Sitting in her father's lap near the fireplace, the 3-year-old Zaya stopped playing with her hands and looked at her father. "Father, tell me a story." She said with a smile.
"Sure." He said looking at his wife, smiling. "Once upon a time there was a boy who had a cocky side to him.He was kind of a trouble maker too. He was a wizard in Hogwarts, too. This boy was able to get in Ravenclaw's quidditch team when he became a second year student. And because he was so good in quidditch his cocky side started growing, until one day, in his fifth year he got slapped by a girl in his house because he was getting narcissist. She told him that he is falling into a dark hole that he won't get out of. Because of what she said to him and how she said it, he figured that this girl must be so in love with him-" he was interrupted by a pillow that Mrs. Alvis threw at him. "He.." begun Mrs. Alvis "stopped being cocky for few days, apparently he was thinking about this weird girl that slapped him with tears in her eyes. And after two weeks friendship started forming between them. They will go to classes together and they would study for exams together, she was on good terms with his close friends too."
"What did she look like?" Asked Zaya excitedly.
"She had charcoal black hair that turned to flaming red when she's angry." Her mother said as she pushed her brown hair back her ear. "She wasn't tall, but wasn't short either."
"Your mother is much more prettier than her." interrupted Mr. Alvis "After few months of these two's friendship. The boy noticed that sometimes the girl would act as if she doesn't know him but if he won in a quidditch match she would act as if she was his lover. This thing annoyed one of the female friends of the boy. It annoyed the most famous girl in Hogwarts. She wasn't famous because she was so smart or incredibly beautiful. She was famous because she was the only one that this cocky boy would listen to, and tell everything to. Anyway the brown-haired girl knew what this boy was thinking about so she went to that girl, looked her in the eyes, and said 'listen Wanda. I don't care if you are trying to use Joe's fame just so you could be popular too. But I swear if you hurt his feelings and made him feel that he is being used I will tear you to shreds.' And then she went to the great hall to eat can you believe that Zaya?" he said, laughing at his wife's blushing.
"Ahem, anyway.." Mrs. Alvis said "Wanda said that she didn't mean using him and just wanted to be friends, and we became good friends from then."
Their laughs were stopped because of one of the house-elves informing them about a visitor. "Hellooooo people in the house! I heard you talking rubbish about me again, and I will forever repeat: I was not in love with you joe. I was using you to get closer to my love Camellia that you stole from me." a woman with muggles clothes stepped in, shopping bags hanged on both her arms, sunglasses, vibrant red lips and a short black hair waving to barely reach her shoulders.
Between the laughs that came from her parents Zaya ran towards the muggle-clothed woman. "Aunt Wanda!" She shouted running to the woman posing next to the living room's entrance door.
"Don't you ever call me aunt. CALL ME SISTER!" she said making herself look angry.
Zaya woke up mumbling about that dream she had. It was the first time she dreamed about something that happened when she was a child. She got up from her bed and went straightly to her mother in the kitchen who was telling the house-elves what they should cook for the Malfoy's visit today.
"Good morning, sleepy-head. Who sleeps until noon when someone is visiting their house?"
"Good morning, mother." Replied Zaya "Mother I have a question."
"Ask."
"What happened to sister Wanda?" as soon as she finished her sentence, her mother froze for a second. She looked at the clock ticking on the wall and gasped.
"I will tell you later. The Malfoys are coming in less than an hour and you didn't get ready yet. The food isn't all ready yet. I am not ready yet! Where is your father, oh merlin!" She said as she was going all over the place. "Joe! Joe! Where are you?! Azkaban?!" she said furiously. Demanding Zaya to go and get ready.
Her husband came down the stairs to where she and his daughter were, running with his dark blue tuxedo on "What!? What!?"
"Oh, you were getting ready." Camellia said apologizing. "If you're ready then please overlook the house elves. Zaya go and get ready, dear." She pointed at one of the six plates that had pasta on the counter as Zaya left the kitchen. "Now look, these plates are for the main course. Lucius can't take spicy food but Narcissa loves it. So everyone is going to have the normal pasta except Narcissa, her plate is going to be extra spicy. Remind them to show which one is the spicy one. I don't want them to give Lucius her plate he may die!" she talked pretty fast about the instruction that her husband should give the house-elves.
"Cam, Cam. I know every single things you just told me. Go and get ready it's okay I can handle it." He said as he held her shoulders to make her look at him.
"Please. I am counting on you."' She said as she left the kitchen.
Mrs. Alvis hated it when someone would come to visit and not everything is perfect. The rarely get any visitors so every time someone comes she has to make sure that it's perfect for them.
Mr. Alvis stood there in the kitchen, thinking. He really wanted to mix Mrs. Malfoy's dish with Mr. Malfoy's dish. However he knew how much this visit means to his wife. And he didn't want to destroy it even though he really hates Lucius Malfoy.
He was sure his daughter asked about what happened to Wanda. His wife did an amazing job not answering the question, but why did Zaya ask. None of them mentioned her when she 'started living in the muggle world' which was six years ago. What made Zaya remember her now?
The Malfoys finally arrived, which cut Mr. Alvis's thoughts. Mr and Mrs. Alvis went to welcome them, but Zaya didn't come down yet.
"Welcome to our house!" welcomed Mrs. Alvis excitedly. "Get in, get in."
Everyone got in, settled in the guests room, and Zaya still hasn't show up. Draco who was feeling a bit awkward sitting with bunch of adults, decided to follow Mrs. Alvis as she went to grab something from another room.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Alvis." He begun politely. "Where is Zaya?"
"She must be in her room. Will you call her for me?" She asked. "Go upstairs, her room would be the second on the left in the third hallway."
"Sure.." he said, then walked 'Shouldn't a house-elf be doing this?' he thought.
He went upstairs and saw all the hanged pictures on the wall, most of them were for Zaya. He got to the third hallway and opened the door of the first room, which needed a tough squeeze to open. A black room, not just the wallpaper, but even the furniture, the decorations, the books, and the hanged pictures on the walls, they were all black!. Directly towards him there was a big picture frame. A woman with black hair, black eyes, and black clothes, was sitting in the picture, staring at Draco, like she was annoyed. He felt as if she was staring into his soul. His body started moving slowly towards the painting. The woman's eyes started to turn into bright blue slowly, Draco's eyes started shining, too. The woman's mouth started to open her mouth, and so was Draco. A transparent gooey substance started coming from his mouth, stretching to reach the woman's mouth. A tiny bit got to her mouth when suddenly "What are you doing?" Zaya asked, looking worried.
Draco fell down in a sitting position, breathing heavily, looking in fear at the painting that went back to it's black eyes and annoyed look.
"N-Nothing." He gulped.
"Are you okay?" she seemed more worried. "You look pale, did something happen?"
"I was coming to call you. But I got in the wrong room. And-and that woman!" he said, panting.
"Can you get up?" she helped him stand up. "Come to my room for a moment, they are going to freak out if they saw you like this."
They got out of the room, not noticing a faint pleased smile on the woman in the painting. She made him drink some water, and lay on her bed.
"Who was the woman in the painting?" Draco asked, covering his eyes with his arm.
"My great great grandma, I guess?"
"Who drew her?"
"She was in the muggle world, and muggle artist drew her."
"Did she cast any charms on it?" he asked, again.
"Not that I know about." She answered. "Why are you asking all these questions though?"
"Just interested." He sighed. "Your mom wanted me to call you."
"I know. Shanks came and told me, because someone was late." She said sarcastically.
"Haha." Exhausted, he laughed. "Anyway, they will think something happened if you were more late."
"No, they would know that something happened because of your face looking so pale." She looked at him for couple of seconds, waiting for him to tell what happened. "Fine, I'll come up with an excuse, but you ARE going to tell me what happened later, got it?"
"Fine." He rolled his eyes.
"And also as I promised, here is your book." She said as she opened a giant book in half and took the muggle-novel from it. "I finished it on time, I liked it."
"I'll give you another one next time."
They finally went downstairs to where every one is. And they did get scolding gazes from their mothers because they were late.
"Probably talking about school and forgetting that there's a meal waiting for them." Said Mr. Alvis, making everyone in the room laugh, even Mr. Malfoy who enjoyed his pasta later on. Mrs. Alvis gave her husband a thankful look because he decided not to play a prank on Lucius.
"Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy. Is it possible for Draco to spend the night here?" Zaya asked, her father and Mr. Malfoy choked on their pasta. Draco just looked at her in surprise.
"Oh, wow." Mrs. Alvis said. "Even though I am hearing this suggestion for the first time, I have nothing against it."
"Son?" Mr. Malfoy asked in a sharp tone.
"I have nothing to do with this suggestion." Draco defended.
"I am fine with it." Narcissa said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "But, why?"
"Draco.." Zaya said as she looked at him, and in a tone sharper than Mr. Malfoy's she said "Has something to tell me, and I have something to discuss with him too." She finished with a smile.
"Fine then, as long as your parents are okay with it."
"But dear-" Lucius tried to change his wife's mind.
"I will be sending Dobby with a bag of necessities." She interrupted. "I think it's nice seeing our son getting close to a friend, Lucius. She is a pure-blood too so you have no right in arguing with me about this." She hissed in her husband's ear.
Not so long after, The Malfoys left, leaving Draco with the Alvis family. Later, Dobby showed in the Alvis house, with a big bag for Draco.
"I will be staying in the house too, young master." Dobby said, kneeling for Draco. "Call me if you needed me, please."
And like that, Draco is staying in Zaya's house, in the room that's on the opposite side of the Black Room.
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