I couldn't believe the news. Two police officers in blue uniforms stood over me, but their features were blurred due to the tears overflowing from my eyelids.
Are you sure it was them? MY parents?! I asked, half delirious.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Mr. and Mrs. Marius Silverlio," answered the officer in front of me on the left.
It cannot be. It cant be them. I know I hate them, but Id never wish them dead! I thought. I stared up at the officers in disbelief. I got up from the plush living room chair and walked to the darkened window, staring out into the front yard as torrents of rain poured onto the already-flooded ground. The wind ripped through the branches of the trees and I watched the rain pour out of the gutters, forming puddles of water on the lawn.
"Uh, Miss? Is there someone in the neighborhood who could look after you for the night? Tomorrow, youll be going to the family your parents chose to be your guardians," said the other officer.
I jerked my head back to reality and turned to face the two officers.
"Huh, oh yes. Actually, I know the family my parents wanted me to stay with. They live right down the street."
"Okay. Why dont you go get the things you need for the night and we'll take you to their home?
"Alright," I said as I nodded, "Ill be down in a few minutes."
I walked across the carpeted floor toward the stairs and forced myself to climb the many steps to the top. I went into my bedroom and stared at its contents while I stood in the doorway. I gathered some of my clothes and put them inside the small suitcase that was half-hidden inside my closet. A few spellbooks, my robes, and my wand were stashed inside it as well. I grabbed the handle of my owl's cage and walked out of the room, dragging the rolling suitcase behind me. I stared at the room for a moment as if I would never see it again, which seemed silly, since I would have to come back for the rest of my things.
I trudged down the stairs and stood in the foyer of my home, then followed the officers out of the house and out into the rain, one of them holding an umbrella over my head. My belongings were put inside the trunk and I sat in the back seat of the police cruiser, with the two officers in front. I looked out of the window, hoping that my owl, Amadeo, was safe somewhere out of the rain, and I barely noticed as the ignition started and the car backed out of my driveway.
Houses, trees, and iron gates passed as we rode down the street, the rain pouring onto the windshield. I gave the officers directions to the home where I would be staying and the large manor-house was soon looming before me as the officers accompanied me to the door, one of them with my suitcase at his side. The other officer rang the doorbell. A light flickered on and I could hear the locks on the door being released. The dark mahogany door opened and the figure of a man with long blonde hair stood in front of us.
"Yes? Can I help you?" he asked while yawning.
"Yes, I believe you can, Mr.--"
"Malfoy. Lucius Malfoy."
"Well, Mr...err...Malfoy. Do you know a Mr. Marius Silverlio?" one of the officers asked.
"Yes. He and I went to school together. Is there something wrong with him? Or his wife?" Lucius asked the officers.
"Yes, actually. You see, they were involved in a car accident this evening, and I'm afraid that they were both pronounced dead at the scene," the officer answered.
"Oh. Well, pardon my bluntness, but, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night to tell me this?" Lucius asked.
"Well, their daughter," the officer said as he nodded toward me, "was not with them at the time and is now parentless. It seems that you and your wife have been named as her guardians if anything were to happen to her parents."
"I see. Well, there's no sense having you all stand outside in this weather. I welcome Miss Silverlio and I hope that you will not mind my not asking you officers inside as it is rather late and I think Miss Silverlio has been through enough tonight," replied Lucius.
"Quite right. We'll be on our way then," one of the officers replied as the two of them nodded toward me and made their way back to the police cruiser.
"Well, please come inside, Miss Silverlio," Lucius said, backing away from the door and holding out his right arm to welcome me inside the house.
I pulled my suitcase over the threshold and stopped to stare up at the dark walls of the foyer. I heard the door close behind me and Lucius locked it.
"Okay then. Miss Silverlio, please follow me up the stairs and I'll show you to the room you'll be staying in," Lucius said.
"Please, Mr. Malfoy. Could you stop calling me Miss Silverlio? My name is Elizabeth," I said, slightly annoyed that he obviously couldn't remember what my name was.
Very well, Elizabeth," he replied, "and you may call me Lucius if you like. No sense in being so formal."
I nodded and started toward the stairs with my suitcase behind me. Lucius stopped me.
"No, please. Allow Sabs to take your things for you."
"Who's Sabs?" I asked him.
"She's one of our house-elves."
"Oh, really? Whatever happened to little Dobby?" I asked.
Lucius opened his mouth to say something, but a voice from behind me answered for him.
"The famous Harry Potter tricked Father into setting him free," said the voice.
I turned around to face a young man that, at first glance, seemed to be about my age. His white blonde hair was plastered toward the back of his head, with a few strands out of place since he had obviously awoken from a deep sleep to see what was going on.
"Oh. Thats a shame. Dobby seemed to be so loyal," I said, slightly disappointed.
"Well, its better thats he's gone now anyway. He kept sneaking out of the house to talk to Harry Potter; kept telling him our family secrets," said the boy.
"Oh, I see. You're right. A house elf like that shouldn't be working in the Malfoy house," I replied.
Lucius smiled.
"Quite right. Well, Elizabeth, Id like you to meet my son, Draco. Draco?"
Lucius looked over at Draco and raised his eyebrows. Draco took the hint and stepped forward, holding out his hand.
"Oh, yes. Nice to meet you. Elizabeth, is it?" Draco said.
"Yes," I replied as I shook his hand.
"Great. Now that everyone knows each other, why don't we all go upstairs and get some sleep? Tomorrow will most likely prove to be rather eventful," Lucius said.
A small creature I immediately recognized as a house elf stepped out of the shadows and took my suitcase and my owl Amadeo's cage from me. I assumed that this creature was Sabs, and I watched as she took my belongings into a room adjacent to the foyer. She seemed like the perfect elf to work for the Malfoys: she was seen and not heard, not to mention the fact that she had white blonde hair which was a common trait among the Malfoy family, even though her bat-like ears stuck several inches out of her head.
Lucius started up the stairs, and I followed him, with Draco right behind me. We arrived on the second-story landing, and I continued behind Lucius down a dark hall. Photographs adorned the walls, each figure inside the frame moving of its own accord, every one of them showing off their long, silky blonde hair. Lucius walked to the very end of the hallway, where a door stood on either side of him.
"Well, Draco. I think were alright for the evening. You may go back to bed now," Lucius said.
"Yes, Father," Draco replied as he opened the door on his fathers left and turned to go inside.
"Goodnight to you both," Draco said, catching my eye before going inside his bedroom and closing the door.
Lucius opened the door on his right, directly across from Draco's own room, and ushered me inside.
"Well, Elizabeth. This will be your bedroom as long as you will be staying with us. Please make yourself at home."
"Thank you, Lucius. It's really--" I started as I looked passed him. Draco's bedroom door shut suddenly with a loud click. Lucius followed my gaze and smiled, trying to recover from the slight embarrassment his son had obviously produced.
"Very well. Goodnight," Lucius said, and with that, he turned on his heel and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
I turned around and surveyed the room. All of the furnishings were made of dark mahogany, darker than the front door had been. On the wall to my left, a tall dresser stood with a mirror above it. Across from it was a four-poster bed with black lace curtains. There were night stands on either side of the bed with antique lamps on top of them, a couch with red velvet cushions, and a desk with a bookcase beside it.
Too tired to even change clothes, I pulled back the black comforter and climbed beneath the red silk sheets. The lights automatically dimmed, and I closed my eyes.
My slumber didn't last for very long. It seemed as though I had just put my head on the pillow when I woke up to find sunlight trying desperately in vain to penetrate the inner walls of my new bedroom. I opened my eyes slowly and began to take in everything once again. I couldnt help but notice that the room appeared different in some way.
I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I yawned as I stood up and walked over to the bookcase, curious to know what kind of books I would find. To my surprise, all of the books on the shelves were mine. All of my spellbooks and fictional novels stood on end, each one with the author's name shining like silver on the spines.
Intrigued, I went to the desk and opened one of the drawers. I found several rolls of parchment and my personalized stationary inside; my quill and ink bottle stood on top of the desk. Still unsure why all of my things seemed to be here, I moved over to the dresser and pulled out the middle drawer. Several pieces of my clothing were stuffed inside. I closed the drawer and walked to the door on my right.
It was the same as the door to the room, and I assumed that it led to a closet. I was surprised, though, to find more than that. The door led me into a room with all of my clothes hung safely inside a small niche. On my right was a small linen closet with bed sheets, towels, and blankets. I walked further into the room, and found a counter with a sink and a medicine cabinet, which I opened, not surprised to find all of my toiletries inside. A large claw-footed tub stood in the corner, with several silver faucets.
Looking around, I decided to take a relaxing bath and then change my clothes. I turned on one of the faucets and a stream of water poured out, mixed with small bubbles that turned green before they popped. I turned it off and tried another one. After trying all of them, I settled on one that poured out warm water with lavender-scented bubbles.
I sank into the water and thought about what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I thought about my parents and the Malfoys, but no matter where I turned, Draco's face always seemed to force its way into my thoughts. He had to be the cutest guy I'd ever seen in my life, but that didn't say much since I went to an uncharted girls-only wizarding school on an island located off the coast of France, and the only males at my school were either old professors or creatures brought forth during a class.
I jerked myself back to reality and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a towel around myself. I brushed and dried my short brown hair, and I grabbed a pair of black pants and a black turtleneck sweater and walked into my bedroom. I put the clothes down on the bed and was about to remove the towel to change, when I heard a soft coughing noise from behind me. I turned around and found Draco leaning against the side of the doorway, his fist still close to mouth as if he really had coughed.
"Oh," I muttered, pulling the towel around me even tighter, "how long have you been standing there?"
"Uh, not long," he said as a slight reddish tinge crept onto his face.
"I just came to tell you that breakfast is being served downstairs, if you'd like to eat," Draco said, looking even more embarrassed.
"Sure. Just gimme a few minutes to get dressed," I said.
Draco turned to leave, but my mouth apparently decided that he shouldn't.
"Wait!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Draco looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why?"
"Um, I, uh, I might get lost!" I said, feeling like a complete idiot, "I mean, you have such a large house. It would be easier if the young lord of the manor would escort me," hoping that a little flirtation would help him forget my blunder.
"Yeah, sure. I'll wait out here," Draco said, smiling, as he closed the door.
Sighing, I hurried in my dressing, making sure I looked as perfect as I possibly could for Draco. Once I had checked my face for the tenth time and made sure my hair wasnt sticking up in the back, I opened the door to my bedroom, where I found Draco leaning against the wall, talking to one of the portraits of a family ancestor. He straightened up when I emerged from the room, stopping in mid-sentence of whatever he and the portrait had been talking about. The eyes of the portrait followed Draco's gaze and stared at me.
"She's a looker, isnt she, young Master Malfoy?" the portrait said, nodding toward me.
I could feel my face growing red, growing more embarrassed than I thought possible, but Draco didn't seem to think the comment was at all incorrect.
"Yeah, she is," he said, smiling at the painting.
Draco playfully held out his arm for me to take, which I couldn't resist doing. We walked arm in arm to the second-story landing and sauntered down the steps to the first floor. At the bottom of the steps, he gently pulled me into the small hallway next to the stairs on the right. The walls were similar to those in the hallway upstairs, complete with portraits of other members of the Malfoy family. We passed one of Lucius and there was also one at the end of the hall of a young Draco, though his slick hair was still the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a large, bat-like ear poking out from the shadows of a corner, but I didn't say anything; I didn't want to get Sabs into any trouble.
At the very end of the hall, Draco held out his right hand as if he was an usher at a grand gala. Even though I couldnt find a reason at the time, I kissed him on the cheek and walked through the doorway into the dining room, where Lucius was already seated at the head of the table.