DISCLAIMER: HP belongs to JKR. The storyline and all new characters, new character development, new developments are my intellectual property.

A/n I'll try to get on track again. A bit of thsi and that, but hopefully is over.

Morning romps

They all sat there and enjoyed the fellowship, welcoming a quiet time before having to face the obstacles that they would be sure to find ahead. Maddy offered her coffee to Lucius, who gratefully accepted and just sat. Not a word crossed their lips.

During those moments, Lucius was grateful for the new friends, for the chance to step to the side of a road that was sure to lead to the darkness.

As for Cissy, she was mulling about how much had her perspective about the Muggle world had changed in just a few days.

She did not even miss her friends. Why should she? During these last weeks, she had more time with Lucius than she had since their times in Hogwarts.

The other Wizards were very handsome, especially Rodolphus, and…., Grant as well. Indeed, she needed to trust someone because the jealousy had to end. Yes, Rabastan and Rodolphus could have been, but until now they had been memories.

Face it; she had the best of all the wizards. She sighed and snuggled up to him, enjoying the quiet. It wasn't sure to last.

Maddy sat on a lounging chair admiring the dog; he was such a handsome beast. She chuckled at the memory of the offer to take him across the pond with her and to share her bed. At that thought, an idea was born. Yes, it was worth exploring. It was so nice and peaceful, the best morning thus far.

Sure enough, Draco woke up a little later and stepped on Sirius' stomach getting down, waking him up with a loud yelp. Not a minute later Frankie came out, and Hermione and Harry ran towards them in their pajamas. Even Evie was out joining the fun. The night terrors were all forgotten.

Sirius, as Padfoot, ran after the children. The Terriers added to the ruckus. They refused to be quiet since Sirius was part of the problem. And to top it all, the wolfhounds Negus and Brutus decided, why not, and barked along.

Lucius, one to like a quiet morning, was happy to hear the happy laughter. He still hadn't realized how much he had changed in a matter of days.

Maddy, once again, found another reason to like Sirius. He had a child-like quality to him and could see that much of his Casanova bravado was just a disguise. He must have suffered a great disappointment growing up; maybe Remus could shed some light.

Meanwhile, Maddy laughed at his antics. Something told her it would be important to store all the happy images, to keep them in reserve for the storm coming their way.

She knew that war was coming and was afraid. Maddy would be more afraid if she realized that her looks would put her at risk. She didn't know that she was her grandmother, down to her auburn locks.

Within minutes the rowdy bunch had woken up most of the household, but for a few.

"Let's go and eat breakfast as we are. We are at home," Maddy invited the house guests and they followed.

Lucius' Plans-

While they sat there, Lucius had decided to speed the arrangements to leave. Albeit, he was young, his heart couldn't stop (otake much more of this.

Malfoy Manor wasn't much safer. Dumbledore was after him, and that wouldn't change soon, but there was much to be done. How could a small group prepare to battle the powerful evil coming upon them?

It would require a lot of preparation. But for now, they needed to leave for a while. It was imperative until they were ready to present their new image.

He would make it his job to do all needed and make it happen by Friday, at the latest. Then, they would leave on their journey. He needed to cancel the meeting today. It was still early. He would contact Moody. There simply wasn't enough time.

He needed to get a few items first, and maybe tomorrow he would be in a better place. The two student witches would leave in the morning, and he should be done with all his errands around lunch. That was a better idea.

"Cissy, "he asked her on their way to breakfast; "I need to cancel the meeting today. We need more members to survive the coming ordeal; this is not going to be an easy fight. I don't dare ask any of the Death Eaters. It would give the organization away. I think that I will ask Arthur and Moody. Maybe they will have suggestions."

"Darling, maybe Alois Goyle?"

"Of course, Alois Goyle. He is quite old. How old? Hmm… One hundred and ten or more? But he has money and influence, and Greg Jr. is such good friends with Draco. Yes, I could kill two birds with one stone. Ah, and how about Francois?" They both smiled, everyone knew that Francois Goyle, Alois' son from his second marriage, was Greg's father.

"Darling, what will we do about Andromeda?"

"We need to go to see Andromeda and her Muggle later later in the lafternoon. I think we should bring the Grangers and Remus along." Lucius said thoughtfully.

He could not have Albus convincing them to look for Harry and fight for him. That would be a disaster.

A Mark - defying Pixies and Announcements

"Darling what is this?" Marguerite was looking at Hermione, " What did you paint it with? Jeanie, come here. Frankie? Elly come."

Lucius caught the words and stood up. Oh, no, he thought, as his stomach churned.

Jeanie dipped a napkin in water and rubbed Hermione's forehead. The children were all quiet as mice.

"I saw right. Draco, who did it and how?" Lucius asked pinching his nose bridge.

Jeanie looked at the other adults, "It is like a raised tattoo, exactly like Harry's. It won't come off. Remus, can you take it off?"

"I could if we knew how they did it. Otherwise, I could injure them. Mimi, did you do it and how? I want an answer." Remus didn't want to use magic without being sure.

"It's a secret," Draco volunteered.

"Keeping secrets might not be a good idea," Remus observed.

"But we wants to look the same," Frankie whined.

Remus looked at Harry, he thought of Harry as the weak link, the one who would give in, but Harry avoided his eyes.

"Fine, until the marks come off, no Fortescue ice-cream," Lucius looked at Draco.

"It's okay, we have ice cream here," Hermione indicated. Her attitude nearly made Lucius blow his top.

After a few minutes, it became clear. The Pixies were mute.

"Do you all want to look like Harry so that he will be safe?" Paul asked. Hermione had been reading stories about the last Muggle war. They were about valiant children who wore yellow stars to save their friends, by confusing the enemy.

Still not a peep. After ten futile minutes of coaxing, bribing, and trying, the children held on to their silence. Lucius was shocked at Draco's smirk, the Malfoy in the making knew that he had the upper hand.

The Pixies held hands, he noticed. It was an act of insubordination if he had ever seen one. Oh, how he wanted to force them to speak. No way. There were too many witches and grandparents. They would have his hide.

Elly whispered, "I know. I am an inch away from spanking Frankie, which I think is barbaric, but they've been thru a lot. Let us ignore them. Give them a couple of days. They will tell us."

Lucius wasn't so sure they would; the children were too smart. But there was nothing to be done now. He did, however, growl when he saw the mark appear on Evie's forehead. Each one of the adults made a dissatisfied noise.

The Pixies were being defiant and had thrown down a gauntlet. Lucius fought himself to ignore Draco and tried to remember how much he loved him.

The other adults were also unhappy, well knowing the dangerous thing the Pixies had done. They endangered not only their safety, but they would point the way to those seeking Harry.

It was Remus who had an idea. He added leaves and a few small apples to all but Harry's mark, that refused any coverage. He had changed the marks' appearance. He looked at Lucius and winked his eye. Fight magic with Magic.

They saw Hermione scrunching her face and moving her finger, nothing happened. She narrowed her eyes and looked around; nobody was paying attention. The adults decided to leave it alone.

The Lestrange brothers came and sat on both sides of Kelly. Jeanie looked at Kelly, who looked the other way.

Narcissa tried to ignore them, but she noticed the intimacy between them. She needed to trust someone, and she saw Remus. She considered his calm manner. This nasty feeling was poisoning her life.

Before breakfast was over Jeanie was sharing about the red eye monster and the bearded bad man. Lucius heard, and Remus interjected," Frankie also screamed about the same. I think they all saw Albus, but why?"

"Draco also dreamed the same. Why? I am afraid I know who the eyes belong to." Lucius added.

"Nobody is going to hurt the Pixies," Rodolphus had heard and added. He was still of the thought that Rose needed to die.

"I agree," Lucius added, "But this is about Albus, someone is sending a warning, but what was with the dogs? Albus killing the dogs?"

Marguerite heard and paled; it couldn't be. She should have come clean. She would talk to the children,

"We need to leave for a while and prepare." was the consensus.

"Thalia and I have decided to leave shortly in order to prepare our home," Serpens announced. Because the property where they were going, was inherited through Thalia's family, it provided an extra layer of anonymity and protection, but it needed to get ready. "We will be leaving after breakfast."

Everyone was laughing and having a good time when Kelly stood up and quietly related the incident last night. Afterwards, everyone had a long face.

"We will need to take care of Rose; she is very dangerous," Grant remarked and all agreed.

"It should have never have gotten this far," was Sirius' opinion. She was a breathing danger and needed to go. He looked at the brothers who nodded.

Kelly stepped by Jeanie and whispered something. Her sister stood up and kissed her. Then she looked at everyone. "I am only going back to finish my classes. I won't go back the next semester. Therefore I will be gone ten days only."

Narcissa's stomach plunged, she saw the brothers, both grinning and loving the young witch with their eyes; something had changed. Jealousy twisted her gut, again. She needed to talk to Remus.

To Sirius' delight, Maddy casually said, "It sounds like a plan."

Lucius called Dobby, who was back from the Manor; he wrote a quick owl for Moody and asked him to notified Arthur. He was leaving for the Ministry and made up a reason to stop by Arthur's to let him know. Arthur was happy to know the time had been changed for tea the next day. It would be easier for him to get away

Lucius stopped at Malfoy Manor to change, and to pick up the documents he needed to bring to his main office. Once ready, he would Floo to the office to make arrangements for his extended leave.

With Albus breathing fire behind them, they all felt as if they were running out of time. He was glad Rab and Dolphus had found an anonymous place to hide but was afraid that Bella would find out their absence sooner or later.

A Day at the Office or Reality Knocks

At nearly thirty years old, Lucius drew stares wherever he went. Today he wore his hair tied with a velvet ribbon, not one hair out of place. His dark linen and silk robes were crisp and perfectly pressed, all was the same, perfect on the outside. But today, there would be something different; Lucius was more attractive than ever before.

It was the removed darkness. He needed to be careful today, many of his employees and associates were Death Eaters. He needed to take special precautions from revealing any of his true intentions. Again, he had forced over half of them to join him in his folly. He should have listened to his father. He had been wrong staying on with the Dark Lord.

His mind was deeply engaged in planning since earlier and not paying attention. He walked into the rich furnished lobby of the large building at Diagon Alley, housing a branch of his business empire, the financial investments firm building. For once, he was not glaring at the female, and some male, employees staring at him as he passed them.

When he stepped past the Lobby into the first foyer, he cringed when he saw who was waiting for him. Outwardly, he projected his cool, calm, demeanor.

"Hello, Theo, good to see you and how are you?"

Theo Nott Sr. was holding his son's, nick-named Teddy, hand. It appeared as if the older wizard was going through another of his periods of deep melancholy. Young Theodore was holding his teddy bear with one hand; his other hand gripped his father's. Lucius could sense anxiety radiating off of the small child. The two suitcases and the cage with Teddy's Kneazle were a dead giveaway.

"Papa – I want to go with you. Take me with you, Papa." The thin, dark-haired four-year-old looked pale and withdrawn. He was now holding onto Theo's leg. Lucius deeply inhaled.

Teddy had better diction that Draco or even his favorite young witch. Lucius thought it came from being with his adult father all day long. Many days he would bring Teddy into the office, and the witches would all take turns with the baby, then a toddler, and now a thin, young child. But whenever a dark cloud settled over Nott, he'd not want the child to see his father falling apart, and would bring him to Cissy.

Theodore Nott Sr. was nearly thirty years older than Lucius, but his wife had been thirty years younger. He had gone to Hogwarts with Abraxas and held a position of 'Partner' within the Malfoy-held company. His father before him had also been an associate at Malfoys'.

"I am leaving for Australia for six months. As you know, I have not been doing well. I need to get away for a while to tend to the ranch. I cannot take Theodore with me because I cannot trust him to the house staff. Can you take him? I know it is a short notice, but I am not functioning well. You do understand, right? I went to the Manor and you weren't there."

Lucius appraised the other man. Nott looked worse than ever. He had heard of Narcissa and her contemporaries speak of the man's heart-ache. Nott had truly loved his young bride and married her after being a confirmed bachelor. Nobody expected him to ever marry.

Little Teddy never knew his mother. She was killed in a crossfire during the last war by one of their own. Her death, though, had been blamed on the Order.

Baby Teddy had miraculously been extracted from the rubble. A young Auror had rescued the child and brought him to St Mungo for treatment. Nott barely survived his grief, channeling his energies into taking care of his son and accepting the help that Lucius and Narcissa gladly provided.

Lucius felt conflicted. The timing couldn't have been worse. Here he was, conspiring to escape the country and turn his back on his Death Eater past. All to protect his mate, his son, and those connected to the life of his son's mate. Now, he had a friend in need of his help.

The last time tha Nott went away, Teddy had stayed at Lucius' for three months. It would be complicated. But how could he deny him?

Teddy started tomorrow sniffle. It was heart-wrenching. As a fellow father, Lucius was mad at Nott. Last time this happened, Teddy had cried for days. Now the boy was older and understood the time would be long, he would be even more inconsolable. Leaving him for half a year was far too long. He was about to tell him.

"Daddy – I will be a good little wizard, I promise! I won't talk loud, please Daddy?" Nott was a good parent but for the bouts of melancholy.

The man would go away to be totally alone, and then he would come and start all over again. However, each time he went away longer and longer. One day, he might not come back.

He would always make elaborate excuses to justify his absences; his lands in South America needed replanting, the vineyards in South Africa had a strange fungus, and so on.

The properties were expertly managed by his nephews or other relatives, and he knew for a fact that it was so. He could remember when Theo's wife had been alive, or even before then; he had never needed to tend his other properties for such extended periods of time.

An unpleasant scenario started to play out in Lucius' head. What if Cissy would die? Would he leave Draco with the Grangers for months at a time? No, he would never leave Draco's side. Nott was going to hurt the one person who loved him.

But Nott was no Lucius Malfoy. He had no Narcissa, no mate, and no lover to temper him. Little Teddy didn't deserve to suffer because of his father's mental illness.

"But of course—," started Lucius, he thought that at this point, what was one more child in the house? They, he, Narcissa, Grant and his wife, would figure out how to cope.

Nott lifted his hand and shook his head. He must have either sensed Lucius' momentary reluctance, or maybe his young son's pain had made him change his mind.

He bent down and picked up his child. "I tell you what Teddy… How about if instead you and I, go to my sister's home in Canada. She has been inviting us to go for a long while. They all want to meet you. We can travel by water. And if there is still need to go to Australia, we will go together for a short while, how about it?"

Teddy hugged and kissed his dad, and patted his cheek. "I will sleep with you and take good care of you when you have the ni-mares, okay Daddy?"

Lucius saw the toughened Death-Eater's eyes. They were moist and reflected the love for his child. Lucius understood, he had also been through an emotional turmoil these last days.

"Lucius, thanks for the offer. I will send an owl. I will see you around Yule. I have never been to Canada; it should be interesting. My sister will help me when I cannot do my duties."

Lucius shook his hand and walked him to the private Floo, and kissed Teddy goodbye. He had the feeling this wasn't the end of this chapter.

Lucius exhaled. He felt a sense of guilt over the sensation of relief at not having to take on Teddy Nott. He couldn't help but imagine all the obstacles that would have come from bringing little Teddy into the current Malfoy-family fold.

He gazed about the lobby of his elegant offices. His thoughts wandered to the business started by his family a couple of hundred years ago, by those whose portraits hung on the wall. He was thinking of his family's influence and, until a few weeks ago, stood at the center of the Wizarding world's social life. Now, all had changed.

He was starting to appreciate the complications of being a double agent and living a double life. Nott was such a supremacist; so what were they going to do about Teddy and all other Draco's friends?

-s-

A/N My cut and paste is behaving strange, hopefully all is well. Draco is going to give Lucius a heart attack:)