His Saving Grace

CHAPTER FIVE: Revealing His Decision







Draco paced back and forth restlessly in the family sitting room. He stopped, looked at his parents, frowned, then resumed his pacing. Lucius looked over at his wife, his brows raised in confusion as he waited for his son to tell him this all important news he had called them together for.







“Draco, son maybe you should just spit it out, get it over with.” Lucius said. “Whatever it is that has you so agitated, I’m sure we can resolve it easily enough.”





Draco stopped and laughed nervously, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he shook his head.







“Oh, that is what you think.” He muttered. “What I have to tell you…it’s big…I mean it’s really big…great for me…you may not be so happy.” He said.







“Draco darling, please, just tell us already.” Narcissa was tired of watching him walk back and forth like a caged animal. Draco took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before taking a seat on the ottoman in front of his father’s chair.







“Alright, you know how you were worried I was relapsing the other day, and I told you I was dealing with a personal issue?” He asked, watching his parents nod. “Well, I have dealt with said issue and I need to tell you something.”





“Draco, just say what you have to say and stop dancing around the issue.” Lucius said, his patience wearing thin.





“Well, it seems that I have fathered a child, you have a granddaughter.” Draco became worried when their faces froze. Neither blinked nor appeared to be breathing as they stared at him. “Are you alright?” He asked.





“You barely got out of bed for nearly a year, when did you father a child?” Narcissa asked, her face flushing to the point she began to fan herself with her hand.







“Draco, you had better explain.” Lucius said tightly, his cold gaze narrowed on his son. “And make sure you do not leave anything out.”







“Well…” he was blushing, uncomfortable with having to tell his parents that he was irresponsible enough to impregnate a young witch. “It happened the night before graduation.” He said, fidgeting under their sharp, shocked stares.





“Draco, please tell me it’s not that horrid Parkinson girl.” Narcissa shivered at the thought of the vapid little hussy who used to cling to Draco.







“No, it is most certainly not Pansy.” Draco said, knowing they would never guess in a million years who had given birth to their first grandchild.





“How did this happen, Draco?” Lucius was barely suppressing his fury and Draco knew it would be worse as soon as he realized that it was Hermione Granger.





“Um, the usual way…you aren’t asking for details are you?” Draco asked, blushing more if that were actually possible.







“I’m not talking about that, I’m well aware of the mechanics thank you, what I want to know is why you didn’t take precautions?” Lucius snapped.





“I lost my head.” He said, knowing it wasn’t a good enough answer.





“Who, Draco?” Narcissa prompted. Draco paused for several moments, and then he stiffened his spine and squared his shoulders.





“Hermione Granger.” He said softly, watching as absolute horror registered on his father’s face.





“A mudblood! You fathered a bastard child on a mudblood!” Lucius Malfoy leapt to his feet, his pale face flushed with anger, his eyes flashing as he glared at his child. Draco stood and for once in his life he stepped up and glared right back.





“Do…not…call…her…that.” Draco growled. He was chest to chest, nose to nose with his arrogant, elitist father.







“You dare defend her?” Lucius sneered. “You soil our bloodline, ruin your life and you have the gall to defend it?”







“She is the mother of my child; I will defend her against whoever tries to disparage her no matter who that is.” Draco said. “She is the mother of YOUR grandchild.”





“How do you know it’s even yours?” Lucius asked with a sinister twist to his lips.







“She looks just like me, there is no mistaking who she belongs to, but Hermione will agree to a paternity test if you wish it.” Draco said.







“No doubt she thinks to get her hands on your money.” He sneered.







“She never mentioned it, in fact she told me to take time, figure out what I want to do. She has given me a free pass to walk away without recriminations, without any responsibility at all if that’s what I want.” Draco said. “Not everyone is after your precious money.”







“There you go then, all settled. You can walk away and no one need ever know that you lay with a dirty mudblood whore!” Lucius spat. His eyes widened in shock when he felt the tip of Draco’s wand pressed under his chin.







“Never, ever call her that again. Not that it is ANY of your business, but I was the first and only man to lay with that witch.” Draco said, twisting the front of Lucius’s robes in his hand. “She gave me comfort when no one else bothered to notice that I was not whole. She is the only person who thought to ask if I was alright, and how did I repay her? I got her with child and left the country.”





“That’s her problem.” Lucius said, a mixture of both fear and respect shining in his eyes as he watched his son, more alive than he had seen the boy in over a year.





“No, it isn’t. I will not walk away from my daughter.” Draco said. “For once in my life I will do the right thing. I have done everything you have ever told me, even when it made me sick to do it. Thanks to you I hate myself, I have no idea who I am and I trust no one. This is my chance to do something good, to make up for all the wrong I have done.”





“Lucius, Draco, please.” Narcissa wrapped her fingers around Draco’s wrist and pulled his hand down, removing the tip of his wand from his father’s throat. “Sit down, both of you.”





Draco took a step back, still glaring at his smirking father as he took a seat on the sofa beside his mother.





“Draco, you had to know that this news would be…distressing.” Narcissa said softly. “What are you going to do?”







“I’m going to raise my daughter.” He said softly. “I can’t wait for you to meet her, Mum.”







“I can’t believe you are going to coddle him after what he has done.” Lucius sneered from his chair.





“Lucius! That is enough out of you, what is done is done and there is nothing you can do about it so shut up and accept it. Like it or not you are now a grandfather. You made the comment not too long ago that the pureblood society was inbred to the point of it becoming toxic, well now your line will dilute that somewhat.” She said, somewhat smugly. Draco was staring at his normally soft spoken mother in shock while Lucius just narrowed his eyes at her in irritation.





“Now, Draco, why don’t you invite Ms. Granger and the baby for dinner tomorrow night?” Narcissa said. “Let us meet our granddaughter and get to know Ms .Granger under more friendly terms than we were previously acquainted.”





Draco smiled, pleased that at least one of his parents was going to make an effort to make things easy on him. He heard his father’s derisive snort from behind him and he knew that it would be a long, difficult road with Lucius, but he hoped that perhaps the older wizard would soften a bit once he got to know Grace.





“Thank you, Mum. I will ring her later and make the arrangements.” Draco kissed his mother’s cheek softly as he rose. With a long, disappointed look at his father, he left his parents alone.





“I ruined the boy, didn’t I?” Lucius asked, his mask of anger replaced by one of sadness as his sons words played over and over in his head. Thanks to you I hate myself, I have no idea who I am and I trust no one.















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