I know it's been forever since I've updated! I've been incredibly busy with a school play recently. BUT, I'm back! :)
I hope you all enjoy my take on the next prompt for xXKissingSinXx's 100 Prompt Challenge.
There's a bit of a Taylor Swift song at the end, Never Grow Up, which I do not own. I recommend checking it out. It's cute and sweet, and so touching. It made me cry!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling never replies to my pleas for ownership. *sigh*
Five year-old, blond-haired, stormy grey-eyed Scorpius awoke with a start on an early Autumn morning. Darkness still covered the sky, and one star shone brightly outside his window. He had heard a scream. His mother's scream.
He jumped out of his bed, nearly falling on his face when his feet became entangled in his Wimborne Wasps Quidditch sheets. There it was again.
"Aaaaaagggghhhh!"
The little tike scrambled from his room and sprinted down the hall. Panic rose in his tiny chest as he made his way through the Manor's wide hallway to his parents bedroom.
"Mummy! Mummy!" he burst through the door, fear evident in his features.
His dad rushed from one side to the other, his hands grasping his own blond hair between his fingers in between throwing items into a bag. Scorpius, looking like a clone of his father at age five, didn't have a clue what to do.
"Draaacoooo! Hurry up! I don't know how much more of this I can take! I told you to pack my bag weeks ago, but do you listen to me? Of course not!" his eyes moved to his mother who sat on the edge of the bed, hands clutched over her engorged stomach, breaths coming in pants.
He ran over to her side and took her much larger hands in his tiny ones, "Mummy, what's wrong? The baby is okay, right? You're okay, too? Aren't you?" worry was written all over his face.
Astoria smiled tightly, "Oh, yes, Scorp. We're both just fine. Do you remember when Daddy and I told you there were a few more weeks until the baby would come?" her son nodded quickly, and she continued, "Well, honey, it seems we don't have that much time. Aagghhh! The-the baby is coming right now…"
Scorpius' eyes went wide, and gasped in disbelief, "Right now?"
Draco zipped up the bag as he rushed to his growing family's side, "That's right, son. You're going to have a little brother or sister soon," the small lad bounced up and down with joy at the news.
He grabbed his father's hand, tugging anxiously with all his might, "Let's go, let's go! Mummy's got to get to the hopsicle! Come onnnnn!"
His parents chuckled, Astoria sucking in a breath afterward and letting out another pained scream.
Draco handed Scorpius the green velvet bag and picked up his wife bridal style, "To the fireplace, Scorp. Stay with me. Don't fall behind."
They briskly walked through the Manor to their living room and into the elaborately decorated fireplace. Draco made sure his son was inside with him before instructing him to grab a handful of floo powder.
"Now, Scorp, throw it down forcefully. Just like I taught you. Don't be scared," bright green flames engulfed them, and Draco shouted their destination, "St. Mungo's!"
Seconds later, the family clamored out of one of the many fireplaces in the waiting room of the wizard hospital. Witches and wizards bustled about, sat in chairs looking rather bored, and read various magazines and newspapers. No one took any notice of the frantic family.
"My mum is having a baby!" Scorpius shouted to the first MediWitch he saw. Upon hearing this, several others rushed over to them, and Astoria was whisked away.
"Where, where are they t-taking her?" the lad looked to and fro trying to find his mother.
Draco bent down and put a hand on his son's shoulder, "She's in the delivery room. That's where your brother or sister will be born. Normally, I would be in there with Mummy, but because it's short notice, and the baby is coming so suddenly, the MediWitches and MediWizards need to be alone to make sure nothing goes wrong. It'll all be okay, son."
Scorpius fidgeted like crazy, bouncing around and moving every few seconds, "How long is this going to take? I want to see my little sister!"
Draco looked at him curiously, "How do you know it's a girl?"
He grinned and shrugged, "I just know! I'm gonna have a little sister, and she's going to be the cutest, most wonderfulest, specialest sister in the whole wide world!"
The older blond smiled lovingly down at his son. He had such a perfect family. He had a beautiful wife whom he loved very much and whom loved him all the same, no matter his moods. After vowing to never let his own children have a childhood like his own, he spent all the time he could with Scorpius teaching him to read, and teaching him to fly on his child-size training broom, and reading to him every night until he fell asleep.
When Astoria told him she was expecting again, Draco's heart leapt with excitement. He was ready to go through the whole experience again. Secretly, he hoped Scorp was right, and it turned out to be a girl. They had made the decision early on in the pregnancy to wait until the actual labor to find out the sex of the baby. Now, Draco was wishing he would have talked Astoria out of it. The wait was killing him! He had always wanted a daughter, a precious angel to always be his baby girl no matter what.
Two hours of excruciating labor went by like months for Astoria, but soon enough, the Malfoy family welcomed a new member into the world.
Draco struggled to keep up with an ecstatic Scorpius as he bolted through the corridors of St. Mungo's and into his mother's room. Astoria lay on the bed, hair sticking to her neck, eyes tired, muscles sore, and head dizzy, but happy nonetheless. In her arms was a little bundle wrapped in a soft, pink blanket.
"I told you it was a girl, Daddy!" Scorpius cried before he was shushed by his parents.
"You've got to be quiet, son. Your little sister is very sensitive to light and sound, and you don't want to wake her up. She might start crying."
"She's already awake, darling. I think someone wants to see you both," Astoria said while making silly faces into the blanket and receiving gurgled giggles.
The tyke nodded his understanding to his dad before tiptoeing to his mum's bedside and peering into the blanket.
Inside was a cute, round face with bright blue eyes staring straight at him. Her fine, strawberry blond hair peeked out from under the blanket. Draco stood next to his son, one hand on Astoria's shoulder. His other hand was occupied by his daughter clutching onto his ring finger with both tiny appendages.
"Welcome to the world, Lyra Zamia Malfoy," Draco's voice caught in his throat, the emotion of seeing his daughter for the first time overtaking him.
Astoria sighed with joy, "She's beautiful, isn't she, Scorp? Do you love you sister? She loves you very much, I assure you."
Scorpius touched her cheek with the weight of a feather, his voice was a stage whisper, "She's so pretty! She's got your hair color, too! I love her already, Mama. Can I call her Mia?"
Draco looked to his wife who chuckled tiredly, "You can call her whatever you wish for now, but when she gets old enough, you'll call her what she desires to be called. Lyra Zamia Malfoy will surely be a handful. She's already needed feeding twice, changing three times, and she adores attention. But, strangely enough, she barely cries."
Scorpius crawled into one of the chairs next to the bed and gave his mother a hug, "We did good," he stated before yawning and leaning back in the chair.
Laughing, Draco ruffled his son's hair, "We sure did. She's beautiful. Come on, Scorp. Let's get you back home so you can sleep. You woke up pretty early, and don't you tell me you aren't tired. I saw that yawn," he smirked at the replica of himself before picking him up, "Oh, you're getting heavy."
"Growing up so fast, he is," Astoria smiled, "We'll be here when you get back. I love you, my Scorpion. And you as well, my Dragon."
Giving both of the women in their lives their love, they flooed back to the Manor where Draco made sure Scorpius was fast asleep. His son's personal, devoted house elf, Piper, promised to watch him while Draco went back to the hospital.
As soon as he returned, he found his wife asleep. She had been through a lot, and she still looked beautiful to the blond wizard. He would never love anyone more than his own family.
If only his mother were here to see this. She would never believe it. A girl born to a Malfoy! Sure, his first born had still been a boy, as was tradition, but his mother always told him she wanted a granddaughter to shower with affection and dress up in frilly clothes and watch as she blossomed into a strong, confident young woman. It hurt his heart to know that she would never be able to do so.
Draco scooped up his squirming daughter and moved to a seat by the window. Looking out into the lightening sky, he sighed. Mia was getting fussy, whimpering and wiggling where she lay in the crook of his arms. The proud father shifted her to lean against his chest as he sunk down in the chair and sighed.
This little miracle he called his daughter yawned and stretched. He rubbed gentle circles into her back, humming a melody. As he thought about all the blessings he had had in his life, all the things he had been through with the War, all of the wrong choices he made, he couldn't help but wish for a better life for his kids.
His breathing deepened as he relaxed. Holding his child came easily to him, like he was always meant to help bring her into the world, to raise her. Draco quietly sang a song he had written just for his youngest child:
"Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, just stay this little,
Oh darling, don't you ever grow up,
Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple,
I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart,
And no one will desert you,
Just try to never grow up, never grow up."
The sun peaked over the horizon as Draco sang to his baby girl. Mia drifted off to sleep with the sound of her father's voice, tucked safely against his chest. All was right in the world. Excitement slightly bubbled through his veins, but the serenity of the room won over. Draco fell asleep cradling his newfound joy.
I do so hope you enjoyed it! I absolutely loved writing this, and it makes me anxious for the day that I'm ready to have kids of my own. I just love them.
Thanks ever so much for reading, reviewing, alerting, or favoriting any of my stories! It means the world to me.
The poll on my profile for I'll Believe It When I See It is still up and will be until Saturday when the next chapter will be posted!
Thanks again, everyone. You are loved!
Xoxo Princess