Disclaimer: I do not now, nor will I ever, own any part of the Harry Potter universe. It's JK Rowling's world, I just like to play in it.

A/N: This story is the direct result of a fascination I've always had with the idea of Draco Malfoy having a sister. I've spent many hours searching this site and others for stories to satisfy this interest, but come up a bit short. I finally decided that since I want to read this particular story so damn bad, I had better just write it myself. I'm extremely busy at the moment (taking GMAT, applying to business schools, working 60+ hours a week, caring for new puppy…) so all time I spend writing this is a detraction from all the things I should really be doing. As such, I will rely heavily on support and encouragement from reviews, in order to keep posting. Also, I don't speak any French so the little French you'll see in this fic is all courtesy of Google translate. I apologize in advance for that. Moral of the story: if you want more, please say so in the comments box!

Le Recommençant

Chapter 1

Summer 1989 – Malfoy Manor

"Gemini! Geeemmmiiinniii," Draco yelled. "Come on Gemi. It's no fun when you play the scared, hiding muggle. Come out and face your doom."

The sound of a branch breaking above him alerted Draco to the location of his prey, but it was too late. No sooner had he looked up to try and spot Gemini than he felt his feet swept from under him and himself flying up in the air, having been caught in his sister's trap.

"Ha, muggle trumps wizard today!" exclaimed Gemini, jumping down from the tree above.

"A muggle did not win, Gemini. You did, so wizard still trumps muggle. Now put me down, before I tell Father you were singing muggle praises."

"Oh, posh! You would not tell father on me. If you did, I'd end up getting extra lessons as punishment and wouldn't be able to play with you" Gemini retorted still enjoying having the upper hand.

"Let me down, Gemi. This net is dirty. Where did you get this thing anyway?" whined Draco.

Beginning to untie the rope anchoring the trap, Gemini responded, "I found it in the barn while I was playing 'scared, hiding muggle'. You're lucky I'm so nice, because it was way dirtier when I found it. I actually hosed it down before laying this trap. I figured you might be a bit annoyed if you ended up wrapped in horse dung."

"Yes, how 'nice' of you," Draco muttered as he landed in an ungraceful heap on the grass below.

"Well, looks like my mercy has worn off and I'm bored with this game. I always win anyway. Let's go see what Dobby has for snacks," Gemini called over her shoulder, stomping back towards the house without waiting for a response. Draco rolled his eyes as he dusted himself off and followed behind his unruly sister.

The late afternoon sun shone through the kitchen bay window, casting an orange glow about the room as a team of house elves tittered back and forth preparing the afternoon tea. Dobby caught the young Malfoys at the door, halting their entrance into the immaculate kitchen.

Taking in their dirty and disheveled appearance, Dobby exclaimed, "Young master and mistress are dirty and must wash up at once! Your mother is expecting you in the drawling room for tea at any moment and will be very upset to find you have ruined your new robes."

In a manner which belayed years of practice, both children moved to stand squarely in front of Dobby and held their arms out to their sides to give the small elf complete access to their tattered clothing and mud stained cheeks. With a snap of his fingers and a wave of his hand, their clothes began to sew themselves together and rearrange into their original states. Taking first Gemini's hands and then Draco's, Dobby erased the dirt from their nail beds and cleaned the mud from their faces.

"That's better. Now you better report to your mother or she'll come looking for you," Dobby squeaked.

"Or worse, she'll send Father looking for us…" Gemini whispered to Draco as they moved in the direction of the drawling room.

Tea with their mother progressed as many had before it. Narcissa liked to begin the afternoon ritual by taking in her children's appearances, making sure to point out any flaws so her children would grow into the finely groomed purebloods they were.

"Gemini, I told you yesterday and every day before that to leave your hair down! Why must you insist on piling your beautiful hair into that unsightly mop on top of your head?" exclaimed Narcissa.

"I'm sorry, Mother. I had pulled my hair up while Draco and I were playing. I forgot how much you like it down," muttered Gemini whose steel gray eyes were staring intently at the Oriental rug below her.

"Yes, playing outside… You know your father would have me believe you and Draco do too much playing and not enough studying," their mother tsked. "Take a seat."

After adjusting the napkin in her lap and pouring herself a cup of tea, Narcissa turned to Draco, "Draco, comment vont vos études en français? (Draco, how are your French studies going?)"

While her brother began an unsteady but flowing dialogue in French, Gemini frantically tried to remember her go-to French phrases and the principle conjugations she would need in order to trick her mother into believing she was making even half the progress her tutor, Madame Leroy, said she was. It had taken Gemini a mere week to convince their latest tutor that complying with Gemini's wishes was best for everyone involved. It had been rather easy to feign the necessary bruises and make up a convincing story of how 'Madame Leroy's negative reports to her parents had caused her father to fly into a rage and give her twenty lashings then push her down the stairs.' Madame Leroy had been so horrified that no matter how badly Gemini continued to butcher the language, Leroy would give the elder Malfoys positively glowing reports of Gemini's progress. The story even helped to improve Draco's marks, as Leroy worried that negative feedback for him could meet the same end. Of course, Gemini had elected not to tell Draco about the leverage she had gained with the tutor, so Draco continued to make an effort in the lessons.

Satisfied with Draco's progress, Narcissa turned to Gemini, "Gemini, votre tuteur dit que vous faites de grands progrès. Le trouve cela difficile à croire, car votre dernier tuteur a été d'avis que vous n'obtiendriez jamais la fluidité. Qu'est ce qui a changé?"(Gemini, your tutor says you are making great progress. I find this difficult to believe, as your last tutor was of the opinion that you would never obtain fluency. What changed?)

Having only caught the words 'tutor', 'progress', and 'change', Gemini stared blankly at her mother for a moment. Rather than answering immediately, she pretended to choke slightly on the scone she had been nibbling and erupted into a coughing fit. With Draco smirking in the chair next to her, Gemini took a sip of her tea, cleared her throat and said, "Oui, mère, vous prenez beaucoup de progrès sur l'étude en français. Madame Durand était un tapis et Madame Leroy mange du fromage."(Yes, mother you are taking much progress on French study. Madame Durand was a carpet and Madame Leroy eats cheese).

Straining a smile at her mother, Gemini took another sip of her tea. Narcissa raised an eyebrow at her daughter's unintelligible response and said, "Yes, well it does appear this conversation is best continued in English. I suggest you redact whatever ridiculous story you have told Madame Leroy and begin paying attention in those lessons. Generations of Malfoys have learned French to honor their French ancestry and you will be no different. Your father has even threatened to send you to Beauxbatons if you do not take your studies seriously."

"No!" exclaimed Gemini, "I will go to Hogwarts! Draco and I will both go to Hogwarts. We will be in Slytherin and win the house cup and Draco will be Seeker and I'll be a Chaser and…" Gemini puttered off, looking pleadingly at her mother.

Leaning in, Narcissa patted Gemini's hand gently and said, "That sounds wonderful, darling. Pay attention in your French lessons and all of that may come to pass." She quietly returned to her tea and observed the stunned expression on both her children's faces with a small upturn of her lips.

Summer 1991 – Malfoy Manor

"Father please! Please don't make me go to that awful school! All I've ever wanted was to go to Hogwarts and be a Slytherin. To make you and Mother proud. Please!" pled Gemini with tears threatening to spill down her flushed cheeks.

Seated behind his desk in his study, Lucius peered at his eldest child over the rim of his firewhiskey tumbler and said, "The decision has been made, Gemini. You will go to Beauxbatons, you will master French, and you will learn to live independently from your brother. The two of you are much too close. As it is, I fear my failure to separate you earlier may have already doomed Draco to a Hufflepuff fate. I will not stand for it."

Lucius paused then added, "Generations of Malfoys have attended both Beauxbatons and Hogwarts and excelled. Beauxbatons has a fine reputation for churning out well-bred, sophisticated pureblood women and that is just what you need. Despite your mother's and my best efforts, you have become a wild, untamed girl with a penchant for trouble and a talent for dragging your brother into it as well. Just look at yourself! Why, if the Notts were to pay an unexpected visit right now your mother and I would be scandalized for you to be seen in such a state. No, this is for the best and I will not listen to anymore arguments from you about this. Now go to bed and do not bring this up again."

Gemini opened her mouth to argue further, but a stern look from Lucius silenced her rebuttal. Standing and walking silently to the door of the study, Gemini paused with her hand on the handle and turned slightly towards her father choking a reply, "Send me to Beauxbatons if it pleases you, but do not pretend this is for me or for Draco. I'm not blind. France will be an excellent hiding place for your accidental first born. Goodnight, Father."

Not waiting for a response Gemini fled the stifling study and quickened her pace towards her room. The tears which had threatened to pour over in the study were flowing freely now. At the top of the grand staircase she veered left towards the children's wing. In her room, she walked towards the vanity and took in her appearance. Her usually fair complexion was red and blotchy and her eyes were blood shot from crying. Her platinum locks fell to her shoulder blades in waves, but were tousled and sticking up in places. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a small twig in her hair just behind her left ear, most probably a souvenir from the game of hide and seek she and Draco had played earlier that day. The thick bushes flanking the manor had provided excellent coverage. The right shoulder cuff of her white sundress was ripped slightly and the backside of the dress covered in mud from the fall she took while trying to avoid being tagged.

While she normally would have had Dobby clean her up before entering the house, Narcissa had cancelled afternoon tea in favor of a luncheon at the Parkinson home and both Lucius and Narcissa had been away for dinner with the Minister. Gemini and Draco rarely saw their father outside of meal times so it was a surprise when Lucius entered the children's wing at 9 o'clock calling for Gemini.

"This is all my fault!" Gemini whispered to herself. "If I had only let Dobby clean me up a bit, perhaps I could have convinced father I'm not so unpolished. He's right. I look like an common muggle."

With this, Gemini did what she had wanted to do since her father had told her she would never be a Hogwarts student. She flopped gracelessly onto her large bed, clutched a pillow to herself, curled up, and cried.

Sometime later, Gemini heard a soft knock on her door. "Gemi, let me in. Father's just told me the news," Draco called from the hallway. When no reply came he continued, "Come on. Let me in, Gemi. I know you must be even more upset than I am. I don't want you to be alone."

Inside the room, Gemini sat up in bed and tried to gain a semblance of control before heading towards the door. Standing at the door with her forehead pressed against the dark wood and one hand on the knob, Gemini whispered, "He's sending me away, Draco. (sniff) He's sending me away because I'm not good enough. (sniff)"

"No, Gemi! You're plenty good enough! Now open the door and let's talk about this without a piece of mahogany between us" Draco demanded.

Standing up straighter, Gemini took a couple deep breaths and finally unlocked the door. Before she could even turn the knob, Draco had barged in and wrapped her in a hug. The show of support from her brother was too much and the fragile composure she had managed to collect before opening the door instantly shattered. Clinging to Draco, she sobbed.

The next morning Dobby arrived to wake Gemini for breakfast and found the two children fast asleep on top of the covers of Gemini's bed holding hands. Having heard the rumor of the latest turmoil within the Manor, Dobby decided to let the children sleep a little longer. Their days together in such youth were now numbered.