Last Time:

She walked back into the hall and fell into her husband's warm embrace. Hold me Remus… I need to be held. Remus carried her into their room, and she allowed him to tuck her in. He climbed in next to her, and held her. They fell asleep cuddling, each thinking about the future, and what it would hold.

Chapter Seven

Throughout the next week, the Cubs' behavior made it obvious that they hadn't understood what they had been told but sensed the tension among their caretakers. Dove was the only one who acted any different, and became slightly clingy. Occasionally she would hold onto one of the Pack-parents- usually Danger- and refuse to let go until- after many assurances of their love- she would calm herself and flee their presence, ashamed and embarrassed. She couldn't understand that the Packparents found her actions endearing.

After those first two nights alone, the Pack had introduced the concept of Denning to its two new Cubs. They had been understandably nervous the first night, with everyone crowding together; both had slept on the outside of the circle of mattresses and blankets. What had been an unexpected surprise was that, although still wary and nervous when any of the Packparents moved to touch them when they were awake - or even raised a hand above shoulder level- the two cubs had each reached a hand out to touch the nearest person. In Draco's case- Aletha's ankle, and in Dove's case Danger's wrist.

Both Draco and Dove found the evenings spent in the Music Room with the rest of the Pack fascinating. Throughout the week, Draco was often found alone in the room fingering the carved ivory keys of the piano. Dove often worked in the kitchen with Danger, and quietly hummed descant to Danger's melody once she learned that she would not be punished for her joy in music.

Aletha was internally debating whether or not to begin giving Dove and Draco music lessons. She knew that Draco was close to Harry and Hermione, and what he did, they would also want. But Harry and Neenie simply weren't ready for lessons yet… they had great difficulty sitting still and paying attention for any length of time. Draco and Dove didn't have this problem, a result of the years spent with their father.

Just Dove, then… With this matter settled, Aletha's mind turned towards other things, with a final thought of I wonder what instrument I'll start her on…

Danger was currently teaching her charge- her Dove- to make hot chocolate. Ever since Danger had brought out a tray of mugs for the Pack the first night they had Denned, Dove had been quietly asking for Danger to teach her to make the delicious beverage.

Danger was ecstatic with her good fortune… She hadn't realized until Dove and Draco had come that each of the other Packparents had their own particular favorites among the Cubs. None of them ever meant to 'play favorites' so to speak, but it couldn't be helped… Hermione was Remus' kitten, and Harry was Sirius' cub. Meghan was Letha's Pearl, and all of those were totally understandable, completely reasonable… But Danger hadn't realized how much she wanted a cub of her own… And now she had her Dove.

Danger was worried that Draco may feel out of place… forgotten… especially since his half-sister was receiving some much-needed attention and Draco was the type of boy to hold everything in until he burst. But Draco seemed to attach himself to Sirius and Letha. Sirius could understand the way Draco had been brought up, and was well equipped to deal with Draco's questions and the fits of 'pureblood arrogance' (as Remus called them).

Sirius had needed to take Draco aside after he had found Draco bossing Dove to make his bed for him and start his bath. He had quietly explained that Dove was not a servant, and was his half-sister. He told Draco that what he did was very wrong, and that he would help Danger in the kitchen the next day as a punishment.

Danger, meanwhile, had taken Dove aside to comfort her, and try to give her a confidence boost. It had worked… to an extent. Dove had been very quiet and withdrawn for the rest of the afternoon, but had eventually perked up when she came to help Danger with dinner.

Whenever any of the Cubs helped cook, Danger pulled out a chair for them to stand on, and let them scoop up the dry ingredients and dump them into the batter. Only Dove was allowed to use the liquids, and she could only do so when Danger supervised. Apparently, being five had a lot of perks…

The Saturday after the kidnapping and escape- July 28th- the Pack had forged a Birth Certificate… for Cassandra Dove Lupin, born October 27, 1978. The pack had finally agreed with Danger on little Dove's name, and Cassandra- though everyone continued to call her Dove- had chosen the 27th for her birthday. That had guessed at how old she really was- she was small enough to pass for a four-year old like Draco, but she acted more mature, and insisted that she was older, and so was dubbed five-almost-six-years-old.

The Pack would continue to Den at night, if only to calm the nightmares of its two newest members. They still came several times a night, and Dove's remained quite violent. It took Danger's dream-hopping ability to shake Dove out of most of hers, although Draco's were calming down.

The Pack continued to watch the Papers every morning, but no news of Lucius Malfoy appeared, much to their discomfort and concern. A small obituary for Narcissa had appeared the day after they returned, and later the same day Andromeda Tonks sent Aletha a letter, along with Narcissa's ring for Draco.

Over the period of a week, the new cubs had begun to get used to the Pack, and the Pack to them. It was now time for the training to begin.

End Chapter

Okay… After this point, I don't really have much of an idea how to proceed. I have some places for the cubs to go, and I need my faithful reviewers to tell me what they think… This is also where I need a Beta most of all… If, by the end of this week, Nanashi Kage Enjeru has not responded to my previous posts, then whydoyouneedtoknow has the job! So… my ideas:

Have the cubs sent to Aunt Amy's in America, but have them be stubborn and try to remain as a pack and let "bad things" happen… (I don't much like this one…)

Have the Cubs sent to Grimmauld Place in London- under Fidelius- and are discovered, somehow… (I could see this one happening…)

Have the Cubs run, becaught, separated, and eventuallyreunited to form the Pride… but alone from the Pack… (I'm leaning toward this one, with a few modifications…)

Any way you vote, I have some truly evil plans for the Packparents, but I can't give away all my secrets, can I? And take into account, I may or may not go with the majority of the votes, and these are only some of my ideas… Although any other ideas are certainly welcome!

On a final note… I didn't really like this chapter. That's why I didn't post it right away… I still am not sure. I didn't fit in a lot of dialogue…which is unusual for me, normally I have too much dialogue and not enough descriptions. Oh well… God Bless, everyone

RiverSong DreamShadow