.:o:.O.:o:. Growing Up in Malfoy Manor .:o:.O.:o:.
.:o:. Prologue .:o:.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything related to it belong to J.K. Rowling and/or Warner Bros.
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Four infants were lying in their cribs in the Malfoy Manor nursery. It might seem surprising that such an imposing establishment would contain something as mundane as a nursery, but it was a necessity, and located near the back of the manor in order to be as unobtrusive as possible. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy often "babysat", or rather placed in the care of the house-elves, the children of other influential names in wizarding community. This was one of these times, with the Nott, Malfoy, Parkinson, and Zabini heirs residing in the nursery while the Greengrass heir was being born.
The parents of the said heirs had decided well before Theodore Nott, the eldest of them, had been born, that their children would grow up together, and be able to learn not only from their own mistakes, but the mistakes of their peers. It was agreed upon that doing so would emphasize their superiority above the common, muggle-loving wizards such as the Weasleys, and especially the half-bloods and filthy Mudbloods. Growing up together would also have the added benefit of preventing any outside influences from corrupting their children, for they would be expected to pull together.
As the most wealthy and influential of these five families, the Malfoys most graciously offered to house the five children during the day, assuming that the adults would switch off actually being present in case the house-elves were too inefficient to handle something. The cost of the children would taken care of by their respective parents, and the children would be educated and grow up together. They would be given all the lessons deemed necessary for a wealthy, pureblood heir, including the playing of proper musical instruments, and an adequate knowledge and talent of dancing. Among the less frivolous lessons would be a normal education, such as reading, writing, and maths. It was also decided that the children should be fluent in French as insisted upon by Narcissa Malfoy, who had learned French as a child herself.
Several hours later, the fifth and final heir to enter the Malfoy nursery arrived in the arms of Dobby the house-elf. He very carefully placed little Daphne Greengrass inside her crib, checked the other infants, and crept away without making a sound. Downstairs, the elder Notts, Malfoys, Greengrasses, Parkinsons and Zabinis were having an animated conversation in the parlor.
"House-elf!" snapped Lucius Malfoy as soon as he saw Dobby.
"Yes, sir?" squeaked Dobby.
"Fetch us some refreshments from the kitchens, and don't dawdle," Lucius replied.
"Yes, sir, of course, sir, Dobby is happy to be serving you sir!" Dobby squeaked again.
"Then get to it!" Lucius said sharply, beginning to lose his patience.
"Yes sir, Dobby is apologizing, sir, very sorry, sir," Dobby responded quickly. The little house-elf ran to the kitchens, retrieved the refreshments, and served them in less than five minutes. Retreating back to the kitchens, Dobby proceeded to bang his head repeatedly against a cabinet as a punishment for his dawdling. When his head stopped throbbing enough for him to think properly again, he headed up toward the nursery.
Dobby had been designated as the house-elf mainly responsible for the children. It pained him to know how they would turn out, cold-hearted and cruel, taking the place of their parents in society. Their parents would show them no love, perceiving it as a weakness. They would spend their childhoods with only each other and the other house-elves for company. As he gazed upon the faces of the innocent children, he silently made a vow to himself. He vowed that these five children would be cared for with kindness, that they would somehow learn the value of friendship as long as he, Dobby, one of the Malfoy house-elves, was in charge of their well-being. He inwardly smiled with a quiet triumph, and moved quickly to a relatively deserted part of the manor where he began to punish himself repeatedly for what he knew would be his actions in the next seven years.