A/N: Thank you to everyone who gives this a read, this story is the sequel to my story To Love and To Cherish. It will focus on the early years of Draco's childhood and after the fall of Voldemort and in this I've decided that Lucius was held in Azkaban for a time after accusations of him being a Death Eater arose at the Ministry. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the amazing J K!

May 1982

A blonde haired child whizzed around the grounds of the Malfoy estate on his toy broomstick, laughing in delight as he sent a peacock flying three feet in front of him. It was times like this that made his mother forget about the troubles she had had over the last few months. Her son was nearly two and he was everything that Narcissa had ever hoped for and she adored Draco but she couldn't help but feel like she was failing. Last year the Dark Lord fell on Halloween and shortly after the Death Eaters began to panic about their future. Bella, her husband, Rabastan and a new recruit Barty Crouch Jr were convinced that some Aurors knew where their master was and that Voldemort hadn't died like many believed, her sister had asked Lucius to join them in torturing the Aurors for information and her husband refused. Karkaroff was first to be captured, naming names to the Ministry in return for his freedom and it was then she started to fear for her family.

Lucius tried assuring her that it was fine, that the amount he donated to the hospital and the Ministry each year was enough to persuade them that he wasn't a follower of the purity cause should his name be mentioned; and for a while they were okay. But then one night, the Aurors came knocking. Moody had said that Lucius had been named as a Death Eater and was taken into custody where he would await trial. She hadn't seen her husband in four months, no letters whatsoever. It was up to her to make sure that her husband gained his freedom.

Narcissa held private meetings with the Minister, giving Minister Bagnold her statement that she believed her husband was under the influence of the imperius curse and that she had been afraid to inform anyone because her husband was a proud man who didn't like the world knowing what he had been forced to do but now she had no choice. She put on the waterworks, showing Bagnold that her son needed his father at home and none of the things he had done were his fault or his doing. Bagnold felt touched by her words and agreed to bring her husband's trial up sooner and try and help him get cleared of the charges brought against him, after all the Malfoys were a family who helped out the Ministry and St Mungo's in time of need.

She heard footsteps behind her as she sat on the terrace watching her son play happily, her head turned and smiled to see her mother sitting in the chair opposite hers.

"What time is the trial?" Druella asked.

"Two o'clock, thank you for agreeing to watch Draco." Narcissa replied quietly.

Druella smiled, "He is my grandson, I will watch him whenever you need me to." she said.

"I am hoping to give him an early birthday gift later today." Narcissa sighed.

"Bringing home Lucius? What have you told Draco about the absence of his father?"

Narcissa looked her mother in the eye, finishing off her tea and placing the empty cup on the saucer. What could she tell her son? That his father had been a murderer and torturer of mudbloods and muggles, that the cause his father had believed in with all his heart was gone? That his father would be a different person to the one she had married? Her son was only twenty-three months old, he wouldn't understand at this age and she doubted that Draco would remember his father's absence because he was so young.

"He knows that Lucius is gone but he does not understand where or why, he knows that I am trying to bring home his daddy." Narcissa replied.

"Probably the best thing to tell the boy, he is only a baby still." Druella muttered.

"He will always be my baby, no matter how old he gets." Narcissa smiled, looking at her son land on the grass and get off the toy broomstick.

"All parents have that feeling despite the hurt we feel from our children. You are the only one who has not disappointed or hurt your father and I." Druella said proudly.

"You know what Bella was like, she always made her own decisions and never took the advice of anyone." Narcissa replied before turning her attention to the little boy who was running up the terrace.

"Mummy, you watch me?" Draco asked, jumping into Narcissa's lap and dropping the toy broomstick to the ground.

"I did, you were very good." Narcissa said, kissing her son's forehead.

"Who got him that toy anyway?" Druella asked, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Narcissa's smile faded, "Lucius did before..." she said quietly.

Druella reached out and patted her hand as she took a sip of tea. Narcissa checked her watch, noting that she needed to leave to get to the Ministry. She placed Draco on the ground which earned her a sulky look from her son.

"Draco, I have to go out for a little while. Your grandmother will look after you so be a good boy." Narcissa instructed.

The boy smiled and hugged her legs before picking up the toy broomstick and ran off the terrace to mount the thing once more. Narcissa rose from the table, bidding goodbye to her mother before leaving the manor, hoping and silently praying that her husband would be returning home to them later that day.