Chapter One: The Beginning

It all started when I was four years old. My sisters Bella and Andromeda were playing with the Lestrange boys, and neither Bella nor Rodolphus wanted to play with me. But the youngest boy, Rab, came over and took my hand, leading to me to the edge of the yard.

"Come Cissy, I'll play with you over here."

I should have known then, that Rab Lestrange and I would have a friendship of a life time. We played for hours, just sitting on the edge of the property playing with my dolls, or his toy broom and wand. Rab was a few years older than me, the same age as Andromeda, but yet he took the time to sit and play with me.

From then on, Rab and I played every day at the edge of the property. Bella would tease me mercilessly, saying that Rab only played with me because he felt sorry for me. I would get so upset that I wouldn't talk to him for a day, only for him to come to the door step and try to comfort me. I never realized how much I would need him one day, how much I would honestly need him throughout my life. The teasing skinned knees, the tears, the laughs… He was there for it all. No matter the cause, no matter the issue, Rab was my protector, my best friend.

As we got older, Rab and I ventured from the edge of the property and on to new places. The pond, the meadow, the small wizarding town not too far from the Lestrange Manor, anywhere that we could spend time together was our favorite place to be. One day, however, when I was ten and he was twelve, we found a meadow that was on the edge of a muggle farmer's property that was so beautiful, so peaceful, that it became our meeting place. The beautiful flowers, the large oak tree, the small stream; it was all too perfect for us. We would spend hours a day there during the summer, and even spent time into the wee hours of the night there. Mother and Father, however, were not thrilled with all the time I was spending with the youngest Lestrange.

He started school when I was nine, he was 11 and sorted into Slytherin house. As happy for him as I was, I was still a bit jealous that he was at Hogwarts without me. I no longer could spend the days with him, basking in the sunlight, talking about our lives, our other friends, our interests. I wouldn't be able to see him until he came home for the winter holiday and even then I knew he would have to stay with his family most of the time. During this time, I found myself writing him small letters, letting him know he was still my best friend and I couldn't wait for him to be home. Little did I know, I had the same effect on him that he had on me.