Upside Down

smurphy - I'm glad I could play your emotions. And its very true, what you said. Hermione would never have helped the Malfoys. It was all Ruby. Ruby was the reason she was happy. ^_^

Potterenterouge - THank you. Hopefully the background check will go through and I can get started on the new job. It's frustrating being told that I'm hired, and then having to wait for it..

RyGirl824 - Aww...I Know. It's so sad that this tale is ending, but I've got another one right there in the works. And thank you for your congrats.

Citten - Oh yes. British voices are uber sexy. Expecially deep male british voice. *Fans face*

bLondpierogi - Hmm. I'll look into that... Hope you like this final bit!

baybeetricia - Oh yeah. End it with smut.

XxSilentEyesxX - I know, this one is over. BUt look for my newest installment soon. THere's some wonderful supernatural goodness going on (aside from the obvious magic, of course....)

distinctlyME - Oh...but we love them cause they never get it right, right? Actually, I wouldn't know. Last time any male did anything romantic for me was in sixth grade. I got a handful of Twizzlers, and card with chocolate lips. The song was very nice indeed. All fuzzy and warm. I like it. And...we'll see what happens at the end of this chappie.... you might be surprised what you find there...

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Seven years later. Malfoy Manor

“Mummy! Aries told me I was a baby!”

Hermione bent down to the six year old, her head tilted slightly.

“Well are you? Are you a baby?” she asked, reaching out to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind Phoenix’s ear.

“No…I’m a big boy!” Phoenix said, and puffed up.

“Well…then Aries is just a big fibber.” Hermione said, and stood straight again. Phoenix took off at a run, screaming that Aries was a fibber. Hermione laughed softly, and reached up to place another shiny ball on the Christmas tree. Bellatrix appeared from the other side of the tree, a dark brow raised.

Hermione grinned and shrugged. “What?”

She heard a commotion in the hall, and two elves ran past the door, followed quickly by two identical boys.

“Hey! Leave the elves alone before somebody orders them to bake you into a cake!”

Ruby appeared at the door, shaking snow off her scarf. Hermione grinned at her.

“Come on, we’re just decorating the tree!” she said. Ruby disappeared to put her snowy coat and scarf up, and then reappeared with Ron in tow.

“Where’s Alex and Ben?” Ron asked, following behind Ruby.

“Elf-chasing…” Ruby said, and retrieved a box of tree decorations. Ron groaned.

“Should I get them?” he asked. Hermione laughed.

“No….the elves will eventually figure out that the can poof away.” She said. “The men-folk are in the game room if you don’t want to decorate.” She added. Ron gave a nod, but leaned down to give Ruby a parting kiss.

“Now ya’ll don’t have too much fun without us little women…” Ruby said, affecting a Southern Belle accent.

“I reckon I won’t.” Ron said, doing a dismal impersonation of a Southern gentleman. Ruby threw back her head and laughed as Ron disappeared from the room. Ruby went over to a rather unassuming board on the floor. She promptly said a wandless spell, and two straps closed over the tops of her feet. The board then began to lift from the floor, and she was carried a good four feet up. She began to decorate the higher parts of the tree.

They were interrupted from their task when a large group of screaming children tore through the room.

“Aries has a snake!” Phoenix screamed. The group, including Sapphira, Phoenix, Ben and Alex, and a little boy by the name of Leo (Sirius’ only son, and heir to the Black dynasty), ran to the women to find shelter behind their robes, mother or not.

Aries came into the room a bit behind them, a small snake wrapped around his arm. It appeared to be a green snake, its tiny head erect and alert, its body wrapped around his outstretched arm.

“Aww…It’s just a little snake.” Aries said, and reached his other hand over to touch the snake’s head. “I told him not to hurt anybody, and he said he was just trying to get out of the snow.” Aries said, his grin not wavering.

Bellatrix gently unwound one of the twins (She couldn’t be sure which…damn little Weasleys-rabbits…) and approached her son.

“He…said?” she asked, her voice soft. Aries nodded.

“Yeah. He said he was cold, and that the house was a lot warmer than it was outside. He also says it looks like you’ve seen a basilisk.” Aries added, and chuckled.

Ruby had landed her board on solid ground, and her lone twin had attached himself to her.

“So, he’s a Parseltongue…” Ruby said, and shrugged.

“Who’s a Parseltongue?”

The women looked over to see that the men had been drawn by the shrieks of the children. Lucius and Rodolphus looked a bit pale at the mention of that particular talent.

“Look, dad!” Aries said, and held up the snake for the men to see. What little color Rodolphus had left drained completely, leaving him looking a bit ghostly. Draco quickly downed the rest of his firewhiskey. This was going to be a loooong night...

It was at that time that a few more people put in their appearance. Remus and Canina, his wife, led their two boys into the room. Adolf and Ferus spotted the little snake, and gave little growls. Never before had there been a documented case of children born to two lycanthropes, as it was illegal and often proved deadly for the family (by angry neighbors with silver weapons). Adolf and Ferus were born with an altered form of the Werewolf gene, which allowed them to control their wolf-forms on the full moon without the aide of the Wolfsbane potion. They were often a bit wolfish on their own, preferring their meat rather raw, and often chasing neighborhood cats. They were, though, very sweet, and loved attention. They were twins, both with shaggy brown hair and wolfish blue eyes.

Harry Potter came in right after Remus, two of his own children in tow. James was the oldest, at five, and Hayden was the youngest, at three. He had no wife with him, as she had beat a hasty trail after Hayden was born. Something about another man, he wasn’t really clear on the details. But he had been perfectly clear that she would not take the children with her. She had more than agreed. James was tall and rather thin, and had his father’s unruly black hair, and his mother’s clear amber eyes. The effects were a miniature replica of his namesake, one that took Sirius and Remus’ breath nearly every time they saw him. Hayden was still pudgy with baby fat, and had wavy black hair, and her father’s brilliant green eyes. She had gotten her mother’s adorable dimpled cheeks. They were a beautiful sight to behold when she smiled.

Harry looked down at Aries, and started slightly when he saw the snake. In such cold weather? James had no problem with the snake, but Hayden screamed, and Harry had to pick her up.

“Good lord! Why is there screaming?”

The Snapes appeared seconds later, Severus leading a very pregnant Annabel into the room. Two black-haired children, Kaylee and her younger brother, Tobias, joined the other children across the room, although they had no idea why they were taking refuge behind the women. Kaylee went to Kyra, who was latched firmly onto Narcissa's robes. Bellatrix gingerly lead Aries away from Harry, and he was able to put Hayden down, though she hid herself in his robes.

As Bellatrix opened her mouth to say something to Aries, an elf popped into the room.

“Dinner is ready.” It said simply. Aries had a distinct feeling that being able to talk to his little snake wasn’t a good thing, as those who were in the room when he talked about it didn’t look too excited.

“Did I do something wrong, mum?” Aries asked softly. Her face softened, and she ran her hand through his shaggy dark brown hair.

“We’ll talk about it after dinner, all right?” she said. Aries looked around at his family, and then back at his mother.

“Okay.”

~~

Dinner was rather quiet this time, the adults mulling over Aries’ new found talent, the children seemingly affected by their parents’ silence.

After dinner, the adults and children separated, the children taking cocoa and cookies in the playroom, the adults getting eggnog(alcoholic and non) and chocolate cake. The adults were still rather unsure of what to do about Aries.

“After what we just came out of, and who we are, the boy will never have peace.” Rodolphus said, setting his cake aside. He didn’t really have much of an appetite.

“He has to register with the Ministry.” Harry said. Although the ability was extremely rare, all Parselmouths were now required to register with the Ministry. He himself had retained the ability, though Voldemort was long gone, and had to register. He was positive there was a Parselmouth in Ireland as well.

Snape raised his head a bit, as if he’d thought of something. “A Parseltongue would be very useful as a Potions apprentice. He could get serpentine ingredients that others struggle with.” He suggested.

“Yes…but his life at Hogwarts is going to be miserable.” Bellatrix said, and sighed softly. After a bit of silence, in which they enjoyed the quiet company of family, and all stared at the crackling fire, the children began to trickle in, their sugar induced euphoria coming to a halt, leaving them tired. Sapphira came first, and crawled up into Lucius’ lap, snuggling against her father.

It wasn’t long before Ben and Alex wandered in, both sleepy-eyed, and each found solace on the laps of each parent. Ruby snuggled Alex closer to her, running her fingers through his dark red hair. Ron rested his arms around Ben, the boy snuggling himself closer.

Adolf and Ferus were close behind, both yawning and padding sleepily. They curled into their parents, both adjusting their respective parents robes before snuggling.

James was close behind, with Aries in tow. Aries curled up into his father’s side, and looked up at him.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. Rodolphus put an arm around his son.

“It’s okay, my boy. We’ll be just fine.”

The rest of the children weren’t too far behind, each going to his or her respective parent for some Christmas Eve snuggling. Except one. Harry looked around at the children, and then down at James.

“Where’s Hayden?” he asked. James looked up sleepily, and looked around.

“She isn’t in here? She left the room a good ten minutes before everyone else…” James said. Harry felt an inexplicable panic grip him. He stood immediately, and James grumbled.

“Hold on, Potter. Don’t get you knickers in a twist.” Lucius said softly. He snapped his fingers, and a house-elf appeared.

“Yes, Master Lucius?” it asked, bowing.

“Where is Miss Hayden Potter?” he asked. The little elf’s eyes glowed blue for moment, before it shook its head.

“Miss Hayden not being in the house, sir.” It said. That sent all of the adults into a panic. It was snowing heavily outside.

Harry made his way into the hallway, and his eyes were immediately drawn to a side room, one of the rooms that led off to the back yard. The door was open.

“Fuck!” he hissed. All of the adults had gathered their children, and were following Harry. He turned to them.

“Stay here in case she comes back in. I’m going out after her.” He said, and threw open the door, running into the heavy snowstorm.

“Hayden!” he cried, squinting out into the snow. He heard nothing. “No, no, no, no! Not my little girl!” he begged softly. “Hayden!” he cried again.

Instead of an answering cry, he heard the lonely sound of a wolf. His heart plummeted to his stomach.

He pulled his wand from his coat, and cast a lumos as bright as he could get it. He put his wand towards the ground, looking for any indication of a child. He walked, and his breath caught when he saw an almost filled trench in the snow, the kind that would have been made from a child trudging through the high fluffy snow. But his joy was short-lived when he realized where the trench appeared to be heading.

“No!” he screamed, and took off at a full run towards the small pond. He heard the wolf howl again, closer this time, and an undeniable fear gripped his soul.

He saw the wolf on the side of the pond, its paws and head resting on something red. It was Hayden’s Christmas dress. He looked at the pond, and saw that one area of the ice had broken through, and the snow had been disturbed in a line leading to where the wolf was now. Harry extinguished his wand, ready to blast the bloody wolf to bits if it had designs on eating his little girl.

But when he came into sight, the wolf pulled back, revealing the sopping wet form of his daughter. He fell to his knees beside her, and pressed his wand to her throat.

“Ne aspiro aqua.” she turned her head to the side and coughed up water. She was gasping for breath, but her eyes didn’t open. She was shivering violently. Harry pulled off his outer robe, and wrapped it around her. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here.” He said, and pulled her close.

~~

Hayden opened her eyes, and was aware at once that she was in her father’s arms. She looked around, and realized she had been taken to his bedroom at Malfoy Manor. There was sunlight streaming in through the window, and despite her dark near-death experience the night before, her childish exuberance came to the fore.

“Daddy…” she said softly. Harry stirred slightly, and sniffled in his sleep. “Daddy.” She said, a little louder. He grunted. “Daddy!” she yelled.

Harry jumped, almost knocking her off of the bed. She slipped from his arms, and sat on his side, jumping up and down.

“It’s CHWISTMAS!” she cried. Harry opened his eyes, and floundered blindly for his spectacles on the side table. When he got them on, his eyes filled with tears at the sight of his daughter. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close.

“Hayden…my baby…” he sobbed. Hayden seemed to pause for a moment. She’d never seen her father cry.

“Daddy, don’t cwy…” she said, and reached forward to brush his tears away. “I’m sowwy for going out in the snow. The woof saved me.” She said. He nodded.

“How about some presents?” that was all it took to send her back into Christmas-mode.

~~

As Hayden tore screaming down the hallway, Harry was vaguely aware that it was still freaking early. A door opened, and a not-very-sunny-looking Snape glared at him.

“Bloody Potters…all the same….pains in my arse…” he growled. He was almost knocked over by Kaylee and Tobias tearing from the room like bats from hell.

It didn’t take much longer for everyone to convene in the great tree-room, the children locating their respective presents from beneath the tree. All of the children and adults had all hugs for Hayden, all glad she was all right.

Harry had even brought the wolf that had pulled Hayden from the water back up to the manor, and had the elves wash it. Apparently it had been domesticated, because it knew human touch, and responded to orders. It was at present sitting in front of the fire place, a large bow around its neck.

Hayden went to the wolf immediately, and hugged it soundly. Adolf and Ferus went up to the wolf as well, both smelling something distinctly familiar, yet completely foreign. The wolf sniffed them, and when Hayden let it go, then proceeded to bowl them over, licking their faces. Remus’ eyes danced with mirth. He could smell nothing wrong with the wolf. She was just fine for a pet.

“I name you Swimmer. You swim nice.” Hayden said to the wolf.

Each parent watched with joy as their children ripped into the presents. They had been doing this every Christmas for years. They would all get together on Christmas Eve, and spend the night together. Presents gotten for others were put under the Malfoy tree, and opened by their respective owners. Then, each family would part for their Christmas at home, and others, like Ruby and Ron, and Harry, Hermione and Draco(Phoenix and Sapphira in tow), would be off to the Weasleys for yet another Christmas celebration, leaving Lucius and Narcissa to have a special Christmas celebration of their own. Nobody complained, though.

There was never a dull moment in this family!
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Children seem to be attracted to water in the epilogues of my stories...I just realized that. Maybe I should have that checked out. Hmmm. Anyway. There's a nice little bonus to the end of this chappie. Keep reading and you'll see a preview for my newest story: The Unseen.

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James folded his wings firmly against his back.

"She can date anyone she wants!" he snarled, showing his fangs. Harry turned to his son.

"Anyone but Draco bleeding Malfoy. She's out of her mind! Ron-"

"Uncle Ron is an over pretentious arse and a woman-beater." James said, his tail swishing wildly. He didn't like the tone his father was taking. Aunt Hermione was a grown witch who'd been through a terrible ordeal, and was healing enough to try again at love. Draco Malfoy was a grown wizard who was looking for companionship. They gravitated together. So what?

"James...you need to stay out of this." Harry said finally, locking his own green gaze with his son's slitted gold eyes. James frowned. As he started to retort, the door of the classroom opened, and Tobias stepped into the room, his black robes swirling around his feet. James turned to him.

"Headmaster Snape wishes to speak with you, Professor Potter." he said, his black eyes resting on James. James nodded, and heaved a great sigh as Tobias disappeared.

"Thank you, Professor Snape. I have business to attend to, father. I'm sure you know your way to the gates." James said, holding open the door to his classroom. Harry started to exit, but stopped right in front of James.

"This isn't over, James." he said, disapproval all over his face.

"As you wish..." James said, watching as his father descended the stairs. "...you bloody wanker."

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Well?