Quick author's note before I begin. I'm an American. I'm gonna try really hard to sound British, but I want to apologize in advance for my American slang and lack of British slang. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, and everything that was mentioned in any of the books, not me. My OCs sprung from the depths of my mind...so I'm not sure where exactly they came from. I apologize for any OOC characters, spelling, or grammar mistakes. I'm gonna try really hard to avoid them.

Hope you enjoy, I'm honestly just going where the characters want me to go, when they want me to go there.

~SingerSongwriterToBe

My Dearest Gift,

No one will ever know me. My "family" made sure of that. Yes, they are related to me by blood, but a family cares about each other. All my aunt cares about is blood purity and the Black family name.

Sometimes I think I hate her.

Sometimes, I think of leaving this...this prison behind (it looks like a castle, but acts like a prison), but then I realize that I have nowhere else to go. Although I'd rather be anywhere else, I have to go down to the ball that my Aunt Lessinda is holding in honor of my invitation to Hogwarts. It's not even a good reason for a ball! I know she loves being a hostess, but really?! An extravagant ball for the sole purpose of congratulating me for being magical. If I wasn't, I'd have been blasted off the family tree years ago, and been sent away. And on the subject, why didn't I get to see my own letter? All my aunt said was that I've been accepted at Hogwarts.

Oh, and just a side note, tonight's ball is in honor of both me and my cousin Draco Malfoy, but that arrogant swine doesn't need anything that could inflate his already massive ego.

Give me a moment, my aunt is calling.

Where was I? Oh yes, Draco. He really is an ungrateful swine. He treats his house elves, who are truly delightful creatures, like dirt. I do as well, mind you, but only when Aunt Lessinda is nearby. He acts like he is better than everyone, purely because he is a Malfoy.

He seems to have conveniently forgotten that the Malfoy family has been full of cowards and arrogant fools for centuries. The "family history" lessons that Aunt Lessinda forces on me had to have taught me something. You know, if I read between the lines. She may actually be talking about blood traitors, but if you listen to the great and noble histories of the Houses of Black and Malfoy, you'll figure out that they got this way by being extremists and cowards, respectively. The importance she impresses into them is extreme, as is the value she puts in extremism and cowardance, but that can be looked around. It is useful to know all the little tidbits about the other "pureblood" families.

If there is anything I've been taught, it is that blackmail can be a very good thing.

I suppose at this point, you would like to know more about myself and my family. Honestly, so would I. However, I will inform you of all I know on the subject, little as it may be.

My name is Juliet Elizabeth Black, and I am the youngest member of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, and also the heiress of that house (being the last of my line except for Draco, who is of slightly less direct decent than I am). I have just reached eleven years of age, and I am a witch, meaning I have magical blood and can do magic. I am rather short (all eleven year olds are), and I have extremely pale skin, long straight hair that is a very dark shade of brown, although most people think of it as black. I have the Black family eyes, which are silver and piercing.

I live with my mother's sister, Lessinda Rosalind Rosier (née Black). Although it doesn't feel like a true family, she has provided me with a home. I could not ask more than that of her. We live in Rosier manor with only a few house elves for company. Her husband, Evan Rosier, was a loyal Death Eater in the First War. Aunt Lessinda claims to not have known, and as she never received the mark herself, her involvement cannot be proven. I suspect that she was deeply involved, but used her Slytherin cunning to escape the consequences of fanatical beliefs. One of my other aunts, Bellatrix Lestrange, went to Azkaban for being the Dark Lord's most devoted follower. Aunt Cissy, Draco's mother, escaped Azkaban similarly to Aunt Lessinda.

I know very little about my mother, and even less about my father. My mother's name was Estrella Cassiopeia Black. She was the third oldest of the four sisters (Aunt Cissy was younger than she was), and, as far as I can tell, the one who least agreed with blood purity. I think that, like me, she found something fundamentally wrong with superiority for factors that are beyond our control. But I really do not know how she felt. She passed away when I was only a few months old. Killed by Sirius Black, I believe. Yes, Sirius Black is related to us. He is my mother's cousin, and currently resides in Azkaban for murdering the Potters and Peter Pettigrew, breaking the Statute of Secrecy, and murdering twelve muggles. I hope his cell is near Aunt Bella's. They deserve each other.

I do not even know the name of my father. Either my family does not know who he is, or they do not approve and wish to save face. I have chosen to believe that he is also dead, but I do not even know that for sure. If only I could know.

The ball starts in a few hours, so I must be going. Goodbye my book, we shall speak again soon.

Juliet E. Black

I forced myself to put down the green book that Aunt Lessinda had given me earlier today. It was a gift that was bought by my mother before my birth. It was always to be given to me upon receiving my Hogwarts letter. It was charmed to be dirt, water, and dust repellent, as well as be everlasting. When the pages run out, more will always appear.

But I digress.

I must prepare myself for the ball, so I begin to walk towards my lavatory, collecting a robe and slippers along the way. I take a long, hot bath, mentally preparing myself for the ordeal to come. I have been instructed to spend all my time with Draco. This would be hard enough, but his betrothed, Pansy Parkinson, would be in attendance. The night would be almost unbearable, if not for the gardens. I always find a way to slip into the gardens for awhile, just to clear my head. I need a few moments to myself during social events, or else either my mask would crack or it would lose the sanity that I have managed to retain through these eleven years of Hell.

I hope Hogwarts will be a respite.

By the time I was ready to take on the evening, the bath water was cold. I settled my mask into place, and hurried out to finish getting ready. I quickly found the ball gown my aunt had commissioned specifically for this occasion. It was fairly simple, considering the garish dresses Aunt Lessinda usually forces me into. I can only assume it was designed by Aunt Cissy, because it was beautiful, comfortable, and extremely well-fitting. It had an extremely high neck, lightly stretching halfway up my neck. The dark green, almost black, fabric was slightly shimmery, and almost see-through across my shoulders and down my arms, with the sleeves ending halfway down my forearms. Upon reaching my chest, the fabric thickened to complete opaqueness, losing its shimmery quality, but in such a way that the transition was invisible. At my waist, the skirt flared out slightly. At this point, the dark green was slowly lightened until the hem of the skirt was a pale green color. Here, some embroidering was done in the original dark green color. The dark green on my pale skin produced a very striking effect, especially combined with my hair.

As I observed the dress, Aunts Lessinda and Cissy entered. They smiled at the dress and complemented me on it. I smiled, thanked them, and focused on my own thoughts as they debated how to do my hair and makeup. After about half an hour of planning, they decided to divide and conquer. Aunt Lessinda did my hair, while Aunt Cissy focused on my makeup.

Aunt Lessinda did an amazing job with my hair. After using her wand to dry and brush it, she pulled three-quarters of it back into a bun, leaving the rest down. She then braided the remaining pieces of hair and wrapped them around the bun in several different ways. When she finished I was astonished. But the real shock came when Aunt Cissy finished. I looked so much older than my eleven years, and I felt like a real lady. She used light makeup, but it accentuated my best features. My pale skin appeared flawless (trust me, it isn't even close), and the dark, almost black, eyeliner worked with the light mascara to highlight my eyes. Blush gave me rosy cheeks, and a clear lip gloss allowed my unnaturally red lips to stand out. Overall, I couldn't believe the transformation.

I continued to stare at the mirror until Aunt Lessinda realized the time, crying out in shock. Aunt Cissy, however, retained her sense.

"Well Juliet, Lessinda, it seems we are running late. Shall we enter?"

I was to be the last to enter the ballroom. My aunts walked down the long stairway, first Aunt Cissy, followed by Aunt Lessinda. I held my breath preparing to follow. I heard Draco's irritating drawl over the hum of the crowd.

"You look pleasant mother. As do you, Aunt Lessinda."

It was time to enter the snake pit. I took a deep breath, pushed my shoulders back even further, and slowly stepped forward.

So there we are! First chapter, done. Surprisingly. I'm thinking of including a journal entry in most chapters. What do you think? Let me know maybe? If not, no big deal, I'm fine with that, I know it's hard to review. And I'm a new author, so I haven't proved reliable yet. Makes sense. Anyway, it's summer, so I should be back tomorrow, or maybe even tonight! That would be exciting. I hope you enjoyed!

~SingerSongwriterToBe