A.N. I would just like to say that my family is going through something really difficult at the moment. I had planned to post a short note saying that it may be a few weeks before I had the inspiration to post new chapters, but the latest review that I got this morning completely uplifted me. Thank you Auroras Jenkins for your thorough and detailed review. It made me feel so good that someone really appreciated my work enough to leave me a review like that. After your review this morning, I decided to post a new chapter today. It may take me longer to post, but for now I have decided to trudge on. Thank you again!

Pansy, Hermione, and Severus sat in the cozy little room offered by the room of requirements. They had gone their separate ways after deciding to come straight out with the news with a plan to spend quality 'family' time together before dinner. They each brought with them anything they wanted to share and now Hermione was cross legged between her sister and her father with an old muggle photo album spread across her lap. She turned to the middle of the album and pulled a photo from the glossy pages. she tapped on the edge of it and handed it to her father. Severus gasped as he watched his little girl swing back and forth at a playground. She handed him another one and a few silent tears fell from his eyes as she mastered riding a bike before his eyes.

"Oh! I want a copy of this!" Pansy shouted and pointed at the book. It was the picture of Hermione at the Yule Ball dancing with Viktor Krum. "Oh, everyone was so jealous! I thought Draco was going to wet himself that night! Please can I have a copy?"

Hermione laughed. "You can take that one. That was for the most part a very good night, but there are other bits I don't need to be reminded of. Which is why," She turned toward Severus. " I think I'd like to try out the name you picked for me...Dad."

Severus's eyebrows rose higher than the girls had ever seen. "Really?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah," She nodded. "Pansy knows that I haven't been particularly fond of who 'Hermione' was and I'd like to change. There are parts of myself that I love, like my intelligence and my passion for certain things, but... the being pushed around, being taken for granted, things like that I could do without."

"Alright," He said as he smiled. "then here. This is for you." Severus reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a little box. The box was carved from oak and had a celtic tree of life carved into the lid. Inside on a dark blue velvet pillow was a delicate silver chain with a beautifully intricate wooden dream catcher. The webbing inside the tiny wooden ring was a black silk ribbon, and hanging from the bottom was a little wooden wolf with two feathers on either side. There was a tiny silver tag near the clasp of the chain that read ' For My Beloved, if ever we are reunited'.

Hermione found herself to be extremely enchanted with the delicate necklace as the little wolf came to life and changed its position from standing to sitting to lying down and back every few seconds. "Merlin, it's breathtaking! Thank you so much!"

Pansy helped her clasp the necklace around her neck. She took the strand of yellow roses off of Hermione's neck and wrapped it around her wrist twice instead so the little wolf had more room.

"I'm so very happy to be able to give it to you after all this time, Carina."

"How does it feel? The name, I mean?" Pansy asked.

Hermione grinned and nodded. "It feels familiar. I like it very much."

"Good. I have something for you too!" Pansy pulled something from her bag. It was a very old pencil drawing inside of a black and gold frame. "It's our mother." She smiled. "Our uncle sent it for you when I told him we were going to tell you everything. I have an identical one. He thought you might like to know what she looked like the last time we were together."

In the drawing, wisps of pencil lines twirled and moved as a beautiful pregnant woman held the hands of an equally beautiful little baby. The woman knelt in a field and held the little girls hands up as the small child concentrated on taking her first steps. Carina started to cry. "That's you learning to walk, and...Mum..and me.." She sniffled. "Look, there we all are.. I can't believe it.. Thank you, Pansy." She whispered.

"Hermione," Pansy started, "Carina, at some point; not till you're ready of course, but at some point, you'll have to meet the pack. You'll have to decide on your place in it, if you even want a place in it."

"Yes, and while we're on the subject of things needing to be done, we'll have to register you as my daughter." Severus said. "Which, should you chose to accept them, does come with certain...perks. Such as sitting at the staff table. And there's the added benefit of being allowed a private tutor and the option of testing out of the rest of your time here."

"Really?" Pansy and Carina said in unison.

"Yes. Students don't usually know about those options because they are afforded to children of staff. Before now, that has not ever happened."

"Well then." Carina said. "The two of you are in for a treat. A rare view of what being close to me is all about!" She smiled happily. Pansy and Severus shared a confused and slightly frightened glance behind Carina's back as she rummaged through her bag. She held out two pieces of parchment and two quills.

"What exactly-?" Severus started.

"Well clearly my mental breakdowns are not really something we want to happen often, so in order to avoid that, you and Pansy each make a list of the things that have to be done. Then I will make a master list in the order of how well I can deal with this all as I go. Once the final list is made, we can get started sorting out our lives." She was very proud of herself, and extremely relieved when they took the parchments and quills and started on their lists without rolling eyes, or complaining like she would have gotten out of any other person who claimed to care about her. She took this as an extremely good sign and made a silent promise to do everything she could to make her new family proud.

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"Okay so first thing's first, " Carina said after the last class of the next day. "I filled these out last night for you to send off, Dad." She still couldn't help grinning when Severus looked surprised to hear himself referred to that way.

"Merlin, already? Didn't waste any time, did you?"

"Things to do, and all that." She replied happily.

He nodded. "Indeed. Once the forms are processed someone will come to test you with pretty much the same potion as in class last week to verify that you are a pureblood and then they'll do a separate test to prove you are my daughter."

"Hey, does Professor Dumbledore know about you having a daughter?"

"He does not. It should prove...interesting."

"He's gonna be so pissed." Carina snorted.

"Now, I know I'm new to the postion of 'father' but that is rather awful language to come out of such a prestigious young lady!"

"Sorry, Dad." She mumbled. She was secretly very pleased at how normal it felt to scolded by her father.

"Yes, well. It's true." He sighed. "He is going to be pissed."

"Well, don't worry, I have it on very good authority that even he get's very angry, you are worth far too much to come to any danger."

"You know, I'm not sure how much I'm okay with you talking about Lucifer as though he's a close family friend. He's the devil after all."

Pansy sat with her feet up at the back of the room and smirked as father and daughter exchanged forms for the ministry.

"And just what is so funny?" Carina put her hands on her hips and glared at her sister.

"This whole 'Devil" business."

"How so?" Severus asked.

"He sounds like a business man to me. Yet entire nations fear him. He's like a sane Voldemort on muggle steroids! I'm amused that's all." Carina rolled her eyes and Pansy continued. "I mean I guess it's just like an epic bedtime story, you know? A soulless evil creature makes a business out of controlling and tricking the weak minded and unwitting and builds an army of souls. All of mankind regards him as the dark thing under the bed. Then one day he finds a man with a noble cause who turns into his greatest asset and is bound by his own deals and tricks into being a good man to one girl. Sounds fantastic! Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely happy things turned out this way. All I'm saying is, someone should write a book. They could make a fortune!"

"True though it may be, I prefer if my affairs stayed my own."

Pansy nearly fell out of her chair as a patch of thick black smoke formed behind her. Pansy ran to her sister's side. "He glows, Carina. You didn't mention he glows." Carina rolled her eyes.

"The name Lucifer means Angel of Light, Pans."

"I must say, I'm quite pleased to see how well things turned out." The last of the black smoke dissipated and Lucifer approached the reunited father and daughter. "But I must warn you, Warrior, your coming out will put you both in the sort of danger I warned you of. I will have to resort to extreme measures to keep my promise to you."

"I'm right here, you know." Carina sighed.

Lucifer regarded her carefully and bowed his head. "Apologies. I will leave it up to you, Carina. I will have to transform you into something that is impossible to break. As I mentioned before, I have a promise to keep and that is not up to you, nor is it up to your father, but should you decide to make the change now, before the last minute when the danger is great, I can grant you that."

"What will she become, Master?" Severus put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Will she still be who she is?"

"Yes. That I can guarantee. I cannot say what she will become, however. That is up to her. It will go according to what her soul is willing to handle. What makes her who she is will not be harmed," Lucifer bowed again, "as per our agreement."

Severus bowed in return. "Thank you, Master." He said.

"What do you say, young one? Allowing yourself to make the changes now will allow you time to get used to them. It would not do to be unable to control yourself in the midst of a dangerous situation. Especially if loved ones are involved. However, I can also understand the appeal of remaining yourself as long as possible. Think on it. You may call on me when you have decided. But if the danger comes first, there will be no warning. I will simply have to take action."

"I understand." Carina said. "I'll consider my options, thank you."

Lucifer nodded then turned to Pansy. "Pleasure." He said. He tapped his staff three times on the ground and disappeared the way he came; in a cloud of smoke.

"He's kind of gorgeous." Pansy whispered.

"Pansy, he's older than the earth and looks just like Lucius Malfoy!" Carina declared.

"Yes, there's a reason for that." Severus interrupted.

Carina gasped. "No!"

"Yes, and let's just say I'm also intimately familiar with why Draco was stumbling around inebriated the other night."

She gasped again.

"Hey, I read about that in the paper, Draco's dad was missing and all his mum found was blood all over his study! Ew, Severus did you do that?!"

"I had my part in it, but the dogs did most of the nastier work."

Pansy and Carina made faces at each other. "Gross."

a.n. I know it's an odd place to end a chapter, but I keep seeing it like a scene from a movie and in my head, that's where the scene ends. Also, due to the recent distressing situation I mentioned before, my grammar and spelling is a tad worse than usual. I'm trying to go back and fix it now, but I just get so anxious to get the chapter posted that I forget to overlook it until later. Please bear with me when I have errors.