Fides, Roman Goddess of Faith and Loyalty

-

I didn't receive much training with my papa before his death. It was Uncle Sev who took me aside and taught me the few spells I knew.

It was tough learning these things. He would take me to the Shrieking Shack every now and then, but only after he thoroughly scoped it out of enemies and covered it with wards. Underage magic usage was very dangerous in my time. The Death Eaters would track down anyone under the age of seventeen to prevent them from learning curses strong enough to be a threat. That also meant, however, that the wards Uncle Sev put in place were just as deadly. They were a giveaway to anyone in surveillance for the Death Eaters that someone young was being trained.

As such, I only learnt the basics. The one time we were nearly caught, Papa punched Uncle Sev and I didn't see him for six months.

I hated him for the punishment he set for me. I wasn't allowed outside the Manor for months.

I told him I hated him for doing that to me. I told him over and over again. It wasn't fair that I was being treated that way. I didn't want to be sheltered like that.

Aunt Hermione told me one time that he had been locked inside his own room for days on end when he lived with his Muggle relatives. She said she couldn't understand why he would do the same thing to me. The more I thought about it, the more I hated him for it.

But one night, I heard him crying. It happened a lot with my papa since he missed Dad so much. He missed Lily and Dad and there was nothing we could do to bring them back and make him happy again.

This was different though. I heard him muttering my name instead of Dad's. He was apologising. Aunt Hermione had her arms wrapped around him as he cried, telling her that he was so sorry for what he had done to me; for trapping me the same way he had been. He told her over and over again that he couldn't lose me like he had lost everyone else. He told her that I was all that he had left. Papa said that he would change everything if he could. He said he would have sent me to live with someone else if only I would be safe and happy with them. He said he should have done that the moment my dad died.

It was the first time I had cried over his words. He kept telling her that he was a bad father. He wanted to do a better job. He wanted to start all over again. He said that he felt like giving in to Voldemort every time I told him that I hated him. He couldn't cope with my pain. It was worse than losing me.

And then he begged her to take me, to make me happy. It was the first time I had ever heard Aunt Hermione raise her voice. She yelled at him, refusing to take me in.

I went to him that night and apologised to him for everything I had said.

We didn't talk for a week.

Uncle Sev and I never tried to train ever again.

-

The next Friday, it happened. Lucius firecalled his son and requested a potion specifically designed to capture the enemy.

And Draco refused to make it. He flat-out told his father, the patriarch of his family, that he would not create such a potion. In the back of his mind, he knew he should have lied about it being too difficult, and he had even practiced what he was going to say, but when he saw his father's face, he knew he couldn't lie. It came out. The 'no' that he had been suppressing spilled from his lips before he could stop himself.

The silence that followed nearly killed him. And then his father disappeared from sight, ending the conversation completely.

Saturday was Quidditch. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. There'd be nothing in it. Potter would win without breaking a sweat.

The thought of the match brought a smile to Draco's face. Scorpius had begged him to let him watch it. He said he'd even cheer for Ravenclaw if it made him happier. Draco couldn't deny his child anything, he was quick to learn. The boy was granted the permission after one glance at his face. Those big green eyes of his were so familiar to him, and yet they were Draco's greatest weakness when Scorpius was concerned. He wanted nothing more than to please him just so he could see that happy glimmer in them.

Scorpius was allowed to go (and secretly cheer for Potter) as long as he was under the Invisibility Cloak.

That damned Cloak made everything make sense in Draco's mind. The attack at Hogsmeade and several other unexplained facts about Potter were clear. Scorpius told him that Potter had obtained it from his father somewhere along the way and figured that it would be alright for Scorpius to own. Why he hadn't given it to his own children was beyond him, but he didn't really care about that. The Cloak allowed Scorpius to get around easier. That was always greatly appreciated.

Draco tried to focus on Scorpius and the match, but found that the more he thought about it, the less he had to think about and would soon move on to the issue of his father. It made him shudder. The last thing he really wanted to do was think about how his father was going to deal with his defiance.

-

Harry groggily woke up. He had spent the whole night working on a new hex Hermione had somehow found and it seriously drained him. In all honesty, he couldn't imagine using that particular spell, but Remus had seen it to be handy.

What mattered now, though, was the Quidditch match. He got himself ready for it in a time that was slow for Ron and made his way down to the pitch, Firebolt in hand. Scorpius had caught him on his way back to his room the night before and over-excitedly told him that he was allowed to go watch him. There was something that made him fuzzy in his chest to know that the teen was eager to watch him play.

Scorpius had that wonderful talent about him, Harry realised. Whenever the boy was around, Harry forgot everything bad that had happened that day. The impossibly difficult essay Snape set was forgotten about. Parkinson's teasing and taunts had no effect anymore. He didn't worry about any of that crap and focused his attention on the blonde, interested in their conversations and nothing else.

Hermione had started to express some worry about how close they were getting. He supposed it made sense since he was seemingly obsessed with the Malfoy heir. And if he wasn't focused on Scorpius, his eyes were slipping towards Malfoy himself. It worried her deeply. More than once, she had dragged him to the side to ask him about what was going on. He would reply that he was fine and that they didn't have to worry about him so much.

That, of course, had Hermione thinking of Ginny's words and the possibility of Harry and Malfoy being together. Although it seemed beyond insane and impossible, she had seen strange things happen. Harry hadn't yet mentioned his sexuality to her or to Ron (who had no idea), but she was hoping that he would trust her enough some time soon.

She arrived at the Quidditch pitch earlier than most others and found herself a good seat. With time, the stands started to fill as per usual. Since everyone else she was close to was actually on the team, she was normally alone during these games. That never really bothered her.

This time, though, she felt someone deliberately bump into her. Turning around to find no one, she frowned and reached out. Coming in contact with someone, she smiled.

"Good morning Scorpius," she greeted fondly. Although she questioned certain things about the boy, she couldn't deny that Harry was a lot happier around him than he usually was. She didn't have anything against the boy, either. She just didn't really know him. He always gave her knowing looks, though, and she supposed that being from the future, he would know a lot about her.

"Good morning," he returned in a soft whisper. "Dad told me I can watch the match today. This is my first Quidditch match."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you serious? This is the first match the son of Draco Malfoy is allowed to watch?"

He laughed sheepishly. "If you knew who my papa is, it'd be even more of a shock."

Hermione felt him manoeuvre himself around so that he was standing in front of her, wary not to bump into any of the other students.

"Maybe you should have gone to the teacher's stand."

"I want to feel what it's like to be a student here," Scorpius admitted weakly. "My dad's not going to be here, though. He wanted to work some more. He says he has a lot of studying to do if he's going to be Uncle Sev's apprentice."

-

The match was over much quicker than Scorpius expected. It didn't stop him from watching in awe, though. His papa was amazing up on his broom like that. He was faster than he ever could have imagined, zipping between players to find the elusive golden snitch. Back in his time, Scorpius had heard many tales of this game from Hermione's children. They loved the game.

He had begged his papa to teach him, but the pleas were dismissed as his papa decided it was too dangerous. He'd be an easy target up in the air like that.

Of course, Gryffindor had won, with his papa catching the snitch within forty minutes.

It bothered him, though, that he couldn't see any of the seventh year Slytherins in the stadium.

-

Although the training normally never occurred on the weekends coinciding with a Quidditch match, they had a session that day. Oddly enough, Snape had joined in that day.

"Anyone know what that's about?" Ginny whispered, coming up beside Harry.

"I didn't ask him," Harry denied. "And by the look on Moony's face, I don't think he did, either."

Remus had paused at the door. The moment his and Severus' eyes clashed, his breath caught in his throat. There was something about the way Severus was looking at him. It was so intense and...and...

"Moony?" Harry asked, placing a hand on the werewolf's elbow.

He jolted out of whatever trance he was in to look at Harry. When his eyes glanced back at Severus, he realised the moment was gone.

"It's nothing," Remus dismissed and started towards Severus.

Harry's eyebrow rose in question, but it was never answered.

Remus nearly choked on the tension as his feet took him towards the potions master. It was almost as if he knew about their future together. He mentally shook his head. Scorpius wasn't likely to tell Severus that sort of thing.

Then again, the two had rarely said anything over the past week, and what little it had been was tight and short before either felt the need to run away as fast as they possibly could.

Severus was observing each student enter the Room, if only to keep his eyes off the werewolf approaching him. He looked as nervous as he felt, which was a good thing, he figured. The boy had confirmed the relationship that occurs between the two, despite the marriage proposal Lupin had made. It explained why the boy tried to get close to Lupin, and why he trusted him so much.

"What brings you here?" he asked, sliding in next to the taller man.

"I felt like seeing what this army of yours can bring to the table," Severus responded dryly.

"It's not my army; Harry, Hermione and Ron have done all the work."

"Granger did all the work, Potter just mastered the spells. Weasley most likely stands there stupidly."

Remus laughed softly. "Correct, I suppose."

To most of the students there, they saw a conversation between two colleagues. To the Golden Trio, they saw an awkward conversation between two ex-enemies. It was incredibly tense and awkward and none of them knew why.

The DA had grown considerably. Now that it was a class anyone willing to improve on can walk in to, they had a lot more students from various Houses. They had their regulars, who would show up for every class provided they could make it, but then there were several others who joined in after Hermione told them what the class would be based around.

In fact, the small army was seen as the fifth House. Everyone knew about its existence and who the regulars were. Although Harry, Hermione and Ron didn't spend much time with their DA peers, the rest of the DA got along just fine. Lunchtimes were spent together-some even continued practicing out on the grounds with each other if they were having trouble with what they had learnt.

The DA members in Gryffindor were getting closer, too. Harry had noticed the changes in each of them. Neville's grades had improved since he had his wand replaced the previous year (someone had accidentally snapped it in half in one of the training sessions). It wasn't just the wand that helped this, though. He was more confident with the spells he was being taught in Charms and Transfiguration. He didn't make it through to NEWT Potions class, though, but that was to be expected. The shy Gryffindor was, without a doubt, the most improved of the lot.

Ginny was rarely beaten in a duel by anyone other than Harry, Hermione, Ron or Remus. She was one of the most outstanding members of the DA. It was obvious to anyone that her strength surpassed most members, often sending at least two opponents across to the other side of the room in a duel.

One of the things the DA loved was a 'Royal Rumble' type match where, once a month, they'd duel one against everyone. The Trio generally sat out on these, but Harry was usually the winner when they were included. Most of the time, Ginny won the matches. Neville was the proud winner of the most recent, as the rest of the DA singled out Ginny within the first few seconds. It was an interested face off between Neville and Terry Boot. Neville ended up successful by transfiguring a pillow into a bird (which had previously been revealed to be Terry Boot's greatest fear). The terrified Ravenclaw had instantly surrendered.

Of course, Harry couldn't help but see the irony in the boy's fear.

Remus had brought in a Boggart one day as a test. Most people survived the attack from their most feared. But he was proud to see that Neville had used the lesson well.

To no one's surprise, not a single Slytherin attempted to join the lessons. The Slytherins avoided the rest of the school like the plague. Over the past two years, the newspapers ran non-stop stories focusing on how all evil wizards were from the Slytherin House and how it was likely that the Slytherin older years comprised of Death Eaters or the children of Death Eaters. For about a month, a small majority of the Slytherin House walked around with their sleeves rolled up, just to show that they were untouched by Voldemort's Dark Mark. The act against the press worked for a little while until one of the ring leaders was caught as a Death Eater over the holidays.

Both Severus and Remus encouraged the Slytherin students to join, claiming that it would help support their anti-Death Eater claims. None of the students listened to them.

"Why do you think it's that awkward?" Hermione asked Harry, eyeing the two professors. Remus had an arm wrapped around his own stomach, facing slightly away from Severus. The potions master was standing in the same angled position but with his hands in his pockets.

"I don't know. They're never normally like this. I mean, it's not like they're out for each other's blood anymore," Harry responded, his own eyes travelling over the two.

Ron cocked his head to one side. "Maybe something completely embarrassing happened. At least, I hope it did. Could you imagine how good it would be if Remus walked in on Snape?"

"Doing what, Ron?" Hermione questioned.

Harry could hear a certain tone of disapproval in her voice.

"Maybe he's having an affair with a student."

"That's just wrong, mate," Harry snickered. "I don't think anyone's that desperate. I mean, sure, maybe for grades, but I'd rather change subjects."

Ron laughed at that. "Yeah, I suppose. Maybe something else happened..."

"That's obvious," Hermione pointed out. "I don't think they'd be like this without some kind of prompting. I'm just curious as to what it was."

The redhead agreed with the curiosity. "As Moony's closest friends, it's our duty to be concerned over these sorts of things."

"Maybe it's the other way around," Harry jested. "Maybe it's Moony having the affair."

"He'd tell us for sure."

"It could get him fired, Ron. I don't think he'd tell us something like that."

Ron sighed heavily. "Well, it can't be that option. Snape would snitch on him straight away, just to get him out of the castle and into his position."

"Agreed."

Hermione turned around to look at the students around them. It was roughly time to start the class. Today was one of those one-a-month Royal Rumbles, so there were more students than usual. Everyone wanted a chance to get in on the win, and with the extra healing spells they had learnt the week before, teaming would be possible.

She was quick to rally them up, setting out the rules for all those who didn't know what they were. Basically, no spells outside what they had learnt in the DA classes and you couldn't continue the fight once successfully hit with a hex. There was to be no returning to the match after a recovery, either.

As usual, the three of them were to sit out during this battle. The presence of Remus and Severus had several of the students worried, though.

"And don't worry, they're only here to watch," Hermione added, waving a dismissive hand at the two professors. Remus had to stifle his laughter at the glare Severus sent the brunette. He wasn't, by any stretch, impressed at the dismissal.

Harry blew the tiny whistle he had and the match started.

-

Draco couldn't have been any happier for the loss of the Slytherin students. The rooms were still set up as if they had the normal amount of students attending, so several of the rooms started off unoccupied. Now, several months into the year, each of the sixth and seventh year students had taken a room to themselves. The lower levels only had to share with one other person, rather that three or four.

And now that Draco had openly defied his father, a room to his own was a must.

It also gave him freedom with Scorpius if the younger Malfoy ever wanted to randomly visit him.

Scorpius, however, was quickly becoming the least of his worries. The glares he received from his classmates had him worrying for his life (not to be too overdramatic or anything, but it was the truth. They could have killed him for what he had done and no one would be there to help him).

He sighed out loud as he twiddled his quill in his fingers. He was giving up his parents and his rank within society for this boy.

The sigh quickly turned into a groan.

His life as a Malfoy was over. There was nothing he could do about it, either.

Everything he knew was over.

Trying to take his mind off that, Draco delved back into the world of his homework. It had taken him forever to get a sentence written down onto his Transfiguration essay, and then even longer to actually understand what he had written. The essay had been assigned the Monday after he had met Scorpius. It was due the upcoming Monday. It was quite tempting to just slam his head against the desk and leave it at that. He didn't want anything to do with school or his parents or the war. It was enough. He had reached his limit.

He lowered his quill to massage at his deltoids. The muscles of his neck and shoulders were cramped with stress.

Draco jolted as the door to his room opened, slamming against the wall as it turned one-hundred and eighty degrees on its hinges. He turned sharply, nearly choking on his tongue as he saw a highly pissed off Pansy Parkinson standing in the doorway.

"Draco Hyperion Malfoy!" she screeched, storming over to where Draco was sitting. "Theodore just told me what you said to your father."

He wasn't surprised as a hand smacked him upside his head. "Pansy..."

They had never been really close. They only interaction between them was because of their families. She, however, always saw it necessary to literally knock him back into place. It seemed as if she felt it to be her own responsibility, as if she was actually a part of his life.

"No! How dare you do that to your father? Do you have any idea how much your family is going to suffer for this?"

Draco ran a hand through the longer strands of his hair. "Pansy, whatever decision I've chosen is solely up to me. It had nothing to do with you."

"I have it on good authority that I was your chosen fiancée..."

That had him standing to get away from her.

"Hell no," he hissed, taking steps back away from the girl. "That's not going to happen."

"Damn right it's not," Pansy continued. "My parents have already told me that I'm not allowed to have anything to do with you, just in case your insanity spreads. They said that the Dark Lord will give you one chance to redeem yourself..."

Draco scoffed at that. "You can't be serious. Even if I do go back to doing everything my father orders of me, it'll be different. I want to choose my own future, and I certainly don't want to be married to you."

"Draco..."

"No. I'm not going back to that life. I'm looking forward to living and loving the way I want to."

She glared at him, stepping back towards the door. "What's wrong with you? Did you change your personality with a Gyff or something? What you're doing goes beyond insanity."

"Get out of here, Pansy. That is what your parents would want of you, isn't it?"

Her glare intensified as she reached the doorway. "You're doing the wrong thing. The Dark Lord is going to win this war. You'll be killed just like all the other blood traitors."

As much as he'd hate to deny it, he collapsed onto the bed the moment she closed the door. He was a doomed man, no matter which way he looked at it. Scorpius told him he died in the future he just prematurely chose, and the Death Eaters would want nothing more than his death. Draco Malfoy was too submersed in the Death Eater world to be so easily let go.

He turned onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. He was doomed.

"Damnit, Scorp," he grumbled. "You better be worth this."

-

Severus would never have admitted it, but he was genuinely surprised with how talented the DA had become. He was especially impressed by the Weasley girl and her amazing ability. She was a lot more powerful than most other teens he had seen. Hell, she had a few tricks up her sleeve that he hadn't seen in a fully grown adult.

And Longbottom had gotten a lot stronger, too. It actually ended up being a battle between the two of them. Whilst her spells were a lot stronger than his, he was talented in protection spells. He could easily conjure a shield to protect him from whatever it was that she threw at him.

It was, though, a matter of time before Weasley would throw at him a stronger hex, breaking through the barriers he could create.

When it did come, a loud cheer erupted from the females in the room. Wounds had already been tended to, following the previous lesson.

He was a man of a hard stomach, but seeing the changes in the students made his insides curl. They had improved for the sake of war. It wasn't as if they were duelling for fun. The base reason was so that they were prepared to protect themselves and even take the lives of the enemies. These students, none any older than eighteen and some as young as twelve, were training to be active participants in the destruction of their childhood.

There were two in particular who had missed out on a childhood completely. Potter and Longbottom had lost their innocence to the war because of the position their parents had been in. And now, they were allowing several others to follow in their footsteps. What made it worse was that the adults-their teachers-were supporting them...

"Anything wrong?" Remus asked, looking up from Severus' shoulder. Severus turned his head away.

"Of course not."

A smile found the lips of the werewolf. "I'm worried about them, too."

"You must be insane if you think that's what I'm thinking."

Remus sighed heavily, turning to look at Harry, who was congratulating the two finalists and informing the rest of the class of the next lesson. "I can only hope that he'll find a normal life once this is all over."

"That'll never happen," Severus told him bluntly. "He has two choices: die young by the Dark Lord's hands or to forever be the hero."

"According to Scorpius, he dies at a later age..."

"Thirty-seven. He's thirty-seven when he dies in the future. That's still young."

Remus nodded his head once. "Yes, I suppose." His eyes lingered on the boy. "He deserves a better life than the one he's been given. One day, he'll be happy. He'll understand love and what it's like to have a family. He seemed happy with Draco."

"That's impossible," Severus claimed, repeating what had been said several times over. "I can't imagine the two of them creating a family together, let alone having a friendship."

"I saw it with my own two eyes, Severus. Both Harry and Draco are that boy's fathers." Remus couldn't help but glance at Severus' face as he said that. "Maybe with help from the two Malfoys, they'll live longer together."

Severus merely 'hmphed' at that, turning away. He made his exit swiftly, wanting to be far away from the large group of Gryffindors.

Once Severus was gone, Remus let out the deep breath he had been keeping in. He felt so giddy after that. It was insane, and he was sure that this was exactly what a love-struck teenager felt like, but he couldn't help it. And to be honest, he quite liked the interesting sensation.