Disclaimer: The characters that look familiar to you belong to J. K. Rowling. The ones you cannot find in any of her books are mine. I don't intend to make any money out of this. I'm just having some fun.
Malfoy Manor
Amanda stopped for a moment at the gates and looked up at the grand house, still far away, but already visible in the distance. She had been there many times and had even stayed for long periods of her life, but she still had to marvel every time at the whiteness of its walls and its welcoming appearance. From the gates, Malfoy Manor looked like a giant birthday cake made of whipped cream and meringue. The flowers in the balconies looked like caramel toppings, their petals tasting like strawberries and oranges and lemons, their leaves made of refreshing mint. That anyone living in such a place could have ever turned to the dark side had always been past her understanding. Knowing that in fact the Malfoys had been dark wizards for centuries made her shiver even under the warm comforting rays of the sun. Life was full of irony, there was no doubt of that.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the gates and walked up the path leading to the house, enjoying the enticing scent of the garden, an orgy of colours and life in this beautiful summer morning.
When she was near the house, she looked at the many doors and windows on the facade, expecting to see Narcissa or Draco any moment. They had to know she was there, because the gates of the house were charmed to warn its inhabitants whenever someone crossed them, so that they could welcome their guests as it would be expected from a Malfoy -or, if the visitor wasn't 'welcome', to give the Malfoys time enough to escape or find a suitable excuse to avoid them.
For a moment she started wondering if maybe Narcissa had taken Draco away for the summer. She hadn't thought of writing to her first, because the Malfoys rarely left their residence for long periods of time, but in the present circumstances, with the family name disgraced and Lucius in prison, maybe Narcissa had moved to a more quite and retired place where nobody would dare to come and insult her or Draco. The silhouette of a tall blond boy on one of the upper windows put her worries immediately at ease. The boy retreated immediately, and before Amanda had reached the door, he was already there to welcome her. He walked over to her, with a heartfelt smile on his young face.
"Auntie Mandy!" He exclaimed delighted. Amanda opened her arms and hugged him tenderly, then dishevelled his usually perfectly combed hair, a Malfoy characteristic trait. The girl took a step backwards to have a better look at the teenager, and exclaimed delighted:
"For all the Princesses, but have you grown up!" That was true, she had seen Draco last summer and he had barely reached her nose then, but now it was her who barely reached his chin. "Did you take a potion or something to grow faster or am I shrinking?" Amanda asked laughing.
Draco smiled at her. "No potions, I promise." He said, with a hand on his heart. "Have you come to stay for the summer?" He asked.
"Well, I'm not sure yet..." Amanda replied awkwardly. "I heard about your father and I... I wanted to see how you were doing."
Draco looked at the floor for a moment, his hands in his pockets now. "Well, not very well, really. Mother spends the day crying in her room. I checked on her before coming downstairs to see if she was fit to be seen, but she was asleep, so I decided not to wake her. It's been really hard for her. When I came back for the holidays, the worst was already behind. After Father was captured and sent to prison, Ministry aurors came everyday to raid the house. They didn't find anything really incriminating, because Father has always taken good care of keeping the house as clear as possible of dark objects and the likes, but they still searched and searched for days. They broke the Crystal Cabinet, you know, the place where Mother kept all the presents her family had made her when she married Father."
Amanda was shocked. She knew how much that would have hurt Narcissa.
"Yeah..." Draco said, seeing her worried expression. "There were very valuable things there, as you may suppose, but the worst of it is that for my Mother they had an incalculable sentimental value. It was her pride. Those objects represented the history of the Black family through the centuries. You know none of her sisters was much interested in family tradition. No need to mention Andromeda, I guess, she was disgraced when she married that muggle, Tonks, and you know Auntie Bellatrix was always more inclined to action than society. Mother was the perfect Black hostess, the one that reminded the whole world that the Blacks and the Malfoys are worthy of respect, and that with the only weapons of her beauty and her manners. All this is being too much for her." The boy said sadly, his eyes fixed again on the floor.
Amanda put her arm through his and started walking into the house. "I'm sorry, Draco, I really am. You know how much I love your mother. She's been like an older sister to me. I don't know what I would have done without her. I'll talk to her later, and if she wants me to stay, I will. But I'm not sure she'll want me here. Maybe she can't stand to have a McGonagall in her house anymore."
"No," Draco said, looking at Amanda again, "you know we don't mind who your ancestors were, like you choose to forget we are dark wizards and befriend us against your aunt's opinion. Whatever happens, Auntie Mandy, you'll always be welcome at Malfoy Manor."
Amanda smiled sadly at him, but then stopped and looked up to better look at him: "We?" She asked. Draco didn't seem to understand, so she added: "You said 'we are dark wizards', but I don't feel the Dark Mark on your skin." Amanda waited, holding her breath, while Draco swallowed uncomfortably.
"I haven't joined the Dark Lord yet, auntie Mandy, but I will. I know you don't approve of it and you hoped I wouldn't follow my Father's steps, but I must now, I owe it to him. The Dark Lord will free him and make his captors pay, and I want to be there when that happens."
It was now Amanda's turn to look at the floor. She was trying very hard to keep her tears from falling and she didn't want Draco to notice, but he did anyway, because her voice trembled when she spoke. "When are you going to..." She couldn't even finish her question.
"I'm not sure yet, the Dark Lord must put me to the test yet. He knows I want to be his servant. McNair told him, I asked him to deliver my message to the Master. So I guess it's only a matter of time now." There was an awkward silence. Draco put his right hand on top of Amanda's, still curled around his left elbow.
"Auntie Mandy... there's something you should know." Amanda didn't answer, but Draco knew she was listening, so he went on: "Some Death Eaters will be staying with us too this summer." Draco paused, but Amanda still didn't speak. "Our house has been raided already. The Ministry won't come back soon. They know Mother is not a Death Eater, and so they cannot take her away. The aurors know or suspect the identity of some of my Father's friends, and Mother decided to offer them sanctuary for as long as she could. I'm not sure yet how many will stay, but they will definitely hold some meetings here, in Father's secret study. I know how little you like my Father's friends and their dealings, so I'd rather be honest with you. Mother and I will be both delighted if you stay, and I'm sure she needs your company more than anything. But if you'd rather not sleep under the same roof than the Dark Lord's followers, we'll understand."
Amanda could feel Draco's heart beating madly in his chest. She was glad that Draco was honest enough to talk to her like this. It was true she didn't like at all Lucius' friends, but she wasn't going to leave Narcissa alone with those criminals. She didn't think Death Eaters were honourable, and she doubted they would respect Narcissa's authority nor body. At least, with a jilguerei at home, they would think it twice before trying to assault her. And while she stayed, she would have still a chance of rescuing Draco out of the Dark Lord's claws. She had known the child since his birth. She had sung to him so many times to put him to sleep... she had cooked him his favourite pastries so often... she had cared about him for so long... Draco was almost like her own child. She knew perfectly well he wasn't like his father. Lucius was a deprived man, he had always been. But Draco had in him the sweet disposition of his mother, and Amanda had always hoped he wouldn't follow his father's dark path. That hope still remained in her heart, and Amanda swore to herself that she'd do anything in her power to save Draco from a most unhappy and frustrating life. And well... she had to stay anyway.
"I'll stay if your mother wants me to, Draco, but don't expect me to be nice to your father's friends," Amanda finally said.
Draco nodded and smiled. "Thanks," he said, with a sigh of relieve. They were now in the middle of the richly decorated foyer. "Shall I go and wake Mother now?" The boy asked.
Amanda thought for a moment. "No," she finally said. "I bet she hasn't slept much lately. What if we go to the kitchen and I cook dinner for a change? We can wake her when everything is ready."
"Very well, Auntie Mandy, as you wish." Draco knew Amanda loved cooking, and he loved her meals too, so he wasn't going to complain. They headed for the kitchen, at the back of the house, with wide windows looking to Narcissa's small kitchen garden and greenhouse. When they entered it, Amanda's hand still on Draco's arm, the boy ordered the house-elves out of the kitchen. Amanda didn't like much the way the Malfoys treated their servants, so she added a shy 'Thanks!' after his harsh words. The elves bowed respectfully and left before their young master kicked their asses.
Amanda spent some time exploring the cupboards and the kitchen garden. When she had all the ingredients she would need for her recipe, she put the vegetables for the Salad au gratin she was going to cook and started working the floor for her famous Chocolate and prunes cake. Draco poured himself a drink and took a sit on one of the stools in the kitchen. Watching Amanda cook reminded him of his childhood days. Amanda started singing without even noticing it. She always did when she cooked. Draco smiled. She looked so beautiful, with her sleeves rolled up her arms, her hair in a ponytail and a white apron on top of her simple yet elegant dress. The sun that bathed the kitchen gave her a supernatural glow, and her voice sounded happy and calming. He knew he probably shouldn't ask, but there was a question that had hunted him for the last three years. He took a sip of his red wine.
"Auntie Mandy..."
"Yes?" Amanda turned to him a bit, with a smile on her face, but went on preparing the baking tray.
"Why haven't you married?"
Amanda eyebrows almost disappeared under her fringe. She stopped what she was doing and took a good look at Draco and then at his drink. Without saying a thing, she washed her hands on the sink and dried them with her apron. She then went over to him and took the glass from his hand. She smelled the liquid and took a sip.
"Hmmm, delicious. I must admit the Malfoys know how to spend their fortune. But aren't you too young to be drinking wine before dinner?"
"Come on, I'm already fifteen!"
"Ooooooooooh, fifteen," Amanda mocked him. "Tell me, do you really like wine?" She asked shrewdly.
Draco looked a little bit annoyed for a moment, but then replied: "No, not really."
"So, why do you drink it?"
"Father always does," Draco answered.
"Humph," Amanda muttered. "Draco, you don't need to imitate your father, you know? You must be your own man. If you don't like wine, don't drink it. If you don't dislike the house-elves, don't kick their asses. If you don't want to become a Death Eater, don't do it."
Draco rolled his eyes, but laughed all the same. "I should have known something like that was coming. Amanda Ming doesn't interrupt her cooking unless there is a good reason for it."
"So you see I have a good reason, don't you? Well, at least that's a beginning." She smiled triumphantly.
"Auntie Mandy, please..."
"Ok." Amanda knew she shouldn't press the matter too much. A hint now and then would be enough. "What would you like to drink, young man?"
Draco thought for a moment. "Butterbeer?"
Amanda nodded with a serious face. "Butterbeer sounds nice. I'll finish your wine," she said, and winked at him before going back to her work.
Draco stood and went to pick a butterbeer for himself. After opening it, he went back to his stool. "You haven't answered my question," he said, failing to disguise his amusement.
Amanda turned her face to him, her brow furrowed in mock annoyance. "Why should I marry?"
Draco choked on his butterbeer. "Well, isn't that obvious? Everybody has to marry sooner or later. Only very ugly people or freaks don't do it."
Amanda looked at him in disbelief. "I think the cake is going to be ruined." She took the cocoa and added large quantities to the mixture of floor, salt, sugar and butter. Then mixed it all with her long fingers. "Draco, that someone doesn't marry doesn't mean necessarily nobody wants them. Maybe they just don't want to end up with the first idiot that they meet just to fulfil social expectations. Many people marry without love, Draco. Some of them reach an agreeable understanding with their partners and others hate them through and through. I'd much rather live alone than marry someone I don't truly love. Of course, I'm still young," she said looking pointedly at him, "and hope I'll find someone yet before I'm much older. If I haven't been lucky in the next one hundred years, I might change my mind, though. You never know." They both laughed.
"I wonder what are men your age thinking of. If I was a little bit older, I wouldn't let you off the hook so easily," Draco said, and raised his left brow twice in a suggestive gesture.
Amanda threw a cloth at him and hit him on the face. "Show some respect to your elders, young man, or I might find it necessary to have a very serious conversation with your mother."
Draco laughed unashamed. "You know she'd be delighted. After Caesar, I'm probably the most eligible man for you in her opinion."
Amanda just grunted in desperation.
"By the way, Caesar will probably be here this summer too," Draco added slowly, weighting Amanda's reaction.
She just turned once more her disgruntled face to him. "Draco," she said in a very serious tone, "if I end up throwing up in the mixture for your favourite cake, would you eat it anyway?"
Draco grimaced. "I'm not sure I love you that much, Auntie Mandy," he said playfully.
"That's exactly what I thought," she said with mock annoyance. "Well, you'd better stop mentioning disgusting things while I work, dear, I have a very sensitive stomach."
Draco laughed. "So I gather he has no chance at all? I always thought you made the perfect couple."
Amanda nodded. "I did too for a very long time, Draco. But I realised in time our relationship was a mistake. You know, Caesar would have been the perfect husband for many reasons: he is your father's brother, and thus Narcissa and I would have become legally sisters after feeling like siblings for almost half of our lives. I would have become your real aunt, and you know that would be a great honour to me." Amanda looked Draco in the eye and he turned a little bit red at this. She went back immediately to her playful tone and added: "Although now that you are going to become a Death Eater... I might change my mind..." She said pouting.
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Auntie Mandy..."
"Right," she said, but she had already delivered hint number two. "Caesar is shamefully rich, and I would have had anything in the world. Anything money can buy, I mean. He belongs to a good family... Well, let's strike that."
"Auntie!" Draco exclaimed equally outraged and amused at the girl's insult.
"And... last but not least... he is very handsome." Amanda said raising her eyebrows playfully. "But we were incompatible," she added, a little bit more serious now. "At the beginning it was all perfect. I was mad about him. He was, he is, so gorgeous. I loved his long soft blonde hair, his grey stormy eyes, his pointed proud chin... He treated me like a queen, too, and at the time I was desperate for some attention, so he didn't really have to work that hard to have me dreaming about him day and night. But then both of us grew. I wasn't a silly girl dreaming about her prince charming any more. I became a strong independent woman who needed a man who would share her views on life, and Caesar wasn't that man. He wanted a pretty wife he could show around. A pureblood or, even better in my case, a jilguerei. He needs someone with no brain and a lot of tact, and you know too well that I do have a brain -although I might not always behave as if I do-, but what I certainly don't know is what tact is." Amanda added, with an apologetic face.
"That's not true," Draco protested.
Amanda didn't reply, she just busied herself finally putting the mixture in the oven. "You know what the worst was?" She finally asked, looking at Draco. The boy shook his head slowly. "He never really loved me, Draco. He never did. I was his ideal of a wife, I fulfilled her parents' requisites for a daughter-in-law, and that's all he cared about. I've wondered many times if he is even capable of feeling love. I doubt it. I cried for months after I realised he didn't love me," Amanda explained sadly, "but I knew I had to break up the relationship before it was too late. I spent with him eight years of my life, Draco, and though I don't regret it, I'm not going to go back to it. Caesar is a chapter of my life closed for good. I moved on three years ago, and I'm not going back again, ever." Amanda washed her hands on the sink and then took a sip of her wine.
Draco looked lost in thought himself, so she turned her attention to the vegetables she had picked before. She took a long sharp knife in her right hand and a pepper in her left hand. She then sighed and said: "You know what, Draco? I'm glad you mentioned Caesar. I always cut the vegetables much faster if I think I'm cutting someone's body into pieces instead of just innocent peppers." That comment took Draco out of his reverie, and they both laughed once more.
After cutting and washing all the vegetables, adding some spices and putting some butter between the multicoloured bits, Amanda put the mixture in another oven, took her glass to Draco so that he would refill it, and then sat comfortably in front of him.
"Now, young man," she said, and Draco smiled instantly, because he knew that tone of voice well enough. "I've told you about my boring frustrating love live, what about yours? I'm sure you're breaking many young girls' hearts at school."
Draco turned a bit red and laughed. "No, they don't even notice me. They are all mad about Potter."
Amanda couldn't help a chuckle. "Harry Potter is in your same year?"
"Yeah," Draco said with a disgusted face.
"I gather you don't like him much."
"Like him? Are you mad? How could I ever like the boy who destroyed the Dark Lord's plans so many years ago? And he is very arrogant too. Thinks he is above the rest of us."
Draco sounded angrier every time. Amanda thought maybe she should change the subject, but she was too curious to do it. Her Aunt Minerva's description of the Boy Who Lived didn't match Draco's. On the other hand, when had anything her aunt said match the Malfoys' opinion?
"Why do you say he is arrogant?" She asked before taking a sip of her wine.
"I offered him my friendship when we met on our first train ride to Hogwarts, and he rejected it."
Amanda was very surprised at that. "He rejected it?" Draco nodded. Amanda asked suspiciously: "And may I ask how did you offer him your friendship?"
"Well, I told him he didn't want to choose the wrong company, you know, like that muggle-loving Weasley he had been talking too."
Amanda smiled a bit. "Ai!" She sighed, "I guess I've been a bad influence in your life, Draco."
Draco looked lost.
"Your parents are both diplomatic enough if they want to be, so I guess that tactlessness must come from me." Amanda explained amused.
"You think I was tactless?" Draco asked nonplussed.
Amanda raised her hand a put two fingers almost together to show how little tactful she thought Draco had been.
Draco had never seen it from that point of view... No, but Potter was an arrogant anyway, he thought. "Anyway," he said aloud, "he is a Gryffindor."
"Oh, no, not again," Amanda begged. She still had headaches whenever she remembered her aunt's complains when her brother Benjamin had been sorted into Slytherin. All that interhouse hate was too irrational for her.
"So, what about the Slytherin girls, then? I bet they don't worship Potter, do they?"
"No," Draco conceded.
"And I've heard you asked a girl to be your partner for the Yule Ball a couple of years ago... What was her name? Something like Patsy, wasn't it?"
Draco looked absolutely surprised. "Pansy," he said. "How do you know?"
"Aaaaaaaah!" Amanda answered in her most mysterious tone, "I have my secret informants, you know."
Draco rolled his eyes again and smiled defeated at her. "Fine," he said.
"So? What about Pansy, then?" Amanda asked.
"There's nothing between Pansy and me," Draco said a little bit exasperated.
"Nothing? Are you sure? Nothing... nothing? Not even a chaste kiss?" Amanda asked laughingly.
"No!" Draco said, but then his cheeks coloured a bit before he said: "Well... we snogged a bit in the Slytherin common room after the ball, but we were both a little bit drunk."
"A-ha!" Amanda exclaimed triumphantly. "What then? Have you been dating?"
"No!" Draco looked utterly offended. "She has been sending me love letters, you know, with poems and the like, but I don't care about her."
"Oh." Amanda pouted. "And why is that?"
"I don't know," Draco shrugged. "I guess I feel that she doesn't really care about me, you know? It's a bit like what you said before about Uncle Caesar. I have the feeling all the girls, and specially Pansy, don't like me for myself, but because I'm the Malfoy heir."
"I see..." Amanda said thoughtfully. "And whose fault is that?"
"What do you mean?" Draco asked.
"I mean, do you behave like yourself with them, like you're behaving with me now, or do you behave like the great Malfoy heir."
Draco thought for a moment, and then said. "Touché. I probably don't give people the chance to know the real Draco. I have to uphold the Malfoy honour at school, and that's difficult sometimes. Maybe I should try to loose myself a bit." He lifted his butterbeer to a toast and clinked it against Amanda's glass. "You're right, as always."
"Exactly!" Amanda said, standing. "And that's why you should listen to me and say 'No' to the Dark Lord."
Draco rolled his eyes and let go and exaggerated sigh, while Amanda turned giggling to go to the oven. That had been hint number three.
She checked both the cake and the vegetables and turned to Draco. "Dinner is almost ready, could you please lay the table?"
Strange enough, Draco didn't look offended at this. Whenever Amanda cooked and his Father wasn't at home, his Mother, Amanda and himself usually ate in his Mothers' greenhouse, where they could enjoy a peaceful environment while they ate and talked with ease. In those rare occasions, Draco usually helped Amanda and his Mother by laying the table for them. He complied immediately and went to take a white small tablecloth and the matching napkins they reserved for these intimate meals. He took some cutlery too, and then left through the kitchen's door.
Meanwhile, Amanda busied herself adding some cheese to the vegetables and cutting the chocolate sponge in half. She then proceeded to whip some cream and mix it with prune's marmalade. She covered the inferior part of the sponge with the mixture and then put the other half on top carefully. She spread some more whipped cream with prune's marmalade around the sponge and on top of it, and decorated the top with pealed prunes cut in two. She had just put a cooling charm on the cake when Draco came back. "Ready," he said. "Shall I open another bottle of wine?"
Amanda looked at the almost full bottle open on the kitchen table. "No, we'll finish that one first. What are you going to drink?"
"Apple juice," Draco said, and Amanda smiled to herself.
"Shall I go and wake Mother now?" Draco asked.
"No, I'll do it, Draco," Amanda said. She took off her apron and went to the toilet to wash her face and comb her hair a bit. Then went upstairs to the Malfoys' room.
Narcissa was lying with her back to the door, her left arm covering her face, protecting her eyes from the light coming in through the window. The sheets were a mess, as her soft blonde hair was. It was obvious she had moved quite a bit in her slumber, or maybe before finally falling asleep. Amanda approached her on tiptoe and sat slowly on the edge of the bed. She reached out then and touched Narcissa's shoulder lightly.
"Narcissa," she whispered, while shaking her softly. She got no response.
"Narcissa. Issa," Amanda insisted, a little bit louder this time.
A small grunt escaped Narcissa's lips. "Issa, it's me, Mandy. Wake up, dinner is ready." Amanda insisted, and this time her words seemed to finally penetrate the sleep barrier and Narcissa moved the arm covering her face away. She blinked in the light, still not completely awaken, and finally fixed her eyes on Amanda's smiling face.
"Mandy," she said with difficulty, her throat was dry. "Dear, why didn't you write to me to say you were coming?" The diligent hostess was already working before the woman had had even time to awake completely.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Amanda said in a worried tone. "I heard about Lucius."
Narcissa nodded weakly and then tried to sit on the bed. Amanda looked at her. Her friend looked very thin and her eyes were red from crying. Pity that such a wonderful woman had made the mistake of falling in love with Lucius Malfoy.
"I don't even know where they have him," Narcissa explained in a very low tone, as if afraid words could hurt her. "I've been to the Ministry several times, but they just insulted me and sent me back home without a reply. For all that I know, he could be dead, Mandy." At this, she broke down and started to sob, covering her face with her hands.
Amanda embraced her. "Shhhh," she said, "that's ok. Don't cry, Issa, don't cry. I'm sure the Ministry wouldn't execute him. They probably keep him in a secret place to question him and for fear his companions might try to free him, but I don't think they will harm him."
Narcissa tried to control her sobs. "Yes, I guess you are right. I've said the same to myself many times, but it's been already a month, and nobody has taken the time to inform me and my son of what is going to happen to him now. Sometimes I think that whatever his end is going to be, I'd rather know it than live with this uncertainty much longer."
"I can understand that, Narcissa. You know what? I can go to the Ministry tomorrow and try to get some information on him. They don't know me, and so they might treat me a little bit better."
"No," Narcissa said, "I don't want you to get involved in our disgrace. I've talked to some of Lucius' friends, you know he had a lot of contacts in the Ministry. I should get some news any time now."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind," Amanda assured her.
Narcissa caressed Amanda's cheek with her hand. "I know you wouldn't Amanda, but I'd rather you stayed out of this."
Amanda nodded, and then tried to lift the mood. "Well, so come on now and get out of bed. Dinner is almost ready. I've cooked your favourite dish."
"Salad au gratin?" She asked with the first hint of a smile.
"Exactly," Amanda said, with a comically proud face.
"Hmmm, I'm suddenly starving!" Narcissa cried, and almost jumped out of the bed. "Give me five minutes so I can have a quick shower and put something more adequate on."
"Ok," Amanda said, "but nothing too elegant, look at what I'm wearing!"
"You look beautiful in whatever you wear, dear," Narcissa said, hugging Amanda before disappearing behind the bathrooms' door.
Amanda shouted "I'll be in the kitchen with Draco!"
"Ok!" Narcissa cried back through the closed door.
Amanda smiled to herself and went downstairs.
When Narcissa joined them in the kitchen, she looked as beautiful as ever, although a little bit tired, and certainly much thinner than the last time Amanda had seen her. She was wearing a plain pale pink robe that Draco always associated with his childhood days. It was something Narcissa had had for many years, but that she only wore when she really felt comfortable with the people she was with. She smiled at them and took gratefully the glass of wine Draco offered her.
"Thank you, dear," Narcissa said, kissing her son's forefront lovingly. "Well, I smell the food, but cannot see it," she said, surveying the room.
"Oh, no," Amanda said offended, "we are not going to eat in the kitchen," she explained and looked at Draco meaningfully. Draco took the hint, and offering his arms to both women said pompously: "My ladies, if you'd do me the honour of your company."
Amanda and Narcissa exclaimed delighted, as if they had just been asked to dance by the man of their dreams. Each of them took one of Draco's arm and followed him to the greenhouse. When they entered, they aed again. Draco had really surpassed himself this time. There was a beautiful bunch of flowers in the middle of the table, and he had also put some candles with rose petals on the table.
They all seated themselves and Amanda started serving the vegetables while Draco poured them some more wine. That evening, they talked about this and that, forgetting about the imminent war for a moment and enjoying themselves like none of them had done for a very long time.
When they finally went to bed, Amanda occupied once more her usual room at Malfoy Manor. She took a refreshing shower and then sat in front of the mirror and started combing her hair. One hundred strokes, it was tradition. That's how the ashanriis kept their hair always healthy and soft.
Tonight, though, she lost count. She had had her misgivings when Dumbledore had asked her to spy for the Order, but it wasn't until now that she realised how difficult that would be and how much she could loose if anybody were to find out she had taken sides in the war instead of remaining neutral, as Narcissa and Draco thought she was. She really cared for them, but she had lived a war before, and she knew personal sacrifices had to be made. Voldemort had to be defeated, no matter what, and she knew she had made the right choice, although it was probably the most difficult too.
For a moment she thought of Draco. Of how he trusted her blindly. Did he trust anyone else like that? She doubted it very much, and she dearly hoped she'd be able to convince him to change his mind before joining the Death Eaters, because if not... If not, they would be on opposite fronts, and Amanda Ming had no intention of loosing this war.
She had to laugh a bit at remembering how Draco had warned her about the Death Eaters who would come and probably stay in the house. If he knew the truth... Those Death Eaters were precisely the reason that she had come to stay in the first place. After numerous raids of the house and no success, the Ministry had asked Dumbledore for help, and he had done the only thing he could think of. He had sent to Malfoy Manor someone who knew the house like her own, someone who could move freely around without arousing anyone's suspicions, someone who was the last person Narcissa would ever suspect, someone she loved like a sister. Amanda looked at her reflection in the mirror and loathed herself. Tears of shame started running down her cheeks silently.
"Save your tears, there's nothing in the world that justifies a woman spoiling her looks like that," the mirror admonished in an authoritative tone.
Amanda changed her tears for hysterical laughter. Ha! If the mirror only knew...
*****
Thanks for the reviews!
Thanks all for reading and reviewing!
Any Arithmancy experts out there? I just realised up to Chapter 15 my fic has 69969 words, I've received 96 reviews, and then 15 is... 1+5= 6! Do you think I should be worried? :D
Well, let's turn to more important matters: I know, I've put Amanda in a wasps' nest :-( Through her, we'll be able to know what is going on with the Death Eaters and Voldemort. Let's hope she is able to stay out of harm's way.
I'm sure many of you won't agree with my idea of Draco and Narcissa. Unlike many other HP-fans, I believe the Malfoys are a loving family, and Lucius and Narcissa really love each other. Draco's problem is not that he is scared or mistreated by his father, but rather that he has been born a Malfoy, and the Malfoys have had the wrong idea of what defines a good wizard for many centuries. He's just trying to be a good son and do what is expected of him. Around his relatives and intimate friends, I think he would probably be much more relaxed and caring. In public, though, he must be a Malfoy above all, that's why he's always so aloof. As for Narcissa, in my opinion she would be devastated by his husband's capture.
Next chapter will be much lighter... Love is on its way! :D
hermionegreen: Your wishes have come true, at least to some extent. Amanda has made another appearance, but probably not where you would like her to be. She will meet Sirius again, but not too soon.
Kadi Rilla Wholi: Aaaaaaah! I see you are getting a bit lost with the names. I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I'm planning to write a chapter soon where we kind of see again all the different ashanriis that have appeared in this story so far and see the relationships between them. I think a little explanation is due, though: Bill's life was saved basically by Yamiko Sam. She is the older of the two sisters. In the little chat the men have in the kitchen, Bill says he is more interested in the younger sister, though, Samako. The one who kissed him was Yamiko, so not the one he 'likes'. Yamiko is probably in her mid-thirties -so too old for Bill. Samako is in her early twenties. I think Fleur and Bill don't really love each other, they just feel some attraction, so I don't think Fleur would suffer much if Bill were to leave her. But I'm not sure yet he will... ;-)
Momoko: Thanks very much for your review. I'm glad you are enjoying my story. Remus and Sandrine will definitely meet in the future -in chapter 18, in fact. Will they fall in love? Well, I hope I'll be able to surprise you there. ;-)
Makalani Astral: :D I know what you mean. Sirius and Remus seem to be made for each other. I regret to say that, much as I enjoy reading slash fiction, there is gonna be no slash in Finding Allies. If you like slash fics, I recommend you the stories written by The Treacle Tart and Lady Feylene. Not all of their fics are slash, and most of the ones that are partner Remus with Severus, but both authors have other fics about some other characters as well, including some Sirius/Remus. Let me know if you like them. ;-)
Lily Skylo: Thanks! Now and then there must be some sadness in the story, so I like to give a humorous tone to the fic whenever I can. As I thought Remus and Sirius' conversation would probably be very serious, I tried to lighten the mood with Fred and George's help, and also with the little chat on the kitchen. ;-)
Starfire: Welcome and thanks very much for taking the time to review several chapters at once. ;-) As for kimonos being Japanese, the explanation is the same I gave about the names of the ashanriis in the answers to reviews at the end of last chapter. Ashanriis have different kind of 'typical dresses' or uniforms, and they choose one or the other depending on the circumstances. Sometimes the fuocciris wear kimonos, but not always. In fact, ashanriis of every caste prefer muggle clothes to any other type, because they are much more varied. We'll see some examples of that in later chapters. I hope to hear from you again!
