Title: Uncle and niece
A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfiction and I hope to do a decent job. As for spelling and language, I write in English that is not my mother language, so there may be some mistakes; therefore any comment and help by readers will be extremely helpful and appreciated. This story is a long one, but since its characters have been obsessing me for days, I decided to write it. Enjoy the travel!
First chapter
The dimly lit room was impossibly crowded and many angry voices were overlapping from almost every corner. Only two people could be noted for their stillness: a blonde man, in his middle thirties, whose expression was unreadable and a child, a small girl, awesomely blonde, too. The two were seated one in front the other, but their attitude was quite different. The man was calm, looked almost bored, but a touch of hardness and disgust was slowly appearing in his silver eyes, while he observed the mayhem surrounding him; the girl stared at her own hands, folded in a ladylike fashion on her lap and although she was trying with every effort to show only a composed dignity, pain was clearly evident in her sky-blue eyes.
Adult and child exchanged for the first time a look and she held bravely his cold and unmoved gaze. What the man saw in the child's eyes seemed to please him and he conceded a totally unexpected warm, although quick, smile.
However, the kid hadn't the time to understand what had just passed between the two of them, because the man suddenly slammed his open hand on the table at his side, making her jump out of surprise and fear. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room and everyone seemed to shrink under the man's gaze.
"Stop with this nonsense!" he ordered and although he hadn't spoken too loudly, his voice held a commanding tone that didn't went unnoticed to anyone. The child was purely mesmerized.
"Malfoys never make a show of themselves" said the man and rose from the chair, showing all his elegance and stature. The child was observing him from beneath and had to bend her neck upwards to watch his face. He didn't look at her once.
"I'll take her with me and raise her in my manor" that was no question, only a simple statement and no one dared to contradict him, but eventually a man in the crowd seemed to gather some courage and said: "You must be aware that she owns nothing, Lucius. Then why are you so willing to take her to your house?" Another uncomfortable silence followed, interrupted only and again by that same man: "Say, then, do you like them young?" Someone held their breath and the girl's look went from worried to puzzled. tension was becoming almost unbearable.
The man called Lucius fixed his gaze into his audacious opponent's eyes and it was no friendly gaze. It was icy, to say the least, full of contempt and fury. Pure, genuine fury. The child was only grateful that this look wasn't for her.
"I won't even low myself to answer you, Emmerik, but I warn you: don't test any further my patience." Lucius looked then at the child still seated at the other side of the table and his eyes were just a little less frightening when he told her: "Come, Elizabeth, don't make me waste my time." The little girl almost fell out of the chair in her hastiness to obey and the man couldn't help to smile inwardly.
"Do you know who I am?" Asked the tall man, while they were walking through the gates of his manor, a castle in every sense.
"Yes, sir," answered the child, who was having some difficulties to kept with his pace. The man stopped and she missed his legs only by an inch. "Tell me, then," ordered him looking down at her. The girl summoned all her courage and refused to cry in front of him.
"You are Lord Lucius Malfoy, brother of my father Angus and married to Lady Narcissa Black and…"
"Go on" he encouraged her with a short movement of his cane.
"…Thank you for taking me with you, sir" said the child, looking so frail and delicate that even he felt slightly moved. He started to walk again, but slowing a bit to let her follow him easier.
Lucius Malfoy didn't like them young, not so young at least, and the reason he had decided to take that child in his own house was that she was the only daughter of his recently dead brother and it would be no good for the Malfoy name nor for the girl herself if she were abandoned in the hands of some unknown and even less caring relative. Her parents had left her with less than nothing, but she was a Malfoy, a real pureblood and therefore deserved the respect and good education that these two undeniable facts demanded. He had felt disgusted and ashamed by the complete lack of self control showed by the rest of the clan when they were reunited to discuss the future of the child. They did nothing to hide their contempt for her and her silly parents, who had dared to die without leaving a single galleon in heritance, but she didn't give them any satisfaction, staying elegantly seated all the time. That was what impressed Lucius and made him take his decision. She was a real Malfoy and possessed the dignity and pride the rest of her relatives lacked so miserably. He had already discussed the idea of taking her to his house with his wife and son: Narcissa had no objection to take care of the girl and Draco didn't feel any particular distaste at the thought of having a younger cousin in the house.
Elizabeth's new life started that day, when that handsome and intimidating uncle brought her to his castle and introduced her to her new family. At first she felt very out of place and insecure that day, speaking in a terribly educated way and watching everyone with those earnest and hurt look of hers, until her uncle lost his temper and ordered her to stop being so scared and behave normally. Of course, this made nothing to put her at ease and she jumped at the menace in his voice.
"Lucius, my dear, don't frighten the child this way. Can't you see she needs her time to adapt to her new surroundings?" Aunt Narcissa smiled at her and she smiled back, feeling some warmth again. The woman was happy to have a little girl in that huge and dark house, because her two men were really impossible, sometime. While Elizabeth was trying to find some courage to apologise to her uncle, the door of the dining hall opened and a young wizard entered. He was a blonde boy and held an astonishing similarity with his father, mostly due to the same slightly bored expression.
Elizabeth's heart raced and she felt a bit relieved, discovering that in such an enormous castle lived another child.
"You came, finally," observed the boy and arched an eyebrow, while he watched her intently, then said: "My, you're really young. How old are you? 9? 10?"
The girl didn't feel intimidated in the slightest by his attitude, not after meeting his father, so she answered without hesitation: "I'm almost 10 and you mustn't be much older, so I hope we'll get along fine."
The boy made a surprised face and then burst into laughter, like the child he still was.
"My name is Draco and I'll turn 11 in a month, so I deserve respect, understood?" He told her shaking the small hand she had offered him and she smiled happily. Then, abruptly, she seemed to close in herself and went back to the serious expression she had a moment before. The change was so clear and saddening that Draco felt compelled to put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to give her some comfort. That gesture was so unusual and unexpected that his parents looked at each other in mild disbelief. Lucius understood then that Elizabeth had the rare and dangerous power to move even people like themselves, known for their contempt towards the rest of the world.
"Are you fine, Elizabeth?" He asked and the girl answered with a not very convincing "Yes, sir". He could sense a lie and understood that she was deeply troubled; he was also tired of being addressed "sir", so decided to press her a little more. Maybe, letting her cry could help her soothe her soul a bit. "Now, that is a lie, child, and if you want to cheat on me, you have to learn to do better than this." His tone was casual, even too much to make her feel safe and Elizabeth's inferior lip started trembling, but still she refused to cry.
"I didn't intend to lie, I..." She felt her own voice quiver and made an enormous effort to steady it. "It's just that… I suddenly felt… Guilty." That statement left them all wondering and dubious, so her uncle decided to investigate further: "About what did you feel guilty, precisely?"
Elizabeth's eyes were two sorrowful and enormous blue pools as she answered, with a voice barely audible: "When I met Draco I was really happy and then I remembered that mum and dad are… Dead. I'm not a good girl if I feel happy, now."
Narcissa found out to have still some tears and they surprised even her, when they rolled down one of her ivory cheeks and Draco felt he couldn't drink anymore of his pumpkin juice. Only Lucius looked unaffected, but he was simply better at hiding his own emotions, because he felt an unwelcome sadness in his heart, that remembered him that he actually had one. Still, the child didn't cry.
"My, my," commented he, "what an earnest and courageous child we have, haven't we, Narcissa?" Lucius smiled softly to his wife, seeing how moved she was and for the first time that day he let that same kindness show in his eyes: under that gaze the child perceived a sudden rush of warmth in her tiny body, feeling almost at peace. She dared to smile back and her heart accelerated its race. Elizabeth was just a child, but what she felt for her uncle was simple, plain love; an unconditioned love that only a child can feel; Lucius understood immediately and decided to accept it and not to feel scared, because that child had just earned a small and soft place in his heart, a heart that he wasn't able anymore forgetting to have.
"Well, Draco, why don't you show your cousin her rooms?" Again, it was no question from Lucius, but an order, albeit spoken very politely. His son stood up and offered gallantly his elbow to Elizabeth, who was still recovering from the first exchange of kindness with his uncle.
She wished the two adults good night in a perfectly high-society manner and with a certain elegance walked out the great hall.
As soon as the door was closed, Lucius commented: "She is a lady already, don't you think so, my dear?"
"A lady in miniature indeed," confirmed Narcissa. "You did right taking her here. She will be another jewel among our treasures."
"I hope that she will lose soon that scared expression of hers and find a little more arrogance…" Sighed the man and stood up, offering graciously a hand to help his wife rise.
"If she were arrogant you wouldn't like her at all…" She said perceptively.
"And what makes you think that I find her bearable?"
"The smile you gave her."
"It was only a momentary weakness."
"Lucius, my beloved husband, relax: she's only a child and if you show her you have emotions you won't end up burned, you know?" Narcissa smiled at him with a self satisfied expression and he felt he couldn't do anything but to admit she was right.
In the meanwhile Draco and Elizabeth were walking in an apparently never ending corridor.
"I will get lost in this castle, I fear..." Murmured the child and Draco, hearing her, laughed and reassured her that with daylight everything would seem far more familiar.
"You are very kind," told him the girl and Draco was taken aback. No one had ever considered him 'kind'; maybe spoiled and unbearable, but never kind. He had to decide if he liked it or not, but for the moment he chose to ignore her comment and said: "I hope my father hasn't scared you. He can be intimidating, at times." He scared the soul out of everyone, he said to himself.
"Maybe he is a bit scary," admitted the child with her ever present honesty, "but when he jumped up to say that he would have taken me with him..." She stopped talking, her eyes lost in that memory. Draco had never seen someone talk about his father with such an enchanted look and he felt very uncomfortable, now.
"…He was a hero to me!" Concluded the girl starling him out of his thoughts.
"A hero?" Maybe he heard wrong...
"Of course!" Declared Elizabeth with ardour. "He slammed his hand on the table and everyone stopped talking. I was scared, but I thought that he was a gentle man, because he never talked harshly to me."
"Well, I will tell you this, kid: he is no knight in shining armour and he can scare you terribly. He's the master here and if you want to live peacefully don't disobey him, ever. Do you understand that?" Draco was staring her with cold eyes and when she was about to say something, he interrupted her saying: "Never." Then she nodded, feeling defeated and a bit confused by that sudden change from Draco. "Fine, now that it's settled, I'll show you to your rooms, alright?" She nodded again and decided not to discuss anymore with him about that subject.
"Here we are," said Draco after some minute of silence by both of them.
A door opened to reveal a beautiful and huge bedroom and Elizabeth felt really at loss of words. She entered and admired her new room, observing everything with the curiosity and surprise of a child on Christmas day.
After some minutes she said bluntly: "You must be joking!"
"Excuse me?" Draco arched an eyebrow to her.
"This room is too beautiful for me, I don't deserve it."
Such modesty was very unusual in a Malfoy and Draco asked himself what kind of life she could have had until now. He would ask his father, that girl was really something new, almost a mystery, in his young life.
"We never joke, at Malfoy manor, so it's really your room." The boy said and for a moment he thought she was going to cry. "What's wrong, now?" He couldn't help to feel a bit exasperated.
"I felt happy again," answered Elizabeth in a whisper and he remembered what she had said at dinner.
"Be happy, then and don't feel guilty at all. Good night, cousin," said he and left the room without giving her time to reply something.
"Father, that girl can't be a Malfoy!" Exclaimed Draco entering the library, where he was sure to find Lucius at that hour of the night.
"Haven't I already told you to knock before coming in?" Asked the man in an annoyed voice.
"Please, father, answer my question: how can she be a Malfoy?!"
"She is the daughter of my brother, so it's only natural that she's a Malfoy," said Lucius looking at him a mere second before returning his attention to the book he was reading. His son felt exasperated by that behaviour and went on: "You understand perfectly what I'm saying, father!" Lucius set down the book on the imposing desk and looked his son with a look of simple distaste. He hated being disturbed for such futile matters.
Draco had met that particular look so many times that he almost felt nothing but a mere sting in his pride and spoke again: "She's too delicate, too… Soft in her soul. She won't survive in this house, father!"
Lucius smiled then, but it did nothing to reassure the boy in front of him.
"She's a real Malfoy, son. She hasn't cried once since that boring family meeting started and she has always looked at me in the eyes. She's got some nerve, to do such a thing, or am I wrong?" Lucius spoke calmly, in a voice that could make older men run away scared, but Draco was his son and there was very little that he found frightening.
"Very well, then," said the boy, but when he was to exit the room, he added: "I hope you'll treat her with at least some kindness, father." The door closed and Lucius felt suddenly tired and also slightly irritated with the child, although he couldn't understand why. Next morning, he decided, he would teach her how to survive in his house. Finally a smile crept on his lips and he found his book again quite interesting.