Ok so two things.

1. There is another OC introduced in this chapter. He is the only child of Theodore Nott and Luna Lovegood. His name is Theodore Nott III or Theo. I know. I tried so hard to give him another name. I tried calling him Teddy, but that made me think of Teddy Lupin. Hopefully it's not too confusing for yall. If I'm referring to the OC I will call him Theo. If I am referring to J.K. Rowlings Theodore Nott then he will be referred to as Theodore, Nott, or Mr Nott.In my universe Theodore Nott hated his father for being a death eater (Theodore Nott Sr.) and he wanted the name Theodore Nott to take on a new meaning instead of being associated with Voldy.

2. Also introduced in this chapter is the idea that Goblins can track magical genealogy via blood testing. This is not an original idea. I read about the idea in one of the first fanfics I read on this app. However, I have scanned all 300 reads in my history and couldn't find the exact fic the idea came from. I have tweaked the concept to suit my own story but the idea itself came from someone else. I just wanted to make that clear. I'm not trying to take credit for someone else's idea.

Happy Reading!

-Steph

"For the love of Salazar! I can take care of myself, Scorp! I don't need you getting all 'protective brother' on me." Cassie stood with her arms crossed, glaring at her twin who had just, for the umpteenth time, scared off a boy she was thoroughly enjoying snogging.

Cassiopeia Jean Malfoy was petite and fit, her hair was curly like her mother's, but was a shining platinum blonde like her father's. Also like her father were her eyes, a bluish grey that captivated anyone who looked at her. Her striking good looks made her very popular with the wizards and she knew it. She loved the attention and the way she could pretty much get anything she wanted with a bat of her eyelashes to just about any boy. She was cunning and clever, which made her a brilliant Slytherin. But as usual, her brother had to ruin her fun.

Scorpius Richard Malfoy was very much the image of a Gryffindor. Incredibly loyal with a good sense of honor and bravery, with a reckless streak and a bit of a hero complex. Though they were twins, their personalities were polar opposites, so it was no surprise they were sorted into "rival" houses. Scorpius looked down at his sister, also with arms crossed, rolling his eyes at her for cutting class to snog some stupid boy, again.

Tall and also slender, Scorpius reminded people of his father, especially with his curly platinum hair that he wore to his shoulders. The main difference, though, from him and his father is that his eyes copied that of his mother's. A deep chocolate brown that in the sunlight looked more like dark caramel or molasses.

"I'll stop scaring them away when you stop throwing yourself at every boy who wiggles his eyebrows at you. Mom and Dad raised you better than that, Cass!"

She narrowed her eyes and grabbed his shirt, yanking him down to eye level with her. "Don't bring mom and dad into this," she said through gritted teeth. She released him with a shove and headed towards the Slytherin common room, no use going to class now.

She walked in and sat down on the couch with a huff and stared into the fireplace. They would never understand. Mom, Dad, and Scorp, they always did the right thing, obeyed the rules.

Ok, well, maybe Mom and Dad did now, but she knew they didn't always, especially during the war. She had tried to get them to tell her and Scorp about it, but they shut down and said it was too ugly and hard to talk about. Scorp, ever being the perfect son, had left it there. Casie, however, was too curious and just had to know, so she kept pestering them.

Until one day when she was 15, she asked her father again about the war, and about his tattoo on his left forearm. She had noticed people staring at it and some even avoiding her father because of it. She didn't know why or what the mark meant, she deserved to know, or so she thought.

After nagging him for half an hour about telling her, Draco had finally had enough. He slammed his hands on the table, almost causing his tea to spill. He'd shouted that the war was none of her business and that she was cruel for trying to force him and Hermione to relive it. With that, he stormed out of the room and slammed the front door.

She stood in shock. She had never seen him lose his temper or scream at her—or anyone—before. She'd seen him angry. He would ball his hands into a tight fist and clench his jaw, but after a minute he would relax and be the epitome of calm. Not that night.

Cassie gave up asking after that. She didn't want to risk his temper again. Her father would later come and apologize for losing his temper, but he also said he wouldn't apologize for not being ready to talk about the war.

"But it had been almost 20 years! If not now, when?" She had said. She saw anger return to his eyes, and even though he kept his temper in check this time, she still regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth.

Coldly, he stared at her and told her, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to talk about it, so stop pushing. And don't you dare bother your mother with this either. The war was just as hard on her as it was on me, probably even more so. You need to learn some boundaries and how to respect them, even if you don't like them or they don't make sense to you."

That's just who she was though, always pushing too hard, being too loud, over-sharing, and just overall too much. Her mother said that's what made her a passionate person, and that she would do great things and never try to change who she was. Pfft, yeah right.

Her relationship with her father was never the same after that. Just then, the portrait door opened, and in walked her best friend, Theo.

Theodore Nott III was tall with pitch black hair like his father and had piercing blue eyes from his mother, Luna. He was a perfect mixture of both his parents, but his demeanor was more like his mother. Calm, understanding, and also somewhat eccentric and whimsical, he was the perfect balance to her brashness. The only child of Theo Nott Jr and Luna Lovegood, Theo had grown up right alongside both the twins, but always seemed more drawn to Cassie.

"Why weren't you in class?" Theo raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I even want to know?"

Cassie rolled her eyes as he took a seat next to her. "Don't start, Theo," she said. "Scorpius already scooped in and 'saved me from myself,' whatever that means. He's such a self-righteous git! What gives him the right to judge me? I'm almost 17, practically an adult! I can do as I please."

Theo relaxed into the couch and listened to her go on. He was concerned about her choices the past couple of years, but he wasn't about to tell her that. She got that enough from Scorp and Lily, the only daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. Both of whom could be a bit self-righteous at times, though their hearts were in the right place.

No, right now she just needed someone to vent to, a safe place to let it all out. And so he did, he loved being her safe place, a place she could be authentically Cassie.

The Cassie he'd come to love over the last year, he wasn't about to tell her that either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco loved going to the Weasleys. Though it took him a long time to admit it, he loved how warm and friendly they all were. They were the first people besides Hermione to make him feel like he belonged, that he was more than his past, and for that, they would always be family. That's why he had no trouble striking up a conversation with Bill Weasley, who was a curse breaker for Gringotts bank.

He asked Bill if he would take the necklace back to work with him and see if he could identify the charm. Bill readily agreed and even suggested a way for Hermione to check her magical genealogy. It was a goblin ritual, but they're done regularly at Gringotts, usually in matters dealing with inheritance and estate issues.

However, if she made an appointment, they could check her blood and match it to any of the magical signatures they have archived. At first, Hermione was unsure; blood magic had always been kind of iffy with her. In the end, she agreed, saying it was important to know her and her children's magical roots.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie could have gagged. Watching her idiot brother attempt to flirt with Lily was just too hilarious to miss though. His face was as red as Lily's hair, and though she couldn't quite make out what he said, she could tell from her hiding spot behind a bush that he was getting frustrated and tripping over his words. Time to act.

Her Aunt Ginny had finally taught Cassie her famous bat bogey hex, and she intended to get some practice. The hex hit Scorpius right in the chest, and the next thing she knew, he was on his knees in the grass, holding his nose with both hands. Bats escaping everywhere had Cassie rolling in the grass, laughing.

Lily, however, did not think it was funny at all. She shot a stinging hex in Cassie's direction, which put an abrupt halt to her laughing. Bending down to check on Scorp, Lily put his face in her hands to make sure all the bats were gone. He looked so defeated and embarrassed.

Next thing she knows, she brushed his hair out of his face and kissed him. He looked at her, eyes wide in surprise. It took all of the Gryffindor courage he had, but he returned the kiss, lacing his fingers through her hair and pulling her close.

"Oh, you guys are gonna pay for that!" At the sound of his sister's voice, they broke the kiss, watching her run back to the burrow.

When she arrived at the house, she entered the kitchen to find her dad talking with Uncle Bill and Uncle Harry. Perfect. "Hey guys, guess what!"

"We're having an important conversation right now, Cass," Cassie rolled her eyes at her dad. What could be more important than this?

"Sure you are, I just thought Uncle Harry should know Scorp is snogging Lily out in the yard." And with that she skipped back outside with a devilish grin on her face.

Draco slowly looked across the table at Harry, whose face had turned red as a tomato. Harry was always level-headed, but he thought this might be what pushed him over the edge.

Having overheard the conversation, Hermione and Ginny came in hoping to defuse the situation. "Now, Harry-"

"Not now, Gin. MALFOY, you better hope you get to your kid before I do." He hadn't called him Malfoy in years. Draco tried to follow him out the door. How'd he get so fast without a broom?

"Harry come on, they're just being kids. Remember the trouble you and Ginny used to get into, and Ron's face would turn the same color as his hair? That was hilarious!"

Harry shoved him off, with more strength than he meant to, which sent Draco to the ground. The next thing he knows, Harry can't move, and he falls to the ground. Running up behind them is Hermione, who had cast a petrificus totalus to force him to see sense.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER," he flinched at the use of his full name. "You are being completely unreasonable! Your daughter is 17! She is of age and is a very responsible girl! Even as her father, you have no right to dictate when or whom she kisses—"

Harry scoffed, "She won't be kissing anyone if I have anything to say about it."

"Stop it, Harry. You don't have anything to say about it, end of story. Now go back into that house and cool down. Molly said the food is ready. Draco will find Scorpius and Lily and bring them in to eat. Now go!"

Draco sent an appreciative nod to his wife and went off to find their son.

~~~~~~~~~

Sure enough, he found them behind Arthur's shed, but they were just talking, which he was grateful for. He cleared his throat as he approached, and their heads shot around to look at him.

"It's time to eat. Let's head back to the house." As they got up, Draco stopped them for a second. "Just so you know, about 5 minutes ago Cassie came barreling into the house and announced she saw you two... um... well... 'snogging'." Both their faces turned deep red.

"I just thought I'd warn you, Lily, that my wife had to hex your father to keep him from coming out here and finishing off Scorp."

Lily's face turned even more red in anger, and she started stomping toward the house, muttering about her father under her breath as she went. She reminded him so much Ginny. Scorpius moved to follow her, but Draco placed his hand on his son's shoulder and turned him towards him.

"So, got a thing for Lily huh?" He grinned as his son turned red once again. "Hey there's nothing to be embarrassed about, my favorite pastime is snogging your mom."

"EW DAD"

"Hey, I'm just being honest. I think it may be safe to go inside now, come on."

As they walked back toward the house, Scorpius still had his head down and hands in his pockets, Draco wrapped his arm over his son's shoulder. "Remind me when we get home to give you a refresher course on contraceptive charms."

"OH MERLIN NO DAD!"

Trying to squirm away from him, Draco just laughed and gave his son a pat on the back. He really would have to do that later.