Someday, I will own something of great value. This will not be Harry Potter, as J K Rowling already owns it.

Back to England

Ryua sighed as she stuffed the last of her clothes back in her suitcase. Their flight back to England departed today, and tomorrow was the first day of second term. And for the first time she could remember, Ryua was sorry the vacation was ending. These two weeks in the Dominican had been just about the happiest she could ever remember being. She would miss the sand, the sun, the funny little man who would cut you up a coconut with a huge machete if you gave him a dollar, the music, the fresh pineapples... and most of all, the complete absence of Father's influence. He and mother had been constantly off doing adult, dignified things, leaving Ryua and Draco with the first free time completely to themselves they could really remember having.

Her eye fell on Parsyl's empty crate, and with a sigh, she set out to search the hotel. The serpent wanted to leave even less than Ryua, as the cold-blooded creature thoroughly enjoyed soaking up sun on rooftops or beaches. "There you are!" Parsyl had just slid down off of Draco's balcony and was winding casually down the lattice of climbing vines. "Hold it right there, Parsyl!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs to the courtyard. Parsyl, naturally, was not at all inclined to go back in her cage to leave this lovely warm paradise, and set off at a tremendous speed for a creature without legs through the gardens. "I really, really have to learn parseltongue..." Ryua thought as she trailed her stubborn snake around the bushes. "Parsyl, come here this instant! You're going to get me in trouble... oh, for Merlin's sake, do I have to set a mongoose on you or something? Get out here!" Just then, one of the cleaning maids rounded the corner.

Luckily for Ryua, this one adored snakes, and had made friends with Parsyl earlier that week. "Oh, Maria, would you please help me find Parsyl? She's gone and hidden in that garden..."

"Yes miss. You go dat side, I go dis side, chase her at you." Maria could speak English, French, German, Italian, and a little Russian, but the only one she could speak fluently was her native Spanish. She'd learned because of the wide variety of tourists coming through the hotel. "I see miss, she on rock in sun 'dere in d'middle. One minute, I get her..." She reached over the fence with a mop, flipping the slumbering cobra off the rock. Faced with what looked like a small, aggressive shaggy dog menacing her, Parsyl slithered quickly out of the garden, right into Ryua's waiting hands.

"You bad girl... Thanks, Maria, you were a big help. Now I have to go finish packing."

"Miss Malfoy leaving? Back to cold England, yes?"

"Yes, unfortunately. I'd much rather stay here, where it's warm, and the people are so nice..."

"Oh, miss come back someday. Now, you go, before she get away again, si?

"Si, gracias, Maria." Ryua smiled as she walked back up to her rooms, holding the reluctant Parsyl tightly in one hand. "I know, I don't want to go either. Think we will come back?"

Parsyl did seem cheerful at the idea, and relaxed her efforts to escape again. She grumbled slightly at being put in the carrier, but still obeyed. Ryua made a few last minute adjustments to makeup and robes, and satisfied she still looked pale as a proper, northern-bred Malfoy should, she strode down the stairs to meet her family. They were all there, the hotel staff just starting to load luggage on their bus to the airport. Father appeared as impassive and impressively rich as ever, mother looked wistfully around the lobby, and Draco looked just plain sulky to be leaving. Ryua relieved a rather nervous looking bellhop of Parsyl's cage (Gracias, senorita...) and filed onto the bus at the end of the family.

She stared out the window the whole way up to the airport, savoring the rush of heat that hit her as she stepped off the air-conditioned bus. Feeling just as sulky as her brother looked about leaving, she sat down at the window seat of their plane, watching sadly as the tropical island dwindled below them. She knew she would have to go back someday, the tropics would never stop calling her.

Stepping outside the airport at London was just as much of a shock as the heat had been in the Dominican, only a lot less nice. It had snowed eight inches while they were gone, and was currently holding at –15 Celsius, and the cold bit right through their winter robes to flesh accustomed to tropical sun and heat. Luckily, the Leaky cauldron was just a short, cold, unpleasant bus ride away as the Knight Bus drives, and they all gratefully stepped through the lovely, warm floo network home. The Manor was just as they'd left it, proud, rich, and blessedly warm.

"To bed children, you will be waking up to go on the Hogwarts Express in the morning, and I expect no delays." Lucius, although he was trying his best to hide it, was suffering from fatigue and climate shock as much as his children. Quite happy, for once, to comply, the twins gratefully off to their rooms, silently thanking the house elves for warming the beds.

The next morning, Ryua and Draco were just getting ready to leave for Platform 9 ¾ when Lucius put his hand on Ryua's shoulder. Startled, and not a little worried, she looked up at him to see narrowed, calculating eyes. "Go on ahead, Draco, Narcissa, we'll meet you there." Never ones to rebel against Father's word, they left through the fireplace.

"Yes, Father?" Ryua said in a sweet, innocent voice.

He ran his finger across the back of her hand removing, she saw with a sinking feeling in her stomach, the layer of light-colored makeup. His face twisted into a terrible expression at the even, golden color of his daughter's skin underneath. "You disobeyed orders, Ryua."

She bit her lip to keep an exasperated sigh from escaping. She was already in for it, without needing to seem disrespectful. Shoot! She thought, I thought I'd covered up enough...well, too late now. Unable to stay looking apologetically down at the floor, she raised her head and looked at him through ice-blue eyes, careful to keep any trace of fear, hate, or apology out of them. He recognized pride there, however, and was not pleased to see it as he pulled out his wand.

Ten minutes later, Draco saw his sister jogging to get on the train just before it started to pull out. She came through to his compartment, and sat down with a sigh on the chair opposite him, straightening up with a hiss as her back touched the seat. "What's wrong?" Draco asked.

"Sunburn," Ryua said, not looking at him.

"He caught you, didn't he?"

"Draco, keep your nose out of it. I said, it's sunburn."

He took the not-so-subtle hint and stopped talking to her, at least, for ten minutes or so. Then he couldn't resist saying, "I told you so..." He broke off with a yelp and ducked as Ryua blasted a hole clear through the seat where his head had been. This time, he didn't talk again until he was safely back at the Slytherin table at Hogwarts.