Capítulo 3: CORDELIA

There was nothing better than a book; to Cordelia, it was like living hundreds of different lives in hundreds of different places. On her lap, she could feel Charm's muzzle nuzzling her every now and then. Cordelia spent hours reading in her chamber, next to her bedroom there was a room just for her books, a chair in front of the window which faced the forest where the Malfoy Manor was. In that room she spent most of the day, not just reading but even painting, it was what most gave her peace.

A knock on the door made her look up. "Miss Cordelia, miss," Dobby's voice came from the other side.

"Come in, Dobby," Cordelia said, seeing the sweet house elf picking in with his head. The moment he stepped in, Charm ran to him, waving his tail happily, but the elf stood still with a nervous expression.

"Is everything alright?" the girl asked, putting her book aside. Dobby nodded, messing with the dirty cloth he used to dress. Cordelia could already imagine what was the reason behind Dobby's nervousness.

"The master wants to see you," he said in a trembling voice. Cordelia took a breath before fixing her skirt with her hands.

"Alright, then," Cordelia said, heading to the door. "Thank you, Dobby." She smiled down at the house elf before patting Charm's head, letting him understand to follow her. Dobby was a sweet elf, and many times, Cordelia's cousin, Narcissa, had told her how much her husband, Lucius Malfoy, didn't approve of her being kind to a servant. Still, Cordelia was; nonetheless, Lucius didn't spend so much time with Cordelia, and in all honesty, the girl couldn't care less what the man said. He had never been polite to her for all her life. Cordelia knew too well what he was after, after all.

The Malfoys Manor was huge, made of white and black stones, and Cordelia's chambers were on the other side of the house. That allowed the fourteen-year-old to have a lot of alone time, which she didn't mind, apart from meals or when guests arrived.

Cordelia ran, giggling, watching Charm follow her happily. Charm was her two-year-old pup; Cordelia had bought it with her own money and brought him home. Her nephew, Draco, didn't like him very much, like his father. Narcissa allowed Cordelia to take Charm, just if the girl was the one to take care of it personally. They even managed to get Cordelia to bring him to Hogwarts with her.

"Still in your nightgown, I see." Lucius's voice made her stop on her track, knowing how much the man hated when she ran around the house. Cordelia looked down from the top of the stairs, and her gaze fell on Lucius sitting on one of the black leather chairs in the living room. He was dressed in black with his snake shaped cane in his hand, his blond almost white hair was tight in a low ponytail. His eyes were on her, and they were looking at her sternly.

"It's ten in the morning," Cordelia said, walking towards him.

"You should act like a Black is supposed to do," Lucius reproved her like he was a Black himself.

"Did you want to see me?" she asked, doing her best to be polite.

But before he could answer, Narcissa's voice made her turn her head. "Cordelia," the woman said, looking at her up and down. "Why aren't you dressed yet?" Her cousin was wearing a dark green dress, and her blond hair was hanging over her shoulder.

"I was reading," the girl said, looking down at her white gown.

"This is an important day," Narcissa said, walking closer to her husband, who didn't seem as excited as his wife. "We are going to buy Draco's wand," she said proudly, thinking about her son. Draco was three years younger than Cordelia, and he had just received his letter a few days back. There was nothing Narcissa loved more than Draco, and sometimes Cordelia found herself wondering if her mother loved her that much or if she was cold as Lucius was.

"Should I come too?" Cordelia asked, looking at her cousin.

"You live in this house," Lucius said with a vicious tone, standing up from his chair. "And if I recall correctly, we are your guardians, which means that if we say you are coming, you are coming."

"Guardian of a guest," Cordelia muttered, turning to get back in her chambers and get dressed.

"What did you say?" Lucius demanded while Narcissa held him by the forearm.

"Nothing," Cordelia said, taking a breath before start walking, but Lucius' voice made her stop again.

"And don't wear that Gryffindor scarf of yours," he said, almost disgusted. He never forgave her for being sorted in Gryffindor, like it was her fault. She liked her house, but it didn't matter how many times Cordelia tried to make the Malfoys change their minds about it, they never did.

Life with the Malfoys wasn't easy, unlike many people could think. Two fellow Gryffindors from her year back at Hogwarts always said that she had everything, but they were the lucky ones: they had a big family and so much love. Cordelia had no parents and brothers anymore, and her only relatives always reminded her that she wasn't a Malfoy but a guest. Her cousin Narcissa was warmer, as much as a Black in Malfoy could be, she had never been a mother to her, her attentions were only for her son; not that Cordelia blamed her for that.

"What do you think, Charm?" Cordelia asked, finishing to fix the red shirt that her best friend Sienna had sent her for her birthday.

Charm barked happily. "I think you are right," Cordelia said with a smile. "He said no scarf; he didn't say anything about shirts." She then gave Charm a kiss before walking out of her chamber, closing the door to prevent Charm from getting out.

"You are coming too?" Draco's voice made her turn before she could step down the stairs. He was walking towards her, fixing his cape on his shoulders. He looked so much like his father: same blond, almost white hair and grey eyes.

When he got closer, he looked at her shirt. "Why do you always have to make him angry?"

She smiled at the boy. "It's just a shirt, Draco. We can't always wear green now, can we?"

They walked down the stairs in silence before Cordelia looked at Draco and asked, "Excited?"

"Of course," He answered, eyeing his father, who was standing not so far from them. "It's my wand." Cordelia nodded, eyeing him; he noticed her staring, so he turned to her. "Why? Weren't you?"

"Of course I was," she said, remembering how happy she was when she bought her wand; that object meant that she was finally going to school, and she couldn't be happier. "But there is nothing wrong if you aren't," Draco nodded his head silently, deep in thought. Sometimes, he acted like a spoiled child, but sometimes, he just acted silently and nervously, most of all when he had to spend time with his father. Cordelia and Draco weren't exactly close, but she could see how lonely he was, even if he was too proud. The two of them weren't that different after all.

"What have you thought?" he asked suddenly. "When you were sorted in Hogwarts."

Cordelia thought of that moment, and she smiled. "I was thinking about the ceiling."

Draco frowned. "Ceiling?"

"In Hogwarts, the ceiling of the Great Hall seems like a sky," Cordelia said with a smile. "I've never seen anything more beautiful."

Draco looked at her as if he wanted to be sure she wasn't lying. When he was satisfied, he nodded, from his expression she could tell he was deep in thought and somehow, she could wonder what he was worry about.

"You know that there is nothing wrong in not being sorted in Slytherin, right?" Draco looked up at her, and then his gaze fell on his father, who was not so distant from them.

"I will be a Slytherin," he said, then his Lucius looked in their direction.

"Draco," he called out harshly, making the boy shift. "Hurry up, we have to go."

"Yes, father," Draco almost whispered before walking towards his parents. Cordelia looked at them before her and took a breath. That was a rich life, not a happy thought. She would have liked to run away from that place, but to go where? For now, Hogwarts was enough.