Lucius was well pleased with the outcome of events. After his conversation with Miss Lovegood, he found her most reasonable and willing to take over the Manor in his absence. His apology worked wonders and he was able to charm her over dinner.
In truth, he enjoyed the new breath of fresh air the young woman had brought to the place and was sure the manor did too. The colourful peacock wallpaper and the matching teal carpets warmed up the space. He was a bit suspicious about the possible remodelling of the great dining room, but Miss Lovegood"s new playroom for her Nifflers was proving to be very well made.
Nifflers were curious and lively creatures for sure. They enjoyed exploring and collecting shiny trinkets around, but also gave good nuzzles and cuddles that Lucius found most pleasing. He was unwillingly caught smiling when Miss Lovegood placed Pop in his arms and the critter gave his cheek a lick after he gave him a sickle for a treat.
The two mornings later, he was enjoying a cup of coffee in the parlour room as Miss Lovegood was redecorating a few more rooms, with Pop in his lap (on the creature"s own accord,might this author add) when Twinkle announced a visitor.
I did not invite anyone, Lucius thought to himself as he gestured for the doors to be open. And there walked in, none other than his prodigal son, the one and only Draco Malfoy.
Now Draco was surprised to receive a letter from his father scratched up in gibberish writing. No, surely Lucius Malfoy had not asked one of his elves to scribe for him? Anyways, the letter signalled great importance-that Master Malfoy was to see him just right away on urgent and very secret matters and that there will be a generous reward for him.
Draco did not like to be mercantile, especially with his father"s galleons, however he was involved in a few very important reconstruction projects in the country and the extra cash could serve him well.
Swinging open the doors of the parlour, Draco stopped dead in his tracks.
«Father?»
He had expected to see a man clad in dark robes still mourning the loss of his wife. Instead was a jolly good man dressed in pastel yellow robes with a Dirigible Plum pinned to his lapel and salmon collared shoes, his crossed over his legs in striped socks and a salmon cravat on his neck. His usual waist length hair was chopped to his shoulders and tied back with silken ribbon. He sat in a colourful parlour with a cup of coffee and toffee caramel biscuits in hand and a half finished mimosa on the coffee table. On his lap was a furry creature who at present was playing with a short gold chain attached to his pocket.
«My prodigal son!» Lucius looked at him too, arms opened wide and a theatrical wide smile on his face. «Come, come, give your old man a hug!»
Draco slowly inched closer and leaned forwards low enough for Lucius to give him a rib-cracking embrace.
«My boy! How I"ve missed you! This calls for a mimosa!»
«At seven in the morning?» Draco croaked.
«Say yes now, while your papa is still in a good mood,» Lucius said, wagging his finger mischievously. «Isn"t that right Pop?» he cooed, stroking the Niffler on the chin.
«Firewhiskey would be good considering current events,» Draco muttered under his breath as Lucius, transferred the Niffler to a cozy cushion and summoned over the glass and decanter and poured him a glass with a raspberry on a small umbrella. «You serve yourself?»
«As you can see,» Lucius said handing him the whisky.
«Your elves are too busy writing letters, I presume.» Draco downed the glass in one sup. «I admit, I"ve expected to
find you in a different state.»
«Not pleasantly foxed on a Sunday afternoon?»
Draco scoffed, he ran a hand through his slicked back blonde short hair. «Not so.»
Lucius put one hand to his chin, in comical contemplation. «Let me guess, you are here because you"ve missed your old man .
«I beg your pardon?»
«You"ve finally decided to take up your role as inheritor of the Malfoy Manor.»
«I admit not. You"ve sent me a letter father, don"t play coy.»
«I"ve done no such thing,» Lucius said.
«But you have. It says here,» Draco said, unravelling s scroll with a Malfoy stamp. «Master Dracey-»
«Really? I don"t recall. While I do write quite regularly, I"d recall if I had written anything of this sort to you. Besides, you should know well enough I"d never call you Master Dracey.» Lucius shooed him to put the scroll away. «Are you tired of gallivanting around the world? Come to pay your old man a visit?»
«I kept myself busy." Draco mumbled. «In case you weren"t aware, there was a war going on.»
«Might have heard of it in passing,» Lucius said sarcastically.
«I was well engaged with the rehabilitation efforts. Heard of a little school called Hogwarts?
«Say no more. It is galleons you seek.» Lucius pouted.
Draco shrugged. «Must it always come down to an ulterior motive-»
«Where are my flowers then? My late birthday present?» Lucius laughed short and loud. «Hiding under your miserable little jacket?»
«I wanted to visit for your birthday, but I was busy,» Draco mumbled. « But I also thought by your letter you might be interested in investing more into the the rehabilitation efforts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.»
« How unoriginal Draco.»
«Well you"re one to speak of originality.» Draco scoffed. «Hair tied back, dressed like a pansy-»
«Charming robes, are they not?»
«Is this the midlife crisis they write about in books?»
Lucius stood tall and proud opening his arms «Pish posh! Is this the look of a man in crisis?:
«You tell me,» Draco sipped his glass suspiciously. «Do not tell me you"ve taken to the pipe or something stronger. Cauldron knows how addictive those new herbs are...»
«I charge myself not-guilty. There are no illicit drugs in my condition, save the presence of a woman.»
«Gross!» Draco"s belched. «But to think you"ve replaced mother while her body"s still warm in the grave? That I can"t forgive.»
«I haven"t replaced her, silly boy, merely taken on a new mistress-»
«-I don"t want to know the details-»
«-Oh but you will. She came here under the most unusual circumstances and turned my life around.»
«Don"t all women? And who might this unfortunate lady-bird be?»
«You will soon see for yourself. Although you are likely already acquainted with her.»
«Madame Malkin"s third arm?»
«Guess again!.»
«I am out of guesses, and it is far too early for me to rack my brain ,» Draco rubbed his temples.
«Heard of the Lovegoods?»
Draco stared in disbelief and then began to cackle in a wicked tone. «No , no, do not tell me the next Missteps of Malfoy Manor is Looney Lovegood?»
Lucius pointed one dangerous finger at him. «Miss Lovegood.»
«Father, have you eaten hen bane?» Draco laughed.
«I assure you, I have not. Miss Lovegood has done a splendid job at the Manor.»
«Yes, I see» Draco laughed. « A splendid job at making this entire place seem like a madhouse. Please tell me this is all a joke.»
«I will do no such thing.»
«But why her? Out of all candidates.»
«There are many reasons. And if you stop howling like a banshee I might reveal them to you.»
«You will reveal them either way,» Draco said wiping his eyes. «Here I see a story you will not be able to keep to yourself.»
Lucius smiled. «This is true. Miss Lovegood has graciously decided to take over the Manor for some cover and food and a place for her incredible fantastic beasts.» He held up Pop giving him a peck on the snout.
«Unconvincing.»
«She is dedicated and creative and brilliant.»
«Yes.»
«She has a very particular flair for the unusual.»
«Quite right.» Draco poured himself more Firewhiskey.
«She"s punctual and organized."
«Hm-»
«But most importantly, she respects the manor like her own home."
«No, I am certain you"ve gone mad Father. You expect me to believe she likes it here after her last stay-cation in the dungeons?»
Here Lucius" cheeks did pale «Last time she didn"t get a good look of the house-»
«As one would.»
«But now, some time has passed.»
«I don"t believe anything you could do to the manor would rid it of the former stench. It"s like putting a ribbon a flaming pile of sh-»
«-Silence.»
«Associating yourself with a girl not three times your junior? Why not hire a housekeeper? Or use the elves to run the place? They can also hang wallpaper with their eyes closed.»
«There was nothing untoward happening.»
«Luna Lovegood in Malfoy Manor is untoward it in of itself.»
«I"ll tell you who is untowards,» Lucius scoffed. «Take that trollop you spend your hours with.»
«Pure gossip!» Draco went red in the face. «Moaning Myrtle threw our clothes into the Prefect"s bath and then threw Skeeter a bone.»
«Tale as old as time.»
«Astoria Greengrass is a respectable lady.»
«Then why haven"t I read of your nuptials yet in the Daily Prophet?» Lucius waved his hand.
«You are positively medieval. Nobody marries someone they"ve only dated for under a year.»
«Why not? I had.»
«That"s why you"re sitting here on the cusp of your life and allowing some little girl to run the house and dress you up like her muppet?»
«I like these garments.» Lucius stated. «And Miss Lovegood is a fully grown woman who , I might add, is the perfect mistress. She is young, she is energetic and willing to make change. She has a mission. She will not go around bringing shame to the family name. She is honest and pure. And that is the requirements of a true mistress.»
«Your plan does have one flaw. The mistress of Malfoy house often is married to the master.»
This Lucius shrugged off . «And marry her I will, if that is what it takes.»
«Surely you cannot be serious?»
«And why not? If it grants me my freedom to rid myself of the responsibility of this house and sip ratafia in a Spanish quarter?»
«Because there are responsibilities between man and wife,» Draco said nearly gagging. «You cannot want to do them with her of all people.»
«Don"t be medieval Draco,» Lucius snipped back. «these sorts of things happen within and without wedlock and in some cases - not at all. for instance, I have already completed my task of birthing an heir with the Malfoy name. An unthankful ferret of an heir by what I see. So marriage in my case would be a mere legal formality.»
«A legal formality with strings attached.»
«Say one more word and I will have to secure anouther heir. Perhaps this one will hold his tongue in check.» Lucius said, clipping the corner of Draco"s sleeve with the tip of his cane.
«Fine! Fine! Fine!» Draco squealed as he was backed into the wall. «I will be civil to her.»
«You will be more than civil.» Lucius wagged his cane. «You will be the paragon of grace and hospitality.»
«The paragon-»
«-and you will treat Miss Lovegood with the same respect as your mother-»
«-exactly-»
«-one toe out of line and I"ll have you shipped to the ruins of Hogwarts with a needle and spool of thread. Hopefully your respectable Astoria will be able to patch you up.»
«-yes, yes, yes.»
Lucius took one hard look at his son before releasing him. «Very good! Now, I believe you have some introductions to do.»
He promptly shoved Draco into the gardens where Miss Lovegood was presently busy enchanting a new playpen for the Thestrals.
Shocked and awestruck, Luna had just been in the midst of planning out a nice little awning for the Thestrals to stay in, when a blonde figure approached her in the gardens with a Roman smile and open arms.
Squinting she asked, «Draco?»
Draco came over, out out breath and his mouth gaping up and down like a fish. «Wow!» he blurted. «What a surprise!»
«Nice seeing you.» She hadn"t seen Draco in so many years, and was surprised that he had even remembered her. they hadn"t been so close in the past. Judging by Mr Malfoy"s letters, he hadn"t been an active visitor at the manor himself. «You look well! No Nargles.»
Draco paused, stumped, then burst out laughing. «Hilarious! Oh how I"ve missed your little quips. Do you know what I was thinking? How is Luna Lovegood doing these days, and then to run into you here of all places!»
«Well, here I am. Little me,» Luna shrugged, smiling sheepishly. «You"ve kept busy yourself. I"ve read about help at Hogwarts in the Daily Prophet. Papa was hoping to stop by the school and do an interview with the Headmistress once it"s fully finished, but its harder to get a spot there than it is at the Romanian Dragon Egg Convention.»
«Next time, you ask for Draco Malfoy. I"ll let you in through the secret back door.» Draco winked. «After all, we are practically family now.»
«That"s very nice. Papa will appreciate it.»
«Think nothing of it,» Draco huffed nonchalantly. «And you. Look at you! Quite the project...our Manor.»
«It"s exciting.» Luna giggled.
«Father very rarely lets anyone rearrange things around here. It"s nice to feel a breath of fresh air.»
«Oh?» Luna said. «We reached an understanding. He is very open to change.»
«Is this the same Lucius Malfoy we"re talking about.» Draco laughed. «Father's always been a man of the old world.»
«People change. I think it's nice.»
Draco sighed. «I"ve always liked that about you. Optimism! So nice to have when working with difficult people. No particular connection or anything. Say, how did you two connect?»
«It"s a long story.»
«I"m all ears. You must have flown into this dark dreary place like a pretty...purple...Pygmy Puff.» He accentuated with his arms. «Just bringing your magic touch and creativity.»
«I didn"t exactly fly in. Well I did. Through the Floo. But I did tell him. Only no, I didn"t.»
«The Floo ? Oh father only lets close people use his Floo.»
Luna thought about all their letter exchanges. «We are quite close.»
«You must have made some impression. »
«Oh yes,» Luna covered her mouth, remembering the way Mr Malfoy had run into her two Nifflers. «He was attacked.»
«Attacked?» Draco reached for his wand.
«By Pop and Pippin-»
«Where?»
«Oh they"re probably scurrying about in the garden-» Luna squealed finding herself thrown on the grass, skirts in the air as Draco prowled the garden, zapping at every moving object and yelling «Show yourselves, you bastards.»
«Draco...oh! My garden arrangement...oh well, I can redo it. But what are you doing-»
«Quiet woman,» Draco hissed. «I"m trying to-»
«Trying to what?» In an instant, Mr Malfoy flew out of the Manor, eyes mad with rage and threw himself on his son. «What have you done to Luna?»
«-trying to save-»
«-you better speak now Draco-»
«-if you just let me-»
«-I"ve let you do far too much-yow!» Mr Malfoy bellowed as Draco leaned over and in a spur of events bit his father"s arm that was at present grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
«I was trying to save her life from these two intruders!» Draco cried, spitting out blood from a broken lip.
«What the Cauldron are you talking about?»
«Some Plop and Pippin.»
«Oh , my Nifflers,» Luna cried. «They meant no harm. It was a friendly little attack two mornings ago, but they"ve become friends with Mr Malfoy since.»
«The intruders.» Draco stood, stumped. «You spoke of Nifflers. Little sweet creatures.»
«Of course she spoke of Nifflers, you fool,» Mr Malfoy spat. «Did you really believe I"d be sitting here calm as a clam with a band of bandits running about?»
Draco stuttered out a no, only to be hit promptly on the head with the back of the snake cane.
«Oh Mr Malfoy, he didn"t know!» Luna cried out, grabbing Mr Malfoy"s other arm. «Have a heart!»
«Yes father, be a lamb.» Draco muttered sheepishly.
«Or what? You will tell your father about it?» Mr Malfoy hissed dangerous into his ear before Miss Lovegood's fingers wrapped around his arm and dragged him off. "I sure would like to hear that conversation."
"Mr Malfoy. Please!" Luna cried.
They appeared to have the right sort of effect because the eldest Malfoy instantly composed himself and even offered Draco an unsteady hand to help him steady his stance. Draco of course, rejected all attempts at the coddling.
Although Draco said nothing to anyone now, he made a big fuss of it later that day when doing a Floo call with Astoria.
«He"s worse than I thought!» Draco blubbered on to the green-flaming image of his girlfriend. «and I don"t know what"s worse: the fact that he"s wearing pastels and redoing the entire manor in a weekend or that he"s allowed himself to be influenced by Luna Lovegood of all people!»
With that he broke into a sob.
«Now now,» Astoria said sternly, «What of the funds? Did he mention anything about them?»
«I-»
«Draco Lucius Malfoy, please...get yourself together or I"m blowing out the flame.»
«Alright,» Draco sniffled. «He doesn"t even know about that damned letter...or he"s pretending not to know. Must have been a set up to get me to come visit him after all these years-»
«I told you we should have come for New Years, or for the very least his birthday-»
«But he always throws the most dreary parties and nobody ever comes to visit-»
«He is your only living relative,» Astoria cried. «I sure as Cauldron don"t like my elitist Pureblood family, but I bite my tongue and visit every year out of courtesy-»
Draco stuttered. «Now he wants to hand over the entire estate to that darned girl. Says she"ll make the perfect mistress.»
«Now I didn"t want to say it, but I told you so! And you didn"t believe me! You should have been more supportive when your mother passed-» Astoria snapped, passing caution to the wolves. «Its no wonder he wants a change. He"s lonely and everything in the manor reminds him of her.»
«You"re right» Draco said
«Im always right.»
«But what do I do?»
«Listen, if you want to see your father put a galleon into your Gringotts account and support the rebuilding of Hogwarts, you are going to have to support the things he likes! If he wants to redecorate his home or invite a new mistress, you need to support that!»
«Its just so hard,» Draco threw up his hands, «to see Luna of all people! I mean do I have to take orders from that loony witch?»
«yes if you want to see a galleon on your account.»
«but-»
«Draco,» Astoria instructed. «Its only a few days. Try and take his position. Be empathetic. Listen to him. Try and dress it up. Accept the changes and most importantly...try and make sure Luna positively adores you! If he sees that, you will melt his heart-»
«I love you Astoria.»
«I love you too. Now wipe that sad look off your face and go show your father that dashing debonair Malfoy smile I know and love.» Astoria gleamed. «See , that"s the one. Now hold onto it! I"ll talk to you soon.»
Draco left the talk feeling much more elevated. How did he luck out and meet such an amazing girlfriend? Surely, he did not deserve her. She was, as always right. Draco just needed to put on his best face and demonstrate that he really did care for Luna and her plan.
Of course, it pained him. Even though his father said that there was nothing untoward between him and Luna, Draco couldn"t help but imagining them tumbling upside down in the gardens or in his father's silken, Slytherin-green bed sheets upstairs.
"Nothing untoward."
After all, those were the very words he himself uttered to Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy when they asked if anything was going on between him and the long haired, big eyed, beautiful Astoria Greengrass (who Draco tried very hard to consider just his friend). And they were friends until a slip up had them in the Prefects bathroom at the same time and Moaning Myrtle stole their clothes right under their noses. That little scene made for some great gossip in the Daily Prophet. Of course, any publicity towards the rebuilding of Hogwarts was good publicity and Draco got himself a dime of girlfriend out of it as well which was two birds hit with one stone in his book. But Draco was young and his father was so, so old. He couldn"t imagine Lucius Malfoy locked in the prefect"s bathroom with anyone without their clothes. to think that his father could still have it in him made his breakfast rise in his throat. It was disgusting.
Nobody could ever replace his own mother. She and father were a good match! They were his parents!
And what if his father did decide to marry Luna. Would he have to call her Mum from then on? And what would be call Mr Lovegood, that batty old indie newspaper writer? Grandfather? Ugh-double ick! If Luna was wacky, Xenophilius Lovegood was the Mayor or Cuckoo land. Draco wasn"t sure how he could endure conspiracy theories about Grunewald and Dumbledore"s romance or the legitimacy of existence of clearly made up magical species for more than a second.
He would have to make friends with Luna. No way around it, and...Merlin have it! Draco dashed his eyes mischievously about the room. If he could come into her confidence, he could convince her to leave the idea of redecorating the manor and his father far-far behind. Yes, Astoria was truly a genius.
Draco let the clouds pass and then descended to find Luna and attempt to salvage her view of him. But finding her was no easy feat. He managed to find Twinkle the House-elf who informed him with a frown on her face that she did not know where Master Malfoy was because she didn't serve him any longer so she wasn't supposed to watch his every move (although Draco thought Twinkle did so anyways), but the Missy Corn Girl had gone off to the Sunday Market in Wiltshire to find some new species of plants to grow in the Bowtruckle habitat she was to set up inside one of the guest bedrooms. From there, Draco deduced that his father had also gone off in her company.
He went upstairs to see which bedroom Father had given the girl and sighed in relief when he realized it was not the Master bedroom. Here , he was surprised to see another room made up which Twinkle informed him had been the late Missy Narcissy's bedroom. This threw Draco into a curve ball.
Since when had his parents slept in seperate bedrooms?
He was sure that they were still very much in love despite their usual stoic appearances in public. He realized he didn't know that much about his parents' marriage at all, probably because after finishing his education he had taken a gap year to travel to America where his British accent and good looks opened many doors (and many legs) for him. He naively assumed everything at home was as it were and he was not needed until his sudden callback to Wiltshire to observe his mother's funeral. The loss had been so sudden that Draco promptly realized he could no longer go on gallivanting across the pond and pretending he had no responsibilities in England.
When Hogwarts was granted access to reopen and begin reconstruction by the Ministry of Magic, Draco saw his chance to make a difference and put all his efforts into the rebuilding and collection of funds for textbooks and supplies for the future students. It wasn't that he did not want to visit home, it was just that the damned Manor held so many unpleasant memories for him. In the nearby village of Hogsmeade, surrounded by professors and alumni, he felt a sense of home and belonging and most importantly...purpose.
Astoria was right. He didn't even think about his father and how he was dealing with the grief of it all. But there were ways of doing it correctly: purchasing a very expensive vintage broomstick, buying a house overseas, suddenly acquiring an odd hobby like collecting rare dragon eggs or unusual potions ingredients. Anything but inviting Luna Lovegood to come and make his life sunshine and rainbows. Some manic little dream-girl three times his junior.
If Skeeter thought catching Draco and Astoria shirtless in the Prefect's bathroom worthy gossip, Draco could only imagine what she"d say about Lucius and Luna gallivanting around the place with their pastel frocks and plethora of fantastic beasts. It would be a riot. It would be a scandal. No... Draco decided firmly, this had to be stopped.
And it could involve the house's natural features. Despite all the cosmetic surgery Luna provided, Malfoy Manor was at its core a dark and deeply cursed wizarding home. It had housed generations of Malfoys and had many secret passageways, contraptions and spells nestled in the walls to fend off intruders.
Luna Lovegood was said intruder.
Draco had been an only child and had spent hours of his childhood discovering every nook and cranny of the old manor. Deep down in the dungeons of the home there was a room called The Room of Sevieht. Draco went in there as a boy, seeing a large collection of old broomsticks and Quidditch trophies and moving painting of a little blond haired boy looking like himself, floating in front of an adoring crowd of fans with the Quidditch World cup in his hands. He then handed said cup to his team mates and they all hugged each other and bounced up and down with joy. He had friends. He was loved...and that was a big feeling for a lonely little Draco whose only friend was the House-elf named Dobby.
When he reached out to take the photo down for a closer look, he suddenly found himself hoisted in the air and tossed into a thin hanging cage amongst a sea of similar other cadavers and skeletons,...having rotted away ventures ago. The Quidditch room was gone. Draco screamed for help until Dobby, their former House Elf, ran over and helped him out of the cage.
«This be for thief , Master Dracey,» Dobby said sternly. «No come and touch! No Master Dracey!»
That"s when Draco realized this room had been there to lure in unwelcome guests and trap them by tempting them with their own desires. If he could lure Luna down here, he could trap her for good, probably scare her enough that she"d never want to see the Manor again (that is, if someone would find out and they got her out).
To be fair, Draco didn"t actually want Luna dead. Only deadly frightened.
Just to be sure the room had not been Luna-fied, Draco took the chance to sneak downstairs into the dungeons and see for himself. It was a dark and dreary place, dripping with water and a light layer of mould still on the stone tiles of the floor. A familiar shiver crawled up Draco"s back as he thought of the poor prisoners trapped in here until they died of dehydration and starvation, their flesh eaten by rats and roaches. Yes, the dungeons were as they were and the Room of Sevieht"s vault like door glistened from across the hall. Draco swore he could hear the faint rumblings of cheers coming from the inside, but he knew very well it was the room tricking him. He shook his head.
There was a rustle of footsteps behind him. Draco swivelled and screamed, his own magic wand at the ready as Twinkle the Elf scurried out from the shadows.
"Merlin's Beard! You silly creature,» Draco cursed, shoving the wand back in his pocket.
If the House-elf saw him plotting Luna"s capture, she could very well snitch him out to Father or Luna herself.
Twinkle had a knowing glare-one far too knowing for an elf who was just wandering about the Manor and cleaning. Of course Draco knew House elves spied and listened to their Masters and Mistresses, but they were usually too occupied with chores to have much time for doing so. Why he caught Twinkle unoccupied not once but twice in one morning was beyond him.
«Don"t you have any mending or polishing to do,» he snapped.
«New Missy give no job to Twinkle.»
«That"s not possible.»
«Missy say Twinkle can just count window and door.»
Draco rolled his eyes. Of course Luna would not give the House-Elf any real work. She was too concerned with Magical Creatures" welfare to ever give them anything useful and tiring to do. He bet his last Galleon that Luna was planning on dressing Twinkle in clean clothes and giving her her own room in the Manor. What was up with everyone not knowing the true place of a House Elf all of a sudden? Even at Hogwarts, the new Minister had made the Headmistress promise that all Elf labour will be banished before the reopening to promote equality.
Draco didn"t mind giving the elves rights. He was not a monster. But he did mind that Twinkle had ample time to spy on him now.
«I was just touring the Manor, seeing if the new Mistress made any changes.»
Twinkle eyed him suspiciously. «Missy no go to dungeon.»
«No, of course not.» Draco gritted through his teeth. «How silly of me.»
«Dungeon make scaries»
«Then it's best if we make sure Miss Lovegood doesn"t know about this place.» Draco said mischievously, plotting in his tone. «You can keep Missy safe.»
«Twinkle can keep lip closed.» Twinkle pulled an invisible key out of her pocket and locked her mouth shut. Then without another word, dissipated into the shadows.
She of course would keep Master Dracey"s secret...a secret. There was no need to tell Missy Corn Girl about the Dungeon or the Room of Sevieht. She knew he had a plan-a plan to trap the New Missy. Was it not Twinkle who called him for help in the first place? She would indeed keep everything she saw this afternoon a secret from her and Master Malfoy.
Twinkle snuck out of the dungeons through the secret passageway that led up to the rose gardens. Nobody came up here anymore. The rose garden had been Missy Narcissy"s pride and joy; with her gone, roses grew rampant all over the place, beautiful pink and magenta blooms of all shapes and sizes. They crept above the arches and awnings and walls. The tombstone that stood among the rosebushes read: NBM: Loving wife and mother, a rose among thorns. Above that on the marble plaque was etched her portrait. Twinkle ran her fingers over the lines, dusting off specks of water and dirt.
She turned to the rustling of bushes and saw two little faces pop up. The Nifflers looked at her with their big beady eyes. There wasn"t anything here for them to gather into their pouches: no gold or jewels or anything shiny, but they still sniffed around the territory, hopeful that something would show up, before dissapearing into the gardens beyond.
«Missy Narcissy,» Twinkle said to nobody in particular and sighed.
In truth, and she could only really admit it here in solitude that her Missy was perfect to everyone but to her self. Narcissa Malfoy had been Master Malfoy and Master Dracey"s biggest supporter. But she didn"t really support herself.
You see, Missy Narcissy put on a brave face for everyone, but at home, only Twinkle knew how anxious she was all the time. Locked up in the Manor, worried about her son and husband, yet knowing she couldn"t do much to help them. She didn"t eat too much, and drank far too little. She had the elves bring her all sorts of roots and powders to make tonics for her nerves. Still, she had lots of terrible and dark dreams that had her tossing and turning in bed. That was why she slept alone. She didn"t want anyone thinking the Mistress of the house of Wiltshire needed anything. Others were supposed to rely on her, not the other way around.
The only thing she could control in her life was her precious rose garden. It gave her much comfort and calmed her. Only the garden could listen without expecting anything of her. The garden, and Twinkle, hiding in the bushes.
Missy Narcissy wasn"t happy. She wasn"t happy for a long long time and nobody but Twinkle knew the truth.
Not even Master Malfoy.
He loved her very much, but he didn"t know all her secrets and her pains.
And not even Master Dracey.
He was just a boy. How was he to know his mother did everything in her power to keep him safe and happy?
Only Twinkle and the roses knew.