I would like to quickly state that opinions of my characters are not my own.
Chapter Sever: Cars and Arguments
Cecilia De'Monte stepped out of the shadows under the family painting over the stairs, eyeing her grandchildren with an amused look in her eyes. I smiled sheepishly and Rob waved dizzily.
"Best you two be quiet. You might get caught if you make any more racket. Come along." She said, waving us up the stairs and taking a right. I pulled Rob along until we reached his door. Nonna opened it, and I shoved him onto his bed.
"I'll have a hangover potion ready for you in the morning." she told him, closing the door quietly.
"I don't think he deserves one." I said, as we walked down to my room.
"Oh, don't be so hard on him. One day, it'll be you coming in reeking of Firewhiskey." She chuckled, giving me a squeeze. "Do I want to know why your soaking wet?"
"I went swimming…"
"Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini, I assume?"
"As always." I laughed.
"Good girl." She said, patting my head. "I like those two. Very handsome and well brought up young lads." We had reached my door.
"You know, you should honestly consider being a responsible adult someday." I joked.
"Oh, what's the fun in that?" She chuckled. "You look so much like me when I was your age, why not help you act like me too?" She smiled, cupping my cheek with a delicate and barely wrinkled hand.
"Does that mean I won't age a day past my fifties?" I snorted.
"There's something in the air in Italy. And you, your shenanigans keep me young." She said, tapping my nose with a perfectly manicured finger.
"Is Nonno going to come, too?" I asked.
"He's in Jamaica. He's got those damned cigars to stock up on. He'll be arriving in the next couple of days. Now, off to bed. Ta ta. Your mother will have my head if she finds out who helps you with these little adventures."
"Goodnight, Nonna."
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
You know that feeling, the one you get when you go to sleep at three thirty in the morning and you start to wonder if the previous night was worth it? You'd never guess who was having that exact feeling. Rob and I sat across from each other at the breakfast table, eyes locked but glazed over. Dad came in, carrying the Daily Prophet under his arm and took the head of the table. Mum was seating on his right beside Rob, and there was an empty seat on his left, waiting for Nonna. Four elves hurried in, two were busy opening the windows to let the summer breeze roll through the breakfast room, one served water juice and coffee, and the fourth snapped his fingers, transporting the food on to the table. An elf Kida grabbed my glass and looked up at me expectantly.
"Pumpkin juice, miss?" She asked.
"Coffee." Mum and Dad looked up. Kida set down the glass and picked up the china. She poured the liquid dung into my cup and set it down beside me. I nodded in acknowledgement, ignoring the sugar and downing the contents of the china cup. My stomach churned, and I fought to keep a nonchalant face. Succeeding, I held my cup up. With a loud crack, Kida returned and refilled it.
"Bella, I though you despised coffee." Mum asked surprised.
"I've developed a taste for it." I said stiffly. I set down the cup and spooned some eggs onto my plate. Nonna waltzed into the room, her powder blue dress flowing behind her and contrasted strongly with her tan skin. Her pale brown hair twisted up top her head, long isolated streaks of white spring in and out of view.
"Good morning, tesoro." She said patting me on the head. "Amore mio, I must apologize for coming at such an inconvenient hour last night." She said to Mum. "Your father…" She began easy conversation, and I felt her hand slide over mine under the table as she chatted away. She placed a vile in my palm. I slipped the cork off and poured it into my coffee discreetly.
"Rob, the coffee is really great this morning, try it!" I said, setting my cup down on its saucer and slid it towards him. He eyed me warily. I dropped the happy act and glared at him, jerking my head towards the cup. He sighed, rubbing his temples and taking a long sip. He drained my cup, and slid it back towards me. I saw the light slowly trickle back into his eyes and he smiled, sitting up straight. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a slice of toast.
"He's here! Bella! He's here!" A cry echoed through the manor. I dropped my quill immediately, letting my summer homework slip to the ground as I ran out of the library, tripping over the thick rug and slamming into the tall mahogany doors in the process. I yanked them open and flew down the hall, turning right into the foyer. Sure enough, there stood Sam. I grinned like a maniac, running towards him and all but tackling him to the floor.
"I missed you so much!" I squealed, squeezing him tightly.
"If you don't want to miss him again, you should loosen your grip." Rob laughed, jogging into the house from the back hall, holding a broom and caked with dirt. Mum, who stood by the door as well, shooed Rob away from Sam.
"Not until you clean up." She scolded. Rob groaned and pulled out his wand. "Don't even think about it. You dyed your hair purple last time." Rob scowled, pocketing his wand and running up the stairs. His bedroom door slammed shut. We stood in silence for a few more seconds before I attacked Sam once more.
"Samuel!" My grandmother cried, pulling up her skirts as she rushed down the stairs, kneeling before Sam and taking my place suffocating him in love.
"Bella, be a dear and fetch you father?" My mom asked, handing her coat to a house elf. I nodded, skipping up the stairs two at a time. I followed the long hallway into the west wing, and raised my arm to knock on the doors leading into my fathers study when they burst open, sending me sprawling on my behind. Lucious Malfoy yanked me up by my elbow as soon as I had touched the ground.
"Pardon me, Belladonna." He drawled, swooping past me fluidly. I starred after him in shock.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked, rubbing my elbow as I turned towards the open doors. My father was standing behind his desk seething, his wand drawn and papers still floating down around him. There were large steaming singes on the walls and furniture. "Uhmm…"
"Never mind that." My father sighed, running a hand though his hair. When he looked at me once more, his eyes were calm. He smiled, "What do you need, Bella?"
"Oh, right! Sam's just arrived!" I exclaimed. His smile broadened, and he was swooping down the hallway in the blink of an eye. I turned to follow him as he rounded the corner, but stopped as I remembered the stated of the study. I looked back down the hall to make sure it was deserted before I walked towards my fathers desk cautiously, peeking at the pieces of parchment that were thrown across the surface. Ministry of Magic stamps were evident through out all of the scrolls, but before I could read further, a loud pop behind me made me jolt around and blush red in shame. The sight of a house elf restarted my heart.
"Miss, I've come to clean the room-" She started.
"Go on then." I said quickly, dropping the parchment back on the table. "I'll just be, uh, going then…" I grumbled, as I dashed down the hall.
And so I became a snoop.
The next afternoon found me balancing two brooms over my shoulder waiting for Draco to emerge from the bushes.
"Honestly, what's taking so long?" I grumbled. "It's a big red ball, not hard to spot." My reply was the Quaffle flying out of the bushes and smashing me in the face. I let out a startled cry and fell back, holding my nose in pain.
Malfoy emerged from the bushes looking smug.
"You seemed to have had some trouble spotting it when it was propelling towards your face."
"Malfoy, you OGRE!" I screamed, wiping the blood that had tricked down my chin.
"Oh man up, Gryffindor." He sneered, but despite his tone, he knelt beside me and pulled my hands out of the way to inspect the damage.
"Well, it would seem I don't know my own strength." He grinned, pulling me up to my feet by the upper arms. I swayed a bit, and held on to his shoulder for support.
"You are just the worst kind of person. You're an arse even when you're sorry." I snapped. He raised his eyebrows.
"Who said I was sorry?"
"I know you."
He didn't reply, but picked up both brooms from where I had dropped them.
"Come on then." He said, kicking the Quaffle ahead of him. I smirked, knowing I was right, and hooked my arm through his as we walked down the path back to the manor.
Narcissa was sitting in the gazebo with Lucious, having tea.
We waved to them as we walked past, quickly hurrying up the stairs before they could spot my bloodied face.
"That makes no sense whatsoever." I scoffed, shutting the book forcefully. I had cleaned up, and we were in the library working on the last of our summer homework.
"What is your tinny mind having difficulty wrapping around this time?" Draco drawled from behind a shelf.
"Potions." I spat, throwing down my quill in aggravation.
"The essay?" Draco asked, coming into view.
"Yeah, I can't figure out what Ashwinder eggs are." I said, motioning to the pile of books I had already gone through.
He sat down across from me and pulled out a book at random. Flipping it open towards the back, he turned a single page before plopping the book in front of me. I looked at him disbelieving, and was surprised and slightly embarrassed to find that the page read Ashwinders.
"Oh…thanks…" I said lamely. He snickered, but didn't say anything.
I kept my eyes on my parchment as I scribbled away, and I could feel his eyes burning into my face. I sighed, setting down my quill.
"Go on. Just say it." I groaned.
"You're an idiot, Gryffindor." He chuckled. I smiled bitterly, picking up the quill and returning to my work.
"You're writing over the limit." Draco observed after a few minutes. I finished my potions essay and satisfied, I dropped my quill and leaned back in my chair.
"I desperately need a good impression with Snape next year." I explained, rubbing my eyes sleepily.
"I could help you in potions, if you'd like." He mumbled so quietly it took me a second to realize he had actually said it.
"Oh, uh, if it's not a bother…?" I said awkwardly, unsure as to why he was being so nice. He nodded once and held out his hand. I handed him the parchment, watching him warily as he read over my essay carefully. His brow furrowed and he got up, moving around the table to sit beside me.
"This paragraph, it makes no sense…"
The Hilton Sanya Spa and Resort was packed when my family and Malfoy's arrived. Though under Wizard management, the resort was open to Muggles, so we had to arrive accordingly. Dad was ecstatic, finally being able to put the muggle cars he collected to good use.
Of course, we couldn't have driven from England to China, and a few Floo stops were necessary before we could arrive the muggle way. With a simple extension charm, both families fit comfortably into the car.
Though completely against the entire idea, Mr. Malfoy made a point of sitting in front with my father who had taken the steering wheel. We soon leaned that wasn't good idea. Already rubbish at driving, dad was even more reckless while having a spat with Lucious. All of the backseat passengers let out a sigh of relief when we pulled up in front of the hotel. We spilled out of the car and dad handed the keys over to a staff member. Not two seconds latter, father and Lucious were in another spat.
"Those two, I swear." Narcissa grumbled, ushering us into the lobby.
"We knew it was going to happen." Mum sighed, patting down Sam's hair. I looked around the lobby, straining my neck to see the ornate ceiling. A sharp tug brought my eyes back to ground level, Rob had tugged me away from a pillar.
"So easily distracted." He chuckled under his breath. I grinned sheepishly and shrugged. Looking ahead, we notice that our company had already walked the stretch of the lobby and was being lead out a side door. We quickened our pace and caught up with them as they exited the room. Two tinny Chinese women lead us up a short path until we reached the beach. Their shoes clip-clopped along with mum and Narcissa's heals along the polished wood walkway. They led us up stone steps to the villa we had reserved. Leading us inside they stood by the doorway and said in unison:
"Welcome to the Hilton Sanya Spa and Resort. There are a few simple rules for our magical guest that we must cover before you can begin your Sanya experience. Magic is prohibited in the presence of the Muggle guests or against Muggle quests-" I could have sworn I saw Lucious frown in disappointment. "-owl's and familiars must be kept within your villa at all times. Magical artifact are prohibited outside your villa. If you wish to use magic, there is a pamphlet in your kitchen indicating which restaurants are Muggle free. Please enjoy your stay." They bowed and retreated, closing the large wooden door behind them.
"Wow. Wonder how long it took them to rehearse that." Draco chuckled.
"They're Chinese. One minute." I giggled.
"Be polite, the both of you." Dad scolded lightly. Draco and I cast each other impish grins once he had turned his back.
"Alright, rooming." Narcissa said, clapping her hands together. "Three rooms total." Rob, Draco and I groaned. This wasn't going to end well for us. "As the adults, we have claim on two of them." She continued, pretending to make this just a little bit "fair". "So I guess you kids have the last one. Okay, sounds good? Great." Our parents vanished, rushing upstairs to claim their rooms, Sam right behind them, being one to always sleep with mum and dad.
"Again." Rob grumbled. "Every time, it's the same thing. I told them, I'm bloody sixteen, I shouldn't have to share a room with you lot!" He continued complaining under his breath as he followed the adults upstairs. Draco and I followed at a slower pace, knowing we would get the short end of the stick anyways.
"I call a bed to myself!" Rob shouted from upstairs. Stricken with panic, Draco and I rushed upstairs and found our room. There were only two beds.
"Rob, no! I get a bed, I'm the girl." I snapped.
"Both of you are related. I get a bed." Draco sneered.
"I get the bed because I'm eldest." Rob smirked.
"I'm the girl!"
"You two are related!"
"Will all of you shut up!" Lucious boomed, swooping into the room. "Robert, take the bed." Draco and I began to protest but we were silenced by a warning look. "No. Another. Word." Lucious said calmly, exiting the room.
"Damn you." I grumbled, shoving past Rob to get to the other bed.
"You're sleeping against the wall." Draco told me.
"Fine." I mumbled. With all the commotion over the beds, we had failed to notice something very important.
Something very, very important.
"Uh, guys?" Rob said uncertainly. I glanced towards him and followed his gaze to the other side of the room. My eyes widened.
"Is…that, the uh-is that the bathroom?" Draco stuttered. Not the feet away were two small steeps leading down to a tub, shower, and toilet. Damn the Chinese.
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