The Wolvertons were one of the rich, ancient pureblood families of the Wizarding world that had once served Lord Voldemort. That was, until he supposedly 'died' when he tried to kill a baby Harry Potter. Now, they had returned to being a normal wizarding family, who claimed to have been under the influence of the Imperius curse of Voldemort, a claim that was far from the actual truth of course. In sooth, they were one of the darkest and most mysterious families of their time and joining the Dark Lord, for them, was a matter of pride and honor.
But now, it had been eight years since the Dark Lord had been vanquished and little Emmaline Wolverton had turned out to be as normal as a child from an all-Slytherin family could be. The nine-year old had, of course, been raised with the notion that Purebloods were superior beings in all respects.
Each generation of the Wolverton family had produced only one child, always a boy. Emmaline was the first girl to be born into the Wolverton family after nearly ten centuries. Cassius Wolverton, the girl's father, had shown no sign of joy at being told that his wife had given birth to a daughter. But he wouldn't dare have another child. It would break the Wolverton tradition, which meant a lifetime of bad luck.
While every male in the family had a rather startling appearance, Emmaline was, like her mother, undeniably beautiful. What she had inherited from her father was a pair of bottle green eyes and sleek black hair that fell to her waist, making her already white skin look even paler.
Emmaline had always been an introvert, given that she didn't have anyone to talk to or play with other than her Eagle owl, who wasn't very good company since all he did was hunt and sleep. Her governess, noticing that the girl was growing up in a very unhealthy atmosphere, suggested to Mrs. Wolverton, that she spend some time with other children. It was then, that Emmaline was introduced to the young Malfoy boy.
On a wet September morning, Emmaline walked out of the gates of Wolverton Manor after a very long time, holding her mother's hand, not knowing where she was going. She hadn't questioned her mother about the details either. It was only when they had reached their destination that Callisto Wolverton finally spoke.
"Emma, we are going to meet the Malfoys today. I have some important work with them. I'll introduce you to their son. He's your age. And it goes without saying that I expect you to be on your best behavior." she said, sternly. It was, perhaps, this way of Callisto talking to her daughter like she was an adult, that had made the child grow up before her time.
"Yes, Mother." Emmaline replied.
Her mother came to a halt and was now standing before a pair of wrought iron gates that creaked as they opened, letting the two pass. They reached the large oak doors that opened before Mrs. Wolverton could ring the bell, revealing a butler and tall, slim woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes. Emmaline thought that she was quite nice looking, even for the slight arrogance on her face.
Emmaline stepped into the dark and cold antechamber as her mother greeted Narcissa Malfoy.
"Narcissa, this is my daughter Emmaline. Emmaline, this is Narcissa Malfoy." said Callisto, introducing the two to each other.
"Please to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy." Emmaline greeted, putting on a smile. Narcissa Malfoy bent down on one knee and gave the girl a smile, something that Emmaline was surprised to see.
"Pleased to meet you too, Emma. Is it alright if I call you that?" Narcissa asked as Emmaline nodded. "Mr. Yardley will take you up to Draco's room," she said, looking at the butler. The two women then left, as Emmaline followed the butler to the first floor where he stopped in front of an ebony door and knocked on it.
Emmaline heard a faint 'Come in' as the butler turned the bronze doorknob to reveal a large bedroom with pale green wall coverings. At the center of the room was a large bed with a carved headboard. Sitting on the silken sheets of the bed, with his back facing her, was a boy. He sat facing a long window with grey velvet drapes, so that Emmaline could only see his silhouette.
Hearing the door open, he turned around to face her and she saw that he wore a rather unhappy expression on his face. Mr. Yardley left the two without saying anything and Emmaline entered the large room beginning to feel that this wasn't a fun outing at all. Draco Malfoy made no gesture to acknowledge her, but instead turned to face the long window again.
Emmaline stood two steps away from the door, not wanting to venture further into the cold room that belonged to the boy that was making her feel so unwelcome. She looked around the room. It was a square room, she noticed. The furniture was made of ebony just like the door. To her left was a carved desk on which there lay an empty cage. Perhaps for an owl, Emmaline assumed. A candle chandelier hung right above the bed, bathing the room in a muted gold light. Her eyes fell on the boy, who was now looking at her, sizing her up. Emmaline didn't like him staring at her so boldly so she looked away, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Do you play Quidditch?" she heard his drawling voice say. Slightly glad that he had started a conversation, she looked at him and replied, "No."
"Why not?" he said, knitting his eyebrows as though confused as to why someone wouldn't play Quidditch. It was the best game in the world for crying out loud.
"I just don't." Emmaline replied, hoping the topic would change to something more interesting. Draco Malfoy looked away, clearly uninterested in her now that he had learnt that she didn't play his favorite sport.
"Do you have an owl?" Emmaline asked, pointing at the cage and breaking the silence.
"Yes." Draco replied, still not looking at her. Silence again. Emmaline wanted nothing more than to run down to her mother and go back to the sanctuary of her room but that would be immature on her part. Her mother expected her to be on her best behavior. So Emmaline stood at the same spot, two steps away from the door, finding slight solace in playing with the ruffles of her dress.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Draco Malfoy slid off his bed and walked over to her. Emmaline took a step back. She wasn't so sure she wanted to socialize with this boy. The gesture was not missed by Draco, who frowned at her before saying, "Let's go play Quidditch."
Emmaline blinked at him. Hadn't he heard her? She had clearly said that she didn't play the sport. "I don't want to." she said quietly.
"Oh come on! It'll be fun. I'll teach you if you don't know," he said, walking past her and opening the door of his room. "Unless of course, you'd rather just stand there and play with your dress."
Of course she didn't like standing there and playing with her dress. But she didn't like flying either. What choice did she have? She followed the boy out of the room to a large courtyard.
"Wait here." He told the girl and disappeared behind a wall only to emerge after a minute holding two broomsticks in his hands.
"Can you fly?" he asked her.
"Not very well." Emmaline admitted, and for the first time, she saw him smirk.
"I'm a very good flyer," he boasted. "Been flying since I was three. Father taught me, of course. He's the best there is."
Emmaline felt a slight surge of jealousy at his last sentence. Her father had never taught her anything. She had learnt to play the piano all by herself, thank you. Her father had never spent much time with her to even know that.
"Get on." said Draco, who had already climbed onto his Comet two-sixty.
"With you?" Emmaline asked, knowing the answer already.
"Yeah. Since you can't fly very well." he said, jerking his head backwards to the empty space on the broom for her to sit.
"I don't think it's a very good idea." said Emmaline, not confident of the boy's flying skills.
"Why not? It's not like I'm going to let you fall. I told you, I've been flying since I was three." he said, annoyed that the girl didn't trust him. Emmaline considered him for a moment before hesitantly placing her legs on either side of the broomstick and seating herself.
"Hold onto me." he said, and as she placed her hands around his waist, he took off.
He was rising rapidly and Emmaline shut her eyes tightly. She hadn't flown in a while and thought that she could get accustomed to it, but no. She was scared, now more than ever.
"Get me down!" she cried, hugging him tightly, not wanting to fall.
"What? Why? Don't you like it?" he asked, turning his head as much as he could, to look at her.
"Just please get me down!" she sobbed, burying her face into his back, wanting nothing more than to be on the ground again.
"Alright, alright!" Draco replied, landing fast. Emmaline jumped off the broom the minute it touched the ground, shivering slightly.
"You're no fun at all." Draco said, sourly.
"I told you I didn't want to!" Emmaline cried, her usually pale face slightly pink.
Draco looked away. "Don't start crying now." he groaned.
"I'm not crying." Emmaline sniffed.
"What's your name?" he asked, still not looking at her. Emmaline giggled.
"Shouldn't that have been your first question to me?" she asked and Draco was slightly relived to see her smile.
"Are you going to tell me your name or not?"
"It's Emmaline. Emmaline Wolverton." Emmaline answered.
"That's too long. I'll call you Emma." Draco declared and Emmaline gave him a smile.
"I told you they'd be here." Narcissa said to Callisto as the two women walked briskly towards the children.
"I see you've been having fun." Callisto said to Emmaline, casting a look at the broom that lay on the floor. Now, the reason why Emmaline didn't like Quidditch or flying, for that matter, was because her mother strongly disapproved of the 'dangerous' sport. Apart from that, Callisto thought that it was terribly wrong for girls to engage in such ungraceful activities, which was why the child had never properly learnt to fly.
Emmaline, too scared to reply, looked at the ground.
"Oh come now, nothing wrong in a little flying." Narcissa said, noticing the tone of Callisto's voice. "Let's go inside. Tea's almost ready."
"Oh that won't be necessary. We have to leave now. Perhaps another time" Callisto said.
"Its just tea. Surely you can sit for tea."
"I must insist, Narcissa. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Alright." Narcissa said, turning to Emmaline. "You will come visit us soon, won't you, Emma?" she asked.
The girl looked up at her mother, who nodded, and then said, "Yes, of course. Thank you for having me."
Narcissa and Draco walked the two Wolvertons outside, before bidding them farewell.
"Bye." Emmaline said to Draco.
"Bye." Draco replied, rather awkwardly.
That night as Emmaline lay down in her bed, she felt something that she had never felt before. Warmth. Even though she had only met him and even though it hadn't been the most cheerful meeting, Draco Malfoy was the first child she had spoken to in her entire nine years. Hoping she'd see him again soon, Emmaline drifted into a peaceful sleep with a slight smile on her face.