Parallel - 10 years later...

The one with the quadruplets

At the Malfoy house

"Mione love, what are you doing up so early? It's only 5:30. Are you ok?" Draco looked over to Hermione, who was sitting underneath the sink, with concern.

"I've been up for two hours vomiting. I don't think I'm alright." Hermione glared at Draco, looking pale and exhausted.

"Vomiting? But that's the fourth time this week! Do you have a fever or stomach bug?" Draco sat on the floor and broke Hermione off a square of chocolate, which she happily accepted.

"I don't think so, I'd be a lot warmer if I had a fever and I'd know if it's a stomach bug. I mean, my period is two weeks late, so it might be that, but I'm really not sure." Hermione looked tired and confused, frustrated about not knowing the answer to something.

"Is there a slight possibility it could be... something else?" Draco hinted, staring into Hermione's eyes with a knowing look.

"Theres no way. We were careful! And we agreed that Leo would be the last one. Four is definitely enough." Hermione started panicking, understanding what Draco was hinting at.

"Honey, take a test. You don't have to worry. The baby will always be loved, no matter what the circumstances of their birth is. Besides, we both wanted a big family. Who knows, we might even be blessed with another set of twins!" Draco said, giddy with the thought of having another baby around.

"Don't push your luck, Malfoy. I don't think it's wise to have another child. Our family is perfect. Plus, I don't want another test." Hermione pouted stubbornly, shuffling on the cold bathroom floor, when she had a brilliant idea. "You know there's a surefire way to find out if I really am pregnant. We'll even find out the gender if we play our cards right."

"Oh yeah! Y'know, you're a genius. I can't believe I didn't think of that! I've lived in this house my whole life. Merlin's beard..." Draco slapped his face in embarrassment and held out his hand to Hermione. "Shall we, Mrs Malfoy?"

"Onward to the Malfoy nursery." Hermione said as she grinned from ear to ear.

The two Malfoys leaped up from the tiled floor and, without any further hesitation, dashed through the halls of the manor, which were glowing in the light of the gorgeous sunrise. They sprinted up a tall, marble flight of stairs, making quite the clattering noise as they went, to the bedroom corridor, which Hermione had painted a calm shade of mint green when she moved in. On the wall facing the doors to the rooms, a huge mural had been painted, showing each member of the family hugging and laughing. It was obvious that it had been added too over the years, with the most recent addition being Leo, who aged alongside his real life counterpart, smiling and being tickled by his sister Nebula.

Usually, there were only five doors on the corridor (the twins shared a room until they were 8, when Andromeda's room appeared as a birthday present), but there was a new, barely noticeable sixth door starting to take shape. Painted on the door was a beautiful oak tree, just like the one in the middle of the grounds, and six words written in gold; Welcome to the world, baby Malfoys.

"Draco...it's true." Hermione gasped in shock.

"Hermione...look... something else is appearing." Draco said, staring intently at the now clear door.

He was right; on the door, four little babies appeared, giggling contently, swaddled in green blankets, and all holding one note; "Open for a gender reveal, Mummy and Daddy."

"Wait...this can't be right. There's four of them. The magic must be fading or glitching or something." Hermione whispered softly, knowing full well that it wasn't.

"Mione..." Draco started.

"Draco, I can't deal with one more child, never mind four. You do know that'll mean we have eight children? Eight children before we're even 30! I can't! I can't do it!" Hermione was hysterically panicking.