A/N: This is the long overdue sequel to my fanfic "All the Sweetness of the World", which I recently reuploaded. If you haven't read it, it's admittedly mostly fluff regarding the Malfoy family in privacy of their home, joined by Narcissa's niece - Aquilla Lestrange, daughter of Bellatrix and Rodolphus, born during their imprisonment; however, some tidbits will be referenced to. This story will cover Aquilla's Hogwarts years. Each chapter will cover a month, so lengths will vary. And I shall not abstain from fluff.


July 1993, Malfoy Manor

Out of a mountain of hope, a stone of despair.

It would take time to get used to lack of Dobby. Fortunately, Wimpy picked up a lot of slack, and since Aquilla had inherited Zissey after grandma Lestrange's death, the workload per elf wasn't overwhelming.

Still, it was infuriating.

Draco was fuming with anger, and Aquilla wasn't surprised by that. She also was angrier than she let on. What would Potter gain by depriving them of a servant? He lived with bloody muggles, it wasn't like he was going to keep him! But on the other hand, it really shouldn't ruin Draco's summer holidays.

'Come on, Draco' Aquilla patted his arm. 'Let's go have a flight. Weather is great. Maybe Theo and the others will join us too?'

The distraction worked. With Narcissa's permission, they both flew to the Nott household. Mr Nott greeted them before beckoning Theodore; Draco shook hands with his good friend while Aquilla squeezed him in a hug. Theo smiled at them and went to get his broom. It felt great to have proper pure-blood friends who were there for him back when his mother died, and they were now even more close-knit than back when they were little kids. Vincent and Gregory could be Draco's goons, but Theo was his friend.

Even if he was a little too affectionate with Aquilla. But it was only Draco's opinion. Aquilla assured him it was fine, and he saw she was more than fine with that, so he had to let it slide.

Leisurely flight was exactly the simple pleasure they could all enjoy. Weather was indeed perfect, sunny without it being scorching. It felt amazing to feel the wind and see all the surroundings from up above. They had enough area they could fly without being spotted by muggles. They played flying tag until they were positively exhausted.

'Say Theo, maybe you'll join us for lunch?' Draco offered. 'We can Floo your father to make sure he's fine with it.'

'Oh, uh, with pleasure!' Theo grinned. 'Surely father will understand. He's glad we're friends.'

It soon became their usual way of spending the day. They were sometimes accompanied by Draco's other Slytherin classmates, or the Carrow twins, but the core of the group was Draco, Theo and Aquilla.

/\/\

It was at breakfast one day in mid July when Aquilla received her Hogwarts acceptance letter.

'Finally!' she squealed, taking it from aunt Narcissa's hands. She ripped the envelope open. Sure the past two years she had plenty of fun with the Carrow twins, but her big cousin was so far away, along with all their other friends. But now, this year, she would finally be able to spend long hours with them in Slytherin common room! And Carrow twins would be there too, so she wouldn't lose them.

Anguish flashed briefly on Narcissa's face. Aquilla froze; she was just holding her supply list, but she noticed her aunt's emotions.

'I'm going to miss you too, auntie' she said quietly. 'But I will write often and Floo sometimes. It's not like I'm moving away.'

Narcissa hugged her. Aquilla melted into the embrace; motherly warmth was something she often craved for. And still, she hoped that one day, she would get it from her own mother.

'Are you crying?' Narcissa asked and only then Aquilla realized that she was. She nodded slightly.

'Sometimes... sometimes I feel bad that I still hope for mom and dad to return' she whispered. 'You and uncle Lucius... you are always so good to me. So... so why do I miss them...?'

'It's only natural, my dear' Narcissa whispered. 'You don't need to feel bad. We did think that Bella and Rod would be free soon, and we never wanted to take you away from them. You are my family, my little niece. But you are a Lestrange, not a Malfoy, and this is okay.'

Did. Aquilla understood that Narcissa no longer believed her parents would be free, but she still held on to this hope. After all these years.

'So!' Narcissa smiled brightly at her. 'Are we going to visit Diagon Alley today and get all the supplies?'

'Uh, can we Floo the Carrows first? Flora and Hestia told me they could wait for me and we could go shopping together.'

'Oh, I'll do it. I must talk to Amycus about our next... vacation... together' Lucius said. Narcissa froze for a moment. But a moment was enough for Aquilla to notice and hug her warmly.

After breakfast, Lucius talked to Amycus over Floo and soon arranged for them to meet at Diagon Alley. Coincidentally, Theodore was there too, along with his father. Aquilla and Draco greeted Theo while Lucius talked to his father in hushed voices; no matter how much Aquilla tried to eavesdrop, she couldn't hear a word except 'vacation'. Does it mean uncle Lucius wants to take Theo's dad for his vacation with Flora and Hestia's dad too?, Aquilla thought. She hardly understood these vacations. Uncle Lucius always returned from them upset and apologize to her, but she didn't understand why. He was even more upset the previous year. But he was never one to explain much.

'We actually got some of equipment before' Flora admitted to Aquilla, sounding apologetic. 'Our wands couldn't wait more. But all that won't take hours to find, we can go together for!' she pulled on Aquilla's wrist, on the way to bookstore.

'All our lists are the same, right?' Aquilla peeked over at Flora's parchment.

'Yeah, until the electives at third year' Flora nodded. 'Do you look forward to being in Slytherin together?'

'Oh of course. Slytherin with Draco, and he'll always have my back' Aquilla grinned towards her cousin who seemed to be wrestling with some book. The shopkeeper helped him subdue the snapping tome. 'I hope our books won't bite.'

'Who could even recommend something like this to a student?' Hestia glared at Draco's book. Her own arms were already full of perfectly tame books for first-year students.

'I don't know, but if they aren't replaced, I won't choose whatever the book is for.'

'Agreed.'

Robes, cauldron, phials, scales, telescope. Aquilla's coffer was slowly filling up. Then came quills and ink - Aquilla was overjoyed at the no-smear ink - and parchment.

'So that's all!' Flora grinned. 'Dad, may we have ice cream before we part ways? May we? May we?'

'All? I don't have my wand yet!' Aquilla protested.

'Yeah, you don't need audience for trying wands. And it can take ages. So, ice cream?' Hestia pleaded. The adults agreed and soon they all sat down with sundaes. Anticipating her wand purchase, Aquilla could barely sit still and even acknowledge her ice cream flavor. Draco ruffled her hair.

'Relax, Aquilla. Best for last.'

After they finished their ice cream and said goodbyes to the Carrows and the Notts, Aquilla went to Ollivanders to get a wand. She shivered as she entered. The man's eyes seemed to pierce right through her.

'Ah... here you are, young lady' Mr Ollivander said with a curious smile. 'Finally time to get your first wand, isn't it? I remember your parents getting theirs right in this shop... walnut and dragon heartstring, twelve and three-quarter inches, unyielding... that was your mother's, right?'

Aquilla could only nod. It sounded right, although she didn't know wand properties by heart.

'And your father... that was cherry wood with unicorn hair core, twelve inches, rigid. These wands... they could do plenty of great feats, both of them...'

It sounded like an accusation. Aquilla frowned.

'I... I also want to do plenty of great feats' she said. Mr Ollivander nodded at that.

'Well then, let us begin. Which hand has power?'

'Left' Aquilla held up her left hand and let the wandmaker measure her all over. The man nodded curtly and showed her a wand.

'Twelve inches, chestnut and phoenix feather, stiff' he explained. Aquilla tried it, but it wasn't the one.

'How about... nine and half inches, apple wood and dragon heartstring, bouncy' he offered. It also wasn't the one. After a dozen or so wands, he still didn't seem discouraged.

'And maybe this one? Ten and a quarter inches, pear wood and unicorn hair, very springy' he opened yet another box. Under Aquilla's fingers, it seemed to resonate with her very core. The girl picked it up and waved only so gently, producing sparks of many colors. Aquilla grinned.

'Definitely, this is the one!' she smiled brightly. She paid for the wand, happy that she finally had it. She practically bounced on the way back home.

Once there, she tried to practice some of the spells described in her books. Draco chuckled at her enthusiasm.

'You know, if you learn everything now, you'll be bored to death at school.'

'Yeah...' she sighed. 'But I want to be the best.'

'Fine by me. Well then' he took out his own wand. 'Want to learn some nice duelling spells?'

'Won't we be Traced?' she tilted her head.

'Nah. We can chalk it up to mom and dad practicing. They will cover for us.'

Aquilla grinned. She definitely wouldn't waste any time she could spend learning to duel. With their fathers' permission, Theodore and the Carrow twins joined them from time to time, and each leisurely flight was followed by short duelling time. Sometimes they came home bruised from Knockback Jinx, but in Aquilla's opinion, it was all worth it.

/\/\

It was rare to spot uncle Lucius at the table during breakfast; he often left early. But this bright day of late July, he was there, reading Daily Prophet. Aquilla peeked at the front page and her heart skipped a beat. BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN, it read.

'Uncle!' she squealed with joy as she poked at the paper. 'Does it mean mum and dad-'

'No' Lucius grunted, pushing a pouch with money towards Narcissa. 'It was Sirius Black, that blood traitor.'

Aquilla stared at him. Then she snatched a cinnamon bun from the table and ran back to her room, not wanting anyone to see her cry this time. She slammed her door shut and cried into her pillow. When Draco knocked at her door, she did nothing; when aunt Narcissa tried to fetch her for lunch, she did not react. The Carrow twins and Theo also didn't manage to get her out of her room.

Why this blood traitor and not mum and dad?


A/N: I know it was long overdue, and I considered dropping it overall, but after reading Cursed Child, I found some new creative juices. So here we are!

I know Draco and Aquilla are underage, and probably shouldn't be allowed to use magic outside school, but Trace lore is so inconsistent that I decided that in all-wizard households it has to be effectively ignored, otherwise most all-wizard families would be showered with notifications daily when their kids are home. Thus, Aquilla and Draco get a pass.

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