Welcome to Hogwarts Beginnings

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

The clock had just struck nine at night when Adalisa Michelle-Allaire Malfoy chose to grace the Slytherin Commonroom with her presence. The dinly lit, but well furnished room's silence was broken by the sound of metal hitting wood, and then metal on plush carpet, as her Italian shod feet made their way across the room. There was little other sound, save an occasional long-suffering sigh that escaped the girl as she surveyed the area.

it would seem that whoever assembled the decorations had an odd eye for green. Ivy colored sofas, forest green overstuffed pillows, moss carpets... she glanced toward the fireplace, and a grateful sigh escaped her as eyes laid on a natural, fiery colored flame. She had half-expected the fire too, to be of green coloring. Despite the monotone, the furnishings where of good quality, Ada decided, cool blue eyes passing over the elegant coffee tables, the large book-cases. She couldn't help but noticing that all the book bindings where green though, and she rolled her eyes at nobody in particular: at this rate she would be dreaming green.

It was a rather inconstant critisism though, as she herself was adorned in dark green robes. Velvet of texture, and with lining of black and silver, she reminded herself having caught a glimpse of herself in the glass covering of the bookshelf. She new she aught not to, but she did anyway. Carefully and meticulously, Ada examined her reflection in the glass. She had to admit, she was pleasing to the eye. Pale skin covered high cheekbones and a slightly upturned nose, and eyes the color of a clear sky cooly looked back at her. Mirror-Ada fingered her locks of white-blonde hair at the same time as the real one did, locks that fell around her waist in a brilliant cascade of light. Even the green robes fit well on her slim and petite body, they fell to the floor, ending barely above it and allowing tiny black Italian made shoes to peek out from below. Ada smiled at her reflection, unable to keep a sort of satisfaction in her gaze.

But the happiness dissapated barely moments later, as her mother's nasal voice filled the ears of her memory. "Adalisa dear. You know how horrible a thing vanity is, and really I'm beginning to worry as to your own modesty." Ada's face contorted in a look of disleasure. Her mother's preachings often jumped out at her like that, at the most unoppertune moments. But she was right... vanity was not becoming. Ada tore herself from her reflection, and went to sit amongst the overstuffed chairs and divans.

Once again, she surveyed her surroundings before moving. She examined each and every chair from her position standing among them, before selecting on that suited her. It was green (big suprise), and stuffed with two moss colored pillows. Slightly overdone, but comfortable enough. Ada
descended onto one of them with the air of a bird coming to land. Perched in her position, she folded ivory-gloved hands upon her lap and stared idly into the fire. It wasn't like she had much else better to do.

[+Cobren Malfoy]

September nights were getting longer again, the darkness of the sky creeping in ever earlier and the Sun's grip on the land was weakening quicker, the last of her fingers releasing the world and slipping from view over the horizon. The half moon carried herself on high, ruling over her velvet kingdom with a radience that Cobren found so much more appealing than the glare of their sister Star. Such was the way of his appearance that he fitted into the shadows like one of them and such was the way of his personality that he felt perfectly at home in the dark. Cobren Malfoy smiled out of his dorm window in silent acknolegment to the celectial being before turning and leaving the room, just as the clock in the common room above struck nine.

Scaling the stairs and reaching the door to the chamber beyond, Cobren heard someone pacing about inside already and, opening the door, slowly, found it to be the one person he would enjoy spending time with. About to announcing his presence, he found himself stifling a laugh as Adalisa checked her reflection scrutinously; it was the one folly he could pick out in her, the obsession of appearance, even when no one was about. After a while she wandered about the room before choosing a seat to sit in, though she did everything with such grace that it seemed more like she was allowing the chair the liberty of her presence. He chose that moment to enter the room.

Walking around the back of the chair wordlessly, Cobren chose a chair opposite her with a small varnished coffee table between them and seated himself in it.

"Ada, you have a hair out of place," he teased.

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

The voice that fell upon her ears was a tad to familiar to disturb her with it's teaing. Ada lazily turned in her chair to face her older brother, a rare true smile on her lips. The dancing lights of the fire had tatooed themselves into the back of her eyelid from looking at them directly, so she blinked a couple of times in an almost owlsih manner. Though of course, nobody would dare compare it to that. Her nose wrinkled at a thought... her brother would most definitely dare.

She gingerly placed a gloved hand over her hair, as if to truly check for a hair out of place, but a similarly teasing look was on her face as she did. But of course, there could be a hair that was out of place, and Caboran could have noticed... Her eyes strayed momentarily to the reflective surface of her shoes before rolling her eyes at her own folly and looking away.

"Well, I suppose that if I have a hair out of place, you don't have a hair in place." This too was a teasing comment, but with a grain of truth. Her brother's appearance was rather like a constant thorn in her side. Of course she understood that he had a certain mussed up appeal, but he needn't pretend the family didn't have a good brush to it's name.

She settled back into the chair, slightly more at ease, and looked around the green commonroom in an almost good-natured way. As if to say, Well, we're here again.

[+Cobren Malfoy]

Her tease only made him more likely to join in the verbal fencing match with renued vigor, but today Cobren was feeling more lazy than usual. The fact that she checked for a loose hair while trying to disguise the act with a mocking smile only served to prove his point. Again. Countless times the two of them had bickered playfully over their opposing opinions of appearance and countless times they had agreed to disagree, as in the end, they were both right; Ada looked sublime with her angelic appearance and Cobren's somewhat ruffled exterior gave him a charm that over laid his other wise nasty attitude to most people. An attitude that Ada need not fear; his respect for his sister was deep rooted and fierce.

"My hair is perfect, little one," he joked, with an air of true mirth. Usually one to scoff rather than chuckle and sneer rather than smile, Cobren felt different around his sister. Calling her little one was a little ironic as she was almost as big as he was now and only a year younger, but he knew it would probably annoy her, so it was on the cards for a most used phrase.

Cobren knew that look too, the 'all over again' look and he felt the same. The Castle was a good place to be and, although they were happy at home, it was just different at Hogwarts; so much to do, so many people to push around. So little time to do it all...

"Any news from home?" Cobren hadn't recieved any start of term mail yet, but sometimes the mail came addressed to them both so it would just depend on who the owl found first. He liked to avoid the owls as he knew Ada hated animals and teasing each other was yet another pastime that, well, passed the time.

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

Ada shook her head, resigned to her ever present title. She had decided that the only way to discourage her brother's name-calling would be to take an Aging Draught and grow a few white hairs. But as she was in no hurry to do such a thing, she simply accomadated his teasings.

At the mention of mail, her nose immediately took on it's trademark wrinkle, and she sniffed daintily. He knew very well what she associated with mail, and what with those horrible birds and feathers, and... she shuddered at the thought.

"You know perfectly well that I asked mother to send things to you. I simply won't have those winged... animals landing amidst breakfast. It's unsanitary, that what it is." Her voice took on a slightly scolding tone, though of course she wouldn't really reprimand her brother. It was simply those... ugh! And near her food. She fidgeted with her gloved hands, she was rather certain that any mail for her would be delivered to the owlery. But nobody would catch her there! Not among the hordes of owl and bats and whatever other horrors resided in the tower. She remembered the encounter her first year in which she'd ventured there alone... luckily her brother had come up and rescued her. She couldn't help it, she simply froze up amidst those vile, vile creatures.

"If there is any mail it would be in the owlery tower. And your welcome to retrieve it as I won't be going anywhere near there anytime soon."

[+Cobren Malfoy]

Horde was a fitting word for the creatures in the owlry and she was like a field mouse to them. Ada hadn't had the greatest of experiences in the owrly when she first came to the school; he was in his second year, already gaining infamy with the students, learning the ways of the school quickly and gaining knowledge of it's secret passage ways and chambers. Cobren remembered how he had spent that whole year chasing her up, not to tease, but to protect; she may be a world class suck up, but not all bullies like to be sucked up to and the last thing Cobren wanted was his little sister in trouble. An interesting year to say the least, trying to watch over her without anyone realising he feared for her, for that information could have been his all-too-early downfall.

Her response came quickly, as if it were a pre-ordained reply, ready to be used at a moments notice or as if she saw it coming. The latter seemed more likely.

"Well I might just do that. Might even bring you something back. You know, as a gift..." his voice trailed off, the term gift referring all to obviously to a certain feathery form of flight.

"What of Master Slytherin? I hear he reprimanded a student earlier for running? I do hope it wasn't you, Ada."

Cobren knew as well as she did that it would never have been her. Ada did not run, she glided around with pride and extreme delicasy. The taunt was designed to coax out the events of the day past; Cobren idolised his House's leader and founder and any news of him was like golden currency to him.

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

Ada stiffened for a moment at the mention of a feathery present, then simply rolled her eyes. Despite all her said, she was certain her brother wouldn't dream of such a thing. She had realized early that things where different between the two of them, things that where entertaining with others held no appeal when she was with her brother. It was like having an alternate frame of mind, one specially made for family.

"Professor Slytherin..." Spoke the name rather like one would the name of their greatest hero. And it was not suprising, as to her the head of house and was in such an elevated position. She looked properly horrified at the suggestion that she might get into trouble with her idol. Innocent blue eyes widened, expression horror at the very idea.

"you know very well such a thing-" She began indignately, before realizing that once again he was teasing. It was quite upsetting, that she still took him seriously once in a while. She shook her head plaintively, and managed to look upset as she delivered her next words with heartfelt anguish.

"It wasn't I, but another girl,(bless her soul) who managed to fall foul of him. Miss Goldenrod... I believe the poor creature's in your year." Her voice simply dripped with sincerety and pity, but there was something almost too sympathetic in her expression as she refolded her hands primly on the seat.

[+Cobren Malfoy]

That name struck a chord... Goldenrod... Cobren remembered the meeting with Lily days before and the her image was emblazoned on Cobren's mind. To hear that Salazar had picked her out to reprimand publicly made Cobren angry for a moment, before he realised who is was who had done the deed. The head of house would have had a good reason to punish one of his own, so Cobren brushed it aside until they would meet next.

"I know Lily, she's a good lass. She has class, though she may not show it too often. Just like me."

Cobren supresse dthe real meaning behind the three words with a grin, turning the comparison between the two of them from a hint at his feelings for her into a tease at his sister again. Ada was his best friend in the entire school, country, planet. He knew he could tell her anything and she would understand, but this... this was secret, fragile. He had to keep it safe for now.

"And you don't fool me, little one, I can see the look in your eyes. You think she deserved it?"

It was not an angry enquiry; the two of them fought like any sibling couplet, but very rarely. No, this question was simply for the continuation of conversation.

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

Ada's nose wrinkled back up, and her appearance turned from sympathetic to digust as her brother defended the Goldenrod girl. She was not unaware of her brother's friendship with her, and it was easy to tell that she did not approve of it. it seemed to her that the other girl tried to take Ada's place beside Cobren. The place that only she, his sister should have. With his words, he had changed the girl's standing in Ada's mind. Goldenrod was being demoted from an annoyance to a rivalry: and that was most definitely not a compliment, or gesture of respect.

Lips curled into an expression of disdain as Cobren saw straight threw her display of pity. Pale eyes narrowed in an expression of annoyance that was not directed at her brother, but rather at the memory of the Goldenrod girl. And with a smirk, she replied.

"Oh, she most defintely deserved it. Running through the halls like that?" She sniffed. "I almost died of embarrasment, being in the same house as her. You could tell Professor Slytherin was just as upset. She's really sullying our reputation, behaving like that." What went unspoken was that Ada was glad for the other girl's misstep. It knocked her down a notch in the professor's eyes, leaving Ada as high-standing as ever. And that was almost all that mattered.

Except... Her eyes narrowed a bit more, this time the look was directed almost at Cobren.

"I really can't bring myself to approve of your association with her." She added, sighing remorsefully. Her expression once again shifted, towards a look of being genuinely upset. Her eyes widened a bit, and she willed them to glaze over.

"There where times when I was all the company you needed." A twinge of jealously rang ,though it could easily be mistaken for sadness. Ada was bitter. No stupid fourth year was stealing her brother from her. No-one. And if it meant she would have to poison him from that horrible Goldenrod girl, then so be it.

[+Cobren Malfoy]

Her expression was unreadable; there were so many emotions crammed into her eyes. Anger, pity, jeaously to name but a few. Cobren expected the tone of his sister's voice as she talked about Lily, even found himself hoping to hear it; Ada was a pillar of unmoving, unflinching strength and he admired her resiliance. If she were to change, ever, he wasn't sure how he would cope without her infallible logic to guide him in times of need. Though the elder, though her protector, Cobren was always the one asking for help from Ada, not the other way around.

What he didn't expect was the tone of her voice as she directed it at him. No longer was it teasing, or sarcastic, or even fond, now it was accusing. Sharp words he was unguarded against cut him deep and he felt their remorse inside himself. She was actually scared of losing him to someone else.

"Ada, no one could ever take your place. No matter what happens, you will always be first and foremost, above and beyond all others. You should know this, I should not have to remind you, sister."

Surely she must understand what she meant to him. The emphasis on the last word proving his point; even if he wanted to disregard her, the two of them were bound by blood and heritage. Nothing and no one would ever separate them.

Ever.

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

Ada at least had the decency to appear embarrased. The sickly-sweetness drained from her voice and appearance. Instead there was just a young girl terrified of losing her brother. She even wrung her hands in a most unlady-like manner, a habit she had thought broken and which clearly signified her current emotions. She knew of course, that what her brother and she had was untouchable, above everything else. But still... one who sits on a throne long enough cannot help but suspect and upsurer. And the looks she had seen exchanged between Cobren and "the Goldenrod Girl" seemed to her paranoid eye something akin to... well... something that threatened her position.

But that was ridiculous, and her brother had just affirmed that. Nobody, especially some stupid girl, was going to ruin what they had. And if it came down to it, Ada wasn't going to allow anyone to even try. Of course, that was not for telling. Not even to Cobren.

"Of course you don't" She replied, in an almost even tone to his words. It had always been true, why shouldn't it be now? That's what she told herself, what she allowed herself to tell him. Even as she nurtured a jealously.

"I'm just tired from the ride. And all this green is beginning to give me a headache. Remind me, was it this bad last year? She deftly turned aside from the subjects she did not care to discuss, and waved a hand at their moss colored surroundings. Silver and green... it was all one could see, along with the snake engravings that seemed to be everywhere.

[+Cobren Malfoy]

A change of subject and of tone told Cobren that Adalisa was content to leave the subject for now. But it also told him that not all was through and he knew this would surface again some day soon. It was a distance into the future, howwver, so he let it slide and followed his sister's path. It was true, the decorations could drive a person a little mad, green and silver forced upon you twenty-four hours a day. And the snakes. Everywhere, snakes and serpents coiled their way aroud the fireplace, around the chairs, around the tables.

"You're right, it is a little over the top. Perhaps the house elves got a little carried away? It needs more silver and less green. I think you need a rest, little one, the ride always takes it's toll on you."

[+Adalisa Malfoy]

[[Ah! I totally forgot this one!]]


Ada nodded, in a manner that seeme almost weary. With a final roll of the eyes around the dominantly green room, she slipped from her chair and stood up. Robes that where already immaculate where smoothed over, and without there being a real cause, she picked a non-existant bit of lint from her sleeve. She smiled tiredly over at her brother.

"I suppose it is about time for me to retire." She winkled her nose at the room decorations.

"That house-elf should be punished by locking them up in here a few hours." It was a humorous idea, but unfortunately, Ada did not say it all in jest. Seriously, she considered dragging one of those dusty impertinent creatures in there and spelling it to a chair for the rest of it's life. (which assuredly wouldn't be very long) But of course, she couldn't touch one of them. Perhaps she'd have Cobren do it... Her thoughts where interupted by a yawn. The dainty, perfect sor that can be covered with a ladylike hand lifted to the lips.

And on that cheerful note, Ada left the commonroom. A brief hug for her brother, and a whispere "goodnight" wheren't formost on her mind though. The destruction of to things had been placed at the top of her agenda that night. The house-elves, and Lily Goldenrod.