A/N: In response to a prompt birth of second/third child by Anonymous in the Once_upon_a_lifetime_TRS collection. Alpha and Beta love to Riverwriter and a massive shout out to both quitethesardonic and NuclearNik for helping me with the title 3
"You need to calm down."
Draco huffed a breath and jerked his head but, despite his wife's demand, his foot continued to tap! tap! tap! against the floor. It was only when Hermione lay her hand on his knee that he stopped.
"Sorry." He apologised, then took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before wrapping his arm over her shoulders. His eyes lingered on her protruding stomach; he could see their unborn twins tumbling around as much as they could within the confined space and he turned his face into her hair and took another deep breath, pressing a kiss to her hair.
"I know you're afraid," his wife murmured, stroking the inside of his wrist with her fingers, "but we're in the safest place possible. And," she nudged his knee with hers and he looked down to meet her eye. "They're afraid too."
Draco didn't need to look up to see to whom she was referring.
When his mother had told him she was seeing someone he'd been happy for her, promising that as long as they treated her right, he wouldn't have a problem.
Even when he found out that he was younger.
Even when he found out that he was a they.
He simply rolled with it. His mother had been so unhappy after his father had died and Draco had been terrified about leaving her alone in his ancestral home while he went out to work and rebuilt the family name into something to be proud of. He wasn't even sure how she'd met someone, since she almost never ever left the house, but she was happier than he'd seen her in years, so he'd rolled with it.
The day he brought Hermione home to meet her though, he was more than a little confused as to why his best friend Theo and the biggest pain in his arse, Potter, were there too.
Until he'd seen how his mother leaned into Theo.
And then he'd seen her hand clasped firmly between Potters, while his free one grasped her leg, and well…
Draco had lost his goddamn mind.
"This is their fault," he muttered to Hermione, glaring at where the two men were standing across the hallway from them.
Both of them were leaning on the wall, shoulders touching as they glared at the doors that led to the newly opened surgical ward of St Mungo's. "If anything happens to her —"
"You'll kill them. I know. But it won't. So just —"
The doors swung open and all three young men jumped to attention as the surgeon, an older squib man who'd studied and practiced medicine in the muggle world his whole life, strode through the doors and made his way towards them.
The very best man for the job, Hermione had assured him.
Draco stopped beside, but apart from, his classmates and was about to demand an update when the doctor burst into a grin and congratulated Theo and Potter on becoming parents and Draco on becoming an elder brother to a beautiful healthy baby girl.
He watched, dazed, from the corner of his eye as Theo and Harry grasped and hugged one other but he continued to stare at the surgeon. "And Narcissa?" He stepped into the man's personal space and bit the inside of his cheek in an effort not to throttle the man. "Is my mum ok?"
"Babe calm down," Hermione interrupted, slipping her fingers through his and rubbing a soothing hand up and down his arm. She leaned into his side and smiled encouragingly at the older man. "I'm sure she's fine."
"She lost a little blood but she's wonderful. They were in the process of moving her to her own room and I decided to come meet you all and take you to her room myself." He stepped back and gestured towards the corridor behind him. "If you'd like to follow me?"
"That would be wonderful," Hermione said from beside him, flicking her gaze to his and smiling up at him. "Wouldn't it, Draco?" He nodded dumbly and let his wife lead him and the new fathers through the maternity ward of St. Mungo's until they were standing outside of Narcissa's room. Hermione tugged him forwards and stared back at him in confusion when he didn't follow after her. She tilted her head at him and Draco wanted to kiss away the furrow that appeared between her eyebrows. "Aren't you coming?" She asked.
He pulled her back to him. He cupped her hips, fingers spanning the curve of her bump and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you."
She smiled up at him and leaning up on her tiptoes, pressed a kiss to the square of his jaw. "I love you too. Let's go meet your little sister."
Draco nodded and followed her into the room. Immediately she let go of his hand and with a quick grin in Narcissa's direction, crossed the room and found herself between Harry and Theo as they all ooo'ed and ahhh'ed at the newborn baby before them. Draco watched the three of them for a second before he looked to the head of the room and found his mother watching him with a soft smile. He swallowed roughly and shoved his hands into his pockets, nipping his thigh through the material when she held her arms out to him.
He was a grown man.
A Malfoy.
He would not cry, for Merlin's sake.
All that went out the window when she said, "Draco."
He crossed the room quickly and carefully took her into his arms. He pressed his face into the crook of her neck. "Mum."
She soothed him with cooing sounds, the way she'd soothed him his entire life and Draco couldn't stop himself from clinging to her.
He'd promised himself after the war that he'd protect her and he felt as if he had missed a step, even if he hadn't failed as miserably as his father had.
"You know you'll always be the most important man in my life dragon," she soothed, "but it's not just you and me now."
"I was so scared," he murmured. He knew they were all looking at him and whilst he'd never shied away from being emotional around Hermione, the thought of Theo and Potter knowing he could, in fact, cry was disconcerting.
Still, they didn't know the terror that had been when he'd watched his mother grow rounder and rounder at least twice when he was a young boy only for her to leave and never return with a baby.
"I know," she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands. She pressed her forehead to his and dropped a gentle kiss over each of his eyelids. "But I'm ok." Draco nodded and let Narcissa wipe away the few tears that had fallen. "Do you want to meet her?"
"I—" He looked up to see Theo and Potter passing the babe between them. He knew that they had been waiting for the baby to be born to find out who the father was because using magic on Narcissa had posed a significant threat to her health and wellbeing. And whilst Draco's relationship with Potter had improved significantly over the years, he wasn't particularly interested in being bound by blood to the man. "Only if you don't think I'm intruding."
Hermione snorted, startling him, and he caught her rolling her eyes even as she took the baby from Theo and cradled her in her arms. "Don't be stupid."
Draco's heart raced at the sight and he really couldn't wait for their own kids to be born. She unceremoniously placed the newborn into his arms and Draco blinked down at the black haired babe, with eyes greener than the emeralds he'd given Hermione on their wedding day. "She's so tiny," he whispered, grinning up at Hermione before looking at his mum. He leaned forward carefully and brushed a kiss to Narcissa's forehead. "She's so beautiful."
Narcissa smiled and wiped her tears away with her thumbs. "Goodness you're so grown up. I always worried that you'd be a terrible sibling," she laughed and leaned into his embrace. "You've always been so spoilt but," she met his eyes. "You're going to be a wonderful big brother." Her eyes flicked to Hermione and she offered her a hand, squeezing it when Hermione took it. "You're going to be a wonderful father."
"Pay up Potter," Theo muttered. Draco could hear how smug he was. "I told you he wasn't going to throw a fit. He's matured in his old age and can share better now."
Draco laughed so he didn't cry and passed his sister (his sister) to his mother and stood from the bed and put Hermione in his spot. He swallowed and offered his hand to Theo first who only batted it away and hugged Draco for the first time in their lives while mumbling about how happy he was before he shoved him in Harry's direction.
"Congratulations." Draco offered.
Harry grinned up at him and batted his hand away too, awkwardly embracing him instead. Draco patted him on the back and stepped back as soon as Potter loosened his grip. "Fucking Gryffindors," he muttered startling a laugh from Harry.
"Cheers mate." Draco rolled his eyes. "Are you excited to be my step-son?" Harry asked, grinning.
Hermione slipped in front of him and Draco automatically wound his arms around her neck. She poked her best friend with her pointer finger. "Stop antagonising him. It's been a long day and if he decides to hit you for being an arsehole I won't stop him," she huffed. Harry laughed and stepped around them. Draco watched him join Theo and Narcissa on the tiny hospital bed and swallowed.
"You have a name yet?"
Draco watched the three of them exchange a glance before Theo nodded. "Yeah."
"Elara Potter Nott."
Draco stared at his mother in shock and swallowed roughly and nodded, averting his eyes so that the two men on the bed wouldn't see him cry again.
He hadn't expected her to name her after a constellation (even though the tradition was one passed down on her side of the family).
Hadn't expected to share that honour.
"You ok?" Hermione asked, tilting her face up to look at him.
Draco nodded and leaned down to brush a kiss over her lips.
"Perfect."