Hi everyone sorry for the longer wait between updates, had to deal with essay assignments and exams, but I'm back and hopefully will be slightly more regular with updating. Anyway this will be particularly family orientated this chapter, with them coming together for Christmas, please let me know because I'm still undecided whether Astoria and Rose will join Hogwarts next year the same time as Ginny or the year after (According to canon Astoria's actual year group) please let me know, as always please review it really helps thanks!

Disclaimer: I neither own the Harry Potter universe nor the characters they all belong to JK Rowling

Yule was always a happy holiday for Daphne, her families tradition went against the pureblood norm where usually it was traditional for the whole House to meet for the holiday. Her mother very early on in her marriage refused to follow this tradition, mainly for the sake of practicality.

Daphne was therefore used to just the four of them on the day of Yule, new year was often when they had to deal with the whole Greengrass brood. It suited Daphne, she could relax and not have to put on a front that was expected as a heiress to an ancient and noble house. Instead all she had to deal with was an excited Astoria, a weary father and an over-motherly mum.

Her relaxing holiday however seemed to be in tatters, thanks to her dad, it seemed that her dad deemed the threat from outside as worthy and had profusely appealed to her mum for a proactive approach.

Daphne thought it would just be the outing to the Quidditch game but now she was being prepared to visit an old pureblood family she'd never heard of before. It was worsened by the fact Astoria seemed to be loving it.

She wondered if her Yule holiday season had ever been this bad, while eating her breakfast in the kitchen that morning. The fresh fruit prepared by one of the many house elves was not going down quite so well as usual. Daphne was merely picking at the fruit really, rather than consuming it.

"Daphne don't play with your food, if you're finished with it then just leave it honey, there is no reason to act like a child."

"I am a child though mother, sometimes I think that yourself and father have forgotten that over the last school term."

"That cheek is unbecoming of you Daphne, and you know that what your father is doing is for your benefit, he doesn't do it just to frustrate you honey"

"I know, I'm just feeling a bit like Pansy Parkinson at the minute, I don't even contribute to these outings, I'm just so to speak on display almost"

"Could be worse Daph, you could look like Bulstrode, then even your presence as a display would be detrimental" teased Astoria whom was diving into an full English breakfast with no regard for table manners.

Really the sight should of angered Daphne just after the talk with her mother, yet it just brought a smile to her face. Astoria while similar in looks to Daphne apart from the hair colour was indeed a very different personality.

Astoria was a cheeky, mischievous girl, she acted on impulse often and never took anything to seriously in essence her character was very light. It came from the fact she had no expectations to live up to, she had grown up in an environment with little pressure set by their parents, opposite to Daphne.

While she never spoke of it, Daphne despite her mother's wishes of a relatively liberal upbringing still had an image to abide by being a heiress, she knew herself that her personality was entrenched with formalness, her quirks were often hidden behind a façade and while Astoria was cheeky, her humour was often dry or sarcastic.

"Astoria! Please also refrain from acting like a delinquent" admonished Annabelle.

"What's a delinquent?" Spoke Astoria purposefully while her mouth was full, looking to rile their mum up further.

"You know Mother, you should let Tori continue eating like that I'm sure that sort of action, develops chubby cheeks, I'm sure that will be more than a lesson for her" smiled Daphne.

"I'm afraid Daphne that those white lies no longer work on Astoria, she's become quite adept at working out what's false." Sighed Annabelle.

"So Daph are you looking forward to your outing this afternoon" Asked Astoria innocently, Daphne groaned in reply,

"Thanks Tori I had actually managed to forget about that for a minute!"

"Well, I think I have some news that might cheer you up" comforted Annabelle.

"I doubt that mother"

"It actually involves Christmas, we've been invited to the Potters for the day your dad and I have accepted, we thought it will be nice to have a change of scene."

"Will the Blacks be there?" Asked an unsubtle Astoria.

"I'm afraid not honey, they will be taking part in their own family feast"

"So Rose won't get to see Wilfred?" Pouted an upset looking Astoria.

"I'm afraid not, but at least she will have you for company, I'm sure you can keep her happy"

"Great so I will have to talk to Harry and Lenny for the whole time"

"Oh don't whine Daphne, you get on very well with the two of them, plus it means you don't have to talk to Astoria quite so much"

"Hey!"

"I hope I'm not hearing my daughter shouting" addressed Cyrus Greengrass in a mock stern manner. The patriarch of the family came and sat next to Daphne.

"Would you like some tea or coffee, honey?"

"No no Daphne and I have a rendezvous to make, don't we my beautiful daughter" smiled Cyrus warmly, "no amount of sweet talk honey is going to get you off the hot seat, your daughter is still in a mood with you"

"Well it was worth a try, come on then let's get going" acclaimed Cyrus when he got up and put his coat on, to which Daphne followed suit,

"We will see you around four, have a lovely day, bye"

Daphne twenty four hours later found herself in the company of her best friend Tracy. Since Tracy's parents were taking her away on holiday for the final two weeks of the holiday, today was the last opportunity to see Tracy during the festive period.

"So what was the Shafiq family like?" Asked a curious Tracy.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, just like any other pureblooded family, I was unfortunately the youngest there by at least ten years though, I basically had to sit at a table all day listening to adults discuss the Wizengamot"

"Oh Daph that sounds horrendous, you should of stayed with me for Yule, my mum took me shopping in Muggle London, it was pretty amazing, there is so many people though!"

"Did you go on them underground trains?" Asked an bemused Daphne, whom while a pureblood, was reasonably well versed in the ways of Muggle living.

"No mum said we didn't need to, since we weren't going that far afield. Anyway I would have loved to see Parkinson's face if she had seen the high street" giggled Tracy.

"She would probably have to wash herself silly to get the Muggle gunk off her, or Malfoy wouldn't like her, Merlin knows why she is obsessed with the ferret"

"Talking of the ferret and boys in general"

"Traaaaccccy! We were having a fun conversation why go and ruin it?"

"What?" Replied Tracy innocently, "I just wanted to no if you were going to stop sharing a bed with our favourite bespectacled boy"

"Tracy he needed comforting, he hasn't been himself since Malfoys bloody ball, who else was going to help him huh?"

"Oh I don't know maybe Sam or this is just a shot in the dark but maybe his brother"

"Linfred isn't exactly going to help soothe him, you have seen what he's like he's intelligent, helpful and kind but he's not about to cud… talk with his brother all night" Daphne slight slip had been caught by an amused Tracy.

"Yet his brother knows what he's up to with Weasley and Granger, Yet you're kept in the dark Daph, that seems a bit weird don't you think?"

"What do you mean what he's up to?" Asked a puzzled Daphne.

"Susan Bones let it slip that they might be meddling with something dangerous in Hogwarts"

"Huh"

"I just thought after all that cuddling you would want to know" Teased Tracy in a lighter tone now, trying to uplift her slightly downtrodden friend.

"Traaaacccy! I never said I cuddled with him!"

"Don't try and deny it my loving friend, I heard you before"

"Why am I your friend again?"

"Because you love me" Laughed Tracy.


Harry and Linfred's Christmas had been relatively quiet apart from the first night at tea, where an interrogation enfolded. His mum and dad had questioned them over the Cerberus, and if they had spotted any strange happenings around the castle.

The revelation that Lenny had spotted a trap door underneath the three headed dog and the sight of an expensive piece of robe being present in the room, highly unsettled his parents.

The meal ended with dad summarising that the dog was indeed guarding something valuable to the point Dumbledore had hid it from them and the fact that a person had riskily entered Hogwarts to try and steal it.

The question of how the perpetrator entered Hogwarts had become an bit of debate between the two adults, Yet was concluded that they must have obtained help from someone inside the grounds.

Possibly when the whole school was engaged with something else likely a Quidditch game. They summarised that the mystery perpetrator was therefore limited in his ways of when they could get into the school, all of which did little to calm Lily Potter's nerves.

Ultimately Harry and Linfreds Easter term was in jeopardy unless Malfoy or someone else had a breakthrough in discovering the perpetrator. Something which greatly dampened the mood in the Potter household yet Harry believed that Daphne's appearance on Yule may in part rectify the miserable holiday he had been having so far.

Harry couldn't be more wrong, instead he had been subjected to a pissed off Daphne, yet Harry had no idea why, while Daphne was often snarky in her nature she had been decidedly more snide then usual this evening. Often seemingly detached but also happy to add to Harry's misfortune at the opportune moments. She had cursed her sister out of the room when Tori had started to flirt with him.

Harry was in his room playing with his broom in silence, when an agitated Daphne finally spoke up, "So Harry when exactly were you going to share with me what you told Linfred in the final week of term? Or were you never going to bother?"

"Erm.. erm.. what?" Gulped Harry after being taken off guard by the question.

"Don't try and act perplexed Potter, for both our sakes, so just spit it out otherwise I'll hex you into next week" after a pause where Harry seemed to be weighing up his options he spoke up,

"You reckon you could do that to me?" Asked a smiling Harry. A smile which Daphne found infuriating, because whatever the mood she was in she couldn't help reciprocate,

"You don't want to find out Potter"

"Oh I think I would like to see your attempt at hexing me" , Daphne not a person to back down from a challenge already had her wand out ready for action, Harry instinctively went for his wand holster in his trouser pocket, and yet he grasped air, he tried again, but his wand wasn't there. He looked up in panic at a maniacally grinning Daphne.

"Oh are you looking for this by any chance Harry?" Smirked Daphne as she hoisted a wand up with her other hand above her head.

"Eh? How did you do that?"

"I'm a Slytherin Potter, and you're a Gryffindor, a Gryffindor with a bit of an ego, one that doesn't often back down from a challenge or a duel"

"You baited me! You stole my wand knowing I'd make you go through with your statement"

"Well done Potter, so their is a brain in that head of yours, I wonder maybe that brain can now tell me what is going on at Hogwarts"

"And if I didn't?"

"Really Harry your going to make me force it out of you"

"Maybe I don't think you would forgo simple wizarding etiquette by attacking a wizard without a wand, your father is very particular with certain rules." Smirked Harry as he walked over to Daphne.

"Is that so"

"Yep"

"You're right," sighed an upset Daphne, "but I can still do this" and with one swift movement Daphne kneed Harry in the gut, making him lose balance and collapse onto the nearby futon. Daphne climbed on top of the aching Harry and giggled,

"I think I win this round, now tell me your secrets Harry James Potter"

Then just as Harry was about to divulge they both heard a call from Lily that tea was ready, it was met by a rumble from upstairs and then a continuous thud coming down the set of stairs, clearly Rose and Astoria were looking forward to their meal a lot.

"You would think people that small would make less noise" voiced a slightly winded Harry.

"I'm not sure anybody can compete with the noise level Tori can make" answered Daphne, as they both got up from the futon, to make their way downstairs.

"I don't know Ron without food can be pretty loud, he makes sure everybody knows about it, Neville said that a Weasley dinner time is pretty rowdy, with six or seven hungry Weasleys"

"Another horrible trait Weasley has, I'll make sure to note that down to the growing list"

"Come on then we better get down there before I'm left sitting next to Lenny"

"Are you ready for the questioning then?" Asked Daphne,

"Questioning?"

"Yes I imagine our parents are going to question us all about our experiences so far at Hogwarts, they'll want to compare our different experiences no doubt"

"Hopefully your fight will be kept quiet then Daph eh?" Smirked Harry.

"You bring that up Harry and the number of detentions you have been may somehow be heard by your mother"

"Touché", Responded Harry.

"By the way don't think I've forgotten already that you still need to tell me of what you're up to at Hogwarts."

"Yeah" sighed Harry.

The two finally made it down to the dining room, where the table was full of hot food. At the far end his dad, Cyrus and Remus were gathered around each other. Linfred and Neville had got themselves an space by them, the women were in the middle of the table, which included. Annabelle, Lily and Dorcas Meadowes. Which left the final two seats available at the end next to Astoria and Rose.

"Great, relegated to the kids end, hope you're looking forward to an enthralling conversation" muttered Harry sarcastically.

"Oh give over, you're just as mature as them both Harry."quipped Daphne.

"Hey!"

"Finally they have emerged from Harry's room and blessed us with their presence" jeered an tipsy James.

"Really dad, it's not as if, Neville and Lenny weren't also holed up in his room, or that Tori and Rose were down here joining in with your conversation", before James could trade barbs with his son, Lily interrupted,

"Just sit down you two, and James stop trying to wind him up, just because he beat you in the Quidditch game this morning", Harry and Daphne sat down opposite each other at the far end of the table with both of them sitting next to their little sisters.

After the toast by his dad Harry began to tuck into his turkey and gravy, not really interested in joining in with a conversation until he'd satisfied his hunger, something which Tori seemed to miss.

"So Harry, how many times did you get detention?" Blurted out an excited Tori. The exuberant manner she spoke in gained the attention from all the table, with his mum and father looking on with a certain amount of emphasis, but Harry imagined for different reasons,

"Erm a few Tori" replied Harry carefully not wanting to be on the end of his mother's ire. Unfortunately Astoria wasn't finished,

"Wilfred said you had a duel with Lenny, is that true?"

"I did not duel with Lenny, Astoria I can honestly tell you that"

"You better not have done Harry James Potter" admonished Lily Potter.

"Seriously I never duelled Lenny, all we did was meet in the trophy cabinet room to talk" offered Harry weakly.

"Was that where Daphne had a fight with Mandy Brocklehurst" butted in Astoria,

"Alright how the bloody hell do you know that!" Asked a bemused Harry unable to keep a straight face or stop himself from giving the game away.

"I have my informants Harry"

"How you aren't even at Hogwarts yet?"

Daphne however was already one step ahead of Harry, "Damn I have to stop Tracy talking with you, she's such a gossip"

"Daphne Laurel Greengrass, I hope you did not have a fight at school, that is not the attitude we brought you up to have" Spoke Annabelle stonily.

"Don't worry mother Tracy has know idea what she is talking about, I believe she has been made a victim of the many ridiculous rumours that circulate around Hogwarts."

"Good" muttered Cyrus. The conversation ended there with a hushed silence over the group, with all four parents digging into their meals not wanting to condemn their kids in front of their company, Remus just looked on with a smile, knowing their would be further interrogating later on in private.

Rose who had watched patiently as her friend tried to start trouble, had been biting her lip, suddenly deciding to follow Astoria's lead, but all the while trying to outdo her, she acclaimed confidently to the table,

"So Harry how many times have you and Daphne shared a bed at Hogwarts?", Harry just closed his eyes, knowing that Cyrus would probably explode in reaction to this comment. Cyrus had never appreciated that dynamic of their friendship.

"Daphne you never told me this!" Gestated an annoyed Tori, not impressed she had been out done by her best friend.

"It's not something if it were to happen I would tell my unruly little sister," snarked Daphne while looking pointedly at Harry.

"Hey I never said anything, I'm not an idiot Daphne."

"That's for the car incident brother" Smirked a smug looking Linfred whom reached down the table to high five his little sister.

"Right we're having a talk with them two before the end of the holidays!" Demanded Cyrus, with James wholeheartedly agreeing, leaving Annabelle and Lily to sigh in frustration.

"Well that can at least wait till after dinner, Cyrus" addressed a snippety Annabelle.


Sirius was pacing up and down the foyer of Grimmauld Place, it was the day of Yule and he had been informed a week earlier by Arcturus that he was expected at the annual Black Yule dinner.

Not wanting to anger his viscous grandfather, Sirius agreed wholeheartedly something that his daughter was particularly opposed to. Currently he was trying to get his children out of the house on time, something which was a challenge in itself, Wilfred had become engrossed in a Runes book, Astoria had gifted him, while Samantha was doing anything in her power to delay the inevitable.

To the point she had flooded one of the upstairs bathroom while running a bath, an hour before departure, she passed it off as a mistake but Sirius could see a petulant pureblood child from a mile off, being one himself once upon a time.

"Get down here now Samantha, do not test my patience!" Shouted Sirius as he helped Wilfred into his jacket.

"For fucks sake I'm coming! Don't lose your wig!" Shouted Samantha as she stomped down the stairs. Dressed in a formal dress that worn by any other girl, Sirius believed would be seen as sophisticated, yet Sam had preceded to make it look funny somehow, no doubt on purpose.

"Right now remember what I told you, no fighting, no arguing and certainly no mentions of the Potters alright I have no desire to answer questions revolving around politics this evening."

The three of them flooed directly into the kitchen of Arcturus manor, up in the northwest of England. An elf was immediately at their side once they had arrived to take their coats. Sirius had a feeling that tonight was likely to resemble a stereotypical highbrow meal he had been subjected to as a child.

Another house elf guided them into a large expansive dining room, which at its centre had a long Georgian mahogany table, which had layers upon layers of silver cutlery.

It seemed that the kids messing about had indeed made them late, considering the table was full with the other guests. Arcturus sitting at the head of the table. On his left side the table compromised of Narcissa, Lucius and Draco. While on the right hand side the seat opposite Narcissa appeared empty, next to that was Dana Parkinson and then her son. Finally the other head of the table also had an empty seat available.

"Sirius I do believe the invitation said seven o'clock did it not?" Asked a stern Arcturus.

"I'm afraid we lost track of time, now is their an allotted seating arrangement or can we pick and choose?"

"You will sit next to me Sirius, while Wilfred shall sit at the far end of the table, Samantha I'm sure you can squash up with Cygnus, I do believe you will have a lot to speak about",

Samantha merely grunted at the suggestion, unlike Sirius and Wilfred she didn't care for Arcturus opinion nor was she particularly intimidated by the patriarch. The three of them made their way to their respected seats,

"So Sirius I was hoping that you could inform myself what you have been working toward in the last month since I saw you last, I do imagine you have been busy"

"Working?"

"Yes in terms of what direction the family is moving toward"

Sirius was afraid this was going to happen when he'd received the invite he thought it might be a trap to ask him questions that related the Black family affairs. Really he didn't need this, he wanted just to have a drink and have some good food, he had no desire to answer his grandfather's extensive questions, and yet the first thing that came out of Arcturus mouth was a question on politics.

"Well right well I have been in continuous contact with the Warrington family, and erm hopefully closer ties with them will also draw in the Pucey family."

"They're respected families Sirius but they do not hold much power nor do they have much presence in our society, I expect a more powerful ally."

"Oh well em I em have talked to a member of the Rowle family recently, he em er well agreed to send over some contracts to Narcissa, that revolve around land sales"

Arcturus's attention had pricked with the mention of the surname Rowle, an old stalwart name in magical Britain yet had disappeared off the map in current times. Yet the Rowles were always a fearsome bunch, not a family Arcturus expected Sirius to come into contact with,

"Narcissa?" Asked a curious Arcturus.

"I'm afraid I have not received any contact from an individual with the surname Rowle, uncle"

"Hmm, I don't doubt you Sirius, while a slightly tame Black with many unappealing qualities, I do admit that you have the endearing trait of being rather trustworthy, I will advise for caution though if you see this man again Sirius I do believe that his presence in your conversation was purposeful"

"Meaning?" Asked an anxious Sirius.

"He engaged in conversation with you, in the aim of obtaining or gaining something from you personally, or maybe even the Black house, Rowle's do not usually socialise with others."

"Oh"

"Was their anything that he particularly focused on" Sirius in all seriousness couldn't remember much of the conversation, he'd only brought it up since he felt under the spotlight from his grandfather, but there was one thing that stuck out,

"He was very interested in the marauders and our shenanigans."

"Marauders?"

"A group which Black was apart of during his days at Hogwarts, it somehow seemingly gave them an excuse to go gallivanting around the castle like some unruly teenagers" answered an agitated Lucius, while the term marauders meant very little to Lucius, Arcturus and Dana, Narcissa suddenly realised a problem when putting this conversation and James's prior conversation together.

"Sirius did you tell him of the hidden passageways?"

"What?"

"The tunnels that lead out from the castle to Hogsmeade did you tell this man of the tunnels?"

"How do you know of the hidden passageways" Asked a surprised Sirius still not realising the significance of the question.

"You know how, now answer the damn question!"

"That too! was there anything he held sacred he only fooled around with yo…."

"Sirius answer the bloody question!" Roared Narcissa not wanting Sirius to air her dirty laundry so to speak.

"Yeah maybe well I'm not too sure, I was a bit er tipsy at the time"

"Fuck James might be right"

"James?"

"Potter I mean, remember Lucius when he asked for a favour. I believe this man is after that artefact and Sirius has given him a way in, we need to inform Dumbledore"

"That maybe the case but for the minute our next of kin are safely at home from Hogwarts, we do not need to act right now we shall continue our meal, Sirius I do hope though that this is becomes an cautionary tale" addressed Arcturus calmly.

"Oh I'm sure Lord Black has been doing his utmost best to establish ties with other houses, right Lord Black, I wouldn't doubt his credentials after just this incident" added Dana Parkinson, which Sirius recognised as her trying to exasperate the situation.

"Why don't you shut your gob, I don't see why your even here, you have no real relation to our family" spoke up Samantha.

"Sam please" begged Sirius not wanting the conversation to get out of hand.

"I do believe Miss Black that you know better than to address an important member of society than with manners like that" addressed Arcturus.

"Not really, Dad always called her a bitch anyway, not my words"

"I do apologise for Sirius's spawn Ms Parkinson, she is just untrusting to relative newcomers in her life" spoke Lucius smoothly.

"That is quite alright Lucius, I don't believe it is your problem to bare, I do imagine not knowing your harlot mother would be temperamental to a child's development"

Sirius didn't care about social etiquette he refused to stand by and let Dana Parkinson abuse Samantha's mother, before he could react and hex Parkinson though, he found himself stuck to the chair, shifting his eyes to the right he caught sight of Arcturus's wand in his hand before he silkily dropped it back in his pocket without the others at the table becoming aware.

Unfortunately Arcturus had failed to recognise that there was more than one fiery Black at the table, as Samantha launched herself across the table at Dana Parkinson's head. The impending contact knocked Parkinson on the floor along with her seat, Samantha with the element of surprise was about to claw at Dana's head when a quick thinking Narcissa grabbed Sam by the ear and pulled her toward the dining room door.

"She's a complete bitch!" Shouted an infuriated Sam who like Sirius wore her heart on her sleeve. "She's a nobody, a tramp, if anyone's a harlot it's her!" Screamed Sam down the hallway. The profanities continued for around five minutes by that time Narcissa had indeed placed her down on a settee in a dark cosy room with a roaring fire.

The scene at the dining table remained tense, Dana Parkinson had redeemed her composure as she unruffled her clothing, while also sitting back down after picking up the fallen chair. Sirius had calmed down slightly but was ready to snap again. Wilfred whom often stayed away from conflict was surprisingly agitated while Lucius and Cygnus were trying to hide a smirk at the proceedings.

"Dana I would prefer it if you were to refrain from denouncing my heirs mother, I do believe they taught you that in your pitifully small Parkinson household" asserted Arcturus no longer bothered about politeness.

"I apologise for speaking out of term" backtracked a wary Dana.

"I accept your apology, now moving onto a more lighter topic I do believe Wilfred that you have been studying up on certain duelling techniques am I right"

"Of course sir, I thought it would be useful to learn the theory before I get my approved teacher" Sirius cringed as soon as he heard Wilfred's comment. He had yet to make an ultimate decision on James training his son, while all other teachers had met with Wilfred at least once by now.

"Very good Wilfred, I imagine your father will have your teacher organised by the end of this month, considering the practice of duelling and the dark arts is indeed the most important trait of a Black." addressed Arcturus while looking at Sirius pointedly.

"Such importance grandfather, means as you know that it takes time to organise a qualified teacher, but I do imagine Narcissa and I will find one relatively soon" muttered Sirius trying to appease Arcturus slightly.

"See that you do, Wilfred deserves the best, and I assume as his father that you will do your utmost to assist his needs"

It was well known by now in the Black family that Arcturus had taken Wilfred very much under his wing. To the point Arcturus often had a monopoly of Sirius's sons time. Sirius believed this was mainly due to Wilfred's fascination in history and no doubt the families history. Most Blacks never tried to interrupt this relationship, not even Sirius dared to intervene.

The placement of Wilfred at the other head of the table and the current attention now clearly signalled the interest and care Arcturus had for Wilfred. He had yet to even initiate a conversation with Draco or Cygnus despite them being in his house for an hour longer.

It would be foolhardy to try and mock or undermine Wilfred and while the two Parkinson's were loud they were not stupid, unlike a petulant blonde boy who was used to being at the centre of attention.

"He is not that special, he looks pretty weedy to me" Draco's whiny comment came with a flinch from Lucius who knew to expect the wrath of Arcturus as a response, instead there was a heartily chuckle coming from the patriarch of the Black family.

"I must admit Lucius, your son is a confident being, yet I imagine very much like yourself the boy is indeed all words and no action, a pity really we could do with some of that confidence put into Wilfred it would advance him greatly."

"I'm in the top ten for every class!"

"Not a particularly great achievement boy, if there is only forty in your year, however I can entertain the notion of your prowess for let's say my own entertainment, would you care to demonstrate this skill you believe you have?"

If Narcissa was present now, Sirius imagined she would put her foot down, Yet Lucius was now currently solely in charge of his sons welfare, so of course he allowed Draco to affirm his belief.

"Of course I will demonstrate"

"Marvellous, I propose after dinner then, a small matter of a duel between Wilfred and Draco should take place."

Sirius was about to reject, the simple challenge he saw at first was completely unfair, Draco being over a year older and with half a year of Hogwarts under him had a complete advantage. The subtle wink however Arcturus gave Wilfred, and the resulting grin from his son calmed his nerves.


"So Harry how was your first term at school, I heard that you're in the Gryffindor Quidditch team that is quite an achievement, you must be even better than your father"

"Oh erm yeah I suppose erm but really Gryffindor had no decent seeker to start with so it was relatively easy to get in the team, any other position and I would likely of struggled"

"Well I imagine your mum still wants you to still focus on school work though, What is your favourite subject? I can't imagine it is potions what with Snape being the teacher."

"Well I enjoy transfiguration that's about it, I would enjoy the defence against the dark arts if we had a capable teacher but Professor Quirrel is a stuttering mess!"

"Yes I do believe that is how Daphne also feels about him, I can't say I'm surprised, Daphne also said that you have made friends with a Weasley, is that their youngest child?" Before Harry could respond a mutter of displeasure emitted from Cyrus Greengrass.

"Er no Ron is their second youngest he has a younger sister I think she's called Ginny"

"Daphne also mentioned that you have made friends with a couple of girls too, are they sporty or are they more academically inclined?"

"Harry, you never mentioned you got yourself a girlfriend, I'm disappointed you didn't tell your old man, I should be the first person you come to about it" teased James.

"You like a girl?" Asked a surprised Rose, the very idea seemed foreign to her.

"No! I don't have a girlfriend! Hermione is a friend, she's Ron's friend too" argued Harry.

"Oh so her name is Hermione, what is her surname?"

"Granger"

"Oh I've never heard of it, is she by any chance a Muggleborn?" Asked a curious Annabelle.

"Yeah is there a problem with that!" Asked a perturbed Harry who was rather protective of Hermione,

"No Harry of course not, I'm hardly going to be against Muggleborns when one of my best friends your mother is one am I"

"And she's just a friend?" Weighed in Remus cheekily.

"Yes!"

"Yeah and what about Bell" spoke up Daphne who sounded slightly agitated.

"Bell? As in Katie Bell" Asked a surprised Linfred, who hadn't heard of his brothers friendship with Katie just that of Hermione's.

"So who is Katie Bell, Harry?" Teased James,

Harry not knowing how to respond was lost for words, luckily for him Lily came to his rescue, "leave him alone James, just because he has a crush on a girl does not mean you have to rub it in, not all of us have the gift of confidence like yourself."

"Yeah well I'm sure Harry can use his Potter charm when he feels up to it right kiddo," winked James at his eldest son, "how about you Lenny? You got yourself a girl"

"Harry said her name is Susan Bones!" Shouted Rose,

James raised his eyebrows, "why don't either of my sons trust me with such personal information" Responded James in a playful manner

"Dad your teasing won't effect me, I'm simply immune to it, but in answer to your question no I don't have a girlfriend, I hardly even know Susan plus I am only eleven!"

"Yeah I know Lenny worth a try though" the conversation fizzled out, and everybody at the table focused back on their meal, Harry though after a while muttered aloud

"I don't have a crush on Katie Bell"

"Of course you don't Harry you only love one girl and that's me right?" Asked a smug Astoria, who loved winding the job up.

"Yeah of course" added Harry warily, which just increased Astoria's grin, annoying Daphne further, Annabelle just rolled her eyes at her daughters actions.


Narcissa was watching her cousins eldest child carefully, the foolhardy comment made by Dana Parkinson had stirred up Samantha Black greatly. Narcissa honestly believed the women lacked any tact at all, she hoped Arcturus would put her in her rightful place; under his shoe.

However while the comment was distasteful Narcissa imagined that it would be Sirius whom would react aggressively to the comment, not his daughter who had for all Narcissa knew never met or seen her mother once.

Watching the girl now, she realised just how much she reminded Narcissa of Sirius but also her mother, Narcissa was one of the few whom actually knows of Samantha's mothers identity. The fiery attitude, the lack of rule abiding and distaste for pureblood antics she got all of it from both her parents.

Samantha had been curled up on a settee for sometime now, the screaming and shouting had stopped after about five minutes, once they had entered the room yet Narcissa had noticed Sam had remained perturbed for the next half an hour.

Realising that they had been away from dinner for over half an hour, Narcissa decided to approach Sam with regard to joining the other family members again.

"Samantha, I'm afraid tea will be getting cold, shall we go back to the table?"

"I'm sure the house elves will be happy to heat it up for me later, there sure is enough of them" replied Sam snarkily.

"I'm sure your father is worried about you?"

"Then I'm sure you could rejoin him in the dining room and update him on my status."

Trying to appeal to Samantha, Narcissa decided to try and demonstrate she was on the youths side, "You do know Dana Parkinson has very little idea what she is talking about, the women is an ass, and quite frankly has no business talking of your mother, she doesn't even know who your mother is."

Narcissa's attempt at appeasement was met by silence, seeing it as a lost cause she sighed, got up and began to walk to the door.

"So you know who my mother is?" Asked Samantha very quietly. Narcissa turned around to see a hopeful child looking at her expectantly.

"Yes I know who your mother is Samantha"

"Who is she? what is she like? is she like me? where is she now?" Blurted out Sam in an uncontrolled manner, Narcissa saw evident an image of desperation on the child's face.

"Samantha if your father hasn't told you any of these things then I'm not going to go behind his back and reveal what you're asking, that sort of question darling is between you and your father" sighed Narcissa, slightly upset that she could not help.

"But he will never tell me, he never talks about her!"

"Give him time Samantha, your dad will talk when he wants to."

"I should know who she is though, don't you think?"

"My opinion matters very little on this subject Samantha"

"Could you at least tell me something about her, like her personality, you don't have to tell me much, I just want to hear something about her!"

"Again I'm not the person you should be asking, I didn't know your mother very well, I was in Slytherin and a couple of years older, I only had a few brief conversations with her, you should be asking somebody who knows her better, in fact the most don't you think?"

"That will be my dad then" muttered a despondent Sam.

"Maybe or maybe not" Responded Narcissa vaguely.

"Who should I ask then?" Samantha had caught onto Narcissa's vagueness, Narcissa realised she had just dug herself into a hole, after weighing her options up she continued the conversation,

"If I am to give you a name I expect that you would be subtle when approaching said person about the topic of your mother."

"Sure"

"I do also insist that you will follow me back to the dining room, at the end of this conversation" Continued Narcissa whom like any cunning Black was milking any additional benefits from the circumstances entailed from the current situation.

"Yes fine! now tell me please!"

"Well it might either come to you as a surprise or as a obvious candidate but your pseudo uncle James Potter knows your mother reasonably well," not wanting Samantha to ask any further follow up questions Narcissa quickly changed tone, "now let's go and see the remnants of the dinner table" directed Narcissa and then briskly made her way back to the dining room.

After desert, Arcturus announced to the table that everybody should make their way down to the impressive duelling room in the basement of the manor. As the group collectively began to make their way down to the duelling room Arcturus grabbed Wilfred by the arm gently and whispered to him.

"Remember Wilfred what I have taught you" reminded Arcturus stonily, "And if you lose you will be punished, a trip to the servants kitchen would be likely, so don't mess up and let the ferret boy beat you, remember how grotty the kitchen is" winked Arcturus as he walked slowly off.

Wilfred, while becoming friendlier with the old patriarch was still very much wary of him, he just quickly nodded in response. Wilfred had ultimately learned very little with regard to offensive spells but his stance and movement were stellar he believed he only needed one good opportunity to hex Draco and he would win.

Wilfred wanted to affirm Arcturus's trust in him, this was the best method of proving his potential to his great grandfather and his hesitant father that he did deserve the tuition. Wilfred quickly got up on the platform and adjusted his posture all the time opposite Malfoy.

"Wands at the ready and begin" Arcturus said with authority.

Malfoy immediately burst into an attack and began to fire an offensive spell at Wilfred they looked like stunners but he wasn't too sure, Lucius must have taught Draco a small amount however deemed Wilfred.

Wilfred, to the irritation of the blonde ferret, simply blocked each one with relative ease, in such lacklustre effort it was almost baiting Malfoy to try harder.

Malfoy snarled in anger hoping not to be outdone by a boy younger than him he charged forward again moving toward Wilfred while firing spells that had much less friendly intentions. Again no doubt the influence of Lucius Malfoy. Draco even fired a bone-breaker hex, yet Draco's relatively little strength due to his age plus his waning intent made the spell essentially the same as another stunner.

Wilfred tucked and weaved away from all the spells with speed and poise that should be foreign to a child, the calmness surrounding Wilfred allowed him to immediately react when he saw a off balanced Malfoy whom through his rage had tripped slightly on the raised surface.

Wilfred spotting his opportunity decided to initiate a mere stunner at his rival, the family watched on waiting for the inevitable; Malfoy being floored by a simple stunner, yet instead the stunner hit Malfoy square on the chest and knocked him ten metres back where he crashed into the wall with some velocity.

The family watching were all stunned apart from Arcturus who was just grinning maniacally, the others were astounded by the sheer power of the small boy. Narcissa took her gaze away from the young heir and ran forward toward her boy.

"I do believe Sirius that is enough of a demonstration to show you that your son is no joke, in fact he is one of the strongest Blacks I have seen in my generation. So remember a teacher is required and quickly."

And suddenly Sirius realised that his grandfathers favouritism to Wilfred was not merely just because of his fascination with history, but because Arcturus believed his son was capable of matching Arcturus's own power or maybe topping it, Wilfred was a exceptionally powerful wizard already. A boy who if his grandfather was right could lift the Black household to new heights.


Remus after dinner at the Potters left by himself, he had been invited annually to the Potters for Yule, something which he was grateful for, he no longer had any family, his parents died twelve years ago, with no close relations he would be alone at Yule if it weren't for the Potters invite.

It helped Remus but it never fully relieved his loneliness. His friendship at school with the marauders was indeed a blessing, but despite their continued support and talk of always being together as one at school, the simple promise was unrealistic.

Despite the continued camaraderie both James and Sirius had families now of their own, something which Remus could never hope to have. His condition had detached himself away from any respective relationship that might offer a family in the future, the first time he had revealed his condition to a girl of his fancy she had reacted as he had imagined, shocked.

Despite this he was still living with her currently, Dorcas Meadowes while shocked never left Remus's side, yet the dynamic of their relationship changed, the serious attitude that was prevalent beforehand had somehow switched to a more lighter affair, where sex and nights out became the norm, rather than romantic dates and cosying up on a Saturday night to watch films on the tv.

It moved away from a likely start of a family relationship to simply roommates with added benefits, Remus had never bothered to search for a family again, he knew it was not worth the pain.

So here he stood at the edge of the forbidden forest, he had apparated himself there in the effort to try and relive the time when he was back at school when all that mattered was his friends and him traipsing around the forest's undergrowth. He'd only gone in the forbidden forest a few times in his normal human state, yet he was unperturbed, he knew every secret under the canopy of the trees.

Walking deeper into the forest a noise from nearby drew his attention, following the sound, quietly he ended up at a clearing that revealed two men engaged in a conversation.

Remus recognised both immediately, the tell tale signs of the burgundy turban pointed to Professor Quirrel immediately, while the larger broader man resembled the mysterious stranger called Almond Rowle.

Edging closer, the thoughts of potential family disappeared, his only thought now was on helping the Potters his so called adopted family. He really did love them like a family, to the point he was Rose's godfather, he knew heart on heart he would sacrifice himself for any one of them. He listened in to what seemed like a heated conversation.

"Do you not understand me Quirrel? You have no chance of getting to it by yourself you're incapable"

"I have knowledge beyond your wildest dreams, I.i..i don't n. your help" Stuttered Quirrel in a very unsure manner,

"Quirrel you're a Muggle studies teacher" Quirrel tried to object to such a remark, but the tough man continued, "don't try to debate it Quirrel, you were a Muggle studies teacher for a long period of time only until after your adventure to the eastern part of the continent did you gain recognition from Dumbledore."

"Y. I did go t. Europe I.i.i learned a…"

"My contacts have told me that you did in fact come into contact with an piece of elemental dark magic, to which you learned quickly after of the whereabouts of the stone"

"E. "

"You can't even talk to me properly without stuttering, how do you suppose you're going to confront a Cerberus, and a troll?"

"E..e"

"It was a rhetorical question you pissing kitten, now how does a man who could convince the great Albus Dumbledore his intelligence, lack the practical talent to harm a fly, do inform me?"

"I.i..i can't tell you that"

"Unlucky for you Quirrel I'am privy to the ways of dark magic, my families history is littered with its use, now rather than myself reporting you to the department of magical law enforcement, you shall and will accompany myself to the location of the stone."

"You don't understand my m. has forbid it"

"Your master eh? You never told me you were serving under an higher power, tell me Professor what is the name of your master?"

"I.i.i.i can't tell you that, b.b.. I must t. you that he he is an powerful wizard, not somebody you or I can compete against."

"Look here Quirrel I have faced off against numerous powerful and dark wizards, I have even undermined the so called darkest wizard of all time and yet here I still stand, so do not warn me of some inferior talent, I need the stone Quirrel, I need it!"

"Ok I will sho….

Remus was watching closely he honestly believed that they were getting to the crux of the matter, Yet suddenly Professor Quirrel began to shake visibly, he clutched his head and keeled over. At first Remus thought it was Rowle that was cursing the man, yet one look at him revealed he was just as surprised as him.

"Quirrel what are you doing?"

"Arghhh" Screamed Quirrel.

"Pull yourself together man, anybody nearby could here you!" Rowle received no reply instead a hissing sound began to be heard quietly resonating from Quirrel. The sound Remus heard he decided was definitely not of the human variety.

"Leave me" gasped Quirrel suddenly, "I need to heal, my master is calling, there is an opportunity in the summer I will tal..argh! Talk with you then!" Remus watched the man flop back over onto his back. Any man Remus himself included would be at least a little bit disturbed from the scene that had just taken place yet Rowle silently cast a simple health spell to check his breathing and then began to stroll away.

Yet Remus only realised too late that it was in his direction, he tried backing up slowly, yet a raised tree root was his downfall as he went careering to the floor. The man immediately froze him, he moved in a speed that resembled that of an auror.

"Who the hell are you?" Bellowed the muscular man.

"Lupin, Remus Lupin"

"Why are you here, what business do you have roaming the forbidden forest at this time of night or any time of night for that matter" not wanting to be bullied by the man, Remus snarked back,

"As much business as you I imagine"

"Your cheek is misused, you should know that you're not in a position to be clever Mr Lupin, why should I not kill you now, and leave you here in the middle of the forest, I'm sure the Acromantulas would tidy my mess up, nobody would be none the wiser of your untimely death."

Remus had faced stone faced killers before, the order's raids and missions from the first war, had gave him great experience in the face of adversity, it had become second nature to identify the dangerous opponents to the pretenders who were all talk,

This man had the eyes of a dangerous wizard, a man who would make no bones about it would kill a person if needed. Remus knew he was in a dire situation, he needed to tread unbelievably carefully, while manipulating the situation in his favour.

"You still haven't given me a reason Mr Lupin", Remus had no idea what to say, he knew his time was running out, as a desperate measure he decided to drop James's name into the situation.

"I don't think James Potter would see kindly to you after killing his best friend, Mr Rowle" the name drop clearly had an effect, the man let his guard down for the briefest second, before schooling his expression.

"And why would James Potter matter to me Mr Lupin, I have only ever heard of his name in passing, I have only heard of his brazenness and sheer cheek, pretty pathetic traits for an auror if you ask me"

"You seem to know a lot for a person who has only heard of him briefly. Tell me Almond Rowle, how many years in Azkaban is it for killing someone, it's just that James Potter will know doubt know that it was you that killed me, he knows of your sneaking around Hogwarts, so I'd think long and hard before you avada me" reasoned Remus trying to not show any nerves.

Almond Rowle seemed to think for a while before a glint of a smile appeared on his face, "tell me Mr Lupin, has James Potter ever explicitly told you who I am, has he ever mentioned my real importance to his family, has he actually in fact as I assume kept you really in the dark about me?"

Remus didn't reply, the silence stretched on.

"I thought so, not the actions of a man who is prepared to go on a hunting spree to prosecute myself, now I do like a clever and calculated individual, for this I won't kill you, but really I am mainly keeping you alive so I can send a message to my old friend via yourself of course. And with one swift slicing hex he engrained a deep cut into Remus's arm.

"Tell him to leave myself and my family alone, it has nothing to do with family or should I say Potter magic, do you understand me?" Demanded Almond Rowle at the man that had buckled to the floor trying to restrain the impending howl.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes" breathed Remus frantically.

"Good"


After dinner the two sets of parents remained seated at the dining table, grazing on the customary cheese and biscuits that were often set out after a large dinner. The joys of living in a pureblood home also allowed the adults to sit back and relax while the house elves, Micky on this occasion cleared the table and also washed the used cutlery.

Astoria and Rose excused themselves, the atmosphere around the table was a slightly more rowdy one, with the numerous bottles of wine washed back even the usual formal Cyrus was in a loud mood.

The adults had resigned themselves to old tales of Hogwarts, which in Harry's opinion were amusing for the first couple of times, but then became a bit boring after a while, they all seemed to be the exact same. Harry though would of desperately gone back to old Hogwarts tales when Rose and Astoria arrived back at the table with two smug smiles, which always signalled trouble.

To Harry's misfortune it was indeed trouble, unfortunately that trouble was centred around him, well actually him and Lenny. Mainly because the two youngest offspring had found themselves a photo album book, that usually remained untouched for the whole year hidden away in the downstairs study, that was filled with mostly generic crap.

Of course the photo albums contents mostly included pictures of the twins when they were growing up, not something any kid wants to be portrayed openly to other families despite how close they were. The fact that half of the pictures were him and Lenny in the bath didn't really help his mood.

"I can't believe you took pictures of them when they were in the bath!" yelled Rose in a disturbed state, "I don't want to see that!" continued Rose yelling at the parents, whom were only smiling at the little red head.

"Wait you don't have pictures of me in the bath do you?" Gasped a nervous Rose.

"We'll just have to see in the future won't we Rose" teased James.

Of course the state the adults were in just made the whole ordeal worse, their drunken states certainly increased the number of embarrassing remarks being made at each picture, often in the form of Look how cute he used to be shame he lost his chubby cheeks

"Oh look there is some of Daphne!" Squealed Astoria whom had caught sight of the next page. Sure enough their were numerous spreads of just Harry and Daphne playing together

Clearly both their mums had made it an effort to document a lot of their time together. "What are they doing here?" Questioned a confused Rose, pointing to a series of pictures where Harry was holding a plastic vacuum cleaner whereas Daphne was holding a doll nearby.

"I do believe Rose that they were pretending to be parents at the time, Harry is clearly doing the chores around the house, something that any decent husband would do," mocked Lily in a playful manner, while looking over at James.

"I cleaned the bathroom the other day" murmured James.

"Picking up the towels does not represent cleaning James" Laughed Lily.

"Where is Lenny?" Shouted Rose.

"Oh, well Linfred wasn't particularly fond of Daphne when he was little she took up too much of your brothers time, I imagine he was upstairs in his room."

The series of pictures where him and Daphne were clearly playing house with one another seemingly embarrassed Harry to no end, he just wanted the ground to eat him up. He didn't dare glance around, not wanting to catch anybody's eye especially not Daphne's.

Yet a cooing sound from Rose and Astoria though forced him on instinct to look back up where there in the centre of a page was the picture of him and Daphne having a innocent chaste kiss with one another at the age of eight. He looked opposite him and Daphne was also bright red, looking anywhere but the picture.

Not wanting to stay around much longer and be subjected to large amounts of teasing, Harry decided to take evasive action.

"I think I'm going to go and help Micky with the washing up" squeaked Harry desperate to leave the table, surprisingly Daphne followed him using the same excuse.

"Well that was embarrassing" summed up Daphne after a while, neither had any desire to have much of a conversation.

"Yeah, Rose and Astoria are going to pay for that, I don't know what I'm going to do but I'll get them back no doubt about it."

"Yeah well Tori likes stirring up trouble, she is going to be awful at Hogwarts, her and Tracy will make my life a nightmare"

"Well you will just have to talk to Parkinson more now won't you" Smirked Harry

"Yeah that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. Now since we're alone you might as well tell me Harry what exactly your up to at Hogwarts?"

Harry slowly put down the dirty plate after rinsing it under the tap, "ok but please don't get mad or shout, I really don't need any of that at the moment"

"Get on with it Harry"

"Fine, ok so well it started when I was invited to the headmasters office.."

"The headmaster? As in Dumbledore?"

"No Armando Dippet, of course Dumbledore, now will you let me continue?"

"So much for no preferential treatment, anyway get on with it," muttered Daphne.

"I'm trying to!" Snapped Harry, "So the meeting involved my parents and I, essentially he warned us that Professor Quirrel was going mad. Anyway when we were at the Malfoys ball, I asked Lenny to explore the third floor, just for some fun, anyway he came across a Cerberus."

"What!"

"Yeah but that's not all he saw a piece of clothing left behind making us realise somebody else had gone in there quite recently. Anyway my parents reckon it is guarding something, they also have raised suspicions that somebody outside Hogwarts, some stranger is after the thing that the dog is guarding, me and Lenny are going to try and find out what this coming term"

"What! Surely your parents aren't sending you in to harms way just to find out what it's guarding, wait! You're doing it on your own terms aren't you?"

"Yeah," shrugged Harry guiltily.

"I've already told you this Harry you can't go running off all the time into trouble! One day it's going to come back and haunt you, please just leave it alone you know that your parents are dealing with it why do you have to go and put yourself in danger!"

"I promise Daphne that I'm not going to do anything stupid or dangerous, to be honest I will just ask Hermione to research something, ok?"

"Why Hermione?"

"Did you even ask that question Daph"

"Fine but you promise not to go anywhere near that third floor corridor Harry"

"Yeah" shrugged Harry focusing back on the dirty dishes.

So all the different parts are coming together with the potters and others realising there is something hidden in Hogwarts, to which someone is after. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and it's fluffy nature. The crux of the year will start to be dealt with in the next two chapters. As always please review thanks!