***
Narcissa Malfoy always wanted a daughter. The woman would never admit it out loud, but when Draco was born, she was disappointed. Not because of him, of course, but she knew that Lucius had an heir now, and he would not want another child. He got what he needed, in a sense.
Narcissa grew up in the company of her other two sisters, Andromeda— the blood-traitor, and Bellatrix—the convict. Thinking of her sisters always tended to make her heart clench painfully, the type of pain that could only be evoked by family. Her sisters were her best friends, and it seemed that Cissy was the only one who fulfilled the destiny that her parents planned out.
Turns out, her destiny wasn't all that fulfilling.
At Hogwarts, when an individual saw of one of the Black sister's, the other two would never be too far behind. Bella, the oldest of the trio, was always the mature one with the most ambition. She would always fight with their parents the most, almost always resulting in some sort of screaming match. Bellatrix would cry and scream and push everyone away, because she wanted something more than what their parents approved of.
The oldest sister, also the most striking woman of the Black family, did not wanted to be married. "We must find you a suitable man," their father Cygnus would say, "It's the only way to maintain the honor and nobility of the Black family name, Bella."
Her sister always set off after hearing multiple versions of that sentence. Bella had ambitions, yes, but she also had a mighty temper. "And what if I want to bring honor to the Black family name myself? Why should I need a man to do it for me?!"
At the time, Narcissa would cringe away from such an outlandish idea. She was taught with the traditional beliefs that men should do all the work, and the wife should stand by her husbands side, sticking with him through each decision. Now, however, she was not so blindingly ignorant.
Andromeda, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of their eldest sister. As the youngest, Narcissa and Bellatrix viewed her as the most fragile. Andy was the soft hearted, kind, and gentle sister. Her soft brown hair would dance each time she moved, and she loved to spend time outside with the flowers. Their parents always reprimanded Andromeda to get her head out of the clouds.
Narcissa lost contact with Andy almost directly after Hogwarts. As fate should have it, Andromeda was not just the soft spoken, gentle girl that her sisters believed her to be. The girls used to share everything with one another. Once upon a time, secrets were nonexistent between them. Andromeda had them all fooled.
Both of Narcissa's sisters wanted more than they had. For Bella, it was glory. For Andromeda, it was love. All that Narcissa wanted was her family back. She heavily depended on them for everything, including her happiness, to the point that when they were gone, she felt as if a piece of her was gone also.
She was married off to Lucius Malfoy quite soon after schooling. At first, it was somewhat nice— if not a tad awkward. He used to be a shy man, but he was of a prestigious family, and Cissy was determined to do what Andromeda could not, as the harsh sting of betrayal had been fairly fresh. Bellatrix turned cold after Andy announced that she was a blood traitor for the Tonks boy, and quickly threw herself into magic, distancing herself from Narcissa in the process.
All that she wanted, her heart's greatest desire, was to go back to her adolescence. Really, she just wanted her sister's back. Bella was never one for dressing up, but Andromeda would always humor her, dancing around Bella's room wearing lavish gowns as the eldest sister tried not to smile. The three of them would whisper meaningless secrets, and their laughter would fill up the void of the dreary Black estate. She missed it. The inside jokes, the silly banter, even the pointless arguments.
Bellatrix became incarcerated not long after her marriage to Lucius. After the Dark Lord was defeated, Narcissa not only lost both of her sisters, but also whatever humanity resided in her husband's nature. She gave birth to dear Draco all alone, with none of her loved ones around. She quickly fell in love with her son, as she was lost and the boy gave her direction and purpose.
So what if she was in a loveless relationship, so long as it brought her a loving child? Cissy had even tried to subtly bring up the conversation of having another child, a girl hopefully. Narcissa foolishly thought that perhaps she can get that bond back that she longed for so greatly. She was a fool for ever thinking that Lucius was capable of anything other than being a monster.
While Narcissa wasn't a Death Eater by any means, she was considered a supporter due to her marriage. The Dark Lord took Bellatrix under his wing, and therefore all attention went onto her instead of Cissy as far as the Black family was considered. Even though she was in the shadows of the Dark Side, she was still effected after the war was "lost."
Darling Draco was only four months old. It was actually the day of his christening, in which she and Lucius had named Severus Snape as Draco's legal godfather. It was the Dark Lord who suggested that Severus take the position for her son, and she wasn't particularly in the position to argue. Her husband has been on a mission as a Death Eater, one of the last to take place if she recalled correctly.
In the early hours of the morning, Narcissa felt as if she only got a wink of sleep as her son's cries woke her. She still remembered the way that the shadows flickered in the candle light as she made her way to his nursery. Even then, a heavy feeling settled in her chest. As if Draco's cries were a warning— a warning that their lives were quickly going to change.
Narcissa remembered the night that she got Aurora quite well, perhaps she even remembered it more clearly than Draco's birth.
No matter what she did, her son would not stop crying. Feeding him, changing him, rocking him— all with no result. Lucius was gone, out doing ungodly deeds in the name of a cruel man, and Narcissa was breaking down, feeling as if she's failed at being a mother.
It started to rain heavily.
Which is why the first signs of pounding on the door to the manor went dismissed. It's probably the thunder, she'd thought, or perhaps I'm so sleep deprived that I am hallucinating. Either way, Cissy was ready to pull her hair out as Draco's cries turned into full on screams.
Imagine her surprise, seeing a quivering Nikolas Flamel on the other side of her front doors.
Thinking back on it, the conversation they shared was hazy in her mind— if not downright strange. The baby was a pureblood, the man had told her so himself. Draco had been thrashing around in her frail arms, and the woman gave Flamel the coldest look she could muster up. Clearly she could barely handle one child, how in great Merlin's name could she possibly care for another?
But then, the immortal man revealed the child's face. One big blue eye, and another big brown eye. Her white eyelashes were so long, and her cheeks were rosy, as if they'd just been pinched. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. Not the stress of raising two children, not the war, not even Lucius' upcoming rage.
Because finally, Narcissa could see it. She could see the dresses, the secrets, the laughter. Draco wouldn't be raised lonely in a huge manor, and she would have another female around to have a bond with. Perhaps it won't be as sisters, no, but it would be as mother and daughter— and that sounded even better. Perhaps it was selfish, to drag an innocent child into this lifestyle of war.
She didn't much care in that moment.
It was like a signed deal, and she would later earn a big slap on the jaw for her decision, but the fact remained. She now had both a daughter and a son, and Lucius Malfoy could go choke on a rock for all she cared. As soon as Flamel left her household, the realization had finally hit her as Aurora lay left on the couch.
Draco had finally stopped crying.
At the moment, she needed to pick up her daughters school supplies for her after she got in trouble. Narcissa could not help the slight twitch on her lips when she thought about why. In short, Lucius did not take kindly to his son's hair being turned into a bright, and admittedly rather un tasteful, ugly purple.
Meanwhile, back at the manor, Aurora was all alone— or so it seemed. You see, when Tom is out of the diary he is invisible to anyone but her. The reason being is that their souls are intertwined. Tom did not plan for that to happen, obviously, but he isn't complaining— over fifty years being stuck in a diary with nothing to do was rather dim. He was planning on just killing the girl so that he can come back to life, however, she is powerful. He could never get away with it.
"Tom, come out, I have something to show you!"
Aurora was sitting on the balcony attached to her room, with a diary and a small purse laid out in front of her. On the diary the words "one moment, I am looking at a memory" appeared in the prettiest handwriting she'd ever seen. If there was one thing she learned about Tom over the years, it was that he had no problem making her wait. He never did anything that he did not want to do, no matter who was asking. So she rolled her eyes and leaned on the door whilst taking in the scenery.
If Aurora was grateful for anything, it was that she got to design her own room when she finally turned older. The rest of the gloomy manor varied from different shades of black to emerald green. As if that's not depressing enough,, everything hung upon the gloomy walls were old portraits of their ancestors, snarling down at anyone who walked by.
Aurora's bedroom was like a breathe of fresh air, in her opinion. She had her wallpaper to be a nice tan, almost beige color, and the whole wall attached to her balcony was straight windows. It was quite plain, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She has a queen sized four poster bed in the middle of the room and the only other things was a vanity (which she never used) and a desk. It was all a bit extravagant in her opinion.
Her view of the balcony led to the gardens. It showed the vast high and mighty green hedges, trimmed into intricate designs, all different magical plants and flowers that her mum deemed worthy, as well as a few statues here and there. While she was in her thoughts about how the hell she'd get a wand if she wasn't allowed to go to Diagon Alley, Tom came back.
"You called?" He asked sarcastically.
"Yes, dear best friend of mine," she said just as sarcastically, "look what I made!"
Tom stared down at the little black purse, no bigger than the size of his hand.
"... A purse? You expect me to care about a bag? Very well, good job I suppose. You have a keen eye for fashion," he sneered, belittling her.
She sent him a flat look.
"No, you git. It's for your diary, look," with that she stuck her whole arm inside the tiny bag like it was nothing. "I can carry it with me at all times like this, see? And I charmed it so only I could open it too, with a password."
Tom tried not to look impressed.
"How... thoughtful. What is the password?"
With the most serious expression she could muster, she replied, "Tim Fiddle."
At the outraged expression on his face, she hastily shouted "Only joking! It's "Gaunt," after your family. It's easy to pass it off as a cough, you see," and for extra measure, Rory hacked out a nasty sounding cough, sounding something along the lines of 'Gahhhhht'
He seemed to calm down slightly, but still sent her a stern glare. admittedly slightly alarmed that she be tested for tuberculosis, "Aurora. We are not starting this again. On another note, I have a plan for both of us. It's completely mental in fact, so it's right up your ally."
Raising an eyebrow over her brown colored eye, she mischievously replied, "I'm listening."
***
"Rory! Come down to dinner!"
The shrill voice of her mum calling made her and Tom both flinch, sitting across from each other at the Slytherin table in his mindscape Hogwarts world. Sealing up the letter they spent over an hour trying to write with the Malfoy family seal, she and Tom left the diary.
"One moment!"
She called down one of the family barn owls and told him a quick, "to Borgin and Burke's, do try to make haste." With that, she sent Tom a look and grabbed her little bag with the diary inside and rushed down to the dining room.
Once she arrived, the whole family was already there waiting for her. Lucius and her mum sat on each ends of the long, and completely over excessive, black marble table. She sat across from Draco and discreetly pulled out the chair next to her so that Tom could sit (hover) too.
"Sorry for my lateness," she announced dramatically, looking completely unapologetic.
Lucius sneered back at her, "I do not understand why," he drawled on, "It is not as if you went to Diagon Alley with us today. Please, do explain what you were doing?"
She tried not to smirk, knowing that she would, in fact, be going to Diagon Alley today after all.
"Ah, I was having the most lovely chat with grandpa Abraxas' portrait. He always tells me the most wonderful stories of his time at Hogwarts. Did you know he was robbed while at school? Brax is a wonderful conversationalist, he was merely trying to prepare for when we go to Hogwarts tomorrow."
Tom snorted next to her, considering he knew him personally. She hid her smile by rubbing a napkin on her mouth, avoiding eye contact with her brother, knowing that they could never keep it together. Dipping a silver spoon back into her portion of soup, all that could be heard was awkward silence and the scraping of silverware.
Her mum, Narcissa, spoke up, "Anyhow," she glanced nervously at her husband, "Are you excited for Hogwarts, Draco and Rory? I know you'll both have a splendid time. I personally enjoyed transfiguratio—" She was cut off by Lucius raising his hand to silence her.
Aurora was happily eating her tomato soup, as if nothing was amiss. Lucius cleared his throat, his cerulean eyes cold. His posture indicated that he was a closed off specimen, completely oblivious to the notion of vulnerability. Lucius may be the man of the house, but none of the other manor occupants actually admired him— house elves included.
"I picked up a wand for you, as it so happens. Elm wood and Dragon Heartstring... All Malfoys in the past have done exquisitely with this particular pairing. Draco here, seems to have acquired Hawthorn, instead of Elm wood, although still worthy I suppose." She shot Draco an apologetic look, knowing he'd probably got his ear talked off for it. "Why don't you give it a wave, yes?"
She got out of her seat and walked over to him, knowing that if it wasn't a match for Draco of all people, then it surely wouldn't be a match for her. But perhaps, a perfect golden ticket to escape the tense atmosphere and follow through on Tom's plan. She gave it a nice wave dramatically and watched with glee as all the glass in the room shattered. The windows, their plates and wine glasses, the chandelier... Lucius cast a protego and covered mum, Draco, and himself. Tom was sitting in his seat, completely unaffected by the glass around him, smirking.
Once the damage was done and the dust (or in this case, glass) settled, she said, "Oops!" And promptly waved her hand so that it looked like she was beckoning someone over, and all the glass went back in its rightful place in no time. Just to tip it all off, she twirled her finger as through outlining a circle and made a flower crown. She then floated it over to Lucius's head.
Tom was full out chuckling at her fathers expense, it was indeed hilarious. She set the wand back on the table and said, "I take it I'm excused from dinner? Father, please take that crown as a token of my apologies. See you in the morning!"
Once she and Tom left the dining room, Aurora promptly burst into a fit of laughter, and though Tom would deny finding any humor, his smirk was something wicked.
Wiping a tear as they strolled to her father's office, she said, "Did you see his face? I could have fried an egg from how red it got! Step one is complete!"
He smiled fondly at her, "I must say, Rory, you don't disappoint. Let's floo over before they notice that you are missing."
And so they did. From the dim office of Lucius Malfoy and into the even dimmer store of Borgin and Burke's. She certainly felt (and looked) out of place with her naturally innocent features, but felt perfectly safe nonetheless with her diary friend by her side. Rows upon rows of cursed artifacts lined the shop, and the eery light made creepy shadows dance upon the peeling walls.
"Ah Mr. Malfoy! I was pleased when I received your letter, which of my items were you hoping to pur—" Mr. Borgin cut himself off when he saw the petite girl with mismatched eyes staring at him expectantly.
She cleared her throat and said, "Hello Mr. Borgin, I'm Aurora Malfoy. I know you were expecting my father but he got a bit... tied up... so he sent me."
He looked like he very much wanted to kick her out of the store in that moment.
Clearing her throat once more, she got straight to the point, "Riddles wand. I'll pay you generously, of course."
He narrowed his eyes at her, probably about to argue, but thought better of it as he went to the back to retrieve the wand of his former unremarkable employee. She shot Tom a bright smile while he rolled his eyes and tapped his foot impatiently. While Tom may not be impressed with the shop's items, Rory certainly felt like a kid in a candy store as she gazed upon multiple heinous artifacts. Unfortunately, Aurora rarely got the chance to leave the manor, constantly being locked away as if she were some explosive firearm.
Before Tom could object, Aurora quickly pocketed a cool-looking gemstone from from its display case.
"You're ridiculous."
Once Mr, Borgin returned, she dug her arm into her tiny black purse to retrieve a medium sized pouch full of shiny gold galleons, and promptly smacked it onto the counter. Rory reached for the wand to quickly put it in her bag, shooting Tom a smug smile.
Unfortunately, as soon as she lay a dainty finger onto the cool white wand, a faint golden glow twisted around her body and a heavy wind blew throughout the store, knocking down a few of the shop's items. She suddenly felt warm, and with a shocked face, she turned to Tom, only to see him looking just as troubled as she was.
Tom spoke up, "It must be able to sense our souls connected..." he looked at her in disbelief, almost annoyed that his precious wand could possibly obey another. His features turned stoic once more, as his fist clenched on the inside of his Hogwarts cloak.
Meanwhile, she sent a firm nod to Mr. Borgin, trying to keep from shaking. He looked at her as though she were the Devil himself. She flicked Tom's wand and set everything in the store back to its rightful place and promptly got the hell out of there.
"Malfoy manor!"
**