A sheer curtain stirred above the pale birch windowsill, letting golden sunlight spill into the spotless room and cast soft gradients across the elegant floral reliefs decorating the walls.
The sunlight also warmed the pretty face nestled beneath the sheets between the bedposts, sleeping lazily on her side.
A warm breeze drifted through the room, shifting the light and shadows.
Her closed lashes trembled slightly.
Each time another ray of sunlight fell across her face, her sleeping expression seemed unable to endure the disturbance, and her brows drew together.
It gave an age that should have been innocent and carefree an oddly troubled look.
The bedroom door opened with a soft creak.
A witch with long platinum-blonde hair, already dressed for the morning, entered with a warm smile and quietly sat down on the edge of the bed.
With loving tenderness, she reached out and smoothed her daughter’s silky hair, so much like her own.
Then she bent down and kissed the still-youthful sleeping face whose delicate features were already impossible to hide.
“It’s time to get up, Draca.”
“Mm…?
Ugh…”
The girl, reluctant to leave her bed, let out a thoroughly spoiled little whine and buried her face deep into the pillow.
Seeing her daughter act so petulantly, something she only ever did before getting out of bed, Narcissa Malfoy couldn’t help smiling.
Only at times like this could she allow her daughter to behave in a way that wasn’t quite becoming of a proper young lady.
“You don’t have to get up if you don’t want to.
Pansy and Daphne are already downstairs waiting for you.”
“Their owls have arrived.”
As Narcissa spoke, she rose from the bed, deliberately saying the one thing guaranteed to make her beloved daughter sit up.
Sure enough, the figure that had been hiding beneath the covers a moment earlier suddenly shot upright.
In an instant, her pale gray eyes went from hazy with sleep to urgent and alert.
Narcissa smiled and lightly snapped the fingers of her right hand.
With a soft crack, a short figure appeared out of nowhere inside the room.
“Dobby is at Madam’s service.
Good morning, Madam and young mistress.”
The house-elf bowed deeply, his high-pitched voice ringing out at the same time.
“Mm…
morning, Dobby.”
Still sitting on the bed, the girl greeted the house-elf weakly, her voice heavy with sleep.
“Miss Malfoy is getting up now.
I’ll go downstairs first.
I’ll leave her to you, Dobby.”
After saying that, Narcissa left the room and closed the door behind her.
The house-elf flicked his fingers.
A dressing gown floated out of the wardrobe and gently settled over Draca’s shoulders.
Draca pulled it around herself, closing the robe over the lace-trimmed silk blouse beneath it.
“What would young mistress like to wear today?” Dobby asked, blinking his huge round eyes.
“The birthday present, then.” Draca suppressed a yawn as she spoke.
The moment she finished, Dobby waved his hand again.
A pale green linen dress floated out of the wardrobe.
Its design was elegant and understated, with slightly puffed elbow-length sleeves, a high waist, and a delicate willow-leaf-shaped sash sewn around it.
With another movement of his fingers, Dobby opened the small door in the corner of the room that connected to the bathroom.
He hung the dress, still on its hanger, from the hook behind the door and left it there for his young mistress to wash and change.
Looking at the dress she’d received for her eleventh birthday, Draca broke into a bright smile.
“Is Father home?”
At her quiet question, Dobby answered respectfully.
“Master has gone to work at the Ministry of Magic.”
“Only Madam, Miss Parkinson, and Miss Greengrass are at home.”
Before Dobby could finish speaking, Draca suddenly jumped out of bed and clapped her hands.
A flash of light streaked through the room, and Dobby abruptly floated into the air.
The house-elf let out a strange laugh.
Another crack sounded.
His figure appeared behind Draca, and as he dropped lightly from midair, he gave her shoulder a gentle pat.
“Miss Malfoy is very talented, but she still needs more practice!”
Hearing Dobby speak and act so impertinently, Draca turned around and pulled a face at him.
“Next time, you’re not allowed to cheat with Apparition!”
This sort of occasional horseplay was something shared between the Malfoy family’s young mistress and the house-elf who had been by her side since childhood.
Of course, the two of them only dared to fool around like this when Lucius Malfoy wasn’t home.
Narcissa Malfoy knew about it, but rarely interfered.
The daughter of a pure-blood noble family had to learn how to protect her own secrets sooner or later.
As long as such improper behavior remained behind closed doors, she had no intention of calling attention to it.
“Young mistress was the one who launched a surprise attack first,” Dobby shot back.
The house-elf had always possessed an unusually independent nature, which was precisely why he could joke and play with Draca like this.
Faced with Dobby’s accusation, Draca could only stick out her tongue guiltily.
She stepped into the bathroom and closed the small door behind her.
Dobby immediately began using house-elf magic to make the bed.
In the blink of an eye, he finished cleaning the young lady’s bedroom before disappearing back to the kitchen.
Malfoy Manor was one of the oldest aristocratic estates in England.
Ever since the Malfoys’ distant ancestor had set foot on English soil alongside William the Conqueror and, in recognition of his great achievements, had been granted a hereditary noble title, generation after generation of the Malfoy family had lived on this magnificent estate in Wiltshire, in southwestern England.
The manor’s main residence had been rebuilt during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
No longer a heavily fortified castle, it had been transformed into a Renaissance-style mansion.
Inside the main residence, apart from the usual living rooms, there was also a drawing room intended for relatives and close friends to relax in during the afternoon.
Today, unusually, the room was already filled with two young girls’ voices in the morning.
One was lively and mischievous.
The other was quiet and gentle.
“What do you think she’d do if we hid her letter?”
The mischievous voice belonged to a girl with short black hair that fell just past her ears.
She wore a dark cropped top with indigo denim shorts.
As she paced around the room, the heels of her Oxford shoes repeatedly tapped against the wooden floor.
“Please don’t start fighting again…”
In contrast to the lively girl, another young lady sat gracefully in an armchair beside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Her snow-white spaghetti-strap dress was delicately embroidered with flower petals, while her long golden hair fell in soft waves over the front of her shoulders.
The quiet girl appeared somewhat frail.
A wide-brimmed straw sunhat rested on her neatly closed knees.
“You really sound like my mother!”
“Besides, we only fought when we were little.”
“We’re only eleven.
We can’t exactly call ourselves adults yet.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me Astoria has to deal with you fussing over her like this every day…
Poor thing…”
“Pansy…
it’s rude to say things like that.”
“I was only joking!”
The two went back and forth, their still-childish voices deliberately trying to sound mature.
Beneath the high ceiling, they intertwined like the chiming of wind bells.
Then the drawing room doors suddenly swung open, accompanied by another young voice, equally childish but carrying a note of authority.
“Pansy Parkinson!”
“I could hear you plotting from all the way down the corridor.
You have absolutely none of the manners expected of a young lady from a respectable family.”
Draca Malfoy entered with elegant composure, now dressed in the pale green linen dress.
Her smooth platinum-blonde hair had been brushed back beneath a headband, revealing her pale forehead.
Seen from the side, the style made her already delicate features appear even more finely defined.
As the young mistress of the manor appeared, the short-haired girl named Pansy paid no attention to Draca’s reprimand.
She let out a delighted squeal, hurried forward, and threw herself at the slightly bewildered Draca, wrapping her tightly in a hug.
“Draca!
We got our school letters!”
“Let…
let go of me at once!
This is completely improper!”
Pansy’s excited shouting mixed with Draca’s protests.
The girl who had been sitting elegantly by the floor-to-ceiling window enjoying the sunlight also rose gracefully.
She placed the large round straw hat from her lap onto the chair, then quietly approached with a gentle smile.
“Stop teasing Draca, Pansy.”
“But I haven’t seen her in ages!”
The girl tried to persuade her in a gentle voice, but Pansy continued holding tightly onto Draca.
Although they were the same age, the blonde girl seemed much more like an older sister.
“We saw Draca at her birthday just last month.”
“Exactly…
Now let go of me!”
Pansy finally released her.
Draca’s pale cheeks had already turned red with embarrassment from the sudden physical contact.
“Hehehe, you’re still so easy to embarrass, Miss Malfoy.”
“Pansy…”
Before Draca could lose her temper at Pansy’s teasing, the other girl had already stepped in to stop her.
She then walked over to Draca and spoke softly.
“It’s good to see you, Draca.”
“It’s good to see you too, Daphne.”
The two smiled at each other, embraced warmly, and gently exchanged greeting kisses on both cheeks.
“Why don’t I get that?”
“Because you have no manners.”
The moment Pansy complained, Daphne and Draca answered in perfect unison.
Seeing Pansy pout somewhat indignantly, Daphne gave another gentle smile and lightly took her by the hand.
It really helps the fic grow!