17 1/2 Years Later
Bran walked into the kitchen hoping that there would be some cereal left, he did not expect to walk in on his parents making out on the table. "Mum. Dad. Really? I eat there." he deadpanned at their shenanigans. Rubbing the vision out of his eyes, he found an empty cereal box so started making toast.
Dennis and Zoe rearranged their clothes and stood with silly grins, looking at their oldest child. "We're going to have another baby! Mum just told me and I guess I got a little carried away." Dad squeezed his wife around the shoulders and patted her belly.
"Mom, please keep your husband in line."
"Oh, darling, he's just not like us, he can't help showing his emotions. That's why I like him." Zoe pecked Dennis on the mouth before extracting herself from his arms. She went over to the boy as Dennis started getting breakfast together for the other kids. Zoe ran her fingers through Bran's long tawny hair, "You should get a haircut, no self-respecting Slytherin should have a lion's mane."
Dennis looked over his shoulder at her, letting out an, "Oi!" as gentle rebuke.
"And try to get outside on occasion this year, maybe take up Quidditch. I bet you could be a good Keeper." Zoe and Bran's bright blue eyes met, the corners of their mouths mirroring as they gave into a smirk before the laughter busted out.
Bran looked so like his father when he laughed. "Mum, you're so funny." He tweaked her nose like she had done to him so often in his fourteen years. "I'm going up to finish reading Grandad's book, gotta be ready for Potions, I can't believe Slughorn hasn't made it the approved textbook yet. Go back to sucking face, if you must." He grabbed his dry toast and headed out the door, bare feet slapping up the stairs.
"That boy's not right. Thinking about Potions this early in the day." Dennis sighed while cutting up apples.
"That's what you get for hanging Severus' portrait up in his room when he was born."
"That portrait harassed me for three months before I gave in, anyways, you're the one who let him teach the kids to talk. Slow talkers, all my children are going to be slow talkers. And pausers."
"Yes, they probably will be, but Severus loves them and there are worse traits that they could emulate. We could have ten kids who sneer and billow around wearing all black. And never wash their hair. Now that would be a sight."
"Okay, we have been pretty lucky that Miriam is the only one to actually act like Severus. Maybe she'll grow out of it, she's only seven."
"I'm not going to worry about it. Even if we get one Severus out of this bunch, I think we win." Zoe kissed her man on the cheek, "I'm going to round-up the herd, I'll pour the drinks when I get back."
Aneira came into the kitchen, all curls and flounces, holding a turtle away from her new lilac dress.
"Oh, are turtles the new vanity pet? I thought cats were still in vogue." Dennis kissed Bran's twin on the temple as he put the oatmeal pot on the range. "It's lovely dear. What are you calling it?"
"I call him Bartleby. It's one of your kids, dad."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"You get stuck watching the pets? Are turtles the new thing? I can't keep up with trends." Draco settled an arm over Dennis' shoulder, keeping an eye on Scorpius as Astoria squealed about the news of a new baby and cooed at Liam, the current baby. "I'm so glad that Astoria has banned animals from the house. But a turtle's probably not that bad, eh? It's even kind of cute." Draco poked at the turtle's head as it swiveled just outside its shell.
"He's not our pet, jackass, he's my son. It's Bartleby." Dennis was not taking the news of another natural animagus well.
Draco took awhile to rearrange his face to hold in the laughter, "Don't look so down, man, you could have guessed it might happen. At least he doesn't breathe fire. Yet."
"Small favors." Dennis patted the hard shell surrounding his six-year-old, "Zoe's going to take him to see Healer Lemieux over at St Mungos, he's the bloody lead over there now. I have to get over to the Institute or I'd go with."
"How's it going over there? I get reports on 2 or 3 confirmed Squibs every month."
"72 kids in for afternoon classes, then 38 families for counselling throughout the week."
"That's a huge, mate. It's amazing that you and Zoe had time to make your last two kids at all with that workload."
"There's a lot of Squibs coming up now, too many people jumping beds after the war. We're just trying to give them a chance at balancing both the Muggle and Wizard world. Let them know they're not alone. A lot of parents sweep them under the rug, they come to me all linty."
"With you and Astoria in their corner, they'll come out all right. I did and I was a total knob."
"And then there's the Muggle families who wake up to find the Hogwart's letter in the box, Astoria's a brick with them. I love it when, the first witch they meet looks...well looks like your wife, not a single Muggle expects it. Two weeks in to the program and they're still looking for warts and blue spit."
"Hey! That's my girl you're talking about."
"Total compliments, I assure you."
Over the general hubbub of Platform 9 3/4, a light tinkling of bells sounded, Bran came through the crowd followed by the rest of the Creevy's on a leash.
"Where are the authorities when we need them? A family on a line and you force them to wear bells on top of it."
"You gonna turn me in, Draco? Get your Minstry minions to take me in? Easier to keep track of them this way. You're 2 on 1, try 2 on 9 for a day. See if you don't train them to a leash and make sure they can't sneak up on you."
"Get them bigger bells, people will think Christmas is come early."
"Severn's driving me nuts, dad." Bran pushed his end of the leash into his father's hand, he was wearing a green t-shirt with block letters spelling out 'MUGGLES ARE PEOPLE TOO'.
Draco knelt next to his god-daughter who was slowly and persistently shouting 'Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi!.' at absolutely everyone in the station. Draco gave the toddler a sweet, gumming up her mouth and stopping the noise.
"Fixed." Draco started a face-pulling contest with the kids, drawing Scorpius into the fun with his 'cousins'. The more gruesome the face the more points.
Dennis called Bran back as his oldest turned to disappear into the crowd. "You said that you'd watch your siblings while mum and I talk."
"Actually, the deal was that ANEIRA and I would watch OUR siblings, you may see that she is no longer with us. She left to ogle a guy. Therefore, nullifying the agreement."
"What guy?"
"Some Weasley, don't ask me which one, I can't tell them apart. If you need me to, I'll take Jack and Mabel, but-"
"Severn's driving you nuts, yes I remember."
"I'll watch them dad." Colin lit up at the idea of being in charge of the smaller kids. "You don't need a wand to keep them in line." Wearing the complimentary shirt of 'WIZARDS ARE PEOPLE TOO' Colin would be heading off to Eton tomorrow. His powers had not manifested and he was a main reason the Creevy Institute had come about. Dennis and Zoe wanted to make sure their son knew that not being magical was not the end of the world. Last year, when he turned eleven, there had been some tears but today he bounced with all the energy of his namesake, excited to see the twins safely off. "I'm twelve now, and I already watch them when Aneira babysits anyway."
Dennis froze with the new information about his sweet little girl, "Oh, really? Aneira has you watch the kids?"
Colin was torn between lying to his dad and ratting out his sister. Trying to make up his mind, he was saved from the decision by his mother. "What are you three up to?" She and Astoria came closer to hear them over the station noise.
"Your second son is deciding if he's going to lie to me. To his credit, it is taking a long time."
"Colin?" When his conflicted eyes met Zoe's it was all there; reading stories, making cocoa, bath time, tucking the kids in, and..."Percy, Jr? Who the heck is Percy, Jr?"
"Oh yeah, that's who she likes. Percy Weasley, Jr." Bran began bouncing on the balls of his feet, completely shedding his Slytherin cool at the prospect of his sister being busted in front of her little Hufflepuff friends. He could hardly contain his joy, he was shaking at the mere thought.
"Zoe, it's 10:45 if we're going to talk to her about this, it has to be now." Dennis already knew that his daughter was in for a healthy dose of embarrassment but didn't want to send her a howler at school.
Dennis didn't like the devious look on his wife's face as she ordered, "Bran, get your sister and find a compartment on this side of the train. While you're at it, grab Percy Jr too."
"But what are you going to do? I want to see."
Zoe shook her head, "It's called plausible deniability, my son, just open the windows and sit back. Take Scorpius with you." Zoe and Dennis hugged their son as the Malfoys did the same with Scorpius, then shooed the boys toward the train.
Bran saw the four adults duck down to speak to his siblings, plotting. He pushed Scorpius in front of him through a gaggle of Hufflepuffs. Spotting his sister, a confection of dark hair and glitter jewelry, he wondered again about them being twins. Aneira felt his gaze and came over when he beckoned.
"Mum said we're to get on the train, she'll come to hug and pet you before we leave."
Her wide eyes suspected something, "Is something wrong with Liam?" but guessed wrong.
"Don't think so, Mum just said to get you and Scorpius on the train." Bran looked over Aneira's shoulder at the scrawny ginger who had been holding her hand when Bran walked up. "You want to sit with us? You're Percy, right?"
"Yes, yes, and you are Bran Creevy. You just beat me out for tops in Potions last year. Hope you're ready to fight it out again. I like a little competition. Its good for the mind." Percy shook both boy's hands, "You're the Malfoy boy, I suppose you'll be in Slytherin with Bran?"
Scorpius pipped up, "I hope so, but it's not definite, Aneira's a Hufflepuff while their parents were Gryffindor and Slytherin. Maybe I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw."
"You can be anywhere you want, Scorpius, but if you're in Slytherin you can be cool like me."
Aneira laughed as she struggled with her trunk, "Cool? Everyone knows that Slytherin is full of nerds. The best example stands in front of me. Be a Hufflepuff, we have the best common room, its full of flowers and smells lovely. Percy, can you help me with this." Aneira kicked her trunk and batted her eyes at the besotted boy.
"Oh, of course. A delicate flower shouldn't be expected to heft this load." Percy Jr nearly hid the groan as he picked up the trunk.
Bran found an empty compartment on the station side of the train and quickly claimed it. Looking out at the crowd he couldn't see his family but it was still a few minutes before eleven. Opening the windows, he let the ruckus onto the train. As he took his seat, Bran had to focus on not staring out the window.
Percy Jr was prattling on about Potions so Bran latched on the topic. "Have you read the Potions text by our grandad, Severus Snape? Mum just got it published. Came out over the summer. It took forever to get all his ideas together."
"I've perused it. Don't know that we should be mucking up potions that have been brewed the same way for centuries. No offense to Professor Snape, but I don't put much store in his alterations."
Her smile was lopsided, the left corner never turning up properly, as she teased, "Then I guess Bran will have no trouble beating you out for top marks again. I'll give you my congratulations now, Bran." She held her hand out and Bran shook it with a confident grin. Even Aneira, who was rubbish at potions, knew better than to doubt her grandad's instructions. She turned to the sputtering Gryffindor, adding, "It's a good thing I like you for your looks." She gave him a quick peck on his fevered cheek.
Through the open window came a chorus of too-familiar voices. "Percy and Aneira, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Aneira with a baby carriage!"
It was too perfect. Colin lead his siblings, still tethered together by the leash, through the song over and over. Jack and Mabel swung hands to the beat, Miriam hid behind a curtain of dark hair, Severn got every other word but added punctuation with her 'Hi, Hi, Hi!'s. Bran and Scorpius were leaping around the compartment, joining in the song and egging the younger ones on. Whooping it up and laughing like hyenas.
Percy Jr looked pleased as punch while Aneira cried against his chest, completely embarrassed at the attention. She couldn't bring herself to get mad because they were too damn cute, so she sobbed for a bit until she started laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Percy, Jr was offering her a handkerchief when Zoe caught his eye, in her open hand was a flame and a threat. Percy, Jr lifted his hand to let Zoe know he had gotten the message, but didn't let her daughter go.
The whistle blew at exactly eleven o'clock, Draco, Astoria, Zoe and Dennis waved at the train as it crawled forward, the kids still singing.
Zoe yelled to her friends above the crowd, "And that is why you have more than one child."
Astoria waved at Percy Sr, who observed the short choir in a bemused sort of way. "Maybe Percy Jr won't be so bad, he didn't run screaming from the compartment and he already knows that her parents are balmy. It might be love."
Zoe heard Dennis groan at the thought of his daughter being old enough for love. She kissed him on the cheek, "You fell for me when you were 14, that turned out alright."
"Daddy and Mummy sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mummy with a baby carriage!"
"We've created an adorable monster."
A/N Congratulations, you made it! 70,000 words on my 'sketchy rendition' of a nonexistent character. I gave her a happy ending, which might seem like a cop-out but really, if I was going to kill her off, it would have been awhile ago. And a very different story. I put her through enough darkness so I gave her a good guy and kids to offset all the gingers who must exist in the next generation of Hogwarts. It was fun giving lives and choices to characters who didn't have much book time because they are not always with Harry, filling in some gaps. Thanks again for reading, its been a slice.