Marriage of convenience (Draco x Astoria)

Epilogue

The sunlight poured lazily through the window, softly illuminating the outline of the furniture, paintings, and tapestries.

On a dresser, the silver frames that adorned the photos glowed briefly when illuminated. There were several dozens of them, and in all of them it was possible to see a young couple, smiling at the camera.

Draco and Astoria waved from Paris, Rome, the Norwegian Gulfs, the Amazon Rainforest, Tibet, and a multitude of other places. They had not stopped traveling since they got married, and apparently, they did not regret it.

However, they had returned to Greengrass castle by Astoria's decision; the woman considered that it was time to settle down, and although Draco had no problems running his business remotely, they missed having a permanent home.

They had moved in a few weeks ago, and Draco still found it hard to believe that they had lasted so long living in the same place. But that day he was glad, especially when Astoria nudged him awake.

"Draco, wake up," although she tried to remain calm, Astoria's voice reflected all her fear and nervousness. "Wake up!" she insisted. His eyes shot open, and he almost choked with fright.

"What's the matter?" he asked, still half asleep.

"I think he's coming," she said, very nervous.

"Who is coming?"

"Draco!"

He suddenly understood. Astoria was pregnant. They had discovered this in the middle of a cruise, and one of the reasons they had decided to return to England was because they wanted their child to be born there. In fact, Astoria was due a few days before.

Draco was so surprised, and at the same time, asleep, that when he stood up suddenly, he took all the sheets tangled around his legs, and fell to the floor. Astoria looked at him, trying not to laugh, and raised herself up on her elbows.

"Honey, we're going to have a child," she told him, calmly. "Do you think you will be able to call the midwife and your parents? Please?"

A part of Draco's brain decided to take control over his body, and helped him quickly get dressed, grab his wand, and do what Astoria had asked. As the minutes passed, he was feeling more rational, although he was much more nervous than Astoria.

She, on the other hand, once the initial shock had passed, had assumed that she was going to give birth and had focused on breathing slowly and silently counting the minutes it took to have each contraction. She had had nine months to prepare for that moment, and she was trying to endure the birth with cold head.

The house-elf Kali was preparing everything around her, trying not to disturb, but Draco felt completely useless, and without knowing what to do, he went out into the corridor and started pacing from one side to the other. When the midwife arrived, he insisted on going into the room with her, but Kali and Astoria convinced him to wait outside. They said they would let him know when it was time, and he decided to believe it.

Shortly after, his parents arrived, also a little nervous, but in high spirits. They tried hard to take Draco's mind off what was going on in the room, and even took him out to the gardens for a walk. A few hours later, Kali went to call him before the birth, to come to Astoria, and when he ran out, it was the Malfoy's turn to get nervous.

They returned to the door of the room, and began to walk back and forth, straining their ears to try to guess what was happening. However, shortly after, the door opened, and Draco emerged, carrying a sobbing bundle in his arms.

"It's a boy," he announced, very proud. "The midwife says he's big, and that he's the right weight," he added, sensing that this might have some importance. Lucius went forward to grab his first grandson, but Narcissa, using her ability to walk past him when she wanted to get him away from a mirror, beat him to it.