A/N: Revised June 22, 2005.

Chapter Eight: Of New Beginnings

Sunlight shone gently through a window into a wide stone corridor, illuminating an unusual scene and alighting upon a massive egg. The gentle rays brought out the metallic highlights in its mottled shell, and the egg shined bronze, golden, and reddish. An elegant man dark of hair and eye, crouched before the magnificent egg, was surrounded by piles of fluffy material. He intently studied its mottled expanse. The man carefully set his large hands with their long, thin fingers upon the beautiful surface to gently caress the egg. It didn't quite reach his eye line when he crouched, showing itself to be rather small for its species, but it was sure to be more than sufficient for its intended purpose. Quick footsteps sounded on the flagstones around the corner and he drew his hands away. He simply nodded in greeting, pulling his wand out of his sleeve and flicking it at the nearest pile of fluff.

The footsteps belonged to a very petite woman in a comfortable cotton dress in her favorite color: yellow. She had a curling mass of auburn hair tumbling to her mid-back tucked behind one of her ears along with her white willow wand. When she saw what the man was doing, her hands came up to rest on her hips impertinently.

"Salazar, I must say that I really do not approve," said the redhead as she favored the thin man with a reproachful glare. The dark haired man turned to give her look. His mouth, framed by a neatly trimmed goatee, curled into a smirk.

"Helga, I must say that I really do not give a damn," he replied. "I will do what I must to provide for my heir, even if you do think the entire situation a mistake." He turned back to his task, using his wand to direct the thick downy material into its correct shape around the huge egg. Ignoring the woman's caustic mutterings with the ease of long habit, he focused all of his attention on the intricate nest. He had to make it last for nearly two hundred years before the creature within would mature enough to hatch, after all, so it had to be durable as well as supportive. His mind raced over his plans as he continued with his labor, going over all he had done and the tasks he had yet to complete. He had taken great pains in preparing a special suite of rooms for it, all modeled after areas he particularly liked in the Black Forest out on the grounds. He had woven the framework for the complex spellwork around the doorway into the suite, and set up the time-release spell for various toys and other entertainments to appear once the egg hatched. It seemed the only thing he needed to do was set up the Gringotts account to buy the creature its food and speak to Hogwarts about bringing the food into the room and watching after it.

Salazar vaguely noted the second set of footsteps coming around the corner as he firmly concentrated on his task. This new set belonged to a man, the same height as Salazar but more solidly built. Broad shoulders and well-muscled arms filled out a chocolate brown shirt that was tucked into a pair of tan breeches. The bootheels of his well-worn leather boots clicked on the flagstones as he made his way over to the pair with a cheerful look on his handsome face. Absently swiping a shock of sandy blond hair out of one eye, he appraised the egg and Salazar's efforts with a smile.

"Wonderful, Salazar. I take it Helga's been haranguing you about our favorite wanderers?" he said, his voice deep and rumbling in his amusement.

"Quite, Godric. Can't you control your own wife? You'd think I was committing a terrible crime against humanity, the way she harps on," the dark man replied. "I am simply doing my part to move history along in the correct direction." Salazar stood, dusting his hands off on his trousers. "I believe the egg is ready. I'm off to Gringotts, then," he said. He deftly levitated the egg into its cavernous rooms and sealed the wall shut. With a nod to his companions, he strode away.

"Godric, you are a bad husband," Helga said, swatting his arm. He looked down at her with a broad smile.

"You love me anyway," he reminded her. She released a long-suffering sigh.

"I do. I can't fathom why, but I do," she said. "Let's go see what the House Elves have prepared for lunch." Godric gave her a flamboyant bow and offered his arm.

"My lady," he said. She swatted at him again, and they walked to lunch arm-in-arm.

Chaos reigned in the Great Hall. The majority of the students had fled to the furthest point from the doors they could get, behind the head table. Some of the seventh years had decided to make a stand, lined up with wands pointed at the doors, stationed right in front of the head table. Harry had immediately run toward Lily, followed by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. She was standing, staring with glazed eyes at what had just entered.

For in the doorway to the Entrance Hall, there stood a copper-colored dragonet the size of a small pony.

Lily made an abrupt gesture, and the Hall fell silent. The hissing of the dragonet and the scratching of its claws on the stone floor filled the room. Its head wove back and forth on its long, sinuous neck as it searched the crowds for something, finally coming to rest on Draco. He was standing halfway between the Slytherin table and the great doors, staring at the dragonet as if entranced. When its sight came to rest upon the blonde, the coppery dragonet tripped over its own feet in its haste to get to him. Draco was in just as big of a hurry. He made it to the beautiful animal within seconds and threw his arms around its neck as if it was his last lifeline. An pregnant silence grew as everyone stared at the pair in disbelief. Eventually, Draco turned, his face radiant.

"She says her name's Calida!" He turned back to her, holding her head in his hands and staring into her eyes. Lily's eyes cleared and she collapsed, and with her, the spell she held over the students and faculty. Dumbledore stood and took charge.

Soon, Snape was on his way to the dungeons with Lily in his arms. Harry walked alongside him, anxiously peering at Lily. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny walked behind exchanging worried looks. Draco and Calida followed a few paces behind, Draco walking with his hand on Calida's shoulder.

They reached a section of the damp stone wall that slid aside when Snape awkwardly prodded itwith his wand. They all went inside, the doorway just wide enough for Calida to enter. Snape laid Lily on a couch in front of the fireplace and disappeared into another room. The others silentlyclaimed seats around her and on the chairs around the room. Calida settled in on the floor in front of the door, snaking her neck out to place it on Draco's lap where he sat in an armchair. Snape returned, opening a vile of some herb mixture and waving it beneath Lily's nose.

Lily coughed, and sat up. Snape corked the vile and crossed his arms.

"Is there anything you'd like to explain?" he asked darkly.

Lily gave him a sheepish look and opened her mouth to explain.

A/N: Hope you liked it. I picked the names in this chapter and the lastvery carefully... Draco's middle name (according to me, anyway) Marek means 'warring' in Latin. Calida means 'fiery', and her nickname (which hasn't come up yet, but will) Lida means 'sparkles'. Appropriate for their temperments and maybe just a hint of foreshadowing...