Chapter 8
Ada was amazed at the library. They had books on every subject imaginable. They even had a collection of muggle books by authors such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. She found A Christmas Carol and sat down against the shelf to read it. She was soon completely lost in the grey and dismal world scrooge had created for himself. Just as the third ghostly visitor was about to introduce himself someone started running their fingers through her hair and she started. She looked up and saw Draco standing above her smiling a little. Blaise was behind him and just rolled his eyes behind Draco’s back.
“Are you ready for dinner?” Draco asked her.
She nodded and started to stand up and groaned. She hadn’t shifted position the entire time she had been reading and she was sore. Draco just shook his head at her.
“You’re a down right mess, you know that?”
Ada glared at him and stalked off through the maze of bookshelves. She’d thankfully remembered how to get out and was able to walk down completely alone. The boys had decided it was best just to let her go off rather than risk her ire. They all met up at the top of the stairs and Ada hung back to follow behind the boys. She realized that both had changed into slightly nicer clothing than their school clothes and looked down at herself, feeling out of place in her threadbare jumper and worn jeans.
When they entered the dining room Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were already there, sitting at one end of a long table. Ada followed Blaise to one side as Draco went to sit beside his mother. Once they had all sat down the meal appeared on the table with a bit of house elf magic. Ada was amazed at how much food had been prepared for them. She looked at Draco and he looked pointedly at her and she sighed. She filled her plate and slowly started to eat.
Dinner was a rather quiet affair. Draco and Blaise were too busy eating like true teenage boys to say anything and Ada was still too uncomfortable to say much. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy attempted to start a conversation a few times but Ada only answered direct questions and the boys could have cared less about talking. Ada ate what she could, which wasn’t very much, and then pushed her food around on her plate. She desperately wished she could be back upstairs in the library.
Draco noticed how little she ate but didn’t say anything. He’d bring her something later. He had missed this quality of food while he was at Hogwarts. School food was fine but the houselves all knew exactly what he liked and how he liked it and nothing could compare to that. Once he and Blaise finished eating the meal disappeared and Draco stood up to stretch. Everyone else stood up as well and started to disperse. Ada went straight back upstairs while Blaise and Draco headed outside for a little bit before bed. Narcissa and Lucius went to the parlour to talk for a bit while their teenagers did their own thing.
“Narcissa, did you notice how little Elizabeth ate?”
“I did.” she said measuredly.
“Should we be concerned?”
“Not at this point. Remember that her entire world has just been turned upside down. If it continues though, we may want to talk to her.”
Lucius nodded thoughtfully. He’d ask Draco too, if she normally ate like that. The couple settled into their normal evening routine and were more at peace than they had been in years. Ada had quickly gone to her room to change into her pajamas before she headed back to the library. As she pushed the door open and was once again filled with awe. She traced her path back to where she had left A Christmas Carol and settled back down to finish the book.
Draco came into the library a little later and found Ada asleep with her book in her lap. He smiled at the sight before summoning one of his blankets to wrap around her. He picked her up and carried her out of the maze so he could put her in bed.
She wasn’t aware that she was falling asleep until she sort of woke up. As she gradually came back into consciousness she realized that she was warm and wrapped in something soft. Her next discovery was that she was being held and whoever was holding her was carrying her someplace. She felt oddly safe and comfortable and didn’t want to open her eyes so she let herself fall back asleep.
Draco looked down at the girl in his arms and felt a wave of protectiveness wash over him. The more he learned about her the more things didn’t add up. He was concerned about what he might learn but even more concerned that he’d never be able to figure out exactly what she had gone through. He believed that she genuinely thought that her life had been normal and that her experience was common. He walked into her room and managed to wandlessly get the covers to fly back. He gingerly sat on the side of her bed and tried to set her down.
She made a small noise and clutched his shirt and he sighed. He decided he’d hold her just a little bit longer before he’d try again. At this moment she was more like a small child than his teenage cousin. He managed to sit back on her bed so that his back was against the wall and he shifted her so that he could pull out the book she had been reading. He opened it and started to read so that he’d have something to do.
The book was engaging and he soon became oblivious to the rest of the world and thus, was surprised when Blaise whispered his name and plucked the book out of his hands.
“Hey, I was reading!” Draco whispered back fiercely.
“I know, I tried to get your attention three times.”
“What do you need?”
“Your dad wants to ask us a few questions about her, they received a letter that's making them concerned about her time with her previous family.”
Draco’s mouth tightened into a grim line and he nodded. He gently moved Ada so that she was lying down on her bed before he covered her with the quilt on her bed. She curled up under it clutching the balnet Draco had given her. He stood up and followed Blaise out, closing the door gently behind him.
Blaise and Draco headed to the parlour where Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were still seated. Both boys took a seat on the couch facing the two and waited quietly as Mr. Malfoy finished rereading the letter in question. He then passed the letter off to the two boys to read. Draco immediately recognized the handwriting as the same as the letter Ada had received.
To Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,
I heard that Ada has joined you for Christmas and I am relieved she has done so. As you are her blood family I feel you should know a few things. First, know that I was unable to say anything while Ada was living with my Family for fear that she would face the repercussions. Forgive me but I believed it was best for her at the time. Second, she has no idea that her life was far from normal. It's amazing she has turned out the way she did, any lesser person would be a very obvious mess. My parents were far from nurturing to this child. They had thought she was a boy until she was dropped off at our house. I remember watching them look down at the child with utter disgust. They only gave her the bare minimum care needed for the child to survive. My younger brother and I did what we could to help the child but soon learned that if we were caught the consequences were rather harsh. When she grew older they largely left her alone and not in a good way. She had learned to dress, and bathe herself by the age of three. At four she had already had to learn how to make her own food. Every time I saw her she was a painfully small child. She ate only the small amounts of food she was allowed and she was underweight and malnourished. She never received affection from my parents and the only attention she received was negative. They often took away food and locked her away for imagined wrongdoings. In short, she had a horrible childhood and you need to understand that before trying to help her.
The last time I saw her was for a short week this summer. I came home at my mothers request. While I was there I watched Ada and was disturbed to see that she was just as horribly treated as before. She ate less than the family dog. She spent most of the week locked in her room but when she wasn’t she was silent. I tried to touch her once to give her just a small amount of comfort and she flinched so I suspect they started hitting her at some point.
She needs so much help but doesn’t even realize it and if she did she still probably wouldn't accept it willingly. Please help her and show her that my parents were very wrong in how they treated her. Give her all the affection and love you can and more if possible. I am sorry that I did nothing to prevent her horrible treatment. Please take care of Ada.
Lochlan Cox
Draco had been reading over Blaise’s shoulder and grew angry as he read what Ada had endured. Blaise, for his part, felt surprised by the girl now. He had had similar abuse at the hands of his parents and didn’t wish that on anyone, especially someone like Ada. He was amazed at her strength but couldn’t help but wonder how long until she would crash. Once Draco and Blaise had finished they looked to Mr. Malfoy.
“Had either of you noticed anything unusual about her?”
Blaise was surprisingly the first one to speak up.
“She missed a lot of meals and when she was there she ate very small amounts. It was as if she couldn’t physically eat as much as a normal kid her age. She was also very skittish. When people raised their voices she would flinch.”
“She also apologizes a lot for things that aren’t her fault or things she has no control over. She even apologizes for having the basic needs of a human being. She doesn’t know how to let someone take care of her. It seems like no one ever has either.” Draco added.
Mr. Malfoy sighed and rubbed his temples. He couldn’t help but feel that this was all his fault and he knew that he would do anything and everything he could to help the child.
“Okay, anything else I should know?”
After a second Draco spoke up again.
“I think she’s very affectionate and touch starved. She doesn’t willingly accept it but already in the past two days she’s unconsciously reached out to be comforted and loved. She can’t accept it though if she’s thinking and aware of it.”
“How so?” Narcissa asked.
“Well, when she burned her hands she let me hug her and soothe her but as soon as she became aware of it through the pain she pushed me away. Then just now she fell asleep in the library while reading so I picked her up and carried her back to her room. When I tried to put her down on her bed she clung to me even though she was asleep and she slept on top of me until Blaise came. She desperately wants and needs it but she can't accept it yet.”
Before Mr. Malfoy could respond, a house elf tentatively came in.
“Sirs and ma’am, I’s figured you should know that the Misses upstairs is sick. She’s be having a rather high fever.”
“Thank you, Ditsy.” Mr Malfoy said as he rose and pulled Narcissa up with him.
The group went upstairs to Ada’s room with the two boys trailing slightly behind. Narcissa immediately went over to the girl and checked her temperature against her hand before frowning. She rose gracefully and quickly went to fetch a thermometer and a basin of cool water with some cloth. The three men stood back and let Narcissa do her thing, watching anxiously.
“She has a fever of 102 right now. I don’t have the cause or any previous medical information with allergies and such so at this point I’m not going to give her any potions for the fever. What we can do however is keep her cool and make sure she stays hydrated. I also think I’m going to give her a nutrient potion so that she won't lose weight while she’s sick.”
Narcissa sat down on the bed next to the girl and conjured up a little table for the basin and rags. She dipped one into the water and wrung it out before gently laying it on Ada’s head. Mr. Malfoy herded the boys out and told them to go to bed for now.
The four took shifts throughout the night attending to the girl. Ada slept restlessly through the night but didn’t wake up. While Blaise took a turn the three Malfoys took a small breakfast in the kitchen. Narcissa had spent the most time awake and was blearily staring into space. Ada frequently tossed and turned causing the rags to slide off. They needed to be changed every couple of minutes too because of how warm she was.
While Blaise laid a new rag on Ada’s face he studied her carefully. She was small, so small. Not only was she only a couple inches over five feet but she was painfully thin. He could easily circle both wrists with one hand and have his fingers overlap. He immediately noticed as she slowly opened her eyes and blinked. They were slightly glazed over with the fever.
“Ada, how are you feeling?” he asked softly.
“My throat hurts.”
“Do you want some water?” he asked, already moving to the glass on the table beside him.
She nodded and tried to sit up but when she pushed down on her hands pain shot through them and she hissed as she collapsed back down. Blaise helped her sit up and lean against him as he held the cup to her lips. She tried to drink but he tipped it back too far and it spilled. She jumped at the cold and he cursed.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” She cracked out frantically.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
Ada was trying to sit up and clean it up while apologizing almost tearfully.
“Ada, calm down” Blaise said firmly as he caught her wrists to make her stop. “It’s okay, do you understand? You don’t need to apologize.”
Ada just burst into tears and Blaise looked at her sadly before pulling her into a hug. He knew how she felt and her fever just made things ten times worse. She probably wasn’t even aware of where she was. As she cried Blaise moved to sit next to her on the bed and held onto her, smoothing her hair as she cried into his shoulder she ended up crying herself to sleep so Blaise imitated Draco and sat up at the head of bed with her curled up against his side. He cast a cooling charm over her and then sat back and closed his eyes. If she was sleeping then he might as well sleep too.