Written for Build the Burrow on TGS (Paintbrush: Write about someone covering up a secret)
Beauxbatons, Barbegazi
Druella feels her heart drop into her stomach as she processes the news.
With child.
It should be a joyous occasion. After all, she and Cygnus have two beautiful daughters already, and they've entertained the idea of trying to conceive a son to carry on the Black name. But it's hardly good news now, not when she and Cygnus have slept separately for months.
She closes her eyes. She had known the affair was a bad idea. Regardless of how much she has always loved Abraxas, she knew from the beginning that it would only end in heartache. She never imagined she would become pregnant with his child.
Druella shivers. She cannot tell Cygnus. He may not be a clever man, but even he knows how children are made. His fury when he realizes that she's betrayed him will be unbearable. She'll lose her family, her reputation, everything.
She takes a deep breath, holding her head high. She is a Rosier by birth and a Black by marriage. She is a Pureblood, and she must approach this crisis with dignity and a level mind.
Her fingers caress her stomach. Abraxas' child rests within her womb. And Cygnus must never know the truth.
…
Druella wears her best smile when she enters the bedroom. Cygnus looks up from his book, eyes wide with surprise. She so rarely comes in when he's awake, after all.
"Has something happened?" he asks.
"I've been thinking, Cygnus. I want to be happy with you. I apologize for my distance recently," she answers, her voice barely above a whisper. Thankfully it does not tremble as her body does. "We wanted a son once. I still want that."
At first, her husband says nothing. Druella tenses. Perhaps it is too late to repair her marriage. She will have to live with her shameful secret.
Then he smiles, reaching out for her. "My darling," he says brightly. "I knew you would come to your senses eventually."
Relief flutters through her chest. She laughs, the faintest of smiles quirking her lips. Sometimes, she thinks, being a woman is most beneficial. Of course Cygnus will assume that she's just been silly and indecisive, as he thinks all women are. His ignorance is her salvation.
She climbs into bed with her husband, accepting the rough kiss he places on her lips.
…
She bides her time, grateful that she caught her pregnancy early enough. She will not start showing yet, and it allows her time to weave her web.
She will tell him their good news, and he will never suspect a thing.
With a small smile, Druella studies her body in the mirror. It will be the first child conceived from love and not duty. How terrible it is that her husband is not the father.
"But he will be, little," she whispers, brushing her fingers over her stomach. "He will be your father, and neither of you will ever know."
But she will know. She will have to take this terrible secret to her grave.
…
Weeks pass before she seeks her husband out. Druella has rehearsed countless times in front of the mirror, learning to school her features to show her excitement, practicing the right tone when she tells him the news. It makes her sick, but it is necessary.
"Cygnus, my love," she says sweetly, her lips pulled into such a broad smile that her jaw hurts. "I have news."
He studies her, brows raised. Slowly, his lips twitch. "We're having another child?" he asks.
The joy in his eyes hurts her. Their marriage has always been so rocky, but he's loved Bellatrix and Andromeda so fiercely, and he would love this child just as much.
Druella swallows down her guilt. "We are," she confirms.
When he pulls her into his arms and kisses her, she prays that he assumes the tears falling from her eyes are from happiness.