Well here we are, less than a week by a nose!

arabellagrace, baby would not be a Malfoy without causing some trouble!

Guests, thank you for your reviews! Lucius can be a softie to a select few, it's easy to see why his daughter would be one of those number! Hope the Muggle hospital was explained in the last chapter and again here for one of you, and for the last, obviously Hermione is not going to twiddle her thumbs.

Sampdoria, glad you enjoyed it!

roon0, Lucius can be very kind, within reason of course.

Hope this chapter satisfies all who were waiting so patiently. Please, read and review! Thanks!


Hermione woke to the feeling of Lucius spooned around her, his hand caressing her skin and the child beneath it.

"Good morning," he said quietly in her ear, knowing the precise moment his wife had woken.

"Good morning," Hermione replied, stretching slightly. There was a persistent ache in her lower back, and Lucius noticed the grimace.

"Let me," he said, scooting back slightly so he could bring both hands to her lower back and begin rubbing, casting a small warming charm as he did so.

"Oh, that feels heavenly," Hermione said, twisting slightly so he could get the spot that felt tight. "I am tired of being pregnant, I admit. Don't think I will forgive you so easily for inflicting this on me immediately."

"Of course not," Lucius murmured, but he smiled against her hair. "But it does accomplish the result of getting the Ministry completely off our backs. We have met the obligatory requirement of our marriage."

"Won't that be a wonderful thing to explain to our daughter—well, we wouldn't have married at all, darling, but the Ministry insisted, and we had to have you right away." Hermione's tone was wry, but she was still not sure she was ready for parenthood. She had not Lucius' confidence from raising a child already, and her career had been so all-encompassing that even with the warm fuzzies she got from holding Harry and Ginny's babies, she had not felt any pressing need to have her own.

Lucius was offended, and rolled her over to look at her frankly, holding himself over her with one arm planted on either side of her. "Do you honestly think I would not have married you eventually?"

"You were hardly flirting with me…" she trailed off as Lucius' eyebrow shot up. "You were flirting with me."

"Mmmm…and it was deliciously fun," Lucius replied, rubbing her nose with his. "I believe 'delightfully naïve' is the expression I used to describe you."

Hermione was torn between a mix of amusement and annoyance. "You are insufferably arrogant."

Lucius' lips quirked up in a small smile, and he gave a brief kiss before he said against her mouth, "You like my arrogance."

"I believe that I have admitted as much in the past," Hermione said, amusement winning out in her expression. From his smirk she determined that Lucius had won enough battles for the day, and decided to change the subject. "What are you going to do to reintroduce magic to the baby?"

Lucius' expression turned thoughtful and he pulled back, propping himself on his side next to her in the far more comfortable bed, now that he had brought his wand to bear on it and a few other things in the room. "Well, I have a few things that I used to do with Draco, and I would like to try them with this young lady—" his fingers pressed in a gentle tap of reply where she had just kicked her mother, "—and after I speak with Draco and Astrid, that is what I will do. I don't know why I haven't been doing them thus far, probably just too busy and distracted with the more pressing matters we are confronting."

Hermione knew they couldn't ignore the escape of Bedell or the still unknown Ministry mole, but it was pleasant to pretend that the issues with the baby were the only ones requiring their attention. "What is the update on all of that?" she asked quietly, and she could tell that Lucius did not want to talk about it.

"Calvin has kept me updated on the progress with their interrogations of Antonin, which is to say, they have not made much progress at all. Several strategies are being discussed for trapping the Ministry mole, but nothing has been decided as of yet."

"Will you go in to help with the interrogations?" Hermione asked quietly, aware that Yaxley was very desirous of Lucius' assistance.

"I will not be going anywhere until I am leaving with you and our daughter to go home," Lucius said firmly, rubbing her arm in a reassuring gesture.

"But if it would help clean up—"

Lucius stopped her with a finger to her lips. "I have remained here because so long as I am here, no one can follow me to you. It is safer for you and the baby to remain anonymously in the Muggle world, as much as it grates on my nerves to be here all the time."

Hermione had half suspected as much, but hearing him confirm it made her feel even more warmly toward him and his protective instincts.

"What can we expect in terms of timing for our sex life after the baby is born?" Hermione asked huskily, her fingers trailing down Lucius' front in a highly suggestive manner.

Lucius' breath whooshed inward as his naughty wife's hand reached its destination, buttons slipping easily from their moorings. "That all depends on the delivery…it is easier on you than for Muggles, of a certainty. Perhaps two weeks?"

"Lovely," Hermione said, leaning forward to kiss him. "I miss that."

Her hand moved easily and a groan slipped from Lucius' mouth. "You aren't supposed to exert yourself," he said, and Hermione smiled.

"I won't do too much…but I can do enough."

Lucius closed his eyes in a long blink, and thought again that he was so thankful that his wife was so diligent in all areas of study.


"Lucius, these patterns are not making sense to me," Hermione said, looking up from the papers scattered in the air around her. She had requested that Lucius send for the marriage records which they had acquired from other pureblood families, and was comparing the results from her detailed study of them to the arithmancy work that had been done in the Department of Magical Research.

Lucius looked up from her bare midriff, his hand still moving easily over her belly. Different colored lights were gently transitioning from one to the other, the light strong enough for their daughter to follow it. While a Muggle baby would only see shades of red, this particular spell allowed their baby to see the true colors inside the womb, and it was one of the charms that both the midwife and Draco had agreed was okay to try.

"Make a note of the specific differences, and I will look at them later," Lucius replied, returning his attention to their daughter.

"She seems to like blue and the white best," Hermione commented, completely distracted by the antics of their daughter and the gentle way Lucius had of slowly increasing the intensity of the spells he was using, talking softly to their child the whole while.

"Yes, and she does not like the green," Lucius said, then demonstrated by changing the color to green and watching as Hermione received a sharp jab for his efforts.

"That's enough of that then!" Hermione said, although she really did not mind at all. Their girl had been cooperating for nearly a week, and now that she was due for the second steroid shot they could breathe easier if anything Lucius tried accidentally set off labor.

"I wonder if you would like to try something with me," Lucius said, ending the spell with a soft purple glow.

"What are you thinking of?" Hermione asked. She had not been asked to participate up to now, as the collective "they" that represented her Healers had decided that her magic might make her 'irritable uterus' act up.

"I would like to key the spell to the sound of your voice, and ask you to read to her. It will require you to contribute a bit to the charm," Lucius said, placing both hands on her rounded belly. "Do you feel up to a little joint casting?"

A verbal reply was clearly unnecessary from the excited glint in Hermione's eyes, but she replied anyway. "Yes! Please! Where is my wand?"

"Here you are love," Lucius said, proffering her vine wand. "It took Calvin and Harry some time to find it in that hut, I can tell you."

"Well, that is a good thing, is it not? That means the charm was extremely effective," Hermione replied, enjoying the feel of her magic coursing through the wand.

"Indeed. In fact they would both like to learn that particular charm for Auror work."

"Yes I'm sure they would," Hermione murmured, sitting up. Again her lower back bothered her, and Lucius, ever sharp-eyed, noted it.

"Your lower back is still bothering you?"

"Yes," Hermione said, her mouth making little moue of distaste. "It seems to be coming around more frequently over the past day or so."

Lucius raised his eyebrows at that, but said nothing further about it. "Well, if you are ready, we can begin."

"Which book am I to read?" Hermione asked first.

"Whatever you like, pet. It would probably be best to read a story which requires changes in inflection and such," Lucius said. Hermione thought for a minute and settled for a Muggle book, one by Sandra Boynton. Lucius had never heard of the books before but Hermione was familiar with them and he had found nothing objectionably Muggle about them.

"Right, here we go," Lucius said, and indicated that Hermione should add to the spell he began to cast. Hermione's wand danced elegantly in, and they both felt a pleasant rush of contentment as their magics mixed. He nodded for Hermione to begin reading, then set aside his wand to use his hands only to continue the charm, the lights dancing on both sides of her belly. Within the first two minutes, it was obvious that their little girl liked it very much indeed, as she seemed to be almost dancing in Hermione's womb.

"I think she likes it," Hermione said, meeting Lucius' gaze.

"Indeed," he replied, an unguarded and truly warm look of affection crossing his face. This was the Lucius Malfoy that no one except his family would ever know, and Hermione loved it when she saw him thus.

"It's Pajama Time…it's Pajama Time…" Hermione's voice was getting softer and softer, and Lucius turned the intensity of the lights down in tandem with her voice. Finally he pulled his hands away, leaving a warm, soft glow for a minute or two, which would gradually diffuse away.

"I think we're going to have to use that trick for naptimes," Hermione said. "She's going to sleep."

"She needs her rest," Lucius said, but knew better than to suggest that Hermione also needed rest. Instead, he gently scooted her forward and situated himself behind her back, the Muggle-style hospital gown allowing him easy access to her lower back for more rubbing.

"Oh god, Lucius I love you," Hermione moaned as his hands moved surely and competently, a bit of warmed oil summoned to his palm to ease her back. Lucius was using a tiny bit of pain relief potion in the massage oil, and Hermione was duly appreciative of its effects. When her head lolled to the side in an easy doze, Lucius swept her braided hair to the side and pressed a kiss on her neck.

"Rest well, my love. I think we will be meeting this little one before too much longer, if this keeps up."

Lucius pulled his wife securely back into his arms, allowing himself to fall into an easy doze as well after casting a few 'do not disturb' wards on the door.


When Hermione woke later that evening, she was a bit disoriented as usual by the oddly lit hospital room. It was as if her subconscious was deeply desirous of home, because whenever she woke needing the loo, her brain always seemed to expect the now familiar surroundings of their suite in the Manor. Trying her best not to disturb Lucius, she padded to the restroom. As she returned, she noticed the twinge in her back had gotten decidedly worse, attempts to stretch merely exacerbating the pain.

"What is it?" Lucius asked from the bed, his pale hair glinting from the subdued sidelight above the bed.

"My back is still bothering me…I think it's worse," Hermione replied distractedly, trying to think if she had been sleeping in an unnatural position, or if she had done anything differently while getting ready for bed.

"I think I should send for Draco," Lucius said, sitting up and flicking on his clothes with a wave of his wand.

"Are you sure?" Hermione said, and immediately changed her mind as her back twinged again in a painful manner.

"I believe you are in labor," Lucius said. "He can assess that, and summon the midwife."

"Will you help me change?" Hermione asked. They had already decided that it would be necessary to keep the Muggles somewhat in the loop, which meant that Hermione would have to at least temporarily give up the extremely comfortable hospital gown she was wearing for the standard issue cotton gown of the hospital. While hers appeared the same, closer inspection revealed much finer cloth, with strategically placed cushioning charms that helped alleviate some pressure on her hips and other sore spots from pregnancy when she was lying down or walking.

"Of course." Lucius was quick to help her, and went ahead and pressed the Muggle call box after he switched the apparition point to the next closest empty room.

"How can I help you?" The Muggle nurse asked, completely ignoring Lucius' presence. At least the notice-me-not charm was effective.

"I think I may be in labor," Hermione replied, grateful that the monitors and folderol would only temporarily return.

"Oh, well, let's see dear!"

It took the nurse a few minutes to hook the monitors back up, and Hermione was amused that the woman thought nothing of how unusual that would be for a pregnant patient with known complications. The woman watched the output of the monitor for a good ten minutes, making encouraging noises as she did so. Finally, she pointed to the gently cresting hill that had appeared on the tape, and said, "Yes, that is the beginnings of labor! Excellent news, Mrs. Malfoy. I will notify your doctors and of course we'll call your husband right away as well."

"Thank you very much," Hermione said, and used up what felt like more than her usual store of patience answering the hovering nurse's questions as to whether she required any ice water, did she need to use the loo, etc. Finally Hermione just said, "I would like to be alone and try to get some more rest, if I could. I just don't know how long I will be in labor…"

The nurse smiled and nodded in an understanding manner. "Of course, Mrs. Malfoy. I imagine the doctor will want to see you on his morning rounds, but you've a ways to go yet. Rest up and let us know if you need anything."

"I will," Hermione promised, and let out a loud exhale when the nurse left the room at last. "When did I become so short-tempered with Muggles?" she wondered aloud, and Lucius bit his tongue on his original response.

"I believe you are simply feeling the effects of labor, love," he replied diplomatically. Hermione frowned at him, but he was saved from explaining further by Draco's entrance through the door.

"What? It IS the middle of the night, you know," Draco said, then shut up when Lucius waved his wand, the scrawling tape of the monitor for the contractions demonstrating clearly why Lucius felt his attendance was warranted.

"Ah," was all Draco said, then he withdrew his wand and cast a few spells quickly to check on the state of the baby and to see if Hermione's uterus was contracting properly. He closed the spells and looked at Hermione and his father.

"Well, that's on then. I'll summon Løngren and notify Smethwyck in case we need him, then I'll pop back home briefly to let Astoria know." Draco paused and looked specifically at Hermione. "Anyone else you want to know, Granger?"

"No," Hermione said irritably. "I think they can wait until the baby is here to be told."

Draco raised his eyebrows but wisely said nothing more than, "As you like it," before he left the room again to deal with the notifications.

"I'd like to walk," Hermione said, and Lucius helped her out of the bed, aware that she was, for now, still tethered to the Muggle monitors.

"You have a somewhat limited radius at the moment, love, but I'm sure we will have that sorted as soon as the rest of the Healers have arrived."

"I don't want any trainees," Hermione said as she began pacing in a tight circle. "I don't think I could bear any more people poking at me than necessary."

"Of course dear," Lucius said soothingly, rubbing in soothing strokes on her back as her magic swelled, rendering the air thick with it. Unless he missed his guess, they were going to be dealing with some quite magnificent magical flares as Hermione went through childbirth.

Within thirty minutes, Astrid had arrived with a kit of necessary items, both potions and magical implements which might be needed. Draco had informed the Aurors, a shift change was underway, and then made alternate arrangements when Lucius quietly told him of Hermione's preferences regarding trainee Healers being in attendance.

"I really don't want to be here," Draco said earnestly. "No offense, Father, but getting an up close and personal view of Granger's bits is not something I've dreamt about for a long, long time."

Lucius snorted at that. He knew Draco had had what he deemed at the time to be an inappropriate crush on the witch in his youth, but this was the first time he had come close to admitting it. Fortunately he had outgrown it, as he had suspected he would—and a good thing it was too, as Lucius was quite attached to his second wife. He could not think of a better partner for himself, and she was certainly living up to his expectations in terms of never being bored!

"I suspect Hermione feels quite the same, I assure you. Just stay nearby and we will call you to check on the baby when she is born," Lucius assured his son, who sighed in relief.

"Thank Salazar," Draco muttered, and Lucius could not resist adding, "But be prepared to deal with the fall-out from her flares."

"Fuck," Draco said, and Lucius smirked.

"Have fun with that," he said as his son left the room swiftly. He knew that Draco would likely have his hands more than full with the unexpected effects on the Muggle surroundings over the next span of hours while Hermione was in labor.


True to his prediction, Hermione grew increasingly difficult to placate as her labor progressed. She was not permitted to have many of the standard potions that were offered to witches in labor due to the curse, and therefore Hermione had a much more natural childbirth experience than was the case for most witches. Lucius himself was morbidly fascinated by the process, especially when it became apparent that Hermione's magical outbursts increased in frequency and intensity along with her contractions. He was happy to have such well honed reflexes, and the midwife was equally adept. The trainee midwife whom Hermione had grudgingly consented to have present was not as quick on her feet, however. Mirelle, Miranda, whatever her name was—she got hit first by a particularly nasty stinging jinx with an itching component, then a well aimed Furnunculus curse that had the witch muttering under her breath and excusing herself for a good fifteen minutes while she waited for the curing potion to take effect.

"Lucius, you bastard, you did this," Hermione cursed, her walking interrupted as another particularly strong contraction hit her. Despite her anger, she still reached for his hand, and he rubbed her back as well as he could manage while attempting to shield himself from another flare that was building. He had no idea what Draco and the Aurors were coping with outside, as it was requiring all of his focus to deflect anything she was throwing his way.

"I am truly sorry, pet. Hopefully she will be born soon," Lucius replied, aware that her contractions had been steadily growing for the past hour. He caught Astrid's eye and noted her nod. It was close now, Hermione's contractions progressing well for a first time mother.

"Oh, Godric Gryffindor, this hurts!" Hermione groaned, instinctively wanting to buckle her knees and bear down.

"Try this," Astrid suggested, bringing forth a cushioned chair of unusual design. "It will help support you when you push."

"Mmmm…Merlin's beard—" Hermione panted, and Lucius looked again at the midwife, whose face had developed an expression that boded ill.

"I don't believe your daughter is particularly pleased with this process—we need to get her calmed down," Astrid said, paying close attention to the monitoring spells she had cast. "Hermione, I need you to dial down on your aggression. I believe it is feeding through to your baby, and we don't want her to lapse back into negative associations with magic."

Hermione's pained face took on a worried look, and she said, "I'll try."

"Let me see if I can help," Lucius said, then closed his eyes and tried to be as gentle as possible with his wandless magic. It was a mild calming spell, but Hermione needed more help than the limited potions could give her, and the baby was already used to his magic. "Is that better?" he asked after a few moments, feeling the spell sink in, permeate through his wife in the gentle manner he intended.

"Mmm…I think so," Hermione said, her eyes closed as she concentrated on the fresh contraction that was just beginning.

"Good," Lucius said, keeping himself calm so he could keep the charm quietly going as Hermione's body relaxed into her labor.

"That's better," Astrid said, getting down to check on Hermione's progress. "You are very close now, Hermione. This little girl will be born soon."

"I hope so," Hermione said, gritting her teeth as the crest of the contraction rippled through her. She exhaled heavily, the pain clear in her voice as she moaned.

"You're an amazing witch," Lucius said, holding her hand and rubbing her back, where the chief of her pain was localized.

"Oh god, here comes another one," Hermione moaned, and she pushed through it.

"Good. A few more like that and she will be here," Astrid said, looking up briefly at Hermione. "Just push as hard you can, sustained pushes. You are almost done."

Hermione didn't have the ability to restrain the wordless noises of pain that escaped her lips, although she resisted screaming until the baby was crowning. It was a good kind of scream, a primal cry of pain with a reward at the end. Lucius was tight-lipped from anticipation and nervous energy, his control over the calming spell slipping as Hermione experienced the final contraction that would see their daughter born.

"JESUS!" Hermione screamed, a wave of magic flashing out from her that shattered light bulbs and stunned all the Muggles in the immediate vicinity. Lucius felt the blow to his shields, noted that Astrid buffeted it easily and guided the baby's head out, quietly urging Hermione to deliver their daughter's body with the next contraction. The apprentice midwife handled the flare well enough, and was ready with the items necessary to cut the umbilical cord when their little girl made her entrance with a mad, angry cry.

"Oh," Hermione cried, tears falling from her eyes as the messy little girl was placed on her chest, Lucius' hands tenderly cradling his new daughter alongside Hermione's.

"She's so perfect," Lucius said, pressing a kiss on the downy, vernix covered crown of his girl's head. "Thank you, my love, for this beautiful gift."

Hermione didn't mind that his lips were messy when he kissed her too, simply marveled in the amazing knowledge that this perfect little creature had come out of her, had been the little one kicking her, responding to her for so many months. "She's so beautiful," Hermione breathed, her face an expression of perfect love. "Hello, my lovely girl. I'm your mummy."

"Just one more push please Hermione," Astrid said gently, catching the placenta as it was delivered without thought on the part of Hermione.

"Welcome, Athelina," Lucius crooned, stroking the back of her head and meeting Hermione's gaze.

"Athelina Sophia Malfoy," Hermione said, and smiled at her husband. "She has your eyes," she observed, and Lucius replied, "And your hair."

"Poor girl!" Hermione said, but Lucius was having none of it.

"She is perfect," he insisted, warming his hands slightly to keep their daughter warm and snug.

"Would you like to try breastfeeding her, Mrs. Malfoy?" the apprentice midwife asked, and Hermione nodded. The witch helped Hermione position the baby at her breast, her hungry little mouth latching on quickly.

"She is strong!" Hermione commented with a laugh, the sensation of her child at her breast a combination of new pain and contentment.

"Perfect." And for the first time in a long time, Lucius felt perfectly content as he stroked his new daughter's hair, then kissed his wonderful wife on her forehead.


*A/N: Athelina means "noble" and Sophia means "wisdom".