Veronica glanced over at the clock for the fifth time. It read 4:27 pm. Parker and Daniella will be here soon, Veronica thought smiling. She walked over to the window and sat in the chair underneath. Every few seconds she glanced outside at the driveway.

She was very excited about the party. She had been dressed for hours. She had decided to wear the long sleeved white dress her mother had bought for her last Christmas. She left her hair down. The curls were too much of a hassle to put up. Veronica sighed and glanced out the window again. This time she smiled.

A large black limo had pulled into the driveway. It stopped in front of the house and a man wearing a black suit got out. He opened the door in the back and a girl in a long, blue dress stepped out. She had a white fur coat pulled over her dress, which looked very expensive. "Mom," Veronica shouted, as she dashed toward the door, "Parker's here!"

Veronica ran towards the door and pulled it open just as Parker was reaching to knock. "Hey!" Parker said grinning.

"Hey," Veronica said, hugging her quickly. Ginny appeared in the doorway behind Veronica as they pulled apart.

"Hello, Parker," Ginny said, smiling at her. She turned to the man standing behind Parker. He was tall and thin, with black hair that was sprinkled with gray. He was rather old and had a stern look about him. "You must be Mr. Keowen," Ginny continued holding out her hand.

"Oh, no," Parker said laughing, "That's not my father. That's my chauffeur, Jenkins."

"Oh," Ginny said, blushing slightly, "Sorry about that."

"That's quite alright, Madam," Jenkins said. He handed her Parker's bag and tipped his hat. "Anything else, Miss Keowen?"

"No, that will be all Jenkins," Parker said, waving her hand. Jenkins nodded and left.

"Come on in," Veronica said, dragging Parker inside.

"This is nice," Parker said smiling. She glanced around the entry way. She smiled again when they entered the living room. "A very good surprise."

"I thought so too," Veronica said smiling back.

"Is Dani here yet?"

"Nope," Veronica said, "Are you hungry? Trinka is making cookies."

"Trinka?" Parker asked curiously.

"Our house elf," Ginny said.

"House elf?" Parker said looking confused.

Ginny and Veronica looked at each other. "I think it will be easier to show you," Veronica said.

"Good idea," Ginny said smiling, "Take a seat you two and watch out for Daniella. I'll go help Trinka with the cookies."

"Sure thing, Professor Winters," Parker said dropping her bag and taking a seat.

Veronica smiled. It was strange hearing people call her mom Professor Winters. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it. "So are you ready for Kylie's party?" Veronica asked.

"Yep," Parker said. She frowned slightly. "But I really wish stupid Black and his friends didn't have to be there."

Veronica shrugged. "I think it's worth it. It'll be fun to go to a party and be together again."

Parker smiled. "That's true. Let's just hope the Malfoys aren't there."

Veronica smiled nervously. "Yeah." Truthfully, she was hoping to see Tristian. She hadn't talked to him in a long time. Of course, she probably wouldn't be able to speak with him even if he were there, which she doubted anyways. His father would put an end to that.

"Hey," Parker shouted, jolting Veronica from her thoughts, "Someone's here."

Veronica moved over to the window Parker was looking out of. An old, blue station wagon appeared in the driveway. The doors opened and two adults got out along with Daniella. She was wearing a green dress, that fell a few inches beyond her knees, with a large coat over it. Her red hair was pulled up into a French knot, with small pieces falling out.

"Dani," Parker said happily. Veronica smiled and the two girls headed toward the front door as the door bell rang.

Ginny appeared before them and opened the door. Daniella and the two adults had just walked inside when Parker and Veronica appeared in the entry hall. "Dani!" Parker shouted, giving her a hug.

"Hello," Daniella said blushing slightly. Veronica hugged her next and smiled.

"Hello, Daniella," Ginny said smiling. She turned her attention to the two adults. "Hi. I'm Veronica's mother."

The woman held out her hand. Veronica turned to look at her. She was tall and thin, with bright red hair and a dazzling smile. She was a rather pretty lady. "Hello Miss Winters, I'm Maggie, Daniella's mother."

Ginny took her hand and shook it. "Please, call me Ginny."

"I'm Clay, Daniella's father," the man said shaking Ginny's hand. Veronica shifted her gaze to the man. He was older looking with auburn hair and freckles across his nose. His eyes were a stunning blue color.

"And you must be Parker and Veronica," Maggie said smiling.

Veronica smiled. "I'm Veronica," she said shaking hands with the adults.

"And I'm Parker. It's a pleasure to meet you," Parker said in a strangely polite voice.

Maggie and Clay smiled. "We just wanted to say thank you for taking Daniella with you," Clay said, "We weren't sure she would get to go until we got your letter."

Ginny smiled. "It's no problem. Would you like to stay and have tea with us?"

"Oh, no we couldn't," Maggie said, "We have the little ones at home with the baby sitter..."

"She can't stand leaving them alone," Clay interrupted.

Maggie shot him a glare. "They aren't all as good as Daniella," Maggie said. She turned to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Good bye, dear. I love you."

Clay pried Maggie from Daniella after about five minutes and then hugged her. "Bye, Nell. Love you. You give us a call if you need us." He smiled briefly and they headed out toward the old station wagon.

"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!"

"Now Maggie," Veronica heard Clay say, "Stop crying, dear. She'll only be away for the night. She's going to be fine."

Ginny closed the door and smiled at the girls. "Cookies?"

"Yes," Veronica said grinning.

"Well, come on then," Ginny said.

"Where do I put my bag?" Daniella asked quietly. She looked slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, just leave it there by Parker's," Veronica said, "Trinka will get it."

Daniella carefully set her bag by Parkers and walked back over to the girls. "Trinka?"

"Our house elf," Veronica said.

"House elf?"

"That's exactly what I want to know," Parker said.

Veronica laughed. "You'll see."

"About time," Parker said grinning, "I've been going insane wondering what a house elf is."

Twenty minutes later, the girls settled into the living room with their cookies. The question of the house elf had been settled. Well, sort of anyway. Parker was still questioning exactly what a house elf was, but that was to be expected. After all, she was Parker.

Veronica settled down in an armchair directly across from the couch where Parker sat. Daniella removed her coat and took a seat on the couch as well. Veronica flinched inwardly as she looked at her friend. The dress was old and definitely second hand. It was too large for her thin body and a bit too short. Someone had tried to fix it, but they hadn't done a very good job. Veronica felt a pang of sorrow. She had guessed Daniella wasn't rich by her car, but she didn't expect her to be poor.

Parker seemed shocked as well. Please don't say anything, Veronica silently begged. She had known people who were poor before and knew it was a delicate subject. It was not something to be talked about unless the person brought it up themselves. Please, don't do it Parker, Veronica thought. However, she knew it was no use. There was no point in hoping for something that wasn't going to happen.

"You're not wearing that are you," Parker asked. Veronica flinched. Daniella blushed. "You'll be dreadfully cold," Parker continued.

"It won't be too bad. I have a coat," Daniella said softly. Her blush was deepening slowly.

If Parker had noticed her discomfort, she refused to acknowledge it. "I truly doubt that. You will absolutely freeze if you wear that."

Daniella blush had now reached the color of her hair. "I'm sure she'll be fine," Veronica interrupted, praying that Parker would give it up.

Her prayers weren't answered. "She just can't wear that. It doesn't suit her and it's cold outside. It's winter if you two haven't noticed. She'll catch cold."

Oh please, Mom, help us, Veronica begged. As though she had heard the silent calls, Ginny appeared. "Who'll catch cold?" Ginny asked.

"Daniella," Parker said.

"Oh, well, we can fix that," Ginny said, "I have a dress you can have. I bought it for Nicci last Christmas, but the dress is too long."

"Oh, I couldn't," Daniella stuttered. If possible she had gotten even redder.

"It will just go to waste if you don't take it," Ginny said, "At least come try it on."

"Yeah," Parker interrupted, "Go on."

Daniella let herself be led from the room by Ginny. Veronica heard her muttering "Thank you" a thousand times as she left. Once she was sure that her mother and Daniella were out of earshot, she turned to Parker. "Parker," she snapped.

"What?" Parker asked throwing her a confused look.

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, we couldn't let her wear that," Parker said defensively.

"Parker," Veronica groaned, "Didn't you notice how red she was getting? Didn't you notice she was poor? Perhaps she couldn't afford to go get a new dress like you can."

Parker snorted. "Well, if she needed a dress, all she had to do was ask. She could of borrowed one of mine or I could have bought her one for Christmas."

Veronica sighed. Despite Parker's strange ways, she did mean well. She started to tell Parker that sometimes people were too embarrassed about those kinds of things, when Ginny and Daniella entered the room. Veronica closed her mouth quickly, and she and Parker turned to look at Daniella. Her face was red, but she was smiling. Veronica had to admit, she looked much better. The dress was simple and well cut. It was a darker green than the one she had been wearing and looked a lot better on.

"Nice," Parker said smiling. "Much better."

Daniella blushed redder, but muttered, "Thanks."

"So you three are ready," Ginny said smiling, "Let me go get into my dress and then we'll go."

"No portkeys," Veronica said.

Ginny laughed. "Sorry dear, but there is no way we're flooing. You're going to have to get used to portkeys." Veronica groaned as Ginny disappeared from the room laughing.


One hour later, Veronica felt the now familiar, and still unpleasant, pull behind her navel. She groaned loudly as she hit the ground. Ginny laughed and performed a cleaning spell on her dirty dress. Veronica glared. Nobody else fell, she thought irritably. Why do I always fall?

She didn't really have time to ponder this though, because Ginny motioned the girls towards a large pair of iron gates. Veronica sighed and followed. The gates parted to reveal a large lawn and several gardens. They were all lit with small twinkling lights and Veronica could just make out a rose garden to her far left. Roses were her favorite. The house was even more beautiful than the yard. It was a very large four story brick house. The light from the windows looked very welcoming, especially on the ice cold night.

Ginny knocked on the set of French doors and moments later they opened. Veronica was slightly surprised to see Professor Potter standing there. She had expected him to have a house elf. Her mother told her that most old pureblood families did. "Hello Virginia," Professor Potter said warmly, stepping slightly out of the way to let them in.

"How many times must I tell you Harry? It's Ginny."

"Sorry," Professor Potter said shrugging, "It's just weird saying Ginny again." He looked uncomfortable. A memory flashed in Veronica's head. Ginny Weasley. She had to find out who that was.

"Hello girls," Professor Potter continued.

Veronica pushed the thought out of her head for a moment and smiled. "Hello, Professor Potter."

"I think Kylie is around here somewhere," Professor Potter said gesturing at towards an open door.

Veronica smiled. "Bye Mom," she said as she and the girls darted out of the room. They entered the open door and Veronica gasped. It was a very large ballroom. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling and a large Christmas tree was glowing with candles at the front of the room. Several other candles were also floating in midair around the room, casting a surprisingly bright light in the room. Off to one side was a buffet table filled with food and several small tables where people who were tired of dancing or standing could sit.

There were already lots of people there. Veronica searched the crowd for Kylie. She saw Coach Weasley immediately. He stood a few inches above the crowd. His wife, Professor Weasley, was also with him along with three small children. Off to their left Veronica saw James, Orion, Jeff and Shane. They were laughing quite loudly about something. Professor Miller stood in one corner talking with a man Veronica didn't know. Headmaster Black was standing by the buffet table, with a younger man. Judging by the similarities, Veronica guessed the man was his son. A few feet from them were Annabel, Levinia and Rob.

"Lots of people, huh," Kylie said from behind Veronica, making her jump.

"Kylie!" Parker said happily, giving her a hug.

"Hey," Kylie said smiling.

"Yeah, there are a lot of people," Daniella said softly, looking slightly nervous.

"Yep," Kylie said, "Of course that isn't a big surprise. There always is. The real surprise is over there." Veronica followed her gaze. Standing in one corner of the room off to themselves were three people. She recognized two of them immediately as Professor Malfoy and Tristian. "I figure they just showed to make by Dad mad. I know they don't really want to be here."

"Who's the woman?" Parker asked.

"That's Professor Malfoy's wife, Pansy," Kylie said, "She was in the same year as my dad and Malfoy at school. She was a Slytherin. Her family is just as nasty as the Malfoys." Veronica eyed the woman curiously. Her black hair was pinned up tightly on her head and her blue eyes surveyed the party with disgust. She wasn't overly pretty, but she wasn't ugly either. Veronica had a feeling that she wouldn't like Mrs. Malfoy any more than she liked her husband.

"Interesting," Parker said smiling softly. Veronica wasn't sure she liked that smile.

"What do you think is so interesting?" a voice asked. Veronica wasn't surprised when she turned to see James, Orion, Shane and Jeff standing behind them, smiling.

"Nothing," Parker said mysteriously, enjoying the look of annoyance that crossed the faces of the boys. All but Orion.

Orion smirked. "Of course, that isn't anything new. Keowen never had the brains to think at all."

Parker glared. "I'm smarter than you'll ever be Black."

"I wouldn't count on that Keowen. You're about as smart as a troll."

Here we go again, Veronica thought. She was surprised they had even lasted two minutes without starting some sort of argument. Sighing, Veronica turned her eyes back to the crowd. She looked around for Tristian. She saw Professor Malfoy talking to Professor Miller. They looked quite angry with each other. Tristian was no where to be found.

"Hey, Nicci," Kylie said softly.

"Hmmm," Veronica said, turning to her friend.

"Want to come with me upstairs? I think I left my necklace up there. Plus, I'm sure we're not missing anything down here."

Veronica turned back to the group. Kylie was right. Parker and Orion were still arguing. Daniella was trying and failing miserably to stop them. Shane, James, and Jeff were watching the argument with interest.

"Sure," Veronica said. Kylie smiled and led the her out of the ball room and back out into the hallway. Veronica followed her up the stairs, taking in the pictures as they passed by. Many of them were of James and Kylie as children. She smiled as she looked at a more recent picture. Kylie was laughing hysterically at James who was covered in cake.

Kylie stopped. "My room's right down the hall."

"Do you mind if I look at the pictures?" Veronica asked.

Kylie shrugged. "Go ahead. I'll be out in a few minutes. If you finish before then, come on in."

"Okay," Veronica said smiling. Kylie smiled back and then disappeared into a door down the hall.

Veronica carefully scanned the pictures on the walls. A large one in the center caught her eye. It was a painted portrait of a beautiful woman. She had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes.

"That's Nina Potter," a voice said. Veronica turned quickly. She relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Why hello Tristian. I'm surprised to see you here."

Tristian smirked. "Well, father says it's rude to refuse an invitation," he said moving over to Veronica's side, "Not to mention refuse a chance to annoy an enemy."

Veronica laughed. "I figured he had some other reason for coming besides just being polite."

Tristian smiled. "So you've realized politeness isn't on his list of priorities, have you?"

Veronica smiled. "That I have. So why aren't you with your father and mother? I'm surprised he let you out of his sight with all these people so "unfit" for your company."

Tristian smiled humorlessly. "Normally he wouldn't have let me leave," he said bitterly, "But tonight he had...business to attend to. That's more important to him than keeping me away from "unfit" people."

Veronica looked back at the painting. His comment had unnerved her slightly. She wasn't really sure why. "She reminds me of Kylie."

"Yes," Tristian said, "They do look a lot alike. She's lucky that she doesn't have the same gift her mother had though."

"Gift?" Veronica asked curiously.

Tristian shrugged slightly. "It was just a rumor of course."

"Well, what was it?" Veronica asked.

"Quite nosy aren't we?" Tristian asked smirking. "A nasty Gryffindor trait that is."

Veronica glared. "That's a rather funny comment coming from the person who seems to know everything about everyone." Tristian smiled. "So, what's this rumor?"

"Now, I can't claim to have absolute knowledge that this is the truth, but people say she was a Seer. Not just your average Seer either, but a very powerful one," Tristian said softly, "Rumor has it she prophesized quite a bit of things about the future. New evils to arise. New heroes. Things like that. Then there were her regular visions, just glimpses of the future. Of course, no one knows for sure now that she's dead. Some people even said she saw her own death..."

Wow, Veronica thought. She shuddered. How terrible that must have been, knowing what was going to happen. She had always thought being able to know the future would be fun. She tore her eyes away from the painting to keep her mind from dwelling on the fact that Nina Potter might have known her death before it happened. Hopefully the rumors weren't true.

Veronica moved her eyes along the wall until she a small one off to the side caught her eye. The picture was quite familiar. It was a picture of Professor Potter when he was younger. Both Coach Weasley and Professor Weasley were in the picture as well, but that was not the part that interested her. Standing next to Professor Potter was a face that Veronica now knew to be Ginny Weasley. It was the very similar to the picture she had found in her book bag, the one she had picked up by accident in her mother's classroom. All that was different, was that the people were a little older, but Veronica guessed they were no older than sixteen.

Tristian followed her gaze. "Ginny Weasley."

"Who was she?" Veronica asked.

"Professor Weasley's sister," Tristian said.

"But I thought he only had brothers," Veronica said, "That's what Kylie told me."

Tristian shrugged. "Yeah, well they don't like to talk about her much."

"Why?" Veronica asked as she stared at the smiling face of the young Ginny Weasley, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing was wrong with her technically. It was just what they thought she did."

"Which was?" Veronica asked. She tore her eyes from the picture and looked at Tristian.

"Well," Tristian said softly, "It happened in the last year or so of the war with the Dark Lord. Ginny was seventeen or eighteen. She had just joined the Order to fight against the Dark Lord, which had previously been led by Dumbledore..."

"Dumbledore?" Veronica asked.

Tristian looked at her, surprised. "You don't know who Dumbledore is?"

"No," Veronica said defensively, "I just found out about this wizarding stuff a few months ago."

Tristian laughed. "Calm down," he said smiling, "Dumbledore was the old Headmaster at Hogwarts. He was one of the greatest wizards ever to live. He was the only one the Dark Lord was afraid of. He got killed shortly before Ginny befriended Blaise."

"Oh," Veronica said, feeling slightly embarrassed for now knowing.

"Anyways," Tristian said, "Ginny joined the Order and she was a very useful addition. She always seemed to know when the Death Eaters were going to attack and where. A short time later, Ginny's brother Ron, that's Coach Weasley, caught her talking with a known follower of the Dark Lord, Blaise Zabini. He got so mad that he went home and told his family. News spread that Ginny and Blaise were friends. The Dark Lord thought Blaise was passing information to the Order. However, the Order believed Ginny was the one passing information to the Dark Lord."

"Ginny and Blaise both went into hiding. Percy was the only one of her family who believed Ginny's story that Blaise was a spy. He went to visit her and Blaise, hoping to get his family back together. The Dark Lord followed him and killed both Percy and Blaise. Ginny arrived a few minutes after the Dark Lord left. She found them. Her family showed up a little while after that. They saw Percy and blamed it on her. They called her a traitor and she left. No one knows what happened to her."

"But she wasn't a traitor," Veronica said, feeling bad for the poor girl. It reminded her of her mother's comment on being called a traitor.

"Perhaps," Tristian said shrugging, "But evidence that she might have been telling the truth didn't come out until after the Dark Lord's defeat. Ginny didn't come back after the war either so nobody really knows the truth."

"Do you think she was a traitor?"

Tristian turned back to the picture. "No. The Weasleys were a tight knit family. I don't think she had it in her to betray them."

"Then why didn't they believe her?" Veronica asked, frowning.

"War changes people. The Weasleys knew that."

"And nobody knows what happened to her?"

"She just disappeared. Probably couldn't handle it, I suppose. After all, being thrown out like that by your family and friends wouldn't be easy."

"I wonder if that was how my mom felt. Maybe that's why she won't tell me about her past," Veronica muttered.

"What do you mean?" Tristian asked.

Veronica jumped slightly. She hadn't realized she'd said that out loud. "Nothing," she muttered.

Tristian didn't believe her. She could see it in his eyes. Luckily, Kylie's voice saved her from any remarks that Tristian might make. "Who are you talking to Nicci?" Kylie shouted.

"No one," Veronica shouted back. Veronica looked over at Tristian. The kind face she had seen moments ago had been replaced with his normal Malfoy demeanor.

"Well," Tristian said coolly, "You better go talk with your friend in her room. After all, if you're seen talking to no one, people might think you're crazy." He smirked coldly and left before Veronica could say something back.

Veronica groaned and headed towards Kylie's room. She knew this time his coldness had been her fault. But what was she supposed to say, "Hey, I'm out here talking to Tristian Malfoy, your sworn enemy. Did I mention he's a Slytherin?" Yeah, that would have worked.

Veronica had barely stepped into Kylie's room, when Kylie shouted, "Found it!" Veronica smiled, as she watched Kylie carefully put on the necklace.

"Ready?" Kylie asked grinning.

"Yep," Veronica said, as the two descended back towards the ballroom.

"Ten galleons says that Parker and Orion are still fighting."

"No way would I take you up on that one," Veronica said, "Because there is no doubt in my mind they are."

Sure enough, when they returned, they found Parker and Orion in the same spot still arguing. The only part of the scene that had changed, was that Daniella had obviously given up on trying to stop it. Instead, she was being cornered by James, who was asking a series of questions that Veronica and Kylie couldn't hear as they walked over. However, what ever they were, they definitely weren't polite conversation. Daniella was bright red.

Veronica immediately went to Daniella's rescue. "Leave her be, Potter," Veronica said coolly. She grabbed Daniella's arm and led her over to where Kylie stood.

"Thanks," Daniella said gratefully.

"No problem."

"Little sis, Winters," James said jovially, "Where did you two run off to?"

"I left my necklace upstairs," Kylie said, "And for the last time, stop calling me..."

"Am not!" Parker's voice interrupted.

Kylie sighed. "Have they even quit once since we left."

"Nope," Shane said grinning.

"It's pretty amazing how long they can argue without even knowing what they're arguing about," Jeff said grinning.

They looked over at Parker and Orion, who seemed oblivious to what was going on around them. They were earning stares from some of the surrounding guests. A strange smile spread on to James' face. "What?" Veronica asked.

James pointed upwards. Smiles crept over the faces of the others. Veronica looked up and let a smile spread on to her face as well. Dangling right above Parker and Orion was a strand of mistletoe.

"Hey Orion, Keowen," James said, grinning evilly. Parker and Orion stopped their arguing for a moment and looked at the evil smiles on the face's of their friends.

"What's with the smiles?" Parker asked suspiciously.

"Well," Kylie said, her smile identical to her brothers, "Are you two going to kiss or just argue?"

Parker and Orion stared at them, looking completely confused. Veronica grinned. "Look up."

Parker and Orion glanced upward at the mistletoe and then back at each other. They both blushed a bright pink and jumped off to the side.

"Like that would ever happen," Orion said, putting on a disgusted face.

"Only in your dreams," Parker sneered.

"More like my nightmares," Orion said scowling. The others laughed, while Parker glared. The argument began again.

"Who's up for some food?" James asked twenty minutes later.

"Me," Shane and Jeff said together.

James looked over at Kylie, Veronica and Daniella. "What about you three?"

"No thanks," Veronica said.

"No, I'm good too," Kylie said.

James looked at Daniella who shifted nervously. "Hungry?"

"Well," Daniella said softly, glancing quickly at Kylie and Veronica, "I am a little bit..."

"Well, then, let's go," Shane interrupted. James grabbed her arm and dragged her away toward the buffet table. Daniella looked back at Kylie and Veronica with a panicked look.

"Maybe we should go help her," Veronica began, as she watched Daniella being dragged away.

"She'll be okay as long as they're eating," Kylie said. She looked at Veronica and smiled. "When they're through, then we'll go save her, again."

Veronica laughed and nodded. She looked around the ball room. She spotted her mother by the Christmas tree. She looked beautiful. She wore a silky white dress that fit her form perfectly. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a fancy up do, with small ringlets falling out in certain places. She was smiling and laughing. Veronica craned her neck to see who her mother found so entertaining.

"Well, would you look at that," Kylie said smiling.

Veronica turned from her mother for a moment and looked at her. "What?"

Kylie gestured over towards the Christmas tree. "Looks like our parents are having a good time."

Veronica turned back to her mother. Professor Potter had just stepped in to view next to her. He was laughing as well.

"I haven't seen him smile so much with a woman in a long time," Kylie said. She stopped, "Well actually never."

"Yeah, my mom never dates. She tried once or twice but they ended up being only one time dates."

"Same thing with my dad," Kylie said frowning. It was replaced almost immediately by an evil grin, that Veronica had come to know very well. It meant she had a plan, and it wasn't a nice one. "Want to know what I'm thinking?" .

"What?" Veronica asked, though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know.

"Our parents do make a cute couple," Kylie said, grinning slyly.

Veronica looked over at her mother. She and Professor Potter were dancing and smiling. "They do," Veronica admitted.

"And they obviously like each other, but I doubt they would do anything about it..."

She let herself trail off. "Are you suggesting that we give them a little push in the right direction?" Veronica asked, letting a smile creep onto her face. Perhaps this wasn't such a bad plan after all. She'd been trying for years to get her mother to date. After all, Veronica wouldn't be there forever and then what would Ginny do? Veronica certainly didn't want her mother to be alone when she grew old.

"You could put it that way. When the guests start leaving, I'll tell you what to do. For now, I think I should go set up our little plan." She smirked and left the room.

Veronica smiled and looked over at her mother. It's about time you got yourself a date and stopped living in the past. Maybe this will force you to finally reveal who you are, Veronica thought. Still smiling, she headed over to save Daniella from the boys.


Three hours later, the guests began to leave. Kylie smiled and dragged Veronica off to one corner of the room. "Ready?"

"I guess so," Veronica said, feeling slightly nervous. She still wasn't sure what Kylie had in mind.

"Okay," Kylie said grinning, "I figured the easiest way to get our parents better acquainted with each other, is to force them into a situation where they are only with each other."

"Alright," Veronica said, looking confused.

"It's simple really. We're going to lock our parents in a room together."

Veronica stared at Kylie. It was times like this that she wondered who was more insane, Kylie or Parker. "Is that really a good idea? I mean, how long can we force them to stay in there?"

"At least for the night," Kylie said shrugging, "You, Parker, and Dani can just stay here. It's a win win situation. We force our parents to get to know each other and we get to have a sleep over." Veronica frowned. Did she really want to do this? Her mother would most likely kill her when she got out. "Come on," Kylie urged.

"Alright," Veronica said slowly, "What do we do?"

Kylie smiled. "Good. Now all we need is Parker."

"Parker?" Veronica asked.

Ten minutes later, Veronica watched as Kylie ran from the ballroom crying. Just as she said he would, Professor Potter went after her. Veronica waited for her signal.

"Got it," Parker whispered, as she appeared by Veronica's side. She flashed a wand, which Veronica assumed was Professor Potters, "And here I thought my pick pocketing skills would go to waste." She grinned.

Veronica sighed. Leave it to Parker to know how to pick pockets like a common criminal. I wonder if she picks locks to, Veronica wondered. "Good luck," Parker said, giving Veronica a light push.

Veronica took a breath and headed over to her mother. "Hey Mom."

"Hello Nicci," Ginny said. She looked slightly worried. "Is Kylie all right?"

"Yeah," Veronica said, hoping her voice didn't reveal her nervousness, "That's what I needed to talk to you about. You see, the boys were being mean to Kylie and we want to get them back, but to do it I need your help. Nothing important, I just need you to teach me how to do a Silencing Charm." When Veronica finished, she took a deep breath and looked up at her mother. She wasn't quite sure her mother had even understood because she had said it so fast.

"Now?"

"Yes," Veronica said. Ginny shifted uncomfortably. Veronica could tell she was debating with herself on whether it was right for her to get involved. "Please," Veronica begged.

Ginny looked down at her daughter. "I suppose I could show..."

"Good," Veronica interrupted. She grabbed Ginny's hand and dragged her out of the room. "This way."

"Now, Nicci," Ginny said, as she tried to keep up with Veronica's quick pace, "It isn't right to go walking around through another person's home."

"Oh, Kylie won't mind," Veronica said with a wave of her hand. She led the way down a long hallway and stopped in front of a large oak door. "This will do." She turned to Ginny and smiled.

"Now I'm not sure it's a good idea to go casting spells..."

"Please, Mom," Veronica begged, "This is really important." Not entirely a lie, Veronica thought.

Ginny sighed. "Oh, alright. Now watch closely." She pulled our her wand and pointed it directly at the door. "Silencio.". A soft light exploded from the tip of her wand and spread out around the door and the walls. Moments later, it disappeared. Ginny turned to Veronica. "Simple as that."

"And nobody on the outside can hear what is coming from the inside," Veronica asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?" Veronica asked, "Not even if they put their ear to the door."

"No," Ginny said, smiling, "Want me to demonstrate?"

Veronica smiled. "Yes." Perfect, she thought.

Ginny moved toward the door. "Stop," Veronica shouted.

Ginny turned to her in surprise. "What's wrong dear?"

"Well," Veronica stuttered, while searching her mind for some good explanation to get her mother's wand from her, "The boys said that a Silencing Charm only works when the person has their wand. If they don't have their wand with them, then it doesn't work." When Veronica stopped, she groaned inwardly. That was the stupidest thing she had ever come up with. I need to take lessons from Parker, Veronica thought irritably.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's absolutely ridiculous. They probably just want to catch you without your wands. Here." Veronica carefully hid the surprise as her mother handed Veronica her wand. I can't believe she believed that, Veronica thought.

"Now, watch. I promise it works even without a wand."

Ginny opened the door and stepped inside. "Don't..." a voice shouted. The door slammed behind her.

"Close the door," it finished.

"Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

Harry stepped into view. "You wouldn't happen to have your wand by any chance would you?"

"No, I just gave it to Nicci so she could see that..." Ginny began and then stopped, "What's going on?"

"Well," Harry said, "If I'm right, our children just locked us in here."

"Now why would they do something like that?"

"Who knows with my kids," Harry said sighing.

"How long do you suppose they'll keep us here?" Ginny asked, glancing around. The walls were covered from top to bottom with shelves full of books. A desk sat off by the window. A large leather couch and matching chair sat near the fireplace. They were in a library.

"If it was just Kylie, probably a few hours. If James is in on it, we'll probably be here the rest of our lives."

Ginny groaned. "Might as well make the best of it." She looked over at Harry, hoping her face didn't show the fear she felt right now. Relax, Ginny told herself, he doesn't know who you are and he won't find out. All you have to do is stay calm. Besides, it might be fun to find out what happened to him and her family after all these years, without looking suspicious or having to ask Sirius who would no doubt plague her with several "Why do you want to know?" questions. It's not like she really cared, she was just curious. Yeah, she thought. Just curious.

Veronica slammed the door behind her mother. "I'm so dead," she muttered out loud.

"Me too," Kylie said, appearing by her side, "Let's go back and enjoy our last few hours on earth." She smiled and dragged Veronica back into the ball room. Everyone was gone now.

"Did it work?" Parker asked as soon as they entered.

"So far so good," Kylie said grinning.

"Did what work?" James interrupted.

Veronica groaned as she turned and saw the boys still there. "Why didn't you guys go home?"

"We're spending the night here," Shane said smiling.

"Oh joy," Kylie said sarcastically.

"Did what work?" Orion asked.

Kylie sighed. "I guess we might as well tell you. After all, we don't want you four ruining our plan. We locked Dad and Professor Winters in the library..."

"Oh, no you didn't," Daniella exclaimed.

"Did you?" a voice interrupted. Veronica groaned. She turned around slowly. Standing directly behind them were Sirius, and the younger man, which she guessed was his son, that she had seen him with earlier.

"Yes," Kylie said. She laughed nervously.

"You do know that they'll probably get out pretty soon," Sirius said, looking amused. Veronica was surprised. She had expected him to be angry.

"No they won't," Parker said grinning, "We took their wands."

A small smile crept on to Sirius' face. "Well, then," he said, glancing at Veronica and Kylie with pride, "I see I've trained you well. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled again and headed for the door. Veronica almost passed out from shock. She always knew Sirius was easy going. After all, he had taught her plenty of pranks when she was younger and never got angry with her over anything, but she had never expected him to let them lock away their parents, especially now that he was the Headmaster of a school.

His son remained where he was. "Dad! We can't just let them leave them locked up like that. Harry would be absolutely furious if he found out you knew and just walked away."

"Come on, Rigel," Sirius said, grinning, "They'll be fine. It's just a little prank. Plus, how's Harry going to find out I knew?"

Rigel groaned. He looked from his father to Orion. "Do you have everything you need Orion?"

"Yes," Orion said smiling.

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you in the morning," Rigel said slowly, clearly not happy. Sirius smiled and led him toward the door.

"Be good kids," Rigel said. He stopped and frowned. "Oh, what's the use? Just try not to get yourselves killed." Sirius laughed and pulled him out the door.

"Looks like we have the house all to ourselves," James said grinning evilly.

"Yes it does," Kylie said, with an identical grin.

"Time to have some fun," Orion said.

"Oh yeah," Parker agreed.

"This isn't a good idea," Daniella said softly. A light pick tinge had appeared on her cheeks.

"Come on Carter," James said, "Live a little."

Veronica smiled and nodded. "He's right, Dani. We might as well live it up while we can. After all, I'll be dead tomorrow."

"You're starting to sound like Keowen," Shane said laughing, "If you start living by that rule, you're going to get yourself in some serious trouble."

"Yeah. You better watch out or you'll end up with her in detention every week," Orion added.

"I do not get detention every week," Parker said.

"Yeah, you do."

"Do not!"

Here we go again, Veronica thought smiling.