Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

Harry apparated back to his home but not to his front porch as he usually did. Instead, he chose the garden in the back of the house as the place to travel to. He walked slowly through it, down the paths so carefully cultivated by Draco that wound about the patches of different herbs and flowers and plants used in his potions. Late spring gave so much warmth and life to the garden… It was all very pleasant to look at but he wasn\'t looking at any of it at all.



He moved to a small and lovingly tended patch of grass in the back of the yard where a small cherub angel statue stood with a smile on its face, holding her hands skyward with her wings flared as if taking off in joy. At the base of the statue was a plaque of black marble, and carved in it were the words:



IN MEMORY OF ANDIE POTTER-MALFOY

TOO SOON YOU FLEW FROM OUR ARMS…

BUT YOU WILL NEVER CEASE BEING LOVED.



He sighed softly as he sank to a seat beside the small statue in the garden. He gazed at the words a long time before he reached to touch the stone, his fingers lightly drifting across the engraved words. "She\'ll pay, Andie, I swear it… she\'ll pay for taking you from us…" he murmured.



The sound of simple happiness broke through the miasma of pain and grief he was feeling; he could hear giggling and his eyes were drawn to Angel, bounding about after her Kneazle through the flowerbeds, running and squealing with the unbridled joy of innocent childhood. He couldn\'t help but smile at her antics. Yes, there was grief and pain in his life… but there was joy and love as well.



"Hey, baby…" Draco moved over to sit beside him and Harry took his hand and kissed it softly. Draco then slipped his arms about his husband, worried about him. He hardly ever came back here to the little memorial they had put up for their baby girl… "Are you all right…?"



Harry took a moment to compose himself; he knew he had to tell Draco but was highly reluctant to do so. "Ron and Hermione are having problems…" Harry murmured as an excuse for his mood, holding Draco close. "Ron is so torn up…"



Draco returned the embrace warmly, soothing his husband with his touch. "I knew something more was going on than what he came to talk to us about… have you gotten anywhere on that case…?"



"Still working on it…" he sighed.



"You don\'t think they\'re going to split up do you…? Rosie even knows something is wrong; she asked me to make a potion to help her daddy get back to his normal self… there has to be something we can do…"



"I\'m doing what I can, but… in the end I don\'t think they\'ll pull through and stay together." He said softly. "Hermione\'s going to Azkaban and I\'ll be the one who sends her there…"



"Azkaban…?! What in Merlin\'s name has she done…?"



"Angel isn\'t the only child she created from stolen sperm…"



Draco was stunned by this news. Hermione never seemed to be the type to even get into the slightest bit of trouble, once Voldemort was gone anyway… "She did it more than once…? How many, do you know…?"



"No, we\'re not completely sure yet; but Pansy is definitely the mastermind behind it…"



Now everything made sense. Of course Pansy, that conniving and manipulative wench was pulling the strings. "That makes more sense… I can\'t see Hermione deciding to do that, but Pansy, most definitely… Even in school she was manipulating people and trying to get the world arranged as she wished it to be… she almost convinced father once that we should be wed…"



"From what we\'ve seen so far of the case, she\'s hidden her involvement in most everything, and she\'s managed to arrange things so that Hermione will be hit with all of the blame once its uncovered." Harry answered in a quiet tone.



"She\'s the one who is behind it all… and I will kill her. I\'m going to kill her if it\'s the last thing I do." Harry said in a cold, furious tone.



Draco gazed at Harry questioningly. "Pansy\'s done more than steal sperm to make babies…? What else has she done…?"



Harry could not meet Draco\'s eyes. "She\'s a murderer. Worse than Voldemort ever was…" He whispered.



"Murder…? Oh Merlin… she\'s killed babies…?" Draco murmured.



"Apparently the Death Eaters didn\'t want to have any little witches…"



"She killed your daughters…?! That unholy bitch…!" Draco\'s eyes darkened with anger and grief.



"She did more than that." Harry\'s hand touched the stone again, tears brimming in his eyes. "She killed our Andie."



"…What…?"



"She killed her because she thought we would continue to go to the clinic; she could get more samples from us so that she could sell them and get richer…"



"She… but how…? How could she have…? The doctors said…" Draco was stunned; the news was all too much at once.



"A potion. I don\'t know what it was, but she told Tonks she did it; Tonks was posing as Hermione…"



Tears ran down Draco\'s cheeks. "She\'s bragging of killing our Andy… for what, money…?" Draco was tense with restrained anger and grief.



Harry held him close. "I\'ve got to stop her," he whispered. "I want you to go and stay with your father, both you and Angel. I want you safe…"



"All right, but… but what about you? We all need to have you with us…"



"I\'m not going anywhere, baby…" Harry kissed him softly. "But I\'m not taking any chances with you and our son."



"I\'ll stay clear of it all… but you aren\'t staying here at the house without me…"



"Do you think your father will allow me to stay with you at the Manor…?"



Draco gave him a faint grin, trying to put his anger behind him. He needed to be calm to help Harry to get back on his feet again. "If Angel asks him, he\'ll almost beg you to come stay with us… he\'ll do anything that she wants him to…" he told his husband in a soft tone, but then he let the silence fall between them.



Harry was content at this moment to just hold Draco close, one hand drifting to rest on Draco\'s stomach. Could feel their son move under his hands; that precious life that meant so much to both of them. "No one can take him from us, love..." Draco said softly, his own hand moving to slip over Harry\'s.



Harry kissed his neck. "I can\'t wait to hold him… I love you, my Dragon… More than anything in the worlds…"



"Mommy used to say that all the time to Mimi…" an innocent young voice piped up beside them. They both looked to see Angel, smiling happily at them, her cheeks flushed and green eyes sparkling. She\'d come up behind them when they were talking and now threw her arms about both of them, hugging their necks.



"I\'m sure she meant every word she spoke…" Harry said, moving his arm to include her in the embrace and giving her a soft kiss on top of her head.



"I miss them, but I\'m happy to have you and Papa…" she beamed.



"And we are happy you\'re here with us." Draco smiled.



"Angel; would you like to stay with Nonno and Nona…?" Harry asked her.



Her reaction was not nearly what he expected. Her face fell, worry and grief touching her face. "Are… are you sending me away already…?" she asked sadly.



"What…? Oh, no! Never! Oh Merlin, Angel… you are yours forever. We\'ll be going with you to the Manor…"



Her joy instantly returned. "Really…? Oh I\'d love it Daddy…! You can sleep in my bed and I\'ll use the couch it\'s really big and comfy and its right there…"



Draco laughed softly. "Don\'t you worry; we\'ll have a room quite near yours at the manor; mother wouldn\'t have it any other way…"



"It\'d be fun to have a sleepover in the same room…" Angel giggled.



"Come on, and then let\'s go pack a few things…" Draco suggested.



"Okay!" She gave each of them a loud and rather damp kiss, and then skipped off with the kneazle kit romping after her, batting at her heels.



Draco turned and kissed Harry. "It\'s going to be all right, Harry… We\'ll go through this as long as we\'re together we can handle anything."



"All right, Dray…" he said, giving the statue one last look. "We\'d better go help Angel pack." He said, rising, helping Draco to his feet. They followed the dark-haired girl and her pet into the house. Angel chatted away about all the fun that they were going to have at the Mansion.



"Should you call and speak to Lucius first…?" Harry asked.



"I wish we could surprise Nonno with cookies like Rosie brought over… Papa, do you think Rosie could make cookies for us to take over…?"



"Not this time, but she may visit as well…" Harry smiled softly at her.



"I\'ll give father a call…" Draco said with a chuckle.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



This had certainly been a long day. Lucius had been in and out of the nursery all day, soothing and cuddling little Remus Severus. He was worried; but Narcissa told him that she had seen this with Draco and it was something called colic… he wanted to call Severus but she\'d told him that she could take care of this without medical intervention. But she could be wrong, something had to be physically wrong with the boy to cry this much while his sister slept so peacefully, couldn\'t it?



He had insisted on doing most of the walking with the boy; it seemed to be the only way he could rest was if he was being held. He was back in the nursery for the tenth time today, his tiny grandson held against his chest as he hummed softly, walking back and forth to try to soothe the colicky infant.



He saw the fire flare, then his son\'s face appear in the coals. Lucius turned and moved quickly out of the room, setting the still whimpering infant in his crib before he returned to the room, moving to answer the call. "Good evening Draco."



"I wasn\'t sure if you were home; are you having a good day, father?"



"To be honest, one of my kittens is unwell; Draco… is there something I can do for you?"



"I know it\'s a lot to ask, father, but could you spare a room or two for the night?"



He frowned in concern. "That isn\'t a problem at all. Draco, tell me what\'s happened. Is it Angel? Is Angel all right? Where is Potter?"



Draco smiled reassuringly at his father. "We\'ll explain it when we arrive; everyone is well. It will just be… safer… if we are there…" he said vaguely.



Lucius\' expression did not change; something was definitely wrong. "Safer, hmm? Well. I shall have the house elves freshen your rooms immediately and inform them you shall be joining us for dinner."



"Thank you. We\'ll see you soon."



"All right, Draco." Lucius smiled and the call ended.



"I\'ll get my bags, come on Tia, hurry!" Angel said excitedly.



Draco moved to Harry. "Are we ready, love?"



Harry gave his husband a wry grin. "I suppose I\'m as ready as I\'ll ever be." he answered. "Though it does sound mighty odd… I\'m going to stay at Malfoy Manor…"



Angel bounced on her heels beside them; she\'d dragged her bag down the hall to them, rumpling the runner carpet on her way in her eagerness to get back to them. "But it\'ll be FUN, daddy! We can make cookies for Nonno tomorrow, and play in the gardens \'cause he told me he had a garden to play in but will you help me make the cookies?"



Draco chuckled and drew his wand, the carpet straightening itself with a flick of his wrist. "Yes, of course we can do that; it will be lots of fun. Perhaps you can ride your pony tomorrow as well."



"Could I really? I haven\'t ridden her yet but she likes carrots and sugar cubes and she really likes apples!" she said, eyes sparkling as Draco took her hand and Harry shrank their bags down to carry easily. Harry took the floo powder and called out Malfoy Manor before Draco and Angel stepped in.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.



Tonks stepped out of the green flames in the fireplace of her own home, returning a full two hours after Snape had. Before even considering returning home, she had gone on to the ministry and documented everything she had received as well as the information that her friend across the pond had helped to decipher.



The living room was empty; they must be in the Severus\' favorite room, the study. She shucked off her shoes and left them where the rest of her shoes were, in a pile beside the umbrella stand. She stretched wearily, moving to the bar to fix herself a light fruit drink, leaving the alcohol out of it. She moved out of the room; intent on finding Severus and having a little talk about his behavior at the Weasley house today.



Severus looked up from his book as his female love moved into the room. He looked quite content with a rare soft smile on his lips. He was seated on one end of the couch and the rest of it was taken up by the body of Remus, who was sprawled carelessly across the cushions with his head resting in his lover\'s lap. Sev\'s long, slim fingers were slowly combing through the wolf\'s sandy blonde hair, and Remus looked so relaxed he seemed to be sleeping, eyes closed and perfectly content.



She hated to disturb this scene; these two were close like this only once in a great while. Remus loved to cuddle but Severus was always so standoffish… at least while she was around. Still, his behavior had been outrageous and she had to say something about it. "Sev, you really did go too far with Hermione today…" she said bluntly in a disapproving tone as she moved to her favorite seat, switching her own lamp on.



"What did you do?" Remus asked in a drowsy tone without bothering to open his eyes even a bit, so very content. "Severus, are you being a bastard again?"



Severus\' lips twitched, settling into a soft smirk. "I did what I had to do. Hermione Weasley isn\'t guilty of any great crime, but she thinks she should be sent to Azkaban and presented directly to the Dementors for torture or even for the Dementor\'s Kiss. Even you must admit, Dora, that she\'s drowning completely in self-pity. She\'s through and through a typical Gryffindor."



"I resemble that remark, Sev." Remus cautioned, cracking open one eyelid to gaze up at the dark-haired man.



Snape gave Remus\' hair a soft tug instead of a stroke. "It\'s true; you often get that way when you think you\'ve done wrong." He reminded. "Have patience and hear me out."



Remus subsided and through heavy-lidded eyes awaited the promised explanation.



"Mrs. Weasley has discovered she\'s involved in dark dealings and suddenly her mind, which is normally extremely sharp, turns to… oh, what is that awful translucent stuff muggles eat again? Oh yes: Jell-O. Although it is true, she has owned up to the fact that she is involved, she\'s vastly overstating her involvement in the crime."



"She\'s done quite a bit to help us investigate, Sev…" Tonks interjected.



"She has helped, that is very true; but she is a very intelligent and resourceful witch, Dora." Severus interrupted. "Self-pity does not suit her and it actually gets in the way of her thinking. I was her teacher, you both know that. She needed a good dose of Slytherin snarkiness to get her Gryffindor blood flowing back to her brain. Once she gets good and angry, she\'ll be of much greater use to you. Being angry or offended has always worked to get her in top form in the past." he picked up his drink and took a sip before setting it aside again. "If you don\'t believe me simply ask Potter; he knows this is true."



"She didn\'t need quite that MUCH snarking." Tonks responded, sipping her juice, curling her legs up under her on the cushion. "You were a real ass, Severus. And then you went past being an asshole to being an absolute bastard."



Severus chuckled. "Oh, yes, I was, wasn\'t I…?" he said in clearly amused tone. "Truly in rare form..."



Remus reached up and swatted him. "You should be punished." He said in a drowsy tone, opening his eyes fully now.



Dora watched them with a soft grin. "If it doesn\'t get her \'motivated\', Severus, I\'m going to force you to apologize to her. You know that, don\'t you?"



"Agreed." Severus said aloofly. "But you\'ll see; I\'m not wrong about this. And I won\'t have to apologize for anything. She\'ll be thanking me, and so will you, Dora."



"You\'re horrid, Severus!" she accused, but could not help a bit of a smile. She wadded up a piece of paper and threw it at him; he allowed it to bounce off his nose without flinching, his smirk only growing. "I think I just may make you apologize to her anyway!"



Severus merely smiled at her and returned to reading his book, his fingers resuming their slow caress of Remus\' hair, making him sigh in contentment, eyes closing once more.