Cindy had no further contact with Lucius and tried to put him out of her mind, although she was somewhat unsuccessful. At odd times she found herself wondering what he was up to and a couple of times had even considered sending him an owl to see if he would meet her but had just about managed to stop herself from doing that.

With Lissy gone from the house, Andrew felt no compunction to be at home at all these days, something Cindy found both annoying and strangely satisfying. She was aware that he was either out drinking with the lads or off shagging one of his women, but she found she really didn't care.

During the first couple of weeks of term, Lissy had sent her an owl every day and Cindy had written back immediately. But as the term had gone on the letters had become fewer and now once a week was good, Lissy's initial fears turning into a diary of her and, more generally, her housemates' exploits. Cindy had been gratified to see that as Lucius had predicted would happen, Lissy had been sorted into her mother's old House, Gryffindor, rather than her father's Ravenclaw.

With Christmas fast approaching, Cindy decided she would go shopping. She wanted the house to look special for Lissy when she returned home from school. Not bothering to ask Andrew this time, although he wasn't around to ask anyway, she made her way to Diagon Alley and immersed herself in the wizarding world's festivities. After a busy morning of shopping, she stopped at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for a house special and a chat. She had been a friend of Florean's since her school days and rarely missed the chance to pop in and say hello, especially if it meant the chance to have an ice cream, her favourite food in the world.

'I saw a friend of yours not long ago,' Florean remarked as he placed the sundae in front of her. 'Although,' he mused, 'of course, I don't suppose you've seen each other in years.'

'Who was that?'

'Lucius Malfoy. He was heading towards Gringotts bank. He's probably still in there.'

Cindy laughed. 'Actually, Florean, I hadn't seen him for almost twenty years and then I saw him twice in a fortnight. Once at King's Cross when I took Lissy to the Hogwarts Express — he has a son the same age as Lissy — and then I bumped into him in Flourish and Blotts a week or so later. We had lunch and a good chat.'

Florean looked interested. 'A son the same age as Lissy? And how did the two of them get on?'

Cindy laughed. 'As the old song goes . . . just like history repeating itself. Scarily, it was a bit like stepping back in time. There was definitely an attraction.'

Florean nodded his head. 'Too much unsettled business,' he said sagely. 'And how did the two of you get on when you met for lunch and a chat?'

'Much the same,' admitted Cindy. 'But of course, we're both married now, so . . . .'

Cindy thought she heard Florean say 'Pah!', but when she looked at him he was busy wiping the table, his face showing no sign of having said a word. She soon finished the sundae and, thanking Florean with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to bring Lissy to see him over the Christmas holidays, she carried on with her shopping.

She had just emerged from Madam Primpernelle's, where she had been buying Christmas presents for Lissy when she bumped into Lucius. He was splendidly dressed, as always, and looking, if anything, even more handsome than the last time she had seen him. Of course, his manners were, as always, impeccable. He gave her a small bow and then taking her hand, gently kissed it. Cindy tried not to laugh knowing he would be insulted.

'Cindy, how good to see you. What are you doing here?' His smile was genuine.

'I decided to get out and do some Christmas shopping,' Cindy explained. 'With Lissy coming home next week I want the place to look festive enough after Hogwarts, although I know that's a pretty tall order. After all, I haven't got room for sixteen-foot Christmas trees.'

'I'd be happy to accompany you if you wish,' Lucius said politely.

Cindy did laugh this time. 'I know how much you hate shopping, Lucius, so you don't have to, really.'

Lucius looked hurt. 'I really would like to go shopping with you,' he said sincerely.

Cindy smiled at him. 'In that case, you're welcome. But of course, you realise you'll be carrying the bags . . . and there could be many of them.'

Lucius grinned at her. 'My arms are at your service, madam,' he said in a light voice.

And so they wandered down the winding length of Diagon Alley checking out shop after shop. Lucius was as good as his word and was soon loaded down with bags. Cindy eventually took pity on him and offered to buy him a cup of tea from one of the cafés that dotted the street. Lucius gratefully accepted, pleased to finally be able to put down the bags.

'I remember now why I hate going shopping,' Lucius said as he sipped at his tea. 'And you're a novice at it compared to Narcissa.' He surveyed the pile of bags. 'What would you have done if I hadn't been here to carry them?' he asked as he indicated the precarious heap.

'I'd have got them delivered.' Cindy smiled mischievously, then laughed at the expression on Lucius' face. 'I'm sorry, Lucius, but you did offer.' She reached out and took his hand. 'And I'm really very grateful.'

'Are you?' Lucius' voice was seductive now, and there was a wicked glint in his eye. 'How grateful?' His fingers were making her hand tingle as he caressed it.

Cindy laughed again and pulled her hand from his grasp. 'Don't get any ideas, Mr Malfoy. We're in the middle of a shopping trip.'

Lucius sighed dramatically. 'In the middle? Merlin's beard! How many more places can you need to visit? Surely we've done almost every shop in Diagon Alley?'

'No, we still have a few places left.' Cindy smiled wickedly and finished the last of her tea. 'Are you ready to move on or do you want to stay here and establish base camp?'

'I'm ready,' Lucius replied grumpily, and he picked up the bags and followed Cindy back out onto the street. 'Aren't you going in there?' He indicated an expensive-looking shop selling beautiful underwear and nightwear.

Cindy shook her head. 'No. There's nothing I need in there.'

Lucius looked at her in astonishment. 'Who said anything about need? Surely you don't just buy underwear when you need it. Narcissa must buy stuff from there at least once a week. I'm sure she's got all sorts of things she's never even got round to wearing, and probably never will.'

Cindy laughed uneasily. 'There are some lovely things in there,' she admitted. 'But it's rather expensive and to be honest, I don't really have much use for sexy underwear.'

Lucius gave a short laugh. 'Well, I would be more than happy to give you an excuse.' He winked at her and continued before she had a chance to say anything, 'I'd be happy to watch you try on the entire shop.' He grinned lasciviously.

Cindy pursed her lips ready to say something but was cut off again.

'Oh, don't look like that. I know . . . you're not interested.' He paused. 'Such a shame, though; there are some beautiful things in there. Almost as beautiful as you.' He looked deep into her eyes, seeming not at all embarrassed at his comment.

Cindy blushed and looked away. 'Well, it's still too expensive, especially with Christmas round the corner. Come on, I have to get a few more things for Lissy.' And with that, she hurried away from the shop.

Lucius looked at her thoughtfully, then glanced back at the shop. Smiling, he followed after her, his long legs soon catching her up.

A few hours later they were finally resting in Mario's Bistro, Lucius having convinced Cindy to have a meal with him before she went home. As previously, they had enjoyed a splendid meal and were relaxing with a cup of tea, quietly enjoying each other's company, knowing that their remaining time together was brief.

'Thank you for carrying all my bags, Lucius,' Cindy said. 'It was good of you.'

Lucius smiled. 'It was my pleasure. Normally I hate shopping, but I've really enjoyed being with you this afternoon.'

'Of course, you realise I'm going to have to arrange to get them delivered anyway,' Cindy said with a laugh. 'There's no way I'm going to be able to carry all that lot home.'

Lucius looked at her seriously. 'I'd be happy to carry them home for you,' he said quietly.

Cindy shook her head. 'You know that isn't possible. Andrew would go mad if he saw you carrying my shopping.' She laughed ruefully. 'The worst thing is that he probably isn't even at home, but I can guarantee that if you accompany me, he will be.'

'I'm not scared of your husband,' Lucius said belligerently. 'I'd just explain how I met you and helped you out. If he'd been nice enough to go shopping with you, you wouldn't have needed my help.' He gave a grim smile. 'Although I'm glad he wasn't shopping with you. That would have completely ruined my afternoon.'

Cindy sighed. 'It isn't worth it, Lucius. It would just cause an argument and then he'd probably refuse to let me out of the house for months.'

'He can't do that,' Lucius said indignantly. 'How could he stop you?'

'By stopping me from having any money. Remember, I have to rely on him for everything since I don't work.' Cindy sounded miserable.

'You shouldn't have to put up with this,' Lucius said gently, reaching for her hands.

Cindy laughed bitterly. 'I don't have any choice, Lucius. He's my husband, remember? Please, I don't want to talk about him anymore. Let's not ruin a good day.' They sat in silence for a while, still holding hands.

As she finished her tea, Cindy said, 'I've been thinking. Actually, you can help me, if you don't mind. I'll use the Leaky Cauldron Floo to get home and then you can pass the bags through to me. You'll only need to put your hands through so hopefully, even if Andrew is at home, he won't realise we've been together.'

Lucius nodded his agreement and, having paid the bill, the two of them rose to leave.

Outside in the alley Lucius dropped the bags on the ground and pulled Cindy to him, embracing her tightly. His hand gently cupped her face and caressed her throat as he leant in to kiss her, his mouth finding hers in a mixture of hard desire and tenderness. Cindy's arms were wrapped around him in return, the two of them holding tightly to each other as if they never wanted to let go.

Finally, breathless, they parted and stared at each other speechlessly, desire burning brightly in both of them. Lucius reached out to stroke Cindy's face.

'I'm sorry,' he said contritely. 'I couldn't bear it any longer. You are so beautiful. I just had to kiss you.'

Cindy nodded and bit her bottom lip. 'Fine, it happened. But it mustn't happen again.' Her voice was pleading.

'But I want you so much. And I know you want me too. I don't care what you say, you know you do.' Lucius' voice was compelling and he grabbed her again.

'Stop it,' Cindy said miserably. 'You and I were in the past, Lucius. We should let it stay there.' She tried to pull away from him but was held fast.

'But why?' Lucius gripped her more tightly, his voice thick with emotion. 'Why should it stay in the past? It's clear we both desire each other. And we're both unhappy in our current relationships. Why shouldn't we be happy together?'

His mouth found hers once again, pulling her greedily into another deep kiss.

Struggling to pull free, Cindy cried, 'I can't do this with you, Lucius. I can't!' She stared at him, her eyes full of tears. 'Please . . . I'm married . . . I can't . . . .'

'Oh, yes,' Lucius thundered. 'You're married. Of course you are. To a stupid, ignorant prick who can't stand you. He doesn't want you. You told me about his affairs, Cindy, so why the hell would you want to be faithful to him? Has he ever shown you the same courtesy?'

Cindy looked at Lucius in horror. 'I can't believe you just said that.' She tried once again to wriggle out of his grasp, but he wasn't relaxing an inch. 'Is there no depth you won't stoop to? Do you really think reminding me about my awful husband will make me want to collapse into your arms, Lucius? If so, you are sadly mistaken.'

Lucius growled in frustration. 'Gods, woman, you drive me insane! Don't you realise how much I care for you? I've been in love with you since the first time I ever set eyes on you. I wish I could turn back time and change the things I've done, but I can't.

'My stupidity has left us in this situation and I can't bear to think of you unhappy. My only desire is to give you pleasure, to see you smile, to be happy again. My desire is just to be with you.

'Yes, I want to make love to you. I want to give you pleasure. I want to hear your moans, hear you scream my name as I make you come. I want all those things. But mostly I just want to be with you, to just hold you tight and love you.'

He let go of Cindy's waist and grabbed her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. 'I love you, Cindy and nothing you can say or do will convince me you don't feel the same way about me. I know all your objections to me and I understand them and I don't know why it's so, but it's true . . . I love you!'

Lucius let go of her and picked up the bags once more. Tears were prickling in Cindy's eyes and she hugged herself, too shell-shocked to reply.

'Come on,' Lucius said gruffly. 'We'd better get you home. It's getting late.'

Nudging Cindy with the bags to get her going, Lucius followed her back into Diagon Alley and they made their way towards the Leaky Cauldron, not speaking or looking at each other.

Lissy being home from school didn't improve the situation in the Wentworth household. For starters, Cindy veered wildly between bouts of guilt over her desire for Lucius and despair at the complete lack of affection from her husband. Andrew spent slightly more time at home over the Christmas holidays, mainly keeping to himself in his study, most likely with a bottle of Firewhisky. He had also spent some small amount of time with his daughter but of course, never with Cindy.

However, on Christmas Day, Andrew blithely announced that after watching Lissy unwrap her presents he was going out and wouldn't be coming back that day. Lissy was understandably upset at his poor treatment of her, but Cindy was absolutely furious with her husband. Of course, she knew where he was going. He obviously had another child he wanted to be with — his bloody heir. The sight of her daughter's distraught face broke Cindy's heart. Her daughter was his original child, the legitimate one, yet he was happy to cast her aside in favour of some bastard child who just happened to be a boy.

Cindy cornered Andrew in his study and demanded that he stay. He, of course, refused. She tried begging; pleading that he see just how much he was upsetting his daughter, but it was clear he really didn't give a damn about either of them. Coldly, she thanked him for ruining her and Lissy's Christmas and told him she hoped he died in a ditch somewhere; then she slammed the door hard on her way out of the study.

As it happened, Andrew left immediately, not even waiting for the presents, so Cindy and Lissy were left to unwrap them alone. Cindy reflected that in some ways that was possibly better than if Andrew had been there. As they sat there in a flurry of bright Christmas paper and bows she was glad her daughter hadn't realised that the only present Cindy had received was from her. Her husband hadn't bothered to buy her a gift this year. She had removed her gifts to him from under the tree and placed them in his study for his return. Maybe seeing them would make him feel guilty about not buying her anything and leaving them alone on Christmas day, but somehow she didn't think it would.

She and Lissy were just clearing away the wrapping paper when there was a tapping at the window. Looking up, Cindy saw a magnificent eagle owl patiently waiting for admittance. Lissy jumped up with pleasure and ran to the window.

'It's Draco's owl,' Lissy said excitedly as the hooting bird flew through the now open window and landed on the sofa, dropping an elegantly wrapped package.

Cindy went to the kitchen to find a treat for the bird and when she returned saw Lissy reading a long letter that had obviously accompanied the parcel. The gift still lay unopened on the sofa next to her. Lissy was absent-mindedly stroking the owl's head as she read the letter. Cindy gave the bird its treat and it rose gracefully into the air and flew out of the window, hooting softly. Cindy closed the window and turned to look at her daughter.

'Something interesting?' she asked gently.

Lissy looked up. 'Oh . . . you know.' She shrugged. 'I think I'll go and read this in my bedroom.' She got up off the sofa, picked up the present, and walked out of the room, heading for the stairs. Cindy watched her go, her smile flickering, slightly disappointed that her daughter didn't want to share the opening of this particular gift with her.

She headed for the kitchen to start cooking lunch and make a cup of tea. As she sat at the table she thought back to a Christmas many years before when she had received a very similar parcel and a letter from another eagle owl. She, too, had elected to retire to her bedroom to enjoy them in privacy and it was only now that she realised just how much that must have disappointed her own parents. She chuckled. Knowing Draco, the gift would be a good one. And she would get to see it eventually when Lissy was ready to show her.

Once she was sure the food was cooking properly she made her way up to her bedroom. Opening the wardrobe, she reached up to the top shelf to pull down a small flower-patterned, vinyl-covered jewellery box. She sat on the bed and carefully opened the precious thing, a present from her parents for her sixth birthday. She smiled at the little ballerina in a white net tutu that started to twirl as she lifted the lid and the tinkling music began. She could feel the tears pricking her eyes and, not for the first time, cursed the fact that there were no telephones in the wizarding world. Right now she would have loved to call her parents, just to hear their voices.

She realised that she had been automatically removing her treasures from the box and had now reached what she was looking for. Still wrapped in the shimmering gold paper it had been delivered in, she pulled out the exquisite item and slowly unwrapped it. Inside was tissue paper of deep red — Gryffindor colours, she thought with a smile. And inside the wrapping paper, a delicate bracelet in yellow gold with rubies studded around it at intervals. She murmured with pleasure as she gazed at the beautiful object.

Something else that had just occurred to her was how much trouble Lucius had gone to in order to get her gift right — choosing Gryffindor colours rather than the Slytherin ones that would have come so naturally to him, wrapping it so beautifully, and then — she reached into the box once again and removed the letter that lay there — to have written her that letter.

By now the tears were coursing freely down her cheeks as she thought of Lucius and of Andrew and of all the things that had happened to bring her to this point in her life: sitting alone on Christmas Day in her cold and lonely bedroom with only an old box and a shabby ballerina for company.

She heard a noise and turned to look at the door. Lissy stood in the doorway staring at her mother with concern. She had heard the noise of the jewellery box and had come to investigate. Seeing her mother sitting on the bed crying, holding onto a letter and a bracelet, had been a surprise and she didn't know what to do.

Cindy dropped the items and pulled a tissue from her sleeve, wiping her eyes quickly. 'Come in, Lissy,' she urged.

'Are you okay, Mum?' Lissy's voice was full of concern. 'Is it Dad? He upset you by leaving, didn't he?' She sat down on the bed next to her mother and hugged her.

Cindy shook her head. 'No, it's not your father. It's just me being silly on Christmas Day, that's all.' She hugged her daughter to her and kissed her on the forehead. 'I was just wishing we had a telephone so we could phone Nanna and Grandad rather than sending Ru to them. It would be nice to talk to them, wouldn't it?'

Lissy looked at the letter and looked at her mother in a sudden panic. 'It wasn't me, was it? That upset you? Because I went to my room to read Draco's letter?' She sounded upset.

Cindy laughed. 'No, darling, of course it wasn't you. Actually, that's why I'm up here. It reminded me of my first Christmas at Hogwarts.' She looked at her daughter. 'I received a letter and present, too.' She indicated the package and the letter.

Lissy picked up the bracelet and smiled. 'It's beautiful,' she said quietly and looked at the wrapping paper. 'You kept it wrapped up all these years?'

'Yes. It was so beautifully wrapped I couldn't bear to throw it away. So it went into the jewellery box with all my other precious items.'

'Do you ever wear it?' Lissy asked. 'I've never seen you wear it before.'

'No,' Cindy admitted. 'I have to admit I'd forgotten it was there. I haven't looked inside that box for a very long time.'

Lissy looked at the jewellery box and wrinkled her nose in disgust. 'No wonder. It's really tacky, Mum. It's got a ballerina in it. Sorry, but it's completely hideous!'

Cindy laughed again. 'I'll have you know my mum and dad gave me this jewellery box as a birthday present when I was six years old. At the time, the ballerina was the height of sophistication.' She winked at her daughter. 'Anyway, I happen to love her, so she's not 'tacky', thank you very much.'

She grabbed Lissy and tickled her, and the two of them were soon rolling around on the bed laughing. Sometime later, Cindy carefully wrapped the bracelet and having replaced the letter in the jewellery box she placed the package carefully on top of it before adding her other precious memories and closing the lid, once more sending the ballerina to sleep. After replacing the jewellery box on the top shelf of her wardrobe, she and Lissy made their way downstairs to the kitchen where Cindy made them a snowball each and they sat and talked about school whilst Cindy finished cooking lunch.

It was a few days later that Lissy finally showed Cindy the gift Draco had sent her. As usual, Andrew was nowhere to be found; no doubt off with one of his women, Cindy assumed. She and Lissy had gone to visit her parents and had spent an enjoyable morning with them, leaving just after lunch to visit Florean Fortescue as she had promised him she would. As always Florean spoilt them both, providing special ice creams in exchange for a kiss from each of them. Cindy looked out of the window, watching the world go by and only vaguely listening to her daughter's conversation.

'So how is school, Miss Lissy?' Florean asked gravely. 'Is it as bad as you had feared it would be?'

Lissy laughed. 'No! It's great, actually. I've met some really cool people, and of course, Harry Potter's in my class.'

'Harry Potter. Is that right? And is he some big celebrity?' Florean winked.

Lissy laughed again. 'No. He's really nice, actually. And he didn't have a clue who he was — you know, that he was famous or anything — 'cos he's been living in the Muggle world all these years.' She sighed. 'Draco doesn't like him, though. And he's not very happy that we're in Gryffindor together.'

'Draco?' Florean asked gently.

'Draco Malfoy. He's . . . he's a friend of mine.' Lissy blushed.

Florean nodded. 'And he doesn't like you being with Harry?'

Lissy shook her head and confided, 'I don't really go around with Harry. He's friends with Ron and Hermione. I share a dorm with Hermione.' She frowned in confusion. 'I don't really understand the thing between Draco and Harry,' she admitted.

'Ah, and Draco is in what house?' Florean asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

'Slytherin. Of course, I know all the bad witches and wizards were in that House, but I'm sure not everyone was bad. Draco isn't,' Lissy said quickly.

Florean nodded. 'Well, it's obvious. Slytherins aren't keen on Gryffindors. Never have been and probably never will be. Draco doesn't have a problem with you, except that you're a Gryffindor.' He smiled and whispered, 'Lucius was exactly the same with your mother.'

'Really?' Lissy looked surprised. 'Mum said they were friends when they were at school, but I hadn't realised they were that close.'

Florean laughed. 'It was a bit more than friends, young Lissy. The two of them were very much in love.' He looked at Cindy, who was still daydreaming out of the window. 'In fact, I believe it was love at first sight . . . for both of them. They met on the first day of school on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.' He looked back at Lissy and noticed her blushing again and was reminded of his earlier conversation with Cindy.

'That's when Draco and I met,' Lissy said quietly. Florean nodded sagely. 'But if they were so in love, why didn't they get married? Why did Mum end up with Dad?' She wanted to add 'and be so unhappy', but she didn't.

Florean sighed. 'Ah, little one, there were many reasons. Perhaps you should ask your mother if you really want to know. But remember, Lucius is a Pure-blood. At that time the old families arranged betrothals to ensure the continuation of their lines. Lucius had been betrothed to Narcissa since he was eight. Being in love with your mother didn't change that.'

'But surely he could have refused to marry Narcissa if he'd really loved my mother.' Lissy was outraged. 'Obviously, he didn't think that much of her!'

Florean shook his head sadly. 'Things aren't always so simple, child. I assure you that Lucius loved your mother very much, and she loved him. But they were bad times, especially for Muggle-borns—' He looked grave. 'I've said too much. If you want to know about Lucius, I suggest you ask your mother. It might do her good to finally talk about it.' He gave the girl a hug. 'Now, I must get back to work. I can't spend all day chatting to you.' He winked and headed off to serve another customer.

When they arrived home Lissy dashed upstairs and returned to the lounge a few minutes later carrying her present from Draco. Like her mother she had kept the gift in its wrapping paper. She handed it to Cindy. 'Here, look at what Draco gave me.' She smiled and sat down next to her mother on the sofa.

Cindy took the package and slowly undid the wrapping to reveal a beautiful necklace, a yellow gold rope chain with a flower pendant, the centre of the flower picked out in rubies. She smiled. Draco had taken as much care in his choice of a present for Lissy as his father had with her. Lucius had obviously been a good teacher.

'It's beautiful, Lissy.'

'I know. But I'm not sure I ought to wear it.'

'Why not?' Cindy looked at the girl curiously.

'Well, for starters, because it's obviously really expensive, and secondly, because I don't want Draco to think I like him.'

Cindy was confused. 'But I thought you did like him?'

'No, I hate him.'

'Really? I suppose that's why you got all excited when his owl turned up, was it?' Cindy stared knowingly at her daughter. 'Or why you blush whenever you mention his name?'

'I do not!' Lissy exclaimed loudly.

Cindy laughed. 'Yes, you do, love. And I'm sorry — you may hate some of the things Draco does, but you definitely don't hate him.'

'I do sometimes,' Lissy admitted. 'It's like I can't stop myself from being horrible to him. And then other times I look at him and think how handsome he is and how I just want to be with him.'

Cindy nodded. 'Love is a terrible thing sometimes.'

Lissy looked shocked. 'I'm not in love with Draco Malfoy!'

'Hmmm, well, maybe not. But that's how I felt about Lucius from the first time I met him, and I know I was in love with him. It was sort of obvious that there was an attraction between you and Draco at the station.'

'Really?' Lissy's voice was quieter now.

'Yes. It was strange . . . .'

'Yes, I know,' Lissy cut in hastily. 'You said before that it was like seeing history repeat itself.' Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, she changed the subject. 'Mum, do you love Dad?'

'Of course I do. Why wouldn't I love your father?' Cindy was careful not to look at Lissy as she said this and kept her hand with the fingers crossed down at her side.

'Because he's not very nice to you and he makes you unhappy,' Lissy said.

'He doesn't make me unhappy,' Cindy replied carefully.

'Oh, he does, Mum. I've lost count of the number of times he's made you cry.' Lissy hugged her mother. 'I don't understand why you married him.'

'I married him because I was in love with him,' Cindy said tersely. 'Now can we change the subject, please?'

'But you were in love with Lucius,' Lissy retorted. 'Why didn't you marry him instead?' Cindy didn't reply. 'Florean told me that the two of you were madly in love. Why didn't you marry each other?' Lissy persisted.

'Sometimes things aren't that easy,' Cindy said quietly.

'Yes, Florean said that, too. But I just don't understand.' Lissy looked at her mother pleadingly. 'Please, explain it to me.'

Cindy sighed. 'I'm not really sure what you want to know, Lissy. I met Lucius when I was the same age as you, the same way you and Draco met, and there was the same instant attraction. The difference was that I was Muggle-born and Lucius was already betrothed to Narcissa.

'We both spent years trying to resist each other, but the pull was too strong and eventually we admitted we were in love. Lucius risked so much to love me. His father was a real Pure-blood supremacist and had raised his son to be the same way. It went against everything Lucius and his family had ever stood for to be in love with me.'

She sighed again and continued sadly, 'I tried to help him break free of his past and family. I took him to meet my parents, tried to make him realise that Muggles weren't the evil creatures he'd always thought. And it was working. But his family were too strong. Eventually, his sense of duty to family overcame everything he'd learnt to be true. His father introduced him to You-Know-Who and Lucius became a Death Eater.'

Lissy gasped in shock. 'What? But how could he? He was in love with you.'

Cindy sighed. 'Yes. I don't know how or why, but Lucius has always seemed to be able to ignore the fact that I'm Muggle-born. No one else could, though — I'd always been a Mudblood to Narcissa and the like. Things became dangerous for me, and dangerous for Lucius, too. God only knows what You-Know-Who would have thought of one of his Death Eaters being in love with a Muggle-born.

'Of course, then we started hearing what the Death Eaters were doing to Muggles. Few people at school realised at the time that Lucius and his friends were involved, but of course, I did. I begged him to leave, but he told me he couldn't. The choice had been made and he had to see it through, regardless. He told me he could still love me, that nothing had changed between us. But of course, it had. I couldn't continue seeing someone who stood by and let others torture and kill people, even if he took no part in it himself. And I wasn't convinced that he didn't take part.

'It became clear to me that he had never had any real intention of going against his family and that, except for some aberration that made him consider me 'normal', he fully subscribed to that supremacist crap his father had drummed into him. He even begged me to marry him — he told me he would do it secretly, sure that one day we could be together — but it was too late. He had already broken my heart and I wasn't willing to give him a chance to do it again.

'I had met your father through some mutual friends and I started to spend more time with them. I kept as far away from Lucius as I could. I didn't even want to hear his name, let alone see him. Unfortunately, we shared many classes, but I didn't have to be anywhere near him in those.

'Andrew was a nice man, from a decent Pure-blood family, but he had no issue with Muggle-borns. As we got to know each other better I began to enjoy being in his company more and more. He protected me from the Slytherins who were picking on all Muggle-borns, and by the time we left school I realised I was in love with him. Not the same all-consuming love I'd had for Lucius, I was never going to have that again, but a gentler and calmer love.

'After a couple of years of working for the Ministry, Andrew asked me to marry him and I agreed immediately. He protected me when You-Know-Who rose to power and began his scourge on the Muggle-borns and risked his life to do so. I owe your father a great deal. Of course, once You-Know-Who had been defeated, Lucius and his friends all said they'd been forced to act as they had under the Imperius Curse, but I wasn't fooled. I knew Lucius was a Death Eater. I'd seen his Dark Mark.'

'His what?'

'The Dark Mark. There were many followers of You-Know-Who, but his closest advisors, his inner circle, were the Death Eaters. Those he marked with a tattoo on their inner left forearm — a dreadful thing, a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.'

'But then surely everyone would have known he was a Death Eater?' Lissy said, clearly confused.

'No, because when You-Know-Who was destroyed the tattoo disappeared. So Lucius and the other Death Eaters could pretend they hadn't served You-Know-Who freely; that they had been forced into it as so many others had been. It was only because I'd seen the tattoo before that I knew for sure.

'The last time I saw Lucius before running into him on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in September was on our last day of school. He grabbed me on the way to the Great Hall and pulled me into an alcove, begging me to give him a chance to talk to me. He told me he still loved me and always would, and he kissed me.'

Cindy stopped and remembered that last meeting and how she had reacted, the lure of Lucius' kiss tempered by her outrage at his earlier actions.

'The kiss was wonderful, but it wasn't enough. I pulled away from him and ran to the Great Hall before he could catch me again. After that I avoided him, making sure he couldn't find me on the train or at the station. At the time I didn't think my heart would ever mend.'

Lissy had moved to hug her mother, realising how hard her confession had been. She was also now more confused than ever. From everything she had seen of Lucius, he appeared to be a nice enough man. Rather arrogant, but then he was old school Pure-blood. But he had obviously liked her mother, so he couldn't be all bad. But now her mother was telling her that he had been one of the worst men in history, a Death Eater. And what did that make Draco? Did he share his father's beliefs?

Of course, it still didn't explain why her father didn't want to be with them. What had happened to make him hate them so much?

'So you married Dad, and then you had me?' she asked. Cindy nodded. 'So . . . when did he stop loving us?' Lissy asked quietly.

Cindy hugged her daughter tightly, brushing a lock of hair from her face. 'Oh, Lissy, he still loves you, he's just not very good at showing it.'

Lissy noticed that her mother didn't say he loved them, just that he loved her. 'But that's not true, is it?' she insisted. 'If it was he wouldn't go off and leave us all the time. Where does he go?'

Cindy didn't know what to say to her daughter. How could she explain without the child feeling worse than she already did? She took Lissy's hands and looked at her intently.

'Lissy, your dad really does love you. It's me he has a problem with. Unfortunately, the only way he feels he can deal with it is by not being here. I'm sorry he doesn't see you as much as you'd like. I'll have a word with him about it.'

'Don't bother. If he wanted to see me he would make the effort.' Lissy was petulant now. 'I'm sorry, Mum, but I still can't understand why you married him. Did he ever love you?'

'Yes, of course he did,' Cindy said defensively. But she couldn't help wondering. Had Andrew ever really loved her or had he just been pleased to get her away from Lucius? To be honest, she couldn't really remember the early years all that well.

'So it was after I came, then,' Lissy deduced. She sounded totally dejected.

'Oh, Lissy, it wasn't you. I told you, it was me.' Cindy hugged her daughter tightly. 'After you were born I didn't want any more children. Your dad had been expecting more and never forgave me for it.'

'But why didn't you want any more children?' Lissy asked fearfully.

'Well . . . I could tell you it was because I already had the perfect child.' Cindy grinned at Lissy. 'But of course you're not perfect — your bedroom attests to that.' Lissy rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. 'I really just didn't want any more children at the time, and as things deteriorated between your dad and me there was less and less likelihood of it happening. And now I think I'm lucky with an almost perfect child with an incredibly untidy bedroom.'

She grinned at Lissy. 'Did you reply to Draco's letter? It certainly looked like heavy reading. God knows what he had to say, you've only been apart for a week. Surely that much can't have happened?'

Lissy giggled and went bright red.

'Ahhh, not so much of the news, then,' Cindy said shrewdly. 'And I take it you haven't yet replied because you currently hate him, even after the beautiful present he gave you.'

'So what did your letter from Lucius say, then?' Lissy asked, trying to avoid responding to her mother's question. 'That seemed quite thick, too.'

'I expect it contained pretty much the same as Draco sent you. Lots of stuff telling me how wonderful I was and so forth.' Cindy laughed. 'I didn't reply for over a week because I didn't know what to say that didn't make me look like a complete gibbering idiot or admit that I fancied him as much as he liked me. When I did finally write I just told him what I'd been doing over Christmas, nothing personal at all. He must have been really disappointed but he never once said anything.'

'I haven't written back yet,' Lissy admitted. 'I've started a few times but I've found it hard to know what to say.'

'Well, why don't you send him something short? Thank him for the present and explain that you're busy visiting relatives and are unlikely to have a chance to write again. Tell him you look forward to seeing him at the station. That'll make his whole Christmas.' Cindy grinned wickedly as Lissy blushed again. 'You are looking forward to seeing him again, aren't you?' Lissy bit her lip as if considering, then nodded to admit she was. 'Good, then tell him. Go on, go and write the letter now and you can send Ru off before you go to bed.'

Lissy scrambled off the sofa, and after giving Cindy a kiss, she dashed upstairs to write to Draco.