-1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor the characters. I do own the plot to this story. There is another story that may be alike but after a bit, it will not be. I am not going to copy.

Speaking of which, I realize that the events are going to be out of order, I only hope that you will forgive the irregularity.

Augustus Prince was putting the finishing touches on an essay for the new Potions Professor. There was no one else left in the common room as everyone was out enjoying the spring weather. He preferred to remain indoors and get as much studying done as he could. He had only one more year to go in Hogwarts. And he was going to be very powerful. As were his children and grandchildren.

The Prince family had been considered the royalty of the wizarding community since almost the beginning. It was a proud lineage that could be traced to Salazar Slythern, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Huffelpuf, Godric Gryfyndor and even to Merlin himself.

While his father and grandfather felt that the family should have only purebloods, he felt that it would be good to have muggle born as long as they happened to help the line by increasing the power of the family. But to marry a useless muggle would be an affront and bring dishonor on the family.

There, finished. The essay was perfect. He would get an O in the course. Augustus then stretched and got up and started to grab his books, essay and parchment. The entrance to the common room opened and a very handsome boy of sixteen walked in.

If Tom's attitude were different, then things might have been different, but Riddle was a bully and felt himself above everyone else. Usually that was enough to discourage people, but the boy's charm was enough to fool them. Students and teachers alike. But there were some who were not swayed. And he was one.

The Prince family was taught not to use their name and power as a bullying tactic. So the Princes were not bullies, but Tom Riddle was.

Angus looked up and groaned. "Riddle."

Riddle's eyes flared, and hate welled up in them. "Prince." Of course Tom Riddle did not like him any better. Anyone could tell that bad blood would always be between them.

Slowly Augustus stepped away from the table and drew out his wand, as did Riddle. At that moment, the Slytherin prefect entered the room.

Julian Flint took in one look what was about to happen. "Alright, put the wands down, both of you."

Both boys ignored the seventh year prefect. Who decided to get the new head of house involved.

The first one to blink would be the loser and since neither wanted that hanging over their heads, neither was going to stop, and a draw was impossible. At least to a Slytherin. The tension hung over the room like a heavy fog waiting for a slight change to erupt into a storm.

The storm happened when the portrait hole opened. The sound and the audience were just enough to start the duel. The spells came fast and furious. Neither one playing by any set of known rules.

Since Tom had amassed a huge following in the Slytherin dorms, he was the one who people were cheering for. It was then that Tom got careless, and Augustus got the upper spell. Tom ended up thrown across the room and lay unmoving on the floor.

Augustus grinned; he won, but the victory was slight. Flint had returned with Professor Slughorn. And Slughorn, seeing that his favorite was defeated, was about to order detention, when he realized that Augustus was a Prince, and the family happened to have numerous connections. Best not to ruffle too many feathers.

Tom Riddle stiffly got up and groaned. He would eventually get back at that boy as well as his descendants. He would eventually see to that.

"Since you both seem to have time on your hands and are very crafty when it comes to dueling, a four page essay on dueling by tomorrow on my desk should be enough to keep the both of you from any more matches. And it must include the proper way of dueling. In short, since neither of you care to incorporate them, why rules are to be followed. Really, why the younger generation is turning out this way, I will never know." Slughorn then turned and walked away.

If glares could kill, Tom Riddle and Augustus Prince would both be dead.

40 years later…

Eight-year-old Severus crouched lower in the corner. He had witnessed many bad fights over his short lifetime, but none this bad. It all started off as usual as his father yelled at his mother's cooking abilities, then escalated to words and then to punches.

Tobias then took a beer bottle and started to wield it toward Eileen. Scared for his mother's safety, Severus ran between his parents. That did not stop his father from hitting him aside. Severus hit the wall hard and was knocked unconscious.

Thankfully he was not awake to see his father smash the bottle across his mother's head, resulting in Eileen falling on the floor with a hard thud. Tobias kicked Eileen over and noticing the blood seeping out of her head, ran out of the house. Never to return.

Forty minutes later:

Severus groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the room, yes everything seemed to be in order after a fight. Shattered glass, broken furniture and utter chaos of the room as usual.

"Mum," Slowly getting to his feet he wondered to where his mom lay on the floor. Not seeing her head he shook her, "Mum," Then noticing her head and the blood pooled around her, he touched her cold skin. He then knew that his mother would feel no more pain, laying down beside his mom and silently cried himself to sleep.

Soon after Severus was asleep, five people arrived out side at the Snape house. They then entered, after the older gentleman gave a sharp command..

The older gentleman had the look of nobility about him. He was extremely tall, thin, had dark eyes and wore his silver hair in a long ponytail. What made him look really regal was not only the walking stick and simple yet elegant tailor made wizard clothes, but the way he carried himself. If there was a king of the wizarding world he would be it.

The next was a stocky, middle-aged man with a pouch belly. His short mousy brown hair slicked back trying to cover his head to conceal the fact of his impeding baldness. His clothes spoke of politician mediocrity. And his shrewd eyes and pudgy nose were always looking for what could best come his way.

The next two were men. One was small, pasty skinned and wearing the outfit of his chosen profession. Or a mortician. The other was wearing clothes that had that well worn look to them. His face tough and had a couple of scars. Looking at him was looking at the poster board of what an auror would look like.

The last one was an older woman. She had graying hair, sensitive eyes and was a little on the heavy side. Her dress and robes that she had on were her best but were definitely not new.

As soon as she saw the young boy holding on to his dead mother with tear stains going down his dirty cheeks, she put a hand on her mouth and gasped. She had never seen anything like this. She always arrived after the fact to take wizarding children into custody so they could be placed in a nice wizarding family if they were young or to be placed in an institution.

The auror walked over and started to gently move Severus from his mother, awakening him in the process. The mortician then started to do his job. Taking pictures and writing notes down.

Everyone was surprised at what happened next the boy levitated the corps back to him and held on to it. The boy was obviously very powerful, there was no doubt. Augustus looked anew at the boy and started thinking about what the child could accomplish with such powers.

The mortician came quietly over to Severus, "Young man I know you love your mother, but do you know what the best kind of love is? Giving your mother the freedom when you let go. It is a way that the living show their love for the ones who have left them, by honoring all the good that they were." Severus let a few tears escape as he made the ultimate sacrifice in his young lifetime and let go of his mother.

The lady came over to him smiled sweetly. 'That was very brave for a young man such as yourself to have done. You are five years old am I correct?"

"I am eight." Severus replied with sadness and a seriousness no young child should have.

"Eight? You look so young." The auror replied and looked over at the lady with a knowing nod. The lady shook her head. It was obvious that the boy was not fed right. Both when it came to height and to the thin body that had a couple of ribs showing.

"Remember, everything is to be done as fast yet correctly as humanly possibly. I want my daughter buried back at the Prince family burial vault." Then the older gentleman turned his attention to the short politician, "Keep all of those newspapers out of the way and no pictures are to be leaked. Or it will be all of your jobs!"

Severus was being attended to by the auror and the lady. His noticeable injuries taken care of, the lady started to talk to him "How are you, dear?" Seeing that Severus kept looking at his mother with a lost look. "Young man." She patted his shoulder and seeing him wince, lifted up his shirt. Her mouth dropped open. "Wallings." She called the auror over.

"NO, NO! I AM SORRY! I AM FINE! I know I am bad and I am so sorry I didn't answer. Please don't hit me! I'll be good and answer you!" Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked over at the shaking young boy.

"Dear me. No one is going to hurt you. I promise."

Wallings came over and looked at the back and sadly shook his head. "Your father did this, didn't he?"

Severus shook his head yes. "How long has this been going on?"

The auror and the older lady both incanted medi spells to cleanse and repair the wounds. The older scars he would have to live with for the rest of his life.

"I don't know. As long as I can remember." He looked down with cold yet detached calmness, "I am going to be with mum soon."

"What?" Wallings asked. He had a bad feeling as did the others when the child stated that.

"When father comes back, he won't stop hitting me. Mum used to always move in front of me and take some of the hits that were meant for me." No one knew really what to say. A child who should have been enjoying life was weighed down with beatings and now was under the impression that he would be dead soon.

"Your father will never harm you again, I promise child. That is why I am here." The woman explained to him.

"What do you mean?"

"What she means is that we are from the wizarding community, boy. And we are here to take you away from this place and put you in a nice home." The politician stated.

"He is too old to be placed with a family. You will have to put in a wizarding orphanage." The woman said sadly. She knew that what Severus needed was a stable home, but that was just not possible. Only the younger ones could be placed into a wizarding family's home. The older ones were put into wizarding orphanages.

Mr. Prince who peeked at the scars and bruises under his shirt, shook his head. "Not my grandson, you won't"

Severus looked up quickly with wide eyes, "You're my grandfather?"

"Mr. Prince sir, I do not have the forms for you to take the boy into your home." The politician wheezed.

"Then get the paperwork."

"But he is to go to the orphanage."

"Not that institution! No child should have to put up with that place. And he has my blood running through his veins. Even though he is a half-blood. He is coming with me!"

"But all of that paperwork I would have to go through!"

"Get it done, you hear me! Or it will be your job!"

"Mr. Prince, I have an idea." The lady reveled.

Augustus Prince looked at her shrewdly, "Yes."

"Since he is at the borderline of going there or to a foster home of sorts, he could be sent to your home as a foster family. I could push through the paperwork and you could adopt him by the end of this week."

"Madam, I do believe you were a Slytherin."

The lady shook her head, "Merlin no. I was a Huffelpuf. But working this system you become a little clever at shortcuts."

"So, I can take my grandson with me now?"

"Of, course. I just have a few questions to ask him first."

"Boy, Severus, answer this lady's questions, then start packing, as you will be living with me."

After the questions were asked and the answers given, Severus climbed the stairs to his room one last time and started to pack.

Seeing the threadbare garments that his grandson called clothes, "You will not take these rags. I will make sure that you will have new, clean clothes."

"I get a new suit?" Severus was amazed. No one beside Lily and her parents gave him anything.

"You will get more than one." Looking at the worn shoes and sock with holes in them, "You will get everything new. Why you didn't have at the least decent clothes. I'll never know."

"Dad, was too busy drinking and at the races."

"No wonder. Filthy muggle." Augustus looked into Sevres's face, "It is not that I do not like muggles, Severus. Some of them are intelligent and not as dunderheaded as what some of the wizarding world is."

"My best friend's parents are muggles. And they were always very nice to me. Mrs. Evans always fed me and even patched my clothes when I was over there. And Mr. Evans always tried to include me with his activities. He was always working in his shop with his wood working . And he also took me to a few matches. They both have always been very nice to me."

"Severus, you do realize that you will have no further contact with either of them."

Severus shook his head with a half smile, "No, I will. Lily is not only is my best friend, but she is also a witch." Severus proclaimed proudly. "She became my friend when we were both four and she and I would do magic together."

"Really?"

"Yes, sir. I found out about her being one when we were both five. You don't mind about her being muggle born. Do you?"

"No, I do not! I do not have the same views of the rest of those so called pure bloods."

"What you said about father…"

"Severus, when your mother introduced him to me, I knew that he was no good. I thought that no good would come from that union."

"You were right." Severus stated sadly.

"Severus, I am sitting beside the one good thing that came from the union. You!"

"But father always said…"

"Your father is a drunken sod! And you are to not think of him again!"

"I am still a Snape." Severus looked down when he said that.

Augustus tilted his chin up and looked directly into a pair of identical eyes, "Severus, I am going to adopt you and you will stay with me."

"But mum told me that Uncle Triton is your heir."

"And so he is as well as his son Nero. But that does not mean that you will not come to stay with us. You might have muggle blood going through your veins, but you also have Prince blood in your veins."

"You really don't want me, do you. You just do not want a blood relative to go to an orphanage." Severus knew that him being wanted was too good to be true.

"Of course I want you. And to prove it, you are not only going to be staying with me and your Uncle Triton, Aunt Julia and your cousin Nero, but your last name will be changed to Prince."

Severus's eyes grew wide with wonder, "You would give me your name?"

"You are my grandson, of course I would!"

"Wait until Lily hears about this!"

"I guess I will have to meet this Lily and her parents, to thank them."

"You will like them, I know you will."

"We will go and meet them as soon as the house elf arrives to pack for you."

"House elf?"

"A servant as such. I will designate your own house elf of your very own."

"What do they do?"

"Cleaning, cooking, tend to the garden and home repairs."

"I see. Does everyone have one?"

"Only the most prestigious families do."

"Ours is a prestigious family?"

Augustus seemed to bristle at this, "The Prince family is a highly respected family of the wizarding world. Almost like that of the muggle royalty." Augustus raised his head higher as he spoke of this. He would always be proud of his family and his ancestors. "Actually the Prince family is the royalty of the wizarding world."

Severus was amazed. He went from a slum to royalty all in the space of an afternoon. But the price. "So am I included in that too?"

"Of course you are. No matter your pathetic excuse for a father, your blood lines are the founders of Hogwarts to Merlin and Morgan Le Fae."

"Wow!"

"And as a Prince, we bow to NO ONE! Understand!" It was not a question or a threat. It was a statement and order. "We do not bend knee nor bow head to anyone. Understand."

"Yes grandfather."

A pop was then heard in the room. Severus was surprised at the creature before him.

"Droli here to serve, master."

"Good, one of the young ones. Severus, this is your house elf, Droli. Droli this is my grandson, Severus. You are to serve him as faithfully as your ancestors have served the Prince family."

Droli gave a respectable bow, "It will indeed be a great honor to serve the young master. As your will is my will."

"Severus give your first order to pack your most important collections and get rid of the rest."

Severus explained want he wanted and what to get rid of.

"Once all that is complete, take the trunk to the London house." Augustus informed the house elf. They then went to meet the Evans family.

Soon after arriving at the house, Severus and his grandfather went to the door and rang. The door opened and a ten year old girl with black hair opened the door. Severus hoped that it would have been Lily or her parents and not Petunia.

"Oh, it's you!"

"And you are Lily?" Augustus asked. Not sure about the girl in front of him. If this was Severus's idea of a friend it would be best if he ended the friendship.

"I am not Lily. I would never be friends with a freak like this."

"PETUNIA!" A woman stood before them. "You know better than to say anything like that! Now go get your sister."

Instead of getting her, "Lily, your freak of a little boyfriend is here. OUCH!" Petunia rubbed her forehead where a book that was levitating fell down on it. That preceded Lily walking into the doorstep.

A young Lily Evans walked to the door and gave his grandson a happy, warm smile that was suggested familiarity and deep friendship. Augustus could understand why Severus was so taken with the girl. Deep emerald eyes showed mirth and mischief and her deep red hair made her stand out even more. Augustus could tell that the girl would stand out with her beauty and her spirit now and later on in life.

"Severus!"

Severus gave a small weak smile and mumbled, "Lily."

Lily was at once concerned, "What is wrong Severus?"

"Lily!" Catherine Evans was scared about what the gentleman saw.

"It is alright, Mrs. Evans. I am Severus's grandfather, Augustus Prince." He held out his hand to shake. "And I am the same as my grandson and your daughter."

Mrs. Evans breathed a sigh of relief, "I did not know that Severus had any other living relatives left besides his parents."

"Maybe we should continue this talk inside."

"Oh, of course. Where are my manners? Come on in." Mrs. Evans escorted them to the front room. "Would you like some tea?"

"Delightful." Augustus and Severus sat down on the couch.

"I will be right back. Lily, Petunia please entertain Mr. Prince and Severus."

"Gladly." Lily smiled warmly at the both of them glad to start talking more about the wizarding world.

"If you insist." Petunia muttered.

"Petunia, since you are not going to be the lady I raised, you are to go to your room and stay there until dinner. And apologize before you go."

"I am sorry for the way I acted. May I go?" Petunia asked snidely. At her mother's nod, she left.

"If you will excuse me. Your tea will be ready shortly."

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans."

Once she was gone, Lily started to ask questions as well as Severus and Augustus answered them as fast as he could. And Lily showed her abilities to Augustus who was amazed at how powerful the girl was.

"You mean there are people who were born to wizard families that can not do magic?" Lily asked.

"They are referred to as squibs."

"How many are there?" Severus asked.

"Quiet a few."

"Since they don't have the ability that we do, what are their jobs?" Lily asked.

"It depends on where they find work. I have four that are in my employment. One is my chauffer the other is my groomsman for the horses, the other takes care of the dogs at the kennel and the last one at the owlery."

"You h-have horses and dogs and even owls?" Severus asked wide eyed.

"When we go to the country house I will see to it that you will have one of your each one."

"How many places do you live?" Severus asked.

"There is the London house, the country house and the sea castle or I should say hall. But it is called the sea cottage."

"A castle? With towers and a moat and everything?"

Augustus chuckled, "No just a stone hall with a few bedrooms. It is our ancestral house. And you will love it when you come to stay with me."

Lily looked sad, "You are leaving."

Just then to Severus everything was becoming clear, his mother was dead, he would be leaving his best friend and would not see her again until they were eleven. Three whole years. He started to feel depressed. He was getting all that he dreamed of. But the price…

Augustus, sensing what was going through his mind put him at ease. "Miss Evans, you and your family are all welcomed to the house. And we will have to get you your very own owls so you can mail each other."

"Owls?" Mrs. Evans asked. She was entering with tea.

"It is how our mail runs in the wizarding world." Augustus explained.

"Why would the children need that?" She started to pour. "Severus lives ten minutes away."

"Mrs. Evans, how well did you know my daughter?"

"Eileen? Well…" Catching the word did, she stopped pouring and put the tea pot down. "Oh, no. What happened?"

Augustus shook his head, "She is at peace now."

"I had hoped that she and Severus would have gotten away from him."

Severus looked at the floor. Lily put her hand on his shoulder.

Catherine knelt in front of Severus. "Severus, did he hurt you?"

Seeing that Severus would not answer, Augustus supplied, "He came to shortly after we arrived. And we used some spells to help with the injuries."

"We?"

"The mortician, an auror, a magical child welfare madam, and a member of the ministry."

At hearing the name of the mortician, Severus started to cry. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. "I am sorry. I am sorry I am weak."

Catherine pulled him into a hug. "Severus, you are not weak. You are very brave."

"If I was brave, then mum would still be here. I would not have let anything happen to her. I would have protected mum like St. George defeated the dragon."

"Severus, there are many types of bravery. Not just fighting." Augustus replied sipping his tea.

Severus swallowed, "Really."

"Standing up for what you believe in takes more bravery than wasted violence." Catherine explained.

"Like a Prince doesn't bow." Severus stated.

"Yes. A Prince does not bow." Concurred his grandfather.

"Except to the queen." Lily responded.

"The Prince family name. Not muggle royalty. Severus is going to take the last name of his forebears and will live with me and his cousin, uncle and aunt. So yes in a way he is and no he is not."

"So you are royalty?"

Augustus smiled, "Perceptive. I will give you that. We are prestigious, the family is. Not royalty."

"Nobility then."

Augustus smiled. Clever and insightful little witch indeed. And very powerful. Severus would do well with her. Hmmm. That may not be that bad of an idea. The power of the Princes from these two would be extraordinary. He could do worse for a match. Eileen was evidence of that.

"In the wizarding world, yes." He further mulled over the idea. She seems healthy, witty and is a rare beauty.

"Lily, take Severus up to your room. I wish to talk with Mr. Prince."

Lily and Severus walked off to the room. Severus knew where her room was. He evidently had been here more than just a couple of times.

"You will take good care of him? See that no harm falls him?" Catherine asked. Not really sure she wanted the young man to leave her eye sight for fear of what could happen to him.

Augustus smiled, at least there were muggles who cared for his grandson. And he would have been willing to stake that if he had not been there, they would have taken the boy in. If the woman of the house set the tone for the rest, then Mr. Evans was a good man as well.

"He is my grandson. I will protect and provided him with whatever he needs." He waved his hand in the air, "Money is no object."

Catherine Evans set her cup down, "I hope I am not overstepping my bounds. But any sort of money is more than the poor boy has ever had. Tobias Snape was a torrid drunk. I can not tell you the number of times I had to patch up the boy myself. His own father even threw him out of the house. He even had to stay here." Catherine shook her head with her eyes closed. "And where were you during this?"

"I told Eileen that she and the boy were more than welcomed back home. But not that cad!"

"That was why she would not go isn't it. If it were me, I would have left the first sign of trouble. Of course me and Lawrence, my husband, always got along." A clock then chimed. "Speaking of which, he should be here soon. I am sure that he would like to meet you. That boy is like a son to him. We even talked about having Severus live with us. Seeing as how bad his home life is…was."

Augustus shook his head. This will be much easier now. Since they liked the boy, it will be easy to get them to agree to his plans. If they balked, he had another way to do it. It would require manipulation and cunning. Two things he was known for. Being a Slytherin did have it's advantages.

The front door opened and a tall man with brown hair walked in. "Catherine, I am home."

Catherine and Augustus stood up as he entered the room and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Lawrence, I would like you to meet Augustus Prince." They both extended their hands. "He is Severus's grandfather." The handshake stopped and Lawrence's smile left his face.

"You would leave a boy with that drunk? What kind of a grandfather are you? If Severus were mine I would have taken him from there no matter what."

"I did not know about what happened to him, until I arrived."

"Why did you stay away.?"

"I would have hexed that useless piece of filth that my daughter called a husband."

"You are a wizard?" They all took a seat while Catherine was pouring more tea. And handed tea and a biscuit to Lawrence.

"I am." Augustus stated proudly.

"Then you can talk to us about that world that my daughter is going to be involved in."

"Not going to be, is." He reflected that he will soon be able to talk to them about his plans. But then he would have to put that off until after the morning time was over after he buried Eileen.

"Do you have dinner plans?"

"Regrettably, yes. I have to take my grandson shopping and get him some dress robes. It will not do to go to his mother's funeral wearing those rags."

Lawrence Evans's face paled, "I am sorry."

"I was hoping that she would get herself and the boy away from that imbecile." He got a sad look on his face, "Maybe if I came and insisted on them leaving. I should have after her mother's death. I was hoping that she would have come home after that." He then shook his head.

"Eileen's mother died?" Catherine asked.

Augustus gave a weary nod. "My wife and only daughter are now dead. Severus is not my only family member I have. Triton, my son and his wife Julia and their son, Nero. He will stay with me and be adopted with my name by the end of this week. He does have my blood in his veins. Do not worry, he will have all that he needs and more. I have plenty of money and influence to make sure that he gets what he wants. Besides what would the rest of the wizarding world say if I allowed my grandson to go an orphanage?"

Catherine sighed, she was afraid of this. It was in his right as the only living relative, "Mr. Prince. The boy needs more than money and influence and power. He has never known kind words until he met Lily and us. His father was cruel to him. What he needs is support and love so he can gain confidence."

"Catherine is right. Just last week we were considering calling up child welfare. And hopefully adopting him. But meeting you, I think he will be fine. Just please remember what happened to him and do not raise a hand to him."

"As a Prince I will give you my word that nothing bad will happen to him. And to prove it. For this summer, I will invite you to the sea cottage or castle as Severus calls it. A vacation in which you are all most welcomed and then you can see if I will do good by him. If not then I will let you take him back with you."

Catherine and Lawrence looked at each other and smiled, Lawrence then answered, "That will not be necessary for us to take the boy. But a vacation seems appropriate."

"Good, because I wish to convey my thanks to the kind people who helped my grandson when he needed it the most. I will look forward to you visiting." Augustus stood up as did Catherine and Lawrence. "If you will excuse me, Severus and I must go to get him some dress robes made."

"Lily is going to be very lonely. Severus is her best friend." Catherine sighed.

"She is welcome to visit him anytime." Augustus stated.

His mind was working overtime. Throw those two together enough and they would eventually fall for one another. Or maybe he could get them through a tricky worded unbreakable vow. That was the better idea. And even going through school, even if they were in different houses, they would still have to get together.

But of course, if they got separated in Hogwarts. Particularly into Slytherin and Gryfyndor there was a chance they would grow apart. No, the unbreakable vow was for the best.

He would talk to Lily's parents about the advantages of the betrothal. They would see that when their daughter had married Severus, everything would be for the better. She would be under the protection of a powerful and prestigious wizarding family. She would not have to worry about money. All of their financial means would see not only them but their children through. Because of the different investments that they had. And they all could see that next step after best friends would be going out with one another or courting.

There was nothing wrong with it. He had done it with Matilda. As his father and grandfather had it done as well. It worked well enough in the past, so why not today? Especially, since young people today jumped into a union with no thought about anything except for the here and now, not the future. That is where a sensible older family member comes in and sees the way it should be done and takes the lead.

Yes now today with too much of only lust and no brains and no heart there were too many divorces. But he did not believe in being married and once the heir is born, cheating on the other. In the family vows the Princes were always faithful to one another.

He and Matilda were promised to each other while he was six and she four. They were playmates, friends and ten years later on, even lovers. So when they got married they were totally in love and cared for one another. Until she died while giving birth to their third child who soon followed her.

That was why there were no more children than just Triton and Eileen. They had other family members and were distantly related to the Longbottoms, Weasleys and the McCormicks.

Thinking of the all of that power, made him smile. All of his great grand heirs would be smart and gifted. That he knew. The two young children just needed a push in the right direction. Or a nudge and if that did not work. Then the unbreakable vow would.

He was interrupted from his musings by a soft tap on the arm. "Grandfather, I am ready to go."