Part Two: What next?!
The
Slytherin Quidditch team continued to practice all throughout the storm season,
while the other teams battled over the Great Hall. The "Green Room" proved to be very beneficial to the team,
providing them with a nice, large quidditch field to play on. Occasionally, some of the other Slytherins
would come on up to watch, but none of the other houses ever found out that
this room existed.
It
was only one week until Christmas break. The prefects were starting to take up lists of people who would be
staying around, when Amber Malfoy received an Owl from some of her relatives.
Amber-
Hello dear, heard about the tragedy (of course) and we
recently received word of your father's will. He would like for you to come and
live with us now, but if you have another place that you would like to go, just
let me know. We have a nice big room
for you, and a big field that you and Draco could practice your quidditch on,
so just let me know dear, because we would ever so love for you to finish your
years under our roof.
-Love,
Aunt Narcissa and Uncle
Lucius
"Hey
Kirbin, come on over here and read this." Amber called to her friend.
"Yeah?"
"Here. Tell me what you think."
Her
friend with the long, matted, blonde dreadlocks, freckled-face and pea green
eyes took the letter and read it. "Do you want to go and live with them?"
"No,
I want to go back to Switzerland."
"Ok,
well let me ask you this. Do you have a
choice?" Kirbin asked, very straightforwardly.
"Oh
Kirb! Don't put it like that! I know I don't have a choice, but still!"
"Draco'll
be there. You and him aren't very
close, are you?"
"Nope."
"In
fact, I don't think I ever even pictured you two related. You certainly don't look alike."
"Yes,
I know."
"It'll
be ok."
The
door to the dorm room opened, and Shayna, followed by Mindy, entered the room.
"Hey
guys, want to go to Hogsmeade today?" Mindy asked.
"No.
Especially not with you." Kirbin
replied. She and Mindy hadn't ever
really gotten along.
"Oh,
but maybe if you went, we could stop, and get those little locks of yours cut!" Mindy replied, coldly.
"Stop
it, now you two. Amber, what's wrong?" Shayna asked.
Kirbin
passed one more scowl to Mindy, and then diverted her attention to Shayna. "Amber
just got a letter from Narcissa and Lucius. She doesn't want to go live with them."
"You
don't?" Mindy asked, amazed.
"No!
Why would I? I had friends back in
Switzerland. I had a life!"
"Just
get a new life in Britain with Draco. I'm
sure it'll be home in no time."
"You
just don't understand, do you?" Amber
shouted at all of her friends. "My
father is dead! I have no mother! I have no other family but these people, and
I've never even met them, besides Draco at school. Hell, I'd be amazed if Draco even knew that he and I were
related!" She stormed off her bed and
grabbed her broom. "I'll be in the
green room, incase you feel like further discussing this matter." And she ran out.
Storming
up the Living Tower, Amber practiced quidditch until she couldn't fly any
longer, and then retreated to the library to get some studying done. It had been quite a day.
The
trip down from the Green room was far, considering that the Living Tower had
decided to travel while she was up there. It took Amber nearly an hour to return to the main part of the castle,
and then to get to the library.
Pulling
out a chair, she sat down at a table with a muggle novel that she had read
while in America this summer. The book
was called "Larry Sotter and the Super Bowl Adventure." It was all about a little muggle boy and his
two comrades who took a trip to the Super Bowl and all sorts of crazy muggle
things started to happen. It proved to
be an interesting read. Right in the
middle of the most suspenseful part, Amber was interrupted with a tap on the
shoulder.
"Hey,
is this seat taken?" The boy asked
her. Glancing up, she could see that it was her cousin, Draco.
"Hey. You can sit if you'd like."
"Do
you feel like talking about what mother said?" He asked, sympathetically.
"Sure.
Why not?"
"Have
you given it much thought yet?"
"No." Truth being, she had come to the decision
that she was going to live in the Hogwarts basement, but Draco would never
understand that.
"Incase
you were thinking about living in the Hogwarts basement, we have a really great
room already picked out for you. It's
on the seventh story and its painted peach, and you've got a great balcony
and-"
"Alright.
I'll come and stay with you guys."
"You
will?"
"Yes."
"Great! Amber, I know we haven't really been the
closest throughout these years and stuff, but I think that you are really going
to like it in Britain. I'm so excited." And with that he jumped out of his
seat and embraced her around the neck.
"Thanks,
Draco," she replied, muffled. Draco smiled
and walked out.
After
Draco left the library, Amber sat stunned, confused on what to think. Was he really that excited to receive
her? What kind of guy was he, anyway? Like he had said, they never had gotten very
close. Maybe this was going to be a
positive experience after all. She
collected her books and entered her common room, smiling.
"Hey
Ammie, look, we're really sorry about today." Mindy started.
"No,
don't worry about it."
"Are
you alright? You didn't take any of those Weasley drugs, did you?" Shayna asked, trying to hold back a smile.
"Nope. Sure didn't. Draco talked to me about my problem." Amber replied.
"He
did?"
"Yeah. He's actually excited that I'm going to go
and live with them. I think we'll be
good friends."
"Amber,
I am so happy for you. I can't wait to
come over and visit sometime. Its not
every day that your best friend moves into the Malfoy mansion!" Kirbin said with a pat on the back. "I can just see us now, playing
quidditch in their back yard, being waited on hand and foot by house
elves..."
"Um,"
Amber started, confused, "that's how my old house was and you guys visited me
every summer."
"Oh
yeah. Well, then this will be like you
are right at home."
"I
hope so."
The
next weeks flew by, being pushed around by all of the excitement. Everywhere kids were cramming for the OWLS
and NEWTS, and then, finally it was all over. The students loaded up their belongings and headed out of the school,
smiling. It was summertime at Hogwarts,
and Amber's first meeting with her aunt and uncle.
Kirbin,
Amber, Shayna, Spencer, Trev, Mark, and Mindy entered a crowded compartment and
sat down.
"So,
got any big plans for the summer?" Spencer asked.
"Wow. I'm actually going to meet some of my
family." Amber replied.
"Yeah,
and I'm moving to America, but that doesn't really matter that much." Kirbin said.
"I
didn't know you were moving!" Trev
said, shocked. "So that means you wont
be living down the street anymore?" He
looked hurt.
"Well
let's think about this… If I'm moving to America, and we used to live next to
each other in Britain, then I think that means that I wont be living near you
anymore, unless you are also moving to America." Kirbin finished,
sarcastically.
"Who's
gonna keep me up in quidditch?" He asked.
"Well,
I'm going to be living in Britain now. Maybe we can get together sometime over the summer and hang out." Amber said.
With
that, a head peeked into their compartment. It was Draco.
"Amber,
we're almost to the station. Want to
come on up to my compartment?" He
asked.
"Alright.
Hey guys, I'll owl you sometime. We've
got to get together over the summer!"
There
was an exchange of hugs and a few shed tears, and Amber left the compartment.
Day 1- Malfoy Mansion
The
first day of living with the British Malfoys started when Draco and I exited
the train. I didn't really know what to
expect, since Draco neglected to tell me about these people. With my Supernova 500 in one hand and my
trunks floating behind me, I followed Draco cautiously towards these people.
Upon
approaching my aunt and uncle, I started to wonder what they would be
like. Tall and handsome? Slender and attractive? What kind of people were in my family after
all? I soon answered my own question.
"Draco
darling! How was the year? Oh! And you must be Amber, our new house guest!" Narcissa exclaimed, strolling up to us.
She
was a slender woman, and very attractive. Her hair was white blonde like Draco's, and she had it pulled up and
styled in the back. She was wearing
robes that looked to be Wizindia, the
most expensive, designer-brand you could have. Very classy.
Lucius
took more time catching up to us. "Narcissa,
darling, don't overwhelm the poor girl. She's had quite a year."
He
was wearing dark, gray Speldoza robes
that were also, very expensive. My
father had owned a few pairs of them himself. He had the same blonde hair and a very broad jaw line. He was fairly tall compared to my father,
but then, I too had grown over the year and my judgment had changed. There was nothing about them that was
similar to me, besides our gray eyes.
"Good
afternoon, Narcissa and Lucius, correct?" I asked, trying to appear proper.
"Ah,
yes. Amber. We are so glad to finally meet you. Come along you two, let's floo on back home, shall we?"
I
first imagined that their home would be large, brick, and towering. I pictured the inside to be homely, yet
rustic, while the rooms were decorated to suit. Oh was I ever more wrong!
We
flooed right into the front yard, which was surrounded by a rought iron fence
and a gate. Infront of me was the
biggest, most fantastic castle (besides Hogwarts, of course) that I had ever seen. All stone, it towered over us, shadowing in the entire yard. The front doors, double and wooden, had a
large serpent carved out of them and little snakes as door handles.
"Welcome
home, Amber." Lucius said.
He
opened the door and escorted us into the main hall.
"This,
Amber, is our front entry way. It is
also the main hall. You will find your
own little short cuts and such, but this is basically where everything
starts. Draco, show her to her room,
the long way, please?" Narcissa
asked.
Our
trunks disappeared, and we headed down the hall. "If you dont mind, I would rather show you the shortcuts to
your room." He said.
"Why?" I asked.
"Like
i've already said, its on the seventh story, and from the long way, it could
take us an hour to get there. we'd have
to go up stairs, down corridors, through librarys and offices, up more stairs,
and frankly, i'm not sure I even know the right way to get there the long
way."
"Oh. Alright then."
We
started walking down the main hall, when he stopped and tapped on a brick near
a large painting which appeared to have been done by a famous wizard from
earlier that century called Picasso. "The one with the little 3 in the
corner, alright?"
"Yeah."
The
brick slid out of the way and a doorknob appeared. "Its a door, see?"
"Yeah."
He
opened the door, and we entered a room that was rather moist and dark. There was a little stick that glowed
fluorescent light and that was all. Then, Draco shut the door.
"Where
are we now?"
"Hold
on just a second. Let me remember. I know how to get to my room from here, but
yours would be-" and he paused. "This way." He said, as he tapped another brick. "We'll try this one. Its also got a
little 3 on it."
"Ok."
The
brick once again slid out of the way and yet another knob appeared. Stepping out of the little room, we entered
a bigger room that had peach tapestries and a large bed floating near the
ceiling.
"Is
this my room?" I asked.
"Yeah. See? Theres your trunk over there."
"How'd
you get me here? We didnt even leave
the first floor!"
"Oh
yes we did. That was a special room designed after a muggle thing called an
elevator. I dont think that mum and dad
even know its there, but im not sure. Look, theres a garden tub over there for you, and through those doors
are your study, library, living quarters, house elf quarters, guest rooms, and
a little kitchen and things. Those
glass doors lead out to your balcony, and heres something neat." He stopped and pointed to a muggle pencil
that was on a little stone table.
"Whats
so great about that?"
"Its
something I cooked up for you. Its a
portkey to my part of the house. All
you have to do is touch it and you will be transported to my room. Neat, isnt it?"
"Draco,
this is really great. Thanks so much
for everything."
"Well,
i'm gonna go now," he said, touching
the little yellow pencil.
It
was now my time to check out the room. I started with the bedroom area. Like he had said, there was a mattress covered with soft and cushy
blankets floating near the celing. I
had old, victorian furniture, and peach tapestries flowing from the balcony
doors and other places. The balcony had
seemed interesting, so I decided to go out there first. Stepping out, I could see that the evening
was falling and that the sun was beginning to set. There were rolling green hills and a nice field lined with trees
where I would soon be practicing quidditch with Draco. The sky was plastered with hues of orange
and red, with an accent of pink circling. I couldnt help but think to myself that this wouldnt be nearly as
dreaded as originally thought. I was
actually looking forward to my summer at the Malfoy Mansion. If only I had
realised what I was getting myself into. . .
