\u201cIt felt so good, you know. When you introduced me to your Centaur friends as your wife. I know you did that many times before to many people, but this felt different. It\u2019s as if it healed something that was broken when you didn\u2019t claim me before, when you wouldn\u2019t name our relationship. This went through it and healed it. I felt\u2026 chosen and acknowledged as a wife. It\u2019s as if the feeling time-travelled into the past and healed me so that part of me doesn\u2019t cry any more\u201d, she cuddled into his chest and all but purred.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad\u201d, he smiled and kissed her head.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
Lucius read the newspapers at the breakfast table and suddenly started laughing. \u201cSo that\u2019s why you needed babysitting\u201d. He laughed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cFour Aurors, led by the two spouses who jointly head the office, eradicated the Acromantula infestation from the Forbidden Forest, where it grew since the unfortunate incident where a breeding pair was released into the forest, and kept disrupting the ecological balance and threatening the students at Hogwarts. There was an open contract for dealing with the infestation, however since the Acromantulas tend to attack in swarms numbering hundreds, overwhelming a Wizard\u2019s defences very quickly, it was considered impossible to deal with them, until five days ago, when Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy-Potter and Mr. and Mrs. Krum entered the forest and jointly killed the entire Acromantula population numbering 758. The Aurors in question were unavailable for comment, so we asked the Minister, who briefly confirmed the report and said that the Auror office is doing an excellent job. The price of Acromantula venom, used as an ingredient for numerous magical potions, quadrupled over the news, and is currently slowly rising.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, tell me you collected the venom\u201d, he smiled at his daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut of course\u201d, she winked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd please tell me you did not sell it all at the old price\u201d, his smile widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father raised no fool\u201d, she grinned.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood girl\u201d, he laughed out loud. \u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it will end up being around four hundred thousand Galleons, eventually. I need to trickle the supply to maintain the high prices\u201d, she giggled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you appreciate what you got\u201d, Lucius winked at Harry.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery second of every day\u201d, he smiled and kissed his wife\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second dark species eradicated under the current leadership of the Auror office\u201d<\/i>, Arthur read as he, Molly and Narcissa joined them, carrying two babies with them. \u201cLucius, have you heard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just reading the news\u201d, Mr. Malfoy looked at him and smiled. \u201cThe mystery of many days of babysitting has been revealed\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s for a good purpose\u201d, Molly nodded. \u201cThose spiders actually attacked the school during the battle, and it was about time someone dealt with them. But wasn\u2019t that dangerous?\u201d, she looked at Lyra and Harry. \u201cThey say there were over seven hundred of them and four of you. How did you even manage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy genius wife, whose countless virtues include creating powerful wandless spells, created some new top secret weapons we wished to test in practice. This is why we first created a polygon on the outskirts of Malfoy Manor, where we set traps and surprises for each other, testing how we would deal with a worse version of what surprised Hermione, and then we tested ourselves against another thing we prepared for \u2013 being rushed by a vast number of powerful enemies all at once. As you can see, it worked\u201d, he smiled. \u201cHermione and Lyra used magic from a distance, while Viktor and I took care that nothing came close to them, and since those spiders rely on the tactic of overwhelming the enemy with numbers, they quickly expended themselves against our defences\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make it sound like dealing with Doxies\u201d, Arthur frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoxies would actually be more difficult, because they move in three dimensions, rather than two\u201d, Lyra noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, as the spiders piled up on top of each other, it kind of ended up being at least two and a half dimensions if not three\u201d, Harry smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFair\u201d, she sipped her tea. \u201cAlso, all that exercise got me and Hermione in better physical shape than we\u2019ve been for the last two years of being pregnant and breastfeeding. Can we join you and Viktor for your Quidditch matches? If our parents agree to more babysitting, that is?\u201d, she looked around.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it would be our pleasure\u201d, Molly beamed, and the others agreed with her. \u201cAs long as you stay safe, of course. Will Hermione be going with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can pretend to cheer, and read a book\u201d, Arthur laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s actually likely\u201d, Lyra smiled. \u201cShe\u2019ll get on a broom if it has air conditioning, autopilot and reading lights, but that\u2019s as far as you can push her\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t been flying properly for years. Will you manage? I hear those boys are flying rough\u201d, Lucius looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to be quite good back in the day\u201d, Lyra smiled. \u201cI\u2019m not on their level exactly, but I used to win against Harry every now and then\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I have bruises and scars to prove it\u201d, he smiled and kissed her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss flying. Babies are wonderful and I adore them, but I miss being fast and in the air\u201d, she sighed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt felt so good, you know. When you introduced me to your Centaur friends as your wife. I know you did that many times before to many people, but this felt different. It\u2019s as if it healed something that was … Continue reading