"I trust you know how they work," said a voice that reminded Isabelle of a snakes threatening hiss. She turned to find a tall man with platinum blonde hair that was less than an inch shorter than her own. This man had grey eyes like Draco, but, unlike Draco, his eyes were lifeless. He was holding a back cane with a silver snakes head handle. The man was wearing black robes that seemed to contrast with his bleach blonde hair. With his up tight pose, all black clothes, and angry expression he gave off an air that told Isabelle that being close to him would be a bad idea. If she had any choice in the matter she'd be at least twenty feet further from this man than she was now.

"Yes, sir," she replied respectfully, knowing that it meant a lot to Draco for her to meet his family.

Draco stepped forward immediately. "Isabelle this is my father, Father, Isabelle," he said.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Isabelle said, offering him her hand.

"Likewise," Lucius replied in a voice that seemed to scream the contrary. He glanced down at her hand as though it were a snake ready to bite him before putting his leather gloved hand in it.

Narcissa Malfoy stepped up behind her husband. She was blonde as well, though her hair and more of a yellowish color to it than the Malfoy men's did. She had on bright red lipstick and a button up jacket that stopped just above her knee and a pair of black pants underneath it. It looked terribly expensive. "You are the witch girl that Draco has told us so much about?" she asked, stepping around Lucius to get a better look at her. "My, my you are a pretty little girl," she said in almost a condescending voice.

"Thank you," Isabelle said, unsure of herself. She never really knew what to say when given a compliment, 'thank you' never sounded right to her. Draco smirked slightly beside her, knowing her discomfort.

"You've finally gotten your letter, I trust," Lucius said to her. His tone was even more snobbish than that of his wife's.

"Yes sir, Professor Dumbledore delivered it personally. He said that I hadn't gotten one before for my protection, but such measures were no longer needed," she explained. Isabelle had to make a conscious effort not to fidget with her hands while talking to them.

"I see..." he replied. She didn't like the way he stared at her. She felt like she was being put under a microscope.

"If it weren't for Draco, I'd probably still not know a thing about who I was. I owe him much for that," she said, trying to stroke his ego slightly.

"Yes, that's our son," Narcissa answered. Isabelle was slightly surprised to see her smiling.

"One hopes it was worth it," Lucius said acidly.

"Father," Draco said, finally speaking up. They shared a long gaze that told Isabelle that Draco didn't normally speak out like that to his father. Draco had known her for eight years, he wasn't just going to sit back and listen while his father insulted her.

"If you are okay with making friends with someone who you do not know the bloodline of so be it," Lucius retorted. He gave his son a faint half smirk that didn't touch his eyes at all. "We best be off, or we'll be late."

They all surrounded the old plank Isabelle and Draco on one side, his parents on the other and Lucius counted down. The second Isabelle's hand touched the thing she felt its magnetic pulling force just as strong as the books said it would be. She was prepared for the tugging feeling somewhere behind her navel and tried to stay as still as possible. The wind roared in her ears as it whipped passed her, playing roughly with her hair.

She was prepared for the landing and made sure to stick it; she had to prove herself to Draco's parents. Draco staggered slightly beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady himself. She looked over at him with a smile on her face, betraying her thoughts to him alone. "Clumsy," she whispered to him.

"Oh, shut up," he said in a joking manner. He tried not to smile but couldn't keep it off of his face for long.

She chuckled, happy to see him smiling. He put his hand on her head, messing her hair up even more. She pulled away from him immediately, trying to make something out of the disaster that lay on her head.

It took her a few seconds to remember that Draco's parents were standing in front of them. Hesitantly she looked up at them from under her thick red hair. His mother had a wide smile on her face, the exact opposite reaction of her husband who was scowling at the two teens furiously. Lucius stormed forward, his wife at his heels.

"Lucius, dear, this is foolish," Narcissa whispered to her husband. "Draco is happy with this child. I have never seen him happier than the first day he sees her after getting back from Hogwarts."

"How do you know that she's not a mudblood Narcissa? Do you want our child hanging out with that!" he spat in a hush tone of anger.

"Of course not, but she couldn't be a mudblood if Albus felt the need to keep her from Hogwarts for protection. She must have belonged to a well-known family. Besides, she looks familiar to me. Her parents must have gone to Hogwarts. She couldn't be a mudblood," Narcissa reasoned.

"What about a blood-traitor, Narcissa? She looks the type! She looks like the kind to have a bleeding heart for those muggles. Draco will be a Death Eater, and he cannot be hindered by some muggle-lover friend that he can't let go of."

"Your son is happy, Lucius, and I'll die before I see that man ruin him like he did you," Narcissa whispered angrily, refusing to hide her contempt for the 'Dark Lord' that Lucius was such a fan of.

Isabelle and Draco followed farther behind engaging in a conversation of their own. "I don't think your parents like me," she said to him.

"My mother seems to have taken to you well enough," he said proudly. He was a mama's boy. "My father just needs time." He lied to her and he knew she'd see through it, but he had to try.

"No, he hates the fact that I was raised as a muggle, just as you did. He will look at me as though I am worthless, just as you did. But unlike you, I can't change his mind," she said.

He was about to protest but they had already caught up to his parents. His father was arguing with the muggle attendee. "What do you mean you won't accept MY money, Muggle?" Lucius furiously turned back to Isabelle. "You deal with him! Here!" Lucius shoved a giant wad of bills into Isabelle's hands and stepped back. She knew perfectly well why he chose her to deal with the man.

Isabelle sighed and walked towards the man. "Good afternoon," she said lightly.

"Good afternoon to you too, are you with this party as well?" he asked.

"Yes. Malfoy party of four," Isabelle said. She turned back to the Malfoy's, "Unless you have more people coming."

"No, there's only us," Narcissa replied smiling.

"Well, as I was trying to tell the gentleman over there that his money is no good here because his stay has already been paid for. He keeps insisting that I tell him how much he needs to give me," the man explained with a slightly cynical tone.

"How dare you use that tone with us, muggle?" Draco asked darkly from beside her. Isabelle turned to look at him appalled. Draco paid her no attention; he was using it all to glare at the man.

"Draco," Isabelle whispered to him, heatedly.

"What is a muggle?" the man snapped. "I have been called that by at least ten people today!"

Isabelle chuckled slightly, thinking quickly. "Oh, it's anyone who's not in the club. Call it childish if you wish, but some of the people take it very seriously. It's just a stupid club made for eccentric people with outlandish achievements. At least once a year we all get together and see who can pass themselves off as the strangest, nothing to think too much about."

"Oh, that explains a lot. I'd put my vote in for the man in a poncho and shorts, although the man in a dress comes to a close second," the muggle said jokingly, obviously wanting to be considered understanding and trendy to the group.

Isabelle laughed coolly. "I don't completely understand it either," she said, acting like she identified with him. "Where is the campsite again?"

The man gave her a map and showed her exactly where they were going to be. Isabelle thanked the man and turned back to the Malfoy family smiling.

"Cunning," Draco whispered to her. She glanced at him, catching his double meaning referring back to the Slytherin house.

"Your campground was already paid for sir," she said, turning her attention back to Lucius and trying to hand him back the giant bundle of cash.

"Keep it, I have no use for their money," Lucius retorted.

"But, it's a lot, are you sure?" she asked. The bills in the stack ranged from ones to hundreds.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied icily.

"Alright," she said, pocketing the money. She handed Draco's father the map, showing him where their camping spot was.

"Why don't you two roam around a bit," Narcissa suggested. "Lucius and I will get your bag." Lucius looked like that was about the last thing he wanted to do.

"Um… I kind of used a featherweight charm on it, so it's not as heavy as you think it is," Isabelle admitted sheepishly.

"How can you use magic without the ministry knowing?" Lucius asked, his fury dwindling slightly in the wake of his genuine curiosity.

"Whoever hid me did a good job. Any record of my birth that used to lie in the ministry was long since deleted. The ministry couldn't possibly know when I use magic," she confessed.

"Brilliant," Lucius whispered under his breath, Isabelle wasn't meant to hear it so she ignored the fact that she did. He looked as though he were contemplating the fact that escaping the taboo was actually possible. "Run along now." He dismissed the two with a wave of his hand.

Before she could say any more Draco grabbed her arm, pulling her in a different direction than before.