Aurelia was one of the first to wake in the morning. The sun had already risen when she showered and dressed. She made her way downstairs where a few of the students that had already finished breakfast were sitting. Sirius was already up, yawning loudly on a sofa. His curly hair was elegantly disheveled, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Aurelia walked up to him.
"Morning, Black." She greeted.
"Malfoy," he yawned again. "Ready for breakfast?"
They walked down together to the Great Hall where they stopped at the entrance. There was an awkward pause where they said nothing to each other. Aurelia waited for him to say something. He waited for her to say something. It was like a race to see who could be silent for the longest. But Sirius Black was not one to be silent for any length of time.
"Do you think they'll send Howlers?" He asked.
There was no question who they were. Their parents.
"I'm the future Lady Malfoy, they can't disown me. Plus, I'm a valuable war asset," Aurelia spat bitterly.
They sat down at the long table. James patted the seat next to him and Sirius joined him. Aurelia sat with the Gryffindor girls. They were all chatting a bit about classes when Mary was cut off by the arrival of the owl post. A black and white eagle owl with grey-black eyes landed in front of Aurelia. It was the family owl, Athena. She gulped, looking at the red envelope it held with its beak. She took it with trembling fingers. Sirius had one too.
"I'll go first," Sirius offered bravely. Aurelia nodded mutely.
Walburga Black's screaming voice pierced her ears. "SIRIUS ORION BLACK THE THIRD! HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK! SHAME OF MY FLESH! VILE CREATURE! UNWORTHY OF YOUR BLOOD!" Everyone's eyes turned to Sirius and those in close proximity clasped their hands to their ears for fear of becoming deaf. "YOUR FATHER AND I ARE ASHAMED OF RAISING FILTH LIKE YOU! HOW DARE YOU - ?!"
"Incendio!" Remus muttered, jabbing his wand at the letter.
"My turn now," Aurelia said. She opened it.
"AURELIA HADRIANA OCTAVIA MALFOY! YOU HAVE TARNISHED THE NAME OF MALFOY!" Delilah Malfoy's voice shouted, not as loud as Walburga's. "WE RAISED YOU TO BE A PROPER LADY OF THE HOUSE OF MALFOY AND THIS IS WHAT WE GET IN RETURN?! DO YOU KNOW HOW HORRIFIED AND SORROWFUL WE ARE?! HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET A SUITOR FOR YOU NOW?! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS, AURELIA! YOU HAVE SULLIED THE VERY NAME - !"
"For Merlin's sake, shut up!" Aurelia shouted back, exploding the letter.
Then she noticed a second letter in Athena's beak. The owl dropped it in her hand before flying off with a piece of bacon. She opened it, noting that it wasn't a Howler. It was from her father. Aurelia was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't sent her a Howler.
Aurelia Malfoy,
I have heard from your brother, Lucius, that you have been Sorted into Gryffindor. A pity. Listen not to your mother's words, she is simply upset that the first daughter of the House of Malfoy in centuries is not of Slytherin. We will seek an attendance with the headmaster for this is clearly a mistake. You will have your place in the House of Salazar soon. As of now, try to stay away from the mudblood filth.
Don't worry too much if you can not get into Slytherin. It would be useful to the Dark Lord to have a spy among the Light. Just do not forget who you are. You are the future Lady Malfoy and you will not do anything against that.
Regards, Abraxas Malfoy
Aurelia stared at the elegantly inked words. She wasn't sure if she should be elated or not. She found that a part of her that didn't want to change Houses. She liked the fact she was her own person. Who wanted to be some tool that could be tossed aside when not needed? She was free! But she did want to be part of her family again.
"What's that?" Sirius asked, leaning over and snatching the letter.
His eyes scanned over it and then he glared at it. "Don't listen to it. You're Aury, not some fancy Lady Malfoy."
Aurelia gave him a grateful smile but her heart wasn't all in on it. Being the future Lady Malfoy was she had ever been taught to do and she wasn't sure if she could be anything else. She was jealous of Sirius' bravery and carefree attitude.
Classes were a bore. She had studied beforehand and whizzed through them. Honestly, Sirius and Lily was the only reason she even bothered to get up out of bed some days. Lily and her had made friends quickly over their love for books. The bookish muggleborn regaled her with facts about the muggle world while Aurelia told her about her life. Sirius was a bundle of joy, always laughing and joking around. It made Aurelia wonder how much of it was really just a facade. The thing that bugged her the most was that Lucius seemed to be avoiding her.
Soon, September came to an end and October was here. It was Samhain though Lily called it Halloween, a holiday where people went around knocking on doors for treats. It seemed like the complete opposite of Pagan traditions that the old families of the wizarding world followed.
On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Sirius and his friends were seen chatting together about something. They seemed really excited which made Aurelia rather wary. Sirius was a troublemaker and a prankster, James seemingly likewise. Remus was a sensible one but he seemed in bright spirits as well. Peter was weird as he always was. Or at least there was a weird feeling coming off him that no one except Aurelia seemed to feel.
A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Out of the corner of her eyes, she couldn't see the first year Gryffindor boys (minus Kingsley) anywhere which raised a few suspicions but she shrugged it off. Whatever they did had nothing to do with her (hopefully). Aurelia was just helping herself to a baked potato when a loud bang surprised everyone.
The candle lights in the pumpkins flickered before disappearing entirely. Gold and red fireworks burst in the dark air, raining down on the students and teachers. Golden ribbons appeared, winding it self to make the words: FROM THE MARAUDERS
Another red firework exploded, landing on everyone. Aurelia felt the effects of magic play on her, though faint. The lights all flickered back on and everyone was multicolored. Her hair had turned silver with light blue streaks which wasn't a big difference to her usual blond. However, her skin was a midnight blue with smatterings of stars and constellations painted over her face and arms.
"This doesn't look too bad," Aurelia commented.
"Look!" Alice pointed to the table of teachers.
Aurelia choked back a laugh when she saw Dumbledore's beard was hot pink and he had pastel colored flowers painted over his old face. Professor McGonagall was seething, her hair cobalt blue with lightning strikes decorating her face.
There was a loud clap from the entrance to the hall. Everyone turned their heads to it. The ribbons rearranged themselves: THE PAINT WILL WEAR OFF AFTER TWO DAYS.
Aurelia groaned. She was going to have to go around looking like a night sky for two whole days!
1306 words. The chapters are getting shorter and shorter, aren't they?