A couple of days later, Molly and Arthur had come to Grimmauld Place for lunch. Molly had moved into Grimmauld Place that morning, as Ginny's due date was fast approaching.

Molly had decided her gift to the about-to-be-parents would be to stay with them until the baby was two months old. Her plan was to take over all the cooking and cleaning, in order to give Ginny sufficient time to recover from the birth. Her mum had done it for her and her grandmum for her mum before that; it was a Prewett family tradition she intended to continue.

As soon as she'd put her bags into the guest room, the Weasley matriarch had immediately taken over running the house.

"Mum, I'm perfectly capable of making lunch," Ginny protested when Molly had shooed her out of the kitchen when it was time to start the meal. "I'm just pregnant; I'm not an invalid."

"I know that, dear," Molly said. "But you need to start conserving your strength for the labor and delivery. As I remember, labor for a first time mother is generally much longer and exhausting than that of mothers who've had children before."

"All right, Mum," Ginny conceded wearily. She knew it was useless to argue with her mother about such things.

"Go out and visit with Harry and your father for awhile," she instructed. "You won't have much time for just sitting around once the baby comes, so you might as well enjoy it while you can."

Ginny ambled into the lounge, where she found Harry and her father engaged in a half-hearted game of wizard chess. Harry had never been as skilled at the game as Ron had been, and he was certainly no match her father, who, after all, had taught Ron the game in the first place.

Only mildly interested in their play, she seated herself by Harry's side, silently wishing for her father to beat him quickly, so they could all move on to something else. She was relieved when an owl came pecking at the window, interrupting her boredom, if only for a moment.

Rising ungracefully from her chair, she went over to the window, letting the bird in, who was clutching a copy of the Daily Prophet in its claws. After taking the package from the owl's leg, she gave it an owl treat then shooed it back out the window.

After returning to her seat, Ginny opened the paper, hoping there would be something interesting enough to read to keep her from being too bored until lunch was ready.

Her eye immediately caught one headline:

Malfoy Patriarch Has Much to Be Happy About

The Daily Prophet has learned from a reliable source that Narcissa Malfoy, wife of former Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy, is pregnant again, nearly twenty years after the birth of her only child, Draco Malfoy.

Our source, who asked to remain anonymous, observed Mr and Mrs Malfoy leaving midwife Calandra Jones' office in high spirits two days ago. The Malfoys were accompanied by Mr Malfoy's young consort, Hermione Granger-Malfoy, who is also pregnant and is soon to give birth to Mr Malfoy's second child.

When asked by this reporter whether the rumors were true, Mrs Malfoy confirmed that she is indeed pregnant with a daughter, which the couple has named Nymphadora Andromeda in honor of Mrs Malfoy's sister and niece. She also confirmed another rumor circulating around wizarding Britain that her new daughter-in-law Luna Lovegood Malfoy, is pregnant with her first child, a boy, which she and her husband, Draco, have named Scorpius Lysander.

The family patriarch, Lucius Malfoy, has much to be happy about with three new heirs soon to be added to the Malfoy family line. We wish him and his family much happiness with their upcoming additions to the family.

"Bollocks!" Ginny swore, throwing the paper down in disgust.

"What?" Harry asked, surprised by her outburst. At that moment Molly entered the room to sit down for a few minutes while the meal cooked. She gave her daughter a questioning look as she took a seat.

"It's another sickening article about the Malfoys," Ginny told the group. "It seems as if my suspicions were right about Luna getting married early; she's pregnant!"

"I just knew it," Molly crowed. "I can't imagine the Malfoys allowing Draco to have a small, private wedding otherwise. Those people are all about ostentatious display. That prissy Narcissa Malfoy must have had a fit when she found out that Luna had let herself get pregnant before the wedding." Sighing, she added, "It's just too bad that Luna didn't find herself a nice Gryffindor boy to marry. I'd always thought that there was something between her and Neville, but apparently not."

"No, they've always been just friends," Harry told his mother in law. "Neville had been interested in Hannah Abbott since third year, at least."

"And that's not all!" Ginny broke in. "It says that Narcissa Malfoy is pregnant, too! Can you believe that?"

"After all those years of looking down their noses at us for having a large family..." Molly said to her husband, giving him a knowing look. "I wonder what got into her to have another child after so many years.?"

Everyone chuckled at this loaded statement, as they all knew exactly what, or who, had "gotten into" Narcissa Malfoy.

"Hermione is in for it, now" Ginny predicted darkly. "I've always thought that Malfoy wanted her only because his wife was a cold fish and because he needed her to show the ministry that he'd reformed. I'm guessing that now he's to have another precious pureblooded child, he'll decide he doesn't need Hermione any more and drop her like a bad habit."

"I wouldn't be at all surprised," Molly agreed. "It's obvious that Malfoy has been using Hermione. She's going to be in a bad situation having to raise Lucius Malfoy's half-blood bastard all alone." Sighing again, she added, "But it's going to take me a very long time before I could ever forgive her enough to help her."

Harry sighed loudly, but did not comment. He'd observed Malfoy with Hermione several times and though he could never call Lucius Malfoy his friend, it had been quite obvious to him that, against all odds, that Malfoy actually cared for Hermione. Although he knew that Malfoy was not above dumping Hermione if it suited his needs, he sincerely hoped this would not happen, as he knew how deeply Hermione was in love with him. But if the worst happened, Harry decided he would be there to support her, no matter what Ginny and his in-laws thought.

Moving on from his private thoughts, he said, "That reminds me. I need to get a wedding gift for Luna."

"Whatever for?" Ginny asked, puzzled. "She married that git Malfoy, remember?"

"She's still my friend," Harry said firmly. "And she's been a good friend to all of us. I can't stop being friends with her just because of her taste in men."

"That's fine, dear," Molly said to Harry distractedly. "If Draco is anything like his father, I'll not be surprised if Luna will soon regret her decision to marry him. Although I can't imagine Lucius Malfoy would stand for her divorcing Draco, now that she's carrying a Malfoy heir. In any instance, she'll need her friends."

Harry couldn't help but compare the difference between Molly's attitude toward Luna and toward Hermione. She couldn't get over Hermione being with a Malfoy simply because Hermione had been engaged to Ron; it was a personal affront to the Weasley family in Molly's eyes. With Luna, it didn't matter so much to her, so she could afford to be somewhat magnanimous. And, of course, there was a big difference between Malfoy Senior and Malfoy Junior in the Weasley matriarch's eyes. To Molly, Draco was salvageable, but Lucius was not.

Rising from her chair, Molly said, "I'd better check on lunch. It shouldn't be more than a few minutes. I'll call when it's ready."

"I need to go to the loo for a few minutes," Ginny said, standing up. "I'll be glad when the baby is born and I don't have to go quite so often any more."

Arthur had picked up the paper that Ginny had discarded to have something to read while he waited for lunch to be ready. Left to his own devices for a few minutes, Harry decided to send an owl to Luna, asking if he could come visit her and Malfoy at her earliest convenience with a combination housewarming and wedding gift.

After giving Kreacher the message to send off, he sat wondering what he should give the newly married couple as a gift. His eyes wandered around the room, trying to come up with an idea. Finally, his eyes fell on the chessboard he'd only recently vacated. Staring at it intently, he considered that a wizarding chess set might make the perfect gift. He knew that both Luna and her new husband knew how to play the game, so it was something both of them could get enjoyment from together. And Harry knew just the right one to buy -- he'd seen a set in a shop in Diagon Alley made from sterling silver and solid gold that he knew would suitably impress Draco Malfoy.

"Come on, everyone," Molly Weasley called from the kitchen, ending Harry's ruminations. "Lunch is ready."

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A/N Thanks to all my readers and reviewers who have stuck with me thus far. I appreciate all of you!
A/N There's a new entry on my blog, showing the chess set that Harry bought for Luna and Draco. My blog can be accessed through my profile.
A/N Next Chapter has yet to be given a title.