Sirius Black sat in a room at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, rocking his grandson, Logan. Looking at the four month old infant he decided that the boy got his dark hair from the Blacks, but his eyes would turn the grey of his father. He smoothed Logan's sleeper and noticed the baby was asleep. Sirius laid the child in his crib and covered him with a blanket. Checking on Logan's twin sister, Lily, who was fast asleep in her own crib, Sirius quietly left the room.
Across the hall from the nursery, the door opened and Sirius' daughter, Mystaya, came out. He smiled at her, noticing that she was holding one of the twin's pacificers.
"Misty, go back to bed, the twins have both just been fed and changed and are both sleeping. I was on my way back from the bathroom and heard Lily stirring. I took care of both of them. You haven't slept much in the last year and need your rest."
"Thanks Dad. You're right, between the nightmares of that night, nausea, heartburn, middle of the night cravings and now dealing with twin infants, I'm exhausted." She turned around and closed her door and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Sirius was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, while Mystaya was upstairs taking care of the twins. A knock at the door startled him as he had forgotten that once the Ministry had found Pettigrew and Sirius had been declared innocent and the Order of the Phoenix had stopped using his house as headquarters, he had taken the Fidelius Charm off his house. He went to the door and saw his godson, Harry, followed by Mystaya's boyfriend of three years, Cain Daniels.
"Come in, boys. You both know that you don't have to knock."
"Where's Misty?" Cain asked.
"She's in the nursery taking care of the twins," Sirius asked.
"How are my godchildren?" Harry asked.
"Getting big, wearing their mother out. They both have dark hair like all the Blacks, but it looks like they'll have grey eyes like..."
Harry cut him off, "Speaking of, I saw Draco Malfoy in Diagon Alley yesterday. He was baiting me, talking about Misty, asking about her as if he had any right to. He also said that he knows that Misty has a child and that the baby is his. He also said something about coming here."
"Draco Malfoy is coming here? When?"
The three men all turned to see Mystaya coming down the stairs, with a twin in each arm. Cain went over to her and took Lily from her and placed her in one of the play pens that was left downstairs, while she placed Logan in the other. Mystaya straightened and turned back to Harry.
"When, Harry?" she asked softly.
"Late morning. He only knows about Logan. He doesn't know you had twins. And you have me, Sirius and Cain here to protect you. I can Floo Remus and Ron if you need me to," Harry told her, "Draco says he has every right to see his child and he will. I'm expecting him in a hour."
"No need to Floo Remus, Harry. Don't you think that the Mauraders had ways of communicating that others couldn't interfere with. I'm already sent for him, he'll be here before Draco gets here."
Just the thought of confronting Draco, after that night, sent Mystaya into a flashback.
-Fourteen Months Earlier-
Mystaya was working at the Leaky Cauldron as a waitress, saving money to attend school to become a healer. She saw many friends and classmates from Hogwarts that night. She joked with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan and heartily congratulated Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on their engagement. The crowds were starting to wind down, when Draco Malfoy walked into the pub. He sat at a table alone. Mystaya brought her a bowl of breadsticks and a glass of water.
"Anything I can get you, Draco?" she asked.
"You can tell me, why, on the very night I plan on proposing to Pansy, I catch her in the arms of Blaise Zambini," Draco said, bitterly.
"You were going to propose?" Mystaya asked.
Draco slid a ring box across the table, "Take a look at that." Mystaya opened the box and saw the six-carat, princess cut diamond, glittering against the black velvet.
"Oh wow, Draco, that's beautiful. Pansy is an idiot for cheating on you. I hope you find someone more worthy of that beautiful ring," Mystaya said, handing the ring box back.
"Bring me a bottle of Ogden's Best Firewhiskey," Draco said, passing money to her.
"Sure thing." Mystaya walked to the bar and got Draco's whiskey and brought it back to him, then went to serve other customers. Draco watched as she handled Mundungus Fletcher's drunken advances with a dignified manner. He noticed how her dark chestnut hair gleamed in the firelight and how her chocolate brown eyes sparkled when she laughed. He'd also seen those eyes lit up with the fire of anger in the defense of her friends and full of love when she looked at Cain Daniels back at Hogwarts. After a while, she made her way back to Draco's table.
"Do you need anything to eat?" She asked.
"No, thank you," Draco said.
"Well, Tom told me that since the crowds have calmed down, I can go home, so I'll see you later," Mystaya told him. She walked behind the bar, put away her apron, grabbed her purse and jacket and left the pub. Draco finished his whiskey, stood up and left as well.
Mystaya apparated to her apparation place on the far side of the park from her house and started walking home through the park when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a clump of bushes.
"Draco, what the hell?" She was cut off as Draco kissed her roughly and threw her down on a mattress he had conjured.
"No, please," she begged as she fought Draco, which only served to arouse him further. He tore off her skirt and underwear and unzipped his jeans and thrust roughly inside of her. He held her hands over her head and thrust into her again and again. Finally, he came with a groan and a shudder. He stood up and straightened his jeans and left.
Mystaya clutched her underwear and skirt to her and sobbed as she tried to put them back together, so she could go home. She laid on her side and cried. A few hours later, Harry, Sirius and Cain found her there and helped her home, where she told them the whole story. Draco was arrested by Aurors, but due to his father's money, he got away with barely a slap on the wrist. Mystaya refused to leave the house unless someone was with her. She quit her job at the Leaky Cauldron and threw herself into helping Sirius around the house.
About eight weeks later, Mystaya was starting to become nauseous and tired all the time. Sirius became concerned and sent her to Madame Pomphrey to be examined. Madame Pomphrey asked Mystaya some questions and cast a few diagnostic spells.
"Well, Miss Black, you are in fact pregnant, I can tell you the baby's gender if you would like."
"Yes, please," Mystaya said. Madame Pomphrey cast a spell and waved her wand over Mystaya's stomach and the tip lit up first a pale gold, then alternating flashing between blue and pink.
"Miss Black, it looks like you're having twins, a boy and a girl," Madame Pomphrey told her.
Mystaya thanked her and went home. She told Sirius that they needed to talk.
"What did she say?"
"She told me that what happened that night got me pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl," Mystaya told him.
"Everything will be fine. We'll clean out the room across the hall from yours for a nursery. I'm not going to kick you out just because you're pregnant. It's not your fault. I'm sure your friends will stand by you. Cain won't just abandon you either," Sirius told her.
"Do you know the ingredients for a blood adoption potion? I can get the papers from Minister Shacklebolt. The trick is gonna be getting Draco's signature on the papers, because he can't be under the influence of any potions except Veritaserum, when he signs them and I refuse to go anywhere near him."
"I don't know the ingredients but Severus Snape would and I can get him to make it after the babies are born."
Mystaya told her friends and they all stood by her. Cain told her that he would be the babies' father.
Thirty-two weeks later, Mystaya woke up in the middle of the night having contractions. She timed them for a while as the medi-witch at St. Mungo's that was her midwife had told her not to come in until the contractions were regular and eight to ten minutes apart. She got up and started walking around and when she figured that the movement didn't ease the contractions and that they were nine minutes apart, She grabbed her bag and woke Sirius.
When Molly Weasley, a friend of Sirius' and the mother of Mystaya's friends, Ron and Ginny, had found out about the pregnancy, she had instructed Sirius to send an owl with a Howler message if Mystaya went into labor in the middle of the night and she and Ginny would be in the room with Mystaya during the delivery. Sirius sent the Howler as Cain came out of one of the guest rooms. Cain helped Mystaya downstairs to the fireplace and lit it with a quick, "Incendio." He grabbed a small handful of the green powder from a small pot next to the fireplace.
"St. Mungo's," he said, clearly.
They flooed to the magical hospital, where after 13 hours of labor, Mystaya gave birth to the twins that she named Logan James Black and Lily Grace Black.
-Present Day-
Remus knocked and entered the house. He hugged Mystaya and reassured her that everything would be alright. Mystaya walked over to her twins to calm them when she heard them start fussing. She fed Lily as Cain fed Logan. As the twins ate, someone knocked at the door sharply.
"That is probably Draco Malfoy," Harry said, "I'll get it."
Harry went to the door and opened it, revealing Draco.
"What are you doing here, Potter?" Draco asked.
"Sirius is my godfather and Mystaya is my friend. You may have gotten away with what you did to her, but I swear by Merlin, if you do anything to hurt her again, you will answer to me. She knows why you are here. She's in the parlor." Harry showed Draco in.
"Misty, Draco is here to see you," Harry said.
Mystaya and Cain had just finished feeding and changing the twins. Mystaya turned around with Logan in her arms.
"Is that my son?" Draco asked. Mystaya walked over and turned so Draco could see Logan better.
"Draco Malfoy, may I introduce you to Logan James Black, your son?" Mystaya said politely, "And also if you look over in Cain's arms, I would like you to meet Lily Grace Black, your daughter."
"My daughter?" Draco asked, looking over at the infant girl in his former classmate's arms.
"Yes, Draco, she had twins four months ago. Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione are their godparents. Cain doesn't offically live here, but he's here overnight often enough, helping her with them that he might as well move in here," Sirius said.
Draco watched Cain with the baby in his arms. What he saw was a man who genuinely loved the child. He also watched how when Mystaya wasn't watching, Cain looked at her with eyes full of love.
"Why did you come here Draco?" Mystaya asked softly after she laid both twins down in their play pens.
"After I was arrested for what I did to you, my father took me with him to France to look at a chateau he wanted to buy for my mother. It needed some work, so he left me there with the instructions to oversee the renovations. It took over a year to complete before I was able to inform him that it was completed. I only just got back three weeks ago. I started hearing things about you having a child and I only heard about Logan. I wanted to see for myself if the rumors were true and if I had actually gotten you pregnant that night," Draco explained, being very careful not to get closer to her as he saw anger in the eyes of her father, godfather, boyfriend and friend.
"Mystaya, I'm sorry for what I did that night. I have no excuses for myself and I will understand if you have one of these men throw me out right now and tell me to never show my face around you again. I don't deserve your forgiveness nor do I deserve for those children to know me as their father."
"I know you were hurt over Pansy's betrayal and I know you were watching me that night. I half expected you to ask me out or something. I never thought you would do what you did. It took me a lot of thinking during late nights while I was pregnant to forgive you. Now that I have Logan and Lily, I wouldn't change being their mother for all the Galleons at Gringotts. If you want to be a part of their lives, we can work out a visitation schedule. I would have to be present until they are a little older and then you can start taking them by yourself. If you don't want to be a part of their lives, you can sign papers and Cain is willing to adopt them both. Professor Snape has already made the potion for us. The choice is up to you, but if you decide you want to be in their lives, then you have to be there and you have to make the effort to spend time with both of them. There will be no telling them that you'll be there and not showing up. You will be an active father not an absent one," Mystaya said.
Draco looked at Cain, "Do you love them?"
Cain looked back at Draco, "Yes, I do. I would move heaven and Earth for Logan and Lily. I was there in the delivery room with Misty the day they were born. I cut their umbilical cords. I've walked the floor of their nursery with them when they've been up all night crying. I would never let anyone hurt them. Yes, Draco, I love Lily and Logan with all my heart."
"That's all I needed to hear. Mystaya, I'm going to let Cain adopt them. He is the father they deserve. It's not that I don't want to be a part of their lives, it's that they deserve to have parents that are married and that love each other as fiercely as I know you to do and that love them just as fiercely. They deserve a father that is going to come home from work and play with them and tuck them in at night and chase monsters out of their closets and out from under their beds. Someone to build snowmen with them and help them make breakfast for their mother on her birthday," Draco said. Mystaya smiled at Draco's speech and went to get the paperwork and a quill and ink.
Draco signed the papers and Harry witnessed his signature. Cain signed where he needed to and Sirius witnessed his. Remus was the witness for Mystaya's signature where the paperwork needed it.
Before Draco left the house, he turned to Cain, reached into his jacket pocket and handed something to Cain.
"Mystaya saw this that night and said it was beautiful. I had meant it for someone who didn't deserve it, but Mystaya does. It's a ring worthy of the beauty and grace that she possesses. I think it would make the perfect engagement ring for her." With that, Draco left. Cain opened the box and saw the ring. He looked at Mystaya and got down on one knee.
"Do you want this one or should I go buy you another one? Because Draco read my mind about wanting to propose to you. I would love nothing more than to help you raise Logan and Lily with you as my wife. I want to help them make you breakfast on your birthday. I want all of what he said, but I want you by my side for the rest of our lives. Mystaya Black, I love you. Will you marry me?"
Mystaya's hand flew to her mouth. She had never expect this kind of proposal. "Yes, Cain, I will marry you. And that ring is good. It's actually quite stunning."
Cain slid the six carat diamond on Mystaya's finger. Harry hugged them and told them that he would see them later.
"I promised Ginny that I'd let her know what happened. She'd have been here herself but she couldn't get away from her classes."
"I should get home too," Remus said, "Tonks is having such a hard time with this pregnancy, I was going to go get her some things to help with the nausea and vomitting."
"Ginger helps," Mystaya told her godfather, "Either grate about a tablespoon and steep it in a cup of hot water if she can't keep solids down or get some candied ginger and she can chew on it. They also have ginger lollipops at Honeydukes. If it gets really bad talk to Professor Snape. He made a pregnancy safe potion that helps when nothing else does. The ginger worked with me when other remedies failed and when the ginger failed, the potion helped."
"Really, ginger? Anything is worth a shot," Remus said.
"If she's that sick so quickly, she might be having twins. The extra baby increases the amount of pregnancy hormone that is released into the body, which causes the increase in what's called "morning sickness" even though it can strike anytime of the day and night," Mystaya warned Remus.
Remus left and Mystaya went to the parlor to read as the twins slept. Sirius wandered in about half an hour later.
"Your mother's wedding dress is in the attic if you want to try it on later after Cain leaves," he said, leaning against the doorframe, "She'd be proud to see you wear it at your own wedding."
Mystaya smiled, "Cain has to work with Minister Shacklebolt tomorrow, I'll try it on then," she said, "I'll take it to Mrs. Weasley if it needs any alterations."
"Molly would love to do that for you," Sirius said.
-Six Months Later-
The garden at Number 12 Gimmauld place was full of people. Chairs were set up on either side of a rose lined aisle. Inside, Ginny Potter, Hermione Weasley and Molly Weasley were up in Mystaya's room, helping her into her dress.
"Mrs. Weasley, you did a great job!" Mystaya said looking at her reflection.
"Oh, Mystaya, please call me Molly," she said, "And I was happy to do it for you, dear. You look beautiful."
Mystaya smiled as she touched up her makeup. Mrs. Weasley brought out a beautiful hair clip.
"Your mother left this in my possession right after she found out she was sick, with instructions that I was to make sure you wore it when you got married if I could." She placed the clip securely in Mystaya's hair.
"Oh, guess what I heard from Parvati Patil?" Ginny said.
"What, Gin?"
"Draco Malfoy is now officially engaged to Astoria Greengrass. The announcement will be in the Society colum of the Daily Prophet on Monday."
"Well, that's good for him," Mystaya said.
"You know, it was so out of character for him to just sign the papers to let Cain adopt the twins," Hermione said, resting a hand on her slight baby bump.
"I was expecting a fight," Mystaya said, "I certainly wasn't exxpecting him to give Cain the ring to propose with."
"It just goes to show you girls that everyone grows up at one point or another," Mrs. Weasley said, wisely.
Sirius chose that moment to knock on the door, "Is everyone ready? It's just about time for the ceremony to begin, so Ginny, Hermione you should find your places."
Mystaya's friends left the room, giving the father and daughter some privacy. Sirius pulled a necklace out of his pocket.
"I bought this necklace for your mother the day she found out she was pregnant with you," he said, putting it on her, "And now it's your's."
Mystaya kissed her father's cheek and picked up her flowers, "It's time, Dad."
Sirius walked his daughter down the aisle. Lily and Logan were seated with Mystaya's friends, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. She smiled at them. She then locked eyes with Cain, as she walked toward him.
They repeated their vows and placed rings on each other's fingers, promising to love each other for the rest of their lives.