The days passed. Maxym had reluctantly packed and Draco, her birth father, was on time to pick her up. He stood at the door and greeted Jim and Sophia politely, as always. They both stood in the hallway of their small flat and said goodbye to Maxym. The girl was standing next to her parents with her suitcase. She was wearing a long sweatshirt, with a shirt underneath and a simple pair of dark jeans.
»Come on, put your shoes on. And look at the upsides, you get to spend more time with your half-brother. That's what you've always wanted.« Sophia always had a positive way of seeing things.
Maxym just nodded and bent down to put on her trainers. She wasn't looking forward to going to Malfoy Manor or Hogwarts, but her mother was right. She could get to know Scorp even better and they always had fun together. Even if it was often just through letters.
Draco took the case by the handle. »I have to thank you for your cooperation and, as discussed, you will receive a report from me on how Maxym's doing and what the current situation is.«
Jim nodded and hugged Maxym. »All right. Have fun at this school. It's supposed to be a castle, maybe you'll find a secret passage and some treasures. You can bring those back with you«, Jim said with a laugh, patting his daughter on the shoulder again encouragingly.
She had already turned to Sophia and snuggled into her mother's arms. »Be good and behave. Listen to Mister Malfoy, he only wants the best for you. And learn something. Maybe it will do you some good.«
Maxym nodded and broke away from the embrace again. »Write to us every week and let us know how it is«, Jim said with a smile, putting his arm around his wife's shoulders. Maxym walked over to Draco. The wizard said goodbye to the two adoptive parents with a nod, put his hand on Maxym's shoulder and they were both gone. Jim and Sophia looked at the empty floor where Draco and Maxym had just been standing.
Maxym was already used to apparating. They appeared in front of the mansion in seconds and the large building loomed before her. »Well, here we are«, Draco said, indicating to her to follow him. They both walked through the large gate towards the front door. Just before they reached it, it opened and Astoria came out.
»Ah perfect, there you are. Hello Maxym, it's good to see you again. Gosh, it must have been a year since we've seen each other. You're getting more beautiful everyday«, Astoria greeted her. Maxym liked her. She didn't want to hug everyone right away, gave Maxym the freedom she needed, and was otherwise quieter than Draco. Maxym gave her a curt nod and a small smile. She hadn't forgotten her good manners after all, despite the reluctant school transfer, and it wasn't Astoria's fault.
»Thank you for letting me sleep here for two nights. I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble«, Maxym said.
Astoria just waved it off. »Oh, come on, it's no trouble at all. We have too many rooms anyway. Why don't you come inside? Scorpius will show you your room, it's next to his. Scorpius, will you please show Maxym everything?!«, Astoria called into the house.
Maxym had already heard footsteps on the stairs and walked past Astoria into the mansion. She could still hear Draco greeting Astoria and saw Scorp coming downstairs dressed in his pyjamas.
»Hey Max, glad you're finally here. This is going to be the best school year ever. The two of us together at Hogwarts. Man, the things we can both do«, Scorp greeted and hugged her. Maxym immediately returned the hug tightly. She had missed him so much.
»No, you're not doing anything at Hogwarts except learning.« Threateningly, Draco raised his finger and looked at Scorpius questioningly. His son merely waved it off.
»Oh Dad, come on. I told you we will do lots of smart and clever things in class and impress the teachers with our skills.« Grinning, Scorpius looked over at Maxym, who just shook her head with a smirk.
»That had better be true. Why don't you show Maxym her room and carry the suitcase upstairs?« Draco tousled his hand through his son's messy hair and hung his coat up on the coat rack.
»Can't one of the house elves do it?«, asked Scorpius defiantly, but contrary to his words, he picked up the suitcase and ran for the stairs.
»The house elves only support us here and are not your personal house servants. They are free elves who are happy to work here and receive their wages.« Astoria looked at her son, but he pretended not to have heard her. Astoria just waved it off and went into the living room with Draco. Maxym followed her brother upstairs.
»Here, this is your room. It's right next to mine. There's a small balcony that leads to the courtyard and back there is the door to your little bathroom.« Scorp showed Maxym everything and put the suitcase down by the bed carefully.
Maxym looked around. The room was huge compared to the one at her parents' house. At least three times as big. Across from the door were large windows with a balcony door that let in a lot of light. She could glimpse the green courtyard. To the right of the large window was a huge queen size bed, with a small nightstand on each side. Between the bed and the door was a small desk, on the other side, a large wardrobe. And next to it, right across from the bed, there was another door that probably led to the bathroom.
»Not bad. I wouldn't have thought Malfoy Manor was so bright and welcoming.« Maxym's comment was more praise than insult. This was probably Astoria's influence. The room was decorated with light colours and with contrasting black.
»Mum's been redecorating some rooms. She had yours finished just before you arrived. She really got started when Grandpa and Grandma moved out.« Scorp had made himself comfortable on the bed.
»Oh, your grandparents moved out?«, asked Maxym, trying to sound disinterested, at which she failed miserably. She'd never had a good relationship with the couple. Draco's father had seen her as a disgrace and made no effort to hide it. Draco had always protected her and stood up to his parents, but she avoided meeting her half-brother's grandparents. There was no need to pick a fight.
»Yep, three years now. They left after having a huge fight with Mum and Dad. Probably because they're not racist and they pay the house elves. You know Grandpa, he doesn't like that at all. They live in a small flat on the outskirts of London now. So you won't run into them.« Scorp stuck his tongue out at her.
»Pah, like I'm scared«, Maxym said, throwing a pillow at him.
The next morning, all four of them sat down at an oval table and ate breakfast. The house elves had cooked really well and Maxym even took another round serving.
»And Maxym, are you looking forward to Hogwarts? You'll be in your sixth year. A lot of things will be very new to you, but I'm sure Scorpius will be there to help you, and I'm sure you'll make friends quickly. And if anything happens, your father and I are always here for you. You just have to write us a letter«, Astoria said lovingly.
Maxym swallowed a snarky comment that Draco wasn't really her father and just nodded.
»Scorpius, you show Maxym around and don't you leave her alone. I want her to be comfortable at Hogwarts.« She looked at her son reprovingly, who just rolled his eyes.
»Yeah yeah. But we're supposed to be going now. Come on.« Scorp hastily swallowed his last bite and stood up. He almost ran into the entrance hall.
Astoria and Draco followed their son less than impetuously and Maxym was the last one to leave the table. »Well, here we go«, Draco said informally, and the Malfoy family apparated into Diagon Alley.
Once there, the small group split up. Draco was going with Scorp to Quality Quidditch Supplies to buy a new broom for his son. Astoria accompanied Maxym to Madam Malkins' Robes for All Occasions.
»Ah Mrs Malfoy, it is nice to see you here again. How may help you?«, the two women were greeted.
»Hello, Madam Malkins. We are in need of a full Hogwarts wardrobe for Maxym.« Astoria pointed at Maxym. Madam Malkins looked sceptical at first. She had heard that the young Malfoy must have had a little muggle-born, but she didn't know that she had magical abilities.
»Of course. I have received new inventory and will make a package for you immediately. Ms Malfoy, may I take your measurements?« she asked Maxym, quickly returning to her professionalism.
Maxym just nodded and followed the madam into the next room. »Please, for the winter cloak take the faux fur. I hear the winter is supposed to get cold«, Astoria called after them.
Madam Malkins finished quickly and promised to send the uniforms, protective gloves, winter cloak as well as the pointed hat to Malfoy Manor with a post owl the next morning. Maxym and Astoria left the shop.
»How am I supposed to pay for everything here?«, asked Maxym, reaching for her purse. Her parents had given her a few pounds, but she didn't know if that would be enough to pay for all the equipment. Astoria put her hand on Maxym's, preventing her from getting the wallet out of her pocket.
»My dear, even if you don't see it that way, you are still a Malfoy and you are entitled to the same share of the estate as Scorpius. That is what your father and I determined and the documents are at Gringotts. So please, don't worry about money. We have plenty and our dungeon is still well stocked. And it will stay like that since Draco's father doesn't have access to it anymore.« Astoria merely muttered the rest and gently urged Maxym towards the nearest shop.
Maxym was surprised by the generosity and also slightly ashamed. She knew she hadn't always been nice to her biological father and Astoria. She resolved to be at least a little nicer. After all, where was the harm in that? »I have to thank you for that. I never expected it, though.«
»We know that. But that's why we do it. And you belong in this world. You're a witch too, and being a Malfoy is hard enough as it is. Money won't hurt.« Astoria knew what it was like to live as a pureblood. You were always accused of being a follower of Voldemort and had to fight for your status and recognition.
Before Maxym could say anything in reply, they had already arrived at Potage's Cauldron Shop. There they picked up the pewter cauldron they wanted, a small assortment of glass and crystal bottles, and a brass scale. Then they went to Eeylop's Owl Emporium.
»We figured you should get your own so you can get in touch with your parents quickly, and write to us too if you want.« Astoria ushered Maxym into the shop. From the outside, it looked like any other building on the street. But as Maxym walked through the shop door she realized that there was an expansion spell working here. The department store was five times larger on the inside. Many animals flew and crawled wildly around. Astoria immediately beckoned a saleswoman to her.
»My name is Malfoy, we reserved an owl.«
The young saleswoman nodded and fetched the animal. Maxym was curious as to what kind of owl she would get. When the woman came with a cage in her hand, Maxym tried to spot it from a distance.
»Here, Mrs Malfoy. A barn owl. Incredibly reliable in her service. She is still very young, but has been trained and will serve the owner faithfully. Her name is July.« She lifted the cloth that was still over the cage and Maxym was now allowed to admire her owl for the first time. The owl was a typical barn owl. She had the white, heart-shaped face, alert pitch-black eyes and light brown plumage with grey spots.
»She's beautiful.« Maxym looked at the owl admiringly.
»Very well, we'll take her. Please send her to us at Malfoy Manor.«
After Maxym was able to tear herself away from the owl, the two ladies went to Quality Quidditch Supplies.
»Typical men. We get almost everything and they take almost two hours for a broom«, Astoria complained and Maxym had to laugh softly. Before the two could enter the store however, the Malfoy men came towards them.
»Ah, there you are. Do you have everything? Perfect, then all that's missing is Flourish & Blotts« Draco greeted them. Astoria didn't elaborate on her husband's casual manner and avoided commenting on the fact that they had done all the shopping on their own while the men had been testing out sports equipment.
The little family went to the bookstore in Diagon Alley and Maxym suddenly noticed how empty the street was. She hadn't noticed it until now. It was only when she entered the crowded bookstore that she realized how empty the other shops and the street itself had been. That was rather strange, but on the other hand, here she was in a hidden alley in the middle of London. What wasn't strange about that?
Scorp took Maxym by the hand and they both gathered their books. They quickly found the textbooks for Spells Volume 4 and 6. The Guide to Advanced Transfiguration and Advanced Rune Translation textbooks were also easy to find. They had to look for Flesh-Eating Trees of the World and Confronting the Faceless for a while.
As Scorp was reaching for the last book on the list, Defensive Magical Theory, a red-haired girl approached him.
»Hey Scorp, good to see you. You guys shopping too?«
»Hey, Lily, great seeing you here. Yeah, we had to run some errands. My sister's going to be at Hogwarts this term.« Scorpius pointed at Maxym, who felt like sinking into the ground. Still, she recollected herself and greeted the young girl. She seemed younger than Scorp and Maxym wondered how he knew her.
»Ah, finally we get to meet your sister. I had imagined the illegitimate daughter of a Malfoy would look different.« A handsome boy approached her and ran his eyes down her body. Maxym didn't like that sort of thing at all and immediately became defensive.
She stretched her back slightly, pushed her shoulders back and crossed her arms. She was glad she hadn't put on a dress today, but a pair of light jeans and a short top. A thin cardigan made it a perfect look.
»Well, I'm sorry for not meeting your expectations. Oh, no, wait. That would mean I care about your expectations and your opinion, but believe it or not, I don't«, Maxym said with an indifferent tone.
The young man across from her just grinned at her and after holding eye contact for a few more seconds, he offered her his hand. »James Sirius Potter. After all, you should know the name of the person you insulted.«
Scorp had been following the little word fight but now finally rescued his sister. »James, this is my sister, Maxym. And she's even better than you expected.« Laughing, Scorp put an arm around Maxym's shoulders and pulled her to his side. He had grown a good bit in the last year, so both siblings were now the same size.
The affectionate gesture made Maxym soften again. »Well, I'm rarely what you'd expect when you hear the name Malfoy«, she said, with a smirk in James direction. She grabbed the book they were looking for and pulled Scorp with her. »Come on, your parents are probably waiting for us.«
Scorp just managed to wave at Lily and James as the Malfoy siblings disappeared between the shelves.
Maxym knew she didn't look like her father or half-brother with her red hair and freckles. She took after her mother. But Astoria had once said, when Maxym was quite young, that the young girl had the heart of a Malfoy. Whatever that meant.
As Scorp and Maxym passed behind the last shelf, already in sight of the shop door, she picked up a few words of a conversation.
»They want to put all purebloods and former followers of Voldemort under arrest. Take care of yourself, Malfoy.« Maxym recognized the man talking to Draco from a picture in the Daily Prophet. It was Harry Potter.
»I know, Potter, I'm more worried about my parents, they are dangerous. I have nothing to do with any of this.« Draco spoke very softly and Maxym could barely hear him. He had just started to speak again when his words died away. He had spotted Scorp and Maxym and his worried expression immediately softened. He nodded once more to Potter and turned to the two youths.
»Well, did you get everything?«, Draco asked them.
»Sure. Hello, Mr Potter«, Scorp greeted the famous wizard.
»Hello Scorpius, good to see you. Albus is really looking forward to the new school year. I hope you don't get into trouble like last time«, he said with a laugh, turning to Draco. »I'll see you around. I've got to go find my three rebels. See you.« He also disappeared between the bookshelves again after a handshake with Draco.
»What happened last year?«, asked Maxym pointedly innocent, looking at Scorp. He just laughed and pulled her by the arm out of the bookstore after Draco.