"I don't want to hear it!" Draco snarled as he stalked past McKenzie's room, making his way to his own.
"I really think you should go with me," Hermione told him softly.
"What's wrong?" McKenzie asked in alarm, joining them in the hallway. She frowned when Draco stopped and turned around to look at her. His eyes were red. He was fighting not to cry.
"Do you know your uncle Brodie, Kenzie?" Hermione wondered. "Your dad's brother?"
"I see him about once a year," McKenzie answered, eyeing over her birth father. "He's in the service, so he's busy a lot. Why do you ask?"
"He's sent me an owl--"
Kenzie laughed, extremely amused with the thought. "He did ?! Do you know he's Muggle ? He doesn't normally understand how we do things. He's awfully silly, but he does try."
Hermione nodded, but Draco remained silent. His jaw was twitching.
"Why are you upset BD?" McKenzie asked carefully. He wasn't typically this quiet.
"Your uncle wants to speak with us--"
"No, he wants to speak with you ," Draco retorted icily.
"Only because I've been in contact with the orphanage, and they alerted him of McKenzie's situation as soon as they discovered his existence!" Hermione explained.
"You're afraid he's going to want to take me away from you," McKenzie summarized, sadness in her tone.
"I'll fight for you, Kenzie," Draco spoke up determinedly. "No one is taking you from me again. Not now. Not ever."
McKenzie ran to Draco, and he picked her up, hugging her to him as she wept into his chest. "I want to stay here with you and BM!" she cried out. "I don't want to go!"
Hermione quietly rubbed the child's back as McKenzie broke into sobs, but Hermione wasn't going to say what she was thinking. It was a possibility that there was going to be some ugly business in their near future.
It wasn't only Draco who wanted to keep McKenzie around. As soon as she had set her eyes on McKenzie less than a week ago, she had known that she had made the biggest mistake of her life.
Hermione had been given a second chance to be this little girl's mum though, and she wasn't about to throw it away. Not now. Not ever.
Days later, after practically begging him to join her, Hermione and Draco arrived in the city of Inverness where Brodie lived. They walked in silence, neither eager to speak about the upcoming, nerve-racking conversation they were about to endure.
Draco pulled open a door to a large apartment building, holding it for Hermione.
"He lives in Flat 4," she informed him.
It was just a few doors down. They stopped in front of it, each holding their breath, hesitant on knocking.
Just as Hermione raised her hand up to rap on the door to alert Brodie of their arrival, the door in front of them pulled open, revealing a stiff, fit older man with brunette hair that was starting to grey.
"So you are here," he said evenly. His eyes scanned each of them over before he stepped back, permitting them entry. "I have prepared some tea for us." He gestured over to a serving tray. And they were soon joined by his wife.
"This is Martha," he introduced them to the plump woman with curly blond hair. "I can assume you are my niece's biological father?" he directed at Draco.
"I am," Draco stoically answered.
Brodie nodded. "You may both sit down, if you wish. Or you can stand."
"I'll stand, thank you," Draco said. He accepted a cup of tea from Martha who held it out for him. She did the same for Hermione (who sat down in a chair) before making one for herself.
"You may as well know, I am a busy man," Brodie began, taking a seat with his own cup of tea. "I'm hardly even around the home. It wasn't until recently that I heard about my brother's disappearance." He frowned at the thought of his missing brother. "Evidently, Oliver and I haven't been in touch recently. Your authorities have considered him dead for months now, I've been told." Here, Brodie paused to furrow his brow. "It strikes me odd that their bodies haven't been found. I would have expected a little better with your magical abilities, but tragically they are gone either way. Naturally, I am concerned about McKenzie's well-being--"
"We have five children of our own," Martha cut in, and she took a sip of her tea, inhaling a shaky breath. "I will not decline homing my niece, but you should know, we are not young anymore. Having five already to care for, on my own while my husband works, is exhausting --"
"And that's before we even get into the whole witch thing--"
"You have a problem with my daughter being magical?" Draco nearly growled, instantly becoming defensive.
"No, of course not!" Brodie exclaimed. "My brother was Muggleborn, and he was an amazing young man. What I'm trying to say is, I don't wish to put the added stress on my wife, and it really is only right for McKenzie to be raised by people who can embrace her magical abilities. I would not want her education to be stunted in any way. You see, we have tried to grasp many of your customs, but we have failed miserably at it. It's just not something we can grasp when we can't even practice it. Seems… too fairytale like."
Draco nodded approvingly. "You do not wish to take Mckenzie in then?"
"We love her, as if she were our own blood, but if she'll be happier with you, wouldn't that be the best for her? That is, if you would like that second chance at being her parents?"
"If you wish to give her up, we will raise her as our own," Martha offered. "She is family, after all."
"Do you mean it?" Hermione asked hopefully, tears flooding her eyes.
"Only if you let us see her every once in a while," Brodie bargained, smiling for the first time of their meeting.
"Her cousins simply adore the idea of magic," Martha explained with giggle. "They get so excited when they hear that Mckenzie is coming over for a visit!"
"It's a deal!" Hermione exclaimed, and through their excitement, she and Draco hugged each other, laughing as their nervousness quickly vanished away.
One Year Later
"Catch it, you guys!" McKenzie shrieked as the chocolate frog that she had just given her little cousins came leaping out of its packaging.
Three, small Muggle children laughed uncontrollably as they chased the enchanted chocolate around the room.
"So are your biological mum and dad finally going to marry each other or what?" McKenzie's cousin Mary wondered. She was the same age as McKenzie, and she was ever the romantic. Mary found their story incredibly fascinating and always asked about how they were doing whenever the girls got together.
"BD is going to ask her to marry him on Christmas morning," McKenzie informed with an excited shine in her eyes.
"Do you think she'll say yes?"
"I have absolutely no doubts in my mind at all." McKenzie was now grinning. "They kiss a lot ! Without the presence of mistletoe, I might add!"
Mary sighed dreamily. "This is the greatest Christmas story I'll ever know! Hallmark needs to seek your family out! I love watching those films!"
McKenzie laughed. "They only need to turn BD into a prince, and I could be his long lost princess!"
Mary gasped. "That's an amazing idea!"
Christmas was an absolute joyful day. McKenzie watched as Draco proposed to Hermione who said yes before pulling him up from his knee and kissing him.
McKenzie cheered, ecstatic that their family would now be official. She jumped up from her mountain of Christmas gifts and crashed into her birth parents, hugging them, tears falling from her eyes.
Scorpius, who had got to spend Christmas with his father that year, cheered out in delight. "It's about ruddy time! I thought you'd never marry!"
"We've got a surprise for you," Draco said to the both of them.
"Another gift?" McKenzie asked, baffled at the amount she had already received. "Honestly, you're spoiling me-- not that I mind my new broom!"
Hermione laughed. "This is a gift to us all," she paused dramatically, putting a hand to her stomach, sharing a smile with Draco.
McKenzie's eyes widened. "You're going to have a baby?!" she squeaked out.
"Whoa!" Scorpius gasped, putting his hands up to his head in complete shock. "Are you serious?!"
"Indeed," Draco confirmed, chuckling over their reaction.
"You best not adopt this one out!" McKenzie teased Hermione, shaking a finger at her.
"Oh, we've decided to keep this one. Together ."
Draco nodded, swiping his daughter into his arms, squeezing her tight enough to make her squeal. He then motioned for his son to join his side, and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Together is right! All of us will be together! Forever!"
AN: Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. I know 2020 has been one of the worst years many of us have been through. Try to stay positive. Thanks for reading! :)*Hugs to all*
Review Responses
tmtcltb: Oh good you did find me. Nice to know! Yeah the aurors didn't know how to find Brodie at the time. He is Muggle and Kenzie's parents were Muggleborns-- their extended family isn't known.
BlueOrchid96: They were romantically together for around four months. Hermione explains why she put McKenzie up for adoption (she wasn't ready to have kids and didn't think Draco would be interested in being a father)