When I Was Young
I know that many people have often wondered why I never married. On the few chances that I have been asked about it directly, I have always given a coy smile and sipped my tea silently. I have always been fine with letting them think what they wanted to. A gossip will gossip, no matter if they know the truth or not, simply because the truth is often much more plain than their fantastical stories.
"Great Aunt Cassie, why do you not have a husband and children?" The question came from the lips of a child with blonde hair and blue eyes, a question born out of concern for me.
"Cissy! It's-" I held up a hand, silencing Bellatrix from scolding Narcissa for her prying query. I slowly stirred the sugar into my hot tea before setting it down to cool.
"Perhaps...I shall tell you all a story. I believe that it will benefit you budding young ladies."
I gazed at the three curious girls sitting across from me before arranging my skirts slightly. I sighed before beginning.
"Once upon a time, many years ago, when I was young and things looked much brighter...there was a boy. We met at Hogwarts and through social parties of the elite. Oh, he was wonderful." I was unaware of the smile on my face as I talked, the girls stared, never having seen such an expression on my face before now. "He was a proper boy, very well-mannered and treated a Lady well. I noticed him first, he had no eye for girls at the age we first met. It was all about quidditch, I'm sure you all know boys in that state. After a few years, he became aware of girls and I had blossomed into a lovely young lady. I finally caught his eye and we became close friends, the day I became of age I knew that I was in love with him. He was deeply in love with me as well, and he desperately wanted to give me the world. He was the type of man who steps into the room and everyone stops to watch him enter. "
"What did he look like Aunt Cassie?" Bellatrix asked, having finished her tea and starting to get bored. A mysterious look filled my eyes right before I answered her.
"A charmer he was, with blue-gray eyes, long blonde hair, pale skin and a smooth, clear voice. Always spectacularly dressed and built like a greek God."
"What happened? After you two became of age?" Narcissa excitedly questioned, she was on the edge of her seat with interest.
"He started to court me of course, and I felt like I was living a fairy tale. He was a fan of poetry and recited it often for me. There was one poem that I could never forget." I took a breath before I recited it for them.
"Before I fell
in love with words,
with setting skies
and singing birds
it was you I fell
in love with first."
"But it was indeed a fairy tale, a romance that ended." My tone turned bitter with these words. This perked Andromeda and Bella's interested again, and so I continued. "It was tragic how it all ended, things that are perfect don't last. He had taken me out for a picnic where he was going to propose, when suddenly a man I did not know approached him. They started to quarrel, then suddenly wands were drawn and hexes were zipping all around. I noticed one that was going to hit him as he was not quick enough to deflect it, so I shoved him out of the way but the hex hit me instead of him."
A collective gasp came from the girls and a deep sadness was revealed in my own eyes.
"I had been hit by a dark spell that had been meant for him. It left me barren and unable to provide an heir to my beloved. His father would not allow him to marry me because of this and of course my parents were furious. It destroyed our relationship. I was kept from society after that, for a long while I struggled with my tragedy. I struggled through many depressions, and mountain of bitterness towards him. After all, he left me..he did not fight to put a ring on my finger despite what his father demanded. In the end, my heart still belongs to him and I love him from afar. He did write to me at first, because while he was a coward when it came to his parents, he did have a good heart. A year or so passed and he was married with a son, the letters stopped after that. Girls, keep in mind to be careful who you give your heart to because it is a hard thing to get it back."
A few tears fell from my eyes, and before I could wipe them away a little hand was doing it for me. Narcissa had moved to my side and was catching my tears.
"Oh Aunt Cassie, don't cry. I'm sure he still loves you...things just.. didn't turn out to be fair." Narcissa said.
"I know child, I know...but that is life." I replied, amazed at her youthful wisdom. I gave her a hug and then excused myself but was stopped at the door by Bellatrix's voice.
"Who was he Auntie?" Her tone protective and the words had been hissed out, I knew she would be the one prone to the desire to get revenge.
"Yes, tell us his name." Came from Andromeda, thankfully she seemed the neutral party.
"Abraxas Malfoy. A Malfoy man is a beautiful creature, but if you're not careful they can slip through your fingers." I replied, then retired to my room. The story had been quite an effort to tell, especially after burying it within my heart for years.
I had never spoken about why I was not married, and the people who knew what happened knew better to speak about it. Alas, my young great nieces managed to get the story out of me. I never could refuse anything to Bella, 'Dromeda or 'Cissa. I believe Narcissa had been the most impacted from my story. She did make me a bit proud when she married Lucius.
AN: Written for the Quidditch League competition.