New story! (cue applause in my head). I wasn't intending on starting a new fic anytime soon, what with the other two I am currently still writing, but this turned up quite unexpectedly. I shall explain: I was perusing Tumblr late one evening, when I came across a picture of a girl (the link will be posted on my profile) and she looked like so much of a Malfoy that I took out my notebook and began scribbling down notes and plots and BAM, Cassiopeia Malfoy was born. If you've read my Silver/Draco stories then you'll soon find out that Cassi isn't nearly as tame as Silver - which I'm so very excited about. But I digress, on with the first chapter of my newest venture!
And if you want the gist of what Cassi's like (superficially), I encourage you listen to Everybody loves me by One Republic.
Disclaimer: I don't own the lovely world J.K. Rowling has created for us.
but where have they gone?
Cassiopeia Malfoy sat under the alcove in her spacious bedroom, the chair was black velvet with a white wooden trim. She liked black and white mostly due to the contrast and the finite difference between the two colors. Straightforward and neat, that was how she liked things. Outside, the peacocks were lazily engaged in a promenade around the garden. They were lovely to look at, with shining feathers in royal blue and hues of greens, but the idea of having them in a garden was ridiculous. It was gaudy and her parents seized any opportunity to show their wealth without actually exposing the piles of money themselves. Although, her older brother Scorpius had told her that the peacocks were some sort of Malfoy tradition. They had been there for generations, he'd said. Cassiopeia couldn't understand why at first, but with one look at her grandfather she could see the painful history of her family written into the wrinkles on his face and she never dared to ask. She'd heard her parents talking about how he had never been the same since the second wizarding war.
In truth, she had heard horrors about her grandfather from her classmates and books. The quiet old man he was today had seemed to have left his mark in history, but her parents never wanted to talk about it when she asked so eventually, she stopped asking - stopped wondering.
She heard the doorknob click open and footsteps but kept her gaze fixed on the garden.
"What are you staring at?" a cool voice drawled near her.
"The peacocks." she said with exaggerated patience. It was obvious wasn't it?
Her brother made a small noise of irritation before sitting opposite of her. "I could strangle you, you know."
The corners of her pink lips twitched, "I don't know what you're talking about." But she did know. She had travelled into his room earlier in the day while he was eating breakfast to plant the very trap herself: a string of aviatomobiles that would launch itself at a victim at the detection of movement. They were conveniently placed beside the door.
"Revenge is drawing near Cassi."
She rolled her gray eyes, "You always say that."
"Because it gets nearer and nearer as time passes." he said, trying not to laugh.
She grinned."Right." She looked at him. Her older brother, the one she looked up to and trusted more than anyone else in the world. "Have you packed yet?"
He flounced his shoulders, "Just finished."
"Me too."
Today was September 1st and the train for Hogwarts was meant to leave in under two hours. Soon, the maid would come in and gather their things and load up in front of their chimmeney, as it had been done for the past five years on this very day (six for Scorpius) and her parents may or may not be there to wish them farewell.
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door to which Scorpius responded with an invitation to enter, and Jane appeared. Her thin brown hair was tied up into a bun, and her plain brown dress was stained with something yellow. The cheeriest bit of her outfit apart from her smile. Jane was always happy and despite her circumstances, Cassiopeia couldn't help but feel that she was happier than she was most of the time.
"Janie." she said, "Where's father?"
The woman, who was busy picking up the black boots Cassiopeia had left by the door, froze before diligently continuing her task, slower this time. "I believe he's gone out, dear." she was by the closet now, "Early this morning."
Cassiopeia's eyes flickered, the only evidence of her disappointment, an unknowing act to anyone…but Scorpius. Her face was vacant again, void of all emotions. It hurt him to see her like this and he always tried to change her, to change the unwillingness to feel. After years of trying, she was still the same.
"You still haven't packed that?" he asked incredulously, pointing at the wrinkled pile of black and green that had fallen off the side of her bed. "What are you expecting to wear once we'd arrived?" then he added snidely, "To borrow the robes of a Gryffindor again?"
She stood, casting him a playful glare and picked it up. "That was just once, Scor. Don't get your panties in a twist."
It was her third year when that happened. She was in such a hurry, and her parents were in a fight that morning. She was only thirteen and she hated listening to them yelling. It made her so nervous. When the announcement came on the train to change into the school robes, she had searched everywhere for hers but couldn't find them. She'd later find out through a letter from Jane that she had left it back home. But as a quick remedy, she had travelled down along the tight corridors and in between compartments asking for an extra. Naturally, she had asked the Slytherins first but only returned to her brother empty-handed.
One of her closest friends, Louis Weasley had told her that his cousin had more than one - but it was Gryffindor. Desperate, she agreed, knowing that she could have her own robes mailed to school as soon as she'd arrived. He took her into the brightest area in the entire train, filled almost entirely with gingers. The four of them had their heads together in conversation when Louis knocked on the door and they peered out through the window at him, all smiles. She recognized the girl that stood first. Her name was Dominique and she was a Ravenclaw a few years ahead of her. She was also Louis's sister and never seemed to treat Cassi the way she treated others. She wasn't exactly unfriendly, more like made sure to keep her distance.
"Hello you two." she said smiling, her copper-colored eyes travelling between the pair. "What brings you over to our compartment?"
Louis rolled his eyes. She was obviously making fun of him for preferring to sit with Cassiopeia on the train. "Cassi's left her robes at home. D'you think she can borrow the extra Rose brought? Only for the welcome dinner."
"You're kidding." she said flatly. "Wouldn't the Slytherins like..kill you in your sleep if you showed up wearing a Gryffindors robes?"
"Of course not." Louis retorted.
"I wouldn't rule that out that possibility just yet, Louis." Cassi added teasingly.
The other red-heads were quiet, curiously peeking up at the blonde that had come with Louis. Two of them had fresh face, laced with adolescent innocence. His cousins, Rose and Albus, were both starting their first year then while Victoire, his sister, was ending her last.
Victoire was blonde and tall, beautiful in all respects. She was the envy of all the girls at school, and the object of affection for all the boys. She rummaged through Rose's trunk, whispering something to her with a small smile, and then stood behind her sister, easily towering over her.
"Here you go Cassi." she said pleasntly, "Louis will have it back after dinner, wont you?"
Louis nodded, "Yeah, thanks a lot Vic. You too, Rose." he added and walked past his sisters to pick the little girl up and spin her around. She laughed and it sounded like raindrops hitting against the petals of a flower on a lush spring day. Cassi remembered her to be the sweetest little thing.
Albus had big black glasses perched upon his small, straight nose. He looked somewhat older than what an eleven year old should look, but the way his glasses kept haphazardly slipping down his nose lead her think it was just by appearance.
Of course that was just once and she wouldn't ever let it happen again. Scorpius took the trunk from her hand and motioned towards the door. She led the way, with Jane behind them, down the candlelit corridor. There weren't any windows nearby, so it was always dark by here, even in the sunniest of days. It was one of things she didn't like about her own house. There was always an unexplainable sinisterness lingering about, deep within the wood-paneled walls. The faces of Malfoys before them stared back at her, another reason why she hated this particular corridor yet it was the only way out of her room and into the main part of the house, and she ignored pointedly ignored them. Her great-great grandmother asked Scorpius about the weather, to which he replied amiably and told her it was cloudy with a high chance of rain. She sighed, muttering something about how she would never see a sunny day again before the staircase reared. The entrance hall was all stones, with a luxurious evergreen carpet lining the greater half of the floor. The high ceilings pointed upwards, meeting in the middle with a golden chain hanging a large chandelier. The lit candles from there provided more light, and so did the windows that Jane had opened once morning dawned.
A small mewl came from her left.
"Pumpkin!" she called out, urging the purring cat forward.
"I don't understand why you picked that horrid name for the poor creature." Scorpius commented as he watched the tabby cat cheerily join them, giving his leg a good rub. He cringed, shaking him away.
"Stop it." She said smiling, picking the cat up in her arms and cradling it. "And I was only seven years old. It was the year I had that odd affinity with pumpkin pie, remember?"
He nodded, as if vaguely digging through his mind for that year. "So you thought the cat was good enough to eat?"
"Of course. I've only been planning to cook it after all these years." She kissed it's fluffy forehead, "Yum."
Scorpius made a face. Jane was already by the fireplace, her hands searching the mantelpiece for the bag of floo powder. "Now." She began, "You two be careful when you arrive on the platform, you know it gets crowded. Just walk through and board the train, right away. Do not dawdle, otherwise you'll miss it." Her hand closed around the velvety bag, "Oh and Cassi, you've got your robes don't you?"
Cassi sighed, "Yes, Jane, I've got my robes. Scorpius placed them in my trunk himself."
He crossed his arms over his chest, putting no efforts towards hiding the self-important smirk on his face. "Honestly, she would've lost her head if it weren't for me."
Cassi nudged him in the ribs to which he scowled. Now, it was her turn to smile.
"Alright, alright!" interrupted Jane, pulling the siblings into a bone-crushing hug, "You both write to me once you arrive to the school." Her eyes warningly set on Scorpius. "Don't forget."
He put his arms out in front of him in feigned surrender. "I won't, promise."
Her dark brown eyes were still doubtful, but his answer had been good enough and so she stepped aside and threw the powder out in front of her. For a fleeting moment, Cassi thought of her mum and dad. Where had they gone? Did they know that it would be months before they saw their children again and still hadn't bothered to come say goodbye the way Jane had?But she was only kidding herself. Of course they knew, they were just too busy wrapped up in their own affairs to notice.
She felt Scorpius take hold of her hand, the only thread of stability she has ever known, while she grabbed on to Pumpkin's cage with the other. A puff of green smoke exploded all around them, and she heard Jane call out, "King's Cross Station." Then, her body was suddenly melting and shattering all at once with nothing but green around them with the exception of a stray fireplace appearing every now and then, but it was all so fast that she barely had time to notice before she was sucked into a vortex of flashing lights, her grip on her brothers hand tightening, and out into the humid, dampness of the train station.
A/N: If you like my story enough to favorite it, I would love if you passed along a review first! (: What are your thoughts on the next generation of Malfoy children?