Epilogue.

"Is she here yet?" Scorpius whined, looking up as the door to the waiting room opened and Molly and Arthur returned from getting a drink.

Currently there was a bit of a gathering at St Mungo's as they awaited the news that Hermione had finally given birth. Hermione had been admitted the previous evening, and ever since there had been a presence of some sort at the hospital. Not wanting Scorpius to be at the hospital all night, Richard and Jean had stayed with him at Draco and Hermione's, but not wanting to miss the birth of their granddaughter, they had arrived at the hospital first thing that morning with Scorpius in tow. However, it was now nearly lunchtime and the newest Malfoy had yet to make her appearance.

"I don't think so, Scorp," Molly replied gently.

"Babies tend to come in their own time," Narcissa said.

"But Dad said she was coming yesterday," Scorpius argued with a pout.

"Babies are unpredictable creatures," Blaise said, tugging Scorpius onto his lap. "Take you for example. When your Mum was pregnant with you, you were a little terror making her sick all the time."

"I did that?" Scorpius asked with wide eyes.

"You did," Blaise confirmed. "Your Mum was sick as a dog for the whole nine months. But then when it came time for you to be born, you were so eager to meet us you shot out in record time."

"So why doesn't the baby come out?" Scorpius asked. "Doesn't she want to meet us? Doesn't she know I'm waiting for her?"

"I'm sure she would hurry right along if she knew the great Scorpius Malfoy was waiting for her," Blaise retorted with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"Someone should tell her," Scorpius announced with a nod. "Grandpa Lucius, can you go and tell the baby I'm waiting to meet her?"

"I'll try and pass the message onto your father," Lucius said with a chuckle as he got to his feet, deciding he would see if he could catch a medi-witch and find out some news about his daughter-in-law.

"Make sure to tell her I haven't got all day," Scorpius said primly as he hopped off Blaise's lap and settled himself in the corner with his sketch pad and coloured pencils. "I'm writing a new book, over here. I don't have time to wait around for babies."

Leaving Scorpius to mutter to himself about stupid babies making him wait, Lucius slipped out of the relatives room and headed towards the reception area of the maternity ward. Speaking to one of the witches manning the desk, he enquired after Hermione and she slipped off down the corridor and into one of the private rooms. A few seconds later, Draco emerged looking tired as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Any news?" Lucius asked.

"We're getting there very slowly," Draco replied as he leaned against the corridor wall. "It could be several more hours yet. Poor Hermione is going crazy. It may have been an easy pregnancy, but the birth is certainly taking a long time."

"Blaise was just saying the same thing to Scorpius," Lucius said. "He implied that Hermione's first pregnancy was tough."

"Very," Draco confirmed with a nod. "But the birth was easy. Scorpius was here in under an hour. But not this little one, she's a stubborn thing."

"Like her father," Lucius said with a small smile.

"Her mother has her moments as well," Draco replied with a chuckle. "As do her grandparents," he added gently, his tone letting Lucius know he wasn't having a dig, just stating a fact.

"At least she comes by it honestly," Lucius remarked.

"How's Scorpius doing?" Draco asked. "If he gets bored, someone might have to take him home."

"He's busy with his new book," Lucius replied. "Although he is getting a bit impatient. He said to tell you to inform the baby he's waiting to meet her. Apparently that will hurry her along."

"I'll make sure to pass the message along," Draco laughed. "I should get back to Hermione."

"You go and be with your wife," Lucius encouraged his son. "And don't worry about Scorpius, he's got people queueing up to look after him."

Thanking his father, Draco slipped back into the delivery room to pass Scorpius's message onto his little sister, while Lucius returned to the waiting room and informed the interested parties that there was still no news, and no imminent sign of the newest Malfoy.

"Babies are rude," Scorpius sniffed haughtily at his grandfather's announcement. "It's not polite to be late. She's a rude baby, and I bet she's ugly."

"She won't be ugly," Jean said. "She'll be lovely, just like you."

"She'll be ugly," Scorpius predicted matter-of-factly. "All babies are ugly, and bald. Lily was all wrinkly and had no hair when she was born."

"But you had lots of hair when you were born," Molly countered. "All babies are different, Scorpius."

"But I'm the best," Scorpius said with a devastating grin. "No baby will be like me."

"Something I'm sure your mother is grateful for every day," Blaise muttered under his breath, causing a few people to chuckle.

"Is she even coming today?" Scorpius asked with a sigh. "I'm a busy boy, I have things to do."

"How about we go for a walk?" Blaise suggested. "There's a park across the street. We can go and play and someone can come and fetch us when your sister arrives."

"Okay," Scorpius said, putting down his pencils and getting to his feet. "But don't hold your breath, Uncle Blaise," he said, patting Blaise on the arm as he took hold of his hand. "I don't even know if this baby is coming. I think she's changed her mind and isn't going to come. And that would be very rude, after I helped paint her room for her. Don't you think so?"

"I do indeed," Blaise agreed, an amused smirk playing around his lips as he escorted his still chattering godson out of the relatives room and directed him towards the lift.

An hour later, Blaise returned with Scorpius, and there was still no sign of the new arrival. Settling Scorpius back in the corner with his drawing, the adults discussed the possibility of someone taking Scorpius home for some food and rest. However, the discussion wasn't very productive as no-one wanted to leave. Lucius and Narcissa were adamant that they weren't leaving as they'd already missed the birth of their grandson. Richard and Jean were also reluctant to leave as they'd already been with Scorpius all night and risked missing the birth of their granddaughter.

"I guess it's clear to see who are the most dispensable," Lucius remarked under his breath, glancing towards Molly and Arthur.

"Don't you try that on us, Lucius Malfoy," Molly hissed, keeping her voice down so Scorpius didn't become aware of the tension between the adults. "We may not be blood relatives, but Draco and Hermione are our family. We have as much right as anyone to be here."

"No-one is disputing that," Narcissa said diplomatically. While she still wasn't comfortable with the role the Weasleys played in her family's life, she had come to accept it and was very aware that it had only become possible thanks to her and Lucius's bad choices in the past. "I think we're all getting a bit tired and impatient here."

"I don't think I was this impatient when it was my own son being born," Lucius admitted. "But this means the world to us," he added, not liking to open himself up to the Weasleys, but understanding that it could be the best thing to get them to agree to take Scorpius home for a while. "This is a chance we never thought we would get," he continued. "And before you say it, I know we only have ourselves to blame for missing Scorpius's birth. But we are trying to make amends. At any other time, we would take Scorpius home ourselves, but we can't miss this. We can't miss the birth of another grandchild."

"It wouldn't hurt for us to take a break with Scorpius," Arthur gently remarked to Molly. "The poor lad is climbing the walls. A break would be good for him."

"I suppose," Molly agreed with a defeated sigh. "But we will be back," she warned Lucius and Narcissa.

"I expect you will be," Lucius replied with a nod of his head. "Thank you."

However, before Molly and Arthur could gather Scorpius's things together and take the young boy home for a break, a beaming Draco burst into the room, announcing that the newest member of the family had finally arrived.

"What took her so long?" Scorpius demanded as Draco announced he would be the first to see his new sister.

"I think she was just waiting for your message," Draco chuckled. "Once I told her you were waiting for her, she flew out."

"She came by broomstick?" Scorpius asked, his eyes widening in excitement. "That is so cool."

"She didn't come by broomstick, Scorp," Draco laughed as he led his son out of the waiting room. "We discussed this before, she came out of your Mum."

"If you say so," Scorpius said, sounding sceptical of the whole idea, as he had done since Draco and Hermione had tried to explain to him how babies were born.

"I do say so, now come and meet your sister," Draco said, taking Scorpius into the private room where Hermione and the new baby were awaiting their visitors.

Hermione was lying propped up in bed, looking pretty tired after her exertions, but she still managed a smile for her son as he cautiously crept towards the bed. In her arms, dressed in the Babygro which Narcissa had gifted them when she informed them of the pregnancy, was the newest member of the family.

"Come and say hello to your sister, Scorpius," Hermione urged as Draco lifted Scorpius up to sit on the bed.

"Hello sister," Scorpius said, peering down at the baby in his mother's arms. "I guess she's not too ugly," he conceded.

"I guess she's not," Hermione agreed with a chuckle. "So what do you think about names? Is she a Lyra or a Carina?"

"I don't know, ask her," Scorpius said with a shrug.

"She can't talk yet, Scorp," Draco laughed. "We have to make the decision about her name. Which one do you like?"

Scrutinising his sister, Scorpius tilted his head one way and then the other before making a decision. "Carina," he announced.

"Carina it is," Hermione said, smiling down at her newborn daughter. "And when she's older, we can tell her that her big brother picked her name."

"I also drew her a picture," Scorpius said. "It's a unicorn playing in a lake."

"It sounds lovely, Scorp," Hermione said, stifling a yawn.

"You should rest," Draco said to his wife. "How about I take Carina to meet the family? You can have a nap."

"Sounds good," Hermione muttered sleepily as her husband took their daughter from her arms.

Taking Scorpius as well, Draco headed to the relatives room to introduce Carina to their family. As expected, everyone gushed over the little girl and she was passed around the room as everyone wanted a cuddle from the newest Malfoy.

"Do you think I could go and see your wife?" Lucius quietly asked Draco as Narcissa held onto her granddaughter, tears streaming from her eyes.

"She was going to rest, but I guess it'll be okay as long as you're not too long," Draco replied. "You won't disturb her too much, will you?"

"Of course not," Lucius assured his son. "I only need a minute."

Slipping away from the celebrations, Lucius headed to the private room he knew his daughter-in-law was situated. Knocking quietly on the door, he poked his head around the door and found Hermione dozing in bed. Thinking she was sleeping, he turned to leave again only to be stopped by the sound of Hermione calling his name.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," Lucius said, slipping into the room.

"You're not," Hermione assured him. "There's not a problem with Carina, is there?"

"No, she's been fussed over by everyone," Lucius said with a smile. "I just wanted to come and thank you."

"Thank me?" Hermione frowned in confusion. "For what?"

"For making this all possible," Lucius replied. "I know that if the decision had been Draco's alone, Narcissa and I wouldn't be here. I know that he would never have forgiven us without having you by his side."

"I really didn't do anything, Lucius," Hermione protested. "I won't deny I encouraged him to give you a chance, but it was all Draco's decision. I would have stood by him no matter what he'd decided."

"Perhaps," Lucius remarked with a shrug that revealed he wasn't quite convinced. "But if you'd been a different sort of witch, say someone more like Pansy, then you never would have encouraged the second chance he's given us. I just wanted to let you know that I am very aware of the role you've played in helping Narcissa and I make amends for the past. And I want to let you know how grateful I am to you. Without you, I don't think our family would ever have been reunited."

"I'm glad it was," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm glad to have you and Narcissa in our lives. I know Scorpius loves having you around, and I know Carina will feel the same way. Let's just be grateful that everything worked out for the best."

"That it did," Lucius agreed with a solemn nod.

Impulsively, he gave Hermione a kiss on the forehead and thanked her again, before returning to the relatives room and having a second hold of his granddaughter. With Carina in his arms, and Scorpius bouncing around beside him, Lucius had never felt more grateful for the second chance his son had given him. He wasn't sure if he deserved such a chance, but he was damn well going to make the most of it. Against all odds, he'd gotten his family back and this time he was going to treasure them like the precious diamonds they were.

The End.

A/N – As always I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, and especially to those who also left a review.

Normally this is where I announce my next story, but I'm afraid to say that I've got no more multi-chapter stories finished. I had thought I would have one of my many stories close to completion finished by the end of this story, but current circumstances have changed everything. I think most people around the world are stuck at home, and while for some it might have aided them to write more, it's done the opposite for me. The peaceful time alone when I used to write, is currently gone with everyone at home all day every day. As such, my writing output has been pretty low during this lockdown, but with any luck I will persevere and finally finish some stories.

In the meantime, I think I have a few unpublished one shots and collection pieces. But as for longer stories, it might be a few months before I'm back. But I promise I will be back and there is still lots more stories to come from me.

So for now, thanks again and everyone stay safe.