Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This story was written before HBP and there are no spoilers for the story. This is an AU. I'd like to tahnk my beat Mia.

Cassie was nine years old and remembered sneaking downstairs and hiding out of her mother's sight. Cassie knew Harry would not have minded at that moment, but would have scolded her after Professor Dumbledore had left. Professor Dumbledore would stop by the house infrequently to check up on everyone. Her mother explained that he was good friends with Harry and left it at that, but Cassie was smarter than that. She knew something else was going on and always loved to listen to the conversations, even if she did not always understand what the adults were talking about. She only heard part of the conversation but was shocked with what little she heard.

"Harry, the Defense position has been opened again and I was wondering if you would like to take it. Your family would be able to live at Hogwarts, though you'd have significantly smaller living quarters." That was the Professor.

"Would you mind giving Ginny and I a day to think about it? I'm honored that you would think of approaching me, but we do need at least a day to discuss this." That was Harry's voice and Cassie wondered what would happen if Harry accepted. The family would be living in a very small area in the castle. She had visited Hogwarts a few times in her lifetime and knew that her space would be much smaller, but that would be other larger areas, like a full-size Quidditch pitch. Harry loved taking her flying, especially since her mother thought James and Serena, at three years old, were still too young to go flying.

Later that night, Cassie was about to fall asleep when she heard some yelling coming from her mother's bedroom. She knew it was not nice to listen to her mother's conversation, but she was a curious child and besides, Harry never seemed to mind. She was his big princess and Serena was his little princess.

"Why not Ginny? It's a good opportunity!" Harry yelled back. Cassie thought this had to do with why Professor Dumbledore had visited today. She knew he offered Harry a job and they were probably arguing over it. Cassie didn't remember very well the last time either Harry or her mother worked.

"Yes, but what about the children? Do you really want to raise the children at Hogwarts?" That was her mother's voice. From the tone of voice, Cassie knew that neither one of them wanted to back down.

"The children will survive if we both do a good job parenting! Besides, don't you want to watch the Sorting?" Harry added a bargaining chip. Cassie knew the Sorting was a big deal when you entered Hogwarts, but she had no idea what actually happened.

"Harry, dear Harry, you'll be a professor. That means you'll have to always be there for your students. When will you find time for the family? Not only the children, but your wife!" Her mother was practically yelling at the top of her lungs. She was surprised that James and Serena were still sleeping.

"I will manage to make time for the students while putting my family first, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will understand. I also will just be a professor, not one of the Heads. Ginny, you've waited 11 years for this moment. Would you really give it up?" Harry was pleading with Ginny now, using her son against her. Cassie wondered what could be so special about this Sorting and why her mother had waited eleven years. After all, a child entered Hogwarts at eleven years old and Cassie wondered who was entering Hogwarts this year to make it so special. Oh well, she thought, I wonder who will. Continuing to listen, Cassie thought Harry would get his way and that would mean she would live in Hogwarts next year! She couldn't wait to see all the other students and see how they lived. Though knowing her mother, she would have to avoid all of them.

Before Cassie could find out her fate, she heard footsteps coming towards the door where she was hiding. She did not want to get caught and ran back to her room and hurriedly got under the covers before her mother checked in on her.

The next morning at breakfast, Ginny announced that the family would be moving into Hogwarts because Harry was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. The twins seemed happy, but Cassie was unsure about moving to Hogwarts after thinking it over during the night. She was going to miss a lot of things, most importantly her Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted and her cousins Lyra and Ares. She barely got to see her aunt since she moved into her new house and Aunt Andromeda was the best. Lyra and Ares were sister and brother and were Uncle Charlie and Aunt Nymph's children who were closest to her own age. James and Serena had Jacques, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's younger child, who was a year older than them. They also had Emily Weasley, Ron and Hermione's daughter, who was a year younger than them. The Weasley cousins were a large family, with Lyra, Ares, Sophie, Jacques, David, and Emily, plus Cassie, James, and Serena.

In the next few weeks, the Potter family was quite busy packing and preparing for the move to Hogwarts. James and Serena were bubbly three-year-olds and got in Cassie's way most of the time, but she loved her little brother and sister. Life would be boring without them, she thought.

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Orion Malfoy had not been back to England in almost four years. He enjoyed the French Riviera and had lost his pale skin tone, but he noticed his grandmother and father still had their pale skin and even paler hair. Orion's hair was a slightly darker shade than his father's, but that was not saying much. Now that Orion was eleven years old, he would be attending Hogwarts, something his father and godfather always talked about fondly.

Narcissa Malfoy was relieved to be back in Malfoy Manor. She never understood why Draco had wanted to leave in the first place, but she went along in order to be near her son and grandson, whose mother she still did not know. At this point, she was just glad her son included her in his little adventure. When the time came to send Orion off to Hogwarts, Draco wanted almost no part of it. As much as Draco wanted to be a better father than Lucius was, Lucius at least helped Draco prepare for Hogwarts and shopped with him for supplies every year. Not that she minded shopping, of course, but she thought Draco would want to take a more active role in his only son's life and also the heir to the Malfoy dynasty. At the rate Draco was going, it also looked like Orion would be the only Malfoy heir.

When the time came to send Orion off on the train from King's Cross station, neither Draco nor Narcissa wanted to send him off. Narcissa did not want to be scrutinized by everyone else and Orion had no idea why his own father did not want to send him off. Instead his godfather and pseudo-uncle Blaise Zabini would take him to King's Cross for the first time.

In wizarding households across the country, September first was a busy morning and a peaceful afternoon. And the Potter and Malfoy households were no exception.

Nana and Pop-pop Weasley had showed up to help with the finishing touches. James and Serena decided now would be a good time to unpack some of the boxes and Cassie was following her mother around constantly. Orion, on the other hand, was rushing around to pack a few last minute items before Blaise picked him up. When Blaise finally arrived, both Narcissa and Draco had wished him luck and urged him to write often before dashing off to some important meeting.

Orion always knew he was different in his family and that his father and grandmother treated him as such. He had no idea who his mother was and knew that his grandfather Malfoy had died when he was a little baby. No one talked about anything before he was three years old; it's almost as if he did not exist. Orion was eleven now and thought he was mature enough to handle anything. He was glad to be back in England where maybe he would be able to obtain the answers to some of his questions. His Aunt Andromeda, who was really his grandmother's sister, would be the only one who would tell him anything. It had been almost four years since he spent some time with her and he missed her. Aunt Andromeda was a cool aunt and did not make him act like a proper gentleman while he was over. Everything was casual at her house and he loved spending time there, but he was glad that while he lived in France there was no nanny.

At promptly ten o'clock, Blaise showed up at Malfoy Manor and hurried Orion out the door, saying there would be time to chat once they arrived at the platform. There was no arriving fashionably late when Blaise was involved.

"How's my favorite godson doing?" Blaise asked Orion.

"Seeing as how I'm your only godson, I have to be your favorite. And I wonder why neither my grandmother nor my father wanted to take me here today." Orion was a curious child and always asked Blaise a million questions, knowing his grandmother and father would never tolerate all of the questions.

"I'm sure they wanted to be here, but they had plans. And don't you want to spend time with me?" Orion knew Blaise was just teasing, but he wished Blaise would give a straight answer.

"Yes, yes. But if I'm the Malfoy heir, which Grandmother constantly reminds me of, why are they not here to present me to society?"

"Orion, Orion. I thought your father would have instructed you better on society details. As the Malfoy heir, you were announced to society when you were born. Only girls are announced later in life when it suitable for them to find a husband. Your father doesn't follow all of the protocol simply because he wants to avoid the obvious question of who your mother is. Don't bother asking me, you know I didn't talk to your father before you were born."

"But why not?" Orion asked. "Why did no one talk to my father? Even Grandmother did not talk to my father. The only one who seems to know anything stopped talking to me years ago." The last statement perked Blaise's attention. As far as he knew, Draco had left the wizarding world for several years and had no contact with anyone in the wizarding world. The only thing anyone knew about Orion's mother was that she was a pureblooded witch who was no longer in contact with Draco. Draco also claimed she was dead, but Blaise didn't believe a word of that when he looked into Draco's eyes.

"Who talked to your father?"

"Well, Aunt Andromeda of course!" Orion said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And how are you related to Aunt Andromeda?" Blaise could not recall any Aunt Andromeda and he was Draco's best friend, or so he thought until a few years ago. Unless Aunt Andromeda was one of Orion's mother's relatives. Except Andromeda sounded like a classic pureblooded family name, if only Blaise could remember what family………

"Aunt Andromeda is my grandmother's sister and is married to Uncle Ted." Ah, Blaise remembered, Andromeda Black. Who married the Muggleborn Ted Tonks and renounced her family. He was shocked that Draco still even spoke to his aunt, considering his aunt Bellatrix had tried to kill him several times before she eventually went mad.

The train pulled up then and before Orion had the chance to say answer anymore questions, he dashed on to the train with a quick good-bye to Blaise. Blaise waved good-bye and forgot about Andromeda for the time being.