Chapter 6
When Ada finally woke up she felt only slightly less tired than when she went to bed. She groaned as her hands made their pain known to her. She was sure that if they could talk they’d be screaming at her right now. And honestly, she’d be screaming right back. She cast a tempus charm and was surprised that it was already two in the afternoon. She contemplated going back to sleep but she realized that it was improbable that she’d be able too. She needed another pain potion and probably should change out the gauze on her hands. She rolled out of bed, realizing that once more she hadn’t remembered to change into new clothes. She summoned a new shirt and put it on, wincing every time it touched her hands.
When she finally walked out of her room it was empty save for her new group of friends(?) She wasn’t quite sure what to call them but she did like Pansy. She was not at all what Ada had expected. She wasn’t sure about Blaise yet and definitely not sure about Draco. He seemed rather unstable, alternating between rather awful and surprisingly kind and thoughtful. It didn’t make sense.
“How are you doing?” Pansy asked Ada, as she just kind of stood right outside their door.
She shrugged before tentatively coming to sit in a chair a little ways away from the three. She gingerly let her hand rest in her lap and Pansy could tell they really hurt. Draco got up as soon as she sat down and quickly went to his room. When he came back out he had a wooden box in one hand and a small drawstring bag in the other. He cautiously approached Ada and sat on the foot stool in front of her.
“Your apology gift came in the mail this morning. I also wrote to my mum last night after you went to bed and explained what happened. She sent some stuff for the burns that should help a lot. Can I show you?”
Ada nodded and Draco opened the wooden chest. She gasped at the quills inside and looked at Draco. He nodded and set the box in her lap so she could look at them and touch them. She ran a finger along one gently and smiled at Draco.
“These are beautiful! Thank you.”
“I figured you’d like them. Also, the ink pot it came with won’t ever run dry. Now can I see your hands?”
She nodded and Draco closed the wooden box and set it on the floor before taking her hands. He started unwrapping one as she watched him carefully. When it got down to the last couple layers Draco tried to carefully and gently peel them up but she let out a yelp of pain and drew her hand back.
“Here, take this potion for the pain and I’ll do my best to get it over quickly.” He uncorked a small vial and she let him pour it into her mouth. “It won't be completely painless, will you be able to keep your hand out or do you need someone to hold it?”
“Hold it.” she said tightly.
Draco looked at Blaise who sighed but set down the book he had been reading and came over. Draco moved Ada so that her hand was lying on an end table next to her chair and Blaise came over and gently but firmly held it down. She took a deep breath in as Draco once again picked up the edge of the gauze and before she could think about it he ripped it off. She yelped again and cursed, tears pricking her eyes. Draco took her other hand and unwrapped that one as well, repeating the process of ripping it off.
A few stray tears escaped but she stubbornly refused to cry again. Blaise put a hand on her shoulder to soothe her. She almost shrugged it off but decided not too. He was just trying to help. Draco pulled bandages out of the drawstring bag along with a couple little jars and a few little tightly woven pads. He had Ada put both her hands on the table and opened the first of the little jars. He dipped the corner of a rag into the jar and it came out smeared with a clear gel like substance.
“This will numb it. Mother created it herself so it should work perfectly. Blaise, would you mind holding her wrists again?”
Blaise pinned them down again and Draco covered the blistered skin in a thick layer of the gel. After a few seconds her skin started to tingle and felt as if her hands were ice. It was an odd sensation but better than pain. Draco then opened the second jar and used a new rag to gather some of the blue paste to spread over her palms. When this was done he put a new pad on top of each palm before rewrapping both hands with the new bandages.
“Is that any better?” Draco asked as he put everything back in the bag.
“Yeah, thank you. I can’t feel any pain anymore.”
“It's the least I can do. Mother said that the blue stuff should heal it within a couple days. If you come with us for the holiday she wants to check and make sure they’re healing okay.”he put the drawstring bag on top of the wooden box and picked them up. “Can I put these on your desk for you?”
Ada nodded and sat back in her chair. She summoned a quilt from the pile in the corner of the room and snuggled up in it. When Draco came back out he was holding an envelope that he carried over to Ada.
“An owl delivered this to you, I gave him a treat and sent him off if that's okay.”
Ada looked at him suspiciously before she took the envelope from him. She quickly broke the seal and pulled the letter out, immediately recognizing her oldest brother's sharp writing. She warily started reading. Her face blanched when Draco figured she was about halfway through. She stared at the letter shell shocked before her hand limply dropped into her lap. The three Slytherins watched her warily as she stared off into space for a minute.
“I think I’m going to take a walk.” She whispered before unsteadily getting to her feet.
No one stopped her as she slowly walked out of the room, still clutching the letter. She walked out to the castle grounds and ended up down by the lake, under a snow covered pine tree. She wished she had brought her coat or at least a jacket but she didn’t want to get back inside. She reread the letter again and her chest felt tight.
Ada,
Since My Mother and Father have decided to disown you I feel that it is no longer necessary to hide this from you any longer. I shall put it simply: you were adopted. During the last war your birth parents were killed and the ministry thought it best to rehome you with another pureblood family so my parents accepted you. They were told you were a boy and disappointed when they actually received you and you were a girl. The paperwork was done however and they had no choice. I was twelve when they came home with a little one year old you. I did some digging once I moved out and found out who your birth family was. I am sad to say that your father was none other than Morpheous Malfoy and hYour mother, his wife Audre . I haven’t told My mother and father and don’t intend to. Now that you are out of their house I thought you should know. Have a pleasant Holiday.
Lochlan Cox
Her entire world came crashing down around her and she wasn’t sure what to do. Even if her homelife hadn’t been great it was still all she had known. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Her brother's calloused and impersonal letter didn’t help either. Attached to the letter was the family tree with her name on it in parentheses under what she assumed was her real name. It had a goblin seal on it so she didn’t doubt its authenticity. Her real name was Elizabeth Audre Malfoy. She sat under that tree, shivering for the better part of half an hour. Just as she was beginning to think about getting up, none other that Draco Malfoy crept under the pine to sit next to her. He held out a thick blue sweater to her and she took it gratefully. As she pulled it on she realized it must belong to Draco as it was much too big on her.
Once she pulled it on she let Draco pull her against his side, glad for the extra warmth. She silently handed him the letter and family tree and looked out at the lake as he read it. She was afraid of what he would say when he finished. For some absurd reason she assumed that he’d be upset or disappointed. She knew that logically it was a result of her parents' chronic disapproval and disappointment of her but that didn’t allay her fears. Once he was done examining the letter and its attachment he folded the letter again and passed it back to her. Then he hugged her tightly.
“We thought we’d never find you.” he whispered hoarsely into the top of her head. “Father searched everywhere but kept running up against the ministry. I’ve only seen him cry twice and both times were over you.”
“What?”
“After the war was over Mother and Father searched everywhere for you but you were nowhere to be found. Your files were destroyed by the ministry, the person who placed you obliviated so no one knew anything. You should have been given to us since Uncle had named my parents as your godparents but the ministry still thought Father had been on Voldemort’s side.”
Draco suddenly jumped up and pulled Ada with him.
“Come on, we have to tell him!”
“Wait Draco, slow down. I’m still processing. I just found out that my entire life I’ve believed a lie. You can’t just go off like that!”
“You’re right.” he said. “We do need to go inside though, you’re still shivering.”
She nodded and followed him up to the castle. As she walked, Ada was deep in thought. She was logically weighing things out in her mind. On the one hand, her adoptive family had been rather awful. She’d never been shown a scrap of affection from either parent and her brothers were ten and twelve years older than her so she never even really knew them. They were always at Hogwarts. That family was all she had ever known. On the other hand, her ‘family’ had just kicked her out. Surely the Malfoy’s couldn’t be much worse than her old family. And they were her biological family after all, and Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were her godparents. She would be seventeen in just a month so if things didn’t work out she’d be an adult and wouldn’t have to stay.
She was so busy thinking that she didn’t notice when they entered into the castle and definitely didn’t notice that she had been walking up stairs until she tripped over the top stair of their floor. Draco caught the back of her sweater before she could fall and steadied her. She flashed a grateful smile at him and he smiled back. When they got back to the common room everyone else was already there, about to sit down for dinner.
Pansy and Blaise smirked at Draco and he shrugged. He’d tell them after dinner. Ada sat down next to him quietly. She didn’t say anything throughout the entire meal. She honestly didn’t even really eat unless Draco prompted her too, just pushed her food around while staring off into space. She was the last one at the table and seemed to come to with a start when Draco touched her elbow.
“Are you done?”
“What? Oh yeah, sorry.” she said, pushing her plate away and standing up.
She went over to a group of chairs that was away from most of their other housemates and curled up in one. She leaned back and closed her eyes briefly but opened them when Blaise, Draco and Pansy sat down in the other chairs around her.
“Ada, are you doing all right?” Pansy asked and Ada nodded.
“I’m fine, just needed to process some rather shocking information.”
“Can I tell them?” Draco asked eagerly, still very excited about the news.
Ada nodded again and Draco sat forward grinning.
“Do you remember me telling you about my cousin Elizabeth who disappeared when her parents died?” Pansy and Blaise nodded and he went on. “Ada just got a letter from her brother saying that she was adopted and he sent her her real family tree from the Goblins.Turns out her real name is Elizabeth Audre Malfoy, her parents Morpheus and Audre Malfoy! After years of searching we finally found her!”
Pansy and Blasie sat in shock for a moment before Pansy smiled broadly.
“That's great Draco, your father will be absolutely ecstatic!” Blaise said and he patted Draco on the back.
“How do you feel about it all, Ada? Or should I say Elizabeth?” Pansy asked.
“I’m not sure yet.” she shrugged. “I guess I’ll have to see how the holidays go and please, just call me Ada for now.” she said.
“Fair enough. So that means you are going to Malfoy Manor over break?”
“Looks like it.” Ada replied. “Speaking of, I need to pack. Please excuse me.”
She rose from her chair and took a couple steps before turning back.
“Sorry Draco, just give me a sec and I can give you your sweater back.” She started to pull it off but Draco just waved his hand.
“Keep it, I never wear it anyways.”
She flashed him a grateful smile and went to her room to start packing. Draco looked at his friends who were grinning at him. He smiled back and stood up.
“I can’t wait to tell my father, all he’s done since he lost her is look and search. He and my mother are going to be so happy!”
“You’re pretty happy too. All that rubbish about you never wearing that sweater, we all know it's your favorite but you gave it to her cause you’re really just a big softy.” Pansy teased.
Draco just shrugged and went to write to his parents. It's a good thing they were leaving in the morning or they might come and retrieve Ada themselves.
Chapter 7
The next morning arrived cold and grey. All the seventh and eight years going home stood in the great hall, waiting for the carriages to pull up. This time around, everyone was expecting the Therestrals and weren't scared when they showed up. Ada got into a carriage with Draco, Blaise and Pansy and tried not to shiver as the cold penetrated her thin coat, the only one she had. Draco noticed and draped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her to his side to keep her warm. She stiffened originally but relaxed after a second.
There were only about fifty kids total going home between the seventh and eighth years so they were able to really spread out along the train. Draco found a compartment that was pretty isolated for them and they all lugged their trunks in. Blaise took Ada's trunk and put it up for her and she nodded her thanks. They all settled in for the two hour ride and were pretty quiet for the most part.
Ada hadn’t slept well the night before and she yawned tiredly as she settled back on the bench she and Draco shared. She was apprehensive of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, even more so at the reality of them actually being her only family. She stole a glance at Draco but quickly looked away when she realized he was watching her.
“Do you want to lay down?” he asked.
She considered it for a second and then nodded. She let Draco pull her down so that she was basically using him as a pillow and could put her legs and feet up on the rest of the bench. Draco carded his fingers through her hair and she closed her eyes at the soothing sensation. She fell asleep pretty much as soon as they left Hogsmeade.
Draco looked down at the head in his lap and smiled gently. He still couldn’t believe he’d found her! His father had been obsessed with finding her and so of course Draco had been too. He had always hoped that he would one day find her at Hogwarts but after the war he had feared she had been among those killed. He had just about given up on her but here she was, sleeping on him. He looked up and found Pansy smiling at him. She and Blaise were the only ones who knew how much this meant to him and his family.
When they neared the Platform Draco gently shook Ada’s shoulder to wake her up. She sighed but opened her eyes and blearily sat up. She looked out the window just as they pulled into the platform and her expression became guarded. Draco pulled their trunks down from the rack and she whispered her thanks. Blaise and Draco led the way and Ada hung back a little. When they disembarked from the train she momentarily got separated from her group and decided just to stand still for a second, until the crowd had dispersed. Once it had she realized that Draco had stopped to wait for her and she hurried to catch up. Pansy said her quick goodbyes once Ada was there and she hugged her.
“Don’t let them scare you.” she whispered to Ada. “They’re all bark and no bite. Write if you need anything.”
Ada nodded and smiled at Pansy. In just the past couple days, she’d come to like the other girl. Pansy quickly hugged Blaise and Draco before going to where her family was waiting for her. Ada hesitantly followed Draco and Blaise to the other end of the platform. When she saw the stern looking Malfoy’s she had second thoughts about all this. She was mostly hidden by the two boys in front of her and so Mr. Malfoy didn’t see her at first.
“Where is she?” he asked Draco, frowning.
“Right here father.” Draco said and Ada warily stepped forward to stand between Draco and Blaise.
Mr. Malfoy stared at her for a second, almost unbelieving. He stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug, trying not to cry. She was tense but didn’t push him away.
“Elizabeth.” He whispered.
A few stray tears slipped down his face as he held her an arms length away to look at her properly. She was small and slim, with the Malfoy grey eyes and pale skin. She had her mothers dark wavy hair and dainty facial features. Mr. Malfoy looked at Narcissa who had tears freeley streaming down her face. Narcissa reached out and gently stroked Ada’s cheek, almost as if she was afraid Ada would break.
Ada was a little uncomfortable with the attention. No one had ever looked at her with such love and they didn’t even know her, not really. When she felt like it was too much, she stepped back to the relative emotional safety of Draco and Blaise. Draco stepped forward next to embrace his parents and they hugged him just as tight as they had Ada. Blaise shook hands with Mr. Malfoy and hugged Mrs. Malfoy. When Draco stepped back he bumped her elbow and smiled when she looked at him. She managed a tight smile back and looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.
“I suppose you lot would prefer to go home rather than standing on this drafty platform.” Mr. Malfoy said after a second or two of awkward silence.
The three nodded in various levels of enthusiasm and grabbed their trunks. Ada winced slightly and realized the numbing from last night must be wearing off. She carried on, however, as if nothing was wrong. She followed the boys as they left the platform and into the rest of King’s Cross. A car was waiting for them outside the station and the three teenagers heaved their trunks into the trunk, grateful for the expanding charm on it.
Inside the car looked quite normal which surprised Ada. She was once again sandwiched between Blaise and Draco and was starting to wonder if they did it on purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were on the bench across from them and whenever Ada looked up from her hands she saw them both looking at her as if afraid she would disappear. At this point she was starting to wish she could, all the attention made her uncomfortable and anxious.
Once they got outside the city the car did some sort of weird jump thing that left Ada’s stomach lurching unpleasantly. They pulled through a set of large ornate gates with the Malfoy crest on them and she was awed by the estate. Snow covered everything in a pure white blanket and even though it hadn’t been snowing outside the gates, it was softly falling here. The manor itself had lights spilling from every window. It looked like a postcard.They pulled up right in front of the house and as she got out she couldn’t help but stare.
“It's beautiful, isn't it?” Mrs. Malfoy said softly, coming to stand by the girl.
Ada just nodded and kept looking around, taking in the beauty. Draco unloaded her trunk for her and seeing that she was enraptured by the scene he took it inside for her. He followed his father to the room that he and mother had prepared for her and set the trunk at the end of her bed. When he went back to the stairs he found his mother and Ada just coming in from the cold and smiled. His mother looked so at peace just having the girl beside her. Draco also noticed that Ada was shivering in her thin coat and made a note to either remind her to wear a heavier one out or to get her a new one.
Blaise came up right behind him and nudged Draco. Blaise had stayed with them over summer so he just took his old room next to Draco’s. As Ada took off her coat Blaise noticed her wince and pointed it out quietly to Draco. He just nodded his acknowledgement and the two of them went down the stairs to join Draco’s parents and Ada in the parlour. A house elf had already brought in tea so Draco and Blaise helped themselves before settling down. Mrs. Malfoy smiled warmly at the two boys and Draco couldn’t help but feel at peace to finally be home.
“So Elizabeth, would you like to help us learn more about you?” Mr. Malfoy asked.
“I guess. What do you want to know?” she replied.
“We can start with school, if that's all right. Draco said you’re a Ravenclaw but that's about all we know. What are your favorite subjects?”
“Umm, I like potions and arithmetic. I don’t really care for divination though. It's pointless.”
“Potions? Severus didn’t scare you off?” Mrs. Malfoy asked, surprised.
“Not at all, he’s so intense because if you don’t take it seriously, people could be really hurt or die. He’s intense because he needs to be.”
“Interesting.” Mr. Malfoy said. “And Arithmancy?”
“Before Hogwarts I attended a muggle primary school because I’d get too bored at home. We did arithmetic, or math, and arithmancy is the closest Hogwarts has to that.”
“Were you involved in any extracurriculars?”
Ada looked down at her lap anxiously.
“No, I preferred to use my free time to read and do my own research projects as well as keep up with some of my muggle studies. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, it's great that you had the drive to do all that on your own. Means you’ll be successful in life. What muggle subject was your favorite?”
“I really like literature because I got to read a wide variety of books and stories. Arithmetic was fun too, though, because math is so perfect. It has rules and it follows those rules no exception. There’s no better feeling than working an equation perfectly and getting the answer the first time.”
“That sounds wonderful. So what was it like with your adoptive family?” Mr. Malfoy asked.
The quick turnaround caught Ada off guard and she hesitated for a second. She didn’t want to lie but she also knew her family hadn’t been the greatest and she didn’t want to bother the Malfoy’s with it.
“They were fine.” she settled on saying.
Mrs. Malfoy frowned.
“Just fine? Were they abusive?”
“What? No, not abusive. We just all kind of kept our distance. I never felt connected to them and they certainly were never connected with me. They left me alone for the most part and I did my best to leave them alone.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy exchanged a worried look that Ada missed since she was looking down at her hands in her lap. They were really starting to hurt now. The Malfoy’s decided not to press it for now but turned the conversation to the past semester. They spent close to two hours in the parlour talking before Mrs. Malfoy noticed that Ada was starting to look tired. She looked at the other two boys and realized that they were as well so she gracefully interrupted the easy debate over the pros and cons of having four separate Hogwarts houses.
“I’m sure you could continue arguing for another few hours but I for one am a tad exhausted and I’m sure you three are too.” She said with a smile at the teens. “Would you all like to unpack your trunks and settle in?”
They nodded and Narcissa smiled again as they stood up. Ada looked a small bit more comfortable than she had been at first so that was a good sign. She looked around uncertainly as the boys left and Mrs. Malfoy realized she hadn’t been shown her room yet.
“Come with me dear, I’ll help you get settled in.”
Ada followed the matriarch up the stairs and was slightly in awe again of the grandeur of the manor. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and then walked down a long halfway to the end. Narcissa opened the last door on the right and then stepped aside so Ada could go in.
There was a twin bed centered along one wall. There were two walls of windows, each with a large arching window that overlooked the vast Malfoy estate. A simple dresser ran along the wall the bed wasn’t on.
“I know its barebones right now but we wanted you to be able to design it however you wish. Tomorrow we could start working on it if you like.”
“That would be nice.” Ada said softly.
She noticed her trunk at the end of her bed and realized she had been so distracted when she first arrived she hadn’t even thought about it.
“I’ll let you have some time to make yourself at home. Just ask if you need anything.” Mrs. Malfoy said and turned to leave. “Oh, and that door right there is to your bathroom. We can figure out what products best suit your hair later.”
“Thank you Mrs. Malfoy.”
Please feel free to call me Aunt Narcissa, or simply Narcissa if you prefer.” she smiled at the timid girl before leaving.
Once Narcissa had left, Ada sat down on the edge of her bed and looked around. It was a pretty spacious room and it was easy to imagine a bookshelf and a cozy chair in the corner near her bed. A desk would be great under one of the windows too. She went to feel the soft quilt on her bed but winced at the movement. The numbing had definitely worn off. She summoned the little drawstring bag from her school stachel.
She clumsily pulled it open and dumped the two jars on the bed next to her as well as a couple more little pads. She started painfully unwrapping her right hand since it hurt more. Once the bandage was off she lifted the pad and was relieved to see it wasn’t sticking like the gauze had. She realized she needed a rag but didn’t know where to find one. She was just contemplating using the sleeve of her t-shirt, it was just a hand-me-down from her brother anyways, when a house elf popped in.
“Missus Narissa sent Barty in to say that when yous likes you can come downstairs and she will be giving yous a tour.”
“Thank you Barty.” Ada said.
Barty smiled and bowed to the girl and was just about to leave when she realized there was a solution to her problem.
“Barty, would you be willing to get me a rag please?”
“Yes ma’am, would you like me to also let Missus Narcissa know that yous be needing help with your hands?”
“Oh, no please. Don’t bother her with that, I can do it on my own but thank you.”
Barty nodded and popped back out and Ada stood up to go look out her windows as she waited. After a minute a rag appeared on her bed with a sharp snap that startled her slightly. She levitated all the things she needed and brought them into the bathroom so that she could use the faucet. She wet one corner of the rag and wiped yesterday's gooey mess off as gently as she could. She tried to breathe deeply and ignore the pain but wasn’t very successful. Her eyes smarted but she didn’t want to cry so it took her a very long time to get everything off. She would pause between every dab to steel herself for the next one. When she was finally done she breathed a sigh of relief. She went to unscrew the lid of the jar of the numbing gel when someone knocked on her bedroom door frame.
“Just a second.” she called and then silently cursed.
She decided she’d just hold her hands behind her back as she walked out of the bathroom. Draco stood in her door frame and she wanted to curse again. Instead she conjured up a small smile.
“Just wanted to see if you needed help or anything,” he said.
“Nah, I’m good but thank you.”
“How are your hands? Blaise noticed you winced earlier when you took off your coat.”
“What? They’re fine. He must have just imagined it.”
“Sure.” Draco gave Ada a suspicious look and stepped closer to her. “Would you mind if I took a look at them just to make sure?”
“Draco, I’m fine. Honestly. You're such a mother hen!”
“You’re lying straight through your teeth right now. Let me see your hands.”
Ada shook her head and tried to back up but Draco was faster. He reached out and grabbed one of her wrists. Unfortunately for her it was the one she’d already unwrapped. She tried to tug away but he just glared at her and she sighed in defeat.
“Is everything in your bathroom?” he asked her and she nodded.
He made her sit down on her bed before he went to retrieve everything. He sat down next to her and pulled her hands so that they rested on his knees. He unwrapped her other hand as well and inspected them before using the rag and repeating the process from last night.
“They are already looking better. Mother says it will only take a few days for them to heal with this stuff.” he nodded to the blue jar.
“They still hurt like hell.” Ada muttered darkly.
Draco just laughed at her. She was just like a grumpy toddler who didn’t get their way but was still behaved enough not to throw an all out tantrum. When he finished wrapping up both her hands he patted her knee and stood up.
“Mother said to meet her downstairs whenever you're ready. She’ll give you a tour before dinner.”
Ada nodded and watched him leave before standing up herself. She supposed it would be best not to keep the matriarch waiting. Before she left though she pulled out a threadbare jumper, it was rather cold here.
She slowly crept through the long hallway staring at everything around here. Beautiful paintings of red sunsets and green meadows lined the halls. From the top of the stairs she stared down at the simple but elegant entry hall and sighed. She felt so out of place here.
Her adoptive family had been purebloods but they were incredibly frugal so they lived in a modest two level farmhouse. She had only ever known hand-me-downs from her brothers or clothes from muggle thrift stores. Her first brand new clothes, perhaps since she had been a baby, had been the new robes she bought herself in her fifth year once she’d finally stopped growing. She’d worked all summer to get all new things for school and had just barely had enough. What was she doing here? She caught sight of Narcissa walking through and hurried down the stairs to meet her.
“Ah Elizabeth, there you are! Would you like to see the rest of the place?”
“Sure, I’d love to. Thank you Mrs. Narcissa.”
“You make me feel old when you say that! Remember what I said earlier?”
“Sorry Aunt Narcissa.”
“There we go.” She smiled warmly and took the girl by the elbow, leading her through the first floor.
They saw the kitchens, dining room, front parlour, ball room, and the sun room before heading up the stairs. The second floor was all bedrooms on the left side and Ada learned where everyone was situated. Then they went down the right hall and stopped before the one set of doors on the left side. Narcissa pushed them open and Ada gasped.
It was a huge Library! It rivaled Hogwarts in size but instead of sprawling out it sprawled up. Books lined every wall and created a maze on the ground. The shelves towered up impossibly and Ada couldn’t wait to get lost in the middle of it. She walked in and just smelled the air. It was thick with the smell of old books and it made her grin like a child on christmas morning.
“Would you like to stay here for a little bit?” Narcissa asked, pleased at the joy on the girl's face.
She just nodded and walked into one of the rows, her fingers trailing along the spines of books. Narcissa watched her till she disappeared then left to go check on her son and Blaise, who might as well be her son at this point.