Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters, this is merely a work of fanfiction.

Another long chapter. Thank you for being patient with me on it! I will be posting on Monday's from now on, unless I get a lot of feedback asking for Fridays. Let me know how you feel. Enjoy :)

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Lord and Lady Malfoy sat at a table with Lord Black. Scrolls of parchment were spread over the library table. They were strategizing, as they often did now. Their futures, and the futures of their children had become significantly more complicated with the discovery of Holly's Slytherin heritage.

If they could find other Founders Heirs or Heiresses that Holly could ally herself with, she would have a better chance of being able to reinstate The Olde Ways. She had taken to them extremely quickly, and seemed determined to see their society change.

Lady Malfoy set aside the various genealogical scrolls they had been pouring over for hours, and turned to another matter.

"What do you make of this, cousin?" Lady Malfoy asked Lord Black as she handed him a recent letter from Holly.

Lord Black sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath as he read over the missive. He was afraid of this.

"It is time that Severus move on from Hogwarts."

He gestured with the letter in his hand, "He never got over his obsession with Lily Potter. Not even in death, I fear. I am sure he had something to do with The Potters death, though I have no proof. He should not be allowed in your Heiress' presence, let alone put in a position of authority over her."

"You don't think?" Lady Malfoy asked, horrified at the implications.

"I don't know, and I'd rather not risk the wellbeing of your Heiress," Regulus replied.

Historically speaking, the biggest threat to a powerful witch was a wizard. There would always be wizards who wanted to tame them, or were envious, or merely enraged. Better to remove any threat now, before it manifests.

Lord Malfoy was glaring at the letter with calculating eyes.

He remembered Severus' obsession with Lily Potter, though he had seen less of it because he was older than he and Regulus. Such behavior was unforgivable in his eyes. Clearly the man was unwilling or unable to separate Holly from the memory of her parents, and that was dangerous. He was obsessed with one, and hated the other.

He would prefer to just kill him, but people would ask questions. Especially if Dumbledore's favorite lap dog went missing. No, he would have to be persuaded to leave. If Severus happened to find the correct motivation at the end of Lord Malfoy's wand, well it couldn't be helped.

He wouldn't let anyone hurt his daughter.

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Holly walked ahead of her friends. She was exhausted, and just wanted to get back to the common room and relax. Just as she turned a corner, she slammed into a boy and fell to the ground.

She looked up from her position on the ground and saw that it was Mister Weasley standing over her. He sneered down at her.

"Without your bodyguards for once?" He glowered. Holly tried to ignore him, and focus on making sure she wasn't bleeding. She had hit the ground fairly hard. She hoped Draco and the rest of her friends would hurry up. She noticed some scrapes on her knees and hands, but otherwise she seemed fine. Holly pushed herself up.

"I can't believe you really think they're your friends! You don't have to be with Malfoy, you know, just because you're soulmates. My parents aren't!"

Holly recoiled in shock, what could he be saying? People chose to live without their soulmates? To marry others when Mother Magic had blessed them with a soulmate?! She heard Draco and her friends come around the corner. Draco came to stand at her side, and Mister Weasley sneered at him and the others.

"They can't really like you! I mean, look at you! You're all scrawny and awkward. You're only a half-blood. They'll never see anything but your filthy mudblood mother-"

Mister Weasley's tirade was cut off by Holly's fist hitting his mouth with impressive force. Her hair sparked with excess magical energy, pushing her on. Holly brought her right fist up to strike again, and made impact with the other side of Mister Weasley's face. He stumbled back, wailing and clutching his face. He ran off in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower.

Draco looked at Holly stunned. He had never seen her so enraged, or seen her act so brashly. He hadn't even had time to act. He still clutched his wand in his hand, and put it away.

Holly was staring down at her gloves as if in shock. They were her favorite ones, black velvet with a scallop hem. There was blood on them, and she seemed unable to look away.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked softly, putting a gentle hand on Holly's forearm.

"I got Weasley blood on my favorite gloves. I'll have to burn these now," she said sadly, and Draco chuckled. Holly looked up and realized that Theo and Blaise were missing. Draco noticed her confused expression.

"They went to get your godbrother, to see if he could calm his housemate down. Don't worry, I doubt Mister Weasley would want to admit to a professor that he got beat up by the daintiest girl in our year."

Holly laughed then, amused by Professor McGonagall's reaction if he tried to tattle on her. She allowed Draco and the others to lead her back to the common room, as she mulled over Mister Weasley's words all the while.

When they were settled into their usual chairs in the common room, Holly allowed Heir Flint to heal the scrapes on her hands and knees. Pansy's older soulmate really did come in handy sometimes.

"Now try not to go punching anyone else," he told her with a smile, before he ruffled Pansy's hair on the way back to his friends.

Holly looked around at her friends. She knew he was wrong, they didn't care about her blood-status. They treated her with love, and loyalty, and never once brought up her muggleborn mother. In fact, she had never heard them talk about anyone's blood-status. Mister Weasley had been the only one to try to throw that back in her face.

"Do some people really not marry their soulmates?" Holly asked the group at large, sadness etched onto her face. The group traded looks between each other, all of them looking trepidatious. Just then Blaise and Theo entered the room and joined them on the couches.

"What's wrong?" Blaise asked, "Were you hurt Holly? That tosser isn't going to get you in trouble, you god-brother promised to nip it in the bud if Mister Weasley tried anything. He'd be in huge trouble just for saying those things to you too!"

No one responded, and Theo quickly ran out of patience, "What?!" he demanded.

"Do some people really not marry their soulmates?" Holly repeated.

"Oh," Theo said as his annoyance quickly ebbed, "Sadly, that is true."

"How can that be?" Holly asked, confused.

Blaise took a deep breath, "Sometimes, it is simply the case of one's soulmate dying. My mother's soulmate- my father- died when I was a baby. My mother has famously been married to several different wealthy wizards, whose soulmates had likewise passed away. They didn't want to be alone."

"Does it bother you?" Holly asked.

Everyone was paying attention, even some of the older students had stopped their conversations to listen in. Lady Zabini was often called a Black Widow by the press, but few knew the truth. Blaise almost never spoke about his mother, and she rarely spoke to the press herself.

"No, because she picks good men. Sad, older, lonely, but kind. When I was young, it was confusing at times, but now I get it. Besides, I've always had Lord Nott to be there for me."

Theo nodded at him, and held his hand in his. Uncharacteristically, Greg spoke up.

"Holly, it's important to remember that a lot of people died during The War. A lot of people in our parent's generation lost their soulmates."

Holly shuddered. She hadn't considered that. It seemed impossible that she had ended The War as a one year old. Though truthfully, it had been her parents' wit and sacrifices that had defeated The Dark Lord.

"I suppose you're right," she admitted, "It just shocked me when he said that, I mean we all like our soulmates!"

Blaise chuckled at her, "Of course we do, we're the best!"

Daphne was looking at all of them with concerned eyes, "Holly, you know we don't care about your blood-status, right? I haven't heard anyone use that term in earnest, my entire life. Not even against a muggleborn. No one has even cared about blood-status since The War."

Heir Flint joined them with a couple of older students, Heir Adrian Pucey, and Mister Terrence Higgs, if she wasn't mistaken.

He motioned for them all to lean in. "Heiress Greengrass is right, Lady Potter. No one cares about blood-status anymore." Heir Pucey and Mister Higgs nodded beside him. "But many do care about the Olde Ways, and the way a certain Headmaster has promoted their downfall."

Holly thought about what Heir Flint said. This is exactly what Lord and Lady Malfoy had told her, and what she hoped to be able to change when she claimed her title as Lady Slytherin. The title held a spot on the Hogwarts board, and had controlling stakes in the decisions made about the school. If she could take her place when she got older, then she could make the school teach the Olde Ways again.

"As they should, Heir Flint." Holly said slowly, making sure to make eye contact with Heir Pucey and Mister Higgs as well. "May you all take solace in the hope that things may soon change."

Heir Flint fixed her with a calculating look, and she stared right back at him. She was the future, she would change things for their people. She could feel Draco's presence at her side- strong, quiet, supportive. Heir Flint seemed to find whatever reassurance he was looking for, because he clasped his hands together and a smile broke out on his face. "As you say, Heiress Potter, as you say."

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Lady Malfoy tied the final ribbon around another gift box, and added it to the pile for Archimedes to deliver. She had received an owl from Draco earlier detailing an altercation between Mister Weasley and Holly.

While Lady Malfoy generally disapproved of anything as plebian or muggle as fist fights, the letter had amused her to no end. That trash had picked on Holly and other girls the entire year, and the professors seemed content to do nothing about it.

He got what he deserved.

Not to mention, Lady Malfoy was thrilled that Holly had found the confidence to fight back. Until this point, Holly had used Draco as a shield. She was a strong girl, and maybe now she was starting to realize it.

Draco's letter recounted with amusement how Holly was saddened that she "would have to burn her favorite gloves". So naturally, Lady Malfoy had bought ten new pairs for Holly and was sending them post-haste.

Lady Malfoy watched Archimedes fly off with a smug grin.

Things were changing.

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Hermione and Holly walked together by the Black Lake. It was a Saturday, and Holly had taken a break from her studies to catch up with her friend. They had one week before Yule Break started.The weather was cold, but they both enjoyed the crisp air, so they pulled their winter robes tighter around them and blazed a trail.

"I'm surprised Draco let you out of his sight," Hermione teased as they stopped to skim rocks across the lake.

"Oh, I'm not, not really."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she looked around, as if she expected to see Draco pop out from behind a tree.

"You didn't notice Heir Crabbe and Heir Goyle follow us out here? I'm sure one of them will go running to Draco if there's an issue."

Hermione peered over her shoulder, and sure enough the two hulking boys were trailing after them. They were far away enough that it appeared mere coincidence, but close enough to assist if there was an issue.

"He didn't!" Hermione admonished with a chuckle.

"Oh he did," Holly corrected, "I am sure Heir Smith will have his own guards around somewhere."

Hermione blushed, but said nothing. Zach was rather protective. She had been wearing one of their family's Heiress Rings for a week now. Zach had stormed the Ravenclaw table the morning after Halloween, and fairly thrust it onto her hand.

Apparently he had written to his mother the night before and demanded that one be sent by morning. He was convinced she could have been hurt when she stormed off on her own.

Holly pulled her leather gloves on more snuggly and tossed another pebble, watching the ripples spread in the water. "Will you return to your family for Yule?"

Hermione stiffened for just a moment before she reached down to grab her own pebble. She passed it back and forth in her hand, looking conflicted. She finally threw it, but it skipped only once before it sank in defeat.

"I'll be staying with Heir Smith's family from now on. Professor Flitwick helped me file the paperwork with The Ministry."

Holly swallowed heavily, poor Hermione must have been going through this all alone. It didn't escape Holly's notice that she didn't seem to have friends in Ravenclaw. Hermione picked up another stone and seemed to weigh it in her hands as she looked out at the water.

"Having a witch in the family wasn't part of my parents plans. They never paid me much attention. I was too different. They gave up custody easily to Lady Smith, when she asked. They didn't want me. They even chose to be obliviated by The Ministry. They don't even know they have a daughter."

Tears streamed down Hermione's face, and she drew a handkerchief from her robe pocket to dry her tears. Holly hooked an arm around her. She knew what it was like to be unwanted.

"My relatives didn't want me either. That's why Draco and I are so close. I met his whole family in Diagon Alley. They took custody of me then. It's been the best thing that ever happened to me, Hermione."

Hermione nodded as she wiped her tears. "Lady Smith is so kind. She was given special permission to come meet me at the castle. We've been writing letters back and forth."

"You can write to me too, if you want, during Yule break. Archimedes will carry our letters, and I'm sure Heir Smith would be only too pleased to provide you with an owl. Speaking of which-"

Holly nodded her head to a point over Hermione's shoulder. Off in the distance was Heir Cedric Diggory, an older Hufflepuff trying a little too hard to look nonchalant. He kept staring at the clouds as if they were incredibly interesting.

"I told you Heir Smith would send his own guards!" Holly teased, laughing at her friend.

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Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was plotting- not that he wasn't always plotting, but it didn't usually have such a strict deadline. The old wizard usually plotted in years, and decades- not days and weeks.

He had everything planned just so. Holly Potter was supposed to come to Hogwarts uninformed, friendless, and dependent on the Headmaster.

She was supposed to be in Gryffindor, just like her parents, and from there it would have been easy to make her emotionally dependent on the Weasley's, or some other easily influenced family.

It would be a song. She would do anything he asked.

Even die, if it came to it. Like he suspected it would.

All his plans had gone up in smoke when she met her soulmate in Draco Malfoy. She was in their custody, she had been taught etiquette, she had been sorted into Slytherin.

She was supposed to be isolated at the castle for her first Christmas in the wizarding world. He would give her the Cloak of Invisibility, and no doubt she would get into some mischief that they could use to bond.

But he was to be thwarted again. Lady Potter and Heir Malfoy's name were on the list of children returning home for the holidays. He could hardly detain them. He had no legitimate reason, and the Malfoys would no doubt cause a fuss.

A new plot was coming together. He would give Lady Potter her father's invisibility cloak before she went home for Yule. He would tell her all about the nobility and chivalry of her parents. Perhaps he could evoke the same sentiment in her. If all else failed, he could use Legilimency to see what lies the Malfoys had fed her.

Albus Dumbledore would not go down without a fight.

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"What are you doing?!" Theo asked, reaching for a roll of parchment that was on a long table in front of Holly, Daphne, and Pansy.

He tilted the parchment sideways and craned his neck as if trying to decipher some long dead language. Pansy swatted his hand, and snatched back the parchment.

"Mind your manners!" she chided. Theo fell into the last open chair with his arms up in mock surrender. Blaise laughed at him from his seat near the far end of the table, as he flipped through his own catalogue.

"They're picking out their Yule Ball robes, of course! Heir Smith's family is hosting this year. These are merely a few design options their mothers have sent for them. Of course, my mother sent this catalogue from our favorite designer in Italy. I'll have our robes picked out in no time."

Draco smiled at Holly, she hadn't corrected Blaise. She had let him call Lady Malfoy her mother. she was becoming more comfortable with them bit by bit

"Yes, thank you for explaining, Blaise," Daphne said absentmindedly as she picked up yet another roll of parchment, and began to look over the design.

"Can't this wait till you get home? I want to play a few rounds of Exploding Snap!" Theo whined.

Draco rolled his eyes, Theo was only picking a losing fight. The girls and Blaise were determined that they would pick their Yule Ball robes tonight, and have their owls sent out to their mothers by morning.

"No, it can not! Mipsy will have my hide if I don't send Lady Malfoy my response soon. She wants to have several options for me to try on when I get home."

"Well what will you wear?!" Theo asked, looking at Draco.

Draco shrugged, "All black dress robes, I already picked them out. Mipsy will just charm the waistcoat to match Holly's gown."

Holly blushed, but continued her perusal. She wasn't sure what would look good on her. There were options of every style, and sort. Lady Malfoy assured her that Mipsy would be able to tailor her selections, and even change the color if she so desired.