This is the second-to-last chapter! Just one more and this story will be finished. I'm thinking about doing a sequel, though - maybe one that covers Scorpius's time at Hogwarts...? Let me know what you think about that. Details coming in the next chapter. ALSO: there may be some triggering events in this one. If you feel uncomfortable, please stop reading and just wait til the next part which will be updated tomorrow. I do apologize but I feel it was essential to move the story. Please enjoy!

The mediwizard strode into the sitting room. Draco rose the moment he saw him, prepared to have a discussion that concerned only adults—Scorpius was sent to play outside. "Young Mr. Malfoy," the little man greeted. Draco offered him a seat. Once situated, he leaned forward to talk. "I've just done a scan on her." said the doctor. "Everything seems to be doing very well. Her heartbeat sounds good, she has full control of her muscles, her bones are strengthening—all wonderful progress. You should be very proud; you truly helped in her recovery." Draco smiled and nodded a thanks to his family's doctor. "Thank you, sir. I just wanted her to be better."

"And she's done very well indeed. Scorpius is ten now? That means she's progressed even further than I'd calculated in the past."

"I'm glad to hear that it's only getting better from here, sir."

"But,"

"B-But?"

The mediwizard suddenly turned solemn. Draco tried not to look too nervous, but what could there possibly be wrong with Astoria now that she was so much healthier? "The scan revealed something else." the mediwizard said. "I've been doing my job for fifty-four years, and not once has my wand ever failed me. I'm certain about this. But…Astoria has conceived again." Draco didn't gasp. He didn't panic. He just sat stone-still at the impact those words had upon him. "She's…p-pregnant again…" he murmured, more to himself than to the doctor. But the man nodded anyway. "Please don't fear, young Mr. Malfoy. I'm confident about this time. She's so much healthier and so much physically stronger that there shouldn't be any complications. For once, she may actually get to birth like a normal woman." Draco rubbed his hands together nervously. "D-Does she know?" he asked quietly. Again, another nod. The mediwizard stood up, patted Draco's shoulder, and sighed. "Be joyful about this one. There really is nothing to fear." He gave a small smile, then Disapparated.

The young blonde stood up, walking slowly into the bedroom he shared with his wife. He himself was rather elated to hear that Scorpius would have a little sibling—he just didn't know how Astoria would take it. He found her lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with her hands on her stomach. Despite his concern, he smiled. Draco lay down on the bed beside her, putting his hands over hers and pulling her close. He breathed in the soft scent of her hair. Astoria sighed. "…We've got to get better at planning these pregnancies." she said with a slight giggle. "Why?" Draco asked. "I can't help it when I see you looking so beautiful all the time…" He placed a soft kiss on her jawline, this time earning a grin. His wife turned to face him. "Maybe Mother will finally get her granddaughter." she said.

"And Scorpius will have a sibling,"

"What do you hope it is—a boy or a girl?"

"I hope…it's a girl. Then maybe your mum will be satisfied with me."

"She's satisfied with you now! She just always compares you to Bazel because he's her own. You know how that is."

"Ever since he got out of St. Mungo's he's been closer to her."

"Because she just pulls his leash tighter, that's all."

The two shared a laugh. Draco kissed her cheek again, looking into her eyes. "I honestly love you so much." he whispered. Astoria stroked his cheek. "I love you with all that I am." she replied.

That day, they called Scorpius into the sitting room and sat him down across from them. "Darling," Astoria began. "We have some very big news for you. It means change, but it will be for the better—and I think you'll really like this surprise." Scorpius's eyes lit up at the word 'surprise'. He eagerly looked between his mother and father. Even though he was ten, he still was about the size of a seven- or eight-year-old. Sometimes he acted like it too—since he was born early, his development was a little behind as well. He never threw tantrums or fits, he just liked to be cuddled, he liked collecting stuffed animals, and he had to be on a set daily schedule or else he couldn't handle himself. Draco grinned at his excitement. "Mummy and I have a present for you. But you're going to have to wait a few more months to get it. It's very special." he said. Astoria took his hand. "You're going to have a sibling," she whispered.

The look on Scorpius's face was complete shock, confusion, and elation all at once. He grinned widely, showing all of the recently lost teeth. "A sibling?! Is it a brother or a sister? When will I get to meet them? Can they sleep in my room? Will they have toys?" he rattled off questions at a mile a minute. His parents laughed together. "Don't worry, darling. We'll get everything sorted out. You'll be able to meet your sibling around June—that's only six months from now. Are you excited or nervous?" Draco asked. Scorpius hopped up and down on the pillows of the sofa, squealing so enthusiastically that he didn't hear the question. Astoria looked sideways at her husband. "I think I know the answer." she winked.

Scorpius never diverted a conversation away from the topic of the new baby. He ecstatically told both sets of grandparents of all the games he'd play with it, how much he loved it already, and what he wished it would be like. Narcissa and Lucius reveled in his excitement—he'd never had another child to play with his entire life, and they'd always felt responsible for it. Because of his last name, no parents would ever attempt to schedule a playdate with him or let their offspring get close. Scorpius didn't know. But Narcissa and Lucius always privately discussed it. Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass were also pleased to listen to the little boy's enthusiasm. But Mrs. Greengrass never missed an opportunity to instill a hope him that it would be a girl, nor did she ever forget to tell him that his parents were a little late in having another child.

Astoria was perfectly healthy during the first and second trimesters. Both she and Draco were eager to have the child so that Scorpius would see what having a sibling was like (and also to get Mrs. Greengrass to stop being picky). However, in Astoria's seventh month of pregnancy once again, she needed to be suddenly hospitalized. It was late one night, Draco holding her close with his hands feeling her swelling stomach, when she reached over to him abruptly. Something was constricting her airways. She was literally suffocating. Draco did everything he could—including screaming for Scorpius to firecall a doctor, while he attempted CPR upon his wife. When nothing was working, Draco used Side-Along-Apparition to transport all of them to St. Mungo's immediately.

The wait was long and agonizing. Draco paced in the waiting room, Scorpius sat in a chair and hugged Scruffy (whom he'd brought along). Two hours. Once the time passed, a healer came out and informed the pair that Astoria would need to spend the night in order for the mediwizards to do their jobs sufficiently. Draco only felt worse. He took Scorpius's tiny hand and Apparated them home. They didn't say much—there wasn't anything to really converse about. Both were extremely distraught. Once in the little cottage, Draco led his son into the nursery. He pulled the covers up to his chin, kissing his cheek, and asking if he was alright. Scorpius nodded. He never let go of that green Pygmy Puff.

Draco went back to his empty bedchambers. It pained him to imagine sleeping alone—something he hadn't done since before Scorpius was born. He flicked his wand, immediately being magically changed into his pajamas again. Draco lay in the lonely bed. No amount of covers made him feel warm. Nothing was softer than Astoria's skin. Without realizing exactly what he was doing, Draco began to cry. Why did this always happen to them during such happy times? How come Astoria couldn't have something come easy for once in her life? Why couldn't Draco just get away from Dark magic?

"Daddy,"

At first, he'd thought he'd imagined it. Scorpius never ever entered their bedroom—what would make him start now, especially since his mother was gone? Draco turned over and sat up. Scorpius was standing beside the bed in his little nightshirt, still clutching Scruffy close. He looked sad, scared. Draco rubbed his face on his sleeve. "Darling?" he asked, trying not to sound strained. "What's the matter?"

"Can I sleep here?" Scorpius asked innocently. This was new—he never asked to be in the same bed as his parents. He always tried to make them proud of his bravery in sleeping alone. But something was different. Draco nodded silently, moving over to allow his tiny son to slip in, murmuring a small "Thank you," Several silent minutes passed. Scruffy crawled to the pillow and balled up near their heads. Draco wrapped his arms around his son. Scorpius wriggled until he found his father's hand, taking it, and whispered, "It's alright, Daddy—I was crying too." Tears stung Draco's eyes. He hugged Scorpius. "I'm just so worried about her….why does she never get to be happy?!" he sobbed. Scorpius squeezed his hand. "The bad magic makes her sick, Daddy."

"But we've done everything we could—even the doctor said this time would be easier!"

"The curse is just getting stronger."

He was right. Little Scorpius was so right. Draco hugged him even closer, knowing that the Dark magic was getting frustrated at Astoria's resilience; it was strengthening itself to fight her. Scorpius sniffled a bit, burying his face into the pillow so he wouldn't be seen crying. "I just want the curse to go away…" he whimpered. Draco felt his whole body lurch. Scorpius had never been this upset about anything. And this was all Draco's fault. If he hadn't gotten her pregnant, then she wouldn't be in St. Mungo's. Why couldn't he just do anything right? He kissed the top of Scorpius's head. "Me too, my darling."

In the morning, Draco brought Scorpius back to the hospital, where they were greeted with bad news. Astoria had lost the baby. Scorpius wore an expression of nothing but horror—he wouldn't speak to anyone. Lucius and Narcissa arrived to console the family first, just minutes before the Greengrasses arrived. Daphne even brought her fiancé Theodore Nott with her. Mrs. Greengrass was sobbing hysterically before going into Astoria's room—she was about to enter dramatically. As soon her she put her hand on the doorknob, Lucius grabbed her shoulder. "You say one hurtful or disappointed thing to my daughter-in-law, and I'll personally ensure that you never see her or her son ever again, do you understand?" he growled, knowing that Mrs. Greengrass would express her letdown at losing what could've been her first granddaughter. The woman stopped her sobbing to nod fearfully.

When the Greengrass family exited the room, they were silent. Bazel drew in a deep breath to say something, but changed his mind and instead pursed his lips. Lucius and Narcissa went in next. They exited just as solemn. It made Draco feel a bit better that his father had fought for Astoria like that; he knew that over the years, Lucius had accepted her, but seeing him act so nobly on her behalf was different, a good different. Draco brought Scorpius in with him.

Astoria was sitting up in bed, staring out the window. She was pale. Dead pale. Draco sat with her, taking her hand lovingly. "My love," he whispered. She didn't move. "…T-This is all my fault…" he broke down into sobs. Scorpius let silent tears fall from behind him. Astoria turned her head slightly to look at them. An incredibly long pause ensued.

"…I-I'm…so sorry…"

Both boys glanced up through tearful eyes. She had apologized. Why? She hadn't done anything wrong. Draco squeezed her hand. "No. No, darling…please don't blame yourself. No, none of it was your—"

"I disappointed y-you…"

"No, Astoria. It was beyond your control. It honestly was. You were doing so well and even the doctor noticed. He said you were ready! The only thing that happened was—"

"The curse got stronger on its own."

The adults whipped their heads over to Scorpius, who was the owner of the last spoken sentence. Neither expected him to just come out and say that—he'd been so quiet all this time. Draco nodded. "Yes…yes, Scorpius that's right….see, Astoria? Even S-Scorpius saw it….it's not your fault…." With that, Scorpius crawled onto the bed beside his mother, curling up close to her as he held his father's hand. "It's trying to defeat you, Mummy." he whispered. "But you're stronger than it." Astoria couldn't help but feel shocked at her son's honesty. They'd never really spoken about her curse around him, especially not to him, because they didn't want him worrying about her condition constantly. Yet somehow he understood it. He knew. Astoria reached down and stroked his silky hair. "I-I won't let it…defeat me, baby." she whispered. The door opened, and both sets of families entered together. They all wanted to give Astoria every ounce of love they could. Narcissa noted to her son how the girl was reacting to Scorpius—her expressed tenderness—and told him that when she and Lucius went in, Astoria wasn't even speaking a word to anyone. Draco then realized that it was up to him and his own son to heal her again, except this time it would be easier, because Scorpius finally understood.