Granger's Café
Pairing: Draco/Harry.
Disclaimer: Hermione decides that the drama in the wizarding world is growing too much. She decides to open up a café in the muggle world, so as to enjoy simplicity during the day. Little does she know that one of the applicants for a job there, will cause a whole new circle of drama for her. And how exactly will her little café benefit Harry and Draco's lives, and how will it banish the drama from both worlds they live in? You know what they say, about Granger's café; her food is like magic, that's what they say, because it keeps all your problems and troubles at bay.
~000~
Chapter Thirty-Nine:
Mayday
Four weeks had passed since Astoria had broken the news to Harry and Draco. It was still a raw wound for Draco having to come to terms with, and Harry was trying to keep strong as he always tried to do. By this point Astoria had ballooned in her seventh month of pregnancy, although her bump barely rivaled Hermione's own eight-month-bump. There was some talk about a joint baby shower but as far as she knew there were no definite plans just yet. She wasn't too fussed. Astoria would need most of the stuff, as she still had her baby things from when Rose and Hugo had been born.
Astoria had moved in to Harry's old apartment. Apparently Lucius wasn't pleased with her sudden departure at all. Although Narcissa seemed to take delight in the profanities that had followed her and Astoria down the hallway to the front door of the Manor. Hermione had merely smiled and shaken her head as the tall snowy-haired woman helped her to get Astoria settled. She was worried about the baby and Hermione could honestly understand her dilemma. Recently, Astoria looked pale and withdrawn and would often sip tea -but rarely eat anything. The only way to convince her to eat was by telling her that the baby needed the food.
Hermione came into the cafe every few days to make sure that Harry and Draco were keeping everything ship-shape. She had even asked Mona to work double hours now that she was incapable of helping out too much. She hadn't minded. She was more than happy. On this particular day, Mona was working behind the counter, her soft brown hair piled into a bun on the top of her head. "Hey! Morning 'Mione! How are you? My you're looking amazing!" she beamed over the counter at Hermione's bump.
Hermione smiled sweetly, "Thanks Mona, how are thing's going here? Any problems?"
Mona grinned, "Oh stop. You ask me that every time you're here and my answer is always 'no'. You know if something would go wrong, I'd call you up -you know that."
Hermione nodded, "That's right I know you would. I just need something to do with my day and get me out the house."
Mona nodded, her smile never wavering, "Well why not sit down and then I can grab some sweet things for you?"
Hermione's eyes lit up, "Oh, that sounds nice!" she turned away from the counter and went over to one of the booths and settled down, taking off her cardigan and draping it over her lap. She swiped the menu up and began scanning it, feeling a little piggish at mentally selecting the majority of sweet cakes on the list.
Mona came over with a little notepad, "So have you decided what you want?"
Hermione nibbled down on her lip, "Yeah, I think I'm going to have one of each of the cakes," she smiled up at Mona who giggled as you wrote it down.
"Anything else?"
"Maybe a strawberry milkshake as well," Hermione smiled and filed the menu away. Mona smiled at her before turning away to walk back into the kitchen. Hermione didn't know which one of them was working today -either Harry or Draco -as she hoped that someone was upstairs with Astoria. She gnawed on her lower lip. She was really worried about the girl. Pregnancy was a difficult thing to do, let alone doing it all alone. Yes, technically her husband was there for her, but they weren't together anymore. It was just a formality. Just a piece of paper. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
Soon her cakes came and she settled back enjoying the treats as a few young couples and a mother and her child walked in, ordered food and sat about her. She was glad that people still came into the cafe with or without her presence. She was mainly glad that their personal lives weren't affecting the quality of the food. As she polished off her plates, and sat sipping her milkshake, she enjoyed the gentle chattering that was drifting around her.
Finally -at last -she felt as though the babies were full enough. She rested for a little while longer before deciding to get up and shuffle off and look at some baby stores around London for anything she may have missed. She want over to the counter and was just in the middle of bantering over whether she was to pay or not with Mona, when a throbbing heat pressed against her thigh. She reached into her cardigan pocket and pulled out a galleon. She had been inspired from their old DA coins to create a few for a baby-emergency. Astoria's one was burning white. She shared a panicked look with Mona. "Watch the shop," she ordered as she hobbled around the counter and pushed through into the kitchen.
Draco and Harry were inside washing up some plates with the smell of gingerbread men hanging in the air. "Hi Mione what's-?"
"Why aren't you upstairs?" she snapped, "Astoria's coin is burning a hole through my cardigan and you're just standing about!" she glared up at them, "Where are your coins?"
"M-mine was in my other trousers," Harry stammered.
"And yours?" Hermione barked at Draco.
He fumbled around in his pockets, his face pale. "I ... I don't know," he stammered helplessly.
"Well get upstairs for Merlin's sake!" she snapped. He swallowed and stumbled past her and hurried up the stairs to the apartments above. She turned her glare to Harry, "Well what are you waiting for? Call St. Mungo's from my office!"
Harry nodded and hastily made his way to Hermione's office down the hall, tripping over the rug on the floor as he did so. Hermione shook her head after him, before turning her attention to the stairs in front of her. It would take her ages to climb them with her swollen bump. Just looking at it exhausted her. She bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck. Harry was soon back in the hallway, his face pale, "A medi-witch is coming through along with the Healer Narcissa paid for."
Hermione nodded, "Good, good -thank you Harry. Can you wait for them and take them upstairs -I -I really need to sit down." She gushed, sweat dampening her skin.
"Do you want a drink of water?" Harry asked, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guiding her into the office and easing her into a comfortable chair. Hermione shook her head just as the flames roared green in her grate. "You sure?" he asked.
"Honestly I'm fine. Go with the Healer's and then to St. Mungo's with Astoria. Draco needs you right now," she insisted, her breathing easing back to its normal pace.
He frowned, "Are you sure?"
She smiled, "Of course I am Harry. Now go!" she waved him away urgently.
Harry wasted no time in leading the Healer's upstairs to the apartment that Astoria had been living in. Not much had changed decor-wise, but Astoria herself looked a wreck sprawled out along the sofa, as Narcissa dabbed her forehead with a cold flannel and Draco knelt beside her, his hand gripping within her own. "The healer's are here!" Harry announced as he hurried through the doorway and sat down in the armchair right beside Draco's crouched form. "How's she doing?" he asked in a quieter voice.
Draco shook his head a fraction, "There was some blood! You called them just in time -I -I don't know what's going on!"
Harry reached forward and squeezed the blonde's shaking shoulder. "She's going to be alright, Draco," he breathed as the Healer knelt down by Astoria's bump and drew out his wand. He ran his wand over the length of her body, his face unreadable. Astoria winced as pain shot through her abdomen.
"We're going to have to get you to St. Mungo's, urgently," the Healer insisted. "Looks like this baby doesn't want to wait any longer."
"W-what do you mean?" Draco asked, panic striking in his voice.
"Your wife needs to give birth now. We need to induce labor as soon as we get to the hospital!"
"But ... it's two months early!" Harry protested, rising out of his seat.
"I'm aware of that," the Healer ground out, "But believe me ... if we don't get her to St. Mungo's soon you will lose both her and the baby!"
~0~
Screaming.
That's all they could hear from down the hall.
Draco was pacing rapidly back and forth, running his hands through his hair and gnawing on his fingernails. Harry was wringing his hands together so much that he was soon to break skin, with how vigorously he was rubbing. Narcissa was sitting beside Harry, eyeing her son as he paced back and forth tirelessly. "Draco darling, sit down. You're pacing won't help!"
"It's two months early!" Draco raged desperately, his eyes red and tired, "How the hell can that be normal? How the hell can everything be okay? Tell me!"
Narcissa felt her bottom lip tremble, but she refused to let her resolve crumble. "Draco," she broke the silence, "Please. Sit down," she softened her voice.
Draco shook his head, "No! How can I sit down? They won't even let me in there to see her and she's my damned wife!"
Narcissa hushed him once again before she wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder's, "Come on, Draco, come and sit down. I'll go and see what's going on, alright?" she said, her cold eyes making Draco surrender and collapse down into her vacated chair.
As her heels clicked down the heel in search of a Healer, Harry turned his exhausted eyes onto his lover. When he spoke his voice was cracked and rasping from crying silently for an hour. Draco collapsed back against the hard white wall. He sniffed and his bottom lip trembled. Harry reached over, his heart aching, as he took Draco's hands into his own. "Draco -be strong, okay?" he knew it was a lame line, but it was all he had to offer. Ginny hadn't taken this long to deliver any of their children -especially Lily who had taken twenty full hours to arrive. "Astoria is a tough girl, she'll pull through this, you know she will."
When Draco turned his gaze to Harry, he was exhausted. His eyes were raw and his nose was red and his jaw was clenched tight. His voice was watery as he spoke, "What if -what if she doesn't pull through? I know we had a lot of uses before but -w-we're passed that. I'd hope she at least gets to properly see the ... t-the baby."
Harry wiped at his eyes before taking Draco's cold hands in his own and pressing them roughly to his lip, "I hope so too -darling. I hope so too."
"I just -" he broke off to lick his chapped lips, "I don't want this all to be for nothing."
Harry bit down hard on his lower lip. He hated seeing Draco looking do dejected. He squeezed his lover's hand and fought back his own tears. A tremble ran through both of them. Neither had noticed that the wailing from down the hall had ceased to a vague sound of whimpering. Far down the hall a door clicked open. A set of heels clicked quickly down the hall, the noise growing louder and louder. Harry looked up with his wet red eyes to see Narcissa hurrying over, looking frazzled; her usually immaculate appearance somewhat disheveled with a set of Healer scrubs covering her clothes. They were specially enchanted to vanish toxic substances and various potions that cannot have skin-contact when exposed to the open air.
Harry caught her eye and closed his mouth in a defeated manner. His eyes shone with tears.
She held his gaze before nodding a fraction. She cleared her throat, causing Draco to roll his head to look at her through his blurred vision and red, raw eyes. She licked her lips. "You -have a daughter, Draco," she murmured softly as though she could barely comprehend the news herself.
Draco blinked, looking as though he hadn't heard her. "W-what?"
Narcissa's mouth twitched, "You have a baby girl, darling."
Draco was on his feet faster than a bolt of lightning. He started to shake slightly -only vaguely at first -but soon full-on tremors were coursing through his body. "Can I -um -see her?" he asked feebly, as though he didn't trust himself to speak. Harry didn't blame him. The world felt too surreal for him at that moment. He could only imagine what Draco must be feeling.
Narcissa's faint smile disappeared. "It was a difficult birth for both of them. They've taken your daughter into intensive care and they need to watch her over-night. They're giving Astoria a few potions to help her recover but we should be able to see them in the morning."
Draco's shoulder's slumped. "Well ... how is she?"
Narcissa shrugged a shoulder, "It was tiring. She's exhausted. They want to keep an eye on her as well. They said you can go and say 'goodnight' to her before they give her a sleeping potion."
Draco nodded his head and then turned around to look at Harry, eyebrows furrowed, as though asking permission to go and say 'goodnight' to his wife. Harry gave him a weak smile, "You go on and say goodnight. I'll just stay here with your mother."
With a soft smile and a nod, Draco was off down the corridor at a steady pause.
The room Astoria was in stank of sweat and blood. He wrinkled his nose up as he closed the door behind him. Astoria was perched on a clean white bed with the sheets draped around her, her skin was way and deathly pale and her long dark hair was a tangled mess. Her eyes were closed from exhaustion. The window was open a fraction to air the room out, and the sheen of sweat Draco had expected to see, had been mopped away. A shiver ran down his spine as he advanced towards the bed. As soon as he was close enough to do so, he reached out and wiped a damp strand of dark hair away from her closed eyes. She did look exhausted. She'd been in labor for thirteen hours.
His bottom lip trembled as tears threatened to run down his cheeks once again.
He wiped her hair back and pressed a soft, lingering kiss on her clammy forehead. He pressed his nose against her skin and inhaled her scent. "Sleep tight, my dear," he breathed before pressing another kiss to her cooling skin.
She stirred slightly in her sleep as he pulled the blankets higher around her shoulders, before turning his back to her and walking out of the private room.
He breathed deeply as soon as the door clicked shut behind him. He felt so bone-weary, almost as though he was about to collapse on the sterile floor. He blinked a few times, tears finally trickling down his cheeks at how worn his wife had looked. The huge bed and made her look so small. So fragile. So beaten down. He ran a hand down his face, rubbing some life back into his cold cheeks.
A hand grasped his wrist, making him jerk out of his reverie.
Harry blinked in surprise but didn't remove his hand. "Are you alright?" he whispered as he ran his hand up and down Draco's arm. Draco rested his hand on top of Harry's and gave it a slightly squeeze.
"She's resting," he murmured before his eye roamed up to look into Harry's, "She looked so exhausted, Harry."
"Hey, hey, hey" Harry hushed as he eased Draco around and curled his arms around the tall blonde. "She's going to be okay, darling, I know she will," he assured with a watery voice as he stroked Draco's fine hair. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry and squeezed him tightly, burying his head in the brunette's neck, his tears soaking the tan skin as he sobbed. His shoulders shook and his limbs trembled. He felt so cold. He sniffled as Harry's strong hands rubbed circles into his back, but the chill was borrowing its way down into his soul. He needed to rest and he needed to get away from the awful hospital -but he didn't want to leave Astoria in such a depressing place. She deserved better.
He eased out of Harry's embrace and turned to his mother. "Can we ... can we see um ... my ..." he trailed off, his voice catching in his throat.
"Your daughter?" she offered, her silvery eyes shimmering in the lights. He nodded his head. She gave a weak smile, "Of course. She's in the intensive care Unit." She stood up from the chair, no longer in her St. Mungo's scrubs, and began to lead the way down the corridor, past Astoria's room and around the corner.
The walk to the intensive care unit took ages. There was an uncomfortable ride in an elevator before even reaching the floor. They'd gone right, then down then backwards. It made Harry feel sick, and Draco looked far too green to be normal. When the bell finally 'chimed' that they had reached their level. The ornate doors slid open and they stepped out onto the marble floor. The corridor trailed both left and right. Narcissa ushered past them and began leading them down the left corridor, her small heels clicking on the floor. Harry helped to ease Draco along with him, their hands twined together.
They followed Narcissa for another five minutes until they came to a long wall entirely taken up my a solid glass screen that ended at about waist-level.
Inside the room were rows and rows of golden-ornate incubators with small phials of different coloured potions to be injected into each baby. There were so many children inside; dark-skinned babies, fair-skinned, babies with thick brass curls, babies with thin strands of wispy black hair flattened on their heads. Some were wriggling around in their blue or pink blankets, and others were asleep. Some were even crying, their cute faces scrunched up with their big gummy mouths open wide. Each child had a little enchanted mobile circling over their heads with little cuddly dragons, unicorns and mermaids floating around their heads.
Draco's eyes were wide as he scanned the rows of children from left to right. He nibbled on his lips, his watery eyes not being able to pick out his own daughter. "Um ... mum ... Which one is she?" he asked cautiously, feeling like a failure at not even being able to recognize his own daughter.
Narcissa wrapped her arm around Draco's shoulders and stroked his hair out of his eyes. "She's that one ... there," she pointed her manicured finger at the third row of babies from the front. There was a little incubator with a pink blanket swaddled inside, like a little cocoon, with the smallest white face Draco had ever seen.
He felt his heart clench as he gazed down at his daughter.
She had large eyes that were closed in sleep, a tiny petal pink mouth with the tip of a tiny pink tongue poking out as she wriggled in her dreams. Her hair wasn't fine and blonde and he had expected, seeing as the pale features were the dominant gene for the Malfoy family. This time, Astoria's genes had pushed through, with a soft tuft of dark hair sticking up through the warm woolen blanket. Draco felt his bottom lip tremble. Narcissa hugged him tight from one side, as did Harry.
"Oh Draco, she is so adorable," Harry breathed, barely able to take his eyes off of the little girl.
Draco sniffed, another loud of tears threatening to burst out through his blonde eyelashes. "She is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen," he gushed through watery breaths. He wiped at his eyes as he engraved the moment into his memory forever. He finally had what the Malfoy family had always admonished.
He had a daughter.
A/N: Hello everyone. I didn't realise how long it had been since I updated this story, and -as my way of apologizing -I gave you a little more drama. I didn't really know how to write a giving-birth scene so I left it to the imagination of all of you for the most part :) I know that sounds lazy but in emergency situations like that it can be traumatic for the spouses.