Disclaimer: Obviously not mine, and I'm not making anything on this. If you read it, please give feedback!! I've made a few changes since this was originally published. I like the feel of the ending better now. I hope you like it. =]

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Draco Malfoy sat at his desk in the Ministry of Magic, staring at the papers in his hand in shock. It wasn’t possible. Justice Mercy Malfoy. What a name. And how the hell did she even track him down? He ran his fingers through his hair again, messing it up further.

“What you got there, Malfoy?” Harry Potter asked as he walked past Draco's open doorway. He didn’t really care, except that it seemed to annoy his co-worker to be asked. Since finishing at Hogwarts, Harry was working his way toward being a well-respected Auror. Draco, on the other hand, had taken up his family's seat on the Ministry Board. He was happy working the legislative angle, making the laws, rather than finding the lawbreakers like the Aurors did.

“None of your business, Potter,” the blond man snarled. Nevertheless, the dark-haired man peered over his shoulder. “Oh, bugger that.” Draco shifted so that Harry had a harder time reading the top page.

“Come on, Malfoy. We may not be friends, but we are usually at least civil to each other at work.”

Rolling his eyes, Draco sighed. “Fine. Here. It’ll be all over the news soon enough anyway.” He handed the pages to Harry.

“Ooh, nasty business there. Paternity suit? So how’d you manage that one?”

Despite his mood, Draco couldn’t help smirking. “Nobody taught you the facts of life yet, Potty?”

Harry blushed, and huffed in his indignation. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. But getting a girl pregnant? Didn’t you even use a protection spell or anything?” Without waiting for a reply, he pointed lower on the page. “And look here. She’s suing for . . . $2 million American? Not only do you knock her up, but you couldn’t even manage a proper British witch?”

Draco covered his eyes. “Not a witch,” he muttered.

“What?” Harry demanded.

“I said, she’s not a witch.”

“That’s bloody priceless! Draco ‘muggle-hater’ Malfoy shagging an American muggle. Have you no shame?” Harry fought to contain his laughter.

“Look, it’s not like I’d ever marry the bint. It was just . . . she was hot.” When Harry continued to chuckle, Draco scowled more. “Come on. When ya’ see something you want, ya’ take it, have it for as long as you need, and then toss it when you’re done. It’s just the way it’s done.”

“Apparently she doesn’t agree.” Draco had to admit that was true. “So, you gonna tell me how it happened?” Harry didn’t expect a response, other than a dirty look, so was surprised when Draco began his narrative. A gentleman may never tell, but then Draco had never claimed that he was a gentleman.

------------------------------------------------------------

He’d been at his Father’s country estate . . . ok, it was his own now, what with Lucius in Azkaban for life. It had been a quiet evening, the nearly-full moon coloring everything in silver and grey shadows. The muggy heat of the day had been replaced by a comfortable night, with a mild breeze from the south-east. Draco stood on the lawn, facing the edge of his property, when he first saw the movements. Something was out there, past the boundary.

He had known for a long time that dark, evil things lived in the forest that bordered the estate. But Lucius had been cautious in many things, if not the most important as it turned out. The house and grounds had been bespelled to repel demons of all sorts, as well as magically made unplottable. So, he felt completely safe to stand and watch whatever was transpiring not ten feet away.

Squinting a bit, he finally figured out what he was seeing. Vampires, two of them. They appeared to be trying to run away from something, but the spell kept turning them so they were headed back the same direction they’d come from. He could tell that they were getting frustrated, and a little panicked as well. He couldn’t wait to see what had them so scared.

That’s when she appeared. She broke through the tree line, slowing to a walk almost immediately upon seeing the confused vamps. “Waiting up for me? Ah, you didn’t have to do that, boys.” She grinned, and twirled the pointed stick she held in her hand. It didn’t look like any wand Draco had ever seen before. Too thick and short. No, it couldn’t be a wand.

He just couldn’t believe his eyes. Two monsters, terrified of this little . . . girl? He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t just dreaming the whole thing.

The two vampires looked at each other and almost resignedly attacked. They were fast, he had to give them that, but she was faster. She ducked the swing from the first, and tossed the second across her shoulder into the leaf litter. He knew they were strong; that was a given. To his amazement, she seemed to be even stronger. A punch landed, one that would have sent most people to their knees. She just shook it off and delivered one of her own. Draco could hear the monster’s ribs snap.

While it was still dazed, she followed through with the hand holding the stick. Its point ripped into the vampire, and the creature dissolved into dust. The smile on her face made Draco’s knees go weak with desire. “Uh, uh, uh,” she said, shaking her head while looking right at him. But that was impossible, due to the magic shielding. She quickly turned, stomping on the arm of the second vampire who was attempting to escape unnoticed. “No fair crawling away while my back is turned.” Draco breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn’t been him she was talking to.

With a minimum of fuss, that vamp was despatched as well. He expected her to turn and go back the way she’d come. However, she stood still, her hands on her hips. “So? You gonna show yourself?”

Draco was startled into speaking. “Me?” His voice squeaked unexpectedly.

“Yeah, you. I can hear you, I can . . . smell you.” Here, that amazing smile returned. “So, now I want to see you too.”

There was no way . . . she shouldn’t be able to even tell he was there. Yet she knew. She was again looking right at where he stood. Momentarily graceless, he stumbled over closer to her. Her eyes, he couldn’t tell what color they were since it was too dark, lit up when he appeared from thin air. She looked him over hungrily, from head to foot. “Ah hah! Looks like we got us an English muffin.” Humor sparkled in her gaze. Her words made no sense to him, but he thought that in this case, being an English muffin might be a good thing.

Since he was closer, he was able to reassess his earlier opinion of her. Not a girl, not by a long shot. A woman, absolutely. The leather she wore accented her curves to perfection. Even after her fight with the undead, her breathing was smooth and even. I wonder what she looks like when she’s out of breath, he suddenly thought. He was glad that his swirling robes would hide what that idea did to him. Or so he thought.

She looked at him through half-lidded eyes. “Has the muffin got a name?”

“D-draco.” He silently cursed himself for stammering.

“Well, Draco, you just like to watch?” She couldn’t mean what it sounded like she was implying, could it? “Or, you want to join in?” The shirt she had been wearing over a tank top fell to the ground. Maybe she did mean what he first thought. She took a sultry step closer, and reached to unfasten his robes at the neck. She fumbled with the catch for a moment, and he suddenly realized that if he didn’t intervene, his clothes would be forcibly ripped from his body.

Draco discovered that one really convenient thing about the full robes that wizards preferred was that they did quite nicely for a blanket, in a pinch. With the rest of his clothes (and hers as well) for padding, it wasn’t even that uncomfortable lying on the ground. Who would have guessed?

She was magnificent. He’d seen his share of nude women, slept with more than a few of them, but no one else came close to the vision before him. He could see the sleek lines of muscle along her torso, bunching and stretching as she crawled like a lioness stalking her prey.

Her hair fell in soft waves around her face, in turns concealing and revealing her gloriously full breasts. His body was reacting appropriately, and he squirmed from the sensations she sent through him. If she didn’t hurry up and let him inside her, he didn’t know what he would do. She stopped when she was directly above him, her nipples brushing lightly against his own. “You like what you see, don’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Her hand brushed up his thigh, softly teasing his balls before firmly grasping his erection. He groaned. “Ooh, looks like this little dragon is about ready to pop.” He wasn’t used to being the submissive one, but with this woman, he didn’t feel that there was any other option, and he kind of liked it. “I hope you’re ready, ‘cause I sure am.” She slowly sank onto him, eyes shut and head tossed back, engulfing him completely. “Oh, hell yeah. That’s what I need.” She looked into his eyes with a leering grin. “This is the one way I don’t mind getting ‘staked.’” He hadn’t said a word since telling her his name, and didn’t feel the need to now. She said confusing things, but he understood her body language completely.

Bending his knees a bit, he thrust upward sharply. She responded with a gasp and a grind that made the sweat start to roll from his body. He’d never felt anything quite like her in his life. The strength he’d seen demonstrated before, combined with the coiled tension he could feel in her, served to enhance the sensations. She could kill him in the blink of an eye, and yet she was nominally his to control. He thrust again, and quivered from the sensations. Together they found a rhythm, hard and fast. He felt his climax building, and fought to stave it off. This was too incredible. He wasn’t about to let it end yet. He heard her come, a low shuddering moan, and lost his control too. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he screamed as his orgasm ripped through him.

They lay together for a while, and he considered what he was feeling. So this is what they mean by afterglow, huh? It was new, nice. He felt satisfyingly tired, and wondered how to make his goodbyes so that he could go home and shower. She preempted that idea by rolling atop him again. One of her breasts rested against his lips as she asked, “You up for round two?” Amazingly, he certainly was. He sucked her nipple deeply into his mouth for a reply. She moaned, and they were off again. Their cries of passion and the sound of damp skin slapping against damp skin echoed through the forest.

The moon was setting when he finally lay still. He was utterly exhausted. Forget about taking a shower, he wanted his bed. He just wasn’t sure he would have enough strength to make it there. This woman, this mystery that he knew almost nothing about, was intoxicating. Too bad he knew he couldn’t keep her. She wasn’t your average muggle, but she also certainly wasn’t a witch of his caliber. It would be just this one time . . . ok, technically seven times, and they’d part, never to be together again.

She sat up and stretched. He heard her back pop all the way down. “Ungh, that was good, Dragon Man.” She looked around them, making sure the area was clear. “You gonna be able to make it home alright?”

He was touched by her concern, however unwarranted it was. He just had to stumble a few feet to be back on his property. From there, a servant could easily be summoned to help him the rest of the way. “Yeah, I’ll be ok.”

She nodded her head, and began to get dressed. “You were just the ticket. Maybe I’ll get to run into you again, and we can have a rematch.” They both knew how unlikely that was, but he nodded anyway. “Take care, Draco.”

She started to walk off into the woods, when he called out. “Hey, you know my name. Are you going to tell me yours?”

Her laughter rang out. “You’ve just had a little Faith.”

-------------------------------------------------

Giles was waiting up when she got back to the New Watcher’s Council buildings. She hadn’t expected that. Since the defeat of the First, and the collapse of Sunnydale, Giles had become more of a paternal figure than ever, especially for Faith and the other new slayers who had stayed with the group. While many of the newly activated slayers stayed with or went home to their families, there were some that had nowhere else to go. Giles was the one they came to with their problems, who took care of their injuries and made sure they were taken care of. He also got hit up for allowances, much to his chagrin.

Giles had returned to England to organize what was left of the Council, and had taken along anyone who wished to join him. Buffy and Dawn were using the Council headquarters as a home base, but were currently working the Black Forest area of Germany. Xander had taken a group of the other girls with him to Italy once Buffy got bored with Rome herself. The slayers hunted, Andrew continued to learn about being a Watcher, and Xander studied architecture to go along with his construction inclinations. Willow had decided to give her relationship with Kennedy her best try, and so accompanied her to her home when the group split. Principal Wood had received an offer of another Principalship, and was now living in rural Kansas (a place so rural that not even demons and the undead bothered with the area.)

“Did you get the whole nest?” Giles asked when Faith walked past the warm and cozy library on her way to bed. She stopped to update him, leaning on the deep brown leather sofa back. Not that she’d tell him the whole night’s adventures. She didn’t think he had any heart problems, but better not to beg trouble.

“Yeah, got ‘em all. There were a couple that ran off into the woods that I had to track down, but I managed to dust them.”

“Oh, well, if you had to track some, that explains why it took you so long. I was worried when you didn’t come right back.”

“Aw, thanks, G-man. That means a lot to me, that you care.” She grinned and smacked him lightly on the arm. “I’m headed bedward now. See ya’ in the morning?” He waved her off, and turned to complete the chapter he was reading. It was a sign of his immersion in the book that he didn't take issue with the nickname. Not that it ever helped, since she just ignored his complaints.

***********

Faith realized that she had a problem when she skipped a second period. Her cycles had been irregular ever since she was called as a slayer, but it was unheard of to go that long when she was getting proper food and rest. Hoping against what she felt was true, she bought a home pregnancy test. That was one of the longest ten minutes of her life. Bracing herself, she looked at the little window. Damn. Two stripes.

Now, how to break the news to Giles?

As it turned out, it wasn’t that hard. She found him in the library, as usual. “Giles?”

He knew instantly that she wanted something serious. It was the only time she didn’t use an inane nickname for him. He sat back in his favorite chair. “Yes, Faith?”

Short and straight, only way to do it, she thought. “I’m pregnant.”

“I see,” the Englishman replied. He was quiet a moment while Faith squirmed. “Well, shall I set up a pre-natal visit for you, or an abortion?”

“Abortion? No way. I don’t kill people anymore.” She looked horrified that he would even suggest it.

“Well, technically, the personhood of a fetus is up for debate . . . ” Debate. That was a clean, sanitary way to describe that whole mess.

“I said, I don’t kill people.”

“Right. Pre-natal visit it is then.” He picked up the telephone receiver, then turned to look at her again. “Should I call Robin Wood as well?”

“Why? Do the math, G-man.” Her sense of humor had returned rather quickly, now that her news was in the open. “He hasn’t been here for over three months. Oh, uh . . . I guess it might not be as obvious as I thought. Sorry. Nope, not his.”

Giles covered his renewed surprise the same way. “I see. Um, do you . . . uh, know, um . . . who’s it is?”

“Got a pretty damn good idea, yeah.” Giles waited for her to elaborate. He knew not to push, since that would just close the former rogue down. Seeing his questioning look, she continued, “His name is Draco something. Didn’t actually get the last name.” She saw his patiently exasperated look. “I ran into him after a pretty good-sized slaying one night. You know how I get. I couldn’t help it, didn’t really give him the third degree. Look, it’s not like this was supposed to happen!”

Really, Giles was taking this much better than she had expected. He sat her down on the sofa, and patted her shoulder. “I know, I know. Don’t worry, we’ll get things taken care of.” She really didn’t want to start crying in front of him, so she stared at her hands for a bit. “So,” he interrupted her contemplation. “How far ahead have you thought?”

She snorted. “Beyond telling you that I’m pregnant?” She laughed self-depreciatingly. “Not so much with the plan ahead, you know.”

“Yes, quite.” He placed a hand over hers. “What do you want to do with the baby? Give it up for adoption? Try to raise it yourself? You need to consider these things now.”

“Yeah, I get that.” An idea struck her. “Hey, do you think . . . if I kept the kid . . . with all this Watcher stuff, maybe you could find this Draco guy?” At his look of scepticism, she went on. “I forgot to tell you. He has this mojo thing going on, like Red.”

“Really?”

“Uh huh. Kind of showed up out of thin air, actually. I could sense him, but not see him at first.”

“Oh. Well, that may make things a lot easier, then.” The magic world, hidden from most people’s knowledge, wasn’t that big of a place. With a description and the first name, especially as unusual a name as Draco, they should be able to get some results. The coven he’d introduced Willow to was on the very fringes of their society, but Giles had deeper contacts as well. He’d avoided letting Willow be pulled into that world (simply by keeping her ignorant of it) because of the prejudices he knew flourished there, but it appeared that his charges were going to be exposed to it whether he wanted it or not.

***********

Giles was waiting for the sky to fall. The very first person he had asked about locating the mystery father had immediately asked, "You mean Draco Malfoy? That Draco?"

He should have known. It couldn't have just been some ordinary person. It was Draco Malfoy, son of the infamous DeathEater Lucius Malfoy. Of course, nobody had ever been able to produce any evidence that the boy was involved with his father's misdeeds, but there was still an air of unease that surrounded that family. And he was rich, and powerful. The very idea of confronting a Malfoy about an illegitimate child was daunting.

However, he was able to easily secure a picture of the wizard in question. He took it to Faith. Once she got over the novelty of wizarding pictures moving, she replied, "Yep, that's him. No question. So, what's his story?" Giles told her an abbreviated version of the family, and she nodded as she listened. "OK, so he's got money. That's good. Cause my baby ain't gonna grow up like I did. It's gonna have plenty to eat, good clothes to wear. No sorry excuse for a . . . um, house."

Giles put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. You'll be a good mom."

Tears pooled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "Yeah, great mom. Former psychotic ex-con, got knocked up by a stranger. Just what every kid wants." She placed her hands across her stomach, where the slightest hint of a bulge was beginning to show. Giles didn't know how to respond to that, but was saved from having to when she blinked a few times and wiped the threatening tears away. She changed the subject. "So, how did you know where to look for Mr. Malfoy?"

Instead of not knowing what to say, he found himself in the position of not knowing how much to reveal. "Well, um, it all goes back to before I joined the Watcher's Council. I, uh, got involved with some spell-casting . . . "

"Oh," she interrupted. "When you were 'Ripper' and tried to raise that demon guy, Eggy-on?"

"Uh, Eyghon actually. Let me guess, Buffy told you about that?" Chalk another up to the infamous Buffy mis-pronunciations. Right up there with "Kissing Toast." At her nod, he continued. "Yes, so . . . it wasn't that we tried to raise Eyghon, it was that we succeeded in raising him that caused all the trouble. The result was that one of our group was killed outright, and the rest of us were emotionally scarred.

"We were tracked down by Aurors, who are kind of like the magic world's police, and punished. Most of us got off easy I dare say, but Ethan, who was deemed the ringleader, was sentenced to five years in a prison called Azkaban. He was never the same after that. Quite pushed him over the edge, I believe." Giles sighed at the memory. "I was put through a course on remedial magic, with an emphasis on respecting what it can do. That is where I met most of my magical friends and contacts."

***********

After one unnerving clinic visit, it was quickly decided that a Medi-Witch would be preferable to a regular obstetrician and hospital setting. First of all, Faith hated hospitals. She had clenched her hands together tightly the entire time she was in the clinic to avoid just tossing everyone out of her way and getting free of the building. Second, there was a high probability that the baby would be a witch or wizard, and reflex powers could manifest at birth. That was possibly what had caused the ultrasound machine to malfunction, but nobody was certain. Third, a slayer’s strength was only increased by tension, and delivery was certain to entail more than a bit of that. As it was, she was leaving behind imprints of her fingers in the exam table railings at the clinic.

At about six months, Faith had her first magical check-up. The Medi-witch they’d chosen was one Madam Caprai, but she insisted they call her Paulette. Her sister was in charge of the infirmary at the very school that Draco had attended. Paulette had heard stories. “So you’re gonna have a little Malfoy? You got guts,” she mumbled. “Is the daddy going to be here too?”

Faith blushed lightly. “No. He doesn’t know yet.”

Paulette got a knowing look in her eye. “Well, we’ll be sure to let him know once the precious one is here.” She smiled, and Faith did her best to smile back. Then the witch pulled out her wand. Faith was lying on her bed, and eyed the “stick” warily, hoping that the witch wasn’t planning to poke that wand anywhere it didn’t belong. Fortunately, Paulette instead waved it above Faith’s distended belly and muttered a few words. A spell, Faith realized. Her stomach began to softly glow. The glow turned pink and intensified sharply before fading away. Paulette grinned so wide it looked like her face might split in half. “It’s a girl, and a very healthy one at that.”

It was only after talking with Paulette for a while that Faith realized just how lucky she was. Having never been around anyone who was pregnant, she didn't know about the tribulations that plagued so many. She hadn't had a minute of morning sickness, and her energy levels had only slightly diminished. Although her back had recently begun to be a tiny bit sore, it was only when she tried to do something where she had to consciously compensate for the change in her center of gravity. However, she was not looking forward to the predicted needing to pee every ten minutes that her slayer strength and healing ability was unlikely to affect. And the way that the smells around her seemed to be amplified? Pregnancy, she concluded, was not for wimps!

***********

Come on, Faith, she told herself. Just like during a fight. Breathe through the pain. Push it to the back of your mind. “Get out here, you little witch!” she screamed as another contraction struck.

Giles knew better than to let out the laugh that was threatening rise to the surface. If she thought he was enjoying her discomfort, he would be in his own world of hurt. And he wasn’t enjoying seeing her in pain. Her comment had struck him funny, however.

“I guess I kind of deserve this,” she said. The contraction must have ended, because she once again sounded rather calm, if a bit tired. “In a way, it’s like justice or something.”

“What? That you were careless with casual sex? I can see that, I suppose.” Faith rolled her eyes at him. “But remember, this justice will have the mercy of a beautiful little daughter at the end.” The middle of labor was an unlikely circumstance for philosophy, but Giles went with the flow.

“Huh. I like that. Justice with Mercy,” Faith said thoughtfully just before Paulette told her to bear down again. The next contraction began, and she pushed.

“Yes, they do go together well,” Giles mused.

***********

When Justice was three weeks old, she and Faith both had a checkup with Paulette, while Giles went to pay a visit to a legal wizard named Michael Branwell. Following the final examination, Paulette sat back. “Well, dear, I know many women who would love to have that talent of yours.”

Faith, who had picked up her daughter to nurse, looked up in mild surprise. “What talent?”

“Oh, it’s just that you have healed completely. With the obvious exception,” and she nodded to the busily eating baby, “I should never even know that you had just had a child. Why, you don’t even have stretch marks.”

Long accustomed to the “miracles” of slayer healing, Faith just nodded distractedly. If the knifing incident with Buffy hadn’t left a lasting scar, she didn’t know what would. She gently brushed the baby’s fine hair with her fingertips. All that she cared about at the moment was that Justice was doing well and there were no problems to worry about.

***********

“Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Branwell. I am unfamiliar with the laws of the wizard world, but my . . . uh . . . friend has a rather large problem. You see, she just gave birth to a child fathered by a rather prominent member of the wizarding community. I understand the difficulty with the child being illegitimate . . .”

“Illegitimate?” Mr. Branwell interrupted. “I don’t understand. The child is human, correct?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Then what’s illegitimate about it?” he asked, puzzled.

“I-I mean, um, that the child was born out of wedlock. Is, you know, a bastard?”

“Oh. What a . . . quaint idea. Why ever would we make any judgment on the child’s character based only on the parents’ state of matrimony?”

“NO, no, I didn’t mean it that way. A child born to an unmarried woman is commonly referred to as a bastard.”

“My, the muggle world is strange. Makes me wonder how many of those poor children then live up to the label.” He shook his head as if to clear away the thought. “No matter. We don’t espouse such ideas in the wizard’s world, no pun intended. Children are too precious, especially with the rise in number of squib births.” At Giles’ confused look, Michael explained. “A squib is a non-magical child born to magical parents. It happens most frequently in the ‘pure-blood’ families, where intermarrying is too common.”

“So, getting support for the baby . . . “

“Shouldn’t be any problem, particularly if it . . . ”

“She,” Giles threw in.

“Alright, she is proven to have magical talent. The name of the father is . . . ?”

“Mr. Draco Malfoy.”

“Ah.” Michael Branwell looked somewhat smug. He would enjoy helping to spread around some of the Malfoy fortune. “OK, I can set up a hearing with the Child and Family court, if you would like?”

Giles nodded, feeling much more at ease about the situation. “Please do.”

“Good. I just have a bit of paperwork I’ll need you to fill out, and we can get your friend’s case underway.”

***********

“I changed my mind.”

“What do you mean? You can’t change your mind now. We’re suppose to be there in an hour!”

“Well, I don’t wanna go. Not if they are going to try to take Justice away from me or anything.” Faith looked amazingly young, sitting on the couch holding the sleeping baby and pouting. She was dressed in a long dark skirt and a modest blouse at Giles’ direction. Five and a half month old Justice was wearing a rather frilly pink dress and looked blissful.

Giles frowned. “Whatever makes you think they’d try to take her from you?”

“The magic. You said that they want more magic kids, and I’m no witch . . . at least not in that sense.” She smiled weakly. “What if they don’t think I’m good enough for her? I-I mean, I know I’m not . . . but what if they think so too? Nobody’s gonna take my little girl from me.”

“I pity the idiot who tries,” Giles muttered under his breath, and then continued aloud. “Nonsense, Faith. You are a very good mother, and I’m sure they’ll see that. All we are going to do is make sure that you have enough money to provide for her properly. That’s all, I promise.”

It took a bit of sweet talking, but eventually Faith got off the couch and they left for the Ministry of Magic building. Giles had the address and some instructions on a piece of paper, which he checked frequently. After leaving the underground train system in the heart of London, they still had to walk a few blocks. Faith had Justice strapped to her chest in a sling carrier, and the baby remained asleep, unaware of how her mother irritably twitched her skirt away from her legs as she walked. She stopped in consternation when Giles announced that they’d arrived. All that she could see was a few old office buildings, a rundown pub, and a whole lot of garbage. “You’ve got to be kidding. There’s a government building around here? Where?” Even her old Sunnydale flea-bag motel hadn’t been quite this bad.

“Oh, um, well . . . the entrance is disguised, actually.” Giles walked to the trashed-looking phone box, opened the door and stepped inside. He motioned for Faith to join him. Wrinkling her nose, she squished in beside him, doing her best to keep from disturbing the baby. Once the door was shut, Giles picked up the receiver on the apparently broken phone and dialed 6-2-4-4-2. A pleasant-sounding woman’s voice said, “Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.”

“Rupert Giles, Faith Lehane and Justice Malfoy,“ Giles stated.

“The purpose of your visit?” the voice asked again.

“Ah, we’re here for a, um, child welfare hearing?” Giles replied.

“Thank you,” the voice said, and a pair of silver badges slid from the coin return slot. “Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.” Faith decided that the voice must be a recording of some sort. She pinned the badge that said:

Faith Lehane
Parent
Child Welfare Hearing

to her top, and Justice’s to her carrier. She noted that Giles’ said:

Rupert Giles
Child’s Advocate
Child Welfare Hearing

“Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium,” the recording piped up again.

“But we don’t have wands,” Faith whispered.

“We’ll sort it out when we get there,” Giles answered. The phone box shuddered, and they began to sink into the ground, as if in a slow and very noisy elevator. Make that a slow, noisy and dark elevator.

After a long moment, they arrived in the long entry atrium of the Ministry of Magic. There were numerous fireplaces along both sides of the hall, with wizards and witches either appearing from or disappearing into them. The atmosphere was one of organized chaos. People bustled around, intent on what they were doing, paying little attention to anything else. There was a circular fountain halfway down the hall, with four different levels. It seemed that there had previously been statues or something in the middle, but all that remained were the platforms.

To the left of the gate at the far side of the atrium sat a desk with a sign proclaiming “Security.” That was where they headed. The desk was occupied by a rather plump red-headed witch, wearing terribly unflattering lavender robes. She looked up with a sigh. “Wands, please.”

“We haven’t any.” Giles tried not to smile as the woman goggled at them.

She looked over her shoulder, and screeched, “Eric! Come out here, if you would?”

A somewhat scraggly looking wizard came out from a small office. “What do you need, Marla?”

“They don’t have wands,” she said, pointing at Giles and Faith. He took a closer look at them, glancing at their badges. Then he rolled his eyes and pointed at a list in front of the witch. She read it, and flushed bright red. “Oh, thanks.” Curious, Faith peeked at the paper. It showed “Mr. Rupert Giles and guest” as visitors from the Watcher’s Council for The Slayer. She blinked a time or two when Marla then called for another wizard. “Bertram, can you please escort these two to the Children’s Welfare department? They’ve moved to level five, around the corner from the International Magical Office of Law.” The man nodded and motioned for them to follow. He lead the way through the golden gate into a smaller hallway, then to the lifts.

The gates to one of the lifts clattered open. Bertram inquired of the woman inside, “Going down?” She nodded, and they walked in. There were three paper airplanes floating against the ceiling, Faith noticed. She didn’t think much of them until the doors opened at what that same recorded voice from before announced was level seven. Then, all three planes flew out of their own accord and disappeared down the hall. She looked at Giles, who only shrugged.

At level five, Bertram stepped off the lift and walked to the right. He didn’t even check to see if they were following. They went past a large group of offices, where they could hear rather loud discussions in over a dozen different languages. Finally, they arrived at an ordinary looking door. Bertram opened it, motioned them inside, and left without actually saying a single word to his charges. Faith rolled her eyes at his back. “Real friendly one, there. Was afraid he’d wake the baby with all his yammering.”

The room inside was large, but still felt rather cozy. There were a pair of plush couches, one on each side of a large desk. Behind the desk sat two wizards and an older witch. The wizards were conversing quietly, and the witch stood. “You’re here for the Malfoy paternity case?” At Faith’s nod, she motioned them to the couch on the right. She came over and peeked in at Justice, who was just beginning to wake up. “Oh, isn’t she beautiful?” she said, and smiled brightly. She made Faith think of someone’s grandma. “Why don’t you just put her in here?” she asked and waved her wand. A bassinet appeared beside the couch. Faith looked at the little bed suspiciously, but after a moment, relented and placed the baby inside.

Just then, the door opened again, and in walked a tall blonde witch. She was beautiful, and carried herself with an air of importance and power. “Mrs. Malfoy, welcome,” the grandma witch greeted. “Please, have a seat.” Mrs. Malfoy sat on the left side couch, not showing any sign of even seeing the others.

“Oh, great,” Faith murmured to Giles. “There’s a Mrs. Malfoy? Just what I needed. Can’t we just go home now?” Giles didn’t respond, just placed his hand on her knee in support. Grandma witch overheard, and leaned over.

“The lady is Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy, Draco’s mother.”

The door opened a third time, and Draco swept in, his dark robes swirling in his wake. “Mr. Malfoy. Now we’re all here, we can get started.” Faith looked over. It was him. She felt a pleasant tingle run through her. Yep, it was definitely him. Too bad they were meeting again under such negative circumstances.

“Draco Malfoy,” began one of the wizards, a tall, slightly balding man. “You have been identified as the father of this child,” he looked at his papers, “Justice Mercy Malfoy. What is your claim? Do you deny it?”

Draco stood, and rubbed his upper lip. “Well, Mr. Mitch, I could be . . . but I doubt it.”

“Have you had relations with this woman, the child’s mother?” and Mr. Mitch motioned towards Faith. Draco looked at Faith, and she could tell that he clearly remembered that night. There was a flare of desire in his eyes.

“Yeah, once.” Faith cleared her throat. “Uh, one night,” he amended. “But considering the circumstances of that one night, I doubt that I’m the only possible father.” Faith glared at him, and he took an unconscious step away from her.

“But there is a chance that the child is yours?” asked the other wizard.

“Like I said, Mr. Wright, I suppose so, but . . . look at her.” Draco pointed at the resting child. “She doesn’t look a thing like me!” With her eyes closed, dark lashes against her fair cheeks and fine dark curls covering her head, she looked like a miniature of Faith. The original Faith growled, her fists clenching. One more negative word about her daughter, and she would attack. However, Justice chose that moment to open her eyes. Their pale silver color was undeniably a Malfoy trait. “Oh,” was all Draco could say then, for even he could see it. Giles put a hand on Faith’s shoulder to hold her back, for all the good it would do if she were determined to wreak havoc.

“All right, it is a possibility. So, we will perform the Parental Test and Magic assessment as planned. Miss . . . Faith?” Mr. Mitch motioned her to pick up the baby. When she did, he continued, "Madam Berry?” The grandma-like witch stood beside the bassinet. She waved her wand, and said the spell. Justice cooed, and reached for the waving wand. Madam Berry smiled and invoked a second spell. Faith and Justice were both surrounded by a warm, honey-toned glow. “It’s confirmed, she is the mother.”

"And surprisingly, also not muggle, as was claimed," Mr. Wright murmured.

“Duh! We already knew that I'm her mother!” Faith said loudly, drowning out Mr. Wright's comment.

Mr. Wright did what he could to soothe her. “Of course. It’s just procedure, to show that the child is not here under false circumstances. There has been occasion when someone has come in claiming to be a child's parent, and it was just not so. Now, if you will hand the child to the gentleman beside you?” Faith shrugged and handed Justice to Giles, still scowling. The glow around Justice changed to a opalescent white, while Giles began to glow in a silvery grey. Feeling the need to explain to Faith what was happening, Mr. Wright said, “What the spells are showing is that the child has a magical core, hence the independant halo effect, so she is not a squib. That's a good thing, since she can join Wizarding society when she gets older. It shows that Mr. Giles likewise has a magical core, but that he is not her father. If he were, they would share a harmony effect, as when you held her." Mr. Wright turned to the matron witch. "Madam Berry, if you will take the child now?”

The witch took Justice from Giles. Justice continued to show her white halo, Madam Berry produced a rosy pink one, and Giles' glow ceased. She took the baby over to where Draco still stood. She handed the baby to him. Draco looked at the tiny girl in awe as his own halo appeared and hers rapidly changed to match its dusky blue hue.

Madam Berry clasped her hands. “It’s settled. He is most certainly the father.” She turned to Faith in an aside. "Since she does have a core, the harmony effect is proof positive that she is his child of the flesh. There is no way to duplicate it if there is magic on both sides."

Mr. Mitch intoned, "This court hereby grants the support amount of," he checked his notes, "two million American muggle dollars, as specified in the filing, to be paid into an interest-bearing account in the name of Justice Mercy Malfoy. Monthly payments will be made to her caregiver for her care until such time as the child reaches maturity. The remainder will then be hers to use as she sees fit."

“But . . . “ Draco looked around him as though frightened. Slowly, the glow around Justice was beginning to fade as the spell waned. “What do I do now?”

Narcissa stood up, and smacked the back of his head. “Now, maybe you should go talk to the mother of your daughter. See if you can’t manage to be polite.” He took a step towards Faith, but was stopped short by Narcissa grabbing his arm. “But first, let me start to get to know this sweet thing.” She took the baby from him and held her close, Narcissa's pale green halo showing only momentarily before the spell self-terminated. “Hello, lovely Mercy. How is my little Treasure? And Draco,” she called out. “I’m not going to lose my granddaughter. So make nice, ensure that I won’t.”

Faith was watching him approach, her arms crossed and displaying her increased bust to great advantage. He wished he'd kept his gaze on her breasts when he saw the glare she was giving him. "So," he started weakly. "You had my baby."

"No shit. Aren't you brilliant? That's what this whole party was about."

She was angry, but he wasn't sure why. "What? What's got your knickers in a twist? It's not like I knew. I didn't even hear a word about it until two weeks ago."

"You are such a prick. You insult me, no biggie. I can take it. I'll just 'rearrange' a few of your bones. But you insulted her. The best, most perfect thing that's ever happened to me, and you looked down your snobby little nose at her."

"No I didn't."

"'Doubt she could be mine,' you said. 'Doesn't look a thing like me,' you said. She's not good enough to be a Malfoy?"

Draco was starting to get angry himself. “It was perfectly reasonable for me to question . . . “

Faith was in his face in an instant. “Because I’m a slut? Is that what you’re saying?” Draco didn’t say a word, but she saw in his eyes that was what he had been thinking anyway. She swung her fist into his stomach, doubling him over. “You’re lucky you are her father, else I might have to seriously hurt you.” She shoved past him to collect Justice and leave.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re the mother of my first grandchild,” Narcissa smiled slightly, and extended a slender hand.

The irony of Narcissa’s words made Faith smirk. “Yeah, pleasure.” She briskly shook Narcissa’s hand and reached for the baby.

“And I understand that you aren’t a witch, my dear?” Narcissa turned slightly, preventing Faith from reaching Justice. To Faith, it was obvious that the woman didn't intend to return the baby, and her temper flared.

“No,” Faith growled. “I’m a slayer.” Narcissa’s eyes popped wide open. She quit stalling immediately and handed the baby over. The swift movement jarred Justice enough to make her cry out. Faith felt a rush of moisture, and looked down to see the stain spreading on her shirt front. She sighed in exasperation. “Perfect.”

Narcissa noticed, of course, and put her arm around the slayer’s shoulders to pull her in confidentially. She knew that she had some repair work to do on her relationship with the slayer. “Nobody has bothered to get you a witchs’ nursing bra? What kind of people are you dealing with? No matter," she continued before Faith could say a word. "We can rectify the situation immediately.” She pulled the bewildered mother and child with her, and announced, “I am taking my new daughter now, to get her properly accoutered.” She turned to Giles. “Don’t worry, she will be well taken care of, and returned to your residence before sundown.” Then she turned and cuffed Draco again. “You said she was a muggle,” she hissed before proceeding from the room, Faith and Justice trailing behind.

“I’ll just finish up here,” Giles called after them, not sure what exactly had just happened or if they'd even hear him.

********

Faith had no idea why she had followed the strange woman, but somehow she had found herself going through a fireplace to a magical shopping mall. Or at least that was the best explanation for this Diagon Alley place that she could come up with.

Narcissa was flitting around, buying up a storm, and introducing her and Justice as, “my granddaughter, and her mother, the Slayer.” The responses to Justice's introduction made Faith smile fondly. She completely expected and agreed with the praise of little Justice, and her perfection. What shocked her were the reactions to finding out she was a slayer.

“A slayer in the family? How wonderful for you, Narcissa!" Apparently, the Wizarding world not only knew about slayers, but considered them to be practicaly of a celebrity in status. It was a mind-boggling turnaround. She didn’t even think to mention that there were currently 297 slayers world-wide, with more being found at least monthly.

Slayers (although it had been kept from common knowledge outside of the magic community for over 1,000 years) were by nature of their calling, magical creatures. With proper training before and/or after activation, they could become as accomplished as most natural witches. Giles was furious when he found this out. How could the old council have been so stupid, so careless? A powerful fighting tool had been “stolen” from all those slayers for all those years, all because someone somewhere had decided that a magically trained slayer might be less controllable. He immediately set about finding magic tutors to assist in training his current crop of girls. Anything that might keep them alive for a bit longer was a plus in his book.

Most of the shopping trip was a whirlwind of confusion to Faith as she watched the pile of purchases towering. She managed to put her foot down and refuse all but one set of robes, since she intended to stay in the "muggle" world. Just for special occasions, Narcissa insisted. But things for the baby that she had never even thought of were flying off the shelves (literally, in some cases) as “absolute necessities,” according to both Narcissa and the shopkeepers. Self-cleaning burp rags, leakproof diapers that also prevented diaper rash, a mobile featuring little flying brooms and wands that sensed when the baby was awake and shut off when the baby was asleep. What would she do with all this stuff?

“This isn’t coming out of the support money I’m supposed to get for Justice, is it?” she asked shortly after the shopping spree began.

“Of course not,” Narcissa laughed. “But I’m allowed to spoil my little Mercy all I want.” At least on one thing, they were in total agreement. Only the best for the youngest Malfoy.

Faith found it rather odd that Narcissa continued to refer to the baby as Mercy, and not Justice, but they were both her names, so she didn’t argue. When she finally did question the practice, Narcissa breezily explained, "I've had enough 'justice' in my life, mostly at the hands of Draco's father, so I am ready to embrace the mercy!"

********

“I hope you’ll forgive my son for his little idiocies; I blame his father for them.” Faith and Narcissa were eating a late lunch, following spending more money in one day than Faith had ever seen in her whole life. “I should have kept a better eye on Draco when he was younger,” Narcissa sighed, “but I was so young myself then. You may not know it, but my husband was power-hungry, and instilled some of his blatant disregard for others in our boy.” They were quiet for a moment. “Actually, that is a trait that runs strongly in my family as well. My sister, for instance. But still, I should have been able to show Draco that there are means that are so much more effective in getting what you want than fear and intimidation.”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Malfoy,” Faith responded. “Fear and intimidation have worked fairly well for me in the past.”

“Oh, please, call me 'Cissa. All my good friends do. And you see?” Narcissa said. “You are so perfect for each other. He needs a strong woman to keep him in line, and being shown the other end of the intimidation technique will prove my point to him so elequently. You, of course, can only benefit from the connections our family name can bring you, and of course, I would have my darling granddaughter near me.” She smiled, obviously pleased with her solution.

“What, you think I should marry Draco?” Faith felt her senses spinning at this abrupt turn in the conversation.

“Of course,” Narcissa patted her hand. “It would be ideal.”

“Oh, yeah. Ideal. Right up until I can’t stand his arrogance another minute and kill him.” Oops, she flinched slightly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to say that.” Faith felt bad, threatening her baby’s father in front of his own mother.

“Don’t worry, I understand. I’ve been tempted to hex him myself on occasion. However, I’m not planning a wedding just now anyway. Just . . . will you try to get to know him? See if you could make a relationship with Draco work?”

“Alright, . . . ‘Cissa. I’ll see what I can do.” After all, he was still a hot muffin.

********

Once the fireplace at the Council home was added to the floo network, Faith and Justice made regular appearances in the Malfoy house. Narcissa loved playing the hostess and just watching her granddaughter grow. Faith had quickly discovered that Narcissa had a fascination for the strategies of slaying, and Faith was blossoming under her attention. They spent hours discussing techniques and telling stories. Faith was even enjoying learning some minor spells and potions that would help in defeating demons where brute strength was less effective.

Faith stepped out of the fireplace into the east sitting room in Malfoy Manor, and Justice sneezed. A female house elf was immediately beside them. “Missy Faith, Missy Mercy! Mara will be cleaning you off now.” She pulled out a feather duster and a handkerchief. She handed the hankie to Faith, “for Missy Mercy,” as Justice was always called by the Malfoy house elves. Despite the fact that the house elf could reach no higher than Faith’s hip, a few flicks of the duster quickly had both travelers clean. Faith wiped her daughter’s nose, and handed the hankie back. “Oh, thank you, Missy Faith,” Mara took the soiled handkerchief as though it were a treasure to be prized and scurried away.

Narcissa swept into the room, her emerald green robes a distinct change from the sedate dove grey and black that she tended to wear in public. “Welcome, welcome!” she said, giving the toddler a kiss on the cheek and embracing Faith quickly. “How’s your week been?” They sat across from each other on the elegant couches in the sitting room.

“Pretty good. You were right about that potion. Much better than trying to take the seghox demons down by hand. Just tossed it on them, and they melted like ice in an oven.”

“Yes, I thought it would,” Narcissa began.

“Gamma,” Justice piped up. “Wan took-ee.”

Narcissa reached for a silver bell on the end table, but stopped when she heard the front door opening. “Alright, Mercy dear. Let’s go get you a cookie. We’ll be right back,” she said to Faith as they headed for the kitchen. The ploy was obvious, since it had been pulled before, but Faith decided to see what would happen this time.

Draco walked in the sitting room. “Mother?” He saw Faith sitting there, and smiled. “Faith. Nice to see you.”

“Draco,” Faith replied cordially. Despite it having been over two years since the court hearing, relations remained a touch strained between the two of them. She tried to be nice for Justice’s sake, to be kind for ‘Cissa’s sake, and it actually seemed to work, most times. She found that she really rather liked him, when he would relax. But every time he started to act likable and human, something would change in him and he'd close off again. Sometimes she wanted to just slug him hard on principle alone. He started to join her, then suddenly turned to leave the room again, mumbling under his breath. “What was that?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“I asked, ‘What did you just say?’”

“Um, nice to see you?”

“After that,” she left the ‘stupid’ part unsaid, but not unthought.

“Oh. I . . . was wondering why you are always here.” He looked embarrassed, and like he’d rather be anywhere but where he was.

“You’d rather I go away? So you can forget about me, forget that you have a daughter?” She didn’t want to get angry, but he always was able to make her blood race, in one way or another.

“No . . . yes . . . no, I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. “You make me crazy. You’re always here, always on my mind. I can’t concentrate, can’t think straight. Sitting at work, I'll for some reason remember your smile, and . . . I’m lost.” He couldn't help himself. He needed to have her in his life, really in his life, not just on the fringes. He didn't want to leave his desires unspoken a moment longer.

Faith shook her head, confused. “I don’t get it. What are you saying?”

Draco sighed. He steeled himself, stepped closer to her, closed his eyes and said, “I think, somehow, I have fallen for you. Really fallen for you.” He stood still, prepared to be flattened in his tracks. He knew that she wasn't interested in attachements like he was hoping for.

“You mean, y-you like me?” Faith was shocked. She would never have guessed it from the way he’d been acting for so long.

“N-no, I mean I think I l-love you.” He’d said it. Now she’d nail him for sure. When the flying fist didn’t come, he cautiously opened his eyes. She was staring at him, mouth slightly open, not moving. Her reaction emboldened him. Leaning forward, he kissed her.

His lips were softer than she would have expected. They hadn’t kissed that night when Justice was conceived. At least, not on the lips. As soon as her surprise faded, she moved into the kiss, deepening it. This was good . . . very good.

They broke apart when they heard Justice squeal. “Eeeeeee! Dado luv mama.” She toddled over and grabbed both of their legs. “Ooo, kissies. Jussy wan kissies.”

Draco picked her up, planting a kiss on her chubby cheek. “Yes, Jussy," he said, using her mash-up of both her names. "I do love your mama, and I plan to keep giving her ‘kissies’ whenever she’ll let me.”

Faith smiled at him. “Whenever I’ll let you, huh?" She smirked. "I think that NOW is good. You've got a lot of time to make up for, buddy.”

The End (Unless my muse allows for a sequel!)