Andromeda crossed the room, studying Scorpius like a breeder looking for bloodlines. "Yes, you've got Black blood in you," she remarked as she used her wand to clean her hands and dress.

Scorpius looked affronted. He let Kublai down to the office floor to explore, and stammered, "I don't know what you're talking about. Why do you look like pictures of my Aunt Bella?"

She ignored him, turning to Albus and Rose. "Albus Potter, and little Rose, already in the Headmaster's office? For shame!"

Albus prepared to defend himself, until he saw the smile tugging at Andromeda's lips. Rose had no reaction to the teasing, so he glanced over.

She was taking a closer look at the magic eye through the glass. That was his cousin. When she wasn't causing massive destruction with that sharp tongue of hers, she was curious about everything.

"Where's Theodore?" Andromeda demanded as she finished and turned to Albus' mum and dad.

"Oh, he was out on the grounds earlier, helping in an investigation," Albus' dad replied.

"Well, call him," she snapped. "He needs to be here."

Albus wasn't surprised when his dad immediately followed her orders; Andromeda was sweet, most of the time but, but there was nothing but grit underneath.

His dad walked a few feet away and pulled the compact/communicator back out. Andromeda rolled her eyes and gave Albus' mum a hug. The two ladies had raised Teddy Lupin as a collaboration, and it had made them the best of friends despite the age difference.

Scorpius was still openly staring at the newcomer. His usual aloofness had vanished, swept away, it seemed, on a wave of confusion.

Albus' dad cleared his throat meaningfully as he finished with the compact. Albus' mum and Andromeda were looking at some pictures the younger witch had pulled out of her bag, both ignoring his attempts to get their attention. Albus knew Andromeda and his Mum were aware that his dad was done, it was apparently an unspoken agreement between them to make sure the great Harry Potter didn't get too much of a big head. Albus had seen them both, on many occasions, make him wait.

"Oi, Ladies," he called.

Andromeda turned to him, her arms crossed, the aristocratic glare she gave him making him immediately uncomfortable. "You're the one who called me, Harry Potter. Since I'm doing you a favour, you might want to show a little more patience."

Albus' dad held up his hands in an "I surrender" gesture.

It wasn't long before Teddy Lupin knocked and came through the door, sporting bright blue hair. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner, Victoire had me running an errand."

Headmaster Shacklebolt was clearly exasperated. "How did you get the password?"

Teddy shrugged. "The gargoyles were too busy arguing, I just walked right by them."

Shacklebolt rolled his eyes. "I've got to get new gargoyles!"

Teddy looked around the room, winking at Albus as he walked by. Andromeda glowered, studying Teddy as he crossed the room. She looked disapproving, but Albus knew she doted on her grandson every chance she got. Teddy nodded a greeting to Shacklebolt, but Albus knew the Headmaster wasn't the one in the room making him the most nervous.

"Wotcher, Grandmum."

"Wotcher yourself, Theodore. Just look at your robes! And need I remind you, your hair is not blue."

Teddy shrugged as his hair went back to its normal brown.

Even with her disapproving studying of his rumpled robes, she still gave him a warm hug, and smiled wistfully like Albus had seen before. Teddy reached past his grandmum and shook his godfather's hand.

Albus' dad smiled. "Well now, we're all here." He turned to Andromeda. "Do you remember the incantation?"

The condescending look she gave him was answer enough He gave her space with a sheepish grin.

She pulled out her polished, immaculate wand, touched it to her lips for a moment, then with a flourish she called into the emptiness,

The air seemed heavier for a moment, then it disapated as if something was sent off. She turned to a thunderstruck room, one eyebrow raised. "She'll be here shortly, but she won't be happy about it."

Headmaster Shacklebolt recovered first, he shot Albus' dad a furious look. "Harry, when I let you borrow my office, it wasn't to bring two very powerful witches, who are most likely hostile to one another, back into proximity, there are things in this room that are irreplacable!" he bellowed.

Scorpius was looking from one adult to the other, thoroughly unhinged at this point.

He managed to stammer, "W- what is going on here?"

Andromeda turned to him, but her face was kind, "I think your Grandmother has some explaining to do, Scorpius. Don't worry, she will be here any minute."

Scorpius looked exasperated, "How do you know my name? No one here has used it."

Andromeda and Teddy exchanged a look, but said nothing.

The wait wasn't long. In an explosion of air, a tall, disgruntled witch with white-blond hair, popped into their presence, dropping an elaborate silver teapot, which she had evidently used as a Portkey, to the carpeted floor. Her wand was out and her bright blue eyes scoured the room. Her eyes rested on a amused Andromeda Tonks, "Do you have any idea how much that stings!" she roared.

"Hello, Cissy," Andromeda called in a bored tone. "Did you have a nice trip?"

Narcissa Malfoy, was about to launch a curse, when suddenly Scorpius shot across the room and wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her to pause.

"Grandmother!" he cried, buried in her bodice.

She quickly stowed her wand, vengeance forgotten. She hugged him back and they forgot the room. Albus was amazed at the shape the older witch was in. As she smiled and had Scorpius turn around so she could see how much he'd grown, to his utter embarrassment, Albus noticed some crows feet at the corner of her eyes. Andromeda looked much older when in truth they were quite close in age. Malfoy money must buy some impressive rejuvenation draughts!

The rest of the offices occupants walked away from the reunion to give them some time.

Headmaster Shacklebolt, taking the initiative to change the subject, asked about the incantation that Andromeda had just used.

Andromeda sat down in a chair like it was a throne. "It's passed down through the Black line, only a Black can use it," she explained. "It was originally intended as a call to arms for the Black ancestors, if our lands were ever invaded by non-magical folk."

Shacklebolt thought on that a moment. "So you recite the incantation, and the person summoned has to come? Or what will happen?"

Andromeda smiled; it wasn't a pleasant one. "The sensation is similar to being plunged headfirst into a nest of angry wasps, as I recall. I haven't been summoned for many years."

Albus' dad was sitting on the arm of the chair that Albus' mum occupied. He stated, "They couldn't use that summoning on Sirius or Andromeda, because once they were disowned, the spell on them was broken. I remembered Andromeda mentioning that to me at Christmas one year."

Andromeda looked over at Narcissa and Scorpius; the look was wistful. "My sister honoured the House of Black, so she was never cast out. That is why the summoning worked on her. I am willing to bet I could summon young Scorpius there the same way."

Narcissa was fussing over Scorpius, and his face had gone pink with embarrassment. "Grandmother, don't!" Scorpius grumbled as Narcissa tried to wipe his cheek, beginning to head back towards the rest of the group.

As they approached, Narcisssa's face lost it's warmth and became cold, aloof, and aristocratic. I can see where Scorpius gets that skill, Albus thought. And I know what it means when Scorpius does it. His grandma must be really uncertain at the moment.

"My grandson has informed me why I am here. As much as I love him, I must regretfully decline to sign."

Scorpius' face couldn't hide the fact he was crushed with disappointment.

Andromeda threw up her hands, exasperated. "You can't break free of Lucius, even now that you're divorced? Where is your Black blood now, Cissy?"

Colour leapt to Narcissa's cheeks. "You do not call me that. You lost that right long ago. And who are you to lecture me on what is characteristic of Black blood, Andy?"

Andromeda stood. She was shorter than Narcissa, but no less impressive.

Scorpius looked up at his grandmother. "Why does this lady look like that portrait of Great Aunt Bella?"

Andromeda's words where slow and clipped. "You told him of Bellatrix, and never told him of me? What kind of person do you want him to be when he grows up?"

Narcissa stared coldly at the shorter witch. "Scorpius, please tell her what you know of your Aunt Bella."

Scorpius stared at his grandmother a moment, then complied. "She was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's right hand, she killed and tortured a lot of people, and she was killed in a one-on-one duel, just before the Dark Lord fell."

Andromeda smiled at the young boy. "Now ask your grandmother how many sisters she has."

Narcissa answered before Scorpius could ask. "You told me at Dora's funeral, to leave, and that you wanted nothing to do with me or my husband or our family."

Andromeda's eyes fell. "I was wrong."

The shock on Narcissa's face was apparent. "What did you say?"

Albus shared Narcissa's surprise. He had known Andromeda his entire life and had never known the woman to be wrong, or admit it if she was. She was iron-willed and tenacious to the core, but she never showed this level of vulnerability. Teddy looked so stunned he had to sit down on the arm of a chair.

Andromeda looked back up, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I was wrong. I'd just lost Ted, Dora, and Remus, and was trying to raise Teddy. I had so much anger, I threw away the only family I had left. But this isn't about you, or me, or Lucius. This is about that little boy you're holding. He only knows he wants to play Quidditch. Don't take that away from him."

In that moment, the two women stared into each other's eyes, the deep history they shared playing behind their eyes.

"Scorpius," Narcissa stated, "this is your Great Aunt Andromeda, and that young man over there is Teddy, your cousin."

It wasn't a tearful reunion, and it wasn't greeting-card perfect. The two sophisticated witches didn't embrace or tearfully apologize; they just nodded as if an agreement was passed.

Narcissa called out to Headmaster Shacklebolt, "Where do I sign?"

The tall man found some parchment on his desk and brought it over with a quill. Scorpius followed his grandmother and the Headmaster with eager eyes not wanting to believe it was possible, after being crushed by disappointment just a few moments before, he was trying to be reserved until the document was approved.

As she scratched out her name, Shacklebolt inquired, "May I ask, what changed your mind?"

She handed the parchment and quill back. "No, you may not."

Scorpius beamed. "I've got an aunt and a cousin, and I get to play Quidditch!"

Narcissa's bearing cracked for just a moment. "Consider this the next few Christmases and birthdays rolled into one. I will most likely get cut off for this."

Andromeda smiled at her sister. "If you ever need help..."

Narcissa cut her off. "I have some other resources, thank you."

With that, and one last hug for her grandson, she picked the Portkey back up and was gone in a blue flash, back to where she was summoned from.

Albus watched the whole scene with shock. "So Scorpius and Teddy are cousins?"

His dad nodded. "Family business, Albus. We had no right to say anything."

To punctuate the moment, Uncle Ron came bursting into the office and breathlessly declared, "I'm sorry, I can't Floo out until I find..." He stopped when he saw Rose. "There you are! What are you, barking mad? You know I've got to say goodbye to my girl!"

Rose rolled her eyes and she ran over. He plucked her off of the floor and hugged her. Then they began talking quietly.

Albus looked at his dad and mum. "Suddenly, I'm feeling a lot more normal."

His dad and mum chuckled and offered him a hug. "You'll get over it."

Albus watched his Uncle and Rose as they tried to out-apologize each other. It was like his Mum always said, Rose and her dad were just too much alike to get along, good thing they were also similar in their capacity for forgiveness.

"Ron?" Headmaster Shacklebolt said as Uncle Ron and Rose walked up, arm in arm. "How did you get in?"

"Zaire, Felicis told me. You need to get new gargoyles, mate!"

Shacklebolt sighed. "I know."

After Scorpius retrieved Kublai, he and Teddy went back to The Cellar, chatting animatedly. Albus silently walked the halls alone. He had said goodbye to his parents and left Rose talking with her dad. He just wanted to get into bed.

Then he realized that the staircase had turned him around, and he wasn't sure where he was. He started down a new hallway, panicking, when he was suddenly upside down, hanging by one foot. I wasn't long before he heard some flopping noises, and he got to see what a goblin looked like upside down.

"Ah, a student out of bed," the upside down goblin said in a smooth-cultured voice, stroking his long beard. "Whatever shall we do? Caretaker Filch's ghost is a few flights up chasing the Poltergeist yet again, but he can be summoned quickly."

"W-what do you want?" Albus stammered, discomfited. He was getting a bit of a headache.

"Well let's see, young Master Potter. You don't have too many valuables with any true value. I do wish young Master Malfoy was accompanying you."

"You've been through my stuff?" Albus said, shocked.

"I am the caretaker, it is advantageous to know what I am expected to take care of. We goblins don't believe in private property. That is a human concept. If it has been placed under my authority, I should have access to it."

Albus tried to think but he was getting a bit dizzy. "What do you want from me?"

The goblin was thoughtful. "A boone will suffice. You will owe me. Be sure you pay my debt before the end of the year."

As Albus was lowered to the floor, he glared at the goblin, "What's the boone?"

The goblin smiled with his little sharp teeth. "You'll know it when you see it, young wizard." He pointed one bony finger the way Albus should go, and then flopped off down the opposite corridor.

Albus was livid; how dare that creature hang him upside down like that! He ought to go back up to Headmaster Shacklebolt's office right now. However, he knew he would probably get lost on the way.

"What are you doing, Albus?" Rose asked as he turned the corner in the direction he was pointed. She was descending the stairs, but she didn't look lost.

"How are you finding you way around?" He demanded.

She smirked. "I memorised the floor plan before I came to Hogwarts."

Albus rolled his eyes, but followed her. Soon they where walking through the round oak door of The Cellar.

Albus was surprised to see Cormac waiting by the fire. "Hey Albus, canna talk to you a minute?"

Rose said goodnight, gave Albus a hug, and was gone.

He walked over to sit opposite Cormac. The firelight revealed worry lines etched into the boy's face.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked.

Cormac seemed unsure whether to say anything, but finally began. "Remember when you called your Quaffle strike this morning, lucky?"

Albus nodded.

Cormac sighed like he was lifting a heavy weight. "You might have been right about that."

Albus found himself growing nervous about where this was leading. "Why do you say that?"

Cormac was quiet for a minute, "Do ya know wha' I am, Albus? I canna tell you unless you already suspect."

Albus leaned back, rubbed his tired eyes, it had been the longest day of his life. "You're half-Leprechaun, aren't you?"

Cormac let air out like a deflating balloon, "Ya figured it out. I was hoping you'd know. Me mum was Leprechaun and me dad was human. I didna know until three years ago. Well, three years ago Leprechaun time. Staying with me mum's folks, it's hard to tell."

Albus was intrigued. "What was three years ago human time?"

Cormac looked at him calmly. "Thirty years, give or take."

Albus' mind was swirling with the possibilities. "And your father? He was human, right?"

Cormac stared off into the fire. "My mum went back to her people, she didna know I had power. I had wizard blood in me. My father had wizard in his blood from four generations back, he didna know that either for all he knew he was Muggle. Mum wouldna had a relationship with him if she had known about the wizard blood, because blending magics can be so unpredictable. My power came to me when I was seven years old. We were in a car; he complained about the traffic lights, I changed them all to green. We were hit by another car coming from the other direction." Cormac looked into Albus' eyes, "I turned one side but the other side was still green. I killed me father."

Albus was stunned. Finally, he ventured. "So? You can make things happen. All wizards do that when they come into their power, it's not your fault."

Cormac shook his head. "My power is different, I can cause things to become more likely, both good and bad. I can't control which way it goes. Think about it, after I said Luck be with ya earlier today, Professor Krum got hit in the back of the head and wound up headed for the Willa, but you had the Quaffle, knew where the knot was, and had enough arm to make the shot. Good and bad luck at the same time."

Albus sighed. "So that Quaffle shot was lucky. If you take away the Calming Draught too, I'm not as special as everybody thought.

Cormac shook his head. "The only way you coulda made tha shot, was if you were capable of hitting it anyway. All I did was make it more likely. I'm not full-blooded, I can't make anything happen that's not probable normally."

Albus shook his head. "I've got a headache. I need to lie down."

Cormac smiled. "I know, it's confusing, but I needed to tell ya."

Albus met his eyes. "Why me?"

Cormac pulled his wand out of his robes. "I recognized my people's workmanship when you pulled out yer wand."

Albus had one more shock in a day of shocks. The wand Cormac held out was as intricately carved as the one in his robes. He accepted the offered wand. He could see little scenes of Leprechauns frolicking around, playing tag, counting gold, and also more disturbing things involving humans, one sharply detailed caricature was spewing coins out of his mouth the terror on his face was so clearly rendered it was a palpable thing.

"Is your wand Chimera scale too?"

Cormac shook his head. "No, not that powerful. Me uncles plucked my Great-Great Grandda's beard while he was nappin, for the core. You should have heard him yelp! You've never heard a person curse until you've heard a 600 year old Leprechaun let fly!"

They both chuckled.

"What does this mean for me?" Albus said, handing the wand back.

Cormac stowed his wand. "I'm not sure. If it's in your possession then it belongs to ya, that's all I'm sure of."

Albus rubbed his eyes. "Can we talk about this some other time? My brain is melting."

Cormac nodded.

They started across the common room when Albus said, "Cormac, you didn't kill your father, I'm sure about that."

Cormac shook his head sadly. "It all comes ta the same thing, Albus."

They left in silence.