Ridiculously Long Author's Note: After much contemplation and a few begs...I present you with the Epilogue. I can't say I've managed to get in every bit of information I wanted, but I'm quite pleased with the outcome and I hope you feel the same.
I was originally considering an AN at the end, but after reading and editing, I decided against it as I didn't wish to mar the flow.
However, some readers have inquired as to other WIP and I decided to satisfy a bit of curiosity.
Coming Soon:
Living With War - Sequel to - Death is not the End
The Train - your typical Dramione sort of fic, which obviously begins...on the train.
The Hogwarts Games - my first and probably last crossover as it is incredibly difficult to write. Think...Harry Potter x Dr Who x Hunger Games - because who *doesn't* love The Doctor?
Mark of the Beast - a delightful little fic where Lucius Malfoy is Minister for Magic...because why not?
As always...thanks for reading. *kisses*
Epilogue
"I can't believe it, you're still ridiculous."
"You're simply being difficult. Look at his grace, never mind his grey eyes. I'll have you know grey eyes have been featured in the Malfoy family for centuries."
"Until now…"
"That is neither here nor there, as you well know I was referring to the male heir."
"Jerk."
"Bitch. Do not strike me! Cissa, Hermione is abusing me again!"
Narcissa Malfoy clenched her teeth in a manor most unbecoming of a Malfoy and blatantly ignored the raised voices from what Lucius had declared 'the telly room'. She adamantly refused to set a single foot into the room, until the Muggle contraption was banished, yet her husband had always been a stubborn man. It seemed even his softening to his Muggle-born daughter-in-law had not altered much if anything.
"I don't know why she insists upon viewing those films with him. She knows he's going to argue with her." Draco Malfoy hefted his daughter in his arms and hoped Xander was not wrecking too much havoc in his playroom.
"Draco, you know as well as I do, it is simply the nature of their relationship to badger each other until I wish nothing more than to be deaf."
"Clearly." Draco cringed as the sound of breaking glass reverberated through an empty corridor.
"Give her here. I wish to dote upon my only granddaughter." Narcissa smiled grandly at the tot, cuddling her into her chest.
She studied the girl's dirty blonde curls and large brown eyes with delight. The child in question blinked her long eyelashes and smiled in such a way, Narcissa was reminded of her only son. Though it happened to irk Lucius to no end, Narcissa had no such qualms when it came to grandchild's eye colour. She surreptitiously enjoyed the infusion of new blood into the antiquated Malfoy line.
"Da! Iunno what 'appen!" Xander Malfoy screeched through the corridors until he reached his father and threw his arms around Draco's legs.
"What did you blow up this time?" Draco scooped the child into his arms and ruffled his dark hair.
"Teddy."
"You blew up Teddy? Potter's going to fucking murder me, not to mention Aunt Dromeda."
"Da, no fuck."
Narcissa's first inclination was to smack her son about the head for his choice in language, yet she refrained.
Instead, with a bleary eyed child nestled against her cheek, she retreated from the sitting room in favour of the nursery. No matter how many times she had begged, her son and his family resolutely refused to move into the Manor. She was however grateful they visited often, as it eased her desire for the pitter-patter of tiny feet in the Manor once more.
"Dada." Ara Hope Malfoy squirmed in her grandmother's arms until her bare feet struck plush carpet.
"Daddy is busy with your naughty brother." Ara evaded her grandmother with wobbly steps and managed to wedge her body beneath her cot.
"Dada." It seemed Ara was just as stubborn as her father, a fact not missed by Narcissa.
She sighed with distaste as she lowered herself to her knees in order to retrieve the child. Ara had never been one to voice her distaste and Narcissa had reveled in the idea of an even-tempered child. Merlin knows Draco and Hermione have their hands full with Xander, the last thing they needed was another child with a tempestuous temperament.
"Ara, come here darling, it's time for a nap." She cooed, wiggling her fingers, secretly wishing she had a biscuit with which to tempt the child.
"No. Dada."
"I don't know what to tell you, he's occupied. You'll simply have to make due with me." Narcissa, reaching the taut end of her thin grasp on patience, snatched the obstinate child from beneath her bed.
"NO! DADA!" Ara Hope had decided that was to be the day to wield her Malfoy temper.
She kicked, slapped, punched, and yes, even bit her grandmother who was severely tempted to toss the child into her bed and vacate the premise. Fact of the matter is, the idea of a lovely holiday in Florence was delectable when faced with her squalling, red-faced, furious fifteen-month-old grandchild. Narcissa gently placed the shrieking child in her cot, despite wishing to smother Ara with an embroidered pillow.
She slammed the nursery door and wished only for a moment of peace. Narcissa 'scourgified' the sticky handprint on her pastel pink robes and mentally packed her belongings. She Silenced the nursery for the sake of her sanity and slowly traversed the familiar corridors as she valiantly attempted to enhance her calm.
"See? Teddy is absolutely fine. You didn't blow him at all. For the love of Merlin, stop crying."
"Uncle Da! Xan eated my biscuit!"
"Teddy, I'll get you another bloody biscuit. For the millionth time, I am not Uncle Da. I am Xander's Da."
"Otay Uncle Da!"
"Da say bloody. Bloody bloody bloody." Narcissa pressed her fingertips into her temples and rued the moment she ever thought she missed the sounds of children in the Manor.
"Stop it! Don't say that! Xander, don't jump on the bed! Teddy, if you don't get down, I'm going to tell Dromeda! Fuck it." Draco nearly collided into his mother and grasped her arms. "I can't take it."
"Silence the room. It worked magnificently for that demon you call a daughter." Draco blinked in surprise and refrained from laughing.
It seemed Narcissa Malfoy was completely unaware of the bright red handprint upon her cheek and Draco thought it best to ignore it. He had difficulty remembering a time his mother hadn't been perfectly coifed. It seemed his children had even managed to mar the memory of his mother. He loved them, absolutely adored them really, and yet there were moments when he couldn't help but to wish for the slightest moment of utter and complete silence.
"Malfoy! They're here!" Hermione bellowed from the foyer and Draco cringed.
He was not looking forward to spending his day with their old friends. Quiet honestly, the only thing he absolutely wished to do was take a nap, but it was obviously out of the question. The sounds of children's laughter and the chatter of their parents consumed him and he considered shouting at them all to leave. Instead, Draco Malfoy set his shoulders, threaded his mother's arm through his own, and descended the staircase to greet their guests.
Narcissa did not smile as children of all shapes and sizes rushed passed her. Vaguely she wondered if she could recall their names. Of course, she came to her senses and realised, she did not care in the least.
"Cissa! There are Potters in the house! Oh my gods, there are Weasleys as well!"
"THAT'S IT!" Draco's jaw dropped more than a bit, shocked by his mother's outburst.
It seemed their guests had dissolved into silence and even Lucius managed to tear himself away from the telly. Hermione emerged from behind them, a feat Draco still never managed to unearth with Ara sleeping peacefully on her shoulder. He was positive that alone was going to send his mother into fits.
"I've had enough. I can't bloody take it any longer. Draco, I love you dearly, please go home, and take your children with you. Lucius, I swear to Merlin, I'm going to hex your telly to bits, and those hairy-footed beasts are not Malfoys! I'm going on holiday." Narcissa sighed at the very mention of leaving behind such chaos.
"You've got a bit of something on your cheek there." Leave it to Ron Weasley to interject and ruin the first moment of complete silence Narcissa had experienced in months.
"Holiday, Cissa dear, where on earth…for how long…you can't just…" Lucius sputtered, seemingly incapable of completing a thought.
"Florence. We happen to have a delightful villa in Florence and I for one intend to make proper use of it for at least a month."
"There's not a telly there…" Draco quickly held his mother's hand as he knew she was a nanosecond from drawing her wand. "How…how long will you be gone?"
"At least a month."
Hermione carefully stepped down the marble staircase, adjusting her daughter's weight. She knew they had spent more then their fair share of time at Malfoy Manor. She quite enjoyed her banter with Lucius and truly believed Narcissa had enjoyed their company.
"I suppose now is a bad time to tell you I'm pregnant?" Narcissa closed her eyes, lest she speak words she would later be forced to recant, and squeezed her son's hand.
"Make it six."
"How do you suppose Luna is faring?" Hermione brushed her long hair in front of her vanity with long strokes.
"Nee, I'm sure she's bloody fine." Draco reclined upon their four-poster with his arm across his eyes, secretly thankful the children were fast asleep.
"You know how she gets when Blaise is away on business and with just her and Larkin in that big house alone…"
"No, absolutely not. I'm still quite put out with you as it is. The idea of Luna and Larkin completely riling up Xander and Hope is out of the question."
Hermione slowly slid her robe off her shoulders, knowing Draco was watching her every move. She uncapped her lotion and slowly massaged the creamy white paste into her skin. Her fingers deliberately moved down her arms and the back of her neck, with soft little sighs and even a groan or two.
"You don't play fair at all." She started somewhat as his warm breath tickled the back of her neck.
His hands quickly followed, his palms filled with what considered her 'goop', but she wasn't about to complain. Hermione's robe quickly fell to the wayside and it was easy to allow him to cart her off to bed. It was easy to fall back onto their feather soft bed.
The easy was always what she had loved most. Their relationship had been far from conventional, but Hermione supposed its what she loved best about it. She knew now, she never could have been happy with Ron. He didn't challenge her in the ways she craved. Despite their sordid history, Hermione still loved Ron in her own way and Draco still scoffed at her Gryffindor tendencies.
She sighed, groaning into the bed while Draco carefully caressed her skin. It seemed his habit had become to treat her as if she were a cracked piece of china while carrying the next Malfoy. Hermione didn't mind the cautious treatment, yet there were moments when she wished to raise his ire and calm the beast.
"I'm not going to break. It isn't as if we haven't done this before." His hands faltered and she braced herself for the imminent question.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione turned onto her back and quickly covered her bare breasts with a sheet, knowing it would distract him otherwise.
"I was planning on it actually…tonight. I hadn't meant to slip, in front of your mother no less, but her outburst amused me to no end."
"The last thing I wish to discuss is my mother, especially when my hands are quite full with my wife's tits." Draco smirked and tweaked a lotion free nipple.
"Did you know Ron and Millie are finally expecting?"
"Fuck Nee, why must you make him wish to curl up and die?" Draco gestured toward his floundering erection, quite distressed.
"There's a bag of flour in the closet." Hermione smothered a snort. It seemed the mention of flour always did the trick. "Now, shut up and fuck me." Draco groaned, quickly covering her body with his own.
He always had a bit of a penchant when his wife spouted vile words in bed. He considered it a special treat as she was normally quite mild mannered, especially since they spent the majority of their time surrounded by children. Draco reveled in the moments Hermione would consider downright filthy and attacked her naked body as if it were the last time he'd look upon it. Hermione definitely wasn't complaining.
"Did you hear Charlie is visiting from Romania?"
"Don't care."
"I thought it would be nice to have him and his wife…"
"Absolutely not."
"Are you still jealous? Even after all this time? Don't you think that's a little ridiculous?"
"I'm not jealous. I'm territorial. There is a difference."
Hermione Malfoy stamped her foot and Draco knew he was in trouble. He had quickly learned this pregnancy was different from the previous as it seemed she was easily riled and easily set to tears. He supposed it came with the territory of carrying more than one Malfoy, but what did he know of such things?
He chanced a small glance at Harry Potter to see the green eyed ponce avoiding him. In fact, if Draco wasn't mistaken, Potter was hiding behind his wife and children. Astoria ignored him as well, suddenly finding the Jackson Pollack he still thought hideous, the most interesting sight she'd ever seen.
"Why are we forced to entertain the entire Wizarding World?" Draco huffed and poked his soggy pancake with his forefinger.
"You're being difficult. Your mother will be returning in the next month and it's really going to be my last chance to see the Weasleys as a whole before your evil spawn make an appearance."
Harry snorted and helped himself to a stack of pancakes as he sat across from his former Partner. Harry, it seemed, was the happiest of the bunch. After what they had quickly labeled 'the Cho debacle', he had resigned from his position in the Ministry. He spent the first year sitting on his laurels and drowning himself in Quidditch matches until Astoria announced the impending arrival of another Potter.
Even Draco had been impressed when Harry had secured a position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It hadn't surprised anyone when he had practically shouted he was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Harry, being Harry had pouted a fair bit when greeted with half-hearted 'congratulations', but he'd gotten over it quickly when faced with a seven layer chocolate cake.
"Shut up Potter. You named your child Albus. I mean Albus, the poor boy hasn't a chance of normalcy. He can't even say well, my parents were bloody barmy when they named me Albus but at least I've a middle I can use. No, had to ruin that too. Poor little Potter." Draco shook his head with feigned forlornness and even Hermione managed a small grin.
"Hey! Albus Severus is a completely respectable name. He is named after two wonderful people and you've no room to talk eh?"
"Think my name is funny, do you Potter?" Draco smirked as if they were eleven years old meeting for the very first time and Harry couldn't help but to shudder.
"About Charlie…" Hermione wiped her hands on her apron and ruffled Xander's curls before eying her husband.
"I heard the Ministry matched him with a dragon wrangler. Apparently she comes from a well known Romanian family." Astoria Potter was completely oblivious to the angry glower on Draco's face and prattled on. "I believe her name is Dalina Petran and she's absolutely brilliant. I suppose she could put even our Hermione to shame and…"
Draco ignored Astoria in favour of watching his wife's face pale. His grey eyes narrowed as she began wringing her hands and bustling about their kitchen. He was well versed in his wife's habits and knew she was bothered. It didn't sit well with him to discover his wife, his Nee, the mother of his children, was put out from the mere mention of a wizard she hadn't seen in years.
Unexpected emotions bubbled to the surface and Draco knew he didn't wish to even pretend for another moment. He was angry, hurt and absolutely confused. He decided his best recourse was to retreat, before he shouted at her.
Draco stood quickly and gathered a quiet Xander in his arms. He knew he should say something, anything really, but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. Instead, he nodded to Harry Potter, whose eyes widened considerably before stepping into the Floo.
"Draco? Did I forget a date for Teddy?" Andromeda Tonks hurried from her kitchen, quickly wiping her hands on her apron in order to embrace her nephew.
"Xander, go and find Teddy yeah? Do play nice." He halfheartedly patted his aunt's waist before venturing into her modest living area.
"Hiding from your wife?" Andromeda presented a lovely array of baked goods on her silver tea service with the barest hint of a smile.
"Avoiding more likely." Draco helped himself to a lemon biscuit, silently remarking his wife's were much better and poured himself a cup of tea.
"Come on then, I haven't all day. Those boys will be into trouble before you can even blink."
"Apparently Charlie bloody Weasley is making his way back to London. I don't care in the least, obviously but it seems to have my wife all atwitter. She wishes to host some sort of Weasley gathering at our home. I don't even allow the Weasel in my home and she wishes me to cater to the whims of a bloke she had some sort of sordid relationship? You should have been her face when Astoria shared a bit of gossip. It seems, Charlie Weasley has himself some Ministry approved Romanian wife." Draco growled, and crossed his arms angrily.
"I've never known you to be jealous." Andromeda sniffed dryly while listening carefully for the sounds of troublesome toddlers.
"She doesn't know I've read their letters." Draco continued as if his aunt had never spoken with a scowl etched across his brow. "I shouldn't have, but if they were completely innocent then why had she hidden them in the washroom cupboard?"
"Was there anything untoward?" Andromeda had to admit she was deliciously intrigued. She had spent many years outside of the scope of the Wizarding World in order to properly mourn her deceased family and to raise Teddy.
"She's incredibly vague and I have difficult ascertaining her intentions, but his are as clear as day. Did you know he asked her to beg off our wedding? He offered her shelter in Romania, as if the Ministry's arm is impossible of reaching that far. Bastard has written her the entire time we've been married, professing his undying love for her and I've remained silent. She didn't leave me. She's provided me with children and I fucking love her but…"
"But what Draco?" Andromeda could see her nephew struggling with his fury.
She placed herself in his position for a moment, wondering how she would feel if Ted were still alive and corresponding with a witch that happened to hold his affections at one time. Her teacup cracked in her hands and Andromeda quickly set it on the side table to her left, before it shattered. She made a mental note to repair the cup at a later date and leaned forward to clasp Draco's hand.
"I will not have that fucking piece of shite red headed bastard in my house. I don't give Salazar's saggy left bollock if he's completely in love with his wife. Fact of the matter is, less than six months ago he was writing my wife, confessing his continued affections. I will burn Forest Lake to the ground before I allow him to set foot past the wards." Draco ignored the sudden roar of the Floo and smashed his aunt's teacup into the wall.
"Aren't you being quite dramatic."
"Aren't you quite the cheating bint." Hermione swore if her husband could shoot fire with his eyes, she would have been a charred pile of ashes.
"Draco, Hermione, perhaps now isn't the time…" Andromeda attempted to intercede on behalf of her loved ones only to receive scathing glowers in return.
"Cheating, that's absolutely absurd!"
"Is it? I've read your correspondence and you expect me to simply welcome that dragon fucking, wife wooing, poetry writing, simpering sop of a son of a bitch into my home? My fucking home Granger?" Draco twirled his wand only to keep from hexing his very pregnant wife. He eyed the prominent bulge, unsuccessfully hidden beneath a multi-patterned skirt he simply knew was the work of Molly Weasley.
"Y-you read them? You invaded my privacy to…to…" Hermione floundered, her cheeks flushing and even Andromeda felt uncomfortable. "You've nothing to fret about. It's not as if we can divorce."
"I can leave." Hermione took a small step forward, only for her shiny brown eyes to widen as her husband stepped away.
"You would leave, over a few letters? That's ridiculous. It's not as if I've carried on a long torrid affair with him. He's in bloody Romania. I'm set to have more of your children, if that's not commitment I don't know what is." Andromeda led Hermione to an overstuffed chair near the hearth as it looked the poor witch was swaying on her swollen feet.
"An affair of the heart then. You're the one who spent forever teaching me the value of communication. You're the one who was bloody furious when I had tea with Daphne, regardless of the fact she just so happened to be big as a house when Moretti was on mission." Draco's lip twitched as he valiantly attempted to keep his snarls to the minimum.
He didn't wish to argue with her, hence why he had vacated the premises in the first place. However, he knew his wife was not the sort of woman to allow him such peace. She constantly felt the need to badger him until they sorted their issues. Normally, he appreciated the effort, yet since he had found the small bundle of letters, everything had changed.
"Yes, but at one point you had a sexual relationship with her." Hermione cringed as her back continued to plague her with errant twinges.
"You dated him."
"I dated Ron as well and…"
"Exactly and how many times have I allowed him into our home?" Hermione closed her eyes, twirling a curl around her forefinger and Draco knew she was carefully considering his words. "Did we have a celebration when he and Millie returned from their half year holiday? I certainly recall we didn't. I'm sure Dragon Bastard's mother is preparing a delightful Weasley extravaganza and I'll have you know Bill, Fleur and their pretentious children are arriving in the next few days as well. So tell me Nee, why is it you must celebrate the return of a man you haven't seen since you were blown up, if he happens to be nothing more than an old friend?"
His eyes narrowed when Hermione winced and his first inclination was to cross the space and inquire as to her welfare, but he was still entirely too angry for such things. Instead, his concerned grey eyes flitted to Andromeda, who nodded quickly and kneeled beside his wife.
"I…I…you have to understand. I never encouraged him. I-I don't know why he's so insistent. I thought…perhaps if…if Charlie could see we're actually happy…he'd stop."
Teddy and Xander tiptoed into the kitchen, intent upon snatching a few biscuits, in the midst of Hermione and Draco's heated argument. Teddy loaded his arms with biscuits and scones, but Xander stood quietly listening to his parents. He wasn't about to turn down a perfectly good biscuit, regardless of his parent's anger.
As they slipped out of the kitchen amid giggles and dropped biscuits, Xander heard his mother's voice crack. He gestured to the pink haired boy with a crooked finger and they crept into the living area to crawl behind a sofa. They munched their biscuits, each wishing they had a spot of milk, when Teddy broke the silence.
"Xan, why your mummy and daddy yell so much?" Six year old Xander sighed dramatically and dropped his chocolate biscuit onto his leg.
"My daddy went away. Da is my da. My mummy yell lots but she went way too. Mum-mum is my mum-mum. They not yell lots like daddy and mummy, but big peoples yell some times. They use big big words too." Draco and Hermione exchanged a guilty glance and as for Andromeda, she suspected Hermione was in the throws of bringing more children into the world, yet remained silent.
"My mummy and daddy died. They fighted a big bad wizard guy and Dromie tolded me lots of peoples died. My granpa died too. Xan? What's died?" Teddy Lupin's hair, once a brilliant shade of pink, sombered to a muddy brown and Xander felt bad for his only friend.
"Da says died is sweeping forever. My daddy died. I heared mum-mum and da and they sayed it." Teddy's shoulders slumped and Xander quickly threw his arm over his friend.
"Yeah but, you gots a new daddy and a new mummy and a sister too. Your mummy is having more babies and you have a whole big lotta people."
"You have Dromie and babies smell. They cwy a lot a lot and they do all the poops in their pants. Babies make da and mum-mum sweepy too. They not pway. They not laugh. They go uuuuuuuugh and is not fun." Andromeda quickly covered her mouth, hoping against hope the tots had not heard her muffled laughter.
"Yeah but I wanna mummy and daddy."
"You can has mine. They yell and yell like my ol' mummy and daddy and I no like it."
"Did your ol' mummy and daddy die cuz they do all of the yellin'? Dooze yellin' makes you die?" Hermione hid her face in the corner of her cardigan, in order to wipe the tears which had escaped.
"No. Yellin' not makes you die."
"How you know?"
"Won yells all da time and he not die."
"Xan?"
"Teddy, I wanna eat all the biscuits cuz its weally quiet and we get in twouble. What?" Even Draco managed the smallest sad smile at the exasperation evident in his son's voice.
"Why do they yells a lot and a lot?" Teddy shoved half a scone into his mouth, wishing the entire bit would fit and waited patiently for the answer.
"Unca Bwaise say some times big peoples dupit and no say sorry." Xander shrugged and shoved his half eaten biscuit into his mouth unceremoniously.
"I do believe you lot have been sufficiently schooled by a pair of five year olds." Andromeda struggled to her feet, the first real sign of her age and avoided the sofa where the tots were hiding.
"I SIX DROMIE!"
"Malfoy…" Hermione began, worrying her lip as she had done her entire life. "Draco. I'm sorry. I should have informed you. I probably should have let you respond, but I…you see…his family is sort of my family and…"
"I'm your family." Draco whispered as he took small steps toward his wife.
"Me too." Came the tiny voice of Xander, who just so happened to be peeking around the corner of his hiding place, in order to spy upon his parents. "Da, mum-mum looks yucky." Xander abandoned his impressive pile of spoils and his feet thumped loudly across Andromeda's hardwood.
"I know you are!" Hermione groaned loudly and Draco couldn't help but to noticed the beads of sweat dripping down her brow.
"Nee…"
"No, let me finish. I'm a Gryffindor. We don't simply give up on people just because they've crossed an imaginary line."
"I know."
"I know you're angry with me, I understand it now. I-I wasn't thinking about you then and I should have. Can you be angry with me later? You can't just…leave. You can't." Hermione's fingertips were white from clenching the arm of the chair and until she released a hiss, Draco honestly hadn't the slightest idea of her issue.
"I don't think I could leave you if I tried." Draco dragged Hermione to her feet and felt her stomach tighten against his. "We should probably take you to St. Mungo's, love."
"No! I want to go home. I can't have them there, not after what happened with Hope." Hermione allowed her head to drop to his chest, desperately clutching his forearms.
"Hermione Jean Malfoy, nothing happened with Ara Hope. She's perfectly fine, a bit of a saucy minx, but perfectly fine." Draco waited until her wave of pain passed, rubbing between her shoulder blades just the way she adored.
"I know she's fine. They just…they just took her away and they refused to bring her back and…" Draco closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
Ara Hope had squalled her way into the world and then gone silent. The Healers and Mediwitches on staff had gone completely bonkers rushing about. They smiled and quickly bundled their daughter and whisked her away.
Short of hexing the staff, it was quite difficult to regain their child. They had blasphemed against the Healers and Apparated home the moment Hermione was able. It was not an experience he wished to repeat, though their options were quite limited.
"What would you like me to do?" Draco knew there was no point in arguing with her and after their latest row, he decided he could go the rest of his life without another.
"Love me. Stay with me. Never ask me to do this again." Hermione groaned and as her knees began to buckle, he knew exactly what to do.
"Dromeda, could you keep Xander for us for a bit? It seems we're going to be indisposed."
"I could send a Patronus to St. Mungo's if you like…" Andromeda quickly offered, seeing as Hermione was in dire straits.
"I think we're prefer if you could send one to Luna Zabini. I can't Floo with Nee in her current condition, therefore I'm simply going to Apparate her home and hope for the best." Draco quickly kissed her brow and at that moment, Charlie Weasley was the furthest thing from his mind, just the way it should be.
"Don't…splinch…me."
"I can't believe it."
"You say that every year. It's not as if it's going to change."
"I know, but Hufflepuff? Merlin, even Gryffindor would have been better than Hufflepuff."
"It speaks to his loyalty above all else."
"Yes, yes very admirable. My father didn't speak to me for almost a year."
"I remedied that situation if you'll recall."
"Oh yes, even father couldn't remain angry once you refused to send him his biscuits. Mother says he even refused to watch those films with the hairy little beasts."
"As if hobbits have anything to do with his ranting."
"A Malfoy in Hufflepuff. It's a good thing my parents kept all the ancestral portraits."
Draco Malfoy continued to grumble as his family traversed the crowd of Muggles in King's Cross Station. Hermione scurried ahead, determined to keep a firm hand on their son, while Xander and Teddy eyed the various witches nearest the platform.
"It's alright, you'll be in Slytherin won't you Rosie?" Draco snuggled into Rosaleen's silky light brown hair and sighed.
Their youngest child looked the most like her mother, yet she was irrevocably daddy's girl. Her sparkling grey eyes were the only feature Draco truly recognised of himself and now he completely understood how Hermione felt when gazing upon their sons.
Ara Hope's dirty blonde hair bounced as she walked quickly behind her mother and eldest brother. She purposely ignored her younger siblings, more due to her nerves than anything else. She enjoyed being the only Malfoy who happened to be Sorted into Ravenclaw. She didn't relish the idea of being in close proximity to her brothers, though she knew Scorpius was a viable contender. She cast a quick glance at her youngest sister and smiled before stepping through Platform 9 ¾.
"Leo, please stop running about. I know you're excited, but this is bordering on ridiculous. Xander, please stop giving your Uncle Harry such a difficult time. You know how he gets and I'm tired of answering his owls." Hermione hugged her eldest son, quick and hard, determined this would be the first year she didn't cry.
"McGonagall is going to bloody cry when she sees those two. I can see it now." Draco chuckled, handing off Rosie to his wife. "More Malfoys? My word." He wrinkled his nose and affected his voice causing Rosie to laugh heartily.
"Ginny and Greg are just there if you wish to say hello." Hermione gestured over her shoulder toward flaming red haired children with small, dull eyes.
"Merlin no, I don't wish to hear what little Fred Junior happened to do and listen to their blathering about House Sortings." Draco straightened his suit jacket, brushing imaginary lint pieces from the sleeves. "Daphne and Nick are just over there. It seems at least one of their monsters will be Sorted with Leo and Scorpius."
"I can't believe he remained married to her." Hermione sniffed with disdain and was suddenly completely encompassed with adjusting Hope's hair bow.
"She didn't have a choice once their first child was born. It's an old Greengrass custom apparently. It seems poor little Maura bound her parents. Leo seems a bit taken with her." Draco winked even as Hermione's eyes widened in horror.
"Luna and Blaise are here with Larkin and Giovanni."
"Theo and Abbott as well with their little hellion."
"You bloody well know his name is Francis."
"He can keep Xander and Teddy company in Hufflepuff."
"You're obnoxious."
"Yes, I am and you love me anyway. Be nice to me or I'll wave over Pansy and Longbottom. What's their son's name anyway?"
"I can't keep track of everyone Malfoy."
"What good are you then? Brightest witch of the age my arse."
Draco teasingly swatted his wife's bum before kissing her soundly. Though they had had their ups and downs over the years, he couldn't imagine his life turning out any different. He supposed he would have preferred if one particular witch hadn't gone completely stark raving mad and gone about murdering others, but at the same time, if she hadn't, they never would have raised and loved Xander as they did. As he surveyed his family, he was overcome with a pang of nostalgia. He missed the frazzled days of children thumping about Forest Lake.
"I want another." He wrapped his arms around his anxious wife, feeling the tension ebb from her, the moment before she smacked his arm.
"Draco Malfoy you promised after the twins and then after Rose."
"Rose was an accident. A lovely, delightful accident that I wouldn't change for the world." He couldn't help but to smile as his youngest daughter sat atop her eldest brother's shoulders waving to the flurry of students climbing onto the Hogwarts Express.
"I've finally perfected the salve and…"
"Father's been lead on that particular project for at least a decade, you're making excuses now." Hermione turned in his arms, trying to glare up at her husband, but she faltered. "Rosie is years and years younger than her siblings. She'll grow up alone, practically an only child."
"That's not fair."
"I've never claimed to play fair." Draco wiggled his eyebrows, valiantly ignoring Scorpius and Leo as they ran circles around a certain green-eyed wizard.
It was easy to meet her puckered lips with his own. It was easy to hold her so tight, he never wished to let her go. It was easy to nibble her bottom lip until she granted him entrance. It was easy to love her even when she drove him completely mad.
"That's not remotely appropriate. You're going to scar all these children for life." Draco tore his lips from Hermione's with regret, yet kept a firm arm locked around her waist.
"Is that how you got that scar, Potter?" Hermione opened her mouth to reply with a quick retort, but she froze.
They had never revisited the idea of Charlie Weasley. Draco had been content to spend his time with their newborn sons and Hermione hadn't wished to have another row. She'd refused to respond to any correspondence until finally she had simply given the letters to her husband. While she never knew exactly what had happened, she was grateful the letters had stopped. She never expected to see Charlie and his wife at King's Cross Station after all these years.
"Bollocks. I warned him." Ron and Millie had wandered over with their tot.
It had taken them years to fall pregnant and even longer for them to emerge with a child. Rosie had taken particular offense to little Hugo's blindingly red hair and had managed to turn the poor boy blue upon meeting him. Ron was absolutely furious but Draco was quite proud of his daughter for her exceptional magical ability. Harry Potter had refused to comment, though Nick had spied him snickering.
"Oi! Moretti!" Charlie Weasley ignored his youngest brother's shouts and simply stared at Hermione.
His wife blinked slowly, taking in the witch she had spent years being compared. Her long dark hair swirled down her back and her almost black eyes narrowed when faced with Hermione's luminous brown. Dalina Petran Weasley remained silent, perusing the tall blond and obviously protective wizard wrapped around the small witch and offered him a smile. She growled low and long when he sneered at her before rubbing his wife's back.
"Whaddya even doin' here Charlie?" Nick Moretti huffed, more from being forced to run about Platform 9 ¾ than anything else.
"Romani goes to train." Dalina's hooded dark eyes flickered, which was the only sign of movement.
"Thass nice. You doan need to be ova here." Daphne sighed, she loved her husband, but fact of the matter is she had expected his accent to lessen over the years. Nick, of course, found delight in dragging her to America every year to visit with his enormous family.
"Leave." Daphne interjected. She hadn't the slightest idea what the issue between the older Weasley and the Malfoys happened to be, but she was about to miss the Hogwarts Express departure due to a bit of unseemly tension.
"Sorry, I just…I wanted to see, that's all." Charlie shifted uncomfortably and Dalina glared at him, obviously displeased.
"Malfoy," Hermione stretched unto her toes to reach her husband's ear, "let me have a moment, please." Draco stiffened and glanced down at her curiously.
Hermione stroked his cheek, silently pleading with her eyes. She could feel him soften to the idea, though she knew he wasn't keen on her slipping away to converse with the source of their contention.
"Are you sure?" Hermione managed a small, shuddering sort of laugh and shook her head.
"I'm sure I love you, Draco. I'm sure we'll be alright. I'm sure you'll badger me into having another child even though I am ridiculously old for such endeavors. I'm sure your sons are as Slytherin as the day as long. I'm sure this needs to end. We've come so far and I can't…"
"Aww Nee, don't cry. You know I can't bloody take it when you cry. Go then, talk to him. Stay close, love." Draco quickly wiped away her tears before they'd even managed to roll down her cheeks and kissed her forehead before releasing her.
There wasn't an exorbitant amount of time, but there was enough to say what needed to be said. The awkward duo moved a short distance from their friends and family. Hermione bristled as she noticed Dalina walking with them and gestured quickly for Daphne to follow.
It was the lesser of all evils. Harry would try and diffuse the situation without allowing them to speak. Ron would angrily huff, puff, and probably resort to violence. Draco was absolutely out of the question and he would posture and glower. While Daphne Moretti wasn't her favourite person, the advantage was the witch didn't have anything remotely resembling interest toward their situation.
"I wasn't aware you were particularly close to Daphne Greengrass." Hermione faltered as she couldn't recall a time when she'd ever heard Charlie sound so angry.
"Yes, yes, we're the best of mates. Get on with it, would you? I'd rather like to see Maura off." Daphne rolled her eyes and for the first time in her life, Hermione was grateful for the witch's candor.
"Charlie, I don't understand why we have to do this after all this time. I haven't seen you in years, I haven't dated you longer than that. I've told you more than once I'm happy. I'm married, I have children, my husband apparently wishes to have more children, I wake up every morning thankful I have all of them in my life, so what the bloody hell do you want from me?" Hermione released a long shaky breath and surprisingly it was Daphne who clutched her hand.
"I don't know really. I haven't seen you since…the whole debacle and whatnot. I needed to see it with my own eyes."
"Well, you've seen it. Happy now? This is absolutely ludicrous. We've been married to others for what now? At least a decade and how do you think it makes your wife feel to know you're pining over someone you never really had?"
"Because you were it! I know it's stupid. I know we never really had anything, believe you me I know but it was the possibility that plagued me long after everything was said and done. You were everything I'd ever wanted and I had you…"
"Oh Charlie, you didn't. You never had me." Hermione swallowed and turned to Dalina. She'd never met the witch before, yet had spied her a few times coming to and from the Burrow. "It was a passing flirtation, nothing more. I'm sorry if he's made it out to be more than it was. Truly, I'm sorry. There's really nothing more to say. I need to see my children off." Dalina nodded slowly, understanding flooding her dark eyes and then she turned to her husband.
Hermione hurried back to her excited children and worried husband, dragging a disgruntled Daphne with her. She supposed perhaps Daphne wasn't as vile as she'd always believed. Daphne squeezed Hermione's hand tightly before releasing her and hurrying to Nick and Maura.
"It seems Charlie's Romanian beauty has a vicious temper. Serves him right." Draco calmly sipped a paper cup of hot chocolate while slightly laughing while Dalina shouted.
"Mum-mum, it's bout time!" Xander shouted over the crowd, waving franctically.
Draco propped Rosie onto his shoulders and weaved his way through the various witches and wizards until he was eye level with his eldest child. Hermione followed, tightly grasping her sons' hands. They struggled, however she did not yield.
"I can't believe he still calls me mum-mum."
"Ya well, he still calls me da, so I suppose it works out."
"Mummy, I don't want to be in Slytherin." Leo Malfoy gazed up at his mother nervously.
"It's alright love, the Sorting Hat will put you where he thinks you'll do best, but if you're truly worried about it, tell the Hat."
"Really? Does that work?" Leo hastily shoved his pale blonde hair from his forehead and Hermione was thankful one of her son's had inherited her eyes.
"Mummy, I want to be in Slytherin, just like daddy." Scorpius scowled, eyeing his younger brother. He never allowed his brother to forget he was eleven minutes older.
"As if there was ever any doubt." Hermione shrugged, knowing it was absolutely pointless to argue with the boy.
With a final teary wave, Hermione allowed her husband to lead her back to their Apparition point. She was more than vaguely aware of the tightknit group of witches and wizards following them, at a respectable distance.
"You always say this is the year you're not going to cry…"
"I know and I cry anyway."
"I love that you cry."
"Were you serious about another child? Don't you think we're a bit old to be considering such things?"
"Old is when we're dead, love. I've invited our friends back to the Manor for a bit."
"I'm sure your father will absolutely love that."
"Part of the reason I extended the invitation really."
"What were you thinking? Never mind, it's obvious you weren't thinking at all. I can't believe you've bombarded the Manor with Weasleys and Potters…again!" Lucius grumbled, softening when his daughter-in-law placed Rosaleen in his arms.
"Don't forget the Longbottoms, Morettis, and Zabinis, surely you can't take issue with all of them." Draco smirked while helping himself to a liberal draught of firewhiskey.
"Gryffindors, Americans and well, I suppose Zabini isn't all that bad, but that barmy wife of his…"
"Be nice otherwise Hermione will withhold your chocolate biscuits again."
"Bollocks." Lucius Malfoy pouted and Draco was sure he had never seen such a delightful sigh in all of his days.
Instead of continuing to banter with his father, he made his way to the conservatory where it seemed everyone had gathered. It would have been easy to chide Potter or even sneer at the Weasel, but he was much more interested in his wife, which was always the case. She was aware of him as she always was, their bodies slowly gravitating toward each other.
While Narcissa was chatting amicably with Astoria and Pansy, she couldn't help but to watch her son nod to his guests, never taking his eyes off his wife. She remembered when Lucius would look at her so, and sighed with the comfort of a memory.
"If I'm not mistaken, Padma and George seem to have snuck off." Pansy sipped her tea, secretly wishing for something a bit stronger and snickered.
"They do only have the one. It's only proper they have another, considering George hasn't an heir."
"Yes well, the last time we were all together Padma spent the majority of the time shouting at George. In fact, if I remember correctly she swore if he even looked at her, she'd chop off his cock."
"Girls, it is unbecoming to discuss such things in mixed company." Narcissa's blue eyes rose from the tea leaves swirling in her glass to spy her husband stalking angrily into the room.
Lucius held Rosaleen as if she were something detestable, his lips curled into a perfect Malfoy snarl as his head twisted about searching for his wife. His silver eyes lit with relief when she stood and he hurried toward her.
"Cissa, she's decided her brunch was apparently unacceptable. Look what she's done to me."
"Lucius darling, are you or are you not a wizard?" With a simple wave of her wand, Rosaleen was clean and Lucius was free of toddler spittle.
Lucius quickly thrust the tiny brunette into his wife's arms and scurried away. Narcissa patted the child's back and offered her a biscuit while her husband suddenly engaged in conversation with Gryffindors. She was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her and crept closer.
"We told you to have lunch with Blaise. All of this could have been avoided." Theo Nott snorted while patting his wife's bum as she passed.
"I don't need bloody lessons on how to please my wife from Zabini."
"Don't lie Potter. After Hermione and Stori patched things up, I can't tell you the number of times I've overheard her complaints."
"That's ridiculous. She hasn't said a word about it…"
"She's begged you to have lunch with Blaise, that should tell you plenty."
"Well, what does she want then?!" Narcissa leaned against a pillar in order to eavesdrop properly and remain hidden.
"Have you ever eaten an ice cream cone, Potter?" Blaise Zabini smiled, showing his dimples before patting Draco on the back.
"What the fuck does ice cream have to do with anything?" Harry scratched his head, still frowning. He knew he was the butt of some joke he didn't understand and he wasn't fond of the idea in the least.
"Just answer the question."
"Yes Blaise, I've eaten an ice cream cone before." Draco and Theo snickered behind their glasses and Blaise's grin widened.
"Apply that knowledge to your wife." Blaise tipped his imaginary hat and wandered away. They presumed he was off to join Luna, who just so happened to be dancing in Narcissa's flower garden.
"How does that…I mean…" Harry groaned in frustration as he suddenly found himself surrounded by peals of laughter.
"Poor Potter, still doing it wrong after all these years." Lucius Malfoy smirked at his former nemesis and shook his head, feigning sympathy. He strode around the pillar and smacked Narcissa's bum so loudly it reverberated through the conservatory. "We haven't that problem, now do we love?"
"Another Malfoy safely entered the world." Luna smiled and Hermione was hard-pressed not to laugh at the garland of baby's breath decorating the wispy witch's hair.
She stretched out her arms, eager to hold her child. Luna wrapped the newborn in a gingham blanket and gently placed the silent child in Hermione's arms. She kissed the child's brow and sat on the edge of the bed.
"She's beautiful, have you a name?" Hermione looked to her husband, but he was quite occupied staring at his tiny red-faced daughter with her deep blue newborn eyes.
"Stella." He finally whispered watching the wrinkled fingers curl around his forefinger in awe.
"Did you know Stella means star? I suppose you do considering Draco, Ara, Scorpius and even Leo are stars. Do you suppose Rose feels a bit left out, she's really the only non-constellation in your little family, besides Hermione of course…"
"Luna, Rose is a flower. We opted to name her Rosaleen as Draco decreed Rose was absolutely too common for a Malfoy, but Rose is a flower…after his mother." Hermione's eyes began to drop, but Draco knew better than to remove their new daughter from her arms. Instead, her reclined beside her, content to watch over his girls while they slept.
Months later, as they laid in their four poster, reveling in the silence after having finally put Stella to bed, they sighed while wrapped tightly around one another. Draco calmly stroked his wife's naked back while leaving the softest kisses along her throat. Hermione shifted slightly, just enough to gaze into those familiar mercurial orbs and kissed his cheek.
"Do you still love me? Considering everything we've been through, all the rows and children and well, all of it really. After all this time, do you still love me?" Draco held her a bit tighter for a moment, slowly running his fingers through the hair he had once considered a monstrosity. He smiled slow and easy before breathing into her ear.
"Always."