Surprisingly Pure
Chapter 4- Shopping and a Fight
Brenna arrived in the parlor at 16 minutes after sixteen hours. The room looked radically different than it had earlier. Mother was sitting on the couch flipping through dozens of books and placing markers every few pages. An elderly witch was had set up a small platform in the center of the room. There was an array of measuring tapes off to one side.
"Ah, Brenna this is Mrs. Sturgeon. Mrs. Sturgeon, my daughter, Brenna Malfoy." Narcissa said.
"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Sturgeon." Brenna said, still standing just inside the door.
"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Malfoy. If you would please step up on the platform I'll begin taking your measurements." Brenna stepped onto the platform and mentally prepared herself for the onslaught of tape measures she was certain to encounter. It surprised her more then to find that only two tape measures rose from the table at a time. They measured every inch of her body from the length around her head to the length of her feet. The measurements were promptly recorded on a diagram. Brenna gathered that all of her clothes would be custom fit.
"While your mother is choosing robes, perhaps you would like to choose your casual wear. Just imprint your first finger over anything you like." the witch said.
"Mark everything you like, dear. You need to have a lot of options, and you're not likely to grow anymore." Narcissa said with a smile. Brenna noted the way she was marking nearly every page in the robe booklet and gathered that price was not an issue. She flipped through the catalog marking at least a dozen pairs of jeans, lots of casual dresses, and a wide variety of shirts. Nothing had a price listed with it. When she finished, Mother called her over to the couch to the smaller album of dress robes and gowns.
"You'll need at least five sets outfits for parties, love. We'll get more as needed after that." Narcissa said, flipping once slowly through the pages. Brenna marked things that she liked best the second time through the book. Mother seemed to approve of her choices. "The best thing about it is that Mrs. Sturgeon will not make the dress robes you choose for anyone else, so you will never have to attend a party where another witch is wearing the same gown as you."
Shopping took two hours for everything that she needed. They had to choose casual clothes, dress clothes, shoes, pajamas, undergarments, hats, and cloaks. Brenna tried not to even think about the price of all this.
"Don't worry, Brenn. You will not often be allowed to shop like this. If you'd like you can watch Draco's turn to see what it will be like in the future." Narcissa said.
"No thank you, Mother. I think I need to go rest for a little while before dinner," she said politely. Her head was spinning. When they were nearly finished, Mother called for a house elf to send for Draco. Brenna walked calmly to the parlor door.
"Thank you Mrs. Sturgeon. Thank you, Mother."
"You're very welcome dear." Narcissa said.
"Your clothing should be ready by tomorrow evening." Mrs. Sturgeon replied. Brenna excused herself from the room and began the walk to her third floor bedroom. She met Draco halfway across the second floor.
"You look exhausted," he said, simply.
"Yes, I'm going to take a nap, I think. Have fun shopping," she said, walking past him. She walked straight up to her room, kicked off her shoes and relaxed into her bed.
A couple of hours later, Draco woke her up.
"Hey, it's time to get ready for dinner." he said. Brenna started to rise from the bed before he left the room. "Oh, you need to dress up for dinner," he said before stepping out of the room. Brenna groaned and walked into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face in an effort to wake up. She had some work to do before she was presentable for dinner. Hopefully she would have time.
She sat down at her vanity table hoping it was already fully loaded. One peek inside a drawer told her it was. There was every type of makeup she could need as well as a hairbrush, hair ornaments, and some perfume. She applied light but flattering makeup and brushed her hair thoroughly before braiding it. She picked a simple black dress from the wardrobe and low black heels. It was, after all, just a family dinner. There was a knock on the door and Narcissa slipped into the room.
"I just wanted to make sure you were well," she said.
"I'm fine. Is this appropriate for dinner?" Brenna asked.
"You look lovely, dear. You need to wear a robe to dinner though. We always dress for dinner here, even when no one is joining us." Narcissa said. She pulled a plain, black robe out for Brenna to wear. She hadn't worn grown women's robes before, just student robes. She loved the way in fit close all the way down to her waist before billowing out loosely.
"I hope you like the cut as I ordered at least two dozen for you this afternoon," Mother said.
"I do like it a lot. I had no idea that witch's robes could be so flattering."
"Yes, they do look rather nice on you, but the same does not work for everyone. You will notice this when we next have a party. There are many heavier witches who try to wear the same robes. It does not always carry such appeal." Narcissa said, wrinkling her nose. Brenna laughed. "Well, now that you're ready let's go down to dinner."
Dinner in the manor wasn't like lunch at all. They sat in the same places, but everyone was well dressed in traditional wizard robes. They were eating alone that night, but Draco said it wasn't at all unusual for Father to invite whoever he was doing business with at the end of the day to stay for dinner. The food was also much more elaborate. They had a roast chicken, fresh summer vegetables, potatoes, and rolls. They spent a lot of time over the meal chatting, so they didn't finish eating until almost three hours after they began. Draco said that wasn't unusual.
Brenna didn't fall asleep until late that night, so she spent some time after everyone else had gone to bed prowling the house. She had no desire to go into the men's lounge again or her father's office, so there wasn't really anywhere else she had to stay away from. Going into one of the larger halls was out of the question as the doors were firmly sealed.
The thing that struck her most about having become a Malfoy was that it didn't seem odd at all. She had only been here for a day, but she was already beginning to feel as though she belonged. She wasn't sure she liked being the center of everyone's attention though, but that would surely end in a few days. Mother was already teaching her how to be a lady, though she was learning mostly by example. They weren't nearly as terrible as others thought, the Malfoys. They were just different, not terrible at all really.
The next day Brenna woke up early as usual. She decided to hop in the bath before Draco was even awake. She was certain it would take a while to wash her long hair. It did. It was an hour later when Brenna stepped back into her room. She supposed Draco would learn to be very glad that she had a full vanity in her own room so that he wasn't barred from the loo for hours while she bathed, fixed her extremely long hair, and applied makeup. She had just finished brushing all the hair out when there was a knock at the door. Mother entered, leading a house elf.
"Mother, is something wrong?" she asked.
"No dear. I just knew that we needed to cut your hair a bit, and I thought we could do it before you really got started today. I can see I'm already too late for that."
"It is really too long. Why is it so long?" Brenna asked, fingering a piece near the front.
"Well, your real hair has never been cut before." Mother answered. "How long do you want it?"
"Maybe about here." Brenna said, touching just an inch or so below her shoulders. She would still have long hair, but a solid foot of hair would be cut off the bottom. "Yes, that would be a good length."
"This is Tippy. She's very good at cutting hair." Mother said, pushing forward the little elf bearing a large pair of scissors. Within a few seconds, Brenna's hair was exactly the length she described. Her head felt the relief of losing that last foot of hair. Her platinum blond hair now looked shinier and healthier.
"Well, we'll leave you to finish getting ready." Mother said, leaving the room. The little house elf disappeared with a poof. Brenna dressed casually, wearing a loose pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. She stopped at Draco's door on the way downstairs to breakfast. There was no answer when she knocked, so she continued her trip to the dining room.
Father was seated in the dining room already, feasting on a stack of pancakes.
"Good morning, Father." she said, taking her seat.
"Good morning, Brenna. Just order whatever you want for breakfast," he said in between bites. Brenna turned and was shocked to find a small house elf standing beside her.
"What might Smocky get Miss for breakfast?" the elf asked.
"I'll have a bowl of cereal, some fruit and a cup of tea, please." she ordered.
"Smocky is getting that for Miss right away." the elf said before popping off. In probably less than a minute the elf was back balancing a tray. On the tray was everything Brenna has ordered. The elf placed the tray in front of her. "Will Miss be needing anything else?"
"No, Smocky. This is fine," she said, smiling kindly at the elf. Smocky pulled gently on her ears and disappeared.
"Where are Mother and Draco this morning?" Brenna asked.
"Your mother is already out tending to her gardens. Draco isn't much of a morning person, so we usually don't see him until closer to 10. We're having company this afternoon. Severus is coming. He will want to talk to you at some point before dinner, though I don't know when. Also, tonight happens to be the weekly poker game. You are welcome to be anywhere in the house you would like, though I recommend you stay away from the first floor after dinner tonight. Did you have any ideas of what you would do today?"
"Well, I thought I might tour the gardens this morning, perhaps help Mother a bit if she'll allow me. My wardrobe is supposed to be delivered this afternoon." Brenna said.
"Well I'm certain your mother will be happy to put you to work in the garden." Lucius said. "I've got to get to work. Let me know if you need anything." He left her alone in the dining room to finish her breakfast. Brenna finished quickly and headed out to the gardens. There was a beautiful set of stone steps coming down from her favorite sitting room that went all the way to the main garden path. She sauntered down the stairs, looking for a sign of Mother. She found her weeding in a flowerbed along the main path.
"Good morning, Mother." she said cheerily. Narcissa looked up from her work, then sat back.
"Hello, Brenna."
"May I help you garden this morning?" she asked politely.
"Of course you may help. Go over to the garden shed and get a hat, some gloves, and a kneeling pillow like this one. Come back here, and you can help me weed this flowerbed." Narcissa instructed.
Brenna quickly collected the necessary supplies from the garden shed. She walked back to where her mother was working. Narcissa gestured to a spot a few feet away where she had no yet begun to weed.
"Just pull out all the weeds from around the flowers, dear. Put them in a pile off to the side and we'll sweep them up later." Narcissa said. Brenna settled in at the indicated spot and began working. After finishing that flowerbed they moved on to the vegetable garden. Before long they it was time for lunch; they spent the entire morning in the vegetable garden. Brenna and Narcissa laughed as they made their way back into the house and up t the family dining room.
"That was so wonderful, Mother! No wonder you spend most of the day in the garden." she exclaimed as the ascended the stone steps.
"Oh Brenna. You've got potting soil on your face. We don't have time for you to wash though, it'll just have to stay until after lunch." Narcissa said. They hurried into the dining room.
"Ah, there you are. We've been waiting." Father said as they entered the room. "Severus arrived early, so I invited him to join us for lunch as well."
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid Brenna and I were having such a good time in the garden we lost track of time," Narcissa replied. "It's good to see you again, Severus."
"Likewise, Narcissa." the Potions Master replied. Brenna smiled; she was just so happy from her morning in the garden with Mother.
"I think I may have a new gardening buddy, Lucius. Brenna is an excellent gardener." Narcissa glowed. The food appeared in front of them- sandwiches with crisps. Brenna was so hungry from working that she reached eagerly for her sandwich.
"Hey! Watch it! You almost shook some of your dirt off onto my sandwich!" Draco fussed, guarding his plate. Brenna looked at him warily. Lucius and Narcissa glared at their son.
"I'm sorry, Draco. I wasn't able to get cleaned up before lunch," she said quietly, scooting as far away from the boy as her chair would allow before taking a bite of her sandwich.
They ate in relative peace for a few more minutes. Draco had barely taken one bite of his lunch, while Brenna wasn't eating much either.
"Draco, why aren't you eating?" Lucius asked.
"I can't help it. The smell in here is just nauseating. Don't you notice it? Probably not sine you're not sitting so close to Brenna," the boy whined. "She reeks of sweat and potting soil. It's disgusting."
"Excuse me." Brenna squeaked before fleeing the room. Lucius and Narcissa both glared at their son.
"Go apologize to your sister." Lucius ordered.
"What for? She was way dirtier than Mother ever is- smelled much worse too. She needs to learn to be clean for lunch." Draco protested.
"That is not the way we talk to people in this house. Go apologize to your sister." Narcissa said. Draco sighed and left the room.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Severus. We're still getting used to this whole family thing. Draco especially is having trouble." Lucius explained. Severus waved it off; he spent most of the year surrounded by teenagers.