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For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52498 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
AN: I present to you all, chapter 24, enjoy.

Well I haven’t finished chapter 25 yet, but it is about half done, so I am confident that it will be ready for posting next week, but I have also written most of chapter 26, so things are going fairly well and I have another full week that I am going to devote to writing.

A big thank you to AchillesTheGeek for all their help with this chapter.

Warnings and disclaimers apply as always

Previously:

"He looks like you, Draco," Dumbledore said quietly as he ran a finger across Orion's soft pale cheek, "though I can definitely see some of you in him too, Harry."

Sirius, who was sitting next to Dumbledore, ran a hand over Orion's small amount of hair as the tiny boy yawned, his eyes and fists both scrunched up as he drifted off to sleep.

"He is beautiful," the headmaster said softly, sounding quite mesmerised; as Harry and Draco looked on, revelling in the praise of their little miracle.

-#-

Draco was sat cross-legged on their sofa, a book open on her lap, as she tried to study. Orion, now just over two weeks old, was tucked securely into the crook of her arm. The baby was fractious and refusing to go to sleep; his mother seemed close to tears as she ran a hand through her hair again. Apparently whatever it was she was failing to understand was the breaking point because she suddenly threw the book on the floor with a frustrated yell. This, of course, startled Orion into crying.

"Hey, hey!" Harry said, jumping up from his seat and crouching down in front of her anxiously; Hermione, Ron and Blaise, the only others in the room, looked at them in concern; she had seemed relatively calm only a moment ago so her outburst took them by surprise.

He could see the tears that Draco was trying not to let fall sitting in her eyes, most likely because she did not want their friends to see them. Harry carefully took their son as he sat down next to her on the sofa; Draco leaned her head onto Harry's shoulder.

"Sorry," she said under her breath.

"That's okay, Love; you are working too hard, and worrying even more," he told her, trying to rock Orion and comfort Draco at the same time. "These exams are getting the better of everyone, and then you have our little one to worry about as well."

Blaise, being closest, got up and took Orion. He looked slightly nervous but took extra care to make sure Orion was being held securely, doing his best to mimic the rocking action he had seen Harry and Draco use to calm the baby in the past. Orion's crying quietened to a soft whimper, mixed with occasional cute cooing noises.

"Shush now you little cutie, Uncle Blaise will take care of you while Mummy has her annual panic attack," Blaise said quietly with a soppy grin on his face; ignoring the glare Draco sent his way at his words.

"Come on," Hermione said; she had risen to her feet and was standing up in front of the young couple on the sofa, "Draco, I think you could do with some fresh air. I know I could," she added.

Draco bit her lip; thinking as she glanced at Orion, lying safely in Blaise's arms.

"We will take care of Orion, Love; you and Hermione go have a walk," Harry whispered as he kissed Draco's temple.

"Yeah, okay," Draco agreed with reluctance. "I guess a short walk would be a good idea."

"Excellent," Hermione said happily, grabbing Draco by the hand and pulling her up from the sofa so quickly that she almost fell straight to the floor face first before she had a chance to untangle her legs.

Draco was actually quite alarmed; so when Blaise and Ron started to laugh she turned and glowered at them over her shoulder as Hermione continued to try to pull her from the room.

Harry jumped to his feet, and managed to steal a quick kiss, "Don't go too far, do NOT leave the grounds and if you aren't back in an hour I am coming to find you!" Harry called after them as they as they disappeared out the door.

-#-

"Why the enthusiasm?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

Hermione had calmed down once they had gotten out of their rooms and they were now wandering down the grand staircase; the castle was quiet and they could only guess that most people were busy studying intensively for the various exams they would be sitting over the next few weeks.

"They were driving me crazy! Those boys are just so casual about these exams and I felt like I needed to talk to someone sane," Hermione said rapidly, as though the words had been sitting bottled up in her throat, as eager for release as a snitch at the start of a Quidditch match.

Draco laughed, "So you needed some girly time?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know I'm all girl physically, as you are well aware," Draco added with a blush at the knowledge of just how much Hermione had seen of her, "but I do think that mostly, up here," she tapped her head, "I am pretty much still a guy."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "First of all, I only saw that much of you because I was there when you gave birth which shouldn't the least bit embarrassing; in fact it was nothing short of remarkable; and that you trusted ME enough to be there is possibly the greatest compliment anyone has ever given me," she ranted ; though Draco noticed that she managed to look rather smug at the same time.

The speech was all rather sudden and Draco, stunned, stopped walking and stared at the Gryffindor.

"Secondly," Hermione went on; prodding Draco's chest with her index finger as though to hammer the point home, "It was more that I happened want some DRACO time; I don't actually think of you as a girl or a guy most of the time, just like I don't particularly think of Harry as a guy. I just think of you as Draco; just because you happen to have a women's body..." Hermione trailed off with a shrug and found herself suddenly being hugged tightly by the petite blonde.

Draco could hear the little voice in her head telling her that she was making a fool of herself in the middle of the school, where anyone could see; but she didn’t care. Hermione's words had hit her far harder than she would have expected and right in that moment showing Hermione how important their friendship was to her was an absolute must.

Hermione had instinctively wrapped her arms around her friend but felt a bit awkward about the sudden unexpected public display of affection.

"Erm...Draco?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sorry..." Draco mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed as she let go of the taller girl, "I just... sometimes I feel like between being a wife and mother it gets forgotten that I am still Draco," she said quietly, her voice loaded with half-hidden emotion.

"Oh, Draco," Hermione said with a sigh, putting an arm around Draco's shoulders and guiding them on down the stairs towards the large school doors that would let them out onto the grounds, "Don't ever doubt that Harry knows exactly who you are and if you are worried that he has forgotten, talk to him about it; I know he would hate that you have been feeling this way," Hermione tried to reassure her.

"Then how come he only was nice to me after the accident?" Draco asked, "He had no interest in Draco Malfoy, only Draco, the cute little blonde girl who needed help."

"That would be because you always acted like a complete bastard around him before that," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "You were a spoilt brat and made sure everyone knew it."

"Please don't hold back on my account," Draco said sarcastically, eyes wide in slight surprise at the other girl’s bluntness.

"It isn't like we don't like you NOW," Hermione said, nudging Draco's shoulder playfully, "you are very special to us now. I am sure that even without the accident we could have learned to be friends; under different circumstances, you know?"

Draco didn't look convinced, "If you say so," she said quietly.

"Well... I am not saying that you and Harry would have gotten together if you hadn't been turned into a girl," Hermione tried to explain.

"Obviously, I am intimately aware that he isn't gay," Draco said with a wink, as they walked out through the large door into the grounds.

"DRACO! I did not need those mental images," Hermione laughed, covering her eyes with one hand and shaking her head, "But yes, that was kind of my point," Hermione agreed, "but you could maybe have become friends."

"Hmm, maybe," Draco said thoughtfully. "I think I prefer being his wife, as long as he remembers who it is exactly that he is married to; that I am me."

"Then you will just have to keep him on his toes and make sure he never has a chance to forget then," Hermione suggested.

Draco laughed, "You know, sometimes you Gryffindors are so Slytherin."

"Well given what a brave Gryffindor you have been this year..." Hermione said with smirk and Draco gasped with mock horror; giving Hermione a hard shove which made the taller girl laugh loudly as she stumbled a couple of steps to the side.

-#-

It was somehow easier to focus on studying when they returned. Draco felt more at peace with herself, and the boys seemed pleased, though confused, by Hermione and Draco's closeness; the pair of them sat at the coffee table, Orion on a blanket between them, as they studied for Arithmancy.

Draco knew that her friendship with Hermione wasn't exactly sudden, but between the other girl's presence at Orion's birth and the heart-to-heart they had had, it was becoming very easy to be around her. It was so wonderful for both of them to have someone else with their intense work ethic; and despite the seriousness of the OWLs, studying for exams had never felt so ... fun?

She was so happy that this friendship was growing so strong and found that she was horrified to think that Lucius' pure-blood values might have kept her not only from Harry, but Hermione too. The twists and turns her life kept taking were catching her off guard at every step; she barely recognised her life now compared to before the accident.

Out of their friends, Blaise was the most stressed. He kept asking not only Draco, but also Hermione, desperate questions whenever he couldn't figure something out straight away. Ron, on the other hand, had evidently reached the point where he didn't care and was more or less sitting around, aimlessly flicking through various notes of Hermione's that she was finished with.

Harry seemed quite content to spend all his time fussing over Orion and ignore the fact that he was about to sit the most difficult exams he had ever had. Draco, of course, was having none of it and kept either taking Orion herself, or else handing him off to Sirius, and putting a book into her husband's hands, or else quizzing him.

Overall as a group it seemed that they were actually pretty well prepared and they had even found time to have a study session with several of the other Gryffindors, who had shown up pleading for Hermione to help them. No-one commented on it, but Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lavender and Parvati were obviously pleasantly surprised when Draco automatically started helping them as well.

Harry knew that Draco was probably helping them mostly because by teaching others she remembered details more clearly herself; and maybe in part because she knew he would approve. But whatever her motives, knowing that Draco was making an effort with people she no doubt wasn't really comfortable around made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

-#-

The Monday of the first week of their OWLS came around all too quickly. Sirius made them both eat a good breakfast, and told them not to worry, they’d been studying hard enough to pass NEWTs; OWLs were going to be easy. Draco was so happy to have his support; though it was just as hard as it had been every other morning to leave Orion in his care, she no longer worried as much; Sirius had proved himself more than capable of caring for them and their small baby.

All the students met outside the exam room and the hallway was quickly becoming filled with the nervous chattering of the fifth years; they discussed what might be on the paper in anxious tones, not knowing if they’d revised enough (or in some cases, know full well that they haven’t).

Harry took Draco a little way apart from the group, to reassure her before she worried her way through her lip; he rubbed her back, telling her that she would have no trouble, and promised that Orion would be fine with Sirius. Of course she knew this; but having Harry tell her so made it that much easier to accept. It just confirmed again how much he loved her, how much care he took to ensure her peace of mind.

So it was with a smile that Draco started her Charms Theory exam. She was half tempted to look around and check on her husband, who was seated directly behind her as they shared the same surname and all students were placed in alphabetical order; but she managed to resist the urge. She read through the paper and was delighted to see that she could answer every question. The revision sessions with Hermione had really paid off, she thought, as she made a start on the question on Levitation Charms.

-#-

"That went well," Hermione said happily a couple of hours later, as she linked her arm with Draco's.

"It did," she agreed. "I was particularly pleased with my answer to the question on the counter-charm for hiccups."

They were on their way back to Harry and Draco's rooms, having just finished the exam, and Harry rolled his eyes at the pair of them as he followed a few paces behind, with Ron and Blaise to either side of him.

"Can we NOT rehash the whole exam again, it was bad enough having to go through it once," Ron grumbled. "I got all muddled with cheering charms," he confessed quietly.

Blaise snorted in amusement.

"Honestly, Ron," Hermione said with a resigned sigh, smiling at him over her shoulder "we went over them yesterday."

Draco gave the password to their rooms and stepped through with Hermione; Harry, Ron and Blaise just behind them. It was then they discovered that they had unexpected company, however, and Draco seemed to be frozen to the spot.

"Ah; Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, Mr Zabini; would you be so kind as to give us some time with Mr and Mrs Potter?" Dumbledore asked with what seemed like forced politeness.

Harry stepped up to Draco's side, spotting the unknown man who was standing between the Headmaster and Sirius; no-one seemed particularly comfortable with his presence there. Draco scowled at the stranger and moved around them all to Orion's bassinette, picking up their sleeping son.

"Hey my baby boy," Draco whispered to him, "Mummy missed you; Mummy hates being away from you."

"We'll see you later," Blaise told them in hushed tones, hastily dragging Ron and Hermione back out of the door they had just come in through.

"Yeah... later..." Harry said vaguely; his focus on the man who was intruding on their rooms, on their private space and who he could only assume was there, on the ministry's behalf, to assess their ability to care for Orion.

The door clicked shut, indicating that their friends had left and he felt enormous gratitude that both Dumbledore and Sirius were there with them in that moment. Pulling himself together he crossed the room and rested his chin on Draco's shoulder; the sight of Orion's slow gentle, sleepy breaths calming him better than any calming draught could.

"Daddy missed you too," he whispered, "we always miss you, every second we aren't with you," he promised Orion.

"Touching..." the ministry inspector said in a droll, bored voice, "however your absence earlier this morning is already cause for concern."

"We had an Exam!" Harry growled in annoyance, turning to glare at the intruder, "Your ministry WANTED us to complete our education, and it wasn't as though Orion was uncared for."

"Sirius is one of his approved guardians," Draco sneered; he had no doubt this man was in Lucius’ pocket, "we are with Orion every moment we aren't spending on our education , as agreed with the committee."

"The Potters have been doing a marvellous job of maintaining their school work," Dumbledore told the man proudly.

"And Orion has been receiving all the care he could ever need," Sirius added, "either from Harry and Draco, or else from myself, or Molly Weasley."

"I think I will be the judge of that," the official told them pompously, "I shall be spending the rest of the day observing your son's care; making notes," he added, tapping on the notepad in his hand.

"So be it," Harry said with impatience; they had known this day was coming, and the hostility was presumably courtesy of Lucius' Gringott's vault, so he braced himself for what was bound to be a trying day.

-#-

That afternoon the fifth years were all gathered, waiting for the start of their Charms Practical exam; huddled in groups speculating about what they were about to be tested on and debating small details that they probably should have all learned long ago. When Harry and Draco arrived a few minutes later, most people ignored them; their friends, however, could not.

"Who was that earlier?" Hermione demanded in a hushed voice as she pulled the Potters over into an empty corner of the room, for at least a semblance of privacy. "Was he from the ministry?"

Harry nodded solemnly and explained what had happen in the time since their friends had been asked to leave; the inspector - Mr Blishwick, he had eventually introduced himself as - had hung over their shoulders and made scathing noises at everything they had done.

Dumbledore and Sirius had been more than enthusiastic when Harry and Draco included them in their last minute preparations and questions about charms; and they had all done their very best to ignore Mr Blishwick when he implied that they needed to rethink their priorities, despite the fact that Orion was peacefully asleep at the time.

"He is just so obviously looking to criticise us," Draco grumbled. She was taking it even more personally than Harry; though it wasn't clear whether that was because she was Orion's mother or that it was probably Lucius' fault that Mr Blishwick was being quite so difficult about the whole thing.

"He suggested that Dumbledore should leave, you know," Harry told them. "Apparently having him there was an 'unfair representation of day-to-day life', as though our 'day-to-day' life includes that ministry pawn breathing down our necks," he complained.

"Well it isn't like any of you have done anything wrong, right?" Ron asked, "I mean, he can make this as difficult as he likes, but if Orion is being cared for there is still nothing they can do."

"Ron's right, and with Dumbledore there watching over proceedings it would be a lot more complicated for them to get ... creative... with their report writing," Blaise pointed out with a smirk.

"You don't think he would actually... lie on the report do you?" Hermione asked in disbelief that someone would besmirch an official form by presenting anything other than the complete truth.

"Sadly, Hermione," Harry told her, "I think that is exactly what he would do if he wasn't worried about Dumbledore challenging him on it. But yeah, you guys are right, I am sure it is going to be fine," he said, managing a smile, despite his nerves from the combination of the inspection and exams, "Thanks."

"So is he gone now?" Hermione enquired.

Draco shook her head, looking annoyed, "He apparently wanted to see more of how Sirius coped without us there, which is fine... I suppose; and I am betting he will still be there when we are done here," she grumbled. "I just really wish he could be done already and leave us alone."

Harry wrapped his arms around her and despite her normal hesitance with letting their school mates see her in such a moment of weakness, she allowed them the moment of comfort from each other.

"It is just for today and then we won't have to deal with him again until three months from now," Harry told her quietly. "At which point we will have just started back at school again."

"Assuming he doesn't decide that he wants to see our home life away from school and do a slightly early visit," Draco said, sounding worried, "perhaps we should actually assume he is going to do that."

"Probably," Harry agreed with a sigh, "but let's not worry about that just yet and get through the next two weeks of exams first."

"Exams, yes. Erm, Hermione..." and with that Draco was off in a discussion with the other girl and Harry just smiled at them both fondly, doing his very best not to listen because he was fairly sure that trying to push any more Charms facts into his brain was going to start pushing others out of his ears.

"You should see the way you are looking at her right now," Blaise whispered in his ear.

"I bet I look like a goofy fool in love," Harry said quietly.

"Yep," Ron said, as though Harry were a lost cause.

"Good," Harry whispered back, "'cause I am. Though it is pretty great that those two have each other to obsessively study with," he said with a nod towards the two girls, "saves us from their madness."

Blaise and Ron nodded their agreement to that sentiment and the three boys found themselves seats nearby and tried to prepare themselves mentally for their exam.

-#-

In the couple of hours following their afternoon assessment, Mr Blishwick was, as Draco had predicted, still hanging around; and more than that, he was bothering them all so much that, when Dumbledore suggested they all have dinner in the great hall, Harry and Draco readily agreed without a second thought.

"It would be an honour if you were to sit with us at the head table," Dumbledore offered the inspector, with a disarming smile that was fooling no-one. "That way you will be able to observe the Potters with Orion without interfering with their usual parenting," he added, leading the way out of the room.

"Oh thank Merlin," Draco whispered very softly as Sirius handed her the small bag which contained all their baby supplies; Hermione had given it to them as a birthing present and it had an extension charm on it which made it capable of holding everything they could possibly need despite its diminutive size.

"Not long now," Harry assured her with a kiss to her temple, Orion cradled in his arms.

"Come on Potters," Sirius said happily, throwing his arms over Harry and Draco's shoulders.

"What are you so pleased about?" Harry asked with a laugh.

"I get to sit at the head table," Sirius told them smugly, "going to enjoy watching Snivellus' face when he sees that."

"Sirius," Harry said, his voice low in warning, "please don't start something; Snape has been good to us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sirius said with a playful grin, "don't worry, I will play nice if he does."

"You could try being the better man and play nice even if he doesn't," Harry suggested with an eyebrow raised in challenge.

Draco tried to hide her amused smirk at Sirius' disappointed expression, but hoped that the two men, the only real father figures she had, could at least learn to not antagonise each other; it seemed unlikely they would ever learn to get along.

Sirius looked between them and sighed, "Okay, I will behave, I promise," he said with resignation. "Now, come on, we better hurry; we would hate Mr Blishwick to worry where we have gotten to."

-#-

Perhaps it should have occurred to them that this was the first time that they had taken Orion to the Great Hall; and also the first time that most of the people there had seen him. After all, up till now they had been careful to keep their son from the prying eyes of anyone they did not trust. So really they should not have been surprised by the many faces which turned their way as they entered the room, nor the whispers which spread throughout the student body.

"Go on, go sit down," Sirius encouraged, giving each of them a small shove, when Harry and Draco seemed to be frozen to the spot.

Harry automatically held Orion closer against his chest and led the way to where their friends were making space for them at the Gryffindor table. Draco smiled when she saw that Blaise had carried on sitting with Ron and Hermione, even in his and Harry's absence.

"Didn't think we’d see you here." Hermione said as Harry and Draco sat down across from her.

"Blishwick was driving us crazy," Harry told her with a smile.

"He had the nerve to accuse me of attempting to smother Orion," Draco whispered, "I was just trying to keep a little dignity while feeding him; the blanket wasn't anywhere near his face."

"You know he was just looking for things to complain about," Blaise reminded her.

Draco turned to look up at the head table; Blishwick was watching them with narrowed eyes, absentmindedly picking at the plate of food in front of him. She couldn't help but smile at the glare Professor Snape was sending towards Sirius, he looked as though someone had replaced his pumpkin juice with lemon; Sirius though was true to his word and looked like he was very much enjoying his seat at the high table, as he talking animatedly with Professor McGonagall.

"Can we have a cuddle, Harry?" Neville asked.

"I think Draco would have something to say about you making a move on her husband, Neville," Seamus said with a grin.

"I meant with Orion," Neville said with a chuckle.

"Not today, Neville," Harry told him apologetically. "Don't look but there is a guy up at the head table watching how we are taking care of him and we have already been judged on handing him off to Sirius," he explained.

"Oh, okay," Neville said with a fond smile at the young family.

Draco finished helping himself to a plate full of food, chopping it up into small pieces so that it would be easy to eat with just one free hand, and then took Orion from his father, giving Harry a chance to deal with his own dinner.

"They're adorable right?" Blaise whispered into Neville's ear.

Neville turned and smiled at the Slytherin boy, "Yeah... all three?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Blaise told him, mirroring the smile.

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Review responses:

Gruffard – I loved that moment with Snape, it came out really well and I will definitely have further scenes with him interacting with Orion throughout the story. There aren’t official godparents, but it has sort of been assumed by everyone that Sirius and Molly are Orion’s godparents as they are already his additional guardians; they might make it official over the summer. I hope you will be pleasantly surprised too. ^_^

ChaosLady – There is only Orion, the mention of Scorpius was a stupid mistake on my part, I meant to put Orion; my apologies.

Anon and Nari-chan – Pansy is unlikely to attack a child but to be honest, if it was your child would you risk it; it is possible of course that she would attack Harry or Draco and might accidentally hurt Orion. I will have more Snape and Orion moments, I promise.

Luminari_Lilium – You would have to get in line behind Harry and Draco, they would rain all hell down upon whoever endangered their precious baby boy. And thank you.

Delia Cerrano – They have changed a lot and I am glad that I have managed to get that gradual maturing of them and their relationship, was exactly what I was hoping to achieve. They are definitely very serious about each other and their little family and like you said really thinking about what that means. Yes, I love this responsible Sirius but there is still that true marauder in there all he needs is the right opportunity. ;) I do have plans for Snape to be around now or then for a lot of this story, so there will be more of him with Orion.
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For The Sake Of A Name