A/N: I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry it took me so long to update! I had most of this written in my notebook, but then I got really sick, and missed a week of classes. Of course, right in time for exams. So I spent a couple weeks playing catch up, and wracking my brain. BUT HERE IT IS! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 16: Shyla Granger and the Malfoy Manor

"Honest, Professor, my mum said it was okay if I came over to hang out with Eva!" Shyla lied as innocently as she could.

Draco eyed her carefully. She was lying, it was obvious. He glanced around Platform 9 ¾. Hermione was nowhere to be seen. There was no possibility of her being late, especially to pick up her daughter. "Where is your mum, anyways?"

"Seriously? Why would she give me permission to come to your house, and then show up here to pick me up? Completely counter productive." Shyla insisted. Her hair was getting long, flowing around her shoulders now. She brushed it over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on the man in front of her.

"Dad, let's just go." Eva complained. "Why would we lie?"

He turned to Eva and raised an eyebrow. "Must you really ask that question, young Slytherins?" He sighed, and ran his hand through his blonde hair. "Move it ladies, to the fireplaces."

"I love floo network!" Shyla sang, with a skip in her step.

"Evangeline, you will go first, and then Shyla." Draco instructed.

Eva nodded, and took a handful of the floo powder as she stepped into the oversized fireplace, "Malfoy Manor!" she yelled. Throwing the powder down, she was engulfed in a green flame.

Shyla followed closely behind, and held her breath as the cool flames enveloped her. She loved the feeling of traveling by floo. It was a rush, and made her stomach flip, as it often did while she was flying.

She stepped out of the fireplace at her destination and breathed a quiet, "woah" as she took in her surroundings.

The parlor of the Malfoy Manor was well lit from the sun shining through the large windows. Her entire apartment could easily fit into this one room. There were several couches, and large chairs. The room seemed inviting and warm, despite the bitter cold wind that was blowing outside.

Shyla turned to Eva and grinned, "This is just one room?"

"Would you even dare assume that we lived in a common house? We are Malfoys after all " Eva smirked, finally having an upper hand on Shyla. Shyla rolled her eyes at her friend. "I want to see your room then, your majesty."

"It's about time you realized that Malfoys are royalty." Eva laughed, leading her friend out of the parlor and into a grand hallway. The floors were marble, glistening from the chandelier that hung in front of the stairs.

Everything was so grand and elegant. It made the Ministry of Magic look dull and bland. Shyla had often been to the Ministry, when her mum had to go to work for a little while.

"Where's your room?" Shyla asked, trying to capture every ounce that the Malfoy Manor had to offer.

"It's on the first floor. Come on, it'll still be here later." Eva teased. She didn't often have friends over. In fact, growing up, she didn't have many friends at all. The Malfoy name had been tainted after the war. Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban. A life sentence. Eva had never met him. While her grandmother, Narcissa, lived in the Manor with them, she was often isolated from social events. Every once in awhile her father was invited to balls, and dinners, but mostly because he held the Malfoy fortune in his hands. Regardless of whether or not the wizarding world respected the Malfoy name, the had high regards for the money that was attached to it.

Shyla ran her hand along the Mahogany banister that ran up the spiral staircase. It reminded her of a palace from one of a book Hermione would read to her when she was much younger. "Oh! Hello!" Shyla called out to a small house elf that was cleaning the stairs with a rag.

"We do not talk to the help, Granger." Eva snapped, raising her nose to the creature that she found to be beneath her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Malfoy, and Miss Malfoy's friend." The elf squeaked politely.

Shyla smiled meekly at the elf, and bounded up the stairs after Eva. She followed her blonde friend down the hall of the first floor, into a room that was primarily white, with different shades of pink strewn throughout the room.

"Malfoy likes pink, huh?" Shyla teased.

"Shut up, Granger." Eva stuck her tongue out at Shyla, and plopped down onto her large bed.

The comforter was white with pink cherry blossoms stitched into it. Shyla sat down next to Eva and glanced around the room. Unlike the posters on Shyla's bedroom walls, the ones here had frames around them, and were hung properly. There were white Christmas lights strung through the room. Though, it was unclear if they were decorations for the holidays, or if Eva always had them in her bedroom.

Eva kicked off her ballet flat style shoes, and leaned onto one of her pink, frilly pillows. "Think your mum would let me come stay at your place tomorrow?"

Shyla laughed nervously, "If I'm not completely grounded, I don't see why not. I will ask her tonight." She smiled slyly at her friend. "I can't believe we convinced your dad!"

Eva eyed Shyla, "He knew you were lying."

Shyla rolled her eyes, "Then why would he let me come over?" She pulled her hair to the side, and casually braided it, tying it with a black ribbon from her pocket.

The girls glanced at the door, as a short knock sounded. Draco entered the room, "Shyla, your mum will come by this evening. You will both be staying for dinner." He turned his attention to the young Malfoy before him, "Evangeline, dinner is at six. Let me know if you ladies need anything."

He shut the door behind him, and Eva shot Shyla a look of knowing. "I think my dad likes your mum!"

Shyla's mouth gaped open. "That's crap and you know it!"

Eav pursed her lips and continued anyways, "Nobody ever just 'comes over' for dinner. They're here for either dinner parties, wearing their best, formal attire. Or, they come for business. Why else do you think he invited you both for dinner?"

"First," Shyla started, "he invited us both, because I am already here, and it would be rude to not. And secondly, your parents are married. My mum would never date a married man!"

"Shyla! My parents are hardly married!" Eva laughed, "I've told you this before. It's not a secret for Merlin's sake! My mum stays with my dad for money and a nice house to live in. My dad stays with my mum so that someone can watch after my grandmum. That's it! I haven't even seen them kiss since I was seven. It's not new, and by no means am I heart broken over it." She adjusted to lay on her back and sighed. "So why can't my dad like someone like your mum? Is she too good for him, or something?"

"Eva, that's not it." Shyla shook her head quickly. "Just wouldn't it be weird? I mean, he's my professor, and she's well, my mum."

"So, what? Am I not your best friend?" Eva manipulated.

"You know you are." Shyla sighed in defeat. "But what about our search for my real dad?"

Eva shrugged, "That's more of Keelee's deal. Honestly, if he hasn't even made an appearance in over eleven years, what makes you think he'll suddenly want to be dad if we do find him?"

Shyla frowned, she hadn't thought of that. "What's the harm in having a replacement dad?" she finally asked.

"Oh good! We're on the same page then!" Eva nearly squealed.

"Operation get-our-parents-together?" Shyla grinned, "Oh yeah! It's on!"

Not long later, Eva had decided to give Shyla a tour of her home. "I know! Let's go say hi to Grandmum! I haven't seen her since Hogwarts started."

Shyla nodded in agreement, and followed Eva to the second floor, and to the left. The girls entered an open doorway to a large sitting room. Shyla's was beginning to believe that everything in the Malfoy Manor was either grand, or large, or both.

"Hello, Grandmum!" Eva greeted, kissing the aging woman's cheek. "This is my friend, Shyla Granger. She's in Slytherin with me."

"Granger?" Narcissa Malfoy asked quickly. Her hair had greyed, and her eyes looked tired, and worn. She smiled softly, "I have always wanted to meet you."

Shyla stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say. Finally she asked, "Oh. Um, do you know my mum?"

Narcissa nodded briefly, "You look just like her." Soft wrinkles framed her face. Her smile transformed into a frown. "Let me tell you girls, war destroys people, families, and lives. It makes us do horrible things. If I could undo everything I ever did, I would."

"Grandmum? Are you feeling okay?" Eva interrupted, "Should I go get Dad?"

Narcissa shook her head, "I am fine, Evangeline. I certainly do not need your father! Why would you ask such a thing?"

Eva shrugged, and shifted her feet. "It's just that you never talk about the war. Nobody does."

Narcissa pursed her lips. Shyla now knew where Eva got that trait from. "It's not often that it catches up with you." She eyed Shyla carefully.

Shyla glanced around nervously. "Maybe I should go?"

"Sit." Narcissa snapped. "You're a Slytherin. Don't act like a Hufflepuff."

Shyla and Eva both sat on the cushioned bench across from Narcissa. She stared Shyla down momentarily. "Miss Granger, seeing your mother's Gryffindor background, I find it strange that you ended up in Slytherin."

Shyla nodded, "I've gotten that a lot. The thing is, my mum raised me to be independent and a free-thinker." She shrugged casually, "In all honesty though, everyone thought I would be sorted into Gryffindor. Even I did. You know, being raised as a Weasley, and all."

Narcissa's eyes widened, "Weasleys?!" She managed to choke out.

Eva took over and smirked, "Yeah, it's so messed up. Her mum lied to everyone, saying that Shy was Ron Weasley's daughter, and when she was sorted into Slytherin, they realized Shyla was not a Weasley. It was so dramatic. But now, her mum refuses to tell her the truth about who her real father is."

"That's absolutely horrible!" Narcissa gasped. "Especially to be tossed into a lot like that."

Shyla shrugged, "They're not all bad. In fact, the only intolerable ones are Ginny and Molly. Mum says that is only because the war made them so sad."

Narcissa frowned, she could relate to that. It destroyed her family, and the only reason she had her only son, Draco, was because Snape saved him in so many ways. Finally she spoke, "It made a lot of us very sad."

Shyla felt strange around Narcissa. It felt so natural, like she fit into her family. As if Narcissa was her own Grandmum.

A/N: So there it is! Yay! I can't promise when I will update next, but I am hoping to take some time each day to write. Hopefully won't be too long, especially since the next chapter is AMAZING! I have majority of it written in my notebook, I just need to decide on some details, and add more to it.

OH YEAH! I have a twitter account now, so that I can update everyone on what's going on with the story, and prospectively when I will update. (BTW, I got this idea from SugarQuills007, whose story is great! - and full of DMHG) But anyways, it's twitter pygmypuffpurple - PurplePygmypuff was taken *sad face.* But I compromised. So yeah, add me on there!

Love to all my reviewers, and everyone who as added me to their favorites and/or alerts!

~PurplePygmypuff