Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter, his friends, his children, or his story.

Chapter One

Draco Malfoy sighed and checked his wristwatch again. It's been ten minutes since he last asked the house elves to tell his stubborn 14 year old that she better hurry or he's going to have her ride her broomstick all the way to Platform 9 and ¾ with all her belongings.

He rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee. Black, as he always took it. He sighed again and willed his patience to stretch, ignoring the fact that he felt like a headache must be coming. Just then, a popping sound alerted him that his house elf was back with news about his daughter.

Mindy the house elf was not like any house elf. Why? Because she is free. Mindy was set free by none other than Dione Malfoy herself, when she was 3 years old. To her grandparents' horror, the then toddler Dione dressed Mindy up in one of her dresses as they played with her tea set. The poor house elf was shocked beyond belief, seeing as she was accidentally set free by the young Malfoy. Draco calmed her down with the promise that she could continue serving the family even if she was set free.

"Master Draco, my lady Dione said that she's not done packing, Master sir" Mindy said in her scared little voice, "B-but Mindy told her to hurry sir! She could not decide on which dress robes to bring!"

Draco sighed again, exasperatedly. "I will deal with her, Mindy, thank you. Just.. just go back to the kitchens and get me another cup of coffee before we go."

Draco trudged up the stairs and into his Daughter's room. When Dione was five, Draco decided that it was time to move out of the manor and so he got a smaller chateau. In his annoyance, he didn't even knock when he entered his Daughter's room and simply barged in. What he saw flipped his mood alright.

Dione hadn't packed at all. All her clothes were strewn about in her bedroom and on her bed lay six dresses while she stood there, deciding.

"DIONE!"

She turned abruptly and stormy gray eyes met equally stormy gray eyes. She grinned sheepishly and greeted her father, "Oh! Hello, Dad!"

"What on earth do you think you're doing?! It's already half past nine in the morning! You know perfectly well that the Hogwarts Express—"

"Leaves at exactly eleven o'clock, yes, father dearest, I know," she said, rolling her eyes in the same fashion her father did. Only she looked like the splitting image of her mother except for her eyes. Same chestnut-brown hair, only hers was straight. She also has the same built, same petite height, only that she has the trademark Malfoy smirk embedded in her genes.

"If you knew that so well then why are you not ready yet?"

"Because, I can't decide which dress robes to bring" Dione replied, gesturing to the heap of selections she had laid out.

Draco could swear he had sighed for a hundred times that morning. "Bring the emerald one?" he suggested, pointing to an elegant off-shoulder emerald dress.

The younger Malfoy shook her head vehemently, "But that makes my shoulder look wide! And it shows too much skin! Don't you think that as my father you should be more concerned about the amount of skin that I flash?" She spat all those words like bullets out of a gun. "I just wish they had specified what the dress robes are for!" she exclaimed, holding up a deep-blue floor-length evening dress.

Draco sat on his daughter's very unorganized bed, along with the mess she managed to whip up this morning and tried not to flinch. He was never a fan of things being in utter disarray. "Look, it doesn't matter, just go bring all of them and decide later on—" he said and sifted through her trunk to see what she managed to pack so far. Nothing was in there aside from her wand and a hoard of books which made Draco want to slap himself but decided against saying a sarcastic remark. Merlin knows what his daughter would say if he put another toe out of line. "And please pack things that you actually need, while you're at it."

Dione groaned. "I wish my mum was here to help me!" At that, Draco was frozen on the spot and stared at his daughter with a very blank expression. Dione realized that she might have trampled on a landmine and said, "Uhh why don't you just check on Uncle Blaise if he and Matty are on their way while I finish packing?" she said, pulling her father up to stand.

"Dione—" Draco began but before he could say anything, his daughter was already pushing him out of the door. "Just go, Dad! I'll be right there! Just give me a couple more minutes! 15 minutes tops!"

Draco leaned on the closed door of his daughter's bedroom. Though Draco explained the details about his separation with her mother in minor details over the years, he himself was not ready to tell her the whole story. Also, one of the most prized Malfoy traits that Draco mastered was hiding his true feelings. His daughter must have sensed it and kicked him out. Still, it was not customary for Dione to talk about her mother so he wondered just how much she knew; after all, Dione is a very smart and resourceful witch. Just like her mother.

Immediately, Draco thought of the only three people who could have divulged such information about his long lost wife to his daughter.

Zabini.

Nott.

Potter.

He will have a talk with those three. With Potter as the primary suspect.

-o-o-o-

The Malfoys arrived at King's cross with 15 minutes to spare. Draco's eyes searched for any sign of Blaise Zabini or his wayward son Matteo, whom his daughter is best friends with.

Draco felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. As much as he hated to admit it, Dione was her mother's daughter through and through. Her intellect and current ranking in her batch at Hogwarts, her love for literature, weird affection for house elves, and even in the gender of her choice of friends. She sneers and fights like a cunning Malfoy alright, but she was becoming more and more like her. He shook the thoughts out of his head and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Dad, I know you're fretting again but I'll be fine" Dione said, looking up at her father. "Go visit Grandmum and Pops some time, or maybe get together with Uncle Blaise and Uncle Theo so you won't miss me too much."

Draco blinked and started to laugh. He ruffled his daughter's brown hair. She may have had her hair color alright but it was neat and straight like his. At least there's something she got from him. "You know your grandfather hates it when you call him that."

"Exactly why I always do it," she replied with a wink. "Oh! There's Uncle Blaise!" she said, waving excitedly at the two approaching figures. Matteo Zabini grew a few inches taller over the summer so he now towered over Dione. His olive skin and Italian features reminded Draco of how Blaise looked when they were younger.

"Uncle Draco" Matt greeted him and handed a parcel to Dione. "As per your request, little lady, Umberto Eco's hard to find works,"

Dione grinned from ear to ear, hugging the parcel. "Grazie," she said and turned back to her father. "We'll be going now, Dad" Draco hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"Enjoy your fourth year. Send my regards to Longbottom," Draco said and he meant it. After fighting in the same side during the war, Draco and Neville Longbottom got along quite nicely, well, as nice as one would expect. They're civil and would at times converse about business or Hogwarts life, as he did with Harry Potter. The only person Draco Malfoy could and would not tolerate will always be, forevermore, Ronald Bilius Weasley.

When the two young Slytherins left and went inside the Hogwarts express, Blaise took one look at Draco and figured that something was terribly wrong.

"Is something the matter? You look so…" the dark haired Italian man tried to grasp for kinder words other than absolutely smashed, "I can't even put my finger on it but you look like you need a drink, and a strong one at that."

He earned himself a trademark Malfoy glare. "Blaise," Draco began, "Dione said something about her mother.

Blaise's grin was wiped off his face, "Alright. This conversation needs two more elements – Theo and firewhiskey on the rocks."

-o-o-o-

Aboard the Hogwarts Express, Dione Malfoy struggled to find an empty compartment with Matteo Zabini trailing behind her. Sure, he grew a half almost a foot taller than her but his ego seemed to have grown even more. He grew into his father's looks when he was younger and naturally, girls fawned over the new Slytherin Prince.

"H-here you go, Matty.. I made cauldron cakes before leaving home," a random Hufflepuff girl suddenly came up to them and handed him a box tied with a hot pink ribbon. Matt graciously flashed the girl a boyish grin and thanked her before she walked back to her friends. "It really is a blessing, the way I look" he whispered to Dione, "I get freebies without even asking for them!"

"You, Zabini, are so full of yourself," Dione remarked as she entered an empty compartment. She sat down by the window, with Matt taking the seat opposite hers.

"So.. what do you think Old McGonagall cooked up for us this year? Why the sudden need for dress robes?" Matt asked Dione who automatically had a leather-bound book open on her lap.

She shrugged and answered without taking her eyes off her book, "Last time they had it was when our fathers were in their fourth year as well. It was part of the school activities for the Triwizard tournament," she said, trailing off, clearly uninterested in the topic.

"But the Triwizard tournament's been banned for years because someone died, right?"

"Exactly,"

"So why hold a ball?" he asked again.

She shrugged again, "I don't know… perhaps Professor McGonagall thought it's fun to hold a dance? Some schools actually hold dances, you know."

"Or it could be to foster house unity?" a voice said. Both Slytherins turned towards the doorway to their compartment and saw James Potter leaning there casually.

Dione grinned, "Aren't we enough proof for that?" James chuckled at that and took the seat beside Matteo.

"Maybe she's scared we'd be like our parents when they were in school," Matt said, offering James some of the cauldron cakes he got earlier.

"James, why are you hanging out with those slimy gits?" Rufus Weasley, son of Ron Weasley, remarked as he passed by.

James rolled his eyes, "They're not bad people, Rufus. If you just stop listening to Uncle Ron for a second then maybe—" before James could finish his sentence, Rufus walked away with a disgusted look on his face.

Dione smirked, "I guess you better chase after your girlfriend or you lose her,"

"Shut up, Malfoy," James said, playfully throwing a balled-up cauldron cake foil wrapper. "See you later!"

"Bye, mate!" Matty called after him.

Dione sighed, "I wonder what's got Weasley's knickers in a twist,"

"He's like that all the time, why wonder now?" Matt replied, handing Dione his half eaten cake. Dione's mouth twisted a bit and she held up a hand to tell him no.

"But I wonder why he hates us so much" Dione said, "It's not like we ever did a thing to him back in first year."

"His father's orders, probably,"

"But why" she reiterated, "I just don't get it. I want to know why,"

"And I want to know why you still have to know everything, you're already an insufferable know-it-all" Matt said, eating the rest of the cake.

The train ride carried on for another couple of hours till they finally reached Hogwarts. Hagrid greeted them amiably as they got down from the train. They shared a horseless carriage with an unfamiliar Ravenclaw and the Weasley twins, Agustin and Thaddeus, or Gus and Tad. The twins were in their fifth year and had the exact same reputation as their father and their deceased but nonetheless legendary uncle, Fred Weasley. Dione and Matteo are good friends with them, as they were with James Potter. It's a mystery why the only person whom they share a common hatred for was Rufus Weasley.

"We heared you had a run in with our cousin while on the train, " Gus remarked, laughing. "Please excuse him, not all Weasleys are that rude." Tad added.

Matt laughed, "Yes, 'cause you guys are downright mean! You're the one who set off that dungbomb in one of the compartments, aren't you?"

"You'd expect nothing less from us," the twins said, winking at the same time.

"Must be bloody brilliant, having a twin," Matt said, "Oh look, we're here."

The rest of the night in the Great Hall was just as normal as it should be. The serpents welcomed ten new Slytherins while only eight new Gryffindors were sorted with the lions. James and Matt exchanged a look that earned them both a sneer from Dione. Clearly, the boys were betting again about which house gets more first years and this year, Matt had won. Dione was halfway through her shepherd's pie when McGonagall clinked her glass to silence everyone.

"As you would have noticed, a certain requirement was added to your list of school things this year," Minerva McGonagall began as whispers started to erupt all around. "I am happy to announce that after so many years, Hogwarts will again host the Triwizard Tournament."

Now, loud voices erupted all over the Great Hall. Some were aghast by the idea of reinstating a tournament where a Hogwarts student previously died while some were excited by the news.

"Silence," Headmistress McGonagall's voice boomed. "In two weeks, our school will welcome students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and I expect each and everyone of you to be on your best behavior."

For the rest of the night and even into their common rooms, all the students ever talked about was the Triwizard Tournament. In Dione's personal albeit silent opinion, the tournament's comeback is quite stupid in its own way. Even without the Dark Lord's interference last time it was held, it was still filled with tasks that could actually kill the competitor, Dark Lord or no Dark Lord. She sighed as she took a seat beside a first year in the Slytherin common room.

She smirked at a couple of fifth years who were thinking that they could get it when McGonagall clearly stated that only seventh years will be allowed to enter. For Slytherins, they must be really dumb or really obnoxious. She went up to her room to find her roommates chatting about the same topic.

"Oh! Dione! Did you know that the last time the tournament was held here, a quidditch superstar was the Durmstrang champion!" Sophie Lewis, one of Dione's roommates, was a girl about the same height as she but skinnier. Dione's skinny-ness was almost due to her playing quidditch, seeing as she is her house's Seeker. Sophie had shoulder length brown hair with bangs almost always covering her eyes.

Dione rolled her eyes, "Didn't peg you as the superficial type, Soph"

Sophie stuck her tongue out at her, "Are you not the least bit excited?" she said, planting herself at the foot of Dione's bed as the young Malfoy heir straightened up the books on her bedside table. "All you care about is acing all our classes,"

"And quidditch!" Elise Turningham, a blond haired witch who was also one of Dione's only two girl friends. Elise, unlike Sophie, was the more reserved of the two.

Even if the conversation topic was somehow shifted to Dione, Sophie steered it right back to the conversation about the last Triwizard Tournament, "And you know what's more, that quidditch superstar actually dated a muggleborn witch from Gryffindor! Or, at least, took her to the Yule Ball."

Dione, still uninterested, simply sat on her bed while exchanging looks of amusement with Elise from the other side of the room. Their nights usually went on like this, with Sophie telling some entertaining story while the other two simply listened or make derogatory comments just to piss her off for fun. "That muggleborn witch I was talking about was none other than the greatest witch of her age, war-hero extraordinare, Hermione Granger!"

Dione flinched a little but she couldn't explain why. Sure, she's heard James talk about his father's other best friend during their Hogwarts years and her name was even plastered on some revised history books, but Dione always flinched at the mention of her name.

Hermione Granger.

"Has anybody ever heard of her?" Elise interjected, "Last thing I heard, she just disappeared into thin air."

"Strange that there was no big news about it, huh?" Sophie added, this sudden change in topic clearly piquing up her interest more than the last one.

Dione thought for a moment, "Perhaps she got tired of the limelight? I'm sure Uncle Harry wouldn't allow his best friend to be harassed by Rita Skeeter or some other journalist so maybe that's why there weren't any big news write-ups."

"Possibly so," Sophie said, dropping the topic. "I'm excited to meet new people!"

"You mean you're excited to be on the prowl for some Beauxbatons or Durmstrang boys" Elise said, throwing a pillow at Sophie but the latter was quick in dodging it so it hit Dione squarely at the face.

Dione smirked and twirled her wand in her hand. Sophie was already on the floor, curled up in laughter as Elise tried to persuade Dione not to hex her. "D-Dione… whatever you're planning, I'm telling you to stop it!"

Her smirk turned into a sneer. "Hermione Granger might have been the brightest witch of her age, but for our age, I guess it's me." She said before firing a string of harmless jinxes and hexes at Elise's way using non-verbal magic.

-o-o-o-

Two weeks passed in a blur and before they knew it, Headmistress McGonagall was already preparing the school for the arrival of the delegates from the two other renowned European institutions. Ministry officials were also in attendance for the welcoming and perhaps for the briefing with regard to the contest mechanics. The day went by with the student body in a state of utter restlessness, as everyone was so excited for the night's events.

Dione walked down to dinner with Matt. The Great Hall was abuzz for the delegates of the two schools were to join them for dinner and they're about to arrive any minute now. Most students already saw the enormous carriage with equally humongous horses of the Beauxbatons Academy, as well as the Durmstrang ship and no one could shut up about it, much to Dione's annoyance.

"Why are you being such a buzzkill about this, Malfoy?" Sophie, who was seated at Dione's other side pointed out.

Matt jumped to her defense, "Oh Dione's not being a buzzkill.. she's actually excited but there's this Malfoy thing that states that she's supposed to be too cool to show any particular emotion,"

The young Malfoy elbowed Matteo Zabini in the ribs, making him howl in pain. "Another Malfoy thing I've got going on is breaking your ribs while being too cool to show any particular emotion,"

"Touché" Matt said as he gasped for air. Elise and Sophie laughed for only Dione could silence the great ladies' man like it was all in a day's work.

Suddenly, the doors to the great hall opened and in came students with thick fur coats and leather boots. They also had staffs to match their outfits. Some pointed that it was quite inappropriate it is for Scotland's cold-but-not-that-cold weather but some found it immensely admirable. In Dione's opinion, Durmstrang was clearly putting on a show for their hosts and it was, by all means, amusing. Their headmaster trudged behind his students and greeted the Hogwarts headmistress with a gallant kiss on the hand.

"Dear students, please welcome our guests from the north, the boys and girls of Durmstrang Institute!" Professor McGonagall said as the entire Hogwarts population burst into applause.

Without further ado, the doors of the Great Hall opened for the second time and now, students clad in blue uniforms with matching blue hats entered. They were all about grace and elegance; even the boys seemed like perfect gentlemen. They all look like they're not just from a wizarding school but also from a finishing school. The Beauxbatons Academy of magic rivaled the grand entrance Durmstrang just did.

Everyone was admiring the Beauxbatons entrance until something happened that almost made time stop. From across the room, Dione Malfoy's stormy gray eyes locked with that of another girl's hazel brown ones. That other girl, who, unknown to her, would turn her world upside down.

It was a girl who looked exactly like her.