Above and Beyond

Chapter 2- Something New

'Hey, Belle said no pushing.'

'You're such a big baby!'

'I want Mommy.'

'Okay, quiet everyone. We're going in now.'

There was a collective deep breath before a pair of huge double oak doors opened slowly to reveal Draco Malfoy and his mother.

Draco gasped and beside him he heard his mother do the same. He wondered vaguely what he had gotten himself into. He was staring at a line of children, arranged in no particular order. The youngest, on the far right was a boy of no more than two. He had inky black hair that curled at his ears and around his nape. He also had haughty, aristocratic features for so young a child and Draco couldn't help but find a vague resemblance to someone. He couldn't quite place it though.

The boy was clinging to the hand of a rather tall girl. She too had inky black hair, though hers was somewhat longer. She had braided it into a long plait and Draco was pretty sure it reached her waist. She bore the features of aristocracy with her high cheekbones and unwavering gaze. The next two children on her right were twins. Very obvious twins; they looked exactly alike. He was pretty sure one was a boy, he vaguely remembered Bartleby making that distinction about them. They had yellow blonde hair, that Draco was sure would pale as they grew older.

They were all but hanging onto to each other and they looked terrified.

Draco sighed, he and his mother made an imposing pair. Matters were not helped by Narcissa looking politely withdrawn as she always did. Draco gave his best attempt at a warm smile. The tallest girl stepped forward. Her eyes, Draco noticed, were silver; they all were. The family trait of the Malfoys and they all appeared to inherit it from their mother. If there was any doubt in Draco's mind as to their veracity, it was dispelled now.

'Mr. Malfoy,' she began, her voice was clear and strong. Any fear she had was not shown. Draco was impressed.

'Mr. Malfoy, first allow me to say a pleasant greeting to yourself and your mother.' Here Narcissa inclined her head politely.

'We are the Cabrera chil - ' she swallowed visibly. 'The Cabrera orphans.' She finished her voice wavering with her last word.

'I'm Bellona Cabrera, the eldest.' She did a little curtsy for their benefit, looking not a little uncomfortable. 'These are - ' she motioned for the twins to step forward. 'Adan,' she said, indicating the boy who was now looking at Draco with what was definitely abject terror. 'And Adeline' she finished indicating the girl. Adeline clung to Bellona's skirts in fear and dared not look up.

She gestured to the young lad still holding her hand. 'This is Lucas.' She ended, picking him up from the floor and settling him on her hip.

Draco felt the need to speak up. 'I'm Draco Malfoy,' well that was enlightening, he thought sarcastically, they already knew his name. 'This is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy. You may call her,' he glanced at his mother before continuing 'Aunt Cissy.' Draco had had to suppress a grin when Narcissa suggested that the children call her that. It might make them feel more at ease, she had said. Well, Mother's demeanor right now couldn't put the Dark Lord at ease.

Bellona nodded at this and Draco continued.

'May I ask you a few questions?' Bellona looked surprised but nodded quickly.

'How old are you.' she stiffened at that, Draco wondered if he'd touched a nerve. He was about to retract the question when she answered.

'Sixteen, my seventeenth birthday is in a few months.' She steeled her voice before continuing. 'Adan and Adeline are both four and Lucas is one and a half.' Draco nodded unsure of what to say next.

Narcissa seemed to pick up on his hesitation because she stood speaking directly to the children.

'Welcome, children, to Malfoy Manor. I am sure you must be exhausted after your trip, so if you'll come with me - ' she broke off looking at Bellona, who nodded.

'Of course Mrs. – Aunt Cissy.' Draco could not hide a smirk. Bellona picked hers and the children's things before Narcissa made her stop, summoning a house elf to take the luggage to their rooms.

She had informed Draco that the children would occupy the East Wing, since that was where his bedroom was located anyway. Bellona would have a room to herself with Lucas' crib and Adan and Adeline would share a room. Draco was perfectly okay with the living arrangements and he moved on to the second order of business on his agenda: acquiring an au pair.

…………………

Ginny sat at her desk trying desperately not to twiddle her thumbs. She thought she would just about expire from sheer boredom.

Dead

Dull

Dormant

Depleted

She kept thinking of words to describe her day so far. It sucked, in case you couldn't tell. She stared at the various office memos that were pinned onto her cubicle wall, her eyes coming to rest on her calendar. It was 29th of February. The next day was circled in a red marker (much like the one that was used to highlight a portion of the Cabrera's will, but Ginny would never know that). The red marker signified a birthday. Ron's! Ginny thought stupidly. She smacked herself in the head. How could she have forgotten her youngest brother's birthday? It wasn't as if she was exactly busy, she just forgot. And the situation had to be remedied. No way would she show up at the Burrow tomorrow without a present. Now just to figure out what he would want…

A new broom! Wait, no, Harry would think of that, wouldn't he. She had to think of something else. Ginny's lips curved in a satisfied smile, she knew exactly what to buy for her dear brother.

'Weasley,' a voice barked from the end of the hallway. Looks like her gift-buying would have to wait. She stuck her head out in the corridor, looking up and down for the source of the voice.

She sighed and got up, rather reluctantly considering how bored she was a few minutes ago. The voice she had heard belonged to her direct supervisor, one of the actual partners in the company. She walked down the corridor and into his office without bothering to knock. Once he had called her (and rather loudly at that) she just went right in.

'Take a seat,' he snapped, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. He was standing with his back to her facing the window. Ginny suppressed another sigh. Her superior might need to work on his interpersonal skills but his dedication to and his skill at his job made most people overlook his blatant rudeness. He couldn't help it, Ginny supposed. She sat down and waited patiently for him to start talking. It had been a while since she had been called into his office; he usually just sent memos or something of the sort.

He turned around and smirked, on seeing her hair, Ginny assumed.

'Ms. Weasley, have you any idea who I was just on the phone with?'

It was with great difficulty that Ginny restrained from rolling her eyes. Of course she didn't, did he really think she did.

'No sir,' she said through gritted teeth. Her boss might be good at his job, but he was more than capable of being a prat sometimes. He was silent for a few minutes.

'Would you care enlighten me?' she asked finally.

He gave a half-smile, obviously amused by the impatience in her tone.

'Draco Malfoy.'

If he had expected a reaction, he was certainly disappointed. Ginny merely arched an eyebrow, clearly asking him to elaborate.

'It seems Mr. Malfoy has gained guardianship of some children in need of protection. He didn't go into details, but he is a Malfoy and I promised him our best.' He looked directly at her while finishing this statement.

While Ginny was flattered that Mr. Vann considered her the best VVH had, something was telling her to refuse this offer. This was Draco Malfoy, after all. Insufferable git and all-round bastard. What could she stand to gain by working for – no with him? Ginny was still pondering her answer and her instinctively negative reaction when Mr. Vann asked her a direct question.

'Do you want the job, Weasley?'

'Er - ' Ginny stammered. She hadn't made up her mind yet.

'There're four kids, two boys and two girls, twins too.'

'I'll do it.' she answered eagerly.

Her superior smiled. 'Excellent.'

Ginny wondered what she had gotten herself into.

…………………

A/N: I changed a bit in this chap, sorry. Wasn't quite satisfied with the twins' age. I needed something I could manipulate easier. If you're reading this story for the first time, just ignore this. )