When he reached the door to Hagrid's hut, he heard other voices from the other side of the door that weren't only Tevin's and Hagrid's.  "I'll get the door, Hagrid," said a feminine voice that Draco definitely recognized from a week ago.  The door opened and he was face to face with Nymphadora Tonks.  She had a welcoming smile until she saw Draco.  "Oh.  It's Malfoy." 

Draco was tempted to shove his way past her but didn't think that would work out well for himself.  He'd been left with no other choice in their last encounter but to leave, and he was not about to do it again.  He waited until she would step out of his way but she did not move.  They were then engaged in a staring contest. 

"Let ‘im in ‘ere!" shouted the booming voice of Hagrid. 

With a huff, she turned and walked back into the hut to take her place at the table next to Charlie.  She reached out to frame the rather large mug between her hands.  Draco didn't see another spot for him to sit, and rather than shove himself somewhere he couldn't fit or get rude and demand someone let him sit instead, he simply opted to stand next to Tevin, who was curled up in Hagrid's gigantic armchair with his healthier-looking kneazle on his lap purring and snorting its contentment.  He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, which in itself was unusal for him.

"What were ye sayin', Charlie?" asked Hagrid, looking at the young Gryffindor. 

Charlie offered a shy grin from where his lips were on the rim of the mug.  "Oh, yeah, well.  I was saying that there are going to be more Weasleys coming to Hogwarts in the near future."  No one noticed Draco's eyes widening more with each word the Gryffindor spoke.  "Next fall, my twin brothers, Fred and George will be starting their first year.  They get into enough trouble at home as it is now.  I imagine it'll only be worse once they come here and get away from mum and dad.  Then, there's my other brother, Ron."  He looked at Tevin and Draco then.  "I think he'll be in your year."  He shifted his attention back to Hagrid again.  "Then, there's Ginny.  Only Weasley girl.  She'll be here the year after Ron.  They'll be lots of us here at once."

By then, Draco could not keep himself quiet anymore.  "Is that all?  Merlin, there're a million of you!" 

Charlie smiled indulgently at Draco.  "Not a million.  Only seven." 

Draco groaned.  Tonks, realizing the conversation might turn mean on Draco's part, decided to speak.  "There aren't anymore from my family."

Then, Draco mumbled to himself, quietly enough not to be heard - at least he thought.  "That's because they're scared of another Hufflepuff embarrassment."

Hagrid glared at the young blonde boy.  "Better a Hufflepuff than a Slytherin.  There's not been a single witch or wizard went bad tha's not from Slytherin!" 

At that the two boys that were not currently students of Hogwarts looked at Hagrid with stricken expressions.  It was Tevin who found his voice first.  "Our parents were Slytherins and they're not bad." 

"He didn't mean that everyone in Slytherin will end up being a bad person," Charlie tried to clarify, but the younger boys did not even seem to hear him.

"My father's not a bad person.  He's good and strong and...And my mother is the best mother there is!" Draco was struggling to hold himself together. 

"And my dad trusts you, Hagrid.  You don't think he's a bad wizard do you?"

Hagrid looked at Tevin with a spark of alarm in his beady black eyes.  "O' course not, Tevin.  I'm only sayin' tha' wizards tha' go bad are always from Slytherin."

Displaying one of the prized traits of her House, Tonks spoke up with a calm voice.  "Not every single wizard or witch that turned bad could possibly be from Slytherin.  I'm sure there were a few bad Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs."

"Even Gryffindors, too, I'd bet," piped up Charlie from next to her. 

"It's just not possible that Slytherin is the only House to produce evil."

It grew quiet for only a moment before Tevin spoke again.  "My dad says that evil comes in many forms, and most times in ways you least expect them." 

"Wise young man, yer father, Tevin," Hagrid said, thumping his huge mug on the table for emphasis.  "Wise young man." 

Tevin looked over at Draco to see if his friend was alright.  The blonde's head was facing the ground and he was trying desperately not to look at anything but his shoes.  "Draco?"

Draco took a deep breath before whispering to his best friend.  "Can we go back to the castle?" 

Tevin looked around at the others gathered in the hut.  Hagrid had a peculiar expression on his face.  Was it regret?  When Severus's son looked at Tonks and Charlie, the Gryffindor rose to his feet.  "I'll walk them back."  He looked at Tonks.  "You coming, too?"  She nodded before getting up, gently nudging the two young boys towards the doorway, Minnie whining in Tevin's arms at having been disturbed.

"Thanks for the tea, Hagrid, as always," said Charlie, reaching out to take Hagrid's hand. 

"You come back now, Charlie."  Charlie nodded and was about to follow Tonks out of the half-giant's home, when Hagrid exclaimed, "Wait, wait!  I fergot ter give you this."  He walked to a shelf near the back of the hut and in only another moment he returned with a thick book in his hand.  "Here ye go."

Charlie accepted the book and looked at the title.  Dragons, Where to Find Them, and How to Tame Them.  He began to smile.  "I figered ye'd need tha', seein' as how yer all interested in ‘em." 

"Thanks, Hagrid."  He inspected the worn cover.  "Is this a loan?"

"Nope.  You keep tha' ‘til ye don' need it no more."  Hagrid tried to smile kindly at the Gryffindor, who returned the expression a little more successfully. 

"Thanks."

It wasn't typical that Tevin had dinner at Draco's home without Severus.  Ophelia still refused every invitation for dinner, and Tevin could not understand why.  The Malfoys ate some foods that were even better than what Hogwarts served!  Why Ophelia would not want it was something that confused Tevin.  He wanted to ask her, but his father always sidestepped the question saying something about it being an adult problem and that he should not worry about it. 

The only drawback to eating at Malfoy Manor was that he had to have perfect table manners, which sometimes made him more nervous and a little clumsy.  Thankfully, Draco's parents seemed to tolerate the clumsiness with tight indulgent smiles, acknowledging that Tevin was at least trying. 

Lucius and Narcissa were politely discussing matters going on at the Ministry, while Draco and Tevin ate their food.  The adults would occasionally glance in their direction to make sure they were eating everything on their plates and doing so properly, not randomly and wildly shoving food in their mouths.  "There's been a great deal of discussion about the upcoming Minister for Magic elections.  It may be a somewhat tight race this time." 

"Oh?" Narcissa asked, as she took a sip of her dark wine gracefully. 

"Talk has gotten more and more frequent these days with the elections coming near the end of the year." 

Tevin tried to follow the conversations between Draco's parents, but where his own father and Ophelia tried to keep topics of discussion at dinner to things like plants, antidotes, poisons, dunderheads in class, and anything to do with Hogwarts, it seemed that all Draco's parents talked about was politics and things going on in the Ministry!  It was frustrating.  Tevin could not possibly contribute anything worth saying to the conversation.  He glanced at Draco and noticed that his friend seemed to be thinking the same thing.  Then, he noticed that Draco was acting a little odd.  His friend was using his fork to push his dinner around on his plate.  Tevin stared for several minutes, during which time Draco took not a single bite.  His staring must have drawn the attention of the adults because the tone used by Lucius Malfoy softened as he spoke to his son.

"Draco, are you alright?"

Draco didn't look up and didn't say anything.  He did, however, nod. 

"Draco, sweetie," his mother spoke gently.  "You're not sick, are you?"

He shook his head.  "No," he said.  "Just...thinking."

Lucius raised his own wine glass to his lips and began to take a long and slow sip.  Narcissa continued to speak to her son.  "What are you thinking about?" 

Draco then looked up from his plate and met his mother's gaze.  "Nymphadora Tonks," he answered.  Tevin's eyes bulged instantly. 

Lucius tried to cover the fact that he'd just choked on his wine by noisily setting his fork down on the table.  He then cleared his throat, fixing his son with a gaze of stone.  "And why would you be thinking of...her?"  Out of the corner of his eye he saw his wife stiffen in her chair.  Draco's gaze shifted nervously from his father to his mother.  "Draco," called Lucius with a bit harder of a tone than moments earlier.  "Answer me."

Tevin was looking at Lucius thinking he was glad that the blonde man sitting at the head of the table was not his father.  He liked Draco's parents and everything except when they stared at you like they could see through to your very soul!  He looked at Draco, hoping that his friend wouldn't upset his parents.

"I met her in Hogwarts, and-"

"Are you...friends with her?"  The third word seemed like it was pried out of Lucius's throat. 

"No, father.  I just.  Well..."

Lucius leaned forward, his hands together, fingers interlaced in front of his plate.  "Well, what, Draco?"

Draco was a little nervous to say what he wanted.  He swallowed thickly and then looked down as he answered.  "She doesn't seem that bad."

Narcissa watched as Lucius sighed heavily while still gazing at their son.  "Her mother betrayed this family, Draco.  You know that.  She was disowned from your mother's family all because she felt she could get away with marrying a muggle."  With every word, Lucius's expression twisted in distaste.  "Like her mother, Nymphadora is a disgrace to our world.  Do you want to be friends with a bloodtraitor, Draco?"

"Lucius," Draco's mother tried to hush her husband's oncoming discussion, but he waved her off unconcernedly.  Narcissa heard nothing else of Lucius's lecture to their son after that sentence.  It was eerily similar to something her father had once said.  She silently gasped as her own memories pummeled her mind. 

"Please, just for an hour or two, Ciss, please?  Just don't say anything."

Narcissa shook her head, her lovely blonde tresses swaying with the movement.  "You're meeting him again, aren't you?" she growled.  "That muggle boy!"  She spat the word like it was a curse. 

Andromeda walked up to her younger sister, her dark auburn-black hair shining in the light of the wall sconces near the door, and took her sister's pale hands in hers.  "Please.  If anyone asks, tell them I'm visiting Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion.  Please.  It's important to me." 

Narcissa shook her head.  "If anyone else knew about this..." she trailed off.  "Dromeda, they'd disown you." 

Andromeda bit her lip and smiled sadly.  "I know, but I can't help it.  I wish I didn't have to sneak around like this."

"Then date a pureblood."

Andromeda flung Narcissa's hands away.  "Is that all that matters to you, Ciss?  Everything's fine as long as you date a pureblood?"  She shook her head.  "I never thought you'd start to think like everyone else in our family." 

Narcissa tried to go to her sister, but froze when Andromeda backed away.  "I just don't want you to be hurt, Dromeda." 

Her older sister walked to the front door.  "The only person who hasn't hurt me yet is my muggle boyfriend.  Think about that, Ciss.  Purebloods really can't be better if they hurt their own family.  At least Ted doesn't hurt me." 

"Dromeda, don't go," the youngest Black sister tried again, but the other girl had already left through the door. 

Narcissa stood looking at the closed door wondering what had happened to her sister when she heard a tongue clicking from the shadows on the staircase nearby.  She then heard her eldest sister's voice.  "What would daddy think of little Andromeda now?"  Narcissa turned horrified eyes to Bellatrix, only finding that she was able to follow her black-haired sister as she skipped down the hallway to where they both knew their father would be reading the Daily Prophet.  However, while the older sister skipped with cruel glee, the younger darted after her with climbing dread.

"I never want to hear you speak of her or to her again, Draco, do you understand?" Lucius was practically hissing at his son. 

"What if I see her when I visit the school?" 

Narcissa looked at her son, hoping that he would be able to cling to his innocence far longer than she ever could.  She was still young when her family had gathered that horrible day.  She closed her eyes and remembered. 

"Come on, girls!" shouted the voice of Cygnus Black, having clearly amplified his voice with magic.  "We're late!  Your aunt and uncle are having a little dinner for the family.  Your cousin survived his First Year at Hogwarts, even if he was sorted into Gryffindor." 

Narcissa was finishing with her earrings when a soft knock sounded on her doorjamb.  She looked over at the source of the noise and smiled brightly.  "Lucius," she giggled his name.  He looked away from her for a moment, a little uncomfortable by the extremely feminine manner of her tone.  He liked her intelligence and her very pretty features and the normal speaking tone of her voice.  But sometimes when she got very girly and giggly like that he was a little uncomfortable.  If he'd wanted to date a simpering, giggling little twit he had plenty of witches to choose from.  He was fortunate to have found Narcissa Black, in whom those qualities very rarely emerged. 

She was trying to get her necklace on and was obviously having difficulty.  Lucius, being at the awkward age of sixteen, didn't know if he should go over there and offer to help or if she would yell at him and insist she could do it herself.  So he stood there, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

He saw her blushing in the mirror.  "You could help with this, you know," she said. 

He tilted his head and intelligently mumbled, "what?"

Out of nowhere, he found himself shoved into the room.  He spun quickly to face his girlfriend's oldest sister, who was smiling at him coyly.  "Get over there and put that necklace on her!" she snapped, her tone of voice completely contrasting with her expression.  He gaped as Bellatrix's new husband came up to her and snaked an arm around her waist, pressing her to his side with a rather frighteningly lewd grin.  "Go on," she hissed at Lucius. 

All of a sudden, Lucius heard Narcissa's voice from directly behind him.  He wondered if it was in the nature of the sisters to sneak up on people like that.  "Go away, Bella," Narcissa ordered her older sister.  "And tell Dad that we'll be down in a minute." 

Bellatrix smiled, but without showing her teeth, only her lips curled upwards.  "Be quick, though, Cissy.  Don't want to miss...dinner."  Her smile spoke of knowing some secret that no one else did.  Then, she cackled almost insanely and led her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, away from her little sister's room. 

Narcissa closed the door with a roll of her eyes.  "Ever since she got married, she's been a little unbearable."

Lucius smiled at her.  "I wouldn't know.  I don't have the older sibling problem." 

She laughed through her nose.  "Lucky you."  She walked back to where her necklace lay abandoned on the vanity.  She held it up then turned to face Lucius.  "Well?" 

Lucius picked up the cue and made his way over to her, reaching for the gold chain.  When he had it, he watched as Narcissa used her hands to bare the back of her neck of her long blonde hair.  He lowered the pendant chain in front of her face, and she adjusted her grip on her hair to keep it out of his way as he wound the chain to meet at the nape of her neck.  He fastened it carefully, making sure that it was correct before he looked up and saw Narcissa looking at him in the mirror, her cheeks colored a flattering rose.  She was about to fix her hair again when her father's voice shouted from the bottom of the stairs again jarring the two out of their daze. 

"We should go before he thinks we're doing something we're not supposed to be doing," he said. 

"Bella probably said we were doing something awful." 

He tried to laugh but it didn't quite come out right.  To try to cover the awkward sound, he cleared his throat and offered Narcissa his arm as he'd been taught was the proper thing to do.  She smiled at him and accepted.  He took a deep breath and escorted her out of the room.  "Are you nervous, Lucius?"

"About what?"

"Meeting more of my family."

Lucius managed to chuckle that time.  "Of course not.  I'm...just fine."

They were the last of the household to step through the green flames of the floo that spun them right to Orion and Walburga Black's home at Number 12 Grimauld Place.  The sight that greeted them was not what either of them expected. 

Cygnus Black had his middle daughter's hair clutched in his fist and he was pulling her out of the room.  Andromeda held her father's wrist desperately trying to lessen the pain caused by her father.  Narcissa stared in horror with her mouth open wide as she instantly took in her mother's face, which was empty of any emotion, and the matching smiles of Bellatrix and Rodolphus as they watched Cygnus forcibly remove Andromeda from the room and down the hallway.  Narcissa met the eyes of her younger cousins.  They were children!  Regulus was clutching Walburga's skirts and hiding behind them, but it was clear his eyes were wide with confusion.  Sirius, the elder of the two boys, was being held back by his father, Orion, as he tried to go to his older cousin to help her.  The situation finally registered with Narcissa at her uncle's words. 

"Don't you dare help that bloodtraitor, Sirius."

And in that moment, Narcissa understood.  She gripped Lucius's arm tighter as the entire family followed the lead of Cygnus Black, who dragged Andromeda violently into a particular room in the house.  Numb with disbelief, Narcissa was grateful that Lucius was practically steering her into the room.  She was grateful that he had enough tact to lead her to the back of the room where they could be farthest away.  It was merciful of him.  And for that small mercy she was glad.  Her sister was about to receive none. 

The family had been gathered into the room that contained the Black Family Tree. 

"You were born into the Noble House of Black, Andromeda.  Did that mean nothing to you?" her father roared in his daughter's face, which was now streaked with tears.  Narcissa knew what was about to happen.  The evidence of others' fates was already there on the tapestry.  Movement caught her eye to her right and she looked over and saw Bellatrix and her husband.  Her oldest sister's hand was on her husband's chest, gripping his robes, while her face was that of complete satisfaction.  Narcissa was horrified. 

"And now you go around consorting with a muggle?  A muggle, Andromeda!"

"Please, dad!" she cried, trying to pry her father's fingers from her hair. 

"Please, dad!" mocked Bellatrix with a high-pitched sing-song tone, before she laughed cruelly at her sister's humiliation. 

Narcissa then looked to her left and saw the eleven-year-old Sirius still struggling against the grip of his father, and the nine-year-old Regulus with his face almost completely hidden behind his mother, but his expression of uncomprehension. 

"You've disgraced yourself!" continued the booming voice of Cygnus.  "You've shamed this family!"  With his free hand, he drew forth his wand and pointed it at Andromeda's likeness on the tapestry of the Black Family Tree.  "You've betrayed us all, and for that you'll suffer the consequence of it." 

"No!" shouted little Sirius. 

"No!  Daddy, please!" sobbed Andromeda. 

"Incendio!" cried Cygnus.  A burst of flame shot from his wand and burned the image of Andromeda Black on the tapestry.  He pulled his daughter's hair and forced her to look at her place now aflame.  "You are not my daughter."  The fire was starting to go out.  "You are not a Black."  Where Andromeda's pretty face had once been on the tapestry, there was now a dark, smoking, charred burn mark.  "You are dead." 

Narcissa watched, completely numbed by the shock of the events taking place, as her father threw her sister to the floor, where she remained in a crumbled heap sobbing.  As he had led the family into the room, Cygnus led them all out.  He stepped over Andromeda's shaking form on the floor.  Bellatrix practically skipped from the room, humming mockingly as she left, the cruel sound echoing down the narrow hallway. 

Narcissa's gaze was riveted to her sister.  Lucius began to escort her from the room.  She resisted for a moment, trying to get him to change direction to go to Andromeda.  "Dromeda," she whispered, barely able to get her voice to work. 

Lucius used his escorting arm to tug her forcefully back to him.  She looked at him with eyes blazing in anger.  When she saw the compassion in his eyes for her - but not for Andromeda - she felt a little of the fight in her die.  "No, Cissa," he whispered gently to her, trying to convey much more with those two words. 

She bit her lips to stifle a sob as she looked again at her sister.  Then, she felt a hand close over the one that she looped through Lucius's.  When she looked at it, she saw that he was holding her hand.  She released only one sob, closed her eyes, turned her back on her older sister, and allowed Lucius to take her from the room. 

Narcissa realized that when she opened her eyes she had missed her husband's entire lecture to their son.  Instead she found her husband looking at her with a gentle concern.  "Darling," he said, resting his hand on hers carefully.  "Are you alright?"

She nodded and tried to smile, knowing it was a grimace.  "Yes."  She covered up her slip of composure by taking a long sip of her wine and avoiding her husband's eyes. 

Tevin and Draco looked at each other almost desperately as they both tried to come up with something to talk about.  They were almost done with their dinners and were torn between keeping quiet and finishing their food as fast as possible so that they could leave the table, or distracting the adults from possibly going into another long discussion about politics in the Wizarding World. 

Draco looked at his parents and could not decide what to discuss, so he said nothing.  He did not like to see his mother shaken like this.  Something clearly upset her, since she usually did not ever spend more than a moment at a time sipping her wine.  She'd had the rim of the glass at her lips for the last few minutes.  And his father did not usually make an effort to physically check that his mother was alright.  Yet there he was, in the middle of dinner no less, holding his wife's hand and speaking in hushed tones to her.  Their behavior was so atypical that Draco was almost desperate to bring some normality back in any way he could.  The only thing open to him was to bring up another topic that may bring the attention of one of his parents back to him. 

"Today we heard Charlie Weasley talk about his brothers and sisters that are going to be in Hogwarts after him."

The look that both of his parents gave him made Draco wish he'd decided to say nothing at all. 

Lucius's face was that of patient frustration, as though he was trying to gather himself so that he could speak reasonably to his son rather than explode in another tantrum.  He'd already done this during this meal and was reluctant to do so again, considering how tense it was now between the four of them in the room.  "Boys," he began with a deep breath.  "I know you've brought up Charlie Weasley several times to me, and I have to be rather blunt when I say that I do not think it is a wise decision to associate with that family or anyone in it."

This time, it wasn't Draco that spoke but Tevin.  "Why?  Charlie isn't that bad.  He helped us when we messed up the potion like that and had to go to Madam Pomfrey."

Lucius shifted his gaze to the dark haired boy on Draco's left.  "Just because someone helps you once, does not mean they would do it again if the situation came up.  There are many times that the exact opposite happens.  Yes, he helped you both because there was no one else around.  Why would he do that?  He's a Hogwarts student, and you are a professor's son, Tevin.  He may have helped you because he hoped to get some sort of special treatment from your father in his classes."

Tevin's face became offended in expression.  "My dad doesn't treat anyone special in class!"

"Don't raise your voice at me, Tevin," said Lucius in a tone that demanded obedience.  "The thing you must understand about some people, boys, is that they will stay by your side so long as you are useful to them for some reason.  Once that reason does not apply anymore, then you will find yourself abandoned.  There are countless people that will do this.  To you, Draco, because of our bloodline, and our authority in our world, and our wealth.  And to you, Tevin, because your father is a professor in Hogarts and your mother is a potions ingredients maker.  People will want something from you.  Do you understand, boys?"  Draco nodded. 

"What's this have to do with Charlie?"

Lucius sighed.  "What you both must understand about the Weasleys is that they all have red hair, freckles, and their family consists of more children than those parents can afford.  They'll try to make connections with whoever can give them more things from that friendship."  He looked at the eyes of both boys.  "Do you understand?"

"Manipulating," Tevin said. 

Lucius nodded.  "Exactly.  I want you both to be careful around people like the Weasleys.  People like that will use you until they get what they want and then they'll be done with you." 

Draco and Tevin nodded.  Even though what Draco's father was saying made sense, Tevin didn't think Charlie and Nymphadora Tonks were using him or Draco for anything.  Some people really were simply nice people and didn't want anything in return. 

Tevin was trying to sleep in the transfigured couch-turned-bed, courtesy of Narcissa Malfoy, in Draco's room and having a difficult time of it.  For some reason he could not fall asleep.  So he stayed bundled up in the covers and hoped that sleep would come to him soon.  He wondered if what was keeping him awake was bothering Draco as much as him.  The answer came a little sooner than he expected.

"Dobby," whispered his friend from somewhere in the room.

Tevin studied his best friend by the moonlight filtering in through the window.  Draco was sitting in front of his unlit fireplace, staring at the ashes.  He was wrapped in a blanket and his shoulders were hunched.  He made a sad and lonely little picture.

There was a quiet snap and another voice sounded in the room.  "Dobby is here, master Draco." 

"I want something to eat."

"Should Dobby bring master Draco something sweet or not sweet?"

There was a moment's hesitation.  "Sweet."

"Hot or cold, master Draco?"

"Cold," Draco said quietly.  "Milk, I think.  With cookies." 

Then there was another snap as Tevin realized that Dobby had disapparated again to do Draco's bidding. 

"Draco?" he called, not really knowing if he should be bothering him.  Draco turned at his friend's voice but said nothing before he slowly turned back to stare at the ashes of the fireplace.  "Are you okay?"  Tevin got out of the transfigured bed, dragging his topmost blanket off with him as he walked over to his friend.  Neither of them said anything else for a few moments.  The dark-haired boy settled himself on the floor next to Draco. 

It was after both of them had stared at the empty fireplace for a few minutes and long after Dobby had quietly left the glass of cold milk and the plate of cookies in front of Draco that the blonde finally spoke.  "I don't understand," he said, just before he took a bite from one of the cookies.

Tevin took a cookie from the plate and took a bite.  "Understand what?" he asked. 

"How can Father be so against anyone who likes mudbloods and muggles and halfbloods...but can..."  He took another bite of his cookie as he thought of a word.  "...accept your mother, who's a mudblood..."  He caught Tevin's glare and then corrected himself.  "Muggleborn, and you, who's a halfblood, and your father, who likes muggleborns?"  Draco took a slow drink of his milk as though he were trying to imitate his parents when they drank their wine.  "That doesn't make any sense to me."

Tevin found himself responding without meaning to.  "Maybe he's getting used to it, and maybe he'll like them, too, one day."

Draco snorted.  "Please.  The day Father starts to actually like muggleborns is the day..."  He floundered again for a good comparison.  "The day Hogwarts gets destroyed!" 

Tevin chuckled half uncomfortably next to Draco.  It was quiet for another few moments, the only sounds in the room was the sound of cookies being eaten and the sipping from a shared glass of milk.  They eventually curled up on the floor in their blankets, both too lazy and contented by food to drag themselves back to bed. 

"Do you think it'll matter, Snape?  What your blood purity is?" Draco asked aloud in the dark room as they both looked up at the ceiling.

"Maybe not now," Tevin replied.  "But...maybe someday." 

But Draco was asleep before he could hear Tevin's reply. 

Dumbledore was not typically in the habit of walking around the castle spying on the students or staff in broad daylight, but he was thinking that an exception had to happen that night.  Ever since his experiment with Fawkes recently, he was growing more and more convinced that some sort of answer would be found with Severus Snape and his wife, Ophelia Snape...or as she was formerly known, Ophelia Fay.  It was also times like this in which a little...undercover observing was necessary. 

And that explained the reason for his wandering the castle under a particularly strong Disillusionment Charm, standing directly in the open doorway to his Potions Master's classroom, listening to a conversation that had begun several minutes ago.  What he was hearing was quite interesting.

"The older he gets, the more I feel that...like I'm waiting for something to happen."  Severus was gathering up potionmaking supplies from his last class of the day and replacing them in the classroom cupboard by each item.  Ophelia was helping by directing several charmed wet and soapy rags to scrub the desk surfaces.  Severus closed the cupboard and faced his wife.  "Not death exactly, but nothing good either.  It's like I'm just...waiting for someone to blindside me with a Cruciatus Curse."  He walked up to stand next to Ophelia, who was waving her wand at the scrubbing rags.  "I know it's coming, but I can't really be prepared for the pain when it comes."

There was the sound of approaching students in the corridor.  Most likely some of the Slytherin students on their way to either the library or to claim their favorite seat in the Great Hall for dinner.  Dumbledore was surprised however, when Severus's head jerked up to stare exactly where he was standing concealed.  For a moment, Dumbledore felt a spike of nervousness.

"Severus?" asked Ophelia as the professor walked purposefully towards the doorway to the classroom.  Dumbledore retreated until his back was against the opposite wall, out of the way of any approaching students, and out of Severus's way.  Severus grasped the wooden door to his classroom with one of his hands as he looked out into the corridor, his dark eyes sweeping investigatively in either direction.  Slowly, as though he knew that Dumbledore was nearby and hiding, Severus reached out his hand, moving it through the air as though blindly searching.  His eyes still stared hard into the corridor.  

Ophelia stood at his side then in the doorway.  "Severus, what's wrong?"  She reached out with her right hand to grasp his arm and force it to lower again.  "Are you alright?" 

Then, Dumbledore noticed it.  There on Ophelia's hand were marks.  They were marks he would recognize on sight.  They were the marks left behind when someone swore an Unbreakable Vow. 

Before he could look at them any further, Severus slammed the door to his classroom shut.  But Dumbledore heard one last thing his professor said.  "We can't speak of this again openly." 

As the Headmaster made his way back to his office before he would attend dinner in the Great Hall, one question puzzled him.  Why would Ophelia Fay swear an Unbreakable Vow?

"We can't speak of this again openly." 

Severus walked briskly through the back door of his classroom and through all the others that eventually led to his suite.  He knew that Ophelia was following him when her voice was right behind him every step of the way.  "Severus!  No one was there!"

"You didn't notice how something sounded different in the door?  How it almost sounded muffled?"  Severus had walked through the bedrooms and was furiously pacing in his parlor, his long black robes trailing him like aggravated smoke.  "Someone was there!"  He caught Ophelia's concerned and doubtful eyes.  He pointed his pale finger at her.  "Do not, do not think I'm losing my mind." 

"I'm not, but-"

Severus's face twisted.  "I'm sure there was someone there.  And they heard me talking."  His pacing grew more furious.  "They know that...something, that I'm - we're - hiding something.  And now that they know that-"

He stopped pacing and walked directly to one of the many walls in the parlor that was covered in books.  He grabbed one of the shelves with his hands and leaned heavily forward.  "If someone heard us, and they corner Tevin...I can't watch him constantly." 

Ophelia walked up to Severus and tried to rest her hand on his shoulder comfortingly only to have him jerk her away like her hand was an annoyance.  "Severus, you knew you couldn't protect him forever." 

He sighed.  "What if it wasn't a student who heard us?"  He stared ahead at nothing in growing horror.  "What if it was the Headmaster?"

She sighed.  "The spells we put on him years ago could not possibly have failed now.  They were strong spells.  We did them well." 

He shook his head.  "What if it wasn't enough?"

"It was enough." 

Severus hung his head.  "We can't know that." 

"We have to believe it was enough," she said, trying to calm him down. 

He began to tremble where he leaned against the bookshelf.  "Believing does not change things, Ophelia.  I believed that I could save Lily that night and she died anyway, no matter what I did to save her.  What if the same thing happens with Tevin?"

Ophelia and Severus were quiet for a long while.  "I haven't known you to simply let things happen, Severus.  You always have a next step."  She went to stand so that she was within his eyesight.  "What's your next step?  If you think Tevin needs more protection, what's your next step?" 

Severus turned his eyes away from her and stared ahead at the bookshelf in front of him.  Then, his eyes lost the despair and instead gained the spark of an idea.  With the care of a scholar, Severus removed a book from the shelf.  He looked at the title, a plan began to blossom in his mind, and a small smile began to curl his lips. 

The title read, Occlumency: Theory and Practice.