Cordelia Lyra Malfoy had always been different from the rest of her family. Her family were blood-supremacists who tried to teach their views to their children. Cordelia never believed with their views and would be punished for it.
She never felt a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TW: Mentions of abuse
The summer leading to Cordelia's fourth year was very calming for her. Not having to go back to Malfoy Manor had taken a lot of stress off of her and she finally felt that she was able to be herself.
For the first time, Cordelia felt at home outside of Hogwarts. Amos and Adele Diggory loved having the girl with them, and they treated her as their own. She and Adele often worked together in the garden, tending to Adele's beautiful flowers and planting new ones in the process. Cordelia planted her favorite: daisies. She and Amos read together in the living room. It was often silent as they read, but they enjoyed each other's company, occasionally breaking the silence with discussions about their books. She and the Weasleys took turns visiting each other often. She and Cedric spent a lot of time playing Quidditch, swimming, and having fun.
Swimming was uncomfortable for Cordelia because her swimming suit showed off the scars she had on her back. The kids were shocked and sympathetic as they started to learn more about some of the abuse her father had inflicted on his daughter.
The boys encouraged her to talk to an adult about it as they thought someone needed to know about the abuse so they could make sure it would not happen again. The boys feared that Lucius would attempt to take her away again, and this abuse needed to be known in order to stop it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Later that night, Cordelia and Cedric paced around Cordelia's bedroom. She was trying to distract herself with her belongings, creating new tasks for herself such as refolding the clothes in her dresser. Cedric, on the other, paced out of frustration as he tried to convince her to speak to a grown up about her past.
"Cordi, you need to tell my mom and dad about this," argued Cedric as he tried to convince his friend once again.
"Ced, for the last time. I'm fine. It is in the past and there is no point in talking about it," she retorted. Cordelia was being stubborn and didn't want to burden anyone with her problems. She also didn't want the tears to come again, and ignoring the issue always seemed to be the best option for her.
"But what if it doesn't stay in the past? What if he tries to take you back?" he argued. Cordelia's heart dropped with Cedric's words. She hadn't thought about that as a possibility. Just the thought of it caused anxiety to lump in her throat, like vomit trying to escape.
"He won't," she croaked out before shaking her head. "He already blasted me off the family tree and erased my existence from the house. He doesn't want me back."
"But what if he uses it against Draco?" he asked. Cedric knew bringing up her brother was a low blow, but it was his last resort. He knew she would do anything to help her brother, even if they were estranged and he refused to have anything to do with her.
