Title: The Perfect Wife
Author: slytherin-nette
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. She rocks.
Pairings: DM/femHP, RW/LrM, BZ/HG, SB/RV, BM/??, AM/?? and many others.
Warnings: This is a Post-Hogwarts story so it will be slightly more mature than TPG but equally insane. Wahaha. Also, this story contains PREGNANCY, RATED scenes and SLASH relationships.
A/N: Oookay…I know I said this chapter would take a couple of weeks but I couldn't help it. Damn story wouldn't leave me ALONE! *bangs head against wall* The only way I could study properly was for me to write it out and get it out of my head! Argh. Anyway, I'll be able to study now so give me about 2 weeks for the next chapter to come out... :D Either way, my procrastinating is good news to you guys huh? ;) Enjoy!
Chapter 11 – Time Management
"What do you MEAN our foreign investors are pulling out of the market?! Are you CRAZY?!"
With an angry growl, Draco slammed his fist angrily onto his office table and glared at the his finicky adviser in front of him, watching with narrowed gray eyes as the man broke out into a cold sweat and offered him a nervous smile. His fingers were shaking as he laid his reports out on the table.
"It's all this talk of the magical plague in England, Master Malfoy! Most of our foreign investors are from pureblooded families and they're terrified to go here for fear of catching the disease." Matthew Anderson explained, shaking under Draco's glare as he leaned back against his seat.
Draco felt another surge of impatience as he turned his head and glared at his other remaining consultants cowering behind Anderson's chair. They immediately flinched when his gaze fell on them and took a couple of steps away from his desk in hesitation.
"M—Master Malfoy, many of the pureblood families here in London are currently taking preventive measures against the strange magical disease so most businesses are currently weak at the moment. We're trying to keep up the connections as much as we can." One of his other consultants spoke up in explanation, wincing when all he was met with was Draco's angry sneer.
"Well you're obviously not trying HARD ENOUGH. Did you see last week's reports?! Investments are down by TWENTY PERCENT! That is UNACCEPTABLE!" He growled, slamming his fist back down onto the table again and causing Anderson to jump out of his seat in alarm.
"We—we'll get right to it, Master Draco—"
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT AND GET BACK TO WORK BEFORE I FIRE YOU ALL RIGHT NOW! GET OUT!" Draco exploded, raising his wand and sending a flurry of red flames at them in his anger. His advisers all squeaked in alarm and rushed out of the large CEO office in panic – shoving and stumbling past one another in their haste to keep themselves from being burned.
Once he was alone and the doors had closed again, Draco sighed loudly in frustration and massaged his temples. It was his third year now as MMC's standing CEO and President and things were certainly not looking good for Wizarding Companies in London due to the sudden string of magical diseases that had broken out all over Europe within the past two years.
It had started with only a few rare cases at first – a small newspaper article about a man's magic weakening or another collapsing on the street due to severe magical drainage. Within the last couple of months, however, the strange occurrences had escalated beyond proportions and even Draco couldn't deny the slight twinge of worry he felt for his own family's safety.
The most recent incidents he had read from the Daily Prophet reported of comatose from several known pureblooded families scattered all around Europe. It was the same as the previous cases – that of severe magical drainage that eventually weakened the wizard to the point of comatose. A wizard life force is connected to his magic, after all. Without it, he would slowly weaken and collapse.
Fusing his eyebrows together, Draco shook his head and reached for the copy of the Daily Prophet on his table – unfolding the large newspaper and peering at the front page with a grim look on his face. Cringing, he recognized more familiar names of his old pureblooded acquaintances from France and Italy – all of which had recently been admitted to St. Mungo's for inspection.
You would think that after the death of the Dark Lord, the Wizarding World would finally be at peace for a couple more years. He thought in exasperation, finally setting the paper back down. He rose up slowly from his seat and walked over to the large glass window just behind him – his eyes dark with thought as he peered down at the streets below their company building.
His office was located at the very top of MMC tower and from there, he had a clear and beautiful view of the skyline – as well as a glimpse of the busy streets of Wizarding London just below. From the large glass window, he could also glimpse the Ministry of Magic building not too far away – hidden by the most powerful concealing charms from passing muggles on the streets.
At the sight of the Ministry of Magic towers, Draco's thoughts immediately drifted to Harry and at once, his eyes began to dim slowly in realization. He knew that his wife was most probably not in her office that afternoon from the rushed explanation she had given him that morning about her current mission. Harry had practically jumped right out of bed and headed straight for work without waiting for him – muttering something about needing to meet up with Ashford as soon as possible.
Draco had just barely woken up when his wife had rushed out of the bathroom, leaned down to give him a quick kiss to the cheek before she was gone from his sight – only to be seen by him much later at night again when she would most probably sneak into their bedroom at around twelve or one in the morning and immediately fall fast asleep in exhaustion.
Shaking his head, Draco tore his eyes away from the window and sighed in frustration. My company is not the only thing struggling these days…My marriage isn't exactly doing so well either. Who'd have thought this would happen? He asked himself bitterly, walking back to his desk and collapsing onto his chair.
He hardly ever saw Harry these days – except perhaps on weekends or whenever she would drop by the office to take the twins from him. Even then, she would always be somewhat distracted and on guard – jumping immediately at the sound of her cellphone or at the sight of Ashford's owl.
The Head Unspeakable position Vincent Ashford was training her so hard for had taken so much of her time and energy these last two years that Draco almost regretted letting her accept the promotion – if only for the fact that he missed spending time with her the way they used to.
Given that both Draco and Jaimee had high-end jobs that required a lot of their time and attention, they had experienced so much difficulty these last two years trying to distribute their time between their jobs and their sons. They hardly ever got to spend time with each other – and that was what Draco hated the most. It was almost like sleeping next to a stranger in bed every night.
It didn't help that Garret and Gabriel didn't see much of their elusive mother either.
The twins rarely saw their parents during the afternoons – except when Narcissa or Genevieve would be too busy to take care of them and Draco or Jaimee had to bring them with to the office. More often than not, however, it would be Draco who would actually be the one to take them since Harry pretty much spent all her days out of the office or even out of the country on an assignment.
Eventually, Draco's anger at Harry strengthened even more when he realized that unlike most children their age, their twin sons had ironically grown more attached to their FATHER than their mother as the primary parent figure. This was understandable of course, given that they hardly ever saw their mother at all due to her random disappearing acts. On the occasions they did, they kept their distance from Jaimee and much preferred to be near Draco instead.
What are you doing, Harry…? Your own sons don't even know you! You're almost like a stranger to them! Draco cursed her angrily in his head, his eyes flicking to glare silently at the framed photograph he had on his desk of his and Jaimee's wedding photo just three years ago.
Narrowing his eyes, he sneered angrily at his wife's beautiful face smiling right back at him from the photograph – looking just as exquisite as Draco remembered she had looked during their wedding day. After a few moments of staring at her face, Draco finally set the photograph back on his table and sighed again, shaking his head and taking a long sip from his cup of coffee.
Things were so perfect back then…What happened…? He asked himself silently as he set the cup back down and frowned in regret. Where did we go wrong? What mistake did I make? What do I do to fix things? He bit his lip, his hands slowly clenching themselves into tight, angry fists.
Within the last two years, he felt that Harry was becoming more and more distant from him.
He knew she loved her job and that she was trying as hard as she could to balance her time effectively but so far, she had been working herself half to death and it still didn't seem to be enough. Even the rest of their friends and family have noticed her absence from his side and though Draco knew that they didn't ask him about his marriage for fear of being polite, he saw their worried faces.
Being the stubborn person she was, however, Harry insisted to Draco constantly whenever he tried to discuss the matter with her that all hectic schedules and training would be over once she was promoted to Head Unspeakable position that year. Unfortunately, this only led them to another one of their fierce arguments in which they ended up screaming at each other the entire night.
In fact…These days, Draco couldn't remember doing anything else with Harry except arguing.
They argued about her schedule, raising the children, their friends, their jobs, their lives – practically anything they could argue about and the sad part of it all was that the argument itself would most probably be the longest conversation they've spent together in a single day.
Probably another reason I pick fights with her so much now…It's the only time I get to talk to the stupid git. Draco thought darkly to himself, sighing as he carefully took his reading glasses off and covered his eyes with his hands. What's the use…? I'll only lose her more if I hold her back again…
He shook his head and stared off blankly into empty space– his handsome features creased into a dark scowl. He was just about to force himself to get back to work when the sharp buzz of his magical intercom filled the office room – followed by his secretary's sultry, feminine voice.
"Master Malfoy…? I have several documents with me that need your signature of approval. Shall I bring them in or shall you pick them up later?" She asked coyly, waiting as Draco blinked himself out of his thoughts and answered her in a brisk tone of voice. "Bring them in. I'll sign them now before I forget." He answered, reaching for the expensive feather quill on his desk.
A minute later, the large double doors of his office swung open and he was greeted with the sight of Natasha's flirtatious smile as she sauntered slowly into the room – her feminine curves and long, slim legs seen perfectly by the fit of her tight, low-cut corporate suit.
Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes as she deposited the documents of folders on his desk, bending down low enough in front of him so that he was given a perfect view of her breasts. "Good afternoon, Master Malfoy…" She greeted in a flirtatious whisper, flicking her eyes down his lean frame as she stood by his desk and waited for him to sign all the papers.
When the young MMC President chose to ignore her, Natasha spoke again – lowering her eyelashes with a teasing smile. "…May I say, Master Malfoy…You are looking particularly handsome today. Of course, I've always thought you looked handsome everyday…" She failed to see the way Draco's left eye twitched in growing irritation as he began to sign the papers faster in agitation.
"Thank you, Natasha. And may I say that I've always thought you looked particularly slutty everyday?" He drawled back sarcastically, smirking when he heard her try to stifle the indignant gasp that escaped her lips. "Please come to work in a more appropriate attire next time. Otherwise, I may be forced to relegate you down to a lower department. Is that understood?" He added further as he finished signing the last document and handed the folder back to her with a charming smile.
Natasha narrowed her eyes at him but sneered and nodded back stiffly in barely concealed affronted anger. "Understood, sir." She snapped, snatching the folder from his hands. Scowling, she ignored his sniggering and stomped back out of the office, closing the doors stiffly behind her.
Once he was alone, Draco leaned back against his seat and began to go through the rest of his paperwork in silence – pausing every now and then to adjust his reading glasses or take a small sip of coffee. Within another hour, he was interrupted yet again by another sound – this time by the loud beeping of his muggle cellphone. He sighed, taking it out of his pocket and flicking up his ear.
"I'm working right now." He drawled irritably, using his left hand to hold the phone to his ear while his right hand continued to write more notes and affix signatures on his financial reports.
"I know. You're always working. That's the problem, Draco." He heard Blaise's amused voice on the other line. Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance and stopped, setting his quill back down onto the table. He leaned back against his chair and listened to the rest of his best friend's chuckling.
"What do you want, Zabini? Unlike YOU who probably spends the entire time in his office goofing off, SOME OF US have serious business to attend to." Draco retorted sarcastically, pulling his silver reading frames off his face and setting them down the table next to his quill.
He heard Blaise laughing on the other line. "This won't take long, Draco. I actually also have a lot of work to do today given the poor state of our company's foreign investments this month. How are you guys faring? It seems all the other big families are afraid to go to England because of this stupid magical disease." Blaise muttered, causing Draco to sit up in his seat at his words.
"Tell me about it…I don't understand it either. I've lost THREE foreign investors this month because of this stupid plague and if it doesn't let up soon, I'm afraid more investors will pull out too." He grumbled, sighing and running a hand through his silver-blonde hair.
Blaise scoffed in agreement. "Of course we will. Bloody plague is all over the Daily Prophet. Those stupid reporters are making too big a deal out of it all, I reckon. Anyway, that wasn't actually why I called." He paused for a moment and Draco heard him rifling through some papers.
"I was just calling to remind you about the birthday party Hermione's throwing for Elliot later. You and Harry are coming right? Bring the twins along; some of the other kids are going to be there as well." Blaise told him and his words caused Draco to groan and massage his temples in realization.
"Ugh…I completely forgot… That's tonight, huh?" He replied, flicking a quick glance to his table calendar. "Yeah, alright…We'll be there. Harry should be picking the twins up from my Mother so I'll just remind her. Thanks." He told him, stiffening when Blaise spoke up again in a worried voice.
"Uhm…Draco? Harry IS going to be there right? Hermione told me to—"
"SHE'LL BE THERE, DAMN IT! TELL GRANGER TO MIND HER OWN DAMN BUSINESS!" Draco snapped angrily before he could stop himself, the words coming out of his mouth in a harsh, hissing snarl. Blaise paused on the other line in uncertainty. "I was just asking, Draco—"
"Yeah well, you AND Granger should learn to stay out of it. See you tonight." Draco flicked his phone off before Blaise could say anything else, shoving the muggle device right back into the pocket of his suit. Scowling angrily to himself, he jerkily picked his quill back up and forced himself to work for the next half hour in an effort to get his mind off the impact of Blaise's words.
When his cell phone rang loudly again another half hour after that, Draco slammed his quill down loudly in annoyance and practically snarled as he flicked the device open against his ear.
"WHAT?!"
He paused when he heard a woman's voice speaking softly on the other line. "O—oh my… How do you work this thing? U—uhm…Do I press this—Uhm…Hello? Draco? Is that you darling?" At the sound of his mother's uncertain voice, Draco's anger faded and was replaced by exasperation.
"Mother…I don't mean to sound rude or unwelcoming but I'm a little busy at the moment." Draco spoke in a cordial tone of voice, using his other hand to continue writing again as he spoke. "Do you need to tell me something urgent? If that's not the case, I would suggest I talk to you a little later…" He added softly in a careful tone lest he offend his mother's feelings with his directness.
Narcissa didn't seem to mind, however, and only sighed in apology on the other line.
"Oh I know, darling and I'm awfully sorry to disturb you in the office like this but I'm just a little concerned here…Jaimee was supposed to have picked up the twins about two hours ago and she hasn't arrived or contacted me yet so I was worried for her safety." She spoke gently and at once, her words caused Draco's eyes to harden and his fingers to tighten around the quill in his hand.
"…What?"
His mother hesitated when she heard the sharp, angry tone of his voice but answered him anyway. "She was supposed to have picked up the twins two hours ago, love. I wouldn't normally mind of course but it's just that…Your Grandmother and I have this social gathering to attend soon and I'm afraid I will not be able to bring Garret and Gabriel along with me—"
Draco didn't bother listening to the rest of her sentence as he stood up stiffly from his seat and began striding across the office to gather his things. "Don't worry about it, Mother." He drawled coldly, the sneer on his face angry as he shrugged himself into his jacket and grabbed his wand.
"Oh Draco, darling…I'm sure Jaimee has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she couldn't pick them up on time. I just—"
Draco cut her off again with a harsh laugh just as he was exiting his office. "She just FORGOT, Mother. Again. Don't worry…I'm coming over there right now to pick the twins up."
Harry's green eyes narrowed carefully. She tightened her fingers around her wand and approached the corner of the very narrow hallway in front of her – stopping every now and then to make sure her surroundings were clear and deserted. Around her, she heard the occasional sounds of droplets of water dripping softly from the damp ceiling to the murky, muddy floors by her feet.
Holding her breath in anticipation, she held her light-tipped wand higher up in the air to inspect the walls around her more carefully – her face cringing in disgust when she was met with some strange, gruesome images and Egyptian drawings depicting symbolisms of torture and death.
Ugh…I never did bother studying Ancient Runes…Who knew these old magical Egyptian ceremonial grounds had them? Where's Hermione when you need her? Harry thought irritably to herself. She shuddered in disgust again when she was met with a particularly nasty image of an Egyptian king drinking the blood of several of his prisoners.
Blinking the horrible image away, Harry steadied her wand and finally stopped just as she reached the corner. Taking a deep breath, she tensed her muscles before she turned sharply – pointing her wand directly in front of her in caution and alertness. She stopped immediately and lowered her wand when all she was met with was a dead end – along with weird, ancient magical inscriptions engraved all over the bronze, stone wall.
Shaking her head, Harry rolled her eyes to herself and picked up the magical pendant hanging off her neck. She leaned down and began speaking to it in a low whisper. "We're clear, Ashford! There's nothing here. Just a weird dead end with…I'm not sure if these are Ancient Runes or some old Egyptian magical symbols or something…" She spoke up clearly, leaning against the wall in exhaustion as she waited for the Head Unspeakable to respond.
After a couple of seconds, it was Byron's voice that answered her through her pendant. "What kind of symbols are they, Harry? Do they look more like weird, squiggly lines or do they actually look like small pictures? Like geometrical shapes or something?" He asked her, causing Harry to squint her eyes as she walked over to wall again and inspected the symbols on it in query.
"Hmm…More like geometrical shapes, Byron…In fact, they actually remind me of this old report Hermione wrote back in seventh year."She mused out loud, twirling her wand idly in her hands. Again, she waited for one of the other Unspeakables to respond and within a couple of seconds, Ashford's voice was blaring through her small pendant.
"Those are Ancient Runes used by the old Wizarding families in the Middle Ages. Byron or Nicholas here should be able to read them. Good work, Potter. Wait a couple of minutes; we're going down there now. Don't touch anything until we get there. We'll need to decipher those symbols first before we can proceed." He told her, earning a grin from Harry as she pocketed her wand and leaned back comfortably against the wall again.
"Affirmative. Hey boss, you know I much prefer THESE missions now than the ones you used to give me? At least I don't have to wear those ridiculous outfits anymore."She kidded lightly, her eyes following the row of strange markings and pictures along opposite walls of the corridors.
"Yeah well…Don't get too comfortable just yet, Potter. Every now and then, you still need to play eye bait for an occasional search and capture assignment. Every Unspeakable does." Ashford replied again, his sarcastic voice echoing in the silence. Harry rolled her eyes to herself.
"But come on… This is so much more WICKED! I'm in an underground Ancient ceremonial site in EGYPT for Merlin's sake! How can I go back to being eye-bait NOW?" Harry kidded, chuckling when the voice that answered her wasn't Ashford but Byron again.
"Speak for yourself, Harry. Ugh. I hate outdoor excavation assignments…God this place smells AWFUL! Everything's so damp, murky and dark! I think I stepped in a puddle!" He complained loudly, earning another light chuckle from Harry as she rolled her eyes at her cousin-in-law's antics.
The metamorphagus had also been promoted just recently by Ashford the previous year following Harry's promotion. Byron had been appointed to the position of Head-Officer-in-Training – Second-in-Command after the Head Unspeakable's authority. Nicholas Ambleton was the current Head officer at the moment and was helping train Byron during assignments as well.
Smirking, Harry leaned in close to her pendant again and spoke up in a teasing voice. "You're acting like a woman, Byron. Stop being so prissy all the time. I'm sure Ashford doesn't appreciate it." She smirked wider when she was answered by Ashford's irritated, mocking voice.
"That's not funny, Potter. No references to personal matters during a field assignment. You know that's dangerous. Just for your cheek, I'm writing that on your evaluation sheet." The Head Unspeakable snapped, causing the smirk on Harry's face to fade into an angry frown.
Truth be told, she had absolutely NO idea what Byron saw in Vincent Ashford – or how the metamorphagus had managed to put up with the man's ill-mannered behavior for TWO YEARS NOW despite the fact that Ashford never actually confirmed their relationship to the public or anyone else.
There were office rumors of course – and whispers from the other Unspeakable agents about a possible romantic tryst between Vincent Ashford and Byron Malfoy but neither of the two men actually confirmed it. Though Harry could see in Byron's eyes that he was getting more and more bothered with this particular situation, she couldn't tell ifAshford felt the same way.
The man was incredibly arrogant and selfish – that much was for certain. There have been plenty of times that Harry and Byron had caught Vincent with other men outside office hours. Byron never spoke of it to Harry of course but she could see the pain in his eyes whenever this happened. If Ashford wasn't her damn superior, Harry would have punched his lights out long ago.
"Potter?! Are you still in there?! Which way do we turn after crossing the Basilisk Chamber?! Right or left?!" Vincent snapped again, breaking through her thoughts as she blinked and turned her attention back to the pendant hanging from her neck. Rolling her eyes, she held it up to her lips.
"Right then left at the next fork. Hurry on up, you three! It's sweltering hot in here!" She complained, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. "YOU think it's hot?! I'm wearing a godforsaken cloak in here, Jaimee!" Nicholas spoke up in an equally miserable grumble.
Laughing, she waited a couple more minutes before she finally caught sight of Vincent's lean frame appearing on the other end of the narrow hallway – followed by Byron and Nicholas' own cloaked figures. Seeing the obvious awkward and uneasy tension between Vincent and Byron, Harry shot Nicholas a sympathetic grin and beckoned them over to join her near the end.
Vincent ignored her look and walked over to the end of the hallway – lifting his wand up and pointing it directly at the symbols on the wall. One look at it, however, was all it took for him to smirk and shake his head in amusement. "Figures you wouldn't know what this meant, Potter… It's an old Wizarding tradition. Used historically by ancient wizards to keep muggles out of magical sites." He explained, raising a finger and tracing the symbols along the wall.
Harry frowned at him in concern while Byron and Nicholas nodded in understanding. "What? I don't get it. What are we supposed to do?" She asked, watching as Byron stepped in front of her and held the tip of his wand against the symbols in curiosity.
After reading it silently, he quirked the corners of his lips into an easy grin and turned to face her. "It's an entrance to a shrine, Harry. It requires a couple drops of pure, untainted magical blood in order to proceed." He paused and transfigured his wand into a small knife, holding it over his palm.
"I'm a Malfoy. Shall I do the honors?" Waiting for Vincent and Nicholas' nod of confirmation, Harry watched with a wince as Byron carefully made a small slash on his hand and held the wound up over the small circle on the wall, waiting until several drops of his blood dripped and stained the circle.
After waiting a couple of minutes – Byron healing up the wound on his hand with his wand – Harry finally stepped back in alarm when the wall in front of them suddenly glowed bright red. It began to dissolve before their eyes – melting away to expose a narrow entrance to a small, magically lit room containing a dusty, ancient looking magical shrine.
Holding her wand tightly in her hand, Harry followed the three men into the room in silence – her trained eyes inspecting the surroundings carefully for any sign of a bad presence or remnants of dark magic. A large, strange altar was positioned at the very front of the small room – decorated with the weirdest symbols she had ever seen. A very large symbol was situated at the very center of the room –engraved deeply onto the stone floor below their feet.
As the other three inspected the altar in silence, Harry bent down on one knee and reached a single hand out to lightly brush the sand away from the symbol on the floor. She fused her eyebrows together and bit her lip as she tried to figure out where she had seen the familiar symbol before.
Fortunately, Vincent answered her question out loud for her as he walked back over to where she was kneeling, raising his wand and pointing it at the symbol below her feet. "It's called the TIET, Potter. The Blood of Isis. You may have encountered the symbol in your history classes before." He explained distractedly as he knelt down and inspected the symbol in thought.
Harry let out a nervous laugh and shrugged. "I knew it looked familiar, somewhat. I kind of spent most of my history classes asleep in the corner—"
"If I remember from MY history classes, the old Egyptians were obsessed with magical blood and were trying to find a way to harness it somehow. Do you think it has something to do with that?" Byron spoke out loud from where he was standing with Nicholas by the altar.
Vincent could only frown in response and shake his head in uncertainty. "I'm not sure, Byron…But something tells me there's more to this than meets the eye." He whispered, his voice causing a shiver of fear to run down Harry's spine. Just as she was going to ask him what he what he had meant by that, Nicholas surprised them all by speaking up – holding his pendant up to his ear.
"SIR! It's Addison! He says we should report to St. Mungo's right away! There's been more incidences of purebloods being diagnosed with magical weakening and drainage. The Aurors are already there but Addison says the Minister wants us conducting a separate investigation as well. Also, the CISO department wants us to head back immediately to report our findings regarding this ceremonial site." He rushed out, his words immediately causing Vincent to jump to his feet.
The rest of them followed and gathered around him to wait for his instructions. Pocketing his wand back carefully in the pocket of his robes, Vincent frowned in suspicion and looked up at them.
"You two report to CISO immediately. Potter. You're coming with me to St. Mungo's."
"We don't know what's causing it, Ashford…But the symptoms are becoming more and more dangerous." Richard Wickham spoke softly in a worried, weary voice as he led Harry and Vincent over to the side of the hospital where most of the purebloods with the strange disease were admitted.
A couple of assistant Healers pushed through them quickly as they headed to the emergency room with another panicking Wizarding family, the male of which looked on the verge of collapsing as he was carried by his shoulders. Harry swallowed nervously as she watched all this happening in front of her, her eyes wide with apprehension when she heard the panicked shouting of many families around them as they tried to inquire about their strange condition.
Wickham continued to lead the through the busy corridor to the end where the emergency room was located – gesturing for them to peer in through the glass pane. "Just this morning, young Master Lucian McConway was taken in and he was positively convulsing and coughing blood from his mouth. Sometimes, the wizard's reaction to magical drainage is unique you see…I figured—"
"Wait a minute…Lucian McConway?! As in Richard McConway's son?!"
Harry cut him off sharply at this, peering intently through the glass pane – her eyes widening in horrified realization when she met with the familiar face of one of her former suitors during the hunting season. The young male was lying unconscious near the end of the emergency room – his face incredibly pale and a horde of Healers gathered around his form.
Vincent raised an eyebrow at her reaction, clearly confused. "You know him, Harry?" He asked, watching as Harry's face paled further and she nodded in grim nervousness. Running a shaky hand through her hair, she sighed and looked up at Wickham and Vincent's inquiring faces.
"I met him once during my hunting season…He was one of my first few suitors. I actually feel really bad now considering I was a little nasty when I rejected his proposal for marriage." She answered with a shake of her head, flicking her eyes back up and looking intently at Vincent's face.
The Head Unspeakable nodded silently and turned to Wickham again. "Who are the other purebloods with the disease? Are their cases as serious as McConway's?" He asked, watching as the Head Healer bit his lip and nodded, gesturing over to the other remaining emergency rooms.
"Other recent purebloods afflicted with the disease just arrived this morning…Preston Skeffington…Bartholomew Rowland…Anthony McGavin…" He pointed to each pureblooded male as he mentioned them and Harry's gaze fell on their unconscious forms, wincing when she noticed their horribly pale skin and the group of Healers gathered around their bodies.
Vincent looked up at her as he tried to process the information. "Any of those male friends of yours, Potter?" He asked but Harry just bit her lip and shook her head. "Not really…I only met Rowland once. He was another suitor… I know of the other two by names but I've never actually met them. I'm certain Draco knew them all at one point or another though…I can ask him." She offered but Vincent shook his head, his eyes darkening in realization.
"That's not what I meant, Potter…Don't you see the pattern there? Think about it…What do all these victims have in common? Aside from the fact that they're all pureblooded obviously…" He stroked his chin and thought, running a hand afterwards through his black hair.
Harry caught onto his meaning immediately and nodded, turning her head back and staring at Bartholomew Rowland's blanketed form through the glass pane of the emergency room doors. "They're all pureblooded MALES, sir…Lately; no woman has been taken in yet with the disease." She answered and Vincent nodded firmly, flicking his eyes back to Wickham.
"Exactly, Potter…They're all pureblooded males…And from the more prestigious families at that. But the last part is just an observation at this point." His frown deepened and his voice dropped to a low whisper. "I have my theories of course… but I can't be certain enough yet to take action… Either way, we can't afford to take any chances. You'd best warn your own husband, Potter. I reckon he's a likely target." He told her and Harry stiffened at his words, nodding firmly in agreement.
She was just about to ask him exactly what he meant by that when Vincent suddenly sauntered off to talk to Kingsley and the other Aurors gathered near the other end of the corridor – leaving Harry standing beside with Wickham with a worried frown on her face. The Head Healer seemed to notice her concern immediately and tried to comfort her with a small, weak smile.
"I'm sure Vincent just meant for you to warn young Master Draco, Jaimee…In any case, if I may lighten the mood a little…How are young Garret and Gabriel doing? If I'm not mistaken, they should be around two-years-old by now? Is that right? He asked her kindly, watching as Harry's eyes immediately softened at the mention of her sons and she gave him a genuine smile.
"They're doing wonderfully, Wickham. They're very healthy and energetic. In fact, I'm supposed to pick them up right now from Narcissa in about a couple of minut—" Her eyes widened in horror before flicking in panic to the small watch on Wickham's wrist.
"BLOODY HELL, THE TWINS! Wickham, what time is it?!" She blurted out loudly, ignoring the looks she received from the passing Healers at her loud exclamation.
Wickham frowned in confusion and checked his watch. "It's a quarter to three—"
"DAMN IT!" Harry knocked herself painfully over the head before shoving her wand back into her robes and giving Wickham one last frantic nod. "I—I'm sorry, Wickham but I have to get going! I was supposed to pick up my sons two hours ago!" She didn't bother waiting for his response as she bolted down the corridor towards the exit, turning around one last time to give him a wave and nod.
"Can you please tell Ashford that I'll see him back at the office? Thanks so much! Bye! "
Wickham opened his mouth to answer but the young Mistress Malfoy had already disappeared as she rounded the corner of the long corridor towards the hospital exit.
Draco looked up from the folders on his desk and frowned when he came upon the sight of a grinning Garrett toddling over to stand in front of his large office desk and trying to reach his hand upwards towards his father's wand. Sighing, Draco set his quill down and gave his son a stern glare.
"Garrett, go back over to the couch over there and stay with your brother." He ordered firmly, trying to keep his voice controlled but Garrett took one look at him and scowled, shaking his head furiously and making a face. "NO! DOWANNA!" He cried out, ignoring Draco's glare as he reached his tiny baby hand up again and tried to take his father's wand from the table.
Clenching his hands into fists at having been interrupted from his work for the FIFTH TIME that afternoon by his oldest son, Draco calmly stood up from his seat and walked over to stand behind Garrett's tiny form. "Garrett…I said GO OVER THERE and stay with your brother. NOW." Draco repeated in a more assertive voice, grabbing his blonde son by the collar of his green baby robes and easily lifting the toddler up into his arms.
Garrett screamed and struggled wildly against him, kicking his sneakers at his father and trying to wriggle himself out of his grasp. "NO! DOWANNA! DADDY, BAD! DOWANNA! DOWANNA!" Draco sighed and instantly regretted the day he had been so excited when he had heard Garrett's first word – "DOWANNA"—an expression he had evidently learned from his Uncle Byron.
Looking up from the corner of the room, a blue-robed Gabriel blinked at the sight of his older twin brother wrestling wildly against their father and grinned, his bright eyes lighting up with laughter. "Heehee…GAWWETT DOWANNA…" He exclaimed gleefully and despite himself, Draco couldn't prevent a laugh as he carried Garrett over to where Gabriel was seated Indian-style on the carpeted floor.
Unlike his older brother – who had spent the last hour traipsing around Draco's MMC office and laughing gleefully by pressing his father's magical intercom button several times to summon his secretary back and forth into the room – Gabriel had been content to sit down in the corner of the room with a box of magic crayons in one hand and several sheets of blank paper in the other.
Although Draco certainly couldn't deny that the sight of Natasha walking back and forth into his office and practically tearing her hair out in frustration each time Garrett stuck his tongue out at her was amusing, he had eventually grown tired of his son's antics. Now, he really did just want Garrett to settle down he could finish all the work he had to do for that afternoon.
Placing Garrett back down onto his feet beside Gabriel, Draco took one look over his younger son's shoulder before reaching a hand out and ruffling the toddler's short silver blonde hair. "What are you drawing there, Gabe?" He asked curiously, kneeling down beside his sons and using his free hand to grasp Garrett tightly by the wrist when the other toddler was about to take off again.
Gabriel blinked up at him with wide, sparkling green eyes and giggled, pointing a finger at the circular scribbles he had drawn on his paper. "DADDY!" He exclaimed loudly, indicating to the largest scribble on the page. Draco raised an eyebrow in fond amusement and chuckled in response.
"It would have been nice if you had drawn me with a FACE and BODY, Gabriel. Who's that little spot beside me?" He asked, pointing to a yellow spot beside the scribble. Gabriel grinned up at him again and pointed to Garrett – who was currently trying to break his hand free from his father's grip.
"GAWWETT AND GABWIEL!" He pointed to the spot beside Garrett and then pointed to himself, looking up and giving his father another proud, angelic smile. Draco's own smile faded, however, when he realized that there were only three scribbles on the paper his son held.
He doesn't recognize his mother as part of the family yet… This isn't good…Draco thought to himself in realization and he was just about to talk to Gabriel again when Garrett surprised him by managing to slip himself out of his grip, giggling and running towards his father's desk again.
Draco was up on his feet immediately and tried to chase after him. "GARRETT DRACO MALFOY! COME BACK HERE! BEHAVE YOURSELF, WE'RE NOT AT HOME!" He scolded firmly but Garrett was squealing happily and was already racing towards his father's wand on the table again.
"NO! DOWANNA! DADDY CATCH! DADDY CATCH! DADDY CATCH—" Garrett's laughing, high-pitched shouts ended abruptly when the blonde toddler tripped on the laces of his sneakers and accidentally hit his head on the bottom of his father's desk table – immediately stumbling to the carpeted floor. The 2-year-old sat up and began to whimper, clutching his blonde head in pain.
"DADDY…OUCHIE…"
Garrett blinked big teary green eyes up imploringly at his father from across the room before he suddenly burst into tears, his loud screams causing Draco to wince and immediately rush to his side in panic. He knelt down beside him and brushed back Garrett's sleek blonde strands from his forehead to inspect the small, forming red bruise.
"Garrett, what am I going to do with you...?" Draco whispered softly to himself in exhaustion, grabbing his wand from the table before gathering his crying son into his arms. Once he had stood back up with Garrett clutching tightly onto him, he dropped a kiss onto the top of the toddler's head and walked back over to where Gabriel was watching them with equally teary green eyes.
"GAWWETT BOO-BOO?" He asked tearfully, earning another reluctant smile from his father as Draco sat down onto the couch near the window and cradled Garrett's crying form gently against his chest. "Yes, your brother has a boo-boo, Gabriel. It's okay…He's fine." He told him but Gabriel climbed up onto the couch beside him and sat down right next to them.
Garrett sniffed softly and buried his face against his father's robes, wrapping his tiny arms around Draco's neck as the Malfoy Head raised his wand and pointed it at the bruise on Garrett's forehead. After casting a simple healing spell, the red bruise slowly began to disappear, leaving Garrett's soft skin pale and unmarred once again.
Gabriel clapped his hands gleefully at this and hopped along the couch. "MASHIK! MASHIK! MASHIK!" He exclaimed proudly and Draco answered him by chuckling and ruffling his hair again. He was just about to set Garrett back down onto the couch but the blonde toddler whimpered stubbornly and clutched on tighter to Draco's neck, causing his father to sigh in growing exasperation.
"Garrett, I have to get back to work—"
"—SHIT SHIT SHIT! SORRY! I'M SO SORRY, DRACO! I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE!"
He was cut off when the doors to his office suddenly blasted open and he found himself staring at his wife's flushed face, her entire form heaving with exhaustion. She bent down slightly and rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Her cheeks were tainted with an endearing shade of pink and her hair was disheveled from running but as always, Harry looked beautiful and the sight of her apologetic face was almost enough to make Draco forget that he was angry with her.
Almost.
A sneer forming on his face, Draco shifted Garrett carefully in his arms and glared at her over his shoulder. "Where the HELL have you been, Potter?! Do you have any idea what time it is?!" He exploded, unwittingly causing Garrett to flinch in his arms and Gabriel to back away from him in fear.
"DADDY…MAD…?"
Sighing, Harry bit her lip and walked into the office, picking Gabriel up and holding the other two-year-old against her chest. "Look, Draco…I KNOW I was supposed to pick the children up today but things got so hectic at work and I forgot and I—" She winced when Draco's eyes flashed again and he raised his wand, pointing it at the door so it would close behind her.
Harry winced for a moment when she heard the wooden doors violently slam shut. She bit her lip nervously and looked up at Draco's face – noting his tense form and the way he was obviously trying not to explode in front of their twin sons. He continued to glare at her in accusatory anger.
"You FORGOT?! You FORGOT to pick up your CHILDREN, Harry?! What kind of parent are you?! Are you honestly trying to prove to yourself how much of a horrible mother you are?!" Draco mocked loudly, ignoring the way Gabriel's eyes were beginning to water at his father's shouting.
"DADDY—"
Jaimee's eyes suddenly hardened at Draco's words and she glared right back at him, adjusting Gabriel carefully in her arms when the two-year-old began to struggle against her. "Draco, I SAID I was SORRY…Alright?! It won't happen again! I just had a lot of things on my mind lately—"
Draco laughed harshly and shook his head, walking up to her so she could see the cold, disbelieving look in his steely eyes. "Sorry isn't GOOD enough, Potter. Sorry is ALL you ever seem to say these days and quite frankly, I'm sick of it! Do you not want to be with your children, Harry?!"
Her eyes flashed indignantly at this and she sneered at him, adjusting Gabriel in her arms again when the two-year-old began to whine loudly. "Of COURSE I want to be with my children, Draco! What kind of question is that?! I understand you're upset that my work is taking so much time these days but I TOLD you that it's only for a few more months! Would you let up already?!" She growled, a slight edge of irritation in her voice as she spoke.
"Yeah…? Well that's what you said last time too…" Draco muttered darkly under his breath, sighing and shifting Garrett in his arms when the blonde toddler began to whimper. Looking back up into his wife's beautiful, angry face, Draco shook his head in defeat before slowly looking away.
Harry saw the defeated look in his eyes and immediately felt a stab of guilt. Cursing herself silently in her head, she squelched back the rest of her anger and tried to speak up in a softer voice.
"Draco…Look…I'm really am sorry. I'll—"
"I have a Board Meeting at six so you'd better take the twins back with you to the Ministry. I'll just meet you three at home before going to Elliot's birthday party." He drawled coldly, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes as he walked over to her and made to deposit Garrett back onto the floor.
Once again, Garrett whined and clutched on tighter to his father's form. Just as Draco was going to untangle the small hands from around his neck, Harry finally set Gabriel back down and walked over to him with an uncertain frown. Waiting until Draco had managed to place Garrett back on his feet on the floor; she finally reached up and caressed her husband's tightly clenched jaw.
"Draco…Listen—" She winced when Draco's hard eyes flicked on her again and she almost backed away when she saw the familiar, hateful sneer on his face. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced herself to continue to speak in a soothing voice, using her free hand to grasp his tightly.
"I know you and I are struggling right now…Things have been…not so good…between us. And I also know that it's mostly my fault. I understand how much my job has been demanding so much from me that I barely get to spend as much time with you or the twins anymore…" She began, watching as Draco's eyes merely darkened spitefully and his sneer widened in agreement.
Despite his reaction, she continued to talk anyway. "As much as I know it probably doesn't mean anything to you, I truly am so SORRY that I forgot to pick up the twins from your mother awhile ago. Believe me, that wasn't my intention. I'll make it up to you AND them, I promise." She reached a hand down and gently ruffled Garrett's mane of blonde hair, causing the toddler to blink up at her.
Draco's jaw remained clenched in disbelieving anger but Harry noticed the way his eyes were slowly beginning to soften at her words and the way his fingers were beginning to squeeze hers. Gabriel and Garrett blinked up at them in mild interest, their green eyes wide with childlike curiosity.
Taking his reaction as a positive sign, Harry spoke again. "I'm trying my best, 'Co…Okay? I'll try much harder, I promise…Please just don't make the situation any harder than it already is. We fight too much already these days…I don't want that." She told him, looking intently at him and watching the conflicted emotions running all over his handsome face.
Draco looked as though he was on the verge of relenting but his expression still remained guarded as he looked at her, one of his eyebrows arched in doubt. After a minute, he spoke – drawing attention to the way he was obviously trying to keep the emotions out of his face.
"Harry…I…" He shook his head and sighed, pausing to gather his words together. "I hardly get to see you anymore….It's beginning to feel wrong. I know I said I'll support you in this but—"
"I know. I know, Draco—"
"—NO. You DON'T know, Potter! I'm telling you now that THIS HAS GOT TO STOP." Draco cut her off sharply before she could interrupt him, narrowing his eyes and raising his voice a few levels to make sure she heard him. Harry nodded patiently at this, waiting for him to continue.
"Your own sons BARELY see you anymore! I barely see you anymore and I can't even remember the last time you stayed at home! In case you didn't realize, Harry…It takes TWO people to maintain a marriage." He snapped sarcastically, causing her to wince again in dismay.
"I know, 'Co…I'm TRYING…Okay? I am TRYING my goddamn best." She forced out through clenched teeth, fisting her hands and desperately trying to control her anger lest she explode and snap at Draco again – which would only make him explode and make the situation even worse.
Draco just looked back at her, his eyes dimming in silent disappointment. When she saw this, Harry felt even more horrible. She would have preferred him blowing up and snarling at her in his usual bouts of anger. To see him looking at her so helplessly like that just made her feel like dung.
She took another step toward him and looked up at him, using a single hand to slowly turn his face so that he was looking into her green eyes. When he stared back blankly at her, she began to speak in soft whisper. "I'm sorry…I'll work on it, 'Co. I promise. I'm sorry…Okay?"
"SOWWEE…" Gabriel echoed his mother loudly with a giggle.
The sudden, high-pitched voice of the two-year-old caused both his parents to blink in surprise at having been reminded of their twin sons' presence. Chuckling to themselves, they stared at each other's face – Draco staring at her with doubt and Harry staring right back in uneasy guilt.
After a long, awkward moment, Draco finally sighed in defeat – nodding slowly and reluctantly quirking his lips into a weak smile. Shaking his head at himself, he reached a hand up and cupped her cheek, wrapping his other hand around her waist and pulling her slender body against his.
"Just…Make sure you don't forget the dinner I planned next Friday, okay…? I told you about that weeks ago just so you could clear your schedule." He told her, tightening his arms around her slender body and closing his eyes as he caught the sweet, familiar scent of her hair.
Harry chuckled softly to herself at his reaction, wrapping her own arms around his neck and leaning up to press her lips briefly against his in a sweet kiss. "I won't…I promise." She blinked up at him with her bright green eyes, causing Draco to grumble and roll his own eyes in annoyance.
"I swear, Potter… Those blasted eyes of yours are my weakness. They get you out of nearly everything…All you have to do is flutter them up at me like that. Ugh. Your sons get me the same way, it's frustrating." He growled, causing his wife to laugh and wrap her arms tighter around him.
She leaned in and gave him another kiss before pulling away and rewarding him with a quirky grin. "Mmmhmm…I know your other weakness, Malfoy…Shall I show you how skillfully I exploit it tonight as well?" She asked in a low, teasing voice, holding back another fond laugh when Draco's eyes narrowed and glared down at her in unmistakable lust.
He let his glinting mercury eyes trail up and down her body in silence – mentally undressing her with his gaze alone – before flicking them back up to meet her smirk. "Enlighten me, Potter…What exactly is this weakness of mine you speak of?" He drawled back, raising an eyebrow lazily at her.
Her smile instantly became suggestive as she pressed herself closer against him, making sure he felt the curves of her body clearly against his own. As she expected, Draco's eyes darkened to a misty gray and his breath hitched in his throat. Chuckling, she moved her hands down from around his neck, placed them right on his arse and squeezed – causing him to stiffen in shocked amusement.
She smirked at his reaction, leaning in to nibble on his ear. "Need I say more…?"
A low growl escaped Draco's throat as he pulled her closer against his lean figure, leaning down to whisper something impatiently into her ear. "You are such a TEASE…" He hissed, bending his head down lower so he could place heated, searing kisses along the curve of her shoulder.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to allow him better access, biting back a moan of pleasure when she felt his hands beginning to roam her body. Just as Draco's hands were trying to undo the buttons on her robes, they were both brought out of their lustful haze by a curious voice.
"TEASE? MOMMY TEASE? TEASE! TEASE! TEASE!"
Draco and Harry broke apart instantly and flushed in embarrassment like two guilty teenagers, their eyes flicking back down on mortified realization to see Garrett and Gabriel still staring up at them with wide, identical grins on their adorable, baby faces. It was Garrett who had spoken and he was giggling and pointing curiously at them, clapping his hands to himself.
Biting his lip, Draco held back a genuine laugh when he saw the blush on his wife's face – along with the way she was fanning herself and trying to adjust her Unspeakable robes. Pointedly ignoring Draco's teasing smirk, Harry knelt back down onto the floor and gave her twin sons an overly bright smile to hide the obvious embarrassed blush that was still on her cheeks.
"Kids…Say goodbye to your father first. I'll be taking you with me to the Ministry of Magic! Isn't that exciting?" She asked and at the words 'Ministry of Magic', she didn't have to wait long before Garrett and Gabriel both grinned excitedly and simultaneously rushed to give their father one last hug.
"YAAAAAY! MASHIK! MASHIK! MASHIK! BYE-BYE DADDY! BYE-BYE! BYE-BYE!" Garrett and Gabriel both sang out simultaneously, running right at Draco and flinging their tiny arms around his knees – accidentally winding their father and knocking him onto the carpeted floor in their excitement.
Harry smothered a laugh behind her hand as Draco growled and struggled to pick himself back up – all the while trying to glare at his sons but failing miserably. He eventually began laughing when both toddlers tackled him to the floor and threw their arms ecstatically around their father's neck.
"BYE-BYE DADDY! BYE-BYE DADDY!" They cheered out in unison and when they wouldn't let up after about three more minutes of hugging him like this, Draco finally looked up at his laughing wife and gave her a pointed, helpless glare – desperately trying to free himself from his sons' arms.
"POTTER! A LITTLE HELP HERE?!"
"Hold the elevator, Neville!" Harry called out desperately as she rounded the corner of the Ministry lobby with Gabriel balanced carefully with one arm and Garrett holding onto her free hand. The two-year-old was trying to follow his mother with smaller toddles of his own along the floor.
Looking at her with a sympathetic, amused grin, Neville reached a hand out and held the Ministry elevator doors open for her, waiting until Harry finally managed to clamber in and set Gabriel down onto the floor. She muttered a quick thank you to the other former Gryffindor before leaning against the elevator wall, breathing heavily in exhaustion.
Neville looked awkwardly at the two Malfoy toddlers – both of which already bore such an uncanny resemblance to their father – and gulped nervously. The blonde two-year-olds seemed to be staring up at him with the same mischievous smirk Draco used to give him back at Hogwarts back when the notorious Slytherin would bully him around. It made him feel really uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, Harry failed to notice his nervousness and gave him an easy grin, greeting him with a light punch to the shoulder. "Hey Neville! How's Luna and little Daniel? Are you three coming to little Elliot's birthday party later?" She asked him curiously; watching as Neville carefully edged further away from the twins again before he looked up and answered her.
"Luna's just fine, Harry…And yep, we'll be there later. Daniel's really excited about it too. He's just about two months older than your sons here. Luna says he looks a lot like me but acts a lot like her." He told her, earning a fond smile from his former housemate. Harry tightened her grip on Garrett and Gabriel's hands to get them to stay still before she got to answer Neville's comment.
"I'd love to see him again. Maybe you could bring him to play with Garret and Gabriel sometime?" She asked him and though Neville flinched again at the wide grin Garrett was giving him, he forced himself to nod anyway. "S—sure, Harry…I guess. S—say, what are the twins doing here anyway? Are they allowed in the Unspeakable department?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
Harry shook her head hastily and sighed, tightening her grip around Garrett's hand again when her older son began to squirm impatiently beside her.
"No, they're not. I'm actually heading over to the Day Care Center on the 50th floor to drop them off for about two hours. I just need to finish a couple more assignments before I'm done for the day." She answered, wincing when Gabriel began to whine loudly in growing impatience as well.
Neville laughed at her expression and shrugged, giving her another sympathetic smile. "It must be hard to balance it all, huh? I heard from the other Aurors that you're in line to be Head Unspeakable next year…Congratulations on that." He told her, earning another grin from Harry.
"Yeah…I am. Thanks, Neville. I heard you're in line to be Head Officer yourself. Second-in-command, Neville. Good job!" When Neville nodded and grinned back, Harry laughed and continued.
"Actually, Hermione is being trained to be Head Officer in her department too…And Ron is going to be Head of his in a year just like me." She told him, blissfully unaware of the fact that Garrett was scowling up at her in impatience and was strengthening his struggles against her.
Neville noticed this, however, and flicked his eyes back to the green-robed toddler. Raising a single eyebrow, he chuckled and indicated to Gabriel with a nod. "How can you tell your sons apart, Harry? They look completely identical…I don't know how you manage to keep track of them." He mused, causing Harry to grin and answer him by pointing to her sons' baby robes.
"Mostly we just go by color, Neville. Garrett's the one in green; Gabriel's the one in blue. When I get confused, I just try to wait and see how they act. Garrett's usually the troublemaker while Gabe just sits down in a corner and scribbles." She told him, earning another laugh from her friend.
Neville was just about to make another comment about the twins when the elevator chose that exact moment to stop. The doors slid open, revealing Hermione's flushed, exasperated face. At the sight of her two friends, she gave them both a smile and entered hurriedly into the elevator.
"Harry! Neville! I'm glad I ran into you two…You're coming to Elliot's birthday party later right?" Both former Gryffindors nodded at this, waiting until Hermione had chosen her floor on the elevator buttons. When she turned back around to face them, she noticed the twins for the first time.
"Oh…I didn't realize you'd brought your sons, Harry." Hermione smiled and bent down to pinch their cheeks, giving both whining toddlers a kiss on the cheek. "Hey there cuties…How are you? Aw, don't you just look so handsome in your baby robes?" She cooed, causing Neville to roll his eyes in amusement at her voice and Harry to chuckle at his best friend's coddling.
Looking down at her two blonde sons, Harry gave the squirming twins an encouraging grin. "Guys, your Aunt Hermione just gave you a compliment. What are you supposed to say?" She asked them in what she hoped was a stern, parental voice – peering down expectantly at them.
Gabriel took one look at his mother's face before looking back at Hermione and giving her an adorable – though slightly hesitant smile. "SENKYOU BERMUCH, AUNT MY-NEE…" He murmured before giggling, gurgling and burying his face shyly into his mother's left leg.
Hermione completely melted at this while Harry and Neville both laughed, switching their attention to Garrett instead. The older Malfoy son was looking up at Hermione with his chin raised – an expression scarily reminiscent of his Slytherin father etched onto his aristocratic features.
Harry narrowed her eyes at him in warning. "Garrett…Your Aunt Hermione just said you looked handsome. What are you supposed to say back?"
Garrett blinked and stared up at Hermione. "OKAY…YOR WEL-COM!" He exclaimed loudly in a proud voice and as much as Neville was shocked at the toddler's staggering Malfoy arrogance at the age of TWO, he couldn't help laughing when he saw the miffed expression on Hermione's face.
Harry slapped a hand against her forehead in exasperation, turning to give her best friend an exasperated and slightly apologetic grimace. "Ehehe…Sorry, 'Mione. I should have warned you. I'm still trying to 'work out the kinks' in this kid." She kidded, indicating to Garrett giggling beside her.
Hermione sighed and nodded while Neville just sniggered again and reached a hand down to ruffle Garrett's silver blonde hair. "Saying 'thank you' after receiving something isn't really that hard to teach, Harry. Maybe your son really is just as naturally arrogant as his father— OW!"
Neville's sentence broke off and ended up in a sharp cry of pain when Garrett had scowled and stomped on his left foot – startling both his mother and Hermione as they turned at the loud sound.
"GARRETT! APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!"
Gabriel flinched at the sound of his mother's scolding voice and whimpered softly, looking up at Neville with glassy green eyes. "SOWWEE?" He offered in a meek voice but at this, Harry shook her head even more fiercely, ignoring Hermione's giggling as she tugged on Garrett's hand again.
"NOT you, Gabriel! Garrett, I said apologize!" Harry repeated in an angrier voice, shooting Neville an apologetic look when she saw him wincing and rubbing his sore foot in pain. Garrett glared up at his mother and made a face, his scowl deepening as he stomped his sneakers onto the floor.
"NO!"
Harry's jaw tightened in growing impatience. "Garrett, I SAID—"
"NO! NO! NO! DOWANNA! DOWANNA! DOWANNA!"
"GARRETT, I'M WARNING YOU! I SAID APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW OR YOU'LL GET A TIME OUT!"
Gabriel began to cry at his mother's raised voice while Garrett just stomped his feet angrily against the elevator floor again. "NO! NO! NO! DOWANNA! MOMMY STUPID! NO! NO! NO!"
"ARGH! WHY YOU—"
Neville coughed awkwardly, cutting off the rest of Harry's angry growl and directing her attention to him instead. "Harry, forget about it. It's really okay, no harm done. It wasn't really that big a deal anyway. I forgot that you already warned me about messing up Garrett's hair before—"
Harry's eyes were still flashing with mild anger but she sighed and nodded, reaching down and pulling Gabriel's against her so he could bury his crying face into her robes. "I'm sorry, Neville…I'm still a bit horrible at all this 'mother stuff'. Lately, the twins have been such a handful—"
"Let it go, Harry. They're TWO. They're at the stage when they try to test their limits by testing your patience and screaming 'NO' in your ear. I've been there." Hermione told her firmly, pausing when the elevator door opened and a couple of Ministry officials clambered in.
Harry winced when Garrett began struggling again and trying to pull his hand away from hers.
"They don't even WANT to listen to me, Hermione! They only listen to Draco and lately, they've been acting as if they don't even want to be around me that much." She grumbled but instead of comforting her, Harry was shocked when Hermione just turned and gave her a pointed glare.
"Well, what do you expect? They always SEE their father as opposed to their MOTHER. In all honesty, I think you're beginning to become a workaholic, Harry. It isn't good for you anymore." She retorted bluntly and if anything, her words irritated Harry even more.
"What is THAT supposed to mean?" She asked sharply, her eyes narrowing slowly at Hermione.
Neville shifted uncomfortably between them and cleared his throat as the elevator stopped and the doors opened again. "I'll be going now, guys. I'll see you tonight." He excused himself hastily, not bothering to wait for either woman's response as he exited towards the Auror department.
Once the doors had closed and the elevator began moving upwards again, Hermione turned to meet Harry's accusatory glare. Sighing, the Zabini Mistress took one look at her friend's angry expression before gesturing to the two impatiently squirming toddlers beside her.
"I just…I didn't mean any harm in saying that, Harry. I just meant that…Well…Perhaps your sons don't listen to you because you don't spend much time with them. You've been really busy these last few months that even Ron and I are a little concerned about you." She explained, making sure she chose her words carefully lest she incite Harry's well-known temper.
Unfortunately, Harry seemed to grow angrier anyway and her glare at Hermione intensified. Ignoring Garrett and Gabriel's loud, excessive whining, she gave Hermione a spiteful sneer
"Give me a break, Hermione! Just to remind you, I wasn't born a real woman like YOU were. I don't HAVE maternal instincts and nor did I grow up with the notion of being a mother! I never prepared for the fact that I may have to balance my career with my children like most women do because I grew up a MALE!" She snapped angrily, ignoring the looks she was receiving from the other Ministry officials gathered in the elevator around them.
Hermione flinched at the harsh tone of her voice. "Harry, that wasn't what I meant at all—"
Harry silenced her by shaking her head. "My job is the only…ONLY connection I have left to my remaining sense of masculinity and I intend to keep it that way. I LOVE my job, alright?! I'm still a man inside and I will continue to work like one. Get off my damn case!" She finished coldly.
Before Hermione had a chance to apologize, the elevator doors had opened again and Harry was already storming out in a heated rage, pulling Garrett and Gabriel gently along by their hands behind her. She was just about to turn a corner towards the Ministry Day Care Center when Gabriel accidentally tripped on his loose shoelace, causing his mother to stop and let go of Garrett's hand so she could catch Gabriel before he fell to the ground.
This proved to be a BAD idea, however, because the minute she did, Garrett grinned widely and immediately took off running from her towards the other direction.
"GARRETT! COME BACK HERE!"
Harry pulled Gabriel into her arms and quickly jumped back to her feet, scowling and taking off after the rogue toddler. Her older son was giggling as he toddled his way in running baby steps down the busy corridor – causing several passing Ministry officials to trip or bump into each other as they swerved and maneuvered their way around his tiny form.
Shooting the passing officials an embarrassed, apologetic cringe, Harry was just about to turn a corner to the direction Garrett had headed off when she stopped and froze. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Garrett a couple a feet away from her – held up in place by his collar by a handsome, dark-haired wizard in Ministry robes who was giving her an amused grin.
"…Lost something, Mistress Malfoy…?"
Still a bit confused, Harry walked closer to the man in inspection and frowned – trying to remember where she had seen his familiar face before. The man gave her a friendly, though slightly uncertain smile, and gently offered her the struggling toddler he was still holding, chuckling when Garrett's sneakered feet kicked wildly at him from where they dangled in the air.
"NO! NO! DOWANNA! DOWANNA! NO!"
Harry set Gabriel back down onto the floor behind her and took Garrett into her arms, ignoring the toddler's loud screaming protests as she continued to look suspiciously at the man in front of her. The man smiled back and nodded, gesturing to Garrett and Gabriel with an amused grin.
"Handsome little boys you've got there…I think the last time I saw them, they weren't actually born yet." He kidded and the minute he said this, Harry's green eyes finally lit up in recognition.
"Of course! We've met before!" Setting Garrett back down on the floor beside Gabriel, she latched on securely to both her sons' hands before turning back to give the man in front of her a friendly smile. "Max right? Maximillian Thornton? You were the one I met in Borgin and Burkes three years ago." She mused, wincing when Garrett and Gabriel began to tug on her hands again.
Max smiled back at her and nodded, running a hand through his hair before shoving his hands boyishly into the pocket of his robes. "I'm honored you still remember my name, Mistress Malfoy. Especially after the scene your husband and I made in there, I was kind of thinking you'd purposely forgotten about the whole incident." He kidded easily, earning an embarrassed laugh from Harry.
She cringed and shook her head at the memory, offering him an apologetic smile. "Yeah…I remember now. I'm still really sorry about what happened back then. Draco was being a bit of a jerk but I'm sure he didn't mean it—"
Max' eyes hardened but he gave her a tight smile and shrugged either way. "Oh I'm sure he did, Mistress Malfoy. But that doesn't really matter to me; I'm used to it by now." He answered awkwardly. Not knowing how or what to respond, Harry offered him another small smile instead.
"It's Jaimee, Mister Thornton…Or Harry actually. It's the same thing. Uhm…What are you doing here? Do you work at the Ministry?" She asked him, flicking her eyes down to glare warningly at her sons again when they resumed their struggling against her hold on them.
"Call me Max, Harry." Max told her before indicating to the department behind him. "I just transferred here from the Ministry of Magic branch in France about a week ago. I work with Hermione Granger at the CISO department as an Archives Analyst. She's a close friend of yours, right?"
Harry nodded, sighing when Gabriel began to whine loudly again. "Yes, she is. I think she did mention something last week about working with a new partner in the office…" She finally bent down and gathered Gabriel up in her arms, using her free hand to keep Garrett firmly in place.
Turning back to Max, she nodded and gave him one last smile. "Well…Thanks very much for the help with Garrett, Max. I'd better go and drop these rascals off at the Day Care Center. It was really nice seeing you again." She told him politely and she was just about to walk away when Max called out to her again, drawing her attention his slightly sheepish grin.
"Oh uhm…By any chance, if you run into Hermione today…Could you please tell her that I'll be a little late to her son's party tonight?"
Harry turned around in surprise, blinking a couple of times at him before she shrugged and gave him a small smile. "No problem. Actually, I'm going too so I'll probably see you there."
She gave him one last nod before she finally turned and walked off in the other direction, Garrett trailing slowly behind her and Gabriel balanced carefully in her arms. As she walked away, she failed to realize that both Gabriel and Garrett looked back and shot Max an identical scowl, sticking their tongues out at him and causing the man to stiffen and scowl back in irritation.
"Ugh…Malfoys…"
A/N: Just to clarify, the twins seem to be closer to Draco because they hardly see their mother at all. In other words, the main parent figure to them – as of the moment – is their father. That's why struggle against Harry all the time. (Bad Harry!) And also, before any of you ask, NO, NEITHER OF THEM WILL CHEAT ON EACH OTHER. I don't have the stomach to write cheating and I particularly hate cheating!Draco in some other stories I've read. He was raised better than that by Lucius and Narcissa and he's not that kind of person. :P
Next Chapter: Elliot's Birthday Party, Some Anton/Ginny, and a little of Jealous!Draco
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