A/N Written for Hogwarts assignment 8 - Muggle Studies task 2: write about someone who is/feels trapped (i.e. Draco feeling trapped into marrying).

Word count: 863

Draco cut off a small piece of steak and carefully speared it with his fork. He raised it to his mouth and chewed without making a sound.

Not once during the ritual did he look up from his plate. He felt the presence of his parents at opposite ends of the table, but neither of them made a sound, not even a slight tap of their silverware against the china. It wasn't uncomfortable because it was routine. Any discomfort he'd felt had long since faded into boredom.

There was a small noise as Lucius laid his fork and knife on his empty plate, lining them up to indicate that he had finished his meal. Draco mimicked him despite having several bites of his steak left. He couldn't have escaped the dining room fast enough. Narcissa followed their lead, leaving even more of her food than Draco had.

Before Draco could ask to be excused, Lucius cleared his throat, summoning their complete attention. His gaze was hard as it held Draco in place.

"Your mother and I have an important matter to discuss with you."

Draco stiffened. The last time his parents had shared important news after dinner, it had been about the job they'd secured for him. The time before that, however, had been about the Dark Lord's impending arrival at their home. He couldn't remember one after after dinner conversation that could be described as pleasant.

"Of course, Father," Draco replied with a polite incline of his head.

Lucius glanced at Narcissa for a second, earning another polite acknowledgement before he spoke.

"Leopold Parkinson visited yesterday to offer his daughter Pansy's hand in marriage."

Draco's blood ran cold. He knew his parents didn't approve of Astoria. He'd gone as far as warning Astoria that they might be forbidden from marrying, yet he'd still held onto hope that his parents would allow him freedom in one area of his life. If he couldn't choose his own profession, the least they could do was not trap him in a marriage he didn't want.

The politeness he typically maintained cracked under the sudden injustice he felt.

"And did you hear from Pansy herself that she's interested? Or is her father allowed to speak for her regardless of her own wishes like mine?"

Lucius' cheeks turned a light pink that he couldn't disguise as he brought his fist down on the table. It wasn't hard enough to rattle the china, yet Draco cringed and heard Narcissa's sharp inhale. It took several seconds of deep breaths before Lucius continued as calmly as he'd begun.

"You should be thankful to get a respectable offer at all, Draco. After everything the Ministry has accused us of the past several years, many of the old families don't wish to be associated with us. That the Parkinsons are willing to endure a momentary slight to their image in order to keep their family strong is something to be admired. You know Pansy well, and she is a respectable choice for a wife."

Draco did know Pansy, and he held no ill will towards her. He might have still considered her a friend, though they hadn't spoken in more than a year, and she was never someone he'd have trusted with his innermost secrets. Despite their shared history, he had no desire to marry her.

"Will such an alliance really help our family?" Draco inquired, clearing his throat. "The Parkinsons may not have been Death Eaters, but they were sympathetic towards the Dark Lord. Their reputation isn't much better than ours. Would it not be advantageous for us to forge an alliance with a family deemed more...acceptable by society?"

"I believe your mother and I made it clear that you wouldn't be marrying the Greengrass girl."

Draco clenched his jaw to prevent himself from launching into questions he'd already asked: Why not? The Greengrasses were a pureblooded family almost as old as the Malfoys. Did Astoria's work with Muggleborns really matter more than her prestigious lineage?

"Leopold has agreed that the marriage will take place as soon as possible," Lucius continued. "We believe that next spring is the best time."

"The garden is beautiful that time of year," Narcissa interjected, a strained smile on her lips. "We can have the ceremony amongst the rose bushes. The space can be enlarged in time."

Draco hardly heard his mother's plans. His thoughts were only on Astoria and how he'd break the news to her. Perhaps she'd always understood better than he did that their relationship came with an expiration date. He could only hope that she didn't ask him to betray his parents and eloped with her.

He wouldn't have been able to explain the paralyzing dread he felt when he thought of standing from the dinner table, declaring he wouldn't go along with such a marriage, and storming from the manor.

His father's gaze remained on him, and Draco felt its weight settling on his shoulders, holding him in place.

"Of course," he finally replied.

His mother beamed at him as if she didn't hear the strain in his voice.

"A spring wedding sounds beautiful," he said to his dirty dinner plate.