Blind-Saint: I knew I should've made it more clear she's not 5-years-old when they fall in love. Now it seems I support pedophilia. lmfao. Awk.
Silvanus Corleone tossed a handful of floo powder into the large fireplace, stuck his head into the green flames, and called for his wife Flavia.
"I think it's a wonderful idea!" Flavia exclaimed. "And for such a wonderful reason as well!"
"I know, but..." Silvanus was still a little suspicious about the relationship between his daughter and her old Master. Both he and Flavia knew the two were corresponding, but Silvanus-at first-had felt there was something more. When Valentina was 7, he had snuck into her room to read a few posts from Master Snape only to find small packages of sweets and letters containing Latin definitions and generic responses to her little girl babbling on about the latest gossip. He had felt guilty about snooping then and found himself feeling guilty about his suspicion now.
"Dumbledore is there," Flavia added as an afterthought.
"I suppose," Silvanus agreed at last. "I shall contact Dumbledore this evening. But if there are any problems, she's coming back to attend Rothsbane Academy."
"Thank you, Daddy!" Valentina squealed, she jumped on her bed and launched herself towards her father.
"Valentina, one—"
"Oh, I promise to be good! I'll work hard and write to you every day and—"
"—so try to be good and write to—"
"—I hope they'll be okay with my accent—"
"—and give my regards to the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."
"My godfather?" She asked absentmindedly.
"What? How did you know?" He asked, surprised. She shrugged and watched him hide a faint smile. "Yes. Your godfather."
"Hogwarts, huh?" John sneered. His yellow eyes locked onto Valentina's. They seemed almost predatory. She looked away.
"Yeah." It was a grand going away party. Schoolmates and family friends gathered at the Corleone Mansion. The ballroom and gardens were filled with a plethora of witches and wizards in their best dress robes. Valentina wore a white, lace-lined dress robe. Her hair was put up in an elegant updo. She was easily the prettiest witch there. If the eye of the beholder said otherwise, one would think her at least a sight to behold. John wore a dark green robe with his brown hair flirting with the tips of the collar. Though he looked very handsome indeed, Valentina thought he looked like a walking slab of moss. And she had told him so earlier.
"Ah, young master Nuttleswink," Silvanus greeted, walking by the two.
"Señor Corleone," John said, bowing low. "I was wondering if I may have a dance with your beautiful daughter."
"Of course, of course," Silvanus answered distractedly as he continued to walk by. Valentina sighed loudly. John ignored her and pulled her to the dance floor.
"Your dear mother and mine are such good friends," he began. Valentina loved dancing and was quite good at it. Tonight, however, she was just not in a dancing mood. "Señora Corleone invited me to visit you at Chateau de Leon after your first year. Most of us were invited, actually." Valentina knew he meant his rich and shallow friends. She also knew they were only invited because they were heirs to rich companies and her parents were trying to expand relations and keep the company on good standing.
"Really?" She said coldly. "The house elves are very good there. Let's see how long it takes for them to rid the estate of trash." She felt his grip on her waist tighten.
"Be grateful you are the wealthiest of us all... for now," he whispered dangerously. He released her and walked to the gardens, leaving her alone on the dance floor.
"Why am I staying at the Malfoys' mansion?" Valentina asked her father as they walked to the grand mansion.
"The Coeur de Lions are staying at the estate," he replied slowly. "I don't want them to know you are already here. Just for a week or so, mija. Lucius is a good friend of mine. His son Draco is nice. You may like him."
"Yes, daddy." She responded. The door opened to reveal a tall man with long, white-blonde hair, a women with cold blue eyes and blonde hair. The boy standing between them had his mother's cold blue eyes and his father's white-blonde hair. Valentina smiled warmly as introductions were made. The boy-Draco-looked at her up and down, seeming impressed.
"Draco," Mrs Malfoy said. Her tone was sharp. "Take Miss Corleone to the guestroom."
"So you'll be at Hogwarts this year?" He asked as they walked through the mansion to the guestroom she would be staying at. The Malfoys' mansion was certainly bigger than Chateau de Leon, but it lacked warmth. Valentina nodded. "That place is crawling with mudbloods and blood traitors," he spat. Valentina hid the surprise on her face. She didn't personally know any muggle-borns, but she had nothing against muggles or anything of the like. She felt the feeling stir inside her. "It's that crazy Headmaster's doing," he continued. "He allows filth to waltz into the school and make a mess of it. This year, I hope things do turn out... Right." A glimmer of a smile graced his lips. Valentina supressed a shiver. She decided she didn't quite like Draco, but she didn't want the relationship between Lucius and her father to weaken because of her. Although she didn't fully understand the strain between her branch of the family and the others, she knew her branch needed as many wealthy allies-in places besides Spain and America-as they could get.
"I heard Harry Potter is in your year," Valentina said, changing the subject to keep the feeling from getting stronger. Draco made a face.
"Potter... He's no different from a common muggle. He hangs out with mudbloods and blood traitors. How does he stand the smell of rubbish?"
"I wouldn't know. Tell me about the teachers. Who's your favorite?"
"Professor Snape." Valentina's heart fluttered at the sound of his name. "He's the head of my house, Slytherin. I do hope you end up in Slytherin," he added with a smirk.
"Of course," she said nonchalantly. "Tell me about Professor Snape. What's he like?"
"He's strict—well, if you aren't in his house. He teaches potions. We Slytherins usually take that class with those Gryffindor ninnies, but Professor Snape makes it worthwhile."
"Gryffindor?" Valentina asked. He gave his opinionated version of the four houses. The feeling reared back in rage as he described the other three houses. She managed to continue keeping a straight face as he talked.
"Anyway, Professor Snape loves picking on the Gryffindors, especially this one useless lump, Longbottom." She vaguely remembered the name from somewhere. "I'm thirsty. Are you thirsty? DOBBY!" Immediately, a house elf appeared. Valentina's eyes widened. She was so used to her house elves looking sharp and well-dressed, that the state of this poor creature made her sick.
"Yes, master?" The house elf—Dobby—replied, bowing. He bowed to her as well.
"Valentina Corleone is a guest here. Whatever her command is, you obey. Understand?" The elf nodded. "She and I want drinks right now!" He snapped.
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." The house elf disapparated.
"Useless elf," Draco muttered. Valentina bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. Dobby returned with two glasses of pumpkin juice.
"Thank you," Valentina said as she took the cup. She was about to take a sip when Draco suddenly threw his glass, pumpkin juice and all, at the house elf.
"This is warm!" He screamed. "Why would I want a warm drink when it's hot as dragonspit outside? Valentina, throw your drink at-"
"It's fine, Draco," she insisted. "I don't drink cold things. Sensitive teeth." Valentina grinned at him weakly to strengthen the lie. He nodded.
"Well?" He said to the house elf. "Go!" He kicked the house elf into the dark hallway. Valentina flinched as though she herself were kicked, too. I hope I make it out of here alive, she said to herself.
"I gave your father a tour of the Ministry of Magic," Lucius Malfoy announced during supper. "He enjoyed it very much. Arthur Weasley spent a lot of time talking to him, however."
"Who's Arthur Weasley?" Valentina asked curiously.
"He's a filthy muggle lover-" Draco began. Lucius gave him a look.
"Quite a vocabulary you have, Draco," Lucius chuckled darkly. He turned to the young Corleone. "Arthur Weasley works with... Muggle Artifacts."
"What a useless job," Valentina lied dismissively, focusing her attention back to her plate. Lucius smirked approvingly.
Valentina lay awake in her bed. The guest room, though quite hospitable, seemed like a prison. She surely missed the comforting fireplace in her bedroom at Chateau de Leon. A flash of anger towards her French cousins, the Coeur de Lions, raced through her veins. She didn't approve of them wandering around the estate. At least I brought the Corleone wand, Valentina thought to herself. Lighting a candle, the young heiress decided to write a letter to Master Snape. She wanted to tell him that she was here, in Britain, and that she would be going to Hogwarts. She turned to Avian who was sleeping in his roost and decided not to. I guess it is a bit late, she thought.
Suddenly, with her unusually keen sense of hearing, Valentina heard Mr Malfoy's and another man's voices coming from the west staircase and moving further away. Curious, she crept out of her room towards source of the voices. She soon found herself in the study, hiding behind the great door. She peeked through the little sliver of space and saw Mr Malfoy speaking to a man whose face was hidden by his black hooded cloak.
"Are you sure, Malfoy?" The man asked gruffly.
"Are you questioning my decision?" Mr Malfoy said evenly. Valentina could detect the anger in his voice.
"Not at all. I had not been informed of this and I'm just curious as to what it will accomplish."
"Though the our Master has fallen," Lucius began slowly. "His plan for an ideal future will still be carried out. Our Master had told me of an incident that happened 50 years ago... Involving the Chamber of Secrets." He held something up but Valentina wasn't able to see it. "This will open the Chamber and rid my son and Hogwarts of filthy mudbloods." Valentina's knees were shaking in fear, but the feeling inside her roared with anger.
"You also said this is concerning that Potter boy—"
"Ah. Once it is opened again, our Master will indeed return. He will cleanse the school and have another chance at getting rid of that boy and—" Lucius stopped and looked in Valentina's direction. The young Corleone felt her heart stop and her blood run cold. Lucius silently walked towards the door she was standing behind. She closed her eyes, anticipating something-anything.
"DOBBY!" Lucius barked. He flung the nearby armoir open. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?" Dobby hobbled out of the armoir and hung his head.
"Forgive Dobby, master!" Dobby said softly. "Dobby heard master approaching and didn't want to be in master's way."
"There are things far worse than death," Lucius whispered dangerously. "And I will see to it that you know exactly what I mean if you dare speak to anyone about what you've just heard." Lucius grabbed Dobby by the neck and flung him out of the study. He turned to the cloaked man. "Let us go." Valentina heard their footsteps echo down to a lower floor of the mansion. She let out a sigh of relief and snuck back into her room, her head spinning from what she just heard.