October 22nd

The elderly healer adjusted his spectacles and peered curiously at the couple in front of him. Hermione Granger and Lucius Malfoy. Sitting together on his red sofa. He still hadn't gotten used to the idea.

The grey daylight that filtered in through his window reflected the hues of gold and silver in their hair, marking the differences between them. Softness and steel. Good and bad - or so it was thought. How had they found each other, and what in Merlin's name was to be the fate of their child?

Another question healer Abbot had frequently asked himself was whether accepting the task of providing health care for Miss Granger had truly been a wise thing to do. Mr Malfoy had, after all, severely tested his patience with his blatant refusal to listen to his professional opinion if it was even slightly more liberal than his own. While the healer could appreciate the gentleman's concern for the young witch's safety, and that of their child, he had never been more ready to subscribe to the motto that there was a limit to every good thing.

And yet, every time the healer thought about it, he would come to the same conclusion: it was worth it. Not because of the money, of course – he had refused to accept more than a fraction of what Malfoy had initially offered him - but because he couldn't resist the temptation to delve into the conundrum, the puzzle that this particular pair represented.

And today, he seemed to be rewarded for his forbearance.

Healer Abbott had performed the usual examinations and been pleased to assure them that all seemed to progress as it should. The growth curves and other tests all looked normal, and Mr Malfoy had listened in awe to the sound of the fetus's rapid heartbeats. But just when the healer was about to dismiss them to do whatever they did when they were not busy shocking the wizarding society - they had asked him an unexpected question. If he had not been quite so old and quite so stiff in his joints, it would have made him jump with excitement.

"I'm afraid I'm not quite following you", healer Abbott said instead and leaned back in his chair.

"I am sure you have heard about the attack at the ball two weeks ago", Mr Malfoy began, waiting for the healer to nod before he continued. "I failed to defend myself and took a nasty hex to the head. But at the same time", he glaned at the young witch beside him, "I felt a burst of magic coming from Hermione. I don't remember seeing her wand, but she has a certain talent for wandless magic, so I assumed she somehow cast a protective spell."

"But it wasn't me", Miss Granger interjected, sitting up a little straighter. "I mean, it came from me physically, but I wasn't the one who did it."

The healer took off his spectacles, summoned a piece of cloth, and began to clean them while he thought. It was a muggle thing that he had picked up once. While he would get the glasses much cleaner using magic - not to mention a lot quicker - he found it rather soothing to have something to do while he thought.

"What did this burst of magic accomplish?" the healer asked without looking up.

"It seems to have negated the hex somehow", Mr Malfoy answered. "I was injured, but not as badly as I should have been."

"He should have been dead", Miss Granger said with pain in her voice.

When he glanced up, the healer saw Mr Malfoy hold her a little closer to his side. He vanished the cloth. "So you're thinking it it could have come from the fetus?" he clarified as he vanished the cloth and put his spectacles back on. He watched them over the brim.

"Hermione did a little research", Malfoy said as if something about that statement amused him. "She found references to infants performing very basic magic... But we're no more than half way through the pregnancy, and this was very powerful. Very precise."

"I think it was trying to protect Lucius", Miss Granger said hesitantly, "if that's even possible?"

"It is certainly unusual", healer Abbot finally answered, keeping his eyes on Mr Malfoy.

If the healer read Miss Granger correctly, she was more intrigued than she was worried. She already knew the answer, and only wanted his reaffirmation that nothing was amiss. Mr Malfoy, on the other hand, seemed to be preparing himself for bad news. It had taken the healer many weeks to be able to see through his mask and recognize that Malfoy was in fact terrifies. But since everything had so far seemed to go perfectly well, healer Abbott had yet to discover why.

"Not completely unheard of, though", the healer added. "As far as I know, it can only be interpreted as an auspicious sign."

Three emotions passed in Malfoy's eyes in quick succession: relief, mistrust and... curiosity. Healer Abbot's interest was peaked. He certainly didn't miss the glance that passed between the witch and wizard, and quickly asked: "Did I say something?"

"We've been told about another auspicious sign concerning our child", Miss Granger mumbled.

When she didn't seem inclined to elaborate, the healer turned back to Mr Malfoy, who glanced at his fiance with a knowing smirk.

"It was conceived on the very first instance of our laying together", he explained.

For a moment, healer Abbot simply stared at them. He had met many couples who had consciously timed their first intercourse so as to boost their chances of succeeding at first chance, but these two seemed to have accomplished that quite unknowingly. But he supposed he really shouldn't be surprised. Not when it came to this couple. If strange things were to happen to anyone, it ought to be them, after all.

Another thought struck him then. Timing. What if...?

It was, after all, remarkable that the fetus had shown such strong magical capabilities this early on. Perhaps there were other factors playing in? Healer Abbott reached for his well-worn calendar to check.

"Which date was that?" he asked.

"June 5th", Mr Malfoy answered without hesitation.

The healer leafed through the pages until he found the date in question. He chuckled to himself and then tossed the calendar back onto his desk and leaned back in his chair, making himself comfortable. Folding his hands upon his belly, he took in the curious expressions of the pair before him.

Sometimes, he just loved his job.

When they stepped out onto the busy city street after their visit to healer Abbott, Lucius silently offered Hermione his arm. She took it, and without a word and without looking at each other, they began to walk. They'd agreed beforehand to go to St. James's Park afterwards, hoping to catch sight of one of the Golden Snidgets that were rumoured to nest there. It wasn't the best time of year for such a project, perhaps - the sky was grey and there were enough yellow leaves on the trees to make it hard to distinguish a golden bird - but right now, neither of them cared. They needed time to process what they'd learned.

After a long walk in silence, Hermione suddenly stopped and looked up at Lucius. She had to ask. "Did you plan for this to happen?"

"I had no idea", he said seriously.

For a few moments they just looked at each other. Then there was a twitch in the corner of Lucius's mouth. And a giggle from Hermione. And then they were laughing. Hermione was sure they were stared at by the passers-by, but she couldn't help it. Soon, she was laughing so hard she actually had trouble breathing.

Lucius almost had to hold her upright in the end, and she had to work hard to force herself to calm down. "We should have checked the calendar", he said, chuckling when she erupted into another fit of near hysterical laugther.

"Stop it", she gasped.

After a while, Hermione finally managed to take a few deep calming breaths, but it wasn't until she was halfway through mentally reciting the introduction of Hogwarts: A History that she felt she could even look at Lucius without a relapse.

Hermione didn't know what to think about what the healer had told them. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised. Normal just wasn't going to happen to her, she supposed. Her heart warmed at the memory of the positively mischievous look on their healer's face as had checked his calendar and then leaned back in his chair.

He had looked at them as if they were his favourite TV-show. And then he had asked the question that made everything clear:

"Are you aware that there was a full moon on the 5th of June?"

Hermione had immediately started sifting through every scrap of information she'd memorized about the effects of full moons. She knew timing - and the full moon especially - was of vital importance in almost every wizarding discipline. From potions to herbology to divination. Healer Abbott had confirmed as much and added: "It is perhaps less well known that it may also strengthen the magic of a child conceived on such a night."

Hermione felt Lucius grow very still next to her. So they had not only managed to beget a child on the first time they slept together, but it had also coincided with a full moon? Well... Stranger things had happened, right?

Healer Abbot, however, continued to watch them with a pleased twinkle in his eyes, and Hermione realised that he wasn't finished yet. "If I am to be precise", he said with exaggerated nonchalance, "the full moon on that day happened shortly after seven in the evening. That would be the most beneficial time of all to beget a child."

Hermione gaped. Shortly after seven in the evening. She had met up with Lucius at around five, hadn't she? And then they'd talked, danced, and went to his place and... Well, yeah.

"What are you trying to tell us?" Lucius asked the healer. She didn't dare look at him, but suspected he was as annoyed as he was amused by the smug look on the healer's face.

The healer blinked and seemed to consider the question for a few moments. "If you want my professional opinion, I'd say there is every possibility that it was in fact the fetus that protected you on the night of the attack. I cannot tell you how it happened, but the circumstances you have told me about, combined with Miss Granger's talent for wandless magic, seem to indicate that this is the case." He paused. "Professionally, I congratulate you. Personally, however..."

The healer trailed off, but still looked so amused Hermione was more impatient than worried. "Yes?"

Healer Abbott had chuckled good-humouredly. "Considering the amount of magic it will likely be able to wield before it is wise enough to control it, I fear you may be driven to distraction before it is old enough to be sent to school."

Half an hour later, in the park, Hermione looked up at Lucius. "All in all, I guess that was good news", she grinned.

Lucius simply shook his head as if he, for once, didn't know what to say. He adjusted her scarf and leaned down to give her a kiss. She smiled against his lips, and then took his arm as they continued their walk at a leisurely pace. The air was mild, and their laughter had soothed away some of the uneasiness that had lingered since the night of the attack.

The past two weeks, Lucius had been forced to rest, plagued by headaches. She too had been forced to stay at home more than usual, since the attack had triggered her anxiety and shed struggled with panic attacks and tiredness. But things were getting better. And for now, she felt safe. There were too many muggles around for anyone to try to attack them right now.

"Do you think it's a girl or a boy?" Hermione asked after a while.

"I thought you said it didn't matter", Lucius said with humor in his voice.

"I'm just curious", she shrugged.

"Ah. Well, she's a girl", Lucius said confidently, and added as if it was explanation enough: "I have a son already."

Hermione was surprised. She'd always imagined Lucius to be the kind of man who wanted an army of male heirs and then perhaps a daughter at the end whom he could spoil to his heart's content.

"You do realise the gender is entirely a matter of chance?" she asked skeptically. "You can't actually control these things."

Lucius simply shrugged, looking too confident for his own good. He had transfigured his robes into a muggle jacket of classical cut, and his silver blonde hair was tied back as it usually was nowadays. Hermione was tempted to reach up and press her lips to his cheek. She knew exactly what his skin would feel like, remembered perfectly well the warm and safe scent of his skin.

"Well I think it might be a boy", Hermione made up, telling herself to save her thoughts for a more private setting.

"Trust me, my dear. It's a girl."

"Pity", Hermione teased. "I had hoped for an annoying little brother for Draco to babysit. I think I still might hold a grudge for some of the things he did at school."

Lucius lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't worry, I'm sure our daughter will be just as charming as you. She'll be punishment enough."

"Very funny", Hermione sniffed.

They walked on, stopping here and there to look up into the trees. Hermione had given up on the snidgets, but Lucius was squinting in an effort to see through the shadows of beginning dusk.

"Have you ever seen a Golden snidget?" Hermione asked.

"I have." After a few moments, he continued: "Lyra and I were searching the woods for wild kneazles once, and found a nest that had been thrown down by a recent storm. Only one nestling was alive. It was just old enough to be ready to fly, beautifully golden and yet weak from lack of food. The parents seemed to have abandoned it."

Lucius stopped again to look up at the trees, avoiding looking at her.

"We took it home, and I made it my mission to nurse it back to health. I kept it warm. Fed it." Again, he paused and looked into the distance. "Lyra helped me bury it."

Hermione put her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against the cool fabric of his jacket as he put his arms around her. They stood in silence for a while, even though dusk was turning into darkness. The streetlights had lit up. It was time to go home.

"I changed my will", Lucius said quietly. "When I die, everything will be divided between you and Draco. Even if we don't have time to marry."

What was she supposed to say to that?

I'm so grateful to those of you who reviewed! I want to give a special thanks to my Guest reviewers, whom I cannot thank individually: you're so kind, and you have all helped me, directly or indirectly. To all of you: your support really did spur me on, and I'm happy to say I've had a few breakthroughs and new ideas. While there are still a few knots that need solving, I'm getting there. I hope to hear from you soon again!

Ida