~Chapter Eight: England's Founding Families~

It was a drab and gloomy morning in Wiltshire, England.

The thick overcast of grey clouds provided enough rain to last the whole of the year. Unfortunately, these days were more common than sunny days amongst the warmer months in this part of England.

Within the centuries old walls of Malfoy Manor, Narcissa strolled along the marble flooring in her black silk floor length night gown. The bell shaped sleeves and the bottom of the gown were lined with black luxurious fur trim.

Her long hair flowed freely and fell over-top of her silk covered cleavage.

She glided past the large exquisite window panes as she watched the wind whip the pellets of water against the outside of the glass.

The moon was still fairly high in the sky and gave off a blueish-white tint of light, just enough for Narcissa to see where she was walking without a the need of a lantern.

She was on her way back to her luxurious bedroom with a morning cup of tea.

She enjoyed this time to herself.

Narcissa was able to wear her comfortable flat slippers, a much needed break from the tall stilettos that her own mother forced her to wear everyday. Once married, Lucius continued to perpetuate this rule.

Not only was Lucius a very tall man, but he simply loved to see his gorgeous bride in a sexy, feminine shoe.

Her husband was still sound asleep in their grand master bedroom, as it was merely four o'clock in the morning.

Narcissa had her entire morning routine planned out, right down to the second. Shower, exfoliate, lotion, serums, facial rollers, face masks, beauty charms, and finishing with an elegant hairstyle, In that exact order, always.

Misses Malfoy, thankfully hadn't needed to pick up a razor in almost a decade once the wizarding world figured out what would be their version of laser hair removal. Thanks to this, the only hair that remained on her body grew from her head, eyebrows and eyelashes.

After finishing up with her morning beauty ritual and rummaging through her extensive wardrobe to find the best candidate for todays outfit. She sauntered through the vast hallways and over to the dining room where she decided to have an early breakfast.

Upon arriving at the dark lacquered dining room table, she noticed a single envelope resting right where she would normally sit to enjoy her meals.

Wheezy rushed over to pull out her chair for her as she sat down, gracefully.

After scooting in towards the table, Narcissa took the dark green colored envelope in her hands. The letter was addressed to her as 'Mother'.

She carefully opened the letter, assuming it was from her son.

She carefully unfolded the piece of parchment and began to scan through the words.

………………………………………………………………………

'Dearest Mother,

It has only been a couple of days since we departed to Hogwarts, as you know.

Unfortunately, there has already been a rather unsettling occurrence. You see, yesterday morning, during breakfast, Alyona received a particularly disturbing parcel.

It contained a threatening letter and a bloody dagger. I fear for her safety and don't feel as if I'm able to do much from where we are now.

I have a strong feeling that one of the upset families that attended the meeting in the headmaster's office last year may be behind these threats.

I feel that it's best if father wasn't informed of this for the time being, as I'm sure you would agree.

Please send an owl as soon as you receive this letter. We need your help.

- Your loving son, Draco.

………………………………………………………………………

Narcissa placed the letter down into her lap and sat there in her thoughts. Of course, she wanted to help her son and her likely future daughter-in-law, but what was she to do?

Most of her power and status came from her husband. If Draco didn't want his father's help in this situation, it would really put her at a disadvantage in terms of what she could do.

She tried to conjure up in her mind the best possible course of action when her husband walked into the spacious dining room.

"Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?" Lucius lovingly asked.

Narcissa quickly folded up the letter under the table and discreetly inserted it into her dress pocket, "Good morning, Handsome. I slept quite well. How about yourself?"

Lucius approached his gorgeous lover and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"You smell devine, Love," He remarked after taking in her scent. She blushed deeply at his compliments.

"Oh, thank you. It's the same perfume that I've always worn," she said with a flirtatious giggle.

Lucius smiled, "And it smells just as wonderful as it did the first time it graced my nose."

He wrapped his arms around her for a tight and loving embrace. The sound of crumpling paper could be heard as Lucius hugged her. Narcissa prayed silently to herself that her husband wouldn't pay any attention to the noise.

"What are you feeling like for breakfast, this morning?" Lucius asked as he released her from his arms.

Mrs. Malfoy shrugged, "I'm okay with pretty much anything. It's whatever you'd like, dear."

Lucius smiled sweetly. "How about I request Wheezy make some strawberry crepes?"

Narcissa looked up at her husband with delight, "My favorite."

Her husband gently raked through her platinum locks with his strong hands, "Yes, Cissa. You're favorite."

~ooOOOoo~

Across the country in the Scottish highlands, at six o'clock in the morning on that same day, Alyona found herself in the girl's lavatory.

After an hour of tedious primping, she headed down to the common room to meet with her Slytherin Prince.

Draco was sat on the sofa chatting up it with Theodore while Crabbe and Goyle stood loyally behind their fair-haired leader.

The tapping sound of Alyona's high heels against the luxe marble floor alerted Malfoy that his beloved had arrived.

"Good morning, my darling. How did you sleep?" He cooed as he strolled over to her.

"I slept okay, how about you?" She asked.

"Not as good without you there." Draco purred, "I got so use to you waking up with me every morning back home that I dread going to bed without you now."

Alyona looked over to the corner of the common room. Sitting at a desk, facing the richly green decorated wall was Bradley.

He clearly had his nose in a book. Studying, perhaps. All she could remember was their last interaction the year prior.

Draco looked down to his darling, only to then notice that she was looking towards her muggleborn ex-friend. He decided to make Bradley his first target of the day.

"Skipping breakfast for some more studying, Berringer?" Malfoy shouted out.

Alyona normally would have squashed this petty behavior right then and there. This time however, she didn't feel the immediate urge to hush Draco. Since he had turned on her last year, she decided to leave him to fend for himself against Draco.

Bradley kept his eyes firmly fixated on his book while Malfoy continued to berate him.

"How did a nerdy, scrawny, socially inadequate muggleborn manage to get sorted into Slytherin without even so much as a hat stall?" Draco teased.

Without looking up, Bradley murmured out his response, "Shove off, Malfoy. I'm just trying ti mind my own business over here."

"Oh? Berringer has a voice. A puny one, if I do say so myself. Not much of a man, are you?" Draco mocked.

Bradley was seeing red at this point, "I said, GO AWAY!"

Bradley tossed the book he was reading backwards only for it to collide with Draco's head.

"Woah, Brad! Calm down! Alyona finally decided to stepped in.

"Me? Calm down?! Why don't you teach your brainless thug of a boyfriend to show people some respect!" Bradley retorted.

"How dare you speak to her that way! How dare you speak to her at all!" Draco exclaimed.

Bradley turned to Draco and stood up from his desk. Bradley did his best at his short stature to look intimidating.

"I'm sure Alyona can speak for herself, Malfoy. I wasn't even talking to you!" The curly haired boy yelled back.

This is where Draco became absolutely enraged.

"You keep my girlfriend's pure name out of your filthy mudblood mouth!" Malfoy's words dripped with venom.

"You know what? Maybe, just maybe, If your girlfriend wasn't so daft and actually had a shred of self-respect, she'd drop your privileged, pompous, pretentious arse! I guess the ditzy blonde stereotype holds some weight to it!" Bradley spat.

Alyona stood there in disbelief, "Woah, what the hell is wrong with you, Brad?!"

Draco was taken aback quite a bit. He hadn't heard a foul word leave his beloved's lips before.

He put a gentle hand on her shoulder to gain her attention.

"Mind your language, Princess. Let me handle this." Draco said in a loving tone.

With a dark look on his face, Draco stormed over to Bradley. He withdrew his wand and pressed the tip underneath the boy's chin.

"You can say whatever you want about me, I couldn't care less. However… insulting my girlfriend in any capacity will not be tolerated," Malfoy stated firmly, "Now apologize."

Bradley held his ground as best he could, "You'll never get my apology."

Draco rolled his eyes at this brazen statement.

"Not to me, you cretin," Draco said as he raised his wand, "Incarceraous!"

Bradley was suddenly bound in thin cords and was unable to release his arms from his sides.

The platinum haired boy then grabbed Bradley by the shirt collar and forcefully brought him over to Alyona.

Draco roughly threw the smaller boy to the ground in front of his girlfriend and placed his wand to the back of the small boy's neck.

"Apologize to her, at once." Malfoy growled deeply as he pressed the hawthorn wand further and further into the Bradley's skin.

Bradley looked up as his eyes shifted from Alyona, to the other students around the room.

Some of the onlookers laughed at the situation, further embarrassing the poor boy.

"Do it!" Malfoy shouted.

Brad's eyes shifted back to Alyona, who was impatiently waiting for her ex-friend to say something.

"Well…Let's hear it." Alyona said with a haughty smirk.

"Sorry…" Brad let out in an angry whisper.

"Apologize like you mean it, Berringer," Draco snarled.

"I'm really sorry, Alyona. It won't happen again. I promise," The helpless boy huffed.

Draco looked as if he was about to explode with a fiery rage when Bradley uttered that sentence.

"What did I just tell you about saying her name, you bloody pillock!!" Draco roared as he used his wand to mercilessly tighten Bradley's bindings.

Bradley was brought to tears and began to whimper as he remained on the floor, trapped and bound by Draco's spell.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! Please forgive me, please!!" Bradley pleaded through his own cries of agony.

Alyona smiled smugly, "I suppose I can forgive you this time."

Draco kept his wand to Bradley neck as he had a few words of his own to say.

"You're lucky my darling has such a kind heart. All she has to do is say the word and anyone who dares to disrespect her is as good as gone. You best fall in line, or you'll be sorry. Now get out of my sight, you stupid sod," Draco growled.

Malfoy finally released his victim from the bindings and lowered his wand.

Bradley stood to gather himself. He gave the two blondes a spiteful teary-eyed glare and ran out of the common room.

"Thank you for standing up for me, Handsome." Alyona purred flirtatiously as she held on to his arm.

"I've got to defend my girl." Draco said proudly.

~ooOOOoo~

In History of Magic, the first lesson of the year was about the Norman Invasion of the year 1066. Professor Binns went on about how William the Conqueror came to England from Normandy.

Alyona shared a desk with Ginny Weasley. Since they knew each other and there weren't anymore ill feelings after that patched things up between them, they decided to sit by one another.

Ginny was busy doodling on some parchment while Alyona was twirling her hair and phasing in and out of her daydreaming state while the Professor rambled on with the lecture.

Before heading into battle, William assembled the best set of right hand men he could find.

He chose Armand Malfoy, a French wizard with excellent commanding skills and Vasily Tsveteniye, a Russian wizard and sailor who possessed a mighty reputation for his masterful navigation skills.

Together, the three of them and the army they lead conquered England in a bloody, yet easy victory. William rewarded his two leading men with large portions of land of their choosing.

Armand chose a plot of land in Wiltshire, where he constructed a huge manor.

Vasily chose land that resided a bit more west and closer to the sea, in what was now St. Ives, England. He also built a manor that could have rivaled the Malfoy's dwelling in sheer size and design.

Professor Binns then proceeded to give everyone in class a bit of extra information, due to one of the students that was currently in attendance.

"Tsveteniye is a Russian last name. Is there anyone in class who is able to translate it for us?"

A few of the students looked around to see if anyone was raising their hand. Alyona knew what it translated to, but she was secret hoping that the Professor was genuinely asking, and didn't actually know the answer himself.

"No one? Well, Tsveteniye translates to flowering or blossoming," Binns said.

Immediately, students began whispering to their desk neighbors as they were able to infer where the Professor was going with this.

"When Vasily chose to make England his new home, he decided to take on the English version of his last name, Blossom," The Professor stated," The Malfoy family and the Blossom family were responsible for marking England into what it is today."

Alyona was embarrassed at the spotlight being on her. She had never loved being the center of attention.

"Look at you, it looks like yours and Draco's family go way back," Ginny snarkily remarked.

After class was over and the rest of the students had cleared out of the room, Alyona went up to Draco, who was standing outside the classroom to let him know that she would be right out before approaching her Professor with burning questions.

"Professor? I was wondering if maybe you knew a little bit more about what Vasily did after the war? Do you happen to know who he married, by chance?" Alyona politely asked.

The Professor nodded as double and triple checked the words upon the pages he read from during that class, but to no avail.

"Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything more on Vasily's life. But, that doesn't mean it's not in here somewhere. You may borrow it if you'd like and see if there is anything else you can find," Binns offered.

"Thank you, Professor. I'll have it returned by the end of the week, if that's alright?"

"Quite alright, Miss Blossom. I'm happy to help." He cheerfully responded.

Alyona walked out of the classroom, book in hand.

"What's that?" Draco asked curiously.

"It's one of the Professor's books. I needed to borrow it for some research." She answered with her eyes locked onto the pages.

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of research? Can I help?" He offered graciously.

~ooOOOoo~

At dinner, Draco watched Alyona stare intensely at the text laid out in front of her where her meal would usually sit.

As Draco tore into a large Turkey like a savage who hadn't eaten in days, his beloved sat still with her goblet of water in hand. She would take the occasional sip as she flipped through countless pages, desperately trying to find the answers she was searching for.

Alyona massaged her forehead in an attempt to soothe it. She acquired quite the headache from all of the overthinking and over-analyzing she had been doing.

Upon seeing this, Draco reached over and lifted the book to reveal the clean and empty plate that had yet to be filled with food.

"You have a headache, don't you?" He asked accusatorially.

"I'm alright, I just need to finishing reading one more page," she said as she tried reaching for the book.

"Ah-ah-ah, that's enough studying for one day, you need to eat. You can search for your ancestors later after some food and rest," Draco stated as he looked down at her empty plate.

Alyona looked down at it, as well. She just stared at the plate, seemingly zoned out. She couldn't stop herself from trying to place the pieces together to try and make sense of her family's history, even if there weren't any pieces to place quite yet.

"Well, are you going to grab something to eat or do I have to fill your plate with one of everything, again?" Malfoy questioned, "Because I will."

Alyona sighed and took one of the smallest pieces of chicken, a small scoop of mashed potatoes and a few bits of vegetables on to her plate.

She attempted to pick at it to try to appease her worrying boyfriend.

Just then an owl came soaring down from the ceiling. It dropped a letter off in front of Draco. He lifted the black wax seal off of the grey envelope and removed its contents.

Inside was a letter. Upon unfolding it and reading the first few words his grey-blue eyes lit up.

"It's from mother," Draco whispered excitedly. Alyona leaned in as Draco also leaned towards her so she could more discreetly read the letter.

………………………………………………………………………

' My dearest son

Whatever you need of me, I'll do it.

- Your loving mother'

……………………………………………………………………….

The young couple looked at each other with

accomplished grins.

They now had an agent on the outside willing to help them with their quest to track down whoever this hidden assailant was.

~ooOOOoo~

After dinner, the two lovebirds took a late night stroll along the grounds. Draco knew how refrain from getting caught as he had snuck out with his Slytherin cohorts frequently in his first year.

"So, who should we have mother investigate first?" The platinum haired boy asked.

Alyona thought about it for a moment. "Well, I think it would be best to look into Pansy's parents first. If nothing but to eliminate them from our suspect list. They were the first ones to start a conflict with me and they knew our secret before anyone else."

Draco nodded. "Agreed, I'll write instructions to mother before we head off to sleep."

"Sounds good. Your mum might be just the person we need to solve this. Whoever this is probably isn't expecting her to be on the lookout."

As they walked up to the stone circle on their way back to the castle, Alyona took a glance at the black lake. She hadn't forgotten the interesting occurrence that she had experienced last year.

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