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It was the end of July when Narcissa Malfoy was coming onto her last stop for her annual orphanage visits in the name of public image for Malfoy Holdings. Wool's Orphanage was one of the Malfoy family's older property, starting after the end of the second world war. Every Malfoy matriarch held the responsibility of keeping quality in check to not sully their name. It didn't hurt the fact it helped the public's view of them being such noble purebloods taking care of orphaned muggles, especially after Lucius got away by the skin of his teeth from Death Eater accusations.
It also didn't hurt that Narcissa was fond of children, magical or muggle alike. Her little six-year-old son, Draco, was the apple of her eye. But alas, due to complications she wasn't able to have more.
Exiting the muggle car to keep appearances, she shrugged her light shawl tighter onto her shoulders and took the steps one at a time into the threshold of the building.
She was soon greeted ever politely by the matron, and she returned it with a nod and a smile.
Her eyes roamed the state of the foyer, not seeing a single chip of paint or crack in the walls, she was satisfied at how far the place has come after they took over management.
"The children just started lunch in the dining hall, if you'd like to see them," the matron says.
"I'd be happy to. Has there been any problems lately?" Narcissa replies as they make their way to the dining hall. The matron trailed behind her.
Hesitantly, the matron wrung her hands before she spoke. "There is... this one girl. She arrived just the day after your last visit."
"Oh, has she been troubling you?"
The matron's eyes widened, shaking her hands. "Not at all! No, it's the other children. They picked on her constantly, blaming her for things she obviously didn't do. That's all in the past now, though, I think it affected her more than I thought. Keeps to herself most of the time now and stays quiet."
"Are you saying she might be having some special problem that needs tending to then?" Narcissa raised her brow.
"Not the kind I'm sure you're thinking of, she's quite smart, very advanced for her age. It's just...oh, never mind, I apologize for even bringing this up, madam."
"No, no, it's alright, every child's welfare should be looked after."
"Well, It's not just me, apparently, the other staff had talked to me about it too. The girl, Aster, would act strange sometimes. Staring and smiling at nothing. And her eyes, I swear I saw them glow green."
It was Narcissa's eyes turn to widen this time. This girl had many similarities to another she knew that disappeared without a trace. What were the chances she'd be the same child?
As if fate was taking a laugh out of her, Narcissa's eyes found the girl as soon as they stepped into the hall. The other children didn't give them a second glance, too busy eating their fill. It was like magnets the way her eyes searched for the girl. She had an aura to her that screamed power in her small stature. And if that wasn't strange enough, the air was almost knocked out of her lungs once her appearance settled in her eyes, she looked just like aunt Dorea in her old pictures as a child. The same messy black curls and pale skin, but with a different nose and chin, and her eyes were a killer shade of green.
