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A Hierarchy to Kill For
Chapter 1: Dead as the Winter Frost
"Mother... Where are we going?" A little girl was tugging on the pale gray skirt of her mother. Her platinum blonde curls shone as bright as her blue eyes. Her mother, the same hair color as her's, smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Sweetie... We're going to see an old friend of your father's, as well as mine." Her mother looked the other way after putting on a fake smile. Amadea just sat there, sighing. She was confused. After her father left, she was constantly traveling around town to people's houses. Usually sitting by herself, the people around her didn't have children. Being only 7, she didn't know how to react to all of this confusion. Her father, Vladmir, left suddenly one day, she was never told why he did. She wanted to know why, but her Mother would just carry on as if nothing had ever happened.
"We're here." Her mother said, the car stopped. The cheaufer opening up the door, helping her mother out first, then herself. Amadea smiled at him. Clarence was a sweet man. Working for her family, taking her wherever she wanted to go, he was like an older brother to her. "There you go, princess."Taking her hand into his, helping her out of the car, Amadea walked onto the pavement with a bounce to her step. Taking her mother's hand, they stood by the entrance. Her mother knelt down and said, "Listen darling. Act proper, just like how I taught you to..." Amadea nodded, "You can be a big girl now, right?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Good girl..." She knocked on the door to hear a man upstairs yell, "For Heaven's sake, Dobby! Open the blasted door!"
"Y-Yes! M-Ma-Master!" Dobby opened up the door and bowed. "Pleased t-to meet you Mrs. Marco... Miss Marco." Dobby bowed again and smiled.
"Hello!" Amadea said, grinning. The house elf jumped up, frightened by her greeting. Amadea frowned, backing away. She was confused on why he was so scared.
"Master Lucius is this way..." Dobby pointed the direction for them to take. "Let me take your coats..." Amadea's mother, casting her coat towards the house elf, throwing it on the ground. "Stupid elf! Learn to catch it next time. Almost ruined my beautiful coat! Do you know how much it was?" Taking a breath, her mother raised her head up in the air, "Nevermind. You elves... such filthy vermin." With a saddened look on her face, Amadea watched the Elf apparate after hanging the coats up.
"Mummy... That was mean..." Amadea said, looking up at her mother angrily. Her mother stiffened. Once she was through an aristocrat's door, she was a completely different person. She was her true self... Amadea saw her look down at her. Her mother glared at her. "It was his fault."
"No it wasn't Mummy!"
"Amadea!" Her mother said in a harsh tone, making her flinch. "Don't do this right here... You'll ruin everything." Dragging her by the arm, her mother walked to the door to see Narcissa standing in the hall. "Oh, Anette! It's so wonderful to see you!" She said, hugging her. "... And this must be Amadea... You've gotten so tall and beautiful." She bent down... She seemed nice to Amadea. Bowing to please Narcissa, she smiled in return. "Thank you Mrs. Malfoy! You look quite lovely!"
"Such a dear! Come, come! I want you to meet my family! Oh Draco's going to be thrilled that he'll have a new friend!" Amadea looked up to catch a warning glance from her mother. Putting her head down, she heard Narcissa talk again, "Lucius! Remember Anette Marco? Vladmir Marco's wife?"
"Ah, yes, yes. I do know you quite well. You're husband was a wonderful man. Served quite well for our Lord." Anette smiled and nodded.
"Indeed he did."
"And..." Narcissa said, "This is Amadea. His daughter and only child."
"Pleasure to meet you." Amadea bowed... Puzzled, yet annoyed, she wanted to know who this "Lord" was... She was getting annoyed of having to be like a china doll... Sure, all the balls were fancy and beautiful, the dresses were sumptuous and decorated with pearls and golden thread from foreign countries, but around them, she could never be herself. She was a pureblood, meant to be around other purebloods. She was caged inside and didn't know what to do, she felt like screaming, she felt like she was, but no one could hear her. She was only 7, but to her, this was something so crazy, too weird for a girl her age. Her mother was the epitome of propinquity. She was always proper, so perfect, so... arrogant. She held the Marco name with such a conceited air, she knew she would have to be brought up to act like that as well. Amadea was only 7, but she never felt so alone throughout her whole life. Being an only child, she wished to have someone to talk to, a sibling. Amadea wanted more than anything for her mother just to stop being so lifeless. After her father left, everything changed. Ever since Amadea could remember, she always knew her mother was cold as a stone in the winter. She was like a rock because she wasn't phased by anything. Her father was always the one that loved her and took care of her. This lonliness saddened her deeply.
Amadea never comprehended what a pureblood was. She thought it was something fancy. A word that described her family and the ones around her. She asked her mother what it was one day and got the response of, "Oh Amadea. A pureblood is who we are. See.." She had the flashback of her mother sitting down next to her in their rose garden under the gazebo. She took her hands into hers and smiled. "We come from a long line of people who don't have blood that is mixed with muggles..." Taking a flower, her mother started plucking all the petals off.
"Mum... What are muggles?" Amadea was just as confused in school while learning addition.
"Muggles are humans... Muggles don't have magical powers, they don't know that magic is real."
"But it is!" Amadea sat up, she was shocked.
"I know sweetheart!" Her mother said. "But, they can't know. They will never know. But... purebloods are families that come from lines of only witches and wizards. You have to be proud of that. It means we are special. It means we are better than mudbloods... those are people who come from families that have mixed with humans. If we were to mix with beings like... them... it would ruin everything we have worked so hard for..."
"But Mum... Everyone is the same..."
"Alright dear..." She kissed the top of Amadea's head and got up. "Time for me to get ready for dinner..." Walking away, Amadea looked down at her hands... She didn't understand a word her mother said. While she shook her head from her flashback, she managed to look up to see her mother tugging her hand. Almost tripping, she put her head down nervous to hear her mother cough. Looking up, her mother's eyes widened, almost as if they were telling her to act like a young lady. Amadea grew frustrated and walked into the Malfoy's dining room. "Lunch will be ready." Narcissa smiled at her. Amadea smiled back, for a woman she has only seen once in her life, she gave more kindness than her mother had at all. "Oh... which reminds me." Narcissa turned around. "Draco! Our guests are here."
"Coming, Mother." A young boy came down with the brightest head of blonde hair she had ever seen, just like her own. He had blue eyes like hers, but his gave off a silvery tint, like the clouds in the sky before a storm was brewing up. Amadea saw him bow to her and her mother. She courtsied to him. Oh by God, how she hated doing that. For some reason, it bothered her. Draco came up to her and took her hand. He looked up at his mother who urged him to kiss her hand. Reluctantly, he kissed it, wiping his mouth off. His mother sighed. Lucius rolled his eyes, getting agitated. Draco bowed to Amadea's mother and did the same. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." Draco said, monotone. He didn't care. As a matter of fact, she noted to herself that Draco didn't want to be here, just like her. "Why don't you two go play outside?" Anette said, pushing her daughter towards Draco as he walked towards the door, opening it. Narcissa smiled, looking over at Lucius who was seething glares at both women. "Off you go, Darling." Narcissa pushed Draco outside. Grumbling under his breath, Draco stood there looking at her. "... What are you looking at, Marco?" He glared at her.
"I'm looking at you, and don't call me Marco, it's Amadea." Draco scoffed and glared at her, "Sorry for being so rude." Draco snapped at her in a sarcastic tone. Amadea grew angry and stormed up to him. "Why are you so mean?" Amadea got straight in his face, not breaking eye contact. Without a word, Draco pushed Amadea to the ground in a pile of dirt. Furious she picked herself back up and pushed Draco into a small fish pond. With the sound of a loud splash, Narcissa and Anette came running out. "What on earth is going on?" Narcissa said. Annette, gasped, tugging her daughter's arm. "What did you do? Amadea! Your dress is filthy, and why is Draco all wet?"
"He was being rude!"
"She started it!"
"No! You did!"
"No! You did, Marco! You were looking at me!"
"It was your fault!" Amadea screamed. Her mother held her back, "And it's Amadea, not Marco!"
"No it wasn't!"
"Yes it was!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"ENOUGH!" Lucius yelled, creating silence. Walking out with his cane, he looked at his son, whose shoes were squeaking from the water inside them. "Why the hell are you drenched, my dear boy?" Shaking his head, he looked over at Amadea and knelt down. "You two, should be nice to each other." He gave her a fake smile. "But I see that either of you can't be alone together or else both end up hurt." With a "tsk" sound, he got up and walked away. "Follow me, Draco, we'll make sure you're cleaned up. It was nice chatting Mrs. Marco." Annette nodded her magenta-shaded face. Narcissa sighed, taking Annette and Amadea to her room. "Oh sweet child." Narcissa said to Amadea, wrapping a blanket around her. "You really do have the temper of your parents." Smiling, she sat down next to her.
"Oh hush, Cissa." Annette said. "You, young lady, are in so much trouble when we get home."
"I'm sorry Mummy..."
"Apologies won't work."
"But Annette," Narcissa intruded, "But she's just a child. Children come to disagreements sometimes..."
"It doesn't matter, she has to learn to act like a lady." With a soft sigh, she rubbed Amadea's back gently, getting up off of her bed. "Well, it's best if we leave now. Thank you for everything, Narcissa."
"I'm pleased to have your company, come back soon!"
"We shall." Annette dragged Amadea out of Malfoy Manor. As soon as they got home, Annette shoved Amadea through the door and slapped her. With hot tears streaming down her face, Annette walked away. "Learn." That was all her mother said... With the sound of a screeching alarm clock, Amadea shot up out of bed. "Another dream... Wonderful..." was all she thought. "I can't believe that it's been 10 years to that day..." Amadea hopped out of bed to be greeted by her german shepherd, "Hello, Hachi." Patting him on the head, she sat on her bed while rubbing behind his ears. Silently laughing, she heard a knock on her door. "Hello, Miss Marco? Are you awake?" A high-pitched squeaky voice said to her.
"Yes, Maple, I'm awake, you can come in." The door opened up to show a tiny house elf with a red bow on the top of her head. "Mrs. Chekov said that you should get dressed for this morning. Our Lord is coming over with everyone."
"Ah, Our Lord..." She thought..., "That means before I get sent to Hogwarts, I have to see him, which means I might see that filthy Malfoy boy. Great..." Smiling, she looked at Maple, "Thank you, I shall get ready for it now. Where is it at again, my apologies."
"It is down in the Dining Hall. Mrs. Chekov said to dress the best you can." Nodding, she sent Maple back to the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Going to bathroom, she took a quick shower. She was still getting used to having her mother's last name changed. Her mother married a russian Death Eater when Amadea was 9. He was cold like her mother, as dead as a winter frost. Sadly, she knew she became partially like her mother since she never was truly nurtured her whole childhood. While having her hair up in a ponytail and choosing what to wear, she heard a knock on the door, "Come in." Narcissa walked in, smiling. With a grin, Amadea ran over to her and hugged her. "Hello, Cissa." she smiled. After so many years of keeping in contact from their owls, Narcissa and Amadea grew close. She was like a mother Amadea never had, one that was caring and could show a form of motherly love Amadea never grew up knowing what it was like. "You've grown so much and you're so beautiful." Amadea laughed, "And you, Cissa, are still gorgeous." Narcissa smiled and stood behind her once she sat down, helping her put her hair up. "Are you ready?"
"For school?"
"Mhm."
"I guess so...", Amadea pondered, "I know I will miss my friends in Russia, I know that for sure." Narcissa smiled at her sympathetically.
"I'm sure Malfoy will keep you company." Amadea laughed, "What? I'm sure he will."
"Cissa, do you remember when Draco and I last talked, I pushed him in your Koi fish pond." Narcissa laughed. "I remember that as clear as day. Your mother was furious."
"With what?" They heard a monotone voice come from Amadea's door. It was her mother, Anette. Narcissa smiled, putting the last bobbypin in, "The first time her and Draco met." Anette made a soft grunting sound and nodded her head. "Hurry up and get ready, Amadea, everyone is almost here." Amadea looked at her mother and bowed her head.
"Yes, Mother, I'll hurry."
"Good girl.", with that, her mother walked off.
"Hard as steel, she is." Narcissa said, "That's Anette for you."
"Yes, and Vilhem." Narcissa smiled and pulled out a black dress with long sleeves.
"Here, how about this and...", pulling out a pair of heels, "These."
"Perfect." Amadea quickly put them on and put on an emerald necklace. "I'm ready." Narcissa nodded, walking out first, she quickly desended down the stairs to her husband, walking with him. While walking down, she saw her Mother and Step Father waiting for her. "Ready?" Vilhelm asked them. With both women giving him a stern nod, they walked into the dark dining hall.