A Fic I Never Wrote
Talking with Alec, I was telling him about a fic I never wrote, and never will. Might as well post it here and get it out of my system. And yes, I know I haven't been around for ages, and I'm not exactly sure why I'm here now.
In '1975', the soon-to-be Death Eaters, Roland 'Rolly' Wilkes and Florence Jorkins were engaged in an obviously doomed romance. Since the only canon mention of Wilkes was that he was killed. Wilkes's mother was Lucius Malfoy's aunt, but she'd long since distanced herself from the Malfoys. And when it was announced her son had been a Death Eater, she posthumously disowned him. Never spoke of him again, destroyed his belongings etc. To some extent, she was probably afraid of Crouch suspecting she was somehow involved.
When she was informed that, before dying, her son had had a liaison with Florence Jorkins, also now accused of being a Death Eater, and that Florence was pregnant, she denied any connection to the child, or responsibility.
Florence wasn't sent to Azkaban immediately. They waited till she'd delivered her child, then sent her there. And she died very soon after. The Jorkins took the baby girl, named her Marika after her maternal grandmother, and decided her best chance for a normal life would be to send her to live with her relatives in Albania. Marika turned out, to everyone's shame, to be a Squib. Most of the family thought this was logical enough. That the illegitimate daughter of parents who had done such terrible things was suffering for her parents' deeds. A curse on their offspring.
However, they brought Marika up decently enough, preparing her to live in the Muggle world, where she could get on better. No one else worried about the girl, certainly not the Malfoys. Until her grandmother Lucasta Ganelon, nee Malfoy, having outlived her second husband, died, and unexpectedly left her whole estate to her only grandchild, the hardly known Marika Jorkins.
Lucasta's first husband, Roland Wilkes Sr., had died penniless, but her second husband had done very well for himself. It was then that the Malfoys decided that they really needed to extend a helping hand to their dear cousin.
The Malfoys' fortunes were at a very low point. Lucius was narrowly avoiding Azkaban, and the alliance with the Dark Lord had financially ruined them. Well, dear second cousin Marika was just a little younger than Draco. A squib, unfortunately, but you can't have everything, and perhaps she could be disposed of later. The Jorkins family in England is dead now, and hasn't any real friends. Same with the Wilkses. Wouldn't it be splendid if Draco could marry his cousin and save the family's fortunes?
Marika being a Squib, she really couldn't put up much resistance, if she were to be forcibly detained. One would just have to be careful the Aurors didn't hear about it. Draco privately also thought that it'd look very well, very open-minded of him, when the marriage was announced. If the marriage produced children who failed to be magical, on test, they would need to make arrangements, of course. But plenty of Squibs have had magical children. And it's not as if they'd be letting muddy blood into the family.
They don't count on one person, however. A young man with something of a sacred charge to watch over Marika. A duty inherited from his father, as his grandmother will remind him.
When Marika was born, detained somewhere in a Ministry cell, an Auror promised Florence that at least, he would see her child was safe. It was the last thing he could do for a girl he'd once liked, in the days when he'd been a prefect in Slytherin, and she was one of the brightest prospects in the House. He took the baby to Florence's sister, Bertha, to make arrangements for the child.
He took the baby to Florence's sister, Bertha, to make arrangements for the child. Bertha wanted the child christened right away, before her very unbelieving father intervened. Bertha being a very respectable woman, if not really devout. So, Marika Jorkins was christened soon after her birth, with Bertha Jorkins and Frank Longbottom standing as her godparents. He never saw the girl again. Later, he presumed, she'd be back, and he'd have to take up that responsibility. But there wasn't a later for him.
When Frank's mother, however, read in the Daily Prophet that Lucasta Ganelon had finally kicked the bucket, and left Frank's goddaughter in a tricky position, she was very quick to inform Neville that it was absolutely his family duty to take on Frank's obligation.
Neville at first assumed that this meant dropping in to say hello to Marika, and asking her if she needed a tour of London, since she was new. Maybe sending her a Christmas card once a year.
But then Marika disappears, soon after arriving in Britain, and Neville has to find her, before something awful happens.
As for Marika, she's not entirely sure what's going on. She accepted the Malfoys' invitation to visit, but they won't let her leave. Still, she wants to know all about her father. Her family never mentioned him, and here, Lucius and Narcissa are quite eager to oblige.
Of course, it all ends with Neville rescuing Marika, but the above is as far as I plotted.
In '1975', the soon-to-be Death Eaters, Roland 'Rolly' Wilkes and Florence Jorkins were engaged in an obviously doomed romance. Since the only canon mention of Wilkes was that he was killed. Wilkes's mother was Lucius Malfoy's aunt, but she'd long since distanced herself from the Malfoys. And when it was announced her son had been a Death Eater, she posthumously disowned him. Never spoke of him again, destroyed his belongings etc. To some extent, she was probably afraid of Crouch suspecting she was somehow involved.
When she was informed that, before dying, her son had had a liaison with Florence Jorkins, also now accused of being a Death Eater, and that Florence was pregnant, she denied any connection to the child, or responsibility.
Florence wasn't sent to Azkaban immediately. They waited till she'd delivered her child, then sent her there. And she died very soon after. The Jorkins took the baby girl, named her Marika after her maternal grandmother, and decided her best chance for a normal life would be to send her to live with her relatives in Albania. Marika turned out, to everyone's shame, to be a Squib. Most of the family thought this was logical enough. That the illegitimate daughter of parents who had done such terrible things was suffering for her parents' deeds. A curse on their offspring.
However, they brought Marika up decently enough, preparing her to live in the Muggle world, where she could get on better. No one else worried about the girl, certainly not the Malfoys. Until her grandmother Lucasta Ganelon, nee Malfoy, having outlived her second husband, died, and unexpectedly left her whole estate to her only grandchild, the hardly known Marika Jorkins.
Lucasta's first husband, Roland Wilkes Sr., had died penniless, but her second husband had done very well for himself. It was then that the Malfoys decided that they really needed to extend a helping hand to their dear cousin.
The Malfoys' fortunes were at a very low point. Lucius was narrowly avoiding Azkaban, and the alliance with the Dark Lord had financially ruined them. Well, dear second cousin Marika was just a little younger than Draco. A squib, unfortunately, but you can't have everything, and perhaps she could be disposed of later. The Jorkins family in England is dead now, and hasn't any real friends. Same with the Wilkses. Wouldn't it be splendid if Draco could marry his cousin and save the family's fortunes?
Marika being a Squib, she really couldn't put up much resistance, if she were to be forcibly detained. One would just have to be careful the Aurors didn't hear about it. Draco privately also thought that it'd look very well, very open-minded of him, when the marriage was announced. If the marriage produced children who failed to be magical, on test, they would need to make arrangements, of course. But plenty of Squibs have had magical children. And it's not as if they'd be letting muddy blood into the family.
They don't count on one person, however. A young man with something of a sacred charge to watch over Marika. A duty inherited from his father, as his grandmother will remind him.
When Marika was born, detained somewhere in a Ministry cell, an Auror promised Florence that at least, he would see her child was safe. It was the last thing he could do for a girl he'd once liked, in the days when he'd been a prefect in Slytherin, and she was one of the brightest prospects in the House. He took the baby to Florence's sister, Bertha, to make arrangements for the child.
He took the baby to Florence's sister, Bertha, to make arrangements for the child. Bertha wanted the child christened right away, before her very unbelieving father intervened. Bertha being a very respectable woman, if not really devout. So, Marika Jorkins was christened soon after her birth, with Bertha Jorkins and Frank Longbottom standing as her godparents. He never saw the girl again. Later, he presumed, she'd be back, and he'd have to take up that responsibility. But there wasn't a later for him.
When Frank's mother, however, read in the Daily Prophet that Lucasta Ganelon had finally kicked the bucket, and left Frank's goddaughter in a tricky position, she was very quick to inform Neville that it was absolutely his family duty to take on Frank's obligation.
Neville at first assumed that this meant dropping in to say hello to Marika, and asking her if she needed a tour of London, since she was new. Maybe sending her a Christmas card once a year.
But then Marika disappears, soon after arriving in Britain, and Neville has to find her, before something awful happens.
As for Marika, she's not entirely sure what's going on. She accepted the Malfoys' invitation to visit, but they won't let her leave. Still, she wants to know all about her father. Her family never mentioned him, and here, Lucius and Narcissa are quite eager to oblige.
Of course, it all ends with Neville rescuing Marika, but the above is as far as I plotted.