With the end of Voldemort and the continuation of school, life had a way of moving onward. The Ministry was kept busy with a change in regime as Kingsley Shacklebolt took on the uneasy mantle of Minister of Magic. His advisor, whom he referred to as his conscience, was Arthur Weasley. The following months of trials for the captured Death Eaters was a difficult one that gave both men more than a few sleepless nights.

At the end of January, Severus Snape was called before the Wizengamot to answer questions on the whereabouts of Lucius Malfoy. Other than providing the Wizengamot with a copy of his pensieved memories of Malfoy's death, the inquiry lasted no more than a few hours.

Harry, who wanted to forget everything and just finish his fifth year at school so he could do well on his OWLs was never more glad to have the father he had in Snape. Reporters were a constant plague whenever they tried to visit Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. A few encounters with the intimidating Potions Master of Hogwarts finally sent the reporters looking for other ways to get the stories they wanted.

Hogwarts became a safe haven, not just for Harry, but for all the students who just wished for a return to normalcy. Dumbledore was kept busy nearly every hour of the day insuring that his children were kept away from sensationalising reporters and had a place where they could, finally, be children.

By the first of February, Snape's sons were deep in their revisions and if they weren't preparing for their OWLs with their girlfriends and friends, they were both trying to figure out what to do with their futures.

At one time Harry had thought it might be 'fun' to be an Auror. He did enjoy Defense and he was very good at it, but having dealt with Voldemort and Death Eaters most of his childhood had thrown that ambition out the window.

"I'd like to travel," said Luna. She sat on the window seat in the Snapes living room against the enchanted window. On her lap was a copy of Scamander's Himalayan Bestiary, a new book on fantastic beasts of the Himalayas.

Harry sat on the other side of the window seat, re-reading a chapter in his Potions textbook. "Do you want to look for some of the mythical beasts, Luna?"

"Possibly." She put down her book, took Harry's book away, and moved to sit next to his side. "If we found any mythical beasts, though, I'd like to capture them within the pages of stories. For children."

Harry smiled and brushed aside her pale hair from her forehead. He was well aware of Luna's fantastic imagination. It was at fault for many labelling her as 'loony'.

"I have dozens of notebooks with silly little stories, but the one thing I'm simply awful at is drawing." As she looked up at Harry, he could see that tiny, calculating glimmer in her smokey blue grey eyes.

"I'm not that good an artist, Luna," he began to protest. Harry did draw, but it was mostly to keep himself from falling asleep during Professor Binns deadly boring History of Magic lectures. "Just scribbles along the edges of my homework."

"If you practiced more, you'd be very good, Harry. Besides, children are more forgiving of flaws than are adults." Making a decision, she climbed over Harry, got to her feet, grabbed his hand and tugged him to his feet. "Let's see what you can come up with for my story of 'The Eight Little Nogwhytes'."

Harry allowed Luna to pull him out of his parents quarters. Just before the door closed, he could be heard asking, "What's a Nogwhyte?"

Draco and Hermione watched the door close behind Luna and Harry. They were seated at the dining table doing a better job of studying than the other couple had. "I have a feeling those two are never going to grow up," smirked Draco.

"That will change the moment Luna gets pregnant," remarked Hermione.

There was the crash of a tea set behind them. "Luna's pregnant?" roared Snape who'd just come out of the sitting room he'd added to their quarters at Christmas. It allowed he and his wife privacy, but kept them near their sons and friends when they chose to study in the living room.

Draco burst into laughter, while Hermione scowled at him. She waved a hand to repair the broken tea things. "No, Uncle," she corrected. "Luna and Harry haven't done anything they shouldn't. For Merlin's sake, she's only fourteen!"

Snape's eyes narrowed. "They'd better not. I don't need grandchildren before my daughter has even had a chance to arrive."

Draco smirked wickedly, "Witches mature rather soon, Hermione." He waggled his eyebrows at the Gryffindor.

Snape whacked the impertinent boy in the back of the head. "I know a potion that'll keep all four of you from 'maturing' if you don't watch it." He took the repaired tea set from Hermione. "What are you two up to?"

"Revising for Transfiguration, father," replied Draco as he straightened his hair.

"Ah." For a moment Snape stared down at their books and then he looked at Draco. "Put your books aside. We need to talk." He then disappeared into the kitchen.

Draco looked over at Hermione as he slowly closed his book and capped his bottle of ink. "Did we do something wrong?" he whispered.

Hermione shrugged, "Not that I know of."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" he winked slyly.

Hermione waved her hand sending Draco flipping backwards in his chair. "OW! Hermione, that's just RUDE! Ulp!" He yelped as his father yanked him up by his collar.

"Enough of this silliness, both of you," he admonished sharply. He then waved the two teenagers over by the fireplace. He sat in his leather, tall-backed chair, and Hermione and Draco sat gingerly on the sofa.

"With the Death Eater trials finally out of the way, I believe we can now concentrate on some family business that has been sorely neglected of late," said Snape, mostly eyeing Draco.

"Elydree?" Draco asked hopefully.

Snape nodded. "It is safe now for Elydree to come home." He paused and then spoke again, "I was talking to your mother and we have decided that it might be best to visit Elydree next weekend in America."

Draco felt a hundred things crowd into his mind, and he couldn't voice any of them. He felt Hermione's hand on his arm and heard her say, "If it's all right, Uncle, I'd like to come along?"

Snape shook his head. "I know you'd like to be there for Draco, Hermione, but I think it's important that Draco and Elydree have the weekend to reacquaint themselves."

Draco finally found his voice and croaked out, "Where does Elydree live?"

At first it didn't seem like Snape was answering his question. "Do you remember that odd Human Chess Game we saw briefly when we visited Nereid Gardens in California?" Draco frowned, but nodded slightly. "Then I suppose you recall the young girl who shouted about 'Pawns for Peace' and then was 'shot' by the two kings?"

Girl. Draco hadn't thought she was a girl. She'd been almost as tall as him. Her costume, a simple one had been a black dress and black tights... As his memory saw the girl run across the checkerboard stage, shouting for negotiations, he remembered her long ponytail of raven black, straight hair. At one point she had looked out into the audience and he'd caught sight of the most brilliant blue eyes he'd ever seen.

Snape hadn't expected Draco to absolutely freeze upon him. In fact, he was now rather concerned that his son might have gone into shock. Draco sat, unmoving, staring at something neither Hermione nor Snape could see. Snape moved from his chair and knelt down on one knee in front of the boy. He snapped his fingers once in front of Draco's face, and thankfully that caused him to blink.

"That was Elydree!" Draco irrationally grabbed his father's shoulders by his teaching robes. "Why didn't you tell me that was my little sister! And she saw me! You bastard!" His grip on his father's shoulders was hard enough that it hurt.

SMACK!

Snape's hand cracked loudly against Draco's cheek. It was not a hard strike as he had pulled the slap on purpose. Draco was getting hysterical and he had to shock the boy back to reality.

Draco touched his reddening cheek and took a deep breath. "Couldn't you have told me?" he asked quietly, his silvery grey eyes capturing his father's black gaze. "We were writing to each other. You could have said something."

Snape rose up and patted Draco's shoulder. He then sat down again. "I knew I was taking a chance indulging all of you in a day at Fisherman's Wharf, but her aunt's bakery wasn't down there. I figured we had a relatively good chance of not encountering her. The last thing I expected was to see your sister dancing across a Human chess board dressed as a pawn. It was why I ushered all of you out of there so quickly."

"But... sir," Draco tried to say, and the pain of knowing he'd been so close to the sister he once thought he'd lost forever was sharp in his strangled tone of voice.

"You know very well it wasn't safe then, Draco."

Draco dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his face firmly. He felt Hermione's hand upon his back, rubbing it soothingly. Finally he raised his head and tried to place a smile on his face. He may have gone through a roller coaster of emotions just then, but at the end of it all, he was finally going to see his little sister.

"Soooo, this weekend, father?"

Snape sighed with relief and nodded. "This weekend. We'll leave right after classes on Friday so make certain you're all packed for three days."

"I hate this tie," muttered Snape as he stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom. He was wearing a Muggle business suit that Lyrica had just finished adjusting with sizing spells.

"Do you hate the colour, or the tie itself?" She sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking her more prominent belly. Her daughter was having a kicking fit this evening.

"Both," he groused.

"Suffer," she snapped.

Snape turned sharply away from the mirror, all concern and thought now on his wife. Lyrica was just beginning the last month of her pregnancy and was having a difficult time with exhaustion. Today had been her last day teaching Potions and any patience she'd had with her students vanished with the tiredness.

"You could come with us, my dear," he said cupping her cheek and kissing her lightly.

"If I weren't feeling like castle Hogwarts itself, I would love to meet Elydree, but at the moment, I could care less." Lyrica kissed her husband's hand and gave him a wan smile. "Please try not to worry, Severus. Tonks will be with me and we'll both be at Minerva's summer home."

"You won't be at Hogwarts?" he asked, a bit in alarm.

"Poppy will be there, too. Now, go on. I'm sure Draco's waiting for you."

Helping his wife to her feet, he drew her against himself and revelled in the feeling of her body next to his, and the kick his daughter gave him through her mother. He then kissed her and was pleased to note, that despite how tired Lyrica was, she returned his kiss with the same fervor. Just before he reluctantly pulled away, Snape latched a pale green peridot teardrop on a double silver chain around Lyrica's neck.

"It's beautiful, Severus," she whispered with a small smile.

He curled a strand of her hair about his index finger as he explained, "If you need me, for anything, love, hold the stone tightly in your hand and whisper, 1898." He then held up his hand to show the silver wedding band he wore. He tapped it. "I'll know, and I'll come." His placed his hand over his wife's belly, smiled at the strong kick, then kissed Lyrica one last time, and left to meet Draco.

There was a slight chill coming off from the ocean as Snape and Draco portkeyed to a small, wooded area not far from an old, red painted church, and a nearby highway. Snape directed them up the slightly slippery incline until they emerged at the rear of a hotel. Casting a Disillusionment Charm over himself and his son, they climbed over the short wall that enclosed a tiled courtyard with a fountain. Snape straightened his suit, and cast a small Scourgify over a stain on the back of Draco's jeans.

"Through there," he said softly, pointing through an open set of French doors.

They quickly walked through the doors, past the concierge's desk, and out the front doors. When Snape was certain no one could see, he removed the Disillusionment Charm, and retraced their steps back to the concierge's desk with Draco behind him.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the Adobe Shell Inn." The clerk was a young woman just barely in her twenties. She seemed a bit too cheerful. Snape surmised that was due to a lack of business and that she might have been sleeping in back.

"Have you a large suite with two beds available?" he asked.

"We have a VIP suite," she replied. "Two rooms, two baths, a dining area, coffee nook, and a fully stocked refrigerator. Top floor with a wonderful view of the Bay and Fisherman's Wharf."

"The price for three nights?" The clerk quoted a price that was outrageous, but it didn't matter. In minutes he had taken a roll of hundreds from his pocket and pulled out five. He placed them on the counter, filled out the needed paperwork and barely heard what the clerk had to say about a complimentary breakfast. He took the key, and ushered Draco over to the elevator.

"Uhm, sir, uh, Mr. Snape?" she called out. He turned and didn't bother to tone down his scowl of irritation. She swallowed, but continued with the question she had. "Don't you have any luggage, sir?"

"The airline lost it." With that, the elevator doors opened and he pushed Draco inside.

It wasn't long before the two wizards reached the top floor and found their room. Inside the room, Snape withdrew their shrunken luggage from his pocket, used the Engorgio Spell to re-enlarge it, and pointed his son towards his room to unpack and settle in. A few minutes later Draco emerged from his room to find his father talking in a Muggle contraption. He'd seen Hermione's parents use one and tried to recall what it was called.

"Telephone," he murmured.

Snape hung up the phone and saw Draco. "I've ordered us a car so I expect we'll be on our way in about a half hour."

Draco's face fell. "A car?"

"You've a difficulty with cars?" Snape asked.

Draco shrugged and seated himself in a chair. "Hermione's mum. She drove this mess of a... a... truck it was called. Thing sounded like it was going to rattle apart and she drove it like the Dark Lord was coming after her."

Snape suppressed a chuckle. "I'll be sure not to ride in a car when she's driving. However, as I was raised in the Muggle world, I learned how to drive and I'm quite good."

"Okay," said Draco, who didn't sound at all convinced.

A few hours later, Draco was standing in the hotel parking lot, prepared to spit bullets or cast a Jelly Legs Hex at his father. Snape sat in the driver's seat of a silver Cadillac that he'd rented for their visit.

"Get. In. The. Car." Snape was about to put a Body Bind on his son and stuff him in the trunk. He was fast losing his temper.

"It's a death trap," glowered Draco.

"Get in..." Snape cursed silently and got out of the car. Draco didn't even bother backing away as his father advanced upon him. He turned to run and suddenly found himself frozen in place.

"No fair, father! You said not to use magic!" groused Draco.

"I said you weren't to use magic!" With a wave of his hand, Snape sent Draco over to the passenger side of the car. He then went on that side, opened the door, released Draco from the Body Bind, and pushed him onto the seat. He then put the belt on over his son and tightened it.

"Make one complaint, and I'll tie you to the roof, child," growled Snape. He slammed the passenger side door, strode over to the driver's side, got in the car, and was soon out in traffic.

Snape drove the car from Monterey to Pacific Grove. It was a quick drive, except for when they had to turn onto Cannery Row.

Automobile traffic really shouldn't have been allowed in the tourist area. It was crowded with pedestrians walking wherever they pleased, local shuttle buses that blocked the cars, and more cars parked against both curbs along the entire row. The worst part was that it took driving down Cannery Row twice before he found a place to park the car. As soon as they left the car, Draco had become silent. He knew that in a few blocks they'd reach the bakery owned by Angie Camden; where his sister would be.

Snape didn't push for conversation, knowing that Draco needed to drift within his thoughts and memories as they made their way down the Row.

Draco remembered reading stories to Elydree at night when she was two years old. She would lean against his side, so very quiet and intent upon his voice as he read about dastardly knights, clever witches, beautiful dragons, and wicked princesses.

Draco would always keep Elydree safe and out of sight of Lucius. The few times Lucius did see her, if he spoke, it was to make a remark about her black hair. Once he'd accused Narcissa of having an affair with Severus. Draco had hidden underneath a desk as he heard the argument between Lucius and his mother. He was six years old and it was the first time Lucius had threatened to kill his little sister.

Elydree had never known what her father thought of her or was capable of. Sometimes she'd ask Draco about their father and it tore him up to have to tell the little girl that their father was a dangerous wizard that had to be avoided.

Then came the day Elydree got away from him. She was seven and he was just turned nine. He couldn't help it. He'd been distracted by a fascinating book his godfather had sent him. Elydree had gotten bored and had not stayed in the nursery with her brother. She had gone wandering.

Draco panicked the second he realised Elydree wasn't in the nursery. He ran around the manor, wishing he had permission to shout for his sister. Raised voices merited a whipping so he dared not raise his voice above a whisper; a sound that was useless as he looked everywhere for Elydree.

He wished he could have called for a house elf, but they did not come to his calls. They were not allowed to do so. Finally, he passed the open door of Lucius' office and his heart leaping up into his throat nearly choked him. A weeping Elydree was on the floor at Lucius feet. His anger... no his rage... was like a palpable force. Draco saw the wizard raise his cane to bring it down upon the vulnerable child's head. Draco screamed, never realising that a burst of his accidental magic threw Lucius across the room and knocked him into the wall.

Narcissa had taken her daughter away, but Lucius was too angry. Looking back to that day, many times Draco had wished his burst of accidental magic had killed Lucius. The wizard not only cursed him but gave him, perhaps, the worst beating of his life. Lucius had very nearly killed him. Days later, when he came to, he learned that he was alive, but Elydree wasn't. After Lucius left his room, he had wept for Elydree.

Elydree Malfoy had only turned thirteen a few days ago. She was a tall girl, though, and older boys often thought she was sixteen or seventeen. That caused no end of headaches for her guardian, Angie, who had to keep reminding the young girl she wasn't, yet, allowed to date.

Elydree had a slim, willowy build, that she liked to drape with vintage clothing. Today she wore an antique cream, silk and lace, dress from the 1920s. Her long, straight black hair, was simply pulled back from the sides and fastened by a tortoise-shell clip. She wore a pair of low heels from the same era to complement her dress.

She had been pacing in and out of the bakery for the last fifteen minutes, nervous due to the visitors she was expecting.

"Elly!" snapped an older woman with greying, brown hair. This was Elly's aunt, Angie Camden. She wore a pair of soft jeans, a white cotton shirt that had belonged to her husband who had passed a couple of years ago, and a red, checked apron that served as her baker's uniform.

"If you're going to go in and out, then at least leave the door open. You're beginning to drive me nuts!"

Sighing heavily, Elly dutifully pushed the door open all the way, and kicked a small block in front of the corner of the door. Just as she was about to walk out to the busy sidewalk again, she stopped, and froze.

Elydree had seen her godfather first. Even in Muggle clothing, his visage was unmistakable. Tall and straight, she recognised him as the man she'd seen that summer with the kids and the lovely wife. She didn't have time to reflect any further upon that day as her eyes locked onto the blonde haired, young man, whose head was just at Severus' shoulder height. She took in a slow, deep breath and placed her hand over her chest, half checking to see if her heart was still beating. It was the boy she'd seen that summer! Without a word, she ran the short distance and wrapped her arms as tightly as she possibly could around her brother.

"Dragon!" she sobbed as she felt Draco's arms tighten around her.