SO late on this chapter. I just started at a new school (a Catholic one at that- if you've been to Catholic school, you know why this took some time) and there's so much crap to get started with that I am running on red bull and 4 hours of sleep this entire week. But I promise I'll try.

I know I said just this and one epilogue... But darn it... There will be at least two. I just couldn't stop writing... *bangs head against wall*

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

(Draco pov)

Day 300: Love Is She

(one day post pregnancy)

Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder
and I sit here in the middle of it all
and wonder who in the world you'll turn out to be.

-Unknown

I stood in front of the hospital nursery, where 14 new, tiny humans cried in clear cribs. I wasn't focused on 13 of them, but on the squirming little girl in the crib right in front of me. A pane of glass separated us and I laid my hand flat across the surface, staring down at her intently. She did not cry, but stared at the ceiling, as if there was something up there that was extremely interesting.

We had decided on her name just three hours before, and as I filled out her birth certificate, I knew it was perfect.

Azula Narcissa Rose Malfoy

Born March 26, 2007 at 2:24 a.m.

7 lbs. 8 oz.

And of course, Harry won the bet, being just an ounce off in his guess. Hermione was two ounces off and rolled her eyes when Harry pocketed the small bag of galleons he had won. Hermione had also decided to give Azula two middle names, because she thought they went well together, and I had to say, they really did.

My mother, out of everyone who had come to see Azula, was the most excited. She nearly sobbed when we told her we had partially named the baby after her, and had stared at her for twenty long minutes before finally giving her back to me. Sadie and Shelia, my sisters, had cooed over Azula and asked if they could play dress up with her when she got bigger. After they'd left and visiting hours were over, Hermione fed the baby and promptly fell asleep, leaving me where I was now.

Only a day old and she already had me wrapped around her little finger. I could just see what waited for us in the future. Birthdays, dance recitals, trips, fights, hugs, hello's, goodbye's... I had eleven years with her until she went to Hogwarts and I was already dreading that day. She was so small and fit perfectly into my arms right then.

I was thinking way too far into the future, but I could already see it. One day, she would get interested in boys and some jerk would break her heart, and I would tell her it would be alright while she cried. She would fight me about so many things and I would say I was doing it to protect her. She would meet someone she wanted to spend her life with and get married to, and I'd be the one to give her away. And at some point, if it was in her plans, she would tell me she was going to have a baby of her own, and all of that had me scared to death.

I already knew I wouldn't be ready for those days, but Hermione and I would raise her so we wouldn't have to worry. If she turned out to be anything like either of us, especially her mother, I knew she would be alright.

"She your first?" A brown-haired man came to stand next to me and motioned towards Azula.

"Yeah." I nodded, smiling as I shook my head. "Is it that obvious?"

"Are you kidding? You looked scared shitless." He laughed, patting me on the back. "But you'll be alright. It's hard for the first few weeks, but I know I would never trade my kids for anything."

"And you know this about me how?"

"I'm just pretty experienced at this." He then pointed to a child wrapped in a pink blanket, laying in a crib one over from Azula. "See her? We had her yesterday; named her Marie. She's our eighth, and our second girl."

"Wow." My eyebrows shot up as I looked at him. "What's that like?"

"Well, there's never a shortage of noise in my house, if that's what you're asking." He chuckled. "But it's great. Watching them grow up is nothing short of magical, and with girls, you'll find that grey hair comes on quickly." He nodded to himself. "But when my first was born, I felt just as scared as you looked a moment ago. No matter how many times people told me I would be a good dad or I'd know what to do when the time I came... I never did. I had no idea what to do."

"Well, what did you do?" I asked, genuinely curious. Obviously, he did something right.

"What you and everyone else has to do: I figured it out for myself." He told me. "No book or pamphlet can tell you how to raise your kids, because every family is different. I'll admit, I would have failed miserably if I didn't have my wife, but eventually, I got the hang of it. Just like you will."

"Thanks." I looked back down at Azula and felt encouraged. "Any advice?"

"Yeah... never leave loose money out." He patted my back, looked at his own daughter again, and walked away. "Learned that one the hard way."

I looked back down at Azula and smiled wider than I had in a long time.

"I'll see you soon, beautiful." I said to her, taking my hand off the window. Her eyes were beginning to droop. "Sleep tight."

I walked away from the nursery and went back to Hermione's room, for I knew Azula was in good hands there. I knew all of the pediatric nurses and I trusted that they would not let anything happen to her. I walked back into Hermione's room to see her on her side, facing the door, sleeping soundly. She opened her eyes slightly when I closed the door behind me.

"Azula's asleep in the nursery." I told her. "She's good."

"Good." Hermione replied groggily, lifting one had to me and motioning me over. "Come here, please."

I walked over to the bed and climbed in right beside her, putting my arm around her as she snuggled into my side, her hand grasping mine. I laid next to her, just holding her, and stared at the ceiling. I had never felt so much love in my life before, than in those moments. I had a beautiful, amazing woman right beside me and a brand new baby she had given me.

Loving Hermione... it was as easy as breathing, now. It was like I had been drowning my entire life and when she looked at me like I was everything, I had finally come up for air. It was unsettling for those first few moments, but I just kept breathing it in, taking in everything I could. I didn't know how to process it, I loved her so much.

It hurt and stung to love her. I worried about her constantly, and I was so afraid that one day, she would be taken away from me. That she would realize that she deserved better, or that she didn't want this. I was terrified of losing her. But it was that same fear that drove me to be better. I would be whatever she needed- a brother, a partner, a friend, a lover, anything.

And then yesterday, from the moment Gwen held up that screaming little child, I knew I was hooked. I couldn't leave if I tried... even if I wanted to. This little girl was half of me, and half of the woman who held my heart.

Hermione would have to share that, now.

Azula's birth was one of those moments where you never realized how much you wanted something until you had it. I knew from then on that not a day would go by where Hermione and Azula weren't my everything. I'd never had a real family besides my mother, so having this was so very, very new to me. I was terrified I wouldn't know what to do or I would mess up, but I was glad Hermione was willing to take that chance with me.

"Hermione," I said gently, rubbing the pad of my thumb across her cheek. "Hermione?"

"What?" She asked, rousing from her slumber.

"I..." I took a deep breath and exhaled. "I love you."

She sat up immediately and twisted her body to look at me, her eyes searching mine for any hint of falsity. "Do you mean that?"

"I don't think I've ever said anything more true." I answered her.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, her forehead resting against mine when she released me. "I love you too." She let out a breath and chuckled tiredly. "I was afraid you'd never say it."

"Give me some credit, sweet." I brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her once more. "I'm new at this, and you're the only person outside of my family I've said that to. Ever."

"Aw," She cooed and started to tear. I was about to tell her not to cry, but she shushed me. "I'm post partum; I'm allowed to cry."

"Cry all you want to. After the past two days, I wouldn't fault you if you didn't want to walk for a while." I nodded to myself as she sunk in closer to my side. "I'm glad women get to birth children. I know I couldn't have done what you did, and for hours at that."

"Thanks." Hermione yawned and laced her hand with my own. "Now shut it. I'm tired."

"As you wish." I whispered and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

We laid there, quiet for a while, and I just listened. I listened to the steady sounds of her breathing and felt her heartbeat against my flesh; watched as her nose occasionally twitched in her sleep and her fingers gripped my hand. This woman had my heart in an iron grip, also. I was so in love with Hermione and entirely devoted to Azula that I wasn't sure there was much more of my heart left to designate.

And for that, I was eternally grateful to whatever force that governed my universe for ungracefully placing Hermione Granger in my life.

Hermione sat in a wheelchair beside the hospital bed, Azula cradled lovingly in her arms. She smiled down at our daughter and whispered excitedly to her while Azula's hands waved around her own face. I smiled at the pair of them as I continued to pack Hermione's things back into her bag to take home.

We were going home today. With a new baby.

No pressure.

"Are you ready to go home, Azula?" Hermione made that open-mouthed, excited grin that was expected when talking to babies. Azula made a small sound and Hermione smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

I chuckled as I slung Hermione's bag over my shoulder and came up behind them, putting my hands on the handles of the chair. "Everything's set. My mother is already at the house, Sadie and Shelia are staying with friends, and you're due to come back in a week." I told her. "Ready to go?"

"More than ever."

I pushed them out of them room and suddenly, a hoard of our colleagues came rushing over to see Hermione and the baby. They cooed over Azula, telling us both how much she resembled- oddly enough- me. I told them all she would eventually look like Hermione, as a lot of girls I had seen eventually did, but they ignored me. They made sure to tell me her eye color would match my own several times, until I finally shooed them away with promises of pictures being given out.

Though, I could very well see myself as one of those fathers that asks, "Want to see a picture of my kid?" way too much. If I had one in my wallet, I'd probably never put it away.

I pushed Hermione down the hallways and she started to giggle, so I asked her why.

"We did all of this backward, you know." She hadn't taken her eyes off Azula yet. "The rhyme is 'first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby in the baby carriage'. We started from the end and are working our way through. I used to think it was strange, but seeing Azula... I'm glad we're not normal people."

"I'm not sure we'll ever be normal, love. But to me, that's a blessing." We reached our stop and I put the brakes on the wheelchair, then went over to help Hermione up. I stood in front of her and laid my hand on Azula's cap-covered head. "This is it, love. After we walk out those doors-"

"Our new lives begin." She nodded, then looked back up at me. "I can't wait."

I smiled at her and our daughter and nodded. "Then let's go home."

As we walked through the doors of St. Mungo's hospital, completely responsible for this completely new human being and hopelessly devoted to each other, all I wanted to do was laugh or jump for joy or tell everyone how I never thought my life would be like this. What started as a friendly wager had turned into the most amazing thing to ever happen to me. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Wait. Come to think of it, we all had placed bets on a lot of things these past ten months. The bet that started everything, the sex and weight of Azula, the ongoing bet on Ginny's baby, a few odd things here and there, that thing about how many eggs George could fit into his mouth at one time...

Can you say gambling problem?

A/N: Yay! That's it! There's still an epilogue or two coming, so be looking out for that, but this marks the end of the story! It's been a great ride and I appreciate every fan of this story. What'd you think of it over all? Leave me a review, lovelies, of what you thought- your opinions are endlessly valuable. I could go on talking about writing this story and whatnot, but I'll let you get back to your own lives. Know that this story was never meant to be realistic or professional- just a fun story about an odd situation. Thanks so much for reading this! -Nikki a.k.a.- Twipotterfreak28

P.S.- Sophia Lena Duchannes Riddle, I'll be putting out a new story soon, and it'll be dedicated to you. You've been awesome to me for the longest time on this site, and I really appreciate it. Seeing as a story is the only gift I can give... we'll talk. :)