Chapter 3 – Draco
1 July 1996
Draco Malfoy stormed off the Hogwarts Express. Just who did the pink-headed witch think she was? Demanding thanks from him. A Malfoy! As if! Harry flaming Potter had got him into this mess! The indignity! Having some sort of cleaner witch get him out of trouble! And now he had to go home with his aunt Andromeda, he had been hoping to get off the platform with her before any of his Slytherin friends saw but now they were the only ones left on the platform. Except of course that it didn't look like his aunt was there at all. Hmmm maybe this could work to his advantage. He needed to get rid of the others before they found out who he was spending his summer with, they would be disgusted. HE was disgusted. A Mudbloods' house – ugh! It was unacceptable, but he had no choice his aunt was his only relative not currently wanted by the ministry. Although, he pondered briefly, he was unaware of the ministry actually wanting his mother for any crimes, but they must do she wouldn't just abandon him would she? No he chastised himself sharply she wouldn't and he should stop thinking that way
"Draco, don't you think you were perhaps a bit harsh…."
"Look, Pansy, just back off okay, nobody asked you to stick around and look for me" He grimaced at the hurt look on his friends face "Sorry Pans, it's just…. well….. I've a lot on my mind right now"
"Yeah, about that. Your cousin says your staying with your aunt." Shock went coursed through Draco's blood, people knew his mother had abandoned … left him. Deciding to attempt to distract Pansy from this aspect of his summer he tried.
"Cousin? Where?" Looking around the platform as though this was exactly what he had been expecting, he saw no one that he did not recognize in fact no one under the age of forty wearing clothes other than school robes was noticeable. He was taking note of Pansy's confused face when he heard the cleaner witch's voice.
"I'm right behind you Draco!" The pink haired witch was back with a grin. Quite an evil looking one too! Hmm this was not a good start to the holidays. Hadn't he just been quite rude to her? And how the hell was he going to explain a PINK haired cousin. Did marrying a mudblood make witches end up like this? Fluorescent hair and weird eyes, maybe it was just a reflection of the hair but he was sure that they were pink too! Was that even possible?
Pansy's head was swivelling between the Draco and his cousin. It appeared to her as though her friend had no idea that the pink haired witch was his cousin. While certainly the hair had thrown her when she'd first seen it she and Blaise had both realised while searching for Draco that they recognized the witch, having seen her once before, many years ago at Malfoy Manor, admittedly looking a lot more normal.
July 2nd 1988
Pansy was hiding behind a large oak tree that sttod in the gardens of Malfoy Manor. Blaise and Draco trying to find her during a marathon session of Hide'n'seek. She peeked around the curve of the tree to try and spot either of her friends when Blaise snuck up behind her. He tackled her to the ground and began to tickle her.
"Blaise, Blaise stop" She giggled at her friend, "Stop, that's beginning to hurt" Blaise stopped when they heard a yell from the patio. Shouting was not uncommon in the Malfoy household and Draco had told them earlier that all was not well. His sister had disappointed his father in some way he wasn't sure, he hadn't been told. Although all three of them knew that she hadn't come home as she had been supposed to the day before. Blaise and Pansy didn't know Katelyn Malfoy that well but she was always nice tothem when they met her. Draco had told them that she didn't really live at home any more. She preferred to spend her spare time at their cousins home even though this too was not approved off. Draco's aunt had married a mudblood! Pansy didn't understand how a beautiful pureblood witch like Katelyn Malfoy could prefer the company of people like that over her own family but there were a lot of odd things about her. After all she had been sorted into Gryffindor, the first Malfoy in the history of Hogwarts in the lion house. Blaise and Pansy had been slowly creeping towards the patio in order to observe what was going on there. Narcissa Malfoy was standing red in the face while another two witches one about the same age as Narcissa and the other a teenager faced her.
"How dare you come into my home and speak to me of my child in such a way!" Narcissa snapped at the two.
"So you remember that you have a daughter then do you?" asked the older of the two witches
"Of course I remember, it will be a long time before I am able to forget the shame that she has brought on my family" Narcissa retorted
"She stood up for herself, that's not a bad thing Cissa!"
"Don't call me that! And of course it's a bad thing the girl had responsibilities to this family. But no! Instead of behaving herself and coming home to the wedding I have spent the last year preparing she shamed this family and returned to you….. It's all your fault anyway! Your influence on the girl! Refusing a perfectly good marriage that has been arranged for her for so long! And now too cowardly to come and face me! Had to send you to do her dirty work for her did she! I raised a spineless witch! Tell her I know what she did! Telling her father in public like that so that he couldn't discipline her the way she deserved! She's lucky he only cast the Definio on her. And she may think she can live without magic but something will happen mark my words and he'll have her back here and she WILL do as she is told and marry the Nott boy even if it's the last thing she does!"
"And if it is the last thing she does Cissa? What then? You know that Lucius would kill her as soon as she filled her part of the marriage contract for embarrassing him in this way"
Pansy caught Blaise's eye the fear she suspected was in her own eyes was being reflected back to her from her friends face. KILL. Would Draco's father be capable of these things? Somewhere deep down in the eight year olds soul she knew that Lucius Malfoy was capable of terrible things and this sudden realisation shocked and terrified her.
Pansy jolted back from her memory of the day she had realised the danger of going against Lucius Malfoy. She and Blaise had found Draco just inside the patio door after his aunt and cousin had left. He had explained who the two witches were. It was the last time she had seen Draco cry and the last time he had spoken of his sister. Since then there had been no mention of Katelyn Malfoy. She was dead to her family and Pansy couldn't decide if she admired or pitied the Malfoy girl. She had gotten more of the story that evening from her older brother. Apparently Katelyn Malfoy had had the gall to fall in love with another wizard and wanted to only marry him and no one else. And even though her choice was a pure blood her father refused the match. Pansy had thought of her often over the years, especially since she had been informed of her own betrothal to Theodore Nott whom she did not love. But as she had not fallen for anyone he would do for her and so she would do her duty. She knew her mother was planning a wedding for the summer after her final year. Two years! Time was flying by! And from the look on his face Draco had stopped gaping at his cousin and begun talking to her. Pansy decided to tune back into reality before Draco said something else insulting and ended up hexed six ways from Sunday again.
"You" Draco's eyebrows were raised in disbelief "You're my cousin…. You can't be…. You're a pink headed freak is what you are!" From the way he was behaving Pansy knew that Draco was mortified for some reasonbut she couldn't help herself as she whacked him over the head for his rudeness
"The stuff that is going on in your life right now is not her fault" Pansy glared at him, making eye contact with her friend "I don't know everything that is going on with you right now because for some reason you've chosen not to trust me with it. But for the love of Merlin do not screw this up with your aunt. Something is happening with your parents isn't it?" She saw her mother moving over Draco's shoulder as he nodded "Look, now is not the time but we'll talk. Soon alright" She gave him a look that he knew not to argue with. She turned to Tonks.
"Miss Tonks, would it be alright if Blaise and I visited Draco over the summer?"
Tonks smiled at the girl who obviously was in some way able to control her cousin. I'm sure that it won't be a problem but my mum will have to have the final say. I'm sure Draco can owl you and let you know when is good to come over. Although with my mum he'll have to improve his manners before she lets him out of the house let alone have guests." Tonks smirked "And he can start by picking up his trunk and moving his arse to the floo connection. My mum is after all eagerly anticipating his arrival. Can't wait to reacquaint herself with her nephew apparently, so let's get moving"
Draco huffed, what was he a house elf! Why couldn't she levitate his trunk to the fireplace? I bet Harry flaming Potter doesn't have to carry his own trunk anywhere. This summer is going to suck
T.A.F.FY-Rox92287 & IlOvEdRaCo4EvEr46463– Cheers both of you for the reviews
Anyone else reading sorry for the loooooooooong delay had uni exams and then intense classes and more exams but now I'm done with all that and just got my research project to do so hopefully the updates will become a little more regular.
Sorry though if this chapter felt rushed, couldn't get it to work properly but needed a Draco chapter. Hope it goes alright.
Also, I'm sorry to say I can no longer promise a Draco/ Hermione happy ever after I made the fatal (for that relationship) error of reading RogueSugah's "Price Of Love" which is a fantastic Ron/ Hermione story and it also sent me in the direction of while I was taking breaks from my studies. So we'll have to wait and see how the characters behave when I get into them.