Background info: Athena is the younger sister of Lucius Malfoy. She is in Slytherin and is in love with Sirius Black. This goes along with OoTP but is AU from a certain point. Also, Athena is a Medi-witch, which comes in handy down the road. Her two children are Zara and Jamie (Sirius James). This was written in 2004, and I don't think it goes exactly with what I wrote later on in "It's Not Over", so I'm posting it as a separate entry. I changed a few things, like the names I gave Sirius' parents, and Zara's middle name (It was Astra when I originally wrote this, but it changed to Adhera) but for the most part it remains the same as I found it on my LJ that I've been tagging.
Being a Malfoy meant certain things. It meant power, good breeding, and riches. But there was much more to being Malfoy. Being a Malfoy meant obedience to your parent's views. You could not be a muggle lover or even love someone who is. You must remain above reproach in the eyes of the Dark Lord at all times. If you were male, then you would receive a reword for your service to him and have even more power then before.
If you were female, you were silent. You did not rebuke your husband for being too harsh on your child, you did not argue with him over his views, you would submit and be a trophy wife. You would raise future Death Eaters for the Dark Lord. You could be replaced. Females are only for reproduction of servants.
If you were a daughter you were resigned to a fate chosen by your father or brother. You would marry a pureblood, have a son to said pureblood and raise him to hate muggles and worship the dark Lord. You had no choice. That was what being a Malfoy meant.
Athena had been told when she was four years old that her parents were preparing her dowry. She was already engaged to the son of Orion and Walburga Black, Sirius.
When she was six her mother began to teach her how to run a household and how to raise perfect sons like Lucius. Malfoy's did not have daughters. To have one was an embarrassment to the paterfamilias and therefore the first born must be a son. They must be raised to believe in the doctrine of the Malfoy family and brought before the Dark Lord when they were sixteen to become a servant.
When she was nine her mother and future mother-in-law started to teach her how to act like a lady. Never eat more then two bites of any dish. Always have your back straight, eyes lowered. Submit to the men in your family and to the male quests. Wear the finest clothing from the top notch shops. Do not associate with muggles, mudbloods, or people of a lower chaste. They were beneath you. Walk, never run. The ability to run a successful party was much more important then learning.
When she was eleven she went to Hogwarts and met Lily Evans. She stopped being a true Malfoy on the first day of school.
When she was sixteen, her engagement was called off when Sirius Black ran away from home was disowned from the Black family. Lucius repaired the damage by asking her former betrothed's Cousin Narcissa Black for her hand.
When she was seventeen, she and Sirius left the casual friendship they had in the past behind and became romantically involved.
When she was eighteen she found out she was pregnant. Unmarried and pregnant with the child of Gryffindor she was disowned. Only a few months was she still a Malfoy by name. After that she became Athena Black. She was not recognized by that family either, except by the younger brother who showed up one day to see the baby. He left with insults but she could see he was going on the same path as her...confusion and disintegration.
And wouldn't you know it, but she broke another Malfoy law. Her firstborn was a girl, Zara Adhera. And she raised her daughter to love everyone, regardless of their bloodlines, heritage or class.
When she was twenty-one her husband was put in prison. It was only seven months later that her son was born. He was placed in Gryffindor, the first one with Malfoy blood flowing in his veins.
When she was thirty-six she almost became a widow. At thirty-seven she watched with pride as her nephew, the last generation of Malfoys, refuse to bow to a man who was a hypocrite.
At forty she smiled at her life and realized it was full of happiness while her brother realized his was full of coldness and regret as his soul was ripped out of his body with his son watching.
Being a Malfoy meant following the rules, but she had stopped being a Malfoy other then blood almost before she was born