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Language:
English
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Published:
2012-05-05
Words:
1,175
Chapters:
1/1
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13
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538

Gripling Horndads, Beebleyews and Molliwolds, Oh My!

Summary:

Gabrielle and Luna play hostess to the children and grandchildren of their friends and are generally adorable.

Notes:

Originally written in 2008 for hp_crackship on LJ in response to a prompt by sweetcarolanne.

Work Text:

They didn’t have any children of their own, of course, so they’d always welcomed their friends’ children into their home. Now, the years had gone and played a nasty trick on them and the children who came were not those of their friends, but of their friends’ children. Grandchildren, of all things.

“Why people want grandchildren will always mystify me,” Gabrielle muttered as she tottered through the house, picking up the odds and ends Luna left lying around. Over the years she’d lost much of her accent, until what remained was only a lilting music one could identify as “different” but not specifically French. She lamented her lost accent on a daily basis, mostly because doing so usually resulted in hugs, kisses, and other forms of comfort from her darling Luna. Gabrielle had always known how to get what she wanted.

Of course, now that they were old enough to see their friends’ grandchildren, the other forms of comfort happened less and less, much to Gabrielle’s disappointment. Then again, the sex had never been what kept her with Luna, even if it had been what brought her in the first place.

“Dear, I think a herd of Gripling Horndads took off with my dentures.”

“They did not,” Gabrielle responded automatically as she moved into the doorway of the room where Luna stood near their bed, peering about her with her wide blue eyes. They were just as blue as always, and if they were a bit clouded, well, Luna’s gaze had always retained something of a faraway look. Well into her elderly years, Luna remained petite and thin, while Gabrielle was certain she’d put on several dozen pounds in a variety of unwanted places.

“I can’t find them, you know, and this isn’t Hogwarts where the students would take off with my things. It must be Gripling Horndads.”

With a sigh, Gabrielle went to the bedside table, where the glass containing Luna’s dentures should have been. Seeing no glass, she opened the drawer, which on the inside was deep enough to stack just about anything one could want or need. There, on top of a pile of old textbooks and copies of The Quibbler, sat Luna’s glass and the dentures floating inside.

“They’re right here you silly old woman. Not Horndads at all but your own airheadedness.”

“I don’t think ‘airheadedness’ is a word,” Luna said mildly as she came to peer into the drawer. “Oh, there they are after all. Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to Gabrielle’s cheek, and the French woman found herself unable to keep her irritation.

“James and Albus Severus will be here any moment with their wives and children. I’d rather you have your teeth in before they get here.”

Luna gifted her with a sweet smile and another kiss before obliging. “I’m so happy James and Albus Severus were able to forgive Hugo.”

“Be glad Ron was able to forgive Hugo, or he and Draco might have dueled each other to next week and back. Come over here, let me braid your hair.” Steering Luna over to the vanity table, Gabrielle sat her down and picked up the brush. “At any rate, Hugo and Scorpius are going to be by next week with Justine.”

“Such a nice thing,” Luna said dreamily as Gabrielle ran the brush through her hair, and Gabrielle wasn’t certain if she meant the little girl Hugo and Scorpius had adopted, or the feel of having her hair brushed for her. With a sigh, Gabrielle shook her head and didn’t reply, working until Luna’s white hair fell in soft lengths down her back. The braiding went quickly, as she’d had plenty of practice over the years, and had thankfully not suffered from arthritis in her age.

“There you are,” she said as she tied off the end with one of Luna’s favorite ribbons, looping it around the bottom of the braid several times before completing the knot. “All finished.” The doorbell whistled. “Just in time, it would seem.”

The visitors turned out to be James, his wife Gretchen, and their brood of five, whose names Gabrielle could never keep straight except for the first two, Kevin and Brigit. The other three were triplets—two boys and a girl—and all with names beginning with G in honor of their mother and grandmother. Bother if Gabrielle could remember them, though.

“Sorry,” James said to them as the children spilled into the house and made a beeline for Luna. “I gave them sugar. Gretchen isn’t very happy with me.”

“You bet your ass I’m not,” said his wife, tossing him a glare just before she moved to give Gabrielle a hug. “I keep telling him they can’t have sugar before going to someone’s house or they’ll be absolute hellions, but he never, ever listens to me and they end up getting us kicked out of so many places.”

Luna spoke up before Gabrielle could. “It’s all right, they’ll behave themselves or the Beebleyews in our backyard will come steal their teeth and replace them with kernels of corn.”

“Will not!” cried one of the triplets, the girl, even though she gripped Luna’s pants tightly. “There’s no such thing as Beebleyews!”

Gabrielle didn’t hear the arguing and storytelling that ensued, as the door whistled again and she had to go greet Albus Severus, Honore and their two children, Lisa and Joseph. Another round of greetings, and then there were seven children begging Luna for stories about Beebleyews and the mysterious Molliwolds that hid under kitchen sinks. Gladly, Gabrielle let Luna entertain the children as she led the adults to the kitchen to feed them and talk, hearing about their parents and aunts and uncles.

At the end of the day, Gabrielle was just as glad to see them go, for as much as she enjoyed the visits and even the energy of the children, all she really wanted by the time they left was to be alone with Luna.

“I think the children will behave themselves for the next week or so,” Luna offered as they undressed in preparation for bed. “None of them want a visit from the Beebleyews, or Fevered Tobby-whats.”

Chuckling, Gabrielle folded down the blankets on their bed so they could slide between the sheets. “If I didn’t know better, love, I’d think you told them the worst of your stories on purpose. And everyone thinks you’re so sweet. What would they say if they knew the truth?”

Luna just smiled, serene in whatever thoughts she kept to herself, and moved in close to Gabrielle, putting a willowy arm around her waist. The moment was one Gabrielle had nearly every night over the years of their relationship, a moment of complete peace where every week, every day, every second came together to show her just how right their life was. No where and no one else could make her any happier than she was wrapped up in Luna’s arms after more than thirty years.

“Good night, bunny,” Luna murmured.

“Good night, mon amour.”

End.