The Next Generation (Malfoy's Daughter) Book 1

Chapter 1

Ugh, why do my parents have to be so infuriating? Lynx internally grumbled as she paced through the muggle village near their home, nervous for the upcoming day. Being frustrated with her parents wasn't an unusual emotion for Lynx, and they really hadn't done anything new this time. She was annoyed for the same reason that had been plaguing her for more than a year. Why had her parents chosen to name her Lynx? She wanted to be a normal child, a child who could just fade into the background unremembered. But how could she do this with a name like Lynx?? She snorted as she remembered that she'd been very close to being named both Hydra and Cygnus while she continued to pass muggle shops, stopping as she almost passed her favorite bookstore.  The familiar chime of the bell rang as she walked in and Mr. Thompson smiled and waved from behind the counter. She strolled to the back of the store to the science fiction section and sank into the overstuffed armchair in the corner, escaping into a world of muggle space travel.

The sun had long since set when she was jerked out of her fantasy world by a tall man with white blonde hair and a scowl on his face.

"Thank Merlin you're here!" Her father sounded both furious and relieved. "Your grandmother and I have been looking everywhere - how dare you run away from home?!"

"It's not like you didn't know where I'd go - you always find me here." She grumbled as she put the book away and followed her father out of the shop. Mr. Thompson gave her a sympathetic look as she passed by, giving a small wave to the kind shop owner. She hated that her father made her so nervous when he was mad. He'd never been anything short of kind to her and she knew that he didn't understand her habit of running off.

He thought she hated them- her father, mother (well technically stepmother), grandmother, and younger brother but she didn't. She hated the etiquette. She hated the secrecy and the hiding from the world. She hated the rules, the strictness and the superiority. True, her mother didn't seem fond of them either, but her father sure was. She was an awful excuse for a pureblood. As soon as they made it out of the city her father took hold of her shoulder and she felt the familiar sudden suffocation and squeezing that accompanied apparition. If she could have grinned at that moment she would have - her father didn't want to walk the countless miles back to their home in the Wiltshire countryside, but she'd never minded the walk. She'd left just after breakfast that morning and they probably hadn't realized that she was missing until recently. She always went to the same place - her father wouldn't have had to look hard for her.

Ah. She inhaled the fresh air as they appeared at the gate surrounding the manor and its yard. The lights were all lit and it should have been a cheerful sight. She sighed again as she reminded herself for the millionth time that tomorrow she'd be free at last, off to her first year at Hogwarts. At this thought she felt just as sick as she felt excited. Just inside the gate her father stopped to face her. She wanted to square her shoulders and look him in the eye but found herself looking at her shoes instead. She really didn't like to upset her family, she just needed the space.. And even though she didn't want to admit it she was anxious about the upcoming day.

"Lynx." His voice was surprisingly gentle and she looked up to meet his grey eyes. She didn't respond so he continued "What has been going on with you lately? Do you enjoy making us worry? Are you upset that we left the States? Do you hate our family so much that you want to run away?" His voice sounded different than it usually did. Not the warm voice he'd used to use when reading to her or the cold one that he'd adopted more recently whenever she bothered his work in the study or caused her tutors distress. He sounded sad.

"I guess I'm just nervous." She mumbled, staring at her sneakers again, not wanting to admit to how she was feeling. She was too proud for it. "I don't hate you. I don't hate any of you, and I'm glad to be going to Hogwarts." He pulled her into a hug, which she hadn't expected at all and to her horror she felt her eyes growing hot. She didn't want to cry in front of her father but couldn't help it. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled onto her father's robes as he continued to hold her.

"It's going to be alright." He said softly. "Hogwarts is great - you'll have loads of fun and we'll write you as much as you want." He pulled away to look at her and she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands to get rid of the tears. "Is that really all that's bothering you?"

"Why did you have to name me Lynx?" The quiet question burst out without her permission - she hadn't meant to ask this.

"What do you mean?" He looked genuinely confused.

"It's just so.... conspicuous. You couldn't have just named me something normal like Jamie or Katherine or Emily?"

A knowing smile came to his face. "You think I wanted to be named Draco?"

"You didn't?" She asked, surprised.

"I liked that it was uncommon, but it does make it a bit difficult to blend in when you have such an original name." She looked at him, hoping he'd continue and he did. "I insisted that you be named after a constellation because it's traditional on my mother's side of the family - the Black family tradition. The surname Black has died out now, and your grandmother and I thought it only fitting that we continue the tradition as no one else will." He paused for a second before adding "We did try to give you and your brother reasonable names - at least you didn't get landed with Sagitta or Cygnas." Her tears had stopped by now and she was able to give her father a shaky smile. "As a Malfoy it wouldn't matter what your name was. People remember Malfoys. It's alright to stand out - just make sure you stand out in a good way." He squeezed her shoulder as he stood up straighter. They entered the house then and she went to the parlor where her grandmother always waited to give her a hug and say goodnight, retiring to her room immediately after.

As soon as she entered her room she jumped onto her perfectly made bed, successfully messing up the royal blue sheets and looked at her ceiling, some of the nerves she'd previously been feeling now gone. Tomorrow would be interesting for sure. She lay there looking up at the ceiling for a while but sleep wouldn't come to her so she rolled over and went into her bathroom. Perhaps a nice long shower would help. After using the bathroom, brushing her teeth and enjoying a hot shower she felt much better. Taking out the Standard Book of Spells grade 1 she lit her wand and read until finally drifting into sleep.