::Hogwarts School::

Narcissa wandered the halls as the moon rose. She walked in darkness and the weight of the atmosphere, of the castle, pressed onto her shoulders, her mind and slowed her walk. She wore black and roamed the halls she hid in as a young girl. She revisited alcoves she had slipped into with Lucius in her arms, places she could almost still smell the rain and honey scent of him.

The idea of her husband made her heart sink. Through the windows she saw the moon and remembered his name for when they were young. Sweet Moon. He wrote her letters, sonnets and all were addressed to his Sweet Moon and she sighed.

It was unfair to Severus, to pine for Lucius this way but it was impossible for her to think of his immanent death without feeling a great deal of sadness as well as responsibility.

She turned over her shoulder towards the dark hall stretching endlessly and only lit by the occasional moon filled window.

This corridor was full of him.

It was remote, dusty and silent.

But she saw his handprints in the dust.

She felt his presence as she walked there, he guided her.

She heard his breath and chuckle in the silence though they were dull memories.

Lucius was going to die.

The woman turned towards the moon again and listened to the quiet hum of magic in the castle and the air. She felt Severus, awake in his quarters with Chael in his arms and he quieted the child. She felt Draco, curled against Harry and they breathed at the same time and their hands lay twined together. She felt Azriel and Julian, resting on one another and reading a book as Zav was stretched in front of the fire to keep warm. She listened.

A distant song played, perhaps a lullaby or young student singing themselves to sleep.

She waited and listened again until she recognized it.

Sleep

My son

Sleep

So nothing might harm you

Lay not your weary head

Anywhere but home

Promise to

Come home after the war

As I come home to you

Each night

My son

It was a family lullaby and she knew that Severus sung it to their son.

Narcissa smiled to herself.

Lucius never sang to Draco. He did not play with his son or take care of him. They were so different.

Lucius was sharp, quick and venomous. His son was taught to be the same but was nevertheless thoughtful, careful and calculating. Lucius was all instinct. Draco was not soft by any stretch of the imagination but he judged situations for entering them. It made Draco a far better politician and strategist. Lucius was a warrior and predator.

She knew that Draco was like Severus; careful. They were not the largest or strongest of men and as such they were cautious and they planned things. Not to say that Lucius was not brilliant and that he did not use his wit to manipulate people, he surely did but it had not always been his primary method.

She began to walk back towards the dungeons.

::Snape's Quarters::

Chael settled down, finally.

Snape heard Narcissa leave a few hours ago and shortly thereafter Chael awoke. Severus heard Narcissa sing to him in Latin, in French and even an old form of Gaelic but he never remembered the songs. He hardly remembered the ones he was raised with or the ones he sang to Draco sixteen years ago.

It was difficult to placate his son even with the help of every song and melody that he found.

Severus sat on a chair newly cleared of books and held his son against his chest. The night was cold and so was the air in the castle; still, quiet and cold. He did not mind the cold or the night. Chael did not appreciate either.

The child smiled in his sleep. His black hair was growing rapidly, it had the thick, silken texture of Narcissa's hair and the rich color of his father's. The birthmark had yet to fade and Severus wondered if it ever would. Sometimes he hated it, other times it did not bother him much.

"Chael," he said in a near whisper, "I promise you will not make the mistakes I did. I promise, Merlin, promise you will grow up to be a good, reasonable man with honor and dignity. You will not hide in the dungeons or side streets," he sighed, "You will be a great man, my son, and I will make sure of it."

Chael turned his head up, opened his eyes for a second and smiled at his father. He made a gurgling sound and fell asleep again.

::Draco's Bed::

"Hey," Harry whispered in his ear.

The blonde turned, "Eh?"

Harry kissed his cheek, "Gotcha."

"Wha?" Draco, groggy as ever, tilted his head up and glowered at Harry's chin which was just about eye level.

"I just thought I would give you a kiss," he said.

Turning his head over his shoulder Draco eyed the clock and sighed, "It's five in the morning you ogre, why did you wake me up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why?"

"I had a dream."

"A nightmare?"

"No," he said, "Just a dream."

"Tell me about it."

::Harry's Dream::

The sun was setting and turned the lake a strange mix of gold and black. The harsh winter sent spider leg veins of ice across the surface near the frozen shore. The centre of the lake moved in sluggish waves, offering a slow rhythm to the day.

Harry flew over the lake on the back of a hippogriff and he looked down at the earth and lake. The animal, a dark grey almost black creature, reared up and took him higher for a better view of the castle grounds.

Below him there was snow touching the grounds, softening the harsh, bitter dirt beneath. He saw students by Hagrid's hut and the green houses, the quidditch pitch and he could almost see where the earth was upset by massive tunnels underneath. He steered the hippogriff closer to the ground in hopes of landing and finding out what was happening.

As he landed he saw a boy, perhaps fourteen, with the same brilliant eyes of Chael. He stood with a group of students all wearing the silver and green of Slytherin. Also in that group stood Zav. He was tall and resembled Azriel with his strangely perfect looks and unspoken power. The boys were next to each other and acted like brothers. Harry approached but when no one noticed him, even standing in the middle of the group, he decided that they could not see him.

Harry went into the castle and saw Snape standing at the foot of a staircase with McGonagall and Julian. They all looked older and a little worse for wear. Harry assumed that to be the work of the war and he saw a scar covering Julian's cheek, deep but well healed. His hair was long, as long as Lucius wore it, and it fell around his face even though he had to move some from his eyes every so often. Snape, in himself, was older, probably closing in on sixty, and the lines on his face were deep but not entirely unattractive. He seemed harsh and cold but in the coal eyes Harry saw he was happy, with a son as Chael it was hard to imagine Snape would be upset. They were talking about something and Harry listened in.

"I'm so happy for you."

Julian nodded, "It's incredible, recognition from the European Council is so nice," he smiled, "I knew they would recognize Az's existence but declaring him the legal rites of any other wizard is a blessing. Zav's recognition was wonderful, especially with his coming of age so close."

Snape nodded too, "You must be proud of your son."

Julian nodded, "He's a wonderful young man."

Down the stairs came Azriel, his white hair cropped in a shaggy mane and his bright eyes shone in some unsaid joy.

"I've just heard from Blaise," he said, "He, Ron and the kids will be here soon."

"I do love Christmas," McGonagall smiled.

Harry turned quickly to the doors which opened to allow in an older Ron, Blaise and a whirling group of four children.

The eldest was only about seven and the youngest could not have been more than two. They were all dark skinned like Blaise and they had his features but freckles splashed across the cheeks and noses and their eyes were the same bright blue as Ron.

Harry was highly confused as to how that happened.

Chael and Zav followed them close and stood by their fathers as Ron and Blaise greeted their friends and former professors.

"Where is everyone else?"

Snape looked at Az and the man smiled, "Hermione and Theo are in the tower with their pack already, Pansy is on her way but I haven't heard from the heroes yet."

Ron smiled, "I bet they'll show up."

"They wouldn't miss our annual gathering," Chael insisted and turned to look up at his father, "Would they father?"

"You brother would be flogged for sure."

Harry silently wondered where Narcissa was in all of this. But he stopped when the doors burst open to a sweep of bitter wind and the sight of himself and Draco standing there.

Both boys were stunning. Harry knew he must have been about thirty, maybe a little younger, but he was still young looking. His hair was long and had not started going gray and small scars dusted the left side of his face, none were noticeable alone but as a whole they were, just barely. Draco too wore a bright reminder of the war, a jagged line across the front of his neck stood proud above the collar of his shirt.

In Draco's arms lay a small child, as old as the youngest of Ron and Blaise's clan, and two more at his feet. Twins; a boy and girl, and maybe five years old.

"Thank Merlin you came," Chael ran to his brother, "We did not hear from you and assumed the worst as always."

Draco laughed, "No," and he smiled to his cousin and godfather, "You know how bad we are at telling you all before we arrive."

"Blaise and Ron still manage," Azriel said with a smirk.

Draco smirked, "Deal with it."

Dream Harry picked up one of the children, the girl, and offered her to Snape, "Narcissa misses you."

The girl squawked and reached out for the older man.

Snape smiled softly to her and picked her up out of her father's hands. "She's looks like her."

Draco nodded.

The little girl bore a perfect resemblance to her grandmother. The same eyes, hair and chin and she smiled the same way.

"We had hoped you would take care of her and James while we go to Geneva for the Council."

"What about Sebastian?" He said and eyed the baby.

"Pansy has dibs," Draco explained, "She says the Parkinson manor is lonely and she wants the little one there to spend time with her."

Snape nodded, "I'll take care of the twin terrors."

Harry watched his older self smile to Draco, "Told you he'd do it."

Draco chuckled, "Sucker."

Harry traveled with them up into the towers of the school and into one, decorated in green and blue. Hermione was next to Theo on a couch and they had a baby in arms and one slightly older child sitting before the fire playing with wooden blocks.

Hermione stood and hugged Ron quickly before kissing both he and Blaise on the cheek.

"How are you? How are the babies? There's my little godson!" she smiled and picked up the youngest child, "Hello baby."

The child gargled and held out his hands to her. Theo stood, "You have your own children, Hermione, remember?"

Everyone laughed as she brought the baby back, "Look at him Theo, Sirius is the cutest little baby in the world." She paused, "Right after our sons."

Draco cut it, "You like him best because he's your godson."

"I sure do," she smiled.

Harry sat down and watched the older versions of himself and his friends talk. The children raced around and played and slept as their parents greeted each other with hugs, kisses and congratulations. Azriel and Julian seemed to be hosts while Snape kept mostly to himself in the corner. He had a soft look on his features as he watched the young children and his son.

The door opened and a figure limped in but Harry woke up before he could recognize anything other than long blonde hair.

::Draco's Bed::

"We have three children?"

"It was a dream Draco but we all seemed really happy and I wouldn't mind three kids."

"It depends on how they're born," Draco said with a smile, "But," he paused, "I do worry that mum wasn't there."

Harry nodded and stared at the ceiling, "Do you feel bad about allowing your father to die?"

Draco bit his bottom lip, "Of course I do…I loved my father when I was young but I grew up and I realized he didn't love me. I drank and smoked and did drugs because I really wanted him to care, even a little. I wanted, I needed him to tell me he's worried about me. He did not notice, he hardly spoke to me by that time. It was all the Dark Lord and evil and murder. Mum was really upset though and…I wish I could spend some time with him and figure out why he gave up on me but either he dies or Pansy does and Lucius would be killed in or after the war."

"That's an excuse, Draco," Harry said, "Pansy will die someday too."

Draco nodded, "But somehow I feel Lucius deserves it and that's horrible of me, to say that my father deserves to die but after what he did to mother and me, after he killed and tortured so many I cannot pretend he deserves to live."

"But-"

"Listen, Harry, he may be my father but he's a Death Eater and no other will garner special treatment and Lucius should not either."

Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry that I sound so heartless and that it seems like it doesn't affect me, it does."

"I know that."

Draco sighed, "I just don't want to do a disservice to the families of all the people he's hurt. That and I am a Malfoy, Harry, we don't just forget about it when people hurt us and Lucius hurt me…we're vengeful people."

Harry thought that to be an excuse too but he understood.

"Yeah," he paused, "I understand."


Hella

Happy Thanksgiving kids and kidettes.
LOVE

Blaise: Okay, let us hurry this along to my smut filled chapter, 'eh?

Ron: Yeah, Merlin.

FireStorm: I'm a pretty good author but this isn't magic, I mean, I'm no Merlin.

Ron: Bugger off.

Draco::singing:: I want a cookie, who has a cookie? I need a cookie, do you have a cookie?

Ron: Off his rocker, that one is.

Harry: Yeah, he's got a great bum though.

Julian: Eww. Anyways, I once read that sedimentary rocks are formed by-

Draco: I HAVE A GREAY BUM AND YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT, JULIE!

Julian: Double eww.

Harry: It is nice.

Blaise: I want a cookie too.

Snape: Shut up.

Narcissa: Be nice!

Chael: ARGWAAA!

FireStorm: He wants a cookie.

Blaise: Me too!

Draco: Me three, what a coincidence. Now, a really nice author would provide cookies for the oversexed, under payed, stressed out characters she stole from JK Rowling.

FireStorm: You would think that

Julian: I hardly think the baby is over sexed...

FireStorm: Very true

Draco: I'm oversexed, so GIMME A DAMN COOKIE

Harry: I'll give you a cookie ::nudge nudge wink wink::

sigh
LOVE
FireStorm