Later on, Lord Voldemort, followed by his frighteningly giddy Death Eaters and an agonized Hagrid carrying Harry Potter's unmoving body, returned to the Hogwarts castle. Konata and Blaze lay down their babies with a couple of students who were too injured to move, and quickly hastened to join the crowd of people standing in the doorway. He flaunted about defeating Harry like a cat presenting its owner with a dead mouse, the solemn cries of the battle's survivors only increasing his sick pleasure. Even so, Blaze was only vaguely aware of this: she was scanning the crowd of Death Eaters for Draco.
She was forced to pay attention, though, as Neville charged at Voldemort, causing himself to be Disarmed. After Voldemort told him he'd make a fine Death Eater, and he replied "I'll join you when Hell freezes over," the Sorting Hat was summoned out of an upper story of the castle, placed on Neville's head, and set on fire. "NO!" Konata screamed, jumping forward without awareness of her actions- even if she was in love with Shiro and had eyes for positively nobody else, she would always think kindly of Neville for being her first boyfriend. Shiro immediately wrapped his free arm around Konata's shoulders, yanking her backward before harm could cross her.
Neville, miraculously, made it out of the predicament unscathed. From the Sorting Hat he drew the sword of Gryffindor, which he used to kill Voldemort's snake, Nagini: the final Horcrux. A sort of finale took place, in which Mrs. Weasley killed Bellatrix Lestrange, and Harry faced off one-on-one against Voldemort. The Dark Lord lost…. And just like that, it was over.
"Draco, y-you… You're staying?" Blaze breathed, approaching the boy she loved. He was huddled up with his parents, all three of them appearing like they were quite aware that they were out of place. The thing was, all of the other Death Eaters had been dragged off to Azkaban. A frantic-looking Draco, shaking slightly, shot up his gaze to face Blaze.
"Blaze, I-! Y-yeah, we… They didn't send us with the others," he murmured, scrambling to his feet.
Automatically, he looked down at the baby in Blaze's arms. His shaking halted, and his shoulders loosened up a bit. "This little guy… He… He's my son, isn't he?" he inferred softly. At this, both of Draco's parents widened their eyes remarkably; Narcissa covered her mouth with both hands while Lucius looked a combination of disgusted and intrigued. Blaze gave a slow nod, absently beginning to rock Scorpius.
"Uh huh… I remembered you mentioned in this one conversation a while back that you loved the name Scorpius, so, I've named him Scorpius Draco. I've been saying his last name is Alexanders, but…"
"O-oh, no, there's no need for that," Draco insisted immediately. A warm affection he had never felt nor shown before appeared in his demeanor as he caressed Blaze's cheek, his eyes meeting hers before he gazed down at Scorpius and gently tickled his chin. "I'd say this handsome young boy deserves to be raised by the man he got his looks from, hm? And it'd be a waste of my time trying to find a woman I love as much as you, so I suppose we should be wed." He looked over his shoulder to face his parents. "Well? Will you disown me if I make Blaze my bride?"
Narcissa lowered her hands. "Oh, Draco, darling, if you're happy I'm happy too…" Lucius lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes, as if he was looking over Blaze for the first time, and then sighed slightly.
"She's a Gryffindor, Draco… Although… She IS a pureblood, and I was fond of her father…" For a fleeting moment, Blaze was harshly reminded of the tale Shotaro had told her, though the fact that Draco had just indirectly proposed to her overpowered the thought. Plus, Lucius added in a hushed tone, "I never meant… for him to turn into someone that would cause you so much pain, Blaze."
Ignoring the added comment from his father, Draco beamed. "Even if you said no, I would have gone through with it, but excellent." Like an eager child, Draco gripped Blaze's upper arms. "Ah, you'll make such a fine Malfoy… I'll buy you the most beautiful ring you can imagine, just tell me if you want a silver or gold band and what type of gem you want and I'll get it… And the gown, I'll pay for your gown, you deserve the best." Blaze laughed, feeling more cheerful than she could remember feeling in a long time.
"Geez, you don't gotta spoil me… Besides, it's not like the wedding's going to be tomorrow, we can discuss this later."
Draco, too, was appearing happier and more youthful. "Mm, true… I know what I DO need to talk about now, though." He looked down at Scorpius, shining with pride. The infant returned his stare, curiosity and an immediately developing fondness in his tiny blue eyes. "When was he born? I'm so sorry I couldn't be there, I- well, let's not dwell on the past… Were there any complications? He looks pretty healthy now. I wonder if he'll be bleach blonde like his papa, or if his hair will be yellowish like his mummy's? Have you been mothering him by yourself, or have you had help?"
Blaze let out another laugh. "Well someone's excited… One thing at a time, honey. His birthday is April twenty-third; he's a few hours younger than Konata and Shiro's twins." A questioning look crossed Draco's expression here, though he allowed Blaze to continue. "He was born pretty smoothly- I mean, it wasn't a walk in the park, but there weren't any notable problems. I dunno about the hair, it looks like it'll be like yours for now, but who knows, it could get darker… Konata helped out where she could, which wasn't all that often. I can't blame her though, she's got her hands full with the twins… Shiro, on the other hand, has been brilliant." Shiro… The thought of him led her to think of Konata, which reminded her of a question that had been in the back of her head for a while. Her eyes widened a bit behind her partially broken glasses. "Er, here, bond with your son… I'll be right back."
Blinking, Draco scooped Scorpius into his arms without comment and whispered affectionately in a humorously high tone. Narcissa swept over, immediately starting to croon over her new grandson, and even Lucius ventured to get a closer look. Smiling softly, Blaze trotted off to locate her two best friends.
They were sitting together against a wall, Konata with Raye on her lap and Shiro with Raito on his. It seemed they were quite deep in discussion- Blaze didn't know it, but they were conversing about if they could afford to buy a home together and making vague wedding plans. "Hey you two… How's your arm, Shiro?"
"Attached," he responded. Blaze gave a half smile.
"Good to know. Now Konata…" She turned to her brunette friend. "I've been wondering. How're we gonna go about returning to your parents…?"
"Oh, see, we just finished talking about that… We're gonna leave when everyone else does, and Apparate to the apartment- don't ask how Shiro and I learned, we've just got ways- and…" Konata absently began jiggling Raye on her leg. "I guess we'll just have to see how Mum and Dad react. Mum'll probably take it well, but Dad…? Might as well bring a pair of headphones or earmuffs."
That being said, they all boarded the Hogwarts Express on the following day. Like a majority of the other students, they stared longingly out the window, taking in as much as possible with the memories playing before them like a silent film. Before they could fully review them all and digest everything they could of the Hogwarts grounds, the castle was shrinking behind a hill until it was out of sight completely.
Draco took Scorpius with him to Malfoy manner; Blaze was going to meet up with them after she was done at the Verdents' house. Really, she only came along to say a final thank you and farewell to Konata's parents, gather any last possessions she had there, and see how Jillian and Will took to the news of Raito and Raye. Raito had started being fussy, so Konata had to calm him down on the porch as her two friends entered the house. The door opened before Blaze had even pulled her fist away from the knocker. Jillian stood there looking frantic and expecting, the dark circles under her hazel eyes evident that she hadn't gotten as much sleep as needed. She spoke in a high, relieved tone, but that couldn't mask the disappointment that etched onto her face once she saw that her daughter was not standing before her. "B-Blaze, hello dear…! Oh, Shiro, I barely recognized you, you're almost as tall as Will, and you've got all that facial hair… That sling is on all wrong, you poor thing, come in, both of you…" Without waiting for a word from either of them, she bolted back inside.
"Konata! Sweetheart, I- o-oh…" exclaimed the voice of Will. He hadn't even attempted to maintain his usual calm and intimidating demeanor as he stumbled to his feet, but regained it at the sight of Blaze and Shiro. "Konata… Where is she?" His voice already began to reveal his fear. "W-we didn't feel the coin heat up last night, does that mean she's-?"
"She's fine, Mr. Verdent, no worries… She should be coming in any minute now," Shiro assured him, closing one eye tightly as Mrs. Verdent fumbled with the bandages beneath his sling. He caught a glimpse of the fake Galleon used to give Konata a way of telling her parents she was safe, lying on a coffee table. It was almost unrecognizable, most of the paint having chipped off. Jillian smiled almost apologetically as she noticed Shiro's gaze.
"This is literally the first time I've put that coin down in months…" She chuckled nervously. "I'm a bit paranoid, I guess."
"Mum, Dad… I'm sorry I didn't contact you last night, I fell asleep before I could remember to," Konata murmured, walking into the room. Her parents snapped their heads up like dogs whose names had been called, eyes widened and huge grins of relief immediately appearing on their faces; however, the smiles vanished as they took note of the little creatures in their daughter's arms. Jillian covered her mouth with her hands, squeaking what might have been words, while Will felt quite like he'd taken a blow full in the stomach. He started formulating bizarre theories to counter his fear, but there was no escaping how much the babies' faces resembled Konata's.
Slowly, he stepped forward, almost as if the infants snuggled into Konata would attack if he made any sudden movements. He was not, however, proceeding toward Konata… Instead, he turned to Shiro, and slapped him across the cheek, causing a loud SMACK to sound across the room. A soft groan of pain left Shiro's lips.
"What the bloody hell did you do that for!" Konata screeched, pouncing forward. Shiro now had his good hand pressed against his red, gradually bruising cheek, fear blazing in his face as if Will was 5 feet taller than him as opposed to 3 ½ inches.
"You dirty bastard, what did you do to my daughter!" Mr. Verdent boomed, ignoring Konata's outburst.
"Don't you dare blame him for something I had full part in!" Konata demanded, standing between her dad and her boyfriend- fiancé, really. Raye started to whimper, so she softened up a level, but that didn't reduce the anger in her expression. "We made a mistake and this is the consequence, but you can't-"
"You're going to KEEP the little monsters?" Will interrupted, obviously not interested in any words of defense his daughter had to say.
Konata immediately looked devastated, securely holding her twins tighter. "NEVER call them that AGAIN! They're not monsters in the least! Look into their faces and try to tell me they're not precious."
Will planned on doing just that; nonetheless, when he peered over his glasses at the infants, all hope of that faded. They looked so much like Konata… He recalled the memory of holding Konata for the first time since he was told he'd act as her father; recalled the feelings of dread since he'd never wanted children… Yet the one-year-old little girl smiled up at him with utmost affection, wearing a look that said "I like you!" without any words spoken… And so he remained silent and allowed present-Konata to continue supporting herself. "I know you're going to say that I'm too young, but I'm graduated and of age, Daddy! Plus, Shiro is my true love, as cheesy as it sounds. We're going to get married when we find the money, and there's a cheap little home we're going to rent for a while…" She looked down at the babies stirring slightly in her arms. "And I don't care if it's naïve, I love these two to death, a-"
"Enough, Konata." Will rubbed his temple with one hand, adjusting his glasses with the other. He sighed deeply. "Alright, this is a fight I can't win and I know it. I suppose you ARE out of school, and if you're truly engaged to Shiro…" He paused before grumbling, "I guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm a grandpa now." Konata's shoulders fell in relief, a soft smile forming on her lips. She quickly stood on her toes to give her dad a kiss on the cheek.
"So what are the little angels' names?" Mrs. Verdent inquired. "May I?" she added, half extending her arms. Konata nodded, handing Raito over to her.
"Of course, you are their grandmum… And, the one you've got is Raito Satoshi, I'm holding Raye Blaze," Konata answered.
"Beautiful," Jillian assured her, snuggling Raito against her chest. "I'm much too young to be a grandparent, but at least it's a job that requires nothing but spoiling these sweeties…" She looked up, back and forth between Shiro and Konata. "Also, congratulations, you two."
"Thank you," the couple responded in unison. Konata turned to her father with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Are you going to love your grandbabies? Come on, look at this face," at these words she held Raye a little closer to Will, "how can you not love this face?"
Mr. Verdent leaned partially backward, trying to appear like he was angry at Konata even though a smile was threatening on his mouth. To hide this, he stared at the ground. "She… IS pretty cute," he admitted, as if it caused him pain to do so. His gaze abruptly snapped upward to bear into Shiro. "If you ever end up leaving them and Konata, or hurt the three of them in any way, I'll personally see to it that you suffer painfully," he growled, jabbing a finger at the dark-brown haired boy. Shiro's face flushed, and he absently took a step toward Konata.
"Th-there'll be no need for that, s-sir…" The terror in his demeanor lessened. "The only way I could ever hurt them is by loving them to death," he murmured affectionately. Konata giggled and gave him a loving peck on the nose.
"Well that was just about the cheesiest line I have ever heard in my life," came the voice of Blaze.
"Whew! Blaze, I almost forgot you were there, hi hun!" Jillian breathed. Konata laughed, both at her mother and Blaze's comment, sticking her tongue out at her blonde friend. She wrapped her free arm around Shiro's waist, snuggling against his chest.
After a few seconds of silence, she looked up into her fiancé's face and remarked: "That WAS pretty cheesy though, darling."