"Astoria," Draco called from the ensuite of their bedroom, his voice laced with curiosity.

"Yes sweetheart?" Astoria replied as she rummaged through their wardrobe in search of her dressing gown. Winter was quickly approaching, and she simply couldn't stand the cold temperature that the manor reduced to during the colder seasons.

"Have you got any news you want to share with me?"

"Oh Merlin," she breathed out in a whisper, dropping the gown that she had just located. Instantly, the realisation of her foolish actions to dawn on her - the second he had asked her this question she knew exactly what 'news' he was referring to. Astoria quickly closed the wardrobe doors and picked up her gown, throwing it on quickly as though it would provide her extra courage when answering her husband.

Why hadn't she remembered to hide that vial? She'd had all day to remove it from the countertop. She should have hidden it - even thrown it out altogether, it wouldn't have mattered what she'd done with it, as long as it wasn't in the plain sight as she had left it.

Slowly, she began approaching the bathroom, fumbling to find the right words and the right way to tackle the situation, "Sort of, well you see…"

Before she could get to the room, Draco entered into the doorway and stopped, leaning against the frame. In his hand was that small vial that should have been hidden. She'd left it there on display for him like some trophy for a competition he wasn't aware he was participating in. Astoria retreated to take a seat on the bed, just a small distance from where he stood while he fiddled with the vial, holding it up in front of her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Oh I see alright."

This wasn't how he was meant to find out that they were expecting. Astoria had come up with a million ways to tell him the news since she'd discovered it that morning - none of which involved him simply finding the pregnancy confirmation potion himself.

When her second period in a row had failed to show up, Astoria knew something was off. She could allow for one period to be unaccounted for, but two absent periods sent the alarm bells ringing. She decided to test for pregnancy, though she hadn't actually believed she would be pregnant. Draco was always so careful when it came to being intimate, - sadly, because he was so against the idea of conceiving a child - so she was almost certain there would be no mistakes in his preparation. Somewhere and somehow though, there'd been a fault, and now she was carrying a child.

It wasn't that she was upset. No, Astoria was thrilled! After 6 years of marriage to Draco, all Astoria wanted was to progress from being a wife to a mother. She'd wanted a baby for many years; another person who she could devote her time to and love with all her heart as she did already with Draco. Draco however was extremely reluctant, if not completely against the idea of having children at all. Astoria had brought up the idea many times, each time resulting in Draco refusing to talk about it, or getting so mad at her persistence that he'd snap and spend the rest of the week at the other end of the manor to cool off. Their most recent fight on the topic had occurred nearly two months prior, and it was a right mess of angry emotions, storming off to opposite side of the manor, and oddly, it ended in very drunken, rough make up sex. Either way, he had never expressed any desire to have children, and now here he was holding a vial of potion in his palm that informed him that he'd created a child whether he wanted to or not.

"How far along?"

"I-I don't know yet. I've only just taken that test today."

Draco didn't respond to this statement, and instead stayed staring at the bottle with a blank expression on his face. The silence between them quickly became unbearable. Astoria couldn't decipher whether he was taking the news well or not. She couldn't figure out how he felt at all.

With a soft, wavering voice, she asked, "How do you feel about it?"

With no identifiable emotion on his face, Draco began striding towards his wife. Astoria held her breath, slightly intimidated by his sudden movement. Draco tossed the potion vial on the bed and grabbed Astoria by the hands. He pulled her up from the bed to be parallel to him, looking her straight in the eyes. He had a good hold of her tiny wrists and kept them firm on his chest so she could not pull away as he gave her his answer.

"I'm not happy about this," he said seriously, his voice cold, "you knew I didn't want this."

"Draco, we both know this wasn't planned, but somehow I'm pregnant and I know you don't want to hear it again, but I've always wanted a baby with you," she said quietly, her eyes filled with so much desire and emotion that Draco had to look away from her as she spoke. "I know that deep down, maybe not right now, but eventually you wanted a baby too."

"No, I did not," he frowned. He wasn't completely angry though; Draco was also shocked, and very confused. Stepping away from her, his eyes flickered between her stomach and her eyes before he announced, "But we both know we're not able to reverse the situation now."

Astoria released a breath she did not know she'd been holding, relief washing over her. Although Draco wasn't happy about the pregnancy, he wasn't going to do anything drastic, such as abandon her and the baby, or worse, force a termination on her. It wasn't that she expected him to suggest such things, but she was still thankful that through his shocked state he didn't surprise her with any dark proposals.

While Astoria composed herself, Draco's mind went into overdrive. When had he slipped up? When had he forgotten the contraceptive spell, or done it incorrectly? Actually, he was positive he hadn't done it incorrectly - he was an excellent wizard with years of experience with that specific spell - so he must've forgotten the charm altogether. He couldn't deny Astoria had a way of getting him lost in passion each time they made love, or had sex, and especially when they fucked. Besides, they were extremely and frequently intimate, so he was bound to slip up eventually - though he sure was mad that he had.

One thing that Draco knew was that he loved Astoria more than any other person in his life. Not only had Astoria devoted herself to him, but she genuinely cared for him. She cared about his goals and ambitions, and helped heal his troubles and terrors. She was his wife - the woman he would spend the rest of his life with - and now she would be the mother of his child. Most husbands would be thrilled over this news, however, the thought of being responsible for the upbringing and care of a child made his heart drop and his stomach churn.

Frustrated with himself, Draco gently pushed Astoria back on the bed, releasing her hands as she fell unceremoniously onto the sheets. He was somewhat gentle in this action though, finding the dangerous balance between laying her down and throwing her. He refused to look into Astoria's hurt eyes in that moment, instead turning on his heel quickly and reentering the bathroom, readying himself to take a particularly cold shower.

Determined Astoria was not letting the conversation end there. Pulling herself up from the bed, she followed her husband into the bathroom, trying to reason with him.

"This baby will be good for us Draco, I know it. Just think, a child - our child - running about the house. A little boy flying around on a broomstick in the backyard, or a little girl reading fairytales in the library? Can't you see how amazing it will be to have a baby?" she couldn't help but get carried away as she imagined how their child would exist in their lives.

Draco began removing his clothing while the water ran in the shower, ready for him to enter. He contemplated the scenarios Astoria was coming up with. The manor was a fairly lonely place, a place filled with unpleasant memories and very little happiness. In fact, it would probably have no happiness attached to it had Astoria not taken it upon herself to brighten up the place with her bubbly personality, and her passion for interior decorating. Would a baby make that much of a difference?

Well yes, a child would definitely liven up the place. He imagined a little version of Astoria, running up and down the halls each morning with laughter as beautiful as his wife's, climbing into their bed to wake them up because she wanted to spend every minute of her waking day with them. He imagined carrying her on his shoulders down to the kitchen, cooking up some pancakes together. He even imagined himself playing hide and seek with her - something he didn't even do as a child - genuinely enjoying the game.

His mind also wondered what a son - a child the spitting image of himself - would be like. Honestly, he'd prefer if their child had Astoria's features, but his imagination showed him a noisy blonde-haired boy. He saw himself carefully teaching the boy how to fly a broomstick, only for the boy to be a million times better than himself on the first try. He imagined watching Astoria read fairytales to their son with love and happiness in her eyes before he'd drift off to sleep.

Draco couldn't help the flicker of excitement that flashed in his eyes at these thoughts.

There was a new feeling bubbling inside Draco once he'd discovered these thoughts. In the past, he had only ever thought about how hard it would be to make a child happy. He'd never thought about how happy a child could make him. Still, despite the excitement and anticipation bubbling inside of him, Draco was still filled with dread from the news. Trying incredibly hard to force the new emotions down, Draco let his expression fall back to a look that matched his usual brooding state.

"I wish you hadn't done this Stori," he sighed, shaking his head slowly as he leant back against the bathroom sink, not showing her any evidence of his recent thoughts.

"You're acting as if I knocked myself up on purpose Draco. You know that's not the case."

"I'm not fit to be a parent, and how can you be sure that you could do a good enough job to compensate for my failure?"

"How dare you question my ability to be a good parent," she said sharply, upset that he would even say such a thing, "We can both handle this together Draco, and even if you can't, I know I'd be good enough to do this on my own."

Draco couldn't think of a way to respond to her answer as he was too ashamed of the comment he'd made. Instead of apologising, he let a stubborn silence fall between them. Neither of them looked at each other, instead choosing other things in the room, such as the tiles or the shower door to focus their attention on. When Astoria accepted that Draco was not going to speak, she let out a sigh and took a step towards him.

She took a hold of his hands delicately, forcing his attention to her as she confessed, "I want to be a mum, Draco. I'm going to be a mum. I know we didn't plan this but I can't pretend that I'm not happy about it, because I am. I want this child and I want to raise it with you supporting me. I want us to be great parents to this baby. You will be a wonderful father Draco, I just know it."

"Oh yeah? How the bloody hell do you figure that?" he snorted arrogantly, though he was intrigued to hear her justification.

With a delicate smile to help ease the tension, Astoria spoke honestly, "Because you know from experience what a bad father is like and I just know you'll raise a child with all the love and support you didn't have."

The only sounds that could be heard after that was the clicking of Draco's jaw as it clenched tightly, unable to work to form words in his defence. Honestly, he had no defence - Astoria was right. He knew exactly what he needed to do to be a good father, he just lacked the confidence necessary to carry out the role as he hadn't had a particularly good example to follow.

Astoria could see her husband was deep in thought. She was satisfied to know that he was becoming aware of his own ability, even if he was too proud to admit it. She hid this satisfaction from her expression as she stepped back into him.

"Please Draco," she rested a hand delicately on his cheek, "We're having a baby. We can't change that, but you can change your attitude towards it."

That woman always had a way of making his heart pull in her favour. She didn't know it, but Draco's attitude was already changing, even if he refused to show it. He shook his head slowly before placing a comforting kiss on Astoria's head. It wasn't a confession, but his action reassured Astoria that Draco would come around eventually.

Draco excused himself from her caress and removed the rest of his clothing before he entered the shower. He needed time alone to process all the emotions and thoughts flowing through him. Astoria retired to the bedroom, where she quickly flopped down onto the bed, breathing a sigh of bittersweet relief. Her hand automatically rested on her stomach as she considered how the baby would grow in there, a small smile cemented on her face as she drifted into a light sleep.

When Draco emerged from his lengthy shower and entered the bedroom the sight he saw was truly breath-taking.

There was his wife, sleeping soundly on top of the covers - seemingly too tired to move under the sheets - with her hands carefully caressing the place that their child was growing. Her face held the most calm, innocent expression; a look of complete contentment in her slumber. Draco's eyes couldn't help but flicker to her stomach. Her slender figure that was being held protectively by her own tiny hands was carrying their child - a child they'd no doubt conceived in a moment of extreme passion - because how else could he have forgotten to cast that spell?

Despite all of his concerns, Draco couldn't help the adoring smile from creeping onto his face while he examined his wife. Here she was, such a good witch and woman to him, finally experiencing a milestone she'd dreamt about for years and he'd just made it so difficult for her. She would be a beautiful mother, there was no doubt in his mind, and with any luck the child would inherit her beauty over his own looks, though there was no denying the Malfoy genes were strong. So there he stood at the end of the bed with a secret smile for his wife and unborn child - a child he would strive to be a good father for with all of his being.

"If you're really that upset about this baby Draco, why is there a smile on your face?" Astoria smirked as she caught his emotion through half-shut eyes.

The little minx. How long had she been awake for?

As quick as lightning, Draco pulled his smiling features back into an reserved glare, feeling completely embarrassed and hostile after being caught out. His change of expression was too late to conceal his happiness, he knew that much.

"There is not," he huffed at her while she continued to grin.

"There was."

Draco rolled his eyes, feigning indifference in an attempt at reducing his shame and hopped into bed next to wife, who quickly shuffled closer to him as she did every night. Her head came to rest on his chest and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her petite frame, a wash of calmness overcoming him in the moment. She always had a way of making sure he didn't go to bed angry with her.

"Goodnight Astoria," he whispered softly.

"I love you."

"Mmm," he sighed into her hair before he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, "I love you too."

~~~

Just a few months after the news, Draco could be found holding Astoria's stomach as she slept, feeling his child's kicks, the same, secret smile on his face.

I hope that was a nice read for you! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it! :)