On September 1st 2018, Draco awoke early to take Scorpius to King's Cross. He'd gently woken Astoria to see if she wanted to join them but she was feeling far too sick. Draco knew this would upset Scorpius, but there was nothing he could do.

He quickly rustled up some breakfast so that Scorpius wouldn't have to travel to school on an empty stomach.

"Where's mum?" Scorpius asked as soon as he entered the room.

"She's not well at all today. Just you and me going to King's Cross, I'm afraid." Draco sat down at the dining table and rubbed his brow with the tips of his fingers.

"Are you ok, dad?" Scorpius asked nervously, joining his father at the table and attempting to mask his disappointment that his mum wouldn't be joining them at King's Cross.

"Me?" Draco said, surprised his son had asked. "Yes. Of course."

A silence fell over them and Scorpius began to eat, although he wasn't feeling at all hungry. He was too worried about his mum. A short while later, Draco looked up to see that Scorpius had left half of the food on his plate.

"Come on, Scorpius. We have to be leaving soon."

"Will... will mum be here when I get back for the Christmas holidays?" Scorpius asked suddenly, his voice fearful.

Draco sighed with sadness, before allowing his eyes to meet Scorpius'. "Of course she will be. She's not going anywhere, not now. You've got nothing to worry about." As he spoke, Draco wasn't even sure he believed the words that were coming out of his mouth, but what else was he supposed to tell Scorpius? He had to at least try to remain positive.

"Ok," Scorpius whispered, his mind slightly more at rest. "I'd better go and say goodbye to her," and leaving the rest of his breakfast untouched, Scorpius left the table and disappeared from sight.

Almost two hours later, Draco caught sight of Harry Potter on the platform at King's Cross after making sure Scorpius made it safely to the train. Over the last year or so, Draco had visited the Ministry several times in vain attempts to stop the rumours about Scorpius' parentage circulating. He'd previously spoken to Harry about it on more than one brief occasion, but had always been brushed off. Now, he approached Harry abruptly and got straight to the point - he had no time for smalltalk, especially with Astoria sick at home.

"I need a favour," Draco announced, not even bothering to say 'hello'.

Harry turned. "Draco," he said, more than surprised at being approached by his former nemesis in public. Draco usually came straight to his office if he had something he wanted to say.

"These rumours - about my son's parentage - they don't seem to be going away. The other Hogwarts students tease Scorpius about it relentlessly. If the Ministry could release a statement reaffirming that all the time turners were destroyed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries..."

"Draco, just let it blow over - they'll soon move on."

"My son is suffering," Draco said forcefully. "And - Astoria hasn't been well recently, so he needs all the support he can get."

"If you answer the gossip, you feed the gossip. There've been rumours Voldemort had a child for years. Scorpius is not the first to be accused. The Ministry, for your sake as well as ours, needs to steer well clear."

Furious, Draco turned and walked away. Although Potter didn't exactly owe him any favours, he'd thought he might show a little compassion - he'd even brought himself to mention Astoria being ill, which he never did to anyone. He simply didn't talk about it. Beyond angry at yet another unanswered cry for help, Draco apparated back to the Manor.

He went straight upstairs to check on Astoria and was surprised to find her awake.

"Did Scorpy get off ok?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Of course," Draco reassured her. He made his way across the room and sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired... but I wanted to check with you that he was ok. He was really upset when he came to say goodbye."

"Yes, he was upset. I think we both know he'd much rather you took him to the station than me..." Draco said, deciding not to tell Astoria what Scorpius had asked before he'd left. He stroked Astoria's hair gently away from her face. "You get some rest. When you wake up I'll get you something to eat."

"Draco..." Astoria said softly as he made to leave. He turned back as he reached the door. "Are you ok?"

"Me? Fine. Why'd you ask?"

"I'm worried about you," Astoria said quietly. "You've been dealing with a lot - "

Draco held his hand up to silence her. "I'm fine. I still have you here, don't I?"

"For all the use I am," Astoria scorned herself.

"Hey," Draco said sternly, walking back over to the bed and taking her face in his hands. "I don't want to hear it. You're here. I don't need anything else."

Come Christmas, Astoria was the worst Draco had ever seen her; there was barely one day a week, these days, where Astoria managed to get out of bed and do things for herself. It wasn't caring for her that bothered Draco. It was the endless thoughts about how she wasn't going to be around for him to care for much longer. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he knew that Astoria's condition was rapidly deteriorating and she had, at best, probably a year left. He knew that she realised, too - they just had an unspoken agreement not to talk about it. Whether that was a good thing or not was another question.

Together with Scorpius, they spent Christmas day shut away in their bedroom. Astoria was in a lot of pain, though of course, insisted on staying awake so they could enjoy the day together as a family. Scorpius had opened his presents rather halfheartedly, much like he had on his fourth birthday following Draco's altercation in Diagon Alley.

"What's wrong, darling?" Astoria asked quietly. "Don't you like your presents?"

"You can blame me if you don't," Draco said.

"No, it's not that... they're great... thank you," Scorpius said slowly. "It's just that... I'd much rather have you better, mum, than any of these things. I don't need things."

"Oh, sweetheart," Astoria whispered.

"None of us need things, Scorpius," Draco said, sounding tired. "And I can assure you, I'd rather have mum better, too. I'd give anything. But some things... money can't buy everything."

"Do we have to talk about this now?" Astoria asked desperately. "Please can we just have one day where we can be happy and try to pretend that everything's ok?"

"Of course," Draco said, with zero conviction in his voice. "If that's what you want." He checked his watch. "Astoria, your family will be here very soon, actually. I think I'll... I'm going to leave you to it for an hour. You should spend some time with them without me lurking in the corner." He stood up.

"You don't lurk, Draco. And they're your family, too."

Draco cast Astoria a look that said 'thank you, but I'm not quite sure I agree'. She nodded as if to say 'do what you want', and with that, he left the room.

After a minute or two, Scorpius broke the silence between he and his mother.

"I don't think dad's very good at the whole pretending thing..." he mumbled.

Astoria laughed. "No, he's not is he?" She scrunched up her face playfully and shook her head.

"I can't often pretend, either," Scorpius admitted. "I can't pretend that I'm not scared. The thought of you ever not being here..."

Astoria sighed. She didn't much want this conversation to continue but she could tell Scorpius did, and what he wanted was far more important.

"You'll have your dad," Astoria said. "And I know he's not me... and I know I've told you this before... but he is a good father. He cares about you so, so much. He just doesn't express it very openly. It's his way. And I wish I could tell you that will change but, well, it probably won't. The two of you will just have to work something out. But I know you'll be ok."

Scorpius considered his mother's words. "But all that stuff. The stuff I found out about dad being a Death Eater - "

"Scorpius, stop. You have to let that go. That was a shock for you, of course it was, but I stand by your dad - that was a long time ago and his heart was in the right place. He was incredibly misguided. He's a better man than you think he is, and if you can't see that yet, you're just going to have to trust me."

"Misguided? But he's always banging on at me about 'being a leader'... it seems he could have done with a little of his own advice back then."

"Why do you think he's so insistent that you learn to stand on your own two feet? Because he never did. He wants you to learn from his mistakes. Is that really something that warrants criticism?"

"I - when you put it like that..."

"I'll tell you something about your dad, shall I?" Scorpius nodded in response. "He told you, didn't he, that he made the wrong decisions because of how Lucius brought him up?"

"Yes, that grandfather was a Death Eater out of choice. I can't say that came as a huge surprise."

"No. Well. Your dad struggled a lot, standing up to your grandfather. You know what he was like. He had very... extreme views... on a lot of things."

"Yes, yes, and dad felt he had to have the same perspective of the world. I know," Scorpius said, sounding bored. He'd heard it all before.

"Yes. But do you know when he decided to finally stand up to him?"

"When?" Scorpius asked, intrigued.

"Your grandfather didn't want me and your dad to be married," Astoria explained. "He didn't really like me, Lucius."

Scorpius looked surprised. He'd rarely spent time in the same room as his mother and grandfather together, and had never actually noticed any animosity between them.

"But how could he not like you? How could anyone not like you?" Scorpius was dumbfounded.

Astoria smiled. Scorpius' words brightened her day. "You're kind, Scorpius," she said proudly. "But Lucius thought I was, what were his words, 'too weak and too muggle loving'? That was the last straw for your dad. He stood up to him to defend me, and I'd never seen anything so brave. And that is how I know that you and your dad will be just fine when I'm not here. Because he loves you just as much as he loves me, and he would do anything for you. Anything."

"So, standing up to grandfather was like his biggest fear?" Scorpius asked.

Astoria nodded slightly. "It seemed to be..." Noticing Scorpius trying to process all this, Astoria went on: "Look, I'm not saying your dad's perfect. He's not. None of us are. But you have to trust in him a little more, ok? He brought you up to be kind. I'd say that already makes him miles better than Lucius, wouldn't you?" Astoria raised her eyebrows at her son expectantly.

Scorpius smiled and nodded. "Yes, I suppose it does." He meant it. There was a long pause. "Does dad... ever... say anything to you about me being friends with Albus? I know him and Albus' dad hate each other."

Astoria smiled. "He doesn't really talk about it. I don't think he's jumping for joy, but he wants you to be happy so I think he just gets on with it."

"Pretending it didn't happen, then?" Scorpius said, though not bitterly. He found it rather amusing. "Perhaps dad is a little jealous. I mean, didn't he want to be friends with Harry in the first place? Ha! How funny that his nerdy, awkward son can make friends with a Potter and he couldn't, even though he was meant to be cool!"

Astoria laughed at her son. "Don't you go letting him hear you say things like that!" She grinned. "You are funny, Scorpy."

"Well, that's good. I like to make you laugh, mum. You... sort of... light up when you laugh."

"Come here," Astoria beckoned at Scorpius to join her up on the bed and he did. She held open her arms and Scorpius leaned in for a hug. She held onto him very tightly, not wanting to let go. How she wished she would be around to see her wonderful boy grow up. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you too," Scorpius said, his voice muffled by Astoria's hug.

Eventually they broke apart and smiled at each other sadly. Minutes later, Astoria's family arrived and gathered around her bedside, her mum unloading a huge bag of presents.

"Did you apparate in?" Astoria asked as Daphne ruffled Scorpius' hair playfully.

"Outside. Draco let us in," her father replied.

"Yep, he was his usual cheerful self!" Daphne joked. "I see he's decided not to join us? More important things to do, I suppose. I even went to the trouble of getting mum and dad on a promise not to ruin Christmas for him this year."

"Hey, we haven't given Draco agro for years, thank you!" her mum pointed out. "He... well, he's been good to Astoria, hasn't he?" she added rather quietly, refusing to make eye contact with either of her daughters. Vivian hated being proved wrong more than anything.

"Praise indeed!" Astoria said. "But yeah, Daph's right, he doesn't really seem to be in the mood this year. He's... not really been himself lately..."

"Grumpy... unwelcoming... seems like the Draco we know and love to me!"

Scorpius laughed at Daphne's joke a little too enthusiastically, provoking an angrily raised eyebrow from his mother. He cleared his throat nervously and straightened his face. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking away from his mother guiltily.

After they exchanged gifts, Astoria and her family sat around making pleasant conversation. Naturally, after a while, the questions started: how have you been? Are you in pain? Astoria wanted to hear no more of it, especially now she was aware of just how much it was upsetting Scorpius. She shut down her mother, father and sister's questions and insisted that they change the subject immediately.

Eventually, after almost three hours, Draco decided to show his face.

"Alright," he mumbled as he entered the room quietly.

Astoria's family greeted him equally as unenthusiastically, watching him as he seated himself over in the corner of the room - where else?

"You look exhausted," Daphne said suddenly, actually looking at him with some concern.

"Really? Can't imagine why that would be," Draco retorted in the monotone voice he often reserved just for Daphne.

Vivian and Vaughn both eyed Draco for a long moment before nodding at each other subtly.

"Draco, can we have a private word?" Vivian asked gently.

Everyone in the room exchanged glances with each other. Draco sighed. Astoria opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head at her and held the door open for his in-laws before leading them downstairs to the lounge. There, the three of them sat down in awkward silence for a moment. Draco rubbed his eyes, which were itchy from tiredness.

"Daphne was right, you really do look exhausted," Vivian said, mildly concerned, though she cared very little for Draco. She was more worried that he wasn't best placed for looking after Astoria alone.

"I'm fine," Draco said, his tone insistent. "Astoria and I... well, we are as we are. We get by as best we can."

"We do appreciate everything you do for her," Vaughn admitted. "You've kept her going through some pretty hard times."

Draco couldn't find the right response, so remained silent.

"I know you're as stubborn as they come, Draco, but you don't have an easy job, being registered as a full-time carer," Vivian said. "If you ever need help caring for Astoria, you only have to say the words. You don't have to do it alone, Draco."

"I want to. I owe it to her. And there isn't anyone else I would trust to do the job. At least if I do it myself, I know she's being properly looked after."

"Struggling alone isn't doing her any favours. She says you've been moody lately, or rather, 'not in the mood'."

"Well, yes, Vivian, I suppose I haven't really been much in the mood for celebrating. As I said, we do the best we can. Unfortunately, it can't always be fake smiles and pretending that everything's ok."

"We understand that it must be difficult, caring for her day after day but - "

"No," Draco cut across his mother-in-law, anger rising in his voice. "Caring for Astoria is not difficult. What's difficult is having to deal with the fact that my wife probably won't be here next Christmas!" Draco's voice cracked. Speaking those words made him feel as though he could cry right there and then, but he wouldn't; Vivian and Vaughn clearly already believed that he wasn't coping, and breaking down in tears wasn't the way to go about proving to them that he was.

He got up and made his way over to the window, staring out of it for a long while before turning back to face Vivian and Vaughn.

"And do you know what else is difficult? Knowing that your son is scared of losing his mother and not being able to do anything about it. Not a damn thing. I mean, let's face it, I'm not what he needs, am I? On top of that, I have him doubting my ability as a father because he figured out that I was a Death Eater after reading a book. And hey, not to mention the fact that the whole of the wizarding community in this country is going around saying that the father of my child is actually Voldemort! You know what, if the worst you can say is that I look exhausted I must be doing something right, because what I actually feel like doing is crying myself to sleep at night. But I don't. Because I have a wife and a son who need me to be strong. So, please accept my sincerest apologies that I'm tired and that I'm not getting into the festive spirit this year, but perhaps you could all cut me some fucking slack."

Leaving Vivian and Vaughn in stunned silence, Draco left the room, grabbed his cloak from the hallway and headed outside to the gardens. He needed to be alone.