Love's Magic

A very pregnant Narcissa Malfoy was carefully walking down the massive halls of Gringotts. She and her sister Andromeda were being escorted to his will reading.

Narcissa was tiring. 'The last year had been one of the worst and yet one of the best years in her entire life.' She thought as she rubbed her protruding stomach.

She thought of little else over the last twenty-four hours than the lives she now carried inside of her, twins to be exact. Conceived during a loveless marriage, and in the middle of a war, she vowed these children would have the life that their parents never had. They would grow up with love and care.

This was the third and last will reading that she had to attend today. It also happened to be the most important. The goblins were running around trying to sort out as many matters as they could, but it was a futile effort.

The final battle of the second war had ended a week and a half ago. The funerals for the fallen, and there were many, had concluded yesterday with the burial of their savior.

She sighed and leaned into her sister for some physical support. All of the walking she had done over the last twenty-four hours was taking its toll on her. The goblins had respectfully postponed all will readings until the mass services were completed.

Three thousand wizards and witches perished in the battle with only a third of them being death eaters. It had been a massacre.

Her niece, Andromeda's daughter, Tonks, lay among the dead aurors. And her son amongst the death eaters.

With the incarceration of her husband five and half years ago, Draco had taken over the Malfoy family. He had openly supported and funded the Dark Lord until his father's escape from Azkaban and while he still held the title of Lord Malfoy; his father was clearly running things. And as is required of all Lords of the Malfoy family, her son had drawn up a will at the age of 21 only to be executed not more the ten months later.

They had just left the reading of his will which was preceded by that of her niece's. She could only hope that after his reading that they could finally go home and get some sleep. All of the stress could not be good for her children.

"They're waiting inside." The goblin said with a toothy sneer.

Narcissa turned to Andromeda and hugged her sister before they stepped through the door. The room was not nearly as full as she would have imagined. The only people inside were Molly Weasley, Charlie Weasley, George Weasley, Hermione Granger, and the gentle half-giant Hagrid.

They all looked up to see who it was that was walking into the room. Nobody said anything to her or her sister even though it was obvious that they were curious.

A goblin stepped out of the shadows and began the proceedings. "Now that everyone is present, we may begin.

"You are here to bear witness to the last will and testament of Harry James Potter-Black.

"He has prepared a brief message for everyone that I shall read and then we will divide the estate per his wishes.

"Hey everyone. I plan to remake this will after the war is over so if you are hearing this now than I never got that far. There are many things that I wish I could say but there isn't enough parchment in the world to say it.

"I have had so many secrets over the last few years. It was imperative. With Dumbledore gone, and no one else to turn to, the world chose me to lead them into war. I can only hope that I was able to accomplish my goal before I died.

"I don't know who is left at this point to even bear witness to my last letter but I hope that there are quite a few. I have so many people to thank for everything over the last years that I don't even know where to begin.

"So here is what I intend to do: The goblins have been given instructions as to how my estate is to be divided up. I don't want anything read aloud so they have been instructed to place all of the information into packets to be delivered after this statement is complete.

"I have also included individual letters to most of you to tell you how much you all truly meant to me. As there are two estates to divide, the Potter's and Black's, I hope that there is enough for you to live the rest of your lives in peace.

"I guess that's all I really have to say to everyone as a group. I love all of you, even though this statement may confuse some of you, and I truly wish you all the best. I'll see you all again someday but until then I am going to enjoy some time with my family up here." The goblin stopped reading and his assistant started passing out packets of papers to everyone.

The largest packets were, by far, Narcissa's and Molly Weasley's. "That concludes the last will and testament of Mr. Potter. Now if you would please leave." The goblin urged rudely. "We have other business to attend to now."

Narcissa's hands trembled as she carried her packet with both hands and leaned into her sister again for support. It took all of her years of living with Lucius and her years in Slytherin house to be able to maintain the tight control she has over her emotions during the last twenty-four hours.

She could not afford to break down. Nobody except her sister knew the truth. Well, her and a few others, but the rest died in the battle.

They arrived at Andromeda's small home in the suburbs of London an hour later. Narcissa had decided to move in with her, once estranged, sister after the war had ended. With Ted Tonks' death three years ago and Lucius re-incarceration one year ago, she had nowhere else to go.

Sitting on the couch next to Andy, she opened the packet and pulled out a thick stack of parchment. As she saw the heading on the first sheet of paper she broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

She buried her head in Andy's shoulder as her sister reached out to embrace her.

Andy looked over her sister's shoulder and what she saw made her own eyes teary. Though they were tears of sorrow, they were more bittersweet. She reached out with her left had and scanned the document to see if it was legally binding.

Dissolution of Marriage Contract

By orders of the Head of the House of Black, the marriage contract signed and dated on Jan 21, 1970, between the House of Black and the House of Malfoy is declared null and void.

The House of Malfoy is charged with failure to meet the terms of the contract and the resulting marriage between Narcissa Lynn Black-Malfoy and Lucius Draco Malfoy is herby terminated.

Signed

Tremic R. Hemley,

Wizarding Contract Office

Ministry of Magic

"He did it for you, Cissy." Andy whispered in her ear.

Narcissa continued to sob, perhaps even harder now. "I-I-know. B-But h-he w-was supposed t-to be here w-with me."

Andy let her get it all out of her system until she finally cried herself to sleep.

As she lay on the couch with her sister propped up beside her she reflected back on how much had changed over the last year.

Flashback

The war had taken a turn for the worse. Aurors were dying everyday and she spent her nights by the fireplace waiting for her daughter to check in. Nymphadora was all she had left. Ted had been gone for two years now; his office had been hit by death eaters.

She waited until midnight that night and ended up falling asleep on the couch. Nymphadora still hadn't checked in. She awoke as the fire flared green and a slightly bloody Narcissa Malfoy fell to her living room floor.

She was in a mild state of shock, seeing her sister lying in her living room floor. She had not seen her sister for more than twenty years and now she just falls into her living room at 2:00 in the morning. Before she could get any further the fire flared green again and this time two more people came out.

She recognized the first as her daughter, with her bright pink hair, and the second one, the one supporting her daughter, was none other than Harry Potter.

"Mrs. Tonks, they're both injured pretty badly. Can you start to take care of them while I run and get Poppy?"

Harry didn't give her anytime to respond as he passed Nymphadora towards her mother. As soon as she had a grip on her daughter the young man was gone again.

End Flashback

That had been a rough night. She had stayed up until five that morning to help Poppy heal her estranged sister and her only child.

She had learned over the next few weeks that her sister had been beaten horribly. Lucius was being punished nightly by the Dark Lord and when he would arrive back at the manor he would take his frustrations out on her.

Harry had arrested Lucius that night. That's why Nymphadora hadn't been able to check in. There had been at a raid on Malfoy Manor. The death eaters that were staying there had put up one hell of a fight before they fled, but Malfoy senior would not be so lucky.

Nymphadora had taken Harry under her wing once he became an auror and as such he practically lived with them. She had high hopes that perhaps one day, after the war, that he would fall in love with Nymphadora and get married.

Her hopes were shot down though when she tried to talk to her daughter about it. "We tried it, mum, we did. It isn't meant to be." She had said.

After about three weeks, Narcissa was back to full health. She had slowly started to become apart of the family again. The family she never really had. The loving kind of family.

Harry had done some thinking while Narcissa was healing and he had an idea that could be beneficial to the light side. He wanted Narcissa to return to Malfoy Manor and be a spy for them. She had been reluctant at first but before the end of the night she had agreed. The other side had nothing for her. Her husband and his friends were nothing but savages and she hated all of them, and her son, he was becoming a replica of his father.

The decision maker came in the form of a floo call. She had floo'd Malfoy Manor to tell Draco that she had been kidnapped and was finally able to get free. Her own son had yelled and screamed about her being 'a stupid no good bitch' for compromising his plans by being kidnapped.

She returned to Malfoy Manor everyday and at night after Draco left for his meetings she would return to Andy's. This had gone on for about five months before things started to get a bit interesting.

Narcissa always seemed to be sick. She couldn't keep any food down and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't sit anywhere near a kitchen when other people were eating.

Then the bomb fell. Narcissa sat down to dinner one night, the first time in months. "I found out why I've been so sick." She stated nervously.

In a typical Black manor Andy simply raised an eyebrow in response.

She sighed and looked at Harry. "I'm pregnant." Harry's fork hit the plate with a clang and he stared at her with his mouth hanging down to the floor. It took him a few seconds to come to his senses and he ran over to her ands pulled her into a hug. Tonks had jumped up from her seat as well and was squealing her congratulations as she bounced around the two and occasionally gave them a brief hug.

"What the hell is going on here?" Andy yelled, and everybody turned to face her. They all seemed to forget that she was even present in the house. They all quieted down and Harry cleared his throat. He seemed to be a bit nervous, but his years of fighting in the face of death won out and he told Andy the truth

"Well, I-I guess the easiest way to say this is that I am in love with your sister." He blurted. "And apparently I'm going to be a father too."

The rest of the night was a blur to her. It was all becoming too much to handle. In less than six months, she had been reunited with her sister, she gained a new son of sorts, and said son was in love with said sister and they were going to have a baby together.

They had to research some charms to hide her pregnancy. It wouldn't be long before she started to show and it had to remain a secret. Draco couldn't know that his mother wasn't faithful anymore. He would kill her immediately.

They continued the charade until a few weeks ago. All throughout the pregnancy, Narcissa begged Harry to cancel her marriage contract with Lucius. She wanted to be able to be with the man that she had grown to love and not the man she had been forced upon.

Harry always rejected her pleas to cancel the contract. "I promise you, Luv, that when this war is over I will cancel the contract and we can get married. It would become public knowledge if the divorce papers were to go through and that would make it more dangerous for you and the baby."

It was always the same answer, up until the final battle. "I promise you that no matter happens tonight, you will never have to bear the name Malfoy again." Andy had been witness to their last real moment together. He had held her in her arms for over an hour before he and Tonks left to intercept Voldemort's attack.

A sharp intake of breath broke her musings short. "What's wrong Cissy?" She asked.

"I-I think m-my water broke." She stammered.

"Can you make it to the bedroom by yourself? I need to go get Poppy."

"Yes." She whispered. She watched as her sister left to get the aging medi-witch. She knew that her time was up.

She had kept a few secrets of her own until now. Secrets not even Harry knew. She had once been one of the smartest witches of her time at Hogwarts. She was perhaps one of the best researchers to walk the halls of the hallowed school.

She knew something was different about Harry Potter from the moment they met, truly met, not that time in his fourth year. She had never been loved during her entire life and yet she knew without a doubt that she loved him by the end of her first month of living with him.

She kept asking herself the same question over and over again. "How can two people that have never known love, find it so fast in each other."

She spent her days at Malfoy Manor using their vast library for probably the only productive thing it has ever been used for.

The only passage that she could find in all of her reading was an excerpt on soul mates.

"Soul mates are not common even among wizards. Most of the time soul mates will go their entire lives without ever finding their other half. Those select few that are lucky enough to find their mate will know soon thereafter. They will feel a connection to their mate like nothing they have ever felt before and that connection will only grow the more time they spend together.

"To test the bond you may cast the following spell, animus materia. If the light changes to green then the bond is a true soul bond. If the light stays white, then no soul bond exists."

She had waited until Harry was asleep one night after making love and performed the test. The bond was real and she couldn't have been happier. It was shortly after that that she became pregnant and another two months before she learned that she was carrying twins.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey rushing into the room being tailed by Andy. Madam Pomfrey wasn't about to waste any time. She could tell by the way Narcissa was lying in bed that she was too weak to deliver these babies naturally. She cast a few charms to verify her predictions and announced to the sisters that she was going to have to perform a muggle c-section.

"Andy?" Narcissa whispered.

"What's wrong Cissy? You weren't this weak half an hour ago."

"I want you to promise me something. Please, please watch over my children for me?" She asked.

Andy looked horrified and shook her head violently. She had just lost her daughter and surrogate son less than two weeks ago and her husband a few years before that. Cissy was all she had now. "No, I can't. I can't do this anymore. The war's over and your going to live a long and happy life with your children like Harry wanted."

Cissy shook her head. "No, Harr- Harry was my soul mate. A true soul mate."

Poppy already had the first child out. "You have a boy." She said and wrapped up the baby quickly before handing him to Andy before turning back to deliver the other baby. "I stand corrected, you have two boys." She exclaimed.

"Andy? Please?"

"You can't leave me to Cissy. I won't have anybody else to live for."

"For them." Cissy pointed weakly at her two sons. "Do it for them."

"Mrs. Malfoy-"

"Black." She interrupted.

"Ms. Black. What would you like to name your sons?"

Cissy thought back to her last minutes with Harry as he died in her arms. The very last thing he told her was that he loved her. However before he died she was able to tell him that it was going to be twins. She had wanted to surprise him with it when they were born.

"Cissy, I-I want to give them-" He drew in a deep breath. "Different sur-sur-names. I want the Black and Potter lines to continue. C-Can you do this as my l-last wish?" She held his head in her lap as he bled out in the Hospital Wing. Nothing could be done to save him.

She nodded meekly. "Whatever you want, love, whatever you want."

"I-I love you Cissy. Always remember t-that."

"I love you too Harry." She whispered and kissed him on the lips as his last breath escaped him.

With as much strength as she could muster she answered. "Steven Michael Black and Jonathon Andrew Potter.

"Watch over them for me Andy. I'll see you someday far from today." She reached out and squeezed her sister's hand before closing her eyes for the last time.

"Wasn't there anything you could do?" She asked Madam Pomphrey.

"Soul mates can't live without the other once the bond is formed. No matter what magic I would try, love's magic was destined to bring them together again." Poppy said as she cleaned up Narcissa and the babies.

Andy wept that night more than she could ever remember. Everything and everyone she had grown up with and loved was gone. 'I could end it so easily,' she thought. 'Two words and a green light is all it would take.'

John chose that moment to start crying. She looked back a forth between the small basinet Poppy loaned her and her wand. She shook her head before putting the wand down and picking John up.

"Someday, someday little one, you and your brother will know about your past. Someday I will tell you about your parents. And someday you will grow up to be just like them."