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Accidental Blood Bond	By : onecelestialbeing Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Lucius/Hermione Views: 45430 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter, no characters no magic, none of the story and I make no money from this!!

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
"But Mummy, I don't want to wear jeans, I want to wear the dress Daddy bought me."

"Aniella, we're going to a birthday party at the Burrow. White lace isn't appropriate for this type of do."

Six-year-old Aniella had a pouty expression on her face, yet remained silent, cutting her brown eyes at her mother. Right then Lucius walked into the room, raising an eyebrow and his dejected looking daughter and adamant looking wife. He clearly looked as if he'd walked into something that he was unsure if he should get involved, or hightail it in the other direction.

"Mummy won't let me wear the dress you gave me," Aniella whined, making puppy eyes at her father.

Hermione turned her head and rolled her own eyes, resisting the urge to throw up her own hands. My daughter, the very child I carried for nine months, making me vomit and pee at every turn, without being able to so much as laugh for fear of wetting my pants, who nearly killed me during labour, turning against me!

"Why can't she wear the dress, Hermione?" Lucius asked, immediately falling victims to his daughter's charm.

"Because it's lace! White lace!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Aniella, don't even try to make eyes at your father to get out of this. You'll wear that dress and within five minutes it'll be ruined. Now, get your jeans and trainers, and hurry up. We're late for Teddy's party."

"Yes, Mummy," Aniella morosely replied, dragging her feet as she walked off to her closet.

"I'll help Ani finished getting dressed," Lucius offered. "We'll wait for you downstairs.."

"All right," Hermione answered, standing up from the edge of Aniella's bed. I've already picked out the shirt for her to wear, Aniella knows which one it is." Eager to finish getting dressed herself, Hermione hurried back to her room and went through her own preparations. Twenty minutes later, dressed in casual attire and her hair pulled back, Hermione made her way to Aniella's bedroom when she remembered that Teddy's present was still there.

Hermione had just walked into the brightly lit and tastefully decorated bedroom when she stopped short, her eyes falling upon the very jeans and shirt that she'd left out for her daughter. Snatching up the gaily wrapped box, Hermione moved right past the clothes and flounced downstairs.

Aniella was standing with Lucius, holding onto his hands and trying to balance herself on the tops of his shiny shoes when she saw her mother's face. "Now, Hermione," Lucius calmly began when she stormed over to them. "Aniella and I both agree that the dress is much more becoming. Doesn't she look pretty?"

Hermione glared back at her spouse, peering down to her white-lace clad daughter, who also wore dainty tights and shiny Mary Janes. Her hair had been combed, the blonde curls neatly draped down to her shoulders with a small headband holding them in place.

There was no doubt about it-Lucius enjoyed dressing his daughter up as if she was his little doll. Aniella's collection of dresses nearly rivaled her mother's, and her closet held no end of velvet, silk and satin dresses and frocks, each with their own tights, shoes, and accessories to match. It got to the point that Hermione began confiscating any packages Lucius brought into the manor, until one day he used his own cunning and snuck a new book for Hermione in the box along with Aniella's new dress.

Aniella was no better. She enjoyed playing 'pretty princess' for her father, and would politely ask her mother to help her take off her current outfit so that she would be able to try on the new one. After that the little girl would preen and pose, grinning bashfully at her father's praise.

"You're going to spoil her, Lucius!" Hermione kept telling him.

"With you for a mother? Highly unlikely," he replied, making reference to his wife's humble attitude towards everything. "Ask anyone, Aniella says 'please' and 'thank you' whenever someone gives her something or the like. She's practically 'Miss Manners'."

"Yes, well..." Hermione had trailed off. She had remembered the way Draco behaved like a spoilt prat back at Hogwarts, and her worse fear was that her daughter would turn out the same. Although Hermione had to admit that her daughter rarely gave her cause for panic. She was exceedingly polite and charming; too charming for a child not yet seven, as she knew just how to work it to her advantage to get what she wanted.

It worked on Lucius, Draco, and even Severus, which threw Hermione for a gigantic loop, but she was grateful to find that Aniella never behaved as if the world owed her something. The only one those big, brown puppy eyes didn't work on was Hermione, in which case Aniella would patiently wait until her father came home, to ask for whatever it was she wanted.

The first time Aniella whipped out her pence bag of tricks, Hermione managed to overhear, after which she came out and asked her daughter if she remembered her telling her 'no' earlier that afternoon.

"Yes, that's why I asked Daddy," she had replied unrepentantly, in a voice so deadpanned that even Lucius was unable to bite back a laugh. His mirth came out in a snort, but he did tell Aniella that she had to listen to her mother, and that if Hermione said no, she meant no.

"All right, Daddy," Aniella had replied before going off to her room.

Now Hermione stood before father and daughter in the drawing room, forehead puckered up and her face pulled into a frown. Aniella hadn't even attempted to duck behind her father to hide the lace dress, but stood by his side, holding onto his hand.

"Yes, she looks pretty," Hermione replied to her husband's question, "but you seem to forget that Aniella still likes to play in dirt and roughhouse with her uncles. That dress will be torn to bits within the hour."

A pair of grey eyes and way below that, brown eyes pleadingly looked back at Hermione until she threw her hands up. "Fine," she caved in, using her wand to Accio the first planned outfit from Aniella's room, and roughly shoving everything into her hand bag. "But the first dirt smudge I see, young lady, and on goes the jeans and trainers, got it?"

Aniella firmly nodded her head, making her blonde curls bob. "See you later, Daddy," she said, reaching up to give her father a hug.

"Have fun, darling. And listen to your mother."

Lucius met Hermione's scowl with a smirk, although she allowed him to peck her on the lips before they stepped into the hearth. Tossing down a handful of Floo powder, Hermione called out for The Burrow and they disappeared in a whoosh of bright green flames.

"Hello, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley cheerfully greeted when the two stepped out. "Look at you!" she said appraisingly to Aniella, stooping low to give the little girl a hug.

"Hi, Nana Molly," Aniella smiled back. "Is Teddy here?"

"Yes, he's outside," Molly told her just as the little girl turned to run out the back door. Hermione managed to catch Aniella before she was able to leave, using her wand to remove the smudges of soot that thankfully managed to avoid most of her dress.

"Aniella looks so darling in that dress," Molly cooed as she gestured for Hermione to sit down, setting a mug of tea in front of her.

"That was Lucius' doing," Hermione griped, gratefully accepting the mug. "Aniella's as well, even after I told her no. But I've brought her trainers and jeans with me, something tells me I'll need them."

Molly chuckled, taking a sip of tea and immediately shaking her head when she heard the mingled male shouts that erupted from the back of the house.

"I guess that means everyone is here?" Hermione asked, craning her neck to try and look out the top of the open door.

"Just about," Molly replied. "Arthur, Fred and George are out there, Ron and Harry said they had some last minute things to pick up."

"Oh? So is Ginny with them?"

"No, oh sorry dear. She's upstairs having a lie down, poor thing was looking a bit peaky. That was over an hour ago, I should go check on her."

"I'll go, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione offered, setting her mug down and getting up from the table. The rickety set of steps creaked beneath Hermione's feet as she made her way to Ginny's old bedroom. Gently knocking on the door, she entered the dimly lit room, finding that Ginny had lowered the shades and curled up on her childhood bed.

"Mrs. Potter, why are you hiding from your family?" Hermione teased, sitting on the edge of the bed and running a hand through Ginny's hair. The redhead gave a slight moan before turning her head on the pillow, smiling when she saw her best friend.

"Mrs. Malfoy," she teased. "Who said I'm hiding from anyone?"

"I know you aren't," Hermione laughed. "Molly told me that you weren't feeling well."

"No, and you know Mum with her remedies, but I'd already tried them all before Harry and I left home and they didn't work. So I just came up for a bit of quiet. How are things? And where's my goddaughter?"

"Everything is fine, and Ani's outside playing with Teddy. Speaking of, where are Remus and Tonks? Your Mum didn't mention their names, did they come and then leave?"

Ginny released a grin that could only be construed as sinister, flipping over onto her side before getting into her story. "Well, Tonks wanted to make the cake for Teddy's birthday-the Muggle way. Don't ask me why, I don't think Tonks can even boil water. Anyway, there was so sort of kerfuffle and the end of it is there's no cake. Mum didn't have time to make one with such short notice but Dad sent them off to Muggle London to a bakery. Merlin only knows what they'll return with."

Hermione felt bad for Tonks but found the story hysterical, and she and Ginny both snorted with laughter. "Baking isn't that hard," Hermione offered. "But I guess it's pretty daunting if you've never done it before, especially not the Muggle way."

"Yeah, well, Tonks wasn't so worried about it, but she just wanted to make sure that Teddy had a cake for his party."

"I can understand that. So where did your brother and husband run off to?"

"Don't know, don't care," Ginny replied dispassionately. "So long as Ron got away from me, I'm happy. Harry and I had lunch with everyone here today, and Ron still chews with his mouth open. The sight of masticated roast beef puts me off, to say the least."

Hermione cringed, thinking back to sitting with Ron at mealtimes back at Hogwarts. "I know what you me," she sympathized. "So are you going to stay in here for awhile, or are you coming downstairs?"

"I'll come down, I just need to put my shoes back on."

By the time Hermione and Ginny made their way back to the kitchen, Tonks and Remus were hovered over the long table, Remus telling the girls hello before turning back to his wife and gently suggesting that he would open the large, ornate box sitting in front of him.

"He has a point, I'd probably find a way to drop the thing," Tonks mused, coming over to hug Hermione. "Your daughter is getting bigger by the minute! I just saw her outside with Teddy. And her dress is just adorable."

"Oh, groan," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't let Lucius hear you say that; I had to have a pull with Aniella just to get her to wear something more casual, and when I'd left her room because my darling husband said he would help her finish getting dressed, I came downstairs and found her in white lace instead of denims."

"Stop your fussing, Hermione," Ginny cackled. "You know that Lucius likes seeing you and Ani all dolled up. It shouldn't really surprise you after being married to him for over five years."

"Oh, shut up, Ginny. I have half a mind to Transfigure all of his slacks to jeans, but I'd never hear the end of it," Hermione shot back.

Right then, Teddy came bursting through the back door of the Burrow, with Aniella hot on his trail. Hermione took one look at her daughter and shook her head; just as she predicted, there was a large smudge covering much of the hem of her dress, and one unblemished white lace now bore a rip in the side.

"Upstairs, young lady," Hermione firmly told her wide-eyed daughter who had paused next to her godmother upon noticing the look on her mother's face, picking up her bag and pulling out the clean change of clothes.

"I'll take her," Ginny cut in, seeing the look on Hermione's face and snatching away the outfit. Giving her best friend one of her favorite smirks, she held onto the little girl's hand and led her up to her old bedroom.

"Spoilt child," Hermione murmured under her breath before curiously peeking over at the box that Remus was hovering over. "Is that the cake?"

"Yes," Remus answered, gently steering Teddy behind him before examining the cake to make sure that it hadn't become damaged from being in transit. "It's a bit fancier than I'm accustomed to seeing it, but the woman at the shop assured me all little boys like this sort of thing."

"Can I see, Dad?" Teddy asked, holding onto his father's jacket and trying to peek around his arm. Remus ruffled his son's pale blue hair and allowed him to peek at his cake, enjoying the way his child's face light up. "Cool! You and Mum are the best."

"Anything with sugar, they'll adore," Molly called over her shoulder, putting down a cloth at the sink and coming over to stand next to Remus, looking down into the open box. "Well, that is something else," she mused at the ornate frosting and decorations. "I'm sure Teddy will love it. Let's just put it to this side-it's all right, Tonks, I'll move it," Molly continued, hastily sidestepping Tonks when she attempted to lift the box from the middle of the table.

"Right," Tonks sheepishly offered, putting both elbows up on the table. Remus' eyes widened slightly and he hastily pushed a ceramic mug that had been in close proximity of her elbow out the way. "Oops, sorry. We don't need any more mishaps today, right? What if I just stay to the side at a safe distance, and keep my hands in my lap?"

"I don't think you need to go to such drastic measures, dear," Remus chuckled at his wife. "Just avoid anything that's made of glass, or things that can be bent or twisted."

"Yeah...think I'll sit here until everyone arrives."

"It's all right, Mum," Teddy assured, coming around the table to his mother. "I'll scream out 'wotcher, Mum!' if you're about to knock something over, OK?"

"Deal. What would I do without you?" Tonks laughed, tickling the end of her son's button nose.

Hermione laughed at the blue-haired witch, suddenly hearing two sets of footsteps, one heavier than the other, coming down the rickety wooden steps.

"I'm back, Mummy!" a casually dressed Aniella greeted, dropping Ginny's hand and walking over to Hermione and sitting on her lap. "Where's Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron?"

"Hopefully on their way," Molly sighed, glancing over at the clock with the family's pictures on the hands. "Those two get together and you'd think they were still eleven!"

"Some things never change," Ginny laughed as she rolled her eyes, perching against the table next to Hermione. "Do you know those two idiots were up till all hours last night, playing Quidditch with Fred and George?"

"Where, here?" Hermione frowned, looking up at the redhead.

"Yes! They tried to get me to play, but since our season's ended, I don't want to see a broomstick. Told Harry if I saw so much as a single straw that I'd flay him."

"Are you mean because you're ginger? Or ginger because you're mean?"

"Shut up, Malfoy. I'm going to tell your dear hubby to dye your hair blonde-pale, pale blonde when you're asleep. And I'll come and help him iron it straight!"

Without letting Aniella see, Hermione slickly leaned over to poke Ginny in the side. The witch yelped and darted away before Hermione was able to touch her.

"You've got to be much faster than that, Malfoy!" she grinned, a smirk across her freckled features. Aniella turned her head to see what her aunt was laughing about, only for Ginny to wink at her goddaughter. Teddy was still leaning against Tonks, his eyes widened and also curiously taking in the exchange between Hermione and Ginny.

Right then Arthur came into the house, telling his wife that everything was sorted outside. Five minutes after that, Ron and Harry showed up at the back door. Molly barely gave them a second glance before filling their arms with dishes and platters to carry out, following behind them and calling out the back door for Fred and George to come in and help bring out the food.

Thirty minutes later the birthday party was in full effect. Luna came down from over the hill and sat with Ginny and Hermione, watching as Teddy and Aniella ran around the garden, screaming and laughing with a small group of children. Bill and Fleur had Flooed over with their kids, and Tonks' parents had come to the Burrow, bringing along with them three children, two boys and a girl, that were explained to be Teddy's cousins from her mum's side. Ailen had come with Luna, bringing along his little niece, Susan, who instantly made friends with Aniella, and the two girls were stuck to each other's side.

"So now that we're alone," Ginny began, looking over at her husband, brothers, and Ailen who were all huddled to one side of the garden, "When is it going to be Luna's turn to have a hen party?"

Luna's pale blue eyes calmly appraised her friend, right before a bashful looked crept into her face. "Soon, I guess," she smoothly replied, withdrawing her wand and tapping it on her left hand, revealing what was most definitely an engagement ring on her finger.

"LUNA!" Ginny cried, nearly tumbling out of her lawn chair to hug her friend. "Congratulations! Why didn't you tell us, silly witch!"

Luna giggled, peering back at her grinning friends. "Well, it only happened last night, and I planned on telling you today at some point, but I didn't want to take away from Teddy's party."

"Oh, Luna! That's wonderful, I'm so happy for you!" Hermione chirped, peering down at her ring again. It definitely wasn't the everyday, ordinary engagement ring, with its irregular shaped blue stone, but it meshed with Luna's personality and looked right at place on her hand.

"We're all going to be married, that's so cute," Luna said. "I wonder who's going to be next."

"Hmm, who else is left? Ginny pondered.

"Draco and Severus," Hermione laughed. "Speaking of Severus, I haven't seen him for the past two weeks. I should send him a Howler, asking why he hasn't come to dinner."

"Hermione, didn't you just hear me say that our season is over?" Ginny cackled with a wicked grin. "Janice is probably screwing the man's brains out. I told her she was going to kill him, but she said it was the other way around."

Hermione almost snorted, thinking back to what Janice told her the time the two had spent the night at Malfoy Manor. Never in all her years would she have thought that the dour Potions professor turned headmaster would be insatiable in the bedroom. She wondered if it was a Slytherin thing, but wasn't all that compelled to ask.

"I think it's cute that those two are still...whatever you want to call it. Keeping company?" Hermione added. "Either way, good on them. I'm glad that Severus has a nice lady friend."

"Yeah," Ginny added. "I remember a long time ago, Janice told me that she didn't want kids and didn't want to get married, but if she met someone that could keep up with her then that was good enough. Now Merlin knows I can't see her arse in a wedding dress, holding a bouquet, anymore than I can see the headmaster getting down on one knee to propose."

"It could happen," Luna offered, smiling as she looked down at her own ring.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Ginny conceded.

"I cannot believe my husband is eating again," Ginny mused from her place by the remnants of Teddy's birthday cake on the kitchen table. The party had began to simmer down and most of the guests had gone. Aniella, Teddy, and Susan were still playing outside with Fred and George, excited squeals followed by loud roars pouring in through the window. Molly, Arthur, Remus, and Tonks were sitting in the front room

Harry, Ron, and Ailen were by the sink, having made a deal to split a remaining platter of short ribs that Harry had cooked the night before at Grimmauld Place to bring to the party. Ron asked three times if anyone wanted more, and upon being told no, the three descended upon the meat as if they hadn't eaten merely an hour ago.

"Harry, I don't know what you've put in these," Ailen told him around a mouthful, "but they're bloody fantastic."

"Oh, it's not that hard, you just..." he began, going into great detail about how to prepare the meat.

"Wow, Ginny. He's that good in the kitchen?" Hermione smirked. "Does that mean we're coming over for dinner next weekend?"

"If you like," Ginny answered, eyeing the rapidly disappearing platter of meat with slight distaste. "I love Harry's ribs; usually I sit there and suck down as much as him, but for some reason last night they put me off."

"Ginny," Harry began soon as Ginny finished her statement. He was holding out a small dish of the ribs and thrust it under her nose. "Sure you don't want any?"

Ginny turned her head to glower darkly at her husband. "Harry Potter; you know I love you, right? But if you don't get that fucking meat away from-" she muttered under her breath, her brown eyes going wide right before clamping one hand over her mouth, scrambling to get up from her seat and darting up the steps.

Harry stood with his mouth wide open, the plate of ribs still in his hand as he stared across at the now empty staircase.

"I just asked her if she wanted any," he echoed aloud to no one in particular, sounding completely stunned.

Luna and Hermione were trying their best not to laugh, but ended up burying their faces in their hands, tears of laughter pouring down their cheeks. Harry still looked shocked when his wife finally reemerged, her normally creamy complexion now a bit pale, a few beads of sweat dotting her forehead. She ambled down the steps, coming to a rest at the bottom and leaning weakly against the banister.

"I'm alright," she murmured, holding a hand out to husband to warn him to keep his distance when he began walking towards her. Her other hand was still pressed to her lips, and she looked as if she was trying to keep from being sick on the floor.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Molly's shrill voice called from across the room, bustling over when she saw her queasy looking daughter.

"No idea," she shortly replied, willing herself to keep her mouth closed for as long as possible.

Molly then turned towards the small group, all of whom were peering intently at Ginny, even Ron although his mouth never stopped chewing.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" Ron asked her, loudly smacking on another bit of short rib.

"Mum, please tell Ronald to close his mouth before I hex it shut," Ginny darkly told her mother.

"All I asked Ginny was if she wanted some," Harry mournfully told Mrs. Weasley, setting the plate down on the kitchen table, opting to leave out the way she cursed at him. "Then she ran upstairs and came back like that."

"Yeah, the scent of your ribs made me want to throw up my toenails!" Ginny fussed, frowning at Harry as if he was responsible for her unsettled stomach.

"Ooh, I remember becoming ill when I smelled meat when I carried you," Molly told her daughter, both of them freezing seconds later.

"No..." Ginny gasped, her legs freezing into place on the steps. Molly immediately became teary eyed, and went to hug her daughter who almost howled, not wanting to be touched as she still felt ill. "I'm...I need to go outside," Ginny continued, uprooting herself from the wooden step and making her way to the back door.

"Err...do you want me to come with?" Harry asked cautiously, as if he expected to get another verbal lashing.

"Only if you wash your hands and rinse your mouth," Ginny told him unrepentantly, sticking her head out of the door and gulping in mouthfuls of the cool, fresh air.

Molly was now in hysterics, leaning on the table between Luna and Hermione, unable to contain her mirth. Harry did as he was directed, washing his hands at the kitchen sink and swallowing a large glass of water while shooting his mother-in-law a confused look.

"Ginny will fill you in, dear," she promised him. "Now go on, you two need to have a little chat."

"Here you are, Mrs. Weasley," Luna kindly offered, pulling out a seat for the redheaded matriarch.

"Thank you, dear," Molly told her. She glanced over at Ron and Ailen who had gone back to eating their ribs before turning back to the girls. "Merlin forgive me, but I was the exact same way to Arthur when I was pregnant with Ginny," she began in low voice. "I couldn't stomach the look or scent of meat! And it was all he wanted to eat and then he wanted to kiss me afterwards! At one point I threatened to make him sleep on the sofa if he came to bed with the scent of beef on his breath. It wasn't until my last trimester that I tried to eat every piece of beef or chicken that hadn't been killed!"

"Ginny's pregnant! I am daft, how didn't I pick up on that?" Hermione chided. "I just thought she looked tired when I first got here. A baby was the last thing on my mind."

"An engagement and a new baby!" Molly trilled happily, peeking down at Luna's ring. "This certainly was a day full of lovely surprises. I wonder if they're going to have a little boy or a little girl."

"Who knows?" Hermione smiled. "Maybe Fred and George'll get their wish for someone to have twins."

"Those sons of mine," Molly scoffed. "Oh well, we'll just wait for Ginny and Harry to come back. Anyway, Luna, if you need help with doing your wedding, just let me know, all right?"

"I'll do that, thank you Mrs. Weasley," Luna told her. "I don't think Daddy knows all that much about planning weddings, to be honest. So I can surely use the help."

"I'm glad to help," Molly replied. "Hmm, I'd better make Ginny a bit of that tea. She's going to need it to settle her stomach, poor thing." With that, she got up and began the task of brewing the special leaves for her daughter.

By the time the couple came back inside, Ginny looked mildly rejuvenated from standing in the brisk air. She and Harry were both wearing little smiles, but Ginny told her mum to not say anything just yet, she wanted to wait until her head and stomach stopped reeling completely before dropping the news on her family. Ginny was nursing the cup of tea her mum pushed in front of her when everyone came back inside.

"Did you have a nice time, sweetheart?" Hermione asked her daughter, who had a few smudges of frosting and dirt on her cheeks, and was leaning on her knees.

"Yes, Mummy. May I ask Nana Molly if I can take Daddy and Draco some cake?"

"Of course you can," Molly told the little girl, picking up the knife and cutting two hefty portions of cake and wrapping them up. "Here you are, tell them I said to enjoy it."

"Thank you, Nana Molly," Aniella grinned back.

"Speaking of your father, we'd better get you home before he starts looking for us," Hermione replied, running her fingers through her daughter's tangled blonde curls. "And a little lady needs a bath!" she continued, playfully whispering into her daughter's ear, making her burst into giggles.

"All right, Mummy. But I have to say goodbye to everyone first. It's not polite if we leave without me saying goodbye." Aniella then handed her mother the covered plate of cake and skipped off the front room.

"She really is a little lady," Ginny laughed, watching as her goddaughter disappeared around the corner. "I hope our child is just as charming."

"Not to say that I didn't have hand in it," Hermione jested, "but let's just say that she surely knows how to get her way, something I'm blaming on her father."

Aniella soon returned to the kitchen, and dutifully collected the cake from her mother.

"Ginny, I hope you feel better," Hermione said, hugging her. "If you need me to come over, just send your owl. Harry...well, I know you'll look after my best friend."

"Of course," he replied, now hugging Hermione. When goodbye hugs and kisses were finished being exchanged, Hermione pulled Aniella on her hip, her daughter firmly clutching the dishes of cake to her chest as they disappeared with a whoosh of bright green flames in the Floo.

"I want to give Daddy his cake!" Aniella yelled as soon as she and Hermione stepped out of the hearth in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor.

"Wait a minute, young lady!" Hermione chided, easily catching up to her running daughter. "Bath first, cake afterwards. Just look at your fingers, what were you doing?"

Aniella bashfully grinned up at her mother. "Teddy and I wanted to show Susan the garden gnomes, She'd never seen one, and it took us forever to find one but we did! And guess what, Mummy, we showed her how to throw them and I threw mine the highest!"

"Very good," Hermione sighed, cringing as she thought of the ugly, little creatures. "But you do know they bite?"

"I know, Mummy, but uncle Ron showed me how to throw them without getting bitten!" she explained, sounding rather proud of herself.

"I'm going to have a little talk with uncle Ronald," Hermione uttered between clenched teeth, urging Aniella up the steps. "Now come along, bath, and then we'll go see what your father is doing."

**

"...and I got a little bit of dirt on my dress, but Aunt Ginny helped me changed, and then we went outside and danced, and we played this game that Uncle Fred showed us but I don't remember the name, and then we had cake! I've never seen a cake like that before, Daddy. That's why I wanted to bring you some. Do you like your cake, Daddy?" Aniella was rambling on, now clean and dressed in a white nightgown, sitting on a chair with her father on her floor, his quilted dressing robed shoulders against her little legs as she used her comb to smooth out his already sleek blond strands.

"Yes, love, it's very good, thank you for thinking of me. And we'll get you another dress, not to worry," he told his daughter, winking across at Hermione who was also in her nightclothes, demurely sitting across from Lucius on the floor.

The three were in Hermione's bedroom, which by now was the room she mostly used to store her clothes or take naps in during the daytime, as every night she and Lucius slept in the same bed in his room. Aniella wasted no time in shoving the plate of slightly smashed cake at her father, simultaneously launching into her day at Teddy's birthday party, soon announcing that she wanted to comb his hair and to sit down.

Aniella was enthralled with her father's hair, most likely because no matter how much she combed or brushed it, it never puffed out the way her curls did if her parents combed them too much. Lucius allowed his daughter to play with his hair whenever she wished, upon which the little girl would beg him or Hermione to Conjure the little pink comb and brush set from her bedroom, and she would go at his head for hours, all the while rambling on about whatever struck her fancy at the moment.

Lucius still enjoyed having his hair touched, and would often fall asleep, interjecting a sleepy sounding 'hmm' or 'that's interesting', whenever Aniella would stop to make sure that he was listening to her.

Now he was polishing off the smashed piece of blue, purple and white frosted cake, trying to not fall asleep when the soft bristles of Aniella's brush grazed against his scalp.

"So guess who has a bun in the oven?" Hermione was now asking her husband.

"The little blonde one?" Lucius asked, setting aside the now empty plate and bending his head forward when Aniella pushed at it.

"Luna? No, although Ailen asked her to marry him last night, and she accepted. But it's Ginny. Literally, she figured it out when Harry offered her a plate of short ribs and she became ill. She swore at him then ran up the steps to vomit. I hope they made it home alright."

"That's nice, well, the new child, not that she became ill," Lucius replied, his voice sounding muffled as Aniella still beckoned him to keep his head bowed. "Do send them my regards."

"I'll do that," Hermione smiled. "I'll owl her tomorrow before lunch, see if she needs anything."

"There! All finished," Aniella announced, her nightgown covered legs smacking against her father's shoulders as she scrambled down from the armchair. She came around to her father's front, appraising her work.

"How do I look?" he asked, humouring his daughter by turning his head to both sides.

"Pretty," Aniella told him, stretching out a hand to smooth back a lock into place.

"Wizards aren't pretty," Lucius told his daughter. "Ladies like your Mummy are pretty."

"All right..." Aniella trailed off, searching for another word. "Then...I'd say you look very fit; how's that, Daddy?"

Hermione choked back on her laughter when she saw the look on her husband's face, one pale blond eyebrow arching as he peered as his daughter. "Fit, am I?" he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yes," Aniella replied with an air of finality, tossing down her comb and kneeling down to hug her father. "That's what Mummy said; I heard her telling Aunt Ginny that she thought you were fit when she first met you."

"Did she now?" Lucius asked, lightly resting his chin atop his daughter's head, who now had her face buried into his chest. He looked across at Hermione, who was no longer smirking, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Mm-hmm," Aniella murmured, shifting around on her father's lap and hugging him again.

Lucius chuckled, lowering his head and kissing the top of his daughter's curly blonde head. "Well, thank you, love. Now let's get you to bed."

"All right, Daddy," Aniella yawned, keeping both arms around her father's neck as Lucius stood up. Aniella reached one arm out, hugging her now standing mother around her neck goodnight before Lucius carried her out of the room.

"MERLIN, Mum wasn't lying when she said 'little pitchers have big ears'!" Hermione griped aloud when she was alone. "I didn't even think Aniella was listening that day!" she continued, now laughing for talking to herself.

Using her wand to vanish the plate on her floor and then turn out the lamps, Hermione went to Lucius' room and slipped into bed. Not realizing how tired she was, Hermione was nearly asleep when she heard the door open and shut.

"So, you thought I was fit?" Lucius drawled after he'd climbed into bed, slipping an arm around Hermione's waist.

"Yes, a fit git," she retorted, laughing when Lucius tickled her neck with his lips. "That little girl; our daughter doesn't miss a thing."

"What about now?" he asked, feigning hurt feelings. "You agreed when I said was."

"Oh, shut up, Lucius. You know you're still fit. Let me sleep for a bit and I'll show you how fit I still think you are."

"Hmm, sounds tempting," he purred in Hermione's ear before planting one last kiss on her lips. "Yes, I think my self-confidence is shattered; so it's only fair that you take on the arduous task of repairing it."

Hermione kicked her husband in the leg, earning a low chuckle from him. She then curled her body into his warm side, holding onto the hand that was draped over her waist as she fell asleep.
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Accidental Blood Bond