Chapter 24: Parting of the Ways

"Mr. Malfoy?" Nurse Nancy Weaver stood in the doorway of a small, private waiting room two floors below Hermione's delivery room. A small table laden with old Witch Weeklys, Daily Prophets, a few Quibblers and other out-of-date magazines stood in the middle of the room. Beyond that, a tall man with white-blonde hair paced the width of the room. At the sound of his name, he turned. Draco showed no sign of emotion as he stepped around the table. His time in Azkaban, under the guard of the dementors - horrible creatures which suck all the happiness out of a person so that they are left to wallow in misery from the worst experiences of their life - seemed to have affected him as harshly as those who had served longer sentences. His face was paler than normal and his usually sleek hair was lank. He stared down at the fretless child bundled in cloth.

His voice was raspy from lack of use when he asked the young witch, "You are certain of the results?"

"Yes. We've had redundant tests run. The results were the same."

"Then this is my son?"

She nodded and carefully placed the child into his father's arms. Draco again stared down at him, unsure of what he felt. He was not proud of what he had done, in fact he was quite ashamed of himself for allowing it to happen. A day hadn't passed since that he didn't wish he had stood up to his father when Hermione had first been delivered to him in the cave, instead of just walking away. He's better than that, a better man than his father ever was. But there was nothing he could do about it now except relieve the child's mother of this horrible burden. He had not been surprised when Hermione had first contacted him after his release from Azkaban and told him that she had no desire to raise the child. The news of her pregnancy was shock enough and he knew he must take responsibility for his wrongdoing, instead of dwelling on past mistakes.

The child stirred in his arms and opened his eyes. Draco moved the blanket aside with one finger to better see him. "Hello," was all he could think of to say. They both stared at each other for a minute then, from within the blanket's folds, a small hand appeared and closed purposefully around his finger. Despite the fact that his parents had not come in close contact since his conception, and he had never heard his father's voice, the baby seemed to recognize, even at such an infantile age, that this man who held him was his father. This instinctive understanding went beyond logical reasoning.

From the instant the tiny fingers closed around his, a rush of love and a sudden realization of what it meant to be a father washed over Draco; a smile spread over his face as a single tear slid down his cheek.

Nurse Weaver waited silently in the doorway, at a loss for words as she watched the father and son pair. She couldn't help but smile, but the moment seemed tainted in her mind by the behavior of the mother. She knew by professional etiquette, however, not to ask.

She waited a few more minutes then, as politely as she could, made her presence known by clearing her throat before she spoke, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the mother is still awaiting word on the child's name. What would you like me to tell her?"

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Please tell her for me, the name will be … Scorpius."

The nurse nodded. "I will let her know. Please, take your time and check out at the main desk when you are ready to leave." He nodded.

A few floors above, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny waited for word on the boy's name. Hermione was now lying flat on her bed, Ron still sat beside her, and Harry and Ginny stood silently in opposite corners. No one spoke or moved, they were just waiting, thinking, wondering…

Harry stood to Hermione's right, watching her. Across the past 10 plus years that he had known her, he had become quite good at being able to read her, despite her attempts to keep her deepest emotions hidden. Even more so within the year that they had spent living under the same roof, before the Malfoy's plot had tested their relationship. But watching her now he realized he might as well have been trying to read a blank wall.

He had learned growing up, however, that everything happens for a reason; his whole life, now in hindsight, was solid proof of that. Everything that had happened, beginning with Trelawney's prediction before he was even born, all led up to and prepared him for the task of killing Lord Voldemort, a task which, at the time, had required him to sacrifice his own life.

He also more recently came to understand that, despite all his magical knowledge, there are still things in this world that cannot be explained, and maybe never will be. Love and trauma. It could never be predicted nor fully explained how a person will and does react to either.

Every head turned toward the door when approaching footsteps from down the hall broke the silence. Nurse Weaver walked in a second later. Hermione leaned forward in her bed to see around Ron, who had stood up when she entered. "He says the name is to be Scorpius. That was all he told me."

"Thank you." Hermione leaned back against her pillows as the nurse left the room.

"Scorpius?" Ron snorted. "What kind of a name is that?"

Ginny glanced quickly at Hermione then shot Ron a 'shut up' look, which he either didn't notice or chose to ignore.

"He couldn't have picked a more normal name, a less evil sounding name? I mean, the kid's going to grow up with a complex with a name like that."

Ginny again glanced at Hermione, who caught her eye. Hermione gave the smallest of nods toward Harry. Ginny understood her intentions. "Well what name would you have picked?" she asked Ron in an attempt to keep him preoccupied.

"I don't know, but not Scorpius." He thought about it for a minute. "I like the name Hugo. I read it in a book somewhere once. I thought it sounded cool."

"You read a book? Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"I didn't have a choice in school."

Ginny rolled her eyes. She should have known he wouldn't have picked up a book of his own free will.

Under cover of their continuing argument, Hermione looked over at Harry, who was now watching Ginny and Ron.

"Harry."

He looked down at Hermione and stepped closer.

"I wanted to thank you, Harry, for everything you've done for me while I was pregnant and prior. I know I've been horrible to you these past months. I've taken a lot of frustration out on you that I shouldn't have. You did nothing to deserve such animosity. I'm sorry."

"There's really no need to apologize. You've been through a lot. I understand."

"That doesn't excuse how I've treated you, especially after what you went through yourself. But I do want you to know, Harry, I love you. I truly always have. Things are just … different now. More complicated." She sighed and glanced over at Ginny, but she still had Ron's attention; he hadn't noticed a thing. She turned back to Harry. "I remember reading something once in which the main character embarked on a very trying quest and had just returned home, only to realize nothing was the same. He had said, "How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend, some hurts that go too deep that have taken hold.*" The circumstances for us aren't quite to the same extremes as for that character, but it applies well enough nonetheless. The hurts mentioned, however, Harry, were not caused by you. Not in the least. So don't think this was your fault. It wasn't."

Harry heard clearly the pain in her voice and understood what she was really trying to tell him. And it was as hard for her to say as it was for him to hear.

She reached out and took hold of his hand, tears stinging her eyes again. "We have been great friends and then some for a long time. The bond we share is rare and very, very special to me, I just hope it is enough for both of us to get past this."

Harry squeezed her hand as if it were a lifeline. He had to fight hard to keep the grief from overwhelming from him. Looking down at their entwined fingers, he saw the pair of engagement rings. He gently released Hermione's hand and slid one of them off his finger. Keeping his voice as level as he could, he said, "I want you to have this. It is still yours, after all."

Hermione stared down at the small band of gold with the three little diamonds. "Harry, I couldn't poss -"

"Please," he pleaded. "I want you to hold onto it. Not to wear necessarily, just to have. As a reminder."

She smiled up at him as she took the ring. "As if I need reminding of what meaning you brought into my life when I needed it most." She slipped it on the second finger of her right hand. "Thank you."

Feeling his emotions slipping nearly beyond his control, Harry knew he must get out of the room and quickly. "I love you," he whispered. "Good-bye, Hermione."

With that, he turned from her and walked away. His abruptness stung Hermione. The tears continued to form, blurring her vision.

"Harry?" Ginny called, but he did not stop.

Harry rushing past caught Ron's attention as well and he turned, confused, as he disappeared into the hall.

"What …?" He turned to Hermione. "What just happened? What's going on?"

Hermione shook her head. The tears now threatened to fall, but she refused to blink, to let them. She took a shuddering breath. "Harry and I," she began slowly, trying to keep her voice steady. "We just … broke up."

Ron stared at her, his mouth slightly open in shock, then turned to Ginny, but she refused to meet his gaze. She had figured it would happen.

Ron walked over to Hermione. But before he had a chance to say anything, Hermione said, "I'm okay. Really, I am."

He knelt down beside her and stared straight into her face, into her eyes the best he could since she wouldn't look into his. "Regardless of what's happened in the past, Harry is still my best mate. So are you." She stared at him. "And I will always be here for you."

With those words, Hermione's final restraint dissolved.

Ginny had been standing there barely a minute. She knew there was no need for her here and left the room unnoticed as Hermione cried and held onto Ron with all she had.

She spotted Harry a short way down the hall leaning against the wall with his back to her. As she approached, she saw his shoulders rising and falling rapidly, silently. He didn't hear her and when she passed beside him, he hastily tried to mop up the tears before she turned to face him.

"Harry, are you okay?" He looked up at her, his eyes still moist with tears, but didn't respond. She sighed. "Of course you're not. Hermione told us what happened. I am so sorry."

He took a deep, calming breath. "I can't say I honestly wasn't expecting this, because I was. I just kept hoping that she may still need me."

"She does, Harry."

"No, she doesn't. She may have once, but not anymore. Ron's the one for her. She needs him now. The best thing I can do for her is to back off."

They stood there for a moment, both lost in thought. It shocked Ginny when he suddenly smiled. He stepped away from the wall, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and began walking down the hall, away from Hermione's delivery room. "It's strange, you know. The way things seem to work out. Perhaps not the way we would have preferred, but they do. And I've just come to realize that the purpose of everything that has happened has been simply to shape the kinds of people we all will one day become, and we'll all be better people as a result, though we may not be able to see or understand that now."

Ginny put her arm around his waist and smiled up at him. As sad as she felt for Hermione's situation, she knew Ron would take care of her and she couldn't help but think at the same time, guilty though it made her feel, that she would now be able to regain with Harry what they had once shared. Her feelings for him had never wavered. Things were finally returning to normal after years of disarray.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked as they stepped out into the reception area then into the star-strewn night street. "Because I'm in the mood for some scrambled eggs, bacon and toast."

(*Footnote: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. the movie by New Line Cinema and Wingnut productions. 2003. Based on the book with the same name written by J.R.R. Tolkien. Re-published by Del Rey Books. New York. 1994.)