All I own is Dracaena.
"Please darlings. I know you're angry but just listen to me, please."
Two pairs of sullen silver eyes gazed back at her, with no hint of forgiveness or understanding hidden in their depths. Narcissa had been stating her case for half an hour now, enumerating the dozens of perfectly valid reasons she had for inviting the Weasleys spend Christmas with them, despite the fact that he had made the lives of his two best friends, his sister and his oldest brothers' lives hell for the last few months.
"You've welcomed three of them into your court, your family, so you shouldn't miss out on friendships with the others because one of them is a bit..."
"Juvenile."
"Irritating."
"Absurd."
"Evil."
"Treacherous."
"ENOUGH!"
"Dracaena you are in a relationship with a member of that family which means you must be on good relations with the others, it's simple good manners. And do you really want to separate your friends from their family when you know how much it hurts."
The unforgiving silence shifted into a slightly more guilt ridden and thoughtful silence, giving the chance to Narcissa to have her final shot.
"Besides, do you really want to fall down to his level and acting the way he thinks Malfoys act?
That did it. Dead eyes filled with silver fire and as they walked out of the room their mother could practically see the cogs turning as they planned the world's most unforgettable Christmas for Ron.
"First term down boys, you enjoying it?"
"Yes dad."
"A few hiccups but it's going alright."
The last was said with a pointed look in Ron's direction that made him even pinker. His colour had only risen since Draco, Drey and Narcissa had disappeared for a 'little chat' (Merlin only knew how that was going), and Pansy, Blaise, Vince and Greg were taking bets on where the first blood vessel was going to explode. Pansy was banking on his forehead, Blaise was going for underneath his right eye, Vince was going for the right eye as a whole because of the way it was bulging, and Greg though it would be the top half of his right ear.
While they were placing bets, Neville, Harry, Hermione, Seamus and the three Weasleys had been giving one word answers to the increasingly desperate questions being asked by Mr and Mrs Weasley. Although they had made their peace with her that day in Dumbledore's office they hadn't missed the complete lack of communication since then. Ginny had sent them several letters, as had Harry, and occasionally Hermione, but none of them had ever received an answer, from Molly, Arthur, Percy or the twins. After two months of being ignored they'd decided that, like their family they'd show respect in lip service only, no more than that.
"Not very good hosts are they, running off like that."
Ginny had always known her brother was stupid, but that was surpassing even the generous limits she had set for his intelligence. Even their parents and Percy looked shocked at his audacity, insulting Malfoys in Malfoy Manor was stupid! Even when they weren't around to hear the insult.
Blaise, Vince, Greg and Pansy had taken threatening steps forward at that slight, not just the words but the tone as well, and the fact that it was just that one step too far and they wanted to do something to this smug bastard who seemed to think that he was better than they were.
"Vince, Blaise, back off for a minute."
Draco slid out of the shadows, Drey just behind him. The looks they gave Ron were enough to freeze the fires of hell, flat silver eyes bored into the Ron's brown ones, and no one was surprised when Ron backed down first. Narcissa swept in just after Ron's head fell and he moved back a few steps, as far away as he could get from the twins without them knowing he was running away.
The Lady Malfoy glossed over the tension in her foyer with the ease of a true society woman and invited her guests to join the family in the sun room while the house elves took care of their luggage.
As the group moved off through the corridors, Mr and Mrs Weasley making a brave attempt at conversation by asking about the portraits and other object d'art that decorated the Manor. In the tried and true manner of good hosts the three Malfoys responded politely, with Blaise and Pansy joining in at times. The rest of the court clustered at behind the Weasley clan, herding them along like sheepdogs, Fred and George looked as though they wanted to start a conversation with Ginny and their brothers at one point, but Neville, Hermione and all the others crowded around them, effectively cutting off any communication.
The seating arrangements were very much the same when they arrived in the sun room. The three adults sat at one end of the room, with Ron close by his mother, Drey, Draco, Blaise and Pansy nearby, all looking ready to have a polite chat anhd flay Ron alive. Then came the other three non-court Weasleys, all looking uncomfortable and out of place, and then the rest of the court, with Vince, Greg and Seamus forming a living barrier between the Weasleys and the ones they really wanted to talk to.
The sun room was aptly named, built entirely of spelled glass from the outside it appeared to be made of the same grey stone as the rest of the Manor, glass and sunlight were considered to 'light' for the Malfoy homestead. The roof acted like a prism so everything inside was painted in rainbows; there were stained glass images on the walls, figures and plants that moved like the portraits and windows. Glass gardeners tended to painted flowers and glass lords and ladies meandered through the waving fronds, occasionally looking at the group seated inside the walls.
Narcissa and Molly continued with their valiant attempts at small talk, Mr Weasley had dropped out after five minutes, unable to cope with the suffocating silence. The frequent questions that they addressed to one of other of the teenagers were met with monosyllabic responses, unfailingly polite from ex-Slytherins, polite but confused (especially Neville and Seamus) from everyone. The twins and co. were doing as Narcissa said and not falling to Ron's level and following their instincts, which told them to disembowel him with a rusty spoon after pulling out every single hair on his body with hot tweezers. In a brief conference as they made their way to the sun room Drey and Draco had told every a few of their court not to let Ron get to them, and the message had been passed on to the others.
They spent an interminable amount of time in this fashion; eventually the court ventured into replies that were longer than two words. And as Harry and the others grew more comfortable they even managed a few words in the general direction of Fred and George, no one else though.
But all good things must come to an end, and all too soon a house-elf popped in, announcing in her high-pitched voice that all the luggage had been unpacked and would the guests like to freshen up before luncheon was served. The relief was palpable, the sighs almost like a hurricane. As the Weasleys filed past in order to go to their rooms the court pointedly ignored the eager-to-please smiles from Mrs Weasley and her husband directed at their children (and those they considered to be her children), their faces dropping when their smiles weren't returned. Percy and the twins received two quick grins from their older brothers, and a few gentle smiles from the other ex-Gryffindors, the Slytherins had decided that they may be polite; and they may acknowledge the necessity of getting on with this family. But they were still Gryffindors and traitors to the pureblood, their lions had something special about them, this lot could jump off a cliff as long as it didn't upset their friends too much. Ron attempted a sneer on his way past, but jumped back as a small fire-bolt shot at his shoelaces.
After the red-headed procession hade departed, taking their see-saw emotions with them, the court crowded around Narcissa. With everyone trying to ask their questions:
"Why did you invite them?"
"It's Christmas Narcissa, they're going to ruin it, and can you imagine them on Christmas Eve!"
Of course pretty much all of the questions came from Blaise, Pansy, Greg and Vince. The twins were sitting back and watching their mother having to answer perfectly valid questions with (as they saw it) very flimsy excuses. The others weren't comfortable enough with the icy blonde to interrogate her just yet. They just sat at the back looking plaintive and dejected, with various hands being clasped together and various big brothers hugging their little sisters. The gloomy silence soon spread from their little corner to the rooms other occupants and they found seven pairs of curious and caring eyes gazing at them. Harry was the first to speak, eyes never leaving Draco:
"We've gone from being miserable over Christmas, to the best Christmas of our lives and now we're back to square one again. Ironic isn't it."
I am so sorry it's been so long since I updated, I just got overloaded with schoolwork and a whole lot of other junk that I don't notice until it hits me on the back of my head!
I apologise repeatedly and please, please, review!
Karenelaine: She does have good reason, and it will be explained more clearly later. But she knows that her daughter is dating a Weasley and so it's only polite really to be on good terms with the rest. Hope you like this chapter too.
Sarah: sorry it's been so long, hope you liked it.
SerenityMelody: glad you like it, I hope you like this chapter too.
Haylz010: sorry it's been so long, hope you liked this chapter.
MidnightsRose: really glad you like it, hope you liked this one too.
JacobimVonStyluss: sorry it's been so long, hope you liked it.
Silverone3: I think it's safe to say Ron doesn't want to be friends again:) Hope you like this chapter.