This chapter is coming out a little quicker than normal, but in exchange, you have to answer the poll at the end. Please?

*S*S*

"I said 'no', Georgia Ann," Fred Weasley leaned back in his chair and regarded his daughter. It was times like these that he regretted very much the parenting karma he had put in place in his youth. "You are grounded. For 2 weeks. That means you don't get to have fun. For 2 weeks. That means no broom."

Georgia kicked the toe of her shoe against the front of her father's desk in his study. "You would have done the same thing."

"Smashed a chair through a window?" Fred raised an eyebrow. "No."

"If Uncle George was missing—

"Stop." Fred held up a hand. "Don't go any further. This is not a 'twin-thing'. Do you know how I know that?"

Georgia scowled at him.

"I'll take that as a 'no, sir'," Fred leaned his forearms on the desktop. "If you want me to believe that you broke that window out of anything other than a reckless temper tantrum, answer me this: What was your plan after you smashed a window maybe 100 feet in the air?"

Georgia was quiet. She hadn't really thought that far in advance.

Fred nodded at his child's silence. "Exactly what I thought. Go upstairs, please, and think about how you are going to behave these two weeks as to not land yourself on restriction for the whole summer."

As the redhead left, Elizabeth came into the office, closing the door behind her and crossing her arms, looking at her husband as he rubbed a hand over his face. "Remember when we could just take off with no warning?"

Fred chuckled. "Like to hunt for Horocruxes?"

"Well, that was certainly more fun than this week," Elizabeth perched herself on the edge of the desk, putting her feet on either side of Fred on the chair. "Georgia told me that you were downright terrible to her just now."

"I didn't even raise my voice," Fred rolled his eyes. "She always seems fine until she remembers that restriction means she isn't allowed to do anything she wants to do."

*S*S*

Dear Sevannah,

I tried to firecall, but your father said you were on restriction. I suppose that was inevitable, punching a girl in the nose. Not that most lady-like thing I've ever seen you do, certainly. My family is very prominent, Sevannah. There has always been talk, and there always will be talk. I ignore it, as should you. The chatter has nothing to do with you and I. Let me take care of Millicent Goyle and people like her. They aren't worth literal blood on your hands.

My father is horrified, of course. He's using the incident as a sign that you don't understand what would be expected of you in a relationship with me. You know I don't care what he thinks when it comes to you. But if you could stop giving him ammunition against you, it would certainly make my life easier.

I'll see you in two weeks, Gingersnap. Write me back. I miss you. Summer sucks.

Love,

Scorpius

Sevannah folded the letter back into its envelope and sighed. Leave it to Scorpius to start a note with a formal diatribe and finish it with a line that reminded her that he was 16. Scorpius might be immune to the talk about his family, but she wasn't. She wasn't sure that she ever could be.

She hadn't had much contact with Draco's mother. She had been very ill most of Draco's life, and had died just before Sevannah entered Hogwarts. Scorpius had been devastated by his mother's death, and the fact that Draco had gone even further inside himself upon losing his wife. Scorpius had once told her that Astoria had been a kind of moral compass for his father, drawing him away from the pureblooded ideals of his upbringing. He had been softer when she was alive.

Sevannah could see that for herself, even as a child. She remembered Mr. Malfoy being kind to her when she and Scropius would play. She had never understood her parents' aversion to the man until the summer she was 11. But after that summer, he had become increasingly cold toward her, and the fact that she had gotten more and more serious with his son didn't help matters.

It was common in the Wizarding world to marry young. People might take pause at a 14-year-old having a serious boyfriend in the Muggle world, but no one batted an eye when young witches and wizards committed to each other. That wasn't to say that Fred didn't try to slow her down at every turn, but he could hardly talk, having chased Elizabeth since he laid eyes on her at the Sorting.

It wasn't their age that was causing the problem in the Malfoy household. It was ages and ages of old family society that dictated what kind of girl Scorpius should be with, and it wasn't the kind of girl who punched people.

*S*S*

Dear Scorpius,

If you are waiting for me to stop defending you, you'll be waiting an awfully long time. Maybe your father should be horrified that Millicent is such an awful person.

By the way, you weren't "taking care of it". You were letting her be awful to both of us.

I might be busy in two weeks. I do not miss your Malfoy attitude. I love summer. It is awesome.

Sevannah

Scorpius read the letter twice before sliding it back into the envelope, shaking his head. Malfoy attitude indeed, he thought to himself. She was infuriating. This was the kind of nonsense that made her such a hard sell to his father. He pulled the letter back out and read it again. You weren't taking care of it. He tossed the parchment on his bed. The little redheaded spitfire pissed him off. A lot. But she was right. Almost always. Her sense of justice that leaned toward revenge might actually endear her to Draco, as much as she would never admit that she had anything in common with the older Malfoy.

He stalked into the outer room in his suite and snatched a piece of parchment from the pile on his desk. Taking a quill, he penned a quick response.

Dear Sevannah,

You will be busy in two weeks. Busy with me. You love my Malfoy attitude. It is awesome.

Love,

Scorpius

*S*S*

Sevannah frowned at the most recent letter. Why was he such an arse? And why did she put up with it? She dug her toes into the sofa in frustration.

The truth was that despite how much his attitude ticked her off in situations like this, it was that cocksure personality that made her feel so safe with him. He had always protected her, since they were small and playing under her grandfather's watchful eye. Scorpius often led her straight into trouble, but she knew he would never let her get hurt.

Sevannah had never been bold, not the way Georgia was. But with Scorpius, she came close. With him, she talked to people she didn't know. She tried things she never would have tried on her own. He had given her her first bite of sushi, taken her on her first illegal trip into Knockturn Alley, and had held her hand the first time she went cliff diving in a wizarding park near Malfoy Manor. The ground below had been charmed to bounce. The danger was low, but her fear was high, and she never would have done it if Scorpius hadn't jumped with her.

"Sevannah?" Elizabeth appeared at the door to the living room, carrying their tea tray. "I made cookies."

"I thought I was in trouble," Sevannah said.

"You are," her mother said impassively, setting the tray on the table. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Mum, I know, I won't punch anyone else. I don't think."

Elizabeth smiled a little. "Actually, I wanted to talk about the other thing. You. Scorpius. In bed together. Trying to send your father to an early grave."

Sevannah blushed. "It's not like that, Mum. I swear."

Elizabeth nodded. "But someday, it might be like that." She smoothed her daughter's hair and handed her a teacup. "And that's okay. When you're ready. And he's ready. And you love each other." The older witch took a long sip. "I know what this feels like, sweetheart. But I also know that you can change so much at your age. And so can he."

Sevannah took a cookie off the plate on the tray. "You and dad got together when you were our age."

Elizabeth looked at her daughter. "Depends on what you mean when you say 'got together'."

"Mum! Gross!"

"I'm glad you feel that way," Elizabeth tried not to smile. "My relationship with your dad was fired in the kiln of war," she said, sighing a little bit. "You get serious fast when you might not survive." She took another sip. "You don't need to go fast, love. You have plenty of time. We made sure of it."

Sevannah stared into her tea. "He's mad at me. Sort of. About punching Millicent."

Elizabeth smiled. "Mad at you, 'sort of'?"

"He's being… impossible. Wants to tell me what to do."

Her mother handed her another cookie. "Men can be like that," she tilted her head a little to look at her daughter's face. "Merlin knows your father went through periods of thinking he was in charge of me." Her smile widened. "All the more reason to go slow, Sev. Relationships are partnerships. He's not in charge of you. You are in charge of yourself. But relationships don't work when you ignore what the other person thinks or wants or feels. You owe him a certain amount of compromise, and he owes you the same thing." Elizabeth put her teacup down. "He's right. You shouldn't be hitting people. It reflects a lack of self-control. And you're right. It's okay for you to defend him."

"Have you been reading my mail?" Sevannah glared at her mother.

Elizabeth laughed. "No. Your grandpa is the king of Slytherin propriety, remember? I imagine that Scorpius has the same thoughts when it comes to a scene like the one you caused." She ruffled her daughter's hair. "If your dad asks, this conversation was all about not having sex until you're 40. Got it?"

Sevannah smirked. "Got it." She looked at her mother's abdomen. "Does it kick?"

Elizabeth put her hand on her stomach. "Not yet. Maybe in a couple of months. Orion and Lily kicked at about 20 weeks. You and Georgia were a little earlier."

"That was probably Georgia," Sevannah finished her tea.

"I don't know," Elizabeth put her arm around her second born. "Maybe something made you mad."

Sevannah grimaced. "It was like this wave… I couldn't control it."

Elizabeth pulled her daughter closer. "You have your father's temper."

"That's what Grandpa said. He said it's better than yours, except he didn't like cleaning up after a fight."

"You, my dear, are lucky that he believes the sun rises and sets with his grandchildren." Elizabeth smiled into the red hair at her side. "I don't remember him being nearly as calm in the past."

Sevannah turned to look at her mother. "Who did you hit?"

Elizabeth looked toward the ceiling. "I don't remember saying I hit anyone."

A slow smile spread across Sevannah's face. "Mum?"

"Your father and I may have been in a physical altercation with Mr. Malfoy during a Quidditch game."

"Mum!"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm not saying it was okay, because it wasn't. And you were wrong as well," she smoothed her daughter's hair. "I'm just saying that kids make mistakes."

"Grandpa must have been really mad."

Elizabeth snorted. "Grandpa was really mad. Actually he was mad about a lot of things, but most of it was the fighting." She sent the tea tray back to the kitchen. "No more of that, understand?"

Sevannah nodded. "Daddy said if I do it again, he's going to make me come home every day after classes. Or he's going to hang me by my toenails in the basement. One or the other."

Elizabeth smirked. "Well, then I would stop punching people if I were you."

*S*S*

Teddy Lupin sat nervously at his godparents' kitchen table. "If I tell you something, can you promise not to tell anyone?"

Elizabeth looked at the young wizard from the sink where she was rinsing carrots. "As long as it falls under the Remus Rule."

Teddy fidgeted. "Yeah. I mean, it does. I think." He worried the hem of his sleeve. "I mean it's not bad. At least I don't think so."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "You aren't moving, are you? Remus said you said you were maybe going to go work with Charlie."

"No," Teddy shook his head. "I don't think so anyway. It was kind of an interesting notion, but I'm not sure I want to be burnt and clawed for the rest of my life."

Elizabeth shuddered. "Sounds terrible. Why don't you go to school? Try to figure out what you want to do?

"You sound like Uncle Severus," Teddy smirked. "I think I might be too old for that. I'll probably just work at the shop forever." He grimaced. "It's not like I have tuition money just lying around."

Elizabeth frowned. "Of course you do." She looked at her godson's blank face. "Your father never told you."

"About what?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Your father and mine are cut from the same cloth. Honestly." Waving her wand, she sent her patronus to Spinner's End, requesting the presence of her favorite stubborn werewolf.

Remus stepped out of the floo a few minutes later. "Stubborn? What am I in trouble for now?" He ruffled his son's hair, which was spiraling through the color spectrum. "What's wrong?"

The spiraling was a sure sign that Teddy was worried or frightened. Remus took a seat beside the young metamorphmagus.

Elizabeth looked hard at her godfather. "Teddy doesn't think he has the money to go to University."

Remus looked uncomfortable.

"I found that curious," Elizabeth continued, "because I get quarterly statements that say otherwise."

Remus sighed. "I was going to tell him."

"Remus Lupin, were you not the one who told my father he was being an idiot when he had a problem with me inheriting money?"

Remus pressed his lips together. "First, I don't know that those were the words I used. Second, this is different entirely. And third, I was going to tell him."

"Tell me what?" Teddy looked from Remus to Elizabeth and back again.

Remus cleared his throat. "When you were a baby, Elizabeth set up a trust with money and property for your future. I imagine by now the balance is considerable, considering your godmother has no sense of reason whatsoever."

Teddy looked at Elizabeth. "I can't take your money—

"Actually it's your money," Elizabeth said firmly. "You will take it, and you will use it to figure out what you want to do with your life."

"You have a million kids—

"I have four and a half children, thank you," Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "And this account is not taking food from their mouths. Now," she summoned a file box of paperwork. "Your father is technically the trustee until you are 25, or married, whichever comes first." She looked at her godson. "Planning on marrying Victoire any time soon?"

Teddy met her eyes, then dropped them to the table, pointedly not looking at his father.

Elizabeth felt a wave of realization and grimaced. "You wanted to talk to me about something…"

Teddy nodded.

Remus looked at his son. "Teddy?"

The metamorphmagus muttered something, his hair turning a dull grey.

"What?" Remus put his hand on the back of the younger wizard's neck.

"I thought Dad might think it was stupid," Teddy whispered. "I thought maybe you would help me tell him."

"Edward Remus Lupin," Remus tilted his son's face to look at him. "When have I ever thought something you wanted was stupid?"

Teddy shrugged. "Always a first time, I guess. And I didn't want you… I mean sometimes when big thing like this happen… I didn't want to upset you."

"Merlin's teeth," Remus moved his chair closer so he could put an arm around the younger wizard. "You're right," he said softly. "When big things happen, I wish very much that your mother was here. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't make those things happen."

Teddy shrugged again. "Elizabeth…"

Elizabeth cleared her throat. "That's a feeling that will always be there, Ted. I'm sorry. I still have it. Have it every time I've told your Uncle Severus that he's getting another grandchild, because it's like telling him that it's one more thing my mother is missing." She looked at Remus. "But your dad is right. You can't stop living because of it."

"Is this like a single-father club you two formed?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "I was obviously not thinking clearly when I created this little partnership."

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, "I think you were thinking exactly of this situation," she locked eyes with Remus. "You knew that he would need a translator."

Remus cleared his throat. "Well. You certainly needed one. Merlin knows you and your father couldn't communicate if you were sharing a brain."

Elizabeth smiled at him, and turned her attention back to the young man next to her. "It looks like I've served my purpose." She noted Teddy's hair had settled into a golden auburn color. "I'll leave you two to figure out the details." She went back around the counter to continue with dinner. "Of course, if you had asked my opinion, which you did not," Elizabeth smirked at Teddy as she filled a pot with water. "I would say that you might want to wait until after you finish school. But that's just one woman's opinion. And you should both stay for dinner. A strange side-effect of this pregnancy is that my eyes for food are bigger than my entire household's stomachs."

Teddy stretched his long legs under the table, then paused to look at her. "Dad said money and property?"

"Oh yes," Elizabeth said casually. "Your father gave me trouble about starting the account, so I added a house."

Remus rolled his eyes. "That'll show me."

*S*S

Author's Note: To all my readers who have stuck with this story through its loooooooong hiatus, I appreciate you! I'm considering wrapping up this part of the story soon, and starting a story in this universe that focuses on one of the next generation kids. So, readers, who would you like to be the focus of that story? Georgia, Sevannah, Teddy? Scorpius?