Would Godfather really bully Aunt Narcissa?!
Estelle's eyes went wide. She leaned so close her silver hair brushed Draco's cheek. "No way!"
Draco pressed a finger to his lips, glancing around like a spy. "It's true," he whispered dramatically. "Last year I had a nightmare and woke up to Mum crying really quietly. When I made a noise, she stopped… but it sounded like Dad had covered her mouth."
Estelle stared at him, unblinking, growing more shocked with every word.
"But… Godfather and Aunt Narcissa seem so happy together," she murmured.
She had only been at Malfoy Manor one night and one breakfast, yet even she could feel the warm affection between Lucius and Narcissa. Draco's serious face, though, didn't look like he was making it up.
"I… I don't know either," Draco admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I got brave once and told Dad he shouldn't bully Mum anymore. He just gave me this really long look… and then moved their bedroom all the way to the far end of the third floor!"
"Anyway," he finished, suddenly stern again, "you absolutely cannot sleep in a boy's room anymore. It's dangerous."
His expression was so earnest that Estelle nodded automatically. "Okay…"
But the second the word left her mouth, her little face crumpled. Draco noticed immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Not even with my brother?" she asked, frowning in genuine distress.
Draco's ears turned pink. His gaze darted away. "Th-that's… of course I can't sleep with you either! I'm a boy too!"
Mammon, who had just woken up and was padding lazily down the stairs, caught the last sentence the moment he reached the dining room. The big misty-blue cat stretched, strolled over, and rubbed against Estelle's ankle. She reached down automatically and stroked his ears.
"But…" After a moment of petting, Estelle rested her chin on her hands, eyes lowered. "I have skin hunger. If I don't get to touch someone, it starts to hurt really badly…"
"After Dad left, Mammon used to sleep with me every night. Now that I have a brother, I thought…"
"Meow~" Mammon chimed in at the perfect moment. He really didn't want the Malfoy brat taking over his job… but the boy's touch clearly worked better than his own fur ever could. After all, Draco was a pure-blood wizard, and the older the bloodline, the more valuable it was to a Belling. As for the only witch in the manor—Narcissa—Mammon decided he'd find a good moment later to reveal he understood every word of human speech. He was *not* spending another night listening to the newlyweds!
If they'd tried asking Narcissa to sleep with Stelle, Lucius probably never would have agreed to Brian's request in the first place.
*Ugh. Right now, the stinky little Malfoy really is the only option.*
"Skin hunger?" Draco tilted his head, a stray platinum lock falling across his forehead.
Estelle didn't know how to explain it properly, so she gave him the simplest version she could. Luckily Draco was clever; he caught on quickly, brow furrowing in concentration.
He sat up very straight, thought for a long moment, then spoke with solemn determination—ears flaming red. "In that case… from now on, you can sleep with me. But only me. No other boys, ever. Understand?"
Estelle's eyes sparkled. "Okay!"
The little dragon who had just won the argument lifted his chin like a conquering hero and ruffled the silver hair he'd combed so carefully that morning.
"What are you two whispering about?"
Lucius's calm voice floated down from the staircase. Both children turned at once. Narcissa wasn't with him.
Draco was used to it, but Estelle remembered their earlier conversation. "Godfather, where's Aunt Narcissa?"
The question came out fearless and innocent. A flicker of discomfort crossed Lucius's face, but the moment he looked at the soft little girl, his voice gentled. "She's feeling a bit under the weather this morning. I'll have Dobby take her breakfast upstairs. Don't worry, sweetie."
The way the stern man used Narcissa's pet name made Estelle shiver.
"Dad bullied Mum again," Draco breathed almost silently into her ear.
Lucius didn't catch it. He simply raised a questioning brow—*What?*—and Draco, well-trained in his father's presence, immediately sat ramrod straight and shook his head like an angel who had never spoken a word.
With Brian's letter as reference, Lucius officially approved Estelle and Draco sharing a bedroom. Narcissa chose a larger room on the second floor for them, complete with a king-size bed big enough for ten little Estelles. Mammon's luxurious cat bed moved downstairs too; no longer forced to eavesdrop on the couple every night, the cat's permanent dark circles finally vanished.
Lucius also summoned Draco to his private study for a long talk. No one ever learned what was said, but Estelle soon noticed several small potion vials tucked neatly in the corner of their new room. They smelled exactly like the inhibitor she used to drink back at Belling Manor.
The skin hunger that plagued every Belling grew sharper and more painful the closer they came to their fifteenth birthday. Over the centuries, the family's potion masters had perfected a special suppressant to spare their heirs that monthly agony. Brian had entrusted the exact formula to Lucius so Estelle would never have to suffer again.
Time slipped by gently. Before anyone realised, five whole months had passed.
It was the eve of Christmas.
This year, Malfoy Manor had been decorated ten days early—not just for the holiday, but for Estelle's birthday party. Lucius had decided it was the perfect moment to introduce Estelle Belling to the most influential pure-blood families.
It was a win-win: the Malfoys would strengthen their alliances, and the last heir of the ancient Belling line would finally step into wizarding society under the protection of the Malfoy name.