Chapter 1
When Druella told Cygnus she was to have her third child, it would be fair to say the man could have been a little more appreciative. Like a tired old brute, he sunk into his leather armchair and grunted, rubbing his forehead.
"At least let it be a boy this time," he scathed under his breath.
Druella herself was simply glad that Cygnus didn't pay much attention to her social life because, had he done so, perhaps he would have realised that whenever she had gone out on her own - to visit Abraxas of course - she always returned to pointedly lay with him: disgusting as it was for her. She wouldn't be caught out to be pregnant with another man's child. No, that would be disgraceful.
Biting her tongue to stop herself spitting the truth at him - that she wasn't certain the third baby was his - Druella turned on her heel and clumped in her heavy boots to her bedroom where she slammed the door shut, ignoring the screams from her youngest daughter about Bellatrix pulling her hair, and began pacing in her anxiousness.
It was true, Druella didn't know for sure who's child she was carrying but she could only pray to Merlin that it wasn't Abraxas'. As much as Druella adored Abraxas and badly wanted to have his child, how could she bring herself to risk the entire Black and Malfoy reputations?
She placed a hand to her stomach and sunk down onto her chaise longue, never once lowering her chin or showing any sign of regret even in her privacy.
She knew after no time at all she'd grow larger and she'd know who the baby's father was. The long wait may have driven her mad but she would wait and she would hold her high. She wouldn't falter.
She had to talk to Abraxas. What if he didn't want the risk? What would she say then? To Cygnus? To herself? Could she bring herself to terminate a child on account of the risk of the fall from grace?
She stood up, the questions stabbing at her mind and panicking her. She grabbed her cloak from where it was discarded on the bed and draped it over her shoulders before grasping her wand from her bedside and Apparating to Malfoy Manor.