Disclaimer: You know the score!
A/N:Hey my wonderful people, today was filled with lots of boredom and this is the product of it. I decided to write a silly one-shot sequel to A Light in the Darkest Shadow...I know I know, I couldn't help myself. So, it's filled with lots of fluff and sickly sweet moments but there we go, I wasn't at my most productive. Let me know how you found it. Love Shy.
Life after the Happy Ending
Lucius sat in the large garden at the back of his mansion relaxing in the warmth of the summer sun with a slight breeze to keep him cool. He sat on a black iron bench that was by a towering oak tree about a hundred yards away from his home. He liked to sit here in the summer when he wanted to think about things, just looking at how the lawn extended before him up to his home, and the way the pebble path made its way around the lawn with neatly clipped rose bushes lining the edges of it. He gazed at how the wind gently moved the roses, causing them to sway from side to side in a hypnotic way. He was finally starting to feel at peace with himself, with no worries, no cares and was married to a woman he adored and loved so much it hurt. He had been married to Hermione for almost a year now and felt himself loving her more with each passing day, if that was possible.
He let his back relax a little and sunk back on to the bench, something he rarely did, and let his mind do its usual wandering down memory lane. His thoughts drifted over random things as he closed his eyes, his emotions flickered from anger to happiness and confusion to sadness as he remembered the things he had done through the years.
He suddenly felt a presence near him and opened his eyes quickly while he sat back up. There was no one there, until he felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his neck; he smiled as he smelt Hermione's familiar scent. She leant forward from behind him and kissed his cheek as he placed his hands on her arms.
"And where have you been today? I woke up this morning to find you up and gone," he questioned as he kissed her arm. She let go and moved round to sit with him, she tucked her legs under herself as she snuggled into him. He loved it when she sat like that with him; it always made him feel loved and wanted.
"I didn't sleep very well last night, so I got up early and went to have breakfast with my parents," she told him as she played with the hand wrapped around her. He held her a little tighter as she had a million thoughts whirring round her head. "I have something to tell you and I'm not sure how you'll feel about it, we've never talked about it." He frowned at her as she looked up at him with a worried look on her face. He started to panic, he knew it, it was all too good to be true.
"What is it?" he asked in a cool voice, trying to keep the fear from being visible in his expression. It didn't fool Hermione though; she could see it in his eyes.
"I'm pregnant," she almost whispered to him. She watched a frown appear on his face, then visible relief. He was going to be a dad again. He felt a giddy excitement rush through him. "Say something." She sat back from him, searching his features for a sign of what he was thinking; after the relief, his eyes became blank.
"I'm going to be a dad. Again," he managed to mumble out, trying to push down his excitement. His wife looked worried, wasn't she ready for children? She quickly got up and started to walk off before he could see the tears in her eyes. He didn't want it; her happiness at having his child was gone when she saw no emotion. "Where are you going?" He quickly got up and caught up with her, he made her stop so that he could look at her; she was crying.
"Why don't you want it?" she asked as the tears slipped down her cheeks. He smiled at her as he gently wiped the tears away and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Of course I want it, I thought you didn't," he whispered in her ear. She pulled away and looked at him; her heart skipped a beat like it always did when she found him smiling. She could see the excitement dancing in his eyes now that hadn't been there before.
"Promise me you want it," she begged him as she clung tightly to his black robes.
"I promise," he told her, "and promise me you're ready for children." She nodded quickly with a wide smile. "How far are you?" He put his arm round her and they walked back to their house.
"Nearly four months, I've been that busy with work that I didn't realise I could be pregnant. I nearly fainted when the nurse told me at the hospital," she told him excitedly, "I can't wait to meet her."
"Her?" Lucius smiled as they entered the mansion through the dining room, "What makes you think it's a girl?" She simply smiled at him as she walked off into the kitchen to get a drink. "The nurse told you, didn't she?" he called after her as he sat down at the table. She came back into the dining room a few minutes later with two glasses of pumpkin juice.
"No, I just feel like it's a girl," she spoke in a clear animated voice as she handed him a glass and sat next to him, "It's funny but I haven't had morning sickness, no funny cravings, no tiredness, and I've only gained a little weight."
"Well aren't you the lucky one with an easy pregnancy. Narcissa was awful to live with in her first few months of pregnancy," he laughed at the memory of the times when her mood could go from laughing to crying in just a few minutes with nothing to trigger it. Hermione watched him carefully as she saw the remembrance of the past flood through his face. He glanced up at her and realised she had been staring at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't compare." She smiled as she took his hand in hers.
"It's fine, Lucius, it's good that you've been through a pregnancy before because I have to admit that I'm really nervous. They say easy pregnancy, difficult birth," she spoke quietly at the thought of the pain. He gently squeezed her hand.
"If that was true then Draco's birth should have been the easiest thing for Narcissa to do, but she almost throttled me when she was in labour it was that painful for her. You'd think with all the magic we have it'd be easy to have a baby," he pulled her on to his knee as he spoke and she hugged him tightly. "Tell me, how long have you been waiting to inform me about this?"
"Nearly a week," she spoke into his neck, still hugging him for dear life. She was feeling a little scared and overwhelmed about the whole thing. Lucius could sense her fear as he held her. He moved her back on to her own chair and without a word to her he got up and left her. "Where are you going?"
A little over an hour later and Hermione could be found back in the garden near the dining room entrance. She was stood on the pebble path watching a little bird nearby on the grass pecking away at the ground, trying to lure its food out of its hiding place. She shrieked when she felt a pair of arms wrap round her.
"I have a surprise for you," Lucius whispered into her ear causing her to shiver at the feeling of his breath flowing across her skin, "Come with me." He took her hand and led her back into the dining room and out into the hallway where she found her mum and dad gawping at the size of the hallway. "I thought you might prefer to have them nearby for a little while." She jumped into his arms to show him how grateful she was and then ran over to her mum like a small child. More than anything she needed them now. She had seen them that morning but it felt as though she hadn't seen them in months.
"Congratulations honey," her mum cheered as she hugged her daughter. Her dad continued to look around the hallway in amazement. They had visited their daughter before but the beauty of their home still amazed him, he wanted to explore every nook and learn its history. Hermione felt relief at having her mother's help for a little while and her father's humour to keep her smiling.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Hermione was just coming into her fifth month when her mother made a point that she was a lot bigger than most women at that stage, this helped Hermione's nerves no end and she marched straight to St. Mungo's. It was bad enough that once she had found out she was pregnant that she suddenly started to grow. This time she did faint when she spoke to her assigned nurse; she was having twins. Lucius was ecstatic, he had always wanted more children but Narcissa had been traumatised enough with Draco and didn't want any more. Draco instantly informed her that they were not to have their bedroom next to his, but seemed happy about finally getting siblings. Her dad proudly told her that twins were everywhere on his side of the family. Mrs Weasley shook her head and mumbled something about her being a poor soul while Fred and George exclaimed about the possibilities of passing their knowledge down. Harry and Ron couldn't wait to meet them and said if they were boys that they should be named after them.
When the sixth month rolled in, Hermione felt happier and more comfortable with the pregnancy, so her parents going back to their home and jobs didn't bother her so much. She had also decided to leave her job at the Ministry now to concentrate on keeping herself well rested; twins were going to be exhausting, there was no denying it.
Lucius and Hermione had taken to happily arguing daily about names, should they name them after people in their families or pick new names. But the argument soon shifted to a different area of the name field, it was more about the sex of the name. Hermione was happy to name them after any person in Lucius' family as long as they were girl's names, but Lucius was adamant that they should be boy's names.
They were both sat in the library reading when Hermione suddenly put her book down and just started staring into space.
"Marina after your grandmother and Alice after mine," she suddenly said without a warning.
"Nope," Lucius mumbled without looking up from his book, "Since when are grandmothers male?" She laughed at how stubborn he was being. She couldn't wait for them to arrive to show how wrong he is. She felt that the babies couldn't possibly be boys because if they were then they would probably have caused a riot with her ribs by now; they had been too good to be boys in her opinion.
"Sophia and Jean?" she asked, just picking two random names that she liked. She heard him softly close his book next to her on the little couch they were sat on. She leant back and closed her eyes feeling the babies shift a little. She felt him lean forward to her stomach and rub it gently.
"Could you please inform your mother that you would have a miserable childhood if she gives you those names as they are meant for girls," he strictly demanded of the bump with a smile on his face. She lazily opened her eyes and looked down to find him staring at her.
"I love you," she grinned and then closed her eyes again, "and I'm telling you, they're girls." He laughed gently, she was being as stubborn as him, but they refused to let the nurse tell them what sex they were. They wanted it to be a surprise.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
During the seventh month they started decorating the babies' bedroom causing more arguments to ensue. Lucius was defiant about it being blue and Hermione was set on pink. That was until Draco stepped in one day, from seemingly no where, swished his wand and left the room. They gazed in astonishment at the colour scheme. It was lovely, bright and so simple; it was white.
Then came the clothes shopping, Lucius was constantly buying boy's outfits and Hermione girl's. Their friends and family tried to get them to find out what they were having but they refused. And they also refused to buy neutral outfits, but it was fun for them. They liked the fire the arguments caused between them, it made them love the other more with each passing day.
The eighth month came and went with a very busy Christmas. Still not quite being on friendly terms with Harry and the Weasleys, he made them stay at their mansion. He was ready to do anything for Hermione's happiness and it meant trying his best with her friends and family. Of course Draco had a few choice words to say about it but then gave in. It was surprisingly relaxed with no tensions or animosity between anyone and before they knew it, Christmas was over and it was the New Year.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
It was now two days before Hermione's due date and she felt fat. She could barely walk anywhere without having to sit down for a minute or two and she was ready to send a hex in anyone's direction if they attempted to even get near her bump. It infuriated her even more when her due date arrived, and then went with not even a kick off the babies. She started growling in response to anything asked of her and she nearly killed Draco when he had made a joke to her about her wobbling. It was like being in Hogwarts again for him. It took him nearly an hour to stop his nosebleed while his own father laughed at him.
Finally, four days after her due date, her waters broke. If she had been able to, she probably would have skipped to St. Mungo's but instead she had to make do with scuffling. The elated feeling that she had from knowing she was finally getting her body back soon disappeared when her contractions started.
Hermione was kneeling on the bed and trying to catch her breath as a contraction passed her. Lucius was gently rubbing her back and pleading for her to let go of his hand before she broke it. She slowly sat up and glared at him; he knew that glare but before he could step away from her, she had him by his collar.
"You did this to me," she growled dangerously at him, "Would you like me to curse you into next week, because I can and will do it." Then she was crippled over again with her next contraction. He sighed with relief as she let go of his collar.
After only six hours of labour, the twins were finally in the world; a boy and a girl. Lucius had nearly been throttled again when Matthew arrived two minutes before Imogen; he had held a glint in his eye which annoyed her when she was in so much pain. But once they were both there and Hermione felt the pain disappear, names were decided instantly just by looking at them. Lucius picked Matthew after Hermione's grandfather who she seemed to hold dear to her heart whenever she told him stories of her childhood. Imogen had been picked by Hermione after Lucius' mother; there was a painting of his parents in the living room and when she saw her daughter, she immediately saw Imogen's eyes.
Draco was the first to arrive with a scowl on his face and an air of not being interested, but when it came to taking Imogen off him he wasn't happy. Hermione smiled as she watched him with the babies, it seemed he had fallen in love with them straight away yet was reluctant to admit it. The next visitors were Harry, Ron and Ginny with flowers. Ginny cooed while Harry and Ron were trying to persuade them that the boy should be named after them. Eventually the whole clan of Weasleys were there bar Bill and Charlie who were away working. Even Percy had come to visit but left shortly after saying that he had important Ministry business to attend to.
Some of Lucius' relatives came to visit too with extravagant gifts that the babies didn't need; such as an emerald necklace for Imogen and an invisibility cloak for Matthew. Lucius' cousin was almost praising Hermione for naming their daughter Imogen and then attempted to frown upon the name Matthew.
"But there are no 'Matthews' in the Malfoy family line," she had argued to them. Hermione had just laughed and let her have her moment as she was just happy they had gotten past her being Muggle-born.
Hermione was ecstatic when she was allowed to go home; she wanted her parents to see the babies. With them being Muggles they couldn't get into St. Mungo's, it had confused her when she found that rule out as they were able to go to Diagon Alley. But she soon forgot about it when she arrived home to find them waiting for her in the hallway. Babysitting was instantly offered to Lucius and Hermione as the twins were whisked from their arms and her parents disappeared with them to their room.
Lucius grinned at his wife as he swept her off her feet. He had missed being able to that to her over the past few months. Hermione had choked in surprised forgetting that her husband liked to do that. He started to carry her up the large staircase when she started wriggling for him to put her back down. He chuckled at her struggle while he continued to move on to the hallway on the left.
"You take me anywhere near that bedroom and I'll take you down now without my wand. I've just had two babies," he chuckled again and still refused to place her back down, "I'll repeat that," she spoke in his ear while raising her voice, "I've just had two babies, go near that bedroom door and you'll get a lovely black eye." Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow at her threat of violence but still refused to let her walk.
To her surprise he entered through a door that was no where near their bedroom. She gasped when she saw the familiar stairs and then started to hug him tightly as he carried her up them. She loved the rainforest; it was so peaceful and serene.
"I thought it would be nice if we could spend some time here together before we embark on those sleepless nights," he explained to her as he finally put her down. She took his hand and led him over to the rock that they would only sit on when they were both there.
"I couldn't think of anything better," she spoke softly as they settled on the rock and snuggled into each other.