Sorry it's taken so long to update, we're buying our first house! And anyway, you can imagine the paper work…

Thanks to my reviewers! And Weasleylover, it's not that the Weasleys were being especially mean, they were just insulting Draco like Draco always insults them. Just in this case Draco wasn't the brightest and picked a fight with 3 boys at once ;-)

In the Company of Snakes

By: Cousin Mary

Part4

Draco led Maggie through one of the side doors of Malfoy Manor, up the rickety staircase once used by the human servants who'd fallen out of favor after the taming of house elves a century before. He glanced behind him seeing that Maggie followed closely, her eyes darting around as if she expected someone to jump out at them.

"Here," Draco pulled open a door and entered a shadowy hall, a few steps later they were at what Maggie guessed was Draco's bedroom. He looked at her a moment, as if debating whether to invite her in or not, but then just shrugged, leaving her in the hall for her to follow him or wait, whatever.

Maggie stood there a moment, looking down the huge hall, first in one direction, then the other. She couldn't spot the door from the stairway any more, realizing it must be hidden someway from this side. She looked up, the ceiling was arched like a gothic cathedral, even in just this side passageway. Huge wooden doors were placed about twenty feet apart along each wall, and at both ends the hall ended in huge stained glass widows. The glass to Maggie's left depicted Merlin's seduction by Nimue and his imprisonment in the invisible glass house on Bardsey Island, and to her right was the Greek sorceress Circe turning mortal men into pigs. Maggie frowned slightly, watching as the enchanted images moved in almost lifelike ways. She backed towards Draco's door and slipped inside.

Her brother's room was large and lavish, just like the rest of the house. There were large wooden pillars in each corner and the ceiling arched up away from them to a dizzying height. The room itself was all dark woods with green and silver accents. Draco was no where to be seen, she noted, but there was another door, behind which she could here running water. He was in the bathroom then. Maggie took a moment to take a closer look at her brother's room, trying to figure out just what kind of person Draco Malfoy was. She frowned, there was nothing to indicate this was where a 15 year old boy lived, it looked more like an old man's room. Lots of books, mostly on potions and the dark arts, there was a broomstick and a trunk that looked like it contained Quidditch equipment next to it, but other than that… Where was the clutter? The collection of wizarding cards? The exploding snap cards? Where were the toys and distractions that any boy, especially one from a well to do family, which Maggie was knew the Malfoy most especially were, would have?

Confused, Maggie walked to the bathroom door and was just about to knock when she realized the door was slightly ajar. "Draco?" She called out, waiting a moment before pushing the door a bit. He was standing in front of the sink with his shirt off, pouring some fizzing liquid over his knuckles. He didn't look up, but he didn't tell her to leave either so Maggie took a short breath and walked up next to him. She looked into the mirror and stared at her and Draco's reflection.

"We look alike," Draco said quietly, meeting Maggie's eyes in the mirror. He looked down, pouring some of the healing potion onto a cloth and then wiping it over his bruised jaw and split lip.

"Yeah," Maggie nodded, pushing up the sleeves on her jacket and holding her wrists over the sink.

Draco looked down, surprised to see what were obviously rope burns on her pale skin. He didn't say anything, after all, he was used to secrets, he just poured the potion over the marks and watched them disappear. He put the empty bottle down before pulling back on his shirt and sitting on the edge of his large marble bathtub. Maggie hadn't moved from the sink, but was watching him in the mirror. He cleared his throat, then asked, "You are a Malfoy then?"

Maggie bit her lip and looked away, "Sorta."

"Sorta?" He echoed, his almost white brows drew together. Everyone was always telling him he was a remarkably bright boy, but the girl's answer baffled him. It also, for some unknown reason, troubled him. He stared at her reflection in his mirror. She really was a pretty girl, all gold and white. Her features were near perfect, like a Greek statue or something. Draco went and stood by her again, putting a hand on her chin and making her look this way and that as he peered at her closely.

Maggie stared back at him, she could see he'd almost figured it out and she hadn't told him anything! She realized she was holding her breath, and forced herself to breath normally as he inspected her. Finally he took as step back and looked at both their reflections in the mirror.

"Sorta… as is we share a father?" Draco asked finally, one brow raised over disturbingly shrewd eyes. "You're his illegitimate daughter."

Maggie swallowed loudly, nodding.

"And you're going to be living with us from now on then?" Draco continued to watch her in the mirror, his expression unreadable.

"Looks that way," Maggie whispered. She looked down and bit her lip. "I didn't mean to cause everyone so much trouble, it's just- just-"

"Shush, don't go crying or anything," Draco sighed and pushed his hand through his hair, just like Maggie did when she was frustrated or upset.

"I'm not going to-" Maggie cursed silently as she heard her voice thicken, dammit, she –was- going to cry! Her voice hitched and suddenly she was sobbing.

Draco stared at her, his sister. He hated it when girls cried, Pansy put out the water works whenever she didn't get her own way. She was a master of the big fat crocodile tears, and he usually just ignored her. But Maggie, oh Maggie wasn't faking and he got the feeling whatever she was crying for was worth crying for. And then somehow, without even really deciding to do it, Draco found himself stepping forward and drawing his sister into his arms. She was almost as tall as him, but when she bent her head and sobbed into his shoulder Draco felt like his heart was going to break. "Shush, it'll be all right." He patted her back awkwardly and muttered all the appropriated words. "It'll be fine, you'll see. Father and I will make sure of it."

Maggie just sobbed all the harder.

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