"Who's that next to your dad, Scorpius?" Albus asked as they entered the Great Hall. He waved at his dad.
"No clue." Scorpius didn't recognize Amethyst but did wave to his dad. Draco waved back and then motioned for him to look up. "Woah!"
"What?" Albus looked at his friend and the followed his gaze to the ceiling. It mimicked the sky outside as usual, but he noticed the addition. "Do you think it's real?"
"I hope so." Scorpius said as they sat at the Slytherin House table. More and more astonished gasps filled the Hall as more students noticed. Even some of the professors were looking up at the phoenix flying overhead.
"It's got to be an illusion. Phoenixes are way too rare, not to mention hard to tame." Scorpius heard a Ravenclaw say to someone next to them.
"Scorpius, look." Albus nudged Scorpius when he noticed what was laying by Draco's feet.
"What?" Scorpius followed to where Albus was pointing. "No way that's a real, pure kneazle…" He was so amazed by the creatures, he wasn't sure which one to watch.
"I'd say Ember's a hit." Draco leaned over and whispered to Amethyst. "Though Scorpius and Albus have also spotted Orion it seems." He nodded in the direction of his son. Amethyst noticed the two boys looking in their direction. One was the spitting image of a younger Draco and the other looked a lot like Harry.
"He looks a lot like you, Draco. I'd like to meet him." Amethyst whispered. Draco's heart soared with pride.
"I fear Ember is becoming more and more of a distraction." McGonagall came over to Amethyst after the Sorting Ceremony. "If you could at least try and call her down so I can make my announcements and introductions, that would be great. Plus it would squash the illusion theories."
"Right." Amethyst stood. "Draco, could you take her for a minute?" She handed him the sling as he nodded. She took a deep breath and then stood in front of everyone. She stretched out her arm and then whistled "Scotland the Brave". A few minutes later passed and then Ember responded with her phoenix song. As she circled the room one last time, she began her descent and landed on Amethyst's arm.
"Before she sits down, I'd like to introduce Professor Amethyst Abbott, the new Care of Magical Creatures professor." McGonagall said before Amethyst sat back down. The students clapped vigorously as she smiled and waved. Ember perched herself on a perch behind her that had been set up for that reason. "Now." McGonagall raised her hands and the room fell silent. "I must remind students that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Especially at night. There is one more person I should introduce. Mr. Draco Malfoy…" She had to pause as murmurs erupted from the students. "Mr. Draco Malfoy will be a guest lecturer for Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. I expect students to be respectful to all our guest lecturers." She stressed the word "all".
"Go, Dad!" Scorpius shouted and students laughed.
"No special treatment for students whose parents are at Hogwarts." McGonagall chuckled at Scorpius' outburst. "Now, let's eat!" The plates on the tables were filled with all kinds of food. Food was also provided for Ember and Orion.
"I'll introduce you to Scorpius now if you'd like." Draco said as they finished eating. He still has the baby hippogriff nestled against his chest.
"Okay." Amethyst stood up and followed Draco to the Slytherin table where Scorpius and Albus were finishing their puddings. Orion trotted along behind her.
"Hi, Dad." Scorpius turned to look at his father as they approached.
"Scorpius, Albus, this is Professor Amethyst Abbott." Draco introduced the boys. "Scorpius is mine. Albus belongs to Harry and Ginny."
"Is that an actual kneazle?" Albus asked as Orion jumped onto the table and then onto Amethyst's shoulders.
"Yes. His name is Orion." She smiled and pointed out three white dots on his front paw that looked like Orion's Belt. "And the phoenix is Ember."
"Dad, what's that?" Scorpius pointed to the sling when it started to move.
"Care of Magical Creatures first lesson, but you'll have to wait till class to find out." Amethyst said before Draco could answer. "Do you want me to take her?"
"Not yet." Draco found himself growing attached to the little, black hippogriff. Amethyst's left robe sleeve shifted as she reached for the sling. Draco was once again reminded of his stupid antics as a youth.
"How did you get that scar?" Scorpius asked when he noticed. Amethyst looked at Draco.
"A story for another day, young Malfoy. Time for you lot to head to bed." Amethyst said. She noticed the group of kids around them had grown by four.
"My brother, James. My sister, Lily. And my cousins, Rose and Fred." Albus introduced the new comers when one more joined them.
"And you are?" Amethyst looked at the boy.
"Lysander Scamander." The boy said quietly.
"…" Amethyst looked at Harry who nodded. "It's nice to meet you all, now, off to bed. Want to have a good night's rest for the first day of classes." The kids all waved and then headed to their respective houses.
"Lysander, Luna's son?" Amethyst looked at Harry again.
"He and his twin brother, Lorcan, are first-years." Ginny said.
"Yeah, sorted into Ravenclaw like their mother." Amethyst remembered hearing their names during the Sorting Ceremony. "What is she doing now? I know she went into magizoology."
"Now that the boys are in school, she's working full time for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She's helping to expand the classifications on some more obscure beasts." Hermione answered trying to restrain an eye roll. "Her husband, also in magizoology, works for the Daily Prophet."
"Not surprising Rolf went into magizoology…" Amethyst smirked. "He is the grandson of Newt Scamander after all…" She clarified when she noticed the confused looks on their faces. As soon as she said the name they all groaned at their lack of connection.
"So, I hear there's a charm that will protect something from spiders?" Ron changed the subject.
"Told you he'd want it." Harry smiled. They made their way out into the Entrance Hall. "We should head to bed. Back to work tomorrow." He sighed. Most of their guest lectures were later in the term.
"I'll walk Amethyst back to the paddock." Draco said.
"I'll go, too, I want to check on the babies." Neville spoke up.
"Goodnight." They went their separate way. Amethyst, Draco, and Neville headed to the hippogriff paddock. Hagrid was already there checking on the babies.
"How are they?" Neville asked as they entered the paddock. They were aware, especially Draco, of the adult hippogriffs watching them. Flamebeak kept his eyes on Draco. Draco took a step back as Flamebeak started to move towards him.
"It's okay, Flamebeak." Amethyst said in a soothing voice as she stood between him and Draco.
"Why is he…?" Draco stopped walking backwards. In fact, he almost stopped breathing.
"He's just being a protective dad." Amethyst looked back at Draco while stroking Flamebeak's neck. "Something I'm sure you can relate to." Flamebeak seemed to understand as he relaxed. Draco bowed slightly to the hippogriff who returned the bow.
"The last time you stood between me and a hippogriff…" Draco trailed off as he glanced at Amethyst's left hand.
"Clearly, I didn't learn my lesson." She teased.
"Even though I told you never do it again." He smiled and shook his head. "Never listened to me, did you?"
"No, not really." Amethyst's smile faded as she thought back to their time as students. "Sometimes you needed protected, even from yourself."
"Never really felt like anyone was truly on my side. It was easier to be nasty, which only made things worse." He paused to organize his thoughts. "Standing face to face with Dumbledore, knowing what I was supposed to do… Every fiber of my being knew it was wrong; I honestly don't know what I would have done had Snape not shown up. There were Death Eaters there to make sure it was done." He looked up at the sky and then back to Amethyst. "I was horrible to you, and everyone else. I don't think I will ever be able to make amends."
"That is why McGonagall asked you to guest lecture." Amethyst said after a while. "You have remorse for your actions and choices and you are trying to make amends. You've realized that what you were taught was not the right way to be." She squeezed his shoulder and smiled warmly at him. Draco nestled the baby into her spot and watched as Flamebeak nuzzled her.
"Everything's set, Amethyst." Neville said as he approached them. "Ready to head back to the castle?" He looked at Draco.
"I'll catch up." Draco said. Neville walked to the front of Hagrid's cottage and waited. Draco turned to look at Amethyst. He bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
"What…?" Her heart sputtered and didn't seem to regain its normal rhythm for several minutes.
"You will never know how much those letters and notes meant to me. How they kept me going that year." His grey eyes bore into her violet ones as he willed her to understand. For a split second, he found himself wondering if she would ever look at him as something more. Then he thought about Astoria and the life he should still have. "Goodnight."
"Night." Amethyst watched as Draco joined Neville and the two head up to the castle. She shook her head and turned to face the hippogriffs. "Get a grip, Amethyst." She chastised herself.
"How long before you tell that boy how you really feel?" Hagrid was standing near the fence line with Silvermist.
"He just lost his wife and it seems like he is still struggling with the past… so not any time soon." She shook her head. "Never, probably."
"Why didn't you tell him back then?" Hagrid was curious.
"Hagrid, remember what he was like back then?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm a half-blood, remember…"
"Right. Sorry." He said sheepishly. They sat down on the steps of the cottage. There was a comfortable silence between them as Amethyst rested her head on his massive shoulder.
"I wasn't just talking when I said that you have been more of a dad to me than my own father ever was. I never went home at Christmastime. Hogwarts has always been home to me. It just took some time for me to come back." She said looking up at the sky. Orion was sitting by her feet, purring loudly.
"I know what you mean." He sighed. "You have become the daughter I never had. I hope you will stay for a very long time, but right now I reckin' we're the only ones still awake."
"Probably so. Goodnight, Hagrid." She stood up and made her way to the tent that was still set up inside the paddock.
"Night!" Hagrid called after her. He looked at the tent and then up to the castle. He wasn't a fool; he had noticed the way Draco and Amethyst looked at each other. He silently hoped that one day they would be honest about their feelings, but he didn't count on it being any time soon.