Chapter 25 – Orion

Hermione struggled down the hallway towards the nursery. She doubled over as another contraction hit her.

"Draco," she called again. She had sent her patronus from the greenhouse to summon him. But when he had not arrived in several minutes, she knew he must be in the nursery, the severe wards they had placed there would prevent it from reaching him.

She placed a hand on the wall, and tried to catch her breath. Hermione had moved out of Grimmauld Place and back into the Manor after Christmas, when Draco was satisfied that it was safely restored. He had spent so much time there repairing the damages, that for a while Hermione wondered if he was avoiding her. But in his way, Draco was grieving the loss of his father, by putting his blood, sweat, and tears into his ancestral home.

As expected, Draco was in the nursery. He was arranging an assortment of toys next to the crib, some Hermione noted immediately he must have bought very recently. If she didn't keep an eye on him, their child was going to be terribly spoiled! But then she noticed his treasured blue dragon had a prime location in front. She almost smiled, but then clutched her stomach gasping. Draco looked up in surprise.

"Hermione!" He exclaimed. He wrapped his arm around her, and urged her into the lounging chair. He carefully levitated her out of the nursery and into their bedroom down the hall.

"It hurts so much," Hermione groaned. Draco wiped the sweat from her brown, and surrounded her with cushions.

"I know it does," Draco said, stroking her hair, "but you're a brave Gryffindor, you can do this." There was no mockery in his voice as he said it. Draco's face was pale, and gaunt. He had not yet returned to his normal colour since the war had ended. But now, Hermione saw a new fear and panic in his eyes as he watched her curl up in pain.

"Pinky," he yelled. A house elf appeared at his elbow. "Floo the healer, quickly! She's in labour!" The elf scampered towards the fireplace, to do as commanded. "Please!" Draco added after, mostly for Hermione's benefit. But she seemed not to notice.

The healer arrived within moments, ushering Draco out of the way. He moved up to the top of the bed, holding Hermione and stroking her hair, whispering words of encouragement, even as she squeezed his hand in a vice-like grip.

"I'm never letting you touch me again!" she cried, as she squeezed his hand. Then a moment later, "this is Voldemort's fault! Him and his stupid Matrimonial Vowwww!"

"This will be the worst of it," the healer warned them. Hermione's wordless scream continued, and Pinky cowered next to the fireplace. Draco beckoned the elf closer, and it came reluctantly.

"Summon my mother, and Potter and Weasley. Tell them to get in touch with Mr. and Mrs. Granger too," he told the elf, dismissing it. The elf bowed out of the room, grateful to get away from the scene before him.

At long last, Hermione's cries subsided, but a new cry took its place and Draco felt a strange sensation deep within his chest.

Hermione held the frail baby in her arms, as if it were the most valuable book in the world. She was aware of Draco behind her. He had one arm around her, and the other extended to their baby. He was grasping Draco's finger, after he had finally ran out of tears.

Hermione sighed in contentment, and leaned against Draco, tears filling her eyes. He was a miracle, their son. Before taking his first breath he had already survived so much. Hermione touched her lips to his head gently, before the healer took him to bathe and examine more closely.

"Can you believe it?" Hermione whispered to Draco. He merely shook his head at her, his face still frozen in an expression of wonder as he watched the healer looking over their son.

"He'll need a name," Hermione said softly, causing Draco to look down at her.

"That will come next, but for now, you have to rest," Draco told her. Hermione made to protest. She had heard noises from below already, recognizing the voices of Ron and her mother-in-law. She knew Harry would be there too, and hopefully her parents. She longed to see them, her mother especially.

Once Hermione had started to recover, and the baby was fast asleep, the Healer permitted one or two visitors to come in at a time. Surprisingly, it was Narcissa and her mother who came in together first. Both women made a beeline for the small creature, asleep in Hermione's arms. They whispered their congratulations, and compliments, both taking turns to hold their first grandchild. The left amicably and teary eyed.

"Who would have thought our mother's would get along?" Draco quipped under his breath, as Hermione's mum returned with her father in tow. Harry and Ron came after that, looking so hesitant, that Hermione had to hold back her laugh and smart comment as to not wake the baby. Harry pressed a kiss to Hermione's cheek.

"I'm so proud to be your friend," he whispered to her, bringing more tears to her eyes. She clutched at his hand, holding him tight, as he examined her son.

She caught Ron glancing between her and Draco, and felt a sliver of unease. But he just shook his head and said, "bloody hell." There was the ghost of a smile on his face, and Hermione new things would work out somehow.

"He's perfect," Narcissa told Draco, as she cuddled her grandson. "I trust you and Hermione chose an appropriate name?" She gave him a pointed look, and he grinned mischievously.

"Well, given our relationship, we thought something unorthodox might be more suitable," Draco said, keeping his face carefully blank. In truth, his mother would love the name choice, but she would find out at the ceremony with everyone else. They had been very firm with her about that. Narcissa scowled at him.

"I do love what you've done with the nursery though," Narcissa said, softening, "and the rest of the Manor." Draco thanked her, and kissed her cheek. His mother had never moved back in after the war, even after Draco had finished the repairs. She was staying in a flat in Diagon Alley, and when Draco had gone to tell her it was all ready, she had broken the news to him. "It's not my home anymore, Draco," she had told him, "but it could still be yours."

He left her in the nursery, knowing that she had wanted Draco to rebuild their family the way he had rebuilt their home. He wondered how well he was doing with Hermione. They had avoided any talks of the future that hadn't involved the baby. Having a baby was a big adjustment, and with no sleep and almost no time together, Draco wasn't sure where their relationship stood.

He found Hermione in the greenhouse. She was arranging a bouquet of flowers for the naming ceremony. They had agreed that it would be a small, intimate affair. Just his mother, the Grangers, Ron, and Harry, who would no doubt be bringing Ginny with him. His mother was already planning a spectacle of a party for their extended family and friends. Between his mother and Mrs. Granger, the decision had been made to have the party in honour of their son's firth tooth. Apparently, nothing was more exciting that a teething baby.

Hermione looked up from her arrangement, and smiled at him. She did that a lot, he had noticed. It was so easy for him to forget the time when her smiles had not been given to him so freely.

"What do you think?" she asked, presenting the arrangement to him.

"Almost as lovely as its maker," he replied, in his mind very smoothly. Hermione scoffed at him.

"That line was really quite terrible," Hermione replied, but she nudged him gently as she said. "I want to show you something."

Draco followed curiously as Hermione led him to an ivy-strewn wall. Tenderly, she moved the vines aside, revealing a secret door. Draco was impressed. The Manor was filled with secret passage ways, but you needed a keen eye to find one, and it looked like this one had been long forgotten by his ancestors. Draco told her so, as he examined the dusty room with great interest.

"Well, yes, it did look quite neglected when I discovered it," Hermione said. She was fiddling with a jar of some ancient potion ingredient. "But I brought you here to show you something else." From the jar, she pulled out two concealed vials, a silver one and a blue. Draco felt as if a heavy weight had dropped into his stomach.

Draco was stonily silent as Hermione sealed the room behind them, still carrying the two vials. He knew what they were. Hermione was a bright witch, if someone could find a way to break a Matrimonial Vow, it would be her.

"I finished the potions," she said, unnecessarily. Draco nodded, unable to find the words to voice his devastation. He had thought they were doing so well together. Things had been understandably rough, but he thought they were both going to work together o build a life for their son. As he recalled their conversations over the past few months, he wondered if Hermione had envisioned him in her future in any way other than the father of her baby.

"It's an astonishing feat of magic," Draco said at last, his voice sounding icy even to his own ears, "congratulations." They were walking though the grounds now, Draco blindly followed her lead, bitterness blocking out everything around him.

"I've done many astonishing feats of magic!" Hermione snapped at him. "That's not why I'm showing them to you."

"Well, there is really only one use for the antidote to a marriage, one would think," Draco responded coolly.

"You idiot!" Hermione snapped at him. "I wanted to tell you that I finished the potions months ago, but it seemed like a waste of time because I didn't think we needed them anymore!" Draco looked at Hermione for the first time since they left the greenhouse, she was blushing and avoiding his eye.

"C-could you repeat that?" he asked.

"I said," Hermione repeated, still not looking at him, "I don't think we need them anymore. I've had them done for months, but I kept having second thoughts."

"And now?" Draco asked. "Do you still have second thoughts?"

"No," Hermione answered, finally looking at him. "I'd like to pretend the Matrimonial Vow doesn't exist. If you want to," she hesitated, "I'd like to move forward as if we are married only because we choose to be, not because we are bound by magic."

Draco thought he must have misheard her, his heart was pounding so loudly. "So, what? You want to dissolve the Vow and get married again?"

"No, I think we should destroy these," Hermione said, gesturing with the vials in her hand, "and go on the way we have been. I don't plan on breaking any of my vows to you Draco, so they hold no danger to me anymore. I want to stay married to you because I love you, no other reason. No ulterior motive. Not just because we have a son. But because I want you."

"You mean the world to me," Draco managed get out, before grabbing her by the arms and heaving her against him. His mouth found hers immediately, relief flooding through him. She had felt it too, then. After a few breathless moments, Hermione broke away.

"Everyone will be here any minute," she chided him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "But before we go back," she turned toward the lake, where she apparently had been leading him, and with a surprising amount of force pitched both vials in.

Hand in hand they walked back to the manor, where their son and family awaited them. Draco's only thought as they returned, was that he would send a house elf to retrieve the potions and have them destroyed properly that very day.

They stopped in the nursery, sending Narcissa ahead to wait with the others, as they had a moment with their son. Then together, they went down to the room that encompassed the Malfoy Family tree.

"Lovely, everyone's here," Narcissa drew out her wand with a flutter. As the matriarch of the Malfoy family, it was her responsibility to update the tree. "Now before we learn my grandson's name, there is another addition that must be made to the Malfoy tree and I'd like you all to be here to witness it."

They had all gathered around Draco's name, and Narcissa remained next to it as she waved her wand and a branch extended in the tapestry. Hermione reached out her hand to her mother-in-law, grasping it gently, as they all admire Hermione's name inscribed next to Draco's. It was a small gesture, but Hermione knew it was the beginning of a new future for the Malfoy family.

"Now please tell me my grandson's age, I couldn't possibly wait any longer," Narcissa said briskly, as she discreetly wiped at her eye.

"Alright," Draco said grinning, he nodded at Hermione who had come up with the name.

"We would like to present to you, Orion Lucius Malfoy."

Narcissa was openly tearing up now, but brushed them away, and determinedly turned to the tree, adding his name with a flourish. "It's perfect."

"Harry," Draco said, addressing Potter by his given name for the first time. "We would be honoured if you would be Orion's godfather, and you Ginny as godmother?"

They accepted graciously, and Hermione, wanting to extend an olive branch to Ron, added, "Since neither Draco nor I have any siblings, we were hoping Orion could call you Uncle." Ron went red round the ears, but looked distinctly pleased with his new title.

Hermione tried to keep a straight face as she said, "Uncle Won Won does have a lovely ring to it."

The End

A/N: That's all folks! Thanks for sticking with it until the end. And a very special thank you to everyone who has been reading it since the beginning. It's been a long ride!