Raised by the Dementors

A Family Reunion

While waiting for them to come back, I sat on the floor of my cell, laying my head down on the dust, which now gave my platinum hair a redish tone. I had done what Sirius described as 'healthy physical exercise' an hour prior to this, so to say I was exhsausted was an understatement. Small beads of sweat flowed down the sides of my face, making some hair stick to the edges of it as I looked up at the ceiling. They'd been gone for a while, but then again, tracking time was rather difficult here at Azkaban prison. Because of this, the guards had placed a single clock and calendar not too far from my cell. It was the sole reason that I knew when my birthday was. I watched as Dementors flew past my window, occasionally looking in. Closing my mind had become a habit at this point, but there wasn't much to torture me with, really. When you grow up with a lot of bad memories, feelings of dread and anger and  fear become the usual. With that said, they had less effects on me than they did on other prisoners. 

I looked at the clock, it was 5:30 PM and they hadn't come back, maybe the guards were feeling particularly evil today. Every day at Azkaban would be miserable if it wasn't for Sirius and Bellatrix, so whenever they were gone for extended periods of time, things became dull and boring and depressing. Sirius once said that music calmed him down when things got to that point, but I'd never heard much music. There were no muggle 'radios' in Azkaban. The only melodic sound was that of Bellatrix's odd lullabies, which she sung less and less as the years passed. 

"Happy Birthday to me" 

The prison was dark and lonely, but something seemed to light it up. A glowing blue light I could spot beyond the bars of my cell. With it, it brought warmth that I had never felt before. I do remember Sirius telling me of a charm that could have this effect. What  was it... spirit animal? Patron- Patronus! Yes, a Patronus charm had this effect. And that meant that there were visitors coming into the prison. Quickly pulling my hair out of my face and standing up, I walked towards the bars of my cell, watching two- no, three strange people approaching, all surrounded by guards. The Patronus itself was  an animal I didn't recognize, maybe some tropical bird? I, like many other prisoners, watched as they walked, eager to see where they were headed.I didn't expect them to stop walking at my cell, nor did I expect the adults' faces to look like the many portraits Sirius had drawn of them over the years. He was right, I was thankful to have inherited my mother's features. 

Draco's POV:

My Birthday was going as planned until lunchtime. After breakfast and getting ready, my friends Blaise and Daphne had come over to the Manor, bearing gifts for me. The day went by in a blur of laughter, running around the Manor, and yelling because I recieved my Hogwarts letter. I was only allowed to behave in this... childish manner since father was not around. He said he'd come back in the afternoon because he had important work to do. Although I initially felt a bit dissapointed, I remembered that father had a very important job at the Ministry of Magic, a job that made the Wizarding World respect us Malfoys. Though I had noticed him getting a bit stressed these past couple of weeks. We'd recieve weird looks when going outside, glares, even. Father brushed it off, saying that they were filthy Halfbloods and muggle apologists who were jealous of our status, of our wealth, our pure origins. I believed him, of course, but there seemed to be something else at play. 

I noticed this when my mother told me we were going to a surprise location for my birthday. She looked odd though, sad. Not crying, but incredibly sad. What did I do wrong to make her sad on my eleventh Birthday? Did she expect to get a letter to that school in Bulgaria? Was she mad that I acted rashly throughout the day, and not composed like I should?

"Oh, it's nothing of the sort, dear. We're just going to visit people we haven't seen in a long time and I'm just... sad I couldn't see them until now. They're relatives of ours that your father and I must speak to and introduce you to before you go to Hogwarts, that's all."