First: I don't own the Harry Potter universe or characters, I do own however any OC's.

Quote: Olivia Sudjic

"I no longer felt I could try to belong with these people."

Chapter: The Push

15th July 1987

Draco tried to catch his breath, as he ran after his sister down towards the bottom of the manor's garden.
"Lyra, wait!"

"Come on, Draco!" cried Lyrisadora.

Draco tried to speed up, but he nearly tripped when Lyrisadora came to an abrupt stop. He panted heavily.

"How - come - you're - so fast?"

Lyrisadora just shrugged. "I'm older, so I have longer legs," she drawled. "Now come on, I want to show you something." She grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him. wondered where on earth his sister was taking him.

He wondered where on earth his sister was taking him. She had been pretty urgent at first, telling him they were going to have to sneak away from afternoon lessons. Which he hadn't liked at all, he knew if their father found out they'd be in deep, deep trou ble.

"Lyra, where are we going?" questioned Draco. Lyrisadora turned to him and smiled.

"You'll see," she said simply and continued to drag him.

Finally, she stopped pulling him. Draco looked around to see where they were. It was at the very end at the corner of the garden, where the tall thick hedges separated them from the outside world. Draco's eyes widened, as he saw what was in front of him, it was a large patch of multicoloured flowers.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Lyrisadora let out a deep sigh. Draco glanced at her, she was staring at the flowers dreamily.

"Yeah." He frowned. Lyrisadora went to go sit down, Draco followed her and sat opposite flowers felt soft under his body. "We won't ruin then will we?"

"No, we won't ruin them, they'll just spring back up,." She felt a flower petal. "Mother had these planted two years ago." She caressed a bright orange flower.

"What are they?" questioned Draco curiously.

"Calendulas," stated Lyrisadora. "My favourite flower."

"Oh," said Draco, once he realised. They sat in silence, the light summer breeze blew past. It was nice here, peaceful, thought Draco. Everything here was real, you didn't have to hide behind masks and be constantly aware of how you presented yourself.

Draco glanced at Lyrisadora, who was examining the Calendula flower dreamily. He poked the white and yellow flower. He felt strangely at peace.

"Draco?" said Lyrisadora. He abruptly looked up. She looked at him with concern.

"Yeah, Lyra?" asked Draco.

She hesitated. "Do, do you think I'll be in Slytherin?" questioned Lyrisadora nervously.

Draco looked at her in surprise. "Of course you will." His brow furrowed. "You're a Malfoy!"

"Keep it down!" hissed Lyrisadora.

"Oh, sorry..."

"I know I'm a Malfoy...but what if I get sorted somewhere else?" pushed Lyrisadora worriedly. "I'll be leaving for Hogwarts in a year or so..."

Draco looked lost for words, he had never thought of the possibility his sister may not be in Slytherin. "But you have to be in Slytherin - don't you want to?"

Lyrisadora looked uncomfortable. "Oh I do, honestly I do." She fiddled with her hands. "But, what if I'm not? Do you think father will disown me?" she whispered, fearfully.

"No, no he would never do that," mumbled Draco. The thought of his sister leaving him was too frightening to linger on. He shook his head strongly. "Don't be silly, you're a Malfoy. Malfoys always get into Slytherin and Malfoys never get disowned," said Draco strongly, thinking of how there were only two burnt marks on the Malfoy family tree, and they dated back to the 1600 and 1800 hundreds.

"But, what if I'm different?" mumbled Lyrisadora, as she shredded some grass.

"You're not different, you're just as Malfoyish as the rest of us," reassured Draco. He knew his sister was slightly odd, with her constant book reading and soft attitude, but that didn't mean she believed differently to the rest of them. He believed every word their father said, and he knew Lyrisadora believed it, if she didn't she would have spoken up.

"I suppose you're right," she said softly, still not looking at him. "I was just worried, that's all..."

He easily accepted this answer. A moment of silence issued once more. "Should we head back now?" inquired Draco, breaking the silence, he definitely didn't want to see their father's reaction to them skipping lessons.

"No, let's stay, just...just for a while longer," pleaded Lyrisadora.

"But, we're missing our lessons."

Lyrisadora wrinkled up her nose. "Do not tell me, you actually enjoy learning etiquette and manners?"

"Of course I don't," answered Draco quickly. He hated learning how to dance and behave like the perfect gentleman, especially from such disdainful and sharp tutors.

"Well stay then, no one will notice we're gone," urged Lyrisadora.

"Fine," sighed Draco, Itsas he leant back on the grass, staring up at the sky.

Lyrisadora went over and lay next to him. "Do you think mother and father, will allow me to visit the local library again?"

Draco just shrugged. "Maybe, if you're good I suppose," he drawled. "Why would you want to go back there, our libraries just as big?" He just didn't understand why his sister preferred the common local library opposed to their grand one.

"Oh, well, it's just has a wider selection," replied Lyrisadora uncomfortably.

Draco frowned and sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"

"It's just…I can read what I please there." She avoided his gaze and scratched her arms.

Draco's narrowed his eyes. The only reason their father let her go to the library was that he 'trusted' her to read the proper material.

"Father forbade from reading certain books for a reason because some books are bad for us." His voice became sterner.

She sat up abruptly. "They're just books, Draco, and they're far more interesting than the ones in our library. Not all the authors are Pure-blood and half-blood like they are here, some are even Muggle-borns, there are books about science, Vampire rights and even a biography on modern discrimination! It's all fascinating, Draco, there are so much knowledge and things I never knew before, it has made me realise how much I don't know about the world," said Lyrisadora passionately.

Draco gaped at his sister, who was trying to catch her breath after her fierce speech. "What's wrong with you?"

Lyrisadora's smile dropped.

"What,what do you mean?"

He couldn't understand what had gotten into his sister's head.

"You shouldn't be reading those books, you'll get in trouble. If father knew what you were reading…" Draco trailed off, his gaze growing colder.

His sister's eyes widened fearfully. "Oh, please don't tell, Draco. Father will be awfully angry."

Draco shifted uncomfortably, he remembered the last time their father had caught Lyrisadora reading a forbidden book, she had had the bruises for days. He didn't want her to get hurt. Their father rarely beat them, if he did it was because they had been very bad and disobedient, but when it came to them deliberately exposing themselves to muggle ideal infestation, he would often try to beat the dangerous ideas out of them.

"And, what if I do?" sneered Draco. He knew the only way to protect his sister was to scare her into realising her foolishness.

"But you mustn't! Please, Draco, you're my brother," pleaded Lyrisadora.

Draco's sneer wavered, she had a point, blood was thicker than water and she was his big sister, she'd always tried to protect him in the past.

"Fine," groaned Draco. She smiled. "But, you have to promise to not go to that library anymore."

Her smile weakened.

"Not even for a quick read?"

Draco shook his head strongly. "No."

She hesitated, picking at her fingernails. "Fine...I promise."

"Good, now pinkie promise," ordered Draco firmly, he held out his pinkie for her to , she didn't obey straight away.

Again, she didn't obey straight away.

"I solemnly pinkie promise," said Lyrisadora clearly, grasping her pinkie tightly with his.

Draco nodded, fully satisfied and let go as he stood up.

"Come on then, lessons should be over by now."

Lyrisadora sighed, but got to her feet. He watched his sister reluctantly walk towards the manor. Draco wondered why she was so down? He had only threatened to rat her out, because he was trying to protect her.

Draco wondered why she was so down? He had only threatened to rat her out because he was trying to protect her.

Draco quickly shook his head, his sister would come around eventually, soon she'd forget all about those books in due time, he knew she would, she was a Malfoy, she was just like the rest of them. Blood was thicker than water, family was to be put above all else. Lyrisadora would be mad to try and go against her family, they were bound by blood and nothing would ever change that.

Lyrisadora sat down with her family for dinner. She re-folded her napkin before placing it on her lap, as her father droned on about the Ministry, most specifically, the current Minister of Magic.

"...The woman's ideology is nauseating," her father drawled, shaking his head.

Narcissa nodded in agreement. "Her policies do seem quite radical."

"It won't be long until she's replaced, she's already making a number of enemies." Lucius chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "And I did hear a rumour that her grandmother was a half-blood."

Her mother wrinkled her nose in displeasure. Lyrisadora frowned, she glanced over at her brother, displeased to see he had the same look of disdain on her face. Her frown deepened, as her stomach churned in dread. She kept her head down and ate her food. She peered at Draco from the corner of her eye, her mind trailing back to their discussion in the gardens...

"Speaking of rumours," her father said, lightly, smiling coldly. "I heard quite an interesting one today from the children's' tutor."

On cue, Draco sunk down in his seat, his skin turning a sickly porridge colour. Lyrisador made an effort to sit up straighter. Narcissa paused and looked between her children questionably. "A rumour?" She looked at her husband warily.

Lyrisadora could feel her father's eyes burning into her skull.

"Well more of a fact actually. Though it sounds so ridiculous, I'm inclined to believe it's false," his voice had a hard edge to it. "Apparently Lyrisadora skipped her Bulgarian lesson, while Draco skipped his Arithmancy class."

Lyrisadora met his gaze unflinchingly, making sure her face looked contrite. "I'm afraid it's true father," she replied politely. Draco looked at her like she was mad. "I forced Draco to skip lessons with me."

Narcissa looked at her in surprise. "Lyrisadora, why on earth would you do such a thing?"

Because it had felt like one hell of a buzz.

"I didn't want to go to lessons, I was feeling tired," Lyrisadora answered, quietly.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at her, his jaw tightening. "Feeling tired?" Her father repeated.

She steeled herself, squaring her shoulders. She'd convinced herself she could face the consequences; bruises healed after all. "Yes. I wanted to take a break and relax," her voice calm.

Draco was practically hiding underneath the table.

Her father's gaze burned fiercer. "I think laziness is the correct term," he reprimanded, harshly.

"Lucius." Her mother sighed in exasperation. "She only missed one lesson."

Lucius shot his wife a withering look. "She neglected her studies, Narcissa, this isn't a small matter that can be swept under the rug," he snapped, then he rounded on his daughter. "Or do you think I pay your tutors for the hell of it?"

Lyrisadora let out a shallow breath, swallowing her remaining courage. "I wanted to have fun," she said, somewhat brazenly. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't do it again."

Her father's eyes grew colder. "And is that apology meant to rectify the situation?" His mouth formed a sneer. "And what does your brother have to say for himself?"

Draco peaked his head up, flinching when he saw their father's glare. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"He only did it because I convinced him," Lyrisadora quickly cut in, trying to shield her brother from their father's gaze. "I wanted to be rebellious," she added, bluntly. "So I could...get your attention," she lied. Both her parents faltered, so she marched on. "Pansy told me that's how she gets her parents attention. And you've been so busy lately father...I thought you forgot about me."

Narcissa's face softened. "You don't need to get in trouble to gain our attention." She shot Lucius a stern look.

"It's a stupid tactic," her father scorned, twitching under his wife's gaze. "But perhaps, I have been at the office too regularly." His jaw tightened. "...I'm sure they could manage without me for a couple of days."

Her mother nodded in approval, while her father looked disgruntled.

Lyrisadora smiled shyly. "I'll personally apologise to my tutors, father."

"You certainly will," he snapped, before directing his gaze towards Draco. "In the future Draco, don't blindly follow your sister. You will be apologising as well." Lucius made an impatient noise when he saw his son flinch. "And for goodness sake grow a backbone."

"Lucius!" Narcissa looked at her husband in outrage.

"He needs to stop hiding behind his sister, Narcissa," their father said, calmly, shooting his son a quelling look.

Draco bowed his head. "Yes, sir," her brother muttered.

Their mother didn't look pleased, her lips thinned, glowering at Lucius.

Lyrisadora held back a sigh of relief. "I promise I won't do it again, father." The thrill had felt fantastic, but she had enough self-preservation in her to know that a second attempt would be suicidal.

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Lucius said, softly, his eyes hard like flint. Lyrisadora tried not to flinch. "There is only so much disobedience I will tolerate..." The threat hung in the air.

She nodded solemnly. "Of course, father." She made sure she kept her tone polite.

Her father watched her suspiciously, before returning to his meal.

Lyrisadora glanced at Draco, noticing the crestfallen look on his face. She held his hand under the table, squeezing it reassuringly. Her brother glanced up, a faint smile crept onto his face.

Her mind trailed back to the flowers and brief freedom. It had definitely been worth it.

4th August 1987

Lyrisadora didn't like the children her parents wanted her to befriend, and she disliked pretending to like them even more so.

She glanced over at her mother who was sitting at the adult table near a fresh batch of blue roses, and then looked back at the other children she was being forced to sit with.

They were all gathered for a garden party, hosted by the Mrs and Mr Pucey under the hot summer sun.

Lyrisadora grumpily chewed on a pastry while the other children chatted loudly amongst themselves. She'd made sure to sit at the very end, far away from Cassondria and her gang of friends. The last thing she wanted was to be ambushed by a barrage of rude questions and sly remarks.

But, it did mean that she was stuck on the boy side of the table, next to Cassius Warrington and opposite that Miles Bletchley boy. Bletchley had a flushed chubby look about him, with large hands and curly ash blond hair. Warrington was more skinnier and taller in comparison, with messy brown robes and unruly dark hair.

The other boys were busy running around trying to shove and tackle each other to the ground. The Pucey's son being among them.

She sighed and took a sip of water, scowling when Warrington elbowed her in the arm when he reached too far for some carrot cake. Lyrisadora narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything, and tried to ignore the blatant smirk on the boy's face.

Warrington stuffed a gobful of cake in his mouth, making a mess of his face and hands.

Lyrisadora wrinkled her nose and looked away, while Bletchley laughed and copied Warrington.

She tried to ignore them, but then Warrington smeared his grubby sticky hand on her new satin blue dressrobes.

"Hey!" She jumped to her feet and shoved him. "Look what you did!"

A few of the other children looked over briefly but then went back to ignoring her.

Warrington raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down. "They're just robes." He rolled his eyes and went back to eating.

Bletchley sniggered as Lyrisadora's cheeks flushed.

Little savages!

She wanted to scream and smear cake on their grubby faces—

But, a lady should always show proper decorum and proper composer.

Mother wouldn't like it if she caused a scene.

She stopped and felt her anger shrivel into something small and foul.

Lyrisadora glared at the boys for a moment, before she looked at the stain on her dressrobes and marched off to go clean it off.

Lyrisadora muttered angrily to herself as she marched down the empty hallway, cringing when she tried to wipe the big ugly grease smudge off her dressrobes. It wouldn't be an easy smudge to rub off, so she'd need water.

She set out to find a bathroom, and absently looked behind her shoulder briefly as she walked down the gloomy corridor. The whole house had a dim look to it, with lots of dark brown wood along the flooring and walls. It reminded her of a library, the one in Diagon Alley.

When she found a room leading to one, she hastily set to work, the bathtub plugged so she could scrub her handkerchief in the water. She dipped the Lacey fabric in the water and started scrubbing at the stain furiously, darkening the material.

"You know, it would be quicker with magic." The voices sounded young, but cold around the edges.

Lyrisadora frowned, not looking up straight away. "Well, obviously," she muttered on reflex.

"It was just a suggestion." The voice grew colder.

Her frown deepened, turning around. "I was just—oh." Her eyes widened in surprise when she whipped around to face the door, leaving the tap running.

Standing in the doorway was a dark haired boy with blue eyes and complementing cheek bones. His arms were folded as he looked at her in amusement. Her stomach churned when she realised it was Adrian Pucey, son of the hosts of the party. "Oh, what?" His lips curled into a smirk that seemed out of place on his boyish face.

"Oh, sorry, I mean…I know it would," she stammered, trying to regain her manners, knowing her mother wouldn't be pleased. "I just didn't want to trouble my mother, she doesn't like it when I get my clothes dirty," she tried to explain. "I'm Lyrisadora Malfoy," she added quickly, trying to compose herself.

Adrian stepped closer to her and then smirked, unnerving Lyrisadora, looking at her expectantly. "Well, aren't you going to curtsey? That's what a lady is supposed to do after all."

Lyrisadora blanched, looking at him questionably, wondering if he was joking. "I…excuse me?" she spluttered indignantly, her eyes narrowing at his expectant look.

"Well, it's what's expected, you wouldn't want your mother to become upset at your bad manners," he said evenly, placing his hands in his trouser pockets, smirk ever present.

"How very forthright of you," Lyrisadora replied coldly, her eyes narrowed. "But I'm sure I'd be forgiven easily, you're only a boy," she added snidely.

His smirk twitched into a smiled, she arched an eyebrow at him, wondering why he found this all amusing. "Feisty aren't you? But slow on whit," he countered.

"I beg your pardon?" she growled, her anger growing.

"I'm just saying you're not very inventive when it comes to insults," he explained lightly, kicking at the floor. "But I suppose it's because mommy trained you so well to be a good girl."

"Shut up," Lyrisadora snapped, her fists clenching, his words easily riling her up, there was just something infuriating about him, she pinned it down on his suffocating snug aura. "If you'll excuse me," she said in a clipped tone, trying to keep composer as she went to move past him.

He blocked her path. "Aw don't leave yet, I thought we were having fun?" he cooed.

Lyrisadora backed away a little and frowned. "Let me pass," she said firmly.

He pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm, nope," he replied brightly. "Besides I thought you needed help getting that stain out of your dress?" he reasoned mildly.

She stood up straighter, refusing to appear intimidated. "I'm asking politely, so I suggest you move before I stop being polite," she warned sternly.

To her annoyance he just rolled his eyes at her. "Good, then maybe you'd be less dull," he replied dismissively. "It's boring," he added snidely, pushing her back, she stumbled to keep her balance. "All girls are boring," he added, his voice growing more harsher.

Lyrisadora felt a twinge of fear as she wondered why he was angry, before forcing herself to remain indifferent. "I've only just met you and you're being a pig," she said, backing away from him, backing up against the bath edge. "I'll tell my father," she warned, hoping this would make him back off, her father tended to have that effect on people.

"Typical, can't even fight your own battles, can you?" he questioned smugly, closing in on her.

"Come any closer and we'll see about that," she spat, her shoulders tensing. "I don't need my father to carry out a threat," she added, keeping her voice steady, meeting his piercing gaze.

Adrian stared at her for a moment, the sound of running water engulfing the room. "Oh, so you do have a backbone," he said in amusement.

"Just back off," she exclaimed, attempting to push past him and get away, he responded by grabbing her arms and pushing her toward the bathtub.

"You should work on your manners," he commented dryly.

She tried to kick him, he pushed her further into the bath, the water inches from her nose. "Get off!" she yelled.

He grinned. "Alright then, if you insist," he retorted.

Her eyes widened at the implication as he pushed her into the water.

There was a loud splash as she was pushed into the cold water, the floor tiles getting wet. Lyrisadora choked as she flung her head up for air, herself soaking wet from head to toe. Her eyes snapped towards Adrian like a wild deer. "Are you insane!" she screamed, he just laughed.

"Cassondria was right about you, spot on," he chuckled, grinning at her. "At least your dress is clean now."

"Shut up, I hope you choke, you idiot," she spat, struggling to climb out of the freezing water.

Adrian casually turned the tap off. "I'm sure your mother will dry you off in no time," he reassured cheerfully.

She made to strangle him, but he quickly moved out of the way. "I hate you!" she exclaimed, feeling humiliated as she tried to clamber out of the water, landing on the hard floor, glaring up at him. "Go die in a hole," she spat, looking at him with pure loathing as she shivered. He continued to smile, she wanted to punch him. "What's so funny?"

"You are," he replied simply, his grin growing. "You know what? I think I like you Malfoy."

Her eyes narrowed, looking at him like he was insane.

26/9/17

I've modified and merged this chapter with another one. Still modifying this fic, so expect to see some extra content added throughout out the next few months.