XXVI.

Dorothea had arrived at the study room early but quickly found that with her limited spell knowledge, there was little she could do to transform the room into the space of her imagining. With a sigh, Dorothea added 'interior design spells' to her growing list of magic to learn. Still, she was able to stack the chairs and drag them to a corner and arrange the remaining furniture into a position that hopefully read 'formal yet comfortable' rather than 'late night study session.'

She'd dressed carefully as well- opting for a robe that was fitted at the wrist to better show off the apology bracelet that Lady Malfoy had given her but also showed the many woven and braided charms that Theo had made her. She might be ready to accept his apology, but her allegiance was and always would be to the Nott's first. Not that Malfoy. Beyond that, the books had been conflicted. Should she wear her hair in a severe bun to not appear too eager? In a more open and gentle appearance to appear forgiving? Or just whatever style flattered her narrow face? She pointedly set the ribbon she'd denied Malfoy as a favor to the side rather than remind him of the duel.

Draco arrived three minutes early to their meeting, which was according to good etiquette. He'd dressed in formal robes, though they were a stately black rather than any color that might give her an insight into his true feelings. However, he had an enormous bouquet of white tulips in his arms, which Dorothea hadn't expected. Tulips, she knew from her reading, were a request for forgiveness, and, after another moment of consideration, Dorothea decided the black robes were simply because Draco hadn't dared try a color-changing charm after his botched attempt with the paper. Well, they were only second years.

"Here," Draco said, handing her the bouquet and glancing around the small study room. Before she could speak, he'd drawn himself up to his full height, "Lady Nott, I must offer my most sincere apologies-"

"No speeches, Draco," Dorothea said, setting the bouquet on the side table and taking a seat. She indicated that he do the same, "Please. I spoke with your mother."

The coolness in her voice was deliberate. There was little doubt in her mind of who had summoned Lady Malfoy to the castle and why the woman had been so frank and open with Dorathea. Mere fondness wouldn't account for the family secrets that had been shared. No, Draco had probably written to his mother and begged for her to intervene.

On one hand, Dorothea disapproved of running to adults every time trouble reared its head. Draco did rely on his father's reputation too much- unlike Theo. On the other hand, she couldn't lie; she was flattered that Draco had been upset enough after the duel to make such drastic attempts at amends. He wouldn't do that for just anyone.

As Draco took his seat, hope rose in his eyes sunlight. "I hope she explained the situation to your satisfaction?"

He would have sounded like a proper pureblood wizard if his voice hadn't raised and cracked on that final word. Dorathea bit down a smile. She could either ruin or make his day right now - all with whether she granted him a smile or continued to remain frosty!

Be careful, the prudent part of her soul reminded her, you have a thin line to walk.

Before this meeting, Dorothea had sat down and tried to imagine the desired outcome of their conversation. Obviously, she wanted to put a stop to any more of these marriage attempts, but beyond that? What did she want: friendship? Ask Draco to be nicer to Hermione when she returned. Stop harassing the boy who lived?

Theo's principles were helpful now. What would a Nott do? Practice the yearly rituals, protect the family ties, and maintain family honor. Well, there were no yearly rituals upcoming. Theo and Euphie were not in danger now that the duel had passed. As for maintaining the family honor, so long as Draco publicly apologized and promised not to do anything like this ever again, then she had fulfilled her duties. A weight had lifted off her shoulders when she realized that.

"Your mother explained a great deal," Dorothea allowed, "But I still don't understand why you agreed to do this."

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat- guilt obvious on his twelve-year-old face. Lady Malfoy would no doubt train such emotional displays out of him soon, so Dorothea appreciated the window to his thoughts. "Well, I wanted to marry you?"

"Why?" Dorothea demanded. She'd skip over the protest that Draco had known her for less than a month at this point. From some of the novels she'd read, it was clear that purebloods believed that love, at first sight, was the best indication of a strong bond. Plus, the Malfoys would love to marry into a Noble and Ancient House. No, a different question bothered Dora. "I mean, I thought you and Pansy got along well. Why would you want to hurt her with such a mean trick?"

Dorothea had laid awake thinking about the situation from Parkinson's perspective and her heart had twisted for the other girl. Imagine coming back from Winter break to see someone else had taken the role of the Malfoy betrothed without even a word of warning. The Malfoy's hadn't even tried to break off the engagement first! No doubt, Lady Malfoy had decided that their social position was strong enough to weather such a scandal. But still.

If possible, Draco's expression became even more guilty. "Well, I don't think she really wants to be married to me." The boy muttered. Dorothea's eyebrows flew up in shock.

"What?" She demanded, "She adores you. She nearly pulled all my hair out by the roots when she saw my hairstyle. Plus, she's always around you."

"Yeah, but she-!" Draco threw his hands up in frustration, all earlier attempts to be formal forgotten. "Like, I can actually talk to you, Dora. If I try to talk to Pansy, she's either giggling at jokes I don't make or acting odd. I'll ask her a simple question, like 'what do you want for Christmas?' And rather than answer, she'll just say something like 'I don't know, Draco, whatever you like.' And bats her eyes at me like she's got something stuck in her eyes."

Dorothea had an inkling of what was going on. During one of their winter teas, Lady Malfoy handed her a stack of the most recent Witch Weeklies so that she could be caught up on what girls her age were discussing. Dora had breezed past most of the relationship advice- never thinking that it might apply to her. Some of the advice had caught her eye, mostly due to its nonsense. Dora was willing to bet Galleons to Knuts that Pansy had internalized some of this 'advice.'

"The worst part is," Draco continued. He clearly had been sitting on these feelings for some time. "The worst part is that she acts completely differently when she's not around me. When she's with Daphne or the other girls, she's fine! Normal and just- like it didn't use to be this bad, Dora. When we were little, we were actually friends. We could talk about Quidditch and play Death Eaters and Aurors- I'd even let her be a Death Eater every now and then. But lately-" He gave up with a sigh, slumping back in his seat. Dorathea gave him a friendly smile and leaned forward to pat his knee.

"Look, Draco. If Pansy promised to go back to how things were before, would you give her a chance?" Dorothea crossed her mental fingers because if Draco agreed then that would solve her Pansy troubles. But Draco only made a face, so Dorothea pressed forward. She held up her wrist to show off the bracelet Lady Malfoy had given her "If you do, I'll count that as one of my favors."

Draco's expression of disgruntlement turned to one of shock. "You can't use a favor like that!"

"I can't?" Dorothea asked, glancing down at the closed lilies. Lady Malfoy hadn't given her any guidelines on what favors to ask.

"No, it needs to be something grand," Draco protested, then immediately corrected himself, "Obviously you can't ask for something that would harm me or my family or cause any lasting damage. I know- I know you wouldn't," He said in response to the annoyed look she sent him, "But it needs saying. Also, it can't be anything small or stupid."

"So asking you to pass the bacon at breakfast is out," Dorothea said, but Draco just nodded stiffly,.

"It would be an insult to the Malfoy's honor. It would say you don't think I'm worthy or capable enough to do anything but pass the bacon." It all came back to honor again, Dorothea realized, but Draco wasn't quite done.

"Oh, and it has to be something for you too. You can't ask me to - I don't know- save someone else's life." Well, there went her plan of asking Draco to look after Theo or befriend the Boy who lived. Dora really had no idea how to use up these favors by springtime.

"Ok," She agreed, switching tracts, "As my friend, would you give Pansy a second chance?"

This tactic seemed to get through to Draco and he nodded as he sat up straighter. "You mean we can still be friends?" He asked eagerly and Dorothea realized she'd played into his hands a bit as well. But she couldn't quite bite back a smile as she nodded in agreement.

"Just friends," She warned, "But yes. I'd like that."