How's work going?"
Draco glanced up to see a shapely and familiar bottom perched on the edge of his desk.
"Certainly better with your exquisitely shaped bum on my desk instead of Potter's." He quipped to his wife as he looked back down at the file in front of him.
"You sweet talker." Hermione chuckled, then went quiet for a moment before speaking once more a little hesitantly, "Are you able to take a lunch today?"
Draco looked up in concern at her tone, "I can rearrange things to ensure it. Didn't you have that meeting about the demiguise poachers today though?"
"Well…" She nibbled at her lip and Draco had to remind himself that they were at work and she was clearly worked up about something, "I gave it to Davies. I have an appointment."
"More tremors?" He asked glancing at her hands which were a little shaky. Hermione shook her head, a brown ringlet tumbling from where it was pinned back. He waved his wand, casting muffliato around his desk to give them privacy.
She took a deep breath and just blurted it, "I'm pregnant."
Draco stared at her, feeling a slow grin spread across his face, joy spreading through him like wildfire.
It made sense. His witch had been a little more sensitive the past month, more prone to tears and fits of temper. She had turned her nose up at her favorite meal yesterday, insisting it just didn't sound good and went with Pansy to get curry instead. He'd chalked it up to stress.
"When?" He asked, getting up from his desk and coming around to pull her from her perch into his arms.
"I don't know. Hence the appointment." She teased, "So you are happy?"
"I am. I told you years ago we would make genius babies, Granger." He joked, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He still called her Granger after all these years much to the confusion of most everyone around them except Pansy who had the same odd habit towards her own wizard.
"I'm a little nervous. I don't know anything about parenting." She was nibbling that lip again and Draco was struggling not to put her back on the desk.
"I'm sure there are books. We can pick them up today. Besides," he tilted her face up, "You've been parenting Potter and Weasel for years. You'll be a natural."
She gave him a bright smile and there was the dimples. Draco kissed her again and then removed the spell around his cubicle so he could yell for Potter.
"What do you want, Malfoy? If I don't get a handle on this demiguise case, Mrs. Malfoy is going transfigure me into a teakettle." Harry snapped from his own cubicle.
"I'll let it slide today if you cover Draco for lunch." Hermione promised and Harry poked his head out of his cubby with wide eyes.
"Didn't see you there, Hermione!" Harry laughed sheepishly.
"Cover me the rest of the day actually. I'll be in tomorrow morning." Draco corrected and Hermione looked up at him startled.
Harry raised a dark brow, "What's in it for me?"
Hermione leaned up to whisper an idea into Draco's ear. He smirked and straightened.
"I'll tell you a secret Pansy doesn't know and I'll let you lord it over her until the weekend." Draco offered and Harry grinned wickedly.
"Deal."
Draco gestured for Hermione to go first, striding over to Harry's desk just in time to see Hermione whisper in Harry's ear.
The man jumped to his feet, elated and grabbed Hermione to spin her around, "Truly?"
She nodded happily and laughed when she was spun once more. Draco smiled at the duo whispering back and forth, forehead pressed together in mutual affection.
"Go on! Go! Shoo!" Harry told them, gently nudging Hermione into Draco's arms, "I'll cover for you!"
"Thanks, Potter." Draco told him sincerely.
"I know you would have told me anyway, but I appreciate being first, even if it was to bargain for a half day off." Harry grinned.
Draco escorted Hermione away from the aurors offices towards her own to gather her things and make arrangements for her half day.
As they stepped into her private office, he couldn't help kissing her passionately and thoroughly. He made sure to kick the door shut and reach behind himself to lock it.
She sighed against his mouth and when he pulled away, more of her curls had fallen around her face and her brown eyes were luminous.
"It's not fair for you to look like that when I haven't even gotten to shag you yet." He teased and she smiled at him.
"So that's why you wanted the half day instead of just lunch."
"Needed the half day. Not wanted." He corrected her with a tap to her freckled nose, "There's a difference. I need your pretty little body the way I need air."
"You're right, how silly of me." She giggled and Draco kissed her once more, bending her over her large desk with intentions to defile it. She moaned into his mouth as she drew a knee up to his hip.
Her clock chirped at her, a reminder of her appointment, so she stopped him with a sigh and he let her move out from beneath him.
"I'll see if Davies and Scamander can cover my afternoon and let Fernstein know I'll be out. Wait here." Hermione murmured, kissing him again and straightening her robes. She laughed when he pouted and gathered up her files.
Draco adjusted his robes and settled in to wait for her. She would probably be a bit, being Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Creatures kept her busy.
Draco was proud of her, even though he did miss the days when he'd only been a probationary consultant and she'd been a junior worker. It had been easier to skive off work.
He looked at the large desk that he'd ravished his witch on repeatedly and decided that her promotions over the years had come with a few perks. Such as a private office and a firm surface within said office.
Neither of them really needed the jobs they held of course, he could spend ten thousand galleons a day for the rest of his life and not truly put a dent in the Malfoy coffers.
Hermione liked to make a difference though, and when his probationary period was over, Robards had offered Draco a permanent position as an auror.
He'd accepted without asking the conditions because he liked the work. Though Draco immediately regretted it when Harry Potter walked in with a large grin and welcomed him to the team as his new partner.
Draco should have guessed. Potter wouldn't work with just anyone after several uncomfortable encounters with people attempting to get an easy promotion on Potter's fame.
That had been four years ago and they now held the highest success rate in the aurors office along with the record for most accidents on the job.
If it happened that nine of ten accidents were caused by then deliberately aiming hexes at each other whenever they disagreed, Robards didn't seem to notice and if he did, he didn't really care.
Hermione's door opened again and she smiled at him happily, "Ready to go? Alicia is waiting on us."
Draco got to his feet, grabbing her bag and her coat to follow her out. He kept his hand on her lower back as he led her to the elevators.
"Mrs. Malfoy!" A voice called and they turned to see a reporter hurrying towards them.
Draco rolled his eyes and ushered her into the lift. Before he could shut the grate, the reporter followed them in.
"She's off work." Draco snapped at the scrawny man who flinched.
"We…I just wanted a quote for the anniversary segment next week." He squeaked, trying to stand up under Draco's cold stare. This one must be particularly brave.
"You can get a quote tomorrow night at the fundraising gala. If you ask her anything in this lift, I'll throw you out of it." Draco informed him flatly as Hermione squeezed his hand warningly.
Draco hated reporters. They followed Hermione and Harry around the ministry like vultures. He didn't have the patience for their near constant harassment, especially when it came to his wife.
As such, Draco had now earned quite the reputation for sending them scurrying away. It was probably one of the reasons Potter clung to him anytime they left their desks.
The reporter remained silent and the moment the lift dinged onto the main floor, Draco shoved past him, guiding Hermione out first.
More reporters awaited, this time with cameras, and Draco sighed and pulled out his wand.
Hermione giggled when one particularly tenacious reporter begged him not to do it as Draco silently cast the spell he'd invented just for such occasions.
Now every image of Hermione and Draco would come out impossibly blurry, barely able to make out anything except their basic forms.
Draco had ruined many an article doing this and Hermione found it hilarious. Kingsley Shacklebolt had forbid him using it during press conferences and work hours. Draco's mother made the same rule for special events like tomorrow's gala.
The Minsitry leaders liked good publicity. Harry Potter and Hermione Malfoy neé Granger were excellent publicity. The only thing they would have preferred more is if they'd completed the trifecta with Ron Weasley.
"Mr. Malfoy we just want some photos for the upcoming events surrounding Victory Week!" A reporter cried, likely dreading going back to his office with no good photos of the Golden Girl.
"Not my problem nor my wife's." He sneered and continued to the floo. "Grangalfoy Cottage."
Hermione stepped out of the floo into their cottage and was met with a purring Crookshanks.
His whiskers were a little gray these days, but she'd been assured by countless experts that the part-kneazle feline had another twenty or so years in him due to his magical lineage.
She bent to scritch his ears and then walked over to feed him quickly. Draco waited for her beside the floo to once more get inside and head to St. Mungo's.
It might have been easier to go directly from the Ministry, but hearing them both take half a day to go to the medical facility would have been begging for a sensational headline.
She kept her face averted from the waiting room and walked straight to Alicia Spinnett's office.
"Hermione! It's so good to see you!" The former Gryffindor chaser exclaimed. "I was so happy to see your name on my docket today that I took the liberty of ensuring the utmost privacy."
Hermione smiled in relief, "Thank you, the reporters are particularly awful this time of year."
"Just be careful. They're currently haunting the Janus Thickey ward for war hero stories." Alicia grimaced.
"How are Angelina and Justin?" Hermione asked softly, naming two of the permanent residents.
"Angelina had been doing well, more lucid days, but this time of year you know. Bad memories. There's been no change for Justin." Alicia sighed and then clapped her hands together, "Anyway, are here to talk about much happier things. Let's get you into a gown and run some tests shall we?"
Several scans and potions later, Alicia declared both Hermione and baby Malfoy healthy.
"Now I see in your file you suffer from lasting effects of the cruciatus curse?" Alicia asked gently, clearly trying not to pry.
"Yes. Its not as bad anymore. Just sensitive to cold and the occasional tremor." Hermione told her calmly, even as she gripped Draco's hand beneath the table. "On a bad day I can have quite severe panic attacks."
"How often are bad days?" The mediwitch inquired, making a note in Hermione file.
"Only a few times a year now. I haven't had any issues since Easter. Before that was November."
"I'm not concerned, other than you might end up having a rougher time as the baby gets bigger and presses on your sciatic nerve." Alicia informed her, "I will also warn you about pregnancy dreams. It could trigger panic attacks and nightmares more frequently."
"I understand. We have plans in place to handle bad times." Hermione assured the other woman, noting Draco's face had went pale.
"What does 'rougher time' mean exactly?" Draco spoke for the first time other than happy exclamations over the health of their child.
"Hermione is petite as it is so this was going to be hard on her body anyway. With ongoing tremors and cold intolerance that means she also has existing nerve damage." The woman then directed the rest at Hermione, "The baby is going to put a lot of pressure on your body. I don't say this to scare you as I don't think there's any reason to stress, but to just make you aware."
Draco nodded and looked at her as if contemplating before he spoke once more, "Will her job be an issue?"
Hermione scowled and went to protest when Alicia pulled out her order pad, "Normally for a desk job at the ministry, I would say no. However, Oliver and Harry keep in touch so I'm aware that Hermione Malfoy is always in motion and taking on more than she should."
Hermione's irritation was smothered immediately by the knowing glint in Alicia's eye as she finished her scribbling.
"Therefore I recommend light duty and no more than twenty minutes of standing per hour while at work. Also no late nights and no taking work home."
Hermione tried to ignore her husband's smug grin as she took the medical order to turn into work, but it was rather hard when he was practically projecting it at her.
"I understand, Alicia." Hermione sighed even as she hated it. "I suppose these restrictions are nothing compared to how Kingsley is going to react when he finds out. The first baby of the Golden Trio is going to make the man unbearably overprotective."
"I'd be more concerned about my mother." Draco teased making Hermione wince.
"Narcissa is going to be horrible." Hermione agreed, her voice affectionate as she thought of her mother-in-law with a wave of love. "We will head straight to her if you don't need anything else Alicia?"
"No. Go let your mother-in-law squeal her heart out." Alicia grinned, laughing when Draco haughtily informed her that his mother had never and would never be so uncouth as to squeal.
They stepped out of Alicia's office and had almost made it to the floo without incident when Rita Skeeter caught sight of them.
"The Malfoys! What a curiosity to find you here." She cooed, her acid green quill at the ready.
"I don't see why." Hermione replied politely, "It's Victory Week. It's common knowledge that we make a donation to a new ward every year."
Rita deflated slightly, "Yes. Indeed. What ward is the lucky winner this time around if you don't mind my asking?"
"The Janus Thickey ward I think." Draco intercepted Hermione's answer, grabbing the floo powder and leading his wife inside as he delivered his verbal slap. "I was thinking they could do with some enhanced security to keep out beetle-eyed reporters. Oops, I do mean beady-eyed."
Hermione was laughing at Rita's outraged face when they disappeared into the flames.
Narcissa Malfoy didn't squeal, but she did let out a gasp and then tears were streaming down her face as she came to hug them both tightly.
She then insisted Hermione take a leave of absence, effective immediately, and had a vast array of reasons that they both move back to the Manor within the week.
"You have an entire wing to yourselves and we have several elves to see to your every need!" She insisted over tea as she added more biscuits to Hermione's plate for the third time, before finally just calling for Plippin to bring some sandwiches.
"The renovations have long been completed and you've even been into the parlor since then. If there are any lingering nightmares I'll have the entire room removed. It can be a lovely outdoor balcony for luncheons." She promised when Hermione went to look through the library for any parenting books.
"Who will watch the baby if you do go back to work? Surely not some stranger you hire off the street! I insist you consider me at the top of your list." She begged as they stepped into the floo to go home.
Draco was in tears when he watched his wife shaking with laughter when an owl arrived just before dinner with a quickly scrawled note.
What if Draco goes on assignment and you're home alone and trip over that beastly cat of yours?
"How long are you going to make her sweat it before you tell her we were moving in with her the end of summer anyway?" Draco asked her as they ate their meal.
"I'll tell her on Sunday at lunch." Hermione grinned, "Which of us are breaking the news to Pansy?"
Draco scoffed, "You know she's going to find out before this weekend. You knew as soon as you told Potter. The git won't make it a full day."
Hermione snorted, "He might surprise you. He made it sixteen hours last time he had a secret."
"The moron couldn't hide her birthday party from her and he was the one that planned it as a surprise." Draco reminded her.
"True."
Harry Potter made it exactly fourteen hours from when he was told at a quarter past noon before he folded.
Hermione and Draco were woken up by a shrieking Pansy Parkinson jumping on their bed at a quarter past two in the morning.
The Boy Who Lived made himself scarce the next morning. Smartly so as a sleep-deprived Draco Malfoy stormed inside the Ministry ready to throttle the man.
The irate auror had been kept awake by his wife and best friend laying in his bed yammering on and on about potential baby names until they both fell asleep three hours later.
He'd managed an hour of Pansy's toes in his back and Hermione's hair attempting to smother him before he gave up and went to make some coffee.
Notes:
For anyone not wanting to do the math, this is set almost eight years after the end of the war.
Chapter 24: Epilogue: Harry and Pansy
Summary:
Epilogue Two: Harry and Pansy
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Congratulations!"
Harry jumped when he was confronted with all his friends screaming at him from behind various pieces of furniture in his sitting room.
Pansy pressed a kiss to his cheek and handed him a glass of elfwine as she purred in his ear, "Congratulations, Deputy Head of the Auror's Office."
"How did you even find out this quick?" He asked his wife then found his answer in the form of a beaming Hermione Granger waving at him enthusiastically from her seat.
Draco just smirked and raised his glass in cheers before handing Hermione a glass of sparkling juice.
Harry laughed when his best friend scrunched her nose and made a gagging motion. Draco sighed and replaced it with water.
Harry continued to snicker as he watched the witch ponder it for a moment before pouting. Draco threw his hands up, going to the kitchen where Harry knew he'd return with hot chocolate despite it being August.
"I'm so proud of you. Now you'll be behind a desk even more." Pansy clapped as she dragged him forward to greet everyone.
"Not hardly Pans, I insisted on Draco staying as my partner for field work." Harry informed her and she muttered an insult about his intelligence.
"We can discuss it later, Potter." She waved it off and then paused in front of Luna and Blaise, "Hello, my darlings!"
"Hello, Pansy love! Congratulations, Potter!" Blaise crowed, hugging them both. Luna was just as enthusiastic in her greetings.
"The Quibbler is running a large page on your promotion tomorrow!" Luna told him happily and Harry thanked her and offered an exclusive quote before she left that night.
Luna would hand her report to her father who would then publish it exactly how Harry said it which was hard to manage these days with reporters. She wasn't able to help that much since she'd taken her position at Hogwarts, but still offered to cover anything from the Golden Trio.
She'd written a lovely piece on the upcoming Malfoy baby. It had contained an exclusive interview from not only the parents, but also the child's official godparents, the Potters.
Rita Skeeter had been quite livid upon realizing why exactly the Malfoys had been at St. Mungo's that day months past. Hermione had been sure to mention the date they'd found out just to indirectly needle the woman.
"Theo is here, but Neville couldn't get away from the kiddies." Blaise pointed as Theo spread his arms wide to hug Harry tightly.
"Congratulations, Harry. The hug is from Neville only. As you know I only have real affection for Pansy." Theo winked and then kissed Pansy on the cheek.
"Quit flirting with my wife Theo or I'll tell your husband." Harry joked, even knowing what Theo would say back.
"Go ahead and tell him. Nev thinks she's quite fit too." Theo quipped, "We've been begging her to leave you for years."
Pansy swatted at the boy, "That joke does get old, you prat. He could kill you and hide the evidence if he wanted to take you seriously."
"Draco would avenge me." Theo declared deflating when Draco called back a negative. He bounced back quickly though, "Hermione would avenge me!"
Hermione blew him a kiss across the room, "Of course I would."
Theo pumped a fist in the air, "I'm going to go torment Draco now. Congratulations again, Harry!"
Harry laughed as his partner scowled when the brunette man went to his knees beside Hermione and made moon eyes at her.
"He's always a character these days." Harry chuckled and Luna smiled.
"The children love him, don't they Blaise?"
"They do, Neville has to remind his lions that Theo was a Slytherin on a frequent basis." Blaise chuckled then added, "This will probably be the last year Luna will be able to sneak away during the school year. Rumor is Flitwick is retiring."
"McGonagall making you Head of House, Luna?" Harry asked the woman who'd taken over Arithmancy. He dutifully ignored her false hand clinking against her wine glass as she used it to push back her blonde hair.
"I do believe so. She doesn't really get along with Professor Trelawney, I'm afraid." Luna shook her head, "I think Sybil knows it too. She's been rather curt with me lately."
Blaise scowled, "She's been an absolute cow. Luna is just too kind to say so."
Pansy frowned, "Why do they keep that woman on the staff? Her use has to have ended now that the war is over."
"McGonagall feels she owes it to Dumbledore. Firenze teaches most of the classes now anyway." Theo chimed in, returning from where he'd apparently riled Draco up to the point of drawing his wand.
Harry just shook his head, leaving the three to chat, as he continued to make his rounds around the room, finally ending his greetings to settle on the floor with Ron beside Hermione's armchair.
Ron was a sight for sore eyes, working the shop most days and spending his free time with his brothers or his mum.
Harry couldn't fault him for it. The Weasleys had clung to each other after the war, only growing more close-knit even as Harry pulled away.
Ron knew why, but never commented on it other than to support Harry's choice to stand by Pansy.
Harry could still remember when Harry had told the Weasleys that he'd proposed. Molly had been less than enthusiastic.
The woman had got over a lot of her issues from the war, even writing a letter for Narcissa Malfoy and helping clear out Malfoy Manor.
She just couldn't accept any of them in her home or as part of her family. She'd said as much when Harry had announced his betrothal. Ron had followed him outside when Harry went to leave.
"Mum can make her choices. You're my best mate. If you want to marry Pansy Parkinson, I'll be standing up there beside you."
Ron had made good on his promise, his loud cheering only equaled by Hermione's when Harry had kissed Pansy.
The trio spent the evening chatting about everything and nothing, Ron finally admitting he'd been seeing Hannah Abbott for several months now.
Harry and Hermione already knew from reporters, but acted surprised and proceeded to tease him relentlessly. Ron laughed and told them to piss off.
"Anyway you prats, how's Harry Ronald Malfoy doing in there?" Ron asked glancing beyond Harry with a grin.
"Over my dead, decaying body will my son ever have any such name." Draco's voice snapped from behind Harry.
"So it's a boy?" Ron asked innocently and Harry snickered into his glass.
"Once again, we didn't ask Weasley. Hermione wants it to be a surprise." Draco sneered as he perched on the arm of Hermione's chair.
Hermione just smiled up at Draco as she pleaded, "They can know the names we picked, can't they?"
Harry would never get used to watching Draco Malfoy soften into a puddle of goo whenever Hermione so much as looked at him.
"Whatever you'd like, Granger." The man told her, brushing her cheek. "I'll go tell Pansy then. Before she complains again that Potter knows something first."
As soon as the man was gone Harry and Ron were practically in Hermione's lap awaiting her words.
"Lyra Jean for a girl and for a boy Lucius Richard." She announced quietly, trusting the people here, but one could never know when there would be an accidental slip.
Harry smiled, "For your parents and his. I like it."
"Definitely better than naming them something really stupid like Severus or Albus." Ron snickered with a nudge to Harry's side.
Harry scowled, "I was drunk when I said that! I wouldn't really name my kid after Snape!"
After the party died down and everyone left, Pansy changed into her shortest nightie before going to find Harry. He was sitting in the room he used as an office, sipping on a glass of firewhiskey.
"You alright, pet?" She asked, going over to perch on the desk between his legs.
"What would we name them?" He asked instead of answering, "If we had children?"
Pansy stilled and then a slow smile spread across her face. She was sending Hermione and Draco a big 'thank you for getting knocked up' present tomorrow.
"Whatever we wanted to name them, I suppose. I draw the line at dead teachers though." She teased him, bracing a foot against his thigh, watching as his green eyes flicked over to her exposed leg.
"Hmmm. You haven't talked about it before." He mused even as he used his free hand to stroke gentle fingers against her calf.
"About children?" She asked and he nodded, moving his eyes slowly away from her thigh to look at her face.
"Neither have you." Pansy pointed out and then admitted, "After how you reacted about marriage…it's made me a bit skittish to bring up things like that, Harry."
Harry frowned and moved to set his glass down onto the edge of the desk, leaning close to her, "Pans, you can talk to me about anything. Have you been wanting to talk about children?"
Pansy looked away from him towards the painting of the Italian coastline Luna had gifted him and quipped, "Such serious talk on a night we are supposed to be celebrating, Potter. I even put on your favorite nightie."
"Pansy."
She sighed and just began chattering, "Yes. I have been wanting to talk about it. I want them. I'm alone in this house all day and I see my best friend starting her family and I just…I'm so happy for her. Hermione and Draco deserve to be happy, but I'm jealous and I feel…I just feel left behind, you know?"
She didn't look at Harry, keeping her eyes on the oceanscape behind him. At least she managed to until he pulled her off the desk and onto his lap.
"Then let's have them. I was drunk the night I said something about names, but I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't ready for them."
Pansy stared at him, irritating rising, "That was two years ago, Potter! Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Well you didn't either!" He laughed and then kissed the temper out of her. "So we agree we both want babies?"
"Yes." She nodded and let out a contented sigh when he lifted her back onto the desk.
"Should we get started then?" He grinned and Pansy breath caught in excitement as he pushed his chair back to go to his knees between her legs.
Pansy woke up in their bed, Harry long gone for work with a naughty note on his pillow that made her grin.
She got dressed for the day, picking out a lovely fitted set of magenta robes and decided she'd take Hermione out to lunch.
First she did send both Draco and Hermione each a fruit basket to be delivered by Kreacher. Hermione's had a note telling her to be ready at eleven.
By the time she made it to the Ministry and up to Hermione's office, she'd been photographed seven times. She didn't mind the way the others did, so she just smiled and waved.
She knocked politely on the black door and stepped inside to find Draco coming out. His hair was mussed and his cheeks pink.
"Oh ho! What were you two up to in here?" Pansy cackled as Draco scowled and shut the door behind him.
Hermione was in even more disarray, attempting to fix her haphazard blouse. Pansy laughed again and went to assist in smoothing down the wildly tousled ringlets.
"Pansy, glad to see you, what in the world is this supposed to mean?" Hermione asked as she handed her the card Pansy had attached to the fruit basket.
Dearest Hermione,
Thank you for letting Draco use you as a cum dumpster.
You're the best.
Yours always,
Pansy
Pansy cocked her head, "Exactly what it says?"
Hermione just gave her a confused look, but shook her head as she went to grab her bag. Pansy tutted at her.
"My treat my little dumpster!" She insisted and looped her arm through Hermione's as the strolled out of the office.
"I defend you a lot, but really Pansy, I don't know what goes on in that head of yours sometimes." Hermione laughed as Pansy just smiled.
"It's good for you all. Being my friend keeps you on your toes."
"Potter."
"Malfoy?" Harry threw back as the man stepped into Harry's new private office. "I'm having them put an extra desk in here. It's been done before for Deputies who kept their partners instead of lounging at a desk all day."
"That's fine, but that's not why I'm here." Harry glanced up as Draco flicked a card at him, catching it mid-air.
Drakey-poo,
Thank you for forgetting to use a contraceptive charm and knocking up our wife.
Always your friend,
Pansy
Harry felt his face flush even as he pursed his lips in an attempt not to laugh.
"It sounds like she's glad you know where to put it I suppose?" Harry shrugged and tossed the card back.
"You're hilarious." Draco said in an monotone that was uncannily similar to Severus Snape's.
"I'll make sure your desk is here by tomorrow!" Harry replied cheekily, Draco flipped him a rude gesture as he walked out.
Harry immediately asked her about the notecards when he got home and gaped when Pansy told him what Hermione's said.
"I cannot believe you wrote that on something going into the Ministry!" Harry covered his face, wheezing with laughter.
Pansy fluttered her lashes at him as she cooed, "What do you think I'm going to do now that you have your own office?"
"It's not just mine, I'm putting Draco in there with me." Harry warned her, only making that Cheshire Cat grin spread across her face, "Pans. I mean it. Don't traumatize my staff."
"It's just Draco. A little dirty limerick won't kill him." Pansy waved him off and Harry sighed.
"What's for dinner?" He asked her and groaned when big blue eyes turned to him with a pout.
"Pansy, we already had Indian food this week. On Monday? Remember?" He reminded his wife even as he grabbed his muggle jacket.
She clapped happily, "I want Tandoori chicken this time."
Harry couldn't deny her anything when she was so excited about it. The woman loved the little restaurant they frequented at least twice a week.
The older couple who ran it knew her on a first name basis and often gave her free sides, much to Pansy's pleasure.
As they walked, she was talking rapidfire about her lunch with Hermione and her afternoon visit with Theo.
Pansy didn't have any desire to work, she'd even offered on multiple occasions to let Harry be a housewife with her.
He'd declined, enjoying his job, but thanked her nonetheless because he knew she meant it. In her eyes, Harry had done enough working during his school years.
He did wonder why she'd been so set on completing her eighth year and sitting for her NEWTs though.
He'd never thought to ask so he did now out of curiousity, "Pans, why did you go back to sit your NEWTs? I've always wondered since you got such good grades, but never wanted a ministry job or anything like that."
She shrugged, but Harry knew that meant something so he poked at her until she answered.
"Well initially I thought I might like to start my own fashion line or be a reporter for Witch Weekly. Even with that aside, I've always been raised that it's important to have an education even if I don't work." She finally said slowly and Harry stopped their walking.
"Why didn't you do it?" He inquired, wondering where exactly he'd missed her love of fashion and journalism disappearing.
"Well, I'm not trying to make you feel bad at all so don't take it that way, but I wouldn't want to be successful because of you. So I just didn't pursue it."
"Because of me?" He asked, seeking answers as dread pooled in his gut.
She laughed at his expression as she explained, "Pansy Potter would have been hired to any magazine she applied to. Pansy Potter would have sold out any collections she designed. Pansy Potter loves publicity and status, but she likes it on her own talent and merit. Not her husband's."
Harry didn't move even when she turned to look at him questioningly. Harry was so used to Pansy speaking her mind, he'd missed several big things about his wife. She wanted children for years. She wanted to write for Witch Weekly or design a fashion line. All things she'd kept silent about to keep him content.
"Is there anything else?" He asked her quietly.
"Is there anything else? What do you mean, Potter?" Pansy asked him confused.
"Is there any other secrets or things you've kept quiet about to keep me happy?" He demanded, upset not with her, but with himself for not realizing these things sooner.
Her eyes widened as she came to wrap her arms around him, "Harry, those were just the dreams of a school girl. I'm quite happy with my life, I assure you."
"I want you to do things you wanted to do. You've supported me through everything Pans. I need you to follow your own dreams too. Publish anonymously or use a fake name, I don't know, but I want you to do something that makes you happy." He pleaded with her, feeling like the worst husband in that moment.
Pansy's brow furrowed, "Harry, we just talked about starting a family. I am happy. My dreams can change you know."
"Did they or did you just decide not to go after them?" Harry pressed, wanting to be sure.
"They did. I'm allowed to want to be just a society wife, Potter. I even extended the offer to you if you recall." She grinned, "But if you want me to, I suppose I could become the next Rita Skeeter."
Harry scrunched his nose, "Maybe not that."
"Do you really want me to find something to do during the day? Does it bother you that I don't work?" She questioned seriously.
"No. I just don't want you holding back if you think you want to go after something. If you want to be a society wife, I'm more than happy and supportive of it, Pans." He assured her sincerely.
She nodded, but seemed to be thinking things over during dinner. Harry didn't press, wanting her to decide on her own.
Several weeks later there was a knock at the door and Harry called for whoever it was to come in.
"Hello, Mr. Potter." Pansy greeted, looking rather fetching in a professional set of business robes.
"Pansy?" He asked confused by the way she greeted him.
"Mrs. Potter if you please, we haven't worked together long enough to be on first name basis, sir." She grinned and Harry vaguely wondered if this was some type of role play she was introducing to their lives.
"Uh…alright?" He agreed and then Kingsley came in with a smile.
"Right to it I see, Mrs. Potter. Harry, I'm glad to have her aboard. Answer her questions as you see fit and she will prepare them accordingly." The minister told him as he stepped back out and shut the door.
"What is going on?" He asked his wife who continued to grin at him.
"I'm the new junior spokesperson for the Ministry of Magic. I come highly recommended by my school professors and by several influential families. I even submitted several examples of my potential work all under an anonymous name to ensure there was no favoritism at play." Pansy informed him and then with a wink added, "My husband is quite famous if you didn't know."
"You're the new spokesperson they've hired to help Winifred?" Harry repeated, then with a grin he got out of his chair to run around his desk and hug her tightly, "Why didn't you tell me Pans?"
"It was a surprise, obviously! I told you Witch Weekly was the dreams of a girl, but I've always been good with my mouth, you know. So this seemed like a great opportunity." She joked as he put her back down, both of them laughing, "Now, I really do have to get this presentation about the rogue vampires in Kensington ready. Make your comments and I'll twist them as needed."
His wife stared at him expectantly and Harry did as he was instructed, filling her in on the details of the Kensington incident of a rogue vampire feeding on children.
Pansy left him with a kiss to the cheek and a promise to see him at lunch. Harry ordered in a feast, elated and so proud of her.
He did admittedly wonder what was going through Kingsley's mind. Pansy Potter taking on a room of reporters could either go spectacularly well or horrifically terrible.
There would be no in between.
"Mrs. Potter, you're telling me that they haven't caught the vampire yet?"
"Not at present, several auror teams are in the area and the Ministry implores families in the area to ward your homes and keep your children in after dusk. Some other measures to take-"
"That's the only advice? To ward our doors and stay inside after dark?" The same reporter interrupted with a smug look on his face and Pansy smiled sweetly.
"If you had let me finish, I was going to list other measures to provide the utmost protection to those in the wizarding community with small children." Pansy assured the crowd before zeroing in on the blonde man once more, "However you seem rather prone to interruption. Perhaps that is why you failed your Defense Against the Dark Arts exam, Mr. McClaggen."
The man wilted in his seat as a young woman stepped forward, "Mrs. Potter, what does your husband think of your new position within the Ministry?"
"I don't seem to recall that line of questioning on the docket, Miss Vane." Pansy glared down at the younger woman before returning to the subject at hand, "Anyone who has a serious question about the issue at hand, please feel free to step forward now."
A young man stepped forward from the back wall, "Hello ma'am, Mr. Creevey from the News Niffler, do we have a description of the vampire as of yet? Might help our readers be on the lookout and provide tips to the Ministry to catch him faster."
Pansy smiled at him as she launched into a description of the vampire at large. The man continued to ask well thought out queries and Pansy decided instantly that she liked him.
"Mr. Creevey!" She called after him as the reporters started to leave. "You showed exceptional integrity today. The next press release, you will have a reserved seat if you'd like. No more lingering by the wall."
"Thank you ma'am! Here's my contact information if you'd like it!" He handed her a business card and then left with a wave.
That's why his name was so familiar. He was the younger Creevey brother, Dennis. The one that had lived while his brother, Colin, had passed in the war.
Harry would be thrilled to hear that the boy grown up decent. She'd have to tell him over lunch.
After several months of working with the Ministry, Harry was happy to find the general opinion on the new Ministry spokeswoman was quite positive.
As long as one ignored those irritatingly loud voices like Cormac McClaggen and Rita Skeeter.
Most everyone found Pansy Potter informative, witty, and astoundingly capable of keeping even the most unruly group of reporters under control during her press release panels.
Kingsley adored her, finding Pansy quite charming and not one to shy away from cameras the way the golden trio tended to.
The minister was always happy for good public relations and Pansy, a charming, pureblood heiress married to the most famous man in wizarding Britain, was great PR.
Her face graced the newspaper in some way or another most days of the week and she didn't mind answering trivial questions about who she was wearing or what her favorite color was.
"Mademoiselle Gabrielle Delacour of Paris." To the first question.
"It hasn't changed since fourth year. Vomit green, of course." A wink and a smirk for the second.
Harry had that second article framed in his office now. Pansy had laughed when she saw it and the next day she added a much older, yellower clipping just underneath it. The original article that started it all, written during their fourth year.
A knock on Harry's door and in walked the woman he was thinking about, with two sandwiches in hand and two coffees levitating behind her.
"It's a madhouse today with the arrest of Avery. No Chinese food for us." She sighed as she came around the desk to hand him his cold cut.
"It's fine, Pans. Thanks for grabbing it for me." He told her as she leaned down to kiss him. He pointed his wand at the door and it locked.
Pansy raised a brow and smirked, "Thinking to get lucky Mr. Potter?"
"I'll always hope to, but we'd probably get interrupted. I haven't had a moment's peace today and I want to spend a half hour of quiet with you." He told her simply, shifting his chair back so she could sit in his lap.
True to his word, they just ate their sandwiches and drank their coffees, Pansy snuggled into his lap happily.
"Do you need anything else for the press release?" He murmured at the twenty-five minute mark. Winifred had pretty much handed the auror department press to Pansy, finding it morbid most of the time.
"No. Nothing to release except his alleged crimes and details of the arrest that Draco already provided. There will be another conference after his hearing, but that's weeks away." She kissed his nose and got to her feet, using a simple spell to straighten her robes.
"I will be out of the office the rest of the day, so I'll see you at home." She told him with a kiss as she put her discarded heels back on.
"Where you going?" He asked out of curiosity and also just because Harry still struggled with not knowing where his primary people were.
Even all these years later, Hermione still updated him on any large deviations from her routine as did Ron, though to a lesser degree. Even Draco indulged him to an extent, albeit with a lot more sneered sarcasm.
"I am meeting with the board of governors with Winifred at Hogwarts. Something about a new muggleborn initiative. Probably Hermione's meddling even though she's supposed to be home on bedrest." Pansy rolled her eyes fondly.
"That reminds me, Draco asked if we could come see her soon. Apparently she's going mad trapped in bed all day." Harry chuckled remembering Draco all, but begging Harry to come see Hermione.
The pregnant witch had apparently thrown a quite expensive antique hourglass at Draco's head as she'd screamed about going insane and it being all his fault.
"Poor dove. I'll go straight there after this meeting then. So I'll see you at the Manor instead of home?" She clarified and he nodded as she walked to the door.
"Oh, and Potter?"
Harry looked up to see a devilish smile on his wife's face as she pouted, "I came all the way up here with no knickers on just for you and you didn't even look."
Then she was slipping out the door with a wink and Harry slammed his head to his desk with an agonized groan.
Pansy was going to be the death of him one day.
Notes:
The next and final epilogue will be Narcissa Malfoy
Chapter 25: Epilogue: Narcissa
Summary:
Epilogue for Narcissa Malfoy
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Narcissa was holiday shopping with Hermione when she was approached by someone rather unexpected on the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley.
Hermione had just stepped into the garish orange shop to see her Weasley friend while Narcissa waited outside.
The last time she'd went inside some rambunctious child had sprayed her favorite cream robes with some kind of sludgy ink that had refused to come out. Narcissa wasn't ruining this set too.
"Hello, sister."
Narcissa snapped her head up to see the middle sister of the Black family trip standing before her, holding a sleeping baby in her arms.
"Andromeda." Narcissa tilted her head politely, unsure what to do here. She'd not spoken to her older sister in over two decades.
"Remus told me it was you I should thank for killing our older sister. That Bellatrix tried to murder her nephew before she managed to murder her niece." Andromeda's voice was layered with both sadness and rage.
"Yes. She tried with both Draco and his betrothed. I'm sorry I didn't hunt her down fast enough to prevent her from succeeding with Nymphadora." Narcissa told her sincerely, even as it came out stiff.
She glanced towards the shop, mentally willing for Hermione to hurry up.
"I watched you at the bookstore. You love her." Andromeda mused, looking towards the Weasley's joke shop as well, "Even though she's muggleborn."
"Hermione is descended from squibs, but that doesn't make as good of a headline I suppose." Narcissa gave an awkward smile, "Her great uncle was a dear friend of mine."
"I see. Perhaps you haven't changed as much as Remus thought then." Andromeda quipped, a challenge in her voice that Narcissa didn't rise to.
"Perhaps not." She agreed coldly, ending whatever this was. A truce or perhaps an interrogation, Narcissa had no need for either.
Andromeda hadn't been part of her life in over twenty years. She had only known Narcissa the girl, never Narcissa the woman. Narcissa the mother. Narcissa the blood traitor.
Andromeda had never reached out to see what Narcissa truly felt about her marriage to the muggleborn man, Ted Tonks. She'd just assumed it would be the same reaction as Bellatrix and their parents.
Narcissa had still been in school when Andromeda had left. Her reaction may have been the same as her family's, but it may have been different as well. They would never know now.
The women just stood there staring into the shop, neither speaking again until Hermione came back outside and startled at the pair of them.
"Oh! Hello, Mrs. Tonks!" Hermione greeted, her voice somewhat shrill.
"Miss Granger, how are you?" Andromeda asked her politely.
"Oh wonderful! How are you and Teddy? Harry talks about him often!" Hermione chattered nervously, Narcissa able to tell the girl was nervous with the obvious tension.
"He's doing well. Remus tells me you and Harry are both doing well this year at school." Andromeda's voice was a little warmer.
"Hermione always does well in school." Narcissa interjected, "She's the top of her class."
Hermione flushed as Andromeda congratulated her, "Thank you…Harry is quite happy to have Professor Lupin back for our final year."
"You are not though." Andromeda stated, looking at the girl with a critical eye. Narcissa stepped to Hermione's side with a frosty smile.
"Hermione respects Professor Lupin, but they did not see eye to eye on some of his practical lessons that seemed to involve humiliation as a teaching method." Narcissa replied, her voice sugary sweet.
"Remus would never implement such tactics in his classroom." Andromeda snapped.
"Oh…well we had already discussed it so it's not really an issue anymore…" Hermione winced, her eyes flicking between the sisters with growing concern.
"Teaching children how to defeat a boggart is fine, but not making them do it in a classroom of their peers at an age that is already so awkward. I certainly wouldn't have wanted any of my classmates to see my deepest fears at thirteen." Narcissa added, watching her sister purse her lips.
"I suppose I agree with you there." Andromeda conceded as she turned to leave, "I must be off. It was lovely to see you, Hermione. Narcissa."
"Andromeda." Narcissa once more inclined her head and watched her sister disappear into the Leaky Cauldron.
"That was more nerve wracking than breaking into the ministry." Hermione sighed, "Is it always that way between you?"
"I couldn't say. That's the first time we've spoken in twenty-five years." Narcissa answered honestly, "I was still at school when she left."
"She didn't even say goodbye?" Hermione inquired, clearly upset.
"No. She didn't."
The next time Narcissa saw her elder sister was at the first of many future Annual Victory Galas held at Hogwarts this first year.
Hermione and Draco were spinning in each other's arms, Hermione in a glittering gown of Venetian gold while Narcissa had managed to wrangle Draco into dress robes of a deep emerald green.
They looked quite stunning and the reporters clearly thought so too as they snapped pictures rapidfire.
Narcissa was currently blocking a camera from snapping photos of Harry Potter, who smiled at her appreciatively. Pansy was chittering about their upcoming NEWTs when she went abruptly silent.
"Narcissa, how surprising of you to attend an event marking the defeat of your old allies." Andromeda quipped as she stepped into their circle with Remus Lupin who looked surprised at his mother-in-law's words.
Harry's eyes went wide while Pansy frowned, opening her mouth most likely to say something rude. Narcissa responded before the girl could defend her.
"Andromeda, I'm quite surprised to see you as well. If I recall correctly, didn't you stay home for the final battle?" Narcissa wondered and smiled pleasantly when Andromeda's eyes narrowed.
Remus was glancing between the two in confusion while Harry looked like he'd rather face the cameras then whatever this was. Pansy was holding him in place, watching the verbal sparring with clear interest.
"I had to care for my grandchild while my child fought for his future." Andromeda informed her with a slight sneer.
"I understand. I am aware that I was quite fortunate to be able to fight alongside my children…and yours." Narcissa replied agreeably as she sipped her champagne. Remus frowned at the jab, but didn't intercede.
Narcissa's children weren't so timid.
"Mind if we join the group?" Draco's voice was behind her and she simply stepped to the side to allow their circle to widen once more.
"Mrs. Tonks, lovely to see you again." Hermione said coolly as she stepped close to Narcissa.
"Miss Granger, I hear your wedding is fast approaching." Andromeda's brown eyes were twinkling as she looked at the little witch who clearly had decided Andromeda was an enemy.
"It is." Hermione's smile was brittle, and Harry Potter was frowning at the girl's unusual hostility.
"I was quite sad to not receive an invitation." Andromeda mused with a small glance towards Narcissa. A verbal gauntlet had been thrown.
Narcissa simply smiled and allowed Draco to pick it up.
"It is family and friends only, I'm afraid." He told her with a smile that didn't reach his gray eyes.
Harry coughed and once more attempted to retreat, but Pansy's grip was iron and she looked quite giddy.
"I see. Do I not fit into one of those categories?" Andromeda inquired softly, amusement clear.
"You do not." Hermione ended the verbal sparring with a blunt blow and everyone stared at her while Narcissa simply watched her sister.
Dark brown eyes, so similar to the sister she'd killed, were studying Hermione with renewed interest before a smile split her face.
Andromeda broke out into full laughter, tears forming in her eyes as she dabbed them away, "What a delightful little witch you are. Put away the claws little lion, I mean Narcissa no harm."
Hermione didn't stop glaring at the older woman however, even when Harry nudged her repeatedly.
"Perhaps, Andromeda, you had best work on earning the bride's favor if you wish to receive an invite." Narcissa advised her sister as they exchanged the first true smiles since they were school girls.
"It seems so, Cissy."
"It was a beautiful ceremony, I was moved to tears at Draco's vows." Andromeda told her younger sister when she found her watching the bride and groom gliding across the dance floor. "I didn't realize they had met so young."
"My Draco been smitten with her since he found her." Narcissa murmured, her blue eyes teary as she watched the pair laugh at something, not missing a step in their waltz.
"She's a formidable young witch. I think she'd hex me if she still thought I meant you any harm." Andromeda teased, watching the smile spread across Narcissa's face.
"She would. She's kinder than us, but she's viciously loyal to her people. She once set Severus on fire for Harry and I don't think he was even the one jinxing Harry's broom."
"Did she really?" Andromeda laughed, "Was she ever caught?"
"No. She's far too smart for that." Narcissa's pride was evident in her face and her tone.
"You're right about vicious though. She cornered me at Harry's when we were over for a visit." Andromeda chuckled, but then she sighed. "I didn't think how it must have felt for me to leave while you were at school."
"You never answered my letters." Narcissa shrugged in a rather unladylike manner.
"I assumed they were either pureblood drivel or begging me to come home." Andromeda admitted, "I burned them with everyone else's."
"I assumed they met a fiery end when I didn't get a response." Narcissa murmured, "They were the latter. Asking you to come home or to at least explain so I could understand."
"I did miss you Cissy." Andromeda told the blonde woman who was quiet for a while.
"She looked like me. I never knew she looked like me."
Tears sprang to Andromeda's eyes at the thought of her beautiful Nymphadora, "She did. I always thought it was like having you again in some way."
"I'm sorry, Dromy. I couldn't save her." Narcissa apologized, "I avenged her though. I avenged all of them."
Andromeda threw pretenses to the wind and hugged her sister, tears of relief falling down her cheeks when Narcissa's arms hugged her back.
"Hello Grandfather! It's my birthday today! I'm five years old!" Luc told the monument happily.
Narcissa had arranged for Lucius Malfoy to be brought home to the Malfoy family crypt long ago, but she had a statue built in his honor in the gardens that little Luc often visited.
She smiled as the boy chattered away to her deceased husband as if he were there. She supposed he could be. She often thought children saw things that adults no longer could once they lost their childish wonder.
"Grandmother, do I look like my grandfather?" The little boy asked her curiously cocking his head at the statue as if trying to figure it out.
"You have his eyes. You're a perfect mix of your parents. Your daddy looks a lot like your grandfather did." Narcissa told her grandson. "You need to go visit his portrait more often, silly boy."
Just as she'd predicted so long ago, he had Draco's silvery-blonde hair and those famous Malfoy gray eyes. Hermione had gifted him her olive skin and an abundance of soft curls.
He was a curiously intelligent little boy, with a wild heart from his father and an innate kindness from his mother. Narcissa couldn't wait to see what kind of man he was going to be.
She glanced at her watch and saw the time, "Luc darling, let's clean up and then head inside. It's time for your surprise."
"Yes Grandmother!" He agreed excitably, grabbing the picnic basket as Narcissa vanished the mess.
"Leave that my heart, we can get it later." She told him and took his hand to lead him inside where all of his friends and extended family waited to celebrate his birthday with him.
She watched Luc run to his parents, shrieking with laughter when Draco pulled him up to blow on his belly while Hermione playfully attempted to save him.
Pansy was bringing out the cake while slapping at Theo who was attempting to steal a finger of icing.
Harry carried the new addition to the Potter clan, James, in the crook of his arm and laughed as Ron crept up behind Pansy to snag his own swipe of frosting.
Andromeda was patting the chair beside her and Remus for Narcissa to sit with them. Narcissa grinned and began to head over to her sister.
She passed by several more faces that Hermione and Draco had added to their group over the years as she went through the room.
Even if she was missing one key figure, Narcissa's life was a happy one.