Chapter 3- Hello There!

Disclaimer: I have not ever owned Harry Potter, I do not own Harry Potter, and I won't ever own it either.

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land
UPDATED:- 17 July, 2015

7 years later…

A few years, after the war ended, Cepheus bought a new home which was slightly little bigger and cozier than their previous house. Astoria and Orion had grown a lot and with each passing day, their parents love for them kept on increasing. They didn't have a lot but they had just enough to keep them content and joyful for the rest of their lives. Margaret had decided to quit her job, for the time being, to look after the kids. Cepheus knew how much she loved her job but she refused to hire a nanny, plus it was quite expensive too. She loved staying home with the kids, taking them to muggle parks, so they could socialize with muggles, shopping trips to Diagon Alley and frequent visits to their grandparents house. She even took them to some fast food restaurants where they ate pizza and burgers with French fries and drank Coca Cola.

Cepheus' parents didn't even acknowledge the existence of his kids. His father, who had been thrown in Azkaban after the war, died there just the day after Cepheus went to visit him for the first time in years. Even his mother didn't bother with him. All this had made him feel the need to keep his family closer to himself more than anything else in the world. He never wanted his children to think about him the same way he thought about his parents and for that he, without fail, spent a lot of time with both of them.

Every morning the whole family sat at the dining table eating breakfast, mainly pancakes with maple syrup or sausages and baked tomatoes because it was everyone's favorite. Orion, Margaret and Cepheus used to talk about the Quidditch matches between especially the ones which involved either the HolyHead Harpies or Puddlemere United. They supported Puddlemere United and whenever it won in league matches, a huge feast was organized to celebrate that win. Astoria also liked Quidditch but not as much as the other three. During that time she just used to eat as much as she could before anyone else even got the chance to look what was for breakfast that morning. Her love for food was just like their love for Quidditch.

Astoria had a friend, Patrick, who lived in the muggle neighborhood (he was a muggle). They both used to play a lot together. His mum was Margaret's friend, that was how they were introduced to one another. Patrick loved to play cricket and he even explained Astoria what it was; she also wanted to tell him about Quidditch but she had promised her parents that she would never reveal anything to any muggle about the wizarding world. Astoria loved to go to Diagon Alley to visit her favorite shop, Florean Fortescue, and eat her all time best-loved ice cream combination, chocolate and raspberry along with chopped nuts.

Astoria, like her mother, loved to read books. She wished to one day buy all the books in Flourish and Blotts, though she knew that was absolutely impossible because the shop had millions of books, and make a secret library at a deserted location because she wanted a concealed hideout where she could live happily forever.

It was almost seven o'clock and Cepheus, who had just returned home from work, looked extremely frustrated. Margaret was sure that it was not the work, as he thoroughly enjoyed it, but something else. She knew Cepheus better than anyone else and was sure he will tell her everything when his temper would subside. During dinner everyone was quiet, even the kids had noticed their father's rage when he had arrived home from the ministry. After five minutes of silence he finally spoke, "Corvus approached me today," he glanced at his wife and continued, "He has invited all of us to Daphne's birthday this weekend."

"What?!" Margaret exclaimed, covering her mouth to hide her laugh. "You were upset over that. Come on, Cepheus, don't be a baby."

"I don't like him, if you have forgotten. He insulted you! And after such atrocious behavior I preferred keeping myself away from his everyday affairs."

"Maybe he wants to kiss and make up," Margaret joked.

"I hope not," he said, laughing. "However, he does want us to attend Daphne's birthday party. Said his wife invited us to come and spend quality time with noteworthy people. It's all bullshit!"

"Cepheus!" Margaret warned, covering Astoria's ears. "No using bad language."

"Oh, sorry. See, I told you. Whenever Corvus' name arise in this house, I do wrong things. I don't want Astoria or Orion to learn bad things from their dad. And I don't even know his wife's name. Like I care whether she invited me or not."

"Perhaps that is the reason behind the insult he fired towards me that one time. He felt pathetic because you didn't care enough about his life."

"Nope. I am pretty sure that he is just jealous of the fact that I am happy even without all that money and he is miserable. Anyway, we have to go because you," he said, looking towards Margaret, "want us to. But you won't make any kind of excuses. You are going to accompany me otherwise I won't be able to survive there and these two will be going as well. Will be nice if you interact with your cousin, won't it?"

"WE HATE DAPHNE, dad!" Orion and Astoria shouted at the top of their voice.

Margaret glared at them, asking them to be quiet. Cepheus relaxed and started laughing. All three of them looked at him, clearly surprised by his behavior. Once his laughter subsided and he again spoke, "It's been a long time since I last saw the Greengrass residence. Won't you support your dad when he is feeling this miserable?" he asked with a huge grin on his face. He looked at the three of them again and just smiled at their confused faces. "I know you both don't like Daphne but she is your cousin. We have no choice but to go to the event which will obviously be filled with arrogant purebloods discussing about how pure their blood is."

"But dad we are not like those purebloods, we are good people, right?" Orion asked him.

"Of course we are. Most of them will look at us with disgust but don't let that bother you. Both of you will be going to Hogwarts soon and the last thing I want is to see either of you cry over something their arrogant kids say to you. As I have always said, show them that you are better than them by your actions and not harsh words. Be a good and kind person. I want to look at you two and puff my chest out with pride. I know you have the capability… Look at this event as a life lesson, the world is not a bed of roses and the observing their society is the best way to see that," Cepheus said with a sigh.

"Okay," Astoria said as Orion nodded.

"Darling, I think I shouldn't go after all. They'll look at me like I am some kind of disgusted creature who has entered their private territory," Margaret mumbled.

"Didn't my speech affect you at all?" Cepheus said, looking at his wife. He had always felt guilty of the harsh reality that his parents had never accepted her. She was so strong even then and always showed him that she didn't care, saying things like she had a number of people better than his parents to love her and most importantly she had him and their kids to love her. She didn't care about a pureblood party, or his brother Corvus, she only cared about him.

Cepheus leaned in and kissed her on forehead. "If you won't come with me then I'll also not go. If they even think that you are unsuitable to attend their fuc… stupid event, I will make sure they don't live to see the next day. You will accompany me because I need you to survive there. I really do need you otherwise…"

"Yeah yeah. I know. Fine. Promise me we'll leave as early as possible," Margaret said, sighing.

"Only after the cake has been cut," interrupted Astoria.

"Why do you always think about food?" Orion spat.

Margaret and Cepheus laughed before kissing each other. Astoria and Orion just glared at each other.

"So, everything is decided then?" Cepheus questioned, one final time.

"Actually we would like to change our agreement," Orion said, fixing his imaginary glasses.

"Agreement?" Cepheus said, looking curiously at him.

"We, Astoria and I, are willing to suffer one of the most awful get together of our lives on one condition," Orion said.

"And exactly what is that one condition?" Margaret asked, taking a bite of her chicken.

"You both will take us to the new muggle amusement park; I heard they have a roller coaster. It sounds interesting," Orion said with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"Alright then. Deal," Cepheus declared, smilling.

"Yay… Oomph!" Astoria jumped and fell out of her seat in started laughing at that even Astoria.

It was the day of Daphne's birthday. Margaret had gone to the nearby local market and bought a respectable present for her. At about six o'clock they were all ready. Cepheus was adjusting the collar of Orion's robes while standing in the living room; they were wearing the best set of robes they owned. Cepheus looked extremely handsome and Orion looked like a smaller version of him. Margaret, who was wearing a beautiful lilac dress (its silhouettes reaching down to her calves) that perfectly accentuated her curves making her look absolutely stunning, was applying burglar charms all over the house. Her gorgeous dark brown hair had been tied up in an elegant bun and she was wearing pearl necklace which Cepheus had gifted her on their first anniversary. Cepheus was not even able take his eyes off her, all he could think was how lovely Margaret looked when she fret over everything.

Astoria, wearing a light-blue frock with a black silk belt, was sitting on the last step of the stairs, which reached towards the first floor where all the bedrooms were, wearing the shoes Margaret had taken out for her. She then got up and approached Cepheus so that he could brush her shoulder length hair.

"Why are you making dad brush your hair?" Orion asked, rolling his eyes.

"Because his secret talent is brushing hair nicely," Astoria spat, folding her hands over her chest.

"Now, Orion your mother trained me well in doing these things," he replied, once he made Astoria sit on the kitchen counter.

"Isn't this a feminine job?" Orion asked again.

"How can a job be classified as feminine, Orion?" Cepheus said, shaking his head. "Right, Astoria?"

"Yes," Astoria nodded. "Just like the real Cinderella killed everyone from her real family because they made her sad and that is not a feminine job, right?"

Orion and Cepheus turned to look at Astoria, flabbergasted, and asked, "Who told you that?"

"Mum did. Last night, during bedtime story time, I wanted mummy to make me a princess but she said that if I want to be a princess then she would tell me their real stories. And then, she told me how because of Cinderella her step-mum and step-sisters died. So now I want to be a princess that kills people."

"Uh," –all three of them glanced at Margaret, who had walked in the kitchen from the adjacent room, looking guilty- "In my defense, I just want to say that everything that I told her is absolutely true. Though, I am not proud for introducing these concepts to her but it is the truth. And frankly speaking, I want her to grow up into this fierce woman who scares everyone around her; you get what I am saying?"

"No," Cepheus stated.

"Well, what's done is done. Now let's get going, eh?" Margaret said trying to cheer everyone.

"We have to talk about this once we return. Anyways, ready?" Cepheus asked, keeping the hairbrush of the counter and helping Astoria get back on the floor.

"Yes!" Margaret said, while Astoria and Orion nodded.

They apparated just outside the Greengrass manor, a few meters away from the main gate. The manor was huge; it looked like a palace, even though it was one of the smallest houses in all of Wiltshire's pureblood community. It was painted white and gave a very welcoming aura, attracting all of the guests. Stretching over acres of land was the garden surrounding it, decorated with several fountains and neatly done forestry and blooming shrubs. The long wavy gravel pathway leading towards the main entrance was surrounded by gigantic grass sculptures of the Greengrass ancestors, each had been carved with a distinct stance. They finally reached the entrance after a five minute walk and were immediately greeted by a friendly looking house elf named Lippy, who escorted them to the ballroom where the main celebration was being held.

"This way sir," she said, timidly bowing her head.

Astoria was so amazed after seeing a house elf that she kept on staring at her, making her kinda uncomfortable. But who could blame her; she had never seen a house elf one before and was curious to know much more about them. Every time she tried to say something, she just couldn't find the right words. In the end, she wasn't able to communicate with her.

Corvus was standing just a few meters away from the door of the ballroom, having a forced looking conversation with a ministry official. No sooner did he see Cepheus approaching, he excused himself and walked towards their direction. He plastered a fake smile on his face and greeted them, "Hello Cepheus nice to see you….. and your fam… family," he said, so obviously disgusted by the fact that a filthy mudblood and two half-bloods were attending his daughter's party.

Despite that, the other three plastered an I-don't-need-your-pity smile and said together, "Hello."

Corvus kept his eyes, filled with disgust, on Margaret, for a good five seconds, before turning to look at his brother again. "Enjoy… its so good to see you."

Cepheus nodded, hesitantly, before holding onto Margaret's hand and walking further into the room. His eyes hadn't missed how Corvus' gazed at his wife and felt his forbearing comportment wavering. Astoria and Orion were trying to keep up with their parents speed, not understanding what had made their father angry.

"Cepheus," Margaret said, stopping suddenly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh." He suddenly realized where he was and replied, "It's nothing. I'll explain myself later."

Margaret smiled, looking at the confused expressions of Astoria and Orion. She tilted her head to watch Cepheus' flustered face. Taking her hand, she brushed the side of his face gently and said, "Let's get you something to drink. Calm down, okay. Once we get home, we can together speak ill about your brother but for now let's not react to anything. We knew what to expect. Oh… and I think I just spotted your boss. Let's talk to him, okay."

"Okay." Cepheus nodded, placing his hand on Margaret's hand and squeezing it gently.

"Orion, Astoria," Margaret said, turning towards them. "Go and give Daphne her present, first of all, and then try to mingle with the kids. Maybe you'll find someone you like."

"Gross!" Orion cried, shaking his head.

"Try to mingle and if not, find us around the Orchestra stage," she said before walking away with Cepheus.

Astoria jumped on her feet, trying to look where exactly that was. She had heard the music when they first entered but wasn't able to see exactly what was playing it. Unlike Orion, who was taller than most of the boys his age, Astoria was still quite tiny and could only see the legs of the adults.

"It's over there dummy," Orion said, holding Astoria by the waist and lifting her up just for a second.

"So many people," she said, awestruck.

"Yeah. Now come on, let's give that irritating girl her present and go home." Orion shoved the present in Astoria's hands and grabbed her hand before dragging her through the crowd of people. All of a sudden, he stopped and let of her hand. "Astoria, you go and give this to that abomination."

"No, mum said we have to do this together," Astoria spat, holding on to his robes tightly.

"Uh! You see that guy over there," he said, pointing towards the bar, "he is the beater of Puddlemere United. Maybe if I ask him politely, he'll give me his autograph."

"But…"

"No! Go now. You're not a baby anymore," he said, shoving her in the directions where Daphne was standing and giggling with a pug faced and a other unknown girls.

Taking few deep breaths, she went and tapped on Daphne's shoulder. Daphne, who was of the same age as Astoria, was the exact opposite of her in every way. She was beautiful with her long blonde hair and striking black eyes. She always made fun of Astoria, whether it was her jet black hair or blue eyes. She turned and looked at Astoria; her eyes abhorred the site of the measly creature that was Astoria. Hardly had she taken a good look at her cousin, her eyes got attracted to the present in her hand.

Astoria handed her the present and said, "Happy Birthday Daphne."

Daphne smiled, nastily. "Thanks, my maid really needed a new outfit."

"Daphne, who're you talking to? Let's go find Draco," the pug faced girl said.

"Sure," Daphne replied. With one flick of her hair, she swaggered away leaving a disheartened Astoria alone.

Trying not to let her tears fall, she quietly went towards the secluded corners of the hall and sat on one of the sofas. She wiped her eyes on her dress and distracted herself from everything. She gazed dreamily outside the window, wondering how long they were inside the house because the weather had completely changed, from a beautiful sunny weather to a windy about-to-rain weather. She smiled thinking about how her mum will kiss her when she'll tell her that she cried and how her father will hug her and tell her that he'll protect her from those type of people. She couldn't wait to reach home.

And then she felt the couch sink a bit. Someone had just sat on the same sofa as her. She attempted to look, through the corner of her eyes, at the person. It was boy with a very pale complexion and platinum blonde hair. He, without warning, looked towards her and saw her looking back at him. Either averted their gazes towards the other side of the room, contemplating what the other person had in his and her mind.

Gathering all of her courage, she peered at him again, wanting to figure out what the deal with the boy was. Unexpectedly, she saw him still looking at her but this time with a smirk on his face. She felt the need to know more about the odd boy though his smirk was giving his a headache by then and so she decided to simply glare at him. Quite taken aback by her bold expression, he smiled.

She couldn't take it anymore and spat, "Why are you staring?!"

"You look quite naïve. You are not one of Daphne's awful friends?" he asked, not looking at her.

"No. I am her cousin," she said, averting her eyes to the floor.

"Were you crying? Father says only weak people cry."

"I wasn't crying!" she spat. The boy didn't say anything and turned his head towards the crowd.

She felt her chest swell with pride. She had never scared a boy and the feeling was quite brilliant. She decided to reward herself for doing such a marvelous job and dug out a chocolate frog from her pockets. The boy looked at her, again, his eyes wide and said, "Why are you eating a chocolate frog at a party? You have loads of things to eat around here, then why eat a chocolate frog?"

"Do you mind? I like eating chocolate frogs and I eat them to collect these cards," she stated.

"You look like a tomato. I was right, you were crying," he stated.

"No. I wasn't. Now please leave," Astoria mumbled, examining the box of the chocolate frog.

"Whatever," he sighed. "Hey look, there's an elephant in the garden," he yelled, surprising her.

"Really?!" Astoria swiftly looked outside but didn't see any elephant. She turned towards the boy and was about to contradict the notion that he had a good eyesight only to realize that the boy had taken the chocolate frog away from her. She was about to move to pouce on him and take her chocolate back though before that he already had placed it in his mouth and was eating it with an annoying smirk pasted on his face.

"How can you eat that!" She yelled.

He laughed at her, wiping his mouth, and immediately started running away from her through the most populated area in the entire room. Astoria following him, as fast as she could, running between legs of the taller people, tried catching him but it was all in vain. She had lost him. She let out an involuntary groan and with a heavy sigh, went to search for her father. She found him sooner that she expected. Just as her mother had told her and Orion, he was by the Orchestra stage which had stopped playing just moments ago to take a small break. He was talking to a man and woman with the same platinum blonde hair as the boy. And that was where she spotted him, once again. He was standing next to the woman's feet, looking bored.

She was going to take her revenge; nobody had given him the right to take her chocolate frog and eat it. She wasn't a sissy like her cousin and wasn't afraid of confrontation, she was gonna show him who's the real boss among them.

She went and pulled the sleeves of her father's robes; he looked down and smiled at his daughter. He placed his hands over her shoulders and made her stand in front of him as he continued his conversation with the man. Astoria glanced at the boy and saw him smirking at her, either waiting for the other's next move. The woman, whose hand the boy was holding, happened to notice this and smiled at Astoria. She eyed her son, curiously, and instantly knew something was up; she had a sudden realization that her son was probably not on his best behavior today and that might get him into serious trouble later on.

The woman said to Astoria, "Hello I am Narcissa Malfoy and you must be Astoria, Cepheus' daughter, right?"

Astoria looked at her, nodded in agreement and then glared at the boy. Narcissa thought all that was way too cute. "I see you've already met my son, Draco. I reckon he has played some kind of prank on you," Narcissa added.

Astoria shook her head and replied, "No…"

Narcissa smiled at her and turned towards Draco, "What did you do, Draco? Your father had clearly said that you should be on your best behavior tonight, right?"

Draco looked, back and forth, from Astoria and Narcissa and stated firmly, "I didn't do anything wrong, mother."

Astoria gathered all her courage up and spoke, "He ate my chocolate frog." Draco grinned at her; clearly he was not at all ashamed.

"Draco! How many times have I told you not to take other people's stuff without asking them?" Narcissa said, trying to control her laughter.

Draco sighed, "Mother, she said that she only wanted the card not the chocolate frog."

"Did not!" Astoria yelled.

"Did too!" Draco exclaimed.

"Did not!" Astoria shouted again.

"Astoria, what's this entire ruckus about?" Cepheus asked, interrupting what seemed like an innocent banter.

Astoria looked at her father, surprised by his sudden hindrance in their fight, "Daddy, he took my chocolate frog and ate it, without my permission. If he would have asked I would have given him half of it."

"Liar!" Draco spat, making her scowl.

Cepheus and Narcissa laughed but Lucius, on the other hand, did not look very pleased by his son's behavior. He coldly glared at Draco; that made him unhappy, all of a sudden, and he hid behind his mother, to avoid that. Astoria didn't miss such a drastic change in the boy's behavior and turned to get a good look at the older rude man. Finding how different his father was from her own made the feelings of sympathy arise from the bottom of her heart for the boy. She felt miserable, thinking that she was the reason the boy would get a good scolding when he returns home, just because he was being playful. She softened her eyes and looked at him, immediately he also looked back at her, and gave him a reassuring smile. But that little arsehole smirked at her, making her laugh and angry at the same time.

And then it was over, she felt her father take her hand and walk in the direction opposite to the blonde haired family. Time flew away quite fast after that. Astoria soon found herself again standing at the entrance, listening to her father bidding farewell to her uncle. Her eyes were involuntarily searching for the boy; she wanted to know how he was doing. Questions like 'Did his father yell at him?' or 'Is he crying right now?' popped up in her mind.

Narcissa was talking to Mrs. Parkinson, now, and her daughter Pansy was just staring at Draco but didn't care the least bit about Pansy. He was trying to find the jet black haired girl and he did find her but it was just the glimpse of her hair. He wondered how the girl was so different from her oh-so annoying cousin.

On returning home, Astoria could only think about the boy because even she got scared by his father's scary expression. Then again it was his fault, in the first place, or not… She couldn't make up her mind and ended up feeling guilty. She changed into her night clothes and climbed on the bed as her mother came into her room to kiss her goodnight. Margaret, like always, didn't fail to notice her discomforted expression and asked, "Astoria, what's the matter?"

"Nothing mum. Uh, I met this boy at the party…" Astoria began.

"And you like him!" Margaret gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"No!"

"Don't worry sweety, I was just pulling your leg," Margaret replied, sitting next to Astoria and brushing her hair away from her face.

"He was a git… And, he also ate my chocolate frog and so I told his parents and now he is in trouble."

"So you are feeling guilty?" She asked.

"Yes… No… Maybe," Astoria stammered.

"Oh Astoria, don't worry everything's going to be fine. He won't hate you for being a tattle-tail!"

"I am not a tattle-tail!" Astoria exclaimed. "I just wanted revenge."

Margaret giggled. "Don't worry. It won't be as bad as you expect it to be. Maybe what you did will be good for him in the future, who knows. So, just go to sleep for now and get some rest. We have loads of work tomorrow," she said, kissing Astoria's forehead.

Echoes of Lucius yelling could be heard throughout the long corridors of the Malfoy Manor. Draco was sitting on the sofa beside his mother and had buried his head on her shoulder to hide his tears from his father. Lucius was pacing from left to right, irritated by his son's oblivious behavior. He stopped and looked down at his son.

"What do you think you were doing today?" Lucius shouted.

Draco flinched and looked up at him, "Fa… ther…. Father I was just making connections with others, just like you had asked…"

"No! What were you doing talking to that girl; her mother is a mudblood, Draco!"

"Daddy she…"

"Father! Call me father. We are highly dignified people, Draco, who don't refer to their parents as mummy or daddy but by father and mother," Lucius yelled.

"Father she was j.. ju.. just sitting there and…" Draco stammered.

"Malfoy's don't stammer Draco!" Lucius spat, with a hint of shame in his voice. He couldn't believe that it was his own flesh and blood had such a speech problem; he wasn't just any ordinary boy but the heir and successor of the aristocratic Malfoy family.

"…she was sitting there alone and she… was kind… I wanted to talk to her so I went…" Draco spoke softly while his mother stroked his hair; she was feeling guilty of not being able to fight for her son with her husband.

"There were many other girls your age. The daughter of the Parkinson's, Pansy, and that of the Pureblooded Greengrass', Daphne. Why didn't you approach them? Or at least hung out with people worthy enough?!"

"I was scared father…"

"Enough! I don't want to listen to your excuses anymore. You will not talk to that girl ever again and I want you to interact with Pansy and Daphne because when you grow up you will be marrying one of them and making them part of the Malfoy family and they will, like any pureblood woman, give this family an heir," Lucius stated.

"But what if I don't love her?" Draco questioned.

"There is no such thing as love Draco; there is only power and money. They will only help you in the end, not a woman who you are in love with. You will grow to love your wife like I love Narcissa. We are rich and have power and that is what matters, nothing else. Listen to me Draco, you are a very handsome young boy and you will grow to be a handsome man. And women will come and go, they don't matter much. Their only role is to look pretty and give you a son. You have to understand how the world works."

"But that is wrong; I can't do something like that!"

"You will be powerful. Love is nothing but a weakness it will destroy you in the end. Listen to me Draco, I am your father and I know what is best for you, okay."

Draco simply nodded, taken aback by his father's beliefs. "Narcissa take Draco to bed." Lucius ordered and went towards his study.

Narcissa, without another word, did as she was told. She tucked Draco in bed and kissed him on his forehead, she loved her son a lot but going against her husband's will was not an option. Her eyes were filled with tears after hearing what Lucius had said to Draco. He had told her countless number of times that he loved her but now for the first time in her life she doubted her husband's words.

Draco sadly smiled at his mother as she removed the hair from his forehead to look at his eyes more clearly. Narcissa and Draco shared a secret, when it was just the two of them he was allowed to call her mum and whenever he did that, Narcissa was the happiest mother in the entire world.

She leaned down and whispered in Draco's ear, "Please don't listen to what your father has to say, do what your heart tells you to do." She stood up to leave the room but suddenly a thought popped up in her head, she turned and said, "That girl was indeed very kind."

Draco looked at his mother and turned a bit pink. He didn't know the reason why that happened. He closed his eyes and thought of what he must do. Should he listen to his father or mother? He was confused. He wanted to make his father proud of him and he wanted his mother to love him always. He had a decision to make but what would it be?

"Wow! That was intense," Emily said.

"I didn't know Grandfather was like this before," stated Scorpius.

"Well he was… I made a decision that I will make your grandfather proud and follow his footsteps but I didn't know that it would lead to my downfall." Draco sighed.

Nobody spoke for a few minutes and the atmosphere became quite tensed therefore Emily decided to ease it. "Dad. How was mom back then?

Draco laughed, "She was… irritating as hell. And so cold. She projected the don't-come-near-me-or-I-will-stab-you aura. She's an idiot, till now. Also, she started swearing a lot later, once we started going to Hogwarts. She once dyed her hair dark blue and vomited in front of… no, getting way too ahead of myself."

Scorpius and Emily laughed.

"Well there's a thing that I have never told your mother but I am telling you both that if it wasn't for her….how to say this…okay your mother is the reason that I am what I am today. A lot of things happened, way too many, after the war. And I still don't believe that we survived all that. Geez…!"

Thank you for reading. Please do leave a review. (^_^)