To Be A Malfoy Chapter 38, a harry potter fanfic

*Thanks everyone for sticking this story out, and hanging in there with me, and making it bigger than I ever imagined! You don't know how much that means to me!

*J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter!

*So, I have something very important to ask. I don't know how many of you guys have read one of my other stories 'Can't Stop Loving You'. I really liked that story, and felt like it had the potential to be really strong. I feel like in the past year, I've become a much better writer, and I've considered rewriting it, and maybe changing it up a bit. Would any of you guys be interested in that? Thanks for your input!*

"Belle, open this one next!" Scorpius pleads, excitedly thrusting a present my way. I pick up the box and look at it, deciding where I should tear the wrapping paper. I barely get a hand on it before Rose stops me.

"Wait, no- read the card first!" She orders, shoving a card in my hands. I open it and squint my eyes to read the note scribbled in yellow crayon.

"'Dear Belle, you are the bestest big sister in the whole entire world! Happy birthday, love Scorpius, Hugo, and Rose.' Oh, this is absolutely beautiful," I smile at all my siblings. I couldn't have asked for cuter ones.

"We all drawed it," Hugo informs me, smiling. "But Rose writed all the words."

"Mr. Draco helped me with some of the spelling," Rose adds, beaming at Dad. I'm glad that Rose and Hugo have accepted Dad the same way Scorpius has accepted Mum. They find Dad quite entertaining actually. And I know Dad won't outright say it, but I think he's just as thankful for Rose and Hugo as he is for Scorpius and me.

"It's lovely," I assure her, setting the card down on the table. I'll be sure to keep it.

"Now, for the gift… oh, what is it?" I asks, shaking the box to my ear. Scorpius gives me an impatient look.

"Open it already!"

"All right, all right. Since you asked so nicely…" I mutter. I lift the lid off the brightly wrapped box. "More princess movies, these must be from Rose… and a beautiful pair of shoes which I'm sure Hugo must have chosen, and what's this- A muggle storybook?" I ask, pulling it out and examining the cover. Scorpius nods.

"Yep! I like all the stories when Aunt Hermione reads them to me, and I think you would like them too if you read them," he explains. I smile at him, and I know he put a lot of thought into something like that.

"Well, that's very thoughtful, all of you. I couldn't have gotten better birthday presents. Thank you so much," I say, putting my gifts back in their boxes.

"Can we get cake now?" Rose asks impatiently.

"Cake!" Hugo and Scorpius cheer in unison, grinning.

"Is that all the three of you have been waiting for?" Dad questions. Rose, Scorpius and Hugo nod. At least they're honest. Mum disappears and comes back to the kitchen holding a large purple birthday cake. She sets it down on the table before me, and fifteen candles glow up at me. Just a few months ago, I didn't even think I would make it to my fifteenth birthday. I'm extremely happy that I did. I would have missed out on some really great moments.

"It's a muggle tradition to make a wish before you blow out the candles," Mum tells me. I look at Mum and Dad. Dad has his arm around Mum. I glance at the silver engagement ring sparkling on her left hand. I look at my younger siblings smiling up at me, eagerly waiting for me to make my birthday wish so they can have some cake. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to think of something to wish for, something I want, something I could change, or something I could make better. But I can't. I wish my life would stay like this. I open my eyes and blow out all the candles on my cake. I hope my wish comes true.

"Yay, cake now!" Scorpius says happily. "Ithbelle, what did you wish for?"

"I wished that-"

"Belle, if you tell then it won't come true!" Rose warns me. Merlin, there are too many rules to this.

"Yeah, you gotta keep it secret," Hugo agrees.

"Oh, then sorry, Scorpius, but I can't tell you what I wished for." Scorpius shrugs nonchalantly.

"It's okay as long as I get cake." Someone give the poor thing cake before he explodes.

Mum starts handing out pieces of my birthday cake. The biggest slice, of course, is for me. That's a tradition I'm familiar with. "Do you feel any older?" she questions. I shake my head.

"Not really, no." But, in my head, fifteen sounds so much older than fourteen. It's funny how things like that work. I look at Mum's growing stomach. I can tell that she's pregnant now, but I think it's only because I already know. She's still trying to keep it a secret. I wonder when she and Dad are going to tell people. I wonder how that will work out.

"You have icing all over your face and hands," Dad tells Hugo, gesturing to all the purple icing coating his mouth and fingers. You'd assume Hugo's never heard of a fork. He reaches for a napkin, but Dad takes it first, not wanting little purple fingerprints to get everywhere. He wipes Hugo's fingers off for him, but must realize that there isn't any use it cleaning off his mouth. Hugo starts laughing, and Mum smiles.

I finish eating my cake, listening to the meaningless conversation of my family. It's surprising how much my family has changed from my last birthday to this one. I no longer have a stepmother. Instead, I have a real one. And I have two- almost three- new siblings that I love dearly. My family's more than doubled in size.

"I'm going to take these to my room," I announce, gesturing to my gifts. Dad frowns slightly, but he doesn't say anything. I hope he doesn't think I'm upset, because I'm the exact opposite.

"Do you need any help?" Mum asks. I shake my head.

"No, thanks. I've got it." I carry my gift boxes to my room and set them at the foot of my bed. I sit down and let the evening air come in through my window. It's November, so I know that it's going to begin snowing soon. The curtains billow, almost knocking into the photographs on top of my dresser. Most of them are recent pictures, mainly of my family. My favorite is the one I took of my parents on Mum's birthday. Dad received the suggestion from a certain someone that it would be the perfect day to propose to her. I was correct. That's one thing that makes wizarding photographs better than muggle ones: they capture the entire memory perfectly.

I look up to hear a light tapping noise on my windowsill. It's an owl, a little pudgy one. I get up and cross the room quickly, untying the letter and small box from its leg. The owl flies off, and I bring the letter and the box back to my bed. Carefully, I untie the roll of parchment that has my name written on it in a boyish scrawl.

Dear Belle,

We really hope this got to you on your birthday. If not, we're sorry, and it's only because Teddy's owl is fat lard. So, happy birthday, Belle, and we really hope you enjoy your day. Say hello to everyone at home for us. Sorry we couldn't see you on your big day, and we hope the gift makes up for it somewhat. We'll see you again when we can. Love you,

Teddy and Holden

P.S.: Dom says 'hi', and happy birthday, too.

I haven't seen Dom since the day after I met Mum. I wonder how she's doing, seeing how she has to deal with her unbearable sister every day. I decide not to focus on that. Today's my birthday, I shouldn't be worried about petty things like Victoire. I pick up the gift from Teddy and Holden and carefully untie the ribbon sealing it. Inside is a beautiful silver necklace, with a small pendant in the shape of an 'I' coming down from the middle. I absolutely love it, but the necklace makes me miss Holden and Teddy a lot more. It was very thoughtful of them to get me something, or to even remember when my birthday was in the first place. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, or a better boyfriend.

Mum knocks on the outside of my door, jarring me from my thoughts. "Come in," I say quietly. Mum gives me a serious look as she sits on the edge of my bed. She opens her mouth to begin to say something, but then she closes it. Instead, she pulls me into a tight hug like she did the day I met her.

"You're growing up so fast," mum whispers against my hair. To her, it must seem like she'll never be able to have enough time with me. She never got to see me grow up, or say my first words or take my first steps. This is the first birthday I've ever spent with Mum, or even knowing who she is for that matter. The first birthday most children spend with their mother is their first birthday, mine was my fifteenth. Normally, this would be the day that Mum would be meeting with Grandmother, accepting her money. I couldn't imagine waking up knowing that you had to do something so terrible. Mum pulls something out of her robes and hands it to me.

"This is for you. I hoped to be able to return it one day," she says, handing a tiny box over to me. Under Mum's gaze, I open it carefully. I don't mean to be rude, but I can't help the look of utter confusion that crosses my face.

"What is it? It looks like….a key?" I ask, looking at Mum. She doesn't seem to be surprised at my expression.

"It is," she nods. Well, if this isn't the strangest thing I've ever received.

"What does it open?" I question.

"Your vault." That's impossible. No one knows where my vault key is except for me.

"But… how did you…?" I question, dumbfounded. Mum gives me a small smile.

"It isn't for that vault, Isobelle. That money Narcissa gave me, I didn't spend it all," she explains.

"But your mother was sick, you needed it," I insist. "You told me yourself that you needed all of it." Mum shakes her head slowly.

"I never said that. I said the money was enough, for as long as my mother was alive, anyway. It was too much, actually, and I didn't feel right keeping it. There's just over thirty-five thousand galleons in that vault. It's yours." Mum presses the key into my hand. I know that she isn't giving this to me for the money, but as a gesture. I don't know what to say.

"Does Dad know?" I ask. Mum shakes her head.

"I thought that it should be up to you whether you wanted to tell him or not." I guess I could mention it, the fact that Mum just gave me thirty-five thousand galleons for my birthday. I imagine what my grandparents would think if they knew that that money was in my hands now.

"What do I spend it on?" I ask. Mum shrugs.

"Whatever you choose. It's yours, Isobelle. All yours. I know it doesn't make up for everything, nothing ever could, but I truly am sorry." I look at Mum and I see that she really is sad, but she's also happy. I think the ability to feel both simultaneously is one of the most difficult and confusing things to have to work out. She must be upset because of leaving me, but happy because she now has to chance to correct it. I'm sure that Mum's also sad and confused over her divorce from Ron, but happy to be marrying Dad. She needs someone to love her children, all her children, and that includes me.

I'm glad that Ron is gone because even though I didn't know him too well, I did know that he just wasn't the type of person Mum needed. The same goes for Astoria. Both of my parents needed someone who would understand the other, and it took them a while to realize that that person would be each other. Dad didn't need Astoria either. She was too selfish, when her husband was in a situation that required him to be selfless. I'm not saying that neither Ron nor Astoria won't ever marry anyone else again, just that their marriages to my parents were doomed from the start. I know that it won't be the same with Mum and Dad. People say that their marriage isn't going to work because Mum and Dad are just too different, when in reality, Dad was too much like Astoria, and Mum was too much like Ron. Of course, some difference is good, but their hearts are in the same place. They both know how to put their children first, but still make time for each other. When I first met my parents, I wouldn't have thought any of this was possible, but when you really love someone, you don't know what you're capable of.

I take the key and slip it onto the chain of the necklace pressing the imprint of a letter into my palm. I don't know what I want to spend the money on, and I want to have the key with me until I do.

"Where did you get that necklace?" Mum asks curiously.

"Teddy and Holden sent it to me. For my birthday," I answer.

"That was very kind of them."

I nod."It was. I just miss them, though," I say sadly. I examine the key on my necklace, and look back at Mum. A realization dawns on me.

"Do you know something?" I ask Mum.

She shakes her head. "What is it?"

"This is the first gift you've ever given me," I tell Mum. A slow smile comes across her face.

"It is, isn't it?" I nod. I give her a tight hug. Mum pulls away and holds my shoulders at arm's length. She gives me the most loving look that she's ever given me. It almost makes me cry. "Isobelle Delphine Malfoy, You don't know how proud of you I am. You are so strong, and so brilliant. You are everything I hoped you would be. I love you." Words can't describe the feeling that I get when Mum tells me that she's proud of me. I would never admit it, but I've always wanted to do something that would make her think higher of me, as if I always was one of her children. I never knew that meant being myself.

"I know, Mum. I love you, too."

(A/N: Honestly, I cried while writing this chapter. It's out of sadness that this story is over, but relief knowing that things are okay for Isobelle for the time being. Because so many of you have asked, I'll finally tell you that I've gotten the inspiration for Isobelle from myself. Her situation didn't happen to me, but I've had terrible issues with my parents since I was young. This story was an outlet for me, and I hoped that it was the same for some of you. I hope you grew to like the characters you were supposed to like and hate the characters you were supposed to hate. Most of all, I really hope that you took something away from this story, whatever it was. I know that I didn't answer all of the pressing questions you had about this story right away, but that's because I'm writing a sequel to this story. I'll try to have it started by this weekend, and it will be called 'Receive with the Restart' so that those of you who want to read it can find it. If you've read this story from beginning to end, I really hope you can take the time and leave a review. It really is important to me what you honestly thought of this story! So, for one last time, thanks for reading