Nobody was surprised at all when Cerise Zabini and Draco Malfoy began dating in the summer of their third year at Hogwarts. They were only young - both only fourteen - but in the eyes of Lucrezia and Narcissa, it couldn't have come sooner.

Lucrezia Zabini was a woman of power. She was yet to settle down - and doubted she ever would - and being several centuries old only contributed to this. It was safe to say she was never to be prosecuted for the various murders she committed, and instead her focus changed to the legacy she left behind.

Or in her case, legacies.

Born on the 18th of September, Blaise and Cerise Zabini were - of course - twins. Which meant Lucrezia not only had her latest husband to deal with but two babies. And that was hard enough in itself, and to the surprise of everyone but herself, Lucrezia decided to move to Wiltshire from her château in France or her villa in Italy.

It was a change, from the lack of sunshine and warmth to the unfamiliar surroundings, but as a prestigious, rich and influential pure-blood witch, Lucrezia knew how to play her cards right.

Several years before she moved permanently, she had been contacted by Narcissa Malfoy, who had once been her friend during younger years. The Zabini woman was soon in the pocket of none other than Lord Voldemort, who had once begrudgingly admitted his approval of her immortality endeavours, and used her various skills to further his reign of terror across Great Britain and various other countries.

And that became very useful when it came to her return to England, because as soon as she did so, Narcissa Malfoy became her closest companion, Lucius often at the Ministry or by Voldemort's side until his downfall and leaving her alone with their son, Draco.

It was mere days into their friendship, the two women drinking rose tea on the lawn of Malfoy Manor with year-old Draco and Cerise playing in front of them - Blaise had fallen asleep on his mother's lap - that they decided the two would be destined for each other.

And it seemed they were correct.

The frieendship continued through childhood, a tutoring group being formed amongst other pure-blood children to begin their required knowledge as heirs of prestigious families, which was where Blaise, Cerise and Draco were joined by Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, as well as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle - neither of which were smart enough to actually participate and soon became their so-called bodyguards. Mostly Draco's goons, really.

When it came to beginning their time at Hogwarts, they already knew what path they were heading for. Slytherin - all were legacies, all were ambitious, intelligent, determined and very much proud of who they were - was clearly the house for them, and they would stick together through absolutely all means possible.

Of course, there were a couple bumps in their road, Harry Potter, for example, seemed to be hellbent on proving they were all just as evil as each other when Draco just wanted to be friends with him - that seemed to set the course to how the group would be viewed for the rest of their Hogwarts lives.

They would lean into it, after all, instilling power and reputation was in their blood and was merely fun for them.

Their first year came to an end with a mixture of disappointment and strongly-worded language towards Dumbledore, and their when their second approached, it became a lot more interesting. The heir of Slytherin was at Hogwarts, and something was going round petrifying muggleborns. Which was, of course, perfect for the group of friends.

But of course, those deeper into the inner-circle of Death Eater produced heirs and hieresses already knew just who was behind it. Draco had told them, whispered the fact behind raised hands about the Basilisk, the diary of Tom Riddle and that Lucius had slipped it into the hands of Ginny Weasley.

Their third year came with the escape of Sirius Black, and whilst there were rumours of him coming straight for Harry Potter - yet again - Cerise had chosen her O.W.L options - Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures, also deciding this was her year to join the Slytherin Quidditch team, her position as Draco's best friend and her status as a Zabini making her the only girl on the team.

It was their third year that they began to mature even more. Cerise became even closer with Draco than before. She helped him when Buckbeak cut his arm, spent evenings studying in the library together, the girl even managing to convince him to come and see if Madam Puddifoot's was as bad as everyone said.

And when the summer came, the days were spent in the grounds of Malfoy Manor, and Lucrezia and Narcissa found that their dreams had come true; Draco and Cerise were dating.

They were each other's first loves, and for a while it seemed like this could be their forever. Thhe couple got on like a house on fire, and the chemistry between them was undeniable. Draco had always been a tricky character - but Cerise was even worse. But somehow, the fates had brought them together, and it was only a question of whether they would succeed, or if they would implode.

For now, they seemed successful. The rest of the summer was spent lounging around the lap pool with it's magical heat, or walking through the rose garden and sneaking out to meet up beneath the gazebo.

August came, and Cerise found herself stuck in the middle of the forest surrounding the camping grounds of the Quidditch World Cup Final, bored out of her mind as she waited alongside her boyfriend whilst the the remaining Death Eaters did their work. She had never been too bothered by the idea of being so close to the followers, but she was just as shocked when the Dark Mark appeared in the sky.

That wasn't expected, at all. And it became obvious that it was the spark to set off the many things that happened next.

Her fourth year was quite simply bizarre; the Triwizard Tournament came to the school and she spent her year with a 'Potter Sucks' badge attached to her jumper and wholeheartedly supporting Cedric Diggory, she saw her boyfriend be turned into a ferret, then returned to human again before attending the Yule Ball alongside all their friends.

But unlike the shock that had prevailed upon seeing the Dark Mark at the World Cup, she already knew about Voldemort's return before Potter came back with Cedric's dead body and sending the entirety of the Wizarding World into chaos.

Of course, plausible deniablity was a blessing in these times, because despite being very much aware of Voldemort's presence, they should act as if this was a completely outrageous claim and side with the Ministry and the Daily Prophet, actively protesting against Dumbledore and laughing when they found out Potter had a disciplinary hearing.

But they wouldn't be laughing when they began to attend Death Eater meetings and came face to face with Lord Voldemort himself. That was terrifying.

Their return to Hogwarts found the group facing a new regime; Professor Umbridge had joined the school and was exercising the power given to her by Cornelius Fudge, turning the school and it's rules on its head with obvious favouritism shown to the Slytherins.

And when it came to their O.W.Ls, it was only a matter of them doing well - which Cerise did. But that was overshadowed by the revelation of Voldemort to the rest of the world following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Which also saw Lucius imprisoned, a twist that neither her nor her boyfriend saw coming. And with their status broken and Voldemort looking for ways to punish Lucius for his mistakes without him even being present, he turned to the Malfoy boy.

It would be this focus that pushed Draco over the edge, towards a darker fate than once prophesied, and the ultimate expolosion that ruined the only stable thing in his life: Cerise Zabini.

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