Hey all! February is such a short month so I'm giving you lovely lot an update today so you get your two updates this month. I'm expecting my hours at work to start going up next month but I'm ahead on all my stories. Big thanks to everyone reading this. Big thanks to Erimenthe for the review. Hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

Lots of love,

LM xxxxxx


Secrets, Lies and Discovering Truths-Part 29:

Lydia had hit the floor as soon as she had landed in her mother's apartment in New York and she heard a voice before feeling some very soft hands helping to pick her up. She looked up to see a witch with golden blonde curls and blue eyes helping her up.

"Teenie!" the witch exclaimed, "she looks so like you!"

"Now don't go scaring her Queenie. She's had enough shocks as it is and I don't want her any more scared than she already is," Lydia heard her mother say before she finally looked properly at Queenie.

"You're my Auntie Queenie?" Lydia questioned feeling rather stupid as she realised that it was.

"Oh don't worry darling," Queenie said, "it's ok to be nervous when you're meeting people for the first time and especially when they're family you've never met. Hot cocoa?"

"What's that?" Lydia questioned, "I've never heard of that before."

"Yes Lydia will have a hot chocolate Queenie," Tina replied for her daughter before watching as Lydia walked nervously around the apartment. The young witch was obviously unsure whether she could touch things or not and she had retreated back into her shell and that rather worried Tina.

"Mum? Can I sit down?" Lydia asked.

"You don't need to ask Lydia," Tina said, "same if you want to pick something up and have a look at it you can. This is your home too."

"No it's not. Hogwarts is the only place I feel at home," Lydia said as she sat down before Queenie walked in and passed Lydia her hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows.

"Thank you," Lydia said softly before she had a sip.

"Told you I make the best hot cocoa!" Queenie smiled before reading her niece's mind. She honestly hadn't meant to but she looked at Tina before dragging her sister into the kitchen and pushed the door shut slightly.

"She's thinking of someone called Draco and she's nervous and unsure what to do as she feels she's invading her mother's home," Queenie said, "who's Draco?"

"Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa, a rich pureblood family who are one of the Sacred 28 wizarding families in England," Tina explained, "Narcissa…she read their minds…she warned me that there could be more between them in the future. He's the only friend she has and he has followers more than friends. Somehow their paths crossed. He's a Slytherin and she's Gryffindor like Remus but somehow they've made it work. She's under the Malfoy protection now as well."

"Merlin's beard! How did she end up getting in with them?" Queenie asked.

"I'm still trying to figure that out. From what I gather she was trying to keep it a secret that she was Remus' child and that began to alienate herself from everyone and no one was very nice to her but he was and the two began to develop a controversial friendship and then Narcissa ended up involved. Oh I hope you don't mind the fire being used. It's the only way for them to stay in touch over Christmas."

"He is the only friend she has. Now Jacob will be arriving soon so we'd better tell her about him," Queenie said before walking into the living room and smiling at Lydia, "Newt will be here soon and he will be bringing my No-Maj boyfriend Jacob and no doubt some cakes with him. He's a baker you see."

"Your boyfriend is a muggle?" Lydia questioned.

"Yes he is sweetie but don't let that put you off. He's really just a soft bear; a baking bear mind you but he's really just a bear," Queenie smiled, as she tried to ease her niece's fears sensing she was nervous about meeting someone else new, "he's nice and he's looking forwards to meeting you."

"Mum told me you make the best apple strudel in New York," Lydia said.

"Yes I do and Jacob taught me how to make it the muggle way. Would you like to help me?" Queenie asked and Tina smiled softly knowing what her sister was trying to do.

"Are you sure I won't mess it up?" Lydia questioned, "I don't know anything about baking."

"I don't have a daughter but I have the next best thing. You. Now come on and let's get this strudel made before Newt and Jacob arrive back. You can even send some to Draco and Narcissa when you see them," Queenie said before smiling as the mention of her friend and his mother soon had the young witch on her feet and the two headed into the kitchen. Tina instantly knew she'd have to speak to her daughter about Draco but, for now, she grabbed a book and began to read it.

Queenie looked at Lydia and saw that the girl was on the thin side and knew that probably had something to do with Remus and her never being able to settle in one place, but Queenie felt that with Narcissa and Tina around Lydia's future was about to change.

"Is everything OK Auntie Queenie?" Lydia asked.

"Right let's get slicing these apples," Queenie smiled and soon the two were slicing apples and getting the apple mixture prepared. All the time Queenie was watching Lydia and could see how she was beginning to relax in her company.

She smiled as Lydia told her about Draco and his parents, Hogsmeade and the bullying and how she'd somehow ended up on the Quidditch team.

"Then there was the troll incident…" Queenie said before seeing tears in Lydia's eyes, "sweetie…?"

"I thought I was going to die…if Draco hadn't told his mother where I was…"Lydia said and Queenie wrapped her arms around her niece before she tilted Lydia's head towards her,

"You have your mother back now and things will be so much better now," she said, "now let's finish this strudel." Lydia smiled and nodded before helping Queenie to finish off the strudel.

The two had just put the strudel in the oven when Tina popped her head around the door,

"They're here."

"I'll introduce them, Queenie said before waving her wand and tidying everything up and taking Lydia's hand and walking into the living room with her, "it's OK Lydia," she said feeling the witch stand behind her.

Jacob looked and knew he had to make the first move and he walked over to her,

"So you're the famous Lydia then. Well it's a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to see something?" he asked as he held his hand out hiding something in the palm. Lydia looked at her mother who smiled and nodded before Lydia herself nodded and Jacob opened his hand to reveal a cookie shaped like Charlie, her bowtruckle.

"It's Charlie!" she said before the real bowtruckle appeared to have a look. Lydia sat Charlie on her hand before clearly getting a stern talking to, "I wouldn't dream of eating you Charlie Girl. Other than Draco and his parents you're all I've got at Hogwarts. I mean I have Harry, Ron and Hermione but they used to be part of the problem," she said before turning to Jacob, "thank you," she said before taking the cookie and sitting down to eat it. Tina had been about to stop her but Queenie stopped her,

"Maybe the Case is her chance with Newt and baking with Jacob and me. You love books like she does. That's our ways in," she whispered to her older sister.

Queenie was right though; they all had to find a way to connect with Lydia without scaring her. After all she had a whole other family to get to know.