Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Survival of the fittest	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 18501 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor profit from it. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter List
- 32
- 33
- 34
Author's note: This chapter was not supposed to be this bloody long O_O I don't even know what happened. When I started writing it, I feared I wouldn't be able to reach 5K and now it has grown out to be 11K! I suppose you can enjoy an extra long read then.
Thanks to the following reviewer: starr
Warnings: angst; drama; fluff; time skips; birth (not too explicit, but you know, just a warning ahead); an author who sucks at writing particular scenes .-. (I have rewritten certain scenes in this chapter a lot and I'm still not completely happy with it, but yeah. Sorry in advance, guys T-T)
I hope you'll like this chapter!

Chapter 33: Of New Beginnings and Old Endings
28th of May
The light rose fumes of the bubbling potion drifted lazily through the room and grey eyes studied them solemnly before he man nodded satisfied.
The new potion was a success. It had taken him a couple of times, but he had perfected the recipe.
After putting a Stasis charm on the cauldron – the potion had to rest for three days – he cleared up his worktable and washed his hands thoroughly. When the Silencing wards were lowered, the faint sound of a child's excited laughter rang through the building, putting a smile on the man's face.
Two pair of glittering eyes looked up simultaneously when he entered the living room, of which the floor was littered with all kinds of toys.
"Done with brewing for today?" the dark haired man questioned with a smile.
"Hm. You're home early," the other man remarked and approached him to give him a 'welcome back' kiss.
"There were not enough patients for me to be needed," his partner explained with a shrug while he adjusted the toddler in his lap, so that he wouldn't fall off.
A soft kiss was pressed on the toddler's smooth forehead who giggled.
"I see he can't decide which toy to pick," the blond man commented dryly when his eyes swept over the littered floor. Thank Merlin they had house elves to help them clean.
"Oh, he's been playing with them all, but he's constantly picking up something else," the other one laughed and their toddler clapped his hands in glee.
"Say, Harry, what do you say about …"
A fuzzy, white ceiling greeted him when he opened his eyes slowly and a groan slipped out when his muscles screamed in protest. It felt as if he had fallen off of his broom and he had to regrow most of his bones.
Where was he and what happened to him?
A door opened and he heard a sharp intake of breath.
"You're finally awake. That took you quite a while, brat."
Severus appeared in his vision, waving his wand over the bed.
"What happened?" Draco asked in a rough voice and winced when his throat protested fiercely.
His godfather held a glass with cold water against Draco's cracked lips, allowing him to drink slowly.
Dark eyes regarded him sharply. "What do you remember?"
Draco furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lip while he raked his brain. He had a difficult time recalling everything with the pounding headache he was experiencing. "We performed the ritual," he murmured and blinked. "Did – did it work?"
"Yes, he has no magic left. The Head Auror took him and he is currently in a holding cell awaiting his trial," the older man replied.
"Why am I here?" And why do I feel as if my body was crushed?, he wondered silently.
Severus stilled and looked grimly. "You are recovering in Lupin's quarters. After the ritual was finished, you had trouble separating your magic and calling it back. You were too exhausted and your magic rebelled, causing you to go into shock. You've been in a magical coma for almost five days. Your magic has stabilized, so you should completely recover in two days with enough rest."
Draco barely registered the whole explanation as his attention was caught by one specific detail.
He forced himself to sit up, ignoring his protesting muscles. "How's Harry?" he asked while his heart hammered violently against his chest. Dread rose up in him. "And the baby? Are they all right?"
"It's best if you don't try to sit up just yet. You need more rest," Severus murmured.
Draco ignored the hand trying to push him back down and clenched his fingers around Severus' wrists, paying no heed to the apprehensive look etched onto his face. "What. Happened?" he repeated through clenched teeth.
"Potter is worse off than you," his godfather admitted reluctantly and glanced away. "He had weakened more and his magic was all over the place, because it is being shared by three entities: the bond, the baby and himself. His body closed down before most of his magic had returned."
"And now?" Draco brought out; his throat dry. Terror slowly unfurled in his stomach.
"He's still in a coma. Lupin and Black are helping him establish the link with his magic and forcing it to go back into his core."
"And the baby?" He barely got the words out of his mouth. Afraid of the answer.
"We don't know. He doesn't appear to have gone into labour, but we haven't sensed the baby's presence yet either."
Draco froze, his heartbeat loud in his ears.
A hand awkwardly patted him on his shoulder. "Look, I do not want to worry you, but there is a chance that … Just prepare yourself for the outcome," Severus said softly, clearly uncomfortable with having to be the one to break the news to the young man.
So in the end, would he still lose what was precious to him?

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and took a step back, removing his hands from Harry's chest. He took a moment to steady himself and make certain that he didn't remain connected to Harry and looked up at his lover, who stood right across him with a heavy frown on his face. His hand was hovering above Harry's stomach, lightly glowing with his own magic.
"And?" Remus asked softly.
Sirius shook his head slowly, lowering his hand until it rested on the bed. "Nothing," he spat and glared at the sheets.
With a heavy heart Remus stared at the unconscious man, who was resting in bed in the new room Hogwarts had temporarily added to their quarters. After they had disbanded the ritual, they had rushed with Draco and Harry to the castle to help them as soon as they could. Draco had finally stabilized after three days, but was still resting. Harry was a completely other story. By the time the ritual had ended, he barely had any magic left in his body and his magic had refused to return to his core. Both he and Sirius had worked day and night to make certain that Harry's magic was connected to him again and yesterday they had finally managed to force it back into his core.
Today Remus had been working on re-establishing the last remaining links between Harry's magical core and his magic while Sirius had been trying to sense the baby's presence. Ever since they had returned from the clearing, Remus had been unable to pick up even the faintest trace of the baby's magic. As he was nearly full grown, picking up his magical trace should have been easy, but during the last five days he had not picked it up even once. He was starting to fear the truth. There was no visible movement either and even though he and Sirius had tried talking to the baby in the hope that voices would make him react, there was nothing.
Remus had checked multiple times already whether Harry's body had gone into labour, but there was no sign of that all. There were no contractions, his water hadn't broken … Nothing. Normally that meant that everything should be fine with the baby.
But the fact that they couldn't feel his presence anymore …
Remus dearly hoped that he and his lover were just too worn out to properly pick up the magical trace. After all they had been working on little to no sleep to ensure that Harry didn't lose his magic.
"You didn't pick up anything odd either?" Sirius asked quietly, staring morosely at his godson.
"No, I didn't," Remus replied and shook his head. "I managed to establish the last link with his magic and it seemed to have calmed down, so it shouldn't act out again."
Before the other man could react, the door flew open and they both immediately swirled around, their wands ready.
Draco was standing on the threshold, leaning heavily on Mara's shoulders. His burning, grey eyes immediately fixated themselves on Harry.
"Draco, you shouldn't be up yet. You still need to rest a bit more," Remus admonished him, but lowered his wand. He was relieved to see Draco relatively unharmed. He and Severus had been rushing back and forth between Draco and Harry the first few days, monitoring them both and administering potions and casting Healing spells on them; all the while dealing with their own small depletion of magic. As both young men had taken the worst brunt of the ritual, the older men didn't even stop to rest before they were certain that the two young wizards wouldn't die.
"He wouldn't listen," Severus muttered; his eyes unreadable.
Draco stumbled towards the bed, obviously still rather weak, but determined to reach Harry. He scrambled on the bed and his hands visibly trembled when he caressed Harry's cheeks. He lowered his head until he could press his lips against Harry's forehead.
"Harry, can you hear me?" he whispered.
Discreetly Remus pulled Sirius with him out of the room, letting Draco have a moment with Harry.
He glanced at Severus, who looked very grim. "Did you tell him about the baby?" he murmured, catching sight of Draco caressing Harry's rounded stomach gently.
"I did. I told him the truth," Severus muttered and sighed. "He insisted on seeing Potter and made it quite clear to me I would regret it if I tried to stop him."
"Master's magic is completely restored," Ruby interjected and padded over to them.
"Good to hear that at least one thing has succeeded," Remus muttered darkly.
"Can you sense the baby's magic?" Sirius asked abruptly; his back ramrod straight. "You did it before, right, Garin?"
The snake rose up with his eyes fixated on Harry and swung gently back and forth. While the three men waited with baited breath, Garin flicked his eyes to Ruby and they seemed to have a conversation going on between them.
"Well, can you?" Sirius asked impatiently, shrugging off Remus' hand on his shoulder.
"We cannot pick up a trace," Ruby replied slowly. "He looks like he carries a cub, but he does not feel like he is expecting a litter."
They all stiffened and Remus picked up the harsh curse Severus murmured underneath his breath.
He swallowed with some difficulty and asked the one question that had been on their minds for nearly a week now. "Is the baby … Has he died?"
Garin's tongue came out and he seemed to be tasting the air, before he replied, "We are not certain. It could be. Perhaps the ancient forces thought that the hatchling's magic was included in the offer as well, as it was not giving its magic freely."
"If the ancient forces did indeed take the magic of the cub, there are two explanations why we cannot sense him," Ruby took over; his tone very solemn and heavy. "Either the cub has died or it lost its magic and will be born without it. How do you wizards call such a person? A Squib?"
Sirius sunk down on the couch with a trembling chuckle and he buried his head in his hands. "So there are no options left? Either the baby is dead or it will be a Squib?" he spat out enraged and his wand reacted by firing off some sparks.
"Perhaps there is another answer, but as of now we cannot detect any trace," Ruby replied and scraped softly with his nails across the floor.
"We shouldn't have let him join the ritual," Sirius said bitterly. "What good did those Deathly Hallows do if they couldn't even keep one baby safe from the ritual?"
"Black, you know as well as I do that there was no other option left. There was no way for the ritual to succeed without Potter's input," Severus snapped and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Fuck off! It's not your godson lying there, fighting for his life and that of his baby's!" Sirius hissed and brandished his wand when he jumped up, ready to confront Severus.
"Sirius!"
Severus' eyes narrowed into small slits. "Do not think for one second that I don't know how you feel, you foul mutt. My godson has a big chance of losing his own son, while he can't do anything about it. That baby is not only Potter's, Black, and you would do well to remember that fact." He strode out of the room, the painting slamming shut behind him.
"Padfoot, damn it," Remus sighed and slumped into a chair. The last thing they needed, was a fight amongst them.
At least Sirius had the grace to look ashamed. "I just don't want Harry to lose the baby. He doesn't deserve that after everything they have gone through. It's not like I have forgotten who the other father is!" His hands clenched next to his hips.
"I know, Sirius, but you should apologize to Severus. We're all exhausted now, but that doesn't give you the right to snap at him when he's done nothing but help us," Remus scolded him and rubbed a hand over his face. He wanted nothing more than to collapse in his bed and sleep for at least two days, but he needed to monitor Harry for a little while longer until he could rest with the knowledge that Harry was safe in his pets' care.
"I know; I'll do it later," Sirius sulked, obviously not looking forward to apologizing to his former school enemy.
"Sev didn't lie when he said that you couldn't feel the baby, huh?" Draco asked suddenly and Remus approached him cautiously. The blond was staring blankly at Harry's stomach; he had pulled his shirt back so that the rounded belly was revealed.
"There is still a chance that the baby survived. Your baby is a fighter, just like you and Harry," Remus murmured soothingly, hoping against all reason that he was right.
Draco put his hand carefully on Harry's stomach and traced patterns on it while his eyes remained fixed on Harry's face. "I promised him everything would be all right," he said in a smothered tone. Teardrops started gliding over his cheeks, falling down on the sheets that absorbed the droplets. "He didn't want to believe that we could win and I told him we would. Why the fuck does he need to be right about this?!"
Hesitatingly Remus reached out, aware of Sirius coming up behind him, and touched Draco's shoulder. "Draco, nothing is lost yet. You can't give up yet, because there is still a chance that your son survived."
"Then why can't I feel him?" Draco snapped and smacked his hand away, throwing him such a harsh glare that it made Remus shiver in slight fear. He had never seen the young man so furious before and he wondered whether he should try to take him away from Harry before he could lash out with his magic. "I can't feel him moving and he always moves when I talk to him! I can't sense his magic either! He's gone! He's fucking gone! I promised Harry we would be okay. I can't lose him; we can't lose him after all this time." Draco's shoulders slumped and he broke down, crying in earnest now.
Sirius took a deep breath and walked past Remus, who was frozen in shock. "This is not the moment to break down," he spoke in a low voice. He hadn't tried to touch Draco, but he still managed to snag his attention. Grey eyes looked at him in sorrow and anger. "Harry and your son need you to be strong right now. Your baby is a fighter; how can he not be with you two as his parents? You need to believe in them. Remus and I will …"
"Believe in them? Such a Gryffindor thing to say," Draco sneered viciously and glared at him venomously. "Believing in them won't give me our son back! Nothing is going to give us our son back! Nothing!"
"Look, I know you're upset now, but Garin and Ruby think there is still a chance that the baby survived. They don't know for sure that the baby is gone and …"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"
Remus had seen the glow around Draco growing brighter, but he was too late to warn his lover. Before either one of them could open their mouths, a strong force pushed harshly against them, throwing them violently out of the room against the wall of the living room. They slumped against it with a groan and Remus felt as if his ribs had been broken. He scrambled up, ignoring the hot flashes of burning pain, and watched wide eyed how the door to Harry's room was sealed shut with a pinkish yellowish liquid which hissed and crackled.
"What the fuck is going on?" Sirius asked aghast; his hand already going to his wand.
Ruby cocked his head and answered solemnly, "It is the bond. It reacted to the master's mate's distress."
"What exactly do you mean?" Remus asked shocked. What on earth was the bond doing? Why had it sealed off the room? Would it hurt either one of the boys?
Mara's eyes flickered with a strange emotion. "The bond is going to help get rid of the distress."
That cryptic answer did nothing to alleviate Remus' concern. "How, Mara?" he asked; urgency ringing through his voice.
"The bond helped Master save his mate's life before," Ruby murmured while his eyes remained focused on the sealed off door. "Their combined magic is capable of doing many things. That includes cheating death."
"What?! They are not strong enough yet to use their magic!" Remus protested in a shrill voice. Panic squeezed around his heart. They had barely managed to get Harry's magic back into his core – how would it react if it had to act again so soon? He stood up on wobbling legs and took a step towards the closed off room. "We need to stop them before they hurt themselves more!"
A warning growl made him halt in his steps and he heard Sirius inhaling sharply.
"I apologize, but we cannot let you through," Ruby growled; the hair on his back rising up in his ire. He stalked towards the door and sat down in front of it, joined by Mara and Garin. "As long as the bond is working, you cannot interfere."
Remus shared a helpless look with Sirius. What on earth were they going to do now?

He felt so cold, so very cold. He had felt warm at first, comfortably warm even. And even though his room was getting smaller, he had been able to move around and feel things pressing back against him when he reached out.
Now he was too cold to move. Even the wriggly, small things attached to him and which he had noticed a while ago didn't want to move.
What was happening? Why wasn't he warm anymore? Why was he feeling so weak, so sleepy?
Was the one who carried him around angry at him? He thought that his carrier was called 'Daddy'. That was what he had said when he talked to him. He liked it when this Daddy person talked to him; he sounded so soothing and so nice. It made him feel loved and welcome. But now he couldn't hear this Daddy anymore. He didn't hear the other person either, the one who had called himself 'Papa'. Papa had talked to him a lot before; always sounding so very happy. It had made him wave his chubby arms around, happy to be acknowledged. They had sounded so nice, like they wanted him.
He had felt so safe, cradled in this warm room.
But it wasn't warm anymore. Nobody was talking to him anymore. What did this mean? He could still hear the strange 'thump, thump' sound that had calmed him down so many times before – but there was nobody speaking to him. Didn't they love him? Why were they not trying to help him? He needed their help! He felt so scared, so alone …
He was slipping away; he knew not much, but he knew that the coldness was an awful thing and that it was going to take him away. It was going to take him away and he was too weak to stop it.
He wanted that warmth back; he wanted the voices of Papa and Daddy. But nothing was there. He was alone. So very alone …
A trickle of warmth touched him. It confused him. Was the warmth coming back or was he just imagining it? Was the coldness playing tricks on him?
But no, no. The trickle grew into a small stream slowly until it filled his small room and started to warm him up again. Slowly the warmth returned to him and he slowly wiggled around.
He still couldn't hear the voices, but the warmth was back. That was a good thing. They hadn't forgotten about him; they were bringing the warmth back to him. So they hadn't forgotten him. They were helping him.
He was so, so happy …
He was safe again. Safe and warm and happy.

His whole body screamed in protest and the headache had grown worse, almost to the point where he couldn't open his eyes from the pain. But he kept going until he could go no longer. Until the tingling in his hands had stopped and the buzzing in his ears had died out.
His magic fleetingly brushed against his cheeks when it retreated back into his core and he opened his eyes slowly.
Was it just a trick of the light or was there more colour in his lover's cheeks? Was he imagining his lover breathing easier?
Draco froze when something touched his palm. He held his breath and looked down at where his hand laid on top of Harry's belly. Had he dreamt the touch? Was he just imagining it? He would go crazy if he had been imagining it. He had no fucking clue whatsoever what his magic had done; only that he had felt compelled to close his eyes and let his magic do whatever it wanted to do. His hands had felt very hot and they had tingled.
Another soft, hesitant push. A soft ripple that went through Harry's stomach.
Draco started crying again, both from exhaustion and relief. He wasn't imaging this, right? He was feeling their baby kick, right?
"Dr-Draco?"
With tears still streaming down his cheeks, he looked up and saw soft green eyes squinting at him. "Wh-what happened?" Harry croaked and looked disorientated. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the tears on his lover's face. "Why are you crying?"
Draco leant down and pressed a fierce kiss against surprised lips. Sleep was pulling at him, trying to drag him under, but he resisted for a little while longer.
"We won, baby," he murmured, the nickname slipping out before he realised it. "We won; you, the baby and I – we don't have to worry anymore." His chuckle was watery. "I love you so fucking much; don't ever scare me like this again."
And with that, he slumped next to the dark haired wizard on the bed, allowing the darkness to take him away once again. This time he welcomed it, because he knew that when he surfaced again, Harry and their baby would still be there.

"Today never seemed to end," Draco sighed and plopped down on the couch, his hand already busying itself with removing his tie. He kicked off his shoes with a low groan.
Harry smiled and after putting down his bag and removing his belt, he slowly walked over to his lover. He was still quite tired even after resting for more than a week, but Remus had warned him that he probably wouldn't fully recover until he had given birth.
Bending down slightly, he pressed a soft kiss on pale lips. "At least you can enjoy your birthday now, hm?" he murmured and smiled.
A smile brightened Draco's face and he pulled Harry down until he was sitting on his lap. "That's true. And I am more than happy that I have the chance to celebrate it with you," he whispered and caressed Harry's cheek; his grey eyes alight with intensity.
Harry understood the double meaning and he sighed, closing his eyes when a thumb brushed across his cheekbone. It still felt surreal to realise that he wouldn't have to worry about Dumbledore anymore. To know that this time he really was safe and there was no insane wizard out to murder him.
After he had woken up from his magical coma, Remus and Sirius had filled him in on what had happened. Apparently his magic had gone haywire and refused to return back to his core, leaving Remus and Sirius to work day and night to get it back to him.
What had shocked him to the core was the fact that he and Draco had been on the verge of dying. Sirius had been reluctant to talk about it, but had eventually admitted that it was a very close call. It had been Remus who later told him that he had nearly lost the baby as well. The only reason why the baby still lived, was because Draco had used the bond somehow to help their son.
It didn't matter anymore how they had been able to survive the aftermath of the ritual. All that mattered now was that they were safe and wouldn't have to be on their guard anymore. They could finally start living their lives as they wanted.
"Where are your presents? I thought your parents had sent you some this morning?" Harry asked curiously, remembering the two owls who had delivered three packages for Draco when they woke up.
"They are in the dormitory." Draco shrugged. "The other presents are there as well. I think even your godfather gave me something and I'm not certain whether I'm willing to risk opening it."
Harry rolled his eyes and lightly punched Draco's shoulder, ignoring his grunt. "Don't be such a baby. If he wanted to prank you, he would have done it sooner. Besides," he hummed, "I was with him when he chose your present and I can assure you it's nothing bad."
"When did he choose a present?" Draco asked bewildered, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Four days ago," Harry retorted lightly. His godfather had actually asked him whether Draco would like the present he had picked out for him and it had pleased Harry to see his godfather putting effort into something for his boyfriend. It seemed Sirius was finally loosening up completely to Draco and Harry couldn't be happier.
"Huh," was Draco's brilliant response and he blinked, while his hands trailed up and down over Harry's back; his hands searing warm through Harry's shirt.
June had announced itself with hot weather and the Cooling charms had to be cast every half hour, because they wore off too quickly. Harry was so not looking forward to having his baby in this heat, but on the other hand he couldn't wait for the baby to be born either. It was becoming too tiring to drag around the baby's weight – his back protested every evening – and after all this time he just wanted to have their baby in his arms.
But he still had a couple of weeks to go before the baby was there and now he had a more pressing matter to attend to: Draco's birthday present.
He wriggled himself free from Draco's grasp and walked to his room, where he had hidden the present a while ago.
"Where are you going?"
"To get your present!" he called back and riffled through his drawer until he found the small, rectangular box, which was wrapped in midnight blue paper. He bit his lip and stared anxiously at the box. Now that the moment had arrived to hand it over to Draco, he suddenly wasn't certain about it anymore. What if the other one thought it was too stupid, too sentimental? Too weird?
On the other hand … Harry's thumb caressed the ring around his finger. Draco didn't seem opposed to sentimental gifts. He would most likely appreciate the sentiment Harry was trying to convey with this particular gift.
There was no going back now; he would just have to deal with whatever Draco's reaction would be to his gift.
When he entered the living room again, he was met with Draco's curious face. After hesitating for a few more seconds, he took a deep breath to steady himself and approached the blond wizard. He sat down next to him and presented the blue package, biting his lower lip when Draco accepted it with glittering eyes. All the while Draco was removing the paper from the small box, butterflies raced like mad in his stomach.
The sound of the lid being removed from the box seemed extremely loud in the silent room and Harry was aware of their pets' eyes trained on them both, making him shift around.
"Harry …" Draco murmured surprised and his finger slowly caressed the golden locket, which laid on a dark red, silk cloth. The golden locket itself was engraved with a large shell which had a rose instead of a pearl resting in the middle of the open shell. The shell represented the protective quality of love and the rose represented love itself. It had cost a bit extra to have those two symbols engraved on the locket, but it had been worth it. Casting the protection charms on the locket had been slightly tricky, but he had managed it in the end.
"Open it," Harry urged him on and his fingers fiddled nervously with his shirt.
Draco let out a soft "Oh," when he managed to open the locket. Inside one half was empty, but the other one was filled with a picture of them. It had been taken by Daphne several months ago when Harry had visited the common room. He and Draco had sat together on the couch – him on Draco's lap – and they had been arguing about something silly; they had a hard time keeping serious and the picture showed them laughing and stealing a quick kiss.
Wrapped around the small picture was a couple of Harry's hairs, which also had a charm cast on them. It allowed Draco to locate Harry whenever he needed to and Harry had needed Remus' help to accomplish the charm.
"I thought you would be more at ease if you had a way to contact me all the time, so I put a Locus charm on my strand of hair," Harry spoke softly, taking notice of how fixated Draco was on the picture. "The other half can be filled with a picture of the baby or something else. I know it's an odd and silly gift, but I …
He was cut off when Draco leant forwards and embraced him tightly, lips pressing a flurry of kisses on his cheek. "It's perfect, thank you," Draco whispered against his skin and when he pulled back slightly, his eyes were shining brightly while a light flush decorated his cheeks.
Harry smiled relieved; he was happy that Draco liked his present and that he had understood the underlying message. That from now on Harry wouldn't try to reject his help anymore; that he was willing to rely more on Draco than he did before.
By giving Draco a way to locate him whenever he so desired, he had wanted to convey that he would relinquish more control to Draco and that he wouldn't try to fight against Draco's protective instincts anymore. Harry wasn't planning on relinquishing all control – they were equals after all – but after everything that had happened, after everything they had gone through and realising how much Draco was willing to give up for him, he decided that relinquishing some control wouldn't hurt.
Judging by the soft, but meaningful look Draco gave him, the blond understood the unspoken message.
They had their whole lives ahead of them now, without any serious threats lingering, and Harry intended to full enjoy his life with Draco.
"I love you," Draco whispered into his ear later that night when they were wrapped up in each other's arms on Harry's bed. His hand drifted down to rub slowly over Harry's stomach.
Harry closed his eyes, burrowed his face in Draco's shoulder and smiled. "I love you too."

When the portrait opened and closed again to allow their visitor entrance to their quarters, Sirius looked up from where he was seated at the table, reading the newspaper. He raised his eyebrow when he noticed the Malfoy heir standing in the middle of their quarters with a determined look on his face and his shoulders squared as if he would enter a duel any moment.
Slowly Sirius lowered the newspaper and studied the blond man quietly. "Something you need?" he asked; curiosity faintly stirring inside of him.
The other one inclined his head. "Yes, I have come to ask you an important question."
"I'm all ears."

14th of June
With an exhausted sigh Harry closed the book and leant back in his chair, rubbing over his forehead. While he didn't have any exams – contrarily to the rest of the student body, who were currently busy studying for them as they would start in a couple of days – Remus had still given him a book about various wards that could be used to call up magical creatures and told him to read it, so they could discuss it. The book itself was interesting – despite the occasional boring text – but after reading it for most of the day, he was too tired to continue.
"Can't wait to have you out of me," he murmured, clucking his tongue, while he briefly caressed his bulging stomach. As soon as he had returned from dinner, he had removed his belt and changed into a loose T-shirt and shorts as his regular uniform irritated him. He could barely stand the restricting clothing nowadays; both because of the warm weather and because of his stomach.
Draco wasn't with him now – he had a study session with Blaise and Daphne in the library – but he had promised to come to his quarters soon, so that they could spend one last night together before Draco was busy with his own exams.
"Are you okay, Master?" Garin hissed concerned, unwinding his long body from the bed post.
Sapphire had curled up on his pillow like a giant ball of fur and Ruby was dozing off in the living room. Now that the main threat of Dumbledore was gone, his pets had been more relaxed – though they were still ready to jump to his defence whenever it was needed.
With a low groan, Harry stood up, stretching his back as much as he could. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. The baby is just tiring me out," he replied lightly. It was more than just the baby, though; he was still recuperating from the strain his body and magic went through during the ritual, but there was not much he could do about it, save for resting a lot. And he was starting to go stir crazy from not being able to do much.
The sound of the portrait opening made him smile involuntarily; Draco was back. Maybe he could convince him to give him a back rub again; his back was killing him and Draco could really work some magic with his hands.
He made his way to the living room, calling out while he walked, "Draco, could you give me a …"
He shut up immediately when his brain registered who was standing in the middle of his quarters.
"Hello Harry," Luna smiled brightly at him; the small bells hanging from her ears made a soft whistling sound when she moved.
Harry's attention was caught by the second person standing slightly behind Luna – whose eyes had widened at seeing his rounded stomach.
His stomach which was on full display, because he had foregone using his belt.
His arms automatically shot downwards to cover his belly, but it was useless.
"He-Hermione," he stammered and felt Garin sliding closer to him. Ruby rose up on his large legs, studying the two girls with a distrustful look on his face. "Luna! What are you two doing here? How did you even find me?"
A tinkling laughter left Luna's mouth and she practically skipped over to Ruby, petting him on his head without any fear. "The water fairy told me where to find you."
That still didn't explain why they were here now. Shit, what was he supposed to do now? He had kept his baby a secret for a damn good reason!
"He-hello, Harry," Hermione smiled uncertainly. Her curly hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her fingers were slightly stained with ink. It was a surprise she wasn't walking around with notes, considering the exams were almost starting. "I'm sorry for intruding so late. Luna insisted we needed to see you and I … Well, I … Eh, I wanted to see you as well." She glanced away; her cheeks fire red.
Harry opened his mouth and closed it again when he didn't know what on earth he was supposed to say now. He suddenly wished he had thought of grabbing his wand with him; it was still laying on his desk.
Bright blue eyes studied him with a knowing look. "She won't tell anyone, Harry," Luna told him gently. "He is safe with her."
"A little warning would have been useful," Harry muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew he could trust Luna when she said that Hermione wouldn't tell anyone about the baby, but he very much disliked having the choice of informing her being taken away. It was supposed to be his choice who he informed about the baby, not someone else's.
"Ah, I swear I won't tell anyone about it!" Hermione said hastily. "I know there is a good reason you're keeping it a secret and I didn't want to intrude. If you want, I can leave now. You can … use a charm on me to make sure I keep quiet if you want." Her voice was subdued at the end, but sincere.
"I know," Harry sighed and studied her. He then slowly made his way to the couch, passing her, before he sunk down on it. He patted the space next to him. "You can sit here if you want."
The secret was already out, so what would it matter if she stayed a bit longer? As long as she would keep quiet about the baby, he was resigned to her knowing about it. He was too tired to put up a fuss about it.
Hesitating visibly, she accepted the place next to him while Luna remained standing next to Ruby, focusing her attention on petting his large back.
Brown eyes glanced quickly at his stomach before they looked away. "Eh, how, you know, how far are you?" she asked almost shyly.
"Nine months; he'll be born soon," Harry murmured, shifting a bit until he found a better position. The awkward atmosphere hanging between them was starting to bother him. "I'm surprised you aren't studying," he mentioned lightly.
She chuckled and shook her head. "Luna didn't give me much choice. She took my books from me and announced that we were going to see you." The exasperated, but fond look she threw at Luna made him raise his eyebrow slightly.
What an interesting look.
"How's the rest of Gryffindor coping with the exams?" Harry asked with a small smile.
They chattered about school for a while; Luna kept herself busy with cooing to Sapphire – who had joined them after a couple of minutes – and studying Garin.
Somehow they reached the topic of Ginny and Ron and Harry felt himself grow cold when he thought about those two.
"Thank you for helping me with Ron," he murmured; his eyes trained on his hands which were placed on top of his stomach.
Hermione let out a soft sigh and when Harry looked up, he was met with a self-deprecating smile. "I just wish I had said something about him sooner. I didn't realise how far he had gone already to hurt you. Wait, no." She shook her head and her fingers clenched down in her skirt. "I didn't want to see how far he had gone already. I thought he wouldn't hurt you too much, because you were friends once, but clearly I underestimated him. I'm really sorry I didn't speak up sooner. Maybe this entire mess could have been solved sooner."
Harry shook his head, waving his hand dismissively. "Don't blame yourself, Hermione. I didn't think either that he would go so far. How is Ginny taking it? I haven't seen her lately."
After her attempt to curse Draco, she had seemed to avoid them and Harry couldn't really say he minded that. He had never been able to really figure out what she thought about him, but clearly she hadn't been happy with the fact that he was together with Draco.
Hermione fidgeted and a frown marred her forehead. "She has been in the hospital wing for two days two weeks ago. Nobody knows what happened, but her face and hands were badly burnt." She bit her lip. "Since then she mostly stays in the dormitory. From what I've seen, the nurse managed to heal her, but she refuses to say what happened."
"That's odd." Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Maybe she got into a fight with someone?"
Although it was strange for her to be so badly wounded; she wasn't exactly weak and she could hold her own in a duel. Who would hurt her so badly anyway?
Hermione shrugged uneasily. "I don't know, Harry. She refuses to say anything about it and we stopped asking when she tried to hex us."
Well, her being confided to the Gryffindor Tower explained why he had barely seen her during the past few weeks.
"Good riddance," Garin hissed and he sounded on the verge of snickering – if snakes were capable of doing such a thing.
Harry frowned. "That's not nice, Garin," he admonished him. Why was he getting the feeling that his pets knew more about what had happened to Ginny?
"She deserved what she got," Ruby murmured and his teeth glinted into the candlelight.
Before Harry could react to that peculiar statement, the portrait opened again and revealed a haggard looking Draco, whose eyes immediately widened when they caught sight of the two girls in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked sharply, dropping his bag on the floor with a heavy 'thud'.
Hermione flinched a little underneath the heavy glower and cleared her throat nervously. Luna merely smiled gently, turning her attention to Mara who had slipped past Draco.
Hastily Harry stood up and made his way to Draco, who automatically enclosed him in his arms once he was in his reach.
"It's okay, Draco," he murmured, bringing his own arms around Draco's waist. "Luna brought her with her and she promised me she wouldn't tell anyone about the baby."
"And you believe her?" Draco asked sceptically, throwing a wary glance at the brunette on the couch.
Harry waited until he held his gaze before he replied calmly, "Yes, I believe her. She won't tell anyone."
Grey eyes studied him for a while until they softened and the blond let out a resigned sigh after apparently finding whatever he was looking for in Harry's face. He pressed a soft kiss against Harry's lips before turning to address Hermione. "Looks like you're not going to disappear out of our lives after all." He made his way to the couch before the dark haired wizard could reprimand him about the comment and to both Harry's and Hermione's shock, he held out his hand. "We started out on the wrong foot years ago, so let us try again. Hello, my name is Draco Malfoy."
Slowly Hermione reached out and accepted his hand. "My name is Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you." Her brown eyes looked at him in determination.
"One warning: hurt Harry in any way and you will be sorry," Draco murmured silkily; his smile containing more teeth than was considered to be friendly.
Hermione paled a bit, but nodded. "I understand."
"Don't threaten her, Draco," Harry muttered with a slight huff, swatting his arm.
He was happy, though, to see Draco finally interacting decently with Hermione. He didn't expect them to become good friends – despite the fresh start, there was still a quite nasty history between the two of them, but at least now they could try to build a better relationship.
When he caught dark brown eyes with his own green ones, he smiled and received a gentle smile in response.
Yes, it was a fresh start for all of them.

29th of June
"Is Harry feeling okay?" Blaise murmured in his ear while McGonagall's voice filled the Great Hall, talking about the many achievements the students had gathered.
Draco chanced a glance at Harry, who was a bit further down the row. Emerald green eyes were fixated on something in front of him and he looked rather pale; his slim waist – thanks to the magical belt – looking oddly out of place after so many evenings of seeing him walking around without it. He startled when green eyes met his and he narrowed his eyes slightly when a wavering smile greeted him.
"He told me he was well enough to attend the ceremony, but I'm really starting to doubt that," Draco muttered, clenching one of his hands.
Maybe he should have insisted that Harry stayed in his quarters, or even better already left to their manor. McGonagall could have given his diploma later on. There was no need for him to attend the graduation ceremony in his state.
Harry was due any day now and Draco had started to become really antsy about that. For the past week he had woken up every morning with the silent question whether that day would be the day that Harry went into labour. Their trunks were filled up completely and most of their possessions had already been transferred to their manor, so that they wouldn't have to take so many bags with them when they left. The device which would transport Harry safely to the manor in case his water broke was put in sight in his quarters, ready to be used immediately.
This morning Draco had asked him whether he really was certain about attending the ceremony – the dark haired wizard had looked rather unwell when he woke up – but Harry had assured him he would be fine.
Now Draco wished he had insisted on Harry departing to the manor already.
They were called to the front one by one, receiving their degree from a smiling Headmistress and under the watchful and prideful eyes of their family. Draco spotted his mother and father sitting in the second row, right next to Lupin and Black and he couldn't help but smile when he received his own degree. After today he would no longer be a student of Hogwarts; come September he would be starting his apprenticeship with Severus to become a Potions Master. That prospect made him feel both elated and nervous as hell.
Draco studied Harry carefully when it was his time to accept his degree, but there was nothing in his way of walking that would suggest something was wrong with him.
When the ceremony ended an hour later, they were free to mingle around and enjoy the plates of food that the house elves were setting up on the tables against the walls.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked concerned, brushing a hand across Harry's arm softly.
Harry smiled fleetingly. "Yeah, I'm all right."
He did look a lot better than this morning, Draco had to admit that. He didn't look that pale anymore and didn't look ready to faint.
They were immediately approached by their family, who congratulated them and gave them hugs.
"Do you know what you are planning to do after this, Harry?" Black asked curiously once they had found some free spots in a more secluded corner of the Great Hall.
Their degrees were laying on the table while the two boys busied themselves with picking out food and drinking cooled pumpkin juice.
Harry shrugged, taking another sip from his glass. "I've given up on the idea of being an Auror," he admitted. "After fighting Dumbledore, I've grown tired of fighting for my life. I don't know yet what I'm going to do, but it's definitely not going to be chasing after criminals."
"That is probably the most sensible thing you have said so far, Potter," Severus commented dryly, sipping from his own goblet of Firewhiskey.
Harry huffed, but only rolled his eyes, not deigning the older man's remark worthy of a reply; Draco was grateful for that, because he wasn't in the mood to hear an argument between his lover and his godfather today.
"Well, you have plenty of time to decide what you want to do next," Mother murmured soothingly and smiled. She lowered her voice even more when she asked, "How are you feeling, Harry?" Her eyes flickered meaningfully to his hidden stomach.
"I'm fine," Harry answered, waving his hand. "My back is killing me, though."
Draco made a mental note to give Harry another massage when they were alone; almost every evening for the last couple of weeks he had given his lover a massage to help relieve the ache in his back. Draco didn't mind doing that; it was the least he could do after all, considering it was partly his fault Harry had back pain.

When Draco shifted into his seat a while later, the object in his pocket reminded him about the plan he had come up with a couple of weeks ago and he stilled. Now was as good as any time, right?
Somehow he managed to get Harry to accompany him alone outside; Black had thrown him a speculating look, but had said nothing to stop them and the blond took that as his final answer.
Outside, the sun was glaring and the air simmered with heat, making it fairly stifling. It was also quiet and perfect for what he was planning to do; here they wouldn't be disturbed and they would be at ease.
He walked with Harry – hands locked – to the edge of the forest, where the shadows of the trees provided them with much needed coolness. Ruby had followed them outside – Mara and Garin had preferred to stay in the castle, where it was colder – but remained a couple of feet away from them, giving them some privacy while he looked through the bushes.
An large, polished rock next to a rose bush provided an improvised seat and Draco softly directed Harry to sit on it while he remained standing in front of him.
Emerald green eyes stared at him curiously. "Is something the matter?"
"No, I just … I, eh, wanted to ask you something," Draco murmured and took a deep breath. Butterflies were rampaging in his stomach and his head felt fairly light – he hoped he wouldn't faint from being too nervous. He needed this to be perfect, damn it. Nothing was allowed to go wrong now.
"I need you to listen and be quiet for a little while, all right?"
Harry blinked confused, but nodded slowly. "Okay," he acquiesced bemused.
Draco sunk to his knees on the ground – not caring one wit whether his trousers would get dirty or not – and adjusted himself until he ended up sitting with one knee on the ground and the other holding him up.
"Draco …" Harry trailed off and he inhaled sharply.
"Ah, ah, you promised you would be quiet for a while," Draco reminded him and grabbed Harry's hand – the warm skin underneath his helped him steady himself. When he looked up into wide, forest green eyes, all thoughts fled his mind and he was left speechless.
Ever since he had made his decision, he had been trying to come up with a speech; trying to figure out how he would go about this. Now it turned out that even if he had a speech, being subjected to intense green eyes was enough to empty his mind completely.
Well, too late for any grandiose speech. He would just state what he felt and hope that would be enough to receive the proper response.
"When I first heard about you, all I could think of was that I admired you and wanted to get to know you. I was – and still am – fascinated by you and all I could think of when I was eleven was becoming your friend," Draco started softly; not allowing himself to look away from Harry's gaze. "I clearly screwed up becoming your friend." A pained chuckle left his mouth and he let out a soft sigh. "I sulked for ages and I made the stupid decision to taunt you, because any attention from you was good – whether that was good or bad, it didn't matter. It took me years to figure out that I wanted to be more than your friend, more than your best friend. I can say with absolute certainty that the day you agreed to be my boyfriend, that was one of the happiest days in my life. This is going to sound sappy as hell, but you're a dream come true and I'm grateful for every day I have with you, every day I can spend at your side." He took a deep breath and released Harry's hand in favour of placing it on his stomach.
"I'm grateful for the fact that out of all the people you could choose, you chose me. You could have anyone you wanted and yet you chose me and I still don't understand how I could have been so lucky. You make me complete, Harry. You're my missing half and I can't fathom how I could have lived all this time without you. You are the light of my life, you make everything worth it. And now you're giving me a son as well – I'm the most lucky son of a bitch in existence," he chuckled and he squeezed Harry's knee.
"Draco …"
Draco reached into his pocket and closed his hand around the small box. "I love you, Harry. With each day that passes I love you more and I cannot wait to share the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up next to you every morning; I want to come home and see you there; I want to be the one who you confide in, who you tell your worries to, who will make you laugh. I want to make you happy."
Green eyes misted over and he felt him trembling underneath his hand. As he hadn't gotten up yet or shoved him away, Draco felt it was safe to continue, despite the nerves trying to get the upper hand.
"Words cannot describe how much I love you, how much I desire you and want to be with you. All I can say is that I'm going to try my hardest to make you happy every day of the rest of our lives. I want to be a family with you and our baby. Harry James Potter, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?" he asked softly and opened the small box.
A golden band with a small diamond on top of it glinted in the sunlight.
Harry stilled and took a shuddering breath. His eyes were as wide as saucers and he seemed speechless.
"Harry?" Draco smiled nervously and he held his breath while his heart beat madly inside his chest.
A wince passed over Harry's face and Draco stiffened, concern welling up in him.
"Draco, … oh no," Harry muttered almost horrified.
All right, he had to admit that he hadn't seen that particular response coming. He had thought he had a fairly good chance of receiving a positive answer after their conversation in the manor, so this threw him off completely. It actually hurt quite a bit.
His smile wavered, when he said – as light as possible -, "We don't need to get married right away. We can wait a couple of years if you …"
"No, no, Draco. That's not it!" Harry interrupted him. He swallowed visibly and he looked down at his stomach. "I – I think the baby is coming."
"What?" Draco retorted blankly and his eyes were involuntarily drawn towards Harry's waist – and then slid down to see the light grey trousers darkening slowly with a water like fluid.
"Shit!" he exclaimed and jumped up, stuffing the small box back into his pocket. "All right, come on. We need to get you to the manor. Ruby, warn the others; especially Lupin. We need him to help with the delivery."
While Ruby gave an affirmative grunt and ran back to the castle to alert the rest of their family, Draco turned towards Harry and held out his hand.
"Can you walk?" he asked worriedly.
Harry slowly stood up and then grunted; a grimace of pain contorted his face. "Ah, shit, that one really hurt," he huffed and his hand shot out to grab the blond's arm. "Yeah, I can walk. There's still a lot of time between each one."
Draco refrained from scolding Harry for not warning him about his contractions earlier – those must have been the reason why he had looked rather unwell – and together they made their way to Harry's quarters.
He didn't even stop to take a last look at the quarters; – it would be the last time he would ever be here after today – his mind was filled with both worry about Harry and jittery anticipation.
They would welcome their son in the world very soon; he could hardly wait.

"Harry, lay down on the bed, please. I need to check your progress again," Lupin asked a couple of hours later.
Harry halted, his hands pressed against the wall, while his body trembled with yet another contraction. Beads of sweat were trickling down his face and the large, white shirt which reach mid-thigh, was drenched with sweat, sticking to his back and stomach.
Draco guided him carefully to the bed and helped him lower him on it; Harry kept a tight grip on his hand and Draco didn't even flinch when his clammy hand tightened around his.
It had been a bit more than three hours since Harry's water broke and they had to play the waiting game for now. Harry hadn't been ready to start pushing yet, so all he could do was breathe through the contractions and distract himself from the pain by talking to Draco and Lupin.
Draco knew that his parents and Harry's godfather were waiting outside in the hallway – he could hear their voices drifting through the door – but he paid them no mind and they didn't bother them either. Their pets were staying outside as well; there was not much they could do to help Harry now and Harry would only become agitated with more people in the room.
"And?" Draco asked softly, while he stroked Harry's hair slowly, not minding the sweat coating it.
Harry hissed sharply and his leg jerked softly. "Fuck, that one fucking hurt even more!" he swore, tossing his head back against the pillow.
Lupin clucked his tongue and nodded. "You'll be ready to start pushing soon. You need to wait a bit more, but it won't be much longer."
"Thank Merlin," Harry groaned and glared at the ceiling. "I can't wait to have him out of me. Can't you just give me some sedative potion?"
"I'm sorry, Harry, but we don't know what kind of effect a potion would have in your state now, so we don't want to risk it," Lupin apologized and looked genuinely sorry.
"Of bloody course," Harry muttered darkly and then his glare shifted towards Draco, who started. "This is your bloody fault!"
Draco chuckled weakly and felt brave enough to brush a kiss against Harry's damp forehead. "I accept all responsibility," he said solemnly. "Just think of this: it won't be long anymore before we can hold our baby in our arms. You just need to hold on for a bit longer, love."
"Easy for you to say!" the dark haired man grunted and groaned when he was assaulted by another contraction, which lasted even longer than the previous ones.
"Just a bit longer," Draco whispered and kissed his temple.
Seeing Harry in pain like this and knowing it was partly his fault made him feel incredibly guilty – especially when he realised that at the same time he was excited as well. Because Harry was in pain now, but they would have their baby in their arms soon and that thought made him happy.
He couldn't wait to finally see their son after nine months.
A little while later Lupin put a basin with warm water on the bed with a stack of towels next to it. He pushed Harry's legs up, so that they were bent and spread out.
"All right, Harry, with the next contraction, I need you to start pushing, okay?" Lupin said; his golden eyes studying the dark haired man solemnly. "You can stop when it ends, but then you need to start again. Are you ready?"
"Not really, but it's not like I have a choice, right?" Harry muttered, strangely subdued and he swallowed loudly.
"You'll do fine," Lupin stated confidently. His gaze shifted towards Draco. "Draco, let him lean against you; that will help a bit."
Draco nodded and, while butterflies were racing around in his stomach, he shifted until he was sitting half behind Harry, letting his lover lean against his chest. Feeling his tense back, Draco reached out and rubbed over his back, offering his other hand again.
Harry blindly reached out to grab his hand and a whimper escaped him.
"I'm here; you'll be okay," Draco whispered in his ear and Harry barely had time to nod, before a new contraction seized him and he started pushing; his face becoming even redder than before.
He fell back against Draco's chest when he stopped pushing and he took a deep breath.
"You're doing fine, Harry," Lupin reassured him. "Just keep going."
Harry looked ready to lash out, judging by the venomous look in his eyes, but a new contraction rolled over him and he started pushing again with a low moan, while his grip around Draco's hand tightened to the point where Draco thought he could feel his bones being grinded together.
The dull pain in his hand was nothing but a vague notion in the back of his mind while he murmured encouraging words in Harry's ear in the course of the next half hour, rubbing over his back in the hopes of alleviating his pain somewhat. Tears started to mix with the sweat on his face and Draco kissed them away, feeling the hot skin underneath his lips.
"You're doing so well, love. Just a bit more," he murmured encouragingly and his gaze shifted towards Lupin.
"I can see his head; keep pushing!" Lupin encouraged him and his wand shot out to fill the basin with warm water.
After a couple of more pushes, Harry suddenly fell back with a loud gasp; his breathing laboured and his face fire red.
"I c-can't," he whimpered and shook his head. "It hu-hurts too much."
"Harry, you can't give up now," Lupin told him sternly. "Come on, you need to keep going."
"Harry," Draco murmured and he waited until pained, green eyes locked on to his face. "I need you to be strong for a little while longer, all right? Our baby needs you now; you can't give up. He's almost here, but he needs your help getting here."
Harry clenched his teeth, but with a pained moan, he nodded and started pushing again.
"His head is out and his shoulders are almost there," Lupin announced around ten minutes later and Draco's heart started beating wildly again.
Their son was almost there. Just a bit longer and they would finally be able to see him.
Time seemed to stretch on until suddenly the room was filled with Harry's muted shout, followed by a loud, sharp cry of discontent.
Draco was certain he had never heard a sound so sweet as the cry of their new born baby.
He was finally here.

"I do not understand the point of waiting here," Snape muttered darkly and crossed his arms. "It will be a while before the brat arrives, so we could have easily stayed at Hogwarts."
Narcissa clucked her tongue. "Severus, don't be like that. There is not a fixed hour at which the baby is supposed to arrive. You're his family; Draco wants you here."
"I'm fairly certain that the brat is more occupied with his boyfriend than with his family here," Snape retorted dryly, but didn't offer any other resistance.
Uncharacteristically Sirius kept quiet and didn't attempt to antagonize the Potions Master. All his thoughts were focused on his godson and how he was coping. As soon as Ruby had informed them that Harry had gone into labour, they had hurried out of the Great Hall and had taken it upon themselves to send the last pieces of baggage of the couple to the manor with them following closely behind.
Remus had immediately gone into their bedroom, closing the door behind him and had remained there for the last couple of hours now. Sirius desperately wanted to know whether Harry and his baby were doing okay, but he figured that as long as Remus didn't say anything, everything was going smoothly.
Still, after waiting for the past couple of hours in this hallway, he was starting to become very antsy and he really wanted to know what was going on.
"It is too bad Harry's parents aren't able to experience this moment with us," Narcissa murmured and her eyes softened with sadness for a couple of seconds.
"James would have been besides himself with worry," Sirius chuckled, remembering how out of control his best friend had been when Lily had gone into labour. "We probably would have to put a Sticky charm on his feet to keep him still."
"We just have to make up for their missing presence then," Lucius smiled. "I'm certain they would have been very happy if they could have been here."
"Prongs would probably have tried to curse Snivellus," Sirius snickered and brushed his hair out of his eyes.
"At least I'm not becoming a grand uncle before I'm forty, you foul mutt," Snape retorted snidely.
Sirius offered him a sweet smile. "That's true; but while I may be the grand uncle, you're going to be a grandfather. Tell me, how does it feel to become a grandfather before you're forty?"
"What on earth are you …"
"Severus, he is not wrong, you know. Accepting my proposal means you are officially Draco's stepfather, which will make you the step grandfather of this baby," Lucius pointed out mildly, but his eyes had a mischievous glitter to them.
Before Snape could retort, the door of the bedroom suddenly swung open and they all immediately turned their attention towards the person in the threshold.
Draco stood there with a blue blanket bundled up in his arms; his cheeks were flushed and his eyes glittered with both excitement and the film of unshed tears.
He took a couple of steps forwards, allowing them a better look of the bundle. A baby with plump cheeks; a small, cute button nose; pouty lips and a small tuft of dark blond hair greeted them.
"Everyone, meet Scorpius James Malfoy," Draco laughed brightly and he practically glowed with happiness.
Sirius felt something blocking his throat at the mention of the baby's second name and he took a deep breath, a smile breaking out on his face as he was handed the baby; its small weight reassuringly warm against his chest.
Prongs, Lily, meet your grandson.

After their family had each held their son – even Severus had held him for a few seconds – Draco took him over again and returned to their bedroom, where Harry was resting in the bed after being cleaned up. Lupin left the room with a nod and a gentle smile.
Tired eyes glanced towards him and a soft smile broke out on Harry's face when he caught sight of the precious bundle in Draco's arms.
"Let me see him," Harry murmured with a rough voice and Draco sat down next to him, carefully laying Scorpius down on Harry's chest.
A couple of tears escaped his green eyes. "I can't believe he's finally here," he whispered and carefully caressed the baby's soft cheek.
"You did so well, Harry. I'm proud of you." Draco raised his head and pressed a tender kiss on his mouth. He thought he would explode with happiness; how was it possible to be so happy?
"Look at what we made," Harry chuckled watery. "He's so beautiful."
"That he is," Draco agreed and looked down with a tender look. He hoped that Scorpius would inherit Harry's intense green eyes. He couldn't help but give Harry another kiss. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," Harry murmured. He reached out with one hand and placed it on Draco's cheek. "And Draco? My answer is yes."
"What?" Draco asked, smiling bemused. What was he talking about?
"Yes, I want to marry you."
Draco's eyes widened and then he smiled brightly, digging up the box again to slip the ring around Harry's finger.
"You, Harry James Potter, have made me the happiest and luckiest man alive," he said and embraced him as tightly as he dared.
"I can say the same about you," Harry murmured with a loving smile.
After sharing another tender kiss, filled with their love, they both turned their attention towards the sleeping baby in Harry's arms.
Against all odds their baby was here now. There was no longer a Voldemort or a Dumbledore who threatened to take them away from each other.
It had taken longer than expected, but they could finally start living their lives as they wanted.
Together.

AN2: So yes *coughs* I'm not particularly happy with some scenes, but I couldn't figure out what to change about them to make them better *sighs*
Anyway, what do you think of it? Please leave a review behind with your thoughts! If anyone has noticed a grammar or spelling mistake, please point them out to me so that I can edit it.
Join me for one last time for the epilogue (and Sirius' oneshot), guys. See you all in the last chapter in two weeks!
Cuddles
Melissa
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Survival of the fittest