© Sunrisepainter: Because of Snape
News & Secrets
"Good evening, Mr Shycates, Miss McShadew and Miss Shycates." Draco Malfoy greeted them and smiled at Hope in a very sneered manner which made her want to beat him up right on the spot.
Her father nudged her side and hissed:
"Be nice."
"Good evening." She finally mumbles and made a half-hearted curtsy while always keeping one eye on the young Malfoy.
"Please, follow me. I'm going to show you to the dining hall." McShadew made some welcoming gesture.
"With pleasure." Mr Malfoy senior smirked and they did as they were told. As soon as she was sure they could not hear them any more, Hope glared at her father:
"What do these people want from you? What the hell do you have to do with people who support the most despising ideals the magical world ever came up with?"
"Don't talk to me like that, young lady! Demean yourself!"
"What do they want?" She repeated her question as she did not want to give up that quickly.
"They just want to have dinner with us." He answered.
"I know! Why the Malfoys of all people?" She snapped at him.
"Well, they are one of the sacred pure-blood families after all!"
"Phew, pure-blooded but worse than a box of flobberworms!"
"Be quiet now! If you don't behave yourself, you can forget about me giving you these!"
He held some envelopes under her nose. Her name was on them.
"Wh- where did you get these?" She asked bewildered.
"They were just owled yesterday. I think they're from your little friends. Perhaps, even from the red-haired one..." Her father smirked and was obviously enjoying his new powers.
"Hand them over!" She yelled and wanted to grip the envelopes but he calmly put them back into his pocket.
"Hey!"
"You get them after I made sure nothing goes wrong this evening."
"That's not fair!" She growled. He just smirked smugly:
"Well, nothing's fair in life, my dear. Now, move to the dining hall and try to engage Draco into a conversation. After all, you already know him and maybe..." He winked at her and she understood perfectly well what he was implying.
"I would never throw myself at someone's neck like Malfoy's!" She hissed angrily. "You can do what you want but I will never date him! He's two years younger than me and just loathsome!"
"We'll see, my lady." He just shrugged his shoulders. She knew that this was not over yet.
"Now, go!" He rudely pushed her forward and if she did not reach for the banisher, she surely would have fallen. Stupid heels!
Sending one death glare at her father, Hope forced a smile on her face and stalked towards the dining hall. She was getting more and more scared. Her father was scary. However, she absolutely wanted to get these letters, so she put on a brave front and sat down next to Draco Malfoy who seemed to be surprised at first but soon was back to his old smirking self.
McShadew and Mafoy senior seemed to be flirting which each other. Draco used this opportunity to lean over to Hope and whispering his threat:
"Don't think it's all fine now! I won't ever forget about that thing with the firecrackers, Shycates! You're going to rue it!"
For a moment, Hopes eyes were filled with panic but she soon recollected and hissed from the corner of her mouth:
"I won't forget either. Don't worry, I'm prepared, Malfoy. After all, I'm friends with the Weasley- twins."
"Boo-hoo, you're terrifying me! Well, there are a lot of hot rumours about you and one Weasley, though."
Hope blushed:
"What did you hear?" Malfoys got even dirtier:
"Oh well, this and that. Actually, you became quite close, right? Or is there more to it? Did Weasley already propose to you? Ah, I don't want to even imagine your children! Mudbood friends all look ugly and stupid!" He laughed nastily.
Hope was boiling with anger now. f Mr Shycates had not shown up at that moment, she probably would have killed Malfoy, forgetting all about her manners. This wretched, rotten, little ferret!
"Let's begin our dinner!" Mr Shycates clapped his hands and the table was filled with a lot of delicious food.
Hope eyed her "father" suspiciously. Up to now, they had to set the table themselves. How did he manage to do it magically?
Mr Shycates saw her confused expression and mumbled some that sounded lke "Rent-a-House-Elf". Hope nearly burst out laughing but she stopped herself last minute. She was distracted as Malfoy senior started talking about Malfoy manor and how it was so much better than this house.
Hope quickly filled her plate and crammed down the food to prevent herself from showing any other emotion than pure indifference. She also did not feel like talking to the guests either. However, her plan was void as soon as Mr Malfoy faced her:
"Well, Miss Shycates, as Draco has told me, you're doing great at school, right?"
"Oh yeah, she's the best of her peers!" Mr Shycates boasted.
"Ah, she's diligent as a Ravenclaw but still in Gryffindor, how come?" Mr Malfoy senior asked and stared at her with his cold, grey eyes. Hope only shrugged her shoulders:
"I like it in Gryffindor"
"Of course!" Malfoy junior wrinkled his nose.
"Please Draco, don't be unfair to families who don't have the fame and fortune like the Malfoys." Lucius Malfoy said and Hope knew that he referring to the Weasleys.
"They have other, better qualities instead." Hope said coldly. Malfoy senior smirked:
"Well, what would that be, young lady?"
Hope had just opened her mouth to answer when she caught the warning in her fathers eyes who put his hands in his pocket with the letters.
"I don't know, Sir." She mumbled and pressed her lips together. Lucius's smirk became unbereable for her:
"Today's youth talks without thinking, I see. This Potter brat and his friend are like that, too. That's probably what they call the famous bravery of Gryffindor!"
Draco laughed about his fathers comment. Hope furiously clenched her fists under the table.
"Think about the letter, think about the letter, maybe it's from your friends!" She tried to calm hersellf down. It worked this time. She felt her muscles relaxing and her fury decreasing. For the rest of the dinner Hope remained silent.
After they had eaten the dessert, Humphry cleaned his mouth with a napkin and said:
"Well, I think it's time talking about business now, Mr Malfoy. Hope, you should go showing Draco the rest of our mansion."
Think about the letter, the letter!
"Sure, father." Hopes smile was al fake again.
Without looking at either one of the Malfoys, she rose to her feed and left the dining hall. Draco Malfoy followed her silently. When he had closed the door behind them, Hope turned on her heel to face him angrily:
"You can look around this swanky house yourself, if you want! I don't want to waste my time with someone like you!"
A smirk spread across the Slytherins face:
"Yeah, I guess you prefer spending your time eavesdropping." Hopes cheeks turned red:
"I won't"
"Please, I can see the curiosity written all over your face."
She huffed:
"Okay, admit that you're right but don't tell my father or else I'm going to hex you!"
"You're little threats don't work on me, Shycates." He laughed in amusement. "Well, I could promise you to keep my mouth shut under one condition."
She looked at him suspiciously. What was his plan?
"You take this and let me join you." To her surprise, he got a set of Extendable Ears made by Fred and George from his pocket. Hopes lower jaw dropped nearly to the floor. Malfoy chuckled:
"What? Did you think Gryffindors are the only ones using these things?"
"No, but...I mean...you...I mean you're Malfoy! You hat Weasleys and Gryffindors in general!"
"You're right. However, I don't hate useful equipment." He answered. "And now, shut your trap. We wasted enough time already!"
Shaking her head in disbelief, Hope took one of the Ears. Malfoy was always good for a surprise. However, she could not think further about this for she immediately heard Lucius Malfoys cold voice in her ear.
"...here soon. We're already in the process of making dispositions. The ceremony is the most crucial part."
"Of course, I'm already excited." That was the voice of Mr Shycates.
"How are you going to involve the girl?"
"Well, we're currently controlling her by taking her magical power as far as we can and keeping her from contacting her little friends. We also plan to isolate her from her mother."
"The plan is good but there might be one hitch somewhere."
"What do you mean, Lucius?"
"The girl seemed to be quite headstrong and I'm afraid she'll go against you the more you suppress her. Pretend to understand her worries and make her like you. She has to trust you."
"She's just a cheeky, little brat." McShadew huffed.
"I know you well enough to be sure that you can deal with her temper, Miss McShadew." Malfoy said mellifluously.
"Is you're son going to serve as a Death Eater soon, too?"
"The Dark Lord thinks it would be better for him to receive the mark next year. He's still too young."
"So, he's back after all?" Humphry became all nervous.
"Of course, he did. You didn't hear the good news yet?" Malfoy senior ridiculed his host.
Hope thought that she heard more than enough so she rolled up the Extendable Ear. Her body was shaking all over. Even Malfoy junior looked quite pale. For a moment there, Hope forgot that they were supposed to be enemies:
"What did he mean by "receiving the mark" and "ceremony"? And what does it have to do with us?"
"You didn't get it? And you're supposed the be the smart one of us!" The younger one sneered.
She looked at him with a hurt expression in her eyes. Draco sighed:
"Aright, I'm going to explain it to you. With the mark he's referring to the dark mark of You-Know-Who. They want us to become Death Eaters."
"WHAT?"
"Psst, you want them to hear us?"
"B-but..." Hope could not believe what he just said.
So, McShadew and Mr Shycates were really Death Eater after all? Yet, her mother was still convinced that her ex-husband could never be one of You-Know-Who's supporter. Tears started to well up in Hopes eyes. There was nothing she could do now!
Draco leaned his back against the wall:
"Oh well, I always knew my fate. It's unavoidable if your a Death Eater's child. You should accept it, too, Shycates."
Hope shook her head in disbelief and without uttering another word she dashed up the stairs. She had to be alone now. She could no longer stand watching Malfoy's indifferent expression. Compared to him, she could never accept her new position.
End of Chapter Twenty-Two.
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