Wow. It has been FOREVER. It amazes me that every time I check in on this story, there are more followers than when I left. I will never get over your patience or dedication, or be able to thank you enough for it. Consider this chapter my thanks, as well as this promise: The next wait will NOT be this long. I am officially on summer break! I have more time than I know what to do with. And what better way to spend that time than wrapping this story up? (Yes, this tale is drawing to a close, though I am thinking of putting a few time-hop chapters in at key moments of a certain new characters life… ;) ) All that to say, hope you enjoy this chapter, and I will be back again soon!

~xoxox, fan

"WHY THE HELL DID I MARRY YOU?"

"Shh, shh it's okay Love—"

"SHUT UP I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD! I HATE YOU AND NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR SNEERING FACE AGAIN!"

"Look I know that you're really hurting right now—"

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I AM AND IT'S YOUR FAULT. ALL YOUR BLOODY FAULT. I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU—"

"Just one more push now Mrs. Malfoy. Just one more and it will all be over. And then we can take a look at that hand Mr. Malfoy, it looks like there will definitely be bruising—"

"Great—he—can—join—the-club—then," Hermione panted. "AHHHHHHHHH!" She screeched as she focused all her energy on one last push. She had one final scream of pain which was stopped by the sound of another type of cry piercing the air. The definitive sound of a baby's wail was abruptly heard and Hermione and Draco looked at each other in shock, both momentarily frozen until the realization of what had happened hit them like a ton of bricks.

"WE'RE PARENTS!" They cried together.

"That's right!" The mediwizard grinned. "Would you like to see your son?"

"Son? It's a boy?" Hermione asked with tears streaming down her face.

"It is indeed," the mediwizard replied. "And he's absolutely perfect at that."

Hermione very carefully cradled her newborn son to her chest once the mediwizard handed him to her. She could not stop gazing at his face. In her not-so-humble opinion, he was quite simply the most beautiful thing she had ever set her eyes on. He had a shock of hair, the thin baby strands hard to see not because they were few but because they were white blonde in colour. The colouring was certainly Draco's through and through. The locks were definitely curly however, making the baby's hair a perfect genetic compromise between his parents. When the baby opened his eyes, Hermione was able to see that they were stormy grey in colour. It was interesting that, though he had clearly inherited his father's most striking features, he looked a lot like his mother as well (as much as a baby could anyway) because the rest was Hermione. He had his mother's complexion, not as pale as his father, and a heart shaped face and dainty nose and mouth. He was simply perfect and Hermione could not get enough.

"What are we going to name him?" Draco asked in a reverent voice as he stroked his son's silky cheek.

"Well, I was thinking about your family's tradition of naming your members after constellations. I'm sure that you want to carry on the tradition which I can understand. So I spent some time researching constellation names—"

"Do you seriously mean to tell me that you spent time at the library looking up names for our baby?" Draco couldn't help laughing lovingly at his adorable book worm of a wife.

"Of course," Hermione replied as though it were the most obvious, natural thing in the world. "And while I have to admit that I found the notion of most of them to be quite ridiculous, there was one boy name that stood out to me. It's almost a compromise of sorts because it's quite a common name in muggle society as well."

"The name being?" Draco asked in anticipation.

"Leo." Hermione said softly as she gazed down at their son. In that instant, when Draco saw the way her voice softened around the edges when she said the name, how it was written clear as day across her face how much she thought the name fit, Draco knew that he would not want to call his son by any other name.

"Leo," he said. "A perfect name for a perfect being."

xxxxx

"Leo!" Ginny squealed as she practically skidded into the hospital room the next day. She seemed to be enjoying her renewed agility and ability to see her own toes as she skipped over to the bed where Hermione sat nursing Leo.

"Congratulations!" Harry grinned as he walked through the door holding his and Ginny's own baby James in his arms. "Welcome to the world of parenting. The most amazing, rewarding, exhausting, stinky job you will ever have!"

"Thanks Potter. A bundle of joy and sunshine as always," Draco sneered sarcastically before he clapped Harry jovially, albeit gingerly on the shoulder so as not to wake the sleeping baby in his arms.

"Seriously though, he is simply stunning!" Ginny cooed. "I can't wait to hold him!"

"Put me in line!" an extremely pregnant Parvati called out as she waddled in with Blaise on her heels.

"Oh my goodness, you look like you'll be next any day now!" Hermione commented sympathetically, remembering the discomfort her friend was experiencing.

"How was the labour?" Parvati asked nervously.

"Rough at times, but not too bad overall," Hermione said casually.

"Ha!" Draco laughed incredulously.

"Did your hand need healing too mate?" Harry asked knowingly.

xxxxx

Later that evening, it was just Hermione, Draco, and Leo. Draco carefully slid onto the hospital bed so that the three of them could snuggle up together and he and Hermione could bask in the glow of their newfound parenthood together. He could not get over the feelings that washed over him when he would look at his wife or his child. He finally understood what people meant when they said that your heart expanded so that you could love your child as much or more than your spouse as opposed to replacing some of the love you felt for them. If anything, he loved Hermione even more because when he looked at her, he saw not only the beautiful, ingenious, kind, woman he had married, but also the woman who had blessed him with the incredible gift of his son Leo. Salazar have mercy, becoming a father had practically turned him into a Hufflepuff.

"I can't stop staring at his tiny fingers and toes," Hermione laughed wetly through her tears of happiness. (Something she was never short on these days.) "How can things so tiny be so perfect?"

"I love you," Draco answered.

Hermione elbowed him jokingly in the ribs. "Why can't I ever get a straight answer out of you?" She laughed. "Oh, and in the spirit of our competitive nature, I love you more," she added, stretching up to kiss him.

"Oh Hermione, my love, I thought we had promised to be honest with one-another," Draco replied. "And it is simply not possible for anyone to love anyone else more than I love you. The one exception being, of course," as he looked down at their little miracle, "how much we love this little guy."