That evening Draco and the Weasleys stayed at Harry's house.
They went to bed very late and Ron, Draco and Harry were very drunk. Hermione kept tutting at them and telling Ron he should be more responsible- what with the baby on the way.
"Hermi, you look so beautiful when you're angry like that, give us a kiss, honey!" Ron puckered his lips but Hermione refused.
"Not with your stinky breath!" she said. "I'm off to bed- in the other room, Ron!" and with that, she stormed off to the other guest bedroom.
Ron lay there for a moment and then started snoring heavily, he wasn't going to lose sleep that night, or so he thought…
3 hours later at about 5am, Ron woke with a start.
"RON, IT'S COMING, THE BABY'S COMING, RON YOU-"
" COME HERE!" bellowed Hermione from down the hall.
"Holy~" cried Ron and jumped out of bed and went to Hermione's room.
"Ron, what's going on?" said Draco sleepily.
"My wife is having her baby, you idiot, now come and help me get her up from the bed so we can Apparate." Said Ron and they both helped her up. Just then Harry came running in.
"You can't make her Apparate in that condition, Ron. The hospital is too far. The nearest place is Hogwarts. I know, I know Ron." seeing the look on Ron's face at the thought of the school. "You don't want to go back there, but come on, she's going to have it any minute!"
"Alright!" snapped Ron "lets go by Floo powder. Help me get her into the living room."
They helped Hermione into the cosy room at the front of the house and Harry lit the fire with his wand and threw the powder into the flames, which turned green.
"Hermione you'll have to go on you own but we'll send Ron first to catch you when you come out of the fire, OK?" soothed Harry.
"Ok, Harry. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! It HURTS! I want to PUSH!!!!" shouted Hermione, she was in agony and Harry wondered how it would feel to give birth but had no time, as Hermione was about to drop!
"HOGWARTS" shouted Ron and off he went into the swirling green flames. Then
Draco and Harry helped Hermione towards the fire and heard a shout from Ron to her to come through.
"HOGWARTS!" she screamed and was gone. Harry and Draco followed.
Next thing they knew they were on the floor into Dumbledores' office, which looked almost the same as it always had, but Harry had a feeling it wasn't in the same place as before and that it wasn't actually Dumbledore's, more like Minerva's.
"Quick, lets get her to Poppy's hospital wing!" with that they helped Hermione out of the office down some steps in to the Entrance Hall. Professor Lupin the DADA teacher and one of Harry's fathers' friends he had liked so much, was telling off a red haired first year for sneaking out of bed. Lupin did a double take when he saw the four of them and quickly came over.
"Hermione, are you alright? It's so nice to see you all again! Harry, Ron and Draco! Wow, what a turnout!" he said and smiled.
"Remus, please she's gone into labour." Said Ron. Hermione had let out a loud "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" and several pupils came into the hall to see the commotion.
"Oh god, Ron why didn't you say, lets get her to Poppy at once!" and with that they helped Hermione onto a stretcher he had just conjured and she lay on it looking very red indeed. "Oh god, Ron. Help me, it's coming, oh god help me!!!" she yelled and Ron told her not to worry. They got to Madam Pomfrey's and she didn't look surprised to see them.
"Well, if it isn't the famous 3! What's happened now?" she said with a smile.
"Oh!" seeing Hermione's water had broken over her robes.
"Get her on here and lets see how far along she is." She gave Hermione a quick examination and realised the head was nearly out and squealed with delight.
"It's coming I can see the head, now push Hermione, that's it, push, push. Well done, sweetheart. Now again, that's it. Now pant, it's nearly all out. There, there here we are! Hermione it's a BOY!" she shouted with joy.
"Well done, Hermione. Oh I love you so much, oh god, this is great. I have a son, Harry! Oh god!" Ron shouted and was jumping up and down madly.
The new baby Weasley was covered with blood and gooey-stuff but looked very beautiful. Poppy wrapped him in a blanket and handed him carefully to his Mum. Hermione was weeping with joy.
"Oh Ron, he's perfect. What shall we call him? I think maybe, James or Adam or something, what do you think?" she was still crying when she handed him to Ron to hold.
"Oh Hermione, that would great, James, is a cool name. And in honour of someone very special, hey Harry?" he turned to him and grinned.
"Ron… I don't know what to say. That would be so great. Thank you. I'm so happy for you. Can I hold him?" Harry asked gently.
"Sure, here you go." Ron carefully handed baby James to Harry and Harry couldn't help but let the tears flow. "He's so like you both, he's got the trademark hair. He's definitely a Weasley, eh Hermione?"
"Oh yeah, definitely." She said and wept a little more.
Just then the door of the hospital wing burst open and in came the rest of the Weasleys, all looking very pleased and excited. Ron's Mum- Molly and Dad Arthur, Ron's brothers- Charlie, Bill, Percy (in a suit of course) Fred, George and Ginny came bustling in to see their family. Molly was weeping and the twins just looked delighted to have another nephew. Fred and George had 10 kids between them, all at Hogwarts. Harry later found out that the red haired boy that Remus Lupin had been scolding was in fact one of Fred's children, Alex.
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Draco had kept very subdued throughout the whole of Hermione's labour. He finally said something when Harry and he were going for a walk around the grounds, in the early morning light.
They both were tired and were grateful that the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall- Dumbledore had retired after Harry had finished Hogwarts- had said they could stay at the castle for a few days, Harry didn't feel much like going back to work yet. Looking after Hermione was a good excuse not to go home. After walking around the Quidditch pitch, Draco finally spoke up.
"So what's wrong then Draco?" asked Harry gently.
Draco looked at Harry and then said, "I suppose it's because of- you know…"
Harry looked puzzled and said "No, I don't know but you can tell me."
"Well Weasley- I mean Ron- looked so happy in there after Hermione had the baby. I guess I'm just…" he paused, thinking of the right words. Harry spoke for him.
"That you're envious of Ron and his new family? You want that kind of happiness? Is that it?" Harry asked.
"Well, yeah. I suppose so. I wish I had that. I wish I knew where my mum was. She could be anywhere. Harry, will I ever be happy?"
"Of course you will, Draco! Come on, this isn't like you at all! You used to be outgoing, you always got what you wanted. Isn't there any of that old Draco left in you?" Harry said, a little exasperated by Draco's lack of self-confidence and a little surprised too.
"There is but, it's hard, you don't what it's like to be me, Harry. Everything's just great for you, I've had a crap life for ages and I'm sick of it!" he shouted. Harry got a little angry himself, and the argument felt a little like one they might have had when they were in their youth.
"Maybe I don't know, Malfoy!" Harry shouted back and the using of Draco's last name had surprised him. "But I do know that if you want to change things then you can't go around feeling sorry for yourself for the next hundred years! If you want to be happy then be happy, Draco. It's up to you." With that Harry went back up towards the castle, leaving Draco behind. Harry had become quite sick of Draco Malfoy being such an idiot and for a man of 28 he was beginning to act more and more like a child everyday.
Harry, Draco and the Weasleys stayed for 2 weeks at Hogwarts and it was a very enjoyable affair. Each day they breakfasted in the Great Hall and it was like being back at school. Baby James was very cute and Hermione, although looking very tired, seemed to be enjoying being a mother.
One Tuesday during their second week, Albus Dumbledore came to Hogwarts to see them all as he had heard that Harry and The Weasleys were staying. He looked a good deal older than he had been at Hogwarts but that, Harry kept reminding himself, was because that had been ten years before.
"Harry! Ron! Hermione" he called that morning at breakfast. He had spotted James in Hermione's arms at the table. "Is this your son? Oh he's beautiful, my dear. You have called him James, I hear?" he asked
"Yes, Albus. I must say that is wonderful to see you. It feels just like old times, doesn't it Ron?" she said and Ron nodded.
"Well, you know me, Hermione, I could never keep away from the place. Nor, it seems can you!" he chuckled seeing the rest of the Weasleys and Draco. His eyes lingered on Draco and he smiled.
"Nice to see you have finally made the right choice, Mr Malfoy. I hope everything is fine with you, your father keeping his head down is he?" Dumbledore said.
"Err, yes Mr Dumbledore. I have. My father has kept himself out of my way. Although my mother seems to have disappeared."
"That is a shame, Draco. I was hoping to see her but I think she is safe and well. May I ask how it came about for you to be breakfasting with these good people?"
"Well, Albus," said Harry, "that is rather a long story but I am sure Draco will tell you over dinner?" he added with a grin. Dumbledore smiled and said,
"Yes indeed, he probably will, now if you will excuse me everyone. I have to speak with Professor Snape, he doesn't seem to be coping with his new role."
"Why is that, Dumbledore? What role has he?" asked Mrs Weasley.
"My dear Molly. He has just been appointed to Deputy Head and he isn't too keen on it. It appears he does not like being nice to his students…" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling and he bowed and strolled away.