Pilfered Progeny - Stolen Dreams

Chapter 8: A Welcome Shock



Narcissa followed Snape into the private nursery room at St. Mungo\'s Hospital, feeling nervous somehow… she was about to see the babies for the first time. She moved to the bassinet side, eyes wide as she gazed down at the infants who lay quietly in their bed asleep, side by side, their little hands touching. "Oh… Severus…" she whispered softly.



"They are off all the muggle machinery, and with the potions I have provided for them they are developing a bit better than even I expected of them. They are feeding well, and have gained weight. The magic within them is quite strong, and it is working with the potions to help them to develop. They will need to be on potions daily for about a year, I believe; but they can be brought home and cared for by your private healer. Children always do better in a home environment…"



"Yes… I can take them home until Draco is ready for them… but… what will I tell Lucius…?"



"I thought he was out of town this week…" Severus asked with an arched eyebrow. "Narcissa, if it will cause a problem, or cause any risk to their health, I can certainly arrange for something else…"



"I don\'t think Lucius would harm them. They\'re what he always wanted, after all; babies of pure blood that bear the family resemblance…"



Severus snorted. "He\'ll probably wish to claim them as his own, the arrogant fool…"



"I won\'t allow that." Narcissa said immediately. "You can prove that they are not. We need to register them as soon as we can as Draco\'s offspring and NOT Lucius\'…"



"I have already started the paperwork." Snape nodded. "Have you found out what to name them…? I need something to put on the forms…"



"Surreptitiously, yes…" she smiled. "This sweet little girl will be Lillian Cassiopeia Malfoy Potter…" she carefully lifted up the delicate little baby girl, cradling her in her arm. She was barely larger than her hand, the poor little darling…



"And the boy…?"



"The only name I have for him is James…"



Severus chuckled "Oh, I really MUST be there when you inform Lucius that his first born grandson is named after James Harold Potter." He said with a droll smirk.



"It is not Lucius\' choice." She smiled at him. "These names were Draco\'s choice… though he was unaware he was naming these two babies…"



"Perhaps he wishes to name his son with Harry with the name James…"



"Oh… yes… that does cause a problem. I\'m sure he does… but this little fellow must have a name as well…"



"Well, you could honor the mutt – Harry\'s godfather. Or even my wolf. Remus would be ecstatic…"



"Or honoring you, my dear friend?" She smiled at him. "Were it not for you, I\'m sure these precious little ones would be long beyond our ability to ever reach…"



"Remus Severus Malfoy Potter. Hmmm… that does have a nice ring to it." Snape

smirked.



"It is perfect." She smiled warmly at him. "Besides; I don\'t think it truly matters what we name them, Lucius is bound to object to the male name…"



"If there are objections, the name can be changed at a later date." Severus said.



Narcissa scoped up the tiny boy as well. "Hello, my sweet little grandson… welcome to the family…" she murmured. The baby gazed at her with sleepy unfocused eyes.



Severus held out his hands toward the girl and Narcissa passed her into his care. "And you little butterfly." he said softly. "Welcome, Lilly; may your days forever be filled with smiles and laughter, and longer and more blessed than the woman you are named for." he kissed her brow tenderly. The baby gurgled, tiny hands grasping.



Narcissa laughed softly and kissed her grandson as well. "I think she likes you…"



"She is hardly more than a handful; neither of them is…" Severus said, turning with the child. "Come; let us take your grandchildren home."



"Yes; I have the family crib I used for Draco set up in the nursery. I never took it down after he lost his last baby… it will suit them well for a few weeks at least…" she picked up the bag of things from the hospital.



"They will do better if kept in the same bed. It will give them comfort to sleep together.



"They\'ll have more than enough love." She smiled, almost glowing with happiness as they strolled out of the hospital at a

relaxed pace. Severus led her out to his car and transfigured the muggle car seat in the back into a double-infant carrier. He applied charms on the carrier for their safety.



Narcissa ensured they were physically secured as well, and then turned to sit in the front seat. "It\'s quite convenient, really, that you have this vehicle…"



"It is a little luxury of mine. And I do work in the muggle world; wouldn\'t want unnecessary questions about how I arrive at work every day…"



"Very true… and it is quite a nice vehicle…" she observed.



Snape pulled out into traffic, driving with practiced ease. "I hate to think of what would have happened to those little miracles if they had remained in the hands of muggle medicine… if they survived their infancy at all, they would have been handicapped for life…"



"They don\'t live in a muggle world, Severus. They are safe with me… and with you, of course, watching over them…" Narcissa reminded with a smile.



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



The drive to Malfoy Manor was uneventful. Narcissa glanced up at the house and noted the lights were on. "Oh Merlin… it looks as if Lucius is home…" she mused as Severus got the carrier out of the car.



"We\'d best get these two inside." Severus said, glancing skyward at the gathering threatening cloud cover. "It feels as if it\'s going to rain soon, and it\'s quite a walk to the manor from here…"



"Yes; thank you so much, Severus…" she said, draping a blanket over the carrier and lifting it up with a smile. "These babies are so tiny; they hardly weigh a thing…"



"Lilly was born 2 pounds, 13 ounces, and Remmy was 3 pounds, 1 ounce." Severus said as he opened the door for Narcissa.



"So tiny… they\'re perfect…" she agreed, moving in with a smooth careful gait as to not disturb or jostle the sleeping babies in their blanket-covered basket carrier.



"Ah, Narcissa; Severus…" Lucius smiled as he spotted them; he had been halfway down the stairs when they moved in the door, a paper in his hand. "Cissa, I was just going over the financial reports… have you made your decision about the property in Italy…?" he asked. "I need to settle it by the end of the month…"



"Go ahead and close on the house in Italy." She said, continuing directly past him on the stairs.



He looked at the basket carrier, a puzzled expression on his face. "What ever do you have in the basket, Cissa…? I told you I would not tolerate kittens or anything of that ilk in my house…" he reminded.



"It\'s not kittens, Lucius." She said dismissively, mounting the top of the stairs. "Come, Severus; we must get them settled…"



"Settle what? Severus? Cissa?! What is in the basket…?" Lucius moved to peer into the carrier, lifting the blanket. One of the babies mewled, whimpering and he dropped the blanket back into place, looking quite as if he had been hit on the back of the head by a bludger.



"Lucius, they must be fed immediately, changed, and set back to sleep." She waved him off. "Come if you wish, but I WILL get them taken care of…" she proceeded onward without hesitation to the nursery.



Severus smirked at the stunned expression on his friend\'s face. "But… how… where…?!" he stammered, following the others into the nursery.



"Be a dear and get the blanket off the bed, will you Lucius?" Narcissa asked, lifting little Lilly out of the carrier.



Lucius numbly flicked his wand and the blanket folded itself at the foot of the bed. "Where did they come from Cissa?" He whispered, reaching out to stroke the baby boy\'s fine blonde hair. "Are they ours…?"



"I was only pregnant one time, Lucius… I wish they were mine, but they are not… at the same time, they are… in a way. They are our firstborn grandchildren…" she smiled softly. "This is Lillian Cassiopeia Malfoy Potter…" she said as she laid the sleeping infant girl down into the bed. "And this…" she turned to lift the boy out of the carrier. "This strapping young man is Remus Severus Malfoy Potter…"



"But… How…? These are not Potter\'s children, they are Malfoys… look at them! There is not one bit of Potter in either of them…!" he stammered, completely taken aback. His son had not been pregnant… he would have known if he had gotten a girl with child…!



"It is a long, complicated story, Lucius." Severus said. "One we do not yet have all the answers to at this point in time…"



"They are Malfoy children." Narcissa agreed, cradling the boy close to her chest to soothe him. "But Draco has no idea they exist yet."



"How could he not?" Lucius demanded. "It seems that Potter is not the only unfaithful one…! That marriage should not stand…! It should never have been in the first place! I told you, Narcissa, allowing them to wed was a mistake…!"



"He never even met the mother." Severus snapped in a quiet tone.



"How in Merlin\'s name could this happen?!"



"Lucius, please…!" Narcissa hissed at him. "Be quiet!"



"When I have all the details, I promise to fill you in completely. All I know for certain at the moment is they are a result of muggle science and wizarding magic and potions…" Severus began.



The baby in Narcissa\'s arms began to cry, upset by the strange noise and level of emotion in the room. A snarl touched Narcissa\'s lips. "Lucius Abraxus Malfoy!" She growled in a dangerously quiet yet commanding tone that instantly had both men\'s attention. Her wand was out in her hand, the tip glowing with magic ready to be unleashed. "Look what all of your overreacting and carrying on has done…You\'ve upset the children! Get out! Go on, get out and go to your study! Go yell at each other in the hall! I don\'t give a damn where you go and yell at each other, but you will not say another word in this room!" her voice never varied from the dangerous quiet tone, her eyes blazing angrily.



"But Cissa…" he started.



"Out!" The magic flared from her wand and Lucius found he could no longer see the babies, their crib, or his very

angry wife. She had created an impenetrable shield about them all. The shield pulsed and both he and Severus were forced back and away from them. Severus did not fight it; he simply turned and walked back out into the hall.



"Cissa…! Cissa you can\'t do this…!" Lucius said, growing angry as well; he drew his wand and tried to break through the shield or to at least make it transparent… his efforts met with no success.



"Lucius, you\'ve been married to the woman over thirty years. You can\'t tell when the battle has been lost…?" Severus asked with a smirk, standing now in the hall.



Lucius stood a moment more; wand gripped tightly in his hand, then whirled and stalked from the room to join Severus. "Why are they so small…? Where did they come from…?" he asked, focusing on his old school friend to give him what he wanted now. His wife clearly was not going to be any informational help whatsoever.



"They are twins, and nearly two months premature…" he answered, turning toward Lucius\' study.



"What are their names again…?" he asked, feeling as if he was waking from being slapped senseless.



"Lillian Cassiopeia Malfoy Potter and Remus Severus Malfoy Potter". Severus answered, walking into the study, closing the door behind them.



"No! Absolutely not! These are Malfoy children, not Potters!" He insisted, anger and outrage bubbling up again.



Severus scowled at him. "Be reasonable, man! They are Draco\'s children, do you really think that he will allow Potter\'s name not to be part of their name…? He will not have them named any other way and you know it!"



"Then let them be Potter Malfoy!"



Severus rolled his eyes. "It\'s all the same to me… that can be arranged."



"And REMUS…? Really, now…!"



"That choice is not yours to make, Lucius." Severus reminded.



"Well who is it that named them? Names like that; it had to be Potter, wasn\'t it?!"



"No, actually, it was your wife." Severus cut off his rant, moving to the bar to break out the fire whiskey. "But she actually wanted to name the boy James…"



Why isn\'t Draco with his children? He should be naming them, not Narcissa!"



Severus poured him a glass of fire whiskey and pushed it to him. "THAT, my friend, is why you must calm down, have a drink, and listen to me. I don\'t wish to tell Draco about them just yet and there truly is a good reason for it…"



"Well how could he not know he fathered them…?" Lucius asked, impatient.



"I told you; he has never met the mother. These babies were not created in the traditional way, Lucius… Have you ever heard of a place Muggles call a Fertility Clinic…?"



"I have no use for muggles; much less what they call their insane places of business. What nonsense are you spouting, Severus? Muggles don\'t do fertility potions anyway; they wouldn\'t work on a muggle…!"



"No, a potion would not. But I am not discussing potions, my friend. They have their own methods of ensuring fertility; they use science to enable those of them who had not been able to conceive be successful in bearing children… you need to understand this before I can explain how these babies came to be." Severus was sorely tempted to take on the tone he usually used when instructing a particularly thick student in potions, but he resisted the urge. He kept his tone level and calm; it seemed to be working to get Lucius to calm down as well and begin to think and reason.



"So explain this science." Lucius said, moving to his chair beside the fireplace. He looked particularly put out and angry at the moment but was at least willing to listen.



Severus took the second chair, settling a moment before he began to speak. "The muggle method, basically, is to use medical implements to extract several eggs from the mother and apply sperm from the father. Once the egg has been fertilized it is reinserted into the mother\'s womb. This method has helped thousands of couples to conceive and carry children to term…"



Lucius found himself vaguely intrigued by this. He had no idea Muggles could be so resourceful. "Really…? How many of these \'eggs\' do they take out? And how do they do so…?"



"They give the muggle woman drugs that help her to produce more eggs. Once she has produced them, they use a needle to extract the eggs out of her ovary. They harvest as many as possible, ten to twenty minimum. Up to six fertilized eggs are implanted, for not all will survive…"



"Merlin…!" Lucius looked rather repulsed. "Muggle women breed like rabbits…! One nearly killed my Cissa…!"



"Most of the eggs die, Lucius. Most women will bear only one, perhaps two infants. The process is much the same for wizarding couples of opposing sexes…"



"But if this is how these twins were conceived, how is it that Draco has no knowledge of them? How did they come to have Draco\'s… contribution…?" he chose the word carefully; speaking of eggs and sperm made it sound like some sordid type of farm…



"There is an investigation under way to determine that. And before I say another word, you must swear – the unbreakable oath – that you will not interfere with the investigation or hunt down those involved until they are in custody and sent to Azkaban…"



"Will they even reach Azkaban?" Lucius asked in a dangerous tone, sipping his drink. No one messed with the Malfoy bloodline…!



"They must. After they\'ve arrived there…" Severus shrugged to indicate he could care less about what happened to them. "Give me your bond, Lucius. Else I am bound not to speak another word."



Lucius scowled. "If I must..." He agreed in an irritated tone, holding out his hand. Severus took his hand and whispered the spell, setting the conditions which Lucius repeated in a sullen yet steady voice. The spell bound him from speaking of anything revealed to him including the children, or anything of the

clinic or investigation until it was concluded and became public knowledge. The binding magic wrapped about their wrists, settling into Lucius\' very blood. He watched, scowling, as Severus slipped his wand away. "Go on." He instructed shortly.



"You do know that Draco had gone to a clinic to try to get help conceiving a child…"



"Yes; I remember. Even your best potions couldn\'t help Potter in his quest to get my son pregnant…" Lucius nodded. "That was very hard on my son…"



Severus sighed, but did not feel it was his place to reveal Draco\'s pregnancy. Draco would do that when he was ready for it. "Not exactly, but we will get to that later… Back to what I was explaining. When two wizards are aided in conception, the egg from a witch is used but the chemical markers are removed…"



"The chemical what…?"



"Markers. Muggles have discovered the chemical makeup of the human gene… the basic building blocks of human tissue. For our purpose we will call them chemical markers. They remove the chemical markers of the witch and one wizard\'s chemical markers are imposed before the egg is fertilized by the second wizard. This method has proven successful with many male wizarding couples…"



"Yes, including my Draco. That success resulted in a pregnancy that nearly destroyed my son completely." Lucius scowled.



"Very true… it nearly destroyed them both." Severus agreed in a quiet tone. "After the death of that child neither Draco nor Harry has ever returned to the clinic. The sperm that was stored there, though, has not remained stored as intended. It is being used, to create children without their knowledge or consent."



Lucius\' eyes narrowed in fury and he leaned forward slightly in his chair. "I see a very simple solution to this entire fiasco; we destroy this \'clinic\' and everyone in it...!" He snarled.



"Brilliant plan, Lucius. That will ensure that we lose the information on all the pureblood seed and the location of every child that they have created…" Severus commented dryly.



That stopped Lucius. "There are others…? Draco has more children…?" he asked.



"Not only Draco, my old friend." He corrected. "Although at the moment we have no idea how many or even where to find them. I found the twins by chance through my work at the hospital; I was only brought in because of the skill I have demonstrated in maintaining the lives of children in horrible situations…"



"Who is suspected? You must have someone under observation…" Lucius attempted; he may have been bound against retribution himself but if other wizarding families were involved and having their… essence… sold as well without their consent, there would be others willing to take out any culprits involved…



"We do, but I will not reveal that to you. You\'re much too resourceful a man to be held to a simple bond on yourself… you know how to get other people to get things done for you. Let us get our investigation done. We need all the chief suspects to remain ignorant of observation."



Lucius scowled angrily. "I will not sit by while my son\'s… ESSENCE… is stolen and sold to the highest bidder…!"



"I told you, we are working on this!" Severus retorted instantly.



"And why is my son not being informed of the existence of these twins?! Why is he being protected from this information? He should know of them, he should be here to name them…! In Merlin\'s name, what the hell is going on, Severus?!" He demanded.



Severus sat back in his chair, sighing. "I am not at liberty to say. Let us just say there are extenuating circumstances involved concerning your son, and he is to be left out of such discussions for a time…"



"Extenuating circumstances… you mean Potter wants him left ignorant!" He snapped angrily.



"He knows of one child, Lucius. Young Angel was to move in with them today, I understand…" Severus said, forcing himself to calm back down. His own anger wasn\'t going to help the situation no matter how satisfying it would be to get into a yelling match with Lucius.



"That child should NOT be moving in with my son…! She only belongs to Potter, and she has been raised by Muggles. She knows nothing of our world, of our traditions… let Potter raise the little beast on his own!"



"Draco would never allow that. He wanted to adopt Angel the moment he found she was in the Muggle foster child system, even before he knew she was of Potter\'s blood or wizarding stock. Surely you saw the dates on the paperwork…?"



"You know I did." He scowled, sitting back in his chair again. "She is purely Potter\'s child, though. Perhaps Draco should come home for a while. Potter is always off at his work, and my son will be left alone at home with a child who knows nothing of her magic or our world… I\'m unsure if he is capable of handling the situations that will come up with the girl…"



"Do you truly think your son will leave his home? The one he has made with his husband…?" Severus asked, sipping his drink.



"No." He grumbled, scowling at the fire. "But Draco deserves better. He deserves someone who will give him a child, at least one to be his heir…" he began, sipping at his drink.



"Your anger and constant sniping at every little detail does more harm to your relationship with your son than it will ever do to the relationship between the two of them, Lucius. I\'ve heard Draco talking and you do need to attempt civility toward Potter. Whether you like him or not, or you may drive your son

from you completely…"



"You have a lot of advice for someone who has no children, Severus." Lucius said acidly. Severus\' comments hit a nerve and he\'d be damned if he wasn\'t going to retaliate with his own barb.



"I\'ve watched too many others make damned fools of themselves." Severus set his drink aside, rising. The barb had indeed hit home with him but he refused to show Lucius that. He did want a child, but he was not willing to resort to any sort of magical or technological assistance. If it was meant to be, it would be so, someday. If not… well, he would continue helping the children of others. "I must go; I am due at the hospital for another round within the hour. I will keep you posted as I can on the investigation…"



"If there is anything I can do to assist, don\'t hesitate to contact me." Lucius said, rising as well.



A smirk touched Severus\' lips at that offer. Yes, he could just picture exactly how Lucius Malfoy would love to be given permission to \'help\' with the investigation… the result of such assistance would have a very high body count.



"I will contact you if we need you." He assured. "You will have your hands full with the twins, for now…"



"They are barely a handful each…"



"Yes indeed, which means they will need constant care. If you are lucky, Cissa may even allow you to help…"



"She WILL let me help!" he snapped, setting his drink down hard enough to splash what was left in the glass onto the table, steaming as it settled into the wood. "I intend to go and rectify that situation this moment, as a matter of fact!"



Snape turned away with a grin. Cold, arrogant, haughty Lucius Malfoy was such a sucker for an infant with blonde hair and eyes of Malfoy grey…



Lucius made his way back to the nursery and paused a moment outside the door to compose himself. There was no point in blustering in; Narcissa had made it abundantly clear that excessive noise would not be tolerated… and she had been right. He tapped lightly on the door and tried it; he was greatly relieved to find not only was it open, it swung open without a sound.



The shield was gone, much to his relief. Narcissa sat with both babes in her arms, gently rocking and humming a soft, soothing lullaby. "Are we ready to be civil, now?" She asked him quietly. He noticed her wand was lying across her lap. She was quite prepared for him to be an arse once more.



"Cissa, I… Please. Forgive me." He said in a quiet tone. "I was a little… taken aback… by the fact that I\'m a grandfather when this morning I was not. It is a bit of a shock…"



"A shock…? A blessing you mean…" she said softly, leaning to kiss the downy soft blonde hair of the boy. "A double blessing…"



"May I… may I hold my grandson, Cissa…?" he asked, moving over to her.



"There are two of them, Lucius." She reminded gently, offering him one of the children.



He took the babe, holding the sleeping infant in the crook of his arm. "Draco doesn\'t need to know of these children, Severus says… perhaps he would rather we take over guardianship of them… it would simplify things for him…" he began reasonably.



"That is not our choice, Lucius." She answered with a soft sigh. Already he was trying to take the children as his own, just as Severus had foreseen. "Little Remus won\'t do much more than sleep for an hour or two; he\'s just had a good feed…" she rose to her feet and moved to get a bottle of formula. "Lillian, though, has not eaten yet. She needs to be fed…"



"She\'s a girl… she won\'t like me." He said, smiling as he studied the perfect cherubic face of his sleeping grandson, slowly pacing the floor. The child slept peacefully.



"Nonsense. Come; I\'ve fed Remmy, you can feed Lilly. You DO wish to help me care for them, do you not…?" she asked pointedly, offering the little girl and the bottle. The child was squirming and beginning to whimper.



"She\'s a female, Cissa; they never take to me…" Lucius said.



"You will at least try." She said firmly, moving to him and exchanging babies.



Lucius reluctantly gave in, sitting down in the rocking chair that Narcissa had just vacated. The baby in his arms whimpered, rooting against his chest. He nudged her mouth with the nipple of the bottle and she immediately latched on, whimpering as she greedily took the bottle. Her little eyes opened and she gazed at him as she nursed. "You just settle down, now… that\'s no way to behave. You are a Malfoy, after all…" he admonished in a soft, gentle tone. The babe suckled a moment more, then released the nipple and cooed. Lucius\' face broke out in a smile. "My…aren\'t you a charmer…" he murmured and the baby began to eat again.



Cissa watched her husband with a delighted smile. She couldn\'t have asked for anything better than she was seeing right now, at this moment.



Lucius softly kissed the baby\'s soft fuzzy head. "This is my granddaughter… and my grandson…" he gazed over at Narcissa, who still held the sleeping boy.



"Yes, my love." She agreed, smiling, moving to him with her eyes sparkling.



"We have waited a long time for this…" he said, reaching to take her hand in his, kissing it as well. "Thank you, Cissa. For putting up with me…"



"It\'s worth it…" she smiled affectionately at him.



"I want Draco to come home, Cissa. He needs to be here as well, where we can take care of him."



"How can we do that? He can\'t be told of these two yet…"



"I\'m just worried about him. His husband is always away… what if something happens to him and he is alone…?"



"He\'s consented to taking a house elf, love."



"Finally…" he grunted softly, a bit sour. "But Cissa, is that enough…? Could the elf get help in time…? Would it even know how…?"



Narcissa smiled; she had not seen such concern for her son on her husband\'s face in a long time. "I\'ve given him Toodles. She knows what to do, and she loves him dearly. You know that she would move mountains to save our son…" she assured.



Lucius sighed. "All right, Cissa…" he sighed.



She gave him a tender kiss. The baby gurgled faintly, now only chewing on the nipple. Lucius chuckled softly, gazing down at her. "She has very strong magic…"



"They were born much too soon… their lungs weren\'t developed, and from what I understand they both had problems with their hearts…"



"Severus\' potions have had an amazing effect; their lungs and all seem to be working just fine now…"



"Yes, love… they are perfect, just small…" Narcissa agreed. He gazed down at the baby, finding his heart being stolen away by the tiny baby looking up at him with drowsy unfocused eyes.



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



Angel fidgeted at Ms. Masterson\'s side, smoothing her dress nervously. In her little hand she clutched a small bouquet of flowers she\'d picked just outside the hospital. She\'d doggedly hung onto them all through the ride and now she stared up at the door of the little cottage, nervous and worried. Ms. Masterson had dressed her in this awful blue dress that the last Fosters had got for her… she didn\'t think her new parents would like it. She\'d wanted to wear the one with the flowers… and her hair wasn\'t done pretty or anything… would they really truly want to keep her…? She glanced up at Ms. Masterson, who didn\'t seem worried or flustered in the least…



Harry answered the door, smiling. "Hello… please; come in…"



"Hi…" Angel said shyly, still holding the flowers at her side, smiling up at Harry.



"Thank you… come along, Angel." Ms. Masterson said, stepping in. She was carrying a large duffel bag on one shoulder. She smiled at Harry. "She\'s been so excited; I really do hope this is her permanent home…"



"It is. I can guarantee you that she has come home for good." Harry said firmly.



"Hello, my little Angel." Draco smiled, moving into the room. "Would you like to see your new room…?"



"I… I have my OWN room…?" she asked, eyes wide, so excited and happy she was almost bouncing on her heels.



"Yes, Angel. All your own…" Draco smiled, holding out his hand to her. "Your father and I are very happy to have you home at last…"



She took his hand with a shy smile. "My home forever…? And a real daddy…?"



"Yes, your forever home. And you have two daddies. Is that all right…?"



She released his hand and flung her arms about his legs, hugging him. "Oh yes yes yes…!" she said happily



Draco hugged her back, then took her hand again and led her to the room that he and his mother had worked so hard to paint and to furnish. Little Angel gazed about, eyes wide, then looked up at Draco. She had not let go of his hand. "This room is very pretty, but… but where\'s my room, mister…?"



"This is your room, my Angel. We can change it if you don\'t like it…"



"I… I\'ve never had a room all to myself… and this room is so big…!" She murmured, gazing up at him with wide-eyed innocence.



"Well now you do." Draco smiled at her, and led her into show her all her new things.



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



Harry had remained in the living room with Ms. Masterson, settling the final details of the paperwork with the social worker.



"And sign here… and there…" she said, showing Harry where to sign. "That\'s got it… it\'s a very lovely gesture, Mr. Potter, taking little Angel in…" she smiled, gathering up the documents to slip them away.



"She\'s an answer to my prayers…" Harry answered, giving her a smile. "I know how Angel feels, you see. I was orphaned at 18 months and placed in a home where I was considered a complete outsider; I was never welcome with my aunt\'s family. I know how horrible it is to grow up on the outside and be alone. I\'ve had my fill of that and I don\'t want Angel to ever have to experience it; I want a family and I want her in it."



"The world could use more kindhearted men like you." She shook his hand and turned to go. Harry saw her to the door and closed it behind her, then turned to join his family.



Angel smiled up at him as he came in, holding out the wilted and rather battered wildflowers. "I got these for you…" she said, gazing at them a moment. The flowers seemed to heal themselves, damage undoing itself, until the flowers were whole and seemed to be freshly picked. "They told me you got me out of the river…"



"I was happy to have done it… thank you, sweetheart. They\'re beautiful…" he smiled, and then smelled them. "Ummm… smells wonderful also…"



She beamed at him, and then paused, looking a little unsure. "C\'n… Can I hug you…?" she asked timidly.



Harry scooped her up, hugging her close. "You can hug me and kiss me anytime you wish. I\'m your daddy, and you are my little Angel, now and forever…"



The little girl hugged him tight with all the strength in her little body; she\'d clearly longed to do that to someone for a long, long time. "Are you really my for real daddy…?"



"Yes, Angel… look at my eyes; see? We have the same eyes…"



She gazed at him, touching his cheek right under his eyes. "You have green eyes like me…!" she murmured.



"And you have my dark hair. And this paper here says that I am your for real daddy." He pulled the family tree out of his pocket and showed it to her as well.



She gazed at it, and then hugged him again. "Thank you…" she whispered, eyes closed tight. "I wished and I wished every day for you to find me… Mummy told me if I wished hard enough for good things, that good things would happen… please… can I always stay here and call you daddy…? Please…?"



"Yes, Angel. I would love for you to call me daddy." Harry said with a soft chuckle. "What will you call Draco…?"



She looked at Draco, unsure. "Um… I don\'t know. He\'s pretty, daddy…" she said, and Draco, who was standing next to them, chuckled softly at her evaluation of him.



"Yes, he is, isn\'t he? And guess what? He\'s going to give us a little brother…"



"A brother…?" Her eyes were wide and a little confused. "He\'s a mommy…?"



"Yes… it\'s because he\'s special, love. Just as you are special…"



"Am I…? I\'m… I\'m not evil…?" she asked in a small voice.



"You are a gift from the Goddess…" Draco smiled.



She looked at him, a bit confused. "You\'re going to be a mommy, but… I don\'t call you mommy, do I…?"



"How about you call me Papa?" Draco suggested.



"Papa… I like that…" she smiled at him. "Will you always be my daddy and Papa…?"



"Yes. No one can ever take you away from us." Draco said firmly.



She hugged Harry again. "And I can really play with all these pretty toys and dollies…?" she asked.



"As much as you like, love. They\'re your toys."



"Play with me…? Please Daddy? Please Papa…?"



Draco and Harry smiled and settled down to play with the newest addition to their household. From the shadows next to the door, Toodles looked on, bouncing on her little elfin heels with excitement. A baby girl to tend, a baby girl…!