Dark grey clouds rolled in over a large secluded manor, preparing for a heavy storm. Two cloaked figures -- two young girls -- trudged along the street, approaching the majestic, dark manor. They were solemn and quiet, walking side-by-side in the middle of the street.
“This the place?” asked the younger of the two. The older girl nodded.
“Malfoy Manor,” whispered the older girl, glancing up at the house. They walked up to the large cast-iron gate that surrounded the entire property. The figures pushed through the gate and walked up the cobblestone path that led to the large double doors. With the black hoods of their cloaks still over their heads, the older girl rapped on the door with her knuckles.
After a moment, the doors opened and the two girls beheld an ugly little creature with bulging eyes and bat-like ears. He wore a ratty old pillowcase with holes for his arms and head. His wide eyes peered up at the two girls.
“Yes, madams? How may Dobby assist you?” the house elf asked.
“We are searching for Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Malfoy,” the older one said.
The house elf bowed. “Ah, of course. I shall fetch Master and Mistress Malfoy for you. Please come in. You may wait in the foyer for them both,” said Dobby. He escorted the two girls inside, the double doors closing behind them on their own.
Dobby offered the girls a seat on one of the dark emerald sofas where they removed their hoods and waited for him to retrieve Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.
Both girls were very pale, the younger one was almost dangerously skinny, the older one was slender, but not emaciated like the other. The younger girl had long blonde hair, reaching her elbow, fringes cut across her forehead diagonally. The older girl had shorter brown hair, cascading just past her shoulders. She also had bangs slanting down her forehead, but, while her companion’s was blonde, hers were brown. The blonde had bright hazel eyes, while the brunette bore dark chocolate ones.
“Here they are, sir,” Dobby said, motioning to the young girls who looked up to see two tall majestic figures behind Dobby. They were both dressed in black; Mr. Malfoy sporting a walking stick with the head of a silver snake at the top. Mrs. Malfoy eyed both girls with suspicion, her beautiful face stern.
“Very well, Dobby. Back to your chores,” ordered Mr. Malfoy, smacking the house elf across his back, forcefully, with the end of his walking stick. The house elf yelped and ran away out of the room.
“Who might you be?” asked Mr. Malfoy, turning back to the two girls. “And why have you beckoned to us?” The brunette stood, and the blonde followed. Suddenly, the older girl bowed.
“I am Stella Rayne,” said the young brunette. “This here is my sister, Casey.” The blonde girl bowed at the sound of her name. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy exchanged glances of curiosity.
“Rayne, did you say?” asked Mr. Malfoy.
“Indeed, sir,” Casey answered, nodding.
“Surely you’ve heard of us,” said Stella, “of our surname.”
“We have,” Mrs. Malfoy responded, her head held high. “Why have you come to us, daughters of Ezekiel and Thaya Rayne, I presume?”
“Yes,” answered Stella. “Our parents were once Ezekiel and Thaya.”
“Were?” asked Mr. Malfoy with confusion.
“Perhaps it would be best if we sit down, sir,” suggested Casey. “Our story is not a pleasant one.”
“Very well,” agreed Mr. Malfoy, and he and his wife settled on the emerald sofa across from Stella and Casey, who sat down once again. Mrs. Malfoy crossed her ankles and folded her hands in her lap, while Mr. Malfoy crossed his legs, resting his walking stick against his thigh. “Proceed in telling your story, then.”
“Right,” Stella nodded. “We are aware that you were close with our parents, am I correct?”
Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy nodded. “Yes, we went to school together,” Mrs. Malfoy said, “and remained close, since our families were both prominent pure-bloods.”
Casey nodded. “Then it brings us much grief to inform you that our parents have perished in a fire that was impossible to extinguish. Somebody cursed our home. We’ve just barely made it out unharmed.”
Mr. Malfoy widened his eyes, while his wife gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth.
“Thaya … and Ezekiel …? No, but that’s impossible; they were well versed in the Dark Arts,” Mrs. Malfoy said. “They should have known how to counter the curse. Why does this not affect you?” she added when she noticed the two girls were not breaking down in tears, as usual young children would if their parents were dead.
Stella shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not. They tried all they could, but could not manage to put the fire out. Besides, our parents told us to not dwell on the past. It was heartbreaking, watching them burn, but there was nothing neither my sister nor I could do.” Mrs. Malfoy narrowed her eyes at the lack of concern emanating from the girls.
“So why come here to deliver us this news?” asked Mr. Malfoy, his grey eyes looking down at his shoes, before meeting her brown eyes again.
“Before my mother was swallowed by the flames, she muttered two words to me: the Malfoy’s. They wanted us in your care,” she said.
Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy looked taken aback with such news. They were expected to take in these children? Adopt these children? Raise them?
“However,” Stella continued, “my sister and I have talked our situation over on our way here and we’ve decided that, if you were to agree to take us in, we’d rather not be adopted as your children. We are the daughters of Ezekiel and Thaya Rayne, and it will always remain that way. We Raynes live strongly to our name, as you should very well know.”
“Then how would you expect us to take care of you if we do not adopt you as our children?” asked Mr. Malfoy, agitated. These young girls were asking for quite a bit, he thought. They had to be no older than twelve. The way they spoke, how they acted, it was so mature for their age. And making such decisions … he was flabbergasted.
Stella grinned. “Let us live underneath your roof. My letter for Hogwarts has already arrived, and my sister shall be joining me in a couple of years. You shall serve us as our guardian, but not as our parents,” she instructed. Mrs. Malfoy looked at her husband with wide eyes. She, too, was shocked by the maturity of the young girl. And, had Stella said that she’d just received her letter for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Why, that made her no older than eleven!
“You’ve just received your letter, have you?” asked Mrs. Malfoy.
Stella nodded. “Yes ma’am. Just last night, before the fire.”
“That would make her Draco’s age, dear,” Mrs. Malfoy informed her husband. “He’d have someone to attend school with.”
“Now Narcissa, surely you’re not considering letting these children stay with us,” Mr. Malfoy argued.
“They are the daughters of Ezekiel and Thaya. They come from one of the oldest pure-blood families in history, Lucius. We can’t just deny their children a rightful home, especially when they’ve got no where else to go,” Mrs. Malfoy insisted.
“Shame your sister and her husband were captured while the Dark Lord was high in reign,” Casey piped, glancing at Mrs. Malfoy. Her eyebrows narrowed and looked away shamefully. “They would have been our second option.”
“Rodolphus and Bella would never have taken in two little girls,” Mr. Malfoy sneered.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They would second guess turning us away,” Stella said surely. Mr. Malfoy rolled his eyes at her confidence.
“You clearly do not know the Lestranges if you believe they’d take in a couple of kids,” he said.
“Either way, they are no longer an option and, alas, that leaves us no where to go,” sighed Stella. “Unless there are some remaining Blacks …”
“There are none,” Mrs. Malfoy cut in.
“Ah, of course, because young Regulus was murdered and Sirius has betrayed the true heritage of his family, running with Muggles and blood-traitors alike,” Stella said. “Perhaps the Yaxleys, then?” She turned to ask her younger sister.
“You’re barking mad if you think Yaxley will let you live with him,” Mr. Malfoy burst out.
“Lucius, let these children stay,” Mrs. Malfoy pleaded. “Ezekiel and Thaya wanted us to watch over their children. Do you realize how much of an honour this is, Ezekiel and his family being so close to the Dark Lord?”
“Yes, I realize that, Narcissa,” Mr. Malfoy hissed back. “But we’ve got our own family to worry about. What about Draco? He starts school in just a couple of days. And all of our Dark possessions -- I’m just waiting for the time the Ministry comes and searches the manor for such artefacts -- I have to prepare myself for when that day comes so I can hide everything before I’m sacked. They already suspect me of still following the Dark Lord, I cannot be caught again. And now, just when things are getting stressful, the Raynes perish in a fire and leave us with their children? What about us, Narcissa? Didn’t they think about how we’d feel about this?”
“If it’s too much for you then we’ll just walk on over to the Yaxleys,” offered Casey.
“Quiet, will you?” Mr. Malfoy snapped at her with cold, grey eyes. He turned back to his wife, finding her eyebrows narrowed.
“What harm can they do?” she asked icily. “They don’t even want us to parent them. We are just supposed to serve as their guardian, give them a roof to live under, and then they will be off to Hogwarts. They won’t even be here most of their lives. They’ll be away at school, and then, once they turn seventeen, they will be out as adults.”
“We do plan on leaving once Stella has turned seventeen and has completed school,” Casey mentioned. Mr. Malfoy eyed her sharply and then sighed in defeat, gripping his walking stick.
“Fine,” he growled, “but you will need to support yourselves, especially with your Hogwarts supplies.”
Mrs. Malfoy widened her eyes with protest, but Stella and Casey agreed.
“Our parents left us their fortune at Gringotts,” informed Stella. “We will be able to manage.”
“And you, Narcissa, will be the one mentioning this to Draco. I don’t know how he’ll react to having permanent guests in the house, considering he is an only child.”
“We intend on taking no attention away from your only son,” said Stella. “Like we said before, we only need a guardian for law purposes, and a roof to shelter us. This is, after all, my parents’ last wish.”
“Though,” added Casey, “we cannot deny that we’d rather stay with friends of our family than at an orphanage.” She shuddered.
Mrs. Malfoy nodded. “Then it is settled. We will gladly take in Ezekiel and Thaya’s daughters for safekeeping.”
“And only for safekeeping,” sniffed Mr. Malfoy, rising to his feet with his walking stick. Mrs. Malfoy stood at his side, while Stella and Casey rose to their feet as well and nodded.
“Settled indeed. My regal parents smile at you both from above, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,” said Stella as she and her sister bowed to their new guardians.
Raynedrops on Roses by How to Save a Life
Story Notes:
Please keep in mind that my main characters have a bit of an odd personality. The way the act is how they will be portrayed throughout the entire story. Thanks!