Chapter I: It Cannot Be . . .

"WHAT?" This was Lucius Malfoy's response to the nurse's announcement.

"Please, Mr. Malfoy, do try to stay calm . . ." she pleaded, utterly dumbfounded, trailing closely behind as the enraged man sped past another nurse and charged through the heavy chamber doors.

Within, he saw Narcissa sitting up in the bed, a tiny bundle held close to her bosom. Lucius furrowed his brow and, taking in an energizing breath, stomped over to the bedside.

"Lucius," Narcissa beamed weakly at her husband. "Meet your new—LUCIUS!"

Narcissa's ears pounded in terror as her husband ripped the nursing bundle from her arms. A piercing wail filled the room as Lucius rocked the bundle, attempting to calm the aggravated infant within.

It did not take long for the child to calm in its father's arms, and though his blood boiled in his veins, Lucius could not help how the child's beauty had stricken him. The baby's eyes were a soft grey, while the hair curled in tufts like tiny gilded clouds. He may have even beamed proudly for a moment, as there was no doubt the child was his. Still, there was one thing he needed to know.

With one final sigh to calm himself, Lucius carefully unfolded the bottom of the blanket. When he saw what was beneath, he hastily forced the child back into its mother's arms.

"Lucius," Narcissa's concerned voice broke, "what is it?"

Lucius removed his hand from his brow and stared at his wife with a pained expression that also suggested he knew not what to say. Though Lucius had been one to throw tantrums at intervals, Narcissa struggled to remember a time when her husband had been quite so upset as he appeared just then.

"Lucius—"

"Narcissa," he finally replied, turning away.

"Yes, Love?"

"Are you happy here?"

"Yes, of course I'm happy here, but—"

"And do you love me?"

This is when he turned back to face Narcissa. And Narcissa nearly gasped. Though she had seen her husband angry before, she had never seen his face like this—his eyes grey storms of blustery torment.

"How could you even ask that, Lucius?" Narcissa shook her head. "Of course, I love you!"

Lucius padded over, sat by his wife and marveled as the nursing infant curled its tiny fingers around his own. Narcissa reached forward to gently brush the tears from her husband's cheeks. With his free hand, Lucius pulled Narcissa's to his quivering lips.

"I know, Narcissa. I know. And I want to keep you and our child—"

"Lucius, you're scaring me. What is it?"

Lucius straightened his expression as a sudden seriousness took over his eyes. He looked once more to his suckling child before returning his gaze to her mother.

"Then everyone we know must be made to believe that our heir . . . is male."

AN: Just to be clear, Draco Malfoy is my favourite character, and I prefer him as a male character. However, I do have a weakness for genderbending, just out of curiosity to find how different characters would be as the opposite gender. Also, I do not normally ship Drarry. I actually like the cannon pairing of Draco and Astoria, as well as the near-cannon pairing of Harry and Hermione. However, this story may include a little bit of Drarry. Idk. We'll see where this takes me. :)