You Raise Me Up

Sorry it took so long...I just had to make it just right...



YOu guys rock! I\'m so glad you are enjoying the story. I will try to make the last bits of the story as good as the first. Just hang in there...we\'re almost home...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



When Hermione came to, she was surrounded by enough flowers to fill a small bathtub with petals, and still have enough left over to fill the sink. She blinked groggily. The last thing she remembered was trying to give birth…



“The baby!” she cried suddenly, sitting bolt upright. She heard a sharp ‘shh!’, and turned to see Draco sitting in a chair by the bed, a tiny pink bundle in his arms. Pink!



“A girl?” she asked, and squealed softly when Draco nodded. “Is everything straight? All ten fingers and toes?” she asked.



“You both have a clean bill of health. Now…there is a small matter of a name…” Draco said.



“I already have a name all picked out! Lyra Ophelia.” Hermione said, very sure of herself. Draco nodded slowly, taking in the name.



“Lyra Ophelia Malfoy…” he said, and looked down into the sleeping face of his infant daughter. “You will have only the best, Lyra. As a blood Malfoy female you are entitled to so much. I can’t wait to spoil you. You will never have to wonder if you are loved, my darling, for I will shout it to the rooftops if you so will. Sleep well, my little duckling, for when you wake; I shall give you the world.” He whispered, and pressed his lips gingerly against Lyra’s forehead. He heard a sniffle, and looked up to see Hermione sobbing silently.



“That was beautiful…” she said, and wiped her eyes on her sheets.



“It’s the truth…” he said softly.



~~



The next few weeks were quite hard on the young parents. Sleep was taken from them by Lyra’s hungry cries at night, and rest was taken during the day for the same reason.



One particularly chilly day found Draco and Hermione trying to calm a wailing Lyra. She had been fed, changed, and Hermione couldn’t discern any reason for discomfort, and it was disheartening that she couldn’t calm her own child. She sat in a rocker in the family room, gently rocking Lyra, and trying to soothe her.



“It’s okay, baby. Please…please don’t cry…what’s wrong, love? Why are you crying?” she cooed. Draco was sitting in a chair nearby, looking quite worse for wear. He hadn’t bothered to comb his hair that day, and it was sticking up at odd angles over his head, and in general making Harry’s hair look calm. The dark circles under his eyes indicated that he had not slept well either.



Lucius stepped into the family room, wincing visibly when the wailing of his granddaughter hit his ears.



“By the gods! What’s wrong?” he asked, looking between Hermione and Draco. Draco sat in his chair, staring ahead as if he didn’t hear or see his father. His eyes stared, unblinking, straight ahead of him. Hermione looked up, and burst into tears of frustration.



“I don’t know!” she cried. “She won’t stop crying! I’m a bad mother! She hates me!” she sobbed, her shoulders shaking. Lucius realized that if he didn’t intervene now then both of them were, in all reality, likely to drop off the edge of sanity. She crossed the room quickly, and held out his arms for Lyra.



“Here.” He said, motioning for Hermione to transfer the baby. “She doesn’t hate you, you silly twit. Babies are not as clueless as some people think. They know who is who. She knows you’re mummy, but you’re so tired you barely realize it yourself. She senses your frustration, and it frightens her.” He said, and gently scooped the bawling infant into his arms. He settled down on the sofa, and peered down into Lyra’s little red face.



“Sleep my child and peace attend thee,

All through the night

Guardian angels God will send thee,

All through the night

Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,

Hill and dale in slumber sleeping

I my loved ones\' watch am keeping,

All through the night



Angels watching, e\'er around thee,

All through the night

Midnight slumber close surround thee,

All through the night

Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,

Hill and dale in slumber sleeping

I my loved ones\' watch am keeping,

All through the night”



By the time Lucius had finished with the lullaby, Lyra was fast asleep in his arms. Hermione watched, amazed.

“How did you…?” she trailed off when a smug smile appeared on his face.



“Don’t worry about it. Now…when did you last feed her?” he asked.



“About twenty minutes ago…” she said.



“So that gives you about two hours until the next feeding?” he inquired. Hermione nodded mutely. “Sleep. You and Draco go take a nap. I have this little one all under control…” he said gently. Hermione looked over at Draco, who was still staring at a random place against the wall, his mouth hanging open slightly. Hermione stood from her chair, went to Draco, and shook him gently. He jerked, and looked up.



“Mione? Where’s Lyra?” he asked. Hermione pointed, and Draco’s gaze landed on his father, sitting on the sofa with Lyra as if it were the most common thing in the world. “Thank the gods…” he said softly.



“Come on, love. Your father says he’ll watch Lyra until she has to eat again. Let’s go take a nap.” She said, and tugged his arm.



“Nap? Okay.” He said, and the two disappeared from the room.



Lucius chuckled softly when the two left, and looked down at his granddaughter. “So…this is the first time I’ve really got to talk to you. I want you to know that you’re going to cause quite the stir when your mother and father start taking you places. A half-blood Malfoy. But I’m not complaining, darling. It’s just a bit odd.” He said.



Lucius looked up from Lyra when he heard soft huffing, and nearly laughed aloud when Orion crawled into the family room. He had apparently managed to shake off his parents, and explore the house without them. He crawled over to the sofa, and with a look of great concentration was able to pull himself up on the sofa. He looked at Lucius, his large yellow eyes locked on his face. The calculating stare turned to the bundle in his arms, and Lucius swore the little tyke cocked his head. Using the sofa as a rail, Orion took a few steps towards where Lucius was sitting. He stumbled twice and had to right himself before he made it to his blonde uncle.



Once he reached him, he held his arms out expectantly. Orion was a quiet child, and relied on his hands to relay his wants or desires. Not that he was above using sound, mind you, he just used it very little. Lucius looked at the sleeping bundle in his arms, and then at the little dark-haired boy at his knee.



“Where are your parents?” he murmured. He shifted Lyra into one hand, and leaned down to wrap the other around Orion, and gently pulled him up onto the sofa. Orion immediately settled against Lucius’ side, and closed his eyes. Lucius chuckled softly.



“My gods…I’m a child magnet…” he said softly. But his own eyes felt slightly heavy, and he didn’t want to bother either child by standing. He shifted Lyra so that she was lying on his chest, and he slid further down into the sofa to become comfortable. “You children will be the death of me…” he mumbled, before he joined the children in slumber.



~~



Bellatrix skidded into the family room, desperately searching for Orion. He had managed another Houdini trick with his nanny-elf, and was at present MIA. She almost groaned with relief when she saw him sprawled across Lucius’ lap. The man looked quite a sight. Little Lyra was on his chest, her little binky moving ever so often as she sucked. Orion had draped himself over Lucius’ long legs, and used Lucius’ cloak as a blanket. Lucius himself was asleep, his head tilted back against the sofa, his blonde hair fanned out behind him.



So this is what has become of the infamous Lucius Malfoy? She thought, amused. He has become a mattress for children…if the Dark Lord could see him- but she mentally slapped herself. She didn’t give a fat flying fuck what the Dark Lord saw. His transparent arse was locked in a completely ghost-proof cell somewhere in the bowels of the Ministry, never to be heard or seen again. Good riddance.



She walked out of the room, looking for Severus to tell him it was all right to stop looking for Orion. She was quite pleased with the roll Severus was taking in Orion’s life. Severus knew well that he wasn’t the boy’s birth father, but by the way he treated his duties as legal father one would never know the difference. And she couldn’t be happier. Those two were the most important males in her life, and she was quite happy that they were getting along together.



And she was happy for Hermione and Draco. The two had a healthy, if loud, baby girl. She knew they were tired, and as soon as Lyra got a little older she would volunteer to babysit while Hermione and Draco did their own thing. But for now Lyra was safe with her parents or grandparents. Besides, she had enough of a handful with Orion. She smiled to think of the mischief Orion and Lyra would probably get into as they got older.



One would never be able to say that life at the Malfoy home was boring…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Aww....Lucius, the big bad death-eater, is a kiddie-magnet. Sweetness...