Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!

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Hugo Weasley sighed to himself as he stood from his bed late one Saturday morning and shuffled towards the boys' lavatory high in Gryffindor Tower.

His eyes widened when he walked in the quiet room and found James crouched on the floor next to his bubbling cauldron.

"What's all that, then?" Hugo scowled.

"What's all what?" James asked without looking up as he added a few, tattered leaves to the mixture.

"What on earth are you doing, James?" Hugo asked.

"I….am using….." James said distractedly while the mixture hissed until he gave it another form stir, "The formula I memorized last night…..from the book I came across during my search through the restricted section."

Hugo's eyes widened as the last of his lingering drowsiness faded away, "...The Restricted Section? How'd you manage that?"

James flashed Hugo an impish grin that eerily resembled the one his father often wore.

"How did you do it, you cheeky bastard?" Hugo huffed.

"With my Mum's Invisibitly Cloak, of course." James shrugged.

Hugo gasped, "She gave that to you?! My Dad's told me all about it, they used to-"

"She didn't give it to me, exactly." James shrugged, "But she would have if I had asked her…..before I left for school. She never used it anymore, she won't need it."

A frown of concern crossed Hugo's face as his eyes moved from James to the cauldron before he frowned, "...Is this to do with what you were you raving about the other night?"

"Are you asking if this is to bring my next sister into the world?" James calmly asked, "It is to assist with that, yes. All my Mum needs to do is have a swallow of this and-"

"-You're really going to give that to your Mum?" Huge frowned.

"Why shouldn't I?" James blinked as he lifted his eyes to meet Hugo's disapproving frown.

"Suppose you make a mistake….." Hugo shrugged, "What if it all went…..poorly? You don't have much experience brewing after all, I can help if you like, but I'm no expert either."

"I am the Minister's son and heir to Slytherin." James smirked in a rare moment of Tom-like arrogance, "brewing Potions is in my blood. What could possibly go poorly?"

While Hugo brushed his hair and teeth, he couldn't help but keep glancing over at James in silent disbelief.

Although he trusted his friend, he couldn't shake the fear he felt for James's mother, in the event that his brave gamble did not pay off the way he expected.

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That evening, while James finished his work and spent the night chatting by the fire with his friends, Mae once again crept out of the castle, undetected.

Instead of smirking at her own malicious use of her affected arm to hide the noise of her footsteps and the beating of her heart from Filch and Mrs, Norris's detection, she kept a serious frown on her face as she made her way down to the Black Lake.

Crouching behind a large rock, Mae braced herself to wait.

She watched the moon move across the sky as time passed.

Minutes.

Hours.

Close to gnashing her teeth and giving up, Mae let one more frustrated hiss escape her clenched jaw before she looked over the rock for the hundredth time that night.

Her eyes widened as she found herself gazing at the mysterious woman at last.

As the woman turned her back to Mae's position, Mae took the opportunity to rise and approach.

"YOU!" Mae shouted, "STOP!"

The woman turned around with her glittering eyes wide in surprise as she watched the young girl run towards her.

Regardless of her surprise, a scowl marred her face as Mae closed the distance between them and gazed up at her with a frown.

"Who are you?...And what are you doing here?" Mae asked.

"...Daughters of the land offer me little interest." The woman shrugged.

Mae didn't seem intimidated at all as she gazed up at the woman who towered over her, with her wet, dark hair hanging like a willow's mossy branches around her shoulders to cover her most obscene bits.

Mae's good looks almost seemed human compared to the woman, who stood with a smirk as if she realized exactly how enviable her flashing, violet eyes and poreless skin would be to any envious female who gazed upon her.

"What about a daughter of scales?" Mae asked, "I'm Mae…….Mae Riddle. I'm descended from-"

The woman scowled.

"...-Whoever you are descended from, your parents named you aptly." The woman huffed, "Go away from me, little child, I have other ways to spend my night than hearing your twisted tongue rattle."

"If you'd let me finish, I could tell you more!" Mae hissed.

"Sirens are not known for their patience." The woman replied.

Mae drew in a silent breath as she realized exactly what's kind of creature she had been able to find.

If anyone had been watching from the castle, they would have seen the two predators hiss at each other for another moment before they both disappeared under the Black Lake's dark waters.

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Far away from Hogwarts, Harriet looked forward to the coming summer, anxious to be reunited with James and to spend the evenings in Tom's arms.

After she rose one morning, while her husband began his day at the office, she decided to take Mark with her for a few hours of shopping in Diagon Alley.

Mark always relished his outings with his mother, free from the scathing eyes of his disapproving father and from his ominous sister's woeful prescense.

Harriet happily chatted with her youngest son while they toured through a few stores.

She purchased ice cream for them both from Florean Fortescue's.

Mark even found himself becoming the owner of a few new flying toys and several items from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes that he looked forward to sharing with James.

He found their last stop before lunch quite puzzling.

As he walked beside his mother while she strolled through shelves of fluffy, ornate blankets, Mark didn't understand the intent of her search.

"Mum?" He asked quietly, "...Why did we come in here? Dont we have enough blankets at home?"

Harriet smiled over at her little boy before she turned back to her hunt while she explained, "You're right, sweetheart, we do…..I'm afraid Mummy's in need of a new one, just now, though. Give me another minute to find a good one and we'll be on our way."

Harriet's answer was cryptically honest with her youngest child in an attempt to preserve Mark's innocence without blatantly lying to him.

Like most curious children his age, Mark unwittingly had no intention of making the situation easy for his mother.

"But what do you need a new blanket for, Mum, if we already have enough?" Mark blinked.

Before she turned to face him, Harriet's lips curled into a small smile at his innocent inquiry.

She let out a silent sigh before she glanced over and gave him a general statement that she hoped would assuage him, "I need another blanket to make me feel better, sweetheart."

"Are you ill, Mum?!" Mark gasped.

Harriet held back a laugh at his innocent concern before she shook her head, "No, dear, not at all!...You're a bit young to understand now, love," She chuckled, "...But one day, once you've grown up and established yourself in the world and gotten married……this will all make sense."

Mark frowned.

Harriet noticed he stood even closer to her after their brief discussion, as if her darling little boy sought to protect his beloved mother from some unseen assailant.

To comfort him, Harriet took Mark by the hand while she finished browsing.

He blinked up at her as she stood at the counter and paid for her purchase, which she had decided would be two, fluffy, luxurious red blankets.

As Harriet looked over and met Mark's smile with one of her own, her heart fluttered in pleasant realization as she beheld Tom's clear resemblance in their youngest son's face.