Chapter 27 Noblesse oblige! A Malfoy dilemma.

Wiltshire, Malfoy Manor.

Lucius finally arrived home after a tiring night at the Ministry. Of course, he took the opportunity to expand his influence, getting some new contacts and possible investments in his projects.

He quickly walked towards his wife, who was with their one-week-old son.

"How's little Draco doing?" He asked his wife in a cold, distant voice, though her gaze held a certain amount of emotion.

Narcissa stopped breastfeeding and looked at her husband with a complicated look "He's quite clear, may you excuse me" Trying to get rid of her husband. she kept cutting, but things haven't been good at home lately.

Malfoy huffed and headed out, only to be surprised by his eldest daughter, Rigel Elise Malfoy, one and a half years old. That she grabbed her leg trying to get attention.

Lucius looked into those big, pleading eyes.

"Pss, thing, go to your mother" Lucius said in a clearly irritated voice, and used his wand to levitate her to mother with a -Wingardium Leviosa- spell.

Elise didn't understand what had just happened. She just looked at her father with pleading eyes and started to cry.

The man walked towards the exit, very irritated.

Narcissa, seeing the scene of contempt for her beloved daughter, was irritated, almost possessed. "this is how do you treat your daughter?".

"What value is a girl to a magical noble house like the Malfoys?" He replied in a firm tone, not even looking at his wife. "Take care of that thing, don't bother me."

Narcissa looked at the door where her husband left with a lost and emotional look. She then turned her attention to her daughter, hugging her to comfort her daughter, who was crying. "Little star, don't worry, mommy will take care of you."

It would be a cute mother and child scene, but the situation at the Malfoy household was almost untenable. At first Lucius acted like a good husband, but things got bad.

Since the birth of their daughter, the problems had only increased, and it got even worse after the Draco's birth.

…

Lucius entered his office and sat down on a dragon hide bench, sighing heavily as he looked at the décor of his office.

His eyes looking at his ancestors, pictures of them, making him think about the Malfoy legacy, their history. Or about her father's sacrifice supporting Lord Voldemort in the recent war, his ambitions for more power and prestige.

Now he was Lord, and he must make the decisions that came with the title, no matter how difficult.

Finally he stopped at a picture on the table, one of his daughter smiling. When she was celebrating one year of life. "If you were a man I wouldn't be in this predicament" he exclaimed to himself.

His family like many of the magical noble families, carry a quirk in their lineage. That is, the firstborn son of the house will always inherit a great talent from both magically powerful parents, as well as a great talent for politics and business.

But there is a price, if they had a second child or more, they would be magical miscarriages.

That's why he was in a difficult situation. Draco, although not a squib, he is definitely close to one. Magically weak and shows no talent.

But thinking about this possibility, the Malfoys created the solution to their problems. A ritual.

He got up and paced the room, wondering what to do, a difficult decision as a Lord, the responsibility of all his ancestors weighing heavily on his shoulders.

Waving his wand, he summons his Patronus, a falcon that has accompanied him since his time at Hogwarts, and whispers softly, "Severus Snape".

He opened the Draconian glass window, releasing his Patronus. The falcon flew unimpeded to accomplish its mission.

"He should be able to help me." He dropped his daughter's picture on the table and approached a wooden cabinet, decorated with many books, opened it, and from it took a wine from a very old vintage.

He poured it over his glass without much ceremony, sitting in his chair. The light sweet fragrance of wine invaded his nostrils, and a generous sip made his mouth taste that delicious wine. It was like all his problems disappeared in that moment.

His eyes fell on the label "Malfoy Special, vintage 1438" He had to admit, his ancestors knew how to make good wine "To the Malfoys" he said as he spilled some on the floor.

With his mind slightly clouded and relaxed from the wine, memories of his daughter came to mind. "Loocy" like the first time she called his name. Or another time when she demonstrated great talent for magic through magical accidents.

The frown faded and he even flashed a slight smile, but it didn't last long. He knew what he had to do. The Malfoys had to keep going.

A sound came from the fireplace, drawing his attention. It was Severus Snape, the closest person Lucius could call a friend.

He summoned another goblet, and poured the wine for Severus.

"Snape I'm glad you came, I wouldn't know of anyone who could help me with this better than you." He said, looking at the man in front of him.

Severus, on the other hand, just picked up the goblet, taking a generous gulp, displaying his well-practiced etiquette through the graceful way he held the goblet, taking a comfortable seat in the leather chair across from Lucius, after a moment of silence, he said. "What can I help Malfoy."

"Snape, you know you can refer to me as Lucius" he tells Snape, looking for a closer, more personal relationship.

Severus was silent, enjoying the rich sweet taste in his mouth. "Well I appreciate our friendship, but you already know my opinion on this Malfoy, cut to the chase, why did you call me."

Severus, who wore an elegant black robe a little too flashy, was not sociable, preferring a more practical and objective relationship. He despised those sappy friendships. They reminded him of the marauders.

"Responsibility, Tradition, and Future." Said Lucius in vague terms, looking at Severus "You see, the Malfoy family faces a dilemma, I had to choose, to be a good father or to be a Lord Malfoy...".

Severus interrupted him. "Wait, something there looks wrong, -Revelio-" Making a deft flick of his wand, searching the room for anything wrong.

His eyes skimmed over Malfoy's books, pictures, artifacts, or even gaudy décor, but found nothing. But somehow he felt watched, as if a predator were in the dark.

Severus always had a powerful intuition, which helped him to become a potion master. It even helped in the war, saving him from countless incidents that should have killed him.

"Relax Severus, it's impossible for anyone to enter the Malfoy mansion without me knowing" Said Lucius proud of his protections "This is definitely one of the safest in all magical Britain, Not even a ghost can invade it." He finished.

Snape didn't calm down. The sense of danger was still assailing him, but he wouldn't question Malfoy. Maybe it's just some defense artifact in the Malfoy house. "Fine, go on!" he said.

Lucius looked at Severus and asked, "Severus, swear an oath to secrecy about what I'm going to say next."

Severus raised his eyes and eyebrows. "I, Severus Snape, swear by my magic to keep everything Lucius tells me in the next few minutes a secret."

Lucius and Snape chatted for some time, until they shook hands, guiding their friend towards the fireplace.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing for the Malfoy family."

...

Far away in the orphanage, Vincent opened his eyes and sat in his crib that had already proved too small for him, and looked lost at the room, wandering in his mind.

He discovered something terrible through Mark by spying on Lucius Malfoy. It can change everything.

He must decide what to do.

....

Narcissa placed Draco in his crib, which was decorated with a childlike theme of dragons, which she transfigured herself.

But she looked at her daughter, who still had red eyes.

"Leese likes Draco" she asked her mother with curious eyes. "Daco seep?"

Narcissa sat down next to her daughter, "Yes my little star, Draco is sleeping" while she started to caress her daughter's blond tufts.

Rigel relaxed with her mother's affection, but still asked resentfully "Do Loocy hate Leese?".

" No daughter… Daddy loves you, he's just…" She explains to her daughter that she loves her daughter, he'll treat her well even if she has to force him.

Narcissa continued to cuddle her daughter until she finally fell asleep.

At that moment, from her window, a crow tapped her beak on the window, as if to get her attention.

Narcissa approached the window curiously, and noticed a rope tied to the crow's feet. Most use owls, a messenger crow is not very common.

She opened the window washing the crow to a nearby owl perch. She serves some owl snacks. But the crow just looked at her with contempt. It was like the crow said, are you seriously offering me this?

Putting aside the arrogant crow, she studied the letter. A plain yellowed envelope, the only thing it stood out was a Seal, a butterfly resting in a perfect triangle.

She opened the envelope, and read with interest what was written.

As she read, her skin was pale, lost even more his color, dormant emotions awakened in her.

When finishing the letter, on Narcissa's face, only a cold look, and an expression of war.

Vincent would only understand after a long time, what he just woke up about. How far can a mother go for her children, even so, when that mother carries the Black surname.

After seeing that the message was delivered, the paper burned, leaving only a coin with the same symbol as the seal. And the Crow flew!