Making Babies

It has been nearly a week and a half since Artemis had returned to Fowlington Manor and she still had not revealed to her parents, why she and Draco were no longer getting along. Perseus and Persephone had tried to get their daughter to open up to them, but she remained tight lipped. It wasn't that she didn't trust her parents, or felt that they didn't deserve to know what was troubling her. She just didn't see the point in telling them what had happened when there was nothing that could be done about it. The longer they went without knowing, the more concerned her parents grew. Draco was owling Artemis daily and every day she would either tear his letters to shreds or she would throw them into the fireplace, without so much as glancing at what he had written. Perseus was sure that Draco would have told Lucius what had happened, either by choice or by force. His predictions were confirmed several days after their initial arrival home, when Lucius owled him and requested that the two families meet for dinner, somewhere public, to inform the children of the engagement party that was to take place shortly. Perseus was sure that Lucius knew what had taken place between Artemis and Draco, though he didn't say, seeing as how he specified that they were to meet 'somewhere public'. Lucius was smart enough to know that all parties involved would make less of a scene if they were in a public place. Perseus sent an owl back to Lucius, informing him of the date and location they would meet.

"Artemis, hurry up or we'll be late! The Malfoy's are expecting us at the club for dinner in five minutes!" shouted Perseus hoping to speed his daughter's preparations. Upstairs, Artemis was still finishing her hair, leaving her long hair that she had just curled, down, the soft spirals bouncing when she moved her head. Thought she didn't particularly care whether or not Draco thought she looked nice, she didn't want him to think that she was sitting around all summer, depressed over him. So she made sure that she looked better than ever, electing to wear a tight leopard print pencil skirt and a fitted three quarter sleeve, black cardigan, with a pair of black leather stiletto sling backs. After one last glance in the mirror, Artemis grabbed a fancy black outer robe and went to join her parents downstairs, quietly rejoicing in the fact that she had now insured that her family would be no less than fifteen minutes late.

888888888888888888888888888888888888

When they finally arrived at the club, an exclusive gathering place for the area's elite Pureblood families, the Malfoy's had already been seated and were patiently awaiting the rest of their party. As the Fowlington's approached, the entire family stood to greet them. Artemis greeted Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy affectionately but when she came to Draco she turned away and pulled out her chair, taking a seat as far from him as possible. Upon noticing this, Draco whispered to her Father, requesting that they switch seats. Perseus rose and moved around the table, seating himself in Draco's chair, who then sat down in the chair Perseus had previously occupied. Perseus and Lucius immediately immersed themselves in conversation while Narcissa and Persephone did the same, leaving Draco and Artemis to sit next each other, uncomfortably silent. After a few moments of the tense silence, Draco slowly took a hold of Artemis' hand, intertwining their fingers and gently rubbing small circles on the top of her hand with his thumb. Artemis did not attempt to move her hand from his reach.

"You look amazing," whispered Draco, hoping to goad her into conversation. She did not reply.

"Did you get my letters?" he asked nervously, continuing to stare at Artemis, who had not taken her eyes off of the menu.

"Don't talk to me Malfoy," hissed Artemis quietly, so that their parents wouldn't hear. "The only reason I haven't hexed you for touching me, is because my parents are sitting five feet away."

"Are you ever going to forgive?" asked Draco solemnly, squeezing her hand as she tried to inconspicuously remove it from his.

"No."

"Then we're going to have a pretty miserable life together. Is that what you want? Do you want to be unhappy?" Draco asked louder than he had intended, the four adults at the table turning their attention to the two quietly arguing teens.

"I don't think, what I want, is any of your concern," replied Artemis nastily, giving up on being inconspicuous, and jerking her hand away from Draco. Draco didn't reply, he just picked up his menu and ordered his supper.

After they had all finished eating their dinner, Lucius asked the waiter to clear the veranda, as they had important and private matters to discuss. The young waiter scampered off, quickly doing as Mr. Malfoy had ordered. Once the veranda had been emptied, the two families gathered in the exquisitely decorated room. As always and much to Artemis' chagrin, she was seated right next to Draco. Once everyone was settled, Lucius informed them of why they were meeting tonight.

"Artemis, my son has informed me of what transpired between the two of you towards the end of the school year, and while his actions were undeniably clever, they were stupid." Artemis glared at Lucius Malfoy, unbelieving that he had just called Draco's actions clever. "I understand why you are upset my dear, but I really think that you should listen to what he has to say. I will not force you to, but if you did, I'm sure you would be able to forgive his indiscretions. But regardless of the tiff between the two of you, at present, we still have a wedding to plan."

"Speaking of the wedding," interjected Narcissa giddily, "have you decided on a theme yet?'

"Later, Narcissa," admonished Lucius before continuing, "this coming Saturday we will be hosting your official engagement party at Malfoy Manor and we expect the two of you to get along and, at least appear to be, a very happy engaged couple."

"I know that you are hurting, right now, though I don't know why…" began Perseus in an attempt to placate his angry daughter.

"Save it!" shouted Artemis, standing and heading towards the exit, before she could leave Lucius reached her, grabbing a hold of both of her arms forcing her to face him. Lowering his face, so that they were looking each other in the eyes, Lucius warned Artemis.

"You will not make a fool of my son. He has apologized to you, many times, for his actions and instead of accepting his apology and trying to start your lives together amicably, you decide to piss and moan about it like a baby." Even though Draco knew quiet well what it felt like to be on the receiving end of his fathers temper, he couldn't let him treat his fiancé the way he was.

"Father!" shouted Draco, quickly approaching the two of them, "she has every right to be mad at me. I don't blame her for not accepting my apology. You can't get mad at her because I screwed up." Draco pried his Father's hands off of Artemis, noticing the violent red marks his fingers had left on her pale skin.

"I understand that you made a mistake, Draco, but her behavior certainly isn't helping matters," hissed Lucius, trying to reign in his temper. Draco again looked at Artemis' arms, the red marks already starting to turn into bruises, his anger boiling over at the sight.

"Don't you ever touch her like that again," growled Draco, a wave of protectiveness washing over him, catching both Artemis and Lucius off guard in the process. Lucius looked at his son, noticing the way his hand twitch convulsively around his wand, ready to strike at any moment.

"Very well," smirked Lucius, his eyebrow raised slightly in amusement. Not even he, could be angry at his son for protecting his future wife. Lucius took his seat glancing over at his wife, a knowing smirk plastered on his face. Narcissa and Persephone were smiling widely at each other also.

"Well, I believe things are going to be just fine," mused Perseus clapping loudly, startling Artemis and Draco, who were both looking over the marks on her arms appraisingly. Realizing that she was letting Draco behave affectionately towards her, Artemis jerked away quickly, rushing over to her seat. "So it is Wednesday now, which gives you two days to decide on what you will wear, Artemis. Do you think you could manage to be on time, this time?" questioned Perseus, giving his daughter a knowing look. He was well aware of the fact that Artemis had made sure that they would be late for their dinner arrangements that night.

"Yes Father," whispered Artemis, rolling her eyes at him.

"Good, I believe everything is settled. We shall see you on Saturday evening. The two of you will need to be there to greet your guests. Their invitations said to arrive at eight o'clock, so try to get to the manor no later than seven thirty," said Narcissa happily as she walked over to Artemis, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "My dear, if you haven't already thought of a theme for the wedding, do think about it and let me know when you arrive for the party. We only have six months to plan the entire affair."

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy, I'll let you know," replied Artemis, secretly excited at the prospect of beginning plans for her wedding, even if it was to the biggest prat she'd ever had the misfortune of meeting.

88888888888888888888888888888888

The night of the engagement party came far too quickly in Artemis' opinion. She had spent the last two days mulling over Draco's behavior Wednesday night at dinner, and she was even more confused than before. All of his actions, as of late, dictated that he was truly sorry for what he had done and that he really did care for her. She was actually considering sitting down and talking things out with him. It was just so hard to look at him, after what he had done to her. Not only did he mess things up between the two of them, but he made a mockery of her entire relationship with Daegus. Towards the end, Artemis was more annoyed with Daegus than anything, but for a time she had really cared for him, and Draco made her feel like a complete fool for doing so. What's worse, was that Artemis had really started to care for Draco as well, she was pretty sure that if she hadn't already loved him, she was well on her way to doing so. As Artemis slipped on her gown for the engagement party, careful not to mess up her extravagant up-do that was accented with a diamond encrusted head band, she pondered whether or not she should try to work things out with her fiancé. After all, unlike his accusations at dinner earlier that week, she didn't want to be miserable, but she didn't know if she was ready to forgive him just yet.

Before heading downstairs to meet her parents, Artemis checked her reflection in the mirror once more. She had searched all day Friday for the perfect dress and when she had found this one, she knew that it was 'the one'. Artemis had fallen in love the moment she saw it. The ivory gown contrasted wonderfully with her strawberry blonde hair, and unlike bright white, it didn't wash her out, causing her to look sickly. The corseted bodice of the gown laced up in the back with gold silk ribbon that was tied into a bow at the bottom. From the bottom of the corset, the gown flowed out into a very full skirt, only instead of going to the floor, the many layers of tulle that were hidden underneath the top layer of silk that matched the bodice, stopped just below her knees. One of the best parts of her outfit was Artemis' shoes, impossibly high stilettos with a single strap across the toes and a strap around her ankles. The two straps were made of the same ribbon as the lacing on her corset, and the ankle straps were tied into neat bows. She knew she very much looked the part of a bride, but she didn't care, after all, technically she was.

When Persephone saw her daughter walking down the stairs, she nearly began to cry, realizing that she, most certainly, wasn't a little girl anymore. Soon she would be someone's wife, and eventually someone's mother. Suddenly, she disliked her husband, very much, and did little to hide that fact.

"You look like a princess," whispered Perseus dotingly as he helped her put on her ivory coat with fur trim, before taking her hand and leading her to the door, as her mother followed behind them sullenly.

"You know you're looking pretty dapper yourself, Father" she said smiling as they entered the carriage that was to take them to Malfoy Manor.

888888888888888888888888888888888

"You're on time I see," joked Lucius as the Fowlington's arrived, Persephone and Perseus walking through the doors first, followed by Artemis. "You look amazing, my dear," said Lucius as he embraced his future daughter and helped her remove her coat, attempting to make amends for his rough handling of her at their last meeting,

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy," replied Artemis quietly, trying to inconspicuously scan the room for Draco. Noticing this, Lucius informed her that he would be joining them momentarily, along with Narcissa. Lucius led them to the ballroom, in which the party was to be held, Artemis couldn't believe her eyes. The grand ballroom was decorated floor to ceiling to look like an forest. Not a single wall could be seen, as in their place stood the most beautiful trees and bushes she had ever seen. Tables were situated through out the room, decorated with beautiful fragrant flowers. The room even smelled like a forest. The far end of the room held a floor to ceiling waterfall, the water pooling into a small lake. In the center of the small body of water was a stage, apparently they would be having musical guests that evening.

"Your mother mentioned how much you loved the outdoors, so we thought we'd recreate it for you," whispered Lucius, closely to her ear. She turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck, spontaneously.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed before continuing her explorations. Just as she was leaving the ballroom to join her father and Mr. Malfoy, Artemis saw her fiancé walking down the stairs, she smiled at him nervously. The look on her face immediately changing when she saw someone else walking behind him. Especially since that someone was Pansy Parkinson. Noticing that her expression had changed, he looked behind him, realizing immediately why she looked so mad. Draco quickly tried to get to her, but Artemis stalked out of the room, leaving Draco behind to curse his luck.

88888888888888888888888888888888888

Once Narcissa and Draco had joined the two fathers and Artemis in the sitting room, Pansy was in the ballroom with several of the guests who had already arrived, Lucius prepped the children for what would be taking place that evening.

"At some point you will need to greet every person who comes to the party. It is a great deal of work but it is only proper and absolutely necessary," he informed them. "After supper is served you will be asked to come onto the stage and address your guests as a whole, thanking them for coming and informing them that they should be receiving their wedding invitations shortly. It is very, and I stress very, important that the two of you appear to be happy together. You will need to spend a great deal of time with one another tonight. Other than that, enjoy yourselves, after all, it is your party." The parents left the children to sit and mull things over. Once the room was cleared, Draco rushed over to the chair Artemis was sitting in, crouching down in front of her, successfully blocking her exit.

"Artemis, Pansy and I were just talking," pleaded Draco softly, hoping she would understand, when Artemis said nothing, he decided that perhaps telling her what they were talking about would help. "She and I have been friends for a very long time..." Before he could finish, the house elf announced that several of the guests had arrived. Artemis took advantage of Draco's being distracted and quickly reached the door. Draco took off after her, hoping to finish what he was trying to tell her. Turns out Artemis was quicker than he had expected and she reached their guests before he could reach her.

"Oh, Blaise it's so good to see you again. I can't thank you enough for coming," cooed Artemis a little too enthusiastically. Since the guests had begun to arrive the band began to play, "I love this song, Blaise would you be a doll and dance with me?"

"I could never say no to a beautiful woman, engaged or not, and I must say you are looking ravishing tonight." Blaise offered her his arm, directing her to the dance floor, leaving an annoyed Draco grumbling behind them. As he watched his fiancé and best friend, not to mention soon to be best man, dance together, a house elf walked past with a tray of champagne. Even though he knew the champagne was only for the adults, it didn't stop him from grabbing the entire tray and stalking off towards an empty table. Draco downed glass after glass of the bubbly drink, until all eight glasses were empty and Draco was pretty well buzzed.

After her dance with Blaise, Artemis retreated to one of the empty rooms. It just so happened that the empty room was Lucius' study. A study that also happened to have a rather well stocked bar and this fact did not go unnoticed by Artemis. Normally she wasn't one to drink but she was in such a lousy mood, she couldn't help herself. Naturally, Lucius stocked only the finest alcohols, so it wasn't long before Artemis was completely plastered.

8888888888888888888888888888888888

The Malfoy's had spent the entire evening with the Fowlington's, quietly making arrangements for their children's wedding, allowing Artemis and Draco to handle hosting the party. Little did they know, that neither Artemis or Draco were hosting anything.

"It seems like things are going quiet well tonight. Perhaps the children have finally made amends," suggested Narcissa, after realizing that no problems had been brought to their attention, all night. Less than half an hour later, a loud commotion drew the parents from their reverie.

"Shut up you stupid... prat!" slurred Artemis, throwing a tiny appetizer at the scowling young man in front of her.

"I am not a stupid prat... I am a stallion, a stupid stallion but a stallion none the less," informed Draco, matter of factly. Artemis rolled her eyes at his proclamation, scoffing loudly. "How many times do I have to have to apologize to you," he whined. Artemis said nothing, tossing another appetizer at his face. Draco, unsteadily, climbed into the nearest chair and then onto the table before clearing his throat loudly.

"I just wanted to say that I, Draco Malfoy, am an ass. I offered to pay Daegus Dewitt to have his naughty way with my fiancé, so that I could be rid of her," he shouted, stumbling a bit due to his inebriated state. "I did that in the beginning of my sixth year and then I forgot about. Yes I know, I'm an idiot. And then... I fell in love with her and Daegus told her and now she is really, really mad at me and I completely understand why! For the millionth time, I am sorry. I'M SORRY! Now can we please, go make babies?"

"DRACO MALFOY!" shouted a livid Lucius, who now stood in front of his drunk son, Narcissa and the Fowlington's looking on, equally as stunned as he was.

"Yes Daddy?" asked Draco calmly, his face dead serious as he jumped down from the table, nearly landing on top of a hysterically laughing Blaise Zabini. Lucius grabbed Draco by the arm and nearly dragged him towards Artemis, grabbing her in the process and heading out of the ballroom as camera's flashed brightly behind them.

"This party is over!" he shouted before disappearing out of sight. Lucius silently ushered them towards an empty room, nearly tossing them inside. "Work out whatever it is, that is going on between the two of you. Your not leaving this room until you do," he menaced, slamming the door and warding it shut before storming back down to the now empty ballroom. Narcissa and Persephone greeted him quietly as he entered, offering him a rather large glass of scotch. Perseus entered the room shortly thereafter, informing them that everyone had left and that based on what the guests had told him, it had been a very 'amusing' evening.

"Did you see how drunk they were?' laughed Narcissa finishing off her glass of champagne. "She was throwing crab puffs at him." All of the adults couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the crab puffs bouncing off of Draco's pale face.

"Yes Lucius, that boy of yours is a 'stallion'," mocked Perseus, snorting loudly as he tried to suppress his laughter. Once his laughter had settled Perseus said, "at least he finally admitted he loved her."

"He did, didn't he. Though I doubt he'll remember it tomorrow. Where did you put them anyway Lucius?" asked Persephone happily.

"I locked them in the parlor and told them to work it out and that they weren't coming out until the matter was settled." The other three adults nodded their heads in agreement with Lucius' actions. Suddenly Perseus started laughing again, causing the others to begin laughing again.

"Now can we please go make babies," muttered Perseus, trying to impersonate Draco, his laughter ceased as soon as the words left his mouth. "You mean you locked two completely drunk, teenagers in a room together?" All four adults immediately jumped up and ran towards the parlor.

88888888888888888888888888888888888

"See what you've done, you stupid stallion!" shouted Artemis mockingly, flopping down onto the settee. Draco stared at her appraisingly, his eyes heavily lidded in his drunken stupor.

"You look really hot, Artemis," said Draco stupidly, a goofy grin taking up residence on his face.

"I know," laughed Artemis. It only took Draco seconds to cross the room, placing his hands of either side of her face and drawing her closer to him. Draco Malfoy had kissed many girls in his short life, but the second his lips touched hers it felt like, what could only be described as, perfection. What started out as an innocent kiss quickly turned passionate. Draco slowly drew her tongue into his mouth, gently stroking it with his own as he gently lay her back down onto the settee, lying atop her as he did so. They remained in that same position, tongues dueling, until the door of the parlor flew open, startling them both, Draco falling off of Artemis, landing roughly on the floor.

"What are you doing?" asked Perseus unbelievingly.

"Making babies," laughed Artemis, snorting loudly as she did.

"Working it out. Just like you said, Father," replied Draco innocently, his swollen lips contradicting the innocence he was trying to portray.

"That's not what I meant and you know that... Stallion," mocked Lucius grabbing Draco and pulling him off of the floor. Artemis lay on the settee, still fighting to control her laughter. Perseus gathered Artemis in his arms and made to leave Malfoy Manor, his wife following closely behind, laughing quietly to herself.

"We'll be seeing you," said Perseus, bidding the Malfoy's goodbye.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Draco!" shouted Artemis waving wildly within her Father's arms

"Plenty more where that came from, love" Draco replied, laughingly as they disappeared from sight. "High five!" shouted Draco to his father, holding his hand up in anticipation. Realizing Draco wouldn't put his hand down until he acquiesced, Lucius lightly clapped his hand against his son's. Draco then rushed up to his room, to do only Merlin know's what.

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

THIS IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHAPTER! I HOPE EVERYONE LIKES IT AS MUCH AS I DO : )

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888