3. Malfoy Manor

Set ca. 2001


Malfoy Manor rose from the surrounding country in a mass of grey walls and ivy-clad towers. It stood on a hill, sitting there like a gargoyle in its nest, looking down upon the surrounding countryside, watching it, ruling it. The landscape in these parts of Britain was wild and not without beauty, but the Manor was the only human dwelling for miles in each direction. Much of this land, of rocky hills, forests and little ditches and ponds was Malfoy property.

A steep, winding road, more a path than an actual driveway, snaked up to the main gate. Heavy oakwood, decorated with ironwork barred the way, and the high walls towered ominously over any stray visitor, daring him to try and enter.

To Luna, the Manor looked like a dark and possibly evil twin of Manderley. Even the sea was not too far away, she was certain that you could see it from those tower windows. Much like Hogwarts, the Manor was unplottable and guarded against apparition spells, but the large gate swung open to greet the master of the house of its own account. She didn't want to enter this house, not even the vast park surrounding it, but her feet moved seemingly of their own account, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Lucius, the bastard, had put her under the Imperius Curse, wanting to spare himself the embarrassment of dragging a kicking and screaming girl off to his lair.

The soft patter of tiny feet sounded to their right, and a house elf appeared on the path next to them. It had truly impressive ears and was clad in a meticulously clean dish-towel bearing the Malfoy family crest.

"Greetings, Master!" It squeaked, and Lucius nodded in return, looking down upon it almost benevolently.

"Good evening, Gytha. Is everything calm and quiet at the house?"

It was an odd question, but it seemed to be important to Lucius.

The house elf – Gytha – nodded eagerly. "Yes, Master. Master Draco was feeling unwell earlier today and is now resting in his chambers. There have been no visitors while you were gone, but one of your owls came back with a letter and Master Severus has sent word that he will attend the dinner you invited him to."

"Has someone sent after a healer for Draco?"

The house elf shifted uncomfortably, as if it had feared that very question. "I am sorry, Master. We wanted to do so, but Master Draco insisted that it was not necessary and said that he wished to be alone."

Lucius sighed, before looking up to the house sharply. "You did not leave him alone, did you?"

"No, Master, of course not!" Gytha assured him.

"Good. Tell your people to have dinner ready at eight o'clock. We will dine in the red room, and I would have the table set for two, but be prepared to add another cover if Draco decides to join us."

Gytha bowed and nodded. "Does master wish to have rooms prepared for his guest?"

Lucius cast a glance at Luna, as if considering where to put her, before nodding his head. "Yes. The west-facing tower room, if you please."

Gytha bowed again, then disappeared.

Considering all that she had heard about Dobby being mistreated in the Malfoy household, Luna was surprised to see how politely Lucius had spoken to this elf. But maybe it had all been for show. For some reason she could not yet make out, he seemed to be eager to appear the perfect gentleman in front of her. It only served to make her even more suspicious than she already was. She did not know for what sinister purposes Lucius had brought her here, but she could make a few educated guesses, and none of them offered any comfort.

Lucius roused her from her thoughts, taking her arm and leading her up the garden path. "Gytha is the head elf of the Manor. Her family has been living here since it was built. It is the oldest and most numerous family of elves that lives here. There are others, but Gytha, her three daughters, two sons and five grandchildren are among my best and most loyal servants. They would rather die than betray the Malfoy family. Some of their relatives have, actually. If you need anything or get lost, call Gytha. She knows the Manor better than I do myself."

"How could I get lost, when you're planning to lock me up in a tower?" Luna asked scathingly.

"I am not planning to lock you up," Lucius replied with a slight frown, "I asked Gytha to prepare the tower room because it has a nice view."

Luna was trying to think of an unfriendly comeback to that, but they had arrived at the door, and Lucius held it open for her. Upon entering the great entrance hall, and despite herself, she gasped. It was beautiful; there was just no other word for it. It had a high ceiling, painted in colors paled with age, but still lively. The themes of the painting mythological, they all depicted scenes from the life of the Greek sorceress Circe. They began with her birth, showing her as a child in the arms of her mother, the Oceanid Perse, with her father, the sun god Helios resplendent in yellow, gold and orange in the background. Others showed her at the wedding of her sister Pasiphae to King Minos of Crete, the murder of her husband, the ruler of Colchis, and her subsequent exile, her relations with Odysseus. The last two showed her being murdered by his son Telemachus, and her daughter Cassiphone's revenge.

The floor, in contrast, was made of intricate wood inlays, and it was hard to decide where to keep your eyes – cast down to admire the woodwork, or looking up to take in the full splendor of the ceiling.

There were three flights of stairs leading down into the hall, one broad and stately, two narrower, curving up in elegant wooden spirals. Four doors, two on each side, led to adjacent rooms and hallways. The entire hall seemed to serve no other purpose than to impress visitors.

How very… Malfoy.

Quiet steps sounded on the smaller stairway to the right, and a man came into sight, his movements carefully measured, almost hesitatingly. He was tall, though not as tall as Lucius, his face looking somewhat haggard, as if he had lost a lot of weight in a short span of time.

Luna almost wouldn't have recognized him, especially since she had expected him to be dead or rotting away in a dungeon akin to hers.

She stared incredulously, her eyes growing larger and larger.

No. It couldn't possibly be –

"Master." The man bowed. He must have seen Luna, but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes concentrating solely on Lucius.

"I hear that Draco is in one of his misanthropic moods," Lucius said, regret or maybe disappointment, clearly audible in his voice. "You should have sent for a healer anyway."

"I did. She left after waiting for two hours in the study, because Draco refused to see her." His voice betrayed no emotion, and his face remained carefully guarded.

Once again, Lucius sighed. "I shall speak to him." His eyes darted to Luna, then he looked back to his servant. "Take care of Miss Lovegood. See to it that her room is prepared and that she gets everything she needs. I will have Gytha send for a tailor tomorrow, but for the time being, magic will have to suffice. She is about Narcissa's size, have the elves adjust some of her clothing for her." He smiled wryly. "Do try to make her more comfortable. She does not trust me, but seeing that the two of you are old friends, maybe she will trust you more."

He turned and left by one of the doors, but not without pausing to mutter the appropriate counter curse and flicking his wand at Luna almost negligently.

Luna was still staring at the man in front of her. "Neville…?" She asked incredulously.

He had changed. A lot. Not only in looks – his unremarkable brown hair was now pulled back in a short, somewhat messy ponytail and he looked years older than the last time she'd seen him -, but there was also an entirely different air about him. This was not the gentle, naïve, clumsy boy she remembered from their school days. This man had been to hell and back, and he had retained the haunted look in his eyes. His face looked as if he would never smile again.

"It is good to see you alive, Luna," he said simply. "Come. You must want to get out of that filthy clothing, wash and rest a little."

"But… but Neville, what are you doing here?"

"I am Lucius Malfoy's personal servant. A slave, if you want, even though he doesn't treat me as such. I serve as the Malfoys' butler, and I try to take care of Master Draco… if he lets me, that is. He doesn't like the idea of having to rely on others."

"Master Draco?"

Neville looked at her, his large eyes clouded with a soft sadness. "A lot of things have changed, Luna."

"What's wrong with Draco?" Not that she was concerned about the spoilt brat, but she wanted to know as much as possible about the Malfoys. It might yet prove useful…

"He is very sick, and has been for a while. You will probably get to see him in the course of the next few days. It is rare for him to leave his apartment for long, but he does come down to have lunch with his father almost every day."

"And Narcissa?"

"Narcissa is dead," Neville replied shortly, before changing the subject: "Come. Lucius Malfoy is a gracious host. I suggest that you take advantage of the comforts of Malfoy Manor while you can."

"But what does he want from me…?" Luna asked almost timidly.

Neville shrugged. "I have no idea. He will tell you in time, I am sure."

Luna had to admit that no matter how she felt about Lucius, soaking in the hot bath and washing off the filth and grime of the dungeon was very close to Heaven on Earth. When she finally left the bathtub, she found soft, plushy towels and a robe laid out for her. There were ebony brushes and combs, inlaid with ivory. Powders and creams and flagons of perfume. When she stepped into the dressing room, she was greeted by an eager house elf, offering her a stack of clothes. They were witches robes, emerald green with tiny golden flowers stitched onto their hem and in a circle around the wrists. There were harem pants of the same exquisite fabric to go with them, and soft leather shoes, as well as undergarments.

Narcissa's robes, Luna thought uncomfortably. It felt odd that she should be wearing them.

The house elf offered to help her, but she shooed it away.

Standing in front of the mirror, she frowned at her image. So Neville looked haggard? Hark who was talking! Sadly, Lucius had been right when he had told her that she wasn't much to look at.

Well, at the very least she felt almost clean now, and she had brushed her hair for the first time in weeks. It had taken quite a while to comb out all the tangles and swirl it into something resembling an orderly knot at the back of her head.

No amount of scrubbing and brushing could clear away the traces of months in captivity and on the run. The pain, fear, hopelessness and misery had etched themselves deeply into her soul and they had left their visible traces on her face and in her eyes, too.

No matter what she did, she would never be the dreamy, dopey girl of sixteen again. And no mask would ever hide her fear.

But for the moment, she was in a warm, comfortable place, and truth be told, that was the best thing that had happened to her in the past few months. She had no idea how long it would last, but while it lasted, she could make the most of it.

Troubled with looks and cosmetics, are we?

It was a bit silly, given her position.

A soft knock sounded at the door. "Come in," she said, and found that it was Neville.

"Dinner is served," he announced.

"And Lucius is expecting me, isn't he?" Luna asked, frowning.

Neville nodded. "I am afraid that you won't see Draco tonight."

"Oh that is quite alright… one Malfoy is bad enough, I really don't need two of them."

"Draco has changed, too," was all Neville said in reply.


I admit that the story may be a bit confusing right now, given all the time jumps, but I promise it will get easier as we move along. The main intention of the first few chapters is to introduce the main characters and to raise questions that will be answered in later chapters. I do want to pique your curiosity after all. Still, if there is anything that strikes you as too odd or confusing, do tell me. Sadly, I do not have a regular beta reader for my stories, so I rely on the help of my readers when it comes to correcting mistakes and flaws in the storyline.

And even if you don't find anything to criticise - reviews are always appreciated ;)