Warning:
This story contains relations between an adult and underage character. If this offends you, please don't read.
"Dear Winter
You are formally invited to a black tie soirée at Malfoy Manor.
As a fellow member of Slytherin Quidditch team your presence is requested to celebrate the upcoming Quidditch season prior to our return to Hogwarts."
Winter put the letter down before she could finish reading it. She had read this letter every day for the past three weeks dreading the idea of attending a party hosted by Draco Malfoy in his grand mansion. Of course her mother, Lydia, had already sent an owl accepting the invitation without taking her feelings into consideration.
Winter liked Draco, he was a good friend, and she certainly liked the rest of the quidditch team. The idea of a formal party made her nervous though, so she couldn't shake the feeling of unease as she tried to prepare herself to attend.
Winter was born into a pure-blood family, like Draco, which came with a level of respect shared between other pure-blood families. Though unlike The Malfoys, her family didn't have endless amounts of wealth and they certainly didn't live in a mansion.
Lydia was left to raise Winter and her older daughter, Brielle, on her own when her husband, Gene, was sent to Azkaban.
Gene Bradshaw was convicted for committing unspeakable crimes as one of Lord Voldemort's loyal followers and he had been in prison for most of Winter's life. She couldn't remember him.
This meant the only source of income for their family was inherited, and though it was a nice inheritance, it was nothing compared to the wealth of The Malfoys.
Without warning, Lydia barged into Winter's bedroom. She stood in front of Winter with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.
"Winter you really need to hurry up and get ready, you cannot be late for The Malfoys."
She said their name with such emphasis it made them seem like royalty.
Winter nodded at her mother, "I'm almost done, I'll only be a minute."
Lydia sighed, shaking her head.
"You aren't wearing that dress, the dress code is black tie."
Winter liked the dress she was wearing. It was knee length, with a white and green floral print, and she had a tight black cardigan to match her black ankle boots. It was comfortable.
"Go ask your sister to borrow one of her dresses." Lydia continued, folding her arms over her chest now.
Winter stayed in her place for a moment, thinking of how annoyed Brielle would be about having to lend her a dress. The pair didn't get along most of the time. They were polar opposites, Brielle definitely fit the typical description of a Slytherin and Winter did not.
Lydia dropped her hands to her sides, attempting to soften her approach. "You do look lovely, Winter. It just isn't black tie."
Lydia wasn't the most awful person on earth, but she wasn't the most affectionate either. Winter knew her mother loved her, but she didn't often show it. Winter loved her regardless, she was her mother after all.
"Okay." Winter agreed, watching her mother smile gently before leaving her alone in her bedroom again.
When Winter approached Brielle's bedroom she could hear her talking. She wasn't sure who Brielle was speaking to, because she thought she was alone.
It wasn't Winter's intention to be nosey, but she didn't want to intrude if Brielle had a guest over, so she slowly stalked her way closer to the doorway, trying hard to hear what Brielle was saying. The door was opened slightly, leaving a gap large enough for Winter to see Brielle sitting on her bed.
She was alone.
But she was now yelling.
This is when it became apparent to Winter that she was sending a howler. Probably to her boyfriend Adrian Pucey. He was a Slytherin in his 7th year and also a member of the Quidditch team.
"You ought to show me more respect! Don't forget how lucky you are to have me in your life!" Brielle had yelled, before her voice softened in what sounded like a complete mood shift. "Now, I expect to hear from you shortly. I will be awaiting your owl, honey."
Winter almost laughed. She thought Brielle was possibly the most dramatic person she knew. But before she had the chance to even crack a smile, Brielle spoke again.
"What are you doing standing in my doorway, Winter? Can't I get any privacy around here?"
She turned to look at Winter, her bright green eyes narrowing.
"Ew you're not wearing that to your party, are you?"
Winter pushed the door open, letting Brielle look at her entire outfit and she grimaced.
"Go to my wardrobe and find yourself something to wear. Don't bother me asking for any help. You're 15 now, you absolutely do not need my help to get dressed."
"Thanks." Winter said meekly, walking into the room.
Brielle was good at reading most people, but when it came to Winter it was a whole other level. Winter felt entirely transparent. Brielle knew exactly what she was thinking almost all of the time. Winter assumed this was why Brielle didn't particularly like her.
Winter was too predictable, too naive, too weak.
Everything Brielle was not.
Growing up they had always been different. Brielle acted as if having a younger sister was nothing but a hindrance in her life. She would groan in annoyance whenever Winter spoke, and would protest if their mother suggested the pair spent any time together.
Brielle blamed Winter for their differences. In her eyes Winter's gentle nature was irritating, and she wanted to scream at her to toughen up.
Half an hour later Winter was mounting her broom to travel to Malfoy Manor. She had decided to wear a one shouldered, floor length, black dress, and a pair of ankle strap heels to match. Her dark hair was tied in a low bun, and she was wearing more makeup than she would normally wear, including a bold red lipstick.
Even Brielle managed to compliment her appearance, so Winter was quietly confident about attending the party, despite how intimidating the thought of Malfoy Manor truly was.
Winter decided to travel by broom, because The Malfoys lived fairly close by, and she didn't like travelling by floo powder. She hated the feeling of soot lingering in the back of her throat, so she always avoided it when possible. Lydia had rolled her eyes when Winter mounted her broom, commenting on how she would make a mess of her hair, but she let Winter go anyway. Lydia knew it was a miracle Winter was even attending the party in the first place.
As Winter passed over the countryside she could feel the wind threatening to ruin her neatly styled hair, and she smiled to herself at how her mother would react had she seen it herself.
The air was dropping in temperature as the sky was deepening to a shade of gold, inching closer to the sun setting, so she was thankful the journey was short.
When she arrived she landed softly on a patch of lawn inside the front garden of the manor. Despite her soft landing the heels of her shoes sunk into the grass, and the hem of her dress got caught beneath one of them. She panicked instantly at the thought of piercing a hole through the bottom of Brielle's dress with the ridiculously narrow heel of her shoe, so she attempted to escape the sinking grass at quick pace.
When she stepped onto the stone footpath leading toward the house she stopped to investigate her shoes. She expected them to be covered in dirt and blades of grass, but they looked fine.
The problem was her hair, which she could feel had become too loose, with stands hanging down on either side of her face. She didn't like it tied back anyway, so she took this as a reason to remove the bun from her hair, letting it fall into whatever style it wanted.
That was when she heard a low chuckle, from what sounded like an older man.
Winter turned to see a man standing on the front porch. He had long white hair, bright blue eyes, and wore all black. She knew this was Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, because she had seen him with Draco a few times.
"Didn't want to travel via the floo network?" He asked, with a smile.
Winter bit her lip, letting the embarrassment sink in. She thought she probably looked like a mess, which was exactly what her mother was afraid of.
She carefully walked up the front steps closer to Lucius, carrying her broom beside her.
"I'm sorry, Mr Malfoy." Winter avoided looking at him, even though she was taught it was rude not to make eye contact when speaking to somebody. "I know it probably looks bad that I walked on your lawn with my pointy heels, but I assure you poking holes in your lawn is actually good for it. You want to aerate it occasionally..." She trailed off, wondering why she had even started speaking, because she had a tendency to ramble about pointless things when she was nervous, but Lucius chuckled again.
"I will be sure to let the gardener know," he said warmly, placing a hand on her bare shoulder.
Winter's heart raced in her chest at the contact, and she looked up at him. His gaze was intense and she couldn't read him at all. She envied Brielle in this moment.
"Let me take your broom." He finally said.
Winter handed it to him, before he gestured for her to enter his home.
Thirty three minutes later Winter was sitting in a formal lounge room next to Draco Malfoy. She knew it had been thirty three minutes because she had been keeping an eye on the antique clock sitting on the mantle above the grand fireplace in the centre of the room. The room was dimly lit, allowing Winter to avoid any attention while she watched time tick by.
"We all know I'm a stronger flyer." Draco stated, matter-of-factly. "Potter couldn't catch a cold, let alone a golden snitch. It's all been luck for him, and probably a bit of magic. His mud blood girlfriend, Granger, is always up to some kind of trick if it benefits Potter."
Winter didn't like listening to Draco bad-mouthing Harry Potter, because she liked Harry. He was nice and was sure he had never cheated at a game of quidditch in his life.
Nobody else seemed to disagree with Draco, and a few people even joined in making awful comments about Harry.
Winter sighed heavily to herself. She wanted to go home. She had never spent time with any of the quidditch team outside of school, besides Adrian, who she only saw when he was visiting Brielle. This made the whole party seem a little forced, because she didn't feel like she fit in.
She also preferred having conversations with Draco when he wasn't surrounded by peers, because he was far nicer one-on-one than when he was in a crowd.
As if it had suddenly become obvious Winter was trying to sink into the shadows, Draco turned to look at her.
"You're very quiet this evening, Winter." He spoke, his voice sounding mean unintentionally.
Winter nodded, feeling glad nobody else seemed to be listening in on the conversation as they all continued to chat amongst themselves.
"Why don't you have a glass of wine?" He asked, hoping to encourage her to come out of her shell.
Winter wasn't sure why Draco was allowed to serve his school friends alcohol, but she was sure there were plenty of things The Malfoys did that were questionable morally, so she said nothing and accepted the wine.
Draco had overfilled the wine glass to the rim with red wine before he handed it to her. He watched her take a sip.
Winter had never drank alcohol before, so the bitter taste took her by surprise, and she scrunched her nose up.
Draco smiled. "Don't be shy, drink all of it."
"Really?" Winter sighed.
He nodded.
If anyone else had told her to drink she probably would have said no, but for some reason Draco was very good at telling other people what to do. It wasn't the first time Winter had followed orders given by Draco, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
Winter drank the entire glass, feeling the bitter taste warming her chest with each gulp. Draco watched on with a smile, and took the glass from her when she had finished.
"Thank you," she smiled, "but please don't make me drink that again."
Draco laughed. "As long as you start talking more."
"Sorry. I just don't go to parties often," she shrugged. "I don't really see many of our team outside of school."
"Who do you spend your time with then? Daphne?" He asked with a smile.
Winter wondered why he wasn't this kind to everyone else.
"Yeah." She smiled, "Daphne's my best friend. We don't really hang around in big groups, just the two of us usually."
Daphne Greengrass was also a Slytherin. Winter had met her on their first day at Hogwarts, before the pair were even sorted into the same house. Daphne wasn't like the other Slytherin girls, Winter often thought the two of them should have been sorted into a different house.
Draco chuckled. "Daphne is... nice."
Winter nodded, watching him as he struggled to continue the conversation. She felt as though Draco wanted to say something negative, but he was doing his best to hold it in.
He cleared his throat. "The two of you should hang out with us more. Pansy likes you."
Pansy Parker, another Slytherin, was the most popular girl amongst the other Sytherins. She was nice to Winter and Daphne, but they never really spent much time together.
Winter didn't want to agree, because she liked being with just Daphne. She could be herself without worrying about any judgement. They also liked spending their time at school wandering around talking to students from other houses. Draco and the other Slytherins did not like doing this, and kept their friendships within the same house.
But Winter couldn't say no, she didn't want to offend Draco.
"Okay," she nodded. "I just didn't realise Pansy liked me."
Draco rolled his eyes with a smile, and wrapped his arm around Winter's shoulder. "Of course she likes you, you're one of us. Daphne too. My family have a lot of respect for her family, and yours. It means a lot to be a pure-blood, you know? Our fathers were good friends... before..." he trailed off, muttering the word "Potter" without properly finishing his sentence.
Winter knew what he meant though.
After Lord Voldemort attacked Harry Potter years ago and seemingly died, his followers disbanded with Winter's father being one of those who were arrested.
Winter definitely didn't hold the same values as her family, though she would never admit that out loud. In fact, she considered Harry Potter a friend. They sat together in divination some times.
Draco stared intently at her, and she thought maybe he wanted her to share some kind of mean thoughts about Harry Potter. She felt uncomfortable and wanted to remove herself from the conversation.
"May I please use your bathroom." She said suddenly, and Draco's stare softened.
He nodded. "Up the stairs, third door on the left."
As Winter stood up to exit the room Draco took hold of her wrist.
"Winter. Sorry. About your father."
She investigated his face. His blue eyes looked sad, and his jaw was clenched tightly.
"It's okay." She said simply.
She didn't feel sad about her father.
She understood why he was in Azkaban, and she certainly didn't feel sorry for him.
The air became deafeningly quiet as she exited the formal lounge into the grand foyer. Narcissa, Draco's mother, was no where to be seen, so Winter assumed she wasn't home. Which meant the only other person in the house was Lucius.
Winter was never particularly afraid of much, but something about Malfoy Manor irked her in that moment. She thought maybe she just didn't like feeling so alone in such a large space.
The stairs creaked as she walked toward the second floor of the house, and she had to squint to see where she was going because it was so dark.
Her head felt a little dizzy from drinking the large glass of wine so quickly, and she suddenly felt very aware of it, but she didn't mind it. She felt happy. She decided maybe she wouldn't mind having a second drink and chatting to Draco some more, after all.
Winter couldn't remember the directions Draco had given her, but she noticed a door to the right slightly ajar with a light shining through so she decided to go with that option.
As she pushed the door open her heart seemed to skip a beat, because her eyes landed on a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.
Lucius Malfoy was sitting behind a large desk, a quill in his hand, seemingly busy doing something important. Winter wanted to turn back and run but she felt frozen.
Lucius had a stern expression as he looked her up and down, his hand still firmly gripping his quill.
Winter wanted to say something, apologise, perhaps, but she couldn't find the words to say anything at all.
And then Lucius dropped his quill and his blue eyes began to sparkle. His voice sounded warm and inviting as he said, "oh, you again? Would you care to join me?"