Chapter 10: Memories
Maria landed in the middle of a dark room.
"Father", she exclaimed and threw herself in the arms of a pale man with red eyes. The man didn't seem to care about what Maria did and hugged her stiffly back. Maria let go and looked at her father.
"Father, did something happen?" she asked in a smooth voice.
"Bella, you may leave", Voldemort said and Bellatrix disapparated. "Yes, something did happen", Voldemort sighed and sat down in an armchair.
"What?" Maria wondered.
"I can't tell you. Not yet. The important thing is that you stay away for a while. You'll have to stay at Lucius."
"But father. What if he tries to hurt me again?"
"Relax. He's not allowed to use magic against you and he knows that. He won't hurt you if he knows what's best for him", Voldemort said and stood up.
"Okey, if you're sure", Maria said skeptically and left.
"Just make sure to be gone by noon tomorrow", Voldemort warned.
"What will happen then?"
"You'll see Maria, I promise. Make something to eat and go to bed", Voldemort said and turned to leave.
Maria was standing there, not understanding a word of what her father had just said. Since when did her father sound this strange and he had promised her not never have to stay at Lucius ever again. Something wasn't right, and she would find out what. Even if it meant killing someone.
When Maria woke up the next night at Malfoy Manor, she decided to go downstairs to try to find out what was going on. She silently sneaked out of her room and down the stairs, where she heard low voiced talking to each other. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she heard the men coming closer and she quickly hid in a closet. The footsteps stopped outside the door of the closet and the man, now she recognized it was Lucius, started to talk. She heard another voice as well, but she didn't recognize it.
"We'll have to be careful. We don't know how powerful she is, Delain", Lucius whispered. Then Maria realized that the man Lucius was talking to was Jeans father. She was furious and was very close to come out of her hiding place, but calmed down after a couple of seconds.
"I know, but we need them. If the Dark Lord will keep her no one knows what will happen to her powers", Delain whispered even quieter.
"I know, but there is nothing we can do", Lucius said.
"She killed Jean", Delain burst out.
That was his last words before disappearing and Lucius went back to bed. After a couple of minutes, Maria went back to her bed as well. Determined not to tell her father about any of this until she knew what it was about. It could be anything.
When Maria woke up the next morning, she smelled eggs and bacon. She quickly got dressed and ran down to the kitchen where she found Lucius.
"Good morning", she said nicely.
When she didn't received any reply she sat down and started eating. When she was finished fifteen minutes later neither she nor Lucius had said a word. She went down in the basemen where she usually practiced her powers. When the door was closed, she raised her wand. She wasn't surprised at all when lightnings were shot from it. She knew she didn't need her wand to do it, but it felt good to have it in her hand. She practiced the Unforgivable curses as well. Mostly on mice and spiders. When she was done, she had no idea of how many animals she had killed. She didn't care. They would die eventually anyway. When she got up from the basement, she bumped into Narcissa.
"Cissy, can I ask you something?" Maria asked.
"Sure, what?" Narcissa asked surprised.
"Do you know a man whose last name is Delain?"
"No, I don't", she said too fast, but Maria already knew she lied. "Why?"
"Well, there was a girl at Hogwarts named Jeauqlin Delain. She died a couple of months ago", Maria answered almost truthfully. "I just wondered if you knew the name of her father."
"No Maria, I don't, but ask Lucius. He might know."
Maria shrugged and left. She was sure the man who had been talking to Lucius that night was Jeans father.
A couple of days later she was back with her father and she stopped worrying about Lucius.
"Good. Didn't I tell you that you would make it?" Voldemort said one night when Maria made a dementor disappear again. She had always had a problem with them. Now she could at least make them go away.
"Yes you did", Maria agreed and looked at the door, which was opening.
Maria was slightly surprised. No one ever came there unless they were called for. Sometimes it could happen that someone had something important to inform her father about, but even he seemed to be surprised. She looked at her father and took a few steps backwards. Not because she was afraid, more because she was worried about what would happen next.
The door opened slowly and Maria could see a shadow coming closer. She relaxed and her father lowered his wand and put it on the table that was standing next to them.
"Devon, how many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering", Voldemort said exhausted.
"You have to keep doing that?" Maria asked. "It's frustrating."
"Sorry father. I didn't think", Devon sighed. "Why can't I go to Hogwarts too?"
"You're nine years old. You will start in two years, you know that", Voldemort said, annoyed.
"But why not?" Devon said sourly.
"That's enough. If you want to go there at all you'll have to stop nagging", Voldemort said even more annoyed.
Devon looked as though he would say something but changed his mind and left. Maria knew that if he had questioned his father again he would be sorry. She had experienced it herself when she was younger. Now she didn't care much about it.
Maria left her father for a walk. She had walked about a mile when she heard fast steps coming from behind her and she threw herself in a bush and watched when Lucius Malfoy passed her hiding place. She decided to follow. She casted a spell so that she could follow him without him hearing or seeing her. After another couple of miles, Lucius turned left into an alley and disapparated. Maria never had the time to see what he did there, but when she started to hear silent voiced she ran. She almost immediately noticed that she was in the muggle world. As usually, she had a backpack with muggle clothes with her. You never knew when you might need them. She ran into another alley and changed before walking out on the streets again. She knew where she was right away. She had lived in this area when her mother was alive. She had no idea that it was so close to her current home. It was a painful memory and all she wanted to do was to forget about it. She walked slowly against the house where she had lived and when she walked past the cemeteries, it hit her. What if her mother was found by a muggle and then buried here. It wasn't a big clue but it was all she had. She walked to the church and hesitated for a moment at the door before she determined pushed the handle down.
"Hello, is there anyone here", she called, making the voice echo.
"Maria, is that really you?" A voice said and Maria gave a jump. "What a surprise. I'm sorry if I scared you, I didn't mean to", he continued.
"It's okey", Maria said and looked around.
"I never saw you at your mother's funeral."
"I know. It was too hard for me. Then I moved to dad and I haven't been able to come here until now", Maria lied.
"I understand", the priest said. "Come. I'll show you her grave."
Maria silently followed the priest. They walked past many graves before stopping at the right one.
"Here it is. I hope I'll see you soon again Maria", the priest said and left Maria alone.
Big tears fell down Marias cheeks. Her father had thought her that only the weak ones cried and she was anything but weak, but she couldn't stop herself.
Suddenly a man appeared next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Maria looked up and her eyes met her fathers. She couldn't take more and threw herself in her father's arms. She stood there a long time, hugging her father while crying.
"Why dad? Why?" She asked, tears not completely gone.
"You know why Maria. She had to die", Voldemort said before hugging his daughter and disapparated them both.
They landed in her father study and Maria ran up to her room to change into a robe. When she was done, she opened a box and took something from it. In that box, she had all her childhood memories and her mother. A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away. She took a picture of her mother and hugged it to her chest.
"I will never forget you mom. I promise", Maria said and put the picture back in the box and locked it.
"Maria, dinner", Devon called after a while.
"Coming", Maria called back and ran down the stairs to the kitchen where her father and brother waited.
"Soup", she said. Why soup. Why can't we ever have something but soup?"
"Don't complain Maria", her father said. "It's this or nothing."
Maria sat down beside her father and started eating.
A couple of hours later Maria went to bed. She knew she had to talk with her father about her mother the next day. It wasn't anything she looked forward to but she had to do it to move on. With those words on her brain, she fell asleep.