A/N: So know that I did an author note last chapter, and now I'm doing it again. I promise I'm trying not to do one every chapter! Anyhow, I'm a little hesitant about what you all will think of this chapter, so if you would all be so kind as to review my story! I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you all have to say! I love you all, and thank you to all those that have been reading this since the start!

As always, I don't own anything as it all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A Very Unexpected Visit

Hermione sat in the Hogwarts library the next day, pouring over a mountain of books. She rubbed her eyes and looked back at the page she was trying to concentrate on. The words we starting to blur on the page, and she was having trouble focusing on what she was looking for. With a sigh, she bookmarked the page and grabbed a different book from the pile. Maybe a change in books would help her concentrate.

...

...

...

"Malfoy, I need you to do this for me," Harry sighed, as they stood outside Malfoy Incorporated.

"Why can't you just do it after work? I'm sure a couple of extra hours won't kill the kid," he grumbled. "Besides, I'm not inclined to treat you to any more favors Potter. I've already outdone myself over you. My

favors side is currently under construction from doing too much to help other people. Specifically for the Scarred Savior and the rest of the bloody Golden Trio."

"You done feeling sorry for yourself?" Harry said, his face blank.

Draco narrowed his eyes, but accepted the piece of parchment and picture that the wonder boy handed him. "Who even is the kid I'm supposed to pick up?"

"My godson Teddy," Harry replied, straightening his glasses. "He's supposed to come to my house for the weekend while his grand mum is away and I was supposed to pick him up but now I have this emergency case to work on. You don't have to do much, just pick him up and take him over to the Burrow. Molly will look after him there until I get back."

"Yeah yeah I remember that part Potter," Draco muttered. "This is the last time I'm going to be your bloody messenger boy."

Harry grinned, a thoughtful look on his face. "Actually if we're being technical, I think you'd be a delivery boy today Malfoy."

Draco growled and stared at the Raven-haired boy. "Don't push your luck with me Potter."

Harry shrugged and promptly disapparated, leaving Draco outside the business looking completely disgusted. He looked down at the parchment in his hands, where a single address was written. He didn't even recognize the neighborhood. Probably muggle, he groaned inwardly. He read over the address a few more times before shoving the parchment into his robe pocket and looking at the picture that Potter had given him. The house was nice he supposed. It didn't look rather large, but it had pale blue flowers lining the front and a large tree on the left side of the house. The house itself was a light beige color, with darker browns outlining and defining different points of the house. He sighed and put the picture is his pocket next to the parchment. He absolutely hated apparating to places he'd never been before. Kids also were pretty low on his list of tolerances. Potter had some nerve. He sighed and focused on the address and the house as he felt the tug in the pit of his stomach pulling him away. He landed easily on his feet and looked at the house in front of him. It was definitely the house from the picture; it even had the blue flowers out front, that surprisingly hadn't wilted in the autumn heat. He groaned at his upcoming task as he walked slowly up to the door. He didn't even have a clue who lived here; he just knew that Potter's bloody godson apparently lived here with his grand mum because his parent had died during the war. Not looking forward to having to introduce himself, he knocked rather hesitantly on the door, halfway praying that no one would answer. So much for that, his brain reminded him as he heard footstep from inside the house and the latch on the door being unlocked. He took a breath and prepared what he would say, but the second the door opened, his words died in his throat; for the woman standing at the door looked shockingly like his own mother.

"Draco?" the woman who he now recognized as his aunt asked.

He nodded, still slightly in shock and unable to say anything. Why in Merlin's name was this happening to him? Potter, he thought with a shred of anger.

"Would you like to come in?" Andromeda asked gently, looking worriedly at the young man that stood on her doorstep.

"Thank you," Draco managed to answered, carefully walking into the house.

"We would be more comfortable in the sitting room if you would like," Andromeda offered, watching him glance uncomfortably around the small entry-way.

Draco replied with a small nod, following the older witch further into the house, which although he hated to admit, had a rather cozy feel. Andromeda led him into the small sitting room, offering him a seat on the steel blue couch situated against the far wall. In the armchair against the other wall, he took notice of a small form, huddled under a green comforter, apparently asleep. He sat down cautiously on the couch, still unsure of what to say or do.

Andromeda took a seat on the same couch, but far enough away from her nephew that he wouldn't feel so trapped and uncomfortable. She gently smiled at him, noticing how much he looked like her little sister and her brother-in-law. He had her same pale blond hair, although his was starting to get slightly darker, and his pale grey eyes looked so much like his father's but they held small slivers of blue in them.

"What can I do for you Draco?" she asked politely, folding her hands delicately in her lap. "I'm assuming you didn't quite know you'd be seeing me today did you?"

"No I didn't," Draco admitted apologetically, looking up to meet his aunt's dark brown eyes. Now that he thought about it, she didn't look an awful lot like his mother in physical appearance; but her face, her expressions, her tone, and the way she held herself…. It was like looking at his mother. Realizing he had stopped talking, he shook his head to clear his thoughts, and continued. "I didn't know that you lived here… I just came on an errand from Potter."

Andromeda smiled, her eyes lighting up. "Harry sent you? He must have wanted you to come and pick up Teddy," she said, gesturing to the sleeping form huddled in the armchair. "He just laid down for a nap… it's difficult to get him to rest, otherwise I would wake him." she said with a small smile.

"I take it that Potter normally comes then?" Draco said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yes. Either him or Hermione usually come," Andromeda answered. "Do you know Miss Granger? She must have been in your year. She seems to be your age."

"Oh I know her," Draco said, averting his eyes and staring at the carpet.

Andromeda's expression hardened slightly seeing her nephew's complete discomfort and slight disgust. It was obvious that he didn't like the brilliant witch, and it was probably because of her heritage. I hope my family's awful purist ideas haven't poisoned him beyond return, she thought with disgust. Her family was known for being awful towards anyone who they believed didn't have 'pure' blood. She mentally reprimanded herself and reminded her over-active brain to not judge the young man in front of her too harshly. He'd grown up in molded living situations however; she couldn't blame him for what he believed considering what purebloods forced down their poor children's throats. She took a small breath and her gaze softened back to what it had been before.

"They usually come to pick up Teddy, but I'm assuming that since you're here in their place, life has gotten quite busy for them again," she said, hoping that her silence hadn't made her nephew think badly of her.

"Potter had some emergency Auror thing come up," Draco responded, without really looking up from the floor. "And Granger was going to be over at Hogwarts all day working on something; and Weasley was going with Potter so I was sort of the last resort."

Andromeda nodded, knowing perfectly how busy her grandson's godfather and his friends got. Her own daughter had been the same way.

"I'd rather not wake Teddy right now if you don't mind," she continued.

"No that's perfectly understandable," Draco said, raising his eyes to look back at the sleeping boy huddled under the blanket.

"Would you mind if we just talked?" Andromeda asked hesitantly, her worry increasing as Draco's head turned sharply towards her, his grey eyes full of shock. "We don't have to if you don't want to… I just would like to get to know you a little better," she finished with a small smile, hoping in her heart that he would agree.

Draco sat shocked, wondering why this woman that he had never seen before in his life would want to get to know him. Yes, he was her nephew, but he was nowhere near someone she would want to get to know. However, he felt like he owed it to her for some odd reason; and since the boy he was supposed to take back to the Burrow was sleeping, he figured a few questions wouldn't really hurt.

He turned back to his aunt, who was looking at him somewhat hopefully, but also worried. He nodded and gave her a small smile. She beamed back at him, her eyes twinkling in the way that he remembered his mother's had before things had gotten so dark and despicable.

"So I'm assuming that if you know Harry, you must have attended Hogwarts," she said.

Draco nodded, some of the tension releasing at hearing her question. So far, they were staying on safe ground. Well… as safe as any discussion of his life could be.

"Slytherin?" she asked, a small smirk on her face.

"Yes," he responded, the corners of his lips turning upwards.

"I guessed right then," Andromeda replied, looking satisfied with her answer. "Cissa and I used to make games of guessing what our children would look like and what houses they would be sorted into. I guessed that her children would be sorted into Slytherin." She laughed, a thoughtful look on her face. "I suppose it was rather unfair of me to play like that, seeing as she was quite younger and didn't know yet that almost all of our family has been sorted into Slytherin, dating back centuries. It was still fun though. And she guessed Dora's house right even if she was just joking."

"Who is Dora?" Draco asked, feeling rather idiotic.

"Nymphadora is her full name," Andromeda replied, her heart pinching as she thought about her daughter. "Your mother guessed she would be in Hufflepuff and she was right. Nymphadora was indeed a Hufflepuff, and she went on to work as an Auror and become a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Draco nodded, suddenly remembering hearing that name tied to Mad Eye Moody's quite often. Also later on it had been linked to his old DADA professor. They must have tied the knot, he rationed as he looked over to the boy in the chair.

"Anyways, enough about me," Andromeda said, cutting into his thoughts. "I want to hear more about you. Did you like being in Slytherin?"

"Yes," Draco admitted, his smile growing slightly bigger as he thought about his joy when he'd been sorted. He'd felt so proud to be in the same house as so many of his ancestors; including his own parents. "I loved it. I felt like I had a home there at Hogwarts. I already knew most of the other Slytherin students, and we had lots of fun. I played on the quidditch team too," he said suddenly, unsure of why he had decided to add that.

"Really?" Andromeda said, surprise lacing her tone. Narcissa had never wanted her children to do something so dangerous. She'd made that decision after they had watched their cousins Sirius and Regulus Black fall from their brooms and get quite beaten up during a rather brutal family game. "What position did you play?" she asked, her interest growing as her nephew answered her questions.

"Seeker," he replied almost immediately. "The best position on the team. I made it on in my second year, although looking back, I'm not sure if I was actually good enough to make it on. I just wanted to beat Potter at everything he did. He was Seeker for Gryffindor, so it only made sense that I be the Slytherin one. I heard that they needed one at the beginning of second year, and so my father bought the whole team Nimbus 2001s and I made it on," he said, his brow furrowing a bit at the memory. That's probably when a grand majority of the Slytherins and everyone else had started hating him; you can't just buy your way into whatever you want.

"That sounds amazing," Andromeda smiled, watching him talk about quidditch. He was so animated when he talked about it. It made her happy to see him find something that wasn't pureblood related to occupy his time. "I always enjoyed going to the quidditch matches when I attended Hogwarts," she said. "Of course I'm sure the teams are much better now, what with all the new brooms."

Draco nodded, wondering if his aunt was actually interested or if she was just being polite.

"What are you up to now?" Andromeda continued. Draco released the breath he had been holding, glad that they were moving away from Hogwarts. Before he could respond, Andromeda gasped quietly. "Oh sweet Merlin! Where are my manners? Are you hungry; or would you like some tea or something else? I can't believe I didn't ask you that earlier…"

"It's alright," Draco reassured her. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" Andromeda asked, worry lining her face. "It's not any trouble if you want something."

"I promise I'm alright," Draco replied, smiling at the older witch.

"Alright," she consented, the worry from her face leaving. "What did I ask you?"

"About what I'm up to now," Draco reminded her, shifting in his seat and resting his left leg over his right.

"Right," Andromeda said with a nod. "Sorry I interrupted. Go ahead."

"You didn't interrupt," Draco said, glancing at his aunt. "It's really not anything that interesting anyways. I uh, sort of invented my own business. It deals with making specific potions for things, with a little bit of alchemy thrown in.. Nothing super fancy."

"Do you get to travel much?" Andromeda asked, her interest piqued. "Since it is an international department."

"I do get to travel every so often," Draco said with a smile. "It's rather interesting to see all the different magical communities and the different things they do, and how their societies work."

"What's your favorite place that you've been?" she asked, her eyes full of excitement.

Draco paused to think for a minute. "Probably America," he finally decided. "They're just so different. They're more relaxed and laid back, but everything is still just as crazy and chaotic as here. They have a society that's somewhat similar to ours, but at the same time, they have their own unique way of doing things. Like they don't have fireplaces to floo to and from," he explained.

"They don't use fireplaces?" Andromeda asked, her head tilted slightly to the right.

Just like mother, he noted. "No they don't," he said, shaking his head in amazement. "They use doormats. Like the 'Welcome' ones that people put outside their front doors. It's weird. They just stand on the mats, and 'tap their heels three times' or something like that, and then they wind up on someone else's doormat. I think the heel thing comes from some old muggle movie," he added.

"It does," Andromeda said with a laugh. "The Wizard of Oz… Dorothy needed to wear special shoes and to get home, she only had to tap her heels together three times and she'd get there. I guess they took their inspiration from muggles. Except they don't call them muggles there do they?" She asked, looking over at Draco.

"No," Draco replied. "They call them No-Majs. Like no magic I guess. It's a lot more difficult to say than muggle in my opinion."

"It is," Andromeda agreed.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Draco thought of something. "I have a question for you now," he said, looking over at his aunt.

"Sure," she said with a pleasant smile. "Go for it."

"How did you know it was me that was on your doorstep? And how did you know my name? I haven't met you before in my life," he finished, staring at her with his pale eyes.

Andromeda sighed. "That's not entirely true," she said quietly. "I met you when you were just a baby. And it was only for a day."

"How is that possible?" Draco asked, his mind whirling. "As far as I recall, you were disowned and our family was told to never speak to you again."

"That's all correct," Andromeda said, her brown eyes full of sadness. "Mother couldn't stand the thought of one of her 'pure children' being with someone so common as a muggle. So, I was disowned, and isolated from the rest of the family. But Narcissa and I were always close," she said with a sad smile. "She only distanced herself from me because she didn't want the same thing to happen to her. Your mother was the youngest and our mother's favorite child; she didn't want to lose the rest of her family, so she did exactly what they wanted her to, and she didn't speak to me anymore. I read about your parent's wedding in the paper; she never even told me she was engaged, though I figured she was bound to be eventually. A few years after her marriage to your father, she became pregnant with you," she said, smiling at Draco. "She was so thrilled, and so absolutely terrified. Weeks after you were born, your father went on a… trip," she said, avoiding Draco's eyes.

Draco, for his own part, flinched and knew what she must be referring to: his father's activity with the Death Eaters. "Anyways, with your father gone, she got up the courage to invite me over to see her and you for the day. I was over the moon that I'd even gotten mail from her… it's desperately hard to be separated from your family for so long. I loved my husband and daughter more than anything in this world, but I missed my sister's dearly. So Ted took the day off of work to stay with Dora so I could go and see Cissa for the day. It was one of the best days of my life," she admitted. "Your mother was overjoyed to see me again, and I had a wonderful day catching up with her, and meeting you. We talked about our separate families and what had been happening. Your mother confided her worries about your father's involvement in the Death Eaters… and her fears about how that would affect you and your life."

Draco paled considerably at this statement. He'd always known that his mother hadn't ever been comfortable with the Death Eaters and everything that came with that package, but she was so desperately loyal to his father and to him, that she would do anything to keep them together and happy; even if it was something that she didn't agree to. She'd been his worst fear when he'd failed the Dark Lord in his task; the Dark Lord had threatened to kill his whole family if he failed. Leaving the Astronomy Tower that night after not completing his task had been the second worst night of his life. Second only to the night he'd made the fateful decision to join the Death Eaters to make up for his father's mistakes. That night, he'd truly feared for his life, and for the life of his mother, who only ever wanted her family to be together and to be happy. And at that moment, he thought he knew for sure that because of him, that life would be ruined, and stripped from their family forever. He took a shaky breath, and turned back to his aunt, who had stopped talking and was just sitting and looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he started, looking towards the door, knowing that she would kick him out. His mother had always told him how against pureblood ideology her sister was; being a Death Eater was about as bad as a pureblood could go.

"I'm not going to kick you out of my house Draco," Andromeda said softly.

"But I'm one of those… things," he said, training his eyes on the laces of his dress shoes.

Andromeda was silent for a moment, and Draco thought for sure that she had changed her mind about wanting him in her house. But then she spoke.

"I never did agree with the chauvinistic ideals that the rest of my family held," she whispered. "I believed that they made someone hollow inside…. Having no emotion or feeling towards people that they believed were less than them just because of their heritage. People are people; it doesn't matter how 'pure' your blood is. Many muggles, muggle-borns, and half bloods are much better people than most purebloods could ever dream of being. I hated how awful my family was about it; what lengths they took to try and protect us from the muddy witches and wizards of the world who didn't live up to their high and mighty standards. I hated my parents for that, and for a long time after my banishment from the family, I hated my sisters too. I understood finally that they were just doing the only thing they knew how to do, and they were just trying to do what we had always been taught. I didn't really surprise me when Bella joined," she said with a bitter laugh. "She always wanted to be the best of us; trying to impress our parents. She married a high-standing pureblood boy because that's what she was supposed to do. She wanted our parents to see what a good little pureblood child she was. Narcissa was still their favorite though," she said, her voice somewhat hollow. "It didn't matter what Bellatrix did; Cissa always won, even if she didn't try. Bella was desperate to outdo your mother; so she joined the Death Eaters. The biggest 'pureblood' group out there. She thought for sure that would make our parents love her more. Then, at her next meeting, she met your father who had been a member for much longer and was Voldemort's right hand man," she paused as Draco flinched at the use of the Dark Lord's name. She waited for a moment and then continued.

"Bella was furious that again, Cissa had 'beaten' her. She couldn't stand the thought of her younger sister being better than her. So she started out doing herself; becoming the crazed psychopath that everyone knew and feared. And that's what she realized she wanted. People to fear her. It eventually killed her… But she'd taken so many lives that the world felt it was a great victory."

"What about you?" Draco asked quietly. "How do you feel about her death?"

"I'm still not sure," Andromeda admitted. "Sometimes I'm glad that someone was able to rid the world of her cruelty… And other times I remember my older sister who I used to look up to… But it's hard to know how to feel. She killed my daughter you know?" She asked, looking sideways at him.

Draco paled again-even though he was unsure if it was possible to pale more than he already had-and his stomach was considering giving him back the breakfast he had eaten.

"Why would she do that?" He managed to choke out.

Andromeda laughed bitterly. "She didn't ever recognize my daughter as her niece because she wasn't a pureblood. Bella just wanted to rid the world of anything not pure…. And Dora was a complete abomination in her eyes because I was a pureblood and had decided to marry a muggle."

"I'm…. I'm so sorry…" Draco said for the third time that week; second time that day. He really didn't like apologizing and here he was doing it again.

"It's all in the past now," Andromeda said, giving him a reassuring smile. "All we can do is move forward and live our lives to the best of our abilities." Her attention was torn away as Teddy started to stir, his teal colored hair just visible beneath the blanket.

"How was your nap Teddy?" Andromeda smiled, walking over to the armchair.

"Good," the boy smiled with a yawn. "When is Uncle Harry coming over?"

"Uncle Harry is busy today," Andromeda explained. "You're going to go over to the Burrow to wait for him okay?"

"Okay," Teddy replied, his eyes showing his excitement. It was then that he noticed Draco sitting on the couch. "Who's dat?" He asked, turning back to Andromeda.

"That's your cousin Draco," Andromeda said, glancing over at the blond sitting stock still on the couch. "He's my sister's son. Draco is going to take you over to the Burrow today alright? Why don't you go pick out some toys to take with you," she finished, giving the little boy a hug. Teddy ran off, his little feet slapping against the wooden floors as he ran.

"Are you staying at the Burrow?" Andromeda asked, her attention turned back towards her nephew who was looking even more uncomfortable now than he had been before.

"No I'm not," Draco responded, his eyes still trained on the empty hallway the strange little boy had disappeared down. "I think the Weasley girl will be there though, with her mother."

Andromeda nodded, looking thoughtful. Her nephew was obviously uncomfortable around these people; which seemed odd since he said he was working with Harry and those were all people Harry mingled with.

Teddy ran back into the room, his overnight bag and toy bag clutched in his arms. Andromeda laughed as she saw Draco's shocked expression at seeing Teddy, who's hair was now a brilliant shade of purple.

"Wasn't his hair just blue?" he asked, glancing back and forth between her and Teddy.

"Yes it was," Andromeda laughed. "That's the color he likes best, but it changes every so often."

"It changes?" Draco asked, utterly confused.

"He's part Metamorphmagus. Dora was one," Andromeda explained. "He can change his appearance at will, but he doesn't ever change anything but his hair."

"My hair is purple!" Teddy pronounced, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I can make it green too," he added, and Draco watched as Teddy's hair morphed from the deep purple to a grassy-green color.

"Ta-da!" The boy announced, looking very proud of himself. "Look what I did, look what I did!" he said, hopping excitedly up and down in front of Andromeda.

"Look at you!" she praised, running her fingers through his now green hair. "You're getting so good at that!"

"I've been practicing," Teddy whispered, winking at her before turning and opening his bag so he could put his blanket in.

"Thanks for taking him over to the Burrow," Andromeda said looking at Draco while she helped Teddy zip his bag back up.

"Sure," Draco replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "It's not a big deal."

"Well thank you anyways," she said as she walked Draco and Teddy to the door. "I enjoyed talking with you as well Draco. It was nice getting to know you a little better."

"I enjoyed it too actually," Draco said, stiffening slightly as Teddy grabbed his hand.

"Bye Teddy," Andromeda smiled, waving at her grandson who was waving back. "Be good for Molly now alright? And for Uncle Harry."

"I promise!" Teddy beamed, tugging Draco towards the sidewalk.

Draco smiled to himself as he let the overactive child pull him along the sidewalk. Teddy didn't seem so bad; sure the hair thing was odd and rather frightening, but he seemed sweet and an all-around good kid.

"Are we gonna app-paparate to da Burrow?" Teddy asked him, his eyes hopeful.

"Yeah," Draco answered. "We've got to Apparate. It's a bit too far to walk."

"Yay!" Teddy cried, letting go of Draco's hand so we could pump his little fists in the air. "I love app-paparating! We gonna see Uncle Harry soon? He promised he would play quidditch with me," Teddy claimed, walking happily down the sidewalk.

"Um…" Draco said, unsure of how to respond. He wasn't sure when Potter was going to be back, and he wasn't good with kids at all… how was he supposed to answer that question? "Your uncle will be at the Burrow soon," he finally decided. "Then I'm sure he'd be happy to play quidditch with you."

Teddy seemed satisfied with this answer, and he smiled holding up his arms to be picked up. Draco inwardly groaned and bent down to pick up the toddler. Teddy's little hands grasped at his robes and he looked excited. "We gonna app-paparate now?"

Draco nodded and Teddy closed his eyes tightly. Draco sighed and promptly apparated to the Burrow.

"Molly!" Teddy exclaimed as they landed in front of the Burrow.

Mrs. Weasley looked up and saw who it was that had called her name. "Teddy dear!" she said, dropping her gardening tools; giving the now blue haired again toddler a tight hug. "How are you doing dear?" she asked, wiping a smudge of dirt from his face.

"I do great!" Teddy said. "I even packed my own bag see?" he proclaimed, proudly showing her his overnight bag.

"Wow! Look at you," Mrs. Weasley beamed. "You did that all yourself?"

Teddy nodded enthusiastically, looking behind her and breaking into a run as he saw Ginny in the doorway.

"Auntie Ginny!" He cried, jumping into her outstretched arms. "I packed my own bag this time!"

"You did?" Ginny asked, giving him a tight squeeze. "I'm so proud of you! Did you bring your quidditch toys?"

"I did!" Teddy said excitedly, jumping out of her embrace and running over to his toy bag. "I brought boths of my teams! Uncle Harry play with me nows?"

"Uncle Harry isn't back yet," Ginny said apologetically.

"You play quidditch with me?" Teddy asked hopefully. "You can plays with da team dat you want to."

"Alright," Ginny said with a laugh. "Let's go inside and we can play with your toys okay?"

"'Kay!" Teddy responded, picking up his bags and bolting into the house; Ginny following closely behind him.

"Did you want to come in?" Molly asked, turning back towards Draco.

"No thank you," he replied rather stiffly. "I have work to do. I just had to make sure the kid made it here safely."

Molly nodded and watched as he disapparated. That poor boy, she thought to herself as she turned back to her gardening. Maybe things will change for him.

A/N: Alrighty! Please read and review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. :) I really enjoyed writing it and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it.