A/N: FINALLY! I finally got around to finishing this chapter! Thank you for the lovely reviews! I really appreciate it... and it makes me more guilty that I updated so late... I'm sorry! Now to answer your questions:

Meya-Slytherin: No, the Rowan in this story is not Rowan the centaur... To tell you the truth, it actually slipped my mind that there already was a character named Rowan in HP... But for the sake of this story, the Rowan here is a completely different person... he's human, for one. :)

namelessxfreak and maraudersGIRL92: You guessed right! He is Pansy's mysterious brother.

alice in fungerland: I'm glad you liked the story... and Artemis!

Okay, disclaimers, disclaimers. No one familiar is mine... only the kids and Serena.

On with the story, and don't forget to review!!!

Draco awoke from his sleep with a head so heavy he can't even lift it from his pillow. Cursing his hangover, he tried to recall exactly how he ended up in the state he was in. 'The party, of course,' he thought bitterly. The party ended at around two in the morning, and the last thing he remembered before drifting off was Serena helping him get to his room (he can barely stand up because of either exhaustion or drunkenness, he can't seem to recall that part) and his children bidding him a rather cold "good night".

His children. The foursome seemed to have been distant towards him for the remainder of the evening, even as they were opening their gifts (which Draco was sure to be the ones they wanted to receive). When they gave their gift, they only said, "Happy Christmas, Father. Enjoy." And then with forced smiles, they rejoined their friends. 'Perhaps they changed their minds?' he wondered, finally managing to get himself up. Getting out of bed was another matter. 'I didn't do anything wrong… did I?'

He suddenly remembered the scene in the kitchens, the only flaw to a what-would-have-been-perfect last night. Sighing, he flung his feet to his bedside. 'That, of course, is not counted. They already knew my opinion of her, so why should they…? And why exactly would they go this far for her?' A goblet full of Hangover Potion on his bedside table then caught his attention. He quickly drank it to end the misery of his aching head, his former train of thought forgotten.

After a much-deserved shower, he went down to see what was cooking… in the literal sense. He could smell the aroma of something very scrumptious from his bedroom (which was something, considering how large the manor is). He traced where it was coming from and it led him to the kitchens. He winced slightly at the memory of last night's incident, but he quickly shrugged it off as he opened the door.

"Well, well, look who's here. Happy Christmas morning, sleepyhead," Serena's gentle mocking voice greeted him. She wore an apron over her dress, a potholder in one hand, and held the pan from which she was frying eggs in the other. Draco smirked at this.

"Mmmhmm! So this was where it's coming from. Smells delicious."

"It is delicious, I assure you."

He neared her and then, placing his arms around her waist, he said, "Before I forget, a happy Christmas morning to you too." He leaned in for a light smack on her lips, but Serena pulled her body closer to his, thus deepening the kiss. They were so enamored with each other that they didn't notice that just then the children decided to make their entrance.

"Should we disturb them?" Poseidon asked sarcastically. They weren't shocked to see their father snogging her; rather they were disgusted. "They seem pretty busy."

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious," Apollo replied. "You know, she reminds me of a lioness… she just can't keep her paws off her prey, can she?"

Hades decided to be the one to make their presence known through one little gesture. "Ahem."

The two broke apart in surprise like they had just received an electric shock. Draco smoothened his hair and went to his seat at the head of the table while Serena, blushing, seemed to have finally noticed that the eggs were already burnt. The children just rolled their eyes at this as they went to the dining room and settled in their usual chairs.

Now, it has already been a custom in the Malfoy household to leave their late mother's seat vacant in meals, so the children were appalled when Serena sat in that very seat. What irritated them more was the reaction Draco gave; he actually seemed pleased about it.

"Someone just made herself the mistress of the house," Artemis muttered lowly, so that only Apollo, who was beside her, would be able to hear. He nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I wonder why we weren't notified that the position's already been filled…" Apollo said in a voice just as low, before adding, "By a hag who happens to be a part-time husband-killer-slash-thief!"

Artemis barely contained her smirk. Draco saw this and raised an eyebrow at her, but did not say anything. This made her smirk all the more. Poseidon just rolled his eyes, thinking why they weren't saying anything about the woman beside him.

"Father," he started. "If I remember correctly, you explicitly forbade anyone from taking this seat," gesturing to Serena's chair. "So why is she occupying it now?"

Draco's eyes flashed dangerously, obviously not pleased with what he had said, while the other three looked at him and Draco with mixed shock and amusement. Draco had never scolded Poseidon before, and they knew he was not going to start now. Good thing it was he who took the words right out of their mouths; their eyes were glistening with glee although their faces remained impassive. Annoyance crossed Serena's face briefly before it was replaced with what almost seemed like an apologetic look. Almost.

Lifting her plate and fork and knife, she exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea! I'll just move to another seat-"

"No, it's okay, love, you can stay there," Draco cut her off, motioning her to sit back down. The children looked at him as though he had grown another head. Just how stupid can things get?

"Well, actually, Father, we also wanted to talk to you," Hades said.

"Yeah, you know, four-on-one," Artemis added.

"It's rather urgent, family business," Apollo finished.

"Whatever it is that you want to tell me, you can tell me in front of Serena," Draco replied.

"But we already told you-"

"We wanted to talk to you in private-"

"About family matters-

"And technically speaking, she's not family," Poseidon finished.

"Poseidon," Draco said warningly.

"No, he's right," Serena said. "It seems really important, so I'll leave you to discuss it. It's fine, really," she added when Draco was about to object. "And besides, he was right when he said I'm not a part of your family."

"Not yet, but soon you will be," Draco said, eyeing his children before turning his attention back to Serena. "I'm really sorry about this, but if you're sure-"

"I'm sure," Serena assured, and placing a light kiss on Draco's lips, she walked out of the room. When she had closed the door, Draco turned to the foursome. "What are you guys playing at? You shouldn't have said that in front of her. Can't it wait until later?"

"We can ask the same thing to you, Dad," Apollo said. "What were you playing at when you told Pansy to leave last night?"

"What? I didn't ask her to leave; she left of her own accord."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "Do you really think we're going to buy that? She left last night, eyes red and puffy from crying, obviously. So what the bloody hell happened?"

"I thought I told you to stay away from her. Since when did you start calling her by her first name?" Draco asked bitingly.

"Dad, two things: one, she said we could call her that outside class because it makes her sound so old and two, we're the ones asking questions here," Apollo replied.

"She told us that someone made it clear that she wasn't welcome," Hades said. "And out of all the adults last night, you're the only one we know who has a thing against her."

"That's why we're asking what you did, if you did anything, to make her leave," Poseidon concluded.

"But you know," Artemis mused. "If you only told us why you wanted us to stay away from her, we wouldn't have invited her in the first place. None of this would have been necessary. So, d'you fancy giving us a history lesson anytime soon?"

Draco stared at her incredulously. "I don't see any reason why that should concern you. Just take my word for it; looks can be deceiving. She is not to be trusted."

"'Don't see any reason-'?" Apollo repeated weakly. "I cannot take this anymore. This is ridiculous!"

"Apollo, shut up for a minute," Hades said sternly, before turning his attention back to Draco. "Father, we barely know anything about you before Mother came into your life. The only things we know of are what we see in books and clippings, and even that doesn't say much. It's not supposed to be this way."

"What he's trying to say," Poseidon interjected. "Is that you're a stranger to us. We want to get to know you and all, but there's this barrier around you, Father, that's so thick that even we can't penetrate it. We want to get closer to you, but we don't know how to do it because you never showed us how."

"Dad, let me ask you one thing," Apollo said. "Just who are we in your life? Do we really mean anything to you?"

Draco rolled his eyes in irritation; this was really getting to him. "What kind of a question is that, Apollo? Of course you mean everything to me!"

"But how come we don't feel that?" Artemis said. "The way I see it, your wannabe-wife knows you even more than we ever did!"

"You will stop it this instant, Artemis!" Draco warned, but Artemis took no heed and continued.

"You said it yourself, Father. Looks can be deceiving. We all know you're not stupid, neither are you blind; what we don't understand is why you can't see things that are already in front of you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're telling us to stay away from Pansy when she has done nothing wrong while Serena… that woman will be the death of you! It's obvious that you're playing right into her hands! Where the hell did you pick her up in the fir-?"

Her words were cut short as a strong force suddenly hit her face. Stunned, she raised a hand to her stinging cheek, the reverberating sound of the slap still ringing in her ears. She slowly looked up at Draco, whose arm was still raised and eyes widened in shock at what he just did; he couldn't even recall the moment when he stood up and neared Artemis. The other three looked at Draco, then at Artemis, and back at Draco, their shocked expressions replaced with restrained anger. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but was at a loss with what to say.

"I-I didn't mean- Arty, I'm sorry," he said when he finally found his voice. "I'm really sorry."

"Do you see what that woman has done to you?!" Apollo cried. "You've never laid a hand on us before, not even when you were so angry at what we've done. And now, just because Artemis was saying the right thing… how dare you… how could you!"

"It all boils down to this, Dad," Poseidon said. "You have only two choices: us or her. Please choose wisely."

Draco looked at each one of them with brows furrowed in bafflement. "Don't make me do this…"

"I think," Artemis cut him off, her eyes cold and brimming with unshed tears. "With what he just did, his answer's clear and simple. You were right, Apollo, this is ridiculous. I am leaving."

With one last look at Draco, she turned to walk out of the room. Her brothers stared at her retreating figure for a moment, and then turned their attention to Draco.

"Now you've done it. Nice going, Father," Apollo remarked sarcastically.

"You can disown us if you want, but you know that we're not going let her leave by herself," Poseidon said. "We're going with her."

"You know, Dad," Hades said softly. "Whenever people tell me that we're so much alike, I always felt proud, but now, I don't know what to feel about it because I don't even know the person I'm being compared to in the first place. Should I be happy because I was compared to my own father, my hero, or should I be ashamed, because I was compared to a man who chose a stranger over his own children?"

The three walked out of the room without even glancing back at him. Draco found himself unable to move, and was rooted on the spot where he had been standing. He collapsed on the nearest chair, and began to massage his temple. 'Why the hell does this have to happen now?'

Hades, Apollo and Poseidon went straight to Artemis' room from the dining room. Poseidon knocked on the door thrice before peeking into the room. There was Artemis, hauling all the things she needs into her trunk while sniffling softly. The three made their entrance quietly.

"You can stay here if you want," Artemis said in steely voice. "I won't force you to come with me."

"Arty, you know that we're sticking together, right?" Hades replied. "We're going with you."

"And we don't care if Father disowns us," Poseidon added.

"We don't want to be here when that woman comes back, you know," Apollo shrugged.

Artemis paused from packing and looked at them with a smile. "Thanks, guys."

Hades neared her and embraced her. "We can't let you go on your own, Arty. You're our only sister. We're doing this together, alright?"

"Group hug!" Apollo exclaimed, dragging Poseidon with him as he neared the two and embraced them. Poseidon, who was in the middle of the other three, was engulfed by their arms, and needless to say, was almost suffocated.

"W-where are we gonna go in the first place?" His words took its effect on his older siblings and they backed away, finally letting Poseidon have air. They fell into a contemplative silence as they thought of where they could go.

"How about Uncle Blaise's?" Apollo suggested.

"We can't let this go out," Hades said. "It's private family matters."

"It's not like he wouldn't find out anyway," Apollo countered. "Dad would most probably tell him first."

"Yes, but Elise and Elliot are there with him," Artemis said. "And Aunt Daphne, I think. So that rules Uncle Blaise's place out."

"Well, there's always the Leaky Cauldron," Poseidon said.

"Do you guys have money?" Apollo asked.

"Some, yeah," Hades replied. "If we put all our money together, it would be enough to sustain us for the remainder of the vacation."

"So we're going to the Cauldron? But I thought we weren't going to let this go out. People are going to wonder why we're spending the Holidays there rather than here at home," Artemis reasoned.

"You're right," Hades said after a short period of silence. "Where else can we go?"

"I know of another place," Apollo said. The other three looked at him expectantly. "There's always Hoggy, Warty Hogwarts. It's safer there and we don't even have to spend our savings. If people ask, let's just say that we had to cut our vacation short because… because Father's too busy."

"How do we get there?" Poseidon asked.

"Simple, dear brother," Apollo replied with a smirk. "We're going to Floo, of course."

Blaise sauntered along the halls of Malfoy Manor later that afternoon, surprised at the eerie silence enveloping the house. Usually, during the holidays, laughter could be heard coming from one of the rooms as the family catches up with one another or a gentle melody flowed from the music room as the family did their favorite hobby: playing and making music together. Strangely enough, this time the house was so silent one could hear a pin drop. What was stranger is that Blaise did not encounter even one living soul (house elves included). He figured the house elves would be in the kitchens, and that was where he is currently headed. Just then, he saw a house elf pass by.

"Oi, er- Mimsy!"

The house elf turned to look at him, and with a bow, asked, "What is Master Blaise be wanting of Mimsy?"

"Where's your Master Draco?"

"Master Draco is in his study, Master Blaise."

"Oh, thanks." With that, he proceeded to the Main Study. When he got there, the door was slightly ajar, so he took a peek first before he came in. Draco was in there, alright, and although the back of his swivel chair was turned to the door, Blaise can make out his hand holding a glass of brandy. Blaise raised an eyebrow at this ('Isn't it a bit too early for that?') but went in nevertheless.

"Draco, what in the world is going on here? It's too quiet… where are the kids? I wanted to invite them and you for dinner. And can you tell me why the hell are you drinking brandy at…." He checked his wristwatch. "4:30 in the afternoon?"

Silence was the only reply he got. He waited for a few more minutes, and then rolling his eyes, he heaved a heavy sigh.

"Hello, Draco! I don't appreciate being ignored, you know!"

It was only then that Draco finally noticed his presence. Blaise rolled his eyes again; so he was ignored. Before he could even think of a sarcastic remark, Draco's eyes met with his and he immediately bit his tongue.

"So they didn't go to your place?" Draco's voice was distant. Blaise's eyes narrowed in curiosity.

"Why would they go to my place? Draco, what is going on?"

"They… left."

"Left? Where did they go?"

"I have no idea."

"You mean they ran away?" Blaise exclaimed. Draco looked sideways, avoiding his eyes. "You'll tell me what happened right now."

"We had a fight, and they left."

"Draco, don't kid with me. You've had arguments before, but not like this! What's this about?"

"They… they didn't want me to marry Serena. They forced me to make a choice."

"And you chose her? For Merlin's sake, they're your children, damnit!"

"I'd choose them over anyone anytime! Do you think I'd walk out on them like that?" Draco was already on his feet, his fists tightened on Blaise's collar. After a few moments, he seemed to have calmed down, because he released Blaise and backed away.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it. If that's the case, then why did they leave?"

"I never got around to telling them that. They immediately assumed that I'd choose Serena, and left before I can even give my reply."

"You didn't even try going after them?"

"I-I was afraid they'd be even more angry if I went after them."

Blaise heaved another heavy sigh. "You're probably right. I'll look for them in the places where they'd most likely be: my house (they might've gone there after all), the Leaky Cauldron… probably Hogwarts too. You, on the other hand, should go and get some sleep. You look like death warmed over, mate. Not to mention you smell like one, too."

Draco smirked slightly. "Thanks, mate."

"Don't mention it." And with that, Blaise turned around and exited the room.

Pansy walked along the hallway of Hogwarts in silence. The usually crowded hallways were currently devoid of people save for her and the few students who chose to stay behind for the Holidays. As she entered the Great Hall, she noticed something was different, particularly in the Slytherin table. Glancing to see what exactly was off, she saw that the number of students on the table had increased by four.

"What are they doing here?"