Talli yelled at the fighting men for them to stop, but neither paid her any attention. Spells went flying back and forth, and the room was starting to look like a war zone.

She winced when an ancient, pink elephant figurine tumbled off its display and crashed down, breaking into many pieces. Mum wasn't going to be happy when she discovered that. It was an irreplaceable item, given to her by a forest imp who had dearly appreciated her help when she saved his homeland from being stripped of its trees.

Talli watched the brawl from a doorway, not daring to step into the room, fearing a spell might hit her. She felt something set upon her shoulder and smiled when she looked up to see her grandfather had joined her. He tapped her shoulder softly and gave her a nod, silently telling her not to be afraid.

Grandfather slipped around her and took out his wand, ending the fight with a simple wave; both Dad and the stranger stood in place, emotionless.

He released Dad first who stood there, breathing hard, wiping away a bit of blood from his lip.

"Proud of yourself?"

"A little," Dad muttered. His eyes scanned the room, settling on Talli before he heaved out a sigh. "Alright, I'm feeling a little regret— but in my defense, he was being a prick hole! The way he went after Scorpius— he had no right to touch my son!"

"Warrington will get what is due to him," was all Grandfather said about the subject. He then released Warrington from the spell.

"I'm pressing charges!" the man instantly shouted. "By the end of the night, your entire family will be behind bars!"

"Go back to your office, Warrington," Grandfather spoke softly. Somehow the words came out sounding pretty chilling though. Talli shuddered. She had never heard him sound so scary.

"Not without that boy," Warrington snarled. His eyes searched the room for Simon, finding that the boy was absent. "You're hiding him! You are walking on thin ice, Malfoy!"

"Leave now before I force you out of the home. Someone else can deal with the boy. You're too inept." Grandfather remained calm.

"Inept?!"

"Inept," Grandfather repeated, challenging him to go further. "This is your final warning. Get. Out."

Warrington knew a threat when he heard one; he hurled around, stalking to the Floo. "This isn't over," he warned them. "I'm going to get you all!"

Grandfather flicked his wand elegantly, and a ball of fire flew out the end of it, racing toward Warrington who scrambled into the Floo and hastily spoke his destination.

"Where are the boys anyway?" Grandfather directed to his son.

Dad shook his head cluelessly. "I wouldn't doubt they're hiding somewhere. Simon was awfully frightened, and Scorpius was persistent to keep him from Warrington."

After a thorough search, with Toogy getting involved, they declared that the two boys were no longer in the home.

Talli began chewing on her nails. She grew worried by the second. Where could they have gone? Her father and grandfather didn't panic though. The boys were trackable by their magic, and once Scorpius casted a spell, they could be found easily. But Talli was still concerned. Would Scorpius even cast a spell? He was hardly the rule breaker, and Hogwarts students were forbidden to cast magic outside of the school. Then again, he was also a brilliant boy, so if they were lost, he knew that casting a spell would indeed help him to be found.

"I'll wait for Scorpius to cast something," Grandfather said to Dad. "Why don't you go see if your wife needs any help?"

Dad appeared conflicted over the suggestion. He wanted to help Scorpius, but Mum could probably use the help too.

"As soon as he uses his magic, I'll alert you," Grandfather promised. "He'll be okay, I'm sure they can't be far. No sense in you being here when you are needed elsewhere."

Dad nodded, and he sighed in defeat. "The second you are alerted?"

"Absolutely."

No sooner than Dad stepped into the Floo to depart, a house elf appeared right next to Grandfather. Kippy was the house elf Grandfather used often. She held out a piece of rolled up parchment for him to take.

"This has just arrived, Master."

Grandfather was disinterested at first, but Kippy mentioned that it was "about the boy", and that was all it took for him to snatch the note. Talli watched her Grandfather read over the parchment before he rolled it back up and tucked it into the shirt of his suit. He paced the room slowly, silent in thought.

"Was that about Simon?" Talli asked, unable to keep the question to herself for any longer.

"It is none of your concern," her grandfather replied. She rolled her eyes at the response. Everyone always wondered why she was so snoopy; it was because no one would ever tell her anything!

*/*

Simon stared at the house that he had once lived in as a small boy. Scorpius didn't know what to say to comfort him. He wasn't sure anything could be said to ease his pain, so he remained quiet, letting his friend mourn. They had been standing like that for several minutes, all the while, nothing was said between them. Scorpius had an uncomfortable lump in his throat, and Simon's face was blotchy from the tears he had earlier shed.

"They'll be worried." Simon was the one to speak first. His eyes were still glued to the abandoned home that stood many yards from them. Ever since he had seen the vision of his mother being murdered, he didn't want to go anywhere near it.

"My parents are probably worrying, yes," Scorpius agreed. He had decided long ago that the trouble he'd be in would be worth it. His friend needed his support.

Simon pulled his eyes away from the structure to look at his friend. "How will we get back?" He sounded genuinely concerned about their predicament. Since he hadn't meant to apparate them here, they both knew he wouldn't have the ability to perform the spell again— nor should he try. It was a very dangerous spell for first years to cast, and Scorpius was sure Simon was going to get a lecture about it when they got back— not like Simon had been able to control what he had done, but that didn't seem to matter to the Ministry. In their eyes, he had committed a crime.

"Are you ready to go back?"

Simon toed the ground, thinking it over. "Not really…" His shoulders slumped, likely thinking about the man that had come to take him back to the Morgans. "Guess we can't stay here forever though."

"We'll hide you."

Simon shook his head. "That's against the law, and your family is not going to get into trouble over me."

"Well, we'll do something, you'll see. My mother will do everything to stop them from taking you!"

"Look what's happened to her, Scorpius!" Simon cried out in exasperation. "She's been arrested!"

Scorpius shrugged it off. "She'll get out. She's been in holding lots of times. Besides, this time she's innocent."

"They don't know that! They saw me in your house, and that's all it took!"

"Then we need to get to the Ministry and tell them what really happened."

"And then… I'm off to the Morgans…" Simon's voice had lowered, all hope was lost.

"Maybe… there's something we can do." Scorpius thought on it, trying to come up with an idea on how he could hide his friend. "What about the shrinking spell!"

Simon rolled his eyes. "We tried that already! It's too hard!"

"Maybe for us, but what if someone else did it?"

"Like who? No one we know will cast that for us."

"A house elf! They can perform magic on humans."

"There's no house elf here…"

"Well no, but my family has a few, and they'll respond to my call— especially if they've all noticed that I'm missing. We can get home that way too."

"And then they won't shrink me, they'll just take us to your home, and we'll get lectured, and that bloody Warrington man will come again to take me away."

"We can go to the Ministry when we get back, and tell them everything. It'll be alright."

Simon scoffed in doubt, but it wasn't like they could do anything else. They could tell the Ministry anything, it still wouldn't stop him from having to go back to the Morgans.

Not even an hour after Scorpius had called upon a house elf called Toogy, the boys stood alone in a room at the Ministry while all the adults involved in their little ordeal were shut in another, discussing their upcoming fate. The Minister himself had been told of what had happened, including the misunderstanding that had occurred at the Malfoy home.

Scorpius felt a little queasy, but deep down, he was trying to focus on the hope that his gut feeling was merely grasping onto.

Finally, after thirty-eight agonizing minutes, the door creaked open, and several bodies emerged. Scorpius awaited to hear what had been decided, looking from one of his family members to the next.

"Your mother's been pardoned," his father announced with a relieved sigh.

"And what of Simon?" Scorpius asked anxiously. "What has been decided?"

"We have temporary custody of him," Mother said, sporting an enormous smile.

Following that statement, Simon gaped at the mouth. He couldn't find any words to express his shock.

Scorpius on the other hand was completely ecstatic! He leaped into the air, cheering happily, "You hear that, Simon! I told you! I told you!" He hugged his still-shocked friend tightly.

"Yes," Simon said, grinning, happy that he wasn't returning to the Morgans— at least for the time being. "You did tell me, sunshine."

When Scorpius pulled away with a smile still clung to his face, Simon asked, "Why is it okay for me to stay now?"

Mum stepped forward when none of the other adults volunteered to explain. "It's about your father, he's been located."

Simon's eyes grew wide. "You found him?!"

"Indeed," Grandfather simply said. He usually didn't speak much, being more of the observant type, speaking only when he felt what he had to say was important.

"What is it?" Scorpius wondered, suddenly feeling like there was something that they didn't want to reveal to them.

No one said anything for a couple moments, increasing the boys' worry and curiosity.

"He's not dead, is he?" Simon's voice could barely be heard as he envisioned the worst.

"No," Grandfather answered. "He's a resident at an asylum though— one for wizards."

"Wizards…?" Simon was again lost at what to say.

"So Simon isn't a Muggleborn?" Scorpius managed to ask the question that Simon couldn't find the words for.

"It appears not."

Simon backed up to sit in a chair, his hands shook as he placed them to either side of his head. "I— I don't understand…"

Scorpius took a seat next to him and set a hand to his back. "Grandfather, why would his father be in an asylum?"

"Why else would anyone be in an asylum, Scorpius."

"I want to see him," Simon said.

"That's not exactly a—"

"He's my dad, and I haven't seen him since I was young, please Mr. Malfoy, take me to him!" Simon had tears in his eyes. He uprooted from the chair, squaring off his shoulders. "If you won't take me, I'll just go on my own."

"Oh, Simon," Mother crooned from where she stood. "Of course you can see him!"

"Hermione—"

"It's his father, Lucius, don't tell me you wouldn't want to do the same if it was your own! Better he be taken there than wander the streets alone!"

"She's right," Father agreed making Grandfather sigh.

"This is very serious, and it could very much be a dead end. We don't know what's wrong with him. He might not even hold a proper conversation."

"But at least I'll know either way," Simon pointed out.

Grandfather nodded grimly. "I suppose so."

Simon's eyes lit up. "You'll take me then?"

"If you insist…" the man drawled, clearly not happy with the arrangement.

"I insist— You'll come with me, won't you?" Simon asked Scorpius with pleading eyes.

"I'll be right there beside you, tough guy."

*/*

White.

It was the only colour in the waiting room. White walls. White floors. White furniture. Even the pens they used to write with were white. It pierced the eyes almost painfully. Everything was too bright and shiny.

Everything except for the people. The receptionist was cold and distant. The head Healer also seemed a little off. He was the only one who worked there who wore colour, and it was black, an odd choice indeed.

"You'll have to pardon the lack of colour," the head Healer said, whose name was Healer Kalb. "Studies show white is a calming colour— though it's not really a colour, is it? Just blank… like a sheet of unused paper; not unlike the people here at all really."

Simon, Scorpius and Grandfather exchanged looks, finding the Healer's words insulting. Scorpius had a feeling that it was likely intended to be as much.

"Mr. Picket has been here for quite a while; seven years almost to the date. Quite a few of the patients who are sent here usually make a full recovery in a timely manner, but Picket here…" Healer Kalb paused, stopping at a door with a sign marked as "Picket". He took a wand out and waved it elegantly over the door knob. "Well, he's been just a bit… non-compliant, I guess would be the appropriate word."

The door swung open to reveal a dark haired man sitting at a desk, muttering incoherent words under his breath. He was frantically writing on a large notepad.

"Picket, you have some visitors."

Mr. Picket stopped his writing and looked up. His chin trembled, and his hand did too. Rapid tapping sounds were heard as the tip of his quill struck against the desk's top.

"This is—"

"Simon," Mr. Picket croaked, standing from his seat. The quill was still held in his fingers. It shook slightly.

"You remember your son then?" Healer Kalb asked, somewhat surprised that he did.

Mr. Picket's thick eyebrows creased. He looked from the Healer to Simon, and he gave a nod. "Yes—Yes," he stuttered.

"Then you approve of these visitors?"

"Yes. Leave us, Healer Kalb. We will be…" Mr. Picket closed his eyes tightly, struggling with the last word. "F-F-Fine!"

"Alright, you know what to do if you have a problem." With that, Healer Kalb left them alone.

"You shouldn't be..." Mr. Picket had difficulties speaking, and he spoke slowly, struggling the entire time. "You shouldn't have come!"

Simon stepped forward, desperate to connect with the man who had once said he'd come back and get him. "I needed to see you. I needed to know why I was abandoned; what happened to you? Why are you like this, Dad?"

Pain filled Mr. Picket's eyes, and he frowned. The quill he had been gripping slipped from his fingers. His head shook gravely. "Please don't call me that," he whispered.

Scorpius felt a heat at his chest, and as Simon asked why he shouldn't call Mr. Picket his dad, Scorpius took out his amulet from under his shirt to see it slowly flashing. The green colour hit the white walls, turning them into the same green of the emerald gem that was encased into the amulet.

"Oh, no," Mr. Picket gasped. "No, no! You're him, you're the boy!" He backed away, panicstricken, and fell over the desk chair behind him. "Please go! Don't come back! Go away! Leave me be!"

"What are you talking about?!" Simon demanded in frustration.

Grandfather reached out to stop Simon from going any closer to the man who was pressing himself against the wall to create as much distance between them as he could.

"You must go! Go!" He thrust his hand out toward the desk, and his quill flew into his hand. He turned toward the wall, muttering words under his breath, scribbling away onto the surface of it. When he was through, he bunched himself up into a ball, quivering.

They read the messy scrawl that Mr. Picket had written:

It is the scorpion that forges the path to end all magic.

"A prophecy," Simon breathed out, realizing what it was.

Scorpius stepped back, horrified. He stared at the words until they blurred into his mind. Until now, he had always thought he'd be some grand Healer in the future, but now, after reading those words, after Mr. Picket's reaction to the sight of his glowing amulet, he thought differently.

Could he actually be the end to all magic?

"Scorpius!"

Scorpius blinked, confused. Simon was gripping his arm tightly, shaking him. "I'm alright," he told him, massaging his forearm once Simon had released him.

"The amulet," Simon said. "It's glowing! You need to help my dad! You can save him!"

Simon was right. The prophecy had distracted him from his task. Scorpius hurried over to the man and set a hand to his head.

"No, boy, no! Don't touch me, please!" Mr. Picket pleaded. "Help! Healer Kalb, help me! He's got me! He's got me!"

"I'm only here to help you," Scorpius told him calmly. "This won't hurt a bit."

Grandfather barricaded the door with a spell to stop Healer Kalb from coming in the room while Scorpius worked his magic on the sick man. It wasn't an easy job, Picket mentally fought the whole time, neutralizing Scorpius's magic, making it difficult for him to concentrate and complete the curing. He was determined though. Simon needed his father. Simon couldn't go back to the Morgans.

Something flashed in Scorpius's head then, making him snap his hand away from the man. Scorpius swallowed hard, and Picket whimpered, pleading him with his quivering lip.

"I've got to!" he told the man, setting his hand back on the man's head.

"Where is he, Janis?" a man's angry voice demanded in Scorpius's head. "Where is the boy?" The man had darkish skin and curly hair. He advanced at the woman, a knife in his hand.

"Gone!" Janis snapped. "And you're never going to find him— at least not until it's too late!"

Scorpius stepped back when he was done, breathing in gulps of air, out of breath. He felt weak and depleted. He never had to work so hard to help someone before. He sat down on the floor to rest, watching Mr. Picket lay there, unmoving. His heart thrashed against his chest, scared of Mr. Picket's memory that he had seen.

"Is he…okay?" Simon asked with uncertainty.

All Scorpius had the energy to do was nod.

"Dad?" Simon inched forward. "Can you hear me?"

Mr. Picket lifted his head, giving Simon a confused look, but before he had a chance to say anything, the door flew right off its hinges, crashing against the wall across the room, merely missing Grandfather.

"We best be going," Grandfather drawled, eyeing the wand that was pointed at him.

"Who are you?" Healer Kalb asked, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

"Oh, they're with me," a new voice said, stepping beside the Healer.

"Myal," Mr. Picket spoke out hoarsely.

"Hmm, I can see I'm a bit too late," Professor Williger noted, assessing the situation, eyes settling onto the words written on the wall. "How unfortunate."

Mr. Picket stood to his feet, clutching the quill in his hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I had a… feeling that I was needed." The two men shared a look before directing their eyes to Simon.

"What is it?" the boy demanded. "What did you see?!"

"Feel, Mr. Sirota," Professor Williger emphasized. "I felt that I was needed; apparently I should have listened to my inner voice a bit sooner."

"I'm a Picket," Simon corrected him. He pointed at Mr. Picket. "That's my father. I'm no longer to be considered an orphan."

An awkward silence filled the room as the men looked back at each other. Picket gave a single nod and turned away as Williger pulled his wand out, shooting a spell off at Simon.

"Hey!" Scorpius shouted as his friend crumbled gently to the ground.

"Not to worry, lad, he'll be fine. It's time for you to leave now."

"Take Simon with you," Mr. Picket ordered weakly. "And don't come back here."

"What are you hiding?!" Scorpius demanded. "Why don't you want to be with your son?! You'd rather he return to Muggles who will eventually kill him because he's a wizard?! Because that's what's going to happen, Picket, that's what's going to happen if you—" Scorpius was silenced before he could say anything more.

"We are leaving now," Grandfather said, gathering the limp Simon into his arms. "We will not come back." A moment later, Scorpius felt a knot in his gut and the air was stolen from his lungs.

"Why?" he cried. "Why wouldn't he want to be with his son?!"

"I do not know, son," the elder man beside him said hopelessly, setting Simon onto a nearby sofa in Scorpius's home. "Staying there would have made things worse though."

"Simon is going to want answers." Scorpius looked over at his unconscious friend. Tears welled into his eyes. "They're going to send him back— he can't go back!"

"I warned you boys that this might have been a dead end, but Simon insisted that he see his father before I had the chance to do anything."

Scorpius set a hand to his friend's shoulder as he stirred awake. Simon rose up into a sitting position, looking around.

"I'm beginning to really hate Williger!" he snarled through grit teeth.

"They knew each other," Scorpius said, remembering that tiny detail.

"They must be a part of the same circle."

"Or used to be before your dad was in the asylum."

Simon didn't say anything to that. He stared at the ground, brewing over his thoughts. "He doesn't want me," he finally said after a while. "That's why he never came back for me. I'm nothing to him anymore— why did he even make that bloody promise to come back for me if he didn't want me?!"

"Parents do strange things for the children they love," Grandfather told him. "Your father looked pained to see you. He was feeling guilt, there is more to his story than he's permitting us to know."

Simon crossed his arms and huffed. His eyes narrowed darkly. "It doesn't matter, if he doesn't want me, I certainly don't want him!" He then ran off upstairs.

"Let him be, Scorpius. He needs a few moments."

"Yeah," Scorpius agreed with his grandfather, feeling bad for his friend, but he knew no words would ease Simon's pain at the moment.

"What happened with Simon?" Talli asked during dinner that night. The meal had been quiet, and Simon hadn't joined them. She knew something had gone wrong.

No one was eager to answer her question. She looked from her parents to her brother, all of who had no appetite and hardly had eaten a thing.

"I'll just find out eventually," she said almost coaxingly. "Someone is going to slip up, and it's not really fair that I'm the only one under this roof who doesn't know. I starting to feel compleyely excluded from this family."

Scorpius looked down at his plate, pushing around the green beans with his fork. "Grandfather found the whereabouts of Simon's father, but he sent us away when we went to go meet him."

"He sent his own son away?!" Talli squeaked out. "Oh, how awful! No wonder Simon is so grumpy!" She silently ate a few bites of her lasagna before she said anything more.

"Well, forget him then! Simon doesn't need that twat!"

"Talitha Jane!" Mother chastised.

"We can be his family, can't we, Mum? Dad?" Talli continued as if her mother had not just scolded her. "Simon needs us! Why can't we his family? We're rich enough, and we have all kinds of room!"

"Because no one wants damaged goods, Talli."

Everyone turned their heads to see Simon in the doorway. Huldah was perched on his shoulder. Of course Scorpius and Simon were the only ones who could see her. Scorpius had to stop himself from asking when she had gotten back from her trip, she had been gone for days with no news.

"That's not true, sweety." Mother had stood up to address him, a frown pinned to her face.

"Definitely not," Father agreed.

"I didn't come down to argue." Simon looked directly at Scorpius. "We need to talk."

Scorpius knew that the Kuta had told him something, and he was curious what he could be.

"Come on," Scorpius gestured Simon to follow him up two cases of stairs. The family didn't use the third floor for anything, so it was a perfect place to hold a private conversation.

He stopped at the doorway of a random room, leaning up against it. "Stand there," he directed in front of him on the opposite side of the door jam. "This way when my noisy sister comes to listen on, we'll see her coming," he explained when Simon gave him a strange look.

"Right," Simon acknowledged.

"So?"

"Huldah says my dad is coming here tonight."

"Here? Why?"

"Your grandfather was right. He's hiding something, and I guess he's going to explain himself."

"Maybe he's feeling guilty for what he's done."

Simon shrugged. "She wants me to hear him out."

"You probably should," Scorpius reasoned.

"He's a bit mental though."

"He should be fine now," Scorpius told him. "I healed a lot of his issues."

Simon nodded, he looked away, staring off down the hallway. "I've been thinking a lot about his prophecy."

"Yeah…" Scorpius leaned up against the door jam. "Me too…"

"I think my future is going to be a mess."

"Why do you say that?"

"You remember the way Jacky acted after he read my palm? And the way he and Professor Williger looked at each other afterward? It's like they knew something. And then the same thing kind of happened today with my dad— somehow, I think they all know something is going to happen. I'm going to be some evil man or something."

Scorpius shook his head in denial. "It's not you. It's me."

Simon laughed derisively. "Not likely!"

"Think about it! First, Professor Williger comes up and says that he expected trouble from me— remember the night when the Talonguard attacked? And then Trelawney warns you to stay away from me, and today your dad writes a prophecy about me! It all starts with me."

"But you're the product of true love, you can never be evil."

"But I'm not, tough guy, my parents love bond was created as soon as I was, they didn't love each other beforehand. Talli is the product of love."

"It's us," Simon decided. "It's the both of us."

"It can't be," Scorpius denied.

"Think about it: everything that's happened, it's happened when we were together. Professor Williger's vague comments, the way he and Jacky acted at the meeting, my dad didn't want neither of us there in his room. Our friendship is going to cause something massive, and they all know it."

Scorpius's eyes went out of focus as he thought back on everything that had happened when they were together. He found Simon's words to have some validity.

"What do we do?" he asked. "We have to do something."

"I don't know," Simon said with a shrug. "You're the one who usually has a plan."

"You're like a brother to me," Scorpius told him. "I'm not going to stop being your friend. We'll have to just work together and prevent whatever is supposed to happen."

"Through thick and then," Simon held out his hand for Scorpius to shake.

Scorpius took it. "No matter what."

"There you are!" Talli called from the down the hall, out of breath. "Your dad's here, Simon!"

Scorpius brought his free hand up to Simon's upper arm, tapping it against his friend. With a deep sigh, Simon released Scorpius from his hold and they followed Talli back down to the main level of the home.

Scorpius's parents, grandparents and Mr. Picket were sitting, sipping on freshly brewed tea. Mr. Picket stood up at the sight of Simon, and he gave him a tiny smile when his eyes flicked quickly to and from Huldah who stuck close to Simon's side.

"Hello."

"Hi, come to explain why you threw me away for the second time in my life?"

"Actually, yes, but there's a few things you also need to know, Simon." Mr. Picket's eyes shifted over to Scorpius. "Thanks to your friend's healing abilities, I've been able to function better."

"Excuse me?" Mother cut in. "Did you just say healing abilities?"

"Scorpius cured you?"

Scorpius suddenly felt uncomfortable with his parents' attention aimed at him. He looked at the floor of his feet. "I'll have to explain later…" he mumbled. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

"I was suffering from several things," Mr. Picket explained.

"Such as?" Simon pressed his father further, not willing to settle for a generalized explanation.

"Post traumatic stress, anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsiveness— or so that's what the Healers called it."

"Traumatic stress…" Scorpius said slowly, thinking about the memory he had earlier seen. "You witnessed her murder, didn't you?"

"Murder? Who's murder?" Mother asked.

"Simon's mother— Picket's wife—"

"Sister," Picket corrected Scorpius quietly. When the room was quiet waiting for him to go on, he added, "Your mother was my sister."

"That's gross!" Talli screeched. "You and your sister had a baby?! Ewww!"

"Oh, Merlin," Simon whispered, horrified. "I can't even…!"

"Oh, wait, no, no!" Mr. Picket cried out. "I didn't mean it like that—!" He put a hand to his head, shaking it, chuckling a little at the absurdity. "I meant…" Picket sighed. "I'm sorry, Simon, but I'm not your father. I'm only your uncle."

"You're… not my dad?" Simon was confused. "But I remember you being my dad…?"

Mr. Picket smiled. "You were so cute when you were little; you started calling me daddy when you first started speaking words. Your mother felt it was fair, given I had been helping her raise you. Your real father skipped out, see, he thought you were…" He frowned, suddenly disturbed with his current thought. "He left when you were little, Simon. When your mother was murdered, there were rumors that her murderer would come after you, and since you showed no signs of magic, I thought you'd be safer with Muggles, especially since I was going through my own issues— I thought that once the threat was over, and when I got the help I needed, I could come back for you."

"Why would anyone want to kill us?"

Mr. Picket shook his head. "I don't know, Simon, I just don't know…"

"Was the murderer ever caught?"

"Sadly, no. He's still loose." Mr. Picket took a deep breath. "Which brings me to the second reason why I came here… Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, would you mind if we spoke privately?"

Talli snuck after them to go eavesdrop on the adults while Scorpius stayed behind with Simon so he could let the news sink in.

"I have so many unanswered questions," Simon said, looking down at his hands. "But now I'm pretty sure the inner eye is hereditary now."

Scorpius laughed. "It usually skips a generation or two."

Simon grunted. "I'm special, I guess."

"Maybe I can ask my…" Simon leaned back into his seat, crossing his legs. "I don't know what to call him anymore," he said sadly. "It would feel too weird to call him Dad now."

Scorpius nodded, agreeing.

"Simon!" Talli whispered, hurrying back on the tips of her toes so that the adults didn't know what she had been doing. "Simon, you're going to live with us! Permanently! That man wants us to adopt you!"

AN: Well, I'm back. No, I'm not dead, although, I'm sure you wished I was, cause I take so long with my writing now. Sorry about that. I haven't abandoned this no, it's just difficult finding writing time. The good news is this is only 5k words (of story text), so that's a nice juicy amount to get engrossed in (and then have to wait about 4 months to read another -.-). I'll try to find more time... :(

As usual, thanks so much for reading!

Review Responses:

chapou69: Aww, sorry it took so long, and last chapter was definitely a cliffy too :(

BelleBelles: I don't get to write much, and then sometimes it takes me a little to proof read it (those pesky typoes get through no matter what though, lol). I feel bad for Simon too, poor kid :(

tmtclt: Bittersweet chapter huh? Or shall I say Sweetbitter.

unfittingpuzzlepieces: YES, She has a wand! YAY! :) The core is actually from a normal bird, if you look it up, you can get a thorough idea, but basically it's a bird that is very social in its group (kinda like Talli, which you will see more of in the future). I'm sure Talli will reflect on it later, but I think she was more relieved and excited to even think about her family's reaction right Simon... ugh... poor Simon...

Turtle: Trouble is only fun when you don't get caught, haha!

cloakedauthor21: First off, what a nice penname, I love it! And it's totally awesome that I relieve you from your boredom, ahaha, you must do some slow and agonizing work! :P

Light Heartfilia: Warrington is a pieve of HORSE SHI- I hate Warrington too...