The Tell-Tale Doll
Draco Malfoy had become quite accustomed to seeing Ella every day after his lessons got out. He adored her company, especially since she could carry out an actual intelligent conversation despite her young age. Plus she constituted a lot better company than Crabbe and Goyle, whom his father insisted he associate with. Even though he was still not sure if she contained magic or not, he was happy to be around her nonetheless, despite his father's beliefs on whom he should associate with.
Ella was so easy to talk to, not to mention she let him forget about the harsh manner of his household. Draco's father was a man who was very hard to please, especially since his expectations were too high for his six year old son. When Draco failed to meet his near impossible expectations, Lucius retaliated with violence. Sometimes it would just be a slap to the face, a harsh word, or no dinner, and other times it would be more severe. However, Ella never asked how Draco got the bruises on his body; she would just gently apply muggle medicine to his face and give him a bandage for his cuts. After that, she would let the subject drop, and treat him no differently.
On a normal day, Draco would take his time walking to the meadow where the children would meet, and Ella would usually be there waiting for him. He would find her with a book in her hand or a notebook that she was writing in, and every once in away he would find her asleep with her jacket as a pillow. She always was at peace when he found her, with a peaceful expression on her relaxed features. Some days he could see she truly was in gentle happiness, other days he knew it was just a mask. He ached to ask her what was wrong or to talk to him about it, but every time he tried to ask, Ella would swiftly change the subject to something insignificant. So he would let the matter drop, not wanting to upset her and send her away.
Today seemed to be no different, beside the fact that Draco took a quicker route to the meadow with a brisker pace than normal. He found Ella lying on her stomach with a doll in her hands. He could hear her talking to it, and the voice she was using for the doll's response seemed to Draco one that sounded like it was impossible for the girl to comfortably make. As he came closer, he could see that the doll was moving on its own accord.
Could it be? Can she really be a witch? Draco thought, becoming excited. If she is then we really can continue to be friends, and father might even approve! Draco thought gleefully.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked as he watched Ella jump, as she had not seen him approach. Oh no! Ella's thought screamed at her. What if he finds out you are a witch? He will think you are a freak and you won't have a friend anymore!
"Um, nothing. Just waiting for you of course." Ella said, forcing a smile and hiding the doll behind her back. Draco could clearly tell she was lying, but why? Did she think he was a muggle? Oh gosh, if she thinks I am a muggle I will die of embarrassment!
"I just saw that doll talking! You were making it move and talk all by itself! You can do magic, can't you Ella?" Draco said, hoping to hear her admit it. She can't lie to me now; I saw it moving with my own two eyes! Why is she hiding this?
"I don't know what you are talking about" Ella whispered, not meeting Draco's eyes. He is going to call you a freak! He will tell all his friends about the freaky girl he saw talking to her doll! Unless you want to be known as a freak, you had better hide that doll! Ella's insides had turned to ash, and she felt like she was going to faint. How could she let this happen? She should not have even brought the stupid bewitched doll, what did she think was going to happen?
"Its okay Ella, I know you are a witch, and guess what? That's so cool because I am a wizard! I can do magic too! Why didn't you tell me?" Draco said, patting her on the shoulder and sitting down in the grass next to her. When he noticed Ella's sweaty forehead and the look that was on her face he moved closer to her and gripped her shoulders gently. "Hey El, are you alright? You look like you are going to be sick."
"I didn't realize that you could do magic, and I thought that if I told you, you would think I am a freak. Or you would not want to be my friend anymore because of it." Ella said, trying to get her heart to calm down and her insides to stop fighting each other. When that didn't work, she laid down in the grass and closed her eyes, trying to breath deeply. Draco moved closer to her again, moving her head to rest in his lap instead of on the hard ground.
"Only a muggle would be like that, and I am the farthest thing from a muggle there can possibly be! Actually, I am a pureblood, and father says that purebloods are the best wizards out there. Anyone less than a pureblood is…mediocre compared to us." Draco said in an arrogant tone that Ella had never heard the boy use before. She wanted to question the pause in his statement, but she decided better of it. Her eyes were still closed, and she was afraid to open them again because she knew the world would be spinning if she did.
"Oh. Well…" Ella hesitated. Should she say she is a half-blood? She would be if her father was a muggle, but he turned out to be a squib. Does that mean she is a pureblood also? But wouldn't Draco still look down on her if she told him her father was indeed a squib? "I am a half-blood." Ella finally said, deciding not being a pureblood is better than having a squib for a father, no matter how much she loved him. Thank God I have a good excuse to keep my eyes closed. I would not want to see the evident look of disgust grace Draco's features at knowing my true blood status.
"Oh. Well I guess that is still okay, since half-bloods are still much better than muggles or mud-, muggle-borns I mean. As long as my father doesn't find out that you are a half-blood I should be able to continue to be around you." Draco said in an unsure tone, looking away from Ella. He was glad her eyes were closed, or else she might have seen the slip in his mask. Why should I care if she is truly a half-blood? All the purebloods I know are rude and arrogant, and Ella isn't! I am going to continue to be friends with her, no matter what anyone says.
"Does blood matter that much to you?" Ella said, opening her eyes and trying to hide the hurt in her voice. Draco had never acted like this before, why was it different now that he knew she could do magic? Did he believe she was truly inferior, just because of whom her parents were?
Oh crap, she looks like she about to cry. Draco thought. What should I do? Tell her the truth about how I think or lie and keep her from crying? If I tell her the truth she might never want to be around me ever again… "Of course not Ella, my dad just makes sort of a big deal about it. It doesn't matter that much to me." Draco said, forcing a smile. She was still pale from when she was close to fainting, and her head was still resting safely in Draco's lap. He could see the color staring to come back, even though her breathing was still slow and her eyes still looked pained. Yep, he thought to himself, I definitely want to keep her as a friend. She has been the best one I have ever had, why would I give that up over something as stupid as blood status? My father would disagree, but honestly I don't care! "Which one of your parents does magic?" He said, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.
"My mother did magic." Ella said as the dreaded tears started to form in her eyes once again. Don't tell him she just died a little over three months ago. Make up another date to tell him. And don't you dare cry! He will think you a wimp! "She died when I was three years old," Ella said, once again avoiding Draco's gaze.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss." Draco said, wishing he hadn't brought up the subject. Why do I always have to say the wrong things? Why couldn't my mother teach me how to talk to girls normally instead of always hold them on a pedestal? Draco cursed in his thoughts. Sighing quietly and hoping Ella didn't hear, he took out his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Ella's eyes as gently as he could. He then brushed the hair out of her eyes and slowly sat her up.
"Come on, I want to show you something." Draco said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. "This will for sure make you feel better," He said with a smile.
Ella had no choice but to follow Draco deeper into his family's property, but she was already feeling a little better. It was nice to have a friend who cared enough about how she was feeling to try and cheer her up. Draco led her though the forest that had surrounded the meadow they had been meeting in, and slowed after about five minutes.
They had come up to a stable of sorts, with white fences containing huge portions of grassy lands. There were horses grazing everywhere, all different breeds and sizes. The majority of the horses were muggle breeds, but there were some winged horses too.
"Wow!" Ella said, her eyes going wide with amazement. "They are so beautiful!"
Draco smiled. "That's not even the best part!" He said, pulling her through the entry gate. There was a sort of walkway with fenced in pastures on either side, and the walkway was paved with gravel. The pair walked down the walkway for some time until a huge, white barn came into view. The barn had green trimming and passageways for the horses to enter and exit the barn, as well as to travel from pasture to pasture. Draco opened the door to the barn to reveal rows upon rows of stalls, with charmed doors that opened at the nudge of the horse's nose that lived there. Not stopping to even look at the stalls, Draco took an immediate right and entered through another door. Behind this door held a sort of nursery, where in the middle held a baby horse.
Its wings were small and wet, hanging uselessly at its sides and rising and falling slightly with every breath the small creature took. Its coat was pure white, and its hooves were solid black. It turned its face to the door as soon as it opened, and once it caught sight of Draco it let out a whinny of excitement. With little difficulty the foal got to its feet and cantered over to where Draco stood with a stunned Ella behind him.
"Her name is Precious, and she was born about three days ago. Isn't she pretty?" Draco said, letting go of Ella's hand and putting it on Precious's nose. "Don't be afraid, she loves attention." Draco said, looking back at Ella who had not moved from the doorway. Slowly, she took small steps toward the baby horse, and reached out her hand and put it on the animal's nose.
Precious whinnied again and nudged Ella's hand playfully, and Ella laughed. "Do you think she likes me?" Ella said, smiling at Draco, her previous sadness forgotten.
"Of course she likes you Ella, everybody does!" Draco said, smiling back at her. Crisis avoided! Draco thought to himself. Another day saved by the power of horses and a smart boy. He laughed at his own joke, and again at the strange look Ella gave him. "What," he said, "I can't laugh with joy?"
"Of course you can laugh with joy, you are Draco Malfoy. And Draco Malfoy does whatever he wants!" Ella said in a teasing tone. That caused both children to burst out laughing, all tension and sadness completely dissolved.
A/N: That will be the last chapter from Ella and Draco's childhood! The next one will be on the Hogwarts Express and Ella will be meeting other characters soon! Thanks for reading!