The large castle stood out against the pale winter sky. Harry looked
around; revelling in a feeling, he had not had in years. Draco stood by his
side, his thoughts running very much along the same lines. The Scottish
countryside was much the same as it had always been and the castle itself
looked unchanged.
"Kind of feels like, coming home?" Draco asked, turning his gaze to his husband who appeared to be entranced by the castle. The blonde smiled and looked back to Hogwarts. With a sigh his hand found Harry's and the two walked towards the doors where all the current professors were standing, Snape was in the middle.
"Glad you decided to take the position Mr. Potter." Severus Snape nodded, genuinely pleased that the task of being headmaster was being removed from his shoulders. In his opinion, he was much too old to be carrying such a burden. Then his thoughts flickered back to Albus Dumbledore and he chided himself for being so silly.
"I didn't really have a choice" Harry started, looking through all the new faces. Professor Snape was familiar, as was Professor Flitwick and Trelawny. The rest were new and Harry was not looking forward to getting to know them all.
"Be that as it may," Snape added, but did not finish because Harry's attention was already wavering. Harry had unconsciously leaned into Draco for support and was looking past all the teachers into the school. Draco looked at them all and smiled,
"I'm sure you all have work to do, it being the first day of term tomorrow and the kids will arrive tonight. Maybe you should let Harry get used to the school?" Draco's suggestion was full of concern for his husband, the staff obviously felt it fully and all started making their exits. Except Snape who was looking at them.
"Quite." He muttered, looking at the new headmaster "However there are of course things that Mister Potter and I will have to discuss privately, also the small matter of your new position Mr Malfoy." Draco nodded and Harry looked up in acceptance. "I have thought about my position and think it would be best if I remained potions master, if that is acceptable." The blonde looked confused; this encouraged the older man to explain, "I feel I would be too far away from my Sytherins if I were to leave,"
"Of course." Draco accepted. Harry still looked rather intimidated by the entire situation.
"That said, maybe Mister Potter,"
"Harry" the dark-haired man interrupted, "if we're going to be colleagues Harry may be more appropriate"
"Harry," Snape corrected, speaking his name as if it were a foreign substance invading his mouth "maybe we should go up to your office?"
"Indeed" Harry agreed, not denying the slight rush he got from Snape saying 'your office'. "Draco, maybe you should go set up your Defence against Dark Arts room then?" He touched Draco's arm lightly and got a not from his husband. It was not long before Draco had disappeared into the school alone and Harry was sitting alone in his office with Snape talking shop.
Skyler was not happy, sitting alone on the Hogwarts Express glaring out of the window in true Malfoy fashion.
It was like that Ryan and Rulan found her.
The two boys looked warily at each other, then, Ryan gritted his teeth and stepped cautiously into the carriage.
"Hullo.......?" He sat down next to the blonde girl, her hair was tied in tight braids and even the golden Labrador was looking worried. She turned her hair to look at her friend. His dark hair had grown slightly over the Christmas break and his eyes looked bluer than ever. Rulan stood in the doorway watching her nervously. Feeling guilty for the tension, Skyler smiled in spite of her abysmal mood. The two boys perked and relaxed. Rulan moved in and crouched next to the dog stroking its ears affectionately.
"Have a nice Christmas?" she asked them both, watching her dog greet Rulan excitedly.
"Was fantastic" Ryan started, smiling broadly "my dad took me to France to visit family. It was great," he looked to Rulan who managed to stop petting the dog long enough to look up,
"Sounds cool."
"What 'bout you 'Lan?" Rulan shrugged and turned his attention back to the puppy.
"What's her name?" he asked, ruffling the blonde ears,
"Gizmo." Skyler smiled proudly, "present off my dad."
"She's cute" came another voice from the door of the cabin. "Not sure Headmaster Snape would agree though." Rebecca walked fully into the carriage, sitting down opposite Skyler and next to Rulan.
"Oh boy" Skyler smiled knowingly, "I have so much to tell you guys!"
The four Slytherin's all settled down to listen to Skyler's stories about Christmas. This led to a long discussion about their opinions. They were so involved in their conversations they were completely shocked when a prefect came into announce they were almost at Hogwarts.
By the time Harry and Severus had discussed everything Harry would need to know, it was almost time for the students to come into Hogwarts. The butterflies were building in Harry's stomach and it was all Draco could do to keep Harry from hiding in his office.
"It's so strange" Harry hissed, as the couple sat at the top table for the first time. Harry in the centre, Draco on his right and Professor Snape back on the very end, closest to his house.
"It'll get better," Draco assured, although he did completely agree that it was weird to be on this side of the Great Hall. That train of thought was closely followed by the fact that it was weird to be married to the Headmaster, even weirder to be planning his upcoming week's lessons.
He ran a hand over Harry's shoulder, his husband's muscles were taught under his fingers and he tried to subtly massage them, he felt some slight tension released. He barely new was he was doing until his felt an odd tightness in his trousers and realised his hand had in fact travelled lower than he intended and was now massaging the arse of a very aroused Headmaster. He stopped and Harry looked at him appreciatively.
Draco wasn't sure that Harry was grateful for Draco stopping, or at least taking Harry's mind off his impending doom. Silently chiding himself for being so pessimistic, he turned his attention to the doors, which were just beginning to open.
Skyler gripped Rebecca's arm as she followed a line of students into the Great Hall. She did not have to look up to the top table to know both her parents were watching her. She avoided looking as she sat down next to Rebecca. Ryan sat down next to her and Rulan sat down next to him. It looked rather odd, a blonde amidst a group of dark haired children. Tabby and Abby were sat opposite them, but appeared to be much more interested in talking with the Ravenclaw's than talking with their own house.
Skyler was managing not to look up, despite the obvious gawking of every student. Nearly everybody was surprised to see the boy-who-lived sat at the head table. Some were more surprised to see Draco Malfoy whispering into his ear, trying to encourage the new headmaster to eat something.
When Skyler did finally look up, she was relieved to see that neither of her parents were looking at her. It was not long before she was internally seething at the fact they weren't begging for her forgiveness.
It was the tapping of the glass that once again, broke her attention from her friends. When she looked up her dad was standing, looking around the Great Hall hesitantly. All eyes were suddenly pinned upon the dark headed Headmaster. With a gulp that nobody but Skyler and Draco caught, he started to speak.
"Good evening. I hope you all had a great Christmas. I apologise that nobody was allowed to stay in the castle this Christmas. However, as you all, I'm sure, have realised Hogwarts has once again changed hands. I am to be the new Headmaster" he looked around, meeting the green eyes of his daughter who, despite her anger smiled. "I hope the rest of the year will continue to be as good as it has started. I'd also like to introduce Professor Draco Malfoy; he will be your new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher as Professor Blake will now be moving to teach Transfigurations. So, if that's clear, I guess all that's left is for all of you to eat."
Harry was most surprised when at the word 'eat' the Great Hall filled with food and the students, albeit hesitantly tucked in. Harry sat down and looked at his husband, who was sipping gratefully on a goblet of juice.
It wasn't until most of the hall had cleared out Draco leaned into his husband and whispered
"so, where did you say our rooms were again?" at this Harry chuckled and squeezed Draco's pale hand,
"Draco my love, we get an entire turret!" Harry smirked and Draco's eyes lit up.
"A whole turret?" Harry just nodded "when can I redecorate?" At this Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, addressing the remaining students, which included six Slytherin's, amongst which was his daughter,
"If you're all quite finished, I must ask you to make your way back to your common rooms. Miss Malfoy" he said, with a twinkle in his eyes that could rival Dumbledore himself "if you would care to come to my office in about an hour to discuss to arrangements of" he paused to think how it was best addressed "your canine friend, I would be most appreciative. I believe you'll know the password."
Without another word, Draco stood and the two men made their way out of the Great Hall. Harry knew Draco was itching to explore their new home, and Harry couldn't deny that he was itching for an entirely different reason. He began to wonder whether one hour would be enough.
Oh my gosh.
I really cannot express how completely sorry I am.
I understand that I have probably lost all of you who once read this story. You have probably abandoned it in favour of those other WIP's that actually are updated!
I can offer no explanation that would not be an excuse. I just cannot believe how long it has been. I pray to all the gods there are that you all still like this story and offer the assurance that I will never leave it this long again!
Unfortunately, I have realised just how big a job I have undertaken with this story. It is in fact going to be one, very long story of a series pf stories following Skyler through her Hogwarts career. If you have any preferences please make them known.
Again, I offer one million apologies and hope you can forgive me. I will update much more regularly now. Some reviews would be nice, to let me know that there are still people who want to read this story. Even though I know, I do not deserve them! Apologies,
Akasha xxxx
"Kind of feels like, coming home?" Draco asked, turning his gaze to his husband who appeared to be entranced by the castle. The blonde smiled and looked back to Hogwarts. With a sigh his hand found Harry's and the two walked towards the doors where all the current professors were standing, Snape was in the middle.
"Glad you decided to take the position Mr. Potter." Severus Snape nodded, genuinely pleased that the task of being headmaster was being removed from his shoulders. In his opinion, he was much too old to be carrying such a burden. Then his thoughts flickered back to Albus Dumbledore and he chided himself for being so silly.
"I didn't really have a choice" Harry started, looking through all the new faces. Professor Snape was familiar, as was Professor Flitwick and Trelawny. The rest were new and Harry was not looking forward to getting to know them all.
"Be that as it may," Snape added, but did not finish because Harry's attention was already wavering. Harry had unconsciously leaned into Draco for support and was looking past all the teachers into the school. Draco looked at them all and smiled,
"I'm sure you all have work to do, it being the first day of term tomorrow and the kids will arrive tonight. Maybe you should let Harry get used to the school?" Draco's suggestion was full of concern for his husband, the staff obviously felt it fully and all started making their exits. Except Snape who was looking at them.
"Quite." He muttered, looking at the new headmaster "However there are of course things that Mister Potter and I will have to discuss privately, also the small matter of your new position Mr Malfoy." Draco nodded and Harry looked up in acceptance. "I have thought about my position and think it would be best if I remained potions master, if that is acceptable." The blonde looked confused; this encouraged the older man to explain, "I feel I would be too far away from my Sytherins if I were to leave,"
"Of course." Draco accepted. Harry still looked rather intimidated by the entire situation.
"That said, maybe Mister Potter,"
"Harry" the dark-haired man interrupted, "if we're going to be colleagues Harry may be more appropriate"
"Harry," Snape corrected, speaking his name as if it were a foreign substance invading his mouth "maybe we should go up to your office?"
"Indeed" Harry agreed, not denying the slight rush he got from Snape saying 'your office'. "Draco, maybe you should go set up your Defence against Dark Arts room then?" He touched Draco's arm lightly and got a not from his husband. It was not long before Draco had disappeared into the school alone and Harry was sitting alone in his office with Snape talking shop.
Skyler was not happy, sitting alone on the Hogwarts Express glaring out of the window in true Malfoy fashion.
It was like that Ryan and Rulan found her.
The two boys looked warily at each other, then, Ryan gritted his teeth and stepped cautiously into the carriage.
"Hullo.......?" He sat down next to the blonde girl, her hair was tied in tight braids and even the golden Labrador was looking worried. She turned her hair to look at her friend. His dark hair had grown slightly over the Christmas break and his eyes looked bluer than ever. Rulan stood in the doorway watching her nervously. Feeling guilty for the tension, Skyler smiled in spite of her abysmal mood. The two boys perked and relaxed. Rulan moved in and crouched next to the dog stroking its ears affectionately.
"Have a nice Christmas?" she asked them both, watching her dog greet Rulan excitedly.
"Was fantastic" Ryan started, smiling broadly "my dad took me to France to visit family. It was great," he looked to Rulan who managed to stop petting the dog long enough to look up,
"Sounds cool."
"What 'bout you 'Lan?" Rulan shrugged and turned his attention back to the puppy.
"What's her name?" he asked, ruffling the blonde ears,
"Gizmo." Skyler smiled proudly, "present off my dad."
"She's cute" came another voice from the door of the cabin. "Not sure Headmaster Snape would agree though." Rebecca walked fully into the carriage, sitting down opposite Skyler and next to Rulan.
"Oh boy" Skyler smiled knowingly, "I have so much to tell you guys!"
The four Slytherin's all settled down to listen to Skyler's stories about Christmas. This led to a long discussion about their opinions. They were so involved in their conversations they were completely shocked when a prefect came into announce they were almost at Hogwarts.
By the time Harry and Severus had discussed everything Harry would need to know, it was almost time for the students to come into Hogwarts. The butterflies were building in Harry's stomach and it was all Draco could do to keep Harry from hiding in his office.
"It's so strange" Harry hissed, as the couple sat at the top table for the first time. Harry in the centre, Draco on his right and Professor Snape back on the very end, closest to his house.
"It'll get better," Draco assured, although he did completely agree that it was weird to be on this side of the Great Hall. That train of thought was closely followed by the fact that it was weird to be married to the Headmaster, even weirder to be planning his upcoming week's lessons.
He ran a hand over Harry's shoulder, his husband's muscles were taught under his fingers and he tried to subtly massage them, he felt some slight tension released. He barely new was he was doing until his felt an odd tightness in his trousers and realised his hand had in fact travelled lower than he intended and was now massaging the arse of a very aroused Headmaster. He stopped and Harry looked at him appreciatively.
Draco wasn't sure that Harry was grateful for Draco stopping, or at least taking Harry's mind off his impending doom. Silently chiding himself for being so pessimistic, he turned his attention to the doors, which were just beginning to open.
Skyler gripped Rebecca's arm as she followed a line of students into the Great Hall. She did not have to look up to the top table to know both her parents were watching her. She avoided looking as she sat down next to Rebecca. Ryan sat down next to her and Rulan sat down next to him. It looked rather odd, a blonde amidst a group of dark haired children. Tabby and Abby were sat opposite them, but appeared to be much more interested in talking with the Ravenclaw's than talking with their own house.
Skyler was managing not to look up, despite the obvious gawking of every student. Nearly everybody was surprised to see the boy-who-lived sat at the head table. Some were more surprised to see Draco Malfoy whispering into his ear, trying to encourage the new headmaster to eat something.
When Skyler did finally look up, she was relieved to see that neither of her parents were looking at her. It was not long before she was internally seething at the fact they weren't begging for her forgiveness.
It was the tapping of the glass that once again, broke her attention from her friends. When she looked up her dad was standing, looking around the Great Hall hesitantly. All eyes were suddenly pinned upon the dark headed Headmaster. With a gulp that nobody but Skyler and Draco caught, he started to speak.
"Good evening. I hope you all had a great Christmas. I apologise that nobody was allowed to stay in the castle this Christmas. However, as you all, I'm sure, have realised Hogwarts has once again changed hands. I am to be the new Headmaster" he looked around, meeting the green eyes of his daughter who, despite her anger smiled. "I hope the rest of the year will continue to be as good as it has started. I'd also like to introduce Professor Draco Malfoy; he will be your new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher as Professor Blake will now be moving to teach Transfigurations. So, if that's clear, I guess all that's left is for all of you to eat."
Harry was most surprised when at the word 'eat' the Great Hall filled with food and the students, albeit hesitantly tucked in. Harry sat down and looked at his husband, who was sipping gratefully on a goblet of juice.
It wasn't until most of the hall had cleared out Draco leaned into his husband and whispered
"so, where did you say our rooms were again?" at this Harry chuckled and squeezed Draco's pale hand,
"Draco my love, we get an entire turret!" Harry smirked and Draco's eyes lit up.
"A whole turret?" Harry just nodded "when can I redecorate?" At this Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, addressing the remaining students, which included six Slytherin's, amongst which was his daughter,
"If you're all quite finished, I must ask you to make your way back to your common rooms. Miss Malfoy" he said, with a twinkle in his eyes that could rival Dumbledore himself "if you would care to come to my office in about an hour to discuss to arrangements of" he paused to think how it was best addressed "your canine friend, I would be most appreciative. I believe you'll know the password."
Without another word, Draco stood and the two men made their way out of the Great Hall. Harry knew Draco was itching to explore their new home, and Harry couldn't deny that he was itching for an entirely different reason. He began to wonder whether one hour would be enough.
Oh my gosh.
I really cannot express how completely sorry I am.
I understand that I have probably lost all of you who once read this story. You have probably abandoned it in favour of those other WIP's that actually are updated!
I can offer no explanation that would not be an excuse. I just cannot believe how long it has been. I pray to all the gods there are that you all still like this story and offer the assurance that I will never leave it this long again!
Unfortunately, I have realised just how big a job I have undertaken with this story. It is in fact going to be one, very long story of a series pf stories following Skyler through her Hogwarts career. If you have any preferences please make them known.
Again, I offer one million apologies and hope you can forgive me. I will update much more regularly now. Some reviews would be nice, to let me know that there are still people who want to read this story. Even though I know, I do not deserve them! Apologies,
Akasha xxxx