Our Little One

.~*~.Our little one.~*~.

Chapter Twelve

To Sing a Song

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This chapter is not from any particular first-person POV.

This chapter is partly flashbacks.

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Remus smiled as he read Harry's owl. It was all about his and Draco's engagement and their wedding plans. And the young men had only announced their engagement to them the day before, right after hearing they'd made up! It reminded him very much of how Sirius had been when he and Severus had got back together after all those years.

It had really been a lot of work, to organize a wedding in the middle of a war. They'd managed, though. Although the wedding had been in the spring, most of the planning had been done during the winter holidays of that year. They all had been in the Black Manor - Sirius, Severus, Remus, Harry, and Severus's other sister Lilian in public, and Narcissa, Draco, and even Lucius in secret.

***

27 of December, 1995

*

"Oi! Good news, everyone!" Draco exclaimed as he ran inside. Everyone in the room turned their eyes at him. Remus, also, raised his gaze from the parchment in front of him.

"What it is, dear?" Narcissa asked, eyeing her son curiously.

"Dad said he'll be able to come!" Draco shouted happily, walking over to Harry and sitting next to the Gryffindor.

"Really?" Severus's eyes lit up, and he gave them a genuine smile. "I thought he'd be forced to stay away."

"Dark Lord seems to have decided that he was forced to come," Draco chuckled. "It'd look too suspicious if he didn't attend to his brother-in-law's wedding."

"That's great," Sirius said, and smiled also. The Animagus himself didn't care much about Lucius, but he knew that Severus cared a lot. The Slytherin had been very upset over the thought that his oldest friend couldn't come to his wedding.

"There's even better," Draco said with a happy grin. "The bastard wants Dad to maintain his friendship with you and to try and befriend your Gryffindor companions - in secret, of course, he'd otherwise ruin his Malfoy image - in order to suck some information out of you."

"Well, that's very possibly the first time ever when my wishes and Voldemort's are the same," Severus said dryly. "Other than the information part, that is." He couldn't help but smile, however.

Harry looked still a bit surprised about that. Unlike the others, he and Remus had never seen the Potions Master really happy and carefree before Sirius's name had been cleared. Remus, however, had always suspected that this part of Severus existed, so Harry was the only one who always showed surprise at this behaviour from Severus.

"How much have you got settled already?" Draco asked Harry, who'd wrapped his arms around the blonde.

"Quite a lot, actually," Harry replied. "We've set a date that isn't too soon or too late, at last, isn't near or during a full moon, Lilian can get a day off on, isn't during the school exams or any Ministry, Potions Master, or Auror meeting, and is in all other means also suitable for both the lovebirds and the most important gusts."

"So you call us 'lovebirds,' eh?" Sirius asked, grinning at his godson. "May I ask what you two are, then? At least we are decent in public!"

"Yeah, but you two are hiding in some room all the time shagging each other's brains out," Draco snorted. Ignoring the gaze he got from his uncle, he asked, "So, what is that so brilliantly set date, then?"

"Twenty-third of May," Remus replied, again leaving his job of planning the invitations for a while.

"Not too late, eh?" Draco chuckled. "I thought you were going to have just a small wedding. It shouldn't take that long to plan and prepare!"

"If you've forgotten, to a Snape and a Black a 'small wedding' means at least two hundred guests," Narcissa grinned. "All the Slytherins who are still on civil terms with Severus, for example, and many of those who aren't, will of course come."

"By the way, have you decided about your names yet?" Lilian asked from another corner. "Will I have a Black for a brother or a Snape for a brother-in-law? Or will you hyphenate or both keep your own?"

Everyone was already quite used to see Lilian Snape around. At first, Sirius had been a bit hesitant to invite her to the Black Manor over the winter holidays. However, both Narcissa and Severus had demanded that their sister would be there. Besides, with Narcissa and Draco there, it would have been rude to leave her outside the wedding planning.

So, she was planning the guest list while her son, a seven-year-old miniature Severus named Malcolm and equipped with his uncle's wit and attitude, was sneaking around the house and terrorizing everyone and everything.

Now Sirius and Severus glanced at each other. "I think I'll take the Black name," Severus said then. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone forget that I got the guy everyone drooled over back at school."

"Wise words, little brother," Lilian agreed. "I kept my own name and look at what happened to me!"

"I don't think Severus is in a high danger of being left alone with a newborn, sis," Narcissa pointed out with a slight smirk. "And I don't think it had anything to do with your name. It was your own fault all along. I told you not to marry a Slytherin but you didn't listen to me."

"But you married a Slytherin, too, Mum," Draco reminded. "Or are you saying that I'm illegitimate?"

"Yes, I did marry a Slytherin, and no, you aren't illegitimate," she replied calmly. "If I wasn't married to a Slytherin myself, how could I have known to tell my sister not to marry one?"

"Should I take that as a warning?" Sirius asked with a bemused tone. "Or does it only count for all-Slytherin couples?"

"Oh, no, you are safe," Lilian chuckled. "By the looks of it our baby brother is the only one with sense in this family."

"Yeah, stupidity seems to be a family trait," Harry deadpanned, thus earning a smack on his arm from Draco. "Ouch! Hey, calm down, Draco, you are a Malfoy and not a Snape! Hey! Don't hit me!" The two teenagers ran out of the room, Draco chasing Harry, both laughing from the top of their lungs.

Sirius glanced at the other adults. "What it is with those two?" he asked. "They've never been like this before."

"Simple," Remus said, and grinned. He was actually surprised Sirius hadn't figured it out himself, he was such a smart guy, if he got to using his brains instead of running around head first. "They have nothing to worry about right now. You are free and your name cleared, all members of their families are being civil towards each other at least, and they are at least for now in a place where they don't have to hide their relationship from everyone but show it and be accepted like they are. What's there to stop them being happy?"

"And on that note," Lilian added, "you're all aware that 'gay' is a synonym for 'happy,' right?"

"Very well aware," Sirius chuckled, then placed a tiny kiss on Severus's cheek. "I at least am very happy being a gay. Are you?" he then asked his lover.

"Oh, no," Severus said with a dry smirk. "I'd much rather ignore you and marry Mrs. Norris, but it seems like my insufferable bitches of sisters are going to force me into a different kind of relationship."

"Se-ev," Sirius pouted, giving him the most charming kicked puppy look through his nowadays slightly shorter fringe, which was still long enough to fall over his eyes.

"Looks like Harry and Draco aren't the only ones acting childish," the Slytherin man smirked. Then he, in turn, kissed Sirius slightly on the cheek. "Yes, love, I am indeed very happy with you. Now, I believe we had some planning to do?"

"What planning?" Sirius asked, clearly confused. "I thought everything was set at the moment!"

"Some special planning," Severus said, emphasizing the word. "Something we can't do here. It would be much better if we did it in somewhere more... private."

"Oh, that planning," Sirius grinned, his face lighting up in a sudden realization. "Yes, yes, I'd almost forgotten about that! Should we go doing it, then?"

"I think that would be the best," Severus said with a smooth voice. "If these respective people don't require our presence at the moment?" He glanced at Narcissa, Remus, and Lilian, who all shook their head, not even bothering to hide their amusement.

"Sure, go ahead," Narcissa smirked. The expression was so similar to Severus's smirk that it was almost frightening to see on her round, fine-shaped face surrounded by pale blonde locks, everything so different from her brother's face. It was almost unbelievable that those two actually were siblings.

Lilian, on the other hand, had the same slightly large nose and ink-black hair as her "baby brother," although her nose wasn't hooked nor was her hair greasy and limp. Therefore, even as she had the same delicate features as Narcissa, the smirk seemed to suit her much better as she said, "I just knew it - my little brother is just a horny sex-driven pervert!"

"Why, of course I am," Severus said, raising an eyebrow at her comment. "I'm a man, after all." He then grasped on Sirius's arm and the two left the room.

"Is he right?" Narcissa asked from Remus, grinning. "Are all men only thinking about sex all the time?"

"I'm unable to say," Remus replied calmly, all the time pondering exactly what words he should use on the particular point he was working on. "It's been so long that I'm dreaming of just seeing Lucius."

"So all you want to do is to merely see him?" Lilian asked, a slight smirk still on her face. "You don't want to shag his brains out?" Lilian, of course, knew about Remus and Lucius - with both Severus and Narcissa knowing and approving, there was only a faint chance she wouldn't find out sooner or later, and much rather sooner. She also approved their relationship wholeheartedly - she in fact thought it was kind of cute. The Snapes all had promised not to tell anyone, not even Sirius, but that certainly didn't prevent them teasing Remus about it all the time in private.

"Yes, I only want to see him," Remus replied calmly. "After seeing him, though, I want to shag his brains out. Unlike some people, some of us actually possess a certain level of decency."

"Are you hinting that I'm not decent?" Lilian asked with a silky voice so similar to Severus's that it almost made Remus laugh.

"Oh, no. In fact I was hinting towards those other horny men." He raised an amused eyebrow. "Although I have to wonder why you'd automatically think I meant you..."

Narcissa chuckled. "You know, Lucius is truly getting an equal in you," she said, smiling. "Now, are we finished? I do believe I have an appointment to keep later tonight."

"I might have known," Lilian snorted. "You can't really complain about Lucius meeting Remus in secret, now can you? What was your little lover's name anyway?"

"Thomas," Narcissa replied calmly. "Thomas Narcair. And now, if you'll excuse me..." She rose from the table she'd been sitting at, crossing the room to the door and leaving.

Lilian and Remus exchanged amused glances. "One day, I might just forget she's my sister and hex her," she mused calmly aloud, snapping her fingers.

"What for?" the werewolf asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," she said carefreely. "Not for any particular reason. You don't really have to have reasons for everything, now do you? At least not when concerning siblings."

"I agree," Remus replied wholeheartedly. He had an elder brother, after all. He didn't have any sisters, though - he was the only one of them with only a brother. Severus had Narcissa and Lilian, Sirius had Raven, and even Lucius had a sister, Luciane, although he rarely mentioned her. But, as he said, one brother was definitely enough for him.

Not that he didn't like his brother, anything else. Romulus was two years older than he, and had taken him "under his wing" when he'd gone to Hogwarts. Even though Romulus had been in Ravenclaw and not in Gryffindor, he'd taken care of Remus until the younger brother had befriended Sirius, James, and Peter. Romulus had never cared about his Lycanthropy, either, but always treated him fairly, minus the normal brotherly teasing.

Still, the last time they'd seen each other, which had been a year before, they'd tried to hex each other three times. They had only been separated by Romulus's wife, Catherine, and her sister Claudia. It was just the way they were - brothers.

"I think this just might be good for now," Remus said, glancing at the invitation he'd been planning half of the day. "And even if it isn't, I don't care at the moment. I'll continue tomorrow."

"You may be right," Lilian said, and grinned. "I'll should go make sure that Malcolm doesn't sneak after Severus and Sirius. He can be rather naughty at times."

"Naughty? Say a downright disaster," Remus snorted as they both stood and started walking out of the room. Fortunately, Lilian didn't hold any illusions about her son's true character. Whenever somebody mentioned it, Lilian only laughed and said that he took after his uncle, thus always earning a glare from Severus. "I can't wait seeing how he goes along with Sirius's nephew. That boy is a tornado in pants."

"Jonah Barrow?" Lilian raised an eyebrow. "I've heard rather interesting stories about him. I'm also curious to see how the two are going to interact."

"Let's just hope that Raven keeps her daughter safe in the wedding," Remus said with a grin. "Poor thing, really. With both Jonah and Malcolm around, the girl won't survive longer than the actual ceremony."

"Very probable," Lilian smirked. "Well, we'll just have to apologize to my future sister-in-law for getting her daughter murdered, right?"

"Just that," Remus laughed just as they came to the point where they would have to separate ways. "I'll see you at dinner, then?"

"Right." With the last cunning smirk, Lilian walked away, leaving Remus chuckling to himself over the thought of the little future cousin-in-laws getting together.

He was just going to turn to a side corridor as strong arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him into the next room. The door was closed, and he heard a couple of locking and silencing spells being muttered.

Then somebody at first gently blowed a lock of hair from his neck, then kissed softly the skin there. "Hello, love," Lucius purred into his ear. "Long time not see."

"Too long time," Remus replied, turning his head to better catch Lucius's scent. Fresh air and snow and mint, and some unique Lucius musk, as well as the lingering scents of some potions. Nothing unpleasant, though, other than the sharp trace of silver that he could still sense from his lover's scent. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Lucius replied, then sat on a nearby chair and pulled the werewolf down into his lap. "How are things going on here?"

"Rather well, actually," Remus said, and smiled. "We're getting the wedding plans done - and I heard you'll be able to come, too."

"That's true," Lucius said, and smiled. "Voldemort wants me to keep up an innocent facade to the Ministry. If I now abandoned Severus, they might suspect me being a Death Eater. Not even Ministry could miss it if I suddenly ignored my best friend. Voldemort also wants me to befriend you to coax some information from you lot - although that should only be in private, it might also be suspicious if the great and mighty Malfoy suddenly was nice towards Gryffindors."

"So, you're going to continue just like you've done this far," Remus chuckled. He reached his hands back and wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck. "Pray tell me," he said then slyly, "did he suggest you to seduce one of Dumbledore's forces?"

"No," Lucius smirked, then gently turned Remus's face around to place a long, passionate kiss on his lips. Then, as they broke the kiss, he continued, "That would be my own idea."

"Let's put your idea into action, then," Remus suggested with a slight grin.

"You know, I truly love the way your brain works," the Slytherin chuckled, then started opening Remus's robes with long, fine fingers.

Remus rose from his lap and bent down, starting to hastily unbutton Lucius's black silk shirt at the same time as the other man undid the fastenings of his own simple robes. After that, Lucius stood also, and they continued undressing each other, kissing and touching gently each other every now and then.

At last, Lucius undid the fastenings of Remus's trousers, letting them fall down to the floor. They both stood in naught but their boxers, clearly aroused.

Soon, the two pieces of underwear joined the other clothes on the floor.

They went, kissing all the way, to the heavy four-poster bed in the corner of the room - this was clearly one of the unused guest rooms. They fell to the bed together, their arms wrapped around each other.

"It's been two months," Lucius whispered with hot breath into Remus's ear. "Two damned long months..."

"Let's not make it any longer, then," Remus whispered back, and Lucius agreed whole-heartedly.

He then showed Remus just how much he agreed.

***

"Remus?" asked Olivia's voice from the doorway, startling him from his thoughts. "Um... Dad? Could I talk with you about something?"

Remus turned around and smiled at the girl. "Of course, Olivia," he said. "Please, come in."

She obeyed, still looking rather careful. Remus told her to sit, and she did.

"Now," the werewolf said, studying carefully the look on his adoptive daughter's face, "what's the matter?"

"When I was staying at the Blacks', Severus told me about the... accident," she said carefully. "When Lucius was hurt by that explosion."

Remus blinked a couple of times, looking like he didn't really realize what was going on. Then he sighed resignedly, but didn't say anything.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Olivia demanded, now sounding a bit more certain. "You only told me that I couldn't brew explosive potions anymore. But you never told me why!"

"It... It was too painful," the werewolf whispered, his eyes downcast. "I don't really like to remember it."

"Oh." Olivia didn't seem to be able to think of anything else to say.

"When the... accident happened," Remus started, "I was only informed that Lucius had been taken to St. Mungo's. Even after arriving there, I knew nothing - nobody knew. He had been very close to the explosion, and he was in a coma. For three weeks we didn't know his fate. I... I planned suicide." Memories flew into his mind.

***

4th of December, 2001

*

Remus pressed his wrist against the sharp blade of the dagger. It felt cold against his skin.

He could feel how it would brake his skin.

What if he'd press it further? What if he'd let the blood out? It would be so easy. He wouldn't have to worry any more. Everybody would be so much happier without him.

"Remus?" somebody asked behind him. "Hey, Remus, what are you..." Then he heard a quick breath and then, "Expelliarmus!"

"Hey!" he exclaimed as the knife flew from his hand and landed on Sirius's grasp. His friend stared at him, then at the knife. Then again at him.

"Remus," he whispered, seeing the little drops of blood on the blade. "Never, ever do that again."

"I'll do what I damn well please," the werewolf cried out, tears flowing into his eyes. "You're not my mother!"

"No, I'm not," Sirius admitted. "Nor am I your husband. But I am your friend, Remus, and I don't want to face Lucius when he wakes up and tell him that you've killed yourself."

"Lucius won't wake up," he said blankly. "He'll never wake up."

"He will," Sirius said with a determined voice. "And you're the only one who can help him with it."

"Me?" he snorted. "I can do nothing! What have I done this far? Got him nearly killed!" He felt tears rolling over his cheeks, but he didn't care.

"You blame yourself?" Sirius asked, sounding surprised. "Are you mad? You know damn well that he wanted it himself! You were against the thought from the beginning!"

"That's my point," he said. "If I had supported him more, he'd be fine!"

"No, he wouldn't!" Sirius shouted. "He'd be just like he's now! But if you don't support him now, then he'll die and THEN it'll be your fault!"

"My fault..." he whispered, crying aloud. "My damned bloody fault..."

"Remus, you won't help anyone by hurting yourself," Sirius said softly. "You'll only hurt him more if he ever finds out. But people in a coma are known for getting better if their loved ones are near them and talking to them. You can help him wake up."

***

"Sirius was always there," Remus continued, his eyes cast down to the floor. "He practically dragged me through it, alive and somehow sane."

***

8th of January, 2001

*

"Lucius will survive," Sirius said to him. "He will survive."

"What if he won't?" he whispered.

"He will," Sirius said firmly. "And the more you believe it, the sooner he'll wake up."

"He will survive," Remus echoed, still uncertain.

"Yeah, that's right," Sirius assured and managed a little smile. "Lucius won't leave you. He will survive."

***

"Severus was also in a bad place," Remus continued with an oddly emotionless tone. "He was the one who dug Lucius from the middle of the rumble and got him to the hospital. He also found... other people there. Children's corpses, to be exact. So, he needed Sirius's help almost as badly as I did."

"So Sirius had to be there for both of you," Olivia said quietly.

"Exactly." Remus nodded. "Sometimes, I've wondered how he made it through it all, both Severus and I clinging on him. But I guess that if he could sit twelve years in Azkaban and stay sane, he could do that too."

"Sirius is a strong man," Olivia admitted. "Even though I've only known him for a short time, I know that. He's very strong, physically, mentally, and magically."

"He's our ever-good," Remus grinned. "We others are excellent in one thing and average or lower in others - I'm bookwise and naturally talented in Dark Arts, Severus and Lucius love potions, Harry is an excellent Quidditch player, Draco is superb in Charms. But Sirius - he's not excellent in anything but very good in everything. Maybe we beat him in one thing, but in others, he's always better."

"It must be really frustrating to be married to him," Olivia said, smiling a little. "When I was at their place, it was quite clear that Severus was only better when it came to potions. Although it may be also because Severus doesn't seem to even like wand magic."

"Severus never was one for much 'foolish wand-waving,' like he calls it," Remus said, and chuckled slightly. "He got through Hogwarts, true. And he's magically strong - not maybe as strong as Sirius is, and definitely not even near Harry, but more so than just an average wizard. He never bothered to practice more wand magic than he needed to make it through school, however."

"Maybe that's why I get along so well with him," she mused aloud. "From what I gather, he rarely even carries his wand with him, or, when he does, only used it to cleaning cauldrons or the like. He always asked Sirius to do every spell or charm, so it didn't feel difficult to me to ask the same."

"That may be one reason," Remus admitted with a gentle smile. "I think it's more because you're so similar. You rarely show your feelings and don't talk unless there's a reason to, you are both talented in potions and Divination, you're quite smart, you both love researching and finding new things, and -" He suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence.

"What now, Dad?" Olivia asked, frowning. "Why did you stop? What's the last similarity between me and Severus?"

Remus was quiet for a moment. Then, switching uneasily, he said, "You both had an abusive father."

Olivia didn't say anything.

~*~

Olivia was sitting alone in the quiet, empty ball room.

Well, not so quiet really. She was glancing through some books containing different songs and lyrics, singing quietly to herself.

She took another book from the pile, opening the first page. For her great surprise it read, with Lucius's familiar, elegant writing, "To my dearest Remus. May this be of use." Curious, Olivia turned the page, revealing the first song in the book.

"Ah," she mused, "this one I've not seen before." She began glancing through the book.

On every page of the book there was a nursery song or a lullaby, both the words and notes written down with the familiar, round handwriting of her lycanthropic "father". Most were probably written with a Voice Quill, she noted. She also noticed that some of the last pages were empty. Why the book had been left unfinished, she had no idea.

She also didn't know why on Earth Remus write down nursery songs, or better even, create them - for she hadn't seen any of those before. But, the melodies were beautiful, and she liked the lyrics as well.

Humming quietly to herself, she began studying the songs.

~*~

"Narcissa's invited us for a dinner tomorrow night," Lucius said the next morning in the breakfast table. "What do you think? Should we go?"

"Why not?" Remus replied, shrugging. "It might be nice to see them, it's been a while after all."

"Are you sure?" Lucius asked with a worried frown. "It's only a few days to the next full moon. Do you think the wolf will keep down?"

"I think so," the werewolf said calmly. "For Merlin's sake, Lucius, it's still four days until the full moon. I'm only beginning to really feel the pull! Besides, I can already tell that the wolf is relatively calm this month. Must be because I let my own aggressions out just recently," he added with a slight grin.

Lucius gave him a dry smile. "And damn well you did it," he muttered. "So we're going, then?"

"Going where?" asked a familiar voice behind them.

Remus turned around and smiled at Olivia over his shoulder. "The Narcairs have asked us for a dinner tomorrow," he replied.

"Narcissa says she'd like to see you," Lucius added, smiling also. He waved the letter, which he'd just got by owl post. "I think you'll like them, they're really quite nice."

"Narcairs?" Olivia echoed as she sat. "Let me think... Narcissa, your ex-wife? She's Draco's mother, isn't she?" she asked, looking at Lucius, who nodded. "And her current husband Thomas. They had also children, two, if I remember right. Maria was one - I remember that, since my mother's name was Maria."

"Right," Remus assured her. "And the boy is Daniel. Maria'll be five and Daniel two this year, Maria in November and Daniel in October."

"They're cute children," Lucius admitted. Then he smirked and said, "Of course, they're not half as cute as Draco was when he was little."

"So we have hope they won't end half as bad as Draco is?" Olivia asked innocently.

Remus chuckled, and Lucius raised an amused eyebrow. "I don't think anyone can be as bad as my son is," the blonde stated with a dry tone. "He could have gone and had a nice girl with whom share his life, but no, he just had to be as stupid as I was and fall in love with a bloody Gryffindor, The Boy Who Lived on top of it all!"

"And still you love Harry like a son," Remus smiled. "And Sirius like a brother, just like you love Severus. And me... How much do you love me?"

"With simple logic, I love you like myself," the Slytherin smirked. "And because I'm a Malfoy, that's the most of my love you could ever have." He bent down and pecked Remus gently on the cheek. "Jokes aside, Remus, you know I love you more than anything. Just promise me one thing."

"Oh?" Remus in turn raised his eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

Lucius took his hand and looked him seriously right in the eye. "If you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the wolf tomorrow, just tell me, and we'll come home," he demanded. "Narcissa and Thomas will understand. I won't have you in an unfamiliar territory for a second too long if the wolf is restless."

"Lucius -" Remus started, but his husband interrupted him.

"Just promise me, Remus." The silver eyes were shining with love and worry for the werewolf.

The Gryffindor smiled gently. "I promise," he said. "I will tell you if the wolf acts up. Although I doubt it will, only strong emotional changes can pull it up three days before the moon."

"I don't care. I just want to know that you are all right." Lucius stroked gently his cheek, then leaned in to place a warm, loving kiss on his husband's lips. Remus returned the kiss.

Olivia watched her two fathers, beaming.

~*~

"So you are Olivia, then?" Narcissa asked, smiling at the teenager in front of her. "It's nice to meet you. I am Narcissa Narcair, call me Narcissa." She gave out her hand, which the girl took, although she looked a bit nervous.

Narcissa surveyed her young guest. She was wearing a Malfoy-green, long skirt and a pale green blouse, a dragon-shaped silver necklace, and a green snake bracelet around her left wrist. Narcissa knew that bracelet; it was made of one emerald, worth fortunes, and a traditional Malfoy jewel. It, as well as the silver seal ring in the girl's right hand, clearly showed that she belonged to the Malfoy family. Even if she hadn't born to it, she now had the right to become the Lady of Malfoy just as Narcissa herself had once been one. The girl looked nervous, true, but she carried the valuable jewels like they'd been a part of her - something Narcissa had never accomplished. She hadn't been anything but a friend to Lucius, ever, but Olivia was a daughter to him. Olivia was a Malfoy, just as clearly as Narcissa wasn't.

"Thomas will be here soon," she said, as much to Remus and Lucius as to Olivia. "He just went to fetch Maria and Daniel. They've been waiting to see you, Lucius," she added with a smile. Even though Lucius wasn't related to the children, other than being their halfbrother's father, they'd adopted him as some kind of an uncle. They liked Remus a lot, true, and Sirius, and Severus definitely - the only one of their uncles who really was their uncle - but the only one who they loved was Lucius. The adults had a long time ago ceased to even try and understand just why they clung on the blonde man so fondly.

Just as she'd said that, a brunette man walked into the room with two little children on his side. The girl, with brown hair of her father's and black eyes from her grandfather, and the boy, with platinum blonde hair and brown eyes, squealed in delight as they saw Lucius. They ran forward, and the girl hugged him fondly while the boy grasped on his hand.

"Uncle Lucius! You came!" Maria Narcair shouted.

"Mizzt you, Unca Luci!" Daniel said in his adorable baby talk.

"Hey, Narcair," Lucius said to Thomas, faking a displeased tone, "you ought to be a better father to your children! What are you doing to them when they hang on the first man who enters the house?"

"Now, now, children," Thomas chuckled, not caring the slightest about Lucius's tone, which he knew was not real. "Leave Uncle Lucius in peace, okay? And come over to greet our other guests, too."

The children turned towards the two other people. "Hello, Uncle Remus!" Maria yelled happily, and Daniel, too, said, "Hi, Unca Remiz!"

Then they both turned towards Olivia, who looked suddenly a bit strained. "Who are you?" Maria asked curiously.

"I'm Olivia," she answered her, forcing herself to smile. "I'm Remus and Lucius's daughter."

"Oh! Are you our sister too, then? 'Coz Draco is our brother," the little girl said happily.

"I think I'm a... Well... Some kind of a step-halfsister," Olivia smiled. "Or a half-halfsister, whatever suits you better."

"Yay! We have a new sister!" Maria grinned. "Nice to meet you, Oliv!"

"Oliv?" Remus echoed, sounding amused. "Well, I think you could be called that. Not only the nickname I'd thought of first."

"And what you'd thought of?" Lucius asked, leaning in to peck the werewolf on the cheek.

"Dunno. Maybe Cub?" the smaller man replied with a grin.

*

After the dinner, they were all in the sitting room. Narcissa noticed that Olivia, who was both chattering with the children and following the adults' conversation, kept giving Thomas cautious glances. The same she'd been doing during the whole dinner.

Thomas bent momentarily down to give Narcissa a quick kiss on the cheek. Narcissa noted Olivia's instant tension, then saw how she relaxed a bit as Thomas turned away from her, deep in discussion with Remus. When Remus and Lucius kissed, however, or when the two men held hands, Olivia merely smiled happily at them, not minding the slightest.

Poor girl. Poor little girl.

Narcissa glanced towards the window, seeing that it was already dark outside. "It's time to put the children to sleep," she mused aloud, making the mentioned two groan in protest. A protest that went unnoticed, of course.

"Could I?," asked a quiet voice. It was Olivia. She was eyeing the children watchfully, an odd smile on her face.

"Are you sure?" Narcissa asked. "They can be quite devilish sometimes if they want to cause problems." She glanced sharply at her children, who looked back at her, trying their best to look angelic.

"I often put some of the younger children to sleep in the orphanage," Olivia said quietly, avoiding her gaze.

Narcissa couldn't help but smile. "Of course, if you think you can handle them," she said. "Follow me. I'll show you to their bedroom."

"What, only one bedroom?" Lucius asked, raising an eyebrow. "They don't have separated rooms?"

"They prefer being together," she told him calmly. "And they also have separated playing rooms, should they want to be alone for a while. Now, Maria, Daniel, come with me. Olivia, will you..."

"Of course," she said quickly, following her and the children out of the sitting room.

It looked to Narcissa like the further away they got from the sitting room, the more Olivia eased. At the time they were in the children's room's door she was actually smiling, a happy smile she hadn't seen on her face before.

She showed Olivia the children's beds. She watched as Maria and Daniel changed themselves to their pyjamas, then turned towards Olivia the last time.

"Just ask a house-elf to call me if you have any problems," she advised the girl.

"Okay," Olivia said, and smiled. "Don't worry. I believe we'll be just fine."

"And you, little ones," she said then, turning towards her children, "behave yourselves. If I hear a word from Olivia about you two not behaving properly, I'll be very upset about you. Do you understand?"

"Yez, Mum," Daniel said sweetly. Then he reached out his hands to her. "Goodnight kizz?"

"Of course, sweetheart," she smiled, and knelt down to hug her son and give him a little kiss on the cheek. "Now, go to sleep."

"Me too," Maria demanded, and she, also, received a hug and a kiss.

"Now, listen to Olivia and be nice," Narcissa advised, walking to the door.

"Bye bye Mum!" Maria called, waving her hand frantically. "Thank you, please, farewell, good night to you, you're welcome, thank you I'm fine!"

"Bye, Maria," she replied. "And good night." At Olivia's wondering gaze, she said so lowly that the children didn't hear, "It's her little habit. She seems to believe that whenever I'm even leaving the room, she has to say every polite phrase she can think of to say goodbye properly to me."

"Oh, that's cute," Olivia chirped, and again smiled a bit.

"So it is," Narcissa agreed, smiling with motherly pride.

She left the room, Olivia, and the children, quickly making her way back to the sitting room. The three men were chatting lazily as she entered the room and crossed it to sit down on the couch next to her husband.

"So you left them with Olivia, then?" Remus asked.

Narcissa nodded. "She looked almost relieved as she got away from here," she mentioned then.

"Probably away from me," her husband said dryly. "I saw the way she looked at me. Poor girl looked like she thought I might bite her head off if she said a word too much."

"Oh." Remus looked slightly uneasy. "I apologize for her, Thomas. It's nothing personal against you, really."

"I know," Thomas said, waving his hand in the air. "I've received rather thorough explanations of her situation. Who can blame the poor thing if she's afraid? No matter what she remembers, even one beating can develop a fear to a young child."

"That's too true," Narcissa said quietly, her eyes downcast. She remembered all too well her own father, and how their mother had far too often told her to take Lilian and Severus to her room, lock the door, and keep them there.

Sometimes, their father would use Alohomora.

Those times, it was usually Severus who got beaten. The girls had always tried to protect their baby brother, but he'd easily shove them aside or bind them with spells. For some reason he never bothered with them if they didn't stand on the way, blocking him getting to little Severus. If anyone, Narcissa would have suspected herself to get most logically beaten - she looked less like her father, after all. But no, their father would always take Severus as his target, even though the boy had always been almost a carbon copy of their father.

Nobody said anything at that. The Malfoys only gave her a sympathetic look, and Thomas wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her near.

"Do you have any means to listen to them?" Remus asked then, trying to lift up the suddenly depressing atmosphere. "Surely you don't just leave them there and hope that they won't wake up?"

"Oh, no," Narcissa said. She pointed at a nearby table. There was a round, white, plate-like stone with an emerald in the middle. "That's my Contact Stone," she told them. "It channels the sounds from the children's bedroom. The sounds are quiet enough that they can't even be heard with normal hearing if everything is okay, but if one of them shouts or cries, it is loud enough. Also, if I want to hear them, touching the gem in it causes the sounds to come out like they are in the very room."

"It's very useful, you know," Lucius said. "We had one in Draco's bedroom when he was just a baby. You wouldn't believe just how often I purposefully listened just to make sure he was breathing."

"Yeah, Draco was such a quiet child," Narcissa admitted with a smile. "I think now he's trying to make up for it."

They all laughed. After that, the conversation went into lighter topics. Narcissa told about Maria's and Daniel's recent doings - something she never got tired of - and the men listened politely, until Thomas mercifully stopped her by reminding that Remus and Lucius, being both male, weren't half as interested in stories about children as her female friends were. Remus said that it didn't matter, but as she noticed that Lucius was half asleep, she decided to change the topic.

They talked for quite some time. As Narcissa was pouring herself another cup of tea, she suddenly noticed that Remus's mouth had become a thin line. His eyes were fixed on the Contact Stone.

"What now?" Lucius asked, glancing worriedly at his husband. "Is something wrong?"

"She's singing," Remus said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "She's singing them to sleep..."

"Don't worry, love," her ex-husband said soothingly. "Many people sing their children to sleep. It doesn't mean anything special."

"Maybe not," Remus said, and sighed, "but it still disturbs me."

"Calm down, Remus," Thomas advised gently. "If you're going to jump every time somebody's singing for the rest of your life, you won't get much of peace but a whole lot of sport."

"Thomas is right," Narcissa smiled. "Please try and calm down, Remus. I understand it upsets you, but you shouldn't get yourself all worked up over it."

The werewolf nodded, looking relaxed - or, at least, more relaxed than before. Narcissa couldn't help but notice, however, that there was still a strained look in his eyes, and that he still kept giving the Contact Stone watchful glances.

~*~

Olivia thought of all the songs she knew. There were a lot of them, sure, and many of those that might do as lullabies. She just couldn't decide which one she should sing for next.

She tried to think something slow and soothing, as the children seemed to still be quite restless. At last, she settled on a song she'd found from the mysterious book of Remus's creation. In fact, it was the last song in the whole book, and she liked it quite much despite its slightly depressing tone.

After quickly bringing the lyrics back to her mind, she began to sing.

~*~

The porcelain cup suddenly dropped from Remus's hands, shattering to pieces on the floor. The werewolf turned towards the Contact Stone, his face paling past white to grey. His eyes were wide with shock, and his lips trembled.

Narcissa frowned, wondering what might be wrong with her friend. Thomas eyed the small man also questioningly.

Lucius, however, fixed his attention on the Contact Stone, clearly listening to it. After a second, he paled almost as much as Remus had done. "It can't be," the Potions Master whispered, obviously quite shocked. "It just can't..." He reached out a hand and pressed the little gem on the stone.

"Sleep into the cradle of the Death, she'll quietly rock you till you sleep," Olivia's voice sang from the stone. "Sleep, my little wolf, it is so late, sleep into your own dreaming so deep."

The music faded away as Lucius jerked his hand away like the magical object had burned him. Remus buried his pale face in the crook of his husband's neck, his tears soaking the blonde wizard's shirt. The Slytherin wrapped his arms around his husband, glancing worriedly at Narcissa and Thomas over the gold-silver hair.

The Narcairs both shook their heads slowly. They didn't know what to do.

"You haven't told her?" Narcissa asked quietly at last.

Lucius shook his head. "No, we haven't," he sighed. "Looks like we should some time soon, though."

After a moment, Remus raised his head. "Lucius," he said with a highly strained voice. "I think - I think we should -" He sighed, drew a long breath, then said, "I think we should leave. Now."

Lucius didn't ask his reasons. Nor did Narcissa or Thomas.

They could all very well see the yellow rims in Remus's amber eyes.

Narcissa felt very bad for her lycanthropic friend. The strong negative emotions were pulling the wolf nearer the surface. It could not take control over Remus, but its feelings and instincts reflected to him. Therefore, being in a place he didn't know well, the werewolf was beginning to get extremely nervous.

"I'll go and get Olivia," she said, getting on her feet. "Are you waiting for her or leaving immediately?"

The Malfoys glanced at each other. Remus chewed his lower lip nervously, and Lucius watched him questioningly. This was up to Remus.

"As bad as it makes me feel," the werewolf said slowly, "I'm forced to think it'd be better if we left as soon as possible. Tell her - tell her we're in our sitting room."

Narcissa nodded. "I'll tell her that." She hesitated for a moment, then said, "You should really tell her about it."

Lucius nodded gloomily. "I know," he sighed. "And we will. Eventually, we will." He glanced at Remus worried, then said, "But definitely not before the full moon. After that, I don't know. Some day, yes. I just don't know how soon."

"Stop babbling about that," Remus snapped sharply, grasping Lucius's arm. "Let's just go home now. Please, Lucius." His voice was a mixture of sorrow and tiredness and even slight fear, and it made Narcissa's heart ache for the brunette man.

"All right, my dear," Lucius said softly, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Remus's head. He then turned towards the Narcairs for the last time. "Sorry for this," he said apologetically. "We'll visit you some other time, or maybe you could come to the Malfoy Manor. Just not this near a full moon."

"It's okay," Narcissa said, smiling a little. "It was my fault, really. I should have thought about the phase of the moon before I invited you."

"It's nobody's fault," Remus sighed. "I'm sorry for being rude, Thomas, Narcissa, but I just - I just can't stay." He brought one hand up to hold his head for a while as if he had a headache.

"It's okay," Thomas said smoothly. "We understand. It's not like you can help it."

"Just get home, and rest," Narcissa advised. She couldn't help her motherly instincts getting on overdrive every once in a while. Despite her usual character she was a protective parent, overprotective even. Although she knew very well that Remus was a grown man and probably more capable of taking care of her than she was of taking care of him, something in the werewolf always called for her "mother hen" side like Thomas sometimes teasingly called it.

She watched as Thomas led the Malfoys out of the room to the nearest room with a fireplace. Then she turned on her heels, starting to walk to the children's bedroom to fetch Olivia.

*

"Olivia?" Narcissa called to the dark room. "Olivia, are you here?"

"I'm here," the girl replied, stepping into the dim light. "They're both sound asleep. I was just going to come to you. What's the matter?"

Narcissa considered her words carefully. "The wolf... It got too strong for Remus to stay here," she said quietly. "They had to leave. They're waiting for you in their sitting room."

"Oh." Although the only light in the room came from the window, which was almost as good as nothing it being a winter night, Narcissa could see that Olivia was very pale. "Well... I should go back home then, right?"

"I think that'd be the best." She forced herself to smile reassuringly at the younger witch. "I believe Remus is alright, don't worry. The wolf just made him nervous since this isn't his usual environment. I bet he was all right as soon as he got home."

"I know," Olivia replied, following her as she started to lead the way to the nearest fireplace. "I've done some research on lycanthropes and the Lycanthropy in general ever since I found out about Remus. I think I already know more about these things than they teach in Hogwarts."

"That's good," Narcissa smiled. "I myself knew absolutely nothing before I got to know Remus. Since I noticed how good of a person he is, I started to hate those Ministry people who've made all kinds of laws against him."

"But Dad's already cancelled some of them," Olivia reminded. "Werewolves can be hired for any job, and they can now freely marry full humans, for example. From what I've gathered, both things were practically impossible just ten years ago."

"Yes, he's truly accomplished a lot." She opened the door to their other sitting room. "Floo powder is in that pot," she said, pointing at the little pot on the mantle.

Olivia nodded, walking nearer the fireplace. Narcissa flicked her wand, lighting up the magical fire whilst Olivia took some powder from the little pot.

"Thank you," Olivia said politely before tossing the powder. "And goodbye. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"I was also pleased to meet you, Olivia," Narcissa said with a smile. "Goodbye, and farewell."

The girl nodded, then turned towards the fireplace and threw the powder into the flames. "Malfoy Manor, master sitting room!" she cried out as the flames turned green. Then she took a step forward, entered the flames, and was away.

~*~

Sleep quietly, my little happy star,

It is so nice to fall asleep in safe.

Sleep quietly, my little cute star.

I'll keep guard, it is just in case.

Sleep in to the cradle of the Death,

She'll quietly rock you till you sleep.

Sleep, my little wolf, it is so late,

Sleep into your own dreaming so deep.

*

Sleep quietly, my little pretty star,

I'm going to remember you till my death.

Sleep quietly, my little tired star,

This is the warmest you will ever get.

Sleep into the forest of the Sorrow,

Where will she carry you, like I've done.

Sleep, my little child, my love is hollow,

Sleep, and when you wake up, I am gone.

~*~

"Draco?" Harry called as he entered the bedroom, not finding his fiancé there. "Draco, where are you?"

"In the shower," came a muffled reply from the next room. "Come over here, will you? I need to talk with you about something."

Harry smirked and shook his head, amused. If Draco wanted to talk right now, nothing would stop him. Not even the fact that he was just washing himself. He walked to the bathroom door, opened it, and stepped inside.

"What it is?" he asked, letting his gaze openly survey the other man's body. Draco was standing his back to Harry, and he'd left the shower curtains open. His slender, short form was shining with water, the perfectly muscled limbs moving gracefully as the blonde washed his hair. Nobody could say that Draco Malfoy wasn't good-looking.

"I was just thinking that we should set the wedding date," Draco said casually like he hadn't ben just standing there in nothing but water covering his pale skin. "I'd like it in the middle of summer, July would be perfect. We can't have it near a full moon for obvious reasons. The last and third day are also out, being your and Olivia's birthdays. I'd rather not have it too near the twenty-first either, since that's Mum's wedding day. So, do you have any suggestions?"

Harry swallowed. A lump of foam fell down from Draco's blonde head, sliding down his spine and disappearing between his buttocks. It left a trail of foam behind itself, along which even more shampoo started to slide down.

Draco seemed to sense Harry's eyes on himself, since he turned around to face him. "Care to join me?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"You bet," Harry grinned, then started hastily undressing himself. In no time, he accompanied the Slytherin in the shower. He enjoyed the warmth of the water and the body heat radiating from Draco's naked body. They were standing near, so near...

Draco smirked at him, then suddenly rose on his tiptoes and planted a wet, passionate kiss on his lips. "You look gorgeous," Draco said as they broke off the kiss, slightly breathless.

Harry raised an eyebrow with a little smirk. The Malfoy habits really rubbed easily off on anyone nearby. "Well, perhaps I've got somebody to take after," he chuckled. "You look nothing short of perfect."

"Which part of me is most perfect, then?" Draco asked slyly. "Other than the obvious, of course."

"Well, if the obvious is that you don't snore too loudly, then..." Harry laughed at Draco's expression and kissed him on the tip of his nose. "The most perfect part is you," he then said. "All of you. There's no parting, everything is just perfect."

"Nice to hear," Draco smirked. Then he wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and drew him into another long kiss.

Harry enjoyed the situation. The warm water pounding on his hair, Draco's wet body against his own, Draco's mouth on his own...

Draco's groin pushing against his own...

~*~

Severus smiled down at the book he was reading. The Inner Eye and Those Who Possess It, was the book's name, and it was nothing like the rubbish Trelawney taught to the poor children at school. He'd read the book three times now, never getting bored to it.

He glanced over at Sirius. His husband was lying on the couch, sound asleep. The Slytherin shook his head, smiling. So typical of Sirius; to ride his damned motorbike around for the whole afternoon after he'd gotten home from work, then walk in without even taking his boots off and fall asleep on the couch. He'd probably soon jump up, as brisk as he'd be after a full night's sleep, and ready to again do anything he could even think about. All Severus could do was to desperately hope that the "anything" wouldn't this time involve the bloody motorbike, sleepy mind and bare head. Sirius had once, two years before, went to a midnight ride without his safety helmet, fell asleep for a second and almost got himself killed. That night, and the four weeks following it that Sirius had been in the St. Mungo's, Severus had fully understood what Remus had felt when Lucius had been injured. He'd also understood just how much he hated the damned motorbike, which Sirius still insisted on riding at every opportunity.

He turned to the section of the book he hadn't read properly. It merely told about some special kinds of beings, like centaurs, who had natural talents for Divination. These he knew from other books, so he kept glancing through the section without ever reading it.

Now, however, he decided to take a more careful look at it. This was partly due to his boredom, partly because on their trip to Finland he'd heard of a recently discovered bird who seemed to possess a real talent to tell with its singing whenever bad luck was coming about. Since he didn't trust any other source but this book, which had never failed him, he now tried to search for it.

He never got to see whether the book knew about the bird. Right after centaurs, his eyes caught an unfamiliar word.

"Ciddles?" he mused aloud. "I've never heard of that." Curious, he started reading the text.

"A Ciddle is an offspring of a Pureblood and a Squib. They have usually been frowned upon in the wizarding society, and they're the main reason to the disapprovance of this kind of relationship."

Severus blinked. An offspring of a Pureblood and a Squib? Very well. He couldn't recall ever meeting a Pureblood who'd be willing to marry a Squib. The reasons must be very heavy to plant such prejudices in the people's minds.

He continued reading.

"Ciddles, although are almost never Squibs themselves, can never use their full magical abilities properly. When they're young, their magic shows up just as in any magical person. This goes on for longer than in other magical people, because they never gain the conscious control over their magic. No magical education is an option to a Ciddle, as they're permanently unable to gain this control. When their magical power reaches its peak, this uncontrolled magic disappears, to be only revealed when the Ciddle is highly upset or frightened.

"Sometimes, when the magical surging of the childhood is still existant, an extremely frightening or upsetting event involving magic can 'block' the Ciddle. In these cases, they subconsciously gain control over their magic too prematurely, and the surging ends. When happening to a young child, this seems to be a disappearance of the magic of a normal magical person, and has led to the numerous mistaken stories about 'burning out.'

"Squibs and Ciddles are also involved with each other in other ways than by birth. There is one, and only one, spell that a Squib is able to do. This spell reveals if the person it's casted on is a Ciddle or not. All Squibs are capable of this spell, but only a couple of them are willing to do it. Therefore, the Ministry has named certain Squibs from each area of Wizarding habitation as Ciddle testers, should there be a need need be for this spell to be performed.

"A Ciddle, although never able to use their full magic, can usually cast a limited amount of spells and charms. These are usually of one or two very limited areas, such as Levitating, Glamour Spells, or Banishing. Ciddles often are also talented on one or two areas of magic that do not require wand magic, like Divination, Astronomy, Alchemy, or Potions. To use these spells, Ciddles have their own kind of wands.

"The Ciddle wands aren't like the normal wands. All these wands are the same length, 12 inches, and often decorated with engravings. They don't have a handle, rarely even a core. They're sometimes made of metal, bone, or porcelain, unlike the normal wands, which are always wooden. The material and other appearance of the wand reflect its user's general character and the area of magic they're talented on.

"These wands are not sold everywhere, as Ciddles have always been, are, and will probably always be, very rare in any wizarding society, considering the special circumstances they require to be born. The most famous wand store in Europe that also sells Ciddle wands is in the Rue du Réves, in Paris."

For a moment he just stared at the book. The explanation was right there, in front of his nose. Had always been. The only problem was, he hadn't ever thought about looking at it.

He felt slightly distracted. Olivia was a Ciddle, that much was clear. She'd been surging like any other magical child. However, her letter to Hogwarts had never come. And when she'd gotten into a frightening event involving her magic - excluding her fathers beating, of course. It was a miracle she hadn't stopped surging right away - it had stopped, leaving her completely unable to use any magic. However, Olivia was a Muggleborn.

Or was she?

But, that was beside the point. The point being that there indeed was some wand magic Olivia would be able to preform - and a wand she'd be able to use.

Now, they only had to get the wand for her.