A/N: Hello! My first foray in fanfic so i'm terribly nervous. Plzzz take the time to review. I'm planning on making it a multi-chap... but only if i get about 5 reviews with something along the lines of "not bad. Can continue". So plz be honest even if you think writing for me is a lost cause..

Little Wisdom

The soft click of the door opening had Draco immediately alert, hand automatically going towards the wand in his pocket. But he relaxed at the next moment when the unmistakable pitter-patter of little feet reached his ears. The child was obviously trying to be inconspicuous, and he smiled softly to himself as he decided to humour her and remained bent over his work.

A few seconds later, two little hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" said a lilting voice, warped in an effort to sound meaner.

Draco chuckled. "That's really hard", he told her. "Why don't you tell me, little belle?"

The child giggled, and then squealed as her father swung her around into his lap. She looked at him reproachfully.

"But Daddy!" she insisted. "I'm not Belle, I was the Beast!"

"Really, kid?" Draco arched an eyebrow at her. "Then who was Belle?"

His daughter looked at him, eyes dancing with pure mischief. "You", she quipped, face a mask of innocence.

"You are so going to regret that, little missy", said Draco, and proceeded to tickle her little belly.

She wiggled around on his lap, laughing until she was breathless.

"Uncle! Uncle! Daddy, no more!" she breathed and Draco relented. She snuggled close to him, pillowing her head on his chest.

Draco sat back in his chair and looked down at his daughter, who was fingering the locket he wore around his neck.

It was a gift from his wife on his last birthday; a custom-made ornament, the silver chain so thin it was almost invisible. The locket was diamond shaped, with the words 'Forever and Always' engraved on the surface in several different languages. It opened to reveal two pictures side by side, the first of them on their wedding day, arms around each other, radiant, content smiles gracing their features; the other was of them cradling their one-year-old daughter, who was making a funny face at the camera. They were the most important women in his life, and he had vowed never to part with them.

He was brought back from his musings by his daughter's voice asking him a question. Of course she was asking him a question! That was a trait she had inherited from her mother, never-ending curiosity.

He looked down at her. "Sorry princess, what did you say?"

She blinked up at him, and repeated her question slowly, as if explaining a particularly difficult concept, "I said, Daddy, why do you wear that chain around your neck all the time?"

He considered what to say for a moment and settled on the truth. He knew his daughter was way beyond her years having the parents she had.

"So that you and your mother always remain with me", he said shortly, knowing perfectly well he had left the field wide open for follow-up questions. The child didn't disappoint.

"But we're not going anywhere", she stated, confusion evident in her voice. That, right there, was another reminder that she was her mother's daughter. Logical and precise, neither of them would leave anything alone until they understood it to the core.

He attempted to explain further. "You know the times when I have to go away for a while?" She nodded and he continued. "Well, at those times, I'm often alone in these dark rooms, keeping watch on a suspect for days on end. I sometimes become very lonely and I miss you so much I feel like quitting my job and coming back to you as fast as I can. Then I look at your pictures in the locket and it gives me the strength to go on. I remember the delight on your faces if I succeed in one of my missions and I'm that much more determined to complete the job."

The girl on his lap had listened attentively as he had poured his heart out. At the end, she nodded sagely, as if she completely understood what he said. "So we are your driving force", she chirped at him.

He blinked at the five-year-old in surprise. "Yes", he agreed. "You are. I wouldn't know what to do without either of you."

"But then what will you do if you accidentally lose it someday?"

The simple query had him pause as he searched for an answer. "I don't really know", he finally admitted. "Why don't you tell me?"

The child's eyes lit up like they did she was telling her parents about something she had found in a book that they didn't know about. "Silly Daddy", she said. "You don't have to know. 'Cause even if you lose that locket, you'll never lose us. We're here, you see", she placed her little hand right over his heart.

"Now come on", she urged, jumping off his lap and pulling him up by his hand, even as he was processing her earlier words. "Mommy said dinner will be ready in a few minutes and she's making lasagne!"

And as his daughter flounced excitedly down the steps, dragging her father behind her, Draco wondered when his little angel had acquired the wisdom that he himself had yet to in his admittedly a lot more years among the living.