"This the last one?" Hugo asked, his voice a bit strained as he steadied the wooden beam.

"This should do it," Hagrid said jovially, raising a rather large hammer and pounding away at a sturdy nail. They'd already done this almost a dozen times, but Hugo doubted he would ever be fully prepared for the way his whole body shook as he worked to hold his part of the fence in place. It was with a sigh of relief that he let go of the beam after Hagrid completed securing it to the post.

"Blimey," said Hagrid, looking down over the fence that was now almost too high for Hugo to see over. "They sure "ave grown, 'aven't they?"

Hugo nodded in agreement, taking in the pack of young crup. Being half wolf, they were a bit more fierce than the average crup, and that had only grown more obvious with age. Still, the loyalty and pack mindset of both the wolves and the crups had served to make the "wrups" - as Hagrid liked to call them - even more devoted to their caretakers.

As soon as they were a bit older and more trained, they'd make fantastic guard dogs.

"You sure they'll be all right in the snow?" Hugo asked, looking up uncertainly at the ominous sky.

"They'll be fine, Hugo," Hagrid assured him. "Wolves spend their entire life out in the woods. It's wha' those warm coats er for."

Hugo nodded and followed Hagrid into the pen, crouching down almost immediately and scratching behind the ears of one of the pups that had come up to him. He'd tried awfully hard not to grow too fond of any in particular, but it had been impossible. Especially since Stella had taken to him almost immediately.

She was the only one whose coat had deviated from the traditional white and brown that crups usually had, coming out white and gray instead. All of them had thicker coats and tails, but only Stella had the distinct wolf color, along with two different shades of eyes - one blue and the other green.

If it were up to Hugo, he'd take her home with him for the holidays.

"Tha' should keep 'em from leapin' the fence," said Hagrid, giving a strong tug on the highest rail. One of the wrups had managed to get out the previous night and was only found by Hagrid the next morning. Changes had needed to be made to keep them in, and Hagrid preferred to do so without magic. Not minding a bit of manual labor himself, Hugo had been more than willing to help out.

"I'll swing by one last time in the morning, if that's okay," said Hugo, standing and brushing off his hands on his trousers.

"'Course ya can," said Hagrid, giving Hugo a firm clap on the back that nearly had him landing face down in the dirt. "Make sure to tell yer mum and dad I said 'hello'. And yer sister. Still hard to believe little Rosie's gettin' married."

Hugo grinned at the choke in Hagrid's voice, assuring him he'd pass on the message when he saw his family the following day.

The remainder of November and beginning of December had passed without much fanfare. The most interesting thing that had happened was the disappearance of Blaise Zabini - Scorpius' uncle and Corbin Zabini's father.

To the average observer, you would never suspect that anything traumatic had happened in the seventh-year-Slytherin's life. Hugo didn't see him that often, but when he did, he was usually carrying on with his friends. Charlotte Bray was at his side a fair amount as well, and their relationship dynamic was still something Hugo couldn't get a clear read on, but he had a feeling that Zabini was just using it as a distraction.

Of course, when he'd mentioned this to Charlotte, she hadn't exactly taken it well, and had refused to partner with Hugo in Care of Magical Creatures since.

This wasn't the only currently strained relationship. It seemed that for every pair that sorted themselves out, another would head into a downward spiral. Jill and Louis had finally gotten themselves together, and then Bobby and Lucy were talking even less than they had been before. The one time Hugo had ventured to ask his friend about it, Bobby had furrowed his brow and said he wasn't interested in talking.

Whatever was going on with the two of them was so unexpected that Hugo couldn't quite wrap his head around the reality of their estrangement. They'd barely spent a day apart the previous year.

The two people that were surprising everyone by actually getting on, were Lily and Caleb. Not that they were saying a whole lot to each other, but they were no longer avoiding the other's presence. There were even times where it almost seemed like they intentionally placed themselves around each other, which had all started the day Caleb had joined Lily and Hugo out on the grounds. It had been subtle looks and hidden smiles and an unspoken something in the air that was obvious to everyone - possibly including the two of them - ever since.

Hugo found himself rooting for Caleb and Lily to sort their shit out more than he'd anticipated. Though this was partly because he couldn't stand the tension much longer.

As he made his way back up towards the castle, anticipating another slightly awkward yet uneventful meal, Hugo noticed two figures making their way up the path towards the castle from Hogsmeade. It wasn't that abnormal. Alice came up to see Professor Bray fairly often, but this definitely wasn't her. In fact, as they grew closer, Hugo realized that one of the visitors actually happened to be a member of his own family, and one who wasn't a current student at Hogwarts.

They hadn't noticed him yet, and Hugo stopped in his tracks for a moment to watch them before blurting out, "Uncle Harry?"

"Pass the salt?" Lily asked, and Caleb scooted it down the table towards her immediately. She gave him a tentative smile as she began to salt her already perfectly seasoned potatoes.

Come on, Lily, she internally chastised herself. Why can't you pluck up the courage to start an actual conversation?

"It's not too much to ask, right?" said Louis, and Lily froze in fear for a moment, thinking he'd read her thoughts. "I mean, I might only be living there one more summer anyway. Can't they wait until then before they overhaul the place?"

Oh, right. Louis had been in the middle of ranting about the most recent letter he'd received from his mother. Apparently, Fleur had been hit with a bit of baby fever and was insisting on doing some remodeling of Shell Cottage to make things more grandchild-appropriate. One of her plans was to take the top floor - where there was a loft den and Louis' bedroom - and turn it into a guest suite for Teddy and Victoire and "any of my other children that have families one day," or so she'd informed her son. The plan was to have Louis move down into Vic's old room so they could get started right away.

"But the baby will be born by then," Lucy pointed out.

"And will it be living in our house? No! It'll be, what, a few months old? And it's not like they live out of the country. Why do they even need space to stay with Mum and Dad anyway?"

"It's her first grandbaby, Lou," said Molly in an understanding tone. "She's allowed to be excited."

"At the expense of her other children?" Louis challenged.

"You can come stay with my family this summer," Jill piped up from beside him. "There's always been a bit too much room in that house with just me and my parents. Actually," she said with wide and excited eyes, turning to look at everyone else, "you should all come sometime this summer! We've got plenty of spare rooms and my uncle just built us a home theater."

"A what?" Caleb asked, a skeptical look on his face. "Like, to put on plays and things?"

Lily nearly snorted into her pumpkin juice.

"No, like, to watch films," said Jill enthusiastically. "My mum's Muggle-born and she helps produce them."

"Really?" asked Louis, looking at his girlfriend in surprise. "I didn't know that."

Jill nodded. "Not to sound crass, but it's why my parents can afford such a huge house. My dad only works part-time doing freelance photography."

"Wait, so there are Muggle-borns who work in the Muggle world?" asked Caleb. Lily couldn't help rolling her eyes.

"You sound like such a pureblood," she teased, and Caleb gave her an affronted look.

"Not like that!" she corrected quickly. "Like in an oblivious way. You sound like my granddad. Of course there are witches and wizards working in the Muggle world. My mum's talked about people from Muggle newspapers that work with the Prophet when there's news that affects both worlds. And Dad's done the same with people in Muggle law enforcement. Some of the liaison positions are Muggles with family in the magical world, but the occasional Muggle-born will fill those positions as well."

Any offense Caleb might have taken fell away, and he looked more intrigued than anything. And he was actually looking at her.

"It's sort of what Rose does," Lily continued, determined to continue now that she had his attention and there'd been an unexpected momentum shift. "She works for a-"

"Hey, your dad's here," said Hugo, sliding in next to Lily and causing her to significantly deflate. Until she registered what her cousin had just said.

"What?" she asked, perking up and glancing around the Great Hall.

"He's up with the Headmistress along with another Auror," said Hugo, who now had the attention of the whole group. "Didn't tell me why, and I asked plenty of questions."

Various theories were thrown out as dinner continued and Lily tried not to worry. In all likelihood, he was there on Ministry business. But what would be important enough that the Head of the DMLE would show up rather than an Auror? There had to be something personal about the nature of his visit.

When dinner was ending and neither the Headmistress nor her father had made an appearance, Lily decided to let her curiosity get the better of her and headed towards McGonagall's office, dragging Hugo along with her. They'd just reached the corridor with the stone gargoyle at the end when it sprang aside, five people coming down the stairs and out of the office.

"Dad!" Lily called, unable to keep from grinning as she saw her father for the first time since September. He looked momentarily surprised, but was quick to smile in return as she hurried towards him.

"Hi, dearest," said Harry, his voice warm with affection as he welcomed his daughter into his arms. Lily gripped him tightly, more grateful than she would've anticipated to be seeing him a day early.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he released her. "Hugo said you wouldn't say."

"Right," said Harry, adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat as he looked at the other people who'd been in the Headmistress' office with him. Lily took a moment to register them too, unsurprised to see McGonagall and another Auror. But she immediately had even more questions when she noticed that Professor Simpson - Head of Slytherin - was also there, along with a rather put-out looking Riley Clarke.

"Miss Clarke will be staying with us over the holidays."

Lily couldn't help looking at her dad with wide eyes. "What? Why?"

"It's complicated, but necessary," he said, his tone suggesting it was best not to argue. "Professor Simpson and Auror Amaro are taking her back to her dorm to collect her things and then we're heading out."

"Now?" Lily asked, still a bit shocked and struggling to wrap her head around this new reality as Simpson and Amaro headed off with Riley. "Okay, well, it shouldn't take me long to grab my stuff and-"

"Lily, I'm sorry," her dad cut in, his voice softer as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You need to wait and take the train like everyone else."

"What?" she asked indignantly. "No, if she gets to go to my house, I should be allowed to go home as well!"

"Lily, please," said Harry, his hand now resting against her neck as he stroked her jaw soothingly with his thumb, looking at her with an unwavering expression. "There's a lot that I just can't tell you, but I need you to trust me when I say that this is important, all right?"

She wanted to argue. She wanted to make him cave and just let her come home. But she couldn't. She loved and respected him a bit too much to do that.

"Fine," she relented, leaning into his hand a bit. "But this is so not fair."

This earned her a slight chuckle from her father, who pulled her into another hug, his hand ruffling her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"I can't wait for you to be home," he whispered, so softly that it was doubtful Hugo or McGonagall heard him. Lily held on a little tighter.

McGonagall was dismissing them back to their dorms a moment later, encouraging them to make sure they were packed up and ready to catch the train the following day. For a while, they walked in silence, Lily trying to work through the myriad of thoughts running through her brain and feeling unable to know where to even begin a conversation. Thankfully, her cousin was able to get to a coherent thought first.

"Who the hell even is she?" Hugo asked as they began going up the final staircase that led to Gryffindor tower.

"Riley Clarke? She's a seventh year," said Lily, looking at Hugo uncertainly. "Slytherin. She tutored Rose in Ancient Runes all last year."

"Really?" asked Hugo, seeming dumbfounded by this news. "I suppose she looked a little familiar."

It was Lily's turn to be dumbfounded. "She was part of the reason your sister and Scorpius went so long without talking first term last year."

"Ooh," he said as realization dawned. "Rose went on and on about that. I totally forgot what the girl's name was, though. I didn't realize it was the same one that had tutored her."

Lily shook her head in disbelief. "For a rather insightful person, you can be a bit oblivious."

"Oi! I can't keep up with everything Rose tells me!" he argued. "Do you know anything else about her?"

Lily shrugged. "Not much, just that she's really good at Ancient Runes."

"That's right!" said Hugo. "Rose asked Caleb about her once since he's in her year."

"Really?" said Lily, thinking back to the striking features of Riley Clarke. "Did he say anything else about her?"

Hugo gave her a pointed look. "No, he didn't. And if you're so worried about him fancying another girl-"

"That's not-"

"-then I suggest you stop with this whole silent treatment thing or whatever the hell you're doing. It won't get you anywhere."

"I'm not doing a silent treatment," Lily hissed as they stopped in front of the portrait hole. "And I was actually making some progress before you showed up to dinner tonight."

"Oh, my bad," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Were you asking him to pass the butter again?"

Lily scowled, aiming a playful punch at her cousin's arm, but Hugo was quick to laugh and dodge the blow.

"You know," said Lily, deciding changing the subject would be her best course of defense. "You should try this hard to get Bobby to talk to Lucy."

"Or her to him," Hugo agreed with a long-suffering sigh. "They're both mad for each other but somehow convinced the other isn't. I don't even know how the hell that all became such a mess."

Lily could only nod in agreement as Hugo finally gave the Fat Lady the password and they stepped into the common room. Louis and Caleb were waiting for them and quickly got brought up to speed. They were just as surprised and confused by the news and could say nothing about the home life of Riley Clarke. Nothing to clue them into what was going on.

"If she just didn't have a home to go to anymore, she could go to Grimmauld Place, right?" asked Louis. Lily nodded. The house that her dad's godfather had left him had been refurbished to serve as a home for Hogwarts age witches and wizards without a home or family to go to during the holidays. Lily knew of only three students currently at Hogwarts that were taking advantage of this hospitality, so there was definitely enough space for more.

"And I think the only person she's close with is Zabini," Caleb pointed out. "So it's not like she can go to theirs for the holiday."

Whatever reason her father had for including a stranger in their holiday plans, Lily felt a determination to get to the bottom of it. Why couldn't Riley Clarke stay somewhere else? Why did Lily have to stay behind? Why couldn't her dad tell her what was going on?

When she relayed this new development to Lucy, Molly, Jill, and Charlotte on the train the next day, they were just as shocked and clueless as to the reasoning behind the guest in the Potter home. But they wasted no time in discussing the details they did know.

"How awkward will that be, though," said Jill. "Having a stranger in your home for Christmas."

"I know," Lily said with a groan. "And it's not like I'll have my brothers around all the time so it'll be even more weird to ignore her. Unless she ignores me. Maybe I'll just spend all my time out of the house. I can stay with Ted and Vic or James and Violet."

"How's Vic doing?" asked Charlotte. "Is she feeling any better?"

Lily shook her head. "No, still feeling sick most days last I heard. Staying with them might not be the best option, actually."

"I suppose Riley Clarke will be at all the family holiday stuff," said Molly, sounding more contemplative than bothered by this.

"Do you know her at all?" Lucy asked her sister. Molly shook her head.

"She really keeps to herself," said Molly. "Good student, I think, but hardly speaks up in class either."

"I should have Rose and Scorpius come over!" Lily said, suddenly struck by inspiration. "They both know her, though there might be some awkward history there. Still, it'll probably be nice for her to be around someone she knows. Maybe Scorpius can even bring his cousin."

"Wait, she's friends with Corbin?" asked Lucy, before turning to Charlotte in question.

"Yeah," said Charlotte, looking a bit uncomfortable as she twirled a strand of her dark hair. "I see them together some, but she always makes herself scarce when I'm around. I get the feeling she's not my biggest fan."

Lily gave a derisive snort. "I get the feeling she's not a fan of people in general. Sounds like a lovely person to spend a holiday with."

"Lily, you will try to be nice to her, right?" asked Molly. "We have no idea what's going on with her family. It'll probably be a much harder holiday for her than it will be for you."

A resigned sigh escaped Lily as she leaned her head back against the compartment bench, her cousin's words making her feel like a self absorbed prick.

"I know," she said. "I'll do my best, but it's going to be bloody uncomfortable."

A/N: It's been a bit but I'm happy to be updating! I've gotten a little busier, so I don't know how often I will be able to update anything, but know that I want to! And hearing from you makes me want to even more! Looking forward to hearing what you think in the reviews. This chapter is bringing us into some story elements I've been planning for a while. And it looks like PIAV is now just a bit ahead of LOF. I'll be catching that one up soon.