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Moment of Truth (Or How Harry Potter Discovered Ron Weasley’s Betrayal)

Summary:

A birth, a death, and a former friend's fate. Harry Potter has an eventful few weeks, to say the least.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

May 2013

“Ahhh!” Hermione screamed, her hair matted to her sweat-soaked face. Her face itself red from exertion.

 

“You’re doing great, darling, just squeeze my hand,” Draco tried to calm her.

 

Hermione glared at him, hate radiating from her eyes. “You bastard! You are never going to touch me again! Fucking play with yourself from now on,” Hermione yelled at him, but Draco just grinned, “Of course, love.”

 

“One more push, Hermione,” said the medi-witch.

 

“Come on Hermione,” Draco urged.

 

“Shut uuppp!!!” Hermione screamed as she pushed.

 

“I see a head! One more soft push, Hermione,” the medi-witch says encouragingly, groaning Hermione pushed again.

 

Seconds later the loud wail of the newest Malfoy is heard and Hermione drops back onto her pillows exhausted.

 

“It’s a boy! Congratulations Hermione,” offers the medi-witch.

 

As her youngest is being cleaned, Hermione looks at her husband, “Sorry I said, well, all of it,” Hermione whispers.

 

“No apologies necessary, darling, you just rest. You did fantastically, Hermione,” Draco comforts as he kisses her forehead.

 

"Here’s your son, Hermione. He’s a healthy 7 pounds, 6 ounces with a tremendous set of lungs,” the medi-witch added with a smile as she hands over the youngest and newest Malfoy.

 

As Hermione holds her son as he squirms she takes a look at her son, he is definitely more docile than Scorpius was, then again her new baby is only a few minutes old.

 

“Are we ready to name him?” Draco asks as he gently caresses his son’s head.

 

“Yes. Say ‘hi’ to Daddy, Orion,” Hermione cooed, as her son opened his eyes and batted a tired tiny hand in greeting as Draco smiled beside her.

 

“Already taking orders from your Mother, eh, son? Orion, huh? I’m glad you decided against naming our son Toilet.”

 

Hermione frowned disapprovingly, “For the last time, ‘John’ is different from ‘the John’ And besides what's wrong with John? My grandfather was named John.”

 

“Regardless, I’m glad the youngest Malfoy and the newest Scion Black is not going to be associated with a bathroom appliance.”

 

“You’re anointing him already? He’s only a few minutes old!”

 

“So? I was proclaimed Scion Malfoy at my mother’s bedside, just because we waited until Scorpius’ christening to anoint him doesn’t change the fact that at birth if a powerful family holds more than one title the youngest would inherit the second one.”

 

“Here take him then, you’ll probably want to hold him aloft like Simba in the waiting room,” Hermione rolled her eyes.

 

“Don’t be so dramatic, darling. The waiting room of St. Mungo’s is a bit too plebeian, for our son. I’ll wait until he’s back home at Folkestone Castle,” Draco smirked.

 

Hermione just rolled her eyes at her husband and turned back to the little bundle in her arms.

 

Draco smiled at the sight. His life now was extraordinary compared to what it was during the Second Wizarding War. Every day for two years he wondered if his family would survive, he wondered if their name and reputation could ride the War relatively unscathed. Completely unscathed was an impossibility with Voldemort using the Manor as a base of operations. And he wondered if the muggle-born he fell in love with would still love him after, considering all he might or had to do to survive. When she was brought to the Manor, his worst fear was realised. It took all of his pureblood upbringing and Occlumency skills to weather her torture without exposing them, but Merlin did he want to. To hell with Voldemort, if it weren’t for the bastard’s Horcruxes Draco would’ve long sent an Avada toward the monster long before Hermione was caught. But he stuck with Dumbledore’s plans for him and his father. As disgusted as Lucius was with the Order of the Phoenix, Draco was glad his father turned to them before it was too late. At least that way he could keep Hermione safe even from afar. He was immensely thankful to Potter after the would-be saviour distracted Weasley long enough so that he could treat Hermione and send her on her way after what at the time seemed to be a long last kiss goodbye. He was thankful it wasn’t. She was his reason for living. His mother he protected because of family duty, but Hermione he protected because she was his light. She was the reason he risked everything for. He thanked Merlin that she gave into him at the start of Fifth Year, he was thankful she loved him after he was forced to take the Mark, he was thankful she loved him after Voldemort fell.

 

There might not be a Dark Lord to face but Draco knew that with his influence and power, the dangers to his and family’s well-being were always being tested. So even on a joyous day, such as the birth of his fourth child, Draco knew he could never be totally relaxed. Even if it had been months since he heard from DMS regarding Ron Weasley—in his opinion the biggest threat to his truly happily ever after. He knew the ponce or his ill-begat son were going to be a threat even from afar. His instincts told him so and his instincts have never steered him wrong. It had pointed him toward Hermione and the direction to take to come out of the War alive and free and so even as he looked at his wife and newborn son, he vowed to rid his world of the ginger threat once and for all. He just needed a bearing to point his way. But that was for tomorrow, for now, he’d take his newborn son out to meet his brother and sisters, grandparents, and other extended "family", Harry Potter included.

 


 

“All units, we have a visual on the shooter, 12th-floor balcony, Alpha Squad move in to detain, Charlie Squad is in position to provide cover fire!”

 

“Roger that, Control! Move!”

 

“They’re all against me! What did I ever do to them?” The man ranted as he sits along the rail balcony with a bolt action hunting rifle. As he lined up another shot, he heard pounding on his door, seconds later his apartment was breached and filled with tear gas. As Ron Weasley begins to cough as the gas hits his senses despite being outside he is disoriented and stumbles dropping his rifle, as he staggers toward the fire escape.

 

“Suspect has dropped his weapon, move in now!”

 

“NYPD!” Shout the SWAT team as they rush into the apartment. One officer tackles Weasley just as he reaches the fire escape. “I hope you got a good lawyer, asshole. You have the right to remain silent anything you say may be used against you in a court of law! On your feet, dirtbag!”

 


 

Two weeks later

 

Harry Potter felt a presence in his office doorway, he looked up and unsurprisingly saw Malfoy leaning against the door jamb arms crossed and looking smug as ever.

 

“Why so smug Malfoy? Here to gloat about being ahead of me in the baby-making race?”

 

Draco sniggered.

 

“You know, I still think you cheated, if any family has a propensity toward twins it’d be the Weasleys not the Malfoys.”

 

Draco barked out a laugh this time.

 

“How little you know about human biology, Potter. And the Malfoy family tree. Did you know that historically, Malfoy wives had a 66 percent chance at siring twins? And did you know that in Hermione’s family her mother was a twin? Have you met Julie Wilkerson and that she herself had twins? I swear if I didn’t know Jean, I would’ve thought Hermione was her daughter. They are freakishly alike, aunt and niece.”

 

Harry chuckled, “I’m sure you didn’t come in here to lecture me about family trees, so what’s up?”

 

Draco sobered, “The President of MACUSA and the Minister just got off a floo conference call, the President is pushing the Ministry to accept Wendell Weasley into Britain.”

 

Harry’s eyes widened in shock, “What, why?”

 

“The youngest Weasley is as of two weeks ago without a proper magical parent/guardian.”

 

“Again what, why?! What happened to Ron?”

 

“The ginger menace had a bit of a nervous breakdown a couple of weeks ago and went on a shooting spree from his apartment balcony. He shot two pedestrians and killed an NYPD officer. Still think he’s not a murderer?”

 

Harry was silent for a few minutes, “W-was it because we got involved?”

 

“I’m not totally aware of his motive as I said, he sort of just broke down and unfortunately had access to a hunting rifle. I swear the muggle Americans and their Second Amendment rights, it does more harm than good.”

 

“In case you’re wondering the pedestrians will live, the NYPD officer unfortunately died on the scene. Weasley is facing two counts of second degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree murder. This time he is definitely looking at life in prison.”

 

“W-w-what can we do?” Harry said after several minutes.

 

Draco raised a questioning brow, “You can’t be serious?!”

 

Harry shot Draco a significant look.

 

“Unbelievable!” Draco threw up his hands, “Weasley is no longer a wizard so he is not your concern. You told me months ago, you can now rest easy now that Weasley had been identified, and he has, he is a murderer. Those are his true colours.”

 

Harry sighed dejected, “Are you going to tell Arthur or Molly?

 

“And say what exactly? ‘Beg pardon Arthur, Molly but Ronald is on trial for the attempted murder of two muggle bystanders and successful murder of a muggle police officer. My condolences.’” Draco mimicked.

 

Harry sighed again, Draco had a point.

 

“So what’s the Wizengamot gonna do with Wendell?” Harry refocused.

 

“At present the Wizengamot isn’t too concerned with Weasley and his spawn so there’s little to predict. However, if I had to guess, because Ilvermorny is close to end of term, and because his father is in MACUSA’s eyes a muggle and currently in police custody, Wendell will be sent to a magical orphanage after school lets out.”

 

“Malfoy, you have to do something about Wendell, if he goes to an orphanage he could be the next Dark Lord.”

 

“Don’t be so dramatic, Potter.”

 

“I’m not! Before he died, Dumbledore showed me a copy of Riddle’s diary, an actual one not another enchanted one and in it were entries dating back to his youth at a muggle orphanage. Dumbledore said that while Tom Riddle was a brilliant student once he entered the Wizarding world he learned hate and resentfulness while at the orphanage. If you are so keen on stopping another Dark Lord, you have to prevent Wendell from learning hate.”

 

Draco was silent for several moments, “Well, fuck…” 

Notes:

Hello AO3 readers, I hope you're all safe and I hope you enjoyed this fluff setup chapter. I have an ending for this arc but I just don't know how long I'm going to stretch it.

Anyway, thanks for reading, giving kudos, subscribing, etc., PGTW.

EDIT 3/19: I just realised I gave Hermione's aunt the last name Granger, that's eww... it's been fixed now.

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