* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 90: I'll Be There for You
Rob looked up suspiciously at Draco as he hovered by the filing cabinet.
"Draco, you coming?" Theo asked his best friend.
"Nah, I'm going to stay back a bit," Draco replied, smiling at Theo, "See you tomorrow."
"See you," Theo agreed, leaving the office.
"Why are you hovering Black?" Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at the Junior Auror.
"Because I need to talk to you about Theo," Draco replied, shutting the office door, "It's not just me who has noticed that he's struggling, is it?"
Rob sighed and shook his head, "He's making a lot of mistakes at the moment."
"It's because he's tired," Draco said, leaning against his desk, "Sadie is struggling, really struggling, so Theo is taking on as much as he can. He's barely sleeping, and then he's dragging himself through work five days a week, six when he's on a weekend shift."
"That's parenting, though," Rob said with a shrug, "It's hard. When Nick was born, I pulled double shifts and graveyard shifts because I was running Domestics on my own. I was constantly knackered, but you need to learn to push past it."
"It's more than just physical exhaustion though, Rob," Draco said, debating whether to tell his boss the truth or not, "Sadie…she's…."
"She has postpartum depression?" Rob guessed.
Draco nodded, "I think so, and Theo does too. The Healers are still saying it's the baby blues, but Sadie isn't prone to bouts of depression, and this is…it's so unlike her."
"So Theo is pulling the graveyard shift to help her get through the day," Rob said with a nod, "Yeah, I get it. Gaia, Nicks Mum, struggled with depression all her life, along with addiction and a million other things. She had postpartum depression too, and she eventually killed herself."
Draco's eyes widened.
"Not that I'm saying that what Theo's wife will do," Rob said quickly, "Gaia had been abused as a teenager; she hadn't had a good life. But I see where you're coming from about Theo, so yeah, I'll cut him a bit of slack. That was what you were going to ask me to do, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Draco admitted, "Was it that obvious?"
"Yep, aren't you Slytherins meant to be manipulative and sneaky?" Rob asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde man.
"I used to be until I fell in love with Hermione," Draco said, a small smile slipping onto his lips, "Falling in love with the Gryffindor Princess kind of ruins your reputation as the Slytherin Prince."
Rob snorted, "The Slytherin Prince? Did people really call you that?"
"Yeah, loads of people called me that," Draco said defensively.
"Who came up with it?" Rob asked, grinning at Draco in amusement, "Because it sounds like a self-nickname."
"Well, it wasn't," Draco said a little huffily.
"We'll see what Harry has to say about that tomorrow then, will we?" Rob asked with an amused look.
Draco just made a face, but Rob stopped laughing and said, "In all seriousness Draco, if you guys want to help Theo, the best thing you can do is bring him up to speed before the field test next week. You guys need to pass to prove that you're as good in practice as you were in your final exams."
Draco nodded, "We'll do that," he promised, smiling at his boss, "And thanks, Rob. Harry was right about you having a heart."
Rob snorted, "That bloody kid, giving all of my secrets away," he joked as he looked back down at his paperwork.
Hermione looked up when a knock sounded on her office door. She was currently working in the Administrative Registration Department of the DMLE. That meant that her day pretty much consisted of registering births and deaths, granting acceptance of marriages, and occasionally getting something a little different. This morning it had been a divorce, but a tricky one because it was between a wizard and a muggle. The children had not yet shown signs of magic, but they were still young, so the wizard wanted to raise them with knowledge of magic. The muggle wanted to take them back to her family home and raise them as muggles. There had been a lot of arguing, and Hermione quickly realised that this line of work probably wasn't going to be for her.
"Come in!" She called.
The door to the little office opened, and Hermione smiled when she saw Sadie. She had Almina in a baby carrier on her chest, and Charlus was on her hip.
"Hey, Sadie," Hermione said, "How are you doing?"
Sadie smiled sadly, "I wish I could say good."
"You're adjusting; it's understandable," Hermione said with a smile as she took Charlus from her, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Sadie sat down gingerly. Almina was fast asleep in the carrier.
"I can arrange a hot cup of tea or coffee too," Hermione said, looking knowingly at her friend.
"A hot cup of coffee would be heavenly right now," Sadie sighed.
Hermione smiled and set up a little canteen behind her with magic. Coffee began to brew itself as she bounced Charlus a little.
"Mina is okay," Sadie admitted, "And I feel awful for having a favourite child. Occasionally she gets trapped wind, but we can sort that out easily enough, but Charlie…he's impossible. I feel like he cries all day Hermione. It's this high-pitched scream like he's in pain, and nothing seems to help."
Hermione frowned down at the little boy who looked tired but was squirming and complaining, "It sounds like colic."
"What's that?" Sadie asked, her eyes widening, "Is it serious?"
"No," Hermione said with a chuckle, "It's very common, Sadie, more so in firstborn children and boys. It's basically trapped wind, to the extreme. He might be so uncomfortable because his tummy is constantly sore."
"But we burp him all the time," Sadie said tearfully.
"It's alright, Sadie," Hermione soothed, looking at her tear-stained cheeks with concern, "I'm not saying you're a bad parent. With colic though, burping them doesn't seem to do much more than take the edge off. You could get some medicine for him at any muggle pharmacy, so it might be worth nipping into the apothecary?"
"I will," Sadie said, wiping her eyes, "I'm sorry for crying at everything, Hermione. I just feel so sad and anxious all of the time. Some things are worse than others, like the thought of having to get in and out of the apothecary with them by myself because Almina is only happy in a carrier and Charlie really hates lying down flat in the pram."
"It really sounds like colic," Hermione said with a frown. She looked up at the clock on the wall, then down at her calendar, "I'll tell you what, Sade? I'll push my 1 pm meeting back to 2 pm so I can take you out for lunch. Then I'll leave you with Mina and nip to the Apothecary with Charlie to get some medicine."
"No, Hermione, you don't have to do that-" Sadie began to say.
"I want to," Hermione assured her friend as she got to her feet and grabbed her coat, "And you need a break."
Sadie smiled warmly, and it actually reached her eyes. They went down to Diagon Alley together, and Hermione took Sadie and the babies to a café that she loved, which had popped up next door to the joke shop after the war.
Almina woke up briefly for a feed, so Hermione got a little cuddle before she went back into the baby carrier, where she promptly fell asleep again. Charlus had a little nap, but he was still very unsettled. It seemed to do Sadie a world of good to eat her lunch in relative peace and quiet. Hermione told her off when she admitted that this was the first time in weeks that she had eaten lunch because she usually forgot.
Once they had eaten, Hermione put Charlus in the pram and propped him up with her jumper so that he wasn't lying flat. She had been out of the café for a grand total of five minutes when the little boy fell into a far more peaceful sleep. She said hello to a few people she passed in the alley but made sure to keep moving so that Charlus wouldn't wake up when she stopped in the apothecary.
"Afternoon, Hermione!"
Hermione smiled at the man behind the counter, "Good afternoon Ichabod," she said cheerfully.
"Have you run out of potions ingredients already? You were only in here last week," Ichabod joked.
"No, it's not for me this time," Hermione said with a laugh, "It's for this little boy and his Mummy."
Ichabod smiled down at the baby, "He's lovely. What's his name?"
"Charlus," Hermione replied, "I'm his godmother," she added proudly.
"What can I do for him, then?" Ichabod asked.
"I wondered if you had anything that works for colic? Or even any tips on something I could brew to help?" Hermione asked.
"Colic," Ichabod mused, "Yes, there's an old home remedy for that, but you're stretching my memory now. It's normally passed down from grandmothers…let me have a look in my book of household ailments."
"Thank you, Ichabod," Hermione said gratefully.
Ichabod hummed as he flicked through the book, and Hermione rocked the pram to keep Charlus asleep.
"Ah, I knew it was in here somewhere," Ichabod said, "There is a remedy. It simply requires clean water, fennel, ginger and chamomile. Most mothers put a little sugar in too, to make it taste better. It takes a day to brew and can be bottled. From this point, it will last for up to 6 months. The dosage is a teaspoon a day."
"Perfect," Hermione said with a smile, "Could you bag the ingredients up for me?"
"Of course," Ichabod said, disappearing into the back of the shop. When he came back, Hermione asked, "I don't suppose you know of any remedies to help with postpartum depression or anxiety?"
"The anxiety I can help with," Ichabod answered, "But the depression? That's on you. I'm afraid, Hermione. The best thing for that is a support system."
"Well, she definitely has that," Hermione said with a smile, "You said you could help with the anxiety? That might be a start; she's so worried and stressed all of the time right now."
Ichabod nodded. He pulled a box out from underneath the counter, "It has a cheesy name, but it works."
Hermione looked at the box and snorted, "Worreez-be-gone? It sounds like a Weasley invented it."
"It was," Ichabod admitted, "By mistake when our esteemed friends down the alley were experimenting with their range of sweets to get you out of classes."
"There's nothing dangerous in it with Sadie breastfeeding?" Hermione asked.
Ichabod shook his head, "All natural ingredients, but the sort that calm you like lavender and chamomile."
"I'll take a couple of boxes of those too then," Hermione said, "Thanks, Ichabod."
"A pleasure Hermione."
When Hermione had escorted Sadie back to Grimmauld Place, she helped her get the babies down for a nap in their cots, then she sat Sadie down in the kitchen and gave her a cup of tea.
"Don't you need to get back to work?" Sadie asked.
Hermione glanced at the clock, "Not for 15 minutes," she replied.
"Did you manage to get something at the Apothecary?" Sadie asked, sipping her tea.
"I did," Hermione replied. She pulled the boxes out of her bag, "These are for you. Ignore the cheesy name because I have it on good authority from my friend at the apothecary that they work wonders. They should help with your anxiety but try not to have more than two a day, or you could end up relying on them too much."
Sadie smiled at her friend, "Thank you, Hermione."
Hermione smiled too, "And I have all the ingredients to make a potion for Charlie. I'll make it tonight, but it will take a day to brew. As soon as it's done, I'll pop around with it. Once bottled, it will last for six months, and all you need to do is give Charlie a teaspoon a day."
Sadie's smile turned tearful, "Thank you so much. I really don't know what I'd do without you guys."
"You're lucky that you never have to worry about that," Hermione said, hugging her friend tightly and kissing her on the cheek, "I do need to get back to work, but just come through if you ever need anything, okay? Draco or I will do whatever we can to help."
"I know," Sadie said, smiling at her, "Thank you."
"Anytime."
"Is this an intervention?" Theo asked, looking around the basement of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"Kind of," Harry replied.
"More a case of bringing you up to speed, so you don't fail the field test tomorrow," Draco added.
"And we decided to do it at the last minute because information isn't staying in your head for long right now," Neville cut in.
Theo sighed, "It isn't; you're right. I'm sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Draco promised him, "Your entire life just changed overnight. Nobody blames you for being tired, but we also don't want you to get the sack because you failed the field test."
Theo nodded and took a breath, "Okay, so the field test is an obstacle course, isn't it?"
"Kind of, but you should drink this before we start," Harry said, handing Theo an energy drink, "It's a muggle invention, and it's terrible for you, but it will make your brain and body a little sharper so you can have one tonight and one before the test tomorrow."
"But no more," Draco said, giving him a warning look, "Because they are addictive."
"Yes, Mum," Theo said with an amused smile as he accepted the drink from Harry and took a cautionary sip. He made a face, "That's disgusting."
Harry nodded, "Yep, but that will happen when you put bull sperm in a drink."
The look on Theo's face was priceless. Draco couldn't help himself as he grinned and said, "Drink up then, Theo."
Harry snickered, "So the field test is an obstacle course with an unexpected element. It's probably going to be an ambush, and there will probably be a duel involved. We know that because although it's meant to be a blind test, Rob sat us all down last week and said," he then launched into a flawless impression of Rob, complete with the Irish accent, "Right, lads. The field test might be an obstacle course. There might be a lake, or that might be a red herring. There might even be an aerial aspect. There might be an ambush, not that I could possibly know that because there's no way they would still be using the same course after ten years, is there? Anyway, might be a duel in there. Us Senior Aurors love to surprise you with a little duel."
Theo burst out laughing, "So he told us exactly what to expect?"
"Course he did. It's Rob," Neville said with a laugh.
Theo shook his head in amusement, "Alright then. How are we going to do this?"
"I'm going to be a Death Eater," Harry said, "And I'm going to ambush you. Neville is going to be my right-hand man."
"Why are you the Death Eater?" Draco asked in disbelief.
"Because you were a Death Eater, and you were shit at it," Harry remarked.
Draco looked offended for a moment then frowned, "Hang on, that's a compliment."
"Well done, dumbass," Neville chuckled.
"Shut it, Fatbottom," Draco retorted.
Neville rolled his eyes, "You need to come up with a new insult."
"If you two are Death Eaters, what am I?" Draco asked as an afterthought.
Harry shrugged, "I don't know, a tree?"
"A tree? A fucking tree?"
"You'd make a good tree. All you've got to do is stand there and not do anything," Harry pointed out.
"Wasn't that your basic stance as a Death Eater?" Neville asked in jest.
"Oh shut up, Fatbottom, you aren't even his best sidekick. That was Weasley," Draco jibed back.
"Woah, you do not get to judge my sidekicks," Harry said, pointing at Draco, "Especially because you're wrong. My favourite sidekick was always Hermione."
"Was that before or after you two went camping together?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow at his friends.
"Oh no," Draco said with a shake of his head, raising his wand and pointing it at Harry, "We're not getting back onto that old argument."
Harry raised his wand and pointed it at Draco, "Fancy practising your duelling skills then?"
"Oh yeah, prepare to get your arse well and truly kicked Potter."
Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "Do I look scared, Malfoy?"
"Oh, for Godric's sake, here we go again," Neville muttered.
"And Rob thinks I'm the one shagging Draco," Theo snorted, shaking his head and sipping his rank energy drink.
From that point, chaos descended.
Harry looked up when the floo whirred. It was Sunday morning, and it was his weekend off, so he had been reading the prophet, wondering what he would do with himself for the rest of the day.
"Recognised floo signature," The floo said.
"Let them in then," Harry said, putting the paper down on the table.
He wasn't surprised to see Sadie walk through the flames. She had a baby in each arm, and she looked exhausted.
"Hi Harry, sorry to interrupt," She said apologetically.
"You weren't interrupting anything. I was just reading the paper," Harry said with a smile, "Are you alright?"
Sadie sighed, "Not really."
"It's Theo's weekend on," Harry said with a nod, "He was on call last night."
Sadie nodded, "He spent most of the night at the Closes, so I was on my own, and I'm just so tired, Harry. I…I was sort of hoping Daphne might want to have the babies for a little while."
"Oh," Harry said, his brown knitting into a frown, "Well, she's out. She takes Teddy down to Diagon Alley on a Sunday, then the park afterwards."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot all about that," Sadie said tearfully.
"No, no," Harry cut in, standing up, "You don't need to be sorry, Sadie. You look exhausted, and I have nothing better to do with my time right now. I normally just drink copious amounts of coffee and read the prophet while I'm waiting for them to come back. I'd go with them, but apparently, it's Mummy/Teddy bonding time, and since I get to take him to Quidditch matches, I'm not allowed."
Sadie chuckled.
"So I can watch the twins for you," Harry said with a warm smile, "Go on up to one of the guest rooms, put up a silencing charm and sleep."
Sadie's eyes widened, "Oh no, Harry, I couldn't. That wouldn't be fair-"
"Sadie," Harry cut in, "Honestly, I can handle them. I used to look after Teddy loads as a baby when I was still at Hogwarts half the time, actually."
"I know, I remember family week," Sadie admitted, "Are you sure you can handle them both at the same time, though?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Harry assured her, "Go on, get yourself some sleep, then have a bath afterwards. You'll be wanting some you time."
Sadie smiled broadly, "Thank you, Harry," she said, kissing him on the cheek before passing the babies over to him.
"Quiet when you go inside," Daphne said to Teddy as she unlocked the front door, "Daddy had a tough morning at work yesterday, so he might still be asleep."
Teddy nodded.
"Tiptoes, okay?" Daphne said, smiling at the little boy.
"Tippy toes," Teddy whispered.
They slipped into the entrance hall, and Teddy tiptoed for about three steps, then ran flat out into the kitchen. Daphne rolled her eyes in amusement and followed him, stopping in her tracks when she realised that Harry was awake and he had company.
Harry smiled up from the monthly DMLE bulletin that he had been reading, "Hey love, did you have a good morning?"
"Yeah!" Teddy exclaimed.
"Shh," Harry hushed him, "Mina and Charlie are asleep, Ted. Auntie Sadie had a tough night, so we need to make sure they all catch up on their sleep, don't we?"
Teddy nodded and put a finger on his lips.
Harry smiled and ruffled his hair, "You're a good boy. Go into the pantry and grab yourself a bar of chocolate."
Teddy grinned and ran into the pantry.
Daphne crossed her arms and leant in the doorway, "How long have they been here for?"
"A few hours," Harry replied, sipping his coffee and using wandless magic to re-boil the pot on the counter, "Do you want a cup of coffee?"
Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Damn, you are good at this."
"It makes you want me, right?" Harry joked.
"Worryingly enough, it kind of does," Daphne admitted, an amused grin slipping onto her face.
Harry grinned, "It's not that hard when you can have them for a few hours. You remember it when Teddy was this baby we watched every once in a while. But then, when it's full-time, you realise that the heat is on. That's what it is with Sadie, she gets riled up, so the kids get riled up. The trick is to stay calm and to know how to re-boil a coffee pot with magic. That way, you always get a hot cuppa when they are asleep."
"Is that all you can do wandlessly?" Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
Harry's grin widened. "Oh, you know it's not."
Daphne laughed, "How is Sadie doing then?"
"She's tired and emotional," Harry replied. "I sent her upstairs for a nap, told her to have a hot bath as well. You always used to like to pamper yourself when you got stressed with Teddy."
Daphne nodded thoughtfully and grabbed the steaming hot cup of coffee that Harry had just sent towards her. She sipped it and sighed with contentment, "Do you know, if the whole Auror thing ever falls through, you would make a pretty good house husband,"
Harry chuckled, "Never going to happen. I have a hero complex. I need to save people all of the time, remember?"
Daphne just chuckled as she sat down with him at the table, "Apparently, this time, it's Sadie."
"Sadie doesn't need saving. She just needs a little bit of her sanity back," Harry said with a chuckle, "Wouldn't we if we had twins?"
Daphne shuddered, "Ugh, just do not jinx it."
"You would only have to give birth once," Harry pointed out.
"Yeah, but then I'd have all of this stress that Sadie has," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "Watching her go through it is painful enough."
Harry nodded his agreement.
"Anyway, we're not there yet," Daphne said, smiling at him, "We've got Teddy and our careers. We aren't having a baby right now. Let's just remind ourselves of that every time these adorable little angels make us feel broody."
"You," Harry snorted in amusement, "They are making you feel broody."
"Yeah, they really are," Daphne agreed.
"So, are you sure you don't want to have a baby right now?" Harry asked, mostly in jest.
Daphne fixed him with a stern look, "If you got me pregnant right now, Bill would go off his head. He'd duel you."
Harry snorted, "Pfft, and? I could take Bill Weasley in a duel any day of the week! Twice on Sundays cause he'll be full of Molly's amazing food, so he'll be slower. You get it?"
"Yeah, I get it, but it was way too elaborate to be funny," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "No babies, and no duelling my boss. Got it?"
"Got it," Harry chuckled, sipping his coffee once more as Teddy barreled back into the kitchen and woke the twins up.
As the days and weeks passed by, Sadie gradually came to rely on her friends less. The twins began to settle into something that resembled a routine, and as a result, she and Theo got more sleep. Neville had also let Sadie into a little secret; he had taken her to the greenhouse on the grounds of Longbottom House. Sadie had loved it and had jumped at the chance to help Neville out there for a few hours one night a week. She loved the babies, but she needed some time just to be herself too.
However, there were some days when she struggled and some days when Theo struggled too. It was harder for him in a sense because he had to juggle being a dad to two very young children with his job as a newly qualified Auror.
One such occasion was on a Saturday morning. Sadie had gone out with Daphne, and it was her first outing without the kids (apart from her trips to the greenhouse after she had put the babies to bed). As such, she hadn't wanted to go far, so she and Daphne were spending the day in London together.
Theo had coped well, to begin with, but come midday, he was at breaking point. It was Draco and Neville's weekend at work, and Harry was away at a Puddlemere game with Teddy, which left him very few options for support.
That was how he ended up in the hospital wing of the Auror training centre. He smiled sheepishly at Lilly when she saw him hovering in the doorway, "Hey?"
Lilly laughed, "Hey, are you having a hard time?"
"Just a bit," Theo said with a sigh, "Do you mind if I hang around for a while?"
"Course not," Lilly replied, "Come over here, though. I'm fixing up a trainee."
Theo followed her to the far end of the hospital wing, where a trainee lay with his leg propped up.
"Gareth, this is my friend Theo," Lilly said conversationally, "His wife nearly died giving birth to these little cuties a couple of months ago, so things have been pretty tough for them."
Gareth nodded, "Okay?"
"So he's going to hang around here for a bit while I fix you up," Lilly finished, "You cool with that?"
"Yeah, Moon, just knock me out with a pain potion and do your thing," Gareth said nonchalantly.
"Alright, deal," Lilly said, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a phial, "Knock that back. You'll be out at least 12 hours, so you'll miss Potions Lab tomorrow."
"Nice," Gareth said, and he knocked the drink back.
Theo watched this scene in amusement and chuckled when Gareth started to snore.
Lilly shook her head in amusement, "He's a second-year who didn't pass when Sumner opened up the exams to everyone. No surprise considering he got this in a training exercise."
"What did it?" Theo asked, looking at the leg, which was pretty chewed up.
Lilly conjured up a padded playpen, "Pop the twins in."
Theo did. The babies were just over two months old, so they couldn't do much more than just lie there. Lilly did a fancy little spell with her wand, which made stars and planets float around above their heads. The twins instantly began to try and reach out to grab them.
"You're bloody brilliant, Lil," Theo said with a sigh.
Lilly smiled at him, "In answer to your question, he got into a fight with a Kappa."
Theo rolled his eyes, "Idiot."
"Coming from you?" Lilly snorted, "You've not exactly got the best record with magical creatures, have you?"
"That's all in the past Lil, I'm learning to be at one with nature now," Theo remarked.
"Yeah, right," Lilly sniggered, "See that door over there?"
Theo glanced over to where she was pointing, "Yeah?"
"It's the office, nip in and get yourself a cuppa," Lilly ordered him.
"Yes, ma'am," Theo said, grinning and saluting her before disappearing into the office.
He busied himself with making the coffee, all the while thinking about how lucky he and Sadie were to have friends like Lilly. Theo chuckled at the sight he saw when he came back with his cup of coffee. In-between stitching up Gareth's leg, Lilly was playing peek-a-boo with the twins.
"You're in the wrong line of work," Theo said with a warm smile, "You should be working with kids."
"Yeah, maybe one day," Lilly said with a smile, "Right now, I love where I am."
"Fair enough," Theo said. He couldn't argue with that when it was exactly how he felt about his own job.
"Fun Auntie Susan is here!"
Sadie smiled weakly at her friend as she stepped into the drawing-room, "Hey, Suse."
The smile on Susan's face flickered, "Are you okay, Sadie?"
"Tired," Sadie said with a shrug, "I don't think I'll ever not be tired anymore if I'm honest."
"It will get better," Susan said, grabbing her friends hand, "By which I mean, you'll get used to this level of tired so you'll stop feeling tired."
"That's not at all confusing," Sadie said, raising an eyebrow at the Hufflepuff.
"Ah, you get the gist," Susan said with a wave of her hand, "Look at these little bambinos! They are so big!"
Sadie looked down into the playpen where the twins were playing with soft toys.
"They are coming up on three months old now," Sadie said with a nod.
"Has it gone quickly?" Susan asked, rummaging in her bag.
"Sometimes it does, other times…not so much," Sadie replied.
"You seem a lot brighter than you were the last time I spoke to you," Susan said honestly, "Oh, and the reason I'm here is because I have presents! Perce and I went on one last trip before we decided to settle down like the boring old farts we're becoming."
Sadie chuckled, "Has he started working at the Ministry then?"
"Yeah, he started last week," Susan said with a smile, "And I had a job interview. Did I tell you about that?"
Sadie shook her head, "No, where was it?"
"The Ministry," Susan admitted, "In the DMLE. I figured if I'm going to do the whole, proper career thing, I might as well follow in the family footsteps."
Sadie laughed, "Lawyer then?"
"Lawyer, Juror, I don't know," Susan said with a shrug, "Figured I'd start out working in Misuse of Magic Office and see where it goes from there. I got the job either way."
"Good for you," Sadie chirped.
Susan smiled too, "But, since it was our last trip, I made sure to bring something nice home for the twins, so here we go!"
She pulled two very brightly coloured soft toys out of the bag, and Sadie laughed as the twin's eyes widened the moment they saw them.
"Ooh, do you like these?" Susan asked cheerfully, "They are from Mexico! They are cool, aren't they? Yeah, they are! Here you go, munchkins."
Sadie smiled as her friend put the new toys into the playpen. She drew her legs up underneath her and watched Susan play with the babies, and she took a deep breath, reminding herself to count her blessings.
It was easier now; Charlus had calmed down so much since Hermione had come up with her colic remedy. The anxiety relieving sweets did help too. The bad days were becoming few and far between, and most days, Sadie could see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
And all of that was due to their amazing friends.
April became May, and Wizarding Memorial Day came and went. It wasn't quite so sad this year because there was a lot of light and happiness in all of their lives now. The twins continued to blossom as they learned new things and got bigger each day. Theo, along with all of his friends, truly began to fit within the Auror department, and Child Protective Services really began to come into its own.
Rob was promoted to Senior Auror, which he wasn't happy about at first because he thought it had only happened now that he and Sheppard were friends again. After he grabbed John and held him against the wall, he realised that it hadn't had anything to do with John and he had been forced to buy him a hell of a lot of pints to apologise for being a 'rash bastard', in his own words.
Traditionally in the Ministry, May was promotion season. It was when any annual promotions tended to be announced and when any significant changes began to be implemented. Arthur had been promoted to Head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, which was a brilliant promotion in terms of status and pay.
Because of this, Draco wasn't surprised when Hermione burst into the house excitedly one Monday night.
"Draco!"
"I'm in the kitchen!"
Hermione ran in and beamed at him, "I just passed my course! It's early, but they said that they didn't see any point in having me finish it when I had already proven my worth."
Draco beamed at her, "Congratulations!"
Hermione threw herself into his arms and squeezed tightly, "I got to pick my department. Do you know what I picked?"
"Aurors, or Hit Wizards?" Draco guessed. He knew that she had enjoyed working in those departments.
"Not quite," Hermione said, smiling at her fiancé, "But I expect that I will be working with you quite frequently."
Draco raised an eyebrow at her, "Go on then. What did you pick?"
"Technically, I will be working out of the Auror office," Hermione said with a smile, "But from the administrative side of things. I decided to be a lawyer, I enjoyed a lot of what I did over the past year, but I hated the paper pushing. I want to make a difference, and that's where I can do that."
Draco smiled proudly at her, "Of course it is."
"So I'm going to specialise in Child Protection and Creatures Rights cases," Hermione said, bursting with excitement and happiness, "And I'm going to change things."
"Hermione Granger, defender of the wizarding world," Draco said, smiling as he leant down to kiss her, "I love you, and I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of me too," Hermione admitted, leaning into the kiss.
A few nights after Hermione's big career news, the door in the basement opened. It was nearly midnight, and Hermione hadn't had the easiest day. She had well and truly been thrown in at the deep end with a tough case.
Draco looked over at Hermione, who yawned in response.
"He'll have the twins with him. You go up to bed, I'll help him out for the night," Draco said.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, looking at him warily.
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Draco promised, "I'm good with babies, remember?"
"I know," Hermione said, smiling at him, "Draco Malfoy, the baby whisperer."
"Black," Draco corrected.
"You'll always be Draco Malfoy to me," Hermione said, kissing him lightly, "Whether you want to be or not."
Before Draco could respond, they heard crying coming from the stairs to the kitchen.
"Runaway before you get sucked into babysitting," Draco said, nudging her towards the staircase.
Hermione chuckled and disappeared up the stairs. Draco smiled as he watched her go until Theo stepped in the hall with black bags under his eyes and two grumpy babies.
"Hey man," Theo yawned.
"Hey," Draco replied, "Tough night?"
Theo nodded, "Sadie is knackered Draco; she just needs a break. Can we crash here tonight?"
"You don't even need to ask, and you know that," Draco said honestly, "Do you need a hand getting them settled down?"
"If you don't mind," Theo admitted.
"I don't mind. I love these guys," Draco said with a genuine smile, "But I'll have Mina because she likes me better."
"Yeah, Charlie always stares at you suspiciously," Theo agreed with a chuckle as Draco took Almina from him.
"Come on, little one, you need to get to sleep so I can give your daddy a nightcap and let him catch up on some rest," Draco said, gently rocking the little girl.
Theo yawned and followed Draco up to the drawing-room, "Thanks, Draco, you're the best."
"I know you're tired but don't get all sappy on me," Draco teased.
"Ah, I'm always sappy," Theo said with a grin.
Draco chuckled in amusement, "Yeah, that's true, but for all your flaws, you made two amazing kids Theo."
Theo smiled, "Whose getting sappy now?"
"I'll just sing Mina a lullaby before we get too sappy and start crying," Draco joked, making his best friend laugh.
Despite how exhausted he was, Theo also felt incredibly lucky.
Hermione smiled when she stepped into the drawing-room the following morning. She knew that Draco had been helping with the twins all night because he hadn't come to bed, but she hadn't expected to find them all sprawled in the drawing-room together.
Theo was fast asleep on the sofa, drooling all over her favourite cushions. The twins slept soundly in a playpen, and Draco lay next to it with his hand through the bars, resting on top of Almina's chest.
Hermione smiled at the sight. She knew that Draco loved babies, and she couldn't wait for the day that they decided to start a family together.
She didn't want to wake them up, so she headed downstairs to get breakfast on, all the while thanking Sadie and Theo for choosing them as the twins' godparents. It truly was a blessing as far as both Hermione and Draco were concerned.
* ~ TBC ~ *