Optionless with Draco Malfoy

5. Black on Black

Juliette

Malfoy Manor was dark. Grand, but dark. Staying in one of the guest rooms at the Malfoy Manor, was definitely not somewhere I would have imagined myself being a year ago. My family and I have been living here for the past month and a half.

A few weeks ago, Voldemort had a rage and set a hexing curse which we were unsure of how to undo. Our house is hexed, and no one really knows what happens if you come in contact with the house. All I know is that it's bad enough that my family has to stay with the Malfoys.

When I found out that we'd be staying at the Malfoys, I was angry and frustrated. If I could barely deal with Malfoy at school, how was I supposed to now? After a few weeks, I accepted the situation and moved on. Narcissa was more caring than I thought, and Malfoy learnt to be somewhat tolerable. 

The Malfoy's and my parents, have been friends since their Hogwarts days and kept in contact since. Our two families became part of Voldemort's inner circle, and with our parents' past history, it only made sense to stay at the Malfoy Manor. After all, it was large and had many guest rooms.

Despite him being somewhat tolerable, Malfoy and I still fought. For the past while, we've duelled and insulted each other so much, that it almost became boring.

In all fairness, he's not as bad as I used to think he was. Eventually, we actually managed to become half-decent acquaintances-to the point where the day would end with as little as five insults a day to each other.

What I find difficult is that I'm forbidden to write letters to Seamus, Hermione, Ron, and Harry. I gave up in pleading my parents, and it didn't seem like my friends really cared either. None of them wrote to me. I wasn't sure if it was because my parents were intercepting their mail or if they felt betrayed by what happened at the Ministry.  so I gave up, and it seems like they have given up as well. I have this feeling that I'm not missed much. 

Each time I thought about them, I'd imagine the weary look Ron gave me when we first met on the train ride to Hogwarts. I was ninety percent sure, that Ron knew exactly who my family was. And that wasn't a good thing.

Two Slytherins, who were truly loyal to the Dark Lord, assisted the murder of James and Lily Potter. My parents were the ones who removed all of the protective, advanced charms around their home, which only highly skilled wizards could do. By removing the charms, Voldemort could easily step inside the house to kill. 

It's partially why I'm gifted in charms. It's my best subject at school. Funny, because despite my two gifted parents in charms, none of us could stop the hex around our actual home. 

As I became closer to Ron and the other Gryffindors, it seemed as if Ron had forgotten about my family's history. He treated me all the same, and I don't think he ever told Harry and Hermione. I never brought up the topic and hoped that I would never have to.

Although, Ron being the Gryffindor he is, almost forgot about my family's history. He treated me all the same, and he never told Harry and Hermione about it since. I never brought it up anyway and hoped that I would never have to.

------------------------------------------------------

"Stupefy!"

"Protegotalum!"

"Reduc-" I was frozen in a body binding spell, causing Draco to snicker.

After waiting for almost a minute, I was un-binded. Over the summer, Malfoy got extremely good at non-verbal magic. It was one of his strengths while duelling and was practically the only reason as to how he won duels against me.