It was her first official public appearance since she had finally been allowed back to England. Her tutors assured her that she could take her O.W.L.s even some of her N.E.W.T.s and would pass with flying colors. Her education was a bit skewed, Narcissa and Bellatrix had organized it, afterall. The magic came easy, as if she had been doing it her entire life. It was the grueling hours of dissecting why the magic worked that had taken her so long.
Her husband had been very attentive, making sure that he was glued to her side while he introduced her to all of the important witches and wizards. Her champagne glass was never empty for long and he had surprised her with an actual dance card at the beginning of the night. The cards had not been used in centuries but she found it sweet that all of the slots were filled out with his neat scrawl.
"So, you are the wife our Draco had squirreled away in France, not really hideous like we expected..." A lazy drawl snapped Maia from her thoughts.
She was standing on the edge of the large beautifully decorated ballroom, Draco left her for the first time to get her a drink. Turning she came face-to-face with a sneering brunette. The witch was a bit shorter than herself wearing a very tight and revealing pink silk gown, she took a step back as she tilted her head to the side to examine the woman before her. Her straight brown hair was cut into a short, severe bob that did not flatter her round face. The woman had an upturned nose that gave her an excellent view of her nostrils, even from above but it was the fierce glare that made her raise a brow.
"I'm sorry...?" Maia asked slowly, surely thinking she heard the woman incorrectly.
"No, need to be sorry, sweetie. It was a compliment, really." A sickly sweet smile bloomed on the woman's face as she reached out to pat her arm sharply in a condescending manner.
"Hmm." Maia shrugged noncommittally, finding she had very little patience for rudeness, she turned back to the dancing. There was little to fear in her own home, some bitter witch was easily dismissed. From her husband's description of his friends she could only be Pansy, a school mate he took to one dance and assumed they would wed.
"I mean, to not have mentioned you the entire time you were married. After all, I've been close to Draco since we were children." The woman sighed sadly, acting as though Maia wasn't ignoring her.
"Oh, you have? Then who are you? You couldn't be Daphne...she's the pretty blonde with Theo, right? I've met Astoria...oh, Millie, right? Draco didn't talk much about you...he did say you were in the same house in school!" Maia turned with a bright smile, feigning innocence as the woman's face turned an unattractive shade of puce.
"Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson. You know, sacred 28." Pansy said with a tight smile, her blue eyes blazed with indignation. Maia laughed, a high tinkling laugh as she placed her hand on her arm and leaned in as if they were old friends.
"Oh! I should have known! You weren't there when I first arrived! Pansy! Oh, I think Draco mentioned a date to the Yule ball?" Maia's eyes shimmered with barely suppressed mirth as she tilted her head with a wide smile. She may not have much practice but her only female company had been Narcissa and Bellatrix for years. "I wish I could have been there but you know...private tutoring."
"I wondered why I never met you before...you don't look familiar." Pansy said airily, it was a lie. The woman before her looked like a Black, with her unnaturally bright silver eyes and that smile that so closely resembled Bellatrix.
"No, after my father's death my guardians decided it would be best if I spent my formative years being privately educated and traveling." Maia sighed wistfully, her eyes scanning the room for her husband.
"You di-" Pansy started to get frustrated with the woman's flippant attitude and avoiding her questions when a hand on her shoulder made her jump.
"Maia! I have been looking everywhere for you! Unfortunately, Theo has whisked Draco away for something a little more manly than the bubbly!" Daphne Nott smiled cheerily as she looped her arm with Maia's to pull her away from the petulant witch.
"Thank you." Maia sighed in relief as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Now that I have you alone I need to ask you a very important question. The future of our friendship hangs in the balance of your answer." Daphne whispered urgently as they danced through the crowds.
"Sounds serious." Maia chuckled uncomfortably as he met the witch's cool stare, she wanted friends. Friends outside of her husband, her mother-in-law, and Bella, after reading so many stories of friendship she was excited to see if she could have one herself.
"Oh, it's very serious. In fact, it's the one thing I never joke about." Daphne stopped short once they reached the balcony. After a deep breath, Daphne looked into Maia's eyes and lifted the hem of her gown. "What do you think of my shoes?"
"Daphne! You're incorrigible!" Maia laughed brightly as they wandered the shops in Diagon Alley.
Maia was finally pregnant, barely showing at only four months. Once she moved back to Britain with her husband they had sent for healers to examine her. It was Headmaster Snape who had finally expelled the dark magic from her wound, allowing her to get pregnant. The wizard had looked at her suspiciously after he healed her, even having a brief, hissed argument with her husband. She never found out what the older wizard had found, Draco did not want to worry her once she was finally feeling better.
"What? You can't deny pregnant sex isn't amazing." Daphne Nott née Greengrass smiled wickedly as she patted her much larger stomach.
Daphne and Theo were pregnant with their third child in so many years, she was only too happy to fill the wizarding world with healthy Notts. When Maia first came to Britain, Draco invited all of his friends from Slytherin to meet his wife. Some, like Pansy Parkinson, treated her with cool indifference but she quickly bonded with Daphne who at the time was pregnant and lonely with Theo gone on diplomatic missions so frequently. The blonde was so welcoming and friendly, always patient to explain social cues she missed.
"Oh, it is but Cissa would cut out my tongue and Lucius would choke if he ever heard me talk about shagging their precious son." Maia smiled wickedly, a pretty blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Blasted prudes, the lot of them." Daphne waved her hand dismissively, leaning closer to whisper in her ear. "Would you like to take a jaunt through muggle London?"
"Oh, Draco would be livid!" Maia cried excitedly with only slight trepidation in her eyes. "I've been so curious, there's nothing about muggles in the library...only how dirty and savage they are but..."
"Of course, I keep forgetting you were so sheltered." Daphne sighed sadly, they were all told the story of the pureblood Princess that was stashed away and raised in solitude.
Maia was a bright girl who was so warm and inquisitive about everything. At first she worried that Draco would somehow suck that light from his new bride but he was always so patient and kind to her. It was a little unnerving to watch Draco who quickly became one of the Dark Lord's most feared generals, he was always so cold and calculating, but as soon as Maia walked into the room it was like he was a different person. Though, she had heard of the torture he had put Pansy through when she had slyly tried to spread gossip about Maia. Bellatrix had not been amused and since Pansy wasn't a death eater, only the daughter of an old, useless marked wizard, there had been no repercussions.
"I am curious, I know they are just a step above house elves but I've always loved Mipsy..." Maia said hesitantly, watching her friend's reaction with trepidation. It was dangerous to speak kindly of house elves, muggles, and mixed bloods. If someone heard, her husband would be punished for allowing his wife such liberties in her thoughts. Draco never discouraged her more soft natured side, he seemed to actually enjoy the spirited arguments they would have over creature rights.
"Maia, where do you think I found such lovely shoes?" Daphne smiled slyly, raising her robes to show off her spiky emerald green stilettos. Rolling her eyes she grabbed Maia by the hand and dragged her through the crowded pub, entering the busy streets of the muggle world for the first time.
"Oh my." Maia gasped as she looked around in awe, stores lined the streets and muggles rushed by speaking in little boxes.
It was so much louder and busier than Maia ever imagined. Daphne smiled knowingly at her friend's face as they walked along the streets, browsing in the windows. There were so many new sights and smells and sounds that she wrapped both hands around her friend's arm in fear of being lost in the crowd. It was nothing like the books, no mud huts or screaming barbarian muggles chasing innocent witches and wizards down the street. In fact, even though they were dressed so differently, the muggles barely spared them a glance.
"If you want to get anything, I have plenty of muggle money in my handbag." Daphne whispered as they walked by clothing shops, food stalls, and bookstores. Maia turned her silver eyes to Daphne in disbelief.
"Muggles built this?" Maia demanded in a loud whisper, drawing a few odd looks from passing muggles.
"Of course, now I must show you Foyles...break you in, maybe we can come back another day for shoes." Daphne said gleefully as she pulled her into a massive book store. Maia paused at the door making the muggles grumble as they skirted around her. While the manor library was vast and had more books than she could possibly read in her lifetime, this store had entire floors and wings packed with overflowing bookshelves all the way to its five story ceiling.
"Oh, Merlin! You and Astoria are both drooling bibliophiles." Daphne laughed happily, wrapping her arm around her to keep her friend close and moving. "Come before you have an accident in the doorway and scare the poor muggles."
"Muggles built this?" Maia exclaimed in a loud whisper as she ran her fingers along the spines of the books.
Looking around, there were sections for every kind of book, she couldn't believe that muggles could possibly have written so many books. According to everything she read, muggles could hardly function properly without a wizard instructing them. How could her beloved library fail her so horribly? Did her husband and her family lie? Certainly not, they were all convinced that muggles were little more than animals.
"Yeah, my education was a bit more liberal than yours. Father does quite a bit of business in the muggle world so he made sure I at least knew the basics." Daphne sniffed delicately, glaring at a curious old woman who was openly staring at Maia. The curly headed woman gushed excitedly as Daphne hailed a muggle to hold her books at the counter so she could get more. After a few hours, the women were loaded down with more books than they could possibly carry. After escaping a young muggle who was adamant he carry their packages for them they slipped down an alley to shrink their books so they could easily fit into their hand bags.
"Thank you, Daph. Draco will-" Maia started excitedly but a red stunner hit her friend in the back, her eyes widened in horror as Daphne, pregnant Daphne, fell face forward onto the ground. Maia flung herself down, narrowly avoiding another red spell. "Vox Ranus!" She was quick to whip out her wand and say the first spell that came to mind, she watched as the purple beam hit something invisible as she scrambled back until she touched the stone wall. Taking a deep breath she peaked around the rubbish bins only to find the alley empty.
"Ribbet!" The invisible attacker croaked loudly, so she obviously hit someone but she was woefully unprepared for dueling. Maia looked up and down the alley way, trying to figure out how she could grab Daphne and apparate to safety.
"What was that, Mad-Eye? You got a frog in your throat?" A feminine voice chuckled, her voice seemed to echo through the alley.
"Just get her, who knows when the ferret boy will come looking for his darling wife?" An irate voice cut the woman off from her mad cackles as the man she cursed was still croaking like a frog.
"Come out, Mrs. Malfoy...we don't want to hurt you." The disillusioned woman called out to her in what she supposed was to be a soothing sing-song voice, but to Maia the woman sounded as mad as Draco's Aunt Bella. Bella at least loved her, cherished her, and would never allow her to be hurt in any way. They already hurt a pregnant witch, it could only be the resistance her husband warned her about.
"Yeah, I wouldn't want anything to happen to your friend." The man called out, a dark chuckle sent chills down her spine. Maia looked down at her unconscious friend, Daphne was heavily pregnant and the unnatural angle she lay in made her heart clench.
"What do you want?" Maia called out from behind the rubbish bins, she quickly tucked her wand away in her garter and tried to smooth down her silk dress. She had been raised to keep a cool head in all situations, Narcissa would be disappointed if she turned into a blubbering mess while her unborn child and her friend were in danger.
"We just want a chat, if you come out. We promise no one will be hurt and you can be home to ferret boy by supper." The man said in a light voice, she could actually hear his smile. After a deep breath she slowly stood and inched up the wall, steeling her nerves.
"You'll make sure Daphne is taken care of. She's due next month, she named me godmother." Maia tried to say in a light, cheerful tone but it came out much harsher than she intended.
"We promise, we just need you. Now come out of there, girl." A third voice said gruffly, apparently one of them finally fixed the jinx she cast on his vocal cords.
"Are you calling my husband a ferret?" Maia asked curiously when she stepped out from behind the rubbish bins gracefully, quickly stepping between the invisible figures and Daphne.
"Your husband is Malfoy?" One of the men grunted, probably the one she jinxed.
"Yes, I married Draco." Maia said cordially as she kneeled down to roll her friend onto her back to check her over, she never saw the red spell that knocked her unconscious beside her Daphne.
"Let's get them to Grimmauld, check them for port keys or tracking charms." Ron lifted the disillusionment charm as he stalked forward and began reinforcing the notice-me-not charms they had up.
"Oh my." Tonks whistled appreciatively once she examined Maia's ring. The largest diamond she had ever seen, set in platinum, surrounded by emeralds with the Malfoy crest shimmered on the woman's hand. With a few waves of her wand a smile bloomed on her face. "Ooh, Black blood." She whispered happily as she reached down to pull the ring off the unconscious woman. The ring easily slid off her finger and she held it out to Moody who was finished checking over Daphne.
"What did you do?" Ron demanded, looking down at the wedding ring with a mixture of envy and disgust. He could practically taste the protective magic and it was lucky that Tonks was the one who stunned her. Only magic cast by someone with Black blood could affect the wearer, it was that reason that Tonks could remove the ring at all.
"Only someone with Black blood could remove the ring. It had a tracking charm on it, we need to be quick. I'm sure Malfoy knows she took it off by now." Tonks said urgently when Moody disappeared with the ring and she wrapped an arm around Maia. Ron followed suit, easily hoisting Daphne up to carry her bridal style and with a pop they were gone.
