Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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A dry gasp left Harriet's throat as she peered down at her tiny, baby boy, who blinked his curious grey eyes up at his mother with a frown.
Hermione and Narcissa looked on while Draco sat on the edge of the nest and reached out to touch the baby's little hand that poked out over the blanket in which he was swaddled.
A bright smile cracked across Harriet's dry lips and her eyes filled with tears as she watched the baby in her arms coo and tighten his tiny grip on his father's finger.
"Merlin, he's beautiful, love!" Draco exclaimed to Harriet.
"He certainly is." Narcissa echoed Draco.
Hermione grinned.
Narcissa was smiling as widely as Harriet, although she was sitting on her hands to resist the urge to snatch her adorable grandson from his mother's arms and cuddle him close.
"You did well, Harriet." Hermione complimented her friend with a soft smile.
"Thanks, Hermione. Thank you for staying with me." Harriet said as she reached her free hand out shakily to grab Hermione's, "Thank you all." Harriet said as she glanced at Draco, Narcissa, the midwife, and the healer.
The baby fell silent but Harriet's face twisted in pain as she lay on her back and felt her belly tighten again.
The smiles faded from Narcissa and Hermione's faces.
"Love......?" Draco asked worriedly.
The contractions for the afterbirth were more prominent than Harriet expected and she groaned as she pushed her shoulders back against the pillow.
The midwife and the healer stepped in to examine Harriet and Narcissa took her opportunity.
As Harriet blew out a breath, the new grandmother gently lifted the little bundle out of Harriet's arms to leave the omega free to grab Hermione and Draco's hands.
"What's the matter with her?" Hermione asked while the midwife and the healer parted Harriet's legs.
"Is she having twins?" Draco asked with narrowed eyes, "Is there another baby?"
"No." The healer snapped.
"Everything's alright, don't worry." The midwife said in a much more pleasant tone as she glanced up from her place between Harriet's thighs, "We're just finishing up."
It wasn't anywhere near as intense as the birth of her son, but Harriet weakly held onto Draco and Hermione as the midwife and healer guided her on easing the placenta from her body.
Narcissa barely noticed what was happening in the background while she paced around the room, cradling her darling Draco's little boy.
Her smile was bright and her blue eyes were mirthful as she looked down at the sweet, blonde newborn in her arms.
The baby cooed at his grandmother softly and Narcissa lovingly pulled the blanket he was wrapped in a bit tighter around his miniature frame.
Narcissa remembered when Draco had cooed at her like that.
Narcissa remembered when Draco had been that small and that innocent.
Narcissa didn't care that it was Harriet Potter her son had chosen, she was only glad that he had taken a mate and so kindly made her a grandmother~.
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An hour later, the birth was completely over and all of the mess that went along with it had been vanished away.
Harriet was sitting comfortably amongst the blankets and pillows with her hair brushed and a clean nightdress on. The nest on Draco's bed had been sanitized, refreshed, and the tiny baby was diapered, clothed, and swaddled in a warmer blanket as he lay in his mother's arms.
Draco was half sitting on the bed beside his mate, looking down over his love and their baby, and half ready to pounce on anyone who came too close that he didn't approve of.
Not that that was a legitimate concern, as the new family was safely tucked away within the confines of Malfoy manor, but as a protective alpha and a brand new father, Draco's instincts were running nearly as on edge as Harriet's.
Draco had held the baby, Narcissa had held the baby, Harriet was tired of her best friend being ignored.
It was Hermione's turn.
"Draco?" Harriet asked quietly.
"What is it, love? What do you need?" Draco's answer was swift and immediate.
"Do you think you all could......give me and Hermione a moment alone?" Harriet asked quietly.
Narcissa and Draco looked at each other and Draco reluctantly nodded, "Of course......but I'm staying right outside the room, alright? Please don't ask me to go any farther than that, I really can't right now."
As Draco finished speaking, his grey eyes were soft and loving and the gentle way his gaze drifted down to their newborn melted Harriet's heart.
Hermione frowned as she watched the new family.
"Of course." Harriet replied, "Just for a moment...that's all."
Draco deftly rose from the bed and looked down at his mate as he asked, "You'll shout if you need me?"
"I'll shout if I need you." Harriet nodded.
Draco looked at his mother for a second and then they both left the room, followed by the healer and the midwife who also politely took their exits.
When Harriet and Hermione were finally alone, the two women gazed at each other and both of them gasped with tears welling in their eyes as Hermione rushed forward and gently sat on the side of the bed.
"Thank you, Hermione." Harriet said as she clutched her friend's hand in her free one, "Thank you so much for being here.....and......the basket....and......everything! Thank you!"
Hermione gave Harriet a gentle hug, careful not to hurt the baby in her friend's arms.
As they embraced, both women closed their eyes for a moment.
When Hermione pulled away, Harriet asked her with a sweet smile, "Would you like to hold him?"
Hermione nodded at Harriet and the new mother gently placed her little boy into Hermione's grasp.
A part of Harriet was foolishly worried that her friends may resent her son or daughter due to their paternity, but as Hermione gazed down at Harriet's son and he gazed at her with his adorable, huge eyes, a warm, genuine smile lit up her face.
"He's perfect, Harriet." Hermione complimented her friend as she looked over at her.
"I'm sorry I didn't come to you and Ron." Harriet said in a bitterly sad voice, "I didn't want.......I didn't want you to be disappointed in me."
"For mating with Malfoy?" Hermione asked, "Harriet haven't we always been there for each other? We would have stood beside you, we would have helped you. Promise me you won't ever do this again?"
"Have a baby with Malfoy?" Harriet asked with a playful grin.
"No, have a baby and not tell us!" Hermione laughed.
The two women giggled together and the baby let out a happy, little cry at the sound, delighted by the mirthful noise.
Hermione couldn't wait to go home and tell Ron all about Harriet's baby.
Actually, despite the horrors of labor she had witnessed firsthand, as Hermione held Harriet's child, she found herself wondering how long it would be until she had one of her own.......
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Hermione left a little while later and while Harriet took a brief nap, Draco took his son to meet his grandfather.
Lucius had stayed respectfully on the other side of the house throughout the ordeal but when Draco stepped into his study that evening, holding the small bundle in his arms, Lucius immediately looked up from his desk.
Draco frowned at his father and watched as Lucius stood and walked towards him with heavy steps.
"Father," Draco announced, "This is my son."
Lucius was silent as he raised his arms and Draco passed the baby to him carefully.
The baby whimpered under his grandfather's steely gaze and Draco shifted nervously on his feet as he watched every move Lucius made.
spoke to Lucius in an anxious tone, "Make sure you-"
"-I know how to hold an infant, Draco......This is your son....what?" Lucius snapped.
"What do you mean?" Draco frowned.
".....What's his name?" Lucius asked slowly in an irritated tone.
Draco's lips turned into a pout and he shook his head as he spoke, "Well, he's just been born, Father. We haven't given him a name yet."
"You've known about his impending arrival for how many months and you haven't chosen a name?" Lucius scoffed, "Your mother and I had yours selected before her belly had rounded. Draco, after the dragon. A proper name for a Malfoy."
Before Draco could respond, Lucius placed the bundle back into his arms.
Regardless of the hastiness of the motion, Draco saw the glimmer of happiness in his father's frigid, grey eyes as he stared down at the little blonde boy.
Lucius walked back over and sat down at his desk again as he remarked, "Name him and he'll be a Malfoy."
"Of course." Draco replied.
Draco watched the baby start to whine, push his little face against his chest, and he realized it was time to return his son to his mate.
As Draco walked out of his father's study with his son's fussy whimpers quickly turning into hungry cries, he smiled as he made his way back to Harriet.
Draco hadn't kept his hopes too high of earning Lucius's approval about the baby and he didn't really care if he received it or not, but the way Lucius had looked at the newborn and what he had said did make Draco smile.
Name him and he'll be a Malfoy~.