Chapter I – A New Beginning

Chapter I – A New Beginning

Draco sat with his journal open on his lap in the backyard. There was only one week left of the summer so far and he had heard from his father twice. He wasn't sure why he wasn't telling James and Lily about the letters, but he couldn't help but think that this was his problem. They had helped him enough. He didn't want to depend on them for every little thing. He unfolded the parchment and began to read them again:

Draco,

Your mother and I were incredibly angry at your disgusting show of getting out of your marriage to Pansy. We raised you to respect your pureblood heritage and to know that that ring was meant to be for a woman of similar rank. Pansy is the match for you in that sense as she is not only capable of providing you with pureblood heirs but has a fortune that could have well-contributed to the Malfoy family. It is obvious that you are thinking of nothing but yourself.

Delilah Knight has nothing to offer you. Her mother may have been a good shag and I'm sure her daughter is too but that's no reason to marry the whore. She's a half-blood and not worth something like marriage. She will not give you children, but un-pure bastards! You should have made her your mistress if she was what you desired! The choices you have made are the wrong ones and believe me, you will pay for them.

The Dark Lord offered you the chance of a lifetime. A chance for you to prove to him just where your loyalties lie; something that most people would kill for a chance at. But you threw it all back in his face so that you could play with the mudbloods, the half-bloods, and the blood traitors; so that you could move in with the Potters and their disgusting mix of blood fiends. The Dark Lord would never sink that low and neither would I. I am disgusted with you, Draco, and you are no longer a part of this family.

Your twit of a mother is crying as I write this letter. She thinks that you must have some sort of explanation for your actions. I, however, know better and know that you are not to be given a second chance unless you make an heir with Miss Parkinson, then I might consider taking you back into the family.

I hope you realize what you're giving up, Draco, and that any children you create with that whore of yours will not be worth my time.

Sincerely,

Your father

The second letter was a bit less intense, but the same points were driven home.

Draco,

You have now been officially removed from the Malfoy account. The money that you possess in your private account I cannot touch, but everything else you no longer have access to. All of your inheritance is gone until you smarten up. I was forced to take such a drastic action due to the complications you have caused.

You are a constant disappointment to me.

Sincerely,

Your father

He refolded the letters and slipped them into his journal. He wasn't sure why he was keeping them either. He pulled out his quill and began to write.

Father wrote to me again. This time I'm only a disappointment rather than a disaster so I think that's moving up on the scale. Not that I'm trying to move up, of course. I just don't understand why he continues to write to me. He says he wants nothing to do with me but I don't know. I don't know why I'm so concerned about it now. Maybe on some level I'm afraid because I know what he's capable of and for the first time in my life I'm really happy. I guess I'm afraid he might take it all away.

I'm engaged to the most beautiful woman in the world. I somehow ended up with a group of great friends. There's Lyra, this adorable little girl who calls me Uncle Draco. I've somehow been eaten up by this wacky group of people that have become family in less then a year and the scariest part is, I'm enjoying every minute of it.

As I sit here in this enormous backyard of Glasgow Hall, writing down my thoughts, I can't help but be thankful. The gardens back here are quite exquisite and not to mention the fountains, the pool, and the Quidditch pitch. It's all so amazing! I'm glad to be a part of it, even as I doubt wonder why I am. There's such a large group of people that have become such important people in my life; and it's hard to get to know them all, but I feel that in the last year I've really taken steps towards that.

James Potter – what can one say about him? If I wanted to get technical and mention the reasons why my father despises him so it would be because: a) He has more money and respect that he doesn't have to threaten people to possess; b) His ancestor was made a Duke and he gets to carry that title; and c) He's a pureblood wizard that married a muggleborn. But to those of us that know caring about such ridiculous things aren't important, Lord James Potter, Duke of Draíochta, is a great man. He's a well-respected Auror and one of the main men in the business. His partner, Ian MacGregor, whom I've never met but have heard about, is just as good as he is. James is smart and he's giving and he's powerful. He has some type of ancient magic in his blood that makes him more powerful than anything. He loves his son more than life, something that I'm ashamed to say I was jealous of when I first met him. I had been a cocky asshole and Harry told James that he trusted me. That was all it took, he just accepted his son's judgement without another word. I can't imagine my father doing something like that. Then, not only did he agree to help me escape from my fate as a Death Eater, but he gave me a place to stay in his home; a home to look forward to going back to. It took me a while to realize exactly how lucky I was. He also searched until he found a loophole out of my betrothment to Pansy. He's done more for me than I ever could have hoped for. One day, I'm going to find a way to repay him for that.

Lily Potter – she's the most beautiful person, inside and out, that I've ever met. Naturally, I was a bit off around her at first, but I had been taught to mistrust muggleborns because of the blood. The blood was supposedly un-pure. It was very sudden when she appeared two days before Christmas last year, after being in a coma for eleven years. She had survived Voldemort's attack on the Potters' with severe memory loss. Ginny healed her and now she's back. No one had even known that she was still alive. James had kept the secret for eleven years, even from Harry. But it all worked out in the end. Like I said, I didn't want to know her but she helped me to open up in more ways then I had planned on. I had always been taught not to talk about my feelings, not to cry … which is why I started this journal. I needed an outlet. I somehow ended up telling her a few of the horrible things that I had seen my father do, and I cried in her arms. She was what I needed. She offered me … motherly nurturing and I took it. I've never been more grateful. She and James both treat me like a son. I don't want to be their son because I'm not, and to me, I don't deserve to be. But I will be selfish enough to admit that I want to be part of this wacky family. I like my role as Uncle Draco to their adopted daughter Lyra and frankly, an honourary uncle is definitely the way to go. Thinking about Harry and I as brothers is just taking this whole thing one step too far. I'd have nightmares.

Harry Potter – I guess he's next on the list. The bloody Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, the Hero of the Wizarding World, the Earl of Glasgow, the future Duke of Draíochta or whatever it is one wants to call him. I've been in awe of him most of my life. Father forbade me to speak with him, naturally, as he had been the cause of Voldemort's disappearance for ten years. But I was curious about him. I lost my chance at becoming his friend however when I insulted Ron, who I had been told was a blood traitor, as were all of the Weasleys. We were enemies for five years. Okay, enemy is a pretty harsh word. We disliked each other, greatly. But when I realized that my father was going to let me die, or kill me himself if I refused to become a Death Eater and succumb to his will, Harry was the person I chose to go to for help. I couldn't tell you why I went to him, but I made him hear me out. He accepted it (and he used Legilimency on me, but I guess I can't blame him) and he became convinced that I was telling the truth (which I was). He agreed to help, as did James. I tried to distance myself from him but he's a great bloke, we've definitely become friends along the way. He knows all of my dark secrets. I won't presume to say that I know all of his, but I do know that he's a very powerful wizard. He has more power than James does, what with all of that ancient magic and power of the gods and something. I don't understand it all and he didn't go into great detail, but what I got from it is that he has the power to defeat Voldemort. It will just be a matter of when. He's also a bloody brilliant Quidditch player and a fun guy to be around. I'm glad that I have him as friend, because let me tell you this – he would be one hell of a scary enemy.

Lyra Potter – she's the newest edition, well one of them. She's adorably sweet and kind and calls me Uncle Draco. I just found out that her birthday is in November and she'll be seven. It still seems weird to me that James and Lily adopted her only in February. She fits right in like she was born here. James spoils her rotten and calls her his princess. Lily just laughs and is always taking good care of her. The two of them are wonderful parents. She's a great kid. I can't imagine what it's like for her to have to face the werewolf transformations every month. James and Remus are there for her, of course, and she is given the Wolfsbane potion, but it's intense. Not to mention everything that she's gone though … she was violated by some jerk who will be dead if James, Harry, Remus, or I ever find out who it was. But she's alright and she doesn't remember the horrors so much, except in her nightmares. She's ended up cuddled in bed with me a few times this summer … I have NO idea how that happened, by the way. She's happy now, especially since she has a new baby sister.

Elizabeth Rose Potter – the really new edition to the family, as she's only five days old. She was born two weeks early but is very healthy and cute with her reddish peach fuzz hair. James is pleased and keeps saying that he hopes she looks like Lily and ends up as a redhead (by and by, I have no idea what the Potter obsession with redheads are). She's going to be so spoiled, just like Lyra, I can see it. James already holds her close and calls her his Lizzy Rose. She's beautiful. Harry is even funnier with Lyra and Lizzy and I can't say I blame him. He's been an only child most of his life, and suddenly, he has two little sisters. But he seems to enjoy them quite a lot.

Remus Lupin – he's the one who brought Lyra to us from Greyback's caves. I'm not sure what to say about him. He was a brilliant DADA teacher back in third year, but we learned he was a werewolf so he got sacked, hence the connection to Lyra, the werewolf thing. He hasn't said too much on my being here, but he seems to accept me. James and Sirius are his best friends and Harry is the godfather to his son so he trusts them, and therefore, me. I'm kind of jealous of that bond they all have. The three of them have been best friends since Hogwarts and now they still are. Harry has somehow gotten into their clique, too and it's nice to watch them. He loves having them around – he calls them his honourary uncles. Remus is very smart and has been married for almost two years now to this crazy Auror, and member of the Order, named Tonks. He's hopelessly in love with her and he's a great dad to their nine-month-old-son Daniel James. Harry is Daniel's godfather and spoils him rotten. But Remus is a great bloke.

Tonks Lupin – well her name is actually Nymphadora Tonks Lupin but if you call her anything but Tonks, she'll hex you. Her hair is always changing colour and style though she tends to keep it short and spiky and hot pink. She's also incredibly clumsy, always tripping over things. She's very sweet though, and tends to be around when you need advice, even if the advice is sometimes odd. She's surprisingly a great mum and is always teasing Remus about him being so much older, ten years actually, and Remus just blushes. They're so in love just like James and Lily are. I've never seen my parents look at each like they do.

Sirius Black – basically I've come to the conclusion that he's insane, and probably the horniest person I've ever met. He's always dragging his wife off to make love to her in some location or another. He's definitely the craziest of them all and is related to Tonks and me in some distant-cousin-fashion, of some sort. His family disowned him because he became a Gryffindor. He then spent twelve years in prison for the supposed betrayal of the Potters. What actually happened, all came out in my third year and now he teaches DADA at school. He's a great teacher and a seriously overprotective father. He claims that his four-month-old-daughter Keira is not allowed to date, ever. It should be interesting to see how long he manages to keep that rule. Sirius is also very close to Ginny. They're like best friends or godfather and goddaughter but he trusts her with everything. It's fun to watch Ginny help Lexy keep him in line.

Alexis Black – the Ancient Runes professor at Hogwarts. She's beautiful and for some unknown reason loves the crazy man named Sirius. They've been married for a little over a year now and are still hopelessly in love with each other. Not to mention their beautiful daughter, Keira Ginevra. Lexy's a great mum and Sirius is definitely making sure that his daughter is a Daddy's Little Girl, and I thought James was bad. What is it with fathers and daughters, anyway? Let's just say the Blacks make an interesting connection to the family.

Ginny Weasley – well she's the godmother to Keira, the one who healed Lily, and Harry's one true love. She's a pureblood witch but my father likes to title the Weasleys as blood traitors. She's really powerful and she even brought Frank and Alice Longbottom back. She's beautiful too. It amuses me, to no end, to watch Harry drool and lust after her every time she moves. He loves her and I'm wondering how long it will take him to propose. Ginny's an empath as well, so she's really good at offering comfort to others. I'm not sure exactly what her powers entail, but she's really powerful. You would not want to get on her bad side. The first thing she did when she came back from New York, after studying with Emma Stanton, was make fire appear out of thin air into the palm of her hand and threaten my life if I hurt anyone she loved. I've got a lot of respect for her.

Hermione Granger – well, she's the only muggleborn other than Lily and she's brilliant. I used to be jealous of her intelligence and Father used to backhand me because she was after all a mudblood. Now, I'm glad that I've gotten to know her. She's the person to ask for help because I swear she knows everything. Ginny is just as smart as she is, if not smarter, but she doesn't act like a know-it-all. Harry loves her, like a sister, and is fiercely protective of her as she's one of his best friends, but he's not as bad as Ron. Sirius, Fred, and George finally managed to get those two together with a nice, singing mistletoe that sang 'Kiss the Girl' last Christmas. It worked and now the two of them are inseparable. But I think everyone agrees, a snogging Ron and Hermione is better then a bickering one. Of course, they still bicker constantly.

Ron Weasley – he's Harry's best friend and was definitely not too fond of my suddenly appearing here at the manor. But he accepted me because Harry did, and I appreciate that. His friends are loyal to him. Ron is someone that you want to be loyal to, just like Harry. He's Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he's brilliant. He's a bit annoying at times, I suppose, but I don't spend too much time with him. He's also hopelessly in love with Hermione.

Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson – anyone that doesn't know the legacy of the Weasley twins have seriously missed out. Fred is part owner of the joke shop Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and definitely likes to have fun. I was a bit worried about the twins at first, but Harry told Fred and George to leave me alone. Fred's also recently engaged to another Gryffindor, Angelina Johnson. They have plans of getting married in October. I can't imagine anyone being crazy enough to tie themselves down to that guy but Angelina really loves him and she definitely has him wrapped around her finger. I don't think Fred cares much, though.

George Weasley and Katie Bell – George is the second owner of the joke shop and the more quiet one of the twins. Where Fred is more outgoing and rambunctious, George likes to have solitude every once in a while. It's probably one of the reasons why Katie is so attracted to him. George has been in love with her for years, but hid it from her because he didn't think she felt the same way. Katie tricked him into thinking that she was engaged to another guy. Then he broke down and told her he loved her. She's a smart girl, that Miss Bell. Now, as of yesterday afternoon, the two of them are engaged to be married, though I have not heard any news on the wedding date.

Percy and Penelope Weasley – now these two are the most interesting. Percy has been estranged from the family for a few years and has only recently come back in the summer. He left due to reasons involving the ministry, and due to the fact that he believed the lies the Minister and The Daily Prophet made up about Harry. He comes back this summer, with a bit of help from Penny and Ginny, and we learn that not only is he married, but he has three kids! Twin boys who are two years old named Preston and Paul and a five-month-old named Scott. I thought Molly was going to have a heart attack. I wasn't around for the family meeting or anything, but from what I understand, everything worked out and now he's back in the fold.

Charlie Weasley and Emma Stanton – he recently moved back home because of the war but he worked in Romania with wild dragons. A bit of a dangerous and exciting job, if you ask me. Other than Bill, he seems to be the closest brother to Ginny, but she gets along well with them all. He's also finally caved into getting married. He broke down and proposed to Emma during the summer, at Bill and Fleur's wedding, actually. I believe that they're aiming for January for the wedding (the Weasleys are dropping like flies in the marriage category by the way). Emma is an empath, like Ginny, and really gorgeous, I mean like drop-dead beautiful. She's really powerful. She lived in New York most of her life, though she's also lived in Montreal and France. She came back to Europe with Ginny before Christmas and stayed, originally to help out in the war. Charlie gave her other ideas.

Bill and Fleur Weasley – a curse breaker and Fleur works at Gringotts as well. They married in the summer and are very much in love. Bill is always kissing her and holding her hand. It's enough to make someone gag. But Fleur is beautiful, so I guess he's a pretty lucky bloke. Bill is pretty close to Ginny. I don't know either of them very well, but the wedding was nice.

Molly Weasley – what can one say about Molly? She is wonderful. As soon as she heard about what happened to me, even though I had insulted her family on more then one occasion, she pulled me into her arms and gave me a big hug. She's got this mother hen nature to her and it definitely sticks. She mothers everyone and is definitely anxious for grandchildren, which is probably why she flipped out so easily when she found out Percy had given her three grandsons that she didn't even know existed. She's been nothing but kind to me. I couldn't ask for more and I'm ashamed for every horrible thing I ever said about her.

Arthur Weasley – I don't know him very well except for the fact that he and my father don't get along. I'm not sure about the whole story there but they definitely are not friends. I expected him to hate me but he didn't, he accepted me much in the way his wife did. I'm ashamed now that I didn't give him a chance before.

Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass – Blaise and Daphne, well they're engaged. I didn't know Blaise too well until last year. He's a great bloke though and has really become a good friend of mine. I share a dormitory at Hogwarts with him and Ted as Crabbe and Goyle can't exactly be trusted these days. He's funny and hopelessly in love with Daphne. He's been chasing her most of his life and she finally caved at the beginning of last summer. I'm anxious to see them again once school starts up again. It's our last year after all.

Theodore Nott and Dana Anderson – Ted's a great guy and I share a dorm with him. I have a bit more in common with him as his father is a Death Eater as well. However, he's a bit luckier then me as his mother dragged him away before his father could hurt him. Unless of course he changes his mind. I know, first hand, that Death Eaters can almost be as persuasive and well … evil, as Voldemort himself. Dana is a very sweet girl and Ted really seems to be in love with her. They've been dating for at least two years, if not more. I can see something lasting there.

Tracy Davis and Anthony Goldstein – Tracy used to be best friends with Pansy. I'll never forget the day in second year when she called Pansy a cow and then told her she was the stupidest person she had ever met. She turned on her heel and said she'd rather be alone than be friends with her. She and Daphne have stuck together like glue ever since, as neither one of them like Pansy. Tracy had a huge crush on Tony from Ravenclaw and he finally gave her a chance last year, he was unsure since she was a Slytherin, but now their together and it seems to be working. I don't know Tony very well but I guess he's okay.

Colin Creevey and Demelza Robbins – they are the best friends of Ginny and she finally got them together on the train ride home. From what I understand, Dee has fancied Colin for over a year but didn't think that he would like her, she is after all only going to be in fourth year. She turns fifteen in October so they are only a year apart in age, but Colin tended to view her as a little sister. I don't know when that changed, but during the Truth or Dare game he was seriously drooling when she started to strip since she refused to admit who she fancied. Anyway, they're dating now and seem to make a good couple.

Frank and Alice Longbottom – they were vegetables, basically, until Ginny changed that. She used her powers to fix their memories and brought them back just after Christmas. Alice is actually pregnant now and due in November. It seems like everyone is having babies and now Neville is going to have a baby brother or sister. It seems weird but they are still young since they had kids directly out of school.

Neville Longbottom – he's a lot more brilliant than I thought. He's not really such a geek and he's smart. He accepted me instantly because Harry did and it showed me the loyalty factor again among all of them. He was pretty shocked when Ginny brought his parents back as he lived with his grandmother his whole life. He was even more shocked when he found out his mum was pregnant but he's happy now and he's in love with Luna.

Luna Lovegood – everyone at school knows her as Loony Luna Lovegood as she's a bit of a whack, always believing in things that don't exist. She's one of Ginny's best friends though, so there must be more to her than meets the eye. She's very much in love with Neville and the two of them have been inseparable since after Christmas.

Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown – well, he's Irish and he's loud and fun. He'd had the biggest crush on Lavender for most of his life. He started writing her love letters last year and when he came clean she was pretty shocked. They've been best friends for a while but it turned out she liked him too. He's been a little too cheerful ever since. Lavender fits in well with him and well, they're happy. I don't know her too well, except that she's beautiful and kind of ditzy. Another thing about Lavender is that she sometimes can be a bit withdrawn like she's scared of something … that just might be me though.

Jonathon Knight – Delilah's father and he tolerates me … somewhat. I like to think I'm growing on the scholar but I'm a Malfoy and I'm engaged to his baby girl. I think he might want to kill me. But we've been getting along pretty good. He's Delilah's life, therefore he's an important part of mine.

Delilah Knight – she's the love of my life. She's beautiful with all of that thick black hair that hangs down her back in curls and those big dark grey eyes … she's my fiancée and she saved my life by asking me to marry her, which helped me get out of my betrothment to Pansy. She makes me very happy. More happy than I've ever been in my life. I can't wait until I get to marry her.

Speaking of Delilah, she's walking towards me at the moment, looks like it's time to pay attention to her instead. This new school year should definitely be interesting.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Delilah called out as she made her way towards him.

Draco grinned at her and closed his journal. "Just thinking."

She took a seat next to him and when his arm wrapped around her she cuddled in. "Writing in this book again, are you?"

His eyebrow rose in surprise. "Meaning?"

She shrugged. "Nothing, I think it's sweet. I just wonder sometimes what you write about me in there."

He grinned and opened the book again, flipping through the pages until he found the section he was looking for. Something he had written months ago and he held it out to her. "Here."

Delilah glanced at him in surprise. "What?"

"Read it."

Her eyes fell down to writing on the page and she had a small smile on her face as she read it out loud:

Then there's Delilah. Delilah Knight. She hates me, all because of something that my father did. Sins of the father — is that going to haunt me for the rest of my life? It makes me wonder. She's beautiful. Incredible, actually, and isn't it just my luck to fall for someone who would rather see me dead then smile at me. She's just absolutely gorgeous. She has all of this thick, long, dark black, curly hair that I want to get my hands into. I'm surprised actually, because Pansy has black hair and I've never liked it. But on Delilah … it's incredible. I've had dreams of just my hands in her hair. And then there are her eyes … dark, deep grey that I just love. I'm curious to see what they would look like when they were laughing, or even just looking at me in affection, rather then a sneer. But I suppose I'm dreaming. Father raped and killed her mother … of course he wasn't the only one there, but as far as I know she doesn't know that.

But she hates me and my chance there is hopeless …

But I don't have time to be wallowing in my misery. I don't even know why I wrote all of that. My mind is elsewhere, I suppose … like on the flashback that I've been having of the day Father came home and told me Voldemort had returned. He said that now things were going to change and it would be time for the people to pay for the way they had treated our family. Whatever that meant. Then Voldemort arrived at the house, demanding that Father offer him a whiskey and a place to sit. Mother fell to her knees in front of him, kissing his hands and he slapped her, knocking her back. Told her she was to be punished as Father did for believing that he had really disappeared. Then he saw me standing in the doorway.

He called me forth and I remember trying to act cocky and secure but I was afraid. Father caught my attitude though and backhanded me on the way, demanding that I show respect to my master. He's not my master. I said as much and Voldemort sneered at me. He called me a handsome young lad and a brave one … and then he placed me under the Cruciatus Curse. He told me I needed to show respect to my elders. It was painful beyond measure … an experience that I can gladly say I hope to not suffer through again. I remember kneeling in front of him and him running his hand over my left arm and grinning at me. Told me that one day when I was old enough, I would be worthy enough to help him. I spit on him. I don't know what made me do it. I know how dangerous he is but I did it anyway. He flipped his wand and this spiked whip appeared from the tip. Father yanked me to my feet and vanished my clothes before turning my back to Voldemort. It was painful. I could feel my flesh burning from the force of the whip. I still have the scars.

Why I am reliving all of these things I'd rather forget, I cannot say. But I do know that I am unsure as to where my life is leading. I need to put more trust in Potter and Dumbledore, but I think that I am still worried that Father will force me back and kill me. If I do not join the dark army I will be killed. My own father warned me of this.

I have nothing else to say now, as I think my mind has lightened considerably and there is a beautiful girl walking my way. The dark beauty … Delilah …

When her eyes met his again, there were tears in them. "Merlin, how did you survive it, Draco? Your father is … he's a horrid man."

He shrugged. "It's not important."

Delilah sighed. "It is important and one day you're going to realize that." She leaned over and kissed him softly. "Come on; let's go find a private place to snog."

Draco grinned. "Well, if you insist."

She laughed and tugged on his hand as she led him away. Yeah, he was ready to start the new school year.

Ginny sighed in disappointment as she watched Harry head into the training room that James had set up for him to train in. They hadn't managed to find a moment alone together since her birthday. Every time she managed to even get semi close to him, she was bombarded by people. She was beginning to wonder if it was on purpose. Sirius, especially, kept appearing with Keira in his arms and handing her over. Since she was godmother of the beautiful baby girl she wasn't complaining, but she wanted a moment alone with her boyfriend, and soon.

She couldn't stop thinking about what had transpired between them the night of her birthday and, Merlin help her, she wanted to experience it again. At night she dreamed about making love with him over and over and she would wake up aching. She had thought about sneaking off to his room again but he had been exhausted lately due to the intense training sessions James had been putting him through. She wasn't sure why the training had suddenly increased but all she knew was that Harry was going through an intense work out routine that left him practically dead by the time he crawled into bed at night. She wondered if she could sneak in and watch the training and was just thinking about it when Sirius appeared with Keira.

"Hey there, Gorgeous, how's it going?"

Ginny rolled her eyes as she looked over at the man she had come to love as a godfather or a best friend. She had to talk to him about Harry now. "Okay buddy, we need to talk."

Sirius gave her a puzzled look and pulled her over to take a seat in the common room. "What about?"

"Me and Harry. We had sex, get over it."

She watched in fascination as Sirius' eyes darkened. "I am over it."

"You are not! I stayed behind to listen to what you and James said to him and honestly, scaring him like that. Filling his head with ideas of castration and my brothers murdering him! It was my idea. I'm the one that stole his cloak and snuck into his room. I practically jumped him!" She sighed. "I can take care of myself! I'm beginning to think that you're doing everything in your power to keep us apart. It's been almost two weeks since then. I've barely managed to find a moment alone with him!"

Sirius sighed and handed Keira over to Ginny, the tiny girl snuggled into her shoulder and she smiled. "Gorgeous, listen, I love you and Harry both and on one hand, I'm so incredibly excited for Harry. I mean, damn you were driving the boy crazy and he really needed to get laid. But on the other hand … I'm worried about you."

"Why? Because I'm a woman? Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I really needed to get shagged?"

Sirius gulped. "No, uh, it didn't."

"Well, maybe you should have thought of that. Now here's the thing. We go back to school in three days. I want some alone time with my boyfriend before that." She grinned now. "And you're going to help me get that or I might make good on the castration charm you threatened Harry with."

Sirius groaned. "Fine, fine, fine, as long as you promise not to pull any more creepy nightmare pranks on me." He shuddered as he remembered the prank she had pulled on him involving Snape. "Then we've got a deal."

She grinned and kissed the top of Keira's head. "Deal."

Jed landed on his feet in the middle of the open field, the portkey still tight in his hand. He closed his eyes to the bright sunlight and wondered how he had been conned into coming to into the war zone again. He had been perfectly safe and sound in New York. He sighed when he thought about Ginny and how sweet she had been … oh yeah he murmured to himself, she's why. She was a sweet girl and between her and Emma, they had convinced him to come to England to help in the war against Lord Voldemort. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but he had always had a soft spot for Emma and then when he had met Ginevra, she had grown on him as well.

Now he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but the idea of walking into a war zone didn't make him too happy. He looked up when he heard the small pops from around him. A beautiful woman with long dark brown hair and big brown eyes walked towards him. Her skin was golden coloured and she was really beautiful.

"Hello there," Jed called out.

She grinned as she walked towards him. Her eyes took in the long legs in the faded blue jeans and the brown cowboy boots and she grinned. "You must be Jed. I'm Leila Henderson."

He nodded. "Right, the beauty from Hawaii. We Americans will have to stick together."

Leila laughed, "Yeah I suppose we will."

"I thought you were bringing some people to help?" Jed asked.

Leila's eyebrow rose in surprise. "So did I. I had two people lined up who were coming and they changed their minds at the last minute. I don't blame them though, not too many people want to come out here and fight a war against the darkest wizard in a century."

Jed nodded. "Don't I know it, no one I knew wanted to come either, but I tried."

They both turned at the sound of another loud popping noise. A tall handsome black man walked towards them. His head was shaved and he wore a gold hoop in his left ear. He was well built and Jed rolled his eyes at the look of appreciation that came over Leila's face when she saw him. Why did women always go for the tall, dark and handsome ones?

"Jed and Miss Henderson?" He asked, his voice clearly British.

Jed nodded. "Yeah, that's us and you're what, the welcoming committee?"

The man nodded. "You can say that. I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt, but my friends call me King. I believe we're just waiting for a man named Duna and a few friends of his?"

Leila smiled. "So I heard. King, I was wondering, are you part of this Order?"

King grinned at her and Leila sighed inwardly. He was incredibly handsome. "I am. I'm also Head of the Auror Department here."

They all turned when another popping sound was heard and this time it was three large African men that came towards them. The one at the front nodded at them.

"Good evening, I am Duna and this here is Gotto and Matata. They are skilled in fighting and defence, and are willing to help in the war."

King nodded. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt and this here is Leila Henderson and Jed. Are you part of the Healing Tribe at the African Ministry?"

Duna nodded. "I am. Gotto and Matata are part of the Defence and Auror Tribes."

"Great!" King replied, as he glanced around. "Well, let's get you five to the safe house then, shall we?"

"I don't think that will be necessary, Kingsley," Lucius Malfoy's cold voice drawled out from under the mask of the Death Eater. "We have other plans for you." He was holding a bundle in his arms as he spoke and it continued to move around nervously as he held it. "Do it now!"

The bundle fell from his arms and the blanket was thrown off. The tiny red-headed girl's eyes were blazing as she held out her hands and screamed something in a language that sounded very much like Romanian. Her eyes turned white and all five of them were blown off their feet.

Malfoy grinned. "We've got our own secret weapon, and she's going to help us get rid of yours."

King stood up now, his wand out as the tiny girl collapsed to the ground from the power she had wielded. "We'll see about that."

King dived out of the way to avoid the spell and scooped the tiny girl up into his arms. He grabbed Leila's arm and signalled to the others. All six of them Disapparated on the spot to the other side of the forest.

"What the hell was that about, Shacklebolt?" Jed demanded. "We've been here five minutes and people are already trying to kill us!"

King shook his head. "It is war here, get used to it."

"Who is that?" Leila asked. "She had some power."

King nodded. "Aye she did, and I think we better find out a bit about it."

The girl stirred in his arms and blinked up at him, her eyes dark and black.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you," he murmured.

She nodded and cuddled against him before she blacked out again.

Leila stared at King for a moment. "Yeah, I'd say there's some things that need to be worked out."

"Let's head to the safe house. Dumbledore will explain everything that you've missed. Until we're there, I'm unsure about most things." He handed over a large notebook and quickly activated it as a portkey. Within fifteen seconds they had all disappeared, leaving the forest around them quiet and calm.