Of Silver and Green

Epilogue

~Five Years Later~

"Draco, hurry up," Brynne called to the closed door. "We've got to get downstairs. You're his best man and it wouldn't do to be late for the wedding when all we've got to do is walk down a few flights of stairs."

Draco exited the bathroom and stepped into the large bedroom they shared. "What do you think?" he asked. He was dressed in an all-black tuxedo with a black dress shirt underneath and his silver-blonde hair was slicked back, as per usual.

Brynne looked him up and down approvingly. "I think I'm glad I taught you the value of Muggle clothing. You look wonderful." Then she snickered. "But old habits die hard, don't they?" she asked, eyeing him gleefully. "It matched though." Draco rolled his eyes and fingered his tie. It was one of his old silver and green Slytherin neckties.

Brynne turned back to the mirror at her vanity table to put the finishing touches on her lipstick. "It was very generous of you to offer to host the wedding here," she told Draco, not looking at him. "Especially considering who it is he's marrying. And that reminds me. I promise not to fight if you do. You leave Weasley along, and I'll do the same with Granger. He'll kill us if we ruin his wedding. Help me up, dear," she said when she was satisfied with her makeup.

Draco moved to her side and gently pulled her to her feet. He slipped his arms around her waist and caressed her swollen middle. Brynne sighed contentedly and leaned back into his embrace. "We can't stay like this all day," she murmured after a moment.

"Why not?" Draco asked kissing her temple.

"Because he'll never forgive you if you're not there for his wedding. Especially considering how little effort it requires for you to go. And he's not the kind of person one wants angry with them. You know how short his temper is." She slowly pulled out of his grasp and walked to the bathroom.

Draco watched, thinking, 'Brynne is the only woman that can make waddling look sexy.'

"I'll be right out," she told him. "Then we'll head downstairs."

She hadn't been in the bathroom for more than a minute before Draco heard her moan, "Oh no." He went to the door and rapped on it. "What's wrong?" His eyes widened when she emerged. The bottom of her dress was soaked and Brynne was swaying slightly on her feet.

"I'm not ready yet," she whispered softly, before collapsing into Draco's arms. As he gazed past her, he saw a large puddle of water spreading across the floor. Comprehension dawned on his face, but was quickly replaced by worry. Effortlessly, he lifted her and carried her to the bed. Once he got her considerably situated, Draco did what any man in his situation would do: he ran to his mother.

~~~***~~~

When Draco returned to his bedroom with Narcissa in tow, Brynne was awake, but disoriented. "We have to get downstairs. What am I doing back in bed?" When she attempted to get up, Draco gently pushed her back against the pillows. "What are you doing?" she asked angrily. Then she noticed Narcissa's presence. "Ciss, what are you doing here?"

The older woman moved to her side and knelt by the edge of the bed. "This may come as a bit of a shock," she began gently, "but Draco and I think you're going to have the baby. Right now."

Brynne's eyes widened. "I-I can't go into labour now! There's a wedding about to start downstairs!"

"I know," Narcissa replied apologetically. "But that baby wants out now." Brynne sighed resignedly. Then she winced in pain. "Contraction?" Narcissa asked.

"I thi-think so," came a shaky reply.

Narcissa turned to Draco. "I want you to go downstairs and tell them what's happened. They can decide whether or not to go on with the wedding or to postpone. Send Severus up here, and anyone else who has any medical experience."

Draco didn't move. "I want to stay here. With my wife," he said resolutely.

Narcissa nodded, a small smile on her lips. "I'll do it." As she left the room, she thought about her own husband. She scowled. 'Why couldn't the father be more like the son?' Lucius was currently rotting in Azkaban, and though Narcissa knew he deserved it, she wished it wouldn't have been necessary in the first place. She sighed and descended into the large lobby of Malfoy Manor, where a host of people stood about talking softly.

She immediately glided over to Severus Snape and touched his arm lightly. The foreboding-looking man started at the touch and looked around sharply. When his dark eyes lit on her, and he recognized who had touched him, Snape's eyes softened ever so slightly. "Yes, Narcissa?" he asked.

"I'm afraid we've a bit of a 'situation' upstairs. It seems someone's keen on existing a week early," she said with a smile. "You are needed upstairs, as well as anyone you can think of with medical experience."

The man's cool exterior crumbled as his eyes widened perceptibly. "Bloody hell, you're not joking, are you?" he exclaimed, eliciting several shocked glances. Her serious blue eyes were his only response. "Fine," he responded, gazing around the room quickly. "I believe Padma Patil's had Medi-witch training. Either her or Neville Longbottom. Although how that boy managed it, I'll never know."

"Judging from your disdain for this Longbottom, which one is Padma?"

"She's one of the twins. I can't tell which one, now that they don't have their Hogwarts robes to tell them apart." A thought occurred to him as Narcissa began to walk away, in the direction of the closest Patil twin, who was standing with a blonde boy who was brandishing a camera. "Narcissa?" he called.

She turned. "Yes?"

"What about the Godparents? Should they be informed?"

"Yes. But do it quickly and get upstairs. I anticipate that copious amounts of Analges Potion will be needed," the witch commented with a faint reminiscent smile before walking away.

Snape turned on his heel and strode briskly to where Blair and Blaise Zabini were talking to Oliver Wood and Cho Chang, who were holding hands. He idly wondered how either Wood or Chang got their minds off Quidditch long enough to get involved in a relationship. "Excuse me, but Mrs. Zabini, I believe you're wanted upstairs," he said to Blair. Then Snape turned to Blaise. "I'm sure you would be welcome as well." As he turned to leave, Blair caught his sleeve. He turned to her questioningly.

"What is this about?" she asked.

"There are things afoot," he told her, his voice full of meaning. She stared at him blankly. He rolled his eyes impatiently. You just couldn't be subtle or mysterious anymore. Someone was always demanding an explanation. "Just go," he commanded. "I've got to go collect your other half."

With that comment, realization dawned on Blair. She smiled excitedly at Snape before running quickly to the stairs, dragging a confused Blaise behind her.

Snape looked around the room. Where was he? The man smirked when he found him. 'In his element, of course,' Snape's inner voice answered. 'In a veritable sea of Weasleys.'

He glided up to the throng to stand behind his target. "Mr. Potter," he hissed in Harry's ear. The Potions Master smirked when Harry started at the sound of his voice. Snape took pleasure in the fact that his voice was still capable of having that effect on a young man who hadn't been his student for two and a half years. "Your presence is required upstairs," he continued.

"But the wedding is about to begin," the younger man protested.

"Yes, but you will have three unhappy Malfoys on your hands if you aren't present." Snape moved closer and lowered his voice so that only Harry could hear. "And I'm not talking about Narcissa."

It took Harry a minute to understand Snape's meaning, but when he did, he green eyes widened. "Oh. Well then. I'm gonna go upstairs then," he said slowly, before rushing to and up the stairs.

~~~***~~~

When Narcissa returned to Brynne and Draco's bedroom, she found it full of people. She raised her voice to be heard over the din. "I must insist that anyone who is not a Potions Master, a Medi-witch, one of the parents, or me will have to wait outside. Now!" Harry, Blaise and Blair quickly moved to comply, not wishing to invoke the wrath of a Malfoy.

"Severus," she said, moving to the tall man's side, "Draco has his private Potions lab across the hall." She turned to Draco. "What's the password to your lab?"

Draco looked up from wiping Brynne's forehead. "Mordechai," he answered.

"All the ingredients for the painkilling potion should be found on his shelves, if my memory serves. If you need anything else, I'll get it for you," Narcissa murmured to Snape.

He nodded curtly and left the room, gesturing for Blaise to follow him into the Potions lab as he left. The Analges Potion was rather complicated and was more easily and quickly prepared with two people cooperating.

"Hurry with that potion!" Brynne shouted irritably at his retreating back, as she squeezed her eyes shut with pain. She seized Draco's hand and blindly groped around for something to take hold of with her other hand. "Ciss," she moaned, and Narcissa quickly moved to take her other hand. When the contraction had passed, Brynne looked up imploringly at the older woman. "What of the wedding?" she asked through ragged breaths.

"Well, I talked to Miss Weasley, since she appears to be in charge. Though she seemed rather hesitant to postpone, she understood that a wedding is more easily rescheduled than labour. I believe she's spreading word around as we speak," Narcissa responded.

Brynne nodded and then proceeded to cut off circulation in the two hands she was gripping for dear life.

"Snape!" Draco yelled. "Would you mind hurrying up with that Analges Potion? Mum and I are about to lose our hands!"

Shortly after Draco spoke, Snape burst into the room carrying a vial of clear violet liquid. Blaise stood at the door, his face a mirror of shock. He abruptly turned away and closed the door with a snap.

"Finally!" Brynne growled with an intensity short of feral and yanked the potion from the stunned Potions Master. She drained the vial quickly and lay back against the pillows, considerably alleviated of pain.

Padma looked up from her position at the end of the bed. "The birthing is about to begin. Draco, do you want to watch?"

To Draco's credit, he lasted nearly two minutes, before he promptly passed out.

~~~***~~~

Draco's head was swimming in a fog. He found himself staring up at Snape. "Amazing, your powers of perseverance," he commented dryly, with a slight smirk touching his lips. He held out a hand to help the younger man to his feet.

"Draco?" Brynne asked weakly from the bed. "I've got someone I'd like you to meet."

Draco moved slowly over to the bed, where Brynne was lying comfortably, holding a small white bundle. "What is it?" he asked softly, his voice full of awe.

"It's a baby, you git!" Snape responded sarcastically, but with a hint of amusement.

"I know that," Draco replied, reddening slightly. "I was referring to the baby's gender."

"We have a son," Brynne replied happily. "Lucas Michael Malfoy."

"How come you got to name him?" Draco asked with false indignation. He loved the name, but he was feeling just a little put out that he hadn't been conscious for the boy's naming.

"Well, you decided on his gender, so I thought it was only fair!" she retorted pleasantly.

"I did not!" Draco protested. "Did I?"

Padma cut in here. "Well, according to modern Muggle medicine, it is the sperm that determines a baby's gender, so technically you did," she commented in a soft voice.

"Oh." Draco climbed onto the bed beside Brynne. "Can I hold him?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied and handed him the white bundle cradled in her arms.

Draco took the baby gently and, once he got him situated, pulled back the blanket to look at his son. He gasped at what he saw.

Lucas was absolutely amazing. The boy had smooth, milky skin, nearly a mirror image of that of his father, except for a faint dusting of butterscotch freckles across the bridge of his perfect nose. The boy's sleeping form carried an almost cherubic quality. At the sound of his father's voice, Lucas' eyes slid open the tiniest bit to reveal twin pools of swirling silver and emerald. But the most remarkable of the boy's features was his hair. His head was covered in the finest, softest blonde hair, but all throughout were streaks of black. Draco ran a tentative hand across the boy's head, raising his eyes questioningly to Brynne.

"Don't ask me!" she protested, "but I think that scorchings from magical fires may be hereditary," she continued with a small smirk. "Besides, I like it."

"Don't forget," Narcissa interrupted, "you've got people waiting."

"So let them in!" Brynne replied, somewhat cheerfully for someone who had just underwent labour. Snape, who was closest, pulled open the door. "Harry, Blair, you have a Godson!" she called.

After Harry, Blaise, and Blair oohed and ahhed over Lucas for a few minutes, a thought occurred to Harry. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "Ginny's still downstairs. I'm sure she and Marcus would love to meet the reason their wedding was postponed."