A/N – It's new story time, and this one is a family based story. There is 28 chapters and updates will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is also a whole story split into two parts. Part one is very light and fluffy with no drama, but part two is all about the drama.

And in case anyone missed my notes on yesterdays stories, I just want to alert people to the fact my laptop charger is broke and while I've got my old one working enough to be able to post at the minute, if it stops working I might just vanish until my new charger arrives. So while I'm hoping to update as normal, if I do fail to update, you know why, and when my new charger arrives and I'm back, I will make up for any missing chapters (although fingers crossed there is none)

Now back to this story, which I hope you all enjoy.

Part One – New Beginnings.

It had been a regular Thursday morning for Draco Malfoy, until his secretary poked her head around the door and announced she'd just had an urgent message from his mother, Narcissa. Narcissa's message asked Draco to go to the manor immediately, although it didn't say why she needed to see him so urgently. Worrying in case there was something wrong with his mother or his father, Draco hastily put his work to one side and flooed to his childhood home.

Draco arrived in the room his parents had set aside for visiting guests to enter the house, but he quickly made his way towards the front room. The minute he entered the front room Draco was almost knocked off his feet by his two year old daughter, Mia, as she flung her little arms around his legs. Mia had long dark blonde hair, and had inherited her father's grey eyes and pale skin.

"Hello, princess." Draco picked up his daughter in his arms before turning to where his parents were standing nearby. "Why is Mia here? Where's Astoria?"

Astoria Greengrass was Draco's wife, although these days all that was keeping them together was Mia. The pair had been on the verge of separating when Astoria had discovered she was pregnant. Since the birth of their daughter nearly three years ago the couple had just drifted even further apart.

"She dropped Mia off earlier, claiming she was going shopping," Narcissa replied. "But when I was in her backpack fishing out her favourite book, I found this."

Narcissa handed Draco a piece of folded parchment, with his name hastily written on the front. Opening the note up, Draco read the few lines Astoria had scribbled down. Basically the note said she was leaving him and wanted nothing more to do with either him or Mia.

"I take it you've read it," Draco said to his parents, as he put Mia back onto the floor and told her to go and play with her dolls.

"Yes," Lucius nodded. "I'm sorry, Draco."

"I'm sure you're not sorry to see the back of Astoria," Draco snorted. He knew neither of his parents like his wife, not that he could blame them as he wasn't over keen on her himself these days.

"No, I'm not," Lucius admitted. "But I'm sorry about the way she's done this. And more importantly I'm sorry she's just abandoning Mia."

"I guess I shouldn't be shocked really," Draco sighed. "She's never been very maternal."

Right from the beginning Astoria had shown little interest in their daughter, except for when she could use the little girl to score points against Draco. A prime example was when she fought Draco over her name, insisting that they didn't follow the Black family tradition of naming her after a star or a constellation. Despite Draco wanting to honour his mother's family, he'd let Astoria have her way and they decided on Mia together. He did however put his foot down when Astoria wanted to hire a nanny to look after Mia. Astoria and her sister, Daphne, had a nanny when they were younger, but Draco was insistent that their daughter was brought up by them. Narcissa had looked after him when he was a child and as he pointed out to Astoria, it wasn't as if she had a job to consider, she just spent her time spending his money. Despite the lack of a nanny, Astoria still managed to evade most of her motherly duties. It was Draco that nursed Mia when she was ill, got up to her in the night when she cried and tucked her in every night.

"Has Mia asked for her?" Draco asked, wondering what his daughter thought of being dumped by her mother.

"Of course not," Narcissa replied with a delicate snort. "She never does. It's always you she wants, it always has been."

"Is it any wonder with the mother she's got?" Lucius remarked. "She's spent most of her time being dumped on us during the day and ignored by her mother on a night."

"Exactly how often does Astoria leave her here?" Draco frowned. He knew his parents liked to have Mia and looked after her at least once a week, but most nights when he returned from work Astoria and Mia were at home and Astoria gave the impression they'd been together all day.

"Three, sometimes four times a week," Narcissa admitted.

"Why have you never said anything before now?" Draco asked his parents.

"Honestly, because she's better off here than with Astoria," Narcissa replied. "Plus I didn't want to cause any more problems between the pair of you. The last thing Mia needed was to be living with two parents at each other's throats all the time."

"Yeah, because it was so much better for her to be living with two parents who ignored each other," Draco muttered. "I've really made a bad job of this, haven't I?"

"Don't beat yourself up Draco, you're a great father," Narcissa told her son. "Mia adores you, and you stuck with Astoria so she could have a mother. It's not your fault Astoria is an unfit mother."

"Speaking of Astoria, what are you going to do now?" Lucius asked.

"I'm going to head home and see if she's already gone, and if she has I'm going to pay a visit to her parents," Draco answered. "Will you be okay to look after Mia?"

"Of course," Narcissa replied. "You go and get things sorted."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lucius asked his son.

"Actually, yes," Draco replied with a nod. "I left the office in a hurry and I have a meeting just after lunch, could you deal with it?"

"Of course," Lucius reassured his son. Despite being officially retired Lucius was still a regular fixture in the office and he knew enough about the business to be able to handle a meeting with ease.

Draco thanked his parents before making his way to where Mia was sitting on the floor. After checking his daughter was okay, he gave her a kiss and promised to be back soon. He then headed back towards the floo room with Lucius and while his father flooed to the office he headed home.

Home for Draco was a luxury penthouse that technically belonged to the family business. Draco had wanted to get a proper house when Mia was born, but Astoria liked living in a fancy penthouse with a posh address. Considering how much time Draco and Mia spent at the Manor, he hadn't pushed the issue of moving and they'd remained in the penthouse.

At first glance everything looked the same in the penthouse, but Draco knew Astoria was long gone the second he entered the master bedroom. All her clothes were missing from the wardrobe and drawers and her dressing table, which normally contained her vast make-up and fragrance collection, was also empty. A check of the safe in the back of the wardrobe also revealed that all of her jewellery was missing. The en-suite bathroom was also devoid of all of Astoria's toiletries.

When Draco re-entered the bedroom from the bathroom he noticed something on his bedside table. When he went to investigate he found Astoria's wedding and engagement ring sitting on top of a document of some sort. The document was divorce papers and when Draco looked through it he was surprised that Astoria wanted nothing from him. She'd already signed the papers and left a note with them asking Draco to sign them and drop them off with her family's solicitor as soon as possible.

Leaving her rings on the bedside table, Draco took the divorce papers and headed back into the front room. He then flooed to his solicitor, who also happened to be his best friend Blaise Zabini, and asked the secretary for an immediate appointment. Because of their long-time friendship Blaise was more than happy to squeeze Draco in and within five minutes Draco was settling down in his friend's office and explaining what had happened with Astoria.

"I want you to check these over and I want you to knock me up a custody agreement," Draco said to Blaise as he handed the divorce papers over. "I want sole custody of Mia."

"I can do that easily," Blaise replied. "When do you want them for?"

"As soon as possible," Draco told him. "If the divorce papers are all in order, I can sign them now. But you're to hold onto them until we have the custody agreement back from Astoria. Once I'm sure she can't take Mia, she can have her divorce."

"At first glance the papers look fine," Blaise said. "I'll check them over properly and I'll have them ready for you to sign first thing in the morning, along with a custody agreement. As long as Astoria isn't going to be awkward, things could be sorted in a matter of weeks.

"Let's hope so," Draco said as he stood up to leave. "Thanks Blaise, I appreciate you getting things done so quickly."

"That's what friends are for," Blaise replied with a smile. "Don't worry about a thing, Draco. I'll handle this."

After leaving Blaise's office, Draco was going to return to the Manor but instead he headed for Astoria's parents' house. He didn't know if the Greengrasses would know where Astoria was, but even if they didn't they would be in contact with her at some time. As the youngest Astoria was spoilt rotten by her parents and while they didn't see Daphne much as their oldest daughter had moved abroad, they doted on their youngest offspring.

"I'm afraid we haven't seen Astoria," Mr Greengrass said dismissively.

"When you speak to her you can let her know that I'm sending custody papers to her solicitor. Once she's signed them I'm more than happy to let her have the divorce," Draco said.

"You're wanting custody of Mia?" Mrs Greengrass questioned in surprise. She was a pretty old fashioned witch and was totally shocked that a man wanted custody of a child, in her experience most men tried to avoid parental responsibility.

"Yes," Draco answered. "After what Astoria has just done, I would prefer it if she never saw my daughter again."

"What about us?" Mr Greengrass asked. "She is our granddaughter."

"You're welcome to come and see her at the manor any time," Draco replied, even though he knew Mia would never see her maternal grandparents. She saw precious little of them as it was and with Astoria leaving Draco saw no reason why the couple would make an effort to see their little granddaughter.

After leaving the Greengrasses to pass the message onto Astoria, Draco headed back to the manor. When he arrived Mia was curled up asleep on the sofa, having her afternoon nap. Draco settled down beside his slumbering daughter, doing his best not to wake her, while Narcissa went to sort some tea.

"How did things go?" Narcissa asked as she handed Draco a cup of tea and sat down on the chair opposite him.

"She's definitely gone," Draco told his mother. "She left divorce papers for me to sign and there's nothing of hers in the penthouse."

"Did you sign the papers?"

"Not yet. I'm getting a custody agreement drawn up and once Astoria has signed it, she can have her divorce."

Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief at the mention of Draco getting custody of Mia. She would hate to lose her granddaughter because Astoria changed her mind and decided to come back for her.

"Do you know what you're going to do now?" Narcissa asked her son.

"I don't know," Draco sighed, looking down at his daughter who was clutching a soft toy shaped like a unicorn. "But I guess our lives are going to be pretty different."

"Why don't you move back home?" Narcissa suggested hopefully. "You're going to need help looking after Mia, and let's be honest this place is much more homely than the penthouse. Plus Mia's used to spending her time here, she'll love being here full time."

"I'll think about it," Draco told his mother.

Even though Draco's response wasn't an immediate yes, they both knew he would be moving back to the Manor. With working full time he would need some sort of childcare plan and it would be nice for Mia to have a proper family home. Maybe back home at the manor, Draco could give her the stability she needed to help her cope with her mother abandoning her a few months before her third birthday.

When Lucius returned from the office that first evening he reassured Draco he could handle things for as long as his son needed. Draco thanked his father, grateful for all the help he was receiving from both his parents. With Lucius to help him with the business and Narcissa to help him with Mia, hopefully he would be able to cope with being a single parent.

After having dinner with his parents, Draco decided to take Mia home. He was still mulling over his mother's offer to move into the manor, but initially he wanted things to remain the same for his daughter. As they went through their usual bedtime routine, Draco wondered if Mia would mention her mother. However the little girl never mentioned Astoria, all she was bothered about was getting a second story out of Draco.

The following morning Draco dropped Mia off with his mother while he returned to see Blaise. At Blaise's office he signed both the divorce papers and the custody papers. Blaise then sent the custody papers to Astoria's solicitor, with a promise to get in touch with Draco the second he got them back. He also reassured Draco that providing Astoria didn't make a fuss about custody, the divorce would be final pretty quick considering both parties had signed the papers without a fuss and Astoria wasn't making any demands.

By the end of the weekend Astoria had returned the custody papers, fully signed, and she'd received the divorce papers. Also by the end of the weekend Draco had decided to move back to the manor. For the first time he also decided to broach the subject of Astoria with Mia, who so far hadn't mentioned her mother.

Sitting Mia down he explained the best he could that they would be moving into the manor with Lucius and Narcissa. Mia was thrilled to be moving in with her grandparents and barely batted an eyelid when Draco said that Astoria wouldn't be joining them, it would be just the two of them. Mia's lack of response to Astoria's departure just made Draco more determined that his soon to be ex-wife would never bother his daughter again. Obviously Astoria had been even more detached with Mia than Draco had realised, and it saddened him to think that at nearly three years old Mia had no real mother figure.

Moving into the manor went smoothly and Mia had great fun decorating her new room with Lucius and Narcissa. Narcissa had insisted that Mia helped pick out her own bedroom décor, resulting in a very pink girly room. Luckily Narcissa had a keen eye for decoration and ensured that the room had splashes of white and cream to soften the effect of all the pink and purple and wasn't too garish.

A few weeks after they moved into the manor, Narcissa broached the subject of Mia's childcare. While Narcissa loved looking after her granddaughter, she mentioned a wizarding pre-school that she'd heard about. The pre-school also led onto a school that children could attend until they went to Hogwarts. Narcissa had a few leaflets about the pre-school and the school it was attached to and she handed them to her son.

"It's not that I don't love having her, because I do," Narcissa reassured Draco. "I just think this is a great opportunity for her. She'll get to make some friends her own age, and she'll get an education before Hogwarts."

"I think it's a great idea," Draco said, looking through the leaflets. He thought it would be great for Mia to make friends at an early age and learn to socialise with other children early on in life.

"Good," Narcissa smiled in relief. "I thought you were going to hate it and refuse to allow Mia to go."

"Why would I do that?" Draco asked.

"Astoria did," Narcissa told her son. "I actually heard about the place a few months ago, but when I mentioned it to Astoria she dismissed the idea."

"Why? It sounds perfect for Mia."

"She was worried about who Mia might meet," Narcissa replied. "You know what Astoria was like, she wouldn't want her child associating with what she would deem the wrong sort."

Draco knew that in Astoria's eyes the wrong sort were either people without a lot of disposable money and people with muggle connections. Draco's family had long since realised their error about muggleborns, but Astoria and her parents were still very much old school purebloods who refused to move with the times and admit all magical people were equal regardless of birth. As for money, that was how Astoria judged people. If they didn't make much or splashed their cash, she thought poorly of them.

"I'm not Astoria, and I won't be denying Mia a chance to make friends," Draco said. "Sign her up."

"I'll do it tomorrow," Narcissa told her son. "At her age you can pick how many days a week she attends, I was thinking three days. If she's not keen we can scale it back, but if she likes it we can add more days."

"I think three days is perfect for a start," Draco told his mother.

The following day Narcissa signed Mia up for pre-school and by the end of the week she had experienced her first day mingling with other children. Draco had been fretting about Mia all day, but when he returned home from work his little girl was bursting to tell him all about her day. She'd quickly made a new friend called Zara, and spent most of the time gushing about her, but she also told Draco about all the fun things there was to do.

After her first day, Draco's anxiousness eased and within a few weeks he knew he'd made the right call in letting Mia go to pre-school. The little girl was having so much fun and according to Narcissa, it was a struggle to get her to leave her the pre-school at the end of the day.

Three months after Astoria left, it was Mia's third birthday. Draco had been worried in case Astoria tried to get in touch, but luckily there was no word from his now ex-wife. Hopefully she'd gone for good and he and Mia could move on with their lives without her.