While Dru and Draco always expected to be accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when the owl arrives during their breakfast in the smallest of the two dining rooms in the Manor the morning shifts from boredom into excitement. Lucius rolls his eyes fondly at them as they dance around the table excitedly and returns to his eggs. Narcissa primly dabs at her mouth with a napkin, removing imaginary crumbs from her thin lips, and then smiles broadly at them both.

"Congratulations, my darlings. We shall have to travel to Diagon Alley shortly. Dobby!" she calls, and Dobby appears with a snap of his fingers and a puff of smoke seconds later.

"Yes, Mistress Malfoy? How may Dobby serve?"

"Fetch me two short lengths of parchment, a black inkwell and two quills, if you would."

"Yes, Mistress Malfoy!"

"Now then, Draco, Dru, why don't you write back to Professor McGonagall yourselves to confirm your places?"

Lucius rolls his eyes again at his children, both of whom and then looks up as another owl arrives, carrying The Daily Prophet and a letter addressed to him. He reads it and his frown deepens. "Narcissa, dearest. Do you have any pressing social engagements today?"

"Not today. Why do you ask?"

"I do believe we can find time today to make a trip to Diagon Alley for the childrens' Hogwarts equipment."

"Can we really, Father? Can we get an owl, too?" asks Draco.

"Yes, I suppose you can get an owl. Dru will have one of her own, of course."

Diagon Alley is heaving when the Malfoys arrive, much to Lucius' disdain. As he turns his nose up at the various lesser wizards surrounding them, Narcissa takes heed with their children and where they are going. Dru's fingers begin to cramp in her Aunt's tight clasp; but she finds that she doesn't mind as much as she usually would – never has she ever seen the shopping plaza so full. It seems that all the term equipment lists have been sent out to the whole school along with the acceptance letters to the future first-years. Everywhere she turns there are wizards in robes of all colours, some adorning their Hogwarts House colours on scarves, gloves and the like as they proudly carry around their books for the start of term. She finds herself thinking about the equipment list in her pocket and has to suppress a giddy smile.

They start off in Gringotts, of course. Lucius goes down to the vaults alone, so whilst they wait Dru tunes in-and-out to the conversation her Aunt and Draco are having. Draco is sniggering under his breath at the goblins; the odd one or two that overhear him shoot filthy glances his way. Dru watches her Aunt quietly remind her son to be polite and rolls her eyes. Dru is very fond of her adopted brother, all the more so now that Draco's eldest brother, Pavo, has disowned the family. For all that they are closer now they've endured Lucius' wrath together, Dru still thinks he can be insufferably stupid sometimes. As she wonders what they would do to him if they heard him cackling at the size of their noses, her Uncle Lucius returns with a purse full of shiny, golden coins. Draco's eyes are greedy, but Dru barely bats an eyelid before turning to enter the Alley once more.

Their next stop is Flourish and Blotts. Dru has always loved books, so as she roams the shelves looking for the books for first-years and pulling pristine copies from the shelves, she notices more than a few titles she'd like to read. Thankfully, the deep Malfoy purse allows her to purchase all of them. She's more than thankful for her Aunt encouraging her reading. Where Draco is not allowed to buy the books he wants under his father's hawklike gaze- "You aren't reading that filth, Draco, please pick something a little more suitable for your status"- Dru puts every book that catches her eye into the bag for Narcissa to buy her. She also collects several of the books Draco was looking at, an act that earns her a warm smile from her Aunt. As Narcissa and Lucius take the books to the till to pay for them, Dru turns to her brother.

"Uncle Lucius is being a complete pig today," she murmurs to him.

"Father always is a troll whenever we have to go shopping as a family. Don't you remember shopping for Pav? We all had to go, and it was always horrific."

"I bought you some of the books you were looking at while he wasn't looking," Dru whispers to him.

He turns to her with a genuine grin. Draco is terrified of his father, but Dru is not scared of him, and it works out in their favour every time. Dru does the dirty work; she's always been the one who'll run the schemes, fetching and hiding and collecting behind her Uncle's back to get her and her brother what they want. Draco picks up the pieces with his mother's help. Hopefully, though, Dru will get away with the books just this once. They watch curiously as Narcissa shows the contents of the bag to the man running the till. Lucius seems uninterested, watching out of the window at the people shopping. Draco physically relaxes when the man hands Narcissa the change for all the books.

"Here you are, Dru darling. I bought you and Draco a new bookmark, too, black leather, isn't it lovely? Here, put them in your bag."

As the heavy books are placed into her charmed bag, Dru finds herself thankful magic exists. Without it, she'd never have been able to carry everything, and she knows for a fact her Uncle would never have helped her. No, he's far too busy looking down his nose at everyone walking by them in the street to actually be helpful shopping.

"Right, it's time for robe fittings," Lucius says curtly as they leave the welcoming bookshop behind.

"Not today," Draco whines. He turns to Narcissa. "Mother, you said we could come back to do that closer to the date. You said we were only here to get everything else!"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, if you don't rethink your attitude then I shall be forced to reject your place at Hogwarts. Don't try to tell me you think I wouldn't. You really think I couldn't sweep it under the carpet? I've dealt with worse slights to the Malfoy name," Lucius snaps, glaring coolly at his son. Draco shuts up with all complaints after that, looking hurt and almost tearful. Dru feels a familiar sense of anger flare on behalf of her cousin. She knows that her adopted parents miss their eldest son, especially on days like today, but the way he treats them both is unfair. She wants to yell at him to stop making Draco upset, to stop making him doubt everything he does to try and be a good son and picking on his flaws at every opportunity he gets. She doesn't give a damn about herself- she's always felt like an outsider in the Malfoy family because of the mystery of her heritage- but she hates to see her adopted brother still being hurt because Lucius misses the son he lost. She knows better than to speak, though. Bringing up Pavo is a very bad idea around Lucius, even if Draco is terrified of his father because he still feels like he lives in his exiled brother's shadow. She and Draco traipse along Diagon Alley a few steps behind Lucius and Narcissa glumly until they reach Madam Malkin's establishment.

Dru has her robes fitted first with little complaint – the only time she says anything worth getting shouted at over is when she curses at Madam Malkin for accidentally poking her with a pin. Aunt 'Cissa just glares at her, and Dru is eternally thankful that her Uncle isn't actually in the shop, or she'd have earned a lecture on 'respectability' that she's heard so many times in the past year she could probably recite it word for word alongside him.

The other child who'd been having their robe fitted alongside Dru leaves with her parents in tow just as Draco steps up on the podium, sighing loudly. Dru's mood shifts from bad to worse. She does love her brother and gets fiercely protective of him, but he's a petulant brat when he wants to be and she hates it. He slumps sulkily, sticking his hands in his pockets and moping in front of the mirror. It takes Madam Malkin some time to get him to stand up straight, so Dru decides to tune out her brother's complaints and tugs out A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration. She's already expecting to have to work hard to earn respect, in whatever House she's put in, and besides, Transfiguration has always interested her. The bell above the door rings loudly, meaning someone else has entered the shop. Dru looks up expecting it to be her Uncle, but it's just another boy here for his first robes. She loses herself in her book once more, taking no note of whatever it is Draco says to him as they have their robes fitted together.

It's when Draco shouts "I say, look at that man!" that Dru lifts her head once more. There, standing by the window of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, is the biggest man she's ever seen. She has read of giants before and for a few seconds honestly believes he has to be one, but then the exact words of description come back to her and she realises with a twinge of disappointment that he's far too small to be a real giant. She finds herself oddly fascinated with his appearance and his eccentric behaviour- he is excitedly pointing at Fortescue's ice cream parlour. His eyes are on the boy Draco is speaking to, the one who entered not long ago for his robes, so she turns to him. There's not much about him, really, she thinks. He's of average height with black hair just as unkempt as her own can be and horrific round glasses that make him look kind of owlish. Muggleborn, she thinks to herself, rolling her eyes and turning back to her book. Transfiguration is far more interesting than her brother trying to make friends.

Once Lucius re-joins them they set off for Ollivanders Wand Shop, shoving their way through the hustle and bustle of the crowded alley. It is a very slender shop; hanging above the front window are peeling, golden letters that read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. Dru has passed this shop during many travels to Diagon Alley, always wondering what it is like on the inside. In her mind, having a wand makes her a proper witch, although her Uncle has always insisted her pureblood status makes her a 'true witch', whatever that means. They step through the door to the welcoming notes of a tinkling bell and a musty scent that reminds her of the old library back home, except there is a slightly magical addition. It is as though the sentiments of the wands held within are clinging to the dust motes in the air. Dru finds herself entranced by the thousands of tiny boxes piled upon one another behind the wooden counter, until a voice floats through to them.

"Good afternoon!" it calls softly from somewhere in the maze of wand boxes. Dru jumps a little at its suddenness, although he is speaking gently. Dru looks around for the source of the voice and out of nowhere an old man is suddenly stood before them. He's short; only a few inches taller than Dru herself, and stooped. His skin is more wrinkly than anything Dru's ever seen and he looks unimaginably old, but when his gaze lands on Dru his eyes are bright and piercing.

"Hello," Narcissa says curtly, more than slightly flustered at his sudden appearance. "We are here for their first wands."

"Of course, Mrs Malfoy!" cries the old man, his gaze switching from Dru to address Narcissa. "Elm and dragon heartstring, yes? Ah, it only seems a moment ago that your wand chose you... and Mr Malfoy, Elm and unicorn hair – yet you don't seem to be using it any more…" He eyes Lucius' cane disapprovingly. Lucius shifts slightly under his gaze and then glares at him impatiently. Then he turns to Draco.

"And here is young Draco. Welcome to the world of magic, sir, yes indeed, there are undoubtably great things ahead in your future! We shall find you a suitable wand, indeed. I wonder if Elm runs in the family? Ah, just a moment!'

And then Ollivander is off, roaming shelves, muttering to himself in mumbled tones and dancing around the shop until he settles on the first wand, pulling the lid from the box and carrying it back to him reverently. "Here we are – Elm and Dragon Heartstring, nine and a half inches, slightly flexible. Give it a wave!"

Draco does as he's told, eyeing the wand with a hungry excitement that has Dru silently wishing she'd been the one to go first. Angry-looking red sparks shoot out of the end, and everyone ducks away from Draco, who looks at the wand in confusion.

"No, no, no!" Ollivander mumbles, taking the wand back from the boy and flicking through his collection once more. "Try this. Elm and Unicorn Hair, eleven inches, unyielding."

Once again Draco waves the wand; every box in a ten foot radius throws its lid onto the floor, and the wand then proceeds to fly out of his hands and straight back in to its box. Draco stares after the wand with indignantly as if offended by the piece of wood. Dru snorts at the thought and receives a dirty look from her brother.

"I don't think Elm is your type," Ollivander concludes. "Here, let us try something a little different…" He is gone for some time, this time, but when he returns he is holding a very neat-looking wand. Dru can't help drawing the comparison between her brother's perfectly put-together appearance and the sleek wand.

'Hawthorn and Unicorn Hair, ten inches, reasonably pliant – give it a try!'

When Draco waves the wand this time, every lid thrown on the floor flies back to its place in a quick, neat bundle. Ollivander claps merrily and Draco smiles. "There you are, wonderful!"

Then Ollivander turns his wide eyes on to Dru, who stares back at him defiantly. Dru expects him to speak after a few moments, but the strange thing is that he just gazes at her for quite some time. In fact, he stands there for so long that she begins to wonder whether or not he is stuck there – but then he releases a breath and straightens up a little more.

"Druella Gaunt." He says it as though tasting the syllables. "Yes, I know just the wand for you." He leaves for a moment; when he returns he's holding a white wand. "Yew and Dragon Heartstring, twelve inches, unyielding."

Dru feels a sense of unease as she takes the wand. Something about the look in Ollivander's eyes has unnerved her. She takes a breath to steady her nerves and flicks the wand determinedly. Every drawer in the room flies open in response, some flying from their place and clattering across the room in the group's direction. Much like with Draco, the Malfoys and Ollivander duck as the drawers collide with one another all around them.

"Oh dear, what a mess! Never mind, my dear. Never mind!" Ollivander seems oddly happy about the mess she's created; Dru would almost say he sounds relieved. She brushes off his odd behaviour and focuses on what he's doing as he roots through more boxes. She cares more about discovering which wand is for her than the strange old man's behavioural habits. Narcissa waves her wand and puts the drawers back into their proper places as Ollivander hunts for another wand.

"I think… I believe I may know the wand for you..." he mumbles to himself as he hunts through boxes. He brings out another and hands it to her. "Apple and Dragon Heartstring, nine and three-quarter inches, slightly flexible. Give it a wave!"

Dru waves the wand once again and yelps as it grows incredibly hot to touch; as soon as she drops it the wand bursts in to flames. It lies smouldering, ashen, on the floor.

"Oh, my!" Ollivander looks down sadly at the wand. "The fault is mine, child. Oh, but it was a beautiful wand…"

He bends down and immediately begins looking through more boxes again, scurrying around them all.

"Hmm… I wonder…"

He pulls out a beautiful looking wand. It's a warm orange-brown colour, serpentine in shape. It looks like it's wriggling a bit, like a snake mid-slither.

"Cedar and Dragon Heartstring, twelve and a half inches, unyielding."

She takes the pretty wand and gives it a wave; it glows a warm sort of gold at the tip, and Ollivander calls out happily. They pay fourteen gold galleons for the two wands and leave the shop. Lucius is muttering about how strange Ollivander is, but Dru finds herself preoccupied with how oddly the old man acted towards her. Had she done something to upset him? But she couldn't have. It was as though he was upset until her wand chose her; after that he seemed to have an excitable air about him, as though he had just been told some really, really good news. She finds herself pondering that as they split from Lucius once more. Dru doesn't bother asking where he's going. In the mood he's in, he'd be like as not to beat her with a belt when they got home, and she really does not want that. She just quietly goes with her Aunt and Draco, who is fawning over his new wand.

Next up is Eeylops Owl Emporium. Narcissa instructs them that they can each pick an owl. Dru doesn't know where to start, so instead she allows Draco to choose for them both. Naturally, he picks the two biggest, most expensive owls in the shop – a girl and a boy, both with beautiful thick feathers the colour of soot, disc-like faces and strikingly yellow eyes. The man behind the till informs them they are a breed called 'Great Grey' as Narcissa hands him the money for them.

"I want the boy," Dru says, taking the handle of his cage excitedly. "We should call them Feather and Nib – like quills."

"Nib? Yours seems to be a nibbler, all right," Draco says, eyeing Dru's owl warily as it bites at the bars of its cage.

"Then yours can be Feather," she says, beaming at her cheeky pet. This will be perfect for scaring off anyone who annoys her- she can just ask him to peck people.

"Now, the owls are just for your mail – we're going to get you both another pet each." Narcissa smiles at them both as they leave the shop and head further down the street to Magical Menagerie.

"Is that allowed?" asks Dru as they wander into the tiny, cramped building.

"Lucius will sort it out for you both," she assures her. Dru is suddenly glad she is part of the Malfoy family- even only as an adopted child. Lucius' connection to Hogwarts as part of the Governors will be invaluable in the future, she thinks to herself as she leaves her Aunt's side and begins to prowl round the shop looking at potential pets. Draco stays fairly close by her as they admire the puffskein and various amphibians, but the moment he sees the cats he half-runs to them in excitement. Dru rolls her eyes. She doesn't dislike cats, exactly, she just prefers other pets. Her attention drifs over to the reptiles. In a glass case complete with heating charms and beautiful obstacles for the snake inside rests a baby snake. A helpful shop assistant wanders over in her general direction.

"Perfectly friendly. Handled enough, they're docile as cats."

"What kind of snake is that one?" asks Dru, pointing at the little snake. It lifts its head from its coils lazily to watch them.

"It's called a smooth grass snake. We haven't named this one yet; she's only a baby."

"She's a girl? She's so pretty," Dru says, watching the snake as it flicks its tongue in their direction, smelling them. "I think I want her. Aunt 'Cissa? Aunt Cissa," she says, turning to her Aunt who is admiring some beautiful snails in a tank.

The helpful assistant goes to collect the snake and the vivarium for her, and she joins her brother at the cat section of the shop.

"Are you getting a cat or a kitten?"

"A kitten," Draco answers. "I want to watch it grow up."

Dru nods and then looks at the playful ball of kittens behind the glass fence. "They're cute. Which one do you want?"

Draco looks at them all and shrugs. "I can't decide. They're all cute. I like that fluffy one, right in the middle. It's really playful."

The assistant that helped Dru has finished packing the baby snake and her new vivarium away and he joins the children at the edge of the cat play-area. "The fluffy white one, there? Ah, that's the flame point Siberian Forest Cat. Beautiful cats; friendly, intelligent and playful. As she grows up, she'll stay white, but get a golden tinge to the end of her fur around her face and on her tail, like her mother over there. Yes, the one in the corner."

Draco debates between a white Siamese cat and the Siberian for some time, and then finally decides on the Siberian. He cradles the kitten in his arms once the assistant has picked it out of the group and while he collects the things it will need, just as he had for Dru. He hands Dru a box with her snake curled in it and a comfortable cage for Draco's kitten. As Draco settles her carefully into her cage, he settles on a name.

"She'll be called Casiphia."

Once Narcissa has paid the dumpy man behind the till- his eyes light up with glee when he sees the full money purse Narcissa pulls from her bags- they head back to the Leaky Cauldron, where Lucius sits awaiting their return with a coffee in hand near the corner of the pub. Narcissa orders the children a hot chocolate each and joins Lucius with a coffee of her own. Draco is crooning over Casiphia, but rather than doing the same with her snake she watches the Malfoys talk in hushed whispers. She'd love to know what Lucius is up to, but chances are he'd respond with some cutting remark that'd just leave her sulking for days, so she wisely stays quiet. She still tries to listen in, but her adopted parents are talking too quietly, so she sullenly turns to her coffee, sparing half a glance at her snake who sits curled demurely in her travel box, waiting to be let out.

As soon as they get back to Malfoy Manor she does exactly what they told them not to do- she begins to pack. She heads straight to her room and delves into her enchanted wardrobe, exploring through the endless rails of clothing. Dru loves skirts and dresses, and her wardrobe reflects that. Her preferred colour is red- it's her favourite and she seems to suit it the best, but she has many colours stored away. Not only are there colours, but there are varying styles as well- short dresses, long dresses, ball gowns, dresses for special occasions – everything she could ever imagine. Her eyes roam over the ocean of cloth as she begins to pick out things to take to Hogwarts with her. She picks out a select few of her casual dresses in varying lengths; some long, some much shorter, and then picks a few from the collection of tights- endless pairs in varying thicknesses- to deal with the weather. She picks out robes and cloaks to go with her outfits, and then some of her thicker winter ones- they're all designed to keep her warm no matter what the weather throws at her, but she's going to be living a lot further north than she's used to and she's not quite sure what to expect. She throws it all into the trunk that rests at the end of her bed. She doesn't bother to fold it- she knows that the house-elves will do that for her closer to the time.

Next she chucks in a variety of nightgowns and pyjama sets, freshly bought and yet-to-be-worn, along with a pair of fluffy green slippers that she'd pestered Lucius in to buying her a few weeks back. Shoes, too; shoes of every colour and design. No heels, though. She can never imagine wanting to walk around with sticks on the sole of her shoes just to look taller. She'd asked Aunt 'Cissa why she wore heels when she was about six years of age and Narcissa had simply chuckled in response before returning to her afternoon tea. Her confusion is yet to be rectified. She pulls her favourite winter boots from her wardrobe and looks at them, debating whether to pack them or not. She's already packed a matching pair of plain shoes for every single outfit in the trunk. She holds the boots up to the window. They are tall- they sit comfortably on her legs just a few inches underneath her knees, and they're entirely waterproof with thick laces at the front to tie them. The soles are thick and have sturdy grips. They're good for walking, something Dru loves; she has spent countless hours in the maze of the Malfoy Manor gardens, exploring and making dens the gardeners would not find. She still finds old dens now, although the gardens don't seem as infinite as they did when she was very young.

She looks into her bag full of shopping and realises with a jolt she's forgotten all about her snake. She doesn't look happy with her new owner as Dru pulls the vivarium out of the bag and hastily sets it up, double checking the heating charms are still working before opening the baby snake's tub. She tumbles out unceremoniously onto Dru's bed and hisses.

"New lady is not nice to me. New lady forgets all about poor me."

Dru's eyes widen in shock. "Can I... did you say something, snake?"

The snake tries to move feebly and then hisses in a sound that Dru interprets as a frustrated sigh. She continues to hiss to herself, ignoring Dru.

"New lady lets me be cold. I dislike this place. Let me go back to the place with the warm and the food... oh, so much tasty food."

"I can feed you," Dru says to her. She doesn't expect her to respond, but wants to apologise anyway. "I'm sorry I let you be cold."

"New lady apologising for the cold? New lady left me cold for a long time..."

"It was not that long," Dru says defensively. "Wait- you... you understand me?"

"Yes. New lady speaks the language I know. Snake speak."

"It... sounds just like normal for me."

"Is new lady going to make me warm and find me food? Bacon is good food," the baby snake tells her as Dru slowly picks her up in her fingers.

"I'm... Dru. Your new owner. I'm going to be fetching you food from now on, yes."

The snake hisses happily and slithers in a circle in Dru's palm. "Mistress? Excellent! More food for me."

Dru thinks for a minute. "Purly!"

Purly appears in seconds. "Yes, Mistress Gaunt? How can Purly help?"

"I want some food for my snake. Bring me some food for her. And a few pieces of bacon. She's only little so cut it small."

"Yes, Mistress Gaunt." Purly vanishes into the Manor somewhere to obey. Dru looks back to her snake.

"Do... do you have a name, little snake?"

The snake raises her head and looks at Dru curiously. "No. The egg was lonely. My mother was not there to name me when life began."

"So I can name you?"

"Mistress is my new mother. Bring me food, give me warmth. Yes, Mistress can name me."

Dru grins and turns to look out of the window. After a moment, Purly appears with a plate of food for her snake, and a sandwich for Dru. She curtseys and then vanishes elsewhere. Dru turns to the plate and takes the snake over to pick at the food.

"Lilith."

"What did Mistress say?"

"Your name. I think it should be Lilith."

Lilith hisses appreciatively. "Lilith. Lilith likes the name Mistress has given her, yes. Now, where is food? Is this food all for Lilith?"

Dru laughs despite herself and strokes Lilith's head with a finger before letting her slide off her palm and towards the food. "Yes, Lilith, the food is for you. Don't make yourself sick though, little snake."