Several shops were still open, glowing in the gloomy daylight. He apparated home to find Claire the only one in his house, eating strawberries on the kitchen counter.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I came to see you," she shrugged, shoving another strawberry into her mouth. Her curls were wet against her back, her robes open to reveal a silver dress underneath.
"Where is everyone else?" he questioned.
"Why does it matter?" she frowned.
"Last I knew your dad wanted me dead," he shrugged.
"He doesn't hate you, you know."
It was hard to believe. Magnus strongly believed Draco Malfoy would never like him again in his life.
"I got his only daughter pregnant," Magnus slumped his shoulders. "I would be pissed if I were him."
"He's not mad anymore," Claire said through a mouthful of strawberries.
She hopped off the counter and opened the side door with a flick of her wand, letting in the smell of rain.
Claire looked at him. "Unfortunately. My father wasn't happy with this at all. But my mother said it was time we started our own families. We are the first generation after the war, you know."
"You're eighteen, Claire. I'm hardly twenty. You think now is just the right time for all of this?" Magnus started.
"So you planned it?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, but-"
"Then why do you think I did?"
She stared at him, daring to say anymore. "I didn't plan to start my life this early, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I'm not getting rid of her."
"Her?"
Claire's eyes widen for a split second, but Magnus realized her mistake.
"It's a girl," her head hung low.
"Anything else I should know today?" Magnus said angrily.
"If I could've told you, I would," she cried suddenly.
Before he could stop her, she apparated home. But he chased after her.
"Claire!" he called, running up her front stairs.
Hermione answered the door.
"She's upstairs. You might want to give her a minute," she sympathized. "Don't get angry now, Magnus," Hermione speaks up. "You have to let us explain."
He was led into Draco's office.
"I do not want to be in here," Magnus laughed angrily. "This is the last place I want to be."
"Just let him talk," Hermione told the teenager.
Magnus looked to Draco, who was staring at his wife, his head propped on his hand, his leg resting on his other.
Magnus sighed, sitting down angrily in the chair across from him, waiting for Draco to talk.
Hermione sat gingerly in an arm chair against the wall.
Draco took a deep breath. "I see you are angry now."
"No one told me anything until today. My girlfriend is pregnant with my daughter, and no one could tell me a thing?!"
"Calm down," Draco said easily. "My family couldn't tell you for press purposes. The Daily Prophet is all over my family like a pack of hawks. Any small thing that gets leaked turns into a massive issue. This would've been the scandal of the year. A Malfoy and a Potter. Not exactly the best mix, but not the worst."
"Regardless, it is still a Malfoy child. We protect our own. I refused to make the same mistakes my father did. He pushed me away because I was in love with a muggleborn."
"I'm not pureblood."
"You are," Draco told him. "Your mother is a pureblood, as is your father. Both of his parents were wizards."
Magnus was in shock. "So… so…"
"So my granddaughter will be a pureblood."
"Is that why you aren't as angry at me?" Magnus scowled.
"No. It helps, yes. But it doesn't change the fact that you impregnated my daughter before marriage."
"i didn't plan for any of this to happen," Magnus frowned.
"Neither did we. But we accept the circumstances and deal with them," Draco told him.
Claire entered the office and stopped once she saw Magnus. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," she smirked.
She had changed into a more comfortable outfit for her. Magnus noticed her stomach had a slight bump to it. It was crazy to think it was his child inside of her.
Magnus excused himself and joined Claire in her room.
"Have you thought of any names yet?" Magnus asked her.
"Not really. None that I like," she shrugged.
"We'll have to think of something," he smiled.
"We still have close to five months."
Five months. Five months to accept the fact that he'll be a father to a little girl. Five months to try to find their own place with a steady job. Such a short amount of time.
Hermione helped out with a lot of things. She brought Claire shopping every weekend to get a nursery together. For now, the baby would share a room with Claire, until Claire and Magnus got their own place.
Magnus applied for a job at the Ministry, and his dad helped him score one at the top of the Auror department. He had been searching for places close to Claire's parents, but the only places were owned by the Malfoys.