Marian was home earlier than expected that day. Julia had dismissed them after their game. Harry and Ron had gone to see the Weasleys, whom Marian had yet to meet, and Hermione had, characteristically, gone to the bookstore. That left Marian on her own to entertain herself for the rest of the day. Maybe Draco would like to hang out.

She was playing with ideas of what they could do, when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned and raised her wand. Lucius looked at her, the tip of her wand resting over his jugular. He stared at her calmly. "Good afternoon, Maria," he said.

She slowly lowered her wand and slipped it into her pocket. "Good afternoon, Lucius," she said, turning on her heal and walking away with Quillic behind her.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

The request surprised Marian. She stopped walking and turned to face him. "About what?" she asked. Lucius waved to the parlor. Marian studied him for a moment, then walked into the room. Tea had already been set out for two people. Marian sat down in a chair and waited for Lucius to talk.

He sat opposite her. "Maria," he said. "Why are you here?"

She kept a straight face on as she answered. "Cissy invited me here."

"Why?" he asked.

"You'd have to ask her that, Lucius," Marian said, pouring herself some tea. Quillic laid down at her feet, watching Lucius closely with its read eyes.

"I did," Lucius said. "She said it was to rub my failure in my face."

Marian took a sip of her tea. "Then you have your answer," she said.

"But I want to know why you came," he said. "It can't be just because you could become an Auror."

Marian set her tea down and leaned back in her chair, looking at the man that was suppose to be her father. "How well of a relationship did you have with your father, Lucius?" she asked.

He stared at her strangely. "My father and I barely talked."

"And why is that?"

"I was raised by house elves and tutors. That was how things were done when I was young," Lucius said. He hadn't touched his tea since sitting down.

"But you saw him at dinner," Marian said. "You saw him and knew that he was your father. He may not have loved you like you had wanted him to, but he was your father." Lucius nodded dumbly. "Well, when I sat at my old home's dining table, I would look at the man there and say, 'He isn't my father. He's my stepfather. He doesn't care for me because I am not his and he knows I'm not his.' I was unwanted in my own home, Lucius. No one wanted me anywhere; it was worse than being an orphan."

Marian looked at her tea and circled a finger around the rim. "Cissy was different. Sure, she came to me in hopes of making you suffer for what you had put your family through. But, by the end, we had a bond. She loved me like a daughter and she became my mother. I only call her 'Cissy' until she wishes me to call her 'mother'. For I will." She looked up. "But you, I will never call you 'Dad'. Not until you can prove that you love your children."

Lucius stared at her. "My family was kept safe throughout the war because of what I did for the Dark Lord," he said. "Without me being a Death Eater-"

"They would have been safe if you had a back bone, you coward," Marian said. She glared at him. "I've read the papers and reports on what you Death Eaters did to people. Especially muggle born. I didn't, for the longest time, understand how you could become a Death Eater. You had slept with and conceived a child with a muggle. You knew about me, don't deny it. You kept in contact with my mother so she would send you updates about me, though it killed her inside to know you were still in her life through me. With all that, you became a bringer of death to anyone with muggle blood in their veins. I didn't know why. But now I do. You wanted to be part of something; a family. Even though you had a wife and son, you wanted a family that would love you unconditionally. It's the same with gangs. You joined a gang because you wanted a place to belong. Well, I have a news flash for you, Lucius," she said, standing up in anger. "There is no way in hell that you're going to get that until you realize that everything you wanted could have been achieved without you making your family suffer in the process." She turned on her heel and stormed out.

She passed the doors to the parlor and saw Draco and Narcissa standing there, eyes wide. They'd heard the entire conversation and probably knew the torment Marian was going through. Having your own father abandon you to a mother who regretted having her, ignoring her for years, and finding out he was a messed up piece of work.

Tears burned in her eyes and she threw herself into her brother's arms, sobbing into his shirt. Draco wrapped his arms around her and just held her, rubbing her back. Narcissa patted Marian's hair in comfort.

She'd heard everything. She did want her husband to realize how much this family should mean to him, but she had gone too far. She hadn't taken Marian's true feelings into consideration; she would always be sorry for that. Narcissa had tried to bring the family together. Not tear them apart.

She leaned in and kissed Marian's forehead. The girl looked up, tears falling from her blue-hazel eyes. "I would gladly call you my daughter," Narcissa said.

Marian sniffed and pulled Narcissa into the hug. "I love you, Mom," she said.

Narcissa hugged her to her with one arm while pulling Draco into the hug with the other. They stood there for a moment, all hugging one another. Some people would have called it a hug-fest. Those three, though, would call it a family moment. Because that is how they felt. Like a family.

Marian slowly pulled back and wiped her eyes free of tears. "I'm sorry," she said, once she gained control over herself.

Narcissa smiled and said, "Don't be, dear."

Draco nodded. "Yeah," he said. "You look better with a red nose."

Marian smacked him, but laughed anyway. She opened her mouth in shock, then. "Oh, I almost forgot," she said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out six tickets. "We had this stupid game thing for training and the prize were tickets to the Ministry of Magic's Christmas Ball. It's in three months and I have a ticket for everyone. Would you like to go?"

Narcissa took a ticket and smiled. "I'd love to," she said. "I love seeing old friends."

Draco shrugged, taking his ticket. "Might as well," he said. "Nothing planned during that time, anyway."

Marian smiled. "Great. I'll send Blaise and Pansy theirs. That leaves one extra," she said. Her smile faded a bit, but she shrugged. "I'll find someone to give it to," she said, stuffing the ticket in her pocket.

Narcissa nodded in understanding. She reached out and cupped her new daughter's cheek. "I'm sorry I brought you into this mess, Maria," she said. "I had a plan and you went with it so effortlessly. I just never thought about...I'm sorry."

Marian smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "These past two months have been the best in a long time. I feel at home here. Thank you for bringing me here." She looked over her shoulder at the parlor where Lucius was still sitting, not listening to them. "Though it'll take a long time for me to accept Lucius as my father, I'm going to enjoy this family for all that I can."

Draco smiled and ruffled her hair. "Well," he said as Marian smoothed her hair back to it's original state. "How about we all go to a late lunch? Someplace cheerful."

Marian nodded and let him apparate her and her new mother to someplace that didn't hold Lucius's cowardice form. She wouldn't dwell on the one who had left her. Marian had a family. And her mother and brother loved her.

AN: Okay, I know this story was short. But it was more of a prologue kind of story. So, look for Book 2: Christmas Magic and Meddling. I know it's not Christmas, but, in the story, I say it is. And I have that power. Lol. Review, please. Probably tell me something you want to see in the second story. I'll even give you credit on an idea if I like it and use it. Thanks for reading. See you in the next story.