Chapter Seven – Expectations of an Unknown Father
"Can I help you?" Caroline Malfoy asked, looking out at the two strangers on her doorstep. They appeared to be teenagers, like her. The girl, tall and then, seemed to be quite calm, but the young man, who looked strangely familiar, seemed to be having trouble breathing. "Is he okay?" Caroline asked the girl, panicked. Had there been an accident?
"He's fine," the girl said, positively.
"A-Are you C-C-Caroline?" the boy spluttered.
"I am," she said. "And who might you be?"
"My name is Draco . . . Draco Malfoy." He paused. "I'm your brother."
Five minutes later, Draco Malfoy and his friend, who Caroline was introduced to as Riley Bell, were seated in the living room. Having already offered drinks, which both had turned down, Caroline sat across from the new comers. She stared intently at the boy who claimed to be her brother.
Brother. Well, it made sense. He had looked oddly familiar. They had the same white-blond hair, the same pointed nose. Their features were certainly similar, but could he really be her brother?
"Where'd you two come from?" she asked, politely.
"London," Riley answered. Draco seemed to be in too much shock to speak.
"Oh, of course," she laughed. "That was a silly question. I knew that my father lived in London, so naturally you would, too." She looked at Draco carefully. "You look a lot like him. My father, I mean . . . Or, I guess that would make him our father."
"You know what Lucius looks like?" Riley asked, quickly.
Caroline nodded. "I have a picture. Here, I'll go get it." She got to her feet and hurried to her bedroom. She pushed open the door and walked to her dresser. In the top drawer, buried beneath all her pajamas and socks, were two photos. She pulled them out and slid the drawer again. Eager to continue the conversation, she dashed back to the living room, both pictures clutched to her chest.
"Look," she said, plopping down on the couch between Draco and Riley. She pulled out the first picture, the one of her father. A blond man, whom she'd never actually met, stared book. He looked rather sulky and bitter. His moving photo scowled and rolled it's eyes, but that only made Caroline laugh. "You look like him," she told Draco again. "Obviously, you're his son."
"What's the other one?" Draco asked, quickly.
Caroline slid back the photo of her father to reveal one of two people. One was a man she didn't know. He had black hair and dark eyes, but the other occupant of the photo was a young woman with golden hair and green eyes . . . her eyes. "That's my mom," she told Draco. "Rose. Isn't she beautiful?"
Draco nodded. "Who is the man?"
Caroline shook her head. "No idea. This was taken at somebody's wedding. My mom was a muggle, but she had magical family. Most of the people at the wedding were witches and wizards, that's why the photo moves."
"The man looks familiar to me," Draco said. "Like a far away sort of familiar. It's like I've seen him before, but maybe years later."
Caroline slid her father's photo on top again and placed them on the coffee table. "So,' she said, trying to be casual, though this was a new and uncomfortable situation for her, "Um . . . What's England like? I've never been, but my boyfriend, Wesley, lives there. I've always wanted to go so I could meet Dad, but Marsha and Thomas, my foster parents, wanted me to stay here and finish my studies."
"It's . . . nice," Draco said, slowly. It was clear that he was at a loss for words.
Caroline continued. "I had no idea I had a brother, though. I guess we must have gotten split up when mother died. I—"
"Wait," Draco interrupted. "Split up when mother died? My mother isn't dead. You're my half sister."
Caroline's heart dropped straight down into her stomach. Half brother? Had her father been married twice? But this boy looked to be so close to her own age. "B-But," she stammered, "how is that possible? You're so close to my age . . . aren't you? How old are you?"
"I turned nineteen three weeks ago – August fourth, to be exact," Draco answered.
Caroline felt her eyes widen with surprise. This boy, her "half brother" was almost exactly a year older than she was. To be exact, he was eleven months and twenty seven days older, being that she was born on August eighth and had just turned eighteen. "So you were small when your parents divorced, then?" she asked, careful not to offend him by the question.
"My parents didn't ever divorce," Draco said. His dark hair companion looked rather uncomfortable. "Well, I mean, they're getting divorced now. It's been a long time coming, but, Caroline, they weren't divorced when you were born. You . . . You . . ."
Caroline saw Draco turn to Riley for help, but she seemed speechless as well. Inside, her own mind was racing furiously. If her father hadn't been divorced when she was born, what did that mean? An obvious choice lay clearly before her, but she refused to look at it. She couldn't even fathom the idea that she was a . . . a . . .
"You are our father's illegitimate child," Draco said at last, though he said it so fast she nearly missed the words. She wished she had missed the words. "My father was having an affair with your mother. My mother knew."
Caroline watched as her brother's handsome features melted into shaky worry and uncertainty. She wanted to reach out, to comfort him as she had a tendency to do when those around her were depressed, but at the same time she felt worse off than he was. Her whole life she had thought that her father and mother were married, then her mother died and her father was unable to care for her so she was sent here. It made perfect sense. From what she'd heard, Lucius Malfoy was a business man. He would be far too busy to care for a small child.
And if what this boy said was true, why hadn't her foster family ever corrected this image for her?
When a world crumples, it comes down in flames.
Draco hated the look he saw in Caroline's eyes. It was a look of shock, of terror, of heartbreak. It was the same look his mother had when he'd told her he had joined the Death Eaters . . . The same look his father had when he'd received those divorce papers. It wasn't a look Draco wanted to see.
"So, our dad was having an affair," she was saying, slowly, unsurely.
Draco nodded, wishing he was lying. He wanted so badly to say, "Just kidding!", but this poor girl had been lied to enough. She had to know, but why did he have to tell her?
"And your mother knew about the affair?" she continued.
Again, Draco nodded wordlessly.
"Oh, God," Caroline whispered, her pretty face dissolving into tears. "Oh, God." She buried her head in her hands, hiding her pain, or trying to.
Draco knew this had to be hard for her. She was probably thinking about her shattered image of a family, about what this meant for her, or so he thought. He was shocked, therefore, when she looked at him and spoke.
"You're poor mother. She must hate me. She must blame me for so much. That poor woman!"
His mother? This girl had just had her world crushed, and she was thinking about his mother? What kind of person thinks about someone else's pain when their own is so great?
A good person, said the voice in Draco's head.
"She doesn't hate you," Draco assured her, trying to use that calm, sympathetic voice Riley had used for him so many times, yet it still came out cold and hard. "She doesn't blame you or your mother. She knows what an asshole Father is. She isn't blind. She's the one who made the arrangements for you to come and live here, so you wouldn't have to be in an orphanage."
"I thought my father had sent me here," Caroline said, quietly.
Again, Draco hated to destroy Caroline's image of her father, but he could lie to her. He couldn't let her go on thinking these great myths about him. "No," he said. "Father had nothing to do with it."
"You shouldn't have called him an asshole," Caroline scolded, softly. "He is your Father and I'm sure he loves us."
"Caroline," Draco blurted out. "He doesn't love us. He had nothing to do with you from the moment you were born! He doesn't even love me."
Caroline shook her head feverishly. "I don't care," she cried. "He loves us. No father can deny his children love. He may not know how to show it, but he does. I promise you." She turned to him and, without warning, put her arms tightly around his neck, landing on the couch next to him.
Draco tensed. What on earth was this girl doing? He thought about pulling away, jerking out of her clutches.
"And it's awful," his sister said, softly, "that you feel that your own father doesn't love you. I know that must hurt. I know it must be terrible to feel unloved, but I know people love you, Draco, even if you can't see it."
She was so selfless. Her own pain, so deep that Draco couldn't imagine it, was secondary to the pain of everyone else. All thoughts of pulling back now gone, Draco sank into what had to be the first real hug he'd ever received. He put his arms around Caroline's small waist and, in a moment of peace, muttered, "Sister," quietly to himself.
Author's Note: The song for this chapter is a bit long, but I love it. I chose "Whole of the Moon" by Mandy Moore . . . Well, it's a remake, and I don't know who did the original, but I love the song. It's a really good song for describing Caroline and how Draco sees her. He's spent his whole life trying to do big things and be an amazing person, but she's barely left home and seems to have life figured out. I think it's sweet. Another thanks to Moonshard Kuronue.
I pictured a rainbow.
You held it in your hand.
I had flashes but
You saw the plan.
I wondered out in the world for years.
While you just stayed in your room.
I saw the crescent.
You saw the whole of the moon.
The whole of the moon.
You were there in the turnseiles.
With the wind at your heels.
You stretched for the stars.
And you know how it feels.
To reach too high.
Too far.
Too soon.
You saw the whole of the moon.
I was grounded.
While you filled the skies.
I was dumbfounded by truth.
You cut through lies.
I saw the rain dirty valley.
You saw "Brigadoon"
I saw the crescent.
You saw the whole of the moon.
I spoke about wings.
You just flew. I wondered
I guessed and I tried.
You just knew and I sighed.
And you swooned.
I saw the crescent.
You saw the whole of the moon.
The whole of the moon.
The whole of the moon.
Torch in your pockets.
And the wind on your heels.
You climbed on the latter.
You know how it feels.
To get too high.
Too far.
Too soon.
You saw the whole of the moon.
The whole of the moon.
Unicorns and cannonballs.
Palaces and kings.
Trumpets, towers, and tennaments.
Wide oceans full of tears.
Flags, rags, fairy boats.
Scimitars and scars.
Every precious dream and vision.
Underneath the stars.
Yes, you climbed on the latter.
With the wind in your sails.
You came like a comet.
Blazing your trails.
Too high.
Too far.
Too soon.
You saw the whole of the moon.
The whole of the moon.
Yeah, you saw the whole of the moon.