Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59826 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated characters are property of J K Rowling, not me. This story is not being written for profit, just for the lols.

Chapter List
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30th October 1994: Evening

There was an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation in the Great Hall so thick you could cut it with a knife. Only a few days ago, they had been informed that Hogwarts was to play host to the Triwizard Tournament that year and it was the night that the students from Beaxbatons and Durmstrang had arrived. The foreign students from the other schools had already made their grand entrance, impressing all, and when it came to Ron almost sending the young Weasley into a coma of awe; he had drooled at the Veela and had almost had a heart attack at the sight of Viktor Krum. As the girls from Beaxbatons had come in, Draco had whispered in Harry's ear, pointing out Fleur Delacour, one of the half-Veela he had met while in France, and then added on the end that she was a little full of herself which had made Harry chuckle; a bit of pot calling the kettle black there he thought.

When everyone was seated the mood somewhat calmed down. All pupils faced the front, looking on to Dumbledore who stood to address them. As something very large under a brownish-gold sheet was carried in by four unknown men, Dumbledore addressed the student population: "Eternal glory; that is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament, but to do that, the student must win three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

"Wicked." Fred and George breathed together which drew a slightly amused smile from Harry.

"For this reason, the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the head of the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Mr Bartemius Crouch." Dumbledore told them before he stepped aside and the man Harry recognised from after the attack on the World Cup stepped forward, obviously ready to address them all.

"After due consideration, the Ministry has concluded that for that their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen is to be allowed to put forward their name for the Triwizard Tournament."

The reaction was immediate. People began to boo and yell out exactly what they thought of that new rule. In front of Harry, Fred and George seemed to intent on making their displeasure known as they yelled out "rubbish" and other such things at the tops of their voices.

Over all of the noise, Crouch managed to get out a fairly loud: "This decision is final." With that said, he turned and retreated to the background, giving way for Dumbledore to come back to the forefront.

"Silence!" Dumbledore ordered in the booming voice he rarely used so when he did it was rather surprising.

The demanded silence swept over the Great Hall immediately and everyone returned their full attention to what was happening at the front of the hall. They watched as Dumbledore pulled the sheet from the object to reveal a jewel-encrusted chest. He tapped the chest with his wand three times, causing the lid to rise open. Everyone immediately tried to alter their positions to get a better look at what was in the chest but it turned out to be un-necessary as the object was lifted out, the chest was closed and then the object resting on top of the lid, on show for everyone. There, in front of them all, was a rough, wooden goblet which held a large, flickering, blue flame in its cup. A definite sense of awe spread through everyone at the sight and Harry had to admit that just seeing it, despite knowing he could not compete even if he wanted to, did inspire some sort of excitement.

"The Goblet of Fire; anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament only need write their name of a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this time tomorrow night." The Headmaster instructed them. "Do not do so lightly; if chosen, there is no turning back." The elderly man paused, no doubt for dramatic effect or something of the sort. "As from this moment," he began again. "The Triwizard Tournament has begun."

As those final words left Dumbledore's mouth, reality disappeared for Harry as he fell into a vision:

In perfect darkness, He stood in front of the Goblet of Fire, almost hypnotised by the dancing blue flame it held. When the fire suddenly flared and turned a light red, almost pink, colour, He did not flinch, even when a few of the flames came dangerously close to Him. He merely continued to stare into the fire.

Shooting upwards, the red fire spat out a piece of parchment before calming and returning to its usual blue colour. The piece of parchment fluttered down to Him slowly, drifting on invisible wind currents. He made no attempt to catch it as it passed Him and it came to a gentle rest at His feet. Slowly, He bowed His head forward and looked down to the slightly burnt piece of parchment. On it, were written only two words, in handwriting He recognised but He was not sure from where:

The parchment read Haryon Snape.

Reality returned to Harry in a rush of colour and unexpected noise and, once he began to comprehend everything again, he realised the meal had begun and people were allowed to talk freely. He released a slightly shuddered sigh as he recovered until he realised abruptly that Fred, George, Hermione, and Draco were gazing at him in concern while Potter and Ron seemed to think he was just nuts.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Draco asked him gently and it was then the dark haired boy realised that the Luna Veela was holding his hand.

It took a few seconds for Harry to find his voice but he managed it eventually. He gave Draco and the rest of them a reassuring smile and a small nod. "Yeah, I'm fine, nothing to worry about."

"You sure?" Fred checked carefully from where he sat opposite.

"Mmhmm."

None of them seemed convinced but at least they left it at that. Draco gave Harry's arm a small pull towards him and the slighter boy took the hint, shuffling closer to the Slytherin and allowing him to snake an arm around his waist. He accepted the kiss which was placed on his cheek before they both turned their attention onto their food. Or at least Harry pretended to turn his attention onto his food.

It had been ages since he had last had a vision. He had actually been somewhat hoping that he had grown out of them or something to that effect. Obviously not as he had just had one and now he had to consider what it could mean. Was it literal? It surely could not be as under-seventeens were not allowed to compete. So it must be symbolic, but what sort of symbolism was it? No immediate meaning came to Harry's mind and although that was not uncommon, it did not stop him worrying about it.

"Stop worrying and eat something." Draco murmured in his ear suddenly. "Whatever it was you saw can be dealt with later when you've eaten properly."

Harry sighed in defeat, knowing there was litte point arguing with his Veela. So he picked up his fork with the hand which was not pinned to Draco's side and began to slowly eat his meal.

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31st October 1994: Morning

Triwizard Tournament fever had hit Hogwarts with full force in the space of less then half a day. It was all anyone wanted to talk about, whether it was predicting who from Hogwarts would be chosen to participate or the under seventeens coming up with ridiculous ideas to try and cheat their way into being picked, something Harry had suffered with Fred and George. So, when it actually came to the time that students were putting their names into the Goblet thick and fast, it was no real surprise that it seemed as though the majority of the school were in the Great Hall, obviously quite happy in just watching.

"Eternal glory; that'd be brilliant, wouldn't it?" Ron sighed as he and Potter stood at the side of the Age Line which surrounded the Goblet, watching as a boy from Durmstrang put his name into the fire. "In three years time, we'll be old enough to be chosen..."

"Rather you than me, boys." Harry spoke up with a small smile as he passed them, going over to sit by Hermione who was at the side reading a book. "Any luck, Hermione?" He asked when they reached her, referring to the fact that she was helping him try to decode his vision.

"Not really, this book is very limited. They don't have anything for either "goblet" or "chalice" so I had to go with "cup" which says: "a symbol of plenty; a new friendship that will bring a lot of joy to you." And so far I've had no luck with the fire bit, there doesn't seem to be anything in here which is odd."

"A new friendship?" Harry repeated. "Well, I guess that kinda makes sense what with having met Cedric last month..."

Just then, a cheer rose up catching the attention of the two Gryffindors. They looked up just in time to see Cedric turning from the Goblet of Fire having obviously put his name in there. The Hufflepuff's gaze flowed over Harry for a second in which he offered the Gryffindor a smile. Harry blushed slightly but returned it before looking away awkwardly.

"I thought he was supposed to be going out with Cho Chang." Hermione murmured, watching the interaction.

"Who?"

"A Ravenclaw girl, Fifth Year." She shook her head slightly. "I'm glad I'm not her if he's going to go around, blatantly eyeing up other people."

"Hermione!" Harry hissed, well aware that Draco was only on the other side of the hall, talking to Fleur Delacour. "Keep your voice down! I do not need Draco hearing such stupid accusations especially with the full moon only a few days away."

"It's highly unlikely he'd hear us from where he's standing. Besides, he looks pretty occupied with those Veela girls."

Harry glanced over to him and saw that despite what he had said about the half-Veela yesterday when she had arrived with the rest of the students from Beaxbatons, Draco appeared to be enjoying talking to her and a few of the other girls despite the fact he had his "Malfoy-mask" on. It would probably sound strange to anyone else who may have heard him say it, but Harry actually enjoyed watching Draco when he was socialising without the dark haired boy there to distract him. The way the young Malfoy handled himself while around other people was very attractive: his posture became perfect; his tone took on a more serious quality; and he spoke a lot more eloquently, more like a cultured adult rather than a teenager. Harry was not quite sure why he found it so attractive on Draco, after all, it was all just an act and he would hated it if the blond started to act like that all the time. Maybe it was because Draco had started to do it less and less and so to see it was somewhat of an event.

The sound of running footsteps came then and everyone looked to see Fred and George running in, each holding up a vial which Harry recognised only too well. While he bit back a small groan, everyone else around him cheered for the twins as they came dashing up. Reaching the stands, they jumped up onto them and held their hands up as a sign for everyone to settle.

"Thank you, thank you." Fred grinned to the crowd.

"Well then lads, we've done it!" George declared triumphantly, holding up the vial in his left hand.

"Cooked it up just now,"

"Thanks to our dear Harry and his dad who provided the ingredients."

"Will you two shut up!" Harry cried with a glare in the twins' direction. "He'll kill me if he finds out!"

"It's not going to work." Hermione spoke up then, not lifting her eyes from her book.

Fred and George looked to each other before looking down to Hermione. Then, together, they came down far enough so they were directly behind her and then each rested a head on each of her shoulders. "Oh yeah?" Fred asked.

"And why is that, 'Mione?"

"Because Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by a plan so pathetically dimwitted as simply using an aging potion."

"Ah, but you see that's why it's so brilliant!"

"Because it is so pathetically dimwitted." George reasoned as he moved to stand next to his brother. "Ready, Fred?"

"Ready, George."

Simultaneously, the twins shook their vials before pulling the corks out the top. They linked the arms of the hands which held the vials. "Bottoms up." They said together before downing their potions in one gulp. They separated and then waited a few seconds to swallow every last little bit which lingered in their mouths. Then, without word or signal, they both jumped forward...

...And crossed the Age Line. Everyone broke into a cheer and Fred and George grinned to each other in triumph. With that success, they caught the attention of Hermione who finally looked up from her book in order to watch the twins' progress from then on. Fred and George took the pieces of parchment with their names on them out of the pockets of their robes and then reached up and cast them into the fire. After a few seconds had passed and the fire had apparently accepted them, another cheer rose up and the twins joined in with it.

"Looks like you were wrong for once; they've pulled it off." Harry murmured to Hermione.

"Don't be so sure." She replied moments before the fire suddenly flared violently and sent the two Weasley's flying back towards the back of the Great Hall. "See?"

"Do you think they're hurt?" Harry asked anxiously moments before yelling from the twins was heard and was soon followed by almost every single person in the Great Hall chanting "fight, fight, fight."

"Obviously not." Hermione sighed as she returned to her book.

Harry shook his head at the behaviour of his two friends and settled beside Hermione again, unconcerned with the behaviour of the twins. He leaned in closer to her so he could read the book she was as well. However, no sooner had he done that and the younger girl had shifted the book over a little so he could read it, than the doors to the Great Hall opened and effectively brought the fight and all the chanting to an abrupt stop.

Harry and Hermione lifted their gazes from the book in time to see Viktor Krum come striding in followed by the man Harry recognised as Igor Karkaroff. Silence hung heavily in the air as Krum walked up to the Goblet and dropped the piece of parchment with his name on it into the flame. As the seventeen year old turned to go, his eyes gazed over in the direction of the two Gryffindors. Harry darted his gaze from the Seeker to Hermione and got the definite impression that this was somewhat of a moment between the two. He continued to watch his younger friend in amusement as she stared after the Durmstrang student until he was gone as quickly as he entered.

Once he was gone, Hermione seemed to realise that Harry was grinning at her. "What?"

"I think someone fancies a bit of a shop around in the Gryffindor department."

A bright blush lit Hermione's cheeks and she looked away from Harry quickly. She closed her book with a light thud and stood. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, dismissing the comment as she walked down the stands and headed out of the Great Hall.

"Sure you don't!" Harry called after her, still grinning widely.

He watched after her for a second before he noticed Draco and Fleur Delacour approaching out of the corner of his eye. Harry turned to greet the blond male, moving down the stands to meet him, accepting the kiss which was pressed to his cheek in greeting. "What's wrong with, Granger?" Draco enquired afterwards.

"I think I embarrassed her."

"Ah, I see." The blond young man replied with a light grin of his own before he turned his body slightly to face the young woman in their company. "Harry, I wanted to introduce you to Fleur Delacour." He said as he gestured to the blonde French girl. "Fluer, this is Haryon Snape, my mate."

"It iz a pleazure to meet you Mizter Snape." She greeted in a heavy accent as Harry shook her hand.

"Oh, please, call me Harry, everyone else does."

"Alright zhen 'Arry. Zo how 'ave you found life wiz a Veela mate? 'Ave you 'ad any problemz yet?"

"No, not really. Nothing we haven't been able to handle anyway." The dark haired boy assured her, glancing to Draco and smiling at him.

"'Ave you bonded yet?" Fleur asked innocently which caused Harry to make a sudden choking sound.

"No, not yet." Draco answered as Harry tried to get his throat back into control again. "Harry isn't quite ready for that, I don't think."

Harry blushed lightly, mortified that he was part of a conversation about his intimate life with someone who was essentially a stranger. Draco seemed completely at ease though. Did that mean he was just being a prude? Or was Draco just more open about that sort of thing? It was hard to tell really and he felt there was not really a way to stop the conversation without appearing either completely rude or a prudish stick-in-the-mud. So he kept silent and half listened to Fleur tell him the story of how her grandmother met her mate.

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31st October 1994: Evening

As the applause faded and Professor Dumbledore began to speak, Harry was happy. The champions of the Triwizard Tournament had been selected and all of them had been seventeen years old. Unlike what his vision had suggested, his name had not come out of the Goblet and he had, in no way, been involved in the selection process. For once, a major event had passed by without him playing any part in it. Of course, that did leave the question of what his vision was actually about but he was stubbornly ignoring that niggling question for the moment, enjoying the few moments of being able to relax to some degree and not worry.

However, when the flame in the Goblet of Fire suddenly flared with new life, surprising everyone in the Great Hall, Harry felt his stomach sink in a dread brought on by knowing only too well what was about to happen. It was disturbing to see the events of his vision play out in front of him, the familiar piece of charred parchment floating down slowly, being caught mid-air by Dumbledore. Harry tensed as the Headmaster turned the parchment over, obviously searching for the name on it, and Draco noticed.

The blond leaned in closer to his mate and gently whispered in his ear: "What's the matter?"

The words caught in Harry's throat and that gave enough time for Dumbledore to read out the name on the parchment: "Haryon Snape."

Harry froze, his heart sped up as, behind him, Draco also stiffened. Please, please, please say he did not just hear Dumbledore call his name...

"Haryon Snape." Dumbledore called again and looked around, obviously searching him out.

At the back of Harry's mind, he was aware of the fact that he should have been getting to his feet and going through the same door as everyone else had, but the front of his mind was too shocked for movement. His name had just come out of the Goblet of Fire, he was supposed to be the fourth participant in the Triwizard Tournament. It made no sense! He had never put his name in! He would not have been able to put his name in! So how in the world had it got in there?

He was faintly aware of Hermione jiggling him and hissing in his ear, ordering him to stand up and move. Eventually, it was Fred and George who got him to stand and then pushed him forward. That got him moving and he continued on his own, moving down the length of the Gryffindor table, manoeuvring himself around to the middle aisle and then heading to the front of the Great Hall, all under the judging gazes of the Hogwarts population. He received a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Professor McGonagall and an indescribable look from his father as he passed them both.

Suddenly, coming back to his senses, he was out of the Great Hall and in the room with the others who had been chosen to participate. The three older teenagers looked up as he entered and it was Cedric who spoke first as he moved over to the younger teenager. "Harry? What are you doing in here?" He paused as he seemed to consider how Harry was fairing. "Are you all right?"

Before Harry could answer, a lot of noise and fuss entered the room and the four teenagers turned to see what it was. A whole horde of adults, led by Dumbledore, came bustling into the room, all yelling to try and get themselves heard, and not one of them looked even mildly happy. The moment that Harry saw his father, he was away from Cedric, rushing over to the Potions Master.

"Haryon..." Severus began but was cut off by his son.

"I didn't do it I swear!" Harry cried, throwing himself into his father's arms. "I didn't put my name into the Goblet, I swear I didn't!"

"Harry," Dumbledore said calmly as Severus rested his hands on Harry's shoulders, obviously refusing to hug him in public but not going so far as to push him away. "You are being completely truthful when you say you didn't put your name into the Goblet?"

"Yes of course!"

"And you didn't get one of the older students to put it in for you?"

"No!"

"But of course 'e eez lying!" Madame Maxime insisted, earning a sharp look from Severus.

"The Hell he is!" Moody spoke up suddenly, apparently standing up for Harry for some strange reason. "The Goblet of Fire is an exceptionally powerful, magical object. Only an exceptionally powerful Confundus Charm could've fooled it and although we are all aware of Mr Snape's power, it is improbable that he would've been able to cast it."

"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought." Karkaroff sneered suspiciously.

"It was once my job to think as Dark wizards do, Karkaroff, perhaps you remember?" Moody replied in a dangerous tone.

"This doesn't help, Alistor." Dumbledore sighed. A short period of silence came then before the Headmaster turned to look at Mr Crouch. "We will leave this to you, Barty."

"The rules are absolute; the Goblet of Fire constituted a binding magical contract." Crouch told them all. "Young Mr Snape has no choice; he is, as of tonight, a Triwizard Champion."

"No." Severus disagreed sternly, speaking for the first time. "My son will not be participating; I will not allow it."

"He has no choice, Professor Snape. The moment his name came out of the Goblet..." Crouch began to say.

"But we don't even know how my name got into the Goblet!" Harry protested. "You can't expect me to compete! There has to be some sort of get-out clause in this situation, right?"

But the looks on the faces of every adult in the room spoke volumes and Harry felt what little hope he had managed to keep hold of fade away as the uncomfortable silence which had covered the room continued.

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31st October 1994: Night

Harry was not happy by the time he got back to Gryffindor Tower later that night. He and Severus had argued with the other teachers until they were blue in the face and had got no where. Like it or not, Harry had to participate in the Triwizard Tournament and no one was happy about it. The students would most likely not be happy about it either. He could just see a repeat of his Fourth Year coming on.

He muttered the password with no feeling and it did not go un-noticed by the Fat Lady. "My goodness dear, I don't think I've ever seen you look so unhappy! Whatever's the matter?"

"I've just had a rough night is all." Harry reassured the painting with a weary smile.

"Well, no hanging around in the common room for you then. You get straight off to bed." She ordered as she swung open, allowing him to go in. He gave another weak smile as he passed her and trudged into the common room...And then stopped.

Every single set of eyes in the common room moved onto Harry the moment he was through the portrait hole and he fought the desire to fake illness or something. Over on the sofa by the chess set were Fred and George, obviously waiting for him because they were not playing a game, Hermione, Ron, Violet, and Potter were sitting near them and were also doing nothing. Everyone else seemed to have at least doing something before he came in because some had books and such in front of them.

For several moments there was nothing; no sound nor movement. It was Fred and George that broke the stillness as they both stood and marched up to Harry. They stopped about a foot in front of him and for a few seconds, just stared, as though they were sizing him up. Then, Fred, on the right, spoke in one of the most serious tone Harry had ever heard the young man use: "Look us in the eyes and tell us completely honestly..."

"Did you put your name into the Goblet?" George ended.

Harry made sure he was looking at Fred right in the eyes before he clearly said: "No." He turned to look at George then. "I did not put my name into the Goblet."

"Then that's good enough or us." Fred said with a smile, taking the last steps and standing at Harry's side in a symbol of acceptance and support.

"What's going to happen now?" George queried as he stood on Harry's other side.

"I couldn't get out of it." Harry sighed and the room was so quiet that everyone could quite easily hear. "I have to compete."

A hushed murmur ran through the common room then and Harry fought back a cringe of embarrassment. He hoped that no one thought he would actually put his name into the Goblet himself but, if they did, how could they justify it? Putting his name into the Goblet, even if he was completely within his rights to and it was not breaking any rules, would draw attention to him. If there was one thing that Harry hated and most people knew he hated, it was to be the centre of attention. Thinking he put his name into the Goblet did not make sense because all he really wanted was to be just another face in the crowd.

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3rd November 1994: Afternoon

"Good afternoon, Haryon."

Harry's eyes widened in slight surprise as he laid eyes on the sight of his High Priest who was coming in through the front entrance into Hogwarts. "High Priest Sephiran...Uhh...It's not Sunday." He said somewhat lamely.

"No, it is not. However, I felt a visit was required when I was informed of the events of Hallowe'en night."

"Oh, okay. I, um, I have free period now."

"Then perhaps now would be a good time to have a discussion then."

"Of course. Would the kitchens be all right? The common room might be a little too noisy."

"The kitchens would be fine."

"Okay. Erm, this way." The Gryffindor said somewhat nervously as he began to lead him away.

The journey was made in silence and luckily they did not come across anyone on the way. Reaching the kitchen, Harry tickled the pear to open the portrait hole and stepped aside to allow Sephiran in before him. He followed in behind the Elf and then took the lead again, heading over to a large, wooden table in the centre of the area which had four stools beside it, most likely for the professors to wait while whatever food they ordered personally was prepared.

A sudden pop sounded and a house-elf appeared right next to Harry. "Is there something you are needing?" It asked politely.

"Erm, High Priest, would you like anything?" Harry asked, turning to look at the man.

"Tea would be much appreciated." Sephiran said with a smile as he seated himself.

"A pot of tea please." Harry said to the house-elf who promptly disappeared with a pop. The teenager turned away then and joined Sephiran at the table. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way here just for this, High Priest."

"There is no need to apologise, Haryon, I came because I thought it was necessary. I admit that I do not know much about the Triwizard Tournament but it does sound awfully dangerous. Do have any idea who may have put your name into the Goblet?"

Harry hesitated for a moment. If he was completely honest, he suspected Professor Moody, but he knew he could not support that with evidence and so it was probably best if he kept it quiet. "No, no idea. I can't imagine why anyone would. The professors surely wouldn't want to put me in danger and the other students...Well, their reaction to it probably proves that none of them are happy about it."

"They have been hostile towards you?"

"It could be a lot worse, I think they're all wary of Draco and Father to be too obvious, but I am getting looks and the odd comment." Harry explained as the house-elf returned with their tea and a service of cups and milk and sugar. "Shall I pour?"

"If you like." Sephiran consented and Harry picked up the pot and poured its contents into a cup. When it was sufficiently full, he offered it to his teacher. "There is no way for you to be removed from the competition?" The Elf enquired as he accepted the cup of tea.

"No, Father and even Uncle Lucius have tried everything, searched for any loop-hole." Harry sighed as he finished pouring his own tea. "There's nothing we can do, I have to compete, it's a binding contract."

"I see. What about for religious reasons? If any of the task would require you to break the Vow of Pacifism..."

"Uncle Lucius tried that." The Gryffindor said after Sephiran trailed off upon seeing him shaking his head. "They didn't tell us exactly what the tasks were or what they included but they did assure us that none of them would involve having to fight; no duelling or having to attack anything."

"Well, at least that is something to be thankful for." He paused for a moment and looked at his student who was staring glumly into his tea cup. "This is all happening for a reason, Haryon."

Harry nodded. "Yes, I know. After last year, I trust in the Great Lady's plan completely. I don't see how at the moment, but I know She will make sure everything will turn out all right in the end."

"And that fills my heart with joy to hear you say that. Of course, I will be more than happy to assist you."

"But we're supposed to stand alone; we're not allowed outside help." Harry pointed out.

The words prompted a playful, conspiratorial smirk to cross the Elvish man's face, something which Harry had never seen on the man before. "And you're not technically allowed to compete."

Harry blinked at his teacher a few times before he gave a small smile in reply.
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Family Means More Than Blood