A/N: On Christma's Holidays, Santa gaves me few free times. Thanks to him, I can write this. So say thank you to Santa.
Previously...
"Ami saved Draco's and my life," lady Malfoy softly spoke. Surprised, Heley looked at the elegant lady sat in front of her, waiting for her to continue.
A/N: Ami is pronounced 'Ah-me'. It's French.
Unbeta'd.
Fallen & Risen 34. Ami
Flashback
After that Lucius was send into Azkaban, lady Malfoy was very worried for her son. Draco had to become the head of the Malfoy. He had to rebuild the trust and the prestige of the Malfoy, prestige which was a little bit dented after the trial. Plus, he didn't have a proper transition to his new task. During the little family meeting after the Wizengamot, Lucius had just passed down the Malfoy ring to his son with an "I trust in you" as guidance before he was taken to Azkaban. Then, the title of the head of the Noble House of Black fell upon his shoulders. Whit the new responsibility, Draco had quickly matured into a trustworthy young lord. Too quickly for lady Malfoy's taste. Even though Draco had magnificently pulled through was expected from him, lady Malfoy couldn't help but feeling that it was too much responsibility for him, him who was barely out of school.
And she was right to be worried about him.
Flashback
During the first weeks at the manor after the Wizengamot, Draco had many break downs. During that time, his magic kept unleashing at the most unexpected moment. It wasn't like magical outburst like young children often experience, but it was wild and dangerous magic which destroyed everything around, from the walls down to the flower vases. When he felt that he was about to unleash again, he hide in the garden, where Mother Nature seemed to be able to calm the wildness of his magic. That was when he became close friend of the white peacocks living in the manor. Draco had never paid much attention to them before. Under the special circumstance, he learned to get acquaintance with them. He had become particularly attached to one bird he had named Ami, which mean 'friend' in French.
However, the wildness inside him wasn't completely tamed. It rebelled. During that time, the garden nor Ami couldn't help him. The dark energy inside Draco keep growing more dangerous at every new unleash. Many times, lady Malfoy had fear for her son's health. After a wild magic unleash, Draco was left completely drained off. The more his magic kept unleashing, the weaker he became. Then, during one particularly ravaging unleash, the mother and the son discovered the power of the white peacocks. Draco's painful screams had gathered all the peacocks of the manor in his room. The birds formed a circle around his bed, except for Ami, which was flying above Draco's head. The birds glowed a silver light, creating a dome imprisoning the black magical storm above Draco's head. Ami forced the remaining black force inside of Draco to storm out, enlarging the black mass above the ceiling. The black mass transformed into a storm, destroying everything in the room. The birds created a silver net trapping the black mass and Ami absorbed it inside its body. After that, Draco was left extremely sickly pale, but his erratic breath. At the most surprising was the Dark mark on his arm had disappeared. That was how lady Malfoy discovered that the white peacocks were purifying magical creature.
Before marrying Lucius, lady Malfoy knew that the white peacocks were a symbol of the Malfoy from long ago, though she never exactly knew what kind of magic these birds could do. Lucius himself didn't know. He just knew that one of his ancestor felt in love with the bird during one of his numerous voyages around the world and had brought a couple of male and female back home. Hat ancestor went through a lot of problems to have them bring to England and spend up to billion to build up a environnement aclimated to the one the birds were used to live in. Since them, the white peacocks had always lived inside the estates of the Malfoy from generation to generation, yet no one know exactly what was so special about them, except that they were majesties enough to represent the grandeur of the Malfoy. But today, lady Malfoy knows why that Malfoy ancestor took so much troubles to have the peacocks. They were trully magnificient magical creatures.
After that day, the birds were roaming back in the garden again, like normal, as if nothing special had ever happened before. Only Ami was different from before. The eye of his tail was no longer a pure white. It had taken a lilac tint surround by a glittering silver ring.
Thanks to Ami, Draco was able to regain his health back. And when he could get out of his bed, he had the manor rebuilt. It wasn't like he had a choice since his last unleash had tear off a big portion of the roof of his bedroom as well as many walls. At the same time, he took the opportunity to erase every tiniest hint that could remind them of the presence of a dark lord and his minions inside the manor.
And while they very busy rebuilding the castle, inside the winter garden, inside the creek where Ami had set to build his nest, a new kind of magical flower took form: a translucent misty-like lily flower which produces singing lights. The melody of the flower has the power to sooth the soul and to release the stress of its listener.
End flashback
Lady Malfoy gave a tour to Heley in the winter garden.
"Here, let me show you my favorite flower of all of Ami's creations," lady Malfoy said, leading Heley through the garden. "These flowers are very special. They glow in the dark and they sing."
"Hum, that sound amazing," Heley said, finding the description somehow. Lady Malfoy turned toward a darker corner or the garden and lift up the large leaves covering a little creek. Inside the small creek, grow on the rock were translucent petal lily-like flowers. Their pistils sprout various little yellow and blue glows. The yellow glow sang high pitch note while the blue one sang low pitch. Heley's eye wide twice their original size. "Ah! It's the same flower that I received for Christmas!" Heley exclaimed.
Lady Malfoy startled and turned on her heels to watched Heley with very surprised eyes.
'She had? It was her...?'
Flashback
Once recovered from his magic outbursts, Draco took over again his responsibilities as the head of the Malfoy and the Black under the guidance of his mother. Unlike his father, Draco believed that a feminine point of view could also be profitable in one way or another. Lady Malfoy herself like the new break of the tradition because she felt more involved in the family business. She understood more her position as a Malfoy lady as well as a nee-Black lady. But again, lady Malfoy couldn't help but still worrying about Draco. It seemed to her that Draco haven't finished living all his youth yet had to turn into an adult. She felt like he was missing a very important part of his youth life because of the sudden responsibilities falling on his shoulders. Then, she had wind about the invitation from Hogwarts for the students to re-do again their previous school year following the old program of before the changes done under Dolores Umbridge.
The week following the news, lady Malfoy didn't stop pondering about why and why not Draco should return back to school. However, she couldn't find arguments standing for Draco should return back to school beside her desire for him to live a full youth life. Then, one night, out of the blurt, she told him these words.
"Draco, I want you to return back to school for an 8th year."
Draco swallowed his piece of beef and watched his mother, waiting for an explanation from her part. However, she didn't give any, especially when considering that both of them knew that Draco didn't need to re-do again his 7th year. His mother just sat still with her hands fold on her skirt, staring straight at him. After he knew about the change done by Umbridge about the program of the 7th year, Lucius took in hand the charge to tutor his son himself. Thanks to his father, Draco now had an adequate level of education. So seriously, he didn't need to return back to school. Then why did his mother so want him to return back?
'She must have a reason of her own,' Draco concluded.
"Very well, Mother," Draco simply answered, not asking for any explanation. 'If she wants to tell me her reasons, then she will. If she doesn't want to tell, then she must also have a reason for not telling.' He would not ask her. He trusted her.
And Draco boarded the Hogwarts Express on September 1 with the other old students. While he was away, his mother took care of the family business and always kept him update about everything. And he too kept her update about his life at school.
For a few weeks, lady Malfoy was always wondering if she did the right thing to send Draco back to school. His letters only related about his school progress, sometimes mentioning about Blaise once or twice. What made lady Malfoy worried was that the letters were written by an adult, by a lord, nothing like by a young man. They letters were strict and voided of emotions. It came to a point that she became anxious and scared to receive another letter from Lord Draco Lucius Malfoy-Black. She wanted to receive a letter from her son, a young boy who had just barely cross the teenager state, a young man simply named Draco Malfoy.
Then, subtly, emotions started to appear in his letters. At the beginning, they were confusion. Then, questioning, followed immediately with restraint. It took lady Malfoy a certain time to figure out that her son was referring to certain a Gryffindor classmate. Lady Malfoy was very curious about that Gryffindor classmate that stirred so many emotions in her son but Draco's letters didn't specify exactly who it was. Through the small information Draco left in his letters, lady Malfoy managed to build a certain identity of that classmate: a Gryffindor girl in the same year as Draco, she couldn't find the name of the girl or how she looked like. Following his restraint emotions period, Draco's letters became very short and dried, like his first letter at the beginning of the year. However, this time, lady Malfoy didn't feel any worry because beneath this dryness, she could feel that her son was fighting with himself with his feelings. He was being very harsh on himself to deny or to protect something, and most probably connected to the mysterious Gryffindor girl. His letters were short and very 'upright' of a young lord, but they showed that he was living.
After a month, lady Malfoy was very happy that she had send Draco back to school. His letters were now starting to show small sparkle of humanity, some human feelings. In the letter just before his returning home for Christmas, he had allowed himself to express the joy and the happiness he felt upon seeing her. Never Draco would tell his feelings under any form of expression. Something or someone at school was changing him for the best. Then, one night, he appeared in the living room after leaving Hogwarts, bearing a very healthy face color, much the delight of his mother. But what delight lady Malfoy more than anything was the gentleness and softness in his features when he kissed her cheek. Lady Malfoy was very happy to see that Draco had gain some healthy color and less tensed than before going back to school. Now, he talk to her about anything and not simply kept the conversation formal.
Another very surprise lady Malfoy had discovered was that for the first time of his life, her son had spontaneously sent a Christmas gift to someone who wasn't her or Lucius. And it was a gift through the heart. Draco had refused the singing lily, the first one to bloom, to his best friend's request. Draco knew Blaise intended to give it as a Christmas present to the red haired victim of his pursuits because the flower has a strong power to swoon the said victim to Blaise's favors. However, Draco had spontaneously gifted it to someone else. The mystery remained as who was the receiver of the singing lily. And during the New Year Ball, it was the first time lady Malfoy saw Draco smiled in a very long time, when he had helped Heley up when she tripped on the floor.
End flashback
'It was her...'
"I really like this flower," Heley said, unaware of the thought running in lady Malfoy's head. "It always makes me have good dream. Though I still don't know who send me that Christmas gift because there wasn't any name on the card."
Lady Malfoy only smiled as she listen Heley talking about what she liked about the flower. Now, she knew who was the mysterious person to whom Draco had given the first bloomed singing lily. Her eyes soften as she looked at the young girl standing next to her. Without a word, lady Malfoy put her hands on Heley's shoulders and pulled the girl toward her.
"Thank you..." she said before kissing Heley on the temple. Then, she walked away, leaving a very dumbfounded Heley behind.
"Err, Aunt Narcissa, what was that for?" Heley asked when lady Malfoy released her shoulders. Lady Malfoy only smiled, but didn't answer.
"Now, let's go back to our tea, shall we?" Lady Malfoy said, already heading back to where the snack was served.
"Huh?" Heley was totally confused.
"Come Heley. The tea will cold down otherwise," lady Malfoy only said. Obviously, Draco wished to remain anonymous, so she will respect his desire. If he wanted Heley to know who was the sender of her Christmas, he would tell her himself.
"Err, yes, Aunt Narcissa," Heley responded and hurried after the pure blood lady.
'So Heley was the girl who had changed Draco.'
Lady Malfoy smiled again.
A/N: To answer to a review about the white peacocks living in the Malfoy Manor. Exactly from where the Malfoy had acquired the peacocks, I don't know the answer myself. I just know about the peacocks base on a description of the Malfoy Manor from the HP encyclopedia. And since I doubted that the Malfoy would acquire common things or animals, I had made the white peacocks magical. The peacocks usually roamed in the garden, which brought me to think about plants. Between flowers and trees, flowers are cuter, so I linked the peacocks with the flowers. Then, add peacocks + magic + flower = magical flowers made by the peacocks. Now what kind of flower to choose? Why not lily for Heley's mother Lily? So from there was born the singing lilies from the white magical peacocks.
This chapter had not been beta'd. If you spot any mistakes - that bug you or -, please send me a notice and I will correct it. Thank you.
Update on Thursday, December 29, 2011. Undeta'd.