A/N: Happy birthday, Ariella! For anyone that's curious, Ariella's birthday is February 1st. :] This is another chapter that I had fun writing. I can't say too much about it, but I hope everyone likes it! :]

Ariella awoke a little extra chipper on this morning. Not only did she have her first appointment with her midwife, but it was also her birthday. She decided to wear the green dress she'd worn to meet Draco's parents with black ballet flats and the dragon brooch Draco had given her for Christmas. Once she was satisfied with her outfit, she made her way out to the common room. When she got out there and Draco wasn't there yet, she decided to make a quick entry in her diary.

…...

Dear Diary,

Happy Birthday to me! I'm not sure why I'm in such a good mood this morning. I thought today would be hard to get through knowing Mum, Dad, and Starla wouldn't be here. That's not to say that I don't miss them. I do. Now more than ever I find myself thinking about them and wishing they could've met Draco and eventually our twins. I think Mum would've loved being a grandma... Anyway, I think the reason today isn't so hard is because of all of the friends and family I have here with me. It's strange to think of just how many people here truly love and care about me. I've finally realized that Ron was right. I am lucky.

…...

"Ariella?"

Ariella looked up from her diary to see who had called her name. Naturally, it was Draco, who was now standing a few feet from where she sat. He looked comfortable in his black trousers, loafers, and his Weasley sweater. Smiling up at him, she stuffed her diary back into her bag. "Good morning, Draco."

He returned her smile with a nod. "Good morning," he then eyed her outfit carefully, "Any reason why you're wearing that dress? I thought you hated it?"

She shrugged. "I felt like wearing something special today. And I don't hate it," she stood up and slunk over to him, "I guess knowing how much you like this dress on me has influenced the way I feel about it."

Giving her a sly grin, he kissed her and ran his hands over her hips. "Is it my fault that you look stunning in just about everything?" Seeing her cheeks turn pink at his compliment made him smile. "Come on. I'm starving."

They left the common room and the dungeons together, hand in hand. Once they had reached the top of the stairs, Ron rushed over to them with Harry and Hermione in tow.

Ron gave Draco and friendly nod before smiling down at Ariella. "Happy Birthday, Ariella," he then handed her a brown paper bag with hand-drawn pink polka-dots.

Surprised, she took the bag and carefully unrolled the top to open it. Inside were four chocolate frogs, two licorice wands, a sugar quill, and a cauldron cake. Smiling brightly, she gave her cousin a bear hug. "Oh, Ron. Thank you! You remembered all of my favourites."

"Of course," when she finally pulled away, he scratched the back of his head nervously, "Don't suppose I could have those chocolate frog cards?"

Hermione gave him a look of disbelief, but Ariella laughed and nodded, "They're all yours."

Draco had been silent up until this point, at which he nudged Ariella with his elbow. "Today's your birthday?"

She bit her bottom lip, "Er—yeah. It is."

Sensing the awkward tension, the Golden Trio bid them a farewell before entering the Great Hall for breakfast. However, instead of responding to Ariella, Draco simply sighed, shook his head, and sauntered into the Great Hall, while Ariella followed.

Once they took their seats opposite of each other, she patted his hand tenderly. "Hey, Draco? Don't beat yourself up over this. It's really not that big of a deal."

Before he could respond, the morning's owl post arrived. A brown barn owl flew over to them and dropped a parcel in front of Ariella. When she opened it, she found homemade brownies and a note that said:

Happy birthday, Ella! We hope you are feeling well and want you to know that we love you very much. -Love, Aunt Molly and Uncle Arthur

Ariella smiled at her present, but her smile faded once she saw the irritated look on Draco's face. Once again, she patted his hand, "Honestly, Draco. This is the first birthday since we've been together. I'm not upset if you forgot."

He pulled his hand away and scowled. "Well, I am. I'm your husband. I should remember my own wife's birthday."

"Draco, it's not that big of a deal."

"When's my birthday?" he spat back.

She looked around nervously before deciding to focus on the table. "June 5th."

"Exactly. If you can remember mine, I should remember yours," with that, he grabbed an apple, stood up from the table and marched out of the Great Hall.

Ariella tried to call out to him, but he ignored her. Noticing the frown that was currently fixed to her face, Adrian scooted down to sit beside her. "What's wrong?"

She sighed sadly. "Draco forgot my birthday."

Adrian winced. "Ouch. That's never good."

She laid her head down in frustration. "It's not a big deal!"

"Whatever you say, Ariella. Whatever you say."

That afternoon, Ariella made her way to the hospital wing to meet with her midwife. She thanked Madam Pomfrey again for making the arrangements so she wouldn't have to leave school grounds. Madam Pomfrey simply waved away her thanks before retreating to her office, leaving Ariella alone.

As she sat down on one of the beds closest to the door, she sighed sadly. Draco had been avoiding her since breakfast. At first, she thought giving him his space would be for the best, but now

she was alone for an appointment they both had been looking forward to. When the door opened, she perked up, hoping it would be him, but instead it was a young witch in powder blue robes. The witch had fair skin, blue eyes, and her sleek brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

The witch came over to sit beside Ariella's bed and smiled cheerfully. "Good afternoon. You must be Ariella," she shook Ariella's hand, "My name is Elizabeth. I'll be your midwife."

Ariella forced a small smile, "Nice to meet you." She wanted to be excited, but she couldn't help the guilty feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Draco should be there with her, but it was too late.

Elizabeth picked up on her less than positive mood. "Are you alright, dear?"

Ariella nodded, trying to make her smile a little happier. "I'm fine. It must be hormones."

Elizabeth nodded. "The joys of pregnancy," she joked, "Now, if you could lie down so I can measure your abdomen."

Ariella complied and the midwife began feeling and lightly pressing on her abdomen just as Healer Sanitas had done at St. Mungo's. She'd only pressed a few times when the hospital wing doors creaked open. Elizabeth stopped and turned to address the intruder, "I'm sorry, but this is private. If you need to see Madam Pomfrey, I believe she's in her office."

Ariella craned her neck to see around Elizabeth and gasped when she saw the blonde standing just inside the door. "Draco," Elizabeth turned her attention to Ariella, "Please, Elizabeth. He's supposed to be here. He's the father."

The midwife nodded, "Very well. You're welcome to take the chair beside her."

As Elizabeth continued her examination, Draco came over to sit down and took Ariella's hand into his own. "Sorry," he whispered.

She smiled up at him, "It's okay. I'm just glad you came."

Elizabeth finally stopped her measuring, smiling and patting Ariella's free hand. "You may sit up for a moment."

"Well?" Draco asked, sounding slightly impatient.

"Your twins are growing perfectly. They're just the right size for being twenty weeks. If you'll excuse me, I need to see Madam Pomfrey about a piece of equipment for the next check. Ariella, would you go ahead and pull up your dress to expose your stomach? You can cover up with the bedsheets until I return." Elizabeth then turned and left for Madam Pomfrey's office.

Now that they were alone, Draco leaned over to kiss Ariella's forehead. "I'm sorry I was late. I've been busy all morning and wasn't paying attention to the time."

She shook her head, smiling. "Don't worry. Better late than never. By the way, about earlier-"

"Not now, Ariella," he sighed, sounding irritated.

She frowned, but decided not to push it any further. Instead, she pulled up her dress as Elizabeth had asked and laid back down, using the sheet to cover her from her waist to her ankles. Ariella opened her mouth to speak to Draco again, but shut it once she heard Elizabeth return.

The midwife came back to Ariella's bed, this time with a small projection screen much like the one the had seen at St. Mungo's. "Now I'll use this to look at the babies. Before I do though, I need to ask if you'd like to know the sexes?"

Ariella and Draco looked at each other at the same time. "Ariella, that's up to you. I don't care either way."

Ariella nodded and looked back to Elizabeth. "I'd like to keep it a surprise."

Elizabeth nodded, turned the screen away from the couple, and started waving her wand over Ariella's stomach. She watched the screen, nodding and humming every so often, before finally smiling over at the couple. "They appear to be growing healthily. Would you like to see them? I can show you without revealing the sexes." Ariella and Draco nodded excitedly. Elizabeth moved her wand once more before turning the screen around to face them. What they saw on the screen looked completely different from what they had seen at St. Mungo's. The twins looked more human-like. They could make out their little faces and see their little arms. Elizabeth made sure to only show them from the waist up, as to not spoil the surprise.

Ariella felt her eyes start to water and her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. "Oh, Draco. They're beautiful." Draco stared quietly at the screen, his amazement obvious by his smile and wide eyes.

After the appointment had ended, Ariella and Draco began to make their way down to the Great Hall for lunch, discussing the twins the entire way.

"Ariella? How exactly are we going to name them without know what we're having?"

She thought for a moment. "How about this: we both can come up with a boy name and a girl name. Then once their born, we can each name one twin."

"But, what if the names we pick don't match?"

Ariella rolled her eyes. "They don't have to match. All that matters is that we like the names and that they suit them."

"I suppose," Draco groaned loudly, "How in Merlin's name am I going to come up with two names?"

She giggled at him. "We have plenty of time to decide on names. Don't worry so much." When the two of them finally reached the entrance hall, Ariella took hold of Draco's hand to stop him just outside the Great Hall. "Draco, can we please talk about this morning?"

Once again, he became irritated. "What's there to talk about? I forgot an important date that I should've remembered. You keep saying it's not a big deal, but it is! I know it is."

"But Draco-" Ariella started, but was interrupted by Draco's exasperated sigh as he pulled out of her grasp and stormed outside. Now she was the irritated one, "Oh no. We're not doing this again!" and she followed him as quickly as she could.

He finally stopped by a tree near the edge of the lake. When he heard her footsteps come up behind him, he turned, looking surprised to see her.

She narrowed her eyes and started jabbing his chest with her pointer finger, "How dare you? Not only was today my birthday, but it was also the day we got to see out twins again. I was so happy when I woke up this morning, but thanks to you, I've been miserable! I don't care that you forgot my birthday! All I wanted was to spend the day with you and instead I've spent most of the day alone! I-"

Draco held his hand over her mouth, smirking. "Are you done? I'd really like to give you your present." He brought his hand down from her mouth and pulled out a long box covered in black felt.

She stared down at the box, confused. "My what?"

"Happy birthday, Ariella," he said with a smile as he opened the box to reveal a bracelet.

The bracelet had radiant cut emeralds surrounded by diamond halos all set in white gold. Ariella's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness! Draco, it's gorgeous. How on earth did you manage to get this so soon?" When she looked up at him, he was smirking. Realization hit her, "You never forgot my birthday, did you?" He shook his head, still smirking. She smack his arm, playfully, "You arse! Do you realize the turmoil you put me through?"

Now he had to laugh as he pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry, love. I was just going to surprise you at breakfast, but when Ron gave you his present, I got the idea to play a little game with you," he pulled back and pouted down at her, "Will you forgive me?"

She rolled her eyes, smirking. "I will this time. Next time I might just kill you." They both laughed before closing in for a gentle kiss. Draco then took the bracelet from the box and clasped it around her wrist. Ariella's smile almost matched how bright the gemstones shone. "It really is beautiful, Draco. Thank you. I love it and I love you."

He smiled as her green eyes sparkled up at him. "I love you too."