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Chapter Seven

Christmas 1997

Christmas was in the air at Hogwarts. Decorations festooned the hallways and there were four Christmas trees in each of the corners of the Great Hall. Harry and Draco were huddled up by the fire in their room with Lilyana in Harry's arms and Bastian snuggled up with Draco. Opened presents were gathered in a pile on the bed. Harry and Draco had brought their children lots of presents. Harry and brought Lilyana new clothes which included an outfit made up of; a purple skirt that had mesh material over the top with tiny golden stars, a purple top that had a big gold star in the centre, purple jump with stars and matching tights and shoes. Draco had brought her toys including soft building blocks and a large white and blue fluffy teddy bear. For Bastian he had brought new clothes. These included an emerald green stretch n' grow with a silver dragon. Harry had brought his son toys including a monkey toys whose limbs could stick together. There were also the presents from friends and family as well.

Soon it was time for the Christmas feast so Harry and Draco strapped Lilyana and Bastian into their baby carriers and headed down to the Great Hall. The moment they entered their noses were assailed with the most delicious smells. They made their way over to the table that had been set aside for the parents and their babies and put their children in high chairs. They fed their children and then got food for themselves. Harry was just putting some turkey on his plate when Ron and Neville sat down opposite him and Draco. "Hey guys," Neville said cheerfully sitting his brown haired daughter Alixia down on his lap.

"Hey guys," Harry and Draco said. Harry glanced at the highchair that Owen and Ewen, Ron's and Neville's fraternal twins, were sitting in. "They're looking healthy," he observed.

Ron and Neville beamed. "They're growing up well," Neville agreed, "Lilyana and Bastian are too."

The four of them continued their proud parent conversation and included Hermione when she showed up with Madonna.

...

Up at the teachers table Severus had Dianthe sitting on his knees so he could feed her. Hermione and Madonna had spent the morning with them in Severus' private rooms. The awkwardness between the Gryffindor student and the Potions Master was slowly starting to fade. The two actually managed to find a lot to talk about. Of course Hermione's know-it-all attitude still grated on his nerves sometimes but not as much as it had before.

To his surprise Severus found himself drawing comparisons between Hermione Granger and Lily Potter. Hermione was smart, just like Lily had been. After watching her with her friends he noticed that she was the same unfailingly kind person that Lily had been as well.

The Potions Master was brought out of his musing by a hand on his arm.

"Are you alright Severus?" asked a concerned Professor Dumbledore.

"I'm quite alright headmaster," he assured him, "I was just thinking."

Dumbledore smiled at him the familiar friendly twinkle in his eye. Severus' lips twitched ever so slightly in reply. He then turned his attention back to his daughter.

...

Neville and Ron had eaten about as much food as they could stomach and noticed that Alixia and the twins were starting to get sleepy. They said goodbye to Harry, Draco and Hermione and headed for the privacy of their room.

Once inside Neville set Alixia down in her bassinet and tucked her under the blankets while Ron settled Owen and Ewen down for their nap. They cast charms so that they would be able to tell if the babies woke up and needed anything then went through to their sitting room.

They snuggled up on the two-person sofa near the fire. Ron pointed his wand at the grate and murmured; "lacarnum inflamare." A fire roared into life and the two teens instantly felt its warmth.

"It almost feels normal doesn't it?" Neville whispered.

Ron pulled back a bit and looked at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Neville sighed. "Cuddled up here by the fire, with our children asleep in the bedroom, it almost feels like everything is right with the world."

Ron agreed with him. With the atmosphere in the castle you'd never guess that a war was brewing outside.

...

Meanwhile in the Gryffindor common room Osiris and Orion were having a great time playing exploding snap with their friends. Romulus shook his head in disapproval and cast a silence shield around himself so he could focus on his book better. He was reading a book on Herbology as it was an area he was interested him. He especially fascinated by the dangerous and carnivorous plants as well as those that had healing properties. He spent a lot of time in the greenhouses with Neville who would teach about the plants whenever they had some time on their hands.

Osiris and Orion had rather different interests. Orion loved quidditch and was looking forward to his second year when he could try out for the team. His side of the room that he shared with Osiris was plastered with quidditch posters and the Gryffindor colours. He hoped to play quidditch for England one day.

Osiris on the other hand was very interested in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He dreamed of becoming an auror someday like his dad, Sirius. He was already doing very well in the DADA classes and knew that if he worked hard enough he could make it to the top of the class.

...

While her son was enjoying Christmas at Hogwarts Narcissa Malfoy looked around the house she had brought for herself. She'd cast every protective spell she knew around it and had also made in unplottable. She had also made the place as comfortable as possible. Some of her furniture from the Malfoy Manor was there but the rest she'd gotten from Diagon Alley. There were also photos of Draco and some of the two of them together.

Narcissa Malfoy was glad to be away from the manor. The Deatheaters had set up their headquarters there and that meant that the Dark Lord was always there. The only person Narcissa could stand was Severus. Of course she suspected that Severus wasn't as loyal as he made himself out to be but he put on a good show and he had everyone convinced. The blond haired woman smiled to herself, yes Severus was very courageous. She only hoped he could keep up the act long enough for the Dark Lord to be defeated.

AN: Sorry it's taking me so long to update. Anyway don't forget to review.