Chapter Nine

Harry was sitting outside on the back porch, sitting on one of the many simple rocking chairs littering the porch. A glass of ice tea rested in his hand as he slowly rocked back and forth, the old wood making soft creaking sounds with each movement. The others were all inside, Alice with the baby, Edward and Ron talking about sports, and Hermione going to search through her library of books for the information Harry and Edward were looking for. So far, she hadn't reported anything of interest, but it only had been a few hours since they had arrived.

The back screen door opened and Alice appeared, carrying baby Penelope on her hip. The baby was cooing softly and gnawing on a teething ring with her only two teeth. She reached out for Harry when she saw him, gurgling happily as she watched him with bright green eyes.

"I think she likes you," Alice smiled, bouncing the baby gently on her hip as she moved over to sit in the rocking chair beside Harry. Penelope began to whine and grasp her tiny hands at Harry, bouncing in Alice's arms as if begging him to take her.

"I think you're right," Harry laughed, reaching out and taking the baby in his arms. The baby cooed and continued gnawing at on her ring, her eyes closed as she rested her head against his chest.

"You seem to be good with kids," Alice smiled, looking out over the British countryside and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, "I think… I am with Rosalie when it comes to children."

"Rosalie?" Harry asked, looking over at her as he gently stroked Penelope's short, light brown hair.

Alice smiled, a small giggle slipping from her lips, "Oh, I forgot; you haven't meet all of our family yet. She is mine and Edward's sister- well, not really, but, theoretically she is- but she always said that if she had had a choice of staying human or turning into… one of us… she said she would have stayed human."

"Edward told me about her; if she hadn't been turned, she would have died."

"Yes…" Alice sighed softly and continued looking out at mountains, "but she always resented it. She wanted to become a mother one day and, now that she's a vampire, she won't ever be able to." Harry didn't say anything, just mulled over her words and continued to stroke the baby's hair. Alice continued after a while, "I think that I would like to have a son or daughter, but I want to live a couple hundred more years, you know? Get a little more mature and live my younger years to the fullest before I try to get into parenthood." She giggled at her little joke, the sound like melodic bells.

"I've never thought about having children," Harry mumbled, kissing the top of Penelope's head, who cooed in response, "before I defeated Voldermort, I had never expected to live this long. I'd just been floating through life until I got that scholarship and came here. Then Edward found me…"

Alice smiled as she saw the far off look in his eyes, "Edward told me about how you two met; it seems to me like it was destiny." She reached over and lightly rested her hand on his forearm, "Thank you, Harry… you don't know how terrible Edward was feeling after the whole ordeal with Bella. You brought his spark back and our family cannot thank you enough for that." Harry smiled, nodding as a feeling of her gratitude washed over him, but he was interrupted from saying anything else by a voice calling out from inside.

"Harry," Hermione called from the den, "do you know where Penelope is? Its time to feed her."

"Coming," Harry called back, smiling apologetically to Alice before getting up and taking the baby inside. Hermione was sitting on the couch now, undoing the buttons of her blouse when Harry entered.

Hermione smiled as she took Penelope from Harry and moved her bra away from her breast, "Hey, cutie, I bet you're starving, aren't you?" She gently took the teething ring from her daughter and replaced it with her nipple. Her eyes closed as Penelope began to suckle, drinking her mother's milk with gusto, "I'm always sore afterwards, but I wouldn't give anything in the world for the feeling of being so close to her."

"I've heard that it's a very bonding procedure," Edward said, appearing in the doorway with Ron.

Ron was blushing at the sight of Hermione's breast, especially when his friends were around, "Honey, do you have to do… that in front of everyone?"

Hermione's eyes flared open and glared at Ron, who took a step back in shock to put Edward between them, "Penelope is hungry and there is nothing sexual or wrong about a mother breast feeding her daughter. Do you have a problem with that?"

Ron's eyes widened and he trembled, "N-no, honey, you go r-right ahead." Edward exchanged glances with Alice, who was suppressing a giggle, and then Harry, who was really already use to Hermione and Ron's antics.

Harry returned his lover's gaze and smiled before looking back at Hermione, "So, have you found out anything, Hermione?"

Hermione's eyes immediately turned from hostile to prideful, "Yes, I did actually. I found a book about vampirism and there was a vampire back in the 17th century that had the same power as you. His name was Count Wilhelm in the England, and he started a academy for young vampires that were recently turned. He was killed when the Catholic Church found out about his academy and burned the whole building and all the vampires they caught in the square."

"Carlisle told us that many vampires have been murdered that way, but he never told us about any academies for vampires," Edward thought out loud, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I also found a foot note of Wilhelm in another book that some of his work was preserved and is owned by his descendants in England. We actually know them, but you're not going to like it, Harry…" Hermione squirmed slightly, shifting the baby to a more comfortable position.

Harry's eyes narrowed slightly, "Who is it, Hermione?" He had a bad feeling about this…

Hermione sighed and looked at him with a sad eye, "The Malfoy family has it, Harry…" Harry's eyes widened and a groan escaped his lips as he realized the implications of what she was saying.

Edward looked at Harry, concerned, then turned to Hermione and read her mind. "Ah," he mumbled, seeing why this was a problem now, "I think you've mentioned Draco Malfoy before, but with the right… persuasion, we can get what we need easily enough."

Hermione scoffed, shaking her head so that her bushy hair swished back and forth like waves around her head, "Yeah, right, the Malfoy family doesn't succumb to shows of power. They are a old, fool hardy family that have both vast fortunes and their fingers in all the political powers. They are a force to be reckoned with, even for a family of vampires."

Edward smirked, "You don't understand the power of our family, then. We're even older and stronger than any mortal family."

Harry nodded, seeing a ray of hope, "He's right, Hermione, they are a immortal family with a lot of influence; they may just have the Malfoy's licked in that department." Hermione still looked skeptical but let it go, returning her attention back to Penelope as the baby released her breast and began to cry. Moving her blouse to cover herself, Hermione lifted the wailing baby to her shoulder, cooing to it as she began to pat the babe's back. With a small, cute burp, the baby girl stopped wailing and settled into the curve of her mother's neck, suckling her thumb as she closed her eyes to go to sleep.

Alice, who had been sitting on the arm of the chair Edward was sitting in, smiled, her eyes sparkling, "She's so cute, Hermione. You and Ron have been really gifted with such a wonderful baby."

Ron blushed, his ears turning a bright red as he muttered a thank you, and then made a excuse to escape the room to go get everyone a drink. Hermione shared a glance with Alice, then both girls giggled. "Thank you, Alice, she really is such an angel," Hermione whispered, gently rubbing her daughter's back, "I think I'll go and put her to bed; I'll be back." She carefully got up and disappeared out of the room, leaving the vampire family alone in the den.

Harry turned to Edward and Alice, a brooding air about him, "Guys, I don't like this; Draco and I haven't been on good terms since we parted ways…"

"We don't have to tell them we are there, Harry," Alice offered, pausing as a vision filled her senses. The others, recognizing the signs, waited patiently as a potential future passed before her eyes. With a sigh, Alice returned to herself, "Never mind, that won't work. They have some very… elaborate defenses around their home. We wont be able to sneak on their perimeter without alerting them."

Edward nodded, haven seen the vision through her mind, "We will just have to face them. Maybe if you didn't come, Harry…" He forced the words out of his mouth, not liking them because he didn't like being parted from Harry at all.

"I understand, Edward," Harry reached out and took his partner's hand, "I understand." He lightly squeezed his hand and Edward smiled, nodding.

Alice nodded as well, and lightly rested her hand on Edward's shoulder, "Lets do it