It was finally here. The day I had been dreading since my father showed up at the vacation house. Since that night I had simply gone from home to work, and work to home. Avoiding the journalists and photographers from the Daily Prophet as best I could. My father might have been able to keep them from running the story but now they were just waiting for me to mess up again so they could run that story. My mother had written earlier asking me to come get ready for the engagement party at the family manor. When I arrived there was already a new dress laid out on my bed. My mother never trusts me to pick my own dresses for important pureblood parties. I was standing in front of the mirror putting on my earrings when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." The door opened and my father stepped inside my bedroom.
"Victorine, we need to talk about a few things before the Malfoys arrive."
"Father, I've been going to parties like this for ages, I know how to conduct myself."
"I'm not so sure about that, Victorine. You haven't proven to be able to control yourself very well as of late and tonight is going to be the most important night of your life thus far."
I sat down on the couch in the sitting area of my room. It didn't seem like my father was going to stop lecturing me any time soon.
"You are no longer just representing our family, Victorine, but now you are representing the Malfoys too. You are a representation of the two most powerful pureblood families in the Wizarding World. If I know anything about the Malfoys, they will not bring up your indiscretions tonight but know that it will be on their mind all night. Landon and his parents will be here since they are a part of our community but you will not as much look at him. And as far as I know, his parents are none the wiser to what the two of you have been doing."
This was the smallest I had felt since the time I accidentally turned the family cat into a quaffle when I was 9. My father had lectured me then too. My father sat down next to me on the couch and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Victorine, I know this is hard but I trust that Draco will be able to make you happy. He is angry with you so it might not be right now, but once you're married and living your lives together I know that you will be happy and tonight is just the start of it. Please just try to look happy tonight darling."
"I will father. As messed up as things are right now, I am happy that the wedding is still happening. I know I have made questionable decisions lately and just want to prove that I have moved past it and am ready to be with Draco." Since Draco and I's talk I had had a lot of time to think. I might have lost the man I thought I was going to spend my life with but I wasn't alone. There was another man who wanted me as well who I could be perfectly happy with. My father stood up from the couch, brushed off his tux and walked towards the door.
"I am happy to see that you chose to wear the dress I picked for you, Victorine."
"Wait, you picked this," I asked while standing up from the couch. The dress was a one shoulder, floor length silver dress with a wide belt and lace detailing at the waist. "But why?"
"You needed to make a statement tonight to everyone who knows your secret. And this dress does just that."
And with that my father left, leaving me alone to finish getting ready. I grabbed my shoes and sat down on the bench at the end of my bed to put them on. There was another knock at the door. I quickly finished buckling my high heels and opened the door to reveal Draco.
"Here already? It's only," I looked at the clock across the room, "7:30. The party doesn't start till 8:00."
"My father wanted to speak with your father. Figured I would just come along with him. May I come in?"
"Yes, of course." I stepped aside and let Draco in. He was wearing a tux with silver accents. Clearly my father had told him what I would be wearing. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"No," He said as he sat down on the couch and picked up the issue of Quidditch Weekly from the ottoman. He saw that Landon was on the cover and immediately put it back down.
"He's going to be here tonight, you know? My father just told me. I'll keep my distance just like I am supposed to." I was still standing by the door. I was still confused about what terms Draco and I were on.
"Good. I will too. Don't know what I would do if I got to close to him." I chuckled a little bit and moved closer to the couch where Draco was sitting.
"And what exactly would you do?"
"I don't know. But with all these reporters here it would be sure to make the front page of The Prophet."
"I don't think we need to worry about that," I had made it to behind the couch and was leaning against the back of it next to where Draco was sitting. "If Landon knows what he's doing, he will stay far away from the both of us."
"Don't say his name."
"What?" I was confused. Draco had been adamant that he wasn't upset about Landon and I.
"Don't say his name." I paused between each word for emphasis. "It makes me sick to hear the way you say it."
"Draco, I," I quickly walked around the couch and sat down next to him.
"I don't want to talk about it. Just don't"
"Ok. I won't and we won't talk about it." I placed my hand on his thigh and looked into his eyes. "We will get past this Draco. And you and I, we will be happy."
