Pandora Malfoy, the twin sister of Draco. Although she was brought up to loathe Muggles, Mudbloods, and blood-traitors just as Draco was, her hidden exposure to the Muggle world meant she felt differently to how she was supposed to. But what will th...
The next day, I woke up ridiculously early, anxiety making me feel sick. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be seeing my father for the first time since the punishment in Dumbledore's office. In less than twenty-four hours, I would find out just how badly things had changed in my home life since my sorting. In less than twenty-four hours, I would be back to walking on eggshells, and staying silent to avoid getting hurt.
There were a few things I was looking forward to, though. Seeing Mother again would be amazing — I'd written to her a lot over the past three months, but had still received no reply (at least, nothing more than the Fizzing Whizzbees that were still being regularly delivered with Draco's sweets), so it would be good to finally be able to actually talk to her. I would also get to see Aureli for much longer than the quick catch-ups every few days that being at Hogwarts had limited me to. And, as much as I loved Hogwarts, I was also looking forward to being able to have a room to myself again.
With all of these thoughts running around my mind, I slowly got up, grabbing some Muggle clothes. I would be going through King's Cross station later, after all.
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I went and had a shower, got dressed, and brushed my teeth, dwelling on what might happen when I reunited with my mother and father at the platform later — and, more worryingly, when we got back home. I was sure it would be scary, and potentially painful.
Trying to put this out of my mind, I went back to the dorm room. The other girls were awake by now, with the exception of Fay Dunbar, who was always the last of us to get up.
"Fay!" Sophie Roper half yelled, hitting Fay with a pillow. "Wake up! You haven't packed your trunk yet, and we're leaving at ten!"
"Morning, Dora," Hermione grinned, throwing some clothes across the room to Lavender, who had a habit of somehow getting her things mixed in with the rest of ours.
"Morning, Mione," I said, dodging around the mess of clothes and things scattered over the floor as I made my way back to my bed.
Unlike our dorm-mates, Hermione and I had had the initiative to pack the things we wanted to take home with us the previous evening, so we were the only ones who didn't spend the first part of the morning shoving things into trunks in a panic.
When everyone had finally finished packing, we all grabbed our trunks and levitated them down to the Great Hall, where we had a quick breakfast.
"Please remember not to send me any mail over the holidays," I said to Harry and Ron, who were sitting opposite Hermione and me. Then I had a sudden thought, and added, "Oh, and I'll give you your Christmas presents when I get back! I haven't actually had a chance to go to Diagon Alley for them yet, so..." My voice trailed off as I couldn't quite work out how to finish, and I shrugged.
The two of them nodded, then Ron passed Hermione and me a package each, looking a little embarrassed.
"Mum sent these over for both of you," he said. "I'd say open them today rather than waiting for Christmas, or they'll go off."
"Thanks, Ron!" Hermione said. "I'll open it on the train, I think."
"Um — I might open mine now, if that's alright," I said, looking inquiringly at the others.
They all nodded, so I carefully unwrapped the parcel, making sure to keep the paper intact so there would be less for me to clear up. Inside was a large box of what looked to be homemade fudge. I felt a sudden wave of gratitude rise up in me, and had to blink back happy tears. It was such a simple gesture, but I could tell that a lot of love had gone into making the fudge — more love than Father had ever put into any presents he'd given me. I tried a small piece of the fudge; it was absolutely delicious, and my gratitude only increased.
"Thank you," I said softly, a smile on my face. "And please thank your mother for me too — it's really nice of her."
Just then, there was a ringing bell, signalling that it was time to go down to the Hogwarts Express. Hermione and I both got up.
"See you after the holidays!"
"See you after the holidays," the boys echoed.
Along with most of the school, Hermione and I levitated our trunks down to the carriages that pulled themselves, taking our presents from Mrs Weasley with us. We ended up in a carriage with the other girls from our dorm, and when we got on the train, the six of us decided to share a compartment as well. After stowing our trunks on the overhead luggage racks, talk soon turned to what we were doing over the holidays.
Hermione, Fay, and Lavender were all staying home, with their families going to theirs for Christmas; Sophie was going to France with her parents and older brother, where her father's family lived; Parvati was celebrating Pancha Ganapati with her family.
"What about you, Dora?" Hermione asked, as the train pulled out of the station.
"I think Mother and Father have organised our usual winter ball for a couple days' time," I said, sighing. "A day of having to pretend I like Pansy and all that lot... honestly, I think I'd rather be fed to a basilisk." I leant back in my seat, thinking. "Christmas'll just be the four of us, and then on New Year's Day, Draco and I get to be at home without our parents for most of the afternoon and evening." I smiled at the thought.
"They leave you on your own?!"
"Well, with our house-elf," I said, shrugging. "Draco and I love it, we get to stay up late and do pretty much whatever we want, just so long as we don't leave the manor's grounds." I had a sudden thought, frowned, and added, "Of course, that might not happen this year, what with it being a fairly short amount of time that Mother and Father can see us before we have to go back to Hogwarts..."
Not to mention that I don't know if Father's going to let me do the things I enjoy anymore... or even let me go longer than an hour without checking on what I'm doing...
"Are you worried about what your parents might say about your sorting?" Hermione asked, her voice a little softer than usual. I hadn't told her about Father's little 'visit' at the start of term, so she, like everyone else (with the exception of Draco, McGonagall, and Dumbledore), thought I hadn't had any communication with my parents since I was sorted into Gryffindor.
"Not really," I said, forcing a slight smile, so used to doing so that it looked completely natural. "I'm sure they're disappointed, maybe even a little annoyed, but other than perhaps a lecture on breaking family traditions, I don't expect anything else is going to happen before things more or less go back to normal."
Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar. Liar.
I subtly dug my nails into my leg to try and stop the word repeating itself in my mind. Then, when that didn't work, I said, "Anyone want to play a game or two of exploding snap?"
There were agreements all around the compartment, and I pulled the cards from my trunk, thankful that my distraction seemed to have worked.
I couldn't let them find out too much about my home life. It would only put myself and my mother in danger.
