Lucius and Narcissa stand on either side of the ballroom door. "Your attention please!" Lucius announces. "Thank you for coming! Please welcome the birthday boy, my son, Draco Malfoy!"
Draco and Ursa walk in together. Ursa hides her disappointment that Lucius did not mention her. People clap and Ursa looks around the room nervously. Once the attention is off them, Draco notices Ursa's face.
"Hey, stick together as much as possible?" Draco asks quietly.
"Please," Ursa replies. "I don't know anyone here except for Crabbe and Goyle and odds are no one knows about me. I don't remember how to speak with Crabbe and Goyle."
"You don't have to follow our parents' rules."
Ursa nods and notices some official looking people. "Oh God. Some of these people are from the Ministry aren't they?" Ursa starts slightly shaking. "Draco, I'm nervous. I don't want to say something wrong."
"You'll do fine Ursa?"
"What if I don't Dray? I don't want to make us look bad."
Draco grabs Ursa's shoulders. "Hey, you're going to be okay. Just stick with me alright?" Ursa nods. "Now take a deep breath and relax." Ursa takes a deep breath and Draco takes her hand. "Now come on."
"Yeah, I'll be fine." They start walking towards Crabbe and Goyle. "Aw, people might think I am your girlfriend." Draco chuckles and Ursa gently shoves him. "It is not funny."
They reach Crabbe and Goyle. "Now what do we have here? Got yourself a girlfriend?" Crabbe asks.
Ursa rips her hand from Draco's and crosses her arms. "I told you." Ursa says and Draco rolls his eyes. "Nice to see you too Crabbe. Hello Goyle."
"How do you know who I am?"
"Do I really look that different?"
"That's Ursa you idiot." Goyle replies.
"Who?" Crabbe asks.
"Draco's sister!"
"Oh"
"I see you're still the brains of the group Dray." Ursa says with a quiet chuckle.
"I didn't know you were visiting this year." Goyle says.
"Well I was planning on visiting but then I got expelled from Ilvermorny."
Mr. Crabbe walks up to the children and speaks to Draco. "Happy birthday Draco."
"Thank you Mr. Crabbe." Draco replies.
"And who is this little lady?" Mr. Crabbe asks
"Ursa Malfoy, sir." Ursa replies.
"I thought you looked familiar. Its been a few years since I have last seen you."
"It probably has been. It is nice to remeet you sir." Mr. Crabbe nods once before walking away. Ursa spots the Minister for Magic walking in. "Oh God the Minister is here. Im getting nervous again."
"It will be okay." Draco reassures Ursa.
Narcissa sees the Minister heading towards Lucius and she walks over to Draco and Ursa. Narcissa whispers to Ursa. "Stand up straight."
Lucius motions them to come over and Ursa stands straighter. They walk over together. "Fudge, I believe you have met my family."
"Yes I have." Fudge replies. "Nice to see you Mrs. Malfoy. Happy birthday Draco, how old are you now."
"14 sir." Draco replies.
Fudge spots Ursa. "I don't believe I've met this young lady."
"This is our eldest, Ursa." Narcissa says. "She has been living in the States but returned home early this summer."
Fudge holds out his hand and Ursa shakes it. "I didn't know you had a daughter Lucius." Narcissa shoots Lucius a quick glare. "Cornelius Fudge, Mister for Magic."
"It is nice to meet you, sir." Ursa replies.
"And how old are you?"
"I am 14 too, but my 15th birthday is in three weeks."
"You and Draco are very close in age."
"Yes, a little less than a year." Narcissa replies.
"So are you going to Hogwarts this year?" Fudge asks Ursa.
"Yes sir, I will be a fourth-year with Draco." Ursa replies.
"How about you two go find your friends." Narcissa says.
"Yes Mother." Draco says before him and Ursa leave. Draco pats Ursa on the shoulder when they are far enough away. "You did great."
"Are you sure?" Ursa asks.
"Yes."
"Really sure?"
"Go outside and calm down."
Ursa nods and goes out one of the open doors. She moves down the porch so she is mostly out of sight. She leans against the stone wall and kicks her heels off. She lifts herself up and sits on the stone wall. She leans back against the pillar. She closes her eyes and breathes slowly. She opens her eyes a few minutes later when she hears heels on the stone porch.
"What are you doing out here Cub? And sitting on that?" Narcissa asks.
"I'm just calming down a bit. It is a little overwhelming in there." Ursa replies.
"What has you overwhelmed?"
"A lot of people I do not know, and who do not know who I am... or that I exist. I'm also disappointed Father did not announce me."
Narcissa sighs. "A lot of the people here are associates of your father."
"And he never talked about me. Therefore he did not want to announce me and admit he hid my existence, whether accidental or not."
"Yes."
"I did not surprise me when the Minister had no idea you had a daughter. He does realize people are going to find out when I go to school right?"
"Yes he does, but he is a stubborn man." Ursa snorts laughs. "Do you want to stay with me?"
"Please. Draco is with Crabbe and Goyle. I swear the longer I listen to them, the more brain cells I lose."
"Alright come on then." Narcissa holds her hand out for Ursa and Ursa takes it. She hops down and hears a tear.
"Shit." Ursa says.
Narcissa grabs Ursa's chin and gently forces Ursa to look at her. "We do not curse in this house young lady. Watch your language."
"Yes Mother. Im sorry."
Narcissa releases Ursa's chin. "Turn around." Ursa turns and Narcissa repairs the tear and cleans Ursa's dress off. Ursa puts her heels back on before Narcissa gently takes Ursa's hand and they go back inside. They go over to Mrs. Crabbe and Mrs. Goyle.
"I see you found her." Mrs. Crabbe says.
"Is that little Ursa?" Mrs. Goyle asks.
Narcissa chuckles. "Not so little anymore."
"I love your hair color! How did you do it?" Mrs. Crabbe asks.
"Thank you ma'am." Ursa replies before looking down and playing with her hands. "I did it first the Muggle way. And for the first year afterwards."
"Why would you use a disgusting Muggle way?" Mrs. Goyle asks.
"It was fun and it was the summer when I first did it. I also was not supposed to do it in the first place. Hair color changing spells seem not to work with Muggle hair dye.
"Still a trouble maker I see?"
"A little bit. I do it with magic now."
***
Ursa sighs and talks to herself as she sits in a chair to give her feet a break. "Really I would rather be upstairs all by myself not in this room with people who don't even know who the hell I am." A boy walks up to Ursa. "I don't dance, don't ask, I don't need a boyfriend. So you can go back. Please enjoy the party. I'll be here."
The boy walks away as Narcissa walks up. "What are you doing?" Narcissa asks.
"My feet hurt and I'm tired. Both physically and of people asking me who I am."
"Alright. You should try to dance and talk with someone. Meet some people before you go to school. It will be good to have the right sort of friends going in."
"Yes Mother."
***
Ursa smiles as she lays on her back on a blanket on the manor roof, looking up at the stars. She points her wand at the sky before casting. "Ostendi Constellati." In the sky, lines connect the stars to show the constellations.
Downstairs, Narcissa approaches Draco. "Have you seen your sister?" Narcissa asks.
"Not since you were talking to her earlier. Why?" Draco replies.
"I cannot find her. She disappeared again."
"If she is not in her room than I have no idea where she is."
Narcissa sighs as she draws her wand. "I really hope she used magic recently. Appare Vestigium." Gold light shoots from her wand and golden foot prints appear on the floor leading upstairs.
"Why not use a human-presence-revealing spell?"
"Everyone can feel it and I would prefer it if people do not think something is wrong. I will be back, hopefully with Ursa." Narcissa follows the footprints up three flights of stairs to a tower. She goes up another flight only for the trail to end at an open window. She furrows her brow until she sees the footprints continue outside. She sighs as she sees Ursa and she sticks her head out the window. "What are you doing out there?"
"I am just looking at the stars." Ursa replies.
Narcissa notices the makeshift stairs below the window and carefully climbs down them. She walks over to Ursa, careful not to go near the edge or look down. "Are you not scared of being up this high?"
"Not really. Well, as long as I am not near the edge."
Narcissa carefully sits on the blanket and looks up. "Why are there lines in the sky?"
"I forgot other wizards and witches can see them too. It's a spell. They are the constellations. See over there," Ursa points to Ursa Major with her wand and the lines get thicker. "That is Ursa Major." She continues to point her wand at the constellations as she says them. "Right next to it is Draco. That is Orion, I hear his belt is a waist of space." They both chuckle. When Ursa points her wand towards a specific star it appears bigger. "His left shoulder is Bellatrix. Lyra is there."
"I take it you like Astronomy."
"Not really. Just something I learned. I asked the Astronomy professor at Ilvermorny to help me find Ursa Major and we ended up finding everyone in our family. Well as far back as your father and his siblings and Lyra."
"How often do you come up here?"
"Often enough that I made stairs so I was not climbing the wall every time I went inside."
"What are you doing up here?"
"I got overwhelmed again. I would have gone to the garden to look at the stars but the party has made its way out there."
"You need to come back down."
"Alright." Ursa points her wand at the sky and ends the spell. Narcissa stands and holds her hand out to Ursa. Ursa takes her hand and stands. Ursa picks up and folds the blanket before carefully climbing up the makeshift stairs. Narcissa eyes them nervously before climbing back inside too. Ursa closes. The window and leaves the blanket next to it. They start the walk down to the ballroom. "I saw a woman who I assume is a reporter downstairs."
Narcissa groans. "That would be Rita Skeeter. She writes for the Daily Prophet. I do not know how much of it you read but if the story seems exaggerated, she probably wrote it. Her articles are usually based on false information and misreported interviews. It is usually satire about high-profile wizards."
"So us?"
"Yes."
"Oh great. So I may end up in the Daily Prophet before I even start school."
"Sadly you probably will."
Ursa groans. "Well let's just hope it is nothing bad."
"Well you have been behaving. Other than the roof and that little curse word earlier. Her and your Aunt Bella used to cause trouble all over Hogwarts."
"Auntie? Causing trouble? Never!" Ursa laughs and Narcissa smiles.
"You had better not follow in her footsteps at school."
"No promises."
Narcissa rolls her eyes with a smile and takes Ursa's hand before they walk into the ballroom.