I'm gonna get a really fast one that will make Loki look like a joke." Ron said, already imagining his older brothers being jealous of his owl.
"Then you are going to need to work on saving some of your allowance." Arthur told him.
"Why? You got Fred and George an owl. I want one too." Ron's voice was petulant.
"No, Fred and George saved up their own allowances and bought Loki for themselves. If you want an owl, you can do the same. You have an entire year to save up, if you start saving now you will have more than enough. A regular owl costs about 30 galleons for it and the stuff it will need. That would only take you 6 months to save up. You are more than capable of doing it. The same goes for you Ginny. If you want that new dress I saw you looking at, you can save up the money for it. These accounts are yours, you can use them however you want, but your mother and I will be able to see how you are spending your money." Arthur told them seriously.
"Surely we can get them owls Arthur. We have enough money to make sure that they can contact us when they have to go away to school." Molly said.
"No Molly. We didn't buy any of the others owls, so we can't buy Ron and Ginny ones and pretend that it's fair. And if they need to contact us while at school, Fred and George have Loki, you might have noticed that the letter Percy sent this morning was carried by him. The school also has a few dozen owls that the students can use." Arthur was still angry with Molly over her harassing Charlie until he left a month early for his new job. He was glad that Charlie had been able to go and stay with Bill though, it gave the poor boy a break from Molly's nagging.
Molly just harrumphed. She was going to need to see what she could do to ensure that they manage to save up the money, that would show Arthur. But she knew she wouldn't be able to just add the money on her own, because Arthur would be able to see that she had added money in the accounts ledger.
Ron and Ginny spent most of the afternoon imagining everything they could buy with their new cards.
Santorini, Greece - November 12, 2000
Hadrian, with Nemesis curled around his neck, followed his fathers down one of the tunnels under the island. They had been telling him about a temple room that they had found, and he had asked if he could go down to see it. Since the temple had already been cleared by curse breakers they had agreed.
Looking around, Hadrian could see the flame motif. No one had had much time to examine this temple because it was a part of a much larger section that they had just opened up. Most of the workers were working on decursing the area, so they were too busy to focus on one small temple.
But Hadrian found the area fascinating. There had to be a purpose for this room. Going to the centre of the room he examined the pedestal.
Over the past few months he had started to remember little things about his past life. They were really only a few quick flashes, but it was enough.
He recognized a few of the runes on the pedestal. They were different symbols that all meant the same thing. Phoenix. There was no doubt in Hadrian's mind that this temple was dedicated to phoenixes.
This made Hadrian think of Fawkes. He could only get a few flashes of a beautiful red fire bird, but he still knew that he was trapped. Stuck playing the role of familiar to an evil old man.
Reaching out with his mind, Hadrian stroked the bond he had with Nemesis. "Nem. I know of a poor phoenix that has been bound by a fake familiar bond to someone that isn't his natural bond mate."
Nemesis looked horrified. Her eyes got big, and there were even a few tears in them. It hadn't taken Hadrian long to realize that Nemesis wasn't a mindless creature. She was actually really smart. He could feel her sorrow through the bond. For a true familiar the idea of being forced to bond with someone other then their true bond mate was one of the worst things that could happen.
Going over to his family he asked them if there was any way they could use this temple to help them free Fawkes. James was a bit stunned at this question. They all had hated the idea that Fawkes was trapped with the old goat, but they didn't want to do anything too major that he might notice. If they stole his familiar, fake or not, it would draw his attention.
But now, looking around, James drew the same conclusion his son had, this temple was devoted to phoenixes. Looking at the pedestal in the centre of the room he could clearly see runes that were associated with summoning. If they could use this temple to help them, they could save Fawkes, and there was no way that Dumbledore could track them, it was just too far away. They could also get the help from the other curse breakers. From the journals they knew that it had taken four unspeakables to free him last time, but there were more than enough curse breakers.
It was decided. They would try to free Fawkes.
Santorini, Greece - November 19, 2000
It only took a week to get everything in place to try freeing Fawkes. Once James and the others told the other curse breakers that they knew of a phoenix that had been force to bond with someone, all the other curse breakers were willing to do almost anything to help. Phoenixes were revered all over the world, no one liked the idea of one being harmed.
When they had taken the time to properly examine the temple they found that its primary use had been to summon phoenixes. The idea had been, that when they needed phoenix potions ingredients, they could summon up a phoenix, ask the phoenix for what they needed, once they got it, or if the phoenix denied them, then the phoenix could leave.
The ritual that Hadrian and the unspeakables had used was in the journals, so they had rewritten the pages and showed the others the ritual. After a few discussions, they had a plan. They would summon Fawkes. Hadrian and Nemesis would be there to communicate their intentions to him quickly. If he agreed, though no one thought he wouldn't, they would perform the ritual to free him. According to the journals, if it worked, Fawkes would regenerate into an egg. The egg would be safe and hidden in the temple until he hatched.
When the ritual started to summon Fawkes, Hadrian was standing off to the side with Nem in his arms. He didn't want to be in the way, his magic wasn't strong enough yet to be able to take part, as much as he wanted to.
As the chanting started the room began to heat. By the time the chanting reached a pitch, sweat was pouring down everyones back. With a large flash of red flames, Fawkes was sitting on the pedestal, shrieking.
Rushing forward, Hadrian held out Nem so that she could communicate with the frightened bird. It took a few minutes, but eventually Fawkes calmed down. Giving those around him a nod, he settled down to wait.
Once Fawkes was calm, and had given his approval, Hadrian backed out of the ritual circle. He and Nem watched as his dad and papa moved forward and started to bathe Fawkes in a purification and unbinding potion. After Fawkes was completely soaked, they stepped back, and a new chant began.
The power in the room was suffocating as the chant began. This time, when the chant reached its peak, a crack echoed through the room and Fawkes started to sing happily as the magical bindings on him took physical form just before they shattered and fell away. Fawkes gave one last happy trill before bursting into flames, leaving behind a ruby coloured egg surrounded by a pile of ashes.
Hogwarts
Albus Dumbledore was just coming back into his office after lunch when he felt a snapping in his chest and he dropped to his knees. It took him a moment to build up the strength to make it to his desk, falling into his chair with absolutely no grace at all.
He couldn't figure out what had happened. Looking around the office, his eyes caught on the bird stand.
Then he knew what had happened. Fawkes was gone.
Someone had stolen his phoenix.
Granger House - November 23, 2000
Hermione Granger sat at the desk in her room going over her plans. It had been ten months since she had first learned that she was a witch and she still had so much to do.
She had already gone through all of the first year books. The information had been fairly easy to memorize. Now, she was working on her second and third you books. She had started making her parents take her to the book store to get new books almost every week
At first, she had formed an idea to find a way to make the Potter kid fall in love with her. If she was married to a hero, no one would dare deny her. That was until it had been explained to her that the boy wasn't going to survive.
The great Albus Dumbledore had personally come to visit her a few weeks before. She had read so many books on all the things he had done. He had come to speak with her, and after she had sworn a vow of secrecy he explained many things to her. He told her about how he wanted the Potter boy married to a girl named Ginny Weasley. At first, Hermione had thought of ways to get around the other girl, but then she changed her mind. Especially when the headmaster told her that he had a boy in mind for her.
Headmaster Dumbledore had even let her in on the secret that Ginny, and her older brother, Ronald, were his kids. He told her all about how he was always being targeted by dark wizards so he had had to arrange for his children to be hidden.
The weekend before the Headmaster had taken her to meet Molly Weasley and his two children. Hermione had found Molly to be overbearing, though it did make sense to Hermione, she was in charge of raising the children of the greatest wizard to ever live. That would make anyone more than a little nervous. Hermione figured that as annoying as the woman was, she was more than capable of making her like her.
The children had both been annoying. Ginny was whiny, but Hermione could see the girls potential. She was clearly going to grow up to be beautiful, and she also had a decent mind. No where on the scale of Hermione's own mind, but the girl would do well.
The boy had at first seemed like a waste of space. He had the intelligence of a fish. Hermione knew from experience with the boys in her school that all young boys were complete morons, but this one took it to a whole new level. Hermione couldn't see how a great man like the headmaster could have a child like that. It wasn't until they started to play chess that she saw a use for him. He might be an idiot, but he was an incredible strategist if he needed to be. She could work with that.
It would also be useful to have a dumb husband. She would be able to control him a lot easier. Yes, she could make this work for her. If she was seen as being best friends with a hero, and married to the son of the greatest wizard to ever live, then nothing would stand in her way, she wouldn't let it.
Hermione couldn't wait until she could start school next year. She hated having to deal with all the useless children in her current school. Why did there have to be so many idiots in the world, she found her self questioning multiple times per day.
Hogwarts, School Board Meeting Room - December 6, 2000
James was sitting next to Alice in the meeting room quietly discussing things. Every now and then James would glance up and look around the room, it was very different from the room he had first come into years before. Only Montague, Kensington and Molly were still there. And Kensington would have to leave the board at the end of this school year due to his daughter graduating.
He felt that he would be able to work with many of the newer governors, but there were still some annoyances. The ones that annoyed him most, besides Molly, were Vance and Doge.
He had once considered Emmeline Vance a friend when they had been in the Order, but now he knew that she was in on Dumbledore's plans. She blindly followed him. She had managed to get on the board because she had a niece at the school. Elphias Doge was another Dumbledore stooge. Like Vance, he had been placed on the board because he had a family member at the school, in his case it was his great grandson.
It wasn't necessarily acceptable for him or Vance to be on the board, the guidelines was that you had to be the parent of a current student, but Dumbledore had spent over an hour arguing for them, claiming that the parents of the children weren't able to attend the meetings but still wanted a say on the running of the school. Everyone had finally agreed with him to shut him, and Molly, up. They all knew that it didn't really matter in the end, they wouldn't have the power to sway the boards vote so long as he and Alice were there. James decided to let Dumbledore have this one, it was a strategic 'loss', he made Dumbledore think he had won a battle when James hadn't lost anything.
When the meeting was called to order they went through the usual pattern. Some of the other governors were still bringing up different courses, or changes to current courses, but for the most part they had gotten the educational standards back up, mostly.
"There is an issue that I feel we must address. It was originally brought to my attention by some of the complaints by students, but as we have already addressed this issue here, I felt that this was the meeting to bring it up."
The decision had been made to hold more meetings each year, as Alice had suggested, but they separated what would be discussed at each meeting. The meetings in June and December would remain as they had been. They would focus on school improvement, rules, and guidelines. While they would be holding shorter meetings once a month from February-May, and September-November, to address any complaints by staff or students. They often received a few complaints per month so those meetings were usually two or three hours long at the most.
"What is this issue?" Kensington asked, a smile on his face.
"The library. More specifically, the placement of the books in the library. During our last meeting we agreed that the library floors would be broken up by years, and the books for each year would be on their corresponding floor. But that is apparently not what has happened. It would seem most of the lower floors are almost completely empty.
The largest volume of complaints seems to have come from the alchemy class, I do believe they have started some sort of write in campaign because I think we have gotten at least three letters from each student. According to them, the alchemy books are all up on the seventh floor. The problem is that alchemy begins in third year so the students just starting out in that class, the ones that have the most to learn, have no way of accessing the books without an older student taking them out and letting them borrow it."
"Now my boy, I'm sure it is a slight misunderstanding. Just a misfiling of a few books. There really is no need to make a big deal of it." Albus said genially.
"Albus, if Madam Pince is unable to properly file books, then she shouldn't be a librarian. It is unfair to set students up for failure that way. They need access to those books to properly do their work. If she is unable to do it I am sure that the public library on River Run would be able to spare one or two of their librarians to work here." James said, making sure to keep his voice calm and even. "I will also mention there have been a few complaints that even when a book is properly filed and a student manages to find it, she won't allow the students to take them out."
"You must understand Sebastian, many of our books here are very old and delicate. She is just making sure that they are protected." Albus said with a grandfatherly smile.
"The only reason many of the books are antiques is because the library hasn't been updated in decades." Alice said snappishly. "But that isn't an issue. A library is meant to lend out books, therefore, the books will be used. If a book is to old or delicate, it shouldn't be in a school library. Cast protection charms on it, or buy a new copy. Why don't you have her make a list of the books that are damaged or too delicate and we will make a decision on what to do with them during our meeting in June.
But I must agree with Sebastian, Madam Pince must allow children to borrow the books, or she will need to go. I remember when I was a student here, she used to refuse to let us take out books even then. She hoards the books and doesn't like students being anywhere near them. That is not how a library should be run."
"Surely you aren't suggesting that we fire her?" Emmeline was shocked. "She has been at this school for decades. It is her home."
"I understand Emmeline, but this is also a school. If she can't do the job properly, she can't work here. I would suggest that we get two others to come and help her if it's too much work." James thought that might help. If there were others there then the students could go to them and avoid the mad old woman.
Albus ground his teeth together. There was no way he was going to be able to avoid hiring more staff for the library. He had been using Irma Pince for years to keep the students away from learning. She hated letting students take out books so she found every way she could to stop them. She often banned students for weeks at a time for every little thing. And she would stalk and harass the students when they were in the library, so it kept all but the most dedicated away.
"Why don't we send out the job offer tonight. We could have two new librarians hired by the end of the week? Then, we can have them completely refile the library from top to bottom over the Yule break so that everything is in place for the students when they return. They would also be able to check over the books as they work so they will be able to create a list of damaged or delicate books while they work." Kensington was really going to miss that look on Dumbledore's face after his daughter graduated in June, she was his youngest child so he was going to have to give up his place on the board.
It was voted on and agreed to quickly. James knew Percy Weasley was going to like that. Bill had sent him a letter at James's request to start filing complaints with the board if he found anything wrong with the library, and the kid had found a lot.
Just as the meeting was being called to a close James and Alice stood up and called for everyones attention.
"Earlier this year we were both examining our vaults in more detail and we found something that we would like to donate to the school as a sort of Yule gift." Alice said cheerfully.
She and James walked over to the 5 large easels they had had covered in cloth before the meeting started. One by one they removed the cloth to show large portraits. Four of the portraits each held one of the founders. The fifth, was a landscape view of a library that held four chairs.
"Allow us to introduce you all to Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. The reason it took us so long is that we currently don't have access to the Slytherin vault so we had to commission a new frame and link it in a way that Salazar could move in. We figured they could each have a portrait hung in their common room, and the larger one of the library they like to visit could be out in the main hall." James told them all.
Everyone was extremely excited to see the portraits. Up until that point it had been believed that no copies of the founders portraits remained.
James, Alice and Kensington were on their way out of the school after the meeting ended when James heard someone call his name. Turning around he saw none other than Percy Weasley, being closely followed by his younger twin brothers.
"Hello young misters Weasley. What can we do for you this fine day?" James asked.
"Sorry to interrupt Lord Peverell. Mam, sir." He said bowing slightly to Alice and Kensington. "I'm Percy Weasley, and these are my brothers, Fred and George. I was just wondering if the board had received my notes about the issues I have been having with the library."
"Yes, yes. Allow me to introduce you to Lady Alice Longbottom, and Lord Kensington Shacklebolt." James told them. "And yes, we have received your notes. We actually addressed the issue this meeting. You will be happy to hear that you will be getting two more librarians that you can go to. And they will be conducting a complete resort of the library over the Yule brake to ensure that the books are in the right places."
"Thank you sir. I'm glad my older brother suggested to me that I contact the board if I had any issues. He works for Gringotts as an apprentice curse breaker right now, though his apprenticeship ends in January, maybe you've met him? His name is William Weasley, though everyone calls him Bill." Percy said, his voice remaining formal.
"Yes indeed I've met your brother. We've even shared a dig camp from time to time, though I can't tell you where. He has the potential to be one of the best curse breakers I know. There is no doubt in my mind he will do well for himself once his apprenticeship ends. Now, you three should be getting off to class, wouldn't want anyone to think you were trying to skip." James said, grinning at the boys as they quickly said goodbye and ran off to get to their next classes on time.
"How interesting." Kensington said, giving James a look.
"What's interesting Kensington?" James asked innocently.
"Oh, nothing much. I just find it interesting that the student that sent in the most complaints about the library did so on the suggestion of a brother that you just so happen to have worked with." Kensington said.
"I may have suggested in passing that young Bill should write to his brother to inform him that if he had any issues he should write a letter to the board. Making sure to address it specifically to me so that I could ensure that it was handled promptly and properly." James said, his voice as innocent as his face.
Kensington just gave a deep chuckle and James gave him a devilish grin while Alice laughed before they all went their separate ways.
Malfoy Manor - December 18, 2000
Narcissa had just arrived home. She had taken Draco over to the Davis's so that he could have a playdate with Theo. The sweet boy was now a happy healthy little boy, still a bit shy but it was expected.
After leaving, she had then gone to do a little last minute Yule shopping. Arriving home she asked her personal elf, Cashmere, where Lucius and her three youngest children were. She had been slightly confused when Cashmere had given her a happy smile and giggled slightly when she told her they were in the sun room. The confusion about the elf's smile only lasted until she arrived at the sun room and looked in.
Lucius was laying on the floor in the centre of the room, fast asleep. Curled up on each side was one of the twins. It appeared that Lyra was the only intelligent one. It looked like she had taken every cushion from the chairs and couches in the room to create a nest just above Lucius's head and was curled up like a cat.
Stepping in the room she could see the mess they all were. All four of them had paint covering their fingers, and little paint handprints all over their skin and clothes. Lucius even had a tiny little handprint on each cheek that she knew came from the twins.
Then there was Lucius's hair. It was sticking up at odd angles and looked like it had been braided. She knew from the dozen little purple butterfly clips that it had been Lyra's work, that girl did love her purple butterfly clips. There was also paint streaking through the attempt at braids.
Narcissa could only smile as she felt her heart turn to mush like it always did when she saw Lucius like this. No one who knew Lucius outside the family would ever think that the cool, prim, and proper lord would ever sleep on the floor after spending time finger painting with his children and allowing them to style his precious hair and paint his face and arms.
Quietly she called Cashmere. When the elf popped in silently she requested her camera. There was no way she wasn't getting pictures of this, both for the kids memory books, but also to show to Sirius. Lucius had been teasing him for weeks when he found out he had allowed the twins and Kali to put ribbons in his hair when they were playing dress up.
No one messed with a Black… Except another Black.