| Puffskein
Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: England
Posts: 1,658
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Megara Kostas
First Year | 
Chapter Nine - A Social Gathering June 1978
The service was short, then Izabella followed the crowds out into the graveyard where Tobias would be buried. She circled her wand discretely by her side, conjuring a rose which she layed carefully on the coffin.
Afterwards, they returned to the front of the church where Eileen and Severus began to mingle within the mourners, shaking hands and conversing. Izabella rolled her eyes and walked over to the two men which stood apart from the others.
“Izabella.” one greeted her. He was short and slightly overweight, his belly protruding beneath his shirt.
“Jeff,” she said smiling briefly as she shook his hand. The other, in contrast was tall and lanky, his sleeves slightly too short on his arms.
“Adam.” she said extending her hand towards him. He nodded slightly and looked behind her.
“Your mother seems upset.” he said, his voice empty of emotion. Izabella sighed and dropped her head slightly.
“You can't really blame her after the way he treated her.” she said quietly.
“You know Izabella, he might not of been the nicest man but he loved you.” Jeff said quietly. Izabella looked up at him and felt her eyes prickle with tears. Then a heavy hand landed on her shoulder and she rolled her eyes at the drawling voice.
“Izabella, we are moving on to the wake now.” Abraxas said smiling down at her. He looked towards the two Muggles and raised an eyebrow slightly. “Will you be joining us?”
The two eyed him for a moment then Jeff shook his head.
“No. We're going to the pub to honour Tobias the way he would of wanted.” he said coldly. Izabella grinned, letting her hair fall infront of her face to hide it.
Adam moved forward and took Izabella's hand, pulling her out of Abraxas' grasp and planting a kiss on her cheek. Jeff embraced her briefly and kissed her forehead.
“We'll see you soon Iz.” they said smiling as they turned and left the church yard.
Abraxas watched them, his lip curling then he placed a hand on Izabella's back and guided her back towards the crowds. She moved away from him, standing beside her brother.
“Where is the wake?” she asked him quietly. He shrugged slightly then took her arm as he directed her back to the car. Izabella climbed in and slid down in the seat, leaning her head back as Severus sat opposite her in the spacious car.
“Severus, sit next to your sister.” Eileen said firmly as she slid into the car and took Severus' seat as he rolled his eyes and joined Izabella. Abraxas soon followed, seating himself beside her mother, which left Lucius beside Izabella.
Across the car, Eileen glared at Izabella pointedly but she ignored her, looking up at the ceiling until her mother caved in.
“Izabella sit properly.” she snapped. With a sigh Izabella straightened her back, crossing her legs gracefully as her mother had taught her.
The car journey dragged by filled with awkward silences, broken occasionally by Eileen and Abraxas attempting to start a conversation in which Izabella avoided speaking. Eventually the car pulled to a stop and Izabella sighed in relief as they began to pile out of the car. As she swung her legs out, a hand was offered to her and she smiled, gladly accepting Lucius' help to get out of the car.
He smiled and did not release her hand as they began to walk towards the large house in front of them. He wrapped her arm through his gently and smiled at her.
“Where are we?” Izabella asked, frowning as they entered a large, spacious Entrance Hall filled with the people from the church.
“Malfoy Manor.” Lucius said, a little apologetically. Izabella laughed humourlessly.
They made their way out into the large garden that extended beyond what Izabella could see, filled with brightly coloured flowers. A large table was covered in an assortment of food and drinks. Izabella shook her head, bewildered. The black clothes and the pretend mournful faces did not seem to fit in this rather formal social event.
Eileen grabbed Izabella wrist and she was dragged off, being introduced to the highest powered Purebloods. She played her part well, listening intently, her laugh tinkering across the grounds. It was her most deadly talent, her charm.
Eventually, she was released from her mother's grip and managed to sneak away. She walked around the edge of the Manor, a large glass of firewhiskey in her hand until she came across a large ornate fountain and moved towards it. It was carved out of marble, intricitly showing the snakes which weaved around the figure of a man. He was clearly a Malfoy. The structured face and haughty smirk made that obvious.
She stepped out of her heels and swung her legs over the side and into the water. It was cool and soothed her aching feet. She closed her eyes and leant back against the edge of the fountain, absorbing the sun that shone brightly above her.
“I'm not the only one that needed to get away then.” Lucius said from behind her. She jumped slightly, the water splashing below her feet as she turned to smile at him. “Can I join you?”
She nodded and smiled as he sat next her, facing the opposite direction to her as he pulled off his shoes and socks and rolled up his trousers, then turning and swinging his legs into the water. He looked up at the statue thoughtfully for a moment.
“My Grandfather would have a fit if he could see this.”
Izabella chuckled and looked up at the stone face.
“That's your Grandfather?” Izabella asked. Lucius nodded and took a swig of his drink.
“The one and only Cassius Malfoy.” There was a bitter note to his voice which made Izabella frown slightly. She turned, angling her body more towards him whilst her feet still dipped in the water.
“You didn't like him?”
“He was impossible to like. Even worse than my father.” he said, turning to smirk at Izabella.
“He can't have been that bad.” Izabella said, turning to look up at the figure again. Lucius hummed thoughtfully and for a while they sat in silence.
“You look very beautiful today.” Lucius said suddenly, tilting his head to one side as he watched her. Izabella blushed lightly.
“Thank you.” she said quietly.
“I apologise for my father. He doesn't understand that someone could feel sad over the death of a Muggle.”
Izabella laughed.
“You make him sound so heartless.”
“Maybe he is.” Lucius said with a shrug. Izabella looked at him for a moment then turned her gaze to the water, dropping her head so that her hair hid her tears.
“Izabella?” he said gently.
“I'm fine.” she said shaking her head.
“You're allowed to be upset you know.” he said quietly.
“Am I?” she said, turning to him with desperate eyes. “I seem to be the only one who is...”
“Tobias did some pretty bad things, but not to you. You have no reason to hate him.”
“But I do hate him. For making my mother so scared and Severus so... cold.”
“Stop thinking about other people for once.” he suggested gently.
Izabella's forehead creased and he sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist. She leant her head on his shoulder as tears continued to stream down her face and she shuffled closer, allowing him to wrap his other arm around her.
They were still for quite some time until Izabella's sobs faded away and Lucius stroked her hair gently.
“There you are.” came the voice of Abraxas from behind them as he strided across the lawn, Eileen following quickly. Izabella moved out of Lucius' grasp, wiping a hand across her face before she swung her legs round to face her mother and Abraxas.
“Izabella get off that wall before it ruins your dress.” she said, shaking her head. Izabella rolled her eyes and shook her feet slightly before slipping them into her shoes and standing up. Lucius did the same, standing by her side.
“Everyone has left, we need to get home.” Eileen said. Izabella suddenly noticed the drop in temperature and the darkening of the sky. She hadn't realised how much time had passed. She turned to Lucius and smiled as he bent to press his lips to her knuckles.
“Thank you,” she whispered. He nodded in acknoweldgement and she smiled walking over to join her mother.
“Where's Sev?”
“He's already gone.” Eileen said as she grasped her daughter's hand. “Thank you for everything.” she said gratefully to Abraxas. He bowed respectfully.
“The pleasure was all mine.” he said in a low voice. He smiled towards Izabella. “I'm sure I will see you soon.”
She smiled, her eyes narrowing slightly. Then she held onto her mother's hand as she turned, landing in the middle of Spinner's End.
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