The only sound that resounded from the dining room was the clanking of silverware on expensive china. It was only the three of them at the table, and none of them said a word. It was a ritual; no one spoke at the table while eating unless there was a topic worth discussing. On that evening in April, it was not one of those times. Draco could here the clock ticking behind him; it was the only other sound in the room besides the common noises of eating.
Abruptly disturbing the silence, there was a knock coming from the heavy oak door. Draco looked up from his plate for a reaction out of either his mother or father. But nothing came from either. The two of them showed no interest in who was at the door. But Draco was intrigued. He was curious about who was at the door now—knocking and interrupting their silent dinner. He could hear one of the house elves conversing quickly with the visitor. The voices were hushed, and subtle; so much that they were whispers to his ears.
Moments later, a small house elf entered the dining room and stood next to Lucius, who ate without taking any notice to the elf. It cleared its throat, and finally spoke.
"Master Malfoy," the elf squeaked, "There is someone at the door who would like a word with you…privately."
Lucius gave a gruff sigh. He hated it when people interrupted his dinner. He knew it to be overly disrespectful, and loathed the act. He left the room hastily, with his dark robe flowing gracefully behind him. Draco watched his father leave the room, and he put down his fork. He wanted to know who was at the door. But he knew better than to ask his father. If he asked, his father would certainly decline to answer. Narcissa could see her son attempting to eavesdrop on his father, but she would have none of that.
"Draco! Stop it. Leave your father to his own business," Narcissa snapped at him defensively. Though what she knew in her heart was the exact same desire that her son had. She, too, wanted to know who was at the door.
The house elves had finished cleaning the dining room and the kitchen, but Lucius was still in the living room with someone. Draco was eager, anxious to know what was with his father and why it had been such an urgent meeting. Why had they been in there for so long, Draco wondered to himself. He put his ear to the oak doors that closed off the room but could hear nothing. Knowing his father, Draco was well aware that his father had placed a spell on the room to keep sound from portraying out of it. His father was secretive, and wanted to keep outsiders away from information that they didn't need to know or hear.
The doors to the living room finally opened when Draco was sitting in the sunroom, casting simple spells at trinkets placed decoratively around the room. Finally, after his father called him and his mother to the living room, Draco could find out who had interrupted their dinner. When Draco entered the room, what he saw baffled him to the point of pure confusion.
Sitting on the sofa behind where Lucius was standing was a girl. She wore dark robes like he himself wore. Her chestnut hair fell over her shoulders as she sat. But it was her eyes that caught Draco's attention. They were blue, and had a misty glow to them. They reminded him of the eyes he saw every day; his own. She didn't carry a smile on her face, but the expressions of curiosity and interest.
Draco could see his mother sitting across the room directly opposite from the girl. She showed no mercy on her face, and a look of distaste stretched across her body. Narcissa had her arms crossed at her breast, and her eyes glared while she smirked at the girl. Lucius broke the silence speaking the words Draco had been longing to hear since the knock from the door sounded during their evening meal.
"Draco, Narcissa—this is Scarlet Averie. Cissa, it's Johanna's daughter," he explained shortly.
"I see," Narcissa smirked. She was none too pleased.
"Scarlet, this is my son, Draco." Lucius told her, pointing to Draco, who did nothing to greet her.
He looked at her with disappointment. So this was what he had waited for all evening, for his father to tell him that a girl would be there with them? She looked about his age, yet he showed no interest in her. She meant nothing to him.
"Cissa, take the girl into the kitchen and have one of the elves get her something to eat. I need to talk to Draco…alone."
Draco turned his head to his father wildly. His father never spoke to him alone. And if he did, it was about something serious. He knew, whatever his father had to tell him, was nothing for a humorous nature.
After Narcissa and Scarlet had left for the kitchen, out of hearing range, Lucius closed the oak doors and turned to his son. He had a look of discernment of on his face, which frightened Draco. There was never a time when had seen his father falter. This would be the first time.
"Draco—I need your help," Lucius finally confessed. His face was troubled. "Scarlet's in trouble."
Draco's expression was vacant. He didn't know how to respond to such details. These feelings were all so new to him.
"Her mother Johanna is on the run from the Dark Lord…"
"What happened?" Draco questioned.
"Don't ask questions!" Lucius added sharply. "The only place she knew to come was here."
"Why?" Draco was uneasy of what his father would do for disobeying his orders not to ask questions. But he was becoming interested in this Scarlet. His father was silent for several long moments. Lucius turned to the window, staring out the glass pane into the outer darkness. From his seat on the sofa, Draco could see his father's ghostly reflection on the window. And written on his face…was regret.
"I was young and foolish, Draco," Lucius started silkily. "Somewhat like what you used to be." Now his voice was hollow and full of sadness. Draco was seeing a whole new father now, one he had never met before. "I was in love. And I didn't want to think of anything else but her—of Johanna." He paused and sighed heavily.
"But the Dark Lord wanted otherwise. He wanted an heir so powerful—to stand as his right-hand man in battle…so he choose me for my cunning skills and your mother for her beauty and smarts. In his cold-blooded way, he said that together, we would create a child for his uses…and his uses only. The Dark Lord ordered Johanna and I be separated, so now to ruin his evil plans. I married your mother, but kept secret contact with Johanna. I couldn't leave her." He broke his phrase, and looked to Draco with a look of disdain and almost pure hatred.
"And in turn, we got you. Still in love with Johanna, I did things I shouldn't have. I got her pregnant, and out of it, we got a daughter. A daughter that was mine, and sister that is linked to you." Lucius's eyes squinted with pure sadness now, and he stopped he voice.
Draco couldn't reply. He was dumb-founded. He had always seen his father as someone who made every right decision, and did everything correctly. But when he learned that he had a sister the same age as himself, he thought otherwise of his father. The feeling immensely overwhelmed him.
"Does mother know?" Draco asked his voice filled with subtlety.
"That's why I need your help. I told Scarlet about your mother not knowing about any of it, and she understands. I need you to hide the fact that you know anything. She will ask about it tonight—I can feel it in my blood. Will you swear to keep secrecy around the matter? You can speak of it to no one—not even Scarlet."
"I swear."
It was eleven o'clock when Lucius was pulling on his sleeping pants that Narcissa walked into their bedroom. Her face looked furious and full of rage. She looked at him only for a second upon her entrance, and then shifted her gaze to her chest of drawers. She pulled off her robes, and stood only in her dark undergarments, digging her drawers for her silky ivory green nightdress. As she rummaged through her things, she could hear his footsteps moving closer to her. Now his hands were weaving their way through her arms and onto her hips. His rested his chin on her shoulder, and tried to coo her into forgiveness. But his warm breath told her otherwise. He was seducing her into absolution. He took her hand and pulled her toward the bed. Falling onto it below him, his lips met hers and his hands rubbed against her stomach. She loved the way he touched her delicate skin, but she would not let him escape his dishonest behavior through salacity. She pulled away from his passionate kisses, and she climbed out of bed and left the room quickly.
He saw her escape down the marble staircase as she tried to loose him in the dimmed foyer. When he caught her hands, she turned on her heel. A menacing glare gazed back at him with fire. She was enraged by his knack for such a long term of secrecy, especially from her. She understood they played on the Dark Side of the game, and secrecy was a deep key. But in marriage, it was a whole new story for her.
"What?" she fired at him.
"What's gotten into you?" he flung back at her. She could tell from the tone of his voice that his temper had grown extremely short.
"What are you keeping secrets from me? Scarlet's more than Johanna's daughter to you. Tell me who she is!" Narcissa demanded loudly.
"It's complicated, Cissa, I— "
"Lucius!" she shrieked with persistence.
"Fine. If you must know, she's my—daughter!"
Narcissa looked as if she had choked. A daughter? Her mind rushed with wild speculations of with whom he had slept.
"With whom?"
"Cissa, if you calm down, I can tell—"
"No! Give me a name. I need to know!" Narcissa spat at him, bubbling over with craze and madness that he had never seen in her before.
"Johanna, alright, dammit! Are you happy?" he burst at her, his voice rising quickly to a yell.
"When?" Narcissa inquired hastily. "When did you do it?"
"After you got pregnant with Draco. When you went to visit your mother."
"And you did it in my manor?" He nodded regretfully. Tiredly, he fell into one of the dining room chairs, and let his forehand fall into the hold of his hands. "You…you bastard!"
"I know, dammit!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the entirety of the manor. He stood quickly and grabbed her forearms, and pulled her close to chest so each could feel the heat radiating off the other.
"I was foolish…and young. Cut me a fair bit of slack."
"Lucius!" she cried. " How can I? You betrayed me and it's been your secret for nineteen years."
"Darling, Scarlet has to stay somewhere. We can't just throw her out into the world. She's my daughter, and I know that the world will eat her alive…especially when her mother is on the run and the Dark Lord is getting stronger."
"And you don't think I know that?" she asked him, pushing her back away from his and up against one of the walls in the dining room.
"Just promise me one thing—tell me you won't tell a soul about Scarlet. Not even to Bella."
"I swear to you I won't." And watching her husband walk back up the marble staircase to their room, she let a sly and evil grin slide across her mouth.
