A/N Thank you to all who have continued to read my story. after you have read this chapter please follow the directions at the bottom of the page, as they will help me decide how to end the story. There will only be one more chapter affter this one and I would love you all to have a say in what happens next. On to the Story.
Chapter 21 Baby Blues
Five years later on November twelfth 2006 at two in the morning, Ellenore awoke with stabbing pains racking through her large pregnant body. She had been experiencing labor pains since eight o'clock the previous morning, but nothing as severe as this. She reached over and shook Draco, who was sleeping soundly.
"Mmmmm, what are you doing," he asked as he yawned sleepily? "Draco, Hospital wing, now," she screamed out as another contraction hit her. Draco jumped out of bed and quickly hoisted Ellenore into his arms, before running as fast as he could in his bare feet through the cold dungeons. As Draco ran through the dungeons and up into the entrance hall Ellenore held tightly around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
As Draco neared the doors of the Hospital Wing Ellenore let out another ear shattering scream of pain. Poppy, heard her screams and burst from the hospital wing with three other medi-witches. "How close are the contractions," she asked? "Five minutes," said Draco as he attempted to stay calm. He followed Poppy and the other Medi-witches into a private room near the back of the hospital wing.
The students of Slytherin and Hufflepuff houses whom had heard the screams all stood outside the hospital wing excitedly, while the prefects from Slytherin and Hufflepuff ran to inform the other two houses and the rest of the staff of the exciting happenings. In less time than it took for Draco to get his wife into the Hospital wing the entire school was waiting patiently outside the doors of the hospital wing listening to every scream that issued passed the closed doors.
Minerva came running downstairs and rushed into the hospital wing casting a silencing charm on the doors as she locked them behind her. As she approached the private room at the back of the hospital wing she heard Ellenore begging for someone to kill her. "Honestly Poppy can't you give the poor dear something for the pain," she asked as she entered the room?
"We did, but it's having little effect on her," said Draco as he winced in pain. "Draco, what are you wincing for, Ellenore's the one giving birth," said Severus with an excited expression on his face? "She's breaking my damned hand," screamed out Draco as Ellenore pushed again. "Your daughter is stronger than you are aware of. If you were alive I assure you that you would feel the same thing that I'm feeling now," said Draco as Ellenore squeezed his hand again.
All of a sudden they heard the angry cries of the baby boy whom was finally free from the confines of his mother's womb. Ellenore had fainted from the pain and was being attended to by two of the medi-witches while another bustled over to Draco and examined his broken hand. "You're going to need medical treatment as well Mr. Malfoy. Please have a seat so that I can heal your hand, said the medi-witch as she handed him a vial of skeligrow and a level four pain potion.
Severus floated over his grandson protectively. "Draco, your son is the most beautiful baby that I've ever seen. He's got your eyes and I have a feeling your hair as well when it grows in," said Severus proudly. "What are you going to name him, asked Minerva as she gazed at the baby over Poppy's shoulder?
Ellenore had been revived by the medi-witches while everyone else was occupied, and spoke up. "His name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," she said making Draco's head whip around to face her. "Darling are you alright, he asked as the medi-witch finished wrapping his hand in a cast. "If you must know I feel like I've just suffered the cruciartis curse again," said Ellenore as she attempted to sit up a little straighter in her bed.
The extra Medi-witches left the private room and Poppy had finished her examination, and the diapering and clothing of the baby before crossing the room and handing Ellenore her son. As baby Scorpius was placed into Ellenore's arms she started crying, because she could see Draco and her ghostly father through the baby's eyes.
"Sorry about your hand papa," said Ellenore as she stretched out her free hand towards Draco. "It's alright, darling. After all of the pain that you've suffered a broken hand is the least of my worries. I'm just glad that you and our little Scorpius are doing alright," he said as he took ahold of her hand with his good one so that she could see her son through his eyes.
Ellenore and baby Scorpius stayed in the hospital wing until after dinner time the next day. Draco had taken that time to prepare the nursery for his son. When he went to bring his family back to his living quarters he found that the entire school was waiting outside the hospital wing to catch a glimpse of the new baby.
"What are the chances that you lot are going to just let us pass without any problems," he asked as he glared at them all and crossed his arms across his chest? "Please Professor Malfoy we've been waiting to see the baby, said one of the Slytherins. "Fine then but I warn you that if he is sleeping and any of you wake him, the punishment will be severe," he said as he turned and entered the hospital wing.
Ellenore was glowing with happiness. She had spent the entire day with Madam Pomfrey learning how to care for little Scorpius properly, and bonding with her son. Who was sleeping peacefully in her arms. Draco walked over to her and kissed her cheek after gently caressing his son's tiny cheek with the back of his fingers.
"I hate to tell you this darling but we've got a school wide welcoming committee who wish to welcome our son to Hogwarts. "That's alright Draco. They've been excited ever since we announced the pregnancy in March of last year. I have no problem in allowing them to see Scorpius, so long as he's not awakened," said Ellenore as she got up from the rocking chair that Poppy had transfigured for her.
As the students and other staff waited outside expectantly for the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Professor Malfoy, they jumped back in fright as Professor Severus Snape floated through the door and glared threateningly at them. "My grandson is sleeping so you are all warned that if any of you wake him, I will take great pleasure in making your miserable lives as hellish as possible.," said Severus as the doors of the Hospital Wing opened behind him.
Draco and Ellenore walked out with beaming smiles on their faces. Ellenore was holding a tiny blue wrapped bundle in her arms protectively. She was dressed beautifully in an olive green set of robes with belled sleeves and a tight bodice. Draco had his good arm wrapped around her waist and was slowly guiding her through the crowd. They all watched and whispered silent exclamations of," awww he's so cute," as they passed.
For the next few months Ellenore took baby Scorpius with her wherever she went, including to her classes. The students loved it when she would end the classes a little early and allow them to play with and fawn over the baby. Things were going fine until the day that baby Scorpius started crawling. Ellenore had placed Scorpius in his play pen and went into the kitchen of their living quarters to prepare him a bottle for his lunch time meal.
When she returned to the sitting room to find that Scorpius was not inside of his play pen, she placed the bottle on the floor beside the play pen and started to crawl around the room on her hands and knees calling out to her infant son. Blinky popped into the room and looked at her mistress with a puzzled expression on her face. "What is mistress doing on the floor," she asked?
"Blinky the baby has somehow managed to escape from the play pen. Help me find him," she ordered with a quivering voice. The two started searching the quarters for Scorpius only to totally miss him completely. While his mother and the strange looking creature who followed her everywhere were searching for him, little Scorpius crawled out from under the coffee table and crawled over to his bottle on the floor.
Draco entered the living quarters to find his wife's panicked voice calling out to the baby and the baby sitting in the middle of the floor happily sucking on his bottle. He knelt down and picked up his son giving him a light tickle as he sat down in his favorite chair holding him as he drank his bottle and his little eyes started to droop sleepily. "You are a naughty boy to frighten your poor mother in such a manner, Scorp," he said as he caught sight of Ellenore feeling under the bed in their bedroom.
"Elly, he's in here," he called out as Ellenore bumped her head on the bottom of the bed. She came into the living room and fell to her knees wrapping her arms around Draco and the baby as she sobbed uncontrollably. "Draco I put him down in his play pen and was in the kitchen getting his bottle. When I returned he wasn't in the play pen and I couldn't find him anywhere. I was so afraid that he had escaped into the castle," she said as she ran her trembling fingers over Scorpius's soft baby hair.
"Draco we need to do something about this, what am I going to do when he starts walking," asked Ellenore as she wiped tears from her eyes ? Scorpius reached out his little hand and placed it on his mother's cheek while he hummed with the bottle in his mouth. Ellenore took his little hand and kissed it. "You are a little demon for frightening me so Scorp," she said as she caught a glimpse of his little grey eyes peering at her over his bottle.
"Mmmm," he hummed happily as he attempted to put his fingers in Ellenore's nose. Draco took Scorpius's hand away from Ellenore's nose and shook his head. "Don't worry darling, we'll figure it out," he said attempting to calm her. "Until we do however, I can enchant his play pen so that he does not escape it until either you or I remove him," said Draco as he pointed his wand at the play pen and cast a few protective wards.
As the school year came to an end Ellenore and Draco took Scorpius to say good-bye to his ghost grandpa before leaving to return home to Snape Manor. Severus floated around his grandson upside down, and Scorpius laughed. "I'm going to miss you over the summer Scorpius. When you start walking don't run off from your mother," said Severus as he waved to the three as they left the school grounds.
As the summer progressed Scorpius started walking and getting his little hands into everything that he could reach. His favorite thing to do was to hide from his parents making them both search the entire house for him. Draco would laugh when he found him and toss him into the air. Ellenore however, got more and more depressed and upset with herself over how many times she was unable to find her son. She had even contemplated putting some kind of bell on him so that she could hear him when he moved, though the prospect of him pulling the bell off and putting it into his mouth was frightening .
She didn't know what she would do if she had to raise Scorpius on her own. Without Draco, Blinky, and her in-laws she would have lost her mind over the summer. It seemed like the summer holiday had just flown out the window as once again Ellenore and Draco were preparing to return to Hogwarts to resume their posts. Draco was busy packing their trunks and ensuring that they had everything that they needed. Ellenore was in Scorpius's room changing his dirty nappy when she reached down to the changing table to find that Scorpius was gone. She shrieked Draco's name as she felt around on the floor for her naked little escape artist only to find that he wasn't anywhere on the floor.
Draco had enchanted each and every room in the manor so that Scorpius could not leave the room unless he was being carried by an adult, so she knew that he had to be in the room. Draco came rushing into the room and stopped dead in his tracks as he got hit in the face with a stream of baby pee. Scorpius laughed as his father made a disgusted face and coughed and spat furiously.
"Ellenore you're looking in the wrong place, darling. It appears that our son takes after you with his magical abilities," said Draco as he cast a cleansing charm on his face and robes. "Draco why are you coughing like that and what are you talking about," asked Ellenore as she got to her feet? "I'm coughing because our sweet innocent naked child has just pissed at my face from the ceiling . Ellenore he can fly," said Draco as he walked over to her and walked her to where she would be directly underneath her naked giggling child.
Ellenore grasped Draco's hand and looked up toward the ceiling at her son whom was now a wiggling ball of giggles on the ceiling. She crossed her arms in front of her and floated up to the ceiling with Scorpius. "Scorp, you're going to be the death of me, son. Come to mama if you want to go and visit your grandpapa Snape," she said as she opened her arms to allow Scorpius to float into them.
Scorpius floated happily into her arms and laughed as she tickled his belly. "Ma ma ma ma," he said as she floated back down to the floor and resumed his diaper change and dressed him in a set of a replica of Slytherin robes that Draco had gotten made especially for him. "Draco, I'm going to have to design some kind of tracking charm so that I don't lose him while we're on school grounds," said Ellenore as she carried Scorpius out of his room.
"Elly, what about what my parents suggested? You know that they said that they would be pleased to keep him while we are at work," suggested Draco. "Never, Draco, he's my son. Therefore , he is our responsibility," said Ellenore with an angry look on her face. "I didn't mean for the entire school year or even for the whole day. They would only keep him while we are working during the school day, and then we could collect him afterwards," said Draco attempting to quell Ellenore's rapidly rising anger.
"What about a house elf nanny," he suggested. "I mean Blinky really doesn't have anything to do when she has gotten you to your classroom. What if we allowed her to watch over Scorpius," asked Draco? "I'll think about it," Draco, said Ellenore as she took ahold of his arm for apparition. As the year moved on Ellenore and Draco had tried allowing Scorpius to stay with his grandparents while they were teaching. This arrangement didn't quite work out for the older couple.
Scorpius would scream and cry for his mummy and daddy, the entire day until they came to retrieve him after school had let out for the day. They instead enlisted Blinky's help in looking after him. He was much happier with this arrangement because he either got to stay with his mother or father while they taught their classes. He quickly discovered that the strange looking creature that followed his mother and looked after him was not to be pushed around.
Blinky was as doting and stern with Scorpius as if he were her own elfling. He couldn't get away from her no matter what he tried, and most of the time enjoyed watching the strange happenings in his mother's class room or the exciting sparks and such from his father's class. Every time one of the students would end up making someone fall or something happen he would clap his little hands and laugh.
A/N regrettably the next chapter will be the last for this story. Chapter 22 Scorpius's birthday wish is next.