Born A Weapon

awfully nice

AUGUST 29TH 1994
(tw: child neglect/child abuse) (this chapter can conjure up awkward feelings)

My 14th birthday arrived just days before going back to Hogwarts and I was suspecting that no one would even remember my birthday because they almost never did my second ,third ,fifth .sixth ,eighth ,ninth ,tenth and twelfth birthday had gone right over their heads and only a few death eaters who remembered my birthday had congratulated me in private worried my father would get angry at them

As I opened my eyes and blinked against the sunlight I congratulated myself and stood up stretching and opening the curtains to let the late summer sun in

I walked into the bathroom that connected mine and Draco's room and looked in the mirror slightly flinching at the bruises left on my face by my mother I washed my face and freshened up

Draco walked into the bathroom and did the same we had shared a bathroom for almost 9 years now and we had shared a nursery before that with stark difference on either side because Draco had been his mothers whole life back then and he had everything he needed clothing ,food you name it he had it but the other side of the room had been bare

That side of the room had been mine and it was...sad to step in there now because no one had took the time to take that nursery apart and it was still intact and my side was still as it had been bare and cold my side of the room had almost nothing in it a crib with a thin dirty mattress which had never been cleaned and one stuffed animal Barty had gotten me for my first Christmas

I walked across the hall to that room and I stepped inside my gaze started on Draco's side a pretty crib with blankets and a baby mobile it looked so pretty and ready to be used but as I turned around I felt tears slip down my cheek

I remember when I was 4 and I had still been sleeping in the crib squeezing my limbs into the crib and curling up to trap heat as I didn't get a blanket or proper clothing my mother hated having to care for me and rarely stepped in the room and father had only done that twice that I can remember once to grab something for Narcissa and the second time to drag me to the table to show me off like a prize

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I flinched turning around quickly and staring straight into Draco's eyes who looked into mine with an empathetic look he hugged me and I just hugged back I didn't cry or say anything and just let him envelope me

I knew he knew what had happened all those years he lived in the same house after all and he had been moved to a big bed when he was 2 and had grown out his crib I had been moved to a big bed at the age of 5 when it was impossible for me to sleep in the crib and Barty had convinced my mother it was the best option and I had thanked him a million times

That afternoon at lunch I was called to table and as I stepped into the dining room I stopped in my tracks staring at the cake stood on the table with a candle on it I stared at it and at my father who was trying to seem loving (it wasn't working) I stared at the table for a stable few seconds before taking a step forward expecting it to disappear and just be a hallucination but it didn't

I hesitantly sat down at the table waiting for the catch waiting for someone to say it wasn't for me or that it was a joke but they didn't Lucius slid a card across the table and I red its contents

"dear delphini happy 14th birthday have a great day"

"your family"

I looked at my father and mother and mother waved her hand at the cake signing for me to blow out the candle and I looked at the pink little candle on the cake I felt an unfamiliar sort of happiness and I leaned towards the cake and blew out the candle

That night as I lay in my bed staring at the dagger set with red and yellow stones it had been an awkward day and it felt almost wrong to see my parents behave like this and I couldn't sleep at all

I decided to write a letter to Sirius to tell him what had happened and I did

I spend a full hour writing down everything from the day and how weird it had been and I know I shouldn't trust their kindness at all and it should be a sign that something bad was going to happen but for now it was nice and a memory I wanted to hold close to my heart