EPILOGUE:

SIX YEARS LATER

Hermione settled back into Narcissa's sofa and smiled, enjoying the gossip session with some of her favorite witches. Ginny was seated next to her with baby Albus dozing on her shoulder while she rubbed gentle circles on his back. He was a perfect miniature of Harry and James except it appeared that he'd have the same dark auburn hair as his sister. Gabrielle was lounging across from Hermione with her feet unceremoniously propped up on a pillow on the small table in front of the sofa looking uncomfortable. She had been the last of them to arrive and Narcissa had taken one look at the poor girl's swollen ankles she'd insisted that she sit down and elevate her feet.

"My feet swelled terribly with Scorpius but not with Draco. I'm not sure what the difference was." She said sympathetically as she arranged the pillow and fussed about for a moment. "Could be that I was twenty years older…" She said with a wry smile.

"It iz ze same for me with zis one. I had none with Sophie, but with heem…" Gabrielle gestured to her huge stomach. "I 'aven't seen ze bones in my ankles in a month."

"How much longer is it, I can't remember…?" Narcissa asked the younger witch.

"Only anozzer two or three weeks." Gabrielle answered with an expression that clearly spoke of how ready she was for those weeks to pass.

"Oh, I just can't wait for another grandbaby!" Molly piped up cheerfully. "They make it worth having given birth to my seven heathens."

"Mum!" Ginny admonished in a shocked tone. Molly waved her away and turned to talk to Andromeda who was seated on her other side.

Hermione watched them for a few quiet moments, pondering over the last decade that had brought them all together. Here were mothers, grandmothers, wives, widows… It had been difficult for a long time, during that decade, but by the grace of god they had all come out the other side better for it. Hermione was pulled from her thoughts by a ruckus in the front room. The assembled witches broke off their conversations and turned expectantly to the hallway where the sounds grew louder until a veritable stampede of children rushed into the room, all chattering loudly. Following closely behind, three men entered the room looking much less enthusiastic than the children.

"Well how was it then, dears?" Molly asked as the initial burst of noise quieted slightly as the children finished their greetings to their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts.

"Good!" "Brilliant!" Harry and Ron answered much too quickly and with over bright smiles that resulted in narrowed eyes across the room.

Hermione smirked when Draco cast his eyes heavenward and muttered, "Gryffindors."

A chorus of "What happened?" and "What did you do?" caused the false smiles to drop off their faces. Draco stepped fully into the room, rolling his eyes and disentangling the fingers of a small blond girl from his hair. "Well, between the keeper for the Chudley Cannons and the Idiot Who Won't Change His Glasses or Wear a Hat, we were surrounded by adoring fans and had to fight to see the actual animals." Draco successfully extracted his daughter's fingers and passed her to Hermione who reached out, smiling hugely at the toddler. He settled himself on the arm of the sofa next to her. Hermione smiled up at him and wondered when he'd notice that he'd let himself get sunburned. He must've been hugely distracted, he was always so careful about that…

"And by had to fight to see, he means that he shot death glares at everyone until they got scared and left us alone." Harry added, coming over to kiss his wife on the cheek while Ron did the same to Gabrielle.

"Mhmm, I'm sure that's true," Ginny smiled a little too sweetly, "but that doesn't explain your and Ron's guilty faces."

"Erm…" Harry grinned and shrugged. "I mean, it was just a tiring day. Smelly animals everywhere… people following us all day… No one got hurt or lost or anything. It was good."

Ginny kept smiling serenely at him until he squirmed and Hermione giggled. She raised an eyebrow at Draco in question and he just smirked at her and nodded towards Harry. "Why is my son wearing two left shoes?" Ginny asked sweetly. Harry blinked and Draco shook his head.

"Wha- James?" He turned to the boy in question who was sitting in Molly's lap, squirming to get away.

Upon hearing his name and something about shoes he leapt off her knee and ran across to stand in front of Ginny. "Mum! It was so cool! We were in the part where you can pet them and there was this goat-thing," Ginny mouthed goat-thing to herself, "and I was petting it and I touched its horns! Did you know that it had three horns?" He continued without taking a breath, "And I was petting it and it was sniffing my foot and then it knocked me with its horns and I fell on my butt and then, and then, and then it ate my shoe!" He finished in an excited shout.

"Don't say the butt word!" Adara admonished from across the room before any adult could correct him. Hermione smiled at her daughter, ever the rule follower.

James rolled his eyes at his honorary cousin and continued. "So then dad took my other shoe and made me a new one for the one that the goat-thing ate!"

"Potter you amateur!" Draco scoffed, "You just copied the other one? You didn't mirror it?"

Harry laughed along with the rest of them, but quieted quickly as Ginny hadn't joined in. She didn't yell at him though so he smiled hopefully at her…. She appeared to be deciding if she was mad or not.

Hermione attempted to spare Harry by distraction. "So, other than the goat-thing incident, how was it?"

"Oh the kids loved it. They're all going to be obsessed with dragons now, by the way. So be prepared." Draco said, absently picking up three year old Lily who started trying to climb his legs. "They had a whole little family of Welch Greens." He added, sounding more chipper than usual.

"I have a feeling more than just the kids liked the dragons." Ginny laughed.

"Well, Harry looked a bit peaky when Charlie asked if he wanted to go in and see the nest." Ron piped up, smothering a laugh. Harry shot him a dark glare then rolled his eyes as they all laughed at his expense remembering the Tournament.

"He said he'd be about a half hour behind us, by the way." Ron added, looking a little awkwardly at Narcissa who smiled at him and nodded once.

The children soon demanded more attention, especially when Lyra squirmed in Hermione's lap and said "Pee-pee!" at the top of her voice. She immediately sprang up and rushed to the loo with her youngest daughter, knowing that the child gave very little warning when she needed the toilet. Luckily they made it in time and Hermione let her run down the hall to the lounge ahead of her, taking her time coming back. She glanced at the photos lining the hallway walls… happy family photos instead of sneering portraits of aristocrats. Hermione was not-so-secretly glad that Narcissa had moved out of the manor into one of the old Black properties that Harry had given back to her. He hadn't realized until a couple years after the war when he'd finally been given a copy of Sirius' will that he even owned the small country house. Hermione loved this house and would always prefer it. No matter how much time passed, she felt more than a little nauseous anywhere in the Manor except for Draco's old rooms. Perhaps Scorpius could be happy there someday; as much as she disliked it she didn't want the ancestral home to be completely abandoned. He had so little Lucius in him from being brought up solely by Narcissa that Hermione felt he could easily turn it around and make it a happy home for his family someday.

Draco watched with a small smile as his wife meandered down the hallway looking at all the photos. She and his mother were both so sentimental. They've have to go back to the Center for Magical Creatures, or whatever the hell it was called, just the four of them. He'd like to spend the day just them and the girls. Plus he'd be able to see everything better with Hermione helping him with them. He shifted Lyra on his hip to try and ease the tension on the death grip she habitually had on his hair, she just tightened it up again. He looked down at her and couldn't help but grin.

She grinned back up at him. "DaDEE!" She squeaked loudly.

"LyRA!" He said, mimicking her tone and squeezing her to make her laugh. Sweet Merlin, he loved this kid. He knew he'd love his kids… but he'd had no idea that it would be like this. He turned to survey the room looking for the blond head of his oldest daughter; just as he found her- on the sofa reading a book to James and Sophie- he heard the front door open.

A call echoed into the lounge "I'm home!" Draco smiled to himself as he watched his brother spring up off the floor.

"Charlie!" Scorpius pelted out of the room and they all laughed when they heard a grunt as he apparently launched himself at the man.

"Hey bud! You just saw me not an hour ago." Charlie's deep chuckle preceded him into the room. "Where's your mum?"

"In here." Scorpius came trotting back into the room followed soon by Charlie. Draco narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze to his mother, who seemed a bit pink in the face. Charlie made a bee line for her and Draco grimaced when the ginger put a finger under her chin to tip her head up and kissed her in front of god and everybody. His mother blushed prettily and smiled up at him; with that expression on her face she didn't look a day older than Charlie, much less twelve years. He sighed, not really all that put out about the situation. He'd had three years to deal with it, but it was still a little strange to watch his mum be so open and affectionate with a man. She and Lucius had never displayed anything like that in front of him as a child. He was glad she was happy. Even if it was with a Weasley; that bit still made him shudder, just on principal. Really, he would LOVE to see his father's face if he knew that Narcissa had remarried after his death… had married a man half Lucius' age and a blood-traitor at that. He grinned at the thought. Narcissa Weasley and Hermione Malfoy. Lucius was spinning in his grave. Heh.

Eventually they herded all the children to the table and sat down to a boisterous meal. Adara and James were attached at the hip lately and were sitting next to Teddy and Scorp who were also fast friends. The three year-olds Lily and Sophie had also paired off and Draco imagined that Lyra and Albus would follow the trend when they got a bit older. The new kid was going to be the odd man out.

"So, Weasley," He glanced up as half the table turned to look at him. He rolled his eyes, "Ron and/or Gabrielle, I mean."

Gabrielle giggled and looked up from Sophie next to her. "Oui?"

He thought about asking her in French, but that would be rude and he didn't feel like getting elbowed by his wife. Plus Weaselbee had learned enough that it wasn't as much fun as it used to be. "So are we calling this kid by his full name or calling him Frank?" He asked as he gestured to her stomach.

Ron cut his eyes at his wife and grinned. "Francois's a bit of a mouthful…"

Gabrielle sighed, "I will not fight it. We can call heem Frank." She rubbed her belly and leaned into Ron's side.

"I was just noticing that all the other kids have paired off… who's going to have another one for Frank?" Draco choked back a laugh at the expressions that looked back at him.

"Not me!" Ginny asserted immediately. "I've done three; it's going to be you and Hermione."

"Ha! I think two's it for me, thank you." Hermione looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. She was pretty sure he didn't want another child…

"Oh, come now! I have seven; surely you lot can do better than two or three!" Molly challenged from the other end of the table.

"I theenk it is Narcissa's turn." Gabrielle supplied with a wink down the table, causing half of its occupants to choke on their drinks.

Draco's head whipped towards his mother so fast Hermione thought she heard a pop. Charlie, she noticed, did not look disturbed but thoughtful. They'd been married nearly three years, she felt sure they had discussed the prospect of children someday.

Narcissa blushed. "Oh come, Draco. Would it be so terrible?" She teased and leaned a little closer to Charlie.

"You want to have a child that's younger than your grandchildren?" He asked incredulously.

Narcissa winced, "Oh goodness that makes me feel old."

"Oh, you've got plenty of time! Witches carry babies into their fifties easily, and you've got years before you get there." Molly smiled, always encouraging more grandbabies. They'd all been so surprised that she'd accepted her son marrying Narcissa so easily, but perhaps she was just glad he'd finally settled down and was happy. She may have credited Narcissa as part of the reason that Charlie moved back to England also, so she'd earned some points there.

"Personally, I'd love a niece. And you're due for a girl." Andromeda chimed in with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"What do you reckon, Charlie?" Ron asked, thoroughly amuse by the situation.

"Wouldn't be opposed to it." He turned and studied Narcissa with a small grin. The witch blushed a little darker. It blew Hermione's mind to compare her to the woman she'd met at Madam Malkin's all those years ago. She was a completely different person now.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. George can convince Angelina to quit playing Quidditch and they can have the next one. Or Bill and Fleur can move back so the kids can see each other more." Draco said uncomfortably and reluctantly joined in the laughter at his expense, recognizing that he was being a bit juvenile.

Ginny leaned over to Hermione after another topic began circulating. "So, what do you reckon our husbands are covering up from today?" She asked in a whisper.

Hermione giggled. "I dunno, more than an eaten shoe I'm sure." Ginny nodded and rolled her eyes. "You're much more likely to get it out of Harry than I am out of Draco." Hermione pointed out.

"True. I'll tell you tomorrow." Ginny winked.

They all stayed until the younger children started falling asleep and the older ones getting grouchy. As they gathered scattered toys and shoes Harry suddenly stood up.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you that I've heard some news about Dennis." The rest of them stilled and slowly turned to face him. It had been years, but it was not a subject that they enjoyed. "He's satisfied all the terms of his parole and therapy… they're taking off the tracking charm at the end of the month."

Hermione turned and watched Draco's jaw clench. She reached for his hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze. She cleared her throat. "Well, I think it'll be fine. Now that he's away from his mother's influence and has seen the healers… I don't think he's any kind of threat anymore."

"He's not allowed to contact any of us, or come within fifty meters or us or the kids for two years. After that restrictions are up to us. We'll have to file paperwork establishing how much contact he can have."

"That's easy: he can have no contact." Draco spat. They all silently agreed, even though Hermione felt more sympathy for him than the rest. Even Harry had little sympathy; he'd confessed that all the photos Dennis had had of pregnant Ginny haunted his dreams. On second thought, she looked down to see her hand unconsciously tracing the faint scar that ran from her elbow to her wrist on the inside of her arm. Perhaps her sympathy wasn't super strong.

They said their goodbyes a bit more subdued than they normally would because of the news, and all went their separate ways.

She and Draco stepped through front door, each with a sleeping daughter on their shoulder and headed upstairs to their rooms. Hermione shifted Lyra as gently as possible and laid her in her bed. She watched her sleep a moment, smoothing her unruly curls out of her face. Both her children were so beautiful.

She met Draco in the hallway coming out of Adara's room and he held his hand out. She threaded her fingers through his and followed him to their room.

"So…" Draco smirked down at her, "Want to go make a playmate for little Frankie?"

She bumped him with her hip and rolled her eyes. "I do hope you're joking." They strolled into their bedroom and after the changing of clothes and other bed-time rituals they met back in bed.

"I mean… it wouldn't be the end of the world." He said as he settled himself on his pillow.

"What wouldn't?"

"Having a third." He rolled to face her and she studied him in shock for a moment… he was completely serious. She'd thought every now and then about wanting another baby… for every milestone that Lyra hit she was reminded that her babies were getting more independent all the time. Soon they'd be too old to cuddle with… too old to need her for things. But that whole giving birth thing was hard. And caring for an infant was exhausting… and her body still wasn't back to its pre-Lyra form. A third pregnancy would just wreck it permanently. He cocked an eyebrow at her when she didn't respond.

She realized with a grin that she hadn't answered him yet. She'd just avoid a direct answer for now. "Do you just want to try for a boy?"

"I could care less. Let Scorp deal with passing on the Malfoy name." He waved the comment off as if he could literally toss the responsibility to his brother. He grinned suddenly, "but really, we almost owe it to society to pass along our amazing genes. I mean, we're both ridiculously intelligent and good looking… it would be a shame if we didn't produce as many children as possible to carry that on."

"We need to pass on our humility also." She added wryly.

"Oh, come on. You've heard all the propaganda from the ministry encouraging people to consider having more children to recover a sustainable population and all that rubbish." He said, poking her in the shoulder. She giggled, knowing full well that he couldn't care less what the ministry wanted him to do.

"Do you really want to have another baby or are you having me on?" She asked, propping her head up to look at him more closely. It probably wouldn't take him much effort to convince her to do one more. She loved babies. It's not like they couldn't afford it…

"Well, I just think it seems like the effing Weasleys have made it their goal to repopulate wizarding England by themselves! I mean, half the kids' generation is going to be Weasleys at this rate. At least the Delacour sisters have introduced some that aren't gingers…"

"And your mum. Don't forget your mum and Charlie… their children will be blond I'd wager." She tried her damndest to keep a straight face, but when the grin slid off his she nearly lost it. He glared hard at her for a moment and she had to hold her breath to keep from giggling at him. She knew he was trying desperately not to think of the fact that his mother had a sexual relationship with her very young and very fit husband.

"I hate you."

She burst out laughing as he crossed his arms over his chest sullenly, pouting at her. "No you don't, you love me."

"Not at the moment I bloody well do not. You've got to stop talking about my mother that way."

"Oh, alright. But tell me truly," She scooted closer, "Do you really want another baby?"

"I want to think about the possibility..." He said, apparently through with his quick sulk.

She chewed on her bottom lip a moment in thought. Part of her wanted to say yes immediately… but yeah, this needed serious consideration. One didn't just make a baby on a spur of the moment decision.

"Alright. Let's think about it for a while."

He grinned hugely at her and she couldn't help but smile back. She had a feeling that he was going to wear down any doubts that she had fairly quickly. She had a hard time saying no. But really, she loved her babies, why wouldn't she want another? Oh, right- her sanity. Well, it was a discussion for another day.

"Brilliant." He flipped her over and startled her with a passionate kiss.

She pulled away laughing, "We agreed to think about it, not immediately try and get pregnant!"

"I know, but we'd better practice just in case…" He said in a muffled voice as his lips cruised up her throat.

"Oh, twist my arm…" She said, pretending to need convincing.

He pulled away to look down at her. "What? Twist your arm? Is this some weird kink you've been hiding?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

It was several minutes before she could calm her laughter to explain it to him.

"You're barmy you know?" He said when she finished her brief explanation of the muggle phrase.

"I know. You've driven me mad." She smiled up at him and tucked a bit of hair behind his ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He settled himself back on top of her. "Now, I believe I was in the middle of something when rudely interrupted by your little fit of the giggles…"

THE END


A/N: I'm thinking about eventually posting a bonus chapter or two of Harry and Draco shenanigans or maybe how Narcissa and Charlie got together (because I kind of love her, in case you can't tell). What do y'all think? Would you want to read that or do you think this particular story is finished? I do love writing Harry and Draco bickering...

Also, I meant to say this forever ago but I don't picture Narcissa as the actress that portrayed her in the movies. For some reason she turned out younger in my head when I read the books. If you're curious, I picture her looking a lot like Portia De Rossi. I'd be interested in hearing other opinions on that if you've got one.

Anywho, thank you for reading and I hoped y'all enjoyed it!

insert shameless plea for reviews