A/N: Here is the next chapter, yay! I hope you like it, I've never ever written a labor piece and I've never had a child, so I tried to work with what I did know. I do however have a niece and nephew and have been told a couple details. This chapter, however, could possibly ruin me. I loved writing it, but I know some people love detail and hardcore facts with something like this. I was just a bit lazy and let my hands do all the talking before I could properly research. Anywho, I'm now giving you all a heads up! I will be away from my computer for a couple days. So it won't be until sometime next week that you will be getting another chapter. I'll be home Sunday, but the chapter probably won't be up until Thursday... Yeah. SO ENJOY. I love you all!

Chapter 25

Hermione didn't know if she could do this. Not when the actuality of it all was falling on her as she walked down the corridor. She was going to have a baby, a Death Eaters child. No! Not a Death Eaters child. This baby was not Antonin Dolohov's, this baby was Draco Malfoy's. Not biologically, but this baby would be cared for by Draco and loved by Draco... Draco would be the one to teach Ellery how to ride a broom, and Draco would be the one to kiss her scabby knees when she fell down, and be the father she needed and would grow up to love and respect.

She was taking soft even breaths, watching Harry out of the corner of her eye. He was completely out of his element. Nervous and wishing to run, but at the same time desperately trying to help his friend. Finally. She could tell he wanted to get to Madam Pomfrey as quickly as possible, because at moments he would be a few steps ahead of her and then seem to remember himself and fall back to her side once again.

She almost wanted to laugh at him or hug him. She didn't know which. Possibly both.

But that would have to wait for later, because she was too focused on getting to the hospital wing.

Hermione let out a strangled sob as a rush of agony coursed through her. It was cripplingly and she would have fallen to her knees, had not Harry's arm secured itself around her back and held her up. This was no Braxton Hick, this was a true honest to god contraction.

She grabbed Harry's free hand and didn't know just how hard she was squeezing his fingers, until the pain finally ceased and she looked up at him, and saw his face screwed up in pain.

"Sorry," she breathed out, leaning her head against his shoulder as she took deep breaths now.

"I-It's okay," he shook his head and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can fix my broken fingers after the baby's born."

It was a joke, and Hermione's lips quirked slightly, but she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

"Come on," Harry said and gently eased her into walking again, his arm still holding her up and gripping her hand. "We'll get you to the hospital wing and then I'll get Malfoy for you."

Hermione could only nod, not trusting herself to speak.

Harry was finally there with her. He was helping her. He didn't leave her at the first sign of trouble and he wasn't just going to drop her off without getting the person who everyone thought she really needed. And she really did need Draco. He was her salvation in this whole mess. The person who picked her up and made her feel like herself again.

Of course, there were a few others who had helped. And she could never discredit them for their friendship and their loyalty to her. Especially Pansy and Theo. Pansy had been the first one to walk up to her, and Theo had been... Well, he had been Theo. He had been her brother, her family. However, they were all her family, weren't they?

"Ahhh!" Hermione sobbed, clinging to Harry. "Oh Merlin, Harry. I can't do this," she shook her head, gritting her teeth together as another wave of pain came and she held her stomach.

"Yes, you can, Hermione," he said sternly, and before she could say anything further... (not that she could even if she wanted to) Harry picked her up, cradled her body in his arms, and ran.

Hermione jostled in his arms and she moaned in pain as he turned sharply down corridors and then kicked a door open. "Help! Madam Pomfrey!" she felt herself being sat down on one of the hospital beds and then, as long as the contraction had lasted it was suddenly gone. Letting her head fall back against the pillow she sighed.

"Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, and Hermione looked up to see that the medi-witch had been taking dinner in her office, if the dinner roll had anything to say. Thank Merlin! "Miss Granger? Oh my... Is it time? Oh my.. Oh dear..." the other witch's color drained from her face, she dashed out of sight and behind the door and was back in no time with her wand in hand and the dinner roll gone.

She immediately began shooing Harry out of the way and waved her wand about as she asked questions. Hermione answered them all accordingly. But she looked over at Harry's frightened face and she offered him a smile.

"Go get-" but Hermione's voice was cut off, she threw her head back and groaned, her jaw tightening most painfully as she grit her teeth together. Even as Madam Pomfrey told her to take those breathes they'd been working on recently.

It seemed the pain lasted forever, and she really wished to lash out. To curse both Harry and Madam Pomfrey into oblivion. But she held back on the venomous words that floated around her head. When it finally ceased, Hermione looked at Harry wearily, perspiration gathering at her brow.

"Get Draco, now."

/-/-/-/

Picking at his food, Draco stared at his plate. Well, he was glaring at it with a force that could be reckoned with if anyone even thought about speaking to him.

She had thrown him out. Hermione had practically thrown him out of their rooms. Of course, there was a good reason behind it. His need for food, but he could have very well had a house elf from the kitchens bring them both something.

If he was correct, Dobby was now happily living at Hogwarts, free to do as he pleased but delighted to work at the school. So it wouldn't have hurt to have simply called his name and asked for a plate or two of dinner.

But no...

Hermione wanted him gone. She wanted to be alone and have some quality time with one of her books. He knew he should be able to understand that, he was well aware of her bookworm tendencies by now. But was it so wrong for him to worry about her? What if something happened? What if she fell? He wouldn't be there to catch her. What if something went wrong with the baby and he wasn't there to rush her to Madam Pomfrey.

He had asked Theo if he could take her something to eat and stay with her, but Theo's attention was more or less fully on Ginny. So he had made the ultimate sacrifice and asked Potter, who had decided to sit with them that evening. He also noticed, that Daphne Greengrass had saddled up to their neck of the table and was getting on wonderfully with the Boy Wonder.

He smirked. Hermione was going to be pissed when Potter showed up.

He watched as Daphne slinked back to the other Slytherins while Potter left the Great Hall with a tray of food. He had pinned the blonde with a pensive look, contemplating just why the Slytherin girl watched until Potter was out of the hall before she joined her classmates in conversation. Hmm..

It had been a while and Draco tried desperately to join the conversations around him, but he just couldn't get interested in Quidditch, or the proper way to care for gillyweed, or whatever the hell nargles were...

He asked Neville what time it was and found that about forty-five minutes had passed since Potter left. Really? Where was his head that whole time? Oh, right... Hermione.

He looked up in alarm when a loud bang reverberated along the Great Halls walls. Like a shot gun blast. His head shooting up and looking towards the doors where one frightened looking Harry Potter came hurrying toward him.

He was on his feet before he knew it, knocking over his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Where is she?"

"Hospital wing," Harry breathed heavily from running all the way from the other side of the castle.

Draco didn't give him a second longer to say anything else, as soon as he heard the word 'hospital' he bolted for the door and ran as fast as his legs could take him.

She was having the baby. That was all he could think about. This was it. The baby was coming. Ellery was coming. He was going to be a father. He knew he wouldn't have any biological ties to the child, but he would give her his name and he would care for her and love her like no other father could ever love their child.

He nearly passed the hospital wing, skidding to a halt just a foot away from the door, where he heard an agonizing moan from a voice he recognized all too well.

He burst through the door, looking around wildly, until he saw her. She was sitting up in the bed, pillows cushioning her back. There were two other women in the room besides Madam Pomfrey that Draco recognized as Mrs. Weasley and his estranged cousin, Nymphadora.

But he only had eyes for one witch. Her hair was a mess, curls more wild than he had ever seen them, she was gripping Mrs. Weasley's hand while the older woman spoke reassuring words. He could see Madam Pomfrey sitting at the foot of the bed, stationed between Hermione's legs that he just noticed were levitated by magical means. And his cousin was wiping her forehead with a damp wash cloth.

None of them noticed him. All of them quite busy. He could see the pain etched on Hermione's face. Knowing that she was contracting for real this time and it wasn't just some minor Braxton Hicks. She was in labor.

And he was completely invisible...

He could leave. He could walk out of there right now without them ever knowing he had been there. He had the chance to hightail it out of there, grab his shit and be done with it for good. But the mere thought of leaving Hermione, of leaving the baby, made his heart throb.

He couldn't leave.

"Draco?" her voice was weak and he didn't waste one moment in getting to her, Tonks moving out of the way so he could be at her side. He didn't know what his face looked like, he probably looked scared shitless, but her smile was a warm welcome. One that he didn't know if he was returning or not.

He took her hand, lifting the other and brushing a couple stray pieces of hair off her forehead.

He briefly heard Madam Pomfrey say Hermione still had had a few more centimeters to go and by what he had read, he knew that she had to be, at the very least, seven centimeters along before she could even start to push.

"Have you given her a potion for the pain?" he asked, not even looking up as he stared into Hermione's brown orbs.

He heard shifting. "It didn't take, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Pomfrey told him and his eyes closed briefly at the knowledge that this was going to be a completely natural birth.

When he opened his eyes again it was at the feeling of Hermione's hand tightening painfully around his. He didn't utter one sound of discomfort. She could have broken every bone in every one of his fingers and he wouldn't have let her know he was hurting.

Bringing his face down, he let his lips brush against her ear. "I'm here..." he told her. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." He kept whispering encouragements into her ear to get her passed the pain. Each time a contraction came he would talk to her, and when it eased he kissed her jaw or her forehead.

He didn't know how long they had been doing that, and some time ago she had started crying. Muttering that it was too much. "It hurts, Draco. It hurts so much," she sobbed and it took all Draco had not to burst into tears beside her. All he could do was wipe away the wetness on her cheeks and tell her she was doing great.

One moment he had looked up and saw Mrs. Weasley gazing at him with a weird look on her face. It took a moment before he realized that she was looking at him with approval and for some reason, he felt his heart lift. As if her acceptance of his spot in Hermione's life had been what he had been waiting for all this time. And now she was finally giving her blessing, her consent.

It was odd, really. He'd never actually talked to the woman, never even thought about her. Of course, he'd seen her whenever they were asked to Dumbledore's office, but... The look she gave him made him want to be a better person. It made him want so much to be able to care and provide for Hermione. So he could make her proud of him.

Looking down at Hermione as another contraction hit, he promised he would never leave her side. He would always be with her, always take care of her. He would never let anything hurt her.

Of course, there was nothing he could do now, as she went through the most horrible pain imaginable. If he could, he would bare the pain for her. Sadly, he couldn't.

"Okay, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey suddenly said, poking her head up, when the last contraction finally settled. "Your free to push when the next contraction comes."

Draco looked at the medi-witch, his eyes doubling in size. It was happening, the baby was going to come. He looked down at Hermione and watched as her own eyes looked up at him in fear. She was scared.

Not knowing what to do, Draco leaned down and met her lips with his own. The kiss was soft and chaste, but it held an underlying meaning that Draco confirmed when he pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"I love you."

He watched her eyes water even more, her cheeks already wet with tears. She was utterly and undeniably beautiful.

"I love you too-" the words were followed by a howl of pain, and while Draco's heart soared and his hand was crushed in her little but unbelievably strong fingers, he joined the women in telling Hermione to push.

The encouragements for her to push came out more easily now. And he brushed her hair out of her face when she collapsed back against the bed and breathed deeply. Madam Pomfrey stating that the baby was crowning.

"Relax," Draco told her, resting his forehead against her own as he felt her breathe, feeling her tears silently fall from her eyes and onto his cheeks. He felt her trembling, her hand still holding his tightly, and he ran his thumb along the back of her hand gently.

The minutes ticked by and it felt much too soon when Hermione started to sit up again, readying herself for another push. This time though, he crawled up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and giving her both of his hands for support (letting Mrs. Weasley take a break), as she grit her teeth once more and pushed. An agonizing cry left her once again, and he kissed her shoulder, feeling all of her muscles in her back move as his chest was pressed against her.

When she relaxed back against him, it was with a loud sigh and he kissed her temple. "You're doing great," he told her, after Madam Pomfrey said that the head was out. There was a bit of a hustle as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and then suddenly the medi-witch was telling Hermione she had one last push and it had to be quick.

Draco could feel his whole being fill with dread at the tone of the matrons voice, but he promptly started whispering encouragements once more. He could feel her body tense with worry. "Push, Hermione," he told her, firmly "Come on, love. You have to push..."

He felt her gather every ounce of strength she had, taking a large breath before she pushed one last time with a cry on her lips. The sound of it echoing off the walls.

As she collapse once again against him, the room was filled with a petrifying silence. That wasn't right... there was supposed to be a baby wailing.

Once again he pressed a kiss to Hermione's temple as he watched Madam Pomfrey wave her wand, severing the umbilical cord and Mrs. Weasley took the baby to another bed. One that had to be transfigured so the baby could fit comfortably.

"What's wrong?" he heard Hermione's voice speak weakly and he felt her trying to sit up, but he held her down. "Stop, Draco..." she pleaded. "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?"

Draco held Hermione gently even as she struggled, listening as she now started crying out of fear and worry, any pain now forgotten as the life of their baby was now at hand. He vaguely saw Madam Pomfrey still working between Hermione's legs, his attention solely on the red headed woman just a couple feet away as she waved her wand about.

He couldn't even see the baby, they had already covered her up. He had half a mind to jump out of the bed and walk over, but he was too scared to move a muscle.

He tried to whisper assuring words to Hermione as she clung to him and cried, but he was in no better shape. His tears hadn't fallen, but he was holding on by a very thin string.

He nearly jumped for joy when Mrs. Weasley whispered a spell and he heard the softest intake of breath, followed by a small whine that turned into the loudest and most glorious wail he had ever heard. His tears nearly fell then, but he didn't cry.

"Oh thank god," Hermione cried, almost turning around to burrow herself in his arms. He held her tightly. "She's okay! Draco, she's okay!"

Draco could only smile and nod, not trusting himself to speak and he slowly slipped out from behind Hermione, as Madam Pomfrey and his cousin started to fix her pillows. He didn't let go of her hand though, making the women work around him.

When Hermione was finally comfortable, Mrs. Weasley stepped forward with the bundle of pink blankets.

"She's beautiful, Hermione.." the Weasley matriarch said, handing Hermione the small bundle.

Hermione looked frightened for a moment, unsure of what to do and Draco gently sat down beside her. Reaching out, he gently moved the blankets away with his fingers, revealing the smallest face Draco had ever laid eyes on.

Hermione was crying again, only this time happily, and he could only stare at the little face, his bottom lips wobbling. She was perfect, with a head of brown hair that would be just as bushy as her moms when she grew up. Oh, he could see it now... having to beat all the boys away with a stick.

Hermione sniffled and Draco looked at her and wiped his thumb against her cheek, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers briefly.

"You're amazing," he told her quietly. Unaware that the other women in the room had left to give them some peace.

Her laugh wobbled with tiredness, and he could finally see all the strains of labor catching up with her. She didn't take her eyes off the baby for quite some time and when she did, she looked at him with such adoration on her face, he felt his heart jump.

"Do you want to hold her?"

Draco gulped visibly, but he nodded, slowly taking the baby into his arms. He stood up and looked at her. Her wails had stopped since the moment Mrs. Weasley put her into Hermione's arms, and she didn't even whimper now that she was away from her mother.

"Hello, Ellery Charlotte Malfoy-" he whispered, his voice catching as he glanced briefly at Hermione. Her smile weak, but her eyes were shining with joy. He looked back to his daughter. Their daughter. "Merlin, you're as beautiful as your mother," he said, and it was then that the dam broke and the water gates opened.

He had tried so hard not to cry. Why should he when it was Hermione who had been through all the pain? But he wasn't crying out of agony. He was unbelievably happy. No one could ever take away his jubilation. No one...

"I'm your dad," he whispered softly though his tears. "I'm your dad."

TBC