Thick snowflakes were falling from the ceiling, and while the sight was probably fantastic, Draco couldn't take his eyes off the man of his dreams. A tanned hand lifted into the air to catch them, but before they could reach the guest, they would vanish before their very eyes.

"It's perfect," Theo whispered, his voice low as he watched. Draco had found the deep blue of his eyes was something he could lose himself in repeatedly. The chestnut curls that were slightly too longer than Theo preferred were exactly how Draco loved it.

"Happy New Year, my love," Draco murmured, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the person who understood him better than others.

"Happy New Year," Theo's whisper was nothing more than a breath against his cheek, and Draco knew that this was it for him.

This past year, he had been one of the best of his life. He'd led his team to win the World Cup over the summer, and during the after-party, Draco had professed his love for the wizard that had always been there for him.

The long nights when they'd been children, talking of their deepest desires in the dead of night when they thought they were safe from their fathers. Then, during their later Hogwarts years, Draco would experiment with Theo, constantly swearing to himself that it was for practice and didn't mean anything.

However, Draco slowly started to pull away during their sixth year, and then in their seventh year, he shut Theo out entirely, wanting to protect him from their fathers finding out the truth of their friendship. With the great distance, it had come as a shock that Theo had married Pansy, leaving Draco wading around, trying to sort out his life.

In retrospect, it had been the best move for them that Theo had married Pansy. It had given Draco the time to gather himself and become the man worthy of loving Theo and being loved in return. Despite Draco's marriage to Astoria, they still eventually found their way back to each other. Late one night nearly nine months ago, Draco had been sitting in a pub alone, celebrating his fourth wedding anniversary.

It hadn't been his plan. He'd been faithful to Astoria their entire marriage. He'd vowed as much, and he'd taken those vows seriously. That was until he spotted Theo in the same pub and invited the man for a drink. One thing led to another, and then Theo kissed him and fled.

After that, Draco's fate had been sealed.

Now, the couple was counting down the days until Draco's fifth anniversary because the marriage would be dissolved with no heir, and then they'd be free. Or at least as free as gay wizards could be in the backward society that they lived in.

"Must we stay?" Theo complained against Draco's lips in a quiet corner where no one would bother them.

Draco smirked and pulled away just long enough to note that no one else was paying them attention. They truly wouldn't be missed, and frankly, Draco didn't care to be out in society for even another moment longer.

Taking Theo's hand, Draco dragged him towards the fireplaces that lined the wall. A quick kiss, and they were whisked away in a flash of green.

The couple hadn't even made it out of the soot before they were ripping at each other's clothing. Theo's moans spurred Draco on and encouraged him to move faster. They stumbled out of the grate and hardly made it onto the fur rug in the center of his parlor before they were both stripped of their clothes, nipping and sucking on various parts of the other's body.

Gods, Theo was perfection, Draco thought, enjoying the way his tanned skin was a perfect contrast to his pale complexion. The scars that littered his body from years of his father's abuse told a story that was only Theo's, but the tattoos that covered his skin showed the healing that Theo had fought over the last eleven years for even louder.

He was beautiful, he was perfect, and he was all Draco's.

Kneeling onto the floor in front of Theo, Draco didn't hesitate to take the stiff cock in his mouth, reveling at the taste of the other man. The salty taste from his sweat and the tang of his cum was thick on Draco's tongue, but it only spurred him on further.

Draco was bobbing his head, and his eyes closed, sucking Theo's cock down his throat when a very distinct pop echoed in the room. Pulling off Theo and trying to cover him to protect what little modesty the brunette wizard possessed, Draco felt instant annoyance when he saw who the intruder was.

"Mipsy, what the fuck!?" Draco's hands dropped to his own now soft and limp manhood, trying to keep his nanny elf from seeing him in such a state.

"Master Draco, you are needed at home right now. Mistress needs you home now, sir." Mipsy, who had caught Draco in more compromising positions than he dared to admit, didn't even blink at his state of undress. "Quickly, quickly, before Mistress Astoria wakes."

"My mother can wait until morning. She knew I wouldn't be home tonight." Draco nearly growled in frustration as Theo scurried around, trying to collect their discarded clothing scattered about. Draco would never know how his trunks came to be dangling from the chandelier.

"Master Draco doesn't have a choice; he needs home now. Mipsy would suggest Master get dressed as Mistress has guests that Master Draco must speak with."

Without another word, Mipsy blinked out of existence, leaving the two wizards utterly confused at what had just happened.

ooo

At nearly midnight, whatever his mother could want or need was beyond Draco—having a house guest? He was racking his brain, trying to think of who might have come calling, but everything came up blank. They weren't expecting any French cousins to come in until their summer solstice ball, which wouldn't be until June.

There was no one else that the Malfoy family regularly conversed with that would make sense to them to reach out to try and make contact. Draco was in a very odd predicament as he walked through the halls of his ancestral home, Theo beside him.

"Wasn't there a Francesca that had been in touch with your mother about a visit?" Theo asked, his mind searching for the same answers Draco's was.

"Yes, but they'd set a date for tea later this week, and it was about Mother's rose garden, nothing that would need to be urgently attended to this evening."

"Then who?" Theo vocalized the question that continued to nag Draco, but as they neared the east wing occupied by his mother, they didn't have to wait much longer.

The door to his mother's smaller private library was jarred, and a beam of light shone into the hall, indicating where his mother was hosting her guest. Draco could see his mother before he entered the room. Still, in her dressing gown and hair in her curlers, she had been expecting the visitor this evening as much Draco had.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about the time change," Draco's blood ran cold, recognizing that voice anywhere. "We were in the emergency department, and they asked for the paternal family history. I panicked and made a portkey to land outside your gate."

"No, dear, I understand…I'm just–"

"I now realise that Draco might not have told you about her, but please, Narcissa, from one mother to another, I'm begging you. Since her fourth birthday, her magic has become progressively more unstable, and today she created a fireball…and…" Granger's curly head dropped into her hands, and Draco could hear the witch sobbing in the presence of his mother.

It had been five years since he'd last seen her, the night he'd given her his virginity, and then she'd snuck out without a word to him.

"I don't know what's happening to my daughter, and the healers suspect it might have something to do with your bloodline," Granger cried, falling onto the ground in front of his mother. "Please, Narcissa, I'm begging you to help me."

At that point, his mother must have sensed his presence and looked up at Draco standing in the doorway, her pale blue eyes narrowing on him and Theo.

"Ms. Granger, if your daughter is indeed my direct descendant, then I daresay it's reasonable that what you've been experiencing with her is her Veela presenting. If it would be alright with you, I'd like my son to join in this conversation now that he is here."

The speed with which Granger spun around to face him, and Draco could feel his heart thrumming in his chest at seeing her for the first time in such a long time. She was still as beautiful as she had been the day she'd left him alone in his apartment.

They were both speechless; the feelings for her he'd long since thought he'd put to rest began to stir again. Her chocolate eyes with the golden fleck and the coffee-coloured coils hung longer than he'd remembered, going well past her shoulders. There were more curves to her body, her hips wider and her breasts larger with her thin waist, which gave her a perfect hourglass figure that he craved to explore.

At the shock of seeing Granger, he'd forgotten Theo was standing beside him. Theo cleared his throat, gaining both Draco and Granger's attention, and Draco felt his heart stop at that moment. The look of pain on Theo's face was more than Draco could take; the sapphire eyes he loved looked from Granger to the small bundle of blankets Draco had somehow managed to overlook.

White curls stuck out, and a pale face, flushed pink, could be seen in the mass.

"I'm sorry, I…Draco, it seems you have something to attend to." Theo nodded his head at his mother and then Granger, and Draco felt his heart begin to race with panic, not at the sight of a child sleeping in his mother's drawing room, which Draco hadn't managed to process yet, but at Theo turning and walking away from him.

Draco looked at the witches standing and watching him, but his mouth was dry and his mind blank. The only thing he could do was run.

Theo was halfway down the corridor, and Draco needed to get to him. The thought of losing him over something he did not know about would be a fate worse than death. Without Theo, his life was empty and meaningless.

"Theo! Please!" Draco called out, running toward his lover. "I swear, I had no idea she had a child, I–"

In his desperation, Draco pulled Theo against his chest and kissed the man. He didn't have any explanation for what was happening behind them or what they'd just witnessed. All he knew was that he'd have to figure out what he'd had with Granger, but what he had with Theo was his future. A life worth living.

His tongue brushed against the seems, and Theo moaned of appreciation, driving Draco. He reached up, cupping Theo's head to pull him closer, wanting to put everything he didn't know how to say into that kiss.

"I'm not leaving you," Theo murmured, pulling away. When Draco attempted to pull him in again, Theo held up a hand to stop him.

"I…I didn't…"

"I believe you, but you and Granger seem to have a lot to sort out, and I can't be here for that. You two have to figure it out."

Theo took a step away from him but kept his fingers laced through Draco's, squeezing his hand. It was so quiet in the corridor that soft, unfamiliar footfalls could be heard, and Draco knew who was coming after them.

"If she didn't need you, Granger wouldn't be here. I'll be at my flat if you need me; I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Theo pulled away, their hands finally breaking away.

His gaze looked over Draco's shoulder, and Draco knew who was behind him. Theo nodded at her but gave no other sort of farewell before he turned and walked away again.

When Theo turned the corner, Draco still wasn't ready to face Granger and whatever she had to say. He couldn't think of anything except Theo, and if what he'd overheard her and his mother discussing was true, Granger had a lot of explaining to do.

"Draco, I–"

"You thought you could just show up five years later with my daughter?" His tone was laced with venom, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…Draco, I did. I wrote you." He still wasn't facing her, but the confusion in her tone was evident. "I wrote you when I found out I was pregnant, and when you didn't write back, I assumed you didn't want to be involved. I would have written now, but with Lyra's magic so unstable, I couldn't risk taking her on a plane, and I needed answers."

This time, Draco did turn to face the witch. Her dark brown eyes were wide, and there was no deceit in her face.

"I'm sorry, there's a specialist here in England we were referred to, but tonight…I might lose her." Tears were in her eyes, a mother's fear shining through, the weight of her words hanging in the air.

"You wrote?" Draco asked because even as he watched her, he still couldn't believe that Granger was standing here in his home, her daughter–their daughter–sleeping just a few steps away in his mother's drawing room.

"I did, but I knew you were marrying Astoria, and I didn't want to cause any more stress for you. I assumed when you didn't respond, you didn't want to be involved."

Just beyond her, he could see into his mother's drawing-room, where she was swaying with the bundle of blankets in her arms. The stern expression she'd given Draco was gone as she peered down at her granddaughter, brushing the curls away from the sleeping girl's face as if she couldn't resist herself. Even if Lyra was unaware, the contact between them seemed to have soothed the girl, as the flush on her face had rescinded.

"Why did you name her Lyra?" Draco asked, his gaze now turning to Granger, who was watching his mother with their daughter.

"I still wanted to honour you, even if you didn't want to be involved. I thought…I thought giving her a piece of you in any way I could was important." Draco was stunned at the answer, but Granger wouldn't look at him, only fidgeting with the sleeve of her jumper.

"Will you stay? It's late, and I'd hate for you to move her again now that she's so peaceful."

"Oh, I…my parents are waiting at our inn. They'll be worried, but I had to speak with you or your mother."

Draco's heart cracked again at the weight on her shoulders and the burdens she'd carried. The hardships she'd faced alone, all while thinking he'd not want to be a part of their daughter's life—a unique daughter who needed extra care and attention.

"I'll let you be then; we can reconnect in the morning," Draco said, turning to face. His mind was whirling, and Draco knew the one person who would have intercepted any letter Granger had sent him and burned the evidence.

He stepped toward the drawing room, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned back to Granger, her eyes wide and teary.

"I am glad that you didn't reject her." Before he could respond, Granger had released him and was entering the drawing room.

ooo

The path between his mother's wing and his wing passed without Draco noticing. The ancient portraits that always glare at the sight of him went entirely unnoticed, and even though he'd sobered from the night he'd had, his stomach was still rolling.

Astoria.

Granger had written him, and there was no doubt in his mind that his wife hadn't known or had a hand in ensuring that Draco hadn't known about his daughter.

Daughter…

The concept was that there was a living, breathing being who was part of him that he'd known nothing about. He didn't know of her existence until moments ago when he'd seen her sleeping on his mother's seat, uncontrolled Veela magic wreaking havoc in her tiny body.

He felt guilt over Granger navigating these years without him, thinking he'd rejected their daughter and that he would have denied Lyra as his.

Fucking hell, he didn't even know her yet, and the pull and need to get to know his daughter and make amends for his absence was strong. And with how gracious Granger had been over the entire thing, he had his head spinning as he strolled down the hall with the door to the mistress suite in sight.

Draco didn't bother knocking on the door; he threw it open, and light streamed into the sitting room, illuminating the spacious sitting area. It was all designed to Astoria's liking for the season, always finding a way to update it to keep it as modern as possible, constantly redoing it.

The doorway to Astoria's bedroom was locked and warded, but it didn't deter Draco as he was his wand and slashed through the enchantments meant to keep him at bay. He'd not bothered to visit this room in years, but he knew his wife well enough that her attempts at privacy would be feeble at best.

The door crashed open, and the portraits on the walls trembled with the force of the blast as he stalked into the room. His breathing labored as he willed his heart to calm.

The blasted woman hardly stirred at his entrance. The magazine in her hand and the lamp beside her illuminated her delicate features, making Draco cringe when he saw his grandmother's ring on her finger.

"I'd thought you'd still be with Nott, or did you get tired of having your arse fucked night after night?" She casually flipped another page, her eyes not lifting to him.

"Did you know about Lyra?" Draco seethed between his clenched teeth.

"Is Lyra your new concubine? Should I be jealous that you've moved on from sucking cock to wanting another cunt?"

"Lyra is Hermione Granger's daughter, a daughter that I sired, and she wrote to me about years ago! Did you know?" Draco shouted, storming forward and ripping the latest addition of Witch Weekly from her grasp, tossing the gossip rag with Astoria's face on the cover to the ground. "You fucking knew, didn't you?"

A flicker of something, certainly not guilt, crossed her face before her green eyes glowed. She glared at him with all the contempt the witch could muster.

"Hate to break it to you, but I don't keep up with any of your whores," she shot back.

The lie was there, Draco could tell. The delivery was just as seamless as when he'd asked her a year into their marriage if she was fucking Adrian Pucey. The same way she'd sworn she'd had nothing to do with the damning photos of Theo and Blaise being leaked to the press.

"Bull shite," Draco said, his arm sweeping across the vanity, knocking the various perfumes and cosmetics to the ground. "You fucking knew, didn't you!"

"Calm down, Draco!" Astoria shouted, standing from the bed, the silk shift she wore hitting her mid-thigh, but it didn't raise any arousal in him. The fucking devil in silk and lace was all he saw. "You're scaring me!"

"You knew about my daughter! Just admit it!" Draco yelled, not believing the woman for a moment that she was scared of him. The scar on his temple was proof that she wasn't above physical violence. "You intercepted the letter she sent me, didn't you?"

A scowl on Astoria's face was all the answer he needed.

"You are selfish!" She screamed, her fist clenched at her side as she stomped her foot. "We were to be married, and you went and fucked a mudblood to embarrass me! Not only did you fuck her, but then you were having a half-blooded bastard! Of course, I burned the bloody letter! What would our friends have said? Hm? Here I am, unable to produce an heir, but you can't keep your cock out of a wizard's arse to allow me to perform my duty as Lady Malfoy!"

"What the fuck, Astoria!"

"You did this, Draco! It's your duty to sire an heir, but you aren't man enough to do it, but you could with Hermione fucking Granger! You're a disgrace to real wizards and bring shame to the Malfoy name!"

Draco could feel his blood racing and his heart pounding against his chest. The flush on his wife's face from her rage, but he could only picture her deception. How she'd fully intended that he'd never learn of Lyra's existence, and had Lyra not presented as a Veela, Draco would never have known he had a daughter.

"When I'm back in the morning, I want you gone," Draco said, standing tall, allowing his size to fill the room and intimate the witch before him. "If you aren't, I'll press charges for what you did. As it stands, our marriage is over. There's no coming back from this, and I think you know it."

All the self-righteousness that Astoria has always carried began to fade away as Draco's words sunk in. Her face paled, and her eyes widened with fear at the implications of what he was saying.

"You can't…the contract…"

"Is null and void once I name Lyra my heir. You weren't able to perform your duty. Therefore, the marriage contract can be dissolved."

"Where do you expect me to go? I have nothing! You've denied me work all these years!" Astoria shrieked, the reality of the situation crashing around her.

"I don't care where you go or what you do. I want you out of my house and to stay away from my family."

He didn't wait for a response, turning on his heel, and was out of the room, passing the nursery that had sat empty for so long, waiting for the Malfoy Heir to be born while Astoria knew she had been.

Even though it was nearing two in the morning, Draco was too restless to return to his wing. So, despite the late hour, he knew exactly where he needed to be.