Chapter Fourteen:

Draco's house elfs were just setting the table for dinner when Zara and Molly Weasley returned with Severus Snape to the manor. Due to his weakened state and the fact that all his possessions were currently being held by the Ministry (Neville had chosen this action to make sure it wasn't used as a refuge for remaining death eaters) he would also be becoming a member of what Draco joked was his commune, especially now that Pansy and her children would be staying there.

No one argued that point, although most agreed that this was the best method of keeping things together while they solved this problem. Once everyone had arrived, Draco, Fred and Blaise updated the group on what had happened.

Zara, as was expected was surprised her mother could be Rowena Ravenclaw. While everyone was discussing the new developments and Fred was helping his wife digest it, Severus was deep in thought. He had met the former Slytherin's mother once, slightly before Sirius Black had started his relationship with her. She had been around Hogsmeade for a couple of weeks, rumors getting around that a beautiful woman was roaming and seemed intent on the male students. Black of course had to go and see what was true or not.

It had been their seventh year, and he had ended up running into the woman, who called herself Elizabeth Winter at the time, near the stationary shop. She had looked very young but Severus had always had an odd feeling about her, a feeling seconded oddly enough by James Potter and Lily Evans. Remus Lupin had never met her till after she had her spell woven on Sirius.

He oddly felt sorry for the idiot. Potter had never warmed to his best friend's girlfriend, particularly after she tried to keep Black out of his daughter's life. Lily had full out hated the woman. He could remember many a night where Lily would rant about her, particularly after Zara had been born. He had never known what Lupin had thought of her and Peter probably was too busy with whatever he was doing to care. However this new information brought new light to the situation.

Had Elizabeth Winter been Rowena Ravenclaw? And had Zara been planned rather then an accident like everyone assumed?

She had certainly seemed intent on taking a lover from amongst the older male students of Hogwarts, or from a professor. And for all her charm at that time, she seemed to clam up after a brief affair with Black. In fact, Black almost didn't know about his daughter at all, only finding out when Lily had run into the woman one day. Then had begun the whole fight between them over how much custody of Zara she should have.

Granted, it had become a mute point after Black had been tossed into Azkaban, but having been the head of Zara's house, he knew that mother and daughter had never had a close relationship. He had been surprised to be invited to Zara's wedding, but even more surprised when "Ms. Winter" had arrived only to comment on how her daughter was making a mistake before leaving.

This brought on a slew of questions, mostly about how the hell Rowena Ravenclaw lived that long.

Molly Weasley on the other hand was simply angry. She had met the girl when the twins had first gone to Hogwarts. They had owled home a few weeks before Christmas to ask her if their friend could come home. Apparently Zara had been playing to stay at the castle and would have been the only one from their year who would be there.

She had thought it odd at first that her twins would be hanging out with a Slytherin girl till she found out that the girl had been put in detention with them after she had tried to help them hide the fact they committed one of their pranks from Professor Sinistra.

Zara's mother had apparently tried to distance herself from her daughter. That was all Molly could think since Elizabeth Winter...or Rowena Ravenclaw as it appeared, seemed to want nothing to do with her daughter except what was necessary. After that first Christmas, Zara had been at the Burrow almost as much as her own children had been.

Zara sat in the chair next to the window of the room she was staying in while she was at Draco's Manor. The window overlooked the back garden and Narcissa Malfoy's former prize winning hydrangeas. She wasn't really paying attention.

Her mother wasn't her favorite person in the world. She wasn't the world's worst mother, but she certainly couldn't be placed in the running for the best. Molly Weasley had been more of a mother to Zara then her own. But all the surprising facts about her family tree seemed a little odd even for her mother.

She actually hadn't spoken to her mother for over two months. She tried to call her once a month, but the recent months had been so busy with the post war clean up that she hadn't had a chance. It was more to be a good daughter then an actual need to talk to her mother. She did love her mother even if the woman annoyed her most of the time.

"You ok?" She turned slightly in her seat to see that Fred had walked into the room. She smiled slightly and went back to staring out of the window. "You don't have to go tomorrow."

"Yes I do. My mother managed to forget to tell me that she was several centuries old, that she played such a major part in the founding of Hogwarts or really anything that I have learned today. Although it does explain why she was irritated that I got sorted into Slytherin."

"You were too sly to be in Ravenclaw," he said with a grin. "The amount of pranks you helped George and I with I think disqualifies you from Ravenclaw at least. You should have been a Gryffindor, in my opinion."

"You always say that," Zara said with a smile. It was a common joke between them. "I think you're still in shock that you married a Slytherin. I know Percy still is."

"Percy married the first girl he got to kiss him," Fred said flopping on the bed. "He expected the rest of us to marry our first loves just like he did."

"Wait, so I'm not your first love," she joked as she made her way to where he was. She flopped down beside him and he turned onto his side so he was looking at her.

"Maybe you were," he said quietly watching her. She looked up at him surprised. He usually didn't get that serious about the joke and she had already assumed that he had loved Angelina. She never doubted that if Angelina hadn't met Arren Montague that things would be greatly different. She'd probably be with Adrian now, instead of him being off on a world tour for a book he wrote pretending to be a muggle. She figured everything worked out for the better. Except for George, who was still alone after Alicia left him for Terrence Higgs. Fred sighed and gathered her to him and hugged her, and she returned the hug, worried.

"Is something wrong?"

"No," he said quietly. "It's just all that has happened lately, I'm really glad your here, and your mine."

"Is this about George?"

"Only partially. Although I have to admit I think he's going to be fine. He seemed to be on good terms with Pansy."

"Interesting. Would never have thought of her and George myself, but now...They probably would work. And he seems to like the children."

"Did he tell you what he found out from Pansy today?"

"No, I was too busy freaking out about my own problems to hear anyone else's."

"The youngest two aren't hers...they are Katie Bell's."

"Katie Bell's? Katie's alive?"

"No, apparently she died soon after the youngest girl's birth. Marcus didn't live much longer."

"Was Katie his prisoner?" Zara couldn't claim to know Marcus Flint very well. He had been a few years older then she and she had more interest in other houses then in her own. However she had heard rumors of Marcus Flint's behavior that were not comforting. She knew better then to assume, given that stories had been made up about her own father.

"No, apparently Katie and Marcus were actually in love with each other. Pansy only married Marcus because they both needed a cover. She needed a reason not to marry Draco Malfoy and he needed a pureblood wife so it didn't look like he was too sympathetic to muggleborns like Katie." Fred paused for a second. "According to George, Pansy and Marcus were planning a divorce as soon as the war was over. Apparently she never quite got over my baby brother and Marcus wanted to marry Katie and raise their family as it should be."

"Pansy's going to continue to raise them?"

"Apparently. She's very stubborn. George claims he almost had to knock her out to get her to leave the manor. Given what's going on he thought it was best if they were here."

"He'd be right. Especially after that explosion at Hermione's. Draco's house is probably the safest place for any of us right now, with how well Lucius charmed and wove spelled into this building." Zara paused and smiled. "Lucius is probably rolling over in his grave at the thought of so many muggleborns and muggle loving purebloods in his home."

"Hermione being the heir of Slytherin must have him spinning."

Draco Malfoy hated the period after an injury where one had to recuperate. Usually with the aide of magic such times were short, but with the dark magic that been used on him and his wife, it was taking him a longer time then usual to get back to his usual health. So until then he was stuck on his property, attending to reorganizing his businesses and other business. And while he fully enjoyed what he was doing, sometimes he wished he could just pop over somewhere or take his wife and family someplace other then these grounds. Be able to show them off and be proud because they were his.

According to Zara, he should be back to full health within the next month or so, and he tried his best not to overwork so she'd be telling the truth. Ginny was a little further behind him, the pregnancy having made it harder for her to heal. However, she was still in the glow of new motherhood so she wasn't noticing it as much as he was.

It wasn't that he didn't love his children, but even their beautiful faces didn't help the urge to just go somewhere. Blaise had commented he was getting cabin fever and he was probably right.

"Draco, will you stop pacing around," his wife commented from the door way. "It's not going to get you anywhere."

"I just wish there was something I could do besides being the keeper of the headquarters."

"There is something you can do, if you think about it," Ginny spoke as she crossed the room. "I didn't bring this up before, but perhaps your father may have had something on why Voldemort was so interested in this guild and the Spencer's in particular."

Draco paused. He hadn't thought about that. He rarely thought of his father as a member of the Death Eaters, preferring the image of his father without the blemish of that whole situation. Not that he was denial. He knew his father had been a Death Eater and unlike Draco had never turned away from it. He just preferred to have the image of how he saw his father rather then how the world had now painted him as a completely evil man.

"I suppose he would, he had a lot of top information. But I don't know where he would keep them. I suppose we could check his private library tomorrow while the others are visiting Ravenclaw."

A:N: Sorry, but no Blaise/Hermione in this chapter. However there should be some in the next chapter as well as the entrance of Zara's mother.