"You have to understand, Draco," said Lucius Malfoy, twisting his pale and slender fingers together as he looked up at his son sitting across him. "But father, I do not want to get married," protested the young boy. "I already have a-" "You will do as you are told," interrupted Lucius, a hint of anger in his voice that threatened Draco to stay quiet. "You will do as you are told and marry the girl your mother and I chose." He waved his hand and Narcissa Malfoy entered with a girl behind her. Draco decided to get a good look at his soon-to-be wife.
The girl was probably a sixth year-a year younger than him. She had brown eyes and long dark brown hair parted slightly at the side. She was wearing a dark red dress that reached her knees and had large sleeves. The absence of her robes made it hard for Draco to confirm what house she came from, but he was perfectly sure she was not a Slytherin, as he had never seen her before. But he knew better to not complain.
"This is Cecilia Edith Diggory," announced his mother. "Have you got the ring, Narcissa?" asked his father. "Yes, here it is," his mother said as she opened a green velvet box to reveal a beautiful silver ring with a serpent engraved on it and an emerald placed on top.
Cecilia said nothing, and instead stared at the ring. "Draco," Lucius gestured to the ring. Draco took it from him and knelt down in front of Cecelia, who was still expressionless. He reluctantly took her soft left hand and slipped the ring into her fourth finger. "Well, now that that is sorted out, let's talk about your wedding," said Lucius as he got up and started to pace the room. "The wedding will be after a week, and held here at the Malfoy Manor. As you know, the reason this wedding is arranged is because the Dark Lord needs an heir in a year's time, because when we win the battle, he needs someone to be devoted completely to him besides Bellatrix. He has entrusted us, the Malfoys, with the honor of representing him with an heir. So, Draco, you and Miss Diggory here are going to be the parents of the heir." He stopped pacing. "You both will share one dormitory. Draco, you are Head Boy and Miss Diggory here is a Prefect. Nobody will say anything because sometimes Head Boys and Girls share their dormitories with Prefects. Now that everything is cleared, the two of you will take the Floo Network to return to Hogwarts. Snape will show you the way."
Cecelia stepped forward and took the glittery powder in her hands. "Congratulations on your sixteenth birthday, Cecelia dear," said Narcissa from behind her. She nodded, and she was engulfed in emerald flames. Draco went after her, but his mother grabbed his arm.
"Be nice to her, Draco," she warned, and Draco was surprised. "Do not cheat on her. I understand you do not like this arrangement, but do not do anything that would hurt her." She let go of his arm. The last thing he saw before being engulfed in emerald flames was the sad look on his mother's face.
He arrived at the fireplace at McGonagall's office, and saw that their Transfiguration professor was not alone, but was accompanied by Snape. Cecelia was standing at the corner, her expression still blank. "Miss Diggory," said Professor McGonagall, looking at her with pity while her student's expression still remained the same as before. "Malfoy and Diggory," said Snape, looking at the both of them while a smile played on his lips. "Your dormitory is the first one to the left of the seventh floor. The password is "pine fresh", the same as the Prefects' bathroom."
The couple walked side by side to their shared dormitory. None of them spoke a word to the other.
"Pine fresh," muttered Draco when they reached their dormitory, and the door swung open to reveal a large room. There were black sofas and armchairs with white cushions. The floor was carpeted black. The walls were painted white. There was a small kitchen attached to their common room. There were three doors leading to Cecelia's room, Draco's room and a shared bathroom. Thank Salazar that at least they had separate bedrooms.
Cecelia immediately walked over to her bedroom and shut the door. Draco shrugged and did the same. As long as they didn't get in each other's ways, they were alright. But what house was she from? If she was a Hufflepuff like her brother was, then his father would just have to hear about it-no matter what. Hufflepuffs were weird and weak.
A Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad... but what if she was in Gryffindor? Oh, the shame of being engaged to a Gryffindor! But most importantly, what would he say to Pansy? They had been dating for over a year, and they even slept with each other. There was absolutely no way he was going to leave his girlfriend for a girl he barely knew.
He exhaled and lay down onto his bed. It had black and white covers. Everything there was black and white, which gave proof that she wasn't a Slytherin, because if she were everything would be green and silver.
He sighed and rolled over. This was going to be a very long year.
Oh. My. God.
Draco Malfoy.
She was engaged to Draco Malfoy.
The guy she had a crush on since first year.
Cecelia Edith Diggory was engaged to Draco Lucius Malfoy.
It all seemed very unreal to Cecelia. She had pinched herself quite a few times to see is she was dreaming, which she wasn't.
Thank Merlin for that.
Yes, he might have been a Death Eater, and he might have been the reason for Dumbledore's death, but no matter how hard she tried she could not convince herself that he was a bad guy. She knew that under those cold and menacing layers of hatred he was actually a kind and loving person on the inside.
She was madly in love with him. But, sadly, he didn't seem to realize or care about it. He didn't even know her. Nobody really knew her except for a few of her friends-Parvati Patil, Katie Bell, Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood. Most of them knew her deceased brother-the famous Cedric Diggory. She was absolutely devastated when her brother-her mentor, her best friend, her second parent-was killed by Lord Voldemort. She had cried for weeks, refusing meals and sleep. But eventually, she thought about what Cedric would say if he saw her like that.
"Why isn't my little Cecelia taking care of her fragile little health?" he would scold her.
She had wiped those tears of hers and moved on, just like he would have wanted. She still visited his graves with fresh bouquets of flowers and a fresh batch of tears and smiles.
Anyway, she was at her usual Herbology class when Professor McGonagall called her to her office. Then, she dropped the bomb on her like boom.
No, more like BOOM!
"Miss Diggory, I am extremely sorry to announce that you and Mr. Malfoy are getting married," she said as Cecelia bit into her cookie. She nearly spewed it out in surprise. "The Malfoys are waiting for you at their mansion. You are advised to take the Floo Powder." Cecelia still sat there, staring at her professor blankly. Was this really true? She pinched herself. Yep, she definitely wasn't dreaming.
She managed to keep her expression blank as the Malfoys explained everything. She had no other choice but to go on with it. She wasn't part of the DA, nor was she a part of the DE. Just... sort of there. She was told to wait while Draco came.
When Draco took her hand and slipped that gorgeous ring into her finger, she nearly fainted. Her body was buzzing with nervous energy and her heart was hammering against her rib cage. But, of course, she kept a straight face.
Their shared dormitory was awesome. Everything was black and white and it all seemed so soothing. Cecelia was, however, disappointed to see that they had separate rooms, but then she cursed herself for being such an obsessive pervert.
She locked herself in her room, cast a Silencing Charm, and screamed in delight. This was certainly the best birthday present ever! While she happily sat down and did her homework, she couldn't help but think how he did not like her. How he had never really noticed her. Her spirits fell a little. Maybe she was rushing things. She should take it slow. Maybe keep out of his way, because if she didn't, he might know the fact that she had a humongous crush on him.
Cecelia grinned crazily to herself as she finished the last of her homework and went to bed. The next morning, she woke up and pinched herself again. Nope, still not dreaming! She was really early, but decided to go down to breakfast. She had to stick to her plan. She dressed in her red Gryffindor robes and grabbed a Muggle romance book she had been reading. The young Diggory stared at her fiancee's door for a while with a smile on her face and her arms wrapped around her book. Suddenly, the doorknob started to turn and she rushed outside her dorms.
The last thing she saw before she closed the door was the unmistakably handsome face of Draco Malfoy.