Chapter 2

The sullen glare Harry threw at him almost made Draco burst into another smirk, his silvery grey eyes gleaming with a show of amusement as he lightly leaned back in his chair and nodded his head to the black haired man. "Ah, much better, Potter, you've actually managed to make yourself look like a semi presentable wizard."

Dressed in black robes, trimmed in green and silver, Harry fought down the urge to pull out his wand and hex the man into next week. "Might I remind you, Malfoy, that the years have done nothing to improve my temper, especially in regards to you."

"Come now, you'd hex and unarmed man?" Draco smiled easily back at the man, before the stone cold glare made it falter just slightly. "You're too much of a Gryffindor for that."

A sudden recollection sparked through Harry's mind, before a slow, suddenly almost predatory smirk curled across Harry's lips. "Something I really should thank you for, Ferret. Otherwise, why I'd be just as much of a slimy snake as you."

That actually caused Draco's composure to falter slightly as he openly gaped at the man, his eyes wide and incredulous with a more than slightly bewildered look. A look that remained on his face even as his mother strode almost regally into the room with a mildly arched brow, before she turned her towards a more than slightly smug looking Harry. "Do tell, Mr. Potter. How did you manage to destroy my son's composure so quickly?"

"Years of practice?" Harry offered, even as his expression cooled rapidly as he lightly nodded his head towards the woman. "Mrs. Malfoy. It's been sometime."

The underlying implications of the statement almost made the woman grimace as she nodded her head then gracefully took her seat. "Yes, I suppose it has. You do look remarkably cleaner than our previous meetings. I hardly recognize you from the drunken reprobate my son looked to have dragged out of the gutter last night."

"So nice to see my recollection of the Malfoy wit and charm hasn't dulled from a heaven sent reprieve from its company." Harry countered acidly, as he met the woman's eyes without even a moment's flinch.

"It has apparently done wonders for your vocabulary though. I can barely detect the uncultured little child I last met." Narcissa's eyes narrowed into shards of ice as she glared back into the defiant emerald orbs of the man in front of her as her lips pressed into a thin line.

From his seat, Draco's bewildered gaze never left Harry's face as the man never seemed to miss a step as he parried and riposted with his mother in a way he'd never seen anyone before. "Which child would that have been? The one that killed the 1,000 year old basilisk your husband let loose in a school full of children, including your own? The one that helped capture that same man when he invade the Ministry with his band of Death Eaters? Or, was it the child that kept your husband, your son and very possibly yourself from being sent to Azkaban?"

Narcissa's brow twitched as the boy's cold words struck true on each account, making the bile rise in the back of her throat, before she fought down the rising swell of her pride and curtly nodded her head. "Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Potter. Though, I'm quite curious where you managed to learn speak like an adult."

Shrugging slightly, as he carelessly picked up a glass of juice on the table, and took a sudden swig before grimacing slightly and settling it back down on the table. "I've spent the last three years living with Andromeda, what do you think we do during my bouts of lucidity?"

"… And suddenly, so very much makes sense." Narcissa couldn't help but mutter under her breath as she studied the sullenly defiant man in front of her, slouched back in his chair as his wild black hair almost covered his eyes. "I was wondering why she'd allowed this nonsense."

Barking off a sudden, half amused, half sarcastic laugh, Harry shook his head as he offered a bitter smirk. "What can I say? I've always learned quickly when I was faced with confrontation. Something I've noticed somewhat lacking in your husband and son."

Sighing in resignation, Narcissa turned her head and couldn't help but smirk at her still gaping son. "Not quite what you were imagining, Draco dear?"

"I think he's still trying to grasp onto the fact that I could've been a Slytherin if it hadn't been thanks to his… inspiration." Long, slender fingers dipping down grasping the rim of the juice class with a lazy comfort as he took another careful drink, and a grimace. "I don't suppose it would be too much trouble to ask for a bit of whiskey to go with this? I'd have enough trouble handling this drunk."

"Not a chance, Scarhead," Draco answered as he snapped out of his daze and glared at the man, before suddenly pushing a potion towards him. "Drink this."

"Manners, Draco, manners." Narcissa hissed mildly, even as she arched a brow at the potion.

"Don't stop him on my account, it just means I'm free to call him the incredible bouncing ferret boy." Harry drawled back with a slight smirk before glancing down at the potion apprehensively, before a new voice interrupted the question before he could ask.

"You know, I've always wondered exactly why you Gryffindors called him that." It was vaguely familiar to Harry, though he couldn't quite place where he'd last heard it, as it fell past the lips of the older of a pair of similar blonde women. The speaker arched a brow, casually, challengingly to the boy as her long blonde hair fell neatly down her back, cool dark eyes sparking with a cold speculation.

"Ah, Potter, allow me to introduce my fiancé, Astoria Greengrass, and her older sister, our classmate, Daphne." Draco smiled softly at the younger of the two women as he stood to greet them, who immediately put on a smile of her own as she drifted gracefully to the chair at his side before kissing him softly on the lips. "Astoria, you're as beautiful as always."

"The infamous Harry Potter." Astoria allowed Draco to pull her seat for her as she sat, casting the blonde man a thankful smile before studying the still lazily sprawled man who sat so deliberately contrarily to the almost regal poise of the Malfoys. "I was under the impression that you and my fiancé weren't on the best of terms."

"We're not." Harry answered simply as he sent another glare towards an again smugly smirking Draco. "I'm here because he caught me in a less than presentable shape and dragged me into one of his little schemes." Turning, he nodded a moment towards the still standing Daphne. "Greengrass." Then, he turned and locked his eyes on Draco. "And why, do you want me to drink THIS potion?"

"You didn't answer my question, Potter." Daphne interrupted as she brought her arms up and lightly crossed them about her chest, glaring icily back at the boy.

"Why, imagine that." Harry paused a moment, seeing a slight ripple of relief flashing across Draco's eyes, before a malicious grin flashed across his face. "But what the hell! I'm always happy to tell a story about Malfoy's more embarrassing blunders."

"Really, no need for that." Draco cut in hurriedly as he gestured towards the potion. "It's for…"

"Oh no, I've waited the better part of a decade for this story, Draco." Daphne cut him off as she finally seated herself in the only available chair, next to the slouched back Harry. "So no squirming out of it."

With a resigned sigh escaping her lips, Narcissa sent a slight glare towards her son as she fought against the smug smirk that wanted to fall across her features while she listened as Harry began the tale. "It's really quite a simple little story. It all began in our fourth year, you remember that, don't you, Greengrass? Our dear Malfoy was walking around making a generally obnoxious ass out of himself trying to goad me at every chance he got while I was competing in that bloody useless tournament."

"You did put forth an impressive display of flying during the first task." Daphne offered up as she leaned back in her own chair and merely waved her hand in neutral agreement.

"Yes, well I've always been told I really knew how to use my broom." Harry waggled his brows just a bit and smirked even more at the slight blush and scowl he managed to evoke from the girl next to him. "But, after one particular day, I honestly don't remember which, do you, Malfoy?"

At the silent glare and slight shake of his head, Harry nodded in acceptance and lightly waved his hand airily. "Anyway, we had one of our little confrontations, words were exchanged, a bit of verbal fencing was done, I honestly don't remember the specifics, and as usual, I left him an angry little boy before turning and walking away."

Another sip was taken and another grimace of distaste as he lightly glared down at the juice before a slight mutter passed his lips. "Ugh, where's the alcohol when you need it?" Sighing slightly he shook his head before turning his head and glaring quietly at Malfoy. "Then, our lovely, brilliant Slytherin here, waits until my back is turned and I'm walking away, before he and his bookends, you remember them, don't you Greengrass? Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?"

"I might vaguely recall certain housemates that fit that description." Daphne allowed as she smirked just slightly back at the man.

"Well, then I'm sure you can guess just what it was they tried once my back was turned." Harry took another drink from the glass, suddenly polishing off the juice with a slight grimace before practically dropping it down onto the table.

"Hmm… Well, the smart thing would have been for them to have walked away, laid out a plan, and prepared ambush in a place and time of their choosing." Daphne tapped her lower lip in contemplation before shrugging slightly. "So I imagine that they immediately tried to hex you then and there."

"Five points to Slytherin, Greengrass!" Harry agreed with a smirk as he noted the way Draco flushed slightly in embarrassment and Narcissa let off a sigh of resignation. "Indeed they tried to do just that. And for once in their lives it almost worked, if that years member of the 'Let's Kill Harry!' Club hadn't shown up and transfigured the three of them into ferrets and bounced them around the hallway."

"'Let's Kill Harry!' Club?" Astoria ventured, a look of confusion written on her face, before Harry, Draco and Daphne chimed in unison.

"The DADA teachers."

"Well, honestly, Remus only tried to kill me because he as in such a hurry to rescue me, he forgot to take his Wolfsbane potion. Lockheart only wanted to oblivate me into a drooling idiot, and Snape just liked to torment me and rip through my mind." Harry allowed as he paused, lightly rubbing his chin as he considered for a moment. "And really, Barty wasn't a bad teacher, I learned how to throw off the Imperius from him after all. He was just a completely nutter Death Eater."

"Barty?" Now this time Daphne looked confused as she blinked back at the boy. "We never had a DADA teacher named Barty."

"Sure we did. You just only knew him as Professor Moody. That flask he kept stealing nips out of? Polyjuice. He was really Barty Crouch Jr." Harry paused a moment, before a flash of melancholy rippled across his face. "The real 'Mad Eye' was a much, much scarier bloke. Wish I'd gotten to know him better before Tommy boy killed him."

As the disbelieving silence stretched on, Harry lifted up the bottle Draco had pushed his way. "So, potion?"

"It's a detoxification potion. I really don't want to have to spend a week, tying you down in bed, making certain that you're not hurting yourself while your body cleans itself up from the mess you've made of it." Draco answered with a neutral shrug. "Terribly nasty process that."

"Ah, I see. Bottom's up then." With a shrug Harry threw back the potion and swallowed it in one gulp, before blinking slightly. "Hmm, not bad, tastes a bit like a screwdriver."

"Ah, right…" Draco answered with a vague nod, before gesturing towards a door. "The bathroom's right there, we'll see you in an hour or so when you're finished purging all those toxins."

"Wait, what?" Harry froze as he stared at the suddenly smirking Draco until he felt a sudden queasiness in his stomach, along with a pressure in both his bowels and bladder. "Draco…."

"I was going to tell you about the effects first, but then you had to go and tell that story." Draco's smirk only grew as he watched the horrified realization sweep across Harry's features. "Do have fun."

Gritting his teeth, Harry stood up, lifting his head regally as he glared down at the blonde man across from him. "This, shall not go unchallenged, Malfoy." And with that, he strode, in a purposeful walk to the bathroom, head held high as he slipped inside and clicked the door locked behind him.

Astoria sighed slightly as she turned her head and gave her fiancé a slightly displeased look. "Was that necessary, Draco?"

"Not in the least," he admitted cheerfully as he smiled back at her. "But, damned if it wasn't bloody gratifying."

"… Draco, you do recall who exactly you just threw your gauntlet down before, yes?" Narcissa slowly arched a brow as she studied her son for a moment, catching the look of confusion on his and the Greengrass sisters' faces. "Have you ever heard of the Marauders?"

"I think I remember Mother and Father mentioning the name once or twice." Astoria spoke up, a slight curiosity in her dark eyes as she looked questioningly at her future mother-in-law. "They were pranksters of some sort at Hogwarts, yes?"

"The most clever, creative, brilliant and downright vicious pranksters Hogwarts has known in recent memory," Narcissa agreed with a nod of her head as she settled back into her seat.

"A group consisting of James Potter, Sirius Black… Remus Lupin… and Peter Pettigrew." The last name was spoke with an extreme look of distaste as a regal, middle aged woman stepped into view, her heavy lidded eyes dark and wary as she held her hand held into a nervous looking boy of six or seven years of age with brilliant, neon blue hair nervously peeking out from behind her robe.

"Ah, Aunt Andromeda, so good of you to join us!" Draco spoke up cheerfully. "Won't you and my cousin please have a seat?"

"I appreciate the offer, Mr. Malfoy." The woman responded with a slight inclination of her head as she kept her words quite cool. "And might I inquire WHERE exactly the entire reason for my presence here is?"

"I'm afraid he's a bit… indisposed at the moment." Draco paused a moment, before casting a Sonorus charm on his throat and calling out. "How's it going in there, Potter?"

The anger was palatable as they could hear the man shouting back. "I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS, MALFOY!"

"See?" Draco continued with an easy smile after canceling his charm. "As I said, he's rather indisposed at the time. He should be out of there in an hour or so."

"… And what, exactly did you make him so indisposed?" The cool clipped words sliced through the air, as Draco found himself squirming under an icy glare that reminded him entirely too much of his mother's when she was in one of her moods.

"Malfoy here had one of his illustrious moments of absolute brilliance." Daphne spoke up, her brow arched curiously at the icy interaction between the woman and her hosts. "He gave Potter a detoxification potion, and failed to mention exactly HOW it detoxifies someone until after Potter had taken it."

"I maintain that I would have given him a full disclosure about what it was and how it does it, if he hadn't made a point of embarrassing me in front of my fiancé." Draco muttered quietly, before straightening up as he again smiled at his aunt. "Aunt Andromeda, cousin Teddy, this is my fiancé, Astoria Greengrass and her sister and former classmate to myself and Potter, Daphne."

For a moment, Andromeda stared back at the boy, before letting off a soft sigh as she slid down into empty chair so recently vacated by Harry and conjured a smaller one for Teddy at her side, before glancing towards Narcissa. "He has no idea what he's done, does he?"

"Absolutely none at all." Narcissa agreed with a quiet nod of her head, before her eyes turned towards the nervous looking boy who's hair had suddenly shifted from blue, to green, to blonde all in a span of moments, before her eyes softened quietly. "He takes after his mother I see."

"You knew my mum?" Teddy finally spoke, as he looked at the eldest of the three blonde women seated at the table with wide eyes.

"…I only got to meet her, once or twice, and never under the best of circumstances." Narcissa paused a moment as she caught sight of the tightening of her sister's eyes, before she quietly continued. "I didn't realize how much I regretted that until after she was gone."

"Oh… She was killed by Granny Rommie's sister, you know." Teddy state it so matter-of-fact it caused the rest of the table to flinch in surprise as Teddy none-the-less continued on, oblivious to it all. "Unca Harry talks about it sometimes when he gets sick. He talks about a lot of stuff. Like how he much misses my da and mum, and da's friend Sirius. He was Unca Harry's godfather, like Unca Harry's mine, you know."

"Yes, Teddy, I know," Narcissa said softly as she quietly looked down at the plate in front of her, as the rest of the table fell silent. "Your Granny's sister was mine too."

"Oh… What's it like to have a sister?"

The simple honesty of the question, caught Narcissa completely off guard, as she looked into the shifting hues of the boy's eyes before closing her eyes with a slight, bittersweet smile. "It was something I never realized I cherished until I lost it." As she opened her eyes again, she smiled sadly to the boy and met his eyes. "When you have someone that close to you, it becomes so much easier for you to hurt each other, and sometimes, you don't realize you've done something you shouldn't have until it's too late to ever make up for it."

"… That doesn't sound too good," Teddy admitted as he squirmed just a bit in his seat.

"It had it's good points." Narcissa smiled just a bit more before continuing. "Would you like to hear a story, about three sisters, Teddy?"

"Sure!" The boy smiled back at the woman as the rest of the table settled back, and waited in enraptured silence as the woman began her tale.

"Once, there were three sisters…"

"Once upon a time?" Teddy interrupted, a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.

"Indeed, once upon a time, there were three sisters, princesses in a way of an ancient and proud house."

"Were they beautiful?"

"They were said to have been the most beautiful witches of their generation," Narcissa agreed with a sad, lost little smile on her lips. "Each quick of mind and powerful in her magic, but two of them, the youngest and the eldest, were born with too much pride, while their sister had a will that would refuse to bow to anyone."

For a moment, Narcissa let the words hang in the air, not willing to face her sister as she told her tale. "Each of them, would eventually find herself wed. The youngest, was lucky enough to find her heart belonging to a man that her family approved of, rich and handsome, but possessing that same, cursed pride she did. The eldest too married a man her family approved of, though she held little more than passing admiration for him."

"And the third sister?" Teddy asked his eyes shining and bright.

"She married a strong and true man, a good man, she loved more than anything. But her family, with their cursed pride refused to see that, so they cast her out, turning their backs on her as an outcast," Narcissa answered sadly. "The eldest of the sisters was infuriated that this man had stolen away her sister, a man she considered to be nothing more than dirt because of her pride. The youngest, was hurt and confused, wondering why her beloved sister would leave her, abandon her for one they'd been taught to hate."

Narcissa took a slow, deep breath as Teddy stared up at her with wide, wondering eyes before she heard him ask. "What happened?"

"The eldest sister eventually found a man that won her heart, and her loyalty, but he was a dark, evil, cruel man. He destroyed her, and remade her in his image. She became nothing more than his dog, his dark huntress, to spread fear, pain and misery. The youngest, in her foolish pride, believed in that man too, and her husband chose to serve as his right hand. And before them, the world trembled in fear as they did horrible, terrible things."

"That sounds bad," Teddy said with a solemn nod of his head as he crossed his arms about his chest.

"It was bad." Narcissa quietly agreed, nodding back to the boy as she smiled just slightly. "But, not all bad. Even as the war began around them, the lost sister bore a child, with her loving husband, a beautiful bright daughter who one day grow up to be a strong and caring witch. Sometime later, the youngest too had a child, a young boy she named after the stars in the sky, just as her family had done for generations. But, unlike the bright and beautiful daughter of the lost sister, the son while so very intelligent, was cursed with the same foolish pride of his parents."

"That doesn't sound good," Teddy noted as he shifted apprehensively in his chair, his eyes widening in anticipation.

"I know." She nodded her head once more in agreement, before pursing her lips as she collected her thoughts before continuing. "Then, suddenly the war was over. The evil man behind it, gone, banished for a time in a way that sent the eldest sister on those final steps into a madness she'd never free herself from. She did horrible, unforgivable things trying to find out what happened to the man she'd loved, and was eventually sent away to a cold, dark place where she rotted for the things she'd done."

"What happened to the other sisters?"

"There was a time, when the lost sister reached out to her younger, but was rebuffed, by that damning pride she bore, never realizing just how much she truly needed to bring her back into her life. Without her sister's strength, without her will, the youngest sister and her family sank down even deeper into their pride. The husband, preyed on corruption and used it to further his own, selfish goals… Then, before their son could grow into a man, the war returned."

"And the other sister?"

"She and her husband raised her daughter to be a kind, brave and loyal woman. When the war came, she was there from the beginning until the end, fighting on the front lines against the evil lord who wished to rule over everyone. During the war, she met a man, the friend of the only other member of her mother's house that had escaped the curse of its pride. A good man, who hated himself for something he couldn't control. But, she saw past that, and loved him."

For a moment, Teddy said nothing, his eyes falling down to his hands as he stared at his fingers, before he spoke up quietly. "Then, the bad sister came and killed them."

"Yes, unfortunately, she did. And the middle sister, the good sister, lost more than anyone ever should," Narcissa agreed quietly with a nod of her head.

"And what about the youngest sister?" Teddy asked quietly as he looked up from his fingers and studied the blonde woman.

"Her son, was lucky enough to given a second chance. He managed to escape the curse of pride…" She paused a moment, before smiling somewhat ruefully as she glanced over at Draco. "Well, at least for the most part. He still has his moments."

Teddy giggled softly in amusement as Draco glowered softly back at his mother even as the woman continued. "But still, he managed to surprise his mother, and gave her a chance to meet the son of the niece she should have gotten to know, but didn't."

Beneath the table, Draco could feel the soft reassuring squeeze of Astoria's hand wrapped about her own, as she offered a tear stained smile back at her fiancé. As a smile of his own graced his lips, he purposely ignored the twisting grimace of disgust his cousin made as he leaned his head gently against hers.

"Ewww…" Teddy shook his head before he looked up at Narcissa with curious eyes. "But, how does the story end?"

Narcissa smiled softly back at the boy, before she carefully turned her head and finally summoned to courage to look back at her sister as she answered him. "Ah, that's the thing about stories like these, Teddy… We don't know where or when it will end. We get to see just how it finally unfolds."

There were tears in Andromeda's eyes, that much Narcissa could see, but beyond that, Andromeda held her emotions strictly in check as she briefly nodded her head before she answered. "So we will."

Daphne studied the group for a moment, before gently wiping the tears that had grown out of her own eyes, before speaking up her voice hitching only for a moment from the thickness of emotion. "I do believe you were going to tell us about the Marauders?"

"Mooney, Padfoot and Prongs!" Teddy chimed in with a grin and an energetic nod of his head, before frowning as he continued. "And Wormtail, but we're not supposed to talk about him. He was a bad, bad friend."

"That's right, Teddy." Andromeda spoke softly as she reached out lightly running her fingers through her godson's hair and smiling just a bit as she nodded her head. "Why don't you tell them about the Marauders?"

"But, Granny! Unca Harry tells it best!" Teddy pouted just a bit as he crossed his arms about his chest. "Specially when he summons Prongs like da taught him!"

"Yes, he does tell it best." Andromeda agreed a slight smile on her lips as she grinned. "I take it you don't want to give it a shot?"

"Nu uh, 's not as good without Prongs," Teddy declared as he once more crossed his arms about his chest and stuck his lip out defiantly.

"All right, since my sister told a story, I suppose I could too." Andromeda smiled slightly and shook her head as she lightly ruffled the boy's bright orange hair before looking back over the table. "Once, there were four young wizards, boys who would one day become men, who loved mischief so much they formed a brotherhood around it."

She paused a moment, smiling slightly in fond remembrance before she continued. "One of them, was the wayward cousin of those three sisters, a dashing, charming young man, stubborn and headstrong, who was as brilliant as he was rash. But he loved his friends more than live itself."

Narcissa flinched slightly at the words as images rushed through her mind, the part she herself had played in her cousin's death, and the way her sister had gloated in gleeful triumph about it for weeks afterwards. Still, she nodded her head, her eyes fallen to her fingers as she listened to her sister continue.

"One of them, was the leader, as brilliant as the first, but with a yearning thirst for recognition, and a hatred for the dark arts. He at times, let his ego rule him, and at times could seem almost a villain the way he clung so desperately to childhood. But of them, it was he who would refuse to leave even someone he hated to die if he could help stop it. And when he finally left his childish ways behind, he won the love of the woman he'd longed for."

Draco and Teddy each made a slight grimace at the description, causing the women to feel a shared tugging of their lips in response before Andromeda shook her head and continued.

"One of them, a quiet, scholarly boy, cursed by a madman for his parents' defiance, and living in fear of what he might one day do. The other three befriended him, and accepted him for what he was, and did everything they could to make him feel like a boy just as they were, and they won his love and admiration for it."

For a moment, Andromeda paused, taking a slow, deep breath collecting herself before she Teddy spoke up, interrupting her. "And then there was Wormtail."

Smiling faintly, Andromeda nodded her head quietly as she again ruffled her grandson's hair. "Yes, Teddy, and then there was Wormtail. The follower, the hanger-on, the one who was always in the shadows, but craved to step into the light. The one that the others considered as much their brother as they did the others. And the one who destroyed them."

"I don't like that part," Teddy admitted quietly as he lightly lay his hands down in his lap and stared at them.

"Neither do I, Teddy, neither do I," Andromeda agreed with a quiet nod of her head. "But, that was another tale that these days, everyone knows." Chuckling just a bit at the momentary confusion on the faces of the Greengrass sisters, and the looks of shamed understanding on the Malfoy's, explained. "Halloween, 1981."

"Ah…" Daphne paused a moment, before glancing at Teddy, and then the bathroom door Harry had disappeared behind. "So, Harry and Teddy here are the children of the Marauders?"

"Indeed." Andromeda nodded her head quite solemnly, before smiling a placid smile at her nephew. "And you just challenged the man who was both son and godson of a Marauder, to a pranking contest."

Draco paused a moment, considering carefully as he weighed things in his head before glanced over at Teddy. "Say, cousin…"

"Nu uh." Teddy immediately shook his head vehemently. "Not against Unca Harry."

"Blast." Draco frowned slightly, before glancing over at his fiancé hopefully. "Oh beautiful light of my life…"

"You want me, to help you in a pranking contest with Harry Potter? The man who defeated the Dark Lord?" The woman gave her fiancé an absolutely incredulous look.

"Well, I suppose it was too much to…"

"Of course I'm not going to just abandon you to your fate." Astoria patted his cheek, for a moment, before smiling just a bit as she added, "Even if you brought it on yourself."

"Well, I need SOMETHING to keep the Gryffindor busy with." Draco smiled as he lightly leaned in and kissed the palm of Astoria's hand. "And any help my beautiful, wonderful, amazing…"

"He's what Unca Harry calls 'whipped' isn't he?" Teddy was looking directly at Daphne as he spoke, before he glanced over at Draco with a shudder.

"Appreciating the woman in your life, especially one…" Draco immediately began to protest, before Daphne cut him off with a smirk.

"Yes, Teddy. He's most definitely 'whipped.'" The elder of the Greengrass sisters smirked back at Draco, as the man pouted softly crossed his arms about his chest with a light sulk.

"Don't worry, Draco dear, I don't think you're whipped," Astoria said consolingly, before she turned and winked at Narcissa. "Just well trained."

As Draco glowered slightly at the various smiles and giggles sent his way Narcissa nodded her head and smiled softly to her son. "Yes, but not so completely trained as to stop surprising you when he puts his mind to it."

-o-o-o-