Circi | 2

ELEVEN

"Dinner for Three"

July 1994, 1 month later

Despite the abundance of homework her professors had graciously assigned for the summer, Circi slept well in the first month of the summer holiday.

Her extended knowledge from her herbology classes inspired her to work on the greenhouse at the bottom of the garden. Each day after lunch, considering she rarely woke for breakfast now, she made her way through the kitchen and over the field at the back of the manor to the entrance of the greenhouse.

It was even more dilapidated than she remembered. The wood of the planters was moulding from the damp the broken windows allowed in during the snowy winter. When she poked them they seemed to bounce and she grimaced. She had lost track of the days but, today, she would finally act on her plans.

There didn't seem to be much she could do about the mould but the broken windows? She knew just the spell. She pointed her wand at the broken glass on the ground and said 'reparo' then stood back and watched the shards fly into the air and back into place on the window. While she rejoiced in the practise of the charm, which had been in her charms textbook, she pocketed her wand and pulled out her dragonhide gardening gloves.

She knew underage magic wasn't exactly allowed by what was one simply mending charm? Despite this, she dug into the planters and pulled out the weeds that had hidden her so long ago.

The roots of the weeds were wound tightly around the wood planks creating the base of the planter and, with one sharp tug, the planter creaked and stretched and it finally succumbed to age. As the weed came loose Circi fell backwards and was greeted by a crashing sound and a cloud of dirt kicked up into the air and covered her face and clothes.

Standing up and brushing herself down, she spun around, trying to see if she got any dirt on her bottom. The door to the greenhouse opened and she looked up, wide-eyed, feeling guilty.

Draco and Lucius stood there, Lucius was holding a cake decorated with vanilla icing and the number 12 traced in orange on top. Draco attempted to stifle his laughter by clapping a hand over his face while Lucius watched her try to wipe the dirt from her face in disdain. There was hopeless disappointment in the back of his mind as she continued to smudge the dirt more so.

"Circini. What is this mess?" She bites her lip, finding the humour in the situation as well as Draco and shrugs. Lucius shook his head, handing the cake back to Draco and instructing him to take the cake back into the manor. He holds his hand out and apparates them from the garden to the bathroom closest to Circini's bedroom. They had landed in the bathtub, a white porcelain tub already gathering dirt, and Lucius stepped out onto the grey stone floor. "Clean up, I don't want any dirt being trailed through my house, thank you." She stood in the empty tub, sniggering as he left, collecting herself before finally doing as she was told.

Everyone was waiting in the dining room used only for business meetings and birthdays. It was grander, sure, but much colder in the absence of the lit fire.

A mahogany table that sat ten people on either side and one at the head of the table stood in the centre of the room. Not even half of the table was in use because, especially on Circini's birthday, the Malfoys did not often care to share such familial moments such as candle blowing and present-giving with their closer acquaintances.

The chandelier and the fireplace were lit, in an attempt to ward off the shadows on the dark walls and heat up the stone floor. The crackle of the logs provided the only relief from the silence as the residents of the table sat and waited for the birthday girl.