"Good morning" I said as I walked into the dining room. My parents weren't there yet but all the servants were, setting up our breakfast. I tried to not call them servants but Alla, who had been with me since I was a baby, had told me that I shouldn't feel bad; they weren't ashamed of their work. We had a lot of people working for us at home so I never really had to do any work. I would help whenever my parents weren't looking and learned a lot from everyone. My parents didn't think it okay for me to do manual labor when I could be doing something productive like learning new spells and disapproved of my working with our servants. In any case, I was proud to say that I could cook and clean as well as if I were poor.

I sat in my seat at the breakfast table and looked at the shiny plates in front of me. Everything in my house was shiny; the plates, the silverware, the floors, even the walls seemed to shine a little at times. My parents liked having the best, not wanting to settle for anything less. My mum was the first to arrive at the table. She wasn't a very tall woman, but very beautiful, and was dressed in her usual fancy looking clothes. She began to take her seat by me when she finally noticed me.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" she said looking confused and taking her seat

"It's the holidays, vacation"

"Oh, right" she said nothing else. Next to me she looked through the latest edition of The Daily Prophet and made faces at the things she read. Missed you too mum I thought as my dad started walking into the room

"Morning" he said and walked up to my mum and kissed her on the cheek. My father, unlike me or my mother, was a tall man who looked somewhat intimidating, but seemed younger than he actually was. He sat in the chair in front of her and frowned when he saw me. Not because he wasn't happy but because he was confused. "Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked looking at me. Did no one bother to check when I was coming back?

"She's here for vacations dear, remember" my mum said as if she'd known the entire time handing my father the newspaper.

"Oh, right" he said taking The Daily Prophet from my mum and adjusting himself in his seat.

Soon Alla and a few of the other workers came in with our food. We all ate together and talked about my time at Hogwarts a little. Most questions were about my classes and my progress in them rather than asking personal questions like if I'd made any new friends. They did ask me about my friends once but they mainly focused on Slytherin not the school as a whole. We were distant relatives of Salazar Slytherin from my mother's side so it was a relief for her that I had been accepted into Slytherin. We tried to hide that part of our family though as after what happened in the Wizarding War it was better if people didn't know that side of our family. This was a family secret that I hadn't even told Draco

"So how are you getting along with the Malfoy boy?" my father asked coincidentally

"Draco and I are good" I said. "We've actually been spending a lot more time together lately. It's probably because we're both Slytherin so we see each other a lot"

"And how are your classes? All good scores I assume"

"Yes I've done very well at school and have been complemented a few times."

"Good." my dad said with an approving look on his face.

"Well it sounds like fun," my mum said. "So did you make any new-"

The sound of our old grandfather clock interrupted what would have probably been the only question my parents asked about my personal life. Of course... The clock struck nine times indicating the time of day. At hearing them my parents both started getting up from their seats and adjusting their clothes. "Well we best get going" my mum said and I got up as well, having expected this.

"Mr. and Mrs. Volkov, should you not spend some time with Miss Katerina" Alla said as she cleaned up the table. "She just got back and I'm sure she'd love to be with you"

While I appreciated the gesture it was obvious my parents had better things to do than spend time with their only daughter. They paused and looked at each other as if trying to think of a good enough reason that would justify leaving me alone for my first day back. My parents weren't bad people, and I knew they loved me at least to some degree, so I helped them out a little.

"It's fine, go, I'll be okay" I said to save them the trouble of looking for an excuse.

"Are you sure?" my mum asked with a hopeful look

"Yes, it's okay. It's not like I haven't been home alone before." You sure have been gone enough times "I'll find something to do, don't worry about me"

"Alright well I have to go meet Diana at the bookstore, better hurry or she'll be upset"

"Yes and I'm off to the ministry, got some work to get done there. Have fun Katerina" my dad said and kissed me on the top of my head before leaving with my mum.

Alla gave me a sympathetic look as she and the rest of them finished cleaning up the dining room. I gave her a smile and walked up the sweeping staircase and towards my room. This house had too many rooms; it just made the place feel emptier when my parents left. You'd think I would grow accustomed to their absence but I still had trouble with it at times. It angered me that they would act this way but there was nothing I could do; they were my parents after all. Then again, this was a very average day at home.