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we3sisters
Series of ficlets: Invisible By Day, (6/?), Draco/Astoria
Title: Invisible By Day (6/?)
Pairings: Draco/Astoria, Lucius/Narcissa, assorted Greengrasses
Rating: PG13
Summary: Through hardship to the stars. The months and years post-Aftermath.
Halloween 2000
“Up!” Draco said, demonstrating by holding his hand out over his own broom. His mother would kill him when she realised what he was doing, but he was too excited not to try. He’d been waiting for this day ever since it had become apparent that Alcyone wasn’t quite the dainty little lady Narcissa wanted her to be. Now it was Ally’s birthday, and it was Halloween, and on Halloween, witches were meant to take to the skies. “Go on, Al.”
He laid his hand over his sister’s above the miniature broomstick, but that was all he could do. Alcyone would have to use her own magic to make it fly. Draco nodded at her. Enunciation wasn’t Ally’s forte yet, but this one should be easy enough. He waited, sort of bouncing in place with anticipation; Alcyone looked up at him as if he was daft.
“Up!” she said in her baby voice, and the broom flew up into her hand to a squeal of delight.
“That’s it!” Draco burst out, barely resisting the urge to whoop and jump in place. He cast a look around in the direction of the house, where his mother was entertaining her sister and Mrs Greengrass in celebration of Alcyone’s second birthday. She’d be distracted, but not enough to not notice her precious baby girl missing.
Quickly, he lifted Ally up to straddle the broom, taking care to adjust the footrests to secure her seat. He’d built this broom to the child’s measurements; it was a perfect fit. Alcyone grabbed the handle, leaning forward like she’d seen him do, and grinned. She hovered only a foot above the ground, but looking at her, one might think she was getting ready to fly a sonic boom. “Dwaco! Fly!”
Draco climbed on to his own broom, holding his wand at the ready to catch Ally if she should fall. “Yes, that’s right. Now lean forward a bit more...carefully now!” Slowly, Alcyone’s broom began to move. He’d put on charms to limit her speed and altitude, but the sudden shift forward made her wobble. Still, she regained her balance almost immediately and leaned into the movement of her broom, giggling. “Go fly!”
Draco laughed, exhilarated. The girl was a natural flier; of course she was, Ally was his sister after all. “Al, we’re going to have so much fun.”
They flew a few circles over the lawn, still hovering low enough that he could reasonably jump off his broom to catch her if she fell, but Alcyone didn’t. She bumped into him on one side and into the cushioning charm Draco had cast on the other, laughing and gasping. Her cheeks were bright pink with the cold and the excitement when Draco brought his own broom down and captured hers with a tractor spell to direct it towards the ground, too.
“No! Fly!” she pleaded, kicking her legs at the air as if to push off and soar high. “Flyyyyy...!”
The wailing finally summoned their mother, who stepped out on to the patio and let out a shriek that had Lucius bursting out of the study he’d been hiding in, too.
“Draco!” she exclaimed in the dulcet tones of a banshee, which made the ancient windowpanes rattle in their frames. “What are you doing?”
“Trying out Ally’s birthday present.” He tried to pluck Alcyone off her broom, but she hung on with hands and feet.
“Fly! Want to fly!” Ally was accustomed to getting what she wanted, and so help anyone who denied her.
Lucius observed this scene with greater equilibrium than his wife. “Well, she seems to have talent--”
“No! She is a baby! Are you trying to kill her?” Narcissa hurried over and tried to pry her daughter loose, to no avail.
Ally began to cry. It was a heartbreaking sight; she was like a beautiful cherub weeping for all the ills of the world in the painting of some Italian master, and no one had ever been able to resist her tears, no one. “Fly!” she sobbed. “Dwaco! Daddy! Daddy!”
“Now look what you’ve done!” Lucius said to his son, but he scampered off all too eagerly. “I’ll get my broom.”
“No. Are you all mad?” Narcissa tried again to lift Ally off the broom. The child wailed, but hung on to the broomstick with all her strength; Narcissa might as well have tried to tear a leg off.
Eleanor Greengrass stepped out on to the patio to see what all the commotion was about and exclaimed in shock. Astoria followed, as well as Mrs Tonks and her grandson Teddy, who gasped and whooped. “Gan-gan! I want to fly, too!”
Andromeda Tonks shot Draco a glare that burned almost like a hex. “No, Teddy, it’s too dangerous. You’re too young.”
“But Ally--” Teddy began, clutching at her skirts.
“No. Go inside, please, it’s cold,” Mrs Tonks said firmly.
“Ally, darling,” Narcissa tried when it became apparent that Alcyone would not be parted from her broomstick. “Be a good girl and listen to mama.”
“No!” The girl snuffled determinedly.
“Well, if we must, we’d better do this safely.” Lucius returned from the shed with a broom in hand, which he positioned on Ally’s other side so she was hovering between her father and Draco. “Slowly now, Ally. All right.”
They rose together to hover above the lawn. Alcyone squealed even as she knocked into her father and Draco on either side. She’d need some help steering; perhaps a pre-charmed flight pattern? Draco thought about it, laughing, as they guided the child along the house and Ally kept leaning forward trying to accelerate.
“That’s fast enough for now, Al!”
Ally was bubbling over with laughter, her baby giggles echoing through the garden. In the sitting room window, Teddy was pressing his face against the glass. A boy should have a broom, Draco thought; perhaps that could be his next project. It’d certainly make Mrs Tonks mad. On that pleasant notion, he looked to his mother, who still stood on the patio below, her wand held aloft.
Narcissa’s chin quivered. “Fine, go on and get yourselves killed. See if I care!” She flounced off into the house, Eleanor Greengrass trailing behind her. Only Astoria remained, watching the small group flying with a smile on her face.
Eventually, though, she called out, “Draco, Ally might catch cold.”
Draco had to agree that they’d done plenty of flying for a first attempt. He nodded to his father, and together they brought the brooms down low enough so Ally could jump off. She whined a little, but acquiesced when Draco promised her that they would fly again tomorrow.
“You did this,” Lucius said as they watched Alcyone scamper off towards the house. “I’m going to refuse all responsibility when Narcissa starts to flay you alive.”
“Fine,” Draco said. “Ally had fun. That’s all that matters.”
His father’s lips twitched. He picked up the miniature broom and weighed it in his hand. “Well. Your first real broomstick. It’s a toy, of course, but Ally did enjoy it. Perhaps you should think about a range of Firebolt brooms for all ages.” He went to put away the broomsticks, leaving Draco deep in thought.
“I know that face,” Astoria said when Draco joined her on the patio. “Getting ideas?”
“Always,” he said, and she laughed.
“You’ve done enough for today, I think.” She laid her hands on his chest and rose on tiptoes to kiss him. “Go to your mother, love. She’s upset.”
He groaned. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Did you see how much fun Al had?”
Astoria tilted her head from side to side. “Yes, I did. But I do feel for your mother. She’s crying.”
Draco cursed. “She’s being silly.”
“Perhaps, but this is her baby.” His girlfriend looked up at him beseechingly. “She’s crying, love.”
Muttering profanities under his breath, Draco went inside to find his mother sniffling into a handkerchief while Eleanor Greengrass patted her back and made sympathetic noises. Mrs Tonks was standing over her sister with her arms crossed, observing the scene before her with a frown.
“Mum, honestly,” Draco huffed, “You know I’d never let anything happen to Ally.”
“Why do the people I care about insist on putting themselves in danger?” Narcissa burst out. “All of you, every one, and I’m tired of it! I’m tired of the fear and the worry and no one ever worrying about me.”
“Oh, dear Narcissa, I’m sure they do,” Eleanor Greengrass said. “I’m sure Draco was just excited, he got carried away. You know how boys are.”
“Irresponsible!” Mrs Tonks scoffed. “You’re an adult, Draco, you should know better!”
Narcissa dabbed at her eyes. “Ally is just a little girl. She should be playing with her dolls.”
“But she doesn’t want to, Mum!” Draco burst out. He cast a furtive look around, but Ally and Teddy had gone to play in the next room. “She doesn’t like the little tea parties or the frilly dresses or any of it! You do!”
“Yes, because you encourage her to play all those boy games! Girls shouldn’t be rolling around on the floor or flying through the air.”
“Now, Narcissa, don’t be silly.” That was Mrs Tonks; Draco looked round at her, surprised. Wonders never ceased. “We know where that kind of thinking got us and Bel--, her. Girls are capable of everything boys are and more.”
“Ally is spirited,” Mrs Greengrass put in very gently, only for Narcissa to puff herself up like an angry cobra.
“This is your fault!” She stabbed a finger in the direction of her husband, who’d just stepped inside from the patio. “You’ve fathered these wild children.”
Lucius glanced around as if he expected to find someone else hiding out behind him. “My fault? The savage blood is all--” He looked at his wife, then at Mrs Tonks, and smartly refrained. “I’ll be in my study. Ladies.”
In the next room, Ally and Teddy could be heard laughing together. Draco saw his girlfriend bite back a smile and had to struggle not to grin. He sat down beside his mother, shuffling Eleanor Greengrass further along the sofa, and laid his arm carefully around Narcissa. “It’ll be all right, Mum. Why don’t you come with us tomorrow? It’s been ages since you’ve been on a broom, the fresh air might do you good.”
“It’s not fresh air I need, thank you!” Narcissa folded the handkerchief in her lap, then pulled herself together with a determined sniff. “But I suppose someone must watch over you all. That has always fallen to me.”
“You bear heavy burdens indeed,” Mrs Tonks huffed, which thankfully shifted Narcissa’s ire to her. The two witches began to squabble, which left Draco free to slink off to join the children in the playroom, Astoria following shortly.
Teddy and Alcyone were building towers of wooden blocks, competing to raise them higher and higher without toppling. Ally was at a disadvantage being younger and shorter, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in determination. She frowned darkly whenever her tower fell while Teddy simply laughed and started over.
“He’s such an easygoing child,” Astoria smiled, sitting down on the floor to watch the children play. She patted the rug next to her, so Draco had no choice but to suffer the indignity of folding himself up beside her, too.
“That, or a little daft,” he said quietly so Teddy wouldn’t hear him.
“That’s not a nice thing to say about a little kid,” she pointed out in her matter-of-fact way, and Draco felt duly chastised.
“Ally’s tower is better,” he said just to be contrary, but caught Teddy’s tower when it next began to sway and put it back upright with the help of a charm. “What? It would’ve fallen on you.”
Astoria’s smile deepened, showing her dimples. “Today went well, all things considered, don’t you think? No one got killed.”
“The day’s not over.” Draco tilted his head towards the sitting room, where his mother and her sister were still bickering back and forth. “But I suppose Ally had a nice birthday. Didn’t you, Al? You spoiled little brat.” He reached out to ruffle her hair when Ally toddled over to plonk herself down in his lap. She yawned and nestled close, offering up a small wooden dragon which Draco recognised as one of his toys. “Did you steal that from my old room, Al? If you ever go in there again, I’ll hex your nose off.”
Ally giggled. “Dwagon fly!” She pointed at her tower, and Draco dutifully sent the dragon flying up to land at the top, guarding the realm of Alcyone’s playroom. The girl smiled, satisfied, then promptly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Draco suffered this with some indignation as Astoria laughed. “You’re such a good brother.”
“Well, that goes without saying. I’m the best.” He looked down at the sleeping child, who lay in perfect repose like the fragile porcelain figurine of an angel. She’d go on to fool the whole world, Draco thought, and had to smile. “I don’t know why I put up with the little pest.”
“Hm.” Astoria reached out to squeeze his hand, and together they sat watching Teddy build a castle around them. They were almost walled in with no chance for escape when she said, “How many children of your own do you want?”
Draco choked on his own spit and coughed. He looked over at his girlfriend, finding her looking at him with perfect sweetness, except that her cheeks twitched where the dimples were hiding. “Who says I want any of the little monsters?”
She looked to Ally, amused. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was making assumptions. Won’t happen again.”
Feeling as if he’d been caught at something embarrassing, he shrugged. “Do you need an exact number? Right now?”
“No. But now quickly becomes then. I just believe people should think about these things. I mean, just look at Daphne and Theo. Not that there’s anything wrong with how they went about starting their family--”
Draco snorted out a laugh. “Oh, stop, everything’s wrong with them.”
She smiled. “I’m just curious.”
A planner’s what she was, Draco thought, trying to stop squirming and hold her eyes. It wasn’t that he hadn’t envisioned a future with her, but he didn’t know if his sketch of it matched the picture inside her head, and he didn’t want to get this wrong. “Well, you tell me.”
“I’ve thought about it,” she said, which came as no surprise at all. “Two is a nice, even number, don’t you think?”
He mulled it over, then shrugged. “I suppose I don’t really care as long as one’s a boy.” Astoria arched an eyebrow at him, and he hurried on, “The Malfoy line must go on, too many of the old pureblood families have died out, haven’t they.”
She tilted her head from side to side, thoughtful. “But what if you end up with only girls?”
“Then I suppose I’ll want more until a boy comes along.”
Astoria burst out laughing. “Oh dear! You might be in for it then!”
“No. Malfoys only make boys.” At least it had been that way for generations. He looked down at the sleeping child in his arms. “Ally’s a freak of nature.”
“You know, I think I agree,” Astoria said, still chuckling. “Just in this one instance, it might be best to wait and see.”
And so they would.
Pairings: Draco/Astoria, Lucius/Narcissa, assorted Greengrasses
Rating: PG13
Summary: Through hardship to the stars. The months and years post-Aftermath.
Halloween 2000
“Up!” Draco said, demonstrating by holding his hand out over his own broom. His mother would kill him when she realised what he was doing, but he was too excited not to try. He’d been waiting for this day ever since it had become apparent that Alcyone wasn’t quite the dainty little lady Narcissa wanted her to be. Now it was Ally’s birthday, and it was Halloween, and on Halloween, witches were meant to take to the skies. “Go on, Al.”
He laid his hand over his sister’s above the miniature broomstick, but that was all he could do. Alcyone would have to use her own magic to make it fly. Draco nodded at her. Enunciation wasn’t Ally’s forte yet, but this one should be easy enough. He waited, sort of bouncing in place with anticipation; Alcyone looked up at him as if he was daft.
“Up!” she said in her baby voice, and the broom flew up into her hand to a squeal of delight.
“That’s it!” Draco burst out, barely resisting the urge to whoop and jump in place. He cast a look around in the direction of the house, where his mother was entertaining her sister and Mrs Greengrass in celebration of Alcyone’s second birthday. She’d be distracted, but not enough to not notice her precious baby girl missing.
Quickly, he lifted Ally up to straddle the broom, taking care to adjust the footrests to secure her seat. He’d built this broom to the child’s measurements; it was a perfect fit. Alcyone grabbed the handle, leaning forward like she’d seen him do, and grinned. She hovered only a foot above the ground, but looking at her, one might think she was getting ready to fly a sonic boom. “Dwaco! Fly!”
Draco climbed on to his own broom, holding his wand at the ready to catch Ally if she should fall. “Yes, that’s right. Now lean forward a bit more...carefully now!” Slowly, Alcyone’s broom began to move. He’d put on charms to limit her speed and altitude, but the sudden shift forward made her wobble. Still, she regained her balance almost immediately and leaned into the movement of her broom, giggling. “Go fly!”
Draco laughed, exhilarated. The girl was a natural flier; of course she was, Ally was his sister after all. “Al, we’re going to have so much fun.”
They flew a few circles over the lawn, still hovering low enough that he could reasonably jump off his broom to catch her if she fell, but Alcyone didn’t. She bumped into him on one side and into the cushioning charm Draco had cast on the other, laughing and gasping. Her cheeks were bright pink with the cold and the excitement when Draco brought his own broom down and captured hers with a tractor spell to direct it towards the ground, too.
“No! Fly!” she pleaded, kicking her legs at the air as if to push off and soar high. “Flyyyyy...!”
The wailing finally summoned their mother, who stepped out on to the patio and let out a shriek that had Lucius bursting out of the study he’d been hiding in, too.
“Draco!” she exclaimed in the dulcet tones of a banshee, which made the ancient windowpanes rattle in their frames. “What are you doing?”
“Trying out Ally’s birthday present.” He tried to pluck Alcyone off her broom, but she hung on with hands and feet.
“Fly! Want to fly!” Ally was accustomed to getting what she wanted, and so help anyone who denied her.
Lucius observed this scene with greater equilibrium than his wife. “Well, she seems to have talent--”
“No! She is a baby! Are you trying to kill her?” Narcissa hurried over and tried to pry her daughter loose, to no avail.
Ally began to cry. It was a heartbreaking sight; she was like a beautiful cherub weeping for all the ills of the world in the painting of some Italian master, and no one had ever been able to resist her tears, no one. “Fly!” she sobbed. “Dwaco! Daddy! Daddy!”
“Now look what you’ve done!” Lucius said to his son, but he scampered off all too eagerly. “I’ll get my broom.”
“No. Are you all mad?” Narcissa tried again to lift Ally off the broom. The child wailed, but hung on to the broomstick with all her strength; Narcissa might as well have tried to tear a leg off.
Eleanor Greengrass stepped out on to the patio to see what all the commotion was about and exclaimed in shock. Astoria followed, as well as Mrs Tonks and her grandson Teddy, who gasped and whooped. “Gan-gan! I want to fly, too!”
Andromeda Tonks shot Draco a glare that burned almost like a hex. “No, Teddy, it’s too dangerous. You’re too young.”
“But Ally--” Teddy began, clutching at her skirts.
“No. Go inside, please, it’s cold,” Mrs Tonks said firmly.
“Ally, darling,” Narcissa tried when it became apparent that Alcyone would not be parted from her broomstick. “Be a good girl and listen to mama.”
“No!” The girl snuffled determinedly.
“Well, if we must, we’d better do this safely.” Lucius returned from the shed with a broom in hand, which he positioned on Ally’s other side so she was hovering between her father and Draco. “Slowly now, Ally. All right.”
They rose together to hover above the lawn. Alcyone squealed even as she knocked into her father and Draco on either side. She’d need some help steering; perhaps a pre-charmed flight pattern? Draco thought about it, laughing, as they guided the child along the house and Ally kept leaning forward trying to accelerate.
“That’s fast enough for now, Al!”
Ally was bubbling over with laughter, her baby giggles echoing through the garden. In the sitting room window, Teddy was pressing his face against the glass. A boy should have a broom, Draco thought; perhaps that could be his next project. It’d certainly make Mrs Tonks mad. On that pleasant notion, he looked to his mother, who still stood on the patio below, her wand held aloft.
Narcissa’s chin quivered. “Fine, go on and get yourselves killed. See if I care!” She flounced off into the house, Eleanor Greengrass trailing behind her. Only Astoria remained, watching the small group flying with a smile on her face.
Eventually, though, she called out, “Draco, Ally might catch cold.”
Draco had to agree that they’d done plenty of flying for a first attempt. He nodded to his father, and together they brought the brooms down low enough so Ally could jump off. She whined a little, but acquiesced when Draco promised her that they would fly again tomorrow.
“You did this,” Lucius said as they watched Alcyone scamper off towards the house. “I’m going to refuse all responsibility when Narcissa starts to flay you alive.”
“Fine,” Draco said. “Ally had fun. That’s all that matters.”
His father’s lips twitched. He picked up the miniature broom and weighed it in his hand. “Well. Your first real broomstick. It’s a toy, of course, but Ally did enjoy it. Perhaps you should think about a range of Firebolt brooms for all ages.” He went to put away the broomsticks, leaving Draco deep in thought.
“I know that face,” Astoria said when Draco joined her on the patio. “Getting ideas?”
“Always,” he said, and she laughed.
“You’ve done enough for today, I think.” She laid her hands on his chest and rose on tiptoes to kiss him. “Go to your mother, love. She’s upset.”
He groaned. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Did you see how much fun Al had?”
Astoria tilted her head from side to side. “Yes, I did. But I do feel for your mother. She’s crying.”
Draco cursed. “She’s being silly.”
“Perhaps, but this is her baby.” His girlfriend looked up at him beseechingly. “She’s crying, love.”
Muttering profanities under his breath, Draco went inside to find his mother sniffling into a handkerchief while Eleanor Greengrass patted her back and made sympathetic noises. Mrs Tonks was standing over her sister with her arms crossed, observing the scene before her with a frown.
“Mum, honestly,” Draco huffed, “You know I’d never let anything happen to Ally.”
“Why do the people I care about insist on putting themselves in danger?” Narcissa burst out. “All of you, every one, and I’m tired of it! I’m tired of the fear and the worry and no one ever worrying about me.”
“Oh, dear Narcissa, I’m sure they do,” Eleanor Greengrass said. “I’m sure Draco was just excited, he got carried away. You know how boys are.”
“Irresponsible!” Mrs Tonks scoffed. “You’re an adult, Draco, you should know better!”
Narcissa dabbed at her eyes. “Ally is just a little girl. She should be playing with her dolls.”
“But she doesn’t want to, Mum!” Draco burst out. He cast a furtive look around, but Ally and Teddy had gone to play in the next room. “She doesn’t like the little tea parties or the frilly dresses or any of it! You do!”
“Yes, because you encourage her to play all those boy games! Girls shouldn’t be rolling around on the floor or flying through the air.”
“Now, Narcissa, don’t be silly.” That was Mrs Tonks; Draco looked round at her, surprised. Wonders never ceased. “We know where that kind of thinking got us and Bel--, her. Girls are capable of everything boys are and more.”
“Ally is spirited,” Mrs Greengrass put in very gently, only for Narcissa to puff herself up like an angry cobra.
“This is your fault!” She stabbed a finger in the direction of her husband, who’d just stepped inside from the patio. “You’ve fathered these wild children.”
Lucius glanced around as if he expected to find someone else hiding out behind him. “My fault? The savage blood is all--” He looked at his wife, then at Mrs Tonks, and smartly refrained. “I’ll be in my study. Ladies.”
In the next room, Ally and Teddy could be heard laughing together. Draco saw his girlfriend bite back a smile and had to struggle not to grin. He sat down beside his mother, shuffling Eleanor Greengrass further along the sofa, and laid his arm carefully around Narcissa. “It’ll be all right, Mum. Why don’t you come with us tomorrow? It’s been ages since you’ve been on a broom, the fresh air might do you good.”
“It’s not fresh air I need, thank you!” Narcissa folded the handkerchief in her lap, then pulled herself together with a determined sniff. “But I suppose someone must watch over you all. That has always fallen to me.”
“You bear heavy burdens indeed,” Mrs Tonks huffed, which thankfully shifted Narcissa’s ire to her. The two witches began to squabble, which left Draco free to slink off to join the children in the playroom, Astoria following shortly.
Teddy and Alcyone were building towers of wooden blocks, competing to raise them higher and higher without toppling. Ally was at a disadvantage being younger and shorter, but what she lacked in height, she made up for in determination. She frowned darkly whenever her tower fell while Teddy simply laughed and started over.
“He’s such an easygoing child,” Astoria smiled, sitting down on the floor to watch the children play. She patted the rug next to her, so Draco had no choice but to suffer the indignity of folding himself up beside her, too.
“That, or a little daft,” he said quietly so Teddy wouldn’t hear him.
“That’s not a nice thing to say about a little kid,” she pointed out in her matter-of-fact way, and Draco felt duly chastised.
“Ally’s tower is better,” he said just to be contrary, but caught Teddy’s tower when it next began to sway and put it back upright with the help of a charm. “What? It would’ve fallen on you.”
Astoria’s smile deepened, showing her dimples. “Today went well, all things considered, don’t you think? No one got killed.”
“The day’s not over.” Draco tilted his head towards the sitting room, where his mother and her sister were still bickering back and forth. “But I suppose Ally had a nice birthday. Didn’t you, Al? You spoiled little brat.” He reached out to ruffle her hair when Ally toddled over to plonk herself down in his lap. She yawned and nestled close, offering up a small wooden dragon which Draco recognised as one of his toys. “Did you steal that from my old room, Al? If you ever go in there again, I’ll hex your nose off.”
Ally giggled. “Dwagon fly!” She pointed at her tower, and Draco dutifully sent the dragon flying up to land at the top, guarding the realm of Alcyone’s playroom. The girl smiled, satisfied, then promptly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Draco suffered this with some indignation as Astoria laughed. “You’re such a good brother.”
“Well, that goes without saying. I’m the best.” He looked down at the sleeping child, who lay in perfect repose like the fragile porcelain figurine of an angel. She’d go on to fool the whole world, Draco thought, and had to smile. “I don’t know why I put up with the little pest.”
“Hm.” Astoria reached out to squeeze his hand, and together they sat watching Teddy build a castle around them. They were almost walled in with no chance for escape when she said, “How many children of your own do you want?”
Draco choked on his own spit and coughed. He looked over at his girlfriend, finding her looking at him with perfect sweetness, except that her cheeks twitched where the dimples were hiding. “Who says I want any of the little monsters?”
She looked to Ally, amused. “Oh, I’m sorry. I was making assumptions. Won’t happen again.”
Feeling as if he’d been caught at something embarrassing, he shrugged. “Do you need an exact number? Right now?”
“No. But now quickly becomes then. I just believe people should think about these things. I mean, just look at Daphne and Theo. Not that there’s anything wrong with how they went about starting their family--”
Draco snorted out a laugh. “Oh, stop, everything’s wrong with them.”
She smiled. “I’m just curious.”
A planner’s what she was, Draco thought, trying to stop squirming and hold her eyes. It wasn’t that he hadn’t envisioned a future with her, but he didn’t know if his sketch of it matched the picture inside her head, and he didn’t want to get this wrong. “Well, you tell me.”
“I’ve thought about it,” she said, which came as no surprise at all. “Two is a nice, even number, don’t you think?”
He mulled it over, then shrugged. “I suppose I don’t really care as long as one’s a boy.” Astoria arched an eyebrow at him, and he hurried on, “The Malfoy line must go on, too many of the old pureblood families have died out, haven’t they.”
She tilted her head from side to side, thoughtful. “But what if you end up with only girls?”
“Then I suppose I’ll want more until a boy comes along.”
Astoria burst out laughing. “Oh dear! You might be in for it then!”
“No. Malfoys only make boys.” At least it had been that way for generations. He looked down at the sleeping child in his arms. “Ally’s a freak of nature.”
“You know, I think I agree,” Astoria said, still chuckling. “Just in this one instance, it might be best to wait and see.”
And so they would.