A/N: This is where we start to change things up a little. Most of this chapter is my myself and later on, Abbie's work is brought in. I thought we might want to spend a little bit of alone time with dear Leo before we moved on. Fair warning: I went overboard on describing her room... her room is exactly my dream room.
Leo was absolutely in love with her new room. The room had a multitude of colors in it, being deep purple, lime green, electric blue, and hot pink. There were also accents of her most beloved animal print all throughout the room.
"How the hell did they know what my favorite colors are? And this zebra print! This is just gorgeous!" her mind screamed at her. The walls were painted zebra striped, but instead of it being black and white, the white was replaced with the other bright colors.
All of the wood furnishings looked to be a medium oak. Bookshelves lined all of one wall and in the center of the shelving was an elaborate built-in desk. To the right of the bookshelves were French doors leading out to a beautiful balcony that ran the length of the house.
The wall between the bookshelf and the French doors was painted plain black and Leo thought it odd. She went over to the wall to see a note scribbled on it in chalk.
"Chalkboard wall! Thought you would find it easier for your constant lists and such. Got Blaise to help me paint it as a special treat for you. Chalk in the top drawer of the desk, cheers. DLM"
Leo sat there not believing her eyes. "Who knew that Draco Malfoy had such a sweet side!? I can't believe how sweet this is!" she thought. "I'll have to watch out for him, I have a feeling this sweetness will get me in trouble."
She got up and moved to look at the rest of the room. Opposite the balcony doors was a black sectional sofa with a zebra area rug in front of it. On the rug was an intricate glass coffee table.
There were two doors, one on either side of the sofa. One led to her walk-in closet and the other to the most amazing en-suite bath she had ever seen. Across the room, to the right of the French doors, was a long dresser with a three-sided mirror mounted on top.
Her favorite part of the room, however, had to be the beautiful king-sized, pillow top, four-poster bed. The sheets were pure silk and matched the patterns on the walls. There were four pillows on it, each one of the bright colors. She flopped down on the bed and thought about the day she had so far.
"Well, I found out that 18 years of my life was a lie to protect me from Voldemort and I am really a pure-blood Zabini. I left my old home and am now in my amazing new bedroom at my HUGE Manor, not to mention that the family that had despised me are now family friends and love me to bits.
My old friends that I went to hell and back with still have no idea about the truth and to top everything off, I have a smoking new body." she thought.
"All this and it's just hitting noon. Ha, just another day in the screwed up life of me." Leo decided that brooding about it will get her nowhere, so she set out to unpack her things.
Leo brought all of her boxes and trunk out of her beaded handbag and set them about the room. There was a little pop and she whirled around to see a house-elf dressed in what looks to be a dingy pillowcase. The elf squeaked and looked at her with huge blue eyes, then did a deep curtsy, her nose almost touching the floor.
"Miny is here to help the Mistress unpack. Miny is malady's personal elf," she said shakily. Leo looked at the elf who was now staring at her with hope in her eyes.
Leo still hated the mistreatment of house elves and believed that they should be freed, but, she could tell that the elf really did want to serve and help her. How could she say no to such a small and kind creature?
"Ok Miny you may be my personal elf but we are going to lay down some rules first," she said. The elf nodded enthusiastically, her big ears flapping at the motion.
"Alright, the only way I know to get a house elf to properly take care of itself as well as its master or mistress is to order it to do so. Here goes nothing..."
"Miny, I expect you to be clothed in an actual dress from now on. I will not have you in rags if you are to be mine. Do you understand?" she asked. The elf looks apprehensive, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Leo knew why.
"This is not punishment or me freeing you, I want you to look honorable for me and my family. I also want you to be clean and well fed. I do not want an unkempt house elf. I expect you to work when needed and rest and eat when you are supposed to. I am also going to treat you with respect. I refuse to physically abuse you and expect you do not maim yourself in my care. Is that understood Miny? This is very important to me." Leo finished with a reassuring smile.
Miny looked at her with tears in her eyes and for a moment Leo thought she did something wrong. Then Miny sobbed with a smile.
"Thank you, Mistress! Miny was told she was going to serve the former Hermione Granger and thought she would be freed without a chance to serve. Mistress is letting Miny stay! Mistress won't hurt Miny, she knows that and Miny will do as she is asked. Do you wish Miny to change now? What color should Miny wear to please her Mistress?" rushed the excited elf. She seemed to be bouncing with joy.
Leo sighed with relief and happiness, "How about a blue dress today? I would like you to have a few to choose from so you don't wear the same one every day. Ok? And to signify that you are proudly mine you will wear the colors of my room. That is four dresses for you to switch off from." Miny nodded and winked out of the room.
"I can't believe that actually worked! It really would be nice to have extra help. As long as she knows to take care of herself, along with me, then this will work out perfectly! At least I know that she is in good hands and not with an abusive family like so many others." she thought excitedly.
A minute later, Miny popped back in with a pretty blue dress on and the initials LZ over her heart.
"Great, it's perfect!" Leo exclaimed. "Now I want you to unpack my books and set them on the shelves in alphabetical order, by the author, from left to right. There are Muggle, as well as magical books, and I want them separated. Got it?" she asked. Miny nodded, curtsied, and set off to work.
As Miny was doing the books, Leo set off to unpack her clothes. At first, Miny didn't want her to, but when she explained that she wasn't a helpless vegetable and she was doing this whether Miny liked it or not, she got no more complaints.
When they were done, Miny went to get Leo a drink. Leo left her trunk at the foot of the bed for easy access and she looks down at her clothes. She decided to change as she was still in the short-shorts and vest top that she left the Grangers in.
"Hmmm, what to wear. Shit, not a lot of my clothes fit me anymore." she thought as she rummaged through her closet.
Miny returned with a glass of cold pumpkin juice, as it was a hot summer day. As Leo sipped her juice she decided to clean out all the clothes she knew she wouldn't fit into any longer. It depressed her to watch as Miny went through and took out all the clothes that were too small for her. She didn't have many clothes in the first place and she had to cut that number almost in half.
When Miny finished, she decided to change into her favorite faded jean short-shorts and an electric blue, off-the-shoulder top with black converse.
She left Miny with orders to donate the un-wearable clothes and then finish unpacking her hair, makeup and bathroom supplies, while she went off to explore the house more. Blaise gave her a map of the house much like the Marauders Map that Harry has of Hogwarts.
"I think I'm going to explore the kitchen." she thought with a giggle. "I wonder if my metabolism is ready to be pampered by a house elf."
Halfway to the kitchen, she heard the doorbell go off and immediately went to answer it. She suddenly stopped and thought "Shit, should I get it or should I wait for Blaise to get it. I don't know if I'm supposed to keep this a secret or not...well fuck it. I live here too now. Might as well act like it."
She was in the foyer when she saw Miny open the door to see who it was. She heard male voices and decided to let her house elf deal with them, so she just leaned up against the wall and waited. Miny looked at her as if to ask if they were allowed in, Leo nodded her consent.
Two teenage boys walked in after Miny opened the door more. They were talking about the absurdity of a house elf in a blue dress when they noticed Leo. They stopped and just stared at her, jaws dropped. She recognized each of them as Theodore Nott and Adrian Pucey, both in her year at school, both in Slytherin, both extremely attractive, but most importantly, both are players.
The boys cleared their throats at the same time and straighten themselves out to look respectable in front of a lady. "Yup, players alright."Leo thought.
"Hello, I'm Adrian Pucey and this is…" Adrian had started and Theodore jumped in to say his name himself, "I'm Theodore Nott but please call me Theo. " he said, as he kissed her hand.
She smiled politely and said "Yes, Of course. I know who you both are. You must be here for Blaise thought. Miny, show our guests to the sitting room and then get some drinks while I get Draco and Blaise."
Before they could ask who she was, she had turned and disappeared down the hall to find her brother. She took her map out and saw that they were in Draco's room.
She knocked on the door when she arrived, Draco opened the door and both boys stood in the doorway sweating and panting.
"Leo, what's up?" her brother asked, still trying to catch his breath. She noticed their clothes were rumpled and she instantly thought the worst.
"Umm Blaise, is there something you need to tell me?" she said slowly, looking between the two, hoping he would catch on. He did. His eyes went wide and he explained that they were having a fight, jokingly of course.
"Oh, ok. Well anyway, your friends Theo and Adrian are downstairs. I thought you'd want to know." They made their way downstairs and Leo watched as all the boys greeted each other with manly hugs and handshakes.
"I wonder how he is going to explain me. He is going to have to tell them I'm his sister but how to explain why they have never seen me before?" she thought as the two new guys asked about her.
"Umm, guys, this is my twin sister Leo. I'm guessing you guys want to know what's going on, huh?" Blaise said to his friends. Both boys looked shocked and nodded their heads sitting down on a sofa together.
"Oh, well this is new. You're his sister, huh? I thought you were Draco's bird, ya know, cause you seem like his perfect girl, with the height, hair, eyes, and clothes." Theo said winking at her, making Leo blush lightly.
She then looked at herself. "I'm wearing kick back clothes and don't have much makeup on. I look like shit and he is winking at me. He said I'm Draco's type...am I really?"She looked over at Draco to see him glaring at Theo. There was a slight blush on his face, as well. and decided to drop the subject.
Blaise asked Leo if he was allowed to tell his friends what happened. She decided that they can know, as it would be nice to have a few people around that knew when Hogwarts started again. She nodded and sat down in a chair swinging her leg over the side, unintentionally giving all the men in the room a good look at her long, tanned legs.
As Blaise spoke she called Miny and asked how her room was coming along. When Miny said everything was in place, Leo asked for a bottle of water and just sat there sipping it with an amused expression, at the faces the two guys were making.
"So you see she has been in hiding for all this time and we just found her last night. We stayed up the whole night getting ready for her to come home with us this morning, and she did." Blaise finished.
Theo nodded and Adrian spoke up, "Where has she been?" She flinched knowing what was coming next and didn't know how they were going to take it.
"Well..." Blaise began, "she had a glamour charm on her remember, so she was hiding in plain sight..." he said trying to work his way around the question.
"Yeah, we get that, but who were you? Did you go to school with us? Did we know you?" Theo asked this time, directing them at Leo.
She took a deep breath and answered, "Yes, I did go to school with you and yes you did know me, but not in the way that you think." she paused for dramatic effect. "I used to be Hermione Granger," she said at last. The look on their faces were ones of shock, then morphed into understanding, then, to her confusion, pure fear.
They both started stuttering out apologies and explanations and then she understood why they were scared. They used to be cruel to her when she was Hermione and thought she would hate them and try to get back at them. She raised her hand to halt their stuttering and stumbling.
She smiled at them and said "I'm not going to kill you and I'll make sure my brother will never know the extent any of you went to, to harm me." she said to them. They both seemed to relax and smiled at her.
She couldn't help but smirk cruelly and add, "However, I make no promises that I won't return the favor. Draco got a piece this morning, he will tell you that those who push me will get pushed right back. I expect you two saw me in the Final Battle, as well...I'm letting him off easy because I wouldn't want to upset Lucius and Narcissa. You, however, should watch your backs. " She winked at them, got up and walked over to Blaise.
"Do you want to tell me how the fuck did you two know what my favorite colors are and that I love zebras? My room is absolutely bloody perfect!" she said looking at Blaise and Draco, not bothering with the gasps that she heard from the other two.
"Probably shocked from hearing the Gryffindor Golden Princess swear so commonly." she thought to herself. "And Draco you are such a dear for that chalkboard wall! That was so sweet of you!" she said. She walked over and gave him a big hug and, just to tease him, a kiss on the cheek.
"Just his type huh...we'll see." she thought with glee at seeing him blush.
"You better give him more than one kiss while you're at it sis," Blaise chuckled. "He was the one to do the room up. I just helped." Leo turned back to Draco who was looking at Blaise with narrowed eyes and his face completely red.
"Is that true Draco? How did you know?" she asked softly.
Draco looked at her and she swore that he turned even redder before, saying, "Yeah, I did it. I noticed that you wore those colors a lot and you always had something zebra on you, whether it be an accessory or your work journals." he replied shyly.
"Oh, well when I actually think about it...it's pretty obvious. Oh, well! Thank you, soo much though!" Leo said throwing her arms around him in another hug. She felt his arms come around her waist and for some reason she didn't want him to let go.
"You're most certainly welcome if I keep getting hugs like this." he laughed in her ear.
"Oh, this really does spell trouble. I can't feel this way, not right now...Come on Leo get your act together!" she thought. Leo pulled back from him with a smile and a wink and turned to her brother.
"Now brother dear, my things are unpacked and we should have some bonding time. What do you wanna do? Have that oh-so-important discussion about ourselves or find something actually fun to do." she said, sarcasm dripping off of the first part of her sentence.
"I really don't want to have that discussion while there are other people in the house and I just want to relax and move on from the painful past. Now that I know who I really am I can restart my life this way." she thought to herself. Blaise seemed to catch on and said they should all go swimming in the huge family pool.
Leo was glad he chose to do something else but was a bit nervous. "It would be me and four boys, Sure, one of them is my brother, and of course, I'm used to being around boys because of Harry, Ron and the whole Weasley family adopting me. These guys are Slytherins though, and hot ones at that.
Not to mention that I would have to be in a bathing suit and being the only girl, I'm probably going to be pawed at. What if they see the scars and bruises? What will they say?" she worried.
"I guess I just cover up as much as I can with makeup and glamours and avoid the water."
"Ok, great!" she said aloud. "I'll just go get my bathing suit on. Let me know when you are ready!" Leo said as she bounced out of the room. She didn't notice three pairs of eyes resting on her swaying hips and one looking at her with uncertainty, she was too lost in her own doubt and worry.
Scars from what? From the War? Hmmm, we will see.
Review Please!
