A/N: (So, I've done a lot of writing for Yu Yu Hakusho recently, and I do have plans to write another chapter for my Tangled fic, but I want to do more on this one. This chapter is influenced by Lady Altair's "Cauterize", which you should read if you haven't read it yet. I've also finally started to get what I really wanted: showing the way a child of a Death Eater would grow up after the second wizarding war. I wanted this to be something like a Harry Potter version of the play Born Guilty.)

Tacita stared out her bedroom window, watching the snow falling. Christmas was only about three days away and she still hadn't gotten gifts. The past few days had actually been very awkward. Her aunt had cheered the news about her advancing so quickly in potions, as well as the news that Slughorn liked her so much. Of course these happy bouts still contained her aunt's strong reminders that she would have done better in Slytherin. Tacita didn't tell her aunt that even if she'd been in Slytherin she'd probably be just as miserable and she wouldn't have had Granville to lean on.

She did tell her aunt about Granville, almost out of spite for her friend who couldn't find the courage to tell his parents that they were friends. Her aunt didn't react well, mostly because she didn't want her niece associating with muggle-lovers who didn't have a great pureblood pedigree. For once this struck Tacita a bit like her aunt was trying to breed her like a dog.

"I don't care, Granville's the only one who will come near me, and he's helping me with History of Magic, and he's my friend. I'm a hundred kilometers away from you most of the year and you can't stop me from being friends with him!"

After that her aunt had stopped talking about Granville… actually she'd basically stopped talking to her again. Tacita felt like she would have to get used to this. Her aunt was brilliant at playing the quiet game, especially when she was angry. It didn't help that Tacita herself tended to be naturally quiet. They hadn't said anything to each other in three days. Unfortunately for her pride, Tacita needed to go to Diagon Alley. She sighed, packing up the small amount of money she had left from going to her account the last time. She'd need to access it again, though that would be a bit tricky, considering how iron clad he father had been about the trust he'd set up for her. The money was only to be used for things related to Hogwarts… and then it hit her.

She didn't see why she hadn't seen it before. Related to Hogwarts, well her friends were related to Hogwarts. She could get money to buy presents and not have a problem with the Goblins. Besides, they seemed to enjoy breaking wizard rules anyway. With that thought she quietly put her money pouch into her bag and went down stairs to find her aunt. Immediately she wished she'd picked something else to wear. She liked her muggle clothes the best, but he aunt always glared at her when she saw her wearing them. Too late to fix that now.

"I need to go to Diagon Alley," Tacita declared, giving her aunt a strong look. She didn't understand that it was very similar to the one her mother would use to show that she was superior and must be listened to, all Tacita knew was that it increased her aunt's likelihood of doing what she wanted.

"Oh really," Vega Lestrange said, raising an eyebrow slowly. "You meeting your little friend?" she asked.

"No," Tacita said, keeping her head held high. "His parents wouldn't let him even if they knew about me," she said, hearing the pain in her own voice. It hurt her that he was ashamed of her and afraid to tell people about her. She was proud of having him as her friend, and he was afraid of telling people about her. Of course she was hurt. "I have to go Christmas Shopping," she said.

"Yes, Christmas…" Her aunt nodded, considering the words before finally standing. "Alright, go get your coat," she said.

Tacita smiled and went to the hall closet, getting the thick winter coat her aunt had bought her the year before after Tacita had begged and pleaded with her to get it. She couldn't go to muggle school wearing a cloak! As she pulled on her boots she pretended not to see her aunt slipping the antique silver snuff box into her money pouch. It would be going to Borgin & Berk's before the say was over, but Tacita pretended not to know that. Just like she pretended not to know that the only way they were even eating was because he aunt continued to sell family heirlooms.

Vega opened a box by the fireplace, letting Tacita take some of the floo powder out of it before shutting it. Vega would be apperating to Diagon Alley, but Tacita wasn't quiet old enough for side-along apparition just yet. Tacita threw the powder into the fireplace. "Diagon Alley," she said clearly once she stepped into the flames before being dragged to the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. It was still early enough in the day that the only person there was the land lady, Hannah Longbottom. Tacita kept her head down and walked out the front door to the streets of London. She was actually glad her aunt wasn't with her. She wanted to shop for things that he aunt would be less than happy with her buying.

She walked determinedly down the street, heading for the corner and the giant bookstore that occupied it. She was tired of Granville incessantly asking her muggle history questions like she knew everything. She'd had muggle history for a few years, but she hardly knew all about it. She entered the bookstore, momentarily pleased by all the books. She hoped she could find time to explore the store in the future, but knowing her aunt it would be the far distant future. She quietly asked for directions before being directed up two flights of stairs to the history section.

She was more than a little pleased by the size of the store, and quickly started to look through the books. She knew herself and she knew that she could be there for hours. She needed to get something a run and she didn't have time to browse all the books in the section. She ended up debating about two books, both within her price range before just giving up and getting both. What could it hurt? She headed back down the flights of stairs to the counter.

Waiting in line was not the happiest thing, especially when time was against her. She had a limited amount of time to do this, especially depending on how long her aunt took at Borgin & Berk's. She was tapping her foot impatiently before she got up to the counter.

"Will this be all?" the woman behind the counter asked.

"Yes," Tacita said. "Can you hold these books for me? I don't quiet have enough money on me for both," she said.

"Are you sure you can afford it?" the woman asked. "It will be 93 pounds," the woman said, wondering where an eleven year old would get that kind of money.

"Yes, I'm sure," Tacita said, giving the woman a similar look to the one she gave her aunt when she was trying to get to Diagon Alley. The difference was that the woman behind the counter didn't know her, but she knew that look enough to know not to ask questions.

"When will you be returning?" the woman asked, starting to write out a card to put the books on hold.

"In the next hour," Tacita said, glancing at the clock. She took a moment to try and read it before she was able to figure out what it said. Reading face clocks had never been her strong suit. "Hopefully," she added before leaving. It would take another line to get her books, actually it was going to take three.

She headed back to the Leaky Cauldron, keeping her head down again, especially when she saw Professor Longbottom standing at the bar. She didn't want to deal with him is she could help it, instead heading through to Diagon Alley and quickly up the road to Gringotts. She didn't have a lot of time, and this was going to take a bit of time. First was to queue up to talk to a goblin, then to answer questions about what she was getting her money out ("for school" worked, thankfully, but there would be more questions asked if she kept getting money out of her vault, she was sure). Then came a trip to her vault, scooping coins into her money pouch while trying to calculate approximate amounts for what she'd need, plus trying to figure out conversion rates in her mind. She rounded up to be sure she had enough. Once she got out of the vault and back to the 'main' part of the bank she had to sign paperwork about how much money she was taking out. She knew it was to keep her aunt from spending Tacita's inheritance into nothing, but sometimes Tacita really resented the money. Her aunt nearly starved while this money was right there… she just couldn't get to it.

When she finished with the paper work she had the Goblins change exactly 93 pounds for her. They didn't care what she did with her money as long as they didn't have legal problems later. If she was getting something for Hogwarts related things that involved muggle money what did they care? She was thankful for their lack of care, and the fact that she didn't have to stand in another line.

Tacita raced back to the book store, passing this time not only her professor and his wife, but some of their friends, but she didn't notice as she was too intent on her mission.

"It's good to see you again Harry," Hannah said, sliding a drink into his hands.

"Now what I'm I drinking?" he asked, taking a sip and making a face. "Sweet," he muttered.

"It's just a cider, same alcohol content, less alcohol flavor," Hannah chirped.

"Then what's the point?" Harry asked, sipping the drink again. Yeah, very sweet.

"It's for people who don't like the taste," Hannah said. "Hermione will probably like it better when she gets here," Hannah said. She smirked. "I'd say your wife might like it better, but knowing her she probably can drink you under the table," she said.

Harry winced. "That only happened once," he muttered. Of course he hadn't put himself in a situation to try out drinking her again.

Hannah laughed. "Neville will be back in a minute. He's putting the girls down for a nap," she said before going back to wiping down the bar.

"How have the girls been?" Harry asked, glancing at his watch.

"They'd been good. They're happy to have their daddy back for a few weeks," she said. "Who all's coming through?"

"Well, Ginny's got the kids. They'll be staying with Molly and Arthur," Harry said, feeling a bit pleased with himself that he'd actually be able to say their name after all the years they'd been telling them to call them by their first names. "And Andromeda should be coming through with Ginny. Teddy's going to stay at the Burrow while we're all out Christmas shopping," he said.

"You lot sure waited till the last minute," Hannah said. "How's Andromeda doing?"

Harry shook his head. "You sound like Hermione," he said, taking a moment before turning to the less comfortable topic. "You know, I thought after Fred's funeral that I'd never see any woman take the death of her child so hard," he said. "But Molly's got all of us there to keep her… distracted at least… I don't know." Harry paused, sighing heavily. "But Andromeda… well…" he shrugged.

"She lost her husband, her daughter, and her son in law all in one year," Hannah added. "And Teddy's getting closer to going to Hogwarts," she said.

Harry nodded. "Two years and he'll be a first year," he confirmed.

Hannah shook her head. "It's just sad," she said.

"What's sad?" Neville said, coming down the stairs two at a time before walking behind the bar and pulling his wife into a kiss.

"You're in a mood," Hannah said with a laugh. "We're talking about Andromeda," she said.

"Oh," Neville said. It wasn't that he didn't like Andromeda, it's just that sometimes it was a little hard to look at her. Mostly he remembered that Bellatrix had killed her daughter, but every so often the similarity in their appearances would strike him in just the right way. It wasn't right, but he did try not to spend too much time around her. Thankfully she was closer to the Weasleys and Harry anyway. "Nothing fun I imagine," he said.

"She's just having a bit of a time dealing with the holidays," Harry said.

"I see, so, where are the others?" Neville asked. "Nevermind," he added, seeing three women and a man walk through the door and head their direction. He found himself waving enthusiastically.

"Hey Neville," Ginny Potter said, looping her arm around her husband and leaning against him. "Drinking already Harry? For shame!" she teased, picking up the bottle and taking a swig before making a face. "Eww, a bit too sweet," she said with a shudder. Harry and Hannah exchanged looks while Neville tried not to smile. He'd missed the drink conversation earlier, but he could guess how it went by those looks just fine. "Hermione, try this," she said, pushing the drink into the brunette's hands.

"I don't know," Hermione said, not sure that she wanted to try something that made Ginny shudder like that. Still she took a sip. "Hmmm, this it pretty good," she said. "I don't see what you were talking about it being too sweet."

At that moment Hannah, and Harry burst into laughter, followed shortly by Neville.

"What is wrong with the three of you?" Hermione asked.

"Did you slip something into the drink?" Ron asked, taking the glass and holding it up to light like he could see any dark potions in the drink like that.

"No," Neville said," wiping his eyes. "Just my wife's predictive abilities is all," he said. "I assure you that it's really not funny once it's explained… Hannah dear, what did you give them exactly?"

"Just a muggle concoction," Hannah said. "Bought a crate off a muggle pub, new type of pear cider for new drinkers," she said. "Would anyone else like to try one?"

A chorus of "we're good" sounded from the only people who were not Hermione who simply set the drink back on the bar.

Neville's eyes, and a few other eyes besides that saw a dark haired girl run through the pub, around tables and out front door. "Never seen anyone run out of Diagon Alley like that," Ron said, wondering if there was something wrong, "at least not that small."

"Don't worry," Hannah said. "That one ran out of here the second she arrived."

"And ran back through earlier," Neville added with a shrug. He was not going to think about school during the holidays, even if he did have a stack of things to grade sitting on his desk upstairs. "It's Christmas, a lot of students have to buy things for their wizard friends and their muggle friends," he pointed out. He was not going to care about this or ask questions today. He was not going to.

"Andromeda, are you okay?" Hermione asked kindly, sensing the woman's distress first.

"No, yes, I just…" the older woman shook her head. "It was like, seeing my sister all over again," she said softly, and Neville understood when no one else did. "I must be losing my mind," she said, shaking her head again. She did look pale, and Neville felt bad for her.

"No, you're not losing your mind," Neville said. "The resemblance is very close," he said. He felt confused when Andromeda looked confused. She knew, didn't she? "That was Tacita Lestrange," he added. It worried him when Harry and Ron looked less confused than Andromeda Tonks did.

"That was her? Blimey, I mean I thought she looked familiar," Ron said softly.

"Would someone like to fill us in?" Ginny asked, looking annoyed at being left out.

"Well," Harry started, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, it's not like it's really a secret, but the Minister isn't exactly for spreading news about the children of Death Eaters… something about Dumbledore saying that children shouldn't suffer for the faults of their parents," he said. "But Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange had a child before they died," he said. He winced when Hermione gasped, everyone did, but what made Neville really wince was Andromeda's silence.

"I didn't know that," Andromeda said.

"I don't think a lot of people did," Ron said with a shrug. "Got the idea that Bellatrix wasn't very happy about it," he said with a shrug. "But she's at Hogwarts now, right?" he asked, and all eyes turned to Neville.

"Yes," Neville said carefully. "She's one of my students," he said.

"Probably in Slytherin too," Andromeda said quietly.

"No, she's in Hufflepuff," Hannah said.

"Hannah!" Neville said loudly.

"What?"

"That type of information isn't…"

"I know, student records and all, but what student doesn't show off their house when asked?" she pointed out. Neville still looked uncomfortable. They had rules about student records, but truthfully his wife wasn't wrong. He just suddenly felt worried about her giving out student information when he wasn't around. He told her because he needed to vent about his work, but he didn't tell anyone else and he thought she understood that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone.

"Hufflepuff, really?" Ron asked with a snort.

"Really Ron," Hermione said. "Hufflepuff is a perfectly respectable house. You remember how many of them stayed to help when-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ron said. Sometimes they would all sit around and talk long winded about the Battle of Hogwarts, and sometimes none of them wanted to even mention the name of it, this was one of those latter times. "But still, I mean…" he trailed off, looking at the older woman in their group. They'd taken her with them to try and help her feel better under the guise of all of them needing to do last minute shopping.

"But all of the Black sisters were in Slytherin," Andromeda said, nodding. "Neville is she a good student?"

"Now we really are getting into territory I'm not allowed to discuss," Neville said. "I'm sorry, I just can't," he said.

Andromeda nodded, seeming distracted and Neville wondered if she had heard him. "Do you like her?"

Neville winced. Great, perfect, and he had sworn up and down that he wasn't going to get into school things. "She's not my favorite student," he said. "Can we talk about something else?"

But at that moment the girl in question came back into the pub, smiling and happy and not running. If anything she seemed very happy, her arms wrapped around her package. All the eyes turn to her. Neville wondered for a moment if they were just that obvious, or she could feel it. She stopped and slowly looked up at him and Neville was distinctly reminded of an animal realizing that a hunter had seen it.

"Ms. Lestrange," he said, pronouncing her name correctly. He never said her mother's name like that, and he was sure that his friends were giving him looks for it.

Tacita looked at him for a moment before turning and walking over to them. "Good afternoon Professor Longbottom," she said politely.

"Are you having a good holiday?" he asked, trying to be nice, but she actually seemed to become uncomfortable.

Tacita's eyes darted to the faces who of the adults who were focused on her. "Yes, Professor," she said quietly.

Neville shot a look at his friends, as if to remind them not to stare. "I'm sorry, these are some of my friends," he said, trying to make the girl feel less awkward. "Ron and Hermione Weasley," he said, nodding to them. Ron nodded at her, having recovered from his shock of seeing Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter standing there speaking to them. Hermione smiled. "Harry and Ginny Potter," he said. Harry also nodded, and Ginny waved. "My wife Hannah." Hannah also smiled, but also started to move around the pub. "And Andromeda Tonks," he said.

It was odd noting her face at the introductions. She clearly knew who Harry, Ron and Hermione were. Her eyes had momentarily flicked up to Harry's forehead, but had moved away so quickly it was like she was simply checking to be sure she wasn't being lied to. She seemed the most interested in Ginny, though. Yet that stopped when he introduced his wife. The girl's mouth fell open.

"I didn't know you were married," she said with such awe that more than a few of them chuckled.

"No, I don't suppose I talk about much outside of Herbology," he said, his lips twitching in an almost embarrassed smile.

Tacita went quiet, looking at Hannah for a moment, before her gaze went back to where Ginny was standing, leaning against Harry. Being all of eleven the girl didn't really have the ability to actually hide all of her emotion. It was like they could see her working up her courage. "Um… would you mind if I asked you for something?" she asked, her voice louder than it seem she'd expected it to be.

"I'm sure it's okay to ask," Neville said, since it wasn't exactly sure who she was speaking to.

"Um, okay," she said, glancing at her professor before her eyes went to Ginny and Harry again. "My friend Granville really, really likes you," she said. "Would you mind if… would it be too much trouble… it would be a really great Christmas present if I could give him your autograph," she said.

Harry bit his lip, clearly trying not to smile. As Harry had gotten older he'd learned to deal with his celebrity better. He didn't mind when little kids asked for such things. Adults were a different story. "I don't think that would be a problem," he said. "Hannah, do you have any parchment?" he asked.

"Of course," Hannah said.

"Um, actually," Tacita started. "I meant your wife," she said.

Ginny burst into laughter, accepting the sheet of parchment that Hannah slipped over the bar to them. "Well, we'll both sign it. I'm sure he'll like that," she said. "Now, what did you say his name was again?"

"Granville, Granville Jorkins," Tacita said. Neville did smile a little. He'd been a tiny bit worried about maybe Tacita using Granville, but she seemed genuine about getting him something that he wanted for Christmas, even if she was afraid.

"Come here sweety," Hannah said. "We've got a bit of juice you might like, especially with you running so much," she said. Tacita seemed hesitant, but quietly climbed up onto one of the barstools and accepted the glass of juice that Hanna had gone to get her after the introductions. "Can I call you Tacita?" she asked.

"It's my name," the girl responded.

"Tacita then," Hannah said, ignoring her husband's pointed looks. He'd been trying to make the girl feel more relaxed, not invite her into their little group. "Would you mind me asking you what you were running out into Muggle London for?" she asked.

Tacita looked down at the juice she was sipping before she looked down at the package she was still gripping onto so tightly. "Granville was curious about muggle history," she said. "Wizard books on muggles are stupid," she added.

There was a loud noise that was probably a snort, though who it came from was not entirely true. "Here," Ginny said, slipping the sheet of parchment over to Tacita. The message was the standard 'study hard, have a good year,' type messages. Tacita dutifully pulled out one of the muggle books and slipped the autograph inside the cover before slipping it back into her bag.

"I take it you're Christmas shopping today?" Hermione asked, since conversation had stopped. They weren't really talking, more like one of them was speaking to the girl because they didn't know what else to do.

Tacita looked over at her and nodded, but then she stopped. She really caught sight of Andromeda. "You look just like my mother," she said so matter of factly.

Andromeda smiled a bit weakly. "There's a reason for that, dear," she said. "Bella was my big sister," she explained.

Tacita's eyebrows knit with confusion. "But you're not a Malfoy," she said. "Professor Longbottom said your name was Tonks," she said.

"Yes," Andromeda said. She looked sad, hurt even. "I married a muggle-born wizard. My family didn't approve," she said. "They try to pretend I don't exist," she said.

"Oh," Tacita said, all confusion leaving her face. "Yeah, they're really good at that, aren't they, ignoring you when you've done something they don't like?" she asked. Neville distinctly remembered having to speak to her aunt… yes she would know about that.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Andromeda said, still smiling sadly, but there was something odd in her face, like understanding. "I'm sure your guardian must be looking for you," she said. "Do they know that you've gone to a muggle store?" she asked.

Tacita winced. "No, I don't think Aunt Vega will like it. I need to hide this bag in the bag I get from the other book store," she said.

"But you like muggles?" Ron asked.

Tacita's eyes slid over to him, and she went quiet for a long while. "They do things wizards can't do and won't learn to do," she said. "It's interesting," she said.

"I think our dad would like you," Ginny said after laughing for a moment.

"Okay," Tacita said, finishing off her juice. "I have to go. I need to find Aunt Vega soon," she said. She started looking for money in her pouch.

"No, Tacita, it's free," Hannah said. "But you better get going."

"Thank you," Tacita said politely before bolting outside.

A silence stretched out for just a short moment. "What's wrong with all of you?" Neville asked.

"You invited her over," Ron pointed out.

"No, I didn't. She was nervous, It is my job to try and not make the students afraid," he said. "I was trying to put her at ease," he said.

"Well, she certainly is interesting," Ron said.

"She's a normal kid, you mean," Ginny said.

"Yeah, well, there's that," her brother responded.

"Weren't we going Christmas shopping?" Neville asked, trying to change the subject again.

"Yes, we were," Andromeda said, but she seemed the most thoughtful of all.

That evening, Tacita quietly wrapped her packages. She'd bought a book for Grimwold called Quidditch Through the Ages. It seemed like something he would enjoy. It also wasn't near as heavy as the books that as the two she'd bought from Granville. It turned out that the Goblins had given her 100 pounds, not 93, and she'd gotten a discount, so she'd picked up two discount muggle crime novels for Gimwold. They were very thin, and after she read through them herself she felt like they weren't very good. But they would probably be more illuminating on muggles than his Muggle Studies class.

She smiled at her packages and how neatly she wrapped them. She quietly got up and went to her owl, opening his cage. "Come on Gandalf, I have a very special mission for you," she said, stroking his head. "I need you to take these to Granville and Grimwold," she said.

Gandalf hooted softly as she tied the packages to his feet and let him out her window. She watched him fly off until she couldn't see him anymore. She smiled, a warm feeling hitting her chest as she watched him go, thinking of her friends getting their presents. It was pure luck that she'd met Ginny Potter, but she knew that Granville would really love that one, especially from how he'd gushed about her before.

That thought pleased her the most, so much so that she didn't even think about getting presents herself. She'd thought about it before, but had come to the decision that if Granville did buy her something that she would get it when they got back from break. He would be too chicken to send her anything.

A/N: (Wow, sorry how long this took. This chapter has literally sat unfinished since September. Unfortunately I was literally 3/5th of the way done when my computer suddenly freaked out. My laptop sat unusable with all the data I had on everything locked up for about three months. I just got my data back recently, and then bought a new computer. I did plan for the Christmas chapter, and if I'd had the energy to finish this (plus the 3 other fanfic chapters I wrote very recently) I might have gotten this finished before Christmas. As it is… well, oh well, it's a little late. Maybe you can be reminded of the Christmas that just ended instead?

Again, very sorry for how late this is. I got the feel for this again, and I'm going to try to churn out the next chapter soon. We should be wrapping up the first year in the next two to four chapters or so, probably the next two. The first year shouldn't take that long to talk about.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I really do love you guys, and thank you so much for the reviews!