I would like to thank user Amelia_Stilinski who is now acting as Beta-Reader. I greatly appreciate the help. :) Hope you all enjoy.

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Lord Black sent a drying spell at the parchment he had just filled, and placed his head in his hands.

He was so tired of writing these letters, tired of begging his late brother's soulmate to come back home and do his duty.

He had written Mister Remus Lupin every six months since he had left their home when Sirius died. Lord Black had insisted that he belonged with them, but Remus was never swayed. Even the late Lady Black couldn't make him see sense.

More often than not, Lord Black received no response to his letters. He always duplicated the letters and sent them to several post offices where he paid to keep a box for Remus, never quite knowing where he would be.

Remus was his own worst enemy.

Lord Black understood loss all too well. He understood the sorrow that came with losing your soulmate, but he had not run from his duty as Remus had. He had pushed through the depression to live for his daughter.

She needed him.

Remus had run away as soon as Sirius had passed.

He had said all manner of things about not wanting to be a burden, and about werewolf discrimination, but in the end Lord Black knew that it came down to his own cowardice.

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Hermione pulled yet another book from the shelves of the Smith Library, and placed it in her pile to take to Hogwarts. Zach was alphabetizing her selections as she went. He was quite vocal about how it was the only acceptable way to organize books, so she left him to his task.

Lady Smith's voice called out to them from the doorway, enquiring whether their trunks were done being packed.

"Yes Mother!" Zach called through the open door. Hermione had insisted that they do it themselves, though the house elves had insisted on double checking it for them.

The books they selected would be put into her tote to be taken on the train. Lady Smith had magically enlarged it, and placed a featherlight charm on it, so she could carry as many books as she wanted without hurting herself.

The Hogwarts Library was excellent, but not quite good enough for Hermione. The Smith library had a wide variety of texts, and no one tried to restrict what she could read. No knowledge was off-limits to her here.

On the contrary, Lady Smith encouraged her to read broadly, and would buy her any text she showed the slightest interest in.

Lady Smith smiled as she went to confirm their travel plans with the head house elf.

Hermione was an excellent addition to the family. She thought the late Lord Smith would have loved her. She was sharp as a whip, and incredibly kind. She didn't take any of Zach's nonsense, and didn't hesitate to put him in his place.

It was always amusing to watch. She could admit she had spoiled him, and it had made him a bit arrogant. Hermione didn't bow to him though, indeed it was quite the opposite. She could often see Zach doting on Hermione when he thought no one was watching.

She had ordered a particularly rare edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard upon Zach's urging. When he presented it to Hermione she had placed a kiss upon his cheek before blushing furiously and running out of the room.

It was adorable.

Hermione hated clothes shopping just as much as she loved book shopping. That suited Lady Smith just fine. Once she had Hermione's measurements and a few instructions as far as favorite colors and so on, she was able to pick Hermione's wardrobe for her.

It worked well for both.

Hermione was able to avoid clothes shopping entirely, and Lady Smith was able to indulge in shopping for a girl. Dresses and hair combs were bought liberally to match Zach's robes.

She even purchased a pair of reading glasses that were supposed to reduce eye strain when reading by candlelight, a habit she knew Hermione carried on through the nights.

She couldn't imagine what was wrong with the Granger's that they would ever let the bright young girl go. She was a delight, if a bit high strung. She would miss both her children sorely throughout the coming year.

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Miss Ginny Weasley knew she was different from most of her family. Or at least, different from her parents.

She doubted she would be in Gryffindor like the rest of her family.

She had seen the pictures of Lady Holly Potter and her friends in the Prophet. They looked glamorous, and incredibly happy. She wanted to be just like them.

She wasn't daft, she knew her family was poor.

It was obvious in the stress on her mother's face at the beginning of every school year. It was only brought into even more stark contrast when she went to Diagon Alley with her family and met Lady Holly Potter in person. Her robes had been of an extremely fine quality, and her hair had looked magnificent in intricate braids piled atop her head.

She heard what Lord Malfoy had said to her father. Was it true that his actions had kept them in such poverty?

When she had asked Percy about it later. He had hemmed and hawed, and ultimately shooed her off without answering the question.

So, yes, then. Percy was such a suck up.

Ginny didn't want to be poor. She didn't want to chase some pointless dream and doom her children to squallor. She was determined to rise above her circumstances. She wouldn't be like her parents. She would show everyone what she could do.

She wondered now if this was why Bill and Charlie had left the house and the country so soon after graduation. Perhaps they wanted to forge their own way, and make a name for themselves. One not tainted by their father's inattention to duty, or their mother's meddlesome heckling.

Ginny suspected she would be in Slytherin. She didn't expect her parents to understand.

Ginny closed her trunk and began to carry it down the stairs. Fred and George met her halfway down, and took the trunk from her with a smile. They were a good sort, and easily Ginny's favorite brothers.

Bill and Charlie were lovely and all, but they were never around. She did however, make sure to write to them every few months, and keep them updated. She still loved them.

As Ginny entered the kitchen, her mother called out to her from the living room. Ginny left the twins, and went into the living room. Her mother gestured for her to sit on a couch, and she did. Molly told Ginny about the letter she had received from Headmaster Dumbledore, asking Ginny to befriend and inform him on Holly Potter.

Dread filled Ginny's gut. This felt wrong. The fact that her father wasn't here only served to make her more on edge. She may be slightly disillusioned with her father, but she doubted he would ever approve of something like this.

"Isn't it wrong to spy on people? Does dad know about this?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore insists it is for her own good! She may call Lord Malfoy her father, but he is not! He was a Death Eater during the war!"

Ginny gave her a quelling look, and Lady Weasley stopped to gather her thoughts.

"Look, your father doesn't know, and he doesn't need to! You know as well as I do that he is blind to the big picture. Headmaster Dumbledore insists that this is for her protection, and you will do it. Do you understand?"

Ginny nodded, but said nothing.

She knew there was no arguing with her mother, but she would decide on her own where her loyalties lied. She didn't need the interference of her mother or even Headmaster Dumbledore in her future.

Clearly Holly Potter didn't bother with him, and she was fine.

On the other side of the kitchen doors the twins looked at each other with matching looks of horror on their faces. The Headmaster had crossed a line they didn't think he was capable of, and even worse he was trying to drag their baby sister into it!

They would have to have a chat with their friend Heiress Black as soon as they got onto the safety of the Hogwarts Express.

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Ginny boarded the train with the twins, who placed her trunk onto a rack for her, and kissed her on the head affectionately before going off to find Heiress Black.

George paused in the doorway and looked back at Ginny affectionately. She was a good kid.

"You know Gin, you can be whoever you want at Hogwarts. Whoever that is. You don't have to be what anyone else wants, especially mom. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Ginny beamed at him. She should have known they would have listened at the kitchen door.

They always knew everything.

"I understand," she confirmed.

"Great, we're off then!" Fred shouted, and turned to head off in search of Heiress Black.

They knew she was close friends with Lady Potter, and someone needed to let her know what was afoot. Besides, they had some intricate pranks planned for this year, and they could use her insight.

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Holly followed Draco down the train.

Sally was napping in the pocket of Draco's dress robes. She couldn't be bothered to notice they had gotten onto the train, or that they were headed to Hogwarts. She was mainly concerned about her own comfort, which Holly supposed she couldn't fault her for.

Cedric and Luna had gone off with some of Cedric's friends, so they struck out to find their own compartment.

Holly noted as they went down the train that Miss Weasley was sitting in a compartment with Miss Primrose Parkinson, Pansy's younger sister who seemed to be engaged in braiding the redhead's hair up for her.

Primrose had come with the Parkinson's to Paris during the summer. She was a precious little girl, with all the sass of her older sister. She had an opinion on everything, and made sure everyone knew it. Still, she knew proper etiquette and would use it when necessary. She would be a good friend for Miss Weasley.

Holly and Draco came upon a compartment composed of their friends, and Holly settled in next to Draco.

Snakes were not technically allowed at Hogwarts, but it was also against wizarding law to separate a witch from her familiar. Lord Black and Lord Malfoy had assured her that if the Headmaster tried to separate them, they would have him arrested within the hour.

"Where's Sally?" Blaise asked as he settled in next to Theo, who was already starting to doze off.

"Sleeping in my pocket. It's best to keep her out of sight. As far as anyone knows, there is no Sally. Holly doesn't need any more trouble."

Blaise gave a sarcastic salute and rested his head on Theo's shoulder. They had been up late playing Exploding Snap, and he was exhausted.

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Luna twirled her wand, and stared out the window of her compartment as she listened to what the Weasley twins had to say.

Cedric was furious that the Headmaster would infringe upon Lady Potter's privacy, but kept his mouth shut. The Headmaster was clearly playing a very complicated and dangerous game.

He knew the intricacies of what was going on were far more complicated than he knew. He trusted Luna's judgment. Her seer abilities made her aware of far more than he, and he trusted her to let him know things as needed.

"Will she do it?" Luna finally asked.

She could see many possibilities, but it was hard to know what was the true path the young Weasley would take.

"No," the twins chorused.

Luna turned from the window to look at them. They had complete confidence in their little sister.

Ginny would become very important to their cause, she was sure of that much.

"Fine, boys. Now, let's talk about what pranks you have planned for the year."

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Silence fell over the Great Hall as the Sorting Hat called out "Slytherin!"

The entire Weasley family had been sorted into Gryffindor for decades. Even the Headmaster stared in blatant shock.

Ginny sat glued to the stool. She knew this would happen, but she hadn't been prepared for the entire school to stare at her. She had never considered that the sorting might happen in front of the entire school.

Holly felt awful. No one should be made to feel this way. She knew people had been shocked when she was sorted into Slytherin, but she had Draco to support her, not to mention Blaise and Theo.

Holly elbowed Draco and began to applaud loudly. Miss Weasley was a Slytherin now, and as their father always said, they took care of their own. Draco took the hint and clapped along loudly, which caused the rest of the Slytherin's to join in.

The Weasley twins jolted out of their stupor and jumped to their feet. They cheered for their little sister, despite her separate house, while her brothers Ronald and Percy looked on in shock.

Ginny walked toward the Slytherin table shyly, but Holly smiled at her with pride. She had a feeling the girl had a lot of potential. Ginny took the empty seat next to Primrose, and tucked her head down.

She knew her parents wouldn't be pleased. Her father would try to act accepting, but he just wouldn't be able to understand. He didn't have one ounce of ambition in his entire body. Her mother, well, she didn't even want to think about that.

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Lady Weasley fumed.

She had just received a letter from Ronald informing her of Ginny's sorting.

How could a Weasley be sorted into Slytherin? What did this even mean?

She wanted to yell, and throw things, and rave, but it seemed insufficient. When she told Arthur he just stared back humbly and chuckled.

Chuckled.

As if it wasn't a travesty!

It was moments like this that made Lady Weasley close her eyes and think of her soulmate that had died in the war.

Heir Matthew McKinnon had always had a reaction to everything. If anything he had too many opinions, and too many emotions. She was never left wanting when he was alive, but Lord Voldemort had killed his entire family.

She had just found out she was pregnant, and young witches simply did not have children out of wedlock. So when Arthur proposed, she accepted. He knew about Matthew and the baby, his own soulmate Marlene, Matthew's younger sister, had been killed as well.

They were forming a marriage of convenience, and safety, not of ardent love.

They had grown to love each other over time, but it was never wholly satisfying. Not like what she had with Matthew.

Lady Weasley pulled herself out of her memories, and forced her mind to focus.

She couldn't think of anything kind to say, so she decided she wouldn't send a letter at all to Ginny.

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Lady Malfoy placed her hand mirror on her vanity. The call from Holly had been most informative.

Lord Malfoy was working late tonight. It was a fairly uncommon occurrence, but there was a new acquisition going through, and it always required a great deal of time and effort.

So the youngest Wealsey had been sorted into Slytherin, had she?

A most unusual sorting, though admittedly that seemed to be the order of the day. This generation was changing everything.

Why not a Slytherin Weasley?

Holly had already shown interest in taking the young girl under her wing, and now it would be much easier for her. Though she doubted the girl would have an easy time of things at home. The whole thing reminded her of Sirius and James.

Sirius had never fit in with the rest of the Black's, and had fled the cruelty of Walburga for the Potter's home.

In time would these two become just as close?

It seemed like a distinct possibility. Perhaps she better prepare another room in the children's wing in case Miss Weasley needed somewhere to stay during the Yule holidays.

Lady Malfoy called for Mipsy, and instructed her to add a Sorting gift for Miss Weasley to the letters to be delivered to Hogwarts in the morning. It wouldn't do to have her left out when everyone was opening their gifts at the Slytherin table.

She had been considering the young Miss Weasley since the altercation in Diagon Alley. She had recognized the gleam in Miss Weasley's eye. It was one she had seen on her cousin Sirius' face often when they were children. It was pure youthful defiance.

When Holly had expressed interest in taking her under her wing, and opened a Gringotts vault for her, Lady Malfoy knew she was going to play an important part in the girl's life.

There had once been a time when Lady Malfoy mourned that she was only able to have one child, that she had never been able to have a girl. Her home now overflowed with both boys and girls during every school holiday.

She knew Mother Magic was blessing them for their families long observance of the Olde Ways. She now had more children around than she knew what to do with, and she predicted that Miss Weasley may take up a permanent residence at some point in the future.

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Owl's swooped into the Great Hall with packages and letters for the students. Draco's owl, Archimedes, stopped in front of him and held out his leg.

Draco slowly removed the letters and the parcel that were attached. There were two letters, one for him and one for Holly. The parcel was addressed to Miss Weasley. Draco quirked an eyebrow and handed it to Holly.

He didn't understand her fascination with the girl, but he didn't begin to think he could tell her who to be friends with. He could see that she looked at her as a potential younger sister.

It must have been very lonely growing up in the muggle world. He had always had Blaise and Theo around. He couldn't imagine not having them to keep him company.