Chapter 8
"You silly boy," thought Eliza as she ready the news paper.
He head been caught. That had been one of the things she had tried to tell him. Never get caught if you were going to do something wrong. She had hated it when she had had to tell his parents he had done something wrong. What she had hated more was when she had had to punish him.
Draco sat in his high chair across the table. It seemed his father wasn't going to be coming back. Not till the trial. And then what? If it went badly who was going to bring the boy up.
Asides from his father she could only think of one relative, and that was the elder sister of his mother. The blood traitor. She wasn't going to be able to cope while the trial went on, not even that long. Not by herself with a six month old baby.
While she hated the thought of giving her precious boy to a blood traitor she wasn't sure if she had any other choice.
"It might be her or nothing." she said across the table to the baby. He looked at her with his big grey eyes, which were filled with too much sorrow for a lad of his age. "Right young man I think we need to get you your bottle don't we?" she said to him. He hadn't drunk that much in the night, she didn't think. Not as much as her children had when they had been young. She was going to have to get him to take the food. The feeling she got was he was holding out for his father. But that wasn't an option any more. She didn't know when Lucius was going to be back and the boy had to eat.
Lucius felt nothing. He was just so cold. He didn't think he was ever going to be warm again. It was as if he was stuck in time. And all he could think of was that moment when the nurses had come to him and told him his perfect, beautiful girl was dead. His girl…
"Cissa." he cried out. He hadn't meant to. He didn't want too. He felt as if he might be going mad for good this time. There was no little boy in a crib near him to save him from the loneliness that was taking over his heart. He wasn't there. And he didn't even know if he was ok.
Where was Draco? Had Eliza kept him this long? She wasn't going to be able to cope.
He thought of his baby all alone in some god forsaken orphanage. No one to hold him when he cried. He never had to cry for long when he was at home. Lucius always went if the boy cried.
He wanted his son and he wanted his wife. He was falling apart without them. He wanted them so bad.
He was crying again for the second time that year. He hadn't cried a lot ever before. Not even when he had been a boy.
And yet here he was and all he could do right was cry.
What if he never got out of this place? He would die of the sorrow he felt.
Though that might not be such a bad thing. Cissy. They would be back together. He could hold her, kiss her, caress her…
But then…Draco…who would take care of the boy.
If he and his sweet angel were reunited though, said a voice in his head, did it really matter about the boy?
Another voice replied: of course it did.
Andy sat at the table with the letter she was reading. She had been there for at least twenty minutes. It was clear she was in shock.
After all that had gone on the past twenty four hours? And now this.
She had never been a member of the order. She hadn't fought. She hadn't wanted too. She had done enough fighting in her childhood. She had her husband and daughter now. She and Ted had decided to keep there heads down for the sake of their child. But she had loved Sirius for the bravery he had shown. She had really admired him. He had been the Black who had really stood up for what he believed in. He had been the Black sheep, and he had been so proudly. And now she found out like this. She found out he was a fraud. He was as bad as the rest of them. She had read it in the news paper of all places.
And poor Lily and James. They were real hero's. They had done what they thought was right and they had damned the consequences. They had stayed true. As young as they were, cut off before they had even reached their prime.
None of it was right.
It couldn't be.
And now this. Lucius had gone and got himself locked up in jail so his son - her sister's son - had no one in the world - but her.
"What am I going to do Ted?" she asked her husband. Her tired eyes told him she was desperate for an answer. Should they take him in? Would it be what her sister wanted her to do? Was there any right answers any more?
"I see that there is only one thing we can do." he shook his head.
"Take the lad in?"
"We have too…"
"Yeah. I suppose in a weird way we do. And what wrong has he done? He is only a few old months. And his little world has fallen down about him." she shook her head.
"Seems to me him and that little Potter lad have a lot in common…poor little Harry." He said as an after though. What was there for him now he wondered.
"No that is where I disagree with you. Harry had good honorable parents. All Draco ever had was Lucius. And my poor sister…you know even when I left I was never convinced she believed as strongly as the others did." she said as her husband held her hand, allowing her to talk through what she needed too. "She was always so sweet." she said to him.
"But love she didn't put a stop to what was going on did she?"
"Ted," she said defensively. "You know what my mother and father were like. They would have over powered her." She shook her head. Narcissa hadn't been like her sister in that she had had a submissive streak. She had always been eager to please. Yes she had had her passions but not in the same way she or even Bellatrix did. She had put others before herself. Maybe that was why selfish Malfoy had married her. So he could have a person servant instead of a wife.
"And I suppose she had to marry a Malfoy did she?" he asked.
That was something Andy could not defend. If she had really wanted too, she would have said no. And whenever she had seen them together Narcissa had had a loved struck look on her face. But then it wasn't the real issue.
"Us arguing isn't going to help. The real issue here is are you ok with me taking him in?" She said trying to take her thoughts away from the sister who she had so loved and lost.
"I just told you, yes. I think it will be good for our lass to have another kid about."
"We are going to have to tell her he is coming here." she said to him.
"Of course are, but you just give your self a minute love to sit. You have had some shocks, a bad morninig."
"This has been a bad morning for the whole wizarding world." she said to him, but he shook his head
"This is a good morning for our world he is gone, petal. No more fear…"
She smiled, and supposed he was right. That part of that day was very good indeed. He was gone.
And so was Bella. She didn't care if they had blood. That women was not her sister.
"Well I better owl this Eliza back and tell her we are going to take the mite off of he hands." said Ted to her.
"Yeah, well I am going to go and tell Nymphy. You write back. Tell her we are coming by about four. I am going to get the cot down from the attic. We have to get the nursery ready."
It was at that moment Andy felt quite excited. She was going to have a baby in the house. Her sister's child. And she was going to look after him right. Cissy's child would be safe in her hands.
She was going to be able to look after him better than any nurse of Lucius's.
Until they came to get him Eliza hadn't realized just how fond she had got of baby Draco. He was like a grandchild to her. She wished there was another way. She had thought of Snape, but then he had been taken in as well. No his aunt was there only hope now. And she was still going to be able to go and see him when he was at his aunts she was sure.
As they sat in her small pokey living room she knew the baby could tell something was wrong. He wasn't his normal self. He wasn't the happy, content little baby she had had a hand in raising.
He was sad. And if she didn't know better she would think he was scared.
His father had never left him for such a long time. It must be a confusing time for the lad who was used to so much love and attention from those around him. To just have that cut off. It seemed so cruel to her. shutting her eyes she held on to him tighter. Her sweet boy. While he was with her he was safe she told herself. That wasn't going to be for a lot longer, but they would never really be apart.
It was bang on four when the door went. Putting Draco in his play pen she hesitated to open it. She wasn't so sure about giving him up now. She would cope for a little longer wouldn't she? And then Lucius would be back home with his son where he belonged. And yet she knew she could not risk that it would be longed than a little longer. Going over to the door she took a deep breathe, composed herself and opened it.
She found on the door step a woman who looked very much like Miss Bellatrix and a heavily built man by her side in a checked builder's shirt. She was sure she had done wrong then. They looked rough. Even if they did share blood with the graceful miss Narcissa.
"You must be Eliza. I was grateful for our letter." said Andy as she strolled in, almost barging past the aging woman. She was anxious to met her nephew now. If she had had her way she would have met him much sooner. She would have gone to her sister and begged her too re-forge the link between them. They were both mother and could have helped each other. But fate had not allowed it to be so. It had robbed her from them.
Going in to the small living room she saw the baby immediately laying on his back, staring at the ceiling.
So this was him. Her little sister's legacy. All that was left of her. The baby with grey eyes and blonde hair looked up at her curiously.
"And aren't you handsome. Hello sweetie…hello…" she said as she was followed in to the room by her husband and the nanny.
Andy, smiling at teed, as she looked back over her shoulder, went over to the pen. "I have been waiting to meet you for a quite some time." she said to him. Leaning over him, she picked him up in to her arms smiling. this was her baby nephew and while she was with him, he was going to be safe.
Eliza hated herself. If her Lucius had his way, none of this would be. She was never meant to have met her nephew.
"Have you his things ready?" asked Andy. There was no point in hanging about, she thought as she held the baby with the confidence every women who was a mother did.
"Well yes…" said Eliza. She hadn't realized things were going to be moving so fast. Having anticipated he was going to need some bits for his time away from the manor, she had been up to the Malfoy's that morning and picked up some of his things. "But before we do that let me get you a cup of tea so we can talk about Draco, what he likes and what he doesn't."
"Thanks for the offer but I think me and Ted are going to be able to work it out for ourselves." she said as she looked adoringly at her nephew. His eyes scanned her face as if trying to recognize her and failed.
To her he looked so much like his much mourned mother.
No, she had a feeling she and he were going to get on fine by themselves, she didn't need some one to tell her about her own nephew.
"Andy's right. We have left my mother and father with our own daughter and we have to get back to her. Can you please just tell me where my nephews things are." Ted said to her firmly. He didn't trust her. There was just something he didn't like about this old lady.
"Well then they are in the kitchen." she said to him weakly. They were taking her boy away from her. She had put the wheels in motions yes…but now it came to this...
"You know -" she begun but it was to later, he had left the room. "I can cope, you don't have to take him off of me." she said to Andy.
She looked at Eliza if she was Nymph when she had done something bad.
"Did you condone what my brother in law did?" she asked.
Eliza said nothing.
"Well then I think that clears up my questions if you can bring up my sisters child adequately. You did the right thing. He belongs with me now." she said.
And with that she left the room with Draco in her arms. She was taking him home.