Silent Rain

"Argh!" I threw myself on the floor and sulked, not caring that my mother would have a fit if she knew that I was dirtying up my robes.

Charlotte was sitting in the corner, thinking.
"What's the matter with you?" I snapped. "Don't you realize that we're stuck in a closet?"
"Yes," she said calmly.
"Than why aren't you throwing a fit?!"
"Do you have a wand?" she asked slowly. I had no time for this; I was a Malfoy and I wasn't used to be kept waiting this long.
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you have a wand?" she repeated. I pulled out my father's old wand that he had given me to practice with. She quickly grabbed it from me and pointed it at the door. I laughed at her, scoffing, "You think you can actually do magic? We're only nine!"

She glared at me and replied, "I've seen Elizabeth do this one all the time. Whenever she gets locked in her room as a punishment, she sneaks out to meet boys."
I didn't really believe that she could do it, but I watched out of curiosity anyway.
"Alohomora!" A blue speck flew out of the wand, but nothing happened.
"Ha ha! Told you that you couldn't do magic! You're only nine," I laughed as Charlotte sulkily handed me back the wand.
"You're nine too!" she insisted.
"Yes, but that's different," I continued, "first of all, you're a Chang and second, you're a girl--" By the time those words came out of my mouth Charlotte jumped at me, grabbing my throat and violently shaking me back and forth.
"You miserable little wench!" she screamed pushing me against the closet door, "How dare you talk about me and my family name that way! Why... I'll... I'll... I'll kill you!" And with that, she grabbed the wand once more. "Aveda Kedavera!" This time, nothing happened at all.
I made the mistake of laughing again.

"I don't need magic to kill you!" she growled. "I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Before she could deface me with her tiny claws, there was the sound of a lock opening, and light flooded into the closet.
"Charlotte Angelique Chang!"
I guess she was so busy trying to kill me that we didn't hear the door open to see that our parents had found us.
"Uh oh..." she muttered, letting go of me. I scrambled to my feet and hid behind my mother's dress. Mr. Chang grabbed Charlotte by the ear and dragged her out of the closet. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Never in all my life have I ever been so disgraced at the Malfoy's Mansion!" he scolded her. Charlotte folded her arms, her violet eyes wet. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop rebelling at other people's Manors? Why, don't even get me started over at your uncle's house! You almost killed Draco in his own home for crying out loud! What's next--turning in Lucius and I for being Deatheaters?! If you ever want to please the Dark Lord, young lady, you'd better start being a little more obedient! One more time you cause a ruckus in this Mansion, you'll be sorry!"

When he finally let Charlotte go, she stamped away into the ballroom.
I snickered as I continued to hold on to my mother, but then, my father pulled me by the collar. "The same goes for you, Draco. Now, go off and show a little more hospitality towards Miss Chang."

At first I was reluctant to go and find her, but when my mother had asked me to do it, I submissively went. I found her over by a table and angrily stuffing her mouth with breadsticks. When she saw me, she glared and turned her nose in the air. I rolled my eyes, grabbed her by her black robe and pulled her out the back door, leading to my mother's prized garden.

"And where are you taking me?" she asked snootily.
"You'll see," I muttered. It was a pretty long walk to get her where I wanted her. There were many flowers in the garden, but there was only one type of flower that was good enough to impress me. They were located at the dampest, deepest, darkest part of the plot.
"Look at these!" I pointed at a bunch of black roses sprouting from the ground.
"So what?" Charlotte pouted. "My mum has those too. But they're red instead of black..."
Ugh, this girl was hard. "Then feel the petals," I commanded. She stared at me as if I were crazy. "Go on! Feel 'em!"
With the tip of her index finger, she stroked the petals. "It feels like velvet," she mumbled. She straightened her back and added, "It's nice."
"They take five autumns to grow," I explained like an egghead. Truth was, I had only memorized the lectures my mother had given me. "But during the other seasons they have to be kept somewhere damp, dark, and cold."
Charlotte merely nodded.
"You can have one if you want." I had forgotten that these were my mother's favorite flowers and she would have a hissy fit once she realized that one of them was gone.
"It's okay."
"No! Take one." I reached down to pick one up, accidentally pricking my hand. I grimaced as I pulled out the thorn. I was finally able to pull it out when I found a part of the stem without thorns.
"Here," I said shyly, offering the black rose to Charlotte. The roots were still clinging to the stem and dirt was crumbling off with worms wriggling around.
But Charlotte grinned skeptically and took it. "Well, thank you, Draco Malfoy."
Just then, about seven people came rushing in the garden. It was my mother, my father, Mr. and Mrs. Chang, Elizabeth, Marcus, and Thomas. The kids were smirking at Charlotte and me with a look that said quite clearly: "BUSTED!"

My mother screeched, "My roses! My dear, dear roses! Draco! You know that mummy doesn't like her roses being picked at! What in the name of Merlin possessed you to take one?! And for evil's sake, what have you done to your robes? It's just a good thing that Elizabeth and Marcus knew what you two were up to!"

They had been watching us and had apparently told once we went near the roses. Charlotte sheepishly hobbled up to my mother and handed her the rose. "Much apologies Mrs. Malfoy."
Seeing the dirt smeared rose, my mother burst into tears. I didn't know that she could get so worked up about just one little flower.

"Draco," said my father gravely. "You are in so much trouble." I saw Charlotte try to sneak away, but Mr. Chang's voice rang out. "Don't think that you'll be getting away with this, Charlotte."

"Uh-oh," we muttered at the same time.

Later that night, after everyone left, Charlotte and I each got a dozen whacks to the back of our legs and backs with our fathers' steel staffs. I was happy I wasn't Charlotte during our beating.
The smooth, silver serpent on my father's cane didn't seem as painful as the pointed, gold dragon on Mr. Chang's. It left several cuts on Charlotte's leg.
I gritted and bore it while Charlotte was going on with a full-fledged bawl. "It hurts! It hurts! IT HURTS!"
When the Chang family was about to leave, Charlotte whispered slyly to me, "Until next time, Draco." She actually wasn't too bad.

Balls like this went on throughout our lives and each time, we managed to get into trouble, get a beating, get teased by the older kids and Thomas, and avoid Pansy Parkinson.
We stayed friends even up until our first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.