The Mystery of the Frozen Heart

Chapter Six: The Abyss Looks Also Into You

1 Malfoy Manor was big. It was humongous, as a matter of fact. Newt, as Leta's fidgety companion, had not ever been in a house such as this where people just lived without having opened the residence up for tourist business. England - muggle as well as magical - was basically littered with castle ruins and manor houses that had been turned into museums and were visited by droves of people from all over the planet - not so the Malfoys' ancestral home. No, it was centuries old and would probably remain hidden from the public eye for many more to come. As far as Newt knew, not many people lived there, either: it was the matriarch and patriarch, his sister, her nephew, and the two boys, Apollo and Ares.

Getting to the place had been quite the production, as well, as the guests were picked up from the closest train station by black automobiles. It didn't even matter whether the Malfoy family owned them, whether they'd just rented them, or whether some other arrangement might have been made, because nothing made the gesture any less flashy and gaudy. Newt reminded himself that it was wrong to judge, but as the car he and Leta and Leta's parents were in drove through the wrought iron gates, up the wound path, and toward the manor, he couldn't help but think that all this luxury was a waste of resources - wasted on a handful of people.

He looked out the automobile's square-shaped window to his left and spotted a big, shiny, white bird flapping its wings. "They have peacocks."

"Indeed, they do," Leta's mother, the American witch Inez Lestrange, said, sounding less baffled than Newt but not exactly as if she approved, either.

Chancing a glance at her, he saw that the expression on her beautiful face was sour. Unable to help himself, he exchanged a knowing look with Leta. Both of them had the same idea at the same time, turning to each other in unison. Both snickered: she merrily, he almost soundlessly.

"I'm glad to see you in such high spirits, sweetheart," Gareth Lestrange said, giving his daughter a little smile. "I really do hope you manage to go out and make some friends tonight. They aren't bad kids, your schoolmates. You just have to give them a chance."

"Sure," Leta said, rolling her eyes, and gave Newt another pointed look, this time less joyful. She'd been fidgety the whole train ride over, and was now visibly uncomfortable in her own skin.

Newt wished he could tell her that nothing bad was going to happen with both her parents there and himself, but he'd be lying. He had no idea what those Slytherin boys (and out here, weren't they almost all Slytherins? What a notion!) had planned, but judging by Celestia Prewett's recent attempts to avoid both Newt and Leta, it couldn't be anything good. This could be a nice evening. It was the first time he and Leta were doing something together outside of school, and she was looking so beautiful. Well, she was always beautiful, but in the dark-blue frock that she was wearing, and with her dark hair pinned up, she looked as if she'd walked right out of a fairy tale.

Mrs Lestrange didn't look like she shared her husband's optimism at all. "We'll make do, Gareth, but don't expect us to actually enjoy the company of these pompous snobs, or their tendency to throw their money in everyone's faces like it makes them better than us."

"You just don't know them like I do, dear," he said, unfazed. "I have faith that one day, both you and Leta will come around to our way of viewing the world."

"Don't hold your breath," Mrs Lestrange replied, but took her husband's hand and intertwined her fingers with his.

So far, Newt had never once seen either be impatient with the other. He'd expect Mr Lestrange to keep his emotions bottled up in front of a strange boy, but Mrs Lestrange wore her heart on her sleeve. Finally, their automobile halted, and a uniformed man opened the back door to let them out. Minding his manners and the fact that Leta's attire was rather unwieldy, Newt helped her outside, and she thanked him with a sweet smile and a nod. He offered her his arm, and together they followed her parents through the front door into the huge entrance hall that Newt's parents' house could probably fit into twice. It was high-ceilinged, had dark walls, a stone floor mostly covered by a dark-red carpet, and was rather dimly illuminated.