a/n: BRACE YOURSELVES. This chapter may have to be read several times before it is understood. 

Emery searched every nook and cranny for Cecilia, mentally preparing herself for a conversation she knew she'd never be ready for. 

How was she going to tell Cecilia that her mother had died?

Why was she given the responsibility?

Emery had no answer to these questions. It seemed as if fate had thrown her into a pit and laughed at her face.

While she was searching the library, she saw a familiar figure, noting it to be Rabastan Lestrange.

Emery walked up to him, and tapped him on his shoulder.

His featured molded into those of concern. 

"Fowl?" he said in his metallic, smooth voice. "How may I help you?"

"Umm," she began, her voice shaky and soft, "I wanted to ask if you'd seen Cecy."

"Oh," said Rabastan. "She went to the Ravenclaw common room," he said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, okay, thanks," she said, then bounded off to the Ravenclaw tower.

On reaching, she saw Cecilia sprawled on her bed, reading a thick book, a quill and parchment beside her.

"Cecy," Emery started, not raising her voice. This was the moment she dreaded. Her voice was shaky, her eyes red. "Cecy, I need to talk to you."

Cecilia turned to face Emery, alarmed by the state of her. Her eyes were all red, her cheeks pale.

"Em?" questioned Cecilia, her head turning up from her book. "Em, what's wrong?"

Emery burst out into tears. "Cecy, please forgive me. I'm really sorry," Emery sobbed.

"Em? Please, tell me what you're talking about," said Cecilia, getting up from the bed. 

Emery handed her the letter and brought Cecilia into a hug. "M-mama w-wrote to m-me," she cried. "She- She said... She said that- Aunt Del, oh, Cecy," she broke out, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Aunt Del what?" said Cecy sharply. "Emery?"

Emery shook her head, wailing. 

Cecilia uncrumpled the letter and read it, her features molding into shock and disbelief.

"No, no, no, no," she said repeatedly. "It's too early" she said, pacing across the dormitory. "IT'S TOO SOON!" she shouted at Emery.

"HOW DARE YOU SHOW ME THIS?" she yelled at Emery. "HOW DARE YOU?" she screamed, raging, throwing things across the room.

Emery broke into uncontrollable howling. 

"Cecy," she said in a small voice. "Cecy, what are you saying? What happened to you?"

"SHUT UP!" Cecilia growled, walking forwards to Emery. 

"Cecy," Emery persisted, touching the shoulder of her cousin, whom she considered a sister. "Cecy, please," she begged, her voice lowered to a whisper.

Cecilia's eyes flashed, looking at Emery.

"You have absolutely no clue, don't you?" she spat at Emery, her featured carving into a sort of twisted smirk. 

"W-what?" whispered Emery. 

"Tsk, tsk," said Cecilia. "Pity. So naïve, so oblivious," she said. "And here I thought you were sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason," she continued, glaring at Emery.

Cecilia let out a cold laugh.

Emery paled. "Cecy," she whispered. Emery was terrified. Cecilia was gone, leaving a monster in her place.

"Don't," Cecilia growled. "Call me Cecy."

Emery let out a sob.

Cecilia hummed, then laughed again. She advanced closer to Emery, lowering her voice down to a whisper. 

"You're scared, aren't you?" she smirked, looking at Emery's expression. "Of me."

Emery gulped. 

Cecilia laughed again. "As you should be," she whispered.

The younger girl inched further from her cousin, wondering what on earth had possessed her.

Cecilia flashed her eyes. 

"I am glad she died," Cecilia said softly, almost as if Emery never heard it. "But at the same time disappointed," she continued.

Emery listened quietly, thinking that her ears were deceiving her.

"I'm upset, because she knew. She knew all this time, and didn't even think to tell me," began  Cecilia. 

"She had secrets. Secrets that concerned me. She knew why her husband left her. She knew everything," Cecilia finished with a snarl.

"What?" asked Emery, not believing her ears.

Cecilia sighed.

"You wonder why I'm glad she died, right?" she asked, turning to face Emery.

Emery nodded slightly.

"Because she wasn't my mother," said Cecilia. "She lied. She lied to me all my life," she said. "She didn't even feel guilty," she spat. "Not one bit."

Emery gasped. 

"Shocked, aren't you?" Cecilia asked, chuckling. "That tends to happen."

She huffed.

"You see, dear Emery," Cecilia said, "My mother didn't die of dragon pox. She was murdered."

"What?" said Emery, tears pooling in her eyes. "But Mama said-"

"That's what everyone thinks. That she had dragon pox. But they were wrong," said Cecilia. "And now, I will explain why."

 "Months ago, before the summer break ended, my mother, or should I say, Delilah, got a letter," began Cecilia.

She stopped pacing and sat on the bed, facing Emery. 

"I saw the letter on her nightstand. It was signed by Elanor." She paused. 

"Then I asked myself who Elanor was," she continued. "When I opened the letter, I was surprised. It was a threat."

"A threat?" Emery echoed. 

"Mhmm," hummed Cecilia. "It said 'Give me my daughter back. Our contract has ended. If you do not, then you will face the consequences.' After reading it, I wondered if it was a mistake. But Delilah's name was clearly inscribed in the back. That's when I knew, Delilah was never my real mother," Cecilia said bitterly. 

"My real mother was this woman called Elanor," Cecilia said.

"But why didn't you say anything?" asked Emery. "All summer, why did you act as if everything was fine?"

"Because I wanted to make sure I was right. So during the night, I searched the archives for my birth records. There was nothing about me being a Wood. Instead, I see a contract of exchange," said Cecilia. "From Elanor to Delilah."

"Who is Elanor?" blurted Emery.

Cecilia smiled. "I'm getting there," she said. "The contract said that Elanor gave a daughter to Delilah, in return for keeping a secret between them."

"What secret?" asked Emery, listening carefully at every word Cecilia spoke.

"A secret that Elanor was having an affair with someone other than her fiancé. She was pregnant," said Cecilia. "With a girl."

Emery looked at Cecilia sharply. 

"Delilah, by then, had married Roger Wood. But she couldn't have children, because she was cursed by Elanor's brother," added Cecilia.

"Why?" the blonde asked. "Why did Elanor's brother curse Aunt Del?"

"Because Aunt Del had refused to marry him and humiliated him in front of all the purebloods," said Cecilia. 

"Oh," said Emery. "So because she refused to marry him, he cursed her."

"Yes. And Roger Wood divorced Delilah when he found out she couldn't have children," confirmed Cecilia. 

"And because Delilah couldn't have children, she told Elanor that she would take her first daughter in return for keeping the secret," said Cecilia. 

"Elanor agreed to Delilah's contract, since she was desperate, but she had a miscarriage. A year later, her fiancé claimed he didn't want to marry her, and instead, she was engaged to the man she had an affair with."

Emery sighed. "That meant that Elanor's secret didn't matter anymore, right?" she asked.

"Yes. But the contract still stood. Elanor made a mistake in signing the contract, because a year later she was pregnant with a boy. But Delilah wanted a girl. So another year later, Elanor had me, and I was given to Delilah."

"That's unfair," pointed out Emery. "If Elanor married her lover in the end, then the contract should also end."

"Delilah was delighted, and she ignored Elanor's protests that the contract didn't mean anything anymore. But Delilah was persistent. She was set on keeping the contract, and didn't feel guilty in the least for taking a child away from it's mother," said Cecilia sourly. 

"What happened then?" asked Emery. "Why after all these years did the truth finally come out?"

Cecilia sighed. "It has been going on forever. Every birthday of mine, Elanor sent a letter to Delilah, claiming to return me to her. But Delilah burned the letter each time, ignoring Elanor completely."

Emery scrunched up her nose, wondering how all of this was right under her nose and she never noticed. Aunt Del was acting weird every birthday of Cecilia, and Emery didn't realize. 

Cecilia began speaking once more, "Until my sixteenth birthday. Delilah had gone to St. Mungo's for a checkup, and saw Elanor there, who worked as a healer. Unknowingly, Elanor poisoned Delilah, until she gave me back, she would die slowly everyday."

Emery gasped. "So Elanor murdered Delilah?" she asked.

"Yes. But Delilah was given a choice. If she gave me to Elanor, Elanor would give her the antidote. If she didn't, then she would die," said Cecilia. "Delilah chose to die, thinking that I had no clue about anything. But I knew. I knew each and every one of Delilah's secrets."

"How did you find out?" asked Emery. "About all of this?"

Cecilia smirked. "Because when I found the letter, and the contract, I wrote to Elanor, claiming that I found her letter."

Emery's eyes widened. "You wrote to Elanor?"

"Yes," confirmed Cecilia. "And Elanor wrote back. She told me everything, whatever I just told you, and she explained her plan to kill Delilah," she continued with a sigh.

"So you knew all along that she was going to die?" inquired Emery.

Cecilia nodded.

"Does this mean we're not cousins?" Emery asked shakily.

"No. We're not related at all," responded Cecilia.

"But aren't we going to go home together for Christmas?" Emery queried.

"Now that Delilah's dead, I have no reason to go back there," said Cecilia with a smile. "Of course I consider you my sister, but it's not my home anymore, not after I've found out everything," she stated.

"Will you stay at Hogwarts then?" Emery implored. "Where will you go?"

Cecilia looked at her feet. After thinking for a while, she spoke.

"I will stay with the Malfoys," she finally said.

"Why the Malfoys?" Emery whispered.

"Because I'm a Malfoy," said Cecilia promptly. "Daughter of Elanor and Abraxas Malfoy. Younger sister to Lucius Malfoy. I'm Cecilia Malfoy. Kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

a/n: this took so long to write. it was literally a roller-coaster....

this was my plan from the very beginning...

Cecilia Malfoy.. What do you think? After writing The Hat, I will move on to Gardenia: Cecy's Story.. where the details of this plot will be written.. The first few chapters are published and can be found on my profile.

i'd also like to thank all those new readers who have given this story a chance.

please vote, comment, and share.

love, elsie