Jasper Edwards was a lowly ranked Death Eater, so he jumped at the chance to run an errand for The Dark Lord a few days into the New Year. Hoping a new year was going to bring a change of fortunes his way, Jasper headed off to pick up some potions ingredients for The Dark Lord. Unfortunately, his task took him into the muggle world and into a small village in Scotland. Not at all impressed about having to deal with muggles, Jasper quickly picked up what he needed and prepared to make a quick getaway.
Just as he was slipping into an alleyway to disappear, he spotted a face he thought he recognised across the street. Not sure who he would recognise in the muggle world, Jasper remained hidden in the shadows as he scanned the street to spot who had caught his attention. When he finally found the woman who'd caught his eye, he was surprised to find himself watching Narcissa Malfoy.
Jasper had never personally met Narcissa, but he'd seen the beautiful witch at parties and in the papers alongside her husband, Lucius, so he recognised her easy enough. Truth be told he was rather jealous of Lucius, and everything the other wizard had going for him in his life. Not only did Lucius have a beautiful wife, but he had a large manor house, a successful family business, a vast fortune sitting in Gringotts, a son and heir to carry on the family name and he also happened to be one of The Dark Lord's top men. Jasper meanwhile had a mediocre job at the Ministry, a moderate house and a few thousand in savings and was near the bottom of the pecking order amongst the Death Eaters. He didn't even have children to carry on his family name as he and his wife had been unable to have children together for some unknown reason.
As he watched Narcissa, and brooded over everything her husband had that he did not, Jasper realised that she wasn't alone. She was pushing a pram and every now and again she would lean down and fuss over the child in the pram. Shaking his head at how unfair it was that Lucius had yet another child, Jasper turned around and disappeared from the muggle village with a barely audible crack.
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As usual at Death Eater meetings, Lucius sat at the right hand side of Lord Voldemort as The Dark Lord conducted his business. Lucius had long since been a high ranking Death Eater, but in the two and a half years since Voldemort had returned, he'd risen to become his right hand man. These days Lucius was involved in everything The Dark Lord did and he was privy to information no-one else was. Not even his sister-in-law Bellatrix Lestrange, who was The Dark Lord's occasional lover and one of his most loyal followers, knew as much as Lucius.
After almost an hour of talking and making plans, Voldemort dismissed his followers for the evening. While Voldemort turned to his left and spoke quietly to Bellatrix, Lucius got to his feet and stopped one of the lowly Death Eaters who'd been doing a job for The Dark Lord.
"Do you have everything, Edwards?" He asked, once everyone had filed out of the room.
"I do," Jasper replied, pulling out a box from his robes and enlarging it before handing it to Lucius.
"Did you have any problems?" Lucius questioned as he opened the box to check everything was in order.
"No problems," Jasper replied. "Although I wasn't keen on visiting a muggle village."
"We all have to make sacrifices," Lucius replied. "I'm sure it didn't kill you associating with muggles for an hour or so."
"I coped," Jasper said. "And it wasn't as if I was the only magical person in the vicinity. I saw your wife in the village."
"Narcissa?" Lucius frowned, wondering what Narcissa was doing in a muggle village.
"I think she was just taking a stroll with the baby," Jasper replied. "Congratulations by the way. I didn't know you had a second child."
Lucius nodded dumbly as Jasper left his room. He was totally and utterly confused by the conversation he'd just had. Either Jasper was sorely mistaken, or there was something strange going on with Narcissa.
"Did he just say Cissa had a baby?" Bellatrix asked as Lucius turned back to face her and Voldemort.
"I think he must be mistaking her for someone else," Lucius said. "It's not like he's ever met Narcissa properly."
"I'm sure he's seen enough of her to know what she looks like," Bellatrix pointed out.
"Are you suggesting he was telling the truth?" Lucius asked his sister-in-law. "Do you really think he saw Narcissa with a child?"
"I don't know, but it's possible," Bellatrix said. "It's not like you and her and together all the time these days."
"Even so, I see her often enough to know she hasn't been pregnant," Lucius retorted. "Besides, she would never go against our marriage vows and cheat."
"Even if Edwards is mistaken, I think you should check it out," Voldemort advised. "We allow Narcissa quite a bit of freedom, and I think it's wise to be sure she's not abusing that freedom."
"I'll check it out, but I'm telling you now that Edwards has made a mistake," Lucius replied. "Whoever he saw in that muggle village it wasn't Narcissa. I can guarantee there's no baby in my wife's life."
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Two days later, Lucius was eating his words regarding Narcissa and a baby. Since he thought the very idea of Narcissa having a baby was ridiculous, he didn't bother speaking to his wife. Instead he decided to observe the house his wife lived in, meaning Narcissa didn't even realise he'd been checking up on her. Because of their agreement he couldn't pass through the boundary lines of the property, but he was confident he could observe the house without alerting Narcissa to his presence.
Sure enough Lucius was able to watch the house without been noticed, but he didn't like what he saw. First of all, there was indeed a baby living at the house and he rarely saw Narcissa without her having the child with her. Secondly, there were two Order members living on the small house at the edge of the estate. Even though they seemingly lived in a separate house, they both entered and left the main house regularly and Narcissa seemed friendly with them both.
After a few days watching the house, Lucius didn't see anyone else and was confident it was just Narcissa and the baby in the main house, and the two Order members in the smaller house. Not at all impressed with what he'd discovered, Lucius abandoned his stakeout and returned to the manor, where he spoke to Voldemort and Bellatrix about what he'd discovered.
"The baby cannot be hers," Lucius insisted. "I'm telling you Narcissa hasn't been pregnant lately."
"What's the alternative?" Bellatrix questioned. "The baby has to belong to someone."
"Yes it does," Lucius muttered thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking, Lucius?" Voldemort asked.
"I'm thinking the baby isn't Narcissa's, it just can't be," Lucius replied. "But I do know someone who she would help with their baby."
"Who?" Bellatrix demanded.
"Draco."
There was silence in the room as Voldemort and Bellatrix digested what Lucius had suggested. They all knew Narcissa would do anything for her son, and that would include raising his child for him so he could carry on at school.
"That's definitely possible," Bellatrix finally agreed. "But where's the baby's mother? Why don't you know about the child? And why is there two members of the Order staying with Narcissa?"
"I don't know because Draco and Narcissa clearly don't want me to know," Lucius replied. "The mother could be dead, or she could also be at school with Draco. Although I can tell you, she's not someone whose Father we're associated with. If Draco had fathered a child with the likes of Pansy Parkinson or Daphne Greengrass, their fathers would make it their business for me to know what was going on. And as for the Order, I think it's clear that Narcissa has gone back on her word and turned on us."
"That won't do Lucius," Voldemort muttered menacingly. "Narcissa was given her freedom on the express condition she stayed away from the Order. By working with them, she's breached our agreement. She needs to be brought back into line."
"And she will be," Lucius vowed. "But first we need to be sure the baby truly is Draco's."
"How are you going to do that?" Bellatrix asked. "I doubt asking him will get you anywhere."
"We're going to check the Malfoy family tapestry," Lucius answered. "Any child will have shown up there."
Exiting the front room, which was where they'd been talking, the trio made their way up to a deserted room at the top of the manor. The room held the vast Malfoy family tapestry and a few bits and pieces that Narcissa had never liked so had never been displayed around the manor. Locating the part of the tapestry they desired, it took the threesome a few minutes to confirm the baby was indeed Draco's child.
"Where's the mother's name?" Voldemort asked, gesturing to the blank space where the mother of the child should have been listed.
"The tapestry only registers official unions," Lucius explained. "Because Draco isn't married to the witch he got pregnant, she won't show up on the tapestry. And because the baby is illegitimate, all we've got is a label saying baby girl. Her name won't appear on the tapestry because she's not considered a proper Malfoy."
To illustrate his point, Lucius showed Voldemort and Bellatrix a few more illegitimate children on the family tree. Like Draco's child, none of them had a name as they weren't officially a Malfoy. He did explain that if Draco married the mother of his child then they might both appear on the tapestry, and he gave an example of one of his ancestors that had been born out of wedlock but had appeared as legitimate once his parents had married.
"What do you mean, they might appear?" Bellatrix asked. "Why wouldn't they appear on the tapestry if Draco marries this girl?"
"It'll depend on the girl," Lucius answered with a shrug. "The Malfoy tapestry is enchanted to never admit a muggleborn onto it."
"You think Draco is involved with a mudblood?" Bellatrix gasped.
"I don't know," Lucius admitted. "Before this happened I would have said that Draco still held the values I taught him as a child, but I'm not so sure anymore. One thing I do know is that I made a big mistake letting Narcissa take him away from the manor. It's time Draco returned home and faced up to what it means to be a Malfoy."
"This child could be the key," Voldemort mused, tapping the tapestry over the point that registered that Draco had a daughter. "We could use her to make Draco join us."
"Anything we can use is fine by me," Lucius said. "But if this child is as impure as I think, we'll need to get rid of her and her mother. I won't have anything tainting the family name."
"Don't worry Lucius, we'll use the child to get Draco on side and when the time is right we'll destroy both her and her mother," Voldemort said with an evil chuckle. "By that point, Draco won't have anything to fight for, and he'll willingly stay with us."
"And once we've defeated Dumbledore and his Order, I can marry him off to a nice pureblood girl and I can have legitimate grandchildren," Lucius added.
Returning to the front room, the trio set about planning how they would use Draco's child against him. The child was the key to getting Narcissa back home and getting Draco to embrace his density as a follower of The Dark Lord. All they needed was a plan. Half an hour later they had a plan in place, all they had to do was wait for the right time to strike, and when they did, they would have Draco exactly where they wanted him.