Disclaimer: Me no own Harry Potter

Rosette and Scorpius Malfoy were home for Christmas. The place the Malfoy's called home was not Malfoy Manor; no, Malfoy Manor had too many nightmares roaming the halls and neither Mr. or Mrs. Malfoy wanted to stay. The place the Malfoy's called home was an apartment in London that was right across the street from The Leaky Cauldron. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Rosette shouted excitedly as the little witch ran into her parents room. Rosette had her mom's bushy brown hair but her dad's steel gray eyes.

"You promised us presents at seven-thirty sharp." Scorpius reminded them from the doorway. Scorpius on the other hand was an exact replica of his dad. Draco Malfoy rolled over and hugged his bushy haired wife. "Parents lie." he yawned sleepily, but the yawn was cut short when Hermione elbowed him in the stomach as she sat up. Draco sat himself up and leaned against the headboard. Despite being eleven years old Rosette climbed into her parents bed and sat herself between them while hugging both their arms.

"Merry Christmas." she told them happily. Scorpius came and sat at his dad's feet and saw something on his dad's arm that peeked his interest. "Hey Dad, they told us in school that all of Voldemort's closest Deatheaters had Dark Marks. A book in the library says that Grandma and Grandpa Malfoy have them and are in Azkaban. Do you have one?" Scorpius asked curiously without taking his eyes off of the tattoo peeking under his dad's winter shirt.

Scorpius was a Ravenclaw no doubt. If there was a question on his mind he asked it, no exceptions. Draco tried to smile at his curious son, but didn't quite pull it off. Knowing this day was coming he moved his arm out of his daughter's grasp and pulled up his shirt up as far as he could. He stared at his Dark Mark along with his children and hoped that they could understand that the world isn't just made up of good guys and bad guys.

Some bad guys are good, or at least okay. He hoped that his children could understand that sometimes bad guys could turn good...and sometimes it was for love. Hermione saw the confusion on the faces of her children. There was no doubt that they understood what the mark meant, but they were confused about why their dad had one. "Do you want to see my Dark Mark?" she asked them lightly with a hint of a smile that resisted fully forming. Without waiting for them to answer she pulled up her sleeve and showed her children the scar that still to this day makes her gag when she thinks about who gave it to her.

Although, the stomach wrenching nausea and blood boiling hatred had subsided over the years. "Mm-u-d bl-u-d." Rosette sounded out. The Malfoy's had discovered that their Gryffindor daughter wasn't able to read well. In the spirit of Dumbledore, Headmistress Mcgonagall didn't turn Rosette away, but instead made accommodations for her in classes. "I don't understand." Scorpius admitted as he stared in confusion between his parents scars.

"No one can fight in a war and come out without a dark mark, either in their heart or on their body." Hermione explained to her children. Draco took his wife's hand and they stared at each other as they remembered a time when neither of their body's were marked. "So did someone mention presents?" Draco asked his kids with a smirk. Rosette squealed in excitement and raced Scorpius down the hall.

Draco hugged his wife to him and kissed her neck. "We got about five minutes before they come back." he mumbled into her hair. Hermione pushed his face away and stood up. "That's means five minutes to get ready for Christmas photos." she told him with an edge of finality. Draco groaned and flopped back down on his bed. "Why", he grumbled into his pillow, "am I the only one who's not a morning person?"

Please check out my story Ringlet and the Next Gen story for Ringlet called Angel's Nest.