March 1974

It had been two months since the loss of the Malfoy heir. Two months and very little had changed for Lucius. Cecily was still trying to talk to him about the loss of the boy, avoiding him where she could. Although she had physically recovered from the traumatic childbirth she had experienced, Cecily hadn't recovered emotionally and was refusing to grieve. Instead, Lucius watched as she went about her daily routine, shopping, ordering the elves around with the food menus for the entire week ahead of her, entertaining guests who visited their house. And while Cecily put on a brave face and acted as though everything was fine, Lucius knew better.

He had tried to gently bring up the subject of the child, to try and talk to her, attempted to break through her façade. But every time he brought up the subject of the baby that she had lost, Cecily would either leave the room, change the subject or snap at him.

And it was during a late Saturday afternoon as he entered the living room to see her pacing frantically in front of the fireplace that he felt some concern. Granted, he didn't care much for Cecily, most of the time he had seen her as an inconvenience, but watching her now, he was truly worried. She was pacing so fast, he could have sworn the rug was wearing thin. She was muttering to herself, her appearance unkempt. He paused in the doorway, holding the opened letter in his hand as he stared at his wife.

"Can't find out…cannot…absolutely…cannot…find out…." Cecily muttered.

Lucius remained silent as he continued to watch his wife suspiciously.

"What to do…what to do…what to do…" Cecily murmured desperately, hitting herself on the forehead with her right palm.

Lucius cleared his throat, causing Cecily to turn to face him; her eyes widened in alarm and her breathing fast-paced.

"We have an engagement tonight, make yourself presentable." He informed her.

Cecily shook her head wildly.

"Cannot go…watching me…talking…gossiping…nobody can know…" she muttered.

"Nobody can know what?" Lucius asked curiously, eyebrow raised.

Cecily shook her head frantically.

"Nobody can know…" his wife screamed.

Lucius raised his wand at Cecily just as she picked up a vase and threw it in his direction. Silently, he cast a shield spell around himself and the vase shattered into a million pieces on the floor. He looked down at the broken glass before looking back at his wife who had a look of bewilderment on her face.

"DOBBY…" Lucius roared.

A crack and the trembling elf appeared at his side.

"Yesss…master…" the elf squeaked.

"Clean this up. Then make sure Mrs. Malfoy is safely asleep in her rooms. I'm going out." Lucius commanded.

The elf bowed so low that his nose touched the floor as Lucius turned on his heel and summoned his cloak with his wand. He fastened it quickly around his shoulder before pocketing his wand and leaving the manor. Once he had reached the bottom of the driveway, he apparated straight to St. Mungo's.

ooOoo

Abraxas stood outside Cecily's room quietly, listening to the wails his daughter-in-law made as the calming potion Cecily had drunk was starting to take over. Two months he had watched her slowly descend into what society would class as madness. And he knew, it was possible to become mad after a tragic event. The signs were there. The frantic and constant pacing. The nightmares. The forgetting to wear appropriate clothing during the day. The lack of looking after her appearance. The muttering that nobody could find out.

"Mr. Malfoy. The lady is calming now, it is best we perform the procedure now."

He turned to face the man in question he had paid a large sum of money to. Abraxas sighed heavily before composing himself to his usual stern manner and opened the bedroom door, entering inside with the man before closing it behind him.

"Abraxas, what are you doing here?" Cecily asked dreamily.

"I need to speak with you." Abraxas replied.

"It's lovely outside, isn't it?" Cecily sighed happily, turning her back on the two men and stared out of the window.

Abraxas stared at the back of his daughter-in-law with confusion. It wasn't lovely outside. It was raining heavily; dark grey clouds covered every inch of the sky.

"Um…yes…now…Cecily, we need to sort out this little…dilemma…" he said, coughing to clear his throat.

"Dilemma? What dilemma?" Cecily almost sang.

"The boy you lost. Lucius will start to suspect something if you carry on with this madness." Abraxas stated harshly.

But Cecily didn't appear to be listening nor paying attention as she continued to stare at the miserable view from the window.

"Mr. Malfoy, how would you like to proceed?" the man asked quietly.

"She needs to remember the loss of the baby…but remove my part in all of it…she cannot remember that it was I who fathered the child." Abraxas muttered.

The man nodded, pulling out his wand and pointing it at Cecily. Abraxas watched as the spell did its job, fading the memories of his and Cecily's affair from his daughter-in-law's mind. When it was over, the two of them left Cecily alone in her bedroom.

ooOoo

"What can I do for you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I need you to discretely look into my legality to divorce my wife." Lucius replied sternly.

The lawyer looked up at him in surprise. It was very rare for those in pureblood society to seek divorce. The scandal alone was enough for people to stop socialising with a person for divorcing their spouse.

"May I ask you why?" the lawyer asked calmly.

"The past two months my wife has shown some concerning behaviour. When she is required to socialise with our guests, she is the perfect actress. But she refuses to acknowledge the loss of the child and she refuses to speak to me on the subject of adultery. When we are alone, she refuses to look after her appearance and her clothes. She is wide eyed, tired. She mutters and talks to herself. She answers her own questions. She paces frantically. Just this afternoon, she threw an object at me. She is positively mad." Lucius replied.

"Mr. Malfoy…obtaining a divorce is quite difficult…it would put your standing in society into question. Not to mention the cost-"

"I have more than enough to fund a divorce. As for my social standing, I have asked you to discretely look at my legal options. I will no longer be married to a harlot who carried another man's child and is on the verge of being committed to St. Mungo's." Lucius growled threateningly.

The lawyer gulped.

"O-of c-course, M-Mr. Malfoy, I shall look into the matter straight away." He mumbled.

Lucius smiled, chucking a bag of galleons on to the lawyer's desk.

"I meant what I said by discretely, Goldstein. Fail me and you'll know the consequences no sooner than you can mount a broomstick!" he threatened.

With nothing more to say, Lucius turned on his heel and left the lawyer's office, hoping that on his return home, Cecily would be soundly sleeping.