Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 17: Begin Again

Both he and my mother sat at the huge dining table, signalling me to sit. I did so silently, my body stiff, ready to protect myself at the first sign of movement.

"We have had... a discussion," my father said, his voice terse, "About the past two years."

I didn't speak, I just bit my lip.

"I won't pretend I'm not disappointed in your sorting, or your... friend choices," he continued, "But perhaps my treatment of you was unfair. The reason your beliefs changed was our fault, we pushed you away and towards... people we see as less desirable."

"Things can't go back to normal after what has happened, we don't expect them to," my mother said gently, "But we promise we will never treat you that way again. Your beliefs, no matter how much we disagree, are your own, and your house is not your choice. We don't care about that, we just... want our daughter back."

My lip trembled as the words penetrated, I nodded soundlessly, unsure how to react. Was this some sort of sick trick?

"The shock of the sorting made me react like that, as did the raids last year," my father said, "It is not an excuse but... some sort of an explanation. You are our daughter, Lyra, and nothing will change that again."

I covered my mouth with my hand, the tears flowing down my face as I cried. Did this mean I could live a normal life again?

"Oh, Lyra," my mother moved toward me, grabbing me tightly as I cried softly in my chair.

There was a pause before my father stood too, wrapping his arms around the both of us tightly, sighing deeply.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and I felt a strange feeling in my chest.

"Lets get you something to eat," my mother said softly, taking my hand and making me stand, "Anything you want, we'll get for you. Its time to be a family again."

And for the first time in a while in that house, I smiled.

The next day, they took me to Diagon Alley, Draco was left at home. I was told I could buy anything I wanted, to make up for the past two years. I could see how hard my parents were trying, how guilty they felt for how they had treated me. I could tell how genuine their thoughts were, and found myself feeling forgiveness.

I got an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's and bought myself some books at Flourish and Blotts. I also bought some supplies for Zeus along with a box of cauldron cakes at Sugarplums.

As we were about to leave, my eyes wandered to the Quidditch shop, and to the display in the window. The new Firebolt broomstick had just been released, and my mouth dropped open at the sight of it.

"You're borrowing a mudblood's- ahem, muggleborn's broom right now, aren't you?" my father asked, catching where I was looking.

"Oh, yeah," I tore my eyes away from the broom, "A Nimbus 2000, its great! It hasn't failed me yet!"

"You were a brilliant player in the match I watched," my father nodded, smiling, "Despite the goings-on around you, you played extremely well."

"One more thing," my mother said, "Do you want a haircut? They can grow it out again, whatever you want."

"You know, my short hair has kind of grown on me," I grinned slightly.

After that, my mother and I returned home, my father telling us he would catch up. He returned fifteen minutes after us, holding something behind his back. I raised an eyebrow as he walked towards me, still tense in case it was all some sort of trick.

But when he approached, he revealed what he was hiding. A Firebolt!

"Think of it as payback for the missed birthdays and Christmases," he handed it to me, a soft smile on his face at my reaction.

"But-" I examined it, "This must have been extortionate! Are you sure?"

"Perhaps Gryffindor was good for her, as she'd have accepted that without a second thought before," my mother laughed.

"Its yours. We can't have you playing Quidditch on a borrowed broom, can we?" My father clapped me on the shoulder, causing me to flinch instinctively, "Ah..."

"Sorry, I-" I began.

"No, its not your fault," he offered me a smile, "You'd better get some practice in before school!"

Suddenly a chair scraped back. Draco had been listening silently, but clearly had had enough of hearing our parents dote on me again. He marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him without another word.

"I'll speak to him, Lucius," my mother followed after him, an awkward silence descending.

"He still hates me, doesn't he?" I asked, sighing.

"He's just finding it hard to come to terms with," my father said softly, "He's too much like me at times. We'll have words, don't worry."

"I don't want to cause—"

"You won't. We'll have words, he's just being stubborn," my father tilted his head as he looked at me, his cane gripped tightly in his hand, "I still don't understand how your sorting came as a shock to me. Even as I consider how you were before Hogwarts, it was clear you would never fit with the Slytherin mindset. You're ambitious, no denying it, but your first thought is always of how it will affect others. Well, that's if you don't run into the situation without thinking at all."

He gave a small laugh and I smiled, rubbing my neck awkwardly.

"That was a backhanded compliment," he sighed, "I'm sorry, Lyra. Truly, I am."

"I know," I stared up at him, my face set, "I can't... forgive. Not after everything that happened. But... I think, in time, we can... move forward. I can't just forgive and forget, please understand that. It's a process that will take time but... I want us to be a family again."

"That's more than we deserve," he looked down at me sadly, "Lyra, I'm proud to call you my daughter, and I was a fool for not seeing you as you really are."

But Draco still hadn't spoken to me by the end of the holidays. My parents seemed to become more caring by the minute, while he became colder. No number of conversations could turn his opinion of me around, to the point we gave up trying.

I was just happy I had my parents back, and I didn't have to fear returning home when Christmas came. I couldn't wait to let my friends know what had happened, they hadn't owled all summer in fear of the repercussions for me.

Though our family had vastly differing opinions, I found my parents toned down their views when I was around. They worked to avoid using terms like mudbloods, and Dark Arts were scarcely mentioned if I could hear. I knew they weren't changing their views or practices any time soon, but I was happy they were at least trying to make me more comfortable.

The excitement of returning to Hogwarts and seeing my friends again was soured somewhat with news that Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban. Sirius Black was accused of the murder of twelve innocents, along with betraying Harry's parents to the Dark Lord.

Though my parents never said anything, I doubted the accuracy of the accusations. They never said a good word about Black, despite them both having been supporters of the Dark Lord, which I found strange. They never outright admitted to being Death Eaters either, but both Draco and I had worked it out at a young age.

My father informed us that Dementors would be watching the castle in case Black tried to break in. He didn't seem very happy about that fact, but he had no power to argue.

If my father was worried about the Dementors being so near school, I knew it was a serious concern. I just didn't quite know why yet.

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Yes lads, book 3 time! Should Lyra really trust her parents, do they deserve forgiveness?

No, probably not, but she's 13, give her a break - she just wants her family back.