When the alarm on his wand sounded for the second time in as many minutes, Draco reluctantly dragged himself out of bed. With each passing day he was finding it harder and harder to carry on as though his life was normal, and he didn't have a huge secret that he was keeping from everyone. Draco had been back at school for almost two weeks and he was getting anxious about Hermione. She was due to give birth the following week and there was nothing he wanted more than to be at her side. Every day Draco was becoming increasingly nervous about his impending fatherhood, so he could only imagine how stressed his girlfriend would be.
Since it was Friday and he'd been back at school nearly two whole weeks without seeing Hermione in person, Draco was hoping he could persuade Dumbledore to let him visit her briefly over the weekend. Dumbledore had been kind enough to allow Draco to speak to Hermione via the floo network a couple of times, but he'd been reluctant to allow the Head Boy to leave Hogwarts before the baby was born.
As he showered and dressed, Draco formulated what he was going to say to Dumbledore in his head. The old man had been surprisingly supportive and Draco was confident he could play on the headmaster's sympathies to grab a few hours with his girlfriend. However he didn't want to push his luck with Dumbledore considering how much help the headmaster had given him and Hermione. Without Dumbledore's help the pair probably would have resorted to running away, and Draco didn't honestly think that would work very well. Lucius would have undoubtedly tracked them down and Draco shuddered to think what his father and Voldemort would do if they ever discovered he'd fathered a child with a muggleborn witch.
Brushing aside his dark thoughts, Draco grabbed his bag and headed down to the common room. The common room was a decent size and housed two large sofas, a table for studying and most importantly a fire that Dumbledore had connected to his mother's house. So far Draco had only used the floo network to speak to Hermione, but the headmaster had promised that once Hermione had the baby they would arrange it so they could travel back and forth between Hogwarts and Narcissa's house.
Throwing his bag onto one of the sofas, Draco headed through to the small kitchen alcove to grab some breakfast. Usually Draco went down to the Great Hall for his meals, but more often than not he ate breakfast in the Head Dorms. Draco had already started eating breakfast up in his rooms so that when Hermione returned his friends wouldn't think it was odd he suddenly wasn't turning up at breakfast. Draco had also set it up so that his friends knew not to visit the Head Dorms uninvited, if he wanted to see them he would go down to the dungeons. Again it was so when Hermione returned his friends wouldn't just show up and hear or see something they shouldn't. Luckily his friends all knew how much pressure Lucius put on him to be the best, so it was believable when Draco had told them that he would be concentrating on his school work and his duties as Head Boy this year.
Finishing his breakfast, Draco dropped his bowl and glass into the sink before grabbing his bag and exiting the Head Dorms. Draco's first lesson of the day was double Potions so he made his way down to the dungeons. Potions was a small class as Snape had very high standards for his N.E.W.T.S students and only a handful of people had made it into Potions in sixth year and had carried on into seventh. Draco, Blaise and Theo made up the Slytherin trio that took potions, and they were joined by two Hufflepuffs and four Ravenclaws. Normally Hermione was the only Gryffindor in the Potions class, but with her absence it meant the lesson was free of Gryffindors.
Unfortunately for Draco, Potions was the only class of the day where he was free from Gryffindors. Directly after Potions was Herbology with the Gryffindors and after lunch it was Charms with them. However the worst lesson of the day was the last one, Transfiguration. Draco actually liked the subject itself, it just happened that his desk was situated directly in front of Potter and Weasley and he usually spent the entire lesson trying to drown out their annoying chattering.
As usual Draco was in his seat before the pair arrived, and as always they were chattering on like a couple of old women. Half the time their chattering revolved around quidditch, although not team tactics much to Draco's disappointment, and girls. However as they entered the room and took their seats behind him, Draco heard they were talking about something different for once. They were still talking about a girl, only this time they were talking about Hermione.
"I just wish she was back," Ron sighed. "I miss her."
"So do I," Harry replied. "I just hope she's alright."
"Why wouldn't she be?" Ron asked and Draco could hear the concern in his voice.
"It just seems to be taking a long time for her to be well enough to return to school," Harry replied. "I didn't think Chicken Pox lasted this long."
Draco made a mental note to inform Dumbledore of Harry's worries. The last thing they wanted was for anyone to get suspicious of their cover story and find out they'd been lying. Hopefully if Dumbledore knew of Harry's worries he could find some sort of explanation as to why it was taking Hermione such a long time to be well enough to return to school.
As the lesson got underway, Draco listened as Hermione's friends continued to complain about her absence. However their concern was now more frustration as they tried to cope with lessons without their best friend's brains to get them through lessons. Even after a couple of weeks, Draco could see how much the pair were suffering without Hermione and he wondered if they would even pass their exams if she failed to return to school. Even if she did return, she wouldn't have the same sort of time to help them so he suspected they would be struggling either way.
Halfway through the lesson, Draco had tuned the Gryffindors out and was busy concentrating on his work. He was so busy concentrating on his work that he initially failed to hear the door open and someone enter the classroom. It was only when he felt a hand on his shoulder that he looked up and found Professor Dumbledore standing beside his desk.
"Mr Malfoy, gather your things and come with me," Dumbledore said.
Draco immediately knew Hermione was in labour so he shoved everything into his bag as quickly as he could, not bothering if he was ruining anything in the process. As he was hastily packing his bag he could hear every word of the loudly whispered conversation Harry and Ron were having.
"Do you think Malfoy's in trouble?" Ron whispered eagerly.
"Probably," Harry replied. "I don't know why Dumbledore gave him the position as Head Boy, it was asking for trouble."
"Maybe he'll lose the position and someone else will have to step in," Ron said. "I wonder if I stand a chance of replacing him."
Draco rolled his eyes at the pair's blatant gossiping as he shoved the last of his books in his bag and threw it over his shoulder. Not concerned by the fact everyone was watching him and gossiping about what was going on, Draco quickly followed Dumbledore from the classroom.
"It's time, isn't it?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"It is," Dumbledore confirmed. "Madam Pomfrey has already gone on ahead."
"How are you going to explain dragging me out of class?" Draco asked as the pair made their way to Dumbledore's office.
"As far as anyone is concerned, you're spending the weekend doing head duties," Dumbledore replied. "We would have said your mother has had an accident and you're visiting her, but that's too risky in case words gets back to your father. Depending on how things go this afternoon, you might be able to pop back at dinner time and reassure everyone you're not in trouble."
"I'm not leaving Hermione if she needs me or wants me to stay," Draco warned the headmaster as they entered his office. "I'll pop back for half an hour or so if everything is alright, but I'm not leaving her in the middle of having the baby."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Dumbledore said. "As I said, we'll see how things go."
Leading the way to the fireplace over the far side of the room, Dumbledore quickly activated the floo network and handed Draco the pot which contained his floo powder. Grabbing a handful of powder, Draco stepped into the fire and disappeared home in a whirl of emerald green flames.
When Draco emerged from the fire he didn't hang about to see if Dumbledore was following him. Instead he turned and sprinted out of the room and ran up the stairs at top speed. When he entered the corridor that ran the entire length of the top floor, Draco spotted Remus pacing the floor outside his room. Quickly he made his way over to the older wizard, and checked everything was okay.
"Everything seems to be in hand," Remus reassured the blond boy. "Madam Pomfrey has everything under control and Tonks and your mother are with Hermione."
"I want to see her," Draco said.
"Of course, she's been asking for you," Remus replied. "You go on in, we'll wait out here."
As he turned to enter his bedroom, Draco spotted Dumbledore making his way down the corridor. He'd fully expected the headmaster to be coming with him, but he hoped the old man understood why he'd ran on ahead. However he would have to check on that later, right now Hermione needed him and he was going to be there for her just like he'd promised.
When Draco entered the bedroom he took a moment to take in the scene before him. Hermione was lying on the bed, clutching at Narcissa's hand as she screamed loudly. Narcissa was doing her best to reassure a clearly terrified Hermione as Madam Pomfrey calmly went about her business at the base of the bed. Tonks was following instructions Madam Pomfrey was giving her as well as shooting Hermione reassuring smiles.
"Where is he?" Hermione cried, not having noticed her boyfriend enter the room. "I want Draco here now."
"I'm here, baby," Draco said, slowly making his way to the bed.
"I can't do this," Hermione told her boyfriend as Narcissa let go of her hand and let Draco settle himself beside Hermione.
"Yes, you can," Draco reassured his girlfriend as he took hold of her hand and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. "We're going to do this together, Hermione. We're going to do what Madam Pomfrey says and soon we'll meet our baby."
From the bottom of the bed, Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly as Draco worked on calming Hermione down. Hermione had been in a state since Madam Pomfrey arrived and so far no-one had managed to calm her down, so she was relieved that Draco seemed to be getting through to Hermione. The medi-witch hadn't been sure it would be a good idea to allow Draco into the room for the birth as she'd expected that the experience would have him a bag of nerves, but he was surprisingly mature and if he was nervous he was hiding it well.
"Okay Hermione, it's nearly time for you to push," Madam Pomfrey announced.
Hermione looked at Draco in panic, but her boyfriend just held onto her tighter and reassured her she could do it. On Madam Pomfrey's direction, Hermione held onto Draco even harder as she cried out in agony as she pushed.
"Good girl." Madam Pomfrey patted Hermione's leg reassuringly as the young witch collapsed against the pillows exhausted by her efforts. "Just a couple more and we'll be done."
Despite her exhaustion, Hermione managed to deliver the baby without incident. Draco held her hand the entire time and constantly encouraged her as she finished giving birth. Draco didn't even flinch when Hermione held onto him so hard that her nails drew blood from his hand, instead he focused his efforts on his girlfriend. Seconds after Hermione had delivered the baby, a loud cry echoed around the room and Madam Pomfrey wrapped a tiny bundle in some blankets.
"Is the baby okay?" Hermione questioned, craning her neck to see her baby despite being so exhausted.
"She's perfect," Narcissa replied with a smile as she looked down at her granddaughter lying on the bed.
"I just want to check her over, but she seems perfectly healthy," Madam Pomfrey reassured the young couple.
After almost five minutes, Madam Pomfrey handed Hermione a tiny baby, wrapped in a cream blanket. Hermione looked down at her daughter and she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Glancing up at Draco she could see he was just as affected as he gazed down at his daughter.
"She's amazing," Draco whispered, gently running his finger down the side of the baby's face.
"I can't believe we've got a daughter," Hermione replied, leaning her head against Draco.
For several minutes the young couple were left alone to bond with their new-born daughter. Tonks poked her head out of the room to inform Remus and Dumbledore that the baby was a girl, while Madam Pomfrey and Narcissa started to tidy the room.
"I think we need to clean up properly," Madam Pomfrey said after a short while. "Both Hermione and the baby need a few final checks."
"Actually, I should head back to school for a short while," Draco said, glancing at the clock and seeing it was nearly dinner time. He really didn't want to leave Hermione and his daughter, but he knew they needed to make sure no-one got suspicious about his absence from Hogwarts.
"You will be back, won't you?" Hermione asked.
"Just try and keep me away," Draco said with a grin. Leaning over he gently gave Hermione a kiss, before brushing his lips over the top of the baby's head. "I'll be back within the hour."
Tearing himself away from Hermione and the baby, Draco exited the bedroom to find Dumbledore waiting for him. After receiving congratulations from both Remus and the headmaster, Draco and Dumbledore set off back to Hogwarts.
"After you return to the Head Dorms you can floo back home," Dumbledore explained before they left the privacy of his office. "You may stay at home all weekend, but I want you back for lessons on Monday. If I need you before then, I'll send for you but hopefully you should have the whole weekend to spend with Hermione and the baby."
"Thank you Sir." Draco smiled at the headmaster. Despite never quite liking Dumbledore before now, he was incredibly grateful for everything the headmaster was doing for him and Hermione.
When he headed down to dinner, Draco had to work hard to hide the excitement and amazement he felt at becoming a father. Despite being prepared for the event for so many months, seeing his daughter for the first time had hit him harder than he'd expected. He'd never expected to feel such a strong wave of pure love for the tiny baby, nor did he expect to feel so protective of her so quickly. Within minutes his little girl had quickly found a place in his heart and along with Hermione and Narcissa, she meant the world to him already.
When he entered the Great Hall, Draco smirked as he spotted the disappointment on the faces of Hermione's friends when they saw he was still wearing his Head Boy badge. Settling down at the Slytherin table, he instantly dismissed their worries about him being in trouble. The excuse of head duties went down fine with his friends and they didn't bat an eyelid when he mentioned that he wouldn't be around much over the weekend.
Finally dinner was over and Draco raced back to the Head Dorms. Before leaving he took a few minutes to change, but the instant he was ready he flooed home. When he arrived home he found Tonks and Remus sitting in the front room, and they informed him that Narcissa was upstairs with Hermione and the baby.
When Draco entered the bedroom, he found a very different scene to the one a few hours ago. The bed had been freshly made and Hermione was sitting on the bed in a pair of clean pyjamas. Narcissa was sitting on a chair beside the bed and the crib from the nursery had been moved into the room and was now standing on the far side of the bed. However, Draco's attention was immediately grabbed by the baby in Hermione's arms. His daughter was no longer just wrapped in a blanket, she was now wearing a Babygro and looked freshly washed.
"I'll leave you three alone," Narcissa said as she stood up when Draco entered the room. "Just call if you need any help."
"We will. Thank you Narcissa." Hermione smiled gratefully at her boyfriend's mother as she left the room.
Settling down on the bed beside Hermione, Draco wrapped his arm around his girlfriend. "I love you, Hermione."
"I love you too." Hermione smiled up at Draco, happy to have him by her side again. "Do you want to hold your daughter?"
"Of course," Draco replied.
Hermione gently transferred the sleeping baby into Draco's arms, and she watched as Draco's grey eyes filled up as he held his daughter for the first time.
"She's so tiny," Draco whispered. "And beautiful, she looks just like you."
"I don't think she looks like either of us, I think she has her own look," Hermione said. "And we can't keep calling her, she. We have to decide on a name."
"What do you think?" Draco asked, looking down at his daughter. "Is she a Lyra or a Cassiopeia?"
"Personally I think she's more of a Lyra, but we can go with Cassie if you want," Hermione told her boyfriend.
"No, Lyra's perfect," Draco said with a smile.
"Lyra it is then," Hermione said, snuggling into her boyfriend as they watched their daughter sleeping peacefully in her father's arms.