PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

101 || You Lost Me

It took Katie quite a while to find the dining room. Malfoy Manor was like a maze — an exquisite maze, but a maze nonetheless — with a new door every five paces and endless hallways; Katie wondered how each room could be so big, considering there were so many. Surely that large a number of gigantic rooms must not fit on the threshold?

At last, she found the dining room. It was almost identical to the room in which she had met Voldemort, only smaller with a more welcoming feel. Instinctively, Katie cast her eyes around in search for Voldemort, but he was no where to be seen. Bellatrix sat beside Narcissa, who was opposite Lucius, and when Katie stepped inside, Narcissa gestured for her to seat herself in the chair beside her husband.

Feeling rather nervous, which, Katie thought, was perfectly justified, Katie sat down but did not immediately touch her food. Narcissa noticed her apprehension and smiled softly.

"We're not going to poison you," the woman said. "You're the Dark Lord's daughter, don't forget. No Death Eater would dare harm you."

Katie thought that these were supposed to be words of reassurance, but they only made her feel worse. If the price for impenetrable protection against the wrath of the Death Eaters was being Voldemort's daughter, Katie would rather be tortured into insanity or to death by Bellatrix and her fellow Death Eaters.

Breakfast was eaten in uncomfortable silence. Katie didn't eat much — the way that Bellatrix was glaring at her across the table was greatly turning her off her appetite. While it was obvious that the Death Eaters despised anyone who dared to stand against Voldemort, there was something about the murderous glint in Bellatrix's eye that plainly said she wished Katie would drop dead on the spot. For some inexplicable reason, Bellatrix Lestrange had a burning loathing for Katerina Blair (or, Katerina Riddle).

"You clean up well." Mrs Malfoy broke the silence as she sipped on her tea. It took Katie at least five seconds to realise that the woman had been talking to her.

"Oh," Katie started, unsure of what to say. "Well — well the wardrobe picked the outfit, actually."

She cringed as she spoke. Despite the fact that she had grown up surrounded by magic, and extraordinary magic at that, she had never once come across a wardrobe that dressed people itself and to suggest such a thing sounded stupid.

"Ah, yes, the wardrobe," Narcissa hummed, carefully placing the spotless white china back down on its coaster. "It's bewitched to choose the most suitable outfit for the owner's upcoming event."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "And breakfast attire is a school uniform?" She glanced distastefully down at the plaid skirt she was wearing.

Lucius's nostrils flared indignantly and Bellatrix let out a low, throaty growl. Narcissa, on the other hand, smiled warmly.

"Well, I think the skirt suits you nicely."

Albeit irrationally, white-hot anger surged through Katie at these words, and the sheer outrageousness of her current situation struck her. The family that were holding her prisoner under the orders of her father were treating her with hospitality and civility, providing her with a warm bed, food, and fresh clothes. It was completely mental.

Katie skipped lunch that day, despite the fact that Narcissa urged her not to. She spent all afternoon locked away in her purple bedroom, flicking through sheet music. Maybe she would teach herself to play the violin as a pastime.

Around three o'clock, the wardrobe door burst open unexpectedly and Katie screamed in fright. She didn't think she would ever get used to that. Someone cleared their throat somewhere in the room and Katie whipped around to find the source of the voice. A man had appeared in what had previously been a blank portrait with a solid black background. He had silky, white-blonde hair that fell neatly to his shoulders and wore a pompous expression almost identical to that of Lucius Malfoy. In fact, had he not been more aged in the face, Katie might have thought that this man was Lucius Malfoy.