Narcissa had made it clear that this was not her engagement party. She said that would come later, and Ginny would work with her and her mother to create the guest list. This was an event to present her to Draco's family and friends. The elves had been working all week and the place gleamed. Candles floated everywhere. Narcissa picked out a special dress for her to wear. It was bright blue with a silver pattern on the stomach, and gems in the pattern. It had a single shoulder, leaving the other one bare. She carefully curled her hair and did her eye make up in a shimmering silver color. She stood out in the blue against the green decorations, but they were interlaced with silver that matched her dress perfectly- expertly designed to make her the center of attention.
She was presented to a large group of witches and wizards when she came down the stairs. The whole thing was very formal and she managed to get through it without tripping. The rest of the night went well. There were little horderves and sparkling glasses of champagne that floated around on enchanted trays and offered themselves to people. Ginny drank slowly, not wanting to get tipsy and fall over in her silver heels. The night was not close to over.
It was somewhat nerve wracking for her to be in a room with so many people, and compounded by the fact that so many of them bore the Dark Mark. She was amazed by the amount of people she knew in the room already- matches made in the wake of the new decree. Draco stayed close to her throughout the evening and she was surprised by the level of comfort that gave her. He did most of the talking and it was smooth. She let him glide around the room, leading her along, and even the dancing went well. Finally, the moment arrived.
Up at the front of the room. Everything went quiet. Trouble breathing. Narcissa speaking. Her arm automatically moved the glass she was holding up in the air with the others in a toast. More quiet. Draco talking. For a long time. Looking into her eyes. She nodded. Feeling like she was going to float away. Maybe her dress was too tight. Draco down on one knee. Taking her hand. Asking her a question. She nodded. He placed a ring on her finger. It was large on her small hand. It was full of little diamonds and emeralds and the main diamond was green. Like his eyes. She looked into Draco's and smiled faintly. He stood and led the crowd in another toast. She was officially engaged.
They danced after that, and the rest of the night she felt like she was removed from the group by a layer of plastic. She was sure more people had looked at her when she played quidditch, but she had always been into the game she had never noticed. She was lead around the room on Draco's arm, and the rest of the night was a blur of hand shaking and smiles, and when she went to bed that night, she looked at the ring in the moonlight and thought it was so fitting that the symbol of her marriage would always remind her of what could have been. As she fell asleep, Luna's words came singing back into her head. We all miss someone.