((My greatest apologies for the time it took to post this chapter, had so much trouble writing this that I started over on this chapter for a fresher start. Not very many events will feature the Malfoy twins due to difficulties writing about them, most will feature Raven and Draco. I am reverting my choice of having this story having 26 chapters back to the original 25 chapters. Sorry for that sudden change of mind.))

((I have a new, completed story up featuring Raven joining Hogwarts as a fourth year. It's called Raven Mancer and the Triwizard Tournament. It'll have a sequel written very soon so go check it out while you all wait for Chapter 25 to be posted, which may take longer than a month to write..))

((This story has reached 7,000 views.))

((Thank you samisina102317 for the two reviews.))

((Enjoy the chapter.))

- -Chapter 24: Raising the Twins- -

- -Raven's POV- -January 2006 to June 2006- -

Draco was definitely a man of his word. He kept his eyes on me, making sure that I rest frequently while my body recovers from childbirth. While I was able to move around, I couldn't do a lot. I could wander the manor just fine, but carefully. He cared for the newborns most of the time as well.

At night, he took care of them, feeding or changing them when they cried, refusing to let me help him since I'd wake up as well upon hearing their cries. Due to losing sleep, he'd often nap during the day, sometimes he'd have either Scorpius or Aurora or both of them lying on his chest when he fell asleep, far too tired to take them to their crib. I had managed to get photos of these precious moments.

Since Draco was so tired during the day, I aided him in caring for Scorpius and Aurora. It took a long time for me to convince him to let me help, but he relented when I said that I'd only feed them if he brought them to me while I laid in bed. This worked out nicely, allowing me to bond with Draco and our twins, who sometimes looked at us when they weren't sleeping.

I could see just how much Draco loved Scorpius and Aurora just by how his eyes lit up, shining brightly and filled with love. He would place gentle kisses to their heads, and whispering that he loved them. They'd sometimes grab his finger whenever he held it out to them. It was a beautiful thing to watch him act this way.

Draco has been very affectionate towards me as well, holding me close and whispering sweet words into my ear, telling me things that made me laugh. Sometimes we'd lay together with Aurora and Scorpius in our arms, it was one of my favorite moments.

The many weeks that passed for me during my recovery was not pleasant, but I got through it, my body went back to its slim state, and I was able to do my usual routine again with ease. Draco cared for me during the whole process when he wasn't taking naps, or whenever the twins were sleeping.

I aided him at night when the twins cried, but I made Draco sleep for the first few nights this time so he could have energy. He did protest at first, but he gave in so easily from the weeks of lack of sleep that he was out like a light in seconds.

There were many, many precious moments. Some were more moments of Draco napping, often on the loveseat in the Drawing Room, and he'd have one or both twins laying on his chest again.

We both learned that they hated baths during the day, but at night we discovered that if we bathed them before we put them in bed, they'd fall asleep more easily.

Scorpius and Aurora grew steadily, slowly beginning to show more reactions. I loved the funny moments. Scorpius sometimes pulled a face when he got gassy or if one of us did something weird, Aurora stuck out her tongue a lot, which at some moments, Draco would mimic and blows raspberries. She even tried to do the same, but only got spit all over him and he'd make a face from being grossed out, but he'd laugh afterwards.

Draco and I wouldn't be working until the twins reached two years old so we had Severus working Potions, and Harry, to my shock, took over Defence Against the Dark Arts, while Lilia took care of their children. My mother said she'd watch over the twins when Draco and I began working again.

I was very glad when they reached the point where we'd not have to wake up in the middle of the night for them so we got a full nights sleep after this.

- -Friday, July 21, 2006- -

My stomach was hurting from laughing. Draco was acting like a complete dork to get the twins to laugh and it was working. They were giggling loudly as Draco made faces at them.

Scorpius and Aurora were just starting to crawl now so they were slowly beginning to go around places in whatever room we had them in. Sometimes I would hold one of them up so that their tiny feet touch the ground and they'd move their legs like they were walking across the floor. It was so adorable to watch.

I smiled when Draco grabbed Scorpius gently yet playfully and started tickling him, causing the tiny blonde to giggle loudly. I moved myself onto the floor and played with Aurora, blowing small raspberries, which to my surprise, she started mimicking successfully.

Draco chuckled, looking at Aurora for a few seconds before playing with Scorpius again. Aurora however, did not like that he was giving Scorpius attention and let out a loud whine, startling me and making Draco jump. She started crawling towards him, babbling in what sounded like an angry tone.

"Looks like someone wants attention." I giggled, watching Aurora crawl to Draco, who was chuckling in amusement. He picked her up, smiling and tickled her side, making her giggle loudly.

I watched in amusement, smiling at the sounds of Aurora giggling. Draco really showed his love for Scorpius and Aurora. Seeing him smile as they near a year old, and react more and more to everything is amazing. He looked so happy raising them and I enjoyed every moment of it, even if there were moments were raising them was difficult.

- -Monday, December 25, 2006- -

Scorpius' and Aurora's first Christmas. They were both active and crawling around so we had to make sure anything they shouldn't get into was it put away. They babbled a lot, playing together and often followed Draco and I on occasions. Draco was still acting like a dork, and I decided to call him out that as he played with them, which only resulted in Draco tickling me mercilessly while the twins giggled.

They got some cute toys, clothes, and other things. Scorpius had gotten a cute dragon plushie, and Aurora had gotten a unicorn plushie. Aurora let out an adorable squeal when Draco came in from the hallway after being gone for over ten minutes and she started crawling over to him. He chuckled, bent down, and picked Aurora up. "Did you miss me?" he cooed, smiling.

I smiled fondly at them as Draco walked over and sat down on the floor with me and Scorpius. Aurora was babbling and cooing, reaching her tiny hands at Draco. He smiled and started tickling Aurora, she laughed, wiggling her legs and arms.

Scorpius crawled over to him and put his tiny hands on Draco's knee, babbling. Draco chuckled and set Aurora down, who whined in response. I waved a small toy to Aurora and she quickly became interested in it. I giggled, watching her grab the toy and swing it around.

I heard a thump and then heard, "Oh!" from Draco, so I looked over and saw him with his hands covering his crotch as Scorpius laughed, in his hands was a big green ball. "Did he hit you in the family jewels?" I asked in amusement. He nodded, falling over to his side rather dramatically. "He got me good."

Giggling, I scooted over to him, resting my arms and chin on his side as he laid on the floor. Aurora crawled over, the toy in her tiny hand still, and she began to play with Scorpius. Draco chuckled softly, seeming to have recovered from the hit. "How are you feeling now?" I asked, leaning over him.

"Sore in some places." he grunted, rolling onto his back, knocking me over, which got him laughing. Scorpius and Aurora were giggling, but not from seeing me fall over. I sat up, giggling loudly, Draco was looking at me as he sat up as well, using his elbows to prop himself up.

"Aaahhhhh!"

Both of us jumped, looking over at the twins when they began screaming at each other. They were fighting over a small toy so Draco got up and separated them. "Hey now, no fighting." he said, putting Aurora in his lap. Scorpius began crying, the toy long forgotten. I sighed, shaking my head and picked Scorpius up, grabbing his pacifier and putting it in his mouth, which stopped his crying.

Scorpius relaxed, seeming to become more content with his favorite pacifier. Draco wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to his side. Aurora was reaching up at Draco, a cute smile on her face, a bit of drool dripping down her chin. He was smiling as well, looking down at her. "I think someone needs their mouth wiped clean." he said, grabbing the drool rag and wiping her mouth. Aurora did not like this, her face scrunching up, but this only made Draco chuckle.

Since it was Christmas, my family wanted to come over to celebrate, which Draco and I were happy to accept. They'd be arriving later this afternoon around three. It would be my parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents. There was a chance that my brothers and cousins will come, but they might choose to be with their wives for Christmas.

Unfortunately, Narcissa completely cut Draco off last month, her views on me had turned more negative recently, and she didn't want to speak to him. Draco had been depressed for several weeks as a result. My family and I comforted him and he was able to distract himself with Scorpius and Aurora, who were always wanting his attention. At night I would talk to him and let him vent.

If Narcissa wasn't going to talk to Draco anymore then she has lost her only son due to her prejudice. And she'd never get to see her grandchildren either. Thankfully, we got through this and moved on.

It was eleven o'clock so there was time for Draco and I to do some stuff, let the twins have a nap, and I could get myself dressed up for the Christmas dinner. Maybe do some other things if we had time.

Scorpius was the first to start tiring out, and eventually he fell asleep on the floor while clutching a stuffed toy. I stood up, gently picked Scorpius up, and went straight to his and Aurora's bedroom, and set him in his crib, then went back to the Drawing Room.

Aurora was cooing and shaking the toy she had in her hand. Draco had her in his lap as she played, it was adorable. She was smiling too, as was Draco. He looked happy as she played. I've noticed that Aurora was fonder of Draco than me so it looks like she was a daddy's girl, something Draco was hoping for.

In fact, she would be awake and waiting for Draco in the crib when he went to see they were awake, and she'd always react happily to him. Little Scorpius was a late sleeper so I'd be the one to get him when he awoke, although some moments both would be awake so Draco take care of them both until I woke up.

It didn't take long for Aurora to tire out as well, and she fell asleep in Draco's lap. Draco took her to her crib, and with that, I allowed myself to plan out what to do first. I knew I needed a short nap, so that'd be done first. After I get up, I'll shower to freshen up, and then find a nice outfit to wear.

I went up to our bedroom with the intent of having the quick nap, while Draco went to get himself a cup of tea. The bed was so comfortable, and the moment I laid down on it I fell asleep.

About two hours later, I woke up, took a quick shower and got myself all dressed up, I was just getting my makeup redone when Draco came into our bedroom. He chuckled, looking at me. "You seem to be missing a sock." he pointed out in amusement.

I looked at my left leg, it was completely bare. Giggling, I raised my leg a bit, making the black nail polish on my toes shine in the light. "I may have gotten distracted with doing my makeup." I said, putting my makeup down on the nightstand and crossed my bare leg over my covered leg, looking around for my other thigh high sock, found it and put it on.

Draco came over, sat down on the bed, pulling me to him and placed soft kisses along my neck. "Mmm, we have a bit of time to ourselves. When was the last time we made love?" he whispered into my ear huskily.

I shivered at his voice, resting myself against him, my back to his front. "Before I got pregnant." I replied, tilting my head to the left, allowing him to bite and lick on my neck. He hummed softly in response, his hands roaming my body. "I've been wanting you for so long now." he whispered.

"Have you now?" I asked quietly. He responded by grabbing my hips and squeezing them, enticing a quiet moan from me. Of course he'd do that, the sly bastard!

"Yes. The animal inside me wants to ravage you in so many erotic ways." he purred, squeezing my hips, sending a familiar heat down between my legs. "Mmm, Draco, we can't. The twins, they'll be waking up soon.." I whispered, turning around to face him, but he just pulled me onto his lap. "Not for another hour at least." he whispered back.

I bit my lip nervously, thinking. Draco raised a pale eyebrow, looking at me. It has been a long time and the thought alone of being intimate again was making me feel hotter than usual. Even with an hour to spare, it was just too risky.

I shook my head, looking at Draco while getting off his lap and sat on my knees next to him. "Maybe later tonight, besides, I would much rather do this." I said, smiling evilly, and launched my hands onto his sides, tickling him.

Draco yelped, his body thrashing. "No!" he cried out as he started laughing. "This is revenge for all those years of tickling you did to me!" I said, tickling Draco mercilessly as he thrashed around. His laughter echoed in the bedroom, and it was music to my ears.

He tried to get me back, but he was now laying on his left side and in that position, he can't reach me as I was behind him. I couldn't stop giggling, watching him try to break free. "Please stop!" he begged, laughing.

"Why?" I asked, giggling.

"I'm gonna piss myself if you don't!" he replied. I immediately stopped, but started snickering softly. He laid on his back, panting and glaring at me. "And what is so funny?" he asked. I didn't answer, far too amused.

Draco let out a small huff, grabbed one of the pillows and whacked me in the face with it. I blinked a few times, then grinned and tackled him playfully. We rolled around on the bed, laughing and wrestling. Even at twenty-six years old, we still had our childish moments. I was suddenly pinned to the bed, but I only laughed more and smiled, looking at Draco.

He grinned, panting heavily. "That was fun." he said, falling down next to me. I nodded in agreement, rolling onto my left side to look at Draco. His eyes were closed, his chest now rising more steadily. "I could use another nap right about now." I said, yawning. Of course, that plan had to be canceled as one of the twins began crying.

I heard Draco chuckle. "So much for that extra nap." he said in amusement. Shaking my head, I left our bedroom, heading straight over to Scorpius' and Aurora's bedroom, and entered inside. I saw Scorpius standing up, his tiny hands on the railing of his crib as he stopped crying, looking at me. "Someone have a good nap?" I cooed, smiling.

Scorpius smiled, his few baby teeth showing. Aurora was still sleeping despite her brother's loud crying from just a few minutes ago. I walked over to his crib, bent down and picked him up. A foul smell hit my nose, my face scrunching up in response. "What is Draco feeding you?" I mumbled, taking him over to the changing table, and pulled my wand out, flicking it and the usual supplies hovered out.

Magic really does do well with these things. I was just getting Scorpius redressed when Draco came in, checking on me. "What are you feeding Scorpius, Draco?" I asked, now holding Scorpius, who babbled softly.

"The same food that Aurora eats, why?" he asked. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I think you'll understand when you will be the one to change him." I said, both of us leaving the bedroom, all while Draco had a confused look on his face. Scorpius had his tiny fist in his mouth, his large silver eyes on Draco. I smiled as we went down the stairs to the Drawing Room.

My family would be here in less than two hours. Still enough time to finish getting ready, and maybe relax some more if given the chance. I sat down on the loveseat, sighing softly. Draco sat down next to me, a smile on his face. Scorpius reached out for him, cooing so Draco took him and set him on his lap, smiling.

I smiled at the sight of them, watching Scorpius coo and babble at Draco, a bit of drool dribbling down his chin. Shaking my head softly, I grabbed a drool rag and wiped his mouth clean, which Scorpius did not like as he wiggled around.

Draco chuckled, leaned down, and began mock-biting Scorpius' belly, making the tiny blonde squeal and laugh. My cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling, it was too adorable. He suddenly blew a raspberry on Scorpius' belly, causing a louder squeal to erupt from him.

I looked in the direction of the hallway when the sound of Aurora crying was heard. Draco handed me Scorpius, who squirmed in my arms, likely not wanting to be held, and left to get Aurora. I went with Draco after putting Scorpius in his playpen, wanting to see Aurora's reaction to Draco.

"Aurora!" called Draco, the crying suddenly stopped. I smiled eagerly, watching him open the door, and I heard an excited squeal come from Aurora. "Hey, sweetie." he said happily, walking inside. I stepped forward and watched him approach her, she held up her arms to him, and he picked her up.

"How is my baby girl?" cooed Draco, his smile much bigger now. Aurora had the cutest smile on her face, her hands reaching up at him. He held his hand up and she grabbed his fingers, cooing at him.

"Why do I never have a camera for this?" I muttered softly, but Draco looked at me, still smiling. "Because there will always be better moments in the future." he answered, walking out of the bedroom and heading back down to the Drawing Room. I followed, looking at Aurora as she babbled at Draco.

Once we got to the Drawing Room, I sat on the loveseat while Draco put Aurora on the floor with the toys and went over to the playpen where Scorpius was, and then picked him up, bringing him over to Aurora where they both crawled around.

Draco sat down next to me, his arm going around my shoulder. I smiled, scooting closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. We watched the twins play for over twenty minutes, they babbled to each other and played with their favorite toys. Scorpius had grabbed his pacifier and put it in his mouth, which Aurora tried to steal, causing him to crawl away quickly. She whined loudly, chasing after him.

I giggled softly, watching Aurora chase after Scorpius, the small blonde went towards Draco, his large silver eyes wide. Draco leaned down and picked him up, grinning in amusement. "Is your sister scaring you?" he asked, chuckling. Scorpius merely looked down at Aurora, who was now sitting in front of Draco's legs and began hitting them with her hands, making me giggle.

Draco started laughing, amused by Aurora's antics. Scorpius was looking down at her as he sat in Draco's arms. I shook my head in amusement, looking for Aurora's pacifier. "Hey Draco, have you seen her pacifier?" I asked.

"No, I haven't." he answered. I looked back over to Aurora, who finally gave up hitting Draco's legs, instead she was looking up at Draco, a curious look on her face. Smiling, I rested my head on Draco's shoulder again, closing my eyes.

About six minutes later, my eyes opened abruptly when Scorpius suddenly sneezed, his pacifier flying out and landing Draco's chest. Both of us began chuckling, Scorpius only smiled, but then sneezed again, right on Draco's face. "Ewww!" he said in disgust, his face scrunched up.

I burst into a fit of giggles, falling onto my side and covering my mouth to stifle the giggles. "You think it's funny?" he asked and I looked at him, he was wiping his face off with a cloth charmed with a disinfecting spell. I nodded, giggling. Sure it was gross when he got sneezed on, but seeing Draco's face when it happened is what got me giggling in the first place.

I nodded, giggling harder. Draco's eyes narrowed and a smirk formed on his face, he put Scorpius on the floor where Aurora went after him to play. Draco grabbed me, one arm holding me in place and he began tickling me. I squealed and laughed, the twins, especially Aurora, giggled loudly at our antics. He only did this for a minute before stopping, as we had to keep an eye on the twins.

Smiling softly, I rested my head on Draco's shoulder as we watched them play. Aurora was playing with some blocks with Scorpius. They did this for about fifteen minutes, but I was shocked when Aurora hit Scorpius on the head with one of the blocks and he began crying. Draco leapt up, got to Aurora and took the block out of her hand. "Aurora Malfoy, you do not hit your brother with the blocks!" he scolded, picking her up and putting her in the playpen, and she began crying as a result.

I went over to Scorpius and held him, looking at the spot where he was hit. There was a small red mark, but no bump. Draco sat down and I joined him, holding Scorpius. Draco looked and saw the red mark. "My poor little boy." he crooned, taking Scorpius and holding him. Draco kissed Scorpius' head gently, causing Scorpius to look up at him with teary eyes. Draco held him close while I put all of the toys into a bin with a wave of my wand and brought them to the twin's bedroom.

Aurora had finally stopped crying by the time I came back down to the Drawing Room. Scorpius was looking much happier, he was cooing at Draco, a smile on his face. I smiled, walking over and sitting down next to Draco. We sat quietly together while Scorpius played in Draco's arms, occasionally putting his tiny hands on Draco's face while cooing.

I looked over at Aurora, she was standing up, her hands on the railing of the playpen and she was staring directly at us. Seeing that it's been long enough, I stood up, walked over to the playpen and picked Aurora up, holding her.

The moment I sat down, Aurora began trying to get to Draco, amusing both of us. Draco chuckled, looking at her and taking her while I took Scorpius. "Are you gonna stop being naughty?" he asked, grinning. She began giggling, a cute smile on her face. I smiled, watching them both. Draco began tickling her belly which got Aurora squealing and laughing.

The rest of the hours passed as I began making sure there were enough chairs and put extras in and soon enough, my family began showing up through the floo. Mother came up and hugged me, smiling fondly. "Oh Raven, it has been so long since we saw each other." she said.

"I know, Mother. It's been awfully busy for Draco and I with the twins. I mean, with them being more active now, we have to watch them carefully. Aurora and Scorpius tend to go back and forth with liking and disliking each other." I explained, letting Mother hold Scorpius. He smiled at Mother, cooing softly.

Father hugged me as well, nodded at Draco and sat down on the other loveseat where Mother sat with Scorpius. My grandparents and great-grandparents came in, greeted us and sat down, then my aunts and uncles came. I smiled widely when my brothers and cousins all came as well.

Aurora was still being held by Draco as she was rather uncomfortable by the sudden appearance of my family. Scorpius appeared to love being given all the attention. Leo was now holding him and blowing raspberries on his belly, making the blonde squeal and laugh.

Dinner would be at six, so about three hours from now. All of us got settled down, with Scorpius being given attention by everyone and Aurora looking around curiously, her green eyes scanning everyone. All of us caught up on what's happening since Scorpius and Aurora were born, all laughing and just overall happy to talk together. We let Scorpius crawl around on the floor, and eventually Aurora did as well, both of them playing.

I laughed while Draco held me close, his left arm wrapped around my side. The three hours passed smoothly with us all just talking, laughing, and watching the twins play. However, before dinner was ready, the best moment had come.

Aurora, now bored of playing, crawled over to Draco, looked up at him with her large green eyes and reached her arms out to him. Draco smiled and picked her up, setting her on his lap. She cooed softly, a big smile on her face as she, to our great joy, said her first word.

"Dada." she cooed. Draco's eyes went wide and tears of joy welled up in them. I covered my mouth in shock, looking at Aurora happily. It was so quiet now. Aurora actually said her first word in front of everyone. She said "Dada" again and a couple tears fell down Draco's cheeks. He looked so happy and overjoyed as he spoke to Aurora, his voice filled with pride.

Once the joy of witnessing Aurora speaking for the first time lessened, we all went to the dining room, the table had been made longer and more chairs were added. Draco sat at the main chair, I sat by him and Aurora and Scorpius were set next to us in their high chairs where we would feed them during the dinner.

Food of both British and Romanian types appeared, along with butterbeer and pumpkin juice as the drinks. We immediately began filling our plates with the delicious foods. Draco and I fed the twins with ease, and in between we ate our own food. Laughter echoed among the table as stories were told, jokes cracked, and more.

I nearly spat out my butterbeer at the joke Leo told, having to cover my mouth as I laughed. Draco and Father were laughing, both looking very amused. Leo was grinning widely, looking pleased with himself. Aurora squealed loudly, a big smile on her face as she wiggled her legs around in her high chair. I smiled, giving her another spoonful of her food, which she happily ate.

Dessert came and we ended up eating more than we intended so by the end of that, we were stuffed. We retired to the Drawing Room and sat down to rest ourselves. We talked for only twenty minutes until everyone retired for the night, saying their goodbyes, and left through the Floo. They would have stayed for an hour, but it was hard to stay awake after eating so much. Aurora and Scorpius were on one of the chairs, both of them asleep.

I went over to pick them up, intending to bring them to their cribs, but a pair of arms wrapped around me. I squealed and laughed when Draco suddenly lifted me into the air, his arms wrapped around me tightly. He leaned forward, kissing me softly and fell backwards onto the loveseat, making me break the kiss and I squealed in surprise, giggling.

"Draco, we gotta try to be quiet. Aurora and Scorpius fell asleep." I said quietly, looking at him.

"Well, then lets bring them to their cribs and stay in our bedroom for the night." he said quietly, smiling. I nodded and got up, fixed my clothes, and went over to the chair, picking up Scorpius while Draco picked up Aurora.

We went up to their bedroom and set them in their cribs, whispering goodnight to them both. Draco kissed Aurora's head gently, then did the same with Scorpius' like he did every night. I smiled fondly at his love towards them, it was so sweet.

We left and went straight to our bedroom two doors down, entered and closed the door.

((A/N: Moderate sexual content warning.))

Only moments after I closed our bedroom door, Draco pinned me to the door, his eyes glistening with desire. My mouth went dry, unable to think of anything as a surge of arousal radiated through me and speared right between my legs. He leaned in, pulling me into a heated kiss, our bodies pressing together.

His tongue invaded my mouth, coming into contact with my own, and got into a intense battle. I could feel something rubbing against my thigh right about now, and it didn't take much thought on what that was. My cheeks were burning a dark shade of red, my body practically humming with arousal. The way Draco's hands rubbed my hips, squeezing and digging his nails into them softly, was making me dizzy.

We parted, saliva trailing from our tongues, and our pupils were blown wide. Draco suddenly moved, pulling me and pinning me to the bed, making me squeak in surprise. He was panting softly, and my eyes darted down to his lower body, and right there I could see his pants straining from what was inside.

He chuckled softly, leaning down. "You want it, don't you?" he asked softly, his voice was deep and seductive now, only making the heat between my legs increase. I nodded, swallowing, our eyes locked, both filled with a strong desire...

Nearly forty-seven minutes later, both of us were left a sweaty, panting mess, Draco pulled out and collapsed beside me. This had been the most intense sex we had ever had in our years together. Draco and I both got ourselves cleaned up and then basked in the afterglow while we fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

((Any reviews are appreciated.))