The Malfoys ### Before Hogwarts opened for the new term, Snape stood in front of an imposing manor in Wiltshire, his expression complicated as he looked at the grand building before him.
Malfoy Manor had once been one of the liveliest places around. Many famous wizards in the Wizarding World had been regular visitors.
But that was all in the past. Ever since Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy had been sent to Azkaban, no one had been willing to come here. The place was quiet and deserted every day, and even unsightly vines had begun growing over the walls, which had once been spotless.
Snape was one of the few wizards still willing to come here.
Today, he was here to attend the wedding of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass.
It was, in a way, rather astonishing. Snape had never imagined that Old Greengrass would agree to let his daughter marry this disgrace to Slytherin.
Yes, a disgrace to Slytherin.
Just as the Weasleys were called a disgrace to pure-bloods, Lucius's steadfast support for Hogwarts at the Ministry of Magic had earned him the bitter hatred of the other Death Eaters.
Coupled with their earlier actions, the title had naturally fallen upon the Malfoys.
But the Malfoys seemed not to care. Lucius and Narcissa had no choice, while Draco had made no attempt to explain himself either.
In fact, he had barely been seen anywhere for quite some time. The last time Snape had seen him seemed to have been months ago.
Snape mused to himself, glanced down at the parchment in his hand, then walked straight into the relatively tidy manor.
It was only relatively tidy because the weeds had clearly just been cleared, but whoever had done the work was inexperienced and had failed to remove them completely.