𝓗𝓪𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓐𝓭𝓭𝓪𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓮

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧: 𝙐𝙣𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙, & 𝘼𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙

Rain pelted against the windowpane of Malfoy Manor. A soft lull of the wind blew against the hundred-year sturdy walls. While the occupants slept soundly in their beds, a lone candle burned brightly in the library of the manor. Curled up in a winged-back chair, with her legs tucked under her, was a girl with silver eyes, (h/c) hair tucked behind her ears, and soft skin that warmed beneath the candle flame. The silver-eyed little girl bit her bottom lip softly as she turned the page of a scrapbook. Her eyes studied the moving pictures, almost as if she was memorising the figures' movement. As she turned the next page, she smiled softly. A picture of her father and her when she was very small.

Her father, Sirius Black, was a figure in her life that she barely knew. She was too young to really remember him before he was imprisoned. Too young to understand what was going on. Too young to remember. From what she could gather, through scraps of memories, she knew he smelt like leather, tobacco, motor oil, and firewhiskey. She knew he had the same silver eyes as her—eyes that were hard until they landed on her. The silver melted and became kind, warm, and soft. She remembered he liked to kiss her forehead.

The little girl didn't know what he sounded like. She didn't know if he called her affectionate nicknames. All she knew was one day, after putting her into bed at the small apartment they shared, after kissing her forehead, he left and never came back. He didn't come back for her.

Men and a woman in weird robes carrying sticks came into her room, their gazes landing on her small figure. She remembered crying and holding onto her stuffed animal of a dog, Paddy. After the weird people took her away, she stayed with an old woman in green robes and had a tabby cat that slept with her when she napped. After a few days of staying with the old woman and her cat, the same people came and took her away. The next thing she knew was being dropped off at Malfoy Manor, into the arms of her father's cousin and her husband. And ever since, she's lived in their home, under their care and supervision. They were her guardians now.

Though she did love her cousin, Draco, she sometimes wished she could leave the lonely and cold walls of the Manor. She wanted to be scooped up into warm arms and held close. To be kissed and hugged, to spend time in the sun.

Draco's parents weren't warm, not like the parents she's seen in the Wizarding and Muggle world. And at times, when she couldn't sleep, she wondered. Was her father warm with her? If he was here right now, would he be warm and hold her close? Would tell her goodnight and warn off the nightmares? Would he come running if he heard her screaming instead of telling the house-elves to place silencing spells in her room so she didn't disturb Draco or his parents?

She had questions. Questions that never would have answers.

Her father was a murderer. It was because of him that led to the murders of the Boy Who Lived's parents. He murdered twelve muggles and the war hero Peter Pettigrew. He was in Azkaban and she was stuck in the dark house. Alone.

She didn't know when tears started flowing from her silver pools, but they fell from her cheeks into the scrapbook. Onto the picture of her and her father, smiling at the camera as he held her in his arms, his eyes bright with laughter and love.

Underneath the photo, written in sloppy script, was:

Me and my little girl, April 1981.

~~~

"(Y/n)?" Someone was shaking her. She groaned, opening her eyes. Sunlight streamed into the library. The sound of birds tweeting and the smell of last night's rainstorm hung in the air. (Y/n) sighed and looked at her cousin. Draco wore a smirk on his face, and she noticed he'd already slicked back his hair with Otists' Hair Solution-Gel .

"You slept here?" Draco sneered at the chair she was sitting on. "Why'd you do that? Is the bed not comfortable enough for you? I'll tell mother—I'm sure we can get you a new mattress that'll suit you."