Thanks to all my reviewers: HecateDeMort, Alaska Din Tal, Peegchica, KB (Thanks for your first review! I'm so happy you love my story! Have you read my others? Shameless plug in order to get more reviews) and MoonyPadfootJr (Here's some more!)

Just a note, I made up all the stuff about the potion (you'll be reading about it soon)and what it could do to help werewolves. Except for the mating for life stuff (a staple of all Remus-centric fan fiction) the other traits of the werewolf bond in this story (and my others) are all of my own imaginings.

To make up for such a long time without updating, here's an extra long chapter! 13 ½ pages in Word.It's the Winter break so I will have more time to be writing. Woo hoo!! Make sure and review!

Chapter 4

"That is interesting…mmm…interesting." Healer Samwise Godwin continued to mutter under his breath as he waved his wand over Cassius. Remus tried not to smile at Cassius's expression which, when Sam wasn't looking at him, wavered between angry, anxious and affronted. "Fascinating."

"What?" Cassius finally ground out after a few more minutes of Sam's muttering.

"You…you've got to be the most interesting person I've ever come across. Medically speaking that is." Sam added hastily after receiving a frosty glare.

"That's interesting in a good way?" Remus asked.

"He's had…alterations done…I…I've never seen this…at least…not in person…You Know Who had similar…according to the autopsy report. It's fascinating."

"He's…altered?" Remus said, baffled, as Cassius's eyes flashed black.

"No…that's not the right word…I'm sorry, I'm just so flustered. I never thought." Sam took a deep breath, but Remus could tell that he was still disconcerted. "Mr. Malfoy, are you aware of any spells put on you that would strengthen your immune system or make you less susceptible to certain curses and poisons?

"No."

"Perhaps your father -"

"He's dead." Cassius said coldly.

"Yes, I was aware.I'm sorry, I meant, would he have documented it? In medical records, or something of that sort?"

"I don't know." Cassius stood. "Is that all?"

"Yes. I've run all the tests I wanted. I'll be able to make the potion now. Thank you very much." Sam said warmly. "I appreciate you coming in, I know -."

"I did it for Remus, not you." Cassius said icily.

"Of course." Sam nodded hastily, stepping back as if he'd been hit. Cassius strode out of the room as the air crackled. "Remus, I'm sorry, my bedside manner just flew out the window. I never expected these results."

"We didn't either." Remus said quietly. "What does it mean?"

"Well, my theory is that by using the mate's blood, a potion can be made for the werewolf that would help fight off the effects of lycanthropy, the fatigue, bad circulation, etc., to become more 'normal' if you will. I was testing for certain enzymes that would be compatible between the mates. These results…Cassius's blood could help you in so many more ways to become even healthier…There's strong magic in his blood – it's resulted in a higher pain threshold, increased endurance and strength, better resistance to poisons and hexes, a stronger life force. It's actually excellent news for his health."

"And those traits aren't normal for other mates of werewolves?" Remus knew what the answer would be but he still asked.

"Not in the other two cases I've been studying." Sam looked at Remus earnestly. "Is there any way his father would have kept notes? It doesn't affect my work now but it might be good for you to know the full extent of..." Sam trailed off, waving his hand. Remus nodded.

"Yes, I'll try and find out."

"Madam Pomfrey can draw the needed blood for the potion at Hogwarts. I'll just need it once. I won't ask him to come back here."

"He'll agree to that. She always gave him candy." Remus smiled.

"Thank you, Remus." Sam smiled warmly, clasping Remus's hand. "I'll owl her right now. She'll contact you and then we'll go from there. I'm very sorry if the news was upsetting, I shouldn't have said it was similar to You Know Who. It's really very good."

"Thank you. It just was a shock, we had no idea."

"Take care."

Remus nodded and walked out into the hallway. Cassius was standing against the wall next to the door.

"Ready?" He asked softly. Cassius nodded. There was a loud pop and Cassius Disapparated. Remus followed a moment later.

"Cass?" Remus called. He'd Apparated to their bedroom but Cassius wasn't there. He walked into the library, Cassius wasn't there either. Then he heard loud thumps coming from the attic and he ran up the stairs. Cassius was pulling boxes down and opening them, heaving books over his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for Father's diary." Cassius answered in his Malfoy voice, not turning around. "Luke gave it to me after Father's death, said I should read it but I never did. It's here somewhere." A large book landed next to Remus's feet.

Remus walked over to Cassius, dodging books as he went, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll look, Harry and I organized these boxes last summer, the inventories are written on the sides."

"Fine." Cassius stood and hurled the book in his hand violently across the room. It hit the wall then fell to the floor with a loud thud and a flutter of pages. Remus looked over the boxes and noticed one with 'Family Journals' on the side. He pulled it down and opened it.

"Here." Remus held the leather bound volume out to Cassius who was sitting back on his heels a few feet away.

"I hate him." Cassius said, not taking the book. "What did he do to me?"

"I don't know. But you heard what Sam said, it's helped you, not hurt you. Maybe he did it out of love."

"Maybe he and Voldemort experimented on me."

"You won't know until you read it. Luke wouldn't have told you to read it if it would upset you." Remus put the book on the floor between them, hoping he was right about Cassius's brother's intentions.

"Could you read it?" Cassius asked, looking down at the floor, and Remus could hear the suppressed tears.

"Of course. After I read it, do you want me to tell you what it says?"

"I don't know." Cassius said hoarsely, his hands flexing where they rested on his knees.

Remus moved slowly and wound his arms around Cassius's neck, nuzzling against his jaw. Cassius pulled Remus's hips closer and Remus straddled Cassius's thighs. Cassius buried his head into Remus's neck.

"It's all right, you're all right. Nothing's changed, except that now we know." Remus whispered, rubbing his mate's back soothingly. "Nothing else has changed. You're still you. And I'm not letting you go, not ever." He kissed Cassius's cheek. "I love you." Remus could feel the muscles in Cassius's back slowly relaxing. "I love you."

"It's not a horrible thing, right?" Cassius murmured after several long moments.

"No, not horrible." Remus agreed. "And we'll find out exactly what he did so there won't be any more surprises."

"You still love me?"

"Of course I do." Remus kissed Cassius's cheek again. "Who knew I mated with a super wizard." He teased gently. Cassius snorted and tightened his arms around Remus.

"Tea's ready. I've made chocolate cake." Tabby stood in the doorway. "And there's the frosting bowl for Cassie."

Cassius's head jerked up and a small smile flirted around his mouth. Remus smiled, they'd all known how Cassius hated going to Saint Mungo's and Tabby had planned appropriately. Remus was very glad now that he'd bought Cassius the large box of his favorite candy. It'd been a harder afternoon than he'd thought it would be.

"Sounds brilliant. Thanks Grams." Tabby nodded and Remus could hear her brisk footsteps down the stairs as he pressed kisses to Cassius's forehead and cheeks.

"I love you a lot." Cassius kissed Remus soundly.

"Love you too." Remus hugged Cassius tightly. "Let's go have that cake. And after I have a present for you to thank you for going to Saint Mungo's." Remus stood and held out a hand to Cassius.

"A present?" Cassius asked with a grin as he got to his feet.

"Presents make everything better, right?" Remus teased.

"Well, yeah." Cassius kept Remus's hand in a tight grip as they left the attic.

Remus read Julius's diary the next day after Cassius left for work. He sat in one of the chairs in the game room while Draco and Harry played exploding snap. Julius had done many spells on both his sons. They were early versions of the spells Voldemort had used on himself to gain his sort of immortality. Spells and potions made the Malfoy sons stronger and better able to endure pain and physical exertion. There was a note in the diary that Julius had chosen not to do the spell that would have made Lucius and Cassius immortal like Voldemort, therefore the Killing Curse could still kill them.

Remus looked up at Draco feeling a sharp pang of sorrow. If only Lucius had been able to survive the Killing Curse, Draco would still have one parent. He looked back down at the diary, reading a few more pages. Remus almost wanted to thank Cassius's father. The magic he had done had helped Cassius survive the hemalia curse as well as the severe raknok bite he'd had a couple years ago.

"My favorite patients." Madam Pomfrey smiled as she walked out of her office. "Although Harry is gaining ground, I see him almost as often as I saw you two."

"Hello Poppy." Remus said warmly. Cassius just nodded, hanging back behind Remus.

"This takes a just moment and is absolutely painless." She pulled Cassius over and pushed him down into a chair. She tapped Cassius's shoulder as she reached for her wand. "Breathe, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes, ma'am." Cassius immediately drew a few gulps of air. Poppy picked up a large vial.

"You ate breakfast?"

"Yes, ma'am." Cassius answered obediently.

"You'll need a big lunch and extra liquids, no tea. I know how you like your tea." She held the vial near the inside of Cassius's elbow and waved her wand. A thin stream of blood started flowing into the vial. Cassius screwed his eyes shut.

"Keep breathing, Cassie." Poppy said gently. "You're almost done and I have a big piece of chocolate for you. I walked down to Hogsmeade and got your favorite caramel chocolate bar once I knew you were coming. It was a hot day, hottest day of the summer so far, but I did a chilling charm so the chocolate wouldn't melt. There now…all done." She waved her wand and set the vial down. Cassius opened his eyes slowly and Poppy walked briskly over to the table. Remus gave Cassius a quick kiss while Poppy's back was turned.

"Here now. I want to see you eat a bite then you can eat the rest on your way home." Poppy handed Cassius the large candy bar. Remus almost laughed at the size of it. Poppy spoiled Cassius. Cassius unwrapped a corner of it and took a bite. She turned to Remus as she smoothed Cassius's hair. "Healer Godwin has high expectations for this potion, I hope it works."

"We do too." Remus said.

Harry flooed into the kitchen and stopped short at the sight that greeted him. Cassius was standing pouring a glass of juice at the counter and next to him, leaning against his leg was a large gray wolf. Cassius turned, hearing Harry arrive.

"Oh!" Harry's hand flew over his mouth as he stared at the wolf. Memories of the night at the end of his third year flashed through his head and he prepared to bolt. Then he realized that Remus had surely had the Wolfsbane potion and he was safe.

"I thought you were at Ron's all afternoon?" Cassius asked as Remus tried to hide behind Cassius. The move wasn't too effective and caused Harry to smile.

"I forgot something." Harry explained. "Hi Papa." One amber eye appeared around Cassius's leg. "Can…can I touch you?"

"Well…" Cassius looked down at Remus.

"Please?" Harry said. Remus gave a nod.

"All right, just a moment though." Cassius said.

"I know, I know. Constant vigilance." Harry nodded then walked slowly over towards the wolf. He reached out and petted between the wolf's ears, then squatted down and hugged the wolf tightly around his neck.

"I love you, Papa." Harry said quietly. The wolf made a low yodeling howl. Harry patted the wolf one more time then stood up. "Okay, I just need to get one thing from my room." He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

Cassius looked down at Remus and smiled.

"What're you doing, Papa?" Cassius sat down next to Remus on the porch swing Cassius had made for Remus's birthday a few weeks ago. Clara, Stevens and Rowen had just left. Rowan was two weeks old now and had sprouted a handful of blond hair.

"Just thinking." Remus leaned back against Cassius and looked up at the stars. "I was remembering the first time I held Harry, when he was a baby. He was just as small as Rowen is now. Can you believe he was ever that small?"

"No." Cassius answered. Harry was now almost Remus's height. Over the summer, Harry had started doing the auror physical training program with Cassius and had gained muscle.

"He was sleeping…he had black hair like Sirius. And I imagined he had my color eyes, that he was my baby." Remus sighed. "I always wanted a child or children of my own, but I can't carry them."

"You never said you wanted children."

"Would you have carried a baby?"

"Well…" Cassius started the swing moving back and forth. "I wouldn't have when Father was alive…but maybe now… We still could have a child, I'm only a year older than Clara. So I'm…"

"Thirty three." Remus answered automatically. "No. We have Harry now and Draco." Remus leaned his head on Cassius's shoulder. "I just wish…If I wasn't a werewolf, I would have gotten custody of Harry after… I would have had him all those years, away from those horrible Dursleys."

"He's happy now." Cassius kissed Remus's forehead.

"I am happy now." Harry appeared by the porch swing.

"Sneaking up on us? Come here." Remus held his arms out and Harry sat next to him, stretching his legs across Remus's lap. "I can't believe how tall you are now."

Harry laughed as he settled his head on Remus's shoulder. "But I'm still your baby, right?"

"Yes, you are. My almost six feet tall seventeen year old baby."

Draco and Harry were friendly now but sometimes their rivalry resurfaced leaving Draco feeling angry and irritated and at a loss to know how to fix it. Hefelt jealous of Harry.

Harry had friends and parents and grandparents and a godfather and an uncle and aunt who all doted on him. Draco had…his Uncle Malfoy who was also his godfather. Draco missed his parents. He missed being the special child, the only child, the center of his parents' lives. Or at least that was how he'd felt, no matter that his father had allowed Voldemort to use them all. Draco sighed. Being with his uncle was wonderful, he'd always loved Cassius…and knowing Uncle Lupin was nice. They never made Draco feel like he was an outsider, but Draco just did. He felt Harry was their priority, not him. Tabby and Moody, his surrogate grandparents, made Draco feel special, but still, there was no one that was just his and not Harry's.

Draco hadn't grown up being physically affectionate and although he did occasionally – well, once or twice - initiate a hug, he was more comfortable to wait for other people to hug him first. But somehow, not many people hugged Draco other than his Uncle, they had always been the only huggers in the Malfoy family.

One person Draco did like, and wanted to spend more time with, was Corbin Hill. Draco had met Corbin twice over the summer. The black haired auror reminded Draco of his father with his calm, solid presence, his dry sense of humor and the rare smile that lit up his face.

A couple days before Draco and Harry were to head back to Hogwarts, there was a family dinner. Stevens, Clara and Rowen were invited, as well as Jack and Corbin. As the guests arrived, and Harry was enveloped in hugs, Draco clutched the box of photos that he'd found in his mother's room against his chest. He stood in the corner of the sitting room trying to figure out how to approach Corbin while still maintaining the Malfoy facade.

"Hello, Draco." Corbin walked over to Draco. "Remus mentioned you found some pictures of the two of us."

Draco nodded, thankful for Remus's comment. "I've got them here." Draco said, lifting the box in his hand.

"Well…let's have a look." Corbin gestured to the loveseat and walked over to sit. Draco followed, feeling nervous, he wanted to impress Corbin. He sat down.

"I found these pictures in my Mum's room, after." Draco said, lifting the lid, "She'd hidden them."

Draco lifted the first picture out. A picture of his mother, him as a baby and Corbin Hill looking about the same age as he and Harry were now. They were sitting on a grassy hill. They were all waving happily to the camera, Narcissa holding Draco's hand in hers.

"I remember this, you were…seven months, I think. We were all at Hogwarts."

"I wondered where it was, it didn't look like anywhere on the Manor."

"No. I never went to the Manor."

"Here's another one." Draco handed another picture of his parents and Corbin and baby Draco. "You knew my parents."

"Yes. They were both very nice to me then. And later…Your mother was very…gracious. She sent me a wedding present…and a really nice letter when my father died."

"I didn't know that." Cassius said, from across the room, where he was sitting next to Stevens who was holding Rowen. Draco looked over at his uncle, he knew Cassius and Corbin had dated, the photos in the box showed a couple where they were kissing and one where his uncle's hand kept going up Corbin's shirt.

"Why would you?" Corbin asked calmly.

"She only met you because of me. And you broke up with me."

"Is that why she kept these hidden?" Draco asked his uncle.

"I don't know." Cassius shrugged. "Father and Luke didn't like Corbin."

"Well…I like you." Draco said, the bold words falling out of his mouth before he'd thought about them.

"Thank you, Draco." Corbin replied solemnly, a smile quirking his mouth.

"You look happy in these pictures." Draco ventured after a moment. Corbin and Cassius did look happy together. Having met Remus, Draco knew his uncle was truly in love so now…it was weird to see Uncle kiss another man in the old photographs. But the two young men in the pictures also looked in love, at least in Draco's opinion.

"It was a long time ago." Corbin shrugged. Draco glanced up and noticed Jack watching Corbin with an unreadable expression.

"It's nice you can be friends with Uncle again." Draco said, turning back to Corbin.

"We were never friends." Corbin shook his head and grimaced slightly as he looked at the photo in his hand. He looked up at Draco. Draco suddenly realized he'd been staring, he didn't understand…they'd been kissing in the pictures, they'd been together for a year, he knew that, certainly that meant they'd been friends, they'd been more than friends. Corbin's mouth quirked again. "Of course, it's nice now."

Draco didn't think Corbin really meant that.

"Dinner's served." Remus said from the doorway, he and Clara had been in the kitchen with Tabby and Moody. Everyone went into the dining room and sat down.

"Having Corbin and Cassie in the same room reminds me of when we used to have dinner over at my place after I graduated from Hogwarts." Stevens said, looking at Corbin and Cassius. "Remember the game we used to play?"

Corbin nodded as he took a bite of the casserole.

"What game?" Cassius asked curiously.

"Stump the Malfoy." Stevens said with a grin. "We'd ask Cassie all sorts of questions. See what he remembered. Capital of Australia?"

"Canberra." Cassius answered promptly.

"Damn."Stevens winced as Clara swatted his arm and hissed about swearing in front of the children.

"You're out of practice. He always remembers the capital of Australia." Corbin shook his head.

"Because koalas come from Australia." Cassius told Remus.

"Right." Remus smiled. "And you saw a koala."

"At the London Zoo. Corbin and I went over Easter sixth year. And we had smmph." Remus had clapped his hand over Cassius's mouth. Draco wondered what his uncle had been going to say.

"I'm glad you had a lovely time." Remus said. "I've never been to any zoo. But Harry told me about going to the London zoo."

"Have you been to the British Fantastical Zoo, Harry?" Draco asked. Harry shook his head as he ate. "Grandfatherand Father were on the Board of Directors, Uncle's on it now, and we used to go every Christmas."

"Crap, I just got an owl from them about their next meeting. Draco, would you want to be on the Board?" Cassius asked.

"Me?" Draco froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. Malfoys had helped to found the BFZ and for over 300 years, there had always been at least one Malfoy on the Board. Cassius had taken his father's seat on the board but always complained about going to the meetings. Draco had many memories of his father telling funny stories of how his uncle had behaved at the meetings.

"Well, once you're eighteen, I think you have to be that old…I'll have to check."

"That'd be brilliant!" Draco grinned. "And could we go at Christmas? Father said it was a Malfoy tradition. And if Harry and Papa haven't gone, we should take them."

"Of course." Cassius smiled. Remus smiled too.

"Final year at Hogwarts." Jack said, "So, in addition to Draco being the youngest board member for the BFZ, do you two know what you're going to do after graduation?"

"Become an auror." Harry answered quickly.

"I think I want to be a healer." Draco said, more slowly. After spending time at Saint Mungo's after his parents' death, he'd decided he really wanted to help someone like the Healers had helped him.

"I have a cousin who's a doctor, she really enjoys her work, helping make people better. Must be similar to being a healer." Corbin said from where he was sitting across from Draco.

"Are you a muggle-born?" Draco asked. Corbin nodded as Draco suddenly remembered his father and grandfather talking with disdain about a mudblood that Uncle Malfoy had dated in school. The Mudblood had become an auror. "Oh!"

"What?" Corbin asked, one black eyebrow quirking up questioningly as Draco stared at him.

"You're The Mudblood." Draco said quietly.

"The what?" Remus asked sharply, frowning at Draco.

"I'm sorry…I know…" Draco said hastily, uncomfortable with making Remus upset with him. He was so rattled that words kept tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "It's just…Grandfather always said to Uncle 'I thought you learned your lesson after The Mudblood.' And he's…you. You're him."

"I suppose I am. Amazing your grandfather didn't kill me." Corbin responded calmly.

"He would have except he couldn't leave the Manor." Cassius said calmly, reaching for more salad. "Until Draco was seven, he thought there was only one mudblood in the entire world."

Draco thought about that…everything he'd thought about mudbloods had been influenced by The Mudblood. The Mudblood had left his Uncle, therefore they were stupid with no taste. The Mudblood had had to sleep with people to get into the auror program – well, that was what his grandfather had said – therefore they were underhanded and dishonest (and not in the best Slytherin way) and couldn't really do magic.

"I didn't know you wanted to be a healer, Draco." Remus said, placing his hand on Draco's arm, startling Draco out of his reverie, "I think that's a wonderful career."

"Yeah, you can patch me up when I get hurt." Harry said, elbowing his cousin. Draco privately thought Harry had the pointiest elbows in existence, magic or otherwise.

"I'll charge you double." Draco said, fighting the urge to rub his side.

"You will not!" Harry yelled indignantly. Draco opened his mouth to yell back when Stevens spoke.

"I thought you might play Quidditch, Harry. You're really good at it."

"I thought about it. And I still have to take my NEWTs so…I could still end up playing Quidditch." Harry made a face.

"You will do fine on your NEWTs." Remus said encouragingly. "As will Draco."

"What did you want to be after graduation, Papa?" Harry asked, leaning forward to look at Remus around Draco.

"I…I really wanted to be a professor at Hogwarts." Remus said wistfully. "But that wasn't possible."

"But you got hired a few years ago." Harry pointed out.

"It took Dumbledore that long to get my name through the hiring committee."

Draco tried to control the flush that rose to his face. His father had been on the hiring committee. Draco knew his father had opposed the hiring of a werewolf.

"Well, being an auror is a fine job." Tabby said warmly. "Following in the family footsteps. James trained to be an auror, you know, Harry."

"Yeah, I know." Harry said proudly. "And Dad and Gramps and you. What did you want to be, Clara?"

"I wanted to work for the Daily Prophet. But that wasn't appropriate according to my parents, I was expected to work for the Ministry, so…that's what I did."

"Well, Stevens had a rule about dating reporters, so it all worked out." Cassius said with a grin.

"And what was the rule exactly?" Clara asked her husband, as Rowen gurgled and grabbed at Stevens's shirt.

"Can't say, there are children present." Stevens winked at Harry and Draco. Draco smiled back. He liked Stevens although Stevens was loud and Draco wasn't accustomed to people shouting and laughing loudly. He especially liked to watch his Uncle and Stevens, they were hilarious together. Draco had never laughed so much in his life as he had after coming to Windy Corner.

"Draco, good luck at school." Corbin held his hand out as everyone was saying their goodbyes.

"Thank you, Mr. Hill." Draco said, shaking his hand. "I'm sorry for saying…um…that word…I know it's bad."

"I didn't take offense. I've been called worse. I can only imagine what your Grandfather said about me."

"I'm really very sorry." Draco said, feeling words starting to fall out of his mouth again. "I didn't want to make you mad at me. Harry has so many people, and I thought maybe I could write to you when I'm at school. You remind me of…" Draco clamped his mouth shut with effort.

"Of?"

"My dad." Draco said quietly.

"All right." Corbin reached out and patted Draco's shoulder. "Owl when you get settled, then." Draco nodded, incredulous that Corbin had agreed. Corbin smiled. "No more Mr. Hill, all right? Corbin's fine."

Draco nodded. Soon all the guests were gone. Stevens had hugged Draco so tightly that Draco's back had popped. Clara had hugged him too and Rowen had slobbered onto Draco's shirt. Draco walked into the sitting room in time to see Remus sit down on the sofa.

"Papa," Draco sat down next to him, "I'm sorry about what I said at dinner."

"Oh, Draco, it's all right. I know you grew up hearing and saying that word, it's just…it's not very nice."

"I know." Draco said quietly.

"I heard you ask Corbin if you could write to him."

"Yeah."

"Could I write to you?"

"If you wanted." Draco shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

"Yes, I want to. You're my nephew. I'm going to miss you. I've enjoyed getting to know you this summer. I wish…I wish it'd been under better circumstances."

"Me too."

"I don't want you to feel like you're an outsider. You are part of this family."

"All right." Draco glanced at Remus. He slowly scooted closer and carefully looped his arm through Remus's, laying his head on Remus's shoulder. "I love you." He whispered almost silently. He knew Remus could hear him.

"I love you too, Draco."