Chapter 1

Great! Just great! Caterina thought angrily as she stuffed clothing and personal belongings into her trunk with a force that was entirely unnecessary, Why'd they have to go and get themselves caught?! Couldn't they have thought about how this would affect me?! So caught up in their own lives! Lousy excuses for parents!

Finally deciding she'd packed enough, the angry girl slammed down her trunk lid, getting her thumb caught in the process, "Porca miseria! This day can't get any worse! Parents in prison, leaving my school, my friends, going to live with dear old Aunt Narcissa and her little brat! And now my bloody thumb hurts!" The young girl slumps to her knees on the plush carpet, staring up at the ceiling, "Why me? What did I ever do?...Oh, who am I kidding? Even if there is a God, he seems to have forsaken me at some point."

"Caterina! What are you doing girl? Hurry it up!" The voice of her Aunt Narcissa called up the stairs.

"Yah, I'm coming!" She yelled back. She closed her trunk and locked it with the special ring-key that it'd come with, then started to drag it down the stairs, hoping her aunt would take a hint and help her with a bit of magic.

"It's about time! Lucy, take the trunk." She motioned for the maid standing a foot or two behind her to collect Cat's luggage. "Come girl, I haven't got all day." Caterina angry, but obedient followed her aunt out to the horseless carriage, waiting at the front door to take them to Malfoy Manor. Lucy followed, dragging the trunk behind her. "Put it on the roof Lucy and then go back to the manor immediately. Have tea ready when we get there."

"Yes, ma'am." Lucy nodded and proceeded to float the trunk to the roof of the carriage and secure it with her wand. With a little pop, she disappeared.

Mrs. Malfoy climbed into the carriage, making even that movement graceful and fluid and her niece clambered in after her. Once the door was closed and the carriage in motion, Narcissa turned to Cat, examining her with piercing blue eyes. "Caterina, now that you are coming to live with us, there are certain guidelines that we expect you to follow."

Cat glanced up to look her aunt in the eye, but did not speak. Narcissa, apparently, took this as a sign that she was listening attentively and continued.

"Firstly, you will only speak of your parents....misdemeanour when I ask you too. We Malfoys have a reputation to uphold and we will not have people reminded constantly of our relatives shortcomings. Secondly, you will remember that you are a guest in our house and we expect you to be on the best behaviour. And lastly, you will keep your nose in your own business and stay out of ours, especially your uncles. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Cat replied through gritted teeth. Her hands were balled into tight fists and her honey-coloured glare could have melted ice. How dare she speak of my parents that way? She acts like Uncle Lucius is sitting at home in an easy-chair instead of rotting away in Azkaban, just like my parents. Maybe she's mental, runs in that line, I guess.

The rest of the trip was spent staring out the window as the countryside flashed past. Cat's thoughts were on her home in Italy, her school, her friends. She wanted to be back there, where she belonged, not off to her relatives house where her brat of a cousin waited along with the prospect of fitting in to a new school where everyone probably already had their little groups of friends. Not to mention the fact that she knew her Uncle's name to be a powerful one in Britain and she was likely to be seen as a Malfoy, just like her cousin and nothing else. And her parents had been Death Eaters! Talk about ruining a teenage girls hope of being accepted. No, she didn't expect to enjoy her time at Hogwarts, not at all.

The carriage travelled quite a bit faster than a muggle car, and took the most direct path, through the air, but it was still several hours before they reached the Manor. When they finally reached it, Cat was exhausted. She just wanted to be shown where to sleep and then put her new bed to good use. But of course, nothing seemed to want to go her way. The door to the carriage swung open and Aunt Narcissa got out. A house elf waited outside to take her luggage into the house. Upon following her aunt, Cat also saw that her cousin, Draco, was also waiting for them. It had been a long time since she'd seen him and he'd certainly grown up. The two were the same age but Cat usually saw Draco as a bit of a brat what with his tendency to whine constantly. "Cousin, how lovely to see you," she said, as politely as she could.

"Caterina, so glad you could come to stay with us," he replied in kind. Narcissa positively beamed at her son, before rushing over to give him a hug. Cat tried not to vomit. Such displays of affection were not considered proper in her own household.

"Draco, do be a dear and show your cousin to her room. I'm sure you two will get along famously." She smiled again at her son before gliding into the house, calling after Lucy and her tea.

"Finally, now that you're here, let me get a few things straight." Cat rolled her eyes as Draco continued, "I am the Master of this house with Father away and you will obey me without question-"

He got no further before Cat interrupted, "Keep dreaming, Draco-dear." She walked up the steps and into the house, calling behind her, "Now be a good boy and show me my room." Pink spots appeared on Draco's pale cheeks and he balled his fists, but he really had little choice, his mother had told him to show the twit her room. He marched up the steps and into the house, pushing roughly past her, earning nothing but a smirk from his cousin. Cat followed him through the house and up the stairs to a lovely room, walls painted a soft yellow, illuminated by a single candle on the bed stand. The bedspread was her own, covered in embroidered stars and moons, the silvery threads catching the light of the candle. Her trunk sat at the end of the bed. She surveyed the room quickly, before turning back to the door, where her cousin still stood, glaring at her angrily. She raised a dark eyebrow, saying coolly, "You can go now." The pale boy turned around and stomped away down the hall. Cat laughed slightly and closed and locked the door. She certainly didn't trust Draco not to do something to her while she slept, and that was just what she intended to do. She went to her trunk and pulled out her night gown then went to the adjacent bathroom to change. When she finally blew out the candle, slid between the covers and closed her eyes, she found herself unable to sleep. The unfamiliar shadows of the room emphasized the fact that this wasn't her home, which inevitably brought her thoughts to the reason she was here. Despite her anger, despite the fact that her parents has shamed her family, that she was forced to go to a new school and leave all her friends, they were still her parents, and she missed them. She raised her hand to her face, unsurprised to find tears has moistened the skin there. She might be cold and mean on the outside, but she was a desperately emotional girl inside. She had her pride, something she'd never let go of, but she was still vulnerable, she just never let it show.