A/N: Thanks and brownies for StormsInNeverland, Asterix Tutnix, ArwenJaneLilyLyra, 13dramaqueen13, yoseriahippie, Forever Written in the Stars, ladeedadeedadeedadeeda, and Ember Nickel for reviews for the last chapter!

Chapter 12 - Meeting the Family

Harry carefully packed his old Auror kit in a trunk. It had been a while since he had used it. He lovingly stroked his old invisibility cloak; it had been through a lot of adventures with him, both at school and since, in his long career as an Auror. Then he crossed over to his desk and opened his drawer.

It had been even longer since he had had this out. It wasn't much use outside Hogwarts, but he had refused to hand it over to any of the children. It had been tempting, but it would have been very irresponsible (he told himself) to encourage rule-breaking like that, and he had resisted the temptation, even when Teddy had come begging. Actually, he wasn't sure whether any of his own children even knew of its existence. Teddy had had the information from George, but Harry had had a word with George after that, and George had agreed, albeit with a roll of the eyes, not to talk about it to any of the other kids. And none of them had ever asked him about it.

Harry frowned. He knew it had been in this drawer. He had seen it there only… good grief, when had he last had this drawer open. He couldn't remember. It must be years. But he was quite sure it had been this drawer. It was his locked drawer, the one he never went into. Why else would he have locked it, if not to keep the map safe? And the lock had spells over it that would not be broken by a simple Relashio.

But the drawer was most definitely empty.

It was the first evening of the Christmas holidays, and the dining room of the Scamanders' house in Hogsmeade was packed with people. Luna and Rolf were enjoying playing host (their guests had been relieved to find that the cooking had been done by Rolf, as they had all experienced Luna's cooking in the past), and the children were noisy and exuberant after being released from school. The meal had been excellent (Rolf was a surprisingly good cook), and everybody was feeling pleasantly full.

Ginny, Angelina and James were having a heated discussion about Quidditch, and George could be heard telling Ron of some business deal he had recently concluded, with his son Fred, Roxy's older brother, listening in quietly. Hermione and Percy were arguing good-naturedly about something at the Ministry. Various other, quieter conversations were going on around the room. Lucy, Alice and the twins had vacated the table, and the girls were enjoying playing with the two little boys, who were entertaining young things.

So far, the only impression the adults had from the older children was that Al was being rather quiet (but then, he often was) and that Rose and James seemed to have had a falling out (again, nothing particularly unusual).

"So, Dad." Rose made the most of a pause in her father's conversation with her Uncle George, and leaned towards him. "How come you and Uncle Harry were snooping around Hogwarts yesterday?"

It was amazing, Harry thought, how quickly the room fell silent. Rose's voice was clear and carrying, and everyone had heard her question, to his annoyance. Trust Rose to have somehow spotted them; he had thought that they had been very careful, but Rose's eyes were sharper than most. She wanted to be an Auror herself, and she would certainly pass her observation skills tests. Seeing things other people did not was something she had inherited from her mother, he thought.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rosie," Ron told his daughter. "We weren't snooping around. We went for a walk up that way, and dropped in to see Neville, that's all." He shot a glance at Neville, relying on his old friend to back this fiction up.

Rose raised her eyebrows, clearly not believing a word. "Oh. So it's a secret?"

Harry decided to intervene.

"Work stuff, I'm afraid, Rosie," he said firmly. "And we can't tell you. You're not an Auror yet, you know."

Rose fell silent, but her brother took up the argument.

"Work stuff at Hogwarts?" He looked eagerly at his father and uncle. "Is it to do with what happened to Meri?"

Damn. Harry had forgotten than Hugo had been one of the people questioned by Aurors after that incident. He knew that they were taking it seriously.

"Stop asking questions, Hugo," Hermione interrupted firmly. "If Uncle Harry says he can't tell us, he can't tell us. You know that."

It was tactful of her to say 'us,' Harry thought, since she and Ginny knew more or less everything anyway.

"'Fraid your Mum's right," he said cheerfully, however, and then changed the subject to something else he wanted to talk about, letting his eyes drift thoughtfully around the table. "Now that I've got everybody's attention, though, there was something I wanted to ask you kids. I don't know how many of you know of a map that I own. A bit of a special map."

He looked around him. There was surprise on most people's faces, but no blankness, except for Rolf Scamander and his sons. It seemed that everyone in the family knew about the map, he thought resignedly. Even Lucy and Alice, for goodness' sake, whose small faces were turned up to him from their current position on the floor. So they all knew about it. Not so surprising really. More surprising if it had still been a secret, considering that both George and Teddy knew all about it.

"Right," he said. "From everybody's expressions, you all know." He kept his voice and face passive, but he was watching each and every one of his children, nieces and nephews very carefully. Any of them could have had the opportunity; they had all been in his house often enough. Even Teddy. Harry sincerely hoped that, at twenty four, Teddy would not be taking things out of his drawers these days, but he had no idea how long the map might have been gone for.

"I'm not going to say anything about it," he continued. "I'm not interested in blaming or punishing anybody. But I'd like to know who took it out of my drawer."

He had been watching for reactions, and he wasn't disappointed. Fred's face was a blank, Al and Rose remained impassive, Roxy was staring at the table cloth, but Molly, Lily and Hugo… those three heads all instinctively snapped one way. And looked at James.

Harry's gaze rested on his eldest son, who was glaring at the three who had given him away. He caught his father's eye and went red, but he tried to pass it off.

"Um, yeah," he said, his voice forcedly light. "That might have been me."

Nobody had noticed two small, stricken people on the floor, who were gazing at one another in horror. The attention was all on Harry and James.

"You've got the map? The map?" Teddy sounded outraged.

"It was years ago!" James said defiantly. "I mean, I thought you didn't even want it any more!"

"You mean you thought I'd never notice it had gone," said Harry dryly. "Well, I have noticed. And I'm not going to start recriminations for something that happened years ago. We'll say no more about it, Jamie. But I'd like it back now, please."

James looked faintly horrified. "Um, yeah…" he said again. "Er, about that. Actually, I haven't got it any more."

"James!" Rose sounded incredulous, forgetting in the heat of the moment that she was not talking to her cousin. "I saw you with it the other week…" She trailed off at James's look, "What's that look supposed to mean? I haven't pinched it off you!" Her eyes sharpened at the expression on his face. "Someone has pinched it, haven't they?"

James looked wretchedly at his father, swallowed, and nodded. "It was really recently," he insisted. "Just a few weeks ago. I had it up until then. It was in my trunk." He looked at Rose again, calculatingly, but read nothing but blank astonishment in her eyes, so he looked suspiciously at Albus.

"Don't look at me," Al said, raising his eyebrows and speaking coldly. "I haven't got it. If I'd wanted it, I could have taken it off you at any point in the last four years. I certainly wouldn't take it now."

James' eyes went back to Rose, who scowled at him.

"You think it was me? Well, it wasn't. I haven't got it. It could have been anybody."

"No, it couldn't," argued James, with a scowl. "How many people would dare to poke around in my trunk? Other than you lot."

"Um…" The voice was very small, but in the quiet room, everybody heard. They all turned and found a pink-faced Lucy Weasley, standing facing them all.

"Um…" said Lucy again. "It might… just possibly… have been… us."

"Lucy!" exclaimed Percy.

James' mouth dropped open. "You?" he said incredulously.

In the silence that followed, James looked back at Rose and Al. Rose glared at him.

"Looks like you owe yet another apology, Jamie," she remarked, with false sweetness.

"Indeed," Harry agreed, with amusement, although he shot a sharp glance between James and Rose, as if noticing that there was something more than usual happening between them.

James, however, was currently immune to Rose's needling, as all his attention was focussed on Lucy. "You took it?" he exploded. "You little…"

"James," Harry interrupted firmly. "I don't think you can say anything about taking maps that don't belong to you. I said there were going to be no recriminations, and there aren't." He glanced at Percy, who looked as though he might have been going to scold his daughter, and then at Lucy. "I'm not going to say anything, and neither is anyone else. I'd just like it back please, Lucy."

"I… I…" Lucy floundered desperately. She didn't want to get anyone into trouble, and now she came to think of it, she didn't know who had the thing.

"She hasn't got it," said Alice, suddenly. Everybody turned and looked at her, and she went red.

"I see," said Harry, in measured tones. "When you said us, Lucy, you meant…?"

"Me as well," said Alice firmly. "And the others."

"And who has it now?" Harry asked Lucy gently.

Lucy looked stumped. "I don't know. I haven't seen it since the day we took it, and that was back in October. It was the same day as the first Hogsmeade trip. We were sort of bored, and Jake Nelson wanted to know about secret passages, so we told them about the map. And we went and stole it while everyone was in Hogsmeade. We were going to put it back. But then lots of things happened that day, and I forgot about it."

Various people in the room remembered that day vividly. Harry looked as though he might be beginning to lose patience.

"And you don't know what happened to it?"

"Well, we never put it back, so someone took it." Lucy looked at Alice. "Who was it? D'you remember?"

Alice nodded. "Um, yeah. It was Issie."

"What?" James exploded. "You mean my map – the map I mean." He glanced quickly at his father, then returned to the issue in hand. "Iseult Malfoy has the Marauder's Map?"

Harry looked rather serious. "The map has gone to the Malfoys' home?"

"Oh no." Alice was looking relieved. "Mrs Malfoy… well, she's not very well, so Issie's staying at Hogwarts for a few days. She's only up at the castle. I can go and get the map off her tomorrow."

"Wait a minute," Ron said, frowning. "I'm missing something here. What was the Malfoy girl doing with you?"

"Oh, Ron, for goodness' sake!" exclaimed Hermione.

"She's my friend," said Alice, a little defiantly, with a glance at James.

There was a short silence in the room.

"She's a really nice kid, actually," said Lily, in such a vague tone of voice that her mother shot her a suspicious look. Even Lily wasn't that vague.

"Oh yes," James said with a slight smirk. "I forgot; she loves you, doesn't she? I'm surprised it doesn't get a bit annoying, having her trailing round after you with those puppy-dog eyes."

"She doesn't!" said Alice, indignantly.

"Well, you'd know, James," retorted Lily. "Seeing as half the school wanders round like that after you. But actually, Alice is right. Issie doesn't follow me at all. All I said was, she's a nice kid, and there's nothing wrong with Alice being friends with her."

Ron looked at his niece with narrowed eyes. "Why are you getting so pally with the Malfoys recently, Lil?" he asked, suspiciously. "At the beginning of term, you were saying young Scorpius wasn't so bad."

"Ron," said Hermione, in a warning voice.

"I'm not just being prejudiced, Hermione," said Ron quickly. "There are things… you know what I'm talking about."

"I'm afraid Lily's right." Neville Longbottom spoke with sudden firmness. "Whatever we may have thought, or still think, about her father, Iseult Malfoy is a very nice child. And a Gryffindor."

Lily looked around the table, begging her brothers and cousins with her eyes not to say anything about the rumours that had gone round about her and Malfoy. Rose smirked, and James looked as though he might be going to speak, but Harry got there first.

"Well, Alice, if you can get it back for me tomorrow, we'll say no more about it, okay? And that goes for all of the rest of you as well." He looked around sternly, his eyes lingering specifically on James, whom he thought might kick up a fuss at the idea of Iseult Malfoy having been in his trunk.

They all nodded reluctantly, then James' eyes narrowed. As the conversations in the room started up again, albeit in a more subdued manner, he looked suspiciously at Lucy and Alice.

"Hey, did you take anything else out of my trunk?"

Lucy grinned at him. "Oh yes, there was one other thing. I took that. But I don't want it; you can have it back. I can go and get it for you now if you want…"

"No!" exclaimed James, with a reflexive glance at his mother. "I mean… not now, Lucy. I'll get it off you later, okay?"

He looked threateningly at her, and she satisfied herself with another smirk, determining not to let James catch her by herself these holidays. She didn't want to lose that piece of bargaining power.

They woke next morning to find that it had snowed overnight. There was a white pristine coating over every surface, not very deep, but enough that only the odd sprig of heather poked through, and Hogsmeade had turned into a Christmas card village. As the first day of the holidays, most people had slept in, and Alice left everyone finishing breakfast as she set off up to the castle to retrieve the map.

Some time later, Rose looked out of the window. She gazed in silence for a few moments at the sight in front of her, then looked round, her expression carefully neutral.

"Just to warn you," she announced, "Alice has brought a visitor."

Those who were close enough turned to look out of the window. Others moved across to see what the fuss was about. There was a short silence.

Outside the Scamanders' front gate, two small girls were standing, warmly dressed in coats, scarves and hats. They appeared to be arguing. The taller and sturdier of the two had the other by the hand and was attempting to tug her through the gate. The smaller and skinnier one was resisting, although she seemed to be weakening. As they watched, she gave in and allowed herself to be pulled, albeit reluctantly, through the gate and up the path.

Luna was in the kitchen as the door opened, and she looked up at the sound, smiling her vague smile at the two girls who came through it.

"Oh, hello. You must be Iseult."

"Yes, this is her." Alice jumped in hurriedly. "Issie, this is Luna Scamander, who's one of my mum and dad's friends. This is her house." She turned to Luna, her eyes wide and pleading. "Luna, can Issie please please come for lunch? She's all by herself up at the castle..."

"It's okay," Issie said quickly, before Luna could speak. "I don't need to. It's fine."

"No, no." Luna smiled at the little girl. "Of course you must stay. We love having visitors."

The listeners in the lounge exchanged dismayed glances. Harry, walking through the door, looked around in surprise.

"What's the matter with you all?"

James and Rose exchanged dark looks, for once united in their distrust of the Malfoys, but it was Albus who broke the news in his typically calm way.

"Iseult Malfoy is coming for lunch."

Issie had not wanted to come. She was not stupid, and she knew that a Malfoy would definitely be an unwelcome addition to a gathering of Weasleys, Potters, Longbottoms and their friends. But Alice, in her friendly enthusiasm, was extremely persuasive, and if Issie was honest, it was lonely up at the castle. Scorpius was there too of course, but she could not tag after him all the time. His friend Danny had also stayed at school for the first few days, partly to keep Scorpius company and partly because he did not get on with his own family, and while Danny had always been nice to her, Issie had grown a little more independent since coming to Hogwarts, and no longer felt comfortable attaching herself to her brother and his friends. There were no other Gryffindors near her age, or anyone else she really knew, and the time was already hanging heavily on her hands by the time Alice appeared, although it was only mid morning.

She had been dismayed at the garbled story her friend had spilled out excitedly. She, Alice and Jake had explored several of the secret passages marked on the map, and she thought they probably knew most of the entrances by heart now, so losing the map was not the greatest of her worries, although it was a blow. She could not believe that she was not going to be in serious trouble for stealing the Potters' precious map, although she had not realised until now that it technically belonged to Harry Potter, not James. But even if Mr Potter was not going to be angry with her, James Potter certainly would be. It would have been different if Lucy had taken it; Lucy was family. Or even Alice, who was almost as good as. But Issie had simply calmly appropriated it for herself, although she hadn't really meant to. The idea had been to put it back when there was a chance, only there never had been a chance, and after a while, the second-years all seemed to have forgotten about it. She thought apprehensively, however, of her next meeting with James Potter.

And yet, somehow, she had found herself born on Alice's determination, out of Hogwarts and down towards Hogsmeade, accompanied by constant assurances that 'nobody would mind.' Issie was far less convinced of this than Alice was, and when they reached the gate she almost rebelled, and would have turned back for the castle had Alice not caught her by the hand and practically dragged her inside.

The lady with the long blonde hair and the floaty blue dress was friendly enough (although a little odd and vague), but then she was not apparently a Potter or a Weasley, and Issie had only heard the name Scamander in association with magical beasts; she knew nothing about the current Scamanders. Which probably meant that her family would not really approve of them, but Issie was caring less and less about that.

But then Alice was pulling her through the kitchen and into a living room full of people, many of whom were familiar, but many of whom were also complete strangers. There was a short silence, during which Issie was very glad of Alice standing beside her. Then Lily smiled at her from across the room.

"Hey, Issie!"

The silence broken, Alice stepped forwards.

"I invited her for lunch." Her voice was slightly defiant. "Luna said it's okay."

"Of course it is!" a tall man with grey hair and a beard said in friendly tones, apparently oblivious to the tension in the room. "Can't have you mouldering away by yourself up in that castle." He smiled at her, and held out a hand. "Rolf Scamander."

Shyly, Issie put her hand in his.

"Iseult Malfoy," she introduced herself in a whisper.

"Pleased to meet you, Iseult," a man whom Issie knew instantly must be Harry Potter said briskly. She couldn't tell whether he was really pleased or not, but if not, then he was hiding it. And she had something to give him.

Pulling the parchment out from under her coat, she held it out to him.

"I'm sorry I took it," she said quietly, taking a deep breath and meeting his eyes. "I didn't mean to steal it."

For a moment, he looked steadily at her. Then he smiled, slightly grimly.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the only one to blame, by the story I heard. And you're not the first one to steal that map either. It has a long history of being misappropriated."

He took the map from her, and she could not help feeling a pang of regret. It had been a valuable possession and she wished that she was capable of making something like that herself. The map's makers must have been talented wizards indeed.

Before she could think about it too long, an elderly woman was stepping forwards from the crowd. She wore robes in the old style, as Issie's grandparents did, and Issie realised with a shock that there was something decidedly familiar about her face. She was smiling, but there was another emotion in her eyes, although Issie wasn't entirely sure what it was. It was strong though, almost as if the woman might cry.

"Iseult Malfoy," she said, trying Issie's name out thoughtfully. She put her hand under Issie's chin and tilted her face up, examining her careuflly. Startled, Issie met her gaze.

"We've never met," the woman said abruptly. "But I'm your Great Aunt Andromeda. Your grandmother's sister."

Issie stared at her, certain things clicking into place. Of course. That was why the woman was familiar, and yet not familiar. She looked like some of the portraits in Issie's grandparents' house. She had heard of her Great Aunt Andromeda; she knew that her grandmother had some contact with her sister, although they weren't close, and Issie had never met her.

There had been a startled silence in the room at Andromeda's words, then Harry laughed slightly forcedly.

"Of course. I forgot you two were related."

Someone else laughed too, and Issie looked round to find herself looking at a pleasant-faced young man with – astonishingly – turquoise hair, who, like the first man, held out his hand to her.

"And on that note, I'm your cousin Teddy. Nice to meet you – Issie, is it? I met your brother a couple of times when he was little, but I've never met you." He winked at her. "Glad I'm no longer the only grandchild of a Black sister to end up in Gryffindor."

Issie stared at him, open-mouthed. She had heard of her cousin Teddy too, although she had entirely forgotten about his existence. The last thing she had expected, coming here, was to find long lost relatives of her own. But his words gave her a flood of warmth. She wasn't entirely alone after all. There had been other members of her family in Gryffindor too. Not Malfoys, perhaps, but members of the family nonetheless.

"You don't look like a Malfoy," Andromeda commented thoughtfully. "That dark hair. More like a Black. Your grandmother was the odd one out there – the rest of us were all dark. You've got blue eyes like her though – but not the same shade."

"I look like my mum" Issie informed her. "She's got dark hair, and my eyes are the same colour as hers too."

"Ah yes." Andromeda shot her a curious look. "And how is your mother?"

Issie hesitated, staring at her great aunt. She still wasn't sure if she was supposed to be telling people about the baby. Her father had said she wasn't to talk about it while the baby was still in hospital, but he was getting out of hospital today, so surely it was okay. She was desperate to talk about it and tell people. Anyway, it sounded almost as if her great aunt already knew.

As if she had read her thoughts, Andromeda spoke gently.

"I know about the situation, dear. Narcissa told me some time ago."

"What situation?" Lucy demanded, evidently feeling that she had been left out of the conversation for quite long enough.

Issie flushed.

"Don't be nosy, Luce," Teddy said easily, but Issie shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I don't think it's a secret any more." She looked at Lucy. "My mum had a baby. It was in October, but we didn't tell anyone, because he nearly died, and my mum was really ill. But they're okay now." At least, so her father said. She still hadn't heard anything directly from her mother, and it was odd that she and Scorp weren't allowed to come straight home. But she trusted her father to tell her if anything was seriously wrong.

There were shocked faces all around the room. Lily was not surprised of course, and neither was Professor Longbottom, who had come quietly in while they were talking, and Great Aunt Andromeda had apparently known all about it, but everyone else was surprised to some degree. James Potter's mouth had fallen open, and then he looked suddenly thoughtful, as if an idea had occurred to him that wasn't quite comfortable.

"Well, I'm very glad she's doing better." Andromeda broke the slightly awkward silence with a smile, and there were agreeing murmurs from the other adults. "And I expect you're looking forward to meeting your baby brother, are you?"

After a few more questions and comments, the conversation moved on, and the ice was broken. Issie was still reserved and slightly shy, but the presence of members of her family had given her confidence, and she joined in happily with Alice and Lucy's chatter, and made the acquaintance of Lorcan and Lysander, and Lysander's collection of spiders (Ron Weasley hurriedly left the room at this point), and by lunch time, was feeling almost at home.

The snow had started again shortly after Alice and Issie arrived, but stopped by the time they were finished with lunch, leaving an even thicker layer of gleaming white. The five youngest children spilled out of doors to play in it. However, the older ones were not long in following, and it was Hugo who suggested a snowball fight, and James (predictably) who added the idea of a snowball fight on broomsticks.

Teams were divided quickly. Most people were up for joining in, with a few exceptions. Rose absented herself as soon as brooms were mentioned, with the same speed and skill as her father had done when faced with the spiders, and none of her cousins commented.

It was Lily who said, "Are you playing, Al?" but it was James who turned and waited for an answer, a strange expression on his face as he looked at his brother, as if he was trying to say something important without actually saying it. The others waited silently. This was James's game, and he was organising it, and nobody had seen him and Al exchange so much as a look or a word since the night of the party. Albus met his brother's gaze, and for a moment he hesitated, seeing the unspoken words in James' face.

Then the shutters came down again, he shook his head briefly and turned away.

"Nah, not just now. I'll go and keep Rose company." And he was gone, into the house.

A flash of something like disappointment, or even regret, crossed James's face, but he quickly pulled himself together and turned back to the matter in hand. Fred had deigned to join them, despite his mature nineteen years of age, and he, James and Lily were decidedly the best fliers, with Hugo coming after them. The teams were eventually decided, with Fred, Molly, Lily, Lucy, Issie and Lorcan on one team, and James, Roxanne, Hugo, Alice's brother Aidan, Lucy, Alice and Lysander on the other, spare brooms were summoned for those without them, and the game was under way.

It was a glorious, riotous affair, and Issie entirely forgot where she was and who with and had a wonderful time. She even forgot her fear and dislike of James Potter in the game, and he in turn appeared to have laid aside the fact that she was a Malfoy. Perhaps, she thought, it had something to do with her being Teddy's cousin, for they all seemed very fond of the turquoise-haired young man.

At one point, Fred paused beside James (having just got his younger cousin in the face with a large snowball), and glanced over at Iseult.

"That kid can fly," he commented briefly.

James, shaking snow out of his hair, blinked at her for a moment, as if seeing her for the first time. He was just in time to see Hugo send a snowball flying her way; she spun her broom and dodged it easily, diving down to skim the ground and scoop up a handful herself to fling at Alice, shrieking with laughter. There was an effortless quality to the way she manoeuvred her broom that suggested she was as comfortable in the air as she was on the ground.

"Yeah," he agreed neutrally. "I suppose she can."

The game ended in a truce, because nobody was quite sure how the score was being kept, and there did not seem to be any clear winners, but by the time they all trooped in, nobody appeared to have remembered that Iseult was an outsider.

She stayed for dinner, and nobody blinked an eye.