The next couple of days saw Draco and Hermione spend their time with walks in the grounds of Malfoy Manor as well as them reading together in the library and while their infant was mostly asleep they tried to be awake together as much as they could.
Right now Hermione was taking a nap. Their son had been especially hungry the previous night. With a look of contentment on his face the new father was observing his son and heir in his cot. All snuggled in and... Heir. Draco looked up and stared into space. Somewhere at the back of his mind alarm bells where ringing. He couldn't quite say why, but there was something about... No, he wouldn't even think the name of his son. Better save than sorry. He knew that his beloved witch wouldn't use Legilimency on him deliberately, but she was a girl and as such very curious by nature.
A moment later it hit him. Heir! He was the heir to his father as his son was his own heir. But the will stated that there must be only one living Malfoy male in order for Draco to inherit. Now there were two!
"You bastard!" he cursed quietly.
That evil... evil... words failed him while trying to find something to express his utter disgust for the man who had sired him. He wouldn't be able to inherit under any circumstances. The will stated that he needed to produce a son, but at the same moment there mustn't be any other male... With creased brows he slowly climbed off the bed and walked over to his desk. It only took him a few minutes to compose a letter addressed to the Minister of Magic. Was he aware of this? Had the auror, Allerby, also realised that inheriting was impossible for him no matter what they tried?
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Kingsley Shaklebolt needed several minutes until he had woken up enough in order for him to realise that the annoying noise was an owl tapping against his window.
Retrieving the letter and feeding the bird some treads gave him just about enough time to wake up before reading this very early correspondence. He glanced at the alarm clock on his night stand. 3:48 am. He groaned. This better be important.
I can't inherit as I have a son.
What? He sat on his bed and then skipped to the bottom of the page.
Draco Malfoy
He sighed. What was it this time?
I needed to present a son to my father.
Yes, of course. They all knew that.
But there has to be only one living male Malfoy in order for me to inherit at the same time.
Yes, he knew that as well. Allerby had filled him and Henri in.
Me and my son are TWO male Malfoys alive.
Yes, father and son... Then it finally dawned on the Minister what he was told. Lucius Malfoy had it made impossible for his son Draco to lay claim to the Malfoy estate regardless of what he did. Except maybe, if he killed his son after having shown him to his grandfather. Lost for words he stared at the parchment in his hands. How was it that one man could be this maliciously evil? Voldemort started to look like a fluffy bunny in comparison.
"Merlin! What are we going to do?"
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It had been a long while since the Head of the Auror Office was woken in the middle of the night for an emergency meeting with Kingsley. The last time had been at the height of the war.
He arrived with his shirt only half buttoned up, two differently coloured socks and a hairdo that would take some serious brush work to correct. The mug of steaming tea in his hand threatened to burn his fingers more than once as he hastened through the empty corridors of the Ministry of Magic.
"Henri, good of you to come straight away." He was greeted as he reached the Minister's office.
"It sounded pretty bad. What has happened?"
"Sit down. Allerby should be here any minute as well."
Henri frowned. Allerby was coming? That meant it had to do with the Malfoy estate and by definition it involved Lucius Malfoy as well.
"Ah, Allerby. Take a seat."
Nodding to his boss the auror took at seat.
"I know it's very early and I would have preferred it, if I didn't have to deal with this, but there you go."
"What exactly has happened? Has the monster escaped again?"
"No, he's still securely in Azkaban. There is something in his will that we all seemed to have overlooked, something essential."
Kingsley took a sip from his own tea before he continued.
"Allerby, one of the requirements of inheritance is the showing of a boy, Draco has fathered, to Lucius, right?"
"Yes."
"Another requirement is that there must be only one male Malfoy left."
"That's not quite correct. There must be only one heir left." Allerby corrected, "Though... The Malfoys inherit down the male line, which means neither Narcissa nor Hermione would be regarded as heir. They would be only seen as custodians for the heir. Any living male Malfoy would be an heir."
"Fine, but still. Draco can't show his father a son, another Malfoy, if he wants to get what rightfully belongs to him as his son and him are two Malfoy heirs..."
It took a moment for his words to sink in, but when they did, the Minister for Magic could see that both wizards facing him knew what he tried to say.
"How can one man be so evil? Why would Lucius do his best to destroy his own family?"
"I have no idea, but we need to get this sorted. Once and for all! I want to dispose of that malicious monster." Kingsley said.
Allerby looked as if he was lost in his own little world. His brows were crunched together and a frown had settled on his face. He knew that there was always an escape route, a Plan B, in any magical contract and will. It was supposed to keep the balance of things intact and in this case this delicate equilibrium would be severely disturbed, if Lucius was allowed to screw his son over like he seemed to have intended. There was a way for the lad to get what was rightful his, without having to do something unthinkable like killing his own flesh and blood. They just had to find it.
In this moment in time there were two natural heirs to the Malfoy legacy, Draco and... whatever the child would be called in the end. Lucius was the one dictating the terms for Draco to inherit and in turn the lad was the one... The frown on his face got even more pronounced. Kingsley and Henri exchanged glances. If the youngest Malfoy was excluded from inheriting he wasn't an official heir any longer and his father could claim the estate. This would mean for the infant to be disinherited though. Draco would have to make a will of his own in order to achieve this. Changing a will later on wasn't that complicated, but in this case there were too many variables to consider. Nobody wanted Draco to have his son go through what he was going through in the moment. Then again...
Kingsley had met Allerby on only a handful of occasions in the past. The auror was mainly working on the legal aspects of the cases the Auror Office was involved in. He was a good enough fighter, but his strength was the unravelling of magical contracts and their detailed implications, just like in this case. Maybe it would have been better to have him deal with the Malfoy papers from the start, but there had never been any incident of a lawyer being as compromised as it had transpired for Snuggens to be this case. They would be warned for the future though.
Allerby was still looking at the situation from all possible and some impossible angles. In his mind he ran through the exact wording of the will and after a moment a wide grin appeared on his face. There it was! The loophole guaranteeing the balance was simple, but effective. Now they had only to persuade the young Malfoy couple to actually go through with it. He went over the legalities in his mind just to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything. He hadn't.
"I think, I found a way out off this."
Head Auror and Minister for Magic looked at him.
"I'd like to explain it to them as well as you at the same time, if that is okay."
Glances were exchanged again.
"Sure. I'll owl them and ask them to come here as soon as possible."
"Thanks."
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"What does it say?" Hermione asked rather sleepily. She had been woken by the excited hooting of a small owl that reminded her of Pigwidgeon. Luckily it hadn't woken up the baby as well. After glancing at the wind-up alarm clock on the night stand she had been a bit concerned. Why anybody had been owling them at 5:25am was a bit strange though. She could only hope that nothing horrible had happened.
Draco's face was strangely expressionless as he handed her the letter.
"Kingsley wants to see us. Allerby has found a loophole."
"Why would he want to see us? This early in the morning and why would Allerby find a loophole? A loophole for what?"
Her tone was implying that he better tell her before she made him. With a sigh he kissed her hair and then sat next to her on the bed.
"Do you remember us finding out that there can only be on living heir?"
"Yes."
"And we had also to present our son to my father."
"Yes." she looked at him, "What are you getting at?"
"I'm an heir to the Malfoy estate."
He gave her an expecting look.
"That's why we are going to all this length, in order for you to inherit."
"What is our son?"
She starred at him. What about him?
"He is my heir."
A hesitant "Yes." was the reply.
"So, how many heirs are there?"
"Two..." she finally caught on to what he was trying to say.
The implications rendered her speechless. In order for Draco to take over the Malfoy name and fortune he had to be the only one left who was eligible to lay a claim on everything.
"What about our son?" she whispered.
He pulled her into his arms and gently caressed her cheek.
"Don't worry, that's why I owled Kingsley earlier." he explained, "Seemingly Allerby was able to find a loophole for us."
Determination was flashing over her face.
"Come on then. Let's find out whatever else it is we have to do in order to get rid of that monster."
A smile was playing with Draco's lips as he watched her scrambling out off bed, getting dressed and putting on the sling she used to carry their son in.
"What are you waiting for? Get a move on!"
With a huge grin plastered on to his face Draco got dressed.
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Hermione, Draco, Henri Shaw, Kingsley Shaklebolt and William Allerby were sitting in the now slightly crowded office of the Minister. Steam was rising from mugs of tea that were held in several hands or were standing on the large desk.
"Okay, we all know why we're here. Lucius Malfoy has managed to screw us over yet again. I don't think, I need to say that I'm getting rather tired of his endless games. I want him gone! Once and for all." Kingsley finally addressed the gathered witch and wizards.
"You're not the only one." Draco muttered under his breath.
"Allerby has found a simple but effective way out. William."
"Yes, well, I've gone through the exact wording of the will and as long there is no other legal Malfoy other than Draco everything is just fine."
"But there is." Hermione interrupted.
"Yes, that little bundle in your arms is indeed a Malfoy, but as you haven't gone to the trouble of having his birth officially registered with the Registry Office at the Ministry that little human is a non-entity as yet. He could be declared the son of Harry Potter for all the registrars care." he paused and looked at the young couple next to him. No they obviously didn't get what he was trying to say. "Your son, Hermione, is not officially the son of Draco Malfoy yet. All you have to do is leaving the name of the father blank on his birth certificate and he is assumed persona incognito, an unknown person."
"But that can be changed again later, right? I'm not taking the risk of not being able to call my son my own flesh and blood. There are enough nutters out there that would try and pretend to be the father to Hermione's child given half a chance."
He didn't say that he was thinking of Weasley at the moment, but he was quite sure his wife would get the drift.
"I'll have that entry changed the moment your father is pronounced dead, Draco." she assured him.
"Okay, that's settled then. Draco, is your mother still staying at Mulligan's?"
He good a nod as answer.
"Fine, I'll need to talk to her and James asap. Henri, you get the guys together. We're going to Azkaban as soon as everything is ready. I'll need to talk to your best herbalist as well."
"I'll owl Longbottom."
"Good. Allerby, get all the paperwork ready. I want the birth certificate of little...," Kingsley frowned. Of course, he didn't have a name as yet. "I want his certificate ready before we leave."
"I don't know, if I can put in a birth certificate without the baby's name though."
"Damn. Draco, you'll deal with the certificate then and Hermione, you're not getting to know the name or to even see the paperwork before Lucius is dead."
Allerby was suddenly looking rather thoughtful.
"Maybe there is... Kingsley, the boy isn't anybody's child right now. Which means he is neither a Granger nor a Malfoy either. We don't need to get the birth certificate filled in as yet. The way it is right now is perfect. It's even better than leaving the father's name out and asking for trouble later."
The Minister's face showed surprise but also relief. One problem less they had to deal with.
"So we don't bother with that then, but we still have enough work to get on with." he looked at Draco and Hermione, "You two go home. I'll owl you when everything is over. There will have to be an official ceremony in order for you, Draco, to take over the Malfoy estate but until then..." he waved his hands in a dismissive fashion, "Enjoy each other and some private time with your son."
After they had left Henri looked at Kingsley.
"What are we going to do about Lucius?" he asked.
"We're going to have your herbalist brew his best ever Draught of Living Death. Narcissa and James can watch while he drinks it. It's definitely better than them having to watch the Kiss being performed."
Henri Shaw seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.
"Henri?"
"Maybe we should have a sort of farewell setting for this? Just Lucius and Narcissa in a room, Narcissa albeit protected by a Shield Charm. He might not realise in time what's going to happen. I don't trust him not to try to escape yet again. I think, it was sheer luck that the spell which was meant to take Lucius to Malfoy Manor hit Harry instead. We might not be so lucky next time round."
"No, it's probably best, if we don't take any chances."
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"Narcissa, dear, there is nothing for you to fear."
The witch sitting on the comfy chair was looking at James Mulligan with an expression on her face that clearly told him that she didn't share his take on things.
"Lucius has tried to escape while he was expected to just see his grandchild and then be executed. He had a back-up plan. I'm sure he has got one for whatever Shaw and Shaklebolt are planning now as well."
"Well then, maybe we need to make plans considering him managing to escape. He wanted to get to the old library at the Manor? Fine. You and me will be at the Manor as well, we'll make sure he doesn't get in. We make sure that Hermione and Draco are wearing protective shield amulets. Their son will not leave their room, under no circumstances. We'll have one of the house elves protect him."
"We won't be at the Manor when he's going to be executed, Jay. We won't be able to protect..."
"I'll have the entire Auror Office at the Manor, if that is what it takes."
He cupped her face gently with his hands.
"Cissy, don't worry. We'll get him."
His lips prevented her from voicing any further objections.
"Do you know, what we'll also do straight after he's gone?" he whispered against her lips.
She blushed, feeling like she was sixteen again. To her utter surprise the wizard she had been close to for all her teenage years stood up, rummage in his robe pockets for a moment before retrieving a small square box and dropping down onto one knee.
"Cissy, I have loved you since the day we met on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago. You couldn't so it before, but now there is nothing that is stopping you any longer."
His eyes met hers. He could see the feelings that were flashing over her face and knew she was trying her best not to let him see all she had had to hide from him and more importantly her husband all these years.. She might not know it, but she had never been able to hide anything from James. He had known before she actually told him that she was going to have to marry Lucius Malfoy. The one guy in school she never wanted to be associated with. Oh, Lucius had been able to be charming and pleasant when he wanted to, but he had also been a self centred prat with a superiority complex. Narcissa had been scared of him.
" Narcissa Black, would you do me the honour and consent to become my beloved wife?"
He opened the box and presented it to her. It was a simple golden ring. She took it with trembling fingers.
"How long have you..."
"I bought it the summer you spend with us. I had intended to proposed at the end of July before you had to leave, but...," he sighed. "I never got the chance to do it."
She remembered that summer. Lucius had been in France and she had been free for the most part of the holidays. Every day had seemed like a gift. If James would have proposed, she knew she would have excepted. She probably would have eloped with him. Just to make sure that nothing and nobody could prevent them being happy together. Especially not Lucius Malfoy.
"So...?"
Her smile made his heart beat erratically.
"Of course I am going marry you, Jay. I have been hoping for this day ever since I..."
She didn't get to finish the sentence as James Mulligan was now kissing her with all the overwhelming feelings he had been hiding all through his teenage years.
"I love you, Cissy." he whispered with a sigh, "I'll always love you."
She smiled tenderly back at him.
"And I love you, Auror James Mulligan."