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

This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but we are moving ahead in our story. I hope you enjoy :)

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Ginny peeked her head around the door in Holly's room. Holly paused and smiled at Ginny when she heard the door open.

"Can I come in?" Ginny asked.

"Of course." Holly sat down on the couch beside her trunk. Ginny took the seat across from her and looked down timidly. It wasn't like her, and it made Holly nervous.

"What's wrong Ginny?"

Ginny looked up anxiously, before coming to some sort of resolve.

"I think we should spend the summer at Potter Manor, all of us. It will be decided soon, and I know it's not really my place-"

"It is," Holly interrupted. Surprise overtook Ginny's face. "It's exactly your place, Ginny. You're a Potter now You're also the future Lady Gryffindor. If you'd like to spend the summer at our ancestral home, we will."

Ginny's spine straightened as she listened to Holly, she no longer looked at the ground timidly. She knew she was a Potter now, she could see it in the mirror, and she could feel it in her magic, but to hear her sister say it, reaffirmed something inside her.

"Thank you Holly."

"Thank you for coming to me. Truthfully, I've been thinking the same thing for a while. It's perfect. The Manor is large enough for our friends, and there is something so comforting about being there. Besides, the Quidditch World Cup is here this summer. You know everyone will want to be in the country for that."

Ginny nodded. She was excited to see professional teams play, and the excitement leading up to it. She had never been to a professional game before, and it promised to be a treat.

"Let's go tell Lady Malfoy so she can coordinate with the other families. Trixie is going to have a field day."

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"Where in Merlin's name is Sally?!" Draco moaned.

He had been looking all morning. Mipsy and Trixie were busy getting everything coordinated for their return to Hogwarts, or he would have asked for assistance by now. He didn't particularly want to have to tell Holly that he couldn't find her familiar.

"Watch your mouth," Lord Malfoy replied, though he too looked around with frustration. They were supposed to leave any moment for the platform, and the snake could not be found.

"Shall I floo call the Longbottom's and see if she's over there?" Ginny asked upon entering the room.

"Yes!" Lord Malfoy affirmed, surprised they hadn't thought of it earlier.

Holly and Lady Malfoy entered the floo room with Mipsy. Trixie, and Dobby following them. The trunks floated after them like ducklings following their mother. Ginny approached the floo, but just as she picked up a handful of powder, the flames roared to life, and the head of Minerva McGonagall appeared in the fireplace.

"Headmistress, what are you doing here?" Ginny yelped, stumbling back. Lord Malfoy rushed forward to steady her. He gave Ginny a reassuring smile as Lady Malfoy joined him by the fireplace.

"Good Morning Miss Potter. Lord and Lady Malfoy I apologize for the early call, but I thought you might like to know that Lady Slytherin's snake is at Hogwarts. When I arrived at my office this morning, Sally and Godric were curled up in front of my fire with nary a care in the world."

Draco laughed, but quelled at the look his mother dealt him.

"How did they get there?!" Holly questioned.

"Mother Magic only knows, but suffice it to say, they are safe with me. Would you like to come through the floo, since I have it open, or ride the train?"

Lord and Lady Malfoy looked at their children who were all doing their best to pantomime a train silently.

"It appears the children would like to take the train."

"Very well. I will let the Longbottom's know Godric is here. Safe travels."

Headmistress McGonagall's face disappeared. Not a second later Ginny and Holly dissolved into giggles.

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"She did what!?"

"You heard me. She may have exploded the Malfoy rose garden."

Remus blinked away his shock at his best friend. He knew it might be hard for Holly over the break, without dueling, but he had assumed daily flying would take care of it. He should have known better. James had the most intense mood swings he had ever witnessed, especially when it came to Lily.

"I hadn't accounted for teenage emotions. I forgot what it's like to be that age, to be so jealous..."

"I know. Any of us would have done the same at that age, if we had the magic she does. As it was, I almost killed Rosier once when he looked too long at Pandora. I had to wipe his memory."

"I remember that," Remus chuckled, "they couldn't figure out who did it. Rosier tried to blame the Marauders, but there was no evidence, so we didn't get punished."

Lord Black smiled. The Marauders hardly ever got punished when they did something, let alone when it was someone else. The Marauders always had the best of luck, until they didn't. Lord Black shook his head in an effort to refocus.

"The point being, you need to teach her something more difficult. Lord Malfoy suggested the patronus charm. I wouldn't mind Luna learning it too, if you think she is capable. She has quite a bit of magic herself, though she bears it well. Perhaps her Veela blood helps with that."

Remus chuckled, "That and Luna gets in fights more often. Don't think I don't know what she gets up to. The only reason I cover for her is because she is always defending herself, or those being bullied. She and that Granger girl can be quite harsh when provoked."

Lord Black smirked wickedly. Luna was his pride and joy. If she was a bit violent, well, he would look the other way. She never struck first, never fought without provocation. For him that was good enough.

"Yes, they can be. That Granger girl is good with a wand too, and the future Lady Hufflepuff. You'd never know by looking at her how vicious she can be. That's one thing all our girls have in common. They look like angels, and fight like demons. I wouldn't want to be at the end of their wand."

"Nor I," Remus admitted. "I will work on the patronus charm with Holly and Luna. She is very capable. Please ask Luna to send me her schedule so we can find a time that works for everyone."

Lord Black nodded and turned to return to his quarters. The train full of students would be arriving any time, and he needed to be prepared when they did.

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"Holly come here," Blaise called from across the common room.

Holly sat down her bag of heavy textbooks beside Draco and made her way to Blaise. She took the seat he held out for her, and looked at the drawings in front of him.

"What's all this?" she asked.

"Options for your summer wardrobe. I've already approved Ginny and Luna's. Now it's your turn."

Holly looked at Blaise with awe. "Is this what you're going to do when we're grown Blaise? You'd be marvelous. I already depend on you, not to mention Luna and Ginny. I'm sure if you offered, Hermione would love the help as well. From what I understand Lady Smith picks out most of her clothes."

Blaise's eyes grew wide. "That explains a lot. I always thought her looks were a bit dated. I'll add her to my list. I'm not sure I can make a career of this, not that I need to work anyways, but still..."

Holly picked up a design that had Blaise's signature on the bottom. It was a stunning vintage inspired swim dress. She knew it was made with her in mind. It would flatter her small frame, and give her some of the extra coverage she preferred.

"You could make a career out of this Blaise. I would be happy to pay you for your services to myself and Ginny, as I'm sure all the other Heiresses would, even if you don't need the money. You are doing the work of a professional. You are wardrobing the future Oligarchy."

Blaise did nothing but smile. She knew she had touched him, when he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He let the smile light his features for a mere moment.

"Alright Holly, back to work. We have to decide so I can send these to the tailors. Now look at these dresses."

Holly sighed and returned her eyes to the sketches, resigning herself to spending the next hour picking out clothes and accessories.

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Holly plopped into the spot beside Draco. He looped an arm around her shoulders and she dropped her head on his shoulder as Draco returned his eyes to his History of Magic book. After trying to read the same sentence three times, Draco closed his book. It was clear Holly wanted to talk, and he would get nothing done with her sitting there nervously.

"Yes Holly?"

She halted excitedly and turned to face him, her legs pulled up under her. She twiddled her hands nervously as she spoke.

"How much trouble do you think we'd get in, hypothetically, if I hypothetically opened up our Beltane celebration to other houses?"

Draco narrowed his gaze at her, and Holly fought not to fidget under his gaze.

"What did you do, Holly?"

"Nothing!" She insisted. "I was just thinking it would be nice to invite other houses."

Draco let out a breath of relief. He knew it was her right as Lady Slytherin to do as she wished, but the Olde Ways were still frowned upon. It would be after curfew, which wasn't allowed.

Something of that size would have to be approved by the Board, which would mean it would catch the ear of the Wizengamot. He hoped to be a little older before they started having this battle.

"I think you could perhaps get away with another handful of people, but that's it. Only Lord Black, and maybe Remus, will look the other way. An Invisibility Cloak only goes so far."

Holly deflated, crossed her arms, and pouted terribly.

"I'm sorry Hols, but it's the truth. The Olde Ways are still associated with Riddle. We need to establish ourselves first, and then slowly bring people around to our way of thinking. It's not going to happen overnight."

Holly let out a frustrated breath as she leaned against the back of the sofa. She tugged on her gloves in an effort to calm herself down.

"I know Draco, I just hate waiting."

"I know love," Draco took her hand and kissed it. Holly blushed prettily, making Draco smirk. "Just be patient. We'll win in the end."

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Knock. Knock. Knock.

Lord Black startled from the seat at his desk. He must have nodded off while grading essays. He picked up his watch and looked at it. It was nearly midnight, who could be knocking at this hour?

Lord Black rose to his feet, and dragged his tired body to the door. He opened it to find a harried looking Remus Lupin. Remus shoved his way into the office.

"Merlin, Remus. It's midnight. What are you doing?"

Remus turned around, and Regulus instantly recognized the twitch in his eye. Remus only got this hyper when he drank large amounts of coffee. He would likely be up all night at this rate. Remus motioned with the parchments in his hands as if that explained everything.

"I don't speak hand motions Remus. Put them down and explain yourself."

"Right, right. Okay. Look at these."

Remus flicked his wand so the numerous pieces of paper floated in the air and arranged themselves in some kind of order. Regulus approached warily and saw that Remus had compiled obituaries, birth announcements, announcements of laws passing, and important headlines from The War.

"What am I looking at?" Regulus asked warily.

"There's a trend here. Dumbledore comes of age, he defeats Grindelwald, he slowly amasses more and more power until he's in control of almost everything. He had contacts everywhere."

Regulus walked and looked at the newspaper clippings as Remus talked, occasionally taking a look at his old friend, who looked frenzied.

"He doesn't try to outlaw the Olde Ways, but the practitioners start dying out, purely by "natural cause" of course. So they just stop being practiced widely. The families that practice them become suspicious of outsiders, and insulated. The Muggle holidays start being promoted at Hogwarts. This is in the time of Tom Riddle's schooldays. It's when the term blood purity first appears in papers."

"What are you saying?" Regulus demanded.

"Reg, what if Dumbledore is the one who created the idea of blood purity, to profit off defeating it? Think about it, his career was made off of defeating Grindelwald, and then Tom. Though technically that was Lilly's blood wards. I think somewhere along the way he truly went insane and started to believe his own lies. It's not like there's any reason to care about blood purity. It doesn't make you any more or less magical. Blood magic overrides it. It's absurd."

Regulus stopped in his perusal of the clippings and turned to look at Remus. He was practically humming with anxiety.

"So he creates the divide, Olde Ways vs New, Dark vs Light Magic, Pureblood vs Muggleborn, in an attempt to create a rift that only he can heal?"

"Precisely!" Remus shouted. Regulus hummed in understanding, returning his eyes to the clippings.

"It has merits. We should look into Grindelwald more, and Dumbledore's childhood. If your theory is true, it has roots at the very beginning."

Regulus looked at Remus, who looked like he was about to burst out of his skin.

"There's something more, isn't there?"

Remus nodded, practically bouncing up and down.

"There's a point where things change, Reg. It leads up to Holly's birth. What's so special about her Reg? I mean I know she's a special witch, everyone who meets her does. But what was so special about her then, when Lily was pregnant? Why is Dumbledore obsessed with her?"

"We didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?" Remus questioned.

"When Lucius and I advised Severus to leave the country, he used Occlumency on him. It was there in his mind. The old fool believes Riddle will return, because of a false prophecy made by Sybill Trelawny. Severus told the Dark Lord about the prophecy, knowing it would send him after James and Holly. He hoped Riddle would spare Lily. He obviously didn't."

Remus was shaking even more now, though Regulus knew it to be with anger.

"It's his fault?"

"It's his fault, and Dumbledore's, and Peter's."

"I'm going to kill them. If I ever get the chance, I'll kill them."

"Get in line, Remus. You better go for a run, you look like you're going to burst into fur any second."

Remus made for the door, flipping Regulus a rude hand gesture along the way.

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"This is difficult," Holly moaned, taking a seat on the stone floor of Remus' office. Luna sat beside her, as Remus handed them both pieces of chocolate.

"It's supposed to be tough, Prongslet, so you don't explode the castle if someone upsets you."

Holly gave Remus her best glare. She didn't love that nickname, but she allowed it, because it made him happy. Remus merely laughed at her. Holly rolled her eyes at him and ate her chocolate.

"I'm a very powerful witch you know!" She chided when she was done.

"Oh I know," Remus admitted, "you just look so much like James, it's hard to take you seriously. He was a powerful wizard, and you even more so."

"Did you know my mum?" Luna asked suddenly. Holly was surprised, she hardly ever heard Luna speak about Pandora. Remus smiled over at her.

"I did. Pandora was lovely. She lived in her own little world. The Marauders and I got in a few scrapes, helping to protect her, before she and your dad fled the country. Unfortunately some wizards thought her Veela allure was a reason to act without honor. Dumbledore didn't help. We should have known he was poison then."

"And you?"

Remus scrunched up his face in concentration, thinking back to his school days.

"I don't remember being affected by your mum's allure. Not that I'm ever particularly affected by females, but still. Her looks were the least interesting thing about her, and that's saying something. She was incredibly kind, much like Lily. Two rare women, they. Neither one cared that I was a wolf, not for a moment. They never saw me as a monster."

"You're not a monster," Holly insisted. Remus gave her a small smile.

"I know that now. It just took me a while to see it. Now, let's return to our lesson. Are you sure you're thinking of your happiest moment? You need the most precious thing you can think of. What do you hold most dear? What makes you the happiest? You need to locate a memory with that, and let it's joy fill you."

'Draco' Holly thought immediately.

But not just him. Belonging to a family. Cissa, Lucius, Ginny, Trixie, Mipsy. Even the portraits of Lily, James, and Sirius. They all made up her family, which filled her heart with love and comfort. But how do you pin that down to a single moment? Maybe she could pick one memory that represented those feelings.

She thought hard.

She thought of the moment before their First Year, when Draco called her a Malfoy. It represented a lot. He had always considered her his, from the moment he met her.

"Got it," she said as she got to her feet.

Luna and Remus stood and got behind her. Holly closed her eyes, focusing on her memory. She let joy fill her until she was sure she would overflow. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Silver mist poured from her wand, and then a massive creature formed from the smoke. It was an adolescent thestral. It flapped it's incandescent wings and soared around Remus' office. It came to rest in front of Holly, and nudged her hand gently before it disappeared in a sprinkle of silver light.

Holly turned to her companions. Remus was in shock. Thestral patronuses were exceptionally rare. He thought perhaps she would have a doe patronus like Lily, or a Dragon for Draco. Luna had that knowing smile on her face.

"Excellent," Remus choked out, "I'm sorry Holly, but that Patronus is incredibly rare. It just shocked me, that's all. Honestly, that was excellent."

"It was lovely, Holly. Wonderful creatures, thestrals. I visit the Hogwarts pack every few weeks and give them treats. You could come with me if you like."

Holly nodded easily. She had never given much thought to the spooky looking creatures that pulled the Hogwarts carriages. She was always being distracted by Draco and her friends

"Would you like to give it one more go Luna?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I think so." Luna closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "Expecto Patronum!"