The Age of Innocence is Just Beginning

By Phoebe Halliwell

Chapter seven

Draco kept to his word and took Harry out for the day, they did all their Christmas shopping before Draco took Harry to see a romantic comedy at the cinema and then out for a meal.

The day out did exactly what Draco had hoped and really cheered Harry up, no reporters followed them and they were both able to relax without worrying about being watched and photographed.

When they arrived home, laden with shopping bags, Callie, Timothy, Alyssa, Lucius and Narcissa had already eaten and cleared away, Piper was in bed sleeping and the others were in the living room watching an old movie.

As they had been apperating and disaperating from their home it had saved them from facing the media circus now camped out on their lawn, it seemed that they were not giving up easily; the story of Harry Potter's daughter becoming such a significant force for evil was not a story to be missed.

Both Harry and Draco were pretty tired and decided to leave the others watching the film while they went off to bed, Harry checked in on Piper along the way, but otherwise they didn't detour.

"You know … it's been a while since we …" Draco said suggestively as they entered their room, closing the door behind them. He encircled his arms around Harry's waist and pulled him close.

Harry smiled and cast a silencing spell on the door without leaving the comforting hold of Draco's arms. Their lips met in a passionate embrace, just because they were married with children didn't mean their sex life couldn't be great. All it meant now was that they now took precautions.

Harry was on the wizarding equivalent of the muggle pill, it was a potion that he took weekly to ensure that he didn't become pregnant again. It wouldn't do him any harm, he was still young enough to carry and give birth to children but four children were by far enough for Harry and Draco's liking, besides that they now had Piper to care for as it seemed that Samantha would not be coming back any time soon.

Harry and Draco moved towards the bed, falling on to it while removing their clothing, it had indeed been a while since they had made love. Harry loved the way that Draco made him feel as he ran his hands all over his body that had not lost his perfectly defined muscles even after three pregnancies.

They were both very much in love still; nothing could tear them apart, not after being together so long, they had raised the children as a couple and had become stronger for it, some couples weakened after children came on to the scene and this had indeed happened to Harry and Draco but they had worked past that and come out stronger for it.

As they made sweet love to one another they became blissfully unaware of the situation they were in, the worries and concerns that had clouded their lives were gone in that split second, it was as if nothing else mattered in the world.

They exchanged presents on Christmas Eve, Darius and Susan included in this, needless to say Samantha did not turn up for the families festivities, Harry tried his level best not to show how upset he was by this fact, he instead tried to enjoy the holiday and be grateful for the family he had around him.

By the time the twenty fifth rolled around Darius was a ball of nerves, pacing the living room in his wedding robes; everyone else was still getting ready. Harry was dressing Piper in her cute little purple dress and doing her hair.

Draco had been assigned the job of calming Darius down; he was not doing a very good job, he could hardly remember the moments leading up to his and Harry's wedding, or even the ceremony itself only the blissful happy feeling that came afterwards.

He had of course tried explaining this to Darius but it didn't seem to help, Harry was also a little irritated that all Draco could remember about their wedding was the sex afterwards.

It was finally Callie who took her twin brother aside and calmed him with a few words of comfort; this seemed to make things a little better. The ceremony was due to take place in the grounds of one of the local manor houses that sat empty, ready to be hired out to whoever had enough money to do so.

It was all set out beautifully in the picturesque grounds, the arch that Darius and Callie would marry under had ivy and white roses covering it, the seats laid out for the guests were all white velvet, it was a true fairy tale wedding. There was a marquee for the reception and even that looked as if it had been taken right off the set of Narnia or Lord of the Rings.

The house elves that would be doing the serving had been ordered to dress in beautiful white outfits so that they too blended in with the beautiful surround. Harry and Draco, not to mention Peter and Ann all knew how much the wedding had cost them but to see their children marry in such a beautiful place and to see how happy they were with the result of months of planning was more than enough repayment.

Vows were spoken and rings exchanged, Susan was complimented on her beautiful dress and Darius looked like a nervous wreck the entire way through the ceremony itself but they came out married and smiling at the end. The photos were taken before everyone was permitted to move on to the reception where a fine meal had been prepared and also an endless supply of alcohol awaited.

It was just after dinner when the ball had begun that the night went down hill, Samantha, never one to miss a family gathering turned up, she was wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt so looked very out of place next to everyone else who was in their best robes.

It was Piper who alerted them all to her presence, "Mummy" she said happily, crawling towards Samantha who gave her a disgusted look and walked away, Harry went to Piper and picked the now crying baby up, before confronting his daughter.

"What are you doing here Sammy?" He asked, noticing what was happening Draco too went to Harry's side, it wasn't exactly hard to miss them as Samantha was standing in near enough the centre of the Marquee.

"Can I not come and rejoice in my big brothers wedding to a slut?" She asked innocently, "Come on Dad, did you really think that I was going to miss this, after all I am part of the family."

"I think you should leave Sam." Darius said he had heard what she had said about his wife and was not best pleased with his little sister; he was outraged that she dare come here and ruin his wedding day.

"Samantha you have chosen to become one of them and therefore I have no choice but to deny that you are part of this family, we will not associate ourselves with evil, I fought against Tom Riddle for eight years before I managed to kill him and if your not careful then you will end up the same way."

"Is the famous Harry Potter really up to killing his own flesh and blood, somehow I doubt that, it was pure luck that you have survived this long, I have read my Uncles journals and you are nothing more than a fraud."

"But I would still die to protect my family; can you say that your followers would die to protect you?" Harry asked, Samantha didn't respond.

"Leave Samantha, your not welcome here." Draco said putting a protective arm around Harry's waist to comfort him and keep him strong.

Samantha actually laughed, "Your not even my father, its your fault that I'm standing here the way I am, if you hadn't left then this would never have happened, it's your fault, the deaths, the pain, the suffering, it's all because of you."

"How dare you blame Draco, he has always been there for you, David didn't even know that you existed, and you side with him, we raised you, loved you."

"But it doesn't matter, because I'm not like you." She said with a sneer, "I'm your worst enemy all over again and there is nothing that you can do to stop me."

"You will die; the wizarding world will not stand another war, not again."

"We'll see shall we?" She said with a smile, "Bye" With that as her last word she disapparated, leaving Harry as an emotional wreck and Draco to pick up the pieces.

Everyone tried to continue with the party as if nothing had happened but the undeniable truth was no one could really forget what had happened and as soon as Darius and Susan flooed off to their honeymoon the crowd dispersed, heading home.

Callie, Timothy, Lucius, Narcissa, Harry, Draco, Piper and Severus we the only ones who remained behind, Draco was dancing with Piper, Timothy was having an in-depth conversation with Lucius while Callie and Narcissa danced as well. Harry was downing fire whiskey and talking to Severus.

"I will go over the prophecy again first think tomorrow, I will look for loop holes or anything that I misinterpreted," He said trying to comfort the other man but it didn't seem to be working as he was crying. Severus placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulders, he was so glad that they were talking to him again, he still had feelings for Harry but after so long he knew that he couldn't act on them again. Besides that he knew that Draco was watching them very closely even though he was dancing with his granddaughter.

"What good is it" Harry said as tears flowed freely down his cheeks as he downed another shot of fire whiskey, the highly alcoholic liquid burning his throat as it went down. "I've lost my youngest daughter."

"We'll get her back" Severus said, "We'll get her back if it's the last thing that I do."

Later that night after Harry had passed out at the bar and Draco had had to apperate him back to their home Lucius finally spoke to Draco about the incident.

"I realise how much this is hurting Harry but you must keep him strong, there is a long way to go yet and if this continues then we may have to fight her."

"We can't go to war against her father, she is still our daughter."

"She has no relation to you Draco; you would do well to remember that."

"I raised her father, I was there for her birth, I have done more for her than David ever has, she may not be my daughter biologically but she still feels like she is mine."

"I have listened to the prophecy myself Draco and Severus did not translate the cryptic clues correctly it is not Holly Longbottom that will have to defeat Samantha but someone much close to your heart and he will not have to fight her either." Lucius said mysteriously.

"Who is it father?"

"I cannot tell you, he must figure it out on his own but know this, it is not Harry or yourself, just be there to comfort your husband, he needs you right now."

With that Lucius went off to bed and Draco went to join Harry, he couldn't help but wonder who it was that Lucius had meant, he just hoped that it would all be over soon, he didn't think that Harry could cope anymore. He checked in on Piper on the way to bed and was satisfied that she was soundly asleep.

Harry was also snoring loudly, the effects of the alcohol had sent him into a deep sleep. Draco undressed and slipped in beside him, he wrapped his arms around his husband and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"I love you" He whispered, Harry gave no response, he just grunted and snuggled closer to Draco's warm embrace.

What did you think? Don't forget to leave a review for me. Phoebe.