Chapter 10
4 April 2005
"But that simply won't work!" Hermione said in frustration. "The other side would just have to say that the baby would be good company to Scorpius."
"I'm sure we can make a strong case for partial neglect in favor of his own child, though," Alfred, Draco's lawyer argued back. Hermione had gone through with her promise, and called a meeting with Draco's attorney to go over the case. With Hermione's strong opinions and Alfred's territorial stance, their meeting had quickly become heated, and the two fought over almost every topic they were on. Right now, they were sparring over bringing Astoria's future husband's intentions and ability to care for Scorpius.
Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in a bid to keep a headache at bay. This was ridiculous. All anyone should have to do to decide Scorpius' future was to ask Scorpius himself. But the Ministry was a bunch of old-fashioned gits who didn't think a three-year old could make that decision for himself. Only when Scorpius turned seventeen he make his own decision, and Draco was not going to take the chance of living without his son for fourteen years.
He stood up when the two visitors reverted to an older fight, rehashing their opinions from then and trying to convince the other of their viewpoint. Draco really appreciated their help, especially Hermione's since he hadn't asked for it or warranted it. But all that was going through his mind right now was 5th May, and whether or not he would even be allowed to see his son after that day. He needed to go home, and spend time with Scorpius right now.
"I'm going to go home for a little bit," he announced, receiving barely a second in acknowledgement, before the two went back to fighting over a new document.
It was fine with him, though. Silent exits were always most preferred.
He stepped into his floo, and spoke his home address. He loosened his tie, and set his bag on the living room couch before making his way to Scorpius' room. His mother had offered to look after him while Draco was at work, and the two were currently sitting at the small art desk in his son's room. Scorpius had recently learned grip control at pre-school, and was really interested in using a paintbrush and paints as his medium of practice. Narcissa and Scorpius were hunched over the desk, the Malfoy matriarch covered in splotches of paint and looking at her grandson with excitement over his work, pushing his hair out of his eyes when it fell from behind his ears.
Draco smiled at the scene, and then frowned, biting back tears that threatened to fall over the prospect of having this room be empty in a month. He had confidence in his parenting abilities, but almost no faith in the system. His lawyer had made it very clear that Astoria had the clear upper hand in this situation, and him being a single businessman would make it very hard to prove Draco's commitment to his son.
Draco had even offered to give up his position in the company, but like everything else, that was deemed to be a bad choice too. It had felt like a stake to his heart to hear about everything that could be said about him after all these years, to hear about him being labelled as a lazy, entitled, good-for-nothing, Pureblood heir who would spoil his son and raise him to be a replica of his own self. This was a court case, Alfred had explained, and it was the other side's job to prove Draco unfit in every way possible. He knew he shouldn't take any of it to heart, but it was incredibly hard not to when he had had the same worries before Scorpius was born.
"Daddy!" Scorpius said, looking up and seeing Draco. "Look what I made!"
He held up a sheet of red lines of paint behind blue circles. It was the most impressive thing Draco had ever seen.
"Wow, Scorp!" he said, moving to examine his son's art closely. "Those circles are perfect!"
"Ms. Amelia taught us this in school today," Scorpius explained seriously. "She said you have to do it all at once and then you get perfect rounds."
"This is amazing, mate," Draco said, and placed a kiss on his son's forehead.
Narcissa looked up at him, and gave him a weary smile. She knew her son was hurting, even though he was trying his hardest not to worry Scorpius. She wished with all her heart that she could do something, anything, to protect her boys, and cursed every god in the world when every answer had ended with a shut door.
"Should I ask Missy to get you some tea?" she asked Draco.
"No, I'll just put Scorpius down for his nap and go get a sandwich or something," Draco said.
"I don't want to nap!" Scorpius declared.
"Well, I don't want to see you all cranky in two hours just because you're sleepy," Draco looked pointedly at his son.
"I won't-"
Draco simply stared at Scorpius until his firm frown softened into acquiescence.
"Fine, but no nap tomorrow," Scorpius said, jumping into bed, and hugging Jackie close to him.
"We'll see about that," Draco said, brushing his hand through Scorpius's hair before kissing him on the forehead. "Now be a good boy, and sleep. We can go get ice cream after dinner."
"Can I get chocolate and sprinkles on the top?" Scorpius asked, a yawn muffling his words.
"And fudge," Draco smiled, after pretending to consider his question.
"You're the best, Daddy," Scorpius said. "Now go so I can sleep."
Draco laughed lightly, and gestured to his mother to follow him out. Narcissa nodded, kissing her grandson before following Draco, and shutting Scorpius' door softly behind her.
Draco went straight to the kitchen, and placed two pieces of bread in the toaster. Since Scorpius was a baby, Draco had gotten used to making himself a quick snack or a cup of tea when he woke up late at night, finding the small task therapeutic and self-assuring. Lucius had shot Draco weird looks when Draco would do the same when they stayed over at the new Manor, but Narcissa had always forbidden him from saying anything directly to Draco. This was the new Draco, self-sufficient, hard-working, and a great father. He was happier now, and she wouldn't allow her husband's old-fashioned way of thinking get in the way of her son's improved life.
"Do you want anything?" Draco asked his mother, as she took a seat across the kitchen island.
"Just to know how you're doing, darling," she sighed. Draco had brought Scorpius over in the middle of the week to visit and explained the entire situation, including his wife's demands. She was concerned about him. He hadn't shown any emotion openly, and she knew he was hurting deeply. She couldn't imagine what this whole situation was doing to his psyche. Somewhere along the way, she blamed herself and Lucius for this predicament. If they hadn't gotten involved in Draco's life, and gotten him married so early to that terrible woman, he could've lived a peaceful life. If only they hadn't made such a hasty and desperate decision, and forced Draco to handle the responsibilities of being the Malfoy heir and restoring their name, the probability of losing her grandson could've been avoided.
"I'm just hoping Granger and Alfred can find something to win me this case," he replied, spreading peanut butter on one of the toasts.
"Granger?" his mother asked. "Hermione Granger is helping you? I didn't think you would tell her about all this."
"I didn't either," Draco admitted. "That woman has an uncanny ability to get any information from any person she wants. She was just there soon after I found out what Astoria wanted, and I ended up telling her everything."
"Well, if you do trust her, then I'm sure she'll be of great help," she shrugged.
Draco looked at his mother then. There was an unbelieving tone to her voice. "What?"
"What?" Narcissa asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"You don't trust her intentions?"
"It's not that," Narcissa explained, after pausing to form her thoughts correctly. "With everything in the past, I'm just surprised she would want to move out of your work space and help you keep Scorpius. One, without knowing anything about you. The new you. And two, without having any knowledge of the dynamics between Astoria, Scorpius and you. I just don't want you to regret this later if she turns out to be not on your side."
"You mean, if she betrays me?" Draco asked, a laugh bubbling in his throat at the thought. "She isn't that sort of person, Mother. And she says she simply wants to help because she knows I truly love Scorpius, and because she's seen how happy he is with me."
"She's met Scorpius, then?" Narcissa asked incredulously. She hadn't known about this development. Draco usually preferred to keep Scorpius away from the public eye. The Malfoys had regained some of the social standing they had lost in the war, but there were still those who saw them as the epitome of the losses caused to them. It was a matter of Scorpius' security, and Draco was really diligent about keeping him safe.
"Really casually," Draco shrugged. "She came over to go over some work, and met him accidentally."
"Let's hope she can find something to help, then," Narcissa agreed. "I know you don't want to think about it, but what if…?"
She trailed off, but they both knew what she was talking about. What if Scorpius was taken away from his life? Draco hadn't thought of what he would do, simply because he didn't know. Every inch of his body hurt just thinking of it, and he would probably lose the ability to breathe anymore.
"I don't-," he started, but before he could complete his thought, the floo rang out, and Draco and Narcissa looked at each other in confusion, not having expected anyone.
It was Pansy and Theo. Pansy instantly ran to his side, and pulled him into a hug. She was one of the very few people who could get away with stuff like this, and only because she was one of his closest childhood friends.
Theo chose to simple nod at him.
"I just heard!" Pansy said, hugging him closer. "Are you okay?"
Draco patted her on the back. "I have no idea what to feel anymore, Pans." The girl had always been for him, even during his miserable sixth year. It was easy to be honest with her, and he was glad she was here.
Then suddenly, she was pulling away and slapping his arm. "Why didn't you owl me before, you twit?"
"Hey!" he protested. "I was too busy trying to think of trail-less ways to murder your best friend."
"Don't call that bitch my friend," Pansy frowned. "You know I never liked her."
Draco smirked. Pansy had been dead set against Draco marrying Astoria, having thought the girl to be too clingy and annoying since their Hogwarts years. But a life of Pureblood training had taught her to shut her mouth, and she had kept her opinions restricted to conversations without their parents.
"What's going on now, mate?" Theo asked. He and Pansy had gotten married two years ago, and had soon become a good friend to Draco.
"My lawyer is trying to find some way to prove Astoria's promise of a family of lesser value than the life I can give Scorpius," he explained. "But apparently, there's some law that will directly award Astoria custody simply because she has a family to offer. Fucking Zabini, though!"
"Draco," Narcissa warned, out of habit.
"Sorry," Draco said absent-mindedly. "I thought we were friends, and now he goes and breaks up my marriage and threatens to take my child."
"Should I try talking to him?" Pansy offered. "I could reason with him, and convince him-"
"He hasn't even replied personally to my letter, Pans," Draco said, slumping against the kitchen island. "His assistant wrote back saying he couldn't talk to me until after the case."
"Bastard," Pansy muttered. They had honestly been rather close in school, and she would never have expected him to betray Draco in this way.
"Pansy," Narcissa rebuked.
"It's true, Mrs. Malfoy," Pansy protested. "He's being a right bastard. If it weren't for Scorpius' involvement, I would say that him and Astoria deserve each other."
Narcissa sighed, and sat back, knowing Pansy was right.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Theo asked, rummaging through Draco's cabinets to find his stash of Firewhiskey and pour himself a glass.
"Unless you can either help me murder Astoria, or convince the Ministry I have a better family for Scorpius, not really," Draco said with a snarl, and quickly poured and downed a glass of the golden liquid himself. He'd already gone over all possibilities. Now, everything lay in Alfred's hands. Well, his and Hermione Granger's.
All four adults sat quietly.
"Wait!" Pansy said, breaking the quiet. "Why don't you convince them you have the better family?"
"A single working father over a traditional family isn't their idea of a perfect household," Draco said, looking at her as though she had lost her mind.
"No," Pansy bit back. "Do the same thing Astoria did."
Draco was now confused. Narcissa, on the other hand, was nodding her head as she pieced together the meaning behind Pansy's words.
"What are you going on about?" Draco asked, deciding straightforward was the best way to get answers.
"It's simple, really," Pansy said, a grin forming on her face.
"You just have to get a mother for Scorpius," Narcissa said, an equally wide grin settling on her face.
(To be continued)