Chapter Text
A freezing chill woke me, a routine I don't favour. The harsh stone floor pressed into my back; It begged for me to rise. I sat up rubbing my back for relief, however, the pain was unfaltering. My hand scraped under my sad excuse for a pillow and my warm fingers collied with softwood. The feel of my wand between my fingers was exhilarating. My wand was barely ever in my possession- only given to me to attack or kill. It's black stain complemented the small emeralds that were inlaid like green stars by my mother.
The dark basement felt vast and expansive without light. As I flicked my wand, the room became nothing more than a small dingy box with a tattered wardrobe and a grimy bathroom. I shifted away from the wall and grabbed my glasses. Their frames were round cat-eye shape, and the prescription was ancient. The cold metal chilled my face, making goosebumps flow across my body. The dank walls, which witnessed many tragedies, watched me- waiting for my next move. I decided it would be to get dressed for the nauseating yet monumental day.
My numb feet carried me the two steps towards my beaten wardrobe. The only clothes that hung there were a warm outfit that was both cosy and concealing. The rest of my minuscule wardrobe was packed into my suitcase ready for my escapade. The simple outfit consisted of a chocolate brown turtleneck jumper, a white cotton maxi skirt, white knitted tights and my trusty black Dr Martens. My clothes eased the never-ending chill. The last piece of the puzzle was my black corset-the only item of clothing that makes me feel truly beautiful. My weight has always been my biggest insecurity and flaw and this corset hides that. After I cinched myself into the corset, I brushed my teeth and made my hair turn a dark shade of brown to match my jumper. I whisked it into a bun and took out my small makeup bag which I kept in my "precious things bag".I rarely wear it but today is special. I laid out the little makeup I had on the tiny countertop. However low my resources were, it was perfect for me. First, I took my glasses off and swiped mascara onto my lashes. Then, a soft pink blush across my cheeks. Finally, a strawberry red lipstick glazed over my lips.
My mind rushed back to when I was small, no older than six. I was curious to see how my mother looked so beautiful and I went traipsing through her makeup while she was at the supermarket. I knew it was risky as its the one thing that was forbidden. As I opened her case, I immediately wanted to shut it and walk away but the bright pinks and purples drew me in. After around half an hour, I felt exactly how my mother looked. But then my father walked in and punished me. He dragged me from the room and to mine where I was told I would go without dinner. I cried off most of the makeup as I lied in my bed. At dinner time I heard shouting and then my nana walked through my door with two plates of sausage and mash, my favourite. We sat on ate on my bed and she told me how pretty I was with and without makeup. This memory was like many others I clung to survive in this wretched place.
A buzzing sound erupted from my alarm clock signalling its go time. I collected all of my things and enchanted them to float behind me so I wouldn't have to carry it.
One of the older generations of Malfoy's built this house in the 19th century. In that period rich, the conceited family's employed servants to cook and clean. So they built the basement as a living quarter. Like many other families, they installed bells in each room and a matching belt in the basement to communicate. Unique to the Malfoy's however is was that they all learnt morse code so they wouldn't have to physically speak to the servants. The Malfoy's alive today are ignorant of this fact and deem them pointless. The only reason I know this information is because I found a box of the diary's that where written by the servants that lived in the basement. Draco, who was the only Malfoy that was ever nice to me, had come to give me my dinner the same night and I told him about the bells and the morse code. The next night he came back with not only my dinner but two tatty old books on morse code. He told me of the massive library next to his bedroom containing works of the Bronte sisters, Dickens and much, much more. So from these books, we leant how to talk without being caught. This made the last seven years less lonely for both of us.
I ran Draco's bell, signalling I was ready. This was step one. The reply comes practically instantly. Step two was to meet at the top of the basement stairs. My luggage and I ventured to the top of the stairs. The old wooden door creaked as I entered the main building. The marble floors looked cold and uninviting. The tall black ceilings loomed above me, ready to squish me in the haste of my escape. After no sign of Draco for a while, I began to worry. I knew his bedroom wasn't too far from here. A harsh stomping sound echoed through the manor. I reached for my wand, ready to attack. The stomping grew louder but another sound filled my ears- small delicate steps fumbling and scraping the marble. A moment later, a colossal man -only familiar to me by his face- and a lanky boy came into view. This boy-who I knew to Draco- was being dragged by his collar towards me. I drew my wand and aimed towards the man, 'Petrifics Totalus'. The obtuse words spilt from my mouth and a blast shit from my wand. Consequently, the man walked no further. His body stood motionless, petrified in place. Draco scrambled from his grasp and ran towards me.
He grasped my hand, ready to lead me from the hell house, "Let's go.". He tugged me along towards the door. I pocketed my wand and ran a little faster to keep pace. Draco's voice echoed through my head from the night before, "It will all be ok. As long at were away from here, we'll be safe.". The memory was completely forgotten as icy daggers pierced my skin. Pain rippled through my body. I couldn't pinpoint how many wounds or where they were because the pain was everywhere. My legs gave out and I crashed to the ground. I checked to see if Draco had been hurt as well but he was unscathed. He ran towards me and cast a spell to stop blood from leaving the wounds. My attackers stood before me, laughing like little kids.
"You think we would hurt precious little Draco?" The shrill voice crawled into my ears. Mrs LeStranges mocking tone made my blood boil. Her endless torment will not be missed. Mr Malfoy stood, enjoying my suffering. The shrill voice continued "We only punish scum like you in this house." Her words felt like she had twisted one of the daggers.
As I laid on the ground, I hoped for salvation. I was slipping in and out of consciousness, I must have been hallucinating because both of their bodies fell to the ground. Mrs Malfoys dainty feet skipped towards me. Everything became blurry and then black. I woke in a car that smelt like lavender perfume and leather polish. It felt like we were driving a million miles an hour. I heard muffled voices talking about France. I slipped back into the black. I woke again as the car come to a sudden jolt. Draco helped me out of the car and pointed to the direction of our destination.
It was a small hamlet that contained a few houses and a couple of shops. The centre of the hamlet had a gorgeous white stone fountain with all the buildings around it. The houses and shops were made of red brick with terracotta plant pots in every garden.
"Where are we?", I asked. This place looked almost deserted like everyone was out. Mrs Malfoy just smiled and said, "This is where I was born."
It took no longer than 30 seconds to get from the car to what seemed to be a convenience store. We walked through the maze of a store to the man who I assumed owned the building. He wore a tweed blazer with a burgundy jumper over a white button-up. He wore matching tweed trousers. The man also had remarkable claw mark scars that slashed across his face. When he saw Mrs Malfoy his face was jovial and kind "Good morning, Narcissa. We were just about to head to school-," but when he glanced at me his face grew long and horrified. To his left was a blue velvet curtain, when he opened it I could see a set of white stairs that lead to another curtain. "Sirius! Honey, Narcissa needs help." The disgruntled man gestured for use to pass the curtain. The stairs lead into a sort of doctors room. There were a bed and tons of shiny and threatening medical equipment. There also stood a tall, handsome man with black shiny hair who I assumed to be Sirius. Draco, with the help of Sirius, aided me onto the bed. Draco and Mrs Malfoy went back upstairs.
"So, what happened?" Sirius inquired as he started on my first puncture. He seemed to be distracting me. "Mrs Lestrange happened," I retorted. Sirius cut my jumper at the dagger in my shoulder."She fucking tried to kill me."
Sirius laughed, "You get used to it after a while." He pulled out the blade (the pain seared through my whole shoulder) and covered it with a piece of gauze and applied pressure.
"So you have two options. I either use magic to stitch the wounds which will hurt more but we will finish faster or I do it the good old fashioned way. Which is it going to be?"
"Magic will be fine, " I grinned, "Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it."
"It's my pleasure." He beamed. "I used to help you with your nana's teachings."I was dumbfounded. "Who are you?" I questioned. Sirius brushed his hair behind his ear to reveal a tattoo on the flat of his ear. It was a small lily. My mother had one as well. Tears welled in my eyes, "You taught me how to swim."
"Yes, I did." He grinned reminiscently.
"Wait, why a lily?" I inquired. As Sirius healed me he told me how my mother had befriended Sirius and his three friends Remus, James and Peter first year. They called themselves The Marauders. James loved a sweet girl named Lily but she loved somebody else, my mother. They were in love until the sixth year when Lily suddenly just fell out of love. My mother was heartbroken but respected her still. Lily and my mother fell in love with other people and remained great friends. They both had kids and started lives after Hogwarts. The night after Lily and James died the rest of the murders got two tattoos in their honour. A lily and a set of antlers. "That's so sad," I whispered. A tear escaped from my eyes.
An hour of pain and reminiscence later and Sirius had stitched me back together. He turned to his little med cart and pulled a potion from one of the shelves. He turned back to me, "Drink this. You'll feel none of the pain for around twelve hours then you'll need to go to the nurse at school. I have already sent her an owl." The potion coated the inside of my mouth, it's sugary taste hurting my teeth. The pain immediately eased and I could walk by myself again. "Thank you." I looked down at my clothes- the white in my skirt had completely consumed by red and my jumper was bloody too with massive holes. I accioed my suitcase down to the room. Sirius left me to change in private. I took off all of my clothes as they were all tainted with blood and I changed into a plain white long sleeve t-shirt under a pink tulle dress with small strawberries made of sequins and white lace tights. I also added a trusty white corset and kept with the Dr Matrens. I stomped back up the stairs to see faces of apprehension glaring back. "I feel great!" I reassured. Their worrisome faces eased. Draco checked his watch, "We better be heading to school, " He flashed an eager grin towards me and then at Sirius, "Does your flu connect to the Leaky Cauldron?"
"It sure does, " He grinned. Sirius lead the way- back down the stairs and through a black door. It opened into a gorgeous living room adorned with glamour. The sofa was black velvet and gold accents. The coffee table was a circle of glass with gold legs. The massive fireplace was soot free, practically untouched. Draco took my hand and walked us into the fireplace, along with our belongings. "I love you, " He mouthed to his mother that gave the same solemn reply. Before I could thank these amazing people, Draco had grabbed a handful of a grey powder, a green flash engulfed us and we were in a shabby pub.
The strong smell of beer sloshed through my nose, my father's memory crept into my mind. I steered it away and went to the bar for a glass of water. Draco followed suit. We placed our stuff at the foot of the stools and sipped our water. For ten minutes we sat in awkward silence. Until Draco burst with apologies, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was going to hurt you like that." His fair face looked sunken and sad.
"It's ok. Like you said you didn't know. No one could have known." The gentlest tone singsonged from my mouth, "It's not your fault. However, I'll kill you if you tell McGonagall." I joked, sparking a laugh. Draco's usual cheery self.
I would recognise the clack of my Nana's kitten heels from a mile away. I glanced around the room to see the thirty or so people all veered towards the door. My Nana stood at the door, surveying the room. My heart grew three sizes as I stood from my stool and stepped towards her. Her once soft features have wrinkled from time but she was still as beautiful as the last time I saw her. My smile grew just as big as hers when she saw me. She skipped and broke the gap between us, enveloped me into a hug. Her perfume was the same- vanilla. Her hair colour had turned tuned slightly whiter. We were the same height now so our hug was perfect. She patted my hair and whispered tenderly "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too." A few stray tears fled from my eyes. I quickly swiped them away and pulled out of the hug. I linked my arm through hers and guided her towards Draco. When we reach our stools, She hugged him as well for keeping me safe. "Morning, Professor." Draco greeted.
We sat and talked for a few minutes and then left The Leaky Cauldron to venture into Diagon Alley.
Through the brick passage was a sad, empty street with all of the shops open my no customers to fill them with. Before the war, the alley was full of witches and wizards dashing from place to place, no worry about being killed or hunted. But as some death eaters have proven to be unhinged and rebellious after their leader was rightfully killed, people have steered clear of any hot spots for magic folk. However many reckless seat heaters came our way tho, we could protect ourselves. Nana knew this.
The walk to Gringotts was shorter than expected and the wait to access my vault was even shorter. Nana had bought my vault key, her vault key and Draco's vault key. Nana explained how Mrs Malfoy knew of our plan to escape from the day it was formulated. She wanted to make sure that she could protect her son as much as she could. So she entrusted her son's vault key with Nana, a gesture she was grateful to be considered for. Unsurprisingly Draco's vault was full of gems and jewels as well as heaps of galleons. What was odd tho is go my vault had more than triple the number of galleons. I took a few handfuls, shoved them into my handbag, probably just under 500 galleons. My mouth hung open and my eyes bulged in disbelief. This amount of money is ridiculous. Where did it all come from? Why is it all mine? I asked these questions, as we were heading back up to the alley, but my Nana had no explanation. She did say, despite that, that there might be a box of things in her office at school which might explain.
When we had emerged from the archaic building, we split to go shopping. After we were done, we were going to meet in the coffee shop near the pub entrance. I knew where all the shops were because I have to walk through the alley to get to knockturn alley (against my will, I shall add). I first headed to Olivander to get my wand stopped of it's limitation spell- Mr Malfoy of course. The old man looked so joyous when he saw me 'free from my shackles'. He also gave my gorgeous wand a quick shine. I then headed to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to but my robes and have them tailored. After that, I went to The Magical Menagerie. Right as I walked in the abundance of animals shocked me. I'd never seen so many beings in the same place that weren't going to end up dead. The owls flitted around the room above your head. The cats prowled around the room, parading their silky fur. The number of different animals was overwhelming. I was spoilt for choice. "Good morning," the owner of the store declared. I gave them a small wave and started strolling around the store. I looked at the owls- cute but a safe choice. I wanted something challenging. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small little enclosure on the cash desk. I walked over and inside was a small little corn shake, no longer than a pencil. On the enclosure was a small sticker saying "My name is Simon." The snake slithered across it's terrain. I peered in closer and heard a small voice full of sibilance. The snake was talking to me. I couldn't quite hear what he was saying so I asked him to speak a bit louder. "EVIL GIRL!" the lady at the counter shouted. "PARSELMOUTH!" the lady shewed me away but I stood still. What did I do? I was just talking to a snake. Well, when you say it like that it does sound bad. "I want the snake," I stated, I would not leave without Simon. "Ok buy the snake and food for it and GO!". So I paid for everything I needed and ran out of the store. The finale destination before coffee was Flourish and Blotts. I grabbed some school books and some leisure books and paid.
The stroll back to the coffee shop was relaxing and well needed. The outside of the quaint little shop was a dirty cream colour with dark wood window sills to complement. The inside walls were lined with the same dark wood panels as the outside. As soon as you walk in the smell of coffee attacks your senses. Upholstered benches were lining one wall with tables and chairs opposite them; I sat in one of the benches. I was the first one there I opened one of my school books on potions. I was only a little bit into it when Nana and Draco came back together. Nana went to order and Draco sat next to me. Nana come back and took out a small bok from her purse. She placed it on the table and scooted it towards me. "This is for all of the birthdays and Christmases I have missed." She grinned in anticipation. I opened the velvet box and there were earrings made of real opals. The small circles shifted colour as I moved a box around under the light. "Thank you so much." I beamed. Nana took out her pocket mirror so I could see what I was doing. They were the most amazing present I have ever been given. And they looked beautiful in my ears.
Once we finished our drinks, we headed out of the alley and back to Nana's car. The time was nearing 11 o'clock and we didn't want to miss the train. We made it to Kinds Cross in no time. We said goodbye to Nana and walked towards the station. With all of our luggage in carts, we crossed onto platform nine and three quarters. The noise was astonishing and the hustle was intense. We headed onto the train quickly. "We need to go straight to the end carriage. Harry said that's where he'd meet us" Draco instructed. The train seemed to go for miles but eventually, we got to the last carriage. It was all open with just seats around the edge. Everyone greeted us and I gave them a courteous wave. I looked around and surveyed everyone. I could tell who they were by Draco's description alone. When I sat down in the corner next to Draco, everyone carried on with there conversations except her.
~AN~
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this part and if you did get excited for more to come. If you have any feedback please tell me. Thank you!! :))💕