Chapter 6:

Hermione was the first to break the silence. She was looking down at Curtis who was asleep in her arms, "if I am honest, I don't really know how I feel about it."

Draco was the next to speak, "yeah it hasn't really set in."

There was a murmur of agreement from the other students. "Very well. We are going to spend a little while learning some of the basics and then you will have the rest of the day to get to know your child."

The students nodded their heads in understanding.

"First I must tell you that this is going to be very challenging for each of you. If at any point it becomes too much and you need a rest please do not hesitate to ask for help. There will be a day care centre where you can leave your children whilst you are in lessons and if you have any plans that are not suitable for a child. Do not rely too heavily upon the service. The best thing for any child is time with its parents."

The head of Hufflepuff house quickly ran them through how to change the babies' nappies and how to feed them before giving them leaflets about the babies' health. "You are responsible for these children now. You must always be aware of what they are doing, how they are feeling and whether they are well or not. You may go."

Draco turned to the head girl, "are you returning to the common room?"

"That was the plan," Hermione smiled.

"We'll come with you," Draco nodded. The two heads left the apartment together and made their way down the corridor. They walked in silence for several moments until Malfoy broke the silence, "this is weird isn't it?"

"Us speaking civilly?" Hermione asked.

"Actually I meant us having children but now you mention it," Draco smirked.

"I wasn't planning on thinking about children for at least another five years. Maybe longer."

"Me too," Draco agreed.

"She's beautiful," Hermione said as she admired Aurora.

"Curtis is pretty darn cute too," Draco replied. "What are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Draco asked the little girl in his arms. Hermione was shocked to hear how tender his voice was when he spoke to his daughter.

"According to that leaflet Professor Sprout gave us, new born babies don't do much. They eat, sleep, and poo."

"Did you really just say poo?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Yep."

Draco laughed gently, "maybe we could bring their cribs down the stairs and make use of the time studying. If we get all our homework done then it means we'll have more time to spend with them later."

"Sounds sensible," Hermione nodded.

Draco handed Aurora over to Hermione when they were in their common room. He looked slightly nervous to be leaving the little girl but he was only going upstairs. He quickly fetched both babies' cribs and returned. He placed Aurora into her pink crib whilst Hermione put down a sleeping Curtis into his own blue crib. The two students looked down at the sleeping babies and sighed, "right. Time to work," Draco said as he rubbed his hands together. They quickly set to work on their homework but barely an hour had passed when Aurora started to cry. Draco jumped to his feet. He had no idea what to do. He didn't know why she was crying. "Granger – what do I do?"

"Does she need a nappy change?" Hermione asked without looking up from her book.

"Er," Draco frowned, "I don't think so. She doesn't smell."

"Does her nappy feel heavy?"

"Heavy? Er… no."

"She might be hungry," Hermione continued. "Why don't we read some of the information guides we've been given. Perhaps that will tell us about feeding patterns and stuff."

Draco nodded. He had Aurora in his arms. He had managed to placate her but he wasn't sure for how long.

Hermione smiled, "listen to this. New born infants are able to clutch things and hold onto them."

"I know that Hermione!" Draco shook his head.

"How do you…?"

"She's holding onto my finger," Draco replied.

"Oh… how lovely," Hermione smiled. "It says that babies are very aware of their surroundings and so sudden changes can result in restlessness or a refusal to take food."

"Do you think that's why she is crying?" Draco asked.

"I don't know," Hermione frowned. "It has a list of reasons why babies cry…"

"And?"

"Oh yeah sorry… hunger, a dirty nappy, needs sleep, wants to be held, tummy troubles – i.e. gas or something, needs winding, too cold or hot, wants less stimulation – so less noise, light etc, wants more stimulation, unwell."

"Right well… she's not too hot or cold… or at least I don't think so. I think she's hungry."

"You need to try and get her into a routine," Hermione said.

"Surely that can wait…"

"Sure… if you want to be up all night, every night for the next year!"

"Fine. Tell me about the routine. It says here that a new born's routine changes quickly. It's eleven o'clock right?"

"Yep," Draco replied.

"So she should be asleep," Hermione finished. "Until about half twelve. Then she should be fed."

"How often will she need feeding?" Draco asked, feeling nervous once more.

"Erm… sometime between 5am and 8:30am, 12:30 to 1:30, Then they should be awake from about 3:30 until 7:30 and she will need feeding every hour, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, and 7pm. Then she should sleep until 11pm when she will need her last feed."

"Bloody hell," Draco whistled. "Going to be a little demanding princess aren't you?"

He noticed that Aurora had fallen back to sleep in his arms and so he placed her back in her crib. "We better get this work done then because they are going to want our undivided attention in four hours."

"Sounds like a plan," Hermione smiled. They worked quietly but soon it was time for them to go to lunch.

Draco frowned, "I don't want to wake her."

Hermione jumped to her feet and transfigured two cushions into carry seats for the two babies. "She'll go straight back to sleep, you watch," Hermione said as she placed her sleeping son in his seat. Draco followed suite and soon they were walking down the corridor to the Great Hall.