Chapter One: Annual Malfoy Gala
There was a time when she would be kicking and screaming at her mother for forcing her to go. There was a time where she would have purposefully ruined the green satin gown she now dawned. She used to scream and cry, begging her mother to leave her home. If there is one thing you can always count on it's that everything changes.
Tonight Grace sat with cold hands together in her lap, staring blankly out the carriage window. Her dark brown hair fell in soft curls on her shoulders and around her face. Her grey eyes were blank and the moonlight through the small window shone brightly off her pale skin.
"You mustn't be so solemn, dear. It's not good for your complexion." An older woman said curtly from the far corner of the carriage. She, too, was dressed formally in a dark blue gown, long gloves, and lavished in large jewels. Her dark hair was in a tight bun which matched the women's demeanor of being uptight and proper.
"You know, I'm surprised you haven't tried anything yet tonight. What, are you waiting until we get closer to humiliate me in as many ways as possible?" Grace looked from the window to the woman, her eyes now bright with rage.
"No." Her voice was clear and strong, not one to be reckoned with. The woman gave her a self-satisfied grin and eyed the rings on her fingers.
"Good. There will be no exceptions this time. I will not go easy on you." Grace looked back to the window and swallowed the anger she felt rising in her throat. Now wasn't the time.
The carriage pulled up to a stop in front of the familiar house and the doors opened. Men dressed in butlers suits helped her and her mother out and led them to the doorway. It was the same as Grace remembered it to be. The large white house with the oversized marble steps leading to the crystal doorway; she did revel at the architecture but the reasons for her to be at this marvel were still enough to dampen the beauty. Her mother held her head high and walked through the crowd, getting welcomes and compliments. Grace walked behind her, her face blank, only nodding at the people who commented to her.
"Abigail! So glad to see you made it!" A tall, white-haired woman held her arms wide and embraced her mother in a warm hug.
"Of course! I wouldn't miss this party for the world!" Abigail spoke sweetly which made Grace swallow down more anger.
"And who is this? This can't be little Grace?" Narcissa moved toward Grace, her arms open. Grace let the woman hug her and forced a small smile on her lips.
"You've grown up a lot, just like my Draco." Narcissa said, holding Grace at arm's length.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy." Grace said robotically. Narcissa smiled and returned to Abigail, striking conversation about the latest goings-on. Grace let her smile fall and allowed her eyes to wander the room.
It had been three years since she had been to the Malfoy Manor. Tonight was the annual Malfoy Gala that she had been forced to attend since she was ten years old; it was a social status thing that allowed her mother to get her foot into everyone's business and make her opinions heard. Her mother wasn't the wealthiest of women, but she had a powerful name and used it often.
She heard an annoyingly piercing laugh she knew belonged to Pansy Parkinson. Near Pansy was Blaise, Goyle, Crabbe, and of course, Draco. Grace glanced at her chatting mother and headed over to the group.
"Hey! Gracey, it's been too long!" Pansy squealed at the sight of her. The other turned and gave her nods of welcome.
"As I was saying," Draco continued, clearly annoyed with having been interrupted, "the Minister asked me to go get the guy because Potter couldn't. I thought it was because Potter was out on another detail, but it was because he was taking Weasley on a date." Everyone laughed. Grace stared at Draco and noticed him shift under her gaze.
She had heard that things had worked out for the best for her friends after the war. She had witnessed the forgiveness of Harry Potter when he convinced the Ministry to give her mother only probation. He had done that for everyone except a select few she couldn't argue with. Grace did not know, however, that everyone was working together at the Ministry.
"Apparently he asked her to marry him or something." Blaise commented.
"Good for them. Now maybe I could get some good cases!" Draco laughed. He glanced at Grace and straightened his back.
"Oooh! This is my favorite song!" Pansy squealed, taking Blaise's hand and pulling him to the dance floor. Crabbe and Goyle took the opportunity to sneak off to the buffet leaving Draco and Grace alone.
"Hey." He said carefully. He looked her over with suspicion and caution. Grace stared at him blankly and forced another smile.
"Hey." Without breaking her gaze she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray.
"So did you know that Potter and his group are here tonight? Mother's idea." Grace's brow furrowed as she took a large gulp from her drink. Draco smiled wearily at her and sipped his own.
"They aren't that bad once you get to know them." Draco shifted his weight and sighed, "There's a party down by the lake for our age. It would be more fun than this political cesspool." Grace nodded and Draco set their glasses down on the table beside him. He smiled and grabbed her arm, leading her nonchalantly out of the grand room and through the back garden.
"Hey Draco! What took you so long? Oh, I see, a girl." Seamus laughed, sipping beer from a bottle.
"That's cute!" Minnie squealed. Grace pulled her arm from Draco's grasp and grabbed a beer.
"I'm Grace. Nice to meet you." She shrugged off her dress jacket and sat on a large boulder. Draco reached to grab the jacket that had slid onto the floor and glanced at her back.
"You have a tattoo." He said in surprise.
Grace glared at him over her shoulder, "So do you." Draco felt his temper rising and chose to distract himself with the other people at the small gathering.
"So how do you know Draco?" Minnie asked Grace.
"Family arrangements." Grace answered curtly. Draco couldn't help but smile, she didn't want to announce it either. After an hour Draco and Grace walked back to the Manor, knowing their parents would be looking for them. As they walked back in to the ball room Narcissa called to them from across it.
"Draco, dear, are you ready to make the announcement?" Narcissa asked him as she straightened his jacket. He gave her a small nod and ran a hand over his slicked-back hair.
"What announcement?" Grace asked while looking from Draco to Narcissa and landing on her mother's smiling face. Her heart fell to her feet.
"What? You're not announcing an engagement are you? I thought we weren't going to do that?" Grace whispered, almost unable to contain her anger.
"I'm just as happy about this as you are, Grace, so shut it." Draco hissed. Grace's eyes sparked but she chose to bite her tongue. She watched him walk onto the small stage and gather the crowd's attention.
"I have an announcement to make! Grace Hilde and I are to be married on the 22nd of August! You are all invited!" Draco held his hand out to Grace as the crowd clapped in congratulations. She reluctantly stepped on to the stage beside Draco and let him wrap an arm around her waist. They both smiled and portrayed happiness to the guests. After a few moments Draco thanked them for their attention and walked with Grace off the stage.
"That wasn't that hard." He whispered to her. She glared up at him and pushed his hand off her waist.
"Neither will be killing you if you touch me again." She threatened.
"You know you can't do that." Draco teased with a smirk.
"Doesn't hurt to dream." She said through clenched teeth.
The party soon ended and, as always, Grace and her mother were one of the last ones to leave. As Grace headed out onto the front steps she saw trunks sitting on them. She took a closer look and gasped, completely unable to keep a lid on her fury.
"MOTHER!" She screamed and stormed back into the ballroom. Abigail turned to face her fuming daughter and smiled.
"What are my trunks doing on their front steps?" Abigail stepped to her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, did I not tell you dear? You'll be staying here until the wedding. That way you and Draco can get better acquainted." Abigail grinned when Grace's face went pale.
"What? Why do I need to know him? I'm marrying him, isn't that enough?" Grace fought back tears of anger as she yelled at her mother. Narcissa was standing in front of her with a look of apology on her face.
"Why can't you just be honest? Why can't you just tell me the damn truth for once in your fucking life?" Grace continued to scream. Draco walked in from the back garden and looked at the three women.
"What's going on?" He asked. Narcissa rushed to him and grabbed his arm, putting him in front of her slightly.
"Grace has just been told about her staying until the wedding."
"She didn't know?" Draco looked to Grace and felt sorry although he didn't let himself show it.
"You will not use that sort of language with you mother!" Abigail warned. Grace stepped closer to her mother and squared her shoulders.
"You're not a mother. You're just some bitch who decided to have a child to get further up the popularity pole. Fuck you." Grace spoke in a dangerously low tone, almost too low for Narcissa and Draco to hear. She spat at her mother's feet and stormed past her and into the back gardens. Abigail took a moment to compose herself then turned to Narcissa and Draco with a smile.
"She'll calm down once I'm gone. She always throws little fits when things don't go her way." Narcissa smiled and hugged Abigail goodbye. They watched the carriage pull away and once it was enveloped in the darkness at the end of the drive they shut the doors to their manor.
"Well that went well." Draco said, smiling at his mother. She rolled her eyes and began to laugh, Draco joining in.
"That went a lot better than I thought it would. At least she waited until all of the guests were gone before blowing up." Narcissa said.
"Is it just me or has her vocabulary increased in the past few years?" Draco commented. Narcissa nodded which started a new wave of chuckles between the two.
"Ah, maybe you should go get her and show her where she'll be staying." Draco nodded, his smile fading, and headed out to the gardens. He walked towards the swing behind the rose bushes instinctively. He turned the corner around them and saw her swinging lightly, her back to him. In nothing but the moonlight Draco couldn't help but notice how broken and beaten down she seemed. He slowly walked behind her and pushed the swing gently.
"You." She whispered after glancing towards him.
"Me." Draco replied, pushing the swing again.
"How did you know I was here?" She asked.
"You always come here after fighting with your mom." Draco pushed the swing harder this time, making it swing farther off the ground.
"What do you want Draco?" She asked after a few seconds, pounding her heels into the ground and stopping the swing. Draco stepped out from behind her and squared his shoulders.
"I'm supposed to show you your room." Grace thought for a moment before grabbing her shoes and agreeing to follow Draco back into the Manor. They walked through the ballroom being cleaned by a dozen house elves, to an oversized staircase to the third floor, and down the quiet hallway to the fourth door on the left.
"My room is at the end of the hall if you need anything." Draco said as he opened the door for her. She stepped in and admired the rich green carpets, silver trim on almost every piece of dark wood furniture, and even the large black satin bed looked welcoming. She turned to Draco and gave him a small smile.
"Thanks." He nodded and started to shut the door, stopping at the last.
"I promise no one will bother you while you're here. We are just as happy about this as you are." With that he closed the door completely and Grace let her defenses down. She fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands, her makeup smearing and her gown staining with salty tears. Draco stood outside her door for a few minutes, listening to her cry, and felt sorry for her for the second time that night.
"Go to bed, Draco. She'll be better in the morning." Narcissa said behind him. He glanced at her then nodded and headed to his room. With one last glance at her door he shut his door on the entire night and its events.