Chapter Two: Madam Louisa's

Arianwen sighed. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, holding a small leather bound black book in her hands. It was her diary and she felt as though its words were glaring at her nastily. Three more days until the impending doom and inevitable descension of her sanity that her first day in Hogwarts would provoke. The only thing she had to look forward to was her farewell party that her closest friends were organising. Gwyn had a particular gift for throwing the most lavishly liquor fuelled events, the type of events that would result in you referring to the Daily Prophet society section desperately, trying to remember what had unfolded the night before.

Wanting to go out with a bang, Arianwen felt she had to dress the part. She'd booked a fitting at one of London's finest boutique's, Madame Louisa's. Normally she would look forward to such a thing, however as she used to go with her father who would dote on her excessively and gush about how beautiful she was, this trip was just another reminder of how alone she'd become. She shook her head violently, attempting to haul herself from her pensive state.

Arianwen checked her watch, it read 9:15. She'd better hurry up if she was going to get there in time for her fitting at 10:30. She strode over to her wardrobe and flung the doors open, she'd have to wear a fairly good pair of robes, you could guarantee that you'd run into at least one person that you know and she wouldn't want to come across shabby. She stared at its contents, how is that I have so many clothes and yet nothing to wear? I'll have to pick up some extra things while I'm there.

She settled on a dark blue cloak, it was such a dark shade of blue that it could look black in some light but this meant that it complimented just about anything that she wore with it. There was a lovely pale lilac summer dress that she'd been waiting for an opportunity to wear, it had been sent to her as a gift from Owain's mother, a prestigious Welsh designer. Arianwen carefully pulled the dress on and looked at herself in the mirror. It fit perfectly, so perfectly that she couldn't help doing a little spin, smiling as the lightweight fabric floated up around her. The dress had small cap sleeves that just covered her shoulders, it fit snuggly on the torso, accentuating her chest without plunging down her cleavage and becoming looser as it draped down just passed her knees. She opted for pointed nude court shoes, with a heel of around 4 inches. When they were fourteen Brianne had discovered an amazing charm that stopped the stiletto heels from falling in between cobblestones or digging into softer ground, it had been a godsend and they'd spent a whole day performing the charm on each pair of shoes they owned.

She turned her attention to her hair, which was currently in a slightly messy bun at the top of her head. She loosened the bun until her thick locks cascaded down her back, resting in its usual wavy style. A half updo would compliment the dress, she thought. So she pulled the front sections of hair back and tied them in place with a small white ribbon that was lying on her dresser. Finally, she applied a small amount of makeup to highlight her features, and dabbed a rosy pink lipstick on her lips to enhance their natural colour and plump them up a bit. She took one last look in the mirror, feeling pleased with the outcome she continued into the hallway and down to the nearest flue point.

"Betsy!" she called into the sitting room, an elf appeared in front of her instantly.

"Lady Arianwen, how can Betsy be of service?" the familiar high-pitched voice of Arianwen's personal house elf echoed down the hall.

"I'd like you to inform my Uncle that I shall be in London for the day, tell him I'm picking up my new school supplies." It was a slight extension of the truth, she'd actually already secured most of her school supplies but a new wardrobe should really be included in the list of essentials that Hogwarts had sent her. First impressions are immensely important, she justified to herself.

"Yes of course, my lady. Is there anything else Betsy can do to assist you?" She was always so eager to please; Arianwen smiled at her warmly and said, "no that'll be all, thank you Betsy."

She walked over to the fireplace, picked up a handful of flue powder and threw it in stating clearly "Bond Square", she stepped into the flames and a few moments later walked out into the busy street. Dusting herself off, she looked around at the Square. It hadn't changed a bit, still perfectly quaint and charming, this was definitely one of Arianwen's favourite places in London.

Arriving at Madame Louisa's, the faint sound of classical music escaped from the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. The music grew louder as she pushed the door open and stepped into the large reception area, she recognised the soothing melody as the second movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 in B Minor, a favourite of Madam Louisa.

"Ah, Lady Arianwen!" the receptionist cooed, dashing out from behind the elaborate front desk, taking her cloak and ushering her to a plush burgundy sofa. "Such a pleasure to see you again, do take a seat, Madam Louisa will be with you shortly."

Arianwen obeyed her and perched herself on the edge of the sofa neatly. "Thank you, Grace" she smiled at the receptionist politely. From the frequent visits that Arianwen and her father had made to the boutique, she'd built familiar terms with its staff. She looked around and smiled to herself, nothing had changed. The reception was made almost entirely of white marble, the marble on the floor was particularly noteworthy as it contained tiny flecks of gold, making it glisten under the sunlight that was streaming through the large glass windows to the front of the store. There was a collection of ornate brass furniture, all topped with luxurious burgundy velvet cushioning. At the centre of the room lay the large black marble reception desk, highlighted by the extravagant chandelier that twinkled above it.

Hanging along the walls was a cluster of different sized frames, many contained photographs of famous clients Madame Louisa had designed clothes for. Arianwen was reminded of an occasion at the store when she was eight, she'd been there for a fitting for some dresses that she needed for her upcoming tour of the counties they presided over. She'd fallen in love with a shimmery silver cocktail dress, it made her feel exceptionally grown up and sophisticated, and Madam Louisa had exclaimed how ladylike she looked. She remembered calling her father into the fitting room to ask his opinion, and the pride in his face when he saw his daughter looking so dazzling, "you have the grace of your mother" he would tell her.

He took her hands and started guiding her through a slow waltz around the room, moving in perfect time to Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor, a heartfelt classic that echoed melodically across the store. Madame Louisa had taken a photograph of that moment, that wonderful moment that Arianwen cherished so dearly. She turned her gaze to the wall on her left, standing silently she moved over to it and just as she remembered, there it was. An A5 sized photograph, housed in a polished ebony frame. There she was, smiling innocently up at her father as they danced elegantly, his face was positively brimming with happiness, both of them so engrossed in the moment.

A small cough announced the presence of someone behind her, Arianwen jumped and span around in surprise, she'd been so far away in her memories, she hadn't heard the pair of footsteps emerging from the fitting room. She span perhaps a little too quickly as she felt the fabric of her dress floating up her thighs before slowly swooshing down and resting again around her knees.

"Hello there dear, so lovely to see you again" Madam Louisa stood before her, smiling slightly pityingly at her, no doubt thinking of her late father. Louisa was a stately looking woman, although she was very tall and somewhat big boned, she always managed to present herself in a most ladylike manner. She had shoulder length, voluminous auburn hair and twinkling brown eyes, heavily guarded with smoky black eye make up. Although she must be approaching her mid fifties, her faced remained largely wrinkle free. Standing next to her was an attractive young man dressed in expensive looking royal blue robes, a client, Arianwen supposed. If she were to hazard a guess, she'd say he was around nineteen; he was very tall with broad shoulders and wonderfully striking white blonde hair.

"Oh hello Madam Louisa," Arianwen smiled prettily, "yes its' been far too long since I visited last." Madam Louisa moved towards the photograph on the wall, the blonde boy behind her watching curiously.

Louisa lifted the frame from the wall, speaking softly "such a lovely moment, your father was always such a commanding presence, you had everyone in my store watching you" she chuckled to herself and passed the frame to the blonde boy.

He took the frame and examined it carefully, smiling slightly at the sight of the little girl dancing across the photograph. Madam Louisa stood next to him, explaining who was in the picture, "that's the Duke of Pembrokeshire & Carmarthenshire, he used to shop with us quite regularly you know" the woman explained proudly, "and that's his lovely little girl, Arianwen" Louisa turned to Arianwen who was still standing in front of the sofa, feeling a bit awkward.

"How old were you then dear, do you remember?"

"I was eight." She responded, shifting slightly and trying not to look too uncomfortable that a stranger was examining an intimate moment she'd shared with her late father. The blonde boy looked up again, his eyes moving over Arianwen slowly as he evaluated her appearance, his expression remained frustratingly blank so she had no idea what he was thinking.

"Oh dear!" Madam Louisa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in disbelief, "where are my manners? Draco Malfoy, this is Lady…sorry, Marchioness Arianwen Gwydion" she corrected herself, only acquaintances could call Arianwen, Lady.

Arianwen held out her hand politely, expecting the blonde boy to shake it. Instead he walked over to her, took her hand and bent down, kissing it gently. His smoky grey eyes locked with hers as he straightened back up and she felt a blush creep over her cheeks as she held his gaze.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said, his voice deep and modulated.

She flashed him her most attractive smile, she'd had much practice using that particular smile and it tended to result in her getting her own way. "Yes likewise, I have met a Narcissa Malfoy before, is she a relation of yours?" She'd met Narcissa at a society function of her father's, she remembered her well: a tall, slender woman with gorgeous deep blue eyes, sharp features that indicated good breeding and lovely shiny blonde hair.

The young Malfoy raised his eyebrow slightly, surprised by her words. "Yes she's my mother, where did you meet her?"

Arianwen nodded understandingly, it was not surprising that this Draco Malfoy was so handsome if Naricissa was his mother. "We met at a charity gala last summer, my father was fundraising to restore grand old houses to their former glory and your mother is on the board of trustees I believe." Draco nodded, his mother attended so many events it seemed quite feasible.

"She was quite breathtakingly stunning" Arianwen added earnestly. Draco laughed, looking down in amusement at the pretty girl before him, "I'm sure she would be most satisfied to hear you say so."

At this moment, Madam Louisa, who seemed to be getting a bit impatient at being ignored in her own shop, interjected, "come along then dear, we must get your fitting underway" and she ushered Arianwen towards the fitting room.

"Goodbye" Arianwen said softly to Draco, turning to move towards the fitting room, "it was lovely to meet you". Draco tilted his head to her in agreement, flashing her a charming smile, they locked eyes for one more moment before she walked delicately into the dressing room.

After half an hour of trying on all kinds of dresses, Arianwen settled for a floor length sequined gown. The dress clung to her body, showing off her curves elegantly; it had a sweetheart neckline to accentuate her cleavage, thin spaghetti straps and a long thigh split to give her the ability to move around. Toward the bottom of the dress the sequins became more sparse and tailed off into the nude fabric, it gave the dress a kind of waterfall effect. "Beautiful!" Madam Louisa exclaimed, "you'll be turning heads in this for sure!"

Arianwen smiled happily, the dress was so subtly gold that every time she moved it seemed to change colour, the sequins cascading down the dress twinkled from all angles. It was definitely the right type of dress for one of Gwyn's parties. She'd also settled on some other robes and dresses to take to Hogwarts with her, Blaise said that no one with taste would wear their robes into the local village on weekends, so she would need a couple of options.

As Arianwen changed back into her summer dress, she noticed something gold catch the light. She walked over to a chair that was angled to one side of the room, and saw a small gold signet ring. Picking it up, she ran a finger over the coat of arms that was engraved upon it, she frowned, not recognising it. "Madam Louisa, have you any idea who this ring belongs to? I found it on the chair over in the corner." She held the ring out for Madam Louisa to inspect.

"Ah yes, that's the Malfoy's coat of arms. Young Mr Malfoy must have left it behind by accident." Louisa strode over to the door and flung it open shouting, "Grace!"

Grace hopped into the room eagerly, "Yes, Madam Louisa?"

"Can you be a dear and send an owl to the Malfoy's to tell them we have Draco's ring? He'll have to come back in and get it!"

For some reason Arianwen felt a sudden urge to speak up, "I can return it to him, if you like?" Madam Louisa turned to Arianwen slowly, a knowing smirk creeping onto her face.

"Yes if you like dear, will you be seeing him again soon?" Louisa was struggling to stop herself from laughing.

"Uh yes, at a ball next week!" Arianwen invented wildly.

"At a ball next week" Madam Louisa repeated slowly, attempting to hide the disbelief in her voice.

"Yes that's right." Arianwen made every effort to keep her voice and expression as nonchalant as possible, not wanting to look like a complete and utter fool. Madam Louisa took the ring from Grace and passed it back to Arianwen. "There we are then dear, be sure to give it to him next week. Have you got all the outfits you need now?"

Arianwen nodded, smiling politely, she threw on her cloak and walked back out into the reception. "Can you put it on my tab?" she asked Grace.

"Yes of course! Would you like to take everything now or shall I send it to your address?"

"Oh just now is fine, I haven't anything else to do in London today" and with that, Arianwen took the boxes of robes, slid the ring into her pocket and returned to Wales.

Back at home, Arianwen was pondering how she could return the ring to Draco Malfoy. She had no idea if she would run into him again any time soon but if she left it too long he would surely return to Madam Louisa's, only for them to tell him that she'd taken it. That would definitely make her look odd. She wasn't even sure why she offered to return it in the first place. Was she planning on using the ring as an excuse to see him again? Should she try and find out where he lives and just show up? Or maybe she could send Betsy to him with the ring?

Sighing, she walked to her study, Uncle Dafydd had not yet made this room off limits. It was a fairly large room for a study, three of its four walls were covered in bookcases, and one bookcase in particular was dedicated solely to books about potions. Arianwen was very fond of making potions… she found it relaxing somehow. She had a laboratory in the room next to her study where she would practice making all kinds of different potions; in recent years she'd also started to concoct her own potions, that's how she ended up with the Order of Merlin: Third Class. She'd created a potion that could lessen the effects of the Cruciatus Curse when it had been overused and the victim had lost their mind. It didn't restore their sanity unfortunately, Arianwen was still trying to find a way to achieve this, but it did help to restore some memories, therefore helping the victim to recognise and interact with family members and other visitors. Her uncle new how much she loved brewing potions and had been looking for an excuse to stop her doing so, so when Arianwen accidentally killed an elf with a few drops of the draught of living death, he hastened to seal the room.

Arianwen sat down at her desk, placing the little signet ring on the leather desk mat and staring at it blankly. I'll just have to send it by owl post, she thought. Rummaging in one of her desk drawers, Arianwen found a small black box to put the ring in. She found a bit of cotton wool and fluffed it up so the ring had a bit of a cushion inside the box, it would stop it rattling around at least. She placed it in carefully and put the lid back on the box, she'd need to seal it somehow. Arianwen pulled out her wand and tapping the box, muttered "colloportus". She tried to open the box again but it remained firmly sealed shut. Good. She rummaged through another draw and found a reel of red ribbon, cutting a bit to size, she wrapped it around the box carefully and tied a perfect bow at the top.

She sat back and admired her handy work, she had always enjoyed wrapping things and giving people beautifully presented presents. Now for some kind of explanatory note to go with the box.

Dear Draco,

No that wouldn't do, far too familiar. She tried again.

Dear Mr Malfoy,

No. Again that wasn't right, the letter would end up in Draco's father's hands.

Dear Draco Malfoy,

I am writing to inform you of the contents of the little box that should arrive with this note.

You left your signet ring at Madam Louisa's and I thought you ought to have it back as soon as possible. At least, she seemed to believe its your ring anyway, I hope I'm returning it to its rightful owner!

Please don't find me too officious, I just thought it would save you the effort of returning to the store to collect it. Such a lovely heirloom would surely be stolen before too long.

I hope you are well.

She wasn't sure how to sign off the letter, she didn't want to sound too formal but similarly being too informal wouldn't do either.

Best wishes,

Lady Arianwen Gwydion

P.S: I sealed the box with a locking charm so you'll have to open it in the same way.

She didn't bother with her full title, her father had liked it when she would use it but Governess Matthews always said that it could come across as arrogant if only addressing her peers. She folded the letter carefully, popped it in an envelope and sealed it shut with hot wax, stamping her family crest into the wax as it dried. On the front of the letter she wrote as neatly as she could, Mr. Draco Malfoy. Then, opening the window to her study she called "Mordred!" and watched as a large Great Horned Owl flew towards her. The owl landed carefully on the window ledge and hooted softly, he was getting quite old now, his grey feathers fading slightly. Mordred was her father's owl but as he'd passed away, Arianwen saw no issue on using him from time to time.

"I've got a letter for you" the owl hooted again and held out its leg patiently. Arianwen tied the note to one leg and the box to the other. "Its for Draco Malfoy, I'm afraid I don't know where he lives but you've always been good at finding people" Mordred nibbled her finger affectionately, then turned and flew back out the window with purpose.

The following morning in Wiltshire…

Draco stretched widely; he was in his room in Malfoy Manor and had just woken up. Rolling out of bed lazily, he yawned and walked into his en suite. After he had showered and dried himself, he pulled on some dark green robes and headed down to breakfast.

Pushing open the door to the breakfast room, he found his mother already sitting at the table and sipping some green tea. There was ample choice of food spread across the table, from croissant's to grapefruits, they were always well catered for.

"Good morning Draco" his mother greeted in her usual silvery tone.

"Good morning mother" he greeted back, taking a seat at the table and placing some toast on his plate. "Did you sleep well?" It was the usual polite morning conversation.

Narcissa looked as though she had not slept well, as was often the case now that his father was in Azkaban. "Oh quite well enough thank you darling" ironically, she sounded rather tired and fed up. Suddenly, a faint tapping on the window could be heard.

"Oh good, the post has arrived" Naricssa moved to open the window, and in flew three owls. All three flew over to the table and landed in an empty spot where Lucius normally sat. Each holding out their legs, Narcissa untied the post "there's one for you, Draco."

Draco stopped spreading jam on his toast, and looked up, trying to work out which owl had post for him.

"Here" Narcissa said, passing him a letter and a small black box, "these are addressed to you"

He looked down at the writing on the letter, it was neat and curly, whoever had sent it had clearly been taught calligraphy. He picked up the box and pulled off the ribbon, he tried to take the lid off but the box remained firmly shut.

"Why don't you read the letter first, darling?" Narcissa suggested.

Draco cracked open the seal and read the letter quickly, he couldn't help but smirk triumphantly. So…I clearly made an impression then. Draco liked to make an impression on all the attractive women he met and Arianwen was no different, it had been so hard to tell at the time whether his charms had worked, she just kept giving him that same pretty smile. He'd known exactly what he was doing of course; Draco Malfoy was notorious for charming women. He remembered how she blushed when he kissed her hand, and how her gaze had lingered on him a little longer than normal before Madam Louisa ushered her away. He had of course recognised her from Witch Weekly as soon as she'd turned around in the shop but not wanting to give the game away he had arranged his face to be innocently expressionless. She was even more beautiful he person, he had noted, and her body was surprisingly curvy considering she was so petite. This particular conquest was going to be very enjoyable.

Narcissa looked at her sons smirk and tilted her head, trying to work out what he was thinking.

"So" she prompted, "what's in the box?"

"Its just my signet ring, I left it in Madam Louisa's the other day by accident" he hadn't actually noticed it was missing.

"Oh I see, so she returned it to you then?"

"Uh no actually," Draco looked at his mother, trying not to smirk, "I met someone in the store and she decided to return the ring to me herself."

Narcissa raised her eyebrows, fixing her son with a hard stare, "and who is this girl that you met then?"

"She's Welsh, some kind of gentry by the sounds of it, Lady Arianwen Gwydion" he showed his mother the letter.

"Yes I know the Gwydion's, her father is a Duke you know. Very clever girl, she'll be very beautiful when she's older" Narcissa said, feeling pleased that Draco was mixing with such well-connected purebloods.

"Indeed" Draco drawled, smirking at his mother's predictable reaction, "Yes she mentioned that she'd met you at some gala last summer"

"Oh?" Narcissa asked, her tone clearly encouraging him to continue.

"Yes, in fact I think she described you as 'breathtakingly stunning'" It had the reaction that he had anticipated. Narcissa had an extremely satisfied smile on her face, she had always enjoyed receiving adoration from people, that's probably why she loved his father so much. Lucius spoiled Narcissa excessively, both with attention and material goods, and Narcissa loved every second of it.

"Such a charming girl" Narcissa cooed, she normally reserved that voice for him or his father, "I'll have to invite her and her father to tea".

"I don't think her father is still alive, mother." Draco warned.

"Oh really? What makes you say that? I haven't seen anything in the news." Narcissa said, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Just from the way she spoke, Madam Louisa kept referring to him in the past tense."

"Hmm that is odd, I'll have to try and find out more" and with that, Narcissa left to do some digging.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy chapter two, the story is a little slow moving at the moment but it'll pick up a lot in the next chapter. You'll also get to see a different side to Arianwen's personality. Let me know what you think :)