Chapter Three – First Impressions
Domina stumbled out of the fireplace, almost hitting the ground if a pale pair of hands hadn't caught her. She looked up to see the familiar smirk on Severus' face.
"Sorry Sev, still not used to the new legs." She grinned.
"What did you just call me?" he asked, slightly put out.
"Sev, I always call you… Oh, she used to be the only one who called you that. I'm sorry Severus, I forgot." He nodded swiftly and gestured for them to leave the pub.
Domina was met by a swarm of people dodging each other in a hurry to get their shopping ready; Severus' face was masked by a disapproving frown.
"Of all the days you had to appear, Miss Malevisio, it had to be August 31st."
Domina gave him a guilty smile as he directed them into the book store so she could begin her purchases. It was in here that Severus saw a glimpse of why he would have chosen her for this task; she became absorbed in book after book, handling each one with care and precision. They queued for at least twenty minutes – much to Severus' displeasure – before heading to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to pick up her uniform; it was here that Domina realised she had no other clothes bar the ones on her back.
"Severus, would you mind if we make an extra stop to Twilfitt and Tatting's for some normal clothes? I'm afraid I didn't bring any with me." He gave her a sharp nod and led her out of the shop and guiding her through the sea of people; it was here that she caught the first glimpse of a mane of bushy brown hair. Her heart stopped momentarily as the hair disappeared out of sight.
They approached the shop and Severus held the door open for Domina to allow her to enter first. She'd never properly looked inside here before; it was primarily for purebloods only. The clothing here was much more formal than her normal Muggle attire. She headed over to the daywear section while Severus looked around with his infamous scowl. Just as Domina had selected everything she needed and placed it by the till, a slick feminine voice broke the silence in the shop.
"Well, well Severus, never had you pinned down to frilly knickers, but then again, there's a lot hidden under that heavy cloak of yours." Domina turned just in time to see the frilly pink knickers in Severus' hands ping away and land, to Domina's glee, on a young Draco's head. She stifled a laugh and approached the elder lady; Severus remained a statue, occasionally opening and shutting his mouth, trying to find the words he wanted.
"You must be Mrs Malfoy," Domina began; she knew she had to make a good first impression on the lady. "I've heard so much about you Ma'am, although who hasn't, the Black and Malfoy families are well known to all educated witches and wizards." She gave a small curtsey and bowed her head. 'All for the greater good' she repeated to herself mentally.
The elder looked down upon Domina with a slight smile upon her face, quickly replaced with a look of confusion.
"Forgive me for being so rude, I should have introduced myself sooner. I'm Domina Ambrosia Malevisio, daughter of Shirin and Delphus Malevisio." Her thick Italian accent made the names sound more elegant than an English accent would.
"Pleasure to meet you, however I was unaware the Malevisio's ever had a daughter, I thought they had passed away many years ago." Draco and Severus watched the exchange silently; Severus shocked at Domina's confidence, and Draco entranced by the young Italians beauty.
"Yes, not many knew about me ma'am. My parents died when I was four months old, I was then raised by our family elf till the age of two; it was then the Italian ministry found out about me, and placed me in a wizarding orphanage. My house elf looked after me while I was there, educating me on pureblood educate and so forth, until she died when I was ten. Dumbledore of course finally got wind of my existence and had me out of there as soon as he could. I arrived at Hogwarts today, however I'm sure Durmstrang or Beaubons would have been a better choice."
Narcissa watched the young girl entranced by her manners and elegance; she was rather like the child Narcissa would have raised herself, had she ever had a girl. Something in her subconscious clicked, making her want her son and this girl to become close. Without her having any parents, Narcissa could attempt to take her under her wing.
"Well I'm sure Hogwarts won't be too bad, it's Draco's first year too. Oh goodness I haven't introduced you," she pushed her son closer to Domina, as if she could force them to be friends. "Domina, this is my son Draco, he's the same year as you. Perhaps you'll be sorted into the same house." She smiled.
Draco took Domina's hand rather arrogantly, placing a delicate kiss upon her knuckles. Domina forced a smile onto her face. "Pleased to meet you, Draco." She said politely, forcing eye contact.
"I'm sure you are," he replied cockily. "But the pleasure is all mine." His eyes stayed fixed onto hers, they stared in silence.
To Domina's relief, Severus stepped in and broke the tension between them.
"Well, as much as I love chit-chat in the middle of shopping, we must get going, plenty to do." He gave Domina a knowing glance, holding the bags of clothes the shop assistant had totalled up. She nodded her understanding and turned back to the Malfoy's.
"A privilege to meet you, Mrs Malfoy. I shall see you tomorrow at the station Draco." Severus gave them both a curt nod of the head and lead Domina out of the shop.
They walked in silence back towards the Leaky Cauldron; however Severus placed a hand on Domina's shoulder and stopped her before she reached her destination. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter the shop. He pulled her to one side as he followed her inside, so they weren't blocking the door for any other customers.
"Domina, I know how lonely it can be going to a new school, it'll be especially worse for you when you can't be friends with the people you want to. So as a gift, I'd like to purchase you a companion. It seems that I'm going to be a surrogate parent for you whether I want to or not, so this seems an appropriate thing to do." The deep, calm voice reminded Hermione of when they used to sit in his office on the odd day and discuss literature they both enjoyed.
"Wow, Severus, thank you." She stood awkwardly in front of him, had she been in her own timeline, she would have embraced him. Instead she opted for running towards the cat section to find a new companion – her excitement clouded her sight as she bumped into a man twice her height.
"Ha-" she stopped herself, knowing she shouldn't know his name. "Watch where you stand, you oaf." She tried not to see the hurt look in his eyes as she said this; Hagrid used to be one of her best friends. She looked down and moved around the giant to the cats past him. She glanced towards the half cats-half kneazles, but decided a cat like Crookshanks would be too upsetting, so she headed towards the smoky, grey cat in the cage at the end of the shelf.
The cat had big silver eyes and a silky coat with a small tuft of white on the corner of his mouth. Smiling Domina signalled to Severus that she'd found the cat she desired. Severus shrunk the bags to fit into his pockets and gingerly lifted the cage off the shelf and over to the counter. Domina left the store and waited outside as the shop was becoming very crammed. Minutes later Severus reappeared with Domina's new feline, a small smile on his face as he saw the gleam in her eye.
"Thank you Severus, Mr. Snugglepuss and I shall be very happy together." She told him with a straight face. Severus looked at the cat in his arms with a sympathetic look then threw a shocked one at Domina. The corner of her mouth twitched before she doubled over and began laughing. "Your face… Oh Merlin… Snugglepuss…" She managed to get out between giggles.
"Wow, very funny Miss Malevisio." He replied in his normal, sarcastic tone. Domina straightened up, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and followed him back to the floo network in the Leaky Cauldron.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed etc, it means a lot! Please let me know what you thin! And if you have any suggestions for Domina's cats name, don't hesitate to tell me!