A/N: Just a quick reminder that I posted a chapter on an off day (& rather late), so if you haven't read about the Halloween celebration, pop back to chapter 6 before continuing here. Thanks! :)


"I don't know if I can do this."

"Of course you can." Adrian Pucey paused halfway up the orphanage's front walk and turned to look at his wife. "We've done this plenty of times before."

"Yes, but…this time is different." Daphne was staring at the building with extreme trepidation, and she looked as if one more step might make her sick.

"Daph, what's going on?" Adrian faced his wife fully, clasping her hands in his. "What's wrong?" Daphne's lower lip trembled.

"What if they don't like us?" she all but whispered.

"Oh, sweetheart…" A few traitorous tears slipped down Daphne's cheeks, and Adrian released her hands to brush the droplets gently away with his fingers. Keeping his hands on her face, he continued, "No one wants to be a mum more than you do – no one. You have nothing to worry about – the children will love you."

"But what if-"

"No, Daphne. No doubts. We've already been approved, all the paperwork has gone through – we're halfway to our dream, love. We're going to meet these children, get to know them, and though it might take some time, we'll find the right match for us. I know we will." Adrian leaned forward and kissed his wife softly, then released her face and took her hand in his once more. Daphne still looked a little unsure, but she squeezed her husband's hand and recommenced the walk up the short drive. Adrian rang the bell, and it wasn't long before a smiling blonde answered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Pucey! Do come in."

"Please, Grace, as we've told you before, no need for the formalities," Daphne answered warmly. "We're just Daphne and Adrian." She'd had many lovely conversations with Grace, who worked at the orphanage, over the course of their visits there.

"My apologies," Grace said cheerily. "I'm sure you'll have to remind me at least once more. Come, I'll bring you to the office." She escorted the couple to the first room on the right, the door of which was open, and knocked on the frame to get the occupant's attention.

"The Puceys are here, Jessica!" Grace announced.

"Ah yes, please come in!" Adrian and Daphne stepped into the office, a room they'd come to know quite well, and greeted the woman behind the desk. Jessica Day, the orphanage director, was roughly ten years their senior and a warm, welcoming individual – she'd made them feel right at home on their very first trip to the orphanage, and that feeling had been just as strong with each subsequent visit. Her dark hair was pulled back into a smart ponytail, and a pair of glasses sat perched on her nose.

"Welcome back," Jessica said with a smile as her visitors took seats. "How are you feeling today?"

"Extremely nervous," Daphne admitted. Adrian squeezed her hand again.

"That's completely understandable, given what you're doing," Jessica said. "But you have nothing to worry about, Daphne – you're ready for this."

"Told you so," Adrian said quietly. Daphne rolled her eyes but smiled all the same.

"As we've already established, your paperwork has all been completed and approved," Jessica continued as she straightened the file containing the Puceys' application and associated materials. "All that's left is to make your connection. You declined to specify any preference with regards to age, sex, race, et cetera, which means you have that many more chances to find your perfect match. Now, before we begin, do you have any questions?" Daphne and Adrian both answered in the negative, so Jessica said, "Very well, then. If you'll follow me, I think it's time you met the children."

As the Puceys had seen before on previous visits, the orphanage was a bright, cheery place, quite the opposite of the dreary stereotypes associated with such an establishment. It was homey and clean, and though there was nothing exceptionally extravagant, the children who lived there wanted for nothing thanks to generous donations from the orphanage's patrons. Harry Potter himself had given a great deal to the orphanage, as he firmly believed that every child deserved a chance at a good life, a family, and unconditional love. He, of course, had had a miserable childhood thanks to the Dursleys, and he knew of too many others who'd had it even worse – Remus Lupin, who had never been fully accepted until he'd met the Marauders at Hogwarts; Severus Snape, who'd had an abusive father; and Voldemort himself, who'd never known what real love was like. So many things could've been different if even one of those individuals had known love, and Harry wanted to do his part to make sure that these children did too. Most of the children in the orphanage also came from less than ideal situations – parents killed or captured during or in the aftermath of the Second War, abandonment due to their magical (or Squib) status, etc. – and those who ran the orphanage were determined to make the children's lives better in any way they could.

There were roughly twenty children at the orphanage, and as it was a nice day, all except the very youngest were outside playing. The sprawling backyard featured plenty of things to keep young children occupied, including a play structure, sandbox, swing set, and a large climbing tree. Two boys were kicking a football back and forth, and a little girl squealed happily as she chased a butterfly. Though nervous, Daphne felt her heart melt a little at the sight of the children, and she hoped with all her heart that one of them might be their perfect match.

"That's Annabelle," Jessica said, bringing Daphne out of her thoughts. "The butterflies have always been her favorite. Jack and Riley are playing football, and that's Polly in the tree." Daphne looked and saw a girl she'd missed before, tucked between the climbing tree's branches with what looked like a book in her hands and the end of a long braid twirled around her fingers. Jessica continued to point out the children as the three adults made a circuit of the lawn, sharing little tidbits about each child as she did so.

"And them?" Adrian asked. He nodded towards a picnic table, where sat two children whom Daphne had previously missed. They were sharing a picture book.

"Ah, yes," Jessica said. "That's Henry and Elliana – Ellie, we call her. They're twins – our only set of siblings." As they moved closer to that part of the yard, Adrian and Daphne could see that the two children did look very much alike, with the same dark blond hair and similar facial features.

"He shoots…he scores!" One of the boys playing football – Jack, Daphne thought – jumped up and down in excitement as the ball crossed what must've been the goal line, his friend joining his victory celebration as well just for the fun of it. Daphne smiled at the boys' exuberance, and Adrian paused to retrieve the ball and kick it back.

"Thank you, mister!" one of the boys called as they both rushed back to their game.

"They're sweet," Daphne said. Jessica smiled.

"They all are. Feel free to spend some time with them, get to know them a little."

And so while Jessica headed back inside for a bit to take care of some business, Adrian and Daphne stayed outside and watched the children play. At first, they were a bit unsure of what to do, not wanting the children to think them intruding, but then a little girl came up and boldly asked Adrian if he'd like to see her sandcastle, and thus the ice was broken. The two adults made circuits of the yard once more, this time stopping to talk to some of the children. Adrian obligingly kicked the football with the two eager boys for a few minutes, and Daphne talked to Polly, the girl in the tree, about the book she was reading, which Daphne herself had never read. The story sounded fascinating, and Daphne warmly thanked Polly for sharing before letting her return to her reading. Daphne then made her way to the picnic table.

"Hello," she said quietly so as not to startle the twins. "What are you reading?" The twins looked up in surprise, having not expected Daphne's arrival, and Daphne saw that their eyes were a bright shade of light blue. The little boy – Henry – held up the book to show her, and Daphne smiled when she saw the cover.

"Oh, Dewey the Dragon!" she exclaimed. "This was one of my favorite books when I was your age!" She paused to look at the children again. Neither of them had yet spoken – Daphne suspected they were a little shy – but they both looked at least mildly intrigued by her declaration.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" Daphne asked. Ellie nodded once, her curly ponytail bouncing, and Henry said, "Yes, please" in a soft voice. He carefully held out the book, clutched tightly in both chubby hands, and Daphne accepted it.

"Wonderful," Daphne said. "Thank you." She sat on the bench next to Henry, and making sure both children could see the pictures, she began to read.

"Once upon a time, high up in the mountains, there lived a dragon named Dewey…"

A little while later, Adrian and Daphne had finished their circuit of the yard, and Jessica had returned.

"How'd it go?" Jessica asked, smiling warmly at her guests.

"It went well, I think," Adrian said. "The children are absolutely lovely."

"They are," Daphne agreed. "I had a wonderful time."

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Jessica said. "Perhaps we might schedule a second visit, then? Multiple visits are encouraged to make sure we get a good fit."

"I'd like that very much, thank you," Daphne agreed, and she and Adrian followed Jessica back to her office, hearing echoes of Grace and a few of the other staff members calling the children inside for tea. Once at her desk, Jessica consulted her calendar.

"How does next Wednesday sound?" she asked. "In the morning, perhaps – the children will be in lessons for a bit, but you're more than welcome to watch." The couple agreed that Wednesday would work, and Jessica penciled them in.

"How did you feel when you were with the children?" she asked then. "Did you feel that you made any connections?" Adrian smiled and looked at his wife, remembering a particular moment he'd looked up and seen her from across the yard.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, I think we did."


"So, how'd it go?" Draco asked as Adrian passed him a glass of wine. It was Friday night, two days after Adrian and Daphne's second visit with the children, and the Slytherin quintet was enjoying one of its rare group dinners, this time at Theo's place.

"They both went really well," Adrian replied, settling into his seat on the couch. He handed Daphne her drink and took a sip from his own. "Our third visit is in less than two weeks."

"Third visit?" Theo inquired. "Does that mean you've found the one, then?"

"Not one," Daphne said, smiling. "Two." Theo nearly choked on his drink; Draco, to his credit, managed to keep himself in check save for his raised eyebrows.

"Two?" the blond asked. "That's a bit unexpected."

"They're twins," Daphne explained. "A boy and a girl, not quite five years old. The children are all so sweet, but…I just really feel it with these two, you know?" Draco nodded understandingly. Of course, he didn't have that knowledge when it came to a child, but he knew what a 'right' relationship felt like, whether it was his romance with Hermione or his protective nature with Posey.

"Well in that case, my sincerest congratulations," he said, raising his glass in a toast, which Astoria and Theo quickly copied. "Although I must say, you're going to be quite busy in that case!"

"It's no matter," Adrian said. "You don't find that sort of bond with just anyone, as I'm sure you know. We want these two children in our lives, if they'll have us."

"Of course they will," Astoria said soothingly. "Daphne told me how much that little boy brightened when she volunteered to read to him – if he and his sister haven't warmed up to you as much as you've warmed to them, then I'm a Hufflepuff."

"Tori, need I remind you that you're the most Hufflepuff of any of us?" Theo joked. Astoria stuck her tongue out at him.

"Cute," Theo said, reciprocating the action and making Astoria laugh. Being serious again, he added, "But even if Tori is a wannabe Hufflepuff, I agree with her – kids are impressionable, and it sounds like you've made a great impression."

"What's their story?" Draco asked, casually swirling the wine in his glass before taking another sip. In true Daphne fashion, the vintage was excellent as usual. "Since you've only just told us about them, we obviously don't know much."

"It's not a very good one, I'm afraid," Adrian said with a frown. "Their parents were part of a Snatcher gang, one of the ones that went rogue and continued after the war. The mother died shortly after giving birth – given the typical Snatcher conditions, I'm surprised the children survived – and the father gave them up when his gang was caught just outside of Cornwall not long after. Didn't want anything to do with them."

"It sounds like they're better off without him," Theo said, his face a dark scowl. They all knew why he'd reacted that way – Theo's own father had been terrible, absent more often than not and borderline abusive otherwise, and as his mother had died when Theo was very young, he'd been given precious little affection as a child. He wholeheartedly supported his friends' decision to adopt simply because it meant giving a child a loving home. If Theo wasn't so busy with work all the time, he might seriously consider adoption as well.

"Sad, but true," Daphne agreed. "They're absolutely darling, and I just want to give them everything they deserve."

"You will, Daph," Draco said confidently. "You've been waiting for this for years."

"I just hope the last visit goes well," Daphne replied. Their third visit would be with Henry and Ellie alone, and if it turned out positive, the twins would have a new home. If not, they could very well be back to square one.

"I'm sure it will," Astoria reassured her sister. She reached over and squeezed Daphne's hand. "And when it does, they'll be the luckiest children in all of Britain."


If Daphne had been apprehensive before their first visit with the children, she was a nervous wreck on the morning of their third. What if the visit went badly? What if Henry and Ellie didn't want to come home with them? The thought was almost painful, but Daphne couldn't help but think it – after all, she and Adrian had had good experiences with the twins in a setting they knew, but they hadn't yet broached the subject of adoption.

"Everything will be fine," Adrian reassured her as they approached the orphanage, although secretly he was just as nervous. "Just be yourself, Daph." He gave his wife an encouraging hug, and the two strode up to the front door. Grace greeted them in her usual chipper manner and led them to Jessica's office. Jessica then went to fetch the twins.

"Hello, there," Daphne said warmly as Jessica entered the room with the children in tow. "How are you today?"

"Good," the twins replied. They were still rather shy and talked but quietly, but at least they were no longer afraid to speak around the Puceys, who took it as an encouraging sign.

"We're going to do something special today," Daphne continued, crouching down to their level. "Would you like that?"

"What's that?" Ellie asked. Daphne smiled.

"Whatever you'd like it to be. What would you like to do today?"

The twins didn't pick anything too extraordinary – they wanted to look at picture books and then paint pictures of their own – but that was alright. Daphne and Adrian gladly joined in, and though it was a quiet afternoon, it seemed like the children had fun. Once they'd exhausted the twins' requests for the day, they all returned to the office. Daphne took a deep breath. It was time to ask what could very well be the most important question of her life.

"Henry," she began, "Ellie…we have something we want to ask you. Would you…would you like to come home with us?"

"To visit?" Henry asked. Daphne swallowed heavily and shook her head.

"No, Henry. To stay." She swallowed again, fighting tears. "We want you to come live with us – we want us to be a family. Would you…would you like that?"

"Family?" Ellie asked, her big blue eyes wide. Daphne nodded.

"Family." The twins looked speechless for a moment before Henry focused his gaze on Daphne.

"You want to be our family?" he repeated.

"We do," Adrian said from his position beside his wife. "Very much." Henry's answer was so quiet they almost didn't catch it, but his words brought tears of joy to both their eyes:

"Ok. We can be a family."

Ellie added a shy agreement of her own, and Daphne let her tears spill over. She clasped hands with Adrian, who was crying as well, and they both reached for the hands of the twins. After so many years of frustration and heartbreak, their dream of becoming parents had finally come true.


A/N: Awww, yay - Daphne & Adrian got their happy ending! More happy endings to come. :)

Thanks to all of you for your support of my story! It means a lot.

JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)