Adrianna woke early the next day. The sun sifted pleasantly in through the open window as Glumly, the house elf, drew back the long velvet curtains and fastened them in place with thick gold cord. She jumped as she saw Adrianna looking at her.
'Sorry Miss, morning Miss,' she muttered in a shrill voice. I thought you was sleeping. I didn't mean …'
'It's alright, Glumly,' she interrupted, 'I'm not Lucius, you don't have to explain yourself to me.' Glumly was obviously terrified of her uncle, and was scared that she would tell him that she'd seen her; a house elf wasn't supposed to be seen going about his daily duties, the house was just supposed to appear to run itself.
'What time is it?' she said, stretching out sleepily.
'About half past six, miss,' Glumly said, clicking her fingers to light a fire in the grate – purple, her favourite colour. Adrianna smiled; it was hours until she had to face her uncle.
As Adrianna dressed in the clothes that Glumly lay out for her, her mood dampened slightly. It was such a beautiful day - perfect weather for flying - but she would have to go without. She couldn't even ask her Aunt Narcissa when she was likely to get her broom back. She sighed - it was going to be a long last week at the manor if she had to spend it without flying.
At breakfast Adrianna was relieved to see that Lucius had already left for the ministry. Draco sat stony faced as Narcissa gave him a brusque dressing down for disobeying her the night before. Adrianna had to try hard to suppress a grin – it was usually her on the receiving end.
'Adrianna was there too,' he said sulkily, seeing her amusement and casting her a withering look.
'Adrianna wasn't the one who expressly disobeyed me,' Narcissa said firmly. 'Anyway, it was you who persuaded her, no doubt, to play. You should be setting your cousin an example not leading her astray; she is an impressionable young girl.' Draco snorted, and Adrianna felt a sharp stab of anger. She thought her Aunt had more sense than to believe that girls were somehow 'more impressionable'. Anyway she wasn't even that much younger than Draco - there was only a few months in it, and they were in the same school year.
'No, Draco, I won't hear another word about it,' Narcissa was saying. 'You are lucky that your father didn't deal with you far more severely. Fortunately for you, perhaps, he has other, more important, things on his mind.' Adrianna's stomach suddenly jolted. In the morning haze of fine weather, bacon sandwiches and cups of tea she had forgotten about the conversation that she had heard the night before.
'What things?' she said before she could stop herself; Draco lifted his eyes up from his plate with curiosity.
Narcissa gave her a long hard look as though she was weighing something up in her mind.
'None of your business, young lady,' she said at last. 'And don't forget that he has you to deal with later. I would advise you to be prompt, and put on something more eloquent than that ugly set of - well, would you call them robes?'
Adrianna glowered. She had on her favourite outfit; sky-blue robes, like the uniform at Beaubaxtons, but shaped elegantly round her body like a muggle dress. The style was extremely popular with all the Beaubaxton students (from pure-bloods to mugglesborns) as they did not have the unflattering bagginess of witch robes. Adrianna loved the low cut collar which flattered her slender neck, and the bagged sleeves that hung loosely over her forearms but clung tightly to her shoulders.
Draco was smirking at her, and she made up her mind that she wouldn't change for her Uncle.
After breakfast, Adrianna's day at the manor was spent restlessly waiting for the meeting with her Uncle. She had had a troubled nights sleep; dreams about that creature and his horrible gnarled feet and rasping voice had haunted her. Unfortunately she didn't even have the relief of waking to find it was a dream. She couldn't get what she had heard out of her head and had turned it over and over, trying to attach some explanation to it other than the fact that Voldemort was back, and all the time wondering what the creature had meant. Her Uncle wasn't the type to let anyone threaten him – least of all someone not human; but his eyes had betrayed the disquiet that he had tried to hide behind a lazy drawl. If Voldemort was back it seemed possible that her Uncle may have done something to fall out of his favour – something that this creature knew about.
Adrianna had sought out Draco to try and gain some information from him, but he was in a foul mood; the combination of the glorious flying weather and the confiscation of his broom had made him irritable and ridiculously sorry for himself. He had bitten Adrianna's head off when she had tried to broach the subject of the creature.
'How do I know what that foul thing wanted father for,' he had said. 'I hardly think he's going to worry about some troll or gnome or whatever it was!'
'But, Draco, aren't you the least bit curious about what he said about Voldemort.' Her cousin had winced at her use of Voldemort's name.
'Don't call him that, call him the Dark Lord – if father catches you …'
'The Dark Lord, then,' she had interrupted impatiently.
'Why should I be concerned? It's Potter and Granger and all the other little mudblood lovers that should worry. Father's been hinting for ages that he thought Voldemort would return, so why should I be surprised when he does? It might shake up things a bit. Shame it wasn't Potter that he killed in the Triwizard Tournament though' he had added wistfully.'
Adrianna had had no polite answer for that barrage of nonsense so instead she had satisfied herself with pushing her cousin roughly out of the way and storming off. Her cousin was really impossible sometimes. She knew that he wasn't nearly as cruel and as twisted as her Uncle, but instead of being glad about it he seemed to do anything he could to make sure people thought he was. It wasn't even as if her Uncle appreciated it. She saw how Lucius looked upon him with disdain every time he said anything at dinner, and she had seen Draco's crestfallen expressions when he returned from unpleasant interviews with his father. She didn't know why he bothered with the bravado act, it was obvious that Lucius thought Draco was a disappointment.
After getting nowhere with Draco, Adrianna had decided to distract herself by spending some time in the library – which was her second favourite pastime, after flying. The library at the Manor was vast and covered about as much space as the house itself. It was piled ceiling high with volumes and volumes of thick bound books which gave off, at least in Adrianna's opinion, a magical mix of smells - leather, fresh parchment and must. The library contained almost every spell book that had ever been published – including volumes that related specifically to the dark arts. Adrianna knew this because she had spent a hot and stuffy week dusting them all with rags one summer as a punishment from her Uncle for him catching her talking to a muggle boy in the nearby village. The volumes had names such as 'Sorcery for the Blackest Heart', 'Incantations for the Soulless' and 'How to Poison Your Friends'.
There were many disturbing pictures in the books which showed mangled wizards and witches confined forever to St Mungos, their limbs replaced by various reptiles or their features contorted in eternal agony. Perhaps the most disturbing book, however, had been the one that Adrianna had found on the top shelf in a forgotten corner - inches thick with dust and mould and tangled with silvery spider's webs, the weavers of which were long since dead and decomposed. The title had was 'Pain, Death, Blood and its Uses'. Adrianna had been unable to prevent herself from flicking through this ghastly sounding book and had found not only a chapter on Horcruxes, which she knew were strictly forbidden (and the explanation of which had made her tremble), but also a chapter entitled 'Family Curses'. This, to Adrianna seemed even worse than the Horcruxes as it described an ancient brand of magic that utilised blood ties, loyalty, betrayal (not to mention blood and body parts) for power or revenge. Adrianna had read no further that this and had snapped the book shut in the disgust that her uncle should even have such books in his library.
Today she stuck to the more friendly sections; simple spells and curses that might be useful upon her return to Beaubaxtons. Strictly speaking she was not allowed to do magic out of school, but there were many complex concealment charms and enchantments that protected the Malfoy Manor from the prying eyes of the ministry and so Adrianna felt safe to practice some of the spells she found. One of them was a new offshoot of the accio spell which Adrianna thought was clever. It allowed the required object to sneak undetected into the recipient's hand. Adrianna tried it most successfully with a quill she positioned on a shelf across the room, which when she called it wound its way behind table legs and across the floor before Adrianna felt it nestle silently into her hand. The most useful she found, however, was the recipe for a potion which had many of the properties of polyjuice potion but took one tenth of the time to brew. It made all those but relatives believe that the drinker was someone else; though it was also said to be unreliable around close friends! Adrianna decided to ignore this particular disadvantage and copied it out into the small blue spell book which she always carried in her top pocket satisfied that she would be able to find a use for it.
For a few hours she had been able to forget all about her Uncle and his stupid meeting; but the time on the pendulum clock that hung like a hammer over her head now read one-thirty and, sighing, she replaced the books she had borrowed back on their shelves knowing it was time for her to climb the staircase to his office.
Adrianna knocked on the large oak door.
'Come in,' said a drawling voice. As she entered she saw Lucius seated behind his desk, a quill in his hand. He looked up. 'Shut the door.'
Adrianna did as she was told, all he time thinking, however, that she was trapping herself. He did not offer her the small, hard stool that was positioned at the front of his desk (probably to make his visitors appear smaller, she thought), and so she stood before him whilst he finished painting ink across a long roll of parchment covered in the elegant loops and precise dots of his hand.
After what felt like an eternity he put his quill down on the table. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her.
'How many times have I told you that you are to appear in full robes in front of me?'
'These are robes,' she said obstinately.
Lucius picked up the cane with the silver headed serpent and removed his wand from the casing. Adrianna stepped back slightly with a sharp intake of breath as he pointed it at her and said a loud incantation. She closed her eyes, much to his amusement, expecting the worst but instead she felt a loud whooshing against her skin, almost like being stuck in a whirlpool. When it ceased and she looked down she saw that she was dressed in an ugly black set of traditional robes that must have been at least a hundred years outdated.
'That's better,' he said, noting with satisfaction his niece's outraged look and red face. He then pointed his wand at one of his draws and muttered an inaudible spell. The draw opened with a click and he took out an envelope which he placed on the desk. Adrianna's heart skipped a beat when she saw the broken red seal of Beaubaxtons; Draco had been right.
'Read it,' he said simply. Adrianna looked at him uncertainly. 'Come along,' he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms, his eyes watching her carefully, 'Don't keep us waiting – its about you after all.'
Adrianna felt a sudden irritation and drew back her shoulders. She was not going to act like a little girl waiting to be scolded – she was no coward. She picked the letter up violently from the table, and opened it, ripping the envelope slightly as she did so in silent rebellion. Lucius raised his eyebrow but said nothing. She cast her eyes backwards and forwards across Madame Maxine's scrawl.
Dear Mr and Mrs Malfoy
Further to our recent discussion with regards to Adrianna's behaviour I am sorry to report that yet again
'Out loud!'
Her Uncles voice cut coldly through the room. Adrianna halted and turned angry eyes on her Uncle.
'Since the seal is broken I presume that you already know the contents – Uncle'
'Indeed. Severus, however, does not.'
Severus? Adrianna whipped her head round to the far corner of the room; sure enough, Severus Snape emerged from the shadows, giving her a sardonic little nod.
Adrianna had seen Draco's housemaster on only two previous occasions. One had been when she was nine and her father had held a dinner party which he had attended. Adrianna had crept out of her bed to watch what was going on and he had caught her peering over the banister of the staircase. She had been terrified that he would give her away to her Aunt and Uncle, but he had assured her that he would not on condition that she returned to bed immediately. The second time had been when she had taken her broom and run away from the manor two summers ago after she had been confined to her room following yet another owl from Madame Maxine. She had bumped into Snape in a nearby village, where, unfortunately for her, he had recognised her immediately. That time he had not let her get away so lightly, and had accompanied her back to the manor where a furious Lucius had given her a thorough dressing down, much to Snape's apparent amusement, and instructed a house-elf to lock her in the cellar until bed time. Her cheeks burned as she recalled the humiliating experience of being reprimanded in front of the horrible greasy man, and her anger bubbled dangerously near to the surface.
'We are waiting Adrianna.'
'Well, why don't you read it yourself, then,' she said angrily, flinging the letter down on the table, unable to control her temper any longer. Either way she knew that Lucius was going to make her suffer for whatever the letter contained, but she decided that she wasn't going to participate in his little game.
A flash of fury flickered through Lucius's pale eyes. He looked almost like he was about to strike her. But in the end he simply settled back in his chair and did nothing.
'You will read it out loud for Severus to hear. We will wait until you decide to do so. But mark me, for every minute you keep us waiting you will spend one hour in the cellar.'
Adrianna bit her lip. She knew that he had her. The cellar of the Malfoy mansion, one level above the dungeon, was cold, dank and littered with spider's webs. Adrianna had spent many hours within it as punishment for her actions and she had sometimes even had her toes nibbled by what she supposed were rats, though it was always to dark to see clearly. It was the ultimate deterrent as far as she was concerned and she wrestled with how far she could afford to push it.
Lucius, perhaps sensing her conflict pursed his lips into a mocking smile as he folded his arms and waited for her to act. Adrianna made it through three tense minutes (much to the disdain of an impatient Snape) before she finally picked the letter back up, her hands trembling with rage.
'Good,' Lucius said, leaning forward again, 'that little act of defiance has earned you four hours in the cellar. Now go on.'
Four? Adrianna was about to protest, but realising that it would be futile, stopped herself and began to stammer her way through the letter, her face flushed with anger and an uncomfortable degree of humiliation …
Dear Mr and Mrs Malfoy
Further to our recent discussion with regards to Adrianna's behaviour I am sorry to report that yet again she has been caught using unauthorised magic to harm a fellow student. This time the student in question was transfigured into a cockroach
Adrianna gulped at this; Snape raised a greasy eyebrow …
Though I am pleased that Adrianna seems to have an excellent grasp of transfiguration well beyond her years (there have been rumours that she performed the spell without enunciation), this is obviously completely unacceptable magic. Therefore I think that perhaps the course of action we discussed at the end of last term is for the best after all.
I have spoken at length to Albus Dumbledore and he has agreed …
Adrianna broke off abruptly.
'What course of action?' she asked suspiciously. She felt panic start somewhere at the ends of her fingertips – why would Dumbledore, Draco's headmaster be consulted, and just what was Snape doing there? Lucius smiled at her trepidation.
'To withdraw you from Beaubaxton's and instate you at Hogwarts.'
Adrianna felt like the floor had dropped from beneath her feet. She gave a small gasp, her head swimming and her pulse throbbing in her ears.
'You can't do that!' she said, in a strange distant voice that did not feel like her own.
'Oh I assure you, Adrianna, I have.'
Lucius's face showed not the slightest sympathy for the anguish that was so obviously shown his niece's expression. In fact it pleased him. He resented having Adrianna as a part of his family and he took great delight in quashing the disobedience that she had obviously inherited from the Blacks.
'But I don't want to go! Uncle, please …' She grit her teeth trying to steel herself, 'I promise to be better behaved. The – cockroach – was taunting our family …'
'Silence!' barked Lucius. 'I will not argue with you,' - she opened her mouth to protest '– 'It has been arranged,' he added firmly. 'I will not allow you to disgrace this family by being expelled. I want you somewhere where I can keep a closer eye upon you. Severus has agreed to monitor your progress.'
Adrianna snapped her eyes to where Snape was lingering in the shadows.
'I do not want Snape anywhere near me!' she snarled, so incensed that she could not contain herself. Something unreadable passed through the professor's eyes before her curled his lips into a sneer.
'Now I am your teacher, Miss Malfoy, I expect you to refer to me as Professor or Sir. Your father has spoken to me in length about your attitude and I assure you that you will not be allowed to get away with such behaviour at Hogwarts.'
'I'M NOT GOING TO HOGWARTS!' Adrianna shouted, her whole body now shaking with anger. '
'Oh yes you are.' Lucius's voice was quiet but it had a dangerous fury behind it. 'And you might remember, Adrianna, that it is of your own making. Had you behaved yourself at Beaubaxtons thee would have been no need to move you at all.'
Lucius's words jolted through Adrianna's body like an well aimed expelliarmus spell. She knew that the matter was closed. She felt hot tears prickle at the corner of her eyes and felt that she had to get immediately away from the office and the two unpleasant men before she lost control.
'Am I dismissed Uncle?' she asked with as much contempt as she could muster. He looked at her for a few long moments, searching her face, when he found what he sought he smiled cruelly.
'Yes. Severus and I have much to discuss.' He snapped his fingers and Glumly immediately appeared.
'Yes master?'
'Take Adrianna to the cellar,' Lucius said, a malevolent gleam in his eye. 'She will remain there until I instruct otherwise.' He turned his attention to Adrianna: 'I think another hour or two for your rudeness to Severus.'
In the corner of the room, through the shadows, Adrianna thought she saw the greasy Professor smirk.
'Yes Uncle,' she said through a clenched jaw. She and the house elf turned to leave.
'Oh, and Glumly, if you give her anything to eat then nothing will pass your own lips for one week.'
'Yes master,' whimpered Glumly as they left the office.