𝖘𝖎𝖗𝖊𝖓 - d. malfoy

II - an american in the uk

Arabella loved her mother.

Although her beauty was undoubtedly her most noticeable feature, Angelique Amour was more than a pretty face. Despite her delicate stature, she possessed a strength few others did, a true force to be reckoned with.

She refused to take her husband's name when they married, which was rather shocking in upper-class pureblood circles, but as she so often told her daughter, her name represented a powerful legacy that she would rather die than give up.

Angelique insisted that her daughter take her surname when she was born, much to the dismay of her husband and his family. Despite their protests, gazing upon her infant, she knew Arabella was an Amour and refused to compromise.

The child would be raised to continue their proud legacy and the same fierceness as all the women before her.

Arabella loved her mother, but even more, she respected her.

On the other hand, Arabella did not particularly care for her father. Now, this isn't to say she didn't love him; she just didn't exactly enjoy his company.

Her mother had told her they met in her hometown of Paris one fateful summer night, the moonlight illuminating her features and drawing him in like he was under a spell. They married soon after that first meeting, throwing themselves entirely into what they believed was true love.

It wasn't.

Arabella had never seen her parents fight, yet she had never seen them outwardly express any affection. They seemed to have an understanding, she thought, not of love but of tolerance.

Her father never showed her much affection either. While her mother stroked her hair and sang her to sleep, he sat in his study with a glass of scotch. When she and her mother opened gifts on Christmas morning, he worked far away in a different country.

Her father worked for the Department of International Cooperation at MACUSA, often leaving for weeks to travel to England, or France, or Italy. As a child, she often resented his job for taking him away, but today his connections were her saving grace.

Arabella stumbled as she and the strange woman landed on a seemingly nondescript dark street.

"You alright there?" the woman asked, grabbing onto her arm to keep her steady. Arabella extracted herself from her grip and nodded, still unwilling to speak.

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself!" She stuck out her hand for Arabella to shake, a bit of a grin on her face. "I'm Tonks, nice to meet you."

Arabella stared blankly at her for a few seconds before reluctantly shaking the enthusiastic woman's hand. Tonks did not seem deterred in the slightest.

"Right, well, this is where you'll be staying, for now, number 12 Grimmauld Place," she said, gesturing towards the houses. "Make sure you remember the name."

Arabella looked around, thinking she might have missed it, but there was no number 12, just 11 and 13.

Just as she was about to question Tonks, the buildings in front of her began moving, shifting sideways until number 12 was settled right between 11 and 13. Tonks smirked at her shocked expression and turned to knock at the newly existing door.

The door swung open, revealing a tall, dark-skinned man in ministry robes. "Come in, Come in," he gestured at the pair, stepping aside to allow them inside.

Arabella followed Tonks in, looking around at the rather drab decor that covered the walls around her.