I own nothing but the plot to this ship. The world I sail it in is not mine. All credit to J.K for letting us sail in her ocean.

Music speaks to my muse.
This chapters song was: Terrible Love, The Nationals (Alternative Version)
Lyric of choice: It takes an ocean not to break.

Grammarly is my Beta: 7-17

Charmed to You

Chapter 35
Three words

Hermione looked up smiling as her mother in law bustled around the room. She had not stopped moving since the baby had finally arrived. A good thirty minutes after they had exited the Nott's vault. Hermione was clean, in a new nightgown, on a now clean bed, and holding her beautiful baby girl to her breast as she suckled sleepily.

The healer had pronounced her and the baby healthy and rushed back to the hospital. Draco was taking a walk, Hermione figured the poor man deserved it. He had gone above and beyond what any pureblood wizard was expected to do while their wife was in labor. Narcissa had confided that Lucius had just come in to check on her twice and then came back to kiss her goodnight after she had given birth.

Hermione had shaken her head, knowing that if Draco had tried anything like that, she would have throttled him. It had been a rather spectacular fight, actually, when she had told him that she expected him to be there when she was in labor. However, one night speaking with her parents, where her father had assured Draco that Muggle men were not afraid of the delivery room, had changed his perspective. The next week when she had told him about the Muggle birthing classes and he had nodded and shown up for every single one with only a small fight. And thank goodness too! Draco had been so calm when everything was going to pot in that dungeon.

She looked up as Draco came back in with her parents and smiled.

He nodded at her, "I went to fetch them, are you okay? How is she?"

Hermione sighed and let him kiss her gently before he took a chair and rubbed his daughter's soft white blond curls. She had a full head of hair on her that was the exact color of her daddy's.

"She's fine, Draco," Hermione assured him before turning to smile at her parents.

The Grandparents didn't stay long though because they could see the new family was tired. Draco crawled into the bed and cuddled his wife, who was refusing to let go of her now sleeping daughter.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Draco asked worriedly.

Hermione nodded snuggling into him. "Yes, I am fine. She's beautiful isn't she?"

Draco grinned down at their daughter and played with a small baby curl. "She's loud."

Hermione smirked. "Well, she had a bit of an adventure today, didn't she?"

Draco grunted. "That's one way of putting it. Trust your daughter to come early, Hermione."

Hermione laughed and snuggled in deeper to her husband's chest. "What should we name her?"

Draco frowned; this was something they had absolutely not been able to agree upon, a name. And since Draco had been so sure it was a boy they hadn't even discussed girls names.

Hermione laughed and then said. "Should we stick to constellations and stars? Or should we look outside of the heavens?"

She heard his chuckle and then said. "I think we should name her Honor."

Hermione paused and then tilted her head. "Why?"

Her husband paused. "Because it's going to be everyone's immense Honor to know her."

Hermione giggled and shook her head. "I like that."

They were silent both thinking.

Finally, Hermione said softly. "She was probably conceived in France you know, that weekend we went back over the summer. I just, felt something that night, like the world had shifted somehow."

Draco looked down and met her eyes and then gave a slow nod, swallowing down emotion. "So a French name maybe?"

Hermione sighed. "What about Esme?"

Draco stroked a finger down his daughter's full rosy cheek. "Esme? What does it mean?"

Hermione smiled looking down at their baby girl. "It's French, and it means beloved, esteemed, and emerald."

Draco's eyes widened. "Emerald?"

Hermione shrugged lightly and then grinned at him. "Yes, I had a baby book I was reading and the name is associated with emeralds. Do you like it?"

Draco nodded slowly looking down at their daughter again. "Is it spelled with a 's' or a 'z'?"

Hermione sighed happily. "A 's'. It's spelled, E. S. M. E."

Draco nodded and then said. "Honorem Esme Malfoy," he said firmly.

Hermione's eyes widened and then she gave him a brilliant smile and he felt his ring burn with happiness. "Honor Malfoy, I love it."

Draco leaned down and whispered slowly. "And I love you."

Hermione gasped and turned to look at him her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Draco I love you too, so much."

Draco nodded and she didn't mention that his eyes looked to be tearing up. "But if you ever disobey me and wander off when pregnant again-" he said his tone hard leaving his threat unfinished as his eyes flashed annoyance.

Hermione felt a giggle bubble up her throat and then shook her head going soft in his arms. "I am sorry," she said, not sounding at all sorry, "and I love you very much for not yelling at me for that."

Draco gave a long suffering sigh. "You were in labor."

She nodded and bit her lip smiling. "Yes I was, and very scared, and you came in and saved the day!"

Draco grunted and kissed her soundly. "Good, and don't you forget it."

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes leaning back into his chest. "Will you take us to see Pansy tomorrow?"

Draco grunted and rubbed his hand along her arm as he held her. "No."

Hermione sat up annoyed, but then sank back when she saw him smirking. "She is here isn't she?"

Draco chuckled. "She is, I set her up in the guest suite just down the hall. Father escorted her mother to Azkaban himself. I am going to make sure it takes a bit for her to go on trial so she can sit there and stew until Pansy is recovered."

Hermione smiled and closed her eyes hugging her daughter closer. "I love when you go all Slytherin on me Draco Malfoy."

He snorted. "I am not so in love with how Gryffindor you acted today Hermione Malfoy. Half the time my ring was burning with your need for justice and your righteous anger when you should have been worrying about your safety!"

Hermione laughed softly. "I love you Draco," she whispered cuddling into him and not touching that land mind of a sentence. Her Gryffindor bravery had served her just fine, thank you very much!

Draco didn't tell her he loved her back just that moment, but that was okay with Hermione because she peeked her eyes open and saw that he was lost staring at their beautiful daughter with a look of such devotion that it quite took her breath away. Plus, she had faith that he would tell her he loved her again, she just had to scare him a bit. Easy enough to do.

She chuckled and heard him shushing her. "Stop thinking of ways to torment your husband and go to sleep."

Hermione snorted a giggle. "How did you know that is what I was doing?"

He grunted. "You are only ever that happy when you are thinking of ways to torment me."

Hermione sighed. "Not true Draco Malfoy, you make me this happy all the time."

Draco grinned and watched his wife fall asleep, and he didn't even mind when she let out a soft snore. Instead, he cuddled back against the headboard and watched his girls sleep, they deserved a rest, it had been a crazy day.

OoOOooOOooOOooOOoO

The next few weeks were busy and lazy at the same time. To Hermione's great surprise Draco took three months off of work. When she burst into tears when he told her he held her in confusion.

"Is that not okay?" He asked curiously.

Hermione hit him as she wiped her tears. "No it's wonderful, completely lovely, and I love you for doing it. It's just, hormones still."

Draco wisely didn't comment on that and took the baby to go and change her nappy while Hermione had a nap.

He spent as much time with his baby daughter as he could; although that meant he was fighting for her between two sets of grandparents, Niffy, Pansy, and Ginny. Hell, he even had to share his daughter with Gregory Goyle who seemed to think that because Ginny had been named the Godmother he was by default also her Godfather. Draco didn't mind that too much because it meant her actual Godfather, Harry 'bloody' Potter, almost never got a chance to hold her.

Having so much help, however, did mean there was an added bonus to his paternity leave, he was able to spend a lot of time with his wife.

They were sitting outside in the late spring sunshine watching Niffy walk and talk to Honorem who was swaddled up tight in the elf's arms when he let out a long sigh. "I love you."

Hermione looked up and smiled at him before she cuddled into him and then laughed. "I know you do you silly man. Is it really so hard to say?"

Draco frowned as he thought about that. "I suppose it must be or I would say it all the bloody time."

Hermione giggled and hugged him about his waist. "I love you and I might not say it every hour but I think it at least once or twice."

Draco smirked looking rather pleased with this information. "Shame to not just say it then."

Hermione pinched him, his tone really was rather obnoxious, but then she laughed and leaned up to kiss him. "I love you, every hour of every day you great big prat of a man."

Draco kissed her back but frowned. "Prat? Tisk tisk. I happen to love you every minute of every hour of every day and think you are perfectly wonderful."

Hermione sighed and kissed him not objecting when she felt the strong tug of apparition pulling at her. Niffy, after all, would never allow anything to happen with Honorem and she had just been fed. Who would mind if she spent a glorious hour locked in the arms of her husband?

Pansy, however, would spend all of dinner that night teasing them about forgetting to cast a silencing charm.

Neither Draco or Hermione found that they particularly cared. Pansy, Draco told her, in his most obnoxious tone, was just jealous.

Notes:

I do love Draco with his line about why he names his daughter 'Honor', it's just so prattish. Of course, he would think it's everyone's honor to meet his daughter.

Cjean