Chapter 2 – Lucy
“Honestly Lucius! I thought you had more sense than that! I understand your anger and hatred towards those nasty blood traitors – I feel the same way, they embarrass us wizards – HOWEVER, that does not mean you can go and pick a fight with them whenever you want to!” Mother shrieks at Father as soon as we land in our fireplace at home. “You were acting like a child! You want to have an argument, fine! Just save it for the Ministry! And don’t start throwing books at each other like little kids!”
I’m watching this with amusement. It’s not every day one gets to see Father being told off. He’s always the powerful one, and no one dares disagree with him. Well, no one except his wife.
Lexie comes over and sits next to me on the couch, holding a bag of popcorn. She holds it out to me. “You want some? I brought it to watch the show.” She says, smirking.
“Of course.” I say, digging my hand into the bag. It’s a bit awkward talking to her. We’re so detached from each other. I’m closer to Draco than I am to her. Actually, I think we give Draco a headache, since we both want for his attention.
I look back at the little “argument” going on. It’s actually just Mother yelling at Father.
“But –” Father starts to say.
“No buts! What about upholding the family honor?! What are people going to think of the Malfoy family when you can’t control your anger enough to not fight! And in a bookshop! How embarrassing! I can’t see Draco doing something like that!”
I smirk. I can see him doing something like that. I doubt Draco has ever not turned an argument into a violent fight, especially after I saw Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They’re two of his friends who visited for a few days, and they are completely stupid. However, their size makes up for it. I doubt I could fit both my hands around one of their wrists.
Mother finally calms down and sits on the couch across from us. “Sorry, I get overworked sometimes. I understand. They’re muggle lovers anyways.”
“Filthy blood traitors!” Father snaps. “They deserve a good beating!”
“Do they?” Lexie speaks up.
Both their heads whip around to face us. “How long have you been there?” Mother asks.
“The whole time.” I say. Mother is about to reprimand us for listening but Father cuts her off.
“What did you say?” He asks Lexie, his eyes narrowing.
“I said, “do they?’ Do they really deserve that, just for viewing muggles and muggle – borns differently than you?” Lexie stands up, looking Father in the eye. I inwardly gasp. Yes, I do hate the way wizards think they are better just because they happen to be “pure – blood,” but that doesn’t mean I’m going to actively go against them and against Father in particular.
“Lexie, I don’t know who put those crazy ideas in your head, but get rid of them immediately. You don’t know what you are saying!”
“I know exactly what I am saying, and I mean every word!” Lexie replies, unwavering. Wow. I wish I could be like her, have her confidence. “Muggles are people, just like us. The only difference is that we have magic!”
Mother goes pale in the face. “Surely you can’t be serious?!”
“Lexie, how dare you say they are like us! Their blood is considerably more sluggish, and they are not as intellectually capable as us purebloods!” Father’s voice is rising considerably.
Lexie lets out a laugh, yet it is without humor. “That must be a joke! ‘Not as intellectually capable’ are they? I beg to differ. They are just as smart as us, maybe even more! They have made so many discoveries, and they have even invented so many amazing things! They have made those flying machines in the sky, so they could travel far distances. Cars, to get from one place to another without walking. And even the trains are muggle inventions. Without that, how would we get to Hogwarts!”
“And WHERE have you learned THAT?! Those are barbaric and outlandish ideas! I am ashamed to say you are a Malfoy! How dare you!” Father is almost yelling now.
“They are not barbaric. And I’m not the only one.” Lexie turns her head to look at me, expecting me to back her up. I then do something that I will regret for a long time. I give her an almost imperceptible shake of the head. She looks at me betrayed. It kills me, but I can’t. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to Father, and I guess I’m not brave enough.
“ENOUGH! A blood traitor, in my house? I won’t allow it!” Father shouts. “I can’t bear to see you. Get out of this room!”
Lexie looks over her shoulder at me once more, before storming out of the room. I have never seen her so angry and…hurt. Because of me. I look down in my lap because I don’t want my parents to see the guilty look on my face.
Father picks up his cane, “I’m done with this nonsense,” and he storms out of the room as well. I can hear a door slam a few moments later. I’m guessing he’s in his office.
Mother puts her head in her hands. “I-I think I’ll just go upstairs. It’s been a long day. You should get your rest too, Lucy. Tell the house-elf to bring my lunch up to my room. I need time to think, so tell him not to let anyone in.” She says without looking at me. And guess what? Yes, she leaves the room too, except she’s not raging with anger, like the two people before her.
It’s only then I notice Draco standing in the doorway. I jump, startled. “Merlin! How long were you standing there?”
He walks over, his face contorted into a frown. His sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. “Long enough. I came downstairs to see why they were yelling.”
“Draco?” I ask. “What do you think is going to happen to Lexie?”
He looks down at me. “Don’t worry, Father will stay mad for a while, but he’ll get over it. As for Lexie…well, it’s just a phase.” He says uncertainly.
“You don’t believe that, do you?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what Father believes.”
“Well, believe me when I tell you it’s not a phase that’ll go away. Both Lexie and I have been feeling like this for a long time. Muggle-borns aren’t different than pure-bloods, and even if they are, it’s not like you should kill them off just because of it.” I say to him.
He looks at me in surprise. “If you think like that, why didn’t you say anything?”
I look down at my hands, “I guess…well I am too afraid. That is the difference between the both of us. Lexie will stand up for what she wants, and never backs down. I, on the other hand…” I trail off.
Draco presses me closer to him. “You’re perfect. You both are. And Lexie will be okay. She just needs to know when she reaches the limit.”
“Promise you won’t tell anyone? About Lexie also?”
“I promise.” He smiles at me.
The next few days pass quickly. Mother came out of her room that night to eat dinner with the family. For Lexie, it takes longer. We – or more like just Draco and I – send Dobby up with food, but she barely eats. She doesn’t let any of us in her room either. She only steps outside to go to the bathroom, where she would make sure no one was there beforehand. It goes on like this for a few days before she finally comes out.
It’s the night before we leave for Hogwarts when I notice her come down. She looks weak and a little malnourished but for the most part, she’s fine. Dinner is strained, though. The only ones talking are Draco and I and occasionally Lexie would make an input. I notice that Father absolutely refuses to look at her at all.
The next day, we apparate to Platform 9¾ at Kings Cross Station. Father won’t even talk to or touch Lexie yet, so he grabs on to mine and Draco’s hands and we apparate. Mother comes a few moments later with Lexie. Mother is a bit more forgiving than Father.
I’ve side-apparated before a few times, but the feeling is still terrible. I wait a few seconds to let the dizzy feeling pass. Mother grabs both my sister and I in a hug. She looks for Draco as well, but he runs off with his friends before she can. I hug Father also, before waiting for Lexie.
Lexie turns to Father with a smile. “I’m sorry Father; I shouldn’t have talked back to you like that. I know we haven’t been talking, but I at least want to leave on good terms.” Then she hugs him.
“Lexie, Lucy, you have a good year. Remember that you’ll have Draco with you, unlike him, he didn’t have anyone when he started.” Mother says. She waves to us as we grab our trunks and step on to the train.
“Lucy.” I hear someone say behind me. I turn around and see her staring at me.
“Lexie.”
~~~~~
I walk through the aisle, looking for a good compartment.
I find one with only one girl in it. She looks lonely. I slide the door open slightly. “Can I join you?”
She grins. “Sure!”
I take a seat across from her. “So, Lucy. Lucy Malfoy.”
“Alexis Wilde. Do you like card games?” She asks.
“Umm, yeah, sure, why not?”
She leans forward, “I’m talking about muggle card games!” Alexis holds out a pack of cards.
“Yeah, sometimes I play with my sister, Lexie. Not in front of our parents of course.” I reply.
She grins deviously, “You’ve passed the test!”
“What test?” Wow, this girl sure is weird.
She leans forward even further. “The test of whether or not you’re a pureblooded freak!” She says like it’s the most obvious thing ever. She then giggles to herself and leans back. She holds out her cards again. “Let’s play!”
After playing a few muggle games that I used to play with Lexie, and even more that I’ve never heard of, I happen to look out the window and see a blue flying car, with a person hanging out of the open door. I gasp.
“Is that…Harry Potter?! In a BLUE FLYING CAR????!!!! WHAAATT???!!!!!”
“SHUSH! My eardrums are breaking!” Alexis yells in my ear. I think she broke my eardrums now. We both rush to the window, our game forgotten.
“I WANNA DO THAT!!!!” Alexis shrieks, once again, in my ear.
“SHUT UP!” I yell back.
“NO!”
“YES!”
“NO!”
“NO!”
“YES! Wait, you TRICKED ME!!!”
“That I did.” I reply, smiling devilishly. I look out the window again. Potter’s hanging on by his fingers. On a whim, I open the window and stick my head out. “COME ON POTTER!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!” I think he heard me. I turn my head to the side to see Alexis doing the same thing. We both start shouting random things at him.
“I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT POTTER!!!” Alexis yells.
“HANG IN THERE!!” That’s me.
“THE LLAMA GODS WILL HELP YOU!!!” Alexis.
“WHAAAT??!!” I ask/yell at her.
“POTATO!!” Alexis shrugs.
“BANANAS!!!” I have decided to follow in this crazy girl’s footsteps. Although I will probably end up dying early in life because of it.
“VOLDEMORT IS STUPID!!!” Alexis yells out. I let out a gasp. I’ve heard his name, but in my house, he’s only referred to as the “Dark Lord.”
She turns to me. “That’s the first time I’ve said his name! It feels so nice to just let it out!”
Belatedly we realize that Potter has made it back inside the car safely and he and a redheaded boy are staring at us. Then they shout back. “WE AGREE! HE”S AN UTTER DIMWIT!!!” This is followed by waves of laughter.
Alexis and I both fall to the floor laughing our guts out. I’m dying. Really dying. Then the compartment door slides open.
“Oh, I knew it was you, Lucy!” I look up and see Lexie. “I came to see what all the commotion was!”
She walks over to the still open window, pops her head out, and yells, “WEASLEY!!! POTTER!!! DON’T DIE!!!! IF YOU DIE, I WILL KILL YOU!!!!”
She notices us staring at her.
“What? It felt good! See ya!” She goes out the door and slides it shut. I look out the window and notice the car is gone, so I close it.
“Alexis, that’s my twin Lexie by the way.”
“Who was that kid with Potter?”
“I’m guessing Ron Weasley. The two of them are always together, according to Draco.”
The train ride goes by quickly after that. We play more card games and stuff ourselves sick with sweets when the trolley lady comes.
----------
So...second chapter! And in one day too! I really hope people are reading this story, because that's pretty much the reason for me posting...