Author's Notes:
Here's Chapter 110 for you!
I finished this chapter a few days ago, and I was going to upload it earlier, but then I fell ill. I woke up around nine o'clock tonight, after a nap, and remembered I said I was going to upload, then it took me two hours to be bothered to cook and eat before editing.
Anyway, here it is, the first of two Hermione's birthday chapters. The next is introducing Scorpius to Hermione's family and Hyperion's family. I'm excited to write it but...
I'm going away next weekend to Amsterdam, then the day after I get back, I'm going home for a week for my brother's 14th birthday so I'm not going to have much time to write. Therefore, chapter 111 might not be uploaded on the 1st March, but you should definitely get two chapters next month (which was my New Years Resolution).
Love DW x
P.S. Enjoy
In Scorpius' nursery, Draco stands in front of the window, his son frustratedly whining in his arms as he rocks back and forth, massaging his back in an attempt to wind Scorpius. Staring out across the green of the Estate, Draco watches in an exhausted and mesmerised state as a figure pushes their baby in a red and gold carriage up the short path leading from the gate to the block of shops in the centre of the green, and then back again. As dawn breaks, the sky lightens revealing a beautiful pink hue along with the dark grey clouds moving slowly overhead.
"Looks like the Daily Prophet got something right, it's going to rain," he mutters.
Scorpius burps, releasing the trapped wind, along with some milk, that Draco whips with the cloth that was over his shoulder for this purpose.
"Good boy," he says automatically. "Are you ready to lie down now?" He asks, turning away from the window and the other person dealing with their child, to place his son down in the crib. However, as soon as Draco moves away, Scorpius'little face screws up as he waves his arms, wanting comfort.
Draco picks him back up, sitting down in the grey armchair beside the crib.
"That's okay," Draco soothes his son. "We can have a cuddle." He adds, accioing the blanket from atop Scorpius' chest of drawers, and covering them both in the fabric. "We need to get some rest, son. We've got a big day ahead of us." He mentions, stifling a yawn.
Scorpius' tiny hand grips onto his sleep shirt as he settles against his chest.
"I've got you, Scorpius," he leans back, resting his head on the back of the armchair. "You're going to meet most of the Weasley's today. That can be a stressful day for anyone. There's many of them. I don't actually know how many." He admits. "Molly and Arthur have already decided they're going to be your grandparents. They're good people to know. They're one of the few people I would trust with you. I suppose if they're your grandparents, you're going to have a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins. That's nice for you since your Dad doesn't have any siblings, and your Mummy's new siblings are very young. Most of the Weasley's have their own children now too, so you'll be growing up with lots of friends, not like your Dad or Mummy. I'm going to make sure you have a much better childhood than we ever had." He mutters to Scorpius, before noticing his week-old son has fallen asleep.
Draco stands, softly replacing Scorpius in his crib, covering him with a knitted blanket Grandma Emily had sent to Chris for them. He returns to his own bed, and as soon as his head hits his pillow, he's asleep.
Not for long, though, as two hours later, Hermione's alarm sounds at eight o'clock.
"Good morning," she leans across to kiss him.
Draco smiles before yawning.
"Draco!" She sighs, "I told you to wake me next time. When did Scorpius last wake?" She asks.
"About quarter past five," he answers, climbing out of bed.
"And when did he go back down?" She questions, standing up and helping Draco to make their bed.
"About six o'clock," he admits. "It's fine, you need to rest. It's only been a week since he was born." He tells her, throwing on his dressing gown.
"All I do is rest," She reminds him, following her husband downstairs after a quick peek in at Scorpius, who's still fast asleep. "You won't even let me make my own cup of tea." She adds after she picks the kettle up to refill, but Draco takes it from her.
"Sorry," He hands it back. "I don't want you exerting yourself." He selects two cups.
"Exerting myself," Hermione scoffs. "I spend most of my day sitting at the couch, or in Scorpius' nursery, or outside, or in the bath, or in bed. I've left the house once, yesterday for the check-up with Heath." She complains.
"You're right, we should start going out. I'm just nervous about all the reporters that will no doubt follow us around if we walk around Diagon Alley. Or running into my mother." He mentions, placing four slices of bread in the toaster.
"I am not going to hide away in my house from reporters, or your mother. I do think you should visit her though, she still doesn't know his name, and I tired of receiving gifts for 'Baby Malfoy'." She says, making their tea.
Draco nods, "Should I take one of the pictures, or would you rather I didn't?" He asks.
"It's fine, she can know how cute Scorpius is," Hermione smiles, handing him his tea. "It might convince her to try harder."
"He really is cute," Draco agrees, staring at the still picture Hermione had taken with the camera, her parents had gifted her with after the whole 'transfiguring the remote into a camera' incident. In the picture, Scorpius is lying in his crib, eyes are wide open, staring up at his father's face and Hermione had managed to capture the image, leaving the back of Draco's head out so just their beautiful son's face was in the frame.
Hermione duplicates the image, handing the copy to Draco, "You should visit her after this lunch at the Burrow." She suggests.
Draco smiles, knowing Hermione didn't have a clue of the surprise lunch Molly had prepared for her birthday. It had initially been planned for the weekend prior to her birthday since their due date was the twentieth of September, but now everyone had booked the day off work, Molly decided to keep the date.
"I'm sure Molly can't wait to meet him," He sips his tea while Hemione spreads jam on their toast.
They sit at the table, eating their toast and drinking their tea in a rare calm moment before Scorpius woke up for his breakfast feed.
"It looks like it's going to rain today," Hermione comments, and Draco nods, having noticed earlier that morning.
"At least we're flooing to the Burrow so Scorpius won't get wet." He adds.
"He's not a gremlin, Draco," she jokes.
Draco frowns, not getting the joke.
"It's a muggle film," She clarifies. "We'll have to watch it." She adds, an idea forming in her head. "We should buy a television for our front room since we're going to be spending so much time here, now we're off work." She suggests.
"Would it even work here?" Draco asks.
"Your record player works through magic; I don't see why not." She reminds him.
"We can go shopping next week," Draco agrees.
Hermione smiles, thinking of all the films and tv shows from her childhood that she can introduce to Draco.
The serene moment doesn't last though, as a few minutes after half-past eight, Scorpius' wakes with a hungry cry.
"I've got this," Hermione pats, Draco's arm when he makes to stand. She kisses his cheek before leaving. "Mummy is coming, Scorpius," she calls up the stairs.
His cries falter at the sound of her voice but return to full volume a moment later.
"Good morning, Scorpius," She greets her son with a smile, picking him up out of his crib and cradling him. "Are you hungry?" She asks, unfastening her pyjama shirt to allow her son to feed.
She sits in the armchair, wrapping them both in the blanket.
Whilst Hermione is busy, Draco makes use of his spare time to tidy the kitchen and living room up, waving his wand around to rearrange their furniture, records, books and other knickknacks lying around. He doesn't know why they keep Athena's cage in the living room when she spends most of her time at Sophie and David's house now, since the end of their pregnancy.
He finds himself missing the bird, and makes a mental note to make sure Sophie brings Athena with her to the Granger's house next week for Hermione's birthday celebration. He hopes Athena likes Scorpius; otherwise, he won't be able to trust her in their home with him.
Once done, he heads upstairs looking in on Hermione, still feeding Scorpius and whispering to him about anything and everything that comes to her mind. He gently closes the door, smiling at the picture of his wife and child as he goes into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower, brushes his teeth and washes his face before waving his wand to tidy and clean the room. In their bedroom, he gets dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt that is easier to clean if any baby liquids get on him, then waves his wand a final time to tidy the rest of the room.
"Draco, change Scorpius?" Hermione calls from the nursery. "I'd like a bath before I get dressed," she adds when he arrives in the room.
"Of course," he takes his son from her arms. "What should we wear today?" He asks Scorpius, holding him against his chest as he opens his drawers. Once Hermione has left, he adds, "It's a special occasion."
Draco selects a tan pair of trousers, a white t-shirt and dark blue jumper, also knitted by Grandma Emily. He changes Scorpius' nappy then dresses him.
"Adorable," he coos at his son as he brushes his hair with a soft baby hairbrush.
Draco carries his son downstairs, lying him down on a baby play mat with various toys dangling from beams, each toy with a different purpose. Scorpius is still too young to be able to play with them, but he does enjoy wiggling around on the mat.
Hermione joins them in the living room about an hour later, dressed in a beautiful floral, mid-length dress. Draco picks Scorpius up, turning him around to look at Hermione.
"Look, it's Mummy. Isn't she beautiful?" He laughs.
"Stop it, Draco," Hermione blushes, pulling a maroon cardigan on.
"Scorpius agrees with me," Draco states, struggling to place his son's arms into his coat.
"I'm sure," Hermione laughs, collecting Scorpius' bag. "Are you ready?" She asks.
"Yeah, I've got Scorpius," he mentions, stepping up to the fireplace, collecting a handful of floo powder. "The Burrow." He clearly states after stepping into the fireplace.
He steps out the other side into the living room of the Burrow. Usually, no one sits in the living room during the day, preferring to sit in the kitchen or outside, but with the rain, the living room is full.
"Draco!" Molly shouts his name.
"What?" A startled Draco turns to face the woman, who's handing her grandson, Fred, back to George as she stands up.
"Let me see him?" She asks, arms wide open for a cuddle with the youngest baby.
Hermione arrives into the room behind them as he careful hands Scorpius over to Molly.
"Hello, Scorpius," Molly coos instantly. "I'm your Granny Molly." She whispers, smelling his head. "He still smells new." She states.
Hermione laughs, taking a seat on a couch beside Angelina. Draco notices Harry, Percy and Arthur, the three Ministry workers, aren't in the room.
"Where's Harry?" He asks the room.
"In the garage with Dad," Ginny answers. "There's a door in the utility room, just past the stairs." She adds since it's raining.
"Thanks," he nods, leaving the room.
Draco follows her instructions, finding the door and the three men, as well as Ron.
"Alright, Draco?" Harry asks.
"Yes, we just got here. Molly's all over Scorpius." He smiles.
"Of course, she's baby mad," Ron rolls his eyes, but Arthur hits him with a hand towel, making them laugh.
"How is parenthood?" Percy asks.
"We've realised that unless we have somewhere to be, there's no reason to have a sleep schedule." Draco states. "We sleep whenever we can, but Scorpius wakes every two hours or so for a feed." He adds.
"It's like that for the first five months or so, that's when James started sleeping through the night," Harry admits.
"It was his first birthday on Wednesday, wasn't it? Did he get the present off Hermione and I; she chose it?" He asks.
"He loves it, I think he brought him with him actually?" Harry laughs. "To be honest, I was expecting a book from both of you."
"It very nearly was," Draco jokes. "But Hermione's mother thought a stuffed animal was more appropriate, and Hermione though you and Ginny would appreciate a lion." He sighs overdramatically in disappointment.
The small group laughs but it's Ron who brings up the elephant in the room first.
"Are we just going to ignore the whole prophecy thing?" Ron questions.
Arthur clears his throat awkwardly going back to fiddling with the engine of a new car, Percy's eyes widen as he glances around the garage, and Harry just stares at Ron shaking his head. Draco pales, but nods.
"If you have any ideas, I'm listening." Draco states.
"So, you don't have a clue?" Ron frowns.
"We are assuming the capitalised Latin are the Death Eaters' codenames. The translation seems to suggest the names are either a description of the person, or their job. Either within the Death Eaters or outside." Draco starts.
"What was your's?" Ron asks tactlessly.
"Ron!" Arthur chides him.
"We didn't have codenames, the Dark Lord wanted us all to know each other," Draco answers feeling nauseous.
"Sorry," Ron mutters with a shrug.
"The o'clock and half an Excipio part seem to reference the start of Hermione's labour and the time of Scorpius' birth." Draco moves on. "Other than that, we don't understand the meeting of the clock, or what the grave of the hound means." He adds.
It's all he's been able to think about for the past week. He spends most of the waking day reading books, trying to find a reference to anything in the prophecy.
"How many codenames do you know?" Ron asks.
Draco pats the pockets of his jacket, finding some of the parchment he had written down what they knew on. He'd last worn the jacket on the journey home from St. Mungo's on the eighth of September.
Ron reads the parchment, with Percy reading over his shoulder. Harry was already aware of their progress, actively working on it himself at work.
"Anything on Yaxley?" Draco asks.
"Wait, you think a Gryffindor is a Death Eater?" Ron asks.
"It's happened before," Harry answers. "Wormtail," He adds when Ron frowns.
"Ahh, right," he remembers, embarrassingly going back to the parchment.
Harry shakes his head. "Unfortunately, no sign of Yaxley. There wasn't any evidence of him being at the Peak District. They were tough to subdue, but as soon as we got one, the rest dispersed." He explains.
"Who did you get?" Draco asks curiously.
"Rowle?" Harry states, questioning if Draco knows him.
"Thorfinn Rowle?" Draco raises an eyebrow. "You did well to get him."
"Well, it wasn't me." Harry chuckles. "It was my mentor, Alphard Vale. You met him last year, on my training when Gin went into labour."
"That guy, yes, I remember him." Draco nods.
"Okay, this clock part," Percy snatches the parchment from Ron's hands, much to his annoyance, laying it down on one of Arthur's workbenches. "It says the Heres, capital H, walks round. That's obviously their new master, the heir to the Dark Lord, right?" He looks up for confirmation.
"That's our working theory." Draco agrees.
"So, a clock is round, the Heres is walking round the clock. We already know these codenames reference numbers so the Death Eater's are sat in a circle. Picus was six, and Excipio was two, right?" Percy states.
"Or three?" Ron pipes up.
"What?" Percy questions.
"It's half an Excipio, not a full Excipio, so he would be three, then half an Excipio is half-past two." Ron makes eye contact with each face, voicing his theory.
"I think you're right," Percy admits, frowning, upset he hadn't figured that out himself.
"I'm impressed," Draco smirks.
"I'm just confused how they know if it's morning or afternoon." Ron shrugs. "How did they know this Gryffindor was six in the morning, not six at night?"
"They'd need a twenty-four-hour clock," Percy answers, charming a quill lying on the counter to writing one to twenty-four around the clock.
"Are you suggesting there are twenty-four Death Eaters?" Harry asks, looking pale. "There are only seven on the run, as far as we're aware. Six, since we got Rowle last week." He runs his hands down his face. "How did the new Dark Lord managed to recruit seventeen new DE's so soon after the end of the war?" He questions.
"The meeting of the clock, the meeting of the twenty-four," Draco mutters. "It makes sense." He adds. "I have to tell Hermione," He starts to walk away but Harry grabs his arm.
"Not on her birthday," he tells him.
"It's not her birthday," Draco frowns.
"Wait until afterwards, let her enjoy the celebration, don't ruin the surprise." Harry reminds him.
Draco nods in agreement. Hermione deserves to enjoy this moment. He'll wait until they get home afterwards.
"I'm going to have to write this down for work," Harry mutters, heading back into the house, Ron following him.
Draco picks up his notes. "How is the Ministry treating you this time?" He asks Percy.
"It's a means to an end." He admits.
"Were Flourish and Blotts not paying you well?" He asks.
"It's not about money," the man shakes his head.
Draco stares at him, waiting for him to elaborate, but he walks back into the kitchen.
"He won't even tell Molly or me about his plan," Arthur explains, wiping his hands with the hand towel.
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Draco says, walking with the older man back into the house.
They find most of the family sat around the kitchen table, waiting for lunch to be served. Draco sits down beside his wife.
"Scorpius is napping in the family crib," she nods over to where five babies are sleeping in a comically large crib.
"He's having some cousin time," Pansy states from his left.
"I'm sure he's tired after meeting everyone," he comments.
"He was passed around." Pansy agrees.
As usual, Molly has outdone herself for lunch, with the amount of food that levitates over to the table. However, before they can dig in, streamers and confetti silently explode over the table as a banner unfolds across the back wall reading 'Happy Birthday, Hermione'.
Hermione's face is a picture of surprise as the table wishes her a happy early birthday.
"Did you know about this?" She asks Draco.
"Yes," he grins.
Hermione laughs, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you, Molly, and everyone. I was not expecting this, it's too much." She cries happily.
"Of course, it's not too much. Don't be silly." Molly hugs her. "I've told you countless times, you are family, and family gets a party for their birthday." She states.
"I didn't get one," Pansy points out.
"You specifically told me, many times, you didn't want one, but I baked you a cake." Molly reminds her.
"I know, it was great." Pansy smiles, appreciatively.
Molly shakes her head as she sits beside her husband. "Enjoy this celebratory meal." She announces.
Dinner is filled with delicious food, although that's to be expected from Molly's cooking, and plenty of joyful conversations. Draco tries his best to keep Percy's clock theory out of his head as he eats, listening to the various topics of conversations around him, laughing along with everyone else, but it's hard. He wants to go home and have another look at the prophecy with this new understanding.
Afterwards, the Weasley family all pile into the living room. It's a tight squeeze and Draco finds himself sat on the floor, leaning back against Hermione's legs. He can feel her fingers lightly running through his hair, unknowingly calming him down.
"Do you have any plans for your birthday?" Molly asks Hermione, Scorpius back in her arms.
"We're just going to be visiting some family. We hadn't planned anything since Scorpius wasn't supposed to be born until the twentieth." Hermione explains.
"It's a blessing that he came a little early; you can celebrate without being heavily pregnant." Molly nods. "How is Sophie?" She asks.
"She's doing really well in school. She's just started her fourth year of Muggle school. She has two more years left but can't wait to attend Hogwarts." Hermione laughs.
"When's Gwen coming back?" Pansy questions with a knowing smirk.
"She'll be back for Christmas," Hermione answers. "She sends Sophie owls once a fortnight." She adds.
"They're mostly about her Quidditch," Draco mutters and Hermione pulls his hair gently but in a warning. "Ginny, how is your training?" He asks in an obvious change of conversation.
Ginny excitedly falls into a long explanation of her training, her fellow Quidditch players, the current league board and other Quidditch topics of discussion. Harry, Ron, George, Angelina, and her parents listen intently. Everyone else talks amongst themselves until Audrey stands from where she had been sat in the corner beside Percy and Fleur.
"Audrey, how is your brother?" Hermione asks, making an effort to be polite since the woman rarely showed up for family events and she wanted to include her for Percy's sake.
Audrey frowns at her. "He is well, why do you ask?" She asks suspiciously.
"Harry mentioned you had accompanied your mother to St. Mungo's last week while we were there," Hermione explains.
Her frown smooths out. "Harlow is meeting his milestones so his healers are happy." She mentions, continuing on her walk out of the room.
The rest of them exchange glances.
"Who invited her?" Fleur asks quietly.
"I did when I saw her at St. Mungo's," Harry announces. "I didn't think she would show up though." He admits.
"She came back to the Estate for a few days after last week after you spoke to her," Percy says.
"She's not moving in, right?" Ron asks, his hopefulness clear on his voice.
Percy laughs, "No, she just wants to get this over with sooner rather than later." He clarifies.
Ron pulls a disgusted face. "I live next to you."
Percy flushes, "Yes, I'm aware." He stares pointedly between his youngest brother and Pansy.
Ron blushes furiously, but Pansy just shrugs, unbothered.
"Alright, no mother needs to hear this," Molly stands, passing Scorpius down to Draco.
"No brother should hear it either," Percy smirks.
"Shut up, Percy." Ron snaps, but it's too late, the room erupts into laughter.
In Draco's arms, Scorpius wakes up to the noise. Before he can become distressed, Draco stands, following after Molly into the kitchen, where the older woman is lighting some candles on a cake.
Draco can't stop the laugh that escapes his mouth at the shape of the cake. "That's brilliant," He smiles as she rummages around in Scorpius' change bag for a bottle. He wandlessly heats the milk to the right temperature before feeding his son.
"It was Harry's idea," Molly states, lighting the final candle.
"It's a bit obvious but she'll love it," Draco smiles, glancing over to the stairs at the sound of footsteps. It's just Audrey walking back down, presumably from the bathroom.
Unexpectedly, Audrey walks over to him and glances down at Scorpius curiously. "He's the perfect split of both his parents." She states in an apparent compliment.
"Yes, he is," he frowns, not having spoken to her before.
Audrey nods once, returning to the living room. Draco looks at Molly, who just shakes her head.
"Come on, it's cake time," She leads the way, carrying the cake.
Draco follows behind, joining in with everybody singing 'Happy Birthday' once in the living room.
Hermione blushes slightly at the sudden attention but laughs joyfully as soon as she sees the book-shaped cake.
"Make a wish," Molly urges her.
Hermione closes her eye. 'I wish to keep my family safe,' she wishes in her head before opening her eyes and blowing the candles out.
Molly waves her wand to remove the candles, then again to slice the cake up into fourteen slices, one for each of them.
The cake is lemon flavoured Madeira with vanilla icing coloured to represent the pages, spine, covers and bookmark of a book.
"What did you wish for?" Draco asks, sitting beside her, still feeding Scorpius. His plate is balanced on his lap.
"I can't tell you that," Hermione smiles. "Or it won't come true." She adds, and Draco notices a twitch.
"If it's what I think it is, I will do everything to ensure it comes true," He tells her softly.
"I know you will," She presses a kiss to his cheek, leaning her head on his shoulder.
After Scorpius has finished his bottle, Hermione takes him to wind so Draco can enjoy his slice of cake. Once finished, he helps Molly collect all the plates in, taking them into the kitchen.
"Thank you for this lunch, Molly," He says, leaning against the counter tiredly.
"Hermione's family," Molly repeats, waving her hand dismissively.
"I was wondering if I could ask you for a favour?" Draco questions.
Molly makes eye-contact with him, waiting for the favour.
"There are few people I trust," He starts and Molly, realising this is a serious conversation, removes her apron, throwing it on the counter, motioning him to sit at the kitchen table. "I trust Harry and Ginny, obviously since I agreed to them being Scorpius' godparents, but they're busy with James and sometimes Teddy. I trust you and Arthur." He states. "If need be, would you be able to look after Scorpius for a few hours."
Molly's eyes sparkle. "Of course, Draco, I'm glad you trust us. Is there a specific date you wanted, or are you asking in general for the future?" She asks.
"I'm going to visit my mother this afternoon. If she apologises sufficiently, Hermione may want to speak to her but I do not want to take my son to the Manor." He explains.
Molly nods understandingly. "Are you willing to forgive Narcissa?" She asks.
Draco doesn't know. He's split. If his mother's apology is sincere, which as a skilled Legilimens, he will be able to tell, then he will be able to forgive her and give her one more chance. However, he doesn't think he'll ever be able to forget what she's done to his family, or ever trust her with Scorpius alone.
"Perhaps," Draco quietly answers. "I can't trust her, but I can give her a second chance."
Molly nod, "Any time you need us, we're here for you." She stands, pulling Draco into a hug.
"Thank you, Molly." He grins, hugging the woman back.
Draco and Hermione, with Scorpius, bid everyone goodbye before flooing back to their house. Hermione had been struggling to stay awake in the warmth of the Burrow's living room, and so they had excused themselves for a nap. Thankfully, Scorpius was also due for another nap, so once Draco had put his son down in his crib, and then checked on his already napping wife, he leaves a note explaining his absence then steps out of the front door.
Pulling the hood of his cloak over his head as the rain continues to pour, he walks down Beta and Alpha Street to the gate of the Estate, where only two reporters are camped under the umbrella spell, keeping dry. Upon his appearance, they jump up from their seats, but before they can get a word out, he's gone, apparating to Malfoy Manor.
Standing in front of the gate, he takes a deep breath in preparation for the conversation he has been needing to have with his mother for a while. He opens the gate with a flick of his wand, walking down the path towards the front door. He manages to knock once before Mitty throws the door open.
"Master has returned," Mitty says.
"I apologise for not visiting much, Mitty." Draco feels guilty for leaving his house-elf alone with his mother and Gharther.
He enters the house and Mitty closes the door behind him, looking disappointed.
"Master bring baby?" Mitty asks.
Draco smiles, he had known Mitty would be ecstatic about the birth of his child. "Not today, Mitty, I'm here to speak to mother. Perhaps one day soon I'll bring him around."
"Mitty will find Master's mother." She's about to disappear, but Draco gets an idea.
"Wait, Mitty," Draco removes the still picture of Scorpius from his pocket and duplicates the image. "This is Scorpius." He passes her the photograph.
Mitty's eyes widen comically as she takes the picture in her hands, staring at his son. "Mitty loves Master's Scorpius." She says, handing the picture back.
"No, you can keep that," He tells her, looking around the foyer. "I'll find mother," he adds, walking towards the dining room.
He eventually finds her own private library, upstairs, reading on her chaise longue.
"Mother," He calls her name, gaining her attention instantly.
"Draco," Narcissa stands, leaving her book on her side table. "What a surprise!" She smiles walking over to him.
Draco raises his hand, stopping her in her tracks. "We need to talk," He keeps his expression stern, walking over to the armchair opposite her chaise longue, motioning for her to sit.
Narcissa sighs, taking her seat. "This is Mr Potter's doing, isn't it?"
"You need to tell me whatever excuse you told him because, for some reason, you've got Harry convinced that it's worth me listening to," Draco states, sitting tall.
"What did Mr Potter tell you?" She asks.
"Enough about Harry, he didn't tell me anything. I want to know why you thought you could get away with poisoning my wife and don't lie." Draco uses his legilimency to feel the edges of his mother's mind, so she knows he's there.
Narcissa's eyes harden at his presence in her head. He relaxes the spell. She sighs, engaging eye-contact with her son.
"I admit, it was a foolish act, and is something I now regret." She says.
"Why?" He asks.
"I can see how happy she makes you. Had the plan worked, Minister Shacklebolt would have forced your separation. I do believe you have been through enough, Draco." She tells him.
Draco remembers Harry telling him his mother may need to talk to someone. "I am not the only one. You were living here with the Dark Lord longer than I did. At least I was able to escape to Hogwarts, not that being there was much better." He mentions.
His mother's eyes narrow. "Are you sure Mr Potter didn't speak of our conversation?" She questions.
"All Harry told me was to talk to you," Draco snaps.
"I don't need to talk to anyone," she stares at him.
"I know, it's not the pureblood way, but I can't help but think you do need to talk. You've been isolating yourself since the war. It's been over two years now." He tells her.
"Only thirteen to go," she sighs, eyes falling to the wedding band on her left hand.
"This is about Lucius," he states.
Narcissa's eyes flicker back up to his. "I do wish you wouldn't call him by this name."
"Are you doing all this for him?" Draco asks, curiously.
"What am I doing?" She asks.
"Your behaviour to Hermione is awful."
"She's a mu-"
"Don't, Mother," Draco warns her.
"I was going to say Muggleborn." She assures him. "I thought you would impregnate her, then divorce her and disown the child." She admits.
Draco glares at his mother, just the thought of leaving Scorpius made him angry.
"I realise now that you do love her and she loves you. I've read all the stories in the Daily Prophet." She tells him.
"You can't trust the Daily Prophet." He tells her. "You know Lucius got Maddox his job."
"They seemed to report the birth of my grandson correctly." She points out.
"Prophecies tend to be correct, in one way or another, that's the point of them," Draco says.
"It's disturbing the Death Eater's seem to be interested in your family," Narcissa mentions.
"I'm dealing with it," Draco brushes the comment aside, not wanting to discuss it with his mother.
"How does Hermione feel about the prophecy?" She asks. "She's a smart girl, has she figured it out?"
"I told you we are dealing with it," Draco repeats.
"You need to be careful, Draco. The Malfoy's were not on the Death Eater's good side at the end of the war." She reminds him. "I don't want anything to happen to you. You're the only family I have left." She says emotionally.
Draco reaches out with legilimency. Her mind is open for him and he finds her emotions to be sincere.
"I will do anything to protect my family," Draco says sternly.
Narcissa shakes her head worriedly. "That is what I am afraid of, Draco. You will put your life in danger."
"For once in my life, it will be for a good cause." He tells her.
"You remind me of your father," Narcissa sighs.
Draco recoils at the thought.
"He tried his hardest to keep this family together throughout the war. Even when we were disgrace after his failure at the ministry in 1996, he did everything the Dark Lord asked to protect us. He even gave up his wand!" Narcissa says, eyes deep with love and pain for her husband. "He's going to be so disappointed when he comes home." She adds.
"You're trying to keep our family together for Lucius," he states, realising her motive.
"He's going to come home to an empty house, a muggle-born daughter-in-law, a half-blood grandson, and a son who has turned his back on his family and his blood. I've tried my hardest, Draco, to keep us together. I had a list of pure-blood girls for you to choose from after your divorce, but you went and fell in love with the muggle-born." She explains, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Draco's still using legilimency and the wave of emotion from his mother hits him hard. He removes his spell in alarm. His heart palpitates as the course of her strong emotions pulsates through his mind for a few seconds before disappearing. The aching pain and betrayal in her heart from losing her husband for fifteen years, the deep sorrow from losing her son by her own means, the confliction between want to have his family in her life, but not wanting to go against her deeply ingrained beliefs and values.
"Mother," His voice is full of his own emotion. "I didn't realise… you should have said something." He tells her.
"You should know better than anyone how weakness is viewed within pureblood families. It's a constant fight to keep the acquaintance I have remaining." She reminds him.
Draco nods, understanding her predicament. "Mother, I don't know if I can forgive you yet, after everything, but I understand." He tells her. "Lucius is going to be in Azkaban for the next thirteen years, you can't continue to live your life according to him. You need to want to keep our family together for you. Before I can forgive you, you need to prove to both Hermione and me that you want to be a part of our family. We don't need any more gifts. In this instance, words speak louder than actions." Draco tells her.
Narcissa nods slowly. "Hermione won't listen to me."
"I'm going to speak to her, she knows I'm here now, and if she's comfortable, we'll return together for a discussion on how our family can move forward." He explains.
"Will you be bringing the baby?" She asks, hope in her voice.
"No, not until Hermione and I feel we can forgive you, and if we do, this is your final chance." He tells her sternly in the hope that by withholding her grandchild, she will take this last chance seriously. "We wanted you to have this in the meantime." Draco retrieves the picture of his son from his pocket, smiling as he catches a glimpse of his son's face.
Narcissa takes the picture from her son, staring down at the unmoving baby. "Is it broken?" She asks, frowning at Draco.
"It was taken with a muggle camera; their pictures don't move." He explains.
She looks back down at the image. "He's got you and your father's face," she comments.
"He does, but Hermione's eyes and hair." He grins. "And his hair is lightening day by day, although it's won't ever be as light as ours." He adds.
"What is his name?" She asks, her voice soft.
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," he answers.
His mother stiffens in her seat, and Draco realises his mistake.
"Hyperion?" She questions, eyes boring into his. "You named your son after a squib?"
"I named my son after my uncle," Draco corrects her.
"For what purpose, to spite your father and me?"
"No, to honour my uncle," he frowns, knowing he was going to have to admit to one of the secrets he was keeping from his mother. "I found him, and he's a very nice man. As it turns out being abandoned in a muggle aged nine did him a world of good. I also have five cousins." He explains.
"Why can't you leave things alone?" Narcissa sighs. "If the Daily Prophet found out, we'd be humiliated."
"I wouldn't be humiliated, but to protect him, I understand not wanting anyone to know about him. A few friends that I trust are aware of his existence, as well as two other people who have reasons not to divulge the information." He explains.
"Who, this doesn't just affect you, Draco? Who are they?" She asks.
"The Head of the Department of Registrations. He sighed a deal with Hermione not to release the information. Then also Perseus Parkinson. He's been visiting Hyperion since the '70s, after the first war. They were childhood friends. He's kept the secret this long; I trust him with this." He answers.
"Perseus," His mother's eyes widen. "Does he know you found him?"
"I don't see how this is important. He's not going to release him to the Daily Prophet, not with what we know about him. Although that is at the last resort, I don't wish to hurt Pansy." He says.
Narcissa smirks lightly. "She still doesn't know?"
"No, I see no reason for her to know unless he is involved with these current Death Eater risings, which I doubt. He made it through two wars without his identity being known, only an idiot would risk their freedom joining these new Death Eaters. I don't know what these new ones are thinking, there was no honour or glory in being a Death Eater, and it's insulting they think they can take the Dark Mark and not have to live in constant fear. They'll never know what it's like to serve under the Dark Lord." He shakes his head angrily. "You haven't heard anything about this new Dark Lord or the new Death Eaters, have you, mother? They're threatening my family, your grandson." He asks her, knowing she's more involved in the pureblood circles than him.
Narcissa tilts her head curiously, "I read the prophecy, there was no threat. It only predicted the birth of Scorpius." She looks down at the picture, a small smile on her face.
"I have it on good word that the prophecy was supposed to predict the end of these new Death Eaters, but either they or the Daily Prophet removed that part," Draco explains.
"Really," she frowns thoughtfully. "That would be a threat against Scorpius. We told you about this?" She asks.
"A reporter," he shrugs, standing up. "I should be leaving now. I'll talk to Hermione about visiting together. You need to apologise to her, sincerely and explain what you told me. I think she will understand." He admits.
Narcissa nods, joining him as he walks down the staircase to the front door. "It was lovely seeing you, Draco. Thank you for the photograph." She looks back down at Scorpius in the picture. "He's going to be a handsome boy." He adds.
Draco smiles, "Thank you, mother. Goodbye." He pulls his hood up as he steps out into the rain.
Walking down the garden path back to the gate, he spots a hooded figure stood just outside the wards. Draco feels for his wand in his pocket, unsure who the figure could be. The wind is blowing the rain into his face, making it difficult for him to see the figure's face. The closer he gets; he notices the pale white of a face, before noticing gold detailing and realising this is a Death Eater wearing their new mask.
He whips his wand out of his pocket, wordlessly sending a stupefy at the figure, who doesn't even flinch as the spell bounces off the Manors wards, over Draco head. Realising both of them were protected from the other by their heavy wards, Draco sets off in a sprint towards the gate. As soon as he is within feet of the Death Eater, they disapparate, only to appear further down the lane leading towards the muggle town a few miles away.
"Revelio," Draco shouts as soon as he is outside the wards, hitting the figure in the chest.
The man laughs as his mask flies from his face, as though it had been disarmed by Expelliarmus.
"Rowle?" Draco growls, running towards the man, who was supposed to be in a holding cell at the Ministry. "How did you escape?"
Rowle points his wand at his mask, lying in the grass a few feet away. "Accio," He calls, retrieving his masks and instantly disapparating away.
Draco growls in anger, pulling his phone out of his pocket. According to Harry's information from only a few hours ago, Thorfinn Rowle was in holding. He presses call on Harry's name, listening to it ring.
"Hey," the other man answers casually.
"Thorfinn Rowle has escaped."
After a few seconds of silence, Harry answers, "Leave it to me," and hangs up.
Draco disapparates straight back to the Estate, needing to be near Hermione and Scorpius.
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