Draco was on edge. They had brought Hermione home earlier in the day and since then, the house had been full of people. He was currently in the sitting room with his father, son, and mother. After deciding to bring Hermione home for the remainder of her time, Lucius had called Ditty and Dibby to the hospital to ask them to set up a bed for Hermione in the library, notify Narcissa, and take all their belongings home.
By the time they had arrived home, the normal sofas that sat in the middle of the library were gone, replaced by a large bed and soft chairs around it. A cot for Scorpius was nearby, as well as a changing table. Narcissa was talking to Dotty, asking for tea to be sent up.
Lucius had placed Hermione in the middle of the bed and Draco felt a stab of pain as he took in how frail she looked. Her health was diminishing before his eyes. It had been his mother who suggested they let the Potters and Weasleys know what was happening and give them the chance to come and say goodbye. Draco had started to argue with her, he didn't want to give up any of the time he had left with his wife. It wasn't until Lucius had placed his hand on Draco's shoulder and told him that Hermione's family deserved the chance to see her that he'd relented.
They had arrived en masse, Ron being the only one missing from the family. He was in Brazil on holiday with his boyfriend and they hadn't been able to get hold of him. The Weaselys had been in the Manor for the last two hours, and Draco was ready to kick them out. As he stood to walk towards the library, the sitting room door opened and Pansy walked in. The glow she'd had just the day before seemed to have left her. Her eyes were red and swollen and Draco could see the wetness on her cheeks.
"The Weasleys have left," Pansy said. "Molly and Arthur wanted me to express their gratitude for letting them come and say goodbye."
"Has Harry left as well?" Narcissa asked.
"No, he's still in with Hermione. He…" Pansy choked back a sob before continuing. "He didn't want to leave her alone."
Narcissa moved to pull Pansy into her arms as tears started to fall from both of their eyes. Draco stood in shock. He had never seen such emotion from either of these women and felt like he was intruding on their shared pain.
"I'm sorry, Draco and Lucius. I know I'm being selfish… Your pain is so much worse than mine, but it feels like I'm losing my sister. And I don't know how to help you, or Harry. And—"
Her voice choked off in a sob and Narcissa squeezed her tighter. Lucius stood, walked over to the two women and pulled Pansy from Narcissa into his arms.
"Just because our pain is different, doesn't mean your pain doesn't matter," Lucius whispered. "You and Harry are just as much her family as everyone else in this room. Let's go back in there."
Draco leaned down and picked Scorpius up from the cot he was napping in and carried him as they made their way to the library. The group stopped as they saw Harry lying in bed next to Hermione, holding her hand. He was talking quietly to her, but the sound traveled in the quiet room.
"Hermione, I need you to fight this. I can't do this without you," Harry's voice broke. "You need to be here to help me be a good father, and tell me exactly why I'm wrong when I piss off Pansy. And how am I going to know what to buy her on Valentine's Day without you here to tell me?
"We're supposed to raise our children together. Remember how you promised me that we could teach them how to use the map and cloak to get into the kitchens? I don't want to do that without you. Please fight. You kept me alive for seven years, so I know you can keep yourself alive.
"Please…" Harry begged, and Draco felt his own tears start to fall. "Don't leave me, Hermione. Everyone I have loved has left me and I can't handle it if you leave me too."
Pansy broke away from their group and moved to take Harry off the bed and into her arms. Draco pulled Scorpius closer to his chest to help him hold back his sobs. His mother's movement caught his eye and he turned to see her holding Lucius as he cried into her hair.
Draco's mind went back through the last few years and thought about how much death the Manor had seen. There had been Muggleborns killed by Voldemort, people eaten by the horrid snake, and Death Eaters that were killed by other followers when their loyalty waivered. Not one of those deaths had caused a single tear to be shed in this house. Instead, the bodies had been removed and life continued on moments later.
But Hermione was different. The strong woman he was lucky enough to be married to was different. She had been the only Muggleborn to have been tortured on these grounds who had lived to talk about it. She had screamed, cried, and bled here. But Hermione had also found love in this house. They had been married, fallen in love, and she had saved him and Lucius in the Manor. And because of that, tears were flowing. Life would continue on, but it would never be the same as it had been before Hermione Granger entered.
The trance on the room was broken by Scorpius starting to wail. Draco tried to rock him back and forth and rub his back, but he continued to cry. Narcissa stepped away from Lucius and reached for her grandson.
"It's okay, sweet boy. We'll take care of you," Narcissa cooed. "Are you hungry?"
Draco watched as she placed a knuckle in Scorpius' mouth and he started to suckle, his wails cutting off. Narcissa moved towards Hermione and extracted her milk before sitting next to her to feed Scorpius. Harry and Pansy moved off the bed and sat in the chairs nearby and Draco and Lucius moved to do the same, everyone staying quiet as Narcissa took care of his son.
"Scorpius looks so much like you did at this age," Narcissa said, breaking the silence. "You didn't have quite as much hair and you didn't look this healthy, but everything else is the same."
"Draco wasn't a healthy baby?" Harry asked.
"No," Lucius confirmed. "He was sick for the first few years. But between private healers and Severus, he pulled through."
"He had," Pansy paused as if searching for the right words, "a delicate constitution until we were about eight."
"I wasn't delicate, Pansy," Draco argued. "I had a weak immune system. And I didn't like people touching me, or trying to kiss me like you did every time you came over."
"You tried to kiss Draco?" Harry asked, a small smile spreading on his face.
"All the time," Lucius said. "I remember one time, Draco and Pansy must have been four or five. We had the Parkinsons over and Draco, who normally played in his room when we had friends over, came running in the room screaming about Pansy.
"Evidently, she had wanted to play 'mummy and daddy' with Draco and had taken her clothes off before trying to hug and kiss him."
"Draco was terrified," Narcissa said, laughing. "The Parkinsons were so embarrassed and when they tried to talk to Pansy about it, she told them she was just trying to do what they had been doing the night before."
"I don't think Narcissa and I have ever seen her parents look so shocked."
"They look away my dolls for a whole week," Pansy added with a small laugh. "I had forgotten about that. I thought people had to hug naked in order to be family."
"Oh!" Narcissa exclaimed and everyone turned to look at her.
"What?" Draco asked.
"What Pansy said just reminded me of something. When you were first born, Draco, you were a few weeks early and really sick. We didn't think you would live through the week. The medi-witch who was in the room when you were born was Muggleborn, though we didn't know it at the time. When she saw how sick you were, she recommended something she had learned in what she called 'hybrid training'.
"I learned later that she was raised by a Muggle midwife and she used to help her during deliveries. She told me that skin to skin contact between the baby and the mother can help them both heal after birth. Within an hour of you being held against my skin you started to look healthier. I held you like that for two hours a day until you were no longer at risk of dying."
"Do you think that would help Hermione?" Lucius asked. "You said the medi-witch told you it helped the mother and child heal."
"I think it's worth trying," Draco said. "It can't do any harm, right?"
As Narcissa moved over to the changing table to put a fresh nappy on Scorpius, Draco went to get Hermione ready. He placed a couple of pillows behind her and propped her up slightly. The elves had bathed her and placed her in a fresh gown, so he loosened the ties, unsnapped her arms, and slid it down to her waist.
"Put him on her chest, Draco," Narcissa instructed. "Facing her, yes like that."
Draco placed Scorpius flat on Hermione's chest. Then he climbed onto the bed to lie down next to her, and rolled onto his side so he could place his hand on his son's back and hold him there. He noticed Scorpius visibly relax as he snuggled against his mum. He pulled Hermione's blankets up to keep them both warm.
"Look at that," Harry said a few minutes later, pointing to the numbers above Hermione's head. "Her pulse has increased by three beats per minute and her temperature has gone up. Not by much, but it's something."
"Maybe if he stays there long enough he can heal Hermione," Pansy said, hope in her voice.
"Do you think we could do this all night?" Lucius asked. "Except when it's time to feed and change him."
"You'll want to be careful and make sure his airwaves aren't blocked, but the elves can help with that," Narcissa said. "And if you and Draco lay beside her, he won't roll off."
"Why don't Harry, Narcissa, and I go and eat dinner, and we'll come and check on you in a few hours?" Pansy said.
"That would be great," Draco told her. "Thanks Pans."
Lucius and Draco had spent all night with a mostly naked Scorpius and Hermione between them. Both fathers kept a hand on the baby's back to make sure he was secure. They only removed him from Hermione's chest when it was time to feed and change him. Narcissa, Harry, and Pansy had refused to leave when Lucius suggested they get some rest. Instead, the chairs in the room had been transfigured into beds so the library now resembled a dorm room.
As the sun rose, Scorpius woke the room up with his loud cries. Pansy lifted him from the bed and cradled him as Draco performed the spells to extract Hermione's milk. Lucius watched as Pansy fed Scorpius and couldn't help but think that they had made the right choice when asking her to be godmother. For someone that had been such a self-centered, spoiled child, Lucius thought that Pansy had grown into a wonderful adult.
"Harry, why don't you change his nappy this time?" Pansy suggested to her husband. "The practice will be good for you."
"I'll help you," Narcissa said, walking to the changing table. "Lay him down here. Then you take the old nappy off, lift him up by his ankles, and cast a gentle cleaning charm on him. Once he's clean, slip the new nappy under him, fold it around him, and cast a sticking charm on the sides. Then vanish the old nappy."
"Seems easy enough," Harry said, talking himself through the steps as he took them. "Scorpius is lying down. Now take the dirty nappy off." He waved his wand at the sides of the nappy. "Unstick left side, unstick right side. Pull nappy off. There we go, nappy is off." Harry placed the soiled nappy to the side before grasping Scorpius by the ankles.
"Cast a gentl- AHHHHH!" Harry screamed as Scorpius started to pee, the stream hitting his godfather on the chin.
The room was silent for a moment before Draco started laughing and everyone except Harry joined in. Lucius had read in Hermione's pregnancy books that babies often urinate when the nappy was removed and the cool air hit their privates. They had warned that due to the position of a boy's penis, parents should expect to get peed on if they weren't careful.
"Hey Potter," Draco said between his laughs, "looks like you caught the golden piss this time."
"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry growled out. "I hate you, and your son is an arsehole."
"Harry, you can't call babies arseholes," Pansy chastised him. "He didn't mean to."
"This is why elves be changing nappies," Dibby said as she walked in the library and over to the changing table, vanishing the mess. "We's be knowing to cover the bits so we don't be getting sprayed."
"Pansy, we're getting a new elf. Kreacher is too old to do it, and I'm not getting hit in the face with urine again."
"Harry," Lucius called, "there are bathrooms upstairs if you'd like to bathe. Pansy can show you where."
"Come on, husband," Pansy said. "I'll show you where I used to run around naked."
As the Potters left, Narcissa finished changing Scorpius and brought him back to the bed to snuggle with Hermione. Lucius took a moment to look at his ex-wife. He couldn't put into words how grateful he was for all of the love and support she'd given the last few months. Not just towards Draco and Hermione, but towards himself as well. Their divorce had been amicable, with both hoping to find and marry someone they loved, but he'd never imagined Narcissa as playing a large part in his life after she moved out. Now he didn't know how he would have made it through the last four days without her. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand gently.
"Thank you, Narcissa. For everything."
"I would do anything for my family," Narcissa said. "And that includes you, Lucius. Always."
Lucius, Draco, Narcissa, Pansy, and Harry had just finished lunch when Nikki was shown into the library. Lucius rose from his place on the bed beside Hermione to greet her. He hadn't been expecting to see her today. When they'd spoken before Hermione had been removed from the hospital he didn't remember making arrangements for her to visit today.
"Hello, Nikki."
"Hello, Lucius," she greeted him. "Narcissa sent me an owl letting me know that Hermione had shown some signs of improvement. I wanted to run some scans to see how she's doing today."
"Of course." Lucius led her towards the bed in the middle of the room. "As you can see we've been giving Hermione and Scorpius skin to skin time. Narcissa learned when Draco was a baby that it can help the child and mother heal. Since we've been doing it, her pulse has increased by ten beats per minute and her temperature is closer to the normal range."
"That's wonderful. Let's see what her body is saying." They watched as Nikki did her normal scans. "There is improvement from the last time I saw her, but not much. It's obvious that having Scorpius on her has helped, but I wonder if I could try something else.
"There's a spell that will let us see Hemione's magic. It takes a lot of energy out of me so I normally don't do it. But I think if we could see how she reacts when we place Scorpius on her, we might be able to see if there's anything else that will help."
"If you think you're up to it," Draco said.
"I haven't cast much magic today so I should be fine. I'll need you to remove Scorpius from her and move back from the bed so I get an accurate reading."
Lucius picked Scorpius up and snuggled him to his chest. It was almost time for him to eat and he was starting to fuss. Everyone watched as Nikki cast a spell on Hermione and a projection of her body hovered above the bed, lit up in shades of black, yellow, green, and blue. The majority of her body seemed to be black, but her head was yellow and her chest and pelvis were mostly blue. There was a ring of green that made up the outer edge of her scan.
"In a healthy female we normally see her magic as green, with the head being slightly more yellow, and the heart and pelvis being slightly more blue. Looking at Hermione, we see her yellow, or intellectual magic, is mostly confined to her brain, and her female magic is concentrated on her heart and pelvis. After a woman first gives birth, we find that her coloring is normally a lot bluer than normal because she is so focused on those magics."
"What does the black mean?" Lucius asked.
"The black is the curse that is trying to attack her magic. It appears that Hermione's magic is protecting her mind, heart, and reproductive organs. It's strange though," Nikki paused. "A man's magic is red. I expected to see some red or at least orange because she should still have some of Scorpius' magic lingering in her body.
"I wonder if the curse has already depleted it or he didn't leave enough in there to feed the curse. Lucius, place Scorpius back on her and let's see if anything changes, but try not to touch her."
Lucius moved onto the bed; he was careful to stay away from Hermione's skin as he lay Scorpius on her. Scorpius was starting to fuss more, so Lucius rubbed his back slightly as he looked back up at the projection. He couldn't tell if it was the new angle, but the black in Hermione's body seemed to turn lighter and almost brown.
"The contact with Scorpius is doing something. The black is trying to turn green, that is why we're seeing the color change. It's as if, when she feels Scorpius, her ability to fight the magic is stronger."
Scorpius was starting to cry now that his feeding time had passed. Lucius could see his bent knees pushing against Hermione's stomach as he moved, searching for food. They would need to feed his son soon, but he didn't want to interrupt the scan.
"Look at that," Harry said. "Now that he is crying, the blue is getting deeper and is spreading."
"That's her magic trying to reach out and sooth her child," Nikki explained.
As Scorpius continued to cry, Lucius noticed he was moving closer to Hermione's nipple. It was like he instinctively knew that is where the food was. His mouth was less than an inch from her breast, and Lucius could see milk starting to drip.
"We may need to stop," Lucius said. "Scorpius is about to latch on to her and I don't think Hermione is strong enough to feed him."
As he moved to lift his son off Hermione, Narcissa spoke.
"Wait." She turned to Nikki. "You said her mother's magic is trying to reach out to him? What if he is trying to reach out to her? Lucius and Draco told me about Scorpius' family magic protecting him before. What if he still can?"
"How?" Draco asked.
"I've read a lot about mother's magic since Hermione first came to me. It was something Bella was obsessed with when she was first married. She found out soon after she wed that she couldn't have children and our mother used to tell her she wasn't 'womanly enough' for her female magic to allow her to have children. That is why I wasn't surprised when she created this curse.
"I think that, in her twisted head, Bella didn't believe a Muggleborn would even survive long enough to get pregnant because if her female magic wasn't strong enough to have children, there was no way a Muggleborn could. It was just a way to give the afflicted hope before killing them.
"There is a lot of speculation around the mother's milk and that it contains some of her magic, and that when a baby feeds some of their magic travels back into the mother. That is why when a woman who breastfeeds instead of extracting might notice a change in colour or smell of her milk when the baby is sick. Her body changes to give the child what it needs."
"So you think that if Scorpius latches on, he might give Hermione more of his magic and help her?" Pansy asked, coming to stand closer to Narcissa.
"I think it's worth testing," Nikki said. "And nursing won't hurt Hermione any more than the extracing spell does."
Lucius could see Nikki was getting tired from holding the spell and used his free hand to help guide Hermione's nipple into his mouth. Narcissa must have been right about transfiguring the nipples on the bottle because Scorpius latched on instantly. Being so close to Hermione, he could feel her body relax as Scorpius sucked.
"Look," Narcissa called quietly but urgently, pointing to the scan.
As Scorpius continued to suck, the blue that surrounded Hermione's chest started to turn purple. The longer he stayed on, the redder the purple became until a mass of red broke away from the blue completely and was surrounded by black. Lucius watched in awe as the black seemed to move away from the edges of her body, concentrating more on the red magic. Suddenly the projection blinked out of sight.
"Sorry," Nikki said, "I couldn't hold it anymore."
"Can you teach it to me?" Draco asked.
Their voices were being tuned out of Lucius' awareness as he watched Hermione feed their son. It was something he had never experienced before and, once again, he couldn't help but feel that he and Narcissa had been deprived of sharing something beautiful with Draco by following the Pureblood way. A child getting nourishment from its mother was the most magical thing he had seen in his life. Scorpius gave a large yawn, and Hermione's nipple fell from his lips.
"You'll want to burp him then try to attach him to the other side," Narcissa said quietly.
Lucius hadn't even noticed that she had moved to sit on the other side of the bed. He lifted Scorpius and placed him over his shoulder, rubbing his back.
"We missed out on so much, Narcissa. We should have done this with Draco."
"I know. But now we have a second chance. You as a father, and me as a grandmother. It will be better with your children now because we've learned from our mistakes."
Scorpius let out a burp and interrupted the moment between them. Lucius placed him back on Hermione and helped his son latch on to her other breast. The room was quiet except for Scorpius' little sucking noises. When he was done, Lucius removed him from Hermione again and moved to burp and change him.
"Let's see how she is now," Nikki said. "Draco, are you ready?"
Draco moved his wand in the same pattern Nikki had, and the projection reappeared above the bed. A cluster of Scorpius' red magic was slowly being surrounded by black.
"This is excellent," Nikki said.
"It looks the same to me," Harry said. "Except the red is being absorbed by the black."
"Look at the edges of the projection. The green is thicker than it was before, and now her fingers and toes are completely free from the curse."
"So you think her breastfeeding is helping?" Lucius asked.
"It appears to be," Nikki said. "I want to come back tomorrow and check on her again. Draco, now that you know how to do the scan, I would like it if you could do it before and after each feeding and take notes so we can see if there's any improvement."
"No problem," Draco agreed, cancelling the projection.
"I'll see you tomorrow, but reach out to me if anything changes."
"Mother." Draco's voice was thick with emotion. "I think you saved her."
"It was just an idea," Narcissa said, moving to hug her son.
"A bloody brilliant idea," Harry said.
With the help of Lucius and Narcissa, Scorpius latched on to feed every two hours throughout the rest of the day. He had just woken the room up for his six a.m. feeding and Draco yawned as he cracked his neck. He had been casting the projection with each feeding and could feel the effects of it draining him.
Draco didn't complain though because with each feeding, the black was shrinking. The last time they had looked, Hermione's arms and legs were free of the curse. At Lucius' nod, Draco cast the spell again while Pansy took notes on the changes from the last feeding. He tried to keep his heart protected, but Draco couldn't help the rush of hope he felt each time he saw the green taking over her body.
"She's improved so much," Pansy spoke quietly as Draco cancelled the charm. "I think she'll wake up soon."
"I hope so," Draco said. "You know, you and Harry can head home now that she's improving. Sleep in your own bed. You need to be taking care of yourself and that baby."
"You know Harry won't leave her, and I don't want to either. Plus, it's not like these beds aren't comfortable." Pansy gestured to the beds around them. "And my little snake is perfectly healthy."
"Little snake? You know I don't need to know what you've nicknamed Potter's dick, Pans."
"Ha ha, Draco. That is what I call our baby since we don't know what we're having."
"I can't believe you don't want to find out."
"I want to be surprised. As long as it's healthy and a future Slytherin, that's all I care about."
"You think the child of Harry Potter, The Prince of Gryffindor, is going to spawn a Slytherin?" Draco said incredulously.
"Prince? Really Draco?" Pansy sneered at him before laughing. "Try the Emperor."
"Thank you for that vote of confidence, love," Harry said as he moved to stand by them. "And Draco," Harry leaned forward and pretended to whisper, "the hat almost put me in Slytherin."
"Really?" Narcissa asked. She was standing near the bed whilst Lucius held Scorpius to Hermione. Draco and Lucius' eyes met and they shared a thought: Slytherin would have eaten him alive.
"Sorry, Harry," Lucius said, "but are you sure?"
"Yup. But I asked it to put me in Gryffindor because I'd already met this pompous little prick named Draco who was sorted into Slytherin and I didn't want to be in the same house as him."
The room filled with laughter as Harry told his story. Everyone could clearly remember what Draco had been like at eleven years old.
"Lucius?" The room fell silent at the sound of the cracked voice. "Draco?"
"Hermione," Lucius gasped. "You're awake."
A/N: My days of torturing you are over! Let me know what you thought!
All the thanks in the world to PotionChemist and SmithAndBarrowman for the lifesaving breastfeeding idea!