*-Persephone Casselman was a bright girl. Bright green eyes, bright red hair, glowing tan skin. She always wore bright shirts and dresses and she was smart as a whip. Her parents always told her to use her brains to be someone and do something to change the world. She cared nothing for heroism, and had no immediate plans to save the world. All they young lady wanted was to be a writer, much to her parents' dismay.

She had plans to attend Euro-Glyph School of Extraordinary Languages so she could learn to read and write in every language she could. She knew her parents would do anything in their power to change that, but Persephone didn't care. Her parents had taken so much away from her, and she wasn't going to have this. She looked in the mirror at herself, enjoying her new outfit. She wore light khaki shorts and a lacy blue shirt. She loved when her dad came back from New York with cute clothes for her. She rolled her emerald eyes as she heard stomping on the stairs.

"Persephone WEST!" Mrs. Marcha Casselman called from the hallway. She was a kind woman, with silky blond hair and an unusually young figure for her age. She was always dressed to impress, sporting an adorable summer dress and strappy wedge heels. But somehow, her only child always brought out the worst in her, and surely had taken a couple years off her life. She knocked on her daughter's door persistently, already knowing that there would be a locking spell on it. She had told that ginger brat so many times that she didn't allow that in her home. If she was going to live in her house, she would live under her rules! The older woman fumed more as her daughter continued to ignore her. The knocking got louder and louder until soon she was practically beating the antique door relentlessly.

"WHAT, MOM?" He daughter called back in a bratty tone, finally tired of hearing the ridiculous commotion her mother was causing. The knocking stopped, but the older woman still wanted to stomp into the girl's room and drag her out by her hair. But they had company, and good company at that. Company that would take that sneering little monster off her hands…

"You knew we had company 30 minutes ago and you better get your hide down there before I-" Suddenly the door slammed open and the girl stomped out. At least she was dressed well, her mother thought. She stepped to the side, inviting the auburn haired girl to go and greet the guests, but she looked like would rather saw off her own hand than* be polite to the people downstairs.

"Mother, I told you I have a college picked out. I don't need to meet some buffoon to tell me his school is better- blah, blabady, blah," the young lady said, rolling her eyes and making a less than attractive face. God, she made her mother's blood boil.

"Damnit, Persephone, it's NOT A COLLEGE. Get your ASS down there now or I'll take you down there myself," the mom finally snapped, snatching her daughter's wrist and practically pushing her down the hall. Persephone was stunned by her mother's actions, stumbling dumbfounded for a few steps. After a few seconds she pulled herself together, standing up tall.

"Fine," the girl said in return, glaring with her green eyes at her parent. She flipped her long red hair in her mom's direction and trudged down the hall, down the stairs, and towards the parlor.

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Her house was a beautiful white plantation home three** stories high and one of the biggest historical homes in South Carolina. The old slave houses had been transformed into guest homes and were where her friends always stayed. The entire house had been remodeled from wood into stone. She knew the halls like a map, gliding gracefully through them. Her bare feet patted on the cold marble floor. She wished she at least wore some shoes.

Though the last seven years were spent at Salem Academy, she spent all her summers here at the plantation with "foreign exchange students" that were too lazy to pack up and leave America. The house had been charmed to look like a historical museum to ordinaries, or Muggles, as her friends from Europe called them, so they saw it as it had been before they modernized it. Sometimes it was kind of weird to think that there were people walking around her house, unknowing of her existence. But it was kind of thrilling, too, in a way. Who knew when a cute boy was watching her shower and didn't even know it!

She entered the parlor quietly, as not to disturb the conversation her father was having with his guests. They must have been important, she thought, if she was requested to meet them. Her parents never made her see anyone but family, which was bad enough. She had enough fake enthusiasm and cheek pinching to last her several lifetimes.

"Ah, Persephone, how kind of you to finally join us," her father drawled, giving her his usual uninterested gaze. She smiled sheepishly at the couple seated across from him, who had turned to look at her. Suddenly feeling shy, she just ushered herself to a seat without a word and sat quietly through the adults' conversation.

"As I was saying, Mr. Malfoy, our blood line goes back to medieval times. Some even say we are related to Merlin himself, hence the castle in Casselman. Obviously, no one has records back that far, but I assure you our blood is as pure as it gets," Mr. Casselman said smugly. That was the difference between her mother and father. While her mother was a more modest and caring individual, her father was a self-righteous, egotistical maniac with more power than any man should have.

"That's very prestigious, Mr. Casselman," Lucius said, truly impressed for once. He looked at Narcissa, hoping should would be as interested as he was. She gave him a look somewhere between fascinated and sold. His heart flew with excitement, knowing he had won her over.

Her father was only 43, but he was almost completely grey. He had her tan complexion but he had icy blue eyes that despite his aloof personality were piercing and judgmental at times.

"Yes, thank you. Her mother and I were married through an arranged marriage. She's from a pure-blood wizarding family from California. Very nice family, they are. As you can tell from my beautiful daughter, we both have very good genes," he said, glancing at Persephone. She blushed lightly, hoping the only light being from the fireplace would hide it. She was use to her school mates calling her pretty, but this felt different.

"She is quite striking," Lucius stated. "Persephone, is it?" he asked, looking at her with analyzing eyes.

"Erm…" she started, stumbling over the question. "Yes sir" was all she could manage.

"Do tell me about yourself, dear." He leaned closer as if to hear some grand story from the teenage girl. Her mind froze under the pressure and she stared stupidly at the couple for a second.

"Uhm, well… I just graduated, and I want to be a writer. I have been accepted to Euro-Glyph to learn every language so I can translate important books so anyone can read them." She noted they seemed bored with her answers, but that was it. That was Persephone. She may not have been the most interesting person, but surely she couldn't be the least interesting.

"Yes," Lucius said, not too impressed with her answer. "How about any boyfriends?" he asked. She blushed again, not feeling too comfortable getting so personal with a man she had never met.

"No." She frowned. "None whatsoever."

"Hmm, interesting," the blonde man said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "How do you feel about getting married?"

"Married…?" she asked, slightly shocked at the man's question. "Well…I guess one day I will. I haven't ever thought about it..." She answered honestly, and the husband and wife could tell she had never even dated. She seemed innocent enough, but Lucius couldn't figure out how such a beautiful and smart girl could scathe by without a man sweeping her off her feet.

"Very well" was all the man said before turning his attention back to her father.

"Mr. Casselman, I hope you take us up on that offer.." he said, as if he were already about to leave. How late was she? Did she miss the whole event? Everyone stood up abruptly, shaking hands and saying farewells. Again, Lucius spent too much time saying farewell to Persephone, making it awkward for the poor girl. Soon the house was empty off all guests, but the red haired girl felt weird about all the strange questions the man asked her. She knew it was all just casual conversation and the Malfoys were just trying to include her. She obviously bored them to the point they felt they needed to leave.

Her father sat back down in his chair and pulled out the Weekly Oracle and began to read. The girl moved to a chair across the room where her calico Persian, Canvas, sat. She picked her up and squeezed her tight, getting a squeak from the kitten. She put her down and they played with a mouse toy. They sat in silence for a few minutes before her father spoke up.

"So, how did you like the Malfoys?" he asked, peering over his paper. She met his gaze and shrugged casually, not wanting so say either way. They seemed nice enough, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling they were just a set of strange individuals.

"Eh, they were okay, I suppose," she said nonchalantly. "A little stuffy for my taste. Not to mention a little too British." She earned a laugh from her dad on the last comment.

"Now, don't be like that 'Sephone!" Mr. Casselman joked, paying attention to his paper again. Another silent moment passed by and she wondered where her mom could be.

"I hope they grow on you," her dad said out of the blue. She got a bad feeling when he said that. He pulled her paper closer to his face and tensed up at his next sentence. "Because soon, they'll be your in-laws." All he could hear was the shocked silence before the storm.