"Good morning little one."

Nimue shyly turned her eyes down as the High Priestess greeted her.

"I'm afraid that you were sleeping on your feet when we were introduced last night, I am the Lady Sianna."

Nimue couldn't help but like the high priestess from the start, she was an ageing woman with long red hair, now greying, and she had a mothering look about her.

"Can you help me with my visions?" Nimue asked tentatively, now that it was daylight once again she missed Kalliope, and wondered where the familiar priestess had gone.

"I am sure of it; you are one of our line after all."

Nimue frowned a bit uncertainly as she thought, "Like what I saw in a vision Kalliope showed me? I saw priestesses, and she told me I was from the line of Merlin and Arthur."

Sianna smiled warmly as she motioned for Nimue to join her on a low bench by the warm fire, "your line goes back much further than that, even before Avalon was removed from the world of mortal men. Your ancestors served the goddess here from before the Roman invasion until two centuries ago."

Nimue's eyes widened in wonder, "How do you know that?"

"Because you come from a long and powerful line that is destined to return to Avalon," Sianna settled down to tell the tale. "Almost two thousand years ago there were no priestesses here at Avalon yet, they served the goddess from across the lake, on the mainland. There was one priestess there by the name of Lia, and she fell in love with a man called by the name of Gawen, she bore a son for the Goddess with him. Their son, also named Gawen, marked the combination of two powerful blood lines, and King Arthur would be his direct descendant years later, just as you are a direct descendant of Arthur through the line of Mordred. Every time the line of Gawen has been mixed with the line of priestesses here a shift has been made."

"I'm not sure I understand..."

"I know it is difficult if you don't know the bloodlines," Sianna patted Nimue's hand reassuringly, "perhaps this will help, the first Gawen, the lover of Lia, was not a Briton, he followed the bronze eagles to our land, his name according to Roman records was Gaius Macellius Severus, a name which has been passed down through your family ever since then. You carry the blood of the conquerors and the conquered in your blood, you have a great destiny before you little one."

"Stop confusing the girl! You can't expect her to understand your foolish lines until she understands herself."

Sianna smiled, as an ancient looking woman and Kalliope joined them, "Nimue, this is Latis, former Head Priestess and the oldest woman to ever serve at the altar of the Goddess here. She is over a thousand years old, and only because she has sworn that she won't die until she meets the High Priestess who will bring our ways back to the wizarding world."

Latis made an irritated noise, "I have told you time and again Sianna, your successor will be the most influential Lady of the Lake since Viviane presented Arthur with that damnable sword, I will die once I have met your successor, content to know that the line of Avalon will continue."

Sianna rolled her eyes, "whatever you say revered one."

Latis thumped her knobby cane on the packed dirt of the floor, "I will talk with the girl now, you will leave us."

Dierna wasn't sure what she told her mother when she passed her on the stairs, it had been along the lines of 'have a great time in Paris, I going to sleep for awhile so I won't see you again before you leave' but she couldn't recall the exact words.

She was profoundly thankful that her twin wasn't in their shared room when she reached it, she wasn't sure if she could handle talking to anyone right now. She crept towards the mirror, needing to see the damage for herself. Brushing her hair out of her face she examined her left check, wincing a bit as she pressed her fingers against her cheekbone. It was red, and a bit swollen, but it didn't look like it would bruise.

She decided that it hadn't been the force of the blow that upset her the most, but the fact that her father actually hit her. She had never been struck before. And, even though her father had certainly used the threat of spanking when she was little, he had never even followed through with that. She didn't know what to think now...

Throwing herself face down on her bed she buried her face in her pillow, and cried, really cried, not just a few irrepressible tears, for the first time in years.

William knocked on his mother's bedroom door before quietly admitting himself. He had come back late last night, after his and Sirius' 'conversation', although he figured 'dressing-down' would probably be a better word for it.

He let out a low whistle, "damn Mum, you look good."

Elizabeth smiled a bit nervously, "you really think so?"

William nodded, "Sirius will definitely be pleased."

Elizabeth paused in the middle of brushing out her long dark hair, "did you just mention Sirius and not make a degrading comment along with it?" she turned to face her son.

William shrugged, "that doesn't mean I still don't like him, it just means I might think about tolerating him."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears, "that means so much to me," she hugged her tall son, "I was afraid that you might not even show up for the wedding, I know how angry and hurt you have been over this whole thing."

William hugged his mother back, "just don't expect me to change my name to Black, 'cause that's definitely not going to happen. Besides, I have to come to the wedding; someone has to give the bride away."

Dierna wished her parents would hurry up and leave. She didn't want to see them or anyone else for a long time. She just wanted to sleep and forget everything that had happened today. She sniffled into her pillow for awhile, trying to control the tears that were still threatening to spill over. She didn't want to cry again.

She tensed as she heard footsteps coming towards her room, she hoped it was only her mother or Serena, they would leave her alone. Damn... that was definitely her father's tread. She rolled over on her side, hugging her pillow to her chest as she slowed her breathing, pretending to be asleep. Maybe she could avoid any further confrontations...

She kept her eyes lightly closed and her breathing even and calm as her door creaked open. 'Please, just leave...' she thought desperately. She lay still, silently wishing that this would just all go away. She felt a muscle tick in her jaw and she could have cried in outrage when she felt him sit down next to her on the edge of the bed. 'Please, just think I'm asleep and go away...'

Severus ever so gently ran his hand over his daughter's bright curls, wishing he could turn back time and undo his actions. Continuing to stroke her hair he spoke softly, "Every time my father beat me, every time I felt the back of his hand, or the sting of his belt, or examined my bruises, I swore that I when I had children I would never raise a hand to them. It terrifies me to no end knowing that what I did today was the action my own father would have taken, I never wanted you to know that feeling.
"I hated my father for beating me, and I hate him to this day. He left too many scars, both physical and mental, for me to ever forgive him. You have every right to hate me for what I did to you," Severus had to stop and take several deep breaths before continuing, "no matter what you said to me, you did not deserve that. You could never do anything to deserve physical violence. I love you my little bright eyes, no matter what."

Nimue, wide-eyed in anticipation for what she would learn, followed Latis around for the rest of the morning, but nothing was said about her visions. She did as she was told, helping the ancient woman prepare an herbal remedy for one of the priestesses who was sick, and helping her tend the fire in the main building of the temple complex.

Finally, as midday approached, Latis told Nimue to sit beside her on a bench before the fire. Nimue silently ate the food she was handed, waiting with curiosity to see what she might learn next, as she silently examined the old woman next to her. Latis' face reminded he of an apple that had sat in the sun for too long, it was all brown, and wrinkled, and leathery. But it was a kind face, with wise eyes.

"Do not listen to all of Sianna's gibberish about your being of the line of Gawen or Arthur or any other fool man she puts up on a pedestal. She is a good High Priestess, but sometimes she relies too heavily on the changing aspects of life, those that do not last. I am more concerned with the unchanging, with the Goddess and her power," Latis examined the girl next to her, noting that she really was too small for her age. But while she had trembled with fear upon her arrival she was already beginning to relax.

"Lady, might I ask you a question?"

"Of course child, you are here to learn, ask all the questions you want."

Nimue licked her lips, trying to find the best way to word what was bothering her. "Do the worlds of the priestesses and the wizarding world ever mix?"

Latis gave a sharp bark of laughter, her blue eyes shining, "of course they do child, although it has been a long time since we have had any real contact. I hope that we can remedy that, we used to be great allies. Why, some of my favorite memories from my youth are of the adventures I had with Salazar Slytherin!"

William wasn't smiling when he handed his mother over to Sirius Black, but he found it hard to hate a man who loved his mother so much.

It was a very small ceremony, the only people in attendance were Kamen, who had come to support his best friend, Harry, standing up as Sirius' best man, Ginny, Remus, and Willow, who kept tugging at the sash of her little set of dress robes and playing with the flower she had been given to hold, which interested her far more than the short ceremony.

Elizabeth's eyes were shining with happiness as the ceremony ended and her new husband kissed her passionately. Tears filled her eyes as she thought of the two men who had so completely claimed her heart. That very morning she had put aware the picture of Edward that had been sitting by her bed, although it caused her tears, it no longer had a place there.

"You're mine now," Sirius whispered as he gazed at his wife. This was definitely the happiest day of his life. He finally had a family at his own, one that he would love to add on to. He was about to tell Elizabeth that as far as he was concerned they could start work on increasing the size of this family anytime when he felt a tug on his robes. "Can I help you with something?" he asked as he swung Willow up in his arms.

Willow took Sirius' face between her small hands and frowned at him in her adorable four year old way, "are you really my daddy now?"

"Yes," Sirius felt tears fill his eyes as he assured the little girl that he really was her daddy now, and part of a family. He was practically glowing when she threw her arms around his neck, holding on to him tightly.

Severus sat there for several minutes, which felt to him like an eternity, as he watched his daughter pretend to sleep. He didn't blame her, after what he had done he wouldn't be surprised if she never wanted to speak to him again, or if she left... that thought was enough to make his heart squeeze in agony.

He kept watching her, not wanting to leave when she was suffering because of something he had done. He cleared his throat a couple of times, trying to find the right words, he settled for the best he could come up with, "Dierna, tell me what to do and I will do it. One word from you and the Paris trip is off; a vacation is nothing to me compared to you."

Dierna's throat felt like it was closing in, she choked on a sob that caught in her throat, but still tried to keep up her charade, even as tears trickled down her cheeks.

"For what its worth I am sorry, and it kills me that for your whole life I have tried to protect you from pain, and now I am your greatest cause of it."

Dierna threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry Dad. I shouldn't have said that to you, and I really don't hate you." She clung to him, weeping, and shaking with emotion. All her tears came out, her anger, hurt, and confusion over being struck, her pent up frustration over a school year that hadn't gone very well, her pain over her separation from Stefan, it all came to the surface.

Severus was shocked, his daughter, whom he had not seen cry in years, and who had every right to hate him, was now sobbing in his arms, clinging to him desperately. "You have nothing to be sorry for Dierna, I handled the situation very badly from the start, and I should have trusted you." He wasn't quite sure what to do, he had a vague idea of how to deal with tears from his other daughters, but he'd never really had to deal with an emotional Dierna. He settled for holding her tightly, albeit awkwardly, while she cried against him.

Dierna didn't understand what she felt. She wanted to hate her father for what he had done to her, but she couldn't. The hand that had struck her was now holding her in a close embrace.

Severus gently pushed Dierna back from him, "let's have a look at your face now..." he brushed her bright curls out of her face and ran his finger along her left cheekbone, "I'll be right back, stay here for a moment," he said.

Dierna took several gulping breaths as she tried to regain control of herself. She reached under her pillow and retrieved a lace-edged handkerchief, which she used to dab her eyes.

"What happened sweetie?" Morgan asked from the doorway.

Dierna looked down at her lap, and played with the folds of her skirt. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her mom what had happened.

"But Salazar Slytherin was a horrible man! He didn't want to let anyone but pure bloods into Hogwarts, he's the reason there is so much animosity between the school houses." Nimue couldn't believe that this kind old woman had actually been friends with Slytherin.

Latis made a tsking sound as she shook her head, "I thought you were smarter than that girl! Now tell me, who writes the history books?"

Nimue just stared at Latis, her head swimming.

"The winners write the history books my girl," Latis emphasized her words with a thump of her cane on the ground, "and good men and women are doomed to be classified as 'evil' because of the history the winners pass down."

"I don't understand..."

Latis sighed, "Think about the state the world was in when Hogwarts was founded a thousand years ago. Christianity influenced nearly everyone's way of life. Witchcraft was a word that could start panics. The people began to fear magic, and everything that it encompassed. The priestesses here retreated further away from the world. And then, at the height of it all, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw decided to start their little school."

"But how else could anyone learn magic, they needed to start the school!" Nimue protested.

"Child, for centuries before that the art of magic was passed down through wizarding families, parents taught their children. They could have continued that way, but no... they didn't. Countless lives were lost during the persecution of witches..."

"But they could defend themselves!"

"Fully trained witches and warlocks could. But not the children and not the innocent muggles who were accused of witchcraft. And that is why Salazar didn't want to let muggle borns into Hogwarts. He was afraid of what would happen if children from a non magic family received a letter saying they were a witch. Some of those children were allowed to attend the school, but others... their parents turned them over to the church, had them burned, or hung... those were horrible years."

"They let their own children die because of their prejudices?" Nimue covered her mouth with her hands. "That's so horrible, how could they do that?"

"People will do anything to destroy that which they don't understand and fear."

"That still makes it horrible," Nimue's eyes grew misty, "I can't believe so many innocent people were killed..."

"Yes, it is horrible, remember child, narrow-mindedness is one of the worst thing the world has ever seen. Salazar tried to save lives, but he was overruled by the other three, because of their decision to allow everyone into the school more children and innocent muggles than I care to think of were sentenced to death, or disowned, or were scorned by their families, persecuted by the new religion..."

Morgan tilted Dierna's face up gently and ran a finger across the swollen part of her cheek, "you're lucky your father doesn't wear rings, it could have been worse," she had wrangled the story out of Dierna, although it had been obvious that her daughter didn't want to share.

Dierna mumbled something as she looked back down at her lap.

Morgan frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, "don't come to me looking for pity young lady, you got exactly what you deserved for speaking to your father that way," at Dierna's shocked look she continued, "not that I condone what he did, but if you ever speak to him like that again..." Morgan sighed, "I can't believe what you said, it was disrespectful, rude, uncalled for..."

Severus cleared his throat, announcing his presence, as he rejoined the ladies, "here," he sat down by Dierna on her bed and pressed a cool, damp, cloth to her cheek, "the swelling won't last long. Now, tell me the truth, would you rather we put off the Paris trip and stay here, or are you comfortable with us leaving now?"

Dierna fought off the temptation to just shrug and say 'whatever', she took time to think about her answer, "Go, I'm still upset, but I just need some time to myself."

"Are you sure?" Severus pressed as his wife slipped out of the room, "I know that this is not the kind of thing that you can forget or forgive."

Dierna tipped her head to the side, and removed the cloth from her face, "you're right, this isn't something that I'll forget, but I can easily forgive you," she leaned forward and brushed her father's cheek with a light kiss, feeling incredibly safe and loved as he hugged her tightly.

"Meg darling, you look gorgeous!" Alberto lifted Meg from the floor as he hugged her.

"Hey! Hands off my wife!" Charlie growled good naturedly as he rescued his wife from Alberto's amorous advances.

"Now Weasel, you can't blame a man for trying, she is a beautiful woman after all, it doesn't hardly seem fair that you don't share..." Alberto flashed his most charming smile.

"Oh stop it you two!" Meg swatted Alberto on the arm as she gave Charlie a longing look, clearly she was going to have to wait to be alone with him, not that she wasn't happy to have guests for the holidays, she just wanted her husband to herself for awhile, "Zach, let me show you to your room, I'm sorry that you have to share with 'Berto, but we only have the one guest room, and he does snore."

"I do not!" Alberto shot back narrowing his eyes at the saucy grin Meg gave him, "besides, where's my share of this hospitality, I don't get a personal escort service to our room?"

Meg rolled her eyes, "as if you don't know where it is! How many times have you crashed her Alberto? Now be nice or you won't get any dinner," she playfully scolded.

Charlie caught Meg as she came back down the stairs from settling Zach in, "are you sure you don't mind that I brought the boys back with me for the holidays?"

"Of course not darling, you know that I don't," she stood on tiptoe to graze his cheek with a feathery soft kiss.

"Good," Charlie grabbed her around the waist, "because I have a feeling that we can exploit them as full time babysitters, we need to make up for lost time," he breathed against her neck, drawing her close.

Meg blushed up to the roots of her curly blond hair as her husband made his intentions known.

"Well?"

"Well what?" William looked at his head of house with raised eyebrows.

Remus smiled, "think you can live with him?"

William glanced over to where his mother and Sirius were standing, slightly apart from everyone else, glowing with shared love. He shrugged, "I don't really have a choice now, but I guess I can live with it."

"I think you'll manage just fine," Remus glanced at his watch, "they're going to want to leave anytime now. Think we should get going ourselves?"

"Sure," William and Remus said their goodbyes to the newlyweds and gathered up Willow, who shed a few tears at being separated from her mother, but went with Remus willingly enough when bribed with a chocolate frog.

"When will they be back?" Willow asked mournfully from her place on Remus' arm.

Remus shifted her slightly and looked at the little girl with large blue eyes, and straight black hair, thinking that she could easily pass as Sirius' biological daughter, "in six days. You don't miss them already, do you?" he teased a smile out of her, hoping that she wouldn't miss her mother and new father too badly while they were gone.

"Is that before Christmas?"

"It most certainly is Miss Willow, you think you can wait that long?"

Willow nodded slowly, "as long as they're here for Christmas..."
Dierna surveyed her face in the mirror, not a mark on it, and accept for the slight red tinge to her cried out eyes no one would no that anything had happened. She tried to shrug it off, but it still felt like a grey cloud was hanging ominously over her. She sighed and headed for the shower, making the water just a touch too hot, but not carrying.

She had told her father that she forgave him, but had she really done that, or just said it to make him feel better? She honestly didn't know. She tilted her head back as the steaming water ran over her, hoping that it would scald away all of her doubts.

Finally she gave up, and dressing as comfortably as possible in warm flannel pants and a baggy shirt she headed back for her room. She wasn't very surprised when she found her father waiting in her room for her. She just hoped that guilt wouldn't keep him hanging around for too long.

"Your mother and I are going to leave now, Remus is here."

"Alright, have a good time..." Dierna fiddled with the drawstring on her pants.

Severus reached out to brush a stray curl out of Dierna's face, an act that he had performed on countless occasions. But this time was different, this time his daughter flinched as his hand came near her face. He felt his heart drop as he pulled his hand back, dropping it into a fist at his side, trying not to think about the panicked look that had come into Dierna's eyes. No matter what she had said about forgiving him, there was obviously a lot of healing that had to happen before she would trust him again.

He sighed, mentally berating himself for this cruel turn of events. He didn't say anything, but moving very slowly brought his hand back up to cup Dierna's jaw in his hand, noticing the way she tensed but choosing to ignore it. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and turned to leave, hoping that this whole mess would find a way of resolving itself.