Adopted by the Malfoy's {Harry Potter fanfic}

19: Chamber of secrets

A/N: All I own is Lexie and Max, everything and everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Here begins Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The Chamber of Secrets

Lexie’s summer so far had not been a good one. Immediately upon returning home, her foster father had taken her into his study in order to instruct her in the ways of being a proper pure blooded witch. Alexis Rose Malfoy, born Alexis Rose Meadowes, had been adopted by the most prominent member of the Wizarding world, the Malfoy’s. She had also just completed her first year at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, of Gryffindor house. She had become friends with people like the Weasley twins and their brother, four dorm mates, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

The only problem with her foster father’s lessons was that she didn’t agree with most of what he said. She saw it all as prejudiced nonsense and disgusting, how they spoke of muggle borns or half-bloods, as if they were dung on their shoes. For this reason, she saw little of the room that had been named hers on her very first time entering Malfoy Manor. Lucius seemed determined to ‘drill in’ the ways of Malfoy’s into a child so young. Instead she spent most of her nights in the dungeons in the basement, alone with only her cat for company, when he could sneak down.

 Lexie found herself staring at the wall opposite her, her legs curled close to her body, her arms wrapped around them. Today Lucius had tried to make her memorize the names of the pure blood families and she had talked back when he spoke badly of the Weasley’s. She idly wondered if perhaps it was the Black side of her that made her rather mouthy. She remembered her father’s journal entries mentioning her uncle and his habit of talking back to his parents, her grandparents. She supposed it didn’t matter; her birthday had come and gone, near the beginning of the summer. She only saw her foster brother when Lucius had their lessons, but he refused to meet her eye which was just fine, she hadn’t forgiven him about last year anyway.

She missed her friends though, and wished she could send a letter or two to them but she rarely had a chance. Tonight she would be attending a dinner party with another pure blood family and one of Draco’s friends, Blaise and the Zabini’s.

Draco cleared his throat from where he stood near his father’s chair and the man turned his head to give his son his attention. “Should I bring Alexis to her room to prepare for dinner, father?”

His father sighed and made a vague gesture and Draco left the room, hurrying to where his foster sister was kept. He hadn’t had the nerve to go and visit her yet, mostly because he didn’t know what to say. Most of the time he could convince his mother to get his father to let her out to shower and such but there was nothing he could do to save her from her punishment. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

Draco descended the stairs and entered the dungeon, looking around for the familiar head of brown hair. He found her in the far corner, curled up and staring at nothing and he frowned.

“It’s nearly time for dinner, father says to go get bathed and dressed,” he told her, not really wanting to get closer but doing so anyway.

Her gaze swept over to meet his, her lips parting, “So because father says, I should obey?”

“Please Lexie, I hate seeing you like this,” Draco pleaded and crouched nearby.

“Must be why you don’t come down here.” Her expression hardened. “Tell father I’m fine where I am.”

“Look, the Zabini’s will be here in an hour,” Draco sighed. “Please just do this?”

The girl studied her foster brother then stood, stretching out her muscles and headed for the stairs without him. Draco followed silently, trying to think of some way to apologize to the girl he had promised to stand beside and failed. When they reached her door he wrapped his fingers around her wrist to stop her before she went in.