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Of Lions And Lambs - Part Four	By : Marblez Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 9326 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Twilight and I will not make any profit from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter Ten

            Striding confidently down to the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley Narcissa ignored the looks that she and her husband were getting, it was to be expected given that they hadn’t stepped foot in Wizarding London in over a year.
            Nothing could ruin her day.
            That morning they had received the first letter from their son since they had moved back into the Manor, a letter full of joyous news (the birth of Edward and Bella’s daughter, Renesmee and the successful transition of his muggle friend from human to vampire) and the reassurance that Draco and Harry were both taking care of themselves and their unborn children.
            Of course this wonderful news could mean only one thing;
            It was time to go shopping.
Stepping into Twilfitt & Tattings alongside her husband she bypassed what she had once considered to be her favourite section of the shop, the high end witches and wizards fashion and instead made her way across to the stairs which would take her up to the floor dedicated to children’s clothing.
            This deviation from her previous routine didn’t go unnoticed.
            “Can I help you, Mrs Malfoy?”
            “No, thank you,” she murmured, offering the young Sales Witch a smile before continuing up the narrow stairs. “Everything’s fine.”
            Ignoring the beautiful clothes designed for older children Narcissa made her way over to the large section of the floor dedicated to babies and toddlers.
            Lucius sighed.
            He could remember what his wife had been like when they were expecting Draco all those years ago, the amount of time spent agonising over each and every piece of clothing she purchased for their baby boy.
            Back then the choice had been a lot more limited.
            Now on the other hand there seemed to be dozens of different designers that were dedicated to clothing the children of fashionable witches and wizards.
            “Oh!”
            Narcissa hurried over to the display of Size-Adjusting Baby-Grows, rummaging through the stand before picking out one that she found particularly adorable…and then another one…and another one…and another…
            Her husband took them from her, hanging them over his arm.
            Soon they had quite a collection of Size-Adjusting Baby-Grows in various styles and colours as well as a mixture of patterns and designed that would be suitable for both boys and girls.
            Next his wife moved onto the display of Stain Resistant Clothes which she made sure to pair with the correct Self-Fitting Baby Shoes, then the Keep-You-Warm Hats, Gloves and Socks that she announced were both entirely practical and absolutely adorable before finally arriving at the formal Baby Robes.
            Draco had had something similar that he’d worn on special occasions.
            “Now for the accessories…” she murmured before crossing to the other side of the baby and toddler section where everything was laid out on three large tables.
            She chose three of the Colour Changing Blankets, pressing each one to her cheek in her search for the perfect level of softness before moving on to choosing a Stay-Clean Cuddly Animal for each of them;
            A Hippogriff for Teddy.
            A Unicorn for Renesmee.
            An Owl for Harry’s baby.
            And a Phoenix for Draco’s baby.
            Taking a final look around the various sections of the department Narcissa sighed happily, nodding to herself as she decided that, yes, she had everything she needed from this particular shop.
            “I take it that means we’re done here?” Lucius murmured with a smile.
            Narcissa nodded.
            They made their way down the narrow staircase to the ground floor of the shop, handing over the items they wished to purchase to the over-eager sales witch who hurried across to the magical till where she began ringing everything through.
            “Ok, Mrs Malfoy, that’ll be 92 Galleons and 10 Sickles.”
            Once their items were paid for they were smartly wrapped in the finest green tissue paper, tied with a smart silver ribbon and placed in a series of brown paper bags bearing the shops logo.
            “Will you be taking your purchases with you, Mrs Malfoy?”
            Narcissa shook her head.
            “No thank you. Foxton?” she called softly, smiling as her most loyal house elf appeared with a pop, bowing before his Master and Mistress.
            “Mistress called for Foxton?”
            “Yes, Foxton,” Narcissa responded brightly. “Would you be so kind as to take our purchases back to the Manor?”
            “Of course, Mistress,” Foxton responded eagerly.
            With a simple snap of his finger the bags were gone.
            “Would Mistress like Foxton to unpack her purchases?” the house elf asked.
            “No thank you, Foxton,” Narcissa responded. “Just leave them in the bags for now. We may call on your services again in a little while.”
            Foxton nodded and then with a click of his little fingers he was gone.
            It was as they were making their way along the busy alley towards Slug & Jiggers Apothecary that they picked up an unwanted follower.
            Rita Skeeter.
            A bell jingled above the door of the shop as they stepped inside.
            “Mr Malfoy! Mrs Malfoy!” the young wizard manning the counter gasped loudly in shock. “How…how can I help you this morning?”
            “I’d like to see whatever stock you have in for expectant mothers and young children please,” Narcissa requested calmly, patting the top of the counter. “Also I’d like to place a standing order for blood pops.”
            “R-Right…” the young wizard murmured, spinning on the spot and summoning dozens of products to the counter from shelves all around the shop. “We have nutritional potions for both expectant mothers, babies and toddlers,” he explained, gesturing to each of the potions in turn. “Then we have the standard healing potions, also for expectant mothers, babies and toddlers.”
            Narcissa nodded.
            “Yes, we’ll take all of those,” she murmured offhandedly, ignoring the wizards shocked expression as she picked up a large pot of light green cream, sniffing it as she asked, “What is this?”
            “The finest stretch mark removal cream money can buy.”
            Narcissa hummed thoughtfully.
            “I’ll take five, if you’ve got that many in stock at the moment.”
            Turning on the spot the young wizard manually collected four more tubs of the cream, placing them down on the counter with the rest of her purchases before moving onto explaining the next items on the counter.
            “Stay-Cold Teething Rings,” he explained, picking one up out of the little packet and handing it to her. “It offers constant relief to the child by remaining a steady temperature as decided by the parent. And then these are our range of dummies that change in both flavour and colour as they are sucked.”
            “We’ll take six of the Stay-Cold Teething Rings and one of each flavour of the dummies,” Narcissa announced with a smile, turning to face her husband. “I wish they’d had these when Draco was little – he’d have loved them.”
            Setting up the standing order for the Cullen’s blood drops took little more than a wave of her wand and soon they were exiting the shop arm in arm, their purchases paid for and on their way back to the Manor with Foxton.
            “Is there anywhere else you would like to visit, my dear?” Lucius enquired.
            “Perhaps–”
            Narcissa’s response was cut off by a remarkably cheerful cry,
“Mrs Malfoy!”
            She wasn’t the only one to turn towards the owner of the voice, her initial frown quickly morphing into a pleased smile as she saw the familiar figure of George Weasley hurrying towards them, a beautiful young woman on his arms.
            “Mr Weasley. Mrs Weasley.”
            George scoffed loudly.
            “Mr Weasley is my father,” he laughed, smiling brightly down at her. “And my brother…brothers…could get bloody confusing…let’s stick to George, shall we?”
            “And its Angelina,” his companion spoke up. “I’m his wife, not his mother.”
            “George,” Narcissa conceded. “Angelina.”
            “Much better!” George cried out cheerfully, dropping his wife’s arm so that he could dart around the statuesque blond witch and slide his arm through hers. “Now how about you join us for a cup of tea?”
            A shocked murmur spread through the crowd around them.
            Angelina actually glared at a couple of her old school friends before offering her arm to Lucius, raising her eyes to him as gently took hold of her elbow.
            “Ignore them,” she advised him as both she and her husband began leading the way to their shop at the far end of the alley. “They’re just being idiots.”
            The confident young couple led the slightly shell-shocked couple into their shop, chatting brightly the whole way, and up into their private flat above the shop.
            “So how are Draco and the others?” George asked as his wife moved into the kitchen to start making the offered cups of tea. “Still following our excellent example and causing as much trouble as possible?”
            Narcissa chuckled.
            “Oh, yes, that sounds about right,” she murmured, sliding smoothly into the seat offered to her at the simple kitchen table. Her husband took the seat next to her while George dropped heavily down into the one at the head of the table. “Our son has recently discovered that he’s pregnant.”
            George’s initial response of congratulations was somewhat drowned out by her husband snapping somewhat sharply at her,
            “Narcissa. We should wait until Draco and Jasper make their official announcement before informing everyone.”
            “Oh, don’t be silly my dear,” Narcissa scoffed affectionately. “George and Angelina aren’t exactly everyone, are they? They’re Harry’s friends and I’m sure they’re perfectly capable of keeping a secret.”
            "Congratulations!" Angelina all but squealed as she hurried into the main room so that she could carefully place the heavy tray down onto the spotless table top. "You must be so pleased. This will be your first grandchild, won't it?"
            Narcissa nodded, “First and probably last,” she responded equally as brightly, helping the younger witch to serve everyone a cup of tea from the delicate looking teapot. "And you're right, we're very pleased. And excited. Very excited. Hence this impromptu shopping excursion for baby things."
"Oh! What did you find?" Angelina asked eagerly, pulling her chair closer to the older witch's so that they could lean their heads together as they discussed the wonderful purchases that Narcissa had made.
            Glancing to his left Lucius met the twinkling brown eyes of his host, discretely rolling his eyes as the two women began squealing over the blankets of all things.
            "I saw that, Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa murmured somewhat threateningly before returning to the bright conversation as if nothing had happened.
Lucius smiled into his tea cup – it was wonderful to see his wife so animated after too many years of quiet subservience.
It was like stepping back into time to the moment he fell in love with her.
"You've got that look," George murmured into his own tea cup.
Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow.
"That Merlin-I-love-this-woman look," the younger wizard explained with a somewhat cheeky grin. "Never thought I'd see a Malfoy so open with their feelings. It's good. You should do it more often."
Lucius suppressed a grimace.
It had been years since he had considered himself to be an open person.
"Women like a man who's in touch with his feelings," George continued brightly, reaching out to snag a bourbon biscuit from the plate. "Just not too much. No one wants a cry baby, after all."
“Since when are you an expert in what women like?” Angelina asked, resting her chin on her hand as she shot her husband a rather bemused smile. “Might I ask who out of the four people in this room thought it would be romantic to put an exploding cupid in their partner’s valentine’s card?"
Lucius choked on his tea.
"I wasn’t thinking of me – I was thinking of Bill, actually, and the way he is with Fleur,” George laughed brightly before turning to his wife with a mixture of hurt and confusion on his face, both pretend of course. “And what do you mean cupids not romantic? Cupid is most definitely romantic!"
"Cupid is only romantic when he remains whole," Angelina pointed out with a significant amount of emphasis. "My husband is right however, it is nice to see you opening up a little bit more. Both of you."
"It's nice to be able to open up a bit more," Narcissa admitted, carefully adding a sugar cube to her cup of tea. "I think our time away from England has done us some good, has allowed us to come to term with...things."
Angelina nodded.
"At least I tried to be romantic," George muttered, his brain still stuck on that part of the conversation. "Unlike some people I can think of."
"I hope you're not insinuating that your wife is incapable of being romantic because I doubt that very much indeed," Narcissa responded, pressing her lips tightly and fixing the younger man with a stern look.
"Not my Angie," George agreed quickly, smiling at his wife. "Ron."
Angelina groaned.
"Oh, Merlin, yes," she giggled, clapping her hands together. "You're little brother truly is completely hopeless when it come to romance."
"What was that phrase she used?" George asked, clicking his finger as he tried to jump start his memory. "You know, the one Harry told us about..."
Angelina giggled.
            “The emotional range of a teaspoon…” she murmured, still smiling as she reached out to help herself to a custard cream from the plate she’d left on the tray. “And if that’s not an apt description of my brother-in-law I don’t know what is.”
            The Malfoy’s ended up staying for nearly an hour with the younger couple, sharing more cups of tea than Lucius cared to think about and moving from subject to subject in a conversation that was as pleasant as it was varied.
            By the time they decided to return home they had received an open invitation to call on their new friends whenever they liked, a request from Angelina for artistic assistance with her latest project of fixing up their little flat and a gift of their own for each of the children.
            “…what exactly are they?” Narcissa asked, peering into the little cage George had placed in the centre of the table. “And are they safe for children?”
            Angelina smiled.
            “They’re called Pygmy Puffs,” she explained, opening the top of the cage and removing the dark purple ball of fluff, holding it in the palm of her hand. “They’re miniature Puffskeins and completely harmless.”
            Massaging the little ball of fluff with the tips of her fingers caused the little thing to visibly tremble and emit a soft purring sound like that of a kitten.
            “What do they eat?” Lucius asked.
            “It’s an omnivore, same as Puffskeins, but they are particularly fond of lettuce,” George answered calmly, well versed in this particular items sales pitch. “Ironically the pink ones are male and the purple are female. They’re resilient little creatures so good for children as they can be squeezed to hard, dropped from great heights and stepped on and they won’t be hurt. Just a little upset.”
            “Which is easily fixed by a little petting,” Angelina added with a smile, passing the little bundle of fluff over to Narcissa who immediately took to running her fingers through the soft fur. “They’re really very lovable which is why they’re so popular.”
            Narcissa could see why.
            Returning the Pygmy Puff to the little cage the older couple bid farewell to their hosts, shaking hands and kissing cheeks before Apparating home.
            “What a wonderful day,” Narcissa sighed happily as she handed her designer grey coat to Foxton, running her fingers through her hair before heading into the library. “I think I shall reply to Draco’s letter now and arrange for a good day to visit.”
            Lucius murmured his agreement, handing first the little cage of Pygmy Puffs and then his own smart black coat to Binky, and then headed up to the sanctuary that was his library so that he could recover from his rather exhausting day.

~ * ~ * ~

            “Mother,” Draco murmured with a smile, rising from his seat when his parents appeared in the centre of the room to press a soft kiss to her cheek.
            “Draco, dearest, you’re looking well,” Narcissa murmured, pressing her own kiss to her sons cheek as her hand slipped down to rest against his stomach. “I’m so pleased to see that you’re taking it easy. We must look after this little treasure.”
            Already he was beginning to lose the toned figure he had worked so hard to maintain, she noticed with a fond smile, his still flat stomach looking much softer than ever before underneath his simple black t-shirt.
            “And Harry, my dear, you look positively radiant,” she murmured as she pulled away from her son, turned her attention to the heavily pregnant young man reclining on the other sofa with his little son snuggled up to his side. “And Teddy, don’t you look ever so grown up?”
            Teddy gasped loudly, recognising the visitors almost immediately, and launched himself off of the sofa so that he could stumble over to throw his little arms around her legs with a cry of happiness, his hair changing colour to match hers.
            “Missed you!” he cried out loudly. “Lots!”
            “Oh, I missed you too, little one,” she responded, reaching down in order to pick him up with practised ease, settling on her hip so that she could smother his face in kisses making him giggle happily. “Have you been taking care of your daddy?”
            “Uh huh,” he agreed, nodding vigorously. “And Unca Dwaco.”
            “And Uncle Draco!” she responded dramatically, bouncing him in her arms as she turned to smile at her son. “What a responsible boy you are!”
            Teddy’s little chest puffed out with pride making everyone smile fondly.
            “What have you got there, father?” Draco asked with a slight frown as he
noticed the collection of shopping bags and parcels surrounding his father’s feet.
            “Gifts,” Lucius answered simply.
            “Gifts?”
            “Yes,” Narcissa said, smiling around at the startled expressions as she hurried over to the collection of bags, still carrying the little boy on her hip with practised ease. “For the new arrival and the two arrivals still to come.”
            Harry’s jaw dropped open in surprise as she leaned down to pick up one of the three large bags, carrying it over to drop it down into his lap with a happy smile before returning to pick up a second bag which she handed to her son.
            “It’s just a few little things…”
            “Mother, this bag has an extension charm on it,” Draco pointed out just as Alice stepped into the room, pulling Edward and Bella in after her the former carrying their little baby girl. “By definition that means that…”
            “Bella! Congratulations!” Narcissa cried, hurrying across the room with Teddy bouncing on her hip. Kissing the newborn vampire on the cheek she turned her attention to the bundle of joy twisting around in her father’s arms to look up at the strange new face. “Isn’t she absolutely precious?”
            Much to the shock of everyone in the room Narcissa handed a giggling Teddy over to Bella so that her arms were free to pluck Renesmee out of her father’s arms.
            “Oh! Aren’t you just the most adorable little girl I’ve ever seen…” she cooed down at the baby now snuggling happily into her shoulder, her little fist taking hold of the delicate looking fabric around the neckline of the witches dress.
            Harry chuckled softly.
            If the rest of the Wizarding World could see this now…they’d probably think she was under some sort of enchantment it was so out of character for her.
            Only it wasn’t.
            Not really.
            He still considered himself to be extremely fortunate to have the chance to see beneath the mask she had been forced to wear for so long.
            Bella had yet to lose her slightly panicked look, her blood red gaze fixed firmly on her baby girl even as she balanced a wriggling toddler on her hip.
            “And so big! I know you said she was aging at an impossible rate, Draco, but this is truly remarkable,” Narcissa continued, using her free hand to tickle Renesmee’s tummy forcing a cherubic giggle to burst out of the little girl’s mouth. “You must be so pleased. And proud.”
            This last bit was aimed at the currently worried parents of the child in question, Edwards’s hands moving to rest on his wife’s shoulders.
            “Be careful she doesn’t bite you, Mrs Malfoy,” Carlisle murmured from across the room where he and Esme had been observing the scene. “We’ve determined that although her bite isn’t venomous like ours her teeth are still razor sharp.”
            “Oh, she wouldn’t bite me,” Narcissa laughed, returning her attention to the smiling baby. “She’s much too well behaved for that, aren’t you?”
            Everyone watched in silence as Renesmee’s free hand reached up towards the blonde witches face. Laughing brightly Narcissa pretended to nibble at the little fingers, earning another breath taking laugh from Renesmee.
            Draco could practically feel the jealousy radiating off of Rosalie.
            Lucius stepped forwards.
            “May I be permitted to offer my own congratulations on the birth of your daughter,” he murmured softly, offering his hand to the proud father.
            “Thank you,” Edward responded, his voice equally as soft as he reached out to shake the offered hand despite his eyes never leaving his daughter.
            “I’ve brought you lots of wonderful presents,” Narcissa informed her charge happily, holding the little girls wrist as she pressed a kiss to her tiny little fingers.
            “Presents?” Bella asked from where she stood still holding a wiggling Teddy, her eyes going wide as Draco pointed towards the last of the gift bags.
            “We’ve already had ours,” he explained, holding up an adorable little baby grow made of the softest grey fabric he’d ever felt and sporting a hand stitched image of the three Quidditch Hoops along with the words ‘I’m A Keeper.’
            “Some of yours,” Narcissa corrected without looking up at him.
            “Some? Mother!” Draco protested as Jacob finally moved to rescue Teddy from Bella’s arms. “What did you do, buy out the entire shop?”
            “No, I did not buy out the entire shop thank you very much,” Narcissa tutted sharply. “And it’s only one more thing for each of you. Honestly. All this fuss just because I like to spoil the people I care about…”
            Leaning down she pressed a soft kiss to the cute little button nose.
            Of course it was at this moment that Renesmee did something remarkable, at least in the eyes of their guests who hadn’t been privy to the initial discovery.
            A little hand reached up to press her hand against Narcissa’s warm cheek.
            “Oh!” Narcissa gasped as he mind was filled with images of faces peering down at her, no, not her…at Renesmee. “Oh…that’s incredible…how…”
            “She has a gift,” Bella announced somewhat proudly.
            “Yes, I can see that,” Narcissa responded breathlessly as she was treated to an image of herself as seen through the eyes of a child. “Oh…”
            “She likes you,” Edward murmured.
            “I like you too little one,” Narcissa announced, blinking as the visions ended when Renesmee pulled her hand back, tucking it under her chin as she snuggled into Narcissa’s shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed. “I think someone’s a little bit tired.”
            “You’re warmth is making her sleepy,” Edward explained, a smile gracing his handsome features as he read his daughters mind “She likes it.”
            “So what’s the other present?” Draco asked somewhat warily as his mother began to gently rock the sleepy baby in her arms.
            Narcissa smiled.
            “Lucius?”
            Producing the cage resulted in numerous reactions all around the room as the vampires scented the new creatures for the first time and the humans took in the sight of the colourful balls of fluff.
            “Um…” Bella mumbled, frowning as she studied the contents of the cage. “You bought them…fluffy balls?”
            Emmett snorted, earning himself a smack on the arm from his mother.
            “What are they?” Carlisle enquired softly, trying to place the sweet scent filling the air. “They smell strangely familiar…”
            “They’re called Pygmy Puffs.”
            “Where’ve I heard that before?” Charlie asked from where he stood beside his possibly hyper little mate.
            “I’d be concerned if you hadn’t heard of them,” Harry piped up with a deep chuckle. “They’re one of your brother’s most popular creations.”
            “Are they…miniature Puffskeins?” Draco asked softly, rising from his chair so as to retrieve one of the creatures from the cage.
            His mother nodded.
            “They’re completely harmless whilst also being incredibly durable which makes them perfect for children,” she explained happily.
            Charlie chuckled.
            “My youngest brother, Ron, got a Puffskein for Christmas when he was about five or six,” Charlie recalled almost fondly before grimacing. “Poor thing…”
            “Poor thing?” Esme asked concerned, edging forwards alongside Carlisle to look at the pin creature purring softly in Draco’s hands as he ran his fingers through its soft fur. “Why do you say that?”
            “Fred used it for bludger practise,” Harry explained with a soft chuckle, sharing a smile with Charlie. “They may be durable but they’re not beater-proof.”
            “I can’t believe you got our children pets before they’re even born,” Draco said, rolling his eyes slightly as he carefully passed the little creature over to Harry who immediately placed it on top of his bump.
            Teddy gasped, reaching out to poke it as his hair turned the same shade of baby pink as the Pygmy Puffs fur.
            “For cub?” he asked softly.
            “That’s right, Teddy,” Harry answered proudly, reaching out to ruffle the little boys hair. “But if you’re a good boy I think you can help me look after it until cub is old enough to play with it.”
            Teddy gasped loudly.
            “Would you like that?” Harry asked.
            “Yes, please!”
            Narcissa smiled happily from where she stood in the centre of the room, a peacefully slumbering Renesmee held comfortably in her arms, thoroughly pleased that her gifts had been so well received.
            Unfortunately the happy atmosphere couldn’t last and was broken quite suddenly by Alice letting out a shocked gasp, her bright eyes going unusually wide as she witnessed her first serious vision of the day.
            “Alice? What is it?” Bella asked worriedly, her fingers positively itching from the paranoid need to snatch back her daughter.
            “That bloody woman!” Alice cried out angrily, for a moment sounding exactly like none other than Hermione Granger.
Hurrying over to the patio doors Alice pulled them open just as a beautiful snowy owl swooped down out of the sky, landing beside Harry with a soft “hoot.”
Attached to one of its legs was a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet and a note which seemed to have been hastily scribbled on a scrap of parchment.
            “Thank you,” Harry murmured to the owl as he retrieved both, reading the note first. “It’s from Hermione. Harry, that bloody woman’s done it again. Damage control may be required. Let me know how I can help. Hermione.”
            “What bloody woman?” Draco asked with a frown.
            “I can guess…” Harry muttered darkly as he unrolled the newspaper, hissing loudly as he smoothed out the pages and finally saw the article dominating the front page. “Doesn’t she have anything better to do?”
            “Who?” Draco repeated.
            “Rita Skeeter.”
            Narcissa harrumphed loudly.
            “What lies has that filthy rag printed this time?” she demanded angrily. “I swear if it’s another slanderous piece about our family I’ll…”
            “I wouldn’t call it slanderous…” Harry sighed. “But I can see what Hermione means about damage control. I think it might be time to let the cat out of the bag…”
            “What does it say?” Esme asked.
            Inhaling loudly through his nose Harry cleared his throat and began to read,
            “Baby Joy for Lady Malfoy?
It has been many years since Narcissa Malfoy, wife of the infamous Lucius Malfoy, has been the subject of anything as trivial as a pregnancy rumour and yet this intrepid reporter can confirm that this is just that.
The 39-year-old witch was seen shopping with her husband of 20 years for such items as Stain Resistant Clothes, Self-Fitting Baby Shoes, Baby Robes, Colour Changing Blankets and Stay-Clean Cuddly Animals just the other day in Diagon Alley.
Could it be that Lord and Lady Malfoy are expecting to hear to pitter-patter of tiny feet sometime in the near future?
“I couldn't believe it when they went up to the children's department," Jemima Rockford, 19-year-old Sales Witch at Twilfitt & Tattings, told me shortly after the incident in question. "They were up there for almost two hours."
When asked what the couple purchased she replied,
"Everything. Literally, you name it, they bought it. And not just one of everything either. It was like they were buying enough to fill an entire wardrobe."
Lady Malfoy did little to conceal her slender figure in her figure hugging grey coat with its asymmetrical chunky black buttons and stylishly turned up collar and cuffs although we all know that a good concealment charm can be very deceiving.
Her blonde hair was worn loose down her back with the front strands pinned back from her face, accentuating the sharp lines of her jaw and cheekbones with a degree of precision that we have come to expect from this glamorous witch.
"They looked really happy together," Anastasia Klump, 61-year-old owner of Rosa Lee Teabag, the well-known tea shop, recalled having seen Lord and Lady Malfoy entering Slug & Jiggers Apothecary where they reportedly bought numerous potions suitable for both mother and baby. "I remember when they had their first little boy. They had the same look then."
After visiting the Apothecary the happy couple were joined by George Weasley, owner and founder of the popular joke shop ‘Weasleys Wizard Wheezes’ and his wife of almost two years Angelina.
Mr Weasley refused to comment.
            “I don’t see what business it is of yours but we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon together,” his wife told this reporter. “The first of many, I hope. I find them to be much better company than some people I could mention.”
            When asked if she had anything to say about the pregnancy rumours currently circling her new friends the young Mrs Weasley refused to comment.
            Could this be a confirmation in disguise?
            Could a new Malfoy heir be on the way?
            You’ll read it here first.”
            “Ah…” Narcissa mumbled, breaking the silence that had settled over the room following the contents of the article. “It would appear that we are the ones at fault this time for not being careful enough. You have our apologies, Harry…”
            “No!” Harry all but shouted, crumpling the article into a ball. “You should be allowed to go shopping without someone following you and reporting to the world what they think you’re up to! That’s…that’s an invasion of privacy and…and that woman shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it!”
            “You really don’t like her, do you?” Jacob murmured softly, laying a comforting hand on his mates arm.
            “If you’d heard some of the lies she’s spread about me and the people I care about over the years…” Harry muttered angrily. “I thought we’d finally dealt with her when Hermione found out she was an unregistered Animagus but apparently not.”
            “Rita Skeeter is an Animagus?” Lucius huffed, bristling visibly.
            Harry nodded.
            “She can turn herself into a beetle,” he explained softly. “It’s how she’s able to get hold of her juiciest stories.”
            “So this reporter literally spies on people and gets away with it?” Carlisle asked, obviously angered by this latest piece of information.
            “Not for much longer she won’t,” Lucius assured him somewhat darkly. “My dear, I think it’s time to get the family lawyers involved, don’t you?”
            Narcissa nodded.
            “She’ll be out of a job by the end of the week,” Lucius reassured them, a hint of the old powerful Lucius Malfoy showing through. “Now what do we do about the contents of the article? Rumours like that won’t go away until the truth comes out.”
            Harry sighed.
            “Like I said, time to let the cat out of the bag.”
            “You can’t let them publish another story about you,” Narcissa warned him tightly. “You know they’ll twist every word that comes out of your mouth.”
            “Oh, I’d never do an interview for the Daily Prophet,” he reassured them. “I’ve always used The Quibbler to make my voice heard before and as I’m quite friendly with the owner’s only daughter I think I’ll stick with that tradition.”
            “Xenophilius Lovegood

‘s magazine?” Narcissa frowned, her fingers playing with the soft hair on the back of Renesmee’s head. “But…it prints such rubbish…”
            Harry winced slightly.
            “It’s not all bad…” he protested half-heartedly.
            “What is that animal they keep looking for?” Narcissa asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “The one that they’re convinced is real. Oh, what was it called? The Crumple-Something-Or-Other?”
            “The Crumple-Horned Snorkack,” Harry answered. “And yes, I know that some of the articles are a little bit…strange…but they do occasionally print genuine articles as well. More so lately in fact, ever since Luna became one of their writers.”
            “Are you implying that Luna Lovegood has made the magazine…well…more sane than it used to be?” Draco responded in disbelief. “Loony Lovegood? The girl who honestly believes in Moon Frogs, Blibbering Humdingers and Nargles?”
            “What are Nargles?” Esme asked with a frown.
            “They’re not real,” Harry and Draco answered simultaneously.
            “But, yes, that’s exactly what I’m implying,” Harry confirmed. “I know it seems unlikely but she’s actually very good at reporting the facts in a way that captures the reader’s attention. I think Hermione might have had something to do with it. They’ve been spending quite a lot of time together recently.”
            Jasper frowned.
            “If this magazine has such a poor reputation for reporting the truth is it really such a good idea to entrust them with such an important article?” he asked calmly, sitting almost rigidly in his seat as the tactician side of him took over.
            “Don’t worry,” Harry reassured him with a smile. “It’ll be fine.”
            “How can you be so certain?”
            “Love, you put a picture of that mugs face on the front cover and you’ll sell out any magazine within a day,” Draco reassured his husband. “Add the words exclusive interview or pregnant and they’ll be sold out in less than an hour, guaranteed. There’s nothing the Wizarding World likes more than to read gossip about their precious saviour.”
            Harry rolled his eyes.
            “Since when did you get so snarky again?” he grumbled, putting slightly.
            Draco chuckled.
            “You know what they say,” he responded brightly, shooting his friend one of the confident smirks he’d used in school. “Pregnancy brings out the best in people.”
            “So you’re going to go public about your baby?” Narcissa asked softly, smiling down at the hand which had been subconsciously stroking his bump for some time.
            “Yeah…” Harry responded. “If I’m honest I’m somewhat amazed we managed to keep it out of the papers for so long.”
            Jasper and Draco shared a look for a moment, their hands entwining on top of Draco’s softening stomach before the young wizard let out a deep sigh.
            “You won’t be alone, Harry,” he announced softly, smiling across at his friend and saviour. “Might as well make it the biggest exclusive the magazines ever had.”
            “Really?” Harry asked, surprised that Draco would be willing to step back into the spotlight after everything that had happened after the war.
            “Yes. Really…” Draco responded somewhat shortly. “Now go on and contact Loony to make the necessary arrangements before I come to my senses.”
            Harry couldn’t help but smile to himself.
            Talk about the exclusive to end all exclusives…

~ * ~ * ~

A/N Sorry for the epic delay but for such a relatively simple chapter in terms of plot this was almost impossible to write. In the end it took a complete re-start twice over to even getting it flowing properly. Grrrr. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. As always I greatly appreciate comments and suggestions. Until next time. Marblez. X
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Of Lions And Lambs - Part Four