Boy - (A 'Blaire Zabini' sequel) || Draco Malfoy

21 - Rewrite the Stars

White-blond hair, silver grey eyes.

Draco Malfoy looked down at the infant in his arms who resembled him in so many ways, and felt the gentle swell of his heart.

Blaire was right; this child deserved to be loved, just like any other child who had been born into the world. It didn't matter if his conception came out of a loveless marriage; what counted was from this moment on.

He felt a hand place tenderly upon his shoulder and he looked up from the chair he was sat on to see his mother smiling encouragingly down at him.

"You're a natural, Draco," she said softly, "fatherhood suits you."

Draco quickly averted his eyes away from hers, trying not to squirm as he thought guiltily of the grandchild that she knew nothing about.

He tried to ignore it, needing to concentrate on what was important right now, and that was being here for his son who, at the moment, didn't even have a mother.

"Did you and Astoria come up with a suitable name?" Narcissa asked, having removed her hand from his shoulder as she began to slowly pace the small hospital room in a way that Draco found oddly soothing.

He stiffened. "No, we uh- we never talked about it."

Fuck, he'd never felt so ashamed.

"I know you probably want to wait until Astoria wakes up," his mother sighed, "but we could be talking a long while. It wouldn't hurt to think of something. I could help, if you like?"

"No, it's okay," he said quickly.

A little too quickly; he didn't miss the flicker of hurt in her eyes.

He felt instantly bad, but he didn't want to think about names. Not yet.

"What I mean is, I just want to get used to this first," he added, "to being a- a father..."

He tailed off, thinking guiltily of Jack again. Narcissa paused and he could feel her eyes looking at him curiously.

"What did you mean before," she spoke, her voice shrouded in a suspicion that made Draco feel nervous, "when you said it was all wrong? That it shouldn't be like this?"

Draco couldn't look at her, and he felt the beginnings of panic flutter in his chest. "I- I just meant with Astoria being ill," he stuttered unconvincingly. "It isn't right, our son needs his mother."

"He needs his father as well, you know," Narcissa said gently, "all little boys do."

Pfft, Draco had needed Lucius like he'd needed a hole in the head.

But her words were cutting him deep as Jack's face swam before his eyes.

He hated this, he hated not being able to be there for Blaire and their son, and he hated keeping things from his mother.

And now here he was with a brand new child in his arms whom he had helped bring into this loathsome world, even if it wasn't particularly willingly.

Drowning didn't even begin to describe the way Draco was feeling.

******

"When's Daddy going to get here?" Jack asked, his bottom lip wobbling as he clasped his homemade telescope to his chest, refusing to eat.

It was Monday, four days since Draco had turned up in a state over the birth of his child.

The morning came and went without any sign of him, and now we were sat around the table, eating the turnip soup Hermione had made us for lunch.