| HOUSE OF BLACK |

| CHAPTER ONE: THE LEGACY OF HOUSE BLACK |

She passed by the house elf and lectured "The painting stays covered. How many times do I have to remind you?"

The elf looked up and glared, before bowing "Yes, Mistress Elara. Kreacher apologies"

Elara just let out a deep breath, saying more softly "At least keep her covered when I'm home..."

With that said, she went into her room and shut the door. Elara looked around the bedroom for a moment, before heading over to the window, to open the curtains.

The sight of Grimmauld Place, Islington, London greeted her. Elara watched muggles walk their dogs or run after a bus, as the rain continued on pouring.

Fascinating, she thought to herself.

While at Malfoy Manor, she saw very little to none muggles. But now, every time she glanced out of the window she was greeted with the sight of them.

Elara was always interested in the lives of the simple muggles. She enjoyed walking among them, listening to their music, tasting their food or reading their paper.

As she continued on staring outside of her window, she frowned seeing a familiar black and silver haired woman in front of the entrance.

Quickly, the young heiress ran downstairs to let the woman inside. When she opened the doors, Elara nodded in greeting.

"Aunt Narcissa. What a pleasant surprise, please come in"

The older woman nodded back at the girl, she thought of as her own in a way.

"Elara, my little dove. You look miserable"

Closing the doors, Elara glanced at her muggle band t-shirt she found in some boxes inside of the house and her simple satin sleeping pants.

Right. Perfection is everything.

"Forgive me, aunt. I was not prepared for such an early visit. I'll do better" she responded, while clasping her hands together humbly.

Narcissa smiled and reached to caress the girl's pale cheek "I know you will, little dove" letting go, Narcissa made her way towards the fancy but old living room, before speaking again "Just remember. The Lady of the House, must always—"

Elara cut her aunt off, ending the sentence for her "Must always be ready. No matter the hour or circumstances"

Her aunt smiled and nodded "Exactly, my dearest. Now. You must be curious about why I came to visit you, so unexpectedly"

"I am" the girl nodded and gestured for her aunt to take a seat on the couch.

As Narcissa sat down, she pulled out the Daily Prophet and handed it to the young heiress.

Looking at the paper, Elara's heart stopped.

"Your father has escaped a few days ago and I felt the need to check on you myself" Narcissa revealed, looking at the girl closely before adding softly "Also, I thought that you'd like to hear it from me rather than from some stranger"

Still staring at the paper, watching the crazy looking man scream, Elara quietly asked "What about my other parent? Has someone checked on them?"

Elara, much like the world, only knew who her father was. She was still worried about her other parent, not knowing why she was not with them.

"I'm sure someone did." her aunt reassured, a bit dismissively.

Biting her lip, Elara looked up asking "Could you... check yourself?" already seeing the face her aunt was making, she added "I know you won't tell me who they are. And I promise not to ask, but please just find out if they're alright"