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january 1995
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"𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚖𝚊"
𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜, 𝚙𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍
Lucius Malfoy has never been someone who took orders from others. He made orders but he did not follow any so naturally when Edwin Peregrine handed him a contract regarding his daughter's future, he was not pleased. The contract was a deal made between Abraxas and Edwin but it was not valid until Violetta's legal guardian ― her father ― had signed it.
Edwin Peregrine was no better than his son ― a disgusting man with no respect towards others. He was well-known for taking several mistresses while his wife looked after their two sons, Derrick and Cyrus. If Derrick was going to be anything like his father as a husband, Lucius was not going to let his only daughter marry a man this disgusting.
"Now now Lucius, I know Violetta means a big deal to you and to your wife but she will be just fine with my son," said Peregrine, a half empty glass of whiskey in his hands.
Edwin was sitting on an armchair opposite of Lucius', his black wooden desk between them so he wouldn't strangle the man with his bare hands.
"She's still young. There's no need to rush her into marriage," said Lucius, trying his best to keep his temper in control.
"Girls of her status need to marry as soon as possible or otherwise people will think she's unfit. And my son needs heirs, the sooner the better," Edwin listed his interests.
The way Edwin spoke of Violetta ― like she was some baby machine ― made Lucius' hand turn into a fist. There was nothing wrong with women nor men who wanted children, he wanted them with Narcissa and so did she but he knew that Violetta ― no matter how much she was like her mother ― did not want children. Or at least she has never shown any interest in having any.
Lucius huffed. "My daughter will not have your son's sorry heirs."
"Mmm well with your mother-in-law's record, your daughter might turn out to be a disappointment who only has daughters," Edwin muttered and drank the rest of his whiskey.
Druella Black has never been Lucius' favorite person ― mostly due how she treated Narcissa ― but he didn't appreciate anyone insulting his wife's bloodline. Even if it meant that he had to defend Druella.
"I would choose your next words very carefully, Edwin. I won't have anyone insulting my family," said Lucius sternly.
Edwin merely scoffed. "Violetta can't hide from her fate."
"Perhaps so but I can make sure that fate won't be anywhere near your son," Lucius said and stood up. "Has your son said anything about what happened during the Yule Ball?"
Lucius had promised Violetta to let the incident go and never speak of it again but after hearing Edwin's opinions, he couldn't keep that promise.
"I can't say that I have," Edwin admitted, his voice slightly fading with his words.
"Your son harassed my daughter, in more ways than just by words," said Lucius, his grey eyes darkening and pure anger in them was visible.
Edwin's face paled but Lucius knew it wasn't because he felt bad but because he was scared. People knew that no fury could even be close to the one Lucius Malfoy feels when someone has hurt his family.
"So about the contract you and my father have made," started Lucius and took a piece of paper ― the contract to be more exact ― from the desk. He walked over to the fireplace and without another word, he tossed the contract into the flames.
Edwin jumped up but before he had a chance to save the contract, it was long gone.
"You can't do that," argued Edwin.
Lucius laughed. "But I already did."
"But now let me be very clear. If your son ever touches my daughter again or does as much as looks at her way, I will hurt him. I don't care what comes of him," continued Lucius, any signs of laughter gone. "All I care is that he won't come anywhere near Violetta ever again."
Edwin swallowed but gathered up his courage to speak although he looked like a little child who had just stolen a jar of cookies.
"Your father will have a fit," he said.
"Well then, it is a very good thing that I don't care. He isn't Violetta's father but I am. And I don't want nor do I let my daughter marry someone like your son," said Lucius before heading towards the study's doors and opening them. "Now if you will be so kind and remove your sorry presence from my house."
Edwin sneered, his nostrils moving abnormally fast. "You can't throw me out, Malfoy."
"Oh yes I can. Now leave before I really throw you out," Lucius yelled so that the chandelier above Edwin shook.
The humiliated Peregrine said nothing but nearly ran out of Lucius' study and headed straight out without a fight.
Lucius sighed, he felt a headache coming. He moved to sit back on his armchair, letting his elbows lean against the desk before he buried his face between his hands. The stress Violetta's future has brought him lately has been great and time consuming.
He has always known that having and raising a daughter is very different from sons but he didn't really know exactly how different until lately. Regulus was going to inherit the Malfoy name and the riches and responsibilities it brings while Draco was going to have certain responsibilities ― he might be the second son and heir but that didn't mean he was a spare.
But Violetta was the daughter, the heiress who was going to lose her family name the day she gets married.
"It seems that you made your point," the voice of Narcissa said when she entered the room.
Lucius lifted his head from his hands and turned to look at Narcissa who was standing just next to his chair.
"So far yes but I doubt this is the end," he said. "Abraxas will find someone else he can marry Lettie to."
Narcissa smiled sadly. "I suppose so."
"You think it would be easier if she actually wants to get married right after school," Lucius heard his wife's unspoken words.
"Well of course," said Narcissa and sat on Lucius' desk. "Then we wouldn't feel like we are forcing her to do something she doesn't want to."
Lucius frowned. "Do you want her to get married? Leave home...?"
"I want her to be happy," Narcissa sighed and reached for Lucius' hand. "But that daughter of ours is a very stubborn young woman who doesn't like to fit into a mold which makes everything more difficult."
"She gets that from you," said Lucius, earning a sharp look from his wife.
"Excuse me," chuckled Narcissa. "That trait is from you and only from you."
Lucius shook his head. "Well I think it's both of our fault. And she's not the only one of the children who is stubborn. They all are."
"Speaking of the boys, have you heard from them?" Narcissa asked.
"No, they've been dead silent," said Lucius, regretting his choice of words immediately when he saw how Narcissa flinched. "I didn't mean it like that," he added right away.
Narcissa nodded but bit her lip for a second before saying anything.
"I know," she whispered.
The unspoken reality of the Dark Lord's return has become more and more possible with every day. The mark on Lucius' forearm was now more visible than it has been in years and the way his old "colleagues" talked about the future gave everything a new meaning. Things were going to change.
"They are fine," Lucius said before bringing Narcissa's hand against his lips. "I won't let anything happen to them nor you. You know that, right?"
"Yes," said Narcissa and while she knew this was the truth ― she wasn't stupid and knew that eventually, their safety wasn't going to be up to Lucius.
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"Miss Malfoy over here is the only one who managed to create Veritaserum perfectly," said Snape and nodded at Violetta's direction.
It was nearly afternoon when the seventh year Slytherins and Gryffindors were finishing up their potions class. Their task for the class was to make Veritaserum and because Violetta was one of the best students around, she managed to do it to perfection.
"The other one who made a nearly perfect Veritaserum was of course Mr. Malfoy."
Regulus and Violetta grinned at each other and oh the glory they received really poisoned the minds of certain Gryffindors. The worst part wasn't the fact that two Slytherins were the only successful ones but the fact that they were Malfoys, really annoyed them.
Malfoys were cocky and proud, and any boost of confidence only made them more insufferable.
"Can I use that?" Asked Gabriel and pointed at Violetta's vial of Veritaserum as they headed towards their History of Magic class.
"For what?" Violetta asked with a smirk.
Gabriel shrugged and wrapped his arm around Violetta's shoulders. "I don't know. I think I would like to get a small warning if my father is going to disown me or not."
Violetta halted, her brown eyes widening with every second. "Why would your father disown you?"
"You know he doesn't care for me," said Gabriel.
"Who doesn't care about who?" Asked Vivian who entered the conversation.
"Where've you been?" Asked Gabriel, completely dismissing Vivian's question.
Vivian frowned. "I had to have a floo-call with my parents. Now back to my question."
"My father doesn't care," said Gabriel blankly. "He doesn't care about me and wants Graham to have everything. You know, I'm not the perfect son."
Violetta knew that Gabriel and his father had issues but she didn't think they were this serious. Gabriel always jokes about his father disowning him but now, Gabriel seemed to be so serious about the matter.
"Lettie," said Gabriel and nudged her since she had gone to her own world again. Violetta blinked twice and turned to Gabriel, a frown appearing to her face.
"Isn't that your old house-elf?" He asked and pointed at the very far corner of the corridor.
Violetta narrowed her eyes to see better and she gasped.
It was Dobby.
Dobby who so mysteriously disappeared just after the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco had ended.
Violetta remembers her father taking her and her brothers home, telling them to go to their rooms while he had to explain something to their mother. Well, Violetta heard the whole thing about how Dobby had just vanished into the thin air. Violetta knew that there was something else behind the whole thing, Dobby couldn't just go away. He was bound to them.
"Tell Professor Binns that I'll be late," she said without even looking at her friends.
She started to walk faster and faster towards the little creature but when the elf noticed his old Mistress, he jumped and started to run further from her. Violetta cursed underneath her breath, looked around her while she ran to see if anyone was around and took out her wand.
"Glacius Tria," she said, pointing her wand at the elf and he froze to his spot.
Violetta smirked and calmly walked over to the elf. Once she reached the elf, she swirled her wand between her fingers before doing the counter spell and Dobby was free to move again.
The elf with bat-like ears and eyes the size of tennis balls stared at Violetta, his tiny body shaking with fear.
"Hello Dobby," said Violetta and put her wand back on her robe. "Haven't seen you in awhile."
Dobby swallowed hard and his gaze followed Violetta as the girl kneeled down to his level.
"Where have you been, Dobby? You know, it was very rude of you to just leave without saying goodbye," sighed Violetta heavily, although Dobby could tell she was only playing.
The elf took a deep breath in and spoke. "Dobby is working in the kitchens of Hogwarts," said Dobby.
Violetta smirked. "Aah, that's why the food's so ghastly nowadays."
Dobby straightened his tiny back and placed his hands on his hips. "Dobby's cooking is good. Dobby's the one who fed Violetta her entire life, since Violetta's mother didn't cook."
"Oh don't you speak about my mother," said Violetta in a taunting voice, fighting against the urge to slap the elf. "And where are your manners Dobby? You can't call me Violetta. I am your --"
"Dobby is a free elf," said Dobby sternly, making his confident and loud voice so unfit to his tiny little body.
Violetta huffed, narrowing her eyes. "That brings me to my next question. How? How are you free? It's not like my father to let house-elves go."
After knowing Dobby for years, Violetta knew that the elf had a big mouth and with the right way, she could provoke Dobby to tell her what had happened. She has always done this, and yet, the elf didn't realize it.
"Although, you weren't that good. You moped a lot, and as I already mentioned, your cooking wasn't the best. Also, you were sloppy so honestly, I wouldn't wonder why my father dismissed you."
"Dobby was not dismissed! Dobby was accidentally released with the help of Harry Potter. Yes, Harry Potter, the great Harry Potter! He is a friend of Dobby's now, he's...." Dobby shut his mouth when he realized he had spoken too much.
Violetta closed her eyes. Harry Freaking Potter was the reason why she and her family had lost an elf. Saint Potter, as Draco would say.
"So," started Violetta with a malicious voice. "Harry Potter is the reason why you were freed?"
Dobby stayed quiet.
"Oh come on, Dobby. It's not like I can do anything about it. Besides, the manor is still upright, meaning that you really weren't that important," said Violetta.
The elf stared at his old young mistress before running away, tears almost threatening to leave his eyes. Dobby didn't care for the Malfoys, he hated them but he cared about his work. And he wasn't a bad elf. But words can hurt.
"Weak," muttered Violetta and watched as the elf disappeared.
Violetta stood up from the floor and started to head towards her class which had already started. She was in her own world as she walked the big staircase to the first floor. She was so focused on her own thoughts that she completely ignored the fact that someone seemed to be following her.
Finally when the steps of someone got louder, meaning this someone was getting closer to her, she stopped and turned around sharply.
Her heart stopped for a second.
Peregrine was standing just a few steps away from her.
"Violetta," said Peregrine and Violetta slipped her hand to the pocket of her robe, wrapping her fingers around her wand.
"Get the hell away from me," she said firmly, pulling out her wand and pointing it at him.
Peregrine smirked that awful smirk of his and took out his wand. "Expelliarmus," he said and Violetta's wand fly across the corridor and landed near the entrance hallway.
"You should be more focused, Violetta," said Peregrine.
"I will scream," warned Violetta, taking a few steps back. "And then McGonagall is going to expel you."
"Then you will," said Peregrine with a vicious smile. "Do you know what your little talk with your parents did to me? I was set to marry you."
Violetta shook her head. "No we were not."
"Your grandfather made a contract. Your father burned it and now I'm in trouble."
"Then you should probably leave me alone. Wouldn't want you to get into more trouble. You aren't allowed to be near me," reminded Violetta.
Peregrine didn't say a word but stepped closer to Violetta and the girl felt her heart beating so fast and hard against her chest. Her breathing started to get heavier and she had a strange urge to start crying. She didn't cry. She didn't need to cry.
There was something in Peregrine's eyes that frightened Violetta, he looked mad. He looked so angry and furious with her.
Then suddenly, a loud bang echoed across the corridor, something dropped from above and Peregrine was laying on the floor. Violetta looked up and saw Peeves who was snickering hard.
Violetta, who has always disliked Peeves, was grateful for the poltergeist.
Peeves had dropped an armor at Peregrine.
"You all right there Malfoy?" Asked Peeves once he stopped snickering.
"I-I'm fine," she said, still stunned that Peeves had helped her. She has never been too nice to the poltergeist. "Thank you."
Peeves nodded at her. "No problem," he said and disappeared from sight.
One of the classroom doors opened, revealing a very confused looking Professor Burbage, the professor of Muggle Studies. The woman turned back to her classroom, hushed the students before closing the door but stayed outside. She approached Violetta, noticing the Derrick boy on the floor.
"What happened, Miss Malfoy?" Asked Professor Burbage.
"Peregrine was umm..." started Violetta but was stopped by Snape who entered the corridor.
The greasy haired man stopped next to Violetta and glanced at her before his eyes found Peregrine and then turned to look at his colleague.
"I will take it from here," he said and Burbage nodded.
Once Professor Burbage was gone, Snape turned to Violetta and gave her a concerned look.
"He was being an arse. But Peeves helped me," explained Violetta.
Snape raised his brows when Violetta mentioned Peeves but then frowned. "He didn't...?"
"He didn't touch me," sighed Violetta and glanced at Peregrine who was still on the floor. "But I don't think he cares that he isn't allowed anywhere near me."
"I will make sure he won't be a problem anymore," said Snape, glaring at the unconscious boy.
"Thanks," said Violetta and gave Snape a tired smile. "I need to go. My class started ten minutes ago."
Without another word, Violetta walked to the other end of the corridor, picked up her wand and turned around the corner. She leaned against the stone wall, placing her hand on her chest and tried to steady her breathing. She tried to think about happy things, good things, beautiful things.
Image of Fleur entered her mind.
Beautiful Fleur whose smile could heal her without even trying.
Violetta exhaled but this time, she didn't even bother to get rid of the thought.
in my defense: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE DOBBY <3 but violetta isn't nice and doesn't think too much about house-elves so she's a bitch towards him.