Disclaimer: Don't own anything!

Too Perfect

Chapter 13

Uncertain Endings

They stared at the Healer with curious, pleading eyes. He looked at his clipboard distractedly. Mrs. Granger cried, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"The news! What is it?"

"Oh, right, the news…well…"

Hermione looked down at the foot of the bed at the white, thin blanket and the sudden lump that was her feet. She gulped and took a deep breath before saying, "What's the news?"

"Well…As you know, the baby was premature, and not even magic can help a pre-me develop…We put him in intensive care, checked his breathing regularly, check that his heart was working properly, and we did everything possible to keep him stable…"

Draco cried out, "Oh for God's sake, you damn Healer, will you just tell us if we're ruddy parents or not!"

The Healer smiled and said, "He's doing fine."

The room was lost in an eruption of cheers. Hermione started crying as she jumped up out of her bed and hugged Draco tighter than anything. She let go and yelled above the cheers, "When can I see him?"

Half an hour later, Carter Alexander Malfoy lay in Hermione's arms. Their family and friends had left to give them privacy with their newborn, but were coming back in a little while to see the baby. He was really small. His hand was clasped tightly around Hermione's pinky. She shook it a little and his face scrunched up as he turned his head. His eyes opened a little to reveal the "Malfoy blue eyes"

"Oh, Draco…he's beautiful."

"So are you."

"Draco…"

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, gazing upon his son. He whispered, "Hermione…we're parents! Can you believe it?"

"I'm still trying to process that I'm Mrs. Hermione Malfoy."

"What's a person to do when they've found all they've ever wanted?"

"You've got to want more than just this…"

"Honestly? I don't. I've got a beautiful wife who I love more than anything. I've got a son who's going to have a perfect life. He won't have to go through the same things I went through with my father. I've got a perfect family. I couldn't ask for more than what I've got right here."

"You ever wonder if things are…too perfect?"

"Too perfect? How can something be too perfect?"

"I don't know. We've been through so much, Draco…" She whispered, "So much…"

"And we've overcome…we've triumphed!"

"What if we fall again?"

"Then we'll get back up and we'll try again."

"I'm scared, Draco…I'm scared…"

"So am I, but we can't let the fear define us. If we fall down, we'll get up and we'll keep trying, knowing more than we did the last time. Nothing cane keep us down, Hermione."

Harry and Ginny were outside the hospital room, waiting the time when they could come back in and see the baby. Ginny said to Harry, "I'm glad my dreams were wrong."

"Were they?"

"Well, my first one wasn't. It was Draco and Hermione's engagement, you know…but the other one about the death of Mr. Granger. He didn't die, so that's good!"

Harry smiled and she continued, "I'll never understand these dreams. Sometimes they're right, other times they're wrong…how am I supposed to know when they're right or wrong? I could misinterpret one and the consequences might be grave!"

Harry pulled her into a hug and said, "I think you just have to use your best judgment and decide what's real and what's not real."

Ginny nodded and then Mr. Granger and Mrs. Granger went into the room. Mrs. Granger looked at her grandson, a tear rolled down her cheek. Mr. Granger was still in his hospital bed. The bed had been wheeled next to hers. They all looked adoringly at Carter Alexander. Mr. Granger said to them, "You'll make wonderful parents, Hermione and Draco…I'm just glad I got to see my first grandson."

"Dad, don't talk like that! You'll be fine!"

"No, Hermione, I won't. I know that. My time is coming to an end. But, you know what? I've had a good life. I've had a great wife, a wonderful daughter, and now a wonderful son-in-law and grandson. I got to walk my daughter down the aisle, I was here for the birth of my grandson…my life's complete."

"Dad…"

"Hermione. I love you, sweetie. You've been a fantastic daughter, and I couldn't have asked for more. I'll always be with you, in your heart and in spirit. Emily…thank you for giving me the best 30 years of my life. I met you when I was 15, and I've always loved you. My life is complete thanks to you. You made me the happiest man alive. I'll love you forever, and not a day shorter. Draco…I've only known you for a short time, but I know that you'll take care of my daughter and my grandson. I can see in your eyes that you'll love my daughter with your whole heart, and I know you'll love Carter, too. You're a strong, loving man, and you shouldn't change that. I love you all, even you, Carter, even though I've known you a week. You all have helped me make my life enjoyable and worth living. Thank you. Hermione, sweetie…don't forget…you promised. Now…I'm afraid…." A tear slid down his cheek and he grabbed Hermione's hand in his left hand, and Mrs. Granger's in his right, "It's time for me to say…goodbye."

He squeezed their hands and closed his eyes. His hands dropped suddenly and hit the bed with a sickening but silent thud. Hermione cried, "Dad. Dad? Dad! Dad, wake up! You can't leave! Daddy, no! Daddy, please! Dad!" All at once the room was filled with Healers as they levitated the bed out of the door so it would move faster. Then, silence. Hermione started weeping. A nurse-healer took Carter from her arms and set him in a bassinet, patted Hermione shoulder and left.

"Mum…wha—what…what just…what just happened?"

Hermione mother was standing strong. She was staring at the door, wondering what was happening and if what she had feared the most had finally come. Draco was staring at the door as well. After a minute, Mrs. Granger replied in a surprisingly not shaky voice, "I don't know, Hermione. I really don't know."

For hours they waited. Actually, it was only 15 minutes, but every minute lasted a lifetime. Suddenly a Healer came into the room. Hermione's head shot up from looking at Carter, and she squeezed Draco's hand. He looked up as well to see a grave doctor. He knew what was coming. It was only a matter of minutes until they found out, too. Mrs. Granger said to him, "Please. Please tell me—tell me my husband isn't…isn't…" The first tear fell from her eye. The Healer looked at all three of them and said softly, "He's gone. I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I really am." He left the room, giving them much needed privacy. Hermione's tears rolled down her face in an endless stream, falling onto Carter's blue blanket. She handed him up to Draco and got up to hug her mother. Both could feel the other's warm tears on their shoulders. They broke apart, their faces red and wet. She whispered in a choked voice, "It's going to be alright, Mum. It's…it's going to be fine. We'll get through this…we'll make it." Hermione mother sighed and said, "I guess I always knew he'd go in the end. But I can't say I was ready for it."

"I know, Mom, I know. But just think…of all the good times, how you're going to be a grandma…how he got to say goodbye. That's what's important. He got to say goodbye." A new set of tears started streaming down her face.

"When did you get to be so wise, huh?"

"I've always been wise, ma…" Suddenly she remembered something. She whispered, "My promises…" Mrs. Granger said, "What was that, dear?"

"Nothing, Mum…it's nothing."

The funeral was held the following Saturday. Carter was still in the hospital to be monitored. Relatives of every kind came to say goodbye: Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great-family and friends. At the conclusion of the burial service, Hermione and her mother stood in front of the casket, each holding a white rose. Draco stood behind Hermione, staring at the casket of his father-in-law, wishing he could've known him better and longer. Hermione threw her rose onto the casket, as did her mother, and as the last set of tears rolled down their cheeks, they walked away, saying the most final of goodbyes.

Ginny and Harry walked back to their car to head over to the new Malfoy Manor to be with Hermione, Draco, and Mrs. Granger. Their house was more suitable for large amounts of people, and for wizards. Mrs. Granger's Muggle friends were spending time with her the following day. Ginny said to Harry, "I feel awful…"

"Well, of course you do."

"Thanks for being sympathetic, Harry!"

"No, I mean, we all feel bad. One of our best friend's father just died! We all feel terrible."

"No, I mean…I knew he was going to die, and I kept my mouth shut. I could've prevented it."

"No you couldn't have. If the Healers couldn't help him, neither could you. You didn't know when he was going to die…"

"Well I could've warned them so it wouldn't have been a week after Hermione's baby was born!" She stopped, her eyes widening as she remembered the dream all too well. She gasped, "Harry!"

"What?"

"The baby?"

"Huh?"

"In my dream, Hermione had her baby."

"So?"

"So I thought the completely wrong thing! When Hermione's baby was premature I thought the whole thing had been avoided…but I was wrong! In my dream, Hermione had just gotten her baby…I should have realized! I could've told them when he was going to die! This is all my fault!"

"Ginny, no it's not! Having these dreams isn't your decision; they're not your choice. It's not your fault in the slightest!" He pulled her into a hug and stroked her red hair. He said, "Ginny, don't you blame yourself for what happened. Mr. Granger was a strong believer in destiny, so this would've happened no matter what you did. Don't you dare blame yourself!" Ginny wasn't fully convinced, but she told herself to believe Harry.

Carter was let out of the hospital a few days later, a completely healthy little boy, not looking like a semi-stable pre-me. Many believed that Mr. Granger had put in a special request with "The Bug Guy" for a teeny favor. While his family and his parent's friends enjoyed watching him, Hermione and Draco were upstairs in their room, talking.

"See? I told you! Things were too perfect!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Things were going way too good. I should've guessed that something terrible was going to happen! The universe was out of place, and we should've known that something was going to happen to knock it back in!"

"Hermione…"

"I was so happy! How could this happen to us?"

"I don't know, 'Mione, I honestly don't know."

"It comes back to the same thing. Everything was too perfect. Nothing should be so perfect."

"You're perfect."

"No I'm not. We've discussed this before, Draco, darling. I've got frizzy out of control hair in the mornings—"

"And I've told you before, it's the imperfections that make you perfect."

"So I'm perfect, huh?"

"Hermione. You're too perfect. Too perfect to be real."

Hermione smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she felt that things were going to be okay. For the first time in 8 long days, she felt like life was still worth living. Suddenly, her eyes were opened to the bright side of things. She was a daughter, a wife, a friend, and she was a mother. She decided right then and there to be the best she could be, despite the things that kept her down. She thought to herself, Well, when life gives you lemons…

A/N-

Note #1- tear sniff This story…is now…over. I am sad to say it. Well, this is, but that's not to say I won't do a sequel somewhere down the line when I close up a few other stories I've got going. Keep your eyes open for it, but I really don't know when it will be up. I'll update my profile with updates on it. Check it out! I update it frequently with story plans!

Note #2- I wasn't too creative with Mr. Granger's conditions that caused him to die. The burn stuff came from "The Outsiders" (GOOD ASS MOVIE AND BOOK!) I'm sorry, but I am no medical person. No one really said anything, but I've always felt terrible about how I described his injuries. I'm sorry! Basically, he gets hurt so bad, the Healers can't fix him, and Muggle doctors couldn't be asked that late in his diagnostic or WHATEVER! USE YOUR IMAGINATIONS DAMNIT: D

Note #3- Many baby names to sift through till I found "Carter Alexander" I love it! 'Carter' is the name of my cousin's baby (would that be my…second cousin?) and 'Alexander' has always been a fav. name of mine! Along with 'Dominic' 'Ryan' 'Andrew' 'Thomas' 'Riley' most of which are my cousins names! Haha. I hope you like my choice!

Note #4- I don't know about any of you, but I cried while writing Mr. Granger's death. No, it wasn't necessary for him to die, but I wanted him to. I don't remember why. I think it was to fit into this whole "too perfect" thing I had going. By the way, did you notice how much they said 'too perfect' in this chapter? I feel bad for that, but still. It was to show how the title fits with the story line.

Note #5- I'm hoping and praying for reviews! Please review!

Note #6- Thank you loyal reviewers! I love you all SO MUCH and I will miss the joy your reviews gave me. I hope to see you in the sequel, when I get around to writing it down: D.

Mwah!

I love you all,

Love always,

Dangerous Combonation