Warning for abortion, implied infidelity, and depression.
I usually don't write fics like this, because it's simply taxing and difficult. Forgive me for any mistakes or assumptions I make during this fic.
Druella stares at the pregnancy test, her blood turning into ice. Two lines stare back.
No. No. This isn't supposed to happen. She's getting married tomorrow. Tomorrow. She can't be pregnant.
She shouldn't have fornicated with Abraxas. It's a mistake. She can't bring a baby into the world, not now — if she did, the child would look nothing like Cygnus, and her secret would be out, and she would be slandered and burned off the tree.
She inhales deeply, her nails embedding themselves into her palms. Panicking wouldn't help. She still had plenty of time to sort it out.
Until then, she'll have to hide her pregnancy, even from Abraxas.
The wedding is an extravagant affair, but Druella is distracted throughout it. She keeps thinking about the baby, like it's a smoldering stone — no, a boulder — in her stomach. She can't meet Cygnus's eyes during the ceremony, the reception, and as they embark on their honeymoon, she doesn't hold his hand.
Cygnus assumes she's not ready to accept that she's married, which is a half-truth at best. She can't look him in the eyes because she's ashamed — ashamed of herself, and of her baby.
But that night, when Cygnus tries to touch her, she lets him. She's realized by then that she has to obliterate the memory of Abraxas, his hands roaming over her body, his lips searing into her skin —
As she moans, it's Abraxas she's thinking of.
A month passes, and then another, and Druella is painfully aware of her stomach. She knows in a month she will start showing, and end will begin. Everyone will assume it's Cygnus's, at least until the baby is born.
She just hopes the baby isn't born blonde. Blonde hair is a trademark trait of the Malfoys, including Abraxas, and if her baby is blonde, it will raise a lot of questions. Questions she cannot answer.
She can't take that risk. She has to get rid of the baby.
She doesn't tell anyone. It's her fault, for allowing herself to succumb to lust, and therefore it's her secret. Cygnus, Abraxas, and the rest of family don't need to know.
She does it while Cygnus is at a Ministry hearing, casting an impenetrable barrier on the walls of the loo, so no one will hear her agony.
It's excruciating and terribly bloody, and Druella almost regrets her decision.
It's for the best, she thinks miserably.
The following weeks are sheer torment. Cygnus doesn't notice anything, and she can't bring herself to confess to him. He's gone most of the time anyway, citing the Ministry for his absence.
For all she knew, he could be having an affair and lying to her face, but Druella doesn't care. She's too busy being trapped in her own hell.
She hasn't seen Abraxas since that fateful series of trysts. He hadn't attended her wedding, hadn't contacted her since. Last she had heard, he was engaged to be married.
Which meant Druella had to suffer the consequences alone, sick at heart, and burdened with an awful secret.
Assignment 4, Herbology Task 2: Write about keeping a secret.
Insane House: 689. No dialogue
Cabin Fever: Write the theme: Angst
514 words