Luna wound up bringing the tea. Draco sat in a window seat (sprawled, really) reading a book, or at least pretending to. To do otherwise would be unbelievably awkward.
Ashley, Heidi and Fiona sat with Narcissa Malfoy, and took tea. That is to say, Ashley guided the discussion, as if she was the queen. She led, by prompting. Asked Heidi to talk about the donated clothes that she was wearing, asked Fiona what her favorite tea was. All light subjects, even when she turned towards Narcissa. "You have a lovely son, Madame Malfoy. His breeding shows in his every gesture."
Narcissa smiled at that, not charmed, but interested. She knew precisely what she was looking for, and she intended to make sure whichever girl she selected would measure up. Slytherin itself was a hard enough house to live in, but the Malfoy estate would rip the incautious to ribbons. She needed a girl with spine, with fire... and grace.
Well, it would appear that all of these girls had learned their manners, Narcissa Malfoy thought. Ill-bred though they may be, perhaps Ashley's comment on breeding would have to suffice.
"I have made no decision yet," Narcissa said in a firm voice. "Ashley, would you accompany me to Diagon Alley?" If a scion of House Malfoy (or Black) could not deal properly with help, then they would never cross her threshold.
"Of course," Ashley said, smiling - not brightly, but warmly. "I'd be delighted."
As Narcissa and Ashley flooed away, Draco and Luna exchanged uneasy glances, "We didn't train her on that."
Then they turned to Fiona and Heidi, to give them reassurances that they had done well. They were, in truth, only props for the purpose of the mummery, but that was as good as could be expected. A queen could hardly be so without courtiers, could she?
[a/n: So sorry this is so late. I've been writing other things... Including just starting Grace Note, this story's sequel.]