Claimed

Epilogue

“Are you going to Scarborough Fair, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,” Narcissa sang like an angel as she held up each herb in the lyric when she sang its name. Two beautiful children sat in the lawn in front of her staring in rapt attention at their grandmother.

“Father uses that one in his potion!” the young boy exclaimed, pointing at the twig of rosemary. He looked to be merely two or three years old and had jet-black curls that fell around his ears and perfectly framed his porcelain face. Silver eyes shown excitedly behind thick black lashes and he smiled revealing a pair of delicate fangs set within a row of pearly teeth.

“That’s correct, Jacob. Can you name the other ingredients he uses?” she asked sweetly, ruffling the young boy’s hair.

The boy looked up into his grandmother’s icy blue eyes and thought about his father’s potion. “Apple blossom,” he began, his voice like chiming bells.

“Good, and what else?” she asked, setting aside the bundles of herbs she had resting in the folds of her white summer dress.

“Peppermint oil, aster, elder bark, flax seed,” he continued, listing out each item on his tiny pale fingers. He stopped then and made a frustrated face as he tried to think of the final ingredient.

The young girl beside him huffed and raised her delicate hand into the air; her golden blonde curls bouncing in her excitement.

“Yes, Emily,” Narcissa called on her with a smile.

“Our blood. The final ingredient to father’s potion is a single drop of our blood,” she answered smartly, sticking her tiny pink tongue out at her twin brother, who glared at her and pursed his lips.

“Poor sportsmanship,” Narcissa said, shaking her perfectly manicured finger after her two grandchildren. “What have I told you both about sportsmanship?” she asked.

Both children huffed and crossed their arms over their chests petulantly and Narcissa laughed. “Jacob, you must learn to remain proud, yet not arrogant or rude if you are wrong, and Emily,” she chastised, shaking her head at the girl. “You mustn’t be a sore winner. No gloating, do you hear me?”

“Yes, grandmamma,” they answered in unison, sounding a bit testy still, but dutifully obedient.

“Excellent. Now, I must tend to your grandfather, so why don’t you go check on your fathers and see what mischief they are up to?” she told them with a smirk and sent the twins running across the garden giggling.

“Such lovely children,” Lucius noted from behind her, taking her hand in his own and lifting her from the ground.

“I know. It’s still impossible to believe sometimes that we could be so blessed,” she sighed as she watched her grandchildren play a short game of tag in the greenhouse on their way to find Harry and Draco. Emily’s frilly blue dress ruffled in the breeze along with her shoulder length golden curls as she stayed several paces ahead of her brother, the both of them moving at inhuman speeds.

They had traits that were obviously vampire in origin, yet they had human and magical traits to balance them out. It was the perfect marriage of three very separate cultures and species, which honed the children into brilliant, indestructible and beautiful creatures that weren’t held back by the hindrances of any of their heritage.

Their speed and agility was second to none. They were already at the level of needing consistent tutoring and could compete with any first year Hogwarts student in academics, practical magic use, or even potions. They were stronger than the average human, but not as strong as their fathers. It was yet to be known if they would grow stronger still, or if they were at capacity in that particular trait.

Their magic was proficient, exceeding that of any wizard Lucius knew of save perhaps Harry, Dumbledore or Voldemort. Jacob had bested Draco in a duel only three days before, much to his son’s chagrin.

The twin’s thirst was easily managed with the potions the Council showed them how to prepare, but best yet was that the children were entirely immune to sunlight.

Lucius recalled the day that Emily first ventured to a window during mid-afternoon and pulled back the curtain. He had never heard such a terrible, heart-wrenching scream on the lips of Harry’s mouth as he flew to her side, ready to whisk her away to Draco for healing, but found her completely unscathed.

After much prodding and pandering on his end, Draco and Harry reluctantly agreed to let both Jacob and Emily be exposed to controlled sunlight, and in larger and larger doses until it was obvious that both children were completely unharmed by the sun’s rays.

Harry and Draco were both pleased that their children could go out into the garden or wherever they liked during the day, but he could tell that both fathers were despondent over not being able to join them.

Day trip after day trip, Lucius and Narcissa would be able to take Jacob and Emily out to see the world, while Draco and Harry waited for them to return, or for the sun to set so that they might join them.

Emily ran and leapt into her father’s arms, their matching emerald eyes sparkling in the sun as he twirled her round and round amongst the flowerbeds.

“How is my Emma Lily?” he asked, using her full name over her more frequently used nickname.

“I beat Jacob again,” she announced proudly, her grin breaking wide enough to expose her sharp little fangs.

“That’s my girl,” Harry cooed and tossed her into the air, only to catch her again in the next minute.

She squealed with delight and pulled on Harry’s collar to whisper in his ear. “I think Jacob let me win.”

Draco came behind her and tickled her out of Harry’s arms and into his own. “A Malfoy never forfeits, and they always win,” he announced in mock arrogance.

“And what do they do if they are in competition with another Malfoy?” Harry asked, his eyebrows raised into his fringe.

Draco shrugged elegantly, the same answer he always gave to that argument. “Jacob,” he called. “Did you let your sister win?”

Harry hefted the boy as he strolled over and set Jacob on his hip. “I might have,” the boy answered noncommittally and his fathers both laughed.

As he watched the sunshine glisten on his children’s hair Draco recalled the day that he thought he too might be fine in the daylight. When he found out about Emily and Jacob’s immunity, he realized that he had never been exposed to the sun as a vampire. When he and Harry left the Kiss behind they traveled strictly by night, and they remained closed up in the Manor as soon as they arrived back home. He remembered the day he held his hand out the window dressings one morning at sunrise. He could recall how happy he was at first, thinking he was fine because he felt no pain, but then suddenly the sun rose higher against the horizon and began to blister and char his flesh.

Harry had been more cross with him that day than he’d ever been with him before or since. But with Harry’s magic and a concoction of potions he designed, he was able to heal it into an unrecognizable scar.

His daughter ran her fingers along that scar now then brought it to her lips and kissed it. “Bad daddy,” she lectured and Harry chuckled.

“You tell him, Em,” Harry encouraged and laughed harder at Draco’s frown.

“If you care to recall, it’s because of my brilliance and potion that we’re not relegated indoors during the day while our beautiful children play outside,” Draco announced haughtily.

“Yes, my love, I know. Don’t I thank you for your brilliance every morning when I take your potion?” he asked.

Draco sighed. “Perhaps I’d like to be thanked more often,” he added with a wink.

Harry grinned and smacked his lover on the bum. “That could certainly be arranged,” he promised.

“Did you just spank daddy?” Jacob asked sounding completely horrified.

“Don’t worry Jake, it’s not a punishment, your father likes to be spanked,” Harry laughed, ignoring Draco’s eye roll.

“How could anyone like being spanked?” Jacob asked, rubbing his own bum as he recalled a recent discipline inflicted upon him by Draco after he bunted a house elf across the dining hall.

Harry and Draco both laughed as they carried the children around the garden. Harry was immensely grateful to his lover for the ability to walk in the gardens again. It had been Lucius’s idea to try the children’s blood as an antidote for the sun, and though he was reluctant to take blood from his precious children, it turned out that each batch, which consisted of potions that would last them both a month, took only one drop.

Draco was brilliant in his calculations and planning of the potion that eventually allowed them both to accompany their children outside during the day, even in the scarcest cloud cover. It only took him three tries to perfect it and after the initial successful batch he was even able to manufacture the properties from his children’s blood so that he never had to take it from them again.

After that he marketed and distributed his light elixir potion to other vampires wishing to leave the colony in the Sugarloaf Mountains and lead well-rounded lives in the real world. It made them all a fortune, which Lucius was very pleased about and it allowed them the time and luxury to spend every minute watching their precious twins grow up.

For Christmas that year Draco and Harry were planning to give their parents something that Lucius had been begging for, and Harry could read from Narcissa’s thoughts that she secretly wanted it as well. Immortality. Harry was able to see his being a vampire as a gift now, for it brought him so much, and he felt that by sharing that gift that he could keep his family complete and together forever.

Afterward they would travel back to the Sugarloaf Mountains as a family and meet once more with the Council. Hundreds had taken Draco’s potion and left the confines of the glittering underground palaces, but thousands still remained, feeling a tie to the place that Harry likened to how he felt about the Manor.

They wanted to negotiate with the Council on what was to become of the Book of Lore. After the King’s death, the kingdom and the book had been passed to them, but Harry felt an ominous sense of dread when he thought of the book. So they would go and see what they might be able to find out about the ancient text and what it now foretold.

For this beautiful autumn day though, he would be content to lounge in the gardens with his lover, his parents and his beautiful children.

Another sunset filled the horizon as Harry and Draco looked on, a child clinging to each of their necks. They had so much to be thankful for, and each and every sunset reminded them of it.

Death seemed to suit them perfectly, and what made them happiest, more than the sun, or vast fortunes, or even the end of epic vampire wars, was to know that they had each other, and their beautiful children for all of eternity.

Authors Note: Many thanks to my Beta, Robert (Ragnarok45) for his work on this story (this chapter included) He was such a great help in the shaping of the story. So thi sis the end, but as I think you can tell, I have a sequel in mind. I'm not sure when I'll start it because I have a few too many projects at the moment to keep up properly, but as this story seemed to be a fan favorite, I promise to keep it going. I love you all and please feel free to message me, email me or join my Yahoo group (links to all can be found on my profile page.) Little Drarry children for everyone!