A/N: I'm alive!! Finally, I got to update again. If you've read my profile, you'll know the reason why I haven't updated in ages... it's college. I've been bombarded with more homework and projects than I expected, but come on, it's my first year in college. It's summer vacation now, so I really made it my goal to update, at least before my summer classes start next week. So there.

Thank you for all your reviews. Your reviews are very much appreciated. I wanted to update but I just can't squeeze it into my schedule, so reading your reviews made me even more guilty and determined to update.

Okay, so before this gets longer, I'll say my disclaimers. Harry Potter characters belong only to J.K. Rowling. They're all hers. Although, I have to say this, she has some bad naming sense. I mean, naming Draco's son Scorpius! Of all the names!

I'll stop my ranting right now. So, I now give you Chapter 12. Enjoy, and don't forget to read and review (man, I missed saying, or should I say typing that)!

"So, what happens now?"

Hades, Apollo, Artemis and Poseidon were huddled in front of the Slytherin common room fireplace with mugs of hot chocolate on their hands. It was especially cold in the dungeons during this season, and it was all they could do to prevent being frozen to death. They were the only ones in there at the moment, as majority of the House went to their homes, and those who did stay were somewhere else. They saw this as an opportunity to talk about their current problem without being overheard.

"What happens now, Hade? You're always the one who thinks of ideas in times like these," Apollo said.

"I don't know, guys," he replied, looking at his siblings. "This time, I really don't know what to do."

"Well, we did hint Father on what that woman is up to. He's smart enough to put two and two together," Poseidon interjected, trying to make the mood lighter.

"Yeah, well, there's no denying that he's smart," Apollo said. "But as the Muggle song goes, 'Love makes fools of everyone'. Merlin knows just how much that woman has brainwashed him."

"He was brainwashed enough to even hit his own daughter," Artemis added quietly. Silence followed this, as the memory flashed through their minds again.

"There's only one thing that I'm sure will happen: with our running away, Serena will think she's won. She's going to worm her way into Father's mind and pocket further with us out of the way," Poseidon said.

Hades nodded in agreement. "And we can't allow that to happen, can we?"

"Of course not!" Artemis exclaimed. "But as much as I want to save Dad from his imminent death, I don't think I can see him yet."

"So what do we do?" Apollo asked again.

The four exchanged glances and sighed. It looks like it's going to be a long brainstorming ahead of them…

Pansy sat on her desk, which was covered by piles and piles of paper. Sighing, she set aside the paper she had just finished checking and grabbed another one. She scanned the paper in front of her, and groaned loudly.

"Oh, come on!" she cried out, flinging her quill on her desk. "What kind of an answer is this? This is something that a first year would write, not a fourth year! The handwriting's just as bad, too, like the handwriting of a preschooler. How in the world did this kid get to fourth year with papers good enough to throw in the bin?"

She has been sitting there for hours, checking paper after paper, but the pile on her desk doesn't seem to be decreasing. The cold weather isn't helping at all, since it's making her feel lethargic and sleepy. The coffee she drank earlier doesn't seem to be taking effect as well. Knowing that she can't sleep around although she wants to because she has to work, along with looking at the huge pile of work in front of her is starting to get to her nerves.

After glaring at the paper in front of her for a few seconds, she sighed. "It's bad enough that there's a ton of papers that I have to check, but seeing papers like this… this isn't even worth checking! It should be chucked to the bin where it belongs, because that's what this is: trash. If I had known that this was what being a teacher was like, I would never have taken this job at all-"

Her ranting was cut off by a knock on the door. She had been alone in silence for hours that the sound startled her.

"Who is it?"

"It's Blaise."

"Blaise? I thought you had gone home," she stood up and looked at her reflection on the window to see if she looked decent enough before she said, "Come on in."

"I'm sorry for the intrusion, but- Bloody hell." Blaise's eyes widened at the sight of the pie on her desk. "Now that is some paperwork. How'd you get so many? Not even Granger - oh it's Weasley now – checks that much papers!"

"I give a lot of essays," she answered simply. "So, what brings you here? I thought you were spending the holidays with your children."

"Oh, yeah. I was just going to ask if you've seen any or all of Draco's children here or in Hogsmeade."

"Draco's chil- yes, I did. I saw them seated at the Slytherin table earlier at lunch. I was wondering why they were here. Did something happen?"

"Apparently, Draco had a fight with them, and they ran away from home," Blaise replied. "Don't ask me what exactly happened, though. Draco wouldn't tell me the details. Actually, he doesn't want to do much of anything, even go out of his study. When I saw him in the manor, he had a glass of brandy in hand, and that was at 4:30 in the afternoon."

"I see," Pansy said quietly as she cast her gaze to the window. Seeing this, a small smile formed on Blaise's lips.

"They've had fights before and they've always managed to work things out. This one will turn out just the same, I can tell. And besides, we both know how Draco is. He'll quit moping around after a while, so don't worry about him. He'll be fine."

Pansy's head snapped back into his direction. Blaise just laughed at this.

"Pansy, don't even start denying that you're worried for Draco. I know you're worried about the kids, but more so about Draco. You haven't changed at all when it comes to him, have you?" Blaise said jokingly.

"But he has. He hates me with every fiber of his being now," Pansy said wistfully. "It's funny when I look back on when we used to study here. It's almost as if it were only a story of some fictional book or movie."

"You can't blame him, though, can you? I mean, you suddenly disappeared when he needed you most. His father was caught and imprisoned, his mother died; the last thing he needed was for you to walk out on him the way you did. I'm sorry for putting this bluntly, Pansy, but you abandoned him. I thought he'd never get over his depression back then; good thing Potter and the others started to be nice to him. You don't know just how much he's been through since you left; he stopped trusting people, even me. Gaea was the only person who had been able to get him out of his shell.

"You know, the only thing he asks from you is an explanation. Why did you leave him? What reason did you have for leaving him? I think it's always bothered him. Was the reason for your disappearance that great, that important, that you had to leave him? Just explain yourself to him, and maybe he won't hate you as much as he does now. It is his right to know, after all."

Pansy turned her back on him so that he wouldn't see the expression in her eyes. "I can't tell anyone the reason why I left, but it was that important. It was just as hard for me as it was for him, but I had to do it."

"So you won't tell anyone? Not even him?"

"I can't. I shouldn't."

"He'll hate you forever unless you tell him, you know that, right?" Blaise asked.

"I promised not to breathe a word about it to anyone. I'll take it with me to the grave."

"It's your call, Pansy. Thanks for the heads up." With a sigh, he exited the room.

"It's something I cannot tell anyone, Blaise," Pansy said, gazing at the now-closed door. "It's a matter of life and death."

A loud groan (which sounded more like a roar) of frustration rang out through the Slytherin common room.

"That's it! My brain can't do any more thinking!" Apollo exclaimed, tugging at his hair. "What we're doing is a bloody waste of time."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right," Poseidon said. "Staring into the fire will not give us answers."

"Did anyone think of anything at all? Something we can start a plan with?" Artemis asked.

"I've got nothing!" Hades said. "Nothing's coming to me."

The other three sighed at this. They were going to say the same thing. The four of them had been sitting there for hours thinking of some way, of any way to make their father realize just how much of a fraud his 'fiancée' really is without having to come in contact with him, but so far they've come up with… nada. Their trains of thought were cut short by the sound of the door to the common room opening. Thinking that it was probably just one of their Housemates, they merely ignored it, but the voice that called their names afterwards caught their full attention.

"Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon! So you've been here all this time. I should've known."

"Uncle Blaise," Hades asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course!" Blaise replied, settling on one of the couches' armrests. "I've been all over London looking for you guys! Your father's very worried about you."

Apollo snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure he is," he replied, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Oh, come now, don't be like that-"

"If he were worried, why did he have to send you to look for us, then? Why not look for us himself?"

"Well, that's… that's because he's afraid you'd be even more angry with him if he came after you. He doesn't want things to get worse," Blaise tried to reason out.

"What you mean to say is that he's ashamed of what he did. A bit too late for that now, don't you think? Or maybe it's because he just doesn't care."

"Alright, Apollo, that's enough," Artemis stopped him before he can add anything more. "Uncle Blaise, we share the same sentiments that Father has. We also don't want this to get worse; we want to fix everything."

"However," Poseidon added. "I'm afraid that we can't do that just yet. We don't want to… see him yet. We didn't want anyone outside the family to find out, that's why we didn't go to you. But we forgot that you are family, and that you'd figure out something's wrong sooner than later. We're very sorry to have caused you trouble, Uncle Blaise."

"It's no trouble at all, Poseidon," Blaise said. "But what am I to tell your father? You must believe me when I say he is worried sick about you."

"Tell him that we're in Hogwarts, and that we're safe," Hades replied.

"Tell him that we're not angry with him. We can never be angry with him, but… we are highly disappointed and affronted by what he did," Poseidon said.

"Also, tell him that seeing him would be impossible for us at the moment, or in the very near future, I'm afraid," Artemis said. "He's said and done too many things. It'll take some time for us to recover-"

"And forgive him," Apollo interjected.

"Yes, that too," Artemis concurred.

"And lastly," Apollo concluded. "Tell him that he is free to do whatever he wants with his life. We've got no hold on him whatsoever. Who are we to stop him anyway? We're just his children. But tell him to be careful with the people around him. Tell him he should know where they're coming from first before doing something stupid like marrying them. They might just stab him in the back or something."

Blaise could do nothing but stare as the four said their messages to their father. At a loss for words, he just shook his head when Apollo had finished. 'And to think I'm the one who will pass all these on to Draco…'

"Children, what exactly happened? I mean, what happened to make you this angry to your father and your father that… morose?" he asked. "Your father refuses to tell me the details about what had happened."

"I'm afraid we'll have to keep our mouths shut as well, Uncle Blaise," Hades replied.

"We were taught that family matters should remain within the family," Poseidon supplied.

"I understand," Blaise said. "I won't force you to tell me anything if you really don't want to. But if you should ever need anything, you can always ask me. Alright?"

The four nodded. A small smile formed on Blaise's lips as he looked at them. 'Draco taught them that, no doubt. Draco was also very secretive where his family is concerned, even when we were their age. They really are their father's children.'

"Well," Blaise said as he stood up. "I guess I should be going. I still have to go back home to Elise and Elliot to make them dinner, but before that I have to go to your father to tell him of your whereabouts."

"Thank you, Uncle Blaise," Artemis said. "For everything."

"And we're sorry for all this trouble. You should be spending time with Elliot and Elise rather than busying yourself with us," Hades added.

"What are you talking about? They'll understand when I tell them about it. The few details that I know, that is. Well then, I'll be seeing you after the holidays."

With that, he turned and walked out of the room. The children waited for him to close the door behind him before asking the still-lingering question to themselves again.

"So what do we do now?" Artemis voiced out.

"There's nothing else left to do but let the raging winds subside," Poseidon said. Apollo raised an eyebrow at this and looked at him incredulously.

"He's right," Hades said in agreement. "We just have to wait until whatever we currently feel about Father fade away. Yes, even what you feel, Apollo," he added when Apollo opened his mouth to make a retort. Apollo stayed silent and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I suppose that's not improbable. Whatever happens, he's still our father, right? We're bound to let our grudges against him go after some time." Artemis said.

"Excuse me, but I beg to differ," Apollo snapped before heading out of the room.

"Apollo, wait!"

Artemis ran out of the room after him. The remaining two exchanged glances and sighed.

"If there's anyone who can talk some sense into his insanely stubborn head, it's Artemis," Hades said.

"That's true," Poseidon concurred as he stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going to waste my time here sitting idly watching the fire while we wait for those two to get back. I'm going to get some homework done. The teachers are especially cruel to our batch, I think, since they gave us a ton of work to do over the holidays. On top of that are Professor Parkinson's difficult essay assignments."

"You guys too? She also gives us essay questions that are just-"

"Insane, I know. Insanely hard and insanely many."

Hades nodded in agreement. "I suppose I should start working on my deadlines as well, then."

"Yes, I suppose you should."

Hades just rolled his eyes at this and followed his brother to the boys' dormitory.

"Apollo, wait! Slow down a bit, will you?"

Artemis finally caught up to Apollo. Panting slightly, she walked beside her twin.

"I can't believe you're going to let it go just like that," Apollo said bitterly.

"We're just being true to ourselves," Artemis answered. "Let's face it, no matter what happens, we can't stay mad at him for all eternity. Can you?"

Apollo averted his eyes from hers and instead focused on the ground. Artemis said nothing and continued to walk alongside him. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"All this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for my 'brilliant' plan."

"Apollo, stop blaming yourself. You just wanted to help."

"If it weren't for my plan, Pansy wouldn't have been at the Christmas party, we wouldn't have had the reason to talk to Dad about his actions towards her, and he wouldn't have sla-"

"Stop wallowing in self-pity, Apollo Malfoy. If there's anyone to blame for this, it's that woman, and we'll make sure that she pays for it big time."

Apollo gave her a soft smile. "Thanks, Arty. You're right on both accounts. She's the one to blame for this, and I can't hold a grudge against my own father forever. We'll fix this, but not now."

"That's the spirit," Artemis said, giving him a pat on the back.

It was only then that they noticed they were already in front of the library. They were surprised to see how far they have walked from the dungeons. As they started to head back, the library doors creaked. Curious to see who it is, Apollo looked back and saw Pansy with a pile of books on her arms walking out of the room. As he stared at her retreating form, he saw a piece of paper fall from one of the books.

"Arty, wait," he called out to Artemis, who was a few steps ahead of him. Artemis looked back and raised her eyebrow in inquiry. "Come here, something fell from Pan- I mean, Professor Parkinson's book. We have to give it back."

They both neared the said piece of paper. It was an envelope. Apollo picked it up and made to open its flap; Artemis stopped him.

"What do you think you're doing? That's her letter to open, not yours."

"It wouldn't hurt to take a peek now, would it? Look, the flap's already undone, so she must've read it already. She wouldn't know that I looked inside, that is if someone doesn't rat it to her. And besides, admit it: you're also curious as to what it contains, aren't you?"

Artemis rolled her eyes at this. "Alright, alright. You win. But make it fast or someone else might see us here. Hurry."

Apollo took the paper out of the envelope; Artemis positioned herself behind him so she can also get a good look at it. After reading through its contents, Artemis had her eyebrows raised and Apollo had a pensive look on her face.

"This is…" Apollo started.

"A medical record," Artemis said.

Apollo gave her an incredulous look. "Thanks for that, Sherlock. It's a medical record that doesn't belong to Pansy, but to a certain Rowan Parkinson."

"A medical record that shows he doesn't have much long to live."

The two shared looks.

"Since when did we start completing each other's sentences? That's one of the stereotypes twins have; that's gross."

"That's not the point, Apollo!" Artemis exclaimed. "Who is this Rowan character? Apparently they're close, or else she wouldn't have this."

"I'm just playing with you," Apollo replied with a grin before turning serious again. "But you're right. We have to show this to Hade and Don. But we have to get this back to Pansy, or she'll get suspicious that someone else read this."

"We can duplicate it, but I don't know the spell for it."

"Well, there's only one person we can go to for that: the walking encyclopedia himself, our beloved little brother, Poseidon."

"Have you finished eating, Rowan?"

Rowan averted his gaze from the window to the healer on his door. He pushed the tray away from him and nodded.

"Yes, I'm finished."

As the healer was gathering his tray, Rowan's eyes caught a glimse of the newspaper tucked inside the back pocket of the healer's pants.

"Can I see that? That newspaper."

"Oh, this?" The healer set the tray down again. "This is an old issue. I'm just answering the crossword at the back." He handed him the newspaper and gathered the tray again before leaving the room.

Rowan waited for him to leave the room. When he was alone in the room, Rowan turned his attention to the newspaper in his hands, more specifically at its cover page. There was a picture of a young man with four children, two on his left and two on his right. When he held the paper closer to the light, he recognized the man as someone he used to know very well.

'I have to move fast, before I… This is the least that I can do for you, after everything you've done for me. I don't have much time left, so I have to move fast, in order to give back what you lost for my sake before I leave… Pansy."