Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 29: Home

I was glad I had a week at home without Draco. I was confined to my room for most of it, being too weak to argue anyway, and my diet mainly consisted of hot soup and occasionally a slice of bread if I was feeling up to it. The bite seemed to sap strength from me, and I found myself sleeping for most of the day. I dreaded my first transformation, I knew things would be a million times worse than they were now. But it was my reality.

My father told me he wouldn't be allowing me to register with the Ministry. Werewolves were considered beasts, not beings, and he absolutely refused to allow me to be treated in such a way. I was glad, mainly because it meant I wouldn't be forced to drop Lupin in it.

I was dreading Draco coming home. He didn't know about it yet, and I was worried he would tell everyone just to spite me. It wouldn't be out of character for him, but I hoped my father would scare him into keeping quiet.

My fears were unfounded when he came into my room a few days after returning home.

"How are you feeling?" He asked carefully, standing in the doorway.

I was up and moving about, but I had been staying out of his way for the most part until now.

"Better, I guess," I offered him a smile, signalling him that he could come in.

"I wanted to... apologise, I guess," he walked in, "For how I've been treating you. I realise now it wasn't fair, just because you were a Gryffindor. And then... I got jealous because father changed his mind, and said you were a Malfoy again, and I was just a bit of a... prat. So, sorry for everything."

"Its alright, I never held it against you," I said gently, "I wager I'd have been the same if it was the other way around."

"No, you wouldn't have," he shook his head, "Father told me what you did. For Potter and the others. That was what made me realise how unfair I had been to you."

"So... we're good again?" I asked.

"We're good again," he grinned, "But don't think I'll stop teasing you!"

"I'd be worried if you did," I laughed at him.

My first full moon seemed to come quicker than I would have liked. In the days leading up to it, I was exhausted and grumpy, my mood deteriorating the closer it got.

My parents had spent the past few weeks working out what to do with me during the full moon. They finally settled with just locking me in the basement, after I had begged them not to make a big deal about the setup. All they needed was a good door, and they'd be safe.

"Your wand will be down with you, so if you're able, unlock the door and come get us when you wake up," my father said as he led me downstairs, "If not, I imagine we'll be down to check on you early anyway, until we figure out what time you normally change back. We'll get you healed up, get a Healer in if necessary, then you can sleep the rest of the day."

I nodded silently, fear clear on my face.

"You will get through this," he said gently, squeezing my shoulder, "We'll be down in the morning."

The door clanged shut and I was plunged into darkness.

I groaned in agony when I came to. I couldn't remember anything of the night before, all I felt was pain. The cellar was dark and I could hear no noise. It must have been early morning, nobody was up yet.

But I was, lying in the cellar in a pool of my own blood, biting my tongue so that I didn't yell out in pain. I didn't want to wake my family, after they had looked after me so well they deserved to rest. I doubted they got much sleep last night anyway.

There was a crack to my left and a familiar face with large ears popped into my view.

"Dobby?" I managed to say, my voice raspy.

"Hello Lyra Malfoy," he helped me sit up, "You don't look so great."

"Yeah, it was a rough night," I groaned, "What are you doing here?"

"Harry Potter told me what happened, that Lyra Malfoy would need to be healed this morning and he worried nobody else would do it. So Dobby came," he smiled before clicking his fingers, and some of my pain subsided. Not all of it, werewolf injuries never truly heal, but I felt a lot better.

"Thank you, Dobby," I smiled at him, accepting the drink he produced, "But why? I was never... good to you. You don't owe me any help, you'd be well within your right to sit in the corner of the room and laugh at my pain."

"Lyra Malfoy is wrong! Lyra Malfoy was never truly mean to me, and once she started Hogwarts she saw her family in a different light and started treating me as an equal!" he smiled at me, "Lyra Malfoy was the first person to treat me as such. And so Dobby helps her."

"Thank you, Dobby," my smile grew bigger, "This means the world to me."

He bowed to me before Disapparating again, leaving me alone in the darkness. I sighed slightly, flexing my fingers to work out the stiffness, grabbing onto the wall to help myself to my feet.

I slipped a few times, hissing in pain, before I finally struggled upright. I tested the strength in my legs while clinging to the wall, before eventually letting go. But I had too much faith in myself, and quickly crashed to the ground again, crying out in pain as some of the wounds Dobby closed opened again.

So much for that.

Five minutes later, light flooded the basement as the door was thrown open. Footsteps rushed down the steps, a gasp echoed around the room, and I was lifted off the ground.

I grimaced against my father's chest, hissing in pain slightly. He rushed up the steps, carrying me to my bedroom where he gently placed me down on the sheets, my mother already there with bandages at the ready.

"Oh, Lucius," she cried out when she saw me.

"Lyra, you'll be alright," my father tried to comfort me as my mother cleaned my wounds, but I still writhed in pain, sweat pouring off me, "Just a few minutes and you can sleep."

It seemed to take forever, words of comfort doing nothing, but I was eventually bandaged up. I glanced down at my body, sighing as I realised the bandages covered almost every inch.

"How... bad is it?" I asked, but was met with silence, "That bad, huh?"

"Your mother is going shopping today to see if there's anything that can help with the scarring," my father sighed, "But I don't think I need to tell you that... well, they'll always be there. We've applied silver and dittany, Lupin let us know it helps reduce the scarring to an extent. But we can talk about it later, get some sleep for now. You can eat once you've woken up."