Chapter One
"Miss Malfoy?" sounded the raspy voice from the door.
Ellie closed her eyes and let her head roll back onto the headboard. Tom was nice enough, and he had been more than welcoming to her, but an over-bearing land-lord was the last thing she needed right now. Her first week in England had mainly consisted of hiding out in this room, mostly to avoid his questions. Or anybody else's, for that matter.
Three sharp knocks brought her back from her daydream, and Ellie sighed.
"Just a minute, Tom," she called, more sharply than she had intended.
She walked over to the door, being careful not to catch her bare feet on any loose nails in the floorboards. It was okay here, but still the sort of place that made you weary. She opened the door to find Tom with an apologetic look on his face.
"I am so sorry to disturb you Miss, but it's your cousin" he says with a tight smile. "Mr Draco says you're expecting him Miss. And I am sorry to rush you Miss, but he's causing quite a stir downstairs."
Ellie just shook her head, smiling slightly. It was all so typical. "Not to worry Tommy, I'm on my way."
He blushed at the name.
Ellie walked over to take one final look in the mirror. She had been told that her Uncle would have high expectations. Not that this mattered, Ellie had always taken pride in her appearance. At first glance, she looked like the typical Malfoy. Her silvery-blonde hair fell in loose ringlets and reached the small of her back, matched with pale skin and a petite frame. But her eyes were the one thing that she most liked about herself. They were the one thing about her that made her stand out from the rest of the Malfoy family. Instead of being the grey-blue colour that people often expected, they were the most startling shade of emerald green.
She checked over her outfit quickly, just to make sure that there was nothing that could be deemed as 'inappropriate' about it. She smoothed out her jeans, and pulled down her grey jumper so that it didn't show any more of her belly than her naval. Her Uncle could disapprove all he wanted, but the jumper was her mother's. It smelt like home.
She sat down on the end of her bed and pulled on her boots. She picked up her red rucksack, and checked that her wand was in its place, tucked down the side of her jeans by her hip bone, and walked out of the door, locking it behind her.
Ellie couldn't help but feel nervous as she made her way down the creaky wooden staircases of the Leaky Cauldron. It had been three years since she had last seen her cousin, when she had attended Hogwarts for a year while her school took part in the Triwizard Tournament.
Draco, back then, had been arrogant. Rude, arrogant and condescending. That was to be expected though from a boy raised in the Malfoy family. Not unlike herself.
She walked across the dining area of the pub and lightly tapped his shoulder, almost frightened of ruining his spotless suit blazer. He jumped violently and swiftly turned around. It turns out that the war certainly left its scars.
Ellie froze for a minute when his icy eyes met hers. She quickly looked away, but she could feel his eyes taking her in, judging her. When she looked back up, Draco had a smile plastered across his face. A real, genuine smile. Ellie almost gasped, it was such a surprise. Before she knew it, he had her lifted off the floor in a tight hug.
"It's so good to see you!" he exclaimed as he spun her around.