after dusk - draco malfoy

i. | one

PROLOGUE

           I PUT THE FINAL BOX INTO my new house in London, awaiting her future at Hogwarts. I didn't want to leave Beauxbatons but an unrelated incident with some death eaters occurred and my Aunt decided it would be best to move back to London and transfer to Hogwarts. To say I lived in France pretty much my whole life, I could speak French pretty well but never picked up the accent.

          I took the box up to my new room and flopped on my bed. It wasn't really a bed, it was just a mattress on the bed stand and headboard. No bedding sheets, duvets or pillows. They were in a box somewhere. I was exhausted from the travel but needed to unpack to then repack some of my things because the following night, I was sleeping at the Leaky Cauldron with my Aunt before travelling to Kings Cross for the train.

          It took me several hours before I finished unpacking and my room started to look rather nice once everything was put together. A knock sounded on my door and I turned around to see my Uncle stood in the doorway. "I found these in a box downstairs, we thought they would look nice in here," he said, holding two photo frames.

         I examined them and smiled at both moving pictures. One was of all my school friends from Beauxbatons, Antoinette, Estelle and Dominique. I watched the photograph as us four girls laugh in our blue silk uniforms, standing underneath a cherry blossom tree. The petals from the blossoms fell down in front of us, gracefully and I couldn't stop the smile creeping on my face.

          My eyes drifted to the second photograph and I immediately recognised the two people in the photo as my parents. The photo was from their wedding day, my Mum looking absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress. My Dad had tears in his eyes, which my Aunt told me was from how he thought my Mum looked beautiful. I didn't blame him at all.

          The two of them stand under the glistening sun, my Mum's golden blonde hair shining bright. My Dad seemed to be looking longingly into her eyes and my heart ached at the desire of wanting someone to look at me the same way. Of course, it's much too early for a barely fourteen-year-old girl to impulse over such a silly thing. The truth is, I was always in love with the idea of love.

          My Uncle told me I got that from both my parents. They met at Hogwarts, both being put in Gryffindor, and my Uncle said they always had a fancy for one another. My Aunt met my Uncle at Hogwarts as well, but it wasn't until years after they left that they fell in love. My Aunt was my Mum's older sister. My Mum's best friend.

          I was an only child and my Aunt and Uncle only wanted one child, so when bringing me up, they decided I was as much their child as anything else, despite not giving birth to me. It was a nice feeling to know they treated me like their own, I felt like they were my parents from time to time and I don't know where I would've been without them.

          I finally looked up at my Uncle and smiled, tears glistening in my eyes. I pressed my lips together, to stop myself from letting the tears out. "Thank you, I love them," I told him, starting to head over to my nightstand. I placed the picture of my parents down there and put the photo of my friends and me on the window ledge.

          He crossed his arms over his chest and began to lean on the doorway, smiling down at me. "You ready for Hogwarts?" He asked me, slight concern glistening in his eyes. "We can see if your Aunt can speak to someone at work to see if you can be homeschooled if you're not ready," he proposed. My Aunt had worked at the Ministry ever since she left school, excluding the years we were in France.

          I shook my head and sat down in the chair at my desk. "No, I'll be fine," I told him, essentially telling myself. I was very worried about going to Hogwarts, but not enough to be homeschooled. "It'll be good for me, making new friends and stuff. Because as much as I love you guys, I doubt I can hang out with you all the time," I laughed at him, to which he joined in.

          "I will be fine, though," I added on. He nodded his head slightly before letting out a sigh. I could tell he was still worried about me. "I send you and Owl when I can, keep you updated on how things are going." His face shifted into a more comforted one and nodded his head again. "Do you know where my trunk is? I'm going to start packing my things so I don't have to do it in the morning."

          He turned out the door and headed to his own room, returning with my trunk in both of his hands. "Don't pack it too full, we still need to get your things from Diagon Alley tomorrow," he reminded me, to which I nodded my head. "Right then, kiddo, I'll leave you to it." He exited my room and headed back downstairs. I began packing my things, hearing my owl hooting in the corner.

          Farley, a barn owl, used to be my Uncle's owl for work but I always took a liking to her. He decided to give me her when we decided to move back to London. I stopped what I was doing and decided to write an Owl to each of my friends.

          In English, it read:

          Dear Estelle, Antoinette, and Dominique,
          The journey to London was very tiring, but I am finally in my new house. I love this new house, it is much bigger than the one on the farm in France. I'm going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get the things I need for school.

          I'm hoping the lessons won't be much harder than at Beauxbatons, the teachers put a lot of pressure on us all there. I wouldn't have been able to cope another year there, anyway. From what my Aunt and Uncle have told me, there are four houses; Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin.

          Both my parents were in Gryffindor, and so were my Aunt and Uncle so I don't doubt I'll be put into Gryffindor as well. Although, I would be happy in any other than Slytherin. My Aunt told me they all end up getting involved with You-Know-Who, which I don't particularly want to do!

          Hope you are all well, I miss you already,
          Tasmin.

          My friends didn't know about the fate of my parents and my real identity, it was probably for the best. The fewer people that knew, the better. The only people that knew who I really was, were the remaining members of the Order - if they were still a thing, my Aunt and Uncle didn't know either after they cut all ties to the Order - and my Aunt and Uncle. I was safe that way.

          Little did I know, that safety was in jeopardy. All because of a boy. But that part of the story comes later.