Preface:

c. February 1980; Wiltshire, England

"I can't," She panted, crying out as another pain hit, "I cannot do this for much longer!" Her small hands gripped the scratchy white sheets, gripping with all her strength as a small whine left her throat. The women let out a huge breath as the pain past, letting her head fall against the solid wood of the bed frame.

"You don't 'ave much choice," Another female voice snapped back at her, viciously wiping the woman's forehead clear of sweat, "You got yoursel' into this mess, you're the only one who can get out of it!" The sharpness of her voice made the women flinch, but soon that was overtaken with a sharp scream.

Outside the room, further down the corridor in a room known formally as the Parlor, a man paced up and down the carpet, his hands ringing together as he heard the sharp screams. With every scream he winced, and changed direction. His long white-blonde hair fell flatly down his back, and his usually composed demeanor was non-existent. Opposite him sat his wife, scowling with every scream with a hand resting comfortingly on her swelling stomach.

"How much longer?" She snapped, her ice blue eyes snapping to the creature standing barely in front of the door. The small creature trembled, barely opening their mouth when they were interrupted.

"Do not be idiotic, Narcissa. You know yourself how unpredictable this business it." Her blue eyes swung to the man in front of her, a small scowl set firmly on his lips and he gazed at her. "It will take however long it takes, be patient or leave." With a small huff, Narcissa turned her head downwards, so her eyes were firmly fixed on the carpet on the floor.

A sharp, pain-filled scream made them both flinch, looking up as the door burst open. A women rushed in, her dress drenched in blood and a horrified look on her face. Just that look alone let the couple know the outcome of the birth, and Lucius let out a shuddering breath as small tears formed in his eyes.

"What was it?" Narcissa asked, trying to hide the disgust from her voice for her husband. While this entire situation displeased her, she loved Lucius enough to give him a moment to grieve a lost love.

"A girl, mi'lady." The women curtsied, keeping her eyes on the carpet as she slowly rose. "The mother, however, bled out too much. We ain't like you folk, y'know. We couldn't stop it." Narcissa flinched at the reminder that her husband had let such filth into their house, and instead let out a sigh as she slowly rose.

"Dobby," She turned to the creature standing in front of the doors, "Take care of the mess." The small creature nodded timidly, spitting out a couple sentences before it disappeared. Narcissa turned to her husband, who had made his way over to the window. "What is to be done with the babe?"

Lucius let out a shuddering breath. He hadn't wished for it to end like this, he thought sadly. While the affair itself started out as a passing fancy, a way to get rid of frustrations since Narcissa refused to partake in intercourse unless it was to try for a child, it ended up so much more. The poor girl, his first love. He dragged a hand down his face. His first child.

"We shall take her to her family," His voice shook slightly, before he cleared his throat and composed himself, "We shall tell no one of this." He turned to Narcissa, "It would ruin us." While she agreed, she couldn't help but think, bitterly, if it were the other way around that it would be an entirely different situation.

With her nod, he strode purposely out of the room, down the hall and into the servants' quarters where she had given birth. The small babe was nestled in a drawer, covered in stained sheets and pillow cases. He gazed down at the child, his girl, who laid silently before opening her eyes. He couldn't prevent the small gasp that escaped his mouth, as her eyes were an exact match for his. His father, Abraxas, had always told him that the grey eyes ran in the male heirs of the Malfoy family. Lucius, despite himself, felt a small smirk appear on his face. That'll show him, he thought victoriously.

"Her name will be Cassiopeia." He spoke softly, turning his head slightly towards the door where he was sure his wife stood, "Cassiopeia Alya Grey." He murmured, turning his eye back to the baby girl staring up at him.

Hi everyone!

This is a new story of mine that has been milling around in my head ever since I watched The Duchess - I know, how my mind connected that to Harry Potter I will never know. However, this story is apparently the result.

I do want to warn you guys though - While I have started the chapters for this story I'm not 100% satisfied with the ones I have as of yet, for some reason no matter how I tinker with them they never seem to come out the way I want them to. So, I decided to post this to see how many people are interested before posting a chapter, hopefully giving me enough time to be completely happy with the few I have written.

Also - a warning any of my current followers will be completely aware of - my posting schedule is all over the place. I make zero promises that I will post on certain dates because my life always messes with me, and as a result I can never post a chapter on time.

For those of you who do follow my other story - a new chapter is in the works, and I'm hoping to a) have it up sometime before Christmas [at the very least] and b) to finish that part of the story off soon. With regards to that story (It's a Doctor Who one if anyone is interested), I had initially decided that it was gonna be one long-ass story, but decided against it. So now, it's gonna be split up to do with the series. Nine's is nearly done, so that section is almost completed. I'm not promising anything, but I am hoping that once I move onto ten my updating will stable out because It was to do with ten that I actually had the idea for the story - spoilers on that one - and so I have a lot of ideas.

Anyways, TL;DR If you like, tell.

Thanks and love you guys,

Seren12 xo

P.S. Please tell me if you think I've wrote Lucius well, because tbh it was one of the things holding me back from publishing this story. I feel like the concept is way too OOC for him, but then when I think of how the Pureblood society is pretty similar to how the Upper-class in England was in the olde-days then the idea of an affair isn't too off-the-wall. But still, please do give me any and all criticisms. I do enjoy people telling me things.