Hey there. I have no way to defend myself on the amount of time it's taken for me to get anything out for this story. I'm sorry. But also...after this chapter the fun stuff is really going to start!

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE MALFOY'S

"Let me do the talking, please."

I sighed as I slid on one of my stockings; when it was fully on my foot I groaned in annoyance-apparently this one had a hole in the toe. And I knew that I would be wearing shoes but something inside me told me that my father would just know I wasn't dressed 'appropriately' if I had a hole in my sock.

So I changed it.

"Oh yes, because he's only going to ask you questions and not me. I'll just become a mute, shall I?"

"You know what I mean," Draco said, his voice chastising me, yet again.

He had come into my dorm again this morning while I got ready so that we could go down to breakfast together and count down the minutes until our parents arrived. Walking in unannounced had caused my dorm mates, including Greengrass even, to squeal and blush and cover themselves up in front of him whilst they were still in the nightgowns. I had no such reaction; instead I groaned in annoyance as he stole my blanket from me, telling me I needed to get up and get ready.

Currently I was having a hard time finding something appropriate to wear. I was planning on jeans and a simple sweater considering it was still the weekend however, Draco had strolled into my room wearing his fully tailored, pressed, black suit and had slicked his hair to the side perfectly. His face was clear of imperfections aside from the dark circles under his eyes; but he looked ready to face our parents, unlike me.

His expression told me he hadn't been surprised seeing me still in bed when he'd come in but a bit disappointed. He'd simply handed me his special comb and a mirror that I hadn't seen him come in with.

"What? Is my hair really that bad?" I'd asked.

He hadn't said anything but simply held the mirror up. I gasped at the wild mane on my head and had snatched the comb from him immediately.

At least now my hair was tame.

But I was still having trouble finding clothes.

"Wear the black skirt with the blazer," He said, pointing at the dullest pieces of clothing I owned.

I frowned at him and he shrugged, giving me a look that said it was better than nothing. And I knew he was right but I didn't like it.

"Ugh, fine." I grabbed the black skirt that penciled around my knees and a white flowing blouse that went under the pin striped blazer.

My mother had always told us it was best to have clothes that looked as though we would be called into a formal meeting at all times. Draco had taken to our mother's words graciously-it was rare when I saw him in anything other than a black suit for casual wear nowadays-and I had resisted, as usual. I found jeans and a nice sweater far more comfortable than my Hogwarts uniform and extremely more comfortable than this stupid power dress wear she'd gotten me.

I looked at my brother who had not moved from his spot on my bed, petting Jojo absentmindedly.

"Could you get out?" I asked, looking at him with glaring eyes.

He looked at me with offense at first but then understood. I had to change and I wasn't doing it in front of him.

"Sorry, come find me in the common room when you're ready," He said and got up, which Jojo seemed upset about, and left.

"I hate this outfit," I said to her and she simply looked at me as if she was exhausted by my complaining.

Which she probably was-besides Draco she was the one that heard my complaints the most.

So, defeated, I put on some tights and then the skirt which made my hips look a bit curvier and my bottom a bit bubblier than it already was. The shirt fit nicely and the blazer was a bit snug around the chest area but other than that it fit.

Unfortunately for me.

Shoes were an easy match, and I figured with my father coming he'd probably want to see that expensive emerald jewelry he bought for me so I swiftly put the studded earrings in and the necklace that hung in the dip of my collar bone. To top everything off I made myself put on some of the makeup my mother always insisted I wear for formal occasions because it 'makes me look older'. I personally thought it made me look like a bloody clown.

One look in the mirror and I wanted to strangle myself.

This was how my mother dressed me as a child and I always hated it. Draco secretly loved getting called "the best dressed" by our mother's friends at formal parties and what not but I despised the compliments.

"Alright, Jojo, I officially look ready for the Malfoys, yeah?" I twirled for her and she meowed lightly at me.

To me it was the sound of approval so if my parents didn't like it I'd have to blame Jojo.

When I walked into the common room I spotted my brother talking with Blaise and behind him, trying to force herself into the conversation was Puginson. I was surprised she was awake this early, usually she needed all the "beauty rest" she could muster and even then it didn't do much for her pug-like features. Tracey was down too, which wasn't surprising-she was always an early riser and I often found her by the fire with a book in her lap if I woke up early enough to catch her. She looked about ready to start strangling Puginson whilst casting my brother admiring looks. I rolled my eyes.

If only she knew that boys just weren't worth it.

"Ehem." I cleared my throat to grab their attention. Draco turned to me and I saw his eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Very good," He said and nodded in approval.

Good, this meant if my parents didn't approve I could now blame Jojo and my brother. Perfect.

"What are you getting all dressed up for?" Parkinson's voice almost made my ears bleed and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Is it any of your business, Pug?" I sneered and she glared right back.

"I'm just curious! Draco, you'll tell me, won't you?"

"He most certainly will not," I glared at him and he held back the amusement on his face as he looked between the two of us.

Behind them I saw Theodore walk out into the common room, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He paused when he saw me. His gaze started at my toes and ended on my face and I tried not to smile at the pink flush that painted his cheeks.

One thing was for sure, Theodore always looked at me as if I was the most beautiful creature in the world and it made me feel good. Very good, in fact.

But I also knew that just because a boy looked at me that way didn't mean I was going to melt; I already knew I was beautiful.

Still; Theodore's adoring looks always managed to make me smile to myself.

"C'mon, we don't have time for this," Draco said and offered his arm to me to take.

Apparently he didn't enjoy Theodore staring at me for too long; that was the message I got according to the annoyed look on his face at least.

"But-," Parkinson looked hurt by my brother's dismissal of her and I smirked at her as I walked by.

"You might want to get that pouty look off your face, Pug, it looks dreadful on you," I said and laughed when I heard Draco laugh under his breath.

"You know, you don't have to be so mean to her," He said as we walked down to breakfast where our parents would be waiting.

My stomach was doing flips at just the thought.

"Oh, because you shag her sometimes means I don't have to be mean to her?" I let the sarcasm drip from my voice and I saw a tint of pink hit his cheeks at my mention of his indiscretions.

He tended to run to Puginson when he needed a fix and couldn't find anyone better. It made me want to both punch him and laugh at him.

"Whatever, she doesn't mean anything to me anyway."

"And what about Ms. Davis?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me as he pushed open the door to the Great Hall.

"What about her?"

"She's still drooling over you, when are you going to make her your next victim?" I chuckled and he rolled his eyes.

"She's a nice girl, I wouldn't do that," He muttered.

"Sure you wouldn't."

"You have so much faith in me, little sister."

"Well I'd hope she does, she's your family, after all."

I froze at the voice that spoke-it was the only one in the world that could fill me with both dread and happiness.

My father and mother stood before us, something we would've noticed had we not been bickering, and my father's pinched face looked almost pleased to see us, but equally annoyed.

"You're late," He said, his voice low and disapproving.

Draco and I bowed our heads at the chastise in his voice-how is it it's only been thirty seconds and we've already managed to annoy him?

"Oh, Lucius, give them a break, we've only just seen them."

My mother's voice was like waking up to the sun hitting your face-warm, gentle, and pleasant.

"Mother," We said and smiled as she came over to us.

She wrapped us up tight in her embrace and her scent overwhelmed me and nearly brought me to tears.

I hadn't realized how much I missed her until now.

"My darlings, how are you? Behaving yourselves?"

"Of course they are, Narcissa, they're Malfoy's. They wouldn't want to disappoint me." Father spoke proudly and held his head up high.

He had pulled back his long blonde hair into a ponytail today and with the way it showed off his face I could tell there were new stress lines marking his forehead and around his eyes.

Perhaps the whole Death Eater thing is taking a toll on him.

I thought bitterly.

"Come, let's get some breakfast, shall we?" My mother offered and Draco and I followed her to sit down near the end of our table.

Not many people were here-it was far too early on a Sunday morning for the students to have come down yet.

I studied my mothers' sweet face as she ushered us over to the Slytherin side. She looked tired, dark purple circles under her eyes giving away her exhaustion. When she looked at my father there was a slight tug of her mouth in a frown that made me curious as to what's been going on at home. She looked almost weary around him.

At least she looked happy to see Draco and myself.

"What's that nonsense all on your face, Cecily?"

My father's harsh tone pulled me out of my thoughts and I felt confusion spread on my features.

Was there something on my face already? I haven't even started eating…

"Are you deaf, girl? I asked you a question."

"My apologies Father, I'm not sure what you're referring to?" I asked and I swear if it was anyone else talking to me there wouldn't be the slight shake in my tone but because this was Lucius Malfoy, my father who's been known to lose his temper with his children, there was a slight hitch in my tone every time I spoke to him.

I didn't want to upset him and have to face the consequences.

At least not here in front of everyone at school-that would be social suicide.

"That makeup makes you look too old and you don't know how to properly apply it. Don't bother wearing it next time you're around me," He said and even though his tone wasn't nearly as hostile as it could've been I still felt a sting in my throat from being so openly chastised at school. The people that were down for breakfast certainly heard him talk to me that way and it made me want to both run to my room and cry and yell at him in front of everyone.

Both options were impossible at the moment.

Draco, who had sat next to me, reached under the table and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, telling me that as long as we got through this visit we would be okay.

It didn't matter, Father had already ruined the breakfast for me and I hadn't even gotten one bite in my stomach yet. Wonderful.

I felt my throat closing in equal parts anger, and humiliation; why was it always me he picked on first?

"Lucius, leave her alone."

At this both me and my brother swung our heads around to look at our mother, who when she had spoken sounded unbelievably angry.

She never spoke to our father like that. Ever.

I raised an eyebrow at my brother and he simply shook his head slightly-he too was just as surprised at our mother openly defending me. Our father looked furious as well. His unblemished face turned a dark shade of red in his anger and his eyes blazed with what I'm sure was images of what he was going to do to discipline all of us.

Instead, to my utter amazement and shock, he took a deep breath and relaxed instead. He shook his head slightly, looked to me and in a voice so strained I could barely hear it, said:

"My apologies, Cecily."

And with me being me, I simply couldn't keep my thoughts to myself.

"What the bloody hell just happened?"

"Cessy!" My brother hissed at me and I dipped my head in apology- I definitely shouldn't have said that.

"Don't curse, sweetheart, it's not very ladylike," My mother said and she brushed my hair from my shoulder and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I think my parents have died and been replaced by clones…

I was so confused about the interaction that just happened that all I could do was simply stare at my mother, she had a small smile on her face and she started filling my plate with eggs and toast.

"Well that was odd…" I muttered and looked at Draco who elbowed me and rolled his eyes at my inability to simply. Stay. Quiet.

But I just couldn't help myself; the situation was too weird.

Next thing we knew Father could be apologizing to Potter for being a Death Eater.

I cleared my throat.

"So, what made you want to visit us?" I directed the question more towards my mother, trying to change the subject.

"Is it so hard to believe a father would want to see his children?" Father spoke to me and I looked at him with a skeptical expression.

He looked as though he was telling the truth but both Draco and I knew better; Father only wanted us around if we could do something for him. Which was sad to say the least but true.

"I mean, it's a little hard to believe…" I muttered, testing how far I could go exactly before my father cursed me.

"Cessy," Draco spoke to me in his harsh tone, telling me to be quiet.

"No need, Draco, Cecily will learn her place eventually," Father said to Draco and he looked at me as he spoke, his tone implying I was probably never going to learn my place at all.

"She's fine, Lucius," Mother spoke again and this time the air was so thick with tension that I simply looked down at my food and pushed it around with my fork.

My appetite wasn't present with this odd atmosphere. Apparently Draco's wasn't either because he did the same as me, pushing his food around.

"Eat, darlings," Mother said.

So instead of disobeying her I took a fork full of scrambled eggs into my mouth and saw the satisfied look on her face.

Well this is going to be an interesting family day…

Walking the halls of the school with my parents was almost as awkward as breakfast. Mother had her arm in Draco's and I had my arm in Father's although he seemed very uncomfortable, like he didn't know how to interact with me.

Which, to be honest, he didn't.

"How have your studies been going, Darlings?" Mother asked us.

Before I could even open my mouth to tell her how horrid Professor Umbridge was Draco cut me off.

"They're wonderful, particularly Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Umbridge is a delight-she's really changing things around here," He said, eyeing me before I could disregard his words.

"Oh that woman," My mother scoffed, "-A true toad of a woman for sure."

I snorted and covered my mouth with my hand that wasn't being escorted by Father. He scowled at me, clearly not approving of my laughter at Mother's words.

But I couldn't help it-I was cut from the same cloth as her. Even Draco couldn't hide his hint of a smile.

"That's what I-," But I was cut off by the sharp sound of metal being smashed against brick.

I shut my mouth quickly-probably a first for me-and looked to my brother. He had on the same expression I could feel on my face. The sound had come from the direction of the Great Hall which we were close to.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

"I did," He nodded and narrowed his gaze towards where it came from.

My father sighed, irritated.

"Come now it's probably nothing, leave it be." He spoke with his voice that said he had no time for our nonsense.

Draco and I paused a moment more before he nodded once to me and we decided to move.

And then it sounded again.

"Let's go see what it is," I said and tugged on my father's arm in the direction of the strange noise.

He sighed and I could feel his annoyance vibrate through him into me but quite frankly I didn't care.

My curiosity was getting the better of me.

By now more students had woken up and were roaming the halls whether to get breakfast or to meet with their friends for the day-but most were stopped in front of the entrance to the Great Hall. My eyes shifted nervously toward my brother as I took in the sight before us. To my horror, were what looked like sentences, or notices, posted in wooden frames and glass pains, getting nailed to the wall of the Great Hall by Mr. Filch.

The sound we had heard earlier was him hammering the nails into the ancient bricks of the school; he was doing one now and the piercing sound was making my ears ring with each hit. There were four posted already.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" I asked aloud.

"Cecily Rose you watch your tongue!" My father hissed at me and squeezed my arm so tightly that I could feel the bruise starting to form.

I glared at him and pulled away, snatching my arm back from his horrid grip. There was no way I was going to be showing any bruises throughout the halls of Hogwarts for my classmates to gaze at.

Who knows what kind of assumptions they would make. Especially those awful Gryffindor's and their annoying habit of feeling bad for anyone they saw as a victim.

I'd be damned if I was seen as victim.

"Looks like Professor Umbridge is making some more…" My brother paused and I watched him swallow hard before speaking next. "Improvements."

I glared at him and shook my head. He looked helplessly at me as if to say he had no choice but to say those things about her.

Which, if I were being honest, he didn't. Not with our father here. Draco was known as the one that always agreed and always obeyed.

I was the troublemaker.

"Improvements?" I scoffed. "Looks like it's just more ways for her to discriminate against some of the better talents this school has to offer," I said as I read some of the posts.

Most of them were silly-keeping 6 inches between male and female students, proper attire, curfew etc. But some of them were borderline racist.

"The only talent this school has lies within Slytherin House, Darling, you best remember that."

Father's tone implied he was done with my shenanigans. He gave me a harsh glare and gave my brother a look that clearly said "control your sister-or else" before clearing his throat and announcing the real reason he came to the school.

"Sorry to cut our visit short, Children, but I must see Professor Umbridge in a private meeting we've set up. She's expecting me very soon."

"Um, what?" Was what my brilliant mouth said.

"You never discussed this with me, Lucius," My mother said and her tone was angry, her expression weary.

"There was no need. All you need to know is that this will greatly affect your education, as always your teachings have been and always will be a number one concern of mine, of course." He spoke with that sarcasm that was so dry you couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not.

Sometimes I swear he was convinced that he was a good father by telling himself over and over again despite the torturous punishments and insults he spit at us and blatant disregard for our interests.

But I saw this as an opportunity that would leave just myself, my brother and our mother alone so I was okay with him going to talk to the toad. I tried to hide my grin.

"Well, Father, you don't want to keep her waiting now do you? It would be rude." I spoke to him as if he were talking to me and by his harsh glare and downward curve of his mouth he didn't appreciate it. Draco elbowed me but I simply kept my gaze steady.

That is until Father's glare then turned murderous as it moved above my head toward something behind me. Confused, I turned and spotted the last person I wanted my family to see.

Potter.

Of course he had to be there. He was flanked by Granger and Weasley, of course, and he was staring up at the new decorations on the Great Hall wall with a look of utter disgust. He looked tired; a permanent state on his features from what I could tell nowadays. Granger glanced over in our direction and gave me a small smile until her eyes went further and rested on my father behind me. She quickly grabbed Potter's attention and tried and failed to subtly point over at the great and terrible Lucius Malfoy.

Yup. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"Perfect. Of course Potter's here," I mumbled although I'm pretty sure Draco heard and he elbowed me once again. It was getting quite aggravating. "Ouch! Would you stop that?" I said, rubbing my side just as our mother scolded us into behaving ourselves.

"Mudbloods and Bloodtraitors and Halfbloods. They make me sick, infecting the school with their dirty blood. It's a disgrace. It's about time this school had some change; I will be seeing to that with my meeting with Professor Umbridge." Lucius' harsh words rang through my ears and I turned to see him glaring directly at Potter while I knew the golden lions were also glaring at him. His words flared up a pit of anger in my stomach and I glared at him. He shouldn't use those words here, especially not in a school where some of the most talented witches and wizards weren't even pureblood. I had been having meetings with Hermione Granger and sure, she was a mudblood but I never called her that to her face. She was smarter than me, that was for sure. And another thing I wasn't sure about admitting, but secretly did so to myself, was that Harry Potter was most likely one of the most powerful wizards this world was ever going to see. Besides Dumbledore, that is.

Oh Salazar's spit! I sound like a bloody Gryffindor now!

I shook my head slightly, trying to get rid of my thoughts. I could not, would not, betray my house. I would have to cancel those meetings with Granger. I would have to stop running into Potter entirely. I'd need twenty four house supervision to make sure I didn't turn into one of them! Ugh!

"Lucius, I think it's time for your meeting." My mother's words were like a breath of fresh air. The tension was still high but Lucius said nothing else and sauntered off toward the direction of the Dark Arts classroom where surely Professor Toad was waiting to talk about horrible things with the man. The three of us were quiet for a moment and before I could stop myself I asked "So, Mother, when did Father become your bitch?"

Which was answered with another elbow to my side from Draco but it was worth it to see the small small she was trying to hide.

Clearly something had changed.

"Long day?"

Theordore popped his head into my dorm and I sighed, letting hands run over Jojo and nodded. The day seemed to drag on and on. Mother was kinder than ever toward Draco and I and Father was horrible, as usual. His meeting with Umbridge lasted about an hour so in that time I had taken it upon myself to ask our mother about our birth marks. A question to which paled her face and kept her quiet for the rest of the visit. She knew something; something important about the marks that I felt in my soul I needed to know but she refused to say anything other than "It's what makes you two so special." Draco had been trying to keep me in line all day which I'm sure was exhausting to him. He did not seem like he wanted to do his Prefect duties tonight.

"Extremely long." I said.

Theodore came over to my bed and shoved me over slightly so he could sit. He pet Jojo to her delight and she rolled over onto her back for belly scratches.

"Yeah, parents can always be exhausting. But it's over now. We have dinner in a little bit and then you don't have to worry about anything for the rest of the weekend." He was trying to cheer me up. Theodore never wanted to see me sad or upset and he tried his best and succeeded for the most part. He was my best friend after all. But this was different. My mother was hiding something from my brother and I and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was too important to keep from us. I thought about my mark and how it had been getting darker and somehow Draco and I had been able to see into the freaking future and it just made my head spin. All of this time researching with Granger and we had only gotten a little information and it could've been my impatience getting the better of me but I really wanted some answers. I wanted them now.

"That's true," I agreed. "I'll meet you down there yeah? Just want a little more time to rest."

He nodded in understanding and stood up. His face looked hesitant as he looked down at me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What is it?" I could always tell when something was on his mind. He was like an open book.

"You look really beautiful in that outfit Cecily."

I froze, staring at him. He never called me Cecily unless he was being incredibly serious. He was looking at me softly, his voice was gentle and his eyes were so blue that for a moment I thought about it. I thought about what it'd be like to date Theodore and have him with me as a boyfriend instead of just a friend. I thought only for a moment and then quickly squashed the thought.

There was just no way.

"Thank you, Theo."

And then he leaned down and kissed me on my forehead. An action to which I was utterly frozen. He simply chuckled and walked away, leaving me shell shocked. Theodore had always been there for me, yes, as my best friend. He had admitted to having a crush on me but part of me believed he'd never do anything about it because he was...well Theodore. He was kind and sweet and protective and funny but under all of those things he was incredibly shy. He was shy, even around me whom he could say and do anything around; who he could be himself around. I looked at Jojo who was looking back at me with a look I swear was just as confused as mine.

"I know! He never does that!" I said and she meowed at me gently, nuzzling my hand.

Sure he had kissed my cheek at the Yule Ball and he had kissed my hand a few times but he had now moved on to my forehead. And not that it wasn't nice, it was very nice, his lips were warm and soft on my skin but...it was just so...intimate. And Theo was my best friend. I didn't want it to get weird because I hadn't even thought about what it would be like to date him until two seconds ago. Needless to say I was confused.

And then something even more odd happened.

Right in front of me I started to feel a beam of heat and from out of nowhere a small piece of parchment manifested itself through flames that seemed far too hot to be hovering directly in front of my face. Jojo hissed and scrambled off of the bed, I held my breath and waited for the flames to die down.

"Things just keep getting weirder and weirder Jojo," I muttered.

Once the flames died out I cautiously touched the parchment. It wasn't hot which meant it was definitely charmed here. A lot of students used this method to pass notes late at night so I wasn't shocked by the magic of it. However, I was wondering who in Salazar's name wanted to send me a note instead of just speaking to me directly. I grabbed the note and raised an eyebrow at its contents.

Hog's Head tomorrow in Hogsmeade. 6:30.

-H.G.

Author's Note:

Hey guys

Once again so so so sorry this took so long. I have no excuse, just that I suck. I hope you forgive me?

Also, how do we feel about Theodore maybe making a move on poor confused Cecily? Eh? And what is going on with Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy huh? Gotta say, she's one of my favorite characters and I believe she could've been a lot more so I fully plan on getting into that as the story goes on.

Thank you for being so incredible and patient! I love you all!

~Alyssa~