Disclaimer: I don't own, just borrowing JK Rowling's world and a few of her characters.

Author's Note: I haven't written anything for a while now, so I'm writing some more now. Don't know if it'll actually be any good though.

Dedication: gotta love that 'cute guy in bathing suit' thing, so this is dedicated to whichever angel gave us school swimming! Jokes, jokes, there are next to no cute guys in my class, so swimming will be just for the swimming. Sigh. Can't have everything. No, this isn't dedicated to anyone at all. Though if someone will supply my class with a few more cuties, they will be assured a lifetime of dedications…?

~*~

Chapter Ten: Thoughtful

~*~

Draco and the other boys were watching the girls.

They were in the lake, swimming.

Hermione Granger…in a bathing suit? Who'd have thought she'd look so good?

Ron Weasley, evidently. Draco found himself looking at the mudblood – muggle-born, he corrected himself, Morag didn't like the 'm' word – in a whole new way.

But not the way he looked at his Morag, rising like an Aphrodite from the water.

He didn't even bother to be jealous when Harry looked at her with his heart in his eyes.

Harry was no competition at all.

"Come on, you chickens," Ginny shouted, "get in the water!"

"Chickens? We resent that!" Fred and George replied in unison, leaping into what might well have been cold water.

Morag laughed delightedly as Ron, Harry and Draco gritted their teeth and joined the others.

Este and Morag started a game of tag in the water, meaning Morag was chased enthusiastically by Draco – Harry being wary of Draco's wrath and lagging behind a bit – and Este, funnily enough, was chased by George.

Go figure.

"Gotcha!" George whooped with glee, catching Este.

Draco almost had Morag, but she eluded him again, diving under the water to go swimming like a fish beneath him. Fred, who only caught her because she wasn't looking where she was going and crashed into his leg, unfortunately caught her.

Ginny laughed as Ron chased Hermione into the deeper water, meaning she had to come past him to get back to the shallows.

"Wow, Ron, maybe you aren't as stupid as we all like to think." Ginny grinned at her brother.

"Gee thanks, I think." He didn't turn; he might miss Hermione if he did.

"Este and George look awful friendly…" Harry said suggestively. Hermione, who had by now been caught by Ron – and wasn't too upset by the looks of things – hit him on the arm.

"You're obsessed with that sort of thing, Harry." She scolded. "Some people can just be friendly, you know?"

"Sure they can, sure they can."*

"And don't snigger like that, it looks awful."

Long silence.

"The pouting is worse, Harry, trust me. The pouting is worse."

~*~

"It seems so…normal." Narcissa marveled. "Everyone's acting like one big family. It's like nothing ever happened."

"We need to stick together, Cissa." Morganna sighed. "All of us. More tea, Molly**?"

"Yes, thank you, Anna." Molly smiled, holding out her cup and saucer. Morganna took it, pouring the tea.

"Hogwarts was hard for all of us, and now it's hard for them." Narcissa said with a faint sigh.

"I always thought you Slytherins had it easy." Molly confessed. "I mean, everyone thought the Death Eaters were Slytherins, and the way they behaved during the various tragedies just fueled the rumors…"

"I don't blame you," Morganna patted Molly's hand reassuringly. "Those years were not our best. Lily Evans was my best friend, but I don't doubt that even she would be hard pressed to find something good to say about the way we all behaved."

"We were just being our usual inhuman selves." Narcissa agreed. "We were just like everyone else underneath. Fear drove us on."

"I'm so sorry about Lucius." Molly said hesitantly.

Narcissa's eyes clouded. "He deserved what he got." She replied softly.

Morganna and Molly exchanged a glance that was nearly two and a half glances long. "Cissa," Morganna started, but Narcissa cut her off.

"Don't, Anna. I know what you're going to say and I've heard it all before. It's what I told myself for years. I won't be lied to anymore, not by myself and certainly not by my friends. Lucius wasn't a nice man underneath it all. He deserved what he got and then some. Anna, you had no reason to ever even like Lucius, don't sell out now by praising his memory. His memory should be spat on." She was vehement. Anger spurred on her tirade against her late husband. "Normally I would not speak ill of the dead, you know I wouldn't. But if I could turn back the clock, I never would have even looked at him. I would have run for cover. You were right all along, Anna. He was an 'inbred freak of nature' and a bastard. You had the right idea, setting him on fire all the time."

A little shocked – Narcissa shocked at herself – the three women fell silent.

"Narcissa," Molly began, "I have never liked your husband, and by association, you. I was wrong about you. I am sorry."

"You are quite forgiven."

They sat companionably, listening to the clock tick.

~*~

Severus watched his daughter as she ran and laughed on the lakeside with her friends.

Friends.

What an odd concept.

He had friends. An odder concept.

For the past few months, Morag had shunned everyone, including him and Morganna.

And yet there she was. Laughing, running. Morag at play.

He found it rather unnerving to see the cold young woman – or as her fellow Slytherins termed her, the ice-bitch – be so warm and affectionate to anyone.

And he wasn't sure he liked her with Draco Malfoy.

Malfoy.

His fists clenched involuntarily at the thought of Lucius Malfoy.

The man who lay hands upon his wife, took her away from him and kept her captive.

Who cursed him with Consumption in his seventh and final year of Hogwarts.

Damn near killed him.

Lucius, who denounced Morganna as an evil veela – veela she was, but never evil. Morganna had an irrepressible bubbly spirit, a kindness, a caring that had drawn Severus himself, among others, to her.

Morganna. His beautiful angel, Morganna.

She was a soothing balm on his soul, someone that loved him beyond words and would never, ever give up on him.

There had been few like that.

Lily, Jenni, Morganna. Why was it that his closest friends were pretty young women, hmmm?

He almost laughed at the idea. He managed to avoid the various rumors like 'Snape loves a Gryffindor', or 'Snape loves the Ravenclaw twin', or the one he had dreaded, 'Snape loves the French girl'.

Only the last one was true. Jenni and Lily had been his best friends – his sisters? – but Morganna held his heart in the palm of her hand.

Delightfully fancy-free she had seemed. Like she hadn't a care in the world.

How wrong can you be?

Morganna was an incessant worrier. About him, mostly. Also about Lily, and about James – though she tended not to mention that so much around Severus – a worrier about Jenni and Ame and Narcissa and all her other friends.

And her family.

God.

Severus had met her sister, Lacrimosa, once.

Once had been enough, thank you very much.

Lacrimosa Jacqueline Perrault was one of the nastiest, most vicious women in France. Her cruelty might rival even Voldemort at times, but she didn't want to rule the world.

She was too creative for that. It would take her forever, but she'd probably torture her way to power.

Or so he had heard, from what Gom said, from what Morganna said.

He knew Morganna was afraid of her. Apparently, anyone in their right mind would be afraid of Lacrimosa.

Maxwell Montaque III had been proud of her.

That man was given the Dementor's Kiss for what he did.

Didn't exactly inspire one to trust his opinion of someone. Morganna insisted that Lacrimosa – 'Lacci darling' as some called her, though she was quite evil – was one of – if not the – cruelest people she had the displeasure of knowing.

Including Voldemort.

As daughter of a prominent French Death Eater – and then wife of one of the prominent English Death Eaters (hadn't Daddy been proud) – Morganna had had the displeasure of Voldemort's company before.

Plenty of times.

Never, until only a few months ago, as his prisoner.

It had been frightening for Severus, to lose her, even for a little while.

She was his Morganna, eternal. She hadn't even changed much from when she was sixteen. No taller, and she had her 'girlish figure' – even after Morag.

And she was just always there. He took her for granted, took for granted the fact that she would be there.

No more.

~*~

~*~Meanwhile in England~*~

"Blaise, this is no laughing matter." Pansy protested.

"Draco is stuck with Potter, Weasley and Granger for the summer with Morag the Snow Bitch from Hell in France, and you think it's no laughing matter? Pansy, I always knew you were stupid. Evidently I didn't know how stupid." Blaise giggled.

"She stole my Draco." Pansy whined. "I want him back."

"She's prettier, smarter and bitchier than you are, Pansy. In other words, she is the Slytherin Woman – well, the Slytherin Bitch – and you are the Slytherin Lapdog, specifically Draco's. Who would want the yes-man – yes- girl – when they can have someone who will stimulate the body and the mind?" Blaise summed it up.

"You're such a bitch, Blaise." Pansy accused.

"Why, thank you."

"That so wasn't a compliment."

"I'm a Slytherin, Pansy, it so was." Blaise prodded her 'friend'. "You're a Slytherin too, Pans, so stop sniveling like fucking Longbottom and start acting like one."

"Bitch."

"Plaything."

"Arrgh!"

~*~

Author's note: Just threw in that bit at the bottom for no real reason. An excuse to tease Pansy Parkinson? Probably.

*Eleanor, I'm really sorry, but everyone was getting all angsty over a guy, so Este and George are going to be the picture-perfect couple and drive everyone up the wall. It's official. The Este in my story will be dating George Weasley.

~ Adele is aware that Eleanor may now wish to hunt her down. She is taking precautions, and also offering to write a Dorau-Torturing fic to make up for it. Then again, Eleanor might like the idea…well, she might ~

**Might not be Mrs. Weasley's name. Well it bloody well is now.