Maisie avoided her parents for the rest of the holidays. Scorpius had invited her to go to the Malfoy Manor Christmas ball, but that was before they had found out the secret. She decided not to go, even though Laney spent the days leading up to it trying to convince her to go.

Maggie was the only person she would talk to if Laney didn't come over. For the first time since she started Hogwarts, Maisie spent all her free time doing homework. She didn't want to think about her parent's revelations but it kept her up at night. Her father wasn't her father and her real one hadn't wanted her. She had made out with her brother…

She didn't want to go back to school and face him, but she really had no choice. She certainly didn't want to talk to be at home with her parents. Her mother tried to hug her good-bye on the platform, but Maisie just cringed away. She grabbed her trunk, and without saying good-bye, she climbed onto the train. She found Laney and Peter in a compartment and sat down with them after Peter helped her put her trunk away.

"You look like crap," Laney said. "Have you slept at all?"

"Would you be able to sleep if you found out what I did?" Maisie snapped back.

She wasn't sure if Peter knew or not, but one glance at his face told her that he did. It was a look of pity, something she really didn't need. She sighed and looked out the window, but regretted it instantly; Scorpius was there with his parents. He also had very dark circles around his eyes.

"Maisie, you and Scorpy are making more out of this then you should," Laney said.

"Tell me, if you found out that Peter was your brother, how would you react?" she asked angrily.

Both Peter and Laney blushed; they looked at each other and then looked away. There was a very embarrassed silence. Maisie smiled bitterly; at least she had gotten what she wanted.

"All right, so of course it would be embarrassing to find out, and I'd be disgusted, but all you and Scorpius have ever done is kiss. There are families who are actually so close that they kiss. Some even like to feel… natural around each other," Laney said.

Peter started to laugh.

"So, how is he anyway?" Maisie said, she had almost laughed as well.

"Embarrassed, disgusted and very angry with his father. Mr. Malfoy always forbade Scorpius from doing certain things because it could lose the respect the Malfoy family has had to earn since the war. This of course is much worse and Scorpius says his father is just a coward and a hypocrite. He wants to know what other scandals his father is hiding from the world," Peter said. "He hasn't spoken to his father since he found out and he is surprised that his mother forgave him."

"So she did?" Maisie asked.

Laney nodded. "She wasn't sure if she should at first and they are still kind of rocky, but she knows he is sorry. She mostly hates your mother for it, actually."

Maisie hated her mother at the moment as well. She had heard stories about her mother but never wanted to believe anyone could be that selfish. Her mother had always seemed to be a decent woman, but apparently not. Her father tried to explain to her that teenagers and young adults often make big mistakes that they regret.

"So that makes what she did okay?" Maisie snapped. "I'm a teenager you know. So if I go out and kill someone, it's okay because I am young? When I am older I can look back and say, well I was young and everyone makes mistakes!"

"Well first of all, if you killed someone you'd be in Azkaban… but well that's not the point. I understand what you're saying and no it doesn't make it okay. What your mother and Draco Malfoy did was wrong, and they know it. They learned from their mistakes though-"

"So I am a mistake now, am I?"

"No, Maisie… that was the wrong word to use I guess. They learned from their actions. When you were eight-years-old you cut off all of Maggie's hair because you were jealous of her. You felt very bad for it later and you learned never to do it again. It doesn't mean it was okay but you regretted it, you learned your lesson, and you tried to make it up to her. Your mother and Draco Malfoy have been trying hard to make up for what they did. Your mother has spent her life trying to make you happy, and so have I. I've never thought of you as anyone else but my daughter. Haven't you noticed your mother often tends to your needs before Maggie's? It's from the guilt and she wants to make it up to you."

Maisie didn't care, as far as she was concerned, she had no family. As soon as she graduated Hogwarts, she was leaving and never coming back. Of course she would talk to Maggie, but she would ignore her mother and father. She wanted nothing to do with people who had lied to her all her life. She wouldn't have to listen to anything her father told her anymore since he wasn't her father.

Maisie hesitated for a moment and then asked, "And how does he feel about me?"

"He doesn't blame you for it," Laney answered quickly as if reading her mind. "He's embarrassed and said he doesn't know if he can look you in the eye again, but he knows you are as much of a victim in this as he is. I wouldn't try to talk to him for a bit though…"

"Give it a few weeks," Peter added.

"Maybe months," Laney said.

"Or years even."

Maisie rolled her eyes; they thought this was all a big joke. She turned away and looked out the window. The train had long ago started to move; now all she saw was grassy scenery.

---
School started the same way it did every year, there was only one difference that time; Maisie did not stare at Scorpius. He mainly kept to himself; he didn't even hang around his gang as much as he did. Laney and Maisie often found him in the library, studying.

"Well, we should have known that Maisie couldn't hang onto a boyfriend for long," Gretchen said and laughed.

Maisie ignored her. It was better if everyone thought that they had broken up rather then hear the real story. Laney told off anyone who made fun of them about it since it was her best friend and cousin who were at the end of the jokes, often Peter would as well.

Maisie was just relieved that the school work was so complicated, it kept her busy. If she kept it up, by the end of the year she would have really good marks. Homework helped out a lot though. When she was too busy trying to figure out difficult Arithmetic equations, she couldn't think about anything else.

A match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff came up shortly after the holidays, but Maisie decided not to go. She didn't want to watch Scorpius at all. Even if he couldn't see her, she was still too embarrassed to look at him.

"Oh come on, you're becoming such a a bookworm these days," Laney protested. "Come out and have some fun!"

"I need some time," Maisie told her. "You go, okay? If you want some fun, we'll sneak into Hogsmeade."

She was joking, but Laney narrowed her eyes.

"All right, I'm holding you to that one then. You and me only, tonight!"

"Aren't you a prefect?" Maisie asked. "Shouldn't you put me in detention for even suggesting such a thing?"

"Maisie, do you know how many times Peter and I have snuck into Hogsmeade since I got this thing? I always thought you were better suited for it, but apparently not. None of the other girls would have gotten it… anyway, as a prefect, I order you to sneak into Hogsmeade! Ha, now you have to do it."

Maisie didn't even want to point out how wrong that logic was, so she didn't. Actually, sneaking into Hogsmeade sounded like fun, and Laney was right, she had become a bookworm lately.

---
Peter of course knew what they were doing, and he was angry that Laney hadn't invited him along as well.

"I could get firewhiskey-" he began.

"Precisely why you aren't coming. Do you think I want to drag your drunken ass back here? Have you ever heard of girl time? And don't you dare go running off to Scorpy!"

"Why would he care? He has snuck into Hogsmeade himself. Besides, he doesn't like to hear the name 'Maisie' these days."

"That's comforting, really," Maisie snapped.

"Well, I didn't say it to comfort you," Peter snapped back.

They waited until it was late before they left. Maisie had never snuck out before, so she followed Laney's lead. She seemed to know where to go. They didn't talk as they crept through the corridors. They didn't want to alert Filch the caretaker.

---

Pansy stared into the flames while she cuddled into Theo's lap. They didn't say much as they waited for Draco and Astoria to show up. This would be the first time either one of them had visited their home. She sighed, her daughter hated her. Theo told her that she would come around, but Pansy wasn't so sure.

After they had rescued Maisie from the hospital, she had spent her whole life devoting her time to her daughter. All she cared about was raising a happy little girl, and Theo did the same. She had always had everything she wanted even if it was too expensive. In the beginning, they had struggled for money, but after a while, they managed to save it and their gold grew. Draco always made sure to send more than enough for Maisie as well, it was probably twice the amount of money people usually got for child support.

Recently, Draco had talked to Theo at work. They had decided that they needed to do something about the kids. Both were depressed, neither had slept well over the holidays, and they had become bitter. They had contacted the school to find out how the children were doing and found out that they mostly ignored their friends and put all their efforts into their homework.

Normally this would please a parent but it didn't in this case. The children were closing themselves off from their friends and each other. According to Laney Pucey, Scorpius and Maisie wouldn't even look at each other. Maisie wouldn't write home at all and Scorpius only addressed his letters to Astoria.

The fireplace suddenly lit up and Draco stepped out. His face was very pale and he had very dark shadows under his eyes. Pansy was reminded of their sixth year when he had looked the same. He had lost weight and there was a grayish tinge to his skin. Astoria stepped out moments later.

"Evening," Theo greeted as he gently pushed Pansy off his lap. "What would you like to drink?"

"Firewhiskey if you have it," Draco answered. "I'll help."

The men disappeared quickly. Pansy had a feeling that he didn't want to be left with her. He probably had come to mainly talk to Theo. Astoria walked over and sat down in an armchair.

"You don't look good either," she observed. "I don't really like the idea of him drinking so much. I've told him that alcohol won't solve this."

"What will?" Pansy asked; she was very surprised to see that Astoria was being pleasant.

"Time and patience. I've told Draco that, but he won't listen. At first I was so angry with him and you. I wanted to divorce him and let everyone know about the affair, but I thought about it. You're right, he does love me a lot and it shows now because he is punishing himself so much. He doesn't sleep, he drinks all time and if he isn't drinking, he is working himself to death. He apologizes every night, and he… cried once. He hasn't been like this since after the war ended. He hates that Scorpius is so angry with him. I can see you've been punishing yourself as well."

"I've been punishing myself since Maisie got sick after Draco told me that he couldn't be her father. She almost died because I took her out in the rain. I've spent the last sixteen years trying to making her happy. And I've failed. She wouldn't even hug me good-bye on the platform."

Pansy started to cry again. What if something bad happened to either one of them and they died angry with each other? Pansy remembered the war very well, whenever she sent the children off to school, she hugged them as if she would never see them again because there was a chance that she wouldn't. Of course there wasn't a war at the moment, but you never could know…

She was surprised when she felt Astoria hug her. The woman was too nice for her own good, but she understood why Draco loved her so much. Pansy wiped her tears away. She wondered what was taking the men so long.

"She'll come around. You aren't the same selfish person you used to be Pansy, I can see that now. Actually, I've seen you with both you daughters and I can see that you are a loving mother."

"How did Scorpius react when you told him?" Pansy asked.

"At first he didn't believe us. He thought Draco was joking around; sometimes he does that when Scorpius has a new girlfriend, he'll make up some wild story. When he found out it was the truth, he flipped out. He started yelling at Draco and then when it really set in that he had been dating his half sister, he got very embarrassed. He took a beater club and destroyed a lot of his father's possessions. Then he locked himself in his room for the rest of the holidays. He only came out if Peter came to visit or Laney did. He didn't even go to our annual Christmas party."

"And now he won't talk to him?" Pansy asked.

Astoria shook her head. "He told him at the train station that he hated him. Draco didn't take that too well."

A few moments later, Draco and Theo returned with glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey. It was going to be a long night.

---
"You look like the night of the living dead," Peter told him.

"Shut up," Scorpius answered. "Why don't you go bother Laney."

He was tired of his friends remarks about his appearance. He was tired of everything. He hated his father for doing this to him. His mother shouldn't be giving him another chance, she should have divorced him right away, and then he wouldn't have to feel so ashamed of going home again. At the moment he wanted to drop out of Hogwarts so he didn't have to see her.

"Can't, she and Maisie went into Hogsmeade," Peter said.

"What have I told you about saying that name in front of me?" Scorpius snapped. "And what do you mean Hogsmeade? It's against the rules."

Peter snorted and let out a very annoying laugh. "Yes because you have never snuck over to Hogsmeade. Last year after our first week here, you snuck into the village just to prove that your badge meant nothing. And you're going to have to face her sooner or later. You're in the same year and house. You take classes together."

"I rarely talked to her until we- it's going to be easy to ignore her, okay? Now leave me alone."

"Until you what, Scorpy? Until you dated?"

"SHUT UP!" He roared.

The thought of it always made him beyond angry. He just wanted to go out and start wrecking things. He had finally found a girl who wasn't an annoying ditz and she was his sister. He had dated his half-sister, every time he thought about it, he wanted to jump into the shower and scrub until his skin turned red. In fact, he had done just that after he found out the truth.

"So you're just going to put her out of your life completely. Just ignore a family member?" Peter asked.

"Sounds about right yeah, I'm doing the same to my father. You know, if this happened to you and Laney, you would feel the same way. No, you would feel worse since you've slept with her. Maisie and I never did, thank god! At least I have that thought to keep me sane, although it isn't much. It's like being around Dementors twenty-four seven, I'm reliving that night with my parents over and over again."

"You look like you've been around Dementors for that long too," Peter muttered.

"Thanks for your input, now go away."

"You and Maisie are being ridiculous. She spends half her time doing homework or crying her eyes out, she looks just like you. You two both look as if you've become vampires or something."

"Shut up," he said as he had a very bad mental picture. "You shouldn't have let them go to Hogsmeade."

"You want to know what happens when I try to boss Laney around? It isn't very good, I can tell you that. Besides, she is a prefect. Scorpius, just relax. You're about as fun as manticore these days," Peter said.

"I can see you aren't going to leave me alone," he said.

He got up to leave the Common Room; Peter was right on his heels. Why couldn't he take the hint the same way his other friends did?

"Where are you going?"

"Hogsmeade," he snapped.

"Brilliant, let's go to the Hogshead and get some firewhiskey."

---
"Feel better yet?" Laney asked as Maisie downed another butterbeer.

"Nope, I wish these things could make you drunk," she sighed.

"If they did, they wouldn't sell them to under seventeens," Laney answered. "Anyway, just because it will make you forget reality-"

"I don't need the lecture Alana," Maisie interrupted.

"Don't call me Alana," Laney snapped.

For some reason she disliked her name, so she had renamed herself Laney. Even her parents called her that; everyone seemed to have forgotten that it wasn't really her name. Maisie just shrugged and opened another bottle. It didn't make her feel drunk, but it did warm her up a great deal.

They were in the Hogshead. Laney said that sometimes teachers visited The Three Broomsticks at night. Mainly Hagrid only visited the Hogshead, but they had seen him yet, and if he did, they hoped he wouldn't notice that they were Hogwarts students. They had never spoken to him and they didn't choose his class as an elective in second year.

"According to my father, the bartender never checked to see if students were seventeen or not, wonder if he is the same way? He's really ancient now," Maisie said.

"He is Dumbledore's brother… the old Headmaster of Hogwarts, you know, the one who-"

"I think even first year Mudbloods know who Albus Dumbledore was," Maisie interrupted. "You don't have to tell me… and yes, I knew that about the old bartender. I'm amazed he is still alive, he has to be almost two-hundred-years-old! Wonder why he isn't dead yet?"

"Dunno, I've known of people to live to two-hundred-years-old. There was some bloke and his wife who lived to be over six-hundred!" Laney said.

"Well that's because they had that Philosopher's Stone thing wasn't it? It was destroyed over thirty-years ago I think," Maisie sighed. "But anyway, if he is so ancient, his eye sight can't be too good. He might not notice how young I am."

"I wouldn't-" Laney started to say but then the door of the Hogshead opened and two familiar people entered.

They didn't notice Maisie and Laney; they went straight over to the bar tender. Laney looked furious.

"You'd better not be ordering firewhiskey, Peter," she shouted.

Both boys whipped around. Scorpius' and Maisie's eyes met, quickly, they looked away from each other. Maisie felt the warmth in her cheeks. He was still good-looking, but very forbidding. Ugh, were girls allowed to think that their brothers were good-looking? She heard Peter swear.

"I am seventeen," Peter said. "I can order what I want."

"I'm a prefect," Laney said as she stalked over to the boys.

"Yes, and you're also out of bounds!" Peter retorted. "Go on, put me in detention, but you might as well put yourself in it as well since you shouldn't be here either."

Maisie got up slowly and joined them to pull Laney away. She wanted to leave, now! If Peter and Laney started to fight, it meant that they would ditch her. She didn't want to walk back to Hogwarts on her own. With her luck, she'd be caught by old Filch.

"I think we should go talk about this now," Laney said to Peter and looked over at Scorpius and Maisie. "Why don't you two walk to Hogwarts together?"

And with that, they were leaving the Hogshead. Peter was mumbling under his breathe about how he was sick of this. Maisie and Scorpius stared at each other awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, I came here to get a butterbeer, did you want one?" he asked after an embarrassed silence.

"Er- sure," she really didn't want to walk back on her own. "Do you get the feeling they set this up?"

Scorpius paid for two butterbeers, they walked back over to the table that Maisie and Laney had been at. He gave a small shrug as he handed her one of them.

"You've had a lot," he said as he looked over the bottles still on the table.

"Some of them are Laney's," she answered. "But you know, I just wanted to get away. I would have ordered firewhiskey but I wasn't sure if that old bartender would check or not. He's very ancient so maybe not."

"No, he does. Peter and I made that mistake once. He may look old, but he still has a very good memory. I'm surprised he doesn't rat students out though."

They were quiet for a while longer; they just drank their butterbeers and looked around the pub. There were some really odd people inside. Some had their faces hidden, one looked like a mummy. Maisie was sure that the big green person was actually an ogre. She was glad that Scorpius hadn't run out on her. He had looked as if he wanted to.

"So, how are you doing?" she asked him.

"How do you think?" he snapped and she flinched. "I'm sorry," he said. "It's just this is all so messed up. I don't even know what to think about it all. I'm so damned angry with my father and your mother…"

"I am too," Maisie said. "When I told them about us, mum got all upset. They weren't going to tell me at first, and then they went to your house to talk about it. When they came back, they told me everything. I haven't spoken to her since. Maybe when I graduate Hogwarts I can leave the country, far from them. I heard Canada is a nice place."

"I smashed all of my father's cherished possessions. He didn't even get angry with me. He got this defeated look on his face… but it just made me angrier. He has no right to feel weak after what he did to my mother, me… and well you. You're his daughter and he didn't want anything to do with you."

"They thought they could hide it from is," Maisie said. "And the past came to bite them in the ass… as my father puts it."

"Well it's their own fault. I mean, we're the same age as each other. With our parentage, they should have guessed we'd both be Slytherin. They should have thought about the fact there was a chance we'd… you know, but they didn't. They just hid the truth to save their own asses, and it pisses me off. It would be different if we were brothers or sisters, but we're not. We are brother and sister, and yet the thought never crossed their minds…"

Maisie nodded. She had thrown that in her mothers face. They should have known there was a chance it would happen. They all knew back in first year that she and Scorpius had been sorted in the same house, so why didn't they think to bring it up? It was completely aggravating to no end.

"It is ridiculous," she said, "and to find out my dad wasn't my dad all these years, and I have a different dad who didn't want me…"

She didn't want to talk about it anymore; she always wanted to cry when she thought about it. Scorpius seemed to notice, he placed a hand on to hers. They both jumped for a moment, but then stared at each other. They couldn't ever date… but they were brother and sister. They could be friends at least.

"I should get you back to Hogwarts," he finally said. "Can't let my little sister stay out too late."

"Little? I'm only four months younger than you are!" Maisie protested but she stood up.

"Yes, so I'm older. I'm also a prefect, as your big brother and your prefect, I demand you return to Hogwarts now!" he said and then smiled.

They left the pub together. They likely wouldn't ever tell anyone the truth about themselves, but Maisie had a feeling that they would slowly develop a close friendship anyway.

---
"-and then, if you'll believe it, this guy really did streak through the corridors," Draco said and laughed as he leaned on to Theo.

So far they had not talked about what they were supposed to. Pansy and Astoria were not amused. Both Draco and Theo drank their way through a bottle of firewhiskey and became very drunk. There was no way they would be talking about the children that night. In a way, it felt like old times.

"All right, I think you've had enough to drink," Astoria told Draco.

"Do you know I love you so much?" he asked her. "God I'm such a failure as a husband and father."

"No, dear you're not. You made a very stupid and horrible mistake but over the past seventeen years, you've made me a very happy woman. Right now I'm not happy because we came over here to talk about what to do with the kids. Instead, you and Theo are drunk, and we haven't talked about anything important."

"Hey, I think when I streaked down the corridors was very important. It was defining moment for me," Theo said.

"Okay boys, time for bed. I'll be taking you home Draco. We'll have to do this another night," Astoria sighed.

"You'll be coming to bed with me, won't you?" Draco asked and then kissed her.

It took a few moments, and then they were gone. Pansy stared up at Theo with bemusement. He stood holding the firewhiskey with a silly grin on his face.

"Do you remember when I ran through the corridors-?"

"Yes Theo, I remember. You gave Filch something to look at, now come on, you're tired. You are in trouble, but I can't talk to you right now, so tomorrow we will. Get you back with your old buddies and what happens? You act like a seventeen-year-old who has drank firewhiskey for the first time."

"Hey I drank it for the first time when I was twelve. Remember? It was first year and the Slytherin team had won the Quidditch cup because Potter was in the hospital wing? Do you remember? I do."

"I've got to clean up, you go to bed," Pansy said.

She didn't find this amusing at all. She wanted her daughter to forgive her and she still didn't know what to do about it.