Another Year at Hogwarts

The moment we arrived at Malfoy Manor with Travers and Selwyn, we were brought to the drawing room where Narcissa, Lucius and Bellatrix all were gathered.

“Look who we found,” Selwyn exclaimed as we walked into the room.

The three adults in the room all turned their heads and stared at the doorway. The moment Narcissa’s eyes met Draco, she immediately rose to her feet.

“Draco?” she gasped as she staggered over to Draco. “What happened to you?”

“I’m fine, Mum,” Draco assured his worried mother. “At least I am thanks to Victoria, here,” Draco added while glancing at me with a small smirk on his face.

“What happened?” Narcissa asked as she turned to me in astonishment. “Why is Draco like this?”

“Snape sent us on a mission. There were some rumors about Harry Potter and he asked Draco and me to go check them out. While at one of the towns, Draco and I were attacked by a group of snatchers,” I explained. “As we Apparated out, one of the snatchers grabbed onto Draco, and he got splinched. We ended up at Xenophilus Lovegood’s place, where we were found by these two,” I said glancing at the two Death Eaters beside Draco and me.

“Didn’t you tell them who you were?” Narcissa asked Draco.

“Yeah,” he replied. “They were going to let me go, but they wanted to keep Victoria.”

“So you turned around and saved her?” Bellatrix blurted out from her seat. She was staring back at Draco and me with this bored and disappointed expression on her face. “Obviously, she can take care of herself. No need to have come to her rescue.”

“Who were these snatchers?” Narcissa demanded.

“I don’t know who they are,” Draco answered. “We didn’t exactly have to a proper introduction.”

Narcissa was livid—I could tell. She angrily turned and stared at Lucius and asked, “You are going to take care of this, aren’t you Lucius?”

“Of course,” Lucius said as he rose to his feet. “No one attacks a Malfoy and gets off free.”

“Why go after the snatchers when the root of the problem is right before us?” Bellatrix asked with a large grin on her face. She pushed herself out of her seat and strolled over to Draco, Narcissa and me. “They were only doing what they were hired to do, after all. You know…take in lowly Mudbloods and put them in the right place,” Bellatrix said—making sure I was staring into her black eyes as she said ‘Mudblood’. “If it weren’t for her, Draco wouldn’t have been injured. So, let’s just—”

“You will not lay on hand on her!” Narcissa—surprisingly—ordered.

Bellatrix scoffed. “You’re not serious, are you Cissy? You’re standing up for a Mudblood?”

“She saved my son’s life.”

“SHE’S A MUDBLOOD!” Bellatrix bellowed.

“Do not forget whose house you are in Bella,” Narcissa snapped. “You will not undermine me in my own house!” She then turned her attention back to Draco and said, “Now head upstairs and get some rest. I’ll send some food up shortly.”

Narcissa then pulled her son in for a strong embrace before letting him leave the room. Once he was gone, she turned to me and told me to follow her.

“I want to know exactly what happened,” Narcissa demanded as the two of us walked down the hallway.

“As I said earlier, we had an encounter with some snatchers and one of them grabbed hold of Draco as we Apparated. His shoulder, as you saw, was splinched.”

“And you healed him?”

“Yes,” I replied as we neared the back door that led out into the garden.

The two of us walked to the back of the house and outside into the same garden where Snape and I had my first Occlumency lesson. I had expected Narcissa to say something to me, but she remained quiet and just stared out into the dead garden.

“Is there…” I began, “…is there something else—”

“I can see that your relationship with my son has…developed since you were first here,” Narcissa said, still with her back turned towards me. “Though, it’s strange to see how much closer the two of you seem to be. Then again, according the Carrows, you and my son spend an awful lot of time together while at Hogwarts.”

“I don’t…quite understand what you’re getting at, Mrs. Malfoy,” I said.

She then turned around to look at me. “I will ask you directly, Victoria: are you and my son involved in a romantic relationship?”

“What?” I gasped. “N—no!”

“Then are you planning to pursue my son?”

I stared at Narcissa shocked and lost at words. I blinked a few times before managing to say, “I—I can assure you, Mrs. Malfoy, that Draco and I are simply working together. There’s nothing going on between us!”

“I beg to differ,” Narcissa quickly replied. “My son… Just now in the drawing room,” Narcissa smiled sadly. “I haven’t seen him smile in well over two years. I can see that he… He looks a great deal healthier as well. Wounded, yes—but healthier, and I have a feeling that you are the reason why he is. I believe that my son has taken a strong liking to you.”

“And…you want me to stay away from him or something?” I questioned.

“Emotionally…yes,” Narcissa answered. “Despite the Dark Lord taking a liking to you because you truly are a skilled witch, you are inferior to us,” said Narcissa. “You have no family and you are a Half-blood.

“Draco, on the other hand, is a Malfoy. He comes from a long line of wealthy and powerful witches and wizards. He is my also only son, and I do not wish to see him removed from this family because he chose to elope with someone of your kind.”

“I assure you that the thought of marriage is not on either of our minds,” I commented.

“But it could be in the future—if this relationship between you and my son continues,” Narcissa pointed out.

“You know…I had always admired your love for your family. You are a woman who will travel to the end of the Earth, travel through the seven layers of hell just to heed the cry of your son or husband. But I cannot admire you for your pride. You are willing to die for your family, but cannot put your pride aside and allow your son—your one and only son—to marry whomever he wants? Just because she may not be a pureblood? So what if Draco married someone who isn’t a pureblood? Are you saying that you will separate Draco from the person he loves simply because of her blood status?”

That was what I wanted to say to Narcissa. I just wanted to scream in her face and make her realize how selfish she was being. She would rather separate her son from his love, than soil the Malfoy name. It was despicable. But despite the urge to say all of this to her, I held my tongue.

Narcissa sighed heavily as she, once again, turned her back to me and stared into the garden. “When you first arrived here, I had asked you to not involve yourself with my son because I didn’t want him to be hurt. So, if my son ever comes to you and confesses any romantic feelings, I ask that you turn him down. I rather you hurt him now, than do it later when he truly falls in love with you like he did that Muggle.”

“Is that all you have to say to me?” I finally asked after a long silence.

“Yes.”

“I’m off then,” I said as I turned my heels and hurried towards the door.

“I took the liberty to have some clothing made for you,” Narcissa called out before I reached the door. “You will find them in the room you were put in earlier this year.”

“Understood.”

“Victoria,” Narcissa called out once again. “Please understand that what I am doing is what I think is best for my son. If only you were a pureblood… I believe that you would have been a good match for Draco.”