All For Her

Family Found

It was her first official public appearance since she had finally been allowed back to England. Her tutors assured her that she could take her O.W.L.s even some of her N.E.W.T.s and would pass with flying colors. Her education was a bit skewed, Narcissa and Bellatrix had organized it, afterall. The magic came easy, as if she had been doing it her entire life. It was the grueling hours of dissecting why the magic worked that had taken her so long.

Her husband had been very attentive, making sure that he was glued to her side while he introduced her to all of the important witches and wizards. Her champagne glass was never empty for long and he had surprised her with an actual dance card at the beginning of the night. The cards had not been used in centuries but she found it sweet that all of the slots were filled out with his neat scrawl.

"So, you are the wife our Draco had squirreled away in France, not really hideous like we expected..." A lazy drawl snapped Maia from her thoughts.

She was standing on the edge of the large beautifully decorated ballroom, Draco left her for the first time to get her a drink. Turning she came face-to-face with a sneering brunette. The witch was a bit shorter than herself wearing a very tight and revealing pink silk gown, she took a step back as she tilted her head to the side to examine the woman before her. Her straight brown hair was cut into a short, severe bob that did not flatter her round face. The woman had an upturned nose that gave her an excellent view of her nostrils, even from above but it was the fierce glare that made her raise a brow.

"I'm sorry...?" Maia asked slowly, surely thinking she heard the woman incorrectly.

"No, need to be sorry, sweetie. It was a compliment, really." A sickly sweet smile bloomed on the woman's face as she reached out to pat her arm sharply in a condescending manner.

"Hmm." Maia shrugged noncommittally, finding she had very little patience for rudeness, she turned back to the dancing. There was little to fear in her own home, some bitter witch was easily dismissed. From her husband's description of his friends she could only be Pansy, a school mate he took to one dance and assumed they would wed.

"I mean, to not have mentioned you the entire time you were married. After all, I've been close to Draco since we were children." The woman sighed sadly, acting as though Maia wasn't ignoring her.

"Oh, you have? Then who are you? You couldn't be Daphne...she's the pretty blonde with Theo, right? I've met Astoria...oh, Millie, right? Draco didn't talk much about you...he did say you were in the same house in school!" Maia turned with a bright smile, feigning innocence as the woman's face turned an unattractive shade of puce.

"Parkinson, Pansy Parkinson. You know, sacred 28." Pansy said with a tight smile, her blue eyes blazed with indignation. Maia laughed, a high tinkling laugh as she placed her hand on her arm and leaned in as if they were old friends.

"Oh! I should have known! You weren't there when I first arrived! Pansy! Oh, I think Draco mentioned a date to the Yule ball?" Maia's eyes shimmered with barely suppressed mirth as she tilted her head with a wide smile. She may not have much practice but her only female company had been Narcissa and Bellatrix for years. "I wish I could have been there but you know...private tutoring."

"I wondered why I never met you before...you don't look familiar." Pansy said airily, it was a lie. The woman before her looked like a Black, with her unnaturally bright silver eyes and that smile that so closely resembled Bellatrix.

"No, after my father's death my guardians decided it would be best if I spent my formative years being privately educated and traveling." Maia sighed wistfully, her eyes scanning the room for her husband.