The funeral was a quiet affair. While many had expressed condolences at her passing Draco had requested that the funeral be kept as small as possible to avoid upsetting the precarious situation further. Her parents had been informed, but sent their apologies. The weather in the South of France was just too good to pass up. Her sister had come. Instead of dawning black like the rest of the mourners she had worn white. White so bright it lit up the dreary March day. Scorpius, only two, had been unable to take his eyes off his aunt. Draco figured it was because she was undeniably out of place and was unlike anything the toddler had ever seen.
After the funeral Daphne approached him. She asked, quietly, if what the Daily Prophet reported was true, if her sister's death was an accident. Draco laughed darkly. In a sense it was indeed an accident, but the accident had not been hers. It was his for not being there in her darkest moments. She had indeed intended and succeeded at taking a powerful sleeping potion before sinking into the marble bath tub. Regardless of the blame Draco placed on himself he knew, for a fact, that Astoria Malfoy, nee Greengrass had never quite been right. If had not been for the arrangement he would never have married her.
In the end Draco had not been required to answer Daphne's question. She knew from the look on her brother-in-laws face and the laugh laced with grief and guilt.
Draco sat by his wife's grave for a long time with Scorpius on his lap. The boy sat very still listening to his father's heartbeat and stead breathing. Draco knew there was no way to explain death to a child so small. He tried anyway and was met with the round grey eyes that were so much like his own that did not comprehend the words that his father spoke.
When it was time to leave the grave side Draco once again spoke to his son;
"Say goodbye to mum Scorpius. We will come back a visit soon."
The child did not speak, but waved his chubby hand towards where his mother had been lain to rest. Astoria had not always been the best mother, but Scorpius small face expressed some form of understanding. Understanding that something had changed and understanding that the feelings that radiated from his father were ones of sorrow. In many years' time there would be no recollection of this day for Scorpius, but the vague hauntings of sadness would occasionally cling to him when he thought about his mother. A woman he never got the chance to know.
Narcissa Malfoy volunteered to look after her grandson while Draco adjusted to life without his wife not out of love, but out of the fact that she could not shake the feeling that it was her motherly duty to undertake the task. Where Astoria had failed at many motherly duties due to her health, Narcissa failed mostly because she had never taken on the duties herself. Draco, as an infant, had been handed off to a wet nurse and once he had out grown her he went on to a series of other nurses and nannies who reared her son for her. She had taken pride in her fair son, there was no doubt about that, but she had had more pressing things to attend to. Like luncheons and charity functions. Upon reflection Narcissa knew that she and Lucius' choice in parenting had been a mistake, but it had simply been the way things were done then. And so she tried to make it up to Draco by playing nursemaid to the toddler who was the sole inheritor of the Malfoy name.
Draco did not doubt that his mother loved Scorpius dearly, but she loved him in much the same way Astoria had. Everything went swimmingly until the child started screaming, or fussing, or refused to nap. Then it went to hell in hand basket. There had been countless times Astoria had flooed Draco at work demanding he come home and sooth her wailing child. He had come when called. His love for Scorpius the only thing that was able to curb his Malfoy pride at being paged like a nurse maid. Some days it had been as simple as changing a nappy and going back to work. Other days he had been forced to talk his wife out of delusions of demons and spirits coming for her baby. Those days had been hell for all parties involved. Scorpius, sensing the unease, would wail and nothing would sooth the boy. The screaming would drive Astoria to the edge and Draco was left to pick up what remaining pieces were left by such a destructive force. Leading up to her death there had been many days where Astoria had been delusional, paranoid, and scared. Draco himself had felt himself slipping into his wife's madness. While his mother was not insane she exhibited some of the same behaviours; a strong dislike for screaming children (and there had been much more screaming now that Astoria was gone), a bad habit of disappearing without leaving a word, and just general neglectfulness that was not meant to harm, but was common among mothers with too much time and money.
Narcissa managed to care for the child without fault for a month. One evening Draco returned to the manor after work to the sounds of his son screaming. Scorpius was in the nursery, in his crib, with no sign of Narcissa anywhere. Draco was unable to supress his fury. Instead of taking it out on his mother, he did what any self-respecting single father would do, he sat down and began the process of hiring a nanny.
It was something he had been putting off for ages. His horrible experiences at the hands of hired helped were occasionally the cause of nightmares. There had been the particularly harsh German one that had joined the household when Draco was nearly Scorpius' age. He couldn't recall her name, but the smell of sauerkraut came to mind. She hadn't lasted long under Narcissa's intense gaze, but the impression had been lasting. There were many others that had come through, most didn't last long under the regime of the Malfoys. Draco did remember a young nurse that he had been fond of. She was French, dark complected, with black hair that she had worn in a braid. She had snuck him biscuits when his mother wasn't watching. She had been fired when his father noticed her beauty and his mother became jealous.
In his mind Draco tried to imagine all the qualities a nanny in his household would have to have. Young and energetic were necessities due to the fact that his son was a busy boy who required constant attention. There would be no sitting down on the job. She would have to be able to sing to some degree (lullabies were non-negotiable) and have a good reading voice. She would most likely be the one to teach Scorpius how to read and write and do basic math. He would need someone intelligent. Smart enough to make decisions on the fly when he was not around to make them, but also be able to follow a routine that he would decide prior to her arrival. By the end of his pondering he realized that he had a tall order to fill. He also knew that he would accept nothing but the best. Regardless of how long it would take to find it.
