Chapter 19 – Amaryllis

Lucius stared down at the little one in his arms. The babe was asleep for the moment; long, dark eyelashes were resting peacefully against pale, delicate skin. Faint wisps of blonde velvety curls (not as light as Lucius') lay atop the head of the baby.

"You know, with everything that's happened this year I haven't really thought about names that much. Remus and Tonks took my obvious choice of name for a boy, but then I thought, I really don't want to follow the Black tradition of astronomical names. Sirius may have been my Godfather, but the Potter's were never really related to the Blacks. Since Draco follows that tradition, it would be nice for our little one to have their own tradition." Chris said.

"There is nothing wrong with that; I do believe it has only been the Blacks that held such steadfast views. Narcissa only named Draco thus because she was the last one of the family; Regulus had disappeared, presumed dead, Andromeda was a traitor to the family as was Sirius, and Bellatrix, I do believe, had no desire to have children. I am assuming you would not want a name in remembrance of any of your parents?"

Chris sighed as he plucked at the threads of his blanket. "Well, I would, but I don't want it to mean I was favouring one father over the other, and while Jamie could be a possibility, I cannot think of a girl's name to represent Severus."

It took a few moments of Lucius looking between Chris and the baby before the news seemed to sink in. "We have a daughter?" Mindful of the babe in his arms, he leaned over and claimed Chris' lips. "We have a daughter!"

Chris could not help but chuckle at the smile that lit up Lucius' face. "We have a daughter," he replied. "I take it from your expression that you have always wanted a daughter?"

Lucius ran a finger across the baby's cheek. "Our firstborn should have been a daughter, but unfortunately Narcissa lost the baby before she could be born. Then after we had Draco, she didn't want to risk having another and so we never tried again. I reserved myself to the possibility of having a granddaughter. A daughter is the most important thing a man can want, as she like her mother will be the one to carry and nurture your heirs."

Chris leaned over to grasp Lucius' hand. "What would you have named your first daughter?"

An air of tenderness passed across Lucius' face, "I wanted to name her Danica, both in honour of her Black heritage and of her mother. It is both the name of a flower and of a star. It's part of the reason I agreed to Draco's name."

Chris smiled, "it's a beautiful name, one worthy of a Malfoy."

"And our daughter is part Potter, part Snape as well and deserves a name worthy of those families, and since you cannot choose between your fathers there is always your mother."

Chris seemed to consider this for a moment. "I like the idea, but I would not want something as obvious as Lily."

At that moment the baby opened her eyes and Lucius was pleased to note she had the same eyes as her father and grandmother before him. While most babies were born with blue eyes that would change later, it was not uncommon for them to have the same colour all their lives. "If you do not want Lily, then I have a good substitute. The flower Amaryllis is distantly related to the Lily, and there are even some of the flowers with Lily in the name."

Chris was silent in contemplation for a while. His eyes flickered from Lucius to the babe and back to Lucius again before replying. "I like it, our little Amaryllis, but for short I think I will call you Amy. You will be our little Amaryllis Potter-Malfoy."

"Amaryllis Danica Potter-Malfoy," Lucius said, causing Chris to look at him in shock.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I've held onto this for too many years. It's about time I associated it with something even more precious to me." Lucius lifted the baby and placed her into Chris' arms and then wrapped his arm around the two of them. "Never did I think, that when I sent you those owls offering you advice on your position in the wizarding world, it would end up with us here."

Chris rested his head on Lucius' shoulder. "Just when did you start desiring me?"

"I watched you that night in the Department of Mysteries and saw the power you exuded: Your strength and stamina were exotic. In your second year, I saw potential in you, and you have done me proud. I know you will do a great many things in the years to come."

At that moment Madam Pomphrey came out of her office pushing along a cot. "Gentlemen, how is everything?"

"Very well, thank you," Lucius replied to the matron.

"Excellent, now I know you are eager to return home Chris, but I would prefer it if the two of you were to remain overnight so I can ensure there are no adverse reactions from the spell." She placed a bag on the bed. "In the meantime, I bring supplies. Now, most witches will breastfeed their babies, but we know that this will not be possible for you. An old friend of mine referred me to the system that muggles use these days; A powder that is added to water." From the bag, she withdrew a bottle and a can. "These should last for now, but there are more in the bag, along with many of these," she pulled out a square of cloth. "These are the nappies you will need, if you fold it as such," she folded the square in half and then in half again, and then pulled it out until it resembled a triangle with a rectangle in the middle, before finishing it off showing how it would fit on their daughter and putting some pins in place. "Now you can add a waterproof charm to the nappy, or you can use one of those wax wraps to keep the baby's clothes dry."

Chris nodded, "thank you Madam Pomphrey, it will be a great help I'm sure. And, everything you've done for us, I am extremely grateful." Lucius echoed Chris' gratitude before the matron bid them a good night.

Seeing how exhausted Chris was starting to look, he took the baby again and proceeded to feed and change her before laying her down in the cot. He turned to see Chris watching his every movement through heavy-lidded eyes.

"You seem to be a natural."

"Hush," Lucius said kissing his forehead. "You get some sleep now. I'll be here to take care of things and I'll be here when you wake in the morning." He tucked in the blankets around Chris. "Sleep," and with that, he settled into the chair beside Chris' bed as Chris drifted off.

When Madam Pomphrey stepped out of her office the next morning, it was to Lucius Malfoy walking around the hospital wing singing softly to his baby daughter. Looking over to the bed where Chris lay, she saw him sat up, his knees drawn up to his chest with a content smile on his face, his eyes following Lucius' every move.

She cleared her throat. "Good morning, how are you all?"

Chris glanced over to her, "as well as can be." He sighed stretching out his legs, "a little sore I suppose."

The matron chuckled lightly, "that's to be expected, I'm sure every witch out there who's given birth would agree with you. I will give you a potion which will help a little, but other than that there's just rest." She waved her wand over Chris and was pleased with the results. "You'll be relieved to know you are healing nicely so, as soon as we've checked over the little one, you'll be free to go.

Chris gave a sigh of relief as Lucius handed their daughter over to the matron. "We can go home soon love," he said sitting down on the edge of Chris' bed and slipping his arm around the young man.

"I can't wait."

"And then a few more days and I can take you back to the Manor."

Back to the Manor, Chris contemplated that for a while. He had not given thought to where he would be living once he had finished this year. Before he had become pregnant he would have returned to his father's house and decided from there. Now though…

Madam Pomphrey interrupted that thought as she brought Amy over to them and declared them both fit to leave.

He would bring it up with Lucius once they were back in their room, he decided.