Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 108 for you!
I'm really excited about this chapter, even though it may seem like not much happens, but it's like the start of the next plot arch. I can't wait for you all to read the next couple of chapters.
Tomorrow (2nd February 2020) is our 4th'The Marriage Decree' anniversary.
This month (February) is our 7th 'Forced Together' anniversary
Therefore, I will be uploading another chapter tomorrow.
There will also be another chapter around the 15th February too.
Love DW x
P.S. Enjoy
Draco and Hermione's son, Scorpius, had only been in the world for a little over an hour when there's a knock at their hospital room. They weren't expecting any visitors, as per their request, and their healers entered as they pleased.
"Mum, can you get that for us please?" Hermione asks since she and Draco are both lying on the bed, taking it in turns to hold their son.
"Of course," Sarah stands from the armchair and opens the door. "It's Pansy." She calls over.
"She can come in." Hermione states.
Having heard her friend's agreement, Pansy bursts into the room, a newspaper and envelope under her arm as she walks over to Hermione. She stops in her tracks at the sight of a bare chest Draco cradling his son.
"Oh," She mutters, dropping the items she'd brought with her on the floor. "That's your baby?" She points, looking at Hermione.
"Yes, that's him." Hermione chuckles.
Pansy nods, quickly, but lightly hugging her friend. "Congratulations, I didn't think it would be over so soon." She admits.
"Why are you here, then?" Hermione asks.
"Right, I thought you would want to know," Pansy picks the newspaper up from the floor. "There was an article in the Daily Prophet about you this morning. Minerva showed me during first lesson. It's by Maddox," She raises a knowing eyebrow as she passes the paper over, opened to the first page.
"Magnus Maddox?" Draco asks.
"Yeah, you know any other 'celebrity' 'journalist' by that name?" She rhetorically asks.
Hermione frowns as she reads the article. "The Daily Prophet is delivered at five o'clock every morning. How could Maddox possible know by then that I would be going into labour when I didn't even know until I woke up around six?" She questions.
Pansy smirks excitedly, "They were delayed. They weren't delivered until after eight o'clock,"
"They must have known beforehand, though, so they knew to delay them." She mentions, rereading the article. "There are too many details here. They knew we were at Hogwarts, that Pansy brought Mum, that Scorpius would be born early afternoon. How could they possibly know that?" She asks, becoming distressed.
"Hermione," Draco speaks calmly. "Don't worry yourself with it, you need to rest, I'll deal with it." He promises her, sitting up slowly, balancing Scorpius against his chest and passing him to his mother.
"You're not going anywhere," She warns him.
He presses a kiss to her head before pulling on his shirt. "Pansy, can I have a word?" He nods to the door, fastening his buttons.
Pansy follows him into the corridor. A few healers are walking around, so they speak quietly.
"Can you do me a few favours?" He asks.
Pansy stares at him narrowly, "Depends,"
"I just want you to bring Chris here, Hermione's father. I'm sure she would love to see him. It might take a while since he'll have to sort out childcare. Then, I need you to bring Harry and Ginny here." He states.
"Why them?" Pansy frowns.
"They're Scorpius' godparents," He says, and Pansy opens her mouth. "Don't worry, you'll be the next one's godmother." He assures her.
"No, I was going to say I like the name." She tells him.
Draco smiles, "Thank you, his middle name is Hyperion."
Pansy laughs, "You're really breaking tradition with that one."
Draco chuckles, "Yes, his name was struck from our world for being a squib, I wanted to honour my uncle and bring the name back." He explains.
"It's nice," Pansy nods. "I'll go do those favours for you. There's a card in there from all the staff, they want you to bring Scorpius in to meet everyone." She tells him.
"In a few weeks, perhaps." He agrees.
Pansy leaves on her tasks, and Draco knocks on Healer Heath's office door.
"Mr Malfoy, can I help you?" He asks as the door opens, courtesy of his skeleton model.
"Yes," He walks over to the healer, rolling his sleeves up. "It has come to my attention that the Daily Prophet has published an article on the birth of my child, with information nobody but the few people who were working here this morning would know. Now, I do not wish to accuse anyone of passing on information to the newspaper, but be warned, when I discover who is responsible, there will be consequences." He states.
Heath's face pales as he stands. "I can assure you, Mr Malfoy, that I base my patient and doctor relationship on trust. If what you say is true, and a healer on this ward is responsible, that is a direct breach of our confidentiality oath, and they will be disciplined accordingly." He speaks sternly.
"Thank you, I hope I can trust you. Hermione finds you preferable to the other healers on this ward, due to your Muggle qualifications, and I trust her opinion. I would hate to lose you as our healer after the birth of our son." Draco says.
"For what it's worth, I did not speak to the Daily Prophet." He says seriously.
Draco nods, leaving his office and returning to their room.
"Where's Pansy?" Hermione asks upon his return.
"That's a surprise," He smiles, sitting beside her on the bed.
"Where did you go?" She asks.
"I just spoke to Heath about the article. He promises me it was not him who divulged information, but he's going to investigate within his ward." He says.
Hermione nods, "It could have been anyone though. We flooed here, and there were lots of people in the foyer, even before seven o'clock. Anyone down there could have seen us arrive, and seen Pansy bring Mum here." She sighs.
"I'll speak to Maddox in a few days,"
"He's not going to give you his contacts." Hermione shakes her head, staring down at Scorpius. "He really is beautiful, isn't he?" She smiles.
"He's gorgeous." Her mum beams. "I can't wait for your dad to meet him. Scorpius has got the Granger's eyes. He'll love him." She admits.
"Chris will be able to meet him soon," Draco promises, straightening the blankets over Hermione. "Are you tired?" He asks. "Or in any pain?"
"I'm exhausted," She nods, yawning at the mention.
"Let your Mum have some grandma time while you sleep. I'm going to go home and change, but I'll be straight back." He suggests.
"Okay," Hermione nods, allowing her son to be taken from her arms by her mother.
"If you need anything, Sarah, just press the green button for our healer. We trust him more than any of the other healers." Draco tells her, pulling on his cloak.
Draco catches the lift down to the disapparation area of St. Mungo's where he apparates to the Estate. Waiting for him, as he should have expected, but in his tired state he hadn't thought, we're a horde of reporters who all started shouting questions at him.
He pushes through them until he reaches the gate, where an idea comes to him. Turning around, he scans the faces for Maddox, but predictably, he isn't there.
"Which one of you works for Magnus Maddox?" He asks, glaring around the crowd.
"Me, I do," A young woman burst through the crowd, her quill and parchment at the ready.
"Come with me," He tells her.
She laughs in the face of the other reporters, throwing her hair over her shoulder as she follows Draco with her head held high as they walk down Alpha Street.
"Thank you for this opportunity, Mr Malfoy. I've only been working with Magnus since July, and this is a great break for me." She explains the hint of some American accent.
"What's your name?" He asks.
"I'm Tabitha Penn," She holds her hand out, which he shakes once.
"And where are you from, Miss Penn?"
"New Hampshire," She answers.
"What exactly is it you do for Magnus?" He questions as they turn onto Beta Street.
"I collect information for him, I go out into the field, try to question the people he's interested in, or if not them, I question the people close to them." She explains.
Draco nods, feigning intrigue. "Did you collect the information for this morning's article on my wife and me?" He asks.
"That was all Magnus. It was crazy. He owled the editor late last night that he had a story on you and Ms Granger about the birth of your son and to halt printing until seven o'clock. Then he rushes in at six this morning with the article, asking me to proof before he sends it to the editor. Congratulations, by the way." Tabitha smiles.
"Thank you," Draco says, quickly moving on. "Where did he get his information from?"
"That's the crazy part. I asked Magnus that, and he said he has a lot of informants throughout the world, and a Seer hiding in Germany made a prophecy." She says with a light chuckle.
"Hermione won't like that," Draco mutters. "Do you have any idea which Seer?" He asks.
"Not really, just that they're in hiding somewhere in Germany, and that they have one-hundred per cent accuracy with their prophecies. It's why Magnus wanted it published this morning instead of tomorrow with all the other papers. He felt he had the lead on this story." She mentions as they start down Gamma Street.
"Does Magnus have any informants at St. Mungo's?" He asks.
"Definitely! Most of his informant information is addressed to the assistant of Mr Maddox, that's me. St. Mungo's informants are all receptionists and porters." She explains.
"Any healers?" He adds.
"Well, the newspaper has to hold a private record of our informants, for legal reasons, so no healer is gonna want to be an official informant. Sometimes, Magnus receives his informant information addressed to him privately. Especially for the article on you, that's coming out tomorrow about your son." Tabitha mentions.
"Do you know this prophecy?" He asks.
"It's going to be in the article tomorrow." Her eyes bulge excitedly. "We're the only ones that know it. Apparently, it foretells the end of the Death Eaters." She states.
A shiver runs down Draco's back. If this prophecy is anything like the Potter Prophecy, he is taking his son, and his wife, and running as far away from this mess as possible. He will not have his son having to go against this new Dark Lord for the greater good, as Dumbledore put it. He could not care less about the rest of the world, his sole responsibility now, is to protect Scorpius and Hermione, and he would do that until his dying breath.
"Mr Malfoy?" Tabitha waves a hand in his face.
He stares at her, realising he has stopped outside his front door. "That will be all, thank you for your help, Tabitha. See yourself out of the Estate. I'll be leaving in five minutes so don't think about snooping around here. I'll know if you're not at the gate." He tells her, entering his house and shutting the door in his face.
Draco climbs the stairs two at a time, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. In their bedroom, he wishes he could lie down for a nap, but he can't. He changes into a pair of jeans and a clean shirt. He charms his hair back into a small knot at the back of his head, tied with a small piece of leather. He pulls on a jacket as he descends the stairs, heading into the kitchen for a quick snack. He had eaten most of Hermione's toast earlier that day when she couldn't stomach food, but it hadn't been much. He quickly makes himself a sandwich, grabbing an apple from the bowl before leaving, locking the door behind him with a spell.
At the gate he spots Tabitha stood with the rest of the reporters, looking put out at having been tricked into revealing information about her boss and being given nothing in return.
He smiles amusedly at her before disapparating back to the St. Mungo's. He eats his sandwich as he rides the lift back up to the eighth floor and walks back along the corridor to their room. Hermione is sleeping when he returns, and Sarah is staring lovingly at her grandson, swaddled in a blanket and wrapped in her arms.
"How are they both?" Draco asks quietly, walking around to check on his son's face.
"Perfect," She grins. "That nice doctor of yours came in a few minutes ago. He said when Hermione wakes, he'll come back and go through some medical forms with you both."
Draco nods, leaning over the back of the armchair to smile at his son, sleeping in his grandmother's arms.
"Is your mother not coming to visit?" Sarah asks.
Draco's smile drops into a frown. "No, we're not on great terms at the moment. My mother will have to wait until we're allowed home, then when Hermione's ready, we'll visit with Scorpius." He explains.
"I don't know what's going on with her, Hermione hasn't told us anything except your mother doesn't like her, but don't you think seeing her grandson might change that," Sarah suggests.
Draco shakes his head, sitting on the side of Hermione bed. "My mother can be manipulative. She tried to come between Hermione and me, then when she found out about the pregnancy, she tried to tell us how to raise our child. She insulted the Weasley's, who have been nothing but kind and accepting to me. They are nothing like the family I grew up in, and the Weasley's are the kind of family I want my son to grow up with." He admits.
"Aw, isn't that sweet," Pansy smirks as she enters, Harry and Ginny, with Teddy and James, following her. "Is she asleep?" She asks.
"Yes," Draco whispers. "We'll take this outside." He states, taking his son from his mother-in-law.
Draco leads their group to the nearest family waiting room, which is thankfully empty. Once they're all inside, he asks Pansy to lock the door, which she does, no questions asked.
"I'll admit, I was a little surprised when Pansy said you wanted to see us," Harry states, placing James down near a toy box where Teddy was already playing.
"You both probably know why you're here, but Hermione would want to do the honours so we won't say any more on the matter." Draco mentions.
Ginny nods with a knowing grin. "Can I hold him?" She asks, holding her arms out.
"Yes, I need to talk to Harry about something," Draco passes his son to his godmother.
"He's so small. Was James ever this small?" She asks, brushing his little cheek with her finger.
"He was smaller," Harry smiles.
"Harry," Draco nods over to the other side of the room with Pansy.
"What's up?" He asks.
"Did you read the Daily Prophet this morning?" He asks.
"I read Molly's copy." Harry nods, his expression turning serious.
"I spoke to Magnus Maddox's assistant earlier. She told me a Seer, currently hiding in Germany, prophesied the birth of my son, and apparently, he's going to bring an end to the Death Eaters."
"Are you serious?" Harry's face pales. "This is not good, it sounds like-"
"Your prophecy? I know." Draco interrupts.
"We haven't been able to find Professor Trelawney since the war." Harry states.
"It's not her, this Seer has a one-hundred per cent accuracy." He states.
Harry nods, "It's Trelawney. Every one of her prophecies has come true."
Pansy snickers. "Really, I doubt that."
"There's a difference between prophecies and predictions," Harry explains, finally making use of his divination NEWT.
"It doesn't matter, the prophecy is being published in tomorrow's paper. Maddox has informants throughout the world. He has some receptionists and porters from St. Mungo's on the Daily Prophet's records, but his assistant said he also has secret informants, which I'm assuming means senior members of institutions such as St. Mungo's and the Ministry." Draco continues.
"Insider spying is illegal." Harry nods. "I'll pass this on to my higher-ups in the Auror department."
Draco shakes his head. "Can you trust everyone in the Auror department?" He asks, and Harry pauses for a second too long. "I don't trust them, Harry. Keep this between as few people as possible."
"Okay." Harry agrees, rubbing his forehead. "You know, between you and Hermione, I've done more secret investigations than the department has trusted me with." He states.
"Really, I thought you passed your training with top scores, which was surprising." Draco jokes.
"Yes, in July. I've only been a fully qualified Auror for two months, I get given paperwork to do form the senior Aurors." He explains.
"You're not going to get into trouble at the Ministry for doing this, are you?" Draco asks.
"If they find out, I'll tell them it's part of a side investigation into the Death Eater uprisings." Harry shrugs. "My current assignment is going through Death Eater sighing witness statements. It's laborious." He sighs.
"Thank you for doing this," Draco tells him.
"It's no problem." He shrugs.
Pansy clears her throat, reminding them of her presence. "I've got to go pick Chris up." She mentions, unlocking the door and leaving.
"Let me meet this son of yours," Harry claps his hands together as they walk over to Ginny. "What's his name?" He asks.
"Scorpius Hyperion," Draco answers.
Harry stares at him. "Is there a meaning behind the names?" He asks, sitting beside Ginny.
"It's partially because it derives from Scorpio, a constellation, and it's Latin for scorpion, which is similar to mine, Draco being the Latin for dragon." He explains. "Scorpio is a water sign, and I've always had a fondness from water. It's probably something to do with the Slytherin common room being below the lake." He mutters, embarrassed at divulging too much information about himself.
"I did find the Slytherin common room a lot calmer than ours," Harry admits before he realises what he just said. "I mean, I imagine I would find it calmer." He tries to backtrack.
Draco laughs. "I know about our second year and the polyjuice potion, Hermione told me about it a while ago." He admits.
"Did she tell you she turned into a cat?" Ginny asks in amusement.
"Yes, she did." Draco nods.
"Daddy Harry?" Teddy wanders over to them.
"Yes, Teddy?" Harry asks, pulling the boy up onto his lap.
"Who dat?" He points at the baby.
"That's my baby," Draco tells him
Teddy looks up at Draco, seemingly becoming aware his cousin is present. "Daco baby?" He asks, sliding of Harry's knee to walk over to Draco.
"Yes, this is Scorpius, your cousin," Draco tells him, picking him up onto his knee as Ginny moves the baby around so Teddy can see his face.
"'Orpius," Teddy attempts to repeat.
Harry laughs, "Good boy, Teddy. Scorpius."
"Hi 'Orpius," Teddy waves his chubby hand at the baby.
Scorpius opens his eyes for a moment before going back to sleep.
Teddy giggles, clapping his hands. "He see me." He laughs.
"Scorpius is very tired, so we should take him back to his Mummy for his nap," Ginny tells him.
"Do I get a hold?" Harry asks, holding his arms out for his godson.
Ginny passes Scorpius over to her husband, then picks her own son up from the carpet.
Draco takes them back to their room, holding hands with Teddy as they go. Hermione's awake when they enter, sipping from her glass of water.
"Ginny, Harry, I didn't know you were here," She smiles, happy to see two of her best friends.
"Hermione, he's so cute," Ginny says as she hugs her friend. "We had a bit of a cuddle."
"He really is adorable," Harry agrees. "I think he's making Gin broody." He jokes, and Ginny rolls her eyes.
"Have you told them?" Hermione asks Draco, pressing the button on her remote to bring the bed up into a sitting position.
"Told us what?" Ginny asks, looking between them both.
"About the Daily Prophet article?" Harry asks, nonchalantly.
"You're both are awful liars, you know." Hermione laughs.
"Draco didn't tell us, we kind of assumed when we were the only ones invited to come to see the baby," Harry admits.
"Mum was not happy," Ginny adds.
"I didn't want too many visitors straight away. I'll invite everyone to come around to our house when we go home, which will probably be tomorrow." Hermione explains.
"That's fine, it's up to you." Ginny reminds her.
"What's this news everybody knows?" Sarah asks from the armchair.
"Sorry, Mum, Harry and Ginny are going to be Scorpius' godparents," Hermione announces. "If they agree." She adds.
"Of course, we agree, he's practically our nephew anyway since Mum has taken him in as her grandson." Ginny laughs, hugging Hermione again.
"That is sweet, Scorpius and your children won't have much of an age gap. They'll grow up the best of friends." Sarah points out.
"They won't be in the same year at Hogwarts, though," Ginny mentions sadly. "He couldn't have come a week early."
"Two weeks was early was enough," Hermione tells her.
"I want to hold him again," Ginny states, sitting at the end of the bed.
Harry passes Scorpius to his wife again. "I told you she was broody." He mutters to Draco.
"I heard that," Ginny tells him. "And you're just as broody as me, but it's not going to happen. I told you, we need to wait until James is at least two years old and I've played at least one season." She reminds.
Sarah stands, excusing herself to use the bathroom, so Draco takes the spare seat.
The four of them chat about parenthood, specifically what to look forward to in the first couple of weeks. Scorpius gets passed between his two godparents until he becomes restless. Hermione takes her son, having missed his closeness during her short nap. She rests him against her chest, and he soon settles down.
Suddenly, from the corridor outside their door, Sarah's raised voice can be heard arguing with someone.
"You are not entering this room. I don't care what magic you can do, over my dead body will you be allowed anywhere near my daughter and grandbaby." She announces.
Draco and Harry are out of their seats and at the door before Hermione can ask anything of them. Draco opens the door, only to come face to face with his own mother, arguing with his mother-in-law.
"Ah, Draco, dear, tell this woman to move aside. I think she's forgotten I am also the grandmother of the baby in there. She has no right dictating who can and cannot see him." Narcissa laughs lightly at the absurdity of a Muggle, trying to tell her what she can't do.
"I told Sarah you would not be visiting. She is simply protecting Hermione and our child." Draco defends his mother-in-law. "I've got this," He looks at Sarah, who nods, entering the room and closing the door behind her.
Draco hears it lock behind him, and assumes Ginny's responsible, protecting her friend.
"Mother, what made you think you could just show up here? You know how Hermione and I feel about you being a part of our child's life after everything. When we want to introduce you to our child, we will visit you." Draco tells her.
"I know how Hermione feels," She scoffs.
"When you went against my wife, you went against me too. It was a joint decision. While we appreciate most of the gifts you have been sending us, you can't buy the right to know your grandchild, you know that. You need to prove that you deserve that right." Draco tells her.
"How am I supposed to prove my sincerity when you don't visit me, and you won't allow me to visit you?" She asks. "I haven't seen Hermione in months, and I only see you once a month, if I'm lucky, for half an hour." She adds.
"Mother," Draco hisses. "You tried to poison my wife, to make her infertile. How can you expect Hermione to ever trust you enough to visit you? She doesn't feel safe around you, and I don't blame her. My duty as a husband, and now as a father, is to protect my family. If you truly want to know your grandchild, you will find a way to prove yourself that doesn't involve bribing us with gifts, or making my family feel unsafe." He finishes. "Now, I want you to leave."
Narcissa stares at her son, a look of shock on her face at being spoken to in such a way by her own son. "I can assure you; I don't know anything about any poison, -"
"Don't insult me, mother," Draco scowls. "Leave." He turns on his heel and knocks on the door.
"That was me," Harry admits, unlocking the door. "I'm going to walk your mother out." He tells Draco, who nods his appreciation as he enters the room, locking the door behind him.
Harry glances up at Narcissa, shaking his head. "Come on, Mrs Malfoy." He walks her to the lift in silence.
"I can see myself out, Mr Potter," She tells him.
"I know you can, I'm making sure you do," He tells her as they enter the lift. Harry presses the button for the disapparation floor before turning to face Narcissa Malfoy. "What is wrong with you?" He asks abruptly and accusatively.
Narcissa glares down at him, then refuses to acknowledge his presence as she stares ahead at the doors.
Harry reaches out, pressing the alarm button, instantly stopping the lift.
"Mr Potter," She hisses sharply.
Harry smirks as a voice from the speakers, announce someone will be assisting them in a few minutes.
"You have a few minutes to explain to me why, after our little conversation, you still treated Hermione like dirt, and why now you want to be a part of their family?" He asks, wand twiddling in his fingers as he leans against the lift wall.
"Draco deserves better," She starts.
"He does deserve better than you," Harry agrees.
Narcissa finally turns to Harry. "The Malfoy's are a pureblood family, -"
"Not anymore," Harry points out.
"Exactly, centuries of Malfoy and Black family traditions were thrown away all because of Minister Shacklebolt and his despicable marriage decree. I could wait for Draco to impregnate some girl, divorce her and disown the child before continuing our pureblood rites with a pureblood girl. Then I saw him fall in love with- Ms Granger, I heard stories of their relationship, I read about it in the Daily Prophet." She explains.
"The Daily Prophet is full of crap," Harry shakes his head.
"Not always, Mr Potter, the article this morning seemed to be truthful. It's why I came here."
"So, am I correct in understanding you continued to treat Hermione awfully in an attempt to scare her away from Draco, make her divorce him after the birth of their child?" Harry infers.
Narcissa stands taller, face stern. "You are cleverer than you look, Mr Potter."
"Thanks," Harry smiles. "But you must have realised Hermione would not fall for such a stupid ruse." He laughs. "All it accomplished was pushing Draco away from you, which I said would happen." He points out.
"Yes, I realise that now." She snaps.
"Is that why you've done a complete turn, in an attempt to bring Draco back to you, even though he comes as a package deal with Hermione and their child?" He asks.
"Draco is the only family I have left" Narcissa states, her face softening slightly. "Lucius has thirteen years remaining in Azkaban. I wanted to keep the Malfoy heritage for my husband. He will expect certain matters to have occurred in his absence." She admits.
Harry comes to a realisation. "You remind me of my Aunt Petunia."
Narcissa scowls, "A muggle."
"Yes." Harry nods, pocketing his wand, seeing no threat. "I don't understand all this pureblood heritage drama," He waves his hand. "But I grew up in a household were appearances meant a lot, my Uncle was the head of the house and made all decisions for everyone, and my aunt followed his every word. If my uncle ever went to prison," Harry grins at the unlikely prospect. "My aunt would do everything to keep things the same in his absence. She would try to keep up their appearances in the neighbourhood, in their social circles, make everything seem as though it were fine, keep the family together. Still, I know she would constantly be struggling and in pain over everything." He states.
Narcissa shakes her head. "I see no correlation."
"I don't want to pry, but you should try talking to someone about whatever is going on in your head because you're hurting your family in your attempt to protect them and it'll only get worse if Draco, in his own attempt to protect his own family, completely cuts you from his life," Harry tells her softly.
Narcissa stares at him in uncertainty.
The same voice breaks their silence as they instruct the occupants to press the button for their floor again. Harry does so, and the lift restarts. Neither he nor Narcissa exchanges any further words as they part ways on the disapparation floor.
Harry waits for Narcissa to disapparate away before turning to return to the eighth floor. However, a surprised voice calls his name.
"Harry," His auror mentor, Alphard Vale, calls again. "I didn't expect to find you down here." He admits, walking over to him. "Your mother-in-law told me you'd be here with Ms Granger." He adds.
"Yes, I'm with my wife and children," Harry adds.
"There's a massive DE uprising in Derbyshire. We're all being called in." Vale informs him.
"What's in Derbyshire?" Harry asks.
"The Peak District," Vale says. "Apparently a massive number of muggle school children are camping in the woods. There have been no injuries yet, but the DE are causing havoc. The muggle authorities have only just informed us so who knows how long this has been going on, how many people are affected. Still, one thing is for sure, there's going to be a lot of obliviating tonight." The senior auror sighs.
"I'll catch up at the Ministry, I have to tell Ginny, or she'll wonder where I got to," Harry tells him.
Alphard Vale nods, disapparating away to the Ministry.
Harry turns on his heel, striding over to the lifts, pressing the button repeatedly until it arrives. He climbs inside, pressing the button for the eighth floor. As soon as the door opens, he rushes out, bumping into someone else who knows him.
"Harry." They state, hand on his shoulder, holding him away.
He looks up to find his sister-in-law, Audrey, with her mother and infant brother.
"Oh, Audrey, hi, how are you?" He steps back.
"Good. What are you rushing for?" She asks.
"I've been called into the Ministry, just need to let Gin know." He states.
Audrey frowns, "What's happening at the Ministry?" She asks him.
Harry knows the woman works within the Ministry, and he had seen her walking around the foyer a few times. Still, he didn't know what department she worked for, and for that reason alone, he assumed she worked in the Department of Mysteries.
"Just some uprisings, nothing the Auror Department can't handle." His eyes shift to Audrey's mother, not wanting to divulge information to none Ministry staff.
Audrey nods, motioning for her mother to enter the lift.
"Molly's having a little to get together on the fifteen this month. It was supposed to be a pre-celebration for Hermione's birthday before the baby came. You should come." He informs her.
Audrey stares at him in confusion. "Why do you want me to come?" She asks him.
"I feel you should be putting more into your relationship with Percy. He's trying." Harry states.
"My relationship is none of your business." Audrey presses a button and the doors close.
Harry shakes his head as he carries on down the corridor. Inside, Hermione's father, Chris, is sat holding his grandson.
"What took you so long?" Ginny asks him.
"Something is going down in Derbyshire, I've been called into the Ministry." He explains. "Alphard just caught me after your mother left," He nods at Draco. "Then I was talking to Audrey." He rolls his eyes.
"Audrey's here?" Ginny frowns.
"She was just leaving with her mother and brother." He shrugs. "I'm sorry, Hermione, I'm going to have to go. Congratulation on Scorpius, he's adorable, and I'm honoured to be his godfather." He kisses the top of his best friend's head. "Draco," He nods to the door.
Draco follows with a sigh, "Did my mother say something to you?"
"Yes, you should talk to her" He states. "I'm in no way defending her after everything I know that she's done, but I get the feeling she's struggling needs to talk to someone." He adds quietly.
"She's a fully-grown woman, responsible for her own actions, she can handle herself." Draco frowns.
"I know, but she shouldn't have to if she's going through something. We're all still being affected by the war, but most of us have someone to talk to, I don't think she does." Harry mentions.
"I'll think about it." Draco finally agrees.
"Great," Harry smiles.
"Is this a Death Eater uprising?" Draco asks.
Harry nods once. "A little suspicious on today of all days, with everything going on with you and Hermione, and this prophecy. I'll keep you posted." He assures Draco, knowing the other man was going to asks.
"Thank you," Draco says sincerely before he leaves. "Ginny, do you need any help taking your children home?" He asks, realising Ginny's been left to disapparate with a year-old baby and a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler.
"I'll head back to the Burrow with them," Pansy suggests. "Ron and the twins are there anyway." She adds with a shrug, not making a big deal of the offer.
"Thanks, I think James is getting restless," Ginny says, currently attempting to wrestle the boy into his coat.
"I'll take Teddy," Pansy takes the older boy's hand.
"Hi," Teddy greets her.
"Yes, hello again, you said hi earlier." She reminds him, and he just giggles.
"Thanks for everything, Pansy," Draco tells her, and she punches his arm affectionately. "Thanks," He shakes his head.
Ginny hugs her friend a little awkwardly since Hermione is sat in bed, and she has her son balanced on her hip.
"You'll have to let Mum know when she can visit," Ginny tells Hermione.
"Of course, it'll be soon." She promises.
Once their friends and the two children have left, Draco sits down beside Hermione on the edge of her bed with a yawn. He rests his head back against the bed, that had been raised with the remote. Chris is still holding his grandson on his lap, gently stroking his hands across the baby's soft curly hair, that had lightened slightly to a lighter shade of brown. Sarah sat at the edge of Hermione's bed, talking to her husband, fondly.
"If you're tired, maybe you should go home and sleep," Hermione suggests.
Draco laughs, "I'm not leaving here without you and Scorpius." He tells her, taking her hand in his and caressing gently.
Hermione frowns, "Is this Derbyshire thing a Death Eater rising?" She asks quietly.
Draco nods, thinking back to the prophecy. "When I went home to change, I spoke with Maddox's assistant, she was waiting to question me."
Hermione shakes her head. "Of course."
"She told me Maddox has got informants on the Daily Prophet's records, and secret informants she doesn't know about, but she knows he's got them all over the world. None of the known informants are healers, which makes sense, it would break their confidentiality oath." He explains.
"So, it could be any healer who works here." She sighs.
"It gets worse, you said Maddox would have had to have known beforehand to delay the Daily Prophet. Well, one of his secret informants seem to be a certain Seer, hiding in Germany, who has a hundred per cent success rate." He states.
Hermione frowns. "Trelawney?"
"Harry seems to think so," He nods.
"She prophesied the birth of our child?" She asks.
"Apparently so, Maddox's assistant told me they're printing it in tomorrow's issue, and the prophecy apparently mentions the birth of our child will bring an end to the Death Eaters." He whispers to her.
Hermione shivers as a chill runs down her back.
"Hermione, are you feeling okay?" Her mum asks, having felt her sudden movement.
"Yes, mum, I'm feeling as well as I can be," She smiles.
Sarah doesn't seem convinced but seems to realise they were in the middle of a hushed conversation and goes back to talking to Chris about their grandson.
"I don't want you to worry, I will not let anything happen to you or Scorpius. I will not risk our son's life for any great good. I don't care, we'll run as far away from here as possible if it comes to that. Remember what you told me before we found out we were expecting. We'll run away somewhere warm, off the grid, buy a cottage and live off the land." He reminds her, wiping a few tears from her eyes.
Hermione closes her eyes, leaning her head back against her pillow. "Why can't we catch a break?" She sighs. "Something good finally happens, our son is born, but then all this bad comes along." She mutters. "And they're targeting us, our family."
"It will be okay," He squeezes her hand comfortingly.
"You don't know that, Draco." She sighs again.
"Are you sure you're alright, Hermione?" Her mum asks again.
"I think I just need to sleep." She admits, opening her eyes.
"We should leave, let you both bond with Scorpius and let you both get some rest." Chris stands up.
Draco stands too, taking his son from his father-in-law. Scorpius turns into his father's chest, his small fist gripping the fabric of his shirt in his sleep.
"We'll give you a call as soon as we're allowed home then you can come to visit again," Draco assures them.
Once they've all bid each other goodbye with hugs, and Hermione's parents have left, Draco returns to the bed with Scorpius.
"Just look at him," He grins. "I look at Scorpius, our son, and know everything is going to be okay because there's no other option." He admits.
"All we can do is wait for tomorrow's newspaper and read this prophecy. No matter what it says, we aren't alone. We've got so many friends and family on our side. We don't know how many Death Eater's there are left, or that have been recruited, but we have to be in the majority." She says.
Draco nods in agreement. "I've got Harry working on finding who Maddox's informants are, once we know more, we can plan, but right now, you need to sleep. Scorpius and I will be here when you wake up, I promise."
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