Waiting | Lucius Malfoy

Chapter Forty-Seven | Patience

If there was one thing that Guinevere had learned about Lucius over the weeks since discovering her pregnancy, it was that he was an even less patient man than she'd thought. Everything was moving too slowly for him. 

When they'd made the first appointment at St. Mungos to meet with the magical pregnancy specialist, he'd grown weary when he'd learned of the timeline of the pregnancy - it was as if he hadn't already experienced this before. The fact that they wouldn't be able to find out the gender of their baby until Guinevere was almost halfway through the pregnancy was a personal attack on him. Guinevere had apologised to the healer and reiterated that she knew that there was no alternative to this timeline - no matter how many times Lucius asked. 

If things with Narcissa hadn't been so icy, she would have been tempted to owl her and ask how Lucius had been the first time he'd ventured into fatherhood. She couldn't imagine the Malfoy Matriarch having to tell Lucius eighteen times a day that she was alright, the baby was fine and that the birth would come around soon enough. That seemed like madness. 

And yet, it was the circumstance that she'd found herself in. Now sixteen weeks along, she was starting to tire more often and she was growing more and more irritated with his insistent questioning. He was supposed to be the calm and calculated one, something she wished he would remember right about now. 

Draco had taken the news surprisingly well, congratulating them gently in a letter and sending flowers for 'Guinevere and child'. She doubted that he would ever take to the idea of her baby being his brother or sister, but perhaps in a few years' time, things would be different. 

Now though, was the moment she'd been dreading most of all. Theo. She'd finally reached a point in the pregnancy where it was appropriate to inform her best friend of her news. She'd been actively avoiding him since she'd started showing - something which had not gone unnoticed, and she'd finally plucked up the courage to tell him. It wasn't that she worried he'd be angry, upset, or any emotion other than happiness. It was the fact that she'd have to add another person to the list of people who would ask her eighteen thousand questions a day and check up on her at every opportunity. She was barely coping with Lucius, let alone a dry-humoured Theodore Nott. 

When the telling noise of the lowered wards sounded, Guinevere counted to ten and opened the door to the study. She reminded herself to breathe and allow Theo the courtesy of asking questions. It was only fair. 

He stormed into the study, his dress jacket slung over his shoulder. "Well, you better have had fucking Dragon Pox because there really is no excuse for having such a busy schedule. A schedule so busy that you can't even be bothered-" He stopped in his tracks, eyes trained on her small bump. "You're not."

"I am."

"Since when?" 

"Sixteen weeks ago." 

"Sixteen weeks? I haven't seen you in a month. You're saying you've kept it from me all that time."

"Yes, but-"

"But what! You're pregnant and you thought not to mention it!" Theo threw his arms up in frustration. 

"Would it help if I made his middle name Theo?" She said, grinning. 

"His middle name? It's a boy?" His eyes glittered. 

"I think so, but don't tell Lucius. You're the first to know." 

"How did his brother take the news?"

"Remarkably well, all things considered." 

"How are you?" 

"Ugh," she groaned. "Fed up. Lucius walks around on eggshells asking me if I'm alright eighty times an hour. He constantly worries about my health and the baby's health and the pregnancy as a whole. We were planning on eloping in Lisbon but he's too scared for me to side along so that's been put on hold. Honestly, Theo, I'm glad I'm having a baby but I wish he'd hurry up and come so that I didn't have to deal with Lucius' stress." 

"I'll ask again since you've just rambled on about Lord Malfoy - how are you?" 

"Terrified, Theo. Absolutely terrified. What if I'm an awful mother?"

"You won't be."

"You don't know that!" 

"Are you planning on leaving the child for the Knight Bus to collect one night?"

"No, don't be ridiculous." Guinevere scoffed. 

"And will you feed him?"

"Obviously, I-"

"And you love him?"

"I can't handle how much I love him, Theo. It's all-consuming." Her voice was quiet in the study. She did love him, well if it was a him. She felt like he was a boy, every time she placed her hand on her stomach, she pictured a boy with shoulder-length hair and steely eyes. 

"Then, you'll be an excellent mother. Salazar, I'm childish at the best of times and you put up with me." 

"That much is true."

"So, which of you and Lucius' steamy performances created the new Malfoy heir?"

"I hate you, you know." 

"His middle name better actually be Theo. You can't tell a man that and then rip it away."

"We haven't even discussed names if I'm honest. Our conversations are so boring nowadays. 'Have you eaten enough, darling? Are you feeling ill again, Guinevere? Sit down, darling. Lie down, my love.' It's almost infuriating." 

"Merlin forbid the man cares for you." 

After countless cups of tea and a few tears shed between the friends, Theodore held her close and placed a hand on her stomach - telling the baby that Uncle Theo couldn't wait to meet him. Guinevere found herself alone in the study for a matter of minutes before Lucius came parading through the room. 

"Right, darling. Time for something to eat, come on." He attempted to link her arm and she shrugged him off. 

"No! Enough, Lucius." 

"Darling, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly alright. I would be more alright if you'd stop asking me every sixty seconds!" Her voice was far more clipped than she intended and Lucius flinched at her words. 

"I'm sorry, my love." He said quietly, his voice resembling that of a scolded child. She cursed her hormones and their innate need to make her angry every five minutes. Instead, she took a minute of clarity and decided to investigate. 

"Is there," she began, before clearing her throat. Lucius was now facing away from her. "Is there a reason that you're so worried, Lucius?" 

He nodded, his arm grasping the desk, his knuckles white. 

"Narcissa, she almost died with Draco."

"I didn't-" 

"I know, darling. How could you? Narcissa never wanted anyone to know - especially Draco. She never wanted him to feel any sort of responsibility for something that was entirely unavoidable. She was told not to carry on with the pregnancy, but she sought out a seer who told her she would have a healthy son. That was enough for her to disregard their wishes."

"What was it like?" She asked cautiously. 

"Awful, just-" his stance shifted and he allowed her to wrap an arm around his waist. "Awful. She didn't want anyone to know. They told us to watch out for certain symptoms so I was bloody paranoid every time she coughed, or brought a hand to her brow or even yawned."

"I'm not Narcissa, Lucius. That is in the past. She was an incredibly strong woman who overcame something unimaginable. I'm not her. Everything is fine." 

"Everything is fine," he repeated gently. 

"For the record, Narcissa is the only woman I know who would look a healer in the eye and tell them they were wrong. And be right," she chuckled, kissing his cheek. He leaned into her embrace and dropped to his knees, bringing a hand to each of her hips. 

"You will be the most incredible mother, Guinevere." He said, kissing the button that sat above her bump. "We will give this child everything they could want and more."

"Not too much. I won't allow them to be spoilt like Draco." She ran her fingers through his hair, imagining doing the same to their son.

"Just you wait, the minute you lay eyes on them you won't be able to deny them a thing."