"Why on earth," Ron roared, advancing dangerously upon Malfoy, his soot covered face slightly frightening, "Is my daughter and my nephew speaking Parseltongue? With your son? Opening the damn Chamber of Secrets?"

"Ron, calm down," Harry said, grasping his friend's arm tightly.

For some reason Draco couldn't explain, something in him from his school days erupted inside him and snapped.

"How should I know, Weasley?" Draco drawled. "But its more suspicious that your children are speaking it isn't it? Got a dark side your not sharing with us?"

Ron's ears were turning purple.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, you're not in school anymore!" Astoria snapped.

Draco's ever-growing sense of hatred died down immediately, rightly chastened by his wife. There was, however, a bubbling feeling of dislike still broiling underneath his skin.

"I don't know where our son could have gotten his heritage as a Parselmouth," Astoria said, more calmly than before – but barely. "All Pure-Blood families are related in some way, so we must have inherited it through our union. The talent is known to skip generations until it comes upon a particularly strong wizard."

Draco wanted to smirk, but held it in. These days, being a Parselmouth was nothing to be proud of.

"That doesn't explain us though," Harry said, puzzled.

"We're all related, remember Potter?" Draco said, a little haughtily. "I know Weasley, unfortunately, is closely related to me through the Black's. You are a Parselmouth though, aren't you?"

"No," Ron said, looking around wildly at Harry. "It disappeared once Voldemort was destroyed!"

Harry nodded his head, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"When Voldemort's soul inside my body was destroyed, I lost all ability to speak with snakes after that."

"And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but no offense to Granger… I mean, your wife, Weasley, is a Muggle-born would weaken the magical gene that allows for the heritage of a Parselmouth,"

Ron glared a little but said, surprisingly, "No offense taken since I think that's the first time you haven't called her a Mud-Blood."

There was an awkward silence for a bit as the party pondered this over.

"Wait… Hermione is an extremely capable witch. Besides, most Muggle-borns are descended from Wizards. Its just the magic skipped over many generations," Astoria said, realization dawning on her face. "Her ancestor could've had a relation to a Parselmouth!"

"Why didn't Hermione have the ability then?" Ron asked.

"It probably skipped her, but her union with you, a Pure-Blood, probably made the magic for heritage stronger for your children!" Harry said.

"And out of all of them, it chose Rose." Draco concluded.

"And Albus?" Ron asked.

"Harry's powerful blood, being a Potter, and his marriage with Ginny must have also awakened the trait."

"Damn it all," Harry sighed, putting his face in his hands. "And they opened the Chamber of Secrets… saw what was down there… I thought this was all behind us. I wanted Albus to live a normal life."

Astoria glanced at Harry, pity alight in her gaze.

"Nothing can ever be normal in the Wizarding World, Harry."

"How do we explain it all to them? We can't keep them in the dark forever about what happened in school." Ron pointed out.

"And what should we tell them Weasley?" Draco exclaimed, throwing his pale hands into the air. "By the way, children, your parents opened the Chamber of Secrets. Albus, Rose, your parents nearly died every year trying to defeat the Dark Lord. Scorpius, your father nearly died and killed hundreds of others to serve that great, evil, git! Oh yes, we'll tell them that!"

Harry and Ron looked up at Draco in what could only be conveyed as shock. They had never heard from his own lips a word of remorse for the crimes he had committed during The War. Harry felt the smallest, and strangest bit of compassion. It grew as he witnessed the emotions of self-loathing and disgust flash across Draco's face. Astoria put a comforting arm on her husband's shoulder.

"You know, Malfoy," Harry said, a little uncertainly. "You didn't really have a choice and… I don't think you were truly a Deatheater… You didn't have the heart for it. When Hermione was… When she was being…" Harry couldn't finish.

Both Harry and Draco looked over at Ron, and it was like watching Ron see the while scene right in front of his eyes again. The fear, the pain, and the never-ending sense of sorrow were stuck on his face. Harry's emerald eyes met Draco's ice blue-grey one's and he finished.

"You didn't have the heart to hurt her… I never forgot that."

There was another silence, this one was just as heavy as the last, but not as awkward. Draco was glad he had moved into this new mansion all of a sudden. If they were in the Manor, he knew the memory of Hermione's screams would be even harder to relive.

Harry straightened and said, "We'll inform our children when the time is right. But if I know anything, we can't wait too long, or they'll never forgive us."

Draco and Astoria nodded. Ron just shrugged. When both made a move to say goodbye and floo back home Ron dared to glance out of the nearby window. He froze, his face possessing a look of the utmost horror.

"Malfoy, where the hell do you live?"

"On the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole. Why?"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ron screamed.

Astoria and Harry looked at each other and started to laugh.

"It looks like we won't have to floo anymore," Harry said between his fits of laughter. "It's a bit late but, welcome to the neighborhood Malfoy."

Leaving Malfoy looking as if the world was presently ending, Harry dragged an absolutely distraught Ron over to the fireplace, and flooed away.

When Ron and Harry arrived at The Burrow all was quite. In the darkness, Ron whispered,

"But Harry, he didn't do anything either… I don't know if I can forgive him for that."

Harry looked at his best friend sadly.

"I know it's hard," Harry said. "But I think he tried. He knew it was me, even with the jinx on me. He didn't want us to die."

"How do you know?"

"With Malfoy, its all about the eyes. He felt the same way we did back then."

"And how was that?"

"Scared."