Astoria was looking at Draco in wide eyed horror.

"What do you mean, you're leaving? You can't just go!"

Draco sighed, wondering if this was in fact such a good idea. But he really didn't have any choice. If Astoria had just remained at the hospital like she was supposed to, then this wouldn't have been an issue.

"I've already explained this to you, I'm needed at the Ministry," he said, struggling to find patience with his wife. "It's my job."

"But what about the baby?"

"Well, I was thinking that as his mother, maybe you could look after him?"

"I'M ILL!" Astoria hollered as she banged a cup loudly down onto the kitchen island.

"But well enough to come home," Draco pointed out. "Look, all you need to do is pick him up when he cries and see if he needs feeding or changing."

"Can't your mother look after him?"

"She's already got her hands full with my father."

"Doing what? HE JUST SITS THERE WITH HIS MOUTH HANGING OPEN!"

"You know full well he had a stroke, Astoria. He needs care around the clock."

"Well, I'm afraid you're just going to have to take him with you," she shrugged, sticking her nose in the air. "I've got things to do today."

"Doing what?" Draco sighed, running his hand exasperatedly through his hair. "You just implied that you were too ill to look after your son."

"I just need to get out, I was in a week-long coma, remember?" Astoria snapped, slamming the fridge door shut with surprising force. "Aren't I entitled to treat myself to a 'me' day? I mean, you're expecting to go out without him."

"I am going to work! And besides, Death Eaters bringing their kids to the office is genuinely frowned upon, Astoria."

"Didn't stop your father back in the day," Astoria scoffed.

In the end, amazingly, Astoria stiffly agreed to look after Scorpius. Draco made doubly sure that there were enough milk bottles prepared; he didn't trust Astoria wouldn't just give him a dog bowl or something if it was left to her.

Kissing his sleeping son goodbye, he made a mental note to drop in at lunchtime to make sure he was still alive.

However, when he returned, she, and their son, were gone.

******

"DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

Astoria was livid. These stupid goblins were trying to tell her that she wasn't able to enter the Malfoy vault.

She grabbed the thing up from the pram and shoved it right in the goblin's ugly face.

"This here is the Malfoy heir, and as the mother who carried him around for nine fucking months, I should be entitled to get into the vault and take what is rightfully mine."

The goblin gave a heavy wearied sigh, told her to wait one moment before slowly hopping off his stool and disappeared out the back.

Astoria tutted impatiently, shoving the baby back in the pram. It was starting to smell and she suspected it needed changing or something.

She shuddered at the thought of a shitty nappy. The first thing she was going to do once she got hold of that gold was drop the baby at the nanny agency.

A thought very welcome when the little brat decided to open his eyes and start wailing astonishingly loudly, giving her an instant headache.

"Shut up!" She hissed, violently rocking the pram as everyone began frowning over at her as if it was her fault that the baby was assaulting everyone's ears.

But it wouldn't listen and just kept crying louder and louder as Astoria waited for the fucking goblin to come back and apologise for making a mistake.

She saw an elderly witch approach her out of the corner of her eye.

"Miss, if you would just give the wee mite a little cuddle-"

"I think I know how to look after my son thank you very much!" Astoria spat, withdrawing her wand.

The whole bank gasped as she pointed it at the baby.

"Silencio!"

There, that shut the thing up.

"Miss!" The elderly witch bristled indignantly. "That is not the way to deal with-"

"Move it bitch before I use it on you next." Astoria said without moving her lips, a smile fixed upon her face.

"Well, I never," the old witch spluttered, turning to waddle off back the way she came.

Astoria rolled her eyes; people were still so easily pressed these days. What was wrong with silencing a baby when it was giving you a fucking headache? Merlin, they needed to toughen up in these times.

Finally, the goblin returned, bringing back with him another. Astoria guessed it must be some kind of manager.

"Uh, Mrs Malfoy?" The new goblin said, and Astoria tried not to look too much into the seriousness of his tone.

"Yes, yes, that's me," she said in a clipped voice, "the mother to the Malfoy heir. Now if you could please be so kind as to escort me to the vault, I'm in rather a hurry-"

"I'm afraid that's not possible without your husband's permission, madam."

"What are you talking about?" Astoria snapped. "I've just given birth to the heir. I should be entitled to the fortune. I know, I've done my research; it's tied into a magical contract that cannot be changed. The fortune is passed down to the first Malfoy boy born to the heir."

"The uh- thing is, that child there in your pram is not the heir."

"Don't be ridiculous, the penis in his nappy will tell you that it's a boy."

"That may be so, Mrs Malfoy, but I'm afraid it doesn't change the fact that there already is a Malfoy heir."

Astoria felt everything inside of her turn to ice.

"But- but that can't be," she breathed shakily, "my husband, Draco... he doesn't have any other children."

The goblins exchanged a look.

A feeling of immense anger stirred in the pit of her stomach. So, Draco made her go through all of this for absolutely fucking nothing.

"WHO?!" She roared, slamming her fist down on the desk, not caring about the scene she was making, "WHO THE FUCK HAS MY HUSBAND BEEN IMPREGNATING BEHIND MY BACK?!"

"Before you accuse him of the very serious allegation of breaking his wedding vows," the elder goblin said sternly, "you must understand that the child is considerably older than your wedding certificate dates."

Okay, so he was fucking someone before they got together. No doubt he'd been visiting that disgusting whore house. But would he have seriously put the Malfoy fortune at risk like that just for a quick fuck?

"Who then?" Astoria screeched, very well aware that she was sounding like a mad woman. "Who is the heir? I refuse to leave this building until I get a name!"

The goblin sighed turning to his colleague who just shrugged back at him.

Scribbling down something on a piece of paper, he slid it across the desk towards her. Stepping forward, Astoria looked down and, in an instant, the breath seemed to have entirely left her body.

For there, written on the paper, was a surname she knew only too well.

Jack Neville Zabini-Malfoy.

******