A moment later, Lucius and Hermione walked up to the same reception desk that Harry and Ginny had come to many hours earlier. A different receptionist was at the desk, one with a more professional attitude.
The receptionist took one look at Hermione and correctly assessed what the couple was there for. Smiling at Hermione, she said, "I presume you're in labour?" After Hermione confirmed it, the young witch asked, "May I have your name please?"
"Hermione Granger-Malfoy," the other witch replied.
At hearing this, the receptionist took a closer look at Hermione's companion and realized he was the ex-Death Eater, Voldemort's right-hand man, Lucius Malfoy. And the same Lucius Malfoy that had contributed the money for St Mungo's new wing, the Malfoy Wing. He was that Malfoy. And Hermione was his muggleborn consort and former sidekick of Harry Potter, whose wife was still laboring a short distance away.
"I am calling an orderly now to escort you to your labour room," the receptionist told them. "Please have a seat and he'll be here in a moment."
"I've reserved the private labour suite closest to the delivery room, if you'll kindly check your records," Lucius told the witch quietly after Hermione had taken a seat.
He didn't want Hermione to hear that he'd arranged for superior accommodations for her, as she'd insist she didn't need anything better than what everyone else had, with her misplaced Gryffindor sense of honor.
The private labour suite had its own tastefully furnished waiting room for family and friends, a small snack bar, and its own private entrance to the delivery room. Unlike the ordinary labour rooms, it was furnished with expensive, one of a kind furniture pieces, to give the labouring witch the same comfort she would have in her bedroom at home, while also equipped with the latest in magical medical devices. Soft music was piped into the room, which added to the cozy ambience. A private healer's aide was also assigned to this room, who would have no other patients to care for.
After checking her records, the receptionist smiled up at Lucius, "Yes, the deluxe suite has indeed been reserved for Mrs Granger-Malfoy." Looking closer, she added, "And the reservations for Mrs Narcissa Malfoy and Mrs Luna Malfoy are also confirmed for several months from now. It is all in order."
"Excellent," Lucius said, giving the young woman a genuine smile. His contributions to the hospital were indeed paying off.
At that moment, the orderly arrived with the hovering transport chair. Before Hermione could rise from her seat, the orderly flicked his wand and expertly levitated her into the chair.
"Let's do this," Hermione said with a brave smile, smiling up at Lucius as he moved to walk alongside her chair, his hand protectively on her shoulder.
As the orderly turned the chair toward the entrance to the labour room, Molly Weasley came barreling out, with Harry following several paces behind. Not looking where she was going, she ran right into Lucius, who was forced to take a step back, as the Weasley matriarch had been moving under a full head of steam.
"Ooof!," she exclaimed. "Please excuse..." Her words died in her throat, when she looked up and saw who she'd just collided with. Her eyes narrowing in disgust, as she jumped back from him as if the physical contact had somehow contaminated her. "You!" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm delighted to see you, too," Lucius drawled, a sardonic expression on his face. "But the last time I checked, you did not own this hospital and thus do not have any say in who uses these facilities." He turned his gaze from her to pointedly call attention to the opposite wall where a plaque reading, "Malfoy Wing" was prominently displayed. Raising one eyebrow, he murmured, "I trust you see my meaning?"
"You just try and have me thrown out of here!" Molly challenged, her voice growing louder by the moment. "Your money can't buy everything, Lucius Malfoy! There's nothing that is going to keep me from my daughter when she's about to give birth!"
At this point Harry broke in, "Mrs Weasley, please! Mr Malfoy knows you don't like him! You don't have to remind him of that fact every time you see him! Can't you just ignore his presence and go about your own business for once!."
Turning on Harry, she began, "How dare you --," but Harry cut her off.
"No!" he exclaimed, "How dare you! Think about someone else other than yourself, for once! Mr Malfoy and Hermione have done nothing to you; they're here for the same reason we are! And Ginny is having a hard time -- you need to think about not upsetting her rather than worrying about some ancient family feud all the time!"
Sparing Lucius and Hermione an apologetic glance, he said, "I'm so sorry, please forgive us."
"Quite all right, Mr Potter," Lucius said, pitying the young man. "You are only responsible for your own behavior, not that of errant relatives." After a pause, he said, "Now if you'll excuse us, I'd like to see Hermione settled in her labour room."
"Stop by and visit awhile when you get a chance, Harry," Hermione said with an encouraging smile. "I may be in there for hours waiting to give birth."
"Sure," he agreed, as he watched Molly stalk away, heading to the hospital cafeteria. "It'll give me a bit of a break from the Weasleys. Ginny's been in labour for an awfully long time and Molly gets more annoying with every passing hour."
"We'll see you in a little while, then," Hermione said in parting as the orderly began moving the chair again.
A moment later, they passed a room from which they could hear a barely-muffled commotion going on.
Lucius regarded the door with his lip curled in contempt. "Weasleys!" he hissed. "It sounds as if they're having a brawl in there rather than awaiting the birth of a baby. No wonder Mr Potter left the room." Aiming his wand, he cast a sound dampening spell, so that none of the Weasley ruckus would filter down to Hermione's room to disturb her.
As they entered the suite in which Hermione would endure labour before her time in the delivery room, they found Calandra Jones waiting for them. Lucius was pleased at her promptness; he'd sent an owl alerting her of their imminent arrival when he'd owled Draco before they left the penthouse.
"Here you are," Calandra said with a smile. "If you'll excuse us, Mr Malfoy, we'll get Hermione examined and see just how she's progressing. It shouldn't take but a few minutes."
"All right," Lucius said agreeably. "I need to go out to the reception area to wait for my son to arrive, anyway." Taking Hermione's hand, he murmured, "I won't be gone long, love."
"Go ahead," Hermione told him. "I'll be fine."
Lucius retraced his steps back to the reception area and, thankfully, did not encounter any Weasleys along the way. As he re-entered the reception area, he saw Draco approaching from the flooing lobby.
"Ah, right on time," Lucius said briskly as his son joined him. "I have something I need you to do for me."
Draco did not speak, but waited for his father to elaborate.
"I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but there is really no one else who can do it," he began. "I need for you to go get Hermione's parents and apparate them here."
"It's no problem, Father," Draco told him. "I'd be happy to do it." After a pause, he asked, "How is Hermione doing, by the way?"
"She's with the midwife now, who is examining her to see how much longer she has to go," he replied. Turning back to re-enter the labour and delivery area, he said, "We'll be in the room at the end of the hall, closest to the delivery room when you and the Grangers arrive. Just send them directly in, as we have our own private waiting room in the suite."
"I'll be back shortly," Draco promised, heading back out the way he came in.
"Mr Malfoy!" Lucius turned to see a weedy looking wizard in his late 20s standing before him. The young man, wearing faded and patched robes, had a Dictoquill and notepad hovering in the air in front of him.
"And you are?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm Nigel Bloodworth of the Daily Prophet," the younger man said. "May I presume that your, er, ah, consort, Hermione Granger-Malfoy is here about to give birth? And can you confirm rumors that Harry Potter's wife is also at the hospital in labour?"
"Mrs Granger-Malfoy is indeed soon to give birth," Lucius told the reporter briefly. "As for the Potter baby, I would suggest you ask Mr Potter yourself." Lucius turned to indicate Harry who was returning from the other direction.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important matters to attend to." Lucius took advantage of the other man's momentary distraction to make his exit.
As he approached Hermione's room, he met Calandra Jones coming out.
"So, how is she?" Lucius asked quietly as he joined the midwife.
"I just finished examining her and I can assure you that she's doing fine," she told him with a smile. "Her contractions are coming closer together, so I predict she'll have a short and smooth labour."
"That's wonderful news," he said, obviously relieved. He'd been prepared for a long, drawn-out wait, as he'd had when Narcissa gave birth to Draco.
"Why don't you go in and sit with Hermione for awhile," she suggested. "I need to go check on Mrs Potter, but I'll be back in a little while to check on Hermione again."
Lucius thanked her, then entered the room to find Hermione propped up in bed with a book.
At the sight of him in the doorway, Hermione closed the book and put it aside, smiling up at him as he moved to take a seat by the side of her bed.
Taking her hand and squeezing it, he murmured, "It won't be long now, love.
---
A/N Thanks again to all my readers, new and old
A/N Ahhhhhh, a cliffhanger. I promise the baby will be born in the next chapter, however.
A/N Next chapter: Lucia Jane Malfoy