The sound of raindrops hitting the roof echoed in the mansion. In a study not used very often, there was an alcove with a comfy window seat built under a set of beautiful stain glass windows. Draco sat on the window seat, his back leaning against the wall. His sister sat between his outstretched legs, resting against his chest. Her head was tucked under Draco's chin and they watched the rain fall down the glass before them. The sound of the rain was comforting.
Not far off, though, they could hear Lucius and Narcissa yelling at each other. They'd been at it for hours, now. As soon as Lucius had woken up, he'd called for his wife. When she had arrived, he had started yelling.
Flashback
"What is this it doing here?" he yelled, pointing at Maria. She didn't even flinch.
Narcissa frowned. "Maria is here because she is your daughter, Lucius. I believe you remember Karen Yoder? Pennsylvania about 19 years ago? A muggle."
Lucius paled. "You know about that?" he said. Narcissa nodded. He looked at Marian and studied her. His silver eyes traveled over her face. "You look just like her," he mumbled more to himself than anyone.
Marian smiled slightly. "You have a very good memory for someone who hasn't been in my, or my mother's, life for 19 years. How do you know I look like her? Maybe I look like you." She chuckled at his confused look. "No worries. You'll have a while to figure out whom I look more like, Malfoy." She turned to Draco and asked, "Which room should I take?"
Lucius froze. "What do you mean 'room'?" he asked.
Marian looked back at him. "I'm going to be staying here. Well, until I have completed my Auror training and get a place of my own." She turned to Draco and said in a low voice just for him, "I think we should leave. They're going to start screaming at each other soon."
Draco nodded and led her out of the parlor and to the second floor.
End of Flashback
Draco was snapped out of his memory as Marian reached out with her hand. She touched the glass with the tip of her pointer finger. Her fingernail was even but hardly manicured. Draco watched as she wrote something on the class. As she let her finger drop, the words began to glow a dark green and blue. 'Foi dans ceux que vous aimez'.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
Marian looked up, smiling. "Didn't you learn French in that school of yours?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nope."
Marian smiled. "It means 'Faith in those you love'. It's my motto, kinda."
"Kinda?" Draco repeated questioningly.
She smiled. "I put faith in those I love, but sometimes, you have to put faith in people that you hate." She chuckled. "I once got partnered with this obnoxious guy for gym. I hated him because he would call me names and torment me. We fought worse than cats and dogs. But there was a complicated move that needed a person's complete trust. It was graded, so we put our differences aside and aced our test. We weren't best friends after that, but we were basic friends."
Draco looked at the words on the glass. They had stopped shimmering and were starting to fade. He reached out and wrote his own motto on the glass. Marian waited for the green light to settle. "Olhe onde pouce véem," she said out loud. "Portuguese."
Draco smiled. His sister was smart. Good. He couldn't stand dumb people. "Do you know what it means?" he asked.
Marian chuckled, the vibrations bouncing against his stomach. "'Look where few see'," she said. "Good motto."
Draco rested his chin on the top of her head again, looking out at the rain. It was really coming down out there. He suddenly said, "Why did you choose French?"
"Why did you choose Portuguese?" she asked back.
"I'll tell you if you tell me," he said.
"On the count of three, then," she said.
Draco chuckled. He usually didn't like children games. They were useless and immature. But the way Marian acted, being childish without loosing dignity, was something he liked. "Alright," he said.
"One, two...three," Marian said.
"It sounds cool," they said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.
Draco smiled down at her. "You know, we've only known each other for an hour or so, but I know we're going to get along just fine."
"Until I embarrass the hell out of you in front of a girl you like," Marian said.
He smiled, pulling her into a hug. "I guess that's what family does," he said. This was extremely uncharacteristic for him. He never accepted someone this quickly after meeting them. Then again, after the war and his last year at Hogwarts, he'd changed. Less arrogant and snobbish. Marian was like none of the girls he'd met and he liked that she was making him feel like a big brother. He'd always wanted siblings. Suddenly, he got an idea.
He stood up and grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said. "Father and Mother are going to be yelling for a good while. I want to introduce you to my friends." Marian grabbed her satchel, throwing it over her shoulders, just in time for her to be dragged over to a fireplace. Draco grabbed a handful of Floo powder, threw it on the flames, pulled Marian in with him, and yelled out "Blaise Mansion."
They stepped out of the fireplace and Draco was met with the sight of his best friends snogging heavily on the couch. "Twice in one day," he said loudly.
The two jumped apart. "I'm going to start blocking that fireplace," Blaise growled. Marian giggled from behind Draco. Blaise leaned to the side. "Who's she?" he asked.
Draco reached behind him and guided Marian from behind him. Pansy and Blaise stared at her. "Marian, this is Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, my best friends. Guys, this is Marian Malfoy, my sister."
She smiled, waving shyly. "Pleased to meet you both," she said. "Call me Maria."
Pansy was the first to react. She stood up and walked over to them. She stopped in front of Marian and stared. Draco began to worry that she would do something dramatic from feeling threatened that another girl was replacing her in his life. Pansy reached out and pulled her into a hug. "Welcome, Maria," she said, surprising everyone. She pulled back and smiled. "Maybe Draco will lessen up with a little sister around."
Marian laughed. "I'll try to make him less stiff," she said.
Blaise met Draco's eyes in a serious look. "How did your dad take it?" he asked.
Draco stiffened a bit. Marian saw this. "We left him and Narcissa yelling at each other," she said. "We left after I gave him the news that I was going to be living in the manor until my Auror training was completed and I had a place of my own."
Pansy stared. "You didn't," she said.
"She did," Draco said, slightly proud of his sister. She had the Malfoy boldness.
Pansy hugged Marian again. "Oh, I like you already," she said. "We are going to get along perfectly. Now, if you have any questions about us, we'll be more than happy to answer, as long as you answer the same questions." She pulled Marian over to another couch nearby and sat her down. She waved her wand and a tea tray appeared.
Draco and Blaise joined them, having no other choice. Besides, it was close to lunch and Pansy set a nice table. Draco took a chair near Marian, while Blaise took a chair next to Pansy. Pansy poured them all cups of tea and handed one to Marian.
"Now," Pansy said. "When did you find out that the man who raised you wasn't your father?"
"Pansy!" Draco said, appalled that his friend was asking such a question.
"About a week after my science fair project on genetics in fifth grade," Marian answered smoothly. "I noticed few similarities between my stepfather and myself. It wasn't that hard to know that someone else had sired me. Next question." She took a sip of tea. Her eyes widened and she looked at Pansy. "This is the best tea I've ever tasted, Pansy. It's so rich and smooth. Tell me, what is it?"
Pansy beamed. "It's just regular Earl Grey. I thought that we could have a light tea before lunch. You will stay for lunch, won't you?"
Marian smiled. "I would love to." She looked at her brother. "Is that alright with you, Draco? I don't know if there's something else that you wanted to do today."
Draco nodded his head, stunned into silence.
"What was that?" Blaise asked.
Marian knew he was talking about her manner. She smiled and said, "I assume that Pansy was talking so bluntly because she wanted to see how I would handle having such inappropriate questions shot my way by reporters when this hits the fan. It's not everyday that one of Voldemort's oldest Death Eater families, who defected before the final battle, has a new member show up. Especially if that member is the by product of an affair and had been living in America for the past 19 years, pretending to be a 'Yoder'. They're going to have a field day." Marian turned to Pansy. "How did I do?" she asked.
Pansy smiled. "Couldn't do better if I tried," she said.
"So, you shagged any good boys lately?" Blaise asked.
Pansy shot him an irritated look. "I doubt that will be one of the questions-"
"Sorry, no," Marian said. She leaned forward a bit. "But you won't believe what this one girl I know can do. She takes this small feather and-"
"I think," Draco said quickly, "That Marian can handle herself." He looked at Marian and she smiled softly. He could see that she was jerking Blaise's chain.
Tea continued with pleasant, and appropriate, conversation. It was like they'd always been friends. Marian and Pansy had even gotten the boys to agree to take them to Diagon Alley after Tea.
"Oh," Pansy said as they stood to leave. "You can't go dressed like that. You're far too muggle. I'm assuming you don't have anything less muggle, so you'll borrow one of my outfits. I have a pretty periwinkle sundress that would look wonderful with your complexion."
"But it's raining outside," Marian pointed out. "It'll get wet."
"Not to worry. It comes with a jacket that magically keeps all rain off of you without damaging the fabric," Pansy said, pulling her out of the room.
Blaise turned to Draco. "You sure you have an interesting sister," he said. Draco nodded. "Can you handle the reporters? That Rita Skeeter is going to be all over this story."
Draco looked at his friend. "I think Marian can handle herself," he said. He looked at the door the two girls had left by. "But I'll be close at hand just in case."