"Hermione is alive, but in critical condition," Healer Shafiq said as he walked towards them. Draco let out a sigh of relief.
"Hermione's heart stopped for one minute, but I was able to restart it and brain scans are showing no damage. Her blood pressure is still dangerously high, and after I revived her, she had another seizure. She was not responding to potions, as we expected. As you know, I'm trained as a Muggle doctor as well, so I've used a Muggle medicine and placed her in a medically induced coma to protect her brain while we wait for her blood pressure to normalise. Using Muggle medicine is something Hermione and I discussed many times over the course of her pregnancy, if you remember. I've already sent for Nikki who should be here shortly to chart the curse and see if there have been any changes since they met two weeks ago."
"Can we see her?" Lucius asked.
"You can, but you need to remember that in the Muggle world they treat patients differently, so there are tubes in her arm."
"Let me hold Scorpius, Lucius," Narcissa said as Draco made to move into the room.
"The medi-witches will need to run tests to make sure he is healthy. They can do that while we go and see Hermione," the Healer told him.
Draco could tell Lucius didn't want to let go of their son, but at the Healer's words he handed him to Narcissa.
"Thank you, Narcissa," Lucius said before heading into the room.
"We'll get him all checked out and ready to see his mum," Narcissa said, kissing Draco's cheek.
"Thank you, Mother," Draco said, leaning down to kiss Scorpius on the head. "I'm glad you're here."
"I'll always be here for you, my little dragon. Go to your wife."
Draco bit back a gasp as he walked into the room and saw Hermione on the hospital bed. Without her stomach sticking out as far, Hermione looked tiny. Her arm was lying next to her body, and a clear tube was running from it to a metal coat-rack-looking object that had multiple bags of clear fluid hanging on it. There was a diagnostic spell hovering over her head that was flashing numbers that didn't make sense to him. Hermione's eyes were closed, but there were dark circles under them and Draco couldn't remember if they had been there when he'd kissed her goodbye that morning.
"She looks so small," he whispered, placing his hand on her leg.
"I know," Lucius agreed. "But that's because we're used to seeing her pregnant belly. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself."
The door opened and they turned to see Nikki walking into the room.
"Congratulations on Scorpius, you two," Nikki said with a smile. "He's a beautiful baby. I've never seen a newborn with that much hair."
"I think it's safe to say that he inherited his mother's hair," Lucius replied.
"Speaking of his mother, let me see how she's doing."
The room was quiet for a long time as Nikki waved her wand and the parchment she had set to hover next to her filled with the results of her tests. Draco hated waiting and the testing seemed to take forever. Glancing at his watch, he saw that less than an hour had passed since Scorpius was born, but it felt like a lifetime.
"How much do you two know about DNA?" Nikki asked a few minutes later when she'd finally finished her tests.
"The Dark Necromancer's Association?" Draco asked, nonplussed. "Not much, why?"
"Not that DNA, the DNA in your blood."
"I'm not familiar with it," Lucius admitted.
"DNA is deoxy— nevermind, it doesn't matter what it's called. DNA is basically the genetic makeup of all living things. It's like a map that determines everything from your hair and eye color, to your gender. Within reason our environment can influence the expression of our genes, but that's not relevant here.
"DNA is specific to each person. We receive half our DNA from the father and half from the mother. So while the two of you might have similar DNA because you're father and son, Draco's body contains things from Narcissa that Lucius doesn't have. With me so far?"
"Yes," Lucius and Draco replied.
"When a baby is conceived, the mother's egg contains a copy of her DNA, then the sperm, carrying a copy of the father's DNA fertilises it, so now you have an embryo that contains someone else's DNA living in the mother.
"The baby is getting all its nutrients and blood flow from the mother. What we have found out is that during this time, there is actually a transfer of DNA between the mother and child and that lingers after the birth. So if I were to look at Hermione's blood now, I would see her DNA, but also some of Scorpius' DNA. Am I going too fast?"
"So," Draco said, wanting to make sure he understood. "Is it like Herbology? Where the plant gets the nutrients from the soil, but even after you pick the plant some of the roots might still be in the ground?"
"That is a great way to think about it, Draco," Nikki told him. "Lucius, are you still following?"
"Yes," Lucius confirmed. "I was thinking the same thing that Draco was."
"The curse that Hermione had in her blood was stagnant while she was pregnant. After talking to Healer Shafiq and hearing how Scorpius protected Hermione when he tried to do the C-section, I'm thinking that, even from the beginning, he was using the magic in his DNA from Draco to keep the curse at bay, so it couldn't attack him or his magical core.
"This entire time, our biggest concern beyond losing the baby and Hermione dying, was that the curse would drain Scorpius' magic and he would be born a Squib. What I can tell from looking at my current scans, is that now that Scorpius is out, the curse has latched on to his DNA that is still lingering in her body. Now that he is not there to protect his DNA, the curse is acting like the blood curses we've treated before; where it attacks the foreign blood and leaves the victim's magic intact."
"How is it possible for a fetus to fight off a curse like that?" Lucius asked. "That seems impossible."
"Normally I would agree with you, Lucius. The first few months, it's nothing but a lump of cells," Nikki said. "But remember what I said about DNA coming from the mother and father? This curse was a Black Family curse, and Draco, who provided half of Scorpius' DNA, carries Black family DNA through Narcissa. I think because Scorpius carries Black DNA, he was able to combat his own family's magic. Or maybe it recognised his core as part of the family and didn't attack. Now that he is not there, the curse is working like normal."
"So because Scorpius is biologically mine, it saved his magic?" Draco asked.
"I could be wrong, but I believe so," Nikki confirmed. "I think that had Lucius been the father, the curse would have drained the magic from your son, and Hermione would already be healed."
"How long until she is healed now that Scorpius is here?" Lucius asked.
"His DNA will remain in her for about two months, if I go by what we know from a normal pregnancy. I'm not sure if she will be cured before then or not." Nikki conjured a table, put the parchment she had been using on it, unfolded another piece from her pocket and placed it beside it. "If you look at this scan from today, you will see that it looks different to the one from two weeks ago."
"Uhh," Draco hummed. "They look the same to me."
"Look here," Lucius pointed to a line on the older parchment. "This line has more waves on it than the new scan has."
"Correct," Nikki said. "In a non-cursed person, that line would be straight. When I first did Hermione's scans, this line looked like the Alps, now it looks like ocean waves."
"Will she have to stay here until the curse is gone?" Draco asked.
"I don't think so. I think once her body stabilises she should be able to recover at home. I'll come back to check on her tomorrow. Congratulations, again."
Lucius watched Nikki walk out of the room and before the door could close, Narcissa, with Scorpius still in her arms, entered.
"How is he?" Lucius asked.
"As perfect as he looks," Narcissa said, handing him his newborn son. "He needs to eat soon. I know Hermione was planning on breastfeeding."
"Can she?" Draco asked. "With all the medication and not being awake?"
"I asked the Healer and he said it's safe. As for not being awake, there are spells that I can use to extract the milk."
"There are spells for that?" Draco asked. "Why?"
"Because it isn't thought 'proper' for a Pureblood woman to have a child latched on to her, but we still want what's best for our children. Aristocratic Muggle women would use wetnurses, but since having anyone less than Pureblood nurse your child was unacceptable, a spell was created."
"Do you think you could show us?" Lucius had never really thought about how Draco was fed as a baby. That was handled by Narcissa and the house-elves.
"First, and this is important, you want to make sure the nipple on the bottle matches Hermione's." Narcissa went through the motions of conjuring a small glass bottle with a rubber nipple. She pulled Hermione's gown down to expose her breast before waving her wand at the bottle so the nipple transfigured to an exact replica of Hermione's. "That way, when she wakes, Scorpius will be able to latch on to her easier. If the nipple is a different size or shape, he might not take to the breast.
"Next, you'll say the incantation Pectus Lacutrem Extractum, and move your wand anticlockwise as you move it towards you, like you're pulling a rope."
Narcissa pointed her wand at Hermione's chest, speaking the incantation and moving her wand. Within seconds, the bottle started to fill. Lucius was reminded of the spell that was permanently on his wine decanter in his study. Everytime it was empty, it would refill from one of the bottles stored on a special rack in the wine cellar.
"You'll want to stop when the bottle is about half full," Narcissa said, flicking her wand to end the spell. "Then you'll do the same thing on the other breast to fill the rest of the bottle. By extracting from both sides, you help stimulate the milk production."
"Isn't that bottle too small?" Draco asked.
"Newborns have very small stomachs so they drink small amounts, but frequently. As Scorpius grows, he'll go longer between feedings, and drink more."
"How do you know when he's hungry?" Lucius felt slightly overwhelmed.
"There are little things to look for." Narcissa hesitated. "I was thinking, while Hermione recovers, I could stay at the Manor. I know Dibby did most of the work with Draco, so I can bring her and she could help out when we need it."
"I don't want house-elves raising my son," Lucius said harshly.
"I know you don't, Lucius. But none of us really know how to do anything, and she does. Dibby can teach us. Unless you suddenly know how to change a nappy?"
"I would love it if you and Dibby could come and help, Mother," Draco added. "That way one of us is always with Hermione and Scorpius."
"Sorry for being short with you, Cissa," Lucius said.
"I understand, you're worried and today has been stressful. Once my beautiful grandson has finished eating, I'll go home and make sure everything is ready for your return to the Manor. I'll send Ditty back with clothes for Scorpius. Should I let Harry and Pansy know?"
"I hadn't even thought of the Potters," Draco admitted.
Lucius was torn. While he knew Hermione thought of Harry as her brother, and they were planning to ask the couple to be Scorpius' godparents, he wasn't sure he wanted them here. Company, even 'family', meant he had to pay attention to them. And right now, he only wanted to focus on his wife and two sons.
"Please notify them," Lucius told Narcissa, "but tell them we will let them know when we are ready for visitors."
"Very well," Narcissa replied. "We'll see if Harry listens."
Narcissa proceeded to show them how to hold, feed, understand when Scorpius was finished eating, and show the new fathers how to burp a newborn before leaving. Once their son was bundled up in his blanket again, Draco held him in his arms. Lucius looked at his oldest son and couldn't help smiling.
"You're already a natural, Draco."
"I don't know what I'm doing and I'm scared shitless," Draco said with a humorless laugh. "Did you feel that way when I was born?"
"I still feel that way, son. I'm not sure parents ever stop feeling that way."
"You know, I'm a little jealous of Scorpius."
"How so?"
"Well, besides that fact that he'll get to suck on Hermione's tits more than I do for the next year—"
"Draco," Lucius said with a sigh, "you are so crass."
"I was kidding, Father. It's just that… well… As a child I always looked up to you and wished you were around more. And Scorpius will get to have that time with you that I didn't." Draco shrugged.
"I know it doesn't change anything, but I am truly sorry for how your mother and I raised you. I never thought going against the status quo was a real possibility, even though sometimes I wanted to."
"I know you're sorry, and logically, I know being jealous of Scorpius isn't rational, but…"
"But you still feel that way."
"I'm a little jealous that you'll be home with him all the time, too."
"Draco, if you don't want to work anymore, you don't have to. I'm sure you've learned enough that you could run the estate by now. And anything you don't know, I'll still be here to teach you. I know Hermione would love it if you were home more, and so would I. It's not like we need the money."
"I've been thinking about what you and Hermione talked about," Draco said. "Starting her own charity. I have a few ideas for things I would love to work on. Do you think she would be interested in starting something together?"
"I think Hermione would love working with you," Lucius answered. "And I think you'd work well together. And I'm happy to help in any way I can."
Their conversation was cut short when Scorpius started crying and neither of them knew what to do. Luckily Draco was able to call Dibby to them. The elf shook her head, clearly amused by how inept the two fathers were. She spent the next twenty minutes showing them how to check if a nappy was dirty, how to change it, and how to fold the blanket so Scorpius was perfectly swaddled.
One perk of having a private room was that none of the medi-witches complained when they transfigured one of the uncomfortable chairs into a single bed so Draco and Lucius could take turns napping while Hermione was still unconscious. The other one would stay awake, taking care of Scorpius and feeding him when he was hungry. When Lucius was sleeping and it was Draco's turn to change the nappy, he would call Dibby so she would do it for him. He wanted to be a hands on father, but drew the line at poo-filled nappies.
The next morning, Healer Shafiq came and examined Hermione again, letting them know her blood pressure was stabilising, and hence he thought he would be able to take her off the medication that was keeping her in the coma. Narcissa had sent Dibby and Ditty to them a couple of times to make sure they ate and had clean clothes. Lucius had sent a message with Ditty before she left that morning to let the Potters know they were welcome to visit that day.
Lucius had just finished changing Scorpius and handing him to Draco when a light knock sounded on the door and Harry and Pansy entered. Draco smiled at his best friend, her skin glowing and her pregnant belly sticking out. He never thought he'd see the day when Pansy would go out in public pregnant. Most pureblood women stayed inside from the day they found out they were expecting until six weeks after they gave birth. Draco had to admit that Harry Potter had changed Pansy, and in a good way.
"Hello, Draco, Lucius," Pansy whispered. "How are they?"
"He's perfect," Draco answered, watching as Harry walked to Hermione and grabbed her hand. "Hermione is doing better today. The Healer said they may be able to wake her up today or tomorrow."
"Narcissa said her blood pressure had been dangerously high, but her vitals are looking good," Harry said, looking at the numbers flashing above Hermione's head, all of which Draco still didn't understand.
"How can you tell?" Lucius asked.
"In the Muggle world, everytime you go to the doctor they take your vitals: blood pressure, pulse, temperature," Harry explained, pointing at the numbers. "This is her blood pressure. Normal is about one-twenty over eighty. Hermione's is one-forty over ninety. Still high, but not too high. Her temp is thirty-six point six which is normal, as is her pulse."
"I guess you aren't an idiot, Potter," Draco said, smiling. "I stand corrected."
"He's still an idiot most days," Pansy said with a laugh, "but he is clever. Now let me see your son."
"Pansy, meet Scorpius." Draco held his son out to her. "Pansy, meet your godson."
"Godson?" Pansy said excitedly, taking Scorpius in her arms and turning to look at Lucius. "Really?"
"Yes," Lucius confirmed. "We would like it if you both would be his godparents."
"I'm honored," Harry said, moving from Hermione's side to look at Scorpius. "He's cute for a baby that looks like you Draco."
"Just for the record," Draco sneered heatlessly, "I wanted Theo instead of you."
"Don't lie, Draco. You agreed as soon as Hermione mentioned it," Lucius said.
"Thank you for asking us," Pansy said. "We accept."
"There isn't some big pureblood ritual where I have to give you a phial of my blood or anything is there?" Harry asked.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Pansy stared at her husband. "Who asks things like that? Did you do that with Teddy?"
"Well, no." Harry scratched the back of his head. "But your social circle is a lot different than Teddy's family's'."
"Regardless, we only use blood rituals when we're protecting our assets... or being evil." Pansy winked at him.
The Potters stayed for an hour, leaving only after Narcissa had arrived to spend time with her grandson. Draco watched his mother interact with Scorpius and another stab of jealousy shot through him. He had no memories of his mother holding him, or smiling at him. He never doubted his mother's love for him, but seeing this side of Narcissa made him wonder how different life could have been.
Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was nothing he could do to change how he'd been raised. And he didn't want to hold the cold environment he grew up in against his parents. They'd done the best they could, considering the way they themselves were raised. All he could do was make sure that Scorpius and any other children they had were raised in a home full of love and affection. Lucius felt the same way, and Draco didn't think that would be a problem with Hermione by their side. Their witch never shied away from showing how much she cared for people. Now if only she would wake up.
It was late afternoon, two days after Hermione gave birth, when Healer Shafiq came into the room and after running through all the tests, decided it was time to stop giving Hermione the medication that was keeping her asleep. Lucius watched as he removed a couple of bags that were hanging from the metal stand next to her, leaving only the ones supplying her with fluids. Setting some monitoring charms around her that would alert the healer of when she awoke, he left the room after informing them it would take a few hours for the medication to leave her system and for her to wake up.
When four hours had passed and she still hadn't woken up, the healer returned and scanned her again. All of the medication had left her blood, but he wasn't too worried she wasn't awake, letting them know that sometimes people slept for a while on their own after being sedated for so long. He was pleased that she had not had any seizures and her vitals appeared to be stable.
When eight hours had passed without any movement from Hermione, Lucius could tell Healer Shafiq was starting to become worried, despite the fact he told them it was fine and he would be back in another four hours. When he returned, more than twelve hours had passed and Hermione had not moved at all. Lucius could see no change in her appearance, no matter how hard he looked.
"Why isn't she awake yet?" Lucius asked.
"I'm not sure," Healer Shafiq answered honestly. "It isn't the medication anymore so it must be something to do with the curse. Let me call Nikki here to run more scans."
Draco gave him a worried look as they waited for the curse specialist to arrive, with Scorpius cradled in his arms. Lucius didn't need to be a mind reader to know what Draco was thinking. What if she never wakes up? Will our son ever know his mother? His thoughts circled around his head, getting darker with each passing minute, until Nikki arrived.
"Let's see how our girl is doing today," Nikki said, starting to run her scans.
Lucius watched as her wand moved in a now familiar pattern and the parchment next to her filled with the details of the curse. He had only looked at them a few times, but even he could see that something was different – wrong – about the scans in contrast to the ones she had done yesterday. Nikki stopped and looked over her parchment before pulling what he knew to be yesterday's scan from her pocket to compare them.
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"I'm not sure why, but it appears she's getting worse, not better," Nikki answered.
"Do you think it's because we took her off the medication?" Lucius demanded.
"I don't think so. A muggle drug shouldn't have affected her ability to fight this at all. But, you can see from the picture, the waves are larger than they were yesterday."
"What can we do?" Draco pleaded.
"Mr Mal- Draco, Lucius. I don't think there is anything we can do. If he was older, we could try a blood transfusion from Scorpius, but he's much too young to even attempt it. I think this is something Hermione will have to fight from within."
Lucius and Draco sat staring at each other as Nikki left the room. Lucius knew he should offer words of comfort to his son, but he couldn't think of any. It felt like someone had punched a hole through his heart. He hadn't realised how much he had counted on Hermione waking back up until now.
Standing, he went to his wife and took her hand in his. It looked so small and was cool to the touch. So different from the woman he loved that radiated warmth, even on days when she was feeling sick and run down. Seeing her like this, tubes in her arms, surrounded by hospital walls, wasn't natural.
"Her pulse and temperature have gone down since this morning," Draco said, interrupting his thoughts. Lucius hadn't realised his son had even moved to stand next to him.
"What do we do, Draco?" Lucius asked.
"I think we should take her home. Maybe she will heal better if she's surrounded by things she loves. Like the library."
"But the healers are here if something happens."
"I think Nikki is right, Father. If Hermione is going to beat this, she has to do it on her own. And I think the best place for her is at home. Plus the elves can get the healer to us in seconds if we need them."
"You're probably right," Lucius agreed.
He wasn't willing to say it out loud, but if something happened and Hermione didn't survive, he didn't want her last days to be in a hospital room. Draco was right, she should be surrounded by her family and the home she loved. Maybe the smell of the library could penetrate her brain and help her fight.
"I'll go and talk to the healers," Draco said, handing him Scorpius and walking out of the room.
Lucius moved to sit on the spare bed and looked at his newborn son. He didn't try to fight the tears that started to run down his cheeks and couldn't help but think that life was unfair sometimes. Lucius was frustrated that he had finally found a woman that he truly loved, one he wanted to spend his life with and now the fates, the fickle whores, were taking her away from him. As Scorpius stirred in his blankets, the tears came faster as Lucius thought about his child growing up without his mother. Life without Hermione would be like living a life with no sun. There would be no warmth, no happiness. What was the point of the love they had given each other if she wasn't here anymore?
"I love you," Draco said, wrapping his arms around Lucius and Scorpius. He hadn't heard him return. "We will get through this, Father. I don't know how, but we have to be strong for each other. For Scorpius."
Lucius nodded. He felt Draco's magic touch his face as his tears were dried and his sinuses cleared.
"What did the healer say?" Lucius asked.
"He said he thought it was a good idea." Draco put his hand on Lucius' shoulder. "That she wouldn't want us spending the end of her life in a hospital."
"He doesn't think there is hope?"
Lucius felt his heart break into a million pieces. The only thing that held him together was the weight of Scorpius in his arms, and Draco holding onto his shoulder.
"He said we should prepare ourselves as much as possible because he doesn't think she'll last the week."
A/N: Thank you so much for your response to last week's chapter. I loved every review—even the ones that yelled at me.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter!