"Ah, another Malfoy," the hat sounded amused. "You are not what you seem, or what your family and peers see, are you? Your heart is double. A Malfoy in name, but your true lineage is hazy, which makes you quite tricky to place. You would do well in...
George stands, carefully placing Ava down in her crib, covering her with a blanket Lena had given them. He returns to his own bed, and as soon as his head hits the pillow, he's fast asleep.
Not for much longer, though, as Melody's alarm followed by the twins, sounds at eight o'clock.
"Morning," she murmurs and rolls over to face George.
He yawns. "Morning. You stay in bed, I'll fix the twins some breakfast."
He gets up and motions for the twins to follow him downstairs, so while they were distracted by the thought of breakfast, Melody got up and went to check on Ava.
She was laid in her crib, eyes open wide, her tiny fingers tightly together in little fists. "Hi there! How long have you been awake?" Melody smiles as she picks her up. "Your brother and sister are eager to meet you!"
Before Melody took her downstairs, she changed Ava into another onesie; this one had paw prints over it. She fed her too, sitting down in the armchair in the window so she could look outside, the sky was still pale; dewy. It was a pleasant morning.
Happy that Ava had enough, they went downstairs and into the kitchen. The twins were busy arguing about something as they ate their freshly made Nutella pancakes, and with an array of sweeties too. Melody gave George a questioning look, but he shrugged his shoulders and just grinned.
"Lauren, Nate. There's someone who would like to meet you," Melody said. "This is your sister."
Lauren was the first to drop down off her stool and approached her mother, Melody knelt down cradling Ava so her eldest could see.
"She's really small," Lauren says, her nose wrinkling.
Unlike both her parents, Lauren had dark brown hair, it was thin and glossy and settled just below her shoulders. She had a pale complexion spattered lightly with freckles; her eyes a blue-green.
"You were this small once, too," Melody told her. "Nate, do you want to come say hello to your sister?"
He thinks about it, before following the lead of his sister and jumps off his own stool. He approached her slowly and peeked at her, a gentle smile on his face.
"Lauren, why don't you go with daddy for a moment? He has a surprise for you," Melody looked at her daughter.
Lauren took George's hand and they went out into the back garden. Seconds later an elated squeal followed. They knew how much Lauren had wanted a puppy, and she loved golden retrievers since seeing Melody's Patronus of one running around her room, was what helped her get to sleep. Nate had already gotten his broom, just like the one Scorpius had, much to Hermione's chagrin.
The puppy was only nine weeks old; they thought he would be able to create a strong bond with Lauren as he'd be at that stage.
"What did you call him?" Nate asks.
"Doug!" Lauren said happily as the pup ran inside after her, and right into her legs, unable to stop himself.
"Doug. A good name, suits him," Melody states. "I hope Rufus will like him."
She heard George laugh.
Rufus had become an indoor cat, since he was happy to roam the castle for so many years. The castle was much bigger compared to their five bedroom, but he still seemed content.
***
Lena came and got the twins, and their new puppy to take them over to Amy and Rory's for the day.
Melody had wrapped Ava up so that she would be warm. She changed from her pyjamas, into an orange bowling bomber jacket which she has zipped up, a tank top on underneath; black skinny jeans, with black boots. Her hair was put up into a ponytail with some loose strands out at the front.
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"Are you ready?" She asks.
"Yeah, I've got Ava," George mentions, and he steps up to the fireplace, collecting a handful of Floo powder. He passed Ava back to his wife before clearly saying, "The Burrow."
"Let's go Ava. This will be your first trip," Melody glanced down at her daughter, a good hold on her in one arm as she stepped up to the fireplace taking a handful of Floo powder. "The Burrow."
She steps out the other side, into the dining area. The dining room was empty, with the weather light and sunny everyone was either sat in the living area or outside.
"Melody!" Molly shouts her name. "Let me meet my new granddaughter!"
The Weasley family was still heavily populated with boys; so far, Lauren and Ava were the only female grandchildren. Percy and his wife were still trying, and Bill and Fleur, they had lost their baby before it was born.
Molly opens her arms wide for a cuddle with the newest addition, so she passes her over. "Hello Ava, I'm your granny Molly!"
Draco came into the dining room and signalled for Melody to go over to him. "Congratulations," he said, hugging her. "Mother is happy for you, too. She was hoping that she could have lunch with you in a few days, - with both of us, actually! She accepts that she's no longer your mother, but she was a mother to you, and she wants us both there. Me with Scorpius, you with the twins and Ava."
"Despite everything that went on during the war, and some other things growing up, Narcissa was a good mother to me. To both of us. She doesn't deserve me cutting her out completely. You can tell her that the kids and I would love to join you all for lunch," Melody tells him.
"Wow, that was easy," Draco jokes.
Melody rolls her eyes and looks towards Molly, who no longer had hold of Ava. That's when she saw her newborn in the arms of Fred who appeared to be telling her a story about the mischief, George, Melody and he had gotten up to. Arthur was stood at his side, smiling at her as he waited to hold her.
"Fred. I hope you aren't filling my child's head with lies about her parents?!" Melody asked.
"That depends Pond! Would you prefer Ava to be more or less like her father and favourite uncle when she's older?!" He replied.
"Oi!" Ron shouted as he came in, eating a bread bun.
She thought back to all the fun they had. "Alright. Go on with your stories, she'll hear about them all someday."
Arthur was itching to hold Ava, which Melody could see, so she took her from Fred and gave her to Arthur. Fred pouted at his sister-in-law and stood over them, pulling faces and talking to his niece like she could talk back to him.
"Auntie Mels?" Scorpius approached Melody, his nickname for her caused Melody to turn around and crouch down so he could talk to her.
"Hi Scorpius! I'm sorry we didn't bring Nate and Lauren with us today, but you'll see them again soon when we join you at the Manor," she says to her nephew.
"Daddy said that you were coming," he grins. "Do you think we'll be allowed to bring our brooms with us?"
"I don't know, sweetie," Melody said. "I'm sure you can ask your dad. He might be able to convince your grandmother!"
Ginny came inside and she and Ron argued over who would get to hold Ava next, so George settled the argument by taking her and offering her to Hermione who gladly took her.
