Chapter 1: What?

Professor Draco Malfoy sat at the teachers' table at Hogwarts. It was just three weeks into term and he should be thinking about his lesson plan. But today he couldn't. It had been over seventeen years since she'd left, and on most days he was alright but he'd dreamed about her last night. She was in his arms, smiling and laughing, and then she reached out to him lovingly. He woke up then, his arms trying to wrap around thin air and the memory of her smell still hanging in the morning atmosphere. He had barely pulled himself together before he came down for breakfast.

Professor Harry Potter sat next to him, took one look at his face and leaned forward.

"Are you alright, Draco?" he asked tentatively. He had his suspicions at what was wrong, "Is it her?"

"Yeah," Draco responded, his voice low and raspy. Harry's look of pity deepened and Draco knew if they had been alone Harry would have embraced him. It was odd how one person could bring the worst enemies together as friends, no brothers almost. Ever since she left Harry had been Draco's primary confidant. The two men sat in silence until Harry thought it appropriate to change the unspoken subject.

"I wanted to ask you," he began, "How is Lily taking to charms?"

"She's excellent," Draco responded with a smile, "Best in her class by far!" Lily Potter was Harry's only daughter. She had red hair, just like her namesake, and Harry's bright green eyes, but everything else was her mother's. Leave it to him to marry a spirited Irish witch.

"And what about the boys? They haven't been slacking off have they?"

"No Harry," Draco said, a slight smile playing on his face, "They somehow manage to get into trouble while keeping their skills finely tuned. More then you could say at their age I'm afraid." Harry laughed. His twin sons, James and Sirius, were troublemakers from the word go. Smart as whips both of them though. The only way you could tell them apart was one had green eyes and the other blue.

The conversation continued and Draco's pain slowly began to ebb until it had faded almost completely. He didn't even notice Professor Longbottom as he signaled to Harry until Harry responded.

"Not now Neville! I'll talk to you later!" Harry said through peals of laughter at Draco's recounting of the twins' most recent exploit. Neville sighed and reached into the door to the teachers' entrance and coerced a blonde girl to follow him to the Headmistress' seat. Draco couldn't help but overhear.

"Evelyn, this is Headmistress McGonagall," he paused obviously very nervous to speak the next part of the introduction, "Headmistress, this is Evelyn Malfoy."

Draco looked up as his surname was mentioned. He thought for a moment that there might have been some sort of mistake, or maybe he had family that he didn't know about (though highly unlikely, the Malfoys documented everything as they took pride in being pureblooded.) Then the girl reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair out of her face and her eyes met his for the briefest moment. To Draco, it was an eternity. His heart stopped beating. He understood now. Those hazel eyes were killing him in an instant. Her eyes…

Twenty Years Earlier

Draco looked up as he forced his fingers through his hair in frustration. His gaze met a pair of hazel eyes, staring at him intently.

"What are you looking at?" he all but spat. She didn't even respond, just smirked, and went back to reading her book. He was just returning to his when he heard a voice.

"You don't see Draco Malfoy irritated by schoolwork on many occasions."

Draco looked up to see the girl looking up at him with laughter and something like sympathy in her eyes. The witty retort he was planning died halfway in his brain and he simply scoffed at her nonchalantly. He heard her sigh.

"What?" he questioned.

"Nothing," she shrugged, "Your people skills just need a little work. But then again I already knew that."

"What do you want mudblood lover?" he said, quickly loosing patience. Next thing he knew he was on the ground and she was standing over him.

"Watch what comes out of that arrogant mouth or next time could be worse. Insult me all you want but don't insult my friends." She started to walk away when he recovered and threw a hex at her that brought her to the floor. She returned one almost instantly (damn she was fast!) and he was once more on his back, and this time he was unable to move. She walked back over to him almost gracefully. Most people he used that particular hex on would be limping and crying out all the way to the hospital wing. She was walking almost evenly and only slightly grimacing at every other step. She looked down on him with a look of pure loathing.

"And to think that I felt sorry for you for a moment." With that, she walked away.

The headmistress and Harry stared at the girl in disbelief. From the look on Harry's face, Draco knew that he had seen too. McGonagall didn't say a word, but got up from the table. Harry and Draco followed while a terrified looking Neville escorted Evelyn along behind.

When they reached the Headmistress' office McGonagall turned to Neville.

"Will you please wait with Ms. Malfoy out here for just a minute?" Neville nodded and placed his hand gently on the young girl's shoulder. She stood there with careful and distanced curiosity as the headmistress opened the door. Harry and Draco followed her, both glancing back one last time to make sure their eyes weren't deceiving them. Draco let out the breath he was holding when the door clunked shut. There was silence for a few moments as the three of them tried to take in the situation. It was McGonagall who finally broke the silence.

"Draco, is she…" she didn't finish the sentence. Draco had never seen McGonagall speechless and it would have been very amusing to him had it not been under the current situation. Surprisingly it was Harry who answered almost immediately.

"Yes," Harry continued at Draco's look of sheer and utter shock, "She's got her eyes and your hands. There's no doubt." Draco inhaled in and out slowly before he spoke.

"I," he stumbled for words like a child learning to walk, "didn't know. I don't even know where she is…" He turned and faced the door, trying to come to grips with the fact that, just on the other side, was his daughter that he had never met.