In the months that Draco and Hermione had been learning how to play quidditch, they had gotten quite good. If Lucius said so himself. They were exceptional chasers. And the synchronicity they had helped them be good beaters. Neither of them was a grand keeper, but they were decent enough.

Strangely enough, seeker was not a position either of them particularly liked to play. They were good at it, but didn't enjoy it. It was typically the most prestigious position on the team. If a team won, it was usually because their seeker caught the snitch. If they lost, it was usually blamed on the seeker.

Lucius thought that it might be the way they could read each other almost intuitively that made playing against each other tricky. When Draco played keeper, he could block Blaise and Theo's shots perfectly. With Hermione, it was about half and half.

Hermione's rates were similar. She could block Draco more often, but that was usually attributed to the fact that she could distract him much more effectively. She had Draco wrapped around her finger, and neither of them knew it.

A few weeks before Hermione's seventh birthday, she, Draco, Blaise, and Theo were all dresses in tiny sized quidditch gear.

"Don't they look darling?" Narcissa cooed.

Helena smiled and pulled a disposable camera from her bag. She clicked a few photos of Hermione smiling brightly while the boys all looked confused. It didn't' look like any camera they had ever seen. Helena figured that those pictures would be something to laugh over later.

"Come on guys," Hermione urged. "Smile."

They all flashed brilliant photogenic smiles. The camera clicked and was put away. Helena made a mental note to send copies of the photos to all the boys' parents. They should appreciate just how handsome their sons were.

"What was that?" Theo asked.

"A camera."

"I've never seen a camera like that," Blaise said.

"Neither have I," Draco added.

While Draco had often been at the Granger's house, he had mostly seen her larger, fancier camera. It was closer looking to what he was used to. Wizarding cameras hadn't changed much since their inception.

"I'm glad to see that you took my advice about the camera," Severus said.

"You were right that I wouldn't want to risk my better camera," Helena said. "And I managed to get some interesting facial expressions. Remind me to tell you of the time I got them to try moussaka."

It was only years of sporting a frown and dismal expression that kept Severus from smiling. As it was, the corners of his mouth twitched. He would have loved to have seen that.

"I know that with a disposable camera, the pictures won't move, but might I get a copy of one of those?"

"I was going to give a set to Narcissa, and a few pictures to Theo's father and Blaise's mother. It would be no trouble at all to get you as many as you want."

Severus nodded. He really only wanted a single picture of his godson looking less than perfect. Draco looked proud and haughty in just about every photo Severus owned of him. His favourite, however, was the picture of two-year-old Draco playing in the mud.

Severus had taken that one himself. Narcissa Malfoy liked to pride herself on how elegant and refined she and her family were. All of the pictures in the manor were staged. She would have been less than thrilled to find the picture that Severus had taken.

It was one of Severus' most prized possession. Not THE most. That was reserved for a stuffed owl gifted to him by a certain Lily Evans what felt like a lifetime ago. He couldn't bear to part with it, and it still had a special spot in his room. Not that he would ever admit that.

He also certainly didn't want to tell Narcissa that he had a picture of Draco looking like something other than the little prince she thought he was. Even if he was becoming more and more sure that Helena Granger had a larger collection of photos like that than he had ever thought possible.

"Alright then," John Granger said. "Who's ready to play?"

All four of them shot hands up. "Me. Me. Me." It was impossible to tell exactly where each voice ended.

"Alright. So here's what we're going to do," Lucius said. "Blaise and Theo, you're going to be chasers against Draco and Hermione."

The boy's faces fell.

"We're going to get creamed," Theo moaned.

"Badly," Blaise added.

The adults looked at Draco and Hermione, who had merciless grins on their faces. Theo and Blaise might have known that they were going to be beaten, but they had no clue how badly.

"Are Lucius and John sure this is a good idea?" Severus asked.

Narcissa shook her head. "Not really, but those two put if they get split up. And it would be horribly unfair to have them against each other."

"I swear that Hermione gets half of her shots against Draco in the hoop because she does some fancy trick and he can't help but watch," Helena said.

"I'm just glad it was those two that got themselves into a magically binding betrothal. They seem like they'll be able to handle themselves as they get older," Severus grumbled.

He was feeling a little jealous. He had hoped that Lily would reciprocate his feelings one day. And he didn't like that Draco, who was much too young to even understand romantic love, had found someone who he was sure to fall in love with. Or at least like her enough that being married wouldn't be a tedious part of life.

"Maybe," Narcissa mused. "They're still going to get into trouble. You know that. And I'm expecting you to keep them out of the worst of it."

"You know that I'll do what I can, but I'm not in charge of Dumbledore."

"Who's Dumbledore?" Helena asked.

"I keep forgetting you don't know," Narcissa said. "Dumbledore is the headmaster at Hogwarts."

"Oh right. Hogwarts."

Severus barely kept a snort in. It was strange how this dynamic could bring out his emotions. But he was still having a hard time believing that Narcissa forgot that Helena was a muggle. With the way she and her husband dressed, it was almost impossible for them to be anything else.

He turned his attention back to the game the children were playing. Draco and Hermione were good. Really good. So good that he was considering trying to get them on the Slytherin team their first year.

Slow down, he told himself. They're only seven. Let them get sorted first.

A/N: Hopefully now there are less questions about how long it's been and where we are in the story line. I didn't think last chapter was confusing. But I know everything. At least concerning this. Also, I'm sorry it took so long to get it up. I've had a really bad cold. Still do actually. But I can't sleep. Hope things still make sense.