A/N: You will finally start seeing traces of the actual events described in my other story, Harry Potter: A Marauder's Tale from this point on. Side note: please do NOT read that story, it's crap - you've been warned.
Anonymous Reviewer: Hi! :) Thank you SO much for your reviews, I am humbled and flattered and over the moon! So glad you like this story, I hope you like how it ends too... 3
Love-Fiction-2021: This one's for you :)
New Follows and Faves: You guys keep me going. Thank you :)
Chapter 34: The Legend of the Malfoys
Unedited...
"Don't look at me like that," she pleaded for the hundredth time that morning. "I honestly don't know what else to say."
The girls simply stared at each other in silence for a while longer.
Isabella was still in shock that Angela, too, had some form of dark magical force inside her, one that could potentially create a dent in the space-time continuum if she wished for it, and Angela was still trying to comprehend all that was being said to her about this rather 'frightening' condition of hers, and neither knew what to say to the other to make them feel better...
"It's really not that great, y'know?" Isabella suddenly said, shrugging unenthusiastically. "Being in the magical world?" she added, when Angela cast her a questioning look. "I mean, it's SO MUCH harder than Muggle studies... and the exams? Good lord!" she exclaimed. "I'd much rather prefer solving differentials and balancing chemical equations than learn stupid wand movements for a totally crap-sounding spell, you know!" she guffawed, instantly bringing a sheepish grin to Angela's face. "Also, there's literally NO sense of security in that world, I mean, anyone can kill just about anyone with a mere flick of a wand! Think about it, how totally horrendous is that?"
"Izzy, it's sweet, what you're trying to do —"
"— Sweet? You think I'm only saying all this to make you feel better, don't you?" Isabella asked, turning to face her now. "Trust me, Angie, apart from the whole thing being kept as a secret, it's not all roses this side, not at all in fact... There really isn't any reason for you to want to be a witch too unless you're prepared to have your head shrunk to the size of a walnut every now and then," she said, rolling her eyes while a tiny giggle escaped Angela's mouth.
"Sirius and James?" she simply asked.
"You know it," Isabella muttered with a scoff and settled back against the pillows next to her still very feverish sister. Another moment passed in silence, and this time, Isabella was sure she'd explode if she didn't ask it out loud...
Turning to face Angela yet again, she took a breath in before she spoke. "Angie, I get that you didn't want to go to mum, but... you could've talked to me, couldn't you? Why didn't you ever just tell me what you were going through —"
"— Because, if I did, I'd be the reason you NEVER let yourself be happy in your wizard school, Izzy," Angela said quietly, her eyes boring into Isabella's. "Because if I told you, I'd be sentencing you to a lifetime of guilt, and I didn't want to do that."
Isabella's jaw dropped in shock.
"I couldn't tell mum because she already worries a ton for me and tries SO HARD to make my everyday seem just as 'magical' as yours probably was, and I didn't want to be the monster who made her lose even more sleep. Imagine what would happen to her if she knew I cried myself to sleep everyday for the past year, knowing I'd never get my letter to study at Hoggerwarts," she said, staring blankly ahead. "And Father, well... I just love him too much... He scares easily, especially if it's about you or me, and I could NOT do that to him, so... yeah..."
That was when it all came back to Isabella.
Upon closer look, one could tell that Angela had gotten painfully skinny of late, there were terrible bags under her eyes and her skin was paler and more lifeless than ever... She had been hurting for so long and Isabella hadn't even known...
"When did you grow up?" Isabella asked shakily, feeling halfway between absolute pride and downright pity for her little sister.
"When you have no one to talk to, you just do, I reckon," said Angela, causing Isabella's heart to clench painfully.
"Well, not anymore," Isabella replied firmly. "I will write to you EVERYDAY if I have to, make sure I'm there for you no matter where I am, you hear me?" she said, wrapping her protectively under arm.
Angela didn't respond, but simply smiled before resting her boiling head on Isabella's shoulder. "Izzy?" she said, suddenly sounding nervous for some reason. Shifting her head just a little so that she could see Isabella's face, she said, "I think mum and dad aren't telling us something..."
Isabella scowled curiously.
"What d'you mean?" she asked.
Sighing tiredly, Angela burrowed even more into Isabella. "I heard them yelling at each other the other night... It went on for hours actually... Something about you deserving to know the truth —"
"— Me?" she said, feeling a trail of goosebumps going up her arms and back.
"Yeah, you," Angela nodded tiredly. "They kept talking about how something really big was coming for you and that, mum wasn't ready to lose you yet..."
"Lose me? What? That's just... Why on earth would she 'lose' me?" Isabella demanded.
"I dunno... But that was the first time when I realised something could be wrong with me," Angela said, rubbing her eyes. "I was so scared for you... Felt this burning in my chest and I kept blacking out quite often... It was terrifying, really."
Isabella rubbed her face frustratedly. "I don't know what mum and dad were talking about, but nothing's going to happen to me ever, so I don't want you worrying about me, alright?"
"Izzy," Angela said softly, her eyes hardly even open now, "Mother knows about that old hag you saw last Christmas..."
"WHAT?" yelled Isabella, freaked to her bones now.
"Something's definitely fishy," Angela said feebly, feeling her energy drain out completely now. "You have to be very careful..."
"But... How does she know about that witch?"
But Angela was too weak to even respond, deciding to fall asleep next to her instead.
- O -
The next couple of days whizzed by in a blur. Everything was super chaotic in the Williams' household, what with the house teeming with twenty odd people, all of whom always seemed to be in a rush. The elders, including Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Hill, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, and occasionally Mrs. Jones were constantly seen running back and forth between the house and other odd places like the grocer's or St. Mungo's or the Ministry or the Muggle police station or the Longbottoms', running odd errands, paying ailing family members a visit or dealing with important businesses way above the children's line of comprehension.
Alice and most of Frank's family members were still recovering from the damages caused by the Dark spells cast on them. all in all, what was supposed to have been a 'relaxing' holidays basically wasn't relaxing in any way.
Which was why, when, on Monday morning, when Isabella was met with complete silence as she descended into her living room from the upper floor, she could not have been happier.
"Am I dreaming?" she asked chokingly as she strode over to the couch where Remus and James were lounging, one deeply engrossed in a book and the other playing Muggle Jenga by himself.
"Not at all, you're dead. This is what heaven looks like," James guffawed, earning a disgusted shake of the head from Remus.
"Honestly, Prongs, your jokes of late man, I mean, don't make me lecture you on being cool... PLEASE!" he said, not even having the courtesy to remove his eyes off his book.
A flash of embarrassment and panic crossed James's eyes. "Ha! Y-You're one to... bloody... comment... I mean, the gall! Sodding bookworm! Ugh!" James spluttered, scoffing evilly at his too-cool-to-care best friend, only his eyes betrayed him of all bravado unfortunately. "My jokes are hilarious, aren't they, Williams?" he added in a quieter voice, one that he 'assumed' would not be audible to Remus who sat a mere two feet away from him.
Isabella stifled a smirk and sank down next to James with hot tea in her hand.
"Pfft! Totally," she lied, hi-fiving him as she did, only to be graced with a look from Remus that screamed, 'Do-You-HAVE-To-Encourage-The-Prat-Like-That?!' to which she replied with a 'I-Feel-Sorry-For-Him' shrug, while James grinned sheepishly on the side, completely oblivious to this brazen exchange.
"I think it's time I replaced Moony with you as my best friend," James informed loudly, looking in the general direction of a totally uninterested Remus.
"Are you sure about that, Prongs, 'cause, unfortunately, I am privy to ALL of your rather... oh how do I put it?" Remus paused and squinted into space trying to come up with a fitting word to describe it, "rather disturbing, almost borderline-psychotic attempts to woo Evans... I mean, you surely do not want them landing in said damsel's ears and risk ruining any and all of your chances of landing her at all in the foreseeable future now, would you?" he asked, elegantly crossing his legs and staring him down wolfishly.
James, though, had gone completely blank in the face. "You wouldn't..."
"Wanna bet?" Remus challenged, and James, surprisingly, went from being savagely frightened to fiercely defiant in a mere second!
"Oh, GO RIGHT AHEAD, you gormless sod!"
"Oh my god, are all your conversations always this nonsensical?" asked Isabella, genuinely amazed at the height of absurdity she'd just witnessed.
Remus and James's eyes met with quick a look of surprise, before they ended up nodding fervently. "Pretty much all the time, yeah," James grinned, his confidence returning in full swing now. "Speaking of," he started, quickly changing the subject, "how go your attempts at breaking the wall of awkwardness with your lady friend, eh?" he asked, crassly wiggling his eyebrows at a slowly reddening Remus.
Remus scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Who said I'm attempting at all? It's over. We're no longer friends anymore," he stated, before adding, "Also, can we please not talk about this?" and hastily tried to return to his book, only to get it smacked off his hands, making it fly high up in the air and land neatly in James's hands.
"Oh, we're talking about it," James declared definitively, tucking the book under his arm for emphasis.
"Finally!" Isabella gushed, turning her head to the heavens in gratitude.
Remus looked deeply affronted now. "Would you two cut it out, there really is nothing to talk —"
James cocked an eyebrow. "If there isn't anything there, why is it so hard for you to be friends with her, Moons?" he asked, crossing his hands across his chest interrogatorily.
Remus looked properly trapped now with James and Isabella hawk-eyeing him for answers to questions he never wanted to be faced with.
"Look. It's between me and Clay, alright? I'd rather have this conversation with her than you two morons —"
"Except you haven't in all this time and you WON'T if I know you well enough," Isabella retorted. "Honestly, you two were inseparable! And I know that this whole thing exploded because of me, but we were all going to find out eventually. And I am glad the cat got out of the bag early, because now, you can actually DO something about how you feel than wait until end of seventh year when it might have too late! Just tell her how you feel, Remus —"
"— Tell her my what? Merlin's pants, could we please not get ahead of ourselves here —"
"— Remus, you fancy her, and the pair of you are, forgive my saying this, as subtle as a sledgehammer about wanting to get into each other's pants, so can we please move over the denial act and cut to the chase?" James said coarsely.
Remus quietened, watching the pair of them defeatedly before slumping back against the cushions. A moment passed when he allowed himself time to steady his breathing.
"Alright, fine... Yes, I was mad for her..." he said, turning a mild shade of pink on his forehead. "She lit up my day like nobody could," he said sighing and staring off into a distance, allowing the memories to flow through his mind again. "I mean, I could've had the worst possible night before on full moon's, and yet, when she walks in with a, 'Morning, Remus!', everything disappeared... She was everything I ever wanted," he sighed and looked as though every breath he took burned him raw. "But," he added hastily when he saw both James and Isabella open their mouth to say something, "whether she's engaged or not, nothing could ever happen between us, which is why I'm glad I learned of this earlier than later and ended the whole charade."
"And why not?" James demanded loudly, scowling solemnly at his friend. "Why couldn't something ever happen between you two?"
"Because, one, I am a werewolf, James," Remus said matter-of-factly.
James rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "What does that have to do with ANYTH —?"
"— James... Painful transformations and unaccommodating cravings are part of my whole fucking existence," Remus said, shockingly managing to joke about his situation even in this scenario.
"Mate, it looks like your brain's missing some screws, you know?" James scoffed, tapping his temple for emphasis.
"James, I have this theory," Remus began, comically crossing his legs and screwing up his face to look like Binns doling out one of his tear-ridden lectures. James curled his lips to keep himself from bursting out laughing. "And this is a rough draft, mind you, so don't expect too much out of it. Life, in a vague sense of the word, can go all of two ways for people: you have your Plain Janes and your Average Joes who've been blessed with perfect hair follicles and teeth enamel that could get ANYONE into bed with them!"
"Sirius?" James asked noddingly.
"Of course!" Remus shrugged matter-of-factly, cracking Isabella up already. "Those lucky bastards consist of about ninety percent of the human population. The other ten are, to put it simply, cursed for life with utterly unlucky 'conditions' that ultimately just screw them over. And if you haven't figured it out already, I am the Mayor of Ten Percent Land!" he guffawed, watching Isabella wipe laugh tears off her face.
"It's really not that bad, you're just being a cynic," Isabella said.
Remus, though, simply looked her dead in the eye. "You haven't lived until you wake up one morning with the after-taste of rodent in your mouth!"
Isabella and James exploded into laughter before they could stop themselves. "Remus, I get it, but —"
"— Oh, I'm not done yet, Izzy," Remus scoffed, shaking his head determinedly. "Two, you would think being best friends with a soon-to-be Quidditch Captain," he said pointing at a gleeful James, "and Mister Suave Grande," he said, this time pointing outside to indicate the tent in which Sirius and Peter were still fast asleep, "their poise and confidence would have rubbed off on me after five years. Not so much, in fact, not at all, actually," he said, shaking his head more vehemently now. "I am your Mr. Uncoordinated Extraodiniare (not to mention Mr. Makes-Up-Not-So-Witty-Nicknames-On-The-Side) —"
James and Isabella almost leaped off the couch laughing now, clutching their stomachs for good measure.
"— who has not learnt to deal with his wolfishness all so gracefully..." Remus continued over the noise of his friends laughing their heads off on the floor.
"Listen, mate, I still don't think —"
"— Three," Remus cut him staring widely, "Despite the fact that I am hopelessly smitten with her, I am not sure if she'd respect me when she found out about my horrifyingly un-vegetarian diet of rats, birds and any other accessible meat, come full moon..."
Isabella's eyes were watering for full measure now as she reluctantly dragged herself back on the couch.
"In conclusion, though this course of reminiscence has been an absolute pleasure, I'm glad you finally understand why girls and I can never be a 'thing' in my life."
"If she loves you, none of this would matter," Isabella finally said, smiling fervently at him.
Remus paused, all mockery and derision wiped right off his face.
"I've to go," he said, abruptly getting off to his feet.
"Running away yet again, are we?" James said, making him stop dead in his tracks.
Remus nodded bleakly. "Story of my life."
"Where're you going?" Isabella asked.
"Diagon Alley."
"We're coming along," James jumped up to his feet and gave his friend a genial pat on the back.
...
The three of them waded through the sea of people in the bustling marketplace eating eating ice creams, the sun shining coolly down at them.
"NEW CHALLENGE," James announced loudly, ignoring the two or three startled looks that a couple of bystanders sent his way. "We're going to get you a girl today."
Isabella and Remus simply deadpanned at him before returning to their own conversation. "You're SO wrong, chocolate ice cream is way better!" Isabella roared, scornfully rolling her eyes at Remus's gag-worthy butterscotch.
"I am serious!"
"No, you're James," Remus sputtered and both he and Isabella burst out laughing.
James, though, merely graced him with a disgusted look. "And you call my jokes bad. Merlin's pants, that joke is so old, it's been dead and buried for the last hundred years now!" he screamed uncouthly, while Remus and Isabella secretly continued to snigger on the side.
"You know what? We're settling this today," Isabella declared, stopping next to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlous, ignoring James entirely. "If you're able to eat three butterscotch ice creams in under seven minutes without a single gag escaping your mouth, I am willing to dye my hair pink for one month!"
Remus narrowed his eyes at her. "Challenge..." he started, sizing her up in a gang war-ish way, "Accepted! But only if you're buying the ice creams, because I'm practically broke," he hissed, shaking her hand rather too violently for words.
"Great!" Isabella exclaimed excitedly, before running inside to place the order.
"Hey, Moony," James said, nudging him casually, "check it out," he grinned, jerking his head in the direction of a slender blonde sitting in a table ten feet away from them.
The blonde, too, unfortunately looked in their direction at the same time, and Remus turned inconceivably pale in the face. "Plonker!" he whispered, parting just the corners of his lips before hurriedly sinking into the chair, avoiding any and all eye-contact with the witch who was now smiling for good measure at the boys.
"Come on, Moons, live a little! Has Sirius taught you nothing?" James guffawed, just as Isabella ran back outside, holding three large scoops of butterscotch ice-cream in her hands.
"There you go," she sang and placed them in front of Remus, but he wasn't paying her any attention. He was, in fact, looking in the general direction of the blonde, two tables away. "Remus, what...?" Isabella started, only to realise the girl had risen to her feet and was now waltzing straight towards them, her eyes locked firmly with a dumbstruck Remus.
"Oh my god, she's actually coming!" James sputtered wide-eyed breathlessly, giggling and practically shaking in nervousness at the same time.
"James, you bastard," muttered Remus, his mouth having gone fully dry now. "What have you done?" he whispered even as she inched closer.
"Hi... May I join you on your table?" the girl asked, speaking with a heavy Irish accent.
"Why, of... Of course! I shall scoot over, mademoiselle!" James squeaked stupidly, before jumping up to his feet and gleefully crashing into the chair next to a disgruntled Isabella.
"Thank you," she said, before placing her lean body into the chair next to a terrified Remus. "Kayleigh Brackweed," she said, sticking her hand out.
"R-Remus... Remus Lupin," Remus stuttered, shaking her hand politely. "And these are my friends, James Potter and Isabella Williams."
"Nice to meet you," Isabella said grudgingly, watching her precious little ice creams melting in front of her.
"Say, Kayleigh," James started, grinning stupidly. "D'you like our friend here?" he said, whilst sending an absurd wink at a murderous Remus.
"James!" he roared back looking aghast.
But Kayleigh shot Remus a quick look and nodded looking genuinely impressed. "Quite a looker, I must admit."
Remus flushed at once, and quickly seemed to be running out of breath. "Why, that... that's r-really kind of you," he said, sporting a bashful smile while turning purple around the ears.
"Well, now that I've paid you a compliment, would you mind having coffee with me tomorrow, Remus? Say, same time at The Elegant Ogre?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at a rather stunned Remus who had stopped breathing entirely now (James, on the other hand, looked like he might explode with excitement any second now).
"Er... Well," Remus started, breaking into an awkward smile, "Wow, er... God, you're really pretty..."
"NIIICE! Good start, Moony!" James howled from next to Isabella, watching the spectacle with a wide grin that unfortunately made him seem supremely deranged.
Shooting him a death glare, Remus turned to the girl once again. "Er... Look, Kayleigh, I'm truly flattered, but I don't think I can..."
"Why not?" asked Kayleigh shot out at once, her confidence never wavering, her cherry-red lips curling into a seductive smile. "D'you've a girlfriend?" she asked.
"Well, er... No, not yet —"
It was Isabella's turn to nearly jump up in her seat, her eyes wide as tennis balls. "Not yet? What d'you mean NOT YET? Merlin, Remus, are you serious?" she exclaimed excitedly, practically hopping on the spot now. "Are you actually going tell Clay everyth —?"
"— Hush, Williams, let the man do his thing!" James snarled severely through clenched teeth and slapped his hand across her mouth to keep her quiet.
Kayleigh, though, continued to look unperturbed. "So I gather there's a girl?"
Remus looked dumbfoundedly between Kayleigh and his friends, his mouth having gone fully dry now. Wordlessly, he nodded in admission.
Kayleigh, though, merely raised an amused eyebrow. "D'you like her?"
"With my whole heart, yes," Remus said with another small smile. "I'm really sorry..."
"Well, I think I might have a solution to that, then," said Kayleigh, smiling even more seductively now. "We could still go have our coffee and have it all erased if you want. This Clay never need to know of your little raunchy escapade... What say?" she wiggled her eyebrows, flashing Remus a beautiful big grin.
Remus, though, frowned confusedly. "What d'you mean?" he asked.
"Well," Kayleigh replied, "Only yesterday, I got myself a little something that I'm not very proud of," she said, rummaging into her purse, looking for something. "Aha! Found it!" she said, pulling something gold out of her purse and brandishing it in front of a dumbfounded Remus. "A Time-Turner..." she said, smiling broadly at him.
Except, all the colour had drained off the faces of James, Isabella and Remus, as they stared at it as if they'd just been slapped by a ghost...
"Where'd you get that from?" Remus asked, practically out of breath once again.
"Why, The Common Imp," Kayleigh shrugged, putting it back inside her purse. "They've been selling like hot cakes for the last week now!" she said, giving a casual shrug. "So, what do you say?" she said turning back around, only to find herself alone at the table. Looking up, she saw the three strangers running down the lane at break-neck speed for some reason.
- O -
Honestly, with everything that had been going on, Isabella had expected to conk out for the next three years, so imagine her surprise when her eyes flew open the next day after having merely slept for three hours...
As if being shocked by an invisible swarm of bees, she leaped to her feet and looked around, her eyes still hurting from the lack of sleep. Lily, Claiborne and Mary were still fast asleep in their tiny little tent outside Williams' Cottage, looking legit beat. Rubbing her eyes, she shrugged her nightgown on and stepped out into the bright morning only to get the wind knocked out of her lungs.
"Lucius!" she cried, staring at the boy standing in front of her tent, looking haggard and sick with worry, a backpack hanging lazily from his shoulder. "Good Godric, what are you doing here?" she asked, rushing towards him, suddenly realizing that she had actually woken up to the sound of him arriving.
"I heard," Lucius simply muttered, even as his backpack slipped off his shoulder and fell to the ground. "I came as soon as I learned about what happened," he said, graciously accepting Isabella's hug. "By the hammer of Thor, what the bloody hell is going on?" he asked, seemingly too tired to even freak out.
"I've no idea," Isabella wailed, pulling back. "Everything's out of control all of a sudden —"
Lucius went livid in the face at once.
"— All of a sudden? Really? All of a sudden?" Lucius challenged her at once. "Bella! All of this started the day you and the lot of dungbrains decided to go down Dumbledore's rabbit hole and open the damned gates of HELL. You literally chose to put yourself in the eye of the storm and see where it's gotten you now!" he bit out, looking practically murderous now.
How he went from being downright concerned one second to being boiling mad the next, she would never know.
"Okay, yes, alright, I concede!" Isabella croaked, putting her hands up in defeat. But then, she suddenly remembered something very important. "Oi! Why are you acting so high and mighty? You wanted to go down there too!" she said, gasping accusatorily.
"I wanted to go there for an ENTIRELY different reason!"
"OH! Well, now that changes everything, doesn't it," Isabella mused sarcastically, making him sulk.
Crossing his arms, he rolled his eyes irritatedly, but seemed to agree that that line of argument indeed was a bit lame. "How are you?" he asked instead.
"Alive," Isabella huffed, feeling the exhaustion wear her down. "I was by Angela's side for a while and wanted to visit Alice in St. Mungo's but Mother and McGonagall and Pomfrey threw a fit and threatened to feed me to the wolves if I didn't get some rest. Not like sleep helped in the least, though," she added, scoffing defiantly.
"Yes, about that. Where is everybody?" Lucius asked looking at the almost empty house behind him.
"Well, Dumbly, McGonagall and all the useless Ministry officials left around half past five this morning, all of our mums and dads are running around either visiting ailing family members in St. Mungo's or running errands, Angela is still recovering upstairs and the rest of us kids are still sound asleep in these tents," Isabella said, fanning her hands out at the half a dozen tents that lined her front garden. "Let's go inside, I'll fix us something to eat" she said dragging him in by the arm.
Twenty minutes later, the two of them were upstairs in her now fully repaired room, munching on sandwiches and sipping tea.
"You know, your flying has been getting sloppy of late?" Isabella grinned, as she held the large microscope to her eye and looked at the tiny Quidditch players zooming about in the globe castle that Lucius had given her last Christmas. "Honestly, Gryffindor's won like three times in just the last two days!" she said, giggling triumphantly and settling back on the floor next to Lucius.
"Maybe I just want to be nice to you," Lucius shrugged, stretching out his legs and taking a bite of his sandwich to avoid looking at her.
Isabella scoffed. "What? Bollocks!" she guffawed. "You're NEVER nice to me on the field. You do not CARE that I am your best friend when it comes to Quidditch!" she said eyeing him suspiciously. "You know... You told me that the castle is magicked to mimic the real Hogwarts and everything that happens inside it..." she started, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm starting to think it might mimic actual emotions of the people in it too... Does it? Lue?" she asked, her mouth still half-full.
Lucius, though, rolled his eyes and scoffed and huffed a couple of times before opening his mouth to say something, only to drop his hand defeatedly to the floor. "I dunno, maybe," he shrugged.
Isabella mutely regarded him with a wary look. "What do you think is up with tiny Lucius in there?" she asked.
"Well," Lucius puffed out dodgily. "I dunno..." he started, still avoiding meeting her eye for some reason. And then, suddenly seemed to have made up his mind to be brave and looked straight into her face, a tiny smile cutting his features. "Well... Maybe... A certain someone has been keeping him distracted a LOT... of late?" he drawled casually, his smirk widening now.
Isabella's jaw dropped to the floor in complete and utter shock.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... Someone's keeping you... Distracted?" Isabella frowned, whirling around faster than necessary to face a regretful Lucius next to her even as her brain imploded multiple times as the words replayed in her head. "WHO IS IT?" she finally screamed, hopping on to her knees.
And all of a sudden, all of Lucius's bravado seemed to dissipate into thin air, sending him into full-blown panic mode now. Gagging and bobbing like a fish out of water, he sent a half-convincing scoff. As if trying to salvage a grossly miscalculated move, he seemed to over-correct the situation by sputtering out a string on obscure and totally unintelligible expressions, that only heightened her suspicions. "Er... Sh-You... Well, erm... Bella, honestly —"
"— Yes?"
Lucius sighed viscerally, his heart rate racing at lightening speed. "Okay, firstly, it's total bullcrap. And secondly, well, er... Well, you don't... You don't know her, er... Sh-She's like... Like... A year younger than us... So, yeah... That's why I didn't tell you," he breathed whilst turning a questionable shade of pink in the face.
Isabella, though, felt absolutely shattered. "Merlin's beard... You honestly fancy someone? Luciu, why haven't you told me anything about this yet?"
"Bella —"
"— And I thought I was your best (and ONLY) friend..."
"— You are —"
"— I cannot believe this. You're keeping secrets from me now?"
"— No, I'm not, it's not a big deal —"
"— Not a big deal? NOT A BIG DEAL? Lucius, this is HUGE!" she yelled, punching him painfully on the side. "Oh god, how HUMILIATING!" she cried, clutching her hair in manic funk. "You don't even trust ME with your secrets —"
"Bella, would you stop squealing like a rat and listen to me for just one second —?"
Isabella looked beside herself with rage now. "— Ha! You're MAD if you think you're getting out of this one, Lue..." she scoffed.
"— Honestly, CUT IT OUT!" Lucius yelled indignantly, but simmering down at once when her face fell. Distractedly collecting himself once again, he said, "Look, trust me when I say this... It's nothing. Honestly..."
Isabella, though, simply crossed her hands, scowling distraughtly. "It's always 'nothing' with you, Lue," she said quietly. "You've pushed people away for as long as I've known you, no matter how well-meaning they may be. Why don't you ever just let yourself feel connected to another person —"
Lucius rolled his eyes. "— I can't."
"— Can't?" she repeated incredulously. "What do you mean 'you can't'? Are you forbidden or something? Merlin, you're starting to sound an awful lot like Claiborne, now —!"
"— I can't not because I'm already ENGAGED to someone else, I can't because of the sodding FAMILY CURSE!" Lucius shouted back, completely knocking the breath out of Isabella.
Triumphantly slumping back against the wall, Lucius let her ruminate in this new piece of information for a few seconds, quite thoroughly enjoying the look of absolute blankness on her face. When he realised she was soon on the verge of having a fit, however, his insides seemed to melt with yearning. "Merlin, it's flattering how much you worry for me, y'know?" he sniggered fondly, only to earn a second punch to the side.
"Shut up and tell me already!" she snarled halfway between furious and frustrated, hating the way her voice sounded choked. Any other time, she would have merely rolled her eyes off at Lucius's stupid teasing, but she was tired and had lost close to twenty hours of sleep in the last thirty-six hours and Merlin's pants, she just needed a goddamn break!
Stifling the smirk that was bursting at the end of his lips, Lucius rubbed his forehead before speaking again. "Alright, fine... Not sure if you've heard, but the Malfoys are what one could say, jinxed, for the lack of a better word," he said and looked up. "There's a saying that if one's born in the Malfoy household, one is forever bereft of love."
A whole minute passed when neither of them spoke. Isabella for her part, had gone rigid with revelation. Squinting suspiciously, she searched his face, desperately looked for signs of fraud, but when none came, her eyes widened yet again in disbelief. "There's a family curse and you didn't tell me about it?!" she gasped.
"Oh, bloody hell, here we go again!" Lucius muttered frustratedly.
"LUCIUS!" Isabella exclaimed, undeniably hurt now.
"Bella, for Merlin's sake, this isn't a particularly pleasant story for me to just go around narrating to people—"
Isabella, though, merely gasped dramatically. "I AM NOT 'PEOPLE'!" she yelled, looking aghast.
Lucius, though, merely gave her a barbarous look, ready to destroy her with a counter, but the more he stared at her, the more he seemed compelled to burst out laughing for some reason. Stifling yet another grin bursting at the end of his lips, he trained his face to show no emotion, and sighed. "Alright... You er... Make some fair points..."
"I always do," Isabella ground out, scowling petulantly.
"Affirmative," Lucius scoffed, his solemn stance quickly weakening now. "I shall tell you everything," he said, slamming down his sandwich and turning to face her. "Alright, I'm assuming you know all about the Hadens?" he asked, dusting breadcrumbs off his hands.
"Hadens? You mean the ancient royal family that existed several thousand years ago?" asked Isabella.
"Yeah, them."
"Well... I don't know a lot, but the name keeps popping up of late, yeah," Isabella nodded thoughtfully. "What's that got to do with anything, though?"
"You'll see," Lucius drawled inertly. "The Hadens were one of the first ever wholly magical dynasties to rule over a kingdom," he began. "They were extremely revered and respected, but also greatly feared because the Muggles could never understand their magic. There were also rumours that the castle they lived in housed many secrets... Objects whose magical properties were so great, they could wipe out an entire realm."
"Are you talking about the infamous red stone?" Isabella asked.
"The Haden Heirloom, yes," Lucius nodded. "Anyway, try as they may, the royal couple could just not produce a male heir to continue the family name, and ended up with four daughters," he paused and Isabella shot him a quizzical look.
"That's not true, they did have a son! Everard was the oldest Haden to —"
"— Wizard Everard was a bastard child," Lucius cut in. "He was never considered a royal, which was why he relinquished all of his royal possessions and left the kingdom to live a life of solitude."
"This is getting more and more interesting," Isabella said.
"Yeah. Anyway, all this was happening around the time when the world was changing and the Veela were involved in building the magical colonies exclusive for witches and wizards. Not wishing to let their magic die, the king decided to get each of the four princesses married off to each of the wizard-kings who ruled the newly-formed neighbouring kingdoms. However, the person we are most interested in is the oldest princess. Her name was Aglæca Malvolia Haden and she was married off to the awful Mávros Slytherin of Caedesmortan descent."
"Wow, how do you know all this?" asked Isabella.
Lucius smirked. "Bella, the first thing that children get taught in Pureblood families is their family origins and ancestry," he leered, waving it off unconcernedly. "Anyway, from the second Aglæca tied the knot with Mávros, she was doomed to a life of utter misery and suffering, because her husband was a total maniac as you probably already know. And somehow, back in the day adultery was... well... really common," he said scrunching his eyebrows in disgust.
"Really?" asked Isabella.
"Yeah, I mean, there have been records where kings have almost lost count on how many bastard children they'd produced during their reign, it's madness! But we digress. Speaking of adultery, you know how Mávros went for Irvette Gryffindor from Woldorin, don't you?"
"Yeah, he was madly in love with her."
"So much so that he was willing to trade his wife and eight thousand slaves with Daerian in exchange for Irvette. It's awful, I know..." Lucius added when Isabella's hand flew to her mouth. "Enraged, Aglæca did the unthinkable. She slept with every servant that walked through her doors from that day on and is said to have produced at least six illegitimate male offsprings born to faceless, nameless men... The children, obviously, were half-royal, half-peasant, half-wizard, half-Muggle and basically half-dead when Mávros eventually found out. It is said that he did hunt down most of her bastard children and had them quartered or burned alive, but one kid somehow survived. His father stole him out of the kingdom and raised him in a far away land in secret... And because he was nameless, he decided to use the queen's second name as his son's family name. And that was how Androlenor Malvolia, the first member of our most ancient family, came to exist."
Isabella was completely enraptured by Lucius's story by now.
"What happened next?" she asked, not even realising that her mouth had been hanging open for far too long now.
"Well, it is said that Aglæca was completely unaware of this son of hers for several decades. But eventually word got out and, ironically, finally came face to face with her long lost son in her own courtroom. She was brimming with joy, but Androlenor was a very proud man. He confronted her about her wayward ways and deemed that he'd rather not have a mother at all than be associated with her, infuriating her in the process. Having been betrayed by both her husband and her son, she cursed him to never find love for as long as his name survives."
"Wow," Isabella crooned, "so that's why you wanted to go down there that day..."
"Yeah," Lucius nodded. "I wanted to see the birthplace of the first ever Malfoy. Unlike you lot, I wasn't there just to fool around, nor was I looking for any adventure... I was just looking to return to the land where the Malfoy legacy first began."
"Wow, your family really is mighty ancient," Isabella muttered slumping against the wall in awe.
"Not as ancient as the Blacks, though," Lucius huffed, finally picking up his leftover sandwich and taking a large bite. "There's a belief that they may be the direct descendants of the Rottdels, an ancient wizard dynasty even older than the Hadens. And that's the only reason why they think they're superior to the Malfoys, because of the 'royal blood' that runs through their veins. The fact that my family was born out of wedlock between a royal and a peasant apparently somehow diminishes our value as a magical clan," he leered, rolling his eyes scornfully.
"So much history..." muttered Isabella, dazed by the information dump. "But, Lucius, Are you sure this is all real? D'you actually believe in this nonsense?"
"Well, it definitely does explain the dynamic and the stiffness that exists in members of my family," Lucius said, shrugging. "The Malfoys, till date, do not form bonds or marry for love and, neither are they the happiest in their marriages... Holds true for my own parents. There's no real connection there... Never will be," he sighed. "And that's why I might never marry for love too. And that, Bella, is the legend of the Malfoys. That is why something like this can never happen to me."