PROLOGUE:
"You do know that father is lying, don't you?"
I heard my dear brother's irritable intake of breath and could almost hear the mental "here we go again" run through his head.
"You don't know that. Father has no reason to lie," He muttered, not bothering to look at me but rather continue writing a letter that he'd been stuck on for three days now.
I'd noticed he hadn't been able to get past the first sentence. It made me wonder to whom my brother was writing and why it was taking him so damn long to figure out what he was going to say. Maybe it was important. Or maybe he was just indecisive. Probably both. I rolled my eyes at his words.
"Father has every reason to lie you dimwit!" I exclaimed.
At this he lifted his head angrily at me and narrowed his perfectly murderous grey eyes, identical to mine, to my face.
"Be careful what you say, Cessy. You don't know who could be lurking in our home nowadays." He threw his words like venom at me and I felt my lips curl up into a smile.
"So I'm right. You think he's lying too." I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly and smiled even wider when he didn't answer me.
I continued to smile to myself as I pet Heracles' soft feathers. The proud owl was perched in front of me and cooing slightly at my touch. He seemed to be enjoying his time; especially since Jojo wasn't here. They absolutely hated one another.
I looked at the window and frowned at the dark clouds circling my home. The clouds had been so dark lately that I had to wonder if they were natural or not. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the work of the Dark Lord. After what happened not six weeks ago in June there was no doubt in my mind that he had returned, even if it was Potty Golden Boy that had said so.
Something in the wizarding world felt different; there was no denying it. Draco could tell me that father wasn't hiding something and that everything was fine all he wanted but I wasn't a fool. Nor was I as naive as they all thought me to be. I knew what was happening. And deep down, not that I would admit it, but deep down I feared what this would do to my family.
My proud father, even as dickish as he could be, was still my father and my sweet mother whom wanted nothing more than a perfect world for her children. And my brother. I feared especially for my brother in this role. He looked up to father so much and I knew he'd undoubtedly want to follow in his footsteps. The words "Death Eater" flashed in my mind and I felt a lump grow in my throat as I imagined it. My brother, with that stupid thing on his arm and a growing darkness in his heart as he took the lives of people that he didn't even know.
But no-
I shook it from my head.
My brother is nasty at times, but not a bloody murderer!
I took a deep breath and ignored the shaking in my chest. It wasn't possible. Draco wouldn't leave me like that. He wouldn't do that.
"Cessy? You alright?" His smooth voice broke my thoughts.
I looked over at him and saw that I had taken to clenching my fists so hard that my nails bit into the skin; small traces of crescent moon nails lined my palms.
"Merlin's beard, Cessy, what's gotten into you?" Draco was fully concerned now and got up from his desk to rush over to me. He frowned at me and I saw something like frustration pass over his face. I rolled my eyes. This was the annoyingly protective brother trait that I loathed so much. I snatched my hand away from him before he could try and do something silly.
"I'm fine, big brother, just a few cuts," I said, rolling my eyes as he tried to grab my hand again.
He wrestled me a bit telling me in the process how he just wanted to help and I continued to dodge him, keeping my hand far away from him. Finally, he groaned and threw his hands in the air.
"You're a nutter, I hope you know that," He said, giving up and finally sitting back at his desk. I smiled triumphantly.
"'Course I do. I embrace it." I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes, muttering something about "how on earth could we be related?"
"What on earth are they talking about?! How could they say that he's lying? I hate the bloody git more than anyone in that school and even I know he's telling the truth!" I exclaimed, outraged.
My mother looked concernedly at me and looked to berate me for my inappropriate behavior, especially at the breakfast table, but father beat her to it.
"Enough!" He shouted, his cool hard voice shaking the chandelier above us. I felt my cheeks redden at being yelled at but me being me, I just couldn't hold my tongue.
"But father-everything has changed! Can't you feel it? I mean you'll be able to feel it more than any of us right? Because of that thing-?"
"Cecily Rose Malfoy! Do not talk to your father that way!" Mother's venomous hiss rang over to me and I honestly didn't enjoy being targeted by my parents but this was too much to not talk about.
How could they be so naive? Would they really turn a blind eye? Or were they really that stupid to think that the Dark Lord had not returned? No, father must know the truth. He was a follower. He is a follower.
A Death Eater.
HARRY POTTER THE BOY WHO LIES?
The Ministry was trying to cover up that fact that the Dark Lord has returned by making Harry Golden Potter seem like a liar and a villain? Normally I would've rejoiced that the world as finally seeing that scum for what he was but this was bigger than that! The Dark Lord has returned and will most likely kill anything he sees that's in his path! That could include my parents! Whatever they had done to me in the past was nothing; what mattered to me was keeping them safe.
"But I'm just worried that-!"
"I said enough Cecily!" My father bellowed and before I could get another word out I felt a silencing charm make its way to my throat.
My hands flew to my neck before I could stop myself and I mentally berated myself. This was just showing father my weak side. I carefully took my hands away and glared at him instead.
I felt Draco stiffen beside me, hating when father did this to me. How many times had he told me to keep my mouth shut? Enough that I should've seen this coming. This was not the first time father had put a silencing charm on me. It was not the first time I'd felt the keen sting every time my vocal chords tried to talk back.
My mother pinched her lips together; also not enjoying when the noble Lucius Malfoy treated his children this way. Especially her little girl. But I couldn't be too upset with him; this was very minor to the things he would sometimes do in his anger. Things I didn't want to think about.
"You will not utter another word of this in this home, nor anywhere else, understood?" His voice was low and frightening to say the least.
It sounded like he was trying his hardest not to scream at me. Something I probably should've been more fearful of considering what that entailed in the past.
My throat burned with the charm still on it and every time I tried to sallow it felt like fire making its way down to my stomach. I clenched my jaw and bitterly nodded my head throwing the meanest look I could at my father. He was untouched by it. I could almost begin to understand where my nonchalant "devil may care" attitude came from. But then again Lucius and I were much too different. At least we both thought so.
Draco was looking disappointedly at me and my father released my throat from the wretched charm. I took a deep breath, chugged the rest of my orange juice, feeling relief in the cool liquid soothing the aching in my esophagus. I glared at my father some more throughout breakfast.
No one spoke again for the rest of the meal.
"You're gonna have to be faster than that Cessy!"
I laughed as Draco zoomed past me once again and I tried my best to catch up to him. It was still hard to balance at times on my broom but I'd gotten much better over the last few weeks thanks to my brother. Slytherin might find themselves a new player this year. It would finally give me an excuse to knock Potter off his broom! It brought a strange sense of delight every time a bludger or beater came close to the Golden Boy so I found myself attending school games often. Father would take Draco and I to professional matches as well and I loved those even more; particularly ones with violent endings.
Something about a sport that condoned beating one another appealed to me sometimes.
I loved watching the game, and apparently according to my brother, I wasn't bad at playing it either. Maybe Slytherin would finally beat Gryffindor this year if I continued working hard to make the team this year.
I was on Draco's tail now my fingers almost able to reach the bristles on his Nimbus 2001 and he laughed when he looked back at me.
"Try and get in front of me!" He encouraged and gave me a challenging look. I furrowed my brow and locked my eyes on the metaphorical snitch in front of us, willing my broom to push itself just that few inches further.
"Don't you dare let me pass you!" I exclaimed and he laughed again.
"It's not in my nature!" He said and finally we were neck and neck.
I looked to the side and saw him grinning proudly at me and I gave him a smile back. I saw that just slightly; my broom as ahead of his by a pinch. I cheered aloud and he continued to smile. I should have been paying attention, however.
Seeing as I was not as skilled as my brother was on a broom he easily dodged the black crow that flew in front of us and continued flying gracefully.
I, however, flew right into the poor creature and wrestled with it a bit before falling off of my broom completely while it flew in the other direction; perplexed and dazed. I was acutely aware that I was falling very fast and I screamed only momentarily, feeling the air around me drag me down towards the small field behind our house, before the back of my flying robes were caught in the air. I gave a loud "oof!" when I was caught and dangled above the ground only a few feet. I looked up and saw my brother chuckling and shaking his head.
I rolled my eyes; my brother ever my savior.
"You need to pay more attention when you're in the air, little sister," Draco said and set me down on the ground. I landed neatly and without harm.
"Well if that bloody crow hadn't gotten in direct flight of ours I would have been just fine," I said haughtily.
Draco had apparently had time to catch my broom after I fell because he handed it over to me with a small smirk; one that told me he could see right through my bullshit. I ignored it. He felt the need to berate me a little though. Everyone in the family did.
"I'm serious; the bludgers on the field are exactly like that crow. They're not going to wait for you to pass them they're going to try and knock you off your broom. And by what I saw just now I think you'd fall every time."
"Well that's why I have such an excellent teacher, isn't it? So he can show me how not to fall," I grinned at him and laughed when he nodded.
"Maybe we can finally beat Potty this year, huh? Foul git," Draco sneered and I laughed, nodding my head.
"Only if I make the team," I flicked my thick hair over my shoulder and accepted the water bottle he offered me.
The hot summer air was sticky with humidity and the sun was bright in the sky. It was a nice change from all the dark clouds that had been surrounding the house for most of the summer. I had an inkling this had to do with father and mother having gone on their small honeymoon before Draco and I had to start school shopping in a couple of weeks. Which meant that the Dark Lord was leaving our home alone for the time being.
Thank Salazar
"Cessy-," Draco started. "-do you think anything is going to be normal for us this year?"
"Most likely not. When are things ever normal for us?"
I watched as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground; his mind running through thoughts I couldn't decipher. Apparently he had been hoping for a different answer from me. My heart grew worried for him as I could only think about what had caused him to ask me that. Was he thinking about the Death Eaters? Was he thinking about father's expectations of him? Of us? Was he considering…?
No he can't.
I looked away from him, not wanting to get the image of him in those black robes with a mask over his pretty face. I looked down instead at my wrist to distract myself.
Was he wondering why all of a sudden our identical birth marks on our wrists had started to sting every time we practice dueled?
I traced the mark with my index finger and huffed a sigh. The light pink crescent moon was small and unnoticeable if you weren't up close to us. But we both had it; and just recently it had started to burn or sting every time we would practice defensive spells on one another. Not just to one of us but both.
It made me curious so behind his back I had done some research. I hadn't come up with much but there was enough for me to put something together. I wasn't going to tell him my theory quite yet though. Besides; it was only a theory. I saw him reach to slick back his hair and saw that his eyes, matching mine, held a heaviness that wasn't quite there before the end of last school year.
I understood where he was coming from.
"Maybe I'll get a boyfriend this year," I said, changing the subject and trying to lighten his dark mood.
Protective brother mode would help him out of his reverie for this I knew to be a fact.
"The bloody hell you are!" He sneered.
I couldn't help the tiny smile that spread across my face at how predictable he was.
"Why do you want a boyfriend, Cessy, they're all nutters anyway! No one there is good enough for you, especially anyone in the other houses! Salazar's spit, you're not thinking of dating anyone outside of Slytherin are you?! I'll kill him! I'll kill them all Cecily, I swear on-,"
"Draco!" I cut him off before his already reddened face started turning purple. "-Relax! I was only joking with you." I laughed at his disheveled look and clutched my stomach, trying to control the loud cackles coming out of my mouth.
He did not look amused which only made me laugh more. My poor big brother. How he ended up with a twin as cruel as me I had no idea.
"Are you done?" He asked, venom in his voice.
"I'm not sure-," I laughed, wiping metaphorical tears from my eyes. "-are you still going to kill all of the male population in Hogwarts?"
"If it means you won't be able to date any then yes." He growled and together we started headed back towards the house.
"No one at that blasted school appeals to me anyway, dear brother, don't you worry your pretty head over it!" I smiled and leaned to kiss his cheek as I ran ahead of him towards the large and empty Manor.
"They better not," He mumbled as he followed me. I shook my head and laughed.
"Do take care of yourselves this year, darlings, please? For me?" Mother sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
As I turned around to look at her I saw that she actually was tearing up a bit. My throat closed at the sight and I embraced her firmly, not wanting her to cry. Jojo, who was in my arms, was squished between the two of us and hissed at her discomfort. I ignored her and instead I felt my mother pet my head, smoothing out my long hair along my back. She whispered to me.
"Please look after your brother. He needs you."
I paused only slightly before nodding and kissing her cheek, bidding her goodbye. As she hugged my brother I mouthed to her.
I promise.
She smiled at me and gave Draco the same lip gloss covered kiss on the cheek that she had given me. We both said our last goodbye's until the Holiday and then turned away from her.
I was afraid to see the tears on her porcelain face if I looked back so I kept my head straight. He took my trunk for me as we headed between platform 9 and 10 to head onto the Hogwarts Express. The hustle and bustle of the muggles was distracting me from my own mind; not letting me think about what my mother's double meaning behind her words meant. I was almost thankful for the noise.
That and the soft purring coming from Jojo comforted me.
"C'mon Cessy. Don't get distracted."
Draco's voice snapped me out of whatever trance I was in and he led me towards the train after giving our trunks to the storage compartment. Jojo hated being in her carry-on so I held her tightly in my arms. Once we were on the train she'd be able to roam if she wanted.
"Ready for another year of torture?" I asked as I led the way towards where most of our fellow Slytherin's sat and plotted against the Gryffindor's.
"As ready as I'll ever be," He muttered and I felt a frown work its way to my face at his words.
For some reason the gut feeling I had told me he wasn't just talking about the school year.