******Blaise*****
Ginny was enjoying her time with Ary, but tonight she promised she'd be free. I was worried about Draco of course, I still imagine his crash in frames. He slammed into the cart at waist level, but somehow ended up in the air. He looked a bit surprised and had been inspecting the syringes and cups. Then he slammed into the linoleum with all the force of gravity. His hemophilia didn't make matters any better. Blocking the blood with a shirt may not have done enough anything.
"He's going to be alright, Blaise." I jumped. Ginny was standing in the doorway, dressed in nighties. She'd stolen Ary.
"You're supposed to be baby free tonight. Did you forget?"
"Hermione fell asleep and I just couldn't help myself. I'm just going to feed her and lay her down." She giggled, "she's just so cute."
"I do admit she's cute, I'm just worried that ours will be a ginger." I admitted. She glared at me, "oh come on. Imagine a half black kid with red hair? People make fun of him. They'll call him carrot top and so will I." She couldn't help laughing.
"Well maybe it would be pretty bad." She offered the bottle to the baby in her arms, "what were you planning tonight?" she asked me.
"Nothing fancy," she kissed Ary's cheek before going to change her nappie and put her down for bed. In the time it took for her to do that I'd turned out the lights and lit every candle I owned, pulled out the scented oils, and arranged a platter on the bed.
"Alright, Ary and Celeste have been properly taken care of and cooed over." I closed the door behind her and wrapped my arms around her.
"Perfect. Your turn." I undressed her slowly and she didn't stop me. She guided my hands along her belly to cup the growing child, before sliding them up and around her back. With a bit of fumbling I unhooked her bra and eased her into a robe. I wasn't going to do anything perverse, not today. My plan was to care for her in the most attentive way I could. I led her to the bed and had her lay on her side. She automatically took to the body sized pillow I'd placed there. I eased one of her feet from beneath her and began working peppermint oil into her feet. She made the softest sound of content while I massaged her heels.
"What color should I paint your nails?" I asked her. She yawned.
"Green." She decided. I nodded and continued to work my way along her calves. When her legs rested limply on my lap I began painting her toenails. She watched me with interest.
"You're doing really well."
"Of course I am." I snorted, "I paint my nails as well." I toed off my socks off and showed her. She grinned.
"You like painting your nails?"
"Yup. Draco sometimes lets me paint his nails, but he's never happy about it and he always messes up my masterpieces by hopping in the shower right afterwards."
"Did you ever think you'd end up dating Draco?" She asked. I nibbled my lip.
"At one point I had a crush on him, but I never thought I'd ever get anywhere with him." I told her honestly.
"When did this happen? How old were you?"
"I was seventeen. It was actually a pretty recent thing, but I got over it when I realized that he was having a kid."
"Did you resent Hermione?" She was sitting up now, so keen on getting answers.
"No, it wasn't her fault she was born female. I was such an arse because I knew I had a lot of problem that would come to the light and I was...grumpy." She snorted at that, "okay I was furious and terrified."
"Did he know?" She continued.
"I think so. He sat me down one day when we were going to share a bed and warned me. He said 'if you do anything freaky I'll break your nose Zabini and then I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey, because it would be a shame for you to walk around with a crooked nose'."
"So have you ever been in love before?" She asked me. Her blue eyes were sparkling with delight.
I didn't want to answer that, because next she'd ask who and maybe when and I wanted to keep the details separate. I didn't want to let her in on my private thoughts simply because they were private.
"Yes, I guess it could be called that."
"With who?" I went back to nibbling my lip, paying so much attention to her pinky toe I could count the barely visible ginger hairs on her toe.
"Blaise!" I silenced the room four times over.
"What?"
"Who did you fall in love with?"
"Why?" I was stalling and she knew it.
"You owe me the truth, Blaise." She pouted at me, arms over her chest in a show of strength.
I sighed, "Draco. He's the only guy I've ever really been...in love with. If that's what you want to call it." She stared at me, mouth open, "please stop looking at me like that!"
"You were in love with Draco and you let him get away?" Should I tell her the truth? Nah. Better not, after all being a coward has worked so well for me so far.
"It made sense, he wasn't interested in men. What was I supposed to do? What if Hermione came up to you and confessed to being madly in love with you? You'd never hurt her, you'd tell her you loved her deeply, but you would also tell her you're not in to her. You wouldn't pretend to be a lesbian just to make her happy."
"I'd try. If I wasn't dating anyone and she told me she was in love with me I'd give it a shot. I'm not a closed minded individual."
"Well...he's not exactly the most open minded human being now is he? He's got archaic notions of family roles and believes in the sanctity of man and female marriages. And he wanted kids...it just wouldn't work, so I let it go."
"Well...of course I want kids too. Mum had seven of us. I've got to beat that record, but I'm hoping to catch a break and get a pair of twins."
I finished the polish on her toes and went to wash my hands. When I returned, I replaced the pillow, enjoying the feeling of her little body curled around my much larger one.
"It's really sad that you didn't get paired with the love of your life." She murmured. I fed her a grape.
"I'm sure you had your eye on someone before all of this. Who was it?"
"Well, Harry liked me, but I actually fancied you. I've got a thing for dark skinned boys, but then you turned out to be an arsehole and messed it all up." I nodded.
"Sorry about that. I was mad at a lot and you and Hermione were the perfect people to take it out on."
"I forgive you and I'm sure she does as well. That's what she does. She forgives people."
We were quiet as she reached over and pressed a cheese cube to my lips.
"What made you fight Theo?" She asked me. I shifted the slightest.
"I don't really know. Even though I wasn't really romantically interested in you I felt like I needed to protect you. What kind of man leads a lady astray and then calls her a slut? He was raised better than that and someone had to teach him that he couldn't speak to you that way."
"I've got six mother's. I don't need another." She said sharply.
"I know, but it's how we guys -as a breed- are. As you can see we were all there. Ronald is your brother so that's to be expected, but on the other hand Draco is such a girl until it comes to one of his girls. That's when there's trouble. I know you can take care of yourself, but I will ways be there to beat a guy bloody no matter what you want." She relaxed on my chest again.
"I've enjoyed this." She admitted, "more than you will ever realize. You've made me wonderfully happy." I banished the platter to the kitchen before sliding into a laying down position.
"Tired?" She nodded. The candles continued to flicker while I covered her in the blanket. I preferred sleeping in boxer shorts without any blanket at all, but today she seemed to want me close so I was forced to allow her spread the cover out over the two of us. Immediately I was hot, but she fell asleep before I could negotiate my way out of this. I sighed heavily and downed a dreamless sleep potion. It was the only way I got to sleep these days anyways.
Soon enough, heat or no heat, my eyes closed and I drifted off into another -no so much restful as oppressive- sleep.
******Ginny******
I woke up absolutely thrilled with life and everything it had to offer. So I slipped out of bed and set to making breakfast. I covered the table in bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, orange juice, and coffee. Once that was done I mixed a single drop of vanilla with each bottle of milk Hermione left in the cooler. I cast a heating charm on the food and went up stairs to find my babies. Hermione was changing Celeste, leaving me to collect Ary. She looked as if she had just finished crying.
"What did you do to my baby?" I asked Hermione. She smirked at me.
"Nothing, she wanted her 'daddy' and you were locked in your room with Blaise." She wiggled her eyebrows at me, "speaking of which...got any details you want to spill?"
"Nope." I giggled, "it was all confidential, but I can tell you he rubbed my feet and fed me grapes. And we...talked." There was poo going all the way up Ary's back, "my goodness munchkin. Why didn't you say something? This has got to be uncomfortable. I worked my way down, getting the poo from the top of her back first.
"She's a month old Ginny, what exactly are you expecting her to say?"
"Help! I'm poo-ey!"
She shook her head at me, a grin on her face, "whatever he told you must have really put you in a good mood." I peeped outside to see he was nowhere to be found, closed, locked, and silence the door and when I was sure he'd been locked out proceeded to tell Hermione everything via whispers. We were sitting on her bed, feeding the babes gossiping like there was no tomorrow.
"Draco said he thought that Blaise was into him, but he didn't want to sound bigoted so he didn't say anything. That could have never worked!"
"Maybe if could have if it'd been true love." I insisted. She smirked at me and began whistling as we stared out at the scenery beyond the window, "what?" Her smirk grew to a smile, but she still didn't say anything. "Hermione Jean Malfoy! What! Happened!" She took her time wiping Cel's mouth before even bothering to mention anything.
"Draco told me he loved me." My jaw dropped,
"Are you serious!" I squealed, the front door slammed, causing Hermione and I to jump.
"Your silencing charms could use work." She chuckled, "do you think he's mad at you for telling me?" I shook my head no.
"You're a part of the accepted group of friends. He expects anything he tells one of us to get around to the other two. Anything he tells me is not a secret, unless he specifically says it is." We'd been over this actually, "he probably isn't mad. He's heavy handed, so he probably didn't mean to slam it." Hermione looked unsure, but shrugged, "I made breakfast, let's go." We sat beside each other, leaving the babies in their little baby rockers, "so how did he say it?" I pressed. She nibbled her bacon.
"I picked Celeste up and she just started to cry. Then he looked at me -eyes wide- and told me he loved me. He'd never looked more sincere about anything in the time I've known him." We are quietly for a bit before the twins thrust us into chaos. Celeste decided now was the time to vomit and what Celeste did Aurora copied. And while newborns never showed their magic those pacifiers did not levitate themselves into their mouths. Hermione expressed her gratitude more than once simply because it seemed that Aurora loved to deliver her weight in poop every twelve hours.
Three hours after they initially started to cry we were banging on the portrait of a lily. The portrait opened to reveal a very grumpy potions professor.
"Is Narcissa in?" Hermione asked. Aurora was screaming her head off.
"Not if you plan to bring those sirens across the threshold."
"Professor, now is not the time for your bitterness!" I insisted, making my way around him, "these babes are about to send me and Hermione to Azkaban." He let Hermione in.
"She beast, you've got visitors." He called over his shoulder, stomping his way toward the sitting room.
"Why thank you Crisco. Come in girls," Narcissa called from the sole bedroom. First off the room looked like something our dark and gloomy professor wouldn't date set foot in. The bed was covered in white laces and silks, but teal accented the walls and other decorations.
"We have no idea what's wrong with them." Hermione admitted, handing over Aurora, "we've tried rocking them and feeding them. They're clean and warm and we simply can't figure out what they want." She inspected them both before sighing.
"Crisco would you come here a moment?" I giggled at the name she'd given him.
"Narcissa that isn't very nice." I told her. She shrugged as if being nice to him were the last thing on her mind. He came rumbling around the corner.
"Oh so I'm actually allowed in today. What's the special occasion- woman what did you do to my chambers?"
"I decorated it. If you had any class you'd know that. Now sit down, I need you to do something and you're the only bipedal creature with an attempt at male anatomy close by." He went red in the face.
"If you think I'm helping you now, you're daft."
"Then we'll simply have to leave them in your care." Narcissa threatened.
"And I'll simply be forced to let them scream themselves into oblivion." He challenged. They were looking at the other with so much rage that I nearly wanted to grab the girls and run. But it was too late. Narcissa's porcelain cheeks filled with blood and she -damn near- threw the children at us.
"I hate you! Get out of here!" She shouted. He stood his ground and cross his arms over his chest.
"No. I don't think I will. I'm bloody sick of you, Narcissa. You're a demanding bitch. It's clear we don't like each other yet you insist on staying here because it's 'improper' to live away from one's husband. Improper my arse. You're afraid of being alone and earning your keep. Well here's your newsflash. I. Am not. Lucius." Hermione and I were backing away, but he waved his wand and the door slammed shut, "stay. I need an incentive not to kill her." He growled out. Hermione and I gulped and held the babes a bit tighter, "as I was saying I was not born into a rich or even well off family. I am dirt poor. As you love to point out a teacher's annual salary at this school could not support your shoe budget. So if you want to buy shit, work for it. Neither of us -at this moment- can afford for you to be a housewife or whatever you are at this moment, because when school ends we are homeless. Got that? The ring that fur ball picked out...you know? The one you hate so much was literally paid for with all of the money I had and you spend every Knut I come into contact with!" When he finished raging his hair was wild and his eyes burned with a dark and evil kind of fire. She took a step away from him.
"I didn't ask for this-,"
"I actually did what I was supposed to do. I risked my neck time and time again in that bloody war to ensure that that no nosed mother fucker died. I'm the one who doesn't deserve this. They saddled you with me because they knew you would hate it, but what the bloody fuck about Severus? Let's not take into account how this would be a bloody punishment for him as well. I hoped you'd run off to Lucius so I could report you and live my life in solidarity...alas you're still here."
"Lucius would have never raised his voice at me."
He twitched. His hands mused his hair in a way that was nearly dangerous and then the words tore from his throat so loudly my ears hurt.
"I AM NOT LUCIUS! DO YOU HEAR ME WOMAN!" His face was entirely red now and Narcissa backed up against the bed side table. Her was was white as a sheet. He was shaking her now and Hermione didn't think. She thrust her child into my arms and shoved the professor back.
Just for a visual. My dear cub sized friend was barely a meter and a half tall. She'd lost most of her weight as well leaving her to use sheer strength against the potions professor. Regardless of the fact that he couldn't be terribly strong he was still stronger than her. When she shoved against him he lifted her flailing form and literally tossed the girl up and over his shoulder. Luckily enough he still had enough clarity of mind to aim for the bed and not the dresser. He back away from Narcissa.
"I want the lot of you out of here. You've got three days to find somewhere else to live and support yourself." He snapped, then with a flourish of his cloak he was out.
"Alright Hermione? Alright Narcissa?"
"I'm fine." Hermione said first.
"Grand." Narcissa said shakily. I realized she was standing in a puddle of water.
"Um."
"I know." She told me quickly, "it's alright. I had Draco at eight months as well. It's fine." She took a deep breath before easing out of her corner, "no one is to tell Crisco that I am in labor. Am I understood? I will have someone owl you when he or she is here." We both nodded, "perfect. Now I'm aware this is terribly scandalous, but I'm sure the two of you can keep a secret. Can you send this letter to Lucius?" Hermione took it.
"Will do."
The woman managed to glide even with an eight month belly. She made her way to the floo and announced her destination quietly. She was gone before Hermione or I could even decide what we felt about any of this. Then she said it.
"Damn."
********And boom goes the cannon! I love rants, you'll have to excuse me. I know there's tons of drama with these people, but I promise that everyone (except Melody/Mr. Zabini) gets a happy ending. Also I am trying to reach 50 reviews. If anyone could help me out with that little goal that'd be great. If I get 50 I'll be 97% more likely to upload another chapter tonight. Alright much love buh-bye*******