Thank you all for being patient in my absence. :) I think this chapter is well-worth the wait! I really hope you like it. There is more to come! Please enjoyyyy! :)
In the few minutes he'd had, Draco called for three mediwizards to come assist his wife with birth. He stooped over the bed, clutching her hand, murmuring every single possible way to tell her that he loved her. The typical family mediwizard inspected Astoria first. He shook his head. "She isn't dilated enough. There will be many complications with this process—which means…we won't be able to use magic." he said aloud. "W-What do you mean…?" Draco whispered. The mediwizard looked away from the pained parents as he said, "Usually I would place a strong numbing charm on the mother, then allow her to choose a natural birth or a cesarean section. But Astoria's too weak…and it's far too dangerous." Astoria let out a scream of excruciating pain. Draco kissed her cheek, rubbing her hand with his thumb. He felt incredibly nervous—he regretted to admit to himself that he hadn't felt this nervous about anything since the time he'd held the world's greatest wizard under the mercy of his wand….
The mediwizards all agreed that Draco couldn't be in the room at the time of the birth. It simply wouldn't help things and could possibly worry Astoria even more, thus complicating things. "Before you leave, young Mr. Malfoy," the typical mediwizard said. "We need to decide…er…if things should…well…I'm only trying to find the right words for this….If things go wrong, and only one can be saved…which…"
"Save the baby!" Astoria gasped from the bed as she grasped Draco's hand firmly. His eyes filled with tears in an instant. "A-Astoria…." he softly whimpered. She shook her head, letting out another shriek of terrible pain. "P-Please…let my baby…please save it…" A horrid churning sensation rose in Draco's stomach. He kissed his wife one more time before bidding her goodbye for what might've been the very last time.
He waited in the small hallway right outside the bedroom door. The time passing felt like absolute hours; Astoria's piercing screams and the doctors' shouts made him feel even worse. Birth was going to be extremely hard on her body. Did he really want to lose the love of his life, his destined soulmate, in exchange for a child that he'd never met and would eternally remind him of her? But it was Astoria's choice—she was the mother. He couldn't deny her or else her emotions could weaken her body further. All Draco Malfoy could do was stand by the door, listening to shrieks that sounded like she was being excruciatingly tortured, praying and crying and feeling completely helpless.
Finally, finally the screaming stopped and was replaced by a wailing baby. It took even longer for the bedroom door to creak open and a mediwizard to timidly step out. "Mr. Malfoy, sir," he said as he bowed respectfully. "Congratulations—you are a father. Draco felt a small relief that the baby was alright, but he couldn't stop the next question from flying out of his mouth. "But am I still a husband?" he asked quickly. The man looked down at his little shoes. "Well…for now you are. But I don't exactly know…if…er…She's doing better now, sir. Better than when she was in labor. But it's still a little uncertain as to what the outcome will be. We're taking god care of her though—she should be getting a little more vital every hour we're with her if things go smoothly. You may come in now if you'd like to see your newest little Malfoy." Draco broke out into a cold sweat. Astoria was alright for now, but there was still that chance…. He nodded and followed the mediwizard back into the room.
It wasn't that Draco didn't care about the baby—he just was too stressed about Astoria's condition to really be able to feel overjoyed at the fact that he was a new father. He didn't want to be a single father. But as soon as he peered over the side of a warm little incubator that was obviously conjured by one of the little men, all of his worries were momentarily dispelled. He truly had a perfect child. One of the mediwizards patted him on the back. "It's a boy," he murmured. Draco grinned. A baby boy. An heir. Astoria had done such a good job—the child clearly reflected her beauty even at just seven minutes old. Tears flooded Draco's eyes. "He's…he's…" The mediwizard laughed. "It's alright to feel emotional, Mr. Malfoy. All parents do at this particular moment." he offered. Draco reached out to touch the soft little bundle that was still wailing. His fingertip was almost the size of its cheek. "So tiny…" he whispered. The men nodded. "He's a little preemie. Lucky to be alive too. We had quite a time trying to get him out of the mother safely—it appeared that her water broke and she was having contractions, but the baby himself wouldn't make his way out of the birth canal. With no magic, this was quite a difficult operation. But he's alright now; oxygen's restored, blood is circulating. He's just very low in weight—he'll be a tiny little thing when he grows up."
"Does he…does he have the curse?"
"Have Astoria's Dark curse? We can't be sure yet. It usually takes seven years for magic to become evident in a child, so around his seventh birthday we'll be seeing signs of her symptoms if it was for some odd reason passed down."
"May I…"
"Of course, of course! Let the new father hold his baby boy,"
One mediwizard put the incredibly small bundle into Draco's open arms. They went to Astoria's bedside to give the two some bonding time. The baby wailed. "Shh…don't cry. Daddy's here, don't cry. Shhh…are you worrying about Mummy too? Listen, if anything happens to her, I'll always be able to tell you forever that she gave her own life for you. Did you know that? Mummy told the doctors that if she…if there was a problem, she wanted them…to…save you instead of her." Draco let the tears fall again. The little baby had quieted down, but was squeezing his small eyes closed against the lights. Draco heaved a big sob. "D-Did you get to meet Mummy yet?" he sniffled. "She's very beautiful. You already look like her. Why don't you go see her right now, alright?" Draco slowly carried the small bundle (just as Narcissa had previously shown him how, using a doll wrapped in a towel) over to the bed where his weak wife lay.
Astoria looked disheveled—almost as disheveled as when he'd first seen her on the streets of Diagon Alley. Her breathing was ragged, her face covered in sweat, her face paled beyond white. She couldn't keep her eyes open as she gasped for air. "This is your beautiful Mummy," Draco whispered to the baby. Astoria ever so slightly turned her head towards the sound of his voice. "She's responsive," a mediwizard muttered to the others. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, she raised her arm so that her fingers brushed against Draco's arm. "Senses are returning," they congregated. She waved her hand up once more. Draco bent down and placed a soft kiss on her fingers.
"She's trying to open her eyes,"
Astoria's eyelids fluttered, reveling her gorgeous blue eyes briefly. They were swimming with tears.
"Her motor skills are fading,"
She tried to lace her fingers into Draco's, but kept missing weakly.
"Breathing is constricted now…"
Draco moved his arm down a little so that when Astoria brought her hand up once more, her fingers gently touched the baby's cheek. "It's him," Draco whispered into her ear. "It's our little boy,"
"Heart rate is decreasing…"
A flicker of a smile flashed across Astoria's hallowed face ever so briefly. The tears welled in her husband's eyes again. He asked if she wanted to name him.
"We're losing her, we're losing her!"
Astoria's head lolled to one side as her final moments drew nearer. Draco felt like throwing up. The baby wailed. The doctors all rushed to her side, pushing potions into her veins, dragging camp cloths across her forehead, checking her pulse. One looked at Draco directly. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion.
"Say your goodbyes, Mr. Malfoy…"
And then suddenly, it hit him. Love. Love and happiness revived her from the depression and degeneration of the Dark curse. Draco threw himself onto the bed with her, the baby screaming in confused terror, and kissed her on the lips as passionately as he could. He also reached down and grabbed her frail hand, moving it up and wrapping it around the extremely small hand of their baby.
"She's turned her head!"
Astoria shifted slightly to meet Draco's lips more firmly. Her fingers tightened a fraction around her baby's hand.
"Breathing is deepening!"
Draco broke the kiss but kept his forehead pressed to hers. "I love you so much. You are my world." he whispered to her and her alone.
"She's opening her eyes now…slowly…!"
Astoria's blue eyes looked hazily into her husband's. She wasn't entirely alert yet, but it sure was a start. Draco smiled at her, feeling the strength returning only a little bit. He pressed their little child against her breast. "He's ours," he whispered. "Look at how beautiful he is." Astoria didn't take her eyes off of Draco. But she did reach up and touch the bundle again. By this time, the baby had stopped crying at the contact of his mother and was instead making normal infant babbles.
"Someone get a hold of the parents and the in-laws!"
Draco grinned now, knowing that Astoria was going to be alright. His parents were coming, her brother and sister and parents were coming, and she had her own little family snuggled up beside her. It was going to be alright. They were in the clear now. She could do this. Draco could do this.
"The women just said they're Apparating because they can't wait!"
The flicker of a smile flashed across Astoria's beautiful pink lips again. Draco laughed. "They're all coming to see our perfect child," he told her quietly amid the chaos of so many people rushing into the house at once, and the mediwizards being extremely flustered. Astoria reached up and put her index finger on Draco's chest weakly. She then moved it down onto the baby's soft blanket. "The baby? Yes, he's a boy like me. That's right, Astoria." Draco murmured. She repeated her motions. Apparently, that wasn't what she'd meant. "He looks like me?" Draco attempted. Astoria repeated again, but this time, she flexed her fingers into the air after pointing. "Name?" Draco guessed, delighting in seeing her breathe a sigh of relief. "You want me to name him? Are you telling me to give him a name, Astoria?" The girl nodded, the smile flashing again. "Your family tradition or mine? Which do you want, Astoria?" Draco made sure he was speaking slowly and clearly to her so she wouldn't be overwhelmed. She put her index finger on his chest. "Mine," he breathed. "Alright…alright, my family tradition. Stars, Astoria. Stars and constellations in the night sky. He should be named something that means strong and smart—because his Mummy is both of those things. How about…how about Moon?" Draco teased, laughing when Astoria's smile remained on her face. "No Moon. How about…Little Dipper?" This time, he earned a breathy giggle. Overwhelmed with joy, Draco laughed. "I'm only kidding. Right then…what about…" he looked down into his newborn's face—the boy was just beginning to open his eyes ever so slightly. Silver eyes. He had silver eyes. "What about Scorpius?" Draco suggested. To his even greater delight, Astoria raised both hands and weakly clapped them together three times. She approved. "Scorpius Malfoy. I love it." Draco said thoughtfully. Astoria leaned her head back again, closing her eyes. "S-S…S-Scor…pius…" she breathed almost inaudibly. Her husband gasped. She'd spoken. Her strength was returning—she was going to be alright. Just then, the bedroom door burst open. Daphne, Mrs. Greengrass, and Narcissa shoved in, all wanting to be first, and beamed at the sight of their children and grandchild.
The peaceful silence only lasted for about five seconds, because immediately the women bustled around them, pulling out bags and summoning things out of midair. Baby things. Bibs, blankets, clothes, stuffed animals—everything for a child that was so premature he hadn't even opened his eyes to see them. Narcissa immediately removed the standard blue cap from the doctors and replaced it with a hand-knitted one that was plushy and fuzzy. "Look how cute he is!" she cooed to the others, who all agreed. Draco wrapped his arms tighter around his little son, smiling but feeling a bit claustrophobic. "Mother…" he mumbled, trying to free himself of the big kiss she was planting on his cheek.
Bazel, Mr. Greengrass, and Lucius stepped in next, much calmer than the bouncing women but excitement gleaming in their eyes. "What a good-looking young man," Mr. Greengrass laughed. Astoria was shaking from fatigue, but stayed conscious during the ordeal. Lucius patted Draco's shoulder. He gave him a proud nod and a smile. Bazel, however, seemed to be the calmest. No wonder he was a friend of the Granger. "I hope you have chosen a suitable name for the child—his looks, his inherited logic, his struggle. Does the baby have a name yet?" he said, immediately causing everyone to silence. Draco nodded as he rocked the child.
"S-S…Scorpius…"
Everyone looked from Draco to the baby, not believing what they'd just heard. But the faint voice belonged to the mother. Astoria had turned her head to look at them all, her eyes drooping (as if just that whisper took an incredible amount of energy from her). They all looked around, tears on every cheek of every person, including the doctors. Astoria gasped weakly, reached blindly for her husband's arm. She smiled briefly at her loving family. Bazel nodded approvingly. Lucius wrapped a bawling Narcissa into his arms. Daphne squealed about being an aunt. Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass expressed their love of the selection. Draco felt tears pouring down his cheeks as he looked at his wife. "I am so proud of you," he whispered into her ear. "I get more and more proud of you every single day we're together. And every single day, I fall in love with you even more." Astoria smiled. He moved her arms and supported them with his own, placing baby Scorpius into them so the mother could hold her baby for the first time.