A/N: Yey! Another chap! I'm so happy! A big thank you to all your reviews! I may not be able to say this often, but my dear readers, your reviews are greatly appreciated. I really mean it. THANK YOU!

Another thing. Miss Anthrope brought to my attention something that I've failed to ask you guys before. Do the children seem like Mary Sues and Gary Stus? I'm not offended or anything, Miss Anthrope. In fact, I would like to thank you for mentioning it. But I would suggest reading the entire thing first before critiquing it. Anyway, my dear readers, please answer this. And of course, don't forget to R&R!

"So let's just get this straight," Hades said, pacing around the Room of Requirement. "Dad and Professor Parkinson were-"

"Had an intimate relationship," nodded Artemis. "But everything between them ended when-"

"When Professor Parkinson left at the end of the Second War," continued Poseidon. "But the question is: why? Why did she leave?"

"Well, she said her parents were Death Eaters, didn't she?" Apollo said. "Maybe it had something to do with them. Perhaps she thought she would be arrested for being their daughter."

"No, that couldn't have been it," Hades argued. "I mean, look at Dad. His parents were also Death Eaters, but he wasn't caught. So it doesn't make any sense at all."

Silence overtook their debate. Each one was engrossed with forming speculations with regards to the current topic. Apollo observed her siblings, his eyes traveling from one to the other. When his eyes landed on Hades, he suddenly remembered something.

"Hades," he said, catching the other boy's attention. He suddenly began to feel self-conscious. "Erm- well, I was just wondering-"

"Just spit it out, Apollo," Hades interjected.

"What do you think of Lillian?"

Hades looked at him as though he had grown another head. Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I just noticed, well, you know I observe her often, right?" At this Hades nodded. "Well, I noticed that whenever you get close to her, she suddenly becomes quiet. She changes whenever you're near her."

"Now that you mentioned it," Artemis said. "I also notice whenever you talk to her, or just even look her way, she blushes ten shades of red. She also stammers whenever she speaks to you. And you know this could only mean one thing-"

"It means she likes you," Poseidon finished. "She finds you attractive and she has a crush on you."

"Yes, you didn't need to spell it out for me, Don, I understand," Hades said. Then turning to Apollo, he added, "Why do you ask? Because you're jealous?"

Apollo looked at him incredulously. "I am not jealous!" he huffed indignantly. Seeing the looks on his siblings' faces, he rolled his eyes. "Alright, partially I am jealous. But I'm asking because I need to know. You might just be giving her false hopes, and in the end you'll only be hurting her."

"Who are you and what have you done with our brother?" Poseidon blurted out.

"You're actually serious about her? I mean, you like her that much?" Artemis said.

"Yes, of course I do! Did you really think I was just fooling around?"

"Well, yeah. We all thought it was just a crush, and that it will go away when you become mature," Artemis shrugged.

Apollo looked to see whether Hades agrees with their siblings, but he was smiling at him. Apollo cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What the hell are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," Hades replied. "I'm just happy you're really planning on taking her seriously. I mean, almost all the female population in Hogwarts likes you. I overheard a Fifth Year saying that it's a pity you weren't older, or else they would've gone on like everyone else."

"Everyone except her," Apollo muttered. "So, what do you think of her?"

Hades had to let out a hearty laugh at his face. It was a very stern look, similar to their father's when he scolds them. He composed himself once more and looked at Apollo straight in the eye.

"Apollo, I can never think of Lillian as more than how I think of Artemis. I only see her as my sister, nothing more. I can assure you, you've got no competitor with me. Finnegan, on the other hand, is a different case."

"That bastard still has to pay for what he did to Artemis and for what he said about Father. That vermin thinks he's Lillian's boyfriend! Anyway, compared to him, I'm a better bloke," Apollo said.

"And just so you know, I wouldn't be giving her false hopes, seeing as I've told her already that I'm not interested with her in that way," Hades said. Apollo stared, or rather gaped at him in disbelief.

"She already – er – confessed to me her feelings. I told her –and in a nice way," he added after seeing Apollo's glare. "That I looked at her as my sister only, and that isn't about to change. I also told her that she'll grow out of it; it's only a crush anyway."

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me she liked you?" Apollo asked, but it was Artemis who answered.

"Apollo, don't tell me you've only started to notice how she is around Hades just now? It's been so obvious, ever since we were children. We thought you just didn't mind."

"Well, no use talking about that now," Apollo shrugged. "Although I would've appreciated it if you told me."

"Now that that's taken care of, can we go back to the previous issue?" Poseidon asked irritably.

"Of course, sorry Don," Apollo said.

"So, going back to Dad and Professor Parkinson," Artemis said. "What do you suggest we do about it?"

"What d'you mean? You want us to set them up? Dad currently has a girlfriend, mind you," Hades said.

"Not to mention that Dad hates her right now and that there are rumors going around about Uncle Blaise and Professor Parkinson," Apollo muttered.

"Rumors?"

"Well, there have been rumors going on about the two of them being together. They are constantly seen together, even in Hogsmeade. I think there were also pictures of Uncle Blaise with her arms around her, courtesy of Creevy."

Silence fell among the siblings again. It seems like a lost battle already, if ever the rumors are true. They also have to find out why Professor Parkinson left. There are still so many questions, questions which need answers right away.

"Well then," Hades said, finally breaking the silence. "We first need to see if the rumors are indeed true. After that, we can formulate our game plan."

They decided that the best way to confirm if the rumors are true is by directly asking the people involved. They didn't need to worry about Blaise; they knew he was still smitten with Daphne, so no worries. No one wanted to ask Professor Parkinson, however.

"Come on, guys! Why don't you want to ask her?" Hades asked.

"Speak for yourself, Hades," Apollo spat. "Ask her then, if you're so brave. What are you waiting for?"

"I'm not a Gryffindor, you know. I don't possess much of that courage stuff."

"What about you, Artemis?" Apollo said. "You'd be able to connect with her, you're both females anyway."

"What? You want me to come up to her and ask out of the blue, 'Professor, is it true that you're dating Professor Zabini?' You're barking mad!" Artemis replied.

"Cut it out, you lot," Poseidon interjected. "Why don't we all just ask her, since we all want the information so badly?"

The other three shared a look. Then, looking at Poseidon, they grabbed him by the arms and hauled him near where Professor Parkinson is.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing?" he asked as he struggled out of their grasp.

"You're going to do it," Apollo said matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Everyone falls for your charms, Poseidon, because you're the youngest. Good luck!" Hades whispered as they ran away, leaving him there. Poseidon could only stare at his siblings' retreating figures.

"They're gonna regret this one day," Poseidon muttered to himself. Turning around, he found himself once again bumping into Professor Parkinson, literally.

"We always seem to be running into each other, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Parkinson commented.

"Er-yeah," Poseidon muttered. "Sorry for that again, Professor."

"It's quite alright," Professor Parkinson said with a smile. "Well, since you're already here, why don't you help me with these?"

Poseidon took the proffered stack of parchments into his arms and started walking alongside her. This was the first time he ever got to take a good look at her. She looked so different from the woman in the articles. Her hair was now up to her waist and her face seemed more mature, although he had to admit she was more beautiful now. He seemed to have been staring at her for quite a while, because Professor Parkinson took notice of it.

"Is there anything on my face, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Er- no, Professor. There's nothing on your face."

"Then why have you been staring-" she stopped herself, and Poseidon thought she already knew why. "You heard what had happened in my class, didn't you? I suppose your brother or your sister told you. Just fire away whatever question you might have."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that," Poseidon lied. "Er- if I may be so blunt, why didn't you turn into one of them? You could've, but you didn't. Why?"

"Well, you know that I came from a bigoted pureblood family, right?"

Poseidon nodded, all thought of his real purpose gone. "Yes, just like Dad."

She cleared her throat and continued. "I decided I didn't want to be like them. I reflected on our, or rather their principles, and I realized it was all wrong. So what if the muggles didn't have any magic in them? They're still human like us. And if we were such a powerful pureblood family, then why is it that we allow a halfblood to order us around? I mean, why follow someone who they consider to be lower than them? In my opinion, all of my ancestors who followed Voldemort were idiots. I decided I didn't want to have any part of their stupidity, so I joined the Rebellion."

"The Rebellion? You were in the Slytherin Rebellion with Father?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Yes, we were both in the Rebellion. He and I, along with everyone else in it, were united in that thinking. People may have had doubts at first, but growing up in that kind of environment and that kind of people, we contributed a lot to the Light. And I can tell you, the shift of loyalties was worth it."

Poseidon didn't say anything, and they continued to walk in silence. The hallway was deserted; not even a ghost could be seen. Laughter can be heard in the distance.

"Professor," Poseidon said quietly. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you disappear after the Second War? Where did you go?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Parkinson replied. "No one needs to why I left and where I've been."

"Oh."

They had finally reached her office. Poseidon placed the parchments carefully on her desk and turned to leave, and suddenly he remembered what he was doing there in the first place.

"Professor," he said, turning to face her. Professor Parkinson looked up from her desk (as she had begun scanning the papers) and raised an eyebrow.

"Er- I've been hearing rumors, and I wanted to know if it was true."

"What rumors?"

"Rumors of you and Professor Zabini being together. Is it true?"

Professor Parkinson's laughter echoed throughout the entire room. When she had composed herself, she gave Poseidon an incredulous look.

"Me and Blaise? Dating? Mr. Malfoy, whoever your sources are, they're wrong. We have been good friends when we were at school, and we were both in the Rebellion, but there's nothing else. And you know that he's still in love with Daphne, don't you?" Poseidon nodded, inwardly sighing in relief. So there's a slim chance of her being with Dad. Brilliant, I'm starting to like her more and more, he thought as he gave a sheepish grin.

"Thank you for the assistance, Mr. Malfoy. You may leave. And tell your sources what I've told you," Professor Parkinson said with a chuckle.

"Yes, Professor. I will," Poseidon replied as he went out.

"What's taking Poseidon so long?" Apollo grunted as they sat in the Slytherin Common Room. "Is it so hard to ask her if they're together?"

"You couldn't even go yourself, Apollo," Artemis replied.

"And like what Artemis said, it isn't all that easy approaching your professor and asking her about her personal life, her love life to be specific," Hades added.

Apollo heaved a sigh. "But you have to admit, it's been a while since we left him there. I expected him to be here ages ago."

As if on cue, the door opened and Poseidon strolled to where they were. He sat down beside Hades, and they waited for him to talk, but instead, he immediately grabbed a book from his bag and opened it.

"Hey! Don't you have anything to say to us?" Apollo demanded, throwing a pillow at his face.

"After you deliberately agreed amongst yourselves that I be the sacrificial lamb? After you left me there without absolutely any warning that Professor Parkinson was already behind me? No bloody way! If you want to find out, ask her yourself," Poseidon spat.

"Come on, Poseidon," Artemis pleaded. "Alright, we know what we did was wrong. We're sorry for it, aren't we, boys?" The other two nodded. "So please, tell us."

Poseidon scrutinized their faces; they were all putting up their best innocent look. I can read through those looks, you dolts, he thought as he rolled his eyes and continued to read.

"Hey! We said sorry already, didn't we?" Apollo exclaimed, but Hades told him to shut up. He flashed a glare at Hades before leaning on the couch, placing his arms over his chest as he did.

"I was just about to speak before you interrupted," Poseidon said, his eyes still on the book he was reading. "She told me that they didn't have any relationship aside from friendship. And just a note, she was laughing when she told me that. She found the whole rumor absolutely hilarious. I felt utterly humiliated. She might now think I'm someone who listens to gossip. So yes, my pride has just been broken to pieces."

"So," Hades started. "So they were never together?"

"Never have, never will."

"But what were those pictures all about, then?" Apollo said. "I saw them myself, and Creevy'd better not be making the whole thing up."

"Maybe it was just, you know, a show of comfort. They are friends, after all. Hades does that to Elise," Artemis pointed out.

"Well, it's not really just a show of comfort, with Hades and Elise," Apollo said. "You like her, don't you, Hade?"

"Absolutely not!" Hades said indignantly. "She's only my friend, and I can never imagine myself thinking about her that way. How I feel for Lillian is the same thing with her."

Apollo shrugged and didn't reply, and silence was upon them again. The only sound to be heard was Poseidon's turning of pages, and Artemis begun to hum softly. Hades got out a book, some parchments and quill from his bag and proceeded with his homework.

"What are we going to do, then?" Artemis asked out of the blue. The other three looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't know," Hades replied. "We don't even know if it's possible to even get them to see each other again…"

"We don't even know why Dad's so angry with her," Poseidon added.

"Do you guys remember what the article said? The bit about her disappearing right after the War?" Apollo said. At this, his siblings nodded. "That's the most probable reason why he's angry with her: because she left."

"Let's pretend that your assumption is correct, Apollo," Hades said. "The question now is: how do we get them to talk to each other without that incident happening again?" The incident he was referring to was the one Poseidon witnessed. Everyone suddenly looked grim.

"There's absolutely no way that can happen," Poseidon said. "I mean, them talking without biting each other's head off? We all know Dad when he's angry. I can't imagine that happening."

"This is hopeless," Artemis groaned in frustration. "We can't even get them to meet again!"

"Wait," Apollo said suddenly. "There is a way. Alright, come closer and I'll tell you my plan."

Huddling closer, they listened to what Apollo had to say. It wasn't everyday that Apollo would come up with a plan, but when he did, it was usually an ingenious one. As expected, it was.

"You know, that might just work," Hades said after settling himself one again. "It all makes sense. That's a very good plan, Pollo, and I suggest that we use it. What do you think, guys?"

"Well, it is a good one," Poseidon said. "If we'd ignore the massive reprimanding I'm sure we'd get afterwards, and the fact that it a very Gryffindorish thing to do, it's a very good one, and seeing as we have no other plan, we could make it work."

"I agree with you two," Artemis said. "So, when are we going to start?"

"Tomorrow would do, but our deadline is Christmas," Apollo said with a glint in his eye. It's been said that Malfoys always get what they want; now it's time to prove it.