NOTES: This is my favourite chapter so far for this part (Harry's second year). I hope you guys like it as much as I do :)

Work was never easy for Marlene. Being Head of the Department of International Magical, she had to travel a lot to make sure that the allies were still with them. Not to mention, there were a lot of things that the allies asked from British Ministry of Magic, and that was Marlene's job to see that they all had what they wanted. Her Deputy, Barty Crouch, was rather bitter that someone like her, who was much younger than himself, had surpassed his position because he got demoted when people spread rumours of him abusing his son. Therefore, he wasn't exactly much help for her, leaving Marlene to do almost everything. But, because of her near-death experience, she had to take five months instead of the usual three-month people took for maternity-leave. On one hand, she enjoyed staying close to her daughter for months so she could watch her little princess growing up. On the other hand, the amount of work she had to do once she came back to work was maddening. Sure, most of her paper-work was sent home during her absence so she could still do her job, lest Fudge found it as an excuse to fire her and replace her with Crouch. But it wasn't the same like doing the actual work of coming every day to her office, sitting behind her desk for the whole day. She knew that despite having done a lot of work during her leave, by the time she came back to work, she'd have tons of work to do waiting in her office. She also didn't trust anyone to watch her daughter other than her family, but everyone had their own work to do. The Elves helped, but Marlene preferred at least there was a human to watch them take care of her child. But Sirius was going on a rescue mission, which meant Remus had to step up into Sirius' role of becoming Moody's second-in-command. What with Sirius' absence, Regulus had also decided that he would take over Sirius' Order work of spying the Old Families by becoming Acting-Head for the Sacreds. Dorcas too had her work as Chief Healer, so she couldn't stay and watch over Jade. That left Marlene with Irina, who was more than glad to help. However, Sirius gave her strict orders that no one was to leave the nurse alone at home.

Thus, Marlene came to a decision.

"Are you sure it's alright for me to be here?" Irina asked as she followed Marlene to her department on the first day Marlene returned to work, pushing the double baby stroller carefully lest she'd wake up her daughter and niece. "It's the Ministry of Magic, right? And I'm a…a Muggle. Won't people be bothered about my being here?"

"I told people that I've appointed you to be my assistant, my secretary of sort. And as one of the twenty senior Ministers, I have all the right to choose whoever I want to work in my department. So, if anyone has a problem about you being here, in my office, they can talk about it to me," Marlene said firmly. Sensing the younger woman's anxiety, she gave Irina a small smile and clasped her hand gently on the nurse's hand. "Besides, you're the wife of Regulus Black and sister-in-law to Sirius Black. You have nothing to worry about. You're a Black, Irina. No one would dare to mess with a Black."

Relaxing slightly, Irina nodded her head. "Okay, thank you, Marlene. And, I really appreciate you trusting me enough to have me working for you. I mean, no offense, your house is nice and all, but I'd go crazy if I'd to spend another day there."

"We're practically sisters now," Marlene said, winking. "Of course, I trust you… Anyway, shall we talk about your work?"

"Oh yeah. What do you want me to do?"

"Well, to be honest, I asked you to be here so you could watch over the girls while I'd watch over you too, as per Sirius' order. But I do need a hand, seeing that I'd been absent for far too long. What I need you to do is firstly, to sort things out for me. Like see this pile of papers? I want you to sort the ones that need my immediate attention and the ones that aren't that urgent. And when I say immediate, that means cases like death or riot or something that big. I also need you to manage my appointments. Except for our family, Crouch and Fudge, everyone who wants to meet me has to talk to you first. The same rule goes for letters, okay? Now, about the girls, you needn't to worry so much. I assign you a private Elf that will alert you if the girls need you. With me so far?"

"I think so…" Irina said, smiling confidently even though Marlene could see that she was still rather nervous about it. But she shrugged it aside as she took a seat behind the desk in front of Marlene's office and began her work.

Satisfied with how things went, Marlene went into her office, after she gave a gentle kiss on Jade's forehead, and settled behind her own desk to do her work. For the next few months, that was how her days went. She'd take Irina and the girls to work, made sure an Elf was available whenever Irina needed help, before headed off into her office. Sometimes, she had no idea how long she'd been focusing her attention on the pile of paper Irina had sorted, sent via-magic into her office with the help of the Elf, until her sister-in-law came into her office with lunch and their daughters in tow. They ate together, talking about the foolish things their own respective husbands often did. Marlene had forgotten the joys of having someone to talk to during work. What with her position as a senior Minister, surrounded by mostly men and women twice her age, Marlene didn't have any close work-friends. It was fun to have Irina around because the younger woman was a great company. In all the months Marlene knew the nurse, she found that the other woman reminded her a great deal of her own sister. If Ramona was still alive, her sister would be around Irina's age. Marlene had nine siblings, and she was the fourth oldest. Her sister Ramona was the only other girl while the rest of their siblings were all boys. Despite being five years older, Marlene and Ramona were very close. When Death Eaters came to attack her family, both McKinnon girls were the last two alive while their whole family had been killed before them. Marlene was fighting tooth-and-nail to protect her baby sister when she got struck by a spell, leaving her Stunned as she watched those evil bastards tortured Ramona. When they killed her and turned their attention on Marlene, the Gryffindor barely felt the pain that came from the Cruciatus curse because the pain in heart, the pain that came as a result of losing her family, was much stronger. The last thing she remembered before she woke up in St Mungo's weeks later, was seeing her sister's lifeless eyes as they collapsed a wall on her.

"Marlene?" Irina called. "Marlene, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," Marlene said, blinking to clear her mind. "I dozed off a bit. What were you saying?"

"It's okay. I was uh… I was just asking you why aren't you and Sirius married. I mean, no offense, but you've been together for over a decade. Why didn't you get married?"

"Ah, the question everyone's been asking us for ages." Leaning into her chair, Marlene smiled fondly as her eyes landed on her engagement ring. "You see, Irina; Sirius and I were very independent people back in the day. We still are, I suppose. Back when we were just teenagers, we never planned on ever getting married. I was too busy on making sure I fulfilled by dream on being the youngest senior Minister ever, which I am now. Sirius though, he was too busy being a rebellious prankster with his best friends. Also, he was the biggest playboy Hogwarts had ever seen. But, being who he was, I guess that was understandable."

"He is rather gorgeous," Irina teased, sticking her tongue out at Marlene.

"Hey, you have your own gorgeous Black brother!" Marlene retorted good-naturedly. Both girls shared a small laugh before Marlene continued. "Anyway, we used to hate each other. I hated him because he was a troublemaking lazy-arse who got the whole world kissing his feet. Sirius hated me because I was the only girl, other than Harry's mother Lily, who wasn't fawning over him. We started to become civil some time in our sixth year, when Sirius had a huge fight with his friends and all three of them wouldn't talk to him. He looked so miserable for the rest of the year that Lily and I actually took a pity on him. We became friends ever since then, and even made a scheme to get James and Lily together. Long story short, James and Lily weren't the only ones who ended up together. Somewhere during the hours we spent plotting the ultimate ways to get James and Lily together, we fell in love with each other."

Marlene stopped for awhile, a sad smile appeared on her pretty face as memories of James and Lily flashed in her mind. If James had his Marauders, Lily had her own close friends too. Consisted of Marlene and Dorcas, the three girls always found it hilarious that they ended up dating the boys who were best friends with each other too.

("I've talked to Remus and he agreed that we should have a triple wedding!")

("Uh, big no, Meadowes. I don't think Sirius could handle sharing the spotlight.")

("Neither would James. God, those two boys are bad influences for each other.")

"Then? What happened?" Iris asked, genuine curiosity on her face.

"Sirius and I didn't really think that marriage was necessary. I mean, we love each other already, and marriage at the times of war would just distract us from much important things. I understand that the only reason Sirius proposed to me was when I nearly died during a Death Eater ambush. It didn't offend me though, because if there is anything Sirius and I have in common, it's the fact that we both are practical and rational people. We plan things, though most of the time, the best things that happened to us were things that we didn't plan. Like how I'd never regret having JJ. Yes, I did say that raising a child wasn't exactly the right thing to do during a time of war, especially when said future-parents were active participants of the war. But whenever I see my baby girl, I know I've made the right decision to not kick a drunk Sirius out of our room that night almost a year ago."

"I think that's too much information for me, Mar," Irina laughed. "Sirius is already like a brother to me by now, and technically, he is my brother through marriage. I really don't want to know what you two did in your room."

"Well, it wasn't limited to – "

"Marlene!"

Both women erupted in laughter. When their laughter finally subsided until all that was left was their soft giggles, Marlene glanced at her watch and saw that lunch break was over. Still with a smile on her face, she said, "All right, Mrs Black, break is over. We should get back to wo – "

The former Gryffindor trailed off as she watched her husband's Patronus waltzed into the room, the huge silvery dog bounded all over the room before it stopped by her feet. From the corner of her eye, she saw Irina paled slightly because, in all the months they lived together, a Patronus rarely meant a good thing. With baited breath, the both of them braced themselves for Sirius' message.

"Just got back from mission. We got Charlie, but something happened. Get the Weasleys and take them to St Mungo's immediately."

("You've done terrible things, Lucius. I don't know if I can forgive you.")

("It's okay. As long as you and Draco are safe, I'll do anything.")

Quite contrary to what most believed, Lucius Malfoy did love his family. He would go to the end of the world for them, would move heaven and earth for them. He didn't show his affections much, but he'd hoped that his family knew that there was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for them. That was part of the reason why he joined the Dark Lord's league of evil bastards. Yes, the main reason he joined was because he was raised to believe the importance of eradicating the world from Mudbloods and Muggles. However, Lucius had a problem with answering to anyone, even if that was the most evil wizard of all times. Malfoys didn't follow, they led people. But when the Dark Lord threatened to hurt his then newly-married wife, Lucius had no choice. So he donned the black robes, and the silver mask, and did every single one of the evil bastard's bidding, all to make sure his family was safe and sound. He would never admit it to anyone, but when he heard that the Potters had defeated the Dark Lord, though with the cost of their own lives, Lucius couldn't help but to feel immensely relieved. He did have things to explain to the Ministry, but it paled in comparison with the fact that his family didn't have to suffer similar fates like other Pureblood families who defied the Dark Lord.

People always thought that Lucius was a distant father and a cold husband toward his family, and though it pained him to hide his affections whenever they were in public, Lucius knew that it was needed to ensure his family's safety. The Dark Lord, no matter how great he was, could never understand that people would really do anything for love. In his all his wretched life, Lucius had witnessed many times how love was able to do things he thought was impossible. Yes, sometimes he did foolish things to protect his family because of his love for them. When he heard that the Dark Lord was coming back, Lucius rushed off to do things that would guarantee the safety of his family again. It didn't mean he wasn't ashamed. His conscience was still bothering whenever he thought of how he poisoned Marlene McKinnon, or how he 'accidentally' dropped the Dark Lord's diary into the Weasley girl's cauldron. But, at the end of the day, it was worth it when he came home to his family's smiling faces, seeing them doing their respective activities instead of buried under the ground, dead. He realised that all those things he did would come back to haunt him in the future, that he would have to pay for everyt horrible deed he'd done. But he would take every punishment in the world, would die a thousand deaths, if it meant that no one he loved was hurt.

"Father?" Draco called, knocking on the door gently even though urgency coloured his tone. Lucius blinked once, taking his eyes off his fireplace and turned to Draco.

"Yes, son?" Lucius said, silently noting how much Draco had grown in the past two years. A part of him ached as he remembered the days Draco used to sit on his lap as they read the papers together.

(My son, you'd be a man in no time and soon, I wouldn't be able to protect you anymore.)

"The Midwife said it's time. And Mother wanted you to be there."

Lucius swallowed heavily but nodded his head bravely. Lifting himself from his seat he said, "Very well. Let's go now."

The older blond followed his son toward the chamber that held his wife, trying all his might to hide the slight tremble in his hands by hiding them in his pockets. Twelve years ago, when Draco was born, Lucius wasn't there until fourteen hours after his son's birth. He was in the middle of a Muggle raid, and he dared not to leave his post. Draco never knew it but every time the older Malfoy looked at his son, he still felt guilty about the fact that he wasn't there for his birth. Now, twelve years later, Lucius would see the birth of his second child. His heart clenched at the thought that Narcissa originally tried to hide her pregnancy from him, for fear that Lucius' connection to the Dark Lord would harm their unborn child. It was because of Sirius Black's keen eyes, when the Malfoys visited the Black-Lupin household for Lucius to report his assignment from Black, the day before the Auror left for his secret mission, that Lucius finally found out that his wife was already three months pregnant. Judging from how Draco paled slightly, it seemed that Lucius was the only one who hadn't known. It hurt him to think that Narcissa didn't trust him enough to know that he had another child, but he tried to shrug it aside. In the end, she explained everything to him and he understood. If he was in her place, he would do the same thing as well. Taking a deep breath, he flashed Draco a small smile before he entered the chamber where his wife was waiting.

After around fifteen minutes and Narcissa breaking three of Lucius' fingers, the loud cries of a newborn baby was heard echoing all over the Malfoy Manor, and Lyra Narcissa Malfoy was born.

The first female Malfoy in almost two centuries.

"Mr Malfoy? Mr Malfoy, do you want to hold your daughter?" the Midwife said, giving Lucius a small smile as she bounced the newly-cleaned baby in her arms.

"I- I… Sure, I'll hold her," Lucius stuttered, taking a step closer toward the Midwife, Narcissa's weak but supportive smile was the only thing that convinced him he wouldn't mess things up completely.

After making sure that he was clean enough to touch his daughter, Lucius carefully transferred the baby into his arms from the Midwife. If he ever had any doubts about his love and affection toward the baby, which he didn't, it surely disappeared the moment he had his newborn baby in his arms. Little Lyra, who already looked so much like her mother, held Lucius around her little finger the same way her older brother did all those years ago. From that moment on, Lucius knew, that he would die for her like he would for his wife and his son. He felt a bit weak in the knees, and quickly went to sit on a chair beside Narcissa's bed, fearing that if he fell, he'd hurt the baby. He heard his wife asking to show her the baby, so he complied. Tilting a little bit in his seat, he leaned forward so Narcissa could take a look on their daughter. He watched in awe when the baby opened her eyes, those blue of hers eyes that she shared only with her mother and her late maternal grandmother, looked at him with something akin to wonder. He knew that Lyra couldn't see yet, but he liked to think that the girl had latched her affections on him. Lucius gave a kiss on Lyra's forehead when his eyes caught Draco peeking out from behind the door. Feeling giddy, Lucius let out a small chuckle as he called Draco to come in and meet his new sister.

"Meet little Lyra, Draco," Lucius said, using his head to beckon his son to come closer. "And Lyra, meet your brother Draco."

Both Malfoy parents watched their eldest taking cautious steps toward his father, carefully peering over Lucius' shoulder to finally have a look on his sister. The young Slytherin opened his mouth before closing it, appearing to have changed his mind. Instead, Draco reached out to gently caress his sister's cheek, smiling fondly when Lyra snuggled into his palm. Lucius' heart bloomed in pride when he heard Draco said, "Hi, Lyra. I'm Draco, your brother. I know I'm much older than you are, but I promise that I'll be the best friend for you. I promise that I'll protect you, always. I promise that I'll never let anything or anybody hurt you."

Lucius did a lot of bad things in his life, and he knew that his involvement in the War meant that he was living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, he would have to leave his family behind to protect them. But, looking at Draco, who lovingly kissed his newborn sister's chubby cheek as he held his mother's hand firmly, Lucius knew that his son would take his place and be the better man than he ever was.

If Lucius was to die that day, he trusted Draco to protect Narcissa and Lyra.