Chapter 2 – Surprise!
As Alexa Malfoy woke up that day, she was buzzing with excitement as today was her 11th birthday. There would be a big party, lots of cake, pretty dresses, all her family and friends gathered to praise her and lots and lots of presents. But most importantly, her Hogwarts letter must be here!
Normally, Alexa was the most put together child in the family, taking after her father, Draco. Neither would normally ever be caught looking askew. But as it was a very special day, she let go of her usual uptight morals and ran down the corridors of the Manor. For some reason, it happened to suspiciously be quite silent and void of any family members.
Alexa came to a sharp stop outside of the dining room and grinned at the thought of what lay behind the door. As silently as she could, she approached the door and pushed it open with a large swing.
As soon as she did this, there was an onslaught of cheers and laughter that met her immediately. The scene was delightful. The large dining room had been transformed with many decorations, all extending through to the garden through the glass French doors, where no doubt the day's celebrations would continue.
On one corner of the table, there was an ever-growing stack of presents, ranging from small to huge, all wrapped in a multitude of lustrous colours. The rest of the table was covered in all her favourite foods, coming from all the different continents her family had visited in the 11 years of her life.
But what really made her smile was the gathering of all the people crowding the room. She knew that they were all very busy people and was very grateful that they all had taken this day out to celebrate with her.
There was a litter of Weasleys, Zabinis, Notts, Greengrasses and Malfoys spread around that the Daily Prophet would have had a field day over 10 years ago if they had seen together, alongside some of Alexa's schoolmates. Her parents were at the forefront of all this and she gasped when her father came up to give her kiss and slipped her the letter she'd been waiting for since the age of 7, when she had first shown signs of having magic.
"Here you go, Princess," Draco said to her, "And happy birthday!", then he gave her another kiss on the forehead and ruffled her hair. Her mother then came up to her and greeted her the same way. She grasped her Hogwarts Acceptance Letter tightly in her hands, before slipping it into the pocket of her dressing gown. She would cherish it forever. Her first sign of growing up and being independent.
Then came the customary singing of 'Happy Birthday', well coming from the twins, both Weasley adults and Malfoy toddlers, it came out as more of an ear-splitting screech, bouncing down Alexa's ear canal as they were the closest to her.
She smirked as she saw even her Grandpa Lucius was being forced to sing along and take part in the festivities, as her Grandmother was sending sharp looks in his direction and seemed to have a strong hold on his elbow. They caught her looking at what was going on and Narcissa smirked back, whereas her Grandfather just looked away, appearing to try to keep any dignity in the situation he had left.
Then all of a sudden, she was thrust through the throng of people and was repetitively squeezed and crushed as everyone wished her a happy day and many happy years.
Soon, Alexa left to go get changed into her birthday outfit and the rest of the party proceeded to move on into the garden.
The rest of the day continued with similar excitement to the morning. Alexa's parents had organised lots of different activities to make sure she got a fun-filled birthday, such as setting up a bouncy castle, many different games and even some pony riding in the extensive gardens of the Manor. All in all, it was a very successful day.
Both Draco and Hermione had put in their greatest efforts, as it saddened them both to acknowledge that this was one of the last birthdays they would get to celebrate with their eldest daughter for the next 7 years. Alexa's birthday sat right in the middle of the summer term and they would most likely not be able to celebrate until the actual holidays when she started Hogwarts in September. The thought made Hermione yearn for her daughter to be young again, as just like any other mother, she was extremely protective of her child and would always remember her as her little baby no matter how old she grew.
To end the day, after all the guests had left, the immediate Malfoy family including their grandparents from each side, had a light supper under the setting sun in the gazebo. The atmosphere was very soothing and light, filled with chatter and giggles from all the children and adults. The mood was fitting a state with which all their very tired children needed.
Hermione leant over to Alexa and asked, "Did you have a good day today, sweetheart?"
Alexa smiled back at her Mum and went up to give her a hug, "Yes Mum, thank you for everything and you too Dad, Grandpa Lu, Grandpa Roger and Grandma Narcissa and Jean. Thank you for making this day so special. I'll miss you all so much when I go to Hogwarts."
"We'll miss you too, Poppet. But just remember this is a new stage in your life and a new adventure you're embarking on, so make sure to enjoy it," her Father advised her as he pulled her onto his lap.
Alexa loved her Mum and Dad very much. They were the best couple together she had ever seen and they were the best parents that she had also ever seen. She never had difficulty expressing things to them and their love and acceptance of each child in their lives was endless.
That was when her younger sister, Willow, who was usually very reserved and hidden in her books, made an announcement for the attention of the table, they looked unsurprised and grins sprouted on each of their faces as if they had something to be very happy about.
"Everyone! I've got something really special to share with all of you and I present it as a gift to you, Alexa. I hope you liked it, I've been working on it for a long time. Even ask Mother and Father!" She exclaimed.
"Yes dear, it's really special. Now go ahead, show everyone," Hermione appeased her daughter, she then sat back and leaned into her husband's embrace, while squeezing Alexa's hand.
The chatter dimmed around the garden, as the family turned their gaze towards Willow. She stood up at the end of the table and closed her eyes. Suddenly, there was a golden glow emanating from her, that caused gasps to erupt from all over the table. The glow spread out into little tendrils that encapsulated the whole group. They then reached high into the sky and split into a galaxy of colours, showering the group. The performance ended with the sky lighting up with Lyra's name.
The family were enraptured in the scene. Willow had never shown any signs of magic to anyone, but she had disclosed to her parents that she had been practising. However, this display of such advanced and beautiful magic at such a young age stunned everyone into silence.
"Wow!" Lyra gasped. She then stood up and ran to her sister and gave her a hug. "Willow! When did you learn to do magic? That was amazing! Your so talented and thank you so much! I loved it!"
Everyone got up and surrounded Willow and Lyra with great applause. Hermione and Draco were especially pleased with their daughter's successful exhibition of her magic. They were especially proud as usually children at her age could only produce magic by accident and even then, it would be uncontrolled.
The thrill of having another child that could produce magic with such zeal was an extremely happy moment for all members of the family.
After all the excitement and flurry of activity were said and done and all the children had gone to sleep, Draco and Hermione were finally able to take a break and reflect on the crazy day they had successfully pulled off. With the record-breaking number of children that had run rife among the Manor all day, they were surprised that the Manor gardens were still as put together as they were in the morning.
However, as they both lay in bed that night, the couple reflected on the actions of their daughter, not Lyra, but Willow. Hermione was propped up against the headboard when Draco leaned up to give her a kiss and said, "She's going to be just as amazing as you when she's older."
"I love that I get to have the Brightest Witch of The Age and produce my own Brightest Witch of the Next Age," he teased her.
Hermione just rolled her eyes, switched off the lights and snuggled into her husband's chest. "You have to compensate being second best somehow," she teased back.
Draco gave a short bark of laughter and he and his wife settled in for the night. Their thoughts warm with ideas of all the things in the future that would behold them and their wonderful children.
A/N: Wow the response to the story has been so welcoming. Thank you all so much. Also, look out for a new story that I will be publishing, it is Dramione but it is also quite different, so would love for you all to give a read. Also, I was wondering if anyone could volunteer/recommend a beta for me that would be very helpful. Anyways enjoy!