Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 51 "The Malfoys"

Tom gazed at Damius, eyeing him as if he recognized him. Tom did regcognize him...although he had of people pass through, he never forgot a face. That and the blonde haired kid was also with him.

"So is that your wife?" Tom addressed Damius, jerking his head to Lily. She was standing next to Damius, holding Draco.

"What?" Damius looked confused, and Lily frowned.

"You said that the kid takes after your wife, and your wife left. Is this her?" Tom repeated, interestedly.

There was still a blank look on Damius' face. Lily gave him an odd look; she hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on. Damiu's eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the conversation he had with Tom when he was trying to find Severus.

"Yeah, I wasn't in my right mind that day. I didn't know what I was talking about. This is my brother's wife."

Tom nodded, but really had no idea what Damius was saying.

Lily tugged on Damius' sleeve. "C'mon, we have to get going, Damius. We need to get your supplies from Diagon Alley."

Damius did not protest as she dragged him away. Although Tom was nice, he also seemed a bit creepy as well. Damius had dealt with plenty of creepy to last his whole life.

They went out into the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. Draco squirmed in Lily's arms and she set him down. Using her wand, Lily tapped on the bricks on the wall in the alley, keeping one hand firmly around Draco's. She wished Severus could have come with them, but he had classes and a bunch of papers to grade.

The bricks in the wall folded in on themselves as Lily pulled her wand away, creating a doorway into Diagon Alley. Damius had been here years ago with his mother before she went mad to pick up ingredients. It was so long ago that he could hardly recall how amazing it was.

Lily smiled at the expression on Damius' face as they entered Diagon Alley. She remembered the first time she had been here. She was a muggle so it all seemed like a dream at the time. All the strange shops, the people, the merchandise. She still thought that it was the greatest feeling that she had ever felt in her life.

"Do you have your list?" Lily questioned.

Damius nodded and pulled out the sheet of parchment that Severus had given him. On it was written everything that he needed for the fourth year. He was rather nervous about starting so far ahead, but he knew he could catch up quickly. It was better then starting off in first year with the eleven year olds.

"Let's get to it, then." Lily said cheerfully, putting an arm around Damius' shoulder. "Maybe we can stop for a bite to eat when we're finished. Or ice cream."

"Ice cream!" Draco piped up.

Lily bent to pick him up; it was quite crowded and she didn't need for Draco to wander off.

"So what's first?" Lily asked Damius, and he showed her the list so they could plan what shop to go to first.

There was a long list of books that Damius needed, as he had not attended Hogwarts for the first four years. He also needed basic supplies that you normally got in first year, such as cauldron and robes. And he needed a wand, of course. His mother's wand had been taken from him when he was thrown into Azkaban, but he never did like that thing. It had darkness in it and it never felt right in his hands. The magic in it was tainted by the dark curses that he had performed while using it and frankly he was happy that he didn't have it.

They decided to get the books last, since it was too much to carry around. The first stop was the potion supply store to stock up on basics.

Draco poked at some gelatinous substance in a barrel on the floor before Lily could stop him. She had been preoccupied with Damius, making sure he got all of the basic ingredients that he needed.

The sound of Draco crying made her spin around. He was holding his hand up, which had a nasty burn on it. When she saw what he had touched, she glanced angrily at the shop owner. It was a barrel labeled "Jellyfish jelly".

"Why isn't that covered?" she demanded, as she picked Draco up to examine his hand.

"Why don't you keep better control of your kid?" the shopkeeper retorted, but he pushed the cover back on none the less.

Lily patted the back of Draco's head, trying to soothe his crying.

"Do you have any salve I can put on it?" Lily sighed, the anger draining from her. Draco was hiccupping against her chest, tears slowing now.

The shop keeper pointed her to the right shelf and she picked up a jar while Damius got the rest of the things on his list.

Lily paid for everything and when they got outside she asked for Damius' help with Draco's hand. He held Draco while Lily rubbed the salve on the burned area.

"Draco..please don't touch things if you don't know what they are, okay?" Lily reprimanded softly.

Tears squeezed from Draco's eyes ad he stuck out his bottom lip. Damius patted him on the back.

"It doesn't hurt too much, does it?" Lily asked as she finished with the salve.

Draco hid his face in Damius' neck. "It hurts."

"Be a big boy, Draco. Lily fixed it up for you. It feels better, doesn't it?" Damius said, handing him back to Lily.

Draco nodded grudgingly. It did feel better, but it still hurt. Only a little, though.

"The ice cream later will make it feel better all the way, ok?" Lily kissed his cheek and he gave a small smile. She turned to Damius. "Are you ready to continue the crusade?"

Damius nodded and grinned. He hauled the bag of potions ingredients and supplies over his arm and they went to pick out a cauldron next.

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Lily watched incredulously as Sirius bowed to a customer politely. "You have a good day as well, ma'am."

"Wow. You clean up nice," Lily said and Sirius turned. They had chosen to come to Wizarding Attire to get the robes and garments that Damius required instead of the traditional Madame Malkins. Mostly because Sirius would be able to get them a bit of a discount.

Sirius grinned and bowed to her. "How are you today, Mrs. Snape?"

"Fine. We just came to get Damius some school robes. He's going to be enrolling in Hogwarts as a fifth year."

Sirius patted him on the back. "That's great! Yeah, it's always good to have an education. It'll get you far in life."

Lily snorted. "If you pay attention in school."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Sirius grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, make sure you actually listen to the teachers instead of floating spitballs at them. You'll do better if you actually learn something."

"We still have to get your books, Damius...so go with Sirius so he can get you what you need." Lily said, putting the wriggling Draco onto the floor so he could walk around. She doubted there was anything dangerous here for him to get into. Wandering over to the dress robes section, she fingered a dark blue robe. She thought it would be great for Damius for his required dress attire. Pulling it off the shelf, she folded it over her arm and continued browsing.

It was nice to be out, doing something normal people would do instead of saving the world. Humming to herself, she smiled. It felt so good not to worry about anything anymore.

Soon Damius had gotten his robes, as well as a winter cloak and a hat. Lily though that the hat was stupid; they never wore theirs in school but it was on the list as required, so it ended up on the counter too. Damius chose the blue dress robes that Lily had originally picked out and she smiled to herself. She had a feeling that he would like them.

As Sirius rung up and bagged their items, he complained about Remus and Tonks.

"Tonks is always over at Remus' place when I stop by. We never get to do anything without her anymore."

"Because they're getting married, Sirius." Lily rolled her eyes. "What did you expect? After the proposal just going off in separate directions?"

Sirius shrugged. "It's just annoying."

He finished bagging everything and Lily handed him some money as Damius took his new clothes. "You're just jealous, Sirius. We'll have to work on finding someone for you next."

Sirius flushed. "I am not jealous." he spluttered.

Lily kept her giggles to herself and said, "Alright. Whatever you say." to appease Sirius.

She called to Draco, who came crawling out from under the rack where the dress robes hung and scooped him up in her arms.

"We'll see you soon, ok?" Lily gave Sirius a hug good bye. "Say hi to Tonks for me."

Smiling wickedly as Sirius glared at her, she left the store. Damius followed in her wake, weighed down by the merchandise he was carrying. He heard Sirius repeat again, more to himself then anyone, "I'm not jealous. I'm really not. Everytime I walk it they're kissing..it's just irritating."

"I think he is jealous." Damius said seriously to Lily, and she nodded.

"Yup. No doubt about it." Lily laughed to herself, an image of Sirius' face popping into her head as he watched Remus and Tonks kissing on the couch in front of him.

They picked up some other odds and ends that Damius needed before going to Ollivander's wand shop. Lily still remembered the old man from her visit, and she did not like him any more today then she did then.

He came out of the shadows, babbling about something, before spotting his three customers. Draco buried his face in Lily's shoulder and she patted him on the back soothingly.

"I'm here for a wand, sir," Damius piped up, feeling a bit nervous and jittery. This was his new start to the magical world; a new wand and a new life. This is what he was most excited about. He couldn't wait to snap his current one in half..it was Lucius' and he wanted to be rid of it. It didn't work properly for him, and it didn't feel right in his hands. He just wanted something of his own..a fresh start.

Ollivander eyed him closely and Damius shrunk back a little, unnerved by the old man. After a few more seconds of intense gazing, Ollivander pulled a few boxes of one of the many dusty shelves and plopped them on the counter for Damius to try.

Standing back, he eyed the boxes suggestively and Damius dumped his bags in a corner and stepped forward. Lily stood next to the door, as far away from Damius as possible. She knew that things could get hairy when you were choosing a wand. When she had come to pick one out, she had accidentally set one of the shelves on fire. It was something she never wished to repeat.

She stared out the window absentmindedly as Damius tried out different wands, swishing them through the air. Some of them did nothing, one spit mini fireballs, and another one shot out slimy green gunk. Draco thought that was hilarious.

An older woman passed by Ollivander's, looking in as she went past. Her gaze seemed to focus on Draco for some weird reason, and Lily frowned. The woman was soon gone, continuing on her way, but it left a strange feeling in the pit of Lily's stomach.

"Oh, very good!" Ollivander was saying, and Lily turned to look. Damius was grinning as a bouquet of flowers was produced from the tip of the wand he was currently holding. "Cherry with dragon heartstring. Pliable. Very nice. Suits you well."

He grabbed the wand back from Damius and put it back into its back, wrapping it up carefully. "A wand for Healing. Is that what you want to do?"

Damius looked surprised, but nodded.

"That's why I always say, the wand chooses the wizard. And the wands have never failed."

Lily paid Ollivander as Damius added his new wand to one of the bags. The old man leered at her. "Lily Evans. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow."

"It's Lily Snape now." Lily corrected, feeling irritated for some reason. "I'm sorry, we must be getting along now."

Ollivander's gaze followed them out of the shop and Lily shivered. She did not like Ollivander at all.

"Lily..are you alright?" Damius asked, looking concerned.

"Yes. I just...he just skeeves me out."

Nodding in agreement, Damius smiled. Chills were running down his spine the whole time they were in the shop; he knew how she felt.

A blonde woman walked slowly past them and Lily realized it was the same woman who had been looking in the shop window. Lily's eyes followed her as she went down the street and then entered one of the shops. Was she going crazy?

"Lily?"

"Damius...let's go get the rest of your things and leave. There's something..something's not right."

Damius studied Lily's face as she started walking. She was definitely uptight about something.

The last thing they needed were all of Damius books, so they walked down to Flourish and Blotts. Lily would have gone to the shop where Remus worked, but it was in another part of the wizarding community and she's rather just get everything all at once in Diagon Alley.

Damius scanned his list when they entered the store and went off to find what he needed. There was a small area for reading with soft armchairs and a self brewing tea pot for refreshments. Lily waited for Damius there, with all his bags. Draco sat on her lap, but he was getting quite antsy and was squirming to get down, but Lily would not let him.

"It's alright Draco. we'll be going home soon," she said to the boy.

"What about ice cream?"

"We'll have ice cream later at the castle. I'll have the house elves fetch you some."

"But I want it now!" Draco said, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout. "You said!"

"I know but we need to get home as soon as possible, okay?" she kissed the top of his head and held him tightly against her.

"That's Draco Malfoy."

Startled, Lily looked up at the shadow that had fallen over her. The blonde woman that had bumped into her before was standing there.

"He's my grandson. When I first saw him in your arms, I wasn't sure, but now I know."

"Excuse me?" Lily said.

"I am Ailsa Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy is my son. And Draco is my grandson." Ailsa stepped closer. "I'm taking him."

Lily definitely saw the resemblance; Lucius obviously took after his mother in appearance. There was no reaction from Draco; it didn't seem like he recognized the older woman.

"What on earth are you talking about? Your son was abusive to him. I am not letting him go." Lily said stubbornly.

Ailsa sneered. "You have no rights, my dear. You have no relation to him."

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but there was nothing she could say. Ailsa was right about that.

The woman was holding out her arms, ready to take Draco. Lily held him still, and the boy grabbed onto her tightly as if he knew there was something wrong.

"Give him to me. Or do you want the authorities involved? I'm sure they will through you in Azkaban for the kidnapping of a child."

"We didn't kidnap him; we saved his life. Your son was going to kill him." Lily got to her feet and backed up, her mind whirring. How the hell was she supposed to get out of this?

"Listen, you filthy Mudblood whore. You know nothing about Lucius and his family. You ought not to stick your nose in where it doesn't belong." Ailsa hissed, her hand gripping her wand tightly at her side. "The Death Eaters might be gone, but you think there are not still people out there who would kill a Mudblood and her family for a price? I can easily make that happen."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes. Now give me the boy." Ailsa said. There was something in her voice that made Lily shiver..she knew this woman would do everything in her power to get a hold of Draco. Maybe she and Severus could go to the Ministry, ask for custody. Perhaps Dumbledore could do something.

An older man stepped up suddenly behind Ailsa. She smiled up at him. "Abraxas. I was just trying to convince this dear girl to give Draco to us."

"I'm sure she will have no problem doing that." Abraxas said, and his face remained expressionless.

"How do I even know that you're telling the truth?" Lily said, her voice shaking. "You could be lying about your identities for all I know."

Abraxas snorted. "I assure you that we are Malfoys. Anyone who dare impersonate us would have to be complete fools. I would not tolerate such a thing."

"Lily, I got everything-" Damius chattered, coming up behind her with a bag full of books. He stopped when he saw the two imposing figures in front of Lily. "What's going on?"

"I won't give him to you." Lily whispered. She hardly noticed Damius; she kept her eyes trained on th Malfoys, glaring at them.

Abraxas sighed. "Fine. I see you want to do this the hard way. I will see you in court. You will lose. We will get Draco in the end."

As much as he wanted to hex the Mudblood and take what was rightfully his, he couldn't. They were in a crowded bookstore with witness. The Malfoys would not stoop so low as to duel over something so petty. He would settle this legally so no one could accuse him of anything.

Aisla gave Lily a parting smirk before following her husband out of the store.

Lily stared after them, her body numb with shock. "Oh my god. What are we going to do?"

"Lily...I know Severus can think of something. People will believe him. He stopped Voldemort and Malfoy...that has to count for something." Damius patted her shoulder. He had caught the tail end of the confrontation but it was apparent what was going on. Obviously those people were some relatives of Draco and they wanted to take him.

"But we have no rights..the Malfoys were correct. The next of kin would take in the orphan child." Lily said softly. Draco was still holding on tightly to her. He obviously felt that something was amiss.

Damius wrapped an arm around Lily's shoulder to comfort her. "It'll work out."

Lily allowed Damius to encase her in a hug. It felt odd for him to comfort someone. Odd to have Lily hug him back and press her face into his neck.

"I'll do whatever I can. I'll tell them everything I saw Lucius do."

Lily touched his cheek. There were tears welling in her eyes. "Thank you, Damius."

He grabbed up all of his things and nodded to the door. "I think we should go...the sooner Severus knows the better."

Lily started to the door. Her whole body felt weird like she was moving through water. Her legs felt like lead. The Malfoys might win this, they might take Draco. The thought crashed down on her like a wave. This would be the third child that she lost.