"Of course I would be delighted to dance with you, ma bien-aimée!" Grace Malfoy preened in the mirror of her mother's vanity. She wore an array of jeweled necklaces and bracelets up both of her tiny arms.
"Ma Zirondelle! You are blessed by the gods! I am ever so lucky to have you!" she exclaimed in an imitation of her father's voice. "I live for your love!"
"Oh, Drake!" she imitated her mother's voice.
She opened a drawer in the vanity and found a gold necklace haphazardly tucked beneath the myriad jewel boxes which contained her father's collection of cufflinks. It had a long gold chain that was broken. The pendant featured a small hourglass suspended in a disc, suspended in a hoop, suspended in a second hoop. Grace was mesmerized by the artefact and held it up for closer inspection. Another glimmer of gold caught her eye, and she pulled out another necklace similar to the first one. This piece of jewelry was brighter and somewhat more elaborate than the other with a third magically suspended hoop encircling the hourglass, disc and inner hoop that appeared to rotate inside the outermost hoop.
Grace heard voices from her parents' sitting room and hastily began removing the fine jewelry. She wasn't sure which boxes all of the items came from and simply shoved what she could into whatever box seemed to fit. Grace dropped the two hourglass necklaces into a cracked china pitcher on the top of the vanity just as the door to the bedchamber opened.
"Gracie? What are you up to, little girl?" Épiphanie Malfoy gave her daughter a look of humorous suspicion. She was sure that the eight-year-old had been trying on her jewelry again, the evidence still dangling from her ears. She folded her arms.
The young witch looked from her mother to her father, and settled on her defense strategy.
"I was only playing make-believe!" She looked at her parents with wide eyes. "Mummy's jewelry is so sparkly!" She cast her eyes down.
"Playing make-believe isn't a bad thing, Charis. But you know you're not to be in our suite without permission," said Draco. "And you shouldn't be playing with mother's jewels." He gently removed the diamond and sapphire earrings that adorned the girl's ears.
"I'm sorry, Father. I just wanted to be like Mother."
Draco drew his daughter into a hug. "When you are a little older, we'll take a trip to the vault and you may pick out something of your very own."
"With diamonds?" Grace asked. Épiphanie rolled her eyes and made a mental note to sit down and discuss with her husband the potential merits of not spoiling their children.
Before the conversation could continue, they heard a yowl, followed by hissing, and a calico cat darted into the room and leapt onto the bureau, arching its back and watching the door.
"What the devil?" Draco started, spinning around.
Grace's kneazle, Rhadamanthus stalked slowly into the room and stared up at the cat. Épiphanie quickly moved between the two felines and scooped up the cat on the dresser.
"Grace." She gave the girl a pointed look.
"Rhadamanthus, go to your room!" the little girl commanded.
The animal glared, and turned with a haughty swish of his tail, exiting the room slowly as if to say, "You can make me leave, but I'll do so on my own terms."
Épiphanie stroked the cat in her arms, and kissed its head. "It's okay, punkin. Rhaddie's gone." The cat leapt from her arms, transforming back into her youngest daughter, Artemis, as she landed on the antique Persian rug.
"…and then Rhadamanthus hissed at me again, and he scratched my hand!" Artemis held out her wrist to show three red marks. Épiphanie examined the child's wrist as the family sat at the breakfast table a little while later.
"I'll put some dittany on it after breakfast, but you're going to have to be careful with Rhaddie. It's in a kneazle's nature to be suspicious, and if you keep transforming into a cat, he's going to think that you're invading his territory." Épiphanie was referring to the child's metamorphagus abilities, which allowed her to transform at will. She had previously only changed her hair, but now the young witch was attempting more complex transformations. Her particular favorite was a cat, which greatly annoyed her sister's pet kneazle.
"I told her not to do it, Mummy." Grace spooned eggs into her mouth. Artemis stuck out her tongue at her sister.
"Artemis, my love, ladies do not behave so indecorous at the breakfast table," said Draco, sipping his tea.
"Yes, Father." Artemis sat up, taking her cup of hot chocolate with her little finger extended and sipped. Grace rolled her eyes.
"The same goes for you too, Lady Grace. And don't tattle." Épiphanie stirred sugar into her coffee.
Hatshepsut and Wei-Wei arrived with the morning post. They took the mail, and the two owls flew from the room. Draco unfolded The Daily Prophet. Épiphanie scanned a copy of The New York Ghost and set it aside. She took up the copy of the muggle paper from her home in New Orleans, The Times-Picayune. It was a few days old, having been sent first through the muggle post to Antares Hall, and then forwarded by owl. Épiphanie didn't mind, however. If she wanted immediate news, she would simply go to the nearest library and look up information on the internet.
Although they had managed to get a few electrical devices to work at The Manor, items such as televisions and computers, which relied on the muggle infrastructure, were disrupted by the ancient magic surrounding the expansive estate. Épiphanie had to go outside of the wards to use her mobile phone, an inconvenience her muggle friends found humorous, teasing her mercilessly about being so wealthy that she lived too far out in the country for decent phone service.
Finding little of interest, she set that paper aside and began leafing through the small stack of letters she'd received. Most were correspondences from friends, and a few invitations to attend social events with pureblood families that she barely knew, as well as official requests to make appearances as the daughter of The Minister of Magic. Most of her fan mail and any requests for her to make official appearances as a team representative went through the corporate offices of the Wiltshire Dragons.
"Who are these people, Draco? Look, there must be five invitations here." She passed the calling cards to her husband.
"Avery—no, Travers—no, Selwyn—absolutely not, Flint—perhaps, though it's been a while. Oh, there's a surprise. The MacMillans have sent a card, hm. You probably didn't meet Ernest. He was in school with us—a Hufflepuff. I believe that he and Hannah were mates. The MacMillans are distant relatives, so we'll have to be sure to reciprocate. Send an owl to Mother. I'm sure that she can help you sort it all out." Draco picked up the paper that she'd discarded, and perused the articles. "Hm. The Three Brothers Tavern is listed as being selected one of the top ten places to dine in the French Quarter," he said, tapping his wand against his tea cup. It immediately filled itself.
"Oh, yeah? I didn't see that. Ignace must be proud." Épiphanie continued to read the invitations.
"Whoa!" Grace suddenly exclaimed. The adults looked up. Épiphanie's jaw dropped when she found herself face to face with her own doppelganger sitting across the table.
"Merlin and Salazar!" Draco swore. "Artemis?"
"Yes, sir?" The womanly voice that came out of the metamorphagus startled everyone at the table. Épiphanie and Draco looked at one another.
"Erm—first—please change back to yourself," Draco instructed, his voice shaky. They watched as the girl morphed back into a tiny cherubic four-year-old with cardinal red hair. Both adults heaved a sigh of relief.
"Okay! Uh—" Épiphanie exhaled slowly. "Now then—um, sweetheart—I think we need to discuss some rules about your abilities," she said.
"Definitely." Draco agreed.
"I'm sorry, Father!" Artemis shrank in her seat.
"Oh, my dearest Diana! We're not displeased, but as you're growing into your abilities, it is important for you to understand what is acceptable and what might be…potentially unsafe." Draco pushed his chair slightly away from the table and beckoned for his daughter to sit in his lap.
"First of all, you're still a child. It's not a good idea for you to transform into a grownup, because adults think and behave differently than little girls. Please don't ever transform into me or Mother. It's confusing for us. Do you understand?"
"Um, yes sir."
"It's also confusing for other people who know us, Artemis. Daddy and I are very well-known, and not everyone likes us. You don't yet have a wand to protect yourself and we don't want you to get hurt," said Épiphanie. "It's kind of like how Rhadamanthus gets aggressive when you turn into a cat with him."
"We don't want you to hide your abilities, love. It's clear that you are already quite talented. Being able to change at will can, in some cases, protect you if need be. We just want you to be careful. Please, for now, only transform when you're inside the house, or with one of us, so that we can keep an eye on you. Okay?" Draco tilted her chin to look into her eyes.
"And never into a mouse or a rat. Try to stay away from becoming any animal smaller than Hatshepsut or Wei-Wei," Épiphanie added.
"Do you think you can remember that?" Draco asked.
"I'll try." She looked suitably chastened, and Draco gave her a peck on her forehead, smiling at her.
"That's my girl!" he winked at her, and she hopped down from his lap. Artemis skipped to the center of the room and spun around as she transformed into a beautiful fawn, her spotted chestnut coat gleaming in the morning sun. She inclined her head, and her family applauded enthusiastically.
"Expecto Patronum!" A silvery stag galloped into the room and stood very near her. Épiphanie and Draco spun around in their seats to find Harry Potter standing in the doorway, pointing his wand. "I couldn't resist," he smiled. "Is this our Artemis?" He strode forward as his patronus trotted around the room before dissolving. The girl transformed back into herself and ran to him. He lifted her into a hug.
"Did you like it, Uncle Harry?" she asked.
"I did, very much! She was beautiful! Well done, love!" He gave her a peck on the cheek and she returned to the table. "And what about Lady Grace? No hugs?"
Grace primly set aside her silverware and stepped away from the table. She approached Harry and gave a polite curtsy. "Good morning, Uncle Harry." Harry smirked and gave her a bow. He conjured a small bouquet of daisies and offered it to her.
"My Lady."
Grace shyly accepted the flowers.
"You are too kind, sir. Thank you very much." Harry chuckled.
"Take your sister and tell Pippy that Uncle Harry is here and you'll be leaving soon," said Épiphanie. "Breakfast, Harry?" she offered.
"Maybe just a cuppa." He took a seat. "Artemis has come into her transformational abilities quite amazingly!" he exclaimed, filling a cup with tea.
"Perhaps a little too well," said Draco. "You should have been here earlier. She transformed herself into Épiphanie!" He shuddered.
"Really?" Harry pulled an astonished face. "That must have been unsettling!"
"To say the least!" said Draco.
"It was like looking into a mirror!" Épiphanie exclaimed.
"If I wasn't sitting beside her already, I might have thought she was Épiphanie! Dear Merlin! We had to stop and set some ground rules about into whom, what and when she may transform. I never thought about what it would mean to raise a metamorphagus!" Draco's face was pale. Given the intensely passionate nature of his relationship with his wife of barely a year, it frightened him to consider what he might have done had he mistaken the girl for her.
"That-that's—wow! You know, I hadn't given much thought to Teddy's abilities. I never saw Tonks do much more than change her hair or her face. I hadn't considered that they can transform into just about anything! I'll have to talk with Andromeda about that!" Harry mused. "If anyone would know the challenges of raising a metamorphagus child, she would."
"Oh?" Épiphanie looked perplexed.
"Teddy's mother, Nymphadora, was also a metamorphagus."
"Oh, I see! You think she'd have some advice? Rhadamanthus has already attacked Artemis once because she transformed into a cat," said Épiphanie. "When you think about it, the limits of a child's imagination are endless! It occurred to me that we have raptors in and out of the property all day that would be happy to snap up a mouse, rat or bunny! I think about all the things I got up to when I was a teenager." She gave Draco a meaningful look. He choked on his tea. "What I could have done if I'd had that ability! Lord, I don't even want to think it!" Épiphanie pulled a face.
"Well, as Alastor Moody always said—'constant vigilance!' We'll have to keep an eagle eye on our young ones, won't we? And with that in mind, I think we'll strike snorkeling off of our list of activities on this trip." Harry referred to the trip he and Ginny had planned, to take Grace, Teddy, Artemis and Victoire for the weekend, to the vacation home in Nice that the Blacks—now just Harry—and the Malfoys had shared for generations.
"You're a brave one, Harry. Taking four small kids on a weekend trip," Épiphanie said.
"Can't be any more difficult than fighting off dementors," he shrugged.
"Dementors don't whinge and refuse to eat their vegetables," said Draco.
"Vegetables? On vacation?" Harry scoffed, and let out a laugh. "Besides, we'll have Pippy along, and you said Bijou and Mimi are at our service as well, yes?"
"They are, but don't leave the children with Mimi. She's rather short tempered. Kind of a young, female version of Kreacher. It's why Mother decided she should stay there in Nice, rather than take over as ladies' maid since Diggy has returned to The Manor. Even Mother dislikes her, but giving her clothes would probably make the silly elf throw herself into the sea. Besides, despite her attitude, she's an amazing cook."
Pippy arrived with a crack, holding the girls' hands. A small pile of luggage landed beside them.
"Have fun, and be good," Épiphanie hugged the girls.
"Practice your French, mes chères filles." Draco gave each girl a kiss. They shook hands with Harry and the group departed.
**Draco refers to Grace as Charis-derived from the Greek, meaning kindness or life. Charis is one of the Graces or Charites. He also refers to Artemis as Diana, her Roman name.