Draco (and Ashley as well) had read about blood adoptions, after that conversation. They were private affairs, in general, a way to bind a person to your bloodline, permanently.
This was not that, apparently.
Mother had invited all her friends. All part of making this fashionable, Draco supposed. He hadn't considered, when he'd first heard about the ritual, that it was an old ritual.
Those were generally conducted skyclad.
Mum had a ritual circle constructed in the gardens, ringed on the outside with stone, and then with wood (roses, his mum's favorite). The salt was to be spread now, and then his Father (for he'd been unable to resist the prestige of being The First) would draw the uncircle in the sand.*
With all of Mum's friends watching, Draco was just trying not to look at his mum, or his soon-to-be-real sister. Certain portions of male anatomy were fond of making themselves visible, if he sighted something of interest.
He spent most of the ritual in this sort of 'not paying attention' daze, only waking to slice his own hand, and blend his blood with his mother's and father's, and then Ashley's last. A steady stream from each into the golden chalice in the center of the ritual.
Words were said, and then the magic came, like a wind, whipping and binding, and sealing them together.
Luckily, after that, Draco could slide into his own robes (and, importantly, so could everyone else in the ritual). There was a clinking cups reception (by which Draco meant that the gaggle of witnesses could congratulate the youngest Malfoy). No dancing, nothing feast-like. It was a garden reception, and at the first opportunity, Draco had disappeared into the garden, returning only near the end - but with a grande bouquet of plucked roses.
All the ladies sighed at how perfect Narcissa's boy was. Draco hated the pinching of cheeks, but he wasn't quite tall enough to avoid it yet.
In the days to come, the Parkinsons, the Rosiers, the Goyles - everyone, really - would create their own ritual circles in their own domain. None would be quite so grand as this one, but they all remembered to invite Narcissa and her family.
Which was as it should be.
*this creates a symbolic airgap, in that he's not chalking a circle, he's removing sand in the shape of a circle.
**Draco's pretty sure he's not going to be interested in Dear Daddy, because he lives in a boy's dorm most of the year.
[a/n: Yes, he's darling. Really. Leave a review?]