[Harry]

"Hey, Hagrid!" Harry said brightly as he walked into The Three Broomsticks.

"Harry!" Hagrid bellowed and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Harry counted three broken ribs.

"Nice ter see yeh, nice ter see yeh! Rosmerta, a pin' o' Fire-whiskey over here, eh?"

"I'll have a Butterbeer," Harry said politely.

He noticed that Hagrid looked different. He looked exhausted, even though he managed to keep up his strength upon seeing Harry. He suspected another illegal magical creature, but that didn't seem like it either. Hagrid's taste usually contained multiple heads, unusually humungous species, or fire-breathing, which most of the time cut and bruised him severely. But Hagrid was in one piece. Just, very, very tired.

The drinks arrived and they toasted. "So, Hagrid, what have you been up to lately? Why couldn't we meet at your hut?"

Hagrid did the tell-tale eye-darting and Harry knew he was definitely hiding something.

"Eh, not much, not much- Bin' busy, house's a mess..."

"So... there's no magical creature kept inside of your house?"

"Merlin, no! Jus' tired, tha's all..." he took an enormous swig from his pint, nearly draining the whole jug. "One more roun', Rosmerta!"

"Hagrid, are you sure you're alright?"

Hagrid looked down from the heavy bags under his eyes. "Ah, alrigh'. I'll let yeh come back ter the cabin with me, bu' yeh better promise not ter tell!"

Harry wasn't sure whether to promise anything so didn't reply.

Hagrid practically poured the whole second pint down his throat in a second and wiped his beard. "Tha's better. Come on, Harry, go' ter show yeh somethin'."

Harry finished his Butterbeer and followed Hagrid down the road of Hogsmeade, toward Hogwarts' grounds.

He felt extraordinarily jumpy as he neared his first home. The castle gradually came into sight, the Forbidden Forest, with Hagrid's little hut... Harry breathed in the familiar 'Hogwarts' scent' and smiled.

Hagrid led him to his cabin but didn't hear Fang's barks. "Is Fang in there?" Harry asked.

"Yep."

"Is he sick?"

"Nope, healthy as a skrewt."

Harry didn't know if that was healthy or not so just nodded. Hagrid unlocked the door and out came an overenthusiastic Fang jumping onto Harry and licking all over his face.

"Hi, Fang!" Harry exclaimed. "Why aren't you barking?"

"Shh, Harry!" Hagrid whispered to him.

"What?"

Hagrid held up a giant finger and beckoned him inside.

Then Harry saw her.

A baby girl, couldn't be over than a few months old, lying peacefully in an oversized crib that seemed to be roughly built by Hagrid.

"Trained Fang not ter bark, or she'll be bawlin' till her eyes dry ou',"

Harry approached the baby. She had short, silvery blonde hair. She cooed quietly in her sleep, melting Harry's heart.

"Hagrid... where did you find her?"

"Bin' doin' some searchin' in Knockturn Alley, foun' her in an alleyway. Poor girl, bin' starvin', didn' even have the strength ter cry."

"Hagrid, you should take her to St. Mungo's!"

"I know, I know, bu' I jus' thought I'd feed her firs'. Next thin' I knew, she's part Veela, an' couldn' help keepin' her with me. Bin' here fer two weeks."

"Hagrid, you're exhausted! You've got bags under your eyes!"

"She can' have no parent!" Hagrid whisper-cried, wiping his eyes with a tablecloth.

Harry fell silent. He gazed at the baby girl in the crib. "Hagrid... what if I took her?"

Hagrid's eyes widened with joy. "Harry, tha's great! You an' Malfoy can take her in!"

"I've got to get her to St. Mungo's first," Harry said. "Then I'll have to ask Draco. But we'll find her someone if he says no, I promise," he reassured the half-giant.

Gently, he took the baby girl in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open. They were watery blue.

"Hello," Harry cooed softly. "Hello, baby girl."

The girl's wide eyes looked into Harry's. She burped a little. Harry carefully wiped the spit-up milk with his sleeve, since Hagrid apparently didn't really know how to take care of a baby, let alone equip her with suitable clothing or bibs.

Harry heard Hagrid sobbing. "It's the only time she hasn' woke up cryin'," he sobbed, blowing his nose.

Harry looked back to the little girl. "You're such a pretty little Veela," he told her, caressing her silvery blonde hair.

---

Harry was in St. Mungo's waiting room. Some of the features had been renewed, Harry noticed. Draco's drugs had done the hospital a lot of good.

"Hey, love." Draco appeared from the doorway, walking over to Harry.

"Hello," he replied, giving his husband a kiss.

"So, is it true? There's a baby girl?"

"Yes," Harry said. "They have searched all medical records and birth certificates, there weren't any that fit the little girl. The Healers think she wasn't born in a hospital and her parents might have abandoned her and disappeared."

"No, that's cruel!"

"I know," Harry said sadly. "Listen... I've been thinking, we've been married for two years. What if- what if we started a family? We could give the baby girl a happy and warm family. Ron and 'Mione had Rose, I bet we could do it!"

Draco smiled. "I've been thinking that too, sweetum," he said. "I think we're ready to have a baby daughter."

---

The Healer called on Harry and Draco. They followed him into a small room, where the baby girl was snuggly wrapped in bundles of blankets, sleeping soundly.

"We ran some checkups, the baby's doing alright, albeit being a little gritty while you took her in..." the Healer flipped the page on his clipboard. "We've cleaned her up, she's doing fine."

"How old is she, Healer Pollard?"

"We estimate about a month old. That means she was merely two weeks old when your friend discovered her. Her birth might've been around September third to ninth. We have also confirmed that she is part Veela."

"Healer Pollard... we were wondering, about adoption? If she has no proven parents, we can adopt her, right?"

The Healer smiled. "Yes, since all the medical records do not indicate any definite answers, you will be able to adopt her after certain procedures."

The couple's arms tightened around each other.

---

A week after, they were finally able to bring her home.

Harry and Draco transformed the first bedroom into a nursery.

"We need a name," Draco said, stroking the baby girl's head as she cooed happily.

"Can we name her Lily?"

Draco looked up. "Hey, Lily," he said softly to the infant in his arms. She giggled, spitting up a little.

"She likes it," Draco whispered.

"Hi, Lily," Harry whispered, holding back his tears.

The little family bathed in the warmth of the October sun. "I... I have an idea for her middle name," Draco said quietly. "What do you think of Ulla?"

"Ulla?"

"It... it means 'apple' in Celtic. In the culture, apples mean wholeness, healing, and wisdom. I've been thinking about it since we agreed to adopt her," he admitted, a little shyly.

"Lily Ulla Malfoy-Potter," Harry repeated. "I love it."

Epilogue coming tomorrow...! (I am so not ready to say goodbye *cries*)