AN:

Much longer, as promised! And before the end of the week, as also promised! Quite a bit happening this chapter.

If there are any errors, feel free to politely point them out to me. :)

Hope everyone enjoys!

Side note: reviews at the bottom.

Clad in a pleated, dark green, knee-length dress with lace patchwork around the flared hem and sleeves and her buoyant black curls pinned back and tamed into loose spirals, Lillian made for a pretty Slytherin picture as she sat opposite to her Uncle and alongside Draco, who wore a complementary button-down and pressed black slacks. The image they made wouldn't be remiss of a muggle catalogue.

Their server was seasoned and well practiced, for he didn't stumble nor stutter when faced with their rather regal countenances, merely took stock of them each before turning an inquisitive, polite gaze to Lillian. "Would you care to order?"

Before she could say anything, Lucius spoke for her, "She'll have the chicken and gnocci soup with a side serving of fruit and tea. I, myself, will have the lamb special and water. Son?"

Draco gave his order and the server was off, Lillian staring at her Uncle with something akin to fond exasperation. "You appear sharper than when I left you." An unforgiving reprimand, one in which she barely refrained from rolling her eyes at.

"Puberty could have something to do with that, it tends to cause one to lose the roundness they were born with." Draco smirked, turning his cheek at her quip to hide his mirth when his father cast him a critical eye.

"You weren't very round to begin with, Lillian." Lucius admonished, "And your appetite has a foul history of being nonexistent." Through no choice of her own, which was his only relief as her caretaker. Lillian hadn't ever purposefully starved herself, it was just a matter of her psychological wellbeing affecting her physical wellbeing. "I won't discuss the matter further."

"So be it, Lucius." Lillian conceded.

"I noticed you both arrived with only each other." Lucius prodded, unwilling to discuss the important matters until after he had ensured the children had eaten.

"Devon's an orphan," A fact her Uncle was well aware of, "From my understanding, Dumbledore didn't see fit to inform the Matron of magic, and so she was unable to get the proper form authorized."

Lucius hummed, pondering on that little bit of information; he didn't personally feel for the girl, but he knew the muggleborn Slytherin was a very good friend to Lillian, and that was enough for him to want to assist her in her magical endeavors. "And the Zabini boy?" For like his wife, he had noted that the boy seemed more friend to Lillian than to Draco, something easily deciphered from what little Draco mentioned of the other boy in his letters, as well as by the proximity of the children when in the same vicinity.

"He walked with us to Hogsmeade, but veered off towards Tomes and Scrolls to check out their selection of books, we made plans for him to escort Lillian back to the castle when we're done here as I catch up with Goyle and Crabbe at Honeydukes." Draco answered, much to Lucius' satisfaction and Lillian's surprise.

"I wasn't aware he was meant to wait for me." Lillian didn't know how long their family meeting would take, wouldn't have ever asked Blaise to wait for such an indeterminate amount of time when, surely, he could have been doing more important things about Hogsmeade.

"You won't be walking back alone." Draco spoke, aghast at the very idea of it, especially given the Dementors he had seen lurking about.

"Especially not after the situations you have recently found yourself in." Lucius commanded sharply, not at all faulting her for those situations, but stressing the importance of her safety. "Draco's letters were explicit where it counted, but rather vague over all, and even that was enough to cause concern."

"You enlisted my tutelage under Auror Moody for that very reason, Lucius, so that I would be capable of defending myself against any opponent."

"I in no way question or doubt your capabilities, Lillian," He reprimanded sharply, he wouldn't ever have anything less than perfect faith in her. "My concern is about not putting yourself into a situation where trouble could be had in the first place. The Zabini's are a very powerful, very respected, historically neutral family, no potential transgressor would wish to push that neutrality into the side opposite their own by risking an attack on the Zabini Heir, no matter who he accompanied."

Draco, knowing the real reason Lillian opposed such blatant objectification of Blaise, spoke under his father to placate her budding temper. "Blaise is well aware of the sway he could have over any potential enemy we acquire, I voiced to him by own concerns over Dumbledore's intentions, and he isn't daft; with your Father's escape, and Flint's stunt months ago, he is well aware of the dangers coming to fruition.

"I spoke of my concern last night, about you encountering trouble if I left you to return to the castle alone and I asked him if he would mind escorting you back, he made no objection." And her temper abated at Draco's final point, because she knew that Blaise would never be moved to act in a way he did not wish to. Had he truly had a problem being enlisted as an escort, he would have said as much.

There was no denying that she and Blaise considered each other friends; they spent most of their free time together and they knew each other in a way not many others were capable of knowing them. It was because of her close understanding with the famously indifferent boy that she didn't ever want to abuse the trust and rapport they had long since established, she didn't ever want to manipulate their relationship into something wholly Slytherin, into something that more resembled an alliance than a friendship, until their interactions were boiled down to what they could do for each other or how him by her side could potentially influence her reputation or persuade her 'opponents'.

Before anything else could be said on the matter, or Lillian could make a formal concession to Lucius' demand she take the escort, their food arrived and the topic was dropped. Lucius didn't require a formal concession anyways, not as long as she understood that she was to take as many precautionary measures as possible, no matter how mundane or irrelevant she thought them to be.

It was maybe thirty to forty minutes later, their food consumed and their plates cleared, that Lucius addressed the issue in which brought him to Hogsmeade for lunch. "Draco has informed me of what has been happening, we'll get to the Flint boy after you have given me all details in regards to Dumbledore's plans for your future." Lucius instructed once the children's sated appetites satisfied him.

Lillian told her uncle, in explicit detail, all that had been said or subtly implied by the headmaster, leaving no suspicion unspoken because though she had found in Dumbledore's speech more than the ancient wizard could have wished; Lillian was well aware that her uncle would be able to decipher so much more than she.

When she was done, after she had completed her own assessment, the bridled rage in pale silvery-blue eyes was more intense than Lillian could ever recall on her uncle's face.

His fury was equally matched upon his son's visage – though Draco's anger colored his entire face, not just his eyes. "If he can't get you under his thumb, as he has done with Potter, he'll make a play for your wand." A fierce growl from her cousin's throat, and Lillian couldn't help but to be quietly pleased by the reaction of these men she called family.

"He would see it done," Lucius agreed, "But he'll find his own magic bound by oath if he dares try." Lucius vowed, no one would ever survive an attempt to tame or control Lillian's magic or will – to do so would find any transgressors at the very end of the Malfoy wands.

"Your relationship with your Professors, how are they?" Lucius was a Slytherin, through and through; he had survived so long not due to luck, but to his immense, sly intelligence. The best way to thwart Albus' interference was to make her an indisputable ally to his cause.

"I assist Hagrid with his care of Magical creatures," Which didn't really surprise Lucius, Lillian's affinity for creatures was probably unrivaled, even by the standards of the rather infamous Scamander author.

"Uncle Sev obviously favors her," Draco mused, already following his father's line of thought. "And she has been known to get on well with Gryffindor." Though he hadn't really seen his cousin interact with Granger or Longbottom much at all this year.

"So McGonagall…" Lucius hedged.

"A mutual respect for one another," Lillian figured she might have even been the Head of Gryffindor's favorite had she been of her house; her father, after all, had been a favorite.

"I suppose there should be no question about Lupin." Lucius mused sardonically.

"He is wary of me," Lillian confessed softly. "I suspect he doesn't quite know what to make of me."

"Lupin?" Draco drawled, immediately suspicious due to the way in which his family spoke the name. "Why is he particularly different?"

"He just so happens to be my godfather, Draco." Lillian explained, "He was out of country when Sirius was arrested, which meant I was to go to next of kin." Which everyone had assumed would mean Andromeda, until, through some untold decree, Andromeda had been made to cede her over to Narcissa and Lucius' care.

Draco didn't give himself long to process this new information, didn't let himself fester on the feeling invoked by his ignorance regarding Lupin's meaning to Lillian. "Would he be an ally against Dumbledore?"

"He owes a lot to Albus," Lucius hedged. "However, his love for Sirius might overwhelm any loyalty he has to the man."

"But he loved Harry's father just as much." Lillian challenged, "And Harry's got the advantage, Lupin doesn't doubt his father's loyalty."

"Then ingratiate yourself to him, separate of your father." And as always, Lucius fought not to physically react to entitling Sirius' claim to Lillian as father and daughter. As if the man deserved any credit to her achievements or the kind of lady she had become.

"You are top of your class, Lillian, offer your services to each of your Professors to tutor those your year and younger struggling with their subjects." Lucius commanded, "Focus on McGonagall and Lupin. Gain their support and Dumbledore will be forced to cease his machinations against you."

Draco could acknowledge his father's ingeniousness, but he scowled at the thought of her success. "He might attempt to recruit her to his purpose then." And Draco would be damned if he had to share her with the bloody 'Light'.

Lucius was as pleased by that possibility as his son, the truth, however, was that "It could only ever be to her advantage." Just as her relationship with Blaise could only ever be to her advantage.

It was an unfortunate reality that the Malfoy men have yet refused to acknowledge – another war was on the rise, and considering Lucius' unfortunate past – Lillian was at greatest risk. She would always have the Malfoy loyalty and protection, but they would not be enough upon Voldemort's return. She needed to align herself to the light – at least a part of it – and there was the very real necessity to cement her a powerful contract of marriage before Voldemort could fully arise to the world again.

Within the next two years, Lucius would have to announce Lillian as a Noble Lady of Black and Malfoy and would have to find her a suitor powerful enough to keep her protected in the coming war, a suitor born of a family that Voldemort would be unwilling to piss off by claiming Lillian as his right, due to her father's traitorous actions against he and his cause.

Lillian knew all of these facts, had long ago accepted them, "I can support their cause without fighting for it. My alliance is to this family," Lillian vowed, "The light and I have the same common goal, I can use them to further my own purpose." She took issue with using those she called friend to further her own needs, but she had no dilemma in using veritable strangers (i.e., Gryffindors) to suit her purposes.

All in all, it was a Slytherin plan, but one that would at least soothe her Gryffindor desire to see others, good witches and wizards, prevail over the Dark world slowly rising forth.

"It won't be easy," Lucius warned needlessly, for nothing had ever been easy for Lillian, and she didn't need it to be. As long as she knew that they would support her, no matter her course, she would face any hardship. "But it is not impossible to play multiple sides of this war." Because there wasn't just light and dark…this war thrived in the grey shades of their world, it was how the dark parts kept gaining footholds to rise again after each defeat.

It wasn't too long after that, that the family of three decided to call an end to their meeting. "And what of Flint?" Draco asked of his father as they watched Lillian disappear into Tomes and Scrolls. "Lillian may have publically quieted him, but he's insufferable on the pitch." A fact Draco had done well in keeping from Lillian.

"To most, her place in our family is nothing more than an obligation on our part. Do nothing that would dissuade your housemates of that notion." As long as pureblood society saw Lillian as nothing more than a ward thrust upon them unwillingly by the government, they could utilize others ignorance to protect her from the threat certain purebloods would make.

"I'll handle Flint." Lucius had more than enough power to disillusion the Flint family into thinking themselves potential prospects for marriage into the Malfoy power, which was a more than adequate tool to insure that the daft boy minded his tongue in relation to a potential spouse – a spouse who would irrefutably boost the Flint name to an esteemed acclaim that they could never afford on their own.

Assured of his father's will to see Flint muted, Draco parted with promise to keep him updated, off to splurge a bit on chocolate candies, maybe even get a butterbeer or two.

PoA

The Halloween feast was as tasteful as ever, the food delicious enough that even those stuffed full from Hogsmeade managed at least a full serving or two. Draco regaled their group with a few of his infamously embellished tales, even though Lillian and Blaise both knew the boy didn't have nearly enough free time to accomplish all that he said he had.

Devon wasn't nearly as brokenhearted about her forced stay in the castle as Lillian figured she would have been, and remembered her friend's continued relations with the Weasley twins. "So," Lillian leveled a mockingly stern gaze upon her friend, let her expression twist with suspicion, fighting back the urge to smile at the way Devon suddenly, and with great adamancy, refused to meet her gaze.

Devon's stalwartness lasted thirty seconds at best, before she let out a moan of distress, "Fine!" She scowled into her cup of pumpkin juice, "They remembered that I was an orphan, and they assumed – accurately so – that the statue of secrecy was still in affect and so they smuggled me out of the castle and we spent the afternoon in Zonko's Joke Shop and the Three Broomsticks."

Lillian gave a soft laugh, "You had fun?"

"A ruddy blast," Devon agreed immediately and with exuberance, "I don't think I've ever seen something so fantastic. A mite better than Diagon Alley, at any rate, mostly because Hogsmeade seems to cater to Hogwarts' students. Though I did see an ogre at the bar."

Devon tapered off into a semi-lengthy silence, pondering the validity of what she could have sworn she saw, before returning her attention to her quietly amused friend. "What of you? When you weren't with Draco, that is." She amended with a roll of her eyes, Draco's tales still heard in the background of their own conversation.

"I didn't really have the stomach for a butterbeer," Lucius had made more than sure that she wouldn't leave their meeting parched or hungry. "But Blaise and I took a look at Tomes and Scrolls." The golden-skinned boy had wound up staying another hour in the store after she had arrived and grown distracted by the wide selection of readings offered. He hadn't seemed to mind, however, had merely kept on reading from one of the books he had already purchased as she perused the aisles, curious and unhurried until the sky began to noticeably darken.

"Of course you did," Devon mocked affectionately, for where there were books, there was Lillian, and for where there was Lillian, Blaise Zabini wasn't too far behind. Devon didn't think their proximity was planned, Devon had known them both for equal lengths of time, could recognize the way the two just seemed to naturally gravitate towards the other in a way one could miss if they didn't know to pay attention.

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

The Slytherin dungeons weren't too far from the Great Hall, were generally in the opposite direction of the other common rooms, and so they were the last to know that something disastrous had happened. Everyone confused as they were suddenly ushered by a harried looking Snape out of their dorms and back to the Great Hall, though the way his dark gaze seemed riveted to Lillian's moving figure sent a cold chill all the way down her spine, worry ripping at her mind as she fought to understand what was happening and just why Snape was looking at her in such a way.

She kept looking to Draco, hoping he would have some kind of answer, but all he could give her was his own incomprehension.

The only thing that could placate the growing ire of the confused Slytherins, was the fact that the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws appeared to be as equally lost. Slytherins were cunning, and to be cunning, they needed knowledge, their lack of it really rankled all of their desires to come out on top.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore told them as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately, you'll send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…" One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave and the floor was covered with hundreds of plush purple sleeping bags.

With the others distracted by the rapid rearrangement of the great hall, Dumbledore seemed to pin her where she stood, just a few yards from him, "Miss Black, I'll need to speak with you first thing tomorrow." And then he was gone, leaving her startled and shaken, and without a clue for the first time in a long time.

"What in the hell is going on?" Draco snapped furiously, his confusion turning to anger at the way Dumbledore had signaled out Lillian in a room full of all their peers, as though she had something to do with this sudden lockdown, pointing his finger and knowing full well that the other students would see it and draw their own conclusions.

Upon Dumbledore's departure, the whole room exploded with noise, rowdy lions practically yelling at the top of their lungs to be heard as they discussed what had happened, "Sirius Black's in the castle, he tried to get into Gryffindor, to Potter no doubt, and tore the Fat Lady to shreds when he couldn't. She was found hiding behind a rhino."

Lillian's breath left her, it seemed as if her whole world had tilted on its axis within the last five minutes. It didn't make any sense. Her father had no need to be in the castle. For all his Gryffindor bravery, he wasn't a fool, and it was a fool's errand to put himself so close to witches and wizards more than capable of seeing him sent back to Azkaban. And for all her speaking to her father about Harry, the man had no desire to sneak in just to see him himself; there were dozens of other ways to get at Harry without revealing himself to the entirety of the school.

She couldn't understand, and what was worse? Those of her peers who hadn't already made the connection between Sirius Black and the witch with the surname Black, seemed to have realized it wasn't just a distant relation as most Purebloods were renowned for, no…Sirius Black was Lillian Black's father and it was her father whom had broken out of Azkaban and seemingly gone on a one man hunt for Harry Potter, making an attempt on his life that very night. She was suddenly enemy number two, persona non grata if the way the majority of the Gryffindors were suddenly glaring at her as though their looks alone were enough to incinerate her where she stood.

Luckily, her friends weren't oblivious to the sudden scorn she was faced with, Devon grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the doors and towards one of the far corners of the Great Hall, Draco scowling at any who dared continue to stare as he and Blaise followed, soon flanked by Theo – Theo, whom had spent most of the evening with a few fourth years he had befriended in Hogsmeade earlier that day.

Lillian Black wasn't one to run from a fight, wasn't one to back down in the face of a challenge, but she was overwhelmingly outnumbered and her peers seemed particularly volatile at the moment. Gryffindors pissed at the defacing of their portrait guard, protective over their own who was obviously at greatest risk, and really just looking for someone to blame at hand and she was the closest draw.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags at once!" Shouted Percy, more concerned with the responsibility placed upon him by the Headmaster than glaring at Sirius Black's spawn.

But just because the students were given a directive, that didn't disquiet their gossiping, and the curious whispers of her peers wanting to know how, and why, and what if badgered her relentlessly.

"Ignore it," Draco ordered with a steel quality to his voice that shook Devon but settled Lillian. "They're fools, the lot of them, and no matter what they wager, you know the truth." The truth being Sirius Black wanting nothing more than to protect Harry Potter, that his being in the castle was due to no untowardly evil intentions.

Draco ushered her into a sleeping bag, making sure she was positioned between he and Zabini, Theo and Devon settling into sleeping bags parallel to their own in a way that ensured Lillian was blockaded on all sides in an abysmal attempt to see her sheltered from the gossip, but given the circumstances, it was the best that they could do.

It didn't take everyone else long to get settled, most Slytherins following them to the furthest corner from the Gryffindors, and once everyone was settled, Lillian found herself curled close into Draco's side, the cousins not caring about their public display of affection – should anyone even deign to seek them out amongst the prone masses of identical sleeping bags – not when the only ones who would notice were those they trusted or professors who couldn't care about them cuddling together – once the gossip had settled and everyone had done a good job of spooking themselves, they weren't the only students pressed together for comfort.

With Blaise beside her – closer than expected because a second year had claimed the bag on his other side and Blaise preferred to share his space with her – and his heat emanating in a way that seeped into her skin and drove away the chill of her father's presence that Draco's hold had yet to manage, Lillian felt completely safe. She was surrounded by those she called friend and family, and in spite of the tumultuous state of her mind and the looming meeting with Dumbledore ahead, she felt safe.

She fell asleep to Draco's heart, Blaise's warmth, and the low murmur of Devon's voice as she spoke to Theodore.

AN:

THANKS TO ALL WHO READ, REVIEWED, FAVORITED, ETC. YOU ALWAYS HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL REMAIN TO BE AWESOME.

Review Responses:

LOVELYSAKURA777: So glad you liked the last chapter, despite it's brevity. Hope this one was much better! Funny you mentioned Scamandar, cause, you know, I already had that part of this chapter written out when you did. ;)

PSYCOBABYDOLL: shoot. Depending on where you're at in the world, that's still the way of life for women. :( Hope this chapter didn't disappoint!

IBLAMEGREENBERG: Any book like any HP book? I was more inspired off re-watching the series and bingeing on HP fanfics that really got into the Slytherin world. You know? I can't say there was any book in particular that inspired me here.

RANDOMGEEKYGIRL: thanks for still reading! haha. Hope you enjoyed this less awaited chapter. ;)

FURIONKNIGHT: yes, yes it did. And here's another one for you! haha.