So Similar, So Different
~September, 1984~
The chilly English autumn was finally approaching, A few of the leaves surrounding the Malfoy manor were beginning to turn, the smell of old trees and a faintness of apples traveling along the breeze. Draco and Aurelia had turned four just a few short months before, and they were both as precocious as ever. The patter of small footsteps and soft giggling could always be heard around the manor. Although the twins were so similar, they were so different; a true paradox. Draco clung to Lucius, and Aurelia to Narcissa, but when the twins were together, they were practically inseparable. Lucius, after all, had never taken much of a parental role, much less a liking, to his own daughter. He was a father to Draco, but a dictator to Aurelia. Draco had the classic Malfoy physical features, and although Aurelia looked to be a near carbon copy of a young Narcissa, something about her look was different. Her skin much lighter, almost looking as if it glows, Draco did not possess any of the golden tint in his hair that Aurelia had in hers. But the most notable difference was in their eyes, Draco had light grey-blue eyes, a classic Malfoy trait, but Aurelia’s eyes were the same bright and piecing blue of the Veela that had visited her parents years ago. In terms of similarities, they were both quite headstrong, a little mischievous, and they shared that special twin bond.
Although Aurelia was still quite young, she could see and understand her father’s disdain for her, the only problem is that she couldn’t figure out why; she couldn’t seem to wrap her mind around why her dad treated her brother like a prince, but would shout at her for the smallest things. She could sense her father’s anger, and had grown to be fearful of him. Narcissa tried her best to defend her daughter, but did not want her husband to get angry at her too. On a particularly cold morning, Aurelia and Draco had snuck outside to play with pretend broomsticks, attempting to imitate the quidditch players their parents talked about. After a while of running around, falling down, and laughing together, the twins ventured back inside the manor. The only problem is that it was a bit muddy outside from it raining the previous night, and while Draco ran freely past his father, tracking mud and all, Lucius stepped right in front of Aurelia, practically knocking her over. He took one look at the mud she tracked inside and shouted,
“Aurelia! Look at this mess you dragged inside, do not move another centimeter! You WILL clean this floor before you can play with your brother again! You don’t deserve to be spending time with him in the first place.”
Aurelia couldn’t understand why her dad was only shouting at her, Draco tracked mud inside the house too! She knew this was unfair and started feeling overwhelmed, the only natural reaction to this of a four-year-old would be to cry, and that’s exactly what Aurelia began to quietly do. Narcissa heard this from the kitchen and went to help her daughter, she picked up Aurelia, gently set her shoes outside and put her in her bedroom; making sure to give her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back to her husband. Narcissa quietly mumbled to her husband,
“She is only a young child, Lucius. She doesn’t know any better.”
Lucius didn’t take kindly to his wife’s comment, quickly becoming angry.
“It doesn’t matter how old she is, she needs to realize that leaving a mess is unacceptable. She definitely needs to learn to stop crying at every little thing, I wont deal kindly to an overly-sensitive child!”
“Oh, so its unacceptable for her to leave a mess but alright for Draco? She only cries because she doesn’t understand why you treat her differently than her brother.”
Lucius’ temper was nearing explosion at this point, practically growling at his wife,
“I treat her differently because she deserves it! We both know what she is, and from the beginning I have expressed time and time again that she does not deserve to be in this family! Draco can do what he wants because he ACTUALLY belongs here! Don’t be so defensive Narcissa, I don’t want to have to get angry with you as well.”
At this Narcissa internally shuddered, and fearing her husband would turn physically violent, she quietly agreed with him and went about cleaning the muddy floor. Lucius turned away on his heels, and went to attend to his son in the other room. Narcissa always felt badly for Aurelia, its not like her daughter asked to be half-Veela, there was absolutely no control she could have over her fate. After cleaning the floor, she quietly walked to go check on her daughter, she found Aurelia in her bedroom, quietly staring out the window, mesmerized by the warm-colored leaves swirling in the wind. She felt so much internal guilt, quietly telling her daughter,
“Sweetheart, you know your father gets a bit angry at the little things sometimes, I hope you know it is not your fault.”
Aurelia didn’t look at her mother as she replied in a small voice,
“Mummy, I don’t understand why Draco can do anything he wants, and I get shouted at for doing the same thing.”
Narcissa didn’t necessarily know the best way to explain this to her young daughter, neither she nor Lucius had told Aurelia about her...heritage. They agreed to wait until she is old enough to understand what it means. Still, in these moments Narcissa desparately wanted to explain to Aurelia why her father acts towards her the way he does. She quickly came up with a false explanation,
“Aurelia, your father is only hard on you because he wants you to learn to do things the right way. He wants you to grow up into a fine young woman.”
Aurelia reluctantly looked away from the window and towards her mother, quietly replying,
“Okay mum, I think I understand. Can I go back to playing with Draco now?”
Narcissa walked over to her daughter, and wiped the tears away from her stunning blue eyes. She quickly tied a dark green ribbon in her golden-white hair, and gently picked her up while giving her a quick cuddle, saying,
“Of course my darling, please just try to keep things clean and remind your brother to do the same.”
After watching her children play for a few minutes, Narcissa began to feel tears prickling under her eyes. She quickly began walking away, overwhelmed with her husband’s reaction towards herself and Aurelia earlier, it seemed he could have turned violent so easily. This scared Narcissa terribly, she wished there was a way to get her daughter to safety, but deep down, she knows there is no possible way to do so.