Chapter 17: It's a Boy!
Harry had to fight the urge to pace as the hours wore on. He, Ron, and Ginny had arrived shortly behind Hermione and Draco and Dumbledore had arrived seconds later with Hermione's parents. Nearly all the Weasleys had shown up as well. They had all been told they had to wait in the waiting room.
That had been three hours ago.
Harry lost the battle then and started pacing the length of the room, making Judith laugh. "Harry, it still could be a while yet. You'll make yourself dizzy."
The boy sighed and sat down again. "I know, but this waiting is driving me crazy!"
"The mental ward is right down the hall, Harry," one of the twins piped up.
"Yeah," added the other. "I'm sure you could arrange a visit."
"No thanks, I'll pass."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," Harry replied, though he did sneak a glance at his watch again before asking Ron if he wanted to play chess to pass the time.
Three and a half intense hours later—six and a half from when they'd arrived at St. Mungo's- Hermione and Draco were looking down into the face of their newborn son. He had been cleaned up and wrapped in a soft blue blanket then handed immediately to Hermione. A full head of wavy brown hair and rather striking silver eyes appeared to be his trademarks.
"Can you believe it, Draco?" Hermione breathed, taking in the exquisite little features of their son. "He's so tiny."
Draco nodded and touched the little head as if assuring himself that it was real. A look of awe and wonder spread across his face then he gave Hermione a tender kiss. "He's beautiful. I'm so proud of you, love."
Her eyes filled with joyful tears and her gaze turned back to their son. "Jeremiah," she said decisively.
"What?"
"His name. It should be Jeremiah."
Draco looked at the little guy asleep in her arms then nodded. "I like it." He placed a kiss on the downy head. "Hello, Jeremiah."
Harry had taken to pacing again and had just finished another circuit when Draco came out into the waiting room. The pacing immediately stopped and all eyes turned to him expectantly.
He smiled tiredly and informed them, "It's a boy. 7 pounds 8 ounces, 19 inches long. Both he and Hermione are doing fine."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Draco approached Robert and Judith with a smile. "Hermione asked to see you. Come meet your grandson."
They followed Draco to Hermione's room and walked over to the bed. Their daughter was laying back with her eyes closed so Draco said softly, "Hermione, your parents are here, love."
Her eyes opened and she gave them an exhausted smile. "Hi, Daddy. Hi, Mum."
"Hi, Precious." Her father replied, stroking her hair. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired, sore. I think I'll live though."
"I would certainly hope so."
She smiled at her father the motioned for Draco to get Jeremiah from the crib. "Would you like to meet your new grandson?"
They nodded and Draco placed him in Judith's arms. "Meet Jeremiah Darin Malfoy."
"Oh, he's darling," Judith murmured. "Look at him, Robert."
Robert leaned over his wife's shoulder and stroked the tiny head. "It looks like I have a new Precious."
"Hey," Hermione protested, stifling a huge yawn. "That's my nickname."
Judith handed her grandson back to Draco and to her daughter said, "We really should let you rest, honey. We'll be back to see you in the morning."
Hermione nodded, barely able to keep her eyes open. She was asleep before they even shut the door.
The next morning Hermione woke up to the sound of someone talking softly. Draco was sitting in a rocking chair beside her bed cradling Jeremiah and talking quietly to their sleeping son. She just laid there listening to him for a while, feeling her eyes tear up at the tender scene.
"Hello, Jeremiah," he was saying. "I'm so happy you're finally here." Draco caught Hermione's movement out of the corner of his eye and continued on. "I love you and your mummy more than anyone else in the world. Do you know that, little guy?" His gaze shifted to Hermione but he kept talking to the baby in his arms. "What do you think she would say if I asked her to marry me right now?"
Hermione gasped and some of the tears she was holding back escaped down her cheeks. "Really?"
He nodded. "Really. Will you marry me, love?"
"Yes," she whispered. "I would love to marry you."
He shifted Jeremiah around then leaned forward to kiss this girl he loved more than life itself. "I'm glad, love. I'm glad."
a/n: awww! so cute! thank you to all who gave me name suggestions but I had already planned on using the name Jeremiah Darin. I was way into name meanings for this story and Jeremiah means "God sent" and Darin means "precious gift." I thought it was appropriate given the circumstances. :) anyway, as a little bonus for all you faithful readers, on to the epilogue...
