Here's the latest chapter that had already been prepared for this story. While I have decided to abandon it as mentioned in the previous chapter, I have managed to write another chapter. Depending on the response I receive from this chapter, I will decide whether or not I should continue posting the story here.

With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!


Winter 2000

Fred and George lounged in the Gryffindor common room with their best friend Lee Jordan. It was mid November and it was dreadfully dull evening. The twins had recently started exchanging letters with Holly (even more so than they usually did before the start of second year), especially since she had gotten her very own owl as a birthday present from her Uncle Severus aka Youngest Potions Master Ever aka Dungeon Bat aka Most Terrifying Professor Hogwarts Has Ever Had.

A pretty snowy owl named Hedwig fluttered away into the night sky with a letter tied to her leg. Pierre Endormie, Holly's runespoor, was spending majority of the cold months asleep underneath Holly's bed where the elves had set up heating charms to comfort the bad-tempered snake. The snake was now almost 2 and a half feet long, despite only being in the family for about six months..

Holly was wondering how fast snakes (especially her runespoor) matured and wanted to do more research but such books were not available in the Potter Library. She was trying to charm Sirius into allowing her unrestricted access to the Black Library before Christmas break.

Fred and George had wanted to get Holly a book on magical snakes for Christmas but that was quite impossible (at the moment, they'll succeed and open their very own joke shop. They just had to check out Zonko's first - scope out the competition) considering they didn't even know where they could get it, not to mention that they weren't quite sure if they could even afford such a rare and possibly expensive book.

Sure, things were better once Mum had started working at the Wizarding Primary School that Holly still attended. It didn't mean that the Weasleys were rolling in the galleons.

Lee was lazing in front of the fireplace, he had always been weak to the cold. He had a book propped open on his lap which he pretended to read while he kept an eye out on his best friends. The three of them had been fast friends the moment they had shared the same train compartment back in their first year.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Lee asked and smirked at the reddening faces of his best friends. It was hard to catch the both of them unawares, they always seemed so sure of themselves. He had seen their soulmate marks, shared showers would do that. Lee's own mark hugged his ankle in warm embrace.

"We're not"

"Quite sure"
"If it's really"

"Her but we're"

"Hopeful."

Lee could have sworn that the twins were swooning over the imagined figure of their mysterious girl - that they had yet to share the name of, they had that dazed look in their eyes and sappy smiles on their face as they stared into space. It was rare to find your soulmates in the same year you got your marks, but apparently, the twins were sure of their mate even before she had even gotten hers.

That only happened if the wizards were exceptionally powerful. Because their magic would be searching for each other and would connect even before the soulmarks appeared. Of course it was based on the pure luck (or most romantics would call it Fate) that you would meet your soulmate in your childhood years, most if not majority of wizards and witches don't meet their soulmates until well into adulthood.

It didn't really matter even if they did because the Magical Community was a long living one where wizards entered their prime in their forties and died of old age at almost two hundred years old. The Weasley parents - even though they had attended Hogwarts around the same time, had only got together in their thirties and had their first child soon after, even then the Weasley parents were already considered young.

The Potters were an even younger family considering Lord and Lady Potter got married right after school and had their daughter when they were only twenty. The Potters were a popular family that hardly left the sights of the Prophet. Especially after they managed to trap and vanquish the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Lord James Potter quickly rose in the ranks to become the youngest Head Auror promoted in History for his valiant efforts in the war. Lily Potter established the first Wizarding Primary School in Britain. Even their ever-elusive daughter who had yet to be caught by the reporters for an interview was rumored to be a genius with beauty beyond imagination.

So far the Prophet had only been able to catch blurry images of the Potter Heiress, and only had one clear photograph of her when she had been spotted in the Ministry, even then she was half covered as she stood between her father and godfather as they made their way through the Ministry. Apparently, Holly Potter was to be legally declared as the Black Heiress as well as her current title as Potter Heiress.

Never had there been such a politically powerful family as the Potters in the recent history of Wizarding Britain. Lord Sirius Black of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, joining families with Lord James Potter of the Ancient House of Potter, through Holly Potter-Black and her god brother Neville Longbottom thus including Lord Frank Longbottom of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom.

Even the The Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy were connected to them through Narcissa Black's marriage to Lucius Malfoy. It didn't hurt for all of them to have such prestigious and powerful jobs in the Community. There had even been rumours that the previous Dark Lord had been a descendant of the Slytherin line.

Everyone knew that Parselmouths were only born from the Slytherin line. Lee tossed a crumpled piece of parchment to the twins in front of him. "So? Are you two ever going to stop mooning over her or are you finally going to tell me about your other half or not?"

"She's beautiful." Twin One sighed, Lee suspected it was Fred. "She's brilliant." George followed and the twins sighed, which Lee could deduce from imagining their soulmate's face. It had been awkward seeing that the Weasley Twins had the exact same soulmate mark positioned on mirror opposite hips.

Lee had only taken a moment to let the thought sink in before shrugging. The twins did everything together that everyone in Hogwarts knew that they were nigh inseparable. It didn't matter if they had the same soulmate. He doubted that there were two people in the world who would be able to put up with the twins at any given time.

The three friends spent the rest of the evening discussing the mysterious soulmate that the twins still wouldn't name. It felt like an entirely novel experience to hear the Twins talking about their other half.

And by December, Lee was sick of it.

The twins would take turns to swear everlasting love to their significant other or compete who could serenade her with the cheesiest poems. Lee must have heard a hundred different ways of describing dark hair and bright green eyes he would have written a thesaurus if he truly wanted to.

When Lee finally got the courage to ask the twins to ease of on their love sick ramblings, the twins had only looked at each other before cracking up in deep bellied laughs.

"We were just"

"Messing with you"

"No harm"

"No foul"

"Your face though"

"Everytime we started talking"

"About our flower bud"

"Was hilarious"

"We even bet"
"When you would cave"
"And ask us to stop"

"So you've been driving the entire Gryffindor common room barmy because you like to see me uncomfortable?" Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much"
"Yeap"

"Pay up Forge"

"No you pay up Gred."

Lee really wanted to smack the grins off their twin faces as the twins playfully jostled each other. Rolling his eyes, he settle with casting a whispered Jelly-Legs Jinx on his best friends while they were still preening over a prank well done and collecting on their probably non-existent bet.

Hearing the muffled shouting as the twins tripped over their own legs, Lee let out his own laugh. "What is going on here?" A voice broke the laughter and Lee turned and slammed nose first into someone's chest. It wasn't that Lee was short, standing at 5'2 he was about average in height for his age group. The twins were 5'3 and seemed to grow every month.

Craning his head up only to see the pinched features of Percy Weasley. The third son was frowning at the image of his twin brothers lying on the floor, unable to control their legs and get up. "Oh, hello Percy." Lee greeted with a nervous smile.

Percy was only a fourth year but he was such a suck up to the professors and a stickler for the rules that he was sure to be a prefect in the next school year. Fred and George casted the counter-jinx on each other before getting up on still wobbly legs. Patting the dirt off their robes, the twins only grinned at their elder brother.

"Nothing much"

"Perfect Percy"

"Or maybe"

"We should be"

"Calling you"

"Prefect Percy"

"Perfect Prefect Percy"

"Jolly good"

"Good Jolly"

"Is that a"

"A snogging couple"

"You better go"

"Tell them off"

"While we"

"Gotta go!"

And hooking their arms around Lee, the three of them rushed towards the staircase leading to the dorms, ignoring the shouts of their brother as he called after them. Obviously, there wasn't a snogging couple out and about where Percy of all people would catch them.

"How many brothers do you even have?" Lee asked as they entered their dorm room that they shared with the other second-year Gryffindors. Lee only knew of their eldest brother Bill who had recently taken up an apprenticeship in warding with Gringotts, the wizarding bank. As well as Percy, obviously. The pompous berk.

Charlie had graduated the year before the twins enrolled and Percy was their only elder sibling still in school. The three settled into their separate beds, their roommates nowhere to be found.

"Next year, Ronnie's gonna join us." Fred said as he flopped onto his bed. "You already know Bill," George piped up from his bed, Lee only nodded in acknowledgement. "The one working with Gringotts right?" Lee asked with curiosity. "Yeah, that's the one."

"I can't imagine your mum liking that very much. I know my mum would have thrown a fit if I wanted to take up Curse Breaking." Lee shrugged as he leaned back into his pillows. He watched as one of the twins started to strip off his robes.

"Mum's still mad at Bill,"
"But she went absolutely ballistic"
"When our second brother,"
"Charlie, took a job"
"All the way in"
"Romania at a"
"Dragon reservation"

"He's a dragon handler? Wicked." Lee leaned forwards in excitement. The other twin had loosened his tie and also began to take off his school robes. Lee joined them in getting undressed for the night, leaning over his bed to his trunk, he felt around for his sleep clothes.

"Mum threw a right fit"

"When Charlie said"

"He'd be moving to"

"Romania of all"

"Places in the"

"World since"

"Britain has its"

"Own reserve"

"Well that's"

"All our brothers"

"And our youngest is Ginny."

"She's three years younger than us." They ended in unison, stripped to only their pants and socks, the twins were looking for warm jumpers to keep out the winter cold.

They found a Weasley sweater in a questionable shade of pink that their mother had sent them, (It was after they had shared the pink glitter fiasco with her during dinner) and exchanged sweaters. It didn't matter if their sweaters didn't have the letters of their names on them. It was much more fun to confuse the masses when they bothered to ask.

"Ginny's the only girl born to the Weasleys in like, three generations right?" Lee asked, pulling on a warm striped jumper his mother had forced him to pack before leaving for Hogwarts in his second year.

"Right-o"

"She's a little shy but"

"Fierce temper"
"That one does"

"Just like mum"

Ginny was a year younger than Holly but the Twins could see the hero worship that the youngest Weasley held for the Potter Heir. Whenever Holly had her hair up, Ginny would follow soon after the moment she caught a glimpse of the older girl.

While the Weasley family couldn't afford the expensive clothes that other Purebloods tend to favor, Holly never wore anything that was too elaborate and Ginny would request clothes that were similar to whatever Holly had been wearing recently whenever it was time for their mother to go clothes shopping for the family.

Sometimes, the twins would catch Ginny studying in her room, muttering about catching up to someone under her breath. One time they had even caught her trying to hiss at a harmless garden snake that was passing through.

Of course, the snake had ignored the little red-haired girl and Ginny had pouted in frustration.

The twins thought that it was hilarious and had pointed it out to Holly, to their surprise, Holly had blushed and excused herself.

Holly was seen paying more attention to Ginny whenever they met each other outside of classes in the Primary School. For Ginny's birthday, Holly had gifted her with a pair of earrings that had matched her own, only Ginny's were rubies while Holly's were emeralds.

"Being the only girl must be tough." Lee mused out loud. Fred and George could only shrug, being the middle children had entirely different feelings so they wouldn't know how Ginny felt. "We wouldn't know." they replied nonchalantly.

X

The twins would be returning home to the Burrow for Christmas and they couldn't wait.

They had Holly's present sll wrapped up as they made their way to the Owlery to borrow a school owl so that Holly could receive on Christmas morning.

Their mum had decreed that while Holly could potentially be their soulmate, until her own mark appears on her skin, the twins would continue to spend Christmas at the Burrow. If they really wanted to spend some time with the younger girl, they were welcome to visit her on Boxing Day.

The twins had grumbled but agreed, they didn't have much of a choice now did they? So they tied the letter that they had written together and attached the present to the owl's leg. Fred fed it some scrap pieces of chicken they had saved from dinner while George secured the present properly.

Watching the barn owl fly away in the snow filled sky, the twins continued to watch it until it disappeared into the night sky. Unfurling the Marauder's map, George whispered "We solemnly swear we're up to no good." and the blank parchment bled ink until a map of the school appeared.

They had planned to show Holly the map during the summer, but then Pierre decided sleeping between two bodies was more comfortable than just sleeping wrapped around Holly. Then they had been busy trying to convince Holly to go along with the Birthday Ball.

After the ball and Holly's collapse, the twins had been too concerned with her health and forgot about the map altogether.

Checking that the coast was clear, the twins crept their way back to Gryffindor's common room without bumping into any of the patrolling teachers or prefects. They managed to sneak past the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was fast asleep, by whispering the password and rushing in before she could see their faces.

Settling into their beds, Fred and George could only smile contentedly. Holly would get her Christmas present in two days. They didn't know if she would love it but they had spent the better part of the week preparing it.

Lee woke up to the twins shuffling in bed and cracked an eye open, his curtains were closed but he knew the tell tale sound of someone getting in comfortable under the sheets. Deciding to ignore his best friends, Lee turned to his side and drifted back to sleep. They would be going home tomorrow and a long train ride awaited them.

It wasn't information that was widely known but Lee was inexplicably grumpy if he didn't get enough sleep the night before. Lee needed a solid 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep before he was ready to face another day.

The twins froze when they heard Lee shuffling on his bed and held their breaths. A grumpy Lee was terrible, tantamount to chaos from the grouchy Gryffindor. A sleep-deprived Lee was more likely to jinx first and ask questions later.

Drawing their curtains except for the ones facing each other, Fred and George fell asleep with smiles on their faces and thoughts of a happy dark-haired, green-eyed angel in their minds.

X

It was Christmas morning and Holly Potter was creeping around the manor in only a fluffy night robe to keep herself warm and a grumpy Pierre Endormie wrapped around her waist. The snake had been asleep for a week straight when Holly had rudely awakened him for 'holiday festivities'. Which was stupid because snakes didn't celebrate Walker holidays.

But their speaker had pleaded with great green eyes and Pierre Endormie couldn't find it in himself to deny her. So the great snake, greatest of all snakes living in Potter Manor (the only snake so there was no competition really) and Holly were sneaking to her parent's room so that she could surprise them awake.

Hushing her hissing snake, Holly slowly turned the knob of the door and winced at the loud creak it caused. The snake hissed angrily at the loud sound and Holly was forced to whisper soothing hisses to calm him. Reminder to Bobbidi to make sure none of the doors creak anymore.

"Merry Christmas!" Holly yelled as she leapt onto the bed and started to bounce on the firm mattress. James and Lily awoke with a gasp and Lily tried her best to immediately pull the blanket to cover her bare chest.

"Holly! Baby!" James exclaimed, desperately trying to make sure that Holly's jumping wouldn't accidentally pull the blankets off and exposing his bits to his precious daughter. She didn't need to ask any kind of awkward questions on Christmas morning thank you very much.

"Morning Daddy. Morning Mummy." Holly greeted with a wide grin, wild dark hair a mess on her head from her jumping. "Honey, why are you up so early?" Lily asked, casting a silent tempus and it wasn't even eight am. Holly never woke before nine on a holiday.

"It's Christmas!" Holly repeated as she started to bounce on her heels on the bed. James and Lily scrambled to make sure that their bodies were covered from their daughter's eyes. "Well sweetie, why don't you go wake up Sirius and Remus, hmm?" James suggested with a tense smile.

Holly finally took a moment to really look at her parents. Hmm. Maybe she should go wake up her dogfather. Pierre's laughter could be heard from under her robes and a single head popped out from her collar.

"They were mating."

"We should not disturb them."
"Are they making more nestlings?"

"Come Holly, let's leave"

"We should greet the canine smelling men"

"Do you think the new nestling will be a speaker as well?"

"What do you mean mating?" Holly asked abruptly stopping the snake from continuing its conversation with itself as she looked at Pierre's head around her collar. The other two heads were peeking out from under her robe to sneak a look at her parents.

Holly of course knew where babies came from but she didn't think her parents had planned to have another child. They would have discussed it with her first right? Holly quite liked being the only child.

"You should ask them youngling"

"Walkers do not mate only to produce nestlings"

"I heard walkers mate for pleasure"

"So Mummy and Daddy were playing in bed?" Holly eyed her parents who were trying to cover more of their bodies with the blanket that Holly kept unintentionally pulling.

"Were you guys playing in bed?" Holly asked with her head cocked to the side as she observed her parents. Lily blushed a furious shade of red at her daughter's words. The only visible head of her daughter's runespoor hissing in laughter.

"Of course not-" Lily started only to be interrupted by James. "Oh no, you caught us sweet pea. Dang it." James rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. Holly and Lily both frowned at James.

"That's not fair, you don't let me play with Neville past bedtime!" Holly exclaimed with a pout. Of course her parents were just playing and not actually making her a sibling. Holly already had Neville, she didn't need another sibling, thank you very much.

James could only choke on his own saliva as Lily groaned, his face turning a bright red at the thought of his precious only child doing anything remotely sexual with anybody. Rubbing the bridge of her nose with her free hand, "It's not the same kind of play sweetie." Sighing in resignation, Lily gave her daughter a sincere smile. "Why don't you go wake up your Paddy and Uncle Remy, honey."

Holly clambered down the bed and accidentally pulled the blanket under her feet and James scrambled to cover himself before his daughter caught him starkers. "Is Uncle Sev already here?" Holly asked with an innocent smile. Staring at a scrambling James who was desperately tugging at the blanket that Holly was pulling, Lily could only laugh.

"He should be in the potions lab." Holly grinned and turned to exit the bedroom. "See you at breakfast!" their daughter called out as she shut the door behind her. Lily sighed in relief, finally the danger was over. James laid back down and pulled his wife to lay on his chest.

Lily smiled and kissed her soulmate mark that was printed in bright green and hazel on James's chest, right above his heart. It was a beautiful green Calla Lily that had a silhouette of Prong's great antlers sprouting from the side in light hazel brown. "That surprised me." James deep voice seemed to rumble. "We should remember to lock the door from now on." Lily hummed as she continued to kiss the mark, smirking as her husband groaned at the sensation.

"If you don't stop we'll be late for breakfast." James growled, one hand cradling the back of his wife's head not letting her lift her head. "Severus is probably elbow deep in a potion right now and Sirius is a nightmare to wake up." Lily whispered, gazing at her husband with bright eyes. "I think we have the time."

James could only feel himself be consumed by Lily's teasing smirk and sweet lips before his mind blanked out.

X

It was almost an hour later before James and Lily finally emerged from their room, refreshed and properly dressed in comfortable muggle clothes. Lily was sporting a turtle neck and James a proud smirk. Sirius raised an eyebrow at his best friend's 'I-just-got-laid' face.

"Playing after bedtime, eh?" Sirius grinned lasciviously. Remus snickered from behind his hand. Walking towards the small dining room the two of them laughed when both James and Lily's faces turned bright red. The house elf opened the door for them and they were greeted with Holly who was seated with a smirking Severus at her side.

"Merry Christmas." The dour man greeted. James guided his wife towards the head of the table and patted Severus on the shoulder. "Merry Christmas Snivellus." James greeted with a smile. The malicious childhood nickname now a fond nickname of their albeit tentative at first friendship.

"Mummy, will we be visiting Aunt Alice and Uncle Frank and Nev later?" Holly asked while spooning a mouthful of her favourite cereal. "We'll meet the Longbottoms for Christmas dinner sweetie. We have lunch with the Malfoys today." Lily answered with a smile.

"So I'm meeting Draco?" Holly asked, they hadn't planned to meet the Malfoy family today, Draco would have chattered about it if they did. "You'll be meeting with the remaining Black Family, Bambi." Sirius replied.

"It's a Black family tradition, and you're the heir now." Sirius continued with a proud smile. Remus hummed in agreement. "Your grandmother was a Black." Holly turned to face Remus with a surprised look on her face.

"She was?" Holly turned to look at her father. "She was Sirius' Aunt." James nodded in agreement. "Second aunt, I think." Sirius hummed thoughtfully. "Narcissa is my cousin and so is Andromeda. They're sisters." Sirius added in. "Lady Malfoy is?" Holly continued to eat, "Honey, don't talk with your mouth full." Lily chided her daughter.

Swallowing her food, Holly smiled apologetically at her mother. "I didn't know we had such a big family, Paddy."

"Don't worry, Bambi. You'll learn all about the Black Family Tree before you go off to Hogwarts next year." Remus soothed with a smile. Holly smiled and James ruffled the top of her head, tangling the hair that had been carefully braided by Severus.

"Daddy! Ow!" Holly frowned, she hadn't quite gotten a hang of glaring at people. She tended to scrunch her eyebrows and pouted. It was adorable, and James could only reach to kiss his daughter's forehead in apology.

Severus sighed as James' antics and promised Holly that he would fix her hair after breakfast. The family resumed their meal and had pleasant conversation. After breakfast, Holly ran after Severus, she couldn't keep up with the tall man's large strides, and joined the potions master in his lab. Holly had a new idea for a prank and Severus had been more than willing to help as long as James was the test subject.

Lily watched as her daughter ran after her best friend and sighed when she was pulled into a hug by her husband. "She's growing every day. I'm getting a little lonely." James admitted. Sirius and Remus were still seated at the table, enjoying mugs of hot coffee.

"She'll be calling you dad, soon enough." Sirius chuckled. "No way, she'll call me daddy even when she's old and gray. I won't allow her to call me anything else." James pouted. Ah, and that's where Holly got that pout from.

"Oh hush, Honey. Holly has to grow up sometime. She can't be our little girl forever." Lily smacked James on the arm with her free hand. Remus chuckled at her actions. "Oh Lils, you'll be the first to cry when she goes off to Hogwarts."

"Excuse me, that would be Padfoot now wouldn't it." James interrupted before Lily could retort. Remus laughed at his husband's offended face and the two started bickering. Lily gently removed herself from her husband's embrace and went to follow her daughter.

Remus got up soon after, James and Sirius were now discussing work and Remus had never been fond of listening to the paperwork and office politics that happened in the Auror Department. "I'll be heading to the Library, love." Remus kissed Sirius on the cheek and made his way to leave.

X

Setting the cauldron away from the fire, Severus cast a stasis charm on the mixture. Lily and Holly were seated on stools near the workbench, leaning over a piece of parchment that the young child had spread out earlier.

They were planning on making a hair potion that would change the person's hair colour. Muggles would use bleach to dye hair in bright colours and Holly had been fascinated ever since she first saw it. And when she had met Nymphadora Tonks who had metamorphmagus abilities, Holly's fascination had increased even more so.

So she was working on a mixture that would allow the user to change their hair color without having to damage it. She wanted one that would be semi-permanent, lasting about six months as well as a temporary one that would last a month or two at most.

Severus was more than willing to assist Holly in her endeavors just as he had assisted her with her sticky paste. Lily had simply looked at the plans in interest. It was a very muggle activity that Holly was adapting and turning it to Wizarding phenomena. If it ever got properly developed that is.

Wizarding beauty products included helping young witches keep clear complexions and healthy skin. But there was hardly anything in the market for hair care. There was that very popular hair cream that a Potter ancestor had developed but it was much too outdated.

Holly's idea would modernize the Wizarding Community if only by a meagre fraction. A knock at the door caught the attention of all three of them and Severus quickly cast a notice me not charm on the cauldron.

Holly rolled up her parchment and stashed it in a drawer underneath the workbench and Lily went to open the door. Remus stood at the door with a smile and informed them that it was almost time to go to the Malfoys and Holly shrieked in surprise.

Rushing out of the lab, she grabbed her mother by the hand and laughing the two ran to Holly's room. Severus only allowed a soft smile and a fond look on his face before making his own way out of the labs. Participating in pleasant conversation with the werewolf, the two walked past James and Sirius who had adjourned to the sitting room to continue their discussion.

Remus left to join his husband while Severus continued on to his rooms. He had been invited as well, he was Draco's godfather after all and he had to be at least presentable enough so that Narcissa wouldn't ask him to change.

Holly and Lily had changed into more semi-formal robes and Holly now sat at her mother's vanity. Watching in the mirror as her mother played with her hair, brushing out the tangles and knots. Once it was untangled and smoothed, Lily spread some hair cream between her hands and ran her fingers through her daughter's thick hair.

Holly had been born with a full head of thick hair and James, through all his tears, apologized to his daughter for having inherited the Potter mane. Sirius and Remus had joined in the teasing as they tried to wipe the tears away. Holly Potter was a bright light of hope in the dark night sky where war hung heavy in the air like a miasma.

Combing through the air once again, making sure that Holly's hair had absorbed the product, Lily began a series of intricate braids. Once she was done, she gathered all of her daughter's hair into a high ponytail, leaving out the front bangs, and held it with a charmed ribbon.

Kissing her cheek, Holly thanked her mother and stood up to admire her hair in the mirror. She would miss their daily routine of her mother or Aunt Alice styling Holly's hair every morning before or school.

She only had nine more months before she started her Hogwarts years. Suddenly feeling lonely and anxious, Holly hugged her mother. Lily blinked in surprise before immediately hugging her daughter. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Lily asked while she gently stroked her daughter's head.

"I'll miss this." Holly admitted in a whisper. Looking up at her mother, Holly desperately tried to memorize her mother's features. From the kind green eyes framed by dark red lashes, the flowing red hair that never seemed to tangle, unlink Holly's mess. The dimpled cheeks and fine smile lines (that Daddy liked to tease Mummy about before Mummy would punch him in the shoulder halfheartedly.) The way her nose was straight and thin but a bit on the flat side. Holly had inherited her father's button nose that her parents loved to boop whenever Holly did something particularly cute when she was much younger.

"I'll miss you too, baby." Lily whispered, trying to stop the burn in her eyes.

"When I go to Hogwarts, I won't have anybody to style my hair for me." Holly continued sadly. Lily's eyes immediately softened in fondness. "I'm sure you'll make many friends who would love to play with your hair, sweetie."

"We'll see." Holly bit out. It was hard for Holly to make friends if only because she was so much more advanced compared to those in her age group. Even Neville had a hard time keeping with her sometimes. And everytime it happened, it made Holly a little bit lonely, knowing that there wasn't anyone who could really understand her.

Patting her daughter gently, Lily continued to soothe her until James knocked the door to check on his wife and child. Seeing them cuddled in an embrace, James joined them and hugged them both in his arms. Peppering kisses on both their faces until Holly laughed loudly and excused herself to finish getting ready.

X

They used the floo to travel over to Malfoy Manor right on time. Andromeda had arrived only a few minutes prior, family in hand. Holly stepped into the parlor with wide eyes. She hardly visited Draco, so the majestic decorations of the Manor always left her in awe every time she laid eyes on it. Narcissa was there to greet the guests with Draco by her side.

She immediately removed her travel cloak and passed it to a waiting elf that would put it in a closet. Thanking the elf with a kind smile, Holly turned to survey the room. Lady Malfoy and Draco stood near the doorway while the Tonks family stood to the side discussing among themselves. Her parents were already making their way to Lady Malfoy and her mother gestured her to come over.

Holly went towards Lady Malfoy and curtseyed politely to the tall blonde woman. Draco bowed slightly and held a hand out for Holly to shake. Exchanging smiles, Holly took his hand and stepped away so that the person behind her could take their turn.

Severus kissed Narcissa chastely on either cheek and made sure to give Draco a firm handshake that made the much smaller boy bounce from the force. Holly giggled and Draco scowled at her before his mother caught sight of it and gently nudge him in warning. Draco flushed slightly and pointedly turned away from Holly who only snickered behind her hand.

Holly turned and was met with the flaming pink hair of Nymphadora Tonks and the two girls started their own conversation while Lily and Andromeda were catching up.

Sirius stepped out of the green fire with a smirk on his face and greeted his cousin warmly - read; loudly. Remus a step behind him with a sheepish smile. Once everyone had arrived, Narcissa and Draco guided the group to the main dining room where Lucius waited.

Lunch was an easy-going affair, Holly and Draco sat next to each other and they exchanged whispered conversation while the adults talked around them. Ted Tonks was in conversation with James and Sirius, discussing the difference between the Unspeakable and Auror departments. Lucius and Remus were exchanging their thoughts on the Werewolf legislation that a woman named Umbridge was trying to push and Holly listened in with half an ear.

Narcissa and Lily were listening to Andromeda proudly sharing how Nymphadora had joined the Auror Training Department where she would be in training for the next two years. Congratulations were exchanged for the young girl who blushed a bright red and her hair changed simultaneously to match her face.

Even though it had been months since Holly had seen Nymphadora, the way her hair changed colours was still fascinating to the young girl. It wasn't just her hair colour, Nymphadora could change the length of her hair and she was practising on changing her appearance. She could do animal noses that she had been quite proud to show off to her younger cousins.

After lunch, the Tonks family were given a tour of Malfoy Manor with Lord and Lady Malfoy. Draco had waved off the tour and insisted that Holly follow him to check out his Christmas present he had received from his father.

The Potters and remaining Blacks went to explore the Malfoy gardens that looked like a Winter Wonderland. While most of the animals were either in hiding or hibernation, the gardens had been beautifully decorated for the winter festivities. Even Lucius' albino peacocks had gone into hiding - er, kept indoors.

Leading Holly to the broom shed, which Lucius had specially built to house all of Draco's various brooms. The spoilt - not that he would admit it but Holly knew it well, heir had kept every single broom he had ever received and if you were a Quidditch fanatic - which Holly was thank you very much, you would have gagged over how Draco had almost every Nimbus broom ever released for sale.

He even had a Nimbus Comet, one of the first few brooms that had been made available for the public, Holly was sure that Draco hadn't even been born before the broom had been up for sale.

But that wasn't the main attraction. Sitting on the wall was the latest Nimbus 1000. The latest racing broom released in the market. Her father had wanted to get one for Holly but her mother had rejected the idea almost immediately. Holly had scowled when Sirius had told her the story and pouted for a good hour.

"What did you get for Christmas, Holly?" Draco asked, curious as the younger girl marveled over his new broom. It was the broom Draco would be bringing along to Hogwarts so that he could try out for the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Well, he had to wait for his second year for that but it didn't make the blond any less excited.

Holly turned to him with a bright smile. "I haven't opened my presents yet, we're going to the Longbottom's after this. I'll open my presents with Neville."

At the mention of her godbrother, Holly noticed the slight dusting of pink on Draco's ears. Even if his face was still of passive interest, it was obvious that Draco didn't particularly care about what Holly got for Christmas. And it was silly for Draco to ask because he already knew the tradition of opening Christmas presents that the Potter and Longbottom families shared.

Holly and Neville had told enough stories about Christmas mornings at Longbottom Manor through their years in primary school. Holly used to sleepover and then she and her brother would open presents together since the pair slept in Potter Manor for their birthdays. That means Draco had just wanted an excuse to talk about Neville. Interesting. Holly hummed in contemplation. Draco wouldn't go out of his way to ask about her godbrother unless he had a reason.

What reason could Draco possibly have to ask about her brother. Draco didn't even like most people, he tended to turn his nose up to those he believed were below his station. Which was a miracle in itself because he was enrolled in Wizarding Primary School of all things.

The school accepted a lot of Muggleborn and Half-blood children, Holly herself was technically a Half-blood since her mother was Muggleborn. But Holly supposed it was Lady Malfoy's attempt to dissuade her only child from forming bad habits by forcing him in a situation where he would have to be polite to those that weren't Pureblood..

Draco asking about Holly's presents meant that he wanted to know more about the Longbottom family. Draco only ever had conversation with Neville, certainly not with Aunt Alice because never got in trouble - more like he never got caught. Holly doubted Draco would have met Uncle Frank unless the blond had visited the Ministry with his father. So that only meant that Draco wanted to discuss about Neville.

"Is that so?" Draco replied, pretending to brush off non-existent dust off one of the brooms. "Why yes, dear cousin." Holly leaned against the wall and carefully observed the other boy. Why would Draco want to talk about Neville anyways? Unless he had a crush. Oh. Green eyes lit up at the revelation and a small smile spread on her face as she observed Draco's fidgeting fingers that he tried to hide from her.

"Oh… You have a crush." Holly whispered. It had only been a guess, but the way Draco had whirled to face her, face beet red so obvious against the paleness of his skin, Holly could only smile wildly.

"I certainly do not have a crush on Neville." Draco protested, stormy eyes glaring at the shorter dark-haired girl. Holly's smile turned into a smirk. "Whoever said that it was Neville? Even if you tried to deny it cousin dear, that blush is quite telling." Draco could feel his face heating up even more and he slapped his hands to his cheeks in an attempt to hide the blush.

Damn Holly and her intuition.

"Well?" Draco demanded as he allowed Holly to continue looking smug. "Well what?" Holly pretended to be cleaning the dirt from under her nails, only looking at Draco from under her lashes. Draco bristled slightly, already mortified that Holly had figured his crush even though he had only asked about her Christmas presents.

"How's Neville." Draco mumbled, crossing his arms and looking away. Holly cooed at her cousin and pinched his cheek. Draco immediately moved to smack her hand, Holly didn't even look offended as she pulled away before it hit.

"He's fine. He's been spending time in his greenhouse and practising French." Holly smiled. "Alright, that's fine." Draco nodded and fanned his face with his hands, attempting to cool his cheeks. "Are we talking about his ability to speak French or how he looked in that coat during the birthday ball." Holly teased and laughed when Draco's face returned to its previous shade of red.

Holly knew when Draco was about to explode so she quickly exited the broom shed, laughing at Draco's face. The blonde took a step out and gathered some fresh snow in his hand and lobbed it towards Holly. It barely missed, only because Holly had the good sense to duck her head when she did.

Stopping mid-run, Holly suddenly turned and scooped some snow in her hand. Draco paled and took a step back into the broom shed. "Now Holly…" Draco tried to placate the wildly grinning girl. "This is war Malfoy! I shall protect my brother's virtue!" Throwing the snowball with all her strength, Holly laughed in triumph when it landed on Draco's stomach, well, she had been aiming for his head but it was good enough.

"V-virtue!" Draco stuttered looking absolutely shocked. "What- I. I wouldn't. Holly!" Draco's ears turned a very interesting shade of red and Holly on laughed. She was cut off when Draco finally managed to land a shot on her arm, green eyes narrowed and an all-out snowball fight between the two children broke out.

The loud laughter attracted the attention of the adults and when James and Sirius saw them tossing snowballs at each other, they each picked a side. James, unfortunately, wasn't fast enough and Sirius joined Holly and hastily built a fort in front of her as a was the demise for team Malfoy because James wouldn't even aim at Holly and Sirius always stood behind her.

After a crushing defeat, the four of them stepped into the warm Manor and were greeted by Lily and Narcissa. Lucius only stood slightly behind the wives with a raised eyebrow. The Tonks were about to leave when the group of four entered the Manor, shivering and wet. Holly's thick hair hanging limp in its ponytail and heavy down her back.

Lily quickly casted warming charms on the two children who beamed at her thankfully. Narcissa smoothing her son's hair with a warm hand. Draco looked absolutely stunning, with his pale skin and flushed cheeks and that beautiful bright smile that made her heart melt. Trust Lucius to try and mold Draco into the perfect Malfoy Heir, Narcissa had put her foot down and enrolled Draco into Lily's school in retaliation.

Draco was a child. Not a model Pureblood Wizard. Narcissa would be cursed stupid before she would allow anybody to steal Draco's childhood away from him. Not even her husband. Their marriage wasn't one of soulmates like the Potters, a political marriage to improve the standings of the House of Black, with a soulmate clause added as well of course.

It didn't mean that Narcissa hadn't grown fond of her husband and neither did it dampen her love for her only child. Running her hands through Draco's blond locks - he had inherited Lucius' almost platinum blond hair, it had gotten darker with the snow, and looked into her son's eyes. A beautiful grey like his mother's, shining like the stars.

"Greet the Tonks, for they are leaving and then quickly to your room, dragon." Narcissa kissed his forehead before pushing the child towards his cousins. Holly was in Lily's embrace, the redhead warming her daughter with affection while her husband pouted feeling left out. Remus had finally entered the room and had immediately gravitated towards his husband with a click of a tongue at the sight of the soaking and shivering man.

Eventually, Holly and Draco hugged goodbye and the Potters and Tonks left Malfoy Manor with bright smiles and light hearts. Holly was quickly ushered to her room the moment she stepped foot into Potter Manor by her mother.

"Take a good long soak in the tub, sweetie." Lily fussed before she finally paid attention to her husband. Holly giggled and ran to her room, lifting her skirts so that she wouldn't trip. Lily only sighed after her daughter and leaned into James' embrace with a fond smile.

X

Dinner had been homely and quieter than what the children were used to, Madam Longbottom, Neville's gran was ill and had been confined to her room the entire winter. The cold affecting her lungs and it made it hard for her to breathe.

Holly didn't have any grandparents. Her father's parents had passed before Holly was even born and her mother's had died shortly after she was born. Holly was told that she had both the Potter family hair and the Evans family eyes. Holly was apparently a perfect mixture of both families in one tiny package.

The children sat in the large sitting room where a large Christmas tree stood tall near the fireplace. Their presents were stacked neatly and both children eagerly tore at the wrapping paper. The adults lounged in the nearby sofas, dressed in casual clothes and huddling for warmth.

Holly and Neville let out excited and delighted noises with every present revealed while the adults chatted among themselves. Until the gentle tinkle of music drifted from the box in Holly's lap. It was a music box that doubled up as a jewelry box.

And instead of the common ballerina or toy figure spinning, it was Pierre Endormie, poised to strike in all its grace and beauty. It was one of Holly's favorite Mozart pieces and watching as Pierre Endormie twirling gracefully, Holly could only sniff as hot tears burned her eyes.

She could feel the faintest of magic residue from her twins lingering on the box. It wasn't just a simple box that had a runespoor enchanted on top of it. Everything in that box had been handmade, the figurine was charged by the little lever that you had to turn as you fed it some magic.

The box was made of cherry wood, one of Holly's favourites, it dominated most of her room. And it had beautiful green leaves hand painted on the outside. There were some mistakes, too small to be spotted at a glance but it was proof that this present was made by her twins.

Her twins.

The insides of the box was lined with a deep blue velvet of the boys eyes. While the pedestal that held Pierre was green. There was even a small mirror attached to the inside of the lid. With tentative fingers tracing the box, Holly could feel protective magic wrapping the box and she gripped it tighter in her hand.

Our Dearest, Holly

How have you been? We've gotten EEs for most of our end of term exams, and Mum is ever so proud of her boys. She's already excited for Ronnie to join us next year. Not gunna lie but it was nice being away from his constant whining.

We're sorry that we couldn't spend Christmas with you, it was better for us to stay in school while we finished your present.

We may not be able to be with you while we are in Hogwarts but with this box, we can exchange letters without having to force poor Hedwig (or any of the school owls) to make the trip. It won't accept anything bigger than the size of the compartment but it will send anything inside immediately once you shut the lid.

If we have anything in the box for you, Pierre will hiss, pretty sure that you'll notice it the moment a wooden box started hissing. We're not sure what exactly it's hissing but we managed to come into possession some books that helped us.

We miss you dearly, every day we don't get to see you makes Fred a little more twitchy and George a little more grumpy.

Though it will only be a few months before you join us on the Hogwarts Express. We are eagerly looking forward to spending our summer at Potter Manor.

Thanks for inviting us Hols. Happy Yule!

Yours,

Gred and Forge

P.S

Send your reply with the box so that we know it works

Not that we doubted it wouldn't

It would be nice to know.

"What do you have there Poppet?" Sirius asked curiously as his goddaughter continuously ran a hand over the pretty wooden box while reading the letter that accompanied it. "The twins made it for me!" Holly beamed at her dogfather with a bright smile.

"A jewellery box? It is quite pretty." Lily commented with a soft look in her eyes. Her daughter looked so pleased, it made her own heart warm. It seems like the Weasley twins certainly did know how to make her daughter happy.

Of course Holly's mood was not undetected by her father who grumbled under his breath until a sharp pinch on his side from his wife made him press his lips in a thin line. "That's very thoughtful of them sweetheart." James ground out before pouting. Lily laughed at her husband's antics and rubbed his thigh in encouragement.

"It's so pretty isn't it Daddy?" Holly asked with a glint in her eye. Her father was trying his best to come to terms that Holly had already found her soulmates early in life, it wasn't common. His daughter wouldn't be his for much longer, soon enough she would be leaving for Hogwarts and would be gone for majority of the year.

Was Hogwarts safe enough for her? James had spent majority of his adult life protecting those he called family. His wife was powerful enough to protect herself, especially in the Potter Manor where the wards were strong and only grew stronger with every generation of Potter adding to its power.

James had fed the wards with his blood the day after he turned eleven, and Holly would do so as well as Heiress. Her own unique magic would supplement the ancient Magic protecting their home, just as every generation had before her.

The blood of the heir would be added to the Manor's ward stone the day they were born and then blood and magic when they were eleven, where their Magical cores were mature enough to begin practicing magic. Then once again when they reached majority at seventeen.

Most old Pureblood families had similar traditions, it was only a few Neutral and Dark families that still included blood in their wards. It was a tradition in these old families and while the Ministry hated and feared anything related to blood magic, they could never deny the importance of tradition.

But it wasn't a tradition that gave him his overwhelming need to protect. His daughter, born when the world was at war, she was the hope of their world. Born in darkness, Holly was the light at the end of the tunnel, she represented everything the Order needed to keep fighting.

Holly was the future.

Holly was their future.

And now his light was shining so brightly on the other side of the room, holding a present made by her soulmates. If James had been a traditional purist, he would have assumed that it was the very first of the many courting gifts his daughter would be bestowed upon until she reached her majority.

But Holly hadn't gotten her mark yet, and James selfishly held on to the hope that Holly wouldn't find her soulmate in the twins on her birthday. It was a horrible, terrible and despicably selfish thought, one that he regretted immediately as soon as it had appeared in his head.

Finding your soulmate was one of the greatest joys that Magicals could experience. He knew that feeling personally the moment he saw his mark on the small of Lily's back by accident. His magic had zeroed in on her and he had approached her without second thought.

Until she had pushed him in the Black Lake in her attempt to get rid of him. That was when he had finally opened his eyes. His soulmate had rejected him, pain he had never thought possible had blossomed in his chest where his mark was printed, James had almost drowned in the lake.

But it wasn't the biting cold of the water submerging him that was threatening to kill, it was the harsh rejection of the one person who was supposed to love him regardless.

His soulmate didn't want him, he wasn't good enough for her. Because he had been a bully. A bully to her best friend, even if that best friend was Snivellus who gave as good as he got.

It took two years for James to win Lily's affections and he had spent every day since then telling her how much he loved her. When he had been courting her she had blushed prettily, the tips of her ears a bright red. There were many a night sequestered away in hidden alcoves exploring each other's bodies.

It was made even better when they were Head Boy and Girl and they had every excuse to hide away late in the night in the Head Prefect Chambers. The thought of their daughter doing what he had done with Lily with another boy, not one but two of them, had James paling.

Another sharp jab of pain shook him from his thoughts and Lily was frowning at him. Miraculously, Holly was unbothered by her father's stern face, The box from the twins still sat in her lap, she couldn't bear to part with it.

James sighed and leaned against the comforting body of his wife. Who was he to deny his daughter the same joy that Lily brought him? He had to accept it eventually. Holly was the light of his life where his wife was the centre of his world. He knew that Lily felt the same towards him.

And that this was what Holly would feel towards her boys. Clenching his fist James tried his best to calm his nerves. Seven months, he only had seven months until his baby girl found her soulmate and he would have to share even more of her time with other people.

Blinking at the feeling of a weight on his lap, he looked at two pairs of green eyes and felt his heart stutter. Immediately hugging his daughter that had crawled onto his lap, James kissed the top of her head. He remembered saying something to Lily, then he stood and walked away with Holly in his arms, his daughter obediently keeping her mouth shut as she snuggled in his embrace.

Lily would see to it that the presents were delivered back to Potter Manor, the two of them had already said their goodbyes with the Longbottoms, Neville and Holly exchanging a tight hug and promises to meet again in a couple of days for New Years.

Holding to the box that her daughter had received from the Weasley Twins, Lily silently admired the workmanship, it was a stunning piece certainly. Gripping it under her arm, she walked behind her husband and child, Holly's green eyes peering at her mother from over her father's shoulders.

The family of three arrived home and made their way to Master Suite where James and Lily resided in. Placing their daughter in the middle of their large bed, Lily quickly transformed her daughter's dress into comfortable pajamas for the night.

Her husband had quickly went to wash up before bed and Lily joined him to change into her own sleep clothes. The two of them crawled into bed, on either side of their fast asleep bundle of joy. James carefully arranged her head on to his arm and Lily pulled the blanket up to their chins, loosely wrapping an arm around both her daughter and husband.

"Happy Yule, husband."

"Happy Yule, Love."

The Potter family slept well that night, surrounded with love and warmth and comfort.


While I have decided to abandon it as mentioned in the previous chapter, I have managed to write another chapter. Depending on the response I receive from this chapter, I will decide whether or not I should continue posting the story here.

Please leave a review if you've enjoyed the story or to offer any ideas!